Khanty R5: MVL, Tomashevsky fall again

by Alejandro Ramirez
5/19/2015 – Another tough loss for Evgeny Tomashevsky. After a marathon game against Sergey Karjakin, the GP leader committed a mistake... on move 70! This allowed Karjakin to finally get a small positional advantage that he converted into a win. MVL is clearly out of shape in this tournament, and blundered a pawn to a nice but simple tactic. Jakovenko took advantage of this and won the game.

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The fourth and final stage of the 2014-2015 Grand Prix Series. This tournament is specially important as it will determine the winner and runner up of this year, both of which will automatically qualify for the 2015 Candidates Tournament - the winner of that will challenge Magnus Carlsen to the World Championship Match! The tournament is taking place in Khanty-Mansiysk, Ugra, Russia from May 13 to May 27.

Round Five

Round 05 – May 19 2015, 15:00h
Grischuk, Alexander 2780
½-½
Gelfand, Boris 2744
Caruana, Fabiano 2803
½-½
Jobava, Baadur 2699
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2738
1-0
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2754
Karjakin, Sergey 2753
1-0
Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2749
Nakamura, Hikaru 2799
½-½
Svidler, Peter 2734
Giri, Anish 2776
½-½
Dominguez, Leinier 2734

Grischuk, Alexander ½-½ Gelfand, Boris
The 4.Qxd4 anti-Sicilian chosen by Grischuk led to massive simplifications and a quick draw.

Another quiet game for Alexander Grischuk

Caruana, Fabiano ½-½ Jobava, Baadur
Jobava's trusty Caro-Kann is always unusual. This time he somehow managed to get a pawn all the way to d3 by move 14, but it was quite weak. Caruana strange decision to take on c5 meant that suddenly the d3 pawn was not so bad, as it had support from the rooks.

Always interesting chess from Jobava

White managed to win a pawn eventually, but it came at the cost of his structure and the resulting rook endgame was much closer to a draw than any real attempts to push for a win.

Jakovenko, Dmitry 1-0 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime

MVL hasn't found his style... he sits in -2 (1.5/5)

[Event "KM FIDE GP 2015"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2015.05.19"] [Round "5"] [White "Jakovenko, D."] [Black "Vachier Lagrave, M."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A15"] [WhiteElo "2738"] [BlackElo "2754"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2015.05.13"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. g3 Bg7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. h4 { Throwing the h-pawn forward is one of many ways for White to find the Grunfeld Defense.} e5 {This move is relatively unusual, actually. Most people try:} ( 7... h6 {including Jakovenko himself, in his game against Matlakov last year. That ended in a draw.}) 8. Nxd5 Qxd5 9. d3 Nc6 10. h5 {White's plan is not complex: hxg6, Qa4-Qh4 and mate down the h-file. This idea of Qa4-h4 is cute and powerful, but it's not the only advantage White can aspire to have. Some endgames are also quite pleasant.} Bg4 11. hxg6 hxg6 12. Rh4 $1 {Forcing the bishop to make a decision.} (12. Qa4 Nd4 {is not such a good idea}) 12... Qd7 { Yes, this protects the bishop...} 13. Qa4 {But now this move is possible since Nd4 is not a move} Be6 (13... Nd4 14. Qxd7 Bxd7 15. Nxd4 exd4 16. Bxb7 {is simply up a pawn for White.}) 14. Rh2 Ne7 15. Qxd7 (15. Qh4 {was a real possibility} f6 16. Qh7+ Kf7 17. Bh6 Rg8 $14 {and Black seems to be holding.}) 15... Bxd7 16. Bh6 Bxh6 $2 {A big, big oversight.} (16... f6 17. Rc1 {was only minimally better for White, Black should hold without problems in a good, long game.}) 17. Nxe5 {MVL must have forgotten that this intermediate move even existed. Now the bishop on h6 and d7 are both under attack: Black loses a pawn. } Bb5 {From a defensive perspective I would have prefered to give up the other bishop, as it would at least create an opposite colored bishop scenario.} ( 17... Bg7 18. Nxd7 Rfe8 (18... Rfd8 19. Bxb7 {traps the poor spectator rook on a8.}) 19. Bxb7 Rad8 20. Nc5 Bxb2 21. Rb1 $16) 18. Rxh6 Nf5 19. Rh2 Rfe8 20. Ng4 Nd4 {Trying to create some complications.} (20... Kg7 21. Kd2 Nd4 22. Ne3 {is pretty grim.}) 21. Nf6+ Kg7 22. Nxe8+ Rxe8 23. Kf1 $1 Nxe2 24. Bxb7 Bxd3 25. Kg2 Rb8 26. Rd1 $1 Bf5 27. Rd2 $1 Nxg3 28. Kxg3 {Very precise moves from Jakovenko.} Rxb7 29. Rh4 {the pawn does not compensate for the missing exchange. Black has too many attackable weaknesses on the queenside.} Be6 30. b3 c6 31. Rd8 Rb5 32. Ra4 Rc5 33. Kf3 Bd5+ 34. Ke3 Rc2 35. Rxa7 g5 36. Rd6 Rb2 37. Ra4 f6 38. b4 Kg6 39. a3 Kf5 40. Ra5 {With time control reached MVL calls it quits.} 1-0

Karjakin, Sergey 1-0 Tomashevsky, Evgeny
A test of patience, for sure. Many people would have agreed to a draw at some point in this game, but the players kept fighting on. Tomashevsky lost the threat of the game after almost 30 moves of nothing actually happening. His doubling on the a-file was dubious as it allowed Karjakin to open the center with 70.e4. Yes, seventieth move. Tomashevsky's position went downhill from there, and eventually Karjakin won on move 99.

Nakamura, Hikaru ½-½ Svidler, Peter
Another Grunfeld in which an early h4 tried to dismantle the kingside. However this battle turned positional very quickly, with a locked center and Nakamura trying to open the kingside. It was a strange game, to say the least, but White must have made some inaccuracies as Black's extra pawn seemed to not be fully compensated. The player's agreed to a draw in a position in which the computers prefer Black, but it is extremely murky.

A tense game. Nakamura needs to finish two points ahead of Tomashevsky to qualify directly into the Candidates.

Giri, Anish ½-½ Dominguez, Leinier
Dominguez's structural weaknesses were more than compensated by his pair of bishops. That being said, it was never really enough for a big advantage. Giri played well to retain equality and the game eventually dissipated into an opposite colored bishop endgame.

Dominguez is looking out! Karjakin ties with him for second place.

Standings

Round Five Games

Select from the dropdown menu to replay the games

Photos from the official website by Kirill Merkurev

Schedule

Round 01 – May 14 2015, 15:00h
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2754
½-½
Gelfand, Boris 2744
Jobava, Baadur 2699
0-1
Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2749
Grischuk, Alexander 2780
½-½
Svidler, Peter 2734
Caruana, Fabiano 2803
½-½
Dominguez, Leinier 2734
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2738
1-0
Giri, Anish 2776
Karjakin, Sergey 2753
½-½
Nakamura, Hikaru 2799
Round 02 – May 15 2015, 15:00h
Gelfand, Boris 2744
½-½
Nakamura, Hikaru 2799
Giri, Anish 2776
½-½
Karjakin, Sergey 2753
Dominguez, Leinier 2734
1-0
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2738
Svidler, Peter 2734
½-½
Caruana, Fabiano 2803
Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2749
½-½
Grischuk, Alexander 2780
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2754
½-½
Jobava, Baadur 2699
Round 03 – May 16 2015, 15:00h
Jobava, Baadur 2699
½-½
Gelfand, Boris 2744
Grischuk, Alexander 2780
½-½
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2754
Caruana, Fabiano 2803
1-0
Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2749
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2738
0-1
Svidler, Peter 2734
Karjakin, Sergey 2753
½-½
Dominguez, Leinier 2734
Nakamura, Hikaru 2799
½-½
Giri, Anish 2776
Round 04 – May 17 2015, 15:00h
Gelfand, Boris 2744
½-½
Giri, Anish 2776
Dominguez, Leinier 2734
½-½
Nakamura, Hikaru 2799
Svidler, Peter 2734
½-½
Karjakin, Sergey 2753
Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2749
½-½
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2738
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2754
0-1
Caruana, Fabiano 2803
Jobava, Baadur 2699
½-½
Grischuk, Alexander 2780
Round 05 – May 19 2015, 15:00h
Grischuk, Alexander 2780
½-½
Gelfand, Boris 2744
Caruana, Fabiano 2803
½-½
Jobava, Baadur 2699
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2738
1-0
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2754
Karjakin, Sergey 2753
1-0
Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2749
Nakamura, Hikaru 2799
½-½
Svidler, Peter 2734
Giri, Anish 2776
½-½
Dominguez, Leinier 2734
Round 06 – May 20 2015, 15:00h
Gelfand, Boris 2744   Dominguez, Leinier 2734
Svidler, Peter 2734   Giri, Anish 2776
Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2749   Nakamura, Hikaru 2799
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2754   Karjakin, Sergey 2753
Jobava, Baadur 2699   Jakovenko, Dmitry 2738
Grischuk, Alexander 2780   Caruana, Fabiano 2803
Round 07 – May 21 2015, 15:00h
Caruana, Fabiano 2803   Gelfand, Boris 2744
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2738   Grischuk, Alexander 2780
Karjakin, Sergey 2753   Jobava, Baadur 2699
Nakamura, Hikaru 2799   Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2754
Giri, Anish 2776   Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2749
Dominguez, Leinier 2734   Svidler, Peter 2734
Round 08 – May 22 2015, 15:00h
Gelfand, Boris 2744   Svidler, Peter 2734
Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2749   Dominguez, Leinier 2734
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2754   Giri, Anish 2776
Jobava, Baadur 2699   Nakamura, Hikaru 2799
Grischuk, Alexander 2780   Karjakin, Sergey 2753
Caruana, Fabiano 2803   Jakovenko, Dmitry 2738
Round 09 – May 24 2015, 15:00h
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2738   Gelfand, Boris 2744
Karjakin, Sergey 2753   Caruana, Fabiano 2803
Nakamura, Hikaru 2799   Grischuk, Alexander 2780
Giri, Anish 2776   Jobava, Baadur 2699
Dominguez, Leinier 2734   Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2754
Svidler, Peter 2734   Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2749
Round 10 – May 25 2015, 15:00h
Gelfand, Boris 2744   Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2749
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2754   Svidler, Peter 2734
Jobava, Baadur 2699   Dominguez, Leinier 2734
Grischuk, Alexander 2780   Giri, Anish 2776
Caruana, Fabiano 2803   Nakamura, Hikaru 2799
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2738   Karjakin, Sergey 2753
Round 11 – May 26 2015, 15:00h
Karjakin, Sergey 2753   Gelfand, Boris 2744
Nakamura, Hikaru 2799   Jakovenko, Dmitry 2738
Giri, Anish 2776   Caruana, Fabiano 2803
Dominguez, Leinier 2734   Grischuk, Alexander 2780
Svidler, Peter 2734   Jobava, Baadur 2699
Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2749   Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2754

Links

The games will be broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 13 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.


Grandmaster Alejandro Ramirez has been playing tournament chess since 1998. His accomplishments include qualifying for the 2004 and 2013 World Cups as well as playing for Costa Rica in the 2002, 2004 and 2008 Olympiads. He currently has a rating of 2583 and is author of a number of popular and critically acclaimed ChessBase-DVDs.

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