Caruana wins London Classic, but Carlsen takes the Tour

by Macauley Peterson
12/12/2017 – Ian Nepomniachtchi made a quick draw with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in under 30 minutes giving him a share of first place. But he had to wait nearly six hours to find out that Fabiano Caruana had equaled his score. The pair played an exciting blitz duel, which ended with Caruana as the London Chess Classic champ, while Magnus Carlsen took the overall Grand Chess Tour. Games annotated by GM Daniel Fernandez | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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Round 9

At the start of the final round, organiser Malcolm Pein gave his usual pitch for Chess in Schools and Communities, the charity for which the London Chess Classic has been an annual showpiece since its inception eight years ago. The audience in the auditorium at the Olympia Conference Center was scant as it was noon on a normal Monday, and the myriad festival side events had all wrapped up the day before. That was the price for hosting the magnificant first round at the Google DeepMind headquarters, invited by the team that has brought us AlphaZero — a fair trade-off.

At the end of his remarks, however, Pein added a new line:

“Please don’t come back tomorrow. It’s horses.”

That's a reference to the Olympia Horse Show, which kicks off Tuesday, has traditionally been held in December, and long predates the London Classic. It may have been lost on the international webcast audience, but in some ways the last round resembled a horse race, with players neck and neck for both the tournament victory and the Grand Chess Tour prize.

When Ian Nepomniachtchi shook hands with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in less than 30 minutes after the start of Round 9, it was a calculated move to the pole position. The 27-year-old Russian knew he might have to face a playoff with Fabiano Caruana should the American manage to defeat Michael Adams. But at a minimun, he would have several hours to rest and prepare for such an eventuality. It might have been a brilliant move.

Ian Nepomniachtchi's immediate reaction following his ninth round draw

Ian Nepomniachtchi ½-½ Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (annotated by GM Daniel Fernandez)
 
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It was always unlikely that there would be significant adventures in a game between an outright leader, and someone who could not catch them. Thus, the game went as expected. 1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 5...g6 could be slightly more interesting; notwithstanding that Black has no strong incentive to win, he could still try and do so. Ruling out all kinds of 'safe' e3 setups is a logical way to do this. Then White might have to play a Maroczy bind, which he might well be reluctant to do. 6.Bf4?! Bg7 7.e3 Nh5 and White might even be worse already. 6.Bf4 d5 7.e3 Not the most common setup for White by any means, but seen in a disproportionate number of super-GM games, for instance we have seen Boris Gelfand, Magnus Carlsen, Wei Yi and Wesley So play the White side; meanwhile MVL, Kramnik, Svidler and Ponomariov have taken the Black side... I am guessing, but I suspect the appeal for White is that Black's critical strategies involve Bb4xc3, and the resulting structural damage will only persist for a certain length of time, i. e. Black has to play fast. Bb4 7...Nxd4 8.Qxd4 has understandably never appealed to anyone, even if the ending after dxc4 9.Qxd8+ Kxd8 10.Bxc4 Bd7 is nowhere near as bad as it looks (...Rc8, ...Bb4, ...Ke7, ...Rhd8) 8.Be2 8.Nxc6 may be strategically richer, and has been seen in practice. bxc6 9.Qa4 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 0-0 Now White should develop his bishop, and we shall examine one example of each deployment. 11.Be2 11.Bd3 could improve, and then logical is a5! 11...dxc4?! 12.Bxc4 Nd5 13.0-0 Nxf4 14.exf4 when both sides have rather slapdash structures but White's bishop might be a tiny bit better, and ideas like Rd1, Qa3-d6 are just around the corner. 12.c5 12.0-0 Ba6 13.Rfd1 may leave White with slightly more prospects. 12...Ba6 13.Bxa6 Rxa6 14.Qd4 Ne8 Unfortunately, while the computer sees no problems for White, it is next to impossible for him to generate any actual play- this would not be the case if at some point he had taken on d5 and/or the light squared bishops were still on. 15.Rb1 f6 16.Qd3 Ra7 17.Rb6 e5 18.Bg3 Qd7 19.0-0 Nc7 20.c4 Qe6 21.Rc1 Re8 22.Qc2 a4 23.cxd5 Nxd5 24.Rbb1 Nc7 25.Rd1 Nb5 26.Rbc1 a3 0-1 (52) Banusz,T-Rodshtein,M, Minsk 2017 11...Ne4 Gaining full counterplay and one suspects this was preparation. 12.Rc1 Qe7 13.cxd5 cxd5 14.Qb4 Qf6 15.Qd4 Re8 16.Qxf6 Nxf6 17.c4 e5 18.Bg3 Bb7 19.f3 Rac8 20.Kf2 Nh5! 20...Ba6 21.cxd5 Bxe2 22.Kxe2 Nxd5 23.Bxe5 could be something 21.Rhd1 Nxg3 22.hxg3 dxc4 23.Rxc4 Rxc4 24.Bxc4 Kf8!= The last good move. A draw was shortly agreed in Gelfand,B-Vachier Lagrave,M, Caleta 2017 8...Bd7 Indicating, perhaps, a desire to take on c4 and not be left with a bad c-pawn on a (half) open file. 8...0-0 9.0-0 Bxc3 10.bxc3 Re8 11.Bg5 h6 12.Bh4 g5 13.Bg3 Ne4 13...e5!? 14.Qc2 14.Bf3 14...e5 15.Nxc6 15.cxd5 Nxd4 16.cxd4 exd4 17.Rad1 Bf5 15...bxc6 16.cxd5 cxd5 17.Rfd1 Bf5 Bu,X -Svidler,P, Tbilisi 2017 9.Ndb5 e5 9...0-0 is also legal 10.Bg5 a6 11.a3 axb5 12.axb4 Rxa1 13.Qxa1 dxc4 14.0-0 14.Nxb5 could have been played, but even assuming it wasn't all preparation, move 14 was the last moment I am willing to believe White noticed the move repetition that was about to take place. 14...0-0 15.Rd1 Qe7 16.Nd5 Qe6 17.Nc7 Qe7 18.Nd5 Qe6 19.Nc7 Qe7 ½–½
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Nepomniachtchi,I2729Vachier-Lagrave,M2789½–½2017London Chess Classic9

Williams main teaching method behind this set of two DVDs is to teach you some simple yet effective set ups, without the need to rely on memorising numerous complicated variations.

Ian Nepomniachtchi and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

Malcolm Pein with his back to Ian Nepomniachtchi and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | Photo: Lennart Ootes

But that was just the beginning of the story of Round 9. The rest of the day would take several unexpected turns before the last move was finally played a little over nine hours later.

Players and results

No. Name Rtg
1 Carlsen Magnus 2837
2 Aronian Levon 2805
3 Caruana Fabiano 2799
4 Vachier-Lagrave Maxime 2789
5 So Wesley 2788
6 Anand Viswanathan 2782
7 Nakamura Hikaru 2781
8 Karjakin Sergey 2760
9 Nepomniachtchi Ian 2729
10 Adams Michael 2715

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Name Result Name
Nepomniachtchi Ian ½ - ½ Vachier-Lagrave Maxime
Anand Viswanathan 0 - 1 So Wesley
Karjakin Sergey ½ - ½ Nakamura Hikaru
Caruana Fabiano 1 - 0 Adams Michael
Aronian Levon 0 - 1 Carlsen Magnus

The game that would have the least bearing on the tournament or Grand Chess Tour outcome was Sergey Karjakin vs. Hikaru Nakamura. Both would have been glad for a win, but practically speaking thet had little to play for.

Sergey Karjakin ½-½ Hikaru Nakamura (annotated by GM Daniel Fernandez)
 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 0-0 6.e3 c5 6...Nbd7 is of course also played... 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 exd5 10.a3 Today will be one of those days: no massively special preparation, just a brief attempt to prove a static-based plus and if it doesn't work then agree a draw. Nc6 11.Bd3 Bb6 12.0-0 Qf6 12...Bg4 has been Nakamura's previous choice in this position. 13.h3 Bh5 14.b4 a6 15.Be2! The move the engines want, with the visually appealing idea of Ra2-d2. It also ties down the Qd8 and prevents d4. It is not unreasonable to suspect that this may have been a wrinkle Karjakin had in mind. It has been played in a smattering of 2500 or low 2600 games but no elite ones. 15.Rc1 d4 16.g4 Bg6 17.e4∞ White eventually prevailed in a strategically extremely murky game in Svidler, P (2741)-Harikrishna,P (2758) Shenzhen 2017. At one point Black channeled his inner Petrosian and actively sacrificed an exchange on e6... 15.Rb1 d4 was seen in the previous Nakamura game. This move initiates simplifications and equalises. 16.b5 axb5 17.Rxb5 Bxf3 18.Qb1 Bc7 19.Bxh7+ Kh8 20.gxf3 Bxf4 21.exf4 Ne7 22.Rh5 Ra5 23.Bf5+ ½-½ Inarkiev,E-Nakamura,H Moscow 2017 15...d4?! 16.exd4 Bxf3 17.Bxf3 Qxd4 18.Be3 Maximalism, trying to get the position with the weakened Black queenside structure without allowing ... Qxf4. If we're honest about it, even 18.Bxc6 leads to a slight plus. Qxf4 18...bxc6 19.Qxd4 Bxd4 20.Rac1 Rac8 21.Rfd1± 19.Bxb7 Rad8 20.Qg4 and Black may have something for the pawn but 1) it's not enough and 2) a6 is also under attack. 18...Qxd1 19.Rfxd1 Bxe3 20.fxe3 Rfe8 20...Rfd8 21.Kf2 Re7 21...Kf8 22.Bxc6 bxc6 23.Rd6± Dreev,A -Chandler,M, Hastings 2000 13.b4 h6 13...Bf5 seems a bit more natural to me 14.b5 Nd4 Notwithstanding the very last note, it is clear that this visually impressive move was preparation. I suspect from the reaction that White was not in preparation. 15.h3 15.Nxd4 Bxd4 16.Rc1 Critical. Bb2 16...Bb6 17.Bb1 d4 18.Qd3 and Black drops a pawn 16...Be5 17.Qa4 Bxf4 18.Qxf4 Qxf4 19.exf4 and Black's position looks nasty to have to defend in an actual game 17.Rc7 Bxa3 18.Bb1 18.Qa4!? Bd6 19.Bxd6 Qxd6 20.Rfc1 Personally, I think White's compensation here is more than adequate, and so this ...Nd4 idea is not an equaliser. There is of course room for debate. 18...Bd6 19.Qc2 g6 20.Bxd6 Qxd6 21.Ba2 Bf5 22.Qc5 Qxc5 23.Rxc5= Flores,D-Onischuk,A Khanty-Mansiysk 2009 15...g5 15...Be6= 16.Nxd4 Notwithstanding minor evaluation shifts later, the game was now essentially guaranteed to be drawn. The weakness of the Black pawn structure is mitigated by ...Bxd4 and then fully compensated for by the open g file. gxf4 17.Qf3 Bxd4 18.exd4 Be6= 19.Rfe1 Kh8 20.Re5 Rg8 20...Rac8 21.Bf5 was the wrinkle White intended, but at 2700 level this is essentially a cheapo. 21.Rae1 Rg7 22.g4 Rag8 23.Kf1 Rg5 24.Bc2 Rc8 25.Qd3 Kg8 26.Bd1 Kg7 27.Bf3 b6 28.Kg2 Rh8 29.Qd2 Rc8 30.Qd3 Rh8 31.Qd2 Rc8 ½–½
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Karjakin,S2760Nakamura,H2781½–½2017London Chess Classic9

The Queens Gambit Declined, Orthodox Variation is an opening choice for Black which will never be refuted. It perhaps has an unjust reputation of being solid and passive, but this all-new ChessBase DVD will challenge that perception. Basing his Black repertoire on the Cambridge Springs variation, Andrew Martin takes you on a tour of classic games, showing how Black may conveniently sidestep the dangerous lines with Bf4, whilst retaining good chances and providing comprehensive coverage of the lines where White captures early on d5. This is a repertoire which will suit all levels of player. Video running time: 4 hours 23 min.

Hikaru Nakamura vs. Sergey Karjakin

Nakamura finished with nine draws. Karjakin seven, with two losses. | Photo: Pascal Simon

Karjakin was circumspect after the game. "Well of course it was very bad for me but strangely enough I made all draws with [black] and with White I was trying to do something."

He'll next play in the World Rapid and Blitz in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, looking to defend his blitz title there.

Nakamura took a mild ribbing for his tournament of 100% draws, drawing parallels to Anish Giri, who has accomplished the same feat. Giri was on the ball in congratulating him:

Twists and turns

The next game to finish started slowly, and the players might have also headed for an early peaceful exit. Viswanathan Anand was celebrating his 48th birthday at the bottom of the tournament standings, and with white played a fairly bland variation of the Italian. Fortunately for So, it was one he had been recently working on for a forthcoming ChessBase DVD!

Wesley So's remarks right after beating Vishy Anand

Viswanathan Anand 0-1 Wesley So (annotated by GM Daniel Fernandez)
 
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Moving onto the first decisive game, we see the rare phenomenon of a world champion being essentially outclassed with White in a quiet position. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0-0 Nf6 5.d3 0-0 6.a4 Fashionable at the top. 6.c3 is of course the main move, but now people have started playing not ...d6/. ..a6/other slow moves but immediately d5 7.exd5 Nxd5 8.a4 The main move. I guess people started thinking that if 8.a4 was so good after ...d5, maybe it could be played before and then we can find something better to do after it than c3. I shall give two practical examples where this was shown to be equal. 8.Nbd2 Nb6 9.Bb5 Bd6 10.Re1 Bg4 11.h3 Bh5 12.Ne4 f5 Ambition. A certain type of player would be content with just ...f6 and ...Bf7, which would also be equal. 13.Ng3 Bxf3 14.Qxf3 Qd7 15.Bd2 a6 16.Bxc6 Qxc6 17.Qxc6 bxc6 18.c4 Na4= Black's activity was beginning to bubble over in Nepomniachtchi,I -Karjakin,S, Saint Louis 2017 8.Re1 Bg4 9.h3 Bh5 is a major battleground but I don't believe White has anything 8...Nb6 8...a6 Going to something of an extreme of trashing the queenside structure in return for one tempo and some activity. 9.a5 b5 10.axb6 Nxb6 11.Bb3 Bg4 12.Qe2 Kh8 13.Be3 Bd6 14.h3 Bh5 15.g4?! Bg6 16.Nbd2 Be7 17.Ne4 f5 18.gxf5 Bxf5 19.Kh2 Qe8 Karjakin,S-Giri,A ,Bilbao 2016 9.Bb5 Ne7 10.Nxe5 c6 11.Bc4 Bd6 12.a5 12.Nf3 Nxc4 13.dxc4 Bf5 12...Bxe5 12...Nxc4= 13.axb6 Qxb6 14.Re1 Qc7 15.Qh5 Bd6 16.Nd2 White may now be slightly more comfortable, but there are means and ways of playing against the bishop pair even without structural compensation, as evidenced by the fact that the Nimzo is not refuted as soon as White gets in cxd5... Nd5 Inspired by the Marshall Gambit. 17.Ne4 Be6 18.d4 Rfe8 19.Nxd6 Qxd6 20.Bd3 Nf6 21.Qg5 h6 22.Qf4 22.Qg3 Qxg3 23.hxg3 b5 22...Bc4‼ One of those moves that you remember if you were watching the game. White is not finished, but morally this was already the beginning of the end in Anton Guijarro,D-Howell,D, Minsk 2017 6...h6 Not playing ...d5 now, because White can make do without c3 and hence get a good version of the above. 6...d5 7.exd5 Nxd5 8.Re1 Bg4 8...Re8 defends the pawn in logical-looking fashion but this can be met well by a now-improved 9.c3 or even 9.d4!? 9.Nbd2 The fact of White's Bc4 no longer being tactically vulnerable may just be enough to give White an advantage here. 7.c3 a5 8.Nbd2 d6 9.h3 Be6 9...Ne7 is more immediately ambitious 10.Re1 Bxc4 11.Nxc4 11.dxc4 is not stupid, but long before White arranges Nd5 Black will have played ...f5. 11...Re8 12.Be3= I can't shake the feeling that Be3 admits White has nothing whatsoever. 12.Ne3 Bxe3 13.Bxe3 d5 14.Qc2 tries to play with some imbalance 12...Bxe3 13.Nxe3 Qd7 14.Qb3 Ne7 15.Nc4 Ng6 16.Rad1 b6 17.Qc2 Definitely this admits that White has nothing. Black can now choose between a vast variety of plans. There is ...Nh7-g5, which is more often played as a White plan. He can play for ...b5 or ...d5 or ...f5; develop with ...Rad8/...Kh8/...Nh5, or various combinations of the above. d5 Not wrong, but demanding that Black do some calculation of d4. 18.exd5 18.d4!? exd4 18...dxc4 19.dxe5 Qe6 20.exf6 Qxf6 21.Rd4 18...dxe4 19.dxe5 Qc8 20.exf6 exf3 21.Rxe8+ Qxe8 22.gxf3 gxf6 23.Qe4 19.Rxd4 Qc6 20.exd5 Rxe1+ 21.Nxe1 Nxd5 22.Qe4 Re8 Possibly without this wrinkle Black could be in some trouble. 23.Qxd5 Rxe1+ 24.Kh2 Qxd5 25.Rxd5 f6= 18...Qxd5 19.b3 Rad8 20.d4 exd4 21.Rxd4 Rxe1+ 22.Nxe1 Qa8 23.Rxd8+ Qxd8= Now gradually White starts to misplay and tactical vulnerabilities appear. 24.Qd3?! White's pieces begin to get a little tied up. 24.g3 followed by say Ne3 and Nf3 would have left White's pieces in less tactically unfortunate positions 24...Qe7 24...Qd5 is interesting too 25.Nc2 Nf4 26.Qd2 N6d5 27.Kf1 27.Kh2 apparently had to be played, but the knight ending is unenviable after Qe2 28.g3 28.Qxe2 Nxe2 29.b4 Ndxc3 30.bxa5 bxa5 31.Nxa5 Nxa4 28...Qxd2 29.Nxd2 Ne6 30.c4 Nb4 31.Nxb4 axb4 27...Nxc3 28.N4e3 Now White can't stop tripping over his own pieces and doesn't get to survive into an ending. 28.Nxb6 is a weird engine desperado tactic to set up Qc8-f5 motifs. cxb6 29.Qxc3 Qe2+ 30.Kg1 Qe4 31.Qc8+ Kh7 32.Ne3 Ne2+ 33.Kf1 Nd4 28.Qxc3 Qe2+ 29.Kg1 Qd1+ 30.Kh2 Ne2 is of course the immediate problem, which is why White wanted Nxb6 cxb6 inserted... 28...Ne4 29.Qd4 c5 30.Qd1 Qf6 30...Qh4-+ 31.Ng4 31.Qd7 31...Qc3 32.Nce3 h5 33.Nh2 Qb2 Okay, actually White could maybe get an ending with Qc2 but he'd now be down two pawns rather than one. So he resigned. 0–1
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Anand,V2782So,W27880–12017London Chess Classic9

So added on the live webcast:

"I play well on my opponent’s birthday. Last year I beat Hikaru, and I think some other players. So it’s not a nice feeling to have to play on their birthday, when they want to celebrate and they put too much extra pressure."

Viswanathan Anand

A disappointed birthday boy — it was not Anand's day...or week | Photo: Pascal Simon

Anand opts to forget his chess troubles by doing some holiday shopping for his son Akhil.

The Magnus bounce

The World Champion, after a troubling performance yesterday, appeared once more to be on the brink of defeat with the black pieces against Levon Aronian. Carlsen was considerably worse in the middlegame, but it took just a couple of inaccuracies from Aronian for the World Champion to completely turn the tables. He went on to win, despite knowing that a draw would be enough to clinch first place in the Grand Chess Tour standings.

In fact, Aronian offered Carlsen a draw, right after the time control, which Magnus refused, as he was already much better in the position. It was the 11th time in 17 tries that Carlsen came back with a win immediately following a loss, since 2015.

Levon Aronian 0-1 Magnus Carlsen (annotated by GM Daniel Fernandez)
 
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1.d4 e6 Earlier on in the Festival, in the open tournament, I employed this move order rather than ...Nf6 so as to permit the wrinkle 2.c4 Bb4+ followed by an ...f5 setup. The order also dodges the Nc3 Dutch and allows a quick ... c5 against Nf3 or g3. However, of course, the French must be in your repertoire. 2.Nf3 c5 3.g3 3.e4 Some kind of Sicilian that is not the Dragon or Classical must also be in your repertoire. If you are a Najdorf player, you must be willing to play ...e6 rather than ...e5 setups. 3...cxd4 4.Nxd4 Qb6 4...d5 is main, and seems to equalise straightfowardly since White cannot really arrange c4 under desirable circumstances. 5.Bg2 Bc5 6.e3 6.c3 Nf6 7.0-0 d5 8.Nd2 intending e4 is another valid way to play, though it sacrifices a pawn in various ways 6...d5 7.Qg4?!= e3 goes with c4. In spite of this move appearing to force some concessions, maybe White should have stuck to the plan. 7.0-0 Nf6 8.c4 was probably the way to ask some probing questions. 7...Bf8 Trying to play without weaknesses. 7...g6 is not ridiculous either 8.0-0 Nf6 9.Qe2 e5 9...Nc6 avoids the doubled pawn scenario 10.Qb5+ Bd7 11.Qxb6 axb6 12.Nb3 Nc6 13.Bd2 Bd6 14.Nc3 Ne7 15.a4 0-0 15...Rc8= delays Nb5 by a tempo which may be important. Certainly since the rook came here anyway in the end this was a more internally consistent order. 16.Nb5 Bxb5 17.axb5 It seems to me that White has nevertheless managed to get a little something, though the position continues to be strategically confusing. Rac8 18.Bc3 h5 19.Rfd1 Rfd8 20.Nd2 White has an advantage, but as so often with the bishop pair in closed positions it is hard to work with. White chooses a logical plan of trying to get the knight to g5. 20.Ra7 appeals somewhere round here; as White I would probably like to double rooks on the a-file, exchange one pair of them, arrange the bishops on e1 and d1 and maybe play toward g4. (As every grandmaster knows, the bishops control most squares from the back rank. Thus, you will often see them win the bishop pair and then store the two boys away on e1 and f1.) 20...h4 20...Ne8 21.Nf3 f6 deserved consideration 21.Nf3 hxg3 22.hxg3 e4 Keeping the game strategically messy. 22...Ne4 was playable, but admits to being worse. 23.Ng5 23.Nd4 was a much better move, not being constrained by his own previous plan of putting the knight on g5. For instance Be5 24.Bh3 Rb8 25.Ra4 and White will ultimately play for c4. 23...Ng6 24.Ra7 So White has acheived what I wanted anyway. It would have been much more fitting to annotate this game as a White win, but Black reminds us that there is still a lot going on in the game strategically (e.g. the idea of ...Be5.) Rb8 25.Bd4 Bc5 26.Bxc5 bxc5 27.c4 Ne7 27...Re8 was better according to the engine, but would be depressing to play. As a human you want all your pieces to do work, and here the knight on g6 isn't performing well. 28.cxd5 Nc8 29.Ra4 Nb6 30.Ra3 Nc4 31.Rc3 Nd6 32.Rxc5 Ra8 33.Bh3 Probably a step in the wrong direction, even if the computer sees no problem. The problem is that White is now playing for strings of (albeit high level) tactical tricks. 33.Nh3 was the right idea, if not the right implementation: this knight should be on f4 or d4 or something, not playing for tricks on the kingside. 33...Re8 Playing with the motif of trapping the knight. 34.Rc7 Kf8 34...Re5?? runs into a forced piece sacrifice: 35.Nxf7 Nxf7 36.Be6 Rf8 37.Rxb7+- 35.b6 35.Be6 was tempting but Black will just ignore it. Re7 36.Rxe7 Kxe7 37.Bh3 Rh8= 35...Re5 36.Ne6+ 36.Nxf7= was a better way to give the piece and now White probably keeps dynamic equality 36...fxe6 37.dxe6 Nfe8 38.Rd7 Raa5 Now Black has completely turned the tables and gets to finish the event above 50%! 39.b4 39.R1xd6 Nxd6 40.Rxd6 Rad5 was objectively best but in a human game this ending would be absolute hell to defend. 39...Rad5 40.Ra1 Rb5 Now the knights and e5-rook hold White's play back while the b5-rook takes stuff. 41.Ra8 Rxb6 42.Bg4 Rd5 43.Kg2 Rxb4 44.Ra1 Rbb5 45.Be2 Rb2 46.Bg4 Rdd2 47.Kh3 Rxf2 48.Kh4 Rh2+ 49.Bh3 g5+ 50.Kh5 Rxh3+ 51.Kg6 Rf2 52.e7+ Kg8 53.Rxd6 Rh7 Finally either taking the pawn or setting up mate tactics (...Rg7 and either ...g4 or ...Kf7) 0–1
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Aronian,L2805Carlsen,M28370–12017A43London Chess Classic9.2

Scarcely any world champion has managed to captivate chess lovers to the extent Carlsen has. The enormously talented Norwegian hasn't been systematically trained within the structures of a major chess-playing nation such as Russia, the Ukraine or China.

Magnus Carlsen

A grizzled Carlsen comes out on top despite illness | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Here were his closing remarks following the game:

Magnus Carlsen in a substantially better mood today | Source: Saint Louis Chess Club on YouTube

Carlsen was presented with the Grand Chess Tour trophy for the overall first place on the year, and netted a total prize for the series of more than USD $245,000.

Taking the Mickey

"Mickey has to be the most unlucky player in this entire tournament," Yasser Seirawan opined on the live webcast. "Think of all the things that have gone wrong — I mean including this game itself. I thought he made a very clever strategical pawn sacrifice. He had ample compensation, great activitiy, and that one miss Rf3 and suddenly he’s suffering and he’s suffering big time."

This game dragged on for six hours, as Caruana battled fatigue for a share of first place. All the while, Nepomniachtchi could sit in the hotel with his feet up, watching and waiting.

Fabiano Caruana 1-0 Michael Adams (annotated by GM Daniel Fernandez)
 
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Saving the best to last, here is the effort by Fabiano Caruana, who needed to win in order to again catch 'the man who knows nothing' in the tournament lead. As such, the game begins with a reversed Dragon. 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Bc5 7.0-0 0-0 8.d3 8.Nxd5 Qxd5 9.Ng5 had already been seen by Caruana from the other side of the table, and the game may have inspired him. Qd8 10.Nxh7 Re8 11.Ng5 The knight is protected by d4-tricks! Qxg5 12.Bxc6 12.d4 Qe7 13.dxc5 Qxc5 14.Qa4 could be a new direction for White to investigate 12...bxc6 13.d4 Qh5 13...Qe7 14.dxc5 Qxc5 15.Be3 14.dxc5 e4 15.h4 Qg4 15...Bg4= is best according to our silicon friends- Black can take back on c5 if he chooses in a better version than 13...Qe7. 16.Bf4 Qh3 17.Qd4 Bg4 18.Qe3 Rad8 19.Rad1 The compensation was close to vanishing into thin air in Aronian,L-Caruana,F, Saint Louis 2017 8...Re8 9.Ng5 Nf6 9...Nxc3 These structures are always evaluated as equal by the machine, but in my experience they are always better for one side or the other. A good indicator of whether Black is better is whether he has traded his dark square bishop for the knight. 10.bxc3 Be7 Now here are 2 sample lines, one where Black ends up better and one where White does. The point is not that Ne4 is better or that Nf3 is but that the position contains a vast number of apparently minor nuances, such that one side will on balance of probabilities understand them better over the next 5 moves. 11.Ne4 11.Nf3 Be6 12.Rb1 b6 13.Qa4 Qd7 14.Ng5 Nd4 15.Qd1 Bxg5 16.Bxg5 Nc6 17.Qa4 Bd5 18.f3 Every rule has an exception. 11...Be6 11...Rb8 12.Be3 b6 13.c4 Bb7 14.Nc3 Nd4 15.Nd5 Qd7 16.Nxe7+ Rxe7 12.Be3 f6 13.Nd2 Bd5 14.Bxd5+ Qxd5 15.Qb3 Qxb3 16.Nxb3 Kf7= A genuinely equal position, but maybe Black is easier to play as in the Wesley So game. 10.Qb3 Qe7 Black holds the balance well. 11.Nd5 Nxd5 12.Bxd5 Nd8 13.Qc4 Bd4 14.Bg2 h6 15.Nf3 Nc6 16.Be3 A violent winning attempt. 16.Nxd4 As before, trading the knight for the dark square bishop is not often a good idea. Nxd4 17.Re1 Bg4 16.e3= 16...Bxe3 17.fxe3 e4 17...Nd8 is an interesting option, trying to set up the stereotypical arrangement with . ..Be6(-f7) and ...f6. 18.dxe4 a5 19.a3 Ra6 20.Rac1 Rb6 21.Rc2 Be6 22.Qc3 Rb3 23.Qd2 Rd8 24.Qc1 a4 25.Rc5 Black still has compensation, but the problem is that he is now 'likely' to 'forget' to take the material back. 25.Rc3 Qd6 26.Rxb3 Bxb3 27.Qc3 made sense too 25...Rd7 26.h3 Qd8 27.g4 g6 28.Kh1 Kg7 29.e5 Bd5 30.Kg1 Be6 31.Kf2 Qe7 32.Kg1 Rd5 33.Rc4 Ra5 33...Nxe5 34.Rxc7 Nxf3+ 35.Bxf3 Rd7= 34.Rc2 Bd5 Getting maybe a little carried away with strategic purity. It turns out that for tactical reasons White can now keep the pawn. 35.Nd4 Nxd4 36.exd4 Rg3 37.Rf3! That's just it. The rook is entombed and White's pawns have been untripled (!) Bxf3 38.exf3 c6 38...Rb5 39.Kh2 Qh4 40.Qf4 Rxg2+ 41.Kxg2 c6 was the most sophisticated way of giving back the exchange, setting up an outpost for the rook on b3 and the queen on d5. 39.Kh2 Rxg2+ 40.Kxg2 Rd5 41.Rc4 c5 42.Rxc5 Rxd4 43.Qc3 Now White has almost solved all his structural issues and Black's best bet is in fact the queen ending. Qd8 43...Rd3 44.Qxd3 Qxc5 45.Qc3 Qb6± 44.Rc8 Qb6 45.Re8 Leaving Black's pieces stuck and introducing the idea of Rxb7 in various lines. 45.Rb8 Rd1 is not a good way to introduce that idea 45...g5 46.Re7 Kg8 46...Kf8 47.Rxb7 leads to another probably-winning queen ending. 47.e6! The best conversion, forcing a queen rather than rook ending on pain of mate. fxe6 48.Qc2 Kf8 49.Rh7 Qc6 The only way to defuse the pressure. 50.Qxc6 With a probably-winning rook ending, but see Black's 58th. 50.Rh8+ Ke7 51.Qh7+ Kd6 52.Rd8+ Kc5 53.Qc2+ Rc4 is not an obvious win, so Black takes the queens off 50...bxc6 51.Rxh6 Kf7 52.Kg3 Rd2 53.Rh7+ Kf6 54.Rb7 Ke5 55.h4 55.Rb4 may have been more precise to cut out Kf4 55...gxh4+ 56.Kxh4 Kf4 57.Rf7+ Ke3 58.Kg3 Rd1 58...Rxb2 59.Re7 was Black's best chance: c5 60.Rxe6+ Kd4± and the jury may still be out 59.g5+- Rg1+ 60.Kh4 Rg2 61.Rf6 e5 62.g6 Rxb2 63.Kg5 Rg2+ 64.Kh6 Rh2+ 65.Kg7 c5 66.Kf7 c4 67.g7 Rh7 68.Ra6 More moves could have been played, but White has shown enough. This move eliminates the pawn at a4 and gets back to cover the c-pawn just in time. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Caruana,F2799Adams,M27151–02017A29London Chess Classic9

Williams main teaching method behind this set of two DVDs is to teach you some simple yet effective set ups, without the need to rely on memorising numerous complicated variations.

Caruana's clutch performance set up a blitz tiebreak match with Nepomniachtchi, from which the American eventually emerged victorious. We'll take a closer look at those games in a follow-up post tomorrow.

All Games of Round 9

 
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  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
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Commentary webcast

Commentary by GM Yasser Seirawan, WGM Jennifer Shahade and GM Cristian Chirila, with GM Maurice Ashley reporting from London | Source: Saint Louis Chess Club on YouTube

Final standings

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Tiebreak

Links

Macauley served as the Editor in Chief of ChessBase News from July 2017 to March 2020. He is the producer of The Full English Breakfast chess podcast, and was an Associate Producer of the 2016 feature documentary, Magnus.

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