Gashimov Memorial

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Gashimov Memorial

Gashimov Memorial
Shamkir 2014

Round Six

Saturday, April 26, 2014

The commentators on Chess24 are Lawrence Trent and Jan Gustafsson.

Jan says that Mamedyarov is a pawn down after five moves and has posed no problems to black. Black is seriously better later on. The chess engines evaluate the position as at least equal.

(Carlsen) “I was basically out of book on move 5. Any preparation I did was for nothing. That's fine. It's more interesting when we play chess and not everything is decided by preparation,” said Carlsen. He felt he was doing well from the opening, but later he wasn't sure who was better. “It worked out very nicely for me when I got in e5 and Nf8 and coordinated my pieces.”

Gashimov Memorial
Round Six
April 26, 2014
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar-Carlsen, Magnus
E32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical Variation

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. Nf3 dxc4 6. Bg5 b5 7. a4 c6 8. g3 Bb7 9. Bg2 Nbd7 10. O-O Qb6 11. e4 a6 12. Rfd1 h6 13. Be3 O-O 14. d5 c5 15. a5 Qd8 16. dxe6 fxe6 17. Nh4 Bxc3 18. bxc3 Qe8 19. f4 Rd8 20. h3 Rf7 21. Rd6 e5 22. f5 Nf8 23. Bxc5 Rxd6 24. Bxd6 Rd7 25. Bxf8 Qxf8 26. Rd1 Qc5 27. Kh2 Bxe4 0-1

Gashimov Memorial
Round Six
April 26, 2014
Caruana, Fabiano-Nakamura, Hikaru
C80 Ruy Lopez, Open, Bernstein Variation

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. Nbd2 Nc5 10. c3 Be7 11. Bc2 d4 12. Nb3 d3 13. Bb1 Nxb3 14. axb3 Bf5 15. Re1 O-O 16. b4 Qd7 17. h3 Bg6 18. Bg5 Bxg5 19. Nxg5 a5 20. e6 fxe6 21. Nxe6 Rfe8 22. Nc5 Qd6 23. Bxd3 Rxe1 24. Qxe1 Re8 25. Qd1 axb4 26. cxb4 Bxd3 27. Qxd3 Qxd3 28. Nxd3 Rd8 29. Ra3 Rd4 30. Rb3 Ne7 31. Nc5 c6 32. Re3 Nd5 33. Re6 Nxb4 34. Re7 Rd6 35. Ne6 Nd5 36. Rxg7 Kh8 37. Nc7 Rd8 38. Rf7 Kg8 39. Rg7 Kh8 40. Rf7 Kg8 41. Rg7 Kh8 0.5-0.5

(ChessVibes) Caruana-Nakamura was a correct but nonetheless interesting draw. Black played the Open Ruy Lopez, like he had done three times last summer, and a long, theoretical line came on the board.

Caruana played it as Black against Shirov four years back, and he remembered that the move 18.Bg5!? was worth a try.

Nakamura swapped bishops and then the critical position was reached. With 20.e6 Caruana entered a long and forcing variation that led to a drawn ending with some fun tactics at the end.

Curious about what the computer would think of the game, Nakamura said: “The question is if White has something better than what Fabiano played. If not, then it was a logical draw.”

Gashimov Memorial
Round Six
April 26, 2014
Radjabov, Teimour-Karjakin, Sergey
C53 Guioco Piano

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. Nbd2 d6 7. Bb3 Re8 8. O-O a6 9. Re1 h6 10. Nf1 Ba7 11. Ng3 Be6 12. Bxe6 Rxe6 13. d4 d5 14. Nxe5 Nxe5 15. dxe5 Nxe4 16. Nxe4 dxe4 17. Bf4 Qd3 18. Qa4 Qb5 19. Qxb5 axb5 20. h4 e3 21. Bxe3 Rxe5 22. Bxa7 Rxe1 23. Rxe1 Rxa7 24. Re8 Kh7 25. a3 c5 26. Re7 Kg6 27. g3 Kf6 28. Rc7 b4 29. cxb4 cxb4 30. axb4 Ra2 31. Rxb7 Rxb2 32. Kg2 g5 33. Rb6 Kg7 34. h5 g4 35. Kf1 Kg8 36. b5 Kg7 37. Rb8 Kf6 38. b6 Kg5 39. Ke1 Kxh5 40. b7 f5 41. Kd1 Rb1 42. Ke2 Rb2 43. Kd3 Rb3 44. Kd4 Rb4 45. Kd5 Rb2 46. Ke6 Rb6 47. Kxf5 Rxb7 48. Rxb7 0.5-0.5

(ChessBase) The Italian Game. After very quick exchanges Radjabov got a miniscule advantage in the form of rook activity in the endgame. Karjakin confidently sacrificed a pawn to reach a theoretically drawn endgame, and although his stalemate trick at the end was cute it was certainly not the only way to secure the draw.

Standing

Carlsen 3.5
Radjabov 3.5
Caruana 3
Nakamura 3
Karjakin 3
Mamedyarov 2

Round Seven Pairings

Radjabov-Mamedyarov
Karjakin-Caruana
Nakamura-Carlsen

Viewers’ Comments

- Rae1 and Shak is definitely at least equal (according to the machine) instead of the f4-f5 blunder. Magnus really did get lucky with the sloppy play but Shak will cough up points to other players anyway so it really doesn't matter. I was more impressed with the Caruana-Nakamura Open Ruy and the Radjabov-Karjakin cheeky stalemate finish. It was nice to have a shorter round today but the critical rounds begin now. Carlsen will be looking to beat Nakamura with black but with his strange form, even after today (Mamed missed a forced draw earlier as well) I am not convinced Carlsen is back in any sort of form. Radjabov is playing very well.

- Hail the king! You can think about Carlsen whatever you want, but he is a fierce competitor. When Kramnik says Magnus is better due to factors that are unrelated to chess skill, he is right; It is the determined spirit of a champion which makes Carlsen stronger.

He will win this tournament, mark my words. Whether you love him or hate him, all eyes on Magnus!

- Shak's no moron at all. He played a real pawn sacrifice with perhaps less than complete compensation objectively, but getting quite a well playable and active position later after white's f4.

I liked Carlsen's ...e5 a lot (in a position with valid alternatives, so nobody should come up with "what else"), and Shak went wrong in upcoming time trouble with f5, which helps only black, as Carlsen pointed out in the press conference.

- Magnus asked if he followed the press and media after his two losses. His answer, smiling: "No".

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Gashimov Memorial

Gashimov Memorial
Shamkir 2014

Round Seven
Sunday, April 27, 2014

Gashimov Memorial
Round Seven
April 27, 2014
Radjabov, Teimour-Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
A13 English, Neo-Catalan

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4 5. Qa4 Nbd7 6. Qxc4 a6 7. Qc2 c5 8. Nc3 Qc7 9. O-O b6 10. d4 Bb7 11. Bf4 Bd6 12. Bxd6 Qxd6 13. Rfd1 O-O 14. e4 Qe7 15. Qe2 b5 16. e5 Nd5 17. Nxd5 Bxd5 18. dxc5 Nxc5 19. Rac1 Rac8 20. Qe3 Qb7 21. Rxc5 Rxc5 22. Qxc5 Bxf3 23. Bxf3 Qxf3 24. Rd6 Qe4 25. Rxa6 Qb1 26. Kg2 Qe4 27. Kg1 Qb1 28. Kg2 Qe4 29. Kg1 Qb1 0.5-0.5

(ChessVibes) The game between Teimour Radjabov and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov was a rather friendly affair, like so many encounters between the two Azeri top players have been. In fact, of their eight previous classical games that can be found in the database, only one did not end in a draw - the one at the 2010 Astrakhan Grand Prix, when Mamedyarov mysteriously lost on time.

Today the two played an English/Catalan hybrid where White enjoys a tiny edge. Radjabov played it safe with 15.Qe2, and soon after almost all the pieces were traded.

Gashimov Memorial
Round Seven
April 27, 2014
Karjakin, Sergey-Caruana, Fabiano
D85 Grunfeld, Modern Exchange Variation

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Nf3 c5 8. Rb1 O-O 9. Be2 cxd4 10. cxd4 Qa5 11. Bd2 Qxa2 12. O-O Bg4 13. Be3 Nc6 14. d5 Ne5 15. Rxb7 a5 16. Rxe7 a4 17. Re1 a3 18. Nxe5 Bxe2 19. Rxe2 Qxe2 20. Qxe2 a2 21. Bd4 a1=Q 22. Bxa1 Rxa1 23. Qf1 Rxf1 24. Kxf1 Bf6 25. Nc6 Bxe7 26. Nxe7 Kg7 27. Nc6 Rc8 28. g4 h6 29. h4 Kf8 30. h5 gxh5 31. gxh5 Ra8 32. Kg2 Ra1 33. f3 Rd1 34. Ne5 f5 35. Nc4 Rd3 36. Ne5 Rd1 37. Ng6 Kf7 38. Nh4 fxe4 39. fxe4 Re1 40. Kf3 Rh1 41. Kg4 Rg1 42. Kf4 Rh1 43. Nf5 Rxh5 44. e5 Rh1 45. e6 Kf6 46. e7 Rf1 47. Kg3 Kf7 48. Kg4 Rxf5 49. Kxf5 Kxe7 50. Kg6 Kd6 51. Kxh6 Kxd5 0.5-0.5

The game followed Giri-Caruana FIDE Grand Prix Zug, 2013 for the first 28 moves. Then, Karjakin deviated with 29. h4-h5. In the first game Giri had f4-f5. Trent and Gustafsson were astounded when turning to the game for the first time to find that only five minutes had elapsed. The engine says that the position is equal. Karjakin spends 27 minutes on his 30th move. Anish Giri himself is tweeting the guys about the Grand Prix game.

Gustafsson says that he is leaning towards the draw because both guys have done extensive analysis of the position beforehand.

Gashimov Memorial
Round Seven
April 27, 2014
Nakamura, Hikaru-Carlsen, Magnus
E20 Nimzo-Indian, Kmoch Variation

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 c5 5. d5 O-O 6. e4 d6 7. Bd2 Nbd7 8. Nge2 Ne5 9. Ng3 exd5 10. cxd5 Bd7 11. a3 Ba5 12. Be2 b5 13. O-O c4 14. Be3 Bb6 15. Qd2 Rb8 16. Nd1 Bc8 17. Kh1 Nfd7 18. f4 Ng6 19. Bxb6 Rxb6 20. Ne3 Nc5 21. Bd1 Nd3 22. f5 Ngf4 23. a4 a6 24. Ng4 h5 25. Nf2 Qf6 26. Nxd3 Nxd3 27. Qe3 Rb7 28. Nxh5 Qh6 29. Qxh6 gxh6 30. axb5 axb5 31. Bc2 Ne5 32. Ra6 Rd8 33. Ng3 Rb8 34. Ra7 b4 35. Ne2 Bd7 36. Rfa1 Bb5 37. h3 Rdc8 38. Kh2 c3 39. Nd4 cxb2 40. Rb1 Rc4 41. Nxb5 Rxc2 42. Nd4 Rd2 43. Nc6 Re8 44. Ra4 Nd3 45. Nxb4 Nf2 46. Ra2 Nd1 47. Rxd1 Rxd1 48. Rxb2 Rxe4 49. Nc6 Kg7 50. f6 Kxf6 51. Rf2 Kg6 52. Nd8 Re8 0-1

Nakamura gets close to a winning position but lets it go just before the time control. Carlsen turns it around.

Gustafsson – We are past the time control and waiting for 42…b3 after which the game will be lost for Nakamura.

Trent – Nakamura has had lots of chances in games before and not to have converted… Carlsen has plus 10 against him.

Gustafsson – And Carlsen will move to plus 2 in the tournament. Carlsen is taking his time now.

Trent – It is heartbreaking stuff. I am sort of speechless the way this has gone. I thought this would be the day that Naka would turn it around.
Oh my goodness! Carlsen didn’t play b3! What a terrible move 42…Rd2.

Gustafsson – It is not the end of the world. Black is still calling the shots. Clearly less winning than the line we saw.

Trent – It is a huge blunder, even if it doesn’t spoil the win. b3 is such a natural move.

Gustafsson – Too much drama in sports – last night in the NBA several games were decided in the last seconds, then here, Nakamura with a winning position down the stretch and then Carlsen has a winning position and doesn’t convert. I am sure Chelsea is down 3-0 and will make a dramatic comeback and win.

Trent – If someone has the result of Liverpool vs Chelsea, please tweet.

Tweet comes in with Liverpool-Chelsea 0-1 with fifteen minutes to go. (Trent very happy)

Trent - Back to the chess.

- Nakamura has looked at that rook ending and said to himself, “that is very bad” and is taking his time with his moves. Who said I would rather have a pawn than a finger? Was it Reuben Fine? I find it so insanely absurd. I always give away my pawns, they restrict your pieces.

A question comes in about the music for their transmission when they are off the air on a break and Gustafsson says that they should use the theme music from The Game of Thrones. It is called the Realms of Castamere. Trent is not up on The Games of Thrones and Gustafsson says that is one of the things that is wrong with Trent. A discussion follows on The Sopranos vs The Godfather.

All this because Nakamura has been doing a long think – 33 minutes on 44. Ra4.

Hannibal, Breaking Bad and Fargo are discussed too. Gustaffson tacks True Detective on to that list.

Gustafsson – Black plays 52…Re8. It’s all over. White resigns. Nakamura outplayed him and yet Carlsen wins the game. He proves to us that the opening is not everything.

Standing after Round Seven

Carlsen 4.5
Radjabov 4
Caruana 3.5
Karjakin 3.5
Nakamura 3
Mamedyarov 2.5

Next Round Pairings Mamedyarov-Nakamura, Carlsen-Karjakin, Caruana-Radjabov
__________

At the press conference, Magnus says that he made a mistake in the opening with 10…Bd7, he needed that square for the knight. His position was very unpromising until just before the time control. Hikaru said to lose the position he had was just pathetic. He put all of his pieces on the wrong squares.

Magnus said he simply did not see 42..b3, Rd2 is what he was calculating and it seemed to win.

The journalists ask if all this seems like déjà vu all over again. Carlsen tries to be tactful and Nakamura says there are differences between this and Zurich but with the same result.

Carlsen says that two black wins in a row is more than he was expecting.

Nakamura’s sponsor is Red Bull and he was wearing a Red Bull jersey with the number 32 on it but that number has no significance.

Viewers’ Comments

- I thought it was very interesting how little pleasure Carlsen took in his win today at the press conf. Nakamura took it well considering too

(Eric Hansen) – Even though the head to head score between Naka-Carlsen doesn't indicate a rivalry the games say otherwise. exciting!

- Even if Carlsen is not having a great tournament by his standards, he is clear first and adding 0.1 to his 2881 rating.
If that is not greatness then I don't know what it is.

- Fun fact : Radjabov is the only one who gained elo points thus far in this tournament.

- Karjakin's draws are not dead draws. All his games are really well fought, but the same way that he can neutralize his opponents, the guys are doing to him. Tomorrow I expect a good game between Carlsen x Karjakin, but it will probably be a draw in the end.

- Nice to see Carlsen back. Having drawn a winning position, then losing 2 games in a row, only to face having 2 blacks in a row and winning then both -- now that's a world champion!

This is exactly why Carlsen will remain world #1 for a LONG time. Even in his "off" tournaments, he comes back and stays in contention. When anyone else is off, they either spiral further downward (Aronian at Candidates) or tamely try to draw their remaining games (Kramnik).

[Hans Jung]

Re: Gashimov Memorial

It didnt take long for Magnus to get back into the lead.

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Gashimov Memorial

Hikaru has to find a way to defeat Magnus. This is starting to be a bad habit. It's awful to be "owned".

I'm a Nakamura fan.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Gashimov Memorial

Gashimov Memorial
Shamkir 2014

Round Eight

Monday, April 28, 2014

Lawrence Trent and Jan Gustafsson are the commentators on chess24 today:

http://www.shamkirchess.az/index.php...=content&id=46

They briefly touch on the fact that Carlsen always wins over Nakamura. Jan says it is like the Harlem Globetrotters always triumphing over the Washington Generals. He says it is also like Kasparov always beating Shirov or Kasparov-Anand. Trent thinks it is now a psychological issue.

Today is Lawrence’s birthday – 28 years old. He hasn’t mentioned it, but he got a gift yesterday when Chelsea won against Liverpool, 2-0. Jan says that he has a great future behind him! Lawrence has gained 55 rating points this year and may soon become a grandmaster.

Karjakin is the big drawmeister in this tournament. Seven draws out of seven. The big results so far have been from Carlsen, Nakamura and Mamedyarov.

Gashimov Memorial
Round Eight
April 28, 2014
Carlsen, Magnus-Karjakin, Sergey
E15 Queen’s Indian, Nimzowitsch Variation

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. Nbd2 Bb7 6. Bg2 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. b3 c5 9. Bb2 cxd4 10. Nxd4 Bxg2 11. Kxg2 Nc6 12. Nxc6 dxc6 13. e4 Qd3 14. e5 Ne4 15. Nf3 Rfd8 16. Re1 Nc5 17. Nd4 Rac8 18. Re3 Qxd1 19. Rxd1 Nxb3 20. axb3 c5 21. Red3 cxd4 22. Rxd4 Kf8 23. Kf3 Ke8 24. Ke4 Bc5 25. Rxd8 Rxd8 26. Rxd8 Kxd8 27. f3 Kc7 28. Bc3 Kc6 29. Kd3 b5 30. b4 Bg1 31. h3 Bf2 32. g4 Bg3 33. Kd4 a6 34. Kd3 Bf2 35. Bd2 Bg3 36. Bc3 Bf2 37. Bd2 Bg3 38. Bc3 0.5-0.5

At the press conference Carlsen noted he got nothing after the opening. He said he wanted to play for a win without risk today, but eventually it turned out that his opponent did too..

Karjakin was asked if he could be dubbed "the king of draws", because he has drawn all of his games here.

"Perhaps, you can," Karjakin replied. The problem is that when you try to play good chess, the draw is the most probable result..."

(K. has now 14 straight draws, including his games from the Russian Team Championship)

Peter Heine Nielsen: "We have to admit that Karjakin was better prepared than us."

Carlsen: "After all the adventures in my other games it's alright to play one normal game."

Gashimov Memorial
Round Eight
April 28, 2014
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar-Nakamura, Hikaru
D11 QGD Slav, 3.Nf3

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Be4 7. f3 Bg6 8. Qb3 Qb6 9. Nxg6 hxg6 10. c5 Qc7 11. e4 Be7 12. Bf4 Qc8 13. exd5 Nxd5 14. Nxd5 cxd5 15. O-O-O Nc6 16. Kb1 g5 17. Be3 f5 18. g4 f4 19. Bf2 Kf7 20. Re1 b6 21. Qa4 bxc5 22. Ba6 Qc7 23. Bb5 Rab8 24. Rxe6 Kxe6 25. Bxc6 Rhd8 26. dxc5 Bf6 27. Bd4 Kf7 28. Rd1 Kf8 29. a3 Bxd4 30. Rxd4 Qe5 31. Rd2 Qe1 32. Rd1 Qe2 33. b4 Qxf3 34. Kb2 Qxg4 35. Qc2 Qe6 36. Ba4 Kg8 37. Bb3 Kh8 38. c6 Rd6 39. Rc1 f3 40. Qc5 Qf6 41. Ka2 f2 42. c7 Rc8 43. Rf1 d4 44. h4 Qf3 45. Bc4 Rc6 46. Qxd4 R6xc7 47. Rxf2 Rxc4 0-1

At the press conference, Mamedyarov thought he had a good opening and went astray in the ending. The Azeri press is brutal. One asks Mamedyarov if he lost because he was tired like last week or through lack of focus. The reply was about preparing for the Olympiad and that he was doing his best – mainly reassuring everyone that all will be all right.

Then one asks this, “You have been seen drinking a certain beverage around town. Did you bring it from the USA or purchase it locally?”

Nakamura – You are talking about Red Bull. If I brought cases of that along, I would have no room for clothes or anything else. I bought it right here.

Reporter – Did you notice a taste difference?

Nakamura – No, it tastes just the same.

The last game to finish:

Gashimov Memorial
Round Eight
April 28, 2014
Caruana, Fabiano-Radjabov, Teimour
E92 King’s Indian, Gligorich-Taimanov 7…Ng4 Main Line

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. Be3 Ng4 8. Bg5 f6 9. Bh4 Nc6 10. d5 Ne7 11. Nd2 f5 12. Bxg4 fxg4 13. Bg5 h6 14. Be3 c5 15. dxc6 bxc6 16. b4 d5 17. exd5 cxd5 18. Bc5 e4 19. Bxe7 Qxe7 20. Nxd5 Qf7 21. O-O Bxa1 22. Qxa1 Bf5 23. Ne3 Rad8 24. Nb3 Be6 25. Qc1 h5 26. Nc5 Rd4 27. Qc3 Rxc4 28. Qb2 Rxc5 29. bxc5 Bxa2 30. g3 Be6 31. Ra1 Kh7 32. Ra4 Qg7 33. Qd2 Rf7 34. c6 Qe5 35. Ra5 Qc7 36. Qc3 Qd6 37. Rb5 Bc8 38. Qc2 a6 39. Rd5 Qf6 40. c7 Rf8 41. Qd2 Qf7 42. Rd8 Kg8 43. Qd5 Kg7 44. Qd4 Kh6 45. Nc4 Be6 46. Qc5 Rg8 47. c8=Q Bxc8 48. Rxc8 Rxc8 49. Qxc8 Qd5 50. Ne3 Qd3 51. Qh8 Kg5 52. Qf8 1-0

At the press conference Radjabov admitted to playing aggressively, which after all is why he chose the King’s Indian. Caruana wasn’t familiar with 11…f5, which is why he spent 26 minutes on his reply. Radjabov thought that the turning point in the game was his 32…Qg7.

Radjabov feels that he is back to normal and actually is playing very well – for example his game with black against Carlsen. He has no regrets about today’s game.
__________

Commentators have lots of time to fill. The boring ones just keep giving alternate lines. Lawrence and Jan go off on all sorts of tangents with lots of whimsy.

Jan always seems to have his coffee cup in front of his face. Looking at himself on the monitor, he says that he looks too tall – he is 6 foot 4 (1 metre 94). In China, being tall and blond, people walk up to him and ask to take pictures of him with their children.

They talk about the support of Nakamura and Carlsen. Magnus has Peter Heine Nielsen here. Nakamura uses Kris Littlejohn for computer support.

Jan mentions Sharknado – that television show that came out last year – a tornado, which sucks up 20,000 sharks from the sea off of Los Angeles and drops them on the city.

Jan started chess at nine or ten. He was on a boat on the Mediterranean and that was one of the few options of things to do. The guys joke around about Gustafsson-Nunn as his Evergreen game. It was a KID in the Bundesliga 2002-3, a draw in 21 moves.

They talk about chess professionalism, Alexander Grischuk, Singapore and over-30 parties in Hamburg – asking the viewing audience to tweet them questions or comments.

Because they say that Caruana is now learning Italian, a tweeter gives this suggestion: Just in case you missed it: E.Canal "Strategia di Avamposti" is a very nice classic book for a student of Italian and Chess.

Time is hanging heavily on their hands at the moment.
__________

Later: the games are complete now.

Standing

Carlsen 5
Caruana 4.5
Radjabov 4
Karjakin 4
Nakamura 4
Mamedyarov 2.5

Round Nine Matchups – Caruana-Mamedyarov, Radjabov-Carlsen and Karjakin-Nakamura
_________

Viewers’ Comments

- Feast your eyes as Magnus will avenge his losses against Radjabov and Caruana in their last two encounters of this tournament.

I'm not siding against Carlsen, it’s just that Carlsen does like to revenge against the players who beat him by beating back. Cheers

- Highly Doubtful. Radjabov will not lose with White unless he is interested in ruining his tournament and Caruana does not fear Magnus at all. Zero concern.

- Red Bull tastes like horse manure mixed with an electric shock. It is ruining Nakamura's chess even more than he would by himself and that is difficult to do.

- Caruana is an amazingly strong and 'reliable' player, who seldom oversteps the position the way Magnus does. This risk taking has given Magnus the rating points - along with the odd losses.

- I agree that Caruana will be challenging Magnus for years to come, and if he can let go of his more 'scientific' approach and trust in himself a bit more, he might well come out on top in the end.

(Mark Crowther) - Teimour Radjabov was surprisingly feisty in the press conference for his loss to Fabiano Caruana. He admitted that he'd completely overestimated his chances and he should have shown more care and played 31...Qg7 when a draw was the likely result. As it was a combination of a horribly difficult position and time pressure caused his defeat. Nevertheless I think for the first time since the 2013 Candidates we saw maybe why Radjabov was solid top four, sparky combative variations and some aggression and self confidence, if you ask me, I think he's over the worst and will be back into the top 10 before too long.

Caruana played it nicely today and took over from Radjabov as Carlsen's closest challenger half a point back from him.

(Mark Crowther) – Because Carlsen-Karjakin wasn’t that interesting, it led me to ponder as to whether leather elbow patches are back "in" or not.

[Andrei Botez]

Re: Gashimov Memorial

First thing he can do is to change back the shirt with American flag for one with Canada, hmmm maybe even BC

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Gashimov Memorial

He needs a string of wins to get back into contention. I think he can do it.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Gashimov Memorial

Gashimov Memorial
Shamkir 2014

Round Nine

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Lawrence Trent and Jan Gustafsson are the commentators. Peter Svidler joins in later by means of Skype.

Gashimov Memorial
Round Nine
April 29, 2014
Karjakin, Sergey-Nakamura, Hikaru
E90 King’s Indian, 5.Nf3

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. h3 e5 7. d5 a5 8. Bg5 Na6 9. Nd2 Qe8 10. Be2 Nd7 11. a3 f6 12. Bh4 Nb6 13. b3 Bh6 14. f3 Be3 15. Bf2 Bxf2 16. Kxf2 f5 17. Rb1 Qd8 18. h4 Nd7 19. h5 Nf6 20. hxg6 hxg6 21. Bd3 c6 22. Qe1 cxd5 23. Nxd5 Nxd5 24. cxd5 Nc5 25. Bc2 Qg5 26. Kg1 Kg7 27. Nc4 fxe4 28. Bxe4 Ra6 29. Qe3 Qxe3 30. Nxe3 b5 31. Bc2 Ra7 32. Kf2 b4 33. Ra1 Rf4 34. axb4 Rxb4 35. Ra3 Bd7 36. Rha1 a4 37. bxa4 Bxa4 38. Kg3 Ra6 39. Bxa4 Rbxa4 40. Rxa4 Rxa4 0.5-0.5

Gashimov Memorial
Round Nine
April 29, 2014
Caruana, Fabiano-Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
D11 QGD Slav, 4.e3

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bg4 5. Nc3 e6 6. h3 Bh5 7. Qb3 Qb6 8. Nh4 g5 9. Nf3 h6 10. Ne5 Nfd7 11. Nd3 Bg6 12. h4 Rg8 13. hxg5 hxg5 14. Bd2 dxc4 15. Qxc4 Qa6 16. Nc1 Qxc4 17. Bxc4 Nb6 18. Be2 N8d7 19. e4 Be7 20. Nb3 f5 21. f3 a5 22. a4 e5 23. exf5 Bf7 24. Bd1 Nc4 25. Ne4 g4 26. Bc3 gxf3 27. gxf3 O-O-O 28. Kf2 exd4 29. Nxd4 Nc5 30. Be2 Nxe4 31. fxe4 Nd2 32. Bxd2 Rxd4 33. Ke3 Bc5 34. Bc3 Rg3 35. Kf2 Rxc3 36. bxc3 Rxe4 37. Ke1 Bc4 38. Rh2 Re5 39. f6 Bxe2 40. Rxe2 Rf5 41. Re8 Kc7 42. Ra8 Bf2 43. Ke2 Bh4 44. f7 Rxf7 45. Rxa5 Rf2 46. Ke3 Rc2 47. Ra3 Be7 48. Rb3 Ra2 49. Re5 Bd6 50. Rf5 Kb8 51. Rf7 Bc7 52. Rb4 Rh2 53. Kd3 Rg2 54. Re4 Rg3 55. Kc2 Ba5 56. Ree7 1-0

At the press conference the players agree that there were no problems out of the opening. Then came 39…Bxe2 and white was much better. Mamedaryov says that his risky style has been with him for years and he has continued to play interesting chess but now has tried to mitigate the risks.

The microphone and audience is too much for a politician in the audience to resist. He gives a speech apparently filled with purple Azeri prose, praising both players and predicting bright futures for them.

Gashimov Memorial
Round Nine
April 29, 2014
Radjabov, Teimour-Carlsen, Magnus
C92 Ruy Lopez, Closed Flohr-Zaitsev System

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Bb7 10.d4 Re8 11.Nbd2 Bf8 12.a3 h6 13.Bc2 Nb8 14.b3 Nbd7 15.Bb2 Rb8 16.a4 c5 17.d5 Bc8 18.axb5 axb5 19.Bd3 Nh5 20.Bf1 Ndf6 21.Ra7 Nf4 22.Qa1 Ng6 23.Qa5 Qxa5 24.Rxa5 Bd7 25.Rea1 Rb7 26.Ne1 Reb8 27.Nc2 Ne8 28.Ra8 Rxa8 29.Rxa8 Nc7 30.Ra5 Be7 31.c4 Bg5 32.Ne3 Bxe3 33.fxe3 b4 34.Bd3 Kf8 35.Kh2 Ke7 36.Nf3 Rb8 37.Ra7 Kd8 38.Bc1 Ra8 39.Rxa8 Nxa8 40.Bd2 Nc7 41.Be1 Ne8 42.Nd2 Nf6 43.Bc2 Nf8 44.Bd3 Ke7 45.Bc2 N8h7 46.Nf1 Kf8 47.Bf2 g6 48.Be1 Kg7 49.Bf2 h5 50.Be1 Ng8 51.Bf2 Nh6 52.Nd2 g5 53.g3 Nf6 54.Kg2 Nhg8 55.Bd3 Ne7 56.Be2 Ng6 57.Bd1 Kh6 58.Be2 Ne7 59.Bd1 Kg6 60.Be2 Neg8 61.Bd1 Nh6 62.Be2 Nhg8 63.Bd1 Ne7 64.Be2 Nc8 65.Bd1 Nb6 66.Be1 Ng8 67.Bf2 Nh6 68.Be1 f6 69.Bf2 Nf7 70.g4 hxg4 71.hxg4 Nd8 72.Nf1 Nb7 73.Ng3 Na5 74.Nf5 Nb7 75.Kf1 Kf7 76.Ke2 Bc8 77.Kd3 Ke8 78.Ng3 Na5 79.Nf1 Kd8 80.Nd2 Kc7 81.Kc2 Bd7 82.Be2 Nc8 83.Nf1 Ne7 84.Ng3 Ng8 85.Nf5 Bxf5 86.exf5 e4 87.Bg3 Nh6 88.Bd1 Kd7 89.Be2 Ke7 90.Bd1 Nb7 91.Kd2 Nd8 92.Ke1 Ndf7 93.Kf2 Ne5 94.Bxe5 fxe5 95.Be2 Ng8 96.Ke1 Nf6 97.Kd2 Kf8 98.Ke1 Ke7 99.Kd2 Kf8 100.Ke1 Ke7 101.Kd2 0.5-0.5

They shake hands after 101 moves and 6 hours & 26 minutes. The politician, who asked a question earlier, now stands up and asks Radjabov if he offered a draw earlier in the game. Teimour says that you cannot do this under 40 moves. The politician then asks if this is the longest game that either of them has played in their lives. Both say that they have played longer games. The politician exhausted his supply of questions and sits down.

A journalist asks what is in the bottle that accompanies Magnus to his games. Carlsen says that it contains orange juice mixed with water. He has had the same drink for more than ten years.

Journalist – How do you calculate so that you don’t run out?

Carlsen – I have a one-litre-bottle but if games last as long as today’s, I think I will consider bringing in two 0.75-litre ones.

Journalist 2 – You should have a rest tonight but Real Madrid will be playing Bayern Munich in the Champions League. Will you be watching it?

Magnus will. Radjabov is more a tennis fan and only watches football if Brazil is playing, which they are not, so won’t be watching.
________________

Jan doesn’t believe that Socrates ever existed. He thinks he was made up by Plato to bring his points across. There are no writings of Socrates. This idea is kicked back and forth during the commentary. Even I think this is going a bit too far beyond the boundary of chess discussion!

Peter Svidler joins the guys via Skype. He has his book collection behind him. Jan spots Terry Pratchett, Conan stuff and books on poker.

(Peter) Karjakin-Nakamura – Out of the opening it was a dream position for any KID player but perhaps Nakamura wasn’t aggressive enough to convert it. Karjakin was able to hold. Karjakin is going for the record string of draws. At the highest level Peter Leko holds the record with 12 consecutive draws in one tournament.

(Peter) In Radjabov-Carlsen, Teimour went into defensive mode when he didn’t have to. It seemed to me that he safeguarded his position first and foremost. In London between the same two players, Radjabov traded off rooks and then switched to an entirely defensive set-up.

The situation was described thus on the official site:

“Avoiding further mistakes, Radjabov managed to reach an ending that was only slightly worse for him, and which should have led to a draw. However, as he has down so often lately, Carlsen just kept on trying and trying and eventually, after 89 moves, he managed to “squeeze water from a stone”, as one chess fan put it, and win the ending”

After looking at the Caruana game it looks probable to him that Caruana will win and Carlsen will draw. This sets up the final game where Carlsen has white over Caruana. Magnus will play for a win.

Peter is doing spring-cleaning and there is dust everywhere and he is suffering with his hay fever.

They talk of a variant of poker called Omaha and the television program, The Game of Thrones. And the two movies Margin Call and Wolf of Wall Street.

It is 6:30 in St. Petersburg and 10:30 in Toronto/Montreal. Funny to be having late breakfast here and Peter’s family is just preparing supper.
_________

Standing After Round Nine

Caruana 5.5
Carlsen 5.5
Karjakin 4.5
Nakamura 4.5
Radjabov 4.5
Mamedyarov 2.5

Next Round starts 2.5 hrs earlier (!) with the pairings Mamedyarov-Karjakin, Nakamura-Radjabov and Carlsen-Caruana.

Viewers’ Comments

- Grab the popcorn!

- "had to settle for a draw" implies a little bit more chances that Carlsen actually had. It was a mutual stonewalling for most of the game. Still, hats off to Radjabov for an effortless draw.

- Funny way of thinking. If you have the chance to play against the World Champion, you should not try to play as anti-chess as possible but to get him.
Radjabov spoiled his chance to become someone by not even trying to win against Magnus Carlsen

- Carlsen only needs a draw to wrap it up according to the tie-break of most wins. Though judging by his last game of the match with Anand he will play it out tomorrow vs Caruana.

- No, a draw will lead to a tie break match of rapids/blitz/armageddon. There are special rules if two players tie for first.

- According to the commentators, the first tie-break is the number of wins - like the candidates last year and this year.
Magnus, with 4 wins, will win over Fabiano with 3 wins.

- Great, they have to slug it out tomorrow!

- Caruana will blow Carlsen off the board!

[Hans Jung]

Re: Gashimov Memorial

Gary, in todays game Karjakin - Naka have a look. On move 30 Hikaru played ...b5. Couldnt he just play 30...Nxe4 31.fxe4 Rf4 winning the central pawn and having bishop over knight in the ending with good winning chances? - I thought this gave clear strategical chances for Black (or am I just embarrassing myself?). As played the game just fizzled to a draw.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Gashimov Memorial

Nakamura took 9 seconds to decide on 30…b5. Houdini 4 Pro says that your line has a slight plus for black:

-0.12 a) ... Nxe4 31. fxe4 Rf4 32. Rc1 Rxe4 33. Kf2 Rf4 34. Kg3 Bf5 35. Rc7 Kf6 36. Rxb7 Rd4 37. Rd1 Bd3 38. Rb8 Kg5 39. Rb7 Be2 40. Re1 Rd2 41. Rh1 Ra2 42. a4 Bd3

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Gashimov Memorial

Wayne's analysis looks OK but isn't forced. White can probably play 34. Ke1 although it might not make much difference. In any case, it would appear white can get two rooks on the 7th. Computer analysis aside, it looks hard for black to win the game.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Gashimov Memorial

Shamkir Chess Tournament Regulations

(Extract)

6. Ranking and Draw system

The final standing of the players will be determined according to points. In case of sharing of places - the following criteria will be decisive for the tie-break:

• A greater number of wins.

• The result of the direct mini-matches between contenders.

• Berger.

• A tie-break match will be played in case of a tie for the first place in the tournament between the first two players in the final standing (according to points, or the additional criteria). The match will consist of two games with a time-control of 15 minutes per player 3 seconds added for every move played. In case of a tie, another match of two blitz-games will be played with a time-control of 5 minutes per player 3 seconds for every move played. In case of another tied result - there will be played a last "suddendeath" decisive game with a time-control 5 minutes for the whole game for the White-player and 4 minutes for the whole game for Black-player. The White-player will only need a victory in this game to win the tournament; whole the Black-player will win the tournament by just not losing that final decisive game.

• In case the first place might be shared by more than two players-the final standing will be determined according to the criteria that have been mentioned above.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Gashimov Memorial

Gashimov Memorial

Shamkir 2014

Round Ten

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Lawrence Trent and Jan Gustafsson are the commentators.

The transmission starts a couple of hours earlier than usual. Viewers tweet in from Houston watching at 3 a.m. and Australia in the evening, after supper. Greetings from Brazil.

A ChessBomb viewer writes: Watching The Simpsons and chess plus a good cup of coffee and some fresh waffles. This is life at its best!

During the intervals between moves in the games the guys talk about Howard Stern being a celebrity, who is learning chess and who paid $500 to play blitz with Magnus online. Lawrence says that he is available at those rates.

They also talk football. Real Madrid beat Bayern Munich last night 4-0. Lawrence is worrying about Chelsea-Atletico Madrid at Stamford Bridge tonight.

Peter Svidler comes in on the conversations via Skype. He is having bandwidth problems and they lose him for a few minutes. The FIDE ratings came out today and Peter is now World Number 13 and Alexander Grischuk is Number 3.

Caruana had to make some concessions to get a game with chances. Carlsen met the threats and now has a winning game.

Nakamura – Radjabov goes on forever.

There has been a lot of discussion about what happens if Carlsen and Caruana are tied at the end. The Arbiter has said that, in that case, Carlsen will be the victor because he will have had more wins. Viewers are split on whether the rules require a playoff in the case of a tie or not.

Gashimov Memorial
Round Ten
April 30, 2014
Nakamura, Hikaru – Radjabov, Teimour
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 Bd7 10. Nc3 h6 11. Rd1 Kc8 12. b3 b6 13. Ne2 c5 14. Bb2 Bc6 15. Ne1 h5 16. c4 Kb7 17. Nf4 h4 18. Nd5 Re8 19. Nc2 Be7 20. Rd3 Bg5 21. Ne1 a5 22. Nf3 Bd8 23. a4 Kc8 24. Rad1 Rh6 25. Nh2 Rh5 26. Ng4 Rhh8 27. f4 Rh5 28. Kh2 Rhh8 29. Bc3 Rh5 30. Bb2 Rhh8 31. Bc1 Rh5 32. Be3 Rhh8 33. Kg1 Rh5 34. Bf2 Rhh8 35. Nh2 Rh5 36. Nf3 Rhh8 37. Nd2 Rhg8 38. Nf3 Rh8 39. Kh2 Rh5 40. Re1 Rh6 41. Rdd1 Rg6 42. Be3 Rh6 43. Rd3 Rhh8 44. Bc1 Rh6 45. Bb2 Rh5 46. Bc1 Rh6 47. Nd2 Rhh8 48. Ne4 Rh6 49. Bb2 Bd7 50. Red1 Be6 51. Bc3 Rh5 52. Bb2 Rh6 53. Rf3 Rh5 54. Bc3 Kb7 55. Kg1 Kc8 56. Kf2 Kb7 57. Kg1 Kc8 58. Rfd3 Rh6 59. Bd2 Rhh8 60. Re1 Nd4 61. Bc3 Nf5 62. Kh2 Rh5 63. Red1 Rhh8 64. Be1 Kb7 65. Bf2 Kc8 66. Ndc3 Be7 67. Nd2 Kb8 68. Nf3 Ref8 69. Ne4 Bc8 70. Nc3 Be6 71. Be1 Bc8 72. Bf2 Be6 73. R3d2 Bc8 74. Re1 Rh5 75. Nd5 Bd8 76. Red1 Rhh8 77. Rd3 0.5-0.5

This is the last game to finish. There being no other players around, they replay the game on the board with officials around waiting to whisk them off to the press conference.

Hikaru says that Teimour surprised him by playing the Berlin. It was even for most of the game. In fact, they could have agreed to a draw four hours ago. Teimour says they were just filling in time between the end of the tournament and the prize-giving.

He was happy with his play in the tournament but Hikaru was not with his. He said he played quite badly and was struggling in a lot of the games. He would have preferred to have lost to Mamedyarov and to have beaten Carlsen.

The politician from yesterday gets up again and praises the tournament and then says to Hikaru, “If we have the memorial tournament next year, how quickly can you give us your answer about coming?”

Nakamura sees the funny side of this but suppresses a grin and says that he only decides on what tournaments he is going to play 4 or 5 months before them.
________
Gashimov Memorial
Round Ten
April 30, 2014
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – 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. d4 cxd4 7. Qxd4 Bg7 8. Nc3 d6 9. Rd1 Nbd7 10. Be3 Rc8 11. Rac1 O-O 12. Qh4 a6 13. b3 Re8 14. Bh3 Ba8 15. g4 b5 16. cxb5 Qa5 17. Bd2 Bxf3 18. g5 Nd5 19. Bxd7 Rxc3 20. Bxc3 Nxc3 21. Rxc3 Qxc3 22. Bxe8 Bxe2 23. Qf4 Bxd1 24. Qxf7 Kh8 25. Bc6 Bxb3 26. axb3 Qc1 27. Kg2 Qxg5 28. Kh1 Qc1 29. Kg2 Qg5 30. Kf1 Qc1 31. Ke2 Qc2 32. Kf3 Qd1 33. Kg2 Qg4 34. Kh1 Qd1 35. Kg2 Qg4 36. Kh1 Qd1 37. Kg2 0.5-0.5

ChessBomb - they blitz'd out 18 moves then Mamedyarov took 1 hr to remember his home prep (1 hr and 4 minutes on 20. Bxc3).

Actually, Mamedyarov said he was looking at a long combination here.

Karjakin thought, during the press conference, that he was playing normal chess this tourney. Even though he made ten draws – he said that is not easy, especially against Carlsen and Caruana.
__________
Gashimov Memorial
Round Ten
April 30, 2014
Carlsen, Magnus – Caruana, Fabiano
A49 King’s Indian, Fianchetto (without c4)

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 c5 5. c3 d5 6. dxc5 O-O 7. O-O a5 8. Be3 Nc6 9. Na3 a4 10. Qc1 e5 11. Rd1 Qe7 12. Nb5 Be6 13. Ng5 Bg4 14. Nd6 h6 15. Nf3 Kh7 16. h3 Be6 17. b4 axb3 18. axb3 Rxa1 19. Qxa1 Ne4 20. Nd2 f5 21. N2xe4 dxe4 22. Qb1 f4 23. Bd2 e3 24. Be1 Bf5 25. Qc1 h5 26. fxe3 fxg3 27. Bxg3 Qg5 28. e4 Qxg3 29. Rd3 Qh4 30. exf5 gxf5 31. e4 fxe4 32. Bxe4 Kh8 33. Qe3 Rf4 34. Bg2 Qe7 35. Qe2 Qh4 36. b4 e4 37. Nxe4 Ne5 38. Rd5 Kg8 39. b5 Rf5 40. c6 bxc6 41. bxc6 Qe7 42. Nd6 Rg5 43. Nb5 Qe6 44. Rd8 Kh7 45. Qe4 Rg6 46. c7 Qa6 47. c8=Q Qa1 48. Kf2 Qb2 49. Ke1 1-0

Probably, instead of 8 ... Nc6 8... Ng4 8 or 8 ... Na6 were stronger.

Caruana played 20…f5? which became decisive. A much better chance would have come from 20…d4 21.Bxe4 dxe3 22.fxe3 Qg5 or 23.Nf1 Bxh3. 
21.N2xe4 dxe4 22.Qb1 f4 23.Bd2 e3 24.Be1 Bf5 25.Qc1 h5 26.fxe3 fxg3 27.Bxg3 Qg5

Magnus wins the game and the tournament. Caruana sacrificed a pawn in the opening but didn’t get sufficient compensation but some chances nevertheless. When he was low on time and had to move quickly, there was no time to calculate.

Caruana said that the most complicated game in the tournament for him was the first against Mamedyarov. Carlsen said his difficult games were the two he lost, and then the second against Nakamura and the first versus Karjakin.

Then, a tough question. “You said before the tournament that you wanted to win Shamkir. Now you have won and you don’t show that you are happy.”
Carlsen answered, smiling, that he didn’t play as well as he would have liked, and also that it was very tiring and that he is tired.
___________

Yesterday, Gustafsson said (jokingly?) that the best movie of all time for him is Dodgeball.

When I was younger, the discussion about the top film of all time had three candidates – Casablanca, Citizen Kane and Gone with the Wind. Ah, this younger generation! Someone twittered back to say that clearly the best film of all time is Transformers 3, Dark of the Moon.

Gustafsson is as opinionated as Sheldon Cooper on Big Bang Theory. He also praises the movie Zombieland but says that vampires are really superior to zombies.

There was a tweet to Svidler on how to control his hay fever – stop consuming dairy and grains.

And plenty of comment on whether Socrates existed or not:

- If Plato invented Socrates, he'd have to have invented Aristophanes, a contemporary of Socrates who put him in his play The Clouds

- If Socrates didn´t exist, what it was that I studied at the Faculty of Philosophy?

- All the talk about Philosophy, everybody should watch the classic Monty Python sketch "Philosopher`s World Cup" Germany vs. Greece!

All this was good fun, but the tournament is now over and it is time to pack up our bags and go, so to speak.
________

Final Standing

Carlsen 6.5
Caruana 5.5
Karjakin 5
Nakamura 5
Radjabov 5
Mamedyarov 3

Viewers’ Comments

(Kasparov) - Congratulations to Magnus Carlsen for his big win in Shamkir today! Winning the final game to show a world champion's class and heart.

- The tiebreak rules are weird: He who loses the most games, wins

- Magnus has played 9 consecutive Houdini-best moves in an absurdly complicated position. (starting with 23. Bd2)

- I followed the game till end. Strangely, Caruana got little initiative for the pawn he sacrificed so early. In a way, he returned the favor Carlsen gave in their first round encounter. It may be a case of home preparation suddenly going wrong. Caruana continued to play for long due to the fact that there were some tricks possible against White King. Carlsen had enough time to avoid all the possible tricks and traps.
Congratulations to Magnus on his well-deserved victory! What a gritty and determined performance in spite of two losses

- The game looked deceptively simple (I do not use an engine and am sure there were tricky variations behind many moves), with Magnus grabbing the pawn, maintaining the balance for a while, and finally making the majority count.

- Wonderful tournament for Karjakin! Arguably the most impressive chess performance since Leko at Linares 2005.

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Gashimov Memorial

Gashimov Memorial


Gashimov Memorial
Round Ten
April 30, 2014
Nakamura, Hikaru – Radjabov, Teimour
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 Bd7 10. Nc3 h6 11. Rd1 Kc8 12. b3 b6 13. Ne2 c5 14. Bb2 Bc6 15. Ne1 h5 16.
c4 Kb7 17. Nf4 h4 18. Nd5 Re8 19. Nc2 Be7 20. Rd3 Bg5 21. Ne1 a5 22. Nf3 Bd8 23. a4 Kc8 24. Rad1 Rh6 25. Nh2 Rh5 26. Ng4 Rhh8 27. f4 Rh5 28. Kh2 Rhh8 29. Bc3 Rh5 30. Bb2 Rhh8 31. Bc1 Rh5 32. Be3 Rhh8 33. Kg1 Rh5 34. Bf2 Rhh8 35. Nh2 Rh5 36. Nf3 Rhh8 37. Nd2 Rhg8 38. Nf3 Rh8 39. Kh2 Rh5 40. Re1 Rh6 41. Rdd1 Rg6 42. Be3 Rh6 43. Rd3 Rhh8 44. Bc1 Rh6 45. Bb2 Rh5 46. Bc1 Rh6 47. Nd2 Rhh8 48. Ne4 Rh6 49. Bb2 Bd7 50. Red1 Be6 51. Bc3 Rh5 52. Bb2 Rh6 53. Rf3 Rh5 54. Bc3 Kb7 55. Kg1 Kc8 56. Kf2 Kb7 57. Kg1 Kc8 58. Rfd3 Rh6 59. Bd2 Rhh8 60. Re1 Nd4 61. Bc3 Nf5 62. Kh2 Rh5 63. Red1 Rhh8 64. Be1 Kb7 65. Bf2 Kc8 66. Ndc3 Be7 67. Nd2 Kb8 68. Nf3 Ref8 69. Ne4 Bc8 70. Nc3 Be6 71. Be1 Bc8 72. Bf2 Be6 73. R3d2 Bc8 74. Re1 Rh5 75. Nd5 Bd8 76. Red1 Rhh8 77. Rd3 0.5-0.5

After round 4, I commented that in the game Magnus lost, I thought 9. .... h6 was inaccurate and that I preferred 9. .... Bd7 as a better way to hold the game. In this game Radjabov played 9. ... Bd7 and he held the draw.

If you play out both games, note how the king moves to the Queen side of the board and the pawn setup on the queen side. I like the sequence better with 9. ... Bd7.

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

Re: Gashimov Memorial

Yesterday, Gustafsson said (jokingly?) that the best movie of all time for him is Dodgeball.

When I was younger, the discussion about the top film of all time had three candidates – Casablanca, Citizen Kane and Gone with the Wind. Ah, this younger generation! Someone twittered back to say that clearly the best film of all time is Transformers 3, Dark of the Moon.

Terminator rulz
http://en.chessbase.com/post/2014-ar...n-corpore-sano