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The London Super Sixteen rapid tournament has started. The main event of the London Chess Classic takes place from December 11th to December 15th at the Olympiad Conference Center in London, England. The tournament brings together many of the best players of the World as well as two qualifiers from the Open section of the London Chess Classic.
Player | Rtg | G1 | G2 | Pts |
Kramnik,Vladimir | 2793 |
½
|
1
|
1.5 |
Anand, Vishy | 2773 |
½
|
0
|
0.5 |
Kramnik had no problems with Anand
This series was defined in the second game. Anand used a relatively passive opening and Kramnik countered with an aggressive pawn sacrifice. The Indian did not accept and quickly lost:
[Event "5th Classic KO 2013"] [Site "London ENG"] [Date "2013.12.14"] [Round "1.2"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D40"] [WhiteElo "2773"] [BlackElo "2793"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "54"] [EventDate "2013.12.14"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 e6 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 c5 5. e3 Nc6 6. a3 a6 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. b4 Bd6 $5 (8... Ba7 {is a far more common retreat, and it has been seen at the top level many times. Anand himself played it against Aronian in 2011.}) 9. Bb2 O-O 10. Qc2 (10. cxd5 exd5 11. Be2 Be6 {is more common but Black seems to be fine in this variation. Anand's move tries to lock in the light-squared bishop for at least a little longer.}) 10... Qe7 11. Rd1 Rd8 12. Be2 dxc4 13. Bxc4 b5 14. Bd3 Bb7 {Something has obviously gone wrong for White. If he castles he is basically simply a tempo down in a symmetrical position, not to mention that he would rather have put the f-rook on the d-file rather than his queenside rook. These little details would give Black an edge.} 15. Ne4 Nxe4 16. Bxe4 Rac8 $1 {A strong move.} 17. Qb1 $2 {Anand plays the human move, but he runs into quick trouble.} (17. Bxh7+ Kh8 18. Qb1 Nxb4 $1 (18... f5 $2 19. Bxf5 exf5 20. Qxf5 {is not playable for Black. White has sufficient material and a strong king-side initiative.}) (18... a5 $6 19. h4 $1 $13) 19. axb4 Bxb4+ 20. Ke2 f5 21. Bxf5 exf5 22. Qxf5 Rf8 {is a crazy position that is nearly impossible to evaluate. A sample crazy variation:} 23. Qh3+ Kg8 24. Rd7 Rc2+ ( 24... Bd5 {is not a move anyone is going to find.}) 25. Kd1 Rd8 26. Rxd8+ Qxd8+ 27. Kxc2 Be4+ 28. Kb3 Qd5+ 29. Kxb4 $11 {and there is apparently nothing more than a perpetual.}) 17... f5 18. Bd3 a5 19. bxa5 Nxa5 20. O-O Nc4 {White is passive. His kingside and his queenside are both under fire and he has no clear plan.} 21. Be2 Be4 22. Qa1 Nxb2 23. Qxb2 b4 $1 $19 (23... Rc2 24. Qxb5 { doesn't quite work.}) 24. axb4 Rc2 {A decisive fork, and the point of 23...b4. Now the game is over.} 25. Qb3 Rxe2 26. Nd4 Bd5 27. Qd3 Qh4 0-1
One bad game and it is all over for Vishy
Player | Rtg | G1 | G2 | Pts |
Short, Nigel | 2683 |
0
|
½
|
0.5 |
Nakamura, Hikaru | 2786 |
1
|
½
|
1.5 |
Nakamura was dominant on game one. He sacrificed a little material for an initiative and with the use of clever tactics he won an exchange and converted with superb technique. He played 1.b3 again in the second game and he was never in any danger of losing.
Player | Rtg | G1 | G1 | T1 | T2 | Pts |
Adams, Michael | 2754 |
1
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
3.0 |
Svidler, Peter | 2758 |
0
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
1.0 |
A topsy-turvy match. Not a single drawn was seen! Adams started off with a nice victory but Svidler countered with his own win with white. However the tiebreaks went horribly wrong for the Russian, as the games really speak for themselves:
[Event "5th Classic KO 2013"] [Site "London ENG"] [Date "2013.12.14"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Adams, Michael"] [Black "Svidler, Peter"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2754"] [BlackElo "2758"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "2013.12.14"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nf3 Qc7 8. a4 Be6 9. Be2 h6 10. O-O Nbd7 {an already kind of rare position in the Najdorf. The lines with 7...Nb3 are much better known.} 11. h3 Be7 12. Nh2 $5 {A weird and interesting maneuver. The idea is to gain more control over the d5 square by exchanging its defenders.} O-O 13. Ng4 Qc6 14. Qd3 Rfc8 15. Rfd1 Rab8 16. a5 Nc5 $2 {A huge oversight.} 17. Nxf6+ {Suddenly there is no good way to recapture on f6!} Bxf6 (17... gxf6 18. Bxc5 Qxc5 19. Bg4 {is actually worse than losing the pawn.}) 18. Qxd6 Qxd6 19. Rxd6 Be7 20. Rd2 {White is a pawn up and has all the positional advantages. It is very hard to devise something to do with Black now.} Bg5 21. Bxg5 hxg5 22. Bg4 b5 23. axb6 Rxb6 24. Nd5 Rb7 25. f3 Rcb8 $6 26. b4 {Black is forced to retreat, which will mean further material losses. A quick demolition!} 1-0
Tiebreaks were not Svidler's friends this time around
[Event "5th Classic KO 2013"] [Site "London ENG"] [Date "2013.12.14"] [Round "1.4"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Adams, Michael"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A14"] [WhiteElo "2758"] [BlackElo "2754"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "48"] [EventDate "2013.12.14"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. g3 d5 2. Bg2 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. Qc2 $6 {already a strange move.} d4 7. c5 $6 {a strange followup.} Nc6 8. Ne1 e5 9. e4 Nb4 10. Qc4 a5 {White is already lost!} 11. a3 Be6 12. Qe2 Na6 13. c6 bxc6 (13... Nc5 { would have prepared the unstoppable Nb3, winning immediately, but the move in the game is also good.}) 14. d3 Nc5 15. Nd2 Nfd7 16. f4 exf4 17. gxf4 f5 18. Rb1 a4 19. Ndf3 Nb3 20. Ng5 Bxg5 21. fxg5 fxe4 22. Bxe4 Nxc1 23. Rxc1 Qxg5+ 24. Ng2 Bd5 {Black is simply up two pawns...} 0-1
Player | Rtg | G1 | G1 | T1 | T2 | Pts |
Caruana, Fabiano | 2777 |
½
|
½
|
0
|
0
|
1.0 |
Gelfand, Boris | 2782 |
½
|
½
|
1
|
1
|
3.0 |
As in Svidler-Adams, this tiebreak also went completely wrong for one player. Caruana had an equal position in the first tiebreak when disaster struck:
[Event "5th Classic KO 2013"] [Site "London ENG"] [Date "2013.12.14"] [Round "1.3"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Gelfand, Boris"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E46"] [WhiteElo "2782"] [BlackElo "2777"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2013.12.14"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Nge2 d5 6. a3 Bd6 $5 {This plan is becoming increasingly popular as of late since 7.c5 hasn't been yielding great results for White.} 7. Ng3 c6 (7... c5 {is also possible.}) 8. Bd3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 e5 10. O-O Nbd7 11. dxe5 Bxe5 12. Qc2 Nb6 13. Be2 Re8 14. e4 Ng4 15. Bxg4 Bxg4 16. f4 Bd4+ 17. Kh1 Qh4 {Something has obviously gone wrong. Black's bishops dominate the board and it is White that is completely in the defensive.} 18. Nce2 $1 {Accurate, this forces one bishop off the board and White equalizes.} Bxe2 19. Qxe2 Rad8 20. e5 Qe7 21. Be3 Qe6 22. Rae1 Bxe3 23. Qxe3 f5 24. Rd1 g6 25. Ne2 Qc4 26. Nd4 Rd5 27. Nf3 Qc2 28. Rd2 $4 (28. Rxd5 Nxd5 29. Qd4 Rd8 30. Rd1 {maintains an approximate equality although I would prefer to be Black.}) 28... Nc4 $1 {oops. Suddenly White is completely lost.} 29. Rxc2 Nxe3 { Unfortunately for Caruana both of his rooks are under attack.} 30. Rcc1 Nxf1 31. Rxf1 Red8 {and on top of that Gelfand will force an exchange of rooks, making the win trivial. Very unfortunate turn of events for the Italian.} 0-1
Gelfand used a very clever combination in game two to force his opponent between a horrible position and a draw by repetition as early as move eight. The Italian chose the former but ended up losing anyways.
Select games from the dropdown menu above the board
Semi Final matches:
Player | Rtg | G1 | G2 | Pts |
Nakamura, Hikaru | 2786 |
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Kramnik, Vladimir | 2793 |
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Player | Rtg | G1 | G2 | Pts |
Gelfand Boris | 2777 |
|
|
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Adams, Michael | 2754 |
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|
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Round 01 – Group A: Wednesday December 11th, 14:00 | ||||
Luke McShane | 2697 |
0-1
|
Vishy Anand | 2775 |
Andrei Istratescu | 2709 |
0-1
|
Michael Adams | 2761 |
Round 01 – Group B: Wednesday December 11th, 14:00 | ||||
Vladimir Kramnik | 2794 |
1-0
|
Peter Svidler | 2746 |
Jonathan Rowson | 2573 |
1-0
|
Matthew Sadler | 2646 |
Round 01 – Group C: Wednesday December 11th, 15:30 | ||||
Boris Gelfand | 2764 |
1-0
|
Judit Polgar | 2696 |
Gawain Jones | 2633 |
½-½
|
Hikaru Nakamura | 2772 |
Round 01 – Group D: Wednesday December 11th, 15:30 | ||||
Nigel Short | 2684 |
½-½
|
David Howell | 2644 |
Fabiano Caruana | 2779 |
1-0
|
Emil Sutovsky | 2663 |
Round 02 – Group A: Wednesday December 11th, 18:00 | ||||
Vishy Anand | 2775 |
½-½
|
Michael Adams | 2761 |
Luke McShane | 2697 |
1-0
|
Andrei Istratescu | 2709 |
Round 02 – Group B: Wednesday December 11th, 18:00 | ||||
Peter Svidler | 2746 |
½-½
|
Matthew Sadler | 2646 |
Vladimir Kramnik | 2794 |
1-0
|
Jonathan Rowson | 2573 |
Round 02 – Group C: Wednesday December 11th, 19:30 | ||||
Judit Polgar | 2696 |
0-1
|
Hikaru Nakamura | 2772 |
Boris Gelfand | 2764 |
1-0
|
Gawain Jones | 2633 |
Round 02 – Group D: Wednesday December 11th, 19:30 | ||||
David Howell | 2644 |
1-0
|
Emil Sutovsky | 2663 |
Nigel Short | 2684 |
0-1
|
Fabiano Caruana | 2779 |
Round 03 – Group C: Thursday December 12th, 14:00 | ||||
Gawain Jones | 2633 |
0-1
|
Judit Polgar | 2696 |
Hikaru Nakamura | 2772 |
½-½
|
Boris Gelfand | 2764 |
Round 03 – Group D: Thursday December 12th, 14:00 | ||||
Fabiano Caruana | 2779 |
½-½
|
David Howell | 2644 |
Emil Sutovsky | 2663 |
0-1
|
Nigel Short | 2684 |
Round 03 – Group A: Thursday December 12th, 15:30 | ||||
Andrei Istratescu | 2709 |
0-1
|
Vishy Anand | 2775 |
Michael Adams | 2761 |
½-½
|
Luke McShane | 2697 |
Round 03 – Group B: Thursday December 12th, 15:30 | ||||
Jonathan Rowson | 2573 |
0-1
|
Peter Svidler | 2746 |
Matthew Sadler | 2646 |
½-½
|
Vladimir Kramnik | 2794 |
Round 04 – Group C: Thursday December 12th, 18:00 | ||||
Judit Polgar | 2696 |
½-½
|
Boris Gelfand | 2764 |
Hikaru Nakamura | 2772 |
1-0
|
Gawain Jones | 2633 |
Round 04 – Group D: Thursday December 12th, 18:00 | ||||
David Howell | 2644 |
0-1
|
Nigel Short | 2684 |
Emil Sutovsky | 2663 |
0-1
|
Fabiano Caruana | 2779 |
Round 04 – Group A: Thursday December 12th, 19:30 | ||||
Vishy Anand | 2775 |
1-0
|
Luke McShane | 2697 |
Michael Adams | 2761 |
1-0
|
Andrei Istratescu | 2709 |
Round 04 – Group B: Thursday December 12th, 19:30 | ||||
Peter Svidler | 2746 |
1-0
|
Vladimir Kramnik | 2794 |
Matthew Sadler | 2646 |
1-0
|
Jonathan Rowson | 2573 |
Round 05 – Group A: Friday December 13th, 14:00 | ||||
Luke McShane | 2697 |
0-1
|
Michael Adams | 2761 |
Vishy Anand | 2775 |
½-½
|
Andrei Istratescu | 2709 |
Round 05 – Group B: Friday December 13th, 14:00 | ||||
Vladimir Kramnik | 2794 |
½-½
|
Matthew Sadler | 2646 |
Peter Svidler | 2746 |
1-0
|
Jonathan Rowson | 2573 |
Round 05 – Group C: Friday December 13th, 15:30 | ||||
Boris Gelfand | 2764 |
½-½
|
Hikaru Nakamura | 2772 |
Judit Polgar | 2696 |
0-1
|
Gawain Jones | 2633 |
Round 05 – Group D: Friday December 13th, 15:30 | ||||
Nigel Short | 2684 |
1-0
|
Emil Sutovsky | 2663 |
David Howell | 2644 |
0-1
|
Fabiano Caruana | 2779 |
Round 06 – Group A: Friday December 13th, 18:00 | ||||
Michael Adams | 2761 |
½-½
|
Vishy Anand | 2775 |
Andrei Istratescu | 2709 |
1-0
|
Luke McShane | 2697 |
Round 06 – Group B: Friday December 13th, 18:00 | ||||
Matthew Sadler | 2646 |
½-½
|
Peter Svidler | 2746 |
Jonathan Rowson | 2573 |
½-½
|
Vladimir Kramnik | 2794 |
Round 06 – Group C: Friday December 13th, 19:30 | ||||
Hikaru Nakamura | 2772 |
½-½
|
Judit Polgar | 2696 |
Gawain Jones | 2633 |
1-0
|
Boris Gelfand | 2764 |
Round 06 – Group D: Friday December 13th, 19:30 | ||||
Emil Sutovsky | 2663 |
1-0
|
David Howell | 2644 |
Fabiano Caruana | 2779 |
1-0
|
Nigel Short | 2684 |
Photographs by Ray Morris-Hill
LinksThe 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 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs. |