Tata Steel Chess: Carlsen gets it going

by Macauley Peterson
1/21/2018 – 'Shak' Mamedyarov won again — his third straight and took a full point lead through the half-way mark of the Masters. Vladimir Kramnik put a big dent in Anand's tournament by winning with black against his successor to the World Champion title. Sergey Karjakin got his first win of the week, breaking his drawing streak and dealing Fabiano Caruana his third loss. And Magnus Carlsen handed Hou Yifan her fifth loss, as the World Champ moves up into a four-way tie for second place. GM Mikhail Golubev annotates all the decisive games of the round. Meanwhile, the Anton Korobov train keeps chugging along in the Challengers, as he drew with Black against Mikhail Krasenkow, keeping his full point lead over Vidit. | Photo: Alina l'Ami Tata Steel Chess on Facebook © 2018 Tata Steel

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Magnus on the move

It was a dark day for the Chinese players, as both Hou and Wei lost their games to Carlsen and Mamedyarov respectively. In all, we the most number of decisive games in the Masters in a single round, with Kramnik and Karjakin both notching wins as well. Saturday represents the mid-way point in this very long struggle, so there is still plenty of time left for four players a point behind Mamedyarov on 4½ points.

Round 7 impressions

Standings after seven rounds

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Magnus Carlsen was relieved to get his second win, coming at the end of an endgame which he says Hou Yifan could have held. Indeed in a strange coincidence, the fatal blunder 50...h5? somewhat mirrored one Yifan made agains the World Champion here in Wijk aan Zee in 2016:

 
Carlsen vs Hou, Wijk aan Zee 2016
Position after 45...h5
 
Carlsen vs Hou, Wijk aan Zee 2018
Position after 50...h5

In both cases, the position went from equal to completely winning for White.

Hou Yifan and Magnus Carlsen

Happier times at the start of the game for Hou | Photo: Alina l'Ami © 2018 Tata Steel

Magnus Carlsen 1-0 Hou Yifan (annotated by GM Mikhail Golubev)
 
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1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.cxd5 Nxd5!? 5.e3 Principled lines are connected with e2-e4 (as Magnus twice successfully played in 2016 in the short control games against Kramnik) or 5.Nf3 first. 5...c5! 6.Bd3 A rare continuation, which was used by Geller sixty years ago but was not seen often after that. More standard is 6.Nf3 , transposing to Carlsen's own 2010 rapid game against Hammer. 6...cxd4 7.exd4 Nxc3!? Indeed, there were alternatives for Black here and on the previous move. 8.bxc3 Qc7 9.Bd2 Nd7! 10.Qg4!? This is probably new. Nf6 Also 10...g6 is playable. 11.Qg3! Qxg3 12.hxg3 The world champion obtained a slightly better endgame. Surely nothing special, but often he does not need much. Bd6 13.Nf3 Curious and probably deserves mentioning 13.Rh4!? , preparing g3-g4. While e5 can be met by 14.dxe5 Bxe5 15.Nf3 followed by 16.Kf1!. But developing a knight, as Carlsen did, is very natural. 13...b6 Black could have tried to do without this move, developing the bishop to d7. But generally there's nothing wrong with Hou Yifan's approach. 14.a4! Bb7 15.a5 Ke7 16.Ke2 Ne4 17.Be1!? Otherwise White can't preserve his bishop pair. h6 18.c4 Nf6?! I do not like this retreat, after which White activates easily. Instead, 18...f5!? looks OK, with decent counterchances for Black. 19.Bc3! Be4 Also this is somewhat illogical. Now White quickly develops a strong pressure. 20.Rhb1 Bxd3+ 21.Kxd3 Nd7 22.Nd2!? Rhd8 The alternative 22...f5 has serious drawbacks because it weakens the e6 pawn. 23.Ne4 Bc7 24.Bb4+ Ke8 Black's position is passive and nearly critical. But, somewhat strangely, it's also hard to offer something absolutely convincing for White. 25.f4 Instead, 25.Kc3!? f5 26.Bd6! Bxd6 27.Nxd6+ Ke7 28.Nb5 also deserved attention, probably, and can be better than it looks. 25...Rac8 26.axb6 axb6 27.Ra7 Essentially, White goes for a promisingly looking exchange sacrifice. He also could have played calmer: 27.Nc3!? Nc5+ or 27...Bb8 28.Ra8 Nc5+ 29.Bxc5 bxc5 30.Rb7! with the idea of Rxd4+ 31.Ke2 Rdd8 32.Nb5 g5 33.Na7 Bxa7 34.Raxa7 , etc. 28.Ke3 Nd7 29.Re1! Bb8 30.Kd3 and Black is worse after Nc5+!? 31.Bxc5 bxc5 32.d5 Kf8 as well as in other lines. 27...Nb8! 28.Rxc7! Rxc7 29.Nd6+ Kd7 30.Nxf7 Rdc8 White has more than enough for the sacrificed exchange, but is it enough for a win? Possibly not. 31.Ne5+ Or 31.Bd6!? Ra7 31...Rb7?! 32.Be5! 32.Rxb6 Black also should be able to survive the bizarre 32.f5!? exf5 33.d5 32...Ke8 33.Ne5 Nd7 34.Nxd7 Kxd7 35.Bc5!? Re8! and it's not clear how White can make progress. 31...Ke8 32.Bd6 Rb7! 33.c5 Nc6! 34.Rxb6 Rxb6 35.cxb6 Further, Hou Yifan continued to defend a not-so-simple ending well, until her fatal mistake on the 50th move, Nd8!? 36.Bc7 Ra8 37.Kc4 Nb7 Also possible was 37...Ra2!? where White should avoid 38.Kc5 other options: 38.Kb5!? 38.g4!? 38...Ra5+ 39.Kd6?? (well, Magnus would not play this even in the bullet) Rd5# 38.Kb5 Ra2 39.g4 Ke7!? 40.g3!? Nd6+! 41.Bxd6+ Kxd6 42.Nc4+ Kd7 43.Kc5 Rc2! 44.f5 exf5 45.gxf5 Rf2 46.Nd6! After 46.g4 , h5! 47.gxh5 Rxf5+ 48.Ne5+ Kc8 49.Kc6 Rf6+ is an easy draw for Black. 46...Rg2 She could have tried 46...h5!? (disallowing White to connect his g and f-pawns), which seems to be an easier way to a desired result for Black. 47.Ne4 Rb2 48.g4! Rb1 49.Nd2! Rh1!? 50.d5 h5? It was necessary to abstain from this advance. The waiting strategy was correct. For example, 50...Rc1+ 51.Nc4 Rb1!? 52.Ne5+ Ke7 but not 52...Kd8? 53.Kc6!+- and after Rc1+ White has 54.Kd6 53.d6+ Kd8 54.Kc6 Rc1+ and if 55.Kd5 Rb1! . But it's difficult to understand that Black can save a game by playing like this. 51.d6!+- Now it's over. Kc8 Or 51...hxg4 52.b7 Rh8 53.Nc4! Rb8 54.Ne5+! Ke8 if 54...Kd8 55.Nc6+ 55.Kc6 g3 56.Kc7 Rxb7+ 57.Kxb7 g2 58.Kc7 g1Q 59.d7+ Ke7 60.d8Q# 52.gxh5 Rxh5 53.Kc6 The black rook is misplaced. Kb8 54.Ne4 Rxf5 55.Nc5 One may feel sorry for the Chinese star who made so many strong moves but still lost this game. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2834Hou Yifan26801–02018D35Tata Steel Masters7.1

Carlsen: "Hopefully I can get it going now" | Tata Steel Chess YouTube

Anand vs Kramnik

Kramnik takes a moment to analyse blindfold | Photo: Alina l'Ami © 2018 Tata Steel

Anand went for an Italian game against Kramnik, which followed their 2017 blitz encounter in Zurich until Anand deviated with 7.Bg5 (last year he first castled, allowing 7...h6). Kramnik beat Anand twice with black last year in Norway Chess, but both in a Ruy Lopez which Anand has preferred lately against his age-old rival.

Viswananthan Anand 0-1 Vladimir Kramnik (annotated by GM Mikhail Golubev)
 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.a4 d6 6.c3 a6 7.Bg5 Virtually every sensible move had been tried in such positions, and this one is also far from being new. White's plan provokes Black's activity on the kingside and I can't say that I like it. Instead, 7.0-0 transposes to a position from the Round 5 game Carlsen-Kramnik. 7...h6 8.Bh4 Ba7 9.Nbd2 Qe7!? A similar idea, 9...g5 10.Bg3 Qe7!? 11.0-0 and now Nd7!? 11...h5 12.h4! 12.d4?! h5 13.h4 g4 14.Ne1 exd4 brought Black an advantage in the game Demchenko-Ragger, Spanish ChT Linares 2017. 10.h3 In the preceding games White had played differently. For example, 10.Qe2!? , Najer-Aleksandrov, Tbilisi World Cup 2017. 10...g5! 11.Bg3 Nh5 12.Qe2 Qf6!? 13.Bh2 Nf4 14.Bxf4 gxf4 15.g4 Engines' proposal 15.0-0 is really scary for White, with fair chances for him to be mated on the kingside sooner or later, 15...Ne7!? A remarkable decision. Kramnik does not wish to open lines on the kingside by 15...fxg3!? 16.fxg3 (despite Black objectively is doing quite well in this variation) and makes a more ambitious move, keeping the position closed and more strategic. An approach, which worked perfectly! 16.b4 Later Anand could have regretted about this move. Ng6!? 17.Kd1?! "He should've probably tried 17.0-0-0!? and try to meet ...h5 not with g5, but with gxh5" - Kramnik. 17...h5! 18.g5 Here, after 18.gxh5 Rxh5 White loses the h-pawn. 18...Qe7 In the long run, it's White and not Black who'll get problems with a king, so perhaps Black can be significantly better already here. Anand's further play may look almost suicidal, but it's understandable that it wasn't easy at all to find a good plan for him. 19.b5 Kf8 20.bxa6 bxa6 21.d4 Kg7 "My king is safe and I started to mate him slowly on the queenside, and he has no good place for his king. ...In a practical game it was very difficult [for White] to defend this position" - Kramnik 22.d5 Bd7 23.Kc2 Rhb8 24.Bxa6?! It may seem now that what White did on the previous moves was opening lines and diagonals on the queenside not for himself, but rather for his opponent. Still, after the pawn sacrifice 24.Ne1! and if Qxg5 25.Nd3 the play would have remained quite tense. 24...Bxf2! 25.Bb5 Be3 26.h4 Maybe 26.Nc4 was a better practical chance here. 26...Ra5!? 27.c4 Rba8 28.Kb3 Nf8!-+ 29.Rhc1 Bg4 30.Kc2 Bxd2 31.Kxd2 Nd7 And Black dominates completely. 32.Ra3 Nc5 33.Bc6 Rb8 34.Ke1 Qd8 35.Qc2 Bxf3 36.Rxf3 Qc8! 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Anand,V2767Kramnik,V27870–12018C50Tata Steel Masters7.6

Kramnik is in excellent position in the tournament and has yet to play Mamedyarov | Tata Steel Chess YouTube

Mamedyarov vs Wei

Mamedyarov won despite a "very bad move" | Photo: Alina l'Ami © 2018 Tata Steel

Mamedyarov is in Wijk aan Zee with his wife, but without a second, though he shared after the game that he of course has someone helping him prepare remotely. His choice of the Catalan today was unusual, as he said he has rarely played this line in the past.

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 1-0 Wei Yi (annotated by GM Mikhail Golubev)
 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.0-0 dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.Nc3 Bxf3 13.Bxf3 In this well known theoretical line Black usually plays 13...c6 when White preserves a small plus in a long fight. But the Chinese grandmaster is trying a relatively fresh idea of GM Kasimdzhanov, intending to solve all opening problems in a more forced play. Qxd4!? 14.Qxc7 Black is very close to a full equality after 14.Qxd4 Bxd4 15.Bxb7 Ra7 16.Bg2 Nd7 17.Rfd1 c5! 18.e3 Bf6 Landa-Kasimdzhanov, Bundesliga 2015/6 and Aronian-Kasimdzhanov, Wch Rapid 2017. 14...Nc6 15.Qxb7 Na5!? 16.Qc7 After 16.Qxa8 Rxa8 17.Bxa8 Qb4!? Black probably has enough counterplay. 16...Qd8 After the game Mamedyarov mentioned 16...Bd8!? , which is possibly not so bad, but hardly pretends for a full equality. 17.Qf4! The best practical chance. Instead, 17.Qxd8 Raxd8 18.Rad1 or 18.Rac1 Nb3! 18...Nc4 is drawish. 17...Rb8 18.Rfd1 Qe7 Seemingly solid. But 18...Qc8!? was a serious alternative in fact. 19.Rab1 Rfc8? "A very bad move" - Mamedyarov. After 19...g5!? White would have been no more than slightly better. 20.Ne4! Bg5 The point was 20...Bxb2 21.Nd6! and if Rd8 or 21...Rf8 22.Qd2 Ba3 23.Rxb8 Rxb8 24.Nxf7! , etc. - MG 22.Nxf7! . Indeed, the Azerbaijani grandmaster had seen this. 21.Qd6 Qxd6 22.Rxd6 Be7 23.Rxa6 Nc4 24.Rc1?! Nxb2?! Black had to take the pawn by a rook, 24...Rxb2! and, despite the pin, he is not losing by force. 25.Rxc8+ Rxc8 26.a5 White's a-pawn is too dangerous, it seems to me that Black is doomed. Nc4?! 27.Ra7! Bb4 28.a6 f5 29.Rb7! fxe4 30.Bg4! A nice end to the game. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Mamedyarov,S2804Wei Yi27431–02018E05Tata Steel Masters7.5

This was his third classical win against Wei Yi, however, having previously beaten him in 2016 in the Chinese league. Mamedyarov also elminated Wei from the 2013 World Cup in Tromso in a tiebreak, when Wei was still quite new on the international scene.

Mamedyarov has yet to play Carlsen — they are paired in the eighth round — but he has a fairly appaling record lifetime agains the world number one. He hasn't won a classical game against Magnus since 2008.

Mamedyarov: Third consecutive win and on a roll | Tata Steel Chess YouTube

Sergey Karjakin was clearly pleased to get his first win of the tournament, benefitting from a blunder from Caruana in a position, however, which Karjakin felt was already better for him.

Sergey Karjakin 1-0 Fabiano Caruana (annotated by GM Mikhail Golubev)
 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 a6!? Until recently, it was not possible to see this move in the top level chess (with several notable exceptions such as one Staunton's 1843 game). But times change! Today's top guys can play, generally, just anything that is not refuted by their computers during home preparation. 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 Be6 7.e3 Nbd7 8.Bd3 h6 9.Bh4 g5 This is a topical line, first played with black by GM Fedoseev in 2016. 10.Bg3 Nh5 11.Be5 But now Caruana comes up with something unusual. Nhf6!? Instead, 11...Ng7 was tested in many games last year. 12.Bg3 White also had more active moves around here. After 12.Qb3 curious is g4 13.Bxf6 Qxf6 14.Ne5 Nxe5 15.dxe5 Qxe5 16.Qxb7 Rd8 17.Qc6+ Ke7 18.0-0 where Black can even consider Kf6!? , planning to hide his king on g7. 12...Nh5 13.Nd2 Nxg3 14.hxg3 Nb6 Other ideas were 14...c5!? and 14...c6. 15.Qc2 Bd6 Better could have been 15...c6 after which 16.e4 is premature because of dxe4 and the d4 pawn falls. 16.e4! Now White develops the initiative. dxe4 Possibly preferable was 16...Qd7!? , and if 17.e5 Be7 . 17.Bxe4 Qe7? Black had to play 17...c6 with a surely somewhat worse position. (Karjakin intended to continue 18.0-0-0! ). But instead Caruana blunders a pawn. 18.Bxb7‼ Rb8 It turns that all discovered checks lead Black nowhere. For example, 18...Bd5+ 19.Kf1 Bxb7 20.Re1+- 19.Bc6+ Kf8 20.0-0 Qf6 21.Nf3 Kg7 22.Rfe1 Rhd8 23.Ne4 Qg6 24.d5! An energetic way of converting the advantage. White gives his extra pawn back, but prevents ... Nd5 and develops a crushing intiative. Nxd5 25.Bxd5 Bxd5 26.Qc3+ f6 27.Nxd6 cxd6 28.Nd4!+- Black simply has too many weaknesses, including the vulnerable king. Rd7 29.Qa5 Bf7 30.b3 Ra8 31.Rac1 d5 32.Rc7 Rxc7 33.Qxc7 Qd3 34.Ne6+ Kg6 35.Nd8 Rxd8 36.Qxd8 And White converts his extra exchange. Qd2 37.Qe7 Qxa2 38.Re3 Qb1+ 39.Kh2 Qf5 40.Qc7 d4 41.Re7 Qd5 42.b4 Be6 43.Qb6 Bf7 44.Qxa6 d3 45.Re3 Qc4 46.Qa3 Black's d3 pawn falls, it's nothing to play for anymore. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Karjakin,S2753Caruana,F28111–02018D37Tata Steel Masters7.4

After the game, Karjakin noted that this was a bit of revenge for his recent lost to Caruana in the London Chess Classic. He also shared some thoughts on the stellar performance of his friend Shakhriyar.
 

Karjakin: It's always nice to win against such a great player | Tata Steel Chess YouTube

Wesley So and Anish Giri drew and both remain tied for second. Giri plays Mamedyarov on Sunday with White, so that will be his big chance to make a play for first place. He said that he "got a bit creative" in the opening, deciding to "improve" over theory at the board, but ending up with a worse position.

Giri describes the difficulty in assessing the kind of position he received with a computer | Tata Steel Chess YouTube

Daniel King's round-up of Round 7:

All round-up shows are available in ChessBase Videos, for Premium account holders

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Full commentary

Commentary by GM Robin van Kampen and GM Eric Hansen| Tata Steel Chess YouTube

Challengers

No changes at the top of the leader board as both Korobov and Vidit drew their games, so the Ukrainian maintains a one point lead. Both decisive games went against the women in the tournament. Matthias Bluebaum got his second win, dealing Harika her second loss, and Aryan Tari pulled back to an equal score, beating Olga Girya.

Anton Korobov

Korobov has been solid at the top | Photo: Alina l'Ami © 2018 Tata Steel

Standings after seven 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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