Sinquefield Cup 2015

[Wayne Komer]

Sinquefield Cup 2015

Sinquefield Cup 2015

Round Four
August 26, 2015

Jan Gustafsson and Tex de Wit again hosted the pre-game show on chess24.com.

They start to discuss the Magnus Carlsen – Maxime Vachier Lagrave game from Round Three.

Jan in the first few minutes recommends watching the entire last season of Game of Thrones and Peter Svidler’s Videos on The Grunfeld. Then you will know everything you need to know in life!

Supposedly, Magnus said that MVL played submissively in this game and he was in control all the time. The guys are reluctant to criticize MVL, because he had black against the World Champion. Then Jan comes out with this gem:

JG – I wouldn’t want to be in MVL’s shoes here. They say before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you’ll be a mile away and have their shoes!

Later, Jan says that MVL solved the problem of the isolated d pawn by giving it up.
______

During the games, Patrick Wolff comes in to talk to Maurice. He won the U.S. Championship twice, in 1992 and 1995. Alas, he left the world of chess, for a career in finance. The reason he is in St. Louis is that he acted as second to Vishy Anand in the 1995 World Championship, and he was having breakfast with Vishy this morning.

They talked about players and computers and Anand said that the range of moves that you would consider in a position is much greater because of what the computers have shown us.

Patrick said that chess on the Internet will have some big changes and that a cyborg will eventually be the strongest player! I loved science fiction when I was growing up but I doubt that I could tell you the difference between a cyborg, an android and a robot.

A while ago I heard that Wolff’s book on the 1995 match was essential reading and a great collector’s item. If you can find it, it is Kasparov versus Anand, The Inside Story of the 1995 World Chess Championship Match by Patrick Wolff, H3 Publications, 1996.
_______

Sinquefield Cup 2015
Round 4, Aug. 26, 2015
Grischuk, Alexander – Topalov, Veselin
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 Ng4 7.Bc1 Nf6 8.f3 e5 9.Nb3 Be6 10.Be3 h5 11.Nd5 Bxd5 12.exd5 Nbd7 13.Qd2 g6 14.O-O-O Nb6 15.Kb1 Nbxd5 16.Bg5 Be7 17.Na5 Rb8 18.Bc4 Nb6 19.Bxf6 Bxf6 20.Qxd6 Qxd6 21.Rxd6 Bd8 22.Rd3 Bc7 23.Bb3 Ke7 24.Rhd1 Rhd8 25.Rxd8 Bxd8 26.Nc4 Nxc4 27.Bxc4 Bb6 28.c3 Rd8 29.Rxd8 Bxd8 30.Kc2 Bc7 31.Bd5 1/2-1/2
________

Round 4, Aug. 26, 2015
Giri, Anish – Carlsen, Magnus
B33 Sicilian, Pelikan, Chelyabinsk Variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 Ne7 12.Nc2 Nxd5 13.Qxd5 Rb8 14.Nb4 Bb7 15.Qd3 O-O 16.Be2 a5 17.Nd5 b4 18.O-O bxc3 19.bxc3 Bg5 20.Rab1 Qd7 21.Rb3 Bc6 22.Rfb1 Rxb3 23.Rxb3 g6 24.Rb6 Rc8 25.h3 Bxd5 26.Qxd5 Rxc3 27.Rxd6 Qe7 28.Bd1 Rc7 29.g3 Kg7 30.Ba4 Bc1 31.Rc6 1/2-1/2
_________

Mike Klein at chess.com - "Today GM Levon Aronian routed GM Wesley So with the black pieces, and in a similar attacking style, GM Hikaru Nakamura held the favorable position too but was barely held to a draw.

The move of the day was surely... Nh5, which served as a catalyst for both aggressors. Across the street, at the Q Boutique at the World Chess Hall of Fame, there is a T-shirt with that move emblazoned on it. Of course the outline gives it away -- the Rorschach blob is actually a map of Iceland and references when Bobby Fischer played 11... Nh5! to win game three of the 1972 World Championship Match. Nakamura admitted to thinking about this game during his own .

The lone winner of the day's game was so spectacular it nearly allowed chess fans to forget about the four other draws. So fell into Aronian's home-cooking, which was actually Hungarian! The goulash came courtesy of GM Peter Leko, who Aronian credited with revealing the novelty 8... Ba5! "I caught him by surprise," Aronian said.

GM Levon Aronian is having one of his best events of the past year. The Armenian then followed up with 10... Nh5 two moves later and the double-wing play ensnared So quickly. White's pieces became idle bystanders as Black ripped open lines everywhere. "I wasn't sure if the sacrifice was any good," Aronian said of allowing his king's knight to depart. "I thought Peter [Leko] would be upset if I didn't win!

After this second demolition win at the Sinquefield Cup, commentator GM Yasser Seirawan asked Aronian about his preparation not showing in his style. "How is it that you study Petrosian's games but you play like Tal?" Seirawan asked. "I didn't study too well!" Aronian replied. He added that his play resembled Leonid Stein's ("Just go for it!")."

Round 4, Aug. 26, 2015
So, Wesley – Aronian, Levon
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.Ne2 a6 8.a4 Ba5 9.Bd2 exd5 10.cxd5 Nh5 11.g3 Nd7 12.Bg2 b5 13.g4 b4 14.Nb1 Qh4+ 15.Kf1 Ne5 16.Be1 Qf6 17.gxh5 Nxf3 18.Bf2 Bg4 19.Qc1 Nd4 20.Nxd4 cxd4 21.e5 dxe5 22.Nd2 Rac8 23.Qb1 b3 24.Nxb3 Bb6 25.a5 Ba7 26.Kg1 Bf5 27.Be4 Qg5+ 28.Kf1 Qf4 0-1
________

Round 4, Aug. 26, 2015
Vachier Lagrave, Maxime – Nakamura, Hikaru
E81 King’s Indian, Samisch

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Nge2 c5 7.d5 e6 8.Ng3 exd5 9.cxd5 a6 10.a4 h5 11.Be2 Nbd7 12.O-O h4 13.Nh1 Nh5 14.Be3 f5 15.f4 Qe8 16.Bxh5 gxh5 17.e5 dxe5 18.d6 exf4 19.Bxf4 Nf6 20.Nf2 Bd7 21.Nd3 h3 22.Ne5 hxg2 23.Re1 Be6 24.Qf3 Ne4 25.Rad1 Bxe5 26.Bxe5 Qg6 27.Qxg2 Qxg2+ 28.Kxg2 Bd7 29.Rg1 Kf7 30.Kf3 Rg8 31.Nxe4 fxe4+ 32.Kxe4 Ke6 33.Bf4 Bxa4 34.Rde1 h4 35.Rxg8 Rxg8 36.Kf3+ Kf6 37.Re5 Bc6+ 38.Ke3 Re8 39.Rxe8 Bxe8 40.d7 Bxd7 41.Bd6 c4 42.Kd4 b5 43.Kc3 Ke6 44.Bc7 Kd5 45.Bd8 h3 46.b4 cxb3 47.Kxb3 Kc5 48.Be7+ Kb6 49.Bd8+ Kc5 50.Be7+ Kb6 51.Bd8+ 1/2-1/2
______

Round 4, Aug. 26, 2015
Caruana, Fabiano – Anand, Vishy
D43 QGD, Semi-Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.e3 g6 8.Bd3 Bg7 9.O-O O-O 10.e4 Qd8 11.Re1 c5 12.exd5 cxd4 13.dxe6 Bxe6 14.Ne2 Qd6 15.Qd2 Nc6 16.Nf4 Bg4 17.Be4 Bxf3 18.Bxf3 Ne5 19.Bd5 Rac8 20.b3 b5 21.Rac1 bxc4 22.bxc4 Rc7 23.Nd3 Nxd3 24.Qxd3 Kh7 25.g3 Bf6 26.Rb1 Kg7 27.Rb5 Rfc8 28.Reb1 Rc5 29.a4 Rxb5 30.axb5 Rc7 31.Qb3 Qe5 32.Qf3 Bg5 33.c5 Rd7 34.b6 axb6 35.cxb6 Rxd5 36.Qxd5 Qxd5 37.b7 d3 38.b8=Q d2 39.Rd1 Qf3 40.Qb2+ Kh7 41.Qc2 Be3 42.fxe3 Qxe3+ 1/2-1/2

Standing After Round Four

Topalov 3
Aronian 3
Carlsen 2.5
Giri 2.5
Vachier-Lagrave 2
Nakamura 2
So 1.5
Grischuk 1.5
Anand 1
Caruana 1

Pairings for Round Five

Aronian-Grischuk, Carlsen-So, Nakamura-Giri, Anand-MVL and Topalov-Caruana
________

There is a nice selection of photos of St. Louis and the earlier rounds at:

http://www.chess-news.ru/node/19868

[Jack Maguire]

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2015

Carlsen is less than even money to beat Wesley So today despite the fact they've drawn their only two encounters (both earlier this year). I'd certainly take the 11/8 draw odds over the 17/20 win odds (:

https://www.marathonbet.com/en/betting/Chess/

[Hans Jung]

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2015

I love the commentary on round 4 above. Yasser says to Levon Aronian - you study Petrosian but you play like Tal - and Levon mentions Leonid Stein. How many of todays players know who Leonid Stein was. He was one of the greatest chess artists. I have the book of his artistic games (salivating brilliancies!) by Ray Keene and I treasure it!

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2015

Sinquefield Cup 2015

Round Five
August 27, 2015

Before the round, the players were asked, and recorded on video answering this question:

What current player would you add to the Grand Chess Tour and then, what one from history?

Living Player

Aronian – Either Gelfand, a very good player, who doesn’t get much chance to play, or Wei Yi.

Caruana – Kramnik, then it would be top ten, you can’t get better than that.

Anand – Kramnik

Grischuk – Kasparov, I think he would be a considerable threat to anyone.

Giri – My wife would get quite bored here, so why not give her a shot?

So – Yasser Seirawan – You’d be surprised at his technique, even at his age.

Nakamura – One of the Chinese players – Ding Liren or Wei Yi

Topalov – A Chinese player or one from South America, so we would have a following on all the continents

Carlsen – I would add Hammer. I really want to get my revenge on him!

Historical Player

Nakamura – Bobby Fischer

MVL – Fischer

Giri – I would say Fischer or they wouldn’t let me get out of this room

Aronian – either Fischer or Petrosian

Topalov – Fischer, of course. He stopped playing when he was too young and this would give him the possibility to meet all today’s top players.

Caruana – I’d have to say Fischer, Rex would be happy. It would be interesting to see how he would do against today’s top players.

So – Bobby Fischer or Jose Raul Capablanca

Nakamura – I would also say Mikhail Tal

Grischuk – I always dreamed of meeting Mikhail Tal, not just to play with him, but rather just to spend some time with him, to chat with him and watch him

Anand – Capablanca

Carlsen – Capablanca. To see if what was perceived as a simple chess style would work today.
_______

Ian Rogers, the Australian GM, has tweeted on Round Four - Aronian, after his 'Pearl of Saint Louis' game, on So's 21.e5 - "Like a very sick patient wanting to enjoy some activity before they die!"

Those interested in chess history, will remember that there was a game by Euwe against Alekhine that was called ‘The Pearl of Zandvoort’.

ChessBase explains: Dubbed "the pearl of Zandvoort" by Tartakower, it was this victory that practically assured Euwe’s overall success in his first world championship match with Alekhine. Enjoying a one-point lead - his first lead of the match – with five games to go, one might expect the challenger to feel some nerves. If he didn't, he didn't show them. Euwe boldly sacked a piece for three pawns, and then threw in the exchange as well. Alekhine put up significant resistance, but the challenger's outstanding play in the middlegame and the subsequent ending carried the day. A great game, rich in creativity from both players.
______

At one point in the day we saw both Topalov and MVL in the confessional, chatting. Is this some breach of the rules?
______

After four hours, three games are drawn Aronian/Grischuk, Nakamura/Giri and Anand/MVL. Just before the time control Magnus can win with 40. Nxc5 but instead plays 40. Nd4. On chessbomb.com one of the kibitzers then says, “Now it is clear why Carlsen wants to meet Capablanca, he still cannot find every simple move!”

Jan Gustafsson - Come on Magnus. Was ready to do my video praising a model game ending with 40.Nxc5. Need a new storyline now :(
_____

Sinquefield Cup 2015
Round 5, Aug. 27, 2015
Topalov, Veselin – Caruana, Fabiano
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 O-O 6.O-O d6 7.Nbd2 Ne7 8.d4 exd4 9.cxd4 Bb6 10.Re1 Bg4 11.h3 Bh5 12.Qb3 d5 13.e5 Nd7 14.a4 a5 15.Qd1 Nb8 16.Nb3 Nbc6 17.Bg5 h6 18.Bh4 Qc8 19.g4 Bg6 20.Rc1 Bh7 21.Bg3 Nb4 22.Re3 Na2 23.Ra1 Nb4 24.Ne1 Nec6 25.Qd2 Qe6 26.Bxc6 Qxc6 27.Rc3 Qe6 28.Ng2 f6 29.Nf4 Qd7 30.e6 Qe7 31.Re1 f5 32.Nc5 Bxc5 33.Rxc5 c6 34.Rc3 g5 35.Ng2 f4 36.Nxf4 gxf4 37.Bxf4 Nd3 38.Rxd3 Bxd3 39.Bxh6 Rf3 40.Re3 Rxe3 41.Qxe3 Qh7 42.f3 Re8 43.h4 Qg6 44.e7 Qd6 45.Bf4 Qxe7 46.Qxd3 Qe1+ 47.Qf1 Qxf1+ 48.Kxf1 Rf8 49.Be5 Rxf3+ 50.Kg2 Rb3 51.h5 Rxb2+ 52.Kg3 b5 53.axb5 Rxb5 0-1
______

Round 5, Aug. 27, 2015
Aronian, Levon – Grischuk, Alexander
A30 English, Symmetrical

1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.d4 cxd4 5.exd4 d5 6.Nc3 Bg4 7.Bg5 e6 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Qe2+ Be6 10.Bxf6 gxf6 11.Qc2 Qb6 12.a3 O-O-O 13.Na4 Qc7 14.Bb5 Rg8 15.O-O Bh3 16.Nh4 Rg4 17.Bxc6 bxc6 18.Qd3 Rxh4 19.gxh3 Qf4 20.Rac1 Kd7 21.Rfe1 Bd6 22.Kf1 Qxd4 23.Qf5+ Kc7 24.Nc3 Kb7 25.Ne2 Qe5 26.Qc2 Rc4 27.Qb3+ Kc7 28.Rxc4 dxc4 29.Qxc4 Qd5 30.Qxd5 cxd5 1/2-1/2
______

ChessBase - The Paulsen/Taimanov in Nakamura-Giri was an unbelievably deep preparation, especially when you take into consideration how early the novelty was in the game. Nakamura said he forgot which rook to play, chose the wrong one and was worse. A mistake by Giri allowed the American to equalize. A strange perpetual happened and the game was drawn.

Round 5, Aug. 27, 2015
Nakamura, Hikaru – Giri, Anish
B48 Sicilian, Taimanov Variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 a6 7.Qd2 Nf6 8.O-O-O Be7 9.f4 b5 10.e5 b4 11.Ncb5 axb5 12.Nxb5 Qb8 13.exf6 gxf6 14.Kb1 d5 15.Qf2 Ba6 16.Bb6 Bxb5 17.Bxb5 Qb7 18.Rhe1 Rb8 19.Bxc6+ Qxc6 20.Bd4 Ra8 21.b3 Kd7 22.a4 bxa3 23.Rd3 Rhc8 24.Re2 Qb5 25.Qf3 Ra6 26.f5 Rac6 27.fxe6+ fxe6 28.Rdd2 a2+ 29.Ka1 f5 30.Qe3 Rg8 31.c4 dxc4 32.Bc5+ Ke8 33.Bxe7 Kxe7 34.Qh6 Qb6 35.Qxh7+ Kf8 36.Qh4 Ke8 37.Qh5+ Kf8 38.Qh4 Ke8 39.Qh5+ 1/2-1/2



Nakamura: "I thought I was completely winning and then Anish found the very nice 34...Qb6 – that was the move I missed.”
______

Round 5, Aug. 27, 2015
Carlsen, Magnus – So, Wesley
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Byrne-Almasi Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 Nbd7 9.Qd2 b5 10.O-O-O Be7 11.g4 b4 12.Nd5 Bxd5 13.exd5 Nb6 14.Na5 Nbxd5 15.Nc4 Nxe3 16.Nxe3 O-O 17.Bc4 Nd7 18.h4 a5 19.g5 Rc8 20.Bd5 Nb6 21.Kb1 Qc7 22.Rhf1 Nxd5 23.Nxd5 Qb7 24.f4 f5 25.Qe3 e4 26.h5 Rc5 27.h6 g6 28.Qb3 Rf7 29.a4 Bd8 30.Rd4 Kf8 31.Rfd1 Rc6 32.Ne3 Bb6 33.Nc4 Bxd4 34.Nxa5 Qb6 35.Nxc6 Bc5 36.Qd5 e3 37.a5 Qb5 38.Nd8 Ra7 39.Ne6+ Ke8 40.Nd4 Qxa5 41.Qg8+ Kd7 42.Qxh7+ Kc8 43.Qg8+ Kb7 44.c3 bxc3 45.Qb3+ Qb6 46.Qxb6+ Kxb6 47.bxc3 Bxd4 48.Rxd4 Kc6 49.Kc2 Ra2+ 50.Kd1 Rf2 51.Ke1 Kd7 52.Ra4 Ke6 53.Ra8 Rh2 54.c4 Kf7 55.Rb8 Ke6 56.Rg8 1-0
_______

Round 5, Aug. 27, 2015
Anand, Vishy – Vachier Lagrave, Maxime
B92 Sicilian, Najdorf, Opocensky Variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.Be3 Be6 9.Qd3 Nc6 10.a3 d5 11.exd5 Nxd5 12.Nxd5 Qxd5 13.O-O-O Qxd3 14.Bxd3 O-O-O 15.Nc5 Bd5 16.c4 Bxg2 17.Rhg1 e4 18.Be2 Bf3 19.Bxf3 exf3 20.Rxg7 Rxd1+ 21.Kxd1 Rd8+ 22.Kc1 Ne5 23.Ne4 Kd7 24.Rxh7 Ke6 25.Nd2 Rc8 26.Kc2 Nxc4 27.Nxc4 Rxc4+ 28.Kd3 Rg4 29.h3 Ra4 30.Rh6+ f6 31.Rh7 Ra5 32.Ke4 Rb5 33.Bd4 Bd6 34.Rh6 Be5 35.Bxe5 Rxe5+ 36.Kxf3 Rf5+ 37.Ke2 Re5+ 38.Kf1 Rb5 39.b4 Rd5 40.Rg6 a5 41.bxa5 Rxa5 42.Rg3 Ra4 1/2-1/2
_______

Standing After Round Five

Carlsen 3.5
Aronian 3.5
Topalov 3
Giri 3
Nakamura 2.5
MVL 2.5
Caruana 2
Grischuk 2
So 1.5
Anand 1.5

Pairings for Round Six

Grischuk-Caruana, MVL-Topalov, Giri-Anand, So-Nakamura and Aronian-Carlsen

Tomorrow is the Rest Day. Round Six takes place on Saturday, August 29, 2015.

[Mathieu Cloutier]

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2015

Carlsen is less than even money to beat Wesley So today despite the fact they've drawn their only two encounters (both earlier this year). I'd certainly take the 11/8 draw odds over the 17/20 win odds (:

https://www.marathonbet.com/en/betting/Chess/

So, I hope you didn't put too much money on that... ;)

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2015

Sinquefield Cup 2015

From chess-news.ru

http://chess-news.ru/en/node/19884

St Louis: Topalov Cannot Stop Himself, Whilst Carlsen Shows His Modesty

Friday, 28.08.2015

In the fifth round at St Louis, two games ended decisively and both influenced the position at the top of the table. Topalov lost to Caruana, whilst Carlsen beat So and now shares the lead with Aronian on 3.5.

Topalov admitted to insufficient energy and he is happy to see the rest day arrive. After the opening he had a clear advantage as White, but the first warning bell came at move 21: 21. Bg3?! The bishop took its eye off e7, which the enemy knight immediately exploited, jumping to b4. "I should not have allowed this", said Topalov, shaking his head.

Caruana soon offered to repeat moves, whereupon Topalov admitted that he made a psychological mistake. "When you have an advantage in the opening, it is very difficult to agree a draw. I should have paused, pulled myself together and told myself to stop. But then I started to spoil my position move by move, until I made the decisive mistake."

After the game, Caruana smiled, perhaps naturally so far the first time in the tournament: "I do not remember when I ever drew with Topalov, he is a very fighting player. I admit that after the opening, I was worried about my position. When I went for the repetition, I don't think Black was worse any longer. I first thought about playing for the win when my opponent pushed on to e6. But 35. Ng2 was the turning point of the game, after which I realised that I ought to win. After a terrible start, I am doing all I can. Today I did not play badly or well, but simply took my chance."
_______

The game Carlsen - So lasted almost six hours. When the point was already in the world champion's pocket, the look on his face suggested he was not too happy with his play. In fact, Magnus described himself as "extremely lucky".

However, the Norwegian was either being deliberately modest or was affected by his emotions. Overall, he played brilliantly, as several GMs pointed out at once on Twitter. Although once he had the advantage, he missed the strongest line several times, it is not so important how one achieves the desired result, providing one does. Strategically, the game was practically decided by the advance h4-h5-h6.

At the end, White achieved a completely winning rook ending. Carlsen's technique impressed the live commentators so much that they soon asked him whether he works on solving endgame studies. Magnus answered yes, he solves the studies of Oleg Pervakov, as well as Kasparyan, and Kubbel (names in this precise order).

[Laurentiu Grigorescu]

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2015

I also liked Carlsen's win. He played a strong and deep game, very complicated, but he seemed in control of the position all the time. A play worth of the World Champion.
Giri evolved in being one of the strongest players in the World, he seems very sharp and funny. A great tournament so far!

[Mathieu Cloutier]

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2015

What is it with these american GMs playing on until mate (So-Nakamura, round 6)? Looks a little childish to me.

I mean, I get it that you might want to play on for various reasons. But dragging things on when it's pretty clear that your getting mated soon?

[Ed Seedhouse]

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2015

What is it with these american GMs playing on until mate (So-Nakamura, round 6)? Looks a little childish to me.

I don't think it was childish at all. It was a recognition of a well played game by black to allow him an attractive finish. I've had a few nice finishes (not nearly at this level of course) sort of spoiled when my opponent resigned rather than allowing me to play the aesthetic finishing moves on the board.

Naka missed an even more spectacular win, though, involving a queen sac.

[Mathieu Cloutier]

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2015

I don't think it was childish at all. It was a recognition of a well played game by black to allow him an attractive finish. I've had a few nice finishes (not nearly at this level of course) sort of spoiled when my opponent resigned rather than allowing me to play the aesthetic finishing moves on the board.

I would agree if the mate was something really fantastic and out of this world. Here? Not so much. So's king is just getting beat and dragged through the mud. Nothing elegant there.

And even if the mate doesn't happen on the board, that's one of the beauties of chess. You can let people deduce what would have happened. No need to play it out for us like we're kids who don't understand what's going on.

I don't know. Maybe that's just me.

[Ed Seedhouse]

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2015

I would agree if the mate was something really fantastic and out of this world. Here? Not so much. So's king is just getting beat and dragged through the mud. Nothing elegant there.

The white K was dragged out to the sixth rank and mated with the sacrifice of two rooks. I wish I could play with such "inelegance".

[Mathieu Cloutier]

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2015

The white K was dragged out to the sixth rank and mated with the sacrifice of two rooks. I wish I could play with such "inelegance".

Don't get me wrong, the game was nice. I'm just talking about the last few moves. For example, it would be an equally nice game had white resigned after, say, 37... Rf6+.

It's even instructive, especially for beginners who will wonder why white resigned when he could just take the rook.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2015

Sinquefield Cup 2015

Round Six
August 29, 2015

ChessBase – “The first couple of results of Round Six were far from interesting. Many predicted that while Aronian would push slightly against Carlsen, he would try to do so with minimal risk and minimal chance of succeeding. In effect, the World Champion was able to equalize without difficulties and the game was drawn.

Giri seemed to obtain a slightly more pleasant position from the opening due to his pair of bishops. However, Anand was ultra-solid behind his Slav setup. His control of key dark squares also helped him out in the game. Giri misplayed his position very slightly and allowed Anand to exchange one of his bishops, which then resulted in a dead drawn endgame.”

Sinquefield Cup 2015
Round 6, Aug. 29, 2015
Aronian, Levon – Carlsen, Magnus
A29 English, Bremen

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nb6 7.O-O Be7 8.d3 O-O 9.a3 Re8 10.b4 Bf8 11.Nd2 Be6 12.Bb2 Qd7 13.Nce4 Bh3 14.Bxh3 Qxh3 15.Qb3 Qd7 16.Nf3 a5 17.b5 Nd4 18.Nxd4 exd4 19.a4 Qd5 20.Qxd5 Nxd5 21.Bxd4 f5 22.Nc3 Nxc3 23.Bxc3 Rxe2 24.Rfe1 Rxe1+ 25.Rxe1 Bb4 26.Rc1 c6 27.bxc6 bxc6 28.Bxb4 axb4 29.Rxc6 Rxa4 30.Rb6 Ra1+ 31.Kg2 Rd1 32.Rxb4 Rxd3 1/2-1/2

Round 6, Aug. 29, 2015
Giri, Anish – Anand, Vishy
D11 QGD Slav, 4.e3

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.e3 Bg4 5.h3 Bh5 6.g4 Bg6 7.Ne5 Nbd7 8.Nxg6 hxg6 9.Bg2 e6 10.Nd2 g5 11.O-O Be7 12.Re1 Nf8 13.e4 Nxe4 14.Nxe4 dxe4 15.Rxe4 Ng6 16.Be3 O-O 17.d5 cxd5 18.cxd5 e5 19.Qd2 a5 20.d6 Qxd6 21.Qxd6 Bxd6 22.Bxg5 Rac8 23.Re2 b6 24.Rd1 Bc5 25.Be4 Nf4 26.Bxf4 exf4 27.Kg2 Rfd8 28.Red2 Rxd2 29.Rxd2 g5 30.Rd7 Re8 31.Kf3 Re7 32.Rxe7 1/2-1/2

Ian Rogers to Vishy Anand - "When are you going to beat the kid!?" Anand pointed out that unlike him and Carlsen, some players in the field like Aronian have a good score against Giri. "If I had known [the secret] I would have done it myself! He's had a great leap since last year."
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Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was able to outplay Topalov in a very clean game. It was almost a perfect Berlin endgame from White in which Black’s pieces were never able to coordinate. White got a brilliantly timed e6 break, and everything just went south for the Bulgarian. MVL cleaned up without problems.

Round 6, Aug. 29, 2015
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime – Topalov, Veselin
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 Ne7 12.Nd4 Ng6 13.f4 Bc5 14.Be3 h5 15.Ne4 Bxd4 16.Rxd4 h4 17.Rad1 Bf5 18.e6 Bxe6 19.Nc5 Rh5 20.Nxb7 Rd5 21.b3 Rb8 22.Rxd5 cxd5 23.Nc5 c6 24.Rd4 Bc8 25.Ra4 Ra8 26.c4 dxc4 27.Rxc4 Bf5 28.Nb7 Kd7 29.Rd4+ Kc7 30.Nd6 Bb1 31.Nxf7 Re8 32.Kf2 Bxa2 33.f5 Nf8 34.Ra4 Bxb3 35.Rxa7+ Kb8 36.Nd6 Rd8 37.Rxg7 1-0
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The most spectacular game of Round Six was the victory of Nakamura over So. Maurice calls it a game for the ages.

In the post-game Hikaru said that Wesley needs to learn how to prepare better. In the King's Indian, there are many lines, where the computer gives a completely ridiculous evaluation. I think around move 20 the machine shows "+2" or at least “+1” for White. In such complicated positions is very easy to go wrong and that White might be fine if not for 26...Nxe4!

In fact Wesley blitzed the first twenty moves, all in home preparation, and had nothing to show for it.

There is a forced mating sequence with Nakamura throwing every piece at the king, which ended way up the column opposite the black king.

Mike Klein says this at chess.com

http://www.chess.com/news/nakamura-b...ts-closer-7741

“The only painful part of the day came when the commentary team pointed out a diabolical sequence leading to a minor piece mate! We present this as a puzzle with the caveat that you must find the fastest win. You may want to clear out the next hour of your life if you're intent on solving it”

Kasparov - Congrats to Hikaru on his victory today. The King's Indian requires the courage of your convictions & courage to ignore machine opinions!

Round 6, Aug. 29, 2015
So, Wesley – Nakamura, Hikaru
E99 King’s Indian, Orthodox, Aronin-Taimanov, Main Line

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.f3 f5 11.Be3 f4 12.Bf2 g5 13.Nd3 Ng6 14.c5 Nf6 15.Rc1 Rf7 16.Kh1 h5 17.cxd6 cxd6 18.Nb5 a6 19.Na3 b5 20.Rc6 g4 21.Qc2 Qf8 22.Rc1 Bd7 23.Rc7 Bh6 24.Be1 h4 25.fxg4 f3 26.gxf3 Nxe4 27.Rd1 Rxf3 28.Rxd7 Rf1+ 29.Kg2 Be3 30.Bg3 hxg3 31.Rxf1 Nh4+ 32.Kh3 Qh6 33.g5 Nxg5+ 34.Kg4 Nhf3 35.Nf2 Qh4+ 36.Kf5 Rf8+ 37.Kg6 Rf6+ 38.Kxf6 Ne4+ 39.Kg6 Qg5# 0-1

Nigel Short - I am even happier about Hikaru's brilliant win than I am about MVL giving the Berlin the stuffing it deserves.
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The final win of the round was by Alexander Grischuk. He said that he prepared for 10 hours yesterday (the rest day) and almost overslept. He woke up half an hour before the game.

He said that his prep was very tricky and there are lines where it is very easy for black to go wrong. Like Nakamura, he found lines, which the computer said were good for his opponent but were not. Fabiano kept pushing pawns and attacking but Alexander thought everything was under control and that he was going to win. This time it was his opponent who was in time trouble and that felt very good for once.

Chess.com - Recall that Caruana's time adventures already cost him one game on move 40. Today had a marked difference -- he was lost anyway.

With 37 seconds to make 7 moves, Caruana only made six. His 40th move was played on the board, but his hand hit the clock just as the final second ticked away. He didn't complain -- the clock clearly read "0:00" and he likely wanted the game over with anyway. The DGT board registered the move, but the explanation is needed for historical accuracy.

Round 6, Aug. 29, 2015
Grischuk, Alexander – Caruana, Fabiano
D37 QGD, Hastings Variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.c5 Ne4 8.a3 Nxc3 9.bxc3 c6 10.Qa4 g5 11.Bg3 f5 12.h3 f4 13.Bh2 e5 14.Be2 e4 15.Nd2 Nxc5 16.dxc5 Bxc5 17.O-O b5 18.Qb3 Qe7 19.Kh1 Be6 20.a4 d4 21.Qd1 d3 22.Bg4 Bd5 23.axb5 cxb5 24.Nb3 fxe3 25.Nxc5 Qxc5 26.fxe3 Qxe3 27.Re1 Qf2 28.Bg1 Qf7 29.Qd2 Qg6 30.Ra6 Rf6 31.Rea1 Re8 32.Rxf6 Qxf6 33.Rxa7 h6 34.Be3 Qe5 35.Qe1 Bc4 36.Bd4 Qf4 37.Be3 Qe5 38.Bd4 Qf4 39.Rg7+ Kf8 40.Qa1 b4 1-0
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Viewer Comments

- Wow! Hikaru just pounced and devoured! Powerful chess!

- Carlsen is all clear to win unless Naka can stop him.

- So might be out of his depth among this bunch of top players.

- So is not performing well here. He must regain his confidence in round 7 and play more aggressively.

- Naka winning with the KID. Love it.

- What a brilliant game from MVL from start to finish.

Standing After Round Six

Aronian 4
Carlsen 4
Giri 3.5
MVL 3.5
Nakamura 3.5
Topalov 3
Grischuk 3
Caruana 2
Anand 2
So 1.5

Pairings for Round Seven

Carlsen-Grischuk, Nakamura-Aronian, Anand-So, Topalov-Giri and Caruana-MVL

[Laurentiu Grigorescu]

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2015

Wesley So played a very poor game. He behave like a 12 year old that knows the theory until the theory ends and than loses in 3 moves. After 27...Kxe4 I doubt a 2200+ player would not have won the game anyways in the same fashion. Nakamura had enormous number of variations at his disposal, nothing not seen before in KID.
MVL's win, even as dry as it gets, seems a better achievement.

[Ed Seedhouse]

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2015

Don't get me wrong, the game was nice. I'm just talking about the last few moves. For example, it would be an equally nice game had white resigned after, say, 37... Rf6+.

It's even instructive, especially for beginners who will wonder why white resigned when he could just take the rook.

Nakamura played a great game. I doubt if confusing beginners by resigning was in So's mind at the time. The game ended just before the time limit and I wouldn't be surprised if So was just trying to make move 40 without flagging. Or, hey, maybe he's just a nice guy.

Bottom line it was a great game and some of you are trying to talk it down. All too typical of many chess players I fear.