Gibraltar 09: Eight players share lead

by André Schulz
2/4/2016 – The two top encounters of the ninth round of the Gibraltar Open ended in a draw. E. Bacrot drew M. Vachier-Lagrave, P. Harikrishna shared the point with D. Anton. This allowed four players to catch up and now eight players share the lead with 7.0/9 before the tenth and final round. If no sole leader emerges, a play-off will decide the winner.
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Play in the tenth and final round starts at 11.00 local time (GMT+1).

 

Watch it live on Playchess!

 

Pictures: John Saunders, Sophie Triay (Tournament page)

The French duel between...

...Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (left, with White) and Etienne Bacrot

David Guijarro Anton vs Pentala Harikrishna

One of the players who now share the lead is top seed Hikaru Nakamura, winner of the Tradewise Gibraltar Festival 2015. In a topical line of the Grünfeld with 3.f3 he won with White against Abhijeet Gupta.

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.f3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nb6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.Nc3 0-0 8.Qd2 White played a set-up against the Grünfeld that recently has become popular. e5 8...Nc6 9.0-0-0 f5 10.e5 Nb4 11.Nh3 Qe8 12.Kb1 a5 13.Be2 c6 14.Rc1 Kh8 15.Ka1 Be6 16.Nf4 Qf7 17.h4 Bxa2 18.h5 Kg8 19.hxg6 hxg6 20.g4 Bb3 21.Bd1 a4 22.Qh2 Rfd8 23.Qh7+ Kf8 24.d5 Nc4 25.Nxg6+ Ke8 26.e6 a3 27.exf7+ Kd7 28.Ne5+ Bxe5 29.Qxf5+ Kc7 30.Qxe5+ Nxe5 31.Bxb3 axb2+ 32.Kxb2 Nbd3+ 33.Kb1 Nxc1 34.Rxc1 Kc8 35.dxc6 bxc6 36.f4 1-0 (36) Carlsen,M (2834)-Li,C (2750) Doha 2015 9.d5 c6 10.h4 cxd5 11.exd5 N8d7 12.h5 Nf6 13.hxg6 fxg6 14.0-0-0 Qd6 14...Bd7 15.Kb1 Rc8 16.Ka1 e4 17.Bd4 Na4 18.Nge2 Qa5 19.Nxe4 Qxd2 20.Nxf6+ Rxf6 21.Rxd2 Rf5 22.Bxg7 Kxg7 23.d6 Rfc5 24.Rd1 a5 25.Rh4 Rc2 26.b3 Nb2 27.Rb1 Nd3 28.Nd4 Rd2 29.Bxd3 Rxd3 30.Re1 Rd2 31.Kb1 Bf5+ 32.Nxf5+ gxf5 33.Re7+ Kg6 34.Rc7 Re8 35.Rh1 Ree2 36.d7 Rb2+ 37.Kc1 Rxa2 1/2-1/2 (37) Anand,V (2791)-Gelfand,B (2727) Moscow 2012 15.Kb1 Bf5+ 16.Ka1 Rac8 16...h5 17.Nh3 e4 18.Bh6 Rad8 19.Bxg7 Kxg7 20.Nf4 Rfe8 21.Bb5 e3 22.Qd4 Re5 23.Bd3 Nbxd5 24.Nfxd5 Bxd3 25.Rxd3 Nxd5 26.f4 Nxc3 27.Qxd6 Rxd6 28.Rxd6 Rd5 29.Rxd5 Nxd5 30.g3 Kf6 31.Rd1 Ke6 32.Kb1 h4 33.gxh4 e2 34.Re1 Nxf4 35.Kc2 Kf5 36.Kd2 Ke4 37.b4 Kf3 38.a4 Kf2 39.b5 b6 40.Rh1 Ng2 0-1 (40) Sasikiran,K (2682)-Wei,Y (2706) Hyderabad 2015 17.g4
17...Rxc3!? With this exchange sacrifice Black gains time to build up his attack but all in all his compensation is inadequate. However, after 17...Bd7 18.g5 18.Qh2 with the idea Ne4 Qb4 19.Ne4 Nbxd5 18...Nh5 19.Ne4 Qc7 20.Qe1± the engines favor White. (After 20...Nc4? White wins with 21.Bc5). Nc4? 21.Bc5 18.Qxc3 Rc8 19.Qe1 Bc2 20.Rc1 e4?! 20...Nfxd5 21.Bh6 Bxh6 22.Rxh6 Rc7 23.Qd2 Ba4 24.Rxc7 Qxc7 25.Nh3± and White is an exchange up while Black has to fight with a weak kingside. 21.Bd4 Qxd5 22.Bc3 Bd3 23.Nh3
23...Na4? This attempt at counterplay turns out to be an illusion. After 23...Bxf1 24.Rxf1 exf3 25.Nf4 White has the better chances but the game is not over yet. 24.Nf4 24.Bxd3 also wins: Nxc3 25.Rxc3 Rxc3 26.Qxc3 exd3 26...Qxd3 27.Qc8+ Bf8 28.Qe6+ Kg7 29.Ng5+- 27.Nf4 Qf7 28.Qc8+ Bf8 29.Nxd3+- 24...Qd6 25.Nxd3 exd3 26.Bxd3 Qb6 26...Qxd3? 27.Qe6++- and White picks up the rook on c8. 27.Bc2 27.Bc2 Nxc3 28.Bb3+ Kh8 29.Rxc3 Rxc3 30.Qxc3+- and White dominates completely. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nakamura,H-Gupta,A-1–02016D70Gibraltar Masters 20169.3

Hikaru Nakamura

The Indian grandmaster Sethuraman also scored a full point to catch up to the leaders. He won against Polish grandmaster Radoslaw Wojtaszek, long-time second of Vishy Anand. Wojtaszek easily equalized with Black but then lost the thread.

 
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Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Bb7 10.d4 Re8 11.Nbd2 Bf8 12.a3 g6 The Saizev-Variation. 13.Ba2 Bg7 14.Qc2 The main move here is 14.b4 14...Qd7 15.b4 exd4 An example from correspondence chess: 15...a5 16.bxa5 Rxa5 17.Rb1 Ra7 18.Ng5 Nd8 19.dxe5 Rxe5 20.Ndf3 Re8 21.e5 Bxf3 22.Nxf3 dxe5 23.Rd1 Qc6 24.Ng5 Ne6 25.Nxe6 fxe6 26.c4 bxc4 27.Bxc4 Ra4 28.Rb4 Rxb4 29.axb4 Nd5 30.b5 Qd6 31.h4 Ra8 32.g3 Qc5 33.Be3 Qd6 34.Bg5 Kh8 35.Qd2 Ra4 36.Bxd5 Rd4 37.Bb3 h6 38.Qe2 Rxd1+ 39.Bxd1 hxg5 40.h5 e4 41.Bc2 Bd4 42.Kf1 Kg7 43.hxg6 e3 44.Qh5 Qe7 45.Qh7+ Kf8 46.fxe3 Bg7 47.Qh5 1/2-1/2 (49) Hertel,P (2643) -Bescos Anzano,M (2516) ICCF email 2010 16.cxd4 a5 17.bxa5 Nxa5 18.Rb1 Qc6 19.Qd1
19.Qxc6 Bxc6 20.e5 dxe5 21.dxe5 Nd7 22.Bb2 Nb6= 19...d5 Now Black gets a grip on c4 or the position in the center opens, giving the black pieces opportunities. 20.Ne5 20.e5 Nd7 21.Nf1 Nc4 and Black has a pleasant position. 20.exd5 Nxd5 20...Qa6 21.a4 Nc4?! Black is faithful to his idea but winds up in an unpleasant situation. Better was 21...bxa4 22.Qxa4 Nc4 23.Qxa6 Bxa6 24.Ndxc4 Bxc4 25.Bxc4 dxc4 26.f3 c5 27.Nxc4 cxd4= with an equal game. 22.Rxb5
22...Nxd2 After 22...Nxe5 23.dxe5 Rxe5 24.Nf3 Ree8 25.e5± the black knight is in trouble and White has a clear advantage. But maybe it was time for damage control with 22...Nd6!? 23.Rb4 Re7!? after 23...dxe4 the engines like 24.Nxf7 Nxf7 25.Bc4 Qa7 26.Qb3 Bd5 27.Bxd5 Nxd5 28.Qxd5 Rad8 29.Qa2 Rxd4 30.Rxd4 Qxd4 31.Nf1± and White has a dangerous passed pawn. 23.Bxd2 Qxa4 24.Qxa4 Rxa4 25.Bb3 Rxd4 Giving the exchange for a pawn. 25...Ra7 26.exd5+- 26.Nf3 Rxd2 27.Nxd2 Ba8 28.Rc5 c6 29.Ra5 Bh6 30.Nf1 Bf8 31.Rea1
31...Bb7 Black has the pair of bishops but that does not help him much because the bishop on b7 is so clumsy. 32.exd5 cxd5 33.Rd1 Ne4 34.Rc1 Bc5 That's the move White wanted to prevent with 34.Rc1. 35.Raxc5 Nxc5 36.Rxc5 Re1 37.Bxd5 Or 37.Ra5+- 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Sethuraman,S-Wojtaszek,R-1–02016C92Gibraltar Masters 20169.6

The other pursuers who won were Li Chao (against Luka Lenic) and Sebastian Mazé (against Ni Hua).

The young German talent Dimitrij Kollars lost his game but might have been happy anyway. He was paired against Vishy Anand, and how many chances does a young player have to play against such a chess legend? Anand is not in form in Gibraltar, but Kollars still showed a lot of respect and Anand scored a smooth victory.

The best women-player after eight rounds was Women's World Champion Mariya Muzychuk. In round nine she drew against Gata Kamsky. Anna Muzychuk trailed her sister by half a point before the round but won against Padmini Rout and caught up with Mariya.

Mariya Muzychuk

Anna Muzychuk

Padmini Rout

Alexandra Kosteniuk vs Emil Sutovsky 0:1

Alexandra Kosteniuk

Results of round nine

Br. Nr.   Name Elo Pkt. Ergebnis Pkt.   Name Elo Nr.
1 2 GM Vachier-Lagrave Maxime 2785 6½ ½ - ½ 6½ GM Bacrot Etienne 2697 11
2 24 GM Anton Guijarro David 2639 6½ ½ - ½ 6½ GM Harikrishna P. 2755 4
3 1 GM Nakamura Hikaru 2787 6 1 - 0 6 GM Gupta Abhijeet 2613 32
4 5 GM Li Chao B 2751 6 1 - 0 6 GM Lenic Luka 2611 33
5 26 GM Grandelius Nils 2635 6 ½ - ½ 6 GM Yu Yangyi 2747 6
6 25 GM Sethuraman S.P. 2639 6 1 - 0 6 GM Wojtaszek Radoslaw 2727 8
7 12 GM Ni Hua 2697 6 0 - 1 6 GM Maze Sebastien 2591 35
8 14 GM Ragger Markus 2689 6 ½ - ½ 6 GM Lalith Babu M R 2553 45
9 7 GM Jakovenko Dmitry 2732 5½ 1 - 0 5½ GM Sandipan Chanda 2583 36
10 9 GM Rapport Richard 2721 5½ ½ - ½ 5½ GM Tregubov Pavel V. 2582 37
11 39 GM Perez Ponsa Federico 2577 5½ ½ - ½ 5½ GM Almasi Zoltan 2684 16
12 18 GM Bruzon Batista Lazaro 2666 5½ ½ - ½ 5½ GM Vazquez Igarza Renier 2572 40
13 19 GM Kamsky Gata 2665 5½ ½ - ½ 5½ GM Muzychuk Mariya 2554 44
14 43 IM Tari Aryan 2556 5½ ½ - ½ 5½ GM Duda Jan-Krzysztof 2660 20
15 46 GM Kosteniuk Alexandra 2550 5½ 0 - 1 5½ GM Sutovsky Emil 2647 22
16 23 GM Vidit Santosh Gujrathi 2642 5½ 1 - 0 5½ IM Pichot Alan 2517 54
17 27 GM Salem A.R. Saleh 2627 5½ ½ - ½ 5½ GM Libiszewski Fabien 2515 55
18 28 GM Jones Gawain C B 2625 5½ 1 - 0 5½ IM Shytaj Luca 2443 84
19 57 IM Gledura Benjamin 2515 5½ ½ - ½ 5½ GM Edouard Romain 2617 30
20 34 GM Bachmann Axel 2610 5½ 1 - 0 5½ GM Krush Irina 2458 79
21 10 GM Fressinet Laurent 2700 5 1 - 0 5½ IM Wemmers Xander 2352 130
22 72 IM Ly Moulthun 2474 5 1 - 0 5 GM Naiditsch Arkadij 2696 13
23 15 GM Howell David W L 2685 5 1 - 0 5 IM Carlstedt Jonathan 2461 76
24 17 GM Short Nigel D 2684 5 1 - 0 5 IM Galyas Miklos 2459 78
25 21 GM Ganguly Surya Shekhar 2660 5 1 - 0 5 IM Almagro Llamas Pablo 2429 90

...

Standings after round nine

Rg. Snr   Name Land Elo Pkt.  Wtg1 
1 2 GM Vachier-Lagrave Maxime FRA 2785 7,0 2819
2 11 GM Bacrot Etienne FRA 2697 7,0 2808
3 25 GM Sethuraman S.P. IND 2639 7,0 2796
4 1 GM Nakamura Hikaru USA 2787 7,0 2783
5 4 GM Harikrishna P. IND 2755 7,0 2781
6 35 GM Maze Sebastien FRA 2591 7,0 2772
7 24 GM Anton Guijarro David ESP 2639 7,0 2751
8 5 GM Li Chao B CHN 2751 7,0 2723
9 14 GM Ragger Markus AUT 2689 6,5 2749
10 7 GM Jakovenko Dmitry RUS 2732 6,5 2726
11 6 GM Yu Yangyi CHN 2747 6,5 2705
12 26 GM Grandelius Nils SWE 2635 6,5 2693
13 28 GM Jones Gawain C B ENG 2625 6,5 2680
14 45 GM Lalith Babu M R IND 2553 6,5 2675
15 23 GM Vidit Santosh Gujrathi IND 2642 6,5 2669
16 34 GM Bachmann Axel PAR 2610 6,5 2630
17 22 GM Sutovsky Emil ISR 2647 6,5 2582

... 250 players

Top pairings on the tenth and final round

Bo. No.   Name Rtg Pts. Result Pts.   Name Rtg No.
1 1 GM Nakamura Hikaru 2787 7   7 GM Anton Guijarro David 2639 24
2 35 GM Maze Sebastien 2591 7   7 GM Vachier-Lagrave Maxime 2785 2
3 4 GM Harikrishna P. 2755 7   7 GM Li Chao B 2751 5
4 11 GM Bacrot Etienne 2697 7   7 GM Sethuraman S.P. 2639 25
5 6 GM Yu Yangyi 2747 6½   6½ GM Jones Gawain C B 2625 28
6 7 GM Jakovenko Dmitry 2732 6½   6½ GM Vidit Santosh Gujrathi 2642 23
7 26 GM Grandelius Nils 2635 6½   6½ GM Ragger Markus 2689 14
8 22 GM Sutovsky Emil 2647 6½   6½ GM Bachmann Axel 2610 34
9 45 GM Lalith Babu M R 2553 6½   6 GM Rapport Richard 2721 9
10 8 GM Wojtaszek Radoslaw 2727 6   6 IM Tari Aryan 2556 43
11 37 GM Tregubov Pavel V. 2582 6   6 GM Fressinet Laurent 2700 10
12 38 GM Grigoriants Sergey 2580 6   6 GM Ni Hua 2697 12
13 39 GM Perez Ponsa Federico 2577 6   6 GM Howell David W L 2685 15
14 16 GM Almasi Zoltan 2684 6   6 GM Gopal G.N. 2525 51
15 42 GM Oparin Grigoriy 2565 6   6 GM Short Nigel D 2684 17
16 44 GM Muzychuk Mariya 2554 6   6 GM Bruzon Batista Lazaro 2666 18
17 116 WIM Shvayger Yuliya 2381 6   6 GM Kamsky Gata 2665 19
18 20 GM Duda Jan-Krzysztof 2660 6   6 WGM Tan Zhongyi 2504 62
19 55 GM Libiszewski Fabien 2515 6   6 GM Ganguly Surya Shekhar 2660 21
20 47 GM Muzychuk Anna 2537 6   6 GM Salem A.R. Saleh 2627 27
21 30 GM Edouard Romain 2617 6   6 IM Ly Moulthun 2474 72
22 70 IM Nakar Eylon 2479 6   6 GM Gupta Abhijeet 2613 32
23 33 GM Lenic Luka 2611 6   6 IM Gledura Benjamin 2515 57
24 68 GM Blomqvist Erik 2492 5½   5½ GM Anand Viswanathan 2784 3

ChessBase author Tania Sachdev follows the tournament as anchorwoman of "The Day's Play"

Episode 10

All videos from Gibraltar...

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André Schulz started working for ChessBase in 1991 and is an editor of ChessBase News.

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