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This year the Linares 2009 tournament is being staged only in Spain – in the previous three years the first half was in Morelia, Mexico, and next year the first half will probably be in the Arab Emirates. The 2009 event goes from February 19th to March 7th, with three rest days. The prize fund is 314,000 Euros, with the winner getting 100,000 Euros, followed by 75,000 and 50,000 Euros for second and third place. There are no appearance fees for the players, so the motivation to fight for points may be unusually high. The venue is el Teatro Cervantes de Linares, the starting time of the games is 16:00h (4 p.m.) Spanish/European time.
Round 10: Monday, 2 March 2009 |
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Teimour Radjabov |
1-0 |
Levon Aronian | |
Vishy Anand |
½-½ |
Leinier Domínguez | |
Magnus Carlsen |
0-1 |
Wang Yue | |
Alexander Grischuk |
½-½ |
Vassily Ivanchuk | |
The landmark statue of a Linares miner in the center of the city
The start of a fairly tough game that ended in a draw in 35 moves
Radjabov,T (2761) - Aronian,L (2750) [A07]
XXVI SuperGM Linares ESP (10), 02.03.2009 [Mihail Marin]
1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Bg4 3.Bg2 e6 4.0-0 Nd7 5.d4
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For more than a century, players of all levels have been fascinated by the magic of the white king's fianchetto in the closed openings. The analytical distilling process, aimed to reveal the optimal move order ressembles the search for the Golden Wool from the Middle Age. In the genuine Catalan Opening, White frequently has problems satbilising the position because of the possible d5xc4 at different stages of the game. If White refrains from an early c2-c4, this means defining the bishop's intentions too soon, allowing Black choose the rock solid Slav setup, which is supposed to offer White no advantage at al, because his bishop would bite in stonel. I have passed through this whole process over the past 17 years and I know that there is no universal answer to the problem. It all depends on such subjective factors as the speciffic opponent or the mood in which you are that day. Judging from the course of the present game, Radjabov found the right move order, against the right opponent at the right moment. 5...c6 6.Nbd2 Ngf6 7.Re1. It is interesting to compare the first moves with the following sequence with reversed colours: 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bg5 Bg7 4.c3 d5 5.Nbd2 Nbd7 6.e3 0-0 7.b4 c6 8.Be2 Re8 followed by ...e5. This is how the game Torre-Kasparov, Thesaloniki (ol) 1988 started. About ten moves later, the reigning World Champion had a big advantage already. There is an interesting psychologycal nuance involved in reversing colours. What is entirely satisfactory with black does not look equally appealing with white. This is a possible reason why Radjabov's plan from this game is not seen frequently at grandmaster level.
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7...Be7 8.e4 dxe4 9.Nxe4 0-0 10.c3 Re8 11.Nxf6+
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11...Bxf6?! This is the start of Black's troubles. Aronian takes the e5-square under control in order to carry out the freeing pawn break e6-e5 as soon as possible, but leaves the d5-square insufficiently well protected. 11...Nxf6 would have been more natural and probbaly better. Black would play ...Nd5, ...Qb6 and ...Rad8, waiting for a favourable moment to open the centre with c6-c5. 12.h3 Bh5 13.Qb3 Qb6
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14.Nd2! A strong move, threatening Nc4, with the aim of provoking the exchange Qxb3, axb3, followed by b3-b4 which would ensure White some queenside advantage. 14...e5 With the d5-square poorly defended, Black is not well-prepared for this move, but passive play would not have ensured easy life either. 15.d5 Qc7 16.d6 Qb8 17.Ne4 Bd8 18.Be3 Bb6 19.h4 h6 20.Bh3 Qd8
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The opening has been a major success for White. It is not really usual in super-tournaments that White gets such an advantage on move 20 already. 21.Bxh6! White wins a pawn with a simple combination. 21...Nc5!? This looks like the best practical chance. Black rids himself of the passive knight and eliminates the disturbing d6-pawn. 21...gxh6 22.Bxd7 Qxd7? loses the queen to 23.Nf6+. 22.Nxc5 Qxd6 23.Nd7 Qxh6 24.Nxb6 axb6 25.Qxb6 Bf3 26.Qe3 Qh5 27.Bg2 Bxg2 28.Kxg2 Ra4 29.Qg5 Qxg5 30.hxg5
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White's advantage does not consist from the extra-pawn only, which, in many rook endings, is not sufficient for a win, see for instance the game Ivanchuk-Wang. He has space advantage on the kingside, while the e5-pawn and the seventh rank are vulnerable. 30...Kh7. 30...Rg4 leaves the rook trapped after 31.f4! 31.a3 Kg6 32.Rad1 Re6 33.Rd7 b5 34.Red1 Rc4 35.Rc7 e4 36.Rdd7. After the occupation of the seventh rank, White should win without problems. 36...e3. A desperate counterplay. 37.fxe3 Rxe3 38.Rxf7 Rg4 39.Rxg7+ Kh5 40.Rh7+ Kg6 41.Rcg7+ Kf5 42.Rf7+ Kg6 43.Rhg7+ Kh5 44.Rf3 Re2+ 45.Kh3 Rxg5 46.g4+ Kh6 47.Rxg5 Kxg5 48.b3 Kg6 49.Kg3 Ra2 50.Kf4 Rxa3 51.b4
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The position has calmed down and Black has managed to prevent the material defficit from increasing. However, his pieces are not coordinated, which allows White win effortlessly. 51...Kf7. 51...Ra1 is no better because of 52.Rd3 threatening Rd6+. 52.Ke5+ Ke7 53.Rh3 Kd7 54.g5 Ra1 55.Rh7+ Ke8 56.Rc7 1-0. [Click to replay]
Anish Giri, who debuts as an annotator on our news pages, is currently the youngest grandmaster in the world. He made his final (third) GM norm in January at the tender age of 14 years, seven months and two days. He is of Russian-Nepalese extraction – born in St Petersburg of a Russian mother and a Nepalese father, with the family now living in Holland. Anish speaks four languages: Russian (his "mother tongue"), English, Japanese (he lived there with his family for some years), and a smattering of Nepalese. He is learning Dutch.
Originally Anish had undertaken to comment on Linares games this weekend, but he ended up stuck in a hotel without a proper Internet connection while playing in the German Bundesliga. Incidentally he has made a fourth GM norm in this team championship. Currently FIDE still lists him as a FIDE Master. So when he officially receives his title he will be one of the very rare players (perhaps the only one) who went straight from FM to GM! [We have been told by our ever-watchful readers that Kramnik made the jump from FM to GM during the 1992 Manila Olympiad.]
The Bundesliga games this weekend were interesting: on Saturday Anish had world-class GM Etienne Bacrot on the ropes, but went on to lose the game. When we asked him what had happened he answered with impish humour: "I was winning after the opening, just winning. And I even saw the winning line. But then I found another way to win which was even better, except that it lost. These 2700 players, they are so lucky!" In the second game he defeated German GM Falko Bindrich, rated 2508. You can replay these two interesting games here.
Now Anish is back home and vigorously commenting on the Linares games on the Playchess server. For our news page he has chosen to analyse the following game. Enjoy!
Carlsen,M (2776) - Wang Yue (2739) [D10]
XXVI SuperGM Linares ESP (10), 02.03.2009
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 a6 5.Nf3 b5 6.b3 Bg4 7.Bd2. Rare move, which was played by Morozevich against Ivanchuk in Corus this year. White wants to play h3-g4 chasing the bishop or exchanging it after h3 Bxf3. 7...Nbd7. Considering the speed Wang Yue made this move we can conclude that he was ready for this rare line. 7...e6 is more usual. 8.h3 Bh5 (8...Bxf3 9.Qxf3 with the bishop pair, though Black is very solid and not without plusses. 9.g4 Bg6 10.Ne5 with some initiative. 8.h3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 b4 10.Na4
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10...e5! Idea of the whole previous play of Wang. He strikes in the centre and wants to use his lead in development and the white knight on the edge of the board, which is a bad piece according to a certain Dr.Tarrash (with whom I fully agree!). 11.Rc1 Bd6 12.cxd5 cxd5 13.dxe5 Nxe5 14.Qd1 0-0 15.Be2. The last five moves were very logical, but now Wang played 15...a5. A strong and not very obvious move (for me at least). Black protects the b4 and a6 pawns for the future. 16.Rc2. An interesting plan by Magnus. He wants to improve his bishop before castling. 16...Qe7 17.Bc1 Rad8 18.Bb2 Ng6 19.0-0. Finally when all the white pieces are more less well developed (I am not talking about Tarrasch's knight!) White castles. 19...Ne4 20.Bd4
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20...Nh4! Black has an isolated pawn, but now he shows that he is also not without play. 21.Bd3. 21.Bb6 a computer-like move. White just wants to take everything, but Black has his own play agains White's king. 21...Qg5 22.Bg4 (22.g4 Rc8 23.Rxc8 and now there are a lot of ways equalize for black, but I will just give the nicest. 23...Nf3+!? 24.Kg2 (24.Bxf3 Qe5 with mate, even though Black is a rook and piece down!) 24...Nh4+ nice perpetual.) 22...h5! 23.Bxd8 Rxd8 24.f4 Qe7 25.Bxh5 Ng3 26.Re1 Nxh5 27.Qxh5 Bxf4 28.Qe2 Bg5 With compensation for the exchange. I would prefer to play with black here, though the position is far from clear. Those knights on h4 and a4 are not of the same value! 21...Nf5 22.Bb6 Rb8. By this point White is already not fighting for the advantage. 23.Bxe4. It is not very good to give your "good" bishop, but it was a very understandable decision, as the knight on e4 was really scary. 23.Qe2!? Black's threats look scary, but White can defend. And after all an isolated pawn is still there. On the other hand Black has some initiative. I would say the position is equal, but I like Black more, as some players, like me for example, prefer the initiative. Anyway, it is just a matter of taste. 23...Qe5 24.g3 Rfc8 25.Rxc8+ Rxc8 26.Rd1 g6 27.Qf3 h5 Something like this could happen after 23.Qe2!? Black's initiative at least fully compensates for his weaknesses. 23...Qxe4 24.Rd2. 24.Qe2 was safer. 24...Nh4 25.f3 Qg6 26.Rd2 Rfe8 The position is approximately equal, but still Black keeps some sort of pressure, which compensates for weeknesses on d5 and a5. Only Black can be better here.
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33...Bd4+?! Here Wang missed an opportunity to mate Magnus immediately. 33...Bd8+! just mates. 34.Ka6 other moves do not help either. 34...Bc7 35.Qd4 Qxh3 The Queen is coming back to c8 and mate is inevitable. 34.Kc4 Bf6 35.Qd3 Qxg3 36.Rd1 Qc7+ 37.Rc5 Qb7
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38.Qd6? Magnus had less than a minute and not surprisingly he did not find a best chance, which was given to him by Wang on move 33... 38.Qd7! To threaten Rc8 with mate at some point later on. 38...Qe4+ 39.Rd4 Qc2+ 40.Kd5 Qg2+ 41.e4 g6 mate on c8 was threatened. 42.Rc8+ Rxc8 43.Qxc8+ Kg7 44.Rd3 and it is still better for Black, but not that much anymore. 38...Qe4+ 39.Rd4 Qc2+ 40.Kd5 Qg2+ 41.e4 Rd8 42.Qxd8+ Bxd8 43.Rc8
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43...g6. The ending is easy for Black, and Wang finishes the game off nicely. 44.Rxd8+ Kg7 45.Rd3 Qc2 46.Kd4 a4 47.bxa4 Qxa2 48.Kc5 b3 49.Rb8 b2 50.Rdb3 Qxa4 51.Rxb2 Qxe4 52.R8b3 Kh6 53.Rc3 f5 54.Rbb3 Qe5+ 55.Kc4 Kh5 56.Kd3 Kh4 57.Kd2 f4 58.Rf3 g5 59.Rfd3 Qc5 60.Rbc3 Qf2+ 61.Kd1 Qf1+ 62.Kd2 Qg2+ 63.Kd1 Qe4 64.Kd2 h5
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0-1. [Click to replay]
Video reports and interviews are now being provided by Vijay Kumar for Europe Echecs
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Links
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