Tata Steel Chess: Double-Dutch Day

Carlsen reaches the top of the standings

On Thursday, the first rest day in Wijk aan Zee, several of the players decided to get some exercise indoors, rather than brave a cold January day at a football pitch. Fortunately, there were some folks with cameras tagging along for the ride.

Keep your day jobs fellas!

Back at the board on Friday, both Magnus Carlsen and Jorden van Foreest scored their second wins of the week. The latter turned in a flashy but necessary move shortly before the time control at move 40:

Van Foreest vs Fedoseev

Position after 39.Rd1!!

"I wasn't even sure if it was a good move. I just played it because I didn't see anything else", van Foreest remarked after the game.

GM Daniel Fernandez looks at this and all the highlights of the day below.

Round 6 results

Masters

	Name	Rtg.	Pts.		Pts.		Name	Rtg
GM	Anand,V GM Anand,V 2773 1 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 1 2 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 ½ 3 GM Shankland,S 2725 ½ 4 GM Radjabov,T 2757 ½ 5 GM Giri,A 2783 ½ 6 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 ½ 7 GM Kramnik,V 2777 1 8 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 1 9 GM Rapport,R 2731 ½ 10 GM Carlsen,M 2835 0 11 GM Duda,J 2738 ½ 12 GM Ding,L 2813 ½ 13 GM Vidit,S 2695 ½ Ø 2752 7.5/13	2773	3	½-½	3½	GM	Nepomniachtchi,I GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 1 GM Giri,A 2783 1 2 GM Carlsen,M 2835 ½ 3 GM Kramnik,V 2777 1 4 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 ½ 5 GM Rapport,R 2731 ½ 6 GM Anand,V 2773 ½ 7 GM Duda,J 2738 ½ 8 GM Ding,L 2813 ½ 9 GM Vidit,S 2695 1 10 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 0 11 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 1 12 GM Shankland,S 2725 0 13 GM Radjabov,T 2757 ½ Ø 2752 7.5/13	2763
GM	Ding,L GM Ding,L 2813 1 GM Carlsen,M 2835 ½ 2 GM Vidit,S 2695 ½ 3 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 1 4 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 ½ 5 GM Shankland,S 2725 1 6 GM Radjabov,T 2757 ½ 7 GM Giri,A 2783 ½ 8 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 ½ 9 GM Kramnik,V 2777 ½ 10 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 ½ 11 GM Rapport,R 2731 ½ 12 GM Anand,V 2773 ½ 13 GM Duda,J 2738 ½ Ø 2748 7.5/13	2813	3½	½-½	2½	GM	Radjabov,T GM Radjabov,T 2757 1 GM Kramnik,V 2777 ½ 2 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 ½ 3 GM Rapport,R 2731 ½ 4 GM Anand,V 2773 ½ 5 GM Duda,J 2738 ½ 6 GM Ding,L 2813 ½ 7 GM Vidit,S 2695 1 8 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 ½ 9 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 0 10 GM Shankland,S 2725 ½ 11 GM Carlsen,M 2835 ½ 12 GM Giri,A 2783 ½ 13 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 ½ Ø 2753 6.5/13	2757
GM	Carlsen,M GM Carlsen,M 2835 1 GM Ding,L 2813 ½ 2 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 ½ 3 GM Vidit,S 2695 ½ 4 GM Kramnik,V 2777 ½ 5 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 1 6 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 1 7 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 ½ 8 GM Rapport,R 2731 1 9 GM Shankland,S 2725 ½ 10 GM Anand,V 2773 1 11 GM Radjabov,T 2757 ½ 12 GM Duda,J 2738 1 13 GM Giri,A 2783 ½ Ø 2747 9/13	2835	3	1-0	2½	GM	Mamedyarov,S GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 1 GM Shankland,S 2725 ½ 2 GM Radjabov,T 2757 ½ 3 GM Giri,A 2783 ½ 4 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 ½ 5 GM Kramnik,V 2777 ½ 6 GM Carlsen,M 2835 0 7 GM Rapport,R 2731 ½ 8 GM Anand,V 2773 0 9 GM Duda,J 2738 ½ 10 GM Ding,L 2813 ½ 11 GM Vidit,S 2695 0 12 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 ½ 13 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 ½ Ø 2748 5/13	2817
GM	Duda,J GM Duda,J 2738 1 GM Vidit,S 2695 ½ 2 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 0 3 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 1 4 GM Shankland,S 2725 ½ 5 GM Radjabov,T 2757 ½ 6 GM Giri,A 2783 0 7 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 ½ 8 GM Kramnik,V 2777 1 9 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 ½ 10 GM Rapport,R 2731 0 11 GM Anand,V 2773 ½ 12 GM Carlsen,M 2835 0 13 GM Ding,L 2813 ½ Ø 2754 5.5/13	2738	2½	0-1	3	GM	Giri,A GM Giri,A 2783 1 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 0 2 GM Kramnik,V 2777 1 3 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 ½ 4 GM Rapport,R 2731 1 5 GM Anand,V 2773 ½ 6 GM Duda,J 2738 1 7 GM Ding,L 2813 ½ 8 GM Vidit,S 2695 ½ 9 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 ½ 10 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 1 11 GM Shankland,S 2725 1 12 GM Radjabov,T 2757 ½ 13 GM Carlsen,M 2835 ½ Ø 2751 8.5/13	2783
GM	Vidit,S GM Vidit,S 2695 1 GM Duda,J 2738 ½ 2 GM Ding,L 2813 ½ 3 GM Carlsen,M 2835 ½ 4 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 1 5 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 ½ 6 GM Shankland,S 2725 ½ 7 GM Radjabov,T 2757 0 8 GM Giri,A 2783 ½ 9 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 0 10 GM Kramnik,V 2777 1 11 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 1 12 GM Rapport,R 2731 ½ 13 GM Anand,V 2773 ½ Ø 2758 7/13	2695	3	½-½	2	GM	Shankland,S GM Shankland,S 2725 1 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 ½ 2 GM Rapport,R 2731 ½ 3 GM Anand,V 2773 ½ 4 GM Duda,J 2738 ½ 5 GM Ding,L 2813 0 6 GM Vidit,S 2695 ½ 7 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 1 8 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 0 9 GM Carlsen,M 2835 ½ 10 GM Radjabov,T 2757 ½ 11 GM Giri,A 2783 0 12 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 1 13 GM Kramnik,V 2777 1 Ø 2755 6.5/13	2725
GM	Rapport,R GM Rapport,R 2731 1 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 ½ 2 GM Shankland,S 2725 ½ 3 GM Radjabov,T 2757 ½ 4 GM Giri,A 2783 0 5 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 ½ 6 GM Kramnik,V 2777 ½ 7 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 ½ 8 GM Carlsen,M 2835 0 9 GM Anand,V 2773 ½ 10 GM Duda,J 2738 1 11 GM Ding,L 2813 ½ 12 GM Vidit,S 2695 ½ 13 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 1 Ø 2755 6.5/13	2731	2	½-½	1½	GM	Kramnik,V GM Kramnik,V 2777 1 GM Radjabov,T 2757 ½ 2 GM Giri,A 2783 0 3 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 0 4 GM Carlsen,M 2835 ½ 5 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 ½ 6 GM Rapport,R 2731 ½ 7 GM Anand,V 2773 0 8 GM Duda,J 2738 0 9 GM Ding,L 2813 ½ 10 GM Vidit,S 2695 0 11 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 1 12 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 1 13 GM Shankland,S 2725 0 Ø 2751 4.5/13	2777
GM	Van Foreest,J GM Van Foreest,J 2612 1 GM Anand,V 2773 0 2 GM Duda,J 2738 1 3 GM Ding,L 2813 0 4 GM Vidit,S 2695 0 5 GM Carlsen,M 2835 0 6 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 1 7 GM Shankland,S 2725 0 8 GM Radjabov,T 2757 ½ 9 GM Giri,A 2783 ½ 10 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 1 11 GM Kramnik,V 2777 0 12 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 ½ 13 GM Rapport,R 2731 0 Ø 2764 4.5/13	2612	1	1-0	2	GM	Fedoseev,V GM Fedoseev,V 2724 1 GM Rapport,R 2731 ½ 2 GM Anand,V 2773 ½ 3 GM Duda,J 2738 0 4 GM Ding,L 2813 ½ 5 GM Vidit,S 2695 ½ 6 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 0 7 GM Carlsen,M 2835 ½ 8 GM Shankland,S 2725 1 9 GM Radjabov,T 2757 1 10 GM Giri,A 2783 0 11 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 0 12 GM Kramnik,V 2777 0 13 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 ½ Ø 2755 5/13	2724

Challengers

	Name	Rtg.	Pts.		Pts.		Name	Rtg
GM	Korobov,A GM Korobov,A 2699 1 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 1 2 GM Gledura,B 2615 ½ 3 GM Paehtz,E 2477 ½ 4 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 ½ 5 IM Kuipers,S 2470 1 6 GM Bareev,E 2650 ½ 7 GM Esipenko,A 2584 0 8 GM Kovalev,V 2687 ½ 9 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 ½ 10 GM L'Ami,E 2643 ½ 11 GM Chigaev,M 2604 ½ 12 GM Keymer,V 2500 1 13 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 ½ Ø 2571 7.5/13	2699	3½	½-½	3	GM	Bareev,E GM Bareev,E 2650 1 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 1 2 GM Chigaev,M 2604 ½ 3 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 0 4 GM Gledura,B 2615 ½ 5 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 1 6 GM Korobov,A 2699 ½ 7 GM Kovalev,V 2687 ½ 8 GM L'Ami,E 2643 0 9 GM Keymer,V 2500 ½ 10 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 0 11 GM Paehtz,E 2477 ½ 12 IM Kuipers,S 2470 1 13 GM Esipenko,A 2584 1 Ø 2575 7/13	2650
		2679	3	0-1	3		Chigaev,M GM Chigaev,M 2604 1 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 1 2 GM Bareev,E 2650 ½ 3 GM Kovalev,V 2687 ½ 4 GM L'Ami,E 2643 ½ 5 GM Keymer,V 2500 ½ 6 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 1 7 GM Paehtz,E 2477 1 8 IM Kuipers,S 2470 1 9 GM Esipenko,A 2584 ½ 10 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 1 11 GM Korobov,A 2699 ½ 12 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 ½ 13 GM Gledura,B 2615 0 Ø 2578 8.5/13	2604
GM	Maghsoodloo,P GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 1 GM Korobov,A 2699 0 2 GM Paehtz,E 2477 1 3 IM Kuipers,S 2470 1 4 GM Esipenko,A 2584 ½ 5 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 ½ 6 GM Chigaev,M 2604 0 7 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 ½ 8 GM Gledura,B 2615 ½ 9 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 1 10 GM Bareev,E 2650 1 11 GM Kovalev,V 2687 0 12 GM L'Ami,E 2643 ½ 13 GM Keymer,V 2500 ½ Ø 2572 7/13	2679	3	-	3	GM	Chigaev,M GM Chigaev,M 2604 1 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 1 2 GM Bareev,E 2650 ½ 3 GM Kovalev,V 2687 ½ 4 GM L'Ami,E 2643 ½ 5 GM Keymer,V 2500 ½ 6 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 1 7 GM Paehtz,E 2477 1 8 IM Kuipers,S 2470 1 9 GM Esipenko,A 2584 ½ 10 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 1 11 GM Korobov,A 2699 ½ 12 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 ½ 13 GM Gledura,B 2615 0 Ø 2578 8.5/13	2604
GM	Kovalev,V GM Kovalev,V 2687 1 GM Esipenko,A 2584 ½ 2 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 ½ 3 GM Chigaev,M 2604 ½ 4 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 1 5 GM Gledura,B 2615 1 6 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 1 7 GM Bareev,E 2650 ½ 8 GM Korobov,A 2699 ½ 9 GM L'Ami,E 2643 ½ 10 GM Keymer,V 2500 1 11 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 1 12 GM Paehtz,E 2477 1 13 IM Kuipers,S 2470 1 Ø 2572 10/13	2687	3½	1-0	1½	WGM	Saduakassova,D WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 1 GM Chigaev,M 2604 0 2 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 ½ 3 GM Gledura,B 2615 ½ 4 GM Korobov,A 2699 ½ 5 GM Bareev,E 2650 0 6 GM Kovalev,V 2687 0 7 GM L'Ami,E 2643 ½ 8 GM Keymer,V 2500 0 9 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 0 10 GM Paehtz,E 2477 ½ 11 IM Kuipers,S 2470 ½ 12 GM Esipenko,A 2584 0 13 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 ½ Ø 2588 3.5/13	2472
		2643	3	0-1	2		Gledura,B GM Gledura,B 2615 1 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 ½ 2 GM Korobov,A 2699 ½ 3 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 ½ 4 GM Bareev,E 2650 ½ 5 GM Kovalev,V 2687 0 6 GM L'Ami,E 2643 1 7 GM Keymer,V 2500 1 8 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 ½ 9 GM Paehtz,E 2477 1 10 IM Kuipers,S 2470 ½ 11 GM Esipenko,A 2584 ½ 12 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 1 13 GM Chigaev,M 2604 1 Ø 2577 8.5/13	2615
GM	L'Ami,E GM L'Ami,E 2643 1 IM Kuipers,S 2470 1 2 GM Esipenko,A 2584 ½ 3 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 ½ 4 GM Chigaev,M 2604 ½ 5 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 ½ 6 GM Gledura,B 2615 0 7 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 ½ 8 GM Bareev,E 2650 1 9 GM Kovalev,V 2687 ½ 10 GM Korobov,A 2699 ½ 11 GM Keymer,V 2500 ½ 12 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 ½ 13 GM Paehtz,E 2477 1 Ø 2575 7.5/13	2643	3	-	2	GM	Gledura,B GM Gledura,B 2615 1 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 ½ 2 GM Korobov,A 2699 ½ 3 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 ½ 4 GM Bareev,E 2650 ½ 5 GM Kovalev,V 2687 0 6 GM L'Ami,E 2643 1 7 GM Keymer,V 2500 1 8 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 ½ 9 GM Paehtz,E 2477 1 10 IM Kuipers,S 2470 ½ 11 GM Esipenko,A 2584 ½ 12 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 1 13 GM Chigaev,M 2604 1 Ø 2577 8.5/13	2615
		2500	2½	½-½	2½		Van Foreest,L GM Van Foreest,L 2502 1 GM Gledura,B 2615 ½ 2 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 ½ 3 GM Bareev,E 2650 1 4 GM Kovalev,V 2687 0 5 GM L'Ami,E 2643 ½ 6 GM Keymer,V 2500 ½ 7 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 ½ 8 GM Paehtz,E 2477 1 9 IM Kuipers,S 2470 0 10 GM Esipenko,A 2584 0 11 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 ½ 12 GM Chigaev,M 2604 ½ 13 GM Korobov,A 2699 ½ Ø 2586 6/13	2502
GM	Keymer,V GM Keymer,V 2500 1 GM Paehtz,E 2477 ½ 2 IM Kuipers,S 2470 1 3 GM Esipenko,A 2584 0 4 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 ½ 5 GM Chigaev,M 2604 ½ 6 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 ½ 7 GM Gledura,B 2615 0 8 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 1 9 GM Bareev,E 2650 ½ 10 GM Kovalev,V 2687 0 11 GM L'Ami,E 2643 ½ 12 GM Korobov,A 2699 0 13 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 ½ Ø 2586 5.5/13	2500	2½	-	2½	GM	Van Foreest,L GM Van Foreest,L 2502 1 GM Gledura,B 2615 ½ 2 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 ½ 3 GM Bareev,E 2650 1 4 GM Kovalev,V 2687 0 5 GM L'Ami,E 2643 ½ 6 GM Keymer,V 2500 ½ 7 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 ½ 8 GM Paehtz,E 2477 1 9 IM Kuipers,S 2470 0 10 GM Esipenko,A 2584 0 11 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 ½ 12 GM Chigaev,M 2604 ½ 13 GM Korobov,A 2699 ½ Ø 2586 6/13	2502
GM	Paehtz,E GM Paehtz,E 2477 1 GM Keymer,V 2500 ½ 2 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 0 3 GM Korobov,A 2699 ½ 4 IM Kuipers,S 2470 ½ 5 GM Esipenko,A 2584 ½ 6 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 ½ 7 GM Chigaev,M 2604 0 8 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 0 9 GM Gledura,B 2615 0 10 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 ½ 11 GM Bareev,E 2650 ½ 12 GM Kovalev,V 2687 0 13 GM L'Ami,E 2643 0 Ø 2588 3.5/13	2477	2	½-½	2	GM	Praggnanandhaa R GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 1 GM Bareev,E 2650 0 2 GM Kovalev,V 2687 ½ 3 GM L'Ami,E 2643 ½ 4 GM Keymer,V 2500 ½ 5 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 ½ 6 GM Paehtz,E 2477 ½ 7 IM Kuipers,S 2470 1 8 GM Esipenko,A 2584 0 9 GM Korobov,A 2699 ½ 10 GM Chigaev,M 2604 0 11 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 ½ 12 GM Gledura,B 2615 0 13 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 ½ Ø 2583 5/13	2539
		2470	½	½-½	3		Esipenko,A GM Esipenko,A 2584 1 GM Kovalev,V 2687 ½ 2 GM L'Ami,E 2643 ½ 3 GM Keymer,V 2500 1 4 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 ½ 5 GM Paehtz,E 2477 ½ 6 IM Kuipers,S 2470 ½ 7 GM Korobov,A 2699 1 8 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 1 9 GM Chigaev,M 2604 ½ 10 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 1 11 GM Gledura,B 2615 ½ 12 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 1 13 GM Bareev,E 2650 0 Ø 2580 8.5/13	2584
IM	Kuipers,S IM Kuipers,S 2470 1 GM L'Ami,E 2643 0 2 GM Keymer,V 2500 0 3 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 0 4 GM Paehtz,E 2477 ½ 5 GM Korobov,A 2699 0 6 GM Esipenko,A 2584 ½ 7 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 0 8 GM Chigaev,M 2604 0 9 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 1 10 GM Gledura,B 2615 ½ 11 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 ½ 12 GM Bareev,E 2650 0 13 GM Kovalev,V 2687 0 Ø 2589 3/13	2470	½	-	3	GM	Esipenko,A GM Esipenko,A 2584 1 GM Kovalev,V 2687 ½ 2 GM L'Ami,E 2643 ½ 3 GM Keymer,V 2500 1 4 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 ½ 5 GM Paehtz,E 2477 ½ 6 IM Kuipers,S 2470 ½ 7 GM Korobov,A 2699 1 8 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 1 9 GM Chigaev,M 2604 ½ 10 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 1 11 GM Gledura,B 2615 ½ 12 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 1 13 GM Bareev,E 2650 0 Ø 2580 8.5/13	2584

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Carlsen's win against van Foreest in round five broke Magnus' streak of 21 draws in a row (in classical games) and seems to have inspired him to press for a win against the world number four (in the live ratings list), Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. He did get a little help from his opponent, it should be said. First of all, Carlsen arrived at the board about 11 minutes late, reportedly to avoid an annoying photographer. But after Carlsen made his first move with White, Mamedyarov deliberately waited a similar amount of time, equalising the clocks! An interesting, albeit bizarre, footnote to this game.

More critical to the outcome was what happened on the board. In a largely balanced game, Carlsen had two pieces for a rook in the ending but probably could not have won with accurate play. But Mamedyarov faltered, and Carlsen converted without difficulty.

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Move	N	Result	Elo	Players

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1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 dxc4 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.0-0 a6 7.b3 b6 7...cxd4 might be my choice, since (as the next note indicates) it might soon be too late to play this. 8.dxc5 In this relative theoretical backwater, the engines are rather fond of 8.Ba3!? trying to force an isolated c-pawn on Black (or else remove his castling rights.) Nbd7 8...Bb7 9.dxc5 Qxd1 10.Rxd1 Bxc5 11.Bxc5 bxc5 12.Be2! 8...cxd4 9.Bxf8 Kxf8 10.Nxd4 Qe7 8...Qc7 9.Nbd2 Be7 10.Rc1 Nbd7 11.dxc5 bxc5 12.Bb2 9.d5 exd5 10.Bxd5 Nxd5 11.Qxd5 Ra7 12.Bb2 Smirnov,P-Kozionov,K Kazan 2017 8...Qxd1 9.Rxd1 Bxc5 10.Bb2 Nbd7 11.Nbd2 Bb7 12.Be2 0-0 13.Nc4 Rfd8 14.Ne1 Bd5 15.Rac1 Rac8 16.Nd3 Be7 17.Nce5 White avoids the structure-for-bishop-pair imbalance resulting from 17.Bd4 Bxc4 18.bxc4 Ne4 17...Bb7 18.Nc4 Bd5 19.Nd2 Bb7 20.Kf1 h6 21.Bf3 Nd5 22.Nc4 b5 23.Na5 Ba8 24.a3 There was another interesting option for an imbalance, albeit the other way than before, in 24.Bxd5!? Bxd5 24...exd5! 25.g3 25.Nf4 Rxc1 26.Rxc1 Bf6 27.Bxf6 Nxf6 28.Ke2 24...g5 25.h3 f5 26.b4 Kf7 27.Nb3 Bf6 27...N5b6 is a lot more natural than the text for me; White needs to think seriously about why c4 isn't just a weakness. 28.Bxf6 Kxf6 29.Nbc5 N5b6 30.Be2 Nc4 30...Nxc5 31.Nxc5 Bd5!? was possible, inviting massive simplifications. 32.Nxa6 Nc4 33.Ra1 Ra8 34.Nc7 Rxa3 35.Nxb5 Rxa1 36.Rxa1 Rb8 37.Nc7 Rxb4 38.Nxd5+ exd5= 31.a4 Ndb6 32.a5 Nd5 33.Nxa6 Svidler mentioned in his commentary that the supercomputers were giving 33.Kg1!? which leads to some imbalance as well: Nxb4 33...Nc7 34.g4 34.Nxb4 Rxd1+ 35.Rxd1 Rxc5 36.Nxa6 Rc8 37.Ra1 with interesting play. 33...Ndxe3+ 34.fxe3 Nxe3+ 35.Kg1 Avoiding the 2nd rank pin. 35.Kf2 Nxd1+ 36.Rxd1 Rc2 35...Nxd1 36.Rxd1 Rc2 37.Bf3 Be4! Black has recognised that the two knights work together quite well, and chooses to swap one of them off. 38.Nac5 38.Bxe4 fxe4 39.Rf1+ Ke7 will be what Magnus wanted to make work first, but it doesn't and he must settle for a deeply unnatural draw after 40.Ndc5 Rdd2 41.Re1 Rxg2+ 42.Kh1= 38...Bxd3 39.Rxd3 Rxd3 40.Nxd3 e5 41.Bb7 e4 42.Nc5 Ke5 43.a6 Ra2 44.Bc6 It is also possible to try and block the a-file with 44.Nb3 e3 45.Kf1 but Black can simply deliver perpetual check. f4 46.Na5 Ra1+ 47.Ke2 Ra2+ 48.Ke1= 48.Kf3?? g4+‼ 44...h5?? Black gets ambitious: the spectre of a back-rank mate was just too tempting. This loses the game after accurate play. 44...e3 was more than enough to draw. 45.Bxb5 Kd4 and White will be unable to sustainably block the a-file, meaning that lines like 46.Kf1 f4 47.Ke1 h5 48.Be2 Ra1+ 49.Bd1 Kc4 50.Na4 Kd3 51.Nc5+ Kc4= are likely. 45.Bxb5 g4 46.hxg4 hxg4 47.Bc4! An accurate if not especially intuitive move. One of its chief points is that with the rook on a1, Black isn't able to play ...Kd4. 47.Kh2 e3 48.Nd3+ Ke4± 47...Ra1+ 48.Kh2! f4 49.b5 f3 50.b6 Kf4 51.Nxe4 Eliminating the ghost of Black's mate-motifs. 1–0

White	EloW	Black	EloB	Res	Year	ECO	Event	Rnd

Carlsen,M

Mamedyarov,S

1–0

2019

Tata Steel Masters

Master Class Vol.8: Magnus Carlsen

Scarcely any world champion has managed to captivate chess lovers to the extent Carlsen has. The enormously talented Norwegian hasn't been systematically trained within the structures of a major chess-playing nation such as Russia, the Ukraine or China.

With this victory, Carlsen also strengthened his position as number one in the live world rankings, which had been in danger. Now at 2837.9 points, he is almost ten points ahead of Fabiano Caruana, who is on the sidelines with 2828. At the same time, he moved to the top of the standings, now sharing the lead with Ding Liren, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Anish Giri.

Nepomniachtchi's game against Vishy Anand was over quickly. After 22 moves the draw was signed.

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Move	N	Result	Elo	Players

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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 6...Nbd7 7.Qe2 h6 8.Bh4 g6 9.f4 e5 10.fxe5 dxe5 11.0-0-0 is the main line worth bearing in mind when you view the next 4-5 moves of the game. 7.f4 Nbd7 8.Qe2 h6 9.Bh4 e5 10.fxe5 dxe5 11.Nf5 11.0-0-0 doesn't work as well here as in the analogous lines with ...g6. exd4 12.e5 Be7 13.Rxd4 13.exf6 Nxf6 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.g3 Be6 13...0-0 14.exf6 Bxf6 15.Bxf6 Qxf6= 11...Nb6 A sign that Black is well-prepared even in this sideline. 11...g6 12.Ne3 Be7 13.0-0-0 b5 looks more natural but leaves Black worse, e.g. 14.Bxf6 Bxf6 15.g3 12.Qf3 12.Qd3 Bxf5 13.exf5 Qxd3 14.Bxd3 Bb4 15.0-0 Bxc3 16.bxc3 0-0-0 17.Rab1 Rd6 18.Rfe1= Lomasov,S-Sarana,A Loo 2018 12...Bxf5 13.Qxf5 Be7 14.Bd3 Nfd7 15.Bxe7 15.0-0 Bc5+ 16.Bf2 Qe7= 15...Qxe7 16.0-0-0 0-0 17.Kb1 Nc5 18.Be2 Rad8 19.Qf2! White has acheived nothing from the opening; that much is clear. What remains for him to do is to play suitably circumspect moves so that he doesn't end up worse. Qc7 20.Qe3 Qc6 21.Rhe1 Rfe8 22.a3 Kf8 I suppose this move indicates a willingness to repeat the position by artificial methods if necessary, and the arbiters were disinclined to stand in the way of the draw anyway. That all being said, could not Black have played on at the end? 22...Rxd1+ 23.Rxd1 Ne6 makes sense, with either ...Qc5 or ...Nd4 in the pipeline, when it is hard to see what White can constructively do. Though, of course, the position is still level. 24.Nd5 Nd4 25.c3 Nxe2 26.Qxe2 Nc4= ½–½

White	EloW	Black	EloB	Res	Year	ECO	Event	Rnd

Anand,V

Nepomniachtchi,I

½–½

2019

B96

Tata Steel Masters

Ding Liren was slightly better with White the whole game against Teimour Radjabov and tried tenaciously to develop this advantage. But Radjabov was able to even things out and after 75 moves a draw was agreed.

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Move	N	Result	Elo	Players

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1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 e6 4.0-0 Be7 5.d4 0-0 6.c4 dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.Qxc4 b5 9.Qc2 Bb7 10.Bd2 The 'Kramnik line'. Be4 10...Ra7 11.Rc1 Be4 12.Qb3 Nc6 12...Bd5 13.Qe3 Nbd7 14.Ba5 Bd6 15.Nc3 Bb7 16.Ng5 Bxg2 17.Kxg2 Qa8+ 18.Qf3 Qxf3+ 19.Kxf3 Hammer,J-Ivanchuk,V Plovdiv 2010 13.e3 Qa8 14.Qd1 b4 15.Be1 15.Qf1!? attracted some attention a while back, as a result of some games from Giri and others. 15...Bd5 16.Nbd2 Nb8 17.Nh4 Bxg2 18.Nxg2 Nbd7 19.Qf3 Qxf3 20.Nxf3 c5 21.Nf4 Damljanovic,B-Efimenko,Z Zlatibor 2007 10...Nbd7 11.Ba5 Rc8 12.Nbd2 11.Qc1 Bb7 12.Rd1 Qc8 13.Ba5 c5 14.dxc5 Bxc5 The high-level precedent is a game between another Chinese player and another early post-Soviet grandmaster. 14...Qxc5 15.Qxc5 Bxc5 16.Nbd2 Rc8 17.Rac1 Nbd7 18.Ne5 Bxg2 19.Nxd7 Nxd7 20.Kxg2 Wang,Y-Ponomariov,R Medias 2010 15.Nbd2 Nbd7 16.Nb3 Ba7 17.Qf4 Nb6 17...Bd5 followed by ...Qb7 might have given White a little bit less to nibble on. 18.Bxb6 Bxb6 19.Rac1 Qe8 20.Ne5 Bxg2 21.Kxg2 Rd8 22.Rxd8 Qxd8 23.Qf3 Qd6 24.Nd3 It is hard to dispute that White has something, based on the c-file, but actually improving his play to prosecute that advantage is another matter. Nd5 25.Nbc5 a5 26.Ne4 Qb8 27.h4 h6 28.b3 b4 29.Rc4 Rd8 30.g4 Ne7 31.g5 Ng6 32.Qg3 Qxg3+ 33.fxg3 Ne7 34.g4 hxg5 35.Nxg5 Nd5 36.Kf3 Be3 37.Ne4 g6 38.Nf6+ Nxf6 39.Kxe3 Nd5+ 40.Kf3 Kg7 41.g5 Rh8 42.e3 Nb6 43.Rd4 Nd5 44.Ne5 f6 45.Nc4 fxg5 46.hxg5 Rf8+ 47.Kg4 Rf2 Now this is dead level. Black has played precisely, and proven once more the truism that +/= just means there is a different level of demand on the two players in order to make a draw. 48.e4 Nc3 49.Rd7+ Rf7 50.Rxf7+ Kxf7 51.Nxa5 Nxa2 52.Kf4 Nc1 53.Ke3 e5 54.Kd2 Na2 55.Kd3 Ke6 56.Nb7 Nc3 57.Nd8+ Kd6 58.Nf7+ Ke6 59.Nd8+ Kd6 60.Nf7+ Ke6 61.Nh8 Nd1 62.Ke2 Nc3+ 63.Kd3 Nd1 64.Nxg6 Nf2+ 65.Ke3 Nh3 66.Nf8+ Ke7 67.Nh7 Kf7 68.Kf3 Kg6 69.Nf8+ Kf7 70.Nd7 Nxg5+ 71.Ke3 Ke6 72.Nb6 Kd6 73.Nc4+ Ke6 74.Nb2 Kd6 75.Nc4+ ½–½

White	EloW	Black	EloB	Res	Year	ECO	Event	Rnd

Ding,L

Radjabov,T

½–½

2019

Tata Steel Masters

Anish Giri's victory in Round 6 is already his third (he lost in the first round to Nepomniachtchi) and remarkably all three wins have come with the black pieces. Duda went astray as early as the opening phase and underestimated the danger. After less than twenty moves, he had practically reached a lost position. The game continued for a while but Giri was eventually able to close the deal.

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Move	N	Result	Elo	Players

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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 Bc5 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.Nge2 is the 'big brother' of the line White played here, e.g. a6 6.0-0 d6 7.Nd5 Nxd5 8.exd5 Ne7 9.d4 Ba7 10.dxe5 dxe5 11.b3 0-0 12.Ba3 Re8 13.c4 Bg4 14.h3 Bxe2 15.Qxe2 Nf5 16.Kh2 Adhiban,B-Mikhalevski,V Berlin 2015 2...Nc6 3.g3 For some reason, this Zviaginsev-espoused line hasn't attracted the cult following of the related Glek line, which involves the same fianchetto with the king's knight on e2 instead. Nf6 4.d3 g6 5.Bg2 Bg7 6.c4 This is some next-level Alpha Zero stuff. d6 7.h3 0-0 8.Nc3 Nd7 9.Bg5 f6 10.Be3 f5?! This makes the game interesting, but I believe White has an advantage here with best play. 10...Nc5= is extremely comfortable for Black. White had better hurry if he ever wants to play d4, but 11.d4 exd4 12.Nxd4 f5 13.Nxc6 bxc6 14.exf5 Bxf5 15.0-0 Rb8 is just a position. 11.exf5 gxf5 12.Qd2 Astonishingly, the direct 12.Ng5 Nf6 13.Qd2 is good, mostly by virtue of having ruled out ...Nd7-c5-e6. h6 14.Nf3 Kh7 15.0-0-0 12.Bg5 Nf6 13.0-0 functions similarly. 12...Nc5 13.0-0 Ne6 14.Nd5?! It is difficult to foresee, when playing this, that the knight will become trappable in the near future. 14.Ne2 was the way to hold off ...f4, and after the very natural Qf6 the somewhat artificial 15.Ng5 works to some extent. f4 16.Nxe6 Bxe6 16...fxe3 17.fxe3!+- is the point. 17.gxf4 Qh4 18.f5 Rxf5 18...Bxf5 19.Bg5 Qh5 20.Ng3 Qg6 21.Nxf5 Rxf5 22.Be3 Nd4 is maybe a slight something too. 19.Rae1 Raf8 20.Ng3 Rf3 Black has good play here, but White is solid for now. 14...f4 15.gxf4 Ncd4 16.Bxd4 exd4 17.Qa5 White has to resort to ideas like this 'not to resign immediately', to quote Svidler. The point of course is that to force ...c6 through, Black must either trade queens or weaken the long diagonal. b6 A very human move. 17...Kh8 is given an astronomical -3.7 by Stockfish, presumably because the 22.Bxd5 of the game will no longer give check, and White lacks a useful waiting move. The continuation then might be 18.Ng5 Nxg5 19.fxg5 Qxg5 20.f4 Qh5 21.Qxc7 Bxh3-+ and mate is not far off. 18.Qe1 c6 19.Ng5 19.f5 Rxf5 20.Qe4 is another tricky continuation, but there isn't a good way to take the weak c6-pawn after Rf7 21.Nb4 Qf8! so Black is simply much better. 19...Re8 20.Qd1 Nxg5 21.fxg5 cxd5 22.Bxd5+ Be6 23.Bxa8 Qxa8 24.Qh5 Bf5 There isn't actually a whole lot more to say. White's opening was disappointing and then he didn't quite deliver with enough tricks to stay afloat. 25.Rad1 Re5 26.Rd2 Qd8 27.h4 Bh3 28.Qf3 Bxf1 29.Kxf1 h6 30.gxh6 Bxh6 31.Re2 Qe7 32.Qg4+ Kf7 33.Qf3+ Kg7 34.Qg4+ Kf7 35.Qf3+ Qf6 36.Qb7+ Kg6 37.Rxe5 dxe5 38.Ke2 Qf4 39.Kf1 Kh5 40.b4 Qc1+ 41.Kg2 Kxh4 42.Qxa7 Qg5+ 43.Kf1 Kh3 44.Qh7 Qh5 0–1

White	EloW	Black	EloB	Res	Year	ECO	Event	Rnd

Duda,J

Giri,A

0–1

2019

Tata Steel Masters

Unorthodox Chess Openings

How many times have you been caught off guard by a seemingly inferior and unusual opening system that later turns out to be an especially strong one? Unorthodox openings can be a real asset to anyone’s opening repertoire and they often do not contain much theory, making them easy to master for your next important tournament.

Tactically and strategically rich was the game between Richard Rapport and Vladimir Kramnik. Kramnik took over the initiative quickly after the opening and had a promising position, but Rapport imaginatively defended himself. After numerous twists that lasted until the endgame, Kramnik finally tested Rapport in a king and rook against king and knight ending for 30 moves, forcing the Hungarian to demonstrate the correct defence. After 94 moves, Kramnik — who would badly like to score his first win of the tournament — nevertheless abandoned his attempts.

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1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 Bc5 4.Nc3 c6 5.Nf3 d6 6.h3 0-0 7.0-0 Re8 8.Ne2 Philosophically, the position is behaving very similarly to the Four Knights with 4.Bb5. Nbd7 It is possible to break with 8...d5 and indeed I wonder why Kramnik chose not to. 9.Bb3 h6 and White must make a determination about the centre. 10.Ng3 10.exd5 cxd5 11.d4 e4! 10...dxe4 11.Nxe4 Nxe4 12.dxe4 Nd7= Both active bishops will be opposed quite soon by their rivals for the same colour-complex, and forced to vacate their 'quite long' diagonals on pain of being traded. 9.Ng3 Nf8 10.c3 Bb6 11.Bb3 Be6 12.a4 I can't help thinking White has something in this position: perhaps 12.Re1 and Nf5. 12...d5! 13.Bg5 13.Ng5 is thematic too, but perhaps not that effective here. Bd7!= 13.Nxe5 dxe4 14.d4 N8d7 15.a5!? Bc7 16.a6 Bxb3 17.Qxb3 Nxe5 18.dxe5 Bxe5 19.axb7 Rb8 20.Be3 would be very tempting if not for Qd5!= 13...h6 14.Bxf6 Qxf6 15.d4 Ng6 16.a5 Bc7 17.dxe5 Nxe5 18.Nd4 The human eye is drawn to 18.Nxe5 Bxe5 19.exd5 cxd5 ; even if White can't take a pawn, maybe he can magic the g3-knight to d4 and swap off a pair or two of major pieces. However, this proves impossible. 18...Rad8 19.f4 Qg6 20.Ngf5?! 20.Kh2 dxe4 ultimately fizzles out after great complications, though White should still try them. 21.Bxe6 fxe6 21...c5!? 22.Bf5 Qa6 23.fxe5 Bxe5 24.Qe1 cxd4 25.cxd4 Rxd4 26.Kh1 22.fxe5 c5 23.Qc1! Bxe5 24.Nde2 Rd3 25.Rf4 h5!= 20...Nd7 20...Nc4! could potentially be a bit stronger 21.a6?! 21.Nxe6 fxe6 22.Nd4 wouldn't be every Black player's cup of tea. 21...Nc5 22.axb7 Nxe4 23.Qg4 Bxf5 24.Nxf5 Qxg4 24...Qf6! is more appealing somehow, trying to win with better piece quality. 25.hxg4 Nd2 26.Ba4! Establishing dynamic equality-more or less. Bb6+ 26...Nxf1 27.Kxf1 Re4 28.g3 c5 29.Bb3 27.Kh2 Nxf1+ 28.Rxf1 Re6 Possibly thinking that White couldn't take any pawns. 28...Re2 makes a lot more sense, if you've realised that c6 will be edible in any case. 29.Nd4 Bxd4 30.cxd4 Rxb2 31.Bxc6= but Black is the one playing to win. 29.Bxc6! g6 30.Nxh6+ It transpires that Black doesn't even have that many ways to win two pieces for a rook, contrary to appearances. Kg7 31.Bxd5 Ree8 31...Kxh6 32.Bxe6 fxe6 33.Rd1‼± 32.Bxf7 Re2?! A rather exuberant move. 32...Rh8 33.g5 Rxh6+ 34.gxh6+ Kxf7 35.Rd1+- 32...Re7 Black has played correctly up to this point, but he should now just eliminate the b7-pawn and move on. 33.g5 Rxb7 34.Bc4= Both sides are playing to win. 33.Bc4 Rxb2 34.Nf7 Rb8 35.Ng5 Bf2 36.Bd5 a5 37.Ra1 Rh8+ 38.Nh3 g5 39.fxg5?! Just before the time control. Now Black equalises. 39.f5± was extremely strong and the logical culmination of what White's been doing for a few moves. 39...Bb6 40.Re1 Bc7+ 41.Kg1 Bd6 42.Ra1? Throwing away the second half-point. It was time to start playing for perpetual check: 42.Re6 Rd8 43.Be4 a4 44.Rg6+ Kf7 45.Rf6+ Ke7 46.Nf4 Bxf4 47.Rxf4 a3 48.Rf1 a2 49.Kh2!= with an unusual mutual impasse. 42...Bg3 43.g6 a4 Now Black should be winning, but of course this is a tremendously tricky position. 44.Kf1 Re8 45.Ng5 Re5?! Assuming that the extra material will guarantee a win in case pieces are traded, but right here that isn't true. 45...a3 46.Ne4 a2‼-+ was the key detail to see here. 46.Ne4 Rxd5 47.Nxg3 Rdd2 After this point, the game never left the drawing margin. 48.Nf5+ Kf6 49.g7 Kf7 50.Re1 Rxb7 51.g5 Rd8 52.Ra1 Ra7 53.Ra3 Kg6 54.g4 Kxg5 55.c4 Rb8 56.Ke2 Ra6 57.Kd2 Rg8 58.Kc3 Kxg4 59.Nd4 Rxg7 60.Kb4 Rga7 61.Nb5 Ra8 62.Nc3 Rb8+ 63.Nb5 Rc8 64.Rxa4 Rxa4+ 65.Kxa4 Rxc4+ 66.Kb3 Rc8 67.Kb4 Kf4 68.Nd6 Rc6 69.Nb5 Ke4 70.Nc3+ Kd4 71.Nb5+ Kd3 72.Kb3 Rc4 73.Na3 Rc1 74.Kb4 Rh1 75.Nb5 Rh5 76.Nd6 Kd4 77.Nb5+ Kd5 78.Nc3+ Kc6 79.Kc4 Rh4+ 80.Kd3 Kc5 81.Ne4+ Kd5 82.Nc3+ Ke5 83.Nb5 Rg4 84.Nc3 Rb4 85.Ne2 Kd6 86.Nc3 Rh4 87.Ne4+ Ke5 88.Nc3 Rd4+ 89.Ke3 Rd8 90.Ne2 Rh8 91.Kd3 Rh3+ 92.Kc4 Rh2 93.Kd3 Rxe2 94.Kxe2 ½–½

White	EloW	Black	EloB	Res	Year	ECO	Event	Rnd

Rapport,R

Kramnik,V

½–½

2019

Tata Steel Masters

Jorden van Foreest versus Vladimir Fedoseev was the true highlight of the day. Fedoseev was aiming for a fraught game with Black judging from the opening and was within a few precise moves of a win in the middlegame. But Van Foreest hung tough and at a key moment, with little time left on the clock to boot, he found the strong tactical resource mentioned at the start that gave him an edge and, soon after, his second victory.

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Move	N	Result	Elo	Players

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1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 It strikes me that playing the Pirc in a high-level tournament is just a little disrespectful, though of course chess is moving in that direction and neither Fedoseev nor Rapport is at all letting down their brand by doing this kind of thing. 5.a3! Regaining the moral high ground. 5.Nf3 is of course the main move. 0-0 5...c5 exists too, e.g. 6.Bb5+ Bd7 6...Nc6 7.dxc5 7.e5 Nd7 8.d5 Nd4 9.Nxd4 cxd4 10.Qxd4 0-0 11.Bxd7 Qxd7 12.0-0 Qf5 13.Qd1 dxe5 14.fxe5 Qxe5 Wei,Y-Rapport,R Yancheng 2016 7...0-0 8.0-0 7.e5 Ng4 8.e6 fxe6 9.Ng5 Bxb5 10.Nxe6 Bxd4 Now White can take the famous draw by perpetual that results from Nxd8, or head for: 11.Nxb5!? Qa5+ 12.Qd2 Bf2+ 12...Qxd2+ 13.Bxd2 Kd7 14.Nec7 a6 15.Nxa8 axb5 13.Kd1 Ne3+ 14.Ke2 Qxb5+ 15.Kxf2 Ng4+ 16.Kg3 Na6 16...Qd7 17.Re1 Nc6 18.b3 Nh6 19.Bb2± Nakamura,H-Harikrishna,P Biel 2012 17.Kxg4 17.b3! 17...Qd7 McPhillips,J -Davis,L Aberystwyth 2014 6.a3 Bg4 7.Be2 Bxf3 8.Bxf3 e5 9.fxe5 dxe5 10.d5 c6 11.dxc6 Nxc6 12.Qxd8 Rfxd8 13.Bg5 Nd4= Anand,V-Nepomniachtchi,I Moscow 2018 5...Nc6 6.Nf3 0-0 7.Be2 7.d5 Nb8 does leave White tempi up, but he will be facing ...c6 and ...Qb6 soon. 7...d5 A principled answer to White's cautious play. 7...Bg4 is fully in the spirit of the position, but 8.d5 Nb8 9.h3 Bxf3 10.Bxf3 c6 11.Be3 now gains too much time. 8.e5 Ne4 9.Bd3 f5 9...Nxc3 10.bxc3 was more standard, and now Black can choose between the adventurous ...Bf5 and the normal ...c5. 10.0-0 10.exf6 exf6! 10...e6 11.Be3 b6 12.Ng5?! White should resist the temptation to make everything about the e4-knight, and play around it: 12.Ne2= 12...Nxg5 13.fxg5 f4?! 13...Nxe5 14.dxe5 d4 15.Ne4! dxe3 15...fxe4 is more human: 16.Bxe4 dxe3 17.Bxa8 Qxd1 18.Rfxd1 Bxe5 16.Nf6+ Bxf6 17.exf6 Bb7= Black is trying to be better, but it may or may not be working. 14.Rxf4 14.Bxf4 Nxd4 15.Bxg6 hxg6 16.Qxd4 Ba6 is similar enough 14...Rxf4 15.Bxf4 Nxd4 16.Bxg6 hxg6 17.Qxd4 White is better here, but the position is hard to handle. It was probably this that Fedoseev was banking on. Ba6 Now, predictably, White makes a sequence of second-best moves, and the game slips out of his control. 18.Qa4 18.h4 Qe7 19.a4 c5 20.Qd2 is indicative of how White could maybe try to keep things under better control 18...Bb7 19.Bg3 Qxg5 20.Qd7 Qg4 21.Nb5 Rf8 22.Nxc7 Bc8 23.Qe7 23.Qb5 Qd4+ 24.Kh1 Bxe5 23...Qf5 24.Qd6? In a normal game, this would have been the final portion of the slide. 24.h3 Bxe5 25.Bxe5 Qxe5 26.c3= White just about holds equality due to his active queen and knight. 24...Bh6 25.h3 Be3+ 26.Kh2 Bc5 27.Qc6 Qxc2-+ Black is winning, although nothing is ever guaranteed in chess. 28.Qb5 Be7?! 28...Bd4 attacks slightly more pawns. 29.Na6 Now, in a worse position, Jorden begins playing extremely well. d4 Many players would instinctively snap off the knight with 29...Bxa6 regardless of whether it is actually best; this mitigates the possibility of future drama. 30.Qxa6 Qxb2 30.Nb4 Bxb4 31.Qxb4 Bb7 32.Rg1 d3? Some fraction of Black's edge remains, and can perhaps be best exploited starting 32...Qe4 with some other consolidating moves to follow (...Bd5.) There is a possibility of continuing with ...Rf1. 33.Qg4! d2 34.Qxe6+ Kg7 35.Qd7+ Rf7 36.Qd4 Kg8 36...Qe4 was best, but depressing. 37.e6 Rf8 38.e7 Re8 39.Rd1‼ On move 39, and with a minute on his clock, the Dutch talent finds this supremely calculated move. Sure, the position had to be winning, but it takes a special something to notice the precise sequence of checks needed, under the pressure that undoubtedly was there. Qc6 Played after a long, sad think. 39...Qxd1 40.Qc4+ Now there are 2 important lines. True, ...Bd5 does cut out a later queen-lift along the 4th rank, but in those lines White will be winning even if he chooses to just win the rook for the e-pawn. Kg7 40...Kh7 41.Qf7+ Kh6 42.Bf4+ g5 43.Qf6+ Kh7 44.Qf5+! This is the main difficult move in the calculation. Though, saying that, since a perpetual is guaranteed, a certain kind of player would go for the line even without seeing Qf5. Kg7 45.Be5+ Kh6 46.Qf6+ Kh5 47.Qf7+ Kh6 48.Qg7+ Kh5 49.Qh7# 41.Be5+ Kh6 42.Qf4+! Avoiding the blockage on h5. Kh7 43.Qf7+ Kh6 44.Qf8+! Either this queen or the next will deliver a decisive check on f6 or f4; another big check will come from the g-pawn, and then it will be mate. 40.Rxd2 Rxe7 41.Qg4?! 41.Bd6 is supposedly the best winning line 41.Qh4 Rd7 42.Re2 was given by Svidler and Gustafsson- not necessarily threatening anything immediately, but trusting that there will be calculable wins after the inevitable Black inaccuracies. 41...Qe4 42.Qg5 Rd7 43.Rf2 Rf7 44.Qd8+ Kg7 45.Bf4 Qd5?? Giving White a chance to finish the game. 45...Kh7 kept the game going, and in fact White's activity is now under some kind of control, so it's possible to envisage him not winning this. 46.Qb8 Here Black resigned. 46.Qb8 threatens Be5 and Qh8. There are a few defenses which it would occur to a human to play. Kh7 46...Rf5 47.Rd2 Qe4 48.Rd7+ Rf7 49.Be5+ 46...Re7 47.Bd2! and the long-diagonal check is nevertheless unstoppable; 47.Be5 Qxe5+ 48.Qxe5 Rxf2+- and now a seventh-rank check wins the bishop, so the game is over. 1–0

White	EloW	Black	EloB	Res	Year	ECO	Event	Rnd

Van Foreest,J

Fedoseev,V

1–0

2019

Tata Steel Masters

Play the Pirc like a Grandmaster Vol. 1: Positional lines

In the positional systems White does not try to refute the Pirc from the very first moves, but aims for a long strategic battle to prove that his space advantage and better development will finally give him the better position.

Vidit, who had two long and exhausting games against Carlsen and Fedoseev made it a short day against Sam Shankland, who also suffered a devastating defeat against Ding in Round 5. Just 18 moves were played in their draw.

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Move	N	Result	Elo	Players

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White	EloW	Black	EloB	Res	Year	ECO	Event	Rnd

Vidit,S

2695

Shankland,S

2725

½–½

2019

D78

81st Tata Steel Masters 2019

Current standings - Masters

Rk.		Name	Rtg.	Pts.	n	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	TB	Perf.
1	GM	Carlsen,M GM Carlsen,M 2835 1 GM Ding,L 2813 ½ 2 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 ½ 3 GM Vidit,S 2695 ½ 4 GM Kramnik,V 2777 ½ 5 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 1 6 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 1 7 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 ½ 8 GM Rapport,R 2731 1 9 GM Shankland,S 2725 ½ 10 GM Anand,V 2773 1 11 GM Radjabov,T 2757 ½ 12 GM Duda,J 2738 1 13 GM Giri,A 2783 ½ Ø 2747 9/13	2835	9.0	13		½	½	½	1	½	½	½	1	1	½	1	1	½	5.00	2888
2	GM	Giri,A GM Giri,A 2783 1 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 0 2 GM Kramnik,V 2777 1 3 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 ½ 4 GM Rapport,R 2731 1 5 GM Anand,V 2773 ½ 6 GM Duda,J 2738 1 7 GM Ding,L 2813 ½ 8 GM Vidit,S 2695 ½ 9 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 ½ 10 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 1 11 GM Shankland,S 2725 1 12 GM Radjabov,T 2757 ½ 13 GM Carlsen,M 2835 ½ Ø 2751 8.5/13	2783	8.5	13	½		0	½	½	½	½	1	1	1	1	½	½	1	4.50	2861
3	GM	Nepomniachtchi,I GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 1 GM Giri,A 2783 1 2 GM Carlsen,M 2835 ½ 3 GM Kramnik,V 2777 1 4 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 ½ 5 GM Rapport,R 2731 ½ 6 GM Anand,V 2773 ½ 7 GM Duda,J 2738 ½ 8 GM Ding,L 2813 ½ 9 GM Vidit,S 2695 1 10 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 0 11 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 1 12 GM Shankland,S 2725 0 13 GM Radjabov,T 2757 ½ Ø 2752 7.5/13	2763	7.5	13	½	1		½	½	1	½	0	½	½	1	½	0	1	4.50	2809
4	GM	Ding,L GM Ding,L 2813 1 GM Carlsen,M 2835 ½ 2 GM Vidit,S 2695 ½ 3 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 1 4 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 ½ 5 GM Shankland,S 2725 1 6 GM Radjabov,T 2757 ½ 7 GM Giri,A 2783 ½ 8 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 ½ 9 GM Kramnik,V 2777 ½ 10 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 ½ 11 GM Rapport,R 2731 ½ 12 GM Anand,V 2773 ½ 13 GM Duda,J 2738 ½ Ø 2748 7.5/13	2813	7.5	13	½	½	½		½	½	½	1	½	½	½	½	1	½	4.50	2805
5	GM	Anand,V GM Anand,V 2773 1 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 1 2 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 ½ 3 GM Shankland,S 2725 ½ 4 GM Radjabov,T 2757 ½ 5 GM Giri,A 2783 ½ 6 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 ½ 7 GM Kramnik,V 2777 1 8 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 1 9 GM Rapport,R 2731 ½ 10 GM Carlsen,M 2835 0 11 GM Duda,J 2738 ½ 12 GM Ding,L 2813 ½ 13 GM Vidit,S 2695 ½ Ø 2752 7.5/13	2773	7.5	13	0	½	½	½		½	½	½	½	½	½	1	1	1	3.50	2809
6	GM	Vidit,S GM Vidit,S 2695 1 GM Duda,J 2738 ½ 2 GM Ding,L 2813 ½ 3 GM Carlsen,M 2835 ½ 4 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 1 5 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 ½ 6 GM Shankland,S 2725 ½ 7 GM Radjabov,T 2757 0 8 GM Giri,A 2783 ½ 9 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 0 10 GM Kramnik,V 2777 1 11 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 1 12 GM Rapport,R 2731 ½ 13 GM Anand,V 2773 ½ Ø 2758 7/13	2695	7.0	13	½	½	0	½	½		0	½	½	½	½	1	1	1	3.00	2787
7	GM	Radjabov,T GM Radjabov,T 2757 1 GM Kramnik,V 2777 ½ 2 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 ½ 3 GM Rapport,R 2731 ½ 4 GM Anand,V 2773 ½ 5 GM Duda,J 2738 ½ 6 GM Ding,L 2813 ½ 7 GM Vidit,S 2695 1 8 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 ½ 9 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 0 10 GM Shankland,S 2725 ½ 11 GM Carlsen,M 2835 ½ 12 GM Giri,A 2783 ½ 13 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 ½ Ø 2753 6.5/13	2757	6.5	13	½	½	½	½	½	1		½	½	½	0	½	½	½	4.50	2753
8	GM	Shankland,S GM Shankland,S 2725 1 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 ½ 2 GM Rapport,R 2731 ½ 3 GM Anand,V 2773 ½ 4 GM Duda,J 2738 ½ 5 GM Ding,L 2813 0 6 GM Vidit,S 2695 ½ 7 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 1 8 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 0 9 GM Carlsen,M 2835 ½ 10 GM Radjabov,T 2757 ½ 11 GM Giri,A 2783 0 12 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 1 13 GM Kramnik,V 2777 1 Ø 2755 6.5/13	2725	6.5	13	½	0	1	0	½	½	½		½	½	0	½	1	1	3.50	2755
9	GM	Rapport,R GM Rapport,R 2731 1 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 ½ 2 GM Shankland,S 2725 ½ 3 GM Radjabov,T 2757 ½ 4 GM Giri,A 2783 0 5 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 ½ 6 GM Kramnik,V 2777 ½ 7 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 ½ 8 GM Carlsen,M 2835 0 9 GM Anand,V 2773 ½ 10 GM Duda,J 2738 1 11 GM Ding,L 2813 ½ 12 GM Vidit,S 2695 ½ 13 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 1 Ø 2755 6.5/13	2731	6.5	13	0	0	½	½	½	½	½	½		1	½	½	1	½	3.00	2755
10	GM	Duda,J GM Duda,J 2738 1 GM Vidit,S 2695 ½ 2 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 0 3 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 1 4 GM Shankland,S 2725 ½ 5 GM Radjabov,T 2757 ½ 6 GM Giri,A 2783 0 7 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 ½ 8 GM Kramnik,V 2777 1 9 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 ½ 10 GM Rapport,R 2731 0 11 GM Anand,V 2773 ½ 12 GM Carlsen,M 2835 0 13 GM Ding,L 2813 ½ Ø 2754 5.5/13	2738	5.5	13	0	0	½	½	½	½	½	½	0		1	½	0	1	3.00	2697
11	GM	Fedoseev,V GM Fedoseev,V 2724 1 GM Rapport,R 2731 ½ 2 GM Anand,V 2773 ½ 3 GM Duda,J 2738 0 4 GM Ding,L 2813 ½ 5 GM Vidit,S 2695 ½ 6 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 0 7 GM Carlsen,M 2835 ½ 8 GM Shankland,S 2725 1 9 GM Radjabov,T 2757 1 10 GM Giri,A 2783 0 11 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 0 12 GM Kramnik,V 2777 0 13 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 ½ Ø 2755 5/13	2724	5.0	13	½	0	0	½	½	½	1	1	½	0		½	0	0	4.50	2668
12	GM	Mamedyarov,S GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 1 GM Shankland,S 2725 ½ 2 GM Radjabov,T 2757 ½ 3 GM Giri,A 2783 ½ 4 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 ½ 5 GM Kramnik,V 2777 ½ 6 GM Carlsen,M 2835 0 7 GM Rapport,R 2731 ½ 8 GM Anand,V 2773 0 9 GM Duda,J 2738 ½ 10 GM Ding,L 2813 ½ 11 GM Vidit,S 2695 0 12 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 ½ 13 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 ½ Ø 2748 5/13	2817	5.0	13	0	½	½	½	0	0	½	½	½	½	½		½	½	3.00	2661
13	GM	Van Foreest,J GM Van Foreest,J 2612 1 GM Anand,V 2773 0 2 GM Duda,J 2738 1 3 GM Ding,L 2813 0 4 GM Vidit,S 2695 0 5 GM Carlsen,M 2835 0 6 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 1 7 GM Shankland,S 2725 0 8 GM Radjabov,T 2757 ½ 9 GM Giri,A 2783 ½ 10 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 1 11 GM Kramnik,V 2777 0 12 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 ½ 13 GM Rapport,R 2731 0 Ø 2764 4.5/13	2612	4.5	13	0	½	1	0	0	0	½	0	0	1	1	½		0	2.00	2654
14	GM	Kramnik,V GM Kramnik,V 2777 1 GM Radjabov,T 2757 ½ 2 GM Giri,A 2783 0 3 GM Nepomniachtchi,I 2763 0 4 GM Carlsen,M 2835 ½ 5 GM Mamedyarov,S 2817 ½ 6 GM Rapport,R 2731 ½ 7 GM Anand,V 2773 0 8 GM Duda,J 2738 0 9 GM Ding,L 2813 ½ 10 GM Vidit,S 2695 0 11 GM Van Foreest,J 2612 1 12 GM Fedoseev,V 2724 1 13 GM Shankland,S 2725 0 Ø 2751 4.5/13	2777	4.5	13	½	0	0	½	0	0	½	0	½	0	1	½	1		2.00	2641
TBs: Koya, Wins, Direct encounter

Round 6 round-up

IM Merijn van Delft covers the Round 6 highlights

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Move	N	Result	Elo	Players

Replay and check the LiveBook here

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.0-0 a6 7.a4 0-0 8.Re1 C54: Giuoco Piano: 4 c3 Nf6, main lines with 5 d4 and 5 d3 a5 8...h6 9.h3 Be6 10.Bxe6 fxe6 11.Be3 Bxe3 12.Rxe3 Qd7 13.Nbd2 Qf7 14.g3 Nd7 15.Kg2 a5 0-1 (45) Giri,A (2798)-Anand,V (2784) Zuerich 2016 CBM 171 [Marin,M] 9.h3 h6 10.Nbd2 Be6 11.Bb5 Na7 12.d4 LiveBook: 6 Games Nxb5 13.axb5 exd4 14.Nxd4 Re8 15.Nf1

15...Bc4N Predecessor: 15...Bd7 16.Ng3 d5 17.e5 Ne4 18.Nxe4 dxe4 19.Rxe4 Qd5 20.Qf3 Bxd4 21.cxd4 Re6 22.Rf4 ½–½

White	EloW	Black	EloB	Res	Year	ECO	Event	Rnd

Giri,A	2783	Anand,V	2773	½–½	2019	C54	81st Tata Steel Masters 2019	5
Shankland,S	2725	Ding,L	2813	0–1	2019	C88	81st Tata Steel Masters 2019	5
Fedoseev,V	2724	Vidit,S	2695	½–½	2019	E32	81st Tata Steel Masters 2019	5

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Commentary by Anna Rudolf and Lawrence Trent

Challengers

In the Challengers, Vladislav Kovalev took over the sole lead with a win against Dinara Saduakassova. Now on 4½ out of 6, Kovalev is half a point ahead of Anton Korobov, who played to a draw with Evgeny Bareev. Tied with Korobov is Maksim Chigaev who converted a pawn-up endgame against Parham Maghsoodloo for his second win of the tournament.

Current standings - Challengers

Rk.		Name	Rtg.	Pts.	n	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	TB	Perf.
1	GM	Kovalev,V GM Kovalev,V 2687 1 GM Esipenko,A 2584 ½ 2 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 ½ 3 GM Chigaev,M 2604 ½ 4 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 1 5 GM Gledura,B 2615 1 6 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 1 7 GM Bareev,E 2650 ½ 8 GM Korobov,A 2699 ½ 9 GM L'Ami,E 2643 ½ 10 GM Keymer,V 2500 1 11 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 1 12 GM Paehtz,E 2477 1 13 IM Kuipers,S 2470 1 Ø 2572 10/13	2687	10.0	13		1	½	½	½	½	½	1	1	1	½	1	1	1	4.50	2783
2	GM	Gledura,B GM Gledura,B 2615 1 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 ½ 2 GM Korobov,A 2699 ½ 3 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 ½ 4 GM Bareev,E 2650 ½ 5 GM Kovalev,V 2687 0 6 GM L'Ami,E 2643 1 7 GM Keymer,V 2500 1 8 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 ½ 9 GM Paehtz,E 2477 1 10 IM Kuipers,S 2470 ½ 11 GM Esipenko,A 2584 ½ 12 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 1 13 GM Chigaev,M 2604 1 Ø 2577 8.5/13	2615	8.5	13	0		½	1	½	1	½	½	½	1	1	1	½	½	4.00	2687
3	GM	Esipenko,A GM Esipenko,A 2584 1 GM Kovalev,V 2687 ½ 2 GM L'Ami,E 2643 ½ 3 GM Keymer,V 2500 1 4 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 ½ 5 GM Paehtz,E 2477 ½ 6 IM Kuipers,S 2470 ½ 7 GM Korobov,A 2699 1 8 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 1 9 GM Chigaev,M 2604 ½ 10 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 1 11 GM Gledura,B 2615 ½ 12 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 1 13 GM Bareev,E 2650 0 Ø 2580 8.5/13	2584	8.5	13	½	½		½	1	½	0	½	1	1	1	½	1	½	3.50	2690
4	GM	Chigaev,M GM Chigaev,M 2604 1 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 1 2 GM Bareev,E 2650 ½ 3 GM Kovalev,V 2687 ½ 4 GM L'Ami,E 2643 ½ 5 GM Keymer,V 2500 ½ 6 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 1 7 GM Paehtz,E 2477 1 8 IM Kuipers,S 2470 1 9 GM Esipenko,A 2584 ½ 10 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 1 11 GM Korobov,A 2699 ½ 12 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 ½ 13 GM Gledura,B 2615 0 Ø 2578 8.5/13	2604	8.5	13	½	0	½		½	½	½	1	½	½	1	1	1	1	3.50	2688
5	GM	Korobov,A GM Korobov,A 2699 1 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 1 2 GM Gledura,B 2615 ½ 3 GM Paehtz,E 2477 ½ 4 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 ½ 5 IM Kuipers,S 2470 1 6 GM Bareev,E 2650 ½ 7 GM Esipenko,A 2584 0 8 GM Kovalev,V 2687 ½ 9 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 ½ 10 GM L'Ami,E 2643 ½ 11 GM Chigaev,M 2604 ½ 12 GM Keymer,V 2500 1 13 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 ½ Ø 2571 7.5/13	2699	7.5	13	½	½	0	½		½	½	1	½	1	½	½	½	1	3.50	2628
6	GM	L'Ami,E GM L'Ami,E 2643 1 IM Kuipers,S 2470 1 2 GM Esipenko,A 2584 ½ 3 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 ½ 4 GM Chigaev,M 2604 ½ 5 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 ½ 6 GM Gledura,B 2615 0 7 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 ½ 8 GM Bareev,E 2650 1 9 GM Kovalev,V 2687 ½ 10 GM Korobov,A 2699 ½ 11 GM Keymer,V 2500 ½ 12 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 ½ 13 GM Paehtz,E 2477 1 Ø 2575 7.5/13	2643	7.5	13	½	0	½	½	½		1	½	½	½	½	1	½	1	3.50	2632
7	GM	Bareev,E GM Bareev,E 2650 1 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 1 2 GM Chigaev,M 2604 ½ 3 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 0 4 GM Gledura,B 2615 ½ 5 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 1 6 GM Korobov,A 2699 ½ 7 GM Kovalev,V 2687 ½ 8 GM L'Ami,E 2643 0 9 GM Keymer,V 2500 ½ 10 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 0 11 GM Paehtz,E 2477 ½ 12 IM Kuipers,S 2470 1 13 GM Esipenko,A 2584 1 Ø 2575 7/13	2650	7.0	13	½	½	1	½	½	0		0	0	½	1	½	1	1	3.00	2604
8	GM	Maghsoodloo,P GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 1 GM Korobov,A 2699 0 2 GM Paehtz,E 2477 1 3 IM Kuipers,S 2470 1 4 GM Esipenko,A 2584 ½ 5 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 ½ 6 GM Chigaev,M 2604 0 7 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 ½ 8 GM Gledura,B 2615 ½ 9 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 1 10 GM Bareev,E 2650 1 11 GM Kovalev,V 2687 0 12 GM L'Ami,E 2643 ½ 13 GM Keymer,V 2500 ½ Ø 2572 7/13	2679	7.0	13	0	½	½	0	0	½	1		½	½	½	1	1	1	2.50	2601
9	GM	Van Foreest,L GM Van Foreest,L 2502 1 GM Gledura,B 2615 ½ 2 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 ½ 3 GM Bareev,E 2650 1 4 GM Kovalev,V 2687 0 5 GM L'Ami,E 2643 ½ 6 GM Keymer,V 2500 ½ 7 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 ½ 8 GM Paehtz,E 2477 1 9 IM Kuipers,S 2470 0 10 GM Esipenko,A 2584 0 11 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 ½ 12 GM Chigaev,M 2604 ½ 13 GM Korobov,A 2699 ½ Ø 2586 6/13	2502	6.0	13	0	½	0	½	½	½	1	½		½	½	1	½	0	3.50	2557
10	GM	Keymer,V GM Keymer,V 2500 1 GM Paehtz,E 2477 ½ 2 IM Kuipers,S 2470 1 3 GM Esipenko,A 2584 0 4 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 ½ 5 GM Chigaev,M 2604 ½ 6 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 ½ 7 GM Gledura,B 2615 0 8 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 1 9 GM Bareev,E 2650 ½ 10 GM Kovalev,V 2687 0 11 GM L'Ami,E 2643 ½ 12 GM Korobov,A 2699 0 13 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 ½ Ø 2586 5.5/13	2500	5.5	13	0	0	0	½	0	½	½	½	½		½	½	1	1	2.00	2529
11	GM	Praggnanandhaa R GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 1 GM Bareev,E 2650 0 2 GM Kovalev,V 2687 ½ 3 GM L'Ami,E 2643 ½ 4 GM Keymer,V 2500 ½ 5 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 ½ 6 GM Paehtz,E 2477 ½ 7 IM Kuipers,S 2470 1 8 GM Esipenko,A 2584 0 9 GM Korobov,A 2699 ½ 10 GM Chigaev,M 2604 0 11 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 ½ 12 GM Gledura,B 2615 0 13 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 ½ Ø 2583 5/13	2539	5.0	13	½	0	0	0	½	½	0	½	½	½		½	½	1	2.00	2496
12	GM	Paehtz,E GM Paehtz,E 2477 1 GM Keymer,V 2500 ½ 2 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 0 3 GM Korobov,A 2699 ½ 4 IM Kuipers,S 2470 ½ 5 GM Esipenko,A 2584 ½ 6 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 ½ 7 GM Chigaev,M 2604 0 8 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 0 9 GM Gledura,B 2615 0 10 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 ½ 11 GM Bareev,E 2650 ½ 12 GM Kovalev,V 2687 0 13 GM L'Ami,E 2643 0 Ø 2588 3.5/13	2477	3.5	13	0	0	½	0	½	0	½	0	0	½	½		½	½	1.50	2413
13	WGM	Saduakassova,D WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 1 GM Chigaev,M 2604 0 2 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 ½ 3 GM Gledura,B 2615 ½ 4 GM Korobov,A 2699 ½ 5 GM Bareev,E 2650 0 6 GM Kovalev,V 2687 0 7 GM L'Ami,E 2643 ½ 8 GM Keymer,V 2500 0 9 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 0 10 GM Paehtz,E 2477 ½ 11 IM Kuipers,S 2470 ½ 12 GM Esipenko,A 2584 0 13 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 ½ Ø 2588 3.5/13	2472	3.5	13	0	½	0	0	½	½	0	0	½	0	½	½		½	1.50	2413
14	IM	Kuipers,S IM Kuipers,S 2470 1 GM L'Ami,E 2643 0 2 GM Keymer,V 2500 0 3 GM Maghsoodloo,P 2679 0 4 GM Paehtz,E 2477 ½ 5 GM Korobov,A 2699 0 6 GM Esipenko,A 2584 ½ 7 GM Praggnanandhaa R 2539 0 8 GM Chigaev,M 2604 0 9 GM Van Foreest,L 2502 1 10 GM Gledura,B 2615 ½ 11 WGM Saduakassova,D 2472 ½ 12 GM Bareev,E 2650 0 13 GM Kovalev,V 2687 0 Ø 2589 3/13	2470	3.0	13	0	½	½	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	½	½		1.00	2378
TBs: Koya, Wins, Direct encounter

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Move	N	Result	Elo	Players

Replay and check the LiveBook here

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 h5 9.Nd5 B90: Sicilian Najdorf: Unusual White 6th moves, 6 Be3 Ng4 and 6 Be3 e5 9.Qd2 Nbd7 10.Nd5 Bxd5 11.exd5 g6 12.Be2 Bg7 13.0-0-0 0-0 14.g4 a5 15.a4 Nb6 16.gxh5 Nxh5 17.Bb5 Nf6 0-1 (71) Leko,P (2690)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2780) Batumi 2018 9...Nxd5 10.exd5 Bf5 11.Bd3 Bxd3 12.Qxd3 Nd7 LiveBook: 20 Games 13.0-0 Be7 14.Qd2 0-0 15.Na5N Predecessor: 15.c4 Qc7 16.Na5 Bd8 ½-½ (33) Jacobsen,J (2151)-Kuhne,D (2273) ICCF email 2010 15...Qc8 16.c4 Bd8 17.Rac1 Re8 18.Kh1 e4 19.Nb3 exf3 20.gxf3 Ne5 21.c5 Qh3 Black has strong initiative. 22.Qd1

22.Bd4 22...Ng6!-+ 23.Qd2 Rc8 24.Bg1 Nh4 25.Qf2? 25.Rcd1 is a better defense. 25...Bg5 26.Rc4 Nf5 27.Qg2

27...Ng3+! Deflection 28.Qxg3 Qxf1 29.Rc2 Bf6 30.Rf2 Qb5 31.cxd6 Rcd8 32.Rd2 h4 33.Qf4 Re1 34.Rg2 Qxf6 is the strong threat. h3 35.Rg4 White threatens Qxf6 and mate. Be5 36.Qg5 Rxd6 ( -> ...Qe2) 37.Nd2 Qe2 38.Qf5 Qxh2# Accuracy: White = 18%, Black = 93%. 0–1

White	EloW	Black	EloB	Res	Year	ECO	Event	Rnd

Maghsoodloo,P	2679	Korobov,A	2699	0–1	2019	B90	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	1
Chigaev,M	2604	Saduakassova,D	2472	1–0	2019	C50	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	1
Esipenko,A	2584	Kovalev,V	2687	½–½	2019	A49	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	1
Praggnanandhaa R	2539	Bareev,E	2650	0–1	2019	C15	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	1
Van Foreest,L	2502	Gledura,B	2615	½–½	2019	B31	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	1
Paehtz,E	2477	Keymer,V	2500	½–½	2019	B90	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	1
Kuipers,S	2470	L'Ami,E	2643	0–1	2019	B62	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	1
Korobov,A	2699	Gledura,B	2615	½–½	2019	D85	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	2
Kovalev,V	2687	Praggnanandhaa R	2539	½–½	2019	B31	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	2
Maghsoodloo,P	2679	Paehtz,E	2477	1–0	2019	A07	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	2
Bareev,E	2650	Chigaev,M	2604	½–½	2019	A45	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	2
L'Ami,E	2643	Esipenko,A	2584	½–½	2019	C88	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	2
Keymer,V	2500	Kuipers,S	2470	1–0	2019	D12	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	2
Saduakassova,D	2472	Van Foreest,L	2502	½–½	2019	E32	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	2
Gledura,B	2615	Saduakassova,D	2472	½–½	2019	C42	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	3
Chigaev,M	2604	Kovalev,V	2687	½–½	2019	C54	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	3
Esipenko,A	2584	Keymer,V	2500	1–0	2019	B90	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	3
Praggnanandhaa R	2539	L'Ami,E	2643	½–½	2019	C11	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	3
Van Foreest,L	2502	Bareev,E	2650	1–0	2019	B13	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	3
Paehtz,E	2477	Korobov,A	2699	½–½	2019	A62	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	3
Kuipers,S	2470	Maghsoodloo,P	2679	0–1	2019	B62	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	3
Korobov,A	2699	Saduakassova,D	2472	½–½	2019	E56	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	4
Kovalev,V	2687	Van Foreest,L	2502	1–0	2019	C67	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	4
Maghsoodloo,P	2679	Esipenko,A	2584	½–½	2019	A34	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	4
Bareev,E	2650	Gledura,B	2615	½–½	2019	D03	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	4
L'Ami,E	2643	Chigaev,M	2604	½–½	2019	C77	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	4
Keymer,V	2500	Praggnanandhaa R	2539	½–½	2019	D24	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	4
Paehtz,E	2477	Kuipers,S	2470	½–½	2019	C13	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	4
Gledura,B	2615	Kovalev,V	2687	0–1	2019	C50	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	5
Chigaev,M	2604	Keymer,V	2500	½–½	2019	B90	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	5
Esipenko,A	2584	Paehtz,E	2477	½–½	2019	D11	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	5
Praggnanandhaa R	2539	Maghsoodloo,P	2679	½–½	2019	C54	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	5
Van Foreest,L	2502	L'Ami,E	2643	½–½	2019	B56	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	5
Saduakassova,D	2472	Bareev,E	2650	0–1	2019	A58	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	5
Kuipers,S	2470	Korobov,A	2699	0–1	2019	B32	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	5
Korobov,A	2699	Bareev,E	2650	½–½	2019	D19	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	6
Kovalev,V	2687	Saduakassova,D	2472	1–0	2019	C42	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	6
Maghsoodloo,P	2679	Chigaev,M	2604	0–1	2019	C54	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	6
L'Ami,E	2643	Gledura,B	2615	0–1	2019	C92	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	6
Keymer,V	2500	Van Foreest,L	2502	½–½	2019	A18	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	6
Paehtz,E	2477	Praggnanandhaa R	2539	½–½	2019	E01	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	6
Kuipers,S	2470	Esipenko,A	2584	½–½	2019	C54	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	6
L'Ami,E	2643	Gledura,B	2615		2019		81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	6.3
Keymer,V	2500	Van Foreest,L	2502		2019		81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	6.4
Maghsoodloo,P	2679	Chigaev,M	2604		2019		81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	6.5
Kuipers,S	2470	Esipenko,A	2584		2019		81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	6.7
Bareev,E	2650	Kovalev,V	2687	½–½	2019	E11	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	7
Gledura,B	2615	Keymer,V	2500	1–0	2019	A07	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	7
Chigaev,M	2604	Paehtz,E	2477	1–0	2019	B90	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	7
Esipenko,A	2584	Korobov,A	2699	1–0	2019	D43	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	7
Praggnanandhaa R	2539	Kuipers,S	2470	1–0	2019	C11	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	7
Van Foreest,L	2502	Maghsoodloo,P	2679	½–½	2019	B06	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	7
Saduakassova,D	2472	L'Ami,E	2643	½–½	2019	A85	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	7
Korobov,A	2699	Kovalev,V	2687	½–½	2019	E94	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	8
Maghsoodloo,P	2679	Gledura,B	2615	½–½	2019	A06	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	8
L'Ami,E	2643	Bareev,E	2650	1–0	2019	D19	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	8
Esipenko,A	2584	Praggnanandhaa R	2539	1–0	2019	B69	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	8
Keymer,V	2500	Saduakassova,D	2472	1–0	2019	A18	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	8
Paehtz,E	2477	Van Foreest,L	2502	0–1	2019	E06	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	8
Kuipers,S	2470	Chigaev,M	2604	0–1	2019	C54	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	8
Kovalev,V	2687	L'Ami,E	2643	½–½	2019	C01	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	9
Bareev,E	2650	Keymer,V	2500	½–½	2019	D02	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	9
Gledura,B	2615	Paehtz,E	2477	1–0	2019	A05	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	9
Chigaev,M	2604	Esipenko,A	2584	½–½	2019	C50	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	9
Praggnanandhaa R	2539	Korobov,A	2699	½–½	2019	C54	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	9
Van Foreest,L	2502	Kuipers,S	2470	0–1	2019	C11	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	9
Saduakassova,D	2472	Maghsoodloo,P	2679	0–1	2019	A34	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	9
Korobov,A	2699	L'Ami,E	2643	½–½	2019	D00	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	10
Maghsoodloo,P	2679	Bareev,E	2650	1–0	2019	B12	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	10
Esipenko,A	2584	Van Foreest,L	2502	1–0	2019	D37	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	10
Praggnanandhaa R	2539	Chigaev,M	2604	0–1	2019	B47	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	10
Keymer,V	2500	Kovalev,V	2687	0–1	2019	A10	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	10
Paehtz,E	2477	Saduakassova,D	2472	½–½	2019	B47	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	10
Kuipers,S	2470	Gledura,B	2615	½–½	2019	B48	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	10
Kovalev,V	2687	Maghsoodloo,P	2679	1–0	2019	B01	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	11
Bareev,E	2650	Paehtz,E	2477	½–½	2019	A00	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	11
L'Ami,E	2643	Keymer,V	2500	½–½	2019	B90	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	11
Gledura,B	2615	Esipenko,A	2584	½–½	2019	A05	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	11
Chigaev,M	2604	Korobov,A	2699	½–½	2019	B90	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	11
Van Foreest,L	2502	Praggnanandhaa R	2539	½–½	2019	B41	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	11
Saduakassova,D	2472	Kuipers,S	2470	½–½	2019	D43	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	11
Korobov,A	2699	Keymer,V	2500	1–0	2019	D35	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	12
Maghsoodloo,P	2679	L'Ami,E	2643	½–½	2019	C02	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	12
Chigaev,M	2604	Van Foreest,L	2502	½–½	2019	E32	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	12
Esipenko,A	2584	Saduakassova,D	2472	1–0	2019	C42	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	12
Praggnanandhaa R	2539	Gledura,B	2615	0–1	2019	A05	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	12
Paehtz,E	2477	Kovalev,V	2687	0–1	2019	A48	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	12
Kuipers,S	2470	Bareev,E	2650	0–1	2019	B13	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	12
Kovalev,V	2687	Kuipers,S	2470	1–0	2019	C07	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	13
Bareev,E	2650	Esipenko,A	2584	1–0	2019	A49	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	13
L'Ami,E	2643	Paehtz,E	2477	1–0	2019	E00	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	13
Gledura,B	2615	Chigaev,M	2604	1–0	2019	B08	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	13
Van Foreest,L	2502	Korobov,A	2699	½–½	2019	B30	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	13
Keymer,V	2500	Maghsoodloo,P	2679	½–½	2019	D71	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	13
Saduakassova,D	2472	Praggnanandhaa R	2539	½–½	2019	A05	81st Tata Steel Challengers 2019	13

Translation from German and additional reporting: Macauley Peterson

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