London Classic: Tense draws

by Antonio Pereira
12/16/2018 – The final match of the Grand Chess Tour kicked off on Saturday. Hikaru Nakamura held Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to a draw from the white side of a Grünfeld Defence, after the Frenchman won a pawn but could not convert it in the endgame. In the battle for third place, Levon Aronian achieved a slight edge against Fabiano Caruana but was not able to get the full point. The first classical round of the British Knockout Championship also ended with two draws. | Photos: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

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Advantage Black

The second major event held in London in the final months of the year moved from Google's Headquarters to its usual venue at the Olympia Conference Centre. The London Classic is already a fixture in the winter calendar, and it never stops to innovate its format. This year, the main stage features four boards, with players facing each other in knockout matches that serve as decisive stages for the Grand Chess Tour and the British KO Championship.

The Olympia Centre | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

In the GCT finale, Nakamura started the duel against Vachier-Lagrave with the white pieces. Maxime is a well-known Grünfeld expert — he mentioned in the past that this is his favourite defence — but Hikaru was not afraid to go into a complicated variation of this very opening. In fact, he followed a line that was played by MVL in the past. The first critical moment came about on move 15:

 
Nakamura vs. Vachier-Lagrave
Position after 15...Qd6

Hikaru was surprised by Black's 15...Qd6 and decided to respond with 16.Bh6. In the post-game interview, the American said that he had considered playing 16.h4, but he rejected this alternative as he did not have a concrete plan afterwards. He declared: "If you're prepared you can play something like this, but if you aren't it is very risky".

By this stage of the game, it was clear that Maxime knew what he was doing, but he clarified: "I didn't remember I had played this position, but I did remember very well that it was good for Black".

Nakamura was in trouble, but he felt relieved when he saw 24...Ba6, given that, as he explained, he had 25.Ng3, and in the case of 25...Ra2 White can use a plan with h4, Qg5 and the possibility of playing Nf5, which gives counter-chances if Black grabs the a3 pawn.

 
Position after 25.Ng3

Instead of 25...Ra2, Maxime offered a queen exchange with 25...Qc5 and went into an endgame a pawn up. According to Nakamura, the biggest chance missed by his rival in the final stage of the game came on move 33:

 
Position after 33.Rxa5

Vachier-Lagrave decided that his best chances of winning would arise after 33...f6, but 33...Rd1+ is the improvement suggested by both Nakamura and the engines — after 34.Kf2 Rd2+ 35.Kg1 Ra2 36.Rxe5, Black's rook protects the passed a-pawn and cuts off the king at least temporarily. When asked about this possibility, the Frenchman declared: "I thought it was a draw, and I thought 33...f6 gave me chances to win".

In the end, Nakamura defended accurately and a draw was signed after 50 moves.

Nakamura did not shy away from the Grünfeld | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

In the match for third place, Aronian once again managed to put pressure on his opponent with the black pieces — he had done the same against Vachier-Lagrave in the semi-finals. He followed the game Caruana-Karjakin from the 2017 Sinquefield Cup until move 10, when he "didn't remember the precise way" from his analysis:

 
Caruana vs. Aronian
Position after 10.a4

Levon did not remember whether he needed to play 10...e4 — like Karjakin — or 10...a5. He chose the latter and created a complicated early-middlegame position. A couple of moves later, he considered playing 12...Nb4 or 12...Qf5 (the computer's first choice) instead of 12...Bc5, but rejected both for being "very romantic and very stupid".

 
Position after 12.Ba3

The resulting position left White a pawn up but he still had his king in the centre. Fabiano went for a setup with f3, hoping to "on a good day [...] consolidate my extra pawn". However, the World Championship challenger was not able to do it and declared: "It's funny because I never managed to develop any of my pieces or castle".

The dynamic balance was maintained until the point was split on move 28.

Aronian had the upper hand | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour


Live commentary webcast

Yasser Seirawan, Jennifer Shahade, Maurice Ashley and Alejandro Ramirez


All games - GCT London Classic

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 0-0 6.e3 b6 7.Qc2 Bb7 8.Rd1 LiveBook: 14 Games. D37: Queen's Gambit Declined: 5 Bf4 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 Qxd5 10.Bd3 h6 11.e4 Qa5+ 12.Bd2 Bb4 13.Rc1 c5 14.dxc5 Nd7 15.c6 Rac8 16.Bxb4 Qxb4+ ½-½ (55) Nepomniachtchi,I (2705)-Nakamura,H (2816) Baku 2015 8...Bd6 9.Bg3N Predecessor: 9.Bg5 Nbd7 10.cxd5 exd5 11.Bd3 h6 12.Bh4 a6 13.Bf5 Qe8 14.Qb3 b5 15.0-0 Be7 ½-½ (98) Kveinys,A (2545)-Xu,Y (2518) Reykjavik 2017 9...Nbd7 10.cxd5 White has an edge. Nxd5 11.e4 11.Nxd5 looks sharper. Bxd5 12.Bd3 f5 13.Bc4 Nf6 14.Be5 11...Nxc3 12.bxc3 Bxg3 13.hxg3 e5 14.Bb5 c6 15.Be2 Qc7 16.g4       Rfe8 17.g5 Rad8 18.Kf1 b5 19.Rh4 a6 20.a4 Qa5 21.g6 hxg6 22.Ng5 Nf8 22...Qxa4? 23.Qxa4 bxa4 24.Bc4+- 22...c5!= remains equal. 23.Rd3± Bc8 23...Qxa4? 24.Qxa4 bxa4 25.Rdh3+- 24.Qb3 Qc7 Don't blunder 24...Ne6? 25.Rdh3+- 25.axb5 axb5 26.Rf3 26.g4! Ne6 27.Rdh3 26...Be6!= 27.d5 cxd5 28.exd5 Rxd5 And now ...Rd4 would win. Wrong is 28...Bxd5?
29.Rfh3!+-      
29.Nxe6 fxe6 30.Rfh3      
30...e4! 31.Rxe4 Avoid the trap 31.Bxb5? Rb8-+ 31...Ra8 aiming for ...Ra1+. 32.g3 Threatening Rxe6! Qc5 Strongly threatening ...Rf5. 33.Re3 Ra3 34.Qb2 Qd6 35.Rh4 The position is equal. Ra4       Black puts up resistance 36.Rhe4 Qa3 37.Qxa3 37.Qb1 is interesting. Qa1 38.Rb4 Qxb1+ 39.Rxb1 Ra5 40.c4 37...Rxa3 38.Bg4 Rc5 39.Bxe6+ Nxe6 40.Rxe6 Raxc3 41.Rxc3 Rxc3 42.Rxg6       Endgame KR-KR b4 43.Rb6 b3 44.Kg2 Kf7 45.f4 g5 46.fxg5 Rc2+ 47.Kf3 b2 48.Kg4 Kg7 49.Rb7+ Kg6 50.Rb6+ Kg7 51.Rb7+ Kg6 Accuracy: White = 69%, Black = 71%.
½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Caruana,F2832Nakamura,H2746½–½2018D3710th LCC GCT Finals 20181.1
Vachier-Lagrave,M2781Aronian,L2765½–½2018C8810th LCC GCT Finals 20181.1
Aronian,L2765Vachier-Lagrave,M2781½–½2018A3410th LCC GCT Finals 20181.2
Nakamura,H2746Caruana,F2832½–½2018C4210th LCC GCT Finals 20181.2
Aronian,L2765Vachier-Lagrave,M2781½–½2018A3410th LCC GCT Finals 20181.3
Nakamura,H2746Caruana,F2832½–½2018A2010th LCC GCT Finals 20181.3
Caruana,F2832Nakamura,H27460–12018D3710th LCC GCT Finals 20181.4
Vachier-Lagrave,M2781Aronian,L27651–02018C6710th LCC GCT Finals 20181.4
Aronian,L2765Vachier-Lagrave,M27810–12018B5110th LCC GCT Finals 20181.5
Nakamura,H2746Caruana,F28320–12018A0610th LCC GCT Finals 20181.5
Caruana,F2832Nakamura,H27460–12018D3710th LCC GCT Finals 20181.6
Vachier-Lagrave,M2781Aronian,L27651–02018B0610th LCC GCT Finals 20181.6
Aronian,L2765Vachier-Lagrave,M27811–02018B5110th LCC GCT Finals 20181.7
Nakamura,H2746Caruana,F28321–02018A0610th LCC GCT Finals 20181.7
Caruana,F2832Nakamura,H27460–12018E7110th LCC GCT Finals 20181.8
Vachier-Lagrave,M2781Aronian,L27651–02018C0210th LCC GCT Finals 20181.8
Caruana,F2832Aronian,L2765½–½2018C6510th LCC GCT Finals 20182.1
Nakamura,H2746Vachier-Lagrave,M2781½–½2018D8610th LCC GCT Finals 20182.1
Vachier-Lagrave,M2781Nakamura,H2746½–½2018C6710th LCC GCT Finals 20182.2
Aronian,L2765Caruana,F2832½–½2018C4210th LCC GCT Finals 20182.2
Vachier-Lagrave,M2781Nakamura,H2746½–½2018C6710th LCC GCT Finals 20182.3
Aronian,L2765Caruana,F2832½–½2018D3710th LCC GCT Finals 20182.3
Caruana,F2832Aronian,L27651–02018C6510th LCC GCT Finals 20182.4
Nakamura,H2746Vachier-Lagrave,M2781½–½2018A3410th LCC GCT Finals 20182.4
Vachier-Lagrave,M2781Nakamura,H2746½–½2018A1710th LCC GCT Finals 20182.5
Aronian,L2765Caruana,F28321–02018A4510th LCC GCT Finals 20182.5
Caruana,F2832Aronian,L27650–12018C6310th LCC GCT Finals 20182.6
Nakamura,H2746Vachier-Lagrave,M2781½–½2018A3410th LCC GCT Finals 20182.6
Vachier-Lagrave,M2781Nakamura,H2746½–½2018C6710th LCC GCT Finals 20182.7
Aronian,L2765Caruana,F28320–12018A4510th LCC GCT Finals 20182.7
Caruana,F2832Aronian,L27651–02018B0610th LCC GCT Finals 20182.8
Nakamura,H2746Vachier-Lagrave,M27811–02018A3410th LCC GCT Finals 20182.8

A strange Caro-Kann

The same format as the one used in the GCT final was chosen to decide the 2018 British Knockout Champion. The defending KO champion Gawain Jones started the match with Black and neutralised Luke McShane's Italian without difficulties. The players followed the game Amin-Van der Doel from this year's Hoogeveen Open up to move 19 and quickly simplified into a drawn endgame with symmetrical pawn structures.

McShane did not get much with White | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

The first game of the match for third place was more interesting. Michael Adams spent almost 13 minutes before playing the novelty 7.Bd3 against David Howell's Caro-Kann:

 
Adams vs. Howell
Position after 7.Bd3

However, Howell seemed to be prepared for this manoeuvre and answered 7...Na6 rather quickly. A complex struggle ensued, in which both players needed to use a lot of time in several critical junctions. The result was a position where Black was an exchange down but had the pair of bishops and an extra pawn. Adams pushed but ended up agreeing to a draw on move 41:

 
Position after 41.Rd2

It was certainly a demanding game for both players, who still have to go through another classical game and a final day of rapid and blitz.

David Howell trusts his Caro-Kann | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

All games - British Knockout 

 
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1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.d4 0-0 6.Nc3 dxc4 7.Ne5 Nc6 8.Bxc6 bxc6 9.Nxc6 Qe8 10.Nxe7+ Qxe7 11.Qa4 c5 12.dxc5 E06: Closed Catalan: Early deviations Qxc5 13.Be3 Qh5 LiveBook: 5 Games 13...Qc7 14.0-0-0 Ng4 15.Rd2 Nxe3 16.fxe3 Rb8 17.Rhd1 a5 18.Kb1 h6 19.Ka1 Rb4 1-0 (49) Caruana,F (2822)-Nakamura,H (2777) Saint Louis 2018 14.f3 White is slightly better. Bb7
15.Kf2N And not 15.Qxc4 Bxf3!       16.Rf1 Bg4 Predecessor: 15.0-0-0 Nd5 16.Qa5 Rfd8 17.Rd2 f6 18.Rhd1 Rd6 19.Bc5 Nxc3 20.bxc3 1-0 (73) Grachev,B (2628)-Geivondian,A (2399) Moscow 2016 15...Rfc8 16.Rad1 e5 17.h3 Qf5 18.Rd6 h5 19.Qa5 Rab8 20.Qxa7 Ba8 21.Rb6! Rxb6 22.Qxb6 Weaker is 22.Bxb6 e4 22...Nd5 22...Bc6 23.Nxd5± Bxd5 24.Qd6 White should try 24.a4 24...Be6 25.Bd2 e4 26.Qf4 Qb5 27.Bc3 exf3 28.exf3 Rd8 29.Kg2       White is up to no good. Qa4 30.Rc1 Rd5 31.a3 Qc6 32.Re1 Rd3 33.Re3 Threatens to win with Qb8+. Qd7 33...f6 34.g4 34.Qb8+± Qd8 35.Qe5 34...Rd5 35.Re2 h4 36.Qxc4 Qd6 37.f4?
37.Be1!± is necessary to keep the advantage. 37...Rd1! 38.Rxe6 fxe6       Endgame KQR-KQB 39.a4? 39.Kf3 was called for. 39...Qb6-+ White must now prevent ...Qg1+. 40.Kf3 Rh1 41.Ke2 Rh2+ 42.Kd3 Qd6+ 43.Bd4 Rxh3+ 44.Kc2 Rg3 45.a5 45.Be5 Qd5 46.Qxd5 exd5 47.a5 45...h3 Hoping for ...h2. 46.Be5 Qd5 47.Qxd5 exd5 KR-KB 48.a6 h2 49.a7 h1Q 50.a8Q+ KQR-KQB Kh7 51.Qa4 Rg2+ 51...Qf3 ( -> ...Qd3+) 52.Kb1 Qd3+ 53.Ka2 Rxg4 52.Kb3 Qd1+ 53.Kb4 Rc2? 53...Qxg4-+ 54.Qb3 Qd7 55.Qd3+ Kg8 54.Qd7= Rc4+ 55.Ka5 55.Ka3!= was the only way to keep the balance. Qa1+ 56.Kb3 Qd1+ 57.Ka3 Qa1+ 58.Kb3 Qd1+ 59.Ka3 55...Qa1+ 56.Kb6 Rb4+ 57.Kc5 Qa5+ 58.Kd6 Rb6+ 59.Ke7
59...Qb4+! 60.Kf7 Rb7 61.Bc7
White wants to mate with Qf5+. 61...Qxf4+!       62.Bxf4 Rxd7+ KR-KB 63.Ke6 Rd8 And now ...d4 would win. 64.Bc7! Rc8 65.Be5 Rc4 Better is 65...Rc5 66.Kxd5= Rxg4 Strongly threatening ...g5. 67.Bd6 Kg6 Accuracy: White = 61%, Black = 49%.
½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Howell,D2696Haria,R2441½–½2018E06British KO-ch 20181.1
Jones,G2682Merry,A24291–02018A75British KO-ch 20181.1
Hawkins,J2583McShane,L2664½–½2018C47British KO-ch 20181.1
Williams,S2472Adams,M2703½–½2018D56British KO-ch 20181.1
Adams,M2703Williams,S24721–02018B69British KO-ch 20181.2
McShane,L2664Hawkins,J25831–02018C42British KO-ch 20181.2
Haria,R2441Howell,D2696½–½2018D77British KO-ch 20181.2
Merry,A2429Jones,G2682½–½2018A33British KO-ch 20181.2
Howell,D2696Haria,R24411–02018E06British KO-ch 20181.3
Haria,R2441Howell,D26960–12018D78British KO-ch 20181.4
Howell,D2696Jones,G2682½–½2018A48British KO-ch 20182.1
McShane,L2664Adams,M2703½–½2018C50British KO-ch 20182.1
Adams,M2703McShane,L2664½–½2018C07British KO-ch 20182.2
Jones,G2682Howell,D26961–02018C50British KO-ch 20182.2
Adams,M2703McShane,L26640–12018C67British KO-ch 20182.3
Jones,G2682Howell,D26960–12018B15British KO-ch 20182.3
Howell,D2696Jones,G2682½–½2018A05British KO-ch 20182.4
McShane,L2664Adams,M27031–02018C85British KO-ch 20182.4
Adams,M2703McShane,L26641–02018C55British KO-ch 20182.5
Jones,G2682Howell,D26961–02018B15British KO-ch 20182.5
Howell,D2696Jones,G26820–12018A48British KO-ch 20182.6
McShane,L2664Adams,M27030–12018C78British KO-ch 20182.6
Adams,M2703McShane,L26641–02018C55British KO-ch 20182.7
Jones,G2682Howell,D26961–02018C55British KO-ch 20182.7
Howell,D2696Jones,G2682½–½2018E65British KO-ch 20182.8
McShane,L2664Adams,M27031–02018C78British KO-ch 20182.8
Adams,M2703Howell,D2696½–½2018B10British KO-ch 20183.1
McShane,L2664Jones,G2682½–½2018C50British KO-ch 20183.1
Howell,D2696Adams,M2703½–½2018C88British KO-ch 20183.2
Jones,G2682McShane,L26641–02018C07British KO-ch 20183.2
Howell,D2696Adams,M2703½–½2018A06British KO-ch 20183.3
Jones,G2682McShane,L26641–02018C55British KO-ch 20183.3
Adams,M2703Howell,D2696½–½2018B13British KO-ch 20183.4
McShane,L2664Jones,G26820–12018A01British KO-ch 20183.4
Howell,D2696Adams,M27030–12018A09British KO-ch 20183.5
Jones,G2682McShane,L26640–12018B14British KO-ch 20183.5
Adams,M2703Howell,D26961–02018B10British KO-ch 20183.6
McShane,L2664Jones,G26821–02018B54British KO-ch 20183.6
Howell,D2696Adams,M2703½–½2018A13British KO-ch 20183.7
Jones,G2682McShane,L26641–02018B15British KO-ch 20183.7
Adams,M2703Howell,D2696½–½2018B10British KO-ch 20183.8
McShane,L2664Jones,G26820–12018A45British KO-ch 20183.8

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Antonio is a freelance writer and a philologist. He is mainly interested in the links between chess and culture, primarily literature. In chess games, he skews towards endgames and positional play.

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