A sudden change of heart
All eyes were on the top board where the fate of the tournament was being decided in the battle between the rating favorites. Caruana has always had a history of giving Carlsen a tough game. This one looked of the same script until Fabi suddenly backtracked with his play.
Fabiano Caruana vs Magnus Carlsen (annotated by Alex Yermolinsky)
[Event "IOM Open-Masters 2017"] [Site "Douglas"] [Date "2017.09.30"] [Round "8"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "2799"] [BlackElo "2827"] [Annotator "AlexYermo"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. c3 d6 8. a4 Rb8 9. d4 Bb6 10. a5 $5 {An interesting alternative} ({to the heavily researched} 10. axb5 axb5 11. Na3 O-O 12. Nxb5 Bg4 13. Bc2 exd4 14. Nbxd4 Nxd4 15. cxd4 Bxf3 16. gxf3 Nh5 17. Kh1 Qf6 18. Be3 {Magnus tried to defend Black's colors against Karjakin (game 9 in New York) and it almost cost him his title, as Sergey was close to building a two-point lead. On the other hand, having played the Bc5 variation on numerous occasions himself as Black, Fabiano must be quite well-versed in the intricacies of that line. Lots of psychology there - who made the right choice of the opening?}) 10... Ba7 ({It is now common knowledge that} 10... Nxa5 {is soundly refuted by} 11. Rxa5 $1 Bxa5 12. dxe5 Ng4 13. Bg5 f6 14. exf6 gxf6 15. Bh4) 11. h3 O-O 12. Be3 Ra8 13. Re1 ({from} 13. Nbd2) 13... h6 14. Nbd2 Re8 {Black just holds his center and asks what's next.} (14... exd4 15. cxd4 Nb4 16. e5 {was seen in yesterday's game Caruana (!)-Jones. Naturally, Carlsen didn't feel like repeating it.}) 15. g4 {It's Caruana with a novelty!} ({From the other side of the board Fabiano had seen it all:} 15. Nf1 exd4 16. cxd4 Rxe4 17. Ng3 Re7 18. Qd2 Qf8 19. Reb1 Bd7 20. Nh4 d5 $1 {Karjakin-Caruana, TCh-RUS 2013}) (15. dxe5 Nxe5 16. Nxe5 dxe5 $11 { Kobalia-Caruana, EICC 2012}) (15. Bc2 Bb7 16. Bb1 Nb8 17. c4 exd4 18. Bxd4 bxc4 19. Bxa7 Rxa7 20. Ra3 Nbd7 21. Nd4 Ne5 $13 {Gashimov-Caruana, Tata Steel 2012}) 15... Qe7 {Facing preparation, Magnus wisely stays on the side of caution.} ({ From the first glance} 15... exd4 16. cxd4 Nb4 17. g5 $5 {looks dangerous for Black, but there's an incredible resource} c5 $3 {that can turn the tables in a hurry.}) ({Of course,} 15... Bb7 $2 {allows White to realize his main idea:} 16. g5 hxg5 17. Nxg5 Re7 18. Ndf3 $16) 16. Nf1 Nd8 17. Ng3 c5 18. Qd2 ({ Quite interesting was} 18. Bd5 $5 {not a standard move in they Ruy Lopez, but fully justified here because of the odd position of Nd8.} Nxd5 (18... Rb8 19. dxe5 dxe5 20. Nh4 c4 21. Nhf5 Qc7 22. Bxa7 Qxa7 23. Qf3 {looks almost a free ride for White.}) 19. exd5 f6 20. dxc5 Bxc5 21. Nh4 $14) 18... c4 $1 19. Bc2 Nh7 20. b4 $1 {True to both his uncompromising style and the demands of the tournament situation Caruana paints with broad strokes, using the entire board. } cxb3 $5 {A no-yield decision characteristic of Carlsen approach to his first "after Bu" tournament. He takes a huge risk, not willing to accept a passive position.} 21. Bxb3 Be6 22. Bc2 $2 {Oh, no. A sudden change of heart from Fabiano that ultimately cost him the game.} ({There's only one way to handle this position, and it's to go forward!} 22. Nf5 Bxf5 (22... Qc7 23. Bd5 $1) 23. exf5 Qb7 24. Nh4 {Granted, it doesn't look so clear, but Bxh6 is going to be played soon, and Magnus would have had problems with his king, which is arguably the only way to defeat him these days.}) 22... Rc8 23. Bd3 Nb7 24. Rec1 $2 (24. Nf5 Bxf5 25. gxf5 Qc7 26. Ra3 {was called for. I wonder if Carlsen would be satisfied with a draw after a possible repetition,} Qe7 { intending d6-d5} 27. Raa1 Qc7 {etc. Otherwise, White would go Kh1 and Rg1.}) 24... Qd8 25. Qb2 ({The only way to deal with a loss of the a-pawn was} 25. d5 Bxe3 26. Qxe3 Bd7 27. c4 Nxa5 28. cxb5 Rxc1+ 29. Rxc1 axb5 {where White obviously puts his attacking ambitions to rest, but he should be able to win back the b-pawn and coast to a draw, e.g.} 30. Qa7 Nb3 31. Rb1 Nc5 32. Bxb5 Qb8 33. Qa5 Ng5 34. Nxg5 hxg5 35. Rb4 {etc.}) 25... Nxa5 $1 {Hey, why not? Magnus has a supreme confidence in his ability to handle complications.} 26. Nd2 d5 $1 {A thematic strike in the center, well-timed to White's pieces departure from the key squares} 27. Re1 (27. exd5 Bxd5 28. Nf5 {This attempt to play on equal terms gets brushed away with the resolute} g6 $1 29. Nxh6+ Kg7 30. Bf1 exd4 31. cxd4 Rxc1 32. Qxc1 Bb8 $1 {with Qd6-h2 coming up in short order.}) 27... Bb8 28. exd5 Bxd5 29. Bf5 Rc6 30. Qa3 Nb7 {Even the a6-pawn is defended now. White has no hope left, and, besides, Caruana was in time trouble.} 31. Rad1 exd4 32. Bxd4 Ng5 33. c4 Rxe1+ 34. Rxe1 Be6 $1 (34... Rxc4 {would have allowed unnecessary complications after} 35. Qe3 g6 36. Bb2) 35. Qe3 (35. Bxe6 { would only help White to reach the time control:} Rxe6 36. Rxe6 Nxe6 37. Be3 Bxg3 38. fxg3 Qc7 39. Kf2 bxc4 40. Qxa6 c3) 35... Bf4 $1 0-1
The Ruy Lopez Breyer Variation
Pavel Eljanov explains in depth what Gyula Breyer already saw in 1911 and what became an opening choice of the likes of Kasparov, Kramnik, Anand or Carlsen. The Breyer Variation, which is characterised by the knight retreat to b8.
It looks like things at the top of the chess world are headed back to normal after the apple cart was shaken up and upset in Tbilisi. Carlsen is about to take the tournament with a nice rating points gain, but, of course, he has to get by Nakamura in the last round.
Chasing Magnus
Today Hikaru handily dispatched Emil Sutovsky, who went a step or two too far in his usual hyper-aggressive play right out of the opening. Nakamura seems to be comfortable in Swiss tournaments, more so than when endlessly looking at the same faces in elite round-robins. I wager he would have never dropped out of 2800 if he had to play opens for rent money.
Emil Sutovsky was his usual hyper-aggressive self, but this is not the sort of thing that will intimidate Hikaru Nakamura | Photo: Chess.com / Maria Emelianova
In his own quiet way Vishy Anand is having himself a decent tournament. No losses and nary a worse position throughout eight rounds of play. Laurent Fressinet went a bit too far with his d4-d5 push, and the rest was a smooth kill by the Former World Champion.
Almost unassuming, Vishy Anand has climbed up the ranks and is now in a tie for third | Photo: Chess.com / Maria Emelianova
Another former champ, Vladimir Kramnik, seems to have put his struggles behind him. Vladimir's win today over Sethuraman was vintage, well, Kramnik. It's a bit too late to get back all the rating points he lost earlier in the tourname n t, and 5½ out of 8 isn't enough to compete for top places, but the event is no longer the disaster it once was.
Of the players who ascended to 6.0/8 today I will also mention Richard Rapport and his win over my old friend Ivan Sokolov. Some clash of styles it was, and in the end the youth and tactical alertness prevailed over the old school and its overambitious positional concepts.
Richard Rapport is a player who runs cold or hot, but never tepid | Photo: Chess.com / Maria Emelianova
Ivan Sokolov vs Richard Rapport (annotated by Alex Yermolinsky)
[Event "IOM Open-Masters 2017"] [Site "Douglas"] [Date "2017.09.30"] [Round "8"] [White "Sokolov, Ivan"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D07"] [WhiteElo "2603"] [BlackElo "2675"] [Annotator "AlexYermo"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6 {Richard is always good for an unorthodox opening. Meanwhile, in his Moscow apartment Alexander Morozevich breaks into a smile.} 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. Nc3 e6 5. cxd5 {This trade always brings Black some relief.} (5. e3 $1 Nf6 6. Qa4 Bxf3 7. gxf3 Bb4 8. Bg2 {Korobov-Morozevich, 2015}) 5... exd5 6. Bg5 (6. Bf4 Bd6 {Lenic-Mopozevich, 2015.}) 6... Be7 7. Bxe7 Ngxe7 8. e3 O-O 9. Be2 Qd6 10. Rc1 Rae8 11. O-O {Sokolov's extra solid handling of the opening brought about a question of how Rapport was going to handle the resulting thematic pawn minority attack.} Nc8 $5 {Unusual openings call for unusual piece placement.} 12. b4 $6 {Seeing that knight coming to b6, White is better off holding back a bit.} (12. h3 Bh5 13. Na4 {is a standard plan of heading to c5, many times used by Anatoly Karpov in similar QGD structures.}) 12... Nb6 ({ Naturally,} 12... Nxb4 {would be a short term gain with long term consequences attached to it.} 13. Qb3 c6 14. a3 Na6 15. Qxb7 $16) 13. a3 Re6 14. h3 Bxf3 15. Bxf3 Ne7 16. e4 $1 {Ivan Sokolov needs no further invitation to go forward. Is White just going to wipe the opponent off the board?} c6 17. e5 Qd8 18. Be2 ({ In case of} 18. Na4 Nxa4 19. Qxa4 Qb6 {White is somewhat hampered by the weakness on d4. Even winning the exchage after} 20. Rc5 Nf5 21. Bg4 Nxd4 22. Bxe6 Nxe6 {doesn't guarantee anything.}) 18... Rh6 19. b5 $5 {Very principled, yet risky. White takes a heavy obligation to keep everything under control.} f6 $1 20. f4 Nf5 21. Qd3 fxe5 22. dxe5 $2 {Well, Ivan couldn't do it.} ({The extravagant position of Rh6 should have pointed Sokolov to the right direction of trading pieces to leave that rook stranded,} 22. fxe5 {I guess, he didn't like trading queens after} Qg5 23. Rce1 Qe3+ 24. Qxe3 Nxe3 25. Rxf8+ Kxf8 26. Bd3 {but the endgame is not bad at all.} Nec4 27. bxc6 Rxc6 28. Ne2 {heading to f4.}) 22... Nc4 $1 {Things are getting uncomfortably hot around that e3-square.} 23. bxc6 bxc6 24. Nd1 Rg6 $1 {Resourcefullness in tactical positions is a trademark of Richard's style.} 25. Bg4 Qb6+ 26. Rf2 Nfe3 27. Nxe3 Nxe3 28. Rb1 Qc5 29. Bh5 (29. Bf3 $1 Rxf4 30. Rb8+ Kf7 31. Qb1 {would have provided White with enough counterchances, but Ivan was unable to switch gears.}) 29... Rg3 30. e6 $2 ({Surprisingly,} 30. Bf3 {was still the right move, as with the pawn on e5} Nxg2 $2 {doesn't work on account of} 31. Bxd5+) 30... g6 31. Bf3 Nxg2 $1 {And just like that the entire house came crushing down on the poor Sokolov. Facing mate or loss on time he gave up right here.} 0-1
Who else is at 6 points? Hou Yifan is! After a strategic bye in Round 5, which broke the ridiculous streak of her being paired with four females in a row, Hou collected herself and was able to go on a three-game winning streak against male GMs. Today's win over Sebastian Bogner was particularly nice, as Hou handled a rooks and opposite-color bishops endgame in textbook fashion. Years ago I studied the games of Shirov and Adams on how to handle such positions, but today's generation of players just plays them perfectly.
Hou Yifan has overcome her initial frustrations and her last three GM opponents are the ones who paid the price | Photo: Chess.com / Maria Emelianova
By the way, Hou Yifan has already secured top woman's prize, as her competition all suffered setbacks today. I assume Nino Batsiashvili just needed a draw to secure her men GM norm, and she came very close to accomplishing that.
Nino Batsiashvili only needs to appear for her last round game to get a GM norm. Her performance of 2683 after eight rounds is unassailable. | Photo: Chess.com / Maria Emelianova
Gawain Jones vs Nino Batsiashvili (annotated by Alex Yermolinsky)
[Event "IOM Open-Masters 2017"] [Site "Douglas"] [Date "2017.09.30"] [Round "8"] [White "Jones, Gawain C B"] [Black "Batsiashvili, Nino"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C56"] [WhiteElo "2668"] [BlackElo "2472"] [Annotator "AlexYermo"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "6k1/p4pp1/7p/1PR5/7P/8/P4PP1/3r2K1 w - - 0 34"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] {[#]} 34. Kh2 Rd2 $2 {Inviting that pawn to march forward was Nino's big mistake.} ({Instead,} 34... Rd4 $1 {should have held comfortably, as White isn't going anywhere after} 35. h5 Ra4 36. Rc8+ Kh7 37. Ra8 Rxa2 38. b6 Rb2 39. bxa7 Ra2 {with a standard defense of checking the white king away from the a-pawn.}) 35. a4 Rd4 (35... Ra2 36. Rc4 h5 37. Kg3 g6 38. Kf3 Kg7 39. g3 Kh6 { isn't going to cut it:} 40. Ke4 Rxf2 41. Rc7 a6 42. b6 Rb2 43. b7 g5 44. Kd5 $18) 36. a5 Rxh4+ 37. Kg3 Rb4 38. Rc8+ Kh7 39. Rb8 g5 40. a6 Rb3+ 41. f3 Ra3 42. Rb7 Ra5 43. Rxf7+ Kg6 44. Rb7 h5 45. Kf2 Ra2+ 46. Ke3 Rb2 47. Rb8 Ra2 48. Ke4 h4 49. Ke5 Re2+ 50. Kd4 Ra2 51. Rg8+ Kf6 52. Ra8 Rd2+ 53. Kc3 Rxg2 54. Rxa7 h3 55. Rh7 h2 56. a7 Kg6 57. Rxh2 1-0
Alexandra Kosteniuk doesn't need any norms, she just plays to have a good tournament. Today she didn't shy away from a tactical battle against Alexey Shirov, but it went wrong for her in a couple of critical moments. In the final round she will meet James Tarjan, the intrepid hero who defeated Kramnik earlier in the tournament.
Alexandra Kosteniuk is playing about at her rating, and has had a solid event. | Photo: Chess.com / Maria Emelianova
Alexandra Kosteniuk vs Alexey Shirov (annotated by Alex Yermolinsky)
[Event "IOM Open-Masters 2017"] [Site "Douglas"] [Date "2017.09.30"] [Round "8"] [White "Kosteniuk, Alexandra"] [Black "Shirov, Alexei"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "2552"] [BlackElo "2630"] [Annotator "AlexYermo"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. a4 Rb8 8. c3 d6 9. d4 Bb6 10. a5 Ba7 11. h3 O-O 12. Be3 Ra8 13. Nbd2 Bb7 {Shirov deviates} ( {from} 13... h6 14. Re1 Re8 {as was seen in today's marquee matchup.}) 14. Re1 Re8 15. Ng5 {Alexandra has her own ideas.} Re7 (15... Rf8 16. Nf1 Ne7 $2 17. dxe5 Bxe3 18. Bxf7+ Rxf7 19. Nxf7 {and White won material and the game in Kosteniuk-N.Kosintseva, Rapid 2009.}) 16. Nf1 (16. d5 Nb8 17. Bxa7 Rxa7 18. Nf1 c6 19. Ne3 cxd5 20. exd5 h6 21. Nf3 {Brought White a victory in Anand-Shirov, 2010. Of course, it was Vishy's fabulous skills, rather than the superiority of White position, that helped to decide the outcome.}) 16... h6 ({I'm sure Alexandra was anticipating} 16... exd4 17. cxd4 h6 18. Nxf7 Rxf7 19. e5 { This is her kind of chess!}) 17. d5 hxg5 (17... Nxa5 18. Nxf7 Rxf7 19. Rxa5 Bc8 {appears to be slightly better for White.}) 18. dxc6 Bxc6 19. Bxg5 Nxe4 $5 { [#] This sacrifice is practically forced.} 20. Bxe7 ({Guess what, White should not have accepted it!} 20. Rxe4 $1 Bxe4 21. Qg4 d5 (21... Bh7 22. Qh4) 22. Rd1 Qe8 (22... f5 23. Qh4) 23. Bxe7 Qxe7 24. Bxd5 Bxd5 25. Rxd5 Rd8 26. Rxd8+ Qxd8 27. Qe4 {leads to sizeable advantage: the Q-N combo might create threats to the lking and the a6-pawn is horribly weak.}) ({Also interesting is} 20. Bh4 { with enormous tactical difficulties for Black. One wrong move and he loses!}) 20... Qxe7 21. Ne3 Qf6 $1 {Shirov plays for an attack, what else is new?} ({ Alexey wasn't interested in trivial moves, such as} 21... Nxf2 22. Kxf2 Qg5 23. Bd5 Qf4+ 24. Kg1 Bxe3+ 25. Kh1 Bxd5 26. Qxd5 Rf8 27. Rf1 {which would habe turned the intiative over to White.}) 22. Qe2 g6 $1 {A true attacking skill is patience. Black finds an effective way to deploy his sleeping rook while usefully getting his king off the white bishop's diagonal.} 23. Rf1 Kg7 (23... Qh4 {with an idea to meet} 24. Bd5 {with} Bxd5 25. Nxd5 Ng3) 24. Nd5 $2 ({ White needed to trade bishops to alleviate the pressure.} 24. Bd5) 24... Qh4 25. Nxc7 Rh8 26. Qf3 ({Realatively better, but hardly enough to hold was} 26. Bd5 Ng3 27. Qf3 Bxd5 28. Nxd5 e4 29. Qd1 Nxf1 30. Qxf1 Qg5 $17 {This position begs a question. Did the game start with the Sveshnikov Variation?}) 26... f5 $1 {[#] The f-file is blocked now and there's no stopping the Nxf2 shot.} 27. Kh2 Nxf2 28. Ne6+ Kf6 29. Rxf2 Bxf2 30. Qd3 Be4 0-1
And finally, there's Anna Zatonskih, a long time star of the US Women's chess. In the middle of the tournament Anna made big statements by defeating Kosteniuk, and Boris Gelfand! A coveted men’s GM norm seemed within reach, but after today's loss she now must win in the last round in order to get it.
Jeffery Xiong vs Anna Zatonskih (annotated by Alex Yermolinsky)
[Event "IOM Open-Masters 2017"] [Site "Douglas"] [Date "2017.09.30"] [Round "8"] [White "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Black "Zatonskih, Anna"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2633"] [BlackElo "2424"] [Annotator "AlexYermo"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2017.??.??"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 c5 6. O-O Nc6 7. dxc5 Qxd1 8. Rxd1 Bxc5 9. Nbd2 c3 10. bxc3 O-O 11. Nb3 Be7 12. c4 Bd7 13. Bb2 Rfd8 14. Nfd4 Rac8 15. Nb5 b6 16. Nd6 Rb8 $6 ({Perhaps, Black could have made a small concession in order to facilitate some exchanges and render White's main plan with c4-c5 less dangerous,} 16... Bxd6 17. Rxd6 Be8 18. Rxd8 Nxd8 {as in Nisipeanu-Naiditsch, 2015.}) ({Of course, common is} 16... Rc7) 17. Rd2 a5 {[#] } 18. a4 $6 {This pawn gives Black something to play against.} (18. Rad1 { seemed more to the point, as} a4 19. Nb7 $1 Rxb7 (19... Rdc8 20. Bxf6 Bxf6 21. Rxd7 Ne5 22. R7d6 Nxc4 23. Nd4 Nxd6 24. Nxd6 Rc3 25. Nc6 Rf8 26. Be4 $16) 20. Bxc6 Rbb8 21. Bxf6 Bxf6 22. Rxd7 Rxd7 23. Rxd7 axb3 24. axb3 {would be another Hou-Bogner exercise, this time with an extra pawn for the strong side.}) 18... Kf8 19. Rad1 Nb4 20. Nb5 Bc6 21. Be5 Rxd2 22. Rxd2 Rb7 $5 {Once again, Anna spends loads of time and chooses a more complex continuation.} (22... Rd8 23. Rxd8+ Bxd8 {is almost equal.}) 23. c5 Bxg2 24. Kxg2 Nd7 $2 ({Zatonskih's courageous play would have been well rewarded had she continued with the obvious} 24... Ne4 {There must have been some oversight involved, I just can't figure out where.}) 25. Nd6 $1 Bxd6 26. Bxd6+ Ke8 27. cxb6 Rxb6 28. Nxa5 { Just like that Jeffery goes up a pawn and converts in style.} Nd5 29. Nc4 $1 Rc6 30. Rd4 Nc3 31. Bb4 Nxa4 32. Nd6+ Ke7 33. Nf5+ $1 (33. Nxf7+ Kxf7 34. Rxd7+ Kg8 35. Ra7 {is nice, but it's not clear how to bring the point home after} Nc3 {as rook endgames are tricky.}) 33... Kf6 (33... Kd8 34. Nxg7 $16) 34. Ne7 $3 { Everything works like a charm.} Rc7 35. Bd6 Ra7 36. Rf4+ Kg5 37. Rxf7 Kh6 38. h4 e5 39. Bb4 Nab6 40. Bd2+ Kh5 41. Rf5+ 1-0
For Jeffery Xiong the tournament is going to be defined by how he does against Mickey Adams tomorrow. Jeffery's scoreline reads a respectable 5 ½/8, but he needs at least a draw to break even in the rating department.
Another game I would have loved to show was a crazy slugfest between two Americans, Var Akobian and Alex Lenderman that ended in a queen sac and perpetual check, but I'm out of room for this report already, so you have to take it under advisement.
Results for round eight (top 30)
Top pairings for round nine
Links
You can use ChessBase 14 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs to replay the games in PGN. You can also download our free Playchess client, which will in addition give you immediate access to the chess server Playchess.com.
