1/30/2018 – English GM David Howell, is the first player to pull even with defending champ Hikaru Nakamura. After nicking the American for a draw in round six, he followed up with a win over Ivan Saric (pictured). We check in with that game and other notable results from the recent rounds. Games annotated by John Saunders. | Photo: John Saunders www.GibChess.com
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Early upsets even out after seven rounds
Last week in Gibraltar the Masters tournament of the Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival began with 276 players, including a slew of familiar names. The list of world-class players is long, led by 2017 "player of the year" Levon Aronian, Sinquefield Cup winner Maxim Vachier-Lagrave and four-time Gibraltar champion Hikaru Nakamura. No fewer than twelve players have an Elo rating of 2700 or more. Gibraltar is truly the best open in the world and it seems to be getting better every year.
Nakamura was the sole leader in the Masters most of the way, through six out of ten rounds. He started with five straight wins and made his first draw in round six against David Howell. The previous round he fended off Jan-Krzysztof Duda, his first opponent among the top ten seeds. The other heavy-hitters including Aronian, Vachier-Lagrave, and David Navara had all dropped points in the first few days.
From high above on the Rock of Gibraltar the spacious Caleta Hotel appears as though in miniature | Photo: Sophie Triay
After the third round were still seven players at 100% with 3 points, including one of the favourites for the woman's prize, IM Nino Batsiashivili. But the next day the top group thinned dramatically. Nakamura got by Swedish number one Nils Grandeliaus to a full counter. Duda and Benjamin Gledura split the points, as did Mikhail Antipov and Howell. Batsiashivili's fine run came to an end, as she lost to Vachier-Lagrave.
Then it was the top Frenchman's turn to fade a bit, giving up draws in rounds five and six to Gledura and Abhijeet Gupta, before recovering with a win over Sandipan Chanda. 'MVL' kept the upper hand on board three in a variation of the Gurgenidze defense in the Modern, which is apparently experiencing a certain renaissance.
Vachier-Lagrave vs Sandipan
Position after 8.c5
Vachier-Lagrave took on c5 and retained an advantage in the endgame, to pull within a half point of first heading into round eight. After the game he described the punishing winds which buffeted the eastern side of Gibraltar on Monday morning.
The Modern Pirc is actually a mixture of the Caro-Kann and the Pirc. In many lines Black combines the ideas of the classical Pirc in which the fianchettoed bishop is important with the Caro-Kann idea to fight for the center with c6-d5.
Vachier-Lagrave: "I would have hoped to have been more lethal with black" Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival on YouTube
Aronian has been watching the leaders from a distance, but is now back in it | Photo: Sophie Triay
Aronian recovered from a slow start, and is also just a half point behind Nakamura after he beat former Gibraltar winner Nigel Short. Aronian played an English opening and both players deployed oft-seen weapons from their opening arsenals.
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1.c4e52.Nc3d63.Nf3f54.g3Nc6Black nearly always prefers4...Nf6here.5.d4e46.d5Ne56...exf37.dxc6bxc68.exf3Nf69.Bg2
leads to a stable advantage for White, with pressure along the long diagonal
and e-file.7.Nxe5!?Other games have featured7.Nd4but there is one
previous Aronian game with the text move on the database, with which Black had
no doubt familiarised himself.7...dxe58.g4Making a messy pawn
structure even messier.Bc58...g69.gxf5gxf510.Rg1Nf611.Bg5Be712.e3Rg813.Rg3Rg614.Be2was the continuation in a blitz game between
Aronian and Ivanchuk in Leuven last July, which White won in 27 moves.9.Qb3!This is also an engine first choice. For us lesser mortals it is very hard
to understand why White should have played this (given that, at this level,
the cheapo threat of Qb5+ and Qxc5 would be unlikely to work). But subsequent
play give us a few clues.Nf69...a6is possible here. Perhaps then10.Na4and White has the possibility of transferring the queen to g3 where it
could support a pawn advance.10.Qb5+Nd711.h4Evidently White wanted to
get the h4 advance in without the nuisance of a black knight on f6 being able
to capture the g-pawn.a612.Qb3e3Black opts to cut the white position
in half with this pawn sacrifice, which is a common theme in a number of
position. Instead Black would perhaps have liked to play12...g6but then13.h5would be a little awkward. That seems to be the gist of White's Qb3/h4
idea.13.Bxe3Bxe314.fxe3fxg415.Ne4Nf616.Bg20-017.c5Kh818.0-0-0
18...Bf5!?Both players have completed their development, more or
less, and the position seems about equal. Black immediately embarks on a very
ambitious plan.18...Rb8looks a safer option.19.Ng3Bg620.h5Nxh5
A bold piece sacrifice.20...Bf721.h6g621...gxh6is probably better22.Qxb7Rb823.Qc6and White is a safe pawn up.21.Nxh5Rf222.Bf1Qf8
Black threatens to win the piece back with Bxh5 followed by Rxf1 so White has
to surrender the c-pawn.23.Ng3Qxc5+24.Qc3Qe7Black has two pawns for
the piece plus he has forced several of White's pieces into passive defence.
White has to wriggle his way out of trouble.25.e4Qg5+26.Kb1Qf427.Ka1Rf828.Rg1Rf728...Bxe4is tempting but it eases White's way back into
the game:29.e3Qf330.Bd3and nowBxd531.Nh1!Rh232.Qxe5when
White is now firing on all cylinders.29.e3Qg530.Bc4Rd731.Qb4b532.Nf5Threatening mate in one.h533.Qe1Rf333...Rh234.Qg3Bxf535.Qxh2Bxe436.Bb3is a computer suggestion but it looks too optimistic for Black.34.Be2Rh335.Bf1Bxf535...Rh236.Qg3Rc237.Bd3Rc5chases the c5
rook to a square where it has no bearing on the game, allowing White to win as
he pleases.36.Bxh3Bxe437.Bg2Bxg238.Rxg2h4A final error, losing a
kingside pawn but38...Kh7would only prolong the agony.39.Qb439.Qb4g340.Rh1Rxd541.Qxh4+Qxh442.Rxh4+Kg843.Rh1is an easy win.1–0
Williams main teaching method behind this set of two DVDs is to teach you some simple yet effective set ups, without the need to rely on memorising numerous complicated variations.
Relaxed is the way
David Howell said after his round seven win that he came into the tournament with "no expectations" and will be taking a break from chess after this tournament. He's managed to keep pace with Nakamura better than his peers, and was the first player to take a half point off the American, with whom he's had a bit of bad blood over the years.
He followed up a draw with the touranment leader on Sunday, with his fifth win on Monday against Croatian GM Ivan Saric.
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1.Nf3d52.g3Bg43.Bg2c64.0-0e65.c4Nf66.cxd5Bxf37.Bxf3cxd58.Nc3Nc69.d4Be710.e30-011.Bd2Rc812.Rc1Ne813.Ne2Nd614.Nf4Qb615.Bc3Rfd816.a3Nb517.Bd2Bg518.Nd3Nd619.Bc3Note, White took an
eye-watering 55 minutes on 15.Bc3 and 19.Bc3 combined.Nb520.Bd2Nd621.Rc2White could have repeated here with21.Bc3, of course. "Why did you
repeat positions?" "Partly it's to gain time on the clock and partly it's to
show them who's in control," joked Howell.21...h622.Kg2Nc423.Bc1a524.Rc3Be725.Be2Qa726.Qa4Rb827.Qb5Rdc828.Nc5Bxc529.Qxc5Qa830.Qb5Na731.Qb3b532.Qd1a4
I won't pretend I found the earlier part of
the game particularly riveting. On the whole, I would prefer watching coastal
erosion. Come to think of it, quite a lot of that was taking place outside the
venue as this game was being played. But what was rather more exciting -
nerve-wracking would perhaps be a better description - was watching David's
clock count down to a handful of seconds after each of these moves. Saric was
relatively cushy with nine minutes or so in hand.33.b3b4"I miscalculated
his b4 break and was just holding on." (Howell)34.axb4Nb535.Rd3a3!?
A very sharp piece sacrifice to secure a monster passed pawn. Not the sort of
move that most of us would want to see played on the board with barely in
excess of 30 seconds left to find a reply. But David copes with the emergency
situation well.36.bxc4dxc4+37.Bf3Qa638.Rd2a2"Did that pawn on a2
worry you?" (interviewer Tania Sachdev) "I've had scarier positions." (Howell)39.Bb2c340.Rc2cxb241.Rxb2Nc342.Qa1We're now passed the time
control and the players can relax a bit. Black has won back his piece but
remains a pawn down. However, the monster pawn on a2 is worth a lot more.Qa3?It is curious how often players relax and go wrong after a time scramble
is over. This is a serious mistake. Black should play42...Rc443.Rc1Rcxb4!44.Rxb4Rxb4when both captures on c3 would lead to an edge for Black, e.
g.45.Rxc345.Qxc3Rb146.Qc8+Qxc847.Rxc8+Kh748.Ra8a1Q49.Rxa1Rxa145...Rb146.Rc8+Qxc847.Qxa2Rc1with winning chances. Howell was
surprised at how quickly his opponent played this move, despite having plenty
of time to think about it with the extra time added. "I'm a tricky guy. He
should have realised I had this trick prepared for Rxa2."43.Rc1!Rxb4??Simply a blunder. There are a number of other safe alternatives, though White
may be a bit better now.44.Rxa2David Howell thought his opponent must
have overlooked this relatively simple move.Qxa245.Qxa2Nxa246.Rxc8+Kh747.d5!It wouldn't be so bad if Black had simply lost a pawn but his
pieces are caught in a tangle and White can gain time to win a pawn or perhaps
more.exd5Forced, otherwise the d-pawn will promote.48.Rc248.Bxd5
is also good enough.48...Ra449.Bxd5Nb450.Rc4Ra551.Be4+f552.Rxb4fxe453.Rxe41–0
Williams main teaching method behind this set of two DVDs is to teach you some simple yet effective set ups, without the need to rely on memorising numerous complicated variations.
"From the source"
A newcomer who's been a standout so far is Lance Henderson De La Fuente, a name that fits well with its English-Spanish mix to the tournament in Gibraltar.
Lance Henderson | Photo: Sophie Triay
Henderson De La Fuente is a 14-year-old Spaniard. He has played in the European Youth Championships, various Open tournaments including being a regular at Gibraltar since 2015. His current rating is 2429, is nothing to sneeze at, but wins over grandmasters Niclas Huschenbeth and Gabor Papp plus draws with Pavel Tregubov and Richard Rapport, already make this year one to remember, despite his seventh round loss to Daniil Dubov.
Ju Wenjun and Kateryna Lagno, with 5 points, are the best woman in the field after seven rounds. A number of women are in the 4½ point group in hot pursuit: Pia Cramling, Nino Batsiashvili, Anna Muzychuk, and Lei Tingjie. The fight for the first special prize for the best woman in the field in the amount of 15,000 pounds is far from decided.
Vassily Ivanchuk one player among the top seeds who has underperformed — he had just 4 points and was way back in fortieth place following his sixth round defeat by Chanda Sanidpan. The Indian tried something that looks dubious, but was proved right after a series of mistakes by Ivanchuk.
12.Nxa4!?If this really is
good, then I vote we call this the Barbary Macaque's Posterior variation.
White usually develops his bishop to d3 or maybe b5. Interestingly, White
thought for around 35 minutes about this, so maybe he invented it at the board.
Or wanted his opponent to think that.Rxa4Ivanchuk didn't take long to do
this since he's little choice anyway.13.Bb5+Bd714.Bxa4Bxa415.Qb4Qd716.0-0Qb5?!I find it difficult to understand why Black didn't just get
on with his development and play16...0-0here. It's far from clear what
White has after that. Was Ivanchuk worried about a snap attack on his king,
should it come to g8, with a rook lift or two, a queen relocation to the
kingside and a swift g4-pawn advance, say? Looks far-fetched to me.17.b3Qxb418.axb4Bb519.Ra7!Sandipan gives up more material to grab the
initiative with this rook.Bxf120.Rxb7Nc621.Kxf1
21...0-0?This
game may become known as Ivanchuk's great castling fiasco. When he should have
castled, he didn't, and now he shouldn't, he does. Admittedly, the right move
as prescribed by the engines is not at all intuitive, but on his best form I
would have backed an imaginative player of Ivanchuk's quality to have found it:
21...Rf8!After this Black should hold. It enables him to move his king
towards the rook without having to worry about checks on the back rank (after
the knight moves), thus keeping the king in touch with the coming pawn
advances.22.b5!Na5After22...Nxd423.c6White simply advances c7
and Rb8 and it is all over. Any attempt to blockade on c8 will be refuted by
the advance of the b-pawn.23.Rc7!23.Rc7Rb823...Nxb324.b6Na525.c6followed by b7 and Rc8 wins24.b4Nb725.Rd7wins comfortably.1–0
Danish GM Jacob Aagaard introduces you to the secrets of the Nimzoindian Defence (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4). In 15 lessons that last 4 hours and 4 minutes Aagaard shows you how you can successfully play this opening by understanding key ideas instead of memorizing long tedious variations.
Ivanchuk bounced right back with a win over Anna Muzychuk yesterday and remains in contention | Photo: Sophie Triay
Macauley PetersonMacauley served as the Editor in Chief of ChessBase News from July 2017 to March 2020. He is the producer of The Full English Breakfast chess podcast, and was an Associate Producer of the 2016 feature documentary, Magnus.
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