Tata Steel R13: Wins for Pragg, Karjakin and Van Foreest

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
1/31/2022 – Besides Magnus Carlsen, who got a win by forfeit over Daniil Dubov, Praggnanandhaa, Sergey Karjakin and Jorden van Foreest also scored full points in the last round of the Tata Steel Masters tournament. Meanwhile, Arjun Erigaisi, who had secured first place in the Challengers with a round to spare, collected yet another victory to finish the event with a remarkable 10½/13 score. | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit

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Led by Jeroen van den Berg, the organizers of the Tata Steel Tournaments continue to deliver high-quality, entertaining events year after year. The format with 14 players — most elite round-robins include 10 — has proven to be attractive for the spectators. More importantly, though, the inclusion of fighting players and rising stars is the crucial factor for the tournament’s success, as the audience is guaranteed to see at least a couple of exciting games in every single round.

Unlike last year, there was no drama on the final day of action in this edition, as perennial favourite Magnus Carlsen secured his eighth triumph in Wijk with a round to spare. In the end, it was not Anish Giri — who has not had a sub-50% performance since 2013 — but Richard Rapport and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov who finished in second place, a whole 1½ points behind the winner. Giri, however, got fourth place as the only player with 7½ points.

Out of the 91 games played in the Masters, 42 finished decisively, including Daniil Dubov’s four losses by forfeit — the Russian tested positive for Covid-19 a few days after a member of his team had been infected. Moreover, starting from round 6, we got to see at least three decisive games in every round until the end of the tournament.

On the final day of action, two short draws were followed by four exciting games. Nils Grandelius and Jan-Krzysztof Duda played a sharp Sicilian which ended in a draw, while Praggnanandhaa, Sergey Karjakin and Jorden van Foreest all got wins with the white pieces.

Magnus Carlsen

Eight-time tournament winner Magnus Carlsen | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit

Pragg scores third win

The clear underdog in the Masters this year was 16-year-old Praggnanandhaa. The Indian prodigy was only one of two players rated below 2700 — even Nils Grandelius, at 2672, has a 60-point advantage over him in the ratings list. Nonetheless, the fearless teenager from Chennai managed to win three games in Wijk aan Zee. After beating Grandelius (round 4) and Vidit Gujrathi (10), Pragg finished the tournament with a win over Andrey Esipenko.

Playing white, the youngster agreed to weaken his structure in exchange for the bishop pair and more active play.

 
Praggnanandhaa vs. Esipenko

The Indian correctly gave up a pawn with 24.a4 here, since after 24....Nxa4 he got to strongly centralize his knight with 25.Nd5

Black will certainly have an advantage with his passer on the queenside if an endgame is reached, but first he needs to deal with White’s initiative both in the centre and on the kingside. There followed 25...Bb7 26.Rxe6 Nxe6 27.Re1 Qd7 28.Qg3 

 

Black’s only defensive attempt here is 28...Bxd5, although after 29.cxd5 Nc7 30.Re7 his position would be certainly unenviable. All other alternatives are worse, though, including Esipenko’s 28...Rf7.

Pragg knew he needed to be precise, so he spent over 12 minutes on his next move — 29.Nf6+ (29.Ne7+ was also good, but not as strong). After 29...Rxf6 30.Bxf6 Kf7 31.Qh4 White had ‘both the material and the compensation’.

 

Beating a stubborn defender is never easy. Pragg needed 28 more moves to demonstrate that he was able to convert his advantageous position into a win. 

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.a3 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 c5 6.e3 Nc6 7.Bd3 0-0 8.Ne2 b6 9.e4 Ne8 10.0-0 Ba6 11.f4 f5 12.exf5 E29: Nimzo-Indian: Sämisch: 5...0-0 6 e3 c5 7 Bd3 Nc6. exf5 13.dxc5 bxc5 14.Be3 The position is equal. d6 15.Ng3 Ne7
16.Qf3N Predecessor: 16.Qa4 Nc7 17.Rfd1 Qe8 18.Qc2 Rb8 19.Re1 Qf7 20.Bf2 Rbe8 21.Qa4 Ng6 22.Rxe8 Qxe8 0-1 (28) Chiong Zacarias,R (2373)-Zarnicki,P (2536) Dos Hermanas 2003 16...Nc7 16...g6 deserves consideration. 17.Rab1 Qd7 18.Rfe1 g6 19.Bf2 Nc8 20.Nf1 Nb6 21.Ne3 Rae8 22.Bh4 Qg7 23.Rbc1 Re6 24.a4 Nxa4 25.Nd5 Bb7! 26.Rxe6 Nxe6 27.Re1 Qd7 27...g5!= remains equal. 28.Qg3 White is more active. White should try 28.Ne7+ Qxe7 29.Bxe7 Bxf3 30.Bxf8 30.Rxe6 Re8 30...Nxf8 31.gxf3 28...Rf7? Loses the game. 28...Bxd5± 29.cxd5 Ng7 29.Nf6++- Rxf6 30.Bxf6 Kf7 31.Qh4 h5 32.Bg5 This bishop pair is nice. Not 32.Bh8 Qd8 33.Qxd8 Nxd8+- Don't take 32.Bc2 Nb6 33.Bg5 33.Bh8 Qd8± 33...Nxg5+- 32...Qc6
33.Qh3 The board is on fire. Nxg5 33...Qe8 34.fxg5 Bc8 35.Qe3? 35.g4 d5 36.gxf5 35...Qd7 36.Qe2 36.Bc2 Nb6 37.h3 Kg7 38.Qe7+ Qxe7 39.Rxe7+ Kf8 40.Rxa7 Be6+- 36...Qd8 37.Qa2 Bd7 38.Bc2 Nb6 39.Qxa7 Nc8 40.Qb7 Ne7 41.h4 Be6 42.Ra1
Strongly threatening Ra7. 42...Qc8 43.Qxc8 Nxc8 Endgame KRB-KBN 44.Bb3 Ke7 45.Ra6 Kd8 46.Kf2 Kc7 47.Ra1 Bf7 48.Ke3 Be6 49.Kf4 Kd8 50.Ra8 Kc7 51.Ra2 Bf7 52.Ra1 Kd8 53.Ke3 Be6 54.g3 Kc7 55.Kf4 Bf7 56.Ba4 Nb6 57.Bb5 Black must now prevent Ra7+. Nc8 Prevents Ra7+. 58.Ke3 Threatens to win with Ra8. Be6? 58...Kd8 59.Ra8 Kc7 59.Be8 Weighted Error Value: White=0.20 (precise) /Black=0.33
1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Praggnanandhaa R2612Esipenko,A27141–0202284th Tata Steel Masters 202213.3

Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2022

The playing hall during the final round of the 2022 edition | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit

Karjakin and Van Foreest win to finish with a plus score

Two former winners in Wijk had a fifty-percent score after round 12, and both of them got wins with white on Sunday to end the tournament as the only players with a +1 score in the standings table. Karjakin needed 64 moves to take down Vidit, while Van Foreest needed 69 to beat Sam Shankland.

In the following position, Van Foreest was forced to calculate a number of potential queen endgames, since it seems all but impossible to stop Black’s passer on the b-file without making major concessions.

 
Van Foreest vs. Shankland

Shankland’s 54...Ra5 prepares to protect his passed pawn from b5, a square controlled by the light-squared bishop on d7. As it turns out, this was a decisive mistake. Van Foreest thought for about 6 minutes before noticing that he needed to rely on his g-pawn in order to win the game — the Dutchman played 55.g5.

A pawn race emerged: 55...b3 56.g6 b2 57.Rb8 Rb5 58.g7

 

Despite queening first — 58...b1Q 59.g8Q — Black cannot give any checks, since all crucial squares are defended by white’s queen. Van Foreest is not only two pawns to the good, but also has the safer king. The defending champion needed ten more moves to get the win.

You can go through both decisive games in the dynamic replayer below.

 
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1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4 e6 4.e3 c5 5.Be2 Nc6 6.0-0 D02: 1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 sidelines, including 2...Nf6 3 g3 and 2... Nf6 3 Bf4. cxd4 7.exd4 Bd6 8.Bxd6 White is slightly better. Qxd6 9.c3 0-0 10.Re1
10...e5N Predecessor: 10...b6 11.Bd3 Qc7 12.a3 Bb7 13.Nbd2 Qf4 14.g3 Qh6 15.a4 Nd7 16.Nh4 Rac8 0-1 (24) Cros Goma,A (2108)-Lecha Gonzalez,J (2198) ICCF email 2016 11.dxe5 Nxe5 12.Nxe5 Qxe5 13.Bf3 Ne4 13...Qc7 14.Na3 Bf5 15.Nc2 15.Nb5 feels hotter. Rfe8 16.Qb3 Bd7 17.Nd4 Qd6 18.Rad1 15...Rfe8 16.Qd4 Qxd4 17.Nxd4 Bd7 18.c4 Kf8 19.h4 Rac8 20.cxd5 20.Rac1 seems wilder. Re5 21.b4 Rce8 22.c5 a6 23.Red1 20...Nd6 21.Rxe8+ 21.Red1 keeps more tension. h6 22.h5 Rc5 23.g3 Ne4 24.Nb3 21...Bxe8 22.Rd1 Bd7 23.Kh2 Ke7 24.g4 h6 25.h5 Kf6 26.Kg3 Rc4 27.Kf4 Rc5 28.Rd2 g5+ 29.hxg6 fxg6 30.Rd1 Ra5 31.a3 Nc4 32.Nb3 Rb5 33.Nd2! g5+ 34.Kg3 Nxd2 35.Rxd2= Endgame KRB-KRB Rb3 36.Kg2 Ke5 37.Re2+ Kf6! 38.Rc2 Ke5 39.Rc7 Kd6 40.Rc1 Rb6 But not 40...Rxb2 41.Rh1± 40...Ke5!= might be stronger. 41.b4 Ke5 42.Rc7 42.Kg3 42...Kd6= 43.Rc3 a5 44.bxa5 Rb5 45.Rc1 Strongly threatening Rh1. Rxa5 46.Rh1 Rxa3 47.Rxh6+ Kc5! 48.Rh7 Kd6 49.Rh6+ Kc5! 50.Rh7 Kd6 51.Rg7 b5 52.Rxg5 b4 53.Rg8 Hoping for Rb8. Ra5? Black cannot hold the game after this. 53...b3! 54.g5 54.Rb8 54...b3?
54...Ke5 55.g6 Ra7 55.g6!+- White is clearly winning. b2
56.Rb8! g7 is the strong threat. Rb5 57.Rxb5 Bxb5 KB-KB 58.g7 b1Q 59.g8Q Qf1+ 60.Kg3 Qd3 61.Qe6+ Kc7 62.Qe5+ Kd7 63.Qe3 Qb1 64.Qe6+ Kd8 65.d6 White wants to mate with Qe7+. Qh7 To avoid Qe7+ 66.Qf6+ Kd7 67.Bg4+ Ke8 68.Qe5+ Kd8 69.Qg5+ Weighted Error Value: White=0.11 (very precise) /Black=0.26 (precise) Inferior is 69.Qxb5 Qh2+ 70.Kf3 Qf4+ 71.Ke2 Qe5+ 72.Qxe5=
1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Van Foreest,J2702Shankland,S27081–0202284th Tata Steel Masters 202213.5
Karjakin,S2743Vidit,S27271–0202284th Tata Steel Masters 202213.4

Jorden van Foreest

Jorden van Foreest | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Round 13 results

 

Standings after round 13

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All games - Round 13

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 c5 8.Be3 Qa5 9.Nd2 D85: Exchange Grünfeld: Unusual White 7th moves and lines with 7 Nf3. 0-0 10.Nb3
10...Qxc3+!N The position is equal. A relevant novelty. Predecessor: 10...Qc7 11.Nxc5 Nd7 12.Na4 a6 13.Rc1 b5 14.Nb2 Bb7 15.f3 Qa5 16.Qb3 e5 0-1 (64) Grischuk,A (2776) -Nepomniachtchi,I (2792) chess24.com INT 2021 11.Bd2 Qb2 12.Bc1 Qc3+ 13.Bd2 Qb2 14.Bc1 White got outplayed after the opening. Weighted Error Value: White=0.09 (flawless) /Black=0.02 (flawless)
½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Rapport,R2763Giri,A2772½–½202284th Tata Steel Masters 202213.1
Mamedyarov,S2767Caruana,F2792½–½202284th Tata Steel Masters 202213.2
Praggnanandhaa R2612Esipenko,A27141–0202284th Tata Steel Masters 202213.3
Karjakin,S2743Vidit,S27271–0202284th Tata Steel Masters 202213.4
Van Foreest,J2702Shankland,S27081–0202284th Tata Steel Masters 202213.5
Grandelius,N2672Duda,J2760½–½202284th Tata Steel Masters 202213.6
Carlsen,M2856Dubov,D27201–0202284th Tata Steel Masters 202213.7

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Arjun keeps up the pace

After securing tournament victory in the Challengers with a round to spare, Arjun Erigaisi defeated Marc’Andria Maurizzi with the black pieces to end the event with a 10½ out of 13 score. At 18, the Indian rising star seems to be headed to the 2700 club, as he gained 27.9 rating points in the last month to join the world’s top 100 in the live ratings list.

Erwin l’Ami, Daniel Dardha and Volodar Murzin also finished the tournament with wins. Murzin took down Zhu Jiner with the black pieces.

 
Zhu vs. Murzin

Black has been upping the pressure for a while now, and in this position he finally managed to grab a pawn — 44...Bxh3, when 45.gxh3 fails to the intermediate check 45...Qxg3, while 46.Nh5, attacking the queen, does not work due to 46...Rxg2, with mate in two.

In the game, there followed 45.Re2 Rxe2 46.Nxe2 Qxc1+ 47.Nxc1 Be6

 

Murzin converted this position a pawn up into a win to finish the event with a 7/13 score.

Arjun Erigaisi

The clear winner of the Challengers — Arjun Erigaisi | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Round 13 results

 

Standings after round 13

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All games - Round 13

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 0-0 5.Bg5 c5 6.Rc1 h6 E21: Nimzo-Indian: 4 Nf3. 7.Bh4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 d5! The position is equal. The main line 8...d5 scores better than 8...Nc6. 9.cxd5 Bxc3+!? A promising side line. 10.Rxc3 g5 11.Bg3
11...Qxd5N Predecessor: 11...Ne4 12.Ra3 Qxd5 13.e3 e5 14.Nb5 Qxd1+ 15.Kxd1 Nc6 16.Bd3 Rd8 17.Ke2 Bf5 ½-½ (17) Vullhorst, W-Kyhos,A (1701) ICCF email 2007 12.f3 To avoid Ne4. aiming for e4. e5 13.Nb3 Qxd1+ 14.Kxd1 e4 15.Nd2 Re8 16.Nxe4 White should play 16.h4 16...Nxe4 17.fxe4 Nc6 18.e3 Rxe4 19.Bd3 Re8 20.Bb5 Rd8+ 21.Kc1 Nb4 22.Bc4 Bf5 23.Rf1 Be6 24.Bxe6 fxe6 25.Kb1 Rf8 26.Rfc1 Nc6 27.Rb3 Rf7 28.Rd1 Rd8 29.Rxd8+ Nxd8= Endgame KRB-KRN 30.a3 Kf8 31.Kc2 Nc6 32.Kd2 Kg7 33.Ke2 Kg6 34.Rd3 h5 35.Rd6 h4 36.Be1 Don't blunder 36.Rxe6+? Kf5 37.Rxc6 bxc6-+ 36...Kf6 37.h3 Ke7 38.Rd1 e5 39.b4 Ke6 40.b5 Ne7 41.Rd8 Nd5 42.Ra8 b6 43.Bd2 Nf6 44.a4 Ne4 Hoping for ...Rf2+. 45.Be1 Prevents Rf2+. Kd5 46.Rc8 Ke6 47.Rc6+ Kd5 48.Rc8 Ng3+ 49.Kd3 e4+ 50.Kc3 Nf1 51.Rg8 Rc7+ 52.Kb3 Nxe3 53.Rxg5+ 53.Bc3= 53...Kd4 Black is more active. 54.a5 54.Rg8 keeps fighting. 54...bxa5-+ 55.g3 55.Bxh4 Nd5 56.Bf2+ e3 57.Rxd5+ Kxd5 58.Bxe3 55...hxg3 56.Rxg3
56...Nd5! Strongly threatening ...e3. 57.Bxa5 Rc5 58.Ka4 58.Bd8 58...e3 59.Rg7 59.Rg8 e2 60.Be1 59...Nb6+? 59...Kd3-+ is more deadly. Threatens to win with ... Rc1. 60.Rg3 Rc1 60.Kb4 Rg4+ is the strong threat. Nd5+? 60...Rd5 61.Rxa7 Nc8 61.Ka4!-+ e2 And now ...Nc3+ would win. 62.Rxa7
62...Rc7?? 63.Kb3?? Weighted Error Value: White=0.32/ Black=0.33
0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Maurizzi,M2496Erigaisi Arjun26290–1202284th Tata Steel Challengers 202213.1
Nguyen,T2609Ganguly,S2627½–½202284th Tata Steel Challengers 202213.2
Shuvalova,P2516Bjerre,J2586½–½202284th Tata Steel Challengers 202213.3
L'Ami,E2622Jumabayev,R26311–0202284th Tata Steel Challengers 202213.4
Warmerdam,M2599Dardha,D25330–1202284th Tata Steel Challengers 202213.5
Van Foreest,L2530Vogel,R2452½–½202284th Tata Steel Challengers 202213.6
Zhu,J2478Murzin,V25190–1202284th Tata Steel Challengers 202213.7

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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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