A fitting champion
Those who followed the tournament closely most likely agree that Ian Nepomniachtchi deserved to take clear first place. He could have lost a couple of games, but to be resourceful while defending inferior positions is a key skill to compete at the very top. Nepo showed a blend of his usual pragmatic quick-paced style and some great preparation in the opening to get this win.
If we take a look at his performance in Dortmund, he won three out of his four games with White — he only drew Giri, from a position of strength. On the other hand, he had to survive twice with Black, against Kovalev and especially against Duda. In the end, his display allowed him to win the event on 5/7, leaving three players a whole point behind in the short single round robin.
This was Nepo's third good result in a row, as he arrived after finishing second in Poikovsky and winning the Gideon Japhet Cup in Jerusalem. He is now the twelfth highest-rated player in the world — his result in Dortmund allowed him to overstep Aronian, Grischuk and Yu Yangyi in the ratings list. This might definitely be a breakthrough year for the 28-year-old.
![](/portals/all/2018/07/dortmund-sparkassen-2018/7/Nepo-Meier.jpg)
Nepo had a tough task in his last round game | Photo: Georgios Souleidis
In his final game in Dortmund, he had to face the ever-solid Georg Meier with the white pieces. After going for 1.e4, it was almost certain that Georg was going to defend with the French, and that is exactly what happened. Nepo showed good preparation and great instincts during the early middlegame. By move 20, it was clear that only a miracle would save Meier. IM Lawrence Trent analysed the game that decided the event:
1.e4 | 1,157,099 | 54% | 2422 | --- |
1.d4 | 940,742 | 55% | 2434 | --- |
1.Nf3 | 279,272 | 56% | 2441 | --- |
1.c4 | 180,870 | 56% | 2443 | --- |
1.g3 | 19,622 | 56% | 2427 | --- |
1.b3 | 14,033 | 54% | 2427 | --- |
1.f4 | 5,819 | 48% | 2377 | --- |
1.Nc3 | 3,708 | 51% | 2384 | --- |
1.b4 | 1,731 | 48% | 2378 | --- |
1.a3 | 1,177 | 53% | 2402 | --- |
1.e3 | 1,054 | 48% | 2407 | --- |
1.d3 | 927 | 50% | 2376 | --- |
1.g4 | 648 | 46% | 2360 | --- |
1.h4 | 438 | 52% | 2371 | --- |
1.c3 | 418 | 51% | 2423 | --- |
1.h3 | 260 | 55% | 2413 | --- |
1.a4 | 101 | 59% | 2476 | --- |
1.Nh3 | 88 | 66% | 2510 | --- |
1.f3 | 82 | 47% | 2435 | --- |
1.Na3 | 38 | 62% | 2477 | --- |
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1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Nxf6+ Nxf6 7.Ne5!? 7.Bd3 7.c3 7.Bg5 7.Be3 7.g3 7.Bc4 7...Bd6 7...Nd7 8.Bf4 Nxe5 9.Bxe5 f6 10.Bg3 c5 11.Bc4 cxd4 12.0-0 Bd6 13.Re1 Bxg3 14.hxg3 0-0 15.Re4 Kh8 16.Rxd4 Qc7 17.Bb3 e5 18.Rd2 Bf5 19.Qf3 Bg6 20.Rad1 Rad8 21.Kh2 Rxd2 22.Rxd2 b6 23.Qd5 h5 24.Qd7 Rc8 25.c3 Kh7 26.Be6 Qxd7 27.Rxd7 Re8 28.Bd5 a5 29.Rb7 Rd8 30.c4 Rd6 31.Kg1 Kh6 32.f3 Bb1 33.a3 g5 34.Kf2 h4 35.g4 Kg6 36.b4 axb4 37.axb4 f5 38.Ke3 fxg4 39.fxg4 Kf6 40.b5 Bg6 41.Rc7 Be8 42.Be4 Bf7 43.c5 bxc5 44.Rxc5 Be6 45.Bf3 Rd4 46.b6 Rb4 47.b7 Rb3+ 48.Kd2 Bxg4 49.Bd5 Rb6 50.Rc6+ 7...c5!? 8.Bb5+ Bd7 9.Nxd7 Qa5+!? 10.c3 Qxb5 11.Nxf8 0-0-0‼ 7...Be7 8.Bg5!? 8.Qf3 c5 9.Bb5+ Ke7 10.0-0 cxd4 11.Bf4 g5 12.Bg3 h5 13.h3 g4 14.hxg4 hxg4 15.Qf4 Rh5 16.Rfe1 Qh8 17.Nc6+ Ke8 18.Ne5+ Kf8 19.Kf1 Rf5 20.Qxd4 Be7 21.Bd3 Rh5 22.Rad1 Rh1+ 23.Ke2 Rh5 24.Kd2 Nd5 25.Kc1 Bf6 26.Kb1 Ne7 27.Bc4 Nc6 28.Qd6+ Be7 29.Qc7 8...h6 9.Bh4 0-0 9...Bxe5? 10.dxe5 Qxd1+ 11.Rxd1 Nd5 12.Bb5+ c6 13.Bd3 10.Bd3 c5 11.Qe2!? Qa5+!? 11...cxd4 12.0-0 Be7!? 13.Rad1 Nd5 14.Bxe7 Qxe7 12.c3 cxd4 13.Nc4! Qc5 13...Qd5!? 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.Qg4+ Kh8 16.cxd4 16.Qh4!? Kg7 17.cxd4 Qb4+ 18.Ke2! 16...Qb4+ 17.Kf1?! 17.Ke2 17...Bc7 17...Rg8!? 18.Qh5 Bf8 19.Qxf7 Qe7 20.Qxe7 Bxe7 18.Qe4 f5 19.Qh4 Kg7?? 19...Kh7! 20.g4 b5! 21.g5 21.gxf5 bxc4 22.f6+ cxd3 23.Qe4+ Kh8 24.Qe3 Kh7 25.Qe4+ Kh8 26.Qe3 21...Bf4! 21...Rh8!? 22.Rg1 h5 23.g6+! fxg6 24.Be2 22.Qxf4 bxc4 23.Qh4 Qd2! 24.Qxh6+ Kg8 25.Be2 Rb8 26.Rd1 Qf4= 20.g4! f4 20...b5 21.gxf5 bxc4 22.f6+ Kh8 23.Qxh6+ Kg8 24.Qh7# 20...Bd8 21.Qh5 Qe7 22.h4! fxg4 23.Qxg4+ Kh8 24.Qh5 Qf6 25.Ne5+- 21.Rg1! Bd7 22.Qh5‼ 22.g5?? h5! 23.g6 f6 24.Qxh5 Rh8 22...Rh8 23.g5 hxg5 23...Kf8 24.gxh6 24.Qxg5+ Kf8 25.Qf6! Rxh2 26.Rg7 Be8 27.Bh7 1–0
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Nepomniachtchi,I | 2757 | Meier,G | 2628 | 1–0 | 2018 | C10 | Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting | 7 |
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Ian did not forget to mention that luck was a factor when he expressed his satisfaction on Twitter:
Risk-taking youth
The supertournament debutants Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Vladislav Kovalev showed great nerves all throughout the event and decided to go all-in in their last round encounters. They both ended up drawing, although their games were markedly different.
Kovalev went into a very sharp line against Kramnik. The player from Belarus knew that his famed opponent would not shy away from a real fight, and a real fight is what he got. Kovalev had Kramnik thinking already on move 11:
Black is a pawn up, but his king's position is clearly dangerous. Soon enough, many pieces were exchanged and Black kept his material advantage, but the initiative was still in White's hands. Eventually, the pressure provoked Black to make a mistake, which allowed Kovalev to use a nice tactical shot:
After 31...Qxf6 32.Qxe4, Black probably counted on 32...Nc3 to get back the exchange, but White followed with 33.Qf3 and Black cannot both defend his knight and avoid White from checking with 34.Rb6+. It is hard to blame Kramnik for missing this, especially from afar, as he had already survived a very sharp opening and came from losing two games in a row.
In the resulting endgame, White had a rook and two pawns against Black's knight and two pawns. The computers say that White should win, but this was certainly not an easy task with Kramnik on the other side of the board. The former world champion defended quickly and accurately until Kovalev finally agreed to a draw on move 104. It was clearly the longest game of the event.
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.Ng5 Nh6 6.Nxf7 Nxf7 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Qxc5 d5 10.0-0 dxe4 11.c3 Re8 12.cxd4 Nxd4 13.Nc3 b6 14.Qc4+ Be6 15.Qa4 c5 16.Nxe4 Bd5 17.f3 Bxe4 18.fxe4+ Kg7 19.Qc4 Kh8 20.b4 Rxe4 21.Bb2 Qg8 22.Rf7 Rf8 23.Rxf8 Qxf8 24.bxc5 bxc5 25.Rf1 Qe7 26.Qd5 Kg7 27.h3 g5 28.Bc3 a6 29.Kh1 Kh6 30.Rb1 Nb5 31.Bf6! Qxf6 32.Qxe4 Nc3 33.Qf3! Qxf3 34.Rb6+! Kh5 35.gxf3 Nxa2 36.Rc6! Nb4 37.Rxc5 Nd3 38.Ra5 Kh4 39.Kh2 Nf4 40.Rxa6 40...Kh5 40...h5 41.Ra4+- 41.Rd6 41.Ra4 Kh4 42.Ra7 h6 43.Ra2 Kh5 44.Kg3 Nd5 45.Ra8 Nf4 46.h4! Ne2+ 47.Kf2 Nf4 48.hxg5 hxg5 49.Ke3+- 41...Ne2 42.Rd2 Nf4 43.Kg3 Ng6 44.Rd7 h6 45.Rf7 Ne5 46.Rf5 Ng6 47.Ra5 Nf4 47...Nh4 48.f4 Ng6 49.f5 Nh4 50.Rb5+- 48.h4! Ne2+ 49.Kf2 Nf4 50.hxg5 hxg5 51.Ke3! Ng2+ 52.Kf2 52.Ke4 Kg6 53.Ra6+ Kh5 54.Ra2 Nh4 55.Rh2+- 52...Nf4 53.Ra8? 53.Ke3 Kg6 54.Ke4 Ng2 55.Ra6+ Kh5 56.Ra2 Nh4 56...Nf4 57.Kf5+- 57.Rh2 Kh6 58.f4 Kg6 59.Rh1! Nf5 59...Kf6 60.f5+- 60.Rg1 Nd6+ 61.Ke5 Nf7+ 62.Ke6 Nd8+ 63.Kd6 Nf7+ 64.Ke7+- 53...Kg6! 54.Ke3 Ng2+! 55.Ke4 Nh4 56.Ra6+ Kf7 56...Kg7 57.Ra2 Kf6 58.Ra1 Ke6 59.Rh1 Ng6 60.Rh6 Kf6 61.Rh7 Nh4 62.Ke3 Ng6 63.Ra7 Nh4 64.Ra6+ Kf5 65.Kf2 Ng6 66.Kg3 66...Ne5! 66...Nh4? 67.f4+- 67.Ra8 Ng6 68.Rg8 Ne5 69.Rf8+ 69...Ke6! 69...Kg6? 70.Kf2! Nf7 71.Ke3 70.Kf2 Ng6 71.Rb8 Kf5 72.Rb5+ Kf6 73.Ra5 73...Ne5! 73...Nh4? 74.Kg3+- 74.Ke2 Ng6 75.Ra6+ Kf5 76.Ke3 Nh4! 76...Ne5? 77.Ra5 Kf6 78.Ke4+- 77.Ra5+ Kf6 78.Ke4 Kg6! 78...Ng2? 79.Ra6+ Kf7 80.Kf5 Nh4+ 81.Kg4+- 79.Ra1 Kf6 80.Rg1 Nf5 81.Rg2 Nh4 82.Rh2 Ng6 83.Rh5 Nf4! 83...Nh4? 84.f4+- 84.Rh8 84.Rh6+ Ng6! 84...Ng6! 85.Rb8 85...Nh4! 86.Rg8 Ng6 87.Kd4 Kf5 88.Ke3 Kf6 89.Ke4 Kf7 89...Nh4 90.Rb8 Nh4! 91.Rc8 Kf6 92.Rc1 Ke6 93.Ke3 Kf5 94.Rc5+ Kf6 95.Rb5 Ng6 96.Ke4 Nh4! 97.Rd5 97...Kg6! 97...Ng2? 98.Rd6+ Kf7 99.Kf5+- 98.f4 gxf4 99.Kxf4 Kf7 100.Kg5 Nf3+ 101.Kf4 Nh4 102.Kg5 Nf3+ 103.Kg4 103...Ke6! 103...Ne1? 104.Rd2+- 104.Kxf3 104.Ra5 Ne5+= 104...Kxd5 ½–½ - Start an analysis engine:
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Kovalev,V | 2655 | Kramnik,V | 2792 | ½–½ | 2018 | C44 | Dortmund GM | 7 |
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My Path to the Top
![](https://shop.chessbase.com/en/pics/pth_4155_141)
On this DVD Vladimir Kramnik retraces his career from talented schoolboy to World Champion in 2006. With humour and charm he describes his first successes, what it meant to be part of the Russian Gold Medal team at the Olympiad, and how he undertook the Herculean task of beating his former mentor and teacher Garry Kasparov.
![](/portals/all/2018/07/dortmund-sparkassen-2018/7/Kovalev-Kramnik.jpg)
Arkadij Dvorkovich made the first move in Kovalev-Kramnik | Photo: Georgios Souleidis
On another board, Duda had Black against Anish Giri. The Polish star used the Pirc Defence and a sharp battle with opposite-side castling ensued. Giri had the upper hand during the complex middlegame, but the shots that would have given him a win were very difficult to find over the board. It was the kind of game that can be analysed endlessly. Lawrence Trent pinpointed the critical moments in his annotations:
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be3 0-0 6.Qd2 Nc6!? 6...Ng4 6...c6 6...a6 7.d5 Nb8 8.Bh6 e5?! 8...c6 9.Bxg7 Kxg7 10.Be2 Qb6 11.Rb1 Nbd7 12.0-0 Nc5 13.Qf4 Bg4 14.h3 Bxf3 15.Bxf3 Ncd7 16.Qg3 a5 17.Be2 a4 18.a3 Qc5 19.Rbd1 Ra5 20.Rd2 Rb8 21.Qh4 h5 22.Kh2 Rc8 23.Rd3 b5 24.Rfd1 b4 25.e5 bxc3 26.exf6+ Nxf6 27.Rxc3 Qb6 28.dxc6 Rxc6 29.Qb4 Rf5 30.f3 Re5 31.Bd3 Qc7 32.Rxc6 Qxc6 33.Re1 Qd5 34.Qc3 Rxe1 35.Qxe1 Qg5 36.Kh1 e5 37.b3 d5 38.bxa4 e4 39.fxe4 dxe4 40.Be2 Qe3 41.a5 Nd5 42.a6 Kh7 43.Qf1 f5 44.Bxh5 Nc3 9.dxe6! Bxe6 10.Bxg7 Kxg7 11.0-0-0± Nc6 12.h3 Re8 13.g4 a6 14.Bg2 Nd7 15.Ng5! Nb6 16.f4 Nc4 17.Qd3 b5 18.e5! Nb4 19.Qg3 d5 19...c6 20.h4 h6 21.f5 20.a3?! 20.h4! h6 21.f5 hxg5 22.f6+ Kg8 23.hxg5+- 20...a5 21.Qh4? 21.h4+- 21...h6 22.Nxe6+ fxe6 23.Qxd8 Rexd8 24.Rde1?! 24.Bf1 24.axb4 axb4 25.Nb1 24...d4! 25.Nxb5 d3!? 25...Rab8 26.axb4 Rxb5 27.Bf1 Rxb4 28.Bxc4 Rxc4 26.axb4 d2+ 27.Kb1 dxe1Q+ 28.Rxe1 Rab8 29.Nxc7 Rd2 30.Nxe6+ 30.Be4! 30...Kf7 31.Bf1 Rxb4 32.Kc1 Rf2 33.Nd4 Nxe5! 34.fxe5 Rxd4 35.Bd3 g5 36.Re3 Rdf4 37.Be2 Ke7 38.Kb1 Rf8 39.Ka2 R2f4 40.Ka3 Rb8 41.b3 Rc8 42.Bc4 Rcxc4 43.bxc4 Rxc4 44.c3 a4 45.e6 Rf4 46.Kb2 Rf2+ 47.Ka3 Rf4 ½–½
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Giri,A | 2782 | Duda,J | 2737 | ½–½ | 2018 | | Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting | 7 |
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The Modern Pirc
![](https://shop.chessbase.com/en/pics/pth_8021_141)
The Modern Pirc is actually a mixture of the Caro-Kann and the Pirc. In many lines Black combines the ideas of the classical Pirc in which the fianchettoed bishop is important with the Caro-Kann idea to fight for the center with c6-d5.
![](/portals/all/2018/07/dortmund-sparkassen-2018/7/Giri-Duda.jpg)
Giri and Duda shared the second place with Kovalev on 4/7 | Photo: Georgios Souleidis
The only game that was not going to have a say in deciding the tournament winner was also the least exciting. Defending champion Radek Wojtaszek and Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu played a quiet position that ended in a draw after 34 moves. The experienced grandmasters will undoubtedly recover from their subpar performances in Dortmund.
![](/portals/all/2018/07/dortmund-sparkassen-2018/7/Group-photo.jpg)
A group photo to close the traditional event | Photo: Georgios Souleidis
Final standings
Rk. | | Name | Rtg. | Nt. | Pts. | n | | | | | | | | | TB | Perf. |
---|
1 | | | 2757 | | 5.0 | 7 | | | | | | | | | 15.50 | 2872 |
2 | | | 2655 | | 4.0 | 7 | | | | | | | | | 14.00 | 2779 |
3 | | | 2737 | | 4.0 | 7 | | | | | | | | | 12.75 | 2767 |
4 | | | 2782 | | 4.0 | 7 | | | | | | | | | 12.25 | 2761 |
5 | | | 2628 | | 3.5 | 7 | | | | | | | | | 10.50 | 2733 |
6 | | | 2733 | | 3.0 | 7 | | | | | | | | | 10.50 | 2668 |
7 | | | 2792 | | 3.0 | 7 | | | | | | | | | 10.00 | 2659 |
8 | | | 2672 | | 1.5 | 7 | | | | | | | | | 5.00 | 2496 |
TBs: Sonneborn-Berger |
Games of Round 7
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be3 0-0 6.Qd2 Nc6 7.d5 Nb8 8.Bh6 8.h3 c6 9.g4 b5 10.a3 Qa5 11.Rb1 b4 12.axb4 Qxb4 13.Bd3 cxd5 8...e5 9.dxe6 Bxe6 10.Bxg7 Kxg7 11.0-0-0N 11.Nd4 Re8 12.0-0-0 Nbd7 11...Nc6 12.h3 Re8 12...a6 13.g4!± a6 14.Bg2 Nd7 15.Ng5 Nb6 16.f4 Nc4 17.Qd3 b5 18.e5 Nb4 19.Qg3 d5? 19...c6 20.b3 Qa5 20.a3 20.Qh4 h6= 20...a5 21.Qh4 21.axb4?! axb4 22.Nb1 22.Qh4 bxc3 23.Qxh7+ Kf8= 22...Ra2+- 21.Nxb5 Qb8+- 21.h4+- 21...h6 22.Nxe6+ fxe6 23.Qxd8 23.Qg3 23...Rexd8 24.Rde1 d4 25.Nxb5 25.axb4?! dxc3 26.Bxa8 26.bxc3 Ra6 26...cxb2+ 27.Kb1 Rxa8= 25.Ne4!± Nd5 26.Nc5 25...d3 25...Rab8= 26.axb4 26.Nxc7 Na2+ 27.Kd1 Kf7 26...Rxb5 26.axb4 26.Bxa8 d2+ 27.Kb1 dxe1R+ 28.Rxe1 Nd2+ 29.Kc1 Na2+ 30.Kd1 Nf3+ 31.Ke2 Nxe1 26...d2+ 27.Kb1 dxe1Q+ 28.Rxe1 Rab8! 29.Nxc7 Rd2 30.Nxe6+ 30.Be4! Rxb4 31.b3 30...Kf7 31.Bf1 Rxb4 32.Kc1 Rf2 33.Nd4 Nxe5 34.fxe5 Rxd4= 35.Bd3 g5 36.Re3! Rdf4 37.Be2 Ke7 38.Kb1 38.b3!= 38...Rf8 38...Rh2! 39.Bd3 Rh1+ 40.Ka2 Ra4+ 41.Kb3 Raa1 39.Ka2 R2f4 40.Ka3 Rb8 41.b3 Rc8 42.Bc4 42.c4 Rc5 43.Bf3 Rc8 44.Ka4 Rc5 45.Ka3 42...Rcxc4 43.bxc4 Rxc4 44.c3 a4 45.e6 Rf4 46.Kb2 Rf2+ 47.Ka3 Rf4 ½–½ - Start an analysis engine:
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Giri,A | 2782 | Duda,J | 2737 | ½–½ | 2018 | B08 | 46. Sparkassen Chess-Meeting 2018 | 7 |
Nepomniachtchi,I | 2757 | Meier,G | 2628 | 1–0 | 2018 | C10 | 46. Sparkassen Chess-Meeting 2018 | 7 |
Nisipeanu,L | 2672 | Wojtaszek,R | 2733 | ½–½ | 2018 | D38 | 46. Sparkassen Chess-Meeting 2018 | 7 |
Kovalev,V | 2655 | Kramnik,V | 2792 | ½–½ | 2018 | C44 | 46. Sparkassen Chess-Meeting 2018 | 7 |
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