Tashir Final: Quick draw clinches

by Alejandro Ramirez
11/12/2014 – Certainly disappointing for the fans, but a good and fair result for Alexander Grischuk who finalizes his performance in Moscow by forcing a quick repetition against Vladimir Kramnik, giving these players the first and second place of the tournament. Both Aronian and Gelfand won their games against Inarkiev and Leko respecitvely to finish in a tie for third place. Final report!

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The International Tashir tournament  in the memory Tigran Petrosian is being held in Moscow from November 3rd to November 11th. The format of the event is a seven-round Round Robin. The time control: 100 minutes for 40 moves + 50 minutes for 20 moves + 15 minutes to the end of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from the first.

Round Seven

Round 07 – November 11
Grischuk, Alexander 2795
½-½ 
Kramnik, Vladimir 2760
Inarkiev, Ernesto 2688
0-1
Aronian, Levon 2797
Gelfand, Boris 2759
1-0
Leko, Peter 2731
Morozevich, Alexander 2724
½-½
Ding Liren 2730

Grischuk, Alexander ½-½ Kramnik, Vladimir
Certainly disappointing, but since Grischuk just needed a draw it is understandable that he forced an early repetition.

[Event "Petrosian Memorial 2014"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2014.11.11"] [Round "7.1"] [White "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Black "Kramnik, Vladimir"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E04"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2760"] [PlyCount "28"] [EventDate "2014.11.04"] [SourceDate "2014.01.04"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 c6 6. Ne5 Bb4+ 7. Bd2 Qxd4 8. Bxb4 Qxe5 9. Na3 b5 10. Bc3 Qc5 11. Bd4 Qb4+ 12. Bc3 Qc5 13. Bd4 Qb4+ 14. Bc3 Qc5 {The entire game had actually been played once before. Tratar-Khenkin, 2008.} 1/2-1/2

A quick draw gave Grischuk more laurels than he could carry!

Grischuk, Kramnik and Gelfand did the 1-2-3 (Gelfand on tiebreaks over Aronian)

Inarkiev, Ernesto 0-1 Aronian, Levon
A pretty nice game from Aronian. He saw the opportunity to take a risk and it paid of handsomely. He entered a superior endgame and his technique was flawless.

[Event "Petrosian Memorial 2014"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2014.11.11"] [Round "7.4"] [White "Inarkiev, Ernesto"] [Black "Aronian, Levon"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2688"] [BlackElo "2797"] [PlyCount "130"] [EventDate "2014.11.04"] [SourceDate "2014.01.04"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 {Avoiding the Berlin, like the World Champion against his Challenger in the second round of the World Championship that is ongoing.} Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O Re8 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 Be7 { Aronian's setup is unbelievably solid.} 9. Re1 (9. Bxc6 dxc6 10. Nxe5 Nxe4 11. Bxe7 Qxe7 12. Nxc6 bxc6 13. dxe4 Qxe4 $11) 9... d6 10. Nbd2 g5 {This idea is not risky at all as long as Black's bishop is on e7.} 11. Bg3 g4 $5 {But this is rather ambitious. Inarkiev will be forced to sacrifice a pawn, but he does retain some compensation against Black's over-exposed kingside.} 12. Nh4 Nxe4 13. Nxe4 Bxh4 14. Bxh4 Qxh4 15. d4 {Whether White has enough compensation for a full pawn is certainly unclear. It might be so, with his superior development and tricks involving Black's king, but with perfect play I have a feeling Black can neutralize White's threats.} f5 16. Ng3 f4 17. Qd3 Kg7 (17... fxg3 18. Qg6+ Kf8 19. fxg3 {gets Black basically mated.}) 18. d5 fxg3 19. hxg3 Qg5 20. dxc6 Bf5 21. Qe3 b6 {White has recovered his pawn, but in turn Black's position is completely safe. More than that, his structure and activity is now superior.} 22. Qxg5+ $6 {I don't like this move; from a practical point of view it will be difficult to defend against the simple mating threats.} hxg5 23. Rad1 Rh8 24. Bc4 a5 25. b3 Rh6 26. Bd5 Rah8 27. Kf1 Bc2 28. Rd2 Rh1+ 29. Ke2 Rxe1+ 30. Kxe1 Rh1+ 31. Ke2 Rc1 {Black's activity cannot be underestimated. More than that, White is completely paralyzed.} 32. c4 a4 33. bxa4 Bxa4 34. Rb2 Kf6 35. Kd2 Rd1+ 36. Ke2 (36. Kc3 $1 {I'm not srue why the king wanted to stay in the kingside.} b5 $15) 36... Rd4 37. Rd2 b5 38. Ke3 Rxd2 39. Kxd2 bxc4 { White cannot recapture this intrepid pawn. c6 is hanging, so the bishop cannot do it, and surprisingly the king also has no time to do so.} 40. f3 (40. Kc3 e4 $1 41. Kxc4 Ke5 {is a very ugly zugzwang.} 42. a3 Bb3+ $1 $19) 40... Kf5 41. Kc3 gxf3 42. gxf3 g4 43. Be4+ Kg5 44. Kxc4 Bd1 45. Kd3 Bxf3 46. a4 (46. Ke3 Bd1 47. Kd2 Ba4 48. Kc3 Kf6 {still looks ugly.}) 46... d5 {perhaps based on a miscalculation, this move loses without a fight, though it is hard to believe White can survive the endgame after 47.Bh7 Kf6.} 47. Bxf3 gxf3 48. a5 e4+ 49. Kd2 d4 50. a6 e3+ 51. Kc2 f2 52. a7 f1=Q 53. a8=Q Qc4+ 54. Kb2 e2 55. Qd8+ Kg4 56. Qh4+ {There are a few checks, but no perpetual.} Kf3 57. Qf4+ Kg2 58. Qe4+ Kg1 59. Qb1+ Kf2 60. Qf5+ Ke1 61. Qg6 Kd1 62. Qg4 Qc3+ 63. Ka2 Kc1 64. Qxe2 Qc2+ 65. Qxc2+ Kxc2 0-1

Aronian won a nice last round game against
Inarkiev, who tied for last with Morozevich

Gelfand, Boris 1-0 Leko, Peter
Gelfand repeated a variation that has yielded Radjabov a couple of easy draws in the recent past. His slight deviation actually proved to be rather dangerous and the endgame seemed to be difficult for Black. Both sides lost their way at some point, but Gelfand wrapped it up with his passed pawns after some struggle.

[Event "Petrosian Memorial 2014"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2014.11.11"] [Round "7.2"] [White "Gelfand, Boris"] [Black "Leko, Peter"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A35"] [WhiteElo "2759"] [BlackElo "2731"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2014.11.04"] [SourceDate "2014.01.04"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. d4 e6 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Bg2 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Nxc3 9. bxc3 Nxd4 10. Qxd4 Qxd4 11. cxd4 Bb4+ 12. Bd2 Bxd2+ 13. Kxd2 Ke7 14. Rhc1 Rd8 15. Rc7+ Rd7 16. Rac1 Kd8 17. Rxd7+ Kxd7 18. g4 h6 19. h4 (19. f4 {was both Jakovenko-Radjabov and Fressinet-Radjabov from this year, both ending in draws.}) 19... Rb8 20. f4 {Transposing back to Fressinet-Radjabov.} b6 21. Bc6+ Kd8 {Perhaps unfamiliar with the aforementioned game, or more likely thinking that there is no difference between the moves, Leko plays 21...Kd8 instead of 21...Ke7.} 22. e4 Bd7 23. h5 b5 (23... Rc8 24. Bxd7 Rxc1 25. Kxc1 Kxd7 26. Kd2 b5 (26... a6 27. e5 {also seems winning.}) 27. Kc3 a5 28. f5 {is a winning endgame according to the computer.}) 24. Bxd7 Kxd7 25. Rc5 Rb6 {Black is under some fair amount of pressure. The rook on c5 is strong and White will very clearly advance the kingside pawns.} 26. Kc3 a5 27. e5 g6 28. hxg6 fxg6 29. a4 b4+ (29... h5 $1 {It was necessary to play this ugly looking move to create counterplay as soon as possible, but I'm not sure it would have saved Black.}) 30. Kb3 Ra6 31. f5 $6 {This looks strong, but actually Black has an important resource after this.} gxf5 32. gxf5 exf5 33. d5 {Now White's pawns just roll forward... or so it seems.} h5 $2 (33... Ra7 $1 {It was very important to take control of the seventh rank.} 34. Rc6 f4 $1 35. Rf6 Rc7 $1 {It seems that Black is barely holding here.}) 34. e6+ Kd6 35. Kc4 $1 {Now it is too late for Leko.} Ke5 36. e7 Ra8 37. Rc6 1-0

Gelfand (middle) was in high spirits! He tied for third with Aronian

Leko didn't have the tournament of his life, but who can
pass an opportunity to get an autograph from him?

Morozevich, Alexander ½-½ Ding Liren
The Chinese player's handling of the opening was probably questionable. Morozevich certainly had the opportunity to seize the intiative at some point, especially had he planted the correct rook on d1. As it was, Ding Liren stabilized and the position ended in a draw after Black's king was blasted open and White had nothing better than a perpetual.

[Event "Petrosian Memorial 2014"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2014.11.10"] [Round "6.3"] [White "Aronian, Levon"] [Black "Grischuk, Alexander"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D85"] [WhiteElo "2797"] [BlackElo "2795"] [PlyCount "65"] [EventDate "2014.11.04"] [SourceDate "2014.01.04"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 c5 8. Be3 Qa5 9. Nd2 {One of many new attempts against the Grunfeld. c3 is clearly poisoned because of Rc1, but the question is whether Nd2 is a move White wants to make.} O-O (9... cxd4 {is seen more often.} 10. Nc4 $5) 10. Rc1 ( 10. Be2 {has also been seen more often.}) 10... cxd4 11. Nc4 Qxa2 12. cxd4 {Black is up a pawn, but his queen is a little stranded. He will have to waste a few more tempi to retrieve it while White finishes development. This, somehow, is very typical of the Grunfeld.} Qa6 13. Be2 Qe6 14. Qd3 f5 15. O-O Qxe4 16. Qa3 {Black is now up two pawns (!) but he is not the one fighting for the advantage. White's development lead is so strong that Black will at least have to return his extra material.} Nc6 17. Nd2 Qh4 18. Nf3 Qf6 19. d5 Ne5 20. Rfd1 Nxf3+ 21. Bxf3 Re8 22. Rc7 Qd6 23. Qa4 Rd8 24. Bf4 Bd7 25. Qc4 Be5 26. Bxe5 Qxe5 27. Rxb7 {Grischuk's defense has been spot-on. So far he has only lost one of his pawns. Aronian's initiative is still strong, but Grischuk has diffused any immediate danger.} Qd6 28. g3 Rab8 (28... a5 29. Re1 {remains unclear.} a4 30. Rb6 $1 $13 Qxb6 31. d6+ e6 32. Rxe6 Bxe6 33. Qxe6+ $11) 29. Rxa7 Ra8 30. Rb7 Rab8 31. Ra7 Ra8 32. Rb7 Rab8 33. Ra7 1/2-1/2

President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has a busy schedule!
One day in Sochi, the next in Moscow...

Karpov attended the closing ceremony and gave a motivational speech

Photos by Eteri Kublashvili and Boris Dolmatovsky

Standings

Round Seven Games

Select from the dropdown menu to replay the games

Schedule

Round 01 – November 04
Ding Liren 2730
½-½
Kramnik, Vladimir 2760
Leko, Peter 2731
 ½-½
Morozevich, Alexander 2724
Aronian, Levon 2797
½-½ 
Gelfand, Boris 2759
Grischuk, Alexander 2795
1-0 
Inarkiev, Ernesto 2688
Round 02 – November 05
Kramnik, Vladimir 2760
1-0
Inarkiev, Ernesto 2688
Gelfand, Boris 2759
 0-1
Grischuk, Alexander 2795
Morozevich, Alexander 2724
½-½ 
Aronian, Levon 2797
Ding Liren 2730
½-½
Leko, Peter 2731
Round 03 – November 06
Leko, Peter 2731
½-½
Kramnik, Vladimir 2760
Aronian, Levon 2797
½-½
Ding Liren 2730
Grischuk, Alexander 2795
1-0 
Morozevich, Alexander 2724
Inarkiev, Ernesto 2688
½-½
Gelfand, Boris 2759
Round 04 –November 08
Kramnik, Vladimir 2760
½-½ 
Gelfand, Boris 2759
Morozevich, Alexander 2724
½-½
Inarkiev, Ernesto 2688
Ding Liren 2730
½-½ 
Grischuk, Alexander 2795
Leko, Peter 2731
½-½
Aronian, Levon 2797
Round 05 – November 09
Aronian, Levon 2797
½-½ 
Kramnik, Vladimir 2760
Grischuk, Alexander 2795
1-0
Leko, Peter 2731
Inarkiev, Ernesto 2688
½-½ 
Ding Liren 2730
Gelfand, Boris 2759
1-0
Morozevich, Alexander 2724
Round 06 – November 10
Kramnik, Vladimir 2760
1-0 
Morozevich, Alexander 2724
Ding Liren 2730
½-½
Gelfand, Boris 2759
Leko, Peter 2731
½-½ 
Inarkiev, Ernesto 2688
Aronian, Levon 2797
½-½
Grischuk, Alexander 2795
Round 07 – November 11
Grischuk, Alexander 2795
½-½ 
Kramnik, Vladimir 2760
Inarkiev, Ernesto 2688
0-1
Aronian, Levon 2797
Gelfand, Boris 2759
1-0
Leko, Peter 2731
Morozevich, Alexander 2724
½-½
Ding Liren 2730

Links

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Grandmaster Alejandro Ramirez has been playing tournament chess since 1998. His accomplishments include qualifying for the 2004 and 2013 World Cups as well as playing for Costa Rica in the 2002, 2004 and 2008 Olympiads. He currently has a rating of 2583 and is author of a number of popular and critically acclaimed ChessBase-DVDs.

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