Gashimov Memorial

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 17th April, 2014, 01:23 AM

Re: Gashimov Memorial

Gashimov Memorial

Press Release

All games within the tournament “A” of the competition will be transmitted live on the official site. The chess games will be commented by well-known grandmasters in the Azerbaijani, Russian and English languages.   The Azeri comments will come from grandmasters, honored coach of Azerbaijan, FIDE trainer Anar Allahverdiyev and coach of the national team of teenagers Farid Abbasov.   Two-time Wijk-an-Zee tournament champion, Olympiad and the European Championship participant, honored FIDE coach Gennady Sosonko also gave consent to comment the tournament.   Along with Sosonko, coach of Vugar Gashimov, Viorel Iordakescu will comment the games in English. Sergey Shipov, one of the world famous commentators, will comment in Russian.
________

Tournament A

The rounds are scheduled daily from 15.00 hours, except last round which will start at 13.30 hours local time.

April 19th - 18.30 - Opening Ceremony and Drawing of Lots
April 20th - 15.00 - Round 1
April 21th - 15.00 - Round 2
April 22th - 15.00 - Round 3
April 23th - 15.00 - Round 4
April 24th - 15.00 - Round 5
April 25th - Free day
April 26th - 15.00 - Round 6
April 27th - 15.00 - Round 7
April 28th - 15.00 - Round 8
April 29th - 15.00 - Round 9
April 30th - 13.30 - Round 10
April 30th - 20.00 - Closing Ceremony
________

Baku is 375 km east of Shamkir, on the Caspian Sea. 15:00 Baku time is 6:00 a.m. Toronto/Montreal time. That is, we are 9 hours behind Baku.

**Laurentiu Grigorescu** · Thursday, 17th April, 2014, 10:18 PM

Re: Gashimov Memorial

A tournament nobody wanted to be organized as the passing of Vugar at such a young age was a tragedy. Magnus is a true champion, good for him that he accepts to play there. I expect at least a Benoni in Group A to truly honour Gashimov.
As Azerbaijan moved quickly to honour one of their best players ever, it is long overdue for the Americans to organize Fischer memorial.

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 20th April, 2014, 12:52 AM

Re: Gashimov Memorial

Gashimov Memorial
Shamkir 2014

Pairings Tournament A

Round One April 20, 2014

Carlsen-Mamedyarov
Nakamura-Caruana
Karjakin-Radjabov

Round Two April 21, 2014

Mamedyarov-Radjabov
Caruana-Karjakin
Carlsen-Nakamura

Round Three April 22, 2014

Nakamura-Mamedyarov
Karjakin-Carlsen
Radjabov-Caruana

Round Four April 23, 2014

Karjakin-Mamedyarov
Radjabov-Nakamura
Caruana-Carlsen

Round Five April 24, 2014

Mamedyarov-Caruana
Carlsen-Radjabov
Nakamura-Karjakin

Free Day April 25, 2014

Round Six April 26, 2014

Mamedyarov-Carlsen
Caruana-Nakamura
Radjabov-Karjakin

Round Seven April 27, 2014

Radjabov-Mamedyarov
Karjakin-Caruana
Nakamura-Carlsen

Round Eight April 28, 2014

Mamedyarov-Nakamura
Carlsen-Karjakin
Caruana-Radjabov

Round Nine April 29, 2014

Caruana-Mamedyarov
Radjabov-Carlsen
Karjakin-Nakamura

Round Ten April 30, 2014

Mamedyarov-Karjakin
Nakamura-Radjabov
Carlsen-Caruana

Closing Ceremony April 30, 2014

Magnus Carlsen starts off with two whites. A rested Carlsen meets a rested Nakamura in Round Two and in Round Seven.
___________

Hikaru said this in a recent interview:

Chess Vibes: Nakamura's last event was the Zurich Chess Challenge in February, and his next will be the Vugar Gashimov Memorial. His preparation is not only about pawn pushes and queen maneuvers; psychology is definitely a factor in chess. Nakamura says he has learnt from Zurich: “Being ready and trying to learn from experience is important. Especially for a tournament like Zurich, where the line between a great event and a horrible event was so thin, it's important to try and understand what went wrong there and learn from it.”

Obviously he was referring to the dramatic game with Magnus Carlsen, where he built up a huge attack that should have been winning, only to spoil it - he even lost the game. “It's about trying to deal better with the moment when you're in that situation, and basically you can fulfill exactly what you're trying to do in chess and obviously the goal I think for everyone is to beat Magnus these days. It's just a matter of, when you have those moments, perhaps being more calm, hanging in there a bit better from a mental standpoint. Really, that's the only reason that I didn't win that game. I had a mental lapse. It was unfortunate, but it happens.”

“I was looking at game by Mikhail Tal this morning and he had a position where he was maybe 6 or 7. I am running through this game and I see it's a draw. I go through the move, and suddenly I see this one-move blunder and it goes back to zero. When you see that you realize that it does happen. Even Vishy's game against [Dmitry] Andreikin, where he had 3, 4. It's just about keeping a better perspective.”
_________

Readers’ Comments

- Finally! Carlsen, Caruana, Nakamura, Mamedyarov and Karjakin. Heavy hitters and a BIG tournament in perspective again! Good B-list too!
RIP Gashimov, the chess fans and you deserve an awesome tournament.

- Carlsen vs "I am the best Challenger to Souren" in Round two. Can't wait.

Let's see how Radjabov does in this tournament.

Also will there be any Benonis played at all??

- My predictions for tomorrow:

Carlsen-Mamedyarov 1-0
Nakamura-Caruana 0.5-0.5
Karjakin-Radjabov 1-0

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 20th April, 2014, 10:36 AM

Re: Gashimov Memorial

Gashimov Memorial

Shamkir 2014

Round One

Sunday, April 20, 2014

The commentators on the official site are Gennady Sosonko and Viorel Iordakescu in English. The Chess24 from Hamburg commentators are GM Peter Svidler and GM Ilja Zaragatski.

The stage is impressive with the three tables of the A tournament in front of the display boards and, in the forestage, the five tables from the B tournament.

The first game to finish in A is Carlsen-Mamedyarov. The press conference is conducted by Turan Aliyev and Elmira Mirzoyeva. The sound of the English transmission is, to me, unintelligible. The Azeri commentary is superimposed on the English and is confusing. First round troubles in production as usual?

Gashimov Memorial
Round One
April 20, 2014
Carlsen, Magnus – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
D52 QGD Cambridge Springs Defence, Yugoslav Variation

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. e3 Qa5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Rc1 Nxc3 9. bxc3 Ba3 10. Rc2 b6 11. Be2 Ba6 12. O-O Bxe2 13. Qxe2 O-O 14. e4 Rac8 15. e5 Qa4 16. c4 Rfe8 17. Rd1 c5 18. d5 exd5 19. Rxd5 Nf8 20. h4 h6 21. Be3 Ng6 22. Qd3 Re6 23. h5 Ne7 24. Rd6 Bb4 25. Rc1 Re8 26. Rxe6 fxe6 27. Nh4 Qc6 28. a3 Ba5 29. Rd1 Qc7 30. Ng6 Nxg6 31. Qxg6 Qf7 32. Rd3 a6 33. a4 Rf8 34. g4 Qe8 35. Rd6 Qxa4 36. Qxe6 Kh8 37. Bxh6 Qa1 38. Kg2 Rxf2 39. Kxf2 Qe1 40. Kg2 Qe4 41. Kh3 Qh1 42. Kg3 Qe1 43. Kf4 Bd2 44. Rxd2 Qxd2 45. Kf5 gxh6 46. Qe8 Kg7 47. Qe7 1-0

- At a press conference Carlsen said he was surprised when his opponent moved 21 ... Ng6. After that Shakhriyar fell into difficulties, from which he never emerged.

- Magnus sets a new personal rating record with 2885.7 with this win

- a press conference with no volume after Carlsen wins. Am I the only one reading lips here?

- So far so good . - the fourth consecutive tournament that Carlsen started with a victory

Gashimov Memorial
Round One
April 20, 2014
Karjakin, Sergey-Radjabov, Teimour
C07 French, Tarrasch, Open Variation (Shamkovich)

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. exd5 Qxd5 5. Ngf3 cxd4 6. Bc4 Qd6 7. O-O Nf6 8. Nb3 Nc6 9. Nbxd4 Nxd4 10. Nxd4 a6 11. Re1 Qc7 12. Qe2 Bc5 13. c3 b5 14. Bb3 O-O 15. Bg5 Bb7 16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. Qh5 Bxd4 18. cxd4 Qf4 19. Re3 Be4 20. g3 Qf5 21. Qxf5 Bxf5 22. g4 Bg6 23. f4 f5 24. g5 Kg7 25. Rd1 h6 26. gxh6 Kxh6 27. Kf2 Kg7 28. d5 exd5 29. Rxd5 Rae8 30. Rxe8 Rxe8 31. Bc2 Rh8 32. Kg3 Re8 33. Rd2 Re3 34. Kf2 Rh3 35. Kg2 Re3 36. Kf2 Rh3 37. Ke1 Bh5 38. Bxf5 Re3 39. Kf1 b4 40. Bd3 Rf3 41. Kg2 Rxf4 42. Bxa6 f5 43. Rf2 Rg4 44. Kf1 Rh4 45. Be2 Bf7 46. Bd3 f4 47. a4 bxa3 48. bxa3 Rh3 49. Rd2 Be8 50. Ke1 Kf6 51. Kd1 Ke5 52. Re2 Kd4 53. Bf5 Ba4 54. Kd2 0.5-0.5

No technical problems with this press conference. The players speak in English and the interpreter follows in Azeri.
Radjabov played the French after being away from it for a long time. There was no special reason for using it today – just normal preparation. He hasn’t played classical chess for more than six months but he was still training. He is happy to be playing in tournaments again.

In Nakamura-Caruana the game was more or less equal up to the time control and then Caruana started to get the upper hand. Then 54…Bxe4 check and black throws almost everything away. He should have played 54…Bh5 check.

As I write this, the game is six hours old and the players are trying to make the 60-move time control.

There is a discussion on ChessBomb about Carlsen’s superior understanding of chess and one viewer makes this comment:

- only Ivanchuk and Carlsen really know how to play chess, the rest of us are just patzers, including these two (Nakamura and Caruana).

To which the replies are:

- just look at carlsen’s game against mamed: such elegant cold flow of inhuman force – in contrast, this game looks like chess wrestling at some local club

- naka pulling some miracle rabbits out of caruana’s hat

- great pleasure to watch Chukky’s games

- just think how good he’d be if he was named Ivanchuk Norris!

- someone once asked kasparov about a certain line in the najdorf and he said, “Ivanchuk thinks this is better for black, and that is good enough for me”, which amazed everyone because kasparov never took anyone’s word for anything.
Gashimov Memorial

Round One
April 20, 2014
Nakamura, Hikaru-Caruana, Fabiano
A33 English, Symmetrical Variation

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 e6 6. a3 Bc5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. e4 O-O 9. Be2 b6 10. O-O Ba6 11. Bf4 d6 12. Nd2 Rc8 13. Re1 Nd7 14. b4 Bb7 15. Rc1 a6 16. Bf1 Re8 17. Qe2 Nce5 18. Be3 Nf6 19. Na4 Ned7 20. Bd4 Qc7 21. f3 Bc6 22. Nc3 Qb8 23. Kh1 Bd8 24. a4 Bc7 25. g3 Qa8 26. Ra1 Bb7 27. Bg2 h6 28. Rec1 Qb8 29. Re1 Qa8 30. Rec1 Qb8 31. f4 e5 32. fxe5 Nxe5 33. Nd5 Nxd5 34. cxd5 Bd8 35. Nf3 Nd7 36. Qd3 Bf6 37. Bh3 Bxd4 38. Qxd4 Rxc1 39. Rxc1 Qd8 40. Kg1 Re7 41. Rc3 a5 42. b5 Nc5 43. Re3 Bc8 44. Bg2 Bg4 45. Ne1 Bh5 46. Nc2 Bg6 47. Qc4 Re8 48. Nd4 Qf6 49. Nb3 Nxb3 50. Rxb3 Qa1 51. Kf2 f5 52. Re3 fxe4 53. Bxe4 Qe5 54. Kf3 Bxe4 55. Rxe4 Qf5 56. Ke3 Rc8 57. Qd3 Rf8 58. Kd2 Qg5 59. Kc2 Rf2 60. Kb3 Qf6 61. Re2 0.5-0.5

Well, it’s a draw.

The press conference is quite friendly with both Nakamura and Caruana contributing equally and the interpreter loudly giving his version.

Fabiano played the ending precisely but 60…Qf6 made the draw. Nakamura said that he didn’t find the right plan in the last half, in the hedgehog, and should have lost.

Both players had a long break before the tournament and studied a lot of chess.

This is Caruana’s first visit to Azerbaijan, wish he had more time to look around – especially at Baku. It is Nakamura’s first time in the country too.

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 20th April, 2014, 05:25 PM

Re: Gashimov Memorial

Gashimov Memorial

A viewer looking at photos of the Gashimov Memorial asked:

There is this position on the tomb wall:

White King f7, pawn f6, rook a8.
Black King h7, pawn h5, rook f4.

What is this position?

- OK. I found the answer for myself. The game was Gashimov-Stellwagen, European Team Championship, Round 9, Novi Sad, Serbia, 30 October, 2009. The position is 71 White to play. Gashimov won in 75.

Gashimov's win gave Azerbaijan the match victory over the Netherlands in the final round and Gold in the Team Championships.

Does anyone have any further anecdotes about that game?

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 c5 6. Be3 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Ne7 8. Nd2 Nbc6 9. N2f3 Bg4 10. O-O a6 11. Rc1 Bxf3 12. Nxf3 g6 13. c4 Bg7 14. cxd5 Qxd5 15. Qa4 Qa5 16. Qb3 O-O 17. Bc5 Rfe8 18. Bd6 Nxe5 19. Nxe5 Bxe5 20. Rc5 Qd2 21. Bxe5 Qxe2 22. Qxb7 Nd5 23. Bg3 Rad8 24. h3 Re7 25. Qb3 Red7 26. a3 h5 27. Rc2 Qb5 28. Qf3 Ne7 29. Bc7 Rc8 30. Rfc1 Qd5 31. Qe2 Qb7 32. Be5 Rxc2 33. Qxc2 Rd5 34. Qc3 Kh7 35. Bh8 Nf5 36. g4 e5 37. gxf5 Kxh8 38. fxg6 fxg6 39. Qc6 Qxc6 40. Rxc6 a5 41. Rxg6 Kh7 42. Rb6 Kg7 43. a4 Rd4 44. b3 Rd3 45. Kg2 e4 46. Rb5 Kg6 47. h4 Kh6 48. Re5 Rxb3 49. Rxe4 Ra3 50. f3 Kg6 51. Kg3 Kf6 52. Kf4 Ra1 53. Rc4 Ra3 54. Ke4 Ke6 55. f4 Ra1 56. Rc6 Kf7 57. Rc4 Ke6 58. Rc6 Kf7 59. Kf5 Rxa4 60. Rc7 Kf8 61. Ra7 Ra1 62. Kg6 a4 63. f5 Rg1 64. Kf6 Kg8 65. Rxa4 Rg4 66. Ra8 Kh7 67. Ra7 Kg8 68. Ra8 Kh7 69. Kf7 Rxh4 70. f6 Rf4 71. Ke6 h4 72. f7 Kg6 73. f8=Q Rxf8 74. Rxf8 Kg5 75. Ke5 1-0

75..Kg4 White wins in 16 moves

A very instructive article by GM Valeriy Aveskulov “How the Grandmasters played Rook endgames in 2009…" annotates this rook endgame and can be found here:

http://lessons.chessdom.com/three-rook-endgames

**Wayne Komer** · Monday, 21st April, 2014, 12:56 PM

Re: Gashimov Memorial

Gashimov Memorial
Shamkir 2014

Round Two

Monday, April 21, 2014

Gennady Sosonko and Viorel Iordakescu are the commentators in English again.

They discuss the Benoni. There are famous games with that opening – Korchnoi vs Kasparov, Luzern Olympiad, 1982, for example. (Brilliant ending, great story behind the game) Topalov used to play it. But Vugar was one of the few who played it recently. He did realize from the engine evaluations that there is a big advantage for white, both space advantage and material advantage but there is a lot of play for black in the positions that result.

Gashimov Memorial
Round Two
April 21, 2014
Caruana, Fabiano-Karjakin, Sergey
C67 Ruy Lopez Berlin Defence, Open Variation

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. Rd1 Be7 12. Ne2 Nh4 13. Nxh4 Bxh4 14. Be3 Be7 15. Rd2 h4 16. Rad1 Rh5 17. Bf4 a6 18. Nd4 c5 19. Ne2 Be6 20. Nc3 Rd8 21. Nd5 Rd7 22. Nxe7 Rxd2 23. Rxd2 Kxe7 24. a3 Rf5 25. Bh2 Rg5 26. Bf4 Rf5 27. Bh2 Rg5 28. Bf4 0.5-0.5

Caruana and Karjakin didn’t see any chances in the game and a draw was the natural result. The times for each move are shown on the official site and Fabiano spent 31 minutes on 18. Nd4 and Sergey spent 24 minutes on 20…Rd8 – deep waters. The two commentators sit in the audience and ask questions of Caruana and Karjakin at the press conference – I have not seen that before. Usually they are off getting a coffee &c instead of challenging the contestants at the conference.

Gashimov Memorial
Round Two
April 21, 2014
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar-Radjabov, Teimour
D47 QGD, Semi-Slav, neo-Meran (Lundin Variation)

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3 b4 9. Ne4 Nxe4 10. Bxe4 Bb7 11. a3 bxa3 12. O-O Bd6 13. Nd2 axb2 14. Bxb2 O-O 15. Ba3 Bxa3 16. Rxa3 Qc7 17. Qc2 h6 18. Nb3 c5 19. Bxb7 Qxb7 20. Nxc5 Nxc5 21. dxc5 Rfc8 22. Rc1 a5 23. c6 Qb5 24. c7 a4 25. h3 Qa5 26. Rd3 a3 27. Rd7 a2 28. Ra1 Ra7 29. Rxa2 Raxc7 30. Rxa5 Rxc2 31. Raa7 Rf8 32. Rdc7 Rxc7 33. Rxc7 g6 34. h4 Kg7 35. g3 h5 36. Kg2 Kf6 37. Kf3 Kg7 38. Kg2 Kf6 39. Kf3 Kg7 40. Kg2 Kf6 0.5-0.5

Teimour tried to surprise Shakhriyar with the Slav. Shakhriyar spent some time with his early moves. After a tough Candidates he didn’t want to fall into opening prep here. He tried to have a risk-free opening.

The two have played many games against each other but can’t remember what the cumulative score is. When Shakhriyar was starting out, Teimour was already a star and he was always trying to catch up.

Shakhriyar comes from a boxing family and makes some comparisons between boxing and chess. He feels the burden in chess of many opponents and lots of preparation. In boxing the worst that can happen is that you get a bruised eye and get knocked down. In chess, after a loss you can become mentally exhausted and tapped out for a long period of time.

Gashimov Memorial
Round Two
April 21, 2014
Carlsen, Magnus-Nakamura, Hikaru
D12 QGD Slav, 4.e3 Bf5

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 h6 7. Bd3 Bxd3 8. Qxd3 e6 9. O-O Bb4 10. Bd2 O-O 11. Rfd1 Bxc3 12. Bxc3 Nbd7 13. b3 Qe7 14. Rac1 Rac8 15. Qe2 Ne4 16. Bb2 Rfd8 17. Ne1 Nd6 18. Ba3 f5 19. Nd3 Nf6 20. Bb4 Qc7 21. Qf3 dxc4 22. bxc4 Nf7 23. a4 a5 24. Be1 b6 25. Qg3 Qxg3 26. hxg3 Ra8 27. f3 Rdb8 28. Rc2 b5 29. Nc5 bxc4 30. Rxc4 Nd5 31. Bd2 e5 32. e4 fxe4 33. Nxe4 Nb6 34. Rxc6 Nd8 35. Rg6 Nc4 36. dxe5 Kh7 37. Rg4 Nxe5 38. Rh4 Ndf7 39. Bc3 Rb3 40. Rd5 Re8 41. Rf4 Re7 42. Bxa5 Ng6 43. Rff5 Nfe5 44. Rd1 Nc4 45. Rc1 Nxa5 46. Rxa5 Ra3 47. Rcc5 Ra2 48. Kh2 Rd7 49. Ra6 Ne7 50. g4 Rb7 51. Rb5 Rc7 52. Nc5 Rc6 53. Rxc6 Nxc6 54. Rb7 Nd4 55. Kh3 Kg8 56. Rb4 Ne2 57. g5 Ng1 58. Kg3 Ne2 59. Kg4 hxg5 60. Kxg5 Ng1 61. Rg4 1-0

Carlsen was in charge throughout the game. Nakamura is shaking his head slightly. They have reached move 60 and then shake hands – Nakamura resigns, two pawns down in a rooks and knights endgame.
__________

The German GM Jan Gustafsson and GM Peter Svidler are commentating on chess24. They are a laid-back pair. This is because Jan would really like to talk about the NBA and Svidler, about cricket. And, the Carlsen-Nakamura game is going into the sixth hour. They field twitters. How would you answer these?

Which chess player would be the equivalent of the great fluid batsman V.V.S. Laxman?

Choose one and justify why is he the greatest?
Carlsen/Anand/Kasparov/Karpov/Spasky/Botvinik/Fischer/Capablanka/Any other?

Among 25yo or younger top-20 players, who need to work more on his nerves and character, in your opinion?

Assuming another loss for Hikaru against Magnus, how would you guys advise him to prepare for his next shot at the world No.1!

What do you think of resigning one move before mate instead of letting your opp mate you?
_________

At the press conference Magnus felt he was a bit better from the opening and that Hikaru started to go down hill just before the first time control. After that Magnus was two pawns up with a good position. Hikaru said that he hallucinated when he played 33…Nb6, thinking the rook was being trapped.

Carlsen was asked about the various positions he took in the chair during the game and said that he had no opinion about that.
He was lucky enough to start with two whites and won those games but he doesn’t feel he will become complacent.
_________

The big topics after the game were whether Carlsen would break the 2900 rating level during the tournament and how he sat on his chair today.

The chairs are sort of half-shells in white leather. Carlsen seemed to make himself comfortable but didn’t appreciate two questions on his posture at the press conference.

For photos see the very end of this sequence:

http://www.chess-news.ru/node/15270

Viewers’ Comments

- Magnus Carlsen has a good position on the board and on the chair.

- Carlsen clearly will win this tournament, the question though is will anyone be able to prevent him reaching 2900

- As long as they continue to invite players much lower rated than Magnus, he will continue to get a bunch a cheap wins.

- Everybody is much lower rated than Magnus. Whom should they invite?

- Things you shouldn't do...

1) Jump off a cliff  2) Eat rat poison  3) Get bit by a rattlesnake  4) Play an endgame against Carlsen two pawns down

- Wow, great game to me. Games are decided by mistakes, as long as the opponent is able to punish them, and other elite players are simply not as impressive in doing that as Carlsen is again and again.

Today Nakamura did not play a single blunder of large caliber. Two weak Naka moves (33...Nb6 and 34...Nd8) were enough for Carlsen to gain continuous game control up to the decisive endgame phase, when Nakamura finally added more inaccuracies under heavy pressure and cracked.

You can like Carlsen’s play or not (I do like moves like Bd3 after h6 in a Chebanenko structure). But denying him high respect for playing such a game just mirrors fundamental lack of chess understanding from my view.

Peter Svidler and his partner look to me like one of the (if not the) most competent and instructive live commentator team I have met so far. Peter Svidler stated very clearly, how much he was impressed by Carlsen's play today.

- Carlsen slowly skyrocketing to 2900. Amazing performance so far, he doesn´t rest on his laurels

- Carlsen was lucky with the pairings. Karjakin will extract a draw from Carlsen tomorrow and on Friday Caruana will win.

- What were the press conference questions by Azerbaijani journalists about Carlsen's chair about?! :-) It seemed like it was their first chess event and they did not know what to ask.

(Mark Crowther) - I'm told 9/10 will take Magnus over 2900, which I don't think is at all possible. I'm prepared to be shocked.

- I rather suspect Carlsen won’t be doing the chair thing again..

- I think it’s unconscious. He’s a lounger by nature.

- Magnus has won his ninth game against Nakamura, his seventh with white.

(Sergey Karjakin) - ..I will try to pose problems for Carlsen tomorrow. Obviously it is not the world title match or a decisive game, so I don't feel any supernormal responsibility; on the other hand, Magnus is my rival in this tournament, so I would of course like to show my best play and at least make him nervous..."

**Wayne Komer** · Tuesday, 22nd April, 2014, 12:59 PM

Re: Gashimov Memorial

Gashimov Memorial
Shamkir 2014

Round Three

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Gennady Sosonko and Viorel Iordakescu are the commentators in English on the official site. Lawrence Trent and Peter Svidler are on chess24, which is easily accessible via the official site.

Radjabov-Caruana starts as an English but the guys discuss it as a theoretical line in the Grunfeld. It ends in a draw.

At the press conference they are asked what the deal is with Carlsen? He comes out of the opening with no advantage but still wins. Caruana says there is no mystery, he just plays good moves. You can compete against him if you play good moves yourself. Anyway, stopping him is not their problem but Vishy Anand’s!

Gashimov Memorial
Round Three
April 22, 2014
Radjabov, Teimour-Caruana, Fabiano
A34 English, symmetrical, Three Knights System

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. d4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 g6 7. e4 Bg7 8. Rb1 O-O 9. Be2 cxd4 10. cxd4 Qa5 11. Bd2 Qxa2 12. O-O Bg4 13. Rxb7 Bxf3 14. Bxf3 Bxd4 15. Bb4 Rd8 16. Qc1 Na6 17. Bxe7 Rac8 18. Qg5 Nc5 19. Bxc5 Bxc5 20. Bg4 Rd2 21. Rxf7 Kxf7 22. Bxc8 Bxf2 23. Kh1 Qc4 24. Qf4 Kg7 25. Qe5 Kh6 26. Qf4 Kg7 27. Qe5 Kh6 28. Qf4 0.5-0.5

Nakamura said that he was happy with the opening in his game but thought that Mamedyarov’s 17..h6 and 18…g5 were risky. After those moves he now knew how to organize his attack on his king. Nakamura wins and says that he has played two bad games and one good game so far – perhaps he has taken too much time off from chess in the interval. Mamedyarov greatly resembles the American actor Jack Black to me. He acknowledges a slow start here as there was for him in the Candidates.

Gashimov Memorial
Round Three
April 22, 2014
Nakamura, Hikaru-Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance Variation

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 c5 6. Be3 Qb6 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. dxc5 Bxc5 9. Bxc5 Qxc5 10. Nb5 Kf8 11. Nbd4 Nge7 12. O-O Be4 13. Re1 Qb4 14. a3 Qxb2 15. Rb1 Qxa3 16. Rxb7 Bxf3 17. Nxf3 h6 18. Qd2 g5 19. h4 g4 20. Nd4 Qa5 21. c3 Nxd4 22. Qxd4 Nf5 23. Qd2 d4 24. Bxg4 Qxc3 25. Qe2 Nxh4 26. Bh5 Rh7 27. Qe4 Rc8 28. Qxh7 Qxe1 29. Kh2 Qxe5 30. g3 Rc7 31. Rb8 Ke7 32. Qxf7 Kd6 33. Qf8 Kd5 1-0

Karjakin prepared for this game for five hours last night. Even so, he started to worry early in this game. Karjakin at move 22 had only 8 minutes left to the time control. Carlsen had an hour. He thought that his 44…Kf7 was a mistake. Carlsen was expected to win but Karjakin held on and after six hours a draw was agreed.

No questions about chairs or sitting at the press conference. Carlsen was asked about his most difficult opponent but said laconically that he didn’t think about things like that, just plays the game.

Gashimov Memorial
Round Three
April 22, 2014
Karjakin, Sergey-Carlsen, Magnus
E20 Nimzo-Indian, Kmoch Variation

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3 6. bxc3 Nh5 7. Nh3 f5 8. e3 d6 9. Be2 c5 10. O-O Nc6 11. g4 fxg4 12. fxg4 Nf6 13. Nf2 h6 14. e4 e5 15. d5 Ne7 16. g5 hxg5 17. Bxg5 Qe8 18. Qd3 Qg6 19. Qg3 Bd7 20. Kh1 Rf7 21. Qh4 Raf8 22. Rae1 Qh7 23. Qxh7 Nxh7 24. Be3 Ng6 25. Nd3 Rxf1 26. Rxf1 Rxf1 27. Bxf1 Nf6 28. Nf2 Nf4 29. h4 Ng6 30. Bg5 Nh7 31. Bd8 Kf7 32. Kh2 Nf6 33. Kg3 Nf4 34. Kf3 Ba4 35. Nh3 Bd1 36. Ke3 Ng6 37. Ng5 Ke8 38. Ne6 Nxh4 39. Bc7 Kd7 40. Bb8 Bg4 41. Nxg7 a6 42. Bd3 Ng2 43. Kd2 Ke7 44. a4 Kf7 45. Bxd6 Kxg7 46. Bxe5 Nh4 47. Bg3 Ng6 48. e5 Nd7 49. e6 Nde5 50. Bxg6 Nxg6 51. Bd6 Kf6 52. Bxc5 Ke5 53. Ke3 Bd1 54. Bb6 Bxa4 55. Bc7 Kf6 56. Kd4 Ke7 57. c5 Nh4 58. c4 Nf3 59. Kc3 Ng5 60. Kb4 Bd1 61. Bg3 Nxe6 62. dxe6 Bf3 63. Bh4 0.5-0.5

(Mark Crowther) - Magnus Carlsen held by Sergey Karjakin although Karjakin needed the white pieces and 6 hours to do it.

Standing

Carlsen 2.5
Radjabov 1.5
Nakamura 1.5
Caruana 1.5
Karjakin 1.5
Mamedyarov 0.5

Next Round Karjakin-Mamedyarov, Radjabov-Nakamura and Caruana-Carlsen.

**Wayne Komer** · Wednesday, 23rd April, 2014, 01:21 PM

Re: Gashimov Memorial

Gashimov Memorial
Shamkir 2014

Round Four

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

They really should put up the names of the commentators on the screen. These comments on ChessBomb:

- The white-haired guy commentating..I thought he was Boris Spassky. Who is he?

- GM Sosonko Gennadi. He is a great chess writer. Knew a lot of the old players.

- Who is that dude with Svidler?

- It is Julian Assange

- It’s Jan Gustafsson, German GM

- Gustafsson geniality is. He is a theoretician, he prepares X moves at home and always blunders on move X plus 1, where X>25
- True
___________

Gashimov Memorial
Round Four
April 23, 2014
Karjakin, Sergey-Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance Variation

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. O-O cxd4 8. Nxd4 Nxd4 9. cxd4 Ne7 10. Nc3 Nc6 11. g4 Bg6 12. f4 f5 13. exf6 Qxf6 14. f5 exf5 15. Be3 Bd6 16. Nxd5 Qh4 17. Bf4 Rd8 18. Bxd6 Rxd6 19. Nc7 Kd8 20. Nb5 fxg4 21. Nxd6 g3 22. hxg3 Qxg3 23. Kh1 Qh3 24. Kg1 Qg3 25. Kh1 Qh3 26. Kg1 Qg3 0.5-0.5

Gashimov Memorial
Round Four
April 23, 2014
Caruana, Fabiano-Carlsen, Magnus
C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, Open Variation

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 h6 10. Rd1 Ke8 11. Nc3 Bd7 12. Bf4 Rd8 13. Ne4 Be7 14. g4 Nh4 15. Nxh4 Bxh4 16. Kg2 Be6 17. f3 b6 18. b3 c5 19. c4 Rd7 20. Bg3 Be7 21. Rxd7 Bxd7 22. Nc3 Kd8 23. Nd5 Re8 24. Rd1 Kc8 25. Nxc7 Rd8 26. Nd5 Re8 27. Be1 Bd8 28. Bc3 g6 29. Kg3 b5 30. cxb5 Bxb5 31. Ne3 Re6 32. f4 Ra6 33. Rd2 h5 34. gxh5 gxh5 35. Nf5 Rg6 36. Kh2 Bc6 37. Nd6 Kb8 38. f5 Rg8 39. f6 Bb6 40. Nc4 Re8 41. Nd6 Rg8 42. Nxf7 c4 43. h4 Rg4 44. e6 Be3 45. Be5 Ka8 46. Rd8 Kb7 47. Bg3 c3 48. Rb8 Ka6 49. Rc8 Bd5 50. Rxc3 Bd4 51. Rd3 Re4 52. Rd2 Rxe6 53. Ng5 1-0

Caruana said he felt he had a small advantage out of the opening. Carlsen said that he probably his 18..c5 was inaccurate and later (move 30?) he was a pawn down with a bad position and you can’t have that against a player of Fabiano’s caliber.

Generally Fabiano seemed very sympathetic with Carlsen’s feelings during the conference. The journalists made a big deal about the loss. The inevitable questions about football came up and then one about the European Team Championships where Fabiano said that he and Nakamura will be playing for Padua. This prompted a reminder from Elmira at the desk that the audience should restrict themselves to questions about today’s game!

Comments from the Italian coach Vladimir Chuchelov:

The opening was not a problem, oddly enough we guess it and analyzed it. Fabiano had a clear idea of what to do. Even so, we went over the options before the game. So, unlike the fight with Karjakin, Fabiano was more confident. Magnus suddenly blundered with the pawn on c7. This then was technically won but of course, playing with the world champion, you need to maintain vigilance until the last.

Gashimov Memorial
Round Four
April 23, 2014
Radjabov, Teimour-Nakamura, Hikaru
D11 QGD Slav, 4.e3

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bg4 5. Qb3 Qb6 6. Nc3 e6 7. Nh4 Bh5 8. h3 g5 9. Nf3 h6 10. Bd3 Nbd7 11. g4 Qxb3 12. axb3 Bg6 13. Bxg6 fxg6 14. Ke2 Bg7 15. Bd2 O-O 16. Be1 a6 17. h4 gxh4 18. g5 hxg5 19. Nxg5 Rfe8 20. Rxh4 e5 21. cxd5 cxd5 22. Rd1 Rad8 23. Nf3 exd4 24. Rhxd4 Nb6 25. Rb4 Rd6 26. Na4 Nxa4 27. bxa4 Re7 28. Bc3 Ne4 29. Bxg7 Kxg7 30. Nd2 Rc6 31. Nxe4 dxe4 32. Rdd4 Rc2 33. Rd2 Rxd2 34. Kxd2 Kf6 35. Rb6 Kf5 36. Ke2 Rc7 37. Kf1 Rd7 38. Kg2 Rf7 39. b4 Kg5 40. a5 Re7 41. Kg3 Rf7 42. Re6 Kf5 43. Rd6 Re7 44. Rb6 Rf7 45. b5 axb5 46. Rxb5 Ke6 47. Kg4 Rxf2 48. Rxb7 Rf5 49. a6 Ra5 50. Rb6 Kf7 51. Kf4 g5 52. Kxe4 g4 53. Kf4 Ra4 54. Kg3 Re4 55. Rb8 Rxe3 56. Kxg4 Ra3 57. Ra8 Ra5 58. Kf4 Kg7 59. Ke4 Rb5 60. Ra7 Kg6 61. Kd4 Rb6 62. Ke5 Rc6 63. Ra8 Kg7 64. Ra7 Kg6 65. Re7 Rxa6 66. Re6 Rxe6 67. Kxe6 0.5-0.5

There was a flurry of moves at the end of this game, down to bare kings, the players shook hands, signed their sheets and went off to the press conference.

Nakamura said that the game started off normally and was balanced but after move 30 he began to think that he was going to suffer for a long time to get the draw. The players seemed to agree that objectively the game was drawn but precise moves were needed by black to bring it off.
___________

During the rook endgame of Radjabov-Nakamura:

Gustafsson – “All rook endings are drawn” according to Tartakower

Svidler – He also pioneered the response when asked about a tournament he didn’t do very well in, “I have no idea what you are talking about – I never played there.”

Svidler – Magnus did resign after Ng5. That is very good for the tournament. Everything is to play for.

Gustafsson – Congratulations to Mr. Caruana. It has been a while since we have seen Magnus lose a chess game. He was the first guy to beat Levon in a Marshall and the first guy to beat Carlsen in a Berlin.

Svidler – I think he is doing very well lately. I like his development as a chess player.

Gustafsson – Shouldn’t you be upset instead of complimenting a rival?

Svidler – I am wearing my pundit hat here and therefore am impartial but I am fully aware of the option. Schadenfreude is something I am not completely unfamiliar with.

Gustafsson – A good German word.

Svidler – Also a two-part episode of Boston Legal.

Gustafsson – Not my favorite show – not everyone thought Shatner could act.

Svidler – You watch it for Spader.

Gustafsson – I’m just saying that Boston Legal is not must-see television.

Svidler - Whatever Spader does is must-see television for us Spader aficionados.

To me Gustafsson – Svidler is the ideal commentating team. They are very good analytically, both have bright personalities, they have anecdotes and wide world experience, a great command of English and are a lot of fun. Svidler said that he enjoys press conferences too much and is trying to cut down on the amount of (interesting) things he says during them. Trying, but perhaps won’t succeed!

Standing

Carlsen 2.5
Caruana 2.5
Karjakin 2
Radjabov 2
Nakamura 2
Mamedyarov 1

Viewers’ Comments

- Berlin walls aren´t what they used to be back in my days...

- Carlsen’s record has been phenomenal so far. But he is human after all. This is probably his first loss after his last round loss to Ivanchuk in Candidates 2013.

- Congratulations to Caruana, must have been really tuff to win this one, you could see on the clock how careful he was at each important moment !

How could Radjabov miss the win ??? Incredible at this level

- Carlsen explained at the press conference that he did not feel well this morning. Peter Svidler was sniffing from hay fever. Lawrence Trent had a headache yesterday and I'm not feeling too good myself.

- No drama, but once more wow! Caruana outplaying Carlsen in classical Carlsen style!

This must be even more annoying to Carlsen than letting Karjakin slip into the draw yesterday. ;-)

I'm really glad he get's some serious challenges of this kind: it's his only chance to be kicked and annoyed into sufficient form for November, against a self-confident Anand looking forward to him.

- Very nice job, Fabiano. I'm a bit surprised Carlsen went for the Berlin. I had a feeling Caruana would be ready for it after seeing it so often at the WC match, and he was.

It has been a while since Carlsen lost a game, but back when he did lose more often, he usually bounced back quickly with a win. White against Radjabov seems as good a chance as he is going to get.

- Actually his last loss was against Wang Hao in the Norway Chess tournament in May 2013, still almost one year ago. Magnus sure is human in the sense that he happens to have a bad day at times, quite rarely though

- How can anyone think Radjabov missed a win in that endgame? :-)

**Gary Ruben** · Wednesday, 23rd April, 2014, 01:58 PM

Re: Gashimov Memorial

Originally posted by Wayne Komer View Post

Gashimov Memorial
Round Four
April 23, 2014
Caruana, Fabiano-Carlsen, Magnus
C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, Open Variation

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 h6 10. Rd1 Ke8 11. Nc3 Bd7 12. Bf4 Rd8 13. Ne4 Be7 14. g4 Nh4 15. Nxh4 Bxh4 16. Kg2 Be6 17. f3 b6 18. b3 c5 19. c4 Rd7 20. Bg3 Be7 21. Rxd7 Bxd7 22. Nc3 Kd8 23. Nd5 Re8 24. Rd1 Kc8 25. Nxc7 Rd8 26. Nd5 Re8 27. Be1 Bd8 28. Bc3 g6 29. Kg3 b5 30. cxb5 Bxb5 31. Ne3 Re6 32. f4 Ra6 33. Rd2 h5 34. gxh5 gxh5 35. Nf5 Rg6 36. Kh2 Bc6 37. Nd6 Kb8 38. f5 Rg8 39. f6 Bb6 40. Nc4 Re8 41. Nd6 Rg8 42. Nxf7 c4 43. h4 Rg4 44. e6 Be3 45. Be5 Ka8 46. Rd8 Kb7 47. Bg3 c3 48. Rb8 Ka6 49. Rc8 Bd5 50. Rxc3 Bd4 51. Rd3 Re4 52. Rd2 Rxe6 53. Ng5 1-0

Caruana said he felt he had a small advantage out of the opening. Carlsen said that he probably his 18..c5 was inaccurate and later (move 30?) he was a pawn down with a bad position and you can’t have that against a player of Fabiano’s caliber.

Personally, I like 9. ....Bd7 better. 9. .... h6 is probably inaccurate.

**Gary Ruben** · Wednesday, 23rd April, 2014, 03:52 PM

Re: Gashimov Memorial

Corrected typo from Nd7 to Bd7. Those kind of typos can make a person feel like his name should be "ten thumbs".

**Wayne Komer** · Wednesday, 23rd April, 2014, 11:00 PM

Re: Gashimov Memorial

Gashimov Memorial

During a discussion of the endgame in Radjabov-Nakamura, Round Four:

Gustafsson – I think when you get your rook on the 6th you have got the Vancura Position. It is one of the three things I know about rook endgames – there are these three positions:

The Philidor

The Lucena

The Vancura

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rook_an...s_rook_endgame

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 24th April, 2014, 01:09 PM

Re: Gashimov Memorial

Gashimov Memorial
Shamkir 2014

Round Five

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Gashimov Memorial
Round Five
April 24, 2014
Nakamura, Hikaru-Karjakin, Sergey
A30 English, Symmetrical, Hedgehog (5.O-O g6)

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 b6 3. g3 c5 4. Bg2 Bb7 5. O-O g6 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. d4 cxd4 8. Qxd4 d6 9. Rd1 Nbd7 10. Be3 Rc8 11. Rac1 a6 12. b3 O-O 13. Qh4 Re8 14. Bh3 Ba8 15. g4 b5 16. cxb5 Qa5 17. Bd2 Bxf3 18. exf3 Ne5 19. Kg2 g5 20. Qxg5 axb5 21. Qe3 b4 22. Ne2 Nd5 23. Qe4 Rxc1 24. Bxc1 e6 25. f4 Nf6 26. Qb7 Nexg4 27. Qf3 h5 28. Rxd6 Qxa2 29. Ng3 Qxf2 30. Qxf2 Nxf2 31. Kxf2 h4 32. Kf3 hxg3 33. hxg3 Ra8 34. f5 Bf8 35. Rc6 Nd7 36. Rc7 Nc5 37. Be3 Ra5 38. fxe6 Nxe6 39. Rc8 Kg7 40. Bf1 Rf5 41. Kg2 Bc5 42. Bd3 Re5 43. Bxc5 Rxc5 44. Rb8 Rc3 45. Bc4 Nd4 46. Rxb4 Nf5 47. Rb7 Ne3 48. Kf2 Nxc4 49. bxc4 Rxc4 0.5-0.5

This is the first game to finish, in a draw. Both players are in a good mood. Nakamura says that there was an immediate response to every move he made in the opening. Obviously Karjakin was well-prepared. Naka feels he is playing better now and said so far it has been good, bad and ugly. Everyone has a rest day tomorrow but he would rather play.

Gashimov Memorial
Round Five
April 24, 2014
Carlsen, Magnus-Radjabov, Teimour
E70 King’s Indian, Kramer System

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nge2 O-O 6. Ng3 e5 7. d5 a5 8. Be2 Na6 9. h4 h5 10. Bg5 Qe8 11. Qd2 Nc5 12. O-O-O Ng4 13. Bxg4 Bxg4 14. f3 Bd7 15. Be3 b6 16. Kb1 Kh7 17. Qc2 a4 18. Nge2 f5 19. exf5 gxf5 20. Rh3 Kh8 21. f4 Ne4 22. Nxe4 fxe4 23. Rg3 Bg4 24. Rxg4 hxg4 25. f5 Rxf5 26. Ng3 Rf8 27. Qxe4 Qd7 28. a3 b5 29. c5 dxc5 30. h5 c4 31. h6 Bf6 32. Bc5 Rf7 33. Rf1 Re8 34. Bb4 Bg5 35. Nf5 c6 36. Bd6 Bf4 37. Ng7 Qxd6 38. Nxe8 Qxd5 39. Qxd5 cxd5 40. g3 Kh7 41. gxf4 exf4 42. Nd6 Rf6 43. Nxb5 f3 44. Nd4 Kxh6 45. Kc2 Kg5 46. Kd2 f2 47. Ne2 Rf3 48. Kc2 Kh4 49. Rh1 Rh3 50. Rf1 g3 51. Kd2 Kg4 0-1

Svidler – I don’t know what Carlsen’s mood is today. He wanted a fight and he got one. The players had two very memorable games in the London Candidates. They played in Round Seven. Teimour started with a win against Ivanchuk and then the next round I beat him. Then he was black against Carlsen, a Rossolimo Sicilian. Teimour was totally winning, a precise move would have won a whole piece. He could have won material any time he chose. In mutual time trouble, he went astray and the game was drawn. If Carlsen had lost, it would definitely been a derail of his candidates campaign and Teimour would have been back on plus one, playing well and a contender for the spot. As it happened after that game Teimour’s tournament went from bad to worse and he ended up at minus six, which is unheard of for a player of his solidity. Magnus went on to win. Teimour is not the easiest of opponents for Carlsen.

This may have some bearing on what is going on today.

In fact Carlsen resigns on move 51. At the press conference he said that he thought he was playing well at first and then misjudged his position and played too aggressively.

After two losses, he has no energy and needs the day off to regroup.

Radjabov said that he just played an opening that he had played for years – one that gives both players fighting chances. He has had many memorable games versus Carlsen but this is the most memorable so far.

(ChessVibes) By the way, strictly speaking Carlsen could have lost the game much earlier. He appeared about two minutes late for the round, and since there is no mention of special rules for appearing late (such as 30 minutes, or the traditional 60 minutes) in the regulations (in PDF here), the standard FIDE zero-tolerance rule should apply. But common sense prevailed, and Chief Arbiter Faik Gasanov decided to let it be.

- Carlsen lost his second game in a row. Happening after 4 years (Bilbao 2010). Shows his dominance :)

- Teimour Radjabov again showing he's the king of the King's Indian! The local fans must be very happy.

- Incredibly poor from Norwegian TV cutting off in the middle of the press conference with Carlsen & Radjabov.

Gashimov Memorial
Round Five
April 24, 2014
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar-Caruana, Fabiano
D90 Grunfeld, Three Knight’s Variation

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg5 Nxc3 7. bxc3 c5 8. Rc1 Bg4 9. Qb3 Qc7 10. e3 Bxf3 11. gxf3 O-O 12. d5 a6 13. a4 b5 14. axb5 axb5 15. Bxb5 Nd7 16. c4 Ne5 17. Ke2 Ra7 18. f4 Ng4 19. Rc2 Nf6 20. Qd3 Rfa8 21. Bxf6 Bxf6 22. Bc6 Rb8 23. h3 Rb6 24. Bb5 Qc8 25. Rd2 Kg7 26. Kf3 Ra1 27. Rdd1 Ra2 28. Kg2 Bh4 29. Rhf1 Rf6 30. Qb3 Ra7 31. Qc3 Kh6 32. Ra1 Rxa1 33. Qxa1 g5 34. fxg5 Bxg5 35. Qe5 Bh4 36. Qe4 Rg6 37. Kh2 Bf6 38. Ba4 Qc7 39. Kh1 Qc8 40. Qf3 Kg7 41. Bc2 Rg5 42. Rb1 Be5 43. Rg1 Rxg1 44. Kxg1 Bd6 45. Kg2 Qg8 46. Qh5 Kh8 47. Kf1 Qg7 48. f4 Kg8 49. Kf2 Kh8 50. Kf3 Bc7 51. Qf5 Bd6 52. Qh5 Bc7 53. Bb1 Bb8 54. Bd3 Bd6 55. h4 Qg8 56. Bc2 Qg7 57. Bd3 Qg8 58. Be4 Qg7 59. Bb1 Qg8 60. Bd3 Qg7 61. e4 Qc3 62. Qxf7 Qxd3 63. Kg4 Qe2 64. Kf5 h5 65. Qf8 Kh7 66. Qf7 Kh8 67. Qg6 Qxc4 68. Qxh5 Kg7 69. Qg6 Kh8 70. Ke6 Qf1 71. Qh6 Kg8 72. Qg6 Kh8 73. Qh5 Kg7 74. Qg4 Kf8 75. Qh5 Kg7 76. Qg5 Kf8 77. e5 Qb1 78. Qh6 Kg8 79. Qg5 Kf8 80. f5 Bxe5 81. Qxe7 Kg8 82. Kxe5 Qb2 83. Ke6 Qe2 84. Kf6 1-0

67. Qg6 Qxc4?

Caruana stumbles just before the finish line. The only drawing move was 67... Qf3! and now after 68. Qg5 the only move is (68. e5 Qh3 69. Ke4 Qh1 ! is a perpetual ) 68... Kh7!! and White either has to give perpetual himself or allow it again after 69. e5 Qh3 Mamedyarov had actually seen this during the game. "I had enough time, but it was a long game. I just didn't see Qh3 after e5," said Caruana.

The last game to finish. While it was going on Lawrence and Peter solicit the viewing audience for questions because there is a lot of airtime to fill. Peter tells an anecdote about playing Kasparov that takes nine minutes. If there is space, I will append it later.

I have gone over the transmissions of the previous rounds to see if there were any Svidlerian nuggets to report.

In the Round Three, commenting on his shirt (!), Peter said he read A Scanner Darkly when he was 15 years old and it made him a Philip K. Dick fan for life. It served as a basis for the 2006 film of the same name starring Robert Downey, Jr.

Peter doesn’t know if he will be playing in the Olympiad because the choice is not by rating but up to the coaches.

Everyone was dressed well in the recent Candidates because there was a dress code in operation.

Peter – I feel better when I am wearing a nice suit. It adds 3% to my morale. This happens in real time strategy games like Heroes of Might and Magic where you fight better if you touch a flag.

The Carlsen-Nakamura competition has been described in terms of The Lord of the Rings. (Last year Hikaru called Magnus Carlsen 'Sauron' on his twitter account. Calling him 'Sauron' means that 'he can see everything' which is actually a compliment) Carlsen has said that he has never seen it. ('I've never actually watched Lord of the Rings... if I had, and Nakamura had been a better chess player, I might have been more insulted.') How can you live to be 23 and not see Lord of the Rings?

Vishy Anand first saw it during a 30-hour ride from his house in Madrid to Sofia, when airplane flights were grounded because of the volcanic ash from Iceland.

The whole story is at:

http://en.chessbase.com/post/a-volca...d-of-the-rings
_________

The ending drags on toward the seventh hour. The guys talk about their BFFs. For Peter it is Alexander Grischuk. Jan Gustafsson is also in the running. There is a discussion about how bad the movie Gravity is (Trent) and Gustafsson’s choice of T-shirts.

Finally, Caruana resigns to Mamedyarov. Seven hours on the dot. That means that the two Azeris won today. Three cheers for the home town!

The next round is not tomorrow but on Saturday.

Standing

Radjabov 3
Carlsen 2.5
Caruana 2.5
Karjakin 2.5
Nakamura 2.5
Mamedyarov 2

Viewers' Comments

- Funny how most comments are about Carlsen losing instead of Radjabov finally playing toplevel again.

- A day with several good games. I was impressed by Mamedyarov's patient defense after grabbing the pawn, gradually reducing Caruana's initiative before finally converting - impressive.

- Did Caruana really have the initiative, in terms of threatening anything or having a clearcut plan? It seems that he had adequate compensation for the pawn, nothing less and nothing more - the white king looked a bit vulnerable but actually wasn't!?

Caruana went wrong with 67.-Qxc4? possibly playing for a win - 67.-Qf3 would have led to perpetual check, an altogether 'logical' result of the game.

(Olimpiu Urcan) - A brilliant Mamedyarov king walk closes a remarkable day for the Azerbaijani players. A supreme Gashimov tribute

- The reason why Magnus might have lost last two games - the corrosive influence of Basil Fawlty - tweet from the other day -

(Magnus Carlsen) Enjoying #FawltyTowers after Nakamura victory, while coach Peter is preparing for my next game.

**Gary Ruben** · Thursday, 24th April, 2014, 06:49 PM

Re: Gashimov Memorial

When you wear the crown, people expect you to play like The King. Walking the walk.

**Wayne Komer** · Friday, 25th April, 2014, 11:16 PM

Re: Gashimov Memorial

Many people have enjoyed the Gashimov Memorial commentary of Peter Svidler and Jan Gustafsson at chess24. Peter is going off goodness-knows-where the next week.

A complete analysis of Round 5 is available with comments by the guys and analysis by Jan at

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/sha...carlsen-misery

During one press conference Mamedyarov talked for hours but the English translation was only a few words, which seemed to nettle Caruana.

There is a parallel – if you have seen Lost in Translation with Bill Murray and the famous filming of the Suntory Whiskey commercial, where the director speaks volumes and the translation is one or two lines.

Chess24 has supplied a clip from that movie at the site given above (at bottom).