Tal Memorial Rd5 – Morozevich takes sole lead with 4.0/5

by ChessBase
6/13/2012 – The fifth round finally saw one player pull ahead for the clear lead: Alexander Morozevich. Aronian played a risky strategy when he sacrificed a piece for a number of pawns. With very little time, he could not find the best moves, and was lost by the time control. Radjabov allowed Carlsen to equalize, and in a slightly unpleasant endgame, overreacted and lost. Report, video, and GM commentary.

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Seventh Tal Memorial in Moscow

The event is a ten-player round robin event, is taking place from June 8th to 18th in the Pashkov House (Vozdvizhenka Street 3/5, p.1), Moscow, Russia. Rest days are June 11 and 15. Time control: 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, 50 minutes for the next 20 moves, and 15 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move one. Games start at 15:00h local time (last round 13:00h). Draw offers are not allowed until after the first time control. The participants are required to comment on their games in the press center after each round. The prize fund is 100,000 Euros.

Round 5: Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Alexander Grischuk
½-½
Fabiano Caruana
Teimour Radjabov
0-1
Magnus Carlsen
Levon Aronian
0-1
Alex. Morozevich
Hikaru Nakamura
½-½
Vladimir Kramnik
Ev. Tomashevsky
½-½
Luke McShane

Round five


The stage with the players and cameras

So far the Tal Memorial has not only lived up to its promise, but it has lived up to the name of the player it is giving tribute to. It is somewhat fitting that the player leading the tournament , has also played the gutsiest and most creative chess, in a way that would have made Tal smile.


Magnus Carlsen successfully made his first step towards the podium. Can he catch Moro?

After his kamikaze game against Grischuk the day before, no one had any doubts as to Magnus Carlsen’s intentions or resolve, least of all Teimour Radjabov. Despite his great tournament start, it was clear he felt the pressure against Carlsen, and his play left him with a slightly unpleasant endgame. There was nothing clearly decided yet, but the threat is often worse than the execution, and the Azeri panicked as the world number one pushed forward, and lost.


Morozevich: master in the art of taking opponents out of their comfort zone

Alexander Morozevich showed his intentions against Levon Aronian in a directness that was breathtaking. In a Dutch defense with a stonewall structure, he positioned all his pieces against Aronian’s king, and with 9…Rf6 there was little doubt what he had in mind. The Armenian prepared to lock things up when Morozevich uncorked an extremely double-edged pawn sacrifice that left the game in utter chaos. With four pawns for the piece, Aronian had enough compensation in theory, but by move 27 was down to less than a minute and nowhere near solving his problems. This proved fatal as errors crept in and he was suddenly dead. With his victory, Morozevich moved into clear first with 4.0/5 and a hefty 3000+ performance.

Annotated game by GM Alejandro Ramirez

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MoveNResultEloPlayers
1.e41,170,31954%2421---
1.d4949,86755%2434---
1.Nf3282,62856%2440---
1.c4182,73156%2442---
1.g319,74556%2427---
1.b314,34754%2427---
1.f45,91748%2377---
1.Nc33,81651%2384---
1.b41,75948%2379---
1.a31,22254%2404---
1.e31,07349%2409---
1.d395550%2378---
1.g466646%2361---
1.h444953%2374---
1.c343551%2426---
1.h328356%2419---
1.a411460%2465---
1.f39346%2435---
1.Nh39066%2505---
1.Na34262%2482---
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.e3 Nd7 5.Nf3 f5 6.Bd3 Nh6 The stonewall setup isn't the most popular nowadays, even with this move order where White cannot properly develop his bishop on c1 to f4 or trade it off on a3 too easily. Even so, Moro makes sure that the setup is just bizarre. The knight almost never goes to h6, and I am assuming he had a couple of good reasons for doing so. First he allows himself to take with the e pawn if White captures on d5, which he couldn't have done since his knight was on d7, and it allows him to play nf7 and in a rare turn of events for the stonewall, control e5. 7.b3 Bd6 8.Bb2 0-0 9.0-0 Rf6 From a purely objective point of view, White can't complain too much about the result of the opening. He has a nice position and Black's pieces are placed somewhat strangely. But strange is Morozevich's favorite battleground. 10.Qc2 Nf7 11.Nd2 e5!? White has many replies, but how to decide on the best move in this situation? 12.Bxf5 12.cxd5 e4 13.Bc4 Bxh2+ 14.Kxh2 Rh6+ 15.Kg1 Qh4 16.f3 Nf6 gives Black a strong attack that is at the very least good enough for a draw. 12.g3! At a glance it seems that this is the best move. e4 13.Be2 seems slightly better for White since it is awkward to defend the pawn on d5. 12...e4 13.Bxh7+!? Sacrifice after sacrifice. Aronian jettisons the bishop to destroy the pawn center. But a piece is a piece... 13.Bh3 Ng5 14.Bg4 Rh6 Gives Black more than enough compensation for his pawn. He might already be winning. 13.Bxd7 Bxd7 14.cxd5 Rh6 Gives Black strong compensation. White must weaken himself with g3 and those light squares look very tasty for that d7 bishop. 13...Kxh7 14.cxd5 Rg6! 15.Ndxe4 Nf6 16.Nxf6+ Qxf6 17.f4 Nh6 18.Ne4 Qf5 19.dxc6 Be7 White has *five* (!) pawns for the piece, but he cannot hold on to all of them. It seems that with perfect play White's chances might be preferable, but it is difficult to play against the activity of the black pieces. 20.c7 Rc6 21.Qb1 21.Qd3 Rxc7 22.d5 was better. The d-pawn march reduces Black's scope and liberates the b2 bishop. 21...Rxc7 22.Nc3? 22.d5! 22...Qxb1 23.Raxb1 White may feel safer with the queens off the board, but this is not the case. Unfortunately for him the pawns are now a series of static weaknesses and the pieces will have a blast. It really was imperative to push them as quickly as possible. Now their forward march will simply accelerate their doom. Rd7 24.Rbd1 b6 25.e4 Bb7 26.h3 Ng8 27.e5 Rc8 28.d5 Bb4 29.e6 The pawns seem threatening, but the more they advance the weaker they become. Rdd8 30.Ne4 30.Rf3 Ne7 31.Rg3 Nf5 32.Rgd3 Ba6 is no one's cup of tea, but it kept the pawns alive a bit longer. 30...Rxd5 The first one falls, and the rest will follow its fate very soon. 31.Ng5+ Kg6 32.Rxd5 Bxd5 33.Rd1 Ne7 34.Bd4 Rc2 When you are down a piece, specially a bishop, there is always that enemy piece that suddenly becomes huge and unstoppable. With no light squared bishop to match it, the monster on d5 cannot be stopped. The game is over. 35.g4 Bd2 36.Rf1 36.f5+ Kxg5 37.Rxd2 Rxd2 38.Be3+ Kh4 39.Bxd2 Kxh3 40.Bb4 Nc6 41.e7 Bf7 Doesn't help White. 36...Bc1 37.Nf3 Bxf4 38.Nh4+ Kg5 39.Nf3+ Kh6 40.h4 Rxa2 With the time control reached, Aronian resigns this hopeless position. It's hard to outevaluate and outplay Morozevich in an imbalanced position, even if you are 2825. 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Aronian,L2825Morozevich,A27690–12012A847th Tal Memorial 20125.2


Budding champions?

The other games all had their share of adventures, but ended in draws all around.

Complete round five games

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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Bf4 0-0 6.Rc1 Be6 7.Ng5 c5 8.dxc5 d4 9.Nb5 Nc6 10.Nc7 Bf5 11.Nxa8 e5 12.Bd2 e4 13.e3 h6 14.Nh3 Bxh3 15.gxh3 Ne5 16.Bg2 Nd3+ 17.Kf1 Nxc1 18.Qxc1 d3 19.Bc3 Qe7?! 20.Nc7 Qxc7 21.Bxf6 Bxf6 22.Bxe4 Rd8 23.Bd5 Qxc5 24.Qd1 Rxd5 25.cxd5 Qxd5 26.Rg1 Kg7 27.Qb3 Qe4 28.Rg4 Qh1+ 29.Rg1 Qe4 30.Rg4 Qh1+ 31.Rg1 Qe4 ½–½
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Grischuk,A2761Caruana,F2770½–½2012D927th Mikhail Tal Memorial5
Aronian,L2825Morozevich,A27690–12012D317th Mikhail Tal Memorial5
Tomashevsky,E2738McShane,L2706½–½2012A547th Mikhail Tal Memorial5
Radjabov,T2784Carlsen,M28350–12012C457th Mikhail Tal Memorial5
Nakamura,H2775Kramnik,V2801½–½2012A337th Mikhail Tal Memorial5

Pictures by Eteri Kublashvili

Standings after five rounds

Video stream of the round

Once again the Russian organisers are providing unprecedented coverage,
with HD video stream of the action and commentary by grandmasters.
In addition there is excellent commentary by GM Ian Rogers from Sydney.

Tal Memorial 2012 Round five Play of the Day by Daniel King: Aronian-Morozevich

Schedule and Results

Round 1: Friday, June 8, 2012
Alex. Morozevich
1-0
Fabiano Caruana
Magnus Carlsen
½-½
Vladimir Kramnik 
Alexander Grischuk
1-0
Luke McShane
Teimour Radjabov
1-0
Ev. Tomashevsky
Levon Aronian
1-0
Hikaru Nakamura
Round 2: Saturday, June 9, 2012
Fabiano Caruana
½-½
Hikaru Nakamura
Ev. Tomashevsky
½-½
Levon Aronian
Luke McShane
0-1
Teimour Radjabov
Vladimir Kramnik
1-0
Alexander Grischuk
Alex. Morozevich
½-½
Magnus Carlsen
Round 3: Sunday, June 10, 2012
Magnus Carlsen
½-½
Fabiano Caruana
Alexander Grischuk
0-1
Alex. Morozevich
Teimour Radjabov
½-½
Vladimir Kramnik
Levon Aronian
0-1
Luke McShane
Hikaru Nakamura
½-½
Ev. Tomashevsky
Round 4: Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Fabiano Caruana
1-0
Ev. Tomashevsky
Luke McShane
½-½
Hikaru Nakamura
Vladimir Kramnik
½-½
Levon Aronian
Alex. Morozevich
½-½
Teimour Radjabov
Magnus Carlsen
½-½
Alexander Grischuk
Round 5: Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Alexander Grischuk
½-½
Fabiano Caruana
Teimour Radjabov
0-1
Magnus Carlsen
Levon Aronian
0-1
Alex. Morozevich
Hikaru Nakamura
½-½
Vladimir Kramnik
Ev. Tomashevsky
½-½
Luke McShane
Round 6: Thursday, June 14, 2012
Fabiano Caruana
  Luke McShane
Vladimir Kramnik
  Ev. Tomashevsky
Alex. Morozevich
  Hikaru Nakamura
Magnus Carlsen
  Levon Aronian
Alexander Grischuk
  Teimour Radjabov
Round 7: Saturday, June 16, 2012
Teimour Radjabov
  Fabiano Caruana
Levon Aronian
  Alexander Grischuk
Hikaru Nakamura
  Magnus Carlsen
Ev. Tomashevsky
  Alex. Morozevich
Luke McShane
  Vladimir Kramnik
Round 8: Sunday, June 17, 2012
Fabiano Caruana
  Vladimir Kramnik
Alex. Morozevich
  Luke McShane
Magnus Carlsen
  Ev. Tomashevsky
Alexander Grischuk
  Hikaru Nakamura
Teimour Radjabov
  Levon Aronian
Round 9: Monday, June 18, 2012
Levon Aronian
  Fabiano Caruana
Hikaru Nakamura
  Teimour Radjabov
Ev. Tomashevsky
  Alexander Grischuk
Luke McShane
  Magnus Carlsen
Vladimir Kramnik
  Alex. Morozevich

Playchess live commentary plan for the Tal Memorial 2012

11.06.2012 Free Day  
12.06.2012 Round 4 Daniel King
13.06.2012 Round 5 Robert Ris
14.06.2012 Round 6 Robert Ris
15.06.2012 Free Day  
16.06.2012 Round 7 Lawrence Trent
17.06.2012 Round 8 Daniel King
18.06.2012 Round 9 Yasser Seirawan

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 11 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.

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