Dortmund, Rd. 3: Kramnik in the style of Tal
7/12/2016 – Round three of the Sparkassen Chess-Meeting in Dortmund was a delight for spectators. This was to a huge part due to Vladimir Kramnik, ten times winner in Dortmund, who really seems to be inspired by the flair of this tournament. The former World Champion played with White against Rainer Buhmann and initiated a brilliant sacrificial attack in the spirit of Mikhail Tal. But Buhmann defended well and saved a draw!
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Whatever the players did during the rest day in Dortmund - it seemed to have recharged their batteries. Which led to hard fought and exciting games in round three.
Players and officials
The most spectacular game was played by Vladimir Kramnik and Rainer Buhmann. The former World Champion seemed to be well prepared against Buhmann's French Defense and entered a sharp line in which he sacrificed two pieces for a strong attack. To keep the fire of the attack going Kramnik continued to sacrifice material to mate Black's king. But Buhmann refused to get mated and the game finally ended in a draw.
Against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu opted for a popular line that led to a position in which White has an exchange for a pawn but has hardly any winning chances and is not at all in danger to lose.
Fabiano Caruana played with Black against Evgeny Najer and showed the attacking potential of the Caro-Kann.
Leinier Dominguez was the second winner of the round after defeating Ruslan Ponomariov in an ending after 75 moves and almost seven hours of play.
Results of round 3
| Brd | Title | Name | ELO | Res. | Title | Name | ELO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM | Evgeniy Najer | 2681 | 0 - 1 | GM | Fabiano Caruana | 2804 |
| 2 | GM | Liviu Dieter Nisipeanu | 2674 | ½ - ½ | GM | Maxime Vachier Lagrave | 2788 |
| 3 | GM | Leinier Dominguez Perez | 2732 | 1 - 0 | GM | Ruslan Ponomariov | 2715 |
| 4 | GM | Vladimir Kramnik | 2801 | ½ - ½ | GM | Rainer Buhmann | 2651 |
Games of rounds 1 to 3
Standings after three rounds
| Rg. | Title | Name | Nation | Elo | Perf. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Pkt. | Wtg. |
| 1 | GM | Maxime Vachier Lagrave |
|
2788 | +92 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 2.0 / 3 | 3.00 | |||||
| 2 | GM | Leinier Dominguez Perez |
|
2732 | +110 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 2.0 / 3 | 2.75 | |||||
| 3 | GM | Vladimir Kramnik |
|
2801 | -77 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1.5 / 3 | 2.50 | |||||
| 4 | GM | Liviu Dieter Nisipeanu |
|
2674 | +95 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1.5 / 3 | 2.50 | |||||
| 5 | GM | Fabiano Caruana |
|
2804 | -89 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1.5 / 3 | 1.75 | |||||
| 6 | GM | Ruslan Ponomariov |
|
2715 | -19 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1.5 / 3 | 1.75 | |||||
| 7 | GM | Rainer Buhmann |
|
2651 | -33 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1.0 / 3 | 1.75 | |||||
| 8 | GM | Evgeniy Najer |
|
2681 | -78 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 / 3 | 1.00 |
