Wijk aan Zee Rd6: Aronian takes sole lead once more

by ChessBase
1/20/2012 – Levon Aronian is clearly on a streak, despite his third round loss to Carlsen, and once again took sole lead after beating Vugar Gashimov. Radjabov joined Carlsen in second after beating Karjakin, while Nakamura won a second straight after Gelfand blundered. Giri ground down Kamsky in 80 moves, while in B, Harikrishna beat Timman in the game of the day. Report, pictures and videos.

Winning starts with what you know
The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.

The 74th Tata Steel Chess Tournament will take place from January 13 to 29, 2012 in the sports hall Moriaan in Wijk aan Zee. There are three grandmaster tournaments with fourteen players each playing thirteen rounds at 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. Rest days are on January 18, 23, and 26.


Tata Steel Tournament 2012

Round six

Group A: Round 6 - Fri. Jan. 20th
Veselin Topalov - Vassily Ivanchuk
½-½
Levon Aronian - Vugar Gashimov
1-0
Fabiano Caruana - Loek van Wely
½-½
Anish Giri - Gata Kamsky
1-0
David Navara - Magnus Carlsen
½-½
Boris Gelfand - Hikaru Nakamura
0-1
Teimour Radjabov - Sergey Karjakin
1-0


The amateur open gets underway

It had seemed almost ironic. Two days after stating his intention was to take his game to the next level, Levon Aronian ran face first into a brick wall known as Magnus Carlsen, and the general impression was that the Norwegian had stamped his authority on the event and was now going to make it his.

The next three rounds didn’t quite play out that way, and Carlsen got into trouble in his games against fellow prodigies Fabiano Caruana and Anish Giri. His round six game was against David Navara who decided to avoid heroics and kept it simple, holding him to an easy draw. An easy draw that went for 82 moves, but an easy draw nevertheless. Carlsen explained that it was because the alternative to playing it out, was to twiddle his thumbs in his hotel room. Some players might have thought it an opportune time to get an extra rest day. Rest? Who needs rest when you’re twenty….


Carlsen explains why the game went as long as it did (courtesy of the Tata Steel Facebook page)  


Levon Aronian

Aronian on the other hand has never been in trouble, and has stormed ahead with 2.5/3 taking the lead once more after a win over Vugar Gashimov in round six. Gashimov was true to his self and played his pet Benoni, an opening that has been troublesome for its proponents at the very top.


Aronian retook the lead in Wijk. Place your bets, the race is on!

It didn’t help that he has been struggling with his form, and was playing the hottest player in the tournament. With that, Aronian not only retook the sole lead with 4.5/6, but his Live Rating is now at a potentially historic 2820, as it would make him the player with the third highest rating ever.

Teimor Radjabov won a good game against  Sergey Karjakin, who has been running cold, then hot, and now cold again. The Azeri obtained an edge soon in their game, and looked headed to a clean win, but stumbled a bit and seemed like he might not be able to convert. In the end, his passed queenside pawns were decisive and he concluded with a cute little combination. He is now equal second with Carlsen at 4.0/6.


Nakamura's face would not be glum at the end

Boris Gelfand, who had won a nice game in round five, was quite distraught after his game against Hikaru Nakamura, and visibly was rattled after an inspired performance the previous day.


Anish may have missed a quicker win earlier in his game against Kamsky, but win he did

Anish Giri moved up yet another rung, by scoring a win over Gata Kamsky in an impressive technical display, as he inched his way forward in a far from obvious endgame. It not only placed him in the upper tier of the leaderboard, but also has him in 16th in the live rankings.

Fabiano Caruana, who drew Loek Van Wely, has to be kicking himself for letting his prey escape. If it was far more forgivable missing that one chance he had against Carlsen, this time he squandered one chance after another in a game that by all rights was his for the taking. Had he won, he would now be tied with Carlsen and Radjabov with 4.0/6, nipping at the heels of Aronian in what has been a superb tournament so far by the young Italian. After all, he may be missing the killer blows, but he is still setting them up.

 
The round six video report (courtesy of the Tata Steel Facebook page)

New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
1.e41,174,61854%2421---
1.d4952,91955%2434---
1.Nf3283,84956%2440---
1.c4183,33456%2442---
1.g319,80456%2427---
1.b314,46454%2427---
1.f45,92648%2377---
1.Nc33,85550%2384---
1.b41,77548%2379---
1.a31,23954%2405---
1.e31,07549%2409---
1.d396150%2378---
1.g466946%2361---
1.h446554%2381---
1.c343651%2426---
1.h328456%2419---
1.a411759%2462---
1.f310047%2427---
1.Nh39267%2511---
1.Na34360%2477---
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.d5 d6 5.Nc3 exd5 6.cxd5 g6 7.Bf4 Bg7 8.Qa4+ Bd7 9.Qb3 b5 10.Bxd6 Qb6 11.Be5 0-0 12.e3 c4 13.Qd1 b4 14.Ne2 Bb5 15.Ned4 Nbd7 16.Nxb5 Qxb5 17.Bd4 Qxd5 18.Be2 Nb6 19.0-0 Rac8 20.Rc1 Rfd8 21.Qe1 c3 22.bxc3 bxc3 23.Ba6 Rc7 24.Rxc3 Rxc3 25.Qxc3 Ne4 26.Qa3 Bxd4 27.Nxd4 Qc5 28.Qxc5 Nxc5 29.Bb5 Ne6 30.Nxe6 fxe6 31.Rc1 Rd2 32.a4 Ra2 33.g3 a6 34.Bxa6 Rxa4 35.Bb5 Ra5 36.Be2 Nd7 37.Rc7 Nf8 38.Bc4 Ra4 39.Kg2 Rb4 40.h4 h6 41.f4 h5 42.Kf3 Ra4 43.Ke4 Kh8 44.Ke5 Kg8 45.Kf6 Ra5 46.e4 Ra4 47.e5 Ra3 48.Rc8 1–0
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Aronian,L2805Gashimov,V27611–02012A6174th Tata Steel GMA6
Radjabov,T2773Karjakin,S27691–02012E1574th Tata Steel GMA6
Caruana,F2736Van Wely,L2692½–½2012B0174th Tata Steel GMA6
Giri,A2714Kamsky,G27321–02012A0474th Tata Steel GMA6
Gelfand,B2739Nakamura,H27590–12012A8874th Tata Steel GMA6
Navara,D2712Carlsen,M2835½–½2012D4574th Tata Steel GMA6
Topalov,V2770Ivanchuk,V2766½–½2012C6774th Tata Steel GMA6

Group A standings after six rounds


Group B: Round 6 - Fri. Jan. 20th
Alexander Motylev - Ilya Nyzhnik
½-½
Daniele Vocatura - Sergey Tiviakov
½-½
Sipke Ernst - Vladimir Potkin
1-0
Pentala Harikrishna - Jan Timman
1-0
Dimitri Reinderman - Erwin L'Ami
½-½
Lazaro Bruzon - Viktorija Cmilyte
1-0
Kateryna Lahno - Harika Dronavalli
½-½

In spite of the multiple victories in the A Group, the game of the day goes to Pentala Harikrishna for his superb win over Jan Timman. Harikrishna has deservedly been the leader, playing rock solid positional chess, and out playing his opponents in the driest middlegames.


Harika Dronavalli watches the start of Pentala Harikrishna's victory over Jan Timman

It is perhaps this that prompted Timman to play such a provocative opening, hoping that the complications would turn out to be the Indian’s Achilles Heal. It was a worthy try, but instead it revealed a creative side we had not yet seen in the leader, and at a perfect time too. Pentala now leads with an impressive 5.0/6 and has created a one point wedge between himself and his nearest rival, Alexander Motylev.

New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c3 d5 4.e5 Nc6 5.d4 Bd7 6.Be2 f6 7.c4 cxd4 8.cxd5 Qa5+ 9.Nbd2 Qxd5 10.Bc4 Qc5 11.b4 Qb6 12.0-0 0-0-0 13.Bb2 Bxb4 14.Rb1 fxe5 15.Ba3 a5 16.Bc1 Qc7 17.a3 Bc3 18.Ne4 Nce7 19.Qb3 Bc6 20.Bxe6+ Kb8 21.Nxc3 dxc3 22.Qxc3 Bd5 23.Qxc7+ Kxc7 24.Bb2 Nc6 25.Nxe5 Nge7 26.Bh3 Rhg8 27.Rfc1 b5 28.Bc3 Kb6 29.Nd7+ Ka6 30.Nc5+ Kb6 31.Nd7+ Ka6 32.Re1 g5 33.Nc5+ Kb6 34.Nd7+ Ka6 35.Nf6 Rg6 36.Bg4 Bc4 37.Ne4 Nd5 38.Bd2 Nf4 39.Be3 a4 40.Nc5+ 1–0
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Harikrishna,P2665Timman,J25711–02012C0274th Tata Steel GMB6
Vocaturo,D2545Tiviakov,S2677½–½2012B0174th Tata Steel GMB6
Lahno,K2557Harika,D2516½–½2012D3474th Tata Steel GMB6
Ernst,S2606Potkin,V26841–02012D1674th Tata Steel GMB6
Reinderman,D2581L'Ami,E2596½–½2012A1174th Tata Steel GMB6
Bruzon Batista,L2691Cmilyte,V25031–02012B7774th Tata Steel GMB6
Motylev,A2677Nyzhnyk,I2568½–½2012C1174th Tata Steel GMB6

Group B standings after six rounds


Group C: Round 6 - Fri. Jan. 20th
Pieter Hopman - Anne Haast
1-0
Lars Ootes - Lisa Schut
0-1
Hans Tikkanen - Maxim Turov
½-½
Sahaj Grover - Elina Danielian
½-½
Matthew Sadler - Etienne Goudriaan
½-½
Tania Sachdev - Baskaran Adhiban
½-½
Elizabeth Paehtz - Daan Brandenburg
½-½


Maxim Turov was finally held to a draw by Hans Tikkanen

In the C Group, Turov finally conceded his first half point against Tikkanen, though continues with a one point advantage. Top seed Matthew Sadler has been unable to get into second gear so far, and has had five draws out of six games, drawing today against a very energetic Etienne Goudriaan, who showed good form.


Elizabeth Paetz

New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Position not in LiveBook
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nge2 dxe4 5.a3 Be7 6.Nxe4 Nf6 7.N2g3 0-0 8.h4 Nxe4 9.Nxe4 f5 10.Ng5 h6 11.Nf3 c5 12.Bc4 Nc6 13.c3 cxd4 14.cxd4 Bf6 15.d5 exd5 16.Bxd5+ Kh8 17.0-0 Bxh4 18.Bxc6 bxc6 19.Ne5 Qe8 20.Re1 Bf6 21.Qd6 Bxe5 22.Rxe5 Qd8 23.Qxd8 Rxd8 24.Be3 a5 25.Bb6 Rd5 26.Rxd5 cxd5 27.Re1 a4 28.Bd4 Kg8 29.Re7 g5 30.Rg7+ Kf8 31.Rh7 Be6 32.Rh8+ Bg8 33.Rxh6 Ke7 34.Rh5 Rc8 35.Rxg5 Be6 36.Rg7+ Kd6 37.Ra7 Rc4 38.Ra6+ Ke7 39.Bc3 Bd7 40.Bb4+ Kf7 41.Rd6 Be6 42.Bc3 Ke7 43.Be5 Rc1+ 44.Kh2 Rc2 45.Kg3 Re2 46.f4 Re3+ 47.Kf2 Rd3 48.Rb6 Rd2+ 49.Kf1 Bd7 50.Bf6+ Kf7 51.Bc3 Rc2 52.Rd6 Be6 53.Kg1 Ke7 54.Ra6 Bd7 55.Rb6 Re2 56.Kh2 Re4 57.Be5 Re2 58.Kg3 Rd2 59.Rb4 Bc6 60.Bd4 Bd7 61.Kf3 Rd3+ 62.Be3 Rd1 63.Ke2 Rb1 64.Rb6 Rh1 65.Kd3 Re1 66.g3 Be6 67.Bc5+ Kf7 68.Rb7+ Ke8 69.Re7+ Kd8 70.Ra7 Re4 71.Bd4 Bd7 72.Ra5 Bc6 73.Kc3 Kc7 74.Ra7+ Kd6 75.Rh7 Bd7 76.Be5+ Kc6 77.Rh6+ Kc5 78.Bd6+ Kb5 79.Bb4 d4+ 80.Kd2 Kc4 81.Rh1 Re3 82.Rg1 Kb3 83.Kc1 Re2 84.Bd2 Re8 85.Re1 Rc8+ 86.Kd1 Bc6 87.Re5 Bf3+ 88.Ke1 Bg4 89.Rd5 Kc4 90.Ra5 Kd3 91.Rd5 Rc2 92.Bc3 Re2+ 93.Kf1 Re4 94.Bb4 Kc2 95.Re5 d3 96.Rc5+ Kxb2 97.Rd5 Kc2 98.Rc5+ Kd1 99.Rd5 Re3 100.Kf2 Rf3+ 101.Kg2 Ke2 102.Rd8 Rf2+ 103.Kg1 Rf1+ 104.Kh2 Bf3 105.g4 Bxg4 106.Re8+ Kf3 107.Rd8 Rd1 108.Rd4 Ke2 109.Ba5 Bf3 110.Rxa4 d2 111.Bxd2 Rxd2 112.Kg3 Be4 113.Ra5 Rd8 114.Rc5 Rg8+ 115.Kh4 Kf3 0–1
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Ootes,L2326Schut,L22900–12012C1574th Tata Steel GMC6
Tikkanen,H2549Turov,M2645½–½2012E0074th Tata Steel GMC6
Grover,S2532Danielian,E2490½–½2012D2074th Tata Steel GMC6
Hopman,P2342Haast,A22901–02012B2074th Tata Steel GMC6
Sadler,M2660Goudriaan,E2279½–½2012B5374th Tata Steel GMC6
Paehtz,E2454Brandenburg,D2527½–½2012C1174th Tata Steel GMC6
Sachdev,T2411Adhiban,B2561½–½2012A5774th Tata Steel GMC6

 
Tania Sachdev is interviewed after her draw against Baskaran Adhiban
(courtesy of the Tata Steel Facebook page)

Group C standings after six rounds


Photos by Joachim Schulze and


© Frits Agterdenbos of ChessVista



Commentary

There will be full broadcast of all games on the official site and on the Playchess server, which will provide live audio commentary of the most interesting games (free for Premium members) starting at 15:00h for each round, 14:00h for the final round.

Date Round Day Commentator
21.01.2012 Round 7 Saturday Seirawan
22.01.2012 Round 8 Sunday King
23.01.2012 Free Day Monday
24.01.2012 Round 9 Tuesday King
25.01.2012 Round 10 Wednesday Pelletier
26.01.2012 Free Day Thursday
27.01.2012 Round 11 Friday King
28.01.2012 Round 12 Saturday Trent
29.01.2012 Round 13 Sunday King

Commentary begins at approx. 3 PM and lasts 2-2.5 hours with breaks in between. A round up show is provided at 8 PM server time.

Links

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 a free Playchess client and get immediate access. Or you can get our latest Fritz 13 program, which includes six months free premium membership to Playchess.

Copyright ChessBase


Reports about chess: tournaments, championships, portraits, interviews, World Championships, product launches and more.

Discuss

Rules for reader comments

 
 

Not registered yet? Register

We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.