Tal Memorial 2016

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 22nd September, 2016, 02:49 PM

Re: Tal Memorial 2016

Tal Memorial 2016

September 15, 2016

The lineup for the Tal Memorial

Thursday, 15/09/2016

The tenth Mikhail Tal Memorial will take place from September 25 to October 6 at the Moscow Museum of Russian impressionism. The participants:

Vladimir Kramnik
Levon Aronian
Vishy Anand
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Anish Giri
Li Chao
Peter Svidler
Boris Gelfand
Ian Nepomniachtchi
Evgeny Tomashevsky

The competition will be held in nine rounds with two days off - after the 2nd and 6th rounds. Time control - (100 '/ 40 + 50' / 20 + 15) + 30 '' / stroke. The draw is scheduled on September 25 in a blitz.

http://www.chess-news.ru/node/22057

reposted September 22, 2016

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 25th September, 2016, 11:56 AM

Re: Tal Memorial 2016

Tal Memorial 2016

September 25, 2016

Blitz

The classical tournament starts tomorrow.

Today is the nine-round blitz tourney to decide the places for the classical. I believe the blitz starts at noon Toronto/Montreal time. Evgenij Miroshnichenko is giving the English commentary at

https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-to...16-blitz/1/1/1

You can also follow it on chessbomb.com

http://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2016-...memorial-blitz

The rate of play is 3 minutes all moves + 2-second increment from move 1.

The first round has these pairings:

Anand-Gelfand
Aronian-Nepomniachtchi
Giri-Li
Kramnik-Tomashevsky
Mamedyarov-Svidler

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 25th September, 2016, 12:42 PM

Re: Tal Memorial 2016

Tal Memorial 2016

September 25, 2016

Blitz (continued)

Almost half an hour into the blitz tournament, it has not officially started. This is because Kramnik has not arrived. Some of the comments in the chat room:

- kramnik was planning to arrive in russia a few minutes before the event starts, that’s ridiculous

- it's his fault to choose the last possible flight and not taking possible delay into consideration

- agreed, i would expect the players to come at least 8 hours in advance

- 25 mins later, Kramnik still not there

- this is terrible. the official source should at least inform about what is happening on site

- Tal is rolling in his grave

- couldn't they just start playing and when Vlad arrives he would give a simul

- just forfeit kramnik

- Tal would be on his second bottle vodka and tenth cigarette by now

- Hearing Kramnik has arrived - Round 1 should start in 10 mins or so

The games have started!

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 25th September, 2016, 01:43 PM

Re: Tal Memorial 2016

Tal Memorial 2016

September 25, 2016

Blitz

After Five Rounds

There are two commentators. Daniil Dubov has joined Evgeniy Miroshnichenko. He is 20 years old but looks younger. They make a good team.

This from an interview of D.D. in 2011:

The interviewer is Alexander Ipatov

A.I. : What are your best achievements in chess?
D.D. : I became a Grandmaster when I was 14. This year I have won the Moscow Rapid Championship. I had also many successes in youth tournaments.

A.I. : What is your goal in chess?
D.D. : I want to become a very strong chessplayer – at minimum in a top-10 level. Without this goal chess doesn’t seem as a good profession for me.

A.I. : Who are you favourite players?
D.D. : Well, I like all players of “Big four” (Carlsen, Anand, Aronian, Kramnik). I also like games of Tomashevsky and Gashimov – they are my favourite players who are not in Top-10.

A.I. : Who is your coach now and does he suit you?
D.D. : My current coach is Sergey Shipov, a well-known Grandmaster and commentator. We are in good relationships with him and we train very hard, so everything is OK!

A.I. : When will you play the World Championship Match against Magnus Carlsen?
D.D. : Well, if it will even happen, then it will be in 7-8 years.

A.I. : Are you going to become a professional chessplayer or you will have another job?
D.D. : At the moment I’m planning to become a chess professional, but I’m also studying at prestigious school, so I will have other possibilities for my future.

A.I. : What do you think about the chess theory progress?
D.D. : The chess theory is growing up day by day, not like some decades ago. A lot of people like to play Chess960 to avoid complicated opening stuff. I think that this is a good alternative, but nothing more.

A.I. : How can you describe your playing style?
D.D. : My coach has described it as being akin to that of Petrosian – I think, he is right. I prefer strategic decisions to tactic ones, but now I am going to become more versatile, so I will play more aggressive and with greater ambition.

A.I. : When will your generation beat Anand’s one?
D.D. : Well, it is a really interesting question. First, what is a generation? If you mean guys who were born in 1994-1998, then I think that we won’t meet with Anand, Gelfand etc. As for the early 90′s generation – I believe they are still stronger, but I’m sure that we will catch them up soon!

A.I. : Who are the best players in a chess history in your opinion?
D.D. : I think Karpov, Carlsen, Kasparov, Fischer, Anand, Kramnik and Petrosian.

Standings after Round Five

1. Mamedyarov 4.5
2. Aronian 3.0
3. Tomashevsky 3.0
4. Anand 2.5
5. Kramnik 2.5
6. Svidler 2.5
7. Nepomniachtchi 2.0
8. Gelfand 2.0
9. Giri 1.5
10. Li Chao 1.5

- mamedyarov unstoppable
- Shakhriyar is killing it today
- Mamedyarov is teaching them how to play
- Mamad at his best.

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 25th September, 2016, 02:41 PM

Re: Tal Memorial 2016

Tal Memorial 2016

September 25, 2016

Blitz

Final Standings

1. Mamedyarov 7.5/9
2. Aronian 5.5/9
3. Nepomniachtchi 5.0/9
4. Svidler 5.0/0
5. Giri 5.0/9
6. Kramnik 4.5/9
7. Gelfand 3.5/9
8. Tomashevsky 3.0/9
9. Li Chao 3.0/9
10. Anand 3.0/9

Mamedyarov will get an extra white in the classical.

**Graham Price** · Sunday, 25th September, 2016, 04:58 PM

Re: Tal Memorial 2016

Originally posted by Wayne Komer View Post

Tal Memorial 2016

This from an interview of D.D. in 2011:

The interviewer is Alexander Ipatov

A.I. : How can you describe your playing style?
D.D. : My coach has described it as being akin to that of Petrosian – I think, he is right. I prefer strategic decisions to tactic ones, but now I am going to become more versatile, so I will play more aggressive and with greater ambition.

A.I. : Who are the best players in a chess history in your opinion?
D.D. : I think Karpov, Carlsen, Kasparov, Fischer, Anand, Kramnik and Petrofina.

Yep, hard to argue with Petrofina as one of the best. I guess it is some sort of auto correct of Petrosian although
Petrosian is correct in the answer above.

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 25th September, 2016, 07:35 PM

Re: Tal Memorial 2016

Tal Memorial 2016

September 25, 2016

Graham, I don’t suppose you’d believe that I have a copy of Petrofina’s Best Games of Chess 1946-63 by P. H. Clarke…

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 25th September, 2016, 07:39 PM

Re: Tal Memorial 2016

Tal Memorial 2016

September 25, 2016

Classical

Pairings

Round 1, Sept. 26
Svidler-Kramnik
Nepo-Tomashevsky
Aronian-Gelfand
Giri-Anand
Mamedyarov-Li Chao

Round 2, Sept. 27
Kramnik-Li Chao
Anand-Mamedyarov
Gelfand-Giri
Tomashevsky-Aronian
Svidler-Nepo

Round 3, Sept. 29
Nepo-Kramnik
Aronian-Svidler
Giri-Tomashevsky
Mamedyarov-Gelfand
Li Chao-Anand

Round 4, Sept. 30
Kramnik-Anand
Gelfand-Li Chao
Tomashevsky-Mamedyarov
Svidler-Giri
Nepo-Aronian

Round 5, Oct. 1
Aronian-Kramnik
Giri-Nepo
Mamedyarov-Svidler
Li Chao-Tomashevsky
Anand-Gelfand

Round 6, Oct. 2
Kramnik-Gelfand
Tomashevsky-Anand
Svidler-Li Chao
Nepo-Mamedyarov
Aronian-Giri

Round 7, Oct. 4
Giri-Kramnik
Mamedyarov-Aronian
Li Chao-Nepo
Anand-Svidler
Gelfand-Tomashevsky

Round 8, Oct. 5
Kramnik-Tomashevsky
Svidler-Gelfand
Nepo-Anand
Aronian-Li Chao
Giri-Mamedyarov

Round 9, Oct. 6
Mamedyarov-Kramnik
Li Chao-Giri
Anand-Aronian
Gelfand-Nepo
Tomashevsky-Svidler

Rounds at 15:00 local, 8:00 a.m. Toronto/Montreal

https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-to...ial-2016/1/1/1
______

At a press conference earlier today, another world champion, Viswanathan Anand, shared his personal thoughts about his predecessor.

"Even though Mikhail Tal was only world champion for one year, I think he won more fans in that year than many others in their lifetime. He is obviously one of the most popular world champions ever. I have a personal connection as well in that I grew up in the Mikhail Tal Chess Club in my hometown of Chennai. I even had the privilege of playing him, and Boris Vasilievich [Spassky] was in the same tournament in Cannes, many years back. We were commentators once together, in Brussels, where I had a chance to meet him as well. He was one of the nicest people I've met. It's an honor. I am glad that his memory is being kept alive."

The tournament was attended by many chess celebrities including former world champions Anatoly Karpov and Boris Spassky.

The latter was briefly given the mic at the press conference.

Sadly Spassky's anecdotes had to be interrupted to keep a tight schedule. The schedule turned out to be less tight when Vladimir Kramnik arrived late—his flight had been delayed. Luckily the 14th world champion did arrive, and after a half-hour delay, the tournament took off.

For coverage of the blitz and an introduction to the classical tournament see:

https://www.chess.com/news/mamedyaro...ial-blitz-9158

**Wayne Komer** · Monday, 26th September, 2016, 02:37 PM

Re: Tal Memorial 2016

Tal Memorial 2016

September 26, 2016

Classical

Round One

In the opening ceremony, Karpov and Spassky were there and the latter was going to tell some of his reminiscences of Tal but had to cut them short because tournament was to start.

This one is classic. Fischer played Botvinnik at the 1962 Olympiad and the game was adjourned and it looked like Fischer was going to win. The story goes that some time during the night, Geller found the drawing line and, indeed, the game was drawn the next day. Bobby featured this as one of the games in his My 60 Memorable Games.

The Spassky memory:

And now… one stupid story. In 1962 the USSR team ended up in Golden Sands, because the World Chess Olympiad was there, in Varna, Bulgaria. I don’t remember which round, but Botvinnik adjourned a game with Fischer in a worse position.

Botvinnik needed to find an escape. Our commissars couldn’t allow Botvinnik to lose that game, and they shut Misha Tal and me in a room and said look, analyse the adjourned position and find a way out for Botvinnik. Misha and I started the clock, and in five minutes played out that adjourned position and immediately came to a death sentence for Botvinnik. Things were bad for Botvinnik – Botvinnik should lose. After that Misha and I were asked to leave and told, “that’s not how things will go”. And then, ceremoniously, titans entered the room – Paul Petrovich Keres, then Efim Petrovich Geller and, who else? Isaac Yefremovich Boleslavsky, it seems.

During that time Misha and I had already made our exit and given them the slip. We found Fischer and fed him black caviar – we had no vodka. Bobby was very happy. Bobby spent his time listening to some Soviet broadcasts, in English, and was hungry. Bobby was always hungry, and Misha was having fun. Misha was always having fun. I know other stories, but they’re absolutely forbidden...

At 7am in the morning, Geller found an escape for Botvinnik. Botvinnik came to the resumption of the game without his thermos flask, letting it be known that his position was hopeless. In Botvinnik’s thermos flask was orange juice, grapefruit juice, lemon, sugar… I think that’s all. When Bronstein played a match with Botvinnik, Bronstein once decided to play a joke. He came to play with a thermos flask, and knowing that Botvinnik had spies and would check everything closely, David put 5-star cognac there – pure cognac. And Botvinnik got to know about it. I don’t know what conclusions you could draw from that…

Botvinnik nevertheless made a draw in that game. Fischer was upset.

Colin McGourty at:

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/spa...shes-tal-blitz

Tal Memorial 2016, Moscow
Classical
Round 1, Sept. 26, 2016
Aronian, Levon – Gelfand, Boris
A35 English, Symmetrical, Four Knights System

1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.g3 d5 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 dxc4 7.Nxc6 Qxd1+ 8.Nxd1 bxc6 9.Bg2 Nd5 10.Ne3 e6 11.Nxc4 Ba6 12.b3 Bb4+ 13.Bd2 Ke7 14.Rc1 Rhc8 15.Ne5 c5 16.Bxb4 cxb4 17.Rxc8 Rxc8 18.Bxd5 Kd6 19.Bf3 Kxe5 20.Kd2 Rc5 21.a3 bxa3 22.Ra1 Bb5 23.Rxa3 Rc7 24.h4 h6 25.Ra2 g5 26.hxg5 hxg5 27.Rc2 Rxc2+ 28.Kxc2 Kd4 29.e3+ Kc5 30.Kc3 a5 31.Bd1 f6 32.f4 e5 33.Bf3 Be8 34.Bd1 Bb5 35.Bf3 Be8 36.Bd1 Bb5 1/2-1/2

Round 1, Sept. 26, 2016
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Tomashevsky, Evgeny
C45 Scotch, Mieses Variation, Main Line

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5 Qe7 7.Qe2 Nd5 8.c4 Ba6 9.b3 g6 10.f4 Bg7 11.Qf2 Nf6 12.Ba3 d6 13.Nc3 O-O 14.O-O-O Ne8 15.g3 Bb7 16.Bg2 f6 17.exd6 Nxd6 18.c5 Nf5 19.Rhe1 Qf7 20.Bf1 Rfd8 21.Rxd8+ Rxd8 22.Bc4 Rd5 23.Qe2 1-0

Round 1, Sept. 26, 2016
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Li Chao B
D73 Neo-Grunfeld

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 d5 5.Bg2 c5 6.O-O cxd4 7.Nxd4 O-O 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Nc3 Nxc3 10.bxc3 Nc6 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Be3 Bg4 13.Bd4 e5 14.Bc5 Qxd1 15.Rfxd1 Rfc8 16.Rd2 Bf8 17.Be3 Rab8 18.Bxa7 Ra8 19.Be3 Ra3 20.c4 Bb4 21.Rd3 Bxe2 22.Rxa3 Bxa3 23.c5 Bd3 24.Rd1 e4 25.Bf1 Rd8 26.f3 Rd5 27.fxe4 Bxe4 28.Rxd5 Bxd5 29.Bg2 Bxg2 30.Kxg2 f5 31.Kf3 Kf7 32.Kf4 Kf6 33.h4 h6 34.Kf3 g5 35.hxg5+ hxg5 36.g4 fxg4+ 37.Kxg4 Ke5 38.Bxg5 Kd5 39.Kf3 Bxc5 40.Ke2 Kc4 41.Kd2 1/2-1/2

Round 1, Sept. 26, 2016
Giri, Anish – Anand, Vishy
E10 Queen’s Pawn Game

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.Qc2 dxc4 6.e4 c5 7.Bxc4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bc5 9.Nb3 Bb6 10.O-O O-O 11.Be2 Qc7 12.Bg5 Ne5 13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.Rac1 Rd8 15.Na4 Qxc2 16.Rxc2 Bd7 17.Nxb6 axb6 18.Rd1 Kf8 19.a3 Nc6 20.Rcd2 Ke7 21.Nd4 e5 22.Nb5 Be6 23.Rxd8 Nxd8 24.Rc1 Nc6 25.Kf1 Rd8 26.Ke1 f5 27.exf5 Bxf5 28.Rd1 Rg8 29.g3 Be6 30.Kd2 f5 31.Ke3 f4+ 32.gxf4 exf4+ 33.Kxf4 Rg2 34.Ke3 Rxh2 35.Nc3 Rh3+ 36.f3 Rh5 37.Rg1 Bf7 38.b4 Ne5 39.Ne4 Nd7 40.f4 Rh2 41.Rc1 Bd5 42.Nc3 Bc6 43.Rg1 Nf6 44.Rg7+ Kd6 45.Bd3 Rh3+ 46.Kd4 Rh4 47.Ne2 b5 48.Rg5 Nd5 49.Rf5 Nc7 50.Rf7 Ne6+ 51.Kc3 h5 52.Rf6 1/2-1/2

The most interesting game was Kramnik-Svidler. Daniil and Miro picked away at the game for five hours. Vishy came in after his game and made a few comments. Perhaps Vlad will annotate this for NIC if he wins:

Round 1, Sept. 26, 2016
Svidler, Peter – Kramnik, Vladimir
A30 English, Symmetrical, Hedgehog System

1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 c5 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 b6 5.Bg2 Bb7 6.O-O Be7 7.d4 cxd4 8.Qxd4 O-O 9.Rd1 d6 10.Bg5 Nc6 11.Qd2 Qb8 12.Rac1 Rd8 13.b3 h6 14.Bf4 Ne5 15.Nd4 Bxg2 16.Kxg2 Qb7+ 17.f3 g5 18.Be3 d5 19.Bxg5 hxg5 20.Qxg5+ Ng6 21.Nxe6 Rd6 22.Nf4 Ne4 23.Qg4 Nxc3 24.Rxc3 d4 25.Rcd3 Rad8 26.Nd5 Bf8 27.Rxd4 Bg7 28.R4d2 b5 29.Qe4 Qb8 30.c5 Re8 31.Qg4 Rde6 32.e4 Qc8 33.Rc2 Ne5 34.Qf5 Qb7 35.f4 Nc6 36.e5 Nb4 37.Rcd2 f6 38.Qe4 Nxd5 39.Rxd5 fxe5 40.f5 Ra6 41.R1d2 Kh8 42.h4 Rh6 43.Kf3 Rh5 44.Qg4 Rxf5+ 45.Qxf5 Rf8 46.Qxf8+ Bxf8 47.b4 Qf7+ 48.Kg2 e4 49.Re5 Qf3+ 50.Kh2 Qc3 51.Rdd5 e3 52.Re8 Kg7 53.Kh3 Qe1 54.Rde5 Qxb4 55.Rg5+ Kf7 56.Rxe3 Bxc5 57.Rf3+ Ke6 58.Rg6+ Ke7 59.Rg7+ Ke6 60.Rg6+ Kd7 61.Rg7+ Be7 62.Re3 a5 63.h5 Kd8 64.Rg8+ Kd7 65.Rg7 Kd8 66.Rg8+ 1/2-1/2

Both players spent a considerable amount of time around move 28. Here was one of the fascinating possibilities, which looked winning for Peter:

(28. Nf6+ Bxf6 29. Rxd6 Rxd6 30. Rxd6 Qe7 31. Rd2 Qe3 32. Rc2 Bd4 33. Qe4 Qg1+ 34. Kh3 Qf1+ 35. Kg4 Ne5+ 36. Kg5 f6+ 37. Kf4 Qh3 38. Qf5 Qh6+ 39. Ke4 Bc5 40. f4 Nf7 41. Kd3 Qxh2 42. Qg6+ Kf8 43. Rd2 Bb4 44. Rd1 Ke7 45. Ke3 Bc5+ 46. Kd2 Bb4+ 47. Kd3 Bc5 48. Qe4+ Kf8)

- Svidler reaches first time control against Kramnik but it looked like all out panic in a winning position. Now Kramnik can at least fight.

- Svidler invested some time trying to find a clean win and when he didn't that allowed Kramnik to complicate.

Summary – Kramnik looked lost but Svidler didn’t find the right continuation and then he looked lost and it looked like Kramnik was going to win and then after 6.5 hours the game was drawn. The Miro broadcast closed up for the day. The players sat at the board and did a silent postmortem between themselves. Sergei Shipov added humorous comments in Russian as they analyzed.

The online viewers are happy there is no televised postmortem or it would go on for hours with those two.

**Wayne Komer** · Tuesday, 27th September, 2016, 03:38 PM

Re: Tal Memorial 2016

Tal Memorial 2016

September 27, 2016

Round Two

(ChessBase) Anand fended off a sacrificial attack by Mamedyarov to emerge up a piece in a winning endgame, despite Black's three passed pawns as compensation. A study-like finish gave a nice win to the Indian former World Champion. Meanwhile, with the black pieces, Anish Giri played a dynamic and cool game in a King's Indian, sacrificing first a pawn and then an exchange to win with a crushing attack.

http://en.chessbase.com/post/tal-rou...iri-show-power

The games:

Tal Memorial 2016
Moscow
Round 2, Sept. 27, 2016
Anand, Vishy – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
C92 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Flohr-Zaitsev System

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Bb7 10.d4 Re8 11.Nbd2 exd4 12.cxd4 Nd7 13.Nf1 Na5 14.Bc2 Bf6 15.Rb1 c5 16.d5 Nc4 17.b3 Nce5 18.N3h2 Ng6 19.Ne3 Bc8 20.Bd2 b4 21.Nhg4 a5 22.Nxf6+ Qxf6 23.g3 a4 24.bxa4 Nde5 25.f4 Nxf4 26.gxf4 Qxf4 27.Nf1 Qh4 28.Re3 Bxh3 29.Qe2 Qg4+ 30.Qxg4 Bxg4 31.a3 Nf3+ 32.Kf2 Nd4 33.Rb2 bxa3 34.Rxa3 Nxc2 35.Rxc2 Rxe4 36.a5 Bc8 37.Re3 Rf4+ 38.Rf3 Re4 39.Rb2 Ba6 40.Bc3 h5 41.Ng3 Rh4 42.Rb6 Rh2+ 43.Kg1 Rc2 44.Nf5 Bc4 45.Re3 Kh7 46.Rxd6 Rb8 47.Rb6 Rxb6 48.axb6 Bxd5 49.Nxg7 Rg2+ 50.Kf1 Rg6 51.Nxh5 Bc4+ 52.Kf2 Rxb6 53.Nf6+ Kh6 54.Rg3 1-0

Round 2, Sept. 27, 2016
Gelfand, Boris – Giri, Anish
E60 King’s Indian, Fianchetto

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 O-O 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.e3 d6 7.Nge2 e5 8.O-O exd4 9.exd4 Ne7 10.Bf4 Nf5 11.Qc1 Re8 12.h3 c6 13.g4 Ne7 14.Bh6 d5 15.c5 b6 16.cxb6 axb6 17.Re1 Bh8 18.Qf4 Nd7 19.Qd2 Nf8 20.Nf4 Ne6 21.Nce2 c5 22.dxc5 bxc5 23.Nxd5 Bb7 24.Nec3 Nxd5 25.Nxd5 Bd4 26.Nc3 Bxg2 27.Kxg2 g5 28.h4 gxh4 29.Ne4 Qd5 30.f3 Rad8 31.Rad1 Kh8 32.Bg5 f5 33.Bxd8 Rxd8 34.gxf5 Qxf5 35.Kh1 Rg8 36.Rf1 Be5 0-1

(Chess.com) Anish Giri had good reasons to be satisfied as well. After a drawing streak of nine games (eight in Baku and yesterday in Moscow) the young Dutchman won a fine game as Black against Boris Gelfand.

Whether it was his opponent's move-order of just his mood of the day, Giri went for a King's Indian type of position against White's fianchetto setup. The critical position appeared on move 23, when Gelfand decided to test Giri and accept his interesting pawn sac.

As it turned out, Black got more than enough compensation and got attacking chances on the kingside. In time trouble, Gelfand quickly made a decisive error.

"Before the tournament I was reading Gelfand's book*, so I was very well prepared for the game," laughed Giri. "Boris loves to sacrifice a pawn, so I was pleased that he was a pawn up in the game."

*Positional Decision Making in Chess (2015)

https://www.chess.com/news/good-wins...s-round-2-1948
_____

Round 2, Sept. 27, 2016
Kramnik, Vladimir – Li, Chao b
C42 Petrov, Classical Attack

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.O-O Be7 8.Nbd2 Bf5 9.Re1 Nxd2 10.Qxd2 Bxd3 11.Qxd3 O-O 12.c3 h6 13.Re2 Bd6 14.Qf5 Ne7 15.Qh5 Ng6 16.Bd2 Bf4 17.g3 Bxd2 18.Nxd2 Qg5 19.Qxg5 hxg5 20.Rae1 f6 21.Nf1 Rad8 22.Ne3 Rfe8 23.Nf5 Rxe2 24.Rxe2 Kf7 25.Kg2 Rd7 26.Kf3 Nf8 27.h4 g6 28.Nh6+ Kg7 29.Ng4 gxh4 30.gxh4 Kf7 31.Nh6+ Kg7 32.Ng4 Kf7 33.Re1 Rd6 34.Ne3 Ne6 35.Rh1 Ng7 36.a4 a6 37.b4 Rd8 38.b5 a5 39.Ng2 Nh5 40.Rb1 b6 41.Rc1 Ng7 42.Rh1 Nh5 43.Re1 Rd7 44.Kg4 Rd8 45.Kf3 Rd7 46.Ne3 Ng7 47.Ng4 Nf5 48.Rh1 Rd8 49.h5 g5 50.Ke2 Rh8 51.Kd3 Nh4 52.f4 Ng2 53.fxg5 Nf4+ 54.Ke3 Rxh5 55.Rxh5 Nxh5 56.gxf6 Nxf6 57.Nf2 Ke6 58.Kf4 Ne8 59.Ng4 Nd6 60.Ne3 Ne4 1/2-1/2

The position was more or less equal but there are no games tomorrow because of a function at the art gallery, so why not play on?

Round 2, Sept. 27, 2016
Svidler, Peter – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
D80 Grunfeld, Stockholm Variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bg5 Bg7 5.Bxf6 Bxf6 6.cxd5 c5 7.dxc5 Nd7 8.e3 O-O 9.Bc4 Nxc5 10.Nge2 Qa5 11.O-O Qb4 12.Bb3 Bf5 13.Nd4 Bd3 14.Re1 Rfd8 15.Qd2 a5 16.a3 Qb6 17.Ba2 Rac8 18.Rac1 Ba6 19.Rb1 Bd3 20.Rbc1 Ba6 21.Rb1 Bd3 22.Rbc1 1/2-1/2

Round 2, Sept. 27, 2016
Tomashevsky, Evgeny – Aronian, Levon
D56 QGD, Lasker Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 O-O 7.e3 Ne4 8.Bxe7 Qxe7 9.Rc1 c6 10.Qc2 Nd7 11.Be2 Nxc3 12.Qxc3 dxc4 13.Qxc4 e5 14.O-O exd4 15.Nxd4 Nb6 16.Qc3 Nd5 17.Qb3 a5 18.a3 a4 19.Qc4 Nb6 20.Qc3 Nd5 21.Qc4 Nb6 22.Qc3 Nd5 23.Qc4 1/2-1/2

Standings After Round Two

1. Anand 1.5
2. Giri 1.5
3. Nepo 1.5
4. Kramnik 1.0
5. Svidler 1.0
6. Li Chao 1.0
7. Aronian 1.0
8. Mamedyarov 0.5
9. Gelfand 0.5
10. Tomashevsky 0.5

Round 3 on September 29.

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 29th September, 2016, 02:57 PM

Re: Tal Memorial 2016

Tal Memorial 2016

September 29, 2016

Round Three

Tal Memorial 2016
Moscow, Classical
Round 3, Sept. 29, 2016
Aronian, Levon – Svidler, Peter
D70 Neo-Grunfeld Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.f3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nb6 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.Be3 O-O 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.O-O-O Qd6 10.Kb1 Rd8 11.Nb5 Qd7 12.d5 a6 13.Nc3 Qe8 14.Qc1 Na5 15.Bh6 Bxh6 16.Qxh6 e6 17.h4 exd5 18.h5 Qf8 19.Qf4 Qe7 20.hxg6 fxg6 21.Nge2 Be6 22.Nd4 dxe4 23.Qxe4 Rd6 24.Nxe6 Rxe6 25.Qg4 Nc6 26.Ne4 Rd8 27.Rc1 Rd5 28.Qf4 Rf5 29.Qe3 Nb4 30.Qb3 N4d5 31.a3 Ree5 32.Bd3 Kg7 33.Ka1 Nf4 34.g4 Rf8 35.Bb1 Ne6 36.Qc3 Nf4 37.Qxc7 Nfd5 38.Qxe7+ Rxe7 39.Rh2 Nf4 40.Rch1 Rh8 41.Rc1 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Sept. 29, 2016
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Kramnik, Vladimir
A30 English, Symmetrical, Hedgehog System

1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 c5 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 b6 5.Bg2 Bb7 6.O-O Be7 7.d4 cxd4 8.Qxd4 O-O 9.Rd1 d6 10.Bg5 Nc6 11.Qf4 Qb8 12.Bxf6 Bxf6 13.Rxd6 Na5 14.Rad1 Qc7 15.Rd7 Qxf4 16.gxf4 Bc6 17.Ng5 Bxd7 18.Bxa8 Bxc3 19.Rxd7 Bxb2 20.Be4 h6 21.Nf3 Nxc4 22.Rxa7 Rc8 23.Kg2 Bf6 24.Bd3 g5 25.f5 g4 26.Ne1 e5 27.Nc2 h5 28.Nb4 Kg7 29.Nd5 Bh4 30.h3 Rc5 31.hxg4 hxg4 32.Nc7 Kh6 33.Ne8 Nb2 34.Be4 Nd1 35.Nd6 Kg5 36.Rxf7 Bxf2 37.Rg7+ Kf4 38.e3+ Kxe3 39.Rxg4 Kd2 40.Bf3 Ne3+ 41.Kxf2 Nxg4+ 42.Bxg4 Rd5 43.Ne4+ Kd3 44.f6 Ra5 45.Be2+ Kd4 46.f7 Ra8 47.Ng5 1-0

- Kramnik blundered in time control, captured pawn with the wrong piece. Nepo played a great game still

36…Bxf2? Better is Nxf2

Round 3, Sept. 29, 2016
Li Chao b – Anand, Vishy
E21 Nimzo-Indian, Three Knights

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 b6 5.e3 Ne4 6.Qc2 Bb7 7.Bd3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 f5 9.O-O O-O 10.Nd2 Nxd2 11.Bxd2 Qh4 12.f3 d6 13.a4 Nc6 14.g3 Qh5 15.e4 Na5 16.Rae1 fxe4 17.fxe4 Ba6 18.Bf4 Bxc4 19.Bxc4 Nxc4 20.Qb3 d5 21.Qb5 Rac8 22.Qc6 Rfe8 23.Rf2 Na5 24.Qd7 Qf7 25.Qxf7+ Kxf7 26.Bxc7+ Kg8 27.Bf4 Nc4 28.Rfe2 Kf7 29.Rf2 Kg8 30.Rfe2 Kf7 31.Rf2 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Sept. 29, 2016
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Gelfand, Boris
D43 QGD, Semi-Slav

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.g3 Nd7 8.Bg2 dxc4 9.O-O Be7 10.Ne4 Qf5 11.Ned2 e5 12.e4 Qh5 13.Nxc4 exd4 14.Qxd4 Qc5 15.e5 O-O 16.Qe4 Nb6 17.Ne3 Qb4 18.Nd4 Rd8 19.Rad1 Qxb2 20.e6 Bxe6 21.Nxe6 fxe6 22.Bh3 Kh8 23.Bxe6 g5 24.Ng4 Rxd1 25.Rxd1 Qg7 26.Ne5 Qf6 27.Bb3 Kg7 28.Ng4 1-0

Round 3, Sept. 29, 2016
Giri, Anish – Tomashevsky, Evgeny
D02 Queen’s Pawn, London System

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.d4 e6 3.Bf4 b6 4.e3 Bb7 5.Bd3 Be7 6.h3 O-O 7.Nbd2 c5 8.c3 cxd4 9.exd4 d6 10.O-O Nbd7 11.Re1 Re8 12.Bh2 a6 13.a4 Nf8 14.Ng5 Qd7 15.Qe2 Bc6 16.Bxa6 Bxa4 17.Bd3 Bc6 18.Nc4 Qc7 19.Na3 Qb7 20.Nb5 Qd7 21.Nf3 Rxa1 22.Rxa1 Ra8 23.Rxa8 Bxa8 24.Na3 Bc6 25.Bb5 Ne8 26.Bxc6 Qxc6 27.Qb5 Qxb5 28.Nxb5 Nd7 29.Kf1 f6 30.Ke2 Kf7 31.Ne1 Nb8 32.Na7 Bd8 33.Nc2 Ke7 34.Nb4 Kd7 35.d5 exd5 36.Nxd5 Nc6 37.Nb5 Ne7 38.Ne3 d5 39.Kd3 Nc7 40.Nd4 g6 41.c4 dxc4+ 42.Kxc4 Nc6 43.Bxc7 Bxc7 44.Nf3 Bd8 45. Kb5 Kc7 46. Nd5+ Kb7 47. b4 f5 48. Kc4 Kc8 49. Nf4 Bc7 50. Ne6 Bd6 51. b5 Ne7 52. Nfg5 h5 53. Nf7 Bh2 54. Nf8 Bg1 55. f4 Be3 56. Ne5 g5 57. fxg5 Bxg5 58. Nfg6 Nxg6 59. Nxg6 Kd7 60. Kd5 Be3 61. Nh4 f4 62. Ng6 Bc1 63. Ne5+ Ke7 64. Nc4 Be3 65. g3 Bc1 66. gxf4 Bxf4 67. Nxb6 Bg3 68. Nc4 Kd7 69. b6 h4 70. Kc5 Kc8 71. Kc6 Kb8 72. Kb5 Kc8 73. Kc6 Kb8 74. Nd2 Bf4 75. Ne4 Bg3 76. Nc5 Bh2 77. Kb5 Bg1 78. Nb3 Bh2 79. Ka6 Bg3 80. Nd4 Kc8 81. b7+ Kd7 82. Ka7 1-0

Giri ground out this game for over sseven hours. Miro found near the end that he couldn’t think any more.

- Great game so far by Giri. Nice to see him squeeze the position from move 28 and do a Carlsen-like positional grind.

- Giri beat Gelfand Gelfand-style, and is now winning against Toma in Kramnik-style.

- Well done Giri

Standings After Round Three

1. Nepo 2.5
2. Giri 2.5
3. Anand 2.0
4. Svidler 1.5
5. Li Chao 1.5
6. Aronian 1.5
7. Mamedyarov
8. Kramnik 1.0
9. Gelfand 0.5
10. Tomashevsky 0.5

**Wayne Komer** · Friday, 30th September, 2016, 02:58 PM

Re: Tal Memorial 2016

Tal Memorial 2016

September 30, 2016

Round Four

Evgeny Miroshcnichenko and Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam are the commentators.

An exceptionally hard-fought tournament. After six hours Tomashevsky-Mamedyarov is still going and Svidler-Giri has just finished. We now have Giri alone in first place. It would be quite an accomplishment if he were to win this tournament!
He has won his last three games, two of them black. Tomorrow he has white against Ian Nepomniachtchi. That should be the game of the day.

The games:

Tal Memorial 2016
Moscow, Classical
Round 4, Sept. 30, 2016
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Aronian, Levon
C55 Two Knights Defence (Modern Bishop’s Opening)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O d6 6.a3 Nd7 7.Ba2 O-O 8.Nc3 Nb6 9.Ne2 Bg4 10.c3 d5 11.exd5 Bxf3 12.gxf3 Nxd5 13.f4 Qd7 14.fxe5 Nxe5 15.Ng3 Qh3 16.Qh5 Qxh5 17.Nxh5 Rad8 18.Rd1 c5 19.Kg2 Nf6 20.Re1 Ng6 21.Nf4 Nh4+ 22.Kh3 Nf5 23.d4 Rfe8 24.Ne6 fxe6 25.Bxe6+ Kf8 26.Bxf5 cxd4 27.cxd4 Rxd4 28.Kg2 Rd5 29.Bh3 a5 30.Be3 Bc5 31.Bf4 Rxe1 32.Rxe1 Bd6 33.Bc1 Re5 34.Rd1 Rd5 35.Rxd5 Nxd5 36.Bf5 b6 37.b3 g6 38.Be4 Nf4+ 39.Kf3 Ne6 40.Bd5 Ke7 41.h4 Bc5 42.a4 Kd6 43.Bc4 1/2-1/2

Round 4, Sept. 30, 2016
Kramnik, Vladimir – Anand, Vishy
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 O-O 6.h3 d6 7.c3 a6 8.Re1 Ba7 9.Bb3 h6 10.Nbd2 Re8 11.Nf1 Be6 12.Bc2 d5 13.exd5 Bxd5 14.Ng3 Bc5 15.b4 Bf8 16.a4 g6 17.Bb2 b5 18.Ne4 Rb8 19.Bc1 Nd7 20.Bb3 Bxb3 21.Qxb3 Re6 22.axb5 axb5 23.Be3 Nf6 24.Rad1 Nxe4 25.dxe4 Qe8 26.Rd5 Nd8 27.Ra1 Nb7 28.Ra7 c6 29.Rd1 Nd6 30.Nd2 Ra8 31.Rda1 Rxa7 32.Rxa7 Re7 33.Ra6 Rc7 34.Qa2 Kg7 35.Bb6 Rb7 36.Bc5 Be7 37.Ra8 Rb8 38.Ra7 Rd8 39.Bb6 Rc8 40.Bc7 Qd7 41.Bb6 Qe8 42.g3 Bg5 43.Bc7 Bxd2 44.Bxd6 Bxc3 45.Re7 Qg8 46.Qe6 Qf8 47.Kg2 Rd8 48.Bc5 Bd4 49.Qxc6 Kg8 50.Qxb5 Rb8 51.Rxf7 1-0

Round 4, Sept. 30, 2016
Svidler, Peter – Giri, Anish
A37 English, Symmetrical Variation

1.Nf3 c5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 g6 4.c4 Bg7 5.Nc3 d6 6.O-O e5 7.a3 Nge7 8.d3 O-O 9.Rb1 a5 10.Bg5 f6 11.Bd2 Be6 12.Ne1 d5 13.cxd5 Nxd5 14.Qb3 Nc7 15.Qb6 Nd4 16.Nf3 Ra6 17.Qxb7 Nxe2+ 18.Kh1 Nxc3 19.bxc3 Bd5 20.Qb2 Qa8 21.Ne1 Rd6 22.d4 Rfd8 23.Kg1 cxd4 24.cxd4 Bxg2 25.Nxg2 Rxd4 26.Bc3 R4d7 27.Ne3 Nd5 28.Nxd5 Rxd5 29.a4 h5 30.h4 Qc6 31.Qb3 Kh7 32.Rfc1 Qd7 33.Be1 e4 34.Qb7 Qxa4 35.Ra1 Qe8 36.Rc7 R5d7 37.Rxd7 Rxd7 38.Qb3 Rd3 39.Qc4 Qd7 40.Rxa5 f5 41.Kg2 Rd1 42.Qe2 Rb1 43.Rc5 Qb7 44.Kh2 f4 45.gxf4 Qe7 46.Rc4 Qxh4+ 47.Kg2 Qxf4 48.Qxe4 Qg5+ 49.Kf3 Rb5 50.Qd3 Qg1 51.Re4 Rb2 52.Qc4 Qh1+ 53.Kg3 Rb1 54.Qe2 Qg1+ 55.Kh3 Rb3+ 56.f3 g5 57.Bf2 g4+ 58.Kh4 Qh2+ 59.Kg5 Rxf3 0-1

Round 4, Sept. 30, 2016
Gelfand, Boris – Li Chao b
D97 Grunfeld, Russian Variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 O-O 7.e4 Na6 8.Be2 c5 9.d5 e6 10.O-O exd5 11.exd5 Nb4 12.Rd1 Nc2 13.Rb1 Nd4 14.Nxd4 cxd4 15.Rxd4 Bf5 16.Ra1 Ne8 17.Bf4 Nd6 18.Qc5 Re8 19.Bb5 Nxb5 20.Nxb5 Rc8 21.Qxa7 Ra8 22.Qc5 Rxa2 23.Rad1 Bxd4 24.Qxd4 Re4 25.Qd2 Qb6 26.Nc3 Rxb2 27.Nxe4 Rxd2 28.Nxd2 Qd4 29.Be3 Qxd5 30.Rc1 b5 31.Rc5 Qd7 32.h3 b4 33.Rc4 Qd6 34.g4 Be6 35.Rd4 Qf8 36.Ne4 b3 37.Rd2 f5 38.Nc5 Qb8 39.Nxe6 b2 40.Rxb2 Qxb2 41.g5 Qb1+ 42.Kh2 Qe4 43.Nf4 Qf3 44.Ng2 Kf7 45.Nh4 Qd1 46.Bf4 Ke6 47.Kg3 Kd5 48.Nf3 Ke4 49.Nd2+ Kd3 50.Kg2 Ke2 51.Be3 Qa4 52.Kg3 Qb4 53.Bf4 Qc5 54.Be3 Qd6+ 55.Bf4 Qd4 56.Be3 f4+ 57.Bxf4 Qxf2+ 58.Kg4 Qg1+ 59.Kh4 Qg2 0-1

Round 4, Sept. 30, 2016
Tomashevsky, Evgeny – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
D12 QGD Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Be4 7.f3 Bg6 8.Qb3 Qc7 9.Bd2 Be7 10.g3 Bh5 11.Be2 dxc4 12.Qxc4 a6 13.b4 Nd5 14.Ne4 Nd7 15.Ng2 e5 16.O-O O-O 17.dxe5 Nxe5 18.Qb3 Rad8 19.Rad1 f6 20.Nc5 Bf7 21.Qc2 Qb6 22.a3 a5 23.Na4 Qa7 24.bxa5 Bg6 25.Qb3 Bf7 26.Qc2 Bxa3 27.Kh1 b5 28.axb6 Nxb6 29.Nxb6 Qxb6 30.f4 Bb3 31.Qc3 Bxd1 32.Rxd1 Bb4 33.Qb3+ Nf7 34.Qxb4 Qxb4 35.Bxb4 Rxd1+ 36.Bxd1 Rb8 37.Be1 Rb1 38.Bf3 c5 39.Kg1 c4 40.Kf2 Rb2+ 41.Kf1 Nd6 42.Bd5+ Kf8 43.e4 Rb1 44.Ke2 Rb2+ 45.Kf1 Rb1 46.Ke2 Rb2+ 47.Kf3 Nb5 48.Bxc4 Nd4+ 49.Ke3 Nc2+ 50.Kf3 Nd4+ 51.Ke3 Nc2+ 52.Kd3 Nxe1+ 53.Nxe1 Rxh2 54.Ke3 Ke7 55.Bf1 Ra2 56.Nf3 g6 57.Nd4 Kd6 58.Be2 Ra3+ 59.Bd3 Ra2 60.Nb5+ Kc5 61.Nc7 Rg2 62.Kf3 Rb2 63.Ne6+ Kd6 64.Nd4 Kc5 65.Ke3 Rg2 66.Ne2 Rh2 67.Bb1 h5 68.Ba2 g5 69.Be6 h4 70.Bg4 hxg3 71.fxg5 fxg5 72.Nxg3 Rg2 73.Kf3 Rb2 74.Nf5 Kc4 75.Bh3 Rb1 76.Kf2 Rb2+ 77.Kg3 Rb1 78.Bg2 Kd3 79.Nd6 Re1 80.Kg4 Rg1 81.Kf3 Kd4 82.Nf5+ Ke5 83.Ne3 Ra1 1/2-1/2

Standings After Round Four

1. Giri 3.5
2. Nepomniachtchi 3.0
3. Li Chao 2.5
4. Kramnik 2.0
5. Anand 2.0
6. Aronian 2.0
7. Mamedyarov 2.0
8. Svidler 1.5
9. Tomashevsky 1.0
10. Gelfand 1.0

Online Comments

- started studying Dvoretsky’s endgame manual on the day of his death...2 pages a day until I finish it

- Well played Kramnik. Awful game Vishy. 2 straight defeats against him.

- first kramnik win against anand since 2008

- Li chao good english and is very open about his preparation, great!

- a pity giri didnt have this form during the candidates

- Giri's only supertournament win, in 2011 actually http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?tid=76311

[Note: Reggio Emilia with 6.0/10, ahead of Morozevich, Caruana, Nakamura and Ivanchuk!]

- It's been great watching GM's Miro and, and Geuzendam in this tournament, as it was during the Olympiad! Too bad both were in the middle of the night in the US.

- incredible that a 7 time Russian champion gets in such a position

- for giri to win the tournament - well, it's a long way to tipperary!

- Good bye Piccadilly, farewell Leicester square... congrats to Giri

- giri is #10 in the world! wow, back on top 10

**Wayne Komer** · Saturday, 1st October, 2016, 11:46 PM

Re: Tal Memorial 2016

Tal Memorial 2016

October 1, 2016

Round Five

Sam Copeland at chess.com - In the only decisive game of the day, Viswanathan Anand defeated Boris Gelfand in an excellent positional game.

Without doubt, Gelfand's opponents and tormentors (Mamedyarov, Giri, Li Chao, and now Anand) have played sterling chess, but tallying only 0.5/5 constitutes a surprising lack of form for the great Gelfand. Tomorrow is not any easier either; Gelfand has a second black in a row. This time he plays Vladimir Kramnik.

In today's game, Anand was always better and he grew his advantage steadily. In the press conference, he noted that his primary idea was to combat Gelfand's light-square bishop with his pawns. Gelfand's bishop pair was stymied. In the later game, Gelfand won a piece for four pawns, but Anand's three connected passers on the queenside proved inexorable.

Anish Giri also had a decisive streak of three games entering the round. He had three wins in a row! Playing Ian Nepomniachtchi, he managed to snag a pawn in what seemed an entirely equal position, but the rook endgame was (as all are) drawn.

https://www.chess.com/news/anand-giv...-memorial-5351

The games:

Tal Memorial 2016
Moscow
Classical
Round 5, Oct. 1, 2016
Anand, Viswanathan – Gelfand, Boris
B31 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6 bxc6 5.O-O Bg7 6.Re1 Nh6 7.c3 O-O 8.h3 d5 9.d3 c4 10.dxc4 dxe4 11.Qxd8 Rxd8 12.Rxe4 e5 13.Re1 f6 14.Nbd2 Nf7 15.Ne4 f5 16.Neg5 e4 17.Nxf7 Kxf7 18.Bg5 Rd3 19.Nd4 Ba6 20.b3 c5 21.Ne2 h6 22.Be3 Rc8 23.h4 Bf6 24.Nf4 Rdd8 25.Nd5 Bxh4 26.Bxh6 Bb7 27.g3 Bf6 28.Nxf6 Kxf6 29.Be3 Rd3 30.Kf1 g5 31.Ke2 Rxc3 32.Rac1 Rxc1 33.Rxc1 Rd8 34.Bxc5 f4 35.gxf4 gxf4 36.Bxa7 e3 37.Bxe3 fxe3 38.Kxe3 Bc8 39.Rc2 Bf5 40.Rd2 Ra8 41.Kd4 Ke6 42.Kc3 Ke5 43.a4 Be4 44.Kb4 Rb8+ 45.Ka3 Rf8 46.a5 Rf3 47.Kb4 Bb7 48.Rd8 Rxf2 49.Kc5 Rf6 50.Re8+ Kf4 51.b4 Rc6+ 52.Kd4 Rd6+ 53.Kc5 Rc6+ 54.Kb5 Rf6 55.Re7 Ba6+ 56.Kc5 Rf5+ 57.Kd4 Kf3 58.b5 1-0

Round 5, Oct. 1, 2016
Aronian, Levon – Kramnik, Vladimir
A30 English, Symmetrical, Hedgehog System

1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 c5 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 b6 5.Bg2 Bb7 6.O-O Be7 7.Re1 d5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.d4 cxd4 10.Qa4+ Qd7 11.Qxd7+ Nxd7 12.Nxd4 N7f6 13.Ncb5 O-O 14.e4 Nb4 15.a3 Nd3 16.Rd1 Nc5 17.f3 Rfc8 18.Be3 a6 19.Nc3 g6 20.Bh3 Rc7 21.Rab1 b5 22.Bf4 Rcc8 23.Kf1 Bf8 24.Rbc1 Rd8 25.Nce2 Ne8 26.Bg5 Rd7 27.Rd2 h6 28.Be3 Rdd8 29.Rcd1 e5 30.Nc2 Rxd2 31.Rxd2 Nf6 32.Nc1 g5 33.Bxc5 Bxc5 34.Nb3 Bf8 35.Na5 Bc8 36.Bxc8 Rxc8 37.g4 h5 38.h3 hxg4 39.hxg4 Bc5 40.Nb7 Bb6 41.Ke2 Ne8 42.Nb4 Bd4 43.Na5 Ng7 44.Nbc6 Kf8 45.Nxd4 exd4 46.Nb3 Ne6 47.Nxd4 Nxd4+ 48.Rxd4 Ke7 49.Kd2 Ke6 50.a4 bxa4 51.Rxa4 Rc6 52.b3 f6 53.Ra5 Rb6 54.Kc3 Rc6+ 55.Kb4 Rb6+ 56.Kc4 Rc6+ 57.Rc5 Rd6 58.Ra5 Rc6+ 59.Kb4 Rd6 60.Rd5 Rb6+ 61.Kc3 Rc6+ 62.Kb2 Rc8 63.Ra5 Rc6 64.b4 Rd6 65.Kc3 Rc6+ 66.Kb3 Rd6 67.Kc4 Rc6+ 68.Rc5 Rd6 69.Kc3 Rb6 70.Kb3 Rd6 71.Ka4 Rd3 72.Rc6+ Ke5 73.Rxa6 Rxf3 74.b5 Rf1 75.Rc6 Kxe4 76.b6 f5 77.Rc3 Ra1+ 78.Kb4 Ra6 79.Kb5 Rxb6+ 80.Kxb6 fxg4 81.Kc5 Kf4 82.Rc4+ Kf3 83.Rc3+ Kf4 1/2-1/2

Round 5, Oct. 1, 2016
Giri, Anish – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
D97 Grunfeld, Russian, Alekhine Variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 O-O 7.e4 a6 8.Be2 b5 9.Qb3 c5 10.dxc5 Be6 11.Qc2 Nbd7 12.Be3 Rc8 13.Rd1 b4 14.Nd5 Bxd5 15.exd5 Nxc5 16.O-O Nce4 17.Qd3 Qd6 18.Qxa6 Rc2 19.Bd4 Nc5 20.Qxd6 exd6 21.Bb5 Nfe4 22.Rc1 Rxc1 23.Rxc1 Ra8 24.Bxg7 Kxg7 25.Ra1 Na4 26.Bc6 Ra7 27.Bxa4 Rxa4 28.Nd4 Nf6 29.Kf1 Nxd5 30.g3 Nb6 31.Nc2 Ra5 32.Nxb4 Nc4 33.Rd1 Ra4 34.b3 Rxb4 35.bxc4 Rxc4 36.Rxd6 Rc2 37.Ra6 g5 38.g4 f6 39.Ra3 h5 40.h3 Rc4 41.gxh5 Kh6 42.Rf3 Kxh5 43.a3 Kg6 44.Ke2 Rd4 45.Rd3 Re4+ 46.Kd1 Rf4 47.Ke2 Re4+ 48.Kd1 Rf4 49.Ke1 Re4+ 50.Re3 Rd4 51.Rf3 Kf7 52.Rb3 Kg6 53.Kf1 Ra4 54.Rf3 Re4 55.Re3 Ra4 56.Ke2 Rd4 57.Rf3 Kf7 58.Rd3 Re4+ 59.Kd1 Rf4 60.Rd2 Ra4 61.Ra2 Ke6 62.Kc2 Kd6 63.Kb3 Rh4 64.a4 Rxh3+ 65.Kc4 Kc6 66.a5 Kb7 67.a6+ 1/2-1/2

Round 5, Oct. 1, 2016
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Svidler, Peter
E60 King’s Indian Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Bg5 Ne4 4.Bf4 c5 5.Qc2 Qa5+ 6.Nd2 f5 7.f3 Nf6 8.d5 d6 9.e3 Bg7 10.Ne2 b5 11.Bg5 Nbd7 12.Nf4 Nb6 13.Kf2 O-O 14.h4 bxc4 15.Nxc4 Qa4 16.b3 Qe8 17.Rd1 Qf7 18.Nxb6 axb6 19.a4 Bd7 20.Bc4 Rfb8 21.Qe2 Ra5 22.Rb1 h6 23.Bxf6 Qxf6 24.h5 g5 25.Ne6 b5 26.axb5 Bxb5 27.f4 gxf4 28.exf4 Rba8 29.Rbc1 Ra2 30.Rc2 Rxc2 31.Qxc2 Bd7 32.Qe2 Bxe6 33.Qxe6+ Qxe6 34.dxe6 Ra2+ 35.Kf3 Rd2 36.Rc1 Bb2 37.Re1 d5 38.Re2 Rxe2 39.Bxe2 Kg7 40.Bb5 Kf6 41.Bd7 Bc1 42.g4 Bd2 43.Bc8 c4 44.bxc4 dxc4 45.Ba6 c3 46.Bd3 fxg4+ 47.Kxg4 Kxe6 48.f5+ Ke5 49.Kf3 Kd4 50.Bc2 1/2-1/2

Round 5, Oct. 1, 2016
Li Chao B – Tomashevsky, Evgeny
E21 Nimzo-Indian, Three Knights

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 b6 5.Bd2 Bb7 6.e3 Bxc3 7.Bxc3 Ne4 8.Rc1 d6 9.Bd3 Nd7 10.O-O Nxc3 11.Rxc3 O-O 12.e4 Qe7 13.Bc2 c5 14.d5 e5 15.a3 Nf6 16.Nd2 Bc8 17.b4 Bd7 18.Ba4 Rfc8 19.Bxd7 Nxd7 20.b5 a6 21.Qc2 Ra7 22.Rb1 Rca8 23.Rbb3 g6 24.g3 Kg7 25.Kg2 Qd8 26.h4 Qe7 27.Rf3 Nf6 28.Qd3 Qd7 29.Nb1 axb5 30.Rxb5 Qg4 31.Re3 Ra6 32.f3 Qd7 33.Qc2 Qd8 34.Qb2 Nd7 35.Nd2 Kg8 36.Rbb3 Ra4 37.Qc2 R8a7 38.Rec3 Qa8 39.Qc1 R7a5 40.h5 Qd8 41.Nf1 Ra8 1/2-1/2

Standings After Round Five

1. Giri 4.0
2. Nepomniachtchi 3.5
3. Anand 3.0
4. Li Chao 3.0
5. Kramnik 2.5
6. Aronian 2.5
7. Mamedyarov 2.5
8. Svidler 2.0
9. Tomashevsky 1.5
10. Gelfand 0.5

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 2nd October, 2016, 11:30 AM

Re: Tal Memorial 2016

Tal Memorial 2016

October 2, 2016

Round Six

The computer evaluation all through the round is that White is better on all boards. That means that Nepo, Svidler, Tomashevsky, Kramnik and Aronian have good positions after almost three hours.

Aronian has just beaten tournament leader Anish Giri in a beautiful game:

Tal Memorial 2016
Moscow
Classical
Round 6, Oct. 6, 2016
Aronian, Levon – Giri, Anish
A20 English, Modern Nimzowitsch

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.O-O Nb6 7.d3 Be7 8.Be3 O-O 9.Nbd2 Be6 10.Rc1 Qd7 11.a3 Bh3 12.Bxh3 Qxh3 13.b4 Bd6 14.Qb3 Ne7 15.d4 exd4 16.Bxd4 Nc6 17.Ne4 Nxd4 18.Nxd4 Qd7 19.Rfd1 Be5 20.Nc6 Qe8 21.Na5 Rb8 22.Nc5 Qc8 23.Qf3 c6 24.b5 Bb2 25.bxc6 Bxc1 26.Rxc1 Qc7 27.cxb7 Na4 28.Ncb3 Qe7 29.Nd4 Qg5 30.Qf4 Qxa5 31.Qxb8 Rxb8 32.Rc8+ Qd8 33.Rxd8+ Rxd8 34.Nc6 1-0

Both Giri and Aronian come to the postmortem with Miro to discuss the game.

- with such a passed pawn lev will win

- Isn't this just lost for Giri? cxb7, the White Queen comes to c6 and it's over, isn't it?

- Come on giri we all know you can draw this

- ohhhhh ! anish poor day for him

- Aronian best Armenian player since Petrosyan

- feel sorry for giri - he was on such a nice streak

- Levon shows the proper way to tribute the great TAL

- Beautiful Beautiful game Levon..once in a lifetime game...treat to watch..