
The 2015 Sparkassen Chess Meeting is taking place in Dortmund from the 27th of June to the 5th of July, 2015.
Rank |
Name |
Rating |
1 |
Caruana, Fabiano |
2805 |
2 |
Kramnik, Vladimir |
2783 |
3 |
So, Wesley |
2778 |
4 |
Naiditsch, Arkadij |
2722 |
5 |
Nepomniachtchi, Ian |
2720 |
6 |
Hou, Yifan |
2676 |
7 |
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter |
2654 |
8 |
Meier, Georg |
2654 |
As is usual the tournament invites some of the strongest German players to participate against the World Elite. In this case, the invited Germans are Nisipeanu, Meier and Naiditsch.
The strongest "visitor" is Fabiano Caruana, currently number two in the World, something that will change in the next rating list after the unexpected results in Norway. Caruana is also now playing under the American flag officially as FIDE has processed his transfer request. He is the defending champion of this event.
The second rated player in the event is Vladimir Kramnik, 10-time winner of the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess-Meeting, although a few of those were shared wins, it is still an impressive feat. Wesley So is another player in the top-10 participating in the event.
The field is rounded off by Ian Nepomniachtchi, who earned his qualification by winning Aeroflot earlier this year, and Hou Yifan, the former Women's World Champion and the undisputed strongest active female player. It will make for some interesting fights, as both of these players are quite aggressive!
Round One
Round 01 – June 27 2015, 15:00h |
Nepomniachtchi, Ian |
2720 |
½-½
|
Caruana, Fabiano |
2805 |
Meier, Georg |
2654 |
½-½
|
Hou, Yifan |
2676 |
Kramnik, Vladimir |
2783 |
0-1
|
Naiditsch, Arkadij |
2722 |
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter |
2654 |
1-0
|
So, Wesley |
2778 |
Did round one start with a bang! It was a great day for the German players, although honestly it should have been ever better:
Nepomniachtchi, Ian ½-½ Caruana, Fabiano
Nepomniacthchi's Fianchetto approach against the Grunfeld netted him nothing, and he was outplayed after that. Despite Caruana's horrible structure, his superior piece placement (specially his rook on a2 and his queen on d5) gave him immense pressure. Nepo was forced to drop a pawn, but he held on to drawing chances based on the poor black structure. Caruana missed a couple of chances to put on further pressure, and the Russian defended well. A drawn endgame was eventually reached.

Fabi is now American, not 'Italien'!
Meier, Georg ½-½ Hou Yifan
White obtained maybe the slightest bit of pressure from the opening, with control of the c-file and some problems for black with her weak pawn on e5. This grew, and grew, and grew as Hou Yifan did not want to defend passively, instead seeking dubious counterchances.

Georg didn't convert today, which would have given the Germans a 3-0 sweep!
Meier reached the following endgame, but did not convert:
49.Rd7 Ne2+ 50.Ke3? 50.Kc5 50...Nc1 51.Kd2 Nxd3 52.Rxd3 Ra2+ 53.Ke3 Rb2 54.Rd6+ Kg7 55.Rxa6? 55.Rf6 Rb3+ 56.Kd2 Rxb4 57.Rxf5 55...Rb3+ 56.Ke2 Rxb4 57.Ke3 Rb3+ 58.Ke2 Rb4 59.Ke3 ½–½
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
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Meier,G | 2654 | Hou,Y | 2676 | ½–½ | 2015 | E06 | 43rd GM 2015 | 1.1 |
Please, wait...

Yifan escaped an unfortunate situation today
Kramnik, Vladimir 0-1 Naiditsch, Arkadij
A fascinating game! Kramnik obtained a slightly opening edge, but it was neutralized when Naiditsch started playing strong on the kingside. Naiditsch, who comes from a horrible performance at the Top 12 in France where he lost 32 rating points, played an attacking and strong game.
Kramnik tried to sacrifice a piece to diffuse the tension on the kingside and to use his passed pawn, but Naiditsch played too precisely to let that happen. He gobbled up the bishop on a2, returning with his knight to protect against the advance of the d-pawn and that was all she wrote.

How to recover from the worst tournament of your life?
Beating Kramnik with Black sounds like a good way to start.
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter 1-0 So, Wesley
The game of the round:
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.f4 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Bb5+ Bd7 6.Bxd7+ Qxd7 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d3 e6 9.f5 Nge7 9...exf5 10.exf5 0-0-0 10.fxe6 fxe6 11.Ng5! Ne5 11...Nd8 12.Qg4 h6 13.Nh3 12.Nb5! Qxb5 12...0-0-0 13.d4! Qxb5 14.dxe5 Bxe5 14...dxe5 15.Qg4± 15.Nf7 13.Nxe6 Kd7 14.Nxg7 h5 14...Raf8 15.a4 Qb6 16.a5 Qb5 17.c4 Qc6 18.b4!? 18.Bf4!+- Rhg8 19.d4 cxd4 20.Qxd4 18...Rh7 19.bxc5 Rxg7 20.Rf6 Nc8 20...Nf7 21.Bh6 21.d4! Ng4 21...Qxe4 22.dxe5 Qxe5 23.Rb1 Qxf6 24.Rxb7+ Ke8 25.Bb2 22.Rf3 Qxe4 23.h3 dxc5 24.dxc5+ Ke8 25.hxg4 Ne7 26.Qf1 Rg8 27.Bb2 hxg4 28.Re1 1–0
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
Nisipeanu,L | 2654 | So,W | 2778 | 1–0 | 2015 | B23 | 43rd GM 2015 | 1.4 |
Please, wait...

Liviu-Dieter is always a dangerous opponent!
Replay Round One Games

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.0-0 dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bg5 Bd5 11.Qc2 Be4 12.Qd1 c5 13.dxc5 Bxc5 14.Nbd2 Bc6 15.Ne5 Bxg2 16.Kxg2 Nbd7 17.Rc1 Nxe5 18.Rxc5 Ned7 19.Bxf6 Nxf6 20.Qc2 Rc8 21.Rxc8 Qxc8 22.Rc1 Qd7 23.Nf3 Rd8 24.Qb3 h6 25.Rc4 Qe7 26.e4 e5 27.Qc3 Re8 28.a5 Qe6 29.Rb4 Rc8 30.Qxe5 Qxe5 31.Nxe5 Rc5 32.f4 Rxa5 33.Kf3 b5 34.Rd4 g5 35.Rd6 Kg7 36.Nd3 Ra4 37.e5 Ne4 38.Rd7 gxf4 39.gxf4 Kg6 40.Ke3 f5 41.Rb7 Ra1 42.Rb6+ Kg7 43.b4 h5 44.Rb7+ Kg6 45.Rb6+ Kg7 46.h4 Ra3 47.Rb7+ Kg6 48.Kd4 Ng3 49.Rd7 Ne2+ 50.Ke3? 50.Kc5 50...Nc1 51.Kd2 Nxd3 52.Rxd3 Ra2+ 53.Ke3 Rb2 54.Rd6+ Kg7 55.Rxa6? 55.Rf6 Rb3+ 56.Kd2 Rxb4 57.Rxf5 55...Rb3+ 56.Ke2 Rxb4 57.Ke3 Rb3+ 58.Ke2 Rb4 59.Ke3 ½–½
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
Meier,G | 2654 | Hou,Y | 2676 | ½–½ | 2015 | E06 | 43rd GM 2015 | 1.1 |
Kramnik,V | 2783 | Naiditsch,A | 2722 | 0–1 | 2015 | D41 | 43rd GM 2015 | 1.2 |
Nepomniachtchi,I | 2720 | Caruana,F | 2805 | ½–½ | 2015 | A07 | 43rd GM 2015 | 1.3 |
Nisipeanu,L | 2654 | So,W | 2778 | 1–0 | 2015 | B23 | 43rd GM 2015 | 1.4 |
Please, wait...
Select from the dropdown menu to replay the games
Schedule
Round 01 – June 27 2015, 15:00h |
Nepomniachtchi, Ian |
2720 |
½-½
|
Caruana, Fabiano |
2805 |
Meier, Georg |
2654 |
½-½
|
Hou, Yifan |
2676 |
Kramnik, Vladimir |
2783 |
0-1
|
Naiditsch, Arkadij |
2722 |
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter |
2654 |
1-0
|
So, Wesley |
2778 |
Round 02 – June 28 2015, 15:00h |
Caruana, Fabiano |
2805 |
- |
So, Wesley |
2778 |
Naiditsch, Arkadij |
2722 |
- |
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter |
2654 |
Hou, Yifan |
2676 |
- |
Kramnik, Vladimir |
2783 |
Nepomniachtchi, Ian |
2720 |
- |
Meier, Georg |
2654 |
Round 03 – June 30 2015, 15:00h |
Meier, Georg |
2654 |
- |
Caruana, Fabiano |
2805 |
Kramnik, Vladimir |
2783 |
- |
Nepomniachtchi, Ian |
2720 |
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter |
2654 |
- |
Hou, Yifan |
2676 |
So, Wesley |
2778 |
- |
Naiditsch, Arkadij |
2722 |
Round 04 – July 01 2015, 15:00h |
Caruana, Fabiano |
2805 |
- |
Naiditsch, Arkadij |
2722 |
Hou, Yifan |
2676 |
- |
So, Wesley |
2778 |
Nepomniachtchi, Ian |
2720 |
- |
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter |
2654 |
Meier, Georg |
2654 |
- |
Kramnik, Vladimir |
2783 |
Round 05 – July 02 2015, 15:00h |
Kramnik, Vladimir |
2783 |
- |
Caruana, Fabiano |
2805 |
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter |
2654 |
- |
Meier, Georg |
2654 |
So, Wesley |
2778 |
- |
Nepomniachtchi, Ian |
2720 |
Naiditsch, Arkadij |
2722 |
- |
Hou, Yifan |
2676 |
Round 06 – July 03 2015, 15:00h |
Caruana, Fabiano |
2805 |
- |
Hou, Yifan |
2676 |
Nepomniachtchi, Ian |
2720 |
- |
Naiditsch, Arkadij |
2722 |
Meier, Georg |
2654 |
- |
So, Wesley |
2778 |
Kramnik, Vladimir |
2783 |
- |
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter |
2654 |
Round 07 – July 04 2015, 15:00h |
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter |
2654 |
- |
Caruana, Fabiano |
2805 |
So, Wesley |
2778 |
- |
Kramnik, Vladimir |
2783 |
Naiditsch, Arkadij |
2722 |
- |
Meier, Georg |
2654 |
Hou, Yifan |
2676 |
- |
Nepomniachtchi, Ian |
2720 |
Pictures: Dagobert Kohlmeyer