After the first three rounds of the Tata Steel tournament, five players — Pentala Harikrishna, Fabiano Caruana, Magnus Carlsen, Nils Grandelius and Anish Giri — were tied on two points apiece and entered round 4 with the hope of pulling away with a win.
Co-leaders Pentala Harikrishna and Fabiano Caruana were paired up against each other.
Pentala Harikrishna and Fabiano Caruana | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit
Caruana built up a visual advantage with the black pieces out of a Spanish. The American grandmaster had a comfortable position.
Black has some space advantage and the black bishop is much more active than the white knight.
31...d5 32.exd5 Rxe3 33.Rxe3 Bxd5 34.Nf3 Be6 [34...Bxf3!? 35.Rxf3 Qb8 36.Rc3 Qxb4 37.Rxc4 Qxa5]
35.Ne5 Qd4 [The best move was probably to return with 35...Bd5]
36.Nxg6 Qd1+ 37.Qxd1 Rxd1+
38.Kh2 c3 [Wins a piece, but...]
39.Rxc3 fxg6 40.Rc6 Kf7 41.Rxa6 [...White gets three pawns.]
41...Rd2 42.Kg1 Rd1+ 43.Kh2 Rd2 44.Kg1 Rd1+ ½–½
That draw meant two players from the group of five had neutralized each other, so there was perhaps a chance for one of the other players to get ahead.
Alireza Firouzja also had the black pieces against Aryan Tari and played his trusted Caro-Kann Defence. The world’s best junior started the game sharply and went for a kingside attack by giving up an exchange. It seemed as if he would be able to get the better of his opponent. The game later got extremely complicated.
10...f6!? 11.Bxh5 [The prudent alternative was 11.exf6 Nxf6] 11...fxe5 12.g4 [Forces the next move. [12.Bxg6+ Bxg6 13.dxe5 Qc7 14.f4 0–0–0 with compensation for Black.]
12...Rxh5 [12...Be4 13.Nd2]
13.gxh5 Nf4 [Here too Black has compensation.]
14.dxe5 Nh3+ 15.Kg2 c5 16.f4 Qc6 17.Nf3 0–0–0 18.Nbd2 Nb6 [Threatens d4.]
19.Qe1 Be7
20.Rc1 d4 [Courageously played, given the juxtaposition of the fact that the white rook (c1) is on the same file as the black queen (c6) and king (c8). 20...Rh8 21.Nd4]
21.cxd4 Nd5 22.Nc4 Ndxf4+ 23.Bxf4 Nxf4+ 24.Kg1 Bg4?! [Black immediately rejects 24...Rxd4 25.Nd6+ (25.Nxd4 Qg2#) 25...Bxd6 26.exd6 Nh3+ 27.Kh1 Be4 28.Rc3 Ng5]
25.Rc3 [25.Ncd2!?]
25...Rxd4 26.Nd6+ Kb8 27.Qe3
27... Bg5? [Throws the game away. 27...Bxh5 and Black remains in control.]
28.Rxc5? [Returns the gift. 28.Qxd4 Ne2+ is no good. But 28.Kh1 with the intention Dxd4 was strong and would have turned the game around.]
28...Qxc5 29.Nxg5 Ne2+? [And another mistake. Obviously the players were in deep time trouble by now. 29...Be2 30.Re1 Rd1 would have won.]
30.Kg2 [30.Kg2 with the possible consequence: 30...Qc6+ 31.Nge4 Bf5 32.Qxe2 Bxe4+ 33.Qxe4 Rxe4 34.Rf8+ Kc7 35.Rc8+ Kd7 36.Rxc6 Rxe5] ½–½
Even the world champion, who is used to winning, could not break away at the beginning of the tournament in Wijk aan Zee.
Magnus Carlsen and Jorden van Foreest | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit
Magnus Carlsen reached an endgame with an extra pawn in his game against Jorden van Foreest, and started playing for a win. But the Norwegian apparently miscalculated afterwards.
46... h6 [Black has entered the endgame with an extra pawn and is playing for a win.]
47.Nh4 Bd8 [Preparing g5. With the bishop on e7, Nxf5 would come.]
48.Rh7 Rd2?! [48...h5]
49.Rxh6 Kg7 [That was the idea — a double attack with the king, which frees the diagonal of the bishop, but...]
50.Rxg6+ Kh7 [Two white pawns are hanging, but White has a refutation.]
51.Nf3 [Retreating and counterattacking.] Rxf2+ 52.Kxf2 Kxg6 [The draw is inevitable.]
53.Kg2 Kh5 54.Nd4 f4 55.Ne6 Bg5 56.Nxg5 Kxg5 57.Kf3 Kh4 58.Kxf4 Kxh3 ½–½
Nils Grandelius had a similar experience: he was clearly better with black against Andrey Esipenko, even close to a win. But the advantage suddenly slipped away.
40.... Kh8 [A superfluous precaution. The king does not protect the g6-knight any more. Correct was 40...Rxb2 41.Nh4 Bxh3 42.gxh3 Qxg3 43.Qxg6+ Qxg6 44.Nxg6 Kxg6 with won endgame.]
41.Nh4 Ne5 [41...Bxh3 42.Nxg6+ Kh7 43.Nh4+ f5 44.Qe5 Bg4 with an advantage.]
42.Qa8+ Kh7 43.Qe4+ Kh8 44.Qa8+ Kh7 ½–½
Alexander Donchenko seems to have overcome his “jet lag” by now and won his second half point against Radoslaw Wojtaszek. In a typical Najdorf game with short castling, the German grandmaster was never in danger, but he nevertheless had to fight to get the half point.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and David Anton played the longest game of the day. The Frenchman, playing from the white side of a Marshall, had an extra pawn in a double rook ending, but that ended in a draw despite all his efforts.
In the game between Jan-Krzytszof Duda and Anish Giri, White also got an extra pawn but could not make much of it.
