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.
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.
The Sveshnikov Variation of the Sicilian Defence is considered one of the most promising replies to 1.e4, often giving rise to sharp and complex positions which require precise and inventive play from both sides. Thus, an opening tailor-made for Alexei Shirov (FIDE World Cup finalist in 2007), who has included it into his repertoire with both White and Black and knows the mutual tricks and traps all too well.
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.e4c52.Nf3Nc63.d4cxd44.Nxd4Nf65.Nc3e56.Ndb5d67.Bg57.Nd5- Van Foreest-Carlsen, Round 57...a68.Na3b59.Nd5Be710.Bxf6Bxf611.c3Bg512.Nc2Rb8A more common direction is12...0-013.a4!13.Be2Here, a specific variation is13.a4bxa414.Ncb413...0-0Thus,
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.14.0-0Kh8!?Instead,
14...a515.Qd3Be6is 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.Bg415.a3was Radjabov-Carlsen, Round 11.15...Bb7NA
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.Ncb416.Qd3!?16...Nxb417.cxb4g6!=18.a4bxa419.Rxa4Bc6!20.Be2?!A better edition of the exchange sacrifice
was20.Rxa6Bb521.Be2Bxa622.Bxa6Qd720...Bxa421.Qxa4f521...a5!?22.exf5Rxf523.Bd3Rf824.Qxa6?!Perhaps, he had to take with a
bishop.Bd225.Qc4Qc8?!White would have had a problem after25...Rc8!followed by ...Rc1, planning to attack the f2 pawn sooner or later.26.Qe4!?Bxb427.Nxb4Rf428.Qc6Rfxb429.Qxd6Qf830.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
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.
Play like Carlsen, avoid theory but without being passive or losing the initiative.
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.d4Nf62.c4e63.Nf3d54.Nc3dxc45.Qa4+In the earlier rounds,5.e4was played by Vidit, Mamedyarov and Carlsen against Duda.5...Nbd7A
more solid reply is5...c66.Qxc4b5!as in Karpov-Kasparov, Las Palmas
19966.e4a66...c5?!7.d5exd58.e5!b59.Qxb5Rb810.Qa4d411.exf6dxc312.Bxc4!Rb413.Qc2!was better for White in Miles-Karpov,
Biel 1990, because afterRxc4?14.Qe2+follows.7.Bxc4!Rb8!8.Qc2b59.Bd3Bb7This risky variation for Black was nevertheless used by many
strong grandmasters.10.Bf4One of the most important moves, already played
by Rapport in the past.Rc811.d5Instead,11.Rd1c512.d5c413.dxe6cxd314.exf7+?normal is14.exd7+Qxd7with the idea of15.Rxd3Qg414...Kxf715.Rxd3Qe8!16.0-0Nc5was 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...exd511...Nc5!?
Mchedlishvili-Van den Doel, Hilversum 200812.0-0-0!d4?NA
correct continuation, at least twice played by Van Wely, is12...Nc5!
though even here13.e5!instead of13.Nxd5Nxd514.exd5Nxd3+
followed by ...Be7 = as in Van Wely's games13...Nh514.Be3!looks
really interesting for White.While12...dxe4?is a very bad move
from Rapport-Marjanovic, Vrnjacka Banja 2010.13.Nxd4Nh514.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.c515.Nf5g616.Be2!Ng7If16...b417.Nd5or even17.Nd6+Bxd618.Rxd6bxc319.Qxc317.Nd6+Bxd618.Rxd6+-And White
completely dominates.Qe719.Rhd1Bc620.Rxd7Bxd721.Nd51–0
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.
Flexible plans for Black and strong weapons against the majority of White’s deviations from the main line are presented in an easy-to-understand manner. Most of the key ideas are illustrated with great examples from notable games between famous chess titans including Kasparov, Anand, Petrosian, Smyslov, and Kharlov. In this DVD, FM Lilov will teach you a plan for Black with a6, b5, Bb7, Nbd7 and c5, which is one of the best ways to meet White’s Queen’s Gambit. For those of you who like to experiment more in the opening, the FIDE Master has prepared a creative plan with Bg4.
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.e4c52.Nf3d63.d4cxd44.Nxd4Nf65.Nc3a66.Be2e67.f4Be78.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.d5Unsuccessful is8...Nc69.g5Nd710.Be3h6?!10...0-0transposes, 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 him11.g6!±
Nazarevich-Podolsky, Rodatychi 2005After8...b5White can play9.g5Nfd710.a3, planning the kingside assault.9.e5Nfd7!?The alternative
9...Ne410.Nxe4dxe4can be assessed as slightly better for White,
perhaps.10.g5NAn obvious reason not to play10.Be3isBh4+,
probably followed by ...g5.Inferior is10...Qb6?!11.a3!
Redolfi-Van Antwerpen, corr. 199110...Qb6!10...Nc611.Be3!
transposes to a position, which occurred several times in practice:Nxd412.Qxd4!?quite OK is12.Bxd4as in Biolek-Jansa, TCh-CZE Extraliga 2015-16
because afterh6White has13.f5!12...h6?!13.g6Bh4+14.Kd2±
was Ponomariov-Zvjaginsev, RUS-The World rapid Moscow 200211.a3!h6!?
This is a much sharper attempt than11...Nc612.Be3Bc5not12...Qxb2??13.Na4+-13.Na4Qa5+14.c314.b4?!Qxa415.bxc5Nxc5with an extra
pawn for Black14...Bxd415.Bxd4Nxd416.Qxd4, which is playable for
Black, but White may have a certain plus.12.Be3!?White goes for wild
complications.Also double edged is12.gxh6Rxh613.Be3Rh3!?and12.g6!?12...hxg512...Qxb2??loses a queen after13.Na413.f5!After13.Nf5?Bc5!White's pawn centre collapses, neither Nd6+ nor
Nxg7+ helps.13...Nxe5!White is better after13...g4?!14.fxe6Nxe5or14...Bh4+15.Kd2!15.Nf5Bh4+16.Nxh4!Qxe317.Nxd5Qg518.Nc7+Ke719.Ng2!Rd820.Nd5+Ke821.exf7+14.Nxe6=The way to play
for a win was14.fxe6with extremely complex consequences. I can provide
some approximate analysis:fxe6!?rather than14...0-0?!15.Nf5Qxe616.Nxe7+Qxe717.Nxd5Qe618.Qd2!or14...Bxe615.Nf5!Qd816.Nxg7+Kf817.Nxe6+fxe618.Qd2, etc.15.Nf5!Qd8!16.Nxg7+Kf717.Nh5Nbc6!(a forced sequence)18.Rf1+Kg8after18...Kg6White can
consider19.Bd3+!?Nxd3+20.Qxd3+Kxh521.0-0-019.Rg1!if19.Qd2?!g4!19...Kf7and it's not clear whether
White has a good alternative toother options are rather unsafe for Black:19...g420.Bxg4Bh4+21.Ke2!d422.Bxe6+Kf823.Qf1+Ke7- what a crazy
position! -and19...Rh7where20.Qd2!?g4!21.0-0-0Rxh522.Bxg4Nxg423.Qe2!?Nce524.Rxg4+Nxg425.Qxg4+Rg526.Bxg5Bxg5+27.Kb1is
one of many possible directions for White: Black has to playKf8and here
maybe28.Ne4!?dxe429.Rxd8+Bxd830.Qf4+20.Rf1+with a repetition.14...Qxe3
Also14...Nf3+15.Kf1if15.Kf2d4!15...Qxe316.Nxd5=leads
to the same draw.Black could have avoided the quick peaceful end by
playing14...Qc6!?15.Nxg7+Kf8but if White really wants draw, then16.Nxd5a deviation, which I refuse to analyze is16.Qd416...Kxg717.Rg1Rd8!18.Nxe7!?the ambitious alternative is18.c418...Rxd1+19.Rxd1Nf3+20.Kf2Nxg121.Nxc6Nh3+22.Kg3Nxc623.Kxh3there is also
23.Bg4!?Nf424.h423...Bxf5+24.Kg3=must be enough.15.Nxd5Nf3+Perhaps, overly optimistic would have been15...Qg3+?!16.hxg3Rxh1+17.Bf1fxe618.Nc7+Kf719.Qe2Nbc620.0-0-0, etc.But not20.Nxa8?because ofNd4!16.Kf1Nd2+!=17.Ke1Nf3+18.Kf1Nd2+19.Ke1Nf3+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
The Vienna Variation is a particular and independent system of the Queen's Gambit. It arises after 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4, when Black's capture on move 4 is strongly reminiscent of the Queen's Gambit Accepted.
GM Yannick Pelletier analysed the action from the final round
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.
Enjoy the best moments of recent top tournaments (WCh Carlsen-Karjakin, European Club Cup and London Classic) with analysis of top players. In addition you'll get lots of training material. For example 11 new suggestions for your opening repertoire.
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.
1.e4c52.Nf3d63.d4cxd44.Nxd4Nf65.Nc3a66.Be3e57.Nb3Be68.f3h59.Nd5B90: Sicilian Najdorf: Unusual White 6th moves, 6 Be3 Ng4 and 6 Be3 e59.Qd2Nbd710.Nd5Bxd511.exd5g612.Be2Bg713.0-0-00-014.g4a515.a4Nb616.gxh5Nxh517.Bb5Nf60-1 (71) Leko,P (2690)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2780) Batumi 20189...Nxd510.exd5Bf511.Bd3Bxd312.Qxd3Nd7LiveBook: 20 Games13.0-0Be714.Qd20-015.Na5NPredecessor:15.c4Qc716.Na5Bd8½-½ (33) Jacobsen,J (2151)-Kuhne,D (2273) ICCF email 201015...Qc816.c4Bd817.Rac1Re818.Kh1e419.Nb3exf320.gxf3Ne521.c5Qh3 Black has strong initiative.22.Qd1
22.Bd422...Ng6!-+23.Qd2Rc824.Bg1Nh425.Qf2?25.Rcd1is a better defense.25...Bg526.Rc4Nf527.Qg2
27...Ng3+! Deflection28.Qxg3Qxf129.Rc2Bf630.Rf2Qb531.cxd6Rcd832.Rd2h433.Qf4Re134.Rg2Qxf6 is the strong threat.h335.Rg4White threatens Qxf6 and mate.Be536.Qg5Rxd6( -> ...Qe2)37.Nd2Qe238.Qf5Qxh2#Accuracy: White = 18%, Black = 93%.0–1
Aditya PaiAditya 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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