Altibox Norway R1: Nakamura victorious

by Alejandro Ramirez
6/6/2017 – Despite the numerous draws, it was quite an interesting day in Norway. Kramnik and Aronian were putting very strong pressure on Karjakin and Caruana respectively, but had to settle for a draw. The only win came from a long endgame squeeze by Nakamura over Giri, which was certainly reminiscent of Fischer's famous "minor exchange" idea!
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Altibox Norway Chess has in only a matter of a few years grown to be one of the world’s biggest chess tournaments. Altibox Norway Chess has proven from the start to be a world-class event and is celebrating its 5th anniversary in 2017. This super-tournament had the aim of inviting the ten strongest chess players in the World, and they proclaim themselves as the strongest tournament in the World.

The events began with a 3+2 blitz tournament, won by Magnus Carlsen, to determine the pairing order.

The time control is 100 min for 40 moves + 50 min for 20 moves, + 15 min for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move, starting from move 61. The prize fund for the main event is 249,000 Euros.

Round One

All photos by Lennart Ootes for the Official Website

Despite the numerous draws, it was quite an interesting day in Norway. Kramnik and Aronian were putting very strong pressure on Karjakin and Caruana respectively, but had to settle for a draw. The only win came from a long endgame squeeze by Nakamura over Giri.

Round one, go!

Round 1: June 6, 2017 in Clarion Hotel Energy
Hikaru Nakamura
1-0
 Anish Giri
Levon Aronian
½-½
 Fabiano Caruana
Magnus Carlsen
½-½
 Wesley So
M. Vachier-Lagrave
½-½
 Vishy Anand
Vladimir Kramnik
½-½
 Sergey Karjakin

We kick off with the sole victory. It wasn't the flashiest of games, but it really does showcase Nakamura, who in the past was known for his crazy and aggressive style, as a solid technical player:

A magnificent display of the superiority of bishop over knight by Hikaru

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MoveNResultEloPlayers
1.e41,166,62354%2421---
1.d4947,29855%2434---
1.Nf3281,60256%2441---
1.c4182,10256%2442---
1.g319,70256%2427---
1.b314,26554%2427---
1.f45,89748%2377---
1.Nc33,80151%2384---
1.b41,75648%2380---
1.a31,20654%2404---
1.e31,06848%2408---
1.d395450%2378---
1.g466446%2360---
1.h444653%2374---
1.c343351%2426---
1.h328056%2418---
1.a411060%2466---
1.f39246%2436---
1.Nh38966%2508---
1.Na34262%2482---
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bg5 Ne4 5.Bh4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 dxc4 7.e3 Be6 8.Qb1 b6 9.Nh3 Bh6 10.Bg5 Bxg5 11.Nxg5 Qd5 12.Nxe6 Qxe6 13.Qb4 Qd5 14.Qxc4 Qxc4 15.Bxc4 e6 16.Be2 Nd7 17.a4 Ke7 18.a5 c6 19.Kd2 b5 20.Rab1 Rab8 21.Rb2 f5 22.Rhb1 Kd6 23.f3 e5 24.c4 exd4 25.cxb5 cxb5 26.Bxb5 dxe3+ 27.Kxe3 Let us start looking at the game here. Before this, it was a Grunfeld and we got to this position which, though perhaps almost equal, does hold a bit of danger for Black. Bishops are superior to knights, and the kingside pawns will be vulnerable to an attack by the light-squared diagonal user. This endgame is a bit reminiscent of what Fischer called the "minor exchange". Nf6 28.Bc4 Rxb2 28...Rhe8+ 29.Kd4 Rbd8! Was the unnatural, but best way, to hold. The point is that the rooks create an unsafe environment for the kings, which makes it difficult for White to make progress. 30.Rb7 Kc6+ 31.Kc3 Re3+ 32.Kc2 Rd4 for example 29.Rxb2 Re8+ 30.Kd4 Notice how Black's knight is uncomfortably controlled compared to White's bishop. Re7 31.Rb8 Rd7 32.Rc8 Rb7 33.a6! Puttin in the squeeze. The rook can't stay on the seventh rank, but there isn't enough time to create counterplay. Rb4 33...Re7 34.Bb5 and the surprising checkmate on c6 is not so easy to parry. 34.Kc3 Ra4 35.Kb3 Nd7 36.Bb5 36.Kxa4 Nb6+ 37.Kb5 Nxc8 38.Bg8 h6 is no dangerous for Black as there is no penetration square once the knight reaches e7 36...Ra5 37.Kb4 Ra1 38.Rd8 Rb1+ 39.Ka5 Ra1+ 40.Kb4 Rb1+ 41.Ka4 Ra1+ 42.Kb3 Rb1+ 43.Kc4 Rc1+ 44.Kd3 Rc7 45.Kd4 Black has stabilized from now, but he is far from out of danger. Ke7 46.Ra8 Kd6 47.h4! Now phase two, if you will: White advances a bit on the kingside to creat threats Ke7? An unfortunate timing 47...Nb6 48.Rh8 Ke6 49.Re8+ Kd6 50.h5 is still very hard to hold 48.Bxd7! Nakamura does not miss his chances. The rook endgame is hopeless. Rxd7+ 48...Kxd7 49.Kd5 Ke7 50.Rh8 Kf6 51.Kd6 and everything falls apart Rc2 ! the only way to resist 52.Rxh7 Rxg2 53.Rxa7 49.Ke5 Kf7 50.Rb8 This is the killing maneuver. Any rook trade is hopeless. Re7+ 51.Kd5 Kf6 52.Rb7 Re5+ 53.Kd4 Ra5 54.Rxa7 This endgame is sometimes a draw, but not in this csae, with a weak kingside and the pawn on the sixth and not the seventh, as you will find out why soon! f4 55.Kc4 Ra2 56.Kc5 h5 57.Ra8 Rc2+ 58.Kb6 Rb2+ 59.Kc5 Rc2+ 60.Kb6 Rb2+ 61.Ka7 Rxg2 62.Rb8 Rf2 63.Rb6+ Kg7 64.Kb7 Rxf3 65.a7 Ra3 66.Ra6 Rb3+ 67.Kc6 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nakamura,H2785Giri,A27711–02017D80Altibox Norway Chess 20171

Photo taken before the Rook/Knight vs. Rook/Bishop endgame

MVL was unable to find very much against Vishy Anand in a Caro-Kann, and though the game was rather interesting, it didn't seem as if Black had any real problems. Simplifications led to a drawn pawn endgame.

The Frenchman hit a solid wall in Vishy's Caro-Kann

Carlsen was always the one putting pressure, but it wasn't good enough

Carlsen came out with the Italian looking for a victory against So, but the American proved to be too solid. Despite winning a pawn, the resulting knight endgame was impossible to win for Carlsen due to the reduced amount of pawns and the activity of Black's pieces. The final tactic that simplified into a drawn pawn endgame is rather instructive.

What happens when you lose your no-losses streak? You start counting again!

The other Italian of the day was between Kramnik and Karjakin, a Russian duel that was a close call for the recent challenger for the World Championship

Big Vlad put enormous pressure on his opponent

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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0-0 Nf6 5.d3 0-0 6.a4 a6 7.c3 d5 8.exd5 Nxd5 9.Nbd2 Kh8 10.Re1 f6 11.d4 Ba7 11...exd4 12.Nb3 Ba7 13.Nbxd4 Nxd4 14.Nxd4 was on the better side for White in Giri-Tomashevsky of September last year. White's pressure stems from the space advantage on the queenside and the weakness on e6. It isn't very serious, and probably black can hold with precise play, but it's much more comfortable to play white. 12.dxe5 Nxe5 13.Nxe5 fxe5 14.Nf3 14.Ne4 seems natural, but it releases the pressure on e5. Nf3 is a bit more ambitious but it clearly has a couple of problems, mainly the weakness on f2. 14...c6 14...Bxf2+ was already possible, but not entirely clear 15.Kxf2 Qh4+ 16.Kg1 Qxc4 17.Rxe5 and after a forced sequence White's position is still slightly more comfortable. His pieces are a bit more active, even though again, black should be ok. 15.Bg5 Choices aren't easy in chess, and Kramnik presents his opponent with three distinct ones: 15.Bxd5!? cxd5 16.Rxe5 Bg4 looks a bit dodgy. White will retain extra material (at least one pawn, more if he wants) but his structure on the kingside will be shattered and his king permanently exposed. These kinds of positions sometimes boil down to style, and Kramnik here prefers the initiative. 15...Qb6?! Not the most precise. Kramnik ditches the f2 pawn for piece activity and central control 15...Bxf2+ 16.Kxf2 16.Kh1 Qd6 17.Re2 Be6! 18.Rxf2 e4 is also wildly unclear 16...Qxg5 17.Kg1 Qd8 18.Nxe5 seems to be a bit better for White 15...Qd6!? Keeping the defense on the e5 pawn, now for example: 16.Bh4!? 16.Re4 Qg6! 17.Bxd5 cxd5 18.Rxe5 Bg4 19.Kh1! with a huge mess 16...Bg4 17.Bg3 Bxf3 18.gxf3 Rf5∞ 16.Bxd5 cxd5 16...Qxf2+ 17.Kh1 cxd5 18.Qxd5 with e5 falling next, White's king is much safer than Black's. 17.Be3! Qxb2 18.Bxa7 Rxa7 19.Qxd5 Kramnik is a cunning trickster b6 19...Qxc3? 20.Qd6! Rg8 21.Qb8 and the rook cannot be saved! 20.Rab1?! 20.Qc4 the pawn deserved to live. This move also threatens Ra2, winning on the spot e4! 21.Ra2 Rc7 22.Qxc7 Qxa2 23.Rxe4± 20...Qxc3 21.Rxb6 Raf7 22.Qxe5 Qxe5 23.Rxe5 White is up a pawn in the resulting endgame, but because of the pressure on f2, the superiority of a bishop over a knight, and the reduced amount of pawns, winning is tough. Bg4 24.Re3 Kg8 25.Ne5 25.Rxa6 Bxf3 26.Rxf3 Rxf3 27.gxf3 Rxf3 is a draw as the rook gets in behind the pawn 25...Rxf2 26.h3 Bc8 27.Nc6 Rf1+ 28.Kh2 R1f6 29.a5 h6 30.Ne7+ Kf7 31.Nc6 Kg8 32.Rc3 White retains some pressure, but now Black can neutralize it and Karjakin has no problems doing so. Kh7 33.Ne7 Bd7 34.Nd5 Rf5 35.Rd6 Bb5 36.Nc7 Bf1 37.Rd7 Rf2 38.Rg3 R8f7 39.Rxf7 Rxf7 40.Rc3 Rf5 41.Rc1 Bd3 42.Rc3 Bf1 43.Rc1 Bd3 44.Rc3 Bf1 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Kramnik,V2808Karjakin,S2781½–½2017C50Altibox Norway Chess 20171

Caruana essayed the Queen's Gambit Accepted against Aronian, an opening that is not in vogue but has never quite died. This game will do little to bolster its reputation, as the pressure that White exerted straight from the opening was considerable. Aronian, however, played a few inaccurate moves and allowed Black's pieces to reposition. Caruana was able to build a solid configuration, and the presence of opposite colored bishops sealed the draw.

Aronian, who was described by Caruana in the post-mortem as a "cheapo artist". Levon agreed, but today it wasn't enough to reel the full point in.

A tournament wouldn't be complete without a giant chess set

Today's commentators from Norway were Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam and Nigel Short

Replay games of the round

 
Live: American Cup Women Champions 2025
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½–½
Abrahamyan-Lee
MoveNResultEloPlayers
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1.e4 4 c5 19 2.Nf3 9 Nc6 9 3.Bb5 26 e6 7 4.Bxc6 57 bxc6 34 5.b3 6 e5 8 6.Bb2 4:19 B30: Sicilian: 2...Nc6 3 Bb5, lines without ...g6. d6 47 7.d3 1:04 Ne7 6:47 8.Nbd2 1:38 Ng6 4:33 9.g3N 1:27 9.h4 h5 10.Nc4 f6 11.Ne3 d5 12.g3 Be6 13.Qe2 Bd6 14.0-0 Kf7 15.Ne1 9...Bh3 5:16 10.Qe2 3:17 Be7 4:09 11.0-0-0 5:44 0-0 2:58 12.Nc4 24:42 Qd7 5:56 13.Ne3 4:21 f5! 1:11 14.exf5 2:19 Bxf5 21 15.Nd2 39 Bh3 3:59 16.Kb1 10:04 Rf7 4:05 17.f3 2:20 Raf8 50 18.Rde1 3:18 d5 9:43 19.Rhg1 6:56 Bd8 1:52 20.Ba3 6:29 Qd6 3:04 20...Re8 21.Nd1 2:45 Ba5 10:46 22.Qe3 5:26 d4 2:26 22...Rd8= remains equal. 23.Qe2!± 1:13 Qd5 14 24.Nf2 1:24 Bf5 2:39 25.Rd1 2:59 25.h4± 25...Bc3 3:50 25...Bxd2 26.Qxd2 26.Rxd2 Be6= 26...Qxf3 26.h4 21 Bxd2 14:50 27.Rxd2 12 Bd7 37 28.Ne4 3:13 Rxf3 6 29.h5 29 29.Bxc5?! R8f7= 29...Re3 3:32 29...Nh8± 30.Qh2+- 1:35 Nh8 2:10 31.Bxc5 1:30 31.h6+- Black must now prevent hxg7. Bf5 32.hxg7 32.Bxc5 Rf7 32...Kxg7 33.Bxc5 31...Rb8 3:42 31...Rff3± 32.Ba3! 2:37 32.Bxa7 Ra8± 32...Nf7 33 33.Rf1 14 Inhibits Bf5. Qa5 1:50 33...h6± 34.Bc1 56 Be6 29 35.Qh4 39 Bd5 2:04
36.h6! 58 Qd8 1:02 36...gxh6 37.Nf6+ 37.Rdf2 Bxe4 38.dxe4 Qd8+- 37...Kh8 38.Rdf2+- 36...Bxe4 37.dxe4 37.Rdf2 1:22 Qxh4 9 38.gxh4 1 Nxh6 1:05 39.Bxe3 25 dxe3 1 40.Rg2 47 Bxe4 38 40...Rf8 41.Rxf8+ Kxf8 41.dxe4 1 Endgame KRR-KRN Rd8 6 42.Re1 42 Nf7 37 43.Rxe3 7 Rd1+ 4 44.Kb2 3 Rh1 4 44...Rd7 is a better defense. 45.h5 Kf8 45.Rc3 1:28 Rxh4 2 46.Rxc6 4 g5 9 47.Rc8+ 44 Kg7 1 48.c4 5 Nd6 2:41 49.Rxg5+ 59 Kf6 8 50.Rcg8 4 Nxe4 40 51.Rg2 49 h5 21 52.Rf8+ 55 Ke7 13 53.Ra8 17 Rg4 29 54.Rxa7+ 4 Kf6 4 55.Rh2 20 h4 33 56.Rh7 23 Kg5 1 57.a4 32 Nc5 1:28 58.a5 1:32 Rg3 35 59.Rg7+ 40 Kf5 2 60.Rf7+ 36 Ke6 16 61.Rc7 16 Kd6 12
62.Rxc5? Kxc5 2
63.Rxh4? 31 KR-KR. White is two pawns up. White has to play 63.a6!+- 63...Kb4= 9
64.c5+! 55 Kxc5 1:15 65.Ra4 45 Kb5 25 The position is equal. 66.a6 29 Intending a7 and mate. Rg8 4 67.a7 17 Ra8 2 68.Re4 11 Rxa7 6 69.Rxe5+ 2 Kb4 7 70.Re4+ 5 Kb5 3 71.Kc3 7 Rc7+ 3 72.Rc4 45 Rxc4+ 6 73.bxc4+ 4 Kc5 2 74.Kc2 5 Kxc4 4 White really could win this. Weighted Error Value: White=0.16 (very precise) /Black=0.41 Mistake: White=2 Black=8 Inaccurate: White=5 Black=2 OK: White=28 Black=17 Best: White=1 Black=4 Strong: White=1 Black=1 ½–½
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StWhiteEloWBlackEloBResRndid
Kaustuv,K2407Majumder Shrayan21112.151760314
Abrahamyan,T2310Lee,A23863.21279479
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Pairings and results of Norway Chess 2017

Round 1: June 6, 2017 in Clarion Hotel Energy
Hikaru Nakamura
1-0
 Anish Giri
Levon Aronian
½-½
 Fabiano Caruana
Magnus Carlsen
½-½
 Wesley So
M. Vachier-Lagrave
½-½
 Vishy Anand
Vladimir Kramnik
½-½
 Sergey Karjakin
Round 2: June 7, 2017 in Clarion Hotel Energy
Hikaru Nakamura   Levon Aronian
Anish Giri   Sergey Karjakin
Fabiano Caruana   Magnus Carlsen
Wesley So   M. Vachier-Lagrave
Vishy Anand   Vladimir Kramnik
Round 3: June 8, 2017 in Clarion Hotel Energy
Levon Aronian   Anish Giri
Magnus Carlsen   Hikaru Nakamura
M. Vachier-Lagrave   Fabiano Caruana
Sergey Karjakin   Vishy Anand
Vladimir Kramnik   Wesley So
Round 4:  June 10, 2017 in Clarion Hotel Energy
Hikaru Nakamura   M. Vachier-Lagrave
Anish Giri   Vishy Anand
Levon Aronian   Magnus Carlsen
Fabiano Caruana   Vladimir Kramnik
Wesley So   Sergey Karjakin
Round 5: June 11, 2017 in Clarion Hotel Energy
Magnus Carlsen   Anish Giri
Vishy Anand   Wesley So
M. Vachier-Lagrave   Levon Aronian
Sergey Karjakin   Fabiano Caruana
Vladimir Kramnik   Hikaru Nakamura
Round 6: June 12, 2017 in Clarion Hotel Energy
Hikaru Nakamura   Sergey Karjakin
Anish Giri   Wesley So
Levon Aronian   Vladimir Kramnik
Fabiano Caruana   Vishy Anand
Magnus Carlsen   M. Vachier-Lagrave
Round 7: June 14, 2017 in Stavanger Concert Hall
Wesley So   Fabiano Caruana
Vishy Anand   Hikaru Nakamura
M. Vachier-Lagrave   Anish Giri
Sergey Karjakin   Levon Aronian
Vladimir Kramnik   Magnus Carlsen
Round 8: June 15, 2017 in Stavanger Concert Hall
Hikaru Nakamura   Wesley So
Anish Giri   Fabiano Caruana
Levon Aronian   Vishy Anand
Magnus Carlsen   Sergey Karjakin
M. Vachier-Lagrave   Vladimir Kramnik
Round 9: June 16, 2017 in Stavanger Concert Hall
Fabiano Caruana   Hikaru Nakamura
Wesley So   Levon Aronian
Vishy Anand   Magnus Carlsen
Sergey Karjakin   M. Vachier-Lagrave
Vladimir Kramnik   Anish Giri

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Grandmaster Alejandro Ramirez has been playing tournament chess since 1998. His accomplishments include qualifying for the 2004 and 2013 World Cups as well as playing for Costa Rica in the 2002, 2004 and 2008 Olympiads. He currently has a rating of 2583 and is author of a number of popular and critically acclaimed ChessBase-DVDs.

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