8/24/2019 – Vishy Anand missed a great opportunity to finish off Anish Giri while holding the upper hand — many times during the game — to settle for a heart-breaking draw in the sixth round. He continues to share the lead with 3½ points along with Fabiano Caruana and Ding Liren after another all-draw round at the Sinquefield Cup. Caruana versus Vachier-Lagrave was a fantastic fight from a razor sharp Sicilian Najdorf, showing the depth of the players' opening preparation and boldness. Other games contained relatively less fighting content. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour
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This DVD offers Black a complete repertoire against all weapons White may employ on move six. The recommended repertoire is not as risky as other Sicilians but still offers Black plenty of counter-play.
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Anand's heartbreak against Giri
It was obvious that Anand vs Giri had undercurrents in the opening from the way it developed. Anand paused for a couple of minutes after Giri's 2...e6 itself, which might have been be an indication that he wasn't really expecting it on this day. Further on, when Giri played 5...♞c6 which he has employed relatively recently (though only once), it couldn't have been a total surprise for Anand.
Anand – Giri, round 6
Position after 5...Nc6
Anand hasn't faced this position for a decade, having employed mainly 6.♘db5 here, which could also lead to the Sveshnikov. However, he took another minute to think and played 6.a3, which came across as a move to sidestep the opponent's opening preparation rather than a prepared reply. This too he has employed in the past but not regularly (remember, it's been a decade!) and it was obvious that this game between two of the best theoreticians of our time might just be an 'original' fight.
But both the players seemed to conduct the early middlegame erratically.
Position after 10...b5
11.b4?! comes across as anti-positional 11...a5?! seems like aiming to punish the anti-positional with a flawed tactic! 12.♖b1 axb4 13.axb4 d5.
Giri described the whole plan as wrong later on, in his inimitable way:
I think it was my own fault — I did a terrible thing in the opening. I played the Sicilian, which is a good thing. But then I switched to playing French, which was a disaster. You should never play French!
Anish Giri — a disastrous French Defence that wasn't | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour
14.e5 ♞e8? A puzzling place for the knight. 14...♞g4 intending 15...♛b6+ was called for 15.♘xb5 and white looked better. After further inaccuracies by Giri, Anand's advantage grew sumptuously.
Position after 19...Nc7
Anand took about ten minutes for his move here which was surprising, while Giri kept circling the arena. Commenting on the game at the Kingside Diner (adjacent to the Saint Louis Chess Club) for a live audience after his own game finished, Hikaru Nakamura was extremely surprised:
Vishy is taking a long time, but after 20.♘3d4 white should be clearly better here. The move is screaming to be played, I'm shocked that he hasn't played it immediately — he should play this one minute!
Nakamura called white's pieces as 'placed like in a dream', and delighted the audience to wonderful variations.
You play 20 moves of elegant positional chess - but throw the game away by miscalculating. To play a good game of chess you must know how to calculate. The ability to calculate is not something that chessplayers are born with. Calculation is a core skill that can be improved through practice. In this 10th Power Play DVD Grandmaster Daniel King will help you to assess how good you are at calculating, and gives you tips as to how you might sharpen your thought processes at the chessboard.
When Anand finally played 20.c3?! Alejandro Ramirez declared that they 'didn't understand the move at all — why help Black get his pieces back to better squares?!' Analysis illustrated the complicated tactics for the audience.
After the further 20...♞c6 21.♕d3 ♜a4 22.♗e3?! [22.♘3d4! was still possible] it was obvious that Anand was handling the position strategically, which disappointed Cristian Chirila, who said, “Vishy is taking it slow in a position which requires quick measures!”
However, Giri's play too lacked precision, and he again got himself into a nearly-lost position.
Position after 23.Bb6
23...♛d7?
[Black's best chance of survival was to play the unorthodox 23...g6 24.♘h6 ♚g7 25.♕d2 and white will still have to find his way through, though he is better].
24.♗xc7 ♛xc7 25.♕xd5 and, as Anand remarked after the game, “my pawn structure is broken, he has got counter play, but still it's a pawn”. At this point, Caruana — in his post-game interview — predicted that Vishy would win the game.
However, entering an endgame which was still better for him, Anand was down to his last 10 minutes, visibly nervous on the board and played erratically to allow Giri to escape with a draw.
The post-game interview wasn't long or energetic.
'You were cooking something today, but the punch didn't land'. A tired and disappointed Anand nodded his head in affirmative and said, “Yeah, basically”.
You seem disappointed?' A lone “Yeah”, which clearly expressed his feeling at that point.
Thus, for the second time in the tournament (as against Wesley So), Anand missed his chances to score a win through complicated tactical means in the middlegame as well as the endgame. This may mean that he is not in his best of form tactically. Or this may mean nothing too — wins for white were found only with the help of engines, and other players too have failed to score wins requiring such precise calculation in this tournament! Only the coming rounds will tell about Anand's form.
Giri too didn't seem to be putting up the best of defence, committing many mistakes for a player of his calibre, which questions his form. His play in this game was similar to the one against Ding Liren which he lost — resorting to active play probably when solid defensive moves were called for.
Caruana vs the Najdorf
Fabiano Caruana has been delighting the chess world with the range of his new ideas in this tournament. And Vachier-Lagrave is easily one of the best authorities of the Sicilian Najdorf ever, and their principled clash in a sharp battle simply delighted everyone.
Modern chess opening preparation doesn't necessarily follow only games played between humans; it pays to follow correspondence chess too. Especially when you are playing cutting edge sharp opening variations, like the Najdorf, and especially the variation employed by Vachier-Lagrave.
Learn the opening of the masters from one of the world's most popular master trainers! Daniel King shows you a rock-solid and powerful Najdorf repertoire.
Caruana – Vachier-Lagrave, round 6
Position after 20...Qxg5
All this has been played before in a correspondence game from 2017, which continued with 21.♕e2. Queen and two rooks and four pawns but with a weak king for white, against queen, a bishop and a knight and seven pawns for black, who has somewhat non-coordinating pieces — a glorious imbalance!
We can assume that Caruana had this position well-researched, as he came up with 21.c4 quickly over the board, once again showing his amazing opening preparation. Caruana felt that his opponent probably missed it in his preparations, as the position otherwise 'looks good for black'.
After 21.c4 it is quite tricky, as I want to play 22.♖b4. If he doesn't find counterplay against my king, I will start to attack him. It is not (really) winning for white — it's a very complicated position.
Fantastic fighting spirit!
MVL had seen the position with the double exchange sacrifice in his home research too, but decided to spend some time over the board to figure out what was going on! He was gladdened and proud with 'another day at the office for the Najdorf'.
Yes, I did check these lines with the double exchange sacrifice, and 30 minutes before the round it was on my computer! I took some time in the game to feel what was going on, but couldn't remember what to make of it!
Hence, MVL spent 33 minutes for 21...♛h4, after which Caruana took another 30 minutes for 22.♕e1. What followed was a 'very complicated endgame' as Caruana opined.
Position after 23...Bh6
24.♖d1 and Caruana said 'I saw this and I was very happy'. It indeed looked like a good ending for White, but extremely difficult (even for the engines?) to look at avoiding the prejudice of the cushion of a double exchange.
After a forced sequence of moves, it reached a point where white had to give up one exchange.
Position after 28.Kg2
28...♞d7 29.♖xd5 The only way to fight for an advantage. 29.♖d6 d4 gives a pawn armada for black in the centre.
29...♞xb6 30.cxb6 ♚xb6 and in the resultant endgame, MVL found a simple construction to achieve a draw.
Position after 31.Rd7
31...a5!
Not getting distracted by material, black creates a passer on the a-file, keeps his bishop and h-pawn guarded, and confidently marches towards the draw.
32.♖xf7 h6 33.♔f2 ♚c6 34.♔e2 b5! ultimately achieving the draw. A short but intense fight!
Hikaru Nakamura played a simple looking Rossolimo setup against Magnus Carlsen and seemed to get a small edge from the opening but seemingly let a subtle moment pass him quickly.
When one uses a chess engine for anlaysing, the common perception is that openings are the only area where it is useful. But following is one of those instances when the engine points out a curious possibility, and by going along with its analysis, you understand the crux of its thought process, and ultimately understand the position itself better.
Nakamura – Carlsen, round 6
Position after 13...bxc5
In this position, Nakamura continued 14.♘c4 which is perfectly fine, at least for looks. But this was where white could play for a minute advantage by playing precisely.
14.♖b1! The idea is not just to occupy an open file — keep watching: 14...0-0 15.♕c1! The point. The white queen has to come out immediately, but where is it going? 15...♝a6 16.♕b2 Keep watching! 16...a4 17.♕c3!
Analysis
Position after 17.Qc3
An unlikely position for the white queen in a typical middlegame, but it has its uses, keeping black's weak pawns on the queenside and centre under watch.
Nakamura went with a similar plan, but only after doubling his rooks on the f-file rather than keeping a watch on the b-file. When I pointed to him the possibility of bringing the queen to c3 after the game, he admitted that the engine's line does indeed looks interesting, but he liked his knight going to c4 too. “But the point is, even after I get my queen to c3 in the line (you say), it is not clear what white would do afterwards — probably the whole line isn't much for white”.
Hikaru Nakamura with Cristian Chirila, delighting the audience with his analysis | Photo: V.Saravanan
Essentially, the game was a defensive achievement for Carlsen's opening preparation. But he has gone through the tournament without a win for six rounds.
When is the 'magic' going to come back Magnus?
It is hard to say! There was just (with emphasis) nothing in the position. There was no magic for black there, no squares to take. I am going to have two whites in a row now — this is definitely the time to make a move.
We are definitely glad if he does!
Magnus — time to make a move with that messy hair too | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour
In an interesting aside, Magnus Carlsen threw the first pitch at the Saint Louis Cardinals vs Colorado Rookies baseball match on rest day, which the world champion said was an 'embarrassing' incident.
Magnus Carlsen embarrassed by the occasion and couldn't handle the limelight! | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour
Probably tongue in cheek, he said,
I got very nervous...The home-plate seemed far away! I have been practising the last week, and was bowling so well. But when I went there, I couldn't handle the limelight!
Think about it — Magnus Carlsen claims he couldn't handle the limelight.
Magnus Carlsen, the reigning world #chess champion, throws out the ceremonial first pitch at the start of the St Louis Cardinals v Colorado Rockies baseball game on August 22, 2019 in St Louis (courtesy of Associated Press). pic.twitter.com/1WoJyPhkk2
On this DVD Grandmaster Daniel King offers you a repertoire for Black with the QGD. The repertoire is demonstrated in 10 stem games, covering all White's major systems: 5 Bg5, 5 Bf4, and the Exchange Variation.
Nepomniachtchi – Ding, round 6
Position after 23...Qb6
'Nepo' deserves our praise for taking up the gauntlet and fight on with 24.♖d1!? here, when 24.♕e2 or 24.♖b1 would have preserved equality. The game continued 24...♛xb2 25.f6 ♛xc3 26.fxg7 when there was all the justification to expect a full-fledged fight. But both sides traded minor mistakes in the ending and the game petered out into a draw.
Karjakin – Aronian, round 6
Position after 22...Rc3
White is a healthy pawn up but made a curious mistake to squander the advantage away. 23.a4? after which Aronian held the game with 23...♜c4.
Instead, 23.♕b2 preserves the pawn but it is not clear how white can make progress. But interesting was 23.♖fe1!? With the point 23...♜xa3 24.d6! ♜d7
Analysis
Position after 24...Rd7
25.g4! An unusual and insane concept! White exploits black's weakened king and gains a decisive advantage.
Karjakin – missing the insane | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour
The game which raised a lot of eyebrows was the one which finished in around an hour's play and just 14 moves.
Mamedyarov – So, round 6
Position after 10...h5
11.♘ge2 Aiming to attack the bishop with 12.♘f4.
11...♝f5 No thank you! 12.♘g3 Attacking your bishop anyway12...♝g6 I go back — I don't have a choice! 13.♘ge2 Am going to do it again13...♝f5 I don't have a choice! And then they did it once more to settle for a Draw!
Surprisingly, Maurice Ashley was a tad combative with his questions to Mamedyarov after the game,
'Shakhriyar! Help us understand — a lot of players are going to say — 14 moves, and such a quick draw! What happened here?'
...It is not nice to agree for a draw in 14 moves. But I just want to relax — I slept very bad (yesterday). I don't think my position is good — a draw is a good result. If we (had) played this game in another round, I (would have) play(ed). But today, a draw is good.
'You had a rest day yesterday!'
For me it was not (a) rest day! I slept very bad. Also (So) surprised me (with) this line... I just want to ...draw!
'You also had the white pieces!'
For me it is not a big difference — when I want to play I (can) play with white (or) black. But when I am not in a very good mood and feel not very good ...(it's) not important (I am) white or black. Draw is (a) good result.
Mamedyarov – difficult times at Saint Louis | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour
Mamedyarov explained that he wasn't feeling optimistic about making it to London for the finals anyway, as he doesn't feel his chances to be in top four are any good.
At the same time, there are spectators in the tournament hall everyday, paying $10 for a daily ticket. Just saying.
Round up show by GM Daniel King
Round 6 games annotated by V. Saravanan
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Move
N
Result
Elo
Players
1.e4
1,185,008
54%
2421
---
1.d4
959,510
55%
2434
---
1.Nf3
286,503
56%
2441
---
1.c4
184,834
56%
2442
---
1.g3
19,892
56%
2427
---
1.b3
14,600
54%
2428
---
1.f4
5,954
48%
2377
---
1.Nc3
3,911
50%
2384
---
1.b4
1,791
48%
2379
---
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
93
66%
2506
---
1.Na3
47
62%
2476
---
Please, wait...
1.e4c52.Nf3e6Anand
paused here, for about a couple of minutes, as if he didn't expect this
opening from Giri3.d4cxd44.Nxd4Nf65.Nc3Nc6Giri has played this
position relatively recently, which means the opening variation isn't a total
surprise. Anand hasn't faced this position for a decade (!), having employed
mainly 6.Ndb5 here, which could also lead to the Sveshnikov. However, he took
another minute to think and played6.a3Be77.f4d68.Nf30-09.Bd3a610.0-0b511.b4?!Comes across as anti-positional11.Qe111.Kh111...a5?!seems like aiming to punish the anti-positional with a flawed tactic!11...Bb7with the idea of 12...Rc812.Rb1axb413.axb4d514.e5Ne8?!
A puzzling place for the knight14...Ng415.Nxb5Qb6+16.Kh1Nf2+17.Rxf2Qxf218.Nd6with compensation for white15.Nxb5Ba615...Nxb416.Rxb4!16.Bxh7+Kxh717.Rxb4Qb6+16...Bxb417.Bxh7+Kh8!?18.Be3and
white has more than compensation for the exchange16.Nbd4Nxb417.Bxa6Rxa618.f5!±exf519.Nxf5Nc7?19...Qd720.Nxe7+Qxe7±20.c320.N3d4!Bc520...Ne621.Qg4g620...Rg621.Nxe7+Qxe722.Nf521.c3Nc622.Bh6!22.Qg4g623.Qg322...g622...Ne723.Bxg722...Bxd4+?23.cxd4gxh624.Qg4+Qg525.Nxh6+23.Nd6!+-20...Nc621.Qd3Ra422.Be3?22.N3d4!?Nxe523.Qg3Ng624.h424.Nxe7+Qxe725.Rb7Rc426.Nf5Qc5+27.Be3Qc628.Rb6Qd729.Rd6Qe824...Bf624...h525.Rb725.h5±22...Re4?!22...Ne623.Bb6?23.Rfd1Nxe524.Nxe524.Qxe4dxe425.Rxd8Nxf3+26.gxf3Bxd827.fxe424...Rxe525.Bd4Bf623.Rb6!?Nxe524.Nxe5Rxe525.Bd4±23...Qd7?23...Nxe524.Nxe5Rxe525.Bd4Bf626.Bxe5Bxe527.Rb723...g6!24.Nh6+Kg724.Bxc7Qxc724...Qxf525.Qxd525.Qxd5Rf425...Re226.N3d426.N5d4Nxd427.cxd4±Rd828.Qb728.Rb728...Qxb729.Rxb7Kf830.g3?30.Rc1!g531.h3h532.e6!fxe633.Ne5+-30...Rf531.Kg2f632.Re1fxe533.dxe533.Nxe5'Made more sense' - Anand33...h534.e6g535.Re2Rd6?35...Rdd5!36.h3?36.Rb8+Rd837.Rxd8+Bxd838.Nd4Rf639.Re5+-36...g437.hxg4hxg438.Nh438.Ne5Rxe638...Rg538...Bxh4??39.gxh439.Ra739.Rf2+Ke840.Rf5Rg841.Rh5Rxe641...Bxh4?42.gxh4+-g342...Rxe643.Ra543.e7Rd2+44.Kf3g245.Rb8+42.Nf5Bf839...Ke840.Ra4Rd341.Ra8+41.Ree4Bd642.Rxg4Rxg3+41...Rd842.Ra1Rdd542...Rd343.Rf2Bd844.Ra8Ke745.Re2Rc546.Ra6Ra547.Rc6Rad548.Rf2Rd649.Rxd6Kxd650.Rd2+Rd551.Rxd5+Kxd552.Nf5Kxe653.Ne3Bc754.Nxg4Bxg3½–½
Venkatachalam SaravananSaravanan is an IM from Chennai, the southern-most state of Tamil Nadu, India. He has been an active chess player in the Indian circuit, turning complete chess professional in 2012, actively playing and being a second to strong Indian players. He has been consistently writing on chess since late 1980s and is a correspondent to national newspapers and news channels.
How do you play the Queen's Gambit Accepted? Does White have promising variations or can Black construct a water-tight repertoire? The Powerbook provides the answers based on 300 000 games, most of them played by engines.
The Queen's Gambit Accepted Powerbase 2025 is a database and contains a total of 11827 games from Mega 2025 and the Correspondence Database 2024, of which 240 are annotated.
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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.
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