Zug GP R08: Topalov wins, leads alone

From April 14 to April 30, 2013, the third stage of the FIDE Grand Prix Series 2012-2013 is taking place in Zug, Switzerland. Twelve players are competing in a round robin tournament with time controls of 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, 60 minutes for the next 20 moves and then 15 minutes and an increment of 30 seconds per move for each player. The Grand Prix Series consists of six tournaments to be held over two years, with 18 top players, each participating in four of the six tournaments. The winner and second placed player overall of the Grand Prix Series will qualify for the Candidates Tournament to be held in March 2014.

Round eight report

Whilst the weather in Switzerland is still relatively cold, things were heating up over the chess boards in Zug! After eight rounds of play former FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov became the sole leader in the tournament. He defeated the Russian player Alexander Morozevich who today lost his second game in a row after such a great start to the tournament. All other games finished in draws. Ruslan Ponomariov managed to defend a worse endgame against Hikaru Nakamura, and is in second place, half a point behind Topalov. Tomorrow is a free day and the ninth round is scheduled for April 28.

Rustam Kasimdzhanov - Teimour Radjabov ½-½
The two tail enders seemed peacefully inclined before the next rest day, and after Kasimdzhanov chose the Bf4 variation against the Queen’s Gambit Declined, Radjabov did not wish to get involved in any of the long theoretical lines with an immediate c5 and opted instead for the Nbd7 line. White preferred the quieter 11.Be2 to the main line with 11.Be5 and the first “new” move came with 20…Rac8 in a position which was already quite equal and the final result was never in doubt for either player. Clock Times 1:33 - 1:11

What's he trying to remember? Veselin Topalov kibitzes Nakamura's play

Ruslan Ponomariov - Hikaru Nakamura ½-½
Nakamura returned to his favourite Najdorf Variation in the Sicilian. Previously these two had played a Najdorf, but that time Ponomariov was Black! Both players know the theory in this variation extremely well, and Ruslan was the first to try and deviate from the main path with 12.Qd2, in lieu of the main lines 12.h3 or 12.Be2. The first new move on the board came with 17.f4, but this seemed to allow Black to take the initiative, and after 20..a4! Black was controlling the game. During the press conference the American player pointed out that he could have tried to play 27...Qh5 instead of 27...d5, and this was a critical moment in the game. But even after the text move the position looked difficult for White. However Ruslan defended very well and it ended a draw.

"Pono" – who does not like to be called that – relinquished the lead in this round

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov - Gata Kamsky ½-½
Kamsky got his favourite Chebanenko-Grunfeld setup with c6-a6-g6, and the players trotted out the theory relatively quickly. Mamedyarov adopted a lesser played line with 10.b3 instead of the main line 10.c5, but Black was prepared and he chose 15…Qd5 instead of the previously played 15…Qd7, which also ended in a draw. During the press conference it became obvious how good the preparation of the Azeri player was. After the exchange of queens Shakhriyar got a slight edge, but Gata seemed comfortable with the position and there was very little play and pieces were exchanged at a steady pace. The point was shared on move 42.

Former child prodigies Peter Leko, Hungary, and Fabiano Caruana, Italy

Fabiano Caruana - Peter Leko ½-½
Again we had another delayed Ruy Lopez in Zug. Maybe Peter wanted to go for the Marshall’s Gambit but hardly any players at this level allow it today since it offers too many drawing lines for Black. Fabiano continued his quiet approach in the opening with the rare 9.a3 whereas the main line is 9.c3. Black’s 12…Nd4 was the first new move on the board but according to Peter Leko he’s seen the similar idea before with h3 Be6 on the board. Fabiano could not prove he has any edge and It was enough to keep equality fro Black. White really had nothing much in the game with Houdini floating from a maximum of +0.22 to -0.23 throughout the game!

Sergey Karjakin - Anish Giri ½-½
Giri (above) threw off his positional style with which he has been playing in the first part of the event, and a wild game resulten from a King’s Indian Saemisch Variation. Anish preferred to play 12…Bd7 instead of the more common 12..h5.

This surprised Sergey Karjakin (above), who replied with 13.h3?! rather than 13.Be2. The resulting fray saw a new idea with 16…Nh5, and it was already clear that Black was looking to sacrifice this knight, as after 17.g4 he played the complicated 17…Qh4! The move 17..Ng3 was also worth considering, but Giri had doubts during the press conference. White seemed a bit unsettled by Black’s aggressive play and opted for 23.f5 when 23.e5 may have posed some serious problems, given the poor position of the black queen. After the game move, Black equalised immediately and the exposed position of the white king allowed Giri to obtain a relatively straightforward perpetual check. Our guest commentator GM Giorgi Margvelashvili has analysed this game:

Before the start of Topalov vs Morozevich (with some Italian kid in the background)

Alexander Morozevich - Veselin Topalov 0-1
The most critical game was obviously Morozevich-Topalov, and it was clear that Alexander Morozevich had to make up for the lost ground of the previous day. The players went for a Symmetrical English and White immediately sprung a novelty on the ninth move with c5 instead of the normal 9.Qe2.

Veselin Topalov (above) side-stepped, but Morozevich was determined to get a complicated position on the board, and there were innumerable thrusts and parries in the game. Topalov never seemed in any great difficulties, however, and kept good control over the position. White was in time trouble when he could have tried to create more problems for Black by playing 41. Be5 or 52.c4. This is the second game analysed by our guest commentator Giorgi Margvelashvili.

Giorgi Margvelashvili is an International Grandmaster from Georgia, born on February 9, 1990. His his current FIDE rating is 2565. He has won various international competitions. Some of Giorgi’s most notable achievements include winning U14 European Championship in 2004; second place at the Georgian Chess Championship in 2008; and winning U.S. Masters Championship in 2012.

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Information and pictures by WGM Anastasiya Karlovich and GM Robert Fontaine

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