London Chess Classic 2016

[Wayne Komer]

Re: London Chess Classic 2016

London Chess Classic 2016

December 17, 2016

Round Eight

By drawing his penultimate game, Wesley So won the Grand Chess Tour with a total prize of an estimated $295,000. When I added everything up I got $100,000 less, which shows why I never went into accountancy.

If at the end of the round tomorrow, there is a 2-way tie, there will be a 2 game rapid of G/10 + 5 sec incr and if still tied, a 2 game blitz at G/5 + 2 sec. in and if still tied, Armageddon.
________

(Peter Doggers) - In the only decisive game. Vishy Anand defeated Veselin Topalov with the black pieces using a great novelty (12...b5!N) found by his second, Polish GM Grzegorz Gajewski.

Anand: "I try to pay him well these days."

Topalov didn't react in the best way (who would have?), and after a few more strong moves, Anand reached a winning position.

He then missed a cute idea by the computer on move 21, which would have won quickly. "It would have been a nice game," said Anand, being self-critical despite his victory.

Anand needed another mistake from his opponent to wrap up the game. "He defended incredibly well. If he had not played 31.h4, he would have been practically back in the game."

This was Topalov's sixth(!) loss in the event (his other two games were drawn). He has dropped 26.7 rating points and is now #25 in the world in the live ratings.

https://www.chess.com/news/view/anan...hess-tour-5989

London Classic 2016
Round 8, Dec. 17, 2016
Topalov, Veselin – Anand, Vishy
D37 QGD, Hastings Variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.a3 Nc6 9.Qc2 Re8 10.O-O-O e5 11.Bg5 d4 12.Nd5 b5 13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.cxb5 Na5 15.exd4 exd4 16.Nb4 Bxb4 17.axb4 Be6 18.Nxd4 Rc8 19.Nc6 Nxc6 20.bxc6 Qb6 21.Qa4 Rxc6+ 22.Kb1 Rd8 23.Rxd8+ Qxd8 24.Be2 Bf5+ 25.Ka2 Rc2 26.Rd1 Qb6 27.Bg4 Qe6+ 28.Ka3 Qe5 29.Qb3 Bg6 30.Bf3 Rxf2 31.h4 Bc2 32.Rd8+ Kg7 33.Qc3 Qb5 34.Qc6 Rxf3+ 0-1

London Classic 2016
Round 8, Dec. 17, 2016
Nakamura, Hikaru – Aronian, Levon
D38 QGD, Ragozin Variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Qb3 c5 6.dxc5 Nc6 7.Bg5 dxc4 8.Qxc4 Qa5 9.Rc1 Qxc5 10.Qxc5 Bxc5 11.e3 Bb4 12.a3 Bxc3+ 13.Rxc3 Ne4 14.Rc1 Nxg5 15.Nxg5 Ke7 16.Ne4 Bd7 17.Nc5 Rhc8 18.Nxd7 Kxd7 19.Bb5 a6 20.Bxc6+ Rxc6 21.Rxc6 Kxc6 22.Ke2 Rd8 23.Rc1+ Kd7 24.Rd1+ Ke7 25.Rc1 Kd7 26.Rd1+ Ke7 27.Rc1 1/2-1/2

London Classic 2016
Round 8, Dec. 17, 2016
Kramnik, Vladimir – Giri, Anish
B91 Sicilian, Najdorf, Zagreb Variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.g3 e5 7.Nde2 Be6 8.Bg2 h5 9.Bg5 Nbd7 10.Qd2 Be7 11.a4 Rc8 12.O-O Nf8 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Rfd1 Be7 15.Nd5 h4 16.Nec3 Nh7 17.Ra3 Rc6 18.Rb3 Qb8 19.Na2 Bxd5 20.Qxd5 Qc8 21.Nb4 Nf6 22.Qd2 Rc5 23.Rc1 hxg3 24.hxg3 g6 25.Rd3 Kf8 26.c3 Kg7 27.Rd1 Qd7 28.b3 Qg4 29.c4 Nxe4 30.f3 Nxd2 31.fxg4 Nxc4 32.bxc4 Rxc4 33.Nd5 Bd8 34.Ra1 Rxg4 35.a5 e4 36.Rb3 Rh5 37.Ne3 Rgg5 38.Kf2 Rxa5 39.Rxa5 Rxa5 40.Bxe4 b5 41.Rd3 Be7 42.Kf3 Ra1 43.Nd5 Bd8 44.Nf4 Be7 45.Rc3 d5 46.Bxd5 Ra3 1/2-1/2

London Classic 2016
Round 8, Dec. 17, 2016
MVL – Adams, Michael
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 O-O 6.O-O Re8 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 a6 9.Bc4 d6 10.a4 Ba7 11.Na3 Be6 12.b4 Nb8 13.Bxe6 Rxe6 14.Nc4 Nbd7 15.Ne3 c6 16.Nd2 a5 17.bxa5 Qxa5 18.Ndc4 Qa6 19.Nf5 d5 20.Nce3 Kh7 21.exd5 Nxd5 22.Qh5 Rf8 23.Nxd5 cxd5 24.Be7 Nf6 25.Qh3 Re8 26.Bb4 h5 27.d4 exd4 28.Nxd4 Bxd4 29.cxd4 Qc4 30.Rab1 b6 31.a5 bxa5 32.Bxa5 Qxd4 33.Bc3 Qg4 34.Qxg4 hxg4 35.Bxf6 Rxf6 36.Rb4 Re4 37.Rxe4 dxe4 38.Re1 Re6 39.g3 f5 40.Kg2 g5 41.h3 gxh3+ 42.Kxh3 Kg6 43.Kg2 Re5 44.Ra1 f4 45.Ra6+ Kf5 46.gxf4 gxf4 47.Ra8 Rb5 48.Rh8 Rb2 49.Rf8+ Ke5 50.Re8+ Kd4 51.Rf8 Ke5 52.Re8+ Kd5 53.Rd8+ Ke5 1/2-1/2

Standings after Round Eight

1. So 5.5
2. Caruana 5.0
3. Nakamura 4.5
4. Anand 4.5
5. Kramnik 4.5
6. Aronian 4.0
7. Giri 4.0
8. MVL 3.5
9. Adams 3.5
10. Topalov 1.0

Final Round Pairings

Aronian-Topalov
Anand-Kramnik
Giri-Caruana
So-MVL
Adams-Nakamura

[Wayne Komer]

Re: London Chess Classic 2016

London Chess Classic

December 18, 2016

Round Nine

A special announcement was made during the broadcast of a universal ratings system, which combines all types of chess, to rate a player. This is given as a separate post on this forum.

Wesley So vs MVL was a safe draw, which practically ensured Wesley of first place. That made the rest of the round anticlimactic.

It has been a great tournament. Three games immediately come to mind. Caruana’s queen sacrifice in round six against Nakamura, Kramnik’s stalemate against Nakamura in round five and Nakamura’s knight sacrifice against MVL in round 7.
There were subplots as well – the bad play of MVL, the terrible play of Topalov, the draws of Giri and the ascendancy of Wesley So.

All made for a very entertaining tournament.

See: http://en.chessbase.com/post/caruana...gine-challenge
________

After five hours, there are only two games still going. Caruana said yesterday that to win in the last round with black versus Giri, would be very difficult and it was. Draw.

Aronian-Topalov goes on. Perhaps Veselin is trying to win one game in the tournament.

The organizers want to have the prize-giving but the game goes on with about 35 minutes for each player.

While waiting, an announcement comes over my computer that New In Chess is sponsoring a chess cruise in October of 2017. This 14-day voyage will involve a 7-round ELO-rated tournament, organised by GM Jörg Hickl, CEO of Schachreisen, and author of the bestselling book The Power of Pawns. There will be a chess side program as well with training sessions and game analysis. The Premium All-Inclusive trip starts in Copenhagen and ends in Miami.

I would prefer the Chess Train journey, which goes from Prague round-trip through Innsbruck and Salzburg. I guess this preference comes from reading Orient Express mysteries when I was younger.

The games:

London Chess Classic 2016
Round 9, Dec. 18, 2016
So, Wesley – MVL
A30 English, Symmetrical

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.e3 Nf6 5.Be2 d5 6.d4 cxd4 7.exd4 e4 8.Ne5 dxc4 9.Bxc4 Nxe5 10.dxe5 Qxd1+ 11.Kxd1 Ng4 12.e6 fxe6 13.Nxe4 Bd7 14.f3 Ne5 15.Bb3 Rd8 16.Bd2 Nd3 17.Kc2 Nb4+ 18.Bxb4 Bxb4 19.Nc3 Ke7 20.Rhe1 Bxc3 21.Kxc3 Rc8+ 22.Kd2 Rhd8 23.Ke3 e5 24.Rad1 Bc6 25.h4 h6 26.a3 Rxd1 27.Rxd1 Rf8 28.Rf1 Rf4 29.g3 Rd4 30.Rd1 Rxd1 31.Bxd1 g5 32.hxg5 hxg5 33.f4 gxf4+ 34.gxf4 exf4+ 35.Kxf4 1/2-1/2

Round 9, Dec. 28, 2016
Anand, Vishy – Kramnik, Vladimir
D37 QGD, Hastings Variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 b6 7.Bd3 c5 8.dxc5 bxc5 9.O-O Nc6 10.cxd5 exd5 11.Rc1 h6 12.h3 Be6 13.Bb5 Qb6 14.Qa4 Rfc8 15.Ne5 Nxe5 16.Bxe5 a6 17.Be2 Rd8 18.Bf3 Nd7 19.Bg3 Nf6 20.Rfd1 Rac8 21.Be5 Nd7 22.Bg3 Nf6 23.Be5 Nd7 24.Bg3 Nf6 1/2-1/2

Round 9, Dec. 18, 2016
Giri, Anish – Caruana, Fabiano
D27 QGA, Classical

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 dxc4 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.O-O a6 7.b3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bd7 9.Bb2 Nc6 10.Nf3 Be7 11.Nbd2 O-O 12.Rc1 Rc8 13.Qe2 Nb4 14.a3 b5 15.axb4 bxc4 16.Nxc4 Bxb4 17.Ra1 Bb5 18.Nd4 Bxc4 19.bxc4 a5 20.Rfc1 Nd7 21.Nb3 Qg5 22.c5 Nxc5 23.Nxa5 Ne4 24.Nc6 Bc5 25.Nd4 Bxd4 26.Bxd4 Rxc1+ 27.Rxc1 e5 28.Bb2 Rd8 29.Rd1 Rxd1+ 30.Qxd1 h5 31.Qd3 Nf6 32.h3 e4 33.Qd8+ Kh7 34.Qe7 Qg6 35.Bxf6 gxf6 36.Qc5 Kg7 37.Qd5 f5 38.Qe5+ Qf6 39.Qg3+ Kh7 40.Kh2 Qe7 41.Qf4 Kg6 42.Kg3 Qd8 43.Qe5 Qg5+ 44.Kh2 Qd8 45.Qg3+ Kh7 46.Qf4 Kg6 47.Qe5 Qd2 48.Qg3+ Kh6 49.Qf4+ Kg6 50.Qg3+ Kh6 51.Qh4 Qd6+ 52.Qf4+ Qxf4+ 53.exf4 Kg6 54.Kg1 Kg7 55.Kf1 Kf6 56.Ke2 Ke6 57.Kd2 Kd6 58.Ke2 Ke6 1/2-1/2

Round 9, Dec. 18, 2016
Adams, Michael – Nakamura, Hikaru
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 Nf5 8.Nf3 O-O 9.d4 d5 10.c3 Re8 11.Bd3 Bd6 12.Rxe8+ Qxe8 13.Qc2 g6 14.Nbd2 Bd7 15.Nf1 b6 16.Ng3 Nxg3 17.hxg3 f6 18.Bf4 Bxf4 19.gxf4 Qf7 20.Nh4 Kg7 21.g3 Ne7 22.Re1 Re8 23.Re3 Nc8 24.Ng2 Nd6 25.Rxe8 Qxe8 26.Ne3 Be6 27.f5 Bf7 28.fxg6 hxg6 29.Qe2 Be6 30.Ng2 c6 1/2-1/2

Round 9, Dec. 18, 2016
Aronian, Levon – Topalov, Veselin
A37 English, Symmetrical Variation

1.c4 g6 2.Nc3 c5 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.O-O e6 7.e3 Nge7 8.d4 O-O 9.Re1 a6 10.Bd2 Rb8 11.Rc1 b6 12.Ne2 e5 13.Bc3 h6 14.d5 Nb4 15.Ra1 b5 16.a3 bxc4 17.axb4 cxb4 18.Bd2 Nxd5 19.Qc1 c3 20.bxc3 b3 21.Qb1 Nf6 22.Qb2 Qc7 23.c4 Qxc4 24.Nc3 Be6 25.Rec1 Nd7 26.e4 Nc5 27.Bf1 Qb4 28.Be3 Rfc8 29.Nd2 a5 30.Bxc5 Rxc5 31.Ra4 Qb7 32.Bc4 Qc6 33.Bd5 Bxd5 34.exd5 Qd7 35.Ra3 a4 36.Nxa4 Rxd5 37.Nxb3 e4 38.Qa2 Qf5 39.Re1 Rdb5 40.Rc1 d5 41.Nac5 d4 42.Ra7 d3 43.Rc7 h5 44.Qa4 h4 45.Qxe4 Qxe4 46.Nxe4 Rxb3 47.gxh4 Bh6 48.Rf1 R3b4 49.f3 Rb2 50.Nf6+ Kg7 51.Ng4 d2 52.Rd7 Re8 53.Nf2 Re1 0-1

Final Standings

1. So 6.0
2. Caruana 5.5
3. Nakamura 5.0
4. Anand 5.0
5. Kramnik 5.0
6. Giri 4.5
7. MVL 4.0
8. Aronian 4.0
9. Adams 4.0
10. Topalov 2.0

Prize Money London

1. So $75,000
2. Caruana $50,000
3. Kramnik $31,666
4. Anand $31,666
5. Nakamura $31,666
6. Giri $20,000
7. Aronian $15,000
8. MVL $15,000
9. Adams $15,000
10. Topalov $15,000

Prize Money GCT

1. So $295,000
2. Nakamura $144,166
3. Caruana $108,750
4. Aronian $81,250
5. Anand $82,916
6. MVL $55,000
7. Giri $50,000
8. Topalov $66,250
9. Kramnik $46,666

2017 Tour Schedule

Paris Rapid and Blitz June 19-25
Your Next Move Rapid and Blitz June 26-July 3
Sinquefield Cup Classical July 31-August 12
Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz August 13-20
London Classic November 29-December 12
_______

At 3:30 Toronto/Montreal time and 8:30 p.m. London time the closing ceremony takes place.

Wesley is given the glass London Chess Classic trophy and then the much larger glass trophy for winning the 2016 GCT. I am wondering how he will take both home safely in his luggage.