Sinquefield Cup 2017

**Wayne Komer** · Wednesday, 2nd August, 2017, 01:59 AM

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2017

Sinquefield Cup 2017

August 2, 2017

The tournament begins today with these first round pairings:

1. Caruana-Carlsen
2. MVL-So
3. Aronian-Nepomniachtchi
4. Anand-Nakamura
5. Karjakin-Svidler

All the action can be seen at 2 PM Toronto/Montreal time at:

http://grandchesstour.org/2017-grand...r/watch-live-1

**Wayne Komer** · Wednesday, 2nd August, 2017, 07:10 PM

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2017

Sinquefield Cup 2017

August 2, 2017

Round One

The commentators are Jennifer Shahade, Yasser Seirawan and Maurice Ashley.

On the basis of the Aronian-Nepomniachtchi game, Maurice predicts that Levon might win the tournament. He is playing the best chess at the top level lately.

There are two games which are twins – MVL-So and Karjakin-Svidler (Giuoco Pianos). Peter jokes that he should play slower so that he can copy the line in the other game.

Chess24 has such an enormous membership that the Chatroom is extremely active. Contrast that with the WorldChess broadcasts where there is virtually no one posting.

Jan Gustafsson appears to be editing the chats. The viewers take up the subject of books

- My System is the best chess book ever
- The best sci-fi series is Joe Abercrombie’s The First Law
- The best series is Dune
- Best sci-fi book is by Dmitry Glukhovsky - Metro 2034
- best sci-fi story is Autofac by Philip K. Dick
- Seriously, has anyone read all 22 books in the Dune series?
- My ex-wife has
________

Sinquefield Cup 2017
St. Louis, Mo.
Round 1, Aug. 2, 2017
Aronian, Levon – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
A34 English, symmetrical, Three Knights

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e3 Nxc3 6.bxc3 g6 7.h4 Bg7 8.h5 Nc6 9.Ba3 Qa5 10.Rh4 Bd7 11.Qb3 O-O 12.hxg6 hxg6 13.Qxb7 Rfd8 14.Qa6 Bxc3 15.Qxa5 Bxa5 16.Bxc5 Be6 17.Bb5 Ne5 18.Nd4 Rd5 19.Bxe7 Kg7 20.f4 Nd7 21.f5 Bxf5 22.Bc6 Re5 23.Nxf5+ gxf5 24.Bg5 Kg6 25.Bf4 Rd8 26.Bxd7 Rc5 27.Rh6+ Kg7 28.Rd6 Bc7 29.Rc6 1-0

Nepomniachtchi told the commentators that he analysed this line with white and just couldn't believe castling short was so bad and that he doesn't have enough compensation ( he spend only 2 minutes on 0-0, then more than 40 on Rfd8).

Round 1, Aug. 2, 2017
Caruana, Fabiano - Carlsen, Magnus
C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a4 b4 9.a5 O-O 10.Nbd2 Rb8 11.Re1 Be6 12.Bxe6 fxe6 13.Nb3 Qc8 14.Qe2 Nd8 15.d4 exd4 16.Nbxd4 c5 17.Nb3 e5 18.Nbd2 Ne6 19.Nc4 Nd4 20.Nxd4 cxd4 21.Nb6 Qc6 22.Bg5 Bd8 23.Bxf6 Bxb6 24.axb6 Rxf6 25.Rxa6 h6 26.Qd3 Rxb6 27.Rea1 Rxa6 28.Rxa6 Qc5 29.Ra8+ Kh7 30.h3 b3 31.Qxb3 d3 32.cxd3 Qxf2+ 33.Kh2 Qf4+ 34.Kh1 Qc1+ 35.Kh2 Qf4+ 36.Kh1 Qg3 37.Qg8+ Kg6 38.Rf8 Qxd3 39.Rxf6+ Kxf6 40.Qf8+ Ke6 41.Qe8+ Kf6 42.Qf8+ Ke6 43.Qe8+ 1/2-1/2

Round 1, Aug. 2, 2017
Anand, Vishy – Nakamura, Hikaru
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 O-O 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 Re8 8.Nbd2 Be7 9.Bg3 d6 10.h3 a6 11.Ba4 b5 12.Bc2 Bb7 13.O-O Bf8 14.Nh2 d5 15.exd5 Qxd5 16.Nhf3 Qd7 17.Re1 Bd6 18.Re2 Rad8 19.Qf1 Nh5 20.Bh2 Re7 21.Rae1 Rde8 22.g4 Nf6 23.Ne4 Nxe4 24.dxe4 Qe6 25.Bb3 Qf6 26.Qg2 Na5 27.Bc2 Nc4 28.Bb3 Na5 29.Bc2 Nc4 30.Bb3 Na5 1/2-1/2

Round 1, Aug. 2, 2017
Karjakin, Sergey – Svidler, Peter
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 Ne7 10.d4 Ng6 11.Nbd2 h6 12.Bb3 Re8 13.Bc2 b5 14.b4 Bb7 15.Bb2 Qd7 16.c4 exd4 17.cxb5 d3 18.Bxd3 Nf4 19.Bf1 Nxe4 20.Nxe4 Bxe4 21.bxa6 Qf5 22.Ra3 c5 23.Nh4 Qe6 24.b5 c4 25.Bd4 Bxd4 26.Qxd4 d5 27.Rg3 g5 28.f3 Nh5 29.Rg4 Nf6 30.Rgxe4 Nxe4 31.fxe4 gxh4 32.Rd1 Qxe4 33.Qxe4 Rxe4 34.Rxd5 c3 35.Rc5 Rxa4 36.b6 Kg7 37.b7 Re8 38.Rxc3 Ra1 39.a7 1-0

At the post-mortem, Peter is introduced by Maurice as six-time Russian champion. He says that in view of his play recently, his title must have been reappraised – he is actually seven-time champion.

The critical move seems to be the reply to 16.c4 - the game went downhill for Peter after that.

The last game still in progress is MVL-So. Wesley played 40…Kd8, which Stockfish coloured red. It looks like MVL has a winning game.

MVL has two bishops and Wesley two knights. Maurice says he often asks his students why the bishop and the knight are both worth three pawns when the bishop can get anywhere on the board quickly. He says the answer is that one bishop can only visit half the squares on the board and the knight can visit all the squares, so this makes them equal.

Wesley loses the game and said that he didn’t defend well and was in time trouble.

MVL is sporting a beard and mustache and looks quite elegant.

Yasser’s three favorites to win the tournament are Magnus, Levon and Hikaru. Jennifer is picking
Levon, MVL and Sergey. Maurice says Magnus overall.

Round 1, Aug 2, 2017
MVL – So, Wesley
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 O-O 6.a4 d6 7.c3 a6 8.h3 h6 9.Nbd2 Ba7 10.Re1 Ne7 11.Bb3 Ng6 12.d4 Re8 13.Bc2 Bd7 14.a5 c6 15.dxe5 dxe5 16.Nc4 Qe7 17.Qd6 Qxd6 18.Nxd6 Re6 19.Rd1 Rb8 20.Kf1 Re7 21.Nc4 Rbe8 22.b3 Be6 23.Nb6 Bxb6 24.axb6 Rd7 25.Be3 Rc8 26.c4 Rxd1+ 27.Rxd1 c5 28.Ne1 Nd7 29.Nd3 f6 30.Ra1 Ne7 31.Ke2 Kf7 32.Kd2 f5 33.f4 exf4 34.Nxf4 g5 35.Nxe6 Kxe6 36.exf5+ Nxf5 37.Bg1 Nd4 38.Re1+ Kf6 39.Rf1+ Ke7 40.Re1+ Kd8 41.Be4 Nxb3+ 42.Kc3 Nd4 43.Bh2 1-0

Standings after Round One

1-3 Aronian, MVL, Karjakin 1.0
4-7 Carlsen, Caruana, Nakamura, Anand 0.5
8-10 So, Svidler, Nepo 0

Round Two Pairings

1. Carlsen-Karjakin
2. Aronian-Caruana
3. Nepo-So
4. Nakamura-MVL
5. Svidler-Anand

**Hans Jung** · Thursday, 3rd August, 2017, 10:53 AM

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2017

On other news reports Levon Aronian's 9.Ba3 was mentioned as a novelty. Yes, but get with it and do your job (as press) The brilliant 10.Rh4!! needs more mention and press. (not at all referring to you Wayne - your doing a great job posting) but other press reports missed the boat (Garry praised it and rightly so)

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 3rd August, 2017, 10:48 PM

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2017

Sinquefield Cup 2017

August 3, 2017

Round Two

The confessional is operating and MVL goes in and does a stream of consciousness thing that it is hard to understand. The chat-room crew comment:

- MVL’s new look is much better
- I prefer a clean-shaven MVL
- the booth looks claustrophobic
- booths are not traditionally spacious
- it’s not the confessional hangar!
_________

The early talk is of the opening in Nepo-So and the time Peter Svidler is taking against Vishy.

For the second day, a guy from Nigeria phones in but won’t turn down his computer sound and what with the delay and everything, we have not heard a question from him. On the other hand, an eleven-year-old from Indiana calls in and asks a question about his rating and tournaments he is entered in.

Maurice says that a rating confirms your strength, it does not give you a title.

Jan Gustafsson is in the chat-room. He is asked if he agrees with Moro that Nepo and Ivanchuk are more talented than Magnus.

There is a new first in chats – a discussion of opium dens! They also talk of Lawrence Trent stealing a game in the British Championship today.
______

Wesley So beats Nepo

Round 2, Aug. 3, 2017
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – So, Wesley
A10 English Opening

1.c4 g6 2.Nc3 c5 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nf6 5.Bf4 Nc6 6.Qd2 d6 7.e4 Bg7 8.Bd3 Ne5 9.Nge2 Nh5 10.Be3 Ng4 11.Bg5 h6 12.Bh4 g5 13.Bg3 Be6 14.h3 Ne5 15.Bxe5 Bxe5 16.g3 Qa5 17.f4 Bxc3 18.bxc3 Qc7 19.fxg5 hxg5 20.Qxg5 Bxc4 21.Bxc4 Qxc4 22.Qd5 Qxd5 23.exd5 Rc8 24.Rb1 b6 25.Rb3 Nf6 26.Ra3 a5 27.Nf4 Rg8 28.c4 Rxc4 29.Ke2 Ne4 30.g4 f5 31.Rg1 fxg4 32.hxg4 Nc3+ 33.Kd3 Rxf4 34.Rxc3 Rgxg4 35.Rc8+ Kf7 36.Rb1 Rd4+ 37.Ke3 Rxd5 38.Rxb6 Rg2 39.a4 Rg4 0-1

Evidently 17.f4 brought Nepo loads of hurt.

One of the chessbomb kibitzers imagines that So will say in the post-mortem: After a difficult start, I want to thank the Lord for sending Mr Nepo to be my opponent in this round.

Nepo defends his choice of an opening in his interview with Maurice.

He says that he blundered with f4 and it was all over.

Nakamura and MVL come to a draw in a Najdorf.

Round 2, Aug. 3, 2017
Nakamura, Hikaru – 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.g3 Nbd7 9.Bg2 b5 10.Nd5 Nxd5 11.Qxd5 Qc7 12.Be3 Bb7 13.Qd2 Rc8 14.Nc3 Nb6 15.Bxb6 Qxb6 16.a4 Be7 17.axb5 axb5 18.h4 O-O 19.O-O Rc4 20.b3 Rc7 21.Nd1 Qd4 22.Qa5 Qc5 23.Ne3 Ra8 24.Qd2 g6 25.Rxa8+ Bxa8 26.Ra1 Ra7 27.Ra5 Qb6 28.Rxa7 Qxa7 29.Qc3 Qb8 30.Qb4 Bc6 31.c4 Kf8 32.Nd5 Bxd5 33.cxd5 1/2-1/2

Round 2, Aug. 3, 2017
Svidler, Peter – Anand, Vishy
D32 QGD, Tarrasch Defence

1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.d4 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Bb5 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bd7 9.O-O Bd6 10.Nf3 a6 11.Ba4 Be6 12.Ne2 O-O 13.Nf4 Bxf4 14.exf4 b5 15.Bb3 Bg4 16.h3 Bxf3 17.Qxf3 Nd4 18.Qd3 Nxb3 19.axb3 d4 20.Bd2 Re8 21.Rfd1 Qd5 22.Ba5 h6 23.Qxd4 Qxb3 24.f5 Re4 25.Qc3 Qxc3 26.Bxc3 b4 27.Be1 a5 28.f3 Re2 29.Bxb4 Rxb2 30.Bxa5 Rb5 31.Rd8+ 1/2-1/2

Round 2, Aug. 3, 2017
Carlsen, Magnus – Karjakin, Sergey
A05 Reti Opening

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 c5 3.Bg2 Nc6 4.O-O e5 5.e4 d6 6.d3 g6 7.a3 Bg7 8.c3 O-O 9.b4 a6 10.Nbd2 b5 11.Rb1 Nd7 12.Nb3 cxb4 13.axb4 Nb6 14.Be3 Be6 15.Qd2 Rc8 16.Rfc1 Re8 17.h4 Na4 18.c4 h5 19.Kh2 Bg4 20.cxb5 axb5 21.Na5 Nd4 22.Rxc8 Qxc8 23.Rc1 Qd7 24.Nxd4 exd4 25.Bh6 Bh8 26.Rc6 Nc3 27.f3 Be6 28.Bf4 Be5 29.Bxe5 dxe5 30.f4 Qe7 31.Rc5 Rc8 32.Rxc8+ Bxc8 33.Nc6 Qd6 34.Nxe5 Qxb4 35.f5 Qd6 36.Nf3 gxf5 37.Qg5+ Kh7 38.e5 Qg6 39.Qd8 Be6 40.Ng5+ Kg7 41.Qxd4 Na4 42.Nh3 1-0

- Carlsen played a beautiful game
- Sergey has no move – like zero
- amazing Carlsen
- Nh3 is actually a superb move
- with those glasses he just looks like the Jackal, the hitman!

The game that lasted almost seven hours was Aronian-Caruana. Fabiano should have considered his 40th move more carefully, g5+ was indicated and Bd2 was played.

Round 2, Aug. 3, 2017
Aronian, Levon – 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.Be2 cxd4 8.exd4 Nc6 9.Nc3 Be7 10.Be3 Ng4 11.Bf4 Nf6 12.Rc1 O-O 13.Na4 Nd5 14.Bg3 Bd6 15.Bd3 Nce7 16.Qb3 b6 17.Be4 Rb8 18.Rfe1 Bb7 19.Nc3 Nxc3 20.Bxb7 Nxa2 21.Qxa2 Rxb7 22.Qxa6 Rc7 23.b3 Nf5 24.Rxc7 Qxc7 25.Qb5 h6 26.d5 exd5 27.Qxd5 Nxg3 28.hxg3 Rd8 29.Qb5 g6 30.Ne5 Qc5 31.Qxc5 Bxc5 32.Kf1 Kg7 33.Ke2 Bb4 34.Rc1 Re8 35.f4 f6 36.Rc7+ Kh8 37.Rc6 fxe5 38.Rxb6 exf4+ 39.Kf3 Re3+ 40.Kxf4 Bd2 41.Rxg6 Kh7 42.Kf5 Rxb3 43.Rd6 Bg5 44.Rd7+ Kg8 45.Kg4 Bf6 46.Kf5 Bg7 47.g4 Rb2 48.g3 Rb5+ 49.Ke4 Bf6 50.Rd3 Rb4+ 51.Kf3 Bg5 52.Rd5 Rb3+ 53.Kg2 Kf7 54.Rd6 Ke7 55.Rc6 Rd3 56.Ra6 Rd6 57.Ra3 Ke6 58.Kf3 Ke5 59.Ra5+ Rd5 60.Ra3 Kd4 61.Ra4+ Kd3 62.Ra3+ Kd2 63.Ra1 Rc5 64.Kf2 Rc2 65.Rb1 Bf6 66.Kg2 Ke3+ 67.Kh3 Kf2 68.Rb5 Re2 69.Rb6 Bg5 70.Rb5 Bd2 71.Kh2 Kf1+ 72.Kh1 Re4 73.Rf5+ Ke2 74.Kg2 Rxg4 75.Rf2+ Kd3 76.Rf6 Rd4 77.Rf1 Ke4 78.Rf8 Bg5 79.Rf1 Be3 80.Rf8 Rd2+ 81.Kh3 Bg1 82.Kg4 Ke5 83.Rf5+ Ke6 84.Rf1 Bd4 85.Rh1 Bg7 86.Kf3 Kf5 87.Rh5+ Kg6 88.Rb5 Rd3+ 89.Kf4 Bf8 90.Rb6+ Bd6+ 91.Ke4 Rd1 92.Kf3 Kf5 93.Rb5+ Be5 94.Rb6 h5 95.Rh6 Kg5 96.Re6 Bd6 97.Re8 Rc1 98.Re6 Rd1 99.Re8 Rg1 100.Kf2 Rc1 101.Kf3 Kf5 102.Re3 Bc5 103.Rd3 Ke5 104.Rd2 Rc3+ 105.Kg2 Ke6 106.Kh3 Bd6 107.Kh4 Bxg3+ 108.Kxh5 Kf5 109.Rd5+ Be5 110.Kh4 Rc4+ 0-1

How to win? How to defend? What if the rooks go off? The position after White’s 57th move

chess bomb kibitzers:

- black missed at least half a dozen wins by now
- omg, poor Aronian
- this is definitely a draw
- play it out and win Fabii!
- this is a game that will be talked about
- fantastic endgame to watch
- historic game
- the only fatal mistake in this game was 33.Ke2

(to be continued)

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 3rd August, 2017, 10:53 PM

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2017

Sinquefield Cup 2017

August 3, 2017

Round Two (continued)

Standings after Round Two

1-3 Carlsen, Caruana, MVL 1.5
4-8 So, Aronian, Karjakin, Nakamura, Anand 1.0
9 Svidler 0.5
10 Nepomniachtchi 0

Schedule for Rounds 3-9

Round Three
Anand-Carlsen
So-Nakamura
Caruana-Nepo
Karjakin-Aronian
MVL-Svidler

Round Four
Carlsen-MVL
Svidler-So
Caruana-Karjakin
Neo-Nakamura
Aronian-Anand

Round Five
So-Carlsen
Anand-Caruana
MVL-Aronian
Nakamura-Svidler
Karjakin-Nepo

Round Six
Carlsen-Nakamura
Aronian-So
Caruana-MVL
Karjakin-Anand
Nepo-Svidler

Round Seven
Svidler-Carlsen
So-Caruana
Nakamura-Aronian
MVL-Karjakin
Anand-Neto

Round Eight
Nepo-Carlsen
Caruana-Nakamura
Karjakin-So
Aronian-Svidler
Anand-MVL

Round Nine
Carlsen-Aronian
So-Anand
Svidler-Caruana
MVL-Nepo
Nakamura-Karjakin
_________

During the long wait for the game Aronian-Caruana to end, Yasser talked about understanding endgames through studies.

He said that during the US Championship, he was having dinner with Fabi and his second, Rustam Kasimdzhanov and he said, “guys what did you do today?” He thought they would be looking at the Ruy Lopezes and Giuoco Pianos but no, they were looking at a study of queen versus two bishops (and pawns) and the bishops dominated the queen. And Fabi showed him the study on his smartphone. It was like a 25-mover. It took them three hours to get the moves. It was a test of their calculating powers and understanding.

Who studies studies? GMs with a rating over 2800!

**Wayne Komer** · Friday, 4th August, 2017, 08:10 AM

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2017

Sinquefield Cup 2017

August 4, 2017

Caruana Wins In 110 Moves, Now 1 Of 3 Leaders

by Mike Klein at:

https://www.chess.com/news/view/caru...3-leaders-8602

It's hard to top a world championship rematch, but GM Fabiano Caruana tried his best on day two of the 2017 Sinquefield Cup. On an afternoon when GM Magnus Carlsen won with ease over his November, 2016 sparring partner, Caruana played into the evening.

He grinded for nearly three times the number of moves as the world champ, but his imperfect technique became perfect when it mattered.

The 110 moves and nearly seven hours of play produced the usually theoretically-drawn rook+bishop vs. rook ending vs. GM Levon Aronian, but with an asterisk. The starting pawnless position was particularly bad for Aronian, and Caruana knew it.

"I wasn't 100 percent sure, but I didn't have time to doubt myself," Caruana said of transitioning all of the pawns off the board. His intuition was right.

Speaking about the bishop-up ending that began some 70 more ago, Caruana said, "From the start I thought that the endgame must be winning." He wasn't wrong, but there were simpler measures than going into triple digit moves.

"I was kind of surprised at how difficult it was to do anything... I had to sweat a bit.

"I would play 150 moves if it meant I would win a game."

(A photo of Caruana’s four score-sheets accompany the article)

**Wayne Komer** · Friday, 4th August, 2017, 11:18 PM

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2017

Sinquefield Cup 2017

August 4, 2017

Round Three

Yasser, Jen and Maurice were asked by a caller about Kasparov’s chances in the upcoming St. Louis Rapid and Blitz. Yasser thought that Nakamura would probably win because Carlsen, So and MVL were not playing but that Kasparov would be in the top three.

Maurice said that when Garry comes on the show, he is always very sharp in evaluating positions and for sure, he will not hang any pieces during the game.

Yasser says that the great ones can almost smell a position favorable for sacrificing and told of Najdorf asking Alekhine why he sacrificed a rook and he said that he smelled the sacrifice in that position.

The same anecdote is told with more details in a chess.com article by Julio Becerra:

https://www.chess.com/article/view/alekhines-big-nose

It is said that few people in chess have been so uncomplicated and frank as Miguel Najdorf, and for this reason he created around him a very good atmosphere. Maybe for that, it is not surprising that at Buenos Aires 1939 during the Chess Olympiad, the World Champion Alexander Alekhine invited him to share some drinks.

Najdorf recounted this anecdote to New in Chess magazine: When Alekhine said “Miguel let us drink,” I replied to him that I was a poor person, but he told me: “I will pay.” After he drank the whole bottle and I just two glasses, I asked him: "Doctor, do you remember the game that you played against Book, where you sacrificed a rook and you asked me my opinion, once you made the move, and I responded to you 'marvelous?'" Then Alekhine said: “In truth I did not see anything.” “Then, why did you sacrifice the Rook?” “Because a very big nose I have. You know?” - and he added- “A big intuition, like Casablanca.”

Reuben Fine said: “The combination, or well the series of combinations that take place in this game, are, in my opinion, the most outstanding tactical conception of chess history.”

Ok, let us see the game behind this history!

Margate 1938
Round 6, April 25, 1938
Alekhine, Alexander - Book, Eero
D26 QGA, Classical variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.O-O Nc6 7.Qe2 a6 8.Nc3 b5 9.Bb3 b4 10.d5 Na5 11.Ba4+ Bd7 12.dxe6 fxe6 13.Rd1 bxc3 14.Rxd7 Nxd7 15.Ne5 Ra7 16.bxc3 Ke7 17.e4 Nf6 18.Bg5 Qc7 19.Bf4 Qb6 20.Rd1 g6 21.Bg5 Bg7 22.Nd7 Rxd7 23.Rxd7+ Kf8 24.Bxf6 Bxf6 25.e5 1-0
________

From the chat-room:

- Correction: Alekhine “lost” a rook, then sobered up and managed to win the game
- The Man without Qualities by Robert Musil is a good read on chess
- seeing chess moves in a dream is a common phenomenon
- in my nightmares, my opponent doesn’t allow me to castle
- There is a whole lot of theory about chess dream interpretations
- svidler is getting crushed again I can sense it
- Peter is so bad ass, playing with his eyes closed
- peter is down a pawn with no comp
- Nepo is going to fall under 2700 after this tournament
- Anand has to be careful. The way Carlsen is handling the game is so precise and awkward that it is scary
- kinda impressive that Svidler is still in there despite time pressure

In spite of all the predictions of losses, there were draws in all cases. MVL, Carlsen and So all had an extra pawn but could not get the win.

Peter Svidler was particularly perturbed that he was getting outplayed in an opening that he's supposed to know inside and out.

"It's extremely annoying because this is very much a part of my repertoire. And I've been repeating this line more or less against anybody who can play 1. e4 against me for the past year and a half."

He said that he'd spent "immense machine hours" on the position after 12...Nc6, but was in a haze on some particular lines.

https://www.chess.com/news/view/pawn...ield-rd-3-9892

The games:

Round 3, Aug. 4, 2017
Anand, Vishy – Carlsen, Magnus
C78 Ruy Lopez, Archangel variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.Nc3 O-O 8.d3 d6 9.Nd5 h6 10.c3 Rb8 11.Re1 Ba7 12.Be3 Bxe3 13.Nxe3 Re8 14.a4 b4 15.a5 bxc3 16.bxc3 Be6 17.Bxe6 Rxe6 18.Nd5 Ne7 19.Nxf6+ Rxf6 20.d4 Ng6 21.g3 Qc8 22.Re3 Rb5 23.Nd2 h5 24.h4 Qh3 25.Qf1 Qg4 26.Qe2 Qxe2 27.Rxe2 Re6 28.Nf1 Nf8 29.Rc2 exd4 30.cxd4 c5 31.dxc5 dxc5 32.Nd2 Rd6 33.Nc4 Rd4 34.Kg2 Ne6 35.Ra3 g6 36.Nd2 Kg7 37.Rac3 Rdb4 38.Ra2 Rd4 39.Rac2 Ra4 40.Nb3 Rxb3 41.Rxb3 Nd4 42.Rcb2 Nxb3 43.Rxb3 Rxe4 44.Rb6 Re6 45.Rb7 c4 46.Rc7 Re5 47.Rxc4 Rxa5 48.Rc6 Ra2 49.Kf3 a5 50.Ra6 a4 51.Ke3 a3 52.Kf3 f6 53.Ra7+ Kf8 54.Kg2 Ra1 55.Kf3 Ke8 56.Ra6 Ke7 57.Kg2 Kf7 58.Kf3 Ra2 59.Kg2 g5 60.g4 gxh4 61.gxh5 Ra1 62.Ra7+ Kg8 63.h6 Kh8 64.Kh2 f5 65.f4 a2 66.Kg2 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Aug. 4, 2017
MVL – Svidler, Peter
C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a3 Na5 9.Ba2 c5 10.Nc3 Be6 11.Nh4 O-O 12.Nf5 Nc6 13.Nd5 Bxf5 14.exf5 Nxd5 15.Bxd5 Rc8 16.a4 Bf6 17.axb5 axb5 18.c4 bxc4 19.dxc4 Bg5 20.Be3 Kh8 21.Qh5 h6 22.Bxf7 Nd4 23.h4 Bxe3 24.fxe3 Qf6 25.Ra7 Ne2+ 26.Qxe2 Rxf7 27.Rxf7 Qxf7 28.Qg4 Rb8 29.Ra1 Qf6 30.Qe4 Kh7 31.Ra2 h5 32.Kh2 d5 33.Qxd5 Qxh4+ 34.Kg1 Qe1+ 35.Kh2 Qh4+ 36.Kg1 Qe1+ 37.Kh2 Qxe3 38.Qf7 Qf4+ 39.Kh1 Qh4+ 40.Kg1 Qe1+ 41.Kh2 Qh4+ 42.Kg1 Qd4+ 43.Kh1 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Aug. 4, 2017
Caruana, Fabiano – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
B23 Sicilian, Closed

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.Nge2 Nf6 4.g3 g6 5.Bg2 Nc6 6.d3 Bg7 7.h3 Rb8 8.a4 a6 9.f4 Bd7 10.Be3 b5 11.axb5 axb5 12.Qd2 b4 13.Nd1 O-O 14.O-O Qc7 15.g4 Ra8 16.Rb1 Ra2 17.f5 Ne5 18.Bh6 Qa7 19.Kh1 Bb5 20.Bxg7 Kxg7 21.Nf4 c4 22.g5 Nfd7 23.Ne3 b3 24.d4 bxc2 25.Nxc2 Nd3 26.Nd5 e5 27.Nc3 Qa5 28.dxe5 N7xe5 29.Nd4 Bd7 30.Rfd1 Qc5 31.Nxa2 Qxd4 32.Rf1 Bc6 33.Nc3 Rb8 34.Qe2 Rb3 35.Nd1 Nc5 36.Nc3 Ncd3 37.Nd1 Nc5 38.Nc3 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Aug. 4, 2017
So, Wesley – Nakamura, Hikaru
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.a4 a6 7.c3 O-O 8.Re1 Ba7 9.h3 b5 10.Bb3 h6 11.axb5 axb5 12.Be3 Bd7 13.Bxa7 Rxa7 14.Nbd2 Rxa1 15.Qxa1 Nh5 16.Nf1 Qf6 17.Qd1 b4 18.d4 bxc3 19.bxc3 Nf4 20.Ne3 Qg6 21.Kh2 Re8 22.Ba4 Qf6 23.Ng4 Qe7 24.Ne3 Qf6 25.Bb5 exd4 26.cxd4 Nb8 27.Bf1 Ng6 28.Nd5 Qd8 29.Qc2 c6 30.Nc3 c5 31.Rd1 Nc6 32.dxc5 dxc5 33.Nb5 Qb8+ 34.Kg1 Nb4 35.Qxc5 Bxb5 36.Qxb4 Bc6 37.Qxb8 Rxb8 38.Bd3 Rb4 39.Rb1 Ra4 40.Bc2 Rc4 41.Rb8+ Kh7 42.Bb3 Rc1+ 43.Kh2 Bxe4 44.Bxf7 Ne7 45.Re8 Rc7 46.Ne5 Bd5 47.Bh5 g6 48.Be2 Nc6 49.Ng4 Kg7 50.Ne3 Bf7 51.Re4 Rb7 52.Bf3 Rb4 53.Rxb4 Nxb4 54.Be4 Na6 55.f4 Nc5 56.Bb1 Nd7 57.g4 Nf6 58.Kg3 Nd5 59.Nd1 Be8 60.Be4 Ba4 61.Nb2 Nc3 62.Kf3 Bb5 63.Bb7 g5 64.fxg5 hxg5 65.Be4 Nxe4 66.Kxe4 Bf1 67.Kf5 Bxh3 68.Kxg5 Bxg4 69.Kxg4 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Aug. 4, 2017
Karjakin, Sergey – Aronian, Levon
C53 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 O-O 6.a4 a6 7.O-O Ba7 8.Re1 d6 9.h3 b5 10.Ba2 b4 11.d4 bxc3 12.bxc3 Re8 13.Be3 h6 14.Nbd2 Na5 15.Rb1 Be6 16.Qc2 Bxa2 17.Qxa2 Bb6 18.Qc2 Nd7 19.Qd3 Qe7 20.Rb2 Nc6 21.Qc4 Na5 22.Qd3 Nc6 23.Qc4 Na5 1/2-1/2

Standing after Round Three

1-3 Carlsen, Caruana, MVL 2.0
4-8 Aronian, Karjakin, So, Nakamura, Anand 1.5
9 Svidler 1.0
10. Nepomniachtchi 0.5
__________

The team is asked about the impact of computers on chess by a caller from Milwaukee.

Jen says they take some of the romance out of chess but now everyone all over the world can play online. Before, if you lived in the countryside you had a hard time finding an opponent or strong enough opposition.

Maurice mentions Deep Thinking, the book about artificial intelligence by Garry Kasparov. He actually sides with the engines now.

Yasser says that he sees a natural language emerging combining engines and databases so you can ask the computer as you would a coach, who played this opening line before, what is the current situation, what the best lines are etc. Or analyze my game – what are my strengths and weaknesses ?

Maurice says that this generation of computers help players learn the art of defence. They don’t give up when a sacrifice is made but try to refute it.

**Hans Jung** · Saturday, 5th August, 2017, 05:00 PM

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2017

Hopefully we'll see exciting chess from Naka soon (after his diappointing loss to Nepo today)

**Wayne Komer** · Saturday, 5th August, 2017, 08:54 PM

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2017

Sinquefield Cup 2017

August 5, 2017

Round Four

A caller asks about learning more about attacking chess. Maurice recommends Shirov’s Fire on Board Parts 1 and 2, Alekhine’s two volumes of best games and The Art of Attack by Vladimir Vukotic.

Yasser asks if you would consider Bobby Fischer a great attacker. Maurice said that he wasn’t just a great tactician, he was a universalist that did everything right.

Yasser said he was talking to Miguel Najdorf once and Miguel said “ Jasser, I understand style – I see a game where the player has done nothing, he just moved back and forth and his opponent resigned because he was in zugzwang – I see Tigran Petrosian.

I see another game where a player sacrificed a piece, then sacrificed another piece and then made a quiet move and he won the game – I see Mikhail Tal.

But when I look at Bobby Fischer’s games, I see nothing, no style, because perfection has no style.
________

Nakamura plays 21…g6 and his position goes downhill from there. Chessbomb kibitzers:

- Black is busted.
- White rook on c-file too active for any counterplay
- serious head bobbing is expected
- nepo had nearly all his time left
- I hate the line naka played, you just die without a fight, play the KID
__________

Peter said that in his game there were promising variations. Peter skyped his friends for advice and was pointed towards Najer-Vitiugov game from the Russian Team Championship – though Peter lamented that if he’d known Wesley So would agree to follow it he wouldn’t have had to do so much work on other possible variations.

Peter loved calculating the variations and was quite enthusiastic about his chances but came down to reality at the end and took a draw by repetition.

Chessbomb kibitzers were not so enthusiastic:

- what a boring game
- So became the most boring player of recent times
________

The games:

Round 4, Aug. 5, 2017
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Nakamura, Hikaru
D37 QBD, 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.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 exd5 10.Bd3 Bb4+ 11.Nd2 Nc6 12.O-O Be6 13.Nf3 Be7 14.Rc1 Bf6 15.a3 Qe7 16.b4 a6 17.h3 Rac8 18.Rc5 a5 19.Qb1 axb4 20.axb4 b6 21.Rcc1 g6 22.Ba6 Nxb4 23.Bxc8 Rxc8 24.Rxc8+ Bxc8 25.Rc1 Bf5 26.Qb3 Nd3 27.Rc7 Qd8 28.Bg3 h5 29.Qxb6 h4 30.Bd6 Be4 31.Qc6 Kg7 32.Rc8 d4 33.Qxe4 1-0

Round 4, Aug. 5, 2017
Svidler, Peter – So, Wesley
C53 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 d5 7.Bb5 Ne4 8.cxd4 Bb6 9.Nc3 O-O 10.Be3 Bg4 11.h3 Bh5 12.Qc2 Bg6 13.Qb3 Ne7 14.O-O c6 15.Bd3 Nf5 16.Rae1 Nxd4 17.Bxd4 Bxd4 18.Nxe4 dxe4 19.Bxe4 Bxe4 20.Rxe4 Bb6 21.e6 Qe7 22.exf7+ Qxf7 23.Re6 Kh8 24.Ne5 Bxf2+ 25.Kh1 Qg8 26.Nd7 Rf7 27.Ne5 Rff8 28.Nd7 Rf7 29.Ne5 Rff8 1/2-1/2

Round 4, Aug. 5, 2017
Aronian, Levon – Anand, Vishy
A35 English, symmetrical, Four Knights System

1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 g6 7.h4 Bg7 8.h5 Bf5 9.Ng5 e6 10.h6 Bf6 11.Nge4 Be7 12.d3 Bxe4 13.Bxe4 O-O 14.Bd2 Qd7 15.Rc1 Rfd8 16.Bg2 b6 17.Qa4 Rab8 18.O-O Nd4 19.Qxd7 Rxd7 20.Rfe1 Rbd8 21.g4 Nb4 22.a3 Nd5 23.Nxd5 exd5 24.Rc3 Nb5 25.Rc2 Nd4 26.Rc3 Nb5 27.Rc2 Nd4 1/2-1/2

After the game, Maurice said to Levon Aronian – Tomorrow you play MVL. What is the character of your games with him?

And Aronian brought down the house with laughter: Usually the games that he won, I blundered one-movers and the games I have won, they are positional masterpieces!

Round 4, Aug. 5, 2017
Caruana, Fabiano – Karjakin, Sergey
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d5 6.exd5 Qxd5 7.Bc4 Qd6 8.Nbd2 O-O 9.b4 Bb6 10.a4 e4 11.dxe4 Ne5 12.Qe2 a5 13.O-O Bg4 14.bxa5 Rxa5 15.Ba3 Bc5 16.Bb4 Bxb4 17.cxb4 Qxb4 18.Rfb1 Qd6 19.h3 Bxf3 20.Nxf3 b6 21.Bb5 Raa8 22.Re1 Rad8 23.Rac1 c5 24.Rc3 g6 25.Rb3 Nxf3+ 26.Qxf3 Qe5 27.Bc4 Rd6 28.Rb5 Rd4 29.Rxb6 Rxc4 30.Qxf6 Qxf6 31.Rxf6 Rxa4 1/2-1/2

Evidently time trouble reared its ugly head:

- we are in for a rapid match
- basically in the last two hours they played only five moves each
- they should just shake hands to avoid blundering in time pressure
- this looks like a dead draw
- clocks will make this fun
- Fabiano is great in zeitnot
- draw agreed, both were under two minutes

Round 4, Aug 5, 2017
Carlsen, Magnus – MVL
A34 English, symmetrical, Three Knights System

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Qxd1+ 7.Kxd1 Bf5 8.Nd2 Nc6 9.e4 Bg6 10.Bb5 Rc8 11.h4 h5 12.Re1 e6 13.a4 Be7 14.g3 O-O 15.a5 Rfd8 16.a6 b6 17.Kc2 Ne5 18.f4 Ng4 19.Kb3 f6 20.Nc4 Nf2 21.e5 Ne4 22.Be3 Bf5 23.Rg1 Rd5 24.Rae1 Kf7 25.Bc1 Bh7 26.Re3 Rcd8 27.Bc6 Nf2 28.Re2 Nd3 29.exf6 gxf6 30.Bb5 Rg8 31.Bd2 Rgd8 32.Be3 Be4 33.Rd2 Rg8 34.Ka4 Rgd8 35.Kb3 Rg8 36.Ka2 f5 37.Rh2 Rc8 38.Rd2 Rg8 39.Re2 Bf3 40.Rh2 Bf6 41.Nd2 Bg4 42.Rf1 Rgd8 43.Nc4 e5 44.fxe5 Bxe5 45.Bg5 Bxg3 46.Rg2 Bh3 47.Rxg3 Bxf1 48.Rf3 Be2 49.Bxd8 Bxf3 50.Bxb6 axb6 51.Bc6 Be4 52.a7 Rd8 53.Nd6+ Rxd6 54.Bxe4 Rd8 55.a8=Q Rxa8+ 56.Bxa8 Ne5 57.Kb3 f4 58.Kc2 Kg7 59.Kd2 Ng6 60.Kd3 Nxh4 61.Ke4 f3 62.Ke3 Kf6 63.b4 c4 64.Bd5 Kf5 65.Bxc4 Kg4 66.Kf2 Ng6 67.Be6+ Kf4 68.Bf7 Ne5 69.Bxh5 Nd3+ 70.Kf1 Kg3 71.Bf7 Nf2 0-1

Position after Black’s 71…Nf2

One of the most fascinating games of this tourney (Jen). In a dead lost position, MVL came back and beat Magnus.

Standing after Round Four

1 MVL 3.0
2 Caruana 2.5
3-7 Carlsen, Aronian, Karjakin, So, Anand 2.0
8-9 Nepo 1.5
10 Svidler 1.5

**Kevin Pacey** · Saturday, 5th August, 2017, 11:03 PM

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2017

Originally posted by Wayne Komer View Post

...
Yasser asks if you would consider Bobby Fischer a great attacker. Maurice said that he wasn’t just a great tactician, he was a universalist that did everything right.

Yasser said he was talking to Miguel Najdorf once and Miguel said “ Jasser, I understand style – I see a game where the player has done nothing, he just moved back and forth and his opponent resigned because he was in zugzwang – I see Tigran Petrofina.

I see another game where a player sacrificed a piece, then sacrificed another piece and then made a quiet move and he won the game – I see Mikhail Tal.

But when I look at Bobby Fischer’s games, I see nothing, no style, because perfection has no style.

In the past I've read & thought much about style in chess. As one writer put it, somewhere, everyone has a style, even a computer chess program (many of which would come close to most people's definition of chess perfection these days). Karpov, of all people, once said that he had no style, perhaps recalling Najdorf's final words in the quote above. Yet, IMHO, style is about more than the sum of a player's strengths and weaknesses. Otherwise, when there are several equally good ways to win a won game, what does a player base his choice on other than his (and/or perhaps the opponent's) style? I doubt such a choice is generally randomly made, even by arguably 'perfect' players.

**Garland Best** · Sunday, 6th August, 2017, 01:21 PM

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2017

There is an interesting series of articles on chessbase right now discussing player styles and if one can identify them.

**Kevin Pacey** · Sunday, 6th August, 2017, 01:32 PM

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2017

Some people in the past thought they could identify characteristics of Fischer's style. The late GM Edmar Mednis, for example, thought if faced with the choice of promising middlegame play or an endgame that was at least a shade better, Fischer would invariably go for the endgame. Early in my career, at least, I played a lot of Fischer's White openings, e.g. Sozin setups vs. the Sicilian. I seem to recall his opening choices were at least at times influenced by the winning stats that he thought a particular White opening had - before databases, even. He had a very straight forward style of play, in a way.

Karpov's style has been described as 'ditchwater dull'. It has also been observed that he never turns down the chance for a space advantage. He's definitely a technician.

**Wayne Komer** · Monday, 7th August, 2017, 12:06 AM

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2017

Sinquefield Cup 2017

August 6, 2017

Round Five

Maurice is wearing a sharp double bow-tie. There is some skill required to tie it from scratch – a YouTube video showing how has had nearly 7.7 M hits.

- Maurice’s bow-tie a multiple-purpose device. Distracts opponents and serves as a fidget spinner.
- the bow-tie is where Maurice’s chess strength lies – like Samson’s hair.
________

Yasser related an anecdote while they were analyzing Anand-Caruana, probably because one side had the bishop pair.

He was playing in his first Olympiad, which was at Malta (1980). He was on second board against Russia and the Americans were down and the captain, Pal Benko, was hoping they could get a draw. Tal offered one to Yasser and Seirawan thought he would like to play on, causing Pal to toss an armload of Olympiad bulletins up in the air with frustration. The story had a good end because Yasser defeated Tal in the end. See:

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1140493
_________

Anand Wins Brilliancy Vs Caruana; Carlsen Defeats So

Sam Copeland at

https://www.chess.com/news/view/anan...defeats-so-362

Both Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand won their games in 29 moves in the fifth round of the Sinquefield Cup, but for once, all eyes weren't on the champ. It was Anand's scintillating takedown of Fabiano Caruana that wowed the spectators and fans as he produced a stunning combination that will surely grace a collection of his greatest games.

For Magnus Carlsen, his victory against Wesley So proved fairly straightforward after So lost his way and allowed Carlsen to grab a not-so-poisoned pawn on b2. After a disastrous loss to Maxime Vachier-Lagrave yesterday, today could not have been more perfectly scripted for Carlsen. His victory against So, in conjunction with Anand's victory against Caruana, secured the Norwegian a 19-point gap over number two (still Caruana) in the live rating lists.

As it turned out, if you weren't winning in 29 moves, you weren't winning. Ian Nepomniachtchi came very close to a win against Sergey Karjakin, but the Minister of Defense once again lived up to his stoic moniker, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Levon Aronian created chaos on board, but they also found that the resulting endgame was drawn. Nakamura created chances against Svidler, but that endgame too proved drawn.

Getting to the game of the day, it seemed out of the opening likely that Caruana and not Anand would win a tactical brilliancy as he centralized his pieces and created dangerous threats. Anand neatly sidestepped, but then Caruana attempted a pawn sacrifice in response to Anand's f4. As it turned out, the sacrifice was based on a miscalculation as Caruana had missed some stunning tactics after 22.exf6.

The most deadly move Caruana missed proved to be the stunning 26.Qd4!!, a move which set Twitter and the broadcast afire with shouts of acclaim.

The games:

Round 5, Aug. 6, 2017
MVL-Aronian, Levon
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 O-O 6.a4 a6 7.c3 Ba7 8.Re1 d6 9.h3 b5 10.Bb3 b4 11.a5 Rb8 12.Nbd2 Be6 13.Bc2 h6 14.Nf1 d5 15.exd5 Nxd5 16.Bd2 b3 17.Bb1 Qd6 18.Qe2 Rbe8 19.Ra3 f5 20.Nxe5 Bd7 21.d4 Nxd4 22.cxd4 Bxd4 23.Rxb3 Rxe5 24.Qc4 Rxe1 25.Bxe1 Re8 26.Bb4 Qe5 27.Rd3 Bb5 28.Qxd4 Bxd3 29.Qxd3 Nxb4 30.Qc4+ Nd5 31.Ba2 Kh7 32.Qxd5 Qxd5 33.Bxd5 Re5 34.Bc4 Rxa5 35.f4 Ra1 36.Kf2 a5 37.Nd2 Kg6 38.Bd3 Kf6 39.Nc4 a4 40.g4 fxg4 41.hxg4 Ke6 42.Be4 Rc1 43.Ne3 Ra1 44.Nc4 Rc1 45.Ne3 Ra1 1/2-1/2

Round 5, Aug. 6, 2017
So, Wesley – Carlsen, Magnus
C45 Scotch game

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bb4+ 5.c3 Be7 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 d6 8.O-O Nf6 9.Re1 O-O 10.Nd2 Re8 11.Nf3 Nd7 12.Bf4 Nc5 13.Bc2 Bg4 14.h3 Bh5 15.Be3 Nd7 16.Ba4 c5 17.g4 Bg6 18.e5 Rb8 19.Bf4 Rxb2 20.exd6 Bxd6 21.Rxe8+ Qxe8 22.Bxd6 cxd6 23.Qxd6 Qe2 24.Qg3 Nf8 25.Re1 Rb1 26.Rxb1 Bxb1 27.Bc6 Bxa2 28.Qd6 Qc4 29.Ne5 Qxc3 0-1

Round 5, Aug. 6, 2017
Karjakin, Sergey – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
B09 Pirc, Austrian Attack, Modern main line

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Bd3 O-O 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be2 Bg4 8.Be3 Bxf3 9.Bxf3 e5 10.fxe5 dxe5 11.d5 Nd4 12.O-O c6 13.dxc6 bxc6 14.Ne2 Qc7 15.c3 Nxf3+ 16.gxf3 Nh5 17.Qd3 Rfd8 18.Qc4 Rd7 19.Rad1 Rad8 20.Rxd7 Rxd7 21.b4 Qd6 22.Qa6 Qc7 23.a4 Bf6 24.a5 Kg7 25.Qc4 h6 26.a6 Bg5 27.Bxg5 hxg5 28.Qc5 Kg8 29.b5 cxb5 30.Qxc7 Rxc7 31.Rb1 Rc5 32.Rd1 Nf4 33.Nxf4 gxf4 34.Rd7 Rxc3 35.Kg2 Rc2+ 36.Kg1 Ra2 37.Rxa7 Kg7 38.Rb7 Rxa6 39.Rxb5 Kf6 40.h4 Ke6 41.Rb7 f5 42.exf5+ gxf5 43.h5 e4 44.h6 e3 45.h7 Ra8 46.Kf1 Kf6 47.Ra7 Rh8 48.Ke2 Kg6 49.Ra4 Rxh7 50.Rxf4 Kg5 51.Ra4 Re7 52.f4+ Kg4 53.Rb4 Kg3 54.Ra4 Rb7 55.Kxe3 Re7+ 56.Kd2 Kf3 57.Kd1 Re8 58.Rb4 Rh8 59.Rb5 Rh5 60.Ke1 Kxf4 1/2-1/2

Round 5, Aug. 6, 2017
Nakamura, Hikaru – Svidler, Peter
C88 Ruy Lopez, Closed, anti-Marshall

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.a4 b4 9.d4 d6 10.dxe5 Nxe5 11.Nbd2 Ned7 12.Nd4 Bb7 13.c3 bxc3 14.bxc3 Nc5 15.Bc2 Re8 16.f3 Nfd7 17.a5 d5 18.exd5 Bxd5 19.Nf1 Ne6 20.Be3 Bc5 21.Nxe6 Bxe6 22.Be4 Rb8 23.Qd3 Bxe3+ 24.Nxe3 Nc5 25.Bxh7+ Kf8 26.Qxd8 Rexd8 27.Bc2 Rd2 28.Rad1 Rxd1 29.Rxd1 Rb2 30.Rd8+ Ke7 31.Rg8 g6 32.f4 Ra2 33.h4 Nd7 34.Rc8 Rxa5 35.Rxc7 Kd6 36.Ra7 Ra3 37.f5 gxf5 38.Bxf5 Ne5 39.h5 Bxf5 40.Nxf5+ Ke6 41.Ne3 Kf6 42.h6 Kg6 43.Re7 Ra5 44.Kh2 Rc5 45.Kg3 Nc6 46.Rc7 Rxc3 47.Kf2 Rc5 48.h7 Kxh7 49.Rxf7+ Kg6 50.Rc7 Ne5 51.Rxc5 Nd3+ 52.Ke2 Nxc5 53.Kd2 Kg5 1/2-1/2

Round 5, Aug. 6, 2017
Anand, Vishy – Caruana, Fabiano
A29 English, Bremen

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Bc5 7.O-O O-O 8.d3 Bb6 9.Bd2 Bg4 10.Rc1 Nxc3 11.Bxc3 Re8 12.b4 Qd6 13.Nd2 Qh6 14.Nc4 Qh5 15.Rc2 Rad8 16.Nxb6 cxb6 17.f3 Be6 18.Qd2 b5 19.f4 Bg4 20.Bxc6 bxc6 21.fxe5 f6 22.exf6 Rxe2 23.f7+ Kf8 24.Bxg7+ Kxg7 25.Qc3+ Re5 26.Qd4 Qg5 27.Rc5 Rxd4 28.f8=Q+ Kg6 29.Qf7+ 1-0

Position after White’s 26.Qd4

chessbomb kibitzers:
- Caruana just confessed in the press conference that he didn’t see Qd4 at all
- Congrats Vishy
- Anand played Qd4 in ten seconds

There is a rest day tomorrow

Standings after Round Five

1 MVL 3.5
2-3 Carlsen, Anand 3.0
4-6 Caruana, Karjakin, Aronian 2.5
7-10 So, Nepomniachtchi, Nakamura, Svidler 2.0

**Wayne Komer** · Tuesday, 8th August, 2017, 08:54 PM

Re: Sinquefield Cup 2017

Sinquefield Cup 2017

August 8, 2017

Round Six

The two most interesting games are Carlsen-Nakamura and Caruana-MVL. Nakamura has spent over 40 minutes on his 16th move.

- Now Carlsen has Naka in a bind on move 16. The knight has to move or lose a pawn but where? Naka has now spent 50 minutes over where to move his knight.
- Naka, just take the pawn at b2
- What’s the record thinking time? Kasparov’s 82 minutes against Karpov in Seville?

At move 15, Caruana seems to have an appreciable advantage over MVL. Maurice says the engines are screaming for h4 and Fabio plays 17.h4

Karjakin-Anand is a draw:

Round 6, Aug. 8, 2017
Karjakin, Sergey – Anand, Vishy
D02 Queen’s Bishop game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 d5 3.e3 e6 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.Nbd2 c5 6.Bb5+ Nc6 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.c4 Bd7 9.O-O O-O 10.cxd5 Nxd5 11.Bg3 Ne5 12.Bxd7 Nxf3+ 13.Nxf3 Qxd7 14.Qb3 Nb6 15.Rfd1 Qa4 16.Qxa4 Nxa4 17.Be5 f6 18.b3 Nb6 19.Bd4 Rac8 20.e4 e5 21.Bxc5 Rxc5 22.Rac1 Rxc1 23.Rxc1 Rc8 24.Rxc8+ Nxc8 25.Nd2 Kf7 26.f3 Ke6 27.Kf2 Kd6 28.Ke3 Kc5 29.a3 Nd6 30.Kd3 a5 ½-½

Sergey is congratulated by the team on the birth of a son, his second child. He says to Maurice that it is obvious that he is not reading his tweets. This is the critical one:

I am happy to announce that my son was born at 27th of July! Thanks to my lovely wife Galiya Looking forward to see them after USA!
________

Cristian Chirila comes on to say that Aronian-So is a potential masterpiece.

- this is perfect play by Levon

- If he loses, Wesley goes below 2800 and Levon goes above

Aronian wins!

Round 6, Aug. 8, 2017
Aronian, Levon – So, Wesley
D38 QGD, Ragozin variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.Qa4+ Nc6 8.e3 O-O 9.Be2 dxc4 10.O-O Bxc3 11.bxc3 Bd7 12.Qxc4 Rac8 13.Rad1 Rfd8 14.Nd2 Na5 15.Qb4 b6 16.Ba6 Rb8 17.Ne4 Qf5 18.Bd3 Bc6 19.f3 Bxe4 20.fxe4 Qg5 21.Rf3 c5 22.Qb2 e5 23.Rdf1 cxd4 24.cxd4 Rb7 25.d5 Rc7 26.h4 Qxh4 27.Qxe5 Qe7 28.Qg3 Qc5 29.Rf6 h5 30.Rh6 Qc3 31.Rxh5 g6 32.e5 1-0

Maurice says that in Carlsen-Nakamura there were eleven captures in a row! I count ten captures between moves 20 and 25.

Magnus misses a mate in 26 on move 41. Analysts in Norway thought 41. Ng5 was the winning move. Only a computer could play the correct moves, so it is a joke among the commentators. A powerful program at

http://analysis.sesse.net analyzes all of Magnus’s games.

A difficult endgame to play with the whole world watching. Six hours have elapsed. The times at move 82 are 9 minutes for Magnus and 4 for Hikaru.

Yasser relates the story of Michael Rhode versus Nick De Firmian in the U.S. Championship (1987). Michael Rhode’s king got chased around the board and Nick was delivering mate but basically had no time and Mike played his move, went to hit the clock, knocked his king over and Nick’s flag fell.

The arbiters gave Nick a few moments but the same thing happened again. The appeals committee joked among themselves that Mike should have gone for the same position with the king on its side for a threefold repetition!

The game is De Firmian-Rhode, see:

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1038205

The comment on the chessgames site is:

In the time scramble Rohde played 36...exd5, to which de Firmian replied with "the strong RxK!" At the same time de Firmian's flag fell and the TD (not our TD) declared he had lost on time. De Firmian held up the captured king and said, 'Illegal move!"

The rules apparently didn't cover this situation, but de Firmian was given a few seconds. Then Rohde knocked over his king while playing 36...Kb6, and de Firmian's flag fell AGAIN while playing 47. Be3+.

All sorts of arguments followed, with de Firmian declared the winner and Rohde protesting, though Rohde withdrew the protest the next day.
________

The marathon is finally over with the players shaking hands after 94 moves

Round 6, Aug. 8, 2017
Carlsen, Magnus – Nakamura, Hikaru
C37 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.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 exd5 10.Bd3 Bb4+ 11.Nd2 Nc6 12.O-O Be7 13.Rc1 Bf6 14.Nf3 Qe7 15.h3 g6 16.Bb5 Bd7 17.Qxd5 Be6 18.Qe4 Bxb2 19.Bxc6 f5 20.Bg5 fxe4 21.Bxe7 Bxc1 22.Bxb7 Bxe3 23.Bxf8 Rxf8 24.fxe3 exf3 25.Bxf3 Rb8 26.a4 Rb4 27.Bc6 Rc4 28.Bb5 Re4 29.Rd1 a6 30.Bxa6 Rxa4 31.Bb7 Kf7 32.Kf2 Kf6 33.Bd5 Bf5 34.g4 Be6 35.Kf3 Ra5 36.Bxe6 Kxe6 37.h4 Ra2 38.Rb1 Ra7 39.Kf4 Ra4+ 40.e4 Ra7 41.Rb6+ Kf7 42.Rc6 Rd7 43.g5 Ra7 44.Ke5 Re7+ 45.Kd5 Rd7+ 46.Rd6 Ra7 47.Rf6+ Ke7 48.Rc6 Rd7+ 49.Ke5 Ra7 50.Rc5 Rd7 51.Ra5 Kf7 52.Ra1 Re7+ 53.Kf4 Rb7 54.Ra6 Rc7 55.Kg4 Re7 56.Rf6+ Ke8 57.Kf4 Ra7 58.Rb6 Kf7 59.Ke5 Re7+ 60.Kd5 Rd7+ 61.Rd6 Ra7 62.Rd8 Ra5+ 63.Kd4 Ra4+ 64.Ke5 Ra5+ 65.Kf4 Ra7 66.Rd4 Ke6 67.Rb4 Rf7+ 68.Ke3 Ra7 69.Rb8 Re7 70.Rh8 Ra7 71.Re8+ Kf7 72.Rb8 Ke6 73.Rb6+ Kf7 74.Kf4 Re7 75.Rf6+ Ke8 76.h5 gxh5 77.e5 Rf7 78.Ke4 Rg7 79.Kf5 Rf7 80.Kf4 h4 81.Kg4 Re7 82.e6 Ra7 83.Rh6 Kf8 84.Kxh4 Ra4+ 85.Kh5 Re4 86.Rf6+ Kg7 87.Rf7+ Kg8 88.Re7 Kf8 89.Rxh7 Rxe6 90.Rh6 Re1 91.Ra6 Kg7 92.Ra7+ Kg8 93.Kh6 Re6+ 94.g6 Re8 1/2-1/2

Both players were talkative and relieved in the post mortem. Magnus said he played 43.g5 even though he knew it was bad, thinking he had to make some chances.

Round 6, Aug. 8, 2017
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Svidler, Peter
C91 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Bogolyubov variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.d4 d6 9.c3 Bg4 10.Be3 Bh5 11.Nbd2 Na5 12.Bc2 Ng4 13.Qe2 Nxe3 14.Qxe3 Bxf3 15.Nxf3 Nc4 16.Qc1 Bf6 17.a4 b4 18.cxb4 exd4 19.Bd3 Ne5 20.Nxe5 dxe5 21.Qc5 Re8 22.Rec1 Be7 23.Qxc7 Bxb4 24.Qxd8 Rexd8 25.a5 Rdc8 26.Rxc8+ Rxc8 27.Kf1 Rc5 28.Ra4 Bxa5 29.b4 Rc1+ 30.Ke2 Bd8 31.Rxa6 Kf8 32.b5 Rc3 33.Ra7 g5 34.g4 Bb6 35.Ra6 Bc5 36.Rh6 Kg7 37.Rc6 Bb4 38.Rxc3 Bxc3 39.b6 Ba5 40.b7 Bc7 41.Bc2 Kf8 42.Kd3 Ke7 43.Kc4 f6 44.Kd5 h6 45.Bd3 Bb8 46.Kc6 Bd6 47.h3 Bb8 48.f3 1/2-1/2

Round 6, Aug. 8, 2017
Caruana, Fabiano – MVL
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.a3 Be7 10.Qd3 Nbd7 11.O-O-O g5 12.fxg5 Ne5 13.Qd2 Nh7 14.Nf3 hxg5 15.Bf2 Qc7 16.Be2 Bd7 17.h4 Rg8 18.h5 g4 19.Nxe5 dxe5 20.Bh4 Bc6 21.Qe3 Bxh4 22.Rxh4 Qe7 23.Rxg4 Rxg4 24.Bxg4 Qg5 25.Qxg5 Nxg5 26.Bf3 Ke7 27.Kd2 Rh8 28.Rh1 f5 29.Ke3 Kf6 30.b4 b5 1/2-1/2

Standings after Round Six

1 MVL 4.0
2-4 Carlsen, Aronian, Anand 3.5
5-6 Caruana, Karjakin 3.0
7-9 Nepo, Nakamura, Svidler 2.5
10 So 2.0

Maurice says that there are three rounds to go, three hard rounds. He has his eye on MVL and the rejuvenated Vishy Anand

Chat-room kibitzers:

- try and beat Svidler tomorrow Magnus
- there was no mate in 26
- after 43..gxh5 44.gxh5, it’s a tablebase mate in 40
- a good battle, bravo to both players
- I took a power nap around move 70, feeling pretty fresh now
- the doctor game me three alternatives to medication for sleep apnea
1) watch grass grow, 2) watch paint dry, 3) watch Carlsen-Nakamura
- Carlsen is supposed to have missed a mate on 26 by neglecting to play h5. It is past midnight here so I shall not be seeing if he gets another chance.

(Jonathan Tisdall) - Lev Aronian pockets So's 2800 membership card

Sinquefield Cup 2017

Sinquefield Cup 2017

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