Norway 05: Blunderful round
6/8/2014 – The quality of today's games was not the highest, and some results were hard to predict especially considering how things were shaping after the opening phase. One man walks away victorious from today and that is Kramnik who received a last minute gift from Caruana and the Russian moves to first place. Carlsen somehow beat Aronian, but it was not the only strange game of the round.
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The Unibet Norway Chess Tournament will take place in Stavanger, Norway from June 2nd to June 13th. The tournament features some of the best players in the world and has a massive rating average of 2774.
Round Five
| Round 05 – June 08 2014, 15:30h | ||||
| Alexander Grischuk | 2792 |
½-½
|
Simen Agdestein | 2628 |
| Peter Svidler | 2753 |
½-½
|
Sergey Karjakin | 2771 |
| Magnus Carlsen | 2881 |
1-0
|
Levon Aronian | 2815 |
| Anish Giri | 2752 |
1-0
|
Veselin Topalov | 2772 |
| Vladimir Kramnik | 2783 |
1-0
|
Fabiano Caruana | 2791 |
A crowded room watching the games
Daniel King shows a summary of round 5
Grischuk, Alexander ½-½ Agdestein, Simen
A very exciting game. Agdestein tried again the risky French variation that he played against Karjakin, and again his opponent was unable to crack it. Grischuk found himself in trouble shortly after the opening as his pawn sacrifices did not produce the expected results. Luckily for him the opposite colored bishops and activity gave him good chances to hold, and he was able to scrape a draw.
Grischuk suffered, but the draw was reached
Svidler, Peter ½-½ Karjakin, Sergey
Far from the best technical effort from Svidler. After obtaining a clear advantage he was simply unable to find a good way to proceed and he allowed Karjakin to simplify the position into a dead draw.
Carlsen, Magnus 1-0 Levon, Aronian
The quality of this game makes it very hard to explain. Carlsen essayed an interesting opening but Aronian fought back and even got an advantage. From then on both players made very strange moves. Aronian maneuvered himself out of the advantage completely turning a relatively useful bishop into a completely useless one, handing the initiative to his opponent. Carlsen reached a winning position that he played rather badly, allowing his opponent some counter chances. But eventually the Norwegian pulled through and won in the end.
It certainly did not seem as if it was the number one and number two players in the World playing, but it is an important victory for Carlsen.
This won't be winning the best game prize
Kramnik, Vladimir 1-0 Caruana, Fabiano
After Caruana defended for a long time, the following happened:
[Event "Norway Chess 2014"]
[Site "Stavanger"]
[Date "2014.06.08"]
[Round "5.3"]
[White "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E60"]
[WhiteElo "2783"]
[BlackElo "2791"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez, Alejandro"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/4k3/4b1p1/pr4P1/4PK2/1P1R4/8/3B4 w - - 0 45"]
[PlyCount "15"]
[EventDate "2014.??.??"]
[EventCountry "NOR"]
[SourceDate "2014.01.04"]
45. Rd2 {Kramnik has been trying to make progress for some time without
success. He moves his rook to d2 to try to penetrate down the h-file.} Bxb3 {
Caruana calculated this line to be a draw.} 46. Bxb3 Rxb3 47. Rd5 a4 48. Ra5 a3
49. Ke5 Kf7 50. Ra7+ Ke8 $4 {A truly unexplainable blunder. After this Caruana
is completely lost.} (50... Kf8 $11 51. Ke6 Rb6+ 52. Kd7 Rb5 $1 $11) 51. Kf6
Rb6+ 52. Kg7 (52. Kg7 {The position is objectively winning for White, but I'm
sure many players might have played on a few more moves. Kramnik himself was
surprised that Caruana resigned, as he still has to prove the win.} Rb3 53.
Kxg6 Rd3 54. Kf6 Rd6+ 55. Kf5 Rd3 56. e5 Kf8 57. Ke4 Rg3 58. Kf4 Rc3 59. e6 Rc6
60. Ke5 Rc3 61. Kf6 Rf3+ 62. Kg6 Rg3 63. Kf5 Re3 64. g6 Rf3+ 65. Ke4 Rg3 66.
Ra8+ Ke7 67. Kf5 Rf3+ 68. Ke5 Re3+ 69. Kf4 $18) 1-0
Receiving a nice gift: Vladimir Kramnik
Caruana seemed very frustrated in the press
conference after such an important blunder
Giri, Anish 1-0 Topalov, Veselin
[Event "Norway Chess 2014"] [Site "Stavanger"] [Date "2014.06.08"] [Round "5.5"] [White "Giri, Anish"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B67"] [WhiteElo "2752"] [BlackElo "2772"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "6r1/1b2bpk1/q2ppp2/1Nr4p/PpPNPP1P/3Q2P1/P2R4/1K1R4 b - - 0 29"] [PlyCount "28"] [EventDate "2014.??.??"] [EventCountry "NOR"] [SourceDate "2014.01.04"] 29... Qxa4 {The game so far has been a fascinating struggle in the Sicilian. White's knights are fighting the pair of bishops and both kings are rather exposed. It is ahrd to say who is better, but it does seem that playing with Black is easier.} 30. f5 $2 {A very strange move. Even if it doesn't lose immediately, which it does, it is so antipositional it is hard to justify.} Re5 $1 {The rooks is very powerfullly placed on e5 and e4 is hanging. Giri was trying to provoke this move, missing Black's resources.} 31. Re1 Kh8 $4 {A horrible move in every sense.} (31... Qa8 32. Rde2 Kh8 $15) (31... d5 $1 $19 32. fxe6 dxc4 $1 (32... dxe4 {is also better for Black.}) 33. Qxc4 Rc8 $1 34. Qb3 Qxb3+ 35. axb3 Bxe4+ 36. Kb2 fxe6 {and White is simply completely lost.}) ( 31... Kh7 {was even preferable to Kh8.}) 32. Nf3 {now it is White that is winning.} exf5 (32... Rxb5 33. cxb5 Rxg3 34. fxe6 fxe6 35. Qc4 $16) 33. Nxe5 fxe5 (33... dxe5 34. Qd7 Rd8 35. Qxe7 Rxd2 36. Qf8+ Kh7 37. Qxf7+ Kh8 38. Qxf6+ Kh7 39. Qxf5+ Kh6 40. Qg5+ {costs Black the rook on d2 and the game.}) 34. Nxd6 b3 {this is desperation, and the rest of the game is not so hard for Giri.} 35. Nxb7 bxa2+ 36. Ka1 Qb4 37. Qe3 f4 38. gxf4 Bxh4 39. Rh1 Qxb7 40. fxe5 Rg4 41. Qh6+ Kg8 42. Qxh5 Qxe4 43. Rd8+ 1-0
Giri (above) also played rather strange, but Topalov made the same mistakes he made in Khanty-Mansiysk. After obtaining beautiful positions from the opening he found strange ways of botching them up and even losing games.
Standings
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Schedule of Events
|
Date
|
Time
|
Event
|
Venue
|
Playchess commentary
|
| 02.06.2014 | 17.00 | Blitz | Flor & Fjære | |
| 03.06.2014 | 15.30 | Round 1 | Scandic Stavanger Forus | Daniel King |
| 04.06.2014 | 15.30 | Round 2 | Scandic Stavanger Forus | Simon Williams |
| 05.06.2014 | 15.30 | Round 3 | Scandic Stavanger Forus | Yasser Seirawan |
| 07.06.2014 | 15.30 | Round 4 | Vågen VGS, Sandnes | Yasser Seirawan |
| 08.06.2014 | 15.30 | Round 5 | Scandic Stavanger Forus | Yasser Seirawan |
| 09.06.2014 | 15.30 | Round 6 | Aarbakke fabrikkhall, Bryne | Chris Ward |
| 10.06.2014 | 15.30 | Round 7 | Scandic Stavanger Forus | Daniel King |
| 12.06.2014 | 15.30 | Round 8 | Scandic Stavanger Forus | Simon Williams |
| 13.06.2014 | 14.30 | Round 9 | Scandic Stavanger Forus | Daniel King |
Pairings
| Round 01 – June 03 2014, 15:30h | ||||
| Levon Aronian | 2815 |
½-½
|
Simen Agdestein | 2628 |
| Sergey Karjakin | 2771 |
½-½
|
Veselin Topalov | 2772 |
| Alexander Grischuk | 2792 |
0-1
|
Fabiano Caruana | 2791 |
| Peter Svidler | 2753 |
½-½
|
Vladimir Kramnik | 2783 |
| Magnus Carlsen | 2881 |
½-½
|
Anish Giri | 2752 |
| Round 02 – June 04 2014, 15:30h | ||||
| Simen Agdestein | 2628 |
½-½
|
Anish Giri | 2752 |
| Vladimir Kramnik | 2783 |
½-½
|
Magnus Carlsen | 2881 |
| Fabiano Caruana | 2791 |
1-0
|
Peter Svidler | 2753 |
| Veselin Topalov | 2772 |
0-1
|
Alexander Grischuk | 2792 |
| Levon Aronian | 2815 |
1-0
|
Sergey Karjakin | 2771 |
| Round 03 – June 05 2014, 15:30h | ||||
| Sergey Karjakin | 2771 |
½-½
|
Simen Agdestein | 2628 |
| Alexander Grischuk | 2792 |
1-0
|
Levon Aronian | 2815 |
| Peter Svidler | 2753 |
½-½
|
Veselin Topalov | 2772 |
| Magnus Carlsen | 2881 |
½-½
|
Fabiano Caruana | 2791 |
| Anish Giri | 2752 |
0-1
|
Vladimir Kramnik | 2783 |
| Round 04 – June 07 2014, 15:30h | ||||
| Simen Agdestein | 2628 |
½-½
|
Vladimir Kramnik | 2783 |
| Fabiano Caruana | 2791 |
½-½
|
Anish Giri | 2752 |
| Veselin Topalov | 2772 |
½-½
|
Magnus Carlsen | 2881 |
| Levon Aronian | 2815 |
½-½
|
Peter Svidler | 2753 |
| Sergey Karjakin | 2771 |
1-0
|
Alexander Grischuk | 2792 |
| Round 05 – June 08 2014, 15:30h | ||||
| Alexander Grischuk | 2792 |
½-½
|
Simen Agdestein | 2628 |
| Peter Svidler | 2753 |
½-½
|
Sergey Karjakin | 2771 |
| Magnus Carlsen | 2881 |
1-0
|
Levon Aronian | 2815 |
| Anish Giri | 2752 |
1-0
|
Veselin Topalov | 2772 |
| Vladimir Kramnik | 2783 |
1-0
|
Fabiano Caruana | 2791 |
| Round 06 – June 09 2014, 15:30h | ||||
| Simen Agdestein | 2628 | Fabiano Caruana | 2791 | |
| Veselin Topalov | 2772 | Vladimir Kramnik | 2783 | |
| Levon Aronian | 2815 | Anish Giri | 2752 | |
| Sergey Karjakin | 2771 | Magnus Carlsen | 2881 | |
| Alexander Grischuk | 2792 |
|
Peter Svidler | 2753 |
| Round 07 – June 10 2014, 15:30h | ||||
| Peter Svidler | 2753 | Simen Agdestein | 2628 | |
| Magnus Carlsen | 2881 | Alexander Grischuk | 2792 | |
| Anish Giri | 2752 | Sergey Karjakin | 2771 | |
| Vladimir Kramnik | 2783 | Levon Aronian | 2815 | |
| Fabiano Caruana | 2791 | Veselin Topalov | 2772 | |
| Round 08 – June 12 2014, 15:30h | ||||
| Simen Agdestein | 2628 | Veselin Topalov | 2772 | |
| Levon Aronian | 2815 | Fabiano Caruana | 2791 | |
| Sergey Karjakin | 2771 | Vladimir Kramnik | 2783 | |
| Alexander Grischuk | 2792 | Anish Giri | 2752 | |
| Peter Svidler | 2753 | Magnus Carlsen | 2881 | |
| Round 09 – June 13 2014, 14:30h | ||||
| Magnus Carlsen | 2881 | Simen Agdestein | 2628 | |
| Anish Giri | 2752 | Peter Svidler | 2753 | |
| Vladimir Kramnik | 2783 | Alexander Grischuk | 2792 | |
| Fabiano Caruana | 2791 | Sergey Karjakin | 2771 | |
| Veselin Topalov | 2772 | Levon Aronian | 2815 | |
LinksThe games are being 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. |
|
Discussion and Feedback
Join the public discussion or submit your feedback to the editors
I wouldn't mind Ramirez "disrespectful" comments, if he could back them up with deep annotation. But he simply quotes winning lines without explanations, as if he was some 1500 rated who uses his engine to shout "blunder!" when watching top level game on the Internet.
Topalov's kh8 was "horrible" because he could spit some engine lines without explanation, Caruana's ke8 was "truly unexplained blunder" without explaining the difference between it and the correct Kf8 (i.e. controlling g7).
Very very disappointing. I come here to get added value, and I get just the opposite..
Topalov's kh8 was "horrible" because he could spit some engine lines without explanation, Caruana's ke8 was "truly unexplained blunder" without explaining the difference between it and the correct Kf8 (i.e. controlling g7).
Very very disappointing. I come here to get added value, and I get just the opposite..
Chessbase is a free site which offers superb daily updates of news, in-depth articles, selected games from tournaments, daily coverage of the top events and annotated games. Regarding how well or otherwise an annotator does the job is largely subjective, and you have to remember, the audience for whom he produces these is diverse in playing strength, and most likely going to spend a few minutes flicking through the games and reading the comments. He calls it as he sees it- isn't that what a commentator is supposed to do? - if he gets it wrong, that's a lesson for the reader and for him to reflect on. After all, you should still read commentaries to a game with a critical eye- I don't always agree with what's said, but so what? It gives me food for thought.
I think the editors do a tremendous job with this website- when something is free it is easy to overlook the work that goes into it and to take it for granted- and if you don't like a particular annotator's comments- simple- play through the game alone or elsewhere. Personally, I think Ramirez's game commentaries are decent for the audience he serves. Keep it up chessbase please!
I think the editors do a tremendous job with this website- when something is free it is easy to overlook the work that goes into it and to take it for granted- and if you don't like a particular annotator's comments- simple- play through the game alone or elsewhere. Personally, I think Ramirez's game commentaries are decent for the audience he serves. Keep it up chessbase please!
Nice game
Nice game
I don't know if I'd call the editors "immature" but the quality of the articles does suffer because English is not the first language of the writers and editors. Sometimes I think the errors are charming, in a way, other times they are just silly, like the confusing "one man victorious" that you mention.
I generally like Ramirez's annotations, and it's not difficult to see that Caruana's 50....Ke8 does not keep Kramnik's king out of g7, but 50....Kf8 would. I don't think Ramirez is disrespectful; he's calling a bad move bad when he sees one. He could say much worse. The players are their own worst critics -- watch a post mortem video; they are brutally self-critical. About 50 years ago I saw a move in an annotated game called a "hallucination." We've all had them.
In the Giri-Topalov game, Topalov played 31....Kh8, and it seems to me that one purpose of the move is to clear the file for the rook, so why doesn't Topalov play Rxg3 on the next move? That pins White's knight. Surely I'm missing something, but the annotations can't explain everything!
I generally like Ramirez's annotations, and it's not difficult to see that Caruana's 50....Ke8 does not keep Kramnik's king out of g7, but 50....Kf8 would. I don't think Ramirez is disrespectful; he's calling a bad move bad when he sees one. He could say much worse. The players are their own worst critics -- watch a post mortem video; they are brutally self-critical. About 50 years ago I saw a move in an annotated game called a "hallucination." We've all had them.
In the Giri-Topalov game, Topalov played 31....Kh8, and it seems to me that one purpose of the move is to clear the file for the rook, so why doesn't Topalov play Rxg3 on the next move? That pins White's knight. Surely I'm missing something, but the annotations can't explain everything!
I knew it would be a mistake on Chessbase's part to allow users to comment at the bottom of their articles.
The complaints you guys are making are things I've been annoyed with for years.
Chessbase editors are, in general, fairly immature.
Case in point: "One man walks away victorious from today and that is Kramnik who received a last minute gift from Caruana and the Russian moves to first place."
To me it looks like three people walked away victorious.
These guys (chessbase editors/journalists/whatever you want to call them) are of a fairly low calibre.
The complaints you guys are making are things I've been annoyed with for years.
Chessbase editors are, in general, fairly immature.
Case in point: "One man walks away victorious from today and that is Kramnik who received a last minute gift from Caruana and the Russian moves to first place."
To me it looks like three people walked away victorious.
These guys (chessbase editors/journalists/whatever you want to call them) are of a fairly low calibre.
I really dislike the disrespectful comments of Ramirez about the games.
I always have the impression that this commentator loses some perspective. He comments on the games of the elite (including super elite, i.e., Carlsen, Aronian, ..) like if he has the sufficient level (I'm not saying he is a bad player, but clearly from different leagues) and make statements that look sometimes unsupported... For instance, about the game between the top 2...is he actually able to understand their deep analysis? It looks like he just base his comments on computer analysis...the same applies for the "blunder" of Caruana-Kramnik...I mean, how many grandmasters are actually able to understand that mistake? Even Kramnik said that still the winning moves were not so trivial. How is it then that the commentator takes a position like if he was at the same level that the elite players... I really think you should invite someone stronger and more respectful with the elite chess. Thank you, and congratulations for the best website :-)
@chessisgreat - I believe you need to select the game from the drop down list.
Chessisgreat,
They may be confused by your comment since the game is available under the big label "replay today's games"
They may be confused by your comment since the game is available under the big label "replay today's games"
In the previous chessbase article titled "13-year-old scores GM norm in Saint Louis", I had pointed out that Chessbase is very famous for partial reporting and whenever it mentions about a great or noteworthy game between two players in a certain tournament, it never displays that particular game on the javaboard and the readers have to go to other websites to see that game...
Well, in this article it has proved my point again, the zillionth time. In this article it said that Carlsen's vs. Aronian wasn't the only strange game, and it doesn't display this particular game on the java board. Now I am going to other websites to see Carlsen Vs. Aronian!!!
Well, in this article it has proved my point again, the zillionth time. In this article it said that Carlsen's vs. Aronian wasn't the only strange game, and it doesn't display this particular game on the java board. Now I am going to other websites to see Carlsen Vs. Aronian!!!
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