Tata Steel Chess: So takes over, Carlsen sets new record

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
1/15/2020 – Wesley So defeated Alireza Firouzja to leapfrog him in the standings table of the Tata Steel Masters and become the new sole leader before the first rest day of the event. Five players are a half point back, including Vladislav Artemiev, who took down Vladislav Kovalev on Tuesday. In the meantime, Magnus Carlsen salvaged a draw from an inferior position again to set a new record of undefeated classical games. Surya Ganguly is now the sole leader in the Challengers. Expert analysis by GMs STEPHEN GORDON and DANIEL KING. | Photo: Alina l'Ami

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Carlsen does it, again


The 82nd edition of the chess festival in Wijk aan Zee takes place from January 11th to 26th. The Masters and the Challengers are both 14-player single round robins. Rounds start at 12:30 UTC, except January 16th in Eindhoven, when it starts 30 minutes later.


Following on his astounding performance of 2019, Magnus Carlsen continues to amaze the chess world. Despite not showing an up to standard performance in Wijk aan Zee so far, the world champion managed to draw his first four games to surpass Sergei Tiviakov's 110-game undefeated streak in classical chess. At this point, reporting on Carlsen's resounding achievements has become such a frequent occurrence that this might seem like a minor attainment. But it's not.

Given the availability of strong computer power to prepare openings, it is a feat in itself that Carlsen has not been caught in a line that simply wipes him off the board...since July 2018! Not to mention the fact that the previous record was set by a player who faced lower opposition — we should not underestimate Tiviakov's streak, but as was reported by Tarjei J. Svensen the Dutchman himself acknowledges how commendable Carlsen's feat actually is. He was asked by the Norwegian TV 2 how he felt after the record he set had been broken:

Of course it's sad. But Magnus is about to become the greatest chess player ever. I am not losing the record to an ordinary player, but one that really deserves it. I am still proud my record stood for 15 years.

The world champion is in good company:

Magnus Carlsen

Unbeatable? — World Champion Magnus Carlsen | Photo: Alina l'Ami

After keeping the streak alive for so long, the fact that Carlsen was so close to losing against young opponents in his last two games adds some spice to the storyline. In round four, he faced a very well-prepared Jorden van Foreest, who used a variation previously tried by the creative Levon Aronian to leave the world champion in a clearly inferior position out of the opening. White's sixteenth move was key in giving the youngster an edge:

 
Van Foreest vs. Carlsen
Position after 15...Bh5

16.g4 justifies White's previous play, when after 16...fxg4 17.g5 there is time to go 17...d7 18.ce4, using the pin on the d1-h5 diagonal. 

White was simply better while a pawn up, but Van Foreest did not find a powerful exchange sacrifice which would have left his famed opponent in an unenviable situation:

 
Position after 28...Ba3

Van Foreest later confessed that he had seen the idea with 29.dxc4, giving up the exchange on c1, but instead of choosing this alternative he played 29.ce1, giving Black some time to regroup. In a post-game interview, Carlen himself explained that after the exchange sac he would have been "in huge trouble", but credit should also be given to him for having kept his cool in an inferior position for a second day in a row. The Norwegian declared:

It's been going okay. I mean, I'm saving bad positions every game — what's not to like? (smiles)

Grandmaster Stephen Gordon once again sent comprehensive analyses of all the Masters games. Do not miss his annotations:

 
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Another very interesting game from Van Foreest with the white pieces. Once again going in for a variation that is somewhat rare at top-level, he surprised the World Number 1 just out of the opening and obtained a clear advantage. Magnus, like yesterday, was forced to put up stiff resistance and when he pressed Jorden into a big decision with his 28th, the young Dutchman lost the thread. However, we saw an extremely impressive reaction from Jorden when he realised his advantage had gone. With a string of accurate moves he managed to shut the game down. Demonstrating nerves of steel against the World's best, Van Foreest can definitely take away postives from his day at the office. As for Magnus, he will be disappointed not to have had any winning chances in today's game, but once again demonstrates to the rest of the players how difficult it is to put him away! The streak now moves to 111 classical games unbeaten - which is now without doubt a new record. I'm sure this isn't much of a distraction for the World Number 1, but now that the record is his, this can be put to the back of his mind. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Bd3 Van Foreest goes for a line that has been repeated a few times by Levon Aronian recently. Nd5 8...h6 9.Ne4 Nd5 10.Nbc3 Be7 11.Ng3 0-0 12.Bf5 Bxf5 13.Nxf5 Bg5 14.d3 Rb8 15.0-0 Bxc1 16.Qxc1 Nf4 17.Re1 Qg5 18.Ng3 c5 19.Nce2 Nc6 20.Nxf4 exf4 21.Ne4 Qf5 22.f3 Nd4 23.c3 Ne6 24.Qc2 Rfd8 25.a3 a5 26.Rad1 Rd7 27.Re2 Qd5 28.Qa4 Rdb7 29.Rdd2 Qd8 30.Qc4 Qb6 31.Nf2 Rd8 32.Ng4 Rbd7 33.Ne5 Rd5 34.Qa4 Qc7 35.Qc6 Qe7 36.Qa6 Qf6 37.Ng4 Qg5 38.Nf2 Qf5 39.Qb7 1/2-1/2 (39) Aronian,L (2772)-Caruana,F (2822) Bucharest ROU 2019 9.Nf3 Bd6 Jorden has had one game that reached this position after Black's 9th, back in 2015. As such, it can't have been completely off Magnus' radar that something like this could occur, although he appears to have been surprised by Jorden's next. 10.Nc3 Not a novelty, but before this game it had never been tested at top-level. 10.0-0 is the move chosen by Aronian in his two recent encouters that reached the position after 9 moves. Games fo reference are as follows: 0-0 Jorden's last outing in the 4.Ng5 line: 10...Nf4 11.Nc3 Nxd3 12.cxd3 0-0 13.Ne4 c5 14.b3 Nc6 15.Ba3 Nb4 16.Bxb4 cxb4 17.Re1 f6 18.d4 exd4 19.Qc2 Bb7 20.Qc4+ Rf7 21.Nxd6 Qxd6 22.Nxd4 Qd5 23.Qxd5 Bxd5 24.Rac1 Rd7 25.Nf5 Kf7 26.Rc5 Be6 27.h4 Bxf5 28.Rxf5 a5 29.Re2 a4 30.Rb5 axb3 31.axb3 Ra1+ 32.Kh2 Rd1 33.Rxb4 R1xd2 34.Rxd2 Rxd2 35.Kg3 h5 36.Rb8 Rb2 37.b4 Kg6 38.b5 Kf5 39.b6 Rb3+ 40.f3 Rb2 41.Rb7 Rb4 42.Kf2 Rb2+ 43.Kg1 Rb1+ 44.Kh2 Rb2 45.Kh3 Rb3 46.Kg3 Rb4 47.Kf2 Rb2+ 48.Ke3 Rxg2 49.Rf7 Rb2 50.b7 g5 51.hxg5 Kxg5 52.Kd4 h4 53.Kd5 Kg6 54.Re7 h3 55.Kc6 h2 56.Re1 Rc2+ 57.Kd7 Rb2 58.Kc7 Rc2+ 59.Kb6 Rb2+ 60.Ka7 Ra2+ 61.Kb8 Kf5 62.Rh1 1/2-1/2 (62) Van Foreest,J (2519) -Erwich,F (2358) Vlissingen 2015 11.Re1 Re8 11...f5 12.Nxe5 Qf6 13.Nf3 g5 14.c4 Nf4 15.Bf1 g4 16.d4 gxf3 17.Qxf3 Ne6 18.c5 Bc7 19.b4 Qxd4 20.Qc3 Qxc3 21.Nxc3 Nb7 22.Bc4 Re8 23.Bb2 a5 24.b5 Nbxc5 25.Ba3 Ne4 26.Nxe4 fxe4 27.b6 Bxb6 28.Rxe4 Kf7 29.Rae1 Ra7 30.Kh1 a4 31.f4 Ra5 32.g4 Bc5 33.Bxc5 Rxc5 34.f5 h5 35.Bxe6+ Bxe6 36.fxe6+ Ke7 37.Rxa4 h4 38.Rf4 Rc2 39.Rf7+ Kd6 40.Rd7+ Kc5 41.Rh7 Kd6 42.e7 Rd2 43.Rxh4 Rxe7 44.Rh6+ Kd7 45.Rxe7+ Kxe7 46.Rxc6 Rxa2 47.Rc3 Kf6 48.h4 Ke5 49.Rf3 Ra4 50.Rg3 Kf4 51.Rg2 Kf3 52.h5 Kf4 53.g5 Kf5 54.g6 1-0 (54) Aronian,L (2772)-Vidit,S (2722) Kolkata IND 2019 12.Nc3 f5 13.Bf1 e4 14.Nd4 Bc5 15.Nb3 Nxb3 16.axb3 Qb6 17.Re2 Bd4 18.Nxd5 cxd5 19.d3 Bb7 20.dxe4 dxe4 21.Be3 Bxe3 22.fxe3 Rad8 23.Qe1 f4 24.Qa5 Qxa5 25.Rxa5 f3 26.Rf2 Rd1 27.Rxa7 Bc6 28.h4 Re1 29.Rc7 Ba8 30.Rd2 Rf8 31.Rdd7 f2+ 32.Kh2 1-0 (32) Aronian,L (2775)-Amin,B (2683) Moscow RUS 2019 10...0-0 This is the most common move in the small sample of games that reached this position. 10...f5 is an untested novelty that has recently been recommended by Gustafsson. Expect further developments here soon... 11.Be2 Nf4 The first move made by Magnus that the engine does not like. 12.0-0 Bg4 13.d3 Nxe2+ 14.Qxe2 f5 15.h3 Bh5 16.g4! A good move - White does well to force the pace here, and my guess is this was still part of Jorden's prep. I wonder if this is the move Magnus missed when going in for 12...Bg4. It looks like the Champ gets decent compensation if it is not played. 16.Qe3 is the 'safer' looking move and probably the choice most players go for here if they are out of prep. A couple of sample lines: Qf6 16...Qe7 17.Qg5 Qe8!? is an interesting engine suggestion, keeping the tension. At first glance I wouldn't fancy taking White in something like this, but after 18.Nd2 it's true that Black still has some work to do to demonstrate full compensation for the pawn. 16...Re8 is also interesting. 17.Qg5 Qf7 17...Bxf3 18.Qxf6 Rxf6 19.gxf3 Maybe White is slightly better here. 18.Nd2 16...fxg4 What else? White just continues forward if the bishop retreats. 16...Bg6 17.Nxe5 Re8 18.f4 is hardly worth consideration and after 16...Be8 17.Nxe5 17.Bg5 may be even stronger. 17...Qh4 18.Kg2 and Black's task is tough. 17.Ng5! The reason why g4 is working well. White has enough time to get a knight around to the g3 before Black can deal with the pin on the d1-h5 diagonal. Although there's some long-term exposure to the white king, the more important factor in White's favour is that Black's dynamic potential in the centre has significantly decreased following the change in the pawn structure. The value of the white knights has increased dramatically due to the disappearance of Black's f-pawn, now having a sturdy central post on e4 for the remainder of the game. Qd7 Again there's not really an option for Magnus. He can't allow Jorden a straightforward recapture on g4. 18.Nce4 Precision was required and Jorden was up to the task 18.Nge4 is the wrong knight to transfer to g3 - Black's now clearly for choice after Rf3 18...Be7 18...Rf3 is a move that requires consideration, but it falls short in a couple of ways. 19.Nxd6 is the most clinical refutation. 19.Nxf3 gxf3 20.Qe3 Qxh3 21.Qg5 White also fends off the attack here, although converting this could be a bit messy. 19...Qxd6 20.hxg4 Bxg4 21.Nxf3 with Qxe5 to follow against most moves (other than 21... Qg6 is met by 22.Nxe5), is game over. 19.Ng3! Bg6 20.Qxg4 Qxg4 21.hxg4 At this point that it's clear White has an advantage. Still, there is plenty of work to do. c5 22.N5e4 Nc6 23.Be3 Nd4 24.Rac1 Rac8 25.Kg2 c4 26.Bxd4 exd4 27.f3 Rc6 28.b3 All of this seemed natural for both sides. Black is looking for counterplay on the queenside, whereas White plays moves that consolidate and invite simplification. The World Champ forces Van Foreest to make a big decision with the next move. Ba3 It's at this point something goes wrong for Jorden. The move he plays isn't necessarily spoling things, but the follow-up allows Magnus to get right back in it. 29.Rce1?! There's absolutely no way Jorden didn't consider the exchange sacrifice with 29.dxc4 Bxc1 30.Rxc1 and I'm sure he assessed this as still clearly better for White. But he was faced with seemingly a couple of good options and as always this is a tough moment for any player. Objectively the exchange sacrifice is probably best. 29...cxd3 30.cxd3 a5 31.Rf2?! I think Jorden would have seen this position from a distance (when playing 29.Rce1), but probably had a blind spot for ...Bc1. If Black doesn't have the move available to re-position the dark-squared bishop on the e3-post, White would be clearly better still. Unfortunately it's available, and unfortunately he's facing a monster... 31.f4 is the move White wants, but Black's back in it with the check on c2. Rc2+ 32.Rf2 Rxf2+ 33.Nxf2 Rxf4 The engine suggests White is still better after 31.Ra1 but I just don't see how you're able to look for this move, especially given the position White had a few moves ago. Even here I'm not sure in a practical sense White really has an advantage. 31...Bc1! There's no way Carlsen isn't going to seize an opportunity like this. Now the bishop is going to be super-annoying on the new diagonal. Objectively, Black has full compendation for the pawn. What I find very impressive from this point onwards is how well Van Foreest handles things. Most players would be wanting to throw their chair through the nearest window (...maybe too much?!) after having a big advantage against the Champ and spoiling it like this - but he doesn't let emotion get the better of him and holds it together really well. 32.Nd2 The first of a series of very good practical decisions. Jorden gives up the pawn advantage calculating that he can get rid of one of Magnus's bishops. Bxd3 33.Nc4 The point behind 32.Nd2. Now White threatens the bishop on c1 and also to fork the light-sqaured bishop and rook with Ne5, so Magnus is forced to give up one of the pair. Bf4 34.Ne5 Rc3 Magnus decides to give the light-squared bishop which feels like the right way, given the dark-squared weakness in White's camp and the e3-post for the remaining bishop. When watching live I did feel as though Black may be able to put some pressure from here, but again Van Foreest continues to come up with excellent active defensive moves. 35.Nxd3 Rxd3 36.Nf5! Really good defensive move. White now threatens Re4 and there's no real way for Black to keep tension in the position. g6 37.Re4 Bg5 38.Ne7+ 38.Nxd4 Be3 39.Ne6 Bxf2 40.Nxf8 Rd2 41.Ne6 would have been holding things together also. 38...Kh8 39.Nc6 Be3 40.Re2 Rd1 41.Nxa5 Rg1+ 42.Kh2 Rc1 43.Kg2 Rg1+ One last (admittedly very hard to believe) try for Magnus could have been 43...d3 44.R2xe3 d2 45.Rd4 d1Q 46.Rxd1 Rxd1 47.Nc4 but realistically, unless White does something terrible, this is almost certainly ending in a share of the point. 44.Kh2 Rc1 45.Kg2 We've really been treated to a great game here! ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Van Foreest,J2644Carlsen,M2872½–½2020C5882nd Tata Steel GpA4.1

Post-game interview with Magnus Carlsen

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So leapfrogs Firouzja

While Carlsen survived a tough position a pawn down, Wesley So reminded us he is one of the strongest technical players in the circuit by defeating the man of the hour, 16-year-old wunderkind Alireza Firouzja. So, who kicked off an excellent 2017 with a first place in Wijk aan Zee, took the game to a place in which he feels the most comfortable — a queenless position with a slight edge. The American used his pair of bishops in exemplary fashion, except perhaps when he failed to find the very best continuation on move 34:

 
So vs. Firouzja
Position after 33...f5

White went to gain a pawn with 34.e2, but he had an even better alternative in 34.gxf5, as after 34...gxf5 35.♗b3 the light-squared bishop is ready to go to e6 and simply gobble up all of Black's weaknesses on the kingside and the centre. Nonetheless, the game continuation —34...d8 35.xd3 exd3+ 36.xd3 — was good enough for So to find a way to score a full point in the end.

The new sole leader was happy after beating the sensation of the tournament:

It's clear that Firouzja is the next big talent. I mean, he's probably underrated right now. It's amazing all the things he does, because he's only 16 and he's fighting already with the world's best.

The Filipino-born grandmaster feels his relatively bad form from the last few months might take a turn for the better:

It's a good way to start the year. I'm hoping to have a successful tournament here, because my last few tournaments last year have been pretty much subpar. I was playing horrible chess.

Stephen Gordon looked deeply into the So v Firouzja ending, noting that the youngster might have had some chances to incredibly save a half point:

 
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This was my favourite game to analyse today. Wesley's approach in the opening may look relatively harmless, but really it's very deceptive. White gradually manages to wrestle full control over the light squares and Firouja is time and again forced into making very difficult positional decisions. Incredibly at a time when all looked lost - it may turn out that Firouja still had some incredible defensive resources to save the game! I'm putting my neck on the line a bit here, but be sure to check out the endgame analysis after the critical 38...h5. Also, do note that Wesley didn't need to allow the game scenario, and could have made Black's position untenable with 34.gxf5 gxf5 35.Bb3! Overall, I think this was a really great game by So, and Firouzja was very close to pulling off a miraculous defence. 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.0-0 a6 7.b3 Recently this has become almost as popular as 7.dxc5. cxd4 8.Nxd4 Be7 9.Bb2 0-0 10.Be2 Bd7 11.Nd2 Nc6 12.Rc1 Rc8 Firouja decides to pass the decision to Wesley as to whether all minor pieces will remain on the board. In all other over-the-board games that reached this position, Black went in for exchange on d4. A couple of examples: 12...Nxd4 13.Bxd4 Nd5 13...Bc6 14.Nc4 Rc8 15.Bf3 Bxf3 16.Qxf3 Qd5 17.Nb6 Qxf3 18.gxf3 Rxc1 19.Rxc1 Bd8 20.Nc8 Nd5 21.Nd6 b5 22.a3 Be7 23.Rc6 Ra8 24.Bc5 h6 25.Ne4 Bd8 26.f4 a5 27.Bd4 Be7 28.Bc5 Bd8 29.Nd6 Ne7 0-1 (29) Lysyj,I (2677)-Timofeev,A (2534) Sochi 2015 14.Nc4 Bc6 15.Qd2 Bb4 16.Qb2 Qg5 17.Bf3 Ne7 18.Ne5 Rfc8 19.h4 Qh6 20.Nxc6 Nxc6 21.Bxc6 bxc6 22.Rc4 Bf8 23.g3 a5 24.Rfc1 Qh5 25.Qc2 Ra6 26.Bc5 Qf5 27.Qe2 Raa8 28.Bxf8 Kxf8 29.Rxc6 Rxc6 30.Rxc6 a4 31.Qc4 g5 32.Qb4+ Kg8 33.Rc5 e5 34.e4 Qf3 35.Rxe5 gxh4 36.Rg5+ Kh8 37.Qd4+ f6 38.Rf5 1-0 (38) Vitiugov,N (2739) -Balogh,C (2655) Tsaghkadzor 2015 13.N4f3 Wesley opts to keep the pieces. On the face of it, the whole thing looks pretty harmless for Black. White doesn't appear to be ahead in development and it doesn't look like there's really any space advantage. However, both of those observations might not be quite right - they will be determined over the next few moves. Black does have a problem piece in his position. The bishop on d7 is misplaced, and so some time is needed in order to sort it out. Another thing that's slightly in White's favour is some slightly weak squares in Black's camp: particularly b6 and d6. This explains Firouzja's next b5 Firouzja immediately takes control of the c4-square. This looks like the right thing to do. However, Black does need to keep an eye on White's potential a4-break from now on. 14.a3 Qb6 15.Rc2 e5 Again this feels like the right thing to be doing - taking more space and limiting White's pieces. However, it weakens some light squares in the long-term and so it's a double-edged decision. Wesley continues to creep a little forward. 15...Rfd8 16.Qb1 still looks more pleasant to play for White. e5 17.Rfc1 and now Bf5? cannot be played 18.Rxc6+- 16.Bd3 Rfd8 17.Qe2 Bg4 18.Rfc1 Although it looks pretty unambitious, I think this has been very clever play from So. He's invited Black to expand, but in doing so White's had time to fully coordinate and it's hard to point at any weaknesses in the White camp. The same can't be said for Black - although the pawn advances have created space, they have created targets. In the long-term White is better on the light squares because of the ...e5 advance. Black has to do whatever possible to fight for light-squared control over the next phase. Na7 18...Qb7 may be an improvement, although Black has to be prepared to go down a pawn, pointing at the two bishops as compensation. A sample line: 19.a4 Nb4 20.Rxc8 Bxc8 21.Nxe5 Nxd3 22.Nxd3 bxa4 23.bxa4 Bd7 This may be OK for Black. 19.Rxc8 Rxc8 20.Rxc8+ Nxc8 21.h3 This is the reason that Wesley was happy to allow the heavy piece exchanges on the c-file. Black doesn't really have any choice now: the light-squared bishop has to be traded to avoid losing the e-pawn. 21.Bxe5 Bxa3 22.Qd1 was also possible and something that the engine likes. However, I think it's much less clear to evaluate, and also when the a-pawn drops off the board it's much harder to see how White's ever creating a passer in an ending. I think Wesley's choice, preserving the a-pawn is the best practical attempt. 21...Bxf3 22.Qxf3 White definitely has nagging pressure now. Qd8 23.Qe2 Qd5 This queen manouevre makes a lot of sense - fighting for light squares. But watch out for White's next: every move played is wrestling for control of them! 24.Bc2 Nd6 25.Qd3 Qxd3 26.Bxd3 Again this e5-pawn is forcing Black to give ground. Nd7 27.g4 g6 28.Ne4 Nxe4 29.Bxe4 Even with limited pieces left White still has significant pressure. The bishop on e4 needs to be contained. If Black can exchange it off all problems are solved - but how to do so without a concession? Nc5 30.Bc2 This might be White's largest advantage in the game so far, even with all the piece exchanges that have taken place. This is a very difficult position to defend - how to contain the light-squared bishop? b4 is coming, which will fix the black queenside on light squares, after which the bishop inflitrates via e4. Black needs to take fairly drastic measures to stop this. e4 Alireza decides it's worth a pawn to get rid of the light-squared bishop. In doing so he has to assess whether the resulting dark-squared bishop ending a pawn down is going to be holding. 30...Nd7 and 30...f6 require further analysis to determine whether White can convert the ending. 31.b4 Nd3 32.Bc3 Kf8 33.Kf1 f5 34.Ke2 It's incredible, but this might be a mistake! Black's position looks untenable if White, instead of going for the pawn, decides to get his light-squared bishop in around the back! 34.gxf5 gxf5 35.Bb3 This is probably hopeless for Black. 34...Bd8 Also worthy of further analysis: 34...h5 35.gxf5 gxf5 36.f3 Bd8 37.fxe4 fxe4 38.Bxd3 38.Bd1 Ke7 39.Kd2 is another attempt for White. Incredibly, Black might hold with Ke6 40.Bxh5 Ne5 Further analysis is needed to determine whether this can be held - it looks like a decent attempt to me. The reasoning being that the Black knight from e5 is doing a great job of preventing the light-squared bishop from ever getting at the a6-pawn, and if Black exchanges it, then the opposite-coloured bishop ending is likely drawn. So then how can White progress from here? Not easy stuff at all... 38...exd3+ 39.Kxd3 Kf7 Does this hold? It's hard to see a way through - White's king is struggling to inflitrate here. 35.Bxd3 Wesley goes in for the ending - the more I've looked at it the more I feel Black has real chances to hold! exd3+ 36.Kxd3 Kf7 The key here seems to be whether Black can prevent the white king from inflitrating via c5 or d5. If the black king could teleport to d5 here it should be holding. As such, White can't wait around and Wesley finds a way to force matters 37.e4 Brilliant move under the circumstances by Wesley. He forces Firouzja to make a huge decision just before the time control. fxg4 This really is an incredible ending. It looked as though this might be the losing move, but Black could still have some resources left. 37...f4!? is another very interesting defensive try that I think is very hard to commit to. It breaks some rules - don't place your pawns on the same colour as the attacker's bishop, and also when defending you should look to make pawn exchanges where possible. But its main point is that it is making it as difficult as possible for White to advance his king. 38.Bd4 38.e5 is another attempt, but Black's task is relatively straightforward here. Ke6 39.Ke4 g5 40.Bd2 Bb6 41.f3 Bc7 38...g5 39.f3 Ke6 I don't see how White makes progress from here. 40.Ba7 Bf6 40...Ke5 is another way to keep the white king at bay. 41.Bb8+ Ke6 and now 42.Kd4 is answered by Bb6+ 38.hxg4 g5 It can be said with conviction that this is a losing move. Alireza had to go for 38...h5! after which there appear to be some unbelievable defensive resources available. Here's some samples: 39.gxh5 gxh5 Now there are four ways for White to proceed. 1. Advance the f-pawn and then the king comes to f3; 2. King comes to f3 immediately (this makes a lot less sense - see the following lines); 3. The king goes to f1 in an attempt to pick up the pawn via h2; 4. Block the h-pawn by bringing the bishop aorund to h2. 40.f4 40.Ke2 h4 41.Kf1 h3 42.Kg1 Bb6! 43.Be1 Bc7! and amazingly White can't make progress. 40.Ke3 h4 41.Kf3 h3! 42.Kg3 Bh4+ 43.Kxh3 Bxf2 44.Kg4 Ke6 45.Kh5 Bg3 Black holds because the white king can't get any further. 46.Kg6?? Be5 Incredibly, Black wins here. 40.Be5 h4 41.Bh2 a5 (There look to be other approaches that hold) 42.f4 axb4 43.axb4 Kf6 44.Kd4 Bb6+ 45.Kd5 Bf2! 46.e5+ Ke7 47.f5 Bg3 48.f6+ Kf7 49.Bxg3 hxg3 50.e6+ Kxf6 51.Kd6 g2 52.e7 g1Q 53.e8Q is a ridiculous (actually totally sound) line - but just shows how difficult this endgame is. 40...h4 41.Ke3 41.f5 h3 42.Be5 Bf6 43.Bh2 Bb2 is holding 44.e5 Bxa3 45.e6+ Ke7 46.Kc3 Bc1 47.Kd4 Bb2+ 48.Kd5 Bc3 and White cannot make further progress. 41...h3 42.Kf3 42.Kf2 Bh4+ 43.Kg1 Bg3 leads to the same scenario as in the main line. 42...Bh4! The key resource - with the help of an engine (obviously) I can't see how White can make progress - even with the advance of the pawn tandem. 43.f5 h2 44.Kg2 Bg3 Absolutely incredible. Black seems to be holding. 45.e5 Bf4 46.e6+ Ke7 47.Bd4 Bg3 48.Bc5+ Kf6 49.e7 (What else?!) Kf7 holds. 39.Kd4! The winning move! The f2-pawn matters for nothing now. Wesley gets the king through and can create a second passer quickly, which will be too much for Black to deal with. Bb6+ 40.Kd5 Bxf2 41.Kc6 Ke6 42.Kb7 Kd7 43.Kxa6 Kc6 44.e5 Be3 45.e6 Bc1 46.a4 bxa4 47.Be5 A really brilliant game of chess. Points of interest throughout and well worth spending some time going through in detail. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
So,W2765Firouzja,A27231–02020D2782nd Tata Steel GpA4.4

Wesley So

The new sole leader, 2017 Tata Steel Masters champion Wesley So | Photo: Alina l'Ami

In the other decisive encounter of the day, Vladislav Artemiev bounced back from his loss from Monday, by taking down Vladislav Kovalev, who for a third time in four rounds had Black and lost. The unlucky drawing of lots left the Belarusian alone in the cellar of the standings before the first rest day. On Thursday, he will have the white pieces against the leader of the event — a good chance to start a comeback!

In the game, Artemiev used his usual positional style, constantly creating small problems to his opponent until pushing him to crack under pressure. The Russian got to show a nice combination to put an end to the struggle:

 
Artemiev vs. Kovalev
Position after 39...Rd8

White was already a pawn up and had a solid advantage, but Kovalev's 39...d8 allowed his opponent to show a nice finish — 40.xe6 fxe6 41.e5 f8 42.xg6+ h8 43.h6+ g8 44.g6 and Black resigned, as the queen and knight duo is ready to wreak havoc around the opposite king. 

 
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I think Artemiev has played a really nice game here. The engine won't tell you that: for the most part Black is doing fine objectively, but even in an equalish looking position it feels like Kovalev was under relentless pressure, constantly being given problems to solve. Special attention to Kovalev's slightly rare approach with 7...Ba6, Artemiev's cool handling of the early middlegame to get coordination back, and finally his testing g2-g4 advance just before the time control, which ultimately proved to be the breakthrough. A great bounce-back for Artemiev after yesterday's disappointment. Unfortunate for Vlad Kovalev, who it feels for a large part of the game was well up to the task. What can you say?! These guys are just incredibly strong... 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bd2 0-0 5.Nf3 b6 6.e3 d5 7.Rc1 Ba6 7...Bb7 has been the most played move here. 8.Qa4 c5 9.cxd5 Bxf1 10.Rxf1 exd5 11.Ke2 This looks awkward for White, but the argument from his perspective is that he does have a better pawn structure in the long-term, and the dodgy king position should only be a temporary feature. That being said, Black should be absolutely OK here. Nbd7 12.Rfd1 Qe7 13.Kf1 Rfc8 Maybe Kovalev could have asked for more from his position here. It was a moment where Kovalev could play for the better structure with 13...c4 in the hope that he can connect up the little guys with ...a6 and ...b5. Vlad must have had a reason for rejecting this, but it's difficult to see how White is going to prevent ...a6 and ...b5 here. Some sample lines: 14.Ne5 14.a3?! Bxc3 15.Bxc3 Rfb8 and Black is doing well. 14...Bxc3 14...b5!? is an engine move that is pretty difficult to explain. 15.Nxb5 Bxd2 16.Rxd2 Ne4! 17.Rdc2 The rook has to stay on the second due to ...Qh4 threats. Nxe5 18.dxe5 Qxe5 19.Kg1 Nc5 20.Qa3 Nd3 would be a nice transition for Black - but who on earth is seeing a line like this?! 14...Nxe5? cannot be recommended 15.dxe5 Qxe5?? 16.Qxb4 15.Bxc3 Rfc8 with ...a6 and ...b5 to follow, looks at least ok for Black. 14.Qa6 I like this decision from Artemiev. He now makes the aforementioned plan with ...c4 look less desirable, as the queen is super-irritating for the black queenside pawns. Qe6 15.Ne2 Bxd2 16.Nxd2 Moves 11 to 15 have been exactly what Vlad Artemiev wanted them to be. Again, it should be noted that Black is probably alright here, but I do think this type of position is slightly more difficult for Black to play, as White is now the one who dictates when the central tension will be broken. Black would love to get the queenside pawns rolling, but the way the pieces are situated, it's going to be near-on impossible to achieve. ...c4 will be getting answered by b3. Qf5 17.h3 Nf8 18.Nf3 Kovalev has commited no serious offences, but he has allowed White to coordinate, and as such White is slightly better due to the advantageous pawn structure. Qd7 19.Ne5 19.dxc5!? bxc5 20.b4 was an interesting idea for White cxb4 21.Ne5 Qe8 22.Nc6 being a sample line to demonstrate the compensation White gets for the pawn. The white knights are now very active and it's hard to believe Black can keep the material advantage for much longer. 19...Qc7 20.Kg1 Ne6 21.Rc2 Rab8 22.Qb5 a6 23.Qxa6 Ra8 24.Qd3 Rxa2 25.Qf5 Rca8 Kovalev handled this well and his position must be totally fine here. 26.Nc3 Ra1 27.Rcd2 cxd4 28.exd4 Rxd1+ 29.Rxd1 Re8 30.Nf3 Qc4 31.g4!? Interesting idea from Artemiev - Black has to react actively. h6 32.h4 Qb3 33.Rd2 b5 34.g5 hxg5 35.hxg5 Nh7?! This is the first slip from Kovalev. 35...b4 was called for and after 36.gxf6 bxc3 37.bxc3 Qxc3 none of White's attempts to attack work out. 38.fxg7 Nxg7 39.Qxd5 This could be the reason why Kovalev rejected 35...b4. Easy to see with an engine that White can't progress from here, but over the board and under time pressure it's an entire different matter! Qc8 and White won't be able to avoid perpetual checks from the queen. 40.Qg5? Re6 36.Nxd5 g6 37.Nf6+ Nxf6 38.Qxf6 Qd5 39.Re2 White is pressing here - unfortunately Kovalev next opens the floodgates. Rd8? 40.Rxe6! fxe6 41.Ne5 Rf8 42.Qxg6+ Kh8 43.Qh6+ Kg8 44.Ng6 Deadly finish from Vlad Artemiev. As soon as a chance was presented, he pounced...and was ruthless. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Artemiev,V2731Kovalev,V26601–02020E5182nd Tata Steel GpA4.7

Vladislav Artemiev

Vladislav Artemiev | Photo: Alina l'Ami

The rest of the games finished drawn, with Anish Giri showing some ambitious ideas in the London against Nikita Vitiugov; Daniil Dubov and Jan-Krzysztof Duda exploring a sharp opening variation; Fabiano Caruana defending passively against Jeffery Xiong; and Yu Yangyi neutralizing Vishy Anand's Ragozin.

Round 4 games (annotated by GM Stephen Gordon)

 
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Not a great deal happened in this one, but it was interesting to see what Yu Yangyi rates against the popular Ragozin defence. Vishy is the first to deviate from a game he had in 2018 in this line, and holds things together well in a position that could easily go downhill for Black with one or two inaccurate moves. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 d5 5.Qb3 c5 6.dxc5 Nc6 6...Na6 is another of the main continuations. Yu Yangyi faced this last year against Harikrishna. 7.cxd5 Qa5 8.Bd2 Nxc5 9.Qc2 Nxd5 10.a3 Nd7 11.Nxd5 Bxd2+ 12.Qxd2 Qxd5 13.Qxd5 exd5 14.Rc1 Nb6 15.e3 Bd7 16.Bd3 Ke7 17.Kd2 Rac8 18.b3 Rxc1 19.Rxc1 Rc8 20.Rb1 Be6 21.Nd4 Nd7 22.h4 h6 23.f3 Ne5 24.Bb5 Bd7 25.Bxd7 Kxd7 26.h5 Nc6 27.Nf5 Ne7 28.Nd4 Nc6 29.Nf5 Ne7 30.Nd4 Nc6 1/2-1/2 (30) Yu,Y (2751) -Harikrishna,P (2738) China 2019 7.Bg5 dxc4 8.Qxc4 h6N Vishy's novelty, deviating from a game he had in the PRO Chess League in 2018. 8...Qa5 is the most commonly played move and must have been a position Yu Yangyi was targeting in his preparation. Vishy's recent game in this line: 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.e3 Qxc5 11.Qxc5 Bxc5 12.a3 Ke7 13.Bd3 Bd6 14.Ke2 Ne5 15.Nxe5 Bxe5 16.Rac1 Bd7 17.f4 Bxc3 18.Rxc3 Bc6 19.Rg1 f5 20.g3 h5 21.h4 Rad8 22.Rd1 Rhg8 23.Kf2 Kf6 24.Be2 Kg6 25.Rxd8 Rxd8 26.Rd3 Rc8 27.Rc3 Rd8 28.Rd3 Rc8 29.Rc3 Rd8 1/2-1/2 (29) Haug,J (2357)-Anand,V (2767) chess.com INT 2018 9.Bxf6 Qxf6 10.e3 Qe7 10...Bxc3+ is a common way for Black to go, but here it's probably not equalising. The black knight would prefer to be placed on d7 rather than where it sits. 11.bxc3 0-0 12.Be2 If Black's not getting the pawn back it's difficult to justify this. 11.Rc1 11.Nd4 comes into consideration. White tries to damage the Black queenside structure in the following way: Qxc5 12.Qxc5 Bxc5 13.Nxc6 bxc6 However, it's difficult to see how White will be able to generate meaningful pressure against the c-pawn weakness. The bishop pair should fully compensate for the small structural damage. 11...Qxc5 12.Qb3 Qb6 13.a3 Bxc3+ 14.Qxc3 0-0 15.Bd3 Ne7 16.0-0 16.Ke2!? is an interesting engine suggestion. White wants to keep the king centralised in anticipation of a queen exchange, and both of Black's natural follow-up moves (...Rd8 and ...Bd7) are answered with Qc7, forcing a queen exchange. White may have something small to work with here. 16...Nd5 17.Qc2 Bd7 18.Ne5 Bb5 19.Rfd1 Bxd3 20.Rxd3 One slip and White's heavyweights are getting in. Vishy finds some good moves to neutralise things. Qd6 21.Nf3 Qe7 22.h3 Nb6 23.Qc7 Qf6 24.Qxb7 Rfb8 25.Qa6 Qxb2 26.Rdc3 Nd5 27.R3c2 Qb7 28.Rc6 Qxa6 29.Rxa6 Rb6 30.Ra5 a6 31.Nd4 Rab8 32.g3 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Yu Yangyi2726Anand,V2758½–½2020D3882nd Tata Steel GpA4.2
Dubov,D2683Duda,J2758½–½2020E0482nd Tata Steel GpA4.3
Xiong,J2712Caruana,F2822½–½2020E2182nd Tata Steel GpA4.5
Giri,A2768Vitiugov,N2747½–½2020D0282nd Tata Steel GpA4.6

All games of the Masters available at Live.Chessbase.com

Meanwhile, in the Challengers, a sole leader emerged after round four: Surya Shekhar Ganguly defeated Dinara Saduakassova to go into the rest day as the only contender on 3 out of 4. Much like in the Masters, five players are a half point behind, with Nihal Sarin and David Anton joining the chasing pack thanks to victories over Max Warmerdam and Jan Smeets, respectively.

Ganguly will face top seed Anton with White after the rest day. Let us not forget that the main motivation to win the Challengers is to get a spot in next year's Masters, a great opportunity that might end up becoming the big break for these strong grandmasters.  

Round 4 games - Challengers

 
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1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Qe2 Nxe4 6.Qxe4 Nd7 7.Bc4 Nf6 8.Qe2 Bf5 9.d4 e6 10.0-0 h6 B17: Caro-Kann: Modern Line (4...Nd7) 10...Qc7 11.h3 0-0-0 12.a4 h6 13.c3 g5 14.Ne5 Rg8 15.a5 Bd6 16.g4 Bg6 17.f3 Bxe5 18.Qxe5 Qxe5 19.dxe5 0-1 (57) Guliyev,N (2557)-Kovalenko,I (2653) Wroclaw 2014 11.Bf4 Bd6 12.Be5N Predecessor: 12.Ne5 0-0 13.c3 Qc7 14.Rad1 Rad8 15.Rfe1 Rfe8 16.Qf3 Nd5 17.Bg3 a5 18.Bb3 Ra8 19.a4 f6 20.Nd3 Qb6 21.Nc1 Qc7 22.Bxd6 Qxd6 23.c4 Nb4 24.c5 1-0 (23) Canamas Soler,J (2274)-Winbush,J (1848) ICCF email 2013 12...0-0 13.h3 Nd5 14.c3 Nf4 15.Qe3 Qxf4 is the strong threat. Nd5 16.Qd2 Bxe5 17.Nxe5 Qd6 18.Rfe1 Rad8 19.Rad1 Nb6 Hoping for ...f6. 20.Bb3 Nd7 21.g4 Bh7 22.Nxd7 Rxd7 23.Re5 Qxe5 24.dxe5 Rxd2 25.Rxd2= Endgame KRB-KRB Rb8 26.Rd7 Kf8 27.f4 Ke8 28.Bxe6 Bg8 29.f5 But not 29.Bf5 g6 29...fxe6 30.Rxg7 KRB-KR Bf7 31.Rh7 Rd8 32.Rxh6 exf5 33.gxf5 Bxa2 34.Rh8+ Kd7 35.e6+
35.Rh7+= remains equal. Kc8 36.e6 35...Kc8 35...Kc7! 36.Rh7+ Kd6 37.Rxb7 Bb1 36.Rh7 Rg8+ 37.Kf2 White has compensation. Rf8 aiming for ...Bxe6. 37...Bb1!? 38.Rf7 Kd8= 38.Kg3 Bb1? 38...Rxf5 39.Rh8+ Kc7 39.Rf7+- Re8 40.Kf4 a5? 40...Rh8 41.Kg5 Bc2 41.h4 Rh8 42.Ke5 a4 43.h5 43.e7 Kd7 44.Rf8 Kxe7 45.Rxh8 43...Rxh5 44.Kd6 Rxf5
45.e7? White has to play 45.c4!+- Threatens to win with e7! Kd8 46.Rxb7 45...Rd5+ 46.Ke6 Ba2 47.Rf8+ Kc7 Strongly threatening ... Rd6+. 48.e8Q Rd8+! 49.Ke5 Rxe8+ 50.Rxe8 KR-KB c5! 51.Rh8 Bb3 52.Rh1 b5 53.Rh8 Bc4 54.Rh4 Bb3 55.Rf4 Kc6 56.Rf6+ Kc7 57.Rd6 Bc4 58.Rd2 Bb3 Accuracy: White = 59%, Black = 51%.
½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Van Foreest,L2523Keymer,V2527½–½202082nd Tata Steel Challengers 20204.1
Warmerdam,M2498Nihal Sarin26180–1202082nd Tata Steel Challengers 20204.2
Abdusattorov,N2635L'Ami,E2606½–½202082nd Tata Steel Challengers 20204.3
Mamedov,R2659Eljanov,P2650½–½202082nd Tata Steel Challengers 20204.4
Saduakassova,D2519Ganguly,S26360–1202082nd Tata Steel Challengers 20204.5
Anton Guijarro,D2694Smeets,J25851–0202082nd Tata Steel Challengers 20204.6
Smirnov,A2604Grandelius,N2673½–½202082nd Tata Steel Challengers 20204.7

All games of the Challengers available at Live.Chessbase.com

Vinent Keymer, Wesley So

Some of the Challengers having a good time analysing while Wesley So is being interviewed in the background | Photo: Alina l'Ami


Round-up show

A review of the day's action by GM Danny King


Standings after Round 4 - Masters

Rk.NameRtg.Nt.Pts.n
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
TBPerf.
1
2765
3.0
4
6.00
2956
2
2712
2.5
4
5.75
2850
3
2822
2.5
4
4.75
2838
4
2723
2.5
4
4.00
2824
5
2644
2.5
4
4.00
2843
6
2731
2.5
4
2.75
2817
7
2872
2.0
4
4.00
2713
8
2768
2.0
4
3.75
2800
9
2758
2.0
4
3.25
2703
10
2683
2.0
4
2.75
2694
11
2747
1.5
4
3.50
2669
12
2758
1.5
4
2.75
2661
13
2726
1.0
4
1.75
2581
14
2660
0.5
4
1.00
2402
TBs: Sonneborn-Berger

Standings after Round 4 - Challengers

Rk.NameRtg.Nt.Pts.n
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
TBPerf.
1
2636
3.0
4
4.25
2737
2
2694
2.5
4
4.75
2695
3
2659
2.5
4
4.75
2729
4
2650
2.5
4
4.75
2714
5
2618
2.5
4
3.75
2701
6
2606
2.5
4
3.75
2660
7
2523
2.0
4
4.50
2589
8
2585
2.0
4
3.25
2593
9
2635
1.5
4
4.00
2543
10
2519
1.5
4
3.50
2557
11
2673
1.5
4
3.25
2546
12
2604
1.5
4
2.75
2519
13
2527
1.5
4
2.25
2482
14
2498
1.0
4
2.00
2404
TBs: Sonneborn-Berger

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Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.

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