Tashkent 04: Back to Peace

by Alejandro Ramirez
10/24/2014 – Maybe looking forward to the free day tomorrow, the games somehow ended up being mostly dry in Tashkent. With every single game ending in a draw it was really only the game between Mamedyarov and Nakamura that provided any excitement to the fans. MVL is, of course, the one that is happiest with the results. Seven more rounds like this would crown him champion in Tashkent.

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The second stage of the 2014-2015 FIDE Grand Prix is taking place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The tournament will run from October 20th to November 3rd, 2014. Some of the strongest players in the world will compete in a Round Robin event. The winner and runner-up of the Grand Prix series will earn their spot at the 2016 Candidate's Tournament.

Round Four

Round 04 – October 24 2014, 15:00h
Gelfand, Boris 2748
½-½
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2747
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2757
½-½
Karjakin, Sergey 2767
Jobava, Baadur 2717
½-½
Radjabov, Teimour 2726
Andreikin, Dmitry 2722
½-½
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2706
Giri, Anish 2768
½-½
Caruana, Fabiano 2844
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2764
½-½
Nakamura, Hikaru 2764

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Gelfand, Boris ½-½ Jakovenko, Dmitry
Following a recent game between Grischuk and Nakamura from the European Club Cup, both players reached a position that should be very close to equal. Nothing new was really added to the table, the players simplified to a draw in a known way.

"Oh no, I'm down a full tempo!" actually Jakovenko had no problems holding a draw to day

Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime ½-½ Karjakin, Sergey
MVL's set-up against the QID paid off some dividends. He obtained some pressure against Black's position, but Karjakin struck back with an interesting pawn sacrifice. Actually, Black's only compensation for the pawn was that he could blockade the queenside majority of his opponent and after simplifying into an opposite colored bishop endgame MVL ran out of ideas on how to try to make progress.

Karjakin taking a little stroll during the game

MVL tried to put some presssure, but he got neutralized

Jobava, Baadur ½-½ Radjabov, Teimour
In a sharp-looking Grunfeld Jobava did not retain his extra pawn in order to secure his development. This gave Black enough time to consolidate his own position. After some natural exchanges the game reduced to pawns on the same flank, which was drawn even though Radjabov decided to sacrifice one pawn at some point.

Jobava's openings are always unusual, today he met good prep in the Grunfeld

Andreikin, Dmitry ½-½ Kasimdzhanov, Rustam
The players successfully found a way to make a repetition starting on move 19.

Andreikin rarely says no to a draw in an equal position

Giri, Anish ½-½ Caruana, Fabiano
The Italian player neutralized Giri's attempts to create any advantage in this Catalan variation with an early Nc3 (reached by transposition). Giri tried to create something but wasn't able to.

Giri quietly gains places in the World Rankings. He is currently 7th,
ahead of Karjakin and Nakamura, according to the live list.

Caruana is solid with Black, not letting his current -1 score get to him

Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar ½-½ Nakamura, Hikaru
By far the most interesting game of the day. A clash in one of the aggressive ways of meeting the Orthodox with a quick kingside expansion led to Mamedyarov sacrificing material early in the game. Nakamura returned it and sacrificed his own pawn to keep his king safe and for counter-chances against White's kingside. Eventually White had the opportunity to maybe gain a slight edge with some crazy king maneuvers, but this was left off the board. In the continuation played in the game Mamedyarov sacrificed an exchange for two powerful pawns, but it was not enough to see them through. A fun draw.

By far, far and away the most exciting game to watch

Daniel King analyses the game Mamedyarov - Nakamura

Photos by Anastasiya Karlovich from the official website

Standings

Round Four Games

Select from the dropdown menu to replay the games

Schedule

Round 01 – October 21 2014, 15:00h
Giri, Anish 2768
½-½
Gelfand, Boris 2748
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2764
0-1
Andreikin, Dmitry 2722
Nakamura, Hikaru 2764
1-0
Jobava, Baadur 2717
Caruana, Fabiano 2844
0-1
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2757
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2706
½-½
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2747
Radjabov, Teimour 2726
½-½
Karjakin, Sergey 2767
Round 02 –October 22 2014, 15:00h
Gelfand, Boris 2748
½-½
Karjakin, Sergey 2767
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2747
½-½
Radjabov, Teimour 2726
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2757
1-0
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2706
Jobava, Baadur 2717
½-½
Caruana, Fabiano 2844
Andreikin, Dmitry 2722
½-½
Nakamura, Hikaru 2764
Giri, Anish 2768
½-½
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2764
Round 03 – October 23 2014, 15:00h
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2764
1-0
Gelfand, Boris 2748
Nakamura, Hikaru 2764
½-½
Giri, Anish 2768
Caruana, Fabiano 2844
½-½
Andreikin, Dmitry 2722
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2706
0-1
Jobava, Baadur 2717
Radjabov, Teimour 2726
½-½
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2757
Karjakin, Sergey 2767
1-0
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2747
Round 04 – October 24 2014, 15:00h
Gelfand, Boris 2748
½-½
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2747
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2757
½-½
Karjakin, Sergey 2767
Jobava, Baadur 2717
½-½
Radjabov, Teimour 2726
Andreikin, Dmitry 2722
½-½
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2706
Giri, Anish 2768
½-½
Caruana, Fabiano 2844
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2764
½-½
Nakamura, Hikaru 2764
Round 05 – October 26 2014, 15:00h
Nakamura, Hikaru 2764   Gelfand, Boris 2748
Caruana, Fabiano 2844   Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2764
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2706   Giri, Anish 2768
Radjabov, Teimour 2726   Andreikin, Dmitry 2722
Karjakin, Sergey 2767   Jobava, Baadur 2717
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2747   Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2757
Round 06 – October 27 2014, 15:00h
Gelfand, Boris 2748   Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2757
Jobava, Baadur 2717   Jakovenko, Dmitry 2747
Andreikin, Dmitry 2722   Karjakin, Sergey 2767
Giri, Anish 2768   Radjabov, Teimour 2726
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2764   Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2706
Nakamura, Hikaru 2764   Caruana, Fabiano 2844
Round 07 – October 28 2014, 15:00h
Caruana, Fabiano 2844   Gelfand, Boris 2748
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2706   Nakamura, Hikaru 2764
Radjabov, Teimour 2726   Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2764
Karjakin, Sergey 2767   Giri, Anish 2768
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2747   Andreikin, Dmitry 2722
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2757   Jobava, Baadur 2717
Round 08 – October 29 2014, 15:00h
Gelfand, Boris 2748   Jobava, Baadur 2717
Andreikin, Dmitry 2722   Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2757
Giri, Anish 2768   Jakovenko, Dmitry 2747
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2764   Karjakin, Sergey 2767
Nakamura, Hikaru 2764   Radjabov, Teimour 2726
Caruana, Fabiano 2844   Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2706
Round 09 – October 31 2014, 15:00h
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2706   Gelfand, Boris 2748
Radjabov, Teimour 2726   Caruana, Fabiano 2844
Karjakin, Sergey 2767   Nakamura, Hikaru 2764
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2747   Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2764
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2757   Giri, Anish 2768
Jobava, Baadur 2717   Andreikin, Dmitry 2722
Round 10 – November 01, 2014, 15:00h
Gelfand, Boris 2748   Andreikin, Dmitry 2722
Giri, Anish 2768   Jobava, Baadur 2717
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2764   Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2757
Nakamura, Hikaru 2764   Jakovenko, Dmitry 2747
Caruana, Fabiano 2844   Karjakin, Sergey 2767
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2706   Radjabov, Teimour 2726
Round 11 – November 02, 2014, 13:00h
Radjabov, Teimour 2726   Gelfand, Boris 2748
Karjakin, Sergey 2767   Kasimdzhanov, Rustam 2706
Jakovenko, Dmitry 2747   Caruana, Fabiano 2844
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 2757   Nakamura, Hikaru 2764
Jobava, Baadur 2717   Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 2764
Andreikin, Dmitry 2722   Giri, Anish 2768

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 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.

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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