Candidates Round 3: Ding bounces back, beats Caruana

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
3/19/2020 – The battle between pre-tournament favourites Ding Liren and Fabiano Caruana ended up favouring the Chinese, who responded convincingly to Caruana's provocative play in the opening to get his first win of the tournament after back-to-back losses in the first two rounds. The remaining games finished drawn, which means Wang Hao, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave are sharing the lead on 2 out of 3. Expert analysis by GMs STEPHEN GORDON and DANIEL KING. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / FIDE

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Mental fortitude

The eight-player Candidates tournament is one of the most prestigious global chess events, held every two years. The event will determine who will challenge the defender Magnus Carlsen for the title of the World Chess Champion. This year’s event has a prize fund of 500,000 Euros, which is the highest ever in the history of the Candidates tournaments.


Results of Round 3
Name Result Name
Ding Liren 1 - 0 Caruana Fabiano
Giri Anish ½ - ½ Vachier-Lagrave Maxime
Grischuk Alexander ½ - ½ Wang Hao
Alekseenko Kirill ½ - ½ Nepomniachtchi Ian

Round four takes place on Saturday, March 21 at 4:00 p.m. local time. Pairings:

Name Result Name
Caruana Fabiano   Nepomniachtchi Ian
Wang Hao   Alekseenko Kirill
Vachier-Lagrave Maxime   Grischuk Alexander
Ding Liren   Giri Anish

Ding Liren's start of the tournament could not have been worse. The Chinese star had a great 2019 and arrived as one of the two clear favourites to become Carlsen's challenger at the Candidates, but the Coronavirus outbreak pushed him to go into quarantine both at home and in Moscow. When the event finally began, he was clearly out of form and lost both of his two inaugural games.

And then came his encounter against none other than world number two Fabiano Caruana. The American played the opening quickly and confidently, going for what seemed to be a risky setup. Ding spent a lot of time, fearing the worst — that he had been caught in an opening his opponent had perfectly prepared. However, the Chinese eventually found himself in a favourable position. By move 27, it was clear that Caruana's approach had failed him and, although he continued playing until move 59, it was never really in doubt that Ding would end up getting the full point.

Earlier in the day, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave held Anish Giri to a draw with the black pieces; Kirill Alekseenko missed a chance to beat Ian Nepomniachtchi's French Winawer, although the latter was positionally better during most of the game; and Alexander Grischuk could not make the most of a strategically superior position against Wang Hao.

Given these results, Vachier-Lagrave, Nepomniachtchi and Wang Hao go into the rest day as co-leaders on 2 out of 3.

FIDE Candidates Tournament 2020

A safety-first approach is called for given the situation | Photo: Lennart Ootes / FIDE

Ding Liren 1:0 Caruana

For a while, it looked like Caruana would repeat the recipe he used on Wednesday to take down Alekseenko — to play an opening he does not employ regularly and get a clear advantage after uncorking a surprising novelty. Against Ding, he played the Slav with Black (already a surprise) and deviated from theory with 9...e5, quite a compromising decision. Furthermore, he continued blitzing out his moves for a while, including the unexpected 15...bd7.

In the post-game interview, Ding confessed he felt frustrated at this stage of the game, as he feared he was missing something or that his rival had an ace up the sleeve. By move 20 he was about an hour down on the clock, but not long after he already felt he was winning — he got his queen out of trouble and noticed Black did not have sufficient counterplay: 

 
Ding Liren vs. Caruana
Position after 27.Qg3

As you can see, Black is down two pawns, and the fact that one of White's rooks is stuck on h1 does not compensate for the material disadvantage and the scanty positioning of Black's knights. Soon enough, Caruana sacrificed one of these knights for two pawns, entering a completely miserable position after the time control. The American continued playing until move 59, but only an extreme blunder by his opponent would have allowed him to save a draw.

 
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Massive match up and it didn't disappoint. The start of this tournament has been something else. The two pre-tournament favourites meet in round 3, with one having played excellent chess in the first couple, and the other playing two games that are best forgotten. How do you react to two losses at the start of the biggest tournament of your life? Like this... 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 This may have been a small surprise for Caruana, as Ding has been very sucessful in the lines beginning with 4.e3. In any case it become apparent very quickly that Caruana had a deep idea in the mainline variation. dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Ne5 e6 7.f3 Bb4 8.Nxc4 8.e4 is worth being aware of if you haven't seen this opening variation before. Bxe4 9.fxe4 Nxe4 10.Bd2 Qxd4 11.Nxe4 Qxe4+ 12.Qe2 Bxd2+ 13.Kxd2 Qd5+ 14.Kc3 is a position that has been reached many times. Probably the current view is that Black should be alright here, with some accuracy of course. 8...0-0 9.Kf2 e5!? Incredible novelty from Caruana. The idea with 8.Nxc4 and 9.Kf2 is relatively recent but obviously all top players are aware that it is now considered the main try for an advantage in this line. The ideas behind Caruana's novelty are quite difficult to explain due to there being some very concrete, forcing lines in mind. The overall general idea is to open the position up as much as possible before White has a chance to get organised. 10.Nxe5 It was the opinion of Magnus Carlsen that the safer option would have been the pawn capture 10.dxe5 Nfd7 11.e4 Be6 is very likely to have been Black's idea. Further investigation required here. 10...Bc2 11.Qd2 11.Qxc2 Qxd4+ 12.e3 Qxe5 isn't terrible for White, but Black really should have no problems from here. 11...c5 12.d5 The most principled move. Ding began to spend a lot of time around this point, but his body language suggested he was relatively unphased by the early surprise. 12.e3 was a valid alternative, although somehow it doesn't feel in the spirit of the position. Still, Black probably has work to do to demonstrate compensation for the pawn. 12...Bb3 12...Be4!? was another playable move that must have been considered by Caruana's team, but I imagine it would have been rejected due to the following, quite natural follow-up for White: 13.Qd1 Bxc3 14.bxc3 Bxd5 15.e4 This is exactly the sort of thing White would be hoping for. Optically it looks as though Black has a lead in development and as such should have some chances for initiative. The problem is that White's pawn structure is really very effective in keeping the black pieces at bay, and once the pieces are developed, the two bishops and central majority should lead to some tangible advantage for White. 13.e4 Re8 14.Qf4 c4 Fabi gives the second pawn. Something that really needed to be done to open up the position, specifically dark-squared diagonals. 15.Nxc4 15.Bxc4 could be met with Bd6 which is pretty unpleasant to deal with 16.Qe3 pretty much has to be played. Black's compensation looks dangerous after 16.Bxb3?? Qb6+ 17.Qe3 17.Be3 Qxb3 17...Bc5-+ 16...Nbd7 17.Nxd7 Nxd7 18.Qe2 Bc5+ 19.Kf1 Bxc4 20.Qxc4 Qh4 Another scenario that's difficult for White to handle. 15...Nbd7 Fabi looked to be still in preparation at this point, having more time on his clock than he started with. Black's compensation is very interesting, but also quite unclear. White still has problems completing development - one of the main issues being that the placement of the white queen on f4 isn't ideal, and in many lines it can be chased around at quite a cost. Still, the central pawn block is a big asset and Fabi has a job to do to justify Black's approach. 16.Be3! Nf8 again played quickly. Ding might have in some way been quite encouraged that Fabi continues to respond quickly - although it's very annoying when your opponent is doing this. It at least gives you an indication that you are very likely playing some good chess, remaining in your opponent's engine-assisted preparation. 16...Bxc4 17.Bxc4 Ne5 17...Nb6 18.Bxb6 Qxb6+ 19.Kf1 18.Be2 Bd6 18...Neg4+ 19.fxg4 Bxc3 20.bxc3 Rxe4 21.Qg3 19.Qf5 Nc4 19...Nfg4+ 19...Neg4+ 20.Bxc4 Re5 21.Qh3 Rh5 22.Qxh5 Nxh5 17.Bd4! Very precise. 17.Kg1 Rc8! 17...Ng6 18.Qg3 18.Nd2 Bxd5 gets one of the pawns back and it's clear that Black has at least full compensation with that white rook still locked in on h1. 17...Ng6 17...Ne6?? 18.Bxf6 17...Rc8!? may have been a valid alternative. A sample line runs 18.Ne3 Ng6 19.Qg3 19.Bxf6 gxf6 is offering Black excellent dark-squared compensation. 19...Bxc3 20.bxc3 Rxe4 may have offered Black practical compensation - albeit quite different to the dark-squared compensation Fabi achieved in the game. 18.Qf5 Totally natural, but not best according to the engine. 18.Qd2 wouldn't have been ideal Nxe4+! 18...Rxe4 19.Bxf6 Bc5+ 20.Ne3‼ Is the engine's find. Without this move Black would be in business, however here the position is just lost. 19.fxe4 Rxe4 gives Black very dangerous compensation. 18.Bxf6 gxf6 again gives Black excellent compensation. 18.Qc1 is indicated as best by the engine. Actually indicating a winning advantage for White - which is strange given that Caruana was definitely representing that he was still in prep after 16...Nf8. My guess is that either Caruana felt this line was a risk worth taking - because finding all of these moves for White is close to impossible for a human player, or that he possibly ran out of prep after 15...Nbd7. All speculation, but I doubt any players would be interested to take on a position that the engine indicates as +2 for the opponent... 18...Bxc4 19.Bxc4 Qc7 20.Be2 Bc5 21.Bxc5 Qxc5+ 22.Kf1 It's clear at this stage that Black does have compensation for the two pawns. White's back rank coordination is all over the place, but a big thing in White's favour is that the structure is so compact. As such, Black must make something with the initiative from here. If White is given time to get a grip on the dark squares and sort out the rooks, then there won't be any compensation to speak of. h6? The first misstep from Fabi. This costs time and it's not so clear what the reason for it is. 22...Re5 is probably an improvement. Black gets some counterplay going in the following sample line: 23.Qh3 Qb4 24.Rb1 Nf4 25.Qg3 N6h5 26.Qf2 f5 23.Rd1 Qb6 24.Rd2 Qe3 25.Rc2 Getting this rook to c2 has really helped White consolidate. a6 26.Qh3 and now Ding starts to reposition the queen - f2 being the destination. At this point it felt as though Black's counterplay was too slow. b5 27.Qg3 b4 28.Nd1 Qb3 29.Rd2 Qxa4 30.Qf2 Caruana gets a pawn back but the coordination for White has massively improved, and most importantly, the big centre is still intact. White still has a small issue with the h1-rook, but with everything else being so well positioned, it's pretty much insignificant. Qd7 31.g3 Qh3+ 32.Kg1 a5 33.Qd4 Nh5 What else? With this Black is announcing that he is planning to sacrifice a knight to try to open up the king, which is very unlikely to be effective - but the knights sat on g6 and f6 are dead wood here anyway. 34.Nf2 Qd7 35.f4 Nhxf4 36.gxf4 Nxf4 37.Kf1 Qd6 38.Rg1 Ding finally gets the h1-rook into play with a threat of mate. It's all one-way traffic from now until the end. f6 39.Bb5 Re7 40.b3 Rf8 41.Rc2 Ne6 42.Qe3 Ng5 43.h4 Nf7 44.Rc6 Qb8 45.Qc5 Qd8 46.Rxf6 Kh8 47.Rf5 Rc7 48.Bc6 a4 49.bxa4 b3 50.Rg3 b2 51.Rb3 Nd6 52.Rxf8+ Qxf8 53.Rxb2 Qf4 54.Rb8+ Kh7 55.Qc2 Re7 56.e5+ Nf5 57.Qe4 Qc1+ 58.Kg2 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Ding,L2805Caruana,F28421–02020FIDE Candidates Tournament3.1

Ding Liren, Fabiano Caruana

The two top seeds battling it out | Photo: Lennart Ootes / FIDE

Grischuk ½:½ Wang Hao

It is a well-known fact that Chinese player are Petroff-Defence specialists, and Wang Hao is no exception. Against Grischuk in round three, however, he could not completely equalize by using this setup. Much like in his game against Giri from the previous round, Black had to defend a static position with a weak isolated pawn — except this time the Chinese was the one on the defensive side.

But when it looked like we were in for a long struggle in which Grischuk would torture his opponent for hours on end, the Russian forgot Black had a tactical resource that equalized the position immediately:

 
Grischuk vs. Wang Hao
Position after 34.g5

Instead of 34.g5 the previous move, White needed to play something like 34.♗b1 in order to avoid 34...e4+, when capturing with 35.fxe4 runs into 35...dxe4 threatening the bishop and 36...e3+ next move, gaining the rook. Grischuk later confessed that he had seen this trick previously but failed to reconsider it in the critical position. The game continued 35.xe4 dxe4 36.e1 and thirteen more moves were played before a draw was agreed.

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d3 Nf6 6.d4 d5 7.Bd3 Bd6 8.Qe2+ It's quite refreshing to see a relatively straightforward approach being used in an attempt to gain an advantage with White against the Petroff. The idea behind White's approach is to force Black to make a concession in this position. Be6 Probably the most principled. Black parts with the light-squared bishop in return for activity. The other option is 8...Qe7 9.Qxe7+ Bxe7 9...Kxe7 10.0-0 Black's king placement isn't ideal. 10.Bf4 may give White a nagging edge due to the more active bishops. 9.Ng5 Qe7 10.Nxe6 fxe6 11.c3 11.Nd2 Nc6 12.Nf3 e5 11...c5 11...0-0 12.0-0 e5 13.dxe5 Bxe5 14.Nd2 Nbd7 15.Nf3 Rae8 16.Qd1 Bd6 17.Re1 Qf7 18.Rxe8 Qxe8 19.h3 Ne5 20.Be3 Nxd3 21.Qxd3 a6 22.Rd1 Qb5 23.Qc2 Re8 24.a4 Qc4 25.Nd4 Ne4 26.Nf5 Be5 27.Bd4 Qc6 28.Qb3 Nf6 29.Bxe5 Rxe5 30.Nd4 Qb6 31.Qxb6 cxb6 32.Kf1 Kf7 33.f3 g6 34.Re1 Rxe1+ 35.Kxe1 Nh5 36.Kf2 Nf4 37.b3 g5 38.Ne2 Nd3+ 39.Ke3 Nc5 40.Nd4 Kf6 41.g3 Ke5 42.Ke2 Kf6 43.Ke3 Ke5 44.Ke2 Kf6 45.Kd2 Ke5 46.Ke3 Kf6 47.Ke2 ½-½ (45) Bacrot,E (2671)-Christiansen,J (2558) Douglas ENG 2019. 12.Nd2 Nc6 13.Nf3 0-0 13...cxd4 14.cxd4 Bb4+ 15.Kf1!? could have been one of Grischuk's ideas. 14.0-0 cxd4 15.cxd4 e5 16.dxe5 Nxe5 17.Nxe5 Qxe5 At first glance it does look as though Black should be totally fine here. It's easy to activate the pieces and there's no way at this stage you can point at the pawn on d5 and call it a weakness. However, Grischuk has a game plan. 18.Qxe5 Bxe5 19.f3 Grischuk was asked in the interview after the game about his time management. He said that he was aware it wasn't good but that he is struggling to see anything, and then went on to say it took him around an hour to see 19.f3. Carlsen was impressed by this move in the live commentary and made a convincing case for White now having something to work with. The problem for Black is that in a few moves' time, it's going to be difficult for Black to improve his position. White, on the other hand, if things go to plan, will be hoping to complete development and then start to advance the pawns. Bd4+ 20.Kh1 Rac8 21.Rd1 Rfe8 22.g3 Note that the bishop on d3 does an excellent job of keeping the Black rooks at bay. Kf7 23.Kg2 g6 24.Bd2 Be3 25.h4 25.Be1 keeping the two bishops was definitely something to consider, but is probably not as good as Grischuk's approach, as the bishop v knight advantage is being felt regardless of whether the dark-squared bishops are there or not. d4 26.a4 Nd5 27.a5 25...Re6 26.Bxe3 Rxe3 27.Kf2 Sasha definitely has something to work with now. It's difficult to highlight exactly where Wang Hao has gone wrong, it's possible that the approach in the opening doesn't equalise fully. Re6 28.Rd2 Ke7 29.Rad1 Rec6 30.g4 a6 31.h5 Nice expansion on the kingside. Compare this to the position on move 22. Black's position has barely moved on and White has managed to organise and get and effective pawn-break on the kingside. Kf7 31...gxh5 32.g5 is very bad news for Black. 32.a3 Re8 33.hxg6+ hxg6 34.g5 Possibly a mistake. Valid alternatives were 34.Rc2 and 34.Bb1 after which Black is suffering. 34...Ne4+! Wang Hao seizes the opportunity to simplify. 35.Bxe4 35.fxe4 dxe4 makes Black's task simple, with ...e3 threatened. 36.Bxe4 Rxe4 is totally fine for Black. 35...dxe4 36.Re1 exf3 37.Rd7+ Kf8 38.Rh1 Very resourceful near the time control. Engines are unphased by this concept, but over the board, with little time left, this is not easy to navigate. Kg8 39.Rxb7 39.Rhh7 was another try. The engines are not worried, but I certainly would have been nervous handling Black here. Rc2+ 40.Kxf3 Rf8+ 41.Ke3 Rff2= 39...Rc2+ 40.Kxf3 Rc5 A nice idea from Wang Hao - he intentionally gives the f3-pawn in order to threaten a perpertual with ...Rf5+ and then the e-rook can deliver the rest of the checks. 41.Rh4 Rxg5 Black is now out of danger. 42.b4 Rge5 43.Rd4 Re3+ 44.Kf4 Rxa3 45.Rd6 Ra1 46.Rxg6+ Kh8 47.Rh6+ Kg8 48.Rg6+ Kh8 49.Rh6+ Kg8 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Grischuk,A2777Wang,H2762½–½2020C01FIDE Candidates Tournament3.3

Alexander Grischuk, Wang Hao

Alexander Grischuk versus Wang Hao | Photo: Lennart Ootes / FIDE

Alekseenko ½:½ Nepomniachtchi

Perhaps seeing this as a big chance to score, Nepomniachtchi played the French Winawer against his lower-rated compatriot. The strategy born fruit, at least insofar Alekseenko started taking some time on each of his decisions as early as move 9. As both contenders agreed on after the game, Black was the one in the driver's seat out of the opening, although it was never easy to find an adequate breakthrough. 

Alekseenko felt his position was safer after his opponent went for 16...xc5 instead of 16...bxc5, but with little time on the clock he failed to play the most critical continuation later on, right after 25...g6:

 
Alekseenko vs. Nepomniachtchi
Position after 25...g6

After thinking for six minutes, Alekseenko played 26.h5 instead of 26.♗xg6. He explained that he had planned to give up his bishop, but that he did not have enough time to work out all the tactical consequences and thus went for the less forcing alternative. As it happened, Black was still the one pushing, but Nepomniachtchi was not able to find the most precise way to make progress. The game ended in a draw by perpetual check on move 40.

 
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This was the most difficult game of the round to annotate. Such an unusual position was arrived at after Nepo's decision to lock in his bishop on a4 with the move 16...b5, with added complexity after Alekseenko sacrificed the exchange on move 20. Ian was the first player to commit a mistake, giving Kirill the chance to crash through with 26.Bxg6. After this was missed the position remained very unclear until Nepo found a way to force Alekseenko to give perpetual. A very entertaining game. 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 Ian has already announced his intentions. He clearly wanted to go for a win with black bits today. 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.h4 A testing option. 7.Qg4 is the most popular and can lead to some very complicated situations. For example: Qc7 8.Qxg7 Rg8 9.Qxh7 cxd4 Clearly both sides need very deep preparation in order to handle this position, especially at elite level. 7...Qc7 8.Nf3 b6 9.Bb5+ A distruptive move - more or less preventing Black from achieving a light-squared bishop exchange with ...Ba6. Bd7 10.Be2 Rare. It's not so clear what the benefits of this placement are over the natural 10.Bd3. 10.Bd3 is the most commonly played move. Included is a fairly recent encounter between two of the world's best: Ba4 11.h5 11.0-0!? Does this compare favourably to the game? Not at all clear. 11...cxd4 12.cxd4 Qc3+ 13.Bd2 Qxd3 14.cxd3 Bxd1 15.Kxd1 h6 16.Ke2 Nbc6 17.g4 Kd7 18.Rhg1 f6 19.Bf4 Raf8 20.Ke3 Rf7 21.Rg3 g5 22.hxg6 Nxg6 23.exf6 Nxf4 24.Kxf4 Rxf6+ 25.Ke3 Kd6 26.Rh1 Rg8 27.Rh5 Rgf8 28.Rgh3 Rf4 29.Rg3 R8f6 30.g5 hxg5 31.Rhxg5 b5 32.Rg7 Rf7 33.Rxf7 Rxf7 34.Rg6 Ne7 35.Rg1 Nf5+ 36.Kd2 a6 37.Ne5 Rh7 38.Nf3 Rb7 39.Rg8 b4 40.axb4 Rxb4 41.Ra8 Ra4 42.Kc3 Ra3+ 43.Kb4 Rxd3 44.Rxa6+ Ke7 45.Ne5 Rxd4+ 46.Kc5 Re4 47.f4 Kf6 48.Ng4+ Kg6 49.Ne5+ Kf6 50.Ng4+ Ke7 51.Ne5 Re2 52.Ra7+ Ke8 53.Ra8+ Ke7 54.Ra7+ Kf8 55.Kc6 Re4 56.Kd7 Nd4 57.Ra1 Kg7 58.Ke7 Rxf4 59.Rg1+ Kh6 60.Rh1+ Kg5 61.Rg1+ Kf5 62.Nf7 Ke4 63.Ng5+ Kf5 64.Nf7 Rh4 65.Rf1+ Ke4 66.Ng5+ Kd3 67.Rd1+ Kc4 68.Rc1+ Kd3 69.Kd6 Rh5 70.Nf7 Nb3 71.Re1 Nd4 72.Ne5+ Kc3 73.Re3+ Kc2 74.Re1 Kd2 75.Ra1 Rh6 76.Ra2+ Ke3 77.Ra3+ Ke4 78.Ra4 Rf6 79.Rb4 Rf4 80.Nc6 Kd3 81.Ne5+ Ke4 82.Nc6 Ke3 83.Rb1 Nxc6 84.Kxc6 d4 85.Kc5 d3 86.Re1+ Kf2 87.Rxe6 d2 88.Rd6 Ke2 89.Re6+ Kd3 0-1 (89) Caruana,F (2817)-So,W (2822) chess.com INT 2017. 10...Ba4 11.0-0 Nd7 11...cxd4 12.cxd4 Bxc2 12...Qxc2 13.Bb5+ 12.Be3 In some way this is quite a strange move to play because it's not so clear what the bishop is doing on this square. Admittedly it's very unclear where this bishop belongs in any case. I do suspect that Kirill was out of preparation around here and may have been struggling to come up with an effective plan. Indeed, Ian indicated in the press conference that he felt like this was about as good of a position as he could hope for from this variation. h6 13.Ra2 Nf5 14.Bf4 Nepo explained in the press conference he was unsure what to do at this point. He felt that the opening had gone well for Black, but that in this position it was difficult to choose between various options. Qc6 Black is trying to force the exchange of light-squared bishops. 14...Nf6 was Nepo's original intention and the engine suggests he should have stook to his instinct! It's difficult to suggest how White should continue. 15.exf6 15.Bd3 Ne4 16.Qe1 was possible but after 0-0 Black is at least ok. 15...Qxf4 16.fxg7 Rg8 gives Black a lot of activity. The White king could soon be in danger. 14...a6!? was another move suggested by Ian. "Maybe this was ten times more logical" - Nepo. 15.Rb2 a6 16.dxc5 Qxc5 Alekseenko was happy to see this move, and correctly assessed that he may be in some trouble after 16...bxc5. 16...bxc5 17.c4 17.Bd3 Bb5 17...dxc4 18.Bxc4?? Qe4 17.Rb4 b5 Double edged. Black fixes the white pawn weaknesses on the queenside, but will now have some trouble getting the bishop on a4 back into action. 17...Bb5 was a valid alternative. 18.Bxb5 18.Nd4 Bxe2 19.Qxe2 Nxd4 20.cxd4 Qc7 18...axb5 19.Nd4 is actually pretty decent for White. Nxh4 19...Nxd4 20.cxd4 isn't satisfactory for Black. There's a permanent problem with Black's king safety. Qc7 21.Rb3 and with the rook swinging across to g3, White is clearly for choice. 19...0-0 would have been best for Black with a pretty unclear position after 20.Rxb5 Qc4 20.Be3 is really painful for Black. Wherever the queen moves to for cover, there will be a further problem. Qe7 20...Qc7 21.Nxb5+- 20...Qc8 21.Qh5 Ng6 22.Nxe6 is curtains. 21.Nc6 The black queen is totally embarrassing. 18.Bd3 Ne7 19.Bd2 Nc6 20.Qe2!? Very interesting approach to give the exchange. White's play is based on having a kingside initiative and keeping the bishop locked out of the game on a4. Totally justified to give up the exchange in order to gain additional time. 20.Re1 was also an option - Alekseenko admitted in the press conference that he was really struggling to determine the best way forward. Nxb4 21.axb4 Qe7 22.h5 gives White excellent compensation for the exchange. I would definitely take White here! 20...Nxb4 21.axb4 Qc7 22.Re1 Nb8 22...Nb6 23.Nd4 Nc4 24.Bxc4 The players discussed this option briefly in the press conference. It is very difficult to assess as the imbalance is so unusual. Again I would prefer to handle White as there may be some attacking chances and it's hard to see how the bishop on a4 will play a role. The engine doesn't help - giving a triple zero assessment. 23.Nd4 Nc6 24.Qg4 24.Nxc6 Qxc6 25.Qg4 was a promising continuation for White. Keeping the pawn on c3 is making it more difficult for Black to liberate the a4-bishop. 24...Nxd4 25.cxd4 25.Qxg7 Nf3+ 25...g6 Nepo made a strange comment after the game about this. He said he knew 25...g5 was the right move, but that he was taking as much risk as he could to try and win the game. 25...g5 I have no idea which side I would prefer to play from here. The position is just extremely unclear. 26.h5? Kirill misses a pretty big opportunity. 26.Bxg6! Was called for and the move that Ian feared. Kirill did of course see it but must have mis-assessed something that follows. fxg6 27.Qxe6+ Although it's not entirely clear - Black just doesn't have a good response to this. Qe7 27...Kf8 28.Qxg6 27...Kd8 28.Qf6+ Kd7 29.Bf4 28.Qxg6+ 28.Qc6+! I think this is a very tough move to see. It's counter-intuitive to push the black king to the kingside, but White's next move is the real star. Kf7 29.h5‼ A brilliant move to ensure the black king will be fully exposed when the white rook lands on the third rank. gxh5 30.Re3 There are a lot of lines to consider here, but just to give one nice example: h4 31.Rf3+ Kg7 32.Rf4 h5 33.Rf5+- 28...Kd7 29.Qb6 was suggested by Nepo as promising for White. The engine indicates that Rhc8 keeps Black in the game. White's initiative should be enough to hold the balance. 26...gxh5 27.Qxh5 0-0-0 28.f4 Kb8 29.c3 Bb3 Finally the bishop might start to get into the action. Easy to say when looking at this position with the machine that Black should be doing well here. I certainly felt as though White was for choice at this stage, even after having missed the opportunity with 26.Bxg6. 30.f5 Bc4 31.Bc2 Rdg8 32.Kf2 a5 This is kind of a draw offer - which Kirill is pretty much obliged to accept. Black is looking to inflitrate with the queen, allowing White's queen to do the same. Nepo may have been able to keep some chances by playing 32...Kb7 however, I think this position is extremely difficult to assess and to start playing some slower moves in a position in which it feels like both sides are required to play with some urgency is almost impossible. 33.bxa5 Qxa5 34.Qxf7 Qa2 At this point there's no avoiding the perpetual. 35.Qxe6 Qxc2 36.Qb6+ Kc8 37.Qc6+ Kb8 38.Qb6+ Kc8 39.Qc6+ Kb8 40.Qb6+ ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Alekseenko,K2698Nepomniachtchi,I2774½–½2020C19FIDE Candidates Tournament3.4

Ian Nepomniachtchi

Still in the lead — Ian Nepomniachtchi | Photo: Lennart Ootes / FIDE

Giri ½:½ Vachier-Lagrave

The shortest game of the day saw Vachier-Lagrave entering a sharp variation that could only be better for White. Giri felt he probably missed something or, most likely, forgot something from his deep preparation, as he later declared:  

There are like ten ways to equalize against this line, and I know them all, and this was not one of those ten ways.

The Dutchman was referring to the novelty his French opponent played on move 15:

 
Giri vs. Vachier-Lagrave
Position after 15.Nf3

'MVL' played 15...d7, deviating from 15...♜d8, which had been employed by Nepomniachtchi in the past. The French GM felt the position was quite dangerous, but managed to keep things under control until Giri accepted to repeat the position on move 27.

While Vachier-Lagrave will use the rest day before round four to catch up with some opening preparation, Giri pointed out a drawback of having a free day amid the world crisis we are living right now:

A free day is an extra day when you might get sick. It's dangerous, very dangerous.

 
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This will have been a disappointing game for Giri, given that he got a clear edge that tempted MVL to take on a fairly dodgy-looking ending - only to see his advantage completely disappear just a few moves after the queens came off. A nice opening concept by Anish that may attract some followers, but MVL will go away from this very pleased to get the half-point without any prolonged suffering. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Bd2 Relatively rare at top-level. Vishy Anand has had a couple of important games in this line including a matchup against the world number one. Bg7 6.e4 Nxc3 7.Bxc3 c5 7...0-0 is a more common move order. The following game between Anand and Carlsen has been annotated by Marin in ChessBase magazine: 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.Nf3 Bg4 10.d5 Bxf3 11.Bxg7 Kxg7 12.gxf3 Ne5 13.0-0-0 c6 14.Qc3 f6 15.Bh3 cxd5 16.exd5 Nf7 17.f4 Qd6 18.Qd4 Rad8 19.Be6 Qb6 20.Qd2 Rd6 21.Rhe1 Nd8 22.f5 Nxe6 23.Rxe6 Qc7+ 24.Kb1 Rc8 25.Rde1 Rxe6 26.Rxe6 Rd8 27.Qe3 Rd7 28.d6 exd6 29.Qd4 Rf7 30.fxg6 hxg6 31.Rxd6 a6 32.a3 Qa5 33.f4 Qh5 34.Qd2 Qc5 35.Rd5 Qc4 36.Rd7 Qc6 37.Rd6 Qe4+ 38.Ka2 Re7 39.Qc1 a5 40.Qf1 a4 41.Rd1 Qc2 42.Rd4 Re2 43.Rb4 b5 44.Qh1 Re7 45.Qd5 Re1 46.Qd7+ Kh6 47.Qh3+ Kg7 48.Qd7+ ½-½ (48) Anand,V (2792) -Carlsen,M (2863) Sochi 2014 CBM 164 [Marin,M]. 8.d5 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 0-0 10.Qd2 Qd6 10...e6 Allows White an additional, more aggressive option with 11.d6 Chaos ensued in the following encounter, Vishy again handling the White pieces. e5 12.h4 Be6 13.Nh3 Qxh4 14.0-0-0 Qxe4 15.Bd3 Qa4 16.Ng5 Qxa2 17.Qe3 Qa3+ 18.Kd2 Qb2+ 19.Bc2 Bf5 20.Rc1 Rd8 21.Nxf7 Kxf7 22.Qxe5 Rxd6+ 23.Qxd6 Nc6 24.Rxh7+ Kg8 25.Rd7 Re8 26.Qf6 Bxd7 27.Qxg6+ Kf8 28.Qf6+ Kg8 29.Rh1 Re2+ 30.Kxe2 Nd4+ 31.cxd4 Qxc2+ 32.Ke3 Qc3+ 33.Kf4 Qxd4+ 34.Qxd4 cxd4 35.Ke4 a5 36.Kxd4 a4 37.Kc3 b5 38.Kb4 Kf7 39.Rh7+ Ke6 40.g4 Be8 41.f4 Kf6 42.Rh6+ Kg7 43.g5 Bg6 44.Rh3 Bf5 45.Re3 1-0 (45) Anand,V (2783) -Hammer,J (2608) Stavanger 2013 CBM 155 [Krasenkow,M]. 11.f4 e6 12.Bc4 b5 All well known stuff so far. 12...exd5 is an alternative, but Black generally wants to try to prevent White from landing the bishop on d5. 13.Bxb5 exd5 14.Bc4 Bb7 15.Nf3 Nd7N A novelty, but almost certainly not part of Maxime's preparation. 15...Rd8 was played by Nepo, in the only other game that reached this position. 16.Bxd5 16.e5!? 16...Bxd5 17.Qxd5 Qxd5 18.exd5 Rxd5 19.Rd1 Rxd1+ 20.Kxd1 Nd7 21.Re1 Kf8 22.Kc2 Nb6 23.Re5 Rc8 24.g3 f6 25.Re1 Kf7 26.Rb1 Re8 27.Kd3 Rd8+ 28.Kc2 Re8 29.Kd3 Rd8+ ½-½ (29) Tomashevsky,E (2702)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2768) Satka 2018. 16.0-0 Nb6 17.Be2 It may not look like much, but Black is already slightly worse here. White is going to be able to get the e4-e5 push in, and once that is in place, if Black doesn't act quickly White will have good chances of a kingside attack. d4 Black has to do something, and makes sure that White won't have time to organise anything on the kingside by opening up the centre. Giri can now continue with a structural advantage. 18.e5 Qd7 19.cxd4 Rad8 20.Rad1 Bxf3 21.Rxf3 Qxd4+ 22.Qxd4 Rxd4 23.Rxd4 cxd4 This looked to be quite a dangerous situation for Black. Black's d-pawn is going nowhere, the white king is closer to the action and White definitely has hopes to show the bishop is worth more than the knight here. However, it's difficult for White to get a full clamp on the position. The black knight is active and, as such, annoying to deal with. 24.Rd3 24.Ra3 may well have been the most testing option, but it's understandable the Anish doesn't go for it as Black is getting some counterplay. A sample line is Rc8 25.Rxa7 Rc2 26.Bf3 26.Bd3 Rc3 26...d3 27.a4 Ra2 28.a5 Nc4 29.a6 White is for choice, but it's messy. 24...Rd8 25.Bd1 25.Kf2 was another option, but after Na4 26.Kf3 Nc3 27.Rd2 Kg7 it's not clear what White should do next. 25...Nc4 26.Kf2 After this, Giri's advantage disappears. 26.Bb3 might have given some chances - however Black can respond with Na5 after which it's still really tough to show how White can get a grip on things. 27.Kf2 27.g4 Nxb3 28.axb3 Kg7 29.Kg2 f6 is not getting anywhere for White either. 30.Kf3 fxe5 31.fxe5 Kf7 32.Ke4 Rb8 33.Kxd4 Ke6 Black should hold this relatively easily. 27.Bc2 Nb7 28.Ra3 Nc5 29.Rxa7 d3 30.Bd1 Rb8 and again Black has good counterplay. 27...Nxb3 28.axb3 f6! 29.exf6 Kf7 30.Kf3 Kxf6 31.Ke4 turns out to be harmless for Black due to the important move Re8+ 32.Kxd4 Re2= 26...Nb2 27.Rd2 Nc4 28.Rd3 28.Rc2 was a way to avoid repetition, but Black is able to get the knight to an ideal square after the following: Ne3 29.Rc1 Nd5 30.g3 Nc3= 28...Nb2 29.Rd2 Nc4 30.Rd3 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Giri,A2763Vachier-Lagrave,M2767½–½2020D85FIDE Candidates Tournament3.2

Anish Giri

Anish Giri will try to regroup during the rest day | Photo: Lennart Ootes / FIDE


Round-up show

GM Daniel King reviews the games from round three


Commentary webcast

Commentary by Evgenij Miroshnichenko and Daniil Dubov 


Standings after Round 3

Rk.NameRtg.Nt.Pts.n
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
TBPerf.
1
GM
GM
2820


Ø NaN
0/0
2820
0.0
0
0.00
0
2
GM
GM
2791


Ø NaN
0/0
2791
0.0
0
0.00
0
3
GM
2789
0.0
0
0.00
0
4
GM


Ø NaN
0/0
2777
0.0
0
0.00
0
5
GM
GM
2776


Ø NaN
0/0
2776
0.0
0
0.00
0
6
GM
GM
2763


Ø NaN
0/0
2763
0.0
0
0.00
0
7
GM
2758
0.0
0
0.00
0
8
GM
2696
0.0
0
0.00
0
TBs: Koya, Wins with black, Wins

All games

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Qb6 8.Qd2 Qxb2 9.Rb1 Qa3 10.e5 h6 11.Bh4 dxe5 B97: Sicilian Najdorf: Poisoned Pawn. 12.fxe5 Nfd7 is currently scoring better than 12...g5. 13.Ne4! Qxa2 The position is equal. 14.Rd1 Qd5 15.Qe3 Qxe5 Avoid the trap 15...Nxe5? 16.Nb3+- 16.c3 Bc5 White must now prevent ...f5. 17.Bg3 Qd5
18.Bc4N Predecessor: 18.Bd6 Bxd6 19.Nb5 Qxd1+ 20.Kxd1 Be5 21.Nbd6+ Ke7 22.Nc4 Rd8 23.Kc2 Bc7 24.Be2 1-0 (37) Beveridge,C (1963)-Milde,L (2075) ICCF email 2013 18...Qxc4 19.Bd6
Threatens to win with Bxc5. 19...Nf6! 20.Nxc5 Nd5 21.Qe5
21...Rg8 22.Ndxe6! fxe6 23.Nxe6 Qxc3+ 24.Qxc3 Nxc3 25.Nc7+       Double Attack Kf7 26.Rd3 Ne4 And now ...Ra7 would win. 27.0-0+ Kg6 Strongly threatening ...Ra7. 28.Nxa8 Nc6 28...Rd8= remains equal. 29.Nb6 Bf5 29.Nb6± Rd8 30.Nxc8 Rxc8 31.Ba3 Rc7 32.Rf4 Nf6 33.Bb2 Ne7 34.Bxf6 gxf6       Endgame KRR-KRN 35.h4 h5 36.Rg3+       White has strong compensation. Kf7 37.Rg5 Rc1+ 38.Kh2 Ng6 39.Rf2 Nxh4 39...Kg7 40.Rxh5 Ne5 40.Rxh5 Ng6 41.Rh7+ Ke6 42.Rxb7 Rb6+ is the strong threat. Ne5 Threatening ...Ng4+. 43.Rb6+ Rc6 44.Rxc6+ Nxc6+- KR-KN 45.Kg3 Kf7 46.Rc2 Nb4 47.Rd2 Nc6 48.Kf4 Kg6 49.Rd6 Ne5 50.Rxa6 Nf7 51.Ke4 Nh6 52.Ra5 Nf7 53.Ra3 aiming for Rg3+. Nd6+ 54.Kf4 Nf5 55.Rd3 Nh6? 55...Ne7 56.Ra3 Nc6 57.Rg3+ Kf7 56.Rg3+ Kf7 57.Ke4 Ng8 58.Kf5? 58.Rb3 Ne7 59.Ra3 58...Ne7+ 59.Kf4 Nd5+ 60.Kg4 Kg6 61.Kf3+ Kf7 62.Ke4 Ne7? 62...Nc7 63.Rc3 Ne8 63.Kf4? 63.Rc3+- has better winning chances. Ke6 64.Ra3 63...Nd5+!± 64.Kf5 Ne7+ 65.Ke4? 65.Kg4 65...Ng8!+- 66.Rh3? 66.Ra3 Ne7 67.Ra7 66...Kg6 67.Ra3 Kf7? 67...Ne7 68.Rd3 Nc6 68.Kf4 Nh6 69.Rg3 Ng8
70.Kg4! Ne7 71.Kh5 Nd5 72.Rf3 Ke6 73.g4 Ke5 74.Kg6 Weighted Error Value: White=0.21/Black=0.09
1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Caruana,F2820Vachier-Lagrave,M27581–02021B97FIDE Candidates 20208.1
Wang,H2763Ding,L2791½–½2021C45FIDE Candidates 20208.2
Nepomniachtchi,I2789Giri,A2776½–½2021B33FIDE Candidates 20208.3
Alekseenko,K2696Grischuk,A27771–02021C11FIDE Candidates 20208.4
Alekseenko,K2696Caruana,F2820½–½2021C54FIDE Candidates 20209.1
Grischuk,A2777Nepomniachtchi,I2789½–½2021D85FIDE Candidates 20209.2
Giri,A2776Wang,H27631–02021E05FIDE Candidates 20209.3
Ding,L2791Vachier-Lagrave,M2758½–½2021E60FIDE Candidates 20209.4
Caruana,F2820Ding,L2791½–½2021C90FIDE Candidates 202010.1
Vachier-Lagrave,M2758Giri,A2776½–½2021B33FIDE Candidates 202010.2
Wang,H2763Grischuk,A2777½–½2021C11FIDE Candidates 202010.3
Nepomniachtchi,I2789Alekseenko,K26961–02021A13FIDE Candidates 202010.4
Nepomniachtchi,I2789Caruana,F2820½–½2021C47FIDE Candidates 202011.1
Alekseenko,K2696Wang,H2763½–½2021C55FIDE Candidates 202011.2
Grischuk,A2777Vachier-Lagrave,M27581–02021B23FIDE Candidates 202011.3
Giri,A2776Ding,L27911–02021C85FIDE Candidates 202011.4
Caruana,F2820Giri,A27760–12021B45FIDE Candidates 202012.1
Ding,L2791Grischuk,A27771–02021D37FIDE Candidates 202012.2
Vachier-Lagrave,M2758Alekseenko,K26961–02021B12FIDE Candidates 202012.3
Wang,H2763Nepomniachtchi,I27890–12021C01FIDE Candidates 202012.4
Wang,H2763Caruana,F28200–12021B22FIDE Candidates 202013.1
Nepomniachtchi,I2789Vachier-Lagrave,M2758½–½2021A50FIDE Candidates 202013.2
Alekseenko,K2696Ding,L27910–12021C54FIDE Candidates 202013.3
Grischuk,A2777Giri,A27761–02021E16FIDE Candidates 202013.4
Caruana,F2820Grischuk,A2777½–½2021B45FIDE Candidates 202014.1
Giri,A2776Alekseenko,K26960–12021E16FIDE Candidates 202014.2
Ding,L2791Nepomniachtchi,I27891–02021E60FIDE Candidates 202014.3
Vachier-Lagrave,M2758Wang,H27631–02021C67FIDE Candidates 202014.4

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Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.

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