Tata Steel Tournament 2012 / Round 11

Published January 27, 2012 |

Aronian showing/explaining his win versus Giri in the previous Round 10


I don’t know how Carlsen does it, but he launches on an “unsound” attack/sacrifice on move 20 and Topalov “has” to be winning by move 22. I think if Black had played Re6 on his 22^nd move, then White would be sorely pressed to hold the game as Black attacks and defends along the 6^thrank and (again) I think White gets thrown back. It’s safe to say that in general, human beings don’t like being attacked and often react poorly. On move 25 Topalov sacrificed his Queen – Why? – to stem the pseudo-attack? Awful. The game entered a “messy” mode, but somewhere around moves 45 to 50 Black was getting strangled. 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. c3 Ngf6 5. Qe2 a6 6. Ba4 Qc7 7. O-O e5 8. d4 b5 9. Bc2 cxd4 10. cxd4 Be7 11. Nc3 O-O 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bh4 Bb7 14. Rad1 Rac8 15. Bb3 Rfe8 16. dxe5 dxe5 17. Bg3 Bf8 18. h3 Nb6 19. Nh4 Nc4 20. Nf5 Nxb2 21. Bh4 Nxd1 22. Bxf6 Nxc3 23. Qg4 Bxe4 24. Nxh6+ Kh7 25. Bxf7 Qxf7 26. Nxf7 gxf6 27. f4 Bg6 28. Qh4+ Kg7 29. fxe5 Ne4 30. Rxf6 Bc5+ 31. Kh2 Nxf6 32. Qxf6+ Kh7 33. Ng5+ Kh6 34. Ne6 Rxe6 35. Qxe6 Re8 36. Qf6 Be7 37. Qxa6 b4 38. Qc4 Bf8 39. g4 Kh7 40. e6 Bd6+ 41. Kg2 Be7 42. Qc7 Kg8 43. Kg3 Kf8 44. Qf4+ Kg7 45. Qd4+ Kg8 46. h4 Rd8 47. Qc4 Bd3 48. Qc6 Bb1 49. h5 Bxa2 50. Qe4 Kh8 51. h6 Bf6 52. e7 Re8 53. Qf4 Bg7 54. hxg7+ Kxg7 55. g5 Kg8 56. Qf6 1-0

The Dragon is up a Pawn, but tamed. Kamsky vs Nakamura. 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. O-O-O d5 10. exd5 Nxd5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Bd4 Bxd4 13. Qxd4 Qb6 14. Na4 Qc7 15. Bc4 Rb8 16. Rhe1 Rb4 17. b3 Qxh2 18. a3 Rb7 19. Nc5 Rc7 20. g4 Qf4+ 21. Qxf4 Nxf4 22. b4 Kg7 23. Ba6 Ne6 24. Nxe6+ Bxe6 25. Re5 Rh8 26. Rc5 h5 27. Be2 Rd7 28. Rh1 hxg4 29. Rxh8 Kxh8 30. fxg4 Bd5 31. b5 Rd6 32. c4 Bg2 33. a4 Kg7 34. a5 cxb5 35. cxb5 Rd7 36. Bc4 e6 37. Kc2 Kf6 38. g5+ Ke7 39. Kc3 Kd6 40. Kb4 Re7 41. Rc8 Rb7 42. a6 Rd7 43. Bb3 Rc7 44. Rxc7 Kxc7 1/2-1/2

A nice temporary Pawn sacrifice by Karjakin (move 36) to expoit a “Good Knight vs Bad Bishop” ending. Van Wely versus Karjakin. 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e3 Be7 7. Be2 O-O 8. O-O Be6 9. a3 a5 10. Qc2 f5 11. Na4 Qd6 12. Rd1 Rad8 13. d4 e4 14. Nd2 Bf7 15. Nc3 Qh6 16. Nxd5 Bxd5 17. Bc4 Kh8 18. Bxd5 Rxd5 19. Nf1 Rd6 20. b4 axb4 21. axb4 Rd7 22. Bd2 Bd6 23. b5 Ne7 24. Ra7 b6 25. Rda1 Qe6 26. Ra8 Rdd8 27. Rxd8 Rxd8 28. Ng3 Bxg3 29. hxg3 Nd5 30. Ra7 h6 31. Qa2 Qe8 32. Qc4 Qh5 33. Ra1 Kh7 34. Bb4 Qg6 35. Be1 h5 36. Rc1 h4 37. gxh4 f4 38. Qe2 f3 39. Qf1 Qg4 40. g3 g5 41. Kh2 gxh4 42. Qh3 Qxh3+ 43. Kxh3 hxg3 44. Kxg3 Rg8+ 45. Kh2 Rg2+ 46. Kh1 Rg6 47. Ra1 Rg8 48. Rc1 Kg6 49. Rc6+ Kf7 50. Rh6 Ra8 51. Rh7+ Kg6 52. Rh4 Nf6 53. Bb4 Kg5 54. Rf4 Ra1+ 55. Kh2 Ng4+ 0-1

In desperation White sacrifices a piece on move 41. He gained a little mileage but an exchange sacrifice by Black on move 45 was the beginning of the end. White’s last trick was an attempt at stalemate on his last move. Gashimov versus Radjabov. 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. e5 Nd5 8. Ne4 Qc7 9. f4 Qa5+ 10. c3 Be7 11. Bd3 f5 12. Nf2 O-O 13. O-O Qc7 14. Be2 d6 15. c4 Nb6 16. c5 dxc5 17. b3 a5 18. Bc4 a4 19. Be3 Nd5 20. Qe2 Qb6 21. Bd2 Ba6 22. Nd3 Bb5 23. Kh1 Qa6 24. Rac1 axb3 25. axb3 Bxc4 26. bxc4 Nb4 27. Be3 Rfd8 28. Ne1 Qa2 29. Qxa2 Rxa2 30. Rf2 Ra3 31. Re2 Kf7 32. Kg1 h6 33. Kf1 g5 34. g3 Rd7 35. Rd2 Rda7 36. Bf2 Rb3 37. Kg2 Ke8 38. Kf1 Raa3 39. Rcd1 gxf4 40. gxf4 Rc3 41. Bxc5 Bxc5 42. Rd8+ Kf7 43. R1d7+ Kg6 44. Rg8+ Kh5 45. Rh7 Rf3+ 46. Nxf3 Rxf3+ 47. Kg2 Rxf4 48. Rgh8 Rg4+ 49. Kh3 Nd3 50. Rxh6+ Kg5 51. Rg8+ Kxh6 52. Rh8+ Kg5 53. Rh5+ Kf4 0-1

Ivanchuk versus Gelfand. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O c6 8. Qb3 Nbd7 9. Rc1 b6 10. cxd5 cxd5 11. Na3 Bb7 12. Bb4 Bxb4 13. Qxb4 a6 14. e3 Rc8 15. Bf1 Rxc1 16. Rxc1 Qb8 17. Nb1 Rc8 18. Rxc8+ Qxc8 19. Nc3 Qf8 20. Qb3 h6 21. Ne1 Qc8 22. Nc2 Ne4 23. Nxe4 dxe4 24. Qc3 Qxc3 25. bxc3 b5 26. a4 bxa4 27. Be2 Kf8 28. Kf1 Ke7 29. Ke1 f5 30. Kd2 g5 31. c4 e5 32. Kc3 f4 33. h3 exd4+ 34. Nxd4 f3 35. Bf1 Nc5 36. Kb4 Nd3+ 37. Bxd3 exd3 38. Kc3 Be4 39. c5 Kd7 40. g4 Kc7 41. Kd2 a3 42. Nb3 Bd5 0-1

Aronian versus Navara. 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Qb3 Nb6 6. d4 Bg7 7. e4 Bg4 8. Bb5+ c6 9. Ng5 O-O 10. Be2 Bxe2 11. Nxe2 Na6 12. Be3 Qd6 13. O-O Qb4 14. Qxb4 Nxb4 15. Rfc1 e5 16. Nf3 exd4 17. Bxd4 Rfe8 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. Ng3 Rad8 20. Ne1 Rd2 21. a3 Nd3 22. Nxd3 Rxd3 23. Rab1 Re5 24. Rd1 Rxd1+ 25. Rxd1 Rb5 26. b4 Nc4 27. Rd3 a5 28. bxa5 Rxa5 29. f4 Rxa3 30. Rd7 b5 31. e5 b4 32. e6 b3 33. Rxf7+ Kh6 34. Rb7 b2 35. Kf2 Ra7 36. Rb8 Ra8 37. Rb7 Ra2 38. Ne2 Nd6 39. e7 Nxb7 40. e8=Q b1=Q 41. Qf8+ Kh5 42. Qe7 Qb6+ 43. Kf3 Qb3+ 44. Kf2 Rxe2+ 45. Qxe2+ Kh6 46. g4 Nd8 47. Qe7 Ne6 48. Qh4+ Kg7 49. Qe7+ Kg8 50. Qe8+ Nf8 51. Qxc6 Qe6 52. Qf3 Nd7 53. h3 Kf7 54. Qc3 Qd5 55. Kg3 Nc5 56. Kh4 h6 57. Qh8 g5+ 58. fxg5 hxg5+ 59. Kh5 Qe4 60. Kxg5 Ne6+ 0-1

A beautiful piece for three Pawns execution by Caruana at move 17. Caruana versus Giri. 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 a6 5. Nc3 b5 6. c5 g6 7. Ne5 Bg7 8. f4 a5 9. Be2 Qc7 10. O-O h5 11. h3 Bf5 12. Bd2 Nbd7 13. Bf3 h4 14. Qe1 Ne4 15. Nxe4 dxe4 16. Be2 f6 17. Bxa5 Rxa5 18. Nxc6 Ra8 19. Bxb5 Be6 20. a4 f5 21. Qd2 Bf6 22. d5 Bf7 23. Rac1 Kf8 24. b4 Qc8 25. d6 exd6 26. cxd6 Qe8 27. Ne7 Be6 28. Rc7 Rh7 29. Nd5 Bd8 30. Rb7 Rc8 31. a5 Kg7 32. a6 Kh6 33. a7 Qf8 34. Ne7 Nb6 35. Qf2 Rf7 36. Qxh4+ Kg7 37. Qg5 Bd5 38. Qxg6+ Kh8 39. Qh5+ Kg7 40. Nxf5+ Kg8 41. Ne7+ 1-0

Posted in TOURNAMENTS |

Tagged TATA STEEL |

The American Chess Player’s Handbook

Published January 26, 2012 |

By Bart7

*{click image to enlarge}

Many persons have been confused and discouraged at the very outset of the study by the great variety and the delicate distinctions of the openings: and this has constituted a fault in many other wise excellent manuals for the learner.

The chief aim of the Editor for these pages have been to avoid this fault, by simplifying the openings, and by giving to the student chiefly such moves are recgonized to be the best, both in attack and defence.

Posted in Chess Stuff |

3 Comments

Hearts on KGS

Published January 26, 2012 |

By Bart7

In December ”Hearts”(9dan) was back to rip into the competition at KGS…

Since then he has been victorious against players ranking 7-9 dan..

But his” luck” was to run out , suffering his first loss against a 2 stone handicap..

for the game and more info :

http://gosensations.com/?id=2&server_id=1&new_id=1314

Posted in GO |

1 Comment

Tata Steel Tournament 2012 / Round 10

Published January 25, 2012 |

By DoughBoy

Aronian, on the black side of a Queen’s Gambit Declined, increased his lead by taking out Giri. Aronian appears comfortable in a wide array of openings and styles of play – a very tough player and deservedly in possession of first place in this tournament after the 10^th round.

Ivanchuk was on the black side of a Benoni against Navara and built up a tremendous amount of pressure by move 29. Navara (White) attempted to exchange of some pieces to relieve the pressure; in theory a good idea, but there was a tactical flaw. Ivanchuk scored a nice win.

The current US Champion Gata Kamsky, is a tough competitor. He defends well and is a tenacious fighter. Unfortunately he has not scored many wins here, but today he did against Karjakin.

Topalov is having a tough tournament and has yet to score a game. He lost today against Caruana.

Gelfand and Gashimov agreed to a draw in 25 moves.

The top rated player in the US Nakamura played a very even game against Carlsen today. The game never looked like anything more than a draw and was over in a mere 21 moves, the shortest game of the day.

The ‘sadly amusing’ game of the round was the ‘Draw’ between Teimour Radjabov and Loek Van Wely. If I’m not mistaken, they agreed to a draw where Black had a forced win. I’ve given my ‘what-if’ scenario of the final five moves – which were not played. If my perception is correct, then I find it amusing that Grand Masters have these ‘little’ slips as well.

For all games – See Comments.

Posted in TOURNAMENTS |

Tagged TATA STEEL |

7 Comments

Tata Steel Tournament 2012 / Round 9

Published January 24, 2012 |

By DoughBoy

Going INTO the 9^th round Carlsen and Aronian were tied at 5.5 each followed by Radjabov at 5, Ivanchuk and Caruana at 4.5, Giri at 4 and Karjakin down at 3.5. Well – beware those with lower scores; they often half something to prove/show. Karjakin took down number one rated Carlsen. Aronian beat Caruana and Ivanchuk beat Giri. This puts Aronian in the lead with hungry wolves at his heels.

Levon Aronian

Sergey Karjakin

Two important wins today by Aronian and Karjakin.

For games – see Comments.

Posted in Chess Game Analysis |

3 Comments

Tata Steel Tournament 2012 / Round 8

Published January 22, 2012 |

By DoughBoy

by National Life Master Loal Davis

There was an astounding draw in the 8^th round between Fabiano Caruana and Vassily Ivanchuk. Click on the Diagram to step through this (wild) annotated game.

r4rk1/pbqR1pp1/1p2pn1p/4N3/2B5/7P/PPP1QPP1/3R2K1 b KQkq – 0 18[Event "74th Tata Steel Chess Tournament"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee/The Netherlands"] [Date "2012.01.22"] [Round "8"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Ivanchuk, Vassily"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C10"] [WhiteElo "2736"] [BlackElo "2766"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "2012.??.??"]1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Nbd7 6. Nf3 h6 7. Nxf6+ Nxf6 8. Bh4 c5 9. Bc4 cxd4 10. O-O { A typical delayed recapture of the ‘d5′ Pawn; White hopes to take it with a Rook.} Be7 11. Qe2 Nd7 12. Bxe7 Qxe7 13. Rad1 O-O 14. Rxd4 { White has got to be better here but a win is something else/more.} Nf6 15. Rfd1 b6 16. Ne5 Qc7 17. h3 (17. Bb5 { looks better and appears to maintain a grip on the position. It is very hard for Black to get his pieces out of the box.} ) Bb7 18. Rd7 { A daring stab that comes within a gnat’s wisker of winning.} Qc8 (Nxd7 19. Rxd7 Qc8 20. Bxe6 fxe6 21. Qg4 { forces Black to part with his Queen.} ) 19. Nxf7 { Another rapier thrust. If there is a win in the sequel here I don’t see it – but I would love for there to be a forced win.} Nxd7 (Rxf7 20. Qxe6 { is lights out.} ) 20. Nxh6+ { Very pretty – but a win?} ( { I believe} 20. Qxe6 { still leaves White with some compensating pressure – attacking the Knight on ‘d7′ and multiple exposed attacks against the black King.} ) Kh7 (gxh6 21. Qxe6+ Kg7 22. Rxd7+ Qxd7 23. Qxd7+ Kf6 24. Qe6+ (24. Qxb7 { is also good.} ) Kg7 25. Qe7+ Kg6 (Kh8 26. Bd3 ) 26. Bd3+ Rf5 27. g4 { and there are multiple ways for Black to slip into the abyss.} ) 21. Qh5 Nf6 { Moving the ‘g’ Pawn allows Bd3. Here they agreed to a draw. White has a perpetual check with} 22. Bd3+ Kh8 23. Nf7+ Kg8 24. Nh6+ { etc. A beautiful style game. A win would have been nice â alas – it was not in the cards.} 1/2-1/2350nod4d7

Giri attempted a rash counter attack at move 17 against Gashimov; Qe3 was rational. Another mistake on move 31 let Black crash through (See Comments). I’ve seen much better from Giri; perhaps tired and/or the strain of a long tough tournament.

Posted in Chess Game Analysis, TOURNAMENTS |

Tagged TATA STEEL |

2 Comments

Tata Steel Tournament 2012 / Round 7

Published January 21, 2012 |

By DoughBoy


Gata Kamsky executed a superb technical win against David Navara’s Berlin Defense to the Ruy Lopez. As Black’s Bb6 in the diagram position loses to Rd6+, Navara must lose the ‘c5’ Pawn. After that it’s smooth sailing for Gata.
Gata Kamsky	David Navara

8/p1b2p2/2k5/1rpRPP2/1PK5/2B5/8/8 b KQkq – 0 39[Event "74th Tata Steel Chess Tournament"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee/The Netherlands"] [Date "2012.01.21"] [Round "7"] [White "Kamsky, Gata"] [Black "Navara, David"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2732"] [BlackElo "2712"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2012.??.??"]1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 11. Bf4 Be6 12. Rfd1 Be7 13. Ng5 Rh6 14. Nxe6 Rxe6 15. Kf1 Rd8 16. Rxd8+ Bxd8 17. Ne4 Be7 18. Re1 c5 19. c4 Nd4 20. Nc3 Ra6 21. Rd1 c6 22. Be3 b5 23. a3 b4 24. axb4 cxb4 25. Bxd4 bxc3 26. Bxc3 Ra4 27. Ke2 Rxc4 28. Ra1 Bc5 29. g3 Bb6 30. Kd3 Rc5 31. f4 Rb5 32. b4 g6 33. g4 hxg4 34. hxg4 Kd7 35. f5 gxf5 36. gxf5 c5 37. Kc4 Kc6 38. Rd1 Bc7 39. Rd5 a6 40. Rxc5+ Rxc5+ 41. bxc5 a5 42. f6 Kd7 43. Kd5 a4 44. c6+ Kd8 45. Bb4 Bb8 46. e6 Ke8 47. Bd6 1-0770nod1d5

Boris Gelfand lost to World Number One (rated) Magnus Carlsen (See Comments). Although a tough tournament for Gelfand, it could be a blessing in that he knows he has some work to do before his World Championship match with Anand later this year. That work could lead to a tough match.

Posted in Gata Kamsky, TOURNAMENTS |

Tagged TATA STEEL |

2 Comments

Tata Steel Tournament 2012 / Round 6

Published January 20, 2012 |

By DoughBoy


Hikaru Nakamura played another Dutch and his victim was the World Champion Challenger Boris Gelfand. Gelfand appeared OK around move 30, but quickly fell apart. You can bet that Anand is watching.
Boris Gelfand	Hikaru Nakamura

3rr1k1/p6p/1pR2n2/5p2/3bp3/BP4PB/P4P1P/2R3K1 b KQkq – 0 30[Event "74th Tata Steel Chess Tournament"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee/The Netherlands"] [Date "2012.01.20"] [Round "6"] [White "Gelfand, Boris"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A88"] [WhiteElo "2744"] [BlackElo "2758"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2012.??.??"]1. d4 f5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 g6 4. c4 Bg7 5. Nc3 O-O 6. Nf3 d6 7. O-O c6 8. d5 e5 9. dxe6 Bxe6 10. b3 Re8 11. Bb2 Na6 12. Ng5 Qe7 13. Nxe6 Qxe6 14. Qc2 Nc5 15. Rad1 Rad8 16. e3 Nce4 17. Nxe4 fxe4 18. Rd2 d5 19. cxd5 cxd5 20. Qc5 b6 21. Qb5 Nh5 22. Ba3 Bf8 23. Bb2 Bg7 24. Ba3 Be5 25. Rc1 Nf6 26. Rdc2 d4 27. Rc6 Qf5 28. exd4 Bxd4 29. Qxf5 gxf5 30. Bh3 e3 31. Bxf5 exf2+ 32. Kf1 Be3 33. Rb1 Ne4 34. Bxe4 Rxe4 35. Rc2 Red4 0-1590nog2h3

Aronian made minced meat (Baloney) out of Gashimov’s Benoni. Dynamic Pawn sacrifices are part and parcel of the Benoni. Black looked fine, but executed a ‘dud’ Pawn sacrifice on move 21 and it looked as though he just handed over the game. When you sacrifice you try to get something in return;

I just don’t see it. (See Comments)

A beautiful piece of interference at the tail end of Radjabov’s victory over Karjakin. (See Comments)

Posted in TOURNAMENTS |

Tagged TATA STEEL |

3 Comments

Rd5 GM “MAD” Maxim Turov(2645) – Lars Ootes(2326) {TATA STEEL C}

Published January 19, 2012 |

By Bart7

The Russian GM has the “pedal to the metal ” out manuvering and driving over his opponents at this year’s event. 5bk1/1Q3p2/3p2p1/1pqN3p/8/2P3PP/1P3PK1/8 b KQkq – 0 341. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. O-O d6 6. a4 c6 7. a5 Nbd7 8. Nc3 Qc7 9. e4 e5 10. h3 Rb8 11. Be3 b5 12. axb6 axb6 13. d5 Bb7 14. Ne1 Ra8 15. Nd3 Rxa1 16. Qxa1 Ra8 17. Qc1 cxd5 18. exd5 e4 19. Nxe4 Nxe4 20. Bxe4 Nf6 21. Bg2 Bxd5 22. Qd1 Bxg2 23. Kxg2 Nd5 24. Re1 Re8 25. Bc1 Rxe1 26. Nxe1 Qc6 27. Qf3 Nb4 28. c3 b5 29. Bf4 Nd5 30. Nd3 Nxf4+ 31. Nxf4 Qc5 32. Qa8+ Bf8 33. Qb7 h5 34. Nd5 h4 35. g4 Bg7 36. Nc7 Qe5 37. Nxb5 d5 38. Nd4 Qe4+ 39. Nf3 Bf6 40. Qb6 Bg5 41. Qb8+ Kh7 42. Qe5 Bc1 43. b4 Qxe5 44. Nxe5 Bb2 45. b5 Bxc3 46. Nc6 670nof4d5With 5 rounds now completed , Max has a very Impressive 5-0 record …

Posted in Wijk aan Zee (TATA) |

Tagged TATA STEEL |

Tata Steel Tournament 2012 / Round 5

Published January 19, 2012 |

By DoughBoy


Vassily Ivanchuk won on the black side of a Pirc Defense. Gashimov flexed his central Pawns and got ground up in a very well played game by Ivanchuk.
Vugar Gashimov	Vassily Ivanchuk