Tata Steel Chess: Tied trio

by Macauley Peterson
1/27/2018 – A draw between co-leaders Carlsen and Mamedyarov did not change the basic calculation, as Giri had the unenviable task of black against Caruana, and also drew. Anand's win over a downtrodden Hou Yifan, gives him some momentum heading into the final weekend half point behind. Karjakin beat Kramnik, but both (along with Wesley So) still have theoretical chances, just a point back. Vidit and Korobov keep their edge with a safe draw in their head-to-head game. | Photo: Alina l'Ami Tata Steel Chess on Facebook

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On tenterhooks

The final weekend in the Masters is shaping up to be quite an exciting one. With three players tied for first, Magnus Carlsen predicted today that the winner will need to finish strong with 1½ points from the final two rounds. In the event of a tie, however, he figures his successful track record in tiebreak games should favor him. In addition to the leaders on 7½ — Carlsen, Anish Giri, and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov — Vishy Anand is still very much in the running with 7 points amassed.

Impressions from Round 11

Scenes from round eleven, back in Wijk aan Zee | Tata Steel Chess on YouTube

Standings after eleven rounds

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Sergey Karjakin has made a late charge, beating Fabiano Caruana in round seven and Vladimir Kramnik today. Karjakin, who had a difficult 2017, has passed Russian Champion Peter Svidler in the live rankings and is closing in on Alexander Grischuk. Today's win over Kramnik also has psychological significance, as he explained after the game, due to the fact that both his victims are also Candidates in Berlin in six weeks time. With white against Magnus in the final round, he still has an outside chance to catch the leaders and make his 20 days away from home worthwhile.

Analysis and comments by GM Daniel Fernandez

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov ½-½ Magnus Carlsen

Mamedyarov-Carlsen featured an unusually compliant opening from the World Champion, where he strove to simply equalise and neutralise rather than doing anything spectacular. It is a shame that quite often games between tournament leaders go this way. There might have been one or two chances for Mamedyarov to make something of his bishop pair, but once those had passed the game was headed very swiftly to a draw.

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.cxd5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 is another big main line, e.g. 0-0 7.Nf3 dxc4 8.Qxc4 b6 9.Bg5= , which was the path followed by Ivanchuk,V-Harikrishna,P Huaian 2017 5...Qxd5 6.e3 6.Nf3 Qf5!= has now become famous, and after some wrangling it has become clear that only Black can actually have a positional edge in the endgame, despite his doubled f-pawns! 6...c5 7.Bd2 Bxc3 8.Bxc3 cxd4 9.Bxd4 Nc6 10.Bc3 10.Bxf6 gxf6 11.Ne2 is the initial computer recommendation, but this really isn't that good after say Bd7 12.a3 Qa5+ 13.Nc3 Ne7= Dreev,A -Fedoseev,V Moscow 2014 10...0-0 11.Nf3 Rd8 Else Rd1 is slightly annoying. 12.Be2 12.Rd1 Qxd1+ 13.Qxd1 Rxd1+ 14.Kxd1 Ne4 15.Be1 e5= is another equal position, where White's bishop pair isn't yet active enough to give him any advantage. 12...Qe4 13.Rc1 Qxc2 14.Rxc2 Nd5 14...Bd7 15.Nd4 Ne7= could be worth considering for the future; White's bishop pair is a lot less scary when there is an extra pair of knights on the board. 15.Ne5 Bd7 This is the novelty! 15...Nxe5 16.Bxe5 b6 17.a3 f6 18.Bg3 Bb7 19.0-0 Rac8 20.Rfc1 e5 21.Rxc8 Rxc8 22.Rxc8+ Bxc8 23.Kf1 somehow led to one of the world's best defensive players being ground down in Grachev,B-Karjakin,S Antalya 2017; the problem is that White can keep trying things and never runs any risk at all. 16.Nxc6 Bxc6 17.Bd2 Ne7 18.f3 Rac8 19.e4 19.Ba5!? b6 20.Bb4 Nd5 21.Bd2 prevents Black from playing ... a6 and ...Bb5 19...f6 20.Be3 a6 21.Kf2 21.Bc4!? Kf7 22.Bb3 Bb5 23.Kf2 and we can still talk about a White edge based on the bishop pair 21...Bb5! Black has equalised again. 22.Rhc1 Rxc2 23.Rxc2 Bxe2 24.Kxe2 Nc6= There is nothing really left to play for. Black can choose between an ...e5 based plan, and a rook-exchange based plan. 25.b4 Rc8 26.Rc5 b5 27.f4 Kf7 28.a3 Ne7 29.Rxc8 Nxc8 30.Bc5 Ne7 31.Bxe7 Kxe7 32.Kf3 Kd6 33.Ke3 e5 34.f5 Ke7 35.g4 Kf7 36.h4 Kg8 37.Kf3 h6 38.h5 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Mamedyarov,S2804Carlsen,M2834½–½2018Tata Steel Masters11

Meet the Nimzo-Indian with 4.Qc2

Rustam Kasimdzhanov, the FIDE World Champion in 2004, has been extremely successful with the Nimzo-Indian with 4.Qc2 with White and with Black. In over 4 hours of video, Rustam Kasimdzhanov explains all the important ideas, strategies and tricks helped by sample games in which the white side is represented, e.g., by Kasparov, Anand, Kramnik and Ivanchuk as well as the author himself.

Carlsen: It's a decent result but I'm not really satisfied with the way it went early on | Tata Steel Chess YouTube

Carlsen still a frontrunner

Still a frontrunner | Alina l'Ami © 2018 Tata Steel

Fabiano Caruana ½-½ Anish Giri

Caruana-Giri was an interesting game to look at, being one of those where White's advantage drifts in and out of being for no discernible reason. The opening was a London, where White played a creative and quick g4, and soon it looked more like some kind of Petroff (despite the pawn on e6!)  The tactical subtleties at the end, connected with the duel between the respective centralised minor pieces of each side, are noteworthy.

 
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1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4 Bf5 4.e3 e6 5.Nbd2 For some reason Caruana didn't feel like trying to emulate Carlsen's 5.c4!? 5...Bd6 6.Ne5 6.Bg3 is the more 'true Londoner' move, but after say 0-0 7.Be2 c5 8.c3 Nc6= it is immediately obvious that White has nothing 6...h6 7.g4!?N Bh7 7...Bxe5!? is fascinating: 8.dxe5 Bxg4 9.f3 Nh5 10.fxg4 Nxf4 11.exf4 Qh4+ 12.Ke2 Qxg4+ but it seems like White probably has an edge with the solid 13.Nf3 Qxf4 14.Qd2 when the piece marginally outperforms the three pawns. 8.h4 Ne4 8...Nfd7 9.Nxd7 Qxd7 could eventually leave White feeling a bit over-extended; for subtle structural reasons Black should recapture on d6 with the pawn! 9.Nxe4 Bxe4 10.f3 Bh7 11.Bd3 11.Qd2 Nd7 12.0-0-0 might still keep things a bit fresh, as the prospect of a good bishop versus bad bishop endgame weighs slightly on Black's mind. 11...Bxd3 12.Qxd3 Nd7 Solid and good for equality. 13.0-0-0 Bxe5!? 13...Qe7 14.h5 0-0-0= 14.dxe5 Qe7 15.e4 dxe4 15...c6 could be interesting, keeping open the option of short castling, but I suspect Black rejected this due to the possibility of c4 + Qd6 turning out to be a textbook 'incisive continuation'. 16.Qxe4 0-0-0 17.g5 hxg5 18.Bxg5 f6 19.exf6 Nxf6 20.Qe5 Qf7 21.Rhe1 21.b3 might improve slightly, not giving away any tempi, and the cat-and-mouse could continue: b6 22.Kb2 Rhf8 23.Rxd8+ Rxd8 24.Qe2 21...Rxd1+ 22.Rxd1 b6 23.b3 Kb8 24.Kb2 Nh7 25.Bf4 25.f4 was a logical human continuation 25...Nf6 26.Bg5 Nh7 27.Bf4 Nf6 28.Qd4 Kb7 28...Nd5 29.Be5 Qxf3= 29.Be5 Rh5 30.Rg1 Rf5 31.f4 g6 32.Rd1 32.Qc4 was an interesting tactical idea, hinting at an overloading of the Black queen, and then Nd5 33.Qe4 could be genuinely unpleasant 32...Qe7 33.Qc3?! This loses the advantage. Nd5 Possibly White had thought Qg3 was good, but missed the tactical idea of ...Nxf4. Black has now equalised again. 34.Qf3 Kb8 35.Qe4 Qxh4 Now the most White can do is take on g6, which implies a trade of pieces, and then there will be nothing left with which to win. 36.Rd2 Qe7 37.Rh2 Rf8 38.Rh6 Rg8 39.Rxg6 Rxg6 40.Qxg6 Qd7 41.Qd3 Kc8 42.a4 Nb4 43.Qe4 Nc6 44.Bc3 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Caruana,F2811Giri,A2752½–½2018Tata Steel Masters11

Caruana: I sort of lost motivation...everything went wrong from the start | Tata Steel Chess YouTube

Giri: "I chose to play very safe" | Tata Steel Chess YouTube

Viswanathan Anand 1-0 Hou Yifan

Anand-Hou featured a line I've never looked at much, but maybe I should after today. Like many pseudo-Grunfeld things (i.e. Black recaptures on d5 with a knight at some point and then takes on c3) it should objectively equalise for Black but is hard to play over the board. Certainly with the simplifications initiated by Hou Yifan it was difficult to see her ending up anything but worse, and Anand demonstrated (once again) quite clinical technique to clinch it. It must be said that he has a habit of getting into 'better' positions that nevertheless appear to 'win themselves' — against Matlakov, Jones and now Hou in the same event!

 
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1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.cxd5 Nxd5!? Clearly Hou Yifan was not in the mood to face a minority attack today. Although this move has been played by a lot of good players, it is unquestionably a secondary one. According to the current state of top level praxis the line is playable, but very few people do it correctly, especially from the Black side! 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 c5 7.Rb1 Be7 8.Nf3 0-0 9.Bc4 Nc6 9...Qc7 leads us to a veritable minefield of top games: 10.Qe2 a6 11.0-0 11.a4 cxd4 12.cxd4 Bd7= might objectively equalise, but that didn't stop Black being annihlated in a 'modern attacking classic', Matlakov,M-Aronian,L Tbilisi 2017 11...b5 12.Bd3 Nd7! 12...Bb7?! 13.a4! bxa4? 14.Bf4 left Black virtually lost already in Carlsen, M-So,W chess.com INT 2017 13.a4 13.h4 e5 14.h5 h6= Navara,D -Dominguez Perez,L Saint Louis 2017 13...bxa4 14.g3∞ The position is easier to play for White, but obviously far from clear. 10.0-0 b6 11.Be3 11.d5 Na5 12.Bd3 c4 13.Bc2 exd5 14.exd5 Bb7= probably equalised for Black in her previous outing with the line: Svidler,P-Hou,Y Geneve 2017 11...Bb7 12.Qe2 cxd4 12...Qc7!? 13.d5 13.Ba6 is White's most obvious idea, but there is a concrete remedy: cxd4 14.cxd4 Nb4! 15.Bxb7 Qxb7 and White's centre continues to come under fire. 13...Na5 14.dxe6 Nxc4 15.Qxc4 fxe6 16.Qxe6+ Kh8 13.cxd4 Rc8 14.Rfd1 Qc7 15.d5 Ne5 15...exd5 16.exd5 Ne5 17.Bb3 Nxf3+ 18.Qxf3 Bd6 Navara,D -Dominguez Perez,L Saint Louis 2017 16.Bb5 16.Nxe5 Qxe5 17.f3 16...exd5 17.exd5 Nxf3+ 17...Rfd8 18.Rbc1 Qb8 is apparently still nail-biting equality 18.Qxf3 Certainly by contrast to Navara-Dominguez above the bishop on b5 poses Black some extra problems, connected with Rbc1 and Bc6. Bc5 19.Rbc1 Qe7 20.Bf4 Bd6 21.Bc6 That's just it. Now Black has to go into a bit of a huddle, and Anand's technique has been his strong point in this event. Bxf4 21...Ba8 still kept White's advantage to a minimum by making him work for every extra pawn advance 22.Qxf4 Bxc6 23.dxc6 Qc7 24.Rd6+- The forcing continuations get nowhere, so White just improves. The obvious follow-up is to play the queen to d5 and try for Rd7. Rcd8 25.Rcd1 h6 26.g3 Rxd6 It is interesting to note the tactical point White basically has to use if Black sits tight. 26...Rc8 27.Qc4 Kh8 28.Qd5 Kg8 29.a4 Kh8 30.Kg2 30.Rc1? Rfd8 30...Kg8 31.h4 Or, I suppose, just Rc1 now. Kh8 32.Rd4 Kg8 33.Rc4 Rfd8 34.Rd7!+- 27.Rxd6 Rc8 28.Qe5 b5 29.Qd5 Kh7 30.Qe4+ Kg8 31.Rd7 Another neat tactical point, but if not this, then something else would have worked. Qa5 32.c7 Rf8 33.Qe7 Mate cannot be far away. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Anand,V2767Hou,Y26801–02018Tata Steel Masters11

Semi-Tarrasch: A universal weapon against 1.d4

Even though the Semi-Tarrasch cannot offer a complete repertoire against 1.d4, being conditioned of White’s move order, it is an excellent complement to the Nimzoindian Defence. Throughout history, great players like Fischer, Kortschnoj and Kramnik have included the Semi-Tarrasch in their repertoire which strongly speaks about its safe character and Black’s possibilities for counterplay. GM Mihail Marin presents a complete Semi-Tarrasch repertoire for Black, explaining the main strategic ideas of the resulting structures.

After the win, Anand analysed the game with GM Eric Hansen on the live webcast:

Anand and Hansen towards the end of round 11 | Tata Steel Chess YouTube

Mameedyarov, Giri, Anand

Mamedyarov faces Anand in Sunday's final round, while Giri has Adhiban and Wei yet to come | Photos: Alina l'Ami © 2018 Tata Steel

Sergey Karjakin 1-0 Vladimir Kramnik

Karjakin-Kramnik was an interesting Catalan duel between the man who has been playing most Catalans in this event, and the one who has played the most Catalans in his life. After playing a slightly slack 14th move Black soon found himself in quite big trouble, ironically, centred on the very file which his 14th had contested.

 
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1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.0-0 0-0 6.b3 This opening is one of the hardest for me to understand. Whichever side of it I play, I always end up slightly worse... c5 6...d4 The last comment is even more true when applied to this variation. I will provide two practical examples, not from the highest level but nevertheless capable of showing my point. 7.e3 7.Bb2 c5 8.e3 Nc6 9.exd4 cxd4 10.Re1 Re8 11.Ne5 Nxe5 12.Rxe5 Nd7 13.Re1 e5 14.d3 was my own practical experience with this system as Black: Oates, D-Fernandez,D High Wycombe 2014. Here White's play seems quite easy, because Black's only constructive plan might be ...a5-a4 but then of course White can play with Na3. 7...c5 8.exd4 cxd4 9.d3 Nc6 10.Re1 Ne8 11.Ne5 Nxe5 12.Rxe5 f6 13.Re1 e5 14.Ba3 14.f4!? 14...Nd6 15.Nd2 Rb8 16.Ne4 Nf7! White-a good friend of mine- had unfortunately slightly lost touch with the idea of the line in a game with a fellow Fernandez: Horton,A -Fernandez,F Sitges 2016. 7.cxd5 Following the equally natural 7.Bb2 Nc6 8.e3 b6 9.Nc3 dxc4 10.bxc4 Bb7 11.Qe2 Qc7 12.Rac1 Rfd8 13.Rfd1 Na5 14.Ne1 Bxg2 15.Nxg2 Qb7 Black was already marginally for choice due to his pressure on the half-open d-file in Caruana,F-Aronian,L Saint Louis 2017 7...Nxd5 8.Nc3 Nc6 8...Bf6 9.Bb2 b6= is probably the most mathematically precise 9.Bb2 Nxc3 10.dxc3 Qc7 11.Qc2 b6 12.Bc1 Bb7 13.Bf4 Qc8 14.Rad1 Rd8 14...f6! was thematic and equalised with a bit less effort. Presumably Black was afraid of 15.Bh3! but he can re-route and use the long diagonal himself: Nd8! With ...Qc6, possibly ...Nf7, and an eventual ...e5 to come. 15.h4 h6 16.Rxd8+ Nxd8 17.Rd1 Now White has a small something because of the d-file. f5 18.Qd2 Nf7 19.Qd7 Bf6 20.Ne5! Nxe5 20...Bxe5!? leads to a nice tactical variation. 21.Bxb7 Qxd7 22.Rxd7 Rd8 23.Rxf7! 23.Rxd8+ Nxd8 24.Bxe5 Nxb7 25.Bb8 a6= should eventually get neutralised as in Mamedyarov-Carlsen, though here the knight is even worse. 23...Bxf4 24.Re7 Be5 25.c4 21.Bxe5 Bxe5 22.Bxb7 Qxd7 23.Rxd7 Re8 24.Bc6 Tactically defending the c3-pawn. a5 24...Rf8! is the very surprising best move. 25.Rxa7 25.c4 Rc8 works as in the next line, since f4 can be met by ...Bd4+! 25...Bxc3 26.Rb7 Ba5 White is slightly better and will probably pick up the e6-pawn but it is nothing to write home about. 24...Rc8 25.Bb5 Rc7 is a good idea, but after 26.f4! Rxd7 27.Bxd7 Bxc3 28.Bxe6+ Kf8 29.Bxf5 it is difficult to be completely certain about the result of the bishop ending. 25.Bb5 Kf8 26.f4 Bf6 27.Rd6 Re7 28.h5! Creating various mating ideas. Bxc3 29.Rxb6 Now Black will not only lose the pawn but his remaining ones will still be weak. c4 29...e5?? 30.Rb8+ Kf7 31.Bc4+ Kf6 32.Rf8+ is cute 30.Rb8+ Kf7 31.Bxc4 Rd7 32.Kg2 Ke7 33.Kf3 Rd1 34.Rb7+ Rd7 35.Rb5 Rd1 36.a3 Rf1+ 37.Kg2 Rd1 38.e3 Rd6 39.Kf3 Rc6 40.g4 40.a4 first reduced Black's options even more, but ...a4 was maybe not something to get worked up about. 40...fxg4+ 41.Kxg4 a4 42.Rb7+ Kd8 43.e4+- The position is now completely winning and all the bishop endings are also hopeless. Bb2 44.Bb5 Rc7 45.Rxc7 Kxc7 46.bxa4 Bc3 46...Bxa3 47.a5+- and White will, on his own time, play e5, a6 and Bc4, before ambling slowly over to the queenside with his king if need be. 47.e5 Kd8 48.Kf3 Bd2 49.Ke4 Ke7 50.f5! The final bit of finesse that Kramnik has made his opponent demonstrate. The White king needs the d5-square. exf5+ 51.Kxf5 Bc1 51...Bc3 52.Ke4 Ke6 53.Bc4+ Ke7 54.Kd5 Be1 55.e6 Bd2 56.Kc6 is similar, just with another White a-pawn 52.a5 Bxa3 53.a6 Bc5 54.Ke4 Ke6 55.Bc4+ Kd7 56.Kd5 Bf2 57.e6+ Kc7 58.Bb5 Bh4 59.a7 White will win the bishop for his two passers and Black will be way too slow to reach h8 to stop the third one. 1–0
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Karjakin,S2753Kramnik,V27871–02018Tata Steel Masters11

The Catalan: A complete repertoire for White!

The Catalan is one of the most solid openings for White. It forms part of the large and strong fianchetto family in which White builds his strategy mainly around the bishop on g2. Grandmaster Victor Bologan covers all of Black’s replies to the Catalan, some of which can even transpose to other openings such as the Tarrasch System and the Queen’s Indian. Suffice it to say that the Catalan rules!

Sergey Karjakin, happy on plus two with two to go | Tata Steel Chess YouTube

Kramnik

Not Kramnik's day | Tata Steel Chess YouTube

Wesley So 1-0 Gawain Jones

So-Jones was a game in two parts: the opening battle was really interesting, though brief — it was over by move 14 and White had a better position. The second real part of the game came when Wesley chose to play 29.Nh7!?, allowing Black's fortress chances to become much more explicit. It is something of a pity that Black cracked quickly and gave a pawn, because the fortress possibilities were really interesting.

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 0-0 5.Nc3 c5 Expressing a willingness to play...a Benoni structure! Again Gawain Jones brings something new to the top table. Obviously ...c6 or ...d6 are completely normal. 6.dxc5 Qa5 7.Qa4 7.Bd2 Qxc5 8.Rc1 d6 9.b3 Nc6 10.Nh3 Bxh3 11.Bxh3 d5 was a game featuring another English star on the Black side of this line: Greet,A-Howell, D England 2017 7...Qxc5 8.Be3 Qc7 8...Qh5 9.h3! is strangely unpleasant 9.c5 This is very maximalist play, trying to rule out both ... d6 and ...b6 at once. Nc6?! Black prepares a gambit, but this may not have been best. 9...Na6!? leads to some lines which just have to be mentioned! 10.Rc1?! 10.Qb5 Ng4 10.Nb5 Qe5 11.Bd4 Qf5 12.Rc1 d5 10...Nxc5! Ignoring the idea White had set up against this. The move works due to the filthy detail 11.Nb5 Qc6‼ and suddenly Black is the one playing for an edge. 10.Rd1 b6 Practically not a bad move, as everything else is just nice for White. 10...Qb8 11.Nf3 b6 is too slow: now White almost wins on the spot with 12.Bf4± 11.cxb6 Qb8 12.bxa7 Qxb2 13.Nb5! Most accurate, but unfortunately for Black also quite easy to find. Bb7 14.Qb3 Qxb3 14...Qe5!? 15.Nf3 Qh5 is actually not trivial for White to play- the best move is apparently 16.Nh4!± 15.axb3 Nxa7 16.Bxb7 Rab8 Bringing about an endgame where Black can put up some very inspired resistance, but ultimately should lose against good play. 17.Nxa7 Rxb7 18.f3 Rxb3 18...e6 19.Nh3 Nd5 20.Bf2 Nc3 21.Rd2 d5 is also maybe interesting, with the idea of ...d4 and ...e5 to play against White's minor pieces 19.Bf2 Ra8 20.Nh3 Rb7 21.0-0 Rbxa7 22.Bxa7 Rxa7 23.Ra1 Rxa1 24.Rxa1± It is now just a technical question. While the fortress possibilities are not small, and more than likely with perfect play the game is actually a draw, Black is always going to lose this in a practical game unless he (for instance) manages to exchange knights. d5 25.Ra7 Bf8 26.Kg2 Ne8 27.Ra8 Nd6 28.Ng5 h6 29.Nh7!? An interesting call, and not one I necessarily agree with. Kxh7 30.Rxf8 Kg7 31.Rd8 Nc4 32.g4 e6 33.h4 Kf6 33...Ne3+!? deserved consideration. I think if Black can get ...g5 for free then he draws, but White's tempi don't work out either e.g. 34.Kf2 Nd1+ 35.Kg3 35.Ke1 Ne3 and since ...Ng2 is threatened White will have to go back. 35...g5 36.e4 Nc3! 37.Rc8 Ne2+! It is rather useful that this is check. 38.Kf2 Nf4= This position has got to be a fortress. 34.Rh8 Kg7 35.Rc8 Nd6 36.Rc6 Nb5 37.e3 g5 38.h5 So Black got ...g5 in but his knight has lost its bearings a little bit. Na3 39.Kg3 Nc4? Losing a pawn, and possibly the decisive mistake. 39...Nb5 40.Kf2 Kf6 and even though it feels uncomfortable Black may be able to get back on track soon with ...Ke7 and ...Nd6, since taking the h-pawn gets White's rook trapped. 40.e4 Ne5 41.exd5 exd5 42.Rd6 Nd3 43.Rxd5 Nf4 44.Rf5 Ne6 Initially I thought there were still chances for this to be a fortress but then I realised Black has too many targets. Maybe with the h-pawns off the board? 45.Kf2 Nd4 46.Rd5 Ne6 47.Ke3 Nf4 48.Ra5 Ng2+ 49.Ke4+- Kf6 50.Rb5 Kg7 51.Ke5 Ne1 52.Rb3 Ng2 53.Kd6 Nf4 54.Rb5 Kf8 55.Rf5 Ng2 56.Kd7 Ne3 57.Rc5 f5 58.Ke6 fxg4 59.Kf6 Kg8 60.Kg6 Kf8 61.Re5 Nc4 62.Rf5+ 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
So,W2792Jones,G26401–02018Tata Steel Masters11

Chess Endgames 7 - Endgame Principles Weaknesses & Fortresses

The 7th volume of this endgame series deals with many different aspects of endgame play: the art of pawn play, weaknesses, converting an advantage, stalemate, fortresses, the art of defence and typical mistakes. Learn how to convert an extra piece or an exchange or how to exploit space advantage and better mobility. The themes the art or defence, fortress and stalemate are also intertwined. If your position has a solid fundament then you may surprisingly reach a fortress which might even be based on a stalemate.

Jones: "I was one move away from drawing this one" | Tata Steel Chess YouTube

Round-up show with Daniel King

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Full commentary

Commentary by GM Eric Hansen and WIM Fiona Steil-Antoni | Tata Steel Chess YouTube

Challengers

Vidit and Korobov finally crossed swords after jointly leading the tournament for several rounds, but with a 1½ point gap between them and their nearest rivals, a draw was naturally a reasonable result for both. In round twelve both will be heavy rating favourites to win facing Girya and Lucas van Foreest respectively.

Standings after eleven rounds

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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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