Tal Memorial Rd8 – Caruana beats Kramnik to take sole lead

by ChessBase
6/17/2012 – If yesterday was sizzling, today was incendiary. No one could have expected McShane to run over Moro as he did, nor Caruana to take the lead by beating Kramnik with ease. While Nakamura blundered to Grischuk and lost, Carlsen took herculean risks in an endgame to try and beat Tomashevsky, but the Russian found all the right moves. 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 8: Sunday, June 17, 2012
Fabiano Caruana
1-0
Vladimir Kramnik
Alex. Morozevich
0-1
Luke McShane
Magnus Carlsen
½-½
Ev. Tomashevsky
Alexander Grischuk
1-0
Hikaru Nakamura
Teimour Radjabov
½-½
Levon Aronian

Round eight

To call the eighth round incendiary is almost light. It is certainly hard to imagine a more astonishing one. The seventh round seemed to have used up the surprise factor, but then again, what could be odder than both leaders losing in the same round, except losing again in the very next!


Alexander Grischuk lost in thought before the round

With five leaders, and two rounds to go, the stage was set for upsets and players to be upset, and it was all there. The only table that didn’t have a leader playing was Alexander Grischuk against Hikaru Nakamura, but the American was in no mood for a quiet game, and the Sicilian Dragon said it all. Being the kind of opening where the smallest misstep can have huge consequences, it was a logical looking move that turned out to be the culprit, and it was all downhill from there for Nakamura.

Annotated game by GM Gilberto Milos

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MoveNResultEloPlayers
1.e41,165,57054%2421---
1.d4946,47455%2434---
1.Nf3281,31256%2441---
1.c4181,93756%2442---
1.g319,68856%2427---
1.b314,23654%2427---
1.f45,88648%2377---
1.Nc33,79651%2384---
1.b41,75348%2380---
1.a31,19754%2403---
1.e31,06848%2408---
1.d394850%2378---
1.g466246%2361---
1.h444653%2374---
1.c342651%2425---
1.h327956%2416---
1.a410860%2468---
1.f39147%2431---
1.Nh38966%2508---
1.Na34262%2482---
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 Nakamura always plays for the win and again he is taking risks even with black. This is a winning attitude but sometimes it can backfire. 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 0-0 9.g4 This is as good as 0-0-0 and Bc4. Nxd4 9...Be6 Is an important alternative here. 10.Bxd4 Be6 11.Nd5 Karpov's idea played againt Mestel in 1982. Bxd5 12.exd5 Qc7 13.h4 Rac8 14.Rh2 e5 15.dxe6 fxe6 16.0-0-0! An important detail. The natural 16.h5 would be answered with d5! Mestel played ...Qc6 and lost against Karpov. 16...Qc6 17.0-0-0 Qxf3 18.hxg6 hxg6 19.Bg2 Ne4 20.Bxf3 Nxd2 21.Bxb7 Bxd4 22.Bxc8 Rxc8 23.Kxd2 Bxb2 24.Rb1 Bc3+ 25.Kd3 Be5 26.Rf2 Rc3+ 27.Kd2 Rc7 28.g5 d5 29.Rb8+ Kg7 30.Re8 Bc3+ 31.Kd1 Bd4 32.Rf3 Rf7 33.Rxf7+ Kxf7 34.Rc8 e5 35.Ke2 Bb6 36.Rc6 Bd8 37.Rd6 Bb6 38.a4 Bg1 39.a5 Bd4 40.Kd3 1-0 (40) Karpov,A (2720)-Mestel, A (2500) London 1982 17.0-0-0 Ne4 18.fxe4 Bxd4 With good play for black. 16...e5 It seems that occupying the center with pawns is not so important in this position. Perhaps Black should play 16...Nd5 17.Bxg7 Qxg7 as in the game Oll - Georgiev Ki, Biel, 1993. Black's king is more protected here. 17.Be3 Qf7 18.Kb1 d5 Continuing with the idea. An important and probably better option was 18...Nxg4 19.fxg4 Qxf1 winning a pawn but White continues his attack and is better after 20.h5 19.h5 e4 19...d4 20.hxg6 hxg6 21.Bh6 is excellent for White. 20.hxg6 This is good and very human. The computer already gives White a decisive advantage after the strange 20.h6!? Bh8 21.g5 Nh5 21...Nd7 22.Rf2 exf3 23.Rxf3 Qxf3 24.Bg2 Qf5 25.Bxd5+ Rf7 26.Bxf7+ Qxf7 27.Qxd7 22.Bh3 Rcd8 23.fxe4 though it is hard to imagine any human playing this. 20...hxg6 21.Be2 Qe6 21...exf3 22.Bxf3 Ne4 23.Bxe4 dxe4 is a better defense but White is still much better after 24.Rhh1 24.Rdh1? Qf1+ 22.Bd4 Rc7 23.Rdh1 This is a dream position for White. All his pieces are playing, he has a decisive attack and his king is completely protected. Rff7 24.a3 Prophylaxis protecting the eight rank. 24.Qg5 would win immediately as the g6 pawn cannot be protected. Ne8? is mate after 25.Rh8+ Bxh8 26.Rxh8# 24...b6 25.fxe4 From now on Grishuk plays perfectly until the end. There were other ways to win but he gave no chances to his opponent. Qxe4 25...Nxe4 26.Rh8+ Bxh8 27.Rxh8# 26.g5 Nh5 The tricky 26...Nh7 is met with 27.Rh4! 27.Rxh7? Qxd4! 27...Qe6 28.Rxh7 winning a piece. 27.Bxg7 Kxg7 28.Bxh5 gxh5 29.Rxh5 Qc4 Nakamura tries some ideas but the positions is lost. 30.Qd1 Qe4 31.g6 Rfe7 31...Kxg6 is no better after 32.Rg1+ Kf6 33.Rh6+ Ke5 34.Re1 32.R5h4 Qe5 33.Rh7+ Kg8 34.R7h5 Qe4 35.Qd2 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Grishuk,A2761Nakamura,H27751–02012B767th Tal Memorial8


Levon Aronian has been unable to get the motor started

Teimour Radjabov had the unenviable task of having to beat Levon Aronian, and the nervy game saw the advantage swing both ways before they finally concluded a double-edged draw.


Luke McShane has justified the confidence vote that gave him the spot in the Tal Memorial

Whatever had been ailing Luke McShane in the beginning of the tournament with his 0-2, the win over Kramnik the previous round had been just what the doctor prescribed.


Alexander Morozevich came with his very own cheerleading squad


They certainly knew how to make him feel special

Alexander Morozevich had no doubt hoped to put an end to his unexpected losing streak, but the Englishman came out firing all cannons as he sacrificed the exchange and then blew open the Russian’s king with a sacrificial attack before the time control. It marks his second straight win, and shockingly, Morozevich’s third straight loss.


The humor of the situation was not lost on Fabiano Caruana holding back a smile

They say misery loves company, and Morozevich was not alone to go down almost incomprehensibly. Fabiano Caruana found himself up a pawn fairly early against Vladimir Kramnik, who had next to no compensation for his material deficit. The Italian prodigy set about converting his endgame, when a final terrible blunder by the Russian at move 40 ended it on the spot. As Kramnik faces Morozevich in the last round, it guarantees that at least one of them will end the losing streak. As to Caruana, it made him the unexpected leader going into the last round.


Carlsen tried his best, but was unable to break Tomashevsky

The only other player who could challenge his supremacy was Magnus Carlsen who had achieved a very healthy advantage against Evgeny Tomashevsky but found himself with an endgame that many GM pundits thought would go nowhere. As he pressed on, it became clear that he had his own thoughts on the position and he boldly sacrificed pawns to force Black’s hand. The Russian made no mistakes though, and he held on to the draw, but the post-game conference was the most enlightening moment. When told by journalists that the opinion of several strong players, and even the computers was that he had put himself in danger of losing, he energetically dismissed this as complete nonsense, and that the only side in danger of losing throughout the endgame had been Black.

Caruana enters the final round as the leader with 5.0/8, followed by Carlsen and Radjabov with 4.5/8.

Complete round eight games

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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5 Qe7 7.Qe2 Nd5 8.c4 Ba6 9.Nd2 g6 10.Nf3 Bg7 11.Bg5 f6 12.exf6 Qxe2+ 13.Bxe2 Nxf6 14.0-0-0 0-0-0 15.Be3 Rde8 16.Bd3 d6 17.c5 Bxd3 18.Rxd3 Nd5 19.cxd6 cxd6 20.Bxa7 Kc7 21.Be3 Ra8 22.a3 Ra4 23.Re1 Rf8 24.Ng5 Re8 25.Bb6+ Kd7 26.Rxe8 Kxe8 27.Be3 Kd7 28.Rb3 Kc8 29.Bd2 h5 30.Nf7 Kc7 31.Rg3 Ne7 32.b4 Kd7 33.Rd3 d5 34.Kc2 Nf5 35.Bc3 d4 36.Kb3 Ra8 37.Ng5 Kd6 38.f3 Kd5 39.Ne4 Ne3 40.Rxe3 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Caruana,F2770Kramnik,V28011–02012C457th Mikhail Tal Memorial8
Morozevich,A2769McShane,L27060–12012D157th Mikhail Tal Memorial8
Radjabov,T2784Aronian,L2825½–½2012A077th Mikhail Tal Memorial8
Grischuk,A2761Nakamura,H27751–02012B757th Mikhail Tal Memorial8
Carlsen,M2835Tomashevsky,E2738½–½2012A297th Tal Memorial 20128

Tal Memorial 2012 Round eight Play of the Day by Daniel King: Morozevich-McShane

Pictures by Eteri Kublashvili

Standings after eight rounds

 

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.

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
1-0
Luke McShane
Vladimir Kramnik
1-0
Ev. Tomashevsky
Alex. Morozevich
0-1
Hikaru Nakamura
Magnus Carlsen
½-½
Levon Aronian
Alexander Grischuk
½-½
Teimour Radjabov
Round 7: Saturday, June 16, 2012
Teimour Radjabov
½-½
Fabiano Caruana
Levon Aronian
½-½
Alexander Grischuk
Hikaru Nakamura
½-½
Magnus Carlsen
Ev. Tomashevsky
1-0
Alex. Morozevich
Luke McShane
1-0
Vladimir Kramnik
Round 8: Sunday, June 17, 2012
Fabiano Caruana
1-0
Vladimir Kramnik
Alex. Morozevich
0-1
Luke McShane
Magnus Carlsen
½-½
Ev. Tomashevsky
Alexander Grischuk
1-0
Hikaru Nakamura
Teimour Radjabov
½-½
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

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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