1/21/2016 – The fifth round of the Masters was a highly combative one, with gritty chess on all boards. Ding Liren defeated Sergey Karjakin to join Fabiano Caruana in the lead after the latter drew Hou Yifan. Mamedyarov also scored versus Adams, but the cliffhanger of the day was Magnus Carlsen’s gutsy win with black over Van Wely, sacrificing a piece. Illustrated report with GM analysis.
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The 78th Tata Steel Chess Tournament takes place from January 15 to 31, 2016, in the coastal village of Wijk aan Zee, North Holland. It is one of the most prestigious events in the international chess calendar. The "Wimbledon of Chess" attracts the very best chess grandmasters in the world, along with thousands of amateur players, live event visitors and online visitors from around the world. The tournament has two main player groups, each with 14 players. They are known as the Tata Steel Masters and the Tata Steel Challengers. You will find the schedule, starting times, pairings and results at the bottom of the page.
Round five Masters report
Photos by Joachim Schulze
Round 5 - Thursday the 21st
Ding, L. - Karjakin, S.
1-0
Navara, D. - So, W.
½-½
Caruana, F. - Hou, Y.
½-½
Wei, Y. - Giri, A.
½-½
Mamedyarov, S. - Adams, M.
1-0
Van Wely, L. - Carlsen, M.
0-1
Tomashevsky, E. - Eljanov, P.
½-½
The fifth round took place in Amsterdam in the NEMO museum. The players were taken by bus...
...or by car.
Off to the venue
Though no one mentioned it to him in the post-game interview, the World Champion did put himself directly in the line of fire, and could have lost. Nevertheless, that is the nature of sport. After four draws, Magnus Carlsen was anxious to break the rhythm and did so on many levels. It started with his choice of the Gruenfeld with black, not exactly his usual cup of tea. This also caught his opponent Loek Van Wely off-guard who took five minutes to gather his senses and move.
Some post-game impressions by Magnus Carlsen
When the Dutch player’s time had almost entirely vanished after 20 odd moves, Carlsen did something very unusual: he sacrificed a piece with compensation, to destabilize the position and try to exploit White’s time woes. This was speculated during the game, and Magnus confirmed it had played a crucial role in his decision making process. “After 25.Ke1! I missed that … Rg4 26. Ne4 Qe5 27. Rc5! So here I had to start hustling a bit.” Adding “I just felt that the clock was a huge part of the game so I should try to use it to my advantage.”
As seen on the live video, Loek Van Wely was down to seconds on his clock for the last 15 moves
This was not without risk as Van Wely missed an outright opportunity to win the game, but in the end, the time was too little to find all the right moves, and his position collapsed under the pressure. This brought Carlsen to 3.0/5 and a plus one score, giving him room to chase down the gold.
Loek Van Wely vs Magnus Carlsen
[Event "78th Tata Steel Chess Masters"] [Site "Amsterdam"] [Date "2016.01.21"] [Round "5"] [White "Van Wely, Loek"] [Black "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D83"] [WhiteElo "2640"] [BlackElo "2844"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2016.??.??"] [EventCountry "NED"] [TimeControl "40/6000+30:20/3000+30:900+30"] 1. d4 {(0s)} Nf6 {(0s)} 2. c4 {(0s)} g6 {(0s)} 3. Nc3 {(10s)} d5 {(0s) A Gruenfeld! Who would have thought it? Van Wely clearly hadn't as he sunk into thought for a full five minutes.} 4. Bf4 {(296s)} Bg7 {(0s)} 5. e3 {(99s)} O-O {(273s)} 6. Rc1 {(28s)} Be6 {(290s)} 7. cxd5 {(139s)} Nxd5 {(7s)} 8. Nxd5 {(7s) } Bxd5 {(7s)} 9. Bxc7 {(206s)} Qd7 {(88s)} 10. Bg3 {(175s)} Bxa2 {(780s)} 11. Ne2 {(748s)} ({A number of spectators were concerned that after} 11. b3 { the bishop would be caught. However Carlsen pointed out that} Qd5 {would solve this, and the risk of an early loss would evaporate.}) 11... Bd5 {(328s)} 12. Nc3 {(1960s)} Bc6 {[#] (195s)} 13. h4 $5 {(53s) A move that caught Carlsen by surprise, but that he did not condemn after the game.} Rd8 {(785s)} 14. Qb3 { (655s)} Qf5 {(550s)} 15. h5 {(199s)} e6 {(446s)} 16. hxg6 {(393s)} hxg6 {(5s)} 17. Qd1 $2 {(238s) Missing a chance.} (17. Nb5 {is the engine's suggestion, with} Nd7 18. Bc7 Rf8 19. Nd6 Qg5 20. Nxb7 Bxg2 21. Rg1 Qd5 22. Qxd5 Bxd5 23. Nd6 {and a nice advantage to work with.}) 17... Nd7 {(149s)} 18. Bd3 {(155s)} Qa5 {(148 s)} 19. Kf1 {(83s)} Nf6 {(199s)} 20. Be5 {(71s)} Rac8 {(33s)} 21. Qd2 {(493s)} Ng4 {(355s)} 22. Bxg7 {(61s)} Kxg7 {(2s)} 23. f3 {[#] (86s) At this point, Loek Van Wely was incredibly short of time with nearly 20 moves to go. Choosing to exploit this, Magnus Carlsen does not try to race his opponent, but instead give him the biggest difficulties imaginable.} Qg5 $5 {(276s)} 24. fxg4 {(94s)} Rxd4 {(2s)} 25. Ke1 {(224s)} (25. exd4 $4 Qxd2) 25... Qe5 {(191s)} 26. Ne2 {(93s)} Rxg4 {(2s)} 27. e4 {(97s)} Rxg2 {(65s) This queen infiltrtion could easily have brought the World No. 1 a lot of grief.} 28. Qh6+ {(131s)} Kf6 {[#] (1s) Obviously, it is exceptionally hard to find the right moves when one has only 30 seconds left on the clock.} 29. Rc3 $2 {(38s)} (29. Qh4+ { would have won on the spot.} g5 (29... Qg5 30. e5+ Kxe5 (30... Kg7 31. Qh7+ Kf8 32. Qh8+ Ke7 33. Qxc8) 31. Qd4#) 30. Qh3 {and the rook is trapped.}) 29... Rd8 {(71s)} 30. Qh3 {(29s)} Qg5 {(90s)} 31. Rf1+ {(9s)} Kg7 {(45s)} 32. Qf3 {(29s)} Rd7 {(138s)} 33. Rf2 {(21s)} Rg4 {(28s)} 34. Nf4 $2 {(27s)} Qh4 {(86s)} 35. Be2 $4 {(61s)} Rg1+ {(62s)} 36. Bf1 {(3s)} Kg8 {(503s)} 37. Ne2 {(58s)} Rxf1+ { (17s)} 38. Kxf1 {(10s)} Rd1+ {(5s)} 39. Kg2 {( 12s)} Bxe4 {(2s)} 0-1
Daniel King analyzes
Daniel King analyzes the game between Loek Van Wely and Magnus Carlsen
He wasn’t alone in winning as Mamedyarov fought long and hard against Adams in a
game that could easily have gone either way, but eventually prevailed.
The second big win of the day was Ding Liren’s victory over Sergey Karjakin. Both players showed great verve as they pushed for uncompromising choices, but the Chinese player had the last word as he emerged with a plus in a complicated endgame, which he managed to convert. This brought him to 3.5/5 and a share of first with Fabiano Caruana.
Ding Liren and Sergey Karjakin get ready to start their game
David Navara and Wesley So drew their game in 46 moves
Wei Yi drew Anish Giri after an interesting Najdorf in which the Chinese player opted for
the g3 variation. It is not clear whether he chose this to avoid eventual preparation, or
because he feels the g3 line was his best practical choice.
Video highlights of round five
Replay round five Masters games (with times per moves)
The two main tournaments are round robins. Both groups start on the 16th of January 2016 in Wijk aan Zee. The Masters move to Amsterdam on January 21, and to Utrecht on January 27. All rounds in Wijk aan Zee begin at 1.30 p.m., except for the last round on 31 January 2016, which begins at 12.00 p.m. Round five will take place in the Science Center NEMO in Amsterdam, and round ten in the Spoorwegmuseum in Utrecht. Both these external rounds start at 2.00 p.m.
Round
Date
English commentary
German commentary
Free
Wednesday, 20 Jan
5
Thursday, 21 Jan
GM Daniel King
GM Sebastian Siebrecht
6
Friday, 22 Jan
GM Yannick Pelletier
GM Sebastian Siebrecht
7
Saturday, 23 Jan
GM Daniel King
GM Klaus Bischoff
8
Sunday, 24 Jan
GM Yannick Pelletier
GM Klaus Bischoff
Free
Monday, 25 Jan
9
Tuesday, 26 Jan
GM Daniel King
GM Klaus Bischoff
10
Wednesday, 27 Jan
GM Yannick Pelletier
GM Sebastian Siebrecht
Free
Thursday, 28 Jan
11
Friday, 29 Jan
GM Adrian Mikhalchishin
GM Sebastian Siebrecht
12
Saturday, 30 Jan
GM Karsten Müller
GM Klaus Bischoff
13
Sunday, 31 Jan
GM Karsten Müller
GM Klaus Bischoff
Schedule and results of Tata Steel Masters 2016
Round 1 - Saturday the 16th
Hou, Y. - Karjakin, S.
½-½
So, W. - Giri, A.
1-0
Ding, L. - Adams, M.
1-0
Navara, D. - Carlsen, M.
½-½
Caruana, F. - Eljanov, P.
1-0
Wei, Y. - Tomashevsky, E.
½-½
Mamedyarov, S. - Van Wely, L.
½-½
Round 2 - Sunday the 17th
Karjakin, S. - Van Wely, L.
½-½
Tomashevsky, E. - Mamedyarov, S.
½-½
Eljanov, P. - Wei, Y.
½-½
Carlsen, M. - Caruana, F.
½-½
Adams, M. - Navara, D.
½-½
Giri, A. - Ding, L.
½-½
Hou, Y. - So, W.
½-½
Round 3 - Monday the 18th
So, W. - Karjakin, S.
½-½
Ding, L. - Hou, Y.
½-½
Navara, D. - Giri, A.
½-½
Caruana, F. - Adams, M.
1-0
Wei, Y. - Carlsen, M.
½-½
Mamedyarov, S. - Eljanov, P.
0-1
Van Wely, L. - Tomashevsky, E.
½-½
Round 4 - Tuesday the 19th
Karjakin, S. - Tomashevsky, E.
1-0
Eljanov, P. - Van Wely, L.
1-0
Carlsen, M. - Mamedyarov, S.
½-½
Adams, M. - Wei, Y.
½-½
Giri, A. - Caruana, F.
½-½
Hou, Y. - Navara, D.
1-0
So, W. - Ding, L.
½-½
Round 5 - Thursday the 21st
Ding, L. - Karjakin, S.
1-0
Navara, D. - So, W.
½-½
Caruana, F. - Hou, Y.
½-½
Wei, Y. - Giri, A.
½-½
Mamedyarov, S. - Adams, M.
1-0
Van Wely, L. - Carlsen, M.
0-1
Tomashevsky, E. - Eljanov, P.
½-½
Round 6 - Friday the 22nd
Karjakin, S. - Eljanov, P.
Carlsen, M. - Tomashevsky, E.
Adams, M. - Van Wely, L.
Giri, A. - Mamedyarov, S.
Hou, Y. - Wei, Y.
So, W. - Caruana, F.
Ding, L. - Navara, D.
Round 7 - Saturday the 23rd
Navara, D. - Karjakin, S.
Caruana, F. - Ding, L.
Wei, Y. - So, W.
Mamedyarov, S. - Hou, Y.
Van Wely, L. - Giri, A.
Tomashevsky, E. - Adams, M.
Eljanov, P. - Carlsen, M.
Round 8 - Sunday the 24th
Karjakin, S. - Carlsen, M.
Adams, M. - Eljanov, P.
Giri, A. - Tomashevsky, E.
Hou, Y. - Van Wely, L.
So, W. - Mamedyarov, S.
Ding, L. - Wei, Y.
Navara, D. - Caruana, F.
Round 9 - Tuesday the 26th
Caruana, F. - Karjakin, S.
Wei, Y. - Navara, D.
Mamedyarov, S. - Ding, L.
Van Wely, L. - So, W.
Tomashevsky, E. - Hou, Y.
Eljanov, P. - Giri, A.
Carlsen, M. - Adams, M.
Round 10 - Wednesday the 27th
Karjakin, S. - Adams, M.
Giri, A. - Carlsen, M.
Hou, Y. - Eljanov, P.
So, W. - Tomashevsky, E.
Ding, L. - Van Wely, L.
Navara, D. - Mamedyarov, S.
Caruana, F. - Wei, Y.
Round 11 - Friday the 29th
Wei, Y. - Karjakin, S.
Mamedyarov, S. - Caruana, F.
Van Wely, L. - Navara, D.
Tomashevsky, E. - Ding, L.
Eljanov, P. - So, W.
Carlsen, M. - Hou, Y.
Adams, M. - Giri, A.
Round 12 - Saturday the 30th
Karjakin, S. - Giri, A.
Hou, Y. - Adams, M.
So, W. - Carlsen, M.
Ding, L. - Eljanov, P.
Navara, D. - Tomashevsky, E.
Caruana, F. - Van Wely, L.
Wei, Y. - Mamedyarov, S.
Round 13 - Sunday the 31st
Mamedyarov, S. - Karjakin, S.
Van Wely, L. - Wei, Y.
Tomashevsky, E. - Caruana, F.
Eljanov, P. - Navara, D.
Carlsen, M. - Ding, L.
Adams, M. - So, W.
Giri, A. - Hou, Y.
Schedule and results of Tata Steel Challengers 2016
The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.
Albert SilverBorn in the US, he grew up in Paris, France, where he completed his Baccalaureat, and after college moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He had a peak rating of 2240 FIDE, and was a key designer of Chess Assistant 6. In 2010 he joined the ChessBase family as an editor and writer at ChessBase News. He is also a passionate photographer with work appearing in numerous publications, and the content creator of the YouTube channel, Chess & Tech.
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