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The third edition of the Norway Chess tournament runs from June 15th to June 26th, and will mostly be played in Stavanger, Norway. As in previous years, the drawing of lots was determined by the blitz tournament taking place the day before the official start. Not only one of the strongest tournaments in the World, Norway 2015 is also part of the 2015 Grand Chess Tour, which includes the Sinquefield Cup and the London Chess Classic later this year.
Round 7 - 23.06.2015
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Name
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Rtg
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Res.
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Name
|
Rtg
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Nakamura Hikaru | 2802 |
½-½
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Grischuk Alexander | 2781 |
Vachier-Lagrave Maxime | 2723 |
½-½
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Carlsen Magnus | 2876 |
Aronian Levon | 2780 |
½-½
|
Anand Viswanathan | 2804 |
Hammer Jon Ludvig | 2677 |
½-½
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Giri Anish | 2773 |
Topalov Veselin | 2798 |
½-½
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Caruana Fabiano | 2805 |
Nakamura, Hikaru ½-½ Grischuk, Alexander
Nakamura wanted to up the pressure on Topalov by winning his game against Grischuk. His variation of the symmetrical English led to an interesting position, and his quick movements put the Russian player against the wall in terms of time management. However, Grischuk played precisely and even obtained a very slight edge. Nakamura neutralized it, by but that point the game was simplified into a draw.
A hard-fought draw
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime ½-½ Carlsen, Magnus
A short game, but one that was relatively interesting. Carlsen, tongue in cheek, mentioned that people "should not try this at home" - mentioning that the variation that he chose was extremely risky. Ironic, for two reasons: first that it was obvious he had played this position in his home during an analysis session, and second because he played it in Norway!
Analyzing this game the pawn sacrifice jumped at me as a possibility
[Event "3rd Norway Chess 2015"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2015.06.23"] [Round "7"] [White "Vachier Lagrave, M."] [Black "Carlsen, M."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D43"] [WhiteElo "2723"] [BlackElo "2876"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "34"] [EventDate "2015.06.17"] [SourceDate "2015.02.07"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 g5 7. Bg3 Ne4 $6 {This move simply cannot be good, but it is clear that Carlsen had at least looked at the situation. MVL thought for a few minutes and decided to go for the sacrificial route.} 8. Nxe4 (8. Nd2 Nxg3 9. hxg3 Bg7 10. e3 a6 {was a blitz game between Grischuk-Kramnik from 2008. White obtained the better position and won the game.}) (8. e3 {might be the simple move and the true refutation of Black's intentions. He might have to start attacking with Bb4, but it should be insufficient} Bb4 9. Qb3 Qa5 10. Rc1 Nd7 11. Bd3 $14) 8... dxe4 9. Nd2 Qxd4 10. e3 {This is the point. The threat on the queen and on the e4 pawn is strong, so Black must keep munching pawns to stay in the game.} Qxb2 11. Rb1 Qc3 $1 {The only move} 12. Be2 Nd7 (12... Bb4 13. Rxb4 Qxb4 14. O-O {is already extremely dangerous for Black. For example:} f5 $2 15. Nxe4 $1 fxe4 16. Bh5+ Ke7 17. Qd4 {with a decisive advantage: the attack is too strong.}) 13. O-O Nc5 {Incredibly Black is holding. There are still many interesting possibilities in this position, but the situation is very unclear. Carlsen had blitzed up to this point and it was clear that he had seen this position in his analysis, so MVL took the practical decision to force the draw.} 14. Nb3 Nd3 (14... Be7 15. Nxc5 Bxc5 16. Bd6 {looks uncomfortable for Black.}) 15. Nd2 Nc5 {Black must defend the e4 pawn.} 16. Nb3 Nd3 17. Nd2 (17. f3 $5 {would have been a completely different story.}) 17... Nc5 1/2-1/2
Aronian, Levon ½-½ Anand, Viswanathan
Sixteen moves of theory, in which the Armenian supposedly had a new idea. However Anand equalized without problems. Aronian accepted a repetition of moves in a position that could have been played on, but offered no better chances for White.
Levon was not too happy with a quick draw in his game
Hammer, Jon Ludvig ½-½ Giri, Anish
Trying to win with black is always risky, as against a strong opponent it is easy to fall into a worse position when one violates certain opening principles. This is exactly what happened today as the Norwegian player was better throughout the entire game. Giri's Modern defense certainly did not pay off. Hammer did not play too accurately in the endgame, however, and his exchange of a bishop for a knight was not precise. Giri set up a fortress that could not be penetrated, though Hammer was readying himself to torture Giri for a long time. A slip by Hammer allowed a three-fold repetition that was far from obvious (the first position occurred ten moves before the second iteration) and the game was drawn.
Hammer was about to try to break Giri's fortress... but he walked into three-fold repetition!
The game was objectively drawn anyway.
Topalov, Veselin ½-½ Caruana, Fabiano
A very solid Grunfeld that could have been drawn easily in the following position, but Topalov made it hard on himself:
[Event "3rd Norway Chess 2015"] [Site "Stavanger NOR"] [Date "2015.06.23"] [Round "7"] [White "Topalov, V."] [Black "Caruana, F."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E60"] [WhiteElo "2798"] [BlackElo "2805"] [Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "87"] [EventDate "2015.06.17"] [SourceDate "2015.02.07"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 c6 4. Bg2 d5 5. cxd5 cxd5 6. Nf3 Bg7 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Ne5 e6 9. O-O Nfd7 10. Nf3 Nf6 11. Bf4 Nc6 12. Ne5 Nxe5 13. Bxe5 Bd7 14. Qd2 Qe7 15. Rac1 Bc6 16. Rc2 Rfd8 17. Rfc1 Ne8 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. e3 Nd6 20. Ne2 Bb5 21. Nf4 Rac8 22. h4 Rxc2 23. Rxc2 Rc8 24. Rxc8 Nxc8 25. Qa5 Qd7 26. b3 b6 27. Qc3 Qc6 {The position almost fits the description of dead drawn. With a trade on c6 the symmetrical pawn structure would surely lead to a draw. Topalov wants to fight for a win, but in the way that he does it is rather strange.} 28. Qa1 {threatening e4 ideas, with a discovered check down the long diagonal in case of a capture by the d-pawn.} Qc7 29. Bh3 $2 {This move is just bad though. Black's position is still not that much better, but White is allowing Caruana chances for no reason.} (29. e4 dxe4 30. d5+ e5 31. Bxe4 Qe7 $15 {the knight comes to d6 with a nice position for Black.}) 29... Qc2 {This is the point. The queen penetrates in this square now that e4 is not really available.} 30. a4 (30. e4 Qxe4 31. Qc3 {is still equal, but hard to play.}) 30... Ba6 31. Qa3 Qd1+ (31... Qd2 {might have been an inch more precise as it doesn't allow White access to c1 too easily.}) 32. Kh2 Qd2 33. Bg2 $1 {in the nick of time.} h6 (33... Qxf2 34. Qc1 {gives White enough counterplay with Qc7 coming up and multiple threats.}) 34. a5 $1 {The only move to equalize.} Qxa5 (34... bxa5 35. Qc5 $11) 35. Qc1 Qb4 36. e4 Qxd4 37. exd5 e5 38. Ne6+ {The final detail. The perpetual is forced and the game ends in a draw.} fxe6 39. Qc7+ Kf6 40. Qd8+ Kf7 41. Qd7+ Kf8 42. Qd8+ Kf7 43. Qd7+ Kf8 44. Qd8+ 1/2-1/2
Topalov never thought he had any issues, but that is arguable
Blitz Marathon
photo courtesy of Norway Chess
This might look like a random blitz game, but that is not the case! The match Magne Sagafos vs. Joachim Berg Jousen is a long one! Trying to break the Guiness World Record of consecutive blitz chess between two players, they are prepared to go for a total of 80 hours straight! The record currently sits at only 40 (only?!). The rules are that the players must continuously play chess for the duration of the event. They have five minute breaks every hour that accrue (so after twelve hours they accumulate one hour of rest). An amazing achievement if they can manage!
Select from the dropdown menu to replay the games
Date
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Round
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Commentator
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24.06.2015
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Round 8
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Simon Williams
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25.06.2015
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Round 9
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Daniel King
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Round 1 - 16.06.2015
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Name
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Rtg
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Res.
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Name
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Rtg
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Giri Anish | 2773 |
1-0
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Grischuk Alexander | 2781 |
Anand Viswanathan | 2804 |
½-½
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Caruana Fabiano | 2805 |
Carlsen Magnus | 2876 |
0-1
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Topalov Veselin | 2798 |
Nakamura Hikaru | 2802 |
1-0
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Hammer Jon Ludvig | 2677 |
Vachier-Lagrave Maxime | 2723 |
1-0
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Aronian Levon | 2780 |
Round 2 - 17.06.2015
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Name
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Rtg
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Res.
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Name
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Rtg
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Grischuk Alexander | 2781 |
½-½
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Aronian Levon | 2780 |
Hammer Jon Ludvig | 2677 |
½-½
|
Vachier-Lagrave Maxime | 2723 |
Topalov Veselin | 2798 |
½-½
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Nakamura Hikaru | 2802 |
Caruana Fabiano | 2805 |
1-0
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Carlsen Magnus | 2876 |
Giri Anish | 2773 |
½-½
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Anand Viswanathan | 2804 |
Round 3 - 18.06.2015
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Name
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Rtg
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Res.
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Name
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Rtg
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Anand Viswanathan | 2804 |
½-½
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Grischuk Alexander | 2781 |
Carlsen Magnus | 2876 |
½-½
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Giri Anish | 2773 |
Nakamura Hikaru | 2802 |
1-0
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Caruana Fabiano | 2805 |
Vachier-Lagrave Maxime | 2723 |
0-1
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Topalov Veselin | 2798 |
Aronian Levon | 2780 |
½-½
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Hammer Jon Ludvig | 2677 |
Round 4 - 19.06.2015
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Name
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Rtg
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Res.
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Name
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Rtg
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Grischuk Alexander | 2781 |
1-0
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Hammer Jon Ludvig | 2677 |
Topalov Veselin | 2798 |
1-0
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Aronian Levon | 2780 |
Caruana Fabiano | 2805 |
½-½
|
Vachier-Lagrave Maxime | 2723 |
Giri Anish | 2773 |
½-½
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Nakamura Hikaru | 2802 |
Anand Viswanathan | 2804 |
1-0
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Carlsen Magnus | 2876 |
Round 5 - 21.06.2015
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Name
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Rtg
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Res.
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Name
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Rtg
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Carlsen Magnus | 2876 |
1-0
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Grischuk Alexander | 2781 |
Nakamura Hikaru | 2802 |
½-½
|
Anand Viswanathan | 2804 |
Vachier-Lagrave Maxime | 2723 |
½-½
|
Giri Anish | 2773 |
Aronian Levon | 2780 |
1-0
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Caruana Fabiano | 2805 |
Hammer Jon Ludvig | 2677 |
0-1
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Topalov Veselin | 2798 |
Round 6 - 22.06.2015
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Name
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Rtg
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Res.
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Name
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Rtg
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Grischuk Alexander | 2781 |
0-1
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Topalov Veselin | 2798 |
Caruana Fabiano | 2805 |
½-½
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Hammer Jon Ludvig | 2677 |
Giri Anish | 2773 |
½-½
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Aronian Levon | 2780 |
Anand Viswanathan | 2804 |
1-0
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Vachier-Lagrave Maxime | 2723 |
Carlsen Magnus | 2876 |
½-½
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Nakamura Hikaru | 2802 |
Round 7 - 23.06.2015
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Name
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Rtg
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Res.
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Name
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Rtg
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Nakamura Hikaru | 2802 |
½-½
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Grischuk Alexander | 2781 |
Vachier-Lagrave Maxime | 2723 |
½-½
|
Carlsen Magnus | 2876 |
Aronian Levon | 2780 |
½-½
|
Anand Viswanathan | 2804 |
Hammer Jon Ludvig | 2677 |
½-½
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Giri Anish | 2773 |
Topalov Veselin | 2798 |
½-½
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Caruana Fabiano | 2805 |
Round 8 - 24.06.2015
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Name
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Rtg
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Res.
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Name
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Rtg
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Grischuk Alexander | 2781 |
–
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Caruana Fabiano | 2805 |
Giri Anish | 2773 |
–
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Topalov Veselin | 2798 |
Anand Viswanathan | 2804 |
–
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Hammer Jon Ludvig | 2677 |
Carlsen Magnus | 2876 |
–
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Aronian Levon | 2780 |
Nakamura Hikaru | 2802 |
–
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Vachier-Lagrave Maxime | 2723 |
Round 9 - 25.06.2015
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Name
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Rtg
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Res.
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Name
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Rtg
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Vachier-Lagrave Maxime | 2723 |
–
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Grischuk Alexander | 2781 |
Aronian Levon | 2780 |
–
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Nakamura Hikaru | 2802 |
Hammer Jon Ludvig | 2677 |
–
|
Carlsen Magnus | 2876 |
Topalov Veselin | 2798 |
–
|
Anand Viswanathan | 2804 |
Caruana Fabiano | 2805 |
–
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Giri Anish | 2773 |
Links
The 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 13 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs. |