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The Tata Steel Chess Tournament has two main tournaments. They are played according to the 'round robin' system, whereby each competitor plays in turn against every other during the tournament. The Tata Steel Masters has 14 participants and the Tata Steel Challengers has 14 participants. Both groups start on January 10th 2015 and the last round is on January 25th. All rounds in Wijk aan Zee begin at 13.30 hours, except for the last round on January 25th, which begins at 12.00 hours. The time control is 100 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 50 minutes for 20 moves, then 15 minutes for the remaining moves with 30 seconds cumulative increment for each move starting from the first move.
Admission to the playing hall in Wijk aan Zee, Rotterdam and The Hague is free of charge
| Round 9 - Tuesday Jan. 20 | |
| Saric, I. - Van Wely, L. |
½-½
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| Giri, A. - Ding, L. |
1-0
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| So, W. - Vachier-Lagrave |
½-½
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| Wojtaszek, R. - Ivanchuk, V. |
½-½
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| Carlsen, M. - Radjabov, T. |
1-0
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| Aronian, L. - Jobava, B. |
1-0
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| Caruana, F. - Hou, Y. |
½-½
|
Daniel King shows the game Carlsen vs Radjabov
Kaja Marie Snare has good news for her audience back in Norway
Aronian, Levon 1-0 Jobava, Baadur
Jobava played rather creatively, but his kingside was far too weak. Aronian walked all of his pieces over to that side of the board and smashed Jobava's position:
Levon Aronian with a much needed win
[Event "77th Tata Steel GpA"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2015.01.20"] [Round "9"] [White "Aronian, L."] [Black "Jobava, Ba"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A56"] [WhiteElo "2797"] [BlackElo "2727"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "2015.01.09"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 g6 {Even though this move has been played thousands of times, it is irregular. It is safr for Black, if he is trying to play the Benoni, to go for the 3...e6 move order.} 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. e4 O-O 6. Bd3 e6 7. h3 exd5 8. exd5 {This is what is uncomfortable. It is hard to create counterplay without a target on e4.} (8. cxd5 Re8 {might allow Black to save a tempo on d6 and immediately pressure e4.}) 8... a6 9. a4 a5 $6 {Rather dubious. These plans of locking down the queenside are not comfortable for Black. He gets a knight to b4, but as we will see this doesn't necessarily translate into counterplay.} 10. Nge2 Na6 11. Bg5 Nb4 12. Bb1 b6 13. O-O Ba6 14. Nb5 h6 15. Bc1 {Black's position is already difficult. He has no space, which means it is difficult for his queenside to connect with his kingside.} Bxb5 16. axb5 Ne8 17. Ra3 {Meanwhile, White easily swings over to one side or another as he pleases.} Nd6 18. Rg3 Nxc4 {Aronian was surprised that Jobava took the pawn, but it seems uncomfortable to do anything else. Suffering for free is not fun! This, however, is refuted swiftly.} 19. Nf4 $1 Ne5 20. Nh5 $1 {White's attack simply unfolds itself. The knight is very clearly taboo, but losing the g7 bishop is unacceptable as well.} Qh4 (20... gxh5 21. Qxh5 $1 $18 (21. Bxh6 {is strong also.})) 21. Nxg7 Kxg7 22. Re1 {And now the other rook swings into action. Notice how useless Black's knight on b4 is.} d6 23. Re4 Qd8 (23... Qf6 {kept Jobava alive only a little longer. White has a way to crash through:} 24. f4 Nd7 25. f5 g5 26. h4 $18) 24. Qh5 {Black simply can't keep the kingside together. For example:} (24. Qh5 Rh8 25. Rxe5 dxe5 26. Bxg6 {is completely crushing.}) 1-0
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw ½-½ Ivanchuk, Vassily
Ivanchuk put his own spin in a variation that is becoming increasingly popular. He equalized and the position became locked at some point, with both players finding difficulties improving their position. Ivanchuk broke the center with ...f6, but it seemed to give White some play. The final position seemed a little more pleasant for White, maybe considerably more pleasant.
Ivanchuk has let off the gas in the last few rounds, but he is still in the top positions (behind Carlsen)
So, Wesley ½-½ Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime
A pawn sacrifice in a Grunfeld (does Black always sacrifice a pawn in the Grunfeld? It increasingly looks like it) left MVL down a pawn but with plenty of compensation. So blundered with the move 28.Re7, missing his opponent's reply. However in time pressure MVL was not able to use his passed a-pawn and powerful bishop, and the game fizzled into a draw.
MVL's arsenal. He likes to skip lunch, so chocolate gives him energy during the game.
Carlsen, Magnus 1-0 Radjabov, Teimour
Carlsen convincingly outplayed Radjabov:
This duel was one sided in favor of Norway
[Event "77th Tata Steel Chess Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee"] [Date "2015.01.20"] [Round "9"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "2862"] [BlackElo "2734"] [Annotator "Robot 9"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2015.??.??"] [EventCountry "NED"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 {"Yay, it's a Berlin!" Said a mental patient.} 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O {The other main option is 5. c3, which is less flexible but prevents the line with 5.... Nd4.5. Nbd2!? is also interesting, and was used successfully this tournament by MVL against Giri.} d6 6. Nbd2 {This is a typical Carlsen move- One that eschews the main lines, but also cannot be bad.} (6. Re1 {Carlsen used this move to beat Anand in the 2nd game of their 2014 match.} O-O 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8. h3 Re8 9. Nbd2 Nd7 10. Nc4 Bb6 11. a4 a5 12. Nxb6 cxb6 13. d4 Qc7 14. Ra3 Nf8 15. dxe5 dxe5 16. Nh4 Rd8 17. Qh5 f6 18. Nf5 Be6 19. Rg3 Ng6 20. h4 Bxf5 21. exf5 Nf4 22. Bxf4 exf4 23. Rc3 c5 24. Re6 Rab8 25. Rc4 Qd7 26. Kh2 Rf8 27. Rce4 Rb7 28. Qe2 b5 29. b3 bxa4 30. bxa4 Rb4 31. Re7 Qd6 32. Qf3 Rxe4 33. Qxe4 f3+ 34. g3 h5 35. Qb7 {1-0 (35) Carlsen,M (2863) -Anand,V (2792) Sochi 2014}) 6... O-O 7. Bxc6 {Another typical decision. This structure is harder to deal with for Black with the bishop on c5 than on e7.} bxc6 8. h3 h6 9. Re1 Re8 10. Nf1 a5 {This is a typical move for Black, although there was a more double-edged option.} (10... d5 $5 11. exd5 Qxd5 { occurred in Adams-Kramnik, after which Black got good activity to compensate for his poor structure.} 12. Be3 Bf8 13. Bd2 e4 14. dxe4 Nxe4 15. Ng3 Bb7 16. Bf4 Nd6 17. b3 c5 18. Qxd5 Bxd5 19. c4 Bxf3 20. gxf3 a5 21. Rxe8 Nxe8 22. a4 Rb8 23. Re1 Nd6 24. Re3 g5 25. Be5 Kh7 26. Rd3 Kg6 27. Ne4 Ne8 28. Kg2 f6 29. Bb2 f5 30. Ng3 Bd6 31. Kf1 h5 32. Kg2 h4 33. Nf1 Nf6 34. Bxf6 Kxf6 35. Ne3 Ke6 36. Nd5 f4 37. Kf1 Be5 38. Ke2 c6 39. Nc3 Rxb3 40. Ne4 Rb4 41. Nxc5+ Kf5 42. Rd8 Rxc4 43. Rf8+ Kg6 44. Ne4 Rxa4 45. Rg8+ Bg7 46. Rc8 Rc4 47. Kd3 Rc1 48. Kd2 Rc4 49. Kd3 Rc1 50. Kd2 Bb2 51. Ra8 Ra1 52. Ra6 a4 53. Rxc6+ Kh5 54. Nd6 Bf6 55. Nf5 Kg6 56. Nd6 Be5 57. Nc4+ Bf6 58. Nd6 Ra2+ 59. Kc1 Be5 60. Nc4+ Bf6 61. Nd6 Bh8 62. Ra6 a3 63. Kd1 Bb2 64. Kc2 Bf6+ 65. Kd1 Rxf2 66. Rxa3 Rh2 67. Ra6 Rxh3 68. Ne4 Rxf3 69. Rxf6+ Kh5 70. Rf5 Rd3+ 71. Kc2 Rg3 72. Rf8 h3 73. Rh8+ Kg4 74. Nf2+ Kf3 75. Nxh3 Kg2 {0-1 (75) Adams,M (2727)-Kramnik, V (2801) Paris/ St Petersburg 2013 CBM 154 [Szabo,Kr]}) 11. Ng3 Rb8 12. b3 Bb4 {I'm not sure how this helps Black.} (12... a4 {looks more typical. Trading off the a-pawn will be useful in the long term, since it often becomes a weakness later in the game.}) 13. Bd2 Ra8 14. c3 Bc5 15. d4 {Allowing d4 isn't unusual, but I don't like that it was done with tempo.} Bb6 (15... exd4 16. cxd4 Bb6 {would be my preference for Black. The c6 pawn is weak, but also easy to defend. Meanwhile, Black will always have good counterplay against White's center, as well as an open position for the bishops. In the game, activity was much harder to come by.}) 16. dxe5 dxe5 17. c4 $1 {White ensures that a4 can always be met with b4.} (17. Qe2 a4 $1 18. b4 c5 $132) 17... Nh7 (17... a4 {still looks like a possible way to complicate the game.} 18. b4 (18. Qc2 Bd4 19. Nxd4 exd4 {isn't clear.}) (18. Qe2 $6 Bd4 19. Nxd4 exd4 {and White's queen is unfortunately placed.}) 18... c5 19. b5 c6 $1 {and Black creates some counterplay.}) 18. Qe2 Nf8 {Radjabov understandably wants to maneuver the knight to where it can control d4.} 19. Be3 c5 {It looks strange to turn the dark-squared bishop into a Christmas decoration, but this type of move isn't atypical in such a position. In this particular case, however, I think Black had better options.} (19... Bd4 {is an interesting possibility, though it certainly carries some risk.} 20. Bxd4 exd4 21. c5 {Otherwise Black plays c5, with a great position.} Ne6 22. Rad1 Ba6 23. Qb2 d3 24. Nf5 f6 {and while I wouldn't call Black's position safe, I don't think matters are so clear.}) ( 19... Bxe3 {tends to be a concession for Black, but in this case I think it might be best.} 20. Qxe3 Qe7 {and my first impression was that Black will just suffer, but a4 is coming next and it isn't so simple for White to exploit the weaknesses on the queenside with the knights on f3 and g3.}) 20. Rad1 Qf6 21. Nh5 (21. a4 {looks even stronger, preventing a4 counterplay forever. It gives Black a move to play} Ne6 {, but now} 22. Nh5 Qe7 23. Nxe5 Nd4 24. Bxd4 cxd4 25. Nd3 {and I highly doubt Black will get enough comp here.}) 21... Qe7 22. Nh2 {Carlsen opts to play purely for the initiative.} (22. a4 $5) 22... Kh7 23. Qf3 f6 {This move has a panicky look to it, but it may not be so bad if followed up correctly.} (23... a4 {looks perfectly playable to me, and if White has nothing concrete I definitely like it best.} 24. Ng4 Bxg4 25. hxg4 ( 25. Qxg4 g6 26. Ng3 Ne6 {and Black is in no danger at all.}) 25... axb3 26. axb3 Ba5 $132) 24. Ng4 Bxg4 25. Qxg4 Red8 {This is the first serious error, after which White firmly has control of the game.} (25... g6 {Black has to try to plug up the light squares ASAP.} 26. Ng3 a4 27. Qh4 Qg7 {and while I wouldn't be overjoyed as Black here, it isn't clear how White can break through right away.}) 26. Qf5+ Kh8 27. f4 $1 {Carlsen doesn't let such opportunities go to waste. He opens the position while the b6 bishop waits for its parole.} Rxd1 (27... a4 {Yes, I have a one track mind, but Black needs to free that bad boy.}) 28. Rxd1 exf4 29. Bxf4 Qe6 {As often happens, even the very best start to crack in a difficult position.} (29... a4 30. e5 $1 {is bad news.}) (29... Re8 {forces White to find} 30. Rd3 $1 Qxe4 (30... a4 31. Bxh6 gxh6 32. Rg3 {with mate to follow.}) 31. Qxe4 Rxe4 32. Rd8 Kg8 33. Bxh6 Re7 34. Nxg7 Rxg7 35. Bxg7 Kxg7 36. g4 {and Black's chances of holding this are small, but not impossible.}) 30. Rd3 Re8 {This allows a sweet finish, but the position was already beyond hope.} 31. Nxg7 $1 Kxg7 32. Qh5 {White sacs a piece for a monster attack. It hardly counts as a sac, however, with that window decoration on b6.} Nh7 33. Bxh6+ Kh8 34. Qg6 Qg8 35. Bg7+ Qxg7 36. Qxe8+ Qf8 37. Qe6 Qh6 38. e5 Qc1+ 39. Kh2 Qf4+ 40. Rg3 {Carlsen got the type of position he likes, and what followed was quite typical. He huffed and he puffed, and once the house started to give way his precision was lethal.} 1-0
Caruana, Fabiano ½-½ Hou Yifan
What an exciting game! Both in time pressure and after the time control was reached. Hou Yifan missed a brilliant chance against Caruana:
[Event "77th Tata Steel GpA"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2015.01.20"] [Round "9"] [White "Caruana, F."] [Black "Hou Yifan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2820"] [BlackElo "2673"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "6k1/5pp1/8/4pq1p/6nP/PP2B1P1/2r1QP2/5RK1 w - - 0 33"] [PlyCount "34"] [EventDate "2015.01.09"] 33. Qd1 {Black has sacrificed her queenside pawns for an initiative on the queenside. White is tied up, but the pawns are rolling and Black doesn't have a clear threat yet.} Rb2 (33... Nxe3 34. fxe3 Qe4 35. Qf3 Qxf3 36. Rxf3 Rc3 $11 ) 34. Bc5 e4 35. Bd4 Ra2 (35... e3 {again leads to a draw:} 36. fxe3 $1 Rf2 $1 37. a4 Rxf1+ 38. Qxf1 Qc2 39. Qf3 {and Black has nothing more than a perpetual with Qh2+ and moving the queen somewhre on the second rank, threatening Nh2+}) 36. a4 Kh7 {A move that reminds me of Kasparov: always improving the king before looking for final blows.} 37. b4 Ra3 {An interesting idea.} (37... Qd5 38. Bc3 Qf5 $11) 38. a5 $2 (38. Qc2 Qf3 39. a5 Rd3 40. Bb6 Ne5 $13) 38... Rf3 $2 (38... Rd3 $1 {This move is a winner!} 39. Qa1 Qf3 {threatening e3.} 40. Qb2 $8 g5 $1 {Black's attack on the kingside is too fast and too strong. White collapses.} 41. Bh8 (41. hxg5 h4 42. gxh4 Qf4 $1 $19) (41. a6 gxh4 42. a7 h3 { is too slow for White.}) 41... f6 $19) 39. Qb1 Rd3 40. Qb2 Qd5 41. Bc5 $6 (41. Be3 {is worse for White, but survivable.}) 41... Ne5 (41... f5 $1 {Black threatens e3.} 42. a6 e3 43. fxe3 Rd2 {and there is no check on b1.}) (41... e3 42. fxe3 Rd2 43. Qb1+ Kg8 44. e4 Qc4 45. Rd1 $11) 42. Be3 (42. a6 Nf3+ 43. Kh1 e3 $1 $19) 42... Nf3+ (42... f5 $1 {This move first! It would have prevented the counterplay in the game.} 43. Rc1 f4 44. Bxf4 Nf3+ 45. Kf1 (45. Kg2 e3 $19 46. Bxe3 Nxh4+ 47. Kh3 Qg2+ 48. Kxh4 Kg6 $3 {And White is helpless against Qh2 mate. A very difficult thing to see, for sure.}) 45... Rd1+ 46. Kg2 Ne1+ 47. Kh2 e3 $1 48. Qb1+ Kg8 49. Rc8+ Kf7 50. Rc7+ Ke8 $1 51. Qg6+ Kd8 $19) 43. Kg2 f5 44. Rc1 $1 {The only move. White's counterplay hits right on time to save him.} f4 45. Rc7 Nxh4+ $1 {Black is also right on time to force a draw.} 46. gxh4 (46. Kh2 fxg3+ 47. fxg3 Nf5 $19) 46... f3+ 47. Kg3 Qd6+ 48. Bf4 Qg6+ 49. Bg5 Qd6+ {A fascinating draw.} 1/2-1/2
Giri, Anish 1-0 Ding Liren
Giri played a fantastic game against Ding Liren's King's Indian Defense. He beat back the attack with precise and powerful moves. His winning advantage was almost enough for Ding Liren to resign, but the Chinese fought on and Giri's technique was certainly lackluster. He made it very hard on himself, but eventually converted.
Ding Liren tried very hard to save a hopeless situation
Giri started out playing amazing today, and although
his finish was not the best he still wrapped up the full point
Saric, Ivan ½-½ Van Wely
Van Wely played the Pirc, an unusual guest in these types of tournaments. Saric obtained a nearly decisive advantage in the queenless middlegame, obtaining an extra pawn and retaining the superior piece placement. He, however, completely underestimated Van Wely's counterplay. Saric kept digging his own grave, until eventually Van Wely reached a winning rook endgame... that he blundered away:
[Event "77th Tata Steel GpA"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2015.01.20"] [Round "9"] [White "Saric, Iv"] [Black "Van Wely, L."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B07"] [WhiteElo "2666"] [BlackElo "2667"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "8/8/6R1/6p1/6r1/4K3/6k1/8 w - - 0 90"] [PlyCount "5"] [EventDate "2015.01.09"] 90. Rg7 {As your friendly neighborhood computer will tell you: "mate in 39".} Rg3+ $4 {Now it's just a draw.} (90... Kh3 91. Rh7+ (91. Kf2 Rg2+ $1 92. Kf1 g4 93. Rg8 Ra2 {And White doesn't have time to play Kg1.}) 91... Rh4 92. Rb7 Kg3 93. Rb5 g4 {and Black eventually reaches a Lucena position.}) 91. Ke4 g4 92. Rg5 (92. Rg5 Kh3 93. Rh5+ Kg2 94. Rg5 Kh2 95. Kf4 $11 (95. Rh5+ $4 Rh3)) 1/2-1/2
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Joshua FriedelJosh was born in 1986 in New Hampshire, USA and is currently living in Wisconsin. He obtained his international master title in 2005 and his grandmaster in 2008. He has participated in six US Championships, including a tie for fourth in 2008. Major Open tournament victories include: the 2003 Eastern Open, 2005 Berkeley Masters, 2008 National Open, 2009 Edmonton International, 2009 North American Open, 2010 Saint Louis Open, 2010 American Open, 2013 Chicago Open. |
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| Round 9 - Tuesday Jan. 20 | |
| Van Kampen, R. - Wei, Y. |
½-½
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| Michiels, B. - Timman, J. |
½-½
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| Saleh, S. - Navara, D. |
0-1
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| Potkin, V. - Dale, A. |
½-½
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| Gunina, V. - Shankland, S. |
½-½
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| Sevian, S. - Haast, A. |
1-0
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| Klein, D. - l' Ami, E. |
½-½
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We will bring you a separate report recapping the event so far, with highlights from the previous round as well as today's, by Sagar Shah! Keep a look out for it.
Select games from the dropdown menu above the board
Photos by Alina l'Ami for the official website
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The tournament has a slight change this year. Most of the rounds will be played in the traditional De Moriaan Community Centre in Wijk aan Zee, but two of the rounds will be played elsewhere. Last year the tournament traveled to the National Museum in Amsterdam and the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven.
This year the fifth round will be held in De Rotterdam. De Rotterdam is a building on the Wilhelminapier in Rotterdam, designed by Rem Koolhaas in 1998.
Rotterdam is ready to host Tata Steel!
The tenth round will be played in the International Press Cnetre Niewuspoort in the Hague. Councillor Karsten Klein of The Hague had this to say: "The Hague is honored to be able to host the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2015 at the heart of the Dutch parliamentary democracy. Our city has a long history of international chess tournaments, a tradition which is continued in this manner. "
This being the first major event of the year, it is clear that we will be bringing you live commentary on our server www.playchess.com!
| Day | Date | Round | English |
| Wednesday | January 21 | Round 10 | GM Simon Williams |
| Thursday | January 22 | Free | |
| Friday | January 23 | Round 11 | GM Daniel King |
| Saturday | January 24 | Round 12 | GM Simon Williams |
| Sunday | January 25 | Round 13 | GM Daniel King |
LinksThe games will be broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess 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 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs. |
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