12/4/2017 – If the first round looked like a car left in neutral, then round two was barely in second gear. Karjakin and Carlsen left their battles for another time, while So failed to make the most of a strange opening choice by Nepo. The game of the day was the sharp as nails Sicilian Dragon between Maxime Vachier Lagrave and Hikaru Nakamura, giving the audience something to cheer for. Report and analysis by GM Alex Yermolinsky. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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All games drawn
A soporific feel at the start of the London Classic lingers on. Same as in the opening round Friday, all five games today were drawn, and, honestly, not all of them were worth the price of admission.
I don't know how Karjakin feels about playing Carlsen these days. Only one year removed from their face-to-face titanic battle in New York, Sergey doesn't seem to have any momentum on his side. Three times they met in classical chess tournaments in 2017, and the score is +2=1 in favor of Magnus.
Today the World Champion played the bold g7-g5 on the black side of the Italian Game, but even that did not make the former challenger willing to, well, challenge. Queens got traded early, and then Karjakin neglected his last chance to make something happen by pushing f2-f4. A listless performance by Sergey, who hasn't really done anything in 2017 to make his fans believe he'll return to play Magnus again.
Sergey Karjakin hopes to be the next Challenger for Carlsen, but if so, he kept his ambitions in check in this game | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Back in 1966, Spassky lost a World Championship Match to Petrosian, when many felt he was ready to be crowned. Boris did come back by winning the Candidates matches again three years later, and then he beat Petrosian as well. Not to be forgotten, however, that Spassky appeared to be a hungry player right after the first match, as he famously won the 2nd Piatigorsky Cup, 1966 ahead of Fischer and all others.
There isn't much to say about Aronian's tournament yet. He had two Blacks at the start, and did what he was supposed to do, which is to not lose. Levon's Ruy Lopez appears to be holding up well. Both Ian Nepomniachtchi and Fabiano Caruana tried the line from a successful game Vachier-Lagrave played against Aronian in the 2017 World Cup. The position, however, appears to be too short of resources to cause Black any real pain. Levon is ready to enter this line again and again. He will face Sergey Karjakin in round three with white.
Levon Aronian's first two games were with black, so a draw was nothing to be upset about | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Anand-Adams was another Anti-Berlin, leading to yet another symmetrical pawn structure where Vishy may have given more than a token effort, but it didn't change the outcome of the game. Such games have become a bit too common to my taste, but unless White finds some other ideas, I cannot blame Black for playing for the result.
This brings to mind the old talk of changing the scoring system in favor of Black, say .4-.6 or some such imbalance, in an attempt to spice up the game. In my opinion, the effect could be quite opposite. In modern chess, it is Black who chooses the opening, and giving him an extra incentive to make a draw would be counterproductive.
Perhaps, a more radical measure, such as choosing openings randomly, should come into consideration. Imagine, you come to the game, and the computer tells you you must play the Scandinavian today!
It was an uneventful round in terms of results, but some players clearly tried harder than others | Photo: Lennart Ootes
MVL vs Nakamura was without question the highlight of the round. Now to the games that could have ended decisively. Lots of credit goes to Nakamura for venturing into the Dragon's Den today. Hikaru appears to be the one rocking the boat in London in the early going. It might seem a thankless task, as he was skirting disaster again today, but his fans are grateful.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave1/2-1/2 Hikaru Nakamura (Annotated by GM Alex Yermolinsky)
This move, introduced in the 1990's and upheld by GM Tiviakov some ten years later, caught the attention of Magnus Carlsen, who used it first against Radjabov in 2008 and later against Karjakin in 2014. The point is to overprotect the sensitive e7-pawn in anticipation of White's attack with g2-g4. 14...b515.g4hxg416.h5Nxh517.Nd5Re818.Rxh5gxh519.Qh2has been known as very good for White since Chandler-Mestel and Karpov-Sznapik, both from 1986.15.g4Nevertheless, MVL goes for it.Karjakin's choice in the above mentioned game (World Rapid, Dubai, 2014) was15.Bh6but Carlsen showed great powers of anticipation by setting up his own shots:a516.a4Qb6!17.g4Rxc3!18.bxc3Nxf3and the subsequent tactical play resolved in a draw.15...hxg416.f4Radjabov-Carlsen, FIDE Grand prix, Baku 2008 demonstrated why16.h5Nxh517.Rxh5gxh518.Qh2doesn't quite work. Magnus calmly defended by returning the exchange:Ng619.Qxh5Qa520.f4Rxg521.fxg5e6and Black already stood better. Teimour's wild attempt at the black king,22.Nf5exf523.Qxg6was turned back byBe6and Magnus went on to win.16...Nc4Another important juncture.16...Nc6meets with a typical tactic,17.Bxf6Bxf617...exf618.Ndb5±18.e5!and Black must part with major material,dxe518...Bg719.Ne4is simply unbearable19.Nxc6Bxc620.Qxd8Rxd821.Rxd8+Kg722.Rg1There are some lines in the Dragon where Black can play down a rook in the endgame, but here he's unlikely to succeed.17.Qd3!Maxime plays the best move. White doesn't get to continue with his K-side attack in peace and quiet after17.Qe2Qc818.f5as Black has his own ideas.Nxb2!19.Kxb219.fxg6Nxd120.gxf7+Kh721.Nxd1Rf8is sharp, but Black is up the exchange.19...Rxc320.fxg6Rxb3+Exchange sacrifices abound.21.axb3fxg622.Bxf6exf623.h5f517...Na5?!Somewhat unfortunate. One wonders if Nakamura was out of book.17...Qc8is still critical.18.Bxf6!exf618...Bxf619.e5Nxb319...dxe520.Qxg6+20.Nxb3Bf521.Qd4Rxc322.Qxc3Bg723.Nd4should be favoring White, but he shouldn't underestimate the power of the Dragon Bishop.19.Bd5The positional treatment of19.f5 deserved serious consideration.Nxb320.axb3Qc821.Rdf1gxf522.exf5Ree523.Rf4etc.19...Nc6?
19...f5!was a must. After20.exf5Bc621.Bxc6Nxc622.Nxc6bxc623.fxg6Bxc324.bxc3Qf6both kinds are shaky, but Black's active pieces should provide for ample counterplay.20.Nxc6?!tempting, but not the best choice.Hitting d6 with20.Ndb5 would have given MVL a near decisive advantage.Be621.Bxe6Rxe622.f5Re723.h5etc.20...bxc621.Bxf7+Maxime's calculations were all about this shot. In the end he got to keep an extra pawn, but, as it often happens in sharp Sicilians, the formerly bad black king became a major factor in the endgame.Kxf722.Qxd6Rxc323.Qxd7+Qxd724.Rxd7+Ke625.Rxg7Rf326.Rxg6Rxf427.Rg1Rxe428.R6xg4Rxg429.Rxg4
29...f530.Ra4Rg830...Ke531.Rxa7f432.Kc1Kf5also looks drawish despite White's two pawns edge.31.b3Giving up the c-pawn after31.Kc1Rg1+32.Kd2Rg2+33.Ke3Rxc234.b3would deprive White of winning chances.Rc3+35.Kf4Rh331...Rg432.Rxa7f433.Kc1f334.Kd2Rxh4No need to bother with more complicated lines. Hikaru could have gone for34...Re435.Ra4Re2+36.Kd3Kf5=35.Ra8Rh2+36.Kd3Kf537.a437.Ke3Rxc238.Kxf3Ke539.Ke3Rh240.Kd3Kd6 is a routine draw.37...Kg438.a5Rh139.Rg8+Kf440.Rf8+Kg341.Rg8+Kf442.Rf8+Kg343.b4f244.Kd4f1Q45.Rxf1Rxf146.Kc5Rc147.Kxc6½–½
Volume one of the DVD deals with 9.Bc4, White's sharpest option, and shows how Black can counter this ambitious try by White with the main lines of the Soltis variation (12.h5), which was played by Magnus Carlsen regularly as well.
Hikaru Nakamura: "I completely misevaluated this endgame..."
Vachier-Lagrave: "The position is a complete mess and of course if you don't know everything exactly you have to spend a lot of time to navigate the complications..."
Wesley So continues to baffle his fans. What more could today's opponent, Nepomniachtchi, do than open the game with the Old Benoni, the opening that has been all but discarded decades ago? Wesley was pretty much served a great positional advantage on a silver platter at the start of the game. Yet, he wasn't able to capitalize and went for the unforced move repetition already on move 24.
Wesley So1/2-1/2 Ian Nepomniachtchi (Annotated by GM Alex Yermolinsky)
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1.d4Nf62.c4g63.f3The Anti-Grunfeld recipe, commonly used in top level chess since Kramnik-Shirov, Casorla (9) 1998.d6The same opponents had a game in 2015 that went into a Modern Benoni after3...e64.e4c55.d5d66.Nc3Bg77.Nge2exd58.cxd50-09.Ng34.e4e55.Ne2c5?!The Old Benoni is a rare guest in Grandmaster games.6.d5Nbd7?!The knight is misplaced here.Grischuk-Nepo, World Blitz 2013 went6...h57.h4Bh68.Bxh6Rxh69.Qd2Rh810.Nbc3Na6and White applied a typical positional squeeze to win in 39 moves.7.Nbc3a68.a4?!I don't see why White should even bother with preventing b7-b5. A pawn sac with the black pawn on e5 would be unthinkable even for the most die-hard Benko fan.8.h4h59.Be3± I don't get it. What does Nepo see in this position?8...Nh5
9.g3 Normally in the Saemisch KID White doesn't play like this.If only White kept his a-pawn where it belonged, he would have been happy to accept the upcoming pawn sac.9.Be3Bg710.g4Nf4Absolutely forced.11.Nxf4exf412.Bxf4Bd413.Qd2Ne514.Be2Bd715.h4as it is, Black would get chances afterQb69...Bg710.h4!?Also, interesting was10.Bh30-011.0-0 anticipatingf512.exf5gxf513.Qc2In that case, just as in the game, Black suffers the consequences of his early development with Nbd7, as Bc8 remains blocked.10...f511.exf5gxf512.g4!fxg413.fxg4Nf414.g50-015.Ne4Nb6!
Ian grabs a chance to get that knight out of the way.16.N2g3The correct approach. White needs to keep the situation from getting out of control.The point was16.a5?Nxc4!17.Nxf4exf418.Bxc4Re8with strong attack.16...Bd717.Rg1Kh818.Bd218.Nxd6Bxa419.Nxb7Qc720.Rxa4Nxa421.Qxa4Qxb722.Ne4Rab8∞18...Nc8On the face of it Wesley's K-side advantage should ensure a long-term edge for White, but playing such positions takes a very subtle approach.19.Nh5?I don't like this plan. Trading pieces just feels wrong.Suppose we start with19.h5h620.g6Qc7and now White, whose king appears to be safe, can try the other side:21.a5Ne722.b4?!Nf523.bxc5dxc524.Nxf5Bxf525.Qf3only to find himself under pressure afterb5!19.a5Qc720.h5!only now when the black queen no longer attacks the g5-pawn.h621.Qc2Ne722.0-0-0b523.Ne2!
So much for the positional squeeze. Instead, White is trying to get to the black king!23...b424.Nxf4exf425.gxh6Bxh626.Kb1Nf527.Qd3±19...Bf520.Neg320.Nef6Nxh521.Nxh5Ne720...Qd721.Nxg7Qxg722.Nxf5Rxf523.Qb3Na724.Qb6A disappointing finish.I guess Wesley was not quite happy with allowing24.0-0-0b5but White might still be better.24...Nc825.Qb3Na726.Qb6Nc827.Qb3½–½
The Czech Benoni has never quite made it to the top of the charts as a reply to 1 d4. Perhaps it‘s the very nature of blocked central positions which put people off. Thus, after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e5 the first impression is that the Black position could become rather passive. However, players of the calibre of Nisipeanu, and Ivan Sokolov revived the opening by using the Czech Benoni with success.
In the last few months, Wesley So has struggled to recover the form he displayed in 2016. Every player has a dry streak, and it seems this has been his.
Wesley So, early in Round 2 | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Let's see now how the players are going to fare in a 7-round tournament. Time to leave the starting gates!
Alex YermolinskyYermo is enjoying his fifties. Lives in South Dakota, 600 miles way from the nearest grandmaster. Between his chess work online he plays snooker and spends time outdoors - happy as a clam.
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