Tata Steel Chess: Carlsen wins his seventh title

by Aditya Pai
1/28/2019 – Magnus Carlsen won his seventh Tata Steel Chess title after holding a draw against Anish Giri despite all of the latter's attempts to keep the game going. Peace was signed after 30 moves as Anish contented himself with the second place. There was a three-way tie for third between Ian Nepomniachtchi, Ding Liren and Vishy Anand, who all scored 7½/13. In the Challengers, Vladislav Kovalev took the title with a staggering 1½ point margin after beating Stefan Kuipers in the final round. GM MIKHAIL GOLUBEV provided expert analyses of the most exciting games. | Photos: Alina l'Ami / Official site

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Lucky seven

Magnus Carlsen retained his top spot at the conclusion of the thirteenth and final round of the Tata Steel Masters, holding Anish Giri to a draw in a 30-move long game. With this, Carlsen finished clear first scoring an unbeaten 9/13. Anish Giri was a close second at 8½, while Ian Nepomniachtchi, Ding Liren and Viswanathan Anand shared third place at 7½.Magnus Carlsen with his seventh Tata Steel Masters trophy

Going into the final round, only two players had remained with a chance of clinching the title – Magnus Carlsen and Anish Giri. For the latter, this was a must-win situation if he was to stake his claim on the title. Magnus was half-a-point ahead of him and a draw would not have been enough to get a seventh Tata Steel title.

“Why a must-win?” Giri had asked Fiona Steil Antoni on Saturday, when she pointed out the tournament situation to him. “I mean, you assume that I want to win the tournament for some reason”, he added, evoking laughter from the audience.  

Needless to say, the Dutch number one was only kidding. In the game, he decided to test the world champ in his favourite Sicilian Sveshnikov. After the fourteenth move, the game had reached the same position as in Carlsen’s eleventh round game against Teimour Radjabov.

Image (right): Carlsen with his seventh Tata Steel trophy | Photo: Alina l'Ami

 
Giri vs Carlsen
Position after 14...Kh8

Giri deviated from Radjabov’s novelty 15.a3 and went for the more known 15.Bg4. After the game, Giri said that he was not expecting Carlsen to repeat the line with 14…Kh8, since he thought Black’s bishop should not go to b7 in the position. Carlsen played 15…Bb7 anyway, though, and reached a balanced position by the 20th move.

 
Position after 19...Bc6

The computers evaluated the position to be equal after White gave up the exchange with 20.Rxa6 Bb5 21.Ra7 Bxf1. Giri knew this but he also knew this was a straightforward draw. And therefore, he went 20.Be2.

“He was sitting there so eager to go home that I thought, okay, how can I keep him sitting here?”, Giri said explaining his idea. While he was still worse in the resulting position, the Dutchman said that his only hope was that Magnus would go nuts because of the prolongation of the game, since he really wanted to go home.

Interview with Magnus Carlsen


Giri vs Carlsen annotated by Mikhail Golubev

In the ultimately decisive game for the whole event, Giri vs Carlsen, the Dutch grandmaster went for the opening line of the Sveshnikov Sicilian, which the World Champion had played against Radjabov two rounds earlier. But Giri was not able to create even a shadow of winning chances and should have been satisfied with a draw in the end. Magnus Carlsen has not always performed convincingly in recent years, but after his latest successes, no one should doubt that he is still the world's best player.

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 7.Nd5 - Van Foreest-Carlsen, Round 5 7...a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 Bg5 12.Nc2 Rb8 A more common direction is 12...0-0 13.a4! 13.Be2 Here, a specific variation is 13.a4 bxa4 14.Ncb4 13...0-0 Thus, Black avoided both h4 (with his bishop still on f6) and a4 (with his rook still on a8), what was the sense of his move order. 14.0-0 Kh8!? Instead, 14...a5 15.Qd3 Be6 is what was played most often. A very young Kramnik preferred this continuation against me in Dimitrovgrad, 1988 (I annotated the game in the book Understanding the Sicilian), and it was well known already by then. 15.Bg4 15.a3 was Radjabov-Carlsen, Round 11. 15...Bb7N A new move, which is suggested by engines. So, Giri should have been prepared to meet it, but his further play was highly unconvincing and only Carlsen had winning chances. 16.Ncb4 16.Qd3!? 16...Nxb4 17.cxb4 g6!= 18.a4 bxa4 19.Rxa4 Bc6! 20.Be2?! A better edition of the exchange sacrifice was 20.Rxa6 Bb5 21.Be2 Bxa6 22.Bxa6 Qd7 20...Bxa4 21.Qxa4 f5 21...a5!? 22.exf5 Rxf5 23.Bd3 Rf8 24.Qxa6?! Perhaps, he had to take with a bishop. Bd2 25.Qc4 Qc8?! White would have had a problem after 25...Rc8! followed by ...Rc1, planning to attack the f2 pawn sooner or later. 26.Qe4!? Bxb4 27.Nxb4 Rf4 28.Qc6 Rfxb4 29.Qxd6 Qf8 30.Qxe5+ Indeed, Black could have played for a win after 30...Qg7, as the b2 pawn falls. But after trading queens, White places his kingside pawns on g3 and h4, and even for Carlsen's standards, Black's winning chances are low; objectively it's indeed a draw. ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Giri,A2783Carlsen,M2835½–½2019B3381st Tata Steel Masters13

While most games of the round ended in draws — including some really short ones — two games concluded decisively. GM Richard Rapport finished the tournament on a high note with his win over Jorden van Foreest in the final round.

 
Rapport vs Van Foreest
Position after 19.Rhd1

The game had gone wrong for Van Foreest very early. In the diagrammed position, Black went 19…Bc6? and allowed Rapport a neat finish with 20.Rxd7 Bxd7 21.Nd5. White’s threat is simply 22.Qc3, after which the g7-knight is lost. Against 21…Qe5 White has 22.Bf4 followed by Qc3 and the knight is doomed.

Richard Rapport talks about his win


Rapport vs Van Foreest annotated by Mikhail Golubev

Sometimes it is hard to explain strong players' poor preparation. The early start of a very difficult final round might be the reason? A really catastrophic preparation by Van Foreest resulted in a quick defeat against Rapport.

 
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1.e41,174,61854%2421---
1.d4952,91955%2434---
1.Nf3283,84956%2440---
1.c4183,33456%2442---
1.g319,80456%2427---
1.b314,46454%2427---
1.f45,92648%2377---
1.Nc33,85550%2384---
1.b41,77548%2379---
1.a31,23954%2405---
1.e31,07549%2409---
1.d396150%2378---
1.g466946%2361---
1.h446554%2381---
1.c343651%2426---
1.h328456%2419---
1.a411759%2462---
1.f310047%2427---
1.Nh39267%2511---
1.Na34360%2477---
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.Qa4+ In the earlier rounds, 5.e4 was played by Vidit, Mamedyarov and Carlsen against Duda. 5...Nbd7 A more solid reply is 5...c6 6.Qxc4 b5! as in Karpov-Kasparov, Las Palmas 1996 6.e4 a6 6...c5?! 7.d5 exd5 8.e5! b5 9.Qxb5 Rb8 10.Qa4 d4 11.exf6 dxc3 12.Bxc4! Rb4 13.Qc2! was better for White in Miles-Karpov, Biel 1990, because after Rxc4? 14.Qe2+ follows. 7.Bxc4! Rb8! 8.Qc2 b5 9.Bd3 Bb7 This risky variation for Black was nevertheless used by many strong grandmasters. 10.Bf4 One of the most important moves, already played by Rapport in the past. Rc8 11.d5 Instead, 11.Rd1 c5 12.d5 c4 13.dxe6 cxd3 14.exf7+? normal is 14.exd7+ Qxd7 with the idea of 15.Rxd3 Qg4 14...Kxf7 15.Rxd3 Qe8! 16.0-0 Nc5 was Kramnik-Ehlvest, Novgorod 1995. And 11.d5 is an improvement, introduced by Gelfand in 1997. White sacrifices a pawn for the initiative, Black is underdeveloped and should really know what to do here. But Van Foreest apparently didn't. 11...exd5 11...Nc5!? Mchedlishvili-Van den Doel, Hilversum 2008 12.0-0-0! d4?N A correct continuation, at least twice played by Van Wely, is 12...Nc5! though even here 13.e5! instead of 13.Nxd5 Nxd5 14.exd5 Nxd3+ followed by ...Be7 = as in Van Wely's games 13...Nh5 14.Be3! looks really interesting for White. While 12...dxe4? is a very bad move from Rapport-Marjanovic, Vrnjacka Banja 2010. 13.Nxd4 Nh5 14.Be3! Unfortunately for Black, his position is unplayable whatever he does. What shouldn't be a big surprise, having a knight on h5 and the king still in centre. c5 15.Nf5 g6 16.Be2! Ng7 If 16...b4 17.Nd5 or even 17.Nd6+ Bxd6 18.Rxd6 bxc3 19.Qxc3 17.Nd6+ Bxd6 18.Rxd6+- And White completely dominates. Qe7 19.Rhd1 Bc6 20.Rxd7 Bxd7 21.Nd5 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Rapport,R2731Van Foreest,J26121–02019D2381st Tata Steel Masters13

Vladimir Kramnik and Sam Shankland played an exciting game in the Queen’s Gambit Accepted. Following several ups and downs, Shankland, playing Black, gave up a piece for three pawns, two moves before the first time control.

 
Kramnik vs Shankland
Position after 38.b5

Shankland forced liquidation at this point with 38…cxb5. Kramnik took the bishop, and after 39.Qxd5 Rxd5 40.Rxb6 Black has three pawns for his missing piece. About nine moves later, Kramnik had an opportunity to force a draw.

 
Position after 49…b2

White could just return his extra piece and call it a day here with 50.Bxa6 followed by 51.Rxb2. But Kramnik ['version 2.0', if you will] decided to continue the game with 50.Ba2 and went on to lose eventually.


Mamedyarov vs Fedoseev and Anand vs Vidit annotated by Mikhail Golubev

The duel which really excited me on the final day turned out to be a rather quick draw between Mamedyarov and Fedoseev — look at the game and you will understand why. Meanwhile, in the game between Indians, Anand vs Vidit, a curious moment was White's refusal to regain the pawn on the 27th move. Afterwards, Vidit could have avoided the repetition of moves and try to play for a win — nothing particularly simple, though.

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e6 7.f4 Be7 8.g4!? Hard to believe, but this move is extremely rare, it was used only in a few games until now, and never at GM level. d5 Unsuccessful is 8...Nc6 9.g5 Nd7 10.Be3 h6?! 10...0-0 transposes, in particular, to the today's Gibraltar game, So-Grandelius and despite Black's eventual win in that encounter, the line is, objectively, quite dangerous for him 11.g6!± Nazarevich-Podolsky, Rodatychi 2005 After 8...b5 White can play 9.g5 Nfd7 10.a3 , planning the kingside assault. 9.e5 Nfd7!? The alternative 9...Ne4 10.Nxe4 dxe4 can be assessed as slightly better for White, perhaps. 10.g5N An obvious reason not to play 10.Be3 is Bh4+ , probably followed by ...g5. Inferior is 10...Qb6?! 11.a3! Redolfi-Van Antwerpen, corr. 1991 10...Qb6! 10...Nc6 11.Be3! transposes to a position, which occurred several times in practice: Nxd4 12.Qxd4!? quite OK is 12.Bxd4 as in Biolek-Jansa, TCh-CZE Extraliga 2015-16 because after h6 White has 13.f5! 12...h6?! 13.g6 Bh4+ 14.Kd2± was Ponomariov-Zvjaginsev, RUS-The World rapid Moscow 2002 11.a3! h6!? This is a much sharper attempt than 11...Nc6 12.Be3 Bc5 not 12...Qxb2?? 13.Na4+- 13.Na4 Qa5+ 14.c3 14.b4?! Qxa4 15.bxc5 Nxc5 with an extra pawn for Black 14...Bxd4 15.Bxd4 Nxd4 16.Qxd4 , which is playable for Black, but White may have a certain plus. 12.Be3!? White goes for wild complications. Also double edged is 12.gxh6 Rxh6 13.Be3 Rh3!? and 12.g6!? 12...hxg5 12...Qxb2?? loses a queen after 13.Na4 13.f5! After 13.Nf5? Bc5! White's pawn centre collapses, neither Nd6+ nor Nxg7+ helps. 13...Nxe5! White is better after 13...g4?! 14.fxe6 Nxe5 or 14...Bh4+ 15.Kd2! 15.Nf5 Bh4+ 16.Nxh4! Qxe3 17.Nxd5 Qg5 18.Nc7+ Ke7 19.Ng2! Rd8 20.Nd5+ Ke8 21.exf7+ 14.Nxe6= The way to play for a win was 14.fxe6 with extremely complex consequences. I can provide some approximate analysis: fxe6!? rather than 14...0-0?! 15.Nf5 Qxe6 16.Nxe7+ Qxe7 17.Nxd5 Qe6 18.Qd2! or 14...Bxe6 15.Nf5! Qd8 16.Nxg7+ Kf8 17.Nxe6+ fxe6 18.Qd2 , etc. 15.Nf5! Qd8! 16.Nxg7+ Kf7 17.Nh5 Nbc6! (a forced sequence) 18.Rf1+ Kg8 after 18...Kg6 White can consider 19.Bd3+!? Nxd3+ 20.Qxd3+ Kxh5 21.0-0-0 19.Rg1! if 19.Qd2?! g4! 19...Kf7 and it's not clear whether White has a good alternative to other options are rather unsafe for Black: 19...g4 20.Bxg4 Bh4+ 21.Ke2! d4 22.Bxe6+ Kf8 23.Qf1+ Ke7 - what a crazy position! - and 19...Rh7 where 20.Qd2!? g4! 21.0-0-0 Rxh5 22.Bxg4 Nxg4 23.Qe2!? Nce5 24.Rxg4+ Nxg4 25.Qxg4+ Rg5 26.Bxg5 Bxg5+ 27.Kb1 is one of many possible directions for White: Black has to play Kf8 and here maybe 28.Ne4!? dxe4 29.Rxd8+ Bxd8 30.Qf4+ 20.Rf1+ with a repetition. 14...Qxe3 Also 14...Nf3+ 15.Kf1 if 15.Kf2 d4! 15...Qxe3 16.Nxd5= leads to the same draw. Black could have avoided the quick peaceful end by playing 14...Qc6!? 15.Nxg7+ Kf8 but if White really wants draw, then 16.Nxd5 a deviation, which I refuse to analyze is 16.Qd4 16...Kxg7 17.Rg1 Rd8! 18.Nxe7!? the ambitious alternative is 18.c4 18...Rxd1+ 19.Rxd1 Nf3+ 20.Kf2 Nxg1 21.Nxc6 Nh3+ 22.Kg3 Nxc6 23.Kxh3 there is also 23.Bg4!? Nf4 24.h4 23...Bxf5+ 24.Kg3= must be enough. 15.Nxd5 Nf3+ Perhaps, overly optimistic would have been 15...Qg3+?! 16.hxg3 Rxh1+ 17.Bf1 fxe6 18.Nc7+ Kf7 19.Qe2 Nbc6 20.0-0-0 , etc. But not 20.Nxa8? because of Nd4! 16.Kf1 Nd2+!= 17.Ke1 Nf3+ 18.Kf1 Nd2+ 19.Ke1 Nf3+ So, this short game opened a new page in the theory of the Sicilian Scheveningen. And some may say that the page is already closed, but, as readers can judge from the analysis, the variation is far from being a forced draw, indeed. ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Mamedyarov,S2817Fedoseev,V2724½–½2019B8481st Tata Steel Masters13
Anand,V2773Vidit,S2695½–½2019C4281st Tata Steel Masters13

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Final standings - Masters

Rk.NameRtg.Nt.Pts.n
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
TBPerf.
1
2835
9.0
13
5.00
2888
2
2783
8.5
13
4.50
2861
3
2763
7.5
13
4.50
2809
4
2813
7.5
13
4.50
2805
5
2773
7.5
13
3.50
2809
6
2695
7.0
13
3.00
2787
7
2757
6.5
13
4.50
2753
8
2725
6.5
13
3.50
2755
9
2731
6.5
13
3.00
2755
10
2738
5.5
13
3.00
2697
11
2724
5.0
13
4.50
2668
12
2817
5.0
13
3.00
2661
13
2612
4.5
13
2.00
2654
14
2777
4.5
13
2.00
2641
TBs: Koya, Wins, Direct encounter

Round 13 round-up

GM Yannick Pelletier analysed the action from the final round

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All games - Masters

 
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Kovalev stuns in the Challengers

In the Challengers' group, Vladislav Kovalev won with a stunning 1½ point margin over the rest of the field. Going into the final round, he was a clear favourite to win the event. Not only was he a half point ahead of his nearest rival, he also had the white pieces against Stefan Kuipers, who had struggled with form all through the tournament.

Top three finishers of Tata Steel Challengers

Top three finishers of the Tata Steel Challengers | Photo: Tata Steel

Meanwhile, Andrey Esipenko and Maksim Chigaev — both of whom had a chance to catch up with Kovalev had he drawn — lost their games to Evgeny Bareev and Benjamin Gledura, respectively. But despite their final round losses, both Chigaev and Esipenko retained their joint second spot on the leaderboard, except that they had to share it with one more player who had joined them at 8½/13 — Benjamin Gledura. After the application of tiebreaks, Gledura took second place, Esipenko third and Chigaev fourth.


Final standings - Challengers

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All games - Challengers

 
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Aditya Pai is an ardent chess fan, avid reader, and a film lover. He holds a Master's in English Literature and used to work as an advertising copywriter before joining the ChessBase India team.

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