2/2/2017 – The Tradewise Gibraltar Masters 2017 is set for an exciting finale. David Anton Guijarro is the surprise leader of the tournament with 7.5/9. He beat Topalov in the penultimate round and now faces Adams on Thursday. Eight players follow him on 7.0/9. What makes this particularly interesting is the fact that there will blitz play-offs to determine the winner. Apart from Anton David, Ju Wenjun has impressed everyone with her results. We have an illustrated report with pictures, videos and grandmaster analysis!
Chess Festival Prague 2025 with analyses by Aravindh, Giri, Gurel, Navara and others. ‘Special’: 27 highly entertaining miniatures. Opening videos by Werle, King and Ris. 10 opening articles with new repertoire ideas and much more. ChessBase Magazine offers first-class training material for club players and professionals! World-class players analyse their brilliant games and explain the ideas behind the moves. Opening specialists present the latest trends in opening theory and exciting ideas for your repertoire. Master trainers in tactics, strategy and endgames show you the tricks and techniques you need to be a successful tournament player! Available as a direct download (incl. booklet as pdf file) or booklet with download key by post. Included in delivery: ChessBase Magazine #225 as “ChessBase Book” for iPad, tablet, Mac etc.!
Winning starts with what you know The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.
It was the penultimate round at the Gibraltar Masters 2017 and at the end of nearly seven hours of play, we have a sole leader. And it's not one of the 12 super 2700+ GMs that are playing at the event. It's the 21-year-old Spanish talent David Anton Guijarro. The Spaniard is having a phenomenal run at this event and is already gaining 25.5 Elo points with a rating performance of 2878!
David Anton's scorecard
David's latest scalp was the Bulgarian number one Veselin Topalov
When a player like Topalov plays 1.e4 and the game goes into the Ruy Lopez territory, you are sure to learn something. After all players of Veselin's calibre have such great knowledge in the Spanish system. They have played hundreds of games, prepared the lines deeply and studied thousands of other grandmaster battles. But then comes a youngster who plays the black side of the Chigorin variation with such ease that you think that the colours have been reversed! David Anton Guijarro played a nearly flawless game with black and simply outplayed Topalov. It seemed as if Anatoly Karpov was handling the black pieces. It's difficult to say where Topalov went wrong, but exchanging the dark squared bishop and giving Black complete control of the dark squares seems to be the reason for his downfall.
Veselin Topalov vs David Anton Guijarro (analysis by GM Krikor Sevag Mekhitarian)
New ...
New Game
Edit Game
Setup Position
Open...
PGN
FEN
Share...
Share Board (.png)
Share Board (configure)
Share playable board
Share game as GIF
Notation (PGN)
QR Code
Layout...
Use splitters
Swipe notation/lists
Reading mode
Flip Board
Settings
Move
N
Result
Elo
Players
Replay and check the LiveBook here
Please, wait...
Playing on the 2nd board in the 9th round and co-leading the tournament, 21-year old David Anton Guijarro from Spain has been the sensation of this year's Gibraltar Masters. With ambitious and strong play, he has already beaten the likes of Gelfand and Sutovsky, not to mention draws with Nakamura and MVL. Now he faces the always dangerous ex-world champion Veselin Topalov1.e4e52.Nf3Nc63.Bb5a64.Ba4Nf65.0-0Be76.Re1Topalov goes for the most principled line, instead of the currently fashionable 6.d3!?, which leads to quieter positions.b57.Bb3d68.c30-09.h3This position has been played almost 37.000 times according to my database! Black has a wide variety of choices in this main Ruy Lopez variation.Na510.Bc2c511.d4Nd7!?an interesting line, that has been played by David Anton himself three rounds ago against Sutovsky. White now has two choices: a closed position with 12.d5 or a very double-edged fight after 12.Nbd2. Naturally, both Sutovsky and Topalov went for the second option, always leading to interesting play12.Nbd212.d5!?is more positional, and was played in the very first time in a classic Fischer - Keres game, from the amazing Candidates Tournament in Curacao,1962!Nb613.Nbd2is the main move13.g4?!The brilliant ex-world champion went for a dubious plan here, white normally has to be better prepared to build this kind of idea on the K-side (normally with Nbd2-Nf1-Ng3). It is also clear that Fischer wanted to stop f5 hitting his strong central pawn on e4, but on the other hand he allows h5!h5!14.Nh2hxg415.hxg4Bg5suddenly black has easy play exploiting the weak squares, and still keeps good prospects on the Q-side16.Nd2g617.Ndf3Bxc118.Qxc1Kg719.Qg5the endgame is no relief for white, but black was considering Rh8 and then start some work on the K-side himself.Nb720.Qxd8Rxd821.a4bxa422.Bxa4Nxa423.Rxa4Bd724.Ra2c425.Nd2Bb526.Nhf1Rh827.Ne3Rh4And the superb Paul Keres went on to win a nice game. 0-1 (73) Fischer, R-Keres,P Curacao 196213...g614.b414.Nf1!?also looks interestingf515.Bh6Rf716.b3with complex play14...Nb715.a4?!I don't think white is ready tor this kind of action on the Q-side15.Nf1was again possible: 1-0 (78) Nakamura,H (2774)-Nisipeanu,L (2659) Medias 201115...bxa416.Bxa4Nxa417.Qxa4Bd718.Qb3Qc719.Bb2Rfc8and black achieved a better position: 0-1 (41) Vedmediuc,S (2456)-Zhigalko,S (2669) Calimanesti Caciulata 201612...exd4!13.cxd4Nc6this is black's idea, nearly forcing white to enter a double-edged position with 14.d5. In case of 14.Nf1, black can simplify on d4 and enjoy a good initiative in exchange for the worse pawn structure.14.d514.Nf1?!cxd415.Nxd4Nxd416.Qxd4Ne5 justifying the 11...Nd7 move17.Qd1Bf618.Ne3Be6=this is a typical position where the piece activity easily compensates the weak pawn on d6. Black has easy play, with moves like Rc8, Nc4, and Qb6. Meanwhile, white has a hard time developing his Q-side, and moves like f4 will create weaknesses.19.Bd219.f4Nc419...Nc420.Nxc4Bxc421.Bc3Bxc322.bxc3Qf623.Qd4Qxd424.cxd4Rfc80-1 (58) Melia,S (2420)-Petrosyan,M (2480) Tbilisi 2016 and black's endgame is slightly preferrable, due to his good chances on the Q-side14...Nce515.a415.Nxe5Nxe516.f4Ng617.Nf3Bh4!17...Bb7?now there is no reason to play like in the game, because white gets 18. f5! in time.18.f5Ne519.Nxe5dxe520.b3!?±followed by Be3, Rc1, Bd3, and real pressure against the Q-side18.Nxh4Qxh419.f519.Rf1 allowsBxh3!20.gxh3Qg3+forcing a draw19...Ne5used to be the main line, with a complex position, but black should be fine.15...Bb7looks safer than Rb815...Rb816.Nxe5Nxe517.axb5axb518.f4Ng619.Nf3Bh419...f5!?stops white attack, but may run into an inferior position:20.exf5Bxf521.Bxf5Rxf522.g4Rf8!?23.f5Ne524.Bf4Nf725.Re6±20.Rf1Bg321.f5Ne522.Ng5h6!is the only line surviving so far, but it also looks dodgy22...Bh4?Svidler goes into a refuted line23.f6!+-and white is winning!h623...g624.Qd2threatenig Nxh7h625.Nh7!+-1-0 (29) Kilpatrick,C (2052)-Wallis,I Southend 200624.Qh5gxf625.Nh7Kxh726.Qxh41-0 (26) Inarkiev,E (2732)-Svidler,P (2745) Germany 201622...Nd723.Nxh7!?Kxh724.f6g6and now both 25.e5!? or 25.Qg4 look promising, and only the super computers will tell if white's attack is enough for a win25.Qg4!?25.e5!?23.f6!gxf6!?23...g624.Nf3Qxf625.Bxh624.Nf3Kg7∞and somehow, black's position is not collapsing16.Qe216.Nxe5!?Nxe517.f4Ng618.Nf3Bf6was seen in David's game against Sutovsky18...Bh4?now this wouldn't make too much sense with the B on b719.Nxh4Qxh420.Rf1!?20.Ra3!? making use of the a4 moveNxf4?21.g3!Nxh3+22.Kh2+-and white wins18...Re8!?19.g319.e5!?Be720.Be4f521.exf6Bxf6∞with another unclear position19...Qd720.Kg2Rfe821.Ra3generally speaking, this looks promising for black, since white's pawn majority is not advancing for now and black has good prospects on the Q-sideBd8!?21...b4!?22.Rae3c4∞was very complex22.h4Nf823.h5h624.f5?weakening too many squaresBf625.Nh2Nh7!26.Ng4Bd427.axb5axb528.Rxa8Rxa829.b4Ra230.bxc5dxc531.Be3Bxe332.Nxe3Nf6now white is clearly in trouble, with the worse king and difficulty in advance his pawns, while black can organize an attack and also think about advancing his own Q-side, 0-1 (56) Sutovsky,E (2628)-Anton Guijarro,D (2650) Tradewise Gibraltar Masters 201716...Rb817.Nxe5Nxe518.axb518.Nf1was played in decemberBf619.Ne3c4?!probably a slight innacuracy to start pushing the pawns without Re8 or Bc820.axb5axb521.Bd2looks slightly better for white now, with the c3 and d4 square available for the pieces: 0-1 (41) Hansen,M (2452)-Wagner,D (2548) Vandoeuvre 201618...axb519.Nf1Re820.Ne3Bf621.Bd2Bc8! bringing the bishop back into play, black achieves a fully consistent position, and keeps great prospects on the Q-side, which is basically one of the key ideas in this variation - control white's central and K-side expansion and start advancing the 'b' and 'c' pawns at some point. Don't get me wrong, I don't think black is better here, but nowadays it is not easy to achieve such a promising and interesting position as black without running into real dangers.22.Ba522.f4?!Ng6looks always good for black, since all his pieces are well prepared to meet this advance.22...Qe723.Bc3?!23.Qf1!?trying to prepare something like f4 followed by Nf5b4locks the bishop on a5, but hands over the initiative for white23...Ng624.Nf5Qd725.Ra2∞with a weird position24.f4Ng625.e5!?dxe526.f5Nf427.g3∞23...Ng6!making a very good piece exchange, black doesn't need to worry about f4 anymore24.Qf324.Bxf6Qxf6would be equally good for black, threatening b2 and moves like Nf424...Bxc325.bxc3Qg526.Kh2h5!27.Ra7Re728.Rxe7Nxe729.Ra129.Nf5!?is a very counterintuitive move pointed out by the computer. Normally it could be a positional mistake, but here if black plays Bxf5, then the knight on e7 has a hard time to find a good squareBxf530.exf5∞29...Ng630.Qg3Qf6!black aims to explore the c3 weakness, and exchange queens only after white makes further concessions31.Nf5?a mistake, as pointed out by David in the post-mortem, and also by Topalov himself, according to him. Not only because it may be the decisive mistake, but black has very easy play from now on.31.Nd1would be a very sad move to makeh432.Qe3Bd7black has a very confortable advantage, but for now white keeps control of the only open file, and there is play31...Bxf532.exf5Ne533.Rb1h434.Qf4g5!35.Qe3Nc436.Qc1Kg737.Bd337.Kh1!?could have been better maybe, but the position is already difficult37...Ne538.Be4g4!39.hxg4Nxg4+40.Kg1Qh6!forcing a horrible endgame for white, because if the queen moves, then Qf4! is deadly41.Qxh6+41.Qe1Qf442.g3hxg343.fxg3Qg5-+and the white king is in trouble with all the black pieces joining the attack41...Kxh642.Kf1Kg5 slightly surprising resignation from Topalov, but the position is already hopeless, black will simply play Nf6, probably grab two pawns and start marching with his Q-side at some point. A superb win from David Anton, the man of the hour, going into the last round as the sole leader of the 2017 Gibraltar Masters! In the last round, he faces the experienced super-GM Michael Adams.0–1
"I can't say that it was an easy win, because it would be too much. But my play was very easy!"
David Anton is now the sole leader, and with just one round to go has excellent chances of winning the first prize of £23,000
The top board clash between MVL and Yu Yangyi was a dull draw in the Petroff
Caruana equalised with all the accurate moves in the Queen's Gambit Accepted against Hikaru Nakamura
The final position of the game was quite picturesque. There should always be a balance between rights and responsibilities in life!
New ...
New Game
Edit Game
Setup Position
Open...
PGN
FEN
Share...
Share Board (.png)
Share Board (configure)
Share playable board
Share game as GIF
Notation (PGN)
QR Code
Layout...
Use splitters
Swipe notation/lists
Reading mode
Flip Board
Settings
Move
N
Result
Elo
Players
Replay and check the LiveBook here
Please, wait...
1.d4d52.c4dxc43.Nf3Nf64.e3e65.Bxc4c56.0-0a67.dxc5Bxc58.Qxd8+Kxd89.Nbd2Ke710.b3b611.Be2a512.Ne5Ba613.Ndc4Nfd714.Nxd7Nxd715.Bb2f616.Rfd1Rhd817.a3Rac818.Rdc1Bb719.Bc3Bd520.b4axb421.axb4Bxc422.Bxc4Bd623.Be1It seems as if White is slightly better with his bishpo pair. However, Black forces are excellently co-ordinated.f524.h3Nf625.Kf1Rc726.Bb3Rxc127.Rxc1Ra828.Rc6Nd729.Rc1Ra330.Bc4Nf631.Ke2g5Caruana's play is quite easy. Black rook is active. And if you try and exchange it, you move closer to a draw.32.Rc2h533.f3b534.Ra234.Bxb5Nd5=34...Rxa2+35.Bxa2Nd536.Bxd5exd537.g4hxg438.hxg4fxg439.fxg4Ke640.Kd3Be741.e4dxe4+42.Kxe4Bd643.Bd2Be744.Be1Bd645.Bd2Be7A nice final position. Both the bishops attack one opponent's pawn and defend one of their own pawn. Just like life, in chess too there should be a balance between rights and duties!½–½
Long story short: Tania Sachdev in conversation with Fabiano Caruana
Michael Adams had a blackout for a moment against Sethuraman S.P, but the Indian player was not alert enough to take advantage of the mistake. In the end the English GM scored a nice win!
In the above position Adams could have kept a clear edge with Nxe6 fxe6 Rxd7 followed by picking up the e5 bishop. However he went for...
....direct Rxd7. This turned out to be a grave error. Can you find how Black wins?
New ...
New Game
Edit Game
Setup Position
Open...
PGN
FEN
Share...
Share Board (.png)
Share Board (configure)
Share playable board
Share game as GIF
Notation (PGN)
QR Code
Layout...
Use splitters
Swipe notation/lists
Reading mode
Flip Board
Settings
Move
N
Result
Elo
Players
Position not in LiveBook
Please, wait...
1.c4e52.g3c63.d4e44.Nc3d55.Bg2Nf66.cxd5cxd57.Bg5Results wise this line is considered to be not so great for Black. It is some sort of the reversed French where the extra tempo for White can make the defence of the d5 pawn quite difficult, but at the same time the bishop on g2 is misplaced. The computer likes this system with black and thinks that it is around equal.Nbd78.Qb38.Nxd5Qa5+-+8...Bd69.Nh39.Nxd5Qa5+-+9...h610.Bf4Nb611.Be5Ng4?!11...g5!?12.f4!?g413.Nf20-014.0-011...Qe7!?12.Bxg712.Bxd6Qxd613.Nf4Nf614.Nb5Qe715.Rc10-016.Nc7Rb817.Nfxd5Nbxd518.Nxd5Nxd519.Qxd5Qb4+20.Rc3Qxb221.Qb3And White is surely slightly better.12...Rg813.Be5Nxe514.dxe5Bxe515.Rd1Be616.Nxe4Qc817.Nf4!?dxe417...Bxf418.Nf6+Ke719.Nxg8+Qxg820.0-018.Qb5+Nd719.Rxd7?A pretty bad blunder by Adams.19.Nxe6fxe620.Rxd7Qxd721.Qxe5Qd522.Qc3was the correct way to play and White would have excellent compensation.19...Qxd7?19...Bxf4‼It's never easy to allow a deadly discovered check for your opponent. But truth be told, there is nothing special that White can do.20.Rxb7+20.Rd1+Bd721.Qb4Bc6With an extra piece, Black is on track towards victory.20...Bd7!21.Qxd7+Qxd722.Rxd7Kxd723.Bxe4Bc124.Bxa8Rxa8is better for Black.20.Qxe50-0-021.0-0Qc722.Qxe4Kb823.Nxe6fxe624.Qxe6White has three pawns for an exchange and a very safe king. The rest was mopped up easily by Michael.h525.Qf6Rdf826.Qh4Rf527.Bf3Rd828.Kg2Rc529.b4Rc430.Qxh5Rxb431.Qg5Qd632.Rc1a633.h4Rb534.Qg7Rd735.Qh8+Rd836.Qc3a537.h5a438.h6Qxh639.Qc7+Ka740.Rc4Rd641.Rxa4+Ra642.Rh4Qf843.a4Rb444.Rf41–0
Three legends captured in one frame! Boris Gelfand has the best chance of a strong finish as he is on 7.0/9. Topalov is on 6.5 and Svidler on 6. Peter has not lost a single game. Six draws!
Romain Edouard was clearly thrilled at having won against the in form Nigel Short...
...while Nigel was clearly unhappy that his excellent run which had included wins over Grigoriants, Caruana and draws against Adams and Svidler, had come to an end.
Ju Wenjun has showcased some high class chess in this tournament. With a win over Sebastien Maze, she is now on 7.0/9.
This is a performance that Ju Wenjun would be proud of!
And she is now on 2606! Closing in on Hou Yifan, and forty points clear of World number three!
David leads the tournament with 7.5/9, but a pack of eight players are right on his toes. They include Mickey Adams Boris Gelfand, MVL, Hikaru Nakamura, Yu Yangyi, Ivan Cheparinov, Ju Wenjun and Romain Edouard.
That's the top board pairing in the final round. If David Anton wins, he is the champion. A draw would mean that he could be joined by many others. Currently Yu Yangyi seems to have the best chances as he has the white pieces against Ju Wenjun. Nakamura has a clear edge against Romain as far as rating is concerned. The game between Gelfand and Vachier-Lagrave will be a really exciting one!
Tie-break rules
In the event of a tie for first place, there shall be a speed play-off. If there are two or four players tied for first place, there will be a speed knock-out play-off for the first prize of £23,000. If three players tie for first place, the player with the highest performance rating will be seeded directly into the Final of the Play-Off; the other two players will contest the Semi-Final. If more than four players tie for first place, the four players with the highest performance ratings shall qualify for the play-off to decide the first prize.
Women's Awards: If there is a tie for the top women’s prize, the tie is resolved in favour of the woman with the highest performance rating, who will receive the prize of £15,000. All other prizes will not be subject to a tie-break and prize money other than the first prize will be divided equally amongst the players.
Who do you think will win? Write your answers in the comments section below.
The games will be broadcast live on the official web site and on the server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.
Sagar ShahSagar is an International Master from India with two GM norms. He loves to cover chess tournaments, as that helps him understand and improve at the game he loves so much. He is the co-founder and CEO of ChessBase India, the biggest chess news portal in the country. His YouTube channel has over a million subscribers, and to date close to a billion views. ChessBase India is the sole distributor of ChessBase products in India and seven adjoining countries, where the software is available at a 60% discount. compared to International prices.
2nd Move Anti-Sicilian Powerbase 2025 is a database and contains a total of 12090 games from Mega 2025 or the Correspondence Database 2024, of which 874 are annotated.
Ruy Lopez Powerbase 2025 is a database and contains a total of 12092 games from Mega 2025 and the Correspondence Database 2024, of which 1276 are annotated.
In this 60 Minutes, Andrew Martin guides you through all the key ideas you need to know to play with confidence. Whether you’re looking to surprise your opponents, or simply want a straightforward weapon against e5, the Centre Attack has you covered.
€9.90
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.
Pop-up for detailed settings
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies, analysis cookies and marketing cookies. You can decide which cookies to use by selecting the appropriate options below. Please note that your selection may affect the functionality of the service. Further information can be found in our privacy policy.
Technically required cookies
Technically required cookies: so that you can navigate and use the basic functions and store preferences.
Analysis Cookies
To help us determine how visitors interact with our website to improve the user experience.
Marketing-Cookies
To help us offer and evaluate relevant content and interesting and appropriate advertisement.