Khanty Rd6: Mistakes in Marathon Round

by Alejandro Ramirez
5/20/2015 – Today was a long day over the board in Khanty-Mansiysk. Three games last more than six hours, and at the end of an exhausting day many mistakes were made. Grischuk was losing, managed to find a draw against Caruana but blundered in the end and lost. Giri did basically the same against Svidler. Meanwhile, Dominguez let go of Gelfand, and falls back to fourth place.
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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 Six

Round 06 – May 20 2015, 15:00h
Gelfand, Boris 2744
½-½
 Dominguez, Leinier 2734
Svidler, Peter 2734
1-0
 Giri, Anish 2776
Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2749
½-½
 Nakamura, Hikaru 2799
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2754
0-1
 Karjakin, Sergey 2753
Jobava, Baadur 2699
½-½
 Jakovenko, Dmitry 2738
Grischuk, Alexander 2780
0-1
 Caruana, Fabiano 2803

The players arriving

and it's time for action

Gelfand, Boris ½-½ Dominguez, Leinier
Gelfand dodged a bullet today!

Dominguez couldn't believe Gelfand escaped. And that Grischuk almost did!

He was outplayed by Dominguez and the following position arose:

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37...Qf5 38.Bd3 Qg4 38...Qc8 Dominguez pointed out during the press conference that this move was simply winning, and although he had considered it, he only had seconds on the clock and was unable to make a decision. 39.Rc2 Qd7-+ 39.Be2 Bf3 39...Qc8! now was even stronger! 40.Be3 hxg3 41.fxg3 Qc6 is lethal. 40.Bxf3 Qxf3 41.Re3 Qc6 42.Bxe5 Qc1+ 43.Kg2 h3+ 44.Kxh3 Bxe5 45.Rd8+ Kg7 46.Rxe5 Qf1+ 47.Kg4 Qxf2 48.Rde8 a weird endgame, but only Black can be better. Qxb2 49.Re2 Qxa3 50.R8e3? Qc1? 50...Qc5! Would have given Black great winning chances. 51.Kh3 a3 52.Rf3 Qh5+ 53.Kg2 Qd5! Perhaps White can find a fortress somewhere, but it's difficult. 51.Kf3 And eventually White held the game. a3 52.Kf2 Qa1 53.Kg2 Qd1 54.Kf2 Qa1 55.Kg2 f5 56.Rf3 Kh6 57.Ref2 Kg7 58.Re2 Kh6 59.Ref2 Kh7 60.Re2 Kg7 61.Ref2 Kh6 62.Re2 Kg7 63.Ref2 Kh6 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Gelfand,B2744Dominguez Perez,L2734½–½2015E11KM FIDE GP 20156

Svidler, Peter 1-0 Giri, Anish
Svidler's opening experiment paid off rather well. His strategic advantage was strong and relatively permanent. He managed to botch it up a little, and gave Giri excellent losing chances. However the Dutch player was unable to hold the endgame and ended up losing.

Karjakin and Svidler are now the only ones tied for second place

"This is my worst game ever, and it would be a little weird if I drew it, so I lost" - Anish Giri

Tomashevsky, Evgeny ½-½ Nakamura, Hikaru
A Catalan that promises White a tiny advantage in an opposite colored bishop endgame with heavy pieces. Nakamura was able to defend his position easily and was never in any real danger.

Krist Littlejohn, Nakamura's second, from the bleachers

A solid, solid draw

Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 0-1 Karjakin, Sergey
Things just aren't going well for MVL.

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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 This is the move everyone is turning to in order to avoid the Berlin, but how successful it is, well, it's hard to say. Bc5 Not the only move to equalize, probably, but definitely the most popular at the moment. 5.c3 0-0 6.0-0 d6 The game resembles the Italian Opening a little bit, but with the bishop on b5 there are a couple of subtle differences, but it is not much. 7.Nbd2 Ne7 re-routing the knight to g6 is most standard in these structures. It wants to go to f4! 8.d4 exd4 9.cxd4 Bb6 10.Re1 Bg4 Black has some counterplay against the pawn on d4. Interestingly enough, this position has also been seen in the Italian Game.. 11.h3 Bh5 12.a3 Despite White's nice center, it is uncomfortable to do anything with it. The pawns cannot advance and they are both under attack at the moment. 12.Nb3 d5 13.e5 Ne4 seems rather good for Black, with plenty of pressure on d4 and a nice knight on e4. 12...a6 13.Bf1 Re8 14.e5 Nfd5 The normal reaction to e5, though there is an argument to be made for taking on e5 first. 15.Nc4 Ba7 16.g4 Bg6 17.Bg5 White's play is very forward, but the more he pushes his pawns the weaker his position becomes: he has to be pretty careful now. dxe5 18.dxe5 18.Ncxe5 playing with the isolated pawn isn't usually fun, but perhaps there was no good choice. After for example f6 19.Nxg6 Nxg6 20.Rxe8+ Qxe8 21.Qb3! c6 22.Bd2 22.Qxb7 fxg5 doesn't work since everything is defended. 22...Qd7 chances would be about even. The pair of bishops and potential pressure on d5 make up for the isolated pawn. 18...h6 19.Bh4 b5! 20.Na5 Qc8 White's position feels a little discoordinated. Black has a lot of weaknesses to latch on to, like f4, e5 and f2, while White's plan is not as clear. 21.Rc1?! 21.Nc6! Nxc6 22.Qxd5∞ was important, traidng an important knight on d5 for an awkward one on a5. 21...c5 22.b4?! c4 Now it is very obvious that Black is better. He has the passed pawn on c4 and his piece activity is good. 23.Nd4 23.Nd2 is the computer suggestion, trying to sacrifice a piece on c4. Black must be better if that is White's only plan. 23...Qc7 24.Nab3 Rad8 25.Qf3 Losing a pawn, but there was already nothing better. Nxb4 26.axb4 Bxd4 27.Nxd4 Rxd4 28.e6 f6-+ The pair of bishops aren't participating in this game very well. Black's up a pawn, has the better position and is just winning. 29.Rcd1 Rxd1 30.Rxd1 c3 31.Bg3 Qc6 32.Qe2 c2 33.Rc1 Qc3 34.Bg2 Qxb4 35.Kh2 Rd8 36.Qf3 Qc4 37.Qb7 Qxe6 38.f4 Qe3 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Vachier Lagrave,M2754Karjakin,S27530–12015C65KM FIDE GP 20156

Jobava, Baadur ½-½ Jakovenko, Dmitry
1.b3 lead to a black advantage this time around, though Jakovenko did not make the most of it. Jobava kept the game complicated and at some point it even seemed that White might take over the initiative. However the Russian stopped it on its tracks just on time and salvaged half a point.

Jakovenko had to show his 1.b3 prep today

Grischuk, Alexander 0-1 Caruana, Fabiano
Grischuk's opening experiment can only be categorized as a rotund failure. Black seized the initiative from early on, in the endgame his pair of bishops and potential to attack the a-pawn gave him a nearly winning position. Caruana's technique was not the best, but eventually he got the following winning position, which was decided in mutual time trouble... twice! The time control after move 60 was very short and soon the players found themselves with only seconds left again.

Daniel King analyses the endgame of the game Grischuk vs Caruana

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59...Rg2+ 60.Kf1 The crucial 60th move. Caruana blunders with seconds lefton his clock Rg5? 60...Bd3+ 61.Ke1 Re2+ 62.Kd1 Rxe5 63.Rxb3 Caruanawrongly thought this was a draw, assuming Rf5 was forced. However Black candelay this for some time. Kg2! 63...Rf5 64.Rxd3+ Kg2 65.Rd2+! Kg1 66.Rd8! Rxf6 67.Rh8= 64.Rxd3 h3! 65.Rd8 h2 66.Rg8+ Kf2 67.Rh8 Re1+ and Black wins due to White's bad king position. 61.Bd4 Kh2 62.Bb6 h3 Grischuk still has an uncomfortable defense ahead of him, but it is manageable. 63.Bc7+ Kh1 64.Rh4? 64.Ke2! this move is extremely paradoxycal, asit allows the Black king to escape its cage. However, it is strong - the ideais that Rf5 is not check and there is no bd3 check. Further any promotion ofthe b-pawn will not gain a tempo on the king. 64...Bd3+ 65.Kf2 Rg2+ 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Grischuk,A2780Caruana,F28030–12015D37KM FIDE GP 20156

Standings

Round Six Games

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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.0-0 dxc4 7.Ne5 Nc6 8.Bxc6 bxc6 9.Nxc6 Qe8 10.Nxe7+ Qxe7 11.Qc2 e5 12.dxe5 Qxe5 13.Bf4 Qh5 14.Nc3 Nd5 15.Nxd5 Qxd5 16.Rfd1 Qc6 17.Rd4 Bh3 18.f3 Be6 19.Rad1 Qb6 20.Qc3 f6 21.Kg2 Rae8 22.R1d2 a5 23.g4 a4 24.Bg3 Qc5 25.Re4 Rf7 26.Qe3 Qxe3 27.Rxe3 Rfe7 28.Bf2 Kf7 29.Rc3 Rb8 30.Rcc2 Rb5 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Tomashevsky,E2749Nakamura,H2799½–½2015E06KM FIDE GP 20156
Vachier Lagrave,M2754Karjakin,S27530–12015C65KM FIDE GP 20156
Jobava,B2699Jakovenko,D2738½–½2015A01KM FIDE GP 20156
Gelfand,B2744Dominguez Perez,L2734½–½2015E11KM FIDE GP 20156
Svidler,P2734Giri,A27761–02015D38KM FIDE GP 20156
Grischuk,A2780Caruana,F28030–12015D37KM FIDE GP 20156

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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
½-½
 Dominguez, Leinier 2734
Svidler, Peter 2734
1-0
 Giri, Anish 2776
Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2749
½-½
 Nakamura, Hikaru 2799
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2754
0-1
 Karjakin, Sergey 2753
Jobava, Baadur 2699
½-½
 Jakovenko, Dmitry 2738
Grischuk, Alexander 2780
0-1
 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

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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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