Candidates Tournament 2018 Berlin

**Hans Jung** · Monday, 19th March, 2018, 05:26 PM

Re: Candidates Tournament 2018 Berlin

Was Ding Liren winning at some point?

**Hans Jung** · Monday, 19th March, 2018, 05:27 PM

Re: Candidates Tournament 2018 Berlin

Fascinating queenless middlegame/endgame in So - Caruana. Really enjoyed it.

**Hans Jung** · Monday, 19th March, 2018, 05:30 PM

Re: Candidates Tournament 2018 Berlin

I admire Vlad the Impaler's stamina but why was he playing on? Is he getting paid by the move? Surely a draw is better than a loss? maybe sheer joy of playing....

**Hans Jung** · Tuesday, 20th March, 2018, 12:49 PM

Re: Candidates Tournament 2018 Berlin

I as a fan am admiring Vlad the Impalers play but I was always one for crazy attacks.

**Hans Jung** · Tuesday, 20th March, 2018, 03:19 PM

Re: Candidates Tournament 2018 Berlin

Interesting endgame where Levon against the Shak had the bishop over knight in a B+R vs R+N (with equal pawns). However the bishop went offside so draw.

**Hans Jung** · Tuesday, 20th March, 2018, 03:21 PM

Re: Candidates Tournament 2018 Berlin

I want to thank Vlad for sacking two rooks and more to produce interestingly wild tactics.

**Hans Jung** · Tuesday, 20th March, 2018, 03:24 PM

Re: Candidates Tournament 2018 Berlin

Aman and Eric had fun together commentating and subtly and humorously poking fun at Uncle Yaz. (Yaz and Yoda - I loved it)

**Wayne Komer** · Tuesday, 20th March, 2018, 04:37 PM

Re: Candidates Tournament 2018 Berlin

Candidates Tournament Berlin 2018

March 20, 2018

Round Nine

Two tweets to start:

Nigel Short - Kramnik losing used to be about as rare as a solar eclipse. It is now about as rare as a wet day in Manchester.

Stefan Loeffler - First game to finish? Must be Mamedyarov. Last game of the day to finish. Must be Kramnik. These are the rules of thumb at the Candidates 2018.

Round 9, Mar. 20
Aronian, Levon - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
E05 Catalan, open, Classical line

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qc2 b6 8.Qxc4 Bb7 9.Nc3 c5 10.Rd1 Nbd7 11.Ne5 Bxg2 12.Kxg2 Qc8 13.Nxd7 Qxd7 14.dxc5 Qc6+ 15.f3 Qxc5 16.Qxc5 Bxc5 17.Bf4 Rfd8 18.e4 Ne8 19.Kf1 Kf8 20.Ke2 Ke7 21.Nb5 Rdc8 22.Rac1 a6 23.Nc3 b5 24.a4 Bd6 25.Be3 Rab8 26.axb5 axb5 27.Ba7 Rb7 28.Bd4 Rc4 29.e5 Bc5 30.Nd5+ exd5 31.Bxc5+ Ke6 32.b3 Rxc1 33.Rxc1 Kxe5 34.Kd3 Ke6 35.Bb4 Kd7 36.Kd4 Nc7 37.Ba5 Ne6+ 38.Kxd5 Ra7 39.b4 Ra6 40.f4 Rd6+ 41.Ke4 Rd4+ 1/2-1/2

Round 9, Mar. 20
So, Wesley - Grischuk, Alexander
C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, open variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5 Be7 7.Bf1 Nxe5 8.Rxe5 O-O 9.d4 Bf6 10.Re1 Re8 11.Bf4 Rxe1 12.Qxe1 Ne8 13.c3 d5 14.Bd3 g6 15.Qe2 c6 16.Nd2 Ng7 17.Re1 Bf5 18.Bxf5 Nxf5 19.Nf3 Ng7 20.Be5 Ne6 21.Bxf6 Qxf6 22.Ne5 Re8 23.g3 Ng7 24.Kg2 Re6 25.Qd1 Qe7 26.Nd3 Rxe1 27.Qxe1 Qxe1 28.Nxe1 Nf5 29.Nd3 Kf8 30.g4 Nd6 31.h4 h6 32.f3 Ke7 33.Kf2 g5 34.hxg5 hxg5 1/2-1/2

Round 9, Mar. 20
Karjakin, Sergey - Kramnik, Vladimir
D35 QGD, Exchange variation

1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 c5 7.Rb1 Be7 8.Nf3 O-O 9.h4 cxd4 10.cxd4 Nc6 11.h5 f5 12.exf5 Qa5+ 13.Bd2 Qxf5 14.Bc3 h6 15.Bd3 Qg4 16.Kf1 e5 17.d5 e4 18.dxc6 exf3 19.gxf3 Rxf3 20.Be2 Rxf2+ 21.Kxf2 Bc5+ 22.Kf1 Qf4+ 23.Bf3 bxc6 24.Be1 Be6 25.Bh4 Rf8 26.Kg2 Kh8 27.Rc1 Rf5 28.Rc3 Rd5 29.Bxd5 Bxd5+ 30.Rf3 Qg4+ 31.Bg3 Bd6 32.Rh3 Be7 33.Qe2 Be4 34.Qf2 a5 35.a4 c5 36.Rh1 Bf6 37.Re1 Bc6 38.Re3 c4 39.Qe2 Qxh5 40.Qxc4 Bd7 41.Rd3 1-0

Position in Karjakin-Kramnik after White's 23.Bf3

Jan - Do you have any siblings, Peter?
Peter - No.
Jan - I have two sisters, which explains why I have seen the movie Dirty Dancing several times.

Later, in discussing Britcoms, Peter says that Vishy knows each episode of Yes, Minister! by heart and Peter knows Fawlty Towers similarly.

Round 9, Mar. 20
Caruana, Fabiano - Ding Liren
E11 Bogo-Indian Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Be7 5.Bg2 d5 6.Nf3 O-O 7.O-O c6 8.Qb3 b6 9.Nc3 Ba6 10.cxd5 cxd5 11.Ne5 Bb7 12.Rfc1 Nc6 13.Nxd5 Nxd4 14.Nxe7+ Qxe7 15.Qc4 Bxg2 16.Qxd4 Rfd8 17.Qf4 Bb7 18.Bb4 Qe8 19.Rc7 Nd5 20.Qxf7+ Qxf7 21.Rxf7 Ba6 22.Ba3 Bxe2 23.Rc1 Bh5 24.Rb7 Be8 25.Kg2 a5 26.h4 Rdb8 27.Rxb8 Rxb8 28.g4 b5 29.b3 b4 30.Bb2 a4 31.h5 Ra8 32.Kg3 Kf8 33.Nf3 Bd7 34.Rc4 Kg8 35.Ne5 Bb5 36.Rc5 Be8 37.Nc4 Bd7 38.Ne5 Be8 39.Bd4 Kf8 40.f3 Ke7 41.Kh4 Kf8 42.Kg5 h6+ 43.Kh4 Kg8 44.Kg3 Kh7 45.Nd3 Kg8 46.Rc1 axb3 47.axb3 Kh7 48.Nc5 Bf7 49.Re1 Ne7 50.Bb2 Nc6 51.f4 Ra2 52.Nd3 e5 53.fxe5 Bxb3 54.e6 Ra7 55.Nc5 Bc4 56.Nd7 Bb5 57.Nf8+ Kg8 58.Ng6 Ne7 59.Ra1 Nc6 60.Rd1 Kh7 61.Rd5 Ba4 62.Kf4 Bc2 63.Rc5 Ba4 64.g5 hxg5+ 65.Rxg5 Nd8 66.Re5 Be8 67.e7 0.5-0.5

Position in Caruana-Ding after 54.e6

Standing after Round Nine

Caruana 6
Mamedyarov 5.5
Grischuk 5
Karjakin 4.5
Ding 4.5
Kramnik 3.5
So 3.5
Aronian 3.5

Tomorrow is a rest day

Mamedyarov plays Caruana in Round 10 and the winner takes the lead.

**Hans Jung** · Tuesday, 20th March, 2018, 04:54 PM

Re: Candidates Tournament 2018 Berlin

So close - narrow miss by Fab Fabi. (its so hard to win a won game) Thanks for the entertainment.

**Hans Jung** · Thursday, 22nd March, 2018, 04:13 PM

Re: Candidates Tournament 2018 Berlin

Fab Fabi inches closer to being Magnus's match opponent with a draw against the Shak in round 10. With 4 games left the only ones with a realistic chance to catch him are the Shak ( a half point back) and Sasha Grischuk (one point back).

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 22nd March, 2018, 09:22 PM

Re: Candidates Tournament 2018 Berlin

Candidates Tournament Berlin 2018

March 22, 2018

Round Ten

Round 10, Mar. 22
Kramnik, Vladimir - Aronian, Levon
C50 Giuoco Piano, Italian Four Knights variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.d3 a6 6.Nd5 Nxd5 7.Bxd5 d6 8.Be3 Bxe3 9.fxe3 O-O 10.O-O Nb8 11.b4 Nd7 12.Qd2 c6 13.Bb3 a5 14.a3 Nf6 15.h3 h6 16.Rab1 b5 17.Qc3 Bd7 18.Rf2 Qb6 19.Re1 Rfe8 20.Nh4 c5 21.Ref1 cxb4 22.Qe1 d5 23.axb4 dxe4 24.bxa5 Rxa5 25.Ng6 Be6 26.Nxe5 exd3 27.Rxf6 gxf6 28.Rxf6 d2 29.Qg3+ Kf8 30.Rf1 Ra7 31.Ng6+ Kg7 32.Nf4+ Kh8 33.Nh5 f6 34.Nxf6 Rf8 35.Qf4 Rh7 36.Qe5 Qc7 37.Ne8+ 1-0

Position after 36..Qc7?

In time trouble Black's position goes from an evaluation of even to completely lost.

No one can figure out what Vlad is doing these days. This from Fabiano Caruana about tomorrow's game:

"What can you expect these days? Vlad is probably the most interesting player now at the top. He sometimes approaches positions in ways that I can't even begin to comprehend. Like, I remember his game against Wesley from Wijk aan Zee. It looked like the most quiet position ever and he sac'ed a piece. For nothing, from a quiet Catalan. I had never seen an idea like this. So - he's a great world champion, former world champion, but also one of the most unusual players these days; his talent has changed so much over the years. It will be an interesting game."

These and other comments by Peter Doggers on chess.com

https://www.chess.com/news/view/aron...tes-tournament

Shakh came to the board to fight for the lead against Caruana.

In a sideline of the Catalan, things got sharp for a moment but then the queens went off and Black was a pawn down. However, the compensation was clear, as Caruana pointed out: "It's probably the worst pawn structure I've ever seen for White."

Soon after, White gave up an exchange but won a second pawn. It was Mamedyarov who was playing for a win, but Caruana didn't make mistakes.

Round 10, Mar. 22
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Caruana, Fabiano
E04 Catalan, open

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 dxc4 5.Bg2 Nc6 6.O-O Rb8 7.e3 Be7 8.Nfd2 e5 9.Bxc6+ bxc6 10.dxe5 Ng4 11.Nxc4 Be6 12.Nbd2 h5 13.f3 Qd3 14.fxg4 Bxc4 15.Nxc4 Qxc4 16.gxh5 Qe6 17.Qf3 Rb5 18.Qf5 Rxe5 19.Qxe6 Rxe6 20.Rf5 Rd6 21.Kg2 Rd1 22.b3 g6 23.Re5 c5 24.hxg6 fxg6 25.e4 Rh7 26.h4 Rf7 27.Kh3 Rff1 28.Bg5 Rxa1 29.Rxe7+ Kf8 30.Rxc7 Rxa2 31.Be7+ Kg8 32.Rc8+ Kg7 33.Bxc5 Re2 34.e5 Rd1 35.Re8 Rd5 36.Bd6 Re3 37.Re7+ Kg8 38.Re8+ Kf7 39.Re7+ Kg8 40.b4 Rdd3 41.Kg4 Rxg3+ 42.Kf4 Rgf3+ 43.Ke4 Rfe3+ 44.Kf4 Rf3+ 45.Kg5 Rf7 46.e6 Rd5+ 47.Kxg6 Rxd6 48.Rxf7 Rxe6+ 49.Rf6 Re4 50.b5 Rxh4 51.Ra6 Rh7 52.b6 Rg7+ 53.Kh6 Rh7+ 54.Kg5 Rg7+ 55.Kf5 axb6 56.Rxb6 Rf7+ 57.Rf6 Rxf6+ 58.Kxf6 1/2-1/2

Round 10, Mar. 22
Ding Liren - So, Wesley
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 b6 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Nxd5 Qxd5 9.Be2 Bb7 10.Bxc7 Qa5+ 11.Kf1 Nd7 12.h4 Rac8 13.Bf4 Rfd8 14.Kg1 Bxf3 15.Bxf3 e5 16.Bg5 Bxg5 17.hxg5 exd4 18.Qxd4 Qxg5 19.Rh5 Qf6 20.Rd5 Qxd4 21.Rxd4 Ne5 22.Bd5 Nc6 23.Rdd1 Kf8 24.Bxc6 Rxd1+ 25.Rxd1 Rxc6 26.Rd7 Rc2 27.Rxa7 Rxb2 28.a4 Ra2 29.Rb7 Ra1+ 30.Kh2 Rxa4 31.Rxb6 1/2-1/2

Round 10, Mar. 22
Grischuk, Alexander - Karjakin, Sergey
E00 Queen's Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Be7 5.Bg2 d5 6.Nf3 O-O 7.O-O Nbd7 8.Qc2 c6 9.Rc1 b6 10.a4 Ne4 11.Be1 a5 12.Nbd2 Nxd2 13.Nxd2 Bf6 14.cxd5 cxd5 15.e4 Bxd4 16.Nb3 Bf6 17.exd5 exd5 18.Bxd5 Ra7 19.Bg2 h6 20.Bc3 Rc7 21.Bxf6 Rxc2 22.Bxd8 Rxc1+ 23.Rxc1 Rxd8 24.Rd1 Kf8 25.f4 Ke7 26.Re1+ Kf8 27.Rd1 Ke7 28.Re1+ Kf8 1/2-1/2

Online Comments

- There was nothing special at all about Kramnik's last move. Aronian committed king suicide in one move, and Kramnik simply took the offer, in a way as trivial as trivial can get, facing quite a simple calculation challenge. And no, Kramnik won't beat Caruana with black tomorrow.

And no, Caruana won't deliver four losses in a row to give Kramnik a second chance, with four wins in a row, while everybody else plays weak in Kramnik's favor as well.

From my view, looking at everybody's games so far, it is more probable that Carlsen can begin to prepare for Caruana straight away, despite four rounds to go.

- Ding Liren seems to be fine drawing all his games. He doesn't seem to have the needed drive and motivation to become a WC challenger. In must win situations like these you don't keep on playing solid openings that result in draws most of the time.

- Here is my assessment of the darkest moments of the tournament.

- Caruana and Mamedyarov are absolutely the two likely players to take home the tournament.

- Grischuk is a long-shot, and would likely need to win two in a row (against Ding and Levon) to jump into contention... which is possible, but not probable.

- Karjakin and Ding (50%) are "desperate" for a tournament victory and would need to win several surprising games.

- I like Caruana over Mamedyarov and here is why:

- Caruana's remaining games are an ordinary WBWB schedule, while Mamedyarov has a BWWB remaining schedule. Mamedyarov's remaining White games (against a "solid" Ding Liren, and over-performing Grischuk) will be crucial to tournament victory, and those games will be tough.

- And to add insult to injury, Caruana has to play Aronian and Kramnik, two pre-tournament favorites who are not having their tournament.

Standing after Round Ten

Caruana 6.5
Mamedyarov 6
Grischuk 5.5
Ding Liren 5
Karjakin 5
Kramnik 4.5
So 4
Aronian 3.5

**Hans Jung** · Friday, 23rd March, 2018, 09:45 AM

Re: Candidates Tournament 2018 Berlin

In todays round (11) I hoping Fab Fabi - Vlad the Impaler is an exciting game.

**Hans Jung** · Friday, 23rd March, 2018, 02:22 PM

Re: Candidates Tournament 2018 Berlin

Not really exciting but Fab Fabi inches closer to the king goal. The excitement is in the game Ding Liren - Alexander Grischuk.

**Hans Jung** · Friday, 23rd March, 2018, 03:07 PM

Re: Candidates Tournament 2018 Berlin

I am predicting a draw in the Ding Liren - Grischuk game after several missed wins by Ding. Combination of a miracle save by Grischuk and mishandling of positions by Ding (easy to say with help of engine analysis - obviously unclear positions for humans and a lot of tension at the board)

**Hans Jung** · Friday, 23rd March, 2018, 05:13 PM

Re: Candidates Tournament 2018 Berlin

As predicted a draw. Karjakhin won against Aronian.