London Chess Classic 2015

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  • #16
    Re: London Chess Classic 2015

    The draw rate after 5 rounds is a rather odious 84% ):

    Of the scant 4 decisive games, Topalov has been on the wrong end of 3 of them, and has dropped from number 2 in the world to number 8 in the world. There is, however, a mere 10 rating points between the 7 players clogging up those spots.

    http://www.2700chess.com/

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    • #17
      Re: London Chess Classic 2015

      If anyone believes Carlsen can end his London 5 game draw streak tomorrow and also end his 9 game draw streak with Giri (losing the first encounter), he/she can get almost 4/1 (79/20) that he can't win with Black against Giri (:

      Personally, I prefer the 63/10 odds on Aronian against Nakamura given his +11, -6, =12 score against Naka (:

      Adams at 57/10 is also interesting given both the way Topalov has performed and the fact that Adams is +12, -7, =19 against Topalov (:

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

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: London Chess Classic 2015

        Nigel Short sure does hate the Berlin (:

        Nigel Short ‏@nigelshortchess 2h2 hours ago
        I would even have forgiven him for trading with Islamic State, if only he would have banned the Berlin... #LondonChess

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: London Chess Classic 2015

          Nigel Short continues in his wont facetious manner (:

          Nigel Short ‏@nigelshortchess 31m31 minutes ago
          Nemesis. where have you been? Please punish @FabianoCaruana for his evil opening! #LondonChess #avengingGod

          Nigel Short ‏@nigelshortchess 21m21 minutes ago
          @JazzCat44 Funny how Gods never listen to prayers, isn't it? There must be a reason for that, I guess...

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: London Chess Classic 2015

            London Chess Classic 2015

            Round Six

            December 10, 2015

            Jan Gustafsson and Danny King co-host.

            They say the match of the day should be between the two youngsters – Anish Giri and Magnus Carlsen. Anish has never lost to Magnus and takes every opportunity to playfully poke fun at him.

            New in Chess brought out a slick 85-page booklet by Anish earlier this year entitled, “After Magnus – Who can dethrone the World Chess Champion?” It’s a nice little book, very collectible. The guys quote from the section about Maxime Vachier-Lagrave:

            The nerdy mathematician is witty and a friendly guy too, so if you are thinking of a nice guy to root for, he would be a natural pick.

            The others in the book are Caruana, So, Anand, Wei Yi, Ding Liren, Grischuk, Nakamura, Rapport and Yu Yangyi.

            The guys can’t imagine either Karpov or Kasparov writing such a book about their nearest competitors.
            ______

            The conversation drifts to Yates. Jan knows very little about him and Danny has prepped himself and says that Frederick Dewhurst Yates won the British Championship six times between 1913 and 1931.

            He was always in straightened circumstances but he had the talent to be world class. He never beat Capablanca or Lasker; his victory against Alexander Alekhine at Karlsbad in 1923 won the brilliancy prize, while his win against Milan Vidmar at San Remo in 1930 was described by Alekhine as the finest game played since the war.

            While the guys talk, Nigel Short keeps tweeting from Athens.

            - Does playing the Berlin help you pick up girls or something? I mean, what’s the attraction?

            - Nice to see Giri playing; this old line of the Spanish with an early d4. It was a favourite of Tseshkovsky’s.

            - Vishy going for reversed Grand Prix Attack – warming the heart of many a club player.

            ______

            In the last round I noticed a member of staff scanning the tables with a device that looked much like a camera. By the speed that he did it and the fact that he never focused on the players, I assumed that he was sweeping for illegal electronic devices.
            He did Carlsen’s table for a few minutes this round.
            _______

            After three hours, MVL-Caruana is the only game finished, a draw.

            Analyzing Grischuk-Anand, Jan says that Black is trying to imprison the white king with a bishop and a pawn then continues, “ but it’s not a very solid prison; you don’t have to be El Chapo to escape from this one”.

            London Chess Classic
            Round 6, Dec. 10, 2015
            Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime – Caruana, Fabiano
            C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, Open Variation

            1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 b6 11. Rd1 Bb7 12. Bf4 Rc8 13. e6 Bd6 14. Bxd6 Nxd6 15. exf7+ Kxf7 16. Ne5+ Kf6 17. Ng4+ Kf7 18. a4 a5 19. Ne5+ Kf6 20. Ng4+ Kf7 21. Ne5+ Kf6 22. f4 Rce8 23. Rd3 g6 24. Re1 Kg7 25. Ne4 Re6 26. Red1 Rd8 27. Ng5 Re7 28. Ne4 Re6 29. Ng5 Re7 30. Ne4 ½-½

            Anand is in trouble vs Grischuk. The guys say that there has been extensive flooding in Chennai and Anand’s wife has taken in a couple of dozen flood victims into their house. Danny says they are staying in the complex and it is incredibly generous of the Anands. Jan breaks this bubble by saying, “His computer is probably password protected in case one of the flood victims is interested in his analyses”

            Mickey Adams doesn’t see that his two rooks will be forked with Topalov’s knight. Jan says that it is probably first win for Topalov and a loss for Adams.

            Giri-Carlsen is a draw.

            Round 6, Dec. 10, 2015
            Giri, Anish – Carlsen, Magnus
            C91 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Bogolyubov Variation

            1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.d4 d6 9.c3 Bg4 10.Be3 exd4 11.cxd4 Na5 12.Bc2 Nc4 13.Bc1 c5 14.b3 Nb6 15.Nbd2 Rc8 16.Bb2 Nfd7 17.Qb1 g6 18.h3 Bxf3 19.Nxf3 cxd4 20.Nxd4 Bf6 21.Qd1 Ne5 22.Rc1 Bg5 23.Rb1 Nbd7 24.Rf1 Bf6 25.Rc1 Qb6 26.Bb1 Rxc1 27.Bxc1 Nd3 28.Qxd3 Bxd4 29.Bh6 Rc8 30.Qe2 Nf8 31.g3 Ne6 32.Kg2 Bg7 33.Be3 Bd4 34.Bd2 Qd8 35.Rc1 Rxc1 36.Bxc1 Qf6 37.a4 bxa4 38.bxa4 Nc5 39.a5 Bc3 40.Ba3 Bxa5 41.Bxc5 dxc5 42.Bd3 Bc3 43.Bxa6 Bd4 44.Bc4 Kg7 45.h4 Qb6 46.h5 Qf6 47.Ba2 gxh5 48.f4 Qg6 49.Kh3 f5 50.exf5 Qxf5+ 51.Kg2 Kh6 52.Qe6+ Qxe6 53.Bxe6 1/2-1/2

            At the postmortem Anish is asked about his Carlsen book (above). He said that the title was not his, it was part of an assignment.

            He says that if you put Magnus in a title, the book sells ten times more than what it would without.

            Nakamura draws with Aronian. Giri and Carlsen speak so long that the guys can’t drag in either Aronian or Nakamura, who are described as having “made a bolt for freedom”.

            You have to pay for seats to watch and the hall is much less than half full of spectators. Someone says that they are all coaches and players’ families.

            Round 6, Dec. 10, 2015
            Nakamura, Hikaru – Aronian, Levon
            E05 Catalan, Open, Classical Line

            1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 e6 4.c4 Be7 5.d4 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bg5 a5 11.Nc3 Ra6 12.e3 Rb6 13.Qe2 Nbd7 14.Rfd1 Bxf3 15.Bxf3 c6 16.Qc2 Ne8 17.Bxe7 Qxe7 18.Na2 Nef6 19.Qc3 Ra8 20.Rd2 e5 21.dxe5 Qxe5 22.Rad1 Qxc3 23.Nxc3 Nf8 24.Be4 Nxe4 25.Nxe4 Rb4 26.Nc5 g6 27.Rc2 b6 28.Nd3 Rd8 29.Rxc6 Ne6 30.Kg2 Nc5 31.Nxb4 Rxd1 32.Rc8+ Kg7 33.Nc6 Nxa4 34.b3 Nb2 35.Ne5 Nd3 36.Nxd3 Rxd3 37.b4 axb4 38.Rc6 b5 39.Rc5 Kf6 40.Rxb5 Rb3 41.g4 1/2-1/2

            It looked like Topalov had Adams over a barrel but Mickey fought back to the draw. Veselin said that he made a mistake around move 40 and after that it was a draw.

            Round 6, Dec. 10, 2015
            Topalov, Veselin – Adams, Mickey
            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 c6 8.h3 b6 9.b4 a5 10.a3 h6 11.Bd3 Ba6 12.Bxa6 Rxa6 13.O-O Qc8 14.Rb1 axb4 15.axb4 Qb7 16.Ne1 Rfa8 17.Nc2 R6a7 18.f3 Qc8 19.Qd3 bxc5 20.bxc5 e5 21.dxe5 Nxc5 22.Qd2 Nfd7 23.Nd4 Ne6 24.Rfc1 Nxf4 25.exf4 Bc5 26.Kh2 Bxd4 27.Qxd4 Nf8 28.Qd2 Ng6 29.Rb2 Qd7 30.Ne2 Ra4 31.Rbc2 R8a6 32.Nd4 Ne7 33.Nb3 Qf5 34.Nc5 Ra8 35.Nxa4 Rxa4 36.g3 g5 37.fxg5 hxg5 38.Re1 Ng6 39.e6 fxe6 40.Rxc6 Ne5 41.Rc8+ Kf7 42.Rf1 Nxf3+ 43.Rxf3 Qxf3 44.Qc2 Kg7 45.Qxa4 Qf2+ 46.Kh1 Qf1+ 47.Kh2 1/2-1/2

            The last game still going after five hours is Grischuk-Anand. The computer evaluation is that Grischuk has the better position with the connected passed pawns. The commentators are not sure if Anand can draw at move 50. A couple of weak moves by Anand and Grischuk wins the game.

            In an interview after, Grischuk is asked whose computer he would like to peek at to see the analyses on it. Others have answered the question with Carlsen’s and Giri’s but Alexander thinks that Kramnik’s analyses would be the most interesting!

            Round 6, Dec. 10, 2015
            Grischuk, Alexander – Anand, Vishy
            A20 English Opening

            1. c4 e5 2. d3 Nc6 3. Nf3 f5 4. g3 Nf6 5. Bg2 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Bxd2+ 7. Qxd2 O-O 8. Nc3 d6 9. O-O Bd7 10. Nd5 Nxd5 11. cxd5 Ne7 12. Qb4 Nxd5 13. Qxb7 c6 14. Nd2 Nb6 15. Qa6 d5 16. Rac1 f4 17. Nf3 Qf6 18. Qa5 Kh8 19. b3 Bg4 20. Qc3 e4 21. Qxf6 Rxf6 22. Nd4 f3 23. exf3 exf3 24. Bh1 Rc8 25. Rfe1 h6 26. b4 Na4 27. Re3 Rcf8 28. h3 Bxh3 29. Rxf3 Bd7 30. Bg2 g5 31. Rxf6 Rxf6 32. Nf3 Kg7 33. Ne5 Be8 34. Bh3 h5 35. d4 Nb6 36. Rc3 Nc4 37. Nxc4 dxc4 38. Rxc4 Rd6 39. a3 Bf7 40. Rc5 Rxd4 41. Rxg5+ Kf6 42. Rf5+ Kg6 43. Rc5 Rd1+ 44. Kh2 Bd5 45. Bg2 Rd2 46. Bxd5 cxd5 47. Kg2 Kf5 48. Ra5 Ke4 49. Rxa7 d4 50. b5 Rb2 51. a4 Kd3 52. Rb7 Ra2 53. b6 Rxa4 54. Rb8 1-0

            The online tweets are anticipating the Carlsen-Nakamura matchup tomorrow. Someone quotes Yeats: "And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?" I take this to mean that bearded Hikaru will win but I suspect that is not the interpretation others would make!

            So lots of Yates and Yeats.

            Standing After Round Six

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

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            • #21
              Re: London Chess Classic 2015

              Nakamura is the longest shot on the board in Round 7 at 87/10, not surprising given his +0, -11, =18 record against Carlsen ):

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

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: London Chess Classic 2015

                London Chess Classic 2015

                Round Seven

                December 11, 2015

                Jan Gustafsson starts off in the chair with David Howell but says that he has to go off to play for Baden Baden tomorrow.

                When you hear Baden Baden you think of the Gambit Tournament of 1914 and the International of 1925.

                The Queen’s Gambit was disallowed in the former but there are lots of King’s and Evans Gambits. This ‘diluted’ tournament was won by Spielmann ahead of Tartakower and Schlechter.

                Alekhine won the 1925 tournament ahead of Rubinstein, Saemisch, Bogoljubow, Tartakower, Marshall and fourteen players, including Yates.

                There is a book “Alles über Schach in Baden Erinnerungen zum Jubiläum 1910 – 1985”, which will tell you probably more than you want to know about chess in Baden.

                The transmission today was halted by technical problems and much of the dialogue between the commentators was initially lost.

                For example, Danny King was going to show the game Yates-Reti, New York 1924 to educate Jan about the English Grandmaster, when the sound and picture disappeared and couldn’t be played back.

                There was the alternative of watching the American coverage but I passed on that. It is probably best to just give the games and leave it at that.

                (Tarjei Svensen) - Great commentary by ‪Jan, and good luck reaching that 7:30 flight!

                The first game to finish is Aronian over Topalov.

                London Chess Classic
                Round 7, Dec. 11, 2015
                Aronian, Levon – Topalov, Veselin
                A34 English, Symmetrical, Three Knights System

                1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nb4 6.Bc4 Nd3+ 7.Ke2 Nf4+ 8.Kf1 Ne6 9.b4 cxb4 10.Nd5 g6 11.d4 Bg7 12.Be3 Nc6 13.Rc1 Bd7 14.Qd2 Qa5 15.h4 Rc8 16.Bb3 Qb5+ 17.Kg1 h6 18.Kh2 g5 19.Rhd1 Kf8 20.Kg1 Rd8 21.hxg5 hxg5 22.Bxg5 Nxg5 23.Qxg5 Bh6 24.Qh4 Bg7 25.Qf4 Bh6 26.Ng5 Bxg5 27.Qxg5 1-0

                Round 7, Dec. 11, 2015
                Caruana, Fabiano – Giri, Anish
                A45 Trompovsky Attack (Ruth, Opocensky Opening)

                1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 d5 3.e3 c5 4.Bxf6 gxf6 5.dxc5 Nc6 6.c3 e6 7.b4 a5 8.Qb3 f5 9.Nf3 Bg7 10.b5 Nb8 11.Nbd2 O-O 12.Rc1 Nd7 13.c6 bxc6 14.bxc6 Nb8 15.Bb5 Qb6 16.Ba4 Qc5 17.O-O Nxc6 18.c4 Ne7 19.cxd5 Qxd5 20.Qa3 Qb7 21.Rc4 Rd8 22.Rb1 Qa7 23.Qc1 Ba6 24.Rc7 Rdc8 25.Rxa7 Rxc1+ 26.Rxc1 Rxa7 27.Rc5 Bb7 28.Nb3 Bd5 29.Nfd2 Be5 30.Rxa5 Rxa5 31.Nxa5 Bxa2 32.Bb3 Bc3 33.Bxa2 Bxa5 34.Nf3 Bc7 35.Nd2 Ba5 36.Nf3 Bc7 1/2-1/2

                Round 7, Dec. 11, 2015
                Adams, Mickey – Grischuk, Alexander
                B91 Sicilian, Najdorf, Zagreb (Fianchetto) Variation

                1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.g3 g6 7.Bg2 Bg7 8.O-O O-O 9.h3 Nc6 10.Be3 Bd7 11.Nd5 Rc8 12.c3 Ne5 13.a4 Nxd5 14.exd5 Nc4 15.Bc1 Qa5 16.Re1 Rfe8 17.Ra2 b5 18.Nc6 Bxc6 19.dxc6 e6 20.Qe2 Ne5 21.b4 Qc7 22.axb5 axb5 23.Qxb5 Nxc6 24.Be3 d5 25.Bf4 Be5 26.Bd2 Bg7 27.Bf4 Be5 28.Bd2 Bg7 29.Bf4 1/2-1/2


                MVL got a nice applause from the audience for this game when he came in for the postmortem.

                Round 7, Dec. 11, 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.Nd5 Nbd7 10.Qd3 O-O 11.c4 b5 12.Nd2 Nc5 13.Bxc5 dxc5 14.b3 Bxd5 15.cxd5 Ne8 16.O-O Nd6 17.a4 Bg5 18.Nf3 Bf4 19.axb5 f5 20.Nd2 Qg5 21.Rad1 axb5 22.exf5 Ra3 23.Ne4 c4 24.Qc2 Qxf5 25.Qb2 Rxb3 26.Qxb3 cxb3 27.Nxd6 Qg6 28.Nxb5 e4 29.d6 b2 30.Nd4 Qxd6 31.Bc4+ Kh8 32.Ne6 Bxh2+ 33.Kh1 Rxf2 34.Ng5 Bg3 0-1

                After five and a half hours Carlsen with pawns and two bishops is playing against Nakamura’s two knights and pawns. There is a Brains Trust of Malcolm Pein, Danny King and David Howell explaining the variations. It is nice to have the World No. 1 playing the World No. 2 in your tournament!

                (Tarjei Svensen) - Carlsen showed up 6 mins late for his game vs Naka. As far as I know he's the only one not staying at the official hotel nearby

                (Tarjei Svensen) - 10 moves, and Carlsen - Nakamura still follows the rapid game Tregubov - Anand (Corsica '14) in which Anand won.

                Round 7, Dec. 11, 2015
                Carlsen, Magnus – Nakamura, Hikaru
                D11 QGD Slav, 4.e3

                1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bg4 5. h3 Bh5 6. cxd5 cxd5 7. Nc3 e6 8. g4 Bg6 9. Ne5 Nfd7 10. Nxg6 hxg6 11. Bg2 Nc6 12. e4 dxe4 13. Nxe4 Bb4+ 14. Nc3 Nb6 15. O-O O-O 16. d5 exd5 17. Nxd5 Bc5 18. Nc3 Bd4 19. Qf3 Qf6 20. Qxf6 Bxf6 21. Bf4 Rad8 22. Rad1 Bxc3 23. bxc3 Na4 24. c4 Nc3 25. Rd2 Rxd2 26. Bxd2 Ne2+ 27. Kh2 Rd8 28. Be3 Nc3 29. a3 Rd3 30. Rc1 Nd1 31. Be4 Rd7 32. Bc5 Nb2 33. Rc2 Na4 34. Be3 Nb6 35. c5 Nd5 36. Rd2 Nf6 37. Rxd7 Nxd7 38. Kg3 Kf8 39. f4 Nf6 40. Bf3 Ke7 41. f5 gxf5 42. gxf5 Kd7 43. Kf4 Ne8 44. Kg5 Ke7 45. Bf4 a6 46. h4 Kf8 47. Bg3 Nf6 48. Bd6+ Ke8 49. Kf4 Nd7 50. Bg2 Kd8 51. Kg5 Ke8 52. h5 Nf6 53. h6 Nh7+ 54. Kh5 Nf6+ 55. Kg5 Nh7+ 56. Kh4 gxh6 57. Kh5 Nf6+ 58. Kxh6 Ng4+ 59. Kg7 Nd4 60. Be4 Nf2 61. Bb1 Ng4 62. Bf4 f6 63. Be4 Nf2 64. Bb1 Ng4 65. Be4 Nf2 66. Bxb7 Nd3 67. Kxf6 Nxf4 68. Ke5 Nfe2 69. f6 a5 70. a4 Kf7 71. Bd5+ Kf8 72. Ke4 Nc2 73. c6 Nc3+ 74. Ke5 Nxa4 75. Bb3 Nb6 76. Bxc2 a4 77. c7 Kf7 78. Bxa4 1-0

                - Carlsen's dismantling of Nakamura utilizing the two bishops vs the two knights is a work of beauty!

                I'm also really happy for MVL, I hope he wins this!

                - Mr. Carlsen is back

                - Carlsen-Nakamura was an all-time great game.

                - Carlsen continues to show that he, much more than anyone else, can create problems for his opponents in positions where the defense is difficult (if not nigh impossible for mere humans).

                - Kxf6 was indeed the star move by Carlsen, though I have to think he had planned it when he repeated Bb1/Be4 (and Nakamura practically provoked the whole thing by playing f6 in the first place). He slipped up with 69. f6? (wrong pawn to the sixth rank), but Nakamura returned the favor by 71... Kf8? He must have missed the idea of forking the mutually-defending knights by the king retreat Ke5-e4-e3 and thus freezing them, very nice from Carlsen! - else Kg6 would be tried, which keeps contact on the f6 pawn and White is almost in zugzwang since the Bd5 can't keep controlling both f7 and c6 (else Nd4-c6-b4). So 72. f7 Kg7 and Black holds by the skin of his teeth

                - I don´t think anyone can assure 71...Kg6 was a draw, that so complex position deserves a deep study, though of course it was a better move than Kf8, which lost on the spot.
                Last edited by Wayne Komer; Friday, 11th December, 2015, 10:01 PM.

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: London Chess Classic 2015

                  I think I prefer Nigel Short's description of Aronian's opening, Wayne (:

                  Nigel Short ‏@nigelshortchess 9 h
                  Good to see @LevAronian playing the Drunken Evans Gambit. Actually, this line is pretty dangerous @LondonChess I have even played it myself.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: London Chess Classic 2015

                    Despite being a perfect 2/2 against Carlsen this year (and +5, -8, =8 in 21 total encounters), Topalov is 41/5 to run that streak to 3 tomorrow with the White pieces (his Norway and Sinquefield wins were both with Black). While tempted, I can't quite bring myself to bet on someone in such wretched form in London ):

                    Anand, also in poor form, is an even bigger dog at 89/10 with Black against Caruana. Those odds don't tempt me in the least, however, given Anand's very uninspiring +1, -2, =13 lifetime score against Caruana ):

                    Adams, despite being in good form (7 draws against higher rated opponents), surprisingly is the biggest dog of all at 10/1 to beat the tournament leader, Lagrave, with Black. Adams is +2, -2, =5 in 9 previous encounters with Lagrave so 10/1 does seem somewhat excessive.

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

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: London Chess Classic 2015

                      Levon Aronian is always a great interview. I love the two cited Tarrasch quotes but I think Levon trumped those with his own, "I have a Queen and he has something that used to be a Queen." (:

                      http://www.chess.com/news/vachier-la...r-round-7-4399

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: London Chess Classic 2015

                        London Chess Classic 2015

                        December 13, 2015

                        Round Eight

                        From chess24.com:

                        Anish Giri is favourite to win the 2015 Grand Chess Tour after a smoothly calculated win over Hikaru Nakamura in the penultimate round of both the London Chess Classic and the series. Magnus Carlsen was back playing with the precision that took him to the top, but the 50-move draw rule came to Veselin Topalov’s rescue, while Vishy Anand also had a narrow escape against Fabiano Caruana. The likes of Aronian, Carlsen and Grischuk all need to win in what should be a thrilling final round tomorrow.

                        https://chess24.com/en/read/news/lon...akamura-s-woes

                        London Classic 2015
                        Round 8, Dec. 12, 2015
                        Giri, Anish – Nakamura, Hikaru
                        A07 Reti, King’s Indian Attack

                        1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 e6 4.O-O Be7 5.d3 O-O 6.Nbd2 c5 7.e4 Nc6 8.Re1 Qc7 9.Qe2 b5 10.a4 b4 11.exd5 exd5 12.Nb3 Re8 13.Bf4 Qb6 14.a5 Qb5 15.Qd2 Be6 16.a6 Bf8 17.Ne5 Nxe5 18.Bxe5 Nd7 19.Bf4 Qb6 20.c3 Rac8 21.Qc2 d4 22.Nd2 h6 23.h4 dxc3 24.bxc3 bxc3 25.Qxc3 Nf6 26.Nc4 Qd8 27.Bb7 Nd5 28.Qd2 Nxf4 29.Qxf4 Qxd3 30.Ne5 Qd6 31.Rad1 Qc7 32.Nc6 Qxc6 33.Bxc6 Rxc6 34.Qa4 Rec8 35.Rd8 c4 36.Rxc8 Rxc8 37.Rxe6 fxe6 38.Qd7 Rc5 39.Qxe6+ Kh7 40.Qf7 Bd6 41.h5 Rg5 42.Kg2 c3 43.f4 1-0

                        Round 8, Dec. 12, 2015
                        Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime – Adams, Michael
                        C95 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Breyer, Borisenko Variation

                        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 Nb8 10.d4 Nbd7 11.Nbd2 Bb7 12.Bc2 Re8 13.Nf1 Bf8 14.Ng3 g6 15.Bg5 h6 16.Bd2 Bg7 17.a4 c5 18.d5 c4 19.b4 cxb3 20.Bxb3 Nc5 21.c4 Qd7 22.cxb5 axb5 23.a5 Reb8 24.Bc2 Bc8 25.Rb1 Qd8 26.Qc1 Kh7 27.Qa3 Ne8 28.Ne2 Nc7 29.Nc3 Bd7 30.Na2 N7a6 31.Nb4 Be8 32.Ra1 Nxb4 33.Qxb4 Na6 34.Qb3 Nc5 35.Qb4 Na6 36.Qb3 Nc5 37.Qb4 1/2-1/2

                        Round 8, Dec. 12, 2015
                        Grischuk, Alexander – Aronian, Levon
                        A14 English, Symmetrical, Hedgehog

                        1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 e6 4.O-O Be7 5.c4 O-O 6.b3 b6 7.Bb2 Bb7 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.d4 Nd7 10.Re1 N5f6 11.Nc3 c5 12.e4 cxd4 13.Nxd4 Bc5 14.Re2 Qb8 15.Rd2 a6 16.Qe2 Ra7 17.Re1 Ne5 18.Kh1 Qa8 19.f4 Ng6 20.Nc2 Rd8 21.Red1 Rxd2 22.Rxd2 h5 23.Qd1 Ng4 24.Qe1 Bc6 25.h3 Nf6 26.b4 Bf8 27.Qe3 Rd7 28.Rxd7 Nxd7 29.a3 h4 30.Nd4 Bb7 31.f5 exf5 32.Nxf5 Nde5 33.Nd5 Nc4 34.Qd4 Nxb2 35.Qxb2 hxg3 36.Nh6+ gxh6 37.Nf6+ Kh8 38.Nh5+ Kg8 39.Nf6+ Kh8 40.Nh5+ Kg8 1/2-1/2

                        Round 8, Dec. 12, 2015
                        Topalov, Veselin – Carlsen, Magnus
                        D41 QGD, Semi-Tarrasch (5.cxd5)

                        1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 cxd4 8.cxd4 Bb4+ 9.Bd2 Bxd2+ 10.Qxd2 O-O 11.Bc4 Nd7 12.O-O b6 13.a4 Bb7 14.Rfe1 Nf6 15.Bd3 h6 16.a5 a6 17.axb6 Qxb6 18.Rab1 Qc7 19.Rbc1 Qe7 20.Qa5 Rfc8 21.Rxc8+ Rxc8 22.Nd2 Qd7 23.Qb6 Rc3 24.Bxa6 Bxa6 25.Qxa6 Qxd4 26.Nf3 Qc5 27.e5 Nd5 28.Qa8+ Kh7 29.Qb7 Rc1 30.Qb2 Rc2 31.Qd4 g5 32.g3 Kg7 33.Qxc5 Rxc5 34.Re4 Kg6 35.h3 Ne7 36.h4 Kf5 37.Ra4 Nc6 38.hxg5 hxg5 39.g4+ Kg6 40.Re4 Ne7 41.Kg2 Nd5 42.Kg3 Rc3 43.Re1 Ra3 44.Re4 Ra8 45.Rc4 Rh8 46.Re4 Nc3 47.Re3 Rc8 48.Re1 Rc4 49.Re3 Ne4+ 50.Kg2 Ra4 51.Re1 Nc5 52.Kg3 Rf4 53.Nd2 Nd3 54.Re2 Ra4 55.Nf3 Ra8 56.Re3 Rd8 57.Re4 Rh8 58.Rc4 Ra8 59.Rc3 Nf4 60.Rc4 Ne2+ 61.Kg2 Rh8 62.Re4 Nf4+ 63.Kg1 Ra8 64.Nh4+ Kh6 65.Ng2 Nd3 66.Ne1 Ra1 67.Kf1 Kg6 68.Re3 Nf4 69.Re4 Kg7 70.Kg1 Nd3 71.Kf1 Kf8 72.Re3 Nf4 73.Kg1 Ra4 74.Kh2 Nd5 75.Rg3 Kg7 76.Nd3 Rd4 77.Kg1 Nb6 78.Kf1 Re4 79.Kg2 Nc4 80.Kh3 Rd4 81.Kg2 Kf8 82.Kf1 Ke7 83.Ke2 Re4+ 84.Kd1 Nxe5 85.Nxe5 Rxe5 86.Kd2 Kf6 87.Ra3 Kg6 88.Ra6 f5 89.gxf5+ Kxf5 90.Ra3 Kf4 91.Rb3 g4 92.Ra3 Re4 93.Rb3 e5 94.Ra3 Rb4 95.Ke2 Rb1 96.Ra4+ e4 97.Ra3 1/2-1/2

                        Colin McGourty writing in chess24.com:

                        For a long time in this game it seemed the old Magnus was very much back. The day before he’d ground down his “client” Nakamura in a brilliant endgame where he started with a clear advantage, while today he employed all his tricks to squeeze something out of very close to nothing – a rook and knight each and four pawns on the same side of the board, with just White’s over-extended e-pawn as a clear weakness. We’d been here before, though, so despite Topalov managing his time sensibly (at one stage after move 40 the players had over 3 hours between them left on their clocks!) and playing relatively well it was no surprise that his position gradually began to deteriorate…

                        He was saved by the bell, though, or rather the 50-move rule:

                        The last pawn move or capture was on move 39, so on move 89 Topalov would be able to claim a draw – not that he seemed to be aware of it after the game! That meant that here, on move 84, Carlsen felt obliged to take the pawn while allowing an exchange of knights: 84…Nxe5 85. Nxe5 Rxe5. Veselin could already breathe a sigh of relief, and after 86. Kd2 Kf6 87. Ra3 Kg6 88. Ra6! (pinning the e6-pawn) 88…f5 he was able to take on f5 safe in the knowledge that Magnus would have to spoil his pawn structure. The game was then soon drawn on move 97.
                        Afterwards Magnus called the 50-move draw rule in this case “just ridiculous, ” since it had interfered with the normal course of events.

                        Round 8, Dec 12, 2015
                        Caruana, Fabiano – Anand, Viswanathan
                        E05 Catalan, Open, Classical Line

                        1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 e6 3.d4 Nf6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qa4 a6 8.Qxc4 b5 9.Qc2 Bb7 10.Bd2 Bd6 11.Ng5 Bxg2 12.Kxg2 Nbd7 13.e4 e5 14.dxe5 Nxe5 15.f4 Nc4 16.Bc1 h6 17.Nf3 Ng4 18.Re1 Bc5 19.Nc3 Qd6 20.Nd1 Rad8 21.h3 Qxd1 22.Qxd1 Rxd1 23.Rxd1 Nge3+ 24.Bxe3 Nxe3+ 25.Kh2 Nxd1 26.Rxd1 Re8 27.e5 f6 28.Rd5 Bf8 29.Kg2 c5 30.Kf2 fxe5 31.Nxe5 c4 32.Ke3 Bb4 33.Ke4 Be1 34.g4 c3 35.bxc3 Bxc3 36.h4 b4 37.h5 a5 38.Rxa5 b3 39.Ra7 b2 40.Rb7 Ra8 41.Kd3 Bxe5 42.fxe5 Rxa2 43.Ke4 Ra1 44.Rxb2 Kf7 45.Rb7+ Ke6 46.Rb6+ Kf7 47.Rb7+ Ke6 48.Rxg7 Ra4+ 49.Kf3 Kxe5 50.Re7+ Kf6 51.Rh7 Kg5 52.Rg7+ Kh4 53.Rg6 Rb4 54.Rxh6 Rb3+ 55.Kf4 Rb4+ 56.Ke5 Kxg4 57.Rh8 Rb5+ 58.Ke4 Rxh5 59.Rxh5 Kxh5 1/2-1/2

                        Standings after Round Eight

                        1. Giri, Anish 5
                        2. Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 5
                        3. Aronian, Levon 4.5
                        4. Carlsen, Magnus 4.5
                        5. Grischuk, Alexander 4.5
                        6. Caruana, Fabiano 4
                        7. Adams, Michael 4
                        8. Nakamura, Hikaru 3.5
                        9. Anand, Viswanathan 3
                        10. Topalov, Veselin 2

                        A tie for first will lead to a playoff, so the top five players all still have a real chance of winning the tournament and earning 12-13 Grand Chess Tour points

                        Final Round Pairings

                        Anand-Giri
                        Adams-Caruana
                        Aronian-MVL
                        Carlsen-Grischuk
                        Nakamura-Topalov

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: London Chess Classic 2015

                          Adams has a nice plus score against Caruana, +6, -2, =4 so those 69/10 odds with White seem somewhat enticing (:

                          Ditto for Topalov against Nakamura, +5, -2, =5. And despite losing his last two games, Nakamura is the 73/50 favourite and Topalov the 99/10 dog with Black. Given both players have essentially nothing to play for, the 5/6 draw odds also strike me as perhaps attractive (:

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

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: London Chess Classic 2015

                            Both Nigel Short and Anish Giri comment upon Kramnik moving up to #2 in the world.

                            Nigel Short ‏@nigelshortchess 21 h
                            It is funny how Kramnik has risen from no.4 to no.2 in the world by sitting on his arse at home in Geneva #LondonChess

                            “There is no world number two right now, with all respect to Vladimir Kramnik. He might as well be number seven had other players played differently in the tournament. Caruana had a slump, Hikaru is unstable as well,” Giri told Chess.com.

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: London Chess Classic 2015

                              I very much like Nigel Short's most recent tweet (:

                              Nigel Short ‏@nigelshortchess 4 min.
                              As long as organisers remain in thrall to the Elo system, "accountancy-chess" will be a major blight #LondonChess

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: London Chess Classic 2015

                                London Chess Classic 2015

                                Final Round

                                December 13, 2015

                                All games today were drawn with the exception of Carlsen-Grischuk, which Carlsen won.

                                - Crazy day in London! After winning his final game against Grischuk, Carlsen joins MVL and Giri in the lead!

                                - There will be a 3-way play-off for the LCC final standings. Giri-MVL will start at 6.45 (two rapid games) and the winner will play Carlsen!

                                Final Standing After Round Nine

                                Giri 5.5
                                MVL 5.5
                                Carlsen 5.5
                                Aronian 5
                                Grischuk 4.5
                                Adams 4.5
                                Caruana 4.5
                                Nakamura 4
                                Anand 3.5
                                Topalov 2.5

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