4/5/2018 – On April 5th, the 5th round of the "GRENKE Chess Classic", now in Baden-Baden was the first in which all five games ended in a draw. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Fabiano Caruana and Nikita Vitiugov thus continue to lead the standings; a half point behind are Levon Aronian and World Champion Magnus Carlsen. Against Georg Meier, Carlsen was on the verge of losing shortly before the time control, but the German grandmaster missed the win! Another game was nearly decisive: Arkadij Naiditsch stood much better against Matthias Bluebaum, but here it was the young German, who somehow managed to survive a devastating attack and fight back in the endgame. | Photo: Georgios Souleidis
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Split decisions
After five rounds, the table miraculously reflects the two-tier company in the GRENKE Chess Classic: the five players in the top half have not lost any of the 25 games played so far; while among the players in the lower half, there is not a single victory between them. One possible explanation: Within both of the two groups, the players have barely played against each other. In the top half, only three games have been played so far, and the same in the lower group. Of these six matches, of course, all were drawn. The bottom line is: In the second half of the tournament the leaders will be playing each other, so we can look forward to that!
Carlsen chose to transpose to a Stonewall structure against Meier | Photo: Georgios Souleidis
Meier ½-½ Carlsen
Just before the time control, Meir had Carlsen dead to rights, but missed the knockout blow allowing the World Champion to turn the tables. Carlsen called it a "bluff", and the result was a quick draw.
Carlsen has switched over to the Stonewall structure, which was already on the agenda on move 10. The
World Champion has used the Dutch Stonewall successfully several times in the past.14.Bf3Qe814...f4was certainly critical:15.Bxh5fxe316.fxe3Qd617.Rxf8+Bxf818.Kg2e515.Bg5Nf616.e3b617.Rac1Ba618.a3Ne419.Bxe7Qxe720.Be2Bb721.b4Rac822.c5e523.dxe5Qxe524.Nxe4fxe425.Qc3Qf526.a4g527.hxg5Qxg528.Kg2Rc729.Rh1Rg730.Rcg1Qf531.Rf1
31...Ba632.b5!32.Bxa6??Qf3+33.Kh2Rg6etc. would have led to mate.32...cxb533.Rh5Qf734.Qe5Meier has blunted the Carlsen attack and is even better now.Bb735.cxb6bxa4Carlsen
wants to win......but35...axb636.axb5Qf6looks more solid.36.bxa7Ba837.Rg5Qxa738.Bg4Kh8
Black's position is hanging from a thread, and Meier had multiple winning moves!39.Ra1But after this move is all the advantage
gone.39.Rf5or39.Rh1would have won. The weak point in
the black position is surprisingly h7. White knows this point can be
easily attack twice. If Black then goes with the king to g8, Be6+ etc. is game over.39...Qe740.Qxg7+Qxg741.Rxg7Kxg742.Rxa4Bc643.Rb4½–½
On this DVD Grandmaster Daniel King offers you a repertoire for Black against the Catalan, based around maintaining the rock of a pawn on d5. Keeping central control ultimately gives Black good chances to launch an attack against the enemy king.
Vachier-Lagrave ½-½ Aronian
From the standings, this was the top contest of the 5th round — but the course of the game was not very exciting. After all, there was a mass liquidation in the middle game resulting in an equal bishop endgame and soon a handshake.
The game is completely equal -
there are hardly any plans for either side to make any progress.18...c5
The beginning of an interesting sequence which, however, only leads to a draw.
18...Bf6also came into question.19.Nxe619.Nb3Nc620.Ng5Nd821.Nf3Nc6would have been another way to draw.19...Nxe620.Qd5Qxd521.exd5
21...Rxf3!Best from black's point of view.22.gxf3Ne523.Rxe5dxe524.dxe6Rd825.Be3g526.Kf1Kg727.Ke2Kf6
28.Rd1Rxd129.Kxd1Kxe630.Kc2Kf5Nothing works now.30...Kd6would be an attempt
had been to win a pawn via Bd8 soon, but it
would have allowed the white king to invade on f5.31.Kd3Bd632.b3Be733.Bc1Bd634.Be3Be735.Bc1Bd636.Be3½–½
Among the open games the only opening with which White can really fight for an advantage in the long term is the Ruy Lopez. But in order to make this serious effort, he has buckle down and learn a whole series of sub-variations. That is what the professionals do, including of course Viktor Bologan, who now reveals the secrets of his own grandmaster repertoire.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Levon Aronian: The top game of today ended early with a draw | Photo: Georgios Souleidis
Anand ½-½ Caruana
Caruana took a more solid posture than in recent days, and Anand's game also looked as if minimising risk was a priority for the Indian. The result was a not very exciting draw:
At the end of a longer banter
neither players could gain aa sustainable foothold.23...Bf624.Rc1Qd725.Bc6Qxd1+26.Rxd1Rfc827.Bxb7Rxb728.Ra4h629.Rxa5
Anand is up a pawn, but the Indian can not hold it due to Caruana's better pieces. It's a cliche, but what can we say, "the game
petered out to a draw."29...Rc230.Rb1e431.Ra4Re732.Re1Rxb233.Kf1Rc734.Raxe4Rxa235.R4e2Rxe236.Rxe2Re737.Rxe7Bxe738.Nc1h539.h3g640.g4hxg441.hxg4½–½
The dynamic play based on a strong strategic foundation has always fascinated me, and in these DVDs I have suggested the lines which I personally prefer and employ in practice.
Anand vs. Caruana: The drawing margin was never exceeded | Photo: Georgios Souleidis
Naiditsch ½-½ Bluebaum
Matthias Bluebaum came under a terrible attack after a tactical mistake in time trouble against Arkadij Naiditsch. But the German managed to survive after a tough struggle netted a well-earned half point!
The white attack attempt may look double-edged,
but it is by no means easy for Black to handle it adequately.
Incidentally, this has already been played in a blitz game between
Grischuk and Kramnik, won by Grischuk.9...e510.g5Ne811.Qb1f512.gxf6Nxf613.Be2Kh814.Ng5h615.Nf3Ne816.Nd5Bf517.d3Bd618.Bc3Rb819.Qb2
Black had already spent a lot of time thinking about this.
In fact, there was no clear remedy against the white attack on
kingside - something like the proverbial "counter-attack in the center" wasn't available. So Black was dependent on piece play
but his choice was rather drastic.19...Bxd3He finds the counter-attack in the
centre after all. The small combination wins a pawn, but the postion falls clearly in White's favour.20.Bxd3Rxf321.Qe2!Rf822.Qh5Ne7
White has a winning position: All the pieces are well placed and
ready to attack the black king position.23.Rxg723.f4
to open the c3-g7 diagonal of for the bishop looks more sustainable.23...Kxg723...Nxg724.Qxh6+Kg825.Nxe7+wins.24.0-0-0The thing is
now, despite the continued white advantage, matters are not so clear.24.f4was still good here too.24...Rf7!25.Rg1+Kf826.Qxh6+Rg727.Rxg7Nxg728.Qf6+Kg829.Bxe5Nef530.Bxf5Qxf631.Nxf6+Kf732.Bxd6Rd833.Bc7Rh834.Be4Kxf635.Bxb7Nf536.Bf4Rg837.a4Rg1+38.Kd2Rb139.Bc6Rb2+40.Ke1Rb4
The players reach time control. Rarely do you see that a player survives such a strong attack unscathed. Now Bluebaum manages to reach a draw step-by-step.41.a5Rxc442.a6Rb443.Bb7Ke644.Bc8+Kf645.Kd2Rb2+46.Kd3Rxf247.Ke4Ra248.Be5+Kg549.Bb8Ra4+50.Ke5c451.Bxf5Ra5+52.Kd4Kxf553.Bxa7Rxa654.Bc5Ra455.e4+Ke656.Kc3Ke557.Bb4Ra258.Kxc4Rxh259.Kd3Rh3+60.Ke2Kxe461.Kf2Rb362.Bd6Rb2+63.Kg3Rc264.Bb8Rc3+65.Kg2Rb3This endgame is a draw - the simple rule to follow is that the
king should head for the corner of the color opposite his bishop, as every grandmaster of course knows.½–½
Williams main teaching method behind this set of two DVDs is to teach you some simple yet effective set ups, without the need to rely on memorising numerous complicated variations.
Naiditsch missed a potential first victory against Bluebaum, whose only loss came in round 1 | Photo: Georgios Souleidis
Hou Yifan ½-½ Vitiugov
In the final position, Vitiugov had indeed an extra pawn, but his bishop was far worse than his Chinese opponent's knight, and the draw was thus inevitable.
Klaus BesenthalKlaus Besenthal is computer scientist, has followed and still follows the chess scene avidly since 1972 and since then has also regularly played in tournaments.
Whether it’s a weak pawn, a vulnerable king, or poor piece coordination, this course will teach you how to pinpoint the critical targets, prioritise your attack, and execute a clear, effective plan.
Videos by Nico Zwirs: Nimzo-Indian with 4.e3 b6 and Robert Ris: French Advance Variation with 6.Na3. Alexander Donchenko analyses his winning game against Fabiano Caruana from the Saint Louis Masters 2024. “Lucky bag" with another 43 analyses by Edouard,
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