1/22/2017 – As unexpected a round as could be where none of the expected results panned out. In fact, the biggest surprise of the day was precisely that the standings remained unchanged! Carlsen was crushing Giri but missed a mate in three and drew, while So faced imminent loss to Eljanov but somehow emerged unscathed and extended his unbeaten streak to 50 games. Still, Wei Yi's powerful win over Loek Van Wely meant he now shares 2nd-4th. Alex Yermolinsky brings superb notes not to be missed!
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The elite Tata Steel tournaments in Wijk aan Zee are underway and take place from January 13-29, with two main tournaments, the Masters with both Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin as headliners, as well as Wesley So, Levon Aronian, Anish Giri, Baskaran Adhiban, Radoslaw Wojtaszek, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Richard Rapport, Dmitri Andreikin, Wei Yi, Pavel Eljanov, and Loek van Wely. All rounds in Wijk aan Zee begin at 1.30pm, except for the last round on 29 January 2017, which begins at 12.00pm. Both rounds on the Chess On Tour days start at 2.00pm.
All photos by Alina L'Ami for the official site
Masters tournament
Round 7 - Saturday, January 21
Karjakin, S.
1-0
Aronian, L.
So, W.
½-½
Eljanov, P.
Wojtaszek, R.
0-1
Adhiban, B.
Andreikin, D.
½-½
Harikrishna, P.
Wei, Y.
1-0
Van Wely, L.
Nepomniachtchi, I.
½-½
Rapport, R.
Carlsen, M.
½-½
Giri, A.
Quick recap of round 7
Video impressions of round seven
At the start of the round, the standings stood as follows: Welsey So in first, followed by Magnus Carlsen and Pavel Eljanov half a point behind. At the end of the day, those standings would remain unchanged, and it is not without a heavy dose of irony that this is precisely what made the day so dramatic. the reason will be clear very soon.
In more ways than one, this was the game of the day. It wasn't the most exciting, albeit solid, but it was as dramatic as could be for the standings. While Magnus built up a decisive advantage over Anish, Wesley So looked like his 49-game unbeaten streak was about to fall as he seemed poised to lose to Pavel Eljanov.
The fans were in full swing this weekend, and to boot, it was Kid's Weekend
Anish Giri knew full well he was completely dead and was just playing his last moves, a final swindle if possible, even if it ended in an embarassing finale. He was right about the embarassment, but it turned out Caissa had other plans...
Magnus Carlsen - Anish Giri
Anish Giri himself had not realized the big miss and is seen here shown it right after his game
Anish Giri talks about his escape in round seven
Game of the day: Carlsen v Giri
Anish Giri wasn't the only lucky escape, as Wesley So, tournament leader, was facing a possible tough loss to Pavel Eljanov. In fact, it seemed so certain that Carlsen would win, that the only outcomes of the day appeared to be either Carlsen tied with So for first if So drew, or Carlsen tied with ELjanov for first if Eljanov won. However, Wesley So's guardian angel was working double duty. In fact, Vishy Anand, watching live, joked that So's guardian angel had not slept in days....
Wesley So - Pavel Eljanov
The standings weren't completely stuck in time that said. Wei Yi notched his second straight win to move to +2 and is now tied with Carlsen and So for 2nd-4th.
Alex Yermolinsky chose Wei Yi's victory over Loek Van Wely as the game of the day to analyze, and brings some fascinating insights on the Sicilian as a whole.
Alex Yermolinsky annotates Wei Yi vs Loek Van Wely
[Event "79th Tata Steel GpA"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2017.01.21"] [Round "7"] [White "Wei Yi"] [Black "Van Wely, L."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B94"] [WhiteElo "2706"] [BlackElo "2695"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "105"] [EventDate "2017.01.13"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 Nbd7 $5 {An interesting attempt to delay e7-e6 and change the move order of the regular Najdorf theory.} 7. Bc4 $1 {The most principled reply.} ({For some time everybody went gaga over} 7. Qe2 {but this move gets more credit for its edgy unorthodox appearance than it really deserves for its quality.} h6 8. Bxf6 Nxf6 9. O-O-O e5 $1 {A true Najdorf reply!} 10. Nf5 g6 11. Ne3 Be6 {White has no attack, and for the slow plans of controlling the pace of events through occupation of the d5-square his king really doesn't belongs in the Q-side.}) ({ Inaccurate is} 7. f4 Qc7 {White never gets to place his bishop on c4, which has always been considered the best weapon against Black's setup with Nbd7.} 8. Qf3 b5 9. O-O-O Bb7 10. Bd3 {and...} g6 $1 {Welcome to the Dragon's Den, courtesy of the late, great Vugar Gashimov.}) 7... Qb6 8. O-O (8. Bb3 {appear the most logical, but White cannot quite transpose to the regular lines of Bg5 Najdorf.} e6 9. Qd2 {This is more like a Richter-Rauser attack of the Classical with a pinch of Fischer-Sozin's Bc4-b3 thrown in.} ({if} 9. f4 Be7 { then White cannot place his queen on f3.}) 9... Be7 10. O-O-O Nc5 11. Rhe1 O-O 12. f4 h6 13. h4 {was played by Andreikin, but Dmitry's opening choices are not to be always taken for granted.}) (8. Qd2 $5 {is a Poisoned Pawn combined with Bc4. Velimirovic would be ecstatic!} Qxb2 9. Rb1 Qa3 10. O-O Qc5 11. Bd5 { We follow a recent game Tsydypov-Yu Yangyi which I witnessed at Hainan International just a month ago.} e6 12. Rfe1 Ne5 (12... Qc7 13. Bxe6 fxe6 14. Nxe6) 13. Na4 Qc7 14. Nb6 Rb8 15. f4 {Black's position came under considerable pressure.}) 8... Qc5 ({Recently Black tried (and survived!)} 8... Qxb2 9. Nd5 Nxd5 10. Rb1 Qc3 11. Bxd5 Qc7 {One wonders what the Chinese GM analytical team has up their collective sleeve.}) 9. Bd5 e6 ({Call me coward, but I'd choose} 9... g6 10. Qd2 Bg7 11. Rad1 O-O {just to play a game of chess, not some memory contest.}) 10. Re1 Be7 11. Be3 Qa5 12. Bxe6 {Figures. This typical sac has been tested in practice with good results since 2014. The ownership belongs to Belorus GM Sergey Azarov.} ({Previously Wei Yi played} 12. Bb3 { and didn't get much:} Nc5 13. f3 Qc7 14. a4 Nxb3 15. Nxb3 b6 {Wei Yi-Xu Yinglun, China Team Ch 2015}) 12... fxe6 13. Nxe6 Nc5 {It only took Loek 50 minutes to come up with this over-the-board innovation. In reality it's not such a good move, but additional value is placed on a surprise factor. Nobody wants to let his opponent just follow his computer-approved preparation all the way to victory.} ({Like it or not, Black has to follow the main line,} 13... Kf7 14. Ng5+ Ke8 (14... Kg8 15. b4 $1 Qe5 (15... Qxb4 16. Nd5) 16. Qd3 h6 17. f4) 15. Nd5 Nxd5 16. exd5 Ne5 (16... Nf6 17. Bd4 Kf8 18. Bxf6 Bxf6 19. Qh5 {was an Azarov quick kill against Xiong in 2014. Rest assured Jeffery doesn't lose game in this fashion anymore!}) 17. Bf4 Bf6 18. Ne4 Qc7 {Adhiban-Swiercz, 2014 is a reference game, but to my eye Black's position stops inspiring any confidence once you recall that he had already moved his king and therefore cannot castle}) 14. b4 ({We can also look at} 14. Nxg7+ Kf7 15. Nd5 Kxg7 16. Nxe7 {Black is just hopeless here.} Qc7 17. Nd5 Nxd5 18. exd5 {etc.}) 14... Qxb4 15. Nc7+ Kd8 16. N3d5 Nxd5 17. Nxd5 Qa3 18. Nb6 {One and only miss by Wei Yi in the whole game.} (18. Qf3 $1 {would make this a typical van Wely Najdorf miniature loss in Wijk aan Zee tournaments - I recall he had three of those in 2010 alone.} Rf8 (18... Qa5 19. Qf7 Bf6 20. Bg5 Bxg5 21. Qxg7) 19. Qg3 Qa5 ( 19... Be6 20. Nxe7 Kxe7 21. Bg5+ {and there goes the queen.}) 20. Qxg7 Re8 21. Bg5) ({Also, pretty strong was} 18. e5) 18... Rb8 19. Nc4 Qb4 20. Nxd6 Nd3 $1 21. Qxd3 {Wei Yi is still very young but his play shows maturity. Here he goes for a technical solution, hoping to win slowly but surely.} (21. Nf7+ Ke8 22. Qh5 g6 23. Qd5 {seems murky when you sit at the board.}) 21... Qxd6 22. Qxd6+ Bxd6 23. Rad1 Kc7 24. Rxd6 Kxd6 25. Bf4+ Ke6 26. Bxb8 {Just like this we have arrived at an ending Black may or may not lose. Of course, Loek had maybe a minute left on his clock and was all but mentally spent.} Bd7 27. Ba7 Rc8 28. Rc1 Rc4 29. f3 Ra4 30. Ra1 Rc4 31. c3 b5 32. a3 a5 {No, not this.} (32... Rxc3 33. Bd4 Rc2 34. Bxg7 a5 {offers some counterchances.}) 33. Bb6 Ra4 34. Bd4 g6 35. Kf2 g5 36. Ke3 Bc6 37. Kd2 h5 38. Kc2 b4 $6 {This offers White an easy expressway ride to victory.} (38... h4 {had to be played to be able to trade the h-pawns once White begins to make his connected passers.}) 39. cxb4 axb4 40. axb4 Rxb4 41. Kc3 Ra4 42. Rxa4 Bxa4 43. g3 $1 h4 44. f4 gxf4 (44... hxg3 45. f5+ $1 (45. hxg3 $2 gxf4 46. gxf4 Bc6 47. f5+ Kf7 48. Kd3 Bb7 49. Ke3 Bc6 50. e5 Bd7 $11 {is what Every Russian Schoolboy Knows about opposite-color bishop endings.}) 45... Kf7 46. hxg3 {having saved his g-pawn White is happy to trade e- and f-passers for the black bishop.}) 45. gxf4 {Same story here, because White's bishop is of the right color for the remaining rook pawn.} h3 46. Kd2 Kd6 47. Ke3 Bc2 48. f5 Kc6 49. Kf4 Bd3 50. Bb2 Bc2 51. e5 Kd5 52. Kg5 Bd3 53. e6 1-0
The technical team behind the scenes ensuring a smooth operation
Still, if anyone could lay claim to the most topsy-turvy game of the day, that honor would have to go to Wojtaszek - Adhiban. After his forays with the French against Karjakin, and then the King's Gambit against Wesley So, anything was possible. Even though the opening was offbeat from the get-go, it literally swung all the way in both directions.
It was as confusing for the players playing, the players watching, and the spectators. Adhiban once more did very well, and achieved a solid edge with chances to improve. Somehow this went South and he found himself equal and then dead lost in no uncertain terms. However, when it seemed a done deal, Wojtaszek completely messed it up, and ended up losing himself!
IM Sagar Shah analyzes Radoslaw Wojtaszek vs Baskaran Adhiban
[Event "79th Tata Steel Chess 2017-Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2017.01.21"] [Round "7"] [White "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"] [Black "Adhiban, Baskaran"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A40"] [WhiteElo "2750"] [BlackElo "2653"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "132"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventCountry "NED"] [SourceTitle "playchess.com"] [Source "ChessBase"] [TimeControl "40/6000+30:20/3000+30:900+30"] 1. d4 {0} e6 {30} 2. c4 {0} b6 {4 The English Defence. Once again Adhiban chooses a system which is not theoretically popular.} 3. Nc3 {159} Bb4 { 5 Now this has a flavour of the Nimzo Indian + the Queen's Indian.} 4. Qc2 {119 } Bb7 {30} 5. a3 {7} Bxc3+ {20} 6. Qxc3 {6} f5 {127 And now we have some sort of a Dutch!} 7. Nh3 {184 Wojtaszek develops his knight on h3 so that he can keep the e4 square under control with the move f3.} Nf6 {40} 8. f3 {13} O-O {75 } 9. e3 {14} Nh5 {59} 10. Be2 {285} Qh4+ {16} 11. Nf2 {30 Overall White has a very harmonious position with the centre, and the bishop pair. But Black's play is easy. He just develops d6-Nbd7 and breaks in the centre with e5.} d6 { 14} 12. b3 {261} Nd7 {109} 13. Bb2 {358} e5 {20} 14. d5 {87} f4 {1192 Adhiban decides that it is best to close down the position against White's bishops.} 15. e4 {80} a5 {688} 16. g3 {1246} Qe7 {8} (16... fxg3 17. hxg3 Qg5 18. f4 Qxg3 19. Rxh5 Qg1+ 20. Kd2 (20. Bf1 Rxf4 $19) 20... Qxf2 21. Rf1 $13) 17. g4 {5} Nhf6 {2} 18. Qc2 {77} c6 $1 {95 The white king doesn't really have a safe spot to go to and hence Adhiban opens up the position in the center.} 19. dxc6 {284} Bxc6 {62} 20. b4 {11} axb4 {126} 21. axb4 {154} Rxa1+ {21} 22. Bxa1 {5} Ra8 { 109 Black pieces are activated without any issues.} 23. Bb2 {8} Nf8 $1 { 87 The knight is making its way from e6 to d4.} 24. Qd2 {671} Ne6 {81} 25. O-O {159} h5 {80} 26. Rd1 {13} Ra2 {1003} 27. b5 $6 {924} (27. Qxd6 Qxd6 28. Rxd6 Rxb2 29. Rxe6 Bd7 $1 30. Rd6 Rxe2 31. g5 Nh7 32. Rxd7 Nxg5 $11 {When the position is around even.}) 27... Bd7 {704} 28. c5 {704 This was Wojtaszek's plan. To get the bishop to c4.} Nd4 $1 {175} 29. c6 {93} (29. Bc4+ d5 $1 30. exd5 Nxf3+ $19) 29... Be6 {7 True the pawn on c6 is strong. It is even protected. But the knight on f6 is going to come around to c7 and blockade the pawn. The other knight will also jump in and the b5 pawn would become quite weak. Although at first look this seems like better for White, it is in fact the other way around.} 30. g5 {89} Ne8 {78} 31. h4 {125} Nc7 {16 The right idea, but the wrong timing.} ({Black would have been better served first swining his queen over to a7} 31... Qa7 32. Kg2 Nxe2 33. Qxe2 Qa4 34. Rc1 { and only now play} Nc7 $1 {after which he has successfully infiltrated the white position and has ensured the b5 pawn will fall without giving up his other advantages.} 35. Rc2 Qb3 36. g6 Kf8 37. Qd2 Ke7 38. Nd3 Qxb5 39. Nb4 Ra4 $17) 32. Kg2 {135} Bb3 {517} (32... d5 $5) (32... Ncxb5 $2 33. Bxb5 Nxb5 34. Qb4 Nd4 35. Bxd4 $16) (32... Qe8 $1 33. Bd3 Ncxb5 34. Bxb5 Nxb5 $17) 33. Rc1 { 139} Nxe2 {20} 34. Qxe2 {7} Ba4 {362 Black goes after the b5 pawn, but now the d6 is also equally weak and Black loses control.} 35. Qc4+ {130} Qf7 {19} 36. Qb4 {20 White is already pretty fine, because the d6 pawn is falling.} Bxb5 { 303} 37. Nd1 $1 {62 The bishop on b2 is defended and the d6 pawn is attacked.} Kh7 {754} (37... Qe6 38. Nc3 $16) 38. Qxd6 $18 {43 In a matter of few moves the position has turned into a clearly better one for White.} Be2 {54} 39. Qxe5 $1 {128} Ra5 {32} 40. Qd6 {0} (40. Qd4 $1 Ne6 41. Qxb6 $18 Rb5 42. Qf2 Bxd1 43. Rxd1 $18) 40... Ra2 {48 Forty moves have been made. Now White is clearly winning and also has a lot of time in hand.} 41. Qb4 {683} (41. Qd7 $1 { Not an easy combination to see.} Qxd7 42. cxd7 Ne6 43. g6+ $3 {The only move to win.} Kh6 (43... Kxg6 44. Rc6 $18) (43... Kg8 44. Rc8+ $18) 44. Rc2 $1 Bxd1 45. Bxg7+ $18) (41. Rc2 {is the simpler way to win.} Bxd1 42. Qxd1 Qb3 43. Qc1 Ne6 44. Rd2 $18) 41... b5 {788} 42. Nf2 {372} Ne6 {350} 43. Ra1 {1101} Rxa1 { 108} 44. Bxa1 {34 White is still better, but nowhere close to what he was four moves ago.} Qa7 {235} 45. Qd2 {228} Qe3 {217} 46. Qxe3 {5} fxe3 {2} 47. Be5 $6 {196} (47. Nh3 b4 {Maybe Wojtaszek was afraid of this position, but it should be a draw.}) 47... b4 {269} 48. c7 {95} exf2 {80} 49. Kxf2 {5} Ba6 {9 Black has won a piece but White has two pawns in return and very strong structure. The game should be objectively drawn.} 50. Ke3 {69} g6 {574} 51. Kd2 {75} (51. f4 b3 52. Kd2 Bc8 53. Kc3 Nc5 54. Bd4 Nxe4+ 55. Kxb3 $19 {This is als losing as the knight will pick up the h4 pawn and the pawn will queen.}) 51... Kg8 {83 } 52. Kc2 {17} Bc8 {403} 53. Kb3 {129} Nc5+ {0} 54. Kc4 {5} (54. Kxb4 Nd3+ $19) 54... Na6 {9} 55. Bd6 {291} Be6+ {71} 56. Kd4 {4} (56. Kb5 b3 $19) 56... Kf7 { 41} 57. f4 {39} b3 {53} 58. Kc3 {37} Ke8 {5} 59. c8=Q+ {196} (59. f5 gxf5 60. exf5 Bxf5 61. Kxb3 {would have given better drawing chances.} Kd7 62. c8=Q+ Kxc8 63. Kc4 Kd7 64. Kd5 $11) 59... Bxc8 {3} 60. Kxb3 {0} Kd7 {99} 61. Ba3 {10} Bb7 {15} 62. f5 {6} (62. e5 Nc7 $19) 62... Bxe4 {6} 63. f6 {73} Bd5+ {130} 64. Kc3 {67} Nc7 {97} 65. Kd3 {107} Ke6 {51} 66. Bc1 {29} Nb5 {48 Black has complete control on the light squares and Wojtaszek saw no reason to continue the fight.} 0-1
Warm thanks to IM Sagar Shah for sharing his analyses published at ChessBase India.
Being Kid's Weekend, it meant lots of children enjoying many acitivities
Chess was central to all this needless to say
"Get ready to meet your maker"
Hans Böhm has ensured the on-site live commentary and it has been greatly appreciated
Some prefer to let the event inspire them to a game of their own
Not to mention the many amateur events underway now
Hypnotism is an underappreciated skill. The question is whether hypnotizing the pieces actually works...
Current Masters standings
Challengers tournament
Round 7 - Saturday, January 21
Tari, A.
½-½
Grandelius, N.
Bok, B.
0-1
Smirin, I
Ragger, M.
1-0
Guramishvili, S.
van Foreest, J.
0-1
Jones, G.
l'Ami, E.
½-½
Lu, S.
Xiong, J.
1-0
Dobrov, V.
Tingjie, L.
½-½
Hansen, E.
The Challengers saw a return to business as usual, which means that the leaders all scored wins.
Ilia Smirin had the toughest opponent in Benjamin Bok, but managed to overcome him in the end
Vladimir Dobrov succumbed to an inspired and brilliant Jeffery Xiong
The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 14 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.
Albert SilverBorn in the US, he grew up in Paris, France, where he completed his Baccalaureat, and after college moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He had a peak rating of 2240 FIDE, and was a key designer of Chess Assistant 6. In 2010 he joined the ChessBase family as an editor and writer at ChessBase News. He is also a passionate photographer with work appearing in numerous publications, and the content creator of the YouTube channel, Chess & Tech.
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