Zug R01: Morozevich and Caruana win

by ChessBase
4/18/2013 – Solid yet unorthodox chess marked the start of the Zug Grand Prix. Morozevich used a quick fianchetto setup to confuse Kasimdzhanov, and it worked. Radjabov created too many weaknesses against Caruana who was happy to scoop them up one by one. Nakamura went out for blood against Karjakin's weak opening, but couldn't capitalize. The remaining games were solidly drawn. Round one report.

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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 one report

By GM Alejandro Ramirez

Round 01 – April 18 2013, 14:00h
Alexander Morozevich 2758
1-0
Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2709
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2766
½-½
Ruslan Ponomariov 2733
Fabiano Caruana 2772
1-0
Teimour Radjabov 2793
Sergey Karjakin 2786
½-½
Hikaru Nakamura 2767
Anish Giri 2727
½-½
Veselin Topalov 2771
Peter Leko 2744
½-½
Gata Kamsky 2741

The Zug Grand Prix fired up with some very creative games. Even though many of the games were drawn, the players exhibited a good amount of fighting chess in which unorthodox setups seemed to be the norm.

FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov finding out which move he will ceremonially execute on the board Caruana-Radjabov, while chief arbiter Panagiotis Nikolopoulos makes sure he gets it right.

Caruana-Radjabov 1-0
Radjabov continued on his freefall from the Candidates tournament and lost his first round against the rising Italian star. The game featured a Jaenisch Gambit in the Spanish that has recently become less of a risky opening and more of a solid way of dealing with 1.e4. However in this case Caruana was left with a pleasant edge from the opening and was able to overcome the opposite colored bishops in the endgame to convert a win after bagging two of black's tripled pawns.

Karjakin-Nakamura ½-½
Nakamura is probably best known for his fighting spirit, and he was certainly hungry for victory after a dubious variation for White in the French left Karjakin's position in a questionable state. Black's pair of bishops and slightly better structure gave the American the edge, but Karjakin's stubborn defense allowed him to hang on to his half point after suffering for well over one hundred moves.

American's top GM Hikaru Nakamura

Ruslan Ponomarov vs Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, with FIDE officer Lakhdar Mazouz looking on

Mamedyarov-Ponomariov ½-½
Black employs a quick Be7 setup in the Queen's Gambit Declined to obtain a position that is passive but also extremely solid. Mamedyarov was unable to break through effectively and had to be content with the draw.

The other top American GM: Gata Kamsky

Leko-Kamsky ½-½
A bizarre iteration of the Open Spanish left White's pair of bishops battling against a superbly posted knight in the center. White eventually got rid of it, but this meant that simplifications began and the game was eventually drawn after White's king was too weak and couldn't prevent a perpetual.

Bulgarian GM Veselin Topalov facing the youngest participant: Anish Giri of Holland

Giri-Topalov ½-½
The Dutch player tried a new approach in the fianchetto Gruenfeld by playing a quick h3 and Qc2, but it simply didn't help as Topalov was well prepared and held equality without problems.

Former FIDE World Champion Rustam Kasimdzanov playing Alexander Morozevich

Morozevich-Kasimdzhanov 1-0
Morozevich beeing the creative player that he is played a very strange opening that quickly paid off dividends. It seemed that Kasimdzhanov was a little lost on how to exactly handle the resulting position, and White's positional assets kept piling up. Eventually this became too much to handle: after establishing a strong pawn center and rounding up a weak pawn on the kingside, Morozevich obtained an advantage strong enough that it forced his opponent to resign.

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Information and pictures by FIDE press chief WGM Anastasiya Karlovich

Schedule and pairings

Round 01 – April 18 2013, 14:00h
Alexander Morozevich 2758
1-0
Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2709
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2766
½-½
Ruslan Ponomariov 2733
Fabiano Caruana 2772
1-0
Teimour Radjabov 2793
Sergey Karjakin 2786
½-½
Hikaru Nakamura 2767
Anish Giri 2727
½-½
Veselin Topalov 2771
Peter Leko 2744
½-½
Gata Kamsky 2741
Round 02 – April 19 2013, 14:00h
Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2709
-
Gata Kamsky 2741
Veselin Topalov 2771
-
Peter Leko 2744
Hikaru Nakamura 2767
-
Anish Giri 2727
Teimour Radjabov 2793
-
Sergey Karjakin 2786
Ruslan Ponomariov 2733
-
Fabiano Caruana 2772
Alexander Morozevich 2758
-
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2766
Round 03 – April 20 2013, 14:00h
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2766
-
Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2709
Fabiano Caruana 2772
-
Alexander Morozevich 2758
Sergey Karjakin 2786
-
Ruslan Ponomariov 2733
Anish Giri 2727
-
Teimour Radjabov 2793
Peter Leko 2744
-
Hikaru Nakamura 2767
Gata Kamsky 2741
-
Veselin Topalov 2771
Round 04 – April 21 2013, 14:00h
Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2709
-
Veselin Topalov 2771
Hikaru Nakamura 2767
-
Gata Kamsky 2741
Teimour Radjabov 2793
-
Peter Leko 2744
Ruslan Ponomariov 2733
-
Anish Giri 2727
Alexander Morozevich 2758
-
Sergey Karjakin 2786
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2766
-
Fabiano Caruana 2772
Round 05 – April 23 2013, 14:00h
Fabiano Caruana 2772
-
Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2709
Sergey Karjakin 2786
-
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2766
Anish Giri 2727
-
Alexander Morozevich 2758
Peter Leko 2744
-
Ruslan Ponomariov 2733
Gata Kamsky 2741
-
Teimour Radjabov 2793
Veselin Topalov 2771
-
Hikaru Nakamura 2767
Round 06 – April 24 2013, 14:00h
Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2709
-
Hikaru Nakamura 2767
Teimour Radjabov 2793
-
Veselin Topalov 2771
Ruslan Ponomariov 2733
-
Gata Kamsky 2741
Alexander Morozevich 2758
-
Peter Leko 2744
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2766
-
Anish Giri 2727
Fabiano Caruana 2772
-
Sergey Karjakin 2786
Round 07 – April 25 2013, 14:00h
Sergey Karjakin 2786
-
Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2709
Anish Giri 2727
-
Fabiano Caruana 2772
Peter Leko 2744
-
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2766
Gata Kamsky 2741
-
Alexander Morozevich 2758
Veselin Topalov 2771
-
Ruslan Ponomariov 2733
Hikaru Nakamura 2767
-
Teimour Radjabov 2793
Round 08 – April 26 2013, 14:00h
Rustam Kasimdzhanov
2709
-
Teimour Radjabov 2793
Ruslan Ponomariov
2733
-
Hikaru Nakamura 2767
Alexander Morozevich
2758
-
Veselin Topalov 2771
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
2766
-
Gata Kamsky 2741
Fabiano Caruana
2772
-
Peter Leko 2744
Sergey Karjakin
2786
-
Anish Giri 2727
Round 09 – April 28 2013, 14:00h
Anish Giri 2727
-
Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2709
Peter Leko 2744
-
Sergey Karjakin 2786
Gata Kamsky 2741
-
Fabiano Caruana 2772
Veselin Topalov 2771
-
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2766
Hikaru Nakamura 2767
-
Alexander Morozevich 2758
Teimour Radjabov 2793
-
Ruslan Ponomariov 2733
Round 10 – April 29 2013, 14:00h
Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2709
-
Ruslan Ponomariov 2733
Alexander Morozevich 2758
-
Teimour Radjabov 2793
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2766
-
Hikaru Nakamura 2767
Fabiano Caruana 2772
-
Veselin Topalov 2771
Sergey Karjakin 2786
-
Gata Kamsky 2741
Anish Giri 2727
-
Peter Leko 2744
Round 11 – April 30 2013, 12:00h
Peter Leko 2744
-
Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2709
Gata Kamsky 2741
-
Anish Giri 2727
Veselin Topalov 2771
-
Sergey Karjakin 2786
Hikaru Nakamura 2767
-
Fabiano Caruana 2772
Teimour Radjabov 2793
-
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2766
Ruslan Ponomariov 2733
-
Alexander Morozevich 2758

The games start at 14:00h European time, 16:00h Moscow, 8 a.m. New York. You can find your regional starting time here. The commentary on Playchess begins one hour after the start of the games and is free for premium members.

Links

The games will be 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 there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.


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