Tata Steel Chess: Yermolinsky on Round 7

by Alex Yermolinsky
1/20/2019 – The youngsters in both the Masters and Challengers scored wins in Round 7, but GM ALEX YERMOLINSKY also focuses on the first victory of Wijk aan Zee veteran Teimour Radjabov. "The traditional Tata Steel tournaments are in full swing, and I'm grateful for an opportunity to share my impressions." | Pictured: Andrey Esipenko and Jorden van Foreest | Photos: Alina l'Ami

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The veterans' clash

The big news was Anand's win over Kramnik, which enabled the Indian to join the leaders at 4½/7. Vishy and Vlad must have played each other nearly a hundred times [nearly 200 in total! -Ed.], but it's hard to recall a stranger game than the one they had today. First, it was Kramnik totally getting off the rails with 14.g4? and 16.h4? played in a position that allowed for a quieter treatment, then it was Anand inexplicably trading down to an endgame when he had all the chances to hunt down the white king. The last part of the game saw Kramnik throwing the game away due to some strange, if not outright bad, play. Here I'm quoting Mark Crowther, who was actually referring to Vlad's exploits throughout the entire tournament.

The contrast between the two former Champs has never been as visible as it was today. On one side we have Kramnik, a tormented soul who claims he's there just to play interesting games as if he doesn't care about the result (we know it's not true). Across the board is the ever-tranquil Anand, who has long accepted his limitations (due to age) and actually, does look like he's having fun playing chess against the young generation (and does well at).

The game itself seemed so disjointed that I decided to take a pass on annotating it. [You can see the highlights in our Round 7 report. -Ed.]

Giri watching Carlsen

Giri looks mildly perplexed by the World Champion's choice | Photo: Alina l'Ami

The leaders

The two leaders who faced each other today, Giri and Ding, had a semi-theoretical battle in the Bb4+ Catalan, which never left the bounds of equality. In the end, it seemed both players were relieved to stumble upon a convincing drawing line.

CarlsenHaving broken out of his much-publicized drawing streak, Carlsen was glad to draw today. His opponent, Fedoseev, is not having a good tournament (particularly his loss to Van Foreest could have easily been avoided), but he took the task of playing the World Champion seriously. 'Fedo' snatched a pawn out of a Grunfeld sideline and held onto it like a bulldog. It took some cool-headed defending from Magnus to avoid an upset.

Nepo continues to surprise with his newly found solid approach. Today he went for a symmetrical structure against Duda's Petroff and kept the pressure on until it almost seemed Black was about to crack. Give credit to Jan-Krzysztof for hanging tough. He really earned his draw today.

Nepo can be a bit disappointed by not scoring victories in any of the two Whites he had against Rapport and Duda, but those are good players nobody can take for granted. The way Ian is playing, fast and confident, it's very likely that further wins won't be long in coming.

Richard Rapport once again proved hard to beat today, as he thwarted Mamedyarov's attempts to make any headway in the Bogo-Indian. I liked Shakhriyar's idea of sacking the f2-pawn, but in the end, his king was too vulnerable to perpetual check for this to work out.

The Round 7 winners

It was Mamedyarov's countryman and teammate Teimour Radjabov who made the biggest splash today. His win over Vidit was beautiful from start to finish.

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Qa4+ In search of a new weapon against the Ragozin defence, White revisits the 1930's theory. Both 5.Bg5 and 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 are topical. 5...Nc6 It's all about the placement of the black knight ahead of its c-pawn, which according to the classical principles of the Queens Gambit puts Black in disadvantage. Vyacheslav Ragozin made an important contribution by arguing the point. 6.e3 0-0 7.Qc2
Sooner or later White has to return the queen to her proper spot, so it can be done right away. 7.Bd2 is best answered by the immediate dxc4! 8.Bxc4 Bd6 getting ready for e6-e5, which is the main idea in the Ragozin. 9.0-0 e5 10.h3 a6 11.Qc2 exd4 12.exd4 b5! 13.Be2 Nb4 14.Qd1 Bb7 Yermolinsky-D.Zilberstein, San Francisco 2007 7...Re8 Vidit settles on one of the most popular choices. Others include 7...dxc4 which may eventually transpose to the game, 7...Ne7 which I view as admission of guilt, as Black is trying to reposition the "badly placed" knight, and, finally my personal favorite 7...b6 8.Bd2 Bd6 Black's idea is to wait for the white light-squared bishop to come out before taking on c4. I wonder if it's worth the trouble. 9.h3 The point of Black's early rook move is visible after 9.c5 Bf8 where the threat of e6-e5 forces White into 10.Bb5 Bd7 11.Bxc6 Bxc6 12.Ne5 which, incidentally, might not be so bad for him. 9...a6 10.a3 Bd7 11.Be2 dxc4 12.Bxc4 h6
So, Black has won a local battle for a tempo (Bf1-e2xc4), but what are his accomplishments? The Bd7 move might have made sense when the white queen was on a4, but now it looks like a waste of time. In the meantime, thanks to the Re8 move Black must guard the g5-square before moving the e-pawn forward. 13.g4‼ No matter what your engines say I absolutely admire Radjabov's concept. If Black can be punished for his opening transgressions it must be done in a resolute fashion. 13.0-0 e5 14.Rae1 Qe7 15.Nh4 Aronian-Giri, 2017 13...e5 A classic strategy of meeting a flank attack with counterstrike in the centre, but it's wrought with dangers of opening the diagonal for the white bishop. 13...b5 14.Ba2 b4 deserved attention. 14.g5 b5 Here and on the next move Vidit should have tried a a piece sacrifice: 14...Nxd4 15.exd4 exd4+ 16.Ne2 b5 17.Bd3 hxg5 18.Nxg5 c5 15.Ba2 exd4 This will meet with a devastating response.
Still, 15...Nxd4 16.exd4 exd4+ 17.Ne2 Qe7 18.Nfxd4 hxg5 was there for the taking. 16.gxh6‼ Guess who's coming to dinner - White threatens Qg6! dxc3 The only way to deal with it was 16...Bf4 17.0-0-0 Bxh6 17...dxc3 18.exf4 cxd2+ 19.Rxd2 Qe7 20.Qg6 is White's signature attacking line. 18.exd4 Bxd2+ 19.Qxd2 and now counterattack - b4! 17.Bxc3 Be6 Now 17...Bf4 18.Qg6 Bxh6 still saves the king, but at the cost of a piece. 19.Rd1! Not 19.0-0-0 Qe7 20.Bxf6 as Qc5+ 21.Bc3 Be6 turns the tables. 19...Qe7 20.Bxf6 Qxf6 21.Qxf6 gxf6 22.Rxd7 with large advantage to White. 18.Bxe6 Aesthetically White doesn't want to put his rook on a2, but 18.Rg1 Bxa2 19.Rxg7+ Kf8 20.Rxa2 Be5 21.Ng5 actually works for him. 18...Rxe6 19.Rg1
19...Ne8 Clearing out that square was one of the ideas of 17...Be6, but just focusing on the defense isn't going to cut it. Black needed to introduce an element of counterplay: 19...Nh5 20.Bxg7 Bg3‼ albeit White has a choice of good responses to it, the most efficient being 21.Rd1 Qe7 22.Ke2 Re8 23.Bc3 Rxe3+ 24.Kf1 20.Bxg7 Nxg7 21.Rxg7+ Kf8 22.Qh7 From this point on White's attack is irresistable. Qf6 23.Ng5 Rxe3+ 24.Kf1 Nd8 25.Qg8+ Ke7 26.h7 Bg3
27.Ne4! Still, Teimour had to see this one and keep his nerve in the face of time trouble. Rxe4 27...Qf3 28.Rxg3 Rh4 29.Rd1 A final stroke in this truly brilliant game. Black is forced to part with a rook. Rxh7 30.Re3+ Ne6 31.Qxa8 Rh8 32.Qc6 Kf8 33.Rxe6 Qxe6 34.Rd8+ Kg7 35.Qc3+ f6 36.Qxc7+
1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Radjabov,T2757Vidit,S26951–02019D3881st Tata Steel Masters 20197

See the player's extensive post-mortem analysis in our Round 7 report!

Radjabov

I know Teimour hasn't played a whole lot lately and often has been criticized for taking too many draws, but it's been a long journey back from the disastrous London Candidates in 2013, and one cannot blame Teimour for being cautious. As he said himself, risky play doesn't get rewarded in modern chess (ask Kramnik how it's working out for him), and the only way to get attention from the organisers is to gain rating.

Well, Radjabov is now at a respectable 2757, and that's why he's playing in Wijk aan Zee this year. I can only hope that once Teimour is back in Top Ten he will feel free to play every game like he did today.

Another small, but important step forward was made by Sam Shankland. Sam blew two winning endgames at the start of the tournament, and he really needed a win today to (hopefully) regain his confidence. It came at the expense of the young Jorden Van Foreest, who missed a golden opportunity early in the middlegame.

 
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1.c4 e5 2.d3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.a3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e3 a5 7.Be2 Bd6 8.b3 0-0 9.Bb2 f5 10.Nbd2 Qe7 11.Qc2 Bd7 12.g3 Kh8 13.0-0 Rae8 14.Rfe1
A reversed Sicilian. The stage is set, and Jorden takes a first step forward. 14...e4! 15.Nd4 15.Nh4 Be5 15...f4 16.Nxe4 fxe3 17.fxe3 Nxe3 18.Qc1 16.dxe4 The immediate 16.Ng2 runs into a tactic based on an overloaded white queen: exd3 17.Bxd3 Ndb4 16...fxe4 17.Ng2 15...Nxd4 Too bad he stopped halfway through. 15...f4‼
would be consistent and strong. 16.exf4 16.dxe4 fxe3 Nothing to look at here. 16.gxf4 Nxf4 17.exf4 Bxf4 18.Nf1 Bxh2+ 19.Nxh2 Qg5+ 20.Kh1 Rxf2 is curtains. 16.Nxe4 fxe3 17.fxe3 17.f4 appears to be White's best choice, but it doesn't inspire confidence. 17...Nxe3 18.Qc1 Nxd4 19.Bxd4 Nf5 is a critical tempo illustrating the difference between 15.Nd4 and 15.Nh4 16...e3 17.Ne4 exf2+ 18.Kxf2 Bxf4 with a raging attack.
16.Bxd4 exd3 17.Qxd3 Bxa3 18.Bf3! White has good compensation for a pawn. Nb4 18...Nf6 19.Bxb7 Bb4 was a safer option for van Foreest. 19.Qc3 Nc6 20.Bxg7+ Sam takes the game into an endgame, counting on the strength on his kingside pawn formation. 20.Rxa3 Nxd4 21.Rxa5 Nxf3+ 22.Nxf3 c6= 20...Qxg7 21.Qxg7+ Kxg7 22.Rxa3
22...f4 A logical move, getting rid of a weak pawn. 23.Be4 23.Bxc6 fxe3 24.Rxe3 Rxe3 25.fxe3 Bxc6 26.Rxa5 Rd8 has to be OK for Black. 23...fxe3 24.Rxe3 Rf6 25.Ra1 Bf5 26.Rc1 Bxe4 27.Rxe4 Rxe4 28.Nxe4 Rf5 29.Kg2
By all rules this position has to be about equal, but Jorden makes a typical error on his next move. 29...Kf7 Contrary to common wisdom one has to respect the tactical potential of the remaining pieces. Bringing the king into the mix is not always a good idea with rooks and knights still present on the board. 29...Rb5 30.Rc3 Kg6 31.f4 Rb4= 30.Nc5± Nb4?! Time trouble induced simplification only makes White's task easier. 30...b6 31.Ne4 Best was 30...Nd4 31.Nxb7 Nxb3 32.Rxc7+ Kg6 33.Nd6 Rf6 34.Nc4 Ra6 30...Nd8 31.Nxb7 31.Nxb7 Rxf2+ 32.Kxf2 Nd3+ 33.Ke3 Nxc1 34.Nxa5 Ke6 35.g4?
Shankland who earlier in the tournament had missed a knight endgame win against Rapport, almost let it happen again. Whatever happened to good old centralisation? 35.Ke4 35...Na2? This one is pretty hard to comprehend. 35...Ke5 36.h4 c5 36.Kd4 Nb4 37.h4 Nd5 38.Nc4 Nf4 39.Ne3 Ng6 The defender has to keep his knight active: 39...Ne2+ 40.Ke4 c5 41.Nc4 Nc3+ 42.Kf4 h6± 40.Nf5 Kf6 41.Ke4 Nf8 42.Ne3 c6 43.Nc4+- Ng6 44.g5+ Ke7 45.h5 Nf8 46.Ne5 Ne6 47.Nxc6+ Kd6 48.Kf5! Nicely calculated to the end. Ng7+ 49.Kg4 Kxc6 50.h6 Ne8 51.g6 Kd7 52.Kg5
1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Shankland,S2725Van Foreest,J26121–02019A2081st Tata Steel Masters 20197

Williams main teaching method behind this set of two DVDs is to teach you some simple yet effective set ups, without the need to rely on memorising numerous complicated variations.


In the Challengers Group, a big win was scored today by another youngster, a 17-year-old Russian Andrey Esipenko, who downed the top-rated Anton Korobov in an impressive fashion.

 
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1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dxc4 7.e4 g5 8.Bg3 b5 9.Be2 Bb7 10.Ne5 Nbd7 11.0-0 Bg7 12.Nxf7!?
A topical line, following the memorable game Grischuk-Ding Liren, Berlin Candidates 2018 12...Kxf7 13.e5 Nd5 14.Ne4 Qb6 15.Nd6+ Ke7 16.a4
The stem game Topalov-Kramnik, 2008 saw 16.Bg4 but later the same year Karjakin introduced a sharp reply h5 17.Bxh5 Raf8 18.Qg4 Bh6 19.h4 Rhg8 in his game against Shirov. 16...a5 A novelty from Korobov. Knowing his style one wonders whether it was an over-the-board inspiration. Ding chose 16...Raf8 and after 17.Bf3 a6 18.Bxd5 cxd5 19.axb5 axb5 20.Kh1 Bc6 21.f4 erred with gxf4? allowing White a near forced win: 22.Bh4+ Bf6 23.Qg4 which Grischuk uncharacteristically missed. 17.Bf3 Rhf8 Somewhat illogically Black is better off blowing up the entire queenside with 17...bxa4 in search of activity for his pieces. 18.Bxd5! Grischuk's idea is very handy here as well. cxd5 19.axb5
Despite a piece deficit White stands very well. His powerful Nd6 holds everything together, while a natural plan with f2-f4 is coming up next. 19...Rf5!? Korobov is willing to part with anything to interfere with White's plans. 20.Kh1 20.Qh5 Rg8 21.Nxf5+ exf5 22.e6 was very strong as well. 20...Kf8 How about taking it to the max? 20...Raf8 21.Qd2 Rf4 physically stops f2-f4, and thus can be considered. 21.f4 Kg8 22.Nxf5 exf5 23.fxg5 Nf8 24.gxh6 Qxh6 25.Rxf5 Bc8 26.Rf1 Be6 27.Qe1 Qg6 28.Qd2
28...Nd7 White's better off keeping the queens in case of 28...Qd3 29.Qf2 as 29.Qxd3 cxd3 30.Be1 Bg4 can get messy: 31.Rxa5 Rc8 32.Bc3 Bh6 33.Ra6 Be3 34.b6 Rb8 29.Bh4 Bh6 30.Qe1 Qe4 31.Qf2! Same strategy here. White just has too many pawns, and the youngster confidently brings the point home. Kh7 32.Ra3 Rf8 33.Bf6! Nxf6 34.exf6 Bg5 35.b6! Rxf6 36.Rf3 Rxf3 37.Qxf3 Qxd4 38.Qg3 Bf6 39.b7 Be5 40.b8Q Bxg3 41.hxg3
1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Esipenko,A2584Korobov,A26991–02019D4381st Tata Steel Challengers 20197

Korobov

The relative veteran Korobov was given something to think about | Photo: Alina l'Ami

On the strength of this win, Esipenko is now in second place trailing Kovalev, one of the rating favourites, and another Russian — Maksim Chigaev — who wasn't mentioned much in predictions before the start. If Esipenko or Chigaev win this tournament, the organisers shouldn't worry about having a sub-2600 guy in their Masters Group next year. The way these guys are going, by the time 2020 rolls in, both Andrey and Maksim may already be 2700+!


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Yermo is enjoying his fifties. Lives in South Dakota, 600 miles way from the nearest grandmaster. Between his chess work online he plays snooker and spends time outdoors - happy as a clam.

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