Tata Steel Rd.8: New leaders and old in B and C

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.

Results of round eight

When we last reported on our intrepid heroes, Machine McShane was untouchable and performing at such lofty Elo heights that it seemed only a train wreck could stop him, though Efimenko was close behind, waiting to pounce at the first hesitation. In a sense that is what happened in his game against Le Quang, though the leaderboard didn't quite unfold that way.

Le,Quang Liem (2664) - McShane,Luke J (2664) [E94]
73rd Tata Steel GMB Wijk aan Zee NED (7), 22.01.2011

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0 Na6 8.Be3 Qe8 9.dxe5 Ng4 10.Bc1. 10.Bg5 would transpose to one of the main Na6 lines after 10...dxe5 11.h3 followed by ...f6 or ...h6, but Le Quang has other ideas in mind. 10...Nxe5 11.Nd4 Nc5 12.Be3 Nc6 13.Ndb5. Black is obviously not afraid of 13.Nxc6?! bxc6 as this would actually favor him. The c6 pawn is more a strength now than a liability as it covers the valuable b5 and d5 squares and opens up the b-file for the rook. 13...Ne6 14.Nd5 Qd8 15.Qd2 f5?! McShane is having trouble finding a good way to develop his queenside, so tries to free himself by this move. However, as is usual, this opening favors the better developed side: White. 16.exf5 Rxf5 17.Rae1 Rf7 18.f4 Want to open up lines? Then' let's do it! 18...a6 19.Nbc3 Ncd4 20.Bf3 c6 21.Nb4 c5 22.Nbd5 Nxf3+ 23.Rxf3 Nd4 24.Rff1 b5 25.b3 Bf5 26.Bf2 bxc4 27.bxc4 Rb8 28.Kh1 h6 29.h3 Kh7 30.Ne4 Rfb7 31.Qd3 Kh8 32.g4 Be6 33.f5 gxf5 34.gxf5 Nxf5 35.Nxc5 Bxd5+ 36.cxd5 dxc5 37.Qxf5 Rd7? Black had fought back and reestablished balance, but just like that, he is lost.

38.Bh4! Qc8 39.Bf6! Rf7 40.Bxg7+ Rxg7 41.Re6 Kg8

42.Qh5! Black has no defense against the multiple threats, such as Rxh6-h8 mate. 42...Qc7 43.Rxh6 Rh7 44.Rxh7 Qxh7 45.Rg1+ Kh8 46.Qe5+ 1-0. [Click to replay]

This allowed Efimenko to finally catch up with him in round seven with 5.0/7, but also Philippine prodigy Wesley So who beat Navara, his second straight victory over a 2700.

Top Czech player David Navara

In round eight, a turning point took place as McShane drew against Sargissian, while Efimenko lost unexpectedly to French GM Tkachiev, and Wesley So, who was on an incredible three for three streak, made it four in four by beating Spoelman when the latter failed to find a defense near the time control and was left in an untenable position.

Entering the ninth round, Wesley So will be in sole lead with 6.0/8 and an impressive 2852 performance, followed by McShane with 5.5/8. and Wojtaszek, Efimenko, and Sargissian all on 5.0/8.

The "C" group also seemed headed towards a a turning point, after the leader GM Daniele Vocaturo lost a significant game to the group's lowest rated player, Tania Sachdev (2391), allowing Ukrainian genius Nyzhnyk to catch up with him with 4.5/6. Since at least a couple of the Italian's wins seemed extremely fortunate, this would have appeared to signal the end of his reign, and possibly the start of the Nyzhnyk Era. Well, that may all sound very nice and sound, but Daniele showed he had plans of his own, that didn't include fitting into the pat prognostications of chess pundits.

Vocaturo,D (2570) - Pruijssers,R (2484) [C53]
73rd Tata Steel GMC Wijk aan Zee NED (7), 22.01.2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 a6 6.Bb3 0-0 7.h3 Ba7 8.Bg5 d6 9.Nbd2 Ne7 10.Bxf6 gxf6 11.Nh4 Kh8 12.Qf3 Ng6 13.Nf5 Bxf5 14.exf5 Ne7 15.Ne4 Ng8 16.Ng3 Ne7 17.Nh5 Qd7 18.g4 Qc6 19.Qxc6 bxc6 20.Nxf6 Kg7 21.Nh5+ Kh6

The Italian GM finds a very fine move here with 22.Bd1! The threat is simply h4-g5 mate! 22...Nd5 23.h4 f6 24.Rg1 Rg8 25.Kf1 Rab8 26.Bb3! Planning Bxd5 and Nxf6 now as the passed pawns would easily decide it. 26...Rgf8 27.Re1. 27.Bxd5 cxd5 28.Nxf6 is not as strong since now Black gets some counterplay after 28...Rxb2 (Not 28...Rxf6? which would just fit into White's plans. 29.g5+ Kg7 30.gxf6+ Kxf6 31.b3) 29.Rg2 Rxf6 30.g5+ Kg7 31.gxf6+ Kxf6 and here the strong central pawns and activity make winning far harder. 27...Nf4 28.Nxf4 exf4

29.Re7! with the intention of g5+ fxg5 hxg5 Kh5 Rh7 mate. If 29...Rg8 30.g5+! fxg5 31.hxg5+ Rxg5 32.Re6+ Kh5 33.Bd1+ Kh4 34.Rh1# 1-0. [Click to replay]

Nyzhnyk on the other hand also did what was expected of him after winning a fairly wild game, though quite fun to watch.

Nyzhnyk,I (2530) - Siebrecht,S (2439) [A57]
73rd Tata Steel GMC Wijk aan Zee NED (7), 22.01.2011

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.f3 e6 6.e4 exd5 7.e5 Qe7 8.Qe2 Ng8 9.Nc3 Bb7 10.Nh3 c4 11.Nf4 Qc5 12.Nfxd5 Bxd5 13.Be3 Qb4 14.a3 Qa5 15.Bd2 Be6 16.Nd5 Qa4? 16...Qd8 17.Qxc4 Ra7 and if 18.b6 Bxd5 17.Nc7+ Kd8 18.Nxa8 axb5 19.Nb6 Qa6 20.Be3

The opening has been utterly chaotic and tactics rule here. 20...Bb4+! 21.axb4. 21.Kf2? Ba5 and the knight is caught. 21...Qxa1+ 22.Kf2 Nc6. Siebrecht understimates the danger around his king. 22...Ne7 23.Qd2 Nc8 23.Qd2 Nxe5 24.Qd6 Qxb2+ 25.Kg1 Nc6

Let the king hunt begin! 26.Qf8+ Kc7 27.Qc8+ Kd6 28.Bc5+ Ke5 29.Nxd7+ Bxd7 30.Qxd7 Nf6 31.Qxc6 c3 32.Qd6+ Kf5 33.Bd3+ Kg5 34.Be3+ 1-0. [Click to replay]

Kateryna Lahno has been on the heels of the leaders throughout

In the meantime GM Kateryna Lahno, the other female player in the tournament, also won her game, outsmarting Bok in an opposite-colored bishop endgame, and stayed within striking distance just a half-point behind. As to the hero of the sixth round, Sachdev was ground down in a difficult rook endgame against the top-rated Kazhgaleyev (2637).

Round eight was a turning point, just not the one many expected. The first surprise was Ilya Nyzhnyk losing to Ivan Ivanisevic, paving the way for others to surpass him, and it was Vocaturo who did exactly that. He had a hard-fought game against Van der Werf who managed to set up an excellent foundation for an attack, however it was precisely then that he floundered and seemed out of his element. Instead of immediately setting up his artillery for the battle, he began a series of time-consuming maneuvers that allowed Daniele to set up his own threats, which he then executed in grand style.

Van der Werf,M (2439) - Vocaturo,D (2570) [A14]
73rd Tata Steel GMC Wijk aan Zee NED (8), 23.01.2011

1.c4 Nf6 2.g3 e6 3.Bg2 d5 4.Nf3 Be7 5.0-0 0-0 6.b3 b6 7.Bb2 Bb7 8.e3 c5 9.Nc3 dxc4 10.bxc4 Qc8 11.Qe2 Rd8 12.d3 Nc6 13.Rfd1 Na5 14.Rab1 Ne8 15.Ba1 Bf6 16.h4 h6 17.g4 g6 18.g5 hxg5 19.hxg5 Bg7 20.Nh2 Bxg2 21.Kxg2 Qb7+ 22.f3 f5 23.gxf6 Nxf6 24.Rg1 Nc6

25.Nd1 White has managed to create genuine threats against Black's king, but goes about the attack wrong now. The correct plan was 25.Kh1 followed by Rg2 and Rbg1. 25...Nh5 26.Bxg7 Qxg7 27.Kf1 Rf8 28.Nf2 Rf5 29.Ne4 Raf8 30.Qg2

30...Ne5! All that mucking about has cost White his advantage and now it is his king that has become vulnerable. 31.Ke2 Kh8 32.Rgf1 Nc6 33.Kd2 Rd8 34.Rb3 Na5 35.Rc3

35...Nxc4+! 36.Ke2. 36.Rxc4? Qb2+ 37.Rc2 Rxd3+! 38.Ke1 (38.Kxd3 Rd5+ 39.Ke2 Qxc2+ 40.Ke1 Rd1#) 38...Rxe3+ 39.Re2 Nf4 36...Nd6 37.Rc2 Rd5 38.Rg1

Van der Werf completely misses Vocaturo's dastardly intentions. 38...Rxd3!! 39.Kxd3. If 39.Nxd6 comes the no less spectacular 39...Rxe3+! 40.Kf2 (40.Kxe3 Qd4+ 41.Ke2 Nf4+) 40...Rd3 41.Ne4 Qd4+ 42.Kf1 Rd1+ 43.Ke2 Nf4#] 39...Nxe4+ 40.Kc4. 40.Ke2 Nhg3+ 41.Ke1 Qa1+; 40.Kxe4 Qb7+ 41.Ke5 Qd5# 40...Qd7 Qa4 or Qb5 lead to mate. 0-1. [Click to replay]

This placed him once more at the top of the leaderboard with 6.5/8 and a full point ahead of the field once more. That said, another surprise was Sachdev's sconvincing victory over Dutch De Jong. As can be seen in this short interview, she came with modest expectations, merely hoping for a good result, yet now she is positioned for a full GM norm.

 
A short interview of Tania Sachdev prior to the event's start

Sachdev,T (2391) - De Jong,JW (2437) [D37]
73rd Tata Steel GMC Wijk aan Zee NED (8), 23.01.2011

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.Qa4+ c6 6.Qxc4 b5 7.Qd3 Nbd7 8.e4 b4 9.Na4 Qa5 10.b3 c5 11.Be3 Bb7 12.Nd2 cxd4 13.Bxd4 Be7 14.f3 0-0 15.Rc1 Rfc8 16.Nc4 Qd8 17.Be2 Bc6 18.Nab2 Bb5 19.0-0 Nc5 20.Qe3 Qf8 21.Rc2 Rd8 22.Rd1 Rac8

23.Kh1! A sensible prophylactic measure. It avoids tactics based on Rxd4 followed by knight-does-something-nasty and then Bc5, when things could get ugly. 23...a6 24.Rdc1 Nfd7 25.Qf2 Nb7 26.Rd1 Nf6 27.Rcd2 h6 28.Qf1 Nd7 29.e5 Qe8 30.Be3 Nb8

31.Nd6! Although clearly desirable, Tania still had to be sure this wasn't going to simply condemn her pawn to a quick death. As the adage goes, "pawns go forward, but never back."

31...Nxd6 32.exd6 Bf6 33.Bb6 Bxe2 34.Qxe2 Rd7 35.Nc4 Looks like Black will have to give up the exchange to rid himself of that giant thorn on d6. 35...Rb7 36.Qe4 Qd7 37.Bc7 Rbxc7 38.dxc7 Qxc7 39.Nd6 Bc3

40.Nxc8! Well calculated! 40...Bxd2 41.Ne7+ Kf8

Black thinks he will get the piece since the knight is seemingly trapped and the bishop on d2 cannot be captured due to the back rank mate, but Sachdev shows she has calculated this to perfection. 42.Qd4 Bf4. 42...Bc3 doesn't work either. 43.Qd8+ Qxd8 44.Rxd8+ Kxe7 45.Rxb8 43.Nc8 Nc6. 43...Qxc8 44.Qxb4+ Ke8 45.Qxf4 44.Qc5+ Ke8 45.Nd6+ Bxd6 46.Rxd6 1-0. [Click to replay]

Pictures by Jeroen Van der Belt

Current standings after eight 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.

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.

Schedule of Grandmaster Group A

Schedule of Grandmaster Group B

Schedule of Grandmaster Group C

Links Official tournament site "A" tournament games in PGN "B" tournament games in PGN "C" tournament games in PGN 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!