Tashkent 2014

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  • Tashkent 2014

    Tashkent 2014

    October 15, 2014

    The Tashkent leg of the FIDE Grand Prix starts on October 20 and lasts through to November 3. The website is up but has no further information yet:

    http://tashkent2014.fide.com/en/main-page

    What is interesting is that the third leg of the GP has been moved from Tehran to Tbilisi. Jobava replaces Ghaem Maghami from Iran. He and his opponents have little time to prepare for each other.

    http://www.fide.com/component/conten...ouncement.html

    The Tashkent players are thus:

    Caruana, Fabiano
    Nakamura, Hikaru
    Karjakin, Sergey
    Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime
    Giri, Anish
    Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
    Gelfand, Boris
    Jakovenko, Dmitri
    Andreikin, Dmitry
    Radjabov, Teimour
    Jobava, Baadur
    Kasimdzhanov, Rustam

    _________

    Dominguez, Svidler, Grischuk and Tomashevsky are giving Tashkent a pass and will be at Tbilisi 2015.
    Last edited by Wayne Komer; Wednesday, 15th October, 2014, 12:49 PM.

  • #2
    Re: Tashkent 2014

    Tashkent 2014

    Schedule

    October 20 Opening Ceremony
    October 21 Round 1
    October 22 Round 2
    October 23 Round 3
    October 24 Round 4
    October 25 Free Day
    October 26 Round 5
    October 27 Round 6
    October 28 Round 7
    October 29 Round 8
    October 30 Free Day
    October 31 Round 9
    November 1 Round 10
    November 2 Round 11
    November 2 Closing Ceremony

    The rounds start at 14:00 Tashkent time, which is 5 am Toronto/Montreal time.

    _______

    Chessintranslation.com has excerpts from an interview with Boris Gelfand. One quote:

    Which older chess players influenced you most, and who made the greatest impression on you?

    I’ve tried to learn from all players but, no doubt, I was most impressed by Yury Razuvaev and Valery Myrachvery’s “Akiba Rubinstein”. I read it again and again in my childhood. And even today when I meet Yury or we talk on the telephone we often return to that book, to Akiba’s games. The striving to play deeply in the opening, and the so-called “long plan”, that is when a game’s played from the beginning to the end in one key… That’s what I like in chess, and it comes from Akiba.

    I met my first trainer, Eduard Aronovich Zelkind, when I was 6 years old. He’d only been a trainer for a few years at that point. I was incredibly lucky because, as experience shows, a lot depends on what sort of trainer you come across first. The foundations that are laid out remain for your whole life. There are players at the very highest level who from their first steps in chess solved combinations – and only that! I think that’s how it was for Polgar and Mamedyarov. They have an incredibly well developed combinational vision, and they’ll have it all their lives… For us Zelkind, of course, also developed our tactical vision. I’ve still got a notebook with the first positions that he gave me. I still couldn’t write so either he or my parents would write down my homework. Bishop sacrifices on h7 are noted there… But he also taught us the endgame. At 9 years old I knew rook endgames to the same level as many current grandmasters, with no false modesty.

    http://www.chessintranslation.com/20...stbook-part-i/

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Tashkent 2014

      Tashkent 2014

      The pairings are out for all the rounds. I am looking forward to Jobava-Caruana in Round 2 and Caruana-Gelfand, Round 7. Nakamura-Jobava tomorrow might not be chopped liver either!

      Pairings

      Round 1, Oct. 21

      Giri-Gelfand
      Mamedyarov-Andreikin
      Nakamura-Jobava
      Caruana- Vachier-Lagrave
      Kasimdzhanov-Jakovenko
      Radjabov-Karjakin

      Round 2, Oct. 22

      Gelfand-Karjakin
      Jakovenko-Radjabov
      Vachier-Lagrave-Kasimdzhanov
      Jobava-Caruana
      Andreikin-Nakamura
      Giri-Mamedyarov

      Round 3, Oct. 23

      Mamedyarov-Gelfand
      Nakamura-Giri
      Caruana-Andreikin
      Kasimdzhanov-Jobava
      Radjabov-Vachier-Lagrave
      Karjakin-Jakovenko

      Round 4, Oct. 24

      Gelfand-Jakovenko
      Vachier-Lagrave-Karjakin
      Jobava-Radjabov
      Andreikin-Kasmdzhanov
      Giri-Caruana
      Mamedyarov-Nakamura

      Round 5, Oct. 26

      Nakamura-Gelfand
      Caruana-Mamedyarov
      Kasimdzhanov-Giri
      Radjabov-Andreikin
      Karjakin-Jobava
      Jakovenko-Vachier-Lagrave

      Round 6, Oct. 27

      Gelfand-Vachier-Lagrave
      Jobava-Jakovenko
      Andreikin-Karjakin
      Giri-Radjabov
      Mamedyarov-Kasimdzhanov
      Nakamura-Caruana

      Round 7, Oct. 28

      Caruana-Gelfand
      Kasimdzhanov-Nakamura
      Radjabov-Mamedyarov
      Karjakin-Giri
      Jakovenko-Andreikin
      Vachier-Lagrave-Jobava

      Round 8, Oct. 30

      Gelfand-Jobava
      Andreikin-Vachier-Lagrave
      Giri-Jakovenko
      Mamedyarov-Karjakin
      Nakamura-Radjabov
      Caruana-Kasimdzhanov

      Round 9 Oct. 31

      Kasimdzhanov-Gelfand
      Radjabov-Caruana
      Karjakin-Nakamura
      Jakovenko-Mamedyarov
      Vachier-Lagrave-Giri
      Jobava-Andrekin

      Round 10, Nov. 1

      Gelfand-Andreikin
      Giri-Jobava
      Mamedyarov-Vachier-Lagrave
      Nakamura-Jakovenko
      Caruana-Karjakin
      Kasimdzhanov-Radjabov

      Round 11, Nov. 2

      Radjabov-Gelfand
      Karjakin-Kasimdzhanov
      Jakovenko-Caruana
      Vachier-Lagrave-Nakamura
      Jobava-Mamedyarov
      Andreikin-Giri
      __________

      Dmitry Jakovenko was born June 28, 1983

      Chessgames.com says:

      Dmitry Olegovich Jakovenko was born in Omsk, but spent his childhood in the Northern Siberian town of Nizhnevartovsk, over 3000 kilometers from Moscow. He learned the game at the age of 3 and was competing with adults at the local chess club in Nizhnevartovsk by the time he was 5. He reached Russian 1st category at the age of 7 during the 1990 city championship, gained his candidate master title in 1994 at age 11, the International Master title in 1997 at the age of 14, and the Grandmaster title at age 18 in 2001. While competing for the U10 World Championship in Bratislava, he met Aleksander S Nikitin (Garry Kasparov ’s head trainer at the time), who then became his coach. Jakovenko went professional in 2004.

      Jakovenko’s academic record was sparkling. He was a straight-5 student (the equivalent of straight As), won a zonal final of the all-Russian Mathematical Olympiad, graduated from Moscow State University after studying computing, math and cybernetics, and eventually received a PhD in economics.

      IM (1998); GM (2001); U18 World Champion (2001); Moscow Champion (2006); twice Olympiad individual gold medalist (2008 & 2012); European Champion (2012).

      ______
      It is interesting that three players in this tournament have Vladimir Chuchelov as their trainer – Caruana and Radjabov and until recently, Giri. It will be interesting to see how the Chuchelov School fares.
      Last edited by Wayne Komer; Monday, 20th October, 2014, 10:36 PM.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Tashkent 2014

        Here I am at work hoping to chime in and watch the live stream of the event. No video, no interviews, NOTHING.

        Terribly organized event by FIDE.

        Comment


        • #5
          shhh!

          Originally posted by Andy Shaw View Post
          Here I am at work hoping to chime in and watch the live stream of the event. No video, no interviews, NOTHING.

          Terribly organized event by FIDE.
          lol. If you're not self-employed then you might want to be more careful about making a public statement about what you really do when you're at work.

          The FIDE link has the following ....

          Online commentary of Grand Prix Tournament (Tashkent, UZB) by GM Alexei Barsov (UZB)
          ... which includes all the games.

          And, of course, you can watch the live feed on FICS if you can't find anything else. But your employer might not like you installing a FICS interface on the hard drive. hehe.
          Dogs will bark, but the caravan of chess moves on.

          Comment


          • #6
            Tashkent 2014

            Tashkent 2014

            Round One
            October 21, 2014
            Nakamura, Hikaru – Jobava, Baadur
            A40 Queen’s Pawn, Franco-Indian (Keres) Defence

            1. d4 e6 2. c4 Bb4+ 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. a3 Be7 5. Ngf3 O-O 6. e4 d6 7. Bd3 e5 8. O-O exd4 9. Nxd4 Nc6 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. Nb3 Re8 12. Na5 Bd7 13. Bf4 Bf8 14. Re1 h6 15. h3 Nh7 16. e5 Ng5 17. b4 dxe5 18. Bxe5 c5 19. h4 cxb4 20. hxg5 Qxg5 21. Be4 Bg4 22. Qb1 Rxe5 23. Bxa8 bxa3 24. Rxe5 Qxe5 25. Nb3 Bf5 26. Qc1 Qb2 27. Nd2 Bb4 28. Ne4 Qxc1+ 29. Rxc1 a5 30. Kf1 Bd7 31. Ke2 Ba4 32. Kd3 Bb3 33. Nc3 a2 34. Ra1 1-0

            Tashkent 2014
            Round 1
            Oct. 21, 2014
            Giri, Anish – Gelfand, Boris
            A65 Benoni, Samisch formation

            1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 e6 4. e4 c5 5. d5 d6 6. Nc3 exd5 7. cxd5 Bg7 8. Nge2 O-O 9. Ng3 a6 10. a4 Nh5 11. Nxh5 gxh5 12. Be2 Qh4+ 13. g3 Qe7 14. h4 Nd7 15. Kf2 Ne5 16. Kg2 f5 17. f4 Ng4 18. Bxg4 hxg4 19. Re1 Bxc3 20. bxc3 fxe4 21. a5 Bf5 22. Be3 Rad8 23. Rb1 Rd7 24. Rb6 Qf7 25. c4 Re8 26. Qb3 h5 27. Rb1 Ree7 28. Kf1 Kh7 29. Ke2 Kg8 30. Kd2 Kh7 31. Qd1 Kg8 32. R1b3 Kh7 33. Kc2 Kg8 34. Kb1 Kh7 35. Ka2 Qe8 36. Qc2 Qf7 37. Qc3 Qg7 38. Qc2 Qf7 39. Qc3 ½-½

            Tashkent 2014
            Round 1
            Oct. 21, 2014
            Caruana, Fabiano – Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime
            B90 Sicilian Najdorf

            1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Be3 Be7 9. Qd2 O-O 10. O-O-O Nbd7 11. g4 b5 12. Rg1 Nb6 13. Na5 Rc8 14. g5 Nh5 15. Kb1 Qc7 16. Nd5 Nxd5 17. exd5 Bxd5 18. Qxd5 Qxa5 19. Bd3 g6 20. c4 Nf4 21. Bxf4 exf4 22. cxb5 axb5 23. Qxb5 Qa7 24. Be4 Rc7 25. Bd5 Qf2 26. Qb3 Qxh2 27. a4 Qf2 28. Rc1 Ra7 29. Qb4 Qe3 30. Rcd1 Qe5 31. Qb5 Kg7 32. Bc6 Rc8 33. Rg2 d5 34. Bxd5 Rc5 35. Qb3 Bxg5 36. Bc4 Bf6 37. Re2 Qf5+ 38. Re4 Re5 39. Re1 Rxe4 40. Rxe4 Re7 41. Bd3 Rxe4 42. Bxe4 Qd7 43. Qb5 Qxb5 44. axb5 Bd4 45. Kc2 h5 46. b6 Bxb6 47. Kd1 f5 48. Bc6 g5 49. Bd7 Kf6 50. Ke2 g4 51. Kf1 Kg5 0-1

            (52… h4 53.Bb5 h3+ 54.Kh1 Bd4 55.b3 Kh4 56.Bf1 g3 57.b4 Bc3 58.b5 Bd4 59.b6 g2+ 60.Bxg2 hxg2+ 61.Kxg2 Bxb6 62.Kh2 Bc5 63.Kh1 Bd4 64.Kh2 Bg1+ 65.Kg2)

            Tashkent 2014
            Round 1
            Oct. 21, 2014
            Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Andreikin, Dmitry
            D45 QGD Semi-Slav, Accelerated Meran

            1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 a6 5. e3 e6 6. Qc2 Nbd7 7. b3 Bd6 8. Bb2 O-O 9. Be2 e5 10. cxd5 cxd5 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. O-O Be6 13. Rac1 Rc8 14. Qb1 Nfg4 15. Nxe5 Bxe5 16. h3 Bh2+ 17. Kh1 Bb8 18. Bxg4 Bxg4 19. Qd3 Qd6 20. f4 Be6 21. Rcd1 Qc5 22. Nxd5 Bxd5 23. Qxd5 Qxd5 24. Rxd5 Ba7 25. e4 Rfe8 26. e5 Rc2 27. Rb1 h5 28. Rd7 Rf2 29. Rxb7 Be3 30. f5 Rxf5 31. Re1 Rf2 32. Rxe3 Rxb2 33. a4 Re6 34. Kh2 h4 35. Re4 f5 36. Rd4 Rc6 37. Rb8+ Kh7 38. Rxh4+ Kg6 39. Rhh8 Rcc2 40. Kg3 Rxg2+ 41. Kh4 Rbe2 42. Rb6+ Kf7 43. e6+ Rxe6 44. Rxe6 Kxe6 45. b4 g5+ 46. Kh5 g4 47. Kh4 g3 48. b5 axb5 49. axb5 f4 50. Rg8 Kd7 51. Rg7+ Kc8 0-1

            Kasimdzhanov, Rustam – Jakovenko, Dmitry 0.5-0.5

            Radjabov, Teimour – Karjakin, Sergey 0.5-0.5

            There appears to be no live video. The online commentary by Uzbek GM Alexei Barsov is written only. There are no interviews today and Fabiano Caruana has the United States of America given as his home country on one large chessboard display.

            I am sure this will all get sorted out. There always seems to be something going wrong in the first two rounds of these big tournaments.

            Comments on the games by Alejandro Ramirez at chessbase.com

            Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 0-1 Andreikin, Dmitry

            A rather strange game. Andreikin was fine from the opening, but underestimated how weak his d-pawn was. After losing it he entered a worse rook endgame, simply down a pawn but with excellent drawing chances. Then, in time pressure, Mamedyarov imploded and he panicked. Andreikin played precise moves to take advantage of the situation and his passed pawns proved more powerful than his opponent's.

            Nakamura, Hikaru 1-0 Jobava, Baadur

            The American's opening was good enough for a slight advantage; Jobava tried to complicate things with a mistimed knight maneuver. Nakamura powerfully broke through the center and the Georgian tried to further muddy the waters with a knight sacrifice. Nakamura's precise calculation precisely thwarted the treats and he ended up a rook in a position that was still not 100% clear, but definitely favoring him. Jobava made it easier on him with a bad queen trade and Nakamura took the full point.

            Caruana, Fabiano 0-1 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime

            MVL's understanding of the Najdorf is just superb. It is not just his opening theory, but he knows precisely when to sacrifice pawns and how to continue the game. His precisely timed sacrifice gave him a great amount of activity. He was able to get back his materials and even reap some benefits. He converted his advantage in a winning opposite colored bishop endgame. A nice birthday present for himself!
            _____

            Giri analyzing his game for the press conference... which was watched by no one. For some reason there is no live transmission from Tashkent. No video, no live commentary. It is disappointing that a tournament of this level of importance and with such a caliber does not even have a commentary team that can be watched online at the official website.
            ___________________

            Chess24.com had an interview with Anish Giri by Paco Vallejo at the conclusion of the recent Unive match with Alexei Shirov, which Giri won 4.5-1.5:

            Paco: Congratulations, you played a very solid match, almost without trouble. What’s your next tournament?

            Anish: Tomorrow I’m flying to Tashkent, actually. The Grand Prix. So I’ve got a busy schedule.

            Paco: Good luck there. You’ll have a tough time, I guess. Your opponents will be at least more difficult to predict, because Alexei’s fault in this match was that he was very predictable in the openings.

            Anish: Also not deeply enough prepared.

            Paco: These other guys. The Fabianos, Karjakin, they study all the time.

            Anish: Yes, I’ve had experience enough of feeling how well they’re prepared and how tough guys they are so I’m not going to underestimate them – that’s for sure.

            Another subplot in Tashkent will be the battle of the coaches. Anish Giri has recently switched coaches from Vladimir Chuchelov to another Vladimir – Tukmakov.
            Last edited by Wayne Komer; Tuesday, 21st October, 2014, 12:11 PM.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Tashkent 2014

              Originally posted by Wayne Komer View Post
              Tashkent 2014
              For some reason there is no live transmission from Tashkent. No video, no live commentary. It is disappointing that a tournament of this level of importance and with such a caliber does not even have a commentary team that can be watched online at the official website.
              Embarrassing and terrible.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Tashkent 2014

                Tashkent 2014

                Round Two
                October 22, 2014

                Is Vachier-Lagrave the new Caruana? He now leads with 2/2. There still appears to be no live coverage due to technical difficulties. That statement covers a wide variety of sins. My local deli actually had a sign up on the door one Tuesday which said "Closed Due to Technical Difficulties". In idle moments I try to conceive of what they might be.

                Tashkent 2014
                Round 2
                Oct. 22, 2014
                Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime – Kasimdzhanov, Rustam
                C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

                1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Nbd2 d6 6. O-O Bd7 7. c3 O-O 8. Nc4 h6 9. b4 Bb6 10. a4 a5 11. Nxb6 cxb6 12. bxa5 Nxa5 13. h3 d5 14. exd5 Bxb5 15. axb5 Qxd5 16. c4 Qe6 17. Bb2 e4 18. Re1 Rad8 19. Bxf6 Qxf6 20. Rxe4 Nb3 21. Ra3 Nc5 22. Re3 Ne6 23. Qa1 Qe7 24. d4 Qf6 25. Re4 Rd6 26. d5 Qxa1+ 27. Rxa1 Nc5 28. Re3 Rc8 29. Nd2 Rd7 30. Kf1 Kf8 31. Ne4 Rdc7 32. Nd6 Rd8 33. Rae1 g6 34. Re8+ Rxe8 35. Rxe8+ Kg7 36. Ke2 1-0

                A little something for everyone in Jobava-Caruana. It looks like Caruana should have played 44…Rh1 instead of 44….Ra8.

                (From chess.com) - Baadur Jobava wasn't a hundred percent fresh either at the start of the round. The Georgian GM played 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Be2!?, a kind of Reversed Philidor with which he has the amazing score of 4.5/5 (although it's hard to credit that modest bishop move).

                His 7.Qa4 stopped ...a5-a4 and prepared 8.b4, which was fine, but White should immediately continue with b4-b5. What happens when White casually castles there can be seen in the game: ruthless punishment by Fabiano Caruana, who immediately picked up the white queen.

                However, to everyone's surprise the Italian GM didn't win that game! Somehow Jobava reached a fortress, then allowed too many chances for his opponent but still escaped.

                Tashkent 2014
                Round 2
                Oct. 22, 2014
                Jobava, Baadur – Caruana, Fabiano
                C44 Inverted Hanham

                1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Be2 Nf6 4. d3 d5 5. Nbd2 Bc5 6. c3 a5 7. Qa4 O-O 8. b4 Bd6 9. O-O b5 10. Qxb5 axb4 11. exd5 Na5 12. cxb4 Bd7 13. Qxa5 Rxa5 14. bxa5 Nxd5 15. Ne4 Qa8 16. d4 exd4 17. Nxd6 cxd6 18. Nxd4 Qxa5 19. Bf3 Rb8 20. a4 Qc3 21. Ba3 Qxd4 22. Rad1 Qxa4 23. Bxd6 Rd8 24. Bxd5 Bg4 25. f3 Be6 26. Bxe6 fxe6 27. Rd2 e5 28. Rfd1 Qb5 29. h3 Kf7 30. Rd5 Qe2 31. Kh2 Qc4 32. Kh1 h5 33. Kg1 Qb3 34. R1d3 Qb6+ 35. Kh1 Qc6 36. Rd1 g5 37. R5d3 Qc4 38. Rd5 g4 39. fxg4 hxg4 40. hxg4 e4 41. Rf5+ Kg6 42. Rdd5 Rh8+ 43. Kg1 Qc1+ 44. Kf2 Ra8 45. Bc5 Ra6 46. Kg3 Qe1+ 47. Kh3 Qc3+ 48. Kh2 Qh8+ 49. Rh5 Qb8+ 50. Kh3 Qf4 51. Rdf5 Qc1 52. Bf8 Re6 53. Kh2 Qc7+ 54. g3 Qc2+ 55. Kh3 Qc1 56. Kg2 Re8 57. Rh6+ Qxh6 58. Bxh6 Kxh6 59. Kf2 e3+ ½-½

                Tashkent 2014
                Round 2
                Oct. 22, 2014
                Giri, Anish – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
                D45 QGD, Semi-Slav (5..Nd7)

                1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 a6 7. b3 Bd6 8. Bb2 O-O 9. Be2 e5 10. Nxd5 Nxd5 11. cxd5 Qa5+ 12. Bc3 Bb4 13. Bxb4 Qxb4+ 14. Qd2 Qxd2+ 15. Kxd2 exd4 16. Nxd4 cxd5 17. Rhc1 Nf6 18. Rc7 Rd8 19. Rac1 Ne8 20. R7c5 Kf8 21. g4 h6 22. f3 Ke7 23. h3 Kd6 24. f4 Bd7 25. Bf3 Nf6 26. Nf5+ Bxf5 27. gxf5 Rd7 28. Kd3 Re8 29. Rc8 Rxc8 30. Rxc8 Rc7 31. Rb8 Kc5 32. a3 a5 33. Rf8 Kd6 34. Ra8 Rc5 35. Rf8 Rc7 36. Ra8 ½-½

                (Another excellent annotation from chess.com) - Like in his Univé match with Alexei Shirov, Giri's opening preparation is looking good. Although Shakhriyar Mamedyarov had played the same line the day before as White, the Azeri GM was the first to take a big think after the pseudo-sacrifice 10.Nxd5. His reaction wasn't great, and he got into a bad ending.

                It was a textbook IQP ending (after move 16), which is discussed in detail by Mikhail Shereshevsky in his classic Endgame Strategy, for example the games Flohr-Pirc, Podebrady 1936 and Averbakh-Matanovic, Belgrade 1961. However, in textbooks the weaker side always makes more mistakes, and then we see how White can win. Mamedyarov didn't make those mistakes and held it to a draw, helped by his opponent who lost a tempo somewhere.

                Other results

                Gelfand-Karjakin 0.5-0.5
                Jakovenko-Radjabov 0.5-0.5
                Andreikin-Nakamura 0.5-0.5

                Standings After Round Two

                Vachier-Lagrave 2
                Nakamura 1.5
                Andreikin 1.5
                Giri 1
                Gelfand 1
                Karjakin 1
                Radjabov 1
                Jakovenko 1
                Kasimdzhanov 0.5
                Mamedyarov 0.5
                Jobava 0.5
                Caruana 0.5

                Round Three Pairings

                Mamedyarov-Gelfand
                Nakamura-Giri
                Caruana-Andreikin
                Kasimdzhanov-Jobava
                Radjabov-Vachier-Lagrave
                Karjakin-Jakovenko
                Last edited by Wayne Komer; Wednesday, 22nd October, 2014, 02:23 PM. Reason: added material

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Tashkent 2014

                  Tashkent 2014

                  Round Three
                  October 23, 2014

                  Video is up and running today. GM Alexei Barsov is giving the commentary, the display board is accurate and they are accompanying those with still pictures of the players. The press conferences are normal videos with the players animatedly analyzing and Anastasia Karlovich putting in the occasional comment.

                  Tashkent 2014
                  Round 3
                  Oct. 23, 2014
                  Nakamura, Hikaru – Giri, Anish
                  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. e3 b6 8. Nf3 Ba6 9. b4 Bxc4 10. Bxc4 dxc4 11. Qxc4 Qd5 12. Qxd5 Nxd5 13. Bd2 Nd7 14. Ke2 c5 15. dxc5 bxc5 16. Rhc1 Rfc8 17. Rc2 N5b6 18. Rac1 cxb4 19. axb4 e5 20. e4 f6 21. Be3 Kf7 22. Nd2 Rxc2 23. Rxc2 Rc8 24. Ra2 Rc7 25. Nb3 Ke8 26. Kd3 Nc8 27. f3 Rb7 28. Kc3 Rc7+ 29. Nc5 Ndb6 30. Kb3 Rc6 31. Nd3 Rd6 32. Kc3 Rd7 33. Bc5 Kd8 34. h4 Kc7 35. b5 Kb8 36. Nb4 Kb7 37. Ra1 Nd6 38. Bxd6 Rxd6 39. Nc6 Nc8 40. Na5+ Kb8 41. Nc6+ Kb7 42. Kc2 Rd7 43. Ra6 Rc7 44. Kd3 Rd7+ 45. Ke2 Ka8 46. g4 Rb7 47. Ra5 Nd6 48. b6 Nc8 49. bxa7 Rb6 50. Rc5 Nxa7 51. Nxa7 Kxa7 52. g5 Kb7 53. Kf2 h5 54. gxh6 gxh6 55. f4 Re6 56. Kf3 h5 57. Rd5 Kc7 58. Ke3 Re8 59. Kd3 Kc6 60. fxe5 fxe5 61. Kc4 Rg8 62. Rxe5 Rg4 63. Re6+ Kd7 64. Kd5 Rxh4 65. Rh6 Rg4 66. e5 Ra4 67. Rh7+ Ke8 68. Ke6 Ra6+ 69. Kf5 Rb6 70. Rxh5 Ra6 71. Rg5 Rb6 72. Rg6 Rxg6 73. Kxg6 Ke7 74. Kf5 Kf7 75. e6+ Ke7 76. Ke5 Ke8 77. Kd6 Kd8 78. e7+ Ke8 79. Ke6 ½-½

                  At the press conference Giri analyzes in English with Nakamura, then answers a question from the audience in Russian and analyzes for a few minutes in Russian.

                  In Mamedyarov-Gelfand, Boris has a draw in the endgame but with 47…Rxg2, loses.

                  Tashkent 2014
                  Round 3
                  Oct. 23, 2014
                  Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Gelfand, Boris
                  E60 King’s Indian, 3.Nf3

                  1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. e3 O-O 5. Be2 c5 6. d5 d6 7. O-O e6 8. Nc3 exd5 9. cxd5 Bg4 10. e4 Re8 11. Qc2 Nbd7 12. Bf4 Bxf3 13. Bxf3 Ne5 14. Be2 a6 15. a4 Rc8 16. Rae1 Qb6 17. Ra1 c4 18. a5 Qd8 19. Be3 Nfd7 20. Na4 h5 21. h3 Qe7 22. Rac1 Kh7 23. b3 cxb3 24. Qxb3 Nf6 25. Qb4 Rxc1 26. Rxc1 Bh6 27. Bxh6 Kxh6 28. Nb6 Ned7 29. Nxd7 Nxd7 30. Qxb7 Nc5 31. Qxe7 Rxe7 32. f3 f5 33. Rb1 fxe4 34. Rb6 exf3 35. Bxf3 Rd7 36. Kf2 Kg5 37. Ke3 Kf6 38. Kd4 Rd8 39. Be2 Ke7 40. Rc6 Rb8 41. Rc7+ Kf6 42. Rxc5 dxc5+ 43. Kxc5 Rc8+ 44. Kb6 Ke5 45. Bxa6 Rc2 46. Bf1 Rf2 47. Bc4 Rxg2 48. a6 Rf2 49. Kc5 Rf8 50. Bb5 Ra8 51. d6 Ke6 52. h4 g5 53. hxg5 h4 54. d7 Ke7 55. g6 h3 56. g7 h2 57. Bc6 1-0

                  Tashkent 2014
                  Round 3
                  Oct. 23, 2014
                  Kasimdzhanov, Rustam – Jobava, Baadur
                  C10 French, Fort Knox Variation

                  1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bd7 5. Nf3 Bc6 6. Bd3 Nd7 7. O-O Ngf6 8. Ng3 g6 9. c4 Bg7 10. d5 exd5 11. Re1+ Kf8 12. cxd5 Bxd5 13. Qc2 c6 14. Ng5 Kg8 15. Bf4 Nf8 16. Rad1 Qa5 17. a3 Rd8 18. Bd2 Qb6 19. Be3 Qc7 20. h3 h6 21. N5e4 Ne6 22. Nxf6+ Bxf6 23. Be4 Kg7 24. Bxa7 b6 25. Bxd5 Nd4 26. Qa4 Rxd5 27. Qa6 Qd7 28. Rxd4 Bxd4 29. Bxb6 c5 30. Ba5 Bxb2 31. Qc4 Bd4 32. Bc3 Ra8 33. Re3 Rxa3 0-1

                  Supposedly the Fort Knox variation of the French Defense was first played by Capablanca in 1902. The idea is that black takes extra time to develop the worst piece in the game - his light-squared bishop. It's called the Fort Knox because it is very hard for white to break this. Neil McDonald's How to Play Against 1. e4 advocates the Fort Knox, and spends a good deal of time talking about themes and structures.
                  _______

                  Other Round 3 results:

                  Caruana-Andreikin 0.5-0.5
                  Karjakin-Jakovenko 1-0
                  Radjabov-Vachier-Lagrave 0.5-0.5

                  (A battle of monster preparations. White obviously had an edge in the endgame, but the question is whether that edge can or cannot be used. As it transpired, it was MVL that had the correct assesment as Radjabov was unable to put Black in any sort of danger. The novelty of the game was on move 25...g6. The first new move of the game! Both sides had analyzed this variation very deeply, but with different engines! Sources say that MVL analyzed this very deeply with Houdini, while Radjabov used either Stockfish, Komodo or his own eyes. ChessBase.com)

                  Standings after Round 3

                  Vachier-Lagrave 2.5
                  Karjakin 2
                  Andreikin 2
                  Nakamura 2
                  Radjabov 1.5
                  Jobava 1.5
                  Giri 1.5
                  Gelfand 1
                  Jakovenko 1
                  Caruana 1
                  Kasimdzhanov 0.5

                  Round 4 Pairings

                  Gelfand-Jakovenko
                  MVL-Karjakin
                  Jobava-Radjabov
                  Andreikin-Kasimdzhanov
                  Giri-Caruana
                  Mamedyarov-Nakamura

                  This tournament ends on November 3. The Tashir/Tigran Petrosian Supertournament starts on November 3 in Moscow and Gelfand is scheduled to play. So, practically without a break he will have played 11 games in Baku, 11 games in Tashkent and then 7 in Moscow – 29 games!
                  Last edited by Wayne Komer; Thursday, 23rd October, 2014, 12:53 PM.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Tashkent 2014

                    Tashkent 2014

                    Round Four
                    October 24, 2014

                    Too much chess?

                    Andreikin-Kasimdzhanov 0.5-0.5
                    Gelfand-Jakovenko 0.5-0.5
                    Giri-Caruana 0.5-0.5
                    Jobava-Radjabov 0.5-0.5
                    Mamedyarov-Nakamura 0.5-0.5
                    Vachier-Lagrave-Karjakin 0.5-0.5

                    Tashkent 2014
                    Round 4
                    Oct. 24, 2014
                    Giri, Anish – Caruana, Fabiano
                    D37 QGD, 4.Nf3

                    1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. g3 Nbd7 6. Bg2 dxc4 7. Nd2 Nb6 8. Nxc4 O-O 9. Ne5 c5 10. dxc5 Qxd1+ 11. Nxd1 Bxc5 12. O-O Nfd5 13. b3 a5 14. a4 Bd6 15. Bb2 f6 16. Nd3 Bd7 17. Nc3 Nxc3 18. Bxc3 Nd5 19. Bd2 Bc6 20. Rfc1 e5 21. Nb2 Bb4 22. Rd1 Nc3 23. Bxc3 Bxc3 24. Bxc6 bxc6 25. Rab1 Bxb2 26. Rxb2 Rab8 27. Rc1 Rb6 28. Rc5 Rfb8 29. Rxa5 Rxb3 30. Rc2 Rb2 31. Rxc6 R8b7 32. e3 Ra2 33. Rc1 h5 34. Rb5 ½-½

                    Tashkent 2014
                    Round 4
                    Oct. 24, 2014
                    Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime – Karjakin, Sergey
                    E15 Queen’s Indian, Nimzowitsch Variation

                    1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. Qb3 Nc6 6. Nbd2 Na5 7. Qc3 c5 8. dxc5 bxc5 9. e4 Bb7 10. e5 Ne4 11. Nxe4 Bxe4 12. Bg2 Nc6 13. O-O Rb8 14. b3 Be7 15. Bb2 O-O 16. Qe3 Bxf3 17. Bxf3 Nd4 18. Bxd4 cxd4 19. Qxd4 Qc7 20. Rad1 Rfd8 21. Qe4 Qa5 22. Qe2 d6 23. exd6 Bxd6 24. h4 Bc5 25. Kg2 Qc7 26. Qe4 a5 27. h5 h6 28. Be2 Kf8 29. f4 Rxd1 30. Rxd1 Rd8 31. f5 Rxd1 32. Bxd1 Ke7 33. Bg4 Qd6 34. fxe6 fxe6 35. Kh3 Bd4 36. Qb7+ Kf6 37. a3 Bc5 38. Qf3+ Ke7 39. Qc3 Kf7 40. Qxa5 Bxa3 41. Qe1 Bc5 42. Qb1 Ke7 43. Qe4 Bb4 44. Bf5 Bc5 45. Bg6 Kd8 46. Qa8+ Kc7 47. b4 Bxb4 48. Qa7+ Kc8 49. Qxg7 Qf8 50. Qa1 Qf3 51. Qa6+ ½-½
                    Last edited by Wayne Komer; Saturday, 25th October, 2014, 12:20 AM.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Tashkent 2014

                      Tashkent 2014
                      Round Five
                      October 26, 2014
                      Jakovenko, Dmitry – Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime
                      A16 English, (Grunfeld, King’s Indian)

                      1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Qb3 Nb6 6. d4 Bg7 7. e4 Bg4 8. Bb5+ c6 9. Ng5 O-O 10. Be2 Bxe2 11. Nxe2 c5 12. dxc5 N6d7 13. Qxb7 Qa5+ 14. Bd2 Qa6 15. c6 Qxc6 16. Qxc6 Nxc6 17. Rc1 Rac8 18. b3 Bb2 19. Rd1 Nce5 20. Be3 h6 21. Nf3 Nxf3+ 22. gxf3 Ne5 23. f4 Ng4 24. Bxa7 Ra8 25. Rd2 Ba3 26. Bd4 Rfc8 27. Bc3 Nf6 28. f3 Nh5 29. Rd3 Bd6 30. e5 Bc5 31. a4 Rab8 32. Ba5 Ra8 33. Bd2 Rab8 34. Rc3 Kh7 35. Kd1 Ng7 36. b4 Ba7 37. Rxc8 Rxc8 38. Nc3 Nf5 39. Nb5 Be3 40. Re1 Rd8 41. Re2 Bxf4 42. Kc2 Bxd2 43. Rxd2 Ne3+ 44. Kc3 Nd1+ 45. Rxd1 Rxd1 46. a5 h5 47. Na3 1-0

                      - Jakavenko played a near perfect game. This might be one of his immortals.

                      - Proust in one of his books says, that thanks to his books, some of his characters are going to achieve immortality.

                      Jobava went hell-bent for leather after Karjakin’s king

                      Tashkent 2014
                      Round 5
                      Oct. 26, 2014
                      Karjakin, Sergey – Jobava, Baadur
                      B10 Caro-Kann, Two Knights Variation

                      1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ exf6 6. Bc4 Qe7+ 7. Be2 Qc7 8. d4 Bd6 9. O-O O-O 10. h3 Rd8 11. Be3 Nd7 12. c4 Nf8 13. Bd3 Ng6 14. Qc2 Be6 15. Rfe1 Qd7 16. Bd2 Bxh3 17. gxh3 Qxh3 18. Bxg6 hxg6 19. Re3 g5 20. c5 Bf4 21. Rb3 Bc7 22. Qc4 Qh5 23. Kg2 Qg4+ 24. Kf1 Re8 25. Re1 Qh3+ 26. Kg1 Rxe1+ 27. Bxe1 Qg4+ 28. Kf1 Re8 29. Ng1 Bh2 30. Ne2 Rxe2 31. Rxb7 Re6 0-1

                      Karjakin (tweet) – When you see a clear draw after 20. Rae1 g4 21. Qf5 (21. c5 is even better), it is very hard to explain 20. c5... 50%. Time to start from the beginning.

                      The last game to finish:

                      Tashkent 2014
                      Round 5
                      Oct. 26, 2014
                      Nakamura, Hikaru – Gelfand, Boris
                      B52 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack (3..Bd7)

                      1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Qxd7 5. O-O Nf6 6. e5 dxe5 7. Nxe5 Qc8 8. Qf3 e6 9. b3 Be7 10. Bb2 Nbd7 11. Nc4 O-O 12. Nc3 Qc7 13. a4 Rad8 14. Rfe1 a6 15. a5 Nb8 16. Na4 Nc6 17. Qg3 Qxg3 18. hxg3 Nd5 19. c3 Rc8 20. Ba3 Na7 21. Ne3 Nxe3 22. dxe3 Rc7 23. Red1 Nb5 24. Bb2 c4 25. bxc4 Nd6 26. Nb6 Ne4 27. Ba3 Nxc3 28. Bxe7 Rxe7 29. Rd3 Ne4 30. Nd7 Rc8 31. f3 Nf6 32. Nb6 Rc5 33. Rd8+ Re8 34. Rxe8+ Nxe8 35. Rd1 Rxa5 36. Rd8 Kf8 37. Rb8 Ra2 38. c5 Rc2 39. e4 f6 40. Rxb7 Kg8 41. Re7 Kf8 42. Rxe6 Nc7 43. Rc6 Nb5 44. Nd5 Nd4 45. Rxa6 Rxc5 46. Ra8+ Kf7 47. Ra7+ Kf8 48. Nf4 Rc6 49. Ra8+ Kf7 50. Rh8 h6 51. Rb8 Rc7 52. Rb6 Ra7 53. Rd6 Nb5 54. Rd5 Rb7 55. Kh2 Na7 56. Rd6 Nc8 57. Rc6 Ne7 58. Ra6 Ng6 59. Nh5 Ne7 60. Nf4 Ng6 61. Nd5 Ne7 62. Ne3 Rc7 63. g4 Rc3 64. Nf1 Rc7 65. Ra3 Rb7 66. Ne3 Rd7 67. Kg3 Rc7 68. Ra5 Rc3 69. Kf2 Rc7 70. Rb5 Ng6 71. Nd5 Ra7 72. Rc5 Ra2+ 73. Kg3 Kg8 74. Rc7 Ra3 75. Rb7 Ra2 76. Rc7 Ra3 77. Rd7 Ra2 78. Ne3 Ne5 79. Rb7 Ra3 80. Nf5 Nf7 81. Kh2 Ra2 82. Re7 Ra8 83. f4 Kf8 84. Rc7 g6 85. Nh4 g5 86. Nf5 gxf4 87. Rc6 Ng5 88. Rxf6+ Kg8 89. e5 Ra2 90. e6 Nf3+ 91. Kh3 Ng1+ 92. Kh4 Rxg2 93. Kh5 Nf3 94. Nxh6+ Kh7 95. Rf7+ Kh8 96. e7 Re2 97. Rxf4 1-0

                      Nakamura grinds the endgame out. It is now 6.5 hours into the game and he has made some progress nearing the 90th move. Boris has less than a minute on his clock and Hikaru has almost eight.

                      And Nakamura wins! He is top of the table and Gelfand and Caruana are near the bottom.

                      Comment on chessbomb.com - In one day we may have seen both Jakovenko's immortal, Jobava's immortal, and now Nakamura's immortal.

                      Perhaps that is using immortal far too loosely, this just cannot be a three immortal round!

                      Other Results

                      Radjabov-Andreikin 0.5-0.5
                      Caruana-Mamedyarov 0.5-0.5
                      Kasimdzhanov-Giri 0.5-0.5

                      Standings After Round 5

                      Nakamura 3.5
                      Vachier-Lagrave 3
                      Andreikin 3
                      Jobava 3
                      Karjakin 2.5
                      Mamedyarov 2.5
                      Radjabov 2.5
                      Jakovenko 2.5
                      Giri 2.5
                      Caruana 2
                      Gelfand 1.5
                      Kasimdzhanov 1.5

                      Round Six Pairings

                      Gelfand-Vachier-Lagrave
                      Jobava-Jakovenko
                      Andreikin-Karjakin
                      Giri-Radjabov
                      Mamedyarov-Kasimdzhanov
                      Nakamura-Caruana
                      Last edited by Wayne Komer; Sunday, 26th October, 2014, 11:10 PM.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Tashkent 2014

                        Tashkent 2014
                        Round Six
                        October 27, 2014
                        Andreikin, Dmitry – Karjakin, Sergey
                        A46 Queen’s Pawn, Torre Attack

                        1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 c5 4. Nc3 cxd4 5. Qxd4 Nc6 6. Qh4 Bb4 7. e4 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 h6 9. Bd3 d6 10. Rd1 Rg8 11. Be3 e5 12. Bb5 Qc7 13. Nd2 Be6 14. f3 Qa5 15. c4 Ke7 16. O-O g5 17. Qf2 Rgd8 18. h4 Nh7 19. hxg5 hxg5 20. g4 f6 21. Kg2 Nf8 22. Rh1 Bf7 23. Nf1 Bg6 24. Bd2 Qb6 25. Ne3 Kf7 26. Qe1 Ne6 27. Nf5 Qc7 28. c5 dxc5 29. Bc4 b5 30. Bd5 Rac8 31. Rh6 Nd4 32. Ba5 Nxc2 33. Qh1 Qxa5 34. Rh7+ 1-0

                        Clearly, Karjakin is not himself. Yesterday at the press conference after the game he lost to Jobava, chess.com wrote “ Karjakin, who arrived at the playing hall just thirty seconds before the start of the round, said he “forgot about the time”, adding “but maybe it was a good decision not to come [at all]!”

                        Mark Crowther (tweet) When Karjakin played his 12th move he only had 20 minutes left. That's completely nuts clock handling. Indecision two days in a row?

                        There was a good quote after yesterday’s Radjabov-Andreikin game: At the press conference a young kid asked the grandmasters how much time they study chess per day. While Andreikin stressed the importance of having fun with chess (and football) at his age, Radjabov answered: “These days it's very important to work hard to get good positions. I study about 6-8 hours a day but there are days when you don't study at all.”

                        Tashkent 2014
                        Round 6
                        Oct. 27, 2014
                        Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Kasimdzhanov, Rustam
                        C25 Vienna, Paulsen Variation

                        1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 d6 6. Be3 Nge7 7. h4 h5 8. Qd2 O-O 9. Bh6 Nd4 10. Bxg7 Kxg7 11. Nd1 d5 12. Ne3 Be6 13. f4 dxe4 14. dxe4 f5 15. Nh3 fxe4 16. Ng5 Nef5 17. O-O-O Bxa2 18. fxe5 Nxg3 19. Rhe1 c5 20. Bxe4 Nxe4 21. Nxe4 Qxh4 22. Qg2 Rad8 23. Nf6 Rxf6 24. exf6+ Qxf6 25. Qxb7+ Qf7 26. Qe4 Qf6 27. Qb7+ Qf7 28. Qa6 Be6 29. Kb1 Rb8 30. Qd6 Rb6 31. Qxc5 Nf3 32. Qc3+ Kh7 33. Rf1 Rb8 34. Ng2 Bg4 35. Nh4 1-0

                        Rustam was very short of time and played 22…Rad8, which gave him a bad game and Shakhriyar finished him off when he played a couple more bad moves in his time trouble.

                        Tashkent 2014
                        Round 6
                        Oct. 27, 2014
                        Nakamura, Hikaru – Caruana, Fabiano
                        E32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical Variation

                        1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. Nf3 c5 6. dxc5 Na6 7. Bd2 Nxc5 8. a3 Bxc3 9. Bxc3 Nce4 10. e3 Nxc3 11. Qxc3 b6 12. Be2 Ba6 13. Qb3 Rc8 14. Qa4 Bb7 15. O-O Qc7 16. Nd4 a6 17. Rfd1 Rfd8 18. Qb4 Be4 19. Rac1 e5 20. Nb3 d6 21. Qe1 Qb7 22. Qf1 Bc6 23. Nd2 Qe7 24. Rc3 a5 25. Rdc1 a4 26. Qd1 Ra8 27. Bf3 e4 28. Be2 Nd7 29. Qe1 Nc5 30. b4 axb3 31. Nxb3 Rxa3 32. Nd4 Rxc3 33. Qxc3 Bd7 34. Ra1 Rb8 35. Ra7 Qd8 36. Qa1 Rc8 37. h3 g6 38. Nb5 Bxb5 39. cxb5 h5 40. f4 exf3 41. Bxf3 Qg5 42. Qc3 Rd8 43. Qd4 d5 44. h4 Qf5 45. Ra1 Qd7 46. Qf6 Qe8 47. Kh1 Ne4 48. Bxe4 dxe4 49. Qxb6 Qe7 50. Kg1 Rd2 51. Qc6 Qxh4 52. Ra8+ Kh7 53. Rh8+ Kxh8 54. Qc3+ Kh7 55. Qxd2 Qg5 56. b6 h4 57. Qf2 Kg7 58. Qf4 Qb5 59. Qc7 h3 60. gxh3 Qb1+ 61. Kg2 Qb2+ 62. Kg3 Qf6 63. b7 Qf3+ 64. Kh2 Qf2+ 65. Kh1 ½-½

                        White sacrificed a pawn with 30. b4 and got a slightly worse position. With 47…Ne4 Black gave up his advantage. He should have played Ne6, protecting his b-pawn. Caruana had good chances to win but now it is a draw.

                        The press conferences have been very relaxed today with lots of laughter among the younger players.

                        Other Round Six Results

                        Gelfand-Vachier-Lagrave 0.5-0.5
                        Giri-Radjabov 0.5-0.5
                        Jobava-Jakovenko 0.5-0.5

                        Standing after Round Six

                        Andreikin 4
                        Nakamura 4
                        Vachier-Lagrave 3.5
                        Mamedyarov 3.5
                        Jobava 3.5
                        Jakovenko 3
                        Radjabov 3
                        Giri 3
                        Caruana 2.5
                        Karjakin 2.5
                        Gelfand 2
                        Kasimdzhanov 1.5

                        Pairings for Round Seven

                        Caruana-Gelfand
                        Kasimdzhanov-Nakamura
                        Radjabov-Mamedyarov
                        Karjakin-Giri
                        Jakovenko-Andreikin
                        Vachier-Lagrave-Jobava

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Tashkent 2014

                          Tashkent 2014

                          Round Seven
                          October 28, 2014
                          Karjakin, Sergey – Giri, Anish
                          B48 Sicilian, Taimanov Variation

                          1. Nf3 c5 2. e4 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. Qf3 Ne5 8. Qg3 h5 9. f3 b5 10. O-O-O d6 11. f4 Ng4 12. e5 dxe5 13. fxe5 Nxe3 14. Qxe3 Bd7 15. Be2 g6 16. Qf3 Rc8 17. Rhf1 Rh7 18. Kb1 Bb4 19. Ne4 Qxe5 20. h4 f5 21. Ng5 Re7 22. Qb7 Bc5 23. Ngf3 Qc7 24. Qxa6 Bxd4 25. Nxd4 Kf8 26. c3 Nf6 27. Bxb5 Bxb5 28. Qxb5 e5 29. Qa6 Kg7 30. Ne6+ Rxe6 31. Qxe6 Re8 32. Qd6 Qb7 33. Rfe1 Re7 34. g3 Ne4 35. Qb4 Qxb4 36. cxb4 Nxg3 37. b5 f4 38. b6 f3 39. Rg1 Ne2 40. Rgf1 e4 41. a4 Ng3 42. Rf2 1-0

                          Karjakin has had two losses in a row but pulled everything together today and defeated Anish Giri.

                          Caruana got his first win in the tournament. Lately he seems to lack confidence and sounds very much like Woody Allen when describing his games.

                          The contest was more or less a draw until Boris took the wrong pawn (25…Rxa5 instead of Rxc3). White finished off Black efficiently.

                          Tashkent 2014
                          Round 7
                          Oct. 28, 2014
                          Caruana, Fabiano – Gelfand, Boris
                          E35 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Noa Variation

                          1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. e3 O-O 9. a3 Bf5 10. Bd3 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 Bxd3 12. Qxd3 c5 13. Ne2 Nd7 14. O-O Qc6 15. a4 Rfc8 16. Rfb1 Rc7 17. a5 Rac8 18. h3 Nf6 19. Ng3 Qe6 20. dxc5 Ne4 21. Nxe4 dxe4 22. Qd6 Qf5 23. Ra4 Rxc5 24. Rxb7 Rxa5 25. Rxa5 Qxa5 26. Rxf7 Qxc3 27. Rxa7 Kh8 28. Rf7 Re8 29. g4 Kh7 30. Qd7 Rb8 31. Qf5+ Kg8 32. Ra7 Qb2 33. Qxe4 Rf8 34. Qd5+ Kh7 35. Rf7 1-0

                          Tashkent 2014
                          Round 7
                          Oct. 28, 2014
                          Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime – Jobava, Baadur
                          B12 Caro-Kann, Advance Variation

                          1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Nd7 6. O-O h5 7. Nbd2 Nh6 8. Ne1 g5 9. Nb3 g4 10. Nd3 Be4 11. Nf4 Nf5 12. f3 gxf3 13. gxf3 Rg8+ 14. Ng2 Bxc2 15. Qxc2 a5 16. a4 Qh4 17. Bd3 Nxd4 18. Nxd4 Qxd4+ 19. Kh1 Nxe5 20. Bh7 Rg7 21. Be3 Qc4 22. b3 Qxc2 23. Bxc2 Rg8 24. Nf4 h4 25. Rae1 Be7 26. Bd2 Nd7 27. Rg1 Rf8 28. Rg7 Bf6 29. Rh7 Ne5 30. Nh5 Nxf3 31. Nxf6+ Ke7 32. Rf1 Nxd2 33. Rf2 b5 34. Rxh4 bxa4 35. Rxa4 Rfb8 36. Nxd5+ cxd5 37. Rxd2 Rb4 38. Ra1 ½-½

                          Baadur says at the press conference that his games with Maxime are always exciting. Maxime looks like he could sit in front of the computer for hours; Baadur can hardly keep still when talking. He planned to sacrifice his bishop on c2 and did (14..Bxc2) and got good chances when Maxime didn’t reply precisely (17. Bd3). White untangled his pieces and had a better game. Baadur played courageously and accepted a draw from Maxime in the end. A pretty little Tal-like game.

                          Other Round Seven Results

                          Jakovenko, Dmitry – Andreikin, Dmitry 0.5-0.5
                          Kasimdzhanov, Rustam – Nakamura, Hikaru 0.5-0.5
                          Radjabov, Teimour – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 0.5-0.5

                          Standing after Round Seven

                          Andreikin 4.5
                          Nakamura 4.5
                          Mamedyarov 4
                          Vachier-Lagrave 4
                          Jobava 4
                          Radjabov 3.5
                          Jakovenko 3.5
                          Caruana 3.5
                          Karjakin 3.5
                          Giri 3
                          Gelfand 2
                          Kasimdzhanov 2

                          Round Eight Pairings

                          Gelfand-Jobava
                          Andreikin-Vachier-Lagrave
                          Giri-Jakovenko
                          Mamedyarov-Karjakin
                          Nakamura-Radjabov
                          Caruana-Kasimdzhanov

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Tashkent 2014

                            Jobava continues to delight with his enterprising style. He should be invited at all big tournaments to deliver the excitement of human spirit creativity in an era of computer dictated play. His 4 points in this company of elite players is already a good result.
                            On the other hand, Gelfand 2 is not the same with Gelfand 1. Why did he sign up for this round in Taskent?

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Tashkent 2014

                              Tashkent 2014

                              Laurentiu,

                              The third leg of the Grand Prix was originally scheduled for Tehran. The Americans and the Israeli would rather not play there for good reasons. Then, after Gelfand had signed up for Tashkent, Tehran was changed to Tbilisi. Players have to go to three of the four tournaments and several, I am sure, would have skipped Tashkent and played in Tbilisi (Feb) and Khanty-Mansiysk (May) rather than to go to Tashkent so soon after Baku.

                              The good thing about all that is that Jobava entered the Grand Prix competition because he is the home player for Georgia.

                              He reminds me so much of Tal that it is frightening. Instead of staying in his hotel room and studying for the next Tashkent game, Jobava played Internet chess. This story from chess.com:

                              What would you do if it were midnight and you were a last-minute replacement to compete for world championship qualification? If you're GM Baadur Jobava, you’d log on to Chess.com and crush the field in the first "Titled Tuesday."

                              For the top Georgian player, it was actually "Titled Wednesday." As Jobava was taking a break from the FIDE Grand Prix in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, the online tournament for titled players began at midnight local time.

                              By the time Jobava (username SexyLexy) had finished 90 minutes later, he pocketed $500 by winning 8/9, dropping only the meaningless final round.

                              He had clinched clear first place over the other 51 players by that point, and had raised his blitz rating from 2200 to 2757 over those eight games.

                              Round seven was a jaw-dropper. Even those that saw it live will want to relive the finish:

                              LexySexy (2733) – Nouki (2591)
                              Live Chess, Chess.com, 28 Oct. 2014
                              A01 Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack, Modern Variation

                              1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bd6 5.Na3 e4 6.Nc4 Be7 7.Bxc6 bxc6 8.Ne2 O-O 9.O-O d5 10.Na5 Bd7 11.a3 c5 12.d4 c4 13.bxc4 c6 14.Bc3 Qc7 15.h3 Rfb8 16.c5 Qc8 17.Ng3 Bxh3 18.gxh3 Qxh3 19.Nxc6 Ng4 20.Nxe7+ Kf8 21.Qxg4 Qxg4 22.Nxd5 h5 23.Kh2 Qh4+ 24.Kg2 Qg5 25.Rh1 Qxd5 26.Rxh5 Qc4 27.Nf5 1-0

                              The point is that 27...f6 is met by 28. Rh8+ Kf7 29. Nd6+ and 27...Kg8 by the simple 28. Rah1. The elegance of two pieces defeating an army and extra queen left the in-game chat buzzing for several minutes.

                              For the whole write-up and more games, see

                              http://www.chess.com/news/jobava-sta...r-tuesday-6127

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