GCT: So takes three point lead to the blitz

by Johannes Fischer
6/15/2018 – Wesley So survived the third day of the Grand Chess Tour in Leuven, Belgium, without a loss and won the tournament confidently with 14 out of 18 possible points. Three points behind are Levon Aronian and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Tomorrow, the first nine of 18 rounds of blitz are on the program, and So must defend his lead against some legendary blitz specialists like Vachier-Lagrave, Karjakin, Nakamura and Grischuk. | Photo: Lennart Ootes, tournament page

Wesley So published two new opening DVDs: 1.b3, the so called Nimzo-Larsen-Attack, for White and his black secrets in the modern Italian. Get them in a package and save money!

The hot hand continues on day three

For the first two days of the Leuven rapid tournament, Wesley So kept a firm grip on the top spot on the standings. He won four of his six games, with two draws and no losses. On the third day, one win and two draws were enough to keep him well ahead of his rivals.

Round 7

The seventh round brought So an additional '1' in the crosstable (worth 2 points in the standings). Wesley played with the black pieces against Hikaru Nakamura, who was in trouble right out of the opening: after only nine moves, Black was clearly better, and it wasn't long before So had a decisive advantage.

Nakamura

Not the way Nakamura hoped to start his afternoon | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

 
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1.e41,166,62354%2421---
1.d4947,29855%2434---
1.Nf3281,60256%2441---
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1.g319,70256%2427---
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1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 d5 3.e3 c5 4.dxc5 e6 5.b4 a5 6.c3 Bd7 7.Qb3?! A new move, but not one that looks promising. axb4 8.cxb4 b6 9.Bd6? After this move White is already clearly worse off. 9.Bd3 limits the damage. Black has no problems but White can hope to survive the opening. 9...Ne4! With the threat of 10...Qf6. 10.Qb2 After 10.Bxf8 Qf6 11.f3 Rxf8 White loses material and Black is on track for a win. 10...Nxd6 11.cxd6 Qf6! Black forces a queen exchange and remains much better, as White loses the d6-pawn, his b4-pawn is weak and his pieces are not yet developed, while Black has a strong pawn centre. 12.Qxf6 gxf6 13.b5 Bxd6 14.a4 Ke7 15.Bd3 Rc8 16.Ne2 e5 17.f3 f5 18.Ra2 Be6 19.Rc2 Bb4+ 20.Kf1 Rxa4 Now with a pawn to the good the win is in sight for So, who converted without much trouble. 21.Rxc8 Bxc8 22.Nec3 Bxc3 23.Nxc3 Ra3 24.Nxd5+ Kd6 25.Nxb6 Be6 26.Bb1 Kc5 27.Nc8 Bxc8 28.Kf2 Be6 29.g4 fxg4 30.Bxh7 Nd7 31.Rb1 Ra2+ 32.Kg3 gxf3 33.h4 f5 34.Kxf3 Nf6 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nakamura,H2769So,W27780–12018D00Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid7

So's closest rival after the seventh round was Levon Aronian, who had to play with White against Karjakin. In this important game, Aronian was too impatient and Karjakin capitalised.

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0-0 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.Re1 a6 7.c3 h6 8.Nbd2 0-0 9.Bb3 Ba7 10.Nf1 Re8 11.Ng3 Be6 12.Bc2 d5 13.exd5 Bxd5 14.Be3 Bxe3 15.Rxe3 Qd7 16.h3 Re7 17.Qd2 Rae8 18.Rae1 g6 19.Nh4 Nh7 20.Nh5?! White tries the crowbar approach. Better is the solid 20.Ne4 with rough compensation. 20...Kh8 A cautious move. According to the engine 20...Re6 was even better for Black. 21.d4 gxh5 22.Rg3 Re6 23.dxe5 Qd8 24.Nf5? This move throws away the game. With 24.Qf4 White was able to keep the position in balance, e.g. Ng5 25.c4 Bxc4 26.Rd1 Qe7 27.Qxc4 Rxe5 and this position is equal. 24...Nxe5 Suddenly Black threatens 25...Nf3+ and is winning. 25.Rg7 Nf3+ 26.gxf3 Rxe1+ 27.Kh2 Rh1+ 0–1
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Aronian,L2764Karjakin,S27820–12018C54Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid7

With two rounds to go, So was now three points clear of Karjakin and four points clear of Aronian, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, and managed to secure his place in the standings for the third day already in round 8.


The Italian Game is considered a sound but quiet opening without early trades, giving rise to rich positions where plans are more important than forced variations. So shows black's plans on this DVD.


Round 8

So played with White against Karjakin and just needed a draw. With a well-known variant in the Catalan, he avoided any risk and easily succeeded. So he was three points ahead of Karjakin before the last round and had thus won the rapid portion. The rapid tournament in Leuven is just part of the story, however, as on Friday and Saturday, we will witness the blitz tournament which will determine the overall winner. The players will partake in a further double round-robin, this time with traditional scoring — one point for every win and a half point for a draw. Theoretically, each of the participants can score up to 18 points, and thus anyone has a chance of making up ground in the overall standings.

Round 9

Therefore, the ninth round remained contested as players jostled for position going into the blitz. Viswanathan Anand, with white against So decided that after two painful losses, a trouble-free draw was just fine. The pair played an exchange variation in the French and quickly exchanged off all the pieces until only opposite coloured bishops remained and they shook hands.

Aronian won with White against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Nakamura outplayed Mamedyarov with Black, bringing him up to 10 points.

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 0-0 6.e3 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.Qc2 Nc6 9.a3 Qa5 10.Rd1 Re8 LiveBook: 30 Games. White must now prevent ...e5. D37: Queen's Gambit Declined: 5 Bf4 11.Bg3 Better is 11.Nd2 11.Nd2 e5 12.Bg5 Nd4 13.Qb1 Bf5 14.Bd3 Bxd3 15.Qxd3 Ne4 16.Ndxe4 dxe4 17.Qd2 Ne6 18.Bh4 1/2-1/2 (66) Mamedyarov,S (2804)-Anand,V (2767) Wijk aan Zee 2018 11.Nd2 e5 12.Bg5 Nd4 13.Qb1 Bf5 14.Bd3 Bxd3 15.Qxd3 Ne4 16.Nxd5 Nxg5 17.exd4 Bxd4 18.b4 1/2-1/2 (33) Mamedyarov,S (2809)-Nakamura,H (2787) Moscow 2018 11...Ne4!= 12.cxd5 exd5 The position is equal. 13.Rxd5 Nxc3! 14.bxc3 Be6 15.Rd2N Predecessor: 15.Rd1 Qxa3 16.Ng5 Bf5 17.Bd3 Bxe3 18.Bxf5 Bxg5+ 0-1 (33) Hejazipour,M (2357)-Zumsande,M (2442) Stockholm 2016 15...Be7 16.Bd3 g6 17.0-0 Qxa3 18.Nd4 18.Qb1= 18...Nxd4 19.cxd4 Rac8 20.Qb2 Qxb2 21.Rxb2 Rc3 22.Be2 b6 23.e4 23.Ba6= 23...Bc4 Black is in control. 24.Bxc4 Rxc4 25.Rd1 Rd8 26.Rbd2 b5 26...Bb4 27.Rd3 a5 27.Kf1 White should try 27.d5 27...Bb4 28.Rd3 28.Ra2 28...a5-+ 29.d5 a4! And now ...Bc3 would win. 30.d6? 30.Bh4 Rd7 31.f3 30...Bc3! 30...Rxe4 31.d7= 31.d7
Threatens to win with Rxc3! 31...b4! aiming for ...a3. 32.Rd5? 32.Rd6 a3 33.Rb6 32...a3 Black is clearly winning. 33.Rb5 a2 34.Rb8 Rxb8 35.Bxb8
35...Rd4! Not 35...Bf6 36.d8Q+ Bxd8 37.Rxd8+= 36.Rxd4 a1Q+ 37.Ke2 Qa6+ Precision: White = 25%, Black = 75%. Weaker is 37...Bxd4 38.d8Q+ Kg7 39.Bd6-+
0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Mamedyarov,S2808Nakamura,H27690–12018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid9

Mamedyarov

Mamedyarov is squarely in the middle of the pack | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Karjakin, however, suffered a setback against an old rival. He lost to Fabiano Caruana, who was already better after the opening and later in the game missed a flashy win, but in the end still managed to safely convert.

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.c4 Nc6 6.d4 d5 7.c5 Be7 8.Bb5 0-0 9.0-0 Bg4 10.Bxc6 bxc6 11.h3 Bh5 12.g4 Bg6 13.Ne5 Bf6 14.Nxc6 Qd7 15.Nb4 Rab8 16.Nc2 Bh4 17.f3 Ng3 18.Rf2 f5 19.Nc3 Ne4 Here Black played an original move 19...Nh1!? E.g. 20.Rh2 Nf2 21.Rxf2 Bxf2+ 22.Kxf2 fxg4 and Black clearly stands better if not winning. 20.Rh2 Nxc3 21.bxc3 Rbe8 22.Bd2 Bg3 23.Rg2 f4 White's position is perilous - he has a pawn more but his pieces are terribly placed. 24.Rc1 Bd3 25.Ne1 Bc4 26.Qc2 Be2 Here GM Alejandro Ramirez, on the live commentary webcast, suggested the move 26...Qb5 Black wants to play 27...Bf1 next, to win an exchange on g2 - an unusual motif. The game continuation is less original but at least as strong. 27.c4 White gives up a pawn to free himself, but his position remains in disarray. dxc4 28.Bc3 Bxe1 29.Rxe1 Bxf3 30.Rxe8 Qxe8 31.Rf2 Bd5 32.Qe2 Qg6 33.Qe5 c6 34.Kh2 Qd3 35.Rxf4 Qc2+ 36.Kg3 Qxc3+ 37.Kh4 Rxf4 38.Qxf4 h6 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Karjakin,S2782Caruana,F28160–12018C42Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid9

On Friday, So will start with three points ahead of Aronian and Vachier-Lagrave in the blitz tournament. He has a good chance of winning overall in Leuven, not least considering that he has performed well in blitz of late, finishing first in the Norway Chess blitz opener. But at least Nakamura still believes in his chances to go in Leuven as the overall winner of the field and said confidently in the interview after his final round game:

"He's is not the best blitz here, simply put. There are several of us that are much better blitz players than Wesley."

Nakamura chats with Maurice Ashley at the conclusion of day three | StLChessClub YouTube

Round-up show

Rapid tournament final standings (with double point scoring)

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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a4 Bd7 9.c3 C84: Closed Ruy Lopez: Unusual White 6th moves 0-0 9...Na5 10.Ba2 bxa4 11.Nbd2 0-0 12.Bb1 Bb5 13.Bc2 Nb7 14.c4 Bd7 15.Bxa4 Bxa4 16.Qxa4 Nc5 1/2-1/2 (53) Carlsen,M (2837)-Ding,L (2774) Saint Louis 2017 10.Bc2 Re8 11.Re1 h6 12.Nbd2 LiveBook: 10 Games b4N Predecessor: 12...Bf8 13.Nf1 d5 14.exd5 Nxd5 15.Ng3 b4 16.Bd2 Rb8 17.a5 bxc3 18.bxc3 Qf6 19.Bb3 Nf4 20.Ne4 Qd8 21.Bxf4 exf4 1/2-1/2 (43) Jakovenko,D (2731)-Bu,X (2723) Sochi 2016 13.d4 Rb8 14.d5 bxc3 15.bxc3 Na5 16.Ba3 c6 17.c4 Qc7 18.Bd3 Nb7 19.Nb3 a5 20.Bc1 Bg4 21.Be3 Nd7 22.h3 Bxf3 23.Qxf3 Nbc5 24.Nxc5 Nxc5 25.Bxc5 25.Ra3 is interesting. Rb2 26.Qg4 Bg5 27.Bxc5 dxc5 28.h4 25...dxc5 26.Bf1 Rb4 27.Red1 Reb8 28.g3 cxd5 29.exd5 White should play 29.Rxd5= Qc8 30.h4 29...Bd6 30.h4 Qd7 31.Bd3 g6 32.g4 Qe7 Of course not 32...Rxa4?! 33.h5= 33.h5 Qg5 34.hxg6 fxg6 35.Qg2
35...Rf8! Hoping for ...Rb2. 36.Re1 Rb3 37.Re3 Rf4 38.Bf5 Rb2 39.Be6+ Kg7 40.Rf1 40.Re4 40...Rxc4-+ 41.Qg3 Rbb4 41...Rxa4 42.Ra3-+ 42.Qh2 42.Qh3 42...Rf4 43.Kh1 43.Qh3 c4 44.Rc3 43...e4 44.f3 h5 Weaker is 44...Rxf3 45.Rexf3 exf3 46.Qxd6± 45.Qh3 hxg4 Black mates. 46.Bxg4 Rb8 47.Qg3 Rh8+ 48.Kg2 Rxg4 Precision: White = 45%, Black = 77%.
0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Caruana,F2816So,W27780–12018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid1
Vachier-Lagrave,M2789Karjakin,S2782½–½2018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid1
Nakamura,H2769Giri,A27821–02018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid1
Grischuk,A2766Aronian,L2764½–½2018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid1
Anand,V2759Mamedyarov,S28080–12018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid1
Caruana,F2816Vachier-Lagrave,M2789½–½2018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid2
Giri,A2782Anand,V27591–02018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid2
Karjakin,S2782Grischuk,A27661–02018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid2
So,W2778Mamedyarov,S28081–02018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid2
Aronian,L2764Nakamura,H27691–02018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid2
Mamedyarov,S2808Giri,A2782½–½2018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid3
Vachier-Lagrave,M2789So,W2778½–½2018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid3
Nakamura,H2769Karjakin,S2782½–½2018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid3
Grischuk,A2766Caruana,F28161–02018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid3
Anand,V2759Aronian,L2764½–½2018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid3
Caruana,F2816Nakamura,H27691–02018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid4
Vachier-Lagrave,M2789Grischuk,A2766½–½2018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid4
Karjakin,S2782Anand,V2759½–½2018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid4
So,W2778Giri,A27821–02018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid4
Aronian,L2764Mamedyarov,S2808½–½2018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid4
Mamedyarov,S2808Karjakin,S2782½–½2018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid5
Giri,A2782Aronian,L27640–12018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid5
Nakamura,H2769Vachier-Lagrave,M2789½–½2018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid5
Grischuk,A2766So,W27780–12018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid5
Anand,V2759Caruana,F28161–02018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid5
Caruana,F2816Mamedyarov,S28080–12018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid6
Vachier-Lagrave,M2789Anand,V27591–02018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid6
Karjakin,S2782Giri,A2782½–½2018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid6
So,W2778Aronian,L2764½–½2018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid6
Grischuk,A2766Nakamura,H27690–12018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid6
Mamedyarov,S2808Vachier-Lagrave,M2789½–½2018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid7
Giri,A2782Caruana,F28160–12018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid7
Nakamura,H2769So,W27780–12018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid7
Aronian,L2764Karjakin,S27820–12018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid7
Anand,V2759Grischuk,A27660–12018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid7
Caruana,F2816Aronian,L27640–12018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid8
Vachier-Lagrave,M2789Giri,A27821–02018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid8
So,W2778Karjakin,S2782½–½2018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid8
Nakamura,H2769Anand,V27591–02018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid8
Grischuk,A2766Mamedyarov,S2808½–½2018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid8
Mamedyarov,S2808Nakamura,H27690–12018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid9
Giri,A2782Grischuk,A2766½–½2018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid9
Karjakin,S2782Caruana,F28160–12018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid9
Aronian,L2764Vachier-Lagrave,M2789½–½2018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid9
Anand,V2759So,W2778½–½2018Your Next Move GCT 2018-Rapid9

Commentary webcast

Commentary by Yasser Seirawan, Jovanka Houska, Alejandro Ramirez (St. Louis)
Maurice Ashley and Nigel Short (Leuven)

Translation from German: Macauley Peterson

Correction: The headline initially misstated the number of points So leads by after round nine. It is three.

Links


Johannes Fischer was born in 1963 in Hamburg and studied English and German literature in Frankfurt. He now lives as a writer and translator in Nürnberg. He is a FIDE-Master and regularly writes for KARL, a German chess magazine focusing on the links between culture and chess. On his own blog he regularly publishes notes on "Film, Literature and Chess".

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