Dortmund 2016

**Wayne Komer** · Friday, 8th July, 2016, 01:05 PM

Re: Dortmund 2016

Dortmund 2016

July 8, 2016

On the eve of Dortmund, Dennis Monokroussos, writes about Fritz Saemisch, who won the first tournament with that name, in 1928.

Dennis goes on to say:

Saemisch (1896-1975) is best known today for two of his most significant brainchildren, his eponymous variations for White in the King’s Indian (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 g6 4.e4 d6 5.f3) and the Nimzo-Indian (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.a3), and for being on the losing side against Aron Nimzowitsch of the so-called Immortal Zugzwang Game.

Saemisch’s best days as a player came in the 1920s, though he continued to play regularly until 1951. After that he played in only a few tournaments, including a couple in 1969 where he lost every single game – on time. One of those games is of interest, however, as Saemisch enjoyed a big advantage when he lost on time (on move 23!) with his favorite anti-King’s Indian line against no less a player than three-time Candidate László Szabó. Szabó was a bit past his prime but still very strong as he won significant international tournaments in the early 1970s, so Saemisch’s ability at the age of 72 or 73 to outplay his younger and stronger opponent reflects highly on his class.

http://worldchess.com/2016/07/08/on-...irst-champion/

Copenhagen 1923
Saemisch, Fritz – Nimzowitsch, Aron
E18 Queen’s Indian, Old Main Line

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.Nc3 O-O 7.O-O d5 8.Ne5 c6 9.cxd5 cxd5 10.Bf4 a6 11.Rc1 b5 12.Qb3 Nc6 13.Nxc6 Bxc6 14.h3 Qd7 15.Kh2 Nh5 16.Bd2 f5 17.Qd1 b4 18.Nb1 Bb5 19.Rg1 Bd6 20.e4 fxe4 21.Qxh5 Rxf2 22.Qg5 Raf8 23.Kh1 R8f5 24.Qe3 Bd3 25.Rce1 h6 0-1

Dennis says that after h6!, technically, it's not zugzwang yet, as White can burn some pawn moves, and it's also the case that Black has a threat here. Rather than waiting on White to commit suicide, he can play ...R2f3 and win the trapped queen. Nevertheless, it can quickly be worked out that once White runs out of pawn moves, other moves will be self-destructive.

**Hans Jung** · Friday, 8th July, 2016, 02:13 PM

Re: Dortmund 2016

Now for a sensational game! (even for Alekhine) Alekhine - Saemisch Berlin Germany 1923 (both blindfold) 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Be2 e6 4.0-0 d6 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Nf6 7.Bf3 Ne5 8.c4 Nxf3+ 9.Qxf3 Be7 10.Nc3 0-0 11.b3 Nd7 12.Bb2 Bf6 13.Rad1 a6 14.Qg3 Qc7 15.Kh1 Rd8 16.f4 b6 17.f5 Be5 18.fxe6 Bxg3 19.exf7+ Kh8 20.Nd5 1-0 GM Fritz Saemisch was considered Germany's best blindfold player and Alekhine remarked that he thought Saemisch was the second best blindfold player in the world and was very complimentary of his skills. (apparently Alekhine had this opinion about more than one player!) In this game note Alekhine's 3.Be2 avoiding theory and a later 8.c4. Then comes a spectacular queen sacrifice with 18.fxe6!!! (another one of Alekhine's sensational pawn lever journeys) and in the final position I'll let the reader figure out what is going on. (Hint: Tactical smorgasbord!)

Edit Post Reply Reply With Quote Saemisch was also on the losing side of the most brilliant blindfold game ever played and was a great blindfold player in his own right.

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 10th July, 2016, 12:33 AM

Re: Dortmund 2016

Dortmund 2016

July 10, 2016

Round One

It looked like there was a 15-minute delay in the transmission of the games. I could only get commentary in Spanish. Doubtless a ploy to fill the hall with spectators.

It was thought that MVL’s rating would go over 2800 in this tournament. And it did, in the first game. He is the great expert on the Najdorf.

Round Two will be just as interesting because MVL as White, meets Vladimir Kramnik.

Dortmund 2016
Round 1, July 9, 2016
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter – Ponomariov, Ruslan
E32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical Variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.g3 Nc6 7.Bg2 e5 8.d5 Ne7 9.O-O a6 10.a3 Bc5 11.Bg5 Ne8 12.b4 Ba7 13.e4 h6 14.Be3 f5 15.Bxa7 Rxa7 16.exf5 Bxf5 17.Qd2 Nf6 18.Nh4 Bh7 19.f4 exf4 20.Rxf4 g5 21.Rf2 gxh4 22.Qd4 Ra8 23.Rxf6 Nf5 24.Qg4+ Kh8 25.Re6 hxg3 26.hxg3 Rg8 27.Qf4 Rxg3 28.Ne4 Rg6 29.Rf1 Qh4 30.Rxg6 Qxf4 31.Rxf4 Bxg6 32.c5 Rd8 33.Nc3 Kg7 34.c6 b5 35.a4 bxa4 36.b5 axb5 37.Nxb5 a3 38.Ra4 Ne3 39.Nxc7 Kf6 40.Bf3 Rc8 41.Rxa3 Rxc7 42.Rxe3 Re7 43.Rc3 Bf5 44.Kf2 Ra7 45.Kg3 Kg5 46.c7 Bc8 47.Rc6 h5 48.Rxd6 h4+ 49.Kf2 Rxc7 50.Rc6 Rxc6 51.dxc6 1/2-1/2

Round 1, July 9, 2016
Najer, Evgeniy – Buhmann, Rainer
C11 French, Steinitz, Enevoldsen Variation

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Nce2 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.f4 Be7 8.Nf3 O-O 9.Be3 a5 10.h4 a4 11.Qc2 f5 12.Ng5 Nb6 13.dxc5 Nc4 14.Bg1 Qa5 15.Nd4 Nxd4 16.Bxd4 Bxc5 17.Bxc5 Qxc5 18.Bxc4 Qxc4 19.Qd2 Bd7 20.h5 Rfc8 21.h6 a3 22.b3 Qxc3 23.Qxc3 Rxc3 24.hxg7 Rc2 25.Rxh7 Bc8 26.Rh2 b6 27.Nxe6 Bxe6 28.Rh8+ Kxg7 29.Rxa8 d4 30.Rd1 Rxa2 31.Rxd4 Bxb3 32.Ra7+ Kg6 33.Rd6+ Kh5 34.Rg7 1-0

Round 1, July 9, 2016
Caruana, Fabiano – Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be3 Be7 9.Qd2 O-O 10.O-O-O Nbd7 11.g4 b5 12.h4 Nb6 13.Qf2 Rb8 14.g5 Nfd7 15.f4 exf4 16.Bxf4 Rc8 17.Nd5 Nxd5 18.exd5 Bg4 19.Be2 Bxe2 20.Qxe2 Re8 21.Qf3 Qc7 22.Nd4 Nb6 23.Rhe1 Bf8 24.Rxe8 Rxe8 25.Nf5 Qc4 26.b3 Qb4 27.c3 Rc8 28.Rd3 Nxd5 29.Bd2 Nb6 30.Kb1 Qc5 31.Be3 Qc7 32.Qf4 Re8 33.h5 Re6 34.Kc2 Qc6 35.Bxb6 Qxb6 36.Rf3 Qb7 37.Ne3 Re4 38.Qg3 Re5 39.Qf4 Rxg5 40.h6 gxh6 41.Rf2 Qd7 42.Nf5 Qe6 0-1

Round 1, July 9, 2016
Dominguez Perez, Leinier – Kramnik, Vladimir
C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, Open Variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5 Be7 7.Bf1 Nxe5 8.Rxe5 O-O 9.d4 Bf6 10.Re1 Re8 11.c3 Rxe1 12.Qxe1 Ne8 13.Bf4 d5 14.Bd3 g6 15.Nd2 Ng7 16.Nf3 Bf5 17.Bxf5 Nxf5 18.Qe2 c6 19.Re1 Ng7 20.Ne5 Bxe5 21.Qxe5 f6 22.Qe7 Qxe7 23.Rxe7 Re8 24.Rxe8+ Nxe8 25.g4 Kf7 26.Kg2 Ng7 27.h3 Ne6 28.Bd6 Ke8 29.Kg3 Kd7 30.Bb8 a5 31.f4 a4 32.Kf3 b6 33.Ke3 c5 34.dxc5 bxc5 35.b3 d4+ 36.Kd3 dxc3 37.Kxc3 Nd4 38.f5 gxf5 39.bxa4 Kc6 40.gxf5 Nxf5 41.a5 Kb5 42.a4+ Kxa5 43.Bc7+ Kxa4 44.Kc4 Ng7 45.Bd6 Ne6 46.Bxc5 Nf4 47.h4 h5 48.Bd6 Ng6 49.Kd5 f5 50.Ke6 f4 51.Kf5 f3 52.Bg3 f2 53.Bxf2 Nxh4+ 54.Bxh4 1/2-1/2

Round Two Pairings

MVL-Kramnik
Buhmann-Dominguez
Ponomariov-Najer
Caruana-Nisipeanu

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 10th July, 2016, 04:12 PM

Re: Dortmund 2016

Dortmund 2016

July 10, 2016

Round Two

Chess24 decides that there isn’t enough viewership with just Spanish commentating and so Jan Gustafsson comes in on a Sunday afternoon to do the games.

It must be said that the Tour de France is on television as well as the Euro 2016 final with France and Portugal, so it may be that chess is not foremost in the minds of sports fans.

Eric Hansen appears in the comment section for a while.

With some time to fill at the end, Jan talks about what he is watching in German Netflix now. Rick and Morty is the big favorite. Others are Preacher, Banshee and Jim Jefferies.

Rick and Morty is an American adult animated science fiction sitcom. The series follows the misadventures of alcoholic scientist Rick and his easily influenced grandson Morty, who split their time between domestic family life and interdimensional travel. The series has its origins in an animated parody of Back to the Future created by Justin Roiland for film festival.

Jan talks a little about the NBA final and a recent trade to the Golden State Warriors (Kevin Durant).

Evidently Jan won’t be broadcasting tomorrow. His big stint will be the Bilbao Masters (July 13 to July 23).

The games:

Dortmund 2016
Round 2, July 10, 2016
Caruana, Fabiano – Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance Variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 c5 6.Be3 cxd4 7.Nxd4 Ne7 8.O-O Nbc6 9.Bb5 a6 10.Bxc6+ Nxc6 11.Nxf5 exf5 12.f4 Qa5 13.Kh1 Bc5 14.Bd2 Qc7 15.Nc3 d4 16.Ne2 O-O 17.Be1 Rad8 18.Qd3 Qb6 19.a3 Qb5 20.Qxb5 axb5 21.Rf3 b4 22.axb4 Bxb4 23.Bf2 Rfe8 24.Nc1 Be7 25.Rb3 f6 26.Nd3 fxe5 27.fxe5 Bg5 28.Bg3 Re7 29.Rb5 Be3 30.e6 Rxe6 31.Rxf5 Ne7 32.Rb5 b6 33.Be5 Rc8 34.c3 dxc3 35.Bxc3 Rd8 36.Re5 Rxe5 37.Nxe5 Nd5 38.g3 Nxc3 39.bxc3 Bg5 40.Rb1 Bf6 41.Nc6 Rd2 42.Rxb6 Bxc3 43.Ne7+ 1/2-1/2

Round 2, July 10, 2016
Ponomariov, Ruslan – Najer, Evgeniy
D18 QGD Slav, Dutch Variation

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 8.O-O O-O 9.Nh4 Nbd7 10.h3 Bg6 11.Nxg6 hxg6 12.Qb3 Qb6 13.Rd1 Rad8 14.Bd2 Ba5 15.Rac1 c5 16.d5 Bxc3 17.Bxc3 Qxb3 18.Bxb3 Nxd5 19.Bxd5 exd5 20.Rxd5 Nb6 21.Rxc5 Nxa4 22.Rc7 Nxc3 23.R1xc3 Rd1+ 24.Kh2 Rd2 25.Rxb7 Rxf2 26.Kg3 Rf6 27.Rxa7 Rb8 28.h4 Kh7 29.Rcc7 Rxb2 30.Rxf7 Rxf7 31.Rxf7 g5 32.hxg5 Rb5 33.e4 Kg6 34.Ra7 Rxg5+ 35.Kf3 Rb5 36.Kf4 Rb6 37.Ra2 Kf6 38.e5+ Ke6 39.Ra7 Rb4+ 40.Kg5 Rb5 41.g4 Kxe5 42.Rxg7 Ke4+ 43.Kh6 Kf4 44.g5 Kg4 45.Ra7 1-0

Round 2, July 10, 2016
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime – Kramnik, Vladimir
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 h5 11.Ne2 b6 12.Bg5 c5 13.Rad1 Bb7 14.Nc3 Be7 15.Nd5 Bxd5 16.Rxd5 Rd8 17.Rxd8+ Bxd8 18.Rd1 Bxg5 19.Nxg5 Ke7 20.c3 Nh4 21.g3 Ng6 22.f4 h4 23.Kf2 hxg3+ 24.Kxg3 Nh4 25.Kg4 Ng2 26.Kf3 Nh4+ 27.Kg4 Ng2 28.Rg1 Ne3+ 29.Kf3 Nf5 30.Ke4 Nh4 31.f5 f6 32.exf6+ Kxf6 33.Kf4 g6 34.Ne4+ Kf7 35.fxg6+ Nxg6+ 36.Kf5 Nh4+ 37.Kf4 a5 38.Rg3 a4 39.Kg5 Ke6 40.Nf6 Nf5 41.Rf3 Nd6 42.Kg6 Nc4 43.Kg7 Rh4 44.b3 axb3 45.axb3 Nd2 46.Re3+ Kf5 47.Nd5 c4 48.Ne7+ Kf4 49.Nd5+ Kf5 50.Ne7+ Kf4 51.Nd5+ 1/2-1/2

The last game to finish goes some seven hours. Most viewers do something else and occasionally tune in to see if the draw has been agreed to.

Chessbomb kibitzers:

Bronkenstein: I'm watching France-Portugal with one eye, soon it will be both I hope.

Bonifratz: we can infer that Buhmann and Domínguez don't care about soccer?

Bronkenstein: Maxime certainly cared, which explains the Berlin.

Round 2, July 10, 2016
Buhmann, Rainer – Dominguez, Leinier
E97 King’s Indian, Orthodox, Aronin-Taimanov Variation

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.d4 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Nc6 8.dxe5 dxe5 9.Bg5 Qxd1 10.Rfxd1 Be6 11.Nd5 Nxe4 12.Nxc7 Bg4 13.Nxa8 Nxg5 14.Nc7 e4 15.Nxg5 Bxe2 16.Re1 Bxc4 17.Rxe4 Bd3 18.Re8 Rxe8 19.Nxe8 Bxb2 20.Rd1 Bc4 21.Nd6 Bxa2 22.Nxb7 Nb4 23.Rd7 Bd5 24.Nd6 a5 25.Ra7 Nc6 26.Ra6 Bd4 27.Nb5 Be5 28.Na7 Nd4 29.Rxa5 Ne2+ 30.Kh1 Nf4 31.f3 Bc7 32.Ra3 Bd6 33.Rc3 Bb4 34.Rc8+ Kg7 35.Nc6 Bc5 36.Ne5 Bd4 37.Nc6 Bc5 38.Ne4 Bxe4 39.fxe4 Nd3 40.e5 Nf2+ 41.Kg1 Ng4+ 42.Kf1 Nxh2+ 43.Ke2 Ng4 44.Kf3 h5 45.Rc7 Kg8 46.Ke4 Bg1 47.Rb7 Bh2 48.Rb3 h4 49.Rb5 Bg3 50.Kf3 Nh2+ 51.Ke4 Ng4 52.Rb7 Nf2+ 53.Ke3 Ng4+ 54.Kd4 Kf8 55.Rb3 Kg7 56.Kd5 Kf8 57.Ra3 Kg8 58.Ke4 Kg7 59.Ra7 Kg8 60.Rd7 Kf8 61.Ra7 Kg8 62.e6 fxe6 63.Ne7+ Kf7 64.Nd5+ Kg8 65.Nf4 Nf6+ 66.Kf3 g5 67.Nxe6 g4+ 68.Ke2 Be5 69.Rg7+ Kh8 70.Rg5 h3 71.gxh3 gxh3 72.Kf3 h2 73.Kg2 Bd6 74.Rg6 Ne4 75.Nd4 Kh7 76.Rxd6 Nxd6 77.Kxh2 1/2-1/2

**Wayne Komer** · Tuesday, 12th July, 2016, 03:52 PM

Re: Dortmund 2016

Dortmund 2016

July 12, 2016

Round Three

The commentators today are Jan Gustafsson and Pepe Cuenca. One kibitzer describes them as “the ice and fire” commentators.

The last time I saw Pepe was during the broadcast of the Bilbao Masters 2015. You might remember his homology of steel tubes
.
http://forum.chesstalk.com/showthrea...enca#post99137

Jan seems to be always in the chair, all year round. A viewer ask Jan if he is taking a two-week vacation this year to which he replies, “Is it because of my passive-aggressive burnt-out mode or is there another reason?” He says that he has already had his Thailand vacation this year. Someone else says, “There’s a pleasant-sounding tournament in Iran just now..” referring to Nigel Short’s experience getting to the Anzali Free Zone.

Jan wouldn’t mind seeing New York City but he said that he has had enough of Las Vegas and Atlantic City for the rest of his life.

Will he be sent by chess24 to commentate in NYC for the WCC in November?

In the Bangkok Chess Club Open in April, Jan held the lead until defeated by Khairullin. The Indian grandmaster Surya Ganguly beat out Paco Vallejo to win the tourney.

Thailand sounds nice for a vacation but just researching it I came upon a list of 15 Things Not to Do in Thailand. Among them Don’t Keep Your Shoes On, Refrain from Public Displays of Affection, Don’t Disrespect the Royal Family etc. All of these can be adhered to without much trouble. The one I will remember though is Don’t Let a Tuk-Tuk Driver Take You to a Gem Shop. That is the type of sound advice one usually passes down to one’s grandchildren!
______

The game of the round is Kramnik-Buhmann. Buhmann was ahead in the opening and then Kramnik got an ferocious attack by sacrificing two pieces (21.Qh7+). Black then threatened mate with 24…Qc7. White then sacrificed his queen but Buhmann kept his sang-froid, even when in time trouble. It ended in a draw but the guys think that it might be the game of the tournament.

The games:

Dortmund 2016
Round 3, July 12, 2016
Kramnik, Vladimir – Buhmann, Rainer
C11 French, Steinitz Variation

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Be7 7.Be3 b6 8.Qd2 O-O 9.h4 Nc6 10.Bb5 Qc7 11.O-O-O a6 12.Bd3 f5 13.g4 c4 14.gxf5 cxd3 15.fxe6 Ndb8 16.Nxd5 Qd8 17.Nxe7+ Nxe7 18.Ng5 h6 19.Qxd3 hxg5 20.hxg5 Bxe6 21.Qh7+ Kf7 22.d5 Bf5 23.e6+ Ke8 24.Qxg7 Qc7 25.Rh2 Nxd5 26.Qxf8+ Kxf8 27.Rxd5 Bh7 28.b3 Ke8 29.g6 Bxg6 30.Rh8+ Ke7 31.f5 Bxf5 32.Rxf5 Qc3 33.Bg5+ Kxe6 34.Rf6+ Qxf6 35.Bxf6 Kxf6 36.Rh6+ Ke5 37.Rxb6 Kd5 38.Kb2 Nc6 39.a3 Kc5 40.Rb7 Rg8 41.Rh7 Rg2 42.Rh5+ Kd6 43.Kc3 Rg3+ 44.Kb2 Rg2 45.Kc3 Rg3+ 46.Kb2 Rg2 47.Re5 Kxe5 1/2-1/2

(Sam Shankland at worldchess.com) Kramnik opened with 1. e4, which he almost never does. He made an exception because Buhmann is known to play the French Defense and Kramnik came well prepared.

I was surprised that Buhmann did not try to deviate from playing the Steinitz Variation after he chose it against Najer in Round 1. It’s well-known that Kramnik has a less versatile repertoire as White when playing 1. e4, so I would have suggested deviating into another variation that Kramnik might not have prepared against or know very well. Still, Buhmann’s lack of flexibility led to a very interesting game — one that Kramnik really should have won.

Round 3, July 12, 2016
Nisipeanu, Liviu-D. – Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime
D85 Grunfeld, Modern Exchange Variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 c5 8.Rb1 O-O 9.Be2 cxd4 10.cxd4 Qa5+ 11.Bd2 Qxa2 12.O-O Bg4 13.Bg5 h6 14.Be3 Nc6 15.d5 Na5 16.Bc5 b6 17.Bxe7 Rfe8 18.d6 Nc6 19.Bb5 Nxe7 20.h3 Bxf3 21.Qxf3 Qe6 22.Bxe8 Rxe8 23.dxe7 Qxe7 24.Rfd1 Bf8 25.Rd4 Qe6 26.Rbd1 a5 27.Rd7 a4 28.Ra7 a3 29.Rdd7 Be7 30.Rdb7 h5 31.g3 h4 32.gxh4 a2 33.Kg2 Bc5 34.Qe2 Qxe4+ 35.Qxe4 Rxe4 36.Rxa2 Rxh4 37.Rd7 Rf4 38.Rd3 Kg7 39.Rf3 Rxf3 40.Kxf3 Kh6 41.Ra7 f5 42.Rc7 Kg5 43.Rh7 Kf6 44.Ke2 g5 45.Kf3 g4+ 46.hxg4 fxg4+ 47.Kg3 Ke5 48.Rh5+ Ke4 49.Rg5 Kd3 50.Rxg4 b5 51.Rg5 Kc4 52.Kf3 b4 53.Ke2 b3 54.Rg4+ Kc3 55.Rg3+ Kc2 56.Rg8 Bd4 1/2-1/2

Round 3, July 12, 2016
Dominguez Perez, Leinier – Ponomariov, Ruslan
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be3 h5 9.Nd5 Bxd5 10.exd5 Nbd7 11.Qd2 g6 12.O-O-O Nb6 13.c4 Rc8 14.Na5 Nbxd5 15.Bg5 b6 16.Nb7 Qc7 17.Bxf6 Nxf6 18.Nxd6+ Bxd6 19.Qxd6 Nd7 20.Be2 a5 21.b3 Qxd6 22.Rxd6 Ke7 23.Rhd1 Rc7 24.Kb2 Rb8 25.R6d5 Ke6 26.Rd6+ Ke7 27.R6d5 Ke6 28.a3 Nf6 29.Rd6+ Ke7 30.R6d2 h4 31.Bd3 Nh5 32.Re1 Kf6 33.Bc2 Nf4 34.g3 hxg3 35.hxg3 Ne6 36.Rd5 a4 37.Rexe5 axb3 38.Bxb3 Nc5 39.f4 Rd7 40.Bc2 Rh8 41.Rxd7 Nxd7 42.Re3 Nc5 43.Kc3 Rh2 44.a4 Rg2 45.Bb3 Rg1 46.Kb4 Rb1 47.Ka3 Ra1+ 48.Kb2 Rg1 49.Bc2 Rg2 50.Kc3 Rf2 51.Bb3 Rf1 52.Bc2 Rf2 53.Bd1 Rf1 54.Bb3 Rg1 55.Kb4 Rb1 56.a5 Nxb3 57.Rxb3 bxa5+ 58.Ka4 Rc1 59.Kb5 g5 60.fxg5+ Kxg5 61.c5 a4 62.Ra3 Kg4 63.c6 f5 64.Rd3 f4 65.gxf4 Kxf4 66.Kb6 Ke4 67.Rd2 Rb1+ 68.Kc5 Ke3 69.Ra2 Rc1+ 70.Kd6 Rd1+ 71.Ke5 Rc1 72.Ra3+ Ke2 73.Kd5 Rd1+ 74.Kc5 Rc1+ 75.Kb5 1-0

Najer blunders in the last move before the time control (40. Qe1) and loses to Fabiano.

Round 3, July 12, 2016
Najer, Evgeniy – Caruana, Fabiano
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance Variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be3 Be7 9.Qd2 O-O 10.O-O-O Nbd7 11.g4 b5 12.h4 Nb6 13.Qf2 Rb8 14.g5 Nfd7 15.f4 exf4 16.Bxf4 Rc8 17.Nd5 Nxd5 18.exd5 Bg4 19.Be2 Bxe2 20.Qxe2 Re8 21.Qf3 Qc7 22.Nd4 Nb6 23.Rhe1 Bf8 24.Rxe8 Rxe8 25.Nf5 Qc4 26.b3 Qb4 27.c3 Rc8 28.Rd3 Nxd5 29.Bd2 Nb6 30.Kb1 Qc5 31.Be3 Qc7 32.Qf4 Re8 33.h5 Re6 34.Kc2 Qc6 35.Bxb6 Qxb6 36.Rf3 Qb7 37.Ne3 Re4 38.Qg3 Re5 39.Qf4 Rxg5 40.h6 gxh6 41.Rf2 Qd7 42.Nf5 Qe6 0-1

Standings after Round Three

1. Vachier-Lagrave 2.0/3
2. Dominguez 2.0/3
3. Ponomariov 1.5/3
4. Kramnik 1.5/3
5. Caruana 1.5/3
6. Nisipeanu 1.5/3
7. Buhmann 1.0/3
8. Najer 1.0/3

Round Four Pairings

MVL-Buhmann
Ponomariov-Kramnik
Caruana-Dominguez
Nisipeanu-Najer

**Wayne Komer** · Wednesday, 13th July, 2016, 02:22 PM

Re: Dortmund 2016

Dortmund 2016

July 13, 2016

Round Four

Today we get two for one. Chess24 is covering both Dortmund and Bilbao at the same time.

With Jan Gustafsson is Niclas Huschenbeth, whom he describes as The Revenant, back in Germany after a long time in Baltimore. I presume he is referring to the fact that Niclas has been studying Psychology at UMBC.

Last year in the coverage of Dortmund 2015, we devoted some space to Niclas.

http://forum.chesstalk.com/showthrea...beth#post95904

Niclas tells Jan that he is going to Berlin in the fall for his Masters. Jan says that Berlin is a terrible place, not as good as Hamburg but lodgings are cheap. Niclas is going to study industrial organization psychology or business psychology, if you wish. You study how to deal with employees and their working conditions so the workers are happier and more motivated.

A kibitzer writes right in to say that Berlin is not cheap, it is affordable!

Some online comments:

- Good Lord! We have the dynamic duo! The Chess version of Batman and Robin

- Scotty, beam me up to Bilbao - games are more interesting over there!

The games:

Dortmund 2016
Round 4, July 13, 2016
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime – Buhmann, Rainer
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.Bg5 h6 15.Bh4 g6 16.a4 Bg7 17.d5 Qb8 18.Ne3 c6 19.dxc6 Bxc6 20.axb5 axb5 21.Rxa8 Bxa8 22.Nd2 b4 23.c4 Nc5 24.Bxf6 Bxf6 25.Nb3 Rc8 26.Nxc5 Rxc5 27.Qd3 Ra5 28.Bb3 Bg5 29.Rd1 Qb6 30.c5 Qxc5 31.Nc4 Ra7 32.Nxd6 Kg7 33.Qf3 Qc6 34.Bxf7 Re7 35.Ba2 1-0

Round 4, July 13, 2016
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter – Najer, Evgeniy
D06 QGD, Grau (3.Nf3)

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Bf5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Bg5 c6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.Qb3 b6 8.g3 Bd6 9.Bg2 O-O 10.O-O Nd7 11.Nh4 Bg4 12.cxd5 exd5 13.e4 dxe4 14.Nxe4 Qh6 15.Qe3 Qxe3 16.fxe3 Be7 17.Nf2 Be6 18.Bxc6 Rac8 19.Rfc1 Nf6 20.e4 Bc5 21.dxc5 Rxc6 22.cxb6 Rxb6 23.b3 a5 24.Nf3 a4 25.Nd4 h5 26.bxa4 Rb4 27.Nxe6 fxe6 28.a5 Nxe4 29.Nxe4 Rxe4 30.Re1 Ra4 31.Rxe6 Rxa5 32.a4 Rb8 33.Re4 Rb2 34.Rf1 Ra2 35.Rff4 Kh7 36.Rb4 Kg6 37.h4 Kh7 38.Rb5 R2xa4 39.Rxh5+ Rxh5 40.Rxa4 Rb5 41.Kg2 g5 42.h5 g4 43.Rxg4 Rxh5 44.Rh4 1/2-1/2

Round 4, July 13, 2016
Caruana, Fabiano – Dominguez Perez, Leinier
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 Nxd2 9.Bxd2 Bg4 10.c3 O-O 11.h3 Bh5 12.g3 Qd7 13.Kg2 Bg6 14.Ne1 Bd6 15.Qg4 Qxg4 16.hxg4 Rfe8 17.Bxg6 hxg6 18.Nd3 f6 19.g5 Kf7 20.Rh1 Rh8 21.b4 Rae8 22.a4 Nd8 23.b5 Ne6 24.Rxh8 Rxh8 25.a5 Ke7 26.a6 b6 27.Re1 Kd7 28.Bc1 Rh5 29.f4 Nd8 30.Nf2 fxg5 31.fxg5 Ne6 32.Re2 Rh8 33.Nd3 Re8 34.Kf3 Rf8+ 35.Kg2 Re8 36.Kf3 Rf8+ 37.Kg2 1/2-1/2

Round 4, July 13, 2016
Ponomariov, Ruslan – Kramnik, Vladimir
D41 QGD, Semi-Tarrasch

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 Rb8 15.Bb5 Nf6 16.Bd3 h6 17.Rab1 Ba8 18.h3 Qe7 19.Rb3 Rfd8 20.Qb2 Rbc8 21.a5 bxa5 22.Ra3 Rb8 23.Qa2 Qb4 24.Rb1 Qf8 25.Re1 Qb4 26.Rb1 Qf8 27.Re1 1/2-1/2

Standings After Round Four

1. Vachier-Lagrave 3.0/4
2. Dominguez Perez 2.5/4
3. Kramnik 2.0/4
4. Ponomariov 2.0/4
5. Caruana 2.0/4
6. Nisipeanu 2.0/4
7. Najer 1.5/4
8. Buhmann 1.0/4

Pairings for Round Five (July 15)

Najer-MVL
Dominguez-Nisipeanu
Kramnik-Caruana
Buhmann-Ponomariov

**Jack Maguire** · Wednesday, 13th July, 2016, 02:38 PM

Re: Dortmund 2016

MVL just needs another 2.2 FIDE point swing to take over the #2 ranking in the world!

http://www.2700chess.com/

**Wayne Komer** · Friday, 15th July, 2016, 04:35 PM

Re: Dortmund 2016

Dortmund 2016

July 15, 2016

Round 5

Jan and Fiona have only one game from the two tournaments to watch near the end of their broadcast. Kramnik-Caruana is in to a rook and pawn endgame. Jan says that he doesn’t know rook endgames and wants to go home. He has to fly to Baden Baden tomorrow for a Bundesliga game. Fiona and Niclas will be holding the fort here.

Most commentators, oddly enough, say that they don’t anything about rook endgames. Who does know them? Well, Minev. Nikolay Minev wrote A Practical Guide to Rook Endings, published in 2004, and everyone has it as an essential book on their shelf. Rook Endings by Levenfish and Smyslov has received a lot of praise. There are also books by Mednis, Nunn, Emms and Korchnoi but perhaps to have them all is too much of a good thing.

If you want a reputation in chess, then you should become an expert on rook endings.

Viewers start asking the pair oddball questions. For the record, Jan pays 25 euros for his regular haircut – it is from a friseur, not a barber or a hairdresser. That is $35.80 CAN at today’s rates. Must include the tip, I guess. He is not sure of the difference between the two anyway.

A viewer writes, “A barber talks to you and shaves your neck. Has cool mags on the waiting table.”

The conversation lags again and a viewer says, “Take another break and go get some Nutella”.

When they come back Jan introduces Kramnik as a man who always queens his pawns. He has a b-pawn here.

For the last two hours or more the endgame has been a draw. Jan thinks that Kramnik’s strategy is to play on and on until the Dortmund restaurants close at 10 p.m., thereby depriving Caruana of a meal. So weakened, Fabiano will do poorly in the remaining tournament.
All strong chess players know this restaurant stratagem. One suspects that Lawrence Trent, Fabi's manager is out at a convenience store now buying junk food for his client!

Jan says that after the tournament is over, he has to do some highlight films for chess24 and then he will get home at 1 a.m. and be up early in the morning for the flight to Baden Baden. Who wouldn’t want to trade place with him in life?

Finally the game is drawn and Jan gives an incoherent goodbye, with Fiona laughing.

Dortmund 2016
Round 5, July 15, 2016
Dominguez Perez, Leinier – Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance Variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Ne7 6.O-O c5 7.Na3 Nec6 8.c4 Be4 9.Nb5 Be7 10.dxc5 O-O 11.Be3 Nd7 12.Nd6 b6 13.Nd2 Nxc5 14.N6xe4 dxe4 15.Qb1 Nxe5 16.Nxe4 f5 17.Nc3 f4 18.Bxc5 Bxc5 19.Qe4 Qg5 20.Bf3 Rad8 21.Rad1 Bd4 22.Nb5 Bxb2 23.Nxa7 Rxd1 24.Rxd1 Rd8 25.Rxd8+ Qxd8 26.Nc6 Qd3 27.Nxe5 Qxe4 28.Bxe4 Bxe5 29.Kf1 Bd4 30.Ke2 g5 31.f3 Kg7 32.h3 h6 33.Kd3 Bc5 34.Ke2 Kf6 35.Kd3 Kg7 36.Ke2 Kf6 1/2-1/2

Round 5, July 15, 2016
Buhmann, Ranier – Ponomariov, Ruslan
E17 Queen’s Indian, Sosonko Variation

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 b6 3.g3 Bb7 4.Bg2 e6 5.O-O Be7 6.d4 O-O 7.d5 exd5 8.Nh4 c6 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Nf5 Nc7 11.Nc3 d5 12.e4 Bf6 13.exd5 cxd5 14.Bf4 Nba6 15.Re1 Bc8 16.Nd6 Bxc3 17.bxc3 Be6 18.a4 Nc5 19.h4 Qd7 20.a5 Bg4 21.f3 Be6 22.g4 Qc6 23.Rb1 Rad8 24.axb6 axb6 25.Nf5 Bxf5 26.gxf5 Nb5 27.Be5 Rfe8 28.f4 f6 29.c4 fxe5 30.Bxd5+ Rxd5 31.Qxd5+ Qxd5 32.cxd5 Nc3 33.Rxb6 Nxd5 34.Rd6 Nxf4 35.Ra1 e4 36.Rc6 e3 0-1

Round 5, July 15, 2016
Najer, Yevgeny. – Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime
B96 Sicilian, Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 h6 8.Bh4 Qb6 9.Qd2 Qxb2 10.Rb1 Qa3 11.e5 dxe5 12.fxe5 Nfd7 13.Ne4 Qxa2 14.Rd1 Qd5 15.Qe3 Qxe5 16.Be2 Bc5 17.Bg3 Qd5 18.c4 Bxd4 19.Rxd4 Qa5+ 20.Rd2 O-O 21.Bd6 f5 22.Bxf8 Nxf8 23.Nd6 Nbd7 24.g4 fxg4 25.Bxg4 Qa1+ 26.Rd1 Qe5 27.Rd3 Nc5 28.O-O Nxd3 29.Qxd3 Bd7 30.Nxb7 Rb8 31.Bf3 Qc7 32.Nd6 Qc5+ 33.Rf2 a5 34.Nb7 Qb4 35.Qe4 Nh7 36.c5 Ng5 0-1

Round 5, July 15, 2016
Kramnik, Vladimir – Caruana, Fabiano
B48 Sicilian, Taimanov Variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 a6 7.Qf3 Bd6 8.O-O-O Be5 9.g3 Nf6 10.Qe2 O-O 11.f4 Bxd4 12.Bxd4 Nxd4 13.Rxd4 d6 14.Qd2 b5 15.a3 Bb7 16.Bg2 Rfd8 17.Rd1 Ne8 18.Bh3 Rab8 19.Rd3 Bc6 20.e5 Qb7 21.f5 b4 22.axb4 Qxb4 23.b3 exf5 24.Kb2 g6 25.Bg2 Bxg2 26.Qxg2 Rdc8 27.Nd5 Qe4 28.Qxe4 fxe4 29.Re3 Kg7 30.Rxe4 dxe5 31.Rxe5 Nd6 32.Ne3 Rc6 33.Re7 Nf5 34.Nxf5+ gxf5 35.Rd4 Rh6 36.Rf4 Rxh2 37.Rxf5 Rf8 38.Ra7 Rg2 39.Rf3 h5 40.b4 Rc8 41.Rfxf7+ Kh6 42.Rxa6+ Kg5 43.Ra5+ Kg6 44.Rf3 Rcxc2+ 45.Kb3 Rb2+ 46.Ka4 Ra2+ 47.Kb5 Rae2 48.Ra6+ Kg5 49.Rc6 Kg4 50.Rfc3 Re5+ 51.Kb6 Rb2 52.R6c4+ Kf5 53.Rf4+ Kg5 54.Rd4 Kf5 55.Kc6 Re6+ 56.Kd7 Rb6 57.Rc5+ Kg6 58.Rc6+ Rxc6 59.Kxc6 Rb3 60.b5 Rc3+ 61.Kd6 Rxg3 62.b6 Rb3 63.Kc6 Kg5 64.Rd5+ Kg4 65.Rb5 Rc3+ 66.Kd7 Rd3+ 67.Ke7 Re3+ 68.Kf7 Rf3+ 69.Kg6 h4 70.b7 Rf8 71.Rg5+ Kh3 72.Rb5 Kg2 73.Rg5+ Kh3 74.Rb5 Kg2 75.Kh5 h3 76.Rb2+ Kg1 77.Rb1+ Kg2 78.Rb2+ Kg1 79.Kg4 h2 80.Rb1+ Kg2 81.Rb2+ Kg1 82.b8=Q Rxb8 83.Rxb8 h1=Q 84.Rb1+ Kg2 85.Rxh1 Kxh1 1/2-1/2

Standing after Round 5

1. Vachier-Lagrave 4.0/5
2. Ponomariov 3.0/5
3. Dominguez Perez 3.0/5
4. Kramnik 2.5/5
5. Caruana 2.5/5
6. Nisipeanu 2.5/5
7. Najer 1.5/5
8. Buhmann 1.0/5

So now Vachier-Lagrave is number 2 on the live world ranking list, ahead of Kramnik.

A recent biography said this:

Despite his success he’s so far struggled to match the progress of Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin, who were also born in 1990. A partial explanation is that in contrast to those grandmasters, Vachier-Lagrave took time out to gain a university degree in mathematics, which he completed in 2010.

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 17th July, 2016, 12:46 AM

Re: Dortmund 2016

Dortmund 2016

Round 6, July 16, 2016

Vachier-Lagrave won in this round and is 1.5 points ahead of Dominguez and Caruana before the final round Sunday and so has also won the tournament. It could be that we are seeing an important stage in MVL’s career – now second in the world in live ratings.

Fabiano Caruana had an easy victory. The longest game of the day went nearly eight hours but in the end Kramnik and Nisipeanu divided the point. What is driving Vladimir to go on and on, here for the second day in a row?

The games:

Dortmund 2016
Round 6, July 16, 2016
Caruana, Fabiano – Buhmann, Rainer
A08 Reti, KIA

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c5 3.Bg2 Nc6 4.O-O e5 5.c4 d4 6.d3 Nf6 7.e3 Bd6 8.exd4 cxd4 9.Bg5 h6 10.Bxf6 Qxf6 11.Nbd2 Bc7 12.Qa4 O-O 13.b4 Bf5 14.Qb3 Rab8 15.Rfe1 a6 16.Rac1 Rfd8 17.a3 Qe7 18.b5 Na5 19.Qb4 Qf6 20.Ne4 Bxe4 21.Rxe4 axb5 22.cxb5 Qb6 23.Nxe5 Bd6 24.Qb2 Rbc8 25.a4 Rxc1+ 26.Qxc1 Qc5 27.Qxc5 Bxc5 28.h4 h5 29.Bf3 g6 30.Rf4 1-0

- Kids, don't try Reversed Benoni at home!

Round 6, July 16, 2016
Najer, Evgeniy – Dominguez Perez, Leinier
D37 QGD, Hastings Variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 b6 7.Bd3 dxc4 8.Bxc4 Ba6 9.Bxa6 Nxa6 10.Qe2 Qc8 11.e4 Re8 12.O-O c5 13.Rad1 h6 14.h3 Bf8 15.Be5 Nd7 16.Bg3 Qb7 17.d5 exd5 18.Nxd5 Rac8 19.b3 Nb4 20.Nc3 a6 21.Qd2 Nf6 22.a3 Nc6 23.e5 Rcd8 24.Qc2 Nd4 25.Nxd4 cxd4 26.exf6 Qc6 27.Rd3 dxc3 28.Qxc3 Qxc3 29.Rxc3 Bxa3 30.Rc6 Bc5 31.fxg7 Kxg7 32.b4 Bxb4 33.Rxb6 a5 34.Rc1 Rd5 35.Ra6 Rf5 36.Rc4 h5 37.Rf4 Rd5 38.Kh2 Re1 39.Ra7 Be7 40.f3 Re6 41.h4 Kg6 42.Re4 Bd8 43.Rxe6+ fxe6 44.Be1 Rd4 45.g3 a4 46.Ba5 Bf6 47.Bc3 Rd3 48.Bxf6 Kxf6 49.Rxa4 Rxf3 50.Kg2 Rd3 51.g4 hxg4 52.Rxg4 Kf5 53.Rg3 Rxg3+ 54.Kxg3 1/2-1/2

Round 6, July 16, 2016
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime – Ponomariov, Ruslan
C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, Open Variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5 Be7 7.Bf1 Nxe5 8.Rxe5 O-O 9.d4 Bf6 10.Re1 Re8 11.Nc3 Rxe1 12.Qxe1 b6 13.Bf4 Bb7 14.Bxd6 cxd6 15.Qe3 Qe7 16.Qxe7 Bxe7 17.g3 Kf8 18.a4 Bc6 19.a5 bxa5 20.d5 Bb7 21.Rxa5 a6 22.Ra3 Bf6 23.Na4 Ke7 24.c4 Kd8 25.Re3 a5 26.Be2 Ba6 27.Kf1 Rb8 28.b3 g5 29.Ke1 Bd4 30.Rf3 Ke7 31.Bd1 h6 32.Kd2 Rb4 33.Kd3 Ba7 34.Rf5 f6 35.Nc3 Bc5 36.f4 Rb8 37.fxg5 fxg5 38.Kc2 Bg1 39.Bh5 Bxh2 40.Rf7+ Kd8 41.Bg4 Rb7 42.c5 Bxg3 43.Ne4 dxc5 44.Nxg3 d6 45.Rf8+ Ke7 46.Ra8 Rb6 47.Kc3 Bb7 48.Nf5+ Kf6 49.Rf8+ Ke5 50.Ne3 Ke4 51.Nc4 Ra6 52.Bf3# 1-0

- A 2700+ game with a mate in the middle of the board .... I love it

Round 6, July 16, 2016
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter – Kramnik, Vladimir
E10 Queen’s Pawn Game

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.e3 Be7 5.b3 O-O 6.Bb2 c5 7.Bd3 cxd4 8.exd4 Nc6 9.O-O b6 10.Nbd2 Bb7 11.Rc1 Rc8 12.Re1 Re8 13.a3 Bf8 14.c5 a5 15.Bc3 bxc5 16.dxc5 d4 17.Bb2 e5 18.Ng5 Rc7 19.Bc4 h6 20.Nge4 Bc8 21.Nxf6+ Qxf6 22.b4 axb4 23.axb4 Nxb4 24.Bxd4 Bb7 25.Qg4 Kh8 26.Ne4 Qf4 27.Qxf4 exf4 28.Nd2 Rxe1+ 29.Rxe1 Rd7 30.Nb3 Nc2 31.Re8 Kg8 32.Bb5 Rxd4 33.Nxd4 Nxd4 34.Rb8 Be4 35.Bd7 g5 36.Rc8 f3 37.g3 Bb7 38.Rb8 Bd5 39.Rd8 Kg7 40.Bb5 Nxb5 41.Rxd5 Nc3 42.Rd3 Ne2+ 43.Kf1 Bxc5 44.Rxf3 Nd4 45.Rc3 Bd6 46.Kg2 h5 47.Rc4 Nf5 48.Ra4 f6 49.Ra5 Kg6 50.Ra6 Be5 51.Ra5 Nd4 52.Ra4 Kf5 53.Ra8 g4 54.h3 Nf3 55.hxg4+ hxg4 56.Rg8 Bd4 57.Rd8 Ke4 58.Re8+ Be5 59.Rg8 Ng5 60.Ra8 Kf5 61.Ra4 Ne4 62.Ra5 Nd2 63.Ra4 Nf3 64.Ra8 Bd4 65.Rd8 Ke4 66.Re8+ Ne5 67.Re6 Kf5 68.Rd6 Ba7 69.Rd8 Bb6 70.Rb8 Bd4 71.Rd8 Ke4 72.Re8 Bc5 73.Rg8 Kd3 74.Rc8 Bd4 75.Rd8 Nf3 76.Rg8 Ng5 77.Rd8 Ke4 78.Re8+ Kf5 79.Rd8 Ne6 80.Ra8 Bb6 81.Rb8 Bc5 82.Rc8 Bd4 83.Ra8 Be5 84.Rc8 Bd6 85.Rc6 Ke5 86.Rc4 Nd4 87.Rc8 Ke4 88.Rg8 f5 89.Re8+ Be5 90.Re7 Nc2 91.Re8 Ne1+ 92.Kf1 Nd3 93.Kg2 Nb4 94.Re7 Nd5 95.Re8 Nf6 96.Ra8 Bd4 97.Rd8 Ke5 98.f3 Bb6 99.Rb8 Nd5 100.fxg4 fxg4 101.Rg8 Kf5 102.Re8 Bd4 103.Rf8+ Ke4 104.Rg8 Ne3+ 105.Kf2 Kd3 106.Rg6 Nc4+ 107.Kg2 Ne5 108.Rg5 Ke4 109.Rg8 Bc5 110.Rg7 Kf5 111.Rg8 Nd7 112.Rc8 Be3 113.Re8 Bb6 114.Rc8 Nf6 115.Rb8 Bd4 116.Rb7 Be5 117.Rb5 Ke4 118.Rb4+ Kd3 119.Rb3+ Ke4 120.Rb4+ Bd4 121.Rb8 Kd3 122.Rd8 Ke3 123.Ra8 Bc3 124.Rc8 Kd3 125.Rc7 Bd4 126.Rg7 Be5 127.Rg6 Ke4 128.Rg5 Bd6 129.Kf2 Bc7 130.Kg2 Be5 131.Kf2 Kd5 132.Kg2 Ke6 133.Kh2 Bc3 134.Kg2 Bd2 135.Rg7 Kf5 136.Rf7 Bb4 137.Rb7 Bd6 138.Rb5+ Kg6 139.Ra5 Ne4 140.Ra4 Kf5 141.Ra5+ Ke6 142.Ra4 Kd5 143.Ra8 Ke5 144.Ra5+ Kd4 145.Ra8 Ke3 146.Rg8 1/2-1/2

- Black's clock has stopped. I think draw
Caretaker went home, switched all off, they are looking for the arbiter, in the dark.

Standings after Round Six

1. Vachier-Lagrave 5.0/6
2. Dominguez-Perez 3.5/6
3. Caruana 3.5/6
4. Kramnik 3.0/6
5. Nisipeanu 3.0/6
6. Najer 2.0/6
7. Buhmann 1.0/6
_________

Final Round Pairings

Dominguez-Vachier-Lagrave
Kramnik-Najer
Buhmann-Nisipeanu
Ponomariov-Caruana
________

- Bobby Fisher said he could draw against God in the Ruy. Magnus says he will beat God if it comes to someone getting within 50 points of his rating

- maxime maxime...
here in dortmund he's reminiscent of denzel's "Man on Fire" - great movie!
42. c5!! was a 'shot out of the blue' and the mate, I'm sure, shocked and stunned the bedazzled dizzied ponomariov

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 17th July, 2016, 12:15 PM

Re: Dortmund 2016

Dortmund 2016

July 17, 2016

Round Seven

The final round. Three draws though MVL and Dominguez try to make a game of theirs. The last game to finish is Kramnik-Najer, which Kramnik wins in a virtual miniature since the number of moves in his games have been, respectively, 54, 51, 47, 27, 85 and 146. These were all draws.

- Najer went from dead draw to loss! Time pressure

- Vlad finally warmed up. Too bad the tournament is over now

- Wow, he even gets 2nd place Wins the 2nd tiebreak most black games

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is a clear first. We will see if he continues his remarkable year at the Sinquefield, which starts August 1. Before that, I believe, he has a match with Peter Svidler.

Dortmund 2016
Round 7, July 17, 2016
A32 English, Symmetrical, Modern Line
Ponomariov, Ruslan – Caruana, Fabiano

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.g3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Qc7 6.Nc3 a6 7.Bg2 Qxc4 8.O-O Nc6 9.Nb3 d5 10.Bf4 Be7 11.a3 a5 12.Rc1 Qa6 13.a4 O-O 14.Nb5 Qb6 15.Bc7 Qa6 16.Bf4 Qb6 17.Bc7 Qa6 18.Bf4 1/2-1/2

Round 7, July 17, 2016
Buhmann, Rainer – Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter
D06 QGD, Grau (3.Nf3)

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Bf5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Bf4 Bb4 6.Qa4+ Nc6 7.Ne5 O-O 8.Nxc6 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 bxc6 10.Qxc6 Qb8 11.Qb5 dxc4 12.Qxb8 Rfxb8 13.Bxc7 Rb2 14.f3 Bb1 15.Kd1 Nd5 16.Kc1 Rxa2 17.Rxb1 Nxc7 18.e4 Ra4 19.Be2 f5 20.Rf1 Rf8 21.Rb7 Na8 22.Kb2 Nb6 23.Bd1 Ra5 24.Bc2 Rf7 25.Rb8+ Rf8 26.Rb7 Rf7 27.Rb8+ Rf8 1/2-1/2

Round 7, July 17, 2016
Dominguez Perez, Leinier – Vachier Lagrave, Maxime
D83 Grunfeld, Grunfeld Gambit, Capablanca Variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bf4 Bg7 5.e3 O-O 6.Rc1 Be6 7.c5 c6 8.h3 b6 9.b4 a5 10.Na4 b5 11.Nb6 Ra7 12.a4 Nfd7 13.bxa5 Rxa5 14.Qd2 Nxb6 15.Qxa5 Nxa4 16.Qxd8 Rxd8 17.Nf3 Na6 18.Be2 Nb4 19.Kd2 Na2 20.Rc2 Nb4 21.Rcc1 Na2 22.Ra1 N2c3 23.Rhc1 Nxe2 24.Kxe2 f6 25.Kd2 Bf5 26.Ra2 Be4 27.Rca1 e5 28.Bg3 Ra8 29.Ra3 Kf7 30.Ne1 exd4 31.exd4 Bh6+ 32.Ke2 Re8 33.Kf1 Bd2 34.Nd3 Bxd3+ 35.Rxd3 Bc3 36.Rc1 b4 37.f3 Nb2 38.Rdxc3 bxc3 39.Rxc3 Nc4 40.Kg1 Re2 41.Rb3 Ne3 42.Bf2 Nd1 43.Bg3 Ne3 44.Bf2 Nd1 45.Bg3 Ne3 1/2-1/2

Round 7, July 17, 2016
Kramnik, Vladimir – Najer, Evgenyi
A20 English Opening

1.c4 e5 2.d3 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.g3 d6 5.Bg2 Nf6 6.e4 c6 7.Nge2 a6 8.O-O b5 9.f4 Qb6+ 10.Kh1 Ng4 11.Qe1 Nd7 12.h3 h5 13.b4 Ne3 14.Bxe3 Qxe3 15.d4 Qd3 16.fxe5 dxe5 17.cxb5 axb5 18.d5 Bb7 19.Rd1 Qc4 20.dxc6 Bxc6 21.Nd5 Bxd5 22.Rxd5 Nb6 23.Rc5 Qe6 24.Nc3 O-O 25.Rxb5 Rfc8 26.a4 Nxa4 27.Nd5 Rab8 28.Ra5 Nb6 29.Ra7 Rf8 30.Ra6 Rfd8 31.Qf2 Rd6 32.b5 Rb7 33.Qc2 Kh7 34.Qc5 Kg8 35.Kh2 Kh7 36.h4 Kg8 37.Bh3 Rxd5 38.exd5 Qxd5 39.Qc6 Qd2+ 40.Bg2 1-0

Final Standings

1. Vachier-Lagrave 5.5
2. Kramnik 4.0
3. Caruana 4.0
4. Dominguez 4.0
5. Ponomariov 3.5
6. Nisipeanu 3.5
7. Najer 2.0
8. Buhmann 1.5

Dortmund 2016

Dortmund 2016

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment