Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2017

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2017

Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2017

August 17, 2017

Blitz

Round B9 Results
Karjakin-Anand 1-0
Navara-Kasparov 0.5-0.5
Nepo-Le 0.5-0.5
Caruana-Nakamura 0-1
Dominguez-Aronian 0-1

Round B9 (18), Aug. 17, 2017
Karjakin, Sergey – Anand, Vishy
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Ne7 6.c3 Nd7 7.Nbd2 c5 8.dxc5 Nxc5 9.O-O Nc6 10.Nd4 Bg6 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.b4 Nd3 13.Nf3 Nxc1 14.Rxc1 Be7 15.Nd4 Qb6 16.Qa4 Rc8 17.Nxc6 Rxc6 18.Bb5 O-O 19.Bxc6 Bd3 20.Rfe1 Rc8 21.Qd1 Bg5 22.Bd7 Rc7 23.Qxd3 Bxc1 24.Bxe6 fxe6 25.Rxc1 Rc4 26.a4 Qc7 27.Qh3 Qxe5 28.Qe3 Re4 29.Qd2 Re2 30.Qd1 Qf4 31.f3 Qe3+ 32.Kh1 Qg5 33.Qf1 Qe3 34.a5 Rb2 35.Qg1 Qxg1+ 36.Kxg1 Kf7 37.Kf1 Kf6 38.Rd1 a6 39.h4 Ke5 40.g3 Kd6 41.f4 h5 42.Rd3 e5 43.fxe5+ Kxe5 44.Ke1 Ke4 45.Rd4+ Ke5 46.Kd1 Rg2 47.Rd3 Ke4 48.Rd4+ Ke5 49.b5 axb5 50.Rb4 Rxg3 51.Kc2 Rg1 52.Rxb5 Ra1 53.Kb2 Ra4 54.Kb3 Ra1 55.Kb2 Ra4 56.Kb3 Ra1 57.Kb2 Ra4 58.Kb3 Rxh4 59.a6 Rh1 60.Ka2 Rh2+ 61.Rb2 Rh4 62.Ka3 Rc4 63.a7 1-0

Round B9 (18), Aug. 17, 2017
Caruana, Fabiano – Nakamura, Hikaru
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 O-O 6.O-O Re8 7.Nbd2 a6 8.Bxc6 dxc6 9.Nc4 Bg4 10.h3 Bh5 11.Bg5 b5 12.Na5 Qd7 13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.Nb3 Bb6 15.c4 c5 16.g4 Bg6 17.Qe2 Rad8 18.Rad1 Re6 19.Nc1 bxc4 20.dxc4 Rd6 21.Rxd6 Qxd6 22.Qe3 Ba5 23.Nb3 Bb6 24.Nfd2 a5 25.a4 Qc6 26.Ra1 Rd6 27.f3 Qd7 28.Qe2 Rd3 29.Kf2 h5 30.Ra3 hxg4 31.hxg4 Kf8 32.Ke1 Rd6 33.Nc1 Ke7 34.Kd1 Qd8 35.Kc2 Qh8 36.Rd3 Rd4 37.Ncb3 Rxd3 38.Qxd3 Qe8 39.Nb1 Qxa4 40.Nc3 Qc6 41.Nd2 a4 42.Qd5 Qe8 43.Qb7 Kf8 44.Nd5 a3 45.b3 Qd8 46.Qa6 Kg7 47.Qxa3 Qh8 48.Qa6 Qd8 49.Nb1 Qb8 50.Kb2 Qd8 51.Kc2 Qb8 52.Nd2 Qd8 53.Qb7 Ba5 54.Qc6 Bb6 55.Nf1 Ba5 56.Qxc5 Be1 57.Qc6 Bh4 58.Nd2 Bg5 59.Nb1 Qh8 60.Qxc7 Qh2+ 61.Kc3 Qg1 62.Na3 Qe1+ 63.Kb2 Bc1+ 64.Kb1 Bxa3+ 65.Kc2 Qe2+ 66.Kc3 Qxf3+ 0-1

Round B9 (18), Aug. 17, 2017
Dominguez Perez, Leinier – Aronian, Levon
C88 Ruy Lopez, Closed, anti-Marshall

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.a4 b4 9.d4 d6 10.dxe5 dxe5 11.Nbd2 Bc5 12.a5 Be6 13.Qe2 Qe7 14.Bc4 Nd4 15.Nxd4 Bxd4 16.Nb3 Rfd8 17.Nxd4 Bxc4 18.Nf5 Qe6 19.Qf3 Ne8 20.b3 Bb5 21.Qg3 Rd7 22.Be3 g6 23.Bc5 Nf6 24.Bxb4 Nh5 25.Qh4 Nf4 26.Ne3 Rd4 27.Qe7 Qxe7 28.Bxe7 Rxe4 29.f3 Rd4 30.Rad1 Ne2+ 31.Kf2 Nc3 32.Rxd4 exd4 33.Ng4 f5 34.Nh6+ Kg7 35.Bg5 Re8 36.Rxe8 Bxe8 37.g4 Bd7 38.h4 Nd5 39.Ke2 c5 40.Kd2 Be6 41.Kd3 Nb4+ 42.Kd2 Nc6 43.Bf4 Nxa5 44.g5 Nb7 45.Be5+ Kf8 46.f4 Ke7 47.c3 dxc3+ 48.Kxc3 Nd6 49.Bf6+ Kd7 50.Be5 Ne4+ 51.Kc2 Kc6 52.Kb2 Kb5 53.Ka3 Nd2 54.Bc3 Nf3 55.Kb2 Nxh4 56.Kc2 Nf3 57.Bb2 Nd4+ 0-1

Karjakin, in the nine games of blitz has scored 8 out of 9, with no losses. He is World Blitz Champion (Doha, 2016).

He said that he has been playing blitz since he was nine years old and is the form of chess that he enjoys most. He gained almost sixty points in the live blitz rating scale today.

Levon had a good day but tired near the end. He said playing is all right but it is the waiting for the next round that drains you of energy. He said that he is enjoying himself in Saint Louis.

Standings after Round B9

1 Aronian 18.5
2 Nakamura 16.5
3 Karjakin 16
4 Nepomniachtchi 15
5 Caruana 14.5
6-7 Le, Dominguez 12
8-9 Kasparov, Anand 10.5
10 Navara 9.5

[Ben Daswani]

Re: Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2017

Do you really need to crap in every thread? Enough already with the bullshit, Ben.

OK?

My sincere apologies. I didn't realize this was your safe space.

[Neil Frarey]

Re: Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2017

My sincere apologies. I didn't realize this was your safe space.

Don't apologize to me, Ben. Apologize to Wayne.

The guy puts in a tremendous amount of effort to start and then curate his threads.

It's called respect.

Class dismissed.

[Ben Daswani]

Re: Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2017

It's called respect.

It's called a joke. Lighten up.

Wayne Komer's threads are great! He often posts results before either Chess.com or ChessBase do. I don't think the odd intermittent joke in any way hinders the excellent work that he does.

[Neil Frarey]

Re: Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2017

WOW! Sensational stuff!

Looks like Kasparov is back in form!?!

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2017

Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2017

August 18, 2017

Blitz

Headlines:

Navara beats Aronian and Karjakin
Garry wins two back to back

Rounds B10 to B13

B10 Results
Navara-Dominguez 0-1
Caruana-Le 0-1
Aronian-Nakamura 0.5-0.5
Nepo-Anand 0-1
Karjakin-Kasparov 1-0

B11 Results
Anand-Caruana 0-1
Kasparov-Nepo 0.5-0.5
Dominguez-Karjakin 0-1
Le-Nakamura 1-0
Navara-Aronian 1-0

B12 Results
Aronian-Le 1-0
Nakamura-Anand 1-0
Caruana-Kasparov 0-1
Karjakin-Navara 0-1
Nepo-Dominguez 1-0

B13 Results
Navara-Nepo 0.5-0.5
Dominguez-Caruana 1-0
Karjakin-Aronian 0.5-0.5
Kasparov-Nakamura 1-0
Anand-Le 0.5-0.5

Round B10 (19), Aug. 18, 2017
Navara, David – Dominguez, L.
D35 QGD, Exchange variation

1.c4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 c5 7.Rb1 Be7 8.Nf3 O-O 9.Bc4 Nc6 10.O-O b6 11.Be3 cxd4 12.cxd4 Bb7 13.Qe2 Rc8 14.Rfd1 Qc7 15.d5 exd5 16.exd5 Ne5 17.Bb3 Nxf3+ 18.Qxf3 Bd6 19.h4 Qc3 20.h5 h6 21.Rd4 Rce8 22.Rg4 Bc8 23.Rc4 Qe5 24.Bf4 Qf6 25.Bc2 Bxf4 26.Rxf4 Qd6 27.Rd1 Bd7 28.Qd3 f5 29.g3 Re5 30.Bb3 Rfe8 31.Kg2 Kh8 32.Rc1 a5 33.Qc4 a4 34.Bxa4 Re4 35.Qc7 Qxc7 36.Rxc7 Bxa4 37.Rxf5 Rd4 38.Rff7 Rg8 39.Rb7 Rxd5 40.Rxb6 Be8 41.Rf4 Bxh5 42.a4 Ra8 43.Rfb4 Rda5 44.R6b5 Bg6 45.Rc4 Rxa4 46.Rxa4 Rxa4 47.Rb2 Ra3 48.f3 Rd3 49.g4 Bf7 50.Kg3 Bd5 51.Rb8+ Kh7 52.Rf8 g5 53.Rf6 Kg7 54.Rf5 Bc6 55.Kf2 Rd5 0-1

Round 10 (19), Aug. 18, 2017
Caruana, Fabiano – Le, Quang Liem
A30 English, symmetrical

1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 4.e3 Nf6 5.d4 cxd4 6.exd4 d5 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Qb3 e6 9.Bb5 Bg7 10.O-O O-O 11.Bxc6 bxc6 12.Na4 Qd6 13.Re1 Rb8 14.Qd1 c5 15.Nxc5 Bb7 16.Bg5 Ba8 17.Qd2 Rb5 18.Rac1 Nb4 19.a4 Rb6 20.Bf4 Qd8 21.Ne5 Na2 22.Rcd1 Qd5 23.f3 Rd8 24.Qf2 Rb4 25.Re4 h6 26.h4 Qxc5 27.dxc5 Rxd1+ 28.Re1 Rxe1+ 29.Qxe1 Rxf4 30.c6 Nb4 31.Qe3 Nd5 32.Qxa7 Bxe5 33.Qxa8+ Kg7 34.a5 Rb4 35.a6 Rxb2 36.a7 Ra2 37.Qb7 Bd4+ 38.Kh2 Rxa7 39.Qb3 Be5+ 40.g3 Ra6 41.f4 Bc7 42.Qc4 Ra3 43.Qd4+ Kg8 44.Qc5 Rc3 45.Qb5 Ne7 46.h5 Rxc6 47.hxg6 Rc2+ 48.Kh3 Nxg6 49.Qb3 Rc5 50.Qb4 Bd6 51.Qd4 Rd5 52.Qc4 h5 53.Qc8+ Kg7 54.Qc3+ Kh7 55.Qf6 Rf5 56.Qd4 Be7 57.Qd7 h4 58.gxh4 Rxf4 59.h5 Rh4+ 0-1

Round 10 (19), Aug. 18, 2017
Nepo, Ian – Anand, Vishy
C22 Centre game, Berger variation

1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6 4.Qe3 Nf6 5.Bd2 Bb4 6.Nc3 O-O 7.O-O-O Re8 8.Qf4 Bxc3 9.Bxc3 Rxe4 10.Qg3 d5 11.f3 Re6 12.Ne2 Rd6 13.Qf4 d4 14.Nxd4 Nd5 15.Nxc6 bxc6 16.Rxd5 cxd5 17.Be5 Re6 18.Qg3 Rg6 19.Qf2 Ba6 20.f4 Bxf1 21.Rxf1 Qe7 22.Rd1 Rd8 23.a3 c5 24.h3 Re6 25.Kb1 d4 26.Qf1 Kh8 27.Qc4 Re8 28.Qb3 f6 29.Bb8 Rb6 0-1

Round 10 (19), Aug. 18, 2017
Karjakin, Sergey – Kasparov, Garry
A01 Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack, Modern variation

1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 g6 4.c4 Bg7 5.Nf3 d6 6.Be2 Nf6 7.d4 O-O 8.O-O exd4 9.Nxd4 Re8 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Bf3 Bd7 12.Nc3 Rb8 13.h3 c5 14.Qd2 h5 15.Rad1 Qe7 16.Rfe1 a6 17.Qc1 Be6 18.Ne2 Nd7 19.Bxg7 Kxg7 20.Nf4 Ne5 21.Be2 Qf6 22.Bxh5 Rh8 23.Be2 g5 24.Nxe6+ fxe6 25.f4 gxf4 26.exf4 Nc6 27.Rd3 Nd4 28.Rg3+ Kf7 29.Bd3 Rbg8 30.Rg5 e5 31.Rf1 Ke7 32.Qe3 Kd7 33.Rxg8 Rxg8 34.fxe5 Qxe5 35.Rf7+ Ke6 36.Qf2 Qg5 37.Rxc7 Qc1+ 38.Kh2 1-0

Round 11 (20), Aug. 18, 2017
Anand, Vishy – Caruana, Fabiano
C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 d6 7.c3 O-O 8.Re1 Nd7 9.Be3 Nb6 10.Bb3 Kh8 11.Nbd2 f5 12.Bxb6 cxb6 13.exf5 Bxf5 14.d4 exd4 15.Nxd4 Nxd4 16.cxd4 Qd7 17.Ne4 Rae8 18.Nc3 b5 19.Qd2 h6 20.Nd5 Bg5 21.f4 Bh4 22.g3 Bd8 23.Rxe8 Rxe8 24.Re1 a5 25.Rxe8+ Qxe8 26.Qe3 Qxe3+ 27.Nxe3 Bb1 28.Be6 Bb6 29.Nf5 d5 30.Kf2 g6 31.Nd6 Bxd4+ 32.Kf3 Bxa2 0-1

Round 11 (20), Aug. 18, 2017
Dominguez, L. – Karjakin, Sergey
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nbd2 O-O 7.Qe2 Nd7 8.Nc4 Re8 9.Bd2 b5 10.Ne3 a5 11.a4 Bb6 12.O-O Nf8 13.Qe1 b4 14.h3 Ng6 15.b3 Qf6 16.Nc4 Bxh3 17.Bg5 Qe6 18.gxh3 Qxh3 19.Qe2 h6 20.Nxb6 Qg4+ 21.Kh2 hxg5 22.Rg1 Qh5+ 23.Kg3 Nf4 24.Qf1 cxb6 25.Rh1 Qg6 26.Nd2 Qf6 27.f3 g6 28.Qf2 Kg7 29.Nc4 Rh8 30.Nxb6 Qe6 31.Qf1 Rxh1 32.Qxh1 Rh8 33.Qg1 Ne2+ 0-1

Round 11 (20), Aug. 18, 2017
Le, Quang Liem – Nakamura, Hikaru
A48 King’s Indian, London System

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bf4 d6 4.e3 c5 5.c3 Nbd7 6.h3 Bg7 7.Bd3 O-O 8.O-O b6 9.Bh2 Bb7 10.Nbd2 Qc7 11.e4 e5 12.Re1 Rfe8 13.a4 a6 14.dxe5 dxe5 15.Qb3 Nh5 16.Rad1 Nf4 17.Bc4 Re7 18.Nf1 Nf6 19.Ng5 b5 20.axb5 axb5 21.Qxb5 h6 22.Bxf4 exf4 23.Nxf7 Rxf7 24.e5 Ba6 25.Bxf7+ Qxf7 26.Qxc5 Ne8 27.e6 Qc7 28.Qxc7 Nxc7 29.Rd7 Ne8 30.Ra1 Bf6 31.Ra3 Be5 32.Nd2 Nf6 33.Rf7 Bd6 34.Rxf6 Bxa3 35.bxa3 Bd3 36.Rxf4 Bf5 37.e7 Re8 38.g4 Bd7 39.Rf8+ Rxf8 40.exf8=Q+ Kxf8 41.Kg2 Ke7 42.Kg3 Kd6 43.Kf4 Kd5 44.h4 Ba4 45.Nf3 Bc2 46.g5 h5 47.Ke3 Bb1 48.c4+ Kc5 49.Ne5 Bf5 50.f4 Bb1 51.Kd2 Kd4 52.a4 Ke4 53.Nxg6 Kf5 54.Ne7+ Kg4 55.g6 Kxh4 56.f5 Ba2 57.Kc3 1-0

Round 11 (20), Aug. 18, 2017
Navara, David – Aronian, Levon
C88 Ruy Lopez, Closed

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.h3 Bb7 9.d3 d5 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nxe5 Nxe5 12.Rxe5 Qd6 13.Re1 Rae8 14.Nd2 c5 15.Ne4 Qc6 16.c4 Nb6 17.cxb5 axb5 18.Qf3 c4 19.dxc4 Qg6 20.Bd2 bxc4 21.Bc2 Nd5 22.Rac1 Qb6 23.Ng5 Bxg5 24.Qf5 g6 25.Qxg5 Qxb2 26.Rxe8 Rxe8 27.Rb1 Qxc2 28.Rxb7 Qe4 29.Rd7 c3 30.Qxd5 Qxd5 31.Rxd5 cxd2 32.Rxd2 Re1+ 33.Kh2 Kg7 34.Kg3 h5 35.Kf4 Kf6 36.h4 Ke6 37.Kg5 Re5+ 38.Kh6 Kf5 39.g3 Ra5 40.Kg7 Ra7 41.Rd4 f6+ 42.Kh6 Ke5 43.Rf4 Rxa2 44.Kxg6 Ra6 45.Rf5+ Ke4 46.Rxf6 1-0

(games to be continued on a later posting)

Standing after Blitz Round 13

1 Aronian 20.5
2 Karjakin 18.5
3 Nakamura 18
4 Nepo 17
5 Caruana 15.5
6 Le 14.5
7 Dominguez 14
8 Kasparov 13
9-10 Anand, Navara 12

[Neil Frarey]

Re: Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2017

On the live broadcast, that dramatic music between rounds seems like it's some of Basil Poledouris's work from Conan The Barbarian

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeZL2R9jDJM

[Ian Findlay]

Re: Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2017

My guess is that they are playing music that is in the public domain to avoid royalty payments:) Composer has to be dead for 50 years. I have been impressed with their commercials. St. Louis is not on my list of places to visit, but it looks like fun.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2017

Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2017

August 18, 2017

Blitz

Rounds B14 and B15

B14 Results
Nakamura-Dominguez 0-1
Nepo-Karjakin 0.5-0.5
Le-Kasparov 05-0.5
Aronian-Anand 0.5-0.5
Caruana-Navara 1-0

B15 Results
Karjakin-Caruana 1-0
Dominguez-Le 0.5-0.5
Nepo-Aronian 0-1
Navara-Nakamura 0-1
Kasparov-Anand 0.5-0.5

Games

Round B12 (21), Aug. 18,2017
Aronian, Levon – Le, Quang Liem
A45 Queen’s Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 d5 3.e3 c5 4.Nc3 cxd4 5.exd4 a6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Ne5 Bf5 8.g4 Nxe5 9.gxf5 Nc6 10.Qd3 g6 11.O-O-O Bg7 12.h4 Nb4 13.Qe2 gxf5 14.Rg1 Rg8 15.Bh3 Qd7 16.Be5 Kf8 17.Qf3 Bh6+ 18.Kb1 Ng4 19.a3 Nc6 20.Nxd5 Rd8 21.Nb6 Qe6 22.Bc7 Rxd4 23.c3 Rxd1+ 24.Qxd1 Rg6 25.Nd7+ Kg7 26.Nc5 Qc4 27.Nd3 Kf8 28.h5 Rg8 29.Re1 Bg5 30.Qf3 e6 31.Rd1 Be7 32.Bf4 Qe4 33.Bg2 Qxf3 34.Bxf3 Nf6 35.Bh6+ Ke8 36.Nb4 Ne4 37.Nxc6 bxc6 38.Rd4 Bg5 1-0

Round B12 (21), Aug. 18, 2017
Nakamura, Hikaru – Anand, Vishy
A06 Reti Opening

1.Nf3 d5 2.b3 Bg4 3.Bb2 Bxf3 4.exf3 Nd7 5.f4 e6 6.g3 Ngf6 7.Bg2 Be7 8.O-O c5 9.c4 O-O 10.d3 Rb8 11.Nd2 b5 12.Qc2 a6 13.Nf3 bxc4 14.bxc4 d4 15.Bc1 Bd6 16.Bd2 g6 17.Qa4 Qb6 18.Ba5 Qa7 19.Rfe1 Bc7 20.Bd2 Rb2 21.Bc1 Rb4 22.Qc2 Rfb8 23.Ba3 R4b6 24.Qa4 Bd6 25.h3 Qc7 26.Rac1 Kg7 27.Qc2 Ng8 28.Ng5 h6 29.Ne4 Ne7 30.h4 h5 31.Ng5 Nf8 32.Qa4 Nc6 33.Ne4 Nd7 34.Ng5 Nf8 35.Rcd1 Nb4 36.Bxb4 cxb4 37.Qc2 Be7 38.Qb2 Bf6 39.Ne4 Nd7 40.c5 Nxc5 41.Nxf6 Kxf6 42.Qxd4+ Ke7 43.Rc1 Rb5 44.f5 gxf5 45.Qg7 Qd8 46.Qg5+ Kf8 47.Qxh5 Qf6 48.Bf1 Na4 49.d4 Rd5 50.Rc7 Rxd4 51.Rxf7+ Qxf7 52.Qh8+ 1-0

Round B12 (21), Aug. 18, 2017
Caruana, Fabiano – Kasparov, Garry
B23 Sicilian, Closed

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.Nge2 Nf6 4.g3 g6 5.Bg2 Nc6 6.d3 Bg7 7.O-O O-O 8.a3 Rb8 9.Rb1 b6 10.b4 Bb7 11.h3 Nd7 12.Be3 Re8 13.Qd2 Ba8 14.f4 Rc8 15.g4 e6 16.f5 Nd4 17.Bxd4 cxd4 18.Nb5 exf5 19.gxf5 Ne5 20.Nbxd4 d5 21.Qf4 dxe4 22.dxe4 Qc7 23.f6 Bf8 24.Rb3 Nc4 25.Rc3 a6 26.Qxc7 Rxc7 27.Nf4 b5 28.Nd5 Rcc8 29.Rd3 Bd6 30.Nb3 Bxd5 31.exd5 Re5 32.Nc5 a5 33.Rfd1 a4 34.Rf1 Rce8 35.Rdf3 h5 36.Nd3 Re2 37.R3f2 R2e3 38.Rf3 Re2 39.R1f2 Kh7 40.Bf1 R2e4 41.Nc5 Re1 42.Kg2 Ne3+ 43.Kh1 Nxd5 44.Rd3 R8e5 45.Nd7 Rg5 46.Rff3 Bc7 47.Nc5 h4 48.Rd4 Bg3 49.Nd3 Ra1 50.Re4 Rxa3 51.Re7 Kg8 52.Re8+ Kh7 53.Rf8 Ra1 54.Rxf7+ 0-1

Round B12 (21), Aug. 18, 2017
Karjakin, Sergey – Navara, David
B10 Caro-Kann, Two Knights variation

1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6 6.Bc4 Bd6 7.Qe2+ Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.d4 Bd6 10.c3 Na6 11.Qc2 Re8 12.Nd2 Nc7 13.Bd3 g6 14.Ne4 Bf8 15.Bd2 f5 16.Ng3 Nd5 17.Rfe1 Be6 18.Nf1 Bd6 19.h3 Nf4 20.Bxf4 Bxf4 21.Nd2 Bd5 22.Rxe8+ Qxe8 23.c4 Be6 24.Nf3 Qd7 25.Rd1 Rd8 26.Qa4 a6 27.Qb4 Bb8 28.Be2 Qc7 29.b3 g5 30.Qd2 f6 31.g3 f4 32.g4 h5 33.Qd3 hxg4 34.Nxg5 Bc8 35.Ne4 f3 36.Bxf3 gxf3 37.Nxf6+ Kh8 38.Kf1 Bxh3+ 39.Ke1 Qe7+ 40.Kd2 Qxf6 41.Kc1 Bf4+ 42.Kb2 Rxd4 43.Qc3 Rd2+ 0-1

Round B12 (21), Aug. 18, 2017
Nepomniachtchi, Ian –Dominguez, Leinier
A07 Reti, King’s Indian Attack

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 e6 4.O-O Be7 5.d3 O-O 6.Nbd2 c5 7.e4 Nc6 8.Re1 Qc7 9.e5 Nd7 10.Qe2 b5 11.Nf1 Bb7 12.h4 Rfc8 13.Bd2 b4 14.N1h2 Qd8 15.Bg5 h6 16.Bxe7 Nxe7 17.Qd2 a5 18.h5 c4 19.Nd4 Nc6 20.Nhf3 Nxd4 21.Nxd4 cxd3 22.cxd3 Ba6 23.Rad1 Nc5 24.Qe3 Qg5 25.f4 Qxh5 26.Rd2 Qg6 27.Red1 Bxd3 28.Rxd3 Nxd3 29.f5 exf5 30.Qxd3 Re8 31.Re1 Rad8 32.Nxf5 Re6 33.Bh3 Qg5 34.Kh2 d4 35.Re4 g6 36.Nh4 Rc6 37.Nf3 Qc1 38.Re2 Qc4 39.Qxc4 Rxc4 40.e6 Rc7 41.exf7+ Kxf7 42.Ne5+ Kg7 43.Nd3 Kf7 44.Rf2+ Kg7 45.Nf4 Re7 46.Ne6+ Rxe6 47.Bxe6 d3 48.Rd2 Rd4 49.b3 Re4 50.Bc4 Kf6 51.Bxd3 Rd4 52.Rf2+ Kg5 53.Rf3 h5 54.Kg2 Rd6 55.Kf2 Re6 56.Bc4 Re5 57.Rd3 Rf5+ 58.Kg2 Kf6 59.Rd6+ Kg7 60.Rd5 Rxd5 61.Bxd5 Kf6 62.Kf3 g5 63.Ke4 h4 1-0


Round B13 (22), Aug. 18, 2017
Dominguez, Leinier – Caruana, Fabiano
E00 Catalan Opening

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 O-O 7.O-O Nbd7 8.Bf4 c6 9.Nc3 b6 10.cxd5 exd5 11.Rc1 Bb7 12.Qc2 Re8 13.Rfd1 Nf8 14.e4 dxe4 15.Ne5 Nd5 16.Nxe4 Ne6 17.Be3 Rc8 18.Qb3 Bf8 19.Nc3 Nxe3 20.fxe3 Rc7 21.Kh1 h5 22.Rf1 h4 23.gxh4 Qxh4 24.Nb5 cxb5 25.Rxc7 Bxg2+ 26.Kxg2 Qe4+ 27.Rf3 Bd6 28.Rxf7 Bxe5 29.dxe5 Qg6+ 30.Kf2 Rc8 31.e4 Qh6 32.Kg2 Qg6+ 33.Kf2 Rc4 34.Qd3 Qh5 35.Kg2 Qg4+ 36.Rg3 Qxe4+ 37.Qxe4 Rxe4 38.Rxa7 Re2+ 39.Kf1 Rxe5 40.Kf2 Rf5+ 41.Rf3 Rd5 42.Ke3 Nc5 43.Rg3 Ne6 44.Rb7 Re5+ 45.Kd2 Rh5 46.h3 Rd5+ 47.Kc1 Rd6 48.a3 Kh7 49.Re7 Kh6 50.Kb1 g5 51.Ka2 Kh5 52.Rb3 Nd4 53.Rd3 Kg6 54.Re4 1-0

Round B13 (22), Aug. 18, 2017
Kasparov, Garry – Nakamura, Hikaru
E32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 O-O 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 d5 7.Nf3 dxc4 8.Qxc4 b6 9.h4 c5 10.dxc5 bxc5 11.h5 h6 12.g4 Qd5 13.Qxd5 Nxd5 14.g5 hxg5 15.Bxg5 f6 16.Bd2 Nc6 17.Rc1 Nd4 18.Rxc5 Nxf3+ 19.exf3 Bd7 20.Rh4 Rfb8 21.b4 a6 22.Rd4 Bb5 23.Bg2 Re8 24.f4 f5 25.Bf3 Kh7 26.Bc3 Re7 27.Kd2 Rd8 28.Bxd5 exd5 29.Rdxd5 Rxd5+ 30.Rxd5 Rd7 31.Rxd7 Bxd7 32.Ke3 g6 33.h6 Kxh6 34.Kd4 Kh5 35.Kc5 Kg4 36.Bd2 Kf3 37.Kb6 Bb5 38.a4 Bf1 39.b5 axb5 40.axb5 Kxf2 41.Kc6 Ke2 42.Bc1 Kd1 43.Ba3 Kd2 44.Be7 1-0

Round B14 (23), Aug. 18, 2017
Nakamura, Hikaru – Dominguez, Leinier
A15 English, Neo-Catalan

1.c4 e6 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 d5 4.Nf3 Be7 5.d4 O-O 6.Qc2 c5 7.O-O Nc6 8.dxc5 d4 9.Rd1 e5 10.Bg5 Nd7 11.Bxe7 Qxe7 12.a3 a5 13.Nbd2 Nxc5 14.Ne1 Bg4 15.Bf3 d3 16.exd3 Nd4 17.Qb1 Nxf3+ 18.Ndxf3 Nb3 19.Ra2 Rad8 20.a4 Qf6 21.Ra3 Nd4 22.Nxd4 Bxd1 23.Qxd1 Rxd4 24.Qe2 e4 25.dxe4 Qc6 26.e5 Rxc4 27.Re3 Rxa4 28.e6 fxe6 29.Rxe6 Qc4 30.Nd3 Qd5 31.Re7 Rd4 32.Ne1 Rd2 33.Qg4 Qd4 34.Qxd4 Rxd4 35.Rxb7 Rd1 36.Re7 Rd2 37.Ra7 Rdxf2 38.Nd3 Rd2 39.Nc5 Re8 40.Kf1 Rxb2 41.Rxa5 Rxh2 42.Nd3 Rb8 43.Nf2 Rb1+ 0-1

Round B14 (23), Aug. 18, 2017
Caruana, Fabiano – Navara, David
B13 Caro-Kann, Exchange variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 Nc6 5.c3 Nf6 6.h3 g6 7.Nf3 Bf5 8.Be2 Bg7 9.O-O O-O 10.Bf4 Nh5 11.Be3 Qc7 12.Re1 Rad8 13.Na3 Nf4 14.Bf1 a6 15.Qd2 Ne6 16.Rac1 Qa5 17.Bh6 b5 18.Nh4 b4 19.Nxf5 gxf5 20.cxb4 Qb6 21.b5 axb5 22.Nxb5 Ncxd4 23.Bxg7 Kxg7 24.Qc3 Rc8 25.Qg3+ Kh8 26.Rxc8 Rxc8 27.Qe5+ Kg8 28.Nxd4 Qxd4 29.Qxf5 Qxb2 30.Rxe6 Rc1 31.Rxe7 1-0

Round B15 (24), Aug. 18, 2017
Karjakin, Sergey – Caruana, Fabiano
A01 Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack, Modern variation

1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bb5 e4 5.Ne2 a6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.Ng3 h5 8.Nc3 Bg4 9.Nge2 Qd7 10.h3 Bf5 11.Ng3 Bg6 12.h4 O-O-O 13.Qe2 Bd6 14.O-O-O Rhe8 15.Qf1 Ng4 16.Kb1 f6 17.Nce2 Bf7 18.f3 exf3 19.gxf3 Nh6 20.Rg1 Be5 21.Bxe5 Rxe5 22.Nf4 Qe7 23.e4 Qa3 24.Nge2 g5 25.hxg5 fxg5 26.Ng2 a5 27.f4 Rc5 28.Ne3 a4 29.Nc1 axb3 30.cxb3 Ng4 31.Nc2 Qa7 32.fxg5 Bg6 33.Qe2 Rxg5 34.d3 Qc5 35.Rdf1 Qe7 36.Ne3 Rc5 37.Nxg4 hxg4 38.Qxg4+ Kb8 39.Qxg6 1-0

Round B15 (24), Aug. 18, 2017
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Aronian, Levon
A29 English, Bremen, Smyslov, System

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 Bb4 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O d6 7.d3 h6 8.Bd2 a5 9.Rc1 Re8 10.a3 Bc5 11.Na4 Ba7 12.c5 e4 13.dxe4 Nxe4 14.Be3 Nxc5 15.Nxc5 Bxc5 16.Bxc5 dxc5 17.Qxd8 Nxd8 18.Rxc5 Rxe2 19.Rxc7 Ne6 20.Rc4 Bd7 21.Nd4 Rxb2 22.Rfc1 Rd8 23.Nf5 Bb5 24.R4c3 Bd3 25.Ne7+ Kf8 26.Nd5 Bb5 27.Rc8 Bc6 28.Rxd8+ Nxd8 29.Ne3 Rb3 30.Nc4 Bxg2 31.Kxg2 b5 32.Nxa5 Rxa3 33.Nc6 Nxc6 34.Rxc6 Ke7 35.Rb6 Rb3 36.g4 b4 37.h4 Rb2 38.Kg3 b3 39.g5 hxg5 40.hxg5 Rb1 41.Kf4 Kd7 42.Rb7+ Kc6 43.Rb8 Kc5 44.Kf5 Kc4 45.Rc8+ Kd3 46.Rb8 Rb2 47.f4 Rb1 48.Rb7 b2 49.Rxf7 Rc1 50.Rb7 b1=Q 51.Rxb1 Rxb1 52.Kg6 Ke4 53.Kxg7 Kf5 0-1

Round B15 (24), Aug. 18, 2017
Navara, David – Nakamura, Hikaru
E62 King’s Indian, Fianchetto, Simagin variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 O-O 5.Bg2 d6 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.O-O Bg4 8.d5 Na5 9.b3 c5 10.dxc6 bxc6 11.Bb2 Rb8 12.Qd2 Qc7 13.Rad1 Rfd8 14.h3 Be6 15.Ba1 Nb7 16.Nd4 Bd7 17.Kh2 Nc5 18.e4 a5 19.Nc2 Be6 20.f4 a4 21.b4 Na6 22.b5 Nc5 23.Nb4 Bxc4 24.Nxc6 Bxb5 25.Nxd8 Bxf1 26.Bxf1 Rxd8 27.e5 Nfe4 28.Nxe4 Nxe4 29.Qd4 Qc2+ 30.Bg2 d5 31.Qb6 Rc8 32.Rxd5 Qxa2 33.Rd8+ Rxd8 34.Qxd8+ Bf8 35.Qd4 Nd2 36.Qb2 Qxb2 37.Bxb2 e6 38.Bc3 Nc4 39.Be4 a3 40.Bb1 Bc5 41.Kg2 Ne3+ 42.Kf3 Nd5 43.Ba1 Bb4 44.Ba2 Ne7 45.g4 h5 46.Ke4 Kg7 47.Bb3 Bd2 48.Bd4 Bb4 49.Be3 Kf8 50.Bf2 Nc6 51.f5 gxf5+ 52.gxf5 exf5+ 53.Kxf5 Kg7 54.Ba2 Bc3 55.Bc5 Bb4 56.Be3 Be7 57.e6 f6 58.Bd2 Bd6 59.Bc3 Ne7+ 60.Ke4 Kg6 61.Bb1 f5+ 62.Kd4 Kf6 63.Ba2 Be5+ 64.Kd3 Bxc3 65.Kxc3 Ng6 66.Kb4 Nf4 67.h4 Ng6 68.Kxa3 Nxh4 69.Kb4 Ng6 70.Kc5 Ne7 71.Kd6 f4 72.Bc4 f3 73.Kd7 Nf5 74.Bd3 f2 75.Bf1 h4 76.Bh3 Ne7 77.Kd6 Ng6 78.Kd7 Nf8+ 79.Kd6 Nxe6 80.Bf1 Nf4 81.Kc5 h3 0-1

Standing after Round B15

1 Aronian 22
2 Karjakin 20
3 Nakamura 19
4 Nepo 17.5
5 Caruana 16.5
6-7 Le, Leinier 15.5
8 Kasparov 14
9 Anand 13
10 Navara 12

[Neil Frarey]

Re: Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2017

Kasparov's masterclass with the Sicilian was impressive!

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2017

Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2017

August 18, 2017

Blitz

Rounds B16 to B18

B16 Result
Le-Navara 1-0
Aronian-Kasparov 0.5-0.5
Nakamura-Karjakin 1-0
Anand-Dominguez 0-1
Caruana-Nepomniachtchi 0-1

B17 Result
Dominguez-Kasparov 0-1
Nepomniachtchi-Nakamura 0.5-0.5
Caruana-Aronian 0-1
Karjakin-Le 1-0
Navara-Anand 0.5-0.5

B18 Result
Anand-Karjakin 0.5-0.5
Kasparov-Navara 0.5-0.5
Le-Nepomniachtchi 0-1
Nakamura-Caruana 1-0
Aronian-Dominguez 1-0

Games:

Round B16 (25), Aug. 18, 2017
Le, Quang Liem – Navara, David
D45 QGD, Semi-Slav

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.b3 O-O 8.Be2 b6 9.O-O Bb7 10.Bb2 Qe7 11.Rad1 Rad8 12.Rfe1 Rfe8 13.g3 c5 14.cxd5 exd5 15.Bf1 Nf8 16.Bg2 Ne6 17.dxc5 bxc5 18.Nh4 Bb8 19.Nf5 Qd7 20.Na4 d4 21.e4 Rc8 22.Bc1 g6 23.Nh6+ Kg7 24.Nb2 d3 25.Nxd3 Nd4 26.Qb2 Bxe4 27.Nxc5 Rxc5 28.Rxd4 Rxc1 29.Rxc1 Be5 30.Rxd7 Bxb2 31.Rxf7+ Kxh6 32.Re1 Bc3 33.Re2 Bd4 34.Bxe4 Rxe4 35.Kf1 Rxe2 36.Kxe2 Ng4 37.Rf4 1-0

Round B16 (25), Aug 18, 2017
Nakamura Hikaru – Karjakin, Sergey
A29 English, Bremen

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Bc5 7.O-O O-O 8.Nxd5 Qxd5 9.d3 Bb6 10.b4 e4 11.Ng5 Qd4 12.Be3 Qxb4 13.Nxe4 Bxe3 14.fxe3 Qe7 15.Qd2 Ne5 16.Rac1 c6 17.Nc5 Ng4 18.e4 b6 19.Na4 Bb7 20.d4 Rad8 21.h3 Ne5 22.e3 c5 23.Qc3 Ng6 24.d5 Ne5 25.Nb2 Ba6 26.Rf4 f6 27.Kh2 Rfe8 28.a4 Nf7 29.Nd1 Nd6 30.Nf2 Bc8 31.Qb2 Bd7 32.Qa2 h6 33.Nd3 Kh8 34.Rcf1 Bc8 35.R1f2 Ba6 36.Nb2 Qe5 37.Qb3 Re7 38.Qc2 Rc7 39.Nd1 Bc8 40.Nb2 Ba6 41.Bf1 Bxf1 42.Rxf1 Re8 43.Nd3 Qh5 44.e5 Nf7 45.d6 Rd7 46.Rf5 Ng5 47.h4 Qg4 48.hxg5 hxg5 49.Nf2 Qh5+ 50.Kg2 Kg8 51.Qc4+ Qf7 52.Qxf7+ Kxf7 53.Ng4 1-0

Round B16 (25), Aug. 18, 2017
Anand, Vishy – Dominguez, L.
C53 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 O-O 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 Be7 8.Bg3 d6 9.Nbd2 Na5 10.Bb5 Nh5 11.O-O Nxg3 12.hxg3 a6 13.Ba4 b5 14.Bc2 c5 15.Re1 Be6 16.d4 Qc7 17.d5 Bd7 18.b3 Nb7 19.Qe2 Rfc8 20.a4 c4 21.b4 a5 22.axb5 axb4 23.cxb4 Bxb5 24.Rxa8 Rxa8 25.Nb1 Qb6 26.Nc3 Ra3 27.Qd2 Bd8 28.Rb1 Qa6 29.Bd1 Bb6 30.Be2 Bd7 31.Bf1 Ra1 32.Qb2 Rxb1 33.Nxb1 Nd8 34.Na3 Bb5 35.Qc3 Bd4 36.Qc1 Ba7 37.Nxb5 Qxb5 38.Qxc4 Qb6 39.Qa2 g6 40.Ne1 Kg7 41.Nd3 f5 42.Qc4 Nf7 43.Kh2 h5 44.Be2 fxe4 45.Qxe4 Qd8 46.f4 Qb6 47.g4 0-1

Round B16 (25), Aug. 18, 2017
Caruana, Fabiano – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
B23 Sicilian, Closed

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 a6 3.Nge2 b5 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Bb7 6.Bg5 Qc7 7.Qd2 e6 8.Bd3 Nc6 9.Nxc6 Qxc6 10.O-O Ne7 11.Rfe1 Ng6 12.a4 b4 13.Nd5 h6 14.Bf4 Nxf4 15.Qxf4 Bd6 16.Qg4 Be5 17.Rab1 Qd6 18.Ne3 Bxh2+ 19.Kf1 Be5 20.Nc4 Qc7 21.Nxe5 Qxe5 22.Re3 h5 23.Qe2 g5 24.b3 Ke7 25.Rd1 h4 26.Kg1 h3 27.g3 h2+ 28.Kg2 f5 29.Qd2 a5 30.Be2 h1=Q+ 31.Rxh1 Bxe4+ 32.Bf3 Rxh1 33.Kxh1 Bxf3+ 34.Rxf3 Rh8+ 35.Kg2 Qa1 36.Qxg5+ Ke8 37.Qg6+ Kd8 38.Qg5+ Kc8 0-1

Round B17 (26), Aug. 18, 2017
Dominguez Perez, Leinier – Kasparov, Garry
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Adams Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.h3 e6 7.g4 h6 8.Bg2 g5 9.Be3 Nbd7 10.Qe2 Ne5 11.O-O-O Nfd7 12.h4 Rg8 13.hxg5 hxg5 14.Kb1 b5 15.a3 Bb7 16.Bc1 Rc8 17.Rh3 Ng6 18.Bh1 Nde5 19.Rg3 Be7 20.Na2 Rh8 21.Rc3 Rxc3 22.Nxc3 Qc7 23.Bg2 Qc4 24.Qxc4 bxc4 25.f3 Rh2 26.Bf1 Nf4 27.Be3 Bd8 28.Rd2 Rxd2 29.Bxd2 Bb6 30.Bxf4 gxf4 31.Nce2 d5 32.exd5 Bxd5 33.Bg2 Nxg4 34.Nxf4 Ne3 35.Nde2 Nxg2 36.Nxg2 Bxf3 37.Nef4 Ke7 38.Kc1 e5 39.Nh4 Be3+ 40.Kb1 Bxf4 41.Nxf3 Ke6 42.b3 e4 43.Nd4+ Kd5 44.c3 Be5 45.bxc4+ Kxc4 46.Nf5 Kxc3 47.Kc1 Kd3 48.Kd1 e3 0-1

Round B17 (26), Aug. 18, 2017
Caruana, Fabiano – Aronian, Levon
A13 English Opening, Agincourt variation

1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 e6 3.b3 c5 4.g3 Nf6 5.Bg2 Be7 6.O-O O-O 7.e3 Nc6 8.Bb2 b6 9.Nc3 dxc4 10.bxc4 Bb7 11.Qe2 Qc7 12.Rac1 Rfd8 13.Rfd1 Na5 14.Ne1 Bxg2 15.Nxg2 Qb7 16.f4 a6 17.Ba1 Ne4 18.Nxe4 Qxe4 19.d3 Qg6 20.Rb1 Rab8 21.g4 f6 22.h4 b5 23.cxb5 axb5 24.h5 Qe8 25.g5 c4 26.h6 fxg5 27.Bxg7 Qg6 28.dxc4 Nxc4 29.Rxd8+ Rxd8 30.Rxb5 gxf4 31.exf4 Rd2 32.f5 Qxf5 33.Rxf5 Rxe2 34.Rf4 Nd6 35.a4 Nf5 36.Rg4 Kf7 37.Bh8 Ra2 38.Kf1 Bc5 39.Ke1 Bf2+ 40.Kd1 Be3 41.Ke1 Bd2+ 42.Kd1 Bxh6 43.Ke1 Bd2+ 44.Kd1 h5 45.Rc4 Bg5 46.Rc7+ Kg6 47.Ne1 Rd2+ 0-1

Round B17 (26), Aug. 18, 2017
Karjakin, Sergey – Le, Quang Liem
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 O-O 6.h3 d6 7.c3 Ne7 8.d4 Bb6 9.Bd3 Ng6 10.Re1 c6 11.Nbd2 exd4 12.cxd4 d5 13.e5 Nh5 14.Nf1 Nhf4 15.Bxg6 Nxg6 16.Bg5 f6 17.exf6 gxf6 18.Bh6 Re8 19.Ng3 Rxe1+ 20.Qxe1 Kf7 21.Qe3 Qe7 22.Qd3 Bd7 23.Re1 Qb4 24.b3 Re8 25.Rxe8 Kxe8 26.Nh5 Qe7 27.Bg7 f5 28.Qd2 f4 29.Be5 Nxe5 30.Nxe5 Qg5 31.Nxf4 Bf5 32.Kh2 Be4 33.f3 Bxd4 34.Qxd4 Qxf4+ 35.g3 Qc1 36.fxe4 Qc2+ 37.Kg1 Qb1+ 38.Kg2 Qxa2+ 39.Qf2 Qxf2+ 40.Kxf2 dxe4 41.Ke3 Ke7 42.Kxe4 Kd6 43.g4 b5 44.h4 a5 45.g5 a4 46.bxa4 bxa4 47.h5 Ke7 48.Nc4 Ke6 49.Na3 c5 50.Nc4 Kf7 51.Kf5 Ke7 52.g6 hxg6+ 53.hxg6 Kf8 54.Kf6 Kg8 55.g7 1-0

Round B18 (27), Aug. 18, 2017
Le, Quang Liem – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
A85 Dutch

1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 d6 4.Nf3 g6 5.Bf4 Bg7 6.e3 O-O 7.Be2 Qe8 8.Bg3 Nh5 9.Bh4 c6 10.d5 Na6 11.Nd4 Nf6 12.O-O Nc7 13.Bg3 cxd5 14.cxd5 Kh8 15.Qb3 Qf7 16.Rac1 g5 17.h3 f4 18.Bh2 Qg6 19.Ne6 Nxe6 20.dxe6 Qf5 21.Nb5 Bxe6 22.Nd4 Bxb3 23.Nxf5 Bxa2 24.Nxe7 Nd5 25.Nxd5 Bxd5 26.Rcd1 Bc6 27.b4 Rad8 28.b5 Be4 29.Bf3 Bxf3 30.gxf3 Be5 31.h4 h6 32.Kg2 Kg7 33.Rd2 Kf6 34.Ra2 Ra8 35.Ra4 Ke6 36.Re1 Kd7 37.Kh3 a6 38.bxa6 bxa6 39.Kg4 a5 40.hxg5 hxg5 41.Kxg5 Ke6 42.Bxf4 Rf5+ 43.Kg6 Rg8+ 44.Kh6 Kf7 45.Bxe5 Rg6+ 0-1

Round B18 (27), Aug. 18, 2017
Nakamura, Hikaru – Caruana, Fabiano
A06 Reti Opening

1.Nf3 d5 2.b3 c5 3.Bb2 Nc6 4.e3 a6 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Nf6 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.Nd2 e6 9.Bd3 Be7 10.O-O O-O 11.c4 a5 12.Qc2 h6 13.Nf3 Ba6 14.e4 Qb6 15.Rfe1 Rfd8 16.Rac1 Rac8 17.c5 Qb7 18.Bxa6 Qxa6 19.Bxf6 Bxf6 20.e5 Be7 21.Nd4 Rd7 22.f4 Rb7 23.a3 Rcb8 24.Re3 Rb5 25.Rc3 Qc8 26.Nxb5 Rxb5 27.h3 Qd7 28.Qd2 Qb7 29.Qe3 Qd7 30.Qd4 Qb7 31.Rb1 Qa7 32.b4 axb4 33.axb4 g6 34.Kh2 Kg7 35.Rcb3 Qb7 36.Qc3 Qb8 37.Kh1 Qb7 38.g4 Qc8 39.Kg2 Kh7 40.Kf3 Qd7 41.Ke3 Bh4 42.Kd2 Be7 43.Kc2 Qc8 44.Ra1 Qd7 45.Ra4 Rb7 46.Rba3 Bf8 47.Ra8 Bg7 48.R3a6 Rc7 49.h4 Qe7 50.g5 h5 51.Rb8 Qd7 52.Rbb6 Qc8 53.Kd3 d4 54.Qc2 Bf8 55.Qg2 Be7 56.Qa2 Qd7 57.Rb8 Rb7 58.Rxb7 Qxb7 59.Rb6 Qd7 60.Rb8 Bd8 61.Ra8 Bc7 62.Ra7 Kg7 63.Qc4 Qd8 64.Qxd4 Qb8 65.Ra3 Bd8 66.Qc4 Qb7 67.Kc2 Be7 68.Rd3 Qa7 69.Kb2 Qb7 70.Qd4 Bf8 71.Qc4 Be7 72.Ra3 Qd7 73.Kc2 Bf8 74.Qd3 Qb7 75.Ra4 Be7 76.Kd1 Kf8 77.Ke1 Kg7 78.Kf2 Kf8 79.Kg3 Kg7 80.Kf3 Kf8 81.Ke2 Kg7 82.Kd2 Kf8 83.Kc3 Kg7 84.Ra1 Kf8 85.Ra2 Kg7 86.Qa6 Qd7 87.Rd2 Qc7 88.Qa8 Kh7 89.Kb3 Kg7 90.Kc2 Kh7 91.Qe8 1-0

Round B18 (27), Aug. 8, 2017
Aronian, Levon – Dominguez Perez, Leinier
C00 Queen’s Pawn, Mason variation

1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 Bf5 3.e3 e6 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.Bg3 Nf6 6.c4 O-O 7.Nc3 dxc4 8.Bxc4 c5 9.d5 exd5 10.Nxd5 Bxg3 11.hxg3 Nc6 12.Nc3 Qe7 13.O-O Rad8 14.Qe2 Ne5 15.Nxe5 Qxe5 16.Rad1 Bg4 17.f3 Qxg3 18.Bxf7+ Kxf7 19.fxg4 Kg8 20.Ne4 Nxe4 21.Rxd8 Rxd8 22.Qc4+ Kh8 23.Qxe4 h6 24.Qe7 Rc8 25.Rf4 b6 26.b3 Rg8 27.a4 a6 28.Kf1 Qh2 29.Kf2 Qh1 30.g5 Qa1 31.gxh6 Qb2+ 32.Kf3 gxh6 33.Qf6+ Qxf6 34.Rxf6 b5 35.Rxh6+ Kg7 36.Rxa6 bxa4 37.Rxa4 Rb8 38.Ra5 Rc8 39.g4 Kf6 40.Kf4 Ke6 41.g5 Kd5 42.b4 Rf8+ 43.Kg4 Ke4 44.Rxc5 1-0

Final Standings

1 Aronian 12.5 Blitz + 12 Rapid = 24.5
2-3 Karjakin 13.5 Blitz + 8 Rapid = 21.5
2-3 Nakamura 10.5 Blitz + 11 Rapid = 21.5
4 Nepomniachtchi 10 Blitz + 10 Rapid = 20
5-7 Dominguez 7.5 Blitz + 9 Rapid = 16.5
5-7 Caruana 5.5 Blitz + 11 Rapid = 16.5
5-7 Le 8.5 Blitz + 8 Rapid = 16.5
8 Kasparov 9 Blitz + 7 Rapid = 16
9 Anand 7 Blitz + 7 Rapid = 14
10 Navara 6 Blitz + 7 Rapid = 13

Grand Chess Tour 2017

1 Carlsen 3 Events 34 GCT Points $113,750 Prize Money
2 MVL 3 Events 31 GCT Points $126,250
3 Aronian 3 Events 25 GCT Points $76,250
4 Karjakin 3 Events 20.5 GCT Points $60,000
5 Nakamura 3 Events 20 GCT Points $35,000
6 So 3 Events 15.5 GCT Points $47,000
7 Anand 3 Events 14 GCT Points $60,000
8 Nepo 3 Events 12.5 GCT Points $37,500
9 Caruana 3 Events 12 GCT Points $32,500

[Neil Frarey]

Re: Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2017

Hi Wayne, crazy how things go around:

1 Aronian 12.5 Blitz + 12 Rapid = 22.5

...should be...

1 Aronian 12.5 Blitz + 12 Rapid = 24.5

I noticed that error on their live broadcast too.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2017

Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 2017

August 18, 2017

Mike Klein at chess.com:

On the final day of the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz, when several players brought their families to the tournament hall, GM Levon Aronian had to think about his significant other from afar.

When focus turned to chess, Aronian briefly stumbled out of the gate, allowing the still-surging GM Sergey Karjakin to get to within one point. The former's 0.5-1.5 start, coupled with Karjakin's two beginning wins (which made him 10.0/11 in blitz at that moment), put Aronian's lead in doubt.

But never underestimate a man in love. Asked midway through the day if a tournament win would be a wedding gift to his fiancee, Aronian said, "There are not enough wins to give as a present to the person I love."

Aronian clinched in round 25, with two games to go. Fittingly, his decisive half point in that round came against GM Garry Kasparov, the "other" man of the week. Aronian's final tally: 24.5/36 (equaling the winning score in the Paris Grand Chess Tour event) to best Karjakin's and GM Hikaru Nakamura's second place total of 21.5/36.

For his part, Kasparov also recovered to string together some wins today. After an opening loss, he recovered with 5.5/8 to close the day, easily his best afternoon.

https://www.chess.com/news/view/on-s...after-all-9688
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Comments

In the Nepomniatchchi-Aronian game, how would Aronian win if White just kept the rook in the b-file e.g. 49.Rb8 ?

In the position below Nepo played 49.Rxf7. What if he played 49.Rb8 instead?



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- A nice final day performance by Kasparov!
Meanwhile, Karjakin as of late has been staking his claim as the second-best blitz player in the world (behind you know who).

- Congrats to GM Aronian! I'm very impressed and a huge fan now. He won the tournament and the quote of the year award.

Navara, Nepo, Naka, and Karjakin also impressed me quite a bit.

I must say that I was a bit disappointed with Anand and Kasparov though. They didn't put up as good a fight as I had hoped to see.
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Interviews

Hikaru Nakamura – finished up in a tie for second place. He thought his performance was pretty decent except for today. In the game against Garry, Naka should never have lost the ending. The game against Dominguez was not a game at all. He was also lucky against Sergey, who overlooked a tactic.

Garry had time-related issues. He has to play the best moves and be practical as regards time. He lost a lot of time trying to play the absolute best moves in the rapids.

Garry Kasparov – was quite pleased that he ended the tournament with some style. The game with Navara will haunt me all of my life! In almost every game I had some sort of paralysis – a terrible moment.

I was compensated by playing creatively but I was one move short of winning in many games. I seemed to fall asleep in my game with Lev today. I opened my eyes and I had five seconds left.

This was not a comeback. It was my attempt to publicize the Grand Chess Tour and pay back the Sinquefields and Saint Louis.

I played a few nice games. I played for fun but I’m not sure that I had that much fun. I keep going back to the Navara game. At least I can laugh today. I contributed hugely to Aronian’s victory.

I apologize to our friends in Africa who are getting my winnings, I wish they were more.

It’s not totally age for older players. Smyslov and Korchnoi were able to still compete at a relatively “advanced” age.

WK - for more on the Navara game see:

http://forum.chesstalk.com/showthrea...803#post116803


Maurice – Thanks Garry. We had over a million viewers watching the rounds today.

Levon Aronian – I started off the tournament terribly today. Then my opponent lost on time in game three and that gave me a boost and I played much better.

I felt people have begun to think that I am not so good in blitz but I wanted to show them that I have some tricks up my sleeve.

People see those videos on the Internet where I am barely beating Yasser and they think I am terrible. But they don’t realize that I was drunk during them and Yasser was completely sober.

I was expecting that Garry would start showing his great play. He had some fresh ideas – he had prepared. Today he was more relaxed and got in the flow.