5th Tal Memorial: Four out of five games decisive

The 5th Tal Memorial takes place from November 5th to November 14th, in Moscow, Russia. It is a nine-round round-robin event. Time control: 40 moves in 100 minutes followed by 20 moves in 50 minutes followed by the game in 15 minutes with a 30 second increment as of move one. Game start: 3 PM local time (5 AM Pacific daylight / 8 AM New York / 1 PM Paris) - rest day on November 9th (Mikhail Tal's birthday) Video coverage: The Russian Federation is providing exceptional daily coverage, with full replays available at the right of the page.

The 5th Tal Memorial just started and despite declined invitations by Carlsen, Anand, and Ivanchuk, has an all-star cast with a classy combination of combative players.

The opening ceremony was an elegant affair as can be seen here with (left to right):
Eljanov, Mamedyarov, Shirov, Wang Hao, and at the end, Nakamura.

Players

Alexander Grischuk with Shakriyar Mamedyarov at the opening ceremony

The first thing well worth noting is the truly outstanding live video coverage of the event. There have been webcams and other levels of video coverage in the past to be found on events, but this is truly on a a different level, and is nothing less than high-quality TV-level coverage of a chess event, of a kind that is simply unknown in the West.

Eljanov's game against Grischuk as seen via the live video feed. This picture is a
lower resolution version from the screen capture.

Multiple cameras, with visible boards in the screen, at a very high resolution, and with two grandmasters, Genna Sosonko and Mark Glukhovsky, commenting at all times. In Russian, please note.

The same game now shown with multiple camera angles

It is a rare privilege to watch, and not to be missed. Please note one can also see the full videos in playback, in a list on the right. The numbers represent the dates. Here is Day One.

Round one

The first round was one of relief and frustration for the two highest rated players. Aronian chose a variation of the QGD that was first introduced by Delchev in the 2010 Olympiads, and then used by Katerina Lahno with great success against Tatiana Kosintseva at the Cap d'Agde Rapid only a week ago. Unfortunately for him, Kramnik had prepared it to perfection and was soon completely winning, until a serious mistake threw away his advantage, and a final one threw away the game.

Aronian,L (2801) - Kramnik,V (2791) [D38]
Tal Memorial Moscow RUS (1), 05.11.2010

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 d5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 c5 8.dxc5 Nbd7 9.Rc1 Qa5 10.a3 This idea was first introduced by Delchev at the Olympiads 10...Bxc3+ 11.Rxc3 Ne4 12.b4 Nxc3 13.Qa1 Qa4. 13...Qa6 14.Qxc3 Qg6 15.e3 Qb1+ 16.Kd2 0-0 17.Rg1 a5 18.Bc4 axb4 19.axb4 Qe4 20.Bd3 Qe6 21.Nd4 1/2-1/2 (47 moves) Delchev,A (2623)-Palac,M (2561)/Khanty Mansiysk 2010/CB39_2010 14.Qxc3 0-0 15.e3 a5 16.b5 Nxc5 17.Qxc5 Bf5N

The players were following a game played between Lahno and T. Kosintseva played at the Cap d'Agde rapid event the week before. 17...Be6 18.Qd4 Qxa3 19.Be2 Qc1+ 20.Qd1 Qb2 21.0-0 a4 22.Bg3 f6 23.Nd4 Bf7 24.Bd3 a3 25.Nf5 a2 26.Qg4 g5 27.Nxh6+ Kg7 28.Qf5 Rh8 29.Nxf7 Kxf7 30.Qg6+ Ke7 31.Qg7+ 1-0 (56 moves) Lahno,K (2539) - Kosintseva,T (2573)/Cap d'Agde 2010/CB43_2010 18.Qd4. Taking the pawn with 18.Qxd5? and attacking the bishop is enticing, but would lead to disaster due to the white king's exposed and uncastled position. 18...Rfc8! 19.Be2 (19.Qxf5?? Rc1+ 20.Ke2 Qd1#) 19...Rc1+ 20.Bd1 Bc2 21.0-0 Bxd1 22.Nd4 Rac8 23.h3 (Not 23.Qxb7? Be2! 24.Nxe2 Rxf1+ 25.Kxf1 Qd1#) 18...Qxa3 19.Be2 Qb4+ 20.Qxb4 axb4 21.Nd4 Ra1+! 22.Bd1

So far Kramnik's opening preparation has been flawless and his advantage is close to winning. The combination of passed pawn and wonderful lines for his rooks should be decisive. 22...Bh7?? Here is the guilty party. Black had to play 22...Rfa8! 23.0-0 (The bishop is untouchable since 23.Nxf5? is met with 23...b3! 24.Ne7+ Kf8 25.Kd2 (25.Nxd5 b2 26.Nc3 Rc1 27.Kd2 g5! preparing Rd8+) 25...b2-+) 23...Bd3 24.Re1 Rb1 25.f3 Raa1-+ 23.Nb3 Rb1 24.Nd2 Rb2 25.Bg3 Rc8 26.Be5 Ra2 27.Nb3 Bc2 28.Bxc2 Rcxc2 29.0-0 f6 30.Bd4 Ra3 31.Na1 Rd2 32.h3 Rad3 33.Kh2 Ra3 34.b6 h5 35.Rb1 Rxf2 36.Nb3 Raa2 37.Rg1 Kh7 38.Nc5

38...Rfd2?? The wrong rook! 38...Rad2! 39.Nxb7 b3 40.Nc5 b2 41.Bxb2 Forced since the threat was 41.-- Rxg2+ 42.Rxg2 Rxg2+ 43.Kxg2 b1Q 39.Nxb7 b3 40.Nc5 b2 41.Rb1 1-0 [Click to replay]

Grischuk replayed the Catalan Bogo-Indian line that Topalov ended up losing to Carlsen in Nanjing with, however he gradually outplayed Eljanov in a very finely played middlegame, entering a very difficult endgame for his opponent. Eljanov still had drawing chances, but got lost in the maze.

Grischuk,A (2771) - Eljanov,P (2742) [E00]
Tal Memorial Moscow RUS (1), 05.11.2010

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Bxd2+ 5.Qxd2 d5 6.Bg2 c6 7.Nf3 Nbd7 8.0-0 b6 9.Rc1 This move was introduced by Topalov against Carlsen in Nanjing a couple of weeks earlier, and repeated by Wang Yue. 9...Bb7. 9...0-0 10.b4 (10.cxd5 cxd5 11.Nc3 Ba6 12.a4 Rc8 13.Nb5 Ne4 14.Qf4 Qe7 15.Rc7 Bxb5 16.axb5 Nd6 17.Qc1 Rxc7 18.Qxc7 Rc8 19.Qxa7 1/2-1/2 (28 moves) Wang Yue (2732)-Carlsen,M (2826)/Nanjing 2010/CB43_2010) 10...Bb7 11.Qb2 Rb8 12.Nbd2 Qe7 13.e3 Rfc8 14.Rc2 c5 15.bxc5 bxc5 16.Qa3 0-1 (33 moves) Topalov,V (2803)-Carlsen,M (2826)/Nanjing 2010/CB43_2010 10.Ne5 Nxe5 11.dxe5 Nd7 12.f4 0-0 13.cxd5 cxd5 14.Na3 a5 15.Nb5 Nc5 16.Rc2 f6 17.Qe3 fxe5 18.Qxe5 Rf5 19.Qd6 Rf6 20.Qe5 Rf5 21.Qe3 Qe7 22.Nd4 Rff8 23.Rac1 Qd6 24.b3 Rfe8 25.Qe5 Qxe5 26.fxe5

It may seem as if the e-pawn is a weakness, but as a matter of fact Grischuk has seen deeper and not only is it hard to attack, but its resilience leaves Black with a difficult position as he lacks an active plan at his disposition contrary to White. 26...Bc8. The immediate 26...Nd7? doesn't work because of 27.Rc7! Nc5 28.Bh3 (28.R1xc5? bxc5) 28...Rab8 29.a3! h6 30.b4 axb4 31.axb4 Na6 32.Bxe6+ 27.Rc3 Bd7. Now 27...Nd7? doesn't work because of 28.Nxe6! Rb8 (28...Rxe6 29.Rxc8+ Rxc8 30.Rxc8+ Kf7 31.Bxd5) 29.Bxd5 28.a3 Rac8 29.Bh3 Kf7 30.b4 axb4 31.axb4 Na6 32.Rf1+ Ke7 33.Rcf3 Rf8 34.Rxf8 Rxf8 35.Rxf8 Kxf8 36.Bxe6 Be8

37.Nc2! White protects b4 in order to leave as many pawns on the board as possible. The more he exchanges, the greater the drawing chances. 37...Nc7 38.Bf5 g6 39.Bd3 Ke7 40.Nd4 Ne6 41.Nf3 Nd8 42.Kf2 Nc6 43.b5 Nd8 44.Ke3 Ne6 45.h4 h6 46.Nh2 Nc7 47.Ng4 Nxb5? 47...Ke6! would have offered good drawing chances after 48.Nxh6 (48.Kd4 Nxb5+ 49.Bxb5 Bxb5=) 48...Kxe5! 49.Ng4+ Ke6 50.Kf4 Bxb5 51.Bxb5 Nxb5 52.Kg5 Kf7 53.Ne5+ Kg7 54.Nxg6 Nc3 55.Nf4 b5 56.Ne6+ Kh7 57.Nd4 Ne4+ 58.Kf4 b4 with a likely draw. 48.Nxh6 Ke6 49.Ng4 d4+ 50.Kd2 Na3 51.e3 dxe3+ 52.Kxe3 b5 53.Kd4 b4 54.Nf6 Ba4 55.Nd5 b3 56.Nf4+ Kf7 57.Kc3 Nc2 58.Bxg6+ Kg7 59.Bxc2 bxc2 60.Kd2 1-0 [Click to replay]

Karjakin chose the 5.Nc3 variation against Gelfand's pet Petroff, choosing the line that has given Gelfand trouble this year, with losses to Topalov at Linares, and Ivanchuk in Amber. Black's choice led to a perfectly acceptable position, albeit with few chances other than for a draw, but two serious mistakes let Karjakin win the bishop endgame.

Karjakin,Sergey (2760) - Gelfand,B (2741) [C42]
Tal Memorial Moscow RUS (1), 05.11.2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Be3 0-0! 8.Qd2 Nd7 9.0-0-0 This variation of the Petroff has been giving Gelfand quite a headache. 9...Ne5 This also hasn't worked very well for the Israeli so far, but it is clear he has not given up on it yet. He tried 9...Re8 and lost spectacularly to Topalov in Linares 2010, and again to Ivanchuk in Amber. 10.h4 c6 11.h5 h6 12.Kb1 Nf6 13.Bd3 Bf8 14.Rdg1 Ng4 15.Bf4 Qf6 16.Nh2 Nxh2 17.Rxh2 Bf5 18.Bxf5 Qxf5 19.g4 Qe4 20.g5 1-0 (62 moves) Topalov,V (2805)-Gelfand,B (2761)/Linares 2010/CB07_2010 10.h4 c6 11.Kb1 Bg4 12.Be2 Nxf3 13.gxf3 Bh5 14.f4 Bxe2 15.Qxe2 Bf6. 15...Re8 16.f5 Bf6 17.Qg4 d5 18.h5 Re4 19.Qg3 Qe7 20.h6 g6 21.fxg6 fxg6 22.a3 Qe5 23.Qh3 Qe6 24.Qg3 Qe5 25.Qh3 Qe6 26.Qg3 1/2-1/2 Leko,P (2735)-Gelfand,B (2741)/Astrakhan 2010/CB20_2010 16.Rhg1 Re8. 16...Bxh4? 17.Qh5 Bf6 18.f5 and black is in trouble. 17.f5 Kh8 18.h5 h6 19.Qd2 Kh7. 19...Qa5 was worth considering. If 20.Bxh6 Qxf5 21.Be3 d5 22.h6 g6 and Black is ok. 20.Qxd6 Qxd6 21.Rxd6 Rad8 22.Rxd8 Rxd8 23.Bxa7 Rd5 24.Be3 Rxf5 25.Rh1 Bg5 26.f4

26...Bf6 Interestingly, 26...Bxf4 was probably quite playable, since even after 27.Rf1 which wins the piece, after 27...Rxh5 Black's pawns supported by the rook and king should also draw. 27.Kc1 Rb5 28.Rh3 g6 29.hxg6+ fxg6 30.a4 Ra5 31.b3 Rh5 32.Rxh5 gxh5 33.Kd2 h4 34.c4 h3 35.Bg1 Kg6 36.Ke3 Kf5 37.Kf3 Bc3 38.Be3 Be1 39.Bc5 h2 40.Kg2 Kxf4 41.b4 h1Q+ 42.Kxh1 Kf3 43.b5 cxb5 44.cxb5 Ke4? Although not losing by force, it is what gives Karjakin his winning chances. 44...Ba5! 45.Bf8 Ke4 46.Bxh6 Kd4 47.Bg7+ Kc4 48.Kg2 Kb4= 45.Bb6 Kd5 46.a5 Bg3 47.Kg2

47...Bb8?? The losing mistake. After 47...Be5! White cannot win. 48.a6 bxa6 49.bxa6 Kc6 Black's key defense lies in the fact that white's bishop is the wrong color and does not control the a-pawn's promotion square. Ex: 50.a7 Kb7 51.c4 Ka8 52.Kh3 Bg7 53.Kg4 Be5 54.Kh5 Bf4= 48.a6! bxa6 49.bxa6 Kc4 50.Kf3 Kc3 51.Ke4 h5 52.Bd4+ Kxc2 53.Bf6 Kd2 54.Kd5 Ke2 55.Kc6 Ba7 56.Bd8 Kf1 57.Bb6 1-0 [Click to replay]

Mamedyarov and Nakamura discussed the 12th and final game of the World Championship between Topalov and Anand, however correct play from both led to an uneventful draw after 43 moves.

Shirov and Wang Hao both played a line of the French that each has played with both colors. Wang Hao was extremely desirous to beat his opponent after having squandered golden opportunities in both his games against his Spanish opponent at Shanghai earlier this year. The third time was a charm, and on move 51, Shirov resigned in a lost rook endgame, though there is little doubt playing on a bit might have helped a less advanced audience understand why. Perhaps he felt this was not necessary playing in Moscow, in front of a Russian audience?

Shirov,A (2735) - Wang Hao (2727) [C11]
Tal Memorial Moscow RUS (1), 05.11.2010

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nbd7 6.Nxf6+ Nxf6 7.Nf3 h6 8.Be3 Nd5 9.Bd2 c5 10.Bb5+ Bd7 11.Bxd7+ Qxd7 12.c4 Nb6 13.Rc1 Be7 14.dxc5 Bxc5 15.b4 Be7 16.c5 Nd5 17.Ne5 Qc7 18.Qa4+ Kf8 19.f4. 19.Nd3 g6 20.b5 Kg7 21.0-0 Bf6 22.g3 Rhc8 23.Qb3 a6 24.a4 axb5 25.axb5 Qe7 1-0 (59 moves) Wang Hao (2722)-Hou,Y (2589)/Danzhou 2010/CB24_2010 (59) 19...g6 20.0-0 Kg7 21.Qb3N 21.Kh1 h5 22.Qc2 Rhd8 23.Qe4 a6 24.a4 Rac8 25.Rfe1 b5 26.axb5 axb5 27.Qe2 Rb8 28.Ra1 Bf6 29.Ra6 Qb7 30.Ra5 Ne7 31.Bc3 Nd5 32.Bd2 Ne7 33.Bc3 Nd5 1/2-1/2 Radjabov,T (2735)-Drozdovskij,Y (2574)/Odessa 2008/CBM 122 Extra 21...Rhd8 22.Rce1 Bf6 23.Ng4 Bd4+ 24.Kh1 h5 25.Ne5 b6 26.cxb6 Qxb6 27.b5 Bxe5 28.fxe5 a6 29.a4 axb5 30.axb5 Rab8 31.Rb1 Qd4 32.Qb2 Qa4 33.h3 Rdc8 34.Bg5 Rb7 35.Qb3 Qe4 36.Bf6+ Kh7 37.Rfe1 Qd4 38.Red1 Qb6 39.Bh4 Rc3 40.Qa2 Qc7 41.Bf2 Rc2 42.Rb2 Rxf2 43.Rxf2 Nc3 44.Rc1 Nxa2 45.Rxc7 Rxc7 46.Rxa2 Rc1+ 47.Kh2 Rb1 48.h4 Rxb5 49.Re2 Rb1 50.Kg3 Rf1 51.Re3 Kh6

The resignation may seem precipitated or even incomprehensible but the endgame is utterly hopeless. All Black needs to do is place the rook on f5, cutting off the king and leaving the white rook stuck protecting the e-pawn, and bring his king around. Ex: 52.Rc3 (52.Rf3? Rxf3+ 53.gxf3 g5!-+) 52...Rf5! 53.Re3 Kg7 54.Re4 Kf8 55.Kh3 Ke7 56.Kg3 Kd7 57.Rd4+ (57.Rf4 is no help since Black can just ignore it. The pawn ending, if White exchanges, is dead lost. 57...Kc6 58.Rxf5 exf5 59.Kf3 Kd5 60.Kf4 Ke6 61.g3 Kd5) 57...Kc6 58.Rd6+ Kc7 59.Ra6 Kd7 60.Ra5 (60.Rd6+ Ke7 61.Rb6 Rxe5) 60...Kc6 61.Kh3 Kb6 62.Ra8 Rxe5 0-1 [Click to replay]

Pictures by Anna Burtasova (Russian Chess Federation)

Watching the games from Moscow

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Schedule and results

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