12/25/2015 – It was edge of the seat entertainment from Qatar as Magnus Carlsen beat Li Chao in an opposite side castling attack and moved in to sole lead with 4.5/5. A pack of nine players including Anish Giri, Wesley So and Vladimir Kramnik follow him on 4.0/5. 25th December is a rest day. We bring to you some indepth analysis and exciting basketball pictures from Doha that show World Cup 2015 winner Sergey Karjakin in action.
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The Torch, Doha – one of the official hotels in this event
That guy on e8, I am going to get him today! Magnus Carlsen before the start of ...
... the game of the day, which was Carlsen’s emphatic kingside attack against Li Chao
Slow positional grinds, ultra-prophylactic moves and exploiting minute edges – this is what Magnus Carlsen excels in. But when the opponent waves a red flag at him, it is obvious that the World Champion doesn’t hold back! He goes for his opponent’s throat, and what we get is a beautiful attacking game where it’s one tempo that makes all the difference. The fifth round game against Li Chao was one of the most entertaining games of the Qatar Masters Open 2015. It started with the f3 system against the Grunfeld. There was a small positional battle for one tempo that went on for quite a while. Magnus wanted to play Nf4 only when Li Chao had committed himself with …Be6. Both players made plenty of preparatory moves and when they finally ran out of it Li Chao had to play …Be6. Magnus replied with Nf4 and the opposite side attack began. Li Chao grabbed the a2 pawn and pushed his a-pawn down the board, while Magnus did the same with his h-pawn. It was just so exciting, everything hinged on one tempo. Magnus was the one who reached Black’s gates first and with some wonderful sacrifices ended the battle in his favour. On the surface it seems as if the game is too complicated for mere mortals like us to understand. But if you spend some time and break it down move by move, as done in the analysis below, you will understand that it is all so very logical.
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1.e4
1,184,215
54%
2421
---
1.d4
958,932
55%
2434
---
1.Nf3
286,327
56%
2441
---
1.c4
184,722
56%
2443
---
1.g3
19,884
56%
2427
---
1.b3
14,598
54%
2428
---
1.f4
5,953
48%
2377
---
1.Nc3
3,906
50%
2384
---
1.b4
1,790
48%
2378
---
1.a3
1,250
54%
2406
---
1.e3
1,081
49%
2409
---
1.d3
969
50%
2378
---
1.g4
670
46%
2361
---
1.h4
466
54%
2382
---
1.c3
439
51%
2425
---
1.h3
289
56%
2420
---
1.a4
118
60%
2461
---
1.f3
100
47%
2427
---
1.Nh3
92
67%
2511
---
1.Na3
47
62%
2476
---
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If there was a competition for the most entertaining game of the Qatar Masters 2015 until round five, it has to be this duel between the World Champion and Li Chao. Let us dive in to this beautiful game.1.d4Nf62.c4g63.f3d54.cxd5Nxd55.e4Nb66.Nc3Bg77.Be30-08.Qd2Nc69.0-0-0f510.e5Nb411.Nh3In this position Be6 is the main move, but Li Chao played a novelty with Qe8. However it doesn't really alter the nature of the position and hence the impact of the new move is not so great.Qe811...Be612.Kb1Qd713.Nf4is how play usually proceeds.12.Kb1With this move starts some sort of a tempo war. White would like to play Nf4 but only when Black goes Be6. Hence both sides keep making improving moves and not committing to Nf4/Be6.12.Nf4Qf713.Kb1g5!?12...a513.Be2c6In the post game interview Magnus said that c6 was a good move but he was happy to see it because now the queen on e8 cannot really go to a4 and there will be no mate!14.Rc1Kh815.Ka1All the useful moves have been made and Black has to play Be6 finally.15.a3is possible but Magnus didn't really want to create a target on the queenside.15...Be616.Nf4Qf7
17.h4!Once you see how interesting this move is you really go for it, although the consequences are not at all easy to calculate.17.Nxe6Qxe618.h4Rfd819.h5g5= With Bxe5 coming up Black should be alright here.17...Bxa217...Rfd8 could have been a much more safe way for Li Chao to play.18.h5g5!19.Nxe6Qxe620.f420.Bxg5?Bxe520...gxf421.Bxf4c518.h5!Kg818...g519.Ng6+!Of course this is the point. If the rook was not on f8 this was not possible and hence Rfd8 instead of Bxa2 could have been better. 19.hxg6hxg620.g4!As Magnus rightly said, "It clearly feels that White should be the one coming first." Although for a normal player a4-a3 looks just as threatening.Bb3Black now has the deadly threat of a4-a3. How do you deal with it?20...a421.gxf5a322.b3!Closing things down.Qxb323.Nxg6+-21.Bd1!A great move that was missed by Li Chao. Well, truth be told it has only one purpose: to clear the second rank for the white queen to go to h2 and mate the black king. So Bf1 would also have worked but on d1 the bishop stays in the thick of things.a422.Qh2Rfd823.Qh7+Kf824.d5!The idea of this move is to sever the connection of the queen on f7 and the bishop on b3, and also to open an attack on the knight on b6. But the main thing is the interference. So now if a3 then the bishop on b3 is hanging. Also the move e5-e6 becomes a killer move.24.Nxg6+Ke8is not at all clear because how do you continue your attack? And at the same time a3 looks pretty strong.24.e6?Bxe6-+24...Nc4A very interesting move by Li Chao. He is ready to even give up his queen if he can get in the move a3.24...a325.Bxb3!That was the point of 24.d5: to cut the communication between the bishop on b3 and the queen on f7.24...N6xd525.e6!Qf626.Nxg6+Ke827.Qg8+Bf828.Rh8+-24...Bxd525.Bxb6+-24...Bxd125.Ne6+25.e6?!a3!26.exf7axb2+27.Kxb2Nc4+28.Kb1Na3+29.Kb2Nc4+=25...Ke826.Nxg7+Kf827.Qh8++-25.Nxg6+!Ke826.e6!a327.exf7+A queen falling with check must be taken. Later other things can be thought about!Kd728.Ne5+!28.f8N+??looks cute but truth be told it loses to Ke8 as avoiding mate on the queenside is impossible. But also Magnus didn't want to get up from the board and ask for another knight!Ke829.bxa3Rxa3+30.Kb1Rda8!-+28...Bxe528...Kc729.Nxc4+-29.Qxf5+Kc730.Qxe5+!Nxe531.Bxb3axb2+32.Kxb2Nbd3+33.Kb1Nxc133...Ra334.Nb5++-34.Rxc1White is now completely winning.Kc835.dxc6bxc636.f4A beautiful game with lot of unusual moves. But when you think deeply about it, each and every move had a clear purpose behind it. Computer engines might give White a clear edge since the 17th move, but in a practical game when your king is under such an attack it is not so simple.1–0
The super-elite encounter between Anish Giri and Wesley So ended in a tame draw
Vladimir Kramnik displayed some high-class endgame technique to beat Maxim Matlakov
The thing that separates players like Vladimir Kramnik from other strong grandmasters is that he always knows what he is trying to achieve in a specific position. Take for example today’s game against Maxim Matlakov. After 31 moves it was as good as drawn. Both sides had a queen, bishop and five pawns each. By the time we reached the 50th move Kramnik had centralized his bishop, activated his king and fixed his opponent’s pawns. It was one of those cases where you just couldn’t understand where the opponent (Matlakov) had gone wrong. At the end of 73 moves Kramnik had pushed his d-pawn all the way up to the queening square and Maxim could do nothing better than to resign. How does he do it? Well, have a look at the game and see for yourself!
First of all if you want to learn how to create something from nothing, to squeeze water from a stone, you must study this game carefully from this point onwards. The position is very drawish and it is not clear why any side should be better but Kramnik makes use of his trumps excellently.31...f4!?A very counter-intuitive move. This spoils the structure and isolates the e6 pawn. But there are some upsides to it too. It White replies e4, all his pawns are fixed on the light squares and if he takes on f4 as in the game then the d5 square is a fixed outpost for the light squared bishop. Of course it is not much but there is some progress!32.exf4Qxf433.Qd3Qe534.h334.Kf2Qxh234.g3 It might be positionally desirable, to place your pawns on the opposite colour from your bishop but afterQb2there will always be some problems with the f3 or the b3 pawns although35.Bc2might hold out here.34...Ke7 A micro edge that Black has in this position is that his king is much more active than White's king. It is a joy to see how Kramnik makes use of that imbalance. And also the pawns a4, b3 are currently on light squares, and so are f3-g2-h3. Vladimir fixes them so that they will remain targets for his bishop.35.Bc2Qc5+36.Kh1a5b3 pawn fixed forever. Something to bite on!37.Qd237.Qg6Qc337...Qe538.Bd3Qa1+39.Kh2Qd4Not allowing Bc4 at least for the time being.40.Qc2Kd641.Bc4White has been able to activate his bishop and it stands wonderfully on c4. The position should be equal now.Be842.Kh1h5!The h-pawn threatens to go to h4 to fix more pawns.43.Qc1Bd744.Qa3+Kc745.Qc1Kd646.Qa3+Kc747.Qc1Kb6! No draw!48.Qc2h449.Bd3Bc650.Be4Bd5!A curious situation: if the bishop is taken it gives Black a passed pawn and if it is not then there is constant pressure on the b3 pawn. It's quite a confusing situation for Matlakov. Besides his king is caged on h1.51.Kh251.Qc8!?Bxe452.fxe4Qxe453.Qd8+leads to a draw by perpetual.Kc554.Qxa5+Kd4This is similar to the game, but the pawn is on e6 and not on d5 and this increases the drawing chances for White.51...Qe352.Bxd5Qe5+53.Kh1exd554.Qc8Qe1+55.Kh2Qe5+56.Kh1Qd657.Qe8Kc5!A bold decision, playing for a win. You can see how this position is a picture of complete victory for Black's play, how he made use of all the imbalances to his favour while White did not. The king is active on c5 and the white pawns have been fixed by a5 and h4. The margin of error is very small here. Only one move gives equality and Matlakov wasn't able to find it.57...d458.Qb5+Ka759.Qxa5+Kb860.Qd2=58.Qb5+?!58.Qe1!Stopping the march of the black king was the only way to draw.58...Kd459.Qxa5Kd3The d-pawn shepherd by the king and the queen will spell White's doom.60.Qb5+Kc361.Qa5+Kc262.Qe1d462...Qf4might have been more accurate as after63.Qf2+Qd264.Qc5+Kb2-+There are no more checks and the d-pawn starts running down.63.Qe2+Kxb364.Qd1+Kb465.Qb1+Kxa466.Qxb7d367.Qb2d268.Qa2+Kb569.Qb2+Qb470.Qc270.Qe5+Kc471.Qe4+Kc372.Qe3+Kc2-+70...Qd471.Qb3+Kc572.Qc2+Kb473.Qd1Qb2A beautiful technical grind by the ex-World Champion.0–1
Breaking just about every rule in the book: Shakhriyar Mamedyarov beat Denis Khismatullin
When a beginner learns chess one of the first thing he is taught is to take care of his f2/f7 point. This Achilles heel in the position is only defended by the king. But when you become a 2750+ super GM these general rules are no longer so important. What matters is the concrete situation and accurate calculations. So when Khismatullin moved his knight to g4 and bishop to c5 in order to attack the f2 pawn, Mamedyarov, without a care in the world, played b4!? and after Bxf2+ moved his king to e2. It was a wild and crazy game where Denis was surely better for quite some time. In the end he blundered and Shakhriyar scored the full point. After his crazy game against Lenderman, Mamedyarov adds one more to his list of creative attacks.
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1.d4Nf62.c4e63.Nf3b64.a3Ba65.Qc2Bb76.Nc3c57.e4cxd48.Nxd4Bc59.Nf39.Nb3is the more common move.9...Ng4So how is White planning to defend his f2 point? Krasenkow thought Bg5-h4 was the best idea while two other players went Nd1. Mamedyarov has his own ideas when it comes to having some fun!10.b4!?This was immediately played by Shakhriyar, which meant that he was well prepared.Bxf2+When you have said A you must say B. Khismatullin takes the pawn but spent 17 minutes on this decision.11.Ke2Bh412.h3Nh6?!The knight gets sidelined on h6.12...Nf6! This was the most appropriate move. But when you have been surprised over the board it is not easy to find resources like these.13.Nxh4Nh5!14.Nf3Ng3+Black is better.13.g4!g5 is coming up next and hence the bishop has to retreat.Be714.g5!Ng8One by one all of black pieces are pushed back.15.Bf4a616.Rd1h617.g6!With such a lead in development the position is not at all easy for Black to play. But you can bank on Khismatullin to find the resources. After all a creative player like him thrives on such positions.f5!18.Ne5!Blow for blow! Nf7 fork is threatened.Qc719.Bh219.Ke3?!Bg5!19...Nf6!Black pieces are coming out once again and White is under pressure to prove his compensation.20.Nf7Qxc4+21.Ke1Qc822.Bg222.Nxh8Bxe422...Nxe423.Nxh8Nxc324.Rd3Bh4+25.Bg3Bxg2!25...Bxg3+?26.Rxg3Bxg227.Rxc3Qb728.Rc8++-26.Bxh426.Qxg2Bxg3+27.Qxg3Ne4-+26...Bxh126...Qc4!attacking the h4 bishop would have been stronger. If the knight on c3 is not taken then Qe4+ is a dangerous threat.27.Qxc327.Rxc3Qxh4+28.Kd1Bxh1-+27...Qxh4+27...Qxc3+28.Rxc3Bxh129.Rc8#28.Kd1Nc6Black is an exchange down but has a bunch of pawns and the exposed position of the white king gives him an excellent position.29.Qxg70-0-027.Nf7Kf828.Rxc3Nc6Black is three pawns up but little does Shakhriyar care about things like that. He has the dark squared bishop and tries to complicate the play.29.Bg3Qe830.Bd6+Kg831.Qd2This is the problem in opposite coloured bishop endgames. No matter how many pawns you are up, until you lose control on the other square complex these pawns are often blockaded and the extra material is not felt.Ne732.Nxh6+!gxh633.Qxh6Qxg634.Rg3!Kf735.Rxg6Nxg636.Qh7+Kf637.h4Nf838.Be7+Objectively the game was not very high on quality. But what about the entertainment quotient? Both players try to stir up the complications to the maximum extent! In the end it was Mamedyarov who emerged victorious and in this tournament he has already played some excellent games.1–0
Although it is always a sad feeling to lose a game, the creative soul
inside Denis Khismatullin must have enjoyed the see-saw battle
Surya Shekhar Ganguly beat David Howell to move on to 4.0/5
and currently leads the Indian challenge at the event
The 6…dxc4 variation in the Catalan has come under a cloud from the black side thanks to the 8.a4!? variation followed by Bg5. Many strong players like Giri, Nakamura, etc. have used it from the white side to beat stalwarts like Leko and Anand. It was a refreshing change to see the black side emerge victorious for a change. David Howell had an acceptable position out of the opening but soon went wrong and not only lost a pawn but also had his king exposed. It was a smooth victory for Surya Shekhar Ganguly.
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1.Nf3Nf62.g3d53.Bg2e64.0-0Be75.c40-06.d4dxc47.Qc2a68.a4Bd79.Qxc4Bc610.Bg5Bd511.Qc2Be412.Qd1This is the line where White has been scoring really well recently. Giri beat Leko with white, and Nakamura got the better of Anand. In both the games Black played c5 in this position. Surya goes for the second most popular move:h613.Bxf6Bxf614.Nc3Bxf315.Bxf3c6Black makes the typical exchange of light squared bishop and putting his pawn on c6. This position should be slightly better for White, but bordering very much on the edge of equality.16.Qb3Qc717.e317.Rfd1 is definitely more popular.17...a518.Be2Na619.Ne4Be720.Rac1Nb421.Bc4Rae822.f4Bd823.Qd1Qe7Ganguly tries to remain as solid as he can without making any committments.24.Qf3Nd525.Rc2Qb426.Nc5Re727.e4Bb6!Being tactically alert. Now it was important to get the king out to g2. However, Howell seemed to be surprised with the move Bb6 and instead took on d5.28.exd5?!28.Kg2!Bxc529.dxc5Nf630.e5Nd531.Qe4=with a round about equal position.28...cxd5!The bishop cannot move as Qxd4 will lose two pawns as well as the c5 knight.29.Qb329.Ba2Qxd4+30.Qf2Qxf2+!31.Rfxf2Rc7!-+The knight on c5 is lost.29...Bxc530.dxc5Qxc5+31.Rff2dxc432.Qxc4Qa7For a player of Ganguly's calibre rest is not very difficult. He is not only a pawn up but also has the safer king. It took him so time to convert but the result wasn't really in doubt at any point in the game.33.Kg2Rd734.Rfd2b635.Qc6Rfd836.Rxd7Rxd737.h4h538.Kh2Kh739.Qe4+g640.Qc6Rd141.b3Rd342.Qb5Rd643.Rc8Rd2+44.Kh3Qb745.Qc6Qa646.Rh8+Kxh847.Qc3+e548.Qxd2exf449.gxf4Qc8+50.Kh2Qc551.Qb2+Kh752.Qd2Qe753.Qf2Qf654.Kh1Qe655.Qg3Qg456.Qe3Qxh4+57.Kg2Qf658.Kh2Qe659.Qd3Qf560.Qe3Qc2+61.Kg3Qc562.Qe1Qd463.Qe8Qg1+64.Kf3Qg4+65.Ke3Qe6+0–1
So after five rounds we finally have a sole leader in Magnus Carlsen, who has 4.5 points. Nine players – Anish Giri, Wesley So, Vladimir Kramnik, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Sergey Karjakin, Yu Yangyi, Dariusz Swiercz and Surya Shekhar Ganguly follow the World Champion, with 4.0/5. 25th of December is a rest day. On the 26th we have a very interesting top board pairing for the sixth round.
Wesley So with white will battle it out against Magnus Carlsen on the first board in the sixth round
Kramnik taking on Mamedyarov is another interesting encounter. Giri will face Ganguly and Karjakin will be up against Swiercz. Defending Champion Yu Yangyi will face stiff challenge from Li Chao.
Zhang Zhong, Wei Yi and Ni Hua chat before the start of the game. While many wanted a Carlsen- Wei Yi encounter at the Qatar Masters, this no longer seems possible as the Norwegian is 1.5 points ahead of the Chinese.
India number two Pentala Harikrishna is happy to receive an early Christmas gift from the organizers
All the players at the event were gifted a power bank embossed with Qatar Masters on it
Alexander Moiseenko and Pavel Tregubov analyze like in the good old royal days
“Stare as much as you want to, I am not going to look back!”
Alex Lenderman beat Aleksandra Goryachkina in round five
A chess family: 2013 French Champion GM Hichem Hamdouchi,
his wife WGM Adina-Maria Hamdouchi and their son.
One of ChessBase’s finest authors Viktor Bologan is back in form
after his second round loss, and is currently on 3.5/5
Three super performers of the event who have a rating performance of above 2750:
IM N.R. Vignesh has 3.5/5 and a performance of 2809. He has beaten Wei Yi and Mateusz Bartel and drawn against Truong Son Nguyen Ngoc, Samuel Shankland and Vladimir Fedoseev.
IM Shardul Gagre (upper right) is on 3.0/5 and has a performance of 2756. After beating Wei Yi in round one, he has drawn against Daniil Dubov, Hou Yifan, Truong Son Nguyen Ngoc and Vasily Ivanchuk.
Xu Yinglun has 3.0/5 and a rating performance of 2750. He lost to Yu Yangyi in the fifth round but prior to that he had already beaten Nikita Vitiugov and S.P. Sethuraman and drawn with Sanan Sjugirov and Vidit Gujrathi.
Le Thao Nguyen Pham (2319), wife of Truong Son Nguyen Ngoc,
is playing a great tournament. She is on 3.0/5 and has a performance of 2614.
The super solid Sarasadat Khademalsharieh has faced five higher rated opponents
and has scored four draws against them
Black and white squares are everywhere – Harikrishna’s pen,
Natalia Zhukova’s purse, David Howell’s wrist band and Bela Khotenashvili’s shirt.
After an action packed football session it was time for basketball. Sergey Karjakin was the big star,
with Official Qatar commentator and ChessBase author Alejandro Ramirez not giving him an easy time!
Karjakin is pretty good at it …
… but GMs Daniel Naroditsky and Vidit Gujrathi were surely the best players
Football with Magnus, basketball with Sergey, ten-year-old
Nodirbek Abdusattorov is having the time of his life in Qatar!
Before we end this article we would like to wish all the readers a Merry Christmas. Here’s a beautiful Christmas puzzle for you to solve. I gave this position to GM Vidit Gujrathi (2644) and he solved it in 20 seconds! I also gave it to Wesley So blindfold, and he called out the correct first move in eight seconds.
1.e4c62.Nc3d53.Nf3dxe44.Nxe4Nf65.Qe2Nxe46.Qxe4Nd77.Bc4Nf68.Ne5e69.Qe2Be710.c30-011.d4Nd712.h4Nxe513.dxe5c514.Qe4Bd7It looks like Black is going to have a fine position if he is going to get in the move Bc6. Taking the pawn on b7 doesn't look appetising with the king still on e1. Here the former World Junior Champion found a brilliant move.15.Bh6‼You can bank on a tactical genius like Lu Shanglei to find moves like this.f515...gxh616.Bd3f517.exf6Rxf618.Qxh7+Kf819.Bg6Rxg620.Qxg6±White is not 100% winning yet but there is no doubt that he is better.15...Bc616.Qg4+-16.exf6Rxf617.0-0-0!17.Bg5was also strong.17...Rxh618.Qxb7Rb819.Qxa7Bxh420.Kb1!Getting out of the Bg5+ threats.Qf821.Rxd7+-White has won back his piece and has a clearly winning position.Kh822.f3Qf5+23.Bd3Qe524.Qc7Bf625.Rc1Rh226.Qxe5Bxe527.Bf1h528.Re7h429.Rxe6h330.Rxe5hxg231.Be2Rd832.Kc2Kh733.Rg1Kh634.a4g535.a51–0
The games will be broadcast live on the official web site and on the 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 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.
Sagar ShahSagar is an International Master from India with two GM norms. He loves to cover chess tournaments, as that helps him understand and improve at the game he loves so much. He is the co-founder and CEO of ChessBase India, the biggest chess news portal in the country. His YouTube channel has over a million subscribers, and to date close to a billion views. ChessBase India is the sole distributor of ChessBase products in India and seven adjoining countries, where the software is available at a 60% discount. compared to International prices.
Rossolimo-Moscow Powerbase 2025 is a database and contains a total of 10950 games from Mega 2025 and the Correspondence Database 2024, of which 612 are annotated.
The greater part of the material on which the Rossolimo/Moscow Powerbook 2025 is based comes from the engine room of playchess.com: 263.000 games. This imposing amount is supplemented by some 50 000 games from Mega and from Correspondence Chess.
Focus on the Sicilian: Opening videos on the Najdorf Variation with 6.h3 e5 7.Nb3 (Luis Engel) and the Taimanov Variation with 7.Qf3 (Nico Zwirs). ‘Lucky bag’ with 38 analyses by Anish Giri, Surya Ganguly, Abhijeet Gupta, Yannick Pelletier and many more.
Throughout the video course, Sasikran shows various examples from his career to explain sacrifices for initiative, an attack, a better pawn structure and much more.
In this insightful video course, Grandmaster David Navara shares practical advice on when to calculate deeply in a position — and just as importantly, when not to.
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We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies, analysis cookies and marketing cookies. You can decide which cookies to use by selecting the appropriate options below. Please note that your selection may affect the functionality of the service. Further information can be found in our privacy policy.
Technically required cookies
Technically required cookies: so that you can navigate and use the basic functions and store preferences.
Analysis Cookies
To help us determine how visitors interact with our website to improve the user experience.
Marketing-Cookies
To help us offer and evaluate relevant content and interesting and appropriate advertisement.