Paris Leuven GCT 2017

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Paris Leuven GCT 2017

Paris Leuven GCT 2017

June 29, 2017

Leuven Rapid
Round Six

Round 6, June 29, 2017
So, Wesley – Anand, Vishy
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d5 6.Nbd2 O-O 7.exd5 Qxd5 8.Bc4 Qd8 9.b4 Bd6 10.O-O h6 11.Re1 Re8 12.a4 a6 13.Ne4 Nxe4 14.dxe4 Qf6 15.Be3 Bg4 16.Be2 Red8 17.Nd2 Be6 18.Bg4 a5 19.b5 Nb8 20.Bxe6 Qxe6 21.Qb3 Qxb3 22.Nxb3 Nd7 23.Red1 Kf8 24.Rd3 Ke7 25.Kf1 Nb6 26.Nd2 Ke6 27.Bxb6 cxb6 28.Nc4 Bc5 29.Rad1 Rxd3 30.Rxd3 Rc8 31.f3 Bg1 32.Rd6+ Ke7 33.Nxb6 Bxb6 34.Rxb6 Rc7 35.Ke2 Kd8 36.Rd6+ Ke7 37.Rb6 Kd8 38.Rd6+ Ke7 39.Rd5 Rxc3 40.Rxe5+ Kf6 41.Rf5+ Ke6 42.b6 Rc2+ 43.Kf1 Rb2 44.Rxa5 Rxb6 45.Kf2 Rb2+ 46.Kg3 Ra2 47.h4 b6 48.Ra6 Ke7 49.h5 Rb2 50.Ra7+ Ke6 51.f4 Ra2 52.Kf3 Ra3+ 53.Kg4 Ra2 54.g3 Ra1 55.Ra6 f5+ 56.exf5+ Kf7 57.Ra7+ Kf6 58.Ra6 Kf7 59.f6 g6 60.Rxb6 1-0

Round 6, June 29, 2017
MVL – Giri, Anish
C54 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.O-O a6 7.a4 Ba7 8.Re1 O-O 9.h3 h6 10.b4 Ne7 11.Nbd2 Ng6 12.Nf1 c6 13.Bb3 Re8 14.Ra2 d5 15.Ng3 Be6 16.Rd2 Qc7 17.c4 dxe4 18.Nxe4 Nxe4 19.dxe4 a5 20.b5 Bc5 21.Rd3 Rad8 22.Rxd8 Rxd8 23.Qc2 f6 24.Rd1 Kh7 25.Rxd8 Qxd8 26.Ne1 Qd7 27.Qd2 Qc7 28.Nc2 Nf8 29.Ne3 Nd7 30.bxc6 bxc6 31.Bd1 Qd6 32.Qc2 Ba3 33.c5 Bxc5 34.Bg4 Bxg4 35.hxg4 Bd4 36.Bd2 Bxe3 37.Bxe3 c5 38.f3 Qc6 39.Qc4 Qb6 40.Qf7 Qb1+ 41.Kh2 Qe1 42.Qxd7 Qh4+ 43.Kg1 Qe1+ 44.Kh2 1/2-1/2

Round 6, June 29, 2017
Ivanchuk, Vassily – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
A20 English Opening

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 h5 4.d3 h4 5.g4 h3 6.Be4 Nf6 7.Bg5 Be7 8.Bxf6 Bb4+ 9.Kf1 Qxf6 10.Nf3 Nd4 11.a3 Be7 12.Nc3 c6 13.Rg1 Nxf3 14.Bxf3 d6 15.e3 Qh4 16.Rg3 g6 17.Ke2 Be6 18.Rc1 Rd8 19.Qa4 a6 20.Nd5 Kf8 21.Nxe7 Qxe7 22.g5 Rh4 23.Qb4 b5 24.Bxc6 bxc4 25.dxc4 Rc8 26.Bd5 Kg7 27.Bxe6 Qxe6 28.b3 Rg4 29.Qb6 Rxg3 30.fxg3 Qg4+ 31.Kd2 Qf3 32.Re1 Qa8 33.e4 a5 34.a4 Rb8 35.Qe3 Qb7 36.Kc2 Qb4 37.Rf1 Qa3 38.Qc3 Rb7 39.g4 Rc7 40.Rf3 Qc5 41.Qe3 Qa3 42.Qc3 Qc5 43.Rxh3 Qf2+ 44.Qd2 Qg1 45.Rg3 Qh1 46.Re3 Qa1 47.Qc3 Qg1 48.h3 Rb7 49.Kb2 Qf2+ 50.Ka3 Kg8 51.Rd3 Qc5+ 52.Ka2 Qf2+ 53.Qd2 Qb6 54.h4 Qg1 55.Rxd6 Qxg4 56.Rd8+ Kh7 57.Qe3 Qg2+ 58.Rd2 Qh1 59.c5 Qc1 60.h5 Rd7 61.hxg6+ Kg7 62.Re2 Qd1 63.gxf7 Rd3 64.f8=Q+ Kxf8 65.Qf2+ Kg8 66.Rb2 Rd4 67.Qc2 Qg1 68.c6 Rd1 69.Rb1 Rxb1 70.Qxb1 Qc5 71.Qd3 Kg7 72.Qc4 Qf2+ 73.Kb1 Qe1+ 74.Kb2 1-0

Round 6, June 29, 2017
Carlsen, Magnus – Jobava, Baadur
E67 King’s Indian, Fianchetto, Classical variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 d6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.O-O e5 7.Nc3 O-O 8.Qc2 c6 9.Rd1 Qc7 10.e4 a5 11.h3 Re8 12.Be3 exd4 13.Bxd4 Nc5 14.e5 Bf5 15.Qc1 Nfe4 16.exd6 Qb6 17.d7 Red8 18.Nxe4 Bxd4 19.Rxd4 Nxe4 20.g4 c5 21.Rd1 Bxd7 22.Qf4 f5 23.Ne5 Ba4 24.b3 Bc6 25.Nxc6 bxc6 26.gxf5 Rxd1+ 27.Rxd1 Nc3 28.Re1 Qd8 29.fxg6 hxg6 30.Re6 Qd3 31.Qg5 Ra7 32.Rxg6+ Kh8 33.Qh6+ 1-0

Round 6, June 29, 2017
Kramnik, Vladimir – Aronian, Levon
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 O-O 6.c3 a6 7.h3 Ba7 8.Re1 d6 9.Bb3 Kh8 10.Be3 Bxe3 11.Rxe3 Nd7 12.d4 Qf6 13.Na3 Nb6 14.Nc2 Na5 15.Nb4 Nxb3 16.axb3 exd4 17.cxd4 Bd7 18.Rc1 Rac8 19.Rec3 c6 20.Qd2 Rfe8 21.Re3 c5 22.Nc2 Qg6 23.Qe1 h6 24.Rd1 Nd5 25.Nh4 Qh7 26.exd5 Qxc2 27.Rc1 Qxb2 28.dxc5 dxc5 29.Nf5 Rxe3 30.Nxe3 b5 31.Qd1 a5 32.Ra1 Ra8 33.Rb1 Qf6 34.Qc1 Qd6 35.Qb2 a4 36.bxa4 Rxa4 37.Rc1 f5 38.Rd1 Ra8 39.Nf1 f4 40.Nh2 b4 41.Nf3 c4 42.Qd4 c3 43.Ne5 Qf6 44.Re1 Re8 45.g3 fxg3 46.f4 Rxe5 47.fxe5 Qf3 48.e6 Bb5 49.e7 c2 50.d6 b3 51.e8=Q+ Bxe8 52.Rxe8+ Kh7 53.Re1 b2 54.Qd2 Qf2+ 55.Qxf2 gxf2+ 56.Kxf2 c1=Q 0-1

Standings after Round Six

1 So 10
2-3 Carlsen, MVL 8
4-5 Nepomniachtchi, Giri 7
6 Aronian 6
7-8 Anand, Ivanchuk 5
9 Kramnik 4
10 Jobava

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Paris Leuven GCT 2017

Paris Leuven GCT 2017

July 1, 2017

Leuven, Belgium
Rapids Rounds Seven to Nine

Colin McGourty in chess24.com:

Wesley So beat Levon Aronian and drew two games to cruise to a 2-point victory in the rapid section of the Your Next Move Grand Chess Tour in Leuven. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave finished second after somehow winning a game that looked destined to be remembered for a Vishy Anand brilliancy. Despite going on to draw Magnus Carlsen and beat Baadur Jobava, a dejected Vishy said afterwards, “there’s no point playing chess like this”. Magnus is three points back after drawing all three games on Friday. Giri did the same, allowing Baadur Jobava to reach the dizzy heights of 1/18.

For the first time in the Leuven Grand Chess Tour we had more draws than decisive results on Friday, but there was still no shortage of thrillers.

Leuven Rapid 2017
Round 7, June 30, 2017
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – So, Wesley
A35 English, symmetrical, Four Knights System

1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.e3 e6 5.d4 d5 6.a3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 a6 8.O-O b5 9.Ba2 Bb7 10.h3 Qc7 11.Qe2 Rd8 12.Rd1 Be7 13.d5 exd5 14.Nxd5 Nxd5 15.Bxd5 O-O 16.e4 Na5 17.Bd2 Bxd5 18.Bxa5 Qxa5 19.Rxd5 c4 20.Nd4 Qb6 21.Rd1 g6 22.a4 Bf6 23.Nf3 Rxd5 24.exd5 Rd8 25.axb5 Qxb5 26.d6 Bxb2 27.Qe7 Qd7 28.Rd5 Ba3 29.Qf6 Bxd6 30.Ng5 Bh2+ 31.Kxh2 Qxd5 32.Nxf7 Qxf7 33.Qxd8+ Kg7 34.Qd4+ Kf8 35.Qd8+ Qe8 36.Qd6+ Qe7 37.Qf4+ Qf7 38.Qd6+ Kg8 39.Qd8+ Qf8 40.Qd5+ Qf7 1/2-1/2

Round 7, June 30, 2017
Giri, Anish – Carlsen, Magnus
E91 King’s Indian

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 c5 7.O-O Re8 8.Be3 Ng4 9.Bg5 h6 10.Bc1 Nd7 11.h3 cxd4 12.Nxd4 Ngf6 13.Be3 b6 14.Qd2 h5 15.Bh6 Bb7 16.Bxg7 Kxg7 17.Qe3 Nc5 18.e5 dxe5 19.Qxe5 Qd6 20.Qxd6 exd6 21.Rfd1 d5 22.cxd5 Nxd5 23.Nxd5 Bxd5 24.Bxh5 Bxg2 25.Kxg2 gxh5 26.Rd2 Kf6 27.Rad1 Re4 28.b4 Ne6 29.Nxe6 fxe6 30.Rd4 Rxd4 31.Rxd4 Rc8 32.a4 a5 33.Rd6 Rc4 34.Rxb6 Rxb4 35.Rxb4 axb4 36.a5 b3 37.a6 b2 38.a7 b1=Q 39.a8=Q Qg6+ 40.Kh2 Qf5 41.Qh8+ Ke7 42.Qd4 1/2-1/2

Round 7, June 30, 2017
Anand, Vishy – MVL
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Adams Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.h3 e5 7.Nde2 h5 8.Bg5 Be6 9.Bxf6 Qxf6 10.Nd5 Qd8 11.Qd3 Nd7 12.O-O-O g6 13.Kb1 Rc8 14.Nec3 Bh6 15.h4 Nc5 16.Qe2 Bd7 17.f3 Ne6 18.Qf2 Rc5 19.g4 hxg4 20.fxg4 Bg5 21.Bb5 Bf4 22.Bxd7+ Kxd7 23.Na4 Rc6 24.Qa7 Ke8 25.Qxb7 Rc4 26.Nab6 Rd4 27.h5 gxh5 28.gxh5 Rxh5 29.c3 Rxd1+ 30.Rxd1 Kf8 31.Rg1 Nc5 32.Qc6 Rg5 33.Rh1 Kg7 34.Nc4 Nxe4 35.Nxf4 Ng3 36.Ne6+ fxe6 37.Qb7+ Kf6 38.Rh7 Qf8 39.Nxd6 Kg6 40.a3 Nf5 41.Nc4 Ng3 42.Ka2 e4 43.Rh3 Kf5 44.Qh7+ Kf4 45.Qc7+ e5 46.Rh7 Rf5 47.Qb6 Qg8 48.Qf2+ Kg4 49.Rg7+ Qxg7 50.Ne3+ Kh5 51.Qh2+ Kg6 52.Qxg3+ Rg5 53.Qh4 Qf7+ 54.c4 Qf4 55.Qh3 Qf3 56.Qe6+ Kh5 57.Qe8+ Kh4 58.Qh8+ Kg3 59.Nd5 Qd3 60.Qf6 Qxc4+ 61.Ka1 Qc1+ 62.Ka2 Qc4+ 63.Ka1 Qxd5 64.Qxg5+ Kf3 65.Qh5+ Ke3 66.Qh3+ Kd2 67.Qg2+ Kd3 68.Qf1+ Kc2 69.Qf2+ Qd2 70.Qc5+ Kd1 71.Qxe5 e3 72.Qh5+ e2 73.Ka2 Qd4 74.Qf3 a5 75.Kb1 a4 76.Ka1 Kd2 77.Qg2 Qe5 78.Ka2 Ke3 79.Qg1+ Kf3 80.Qe1 Qd5+ 0-1

Round 7, June 30, 2017
Aronian, Levon – Ivanchuk Vassily
E18 Queen’s Indian, old main line

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.O-O O-O 7.Nc3 Ne4 8.Bd2 f5 9.Qc2 Nxc3 10.Qxc3 Bf6 11.Rad1 Nc6 12.Qe3 Ne7 13.Bc3 Qe8 14.Ne1 Bxg2 15.Nxg2 Ng6 16.Qd3 Rd8 17.e4 fxe4 18.Qxe4 d5 19.cxd5 exd5 20.Qc2 Qd7 21.Rd3 Rfe8 22.Qd1 Re4 23.f3 Re7 24.Bb4 Ree8 25.Bc3 c5 26.f4 c4 27.Re3 Ne7 28.g4 Nc6 29.g5 Rxe3 30.Nxe3 Re8 31.Nxc4 Bxd4+ 32.Bxd4 dxc4 33.Bc3 Qf5 34.Re1 Rxe1+ 35.Qxe1 Kf7 36.Qd1 Qe4 37.Qd7+ Ne7 38.Qxa7 Qe3+ 39.Kg2 Qe2+ 40.Kg1 Qe3+ 41.Kg2 1/2-1/2

Round 7, June 30, 2017
Jobava, Baadur – Kramnik, Vladimir
D53 QGD, Orthodox Defence

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 h6 6.Bh4 O-O 7.Rc1 b6 8.Bxf6 Bxf6 9.cxd5 exd5 10.g3 c6 11.Bh3 Bb7 12.Nge2 Re8 13.O-O Na6 14.Nf4 Qd6 15.Qf3 Rad8 16.Rfd1 Nc7 17.Bf5 g6 18.Bb1 Bg7 19.h4 Qf6 20.Kg2 c5 21.Nce2 Qe7 22.b3 Ba8 23.Kg1 c4 24.Kg2 b5 25.Rh1 Rd6 26.g4 b4 27.Ng3 Ne6 28.h5 Nxf4+ 29.exf4 Bxd4 30.hxg6 fxg6 31.Rce1 Qxe1 32.Rxe1 Rxe1 33.f5 Rf6 34.g5 hxg5 35.Qg4 Be5 36.fxg6 Bxg3 37.Qc8+ Rf8 38.Qd7 d4+ 39.f3 Bxf3+ 40.Kxg3 Rg1+ 41.Kh2 Rg2+ 42.Kh1 Rb2+ 43.Kg1 Rxb1+ 44.Kh2 Rh1+ 0-1

Round 8, June 30, 2017
So, Wesley – Aronian, Levon
A07 Reti, King’s Indian Attack

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c6 3.Bg2 Bf5 4.O-O e6 5.c4 dxc4 6.a4 Nd7 7.Na3 Bxa3 8.Rxa3 Ngf6 9.Nh4 O-O 10.Nxf5 exf5 11.Qc2 Re8 12.Re3 Qa5 13.Qxc4 Nb6 14.Qc2 Ng4 15.Rxe8+ Rxe8 16.e3 Nxa4 17.b3 Nb6 18.Bb2 Qb5 19.h3 Nf6 20.Ra1 Ne4 21.d3 Nf6 22.Rxa7 Nc8 23.Ra4 Nd5 24.Qc4 Nc7 25.Qc3 Ne6 26.Ra5 Qb6 27.Rxf5 Nd6 28.Rg5 Kf8 29.Rh5 Nb5 30.Qb4+ Kg8 31.Qe4 h6 32.Qg4 Qa5 33.Rxh6 Qe1+ 34.Bf1 Nc3 35.Bxc3 Qxc3 36.Rh4 Qxb3 37.Qh5 Kf8 38.Qe5 Ke7 39.Re4 Ra8 40.Qxg7 Qd1 41.Qg5+ Kd7 42.Qf6 Ra1 43.Qxf7+ Kd8 44.Qf6+ Kc7 45.Qe5+ Kb6 46.Qxa1 Qxa1 47.Rxe6 Kc7 48.d4 b5 49.Re7+ Kd6 50.Rb7 Qa8 51.Rg7 b4 52.Bc4 Qa3 53.Rb7 Qc1+ 54.Bf1 Qb1 55.h4 c5 56.dxc5+ Kxc5 57.h5 Kc6 58.Rb8 b3 59.h6 b2 60.h7 Qxh7 61.Rxb2 Qg7 62.Rd2 Qa1 63.Kg2 Kc5 64.Rd4 Qa8+ 65.Kg1 Qa1 66.g4 Qb1 67.g5 Qf5 68.Bg2 Qg6 69.Kh2 Qh5+ 70.Kg1 Qg6 71.Rd5+ Kc6 72.Kh2 Kc7 73.Kg3 Qc2 74.e4 Qc3+ 75.Bf3 Qg7 76.Bg2 Qc3+ 77.Kg4 Qb2 78.Rf5 Kd6 79.g6 Ke7 80.Bh3 Qe2+ 81.f3 Qb2 82.Kg5 Qc1+ 83.f4 Qa1 84.e5 Qa8 85.Rf7+ 1-0

Round 8, June 30, 2017
MVL – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
B51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.O-O a6 5.Bd3 b5 6.Re1 Bb7 7.a4 b4 8.Bc4 Ngf6 9.d3 e6 10.Nbd2 Be7 11.Nf1 O-O 12.Ng3 d5 13.Ba2 dxe4 14.dxe4 Qc7 15.Qe2 a5 16.Bc4 Bc6 17.e5 Bxf3 18.gxf3 Nd5 19.f4 N7b6 20.f5 exf5 21.Nxf5 g6 22.Nh6+ Kg7 23.Ng4 g5 24.Bd3 c4 25.Be4 Rad8 26.Qf3 f5 27.Bxf5 Nf4 28.Qe4 Nbd5 29.Bxf4 Nxf4 30.Rad1 Rxd1 31.Rxd1 Rd8 32.Re1 c3 33.b3 h5 34.Ne3 Bc5 35.e6 Rd2 36.Qf3 g4 37.Bxg4 hxg4 38.Qxg4+ Kh7 39.e7 Qxe7 40.Qxf4 Qe6 41.Qc7+ Qe7 42.Qxe7+ Bxe7 43.Nc4 Rxc2 44.Rxe7+ Kg6 45.Kg2 Rc1 46.Nxa5 Rb1 47.Rc7 Kf5 48.Rc4 Ke6 49.Nc6 Rxb3 50.Nxb4 1-0

Round 8, June 30, 2017
Carlsen, Magnus – Anand, Vishy
A20 Amsterdam Attack

1.c4 e5 2.e3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nge2 c6 5.a3 Ba5 6.b4 Bc7 7.d4 O-O 8.d5 d6 9.Ng3 a5 10.Rb1 axb4 11.axb4 Nbd7 12.Bd3 c5 13.b5 Ba5 14.Bb2 Re8 15.O-O Nf8 16.Qc2 Ng6 17.Nce4 Ng4 18.h3 Nh6 19.Nh5 f5 20.Neg3 Nh4 21.f4 g6 22.e4 gxh5 23.exf5 e4 24.Bxe4 Rxe4 25.Qxe4 Bxf5 26.Nxf5 N4xf5 27.Ra1 b6 28.g4 hxg4 29.hxg4 Nd4 30.Bxd4 cxd4 31.g5 Nf7 32.Rf3 Bd2 33.Rxa8 Qxa8 34.Qxd4 Bb4 35.Qe4 Qa2 36.Kh1 Bc5 37.Rf1 Qd2 38.Qf3 Qc2 39.Re1 Qxc4 40.Kg2 Qxb5 41.Re7 Qb2+ 42.Kg3 Qd4 43.Re4 Qg1+ 44.Kh3 h6 45.Re6 hxg5 46.Rg6+ Kf8 47.fxg5 Qe3 48.Rf6 Qxf3+ 49.Rxf3 Kg7 50.Kh4 b5 51.Kh5 b4 52.Rf1 Bd4 53.Rf4 Bc5 54.Rf1 Ne5 55.Ra1 Nd3 56.Rd1 Nf4+ 57.Kg4 Ne2 58.Re1 Nc3 59.Re7+ Kf8 60.Rb7 Nxd5 61.g6 Ne7 1/2-1/2

The following game shows what is meant by perpetual check!

Round 8, June 30, 2017
Jobava, Baadur – Giri, Anish
A45 Trompovsky Attack

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.e3 cxd4 5.exd4 Qb6 6.Ngf3 Nc6 7.Bxf6 gxf6 8.Nb3 Bg4 9.c3 e6 10.Be2 O-O-O 11.O-O Rg8 12.Nh4 f5 13.f3 Bh3 14.f4 Qc7 15.Kh1 Be7 16.gxh3 Bxh4 17.Nc5 Be7 18.Nd3 Bd6 19.Bh5 Rg7 20.Qf3 Rdg8 21.Rg1 Rxg1+ 22.Rxg1 Rxg1+ 23.Kxg1 Qe7 24.Qg3 Qf8 25.Kf1 Ne7 26.h4 Ng6 27.Bf3 Kd7 28.h5 Nxf4 29.Ne5+ Bxe5 30.dxe5 Nd3 31.Bxd5 exd5 32.Qxd3 Ke6 33.Qe3 b6 34.Qg5 Qh8 35.Qh6+ Kxe5 36.Qe3+ Kd6 37.Qh6+ Kd7 38.Qf4 Ke6 39.Qh6+ Qf6 40.Qxh7 Qg5 41.h6 Qc1+ 42.Ke2 Qxb2+ 43.Kd3 Qb1+ 44.Kd2 Qxa2+ 45.Kc1 Qa3+ 46.Kc2 Qa4+ 47.Kb2 Qb5+ 48.Kc1 Qf1+ 49.Kb2 Qe2+ 50.Ka3 Qa6+ 51.Kb2 Qb5+ 52.Kc1 d4 53.cxd4 Qc4+ 54.Kb1 Qd3+ 55.Ka2 Qc2+ 56.Ka1 Qc3+ 57.Ka2 Qd2+ 58.Kb1 Qd3+ 59.Ka2 Qe2+ 60.Kb3 Qf3+ 61.Ka2 Qg2+ 62.Kb3 Qf3+ 63.Ka2 Qe2+ 64.Kb1 Qd1+ 65.Ka2 Qa4+ 66.Kb1 Qb3+ 67.Ka1 Qd1+ 68.Ka2 Qd2+ 69.Kb1 Qb4+ 70.Ka2 Qc4+ 71.Kb1 Qb5+ 72.Ka2 Qe2+ 73.Kb3 Qb5+ 74.Kc3 Qc6+ 75.Kb3 Qf3+ 76.Ka2 Qf2+ 77.Kb3 Qxd4 78.Qg7 Qe3+ 79.Ka4 Qe4+ 80.Kb3 Qd3+ 81.Kb2 Qe2+ 82.Ka3 Qe3+ 83.Ka2 Qf2+ 84.Kb3 1/2-1/2

Round 8, June 30, 2017
Kramnik, Vladimir – Ivanchuk, Vassily
B66 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer, Rauzer Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.O-O-O h6 9.Be3 Nxd4 10.Bxd4 b5 11.f3 Qa5 12.Kb1 b4 13.Ne2 e5 14.Bf2 Be6 15.Nc1 Rb8 16.Qe2 Ra8 17.g4 Be7 18.h4 O-O 19.Bh3 Qc7 20.g5 Nh5 21.Bxe6 fxe6 22.Nd3 a5 23.gxh6 g6 24.Rhg1 Kh7 25.Be3 Rf7 26.f4 exf4 27.Qg4 Rg8 28.Nxf4 Nxf4 29.Bxf4 e5 30.Be3 Qc8 31.Qe2 Rgf8 32.b3 Rf3 33.Bg5 Bxg5 34.hxg5 a4 35.Rgf1 Rxf1 36.Rxf1 Qg4 37.Qc4 Rxf1+ 38.Qxf1 Qxg5 39.bxa4 Qe3 40.a5 Qc5 41.a6 Kxh6 42.Qh3+ Kg5 43.Qg3+ Kf6 44.Qh4+ Ke6 45.Qg5 Kd7 46.Qxg6 Kc6 47.Qg7 Kb6 48.Qb7+ Ka5 49.a4 bxa3 50.a7 a2+ 51.Ka1 1-0

To be continued in the next post

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Paris Leuven GCT 2017

Paris Leuven GCT 2017

July 1, 2017

Leuven, Belgium
Round Nine

Round 9, June 30, 2017
Ivanchuk, Vassily – So, Wesley
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 Nxc3 11.Qxc3 Nd7 12.Be2 dxc4 13.Qxc4 e5 14.O-O exd4 15.Nxd4 Nb6 16.Qc5 Qxc5 17.Rxc5 Rd8 18.Rfc1 Be6 19.a3 Kf8 20.f3 Rd6 21.Kf2 Rad8 22.b4 a6 23.h4 Nd5 24.Bc4 Nc7 25.Be2 Nd5 26.Rd1 g6 27.g4 Bc8 28.Rcc1 Re8 29.Nc2 Rde6 30.e4 Nc3 31.Re1 Rf6 32.Kg3 Rd6 33.Bf1 g5 1/2-1/2

Round 9, June 30, 2017
Aronian, Levon – MVL
A15 English Opening

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.g3 g6 4.b3 b6 5.Bg2 Bb7 6.O-O Bg7 7.Bb2 O-O 8.d4 cxd4 9.Qxd4 Nc6 10.Qc3 Rc8 11.Rd1 Qc7 12.Qe1 Qb8 13.Nc3 Rfd8 14.Rac1 e6 15.Ng5 h6 16.Nge4 Nxe4 17.Bxe4 Ne7 18.Ba3 Nf5 19.Bxf5 gxf5 20.Be7 Re8 21.Bd6 Qa8 22.Nb5 Ba6 23.Nc7 Rxc7 24.Bxc7 Qc6 25.Bd6 Bb7 26.f3 e5 27.Qd2 e4 28.Qd5 Qc8 29.Qxf5 exf3 30.exf3 Re2 31.Qd3 Qe8 32.Bf4 Qe7 33.Rf1 Qc5+ 34.Kh1 Rxa2 35.Rce1 Qh5 36.Re2 Rxe2 37.Qxe2 Bc6 38.Kg2 b5 39.cxb5 Bxb5 40.Qe8+ Kh7 41.Rc1 Qd5 42.Qe4+ Qxe4 43.fxe4 Bc6 44.Rc4 Kg6 45.g4 h5 46.g5 a6 47.Kf3 f6 48.gxf6 Bxf6 49.Rc2 Kf7 50.Ke3 Bd8 51.Kd4 Ke6 52.Rg2 Bf6+ 53.Kd3 d5 54.e5 Bb5+ 55.Kc3 Bh4 56.Rg7 Bf2 57.Rg5 h4 58.Kd2 Bc5 59.Rg6+ Kf5 60.Rf6+ Ke4 61.e6 d4 62.Bh6 Be7 63.Rf7 Bb4+ 64.Kd1 Ke5 65.e7 Ke6 66.Rf4 Bxe7 67.Rxd4 Bf6 68.Rd2 Be5 69.Rf2 Bc6 70.Bf4 Bd4 71.Rd2 Bc5 72.Rc2 Kd5 73.Ke2 Bd7 74.Rd2+ Kc6 75.Kf3 Be6 76.Rd3 Kb5 77.Ke4 h3 78.Ke5 Bg4 79.Rg3 Bd7 80.Be3 Ba3 81.Bd2 Bc5 82.Rg5 Kc6 83.Rg6+ Kb5 84.Rh6 Bb6 85.Kd6 Bg4 86.Rh4 Bc5+ 87.Kc7 Be6 88.Rh5 1-0

Round 9, June 30, 2017
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Carlsen, Magnus
C45 Scotch game

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nxc6 Qf6 6.Qf3 dxc6 7.Nc3 Be6 8.Qg3 O-O-O 9.Be3 Bxe3 10.Qxe3 Kb8 11.f4 Qe7 12.Bd3 Nh6 13.O-O-O f6 14.g3 Nf7 15.Rhe1 Rhe8 16.a3 h6 17.Be2 Rxd1+ 18.Bxd1 Nd6 19.e5 Nc4 20.exf6 Qxf6 21.Qc5 Rd8 22.Be2 Nd6 23.Bd3 Qf7 24.b3 Bd7 25.Re5 b6 26.Qe3 Qf6 27.Ne4 Qf8 28.Nxd6 cxd6 29.Re7 1/2-1/2

Round 9, June 30, 2017
Giri, Anish – Kramnik, Vladimir
A13 English

1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 Bb4 3.Qc2 c5 4.a3 Bxc3 5.Qxc3 Qf6 6.Qxf6 Nxf6 7.b4 b6 8.Nf3 Nc6 9.Rb1 d6 10.e3 e5 11.bxc5 bxc5 12.d3 Bf5 13.e4 Bg4 14.Be2 Bxf3 15.Bxf3 Ke7 16.Be3 Rhb8 17.Kd2 Rb6 18.Rb5 Ne8 19.Rhb1 Rab8 20.Bd1 Nc7 21.Rxb6 axb6 22.f4 exf4 23.Bxf4 Ne6 24.Be3 Ne5 25.a4 Nc6 26.Kc3 f6 27.Bg4 Ned4 28.Bd1 Kd8 29.Rb2 Kc7 30.Rf2 h5 31.g3 Rh8 32.h4 Kb7 33.Rg2 Rh7 34.Rf2 Kc7 35.Rf1 Kb7 36.Rf2 Ka6 37.Rf1 Kb7 38.Rf2 Rh8 39.Rf1 Kc7 40.Rf2 Ra8 41.Rf1 Kd8 42.Rf2 Kd7 43.Rb2 Ra6 44.Rg2 Ke7 45.g4 hxg4 46.Rxg4 Ne6 47.h5 Ra8 48.Rg2 Ne5 49.Rb2 Nd7 50.Rg2 Rh8 51.Ra2 Ne5 52.Rb2 Nd7 53.Ra2 Ra8 54.Rg2 Rh8 1/2-1/2

Round 9, June 30, 2017
Anand, Vishy – Jobava, Baadur
C10 French, Fort Knox variation

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bd7 5.Nf3 Bc6 6.Bd3 Nd7 7.O-O Ngf6 8.Ng3 g6 9.c4 Bg7 10.Qe2 O-O 11.Rd1 b6 12.b4 Bb7 13.Bb2 Qc8 14.a4 Rd8 15.Rac1 c5 16.dxc5 bxc5 17.b5 a5 18.Ne5 Nb6 19.Bc2 Rxd1+ 20.Rxd1 Qc7 21.Bb3 Rd8 22.Rxd8+ Qxd8 23.Bc3 Nfd7 24.Qd2 Bxe5 25.Bxe5 Bxg2 26.Bc3 Qa8 27.f4 Bh3 28.Bxa5 e5 29.Bxb6 Nxb6 30.fxe5 Nd7 31.Qd5 Qa5 32.Kf2 Qb4 33.Bd1 Be6 34.Qe4 Nb6 35.Qd3 Kg7 36.Ne2 Nxc4 37.Qc3 Nb2 38.Qxb4 cxb4 39.b6 Bd5 40.Bb3 Bb7 41.Ke3 h5 42.Nd4 h4 43.a5 h3 44.Nb5 g5 45.Nd6 g4 46.Nxb7 g3 47.Nc5 gxh2 48.Bd5 Nd1+ 49.Kd2 1-0

Jobava should have played 37.Qb1

Standings at the end of the Rapids Tournament

1 So 14
2 MVL 12
3 Carlsen 11
4 Giri 10
5-7 Aronian, Kramnik, Nepomniachtchi 9
8 Anand 8
9 Ivanchuk 7
10 Jobava 1
__________

In the ninth round So drew with Ivanchuk to finish his rapid tournament undefeated, with a score of 7/9 (or rather, 14/18). It was exactly the same score as Carlsen achieved in Paris.

So, in an interview with Chess.com: "You know, this is my third tournament in a row. I have to remain fresh; I have to keep my level of energy, the same the first day as the last day. I have to be consistent.

"I am used now to playing the fast time control. Because really, a rapid and blitz tournament only happens once or twice a year. In fact before the Grand Chess Tour last year I really haven't played a rated rapid tournament in my life. It's a very new thing to me. Getting used to the time control takes some time.

"I haven't won a blitz tournament in my life, really! The main thing really in blitz is not to blunder all my pieces."

https://www.chess.com/news/view/2-po...ven-blitz-6730
_________

- Just the thought that Wesley So had beaten three world champs (Carlsen, Anand and Kramnik) sends shivers to the bones. On second thought, it happened in rapid chess... looking forward to more encounters between and among Super GMs!

- What a game vs Aronian! Go So!
Playing the best chess in the world.

- beautiful queen sac by wesley so in his aronian encounter!!!!!

- Being a chess professional is a tough profession. Since few win elite tournaments, the rest of them must play Open Tournaments to survive (with few if any guarantees.)

At the end of the rainbow there is no pension, no health plan, no nest egg to speak of; and looking for a job after 40+ yrs. and little job experience is daunting.

- What's all this fuss about Magnus Carlsen not being quite himself, as if he is only himself if he wins game after game? It's time to realize he is human - and still a magnificent player. Look at his performance rating so far: 2846. That is only five points under his rating of 2851. He is not playing badly at all, but So and MVL are on a roll and playing amazingly well. Nobody is giving Kramnik (world #2) a hard time for "only" scoring 50%. This is a super elite tournament, and you really can't win them all.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Paris Leuven GCT 2017

Paris Leuven GCT 2017

July 1, 2017

Blitz
Rounds B1 to B9

Selection of Blitz Games

Round B1 (10), July 1, 2017
So, Wesley – Jobava, Baadur
D16 QGD Slav Accepted, Alapin variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 a5 6.e4 Bg4 7.Be3 e6 8.Bxc4 Bb4 9.Qc2 Bh5 10.Ne5 Nfd7 11.O-O O-O 12.Nd3 Na6 13.Bxa6 Rxa6 14.Nxb4 axb4 15.Na2 f5 16.exf5 exf5 17.Nxb4 Ra5 18.Nd3 Nf6 19.Nc5 Qd5 20.Nxb7 Ra7 21.Nc5 Re7 22.a5 Bf3 23.gxf3 Qxf3 24.Qb3+ Kh8 25.Bg5 Qh5 26.Bxf6 gxf6 27.Kh1 f4 28.Rae1 Rxe1 29.Rxe1 f3 30.Rg1 Qh3 31.Qe6 Qh4 32.Qg4 1-0

Round B1 (10), July 1, 2017
Anand, Vishy – Carlsen, Magnus
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.O-O Qe7 7.Nbd2 Bg4 8.Nc4 Nd7 9.a3 a5 10.Be3 f6 11.Bxc5 Nxc5 12.Ne3 Bxf3 13.Qxf3 O-O 14.h4 Ne6 15.h5 a4 16.g3 Qd7 17.Qg4 Rad8 18.Rad1 c5 19.f4 exf4 20.gxf4 f5 21.Nxf5 Nd4 22.Nh6+ Kh8 23.Qxd7 Rxd7 24.Ng4 Nxc2 25.Rc1 Nd4 26.Rxc5 Kg8 27.Ne5 Re7 28.Kg2 Ne6 29.Ra5 Nxf4+ 30.Kh2 Nxh5 31.Rxf8+ Kxf8 32.d4 Nf6 33.Rxa4 Nxe4 34.Kg2 Nd6 35.Rb4 g5 36.a4 Kg7 37.a5 Kf6 38.Nd3 g4 39.Nc5 c6 40.Rb6 Re2+ 41.Kf1 Rc2 42.Nxb7 Nc4 43.Rxc6+ Kg5 44.Rc5+ Kf4 45.Nd6 Ne3+ 46.Ke1 Rxb2 47.Nc4 Ra2 48.Nxe3 Kxe3 49.Re5+ Kf4 50.Rh5 Kf3 51.Rxh7 g3 52.Rf7+ Kg2 53.d5 Rxa5 54.d6 Re5+ 0-1

Round B1 (10), July 1, 2017
Kramnik, Vladimir – Giri, Anish
D12 QGD Slav

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 Bf5 4.c4 c6 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Bg6 7.Nxg6 hxg6 8.h3 Nbd7 9.Bd3 Bd6 10.O-O Qe7 11.e4 dxe4 12.Bxe4 O-O 13.Bg5 Qd8 14.Re1 Qc7 15.Qf3 Bb4 16.Bc2 Qa5 17.h4 Rfe8 18.a3 Bf8 19.Rad1 Qb6 20.b4 a5 21.b5 cxb5 22.Nxb5 Rac8 23.Bd3 e5 24.c5 Qc6 25.Qh3 Rcd8 26.d5 Qxc5 27.Rc1 Qb6 28.Nc7 Bc5 29.Nxe8 Bxf2+ 30.Kh1 Rxe8 31.Rb1 Qa7 32.Rf1 e4 33.Bb5 Nh5 34.Qxd7 Ng3+ 35.Kh2 Re5 36.Rfc1 Kh7 37.Rc8 Rxg5 38.Qe8 1-0

Round B1 (10), July 1, 2017
Ivanchuk, Vassily – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
A20 English Opening

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nd5 Bc5 5.Bg2 Nge7 6.e3 O-O 7.Ne2 Nxd5 8.cxd5 Ne7 9.O-O d6 10.d4 exd4 11.Nxd4 Nf5 12.Ne2 Qf6 13.Rb1 a5 14.b3 Bd7 15.Bb2 Qh6 16.e4 Ne7 17.Bd4 b6 18.Qc1 Qh5 19.Nf4 Qh6 20.Rd1 Ng6 21.Nxg6 Qxg6 22.a3 Bg4 23.f3 Bd7 24.b4 axb4 25.axb4 Bxd4+ 26.Rxd4 Ra7 27.f4 Qf6 28.Rc4 Rc8 29.Qb2 Qxb2 30.Rxb2 Kf8 31.Kf2 Ke7 32.e5 Rca8 33.Rbc2 Kd8 34.e6 fxe6 35.dxe6 Bxe6 36.R4c3 Bf5 37.Re2 Ra3 38.Rc1 Ra1 39.Rc3 R8a3 0-1

Round B2 (11), July 1, 2017
Aronian, Levon – Ivanchuk, Vassily
A27 English, Three Knights System

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 f5 4.g3 d6 5.d4 e4 6.d5 Ne5 7.Nxe5 dxe5 8.g4 g6 9.gxf5 gxf5 10.Rg1 Nf6 11.Bg5 Be7 12.e3 Rg8 13.Rg3 Rg6 14.Be2 Qd6 15.Bh5 Kf7 16.Bxf6 Bxf6 17.Qb3 b6 18.O-O-O Bd7 19.Rdg1 Rg8 20.Qd1 Be8 21.Bxg6+ hxg6 22.Rh3 Ke7 23.Rh7+ Kd8 24.Nb5 Bxb5 25.cxb5 Kc8 26.Qc2 Bd8 27.Qc6 1-0

Round B2 (11), July 1, 2017
So, Wesley Anand, Vishy
A13 Reti, Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack

1.Nf3 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.b3 c5 5.Bb2 Nc6 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Bb5 Bd6 8.O-O O-O 9.d4 cxd4 10.Nxd4 Qb6 11.Bxc6 bxc6 12.Nc3 c5 13.Nf3 Bb7 14.Rc1 Rac8 15.Ne2 Ne4 16.Ng3 Nxg3 17.hxg3 Rfd8 18.Qd2 Be7 19.Rc2 h5 20.Rfc1 Rc7 21.Bc3 d4 22.exd4 cxd4 23.Ba5 1-0

Round B2 (11), July 1, 2017
So, Wesley – Anand, Vishy
A13 Reti, Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack

1.Nf3 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.b3 c5 5.Bb2 Nc6 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Bb5 Bd6 8.O-O O-O 9.d4 cxd4 10.Nxd4 Qb6 11.Bxc6 bxc6 12.Nc3 c5 13.Nf3 Bb7 14.Rc1 Rac8 15.Ne2 Ne4 16.Ng3 Nxg3 17.hxg3 Rfd8 18.Qd2 Be7 19.Rc2 h5 20.Rfc1 Rc7 21.Bc3 d4 22.exd4 cxd4 23.Ba5 1-0

Round B3 (12), July 1, 2017
Ivanchuk, Vassily – Giri, Anish
A10 English, Adorn Defence

1.c4 g6 2.e4 e5 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.g3 c5 5.d3 d6 6.Bg2 Nc6 7.Nge2 Nge7 8.O-O O-O 9.f4 f5 10.Be3 Nd4 11.Qd2 Be6 12.b3 Rb8 13.Rae1 Qd7 14.Nd5 b5 15.Bxd4 cxd4 16.Nxe7+ Qxe7 17.exf5 gxf5 18.Nxd4 Bd7 19.Nc6 Bxc6 20.Bxc6 bxc4 21.dxc4 Kh8 22.Kg2 Qc7 23.Bd5 a5 24.Re2 Qc5 25.Be6 a4 26.bxa4 exf4 27.Rxf4 Rb2 28.Qd3 Qc6+ 29.Kh3 Rxe2 30.Qxe2 Qe8 31.Rf1 Rf6 32.Re1 f4 33.Bd5 Qc8+ 34.g4 Qc5 35.Kg2 f3+ 36.Bxf3 Rf8 37.Rb1 Qa3 38.Bc6 Be5 39.Rb7 Qc5 40.Be4 Bg7 41.Rb5 Qd4 42.Rd5 Qc3 43.Rh5 h6 44.g5 Qa5 45.gxh6 Be5 46.Rg5 Qd8 47.Rg4 Qf6 48.h7 Qh6 49.h3 Bd4 50.Bf3 Bg7 51.a5 Rb8 52.Be4 Qc1 53.Bc2 Qb2 54.a6 Ra8 55.Qe4 d5 56.cxd5 Rc8 0-1

Round B3 (12), July 1, 2017
MVL – Carlsen, Magnus
C67 Ruy Lopez, open Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Be7 6.Re1 Nd6 7.Bxc6 dxc6 8.dxe5 Nf5 9.Qxd8+ Bxd8 10.Bg5 Bxg5 11.Nxg5 Nd4 12.Na3 h6 13.Ne4 Bf5 14.c3 Ne6 15.Rad1 Ke7 16.Ng3 Bh7 17.Nc4 Rad8 18.Na5 Rxd1 19.Rxd1 Rb8 20.Ne2 c5 21.f3 Rd8 22.Rxd8 Nxd8 23.Kf2 Bb1 24.a3 Ke6 25.Nc4 g5 26.Ke3 Nc6 27.f4 Ba2 28.Nd2 Bd5 29.g3 b6 30.Ne4 Ne7 31.g4 Bc6 32.fxg5 Kxe5 33.N2g3 Nd5+ 34.Kd2 Nf4 35.Ke3 Ng2+ 36.Kd3 Bxe4+ 37.Nxe4 c4+ 38.Kxc4 Kxe4 39.gxh6 Nf4 40.h4 Ng6 41.h5 Nf8 42.g5 c6 43.b4 Kf5 44.g6 fxg6 45.hxg6 Nxg6 46.b5 Ne5+ 47.Kd4 Ke6 48.bxc6 Nxc6+ 49.Kc4 a6 50.h7 Ne5+ 51.Kd4 Nf7 52.a4 Kd6 53.c4 a5 54.Kd3 Kc5 55.Kc3 Nh8 56.Kd3 Kb4 57.Kd4 Kxa4 58.Ke5 Kb3 59.Kf6 a4 60.Kg7 a3 0-1

Round B4 (13), July 1, 2017
So, Wesley – MVL
D42 QGD, Semi-Tarrasch

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.e3 e6 5.d4 d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Bd3 Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.Nxd5 Qxd5 10.e4 Qd6 11.dxc5 Qxc5 12.Be3 Qa5 13.a3 Ne5 14.b4 Nxf3+ 15.Qxf3 Qe5 16.Bf4 Qd4 17.Rfd1 g6 18.Bf1 Qg7 19.Qe3 g5 20.Bc7 b6 21.Rac1 Bb7 22.Rd7 Rfe8 23.Bxb6 axb6 24.Rxb7 Bd6 25.Rxb6 Bf4 26.Qc3 Bxc1 27.Qxc1 Rec8 28.Qd2 Rxa3 29.b5 Qe5 30.Rb7 Ra1 31.h4 gxh4 32.f4 Qc5+ 0-1

Round B4 (13), July 1, 2017
Carlsen, Magnus – Ivanchuk, Vassily
A45 Queen’s Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.c4 g6 5.cxb5 a6 6.e3 Bg7 7.Nc3 O-O 8.Nf3 d6 9.Nd2 Nbd7 10.e4 Ne8 11.a4 Nc7 12.Be2 axb5 13.axb5 Rxa1 14.Qxa1 f5 15.exf5 Rxf5 16.Be3 Nb6 17.Qa5 Bxc3 18.Qxb6 Bxb2 19.O-O Rf8 20.Qa7 Bf5 21.b6 Nxd5 22.Qa2 1-0

Round B6 (15), July 1, 2017
Jobava, Baadur – Giri, Anish
A45 Trompovsky Attack

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.dxc5 e6 5.e4 Be7 6.Qe2 Nxe4 7.Bxe7 Qxe7 8.Nxe4 dxe4 9.Qe3 O-O 10.O-O-O Nd7 11.c6 Nf6 12.Bb5 a6 13.Be2 bxc6 14.Nh3 Rb8 15.Rd2 e5 16.c4 Qb4 17.Rhd1 Be6 18.Rc2 h6 19.Qc3 Qc5 20.Qe3 Qa5 21.Kb1 Rfd8 22.Rcd2 Rxd2 23.Qxd2 Qb6 24.Bf1 e3 25.fxe3 Ne4 26.Qc2 Qxe3 27.Ka1 Bg4 28.Rc1 Rd8 29.c5 Be6 30.Bxa6 Rd2 31.Qb1 Nxc5 32.Bc4 Bxc4 33.Rxc4 Nd3 34.Rc2 e4 35.a3 c5 36.Rxd2 Qxd2 0-1

Round B7 (16), July 1, 2017
Giri, Anish – Carlsen, Magnus
E11 Bogo-Indian Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Nf3 c6 7.O-O O-O 8.Qc2 Nbd7 9.Rd1 Ne4 10.Bf4 g5 11.Be3 f5 12.Nc3 Nd6 13.b3 Bf6 14.Qc1 h6 15.h4 Nf7 16.hxg5 hxg5 17.Na4 Qe7 18.Nb2 b6 19.Nd3 Bb7 20.Rb1 a5 21.Nde5 Ndxe5 22.dxe5 Nxe5 23.Nxe5 Bxe5 24.Bxg5 Bf6 25.Bxf6 Rxf6 26.Qe3 Kf7 27.Qxb6 Ra6 28.Qe3 Ra8 29.Rd4 Rh8 30.cxd5 cxd5 31.Rc1 Rfh6 32.Qe5 Rc8 33.Rxc8 Bxc8 34.Rd3 Bd7 35.Rc3 Rh8 36.Qxh8 1-0

Round B8 (17), July 1, 2017
So, Wesley – Giri, Anish
D17 QGD Slav, Krause Attack

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Ne5 Nbd7 7.Nxc4 Nb6 8.Ne5 a5 9.h4 e6 10.f3 h6 11.e4 Bh7 12.Be3 Nfd7 13.Nd3 Bd6 14.Bf2 O-O 15.Qb3 Qe7 16.g4 Kh8 17.Be2 f5 18.gxf5 exf5 19.e5 Bb4 20.Kf1 f4 21.Nxb4 axb4 22.Ne4 Nd5 23.Nd6 Qe6 24.Kg1 Nxe5 25.dxe5 Qxe5 26.Ne4 Rae8 27.Re1 Re6 28.Bd3 Ne3 29.Rh2 Rg6+ 30.Kh1 Qh5 31.Rh3 Rg3 32.Rxg3 fxg3 0-1

Round B9 (18), July 2, 2017
Carlsen, Magnus – So, Wesley
D00 Queen’s Pawn, Mason variation, Steinitz Counter-Gambit

1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 c5 3.e3 Nc6 4.c3 Qb6 5.Qb3 Nf6 6.Nd2 c4 7.Qc2 Nh5 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bh4 g5 10.Be2 Ng7 11.Bg3 Bf5 12.Qc1 e6 13.Ngf3 Qa5 14.e4 Bh7 15.O-O Be7 16.Re1 O-O 17.Ne5 Nxe5 18.Bxe5 f6 19.Bg3 Rfe8 20.h4 b5 21.b4 Qd8 22.a4 a5 23.axb5 axb4 24.Rxa8 Qxa8 25.exd5 exd5 26.Bf3 Qd8 27.hxg5 hxg5 28.b6 bxc3 29.Qxc3 Qxb6 30.Bxd5+ Kf8 31.Nxc4 Qb5 32.Ne3 Rd8 33.Qc7 Qd7 34.Qa5 Nh5 35.Bc7 Rc8 36.Bh2 Nf4 37.Bxf4 gxf4 38.Nc4 Qf5 39.Qa7 Qxd5 40.Qxe7+ Kg8 41.Nb6 1-0

To be continued in next post of this thread

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Paris Leuven GCT 2017

Paris Leuven GCT 2017

July 1, 2017

Leuven Blitz
Rounds B1 to B9

Standings after Round B9

1-2 Carlsen, So 18.5
3 MVL 16.5
4 Giri 15.5
5 Kramnik 15
6 Nepomniachtchi 14
7 Aronian 13.5
8 Anand 13
9 Ivanchuk 9
10 Jobava 1.5
________

Peter Doggers at chess.com: Magnus Carlsen and Wesley So are tied for first place halfway the blitz segment of the Your Next Move Grand Chess Tour in Leuven, Belgium. Carlsen started with a three-point deficit but scored 7.5/9 and caught So in first place at the end of the day, when he won their direct encounter.

If you don't mind about the blunders, blitz is just great. Even Garry Kasparov seems to be enjoying it more and more these days.

Still in Leuven, after his talk at the university last night, he was asked to join Nigel Short for an hour today as co-commentator. But The Boss was having so much fun, that he ended up staying for the whole day.

"It's fun! It's easy to criticise other players' moves," he said at some point.

With four rounds to go, Carlsen was 1.5 points behind So (and MVL 2.5). But the world champ just kept on winning!
His game with Levon Aronian was about equal, but Aronian went into the rook endgame with 12 seconds left, plus three seconds delay for each move. It wasn't enough to put up a proper defence.

So kept his half-point lead as he beat Nepomniachtchi, albeit from a close to lost position. MVL dropped further down as he got crushed by Kramnik, who said: "For the moment I am playing pretty decently. Of course, I got very lucky with Vishy.

In round 16 (or round seven of the blitz) everything seemed to change. Carlsen, who had been looking invincible so far, suddenly suffered his first loss.

It started with arriving a bit late for his game with Anish Giri, and he never seemed to be "in the zone." Especially with that ...Ra8-a6-a8 ("A loss of two tempi. I don't see Magnus getting away with that" - Seirawan), it was just a very bad game from the world champion.

Giri: "In the end, I'm clearly winning but it's always nice when they give you a full rook."

So increased his lead back to two points as he drew with Aronian. The American player seemed to be going into the last day in the lead—but no. Carlsen made up for the two points in the last two rounds.

For starters, Giri also helped him! The Dutchman had a great little run as he also defeated So, who was actually much better for most of the game, but then collapsed at the end.

About his piece sac on move 24, Giri said: "I was hoping Garry Kimovich was still watching because that was the main reason I did it!"

https://www.chess.com/news/view/carl...ven-blitz-9775

_________

- That Magnus fellow is really quite good.

- Great day for Magnus. Horrible day in the office for Jobava. He could've compete better, maybe health issues are clouding jobava's play. And they should've went with Georg Meier or Arkadij Naiditsch instead of Jobava. I believe Magnus, Anish, MVL has the chance to win Leuven. So is good, but he's on a big pressure to maintain the lead. He might crack and lose consistency along the way. just my opinion though.

- Giri the giant slayer...
who would've thunk it!?

great action, great fun for the spectators, but has to be extremely nerve wracking for the players.
the pressure must be ungodly!

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Paris Leuven GCT 2017

Paris Leuven GCT 2017

July 2, 2017

Leuven Blitz
Rounds B10 to B18

Carlsen is hot, Ivanchuk and Jobava have warmed up. The best way to describe today’s action is to show the Round tables:

Round B10
Giri-Kramnik 1/2-1/2
Carlsen-Anand 1/2-1/2
Aronian-MVL 0-1
Jobava-So 0-1
Nepomniachtchi-Ivanchuk 0-1

Round B11
Nepomniachtchi-Jobava 1/2-1/2
Anand-So 1-0
Kramnik-Carlsen 0-1
Ivanchuk-Aronian 1-0
MVL-Giri 1/2-1/2

Round B12
Aronian-Nepomniachtchi 1-0
So-Kramnik 1/2-1/2
Carlsen-MLV 1-0
Jobava-Anand 1/2-1/2
Giri-Ivanchuk 1/2-1/2

Round B13
Kramnik-Anand 1/2-1/2
Ivanchuk-Carlsen 0-1
MVL-So 1-0
Aronian-Jobava 1-0
Nepomniachtchi-Giri 1-0

Round B14
So-Ivanchuk 1/2-1/2
Anand-MVL 0-1
Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi 1-0
Jobava-Kramnik 1-0
Giri-Aronian 1/2-1/2

Round B15
Nepomniachtchi-So 1/2-1/2
Aronian-Carlsen 1/2-1/2
MVL-Kramnik 0-1
Ivanchuk-Anand 1-0
Giri-Jobava 1-0

Round B16
So-Aronian 1/2-1/2
Jobava-MVL 0-1
Carlsen-Giri 1/2-1/2
Kramnik-Ivanchuk 1/2-1/2
Anand-Nepomniachtchi 0-1

With two rounds to go the standings are these:

Round B16 Standings

1 Carlsen 23.5
2 So 21
3 MVL 20
4 Giri 18.5
5 Kramnik 17.5
6 Aronian 16.5
7 Nepomniachtchi 16
8 Anand 15.5
9 Ivanchuk 13
10 Jobava 3.5

Carlsen is way ahead of the field. Kasparov, who is at the tournament, said that the participants are playing blitz but Magnus is playing CHESS!

So and MVL are battling it out for second place.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Paris Leuven GCT 2017

Paris Leuven GCT 2017

July 2, 2017

Leuven Blitz
Round B17

Giri-So 1/2-1/2
Carlsen-Jobava 1-0
Ivanchuk-MVL 1-0
Nepomnaichtchi-Kramnik 1-0
Aronian-Anand 1-0

This is the penultimate round. Seirawan says that this has been one of the most decisive tournaments he has ever seen.
Carlsen is the tournament winner with a round to go and might just go over 3000 in his live blitz rating!

Carlsen’s games so far today:

Leuven Blitz 2017
Round B10 (19), July 2, 2017
Carlsen, Magnus – Anand, Vishy
C02 Queen’s Bishop game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bf4 e6 4.e3 Bd6 5.Nbd2 O-O 6.Bxd6 Qxd6 7.c4 c5 8.dxc5 Qxc5 9.cxd5 Qxd5 10.Bc4 Qd6 11.O-O Bd7 12.Be2 Bc6 13.Nc4 Qe7 14.Qd6 Qxd6 15.Nxd6 Ne4 16.Rfd1 Nxd6 17.Rxd6 Rc8 18.Rc1 Kf8 19.Ne5 Ke7 20.Rd2 f6 21.Nxc6+ Nxc6 22.Rdc2 Kd8 23.Bf3 Rab8 24.Bxc6 Rxc6 25.Rxc6 bxc6 26.b3 Kc7 27.Kf1 a5 28.Rc4 Rb4 29.Ke2 Rxc4 1/2-1/2

Round B11 (20), July 2, 2017
Kramnik, Vladimir – Carlsen, Magnus
C55 Two Knights Defence (Modern Bishop’s Opening)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Qe7 5.Nc3 Na5 6.O-O c6 7.a4 Nxc4 8.dxc4 d6 9.b3 Qc7 10.Bg5 Be7 11.a5 O-O 12.Qd3 h6 13.Bh4 Be6 14.Rfd1 Rfd8 15.Qe3 b6 16.axb6 axb6 17.h3 g5 18.Nxg5 Rxa1 19.Rxa1 hxg5 20.Qxg5+ Kh7 21.Qe3 Rg8 22.f4 Nh5 23.fxe5 Bxh4 24.Qf3 Rg5 25.exd6 Qxd6 26.Ne2 Ng3 27.Nc3 Qd4+ 28.Kh2 Qe5 29.Kg1 Qxc3 0-1

Round B12 (21), July 2, 2017
Carlsen, Magnus – MVL
A20 Amsterdam Attack

1.c4 e5 2.e3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.g4 Bb4 5.g5 Bxc3 6.bxc3 Ng8 7.d4 Qxg5 8.d5 Nd8 9.d6 c6 10.Nf3 Qf5 11.Rg1 Ne6 12.e4 Qxe4+ 13.Be3 Qf5 14.Ng5 Nf4 15.Bxf4 Qxf4 16.Rg4 Qf6 17.Ne4 Qh6 18.Qf3 Nf6 19.Rxg7 Qxg7 20.Nxf6+ Kd8 21.Qf5 Re8 22.Nxe8 Kxe8 23.c5 b5 24.Bd3 f6 25.Ke2 Kf7 26.Rh1 Rb8 27.Kf1 Qg6 28.Qf3 Qh6 29.Rg1 Ba6 30.Qg4 Rd8 31.Rg3 e4 32.Qxe4 Re8 33.Qg4 Bc8 34.Kg2 Qg5 35.Qf3 Qd5 36.Qxd5+ cxd5 37.Bxh7 Re5 38.f4 Re2+ 39.Kf1 Rxh2 40.Bg8+ Kf8 41.Bxd5 Rh8 42.Kf2 Ba6 43.Ke3 Ke8 44.Kd4 Kd8 45.Rg7 Bc8 46.c6 dxc6 47.Bxc6 a5 48.Kc5 1-0

Round B13 (22), July 2, 2017
Ivanchuk, Vassily – Carlsen, Magnus
C20 Alapin’s Opening

1.e4 e5 2.Ne2 d5 3.exd5 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Qxd4 Qxd5 6.Nbc3 Qxd4 7.Nxd4 Bc5 8.Ndb5 Na6 9.Bf4 O-O 10.f3 Re8+ 11.Be2 Be6 12.O-O-O Bxa2 13.Rhe1 Nh5 14.Bd2 Be6 15.Ne4 Be7 16.Nd4 Bd7 17.Bxa6 bxa6 18.Bg5 Bxg5+ 19.Nxg5 Nf6 20.Nb3 h6 21.Ne4 Nxe4 22.Rxd7 Nf6 23.Rdd1 Kf8 24.Nc5 Rxe1 25.Rxe1 Re8 26.Rxe8+ Kxe8 27.Nxa6 Kd7 28.Nc5+ Kd6 29.Nd3 c5 30.Kd2 c4 31.Nf4 Kc5 32.h4 a5 33.g4 Nd5 34.Ne2 g6 35.c3 Kd6 36.f4 h5 37.g5 a4 38.Ke1 Ne3 39.Ng3 Ng2+ 0-1

Round B14 (23), July 2, 2017
Carlsen, Magnus – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
B92 Sicilian, Najdorf, Opocensky variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nf3 Be7 8.Bg5 Nbd7 9.a4 O-O 10.Nd2 Nc5 11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.Nc4 Be7 13.O-O Be6 14.a5 Rc8 15.Nb6 Rc6 16.b4 Nd7 17.Nbd5 Bg5 18.Na4 Bxd5 19.exd5 Rc7 20.c4 e4 21.c5 dxc5 22.d6 Rc8 23.Bg4 cxb4 24.Bxd7 Qxd7 25.Nb6 Qc6 26.Nxc8 Rxc8 27.Rb1 e3 28.fxe3 Rd8 29.Qb3 Qd7 30.Qxb4 Qxd6 31.Qxb7 Bxe3+ 32.Kh1 Rf8 33.Rbd1 Qh6 34.Qxf7+ 1-0

Round B15 (24), July 2, 2017
Aronian, Levon – Carlsen, Magnus
C11 Bogo-Indian Defence, Grunfeld variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Nbd2 d6 5.g3 c5 6.Bg2 Nc6 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.O-O O-O 9.Nb3 Bb6 10.Qc2 h6 11.Rd1 Qe7 12.Nbd4 Nxd4 13.Nxd4 Rd8 14.b3 d5 15.cxd5 Nxd5 16.Bb2 Bd7 17.e3 Rac8 18.Qe2 Be8 19.Nf5 exf5 20.Rxd5 Bc6 21.Rxd8+ Qxd8 22.Rd1 Qe8 23.Bxc6 Rxc6 24.Qd3 Qe6 25.Rd2 h5 26.h4 Kh7 27.Kg2 Kg6 28.Bd4 Qd5+ 29.f3 Bxd4 30.Qxd4 Qxd4 31.exd4 Kf6 32.f4 Rc3 33.Kf2 Ke6 34.Re2+ Kd6 35.Re3 Rc1 36.a4 g6 37.Ke2 Kd5 38.Re7 Rc3 39.Rxb7 a5 40.Kf2 Kxd4 41.b4 Rc2+ 42.Kf3 Rc3+ 43.Kg2 Rc2+ 44.Kh3 axb4 45.Rxb4+ Kd5 46.Rb7 Ke6 47.a5 Ra2 48.Rb6+ Kd5 49.Rb7 Rxa5 50.Rxf7 Ke6 1/2-1/2

Round B16 (25), July 2, 2017
Carlsen, Magnus – Giri, Anish
C02 Queen’s Bishop game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bf4 Bf5 4.e3 e6 5.a3 Bd6 6.Bg3 O-O 7.c4 dxc4 8.Bxc4 c5 9.Nc3 Bxg3 10.hxg3 Nbd7 11.O-O Rc8 12.Be2 Bg4 13.Rc1 cxd4 14.Qxd4 Qb6 15.Qxb6 Nxb6 16.Rfd1 h6 17.Nb5 Rxc1 18.Rxc1 Rc8 19.Rxc8+ Nxc8 20.Kf1 Kf8 21.Ne5 Bxe2+ 22.Kxe2 h5 23.f3 Ke7 24.e4 a6 25.Nc3 Nb6 26.b3 Nfd7 27.Nd3 Kd6 28.Ke3 e5 29.Nd1 Nc5 30.Nxc5 Kxc5 31.Nf2 Kd6 32.f4 Nd7 33.Nd3 f6 34.Nb2 g5 35.Nc4+ Kc6 36.fxe5 Nxe5 37.Nxe5+ fxe5 38.g4 h4 1/2-1/2

Round B17 (26), July 2, 2017
Carlsen, Magnus – Jobava, Baadur
C01 French, Exchange variation

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.c4 c6 6.Nc3 Ne7 7.Bd3 dxc4 8.Bxc4 O-O 9.h3 Nd7 10.O-O Nb6 11.Bb3 Ned5 12.Re1 Bf5 13.Ne5 Bxe5 14.Rxe5 Qd7 15.Qf3 Be6 16.Ne4 Rae8 17.a4 Ne7 18.Nf6+ gxf6 19.Qxf6 Qd8 20.Rxe6 Nbd5 21.Qg5+ Kh8 22.Re1 Rg8 23.Qh5 Qb6 24.Bxd5 Nxd5 25.Bh6 Qc7 26.Qf5 f6 27.Qf3 Qb6 28.Re4 Qxb2 29.Rae1 Rxe4 30.Qxe4 Qa3 31.Qe6 Qd3 32.Re4 Qd1+ 33.Kh2 Qh5 34.Bd2 Qg6 35.Rg4 Qe8 36.Rxg8+ Qxg8 37.Qd7 Qb8+ 38.g3 Qc7 39.Qe8+ Kg7 40.a5 b5 41.axb6 axb6 42.h4 b5 43.h5 Qe7 44.h6# 1-0

The last game is So-Carlsen, in the next post

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Paris Leuven GCT 2017

Paris Leuven GCT 2017

July 2, 2017

Leuven Blitz
Final Round

Round B18 games:

Round B18 (27), July 2, 2017
Anand, Vishy – Giri, Anish
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 O-O 8.d4 Nf5 9.c3 Nxe5 10.Rxe5 d6 11.Re1 d5 12.Bf4 Bd6 13.Qf3 Bxf4 14.Qxf4 Qd6 15.Qxd6 Nxd6 16.Nd2 c6 17.Bd3 Bf5 18.Bxf5 Nxf5 19.Re5 Nd6 20.Rae1 Rfe8 21.Rxe8+ Rxe8 22.Rxe8+ Nxe8 23.Kf1 Kf8 24.Ke2 Ke7 25.Kd3 Nc7 26.Nf3 Ne6 27.g3 f6 28.Ke3 Kd6 29.Ne1 g6 30.Nd3 Ke7 31.Nf4 g5 32.Nxe6 Kxe6 33.g4 h6 34.h3 Kd6 1/2-1/2

Round B18 (27), July 2, 2017
MVL – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
B51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.O-O a6 5.Bd3 b5 6.Re1 Bb7 7.c4 Ngf6 8.cxb5 axb5 9.Bxb5 Nxe4 10.d4 e6 11.dxc5 Nxc5 12.Nc3 Be7 13.Bf4 Bxf3 14.Qxf3 O-O 15.b4 Na6 16.a3 d5 17.Rad1 Nf6 18.Bc6 Nc7 19.Bxa8 Nxa8 20.Nb5 Qd7 21.Qd3 Nb6 22.Be5 Rc8 23.Nd4 Nc4 24.Nf3 Qa4 25.Ra1 Ne4 26.Bd4 Bf8 27.h4 h6 28.Rac1 f5 29.Ne5 Ned6 30.Nxc4 dxc4 31.Qe2 Ne4 32.Rxc4 Rd8 33.f3 e5 34.Bxe5 Qa7+ 35.Kh2 Rd2 36.Qe3 Qe7 37.Rxe4 fxe4 38.Qxd2 Qxe5+ 39.f4 Qf5 40.Qe3 Qf6 41.g3 Kh8 42.Re2 Qa1 43.Qb3 Qd4 44.Qf7 Qd6 45.Qe8 g5 46.hxg5 hxg5 47.fxg5 Kg7 48.Qxe4 Qd1 49.Qc2 Qd5 50.Qc3+ Kg8 51.Qe5 Qd1 52.Qe6+ Kg7 53.Rf2 Qh5+ 54.Kg2 1-0

Round B18 (27), July 2, 2017
So, Wesley – Carlsen, Magnus
B56 Sicilian Defence

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bd7 6.Be2 Nc6 7.Be3 e6 8.g4 h6 9.f4 Nxd4 10.Qxd4 e5 11.fxe5 Nxg4 12.O-O-O Nxe3 13.Qxe3 Qg5 14.Qxg5 hxg5 15.exd6 O-O-O 16.e5 Re8 17.Rhf1 f6 18.exf6 gxf6 19.Rxf6 Bg7 20.Rf7 Bxc3 21.Rxd7 Kxd7 22.Bb5+ Kd8 23.Bxe8 Be5 24.Bg6 Rxh2 25.Bf5 Rf2 26.Bh3 Rf4 27.Rd5 Re4 28.Bf5 Bf4+ 29.Kd1 Re5 30.Rxe5 Bxe5 31.d7 Bxb2 32.Ke2 1/2-1/2

Round B18 (27), July 2, 2017
Jobava, Baadur – Ivanchuk, Vassily
C55 Two Knights Defence (Modern Bishop’s Opening)

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 h6 5.Nc3 d6 6.a4 g6 7.a5 Bg7 8.O-O O-O 9.h3 a6 10.Re1 Re8 11.Nd5 Nxd5 12.Bxd5 Be6 13.c4 Bxd5 14.cxd5 Ne7 15.Bd2 c6 16.dxc6 Nxc6 17.Qb3 Qd7 18.Be3 Rab8 19.Nd2 Qe6 20.Qxe6 Rxe6 21.Nc4 f5 22.Ra3 Rd8 23.Bb6 Rd7 24.Ne3 Ne7 25.Nd5 Nxd5 26.exd5 Re8 27.Ra4 Bf6 28.Rc4 Bd8 29.Rc8 Kf7 30.Rec1 Ke7 31.Kf1 Bxb6 32.axb6 Rxc8 33.Rxc8 Rd8 34.Rc7+ Rd7 35.Rc8 Rd8 36.Rc6 bxc6 37.dxc6 Rc8 38.b7 Kd8 39.bxc8=Q+ Kxc8 40.d4 exd4 0-1

Round B18 (27), July 2, 2017
Kramnik, Vladimir – Aronian, Levon
A14 English, Neo-Catalan declined

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 e6 4.O-O Be7 5.c4 O-O 6.Ne5 c5 7.cxd5 exd5 8.e3 Bf5 9.d4 Qc8 10.Nc3 Rd8 11.b3 cxd4 12.Qxd4 Bc5 13.Qf4 Bd6 14.Nxd5 Qe6 15.Bb2 Nc6 16.Nxc6 Bxf4 17.Nxf4 Qd7 18.Nxd8 Rxd8 19.Bxf6 gxf6 20.Rac1 Kf8 21.Nd5 Qd6 22.e4 Bd7 23.Rfd1 Bg4 24.Rd3 Be6 25.a4 Qe5 26.Re3 Rc8 27.Rxc8+ Bxc8 28.h4 Be6 29.Kh2 h6 30.Nf4 Qb2 31.Nxe6+ fxe6 32.Kg1 Ke7 1/2-1/2

Final Standings

1. Carlsen, Magnus 25.5
2. So, Wesley 22.5
3. Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 22
4. Giri, Anish 20
5-6. Aronian, Levon, Kramnik, Vladimir 18.5
7. Nepomniachtchi, Ian 18
8. Anand, Vishy 16
9. Ivanchuk, Vassily 15.5
10. Jobava, Baadur 3.5

Prize Money from Paris?/Leuven

1. Carlsen $37,500
2. So $25,000
3. MVL $20,000
4. Giri $15,000
5-6 Kramnik $11,250
5-6 Aronian $11,250
7. Nepomniachtchi $7,500
8. Anand $7,500
9. Ivanchuk $7,500
10. Jobava $7,500

As of July 2, 2017
Live Rapid Rating

1. Carlsen 2909.2
4. MVL 2824.4
6. So 2822.0
7. Nepomniachtchi 2810.0
9. Ivanchuk 2796.0

Live Blitz Rating

1. Carlsen 2947.8
4. MVL 2852.8
11. Aronian 2794.0
12. Nepomniachtchi 2787.4
15. Giri 2776.2
_________

The World Champion won with the next two contenders hot on his heels.

Ivanchuk and Jobava were attractive choices as Wild Cards.

Having Nigel Short and Garry Kasparov as commentators in addition to the usual suspects was a great idea. Contrast this to the dull presentations of the Agon-sponsored events.

The Leuven Town Hall was an attractive setting and having large crowds was an asset. It shows that the paying public was active at the event.

No glitches with the transmission, many camera angles, lots of interviews – therefore a good broadcast.

I’ll give excerpts from the various chess sites summing up the event, this evening.