Gashimov Memorial 2017: Mamedyarov wins second title!

by Albert Silver
5/1/2017 – There were few surprises in the final round of the Gashimov Memorial, and kudos to Alex Yermolinsky for so astutely predicting the action (or lack thereof). Shakhriyar Mamedyarov capped his great run by taking clear first for a second year in a row, showing the event inspires him. Most games were quiet cautious affairs with one exception: Eljanov-Kramnik that had swings and study-like wins. Here is the report with fascinating analysis by GM Elshan Moradiabadi. | Photos: ShamkirChess.az

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Now in its 4th edition, the Gashimov Memorial brings an attractive lineup of top players such as Wesley So, winner of pretty much anything he entered in the last many months, then Vladimir Kramnik who has been sitting pretty with his 2811 Elo since the London Classic, Sergey Karjakin, and of course last year’s winner, local hero Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.  

Vugar Gashimov (1986 - 2014)

Participants

Player
Rating
Wesley So 2822
Vladimir Kramnik 2811
Sergey Karjakin 2783
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2772
Michael Adams 2761
Pentala Harikrishna 2758
Pavel Eljanov 2751
Radoslaw Wojtaszek 2745
Veselin Topalov 2741
Teimour Radjabov 2710

The in spite of a fairly sedate final round, quite expected as predicted by Alex Yermolinsky who signed the report for round eight, the Gashimov Memorial was hardly dull. There were numerous wonderful battles, and it is a sign of how combative it was that not one player can claim an unblemished campaign.

Neither player saw fit to take great risks in the last round | Photo: shamkirchess.az

In fact, only two players will leave without scoring a win: Radjabov, who didn’t actually seem to be trying all that hard, and Harikrishna, who tried but never seemed to get the momentum rolling.

Pavel Eljanov, who lost in the final round, will need to do some serious self-analysis, since he has started so strong, and even had he not won anymore, it was hardly natural to have him then lose no fewer than four games. Consider his game in round nine against Vladimir Kramnik.

Pavel Eljanov vs Vlaimir Kramnik (annotated by Elshan Moradiabadi)

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1.d4 0 Nf6 0 2.c4 0 e6 0 3.Nf3 0 d5 0 Kramnik loves the QGD so much that I can say he is addicted to this move order! 4.g3 0 No QGD for today, The Ukrainian opts for a Catalan instead, but another opening in which Kramnik is considered one of its main theoreticians! Be7 0 4...dxc4 5.Bg2 could lead to very sharp and long theoretically forced lines, where current theory admits that Black is doing just fine! a6 5...Nc6 5...b5?! is a risky line that Anish Giri once punished Morozevich for employing! 6.a4 c6 7.Ne5 Nd5 8.0-0 a6 9.axb5 cxb5
10.b3! cxb3 11.Qxb3 Bb7 12.e4 Nf6 13.d5!
13...Bd6 14.Nxf7 14.dxe6 fxe6 15.Rd1 Qe7 16.Nd3 e5 17.Nxe5! is more decisive. 14...Kxf7 15.dxe6+ Ke8 16.e5 Bxg2 17.exf6 Qxf6 18.Kxg2 Qxa1 19.Bb2 Qa4 20.Qf3 Ra7 21.Rc1 Kd8 22.Bf6+ Be7 23.Qd5+ Nd7 24.Bd4 Rc7 25.Qa8+ 1-0 (25) Giri,A (2720)-Morozevich,A (2748) Beijing 2012 5.Bg2 0 0-0 0 6.0-0 0 dxc4 0 This line is called the Open Catalan. 7.Qc2 0 a6 0 8.a4 0 Bd7 0 9.Qxc4 0 9.Rd1 is another 'less' common though better known line that is losing ground and importance in contemporary theory for being considered too 'harmless'! The most recent famous game in this line was between the talented American GM Jeffrey Xiong against none other than the new Catalan expert, world No.2 Wesley So! You should read this game's commentary in our US Championship coverage by GM Alex Yermolinsky! Bc6 10.Nc3 Bxf3 11.Bxf3 Nc6 12.Bxc6 bxc6 13.Bg5 Rb8 14.e3 c5 15.dxc5 Qe8 16.Rd4 Nd7 17.Bxe7 Qxe7 18.c6 Ne5 19.Qe4 Qc5 20.Nd5 Nd3 21.Nxc7 Nxf2 22.Kxf2 Rxb2+ 23.Kf1 Qh5 24.Qg4 Qxh2 25.Qf3 c3 26.Rc1 e5 27.Rh4 Qd2 28.Rd1 Rd8 29.Nd5 Rxd5 30.Rd4 Rxd4 31.exd4 Qxd1+ 0-1 (31) Xiong,J (2674)-So,W (2822) Saint Louis 2017 9...Bc6 0 10.Bf4 0 Nbd7 0 10...Nd5 11.Nc3!? and it is 'ok' to let the pawns doubled and lose the bishop pair. The reason is that in exchange, White creates a long-term grip with his spatial advantage. Nxf4 12.gxf4 a5 13.Ne5 Bxg2 14.Kxg2 c6 15.Rad1 Na6 16.e3 Nb4 17.Rg1 Nd5 18.Kh1 f6 19.Nf3 1-0 (30) Avrukh,B (2668)-Sanikidze,T (2600) Novi Sad 2009 11.Nc3 0 Bd6!? 0 A less common move which had been tested successfully by the 'world champion' before in a blitz game. 11...Nb6 12.Qd3 12.Qb3 Nbd5 13.Bd2 Nxc3 14.bxc3 Be4 15.Ne5 Bxg2 15...c5? 16.Bxe4 Nxe4 17.Qxb7 Nxd2 18.Nc6 Qd6 19.Nxe7+ Kh8 20.Rfd1 Nc4 21.dxc5 Qxc5 22.Nc6 Ne5 23.Nxe5 Qxe5 24.Rd7 Qxc3 25.Rad1 Qf6 26.Rc7 h6 27.Kg2 Qe5 28.Rxf7 Qxe2 29.Rd6 Rab8 30.Qf3 Qxf3+ 31.Rxf3 Rxf3 32.Kxf3 Rb3+ 33.Kg2 e5 34.Rxa6 Ra3 35.a5 e4 36.Kf1 e3 37.f4 Ra2 38.h3 Kh7 39.Ke1 h5 40.Ra8 Rg2 41.Re8 Rxg3 42.h4 Rh3 43.Re4 Rh1+ 44.Ke2 Ra1 45.Re5 Ra3 46.Rxh5+ Kg6 47.Re5 Kh6 48.Kf3 Kh7 49.Rb5 Kh6 50.Rc5 Kg6 51.Ke2 Kh6 52.Rg5 Kh7 53.Re5 Kg6 54.Rd5 Kh6 55.Kf3 Kg6 56.Rc5 Kh6 57.Rg5 Kh7 58.Re5 Kg6 59.Re6+ Kf5 60.Ra6 e2+ 61.Kxe2 Kxf4 62.Ra7 g6 63.Ra6 Kf5 1/2-1/2 (63) Sargissian,G (2673)-Svetushkin,D (2560) Rethymno 2010 16.Kxg2 Rb8 17.Nd3 Qc8! and I believe after c5 Black should not have any difficulty. 12...Nbd5 13.Bg5 13.Nxd5 Nxd5 14.Bd2 Nf6 15.Rfd1 Be4 16.Qb3 Bd5 17.Qe3 Rc8 with equal play 13...Nb4 14.Qd2 Ne4 15.Nxe4 Bxe4 and Black has equalized. 16.Qf4 Bc6 17.Bxe7 Qxe7 18.Rfc1 a5! 18...Rac8 19.Ra3 Qd6 20.a5 Qxf4 21.gxf4 Rfd8 22.e3 f6 23.Rb3 Na2 24.Rc5 Bd5 25.Ra3 Nb4 26.Ne1 b6 27.Rc1 Kf7 28.Bxd5 exd5 29.Ra4 bxa5 30.Rxa5 Rd6 31.Rac5 c6 32.R1c3 Rb8 33.Rb3 Rdd8 34.Ra5 Rd7 35.Nd3 Rdb7 36.Nc5 Rb5 37.Nxa6 Nxa6 38.Rbxb5 Rxb5 39.Rxa6 Rxb2 40.Rxc6 f5 41.Kg2 h6 42.Rc7+ Kf6 43.Rc8 Kf7 44.Rh8 Ke7 45.h4 Kf7 46.h5 Ke7 47.Rg8 Kf7 48.Rd8 Rb5 49.Rd7+ Kf6 50.Kf3 Ra5 51.Ke2 g5 52.hxg6 Kxg6 53.Rd6+ Kg7 54.Kf3 Rb5 55.Kg3 Ra5 56.Kh4 Rb5 57.Kg3 Ra5 58.Rc6 Ra7 59.Rc5 Rd7 60.Kh4 Rd6 61.Kh5 Kf7 62.Rc7+ Ke8 63.Rh7 1-0 (63) Rahman,Z (2492) -Babu,N (2339) Chennai 2004 12.e3 0 12.Rfe1 Bxf4 13.gxf4 Nb6 14.Qd3 Nbd5 15.e3 Nb4 15...Nxc3 16.bxc3 Be4 17.Qf1 c5 ½-½ (33) Postny,E (2625)-Tang,A (2421) Kavala 2016 Looks also good! 16.Qd2 a5 17.Rac1 Qe7 18.Red1 Rfd8 19.Qe2 Bxf3 20.Bxf3 c6 0-1 (52) Ragger,M (2632) -Carlsen,M (2881) Dubai 2014 With equal play. 12.Bd2 In another blitz battle between another two opening experts, one of whom was the world championship finalist, the game took a different path. Ne4 13.Nxe4 Bxe4 14.Ng5 Bxg2 15.Kxg2 Nf6 16.Qc2 Rc8!? 16...h6 17.Nf3 Qe7 18.e4 Bb4 19.Bxb4 Qxb4 20.a5 Rac8 21.Rfc1 c5 22.Ra4 Qb5 23.Rc4 Qxa5 24.b4 Qb5 25.dxc5 Qc6 26.Rd4 Rfd8 27.Rcd1 Rxd4 28.Rxd4 a5 29.bxa5 Nd7 30.Rc4 Qb5 31.Nd4 Qa6 32.c6 bxc6 33.Rxc6 Rxc6 34.Qxc6 Qa7 35.Nb5 1-0 (35) Gelfand,B (2741) -Kasimdzhanov,R (2704) Berlin 2015 17.b4 e5 18.dxe5 Bxe5 19.Rad1 Qe7 20.e4 h6 21.Nf3 c5 22.bxc5 Rxc5 23.Qb3 a5 24.Bc1 Qe8! should be equal too but it is not that easy. 12...Nb6 0 13.Qb3 0 Bxf4 0 14.gxf4 0 a5 0 15.Ne5 53 Bxg2 0 16.Kxg2 34 Nbd5 0 17.Rg1 15:35 This came after some thought. There should be something here new for Eljanov. 17.Qxb7 Rb8 18.Qc6 Rb6 19.Qc4 Rxb2
looks more comfortable for Black. 17...Rc8 14:14 Kramnik is playing enterprising and opts for c5. 18.Rac1 5:31 18.Qxb7 Rb8 19.Qc6 Rb6 20.Qc4 Rxb2 is worse this time as the f2-pawn is not protected anymore 18...Nb4 2:39 19.Qc4 9:38 g6 0 20.Rgd1 2:39 c6 8:06 Change of heart for both players. They went back to the center with a rigid pawn structure. It is hard to claim anything for either side. 21.Qe2 2:04 Qe7 0 22.Nc4 10:35 Qc7 7:22 23.Qf3 2:34 Nbd5 2:24 24.h4 8:52 Eljanov decided to try something. Rfd8 3:03 25.b3 8:12 Nxc3 4:55 26.Rxc3 34 Qe7 5:05 27.Ne5 4:40 27.Nxa5?? Qb4-+ 27...Kg7 8:23 28.Kh3 7:11 White is not really pushing, but in an attempt to create something, Eljanov managed to provoke Kramnik into 'trying' something as well. c5 6:07 A natural reaction. White's king could become weak if Black manages to open up a central file. 29.Rdc1 4:29 b6 3:29 30.dxc5 6:52 Rxc5 9:44 31.Rxc5 1:12 bxc5 31 32.Nc6 4:55 Qb7 1:17 33.Kg2 36 Rd5 0 34.Nxa5 35 Qb4 2:35 35.Nc4 34 Qxb3 46 36.a5 34 After a series of forced moves, the players reached an equal 'almost' endgame. The knight on c4 is strong but it keeps White's rook tied to c4 and while the a-pawn looks strong too, it is very much under control. Qa2 5:11 37.Kf1 42 Rh5 4:39 38.Qe2 1:55 Qb3? 2:29 38...Qa4 is necessary to stop the a-pawn. 39.Kg2 Rxh4 40.Qb2 Rg4+ 41.Kf3 Qc6+ 42.Ke2 Rg2 43.Ra1 Qa6 44.Kf1 44.Ra4?? Rh2 And White is losing as he cannot make any progress because 45.Qb6 loses to Qa8 46.a6 Qg2 44...Rg4 44...Rh2 45.Kg1 Rh5 46.Ne5
and White dominates and wins! 45.Rc1 Qc6 46.Ne5 Qa6+ 46...Qg2+ 47.Ke2 Rg3 47...Rh4 48.a6 Qxf2+ 49.Kxf2 Rh2+ 50.Ke1 Rxb2 51.Rxc5 Nd5 51...Ra2 52.Rc7 Ne4 53.Rxf7+ Kg8 54.a7 Ra1+ 55.Ke2 Nc3+ 56.Kf3 Nb5 and Black should be able to hold this position 52.e4 Nxf4 53.Ra5 Ng2+ 54.Kf1 Ne3+ 55.Kg1 Rb8 56.a7 Ra8 57.Nc6 Nc4 58.Rb5 Kf6 59.Rb8 Ne5 60.Rxa8 Nxc6 is a surprising draw too but it is very hard to find. 48.Rxc5 does not look as if Black has a concrete plan for counter play. 47.Nc4 with a draw as the most probable result. 39.Qc2? 3:21 39.Qb2 Qd3+ 40.Kg1 Rxh4 40...Qe4 41.f3‼ be my guest! Qxf3 42.Qg2 Qxg2+ 43.Kxg2 Rd5 44.a6 Rd7 45.Ra1 Ra7 46.Nd6 Nd5 47.Nb5 Ra8 48.Kf3 with very good winning chances for White. 41.f3‼ is too insanely hard to see! Rh5 41...Qd5 42.Ne5 and black's pieces are scattered around the board and the pin along the diagonal and the a-pawn would torn them apart! 42.a6 Rd5 43.a7 Rd8 44.Qb7+- another counter intuitive move! White's king leave his alleged weakened king to promote the a-pawn to yet another queen. 39...Qb7 1:18 40.Qb2 0 Qa8 0 41.Ke2 0 Rxh4 0 42.Rb1 0 Time trouble is over and the dusts are settled, we have a position similar to the one analyzed earlier on move 38. Qg2?? 0 A blunder according to Houdini and colleagues! 43.Ne5?? 7:38 Returns the favor once again. 43.a6 wins in a collection of fantastic geometry and finness. I really cannot expect anyone to see all this unless their intuition leads them to the solution. The followint line, selected out of many possible ones is worthy of a study! Rh2 43...Rh3 44.Rf1 same story e5 45.Qxe5 Qf3+ 46.Ke1 Rh1 47.Nd2 Rxf1+ 48.Nxf1 48.Kxf1?? Qd1+ 49.Kg2 Qxd2 50.a7 Qd8 51.Qb8 Qd5+ and perpetual! 48...Qa8
49.Qa1‼ Sheer poetry, fantastic geometry! c4 50.a7 c3 51.f5! h5 51...gxf5 52.Ng3 Kg6 53.Qa5 Nd5 54.Qa6+ f6 55.Qe6 Qxa7 56.Qg8+ Qg7 57.Qxd5 and white wins! 52.fxg6 fxg6 53.Qa5 Nd5 54.e4 c2 55.Kd2 and White wins! I can hardly blame Eljanov for missing all these beautiful moves! 44.Rf1 Qd5 45.Ne5 and surprisingly, it is once again Black's pieces who are going to be torn apart. due to the pin and advanced a-pawn. 43...c4! 14:41 Kramnik fixes matters. Now Black is safe again! 44.Qd4? 6:14 A serious mistake! 44.Nd7 Rxf4 45.exf4 Qe4+ it was time to call it a day. 44...c3! 5:41 45.a6 7:45 45.Qxc3 loses on spot. Ne4 45...c2 2:02 46.Rc1 9:55 Rh1! 1:59 Flawless technique by the ex-world champion 47.Rxc2 2:04 Qf1+ 2:12 48.Kd2 34 Qd1+! 3:23 even better than Qxf2! great intuition 49.Kc3 34 Qa1+ 50 50.Kb3 34 Qxa6 1:41 The a-pawn is gone, and with it all of White's hope! White's king has no shelter and Black slowly but assuredly converted! 51.Nc4 1:03 Rb1+ 2:16 52.Nb2 0 Ra1 1:03 53.Rc5 1:27 Ra3+ 1:08 54.Kb4 35 Ra2 42 55.Qc3 1:18 Qb6+ 1:16 56.Rb5 41 Qd6+ 39 57.Rc5 49 Ra8 1:56 58.Nd3 47 Rb8+ 0 59.Ka4 45 Qa6+ 1:12 60.Ra5 0 Qb7 0 The king is tied up and all White's pieces are defending mate squares. Black just needs his knight. 61.Nc5 0 Qb1 0 62.Ka3 0 Kg8! 0 Here comes the knight, unpinned! 63.Nb3 0 63.Qxf6 Qb4+ 64.Ka2 Qxa5+ 65.Na4 Qxa4# 63...Nd5 0 A sad loss for Eljanov when he actually could have won the game! He really needed some intuition more than calculation but it is really hard to have intuition when your king is not in the safest situation! 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Eljanov,P2751Kramnik,V28110–12017E054th Shamkir Chess 20179

Vladimir Kramnik had an uneven event, and it is saying something that he had the fewest draws in the event, barring the last place finisher, which he was not. A final blitz with strong play suggests that with a slightly more consistent demeanor, he could have seriously challenged for the top spot.

Fighting chess, but with fewer losses Vladimir Kramnik might have challenged for gold | Photo: shamkirchess.az

Wesley So had arrived with huge momentum, and it was to be expected that his run would end one day. Still, in spite of the shock loss in round one, he recovered soon enough after a few draws and ended tied for 2nd in the end. He will have a chance to ‘rectify’ this in the next months though.

Wesley So took second on tiebreak with a plus one score | Photo: shamkirchess.az

Finally, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov did the unexpected, which often characterizes his chess, by winning the event outright for a second year in a row. It might seem odd to call this unexpected in view of his elite rating and as the reigning champion, but Wesley So and Vladimir Kramnik were the pundit favorites due to recent results and rating. A hearty congratulations to the Azeri player who did his home crowd proud.

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov is the champion of the 2017 Gashimov Memorial | Photo: shamkirchess.az

Final standings

(click for high-res)

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Born in the US, he grew up in Paris, France, where he completed his Baccalaureat, and after college moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He had a peak rating of 2240 FIDE, and was a key designer of Chess Assistant 6. In 2010 he joined the ChessBase family as an editor and writer at ChessBase News. He is also a passionate photographer with work appearing in numerous publications, and the content creator of the YouTube channel, Chess & Tech.

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