Dortmund: Giri and Meier join the chasing pack

by Antonio Pereira
7/22/2018 – With one round to go, no less than four players are half a point behind sole leader Ian Nepomniachtchi at the Sparkassen Chess Meeting in Dortmund. Giri and Meier beat Kramnik and Nisipeanu, respectively, to join Kovalev and Duda on 3½/6. LAWRENCE TRENT analysed both decisive games and the final stage of Duda-Nepomniachtchi, where the young Polish star missed his chance to defeat the leader. | Photo: Georgios Souleidis

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Kramnik does it again

If we were to summarize what has happened so far in the world of chess in 2018, surely one of the key elements in the narrative would be Kramnik's stunning determination to push for wins at all costs. His high self-confidence — clearly portrayed during post-game press conferences — has taken him to over-press more than once, with mixed results.

In Dortmund's sixth round, he had the white pieces against one of his seconds during the Candidates, Anish Giri. Prior to this year's edition of the Tata Steel Masters, the Dutch grandmaster had never defeated Big Vlad in a classical game. Thus, his victory on Saturday was the second consecutive one against someone who probably was one of his idols during his childhood — when Giri was born, in 1994, Kramnik was already the fifth highest-rated player in the world. 

Giri defeated Kramnik twice this year | Photo: Georgios Souleidis

In the game, Kramnik used one of his main weapons in the last few years: to play quiet lines with White in order to get playable positions, which allow him to try to outclass his opponents. He accepted a hanging-pawns formation, but seemed to have enough compensation even after losing one of the pawns. However, things started to go seriously wrong when he kept his ambitious intentions instead of going for a draw.

Lawrence Trent sent an in-depth analysis of the game:

 
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Kramnik who had the White pieces today was no doubt looking to bounce back with a win after a rather disappointing loss in the previous round. 1.Nf3 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.d4 c5 4.Nbd2 As we have seen many times before, Kramnik decides to choose a modest opening setup without delving into deep theory and try to outplay his opponent from an equal middlegame position. e6 5.b3 cxd4 6.exd4 Bb4!? I like this move and it wouldn't surprise me at all if Giri had prepared this beforehand. Previously Vlad played this line twice in Zuerich scoring but has never faced 6...Bb4. The idea is to immediately stifle White's development and threaten either Bc3 or Ne4-c3. 6...Nc6 7.Bb2 g6 8.Bb5 Bg7 9.0-0 0-0 10.Re1 Qb6 11.a4 Bd7 12.c4 a6 13.Bxc6 Bxc6 14.c5 Qc7 15.b4 Ne4 16.Ne5 Nxd2 17.Qxd2 b5 18.cxb6 Qxb6 19.Rec1 Rfc8 20.Rc5 Be8 21.Nd3 Rcb8 22.Bc3 Qd8 23.Ra5 Bf8 24.Nc5 Rb6 25.g3 Bd6 26.h4 Bc7 27.b5 axb5 28.Rxa8 Qxa8 29.axb5 Qc8 30.Ba5 Rxb5 31.Bxc7 Qxc7 32.Qg5 Rb8 33.h5 Qd8 34.Qe5 gxh5 35.Ra7 Rb6 36.Qxh5 Kg7 37.Qg4+ Kf8 38.Qf4 Kg7 39.Qg4+ Kf8 40.Kg2 h6 41.Qf3 Kg7 42.Qa3 Qf6 43.Ra8 Bb5 44.Qa5 Bc6 45.Qxb6 Bxa8 46.Qc7 h5 47.f3 Qf5 48.Nd7 Bb7 49.Qc5 Ba6 50.Kf2 Kh7 51.Ne5 Kg7 52.Nd7 Bc4 53.Qf8+ Kh7 54.Ne5 Qc2+ 55.Kg1 Qd1+ 56.Kh2 Qd2+ 57.Kh3 Bf1+ 58.Kh4 Qh2+ 59.Kg5 Qxg3+ 60.Ng4 hxg4 61.Qxf7+ Kh8 1/2-1/2 (63) Kramnik,V (2811)-Nakamura,H (2793) Zuerich 2017 62.Qf8+ Kh7 63.Qf7+ Kh8 1/2-1/2 (63) Kramnik,V (2811) -Nakamura,H (2793) Zuerich 2017 6...Bd6 7.Bd3 b6 8.Qe2 Nc6 9.a3 Bb7 10.Bb2 Rc8 11.Ne5 Nd7 12.f4 Qh4+ 13.g3 Qe7 14.0-0 0-0 15.Nxd7 Qxd7 16.f5 exf5 17.Bxf5 Qe8 18.Qd3 Rc7 19.Bxh7+ Kh8 20.Bf5 g6 21.Bh3 Re7 22.Nf3 Bc8 23.Bxc8 Qxc8 24.Rae1 Rxe1 25.Rxe1 Ne7 26.c4 Kg8 27.Kg2 Nf5 28.cxd5 Re8 29.Rxe8+ Qxe8 30.Bc1 Ne7 31.Qe4 Qb5 32.Bf4 Bxa3 33.d6 Nf5 34.Qa8+ Kg7 35.Be5+ f6 36.Qxa7+ Kh6 37.Bf4+ g5 38.Qf7 1-0 (38) Kramnik,V (2811)-Svidler,P (2747) Zuerich 2017 7.Bb2 Ne4 8.Bd3 Nc6 9.0-0 Bc3!? strategically speaking this makes sense 10.Bxc3 Nxc3 11.Qe1 Nb4!N it seems as though Black is taking liberties chasing after the White bishop but with the centre closed he is in no danger of being attacked. Indeed the engine gives absolutely no advantage for White at all after this move, making me think that this is more likely to be home prep than not. 11...Qb6 12.Qe3 h6 13.a4 Bd7 14.Nb1 Nxb1 15.Rfxb1 a6 16.c3 1-0 (48) Eidelmann,V (2049) -Gelzenleichter,S (2188) Wingst 2005 12.Nb1 Nxd3 13.Qxc3 Nf4 14.Qe3 Ng6 after a little knight tour it is clear that White has achieved zero advantage from the opening. Maybe Giri was even getting slightly optimistic that he could apply some pressure on the White position, especially down the c-file. 15.c4 Understandable given my previous comment dxc4 16.bxc4 0-0 These hanging pawns are definite targets now. 17.Nc3 Bd7 17...b6 followed by Bb7 was also =+ 18.Rfd1 Rc8 19.Nd2 Nh4 19...Qh4!? 20.Rac1 20.c5 Bc6 20...b6 20.Qd3 Nf5 21.Rac1 Qc7 22.d5 Kramnik decides to try and create some play but Giri cooly deals with it. Rfd8! 23.h3 23.dxe6 Bxe6 24.Nd5 Bxd5 24...Qa5!? 25.Nb3 Qa3 25.cxd5 Qxc1 26.Rxc1 Rxc1+ 27.Nf1 Nd6 23...b6 24.Nf3!? a very good move provoking Black into taking material. Qxc4?! it's difficult to overly criticise this move but it does seem to give White an easy route to equality. Better was 24...Be8!? or 24...h6!? maintaining some tension and forcing White to find more precise moves. 25.Qxc4 Rxc4 26.dxe6 fxe6 27.Rd3! now White can get coordinated very quickly and should be able to swap down to very drawish endings. e5 Black is pretty much forced to return material on account of Rcd1 coming next 28.Nxe5 28.Rcd1 Re8 29.Rxd7 Rxc3 30.Rxa7 e4 31.Ne5!= should be equal 28...Rd4 29.Rf3 I can't really tell if Kramnik was being (over)optimistic here or not 29.Rxd4 Nxd4 30.Rd1 Be6 is level 29...Nh4 30.Re3 Nf5 31.Ree1 Be8 32.Ne4 Ra4 33.Rc7 Kramnik goes for it Rxa2 34.Kh2 h6 35.Ng4?! 35.Nf3 Bf7 36.g4 Nd4 37.Nxd4 Rxd4 38.Rc8+ Kh7 39.Rc7 Kg8 40.Rc8+ Kh7 41.Rc7 is one possible repetition 35...Kf8! 36.Rec1?! Kramnik is starting to lose the thread Re2 37.f3? Nh4? 37...a5-+ and White really has no threats. Black however will just run his pawns up the board. 38.Ngf2! now White can potentially double on the 7th with the Black knight no longer defending the kingside. Bg6 39.Rc8?! 39.Kg1! had to be found Bxe4 40.fxe4 and White can drum up enough counterplay to equalise. 39...Re8! 40.Kg3 Nf5+ 41.Kh2 Nd4 42.R1c3 a5 Black has successfully coordinated his forces and is once again winning 43.R8c4 Rd8 44.Rc7 Ne6 45.R7c6 Nf4 46.Rc8 Re8 47.Rxe8+ Kxe8 48.Rc8+ Kd7 49.Rg8 Ne6 keeping things nice and tidy 50.Kg3 Kc7 51.h4 Rc2 52.Ra8 Kb7 53.Rh8 Rc6! now there is no way to stop the pawns marching 54.h5 Bxe4 55.Nxe4 a4 56.Re8 a3 57.Re7+ Ka6 58.Re8 Ka7 59.Nd2 a2 60.Nb3 Rc3 61.Na1 Rc1 62.Rxe6 Rxa1 63.Re2 b5 64.Kf4 Kb6 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Kramnik,V2792Giri,A27820–12018D0546. Sparkassen Chess-Meeting 20186

The other decisive game of the day saw Georg Meier get his first win of the event against his compatriot Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu. This was Nisipeanu's fourth loss in the tournament, something nobody had expected given his extra-solid performances in his previous appearances in Dortmund. He will finish the event with White against Radek Wojtaszek, and most likely will try to finish the game as quickly as possible in order to recover mentally before his next tournament.

Georg Meier drew all his previous games and is now in contention for first place | Photo: Georgios Souleidis

On the other hand, Meier is showing that his positional brand of chess can be used effectively at this level. Earlier this year, at the GRENKE Classic, he almost defeated Magnus Carlsen, and now he is only half a point behind the leader — moreover, he will play Nepomniachtchi in Sunday's final round.

In the game, he sacrificed a pawn to keep the initiative in a Closed Catalan and showed great technique to convert his endgame advantage. Once again, the game was fully analysed by Lawrence Trent:

 
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1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.d4 0-0 6.Nc3!? an interesting move order. The heavily analysed mainline begins with 6.0-0 6.0-0 dxc4 7.Ne5 Qd6 8.Na3 Rd8 9.Naxc4 Qa6 10.Qc2 Rxd4 11.Bg5 Nbd7 12.Rfd1 Rxd1+ 13.Rxd1 Nxe5 14.Nxe5 Qa5 15.Bf4 Nd5 16.Be4 g6 17.Bh6 Qc5 18.Qd2 Qb4 19.Qc2 Qc5 20.Qd3 Qd6 21.Nc4 Qc5 22.Qf3 c6 23.Bd3 Nf6 24.e4 e5 25.Be3 Qb4 26.Nxe5 Qxb2 27.Bf4 Be6 28.Rb1 Qxa2 29.Rxb7 Bc5 30.Kg2 Re8 31.h3 Bxf2 32.Qxf2 Bxh3+ 33.Kg1 Qxf2+ 34.Kxf2 Rxe5 35.Bxe5 Ng4+ 36.Kg1 Nxe5 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+ Ke7 51.Rg8 Nxe4+ 52.Kxc6 Nd6+ 53.Kc5 Nxc4 54.Kxc4 Kf7 1/2-1/2 (54) Kramnik,V (2800)-Mamedyarov,S (2809) Berlin 2018 6...dxc4 7.Ne5 Qd6!? this idea was seen most recently by Mamedyarov in the Candidates (with 0-0 instead of Nc3). Black avoids mass exchanges and puts the Queen on a6. Meier, a strong theoretician, seems to believe that this move order benefits White and by the looks of this game, he is absolutely right. 7...c5 8.dxc5 Qxd1+ 9.Nxd1 Bxc5 10.Nc3 Nc6 11.Nxc4 Rd8 12.Be3 Bxe3 13.Nxe3 Rb8 14.f4 e5 15.f5 Nd4 16.g4 b6 17.Rc1 Bb7 18.Bxb7 Rxb7 19.Kf2 h6 20.h4 g5 21.fxg6 fxg6 22.Rhg1 Ne6 23.g5 hxg5 24.hxg5 Nh7 25.Ne4 Kg7 26.Rc6 Nd4 27.Rc3 Ne6 28.Rc6 Nd4 29.Rc3 Ne6 1/2-1/2 (29) Giri,A (2793)-Topalov,V (2780) Moscow 2016 7...Nc6 8.Bxc6 bxc6 9.Nxc6 Qe8 10.Nxe7+ Qxe7 11.Qa4 c5 12.dxc5 Qxc5 13.Be3 Qc7 14.Rd1 Bb7 15.0-0 Nd5 16.Bd4 Rfd8 17.Nxd5 Rxd5 18.Bc3 h5 19.Rxd5 Bxd5 20.Rd1 a6 21.Rd4 Qe5 22.Rg4 Qxe2 23.Rxg7+ Kf8 24.Rg5 Qf3 25.Bb4# 1-0 (25) Bai,J (2594)-Lu,S (2630) Tianjin 2018 8.0-0!? 8.Nxc4 is most played Qa6 9.Qb3 Nc6 10.e3 Rb8 11.Qb5 Qxb5 12.Nxb5 Nb4 13.0-0 Bd7 14.Nc3 Rfc8 and Black was more than ok and indeed went on to win: 0-1 (45) Svidler,P (2727)-Kramnik,V (2777) Skopje 2015 CBM 169 [Roiz,M] 8...Qa6 so White sacrifices a pawn but has an idea up his sleeve 9.a4!? threatening to simply play Nb5 and exploit the weakness on c7 Rd8!? 9...Nc6!? 10.Nb5 Nxe5 11.dxe5 Rd8 12.Qc2 Nd5 13.Qxc4 c6 14.Nd6 Qxc4 15.Nxc4 b6 16.Bd2 Ba6 17.Rfc1 seemed like perfectly acceptable play in ½-½ (17) Efimenko,Z (2647) -Kravtsiv,M (2623) Lvov 2015. It would be interesting to know what improvement Georg had found. 10.Nb5 Ne8 11.Qc2 Nc6 12.Qxc4!? Nxd4 13.Be3 Nf5 14.Bc5 Bxc5 15.Qxc5 White sacrifices another pawn to maintain decent pressure and it seems to work out very well. Qb6 15...Bd7!? 16.Nxc7 Nxc7 17.Qxc7 Qd6 18.Rfc1 Rac8 19.Qxd6 Nxd6 20.Rxc8 Bxc8 was a way to cleanly equalise. 16.Qxb6 axb6 17.Rfd1 Nfd6 18.Rac1 f6 19.Nc4 Bd7?! 19...Rxa4!? 20.b3 Rxc4 21.Rxc4 Rd7! 22.Nxd6 Nxd6 23.Ra4 Re7 24.Ra8 Re8 seemed like a decent attempt for Black to construct a fortress of sorts. 20.Nxc7! Bxa4 21.Rxd6! Nxd6 22.Nxd6 the point, White wins two pieces for the rook Ra7 23.Nc4 Rd1+ 24.Rxd1 Bxd1 the dust has settled and White is clearly better. What's more, Georg loves playing these positions so it is no surprise he managed to convert from here. 25.Nxe6 Ra1 26.Bd5 Bxe2+ 27.Kg2 Bxc4 28.Bxc4 Kf7 29.Nd4+ Ke7 30.Nf5+ Kf8 31.b3 Rd1 32.Ne3 Rd2 33.h4 g6 34.g4 Rb2 35.Nd1 Rd2 36.Nc3 Rd4 37.Kg3 Rd8 38.f3 Kg7 39.Kf4 Rd2 40.Ne4 Rd1 Black is simply helpless and White can improve his positions slowly but surely. 41.h5 b5 42.Be6 Rh1 43.Bd5 b6 44.hxg6 hxg6 45.Nc3 b4 46.Na2 g5+? a critical mistake under huge pressure. It seems as though Black still had chances to hold after 46...Re1! 47.Be4 g5+ 48.Kf5 Re3 49.Nxb4 Rxb3 50.Nd5± and even though this is no fun, Black should probably be able to hold with correct play. 47.Ke3 now b4 falls and Black can't even win the b3 pawn Kf8 48.Nxb4 Ke7 49.Be4 Nd5 is coming next and either b6 or f6 falls so Black understandbly threw in the towel. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Meier,G2628Nisipeanu,L26721–02018E0646. Sparkassen Chess-Meeting 20186

The other key game of the round finished in a draw, but could have gone a very different way. Jan-Krzysztof Duda outplayed Ian Nepomniachtchi in the middlegame of a Sicilian, but could not convert in the end. It should be said that Nepo showed great defensive skills, as he had done in round two against Kovalev. Duda started to stumble around move 42:

 
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We join game of the round after move 42 where it was the young Polish phenom who had masterfully outplayed the tournament leader to get the following wonderful position. White has every trump you could hope for in this line of the Sicilian; a beautifully supported knight on d5, a clamp on the queenside, a potential break on the kingside and Black has got close to no active plan. Nepo quite understandbly took drastic measures 42.h4 b5 probably forced, what else? 43.axb6 Bxb6 44.Nxb6?! 44.g5! with the bishop having departed d8, this is now an extremely strong move Bxd5 45.g6+! Kh8 46.Nxd5+- and Black is unlikely to be able to cover the multiple weaknesses in his position (a6, d6, f6&h6 potential sacrifices etc) 44...Rxb6 45.Bxc5 dxc5 46.Rxa6 Winning a pawn like this can hardly be over-criticised, but it does give Black greater chances to counter compared to the previous line. Rcb8 47.Rxb6 Rxb6 48.Ra7 Rb8 49.Na4?! a serious innacuracy 49.Qd1! Rd8 50.Nd5± and White maintains control 49...Rd8!? Nepo spots a nice swindle attempt 50.Nxc5 Rd4 51.Kf3? 51.g5! should still be good enough e.g. fxg5 52.hxg5 hxg5 53.Qc1 is completely over 51...Qc6! 52.Na4?? White completely loses control and misses a nice shot Bxc4! ouch 53.bxc4 Rxc4 now White can't simultaneously defend e4 and a4 and the game simply peters out. 54.Qb1 Rxa4 55.Rxa4 Qxa4 56.Qd3 Qa1 57.Kg2 Qc1 58.h5 Qf4 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Duda,J2737Nepomniachtchi,I2757½–½2018B5146. Sparkassen Chess-Meeting 20186

Duda could not convert his advantage against Nepomniachtchi | Photo: Georgios Souleidis

Finally, the quietest encounter of the day was the draw between Wojtaszek and Kovalev, but it was by no means a quick "grandmaster draw". The Polish player tried to take advantage of Black's inferior pawn structure, but it was never enough to tip the balance in his favour. The opponents shook hands after 47 moves.

Kovalev has not lost yet in his first supertournament appearance | Photo: Georgios Souleidis

So this year's edition of the Dortmund supertournament will be decided tomorrow. Nepomniachtchi will have the white pieces against Meier, Giri will be White against Duda and Kovalev will face a fearless Kramnik, who will probably try to win despite being Black. Wojtaszek and Nisipeanu will try to finish the tournament on a high, but their game is the only one that faces two players that are already out of contention for first place. 

Standings after Round 6

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Games of Round 6

 
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Antonio is a freelance writer and a philologist. He is mainly interested in the links between chess and culture, primarily literature. In chess games, he skews towards endgames and positional play.

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