Wijk R06: Karjakin escapes Carlsen, leads A-Group

Results of round six

GM Group A

GM Group B

GM Group C

Impressions from Wijk

Wijk aan Zee – the sea front

Holland was always famous for its windmill – now they have a new kind

Yes, Magnus, a few hundred miles north, that is where home is

The hotel where the top players stay, five minutes walk from the playing venue

The Zeeduin, with its balconied apartment rooms

The beach with sea gulls, photoshopped into a painting

Sunset in Wijk

Our rookie photographer: Signe Carlsen, eleven years old, sister

Let's get ready to ramble

Round six report by Steve Giddins

As regular readers will know, I usually start each day's report with a short digression, before plunging into the minutiae of who has beaten or drawn with whom. Whilst many people seem to enjoy these little diversions, one can never please all the people all the time, and I understand that at least one reader has expressed his dislike of what he rather unkindly calls my "ramblings". I cannot help feeling that the said correspondent has failed to appreciate my problem. Most characteristics of middle age arise out of childhood experiences, and this is no exception. You see, I was brought up on the chess reporting of the late and incomparably great Harry Golombek, the rambler par excellence, the rambler's rambler.

No Golombek tournament report was ever complete without a reference to Mozart, a quote from Moliere, and a reminder that Golly was the 1929 London Boys' Champion. Possibly the apex of his rambling was his report on the 1967 Interzonal at Sousse. For most people, the event is memorable for Larsen's splendid tournament victory, or Fischer's dramatic withdrawal whilst leading. But those of us brought up on Golombek will forever associate the tournament with his description of the camels, on which tourists could take rides along the nearby beach. Golombek never did take such a ride, he explains, because to him the camels always seemed to have an evil look in their eye, and indeed, his fears were confirmed when he saw one attempt to bite a Russian Grandmaster, although to be fair, it may have been that the camel was more intelligent than it looked and had seen how wretchedly the said Grandmaster was playing...etc...etc. "Continued page 94", as they say in Private Eye. No, I fear that I am but an apprentice rambler, with much to learn. And I was not even London Boys' Champion in my youth...

Of course, one issue faced by every rambler, expert or otherwise, is how to make the link from the rambling to the chess. Golombek was famous for the line "Turning reluctantly to the play", but my personal favourite of his was "Whilst engaged in the entrancing subject of talking about myself, I almost lost sight of the first round..." Mere apprentice rambler as I am, there was never any real danger of my losing sight of today's sixth round, which featured a mouth-watering clash between the two stars of the young generation, Magnus Carlsen and tournament leader Sergey Kariakin. The game was a fascinating one, but seems to suggest that Magnus could benefit from reading Emanuel Lasker. "When you see a good move, sit on your hands!", was the German sage's advice. If Magnus had heeded it, he might have won three games already in this tournament.

Carlsen,M (2776) - Karjakin,Sergey (2706) [D11]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (6), 23.01.2009
Notes by Sergey Shipov, translation by Steve Giddins

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3. A modest move which has become extremely popular in recent years. The idea is to defend the c4 pawn at once, and keep the knight on b1 for the time being, allowing White a wider choice of plans. 4...a6. In the style of Chebanenko. The formerly most popular reply 4...Bf5 is rather out of fashion. After 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4! White obtains the bishop pair and the chance of some pressure. I can recommend a study of the games of the Kramnik-Topalov match. 5.Bd3. Seizing the important b1–h7 diagonal. 5...Bg4.The bishop comes out before the move e6 is played, one of the main ideas of the Chebanenko system. The move a7-a6 is useful in defending the queenside; thus, Qb3 can be met by Ra7, defending the b7 pawn, which has been weakened by the bishop's exit. 6.Nbd2. Now we see one of the points of the white system. The knight is very well placed on d2. 6...Nbd7. Black's queenside is already fully developed. 7.Qc2. Unpinning the f3 knight, which may later jump to e5. 7...e6. Completing the structure. Both black bishops have excellent prospects. 8.0–0 dxc4. An attempted improvement on his own play - and a fundamental change of character. Sergey opens the centre at once. The game Roiz-Kariakin, Dresden 2008, continued 8...Be7 9.b3 c5 10.Bb2 Rc8 11.Rac1 0–0 12.cxd5 exd5 13.Qb1 Bh5 14.Ne5 Bg6 15.Nxg6 hxg6 16.Nf3 Bd6 17.Rfd1 Qe7 18.Qa1 cxd4 19.Bxd4 and, to my mind, Black had not equalised. Evidently, the Ukrainian GM did not wish to repeat this line against his powerful opponent.; In the C Group at Corus, we have had a game Giri-So, which went 8...Bd6 9.b3 Qe7 10.Bb2 g6?! 11.Rfe1 0–0 12.Ne5 Bf5 13.Nxd7 Qxd7 14.e4 dxe4 15.Nxe4 Bxe4 16.Bxe4 Qc7 17.g3 Nxe4 18.Rxe4 Be7 19.Rd1 Rad8 20.h4 Bf6 and Black solved his opening problems. But Carlsen could probably expose the seamy side of the suspicious move 10...g6?!

9.Bxc4. Already a novelty! The knight remains on d2, to support its colleague on f3. [The game Eljanov-Gozzoli, Marseille 2003, saw an unequal struggle, and so no real fight occurred: 9.Nxc4 Bxf3 10.gxf3 Nd5 11.Qe2 b5 12.Nd2 Qh4 13.f4 g5 14.Nf3 Qg4+ 15.Kh1 h6 16.Bd2 Bd6 17.a4 Ke7 18.Ne5 Nxe5 19.fxe5 and in view of the loss of a piece, Black resigned. 9...Be7. Black prepares to evacuate his king and then advance his queenside pawns. Concrete play is required from White, if he is to secure an opening advantage. The move 9...c5 also deserved attention, so that the pressure on d4 would hinder White in developing an opening initiative. But clearly, Kariakin is still following his home analysis, and who can argue with that? 10.e4. This is the way of developing the initiative, that I had in mind in my previous note. White achieves a pawn centre, although this is not such a great achievement. As is clear, the knight on d2 obstructs the bishop on c1, and White will have to spend several tempi to support his space advantage. Will he manage it? In the game Danner-Arias, Turin 2006, White obtained the advantage after 10.b3 c5 11.dxc5 Nxc5 12.Bb2 Bf5 13.Qc3 b5 14.Be2 Rc8 15.Rac1 0–0 16.Rfd1 Qb6 17.Nh4 b4 18.Qd4 Rfd8 19.Nxf5 exf5 20.Qe5 but it is very easy to strengthen Black's play.; Another interesting idea is 10.b4!? trying to cramp Black. Whether Black can accept the pawn sacrifice with 10...Bxb4 11.Rb1 is a subject for analysis. 10...0–0 11.Bd3 h6. Now c7-c5 is a threat. As far as I can see, White cannot maintain his central superiority by normal means.White needs to come up with something non-trivial, and well calculated, Carlsen is thinking for a long time, and quite rightly - the ability to sense the critical moments and react accordingly is an essential skill for a top player. Necessary. After 11...c5?! 12.e5 Nd5 13.Bxh7+ Kh8 14.h3 Bxf3 15.Nxf3 and White is ready to sacrifice on g6 is necessary. 12.h3. A useful inclusion, making luft for the king. 12...Bh5. The bishop on h5 is also exposed. Magnus proceeds very directly and straightforwardly, though I am not convinced it is best. 13.e5. I was looking at 13.b3 c5 14.d5 exd5 15.e5 Ne4 (15...Ne8? 16.g4 Bg6 17.Bxg6 fxg6 18.Qxg6) 16.g4 Bg6 (16...Nxd2 17.Qxd2 Bg6 18.Bxg6 fxg6 19.Qxd5+) 17.Nxe4 dxe4 18.Bxe4 Bxe4 19.Qxe4 Qb6 20.Bb2 Rfd8 21.Rad1 Nf8 Black has a solid position, but has not equalized fully.

13...Nd5 14.g4. Weakening f4, a serious drawback. One must also consider the knight jump to b4. Now Sergey is sunk in thought. In such a position, it is not wrong to spend 20–30 minutes. The key thing is to find the best moves. 14...Nb4. I think this was found by a process of elimination. After 14...Bg6 15.Bxg6 fxg6 16.Qxg6 Nf4 17.Qe4 Nxh3+ 18.Kh2 Nf4 19.Nc4! White completes his development, maintaining a space advantage. 15.Bh7+ Kh8 16.Qb1. White's pieces are being scattered to the four corners of the earth... 16...f5! A powerful blow! I suspect that Magnus has underestimated this move. Black has seized the initiative. 17.exf6. The least of the evils. After 17.gxf5 Kxh7! is strong, eg. 18.f6+ Bg6 19.fxe7 Qxe7 and White loses material 20.Ne4 Rxf3; And the visually attractive line 17.Bxf5 exf5 18.gxh5 – which may be what Carlsen intended – is strongly met by 18...Qe8! and the pawn on h5 falls, leaving the white king exposed. 17...Nxf6 18.gxh5. Retreating by 18.Bd3 leaves White on the defensive. After 18...Be8 19.Bc4 Nbd5 the weakness of f4 is sever, and 20.Nb3? loses a pawn after 20...Nxg4. 18...Nxh7 19.Ne5. The Norwegian GM's idea is clear - the knight jump to g6 may bring him an extra exchange. But even if this occurs, will White then be able to defend his weakened kingside? At present, his major pieces are extremely passively placed, and his queenside position is laughable. I would suggest the aggressive 19...Bd6! now, allowing the queen into the kingside. Mind you, the prophylactic 19...Kg8 also needs to be considered, and I would not be too surprised if the Ukrainian GM finds a third way. 19...Kg8. Sergey has worked it all out correctly. Calculation of variations is his strong point. The fanciful continuation 19...Bd6 20.Ng6+ Kg8 21.Nxf8 Qg5+ 22.Kh1 Qf4 (22...Rxf8 23.Qe4!) 23.Qxh7+ Kxf8 24.Kg2 Qg5+ gives White at least a draw, whilst playing for a win by 25.Kf3 Qxh5+ 26.Ke3 leads to crazy and unclear complications after 26...e5!; Even so, one possible third way, which Sergey might have chosen, is 19...Ng5 20.Ng6+ Kg8 21.Nxf8 Bxf8 22.Ne4 Nf3+ 23.Kg2 Nxd4 24.Be3 Ndc2 and Black regains the exchange, retaining the initiative.

20.Qg6. Magnus hurries to get his pieces off the back rank. However, the bishop is still buried on c1, and behind it, the rook on a1 is sleeping peacefully. Objectively speaking, White is fighting to equalize. 20...Rf6. A fully understandable decision, to defend e6 with tempo. Now one must calculate the consequences of the knight entry to c2. Personally, I could not do this accurately at the board, if I took an hour. At home, five minutes is enough. But our heroes, with no electronic help, can calculate unbelievably deeply. 21.Qg4 Ng5. A practical decision. The minimum calculation, the maximum reliability. The knight jump 21...Nc2 poses many questions. After 22.Ne4 Nxa1? (Therefore, stronger is 22...Qd5! 23.Nxf6+ Bxf6 24.Bxh6 Nxd4 and White has to play 25.Bxg7 Bxg7 26.Rfe1 and hope that his activity compensates for the extra piece.) 23.Nxf6+ Nxf6 24.Qxe6+ Kh7 White does not give perpetual, but continues his attack by 25.Bxh6! 22.Ndc4. White's pieces gradually emerge. 22...Nd5. Black consolidates. At the end of the day, he only has one weakness, on e6. White has more, but in the current all-out hand-to-hand battle, this does not carry much wait. For the moment, that is... 23.h4. I think the two players both respect and fear one another. The f4 square would be weakened too much after 23.Bxg5 hxg5 since 24.Qxg5? (Admittedly, after 24.Ng6! Nf4 25.Rad1 the position is about equal.) 24...Rf5 25.Qg3 Bh4 26.Qb3 Nf4 would see the storm clouds gathering over the white king. 23...Nf7. It is hard to fight White for control of e5, but his knights can be ignored. The manoeuvre Nf7-d6-f5 looks better, I think Black stands better here. 24.Kh1. Maybe Carlsen is of a different opinion. He prepares to exert pressure on g7. 24...Bf8. A useful strengthening of the defences. 25.Be3. A striking moment. Only on move 25 does White complete the development of his queenside. 25...Ne7? Another natural move – the d5 square is an attractive post for the black queen., whilst the knight heads for f5. Black had good alternatives in 25...Rf5 ; or 25...Qb6 ; or 25...Nd6.

26.Nb6! That's the problem! Magnus immediately pounces on his opponent's oversight. 26...Ra7. If such an awful placement of the rook is forced, it is a sign that things are pretty bad. Things have turned 180 degrees, and White is now cleary better. Karjakin's problems are compounded by approching time-trouble: 0.42–0.21. 26...Qxb6 27.Nd7 wins the exchange, although after. 27...Qb5 28.Nxf6+ Kh8 29.Ne4 Nf5 there are chances to resist. 27.Ned7 Rf5 28.Rg1. Now the threat of Nxf8 followed by Nd7 is very dangerous. 28...Nd5. It is already too late to criticise Black's moves. Trying to run with 28...Qc7 29.Nxf8 Kxf8 is refuted by 30.Qxg7+ (30.d5 exd5 (30...cxd5 31.Rac1) 31.Qxg7+ Ke8 32.Bc5 and Black is defenceless.) ; Equally bad is 28...Kh8 29.Nxf8 Qxf8 30.Nd7 Qg8 31.d5 Ra8 32.dxe6 Nd6 33.Bxh6. 29.Nxd5. A slight surprise. Is Carlsen again playing on his opponent's time-trouble? he has already missed wins against Aronian and Radjabov through doing so. Surely he is not going to repeat the same mistake again? There is no problems after 29.Nxf8 Qxf8 30.Nd7 Nf6 31.Qxf5! exf5 32.Nxf8 Kxf8 33.d5! winning. 29...Rxd5. The most stubborn. 29...Qxd7 again loses the exchange after 30.Qxf5!; whilst 29...cxd5 is bad due to 30.Nxf8 Qxf8 31.Rac1 Ra8 32.Rc7. 30.Nxf8 Qxf8 31.Rg3. White could win the e6 pawn, but Magnus prefers to increase his threats. This is the most unpleasant strategy for an opponent who has no time to calculate everything. 31...Ra8 32.Rag1 Kh8 33.Qxe6. All the same, the pawn falls. Exchanging queens by 33.Qxg7+ Qxg7 34.Rxg7 Rf8! eases Black's problems. 33...Rxh5. A desparate attempt to maintain material equality. 34.Qg4 g6. The last mistake in a difficult position. He could prolong things by 34...Rd5 35.Qxg7+ Qxg7 36.Rxg7 Rf8 although admittedly, not for long. After 37.R1g3 Rh5 38.Kg2 Rxh4 39.d5 cxd5 40.f4! the white bishop comes to d4.

35.d5? Again, Carlsen rushes things! Black would have had no chance after 35.Qxg6 Rxh4+ 36.Kg2 Nd6 else there follows a check on f6 37.d5 cxd5 38.Bc5 Rd8 39.Kf1 with unstoppable threats. 35...Ne5! 36.Bd4 Qf6! With his flag hanging, Sergey finds two very strong moves, which have completely change the picture. Black threatens to take on h4. Where is White's advantage?Sadly, at this crucial moment, the live relays from the tournament have frozen! 37.Bxe5 An acknowledgement of failure. Other moves are worse. 37...Qxe5 38.dxc6 bxc6 The heavy piece ending is about level. 39.Rd1 Rg8 40.Qd4 Qxd4 41.Rxd4 g5. I think this gives White chances once again. Simpler and more reliable was 41...Rd5. 42.Rc3. A strong retort. White has the pleasant prospect of devouring Black's queenside pawns. 42...Rf8!? It is hard to believe that Black is in much danger after 42...Rg6. 43.Kg1!? Played immediately. I do not understand why both players apparently discounted 43.Rxc6! Rxf2 (During the latest long pause, I also looked at the line 43...Rxh4+ 44.Rxh4 gxh4 45.Rxa6 Rxf2 46.Rb6! Here, too, it is not easy for Black to hold the balance.) 44.Rxa6 when Black's king is bad, and White has two connected passed pawns.(Actually, 44.Kg1! is even stronger, with the trap 44...Rxb2? 45.Rd8+ Kg7 46.Rd7+ Kf8 47.Rc8#). 43...Rf6. Better late than never. The c6-pawn survives. Mind you, I did not find a win for White after 43...gxh4 44.Rxc6 h3 45.f4 h2+ 46.Kh1 a5. 44.hxg5 Rxg5+. Now the black rook is back in the game. The doubts are over – rook endings such as this are not won. Barring a surprise, that is... 45.Kf1 Kg7 46.Rdc4 Ra5 47.a3 Rb5 48.Rc2 Rd6. There was no problem making a draw after 48...h5 49.Rxc6 Rxc6 50.Rxc6 Rxb2 51.Rxa6 h4. 49.a4 Rb6 50.b4. Now Black must work again. His rook is once again awkwardly placed. 50...a5 51.bxa5 Ra6 52.Rg4+. Amazingly, the game has come alive again. What a nervous encounter! I can hardly find the strength to carry on commenting in the game, but I will do so out of solidarity with the players - after all, it is harder for them than for me. 52...Kf7 53.Rc5 Rd5 54.Rgc4 Rxa5 55.Rxc6 Rd1+ 56.Ke2 Ra1 57.Rf4+ Ke7 58.Rcc4 h5 59.Rb4 Ra2+ 60.Kf3 Ra3+

61.Kg2 Ke6 62.Rbe4+ Kd6 63.f3 Ra2+ 64.Kh3 White's idea is clear - he intends to approach the h5 pawn with his king. 64...Ra1 65.Rd4+ Ke6 66.Rb4 Rg5 67.Rfe4+ Kf6 68.Rf4+ Ke6 69.Rb6+ Ke7 70.Rb2 Rh1+ 71.Rh2 Ra1 72.Kh4 Rg8 73.Rd4 Kf6 74.Rf4+ Ke5 75.Rb4 Kf5 76.Kh3 Ra3 77.Rf2 Ra8 78.Rb5+ Kf4 79.Rxh5 Rxf3+ draw. [Click to replay]

Morozevich's disastrous form continued, with his fourth loss in six rounds. His piece sacrifice against Movsesian was quite unsound, and no amount of "swindle mode" wriggling could change that.

Movsesian,S (2751) - Morozevich,A (2771) [B19]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (6), 23.01.2009
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nf3 Nd7 8.h5 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 e6 11.Bd2 Ngf6 12.0–0–0 Be7 13.Rhe1 0–0 14.Qe2 a5 15.Ne5 Bb4 16.c3 Bd6 17.f4 Re8 18.Qf3 Qc7 19.Ne2 c5 20.g4 cxd4 21.Nxd7 Nxd7 22.Nxd4 a4 23.Nb5

23...Qc4? 24.Nxd6 Qxa2 25.c4 a3 26.Bc3 Nc5 27.Qe3 b6 28.g5 e5 29.fxe5 Na4 30.b4 Qb3 31.Bd4 Qxb4 32.Qd2 Qb3 33.Re3 Nc5 34.Qf2 1–0. [Click to replay]

The meeting between Stellwagen and Van Wely, the first all-Dutch clash of this year's event, was clearly of crucial important in terms of national bragging rights, and a predictably uncompromising battle ensued. White looked to be better at various points, but some good old-fashioned, toe-to-toe slugging eventually ended in a draw.

Stellwagen,D (2612) - Van Wely,L (2625) [B96]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (6), 23.01.2009
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Nbd7 8.Qe2 Qc7 9.0–0–0 Be7 10.Nf3 e5 11.g4 h6 12.Bxf6 Nxf6 13.f5 b5 14.a3 Rb8 15.h4 Qb6 16.Nd2 b4 17.Nc4 Qc5 18.axb4 Qxb4 19.Rh3 Bb7 20.g5 Nd7 21.Na2 Qa4 22.Nc3 Qb4 23.Na2 Qa4 24.Ra3 Qc6 25.Nc3 Qc7 26.Ne3 hxg5 27.Ncd5 Qd8 28.Nxe7 Qxe7 29.Nc4

29...d5 30.exd5 Rxh4 31.Rb3 Qf6 32.Na5 Nc5 33.Rc3 Ne4 34.Rb3 Nc5 35.Rc3 Ne4 36.Rc7 Nd6 37.Nxb7 Rxb7 38.Rxb7 Nxb7 39.d6 Nxd6 40.Qxa6 Rd4 41.Qc6+ Kf8 42.Qa8+ Ke7 43.Qa7+ Kf8 draw. [Click to replay]

Radjabov's unusual handling of the white side of the Caro-Kann did not bring any advantage, but Kamsky weakened his queenside irreparably in the early middlegame, after which he was always struggling. Eventually two pawns dropped off, and opposite-coloured bishops did not help him to save the ending.

Radjabov,T (2761) - Kamsky,G (2725) [B18]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (6), 23.01.2009
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Nc5 b6 6.Nb3 e6 7.Nf3 Nf6 8.g3 Nbd7 9.Bg2 Qc7 10.0–0 Rd8 11.Qe2 Bd6 12.Re1 0–0 13.Nh4 Bg4 14.Qc4 Nd5 15.Bg5 Rc8 16.a4

16...b5 17.Qd3 N7b6 18.Nc5 h6 19.Bd2 Nc4 20.axb5 cxb5 21.h3 Bh5 22.Bxd5 exd5 23.Bc3 Rfe8 24.b3 Ne5 25.Qxb5 Bxc5 26.Qxc5 Qd7 27.Qxa7 Qxa7 28.Rxa7 Nf3+ 29.Nxf3 Bxf3 30.Rxe8+ Rxe8 31.b4 Bd1 32.Ra2 Rc8 33.b5 Rb8 34.Rb2 f6 35.Ba5 Be2 36.b6 Rb7 37.Rb1 Kf7 38.Bd2 g5 39.Bc1 Bf3 40.Ba3 Be4 41.Bd6 1–0. [Click to replay]

Aronian-Ivanchuk saw White preserve a very small advantage in a Queen's Indian, but it never turned into anything serious, and a drawn rook ending eventually resulted. Adams, on the other hand, profited from Wang Yue's poor form, seizing the initiative in the run-up to the first time control, and eventually netting a pawn. Wang sacrifice several more pawns in the hope of exposing the black king to perpetual check, but to no avail.

Wang Yue (2739) - Adams,Mi (2712) [D58]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (6), 23.01.2009
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 0–0 7.e3 b6 8.Bd3 Bb7 9.0–0 Nbd7 10.Qe2 c5 11.Rfd1 Ne4 12.Bxe7 Qxe7 13.cxd5 exd5 14.Rac1 Rac8 15.dxc5 bxc5 16.Ba6 Ndf6 17.Nxe4 Nxe4 18.Nd2 Ng5 19.Qb5 Bxa6 20.Qxa6 Rc7 21.Qa3 Rd8 22.Nb3 Ne6 23.h3 Rc6 24.Rc2 d4 25.exd4 Rcd6 26.d5 Rxd5 27.Rcd2 Rxd2 28.Rxd2 Nd4 29.Qa6 Rd5 30.Qf1 Re5 31.Rd1 Nxb3 32.axb3 Re2 33.Rc1 g6 34.g3 Qe4 35.Rc4 Qe6 36.Rc1 Rxb2 37.Rxc5 Qxb3 38.Rc1 a5 39.Qe1 Qf3 40.Ra1 Re2

41.Qf1 Rd2 42.Qe1 Re2 43.Qf1 Rd2 44.Qe1 Qd5 45.Qe3 Rd1+ 46.Rxd1 Qxd1+ 47.Kh2 a4 48.h4 h5 49.Qe8+ Kg7 50.Qe5+ Kh7 51.Qf4 Qd7 52.g4 hxg4 53.h5 gxh5 54.Qg5 Qd6+ 55.Kg1 a3 56.Qxh5+ Kg7 57.Qa5 g3 58.fxg3 Qxg3+ 59.Kh1 Qf3+ 60.Kg1 Qe3+ 61.Kh1 Qc1+ 62.Kh2 Qc2+ 63.Kh1 a2 64.Qe5+ Kh7 65.Qh5+ Kg8 0–1. [Click to replay]

Live commentary on Playchess by Yasser Seirawan

Once again the server Playchess.com GM Yasser Seirawan entertained the visitors with three hours of live commentary. Naturally the game Carlsen-Karjakin was at the center of attention, and had the audience enthralled. But Yasser's commentary on the other games, even some from the B-Group, were highly entertaining and instructive.

Yasser Seirawan will be on Playchess with live commentary again on Saturday January 24 and Sunday January 25. Additional days of commentary will be announced. Each session consists of a minimum of three one-hour lectures, beginning approximately thirty minutes after play has started. For a charge of ten Ducats (about one Euro) a visitor gets a twelve hour pass to listen to the live lectures.

Playchess commentator GM Yasser Seirawan

Schedule and results of Grandmaster Group A

Schedule and results of Grandmaster Group B

Schedule and results of Grandmaster Group C

Links Official web site All games in PGN: Group A – Group B – Group C All ChessBase reports on Wijk aan Zee 2009 Live coverage is available on the Playchess server 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 it to read, replay and analyse the PGN games.