1/17/2011 – The tournament has certainly taken an unexpected turn, with the leaders taking a lackadaisical approach. What is one to make of Carlsen's colossal blunder, dropping a piece to Giri right out of the opening? Nakamura has shown that his arrival in the top ten is no fluke as he beat Shirov in a fine game taking sole lead, while McShane continues his rocket run with 3.0/3. Round three report.
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This event is taking place from January 14th to 30th, 2011 in the traditional
De Moriaan Center in Wijk aan Zee. There are three Grandmaster Groups, with
14 players each and each competitor playing against every other. The rate of
play is 100 minutes for 40 moves, then 50 minutes for 20 moves and finally 15
minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30 seconds/move increment starting
with the first move of the game.Games begin at 13:30h local
time (CET), except for the last round on January 30th, which begins at 12:00h.
There are three rest days, on January 19th, 24th, and 27th.
It is remarkable that reading Magnus Carlsen's blog after his second round game, we are told he was feeling sharp. The truth be told, in spite of the spate of see-saw results, it is not his sharpness that has been questioned, it is his focus. The fashion model parallel is actually a positive one, in case anyone should wish to point accusing fingers, as it has helped promote chess in a singular way with a young and charismatic number one.
Magnus Carlsen... lost in space?
There is certainly no questioning his ability either. No doubt this slew of successes has brought a great deal of distractions into his life, and we don't mean professional ones, but it is perhaps worth reminding him that a big part of his special appeal is being number one: don't lose sight of that dear Magnus. This preamble was regarding his third round game where he just dropped a piece to Giri, ending the game quicker than any could believe. Some even questioned the Playchess broadcast when it appeared.
Carlsen,M (2814) - Giri,A (2686) [D71]
73rd Tata Steel GMA Wijk aan Zee NED (3), 17.01.2011
An excellent reply by Anish that achieves equality. Although the idea of undermining the center is elementary, it leads to a forced tactical line that had to be calculated and evaluated with great precision. 14.a3 cxd5 15.axb4 axb4 16.Rxa8 bxc3 17.bxc3 Nxa8 18.exd5 Nb6 19.Rd1 This is a mistake that drops the d-pawn, but it seems it gets worse as Carlsen seems to have prepared the following blunder. 19...e4 20.Ng5??
Oh boy. The number one blunders away the piece in a move even players rated 1000 elo less would have no trouble seeing. 20...e3! Adios los ninos.... 21.Qb2 Qxg5 22.Bxe3 Qg4 0-1.
[Click to replay]
The next player to walk away with the full point was Ponomariov, who played a French defense against Smeets and took advantage of a tactical error in the opening phase to secure a serious advantage that brought him the win. That said, the biggest win was that by American Nakamura, who just joined the world's top ten, and is showing that it was not the result of happy but temporary form. His victory over Shirov demonstrated his usual tactical prowess, combined with a patience and willingness to squeeze for the time it took to get his due.
Hikaru Nakamura, sole leader with 2.5/3
Nakamura,Hi (2751) - Shirov,A (2722) [C78]
73rd Tata Steel GMA Wijk aan Zee NED (3), 17.01.2011
19.Qd2! Not surprisingly, Nakamura will go head to head with Shirov in tactics, and despite the latter's legendary imagination, it is not clear he would get the worst of it. 19.gxf3? would be a serious mistake, since 19...Qxh3 wins back the piece with interest. 20.fxe4 (Trying to hold on to it with 20.Bxf6? loses the house after 20...exf3) 20...Qg3+ 21.Kh1 Qxg5 and Black is winning. 19...e3 20.Bxe3 Bxe3 21.fxe3 Be4 22.Rxf6 Bxc2 23.Rf4 Bg6 24.Nc4 Ra8 25.Na5 Rfe8 26.Ra3 Be4 27.c4 g5 28.Rf1 g4 29.h4 Qe7 30.Qf2 Bg6 31.b4 h5 32.Rc3 Qe5 33.Rb3 Qe4 34.Rc3 Qe5 35.Rfc1 Be4 36.Qf4 g3 37.Qxe5 Rxe5 38.Ra3 Kg7 39.Rf1 Ree8 40.Rfa1 Re5 41.Nb3 Rxa3 42.Rxa3 Bxd5!
43.Nd2! 43.cxd5 is no good because after 43...Rxe3 44.Kf1 White is in a complete bind and can only get out by giving back the piece. The king is trapped on f1, and the knight is permanently pinned, leaving the black king to do as he pleases. 43...Be6 44.e4 Bg4 45.Rxg3
45...f5. This brings up the question: if Shirov had just sat back and played passively, would he have been able to hold? Instead, playing 45...Re8 as a wait-and-see continuation, might go: 46.Ra3 Re7 47.Ra5 and it seems as if White will make serious inroads with the rook and king anyhow. 46.Re3 Re8 47.Kf2 Ra8 48.exf5 Ra2 49.Rd3 Bxf5 50.Rd5 Be6 This allowed Nakamura to box in the king on h6 to protect the h5-pawn. Perhpas here was the chance for Shirov to try and keep his options open with 50...Bg4 51.Ke3 Ra3+ 52.Kf4 Kf7 53.b5 Ra4 and White's task would be far more difficult. 51.Rg5+ Kh6 52.Ke3 Ra3+ 53.Kd4 Ra1 54.g3 Rd1 55.Kc3 Rg1 56.b5 Rc1+ 57.Kd3 Bf7
His reward for this fine victory was the sole leadership in the "A" group. In the "B" group, Englishman McShane continued his fantastic run, after benefitting from a crucial mistake by Tkachiev in what was probably a draw middlegame. This brought him to 3.0/3 and a full point ahead of the pack.
Current standings after three rounds
Grandmaster "A" tournament
Grandmaster "B" tournament
Grandmaster "C" tournament
Watching the games
It goes without saying that the options to watch the games live are wide and varied. You can watch them at no cost on Playchess, enjoying the software's new options to display multiple boards at the same time, and if you are a Premium member, live grandmaster commentary will be provided on Playchess for every round by GM Daniel King, author of the best-selling Power Play series, and GM Lubomir Ftacnik.
A sample of the first round commentary by GM Daniel King, commenting and
analyzing the moves of the game
as well as suggestions by the spectators in the chat.
The variations and arrows can be saved for later replay by
all who are watching.
If you miss the live games, you can always watch the commentary after the fact, or get an abridged tale via the Daily Roundup show also hosted on Playchess. Again, if you miss the show, it remains available on the server at your disposal.
The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the
chess server Playchess.com.
If you are not a member you can download the free PGN reader ChessBase
Light, which gives you immediate access. You can also use the program
to read, replay and analyse PGN games. New and enhanced: CB Light 2009!
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