Bilbao, Rd. 7: Three draws on fianchetto day

by André Schulz
7/20/2016 – Round seven was fianchetto day in Bilbao: in all three games White fianchettoed the king's bishop. The two Catalans of Hikaru Nakamura vs Wesley So and Anish Giri vs Sergey Karjakin were drawn without much excitement and Magnus Carlsen and Wei Yi eventually also split the point. Perhaps the game between Nakamura and So was the most interesting of the round - their heartbeat was measured during the game.
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Sergey Karjakin and Anish Giri are not known for making fire on board in each and every game and their Catalan was indeed a rather peaceful one. The pieces gradually and quietly left the board until the game finally ended in a draw.

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Be7 5.Bg2 d5 6.Nf3 0-0 7.0-0 c6 8.Qc2 Nbd7 9.Bf4 b6 10.cxd5 10.Rd1 Bb7 11.Nc3 dxc4 12.Nd2 Nd5 13.Nxc4 Nxf4 14.gxf4 Qc7 15.e3 1-0 (55) Wang,Y (2718)-Harikrishna,P (2753) Huaian 2016 10...cxd5 11.Rc1 Bb7 12.Qb3 Rc8 13.Rxc8 Qxc8 14.Nc3 Nh5 15.Bg5 Bxg5 16.Nxg5 Qb8 16...Nhf6 17.e3 a6 18.Rc1 Qc7 19.Bf1 Rc8 20.Nf3 Ne4 21.Bd3 Qd8 22.Ne2 Rxc1+ 23.Nxc1 g6 24.Ne2 Qf6 25.Bxe4 dxe4 26.Ne5 Nxe5 1/2-1/2 (26) Straka,Z (2547)-Pessoa,F (2566) ICCF email 2013 17.e3 Nhf6 18.Bf1 Rc8 19.a4 h6 20.Nf3 Ne4 21.a5 Bc6 22.Ba6 bxa5 23.Qc2 Bb7 24.Rxa5 Bxa6 25.Rxa6 Rc7 26.Kg2 Qb4 27.Ra4 Qb7 28.Ra3 Nb6 29.Ne5 Nc4 30.Nxc4 Rxc4 31.Qe2 Nxc3 32.bxc3 Qe7 33.Qa2 Rc7 34.Ra5 g6 35.h4 h5 36.Qa3 Qxa3 37.Rxa3 a5 38.Rxa5 Rxc3
Close to the finish line the black and white pawns do their best to form a nice symmetrical pattern. 39.Ra8+ Kg7 40.Ra5 Kg8 41.Ra8+ Kg7 42.Ra5 Kg8 43.Ra8+ ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Giri,A2785Karjakin,S2773½–½2016E089th Masters Final 20167

Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So also played a Catalan but even though Nakamura tried to get something going Wesley So had no trouble to parry all winning attempts by White.

 
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1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 0-0 7.0-0 c6 8.Qc2 b6 9.Rd1 Nbd7 10.b3 In Giri - Karjakin the bishop went to f4. 10.Bf4 10...Ba6 11.a4 c5 12.Na3 Bb7 13.Qb2 Qc8 Nakamura also plays this line with Black. 13...Ne4 14.Be1 f5 15.e3 Bf6 16.Rac1 Qe7 17.b4 Bc6 18.Qb3 a5= 1-0 (99) Le,Q (2694)-Nakamura,H (2733) Cap d'Agde 2010 14.Rac1 Bc6 15.dxc5 bxc5 16.cxd5 exd5 17.Nh4 Re8 18.Nf5 Bf8 19.Bf4 Qb7
19...a6= 20.Nb5!? Nakamura tries to spice things up. Bxb5 21.axb5 Qxb5 22.Ne3 Rac8 23.Nxd5 Nxd5 24.Bxd5 White has the slightly better pawn-structure. Nb6 24...Rxe2? 25.Qa1 and after Ree8? White wins material: 26.Qxa7 eyeing the knight on d7 and the pawn on f7. 25.Bc4 Nxc4 26.Rxc4 Rcd8 27.Ra1 Re6 27...Rd7 28.Be3 After 28.Rxa7 Rd1+ 29.Kg2 Re1 Black is very active. 28...Rb8 29.Qc2 Qxb3 30.Qxb3 Rxb3 31.Rxa7 Re8 32.Rc7 Rb2 33.Bxc5 33.Kf1!? is the move the engines propose. 33...Bxc5 34.R7xc5 Rbxe2 35.Rc8 Re1+ 36.Kg2 g6 37.h4 Rxc8 38.Rxc8+ Kg7 39.Rc7 Rd1 40.Rc8 Re1 41.Rc7 Rd1 42.Rc8 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nakamura,H2787So,W2770½–½2016E159th Masters Final 20167

But the game between Nakamura and So nevertheless was something special - the heartbeat of the players was measured.

As it turned out Nakamura was a bit cooler than So.

Magnus Carlsen and Wei Yi did not play a Catalan but against Wei Yi's Grünfeld Carlsen still fianchettoed his king's bishop. In round two Carlsen seemed to be well-prepared against the young Chinese and today the World Champion again appeared to have distinct opening goals. The game soon turned into an endgame in which, however, White did not have much winning chances if Black played correctly. As Wei Yi did not make any grave errors the game eventually ended in a draw.

 
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1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.0-0 Nf6 5.c4 0-0 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.d4 Nb6 8.Nc3 Nc6 9.d5 Na5 10.e4 c6 11.Bf4 Nac4 Not so long ago this position occurred in a game of Jon-Ludvig Hammer, friend and second of Carlsen: 11...cxd5 12.Nxd5 Nxd5 13.exd5 Nc4 14.b3 Nb6 15.d6 exd6 16.Nd4 d5 17.Rc1 Bd7 18.Qd2 Qf6 19.Be3 Qd6 20.a4 Rac8 21.Ne2 Rxc1 22.Rxc1 Rc8 23.Rxc8+ Nxc8 24.Bxd5 b6 25.Bf4 Qe7 26.Nc3 Bh3 27.Ne4 Be5 28.Bxf7+ Kg7 29.Bh6+ Kxf7 30.Ng5+ Ke8 31.Nxh3 Nd6 32.Qd5 Nf5 33.Bg5 Qd6 34.Qg8+ Kd7 35.Qxh7+ Kc6 36.Qxa7 Qd1+ 37.Kg2 Qxb3 38.Qa8+ Kd7 39.Nf4 1-0 (39) Hammer,J (2665) -Grandelius,N (2623) Oslo 2015 12.Qe2 cxd5 13.exd5 Two years ago Wei Yi, too, had this line on the board: 13.Nxd5 Nxd5 14.exd5 Nxb2 15.Rac1 Bf5 16.Bc7 Bd3 17.Bxd8 Bxe2 18.Bxe7 Bxf1 19.Bxf1 Rfe8 20.d6 Rxe7 21.dxe7 Re8 22.Rc7 Bf6 23.Rxb7 1/2-1/2 (23) Xiu,D (2553)-Wei,Y (2641) Zhongshan 2014 13...Bg4 14.h3 Bxf3 15.Bxf3 Nd6 16.Rfe1 Re8 17.Rac1 a6 18.b3 Rc8 19.Qd2 Nd7 20.Na4 Rxc1 21.Qxc1 Bd4 22.Qd2 Bg7 23.h4 h5 24.Nb2 Nb5 25.Re3 Nd4 26.Bg2 e5 27.dxe6 Nxe6 28.Nc4 The alternative was 28.Rd3!? Nxf4 29.Rxd7 Ne2+ 30.Kh2 Qf6 31.Nd1 b5 and now White might try something, e.g. 32.Bd5 Re7 33.Rd6 Qf5 34.Kg2 28...Nxf4 29.Rxe8+ Qxe8 30.Qxf4 b5 31.Ne3 Qe5 32.Qxe5 Bxe5 33.b4 Bd6 34.Bb7 Nb8 35.Nd5 Kf8 36.Kg2 Ke8 37.f3 f5 38.Kf2 Kd7 39.Nf4 Kc7 40.Bd5 Bxf4 41.gxf4 Kd6 42.Bf7 Nc6 43.a3 43.Bxg6 Nxb4 44.Bxh5 Nxa2 45.Bg6 Ke6 46.h5 Kf6 47.Bh7 a5 leads to a draw but offers both sides chances to go wrong. 43...Ne7 44.Ke1 Kd7 45.Kd1 Kd6 46.Kd2 Kd7 47.Kd3 Kd6 48.Kc2 Kd7 49.Kb3 Kd6 50.a4 Nc6 50...Kd7= 50...Nd5? 51.Bxg6 Ke6 52.axb5 axb5 53.Bxh5 Nxf4 54.Be8 is a line White dreams of. 51.axb5 axb5 52.Kc3 Ne7 53.Kd2 Nd5 53...Kd7= 54.Bxg6 Nxb4 55.Bxh5 Nd5 56.Be8 Nxf4 57.Bxb5 Ke5 58.Bf1 Ng6 59.h5 Nh4 60.Ke2 Nxf3 60...Nxf3 forces the draw. The black king simply goes to h8 and White has the "wrong" bishop - White cannot force Black's king out of the corner and cannot bring his pawn to queen. ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2855Wei Yi2696½–½2016D769th Masters Final 20167

 

Results of round 7

  Title Name Country ELO Res. Title Name Country ELO
1 GM Anish Giri
 
 2790 1 - 1 GM Sergey Karjakin
 
 2779
2 GM Magnus Carlsen
 
 2851 1 - 1 GM Wei Yi
 
 2694
3 GM Hikaru Nakamura
 
 2787 1 - 1 GM Wesley So
 
 2775

 

Games - Rounds 1 to 7

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 0-0 6.0-0 d6 7.h3 Ne7 8.d4 Bb6 9.Bd3 Ng6 10.Re1 Re8 11.Nbd2 c6 12.Nf1 d5 13.Bg5 dxe4 14.Rxe4 h6 15.Bxf6 Qxf6 16.Re3 Bf5 17.Bxf5 Qxf5 18.Ng3 Qd7 19.Nxe5 Nxe5 20.Rxe5 Rxe5 21.dxe5 Qe7 22.Qh5 g6 23.Qe2 Qg5 24.Kf1 Kf8 25.Re1 Re8 26.Qd3 Rxe5 27.Qd6+ Re7 28.Ne4 Qf5 29.Re2 Bc7 30.Qd4 Qe5 31.Qxa7 Qh2 32.Ng3 Bxg3 33.Rxe7 Qh1+ 34.Ke2 Kxe7 35.Qe3+ Kf6 36.Qxg3 Qb1 37.Qf4+ Kg7 38.Qd4+ Kg8 39.Qb4 Qxa2 40.Qxb7 Qc4+ 41.Ke3 Qc5+ 42.Kf3 Qd5+ 43.Kg3 Qg5+ 44.Kh2 Qf4+ 45.Kg1 Qc1+ 46.Kh2 Qf4+ ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Karjakin,S2773So,W2770½–½2016C659th Masters Final 20161
Carlsen,M2855Nakamura,H27870–12016B209th Masters Final 20161
Giri,A2785Wei Yi2696½–½2016C509th Masters Final 20161
So,W2770Nakamura,H2787½–½2016E329th Masters Final 20162
Wei Yi2696Carlsen,M28550–12016B069th Masters Final 20162
Karjakin,S2773Giri,A2785½–½2016C509th Masters Final 20162
Giri,A2785So,W2770½–½2016C509th Masters Final 20163
Carlsen,M2855Karjakin,S27731–02016B509th Masters Final 20163
Nakamura,H2787Wei Yi2696½–½2016D419th Masters Final 20163
Wei Yi2696Karjakin,S2773½–½2016E009th Masters Final 20164
Carlsen,M2855So,W27701–02016C659th Masters Final 20164
Nakamura,H2787Giri,A2785½–½2016D459th Masters Final 20164
Karjakin,S2773Nakamura,H2787½–½2016D379th Masters Final 20165
Giri,A2785Carlsen,M2855½–½2016D229th Masters Final 20165
So,W2770Wei Yi2696½–½2016C429th Masters Final 20165
Wei Yi2696Giri,A27851–02016C679th Masters Final 20166
Nakamura,H2787Carlsen,M2855½–½2016E069th Masters Final 20166
So,W2770Karjakin,S2773½–½2016E469th Masters Final 20166
Giri,A2785Karjakin,S2773½–½2016E009th Masters Final 20167
Carlsen,M2855Wei Yi2696½–½2016D769th Masters Final 20167
Nakamura,H2787So,W2770½–½2016D029th Masters Final 20167

 

Standings

1 m Magnus Carlsen NOR 12,0 4.5 0.0 0.00 31.50 2855
2 m Hikaru Nakamura USA 9,0 4.0 0.0 4.00 34.00 2787
3 m Wei Yi CHN 8,0 3.5 0.0 1.00 25.50 2696
4 m Sergey Karjakin RUS 6,0 3.0 4.0 0.00 20.50 2773
5 m Anish Giri NED 6,0 3.0 3.0 1.00 23.50 2785
6 m Wesley So USA 6,0 3.0 3.0 0.00 22.00 2770
 

Yesterday Valverde, coach of the local soccer team Athletico Bilbao, came to visit Ruslan Ponomariov and Leontxo Garcia.

Tournament schedule

Round Day Time
Opening ceremony 12.July 16:00
1. round 13.July 16:00
2. round 14.July 16:00
3. round 15.July 16:00
4. round 16.July 16:00
5. round 17.July 16:00
Free day 18.July  
6. round 19.July 16:00
7. round 20.July 16:00
8. round 21.July 16:00
9. round 22.July 16:00
10. round 23.July 15:00
Closing ceremony... 23.July  

Photos: Tournament page...

 

André Schulz started working for ChessBase in 1991 and is an editor of ChessBase News.

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