Grenke: Shakeup! Caruana and Carlsen to the top

by Klaus Besenthal
4/8/2018 – In the GRENKE Chess Classic, standings shuffled dramatically after the seventh round. Fabiano Caruana managed a convincing win against his former co-leader Maxime Vachier-Lagrave with the black pieces, to take the sole lead in the standings. World Champion Magnus Carlsen also won with Black, against Arkadij Naiditsch, and moved up to second place. Georg Meier missed chances to add to Viswanathan Anand woes. GM Daniel Fernandez annotates all five games | Photo: Georgios Souleidis

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"Bad game, good point"

Timely black wins from both contenders of the next World Championship were the story of round seven on Saturday. Caruana dominated Vachier-Lagrave's English in an impressive show, while Carlsen was dissatisfied with his play, calling his win over Naiditsch a "bad game, good point". Carlsen is now nipping at the heels of Caruana, the new sole leader, but faces an important test in his next game with white against Vitiugov, with whom he shares second place.

Caruana

Caruana looks over his shoulder — Magnus Carlsen is lurking | Photo: Frederic Friedel

Vachier-Lagrave 0-1 Caruana

The experience of being smashed to pieces by the opponent's overpowering bishop pair is shared by every chess player. The antidote was demonstrated by Fabiano Caruana in his game against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Caruana maintained a rock on the e4-square in the way of Vachier-Lagrave's Fianchettoed light-squared bishop: first a pawn, then knight and a bishop. It spoke volumes that the once proud bishop finally gave up and went back to f1, where he subsequently found a rather sad existence. A simple but well thought-out opening concept, against which "MVL" found no solution today. Caruana made it look effortless, as he gained space and was able to collect a weak pawn. Instead of going into a winning but protracted endgame, he then systematically created further weaknesses in his opponent's camp.

Annotations by GM Daniel Fernandez
 
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1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Presumably, White was looking for the 'nonsense' with ...Bb4 3.Qb3 etc. Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 Bb4 5.Bg2 0-0 6.0-0 e4 6...Re8 is my preference with Black, not 'forgiving' White for missing his chances to force the win of my bishop-pair. The recent fashion is 6...d6 : Black would like to revert to lines with the bishop on a7. 7.d3 Re8 7...h6!? is okay despite its slow appearance. 8.Bd2 a6 9.a3 9.Nd5 Bxd2 10.Qxd2 Rb8= 9...Bc5 10.b4 Ba7 11.e3 Rb8 12.Qc2 Bf5 13.Rab1 Qd7= Vidit,S-Gupta,A chess.com INT 2018 8.Rb1!? An interesting innovation- it is not clear what Black's waiting move should be. 8.Na4 d5 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Bg5 f6 11.Bd2 Bf8 12.Rc1 Be6 Dubov,D-Karjakin,S Moscow 2018 8.Nd5 Nxd5 9.cxd5 Ne7 10.a3 Ba5 11.b4 Bb6 12.Nd2 c6 13.dxc6 Nxc6 14.Bb2 a6 15.Rc1 Be6 16.e3 Qd7= Gelfand,B-Inarkiev,E Palma de Mallorca 2017 8...Bg4?! 8...Rb8!?N 9.Bd2 Bf5 9.h3 Be6 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bxf6 Qxf6 12.Nd5 Bxd5 13.cxd5 Nd4 14.Nxd4 exd4 15.Qb3 Eljanov,P-Kryvoruchko,Y Riadh 2017 7.Ng5 Bxc3 8.bxc3 Re8 9.Qc2 9.d3 was the move I prepared when learning the English from my then-coach (now a senior figure in chess politics) GM Zurab Azmaiparashvili. exd3 10.exd3 Here Black can play in all sorts of ways, but in general should not be worse, e.g. h6 The creative 10...b6!? looks okay too 11.Ne4 d6 12.Rb1 Ne5!? 13.f3 13.Nxf6+ Qxf6 14.Bf4 Rb8= 13...Rb8 14.Be3 b6 15.Qd2 Nh7 16.g4 f5 17.gxf5 Bxf5 18.Rbe1 Qd7 Danin,A-Gabrielian,A Voronezh 2012 9.f3!? is original-looking and possibly underestimated. exf3 9...e3!? 10.d3 d5 11.cxd5 Nxd5 12.Ne4 f5 13.Qb3! 10.Nxf3 Here Black has many moves, but a good illustration of White's possibilities was given by... Caruana, from the other side of the board. d5 11.d4 dxc4 12.Qc2 h6 13.Bf4 Ne4 14.Rad1 Bf5 15.Ne5 Nd6 15...Nxg3 16.e4 Nxf1 17.exf5 Nxh2 18.Bxh2 16.e4! Caruana,F-Anand,V Moscow 2016 9...d5?! In my opinion, this opens the position too much. 9...Qe7 is probably better, because of the next note. 10.d3 exd3 11.exd3 d6= 10.cxd5 Qxd5 11.d3 Bf5 12.Bf4 12.Rb1 was fittingly played in a high-level game featuring yesterday's White player on the other side of the board, and I believe it gets something. exd3 Following 12...h6 13.Nxe4 Nxe4 14.c4! Qe6 15.dxe4 Bxe4 16.Qxe4 Qxe4 17.Bxe4 Rxe4 18.Rxb7 White had acheived a little bit more than nothing, but was unable to make it count in the end.Van Wely,L-Vachier Lagrave,M Evry 2008 12...Rab8 13.Bf4 h6 14.Nxe4 Nxe4 15.Rfd1‼ 13.Bxd5 dxc2 14.Bxf7+ Kh8 15.Rxb7 Nd8 16.Rxc7 Rxe2 17.Bc4 Re8 18.f3 White has the usual size of advantage associated with the bishop pair- not more. 12...h6 13.Nxe4 Nxe4 14.Qb2 Inevitably, White finds clever things to do rather than taking the e4-knight immediately! b6 14...Na5!?= makes White be a bit careful not to end up worse. 15.Rfd1 Qc5 16.dxe4 Bxe4 17.Bf1?! An ambitious move, and not necessarily a bad one, but it stems from a wrong evaluation of the position. 17.Bxe4 Rxe4 18.Rd7= probably ends the adventures: two grandmasters of such caliber can surely find a way to tacitly agree that the better minor piece balances out the worse structure, and trade off most of the queenside, leaving rook and 3 each on the kingside. 17...Re7 18.a4 Rae8 19.Rac1?! White needs to explain why he thinks he is better, and a reasonable start is 19.Qb5!? Qxb5 20.axb5 Na5 21.h4 when even though White's structure looks appalling, he has definite reason to hope that the bishop-pair can come to life in the near future. 19...g5 20.Bd2 Qf5! Strongly suggesting White's next, on pain of ...Ne5-f3+. 21.f3 Qc5+ 21...Bxf3 22.exf3 Qc5+ 23.Kh1 Qf2 is already possible, and White is in huge trouble. 22.Kh1 Bd5 23.Be1 White is obliged to defend the f2-square, but now he sheds a pawn. 23.Qb5? Qf2!-+ is terminal. 23...Bc4 24.e4 24.Rd2? g4-+ leads to a terrible tangle 24...Bxf1 25.Bf2 Qc4 26.Rxf1 Qxa4 Black cashes out for a pawn. In what follows, White just drifts further and never looks like being able to reach a drawable rook endgame. 27.c4 Ne5 28.Bd4 g4 29.fxg4 Qd7 30.Qc3 c5 31.Bxe5 Rxe5 32.Qf3 Rxe4 33.Rcd1 Qe6 34.g5 hxg5 35.Rd5 g4 36.Qc3 Re5 0–1
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Vachier-Lagrave,M2789Caruana,F28040–12018A29GRENKE Chess Classic 20188

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.


Aronian ½-½ Vitiugov

The Russian grandmaster Nikita Vitiugov is not as well known, locally, as the other protagonists of the GRENKE Chess Classic, but his class was again on display in the game against Levon Aronian. With black, Vitiugov had everything under control at all times and has remained solidly at the top of the table, though now sharing second place with Carlsen.

 
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1.c4 c6 2.g3 d5 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Bg2 dxc4 I didn't really get the raison d'etre of this move, since both ...Bf5 and ...Bg4 are more 'conventional' Slav choices, and both should equalise. So annotating this game and finding Black's equalising methods was a learning experience for me too. 5.0-0 Nbd7 5...b5 would be consistent, but likely not that great, e.g. 6.a4 Bb7 7.b3 cxb3 8.Qxb3 a6 9.Ba3 Harika,D-Danielian,E Beijing 2011 6.Na3 Nb6 7.Qc2 g6 7...Be6 is the main 'consistent' way to play this system. Black typically cedes the bishop pair but keeps his pawn. Some brief theoretical notes follow, though I have not found any significant improvement on the main 'draw line'- these things tend to be rather thoroughly checked. 8.Ng5 Bg4! 8...Qd7?! 9.Nxe6 Qxe6 10.b3 10.e4 g6 11.b3 cxb3 12.axb3 Bg7 13.Bb2 is compensation, but not more 10...cxb3 11.axb3 g6 11...Qxe2 12.Nc4 Nbd7 13.Ba3 and White has at least sufficient compensation for 2 pawns, which is always a worrying sign. 12.Nc4 Nxc4 13.bxc4 Bg7 14.d4 0-0 15.e3 Black faces an unenviable defence against the Catalan bishop and its colleague. 9.Nxc4 Bxe2 10.Ne5 Bh5 11.Re1! 11.b4 is 'independent' but White should not get anything this way. Nfd7 11...Nbd7 12.d4 h6?! 13.Nh3 Nd5 14.b5! Dranov,A-Van Kampen,R Germany 2012 11...e6!? 12.b5 Bd6 13.Bb2 Bxe5 14.Bxe5 Bg6 15.Qb3 Rc8 16.bxc6= Nepomniachtchi,I-Karjakin,S Moscow 2018 12.Bf3 Nxe5 13.Bxh5 Qd5! 13...g6?! 14.Bb2 Bg7 15.f4 14.d4! 14.f4 Qd4+ 15.Kg2 Qd5+= 14...h6! 15.dxe5 hxg5 16.Qe2 g6 17.Bf3 Qc4 White can choose between the pawn back or compensation but is not better in either case. 11...h6 11...Nbd7?! may be playable but is extremely risky if White works out the attack in detail, i.e. 12.d4 e6 13.Nexf7 Bxf7 14.Nxe6 12.Ne4 e6 13.Nxf6+ 13.Nc5!? could be an interesting route to look at: Bxc5 14.Qxc5 Qe7 15.Qxe7+ Kxe7 16.b3 13...gxf6 14.Nxc6 bxc6 15.Bxc6+ Nd7 16.Qf5 Bg6 17.Rxe6+ Be7 17...fxe6 18.Qxg6+ Ke7 19.b3 and White has a dangerous attack despite trailing by a whole rook and not having his own forces completely mobilised. It bears mentioning that playable for Black here is Kd6!? 20.Bg2 Ne5 18.Qxf6 Rg8 19.Re1 Kf8 20.Qf4 20.Qc3 Rc8 21.d4 Kg7 is not really a way to try for anything 20...Rc8 21.Qxh6+ Rg7 Of course, if White wants there is a repetition here for the taking, but it is also possible to play on with 22.d4 Kg8 23.d5 when the position is dynamically level. 8.Nxc4 Nxc4 9.Qxc4 Bg7 10.d3 0-0 11.Bd2 Initially, looking at this position I thought White must have something. However, then my inner Grunfeld fan got involved and I realised this was not so. Nd5 Black's counterplay must be associated with either ...e5 or ...a5, so it makes sense to consider the immediate push 11...a5 . Here, White should save on Qc1 and play 12.e4 a4 13.Bb4! 13.a3 Be6 14.Qc2 Bb3 15.Qb1 Nd7 13.Bc3 a3! 14.b3 Be6 15.Qb4 b6 13...Ne8 14.d4 Nd6 15.Qd3 Bg4 White has his big, imposing centre, but Black has typical Grunfeld-like play against it, so he should not be that worried. There are ideas like ...f5 or ...b5/...Nc4 in the pipeline. 12.Qc1 a5 12...e5!? 13.Bh6 Re8 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.Rd1 Bg4= Srdjanov,S-Adzic,M Kragujevac 2010 13.Bh6 Bg4 13...Nc7 14.d4 a4 15.e4 a3 could be a slightly more active strategy for Black 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.Ne5 Be6 16.d4 Nf6 16...f6 is playable, but gaining tempi is less important than keeping an essentially flawless pawn structure in most cases, especially when one is facing the Catalan bishop. 17.Rd1 Qb6 18.e4 Rfd8 19.Qc3 Kg8 20.Rd3 Today being the day after producing my annotations to Mamedyarov-Ding from the Candidates, my respect for the Black construction in such positions is higher than normal! Rd6 21.Rad1 Rad8 There hasn't been much wrong with either side's play since move 15 but Black has drifted ever so slightly. 21...Bxa2!? is a move people only notice was playable retrospectively. During the game, the ghost of Fischer tends to be a strong enough deterrent. 22.b3 22.a3!? could be a better try, since Black's generally desirable reply ...a4 might eventually play badly with his bishop in an endgame. 22...Qb4 23.Qa1 23.Qxb4 axb4 24.f4 is probably harder for Black to play in spite of White's pawns being the more hampered. 23...a4 24.h3 Following the desirable 24.a3 Qb5 25.b4 Black is on time with Nd7= 24...axb3 25.axb3 Nd7 26.Nxd7 R6xd7 27.d5 White realises that the static elements of the position favour Black, and takes action quickly. cxd5 28.exd5 Bf5 29.Re3 Of course, one looks at ways to try and trap the f5-bishop starting with 29.Rd4 but they simply don't work out. Qxb3 30.g4 Bc2 31.Rc1 Rc8! 29...Be6 30.Rde1 Bxd5 31.Bxd5 Rxd5 32.Rxe7 Qxe7! Clinching the draw. Now the players just have to wait for move 40. 33.Rxe7 Rd1+ 34.Qxd1 Rxd1+ 35.Kg2 b6 36.Kf3 Rd3+ 37.Re3 Rd2 38.Re4 Rd3+ 39.Re3 Rd2 40.Re4 Rd3+ ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Aronian,L2767Vitiugov,N2735½–½2018A11GRENKE Chess Classic 20187

Vitiugov

31-year-old Nikita Vitiugov | Photo: Georgios Souleidis

Naiditsch 0-1 Carlsen

One reason Magnus Carlsen is World Champion is that he rarely loses a game — so far in this tournament, none at all. Sprinkle in a few wins here and there and you have all it takes to keep your leading position in the world. In this tournament, Carlsen has shown patience in this sense, which was rewarded today: Against Arkadij Naiditsch the World Champion took full advantage of the cards he was dealt.

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 Notwithstanding the increased playability of lots of openings these days, at the top the old rule 'Petroff/Berlin/Caro for a draw, Najdorf/Marshall for a win' is holding up reasonably well. 6.g3 I have to confess that as a Najdorf player I have never seen the appeal of this move. If White wants kingside expansion, surely 6.h3 is a better way to start? Nevertheless, it is fairly popular. A related line which I have tried is: 6.a4 e5 7.Nde2!? Nc6 7...Be7 8.g3 Be6 9.Bg2 Nbd7 10.h3 Rc8 11.g4 h6 12.Ng3 g6 13.0-0 Qc7 14.a5 Kf8 15.Be3 Kg7 16.f4 Kamsky,G-Lautier,J Monte Carlo 1996 8.g3 Be7 9.Bg2 Nb4 10.Bg5 Be6 Here we have the game structure, but without Black having the possibility of ...b5. 11.Qd2 Rc8 12.0-0 0-0 13.a5 h6?! 14.Bxf6 Bxf6 15.Ra4 Nc6 16.Nd5 Fernandez,D-Hamitevici,V England 2015 6...e5 6...g6 7.Bg2 Bg7 8.0-0 0-0 is another common approach for Black, reasoning that g3-systems are by no means the most critical for White against the Dragon, and that ...a6 is useful in almost any kind of Sicilian position. This has seen some high-level tests too, e.g. 9.b3 Bd7 10.Bb2 Nc6?! 10...e6!?= works tactically, and so on principle it should be played 11.Nd5 Re8 12.c4 Nxd5 13.exd5 Nxd4 14.Bxd4 b5 15.Bxg7 Kxg7 16.Qd4+ Kg8 17.Rfc1 Nakamura,H-Nepomniachtchi,I London 2017 7.Nb3 Be7 8.Bg2 0-0 9.0-0 Be6 10.Re1 Nbd7! It is important to place the knight here, even though it might seem like the d5-square is in no particular danger. 10...Nc6 11.Nd5 Rc8 12.c4 is surprisingly annoying. 11.Nd2 Clearly, this knight is going to d5, but the problem is that Black can, without too much trouble, arrange for White's final recapture on d5 to be with a pawn, and then Black will get a good version of the standard Sveshnikov structure. 11.a4= makes a fair amount of sense 11...b5 12.Nf1 Bg4!? This move may not be the best, and Carlsen might well have known that during the game, but sometimes it is good to make the position 'strategically richer' against a weaker opponent. It is interesting, perhaps, to consider why Carlsen did not continue with the supremely consistent 12...b4!? The followup could be 13.Nd5 Nxd5 14.exd5 Bf5 15.a3 a5 and while White lacks a convincing way to immediately exploit the excessive airiness of Black's queenside, Black also lacks a way to push ...f5-f4, and hence also winning chances. 12...Nb6 was possible immediately: 13.Ne3 b4 14.Ncd5 Nfxd5 15.Nxd5 Nxd5 16.exd5 Bd7= 13.f3 13.Qd2 b4 14.Nd5 Nxd5 15.exd5 a5 13...Be6 14.Ne3 Rc8 15.a3 15.a4 b4 16.Ncd5 leads to a better version of all the above lines in the event that Black takes, so I suspect Black's idea in this case was to keep the position closed. a5 17.Nxe7+ 17.b3 Bxd5 18.exd5 g6= 17...Qxe7 18.b3 Rfd8 19.Bb2 Nc5 15...Nb6 16.f4?! Now White risks being worse. 16.a4 was still necessary, admitting to having made a mistake in the previous few moves. 16...Re8 17.Kh1 What Carlsen understood, and perhaps his opponent did not, was that the position-type after 17.f5?! Bd7 is of the make-or-break variety for White. Given just a few moves, Black will arrange either ...Bc6 and ...d5, or ...a5 and ...b4. Hence 18.g4 is the main idea, but after h6 there is no follow-up; the usual h4 runs into ...Nh7 and Black is close to winning. 17...Bf8 17...exf4! 18.gxf4 Bf8 is apparently better, with the idea that White will find it surprisingly difficult to counter the simple ...Bd7-c6. 18.f5 Bd7 19.Qd3 19.Ng4!? suggests itself to me, even if there is still no chance of White being better after Bc6 20.Nxf6+ Qxf6 21.Qd3 Qd8= 19...h6 Playing it slow because it is hard to think up active ideas for White. 20.b3 Bc6 21.Bd2 Qc7 22.Rac1 Qb7 Black is done with prophylaxis and now for tactical reasons he is able to start considering the move ...a5, or maybe ...Rcd8 and ...d5. 23.Ned5 23.Ncd5!? might have been a better choice, since White can think about generating play with c4 if Black plays as in the game. Bxd5 24.exd5 e4 25.Qd4 Re5 25...Nbxd5 26.Nxd5 Qxd5 27.Qxd5 Nxd5 28.Rxe4= 26.c4 bxc4 27.Nxc4 Nxc4 28.bxc4 23...Bxd5 24.exd5 Nbd7 25.Nd1 e4 25...Be7!? gives Black an advantage; once this piece reaches the a7-g1 diagonal it will either be unopposable or force a very favourable exchange. 26.Qd4 Ne5 27.Nf2? Leaving d5 without crucial protection, but as this is a game between humans and not machines, there are more mistakes to follow. 27.Bxe4? Nxe4 28.Qxe4 Nc4 29.Qd4 Nxd2 30.Rxe8 Rxe8 31.Qxd2 Be7 is the idea; this position is well-nigh impossible to defend for White. 27.Nc3!? is hard to play, but best. Nf3 28.Bxf3 exf3 29.Rxe8 Rxe8 30.Qf4 Black can sacrifice a pawn for sufficient compensation in various ways, but that is all. 27...Nf3 28.Bxf3 exf3 29.c4 bxc4 30.bxc4 Re5 The correct idea of doubling on the e-file, but a marginally inaccurate execution. Once again White was able to attack the weakest link in Black's construction- the f3-pawn. .. 30...Re2! was the best way to try and grow the advantage. 31.Rxe2 31.Kg1 Rce8 32.Rxe2 Rxe2 33.Re1 Qb3 is painful to look at 31...fxe2 32.Kg2 32.Qd3 Nxd5 33.Kg1 Nf6 34.Qxe2 d5 wins a pawn in a complicated way 32...Nxd5 33.Qe4 Qb2! 34.Qxe2 Nf6 35.Qd3 d5! 31.Re3 31.Qd3 Rxe1+ 32.Rxe1 Qb2 33.Kg1 is similar, but without the back-rank 'tricks'. White has time to get organised (Bb4, etc) and can then immediately take on f3. 31...Rxe3 32.Qxe3 Qb2 33.Nd3? Possibly the decisive mistake, although the computer doesn't mind it, even after thought. 33.Kg1! Be7 34.Nd1! still keeps Black's advantage within manageable proportions 33...Qxa3 34.Qxf3 Qa2 35.Bc3 Rxc4 36.Ra1 Qb3 37.Bxf6 gxf6 38.Kg2 38.Qd1 is the best the machine can come up with, but it is utterly miserable. 38...Rc3 39.Rd1 39.Qg4+ is some kind of practical try, hoping for an endgame. Kh8 40.Nf2 Qxd5+ 41.Qe4 Qc5! 41...Qxe4+ 42.Nxe4 Rc6 43.Ra5 42.Rxa6 d5 43.Qf4 39...h5 40.Kh3 Bh6 41.Re1? In a lost position, White makes a sacrifice which can be refuted in a couple of ways, but some of the other plausible answers leave him with hope of stalemate ideas or other tricks. Rxd3 42.Qxh5 Re3! 42...Be3 is also good enough. 42...Kg7 43.Re7 Qxd5 44.Rc7‼ miraculously draws; White removes his rook from the idea of ...Kf8 with tempo and will play Qg6 to pick up the h6-bishop next! 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Naiditsch,A2701Carlsen,M28430–12018B91GRENKE Chess Classic 20187

Naiditsch vs Carlsen

After beating Naiditsch with black, Carlsen can fight for first, if he gets past Vitiugov | Photo: Frederic Friedel

Hou Yifan ½-½ Bluebaum

At no time did the match move outside the range of a draw, although Matthias Bluebaum had a long-lasting initiative in the rook and bishop endgame. The Chinese defused the situation eventually — and peace was inevitable.

 
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1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 Nf6 4.b3 Be7 5.Bb2 It seems that after its use by the World Champion in a tiebreak game against Giri, this system is gaining traction among a number of top players. I shall try and avoid rehashing my comments to that game, but it deserves mention. 0-0 6.Nc3 c5 Black can delay ...c5, but after a few moves it transpires that the move is more indispensable to him than d4 is to White, and by extension, he must steel himself sooner or later to recapture on d5 with the knight. 6...b6 7.Be2 Bb7 8.0-0 Nbd7 9.Rc1 and ...c5 must be one of Black's next three moves, or else he is just being silly. Meanwhile, White can try Qc2-b1-a1, Rfd1, etc. 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Qc2 8.Nxd5 was Carlsen's choice. A number of ways for Black to in principle equalise the game have been suggested, and he should probably memorise one or more of them, because without pre-existing knowledge, the hanging pawn or isolated pawn structure that must result is difficult for Black to play. exd5 9.d4 Qa5+ 10.Qd2 Qxd2+ 11.Kxd2 Nc6 11...cxd4N "If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well it were done quickly." This is a remarkable line from Shakespeare's Macbeth that not only provides the most confusing multiple subjunctive in the history of the language, but also neatly encapsulates Black's strategic decision here. 12.Nxd4 Nc6 13.Nxc6 13.Be2 Bd7 14.a3 Rac8= should lead to nothing 13...bxc6 14.Rc1 Bb4+ 15.Kd1 Bd7 Black has a reasonable amount of activity to compensate for his worse structure. 12.dxc5 Bxc5 13.Bb5 Bb4+ 14.Ke2 Carlsen,M-Giri, A Wijk aan Zee 2018 8...Nb4 8...b6= is also possible immediately; this seems like a slightly less adventurous way of equalising. 8...Nc6 was most played in the preceding games that reached this point: notable was the 9.h4!? h6 10.g4 of Carlsen,M-Ganguly,S Doha 2016; the World Champion was later outplayed but managed to extricate himself and draw. 9.Qb1 b6 10.a3 10.h4!? might be playable here too, but here there is Ba6! and this might be the point of Black's 8th. 10...Nd5 11.Nxd5 11.h4!? can again be tried, but the follow-up Nf6 12.Rg1 Bb7 13.Be2 Nc6 14.g4 Na5 indicates another possible point of Black's 8th. 14...Nd4!? 11...exd5 12.d4 Nc6 13.Bb5 Bd7 14.0-0 White has no opening edge and this move admits that. Nxd4 15.Nxd4 cxd4 16.Bxd7 Qxd7 17.Bxd4 Reaching a simplified position in which Black has one weakness, but is compensating for it well enough with activity. I don't suppose either player was seriously anticipating anything but a draw here. As we know, this kind of thinking can lead to complacency... Rfc8 18.Rd1 Rc6 19.Qb2?! Now White has to be slightly more careful than Black. 19.Qd3= 19...Qf5 Threatening ...Rc2. 20.Qe2 20.Bxg7 Rc2-+ 20...Rc2 21.Qf3 21.Rd2 Rac8 22.b4= is the way the computer suggests to grovel, and Black seems to have nothing concrete. 21...Qxf3 22.gxf3 Bh4 23.e4 23.Rf1 Rac8 24.a4 Re2 is equally unpleasant 23...dxe4 24.fxe4 Bg5 25.a4 Bd2 Black has managed to liquidate his only weakness, and what is left is his slight advantage in piece activity. 26.Rab1 Rac8 27.Rb2 Rxb2 28.Bxb2 Rc2 29.Bd4 f6 30.Kg2 Pointing out that Black needs a plan here too. 30.e5 f5 31.e6 Kf8 32.e7+ Kxe7 33.Bxg7 Ke6 30...Kf7 31.Kf3 Ke6 32.h3 h5 There follows some 'messing around to reach the time control'. 33.Ke2 Bf4+ 34.Kf3 Bd2 35.Ke2 Bf4+ 36.Kf3 g5 37.Rd3 Bd2 38.Ke2 Bf4+ 39.Kf3 Be5 40.Be3 40.Bxe5 Kxe5 41.a5 Ke6 42.axb6 axb6 43.Kg2 Rb2 fails to solve White's problems 40...Rb2 40...Bd6!? deserved consideration, trying seriously to take the bishops off, the better to emphasise the slightly greater activity of Black's other two pieces compared to their White counterparts. 41.Kg2 Bc5 42.Bxc5 Rxc5 and White still has a little suffering ahead 41.a5! Liquidating down to something which is impossible to try and win. bxa5 42.Bxa7 f5 43.exf5+ Kxf5 44.Kg2 g4 45.hxg4+ hxg4 46.Rd5 Rxb3 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Hou,Y2657Bluebaum,M2616½–½2018A13GRENKE Chess Classic 20187

Hou Yifan

Hou Yifan | Photo: Georgios Souleidis

Anand ½-½ Meier

This might have been Viswanathan Anand's second consecutive loss against a German player after yesterday if Meier had grabbed his chances in the endgame.

 
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1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.g3 White makes a passable effort to turn a French into something resembling a Catalan (a description that could also be applied to a certain well-known grandmaster!) It goes without saying that 5.Nf3 is the main move. Be7 6.Nf3 Ngf6 7.Qe2 Nxe4 8.Qxe4 Rb8! Very Catalan. We have already almost left the realm of praxis; the only precedent continued 8...Nf6 9.Qe2 b6 10.Bg2 Bb7 11.c3 0-0 12.0-0 Qc8 13.Re1 c5 14.Be3 c4 15.Ng5?! and was promptly agreed drawn in Rigo,J-Somlai,L Hungary 1994; the main problem with this is that Black has an extremely good structure after Bxg2 16.Kxg2 b5 9.Bg2 b5 10.0-0 0-0 11.Rd1 Bb7 12.Qe2 Development is more or less complete the way it was destined to be after White's 5th move. Nf6 Black now drifts just a tiny bit. 12...Bd5 13.c3 Qc8= was more economical: Black wants to play ...c5 within the next few moves. Possibly ...Qb7, ...a6, ...Rbc8, ...c5. 13.c3 a6 14.a4 Bd5 14...b4 15.c4 is awkward since Black has no means of arranging ...c5; as an inveterate player of 1.d4 b5 as Black I have a better-than-average understanding of these positions! 15.Ne5 One of several ways to cement an advantage. 15.axb5 axb5 16.Bg5 was a perfect Catalan solution; White wants Bxf6 and b4, with a significant advantage. h6 17.Bxf6 Bxf6 18.b4 Black lacks any sort of play and must wait patiently for White pieces to begin crawling into his weak dark squares. 15.Bf4 Bb3 16.Re1 is simple and good. 15...Bxg2 16.Kxg2 Qd5+ 17.Qf3 Qxf3+ 18.Kxf3 Bd6 19.axb5?! 19.Be3!? seems more accurate to me (though not the engine): the idea is that Black will probably need to take on e5 anyway, so we should pick the best route for our bishop in the aftermath of that. Bxe5 19...Rfe8 20.Nc6 Rb7 21.axb5 axb5 22.Ra6 Nd5 23.Rda1 looks even more uncomfortable 20.dxe5 Nd5 21.axb5 Rxb5 21...axb5 22.Ra6 22.Rxa6 Rxb2 23.c4 23.Rc6!? 23...Nb6 24.Bxb6 cxb6 25.Rd7 There is still work to be done because White has more active rooks. 19...axb5 20.Bg5 Bxe5 21.dxe5 Nd5!= Now Black wants both ...c5 and ...Ra8, and White can't really stop both. 22.Ra6 c5 23.Be3 Rfc8 24.Rda1 h5 25.Ra7 c4 26.Rd7 b4! Black uses the White king position to make time for his counterplay. 27.Bd4 27.Raa7 bxc3 28.bxc3 Nxc3 29.Rxf7 Rf8!= is the point, and White could easily find himself worse soon. 27...bxc3 28.bxc3 Rb3 28...Rd8= was possible if Black had anticipated what was about to happen... 29.Rxd5!? An ambitious sacrifice, and one which impressed me quite a lot. exd5 30.Kf4 Rbb8 31.Kg5 31.Ra5! Rd8 32.Ra7 seems called for; Black's rooks can't easily get in, so he has to resort to harassing the White rook in order to maintain the balance. 31...Ra8 32.Re1 Rc6 33.f4?! Now Black gets in, and only he can be better. 33.Rb1! was still interesting 33...Ra2 34.h3 Rd2 35.f5 Rd3 36.Kf4 h4 37.e6 Kf8 38.gxh4 fxe6 39.Ra1 exf5 40.Kxf5 Rxh3 40...Kg8!? is not a bad try, but it could be a hard move 40 to make. 41.Ra8+ Ke7 42.Ra7+ Ke8 43.Ke5 Rxh4 44.Kxd5 Rg6 45.Bxg7 White forces a draw. A shame, because his concept was a bold one. Nevertheless, in essence this was a typical modern game of chess, played on small margins, outside the realm of opening theory. ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Anand,V2776Meier,G2636½–½2018C10GRENKE Chess Classic 20187

Anand

Anand languishes at the bottom of the standings | Photo: Georgios Souleidis

Standings after seven rounds

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Peter Leko's round seven recap

Commentary webcast

Commentary by GM Peter Leko and GM Jan Gustafsson

Translation from German: Macauley Peterson
Game annotations: GM Daniel Fernandez

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Klaus Besenthal is computer scientist, has followed and still follows the chess scene avidly since 1972 and since then has also regularly played in tournaments.

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