Tashkent R11: Karjakin, Wang and Morozevich share first

by ChessBase
12/4/2012 – Kasimdzhanov and Caruana drew their final round games, Mamedyarov lost against the Chinese GM Wang Hao. With the three out of contention, wins by Hao and Sergey Karjakin left a three-way tie for first: Karjakin, Hao and Morozevich, who drew his game against Peter Svidler. This means they shared the prize money; tiebreaks can be used only for the trophies. Full report with GM commentary.

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The second stage of the 2012-2013 FIDE Grand Prix Series is taking place from November 21 to December 5th in the Gallery of Fine Art in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The games start at 14:00h local time (= 10:00h CET, 13:00h Moscow, 04:00 a.m. New York). The tournament has a prize fund of 240,000 Euros.

Round eleven report

Round 11 on Tuesday 4.12.2012 at 12:00
Dominguez Perez Leinier 2726
1-0
Kamsky Gata 2762
Karjakin Sergey 2775
1-0
Ponomariov Ruslan 2741
Wang Hao 2737
1-0
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2764
Kasimdzhanov Rustam 2696
½-½
Gelfand Boris 2751
Leko Peter 2732
½-½
Caruana Fabiano 2786
Svidler Peter 2747
½-½
Morozevich Alexander 2748

The sixth decisive round provide a tense struggle on all boards.

Sergey Karjakin (above) got a huge advantage, but Ruslan Ponomariov (below) stoically defended it until the end and had some chances to save half a point. After six and a half hours Sergey finally outplayed his opponent to share the first place in Grand Prix.

Commentary by GM Alejandro Ramirez

[Event "FIDE Grand Prix-Tashkent 2012"]
[Site "Tashkent"]
[Date "2012.12.04"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "2775"]
[BlackElo "2741"]
[Annotator "Ramirez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "155"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
[EventCountry "UZB"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8.
Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c4 b4 {The Sveshnikov lost its early
2000's popularity largely because of this line. However recently Black has
found some interesting defensive resources.} 12. Nc2 O-O 13. g3 Be6 14. Bg2 Bg5
15. O-O Qb8 {Blacks' quick Be6 is somewhat unusual, but it seems he is doing
alright. a5 is coming, he is going to put something on the g1-a7 diagonal to
take control of dark squares and isn't in any immediate danger. Karjakin may
have won this game but maybe the Sveshnikov is coming back.} 16. b3 a5 17. f4
Bd8 18. Kh1 Ra7 (18... exf4 19. gxf4 Re8 20. Qd2 {retains pressure.}) 19. Qh5
f6 20. Rad1 Ne7 21. Nce3 Bb6 22. Nxb6 Qxb6 23. Rd3 Qc5 24. Qd1 Rd8 25. f5 $1 {
A kind of "all-in" move, meaning a no turning back commitment. White kills his
own g2 bishop but now has the possibility of advancing with g4-g5 and
attacking on the kingside. If that doesn't work, nothing is going to work, but
Karjakin sees that the pressure is strong.} Bf7 26. g4 a4 $6 (26... Nc6 $1 {
Rerouting the knight and opening ways to defend the kingside was necessary.})
27. g5 $1 axb3 28. axb3 Kf8 (28... fxg5 29. Qg4 h6 30. h4 $16) 29. Qg4 Rda8 30.
gxf6 gxf6 31. Qh4 Ng8 32. Ng4 Ke7 33. Qxh7 Ra1 {Black's counterplay is
insufficient but it is annoying. If White isn't accurate his extra pawn won't
count for too much.} 34. Ne3 Kf8 35. Qh4 R8a2 36. Qg3 Qc6 37. h3 Rxf1+ 38. Nxf1
Ra1 39. Kh2 Ra2 40. Qe1 Bh5 $2 {This unfortunate 40th move allows Karjakin to
win another pawn and makes this a lot easier.} 41. Ng3 Be8 42. Qxb4 Qc5 43. Qe1
(43. Qxc5 dxc5 44. h4 {was probably winning but it might make progress
slightly problematic as the pawns are currently blocked.}) 43... Bc6 44. Nf1
Nh6 45. Qh4 Nf7 46. Qe1 Ke7 47. h4 Nh6 48. Rd2 Qa5 49. Kh3 Ra3 50. Qg3 Nf7 51.
Rd3 {White is getting out of the bind little by little, there simply isn't
enough pressure and eventually Black won't be able to stop the advancing pawns.
} Qa8 52. Ne3 Qh8 $1 {A strong maneouver that keeps causing problems.} 53. c5
Ra2 $2 {This move is to me a little inexplicable. Once Black's king is also
exposed it is impossible to hold the position. I'm not sure why Ponomariov
didn't take the c5 pawn - seeing ghosts?} (53... dxc5 54. Nc2 Ra5 $1 (54... Ra2
$2 55. Qf2 $18 {was 'the point'}) 55. b4 Rb5 $1 {And Black still holds.}) 54.
cxd6+ Nxd6 55. Nd5+ Bxd5 56. Rxd5 Qc8 57. b4 {Now the two passed pawns will
distract the Black pieces, allowing him to create strong threats against the
king.} Rc2 58. Kh2 Qc4 59. Rc5 Qe2 60. Qg8 Nf7 61. Rxc2 Qxc2 62. Qb8 Qd2 63.
Qa7+ Kf8 64. Qc5+ Kg7 65. b5 Nh6 66. Qe7+ Nf7 67. Qa3 Nd6 68. b6 $1 {The pawn
is too far advanced now for Black to create counterplay. Since passive defense
of course doesn't work so Pono tries to muddle it up.} Nxe4 69. Qf3 $1 {The
only move that wins, but sufficient. This forces Black back.} Nd6 70. b7 Qb4
71. Qh5 Nf7 72. Bd5 {White's king is rather bare, but there is no perpetual
anywhere.} Nh8 (72... Qd2+ 73. Kh3 Qxd5 74. Qg6+ $18) 73. Kh3 Qb1 74. Qg4+ Kh6
75. Qf3 Qb6 76. Qb3 Qf2 77. b8=Q Qxf5+ 78. Kh2 {Still no perpetuals and two
queens can't be stopped. Karjakin's technique was good enough to cause
Ponomariov to collapse, but the most important part of the game is how
powerful and swift his kingside attack was.} 1-0


Rustam Kasimdzhanov chose the Sveshnikov today but...


... Boris Gelfand once again proved to be absolutely ready in this opening and
managed to equalize the position without much trouble.

Shakhriyar Mamedjarov and Wang Hao (above) finished their game after four hours of play. The Chinese player not only outplayed one of the leaders, but got a good theoretical chance for sole victory in the tournament, if Morozevich would lose against Svidler and other players with +1 would fail to win. Wang Hao said at the press-conference he felt he was going to play well in this tournament: “The last period in my life was so difficult, I suffered so much, that I had feeling I deserve some luck.“

However, Alexander Morozevich (above right) made a draw and caught Wang Hao. The game between two Russian players turned to be spectacular, despite the final result. As Peter Svidler mentioned on Twitter: “at least finally there was something to watch on my board. Games vs Alexander Morozevich tend to get watchable at some point, as a rule”.


Peter Leko and Fabiana Caruana made a draw after the long struggle in the
Scandinavian Defence, so Fabiano lost his chance to join the group of winners


Lienier Dominguez succeeded in winning his first game in this e tournament


His opponent Gata Kamsky played a risky game and gave the Cuban a decisive advantage

Replay all the games of this round on our Javascript board

Final standings (after eleven rounds)

Summaries from the official web site, photos by Anastasiya Karlovich

The photographers

You have probably noticed that the quality of pictures that have accompanied these reports has been quite extraordinary. They were created by two photographers at the venue in Tashkent, whom we wish to thank for the work they have done.

Anastasiya Karlovich

WGM Anastasiya (Nastja) Karlovich was Ukrainian champion and vice-champion among girls under 16, 18 and 20, and European Champion with the Ukrainian team in the Youth Team Championships. She is also a Teacher of Constitutional Law of Foreign Countries, International Law and European Union Law in the National Law Academy of Ukraine; a member of the chess club “Law Academy”; a member of the German club Grosslehna.

Anastasiya is one of the organisers of WGM and GM closed tournaments “Cup of Rector”; press officer of international events such as the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix Series (Qatar 2011, Russia 2011, China 2011 etc), FIDE Women World Championship Match (Albania, Tirana, 2011), European Women Championship (Gazientep, 2012), FIDE World Championship Match Anand-Gelfand (Moscow 2012), World Chess Olympiad Istanbul, 2012. She was the official photographer from FIDE and CNC during the match Anand-Topalov (Sofia, Bulgaria, 2010) and the Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk (Russia, 2010). She is also a freelance journalist (reporter and photographer) for the events organized by Turkish Chess Federation (2010–present)

Bakhtiyor Jivanov

Bakhtiyor was the second photographer at the Grand Prix in Tasheknet and took care of the press conferences. He works as a photographer and designer of the G.V. Plekhanov Branch of the Russian Economic University in Tashkent and is responsible for University magazines, wall newspapers and website, as well as all the banners and materials. He used to work as a broker in the Commodity Stock but then realized that he doesn’t have that much fun making painful and risky predictions.

Bakhtiyor He is fluent in Uzbek, Russian, English and Turkish, as well as in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and Sony Vegas.

Schedule and results

Round 1 on Thursday 22.11.2012 at 14:00
Morozevich Alexander 2748
1-0
Kamsky Gata 2762
Caruana Fabiano 2786
½-½
Svidler Peter 2747
Gelfand Boris 2751
½-½
Leko Peter 2732
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2764
½-½
Kasimdzhanov Rustam 2696
Ponomariov Ruslan 2741
½-½
Wang Hao 2737
Dominguez Perez Leinier 2726
0-1
Karjakin Sergey 2775
Round 2 on Friday, 23.11.2012 at 14:00
Kamsky Gata 2762
½-½
Karjakin Sergey 2775
Wang Hao 2737
½-½
Dominguez Perez Leinier 2726
Kasimdzhanov Rustam 2696
½-½
Ponomariov Ruslan 2741
Leko Peter 2732
½-½
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2764
Svidler Peter 2747
½-½
Gelfand Boris 2751
Morozevich Alexander 2748
1-0
Caruana Fabiano 2786
Round 3 on Saturday 24.11.2012 at 14:00
Caruana Fabiano 2786
1-0
Kamsky Gata 2762
Gelfand Boris 2751
½-½
Morozevich Alexander 2748
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2764
1-0
Svidler Peter 2747
Ponomariov Ruslan 2741
½-½
Leko Peter 2732
Dominguez Perez Leinier 2726
½-½
Kasimdzhanov Rustam 2696
Karjakin Sergey 2775
½-½
Wang Hao 2737
Round 4 on Sunday 25.11.2012 at 14:00
Kamsky Gata 2762
0-1
Wang Hao 2737
Kasimdzhanov Rustam 2696
½-½
Karjakin Sergey 2775
Leko Peter 2732
½-½
Dominguez Perez Leinier 2726
Svidler Peter 2747
1-0
Ponomariov Ruslan 2741
Morozevich Alexander 2748
½-½
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2764
Caruana Fabiano 2786
1-0
Gelfand Boris 2751
Round 5 on Tuesday 27.11.2012 at 14:00
Gelfand Boris 2751
0-1
Kamsky Gata 2762
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2764
½-½
Caruana Fabiano 2786
Ponomariov Ruslan 2741
1-0
Morozevich Alexander 2748
Dominguez Perez Leinier 2726
½-½
Svidler Peter 2747
Karjakin Sergey 2775
½-½
Leko Peter 2732
Wang Hao 2737
0-1
Kasimdzhanov Rustam 2696
Round 6 on Wednesday 28.11.2012 at 14:00
Kamsky Gata 2762
½-½
Kasimdzhanov Rustam 2696
Leko Peter 2732
½-½
Wang Hao 2737
Svidler Peter 2747
½-½
Karjakin Sergey 2775
Morozevich Alexander 2748
1-0
Dominguez Perez Leinier 2726
Caruana Fabiano 2786
½-½
Ponomariov Ruslan 2741
Gelfand Boris 2751
½-½
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2764
Round 7 on Thursday 29.11.2012 at 14:00
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2764
½-½
Kamsky Gata 2762
Ponomariov Ruslan 2741
½-½
Gelfand Boris 2751
Dominguez Perez Leinier 2726
0-1
Caruana Fabiano 2786
Karjakin Sergey 2775
1-0
Morozevich Alexander 2748
Wang Hao 2737
½-½
Svidler Peter 2747
Kasimdzhanov Rustam 2696
½-½
Leko Peter 2732
Round 8 on Friday 30.11.2012 at 14:00
Kamsky Gata 2762
0-1
Leko Peter 2732
Svidler Peter 2747
½-½
Kasimdzhanov Rustam 2696
Morozevich Alexander 2748
½-½
Wang Hao 2737
Caruana Fabiano 2786
½-½
Karjakin Sergey 2775
Gelfand Boris 2751
½-½
Dominguez Perez Leinier 2726
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2764
½-½
Ponomariov Ruslan 2741
Round 9 on Sunday 2.12.2012 at 14:00
Ponomariov Ruslan 2741
½-½
Kamsky Gata 2762
Dominguez Perez Leinier 2726
½-½
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2764
Karjakin Sergey 2775
½-½
Gelfand Boris 2751
Wang Hao 2737
1-0
Caruana Fabiano 2786
Kasimdzhanov Rustam 2696
½-½
Morozevich Alexander 2748
Leko Peter 2732
½-½
Svidler Peter 2747
Round 10 on Monday 3.12.2012 at 14:00
Kamsky Gata 2762
½-½
Svidler Peter 2747
Morozevich Alexander 2748
1-0
Leko Peter 2732
Caruana Fabiano 2786
½-½
Kasimdzhanov Rustam 2696
Gelfand Boris 2751
½-½
Wang Hao 2737
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2764
1-0
Karjakin Sergey 2775
Ponomariov Ruslan 2741
1-0
Dominguez Perez Leinier 2726
Round 11 on Tuesday 4.12.2012 at 12:00
Dominguez Perez Leinier 2726
1-0
Kamsky Gata 2762
Karjakin Sergey 2775
1-0
Ponomariov Ruslan 2741
Wang Hao 2737
1-0
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2764
Kasimdzhanov Rustam 2696
½-½
Gelfand Boris 2751
Leko Peter 2732
½-½
Caruana Fabiano 2786
Svidler Peter 2747
½-½
Morozevich Alexander 2748

Video Reports

Live video coverage with English language commentary is available on the player above. There is also Russian commentary on the video page of the tournament site.

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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