Candidates: First American challenger since Fischer

by Macauley Peterson
3/28/2018 – With a confident performance in the last round, Fabiano Caruana secured victory in the 2018 Candidates Tournament in Berlin. He played against Alexander Grischuk with a half point lead, and as the round progressed it became clear that a draw would be enough for the tournament victory. But that wasn't enough for Caruana, who pressed on for the full point and finished with a fantastic 9.0 / 14 score and clear first. | Photo: World Chess

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Mamedyarov second, Karjakin third

All the tiebreak scenarios notwithstanding, one outcome was as simple as can be: If Fabiano Caruana won on Tuesday, he would be Magnus Carlsen's next challenger.

Caruana was able to bide his time, gaining a comfortable position and an edge on the clock, while watching his rivals on neighbouring boards struggle to find any advantage. After the time control it looked unlikely that Mamedyarov could pull off the necessary win with Black, and a critical blunder by Karjakin ended the Russian's winning chances. Two draws in those games would mean that a draw would be enough for Caruana as well, but by then he was already close to winning.

In an admirable show of fortitude and class, he saw no reason to offer a draw, despite the tournament situation, nor was Grischuk in a position to offer one himself. And so Caruana proceeded to cautiously convert his winning advantage, carefully but smoothly, until Grischuk finally extended his hand over six hours after the game began. It was the last to finish and one of the longest games of the tournament.

Grischuk resigns

Grischuk resigns | Photo: Niki Riga

Standings after fourteen rounds

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Let's take a look at the results, starting with the shortest and most expected:

Aronian ½-½ So

Lasting barely more than 20 minutes, the players repeated moves and a draw was sealed after just 17 moves. It was a disappointing tournament for both players, and with nothing riding on the outcome of this game, this was easily the least surprising result of the past three weeks.

One small surprise was the emergence after the game of Israeli GM Maxim Rodshtein, who turned up at the post-game press conference for the first time, evidently having been in Berlin working with Levon Aronian, though previously unknown outside his team.

Afterwards, both Aronian and So graciously agreed to a brief debriefing from Daniel King:

Wesley So chats with Daniel King | Power Play Chess

 
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1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 4.e3 Nf6 5.d4 cxd4 6.exd4 d5 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Qb3 Nxc3 9.Bc4 e6 10.bxc3 Bd7 11.Be2 A35: Symmetrical English: 2 Nc3 Nc6 3 Nf3 Na5 12.Qc2 LiveBook: 3 Games Bg7N The position is equal. 13.Ba3 Bf8 14.Bb2 Bg7 15.Ba3 Bf8 16.Bb2 Bg7 17.Ba3 Levon's draw offer looks to be an improvement over a 2010 amateur rapid game which continued 17.c4?! after which White's "hanging pawns" look dangerously weak. Cobb, Charles (2396) 0-1 Martin, Benjamin (2375) 4NCL-chT rapid ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Aronian,L2794So,W2799½–½2018World Chess Candidates 201814

Karjakin ½-½ Ding

Going into the game, Ding was aware of the remote chance of a three-way tie, of course, and tried to have Karjakin's predicament work to his advantage. "I know Sergey will try to win with white and I will wait for my chances."

If Karjakin could win, he would win the tournament provided Caruana and Mamedyarov did no better than draw. If both lost, then even a draw would be enough.

 
Karjakin vs Ding
Position after 21...g5

In this position, the black bishop is theoretically bad compared to the white knight, but it's hard for White to breakthrough and make concrete progress. Ding showed that Black also has chances in the position, by locking the queenside and advancing his pawns on the kingside. White managed to bring his knight to d5, but just at that moment, a tactical trick from Ding cost White a pawn, suddenly making Karjakin's position very vulnerable.

 
Karjakin vs. Ding
Position after 26...h4

Ding played quickly and confidently, but Karjakin also thought for mere seconds before playing 27.Nd5, the natural move, but a "terrible blunder" — as Karjakin later put it — missing an important tactical detail.

Ding checked his calculation for a few minutes before continuing with 27...h3+! The pawn cannot be taken on account of 28.Kxh3 g4+! winning immediately (and the move Karjakin says he "forgot"). Therefore forced was 28.Kg1 but after 28...Rxf3, and a clean pawn for the Chinese, Karjakin was fighting for his life. He could cling to a remote hope with the draw, but only by in case of some freak accident in Caruana's game.

"Today was a bit stupid, but in the end probably I didn't deserve to win it", Karjakin summed up the tournament.

Ding remains the only undefeated player in Berlin. All in all, a great result and a huge learning experience, as he moves into the top ten in the world and solidifies his position as the best Chinese player.

Ding assess his own performance with Daniel King | Power Play Chess

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a3 0-0 9.Nc3 Bg4 10.Be3 Nd4 C84: Closed Ruy Lopez: Unusual White 6th moves 11.Bxd4 exd4 12.Nd5 c5 13.a4 Be6 14.Nxf6+ Bxf6 LiveBook: 5 Games 15.Bxe6 fxe6 16.Qe2 Qd7 17.b3
17...e5N Predecessor: 17...Qc7 18.Rfe1 1-0 (42) Motylev,A (2687)-Eljanov,P (2732) Poikovsky 2014 18.Ra2 b4 19.Nd2 Rae8 20.Raa1! Bd8 21.g3 g5 22.Nc4 Re6 23.a5 Ref6 24.f3 h5 25.Nb6 Qf7 26.Kg2 h4 27.Nd5
Strongly threatening f4. 27...h3+ 28.Kg1 Rxf3 29.g4! Kg7 30.Rxf3 Qxf3 31.Qxf3 Rxf3 32.Rf1! Rxf1+ 33.Kxf1 Bxa5 Endgame KB-KN 34.Ne7 Better is 34.Kf2! 34...Kf6 35.Nf5 Ke6 36.Ng3 Bd8 37.Nh1 a5 38.Ke2 d5 White must now prevent ...dxe4. 39.Nf2 Kd6 40.exd5 Kxd5 41.Ne4
41...Kc6 Black should play 41...c4! Threatens to win with ...c3. 42.bxc4+ Kc6 42.Kd2= Be7 43.Kc1! Kb5 44.Kb2 44.Kb1!= 44...a4 Black should try 44...Kb6 45.Ka2 45.bxa4+= was the only way to keep the balance. Kxa4 46.Ka2 45...a3 Precision: White = 65%, Black = 57%.
½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Karjakin,S2763Ding,L2769½–½2018World Chess Candidates 201814

Kramnik ½-½ Mamedyarov

Vladimir Kramnik played the whole tournament ambitiously and the last round was no exception. In a rarely played variation of the Catalan, he sacrificed a pawn in the opening, avoided several offers to repeat moves and secured good chances with an imaginative tactical game.

Polgar preferred Kramnik's position throughout the middlegame. "This game is not going to be a draw." But Kramnik's strong play cost him a lot of time and Mamedyarov capitalised after Kramnik missed a key chance on move 31.

 
Kramnik vs Mamedyarov
Position after 30...Re8

31.Bg5! would have presented Black with serious problems after the forced 31...Nh5 32.Nxc6 giving a clear white advantage. Instead, Kramnik hesitated with 31.h3 and faced the shot 31...Bxf2! which lead to an endgame in which White had to be careful.

Mamedyarov was clearly gutted when he eventually realised that there was nothing left in the position. He took some time to gather his emotions before offering a draw, and was consoled with a sympathetic pat on the back from the former World Champion.

At the press conference, Mamedyarov thanked his opponent for letting him play a full fighting game. Shakhriyar has had a marvelous year, and we'll be hearing more from him soon.

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 d5 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.0-0 dxc4 7.Ne5 Qd6 8.Na3 E05: Open Catalan: 5 Nf3 Be7 Rd8 9.Naxc4 Qa6 LiveBook: 4 Games 10.Qc2N White is slightly better. Predecessor: 10.Qb3 Rxd4 11.Bf4 Nbd7 12.Rac1 c6 13.Rfd1 Rxd1+ 14.Rxd1 h6 15.e4 Nb6 1/2-1/2 (67) So,W (2674)-Ljubojevic,L (2572) Amsterdam 2010 10...Rxd4 11.Bg5 Nbd7 12.Rfd1 Rxd1+ 13.Rxd1
Black must now prevent Nxd7. 13...Nxe5 14.Nxe5 Qa5 15.Bf4 Nd5! 16.Be4 g6 17.Bh6 Qc5 Don't go for 17...Qxa2? 18.Bxd5 Qa5 19.Nc4+- 18.Qd2 Qb4 19.Qc2 Qc5 20.Qd3 Qd6 21.Nc4 Qc5 22.Qf3 With the idea Ne5. c6 22...Nf6!? 23.Bd3 Bd7= 23.Bd3 Black needs to defend precisely. 23.Ne5 f5 But not 23.Bxd5 exd5 24.Ne3 Qd6 23...Nf6 24.e4 e5 25.Be3 Qb4
...Bg4 is the strong threat. 26.Nxe5 Qxb2 27.Bf4! Be6 Hoping for ...g5. 28.Rb1 Qxa2 29.Rxb7 Bc5 Threatens to win with ...Ng4! 30.Kg2 Re8 30...Bd4= keeps the balance. 31.h3 31.Bg5± Nh5 32.Nxc6 31...Bxf2= The position is equal. 32.Qxf2 Bxh3+! 33.Kg1! Qxf2+ 34.Kxf2 Rxe5! 35.Bxe5 Ng4+ 36.Kg1 36.Ke2 feels hotter. Nxe5 37.Rxa7 Kg7 38.Ke3 Kf6 39.Bc2 36...Nxe5 Endgame KRB-KBN 37.Be2 Kg7 38.Rxa7 Kf6 39.Ra5 Bd7 40.Kf2 Ke6 41.Ke3 Kd6 42.Ra1 h5 43.Rd1+ Ke7 44.Kd4 f6 45.Kc5 Bh3 46.Ra1 Bg2 47.Ra4 Ke6 48.Rd4 Nf3 49.Rd8 Ng5 50.Bc4+ Reject 50.Kxc6 Nxe4 51.Bc4+ Kf5 50...Ke7 51.Rg8 Nxe4+ 52.Kxc6 Nd6+ 53.Kc5 Nxc4 54.Kxc4 Kf7 Precision: White = 65%, Black = 79%.
½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Kramnik,V2800Mamedyarov,S2809½–½2018World Chess Candidates 201814

Grischuk 0-1 Caruana

Caruana came out of the opening well, in a Petroff that was very slow to develop with just 13 moves on the board after two hours of play. But with no problems whatsoever, he could watch his rivals' games unfold, while gauging how much risk to take.

Grischuk thought for over 30 minutes on 13.a3, after which we have a balanced position, but one with many options.

 
Grischuk vs Caruana
Position after 13.a3

13.O-O 14.b4 h6 15.Bg3 Two moves later Grischuk was already down to 13 minutes for his remaining 25 moves to reach time control. Black has a great position.

In the endgame, Caruana did well to keep things simple and under control. A good illustration was the very practical decision to take Grischuk's remaining passed pawn.

 
Grischuk vs Caruana
Position after 43.Rc2

The engine opts for 43...Rg1 and Caruana could have calculated a four-move sequence winning a piece, but 43...Rxb4 gives Grischuk no hope to win, barring an almost inconceivable blunder from Caruana. By this point Karjakin had drawn and Mamedyarov was very close to following suit. Caruana knew he likely only needed a draw as well. After move 44.Bc6, Caruana finally took off his sport coat, after five hours of play, and calmly advanced his pawn: 44...c3. The pawn is taboo as 45.Rxc3 Rd2+ would be mate in three.

Caruana's advantage grew

Caruana's smoothly growing advantage, resulting from a 79% precision score

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 Nxe4 4.dxe5 d5 5.Nbd2 Nxd2 6.Bxd2 C43: Petroff Defence: 3 d4 Be7 7.Bd3 7.Be2 0-0 8.0-0 c5 9.Bf4 Nc6 10.Qd2 Be6 11.c3 Qd7 12.h3 Rad8 13.Rfd1 h6 14.Bd3 Bf5 15.Bg3 Bxd3 16.Qxd3 Qe6 17.a3 b6 1/2-1/2 (31) Nepomniachtchi,I (2751) -Mamedyarov,S (2809) Moscow 2018 7...c5 8.c3 The position is equal. Nc6 9.0-0 Bg4 10.Re1 Qd7 11.h3 Bh5N Predecessor: 11...Bf5 12.Qc2 Bxd3 13.Qxd3 0-0 1-0 (47) Vallejo Pons,F (2696)-Perez Garcia,R (2426) Lugo 2009 12.Bf4 Qe6 13.a3 0-0 14.b4 h6 15.Bg3 b6 16.Nd4 Bxd1 17.Nxe6 fxe6 18.Raxd1 c4 19.Bc2 b5 20.a4 a6 21.f3! Bg5 22.Bf2 Bf4 23.Bc5 Rfd8 24.Bd6 Bg3 25.Re2 g5 26.Kf1 Kf7 27.Bc7 Re8 28.Bd6 Rac8 29.Ra1 Red8 30.Bb1 Rd7 31.Ra3 31.axb5= axb5 32.Ra6 31...d4! 32.axb5 axb5 33.cxd4 Nxd4 34.Rea2 Nc6 35.Be4 Bxe5 Don't do 35...Nxe5 36.Ra7 36.Bxc6 36.Bc5 36...Rxd6-+ 37.Bxb5 Rd1+ 38.Ke2 Rg1! 39.Ke3 Rb1 39...c3-+ 40.Bd3 Rd8 40.Ra7+
40.Ra8 Rxa8 41.Rxa8 40...Kf6! 41.Bd7 Bf4+ 42.Ke2 Rd8 Strongly threatening ...c3. 43.Rc2? 43.R2a6 is the only way for White. 43...Rxb4 44.Bc6
44...c3! 45.Rd7 45.Rxc3 Rd2+ 45...Rc8 46.Be4 h5 47.Kd3 47.Ra7 might work better. 47...Rb2-+ 48.Ke2 48.Bb7 is a better defense. Rc4 49.g3 Bxg3 50.Be4 48...h4 49.Rd1 Ke5 50.Ra1 Rd8 Threatens to win with .. .Rxc2+. 51.Rd1 Rdb8 52.Ra1 Bd2 53.Ra6 Rd8 54.Rc6 54.Ra3 was called for. 54...Rb1 55.Kf2 Ra1 56.Rc4 Rd4 57.Rc8 Rb4 58.Ke2? 58.Rd8 58...Kf4 58...Re1+ 59.Kf2 Rbb1 60.R2xc3
60...Bf4! 61.R3c5+ Kd6 62.R5c6+ Kd7 63.R8c7+ Bxc7 64.Rxc7+ Kxc7
59.Kf2 Rbb1 60.Rf8+ Ke5 aiming for ...Re1. 61.Bd3 Rb2 62.Ke2 62.Rc8 Raa2 63.Rxb2 cxb2 64.Rc4 62...Re1+ 63.Kf2 Rc1 Black is clearly winning. 64.Rxb2 cxb2 KRB-KRB 65.Rb8 Bc3 66.Be4 Bd4+ 67.Ke2 Kf4 68.Rb4 e5 69.Rb7 Kg3 Precision: White = 49%, Black = 79%.
0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Grischuk,A2767Caruana,F27840–12018World Chess Candidates 201814

Caruana

An ebullient new World Championship challenger | Photo: Niki Riga

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Macauley served as the Editor in Chief of ChessBase News from July 2017 to March 2020. He is the producer of The Full English Breakfast chess podcast, and was an Associate Producer of the 2016 feature documentary, Magnus.

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