Tata Steel Chess: And they're off!

by Macauley Peterson
1/14/2018 – One down, twelve to go; Tata Steel Chess is often described as a "marathon" — more of a "Belmont Stakes" than a "Preakness" — where anyone can recover from a loss and the early lead isn't necessarily indicative of how things will be down the stretch. Still, it's nice to be out in front! Vishy Anand, Vladimir Kramnik and Anish Giri, jumped out to an early lead on Saturday, as Anand starts his bid for a record busting sixth Wijk aan Zee title. The 2018 Tata Steel Masters and Challengers takes place January 13th to 28th. Grandmaster Daniel Fernandez breaks down the action in our extensive round one report. | Photo: Alina l'Ami Tata Steel Chess on Facebook © 2018 Tata Steel

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Champions quick out of the gate

In Friday's preview, we noted some key historical stats, and one you will definitely want to keep in mind is the record for the most Wijk aan Zee tournament wins, currently shared by Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand, with five apiece. Anand has the upper hand for the moment, defeating the newcomer to Wijk aan Zee, Maxim Matlakov, in round one.

It's a bit surprising that Vladimir Kramnik has competed in Wijk eleven times, yet finished in first place only once — in his first attempt 20 years ago in 1998 — when he tied with Anand on 8½ / 13. In Saturday's first round, he overcame Wei Yi, who is making his third consecutive appearance in the Masters group (he finished with 6½ in 2016, and 7½ in 2017).

Standings after round one

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Commentary and analysis by GM Daniel Fernandez

The battle between the two rating favourites turned out to be a bit of a non-event. Black essayed the Petroff, and in a manner reminiscent of the final classical game of his title defense last year, Carlsen opted to play uncritically and take pieces off. Nobody likes to start a tournament with a loss! However, due to inefficiencies in his vacuuming procedure he found himself in some small difficulties at one point. My comments below are necessarily rather 'hand-waving' in nature, and there are no long lines.

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Qe2 A minor choice, generally renowned for leading to a drawish ending. Qe7 6.d3 Nf6 7.Nc3 Qxe2+ 8.Bxe2 g6 On schematic grounds, I might have preferred 8...c6 to close off all options of Nb5 and 'dominate' the c3-knight. The followup could then be ...d5 and ...Bg4, with the idea of trying to exchange the light-squared bishop for anything, and exchange the pair of dark-squared bishops. 9.Nd4 a6 10.Bf4 Now this pressures the d6-pawn, so as to prevent ...c6 following a fianchetto. Black has little choice but to play ...Nc6 one way or another, and he will be left with doubled pawns. Bg7 10...Nbd7 is the maximalist move, trying to prevent Bf3 altogether. 11.h3 Bd7 12.Bf3 Nc6 13.Nxc6 Bxc6 14.Bxc6+ bxc6 15.0-0-0 Kd7 Objectively, there is nothing whatsoever wrong with Black's position, and as long as one doesn't get carried away with premonitions of White kings appearing on a5 after the rooks come off (echoes of Rubinstein) then it is also easy enough to play. 16.Rhe1 Rhe8 17.Ne4 17.Bd2 may have been wisest, focusing on the task of exchanging all the rooks as quickly as possible and then placing pawns on light squares. 17...Nd5 17...Nxe4 18.dxe4 Re6 19.f3 Rae8 20.Bd2 is also fine but now White's moves are definitely easier to find, starting with c4, Kc2, b3. 18.Bd2 f5 19.Ng5 h6 20.Nf3 g5 21.c3 c5 22.Kc2 Bf6 The computer wants 22...a5 but it can never be good to allow this pawn to be fixed. 23.Rxe8 Rxe8 24.Re1 Rf8 25.Rh1 Re8 26.g3 g4 27.Ng1 Bg5 28.Kd1 a5 29.Ne2 One of several acceptable moves. 29.a4 Rb8! was the point and White is being stretched a bit thin. 29...a4 29...Rb8!? 30.b3 a4 31.Bxg5 hxg5 is a little bit testing, perhaps 30.Bxg5 hxg5 31.hxg4 fxg4 32.Rh5 Re5 33.Rh7+ Ke6 34.a3 34.d4 screams out to be played, but there is nothing much going on here either: Rf5 35.c4 Nb6 36.b3 axb3 37.axb3 Rf3= Nevertheless, this was marginally safer for White than the game. 34...Rf5 35.c4 Nf6 36.Rh2 It looks slightly dangerous to a human to allow ...Rxf2, because ...Nd7-e5 with pressure will follow soon. Rf3 37.Kc2 Nd7 38.d4 Else White is in very obvious difficulties. Nb6 38...Rf5 is a sensible engine suggestion; this keeps a bit of pressure by not clarifying the situation of the d4-pawn. 39.Kd3 39.Rh7 Nb6 40.dxc5 Rxc5 39...Rf7 An engine move; what was your first clue? 40.Rh6+?! Ke7 41.Rh2 cxd4 42.Nxd4 Ne5+ 43.Kc3 c5 39.dxc5 dxc5 40.Nc3 Ke5 41.Nd1 Presumably the expected continuation was: 41.Nd1 Nxc4 42.Rh5 Kd4 43.Rxg5 Ne5 44.Rg7 when White is completely out of the woods. ½–½
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Carlsen,M2834Caruana,F2811½–½2018C42Tata Steel Masters1.1

Caruana and Carlsen

A solid start for Caruana; black against Magnus is generally not a welcome first round pairing | Photo: Alina l'Ami © 2018 Tata Steel

Caruana commented after the game, "I kind of felt like I don't have to force a draw. I thought I had a promising position with my knight on d5 and my pawns advancing. But maybe I was a bit too ambitious."

GM Yannick Pelletier also took a look for our daily round-up show, which you can see live at 21:00 CET (3 pm EST):

Round-up show (part 1)

Equally uneventful was the game between the English GM Gawain Jones and Carlsen's opponent from the above-mentioned encounter. 

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 7.Nc3 is the 'main line' I was taught as a kid, but it has a number of problems. Nxe4 8.0-0 Bxc3 9.d5 Ne5 9...Bf6 becomes needlessly messy, e.g. 10.Re1 Ne7 11.Rxe4 d6 12.Bg5 Bxg5 13.Nxg5 0-0 14.Nxh7= and Black must be precise to draw 10.bxc3 Nxc4 11.Qd4 0-0! 12.Qxc4 Nd6 13.Qf4 b6= White faces all the practical problems in this ending as his compensation does not take the form of a real attack on the king. 7...Bxd2+ 8.Nbxd2 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Qb3 Here, Black's third most common move, other than the two he played, is actually to agree a draw. Na5 10...Be6 is a slightly entertaining gambit line 11.Qa4+ Nc6 12.Qb3 Nce7 My feeling is that this optimism is maybe a bit misplaced, and Black soon ends up a little worse as his position is after all a bit more difficult to play. 13.0-0 0-0 14.Rfe1 c6 15.Ne4 Nb6 15...a5 16.Ne5 f6= is the engine suggestion but you have to be reasonably sure of yourself to cue up White's future Ne6 motifs. 16.Bd3 Ned5 17.Nc5 This was the position on the board when I began my game in the 4NCL (British chess league.) Shortly before leaving my room, I noted down a prediction- White to win here. It does indeed look slightly more pleasant, but of course IQP positions are always hard to play. Nf6 18.Rac1 Rb8 When you play such moves, you must ipso facto be slightly worse. Finding a plan for White is, however, not totally trivial. 19.Qa3 One of my best ideas in the position, I think, is to try and exploit the position of the Black rook by means of a cumbersome-looking 'queen lift'. 19.Qb4!? Nfd5 If this isn't played now or next, the White queen gets to f4. 20.Qd2 Nd7 21.Nb3 Black still lacks ways to complete his development. 19...a6 20.Qb3 Qc7 21.Ne4 21.Ne5 was another relatively easy move to make, with the idea of Qd1-f3 and (if allowed) Bc2-b3! Black also lacks ...Rd8 due to a rather cheap tactic. 21...Nfd5 22.Nc3 Qd6 23.Be4 Bg4! Black has now completely equalised. 24.Nxd5 24.Ne5 Be6 25.Bxd5 Nxd5 26.Ne4 looks tactically tricky, but Black's defenses are all in place after Qd8 27.Nc5 Re8= 24...cxd5 25.Bb1 Bxf3 Now White lacks the dynamism he would need to try and win, and in fact if Black could get his knight to c6 he could try something. A few more good-enough moves and peace broke out. 26.Qxf3 Rfe8 27.Qc3 g6 28.Bd3 Kg7 29.g3 Rbc8 30.Rxe8 Rxe8 31.Qb3 Re7 32.Bf1 Qf6 33.Qb4 Re4 34.Rd1 Re7 35.Rc1 Re4 36.Rd1 Re7 ½–½
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Jones,G2640Karjakin,S2753½–½2018C54Tata Steel Masters1.5

Jones: "I knew I couldn't out prepare him" | Tata Steel Chess YouTube

The final draw was arguably quieter in terms of chances for advantages, but it is a bit less boring thanks to the opening, which I have felt the need to comment on at length.

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6!? This is another exceedingly rare guest in elite practice. 3.e5 Nd5 4.Nc3 e6 5.Nxd5 exd5 6.d4 Nc6 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.Bd3 I'm not surprised Wesley So decided to avoid the absolute most critical continuation and try for a positional edge, but I'm not sure what Black's prep could have been. 8.Qxd5! is critical, and I was once privileged to watch a sharp line being played at a neighbouring board. d6 8...Qb6?! 9.Bc4 Bxf2+ 10.Ke2 0-0 11.Rf1 Bc5 12.Ng5 Nxe5 13.Nxf7 Nxf7 14.Rxf7 Qe6+ 15.Qxe6 dxe6 16.Rxf8+ Kxf8 17.Bf4 Tan,J-Bach,M Helsingor 2015 , among others. 9.exd6 Qb6 10.Be3!? 10.Qe4+ Be6 11.Qh4 Bxd6 12.Bd3 is safer 10...Qxb2 11.Bb5! White retains an extra pawn against best play. 8...d6 9.exd6 Qxd6 10.0-0 0-0 11.Re1 h6 12.h3 Bd7 13.Be3 Presumably, Wesley So had in mind some idea of occupying the d4-square when he made his 8th move, but it is not possible to execute unless Black helpfully trades the bishops. With a move such as the one played Black keeps equality. d4 13...b6?! 14.c3 Rfe8 15.Qd2 14.Bd2 Rfe8 15.a3 Qd5 Thematically playing for ...Bf5. 16.b4 Bd6 17.c4 dxc3 18.Rxe8+ Rxe8 19.Bxc3 Be6 20.Be4 Qxe4 21.Qxd6 Qc2 22.Qd2 Instead of playing this move it is also possible to offer a draw immediately. Qxd2 23.Nxd2 Rd8 24.Re1 Nd4 25.a4 Nc2 26.Rc1 Nd4 27.Re1 Nc2 28.Rc1 Nd4 29.Re1 ½–½
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So,W2792Mamedyarov,S2804½–½2018B29Tata Steel Masters1.7

The next game was one where both myself and the engine are convinced of White's opening edge, and then suddenly it isn't there anymore. And this occurs not once but twice! The chess culture of Peter Svidler is arguably the greatest in the world, but in this unprincipled Short System position he was not able to keep a tight enough grip on his opponent's resources.

 
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1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Ne7 6.0-0 h6 Not the move I was intending to recommend in my forthcoming book (!) but nevertheless a main line. Perhaps it is worth a detailed look! 7.Nbd2 Bh7 8.Nb3 Nd7 9.a4 9.Bd2 may possibly be a better challenge to Black's ...g5-centric setup (though obviously Svidler in his preparation thought differently.) Careless play by Black would be: Nf5 10.Rc1 g5 11.h3 Be7 12.c4 and White obtains essentially what he wants. 9...g5!? A very logical novelty (at least according to my database.) 9...Nf5 10.a5 Be7 was played previously, but as in the last note ...Be7 is met well by c4. 11.c4 Azarov,S-Kunal,M Abu Dhabi 2016 10.a5 a6 10...Nf5 11.c4! g4 12.Nfd2 h5 13.a6 b6 14.cxd5 cxd5 15.Nb1 seems concerning, or at least easier to play for White, as Black's king lacks shelter on either the kingside or queenside, and its home in the centre will soon come under attack. Maybe best now is ...f6, but White should be better. 11.c3 11.Bd2 Nf5 12.h3 looks sensible, keeping open the option of g4 and also thinking vaguely about the strategically desirable Ne1-d3 or Qe1/Bb4 plans. 11...Nf5 Now this may be equal as ... Black will be able to choose between ...c5 and ...f6. 12.Bd3 12.c4= may proceed like the note to Black's 10th but Black now has b5 covered in the event of the c-pawns being swapped. 12.g4 Ne7 13.Be3 is advocated by the engine but after f6!∞ I am skeptical. 12...g4 13.Ne1 h5 14.Nc2 c5 As promised, but White now tries to prove a little something and basically gets it. 14...f6!? 15.f4 Qe7 may have avoided giving White such easy play. 15.Nxc5 Nxc5?! 15...Bxc5! 16.dxc5 Nxc5 17.Nb4 Rc8= may have been easier. 16.dxc5 Bxc5 17.Nd4! 17.Bf4 Nh4!= is a good wrinkle for Black, exchanging the bishops and bringing his knight to a great square on g6. 17...Bxd4 17...Nh4 may once again have been a good idea. White always lacks f4 due to Black's advanced kingside pawns. 18.Be3 Rc8 19.Bxh7 Rxh7 20.Qd2 Rg7 18.cxd4 Rc8 Reaching a curious position where White must be better but his position may be a little harder to play. 19.Ra3?! A strategically well-informed move, thinking about doubling on the f-file in future, but this proves impossible to arrange. 19.Bf4 With the simple plan of Rc1, since Black's c8-rook currently does more work than the White a1-rook. Nh4 If Black plays ...Ne7 then all the minor pieces come off, which is in White's interest only. 20.Bxh7 Rxh7 21.Rc1 19...Rc7 20.Bf4 Nh4 21.Qd2 21.Bxh7 Rxh7 22.Qd2 is the engine opinion, still trying to arrange a rook trade with Rc1. 21...Bxd3 22.Bg5 Qc8 23.Rxd3 Nf5 Almost a perfect fortress. Black has equalised for the second time! Any lingering advantage the engine gives is purely down to preference for a bishop over a knight. 24.Qb4 Kd7 25.Qa4+ Rc6 26.Rc1 Rg8 27.Bf6 Qc7 28.g3 Rc8 29.Rc5 Ke8 30.b4 Qd7 31.Qd1 Rxc5 32.bxc5 Qb5 33.h3 ½–½
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Svidler,P2768Adhiban,B2655½–½2018B12Tata Steel Masters1.4

Adhiban

Baskaran Adhiban makes his second appearance in the Masters. He scored 7½ / 13 (3rd place) in 2017 | Photo: Alina l'Ami © 2018 Tata Steel

When it comes to wins, we begin with the one I felt was least likely to happen. The second Petroff of the round was presumably Black's attempt at starting off solidly, but one cannot play for a draw against a master of draws. Nevertheless, it almost came off, and Black survived an awkward queen ending only to make an instructive mistake in a pawn ending.

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 To my mind, a fairly underestimated line, and the reason I don't often play the Petroff now. 5.c4 is an interesting attempt at playing move-orders, but I think Black is considered to be fine after Nc6= 5.d4 is the main move. 5.Qe2 was the first game, Carlsen-Caruana. 5...Nxc3 5...Nf6 would have been an interesting choice against Giri, considering he has championed the Black side. From what I understand, the point for White is to avoid the impulse to play too early against the c8-bishop, because that will simply encourage a fianchetto and Black will be fine. 6.d4 Be7 7.Bd3 0-0 8.0-0 Re8 9.Re1! The point of this is to force Black to commit his light-squared bishop one way or another. Even moves that do not obviously do this- such as ...d5- really do make a decision, because they make the fianchetto rather undesirable. White can play against either ...Bg4 or ...b6, but should do so in different ways and definitely should not commit to h3 just yet. Following the immediate 9.h3 b6! Black was soon fine in Vachier Lagrave,M-Giri,A Germany 2012. 9...Nbd7 10.Bf4 White is slightly better, for instance Nf8 11.h3 b6 12.Bb5 Bd7 13.a4 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Be3 The choice is between this move and Bf4. The current move allows Black lots of ...Ne5 possibilities, which I believe he should take. 7.Bf4 meanwhile does not gel so well with the rest of White's kingside attack. 0-0 8.Bd3 Nd7 9.Qd2 Nc5= for instance seems fine for Black. 7...Nc6 8.Bd3 Be6 White should play one of the queen moves and then castle queenside, and I think given that White has played Be3, Black should castle queenside too. No surprise then that the present game continued in that way. 9.Qe2 9.Qd2 Qd7 was similar enough and a game of mine: Jackson-Fernandez, Coventry 2013. 9...Bf6 10.0-0-0 Qe7 10...Qd7 is more natural to me, not worrying about White's Ng5 ideas, but more concerned with cuing up ...Bf5 in future. 11.Kb1 a6 12.Rhe1 0-0-0 13.h3 Rhe8 13...h5 is trivially easy to recommend in hindsight, but it should have been reasonably obvious that White wanted kingside space. 14.g4 h6 15.Nd2! Now White is probably a tiny bit better, but obviously an incredible amount of technique and further errors need to be played out over the board before White can think about winning. Bg5 16.f4 Bh4 17.Bf2 Bxf2 18.Qxf2 Qf8 19.f5 Opting to set Black more direct problems, but ceding the e5-square. While I am not sure this is the best continuation, it could be the most practical, especially against slightly lower-rated opposition. 19.Nf1 seems more natural to me, waving the idea of Ng3-h5 around. 19...Bd7 20.f6 g6 20...Rxe1 21.Rxe1 g5= 21.Be4 Kb8 22.Nc4 Re6?! In practical terms, another slight mistake. We obtain a similar structure to Carlsen-Caruana, but with the minor pieces off the board Black faces more difficulties. 23.Bxc6! Rxe1 24.Rxe1 Bxc6 25.Na5 Re8 26.Nxc6+ bxc6 27.Qg3 The engine evaluation of 0.00 is hopelessly unhelpful for looking at this position. What is important is that White is marginally more active and has a better structure and advanced f6-pawn. Giving variations is slightly pointless here, so I shall try and confine myself to comments only. Qh8 28.Re7 Rxe7 29.fxe7 Qe8 30.Qe3 Kc8 31.h4 Kd7 32.Qxh6 Qxe7 33.b3 White will be able to fix the f7-pawn and of course a6 is still a weakness also. Doubtless this endgame will be discussed for a while to come, including fortress possibilities and better White tries, but the contours of what White must aim for are now clear. Qe4 34.g5 Qe5 35.Qf8 Qd5 36.Kb2 c5 37.Qg8 Qf3 38.Qf8 Qd5 39.Qg7 Qf5 40.Qg8 Qf3 41.a4 Qf1 42.Qf8 Qf5 43.Qa8 Qf1 44.Qe4 Again, in human terms White has acheived something else- the centralisation of his queen. Black must wait around until White shows what the next stage of his plan is- though presumably it must be b4. Kd8 45.Qg4 A mini-zugzwang. d5 46.a5! Qe1 47.h5 This simplifies Black's task a little bit, but does not completely give equality. 47.Qf4 Qe6 48.Qf2 Qe7 49.Qf1 Qe6 50.b4 is another try 47...gxh5 48.Qxh5 Qe6 49.Qh8+ Ke7 50.b4 cxb4 51.cxb4 Kd7= 52.Qd4 Kc8 53.Qf6!? Even the pawn endgame retains certain practical difficulties and would be an ideal candidate for the next Naiditsch book. Qxf6+ 54.gxf6 Kd7 55.Kb3 Kc6?? My educated guess is that this move arose out of a desire to win a moral battle for tempi. Against 55.Kc3 Black had ...Kd6 in mind, and so it was natural to try and avoid that 'critical square' with the present move... Well, we may never know. Black had to play 55...Kd6! to draw, and the idea is of course ...c5. 56.c4 56.Ka4 c6 57.Kb3 c5= 56...c5! 57.b5 d4 58.b6 Kc6 59.Kc2= Both kings are stuck. 56.c4 Suddenly White is completely winning. d4 56...dxc4+ 57.Kxc4 Kd6 58.b5 axb5+ 59.Kxb5 Kd7 60.a6 Kc8 61.Kc6 Kb8 62.a7+ is even more trivial 57.Kc2 Kd6 58.Kd2‼ Amazing tempo play, but stereotyped enough.The idea is that only after Black recaptures on c5 must White play Kd3! as that position is a mutual zugzwang. 58.Kd3 c5 is once again a draw. 58...c6 59.Ke2 Avoiding the d3-square for the last time. Kd7 59...Ke5 60.b5+- 59...c5 60.bxc5+ Kc6 60...Kxc5 61.Kd3 61.Kd2! Kxc5 62.Kd3+- 60.Kd3 Kc7 61.Kxd4 Kd6 62.Kd3 Kc7 63.Ke4 Kd6 64.Kd4 Not an undeserved victory, but a slightly surprising one. 1–0
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Giri,A2752Hou,Y26801–02018C42Tata Steel Masters1.2

After the win, Giri was asked about his brief stint (mid-round) as world number two a few years ago, and subsequent slide in the world rankings:

Giri: "One game doesn't mean anything" | Tata Steel Chess YouTube

Next we see a game that was a bit 'all over the place'. White's tactics seem to fizzle out multiple times, but ultimately the knights are just very tricky pieces and in moves 30-40 king safety is of extra importance...

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.c3 d6 Black should play this sooner or later.The alternative is essentially ...d5, which is double-edged in the Italian and probably borderline suicidal now Black has played ...b5. 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bh4 g5 10.Bg3 We will not be getting a repeat of the various 'draw lines' Anand has played which involve sacrifices on g5 against a castled king, and then perpetual check... Ba7 10...Bb6 may keep marginally more options open, including contesting the a-file 'properly'. 11.Nbd2 0-0 12.Qe2 Ne7 and now 13.d4 Ng6!? was an interesting and ultimately successful pawn sacrifice in Alekseev,E-Predke,A Kaliningrad 2015 11.Nbd2 Na5 12.Bc2 Nh5 We are now in new territory, and Black is playing extremely inventively. However, Anand is not to be outdone. 13.a4!? Highlighting a problem with ...Ba7, but at the same time committing to playing the sacrifice that follows. White is playing maximalist chess. 13.b4 Nc6 14.a4 might have been a more normal way to play 13...b4 14.cxb4 Nc6 15.b5 Nb4 16.Nc4 White played all these moves nearly instantly. 16.0-0?! may be possible, but is a bit wet and White is not having the fun after Nxg3 17.hxg3 h5 16...Nxg3 17.hxg3 g4 Black commits! 17...axb5 18.axb5 Bxf2+? does not work immediately as Black's knight lacks proper access to d4. 19.Kxf2 Rxa1 20.Qxa1 Nxc2 21.Qa4!± 17...Bc5 was still possible, looking for compensation- I am reasonably sure it is sufficient. 18.Nh4 axb5 19.axb5 Bxf2+ 20.Kxf2 Rxa1 21.Qxa1 Nxc2 22.Qa4 White had presumably envisaged this position up to ten moves in advance and liked his practical chances. White's knights hop around in pleasing ways near the Black king, while White's kingside construction with the h4-knight and (soon to be) h2-king is watertight. Qf6+ 22...Nd4 23.b6+ Kf8 24.bxc7 Qxc7= was also interesting, but the d6-pawn is weak. 23.Kg1 Nd4 24.b6+ Bd7 25.Qd1 cxb6 26.Kh2 Reaching a position which is only ever going to be hard for Black to play. 0-0 26...b5 27.Rf1 Qe7 28.Ne3 gives White either the d5-square or g4-pawn 27.Rf1 Qg5?! A minor inaccuracy, giving up the wrong pawn, and White's moves just keep playing themselves. 27...Qe7 28.Ne3 Qg5! was the right time to place the queen here. Now 29.Nhf5 Bxf5 30.Nxf5 Qh5+ 31.Kg1 Nxf5 32.Rxf5 Qg6= could follow, when White's position is still easier but his king has lost its bomb shelter. 28.Nxd6 Be6 29.Nhf5 Nxf5?! 29...Rd8 30.Nxd4 Rxd6 31.Nxe6 Rxe6 32.Rf5 Qg6 33.Qb3 is similar to the last note but with White having better co-ordination. Still, this was an interesting try, not least because Black can now try and do 'nothing' e.g. ...Re8 and ...Qe6, and try to complete the fortress with ... Kh7-g6 and ...h5. 30.exf5 Bd5 31.Qe2! Qf6 31...f6 32.d4 is a slightly non-obvious point until you reach the position itself, whereupon it becomes clear that White's rook needs to be on f4, and simultaneously one sees how to accomplish this. 32.Qxg4+ Kh7 33.Ne4 Bxe4 34.dxe4 Rd8 35.Rc1± This is now a truly thankless position as the fortress tries will never quite work and the rook ending is lost. White just plays with ideas for a few moves until he works out what he wants to do. Rd4 36.Rc7 Rb4 37.Qe2 Kg7 38.Rc8 Qg5 39.Rc6 Rb3 40.Rc3 Rb4 41.b3 Rd4 42.Rc6 Rb4 43.Qf3 Kh7 44.Rd6 Kg7 45.Rd5 Now White's rook is the centralised one! Qf6 46.Kg1 Kh7 47.Qd3 Kg7 48.Kf2 Rd4? Understandable in view of the various rook-trap motifs White has, but the last try was to wait for Qc3 before doing this, so that the recapture would come with tempo and then Black might get a good square like e3 or e5 for his queen. 48...Qe7 49.Kf3 Qf6 50.Qc3 Rd4 51.Rxd4 exd4 52.Qd3 Qd6± is for instance not that much better for White. 49.Rxd4 exd4 50.Qb5 Qd8 51.Qd5 Qf6 52.g4 Kg8 53.Kf3 Black had no desire to play out the queen ending, especially since e5 will win a further pawn. 1–0
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Anand,V2767Matlakov,M27181–02018C77Tata Steel Masters1.6

In his post-game interview, Anand was asked about the tournament wins record shared with Carlsen, and pointed out that Magnus' wins all came in the years after Anand's last (in 2006, when Carlsen one the Challengers — then called 'Group B').

"If I win now, I'm winning after 12 years, so it's not like I've been blazing but, well, I'll try for sure."

Follow Anand's comments in the game viewer above! | Tata Steel Chess YouTube

GM Pelletier also dove into this game in his live re-cap of the day's highlights:

Round-up Show (part 2) available at Videos.ChessBase.com

Finally, a technical masterpiece, because I always prefer technique to tactics! Wei Yi might be a future world champion, but even he must still respect that which has come before.

 
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1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.d4 Nf6 5.0-0 0-0 6.c4 dxc4 7.Na3 A good move to play for a long technical battle! c5 8.dxc5 c3 The approved method of gaining equality, but I think Black might have to take the pawn on the next move to prove it. 8...Qxd1 was tried recently, but it is more unpleasant for Black. 9.Rxd1 Nfd7 10.Nxc4 Nxc5 11.Be3± Meier,G-Edouard,R Germany 2017 9.Nb5! Na6 9...cxb2 10.Bxb2 Bd7 11.Qb3 Bc6 12.Rfd1 was a previous Kramnik game: Kramnik,V-Topalov,V London 2016; here I think ...Qa5 and then ...Nbd7 offers Black reasonable play. 10.Nxc3 Nxc5 11.Be3 Nfe4 12.Nxe4 Nxe4 13.Bd4 Bxd4 14.Qxd4 Qxd4 15.Nxd4 Nd6 Unbelievably, this had all been seen before, and from Wei Yi's next move, it is clear that he had seen the precedent. 16.Rac1 16.Rfc1 Rd8 17.Rc7 Kf8 18.Rac1 Ne8 19.R7c4 Nd6 20.Rc5 Bd7= was equal and ultimately drawn in Ding,L-Giri,A Palma de Mallorca 2017 16...Rd8 16...e5 17.Nb3 Be6 was now worthy of note, and while I might think it's an equalising route, we will just have to wait for Kramnik to beat another elite player to find out what he had in mind here! 17.f4 This approach goes better with the rook on f1 than a1, as White wants to bring it to d1 next. Kf8 18.Kf2 Bg4 19.h3 Bd7 20.e4 20.Rc7!? appeals to me, as I think the e4-e5 push gains in strength from there being no rooks on the board. 20...Rac8 20...Nb5! was still objectively equal if a little unpleasant over the board: 21.Nxb5 21.Rfd1 Nxd4 22.Rxd4 Be6 21...Bxb5 22.Rfd1 Rxd1 23.Rxd1 Rc8 24.Rd2 f6= 21.Rxc8 21.e5 may have been good, taking advantage of a moment when Black is not able to reply with ...Nb5 and must worry about the b7-pawn. Nf5 22.Ne2 Bb5! This accurate move may be needed to hold the balance. There could follow 23.Rxc8 Rxc8 24.Rc1 Rxc1 25.Nxc1 b6 26.Be4 and Black should just be equal with one or two more good moves. 21...Rxc8 22.Rd1 The point seems to be that after ...Nb5 White now intends Ne2!, a4, and Nc3. Ke8 23.e5 Nf5 24.Nb3 Bc6 24...Rc2+ 25.Rd2 Rxd2+ 26.Nxd2 b6 would have led to a similar ending to the last note. 25.Rc1 Now I think White has a little something! Kd7 26.Nc5+ Ke8 27.Nd3 27.Na6!? is rather flashy for a move that is only trying to inflict pawn weaknesses on the opponent, but Black seems to be fine after the accurate Nd4!= 27...Kd7 28.g4 Giving Black a major headache- his best move now requires a wrinkle to make it playable. Nd4 28...Bxg2 29.e6+ fxe6 30.Ne5+ Kd8 31.Nf7+ Kd7 32.Rxc8 Kxc8 33.Kxg2 Nd6 34.Ng5 looks slightly unpleasant for Black, though the machine notes that he draws with the only move e5! 35.fxe5 h6!= 29.Rc4 Ne6 30.f5 gxf5 31.gxf5 Ng7 31...Nd8 limited the damage by not allowing another isolated pawn, though the co-ordination and space deficits are still there. 32.Bxc6+ bxc6 32...Rxc6 33.e6+! Ke8 34.exf7+ Kf8 35.Rxc6 bxc6 36.b4 Nxf5 37.Ne5 Nd4 38.a4+- 33.Nc5+ Kc7 34.Rh4 h5 34...Rh8 35.Rb4 Nxf5 36.Rb7+ Kc8 37.Rxa7+- 35.f6 Winning a pawn by force. exf6 36.exf6 Ne8 37.Rxh5 Nxf6 38.Rf5 Nd5 39.Rxf7+ Kd6 40.Ne4+ Ke5 41.Nd2 a5 Black has played well these last ten moves, keeping active even at the cost of a pawn, but unfortunately White's position is probably winning with best play. 42.Nc4+ Ke6 43.Rh7 Rb8 44.Ke2 Kf5 45.Rh6 Nf6 46.h4 a4 47.Kd3 c5 47...Rd8+± would have continued to put up more active resistance 48.Ne3+ Ke5 49.h5?! 49.Rg6!+- forces Black's king back for tactical reasons. The position can't be held anymore. 49...Rd8+ In the game again! I suspect there was an element of time pressure here. 50.Kc4?! Ne4?? 50...Rd2!= is a sudden draw; the subtlety here is that while Black can't take on b2 immediately, he does have 51.Kxc5 Ne4+ 52.Kc6 Kd4! 53.Nf5+ Ke5 The knight has no good way to avoid the attention of the Black king, and Rxb2 is always on the cards. 51.Kb5 Now White picks up the a-pawn and there should be no further drama. Kd4 52.Nc4+- a3 53.Nxa3 Nd6+ 54.Kc6 Nf7 55.Nb5+ 1–0
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Kramnik,V2787Wei,Y27431–02018D77Tata Steel Masters1.3

Asked if he and Anand could "show the youngsters who's really the boss" he quipped, "I'm afraid they know already that we are not, so I don't think they have any illusions, and we also do not."

Complete Round 1 commentary

Commentary by GM Robin van Kampen and Yasser Seirawan | Tata Steel Chess YouTube

Three also lead Challengers

Jorden van Foreest, Anton Korobov and Dmitry Gordievsky all won their respective games, to take the early lead in the Challengers group. Van Foreest was obliged to "beat up" his little brother! It's wouldn't be unusual for the arbiters to ensure siblings (or teammates) play each other in the first round, to avoid any possibile appearence of conflict of interest later on, but in this case it looks like it simply happened by chance:

Van Foreest's brief remarks after the game

Standings after round one

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Additional photos

Alina l'Ami is publishing delightful photo galleries to the tournament's Facebook page.

Round schedule

All rounds start at 13:30 CET except where noted.

  • Round 1: Saturday 13 January
  • Round 2: Sunday 14 January
  • Round 3: Monday 15 January
  • Round 4: Tuesday 16 January
  • Round 5: Wednesday 17 January (Masters in Hilversum starts 14:00)
  • Free day: Thursday 18 January
  • Round 6: Friday 19 January
  • Round 7: Saturday 20 January
  • Round 8: Sunday 21 January
  • Free day: Monday 22 January
  • Round 9: Tuesday 23 January
  • Round 10: Wednesday 24 January (Masters in Groningen starts 14:00)
  • Free day: Thursday 25 January
  • Round 11: Friday 26 January 
  • Round 12: Saturday 27 January
  • Round 13: Sunday 28 January (12:00 Noon)

Links

Macauley served as the Editor in Chief of ChessBase News from July 2017 to March 2020. He is the producer of The Full English Breakfast chess podcast, and was an Associate Producer of the 2016 feature documentary, Magnus.

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