10/3/2015 – After getting crushed in game one of the World Cup final, and blundering badly in game two, Sergey Karjakin was a hair's breath away from booking his ticket back home. But then in a very promising position (move 28) Peter Svidler blundered and Sergey was able to clinch game three. The score is now 1:2, and in the must-win game four he has white. Game three report.
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Another incomprehensible game in the finals of the World Cup. Peter Svidler's play today was very sedate, trying to trade off pieces and not creating complications. Sergey Karjakin desperately went for the throat, a move that usually doesn't work in top level chess. Svidler comfortably defended against the threats and it was clear that Karjakin's knight had overstepped his boundaries and was now stuck in the enemy camp. Svidler had more than one move to capture it, or at least get a decisive advantage, but instead of that he horribly blundered and Karjakin simply picked up a free rook:
Karjakin catches a break: if he wins tomorrow he forces rapid playoffs
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1.e4c5Certailny no Spanish will do when you must play for a win, but even in the Sicilians White can try to play a relatively dry variation.2.Nf3d63.d4cxd44.Qxd4!?Of course not the main line, but completely possible. Honestly I expected some king of early c3 Sicilian, but Qxd4 with the idea of going into a Maroczy structure also seems like a good idea.a65.c4Nc66.Qe3Nf67.h3g68.Nc3Bg79.Be2Nd79...0-0is certainly the main line. There have been many games from this position, though most end in White wins.10.Rb1Nde511.0-00-0The Maroczy structures all share similarities. White is trying to prevent Black from creating any counterplay, which Karjakin desperately needs. For this reason Black chooses to put his pieces in such a way to allow an early f5, even if it weakens his position.12.Rd1Nxf3+13.Bxf3f514.exf5Bxf515.Be4The more pieces are traded off, the happier Svidler is. If he is able to develop his bishop on c1 it is difficult to imagine that Black can create something concrete.Qd716.Nd5Qe617.Bxf5Qxf518.Bd2Rae819.Bc3Still trying to trade pieces, though this one is a bit too straightforward. White had other moves that didn't sideline his knight. 19.Qe1e620.Ne3Qf721.Ng4!?Trying to trade pieces on h6.19...e620.Nb6d521.Bxg7Kxg722.Qc5This looks natural as Black doesn't want to advance the d-pawn and trade queens.Rf623.b4Ne524.cxd5Nd3Trying to go for some counterplay, but it isn't much yet.25.Qe3Nxf2?!Objectively a bad move, but Karjakin can't afford to trade queens.26.Rf1Qe427.Rbe127.Rfe1!+-Is unnatural but much stronger, with the threat of Qxf2 (with the other rook this is not a threat)exd528.Qxf2Rxf229.Rxe4in the case of the b-rook moving to e1, Black here would have Rxf1+, turning the tables.27.Qxe4?!Nxe428.Rxf6Kxf629.dxe6Kxe6gives Black some slight edge in an endgame.27.Qc3Also looks strong, preserving all the pins, threatening Nd7 for example.27...exd5?!28.Rxf2?28.Qc3!and the game is basically over. Black simply loses material, the variations are not even difficult to calculate.28...Qh429.Qd2??29.Qxe8Qxf2+30.Kh2Qxb631.Re7+Kh632.Rd7will probably end in a draw. Black's king is too weak to win.29...Rxf2To me it is unclear what Svidler missed. Of course White is just lost in this position as the R on e1 is hanging in the case of Qxf2.30.Qc3+d4White is simply down massive amounts of material and is getting mated.0–1
A determined Karjakin beat Svidler. Or rather he was gifted a full point...
The finals become more interesting as Karjakin schemes his way of defeating Svidler with white
As you can see from this picture, Svidler wasn't in
particular time trouble to have blundered this way
Personally, the quality of the games that we have seen on this final show why the massive KO format is a poor way of determining a World Champion, as it did in the past. The players are clearly beyond exhaustion, outside forces are influencing the quality of the game to a greater extent than acceptable. I cannot imagine Svidler and Karjakin, such prominent and powerful players over the board, playing at this level with so many blunders in only three games in any other tournament.
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Nicholas Pert:
Typical mistakes by 1600-1900 players
As the National Head Coach for the English Chess Federation I train many improving players, and see some typical mistakes that repeat themselves. In this DVD I have taken a large collection of games played by players, predominantly in the rating range 1600-1900, and I have looked for typical mistakes. I have broken these examples into various themes such as “Miscalculating Forcing Lines”, “Being Too Materialistic” and “King Safety” amongst others. Each theme has several examples to demonstrate typical mistakes, and there are various test throughout the DVD so that the viewer can try and find the best move in certain positions. This should be a great tool for players to use in order to improve their middlegame and endgame play. It will hopefully also highlight any areas that you need to work on in order to improve quickly. Enjoy the DVD!
Video running time: 4 hours 05 min (English)
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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 13 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.
Alejandro RamirezGrandmaster 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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Nicholas Pert:
