4/20/2017 – Without a doubt, round four brought in a number of dramatic moments for those watching the games live. The one ‘letdown’, if one may, was the uneventful draw between Carlsen and Caruana on top board. Naiditsch and Meier had a crazy game that drew in the end, while Aronian defeated Bluebaum very cleanly to take the lead after Hou Yifan lost to MVL in a tough endgame that is annotated in detail by GM Krikor Mekhitarian.
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Grenke Classic 2017: Levon takes the lead
All photos by Georgios Souleidis
Round 4 (19.04.2017 / 15:00)
Player
Res.
Player
Naiditsch, Arkadij
½ - ½
Meier, Georg
Carlsen, Magnus
½ - ½
Caruana, Fabiano
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime
1 - 0
Hou, Yifan
Bluebaum, Matthias
0 - 1
Aronian, Levon
Video highlights of round four
The big draw of the day, in theory, was Magnus Carlsen against Fabiano Caruana. Both have been embroiled in some might battles in the past, but today was not one of them. It started as a Petroff, which sort of told the story, then via a strange move order transposed into a French Exchange when Carlsen played 5.d3 and then 6.d4. The queens were off by move 14, and though they danced a little, with threats of seeing something happen, they drew.
Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana failed to thrill in round four
Magnus Carlsen vs Fabiano Caruana
[Event "4th GRENKE Chess Classic 2017"] [Site "Baden-Baden"] [Date "2017.04.19"] [Round "4"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "2838"] [BlackElo "2817"] [Annotator "A. Silver"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d3 Nf6 6. d4 d5 7. Bd3 Bd6 8. Qe2+ Be6 (8... Qe7 9. Qxe7+ Kxe7 10. O-O Re8 11. Re1+ Kf8 12. Rxe8+ Kxe8 13. Nc3 c6 14. Bd2 h6 15. Re1+ Kf8 16. Ne5 Nbd7 17. f4 Nb6 {1-0 (58) Carlsen,M (2838)-Akobian,V (2645) chess.com INT 2017}) 9. c4 dxc4 10. Bxc4 Qe7 {[#] White must now prevent ...Bxc4.} 11. O-O O-O 12. Nc3 h6 $146 (12... Re8 13. Bd2 Nc6 14. Rfe1 Qd7 15. Bxe6 Rxe6 16. Qb5 {1/2-1/2 (42) Taksrud,V (2091)-Cerveny, L (2144) ICCF email 2011}) 13. d5 Bg4 14. Qxe7 Bxe7 15. Nb5 Nbd7 16. Re1 Bc5 17. Bb3 ({Wrong is} 17. Nxc7 $2 Rac8 18. Ne6 (18. Bf4 $2 Bxf3 19. gxf3 Nh5 $17) 18... fxe6 19. dxe6 Nb6 20. e7+ Nxc4 $17) 17... Rac8 18. Bf4 Bxf3 19. gxf3 { The position is equal.} a6 20. Nxc7 {This might seem unplayable, but both players had seen it was, and knew where it was leading.} Nh5 {The obvious continuation.} 21. Ne6 $1 Nxf4 ({Obviously not} 21... fxe6 $6 22. dxe6 Ndf6 23. e7+ Rf7 24. Rad1 $1 $16 {and the threat of Rd8 serves as protection of the hanging bishop on f4.}) 22. Nxf4 Bd6 23. Nd3 Nc5 24. Nxc5 Rxc5 25. Rac1 Rxc1 26. Rxc1 $11 {It is pretty easy to guess that this endgame has no hope of coming to life, and after 15 more moves they shook hands.} Re8 27. Ba4 Rd8 28. Kg2 Kf8 29. Re1 g6 30. h3 Kg7 31. Re8 Rxe8 32. Bxe8 Kf6 33. Bd7 a5 34. a4 b6 35. b3 Ke7 36. Bc6 Kf6 37. Be8 Ke7 38. Bc6 Kf6 39. Be8 Ke7 40. Bc6 1/2-1/2 PGN
The gleam of excitement in the commentator's eyes
The next big bout was between MVL and Hou Yifan and this one was a thriller
The next game, if not the first, to not let anyone look away was the battle between world no. 5 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Hou Yifan. Hou Yifan’s success until now was absolute, and the Frenchman had shown uneven form. However, Maxime is known for being a particularly good player with white, and this showed in round four. He obtained a significant advantage in an endgame, which could theoretically be held. The fight was long and strenuous and Hou Yifan was the first to blink but the game was fascinating, and comes here with detailed analysis by GM Krikor Mekhitarian.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Hou Yifan (annotated by Krikor Mekhitarian)
[Event "GRENKE Chess Classic"] [Site "Karlsruhe"] [Date "2017.04.19"] [Round "4.3"] [White "Vachier Lagrave, Maxime"] [Black "Hou, Yifan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2803"] [BlackElo "2649"] [Annotator "Krikor Mekhitarian"] [PlyCount "135"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] {Hou Yifan has been the sensation of the Grenke Chess Classic so far! She was the sole leader after the 3rd round, having beaten world number 3 Fabiano Caruana and GM Georg Meier, and achieved a draw after building a great advantage against the world champion Magnus Carlsen. Today she had a tough task, to hold her ground against the world number 5, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, known for his strong play with the white pieces.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {the well-known berlin defense!} 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 d5 $5 (5... O-O {White can follow with 6.O-O or accept the sacrifice} 6. Bxc6 (6. O-O d6 7. Nbd2 { is a standard line}) 6... bxc6 7. Nxe5 d5 {may transpose to 5...d5 - See analysis on White's 6th move}) 6. Nbd2 (6. Nxe5 {accepting the sacrifice is dangerous} O-O 7. Bxc6 (7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. Bxc6 Bxf2+ $1 9. Kxf2 Ng4+ 10. Kg1 Qf6 11. Qe2 Qxc6 $44) 7... bxc6 8. d4 {seen recently at top level} Bb6 {Black trusts his bishop pair and the development advantage} 9. O-O (9. Nxc6 $2 { would be too much} Qe8 10. Ne5 Ba6 $1 $17) 9... dxe4 (9... Nxe4 {was fine as well} 10. Nxc6 Qd6 11. Nb4 $44 {with decent compensation for Black with a5 followed by c5 or c5 right away: 1/2-1/2 (40) Morovic Fernandez,I (2550) -Faizrakhmanov,R (2432) Moscow 2017}) 10. Bg5 c5 11. Nd2 cxd4 $2 {according to Karjakin, he mixed up the lines during the game and ended up in a lost position - this was the main mistake probably} (11... Bb7 $5) (11... h6 $5) 12. Nxe4 dxc3 13. Qf3 $1 $16 {1-0 (31) Wei,Y (2706)-Karjakin,S (2785) Wijk aan Zee 2017}) (6. exd5 $5 {trying to maintain a more dynamic position, played in last October by Svidler} Qxd5 7. Bc4 Qd6 8. Qe2 O-O 9. Nbd2 a5 10. Ng5 Qe7 11. Nde4 Bd6 12. a4 h6 13. h4 $1 $36 {looks very scary for Black. White soon obtained a winning advantage and won a long endgame: 1-0 (59) Svidler,P (2745)-Inarkiev,E (2732) Novosibirsk 2016}) 6... dxe4 7. dxe4 O-O 8. O-O a5 $5 {Black stops b2-b4 with this move, and at the same time, creates a possible idea of playing Na7. And clearly invites White once again to grab the pawn on e5, a challenge that Maxime accepts!} (8... Qe7 {was a solid way to play this position. Whenever White plays Bxc6, Black has enough compensation with the bishop pair and the weak light-squares (the a6-f1 diagonal specially)}) 9. Bxc6 $5 bxc6 10. Nxe5 Ba6 $6 (10... Re8 $5 {was an option} 11. Nxc6 (11. Nb3 Qxd1 12. Rxd1 Bb6 13. Nc4 Nxe4 $11 {looks safe for Black}) 11... Qd6 12. Nd4 Bxd4 13. cxd4 Qxd4 $11 {was another way to reach this position (similar to the game, after the 14th move).}) 11. Re1 Re8 12. Nxc6 Qd6 (12... Bxf2+ $2 13. Kxf2 Qd6 14. Nd4 $1 Qxh2 15. Rh1 $1 Ng4+ 16. Qxg4 Qxh1 17. Nf5 g6 18. Ng3 $18 {and White is certainly very happy}) 13. Nd4 {White threatens to consolidate with N2b3} Bxd4 14. cxd4 Qxd4 15. Nb3 $1 Qxd1 16. Rxd1 a4 (16... Nxe4 17. Nxa5 Be2 18. Re1 $1 $16) 17. Nc5 Nxe4 18. Nxa6 (18. Nxa4 $2 Bb5 19. Nc3 Nxc3 20. bxc3 Ba4 21. Rf1 Bb5 $11 {guarantees a draw}) 18... Rxa6 19. Be3 $14 {after a long series of exchanges, White emerges with an advantage in the endgame. The bishop is clearly superior to Black's knight, and his pawn structure is also better. In the other hand, the reduced material increases possible drawing chances.} h5 20. Rac1 c6 {It is good to find a solid square for your pieces in endgames - in this case Hou Yifan looks to place her knight on d5. I like the way Maxime plays from now on, slowly improving his pieces until move 36.} 21. Kf1 Nf6 22. Bc5 Nd5 23. Rc4 Nc7 24. a3 Rb8 25. Rd2 Nd5 26. Ke1 {White prepares to defend the b2 pawn with the king, to follow up with Rdd4} f6 27. Kd1 Kf7 28. Kc2 Rb5 29. Kb1 g6 30. Ka2 Ke6 31. f3 Rb8 32. Re4+ Kf7 33. Rdd4 Rba8 34. Rc4 Ra5 35. Bf2 R5a6 36. Bc5 Ra5 {White achieves the ideal position, and has to create something on the king-side now to get winning chances} 37. g3 (37. g4 $5 { trying to create a weakness on h5} hxg4 (37... Rh8 $5 {keeping an eye on h2 in case White takes on a4} 38. Bd6 $14) 38. fxg4 $14 {at some point White will intend to play h4-h5}) 37... R5a6 38. h4 Ra5 39. Bf2 R5a6 40. Kb1 {naturally, White has no reason to hurry} Rb8 41. Ka2 (41. Rxa4 $4 Nc3+ $19) 41... Rba8 42. g4 hxg4 (42... Re8 $5 43. Rxe8 (43. Rxa4 Rxa4 44. Rxa4 Re2 $1 {threatening the bishop and Nc3+} 45. Ra7+ Ke6 46. Bc5 Rh2 $132) 43... Kxe8 44. gxh5 gxh5 45. b3 axb3+ 46. Kxb3 $14 {still keeps chances for White, pushing slowly his a-pawn}) 43. fxg4 Re8 44. Rxe8 (44. Rxa4 Rxa4 45. Rxa4 Re2 $1 $132) 44... Kxe8 45. h5 Kf7 46. Be1 gxh5 47. gxh5 f5 48. Bd2 Nf6 49. Rc5 (49. Rf4 $1 Ke6 50. h6 Ra8 51. Rh4 $16 {followed by Kb1, Kc2}) 49... Ne4 {Hou Yifan tries to force a minor piece endgame to guarantee a draw, instead of continuing to suffer} (49... Nd5 $1 {then White would probably start to bring his king over to b1-c2-d3} 50. Kb1 $16) 50. Rxf5+ Ke6 51. Ra5 {forced} Rxa5 52. Bxa5 Kf6 53. b3 {I won't put a question mark here, because the forced win was something very artistic and hard to find} (53. Bd8+ $1 Kg7 54. Be7 $3 {was the only way to guarantee the win, a very counterintuitive idea, losing two important tempi, but avoiding the knight retreat to c5 or d6} Kh6 (54... Kf7 55. h6 $1 $18) 55. b3 $1 axb3+ 56. Kxb3 Kxh5 57. a4 $18 {and White wins!}) 53... Kg5 (53... Nc5 $1 {would force a draw. For example:} 54. bxa4 (54. b4 Ne6 $11) 54... Kg5 $1 55. Bd8+ Kxh5 56. a5 Kg6 $11 {and Black returns in time}) 54. Bb4 $1 {Now Maxime finds the correct idea in a similar way, the bishop controls the c5-d6 squares and the knight can't return in time} Kxh5 (54... c5 55. bxa4 $1 cxb4 56. axb4 $18) 55. bxa4 Nf6 56. a5 Nd5 57. a6 Nc7 {the knight stops the pawn, but it is not enough for a draw} 58. a7 Kg6 59. Ba5 Na8 60. Kb3 Kf7 61. Kc4 Ke7 62. Kc5 Kd7 63. Bb6 $1 Kc8 64. Kxc6 Nc7 65. Bg1 (65. Bxc7 $4 $11 {wouldn't be smart!}) 65... Na8 66. Bh2 Nc7 67. Kb6 $1 Na8+ 68. Ka6 {now without having Nc7, Black is forced to allow Kb7, and thus the resignation comes in the right moment. A very nice game from the Frenchman, who is still having a hard time in 6th place with 2/4. The new leader is Levon Aronian, the only player at 3/4!} 1-0
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was the dragon slayer today as he defeated tournament leader Hou Yifan. Here he gives a few post-mortem comments.
Arkadij Naiditsch had a chance to join the lead, but by the time he realized he had a first calss ticket in his hand, the train had left the station
Arkadij Naidistch and Georg Meier played a strange game that held significant advantages for both sides at different moments. Naidistch emerged on top after a series of complications, but failed to divine the killer blow, and after missing his chances twice in a row, the moment passed and equality was held until the end.
Arkadij Naiditsch vs Georg Meier
[Event "4th GRENKE Chess Classic 2017"] [Site "Baden-Baden"] [Date "2017.04.19"] [Round "4"] [White "Naiditsch, Arkadij"] [Black "Meier, Georg"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2702"] [BlackElo "2621"] [Annotator "A. Silver"] [PlyCount "136"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 c5 4. e3 Nc6 5. Nbd2 Bg4 6. c3 e6 7. Qb3 {3 D02:1 d4 d5 2 Nf sidelines, including 2...Nf6 3 g3 and 2...Nf6 3 Bf4} Qc8 8. h3 Bh5 { LiveBook: 4 Games} 9. g4 Bg6 10. Nh4 Be4 $146 (10... Ne4 11. Nxg6 Nxd2 12. Qd1 hxg6 13. Qxd2 Qd7 14. Bg2 cxd4 15. exd4 {1/2-1/2 (22) Prohaszka,P (2591) -Horvath,J (2508) Hungary 2016}) 11. f3 Bg6 12. Be2 Be7 13. Bg3 a6 14. Kf2 b5 15. Qd1 Qd8 16. a4 b4 17. a5 c4 18. Nxg6 hxg6 19. h4 Bd6 20. f4 Rb8 21. Qc2 Rb5 ({Black should play} 21... Qc7 $17 {and the idea is that if White plays} 22. h5 {now Black has the nasty counter} g5 $1 {and the pawn is pinned in view of the hanging bishop on g3 behind.}) 22. h5 bxc3 ({Not} 22... Rxa5 23. hxg6 Ke7 24. Rxh8 (24. g5 Nh5 $16) 24... Qxh8 25. Rxa5 Nxa5 26. gxf7 $18) 23. bxc3 Qb8 { Black had a slight edge, but not after this.} ({First he needed to take with} 23... gxh5 24. g5 Nd7 25. Rxh5 Rxh5 26. Bxh5 Qc7 $15 {followed by Ne7 and Nf5}) 24. hxg6 Rxh1 25. Rxh1 Rb2 26. Rh8+ Ke7 $2 {Feeling the pressure of the clock, Meier goes astray.} (26... Bf8 $11 27. Qa4 Qb5 28. Qxb5 axb5) 27. Rxb8 Rxc2 28. Rb7+ Nd7 29. gxf7 Rxd2 30. Bh4+ Kf8 31. Rxd7 Be7 32. Bxe7+ Nxe7 $18 {Endgame KRB-KRN} 33. g5 Kxf7 34. Ra7 ({White misses a chance to wrap things up in his favor with} 34. Ke1 $1 Rc2 35. Bh5+ g6 36. Bxg6+ Kxg6 37. Rxe7 Kf5 38. Rf7+ Ke4 39. Rf6 Kxe3 40. Rxe6+ Kxf4 41. g6 {and White has a winning position.} Rxc3 42. Rxa6 Rb3 43. Rb6 Re3+ 44. Kd2) 34... Rc2 35. Ke1 ({White could still gain a decisive advantage after} 35. Rxa6 $18 g6 (35... Nf5 36. Rc6) 36. Rb6 Rxc3 37. Bg4 Nf5 38. Rb7+ Ne7 39. a6 Rc2+ 40. Ke1 Ra2 41. a7 Ra6 42. Kd2 $18) 35... Rxc3 {Now the position peters out to a draw, though both players will push it to the end.} 36. Kd2 Ra3 37. Bh5+ g6 {[#]} 38. Bxg6+ Kxg6 39. Rxe7 Ra2+ 40. Kc3 Ra3+ 41. Kd2 Ra2+ 42. Ke1 Kf5 $1 43. Kf1 c3 44. Rc7 Rc2 45. g6 Kxg6 46. Ke1 $1 Kf5 47. Kd1 $1 Rd2+ 48. Kc1 Rd3 49. Kc2 Rxe3 50. Rc6 Rf3 51. Rxa6 Ke4 52. Rxe6+ Kxd4 53. a6 Rf2+ 54. Kb3 $1 {Hoping for a7.} Rb2+ 55. Ka3 Rb1 56. Rc6 Kd3 57. a7 Ra1+ 58. Kb3 $1 d4 59. Rc7 c2 {...Rxa7! is the strong threat.} 60. Kb2 c1=Q+ 61. Rxc1 Rxa7 62. Rh1 Rc7 63. f5 Rc2+ 64. Kb3 Rf2 65. Rh3+ Ke4 66. Rh4+ Kd5 67. Rh8 Rxf5 68. Kc2 Ke4 1/2-1/2
The final game, and decisive, was the strong win by Levon Aronian over Matthias Blluebaum. Although Aronian was the obvious favorite from the onset, it didn’t help that Bluebaum tried to play risk free, and failed to make any chances. The end result was that the Armenian won a nice endgame and thanks to MVL’s help, by defeating Hou Yifan, is now the sole leader with 3.0/4 and three rounds to go.
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Albert SilverBorn in the US, he grew up in Paris, France, where he completed his Baccalaureat, and after college moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He had a peak rating of 2240 FIDE, and was a key designer of Chess Assistant 6. In 2010 he joined the ChessBase family as an editor and writer at ChessBase News. He is also a passionate photographer with work appearing in numerous publications, and the content creator of the YouTube channel, Chess & Tech.
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