Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

[Wayne Komer]

Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

October 25, 2017

Champions Showdown Brings 8 Top GMs to Saint Louis, Including Magnus Carlsen

By US Chess, October 23, 2017

Hikaru Nakamura vs. Veselin Topalov

Fabiano Caruana vs. Alexander Grischuk

Wesley So vs. Leinier Dominguez

Magnus Carlsen vs. Ding Liren

This November, witness your favorite players battle it out against their hand-chosen opponents. Hikaru Nakamura chose Veselin Topalov. Fabiano Caruana chose Alexander Grischuk. Wesley So chose Leinier Dominguez. Last, but certainly not least, Magnus Carlsen chose Ding Liren. Each set will battle it out with rounds of rapid and blitz. Who will come out on top? Tune in starting November 9 at 1 P.M. with the commentary team of Maurice Ashley, Yasser Seirawan, and Jennifer Shahade to find out.

Each match features a prize fund of $100,000, with $60,000 to the winner and $40,000 going to the loser.

The last match, between Carlsen and Ding, will start and finish two days after the other three matches.

Day Date Time Champions Showdown

Thursday Nov. 9 1 – 6:30 PM G/30 Rounds 1 – 4
Friday Nov. 10 1 – 5:30 PM G/20 Rounds 1 – 6
Saturday Nov. 11 1 – 5:30 PM G/10 Rounds 1 – 8
Magnus Carlsen vs. Ding Liren G/30 Rounds 1 – 4
Sunday Nov. 12 1 – 5:30 PM G/5 Rounds 1 – 12
Magnus Carlsen vs. Ding Liren G/20 Rounds 1 – 6
Monday Nov. 13 1 – 5:30 PM Magnus Carlsen vs. Ding Liren G/10 Rounds 1 – 8
Tuesday Nov. 14 11 AM – 4:30 PM Magnus Carlsen vs. Ding Liren G/5 Rounds 1-12

https://new.uschess.org/news/champio...agnus-carlsen/

On-line Comments

- Well I'm predicting right now, I think Caruana will lose to Grischuk. I really like the time control, without increment or delay. I think that's how chess should be played. If you want to play a classical game than give them both 2 hours on the clock, don't mess with delays or increments, same for rapid or blitz with 30 mins and 5 mins respectively. I think this is rapid and blitz in its purest form, lets see what happens. My picks: Hikaru, Magnus, Grischuk, not sure between So and Domingues this is by far the most closely matched, I'm just gonna pick Domingues cause I picked So to go in the final in the world cup and he let me down.

- There's wisdom in choosing ur opponent, it gives enough room for upset, some might just have chosen their own 'doom'

- LOL Nobody picks Aronian. Also kind of disappointing is that Carlsen picked someone nearly 70 rating points below him, come on Magnus pick someone who will at least challenge you. (No offense to Ding I know that he is a spectacular player and I could never dream of being as good as him but he is no match for Carlsen)

- Aronian isn't playing. I believe they had to choose out of that group. But yes, Aronian is the most impressive player of 2017 so I doubt he'd be anyone's first choice unless they wanted an (even tougher) challenge.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

November 2, 2017

Alejandro Ramirez on the St. Louis Public Radio site:

http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/...tches#stream/0

The Showdown, because it isn't part of any greater circuit, has always been a more experimental place for top-level chess. Players coming to this event have had to face different challenges, including Chess 960 (sometimes called Fischer Random, in which the pieces start in random orders in the back rank), Basque Chess (in which the players face against each other on two different boards at the same time with alternating colors), and many variations of time controls. This year, the Showdown goes old school: match formats, rapid and blitz time controls, and no increment or delay.

The field is star-studded, with arguably the eight best players in rapid and blitz coming to play. Unlike the round-robin tournament format, where they get to play against every other player, the competitors will have one-on-one matches. One player against the other, mano a mano, throughout the entirety of the event. In essence, the matches are separate from each other – the result of match A won't influence match B.

And now, for the line-up. Reigning U.S. Champion, Wesley So, will be facing Cuba's No. 1, Leinier Dominguez; Blitz World No. 2, Hikaru Nakamura, will face off against former World Champion, Veselin Topalov; USA's No. 1, Fabiano Caruana, will match up against two-time World Blitz Champion, Alexander Grischuk.

If this were not enough, we will have the return of reigning World Champion, Blitz world No. 1, Magnus Carlsen, facing off against China's top player, Ding Liren. This match holds particular interest as Ding has worked with Carlsen before, and Ding is one of the select few players already qualified for the Candidate's tournament, an event that will determine Carlsen's next opponent in the World Championship match.

The big difference between the Champions Showdown and other tournaments is the absence of increment and delay. This means that the players start each game with a fixed amount of time (30 minutes the first day, 20 the second, 10 the third and only five on the last day). If a player runs out of time, it’s the same as being checkmated. Tournaments with similar time controls are rare; when time pressure kicks in, there could be pieces flying off the board as players hurry to not lose on time.

Will we be seeing a more sportsman approach from the players, or will the world’s best players be seen toppling pieces off the board and making wild expressions during time scramble? Watch for yourself; the showdown begins Nov. 9 at 1 p.m. at the Saint Louis Chess Club and online at uschesschamps.com.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

November 8, 2017

The chessbomb.com detailed schedule for the matches

World Champion Magnus Carlsen will play 30 games of rapid and blitz chess against Ding Liren in one of 4 matches that make up the Champions Showdown at the Saint Louis Chess Club from 9-14 November 2017. The other 3 matches feature the top American players: Nakamura vs. Topalov, Caruana vs. Grischuk and So vs. Dominguez. The games feature no delay or increment, so we can expect time trouble mayhem. Each player has 30 minutes for the first 4 games, 20 minutes for the next 6, 10 minutes for the next 8 and finally only 5 minutes for the last 12 games. For each match the winner gets $60,000, the loser $40,000.

GMT+2

Round G/30 / Game 1 Nov 9, 2017 21:00
Round G/30 / Game 2 Nov 9, 2017 22:30
Round G/30 / Game 3 Nov 10, 2017 00:00
Round G/30 / Game 4 Nov 10, 2017 01:30
Round G/20 / Game 1 Nov 10, 2017 21:00
Round G/20 / Game 2 Nov 10, 2017 21:45
Round G/20 / Game 3 Nov 10, 2017 22:30
Round G/20 / Game 4 Nov 10, 2017 23:15
Round G/20 / Game 5 Nov 11, 2017 00:00
Round G/20 / Game 6 Nov 11, 2017 00:45
Round G/10 / Game 1 Nov 11, 2017 21:00
Round G/10 / Game 2 Nov 11, 2017 21:30
Round G/10 / Game 3 Nov 11, 2017 22:00
Round G/10 / Game 4 Nov 11, 2017 22:30
Round G/10 / Game 5 Nov 11, 2017 23:30
Round G/10 / Game 6 Nov 12, 2017 00:00
Round G/10 / Game 7 Nov 12, 2017 00:30
Round G/10 / Game 8 Nov 12, 2017 01:00
Round G/5 / Game 1 Nov 12, 2017 21:00
Round G/5 / Game 2 Nov 12, 2017 21:20
Round G/5 / Game 3 Nov 12, 2017 21:40
Round G/5 / Game 4 Nov 12, 2017 22:00
Round G/5 / Game 5 Nov 12, 2017 22:20
Round G/5 / Game 6 Nov 12, 2017 22:40
Round G/5 / Game 7 Nov 12, 2017 23:20
Round G/5 / Game 8 Nov 12, 2017 23:40
Round G/5 / Game 9 Nov 13, 2017 00:00
Round G/5 / Game 10 Nov 13, 2017 00:20
Round G/5 / Game 11 Nov 13, 2017 00:40
Round G/5 / Game 12 Nov 13, 2017 01:00

https://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2017-carlsen-ding

St. Louis time is one hour behind Montreal/Toronto time so the matches will begin at 2 PM Nov. 9 and Carlsen-Ding Liren at 2 PM Nov. 11. The reason for the strange scheduling is that first Magnus is playing in a live simul in Hamburg, Germany for users of his Play Magnus app on Nov. 9.

The above chart appears to be in the European Time Zone for Athens (say), so 7 hours difference with us here.

With no delay or increment, it will be interesting to see how Alexander Grischuk does.

Commentary is from the tried and tested St. Louis team of Yasser Seirawan, Jennifer Shahade and Maurice Ashley.

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/car...pions-showdown

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

November 9, 2017

G/30

Round One

Champions Showdown
St. Louis
G/30, Rd 1, Nov. 9
Topalov, Veselin – Nakamura, Hikaru
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Ne7 6.c3 Nd7 7.O-O h6 8.Nbd2 g5 9.Re1 Qc7 10.Nf1 Bh7 11.Ng3 Nf5 12.Bd3 Nxg3 13.Bxh7 Rxh7 14.fxg3 Be7 15.Qd3 Rg7 16.a4 O-O-O 17.a5 c5 18.Be3 h5 19.Rf1 Kb8 20.Qd2 Rdg8 21.b4 c4 22.Rae1 Qd8 23.Re2 Ka8 24.Ne1 f6 25.exf6 Nxf6 26.Nf3 Ne4 27.Qc2 Rf7 28.Rfe1 Bd6 29.Nd2 Nf6 30.Nf3 Ne4 31.Nd2 Nf6 32.Nf3 Ne4 33.Nd2 1/2-1/2

G/30, Rd 1, Nov. 9
Caruana, Fabiano – Grischuk, Alexander
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 Be6 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.O-O Be7 11.Nd5 Nd7 12.Bc4 Rc8 13.Qe2 Nb6 14.Nxb6 Qxb6 15.Bb3 O-O 16.Rfd1 Kh8 17.h3 Rcd8 18.Nd2 Bc8 19.Nc4 Qc6 20.a4 Bh4 21.g3 Be7 22.h4 g6 23.a5 f5 24.Nb6 f4 25.Rd3 fxg3 26.fxg3 h5 27.Rc3 Qe8 28.Rc7 d5 29.Qe3 Rf7 30.Nxd5 Bf8 31.Rxf7 Qxf7 32.Rf1 Qg7 33.Kg2 Be6 34.Qg5 Rc8 35.Nb6 Be7 36.Qe3 Rc6 37.Bxe6 Rxe6 38.Nd5 Bd8 39.b4 g5 40.Qc5 Re8 41.hxg5 Rg8 42.Rf5 Bxg5 43.Qd6 h4 44.Qxe5 Qxe5 45.Rxe5 hxg3 46.Rf5 Bd2 47.Rh5+ Kg7 48.Kxg3 Rf8 49.Rf5 Rh8 50.Rf3 Rh1 51.Rd3 Be1+ 52.Kg2 Rh4 53.Kf3 Kf7 54.c3 Rh3+ 55.Ke2 1-0

G/30, Rd1, Nov. 9, 17
So, Wesley – Dominguez Perez, Leinier
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nbd2 Be6 7.O-O Bd6 8.d4 Nd7 9.dxe5 Nxe5 10.Nxe5 Bxe5 11.f4 Bd4+ 12.Kh1 f5 13.Qe2 O-O 14.Nf3 Bf6 15.e5 Be7 16.Rd1 Qe8 17.Nd4 Qf7 18.Nxe6 Qxe6 19.Be3 a6 20.c4 Rad8 21.Kg1 g6 22.h3 Rxd1+ 23.Rxd1 Rd8 24.Rxd8+ Bxd8 25.b3 Kf7 26.g4 Be7 27.Kg2 Ke8 28.Bf2 Kf7 29.Kg3 Ke8 30.Qe3 b6 31.Qf3 Kf7 32.Be3 Ke8 33.Bf2 Kf7 34.gxf5 gxf5 35.Kh2 Ke8 36.Bh4 Bb4 37.Bf6 Qd7 38.Qg2 Qd2 39.Qxd2 Bxd2 40.Kg3 Be1+ 41.Kf3 Kd7 42.Ke2 Bb4 43.Bh4 Bf8 44.Kf3 Bb4 45.Bg5 Be1 46.Bh6 Bb4 47.h4 Be1 48.h5 Bb4 49.a4 Bc3 50.Bf8 Bd2 51.Ba3 Bc3 52.Ke2 Ke6 53.Bf8 Kd7 54.Kd3 Be1 55.Ke2 Bc3 56.Kd3 Be1 57.Ke2 1/2-1/2

Carlsen and Ding Liren don’t play until Saturday.

The commentators are Jennifer Shahade, Yasser Seirawan and Alejandro Ramirez

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

November 9, 2017

G/30

Rounds Two to Four

G/30, Rd 2, Nov. 9
Nakamura, Hikaru – Topalov, Veselin
C26 Vienna, Paulsen-Mieses variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 Nc6 4.Bg2 Bc5 5.d3 a6 6.Nge2 d6 7.h3 Be6 8.f4 h6 9.f5 Bd7 10.b3 Nd4 11.Bb2 Bc6 12.Nxd4 Bxd4 13.Qe2 b5 14.Nd1 Nd7 15.c3 Bb6 16.Nf2 a5 17.O-O b4 18.Kh2 bxc3 19.Bxc3 h5 20.Nd1 Nf6 21.Ne3 Bb5 22.Qd2 c6 23.Rfe1 Qc7 24.Kh1 Rd8 25.Nc2 O-O 26.a4 Ba6 27.b4 axb4 28.Nxb4 Ra8 29.Bf3 Bc5 30.g4 hxg4 31.hxg4 Rfb8 32.g5 Nh7 33.g6 Nf6 34.Nxa6 Rxa6 35.Reb1 Rxb1+ 36.Rxb1 Rxa4 37.Bd1 Ra8 38.Bb3 d5 39.Qh2 Re8 40.Bd2 fxg6 41.fxg6 Qd7 42.Rf1 Rb8 43.Rb1 Re8 44.Qh4 Qg4 45.Qxg4 Nxg4 46.exd5 cxd5 47.Bxd5+ Kf8 48.Rb5 Bd6 49.Kg2 Nf6 50.Bf7 Rc8 51.Bg5 Rb8 52.Ra5 e4 53.dxe4 Nxe4 54.Be3 Nf6 55.Bd4 Be7 56.Kf3 Rd8 57.Be5 Bd6 58.Bxf6 gxf6 59.Rh5 f5 60.Rh8+ 1-0

G/30, Rd 2, Nov. 9
Grischuk, Alexander – Caruana, Fabiano
D20 QGA

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.Bxc4 Nb6 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.Ne2 Bg4 8.f3 Bh5 9.Be4 e6 10.O-O Bg6 11.Be3 Be7 12.Nbc3 Bxe4 13.fxe4 Bg5 14.Bf2 O-O 15.b3 f5 16.exf6 Bxf6 17.Qd2 Qe7 18.Rad1 Rad8 19.Qe3 e5 20.d5 Nd4 21.Kh1 c6 22.dxc6 bxc6 23.Bg1 Qe6 24.Ng3 g6 25.Rd2 Bg7 26.Rxf8+ Rxf8 27.Rf2 Rd8 28.Qd3 Rd7 29.Qa6 h5 30.h3 c5 31.Nf1 c4 32.b4 Nc6 33.b5 Nb4 34.Qa5 Nd3 35.Rf3 Nf4 36.Qa6 g5 37.Nh2 g4 38.hxg4 hxg4 39.Rg3 Rd3 40.Rxd3 cxd3 41.Qxa7 Ne2 42.Nxe2 dxe2 43.Bf2 Qc4 44.Nxg4 Qc1+ 45.Kh2 e1=Q 46.Bxe1 Qxe1 47.Qxb6 Qh4+ 48.Kg1 Qxg4 49.Qd8+ Kh7 50.Qd5 Bh6 51.Qf7+ Kh8 52.Qe8+ Kh7 53.Qf7+ Kh8 54.Qf3 Qg5 55.Qf2 Kg7 56.a4 Qc1+ 57.Kh2 Be3 58.Qg3+ Kf6 59.Qf3+ Ke7 60.Kh3 Bb6 61.g3 Qa1 62.Qf5 Bd4 63.Qg5+ Kd6 64.Qd8+ Kc5 65.Qd5+ Kb4 66.b6 Qh1+ 67.Kg4 Qd1+ 68.Kg5 Qd2+ 69.Kg6 Qg2 70.b7 Qxg3+ 71.Kf7 Qf3+ 72.Ke8 Qh5+ 73.Kd8 Qh8+ 74.Kc7 Qg7+ 75.Kc6 Ba7 76.a5 Ka3 77.a6 Kb2 78.Qd7 Kc1 79.Qxg7 Kd2 80.Qxe5 Bc5 81.Qxc5 1/2-1/2

Both flags fell at the same time, White had not taken the bishop, so a draw!

Final position Grischuk-Caruana:



G/30, Rd 2, Nov. 9
Dominguez Perez, Leinier – So, Wesley
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Nc3 O-O 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.Ne2 Re8 8.h3 a5 9.g4 Bb4+ 10.Bd2 Nd7 11.Ng3 Nf8 12.c3 Bc5 13.Be3 Bxe3 14.fxe3 c5 15.Qc2 Ng6 16.O-O-O Nh4 17.Rhf1 Nxf3 18.Rxf3 Ra6 19.Nf5 Bxf5 20.exf5 Qd5 21.Qa4 Qc6 22.Qxc6 Rxc6 23.a4 Kf8 24.Kc2 Rd6 25.e4 Red8 26.b3 Ke7 27.h4 h5 28.g5 c6 29.Rdf1 Kd7 30.Ra1 Kc7 31.Rg3 Ra8 32.Ra2 b5 33.Ra1 Kb6 34.c4 Rd7 35.Rgg1 Kc7 36.Ra2 Rdd8 37.Rga1 bxc4 38.bxc4 Rab8 39.Rf1 Rb4 40.Re1 Rdb8 41.Rf1 R8b7 1/2-1/2

G/30, Rd 3, Nov. 9
Topalov, Veselin – Nakamura, Hikaru
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Ne7 6.c3 h6 7.O-O Nd7 8.Nbd2 Qc7 9.Nb3 g5 10.Ne1 c5 11.Bh5 Bg6 12.f4 c4 13.Nd2 gxf4 14.Rxf4 Bg7 15.Nf1 O-O 16.Ng3 Kh7 17.Rh4 Qd8 18.Nf3 Bd3 19.Bg4 Rh8 20.Nh5 Kg8 21.Rh3 Ng6 22.Be3 Qe7 23.Qd2 Bf8 24.Nf4 Nxf4 25.Bxf4 Bg7 26.Re1 Be4 27.Bxh6 Bxh6 28.Rxh6 Kg7 29.Rxh8 Rxh8 30.Ng5 Bd3 31.g3 Nf8 32.h4 Nh7 33.Nh3 Rg8 34.Kh2 Kh8 35.Bh5 Qf8 36.Nf4 Bf5 37.Qe3 f6 38.Rf1 Qh6 39.Be2 Qg7 40.Nxd5 fxe5 41.dxe5 b5 42.Nf4 Qh6 43.Bh5 Rd8 44.Rd1 Rxd1 45.Bxd1 Ng5 46.Qxa7 Ne4 47.Qa8+ Kh7 48.Bf3 Ng5 49.Qa7+ Kh8 50.Qa8+ Kh7 51.Qb7+ Kh8 52.Qb8+ Kh7 53.Qc7+ 1-0

G/30, Rd 3, Nov. 9
Caruana, Fabiano – Grischuk, Alexander
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Nc3 O-O 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.Ne2 Re8 8.h3 Nd7 9.g4 Bb4+ 10.Kf1 Bf8 11.Ng3 Nc5 12.Be3 f6 13.Nf5 Ne6 14.Rg1 Kh8 15.h4 g6 16.Nh6 Qe7 17.Qd2 c5 18.Rg3 b6 19.Kg2 Bb7 20.Rh1 Rad8 21.h5 Bxh6 22.hxg6 Bxe3 23.fxe3 Nf8 24.g5 Nxg6 25.gxf6 Qxf6 26.Ng5 Re7 27.Rf1 Qg7 28.Rh1 Qg8 29.Qe2 c4 30.Rh6 cxd3 31.cxd3 Rd6 32.Qh5 Rxd3 33.Kg1 Rd6 34.Rg2 Rg7 35.Qg4 Nf8 36.Rh5 Rdg6 37.Qf5 Nd7 38.Kh1 Nf6 39.Rh4 Nxe4 40.Nxh7 Ng3+ 0-1

Mate in 7

G/30, Rd 3, Nov. 9
So, Wesley – Dominguez Perez, Leinier
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nbd2 Be6 7.O-O Bd6 8.d4 Nd7 9.dxe5 Nxe5 10.Nxe5 Bxe5 11.f4 Bd4+ 12.Kh1 f5 13.Qe2 O-O 14.Nf3 Bf6 15.Rd1 Qe8 16.e5 Be7 17.Nd4 Qf7 18.Nxe6 Qxe6 19.Be3 a6 20.c4 Rad8 21.h3 g6 22.b3 Kf7 23.Kh2 Rxd1 24.Rxd1 Rd8 25.g4 Rh8 26.Kg3 h5 27.gxf5 Qxf5 28.Qd3 Rd8 29.Qxf5+ gxf5 30.Rxd8 Bxd8 31.Bc5 b6 32.Ba3 c5 33.Bb2 Ke6 34.Bc3 Be7 35.Kf3 Bf8 36.Ke3 Be7 37.Be1 Kd7 38.Kd3 Ke6 39.Ke3 Kd7 40.Kd3 Ke6 41.Ke3 1/2-1/2

G/30, Rd 4, Nov. 9
Nakamura, Hikaru – Topalov, Veselin
C28 Vienna game

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nc6 4.d3 Bb4 5.Ne2 d5 6.exd5 Nxd5 7.O-O Be6 8.a3 Bxc3 9.bxc3 O-O 10.a4 b6 11.Bb5 Na5 12.d4 e4 13.c4 Ne7 14.d5 Bg4 15.Ba6 c6 16.h3 Bc8 17.Bxc8 Rxc8 18.d6 Ng6 19.c5 Nb7 20.Be3 bxc5 21.a5 Qd7 22.a6 Nxd6 23.Bxc5 Rfd8 24.Ng3 Qe6 25.Bxd6 Rxd6 26.Qg4 c5 27.Qxe4 Rxa6 28.Qxe6 Rxe6 29.Rxa7 Ne7 30.Rd1 g6 31.c3 Nc6 32.Rb7 Na5 33.Ra7 Nc6 34.Ra6 h5 35.Ra4 Rce8 36.Nf1 Kg7 37.Ne3 Re5 38.Ra6 Ne7 39.Nc4 Re2 40.Ne3 Rb8 41.Ra5 Rbb2 42.Rf1 Ng8 43.Rxc5 Nf6 44.Re5 Nd7 45.Rd5 Nf6 46.Rd4 Ra2 47.c4 Ra5 48.Rc1 Rc5 49.Ra1 Rb2 50.Ra7 Rb1+ 51.Kh2 Rb2 52.Rf4 Rb6 53.h4 Re6 54.Nd5 Rec6 55.Ne3 Re6 56.Kg3 Ne4+ 57.Kf3 Nd6 58.Rd7 Kf8 59.Rd4 Rc6 60.Ra7 Kg7 61.g3 Rf6+ 62.Ke2 Re6 63.Kd3 Rf6 64.Rf4 Re6 65.Rd7 Kf8 66.Ra7 Ke8 67.Nd5 Re1 68.Nf6+ Kf8 69.Ra8+ Ke7 70.Nd5+ Kd7 71.Ra7+ Ke8 72.Ne3 Rb1 73.Rd4 Nb7 74.Ra8+ Ke7 75.Kc2 Re1 76.Ra7 1-0

G/30, Rd 4, Nov. 9
Nakamura, Hikaru – Topalov, Veselin
C28 Vienna game

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nc6 4.d3 Bb4 5.Ne2 d5 6.exd5 Nxd5 7.O-O Be6 8.a3 Bxc3 9.bxc3 O-O 10.a4 b6 11.Bb5 Na5 12.d4 e4 13.c4 Ne7 14.d5 Bg4 15.Ba6 c6 16.h3 Bc8 17.Bxc8 Rxc8 18.d6 Ng6 19.c5 Nb7 20.Be3 bxc5 21.a5 Qd7 22.a6 Nxd6 23.Bxc5 Rfd8 24.Ng3 Qe6 25.Bxd6 Rxd6 26.Qg4 c5 27.Qxe4 Rxa6 28.Qxe6 Rxe6 29.Rxa7 Ne7 30.Rd1 g6 31.c3 Nc6 32.Rb7 Na5 33.Ra7 Nc6 34.Ra6 h5 35.Ra4 Rce8 36.Nf1 Kg7 37.Ne3 Re5 38.Ra6 Ne7 39.Nc4 Re2 40.Ne3 Rb8 41.Ra5 Rbb2 42.Rf1 Ng8 43.Rxc5 Nf6 44.Re5 Nd7 45.Rd5 Nf6 46.Rd4 Ra2 47.c4 Ra5 48.Rc1 Rc5 49.Ra1 Rb2 50.Ra7 Rb1+ 51.Kh2 Rb2 52.Rf4 Rb6 53.h4 Re6 54.Nd5 Rec6 55.Ne3 Re6 56.Kg3 Ne4+ 57.Kf3 Nd6 58.Rd7 Kf8 59.Rd4 Rc6 60.Ra7 Kg7 61.g3 Rf6+ 62.Ke2 Re6 63.Kd3 Rf6 64.Rf4 Re6 65.Rd7 Kf8 66.Ra7 Ke8 67.Nd5 Re1 68.Nf6+ Kf8 69.Ra8+ Ke7 70.Nd5+ Kd7 71.Ra7+ Ke8 72.Ne3 Rb1 73.Rd4 Nb7 74.Ra8+ Ke7 75.Kc2 Re1 76.Ra7 1-0

G/30, Rd 4, Nov. 9
Grischuk, Alexander – Caruana, Fabiano
D20 QGA

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.Bxc4 Nb6 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.Ne2 Bg4 8.f3 Bh5 9.Be4 e6 10.O-O Bg6 11.Be3 Be7 12.Kh1 Nb4 13.Nbc3 N4d5 14.Bg1 Qd7 15.Qe1 O-O-O 16.a4 Nb4 17.a5 N6d5 18.Qd2 Kb8 19.Rfc1 a6 20.Na4 f6 21.exf6 gxf6 22.Nc5 Bxc5 23.Rxc5 Qe7 24.Rac1 Rd7 25.R1c4 Nc6 26.Bxd5 Rxd5 27.Nf4 Rxc5 28.Rxc5 Rd8 29.Qc3 Rd6 30.h3 Qd7 31.Ne2 Rd5 32.Nf4 Rd6 33.Ne2 Na7 34.Qe3 Nb5 35.Rc1 Rc6 36.Rxc6 Qxc6 37.Qh6 Qe8 38.Qg7 e5 39.Qxf6 e4 40.Qe5 exf3 41.Qxe8+ Bxe8 42.gxf3 Nd6 43.Kg2 Nc4 44.b4 b6 45.axb6 cxb6 46.d5 Bf7 47.Nc3 Kc7 48.Kg3 Kd6 49.Ne4+ Ke5 50.d6 Nxd6 51.Nxd6 Kxd6 52.Bxb6 Ke6 1/2-1/2

G/30, Rd 4, Nov. 9
Dominguez Perez, Leinier – So, Wesley
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Nc3 O-O 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.h3 Re8 8.Be3 Bd6 9.Ne2 c5 10.Ng3 a5 11.a4 Nd7 12.Nf5 Nf8 13.Nd2 Ne6 14.Nc4 Bf8 15.g4 Nd4 16.c3 Nxf5 17.gxf5 c6 18.Qc2 b5 19.Nd2 g6 20.fxg6 hxg6 21.O-O-O bxa4 22.Nc4 a3 23.bxa3 Rb8 24.h4 Bg4 25.Rdg1 Bh5 26.Rg3 Be7 27.Bg5 f6 28.Be3 Kh7 29.Rhg1 Qd7 30.f4 Red8 31.Bd2 exf4 32.Bxf4 Rb7 33.Qg2 Rg8 34.Qh3 Qxh3 35.Rxh3 a4 36.Kc2 Kg7 37.Rhg3 Kf7 38.Na5 Rb6 39.Nc4 Rb7 40.Bd6 Rd8 41.Bxe7 Kxe7 42.Rf1 Ke6 43.Re3 Rdb8 44.Rg1 Rd7 45.Rgg3 Rdb7 46.Rg1 Rd7 47.Rb1 Rxb1 48.Kxb1 Bd1 49.Kc1 Bb3 50.Nd2 c4 51.dxc4 Rb7 52.Rg3 Rh7 53.Nf3 Bxc4 54.Rxg6 Bd3 55.Ng5+ 1-0

G/30 Round Results

Topalov-Nakamura 1.5-2.5
Caruana-Grischuk 2-2
So-Dominguez-Perez 1.5-2.5

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

November 9, 2017

G/20

Rounds One to Six

Just the win-loss games!

Champions Showdown 2017
G/20, Rd 1, Nov. 10
Topalov, Veselin – Nakamura, Hikaru
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e6 7.Be3 h5 8.Bc4 Qc7 9.Bb3 Nc6 10.Qd2 Be7 11.O-O-O Na5 12.Kb1 Bd7 13.g3 b5 14.h3 b4 15.Nce2 e5 16.Nf5 Nxb3 17.cxb3 Bxf5 18.exf5 Qb7 19.Rhf1 d5 20.f4 d4 21.Bg1 Ne4 22.Qe1 f6 23.fxe5 fxe5 24.Nc1 O-O 25.g4 a5 26.Bh2 Bd6 27.Qe2 h4 28.Rde1 Ng3 29.Bxg3 hxg3 30.Qe4 Qxe4+ 31.Rxe4 g6 32.Nd3 g2 33.Rg1 gxf5 34.gxf5 Rxf5 35.Rxg2+ Kf7 36.Rge2 Kf6 37.Nf2 Rc8 38.h4 Rf3 39.Rg4 Re3 40.Re4 Rxe2 41.Rxe2 Kf5 42.Ne4 Be7 43.Ng3+ Ke6 44.h5 Bg5 45.Rc2 Rf8 46.a4 Kd5 47.Rc7 Rf3 0-1

- 30.Qe4??, Topalov lost it completely

G/20, Rd 2, Nov. 10
Dominguez Perez, Leinier – So, Wesley
C11 French, Steinitz, Boleslavsky variation

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 a6 8.Qd2 b5 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.Ne2 Qb6 11.Bxc5 Nxc5 12.Ned4 Bb7 13.Qe3 Rc8 14.Nxc6 Bxc6 15.b4 Na4 16.Qxb6 Nxb6 17.Nd4 Ke7 18.Kd2 Nc4+ 19.Bxc4 dxc4 20.Nxc6+ Rxc6 21.Kc3 Rd8 22.a4 Rc7 23.Rhd1 Rcd7 24.Rxd7+ Rxd7 25.axb5 axb5 26.Ra5 Rd5 27.Ra7+ Rd7 28.Ra6 g5 29.g3 h5 30.Rc6 gxf4 31.gxf4 h4 32.Rc5 Rb7 33.Kd4 Rd7+ 34.Ke3 Rb7 35.Ke4 Kd7 36.h3 Rb8 37.f5 exf5+ 38.Kxf5 Rb6 39.c3 Kd8 40.Kg5 Ke7 41.Kf5 Kd7 42.Rd5+ Ke7 43.Rc5 Kd7 44.Ke4 Ke6 45.Rd5 Rb8 46.Rd6+ Ke7 47.Kd4 Rg8 48.Rh6 Rg3 49.Rxh4 Rd3+ 50.Kc5 Rxc3 51.Kxb5 Ke6 52.Rxc4 Rxh3 53.Rc5 Rb3 54.Ka5 Kf5 55.b5 Ke4 56.b6 Ra3+ 57.Kb4 Ra1 58.Kb5 Kd4 59.Rc4+ 1-0

G/20, Rd 3, Nov. 10
Caruana, Fabiano – Grischuk, Alexander
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.O-O Bf5 11.Qc2 Rad8 12.a4 a5 13.b5 Ne7 14.Qb3 Ng6 15.Ba3 Bc5 16.Bxc5 Qxc5 17.d4 Qd6 18.Rfe1 Rde8 19.Bf1 e4 20.Nc4 Qf4 21.g3 Qh6 22.Nfe5 Bh3 23.Be2 e3 24.f3 Nh5 25.Qc2 Qg5 26.Bf1 Bxf1 27.Kxf1 f6 28.Nxg6 hxg6 29.Qg2 f5 30.f4 Nxf4 31.gxf4 Qxf4+ 32.Kg1 Re4 33.Ne5 Rf6 34.Rf1 Qh6 35.Rf3 e2 36.Re1 Qd2 37.Qf2 Re6 38.Rd3 Qg5+ 39.Qg2 Qh5 40.Rh3 Rh4 41.Rxh4 Qxh4 42.Rxe2 Qf4 43.Qd5 Qc1+ 44.Kf2 1-0

G/20, Rd 3, Nov. 10
So, Wesley – Dominguez Perez, Leinier
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Nc3 Nd4 6.Nxe5 O-O 7.Bc4 d6 8.Nxf7 Rxf7 9.Bxf7+ Kxf7 10.h3 Qe8 11.Be3 Kg8 12.Ne2 Nxe2 13.Qxe2 Bb6 14.a3 Bd7 15.O-O d5 16.Bxb6 axb6 17.e5 Nh5 18.Qe3 Qg6 19.Rae1 Rf8 20.Kh2 Nf4 21.Qg3 Qh6 22.e6 Bxe6 23.Re5 Qf6 24.Rfe1 h6 25.d4 Bf7 26.c3 Bg6 27.Re7 Be4 28.Rxc7 Nh5 29.Qe5 Qxf2 30.Rg1 Rf5 31.Rc8+ Kh7 32.Qb8 Nf6 33.Rh8+ Kg6 34.Qg3+ Qxg3+ 35.Kxg3 Nh5+ 36.Kh2 Rf2 37.Rb8 Rxb2 38.Rxb7 Nf4 39.a4 Nxg2 40.a5 Kh5 41.Rxg7 Nf4+ 42.Kg3 Ne2+ 0-1

G/20, Rd 4, Nov. 10
Dominguez Perez, Leinier – So, Wesley
C42 Petrov, Nimzowitsch Attack

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.d4 Be7 7.Bg5 O-O 8.Qd2 Bf5 9.O-O-O Nbd7 10.h4 d5 11.Ne5 c6 12.f3 Nxe5 13.dxe5 Nd7 14.g4 Be6 15.Qh2 f6 16.exf6 Bxf6 17.Kb1 Qb8 18.Qd2 Be5 19.Bg2 Qc7 20.Ne2 Nb6 21.Nd4 Nc4 22.Qd3 Bf7 23.Bc1 Rae8 24.h5 Qb6 25.b3 Nd6 26.Rhe1 Bf6 27.Bb2 c5 28.Nf5 c4 29.Qd2 Nxf5 30.gxf5 Bxb2 31.Kxb2 Qf6+ 32.c3 Bxh5 33.Qxd5+ Bf7 34.Qb5 a6 35.Qc5 Qg5 36.Qf2 cxb3 37.axb3 Qxf5 38.Qd4 h6 39.f4 Rxe1 40.Rxe1 b5 41.Bb7 a5 42.Re5 Qg4 43.Ka3 b4+ 44.cxb4 axb4+ 45.Kxb4 Bg6 46.Bd5+ Kh7 47.Bc4 Rxf4 48.Qd5 Bf7 49.Qd3+ Qg6 50.Qxg6+ Kxg6 51.Kb5 h5 52.Re1 h4 53.Bxf7+ Rxf7 54.b4 Kh5 55.Kc6 h3 56.b5 g5 57.b6 g4 58.Rd1 h2 59.Rd8 h1=Q+ 0-1

G/20, Rd 5, Nov. 10
Caruana, Fabiano – Grischuk, Alexander
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Nc3 O-O 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.h3 Re8 8.Ne2 Nd7 9.Be3 Bb4+ 10.c3 Bf8 11.Qc2 c5 12.O-O-O Nb8 13.Ng3 Nc6 14.Kb1 f6 15.Nf5 Qd7 16.g4 Qf7 17.Rhg1 Be6 18.b3 Kh8 19.d4 exd4 20.cxd4 Nb4 21.Qc3 Bxf5 22.exf5 Nd5 23.Qd3 Rad8 24.Rge1 cxd4 25.Bxd4 Rxe1 26.Rxe1 Bb4 27.Rc1 c5 28.Be3 Nc3+ 29.Rxc3 Rxd3 30.Rxd3 Qe7 31.Kc2 Kg8 32.Nd2 Bxd2 33.Kxd2 h6 34.Bf4 Qe4 35.Bb8 a5 36.Bd6 b6 37.a3 h5 38.Bc7 Qc6 39.Bd8 a4 40.bxa4 c4 41.Rd4 Qxa4 42.Bxb6 Qb3 43.Rd8+ Kh7 44.Be3 c3+ 45.Ke1 c2 46.Rc8 Qb1+ 0-1

- 28.Be3?, White really messed this up

G/20, Rd 5, Nov. 10
So, Wesley – Dominguez Perez, Leinier
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Qe2 Nd7 7.Nbd2 f6 8.Nc4 Nf8 9.Be3 Bxe3 10.fxe3 Be6 11.Ncd2 Ng6 12.Qf2 c5 13.a4 Qd7 14.O-O O-O 15.b3 a6 16.Nh4 Nxh4 17.Qxh4 b5 18.Nf3 c4 19.bxc4 bxc4 20.d4 Bg4 21.Rfd1 exd4 22.Rxd4 Qe6 23.h3 c5 24.Rd2 Bxf3 25.gxf3 Rad8 26.Rad1 Rxd2 27.Rxd2 Qe5 28.Rd7 Kh8 29.Kg2 h6 30.Qg3 Qxg3+ 31.Kxg3 Rb8 32.Rc7 Rb2 33.Rxc5 Rxc2 34.Rc6 c3 35.Rxa6 Ra2 36.Rc6 Rxa4 37.Rxc3 Ra1 38.f4 Kg8 39.Rc8+ Kf7 40.Rc7+ Kf8 41.h4 Rg1+ 42.Kf3 h5 43.Rc5 g6 44.f5 Rg4 45.Rc8+ Kf7 46.Rc7+ Kg8 47.Rc6 Kf7 48.Rc7+ Kg8 49.fxg6 Rxh4 50.Rf7 Rg4 51.Rxf6 Kg7 52.e5 Rxg6 53.Rf4 Rg5 54.Ke4 Rg6 55.Kd5 Ra6 56.Ke4 Rh6 57.Kd5 Ra6 58.e4 Ra5+ 59.Ke6 Ra6+ 60.Kf5 Kf7 61.Rh4 Rh6 62.Kg5 Rh8 63.Kf5 Rh6 64.Rf4 Ra6 65.Kg5+ Ke7 66.Rf6 Ra5 67.Kf5 Ra1 68.Rh6 Rf1+ 69.Kg5 Rg1+ 70.Kf4 Rf1+ 71.Ke3 Re1+ 72.Kd4 Rc1 73.Kd5 Rd1+ 74.Kc4 Rc1+ 75.Kd3 Rd1+ 76.Ke2 Rh1 77.Kf3 Rf1+ 78.Kg3 Re1 79.Kf4 Rf1+ 80.Kg5 Rg1+ 81.Kf4 Rf1+ 82.Kg3 Re1 83.Kf3 Rd1 84.Rxh5 Ke6 85.Rh6+ Kxe5 86.Ke3 Re1+ 87.Kd3 Rd1+ 88.Kc2 Rd6 89.Kb2 Rxh6 90.Kc3 Kxe4 91.Kc2 Ke5 92.Kb3 0-1

- So tried to flag black, so no complaining he was the one flagged after all
- organizers here always against So
- They both broke rules. Wesley stood up, Dominguez moved two-handed. Both flags fell. Dominguez has to claim the win before his own clock runs down. Draw is the only logical result.

G/20, Rd 6, Nov. 10
Nakamura, Hikaru – Topalov, Veselin
E32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 O-O 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 b6 7.Bg5 Bb7 8.e3 d6 9.f3 Nbd7 10.Bd3 Rc8 11.Nh3 h6 12.Bh4 c5 13.O-O d5 14.dxc5 Nxc5 15.Bc2 Ncd7 16.b3 b5 17.Qb2 bxc4 18.bxc4 Ba6 19.cxd5 Bxf1 20.dxe6 Qb6 21.exf7+ Kh8 22.Qxb6 axb6 23.Nf4 Rxf7 24.Bg6 Bc4 25.Bxf7 Bxf7 26.Bf2 g5 27.Ne2 g4 28.e4 gxf3 29.gxf3 Ne5 30.Nd4 Bh5 31.Bg3 Nd3 32.Rb1 Nd7 33.Rb3 Rc1+ 34.Kg2 N3c5 35.Re3 Kh7 36.Re1 Rc4 37.Bf2 Ne5 38.Rb1 Ncd7 39.Rb3 Bf7 40.Rb2 Nd3 41.Rd2 N7e5 42.Kg3 Rc3 43.Rc2 Rxc2 44.Nxc2 b5 45.Bd4 Nc4 46.Bc3 Bg6 47.Bb4 Kg8 48.Nd4 Be8 49.f4 Kf7 50.e5 Bd7 51.Kf3 h5 52.Ke4 Nf2+ 53.Kd5 Ne3+ 54.Kd6 Ke8 55.e6 Nc4+ 56.Kc7 1-0

- Topa loses on time
- Topalov and Caruana blunder a few seconds apart
- I wouldn’t think Topa wants to play blitz tomorrow! Pure hell for him.

G/20, Rd 6, Nov. 10
Grischuk, Alexander – Caruana, Fabiano
D20 QGA

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.Bxc4 Nb6 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.Ne2 Bg4 8.f3 Bh5 9.Be4 e6 10.O-O Bg6 11.Be3 Be7 12.a3 Qd7 13.Nbc3 O-O-O 14.Qc2 f5 15.Bxc6 Qxc6 16.Bf2 f4 17.Qc1 Bg5 18.Nxf4 Kb8 19.Nce2 Qe8 20.Be3 Bf5 21.Rd1 Bxf4 22.Bxf4 h6 23.Be3 Nd5 24.Nc3 g5 25.Nxd5 Rxd5 26.h3 Rg8 27.b3 Qe7 28.Ra2 Bg6 29.a4 Be8 30.Qa3 Qh7 31.b4 h5 32.Bf2 g4 33.fxg4 hxg4 34.h4 g3 35.Bxg3 Bg6 36.b5 Bf5 37.Qe3 Rd7 38.d5 Rdg7 39.dxe6 Bxe6 40.Ra3 b6 41.Qf2 Rf7 42.Qe1 Qc2 43.Rc1 Qb2 44.Rac3 Rfg7 45.R1c2 Qb4 46.Rc6 Rxg3 47.Qxb4 1-0

- Fabi blunders away his queen

Results of the G/20 round:

Topalov-Nakamura 2-4
Caruana-Grischuk 2.5-3.5
So-Dominguez Perez 2-4

Wins are weighted depending on the time control. Game 30 wins are worth 5 points with draws worth 2½ points. Game 20 wins are worth 4 points, with draws adding 2 points.

The standings after the G/20 round are:

Grischuk-Caruana 24-20
Nakamura-Topalov 28.5-15.5
Dominguez-So 28.5-15.5
_______

- I find the competition confusing. Hard to know from the score sometimes who has lost on time
- They are just encouraging immoral flagging in chess. What happens when both players are in a dead drawn endgame but one of them has 20 seconds on the clock? his opponent will flag him. and this time control adds no excitement since players can become conservative and just avoid taking risks when they are low on clock.
- not a fan of no increment or delay. i am not sure what they are trying to accomplish here.
- no delay or increment means we're back in the dark ages before electronic clocks. The quality of chess will be the first casualty.
_______

Saturday Nov. 11th 1 - 5:30 PM G/10 Rounds 1 - 8 & Carlsen vs. Ding G/30 Rounds 1 - 4
Sunday Nov. 12th — G/5 Rounds 1 - 12 & Carlsen vs. Ding Liren G/20 Rounds 1 - 6
Monday Nov. 13th — Magnus Carlsen vs. Ding Liren G/10 Rounds 1 - 8
Tuesday Nov. 14th — Magnus Carlsen vs. Ding Liren G/5 Rounds 1-12

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

November 11, 2017

G/10

Rounds One to Four

The non-drawn games:

Question: Who is winning in the Topo-Naka match?
Answer: Black

G/10, Rd 1, Nov. 11
Topalov, Veselin – Nakamura, Hikaru
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e6 7.Be3 h5 8.Qd2 Be7 9.Be2 Bd7 10.O-O-O Nc6 11.g3 b5 12.a3 Rc8 13.Kb1 Na5 14.h3 g6 15.g4 e5 16.Nb3 Be6 17.Nxa5 Qxa5 18.g5 Nd7 19.Nd5 Qxd2 20.Rxd2 Bxd5 21.Rxd5 Nc5 22.h4 O-O 23.c3 Ne6 24.Bd1 f6 25.Rd2 fxg5 26.Bb3 Rc4 27.Bxg5 Nxg5 28.hxg5 Rxf3 29.a4 Kg7 30.Bxc4 bxc4 31.Rd5 Rf8 32.Ka2 Rb8 33.Rg1 Kf7 34.Rd2 Ke6 35.Rf2 Rh8 36.Kb1 h4 37.Kc2 h3 38.Rh2 Rh4 39.Rg3 Rxe4 40.Rhxh3 d5 41.Rh6 Kf5 42.Rh7 Bxg5 43.Rf7+ Bf6 44.a5 Re2+ 45.Kd1 Rf2 46.Ke1 Rf4 47.Rg2 d4 48.Ra7 d3 49.Rxa6 e4 50.Rc6 e3 51.Rc5+ Ke6 52.Rc6+ Kd7 0-1

G/10 , Rd 1, Nov. 11
Caruana, Fabiano – Grischuk, Alexander
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.O-O Bf5 11.Qc2 Rad8 12.a4 a5 13.b5 Ne7 14.Qa2 Ng6 15.Ba3 Bc5 16.Bxc5 Qxc5 17.d4 Qd6 18.Rfe1 exd4 19.cxd4 Nf4 20.Rac1 N6d5 21.Qb3 Nb6 22.Bf1 Be6 23.Qc2 Bd5 24.Qxc7 Qxc7 25.Rxc7 Ne6 26.Rc2 Rc8 27.Rcc1 Rfd8 28.h3 g6 29.Ra1 Bxf3 30.Nxf3 Nxd4 31.Nxd4 Rxd4 32.Re7 Rd7 33.Rxd7 Nxd7 34.Be2 b6 35.Rd1 Nc5 36.Rd4 Kf8 37.Bf3 Ke7 38.g4 Rd8 39.Rf4 g5 40.Rc4 Rd3 41.Kg2 Rb3 42.Bd5 Rb4 43.Rc3 Rxa4 44.Re3+ Ne6 45.Be4 h6 46.Bc6 Rd4 47.Kg3 Kf6 48.h4 a4 49.hxg5+ hxg5 50.Rc3 Nc5 51.Kf3 Rd3+ 52.Rxd3 Nxd3 53.Ke3 a3 0-1

G/10, Rd 2, Nov. 11
Nakamura, Hikaru – Topalov, Veselin
D31 QGD, Charousek variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 c6 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.Bxd6 Qxd6 8.e3 Ne7 9.Bd3 b6 10.Nf3 Ba6 11.O-O Bxd3 12.Qxd3 O-O 13.e4 Nd7 14.Rfe1 Rfe8 15.Rac1 dxe4 16.Nxe4 Qd5 17.Nc3 Qd6 18.Qc4 Nf6 19.Ne5 Rf8 20.g4 Rac8 21.h3 Nfd5 22.Ne4 Qh6 23.Qb3 Nf4 24.Kh2 Ned5 25.Qg3 f6 26.Rxc6 Rxc6 27.Nxc6 f5 0-1

G/10, Rd 3, Nov. 11
Topalov, Veselin – Nakamura, Hikaru
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.d4 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.a3 Nc6 9.Qc2 Qa5 10.O-O-O Be7 11.Kb1 a6 12.Nd2 b5 13.Nb3 Qb6 14.cxd5 exd5 15.Bg5 Be6 16.Bxf6 Bxf6 17.Nxd5 Bxd5 18.Rxd5 Rac8 19.Bd3 Nb4 20.Bxh7+ Kh8 21.Qd1 Nxd5 22.Qh5 Bg5 23.Be4+ Qh6 24.Qxh6+ Bxh6 25.Bxd5 Rcd8 26.e4 f5 27.Nc5 fxe4 28.Bxe4 Rxf2 29.Nd3 Rf6 30.Ne5 Re8 31.Ng6+ Kg8 32.Bc2 Re2 33.Bd3 Rxg2 0-1

G/10, Rd 3, Nov. 11
Caruana, Fabiano – Grischuk, Alexander
C24 Bishop’s Opening, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 Bc5 4.Nc3 d6 5.Na4 Bb6 6.Nxb6 axb6 7.Nf3 Be6 8.Bxe6 fxe6 9.O-O O-O 10.c3 Qe8 11.Re1 Nbd7 12.a4 Qg6 13.b4 h6 14.h3 Nh5 15.Kh2 Rf6 16.Be3 Raf8 17.a5 Nf4 18.Bxf4 Rxf4 19.axb6 Nxb6 20.Ra7 Rb8 21.d4 exd4 22.cxd4 Qe8 23.Qb3 Kh8 24.Re2 Qb5 25.Re1 Nc4 26.Ra2 Rbf8 27.Rc2 d5 28.exd5 exd5 29.Ne5 Nxe5 30.dxe5 Rxb4 31.Qa3 c5 32.e6 b6 33.e7 Re8 34.Qf3 Qd7 35.Rce2 Qd6+ 36.g3 Re4 37.Rxe4 dxe4 38.Rxe4 Qf6 39.Qe3 Qf7 40.Kg1 Kh7 41.Re6 b5 42.Re5 c4 43.Qc5 c3 44.Qxc3 Rxe7 45.Qd3+ g6 46.Rxb5 Rd7 47.Qc3 Rc7 48.Qb2 Re7 49.Rb8 Re8 50.Rb6 Re7 51.h4 Qd5 52.Rb5 Re1+ 0-1

In Sasha’s time trouble, Fabi blunders

G/10, Rd 4, Nov 11
Nakamura, Hikaru – Topalov, Veselin
D35 QGD, Exchange variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 Nf6 6.e3 Bf5 7.Nge2 O-O 8.Ng3 Be6 9.Bd3 c5 10.dxc5 Bxc5 11.O-O Nc6 12.a3 d4 13.Na4 Be7 14.e4 Nd7 15.Nf5 Nde5 16.Nxe7+ Qxe7 17.Rc1 Rad8 18.Re1 b6 19.b4 Qf6 20.Bg3 Nxd3 21.Qxd3 Ne5 22.Bxe5 Qxe5 23.Nb2 Rc8 24.Rcd1 Rfd8 25.g3 Qf6 26.e5 Qf5 27.Qxf5 Bxf5 28.Nd3 Rc3 29.Nf4 Rxa3 30.e6 fxe6 31.Nxe6 Bxe6 32.Rxe6 Rd7 33.Re4 d3 34.Kf1 Ra4 35.Ke1 a5 36.Rb1 h6 37.h4 Rd5 38.Kd2 Ra2+ 39.Ke1 Rb5 40.Rd1 Ra4 41.Rxd3 Raxb4 42.Re8+ Kf7 43.Rde3 Rb1+ 44.Ke2 R5b2+ 45.Kf3 Rb3 46.Re7+ Kg6 47.h5+ Kh7 48.Ra7 Rxe3+ 49.fxe3 Rb4 50.e4 a4 51.e5 Kg8 52.e6 Kf8 53.g4 b5 54.Rf7+ Ke8 55.Rxg7 a3 0-1

G/10, Rd 4, Nov. 11
Grischuk, Alexander – Caruana, Fabiano
A41 Queen’s Pawn game

1.d4 d6 2.e4 Nf6 3.Bd3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.O-O O-O 6.Re1 Nc6 7.d5 Nb8 8.h3 c6 9.c4 a5 10.Nc3 Na6 11.Be3 Nd7 12.Rc1 Ndc5 13.Bb1 Bd7 14.Qd2 cxd5 15.Nxd5 e6 16.Nc3 Bc6 17.Nd4 Qe7 18.Bg5 f6 19.Be3 Rad8 20.Rcd1 Rd7 21.f3 Qf7 22.b3 f5 23.exf5 gxf5 24.Ncb5 Bxb5 25.cxb5 Nb4 26.Nxf5 Nxb3 27.axb3 exf5 28.Bb6 Ra8 29.Bxa5 Rxa5 30.Qxb4 Ra8 31.Qf4 Rf8 32.Rxd6 Rxd6 33.Qxd6 Qxb3 34.Qe6+ Qxe6 35.Rxe6 Bd4+ 36.Kf1 b6 37.Rd6 Bc5 38.Rd7 h6 39.Bd3 f4 40.Bh7+ Kh8 41.Be4 Kg8 42.Ke2 Rf6 43.Bd5+ Kh8 44.Rd8+ Rf8 45.Rd7 Rf6 46.Rc7 Rd6 47.Be4 Be3 48.g4 Rd2+ 49.Ke1 Kg8 50.Rc6 Rb2 51.Rxh6 Rxb5 52.h4 Rb2 53.g5 Rh2 54.h5 b5 55.Rg6+ Kf8 56.h6 Rh5 57.Rf6+ Ke7 58.h7 Bd4 59.Rf5 Rxh7 60.Rxb5 Rh2 61.Rd5 Bc3+ 62.Kd1 Ke6 63.Kc1 Rg2 64.Rc5 Bd4 65.Rb5 Ke7 66.g6 Be3+ 67.Kb1 Bd4 68.Rd5 Be3 69.Ra5 Bd4 70.Ra6 Be3 71.Bf5 Bd4 72.Re6+ Kf8 73.Rd6 Be5 74.Rd5 Bf6 75.Be4 Kg7 76.Rd7+ Kf8 77.Rf7+ 1-0

It appears at the end of Round Four of G/10 that the current scores for the three matches are identical, viz:

Grischuk – Caruana 34.5-21.5
Nakamura-Topalov 34.5-21.5
Dominguez-So 34.5-21.5

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

November 11, 2017

G/10

Rounds Five to Eight

The non-drawn games:

G/10, Rd 5, Nov. 11
Caruana, Fabiano – Grischuk, Alexander
C24 Bishop’s Opening, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 Bc5 4.Nc3 d6 5.Na4 Bd4 6.c3 Bxf2+ 7.Kxf2 c6 8.Bb3 b5 9.Nf3 bxa4 10.Bxa4 Qb6+ 11.Ke1 O-O 12.Qe2 Nbd7 13.Be3 Qc7 14.h3 Ba6 15.Qc2 d5 16.Rd1 Nb6 17.Bb3 c5 18.exd5 Nbxd5 19.Bg5 Rae8 20.Kf2 Qb6 21.Bxd5 Nxd5 22.Rhe1 c4+ 23.d4 e4 24.Nh2 f5 25.Bc1 Qg6 26.Kg1 h5 27.Re2 Kh7 28.Rde1 Bb7 29.b3 Ba6 30.Rf2 f4 31.bxc4 Bxc4 32.Qa4 Nb6 33.Qxa7 e3 34.Rb2 Nd5 35.Nf3 Nxc3 36.h4 Ne4 37.Qa5 Rf5 38.Qa4 Bd5 39.Rb6 Re6 40.Rxe6 Qxe6 41.Qc2 Qg6 42.a4 Nf2 43.Qe2 Qg3 44.Rf1 Nh3+ 45.Kh1 Nf2+ 46.Kg1 Bxf3 47.Qxf3 Qxf3 48.gxf3 Ra5 49.Re1 Rxa4 50.Bxe3 fxe3 51.Rxe3 Nh3+ 52.Kg2 Nf4+ 53.Kg3 Rxd4 54.Re5 Kh6 55.Rf5 Ng6 56.Ra5 Rxh4 57.Ra6 Rd4 58.Kf2 Rf4 59.Ke3 Rf6 60.Ra5 Nh4 61.f4 Ng6 62.Kf3 Rxf4+ 63.Ke3 Rg4 64.Kd2 Rg5 65.Ra6 1-0

Grischuk loses on time retrieving his rook as it slipped off the board

G/10, Rd 5, Nov. 11
So, Wesley – Dominguez Perez, Leinier
D30 Queen’s Gambit declined

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.b3 dxc4 7.bxc4 c5 8.O-O cxd4 9.Nxd4 Qb6 10.Nb3 Rd8 11.Qc2 Nc6 12.Be3 Qa6 13.N1d2 Bd7 14.Nc5 Bxc5 15.Bxc5 Rac8 16.Rfc1 h6 17.Nb3 b6 18.Be3 Nb4 19.Qb2 Ne8 20.a3 Nc6 21.c5 Ne7 22.cxb6 axb6 23.Rxc8 Bxc8 24.a4 Nd5 25.Bd4 Bd7 26.Bf1 Qa8 27.e4 Ndf6 28.Bxb6 Rb8 29.Nc5 Qc6 30.Rb1 Nxe4 31.Nxd7 Qxd7 32.a5 Nd2 33.Qb5 Nf6 34.Rd1 Nf3+ 35.Kh1 Qxd1 0-1

G/10, Rd 6, Nov. 11
Grischuk, Alexander – Caruana, Fabiano
C16 French, Winawer, Petrosian variation

1.d4 e6 2.e4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 Qd7 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 b6 7.Qg4 f5 8.Qg3 Nc6 9.Bd3 Bb7 10.Ne2 O-O-O 11.a4 Na5 12.Ba3 Nc4 13.Bxc4 dxc4 14.a5 Nh6 15.Nf4 Rhg8 16.h4 Ng4 17.O-O g6 18.axb6 axb6 19.Bc1 Qe7 20.Nh3 Qg7 21.f3 Nh6 22.Bxh6 Qxh6 23.Nf4 Rde8 24.Ra7 Qg7 25.Rfa1 h6 26.Qe1 Qf7 27.h5 gxh5 28.Qh4 Bxf3 29.d5 Bxd5 30.Nxd5 exd5 31.Ra8+ Kd7 32.R8a7 Qg6 33.Qf2 Rxe5 34.Kf1 Qg4 35.Qd2 h4 0-1

G/10, Rd 6, Nov. 11
Dominguez Perez, Leinier – So, Wesley
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Ne7 6.c3 Nd7 7.O-O c5 8.dxc5 Nc6 9.b4 a5 10.Nd4 Bg6 11.b5 Ncxe5 12.f4 Nc4 13.c6 bxc6 14.bxc6 Nf6 15.Qa4 Bc5 16.Na3 Ne4 17.c7+ Qd7 18.Qxd7+ Kxd7 19.Nxc4 Nxc3 20.Ne5+ Kxc7 21.Kh1 Bxd4 22.Bf3 Ne4 23.Ba3 Nf2+ 24.Rxf2 Bxa1 25.Rf1 Bxe5 26.fxe5 Kd7 0-1

G/10, Rd 7, Nov. 11
Caruana, Fabiano – Grischuk, Alexander
D42 QGD, Semi-Tarrasch

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 c5 3.Nf3 e6 4.e3 Nc6 5.d4 d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Bd3 Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.Be4 Nxc3 10.bxc3 Qc7 11.Qc2 h6 12.Bh7+ Kh8 13.Bd3 b6 14.e4 Bb7 15.Be3 Rac8 16.Rac1 Rfd8 17.Qe2 Qb8 18.Rfd1 Bf6 19.e5 Be7 20.Bxh6 Nxd4 21.Nxd4 gxh6 22.Qh5 Bg5 23.h4 Qxe5 24.hxg5 Qxg5 25.Qxg5 hxg5 26.Nf3 Bxf3 27.gxf3 Kg7 28.Ba6 Rb8 29.Kg2 Kf6 30.a4 Rh8 31.Rh1 Rxh1 32.Rxh1 Rd8 33.Bb5 Rd2 34.Rh8 Rc2 35.c4 Ke5 36.Ra8 f5 37.Rxa7 Kf4 38.Rb7 e5 39.Rxb6 g4 40.fxg4 e4 41.Rf6 e3 42.Rxf5+ Kxg4 43.Rf3 e2 44.Re3 Kf4 45.a5 Ra2 46.a6 Kg4 47.a7 1-0

G/10, Rd 7, Nov. 11
So, Wesley – Dominguez Perez, Leinier
E01 Catalan, Closed

1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.d4 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.b3 dxc4 7.bxc4 c5 8.O-O cxd4 9.Nxd4 Qb6 10.Nb3 Rd8 11.Qc2 Nc6 12.Be3 Qa6 13.N1d2 e5 14.a4 Be6 15.Rfc1 Rac8 16.Qb2 Ng4 17.Nc5 Bxc5 18.Bxc5 b6 19.Ba3 Nd4 20.Bf1 Qb7 21.h3 Nf6 22.e3 Nc6 23.Kh2 Qd7 24.Rd1 Qc7 25.Rac1 h6 26.Bg2 Qb8 27.Qb5 Bd7 28.Qb1 Be6 29.Qb5 Bd7 30.Qb2 Be6 31.c5 Bd5 32.e4 Be6 33.cxb6 axb6 34.Rb1 Qa8 35.Qxb6 Qxa4 36.Qe3 Ra8 37.Ra1 Qd4 38.Bc5 Qxe3 39.Bxe3 Rxa1 40.Rxa1 Nd4 41.Rc1 Kf8 42.f4 exf4 43.gxf4 Nb3 44.Nxb3 Bxb3 45.Rc3 Be6 46.f5 Rc8 47.Bc5+ Rxc5 48.Rxc5 Bb3 49.Rc3 Ba2 50.Rc8+ Ke7 51.Rc7+ Kd6 52.Rb7 Ke5 53.Rb5+ Kf4 54.e5 Nd7 55.Rb2 Bc4 56.Rb4 Nxe5 57.Bd5 1-0

G/10, Rd 8, Nov. 11
Dominguez Perez, Leinier – So, Wesley
C18 French, Winawer, Advance

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.h4 Qc7 8.h5 h6 9.Rb1 b6 10.Qg4 Kf8 11.Rh3 Ba6 12.Bxa6 Nxa6 13.Ne2 cxd4 14.cxd4 Qxc2 15.Rb2 Qe4 16.Qxe4 dxe4 17.Nc3 Rc8 18.Bd2 Rc4 19.Nxe4 Rxd4 20.Nd6 Nc5 21.Ke2 Rd5 22.f4 f6 23.Bc3 f5 24.Bb4 g5 25.hxg6 Nxg6 26.g3 Nd3 27.Rc2 Ndxf4+ 28.gxf4 Nxf4+ 29.Kf3 Nxh3 30.Rc7 a5 31.Be1 Ng5+ 32.Kf4 Rd3 0-1

Three consecutive wins by both Fabi and Wesley.

The current standings after G/10

Grischuk-Caruana 36-32
Nakamura-Topalov 40.5-27.5
Dominguez-So 37.5-30.5

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

November 11, 2017

Carlsen-Ding

G/30

Games One to Four

G/30, Game 1, Nov 11
Carlsen, Magnus – Ding, Liren
C90 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Pilnik variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.Re1 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.Nbd2 Re8 12.Nf1 Nc6 13.Ne3 Bf8 14.a4 b4 15.Bb3 h6 16.Nd5 Rb8 17.a5 Nxd5 18.Bxd5 Qc7 19.Nh4 Be6 20.Bxe6 Rxe6 21.Nf5 Rb5 22.Ne3 Rxa5 23.Nd5 Qd8 24.Be3 Rxa1 25.Qxa1 a5 26.Qa4 Ne7 27.Ra1 Nxd5 28.exd5 Re7 29.Qxa5 Qxa5 30.Rxa5 bxc3 31.bxc3 Rb7 32.Kf1 f5 33.Ke2 Kf7 34.Kd1 Be7 35.Kc2 g5 36.Ra6 h5 37.Bd2 g4 38.c4 h4 39.h3 Rb8 40.Ra7 Rg8 41.Kd1 f4 42.f3 gxf3 43.gxf3 Rg1+ 44.Be1 Rh1 45.Ke2 Rxh3 46.Bf2 Kf6 47.Kf1 Rxf3 48.Kg2 Rg3+ 49.Bxg3 hxg3 50.Kf3 Bf8 51.Ke4 Be7 52.Kf3 Bf8 53.Ke4 Be7 54.Kf3 Bf8 1/2-1/2

G/30, Game 2, Nov. 11
Ding, Liren – Carlsen, Magnus
D11 QGD Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.h3 Bh5 6.Nc3 e6 7.g4 Bg6 8.Ne5 Nbd7 9.Nxg6 hxg6 10.g5 Ng8 11.h4 Bb4 12.Qb3 Bxc3+ 13.bxc3 Ne7 14.Ba3 Nb6 15.Bxe7 Qxe7 16.c5 Nc8 17.c4 Qc7 18.cxd5 exd5 19.Bd3 Ne7 20.a4 b6 21.Rc1 bxc5 22.Rxc5 Rb8 23.Qd1 Rb4 24.Kf1 Qd7 25.Kg2 Qe6 26.Ra5 Rb7 27.Qf3 Qd6 28.Qg3 Qxg3+ 29.Kxg3 Kd7 30.Rb1 Kc7 31.Rxb7+ Kxb7 32.Rc5 Kc7 33.Rc1 Rb8 34.Rb1 Rxb1 35.Bxb1 a5 36.Kf4 Kd6 37.Bd3 Nc8 38.e4 dxe4 39.Kxe4 Nb6 40.Bc2 c5 41.dxc5+ Kxc5 42.Bb3 Nc4 43.Kd3 Nd6 44.Kc3 Ne4+ 45.Kc2 f6 46.gxf6 Nxf6 47.Bf7 Kb4 48.Bxg6 Kxa4 49.Kc3 Kb5 50.Bd3+ Kc5 51.Kb3 Nd5 52.Ka4 Nf4 53.Bf5 Kb6 54.f3 Ng2 55.h5 Nf4 56.Bg4 Nd3 57.Kb3 Kb5 58.Bd7+ Kc5 59.Ka4 Kb6 60.Bf5 Nc5+ 61.Ka3 Kb5 62.Bg6 Kc4 63.f4 Kd4 64.f5 Ke5 65.Bh7 Kf6 66.Bg6 Kg5 67.Ka2 Ne4 68.Kb3 Ng3 69.Ka4 Nxh5 70.Kxa5 Ng3 71.Kb4 Nxf5 72.Be8 Kf4 73.Kc3 Ke3 74.Bd7 Nd4 75.Kc4 Ke4 76.Kc3 Nf3 77.Bc8 g5 78.Bd7 Ke3 79.Bc8 Nd2 80.Kc2 Ne4 81.Kd1 Kf2 82.Kc2 Nd6 83.Bd7 Nf7 84.Kd2 Ne5 85.Bc8 1/2-1/2

G/30, Game 3, Nov. 11
Carlsen, Magnus – Ding, Liren
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 Bd7 9.c3 Na5 10.Ba2 bxa4 11.Nbd2 O-O 12.Bb1 Bb5 13.Bc2 Nb7 14.c4 Bd7 15.Bxa4 Bxa4 16.Qxa4 Nc5 17.Qc2 a5 18.b3 Ne6 19.Bb2 c5 20.Ra4 Nd7 21.Rfa1 Nb8 22.Nf1 Nc6 23.Ne3 Qd7 24.Bc3 Bd8 25.Qd1 Rb8 26.R4a2 g6 27.g3 f5 28.exf5 gxf5 29.Nd5 Rb7 30.Nd2 Qe8 31.f4 Qg6 32.Kh1 Nb4 33.Bxb4 cxb4 34.Nf3 exf4 35.gxf4 Rg7 36.Qe2 Re8 37.Rg1 Qh5 38.Rxg7+ Kxg7 39.Qf1 h6 40.Rg2+ Kh7 41.d4 Nc7 42.Qd1 Qf7 43.Nxc7 Bxc7 44.Qd3 Bd8 45.c5 Re4 46.cxd6 Rxf4 47.Ne5 Qd5 48.Qa6 Bb6 49.Nd7 Qf7 50.Qc4 Qxc4 51.Nf8+ Kh8 52.Ng6+ Kh7 53.Nf8+ Kh8 1/2-1/2

G/30, Game 4, Nov. 11
Ding, Liren – Carlsen, Magnus
E01 Catalan, Closed

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Qc2 c5 7.O-O cxd4 8.Nxd4 Nc6 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.Rd1 Ba6 11.b3 Qb6 12.Nd2 Rfd8 13.Bb2 Rac8 14.Rac1 h6 15.e3 c5 16.cxd5 exd5 17.Nf3 d4 18.Qd2 Ne4 19.Qe1 d3 20.Nd2 Nxd2 21.Qxd2 c4 22.bxc4 Bb4 23.Bc3 Rxc4 24.Bxb4 Qxb4 25.Qxb4 Rxb4 26.Rd2 Rc4 27.Rcd1 Rc3 28.f4 Bc4 29.Kf2 Ra3 30.Bf1 a5 31.Ke1 a4 32.Rc1 Be6 33.Ra1 Kf8 34.Rb2 Rc3 35.Rd2 a3 36.Rb1 Bc4 37.Rb4 Rc1+ 38.Kf2 Bxa2 39.Ra4 Rc3 40.Rxa2 Rc2+ 0-1

Standing after G/30:

Carlsen-Ding 2.5-1.5

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

November 12, 2017

Instant Replay

Mike Klein at chess.com about the G/20 round on November 10:

Amid of all the repetitious openings, it's the endings that captivated the audience today. While time scramble scenarios were asked about yesterday, today the theoretical turned into the actual when So and Dominguez volleyed their pieces so fast in the final seconds that a slow-motion replay was needed to decipher what had happened.

https://www.chess.com/news/view/mill...n-s-second-day

November 11:

International Arbiter Tony Rich announced before the day's play that the event will be instituting an instant-reply system.
Similar to athletic sports, a player can now ask for the use of video replay at the exact moment where an arbiter's decision needs to be reviewed (i.e. not after the game, but during). The St. Louis chess club would then "go to the truck" (literally) where the production staff's RV has eight different camera angles that can show what transpired.

"It was a result of games yesterday," Rich said about the additional option. He would not confirm if the So-Dominguez time scramble was the main catalyst, but as noted yesterday, So's manager was not pleased at the arbiter's failure to admonish his opponent. Yesterday, Dominguez used two hands several times in the waning seconds, but arbiters watching the game did not make any call, nor did So. (Rich told Chess.com the penalty for first occurrence would have been one minute added to So's clock.)

Rich said that there's a lot going on in that moment for an arbiter to notice everything. He said he doesn't know of any other chess events that have instant replay, but thought it would be useful for the remainder of this event. No situations occurred today that required the use of the new rule.

https://www.chess.com/news/view/carl...ake-their-move
_______

The time scrambles (because there is no increment) are supposed to be entertaining to the spectator but I personally do not find them so. I think this basis for the tournament is simply a bad idea that shouldn’t be repeated.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

November 12,2017

G/5 Results

Rounds One to Twelve

So-Dominguez 8.5-3.5
Caruana-Grischuk 8.5-3.5
Topalov-Nakamura 1.5-10.5

Total Match Scores

Grischuk-Caruana 43-49
$60,000 to Caruana

Nakamura-Topalov 61.5-30.5
$60,000 to Nakamura

Dominguez-So 44.5-47.5
$60,000 to So

Carlsen-Ding Match

G/20 Games One to Six

G/20, Game 1, Nov. 12
Carlsen, Magnus – Ding, Liren
E21 Nimzo-Indian, Three Knights variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 O-O 5.Bg5 c5 6.e3 cxd4 7.exd4 d5 8.Be2 dxc4 9.O-O h6 10.Bh4 b6 11.Ne5 Bxc3 12.bxc3 Bb7 13.Nxc4 Nbd7 14.Nd6 Bc6 15.c4 Qe7 16.Bg3 Rfd8 17.d5 exd5 18.Nf5 Qe8 19.Bc7 dxc4 20.Bxd8 Rxd8 21.Bf3 Ne5 22.Bxc6 Nxc6 23.Qa4 Ne5 24.Qxa7 Qe6 25.Qc7 Re8 26.Ne3 Rc8 27.Qb7 Nd3 28.Rad1 Ne4 29.Qd5 b5 30.h3 Qe8 31.Rxd3 cxd3 32.Qxd3 Rd8 33.Nd5 Qe5 34.Nf6+ Qxf6 35.Qxe4 g6 36.a4 bxa4 1/2-1/2

G/20, Game 2, Nov. 12
Ding, Liren – Carlsen, Magnus
E49 Nimzo-Indian, Botvinnik System

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 d5 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 dxc4 8.Bxc4 c5 9.Nf3 Qc7 10.Be2 b6 11.Bb2 Ba6 12.c4 cxd4 13.Nxd4 Nbd7 14.O-O Rac8 15.Nb5 Qb8 16.a4 Rfd8 17.Qd6 Bxb5 18.Qxb8 Nxb8 19.axb5 Rd2 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Rfe1 Rc7 22.Rad1 Rxd1 23.Rxd1 Nd7 24.g4 Kf8 25.Kg2 Ke7 26.Kg3 Nc5 27.f3 a5 28.bxa6 Nxa6 29.Ra1 Nc5 30.Ra8 Nd7 31.h4 Ne5 32.Ra4 h6 33.f4 Nc6 34.h5 Ra7 35.Rxa7+ Nxa7 36.Kh4 Kf8 37.g5 Kg7 38.gxh6+ Kxh6 39.Kg3 Nc8 40.Kf2 Nd6 41.Ke1 Ne4 42.Bf3 f5 43.Ke2 Nf6 44.Kd3 Ng4 45.Kc3 Kxh5 46.Kb4 Kh4 47.Kb5 Kg3 48.Bd1 Nxe3 49.Bb3 e5 50.Kxb6 exf4 51.c5 f3 52.c6 f2 53.c7 f1=Q 54.c8=Q f6 55.Qc7+ Qf4 56.Qxf4+ Kxf4 57.Kc5 Ke4 58.Ba4 f4 59.Bc6+ Kd3 60.Kd6 Nf5+ 61.Kd7 Nd4 62.Bb7 Ke3 63.Ke7 f5 64.Kf6 f3 65.Kg5 f2 66.Bg2 Nf3+ 67.Kf6 f4 0-1

G/20, Game 3, Nov. 12
Carlsen, Magnus – Ding, Liren
C50 Giuoco Pianissimo

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.O-O O-O 6.h3 d6 7.c3 a5 8.Re1 h6 9.Nbd2 Be6 10.Bb5 Qb8 11.Nf1 Qa7 12.Be3 Bxe3 13.Nxe3 Ne7 14.a4 Ng6 15.Bc4 Bxc4 16.Nxc4 Qa6 17.g3 Rfe8 18.Qb3 Nf8 19.Qb5 Ne6 20.d4 exd4 21.cxd4 Qxb5 22.axb5 b6 23.Ncd2 a4 24.Nb1 d5 25.exd5 Ng5 26.Rxe8+ Rxe8 27.Nbd2 Nxf3+ 28.Nxf3 Re2 29.Rxa4 Rxb2 30.Ra8+ Kh7 31.Ne5 Rxb5 32.Nxf7 Rxd5 33.g4 g5 34.Rc8 Rxd4 35.Rxc7 Rd7 36.Rxd7 Nxd7 37.Nd6 Kg6 38.Kg2 Ne5 39.Kg3 Nd3 40.f3 h5 41.h4 hxg4 42.fxg4 gxh4+ 43.Kxh4 Ne5 44.Kg3 1/2-1/2

G/20, Game 4, Nov. 12
Ding, Liren – Carlsen, Magnus
A28 English, Four Knights

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e3 Bb4 5.Qc2 d6 6.Nd5 Ba5 7.a3 Nxd5 8.cxd5 Ne7 9.b4 Bb6 10.Bc4 O-O 11.Bb2 Bf5 12.d3 Ng6 13.h4 h6 14.h5 Ne7 15.Nd2 Rc8 16.e4 Bg4 17.d4 exd4 18.f3 Bd7 19.Qd3 c6 20.dxc6 Bxc6 21.b5 Bd7 22.O-O d5 23.exd5 Bf5 24.Ne4 Nxd5 25.Bxd5 Qxd5 26.Rad1 Rfd8 27.Rfe1 Rc3 0-1

G/20, Game 5, Nov. 12
Carlsen, Magnus – Ding, Liren
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 O-O 9.Nc3 Na5 10.Ba2 Be6 11.b4 Bxa2 12.Rxa2 Nc6 13.Bg5 Qd7 14.Bxf6 Bxf6 15.Nd5 a5 16.c4 Ne7 17.Rc2 Nxd5 18.cxd5 axb4 19.axb4 Ra4 20.Qd2 Rfa8 21.Rfc1 Bd8 22.h3 Ra1 23.Rxa1 Rxa1+ 24.Rc1 Ra4 25.d4 exd4 26.Nxd4 Bf6 27.Nc6 Qc8 28.e5 dxe5 29.d6 Ra8 30.Ne7+ Bxe7 31.dxe7 1-0

G/20, Game 6, Nov. 12
Ding, Liren – Carlsen, Magnus
E05 Catalan, open, Classical line

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.Nc3 Bxf3 13.Bxf3 c6 14.e3 a5 15.b4 axb4 16.Qxb4 Ra7 17.a5 Nd7 18.a6 Be7 19.Qc4 bxa6 20.Rxa6 Nb6 21.Qa2 Rxa6 22.Qxa6 c5 23.Nb5 cxd4 24.Nxd4 Nd7 25.Nc6 Nb8 26.Nxd8 Nxa6 27.Nc6 Bf6 28.Rc1 Nb8 29.Kg2 Nxc6 30.Rxc6 g6 31.Ra6 Kg7 32.Ra8 Rxa8 33.Bxa8 Be7 1/2-1/2

G/20 Result

Carlsen-Ding 4.5-1.5

Total Match Score after G/20

Carlsen-Ding 30.5-13.5

Summary

It was the final day for three of the matches, while Ding Liren and Magnus Carlsen battled it out in the g/20 day. Two of the finishing bouts went basically down to the wire, while Nakamura against Topalov was a very one-sided affair. The action of the blitz was very tense, and blood was, literally, spilled over the board!

Caruana vs. Grischuk

Caruana entered the last day with a two game deficit, but had momentum going for him. He scored heavily toward the end of day three, and he came in with fire on the board. Caruana won his two first whites, tying the match very early. Grischuk was not about to be left behind, and retaliated immediately. The tension built up increasingly with every game, but it was Caruana that kept the better nerves and kept delivering blows. He was unstoppable with the black pieces and won three in a row with that color. Grischuk found himself needing to win the last two rounds to equalize the match, but was unable to do so. A fabulous day for Fabi, as he wins the 5-minute portion by a huge score of 8.5-3.5 (with points counting for two, that gave him 17 points against his opponent's 7) which was enough to catapult him to the win.

So vs. Dominguez

It seemed like the comeback story of Caruana would be the focus of attention of the day, but So had something to say about that. Trailing by 16 points with three games to go yesterday, So was simply a complete monster in the second half of the g/10 and all throughout today. Obtaining huge advantages on the clock and combining it with powerful and precise play, So turned the match around and even won the head-to-head with a full round to spare. Dominguez proved superiority in the rapid, but it was all So in the blitz.

On an interesting note So was so focused on banging the clock and putting that pressure on his opponent, that Carlsen requested that this match be played as far away from his board as possible, since it was distracting! So at some pointed even started bleeding from hitting the clock so hard, which forced the arbiters to pause the game and wipe the clock.

Nakamura vs. Topalov

One can very strongly argue that the result of the match did not reflect how close the games were, as we saw combative and active chess. That being said, Nakamura finished the day with double the amount of points of Topalov, clinched the match after only three of today's twelve rounds, and proved very clearly who was the better player. Nakamura's resourcefulness and speed in the fast time controls simply smashed his opponent all day.

Carlsen vs. Ding Liren

The lion roars! Carlsen was absolutely relentless, playing fast, confident, and precise chess. Ding Liren was unable to keep pace and lost several positions that perhaps shouldn't have been. In the second round, a relatively equal endgame finished in favor of Carlsen, and it seemed to be what opened the floodgates. The World Champion simply annihilated his opponent in the fourth and fifth games, and takes a huge advantage going into their third day of play.

https://www.uschesschamps.com/2017-c...showdown-day-4

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

November 13, 2017

Larsen-Ding Match

G/10

Games One to Four (of Eight)

G/10, Game 1, Nov. 13
Carlsen, Magnus – Ding, Liren
B48 Sicilian, Taimanov variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 a6 7.a3 b5 8.Nxc6 Qxc6 9.Bd3 Bb7 10.O-O Nf6 11.Re1 Rc8 12.Qf3 Bd6 13.Bd4 Qc7 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.Qh5 Be5 16.Nd1 Ke7 17.c3 Rcg8 18.Ne3 Rg5 19.Qh3 h5 20.Qh4 Rhg8 21.g3 f5 22.exf5 Qc6 23.Nd5+ Qxd5 24.Be4 Qc4 25.b3 Qxc3 26.Bxb7 Bf6 27.Rac1 Qxb3 28.Qe4 Rg4 29.Qe2 h4 30.fxe6 fxe6 31.Rcd1 hxg3 32.fxg3 Rd4 33.Kg2 Rxd1 34.Rxd1 Qxa3 35.Qd2 Qb2 36.Qxb2 Bxb2 37.Bxa6 b4 38.Bd3 d5 39.Kf3 e5 40.Bc2 e4+ 41.Ke2 Rc8 42.Bb3 d4 43.Bd5 Rc2+ 44.Kf1 e3 45.Re1 Rf2+ 46.Kg1 Bc3 47.Rf1 Rxf1+ 0-1

Final position Game One



G/10, Game 2, Nov. 13
Ding, Liren – Carlsen, Magnus
A07 Reti, King’s Indian Attack

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.d4 c6 5.O-O Nf6 6.b3 O-O 7.Bb2 Bf5 8.c4 Nbd7 9.e3 Ne4 10.Nfd2 Ndf6 11.Nxe4 Bxe4 12.Bh3 Qb6 13.f3 Bxb1 14.Rxb1 e6 15.Qd3 Rfe8 16.c5 Qc7 17.e4 b6 18.e5 Nd7 19.b4 a5 20.a3 Reb8 21.Bc3 Bf8 22.Rfc1 axb4 23.axb4 bxc5 24.bxc5 Ra3 25.Bf1 Nxc5 26.dxc5 Bxc5+ 27.Kh1 d4 28.Rxb8+ Qxb8 29.Qc4 Rxc3 30.Rxc3 dxc3 31.Qxc5 Qb1 32.Kg2 c2 33.Qd6 Qd1 34.Bd3 Qd2+ 35.Kh3 Qh6+ 0-1

Final position Game Two



G/10, Game 3, Nov. 13
Carlsen, Magnus – Ding, Liren
C00 French, King’s Indian Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.Qe2 Nf6 6.Bg2 Be7 7.O-O O-O 8.e5 Nd7 9.c4 d4 10.Re1 Rb8 11.h4 b5 12.cxb5 Rxb5 13.Na3 Rb8 14.Nc4 Nb6 15.b3 Nxc4 16.bxc4 Rb6 17.Ng5 h6 18.Nh3 Bb7 19.Qg4 Kh8 20.Qh5 Qe8 21.Bxh6 f5 22.Qxe8 Rxe8 23.Bd2 Kg8 24.Nf4 Kf7 25.Bf3 g6 26.Rab1 Rxb1 27.Rxb1 Ba8 28.h5 g5 29.Ng6 Bd8 30.Rb5 g4 31.Bg2 Bb6 32.a4 1-0

Final position Game Three



G/10, Game 4, Nov. 13
Ding, Liren – Carlsen, Magnus
E00 Catalan Opening

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 O-O 7.O-O Nbd7 8.Bc3 b6 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.e4 Nxc3 11.Nxc3 Bb7 12.Re1 Re8 13.Qc2 c6 14.Rad1 Qc7 15.e5 Rad8 16.h4 h6 17.Qe4 Qb8 18.Qg4 Bb4 19.Nd2 c5 20.Bxb7 Qxb7 21.Nde4 cxd4 22.Rxd4 Be7 23.Nd6 Bxd6 24.exd6 Nf6 25.Qe2 Rd7 26.Qe5 Rc8 27.Red1 Rc5 28.Qe2 Qc6 29.a3 Kf8 30.R4d3 Rc4 31.Qe1 Ne4 32.Nxe4 Rxe4 33.Qd2 Rc4 34.b3 Rc2 35.Qe3 Qc5 36.Qf3 Qc6 37.Qe3 Rc5 38.a4 a5 39.Qf4 Kg8 40.Qe3 Rc2 41.R3d2 Rc3 42.Rd3 Rc5 43.Qf4 Rd5 44.Rxd5 exd5 45.Rc1 Qxd6 46.Rc8+ Kh7 47.Qd4 Qe6 48.Qd3+ Qe4 49.Qxe4+ dxe4 50.Rc6 Rb7 51.Kf1 g6 52.Ke2 Kg7 53.Ke3 b5 54.Rc5 bxa4 55.bxa4 Rb3+ 56.Ke2 Rb2+ 57.Kf1 Ra2 58.Rxa5 Kf6 59.Ke1 Ke6 60.Kf1 f6 61.Ke1 g5 62.hxg5 hxg5 63.g4 e3 64.fxe3 Rg2 65.Ra6+ Kf7 66.a5 Rxg4 67.Rb6 Rg2 68.a6 Ra2 69.e4 Ra4 70.e5 Re4+ 71.Kd2 Rxe5 72.Kc3 Ra5 73.Kd4 0-1

Ding Liren lost on time

Final Position Game Four

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

November 13, 2017

Carlsen-Ding Match

G/10

Games Five to Eight

G/10, Game 5, Nov. 13
Carlsen, Magnus – Ding, Liren
C90 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Pilnik variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.Re1 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.Nbd2 Re8 12.Nf1 Nc6 13.Ne3 Bf8 14.a4 b4 15.Nd5 h6 16.a5 Nxd5 17.exd5 Nxa5 18.Ba4 Re7 19.Nd2 Rb8 20.c4 Nb7 21.Ne4 f5 22.Ng3 f4 23.Ne4 Rf7 24.Bd2 Qb6 25.Be8 Re7 26.Qh5 Bf5 27.Qxf5 Rbxe8 28.Qg6 Kh8 29.g3 Na5 30.Nxd6 Kg8 31.Rxa5 Rd8 32.Rea1 Rxd6 33.Qe4 Qb7 34.Rxc5 Rf7 35.Rc6 Rxc6 36.dxc6 Qb6 37.gxf4 Bc5 38.Kh1 Bd4 39.fxe5 Rxf2 40.Bf4 Bxb2 41.Be3 Qb8 42.Rg1 Rf8 43.d4 1-0

Final position Game Five



G/10, Game 6, Nov. 13
Ding, Liren – Carlsen, Magnus
E11 Bogo-Indian Defence, Grunfeld variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Nbd2 O-O 5.a3 Be7 6.e4 d6 7.Be2 c5 8.d5 e5 9.Qc2 Nbd7 10.Nf1 a6 11.Bd2 Nh5 12.g3 g6 13.Ne3 Ng7 14.Bd3 Nf6 15.O-O Ng4 16.b4 b6 17.bxc5 bxc5 18.Rab1 Nxe3 19.Bxe3 Bh3 20.Rfe1 f5 21.exf5 gxf5 22.Bf1 Bxf1 23.Rxf1 Qd7 24.Bg5 e4 25.Bxe7 Qxe7 26.Nh4 f4 27.Ng2 Nf5 28.Nxf4 Nd4 29.Qb2 Qg5 30.Ne6 Nf3+ 31.Kg2 Qg4 32.h3 Nh4+ 33.Kh2 Nf3+ 34.Kg2 Nh4+ 35.Kh2 1/2-1/2

Final position Game Six



G/10, Game 7, Nov. 13
Carlsen, Magnus – Ding, Liren
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 O-O 9.Nbd2 Na5 10.Ba2 c5 11.Re1 Nc6 12.c3 Re8 13.Nf1 h6 14.Ne3 Bf8 15.b4 Be6 16.Nd5 Rc8 17.Bd2 Bxd5 18.exd5 Ne7 19.c4 Nf5 20.a4 bxa4 21.bxc5 Rxc5 22.Qxa4 e4 23.dxe4 Nxe4 24.Bb4 Rc8 25.Qc2 Qf6 26.h3 Nd4 27.Nxd4 Qxd4 28.Rad1 Qb6 29.Rb1 Qd4 30.Rbd1 Qb6 31.Ba3 Qa5 32.Re3 Nf6 33.Rdd3 Rxe3 34.Rxe3 Re8 35.Bc1 Rxe3 36.Bxe3 Qe1+ 37.Kh2 Qa1 38.g3 a5 39.Kg2 Qe5 40.Bb1 g6 41.Bb6 Qe1 42.Bd4 Nd7 43.Bc3 Qe7 44.Bxa5 Bg7 45.Bd2 h5 46.Be3 Be5 47.Qd2 Nc5 48.Bc2 Kg7 49.Qe2 Qf6 50.Qf3 Qxf3+ 51.Kxf3 f5 52.Ke2 Kf6 53.Kd2 g5 54.f4 gxf4 55.gxf4 Bb2 56.Bf2 Kg6 57.Kd1 Bc3 58.Bh4 Bf6 59.Be1 Bd4 60.Ke2 Bb2 61.Ba5 Bc1 62.Kf3 Ba3 63.Bc7 Nd7 64.Ke2 Nf6 65.Bd3 Bc5 66.Kd1 Ne4 67.Kc2 Nf2 68.Bf1 Ne4 69.Bg2 Ng3 70.Bf3 Ne4 71.Bg2 Ng3 72.Kd3 h4 73.Bd8 Nh5 74.Bg5 Bf2 75.Bf3 Nf6 76.Ke2 Bg3 77.Ke3 Kf7 78.Kd3 Nh7 79.Bh5+ Kg7 80.Be7 Nf6 81.c5 dxc5 82.Bf3 Bxf4 83.Bxc5 Ne8 84.Be7 Nd6 85.Bxh4 Kg6 1-0

Final position Game 7



G/10, Game 8, Nov. 13
Ding, Liren – Carlsen, Magnus
D02 Queen’s Pawn game

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 a6 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 Be6 7.e3 Nbd7 8.Bd3 h6 9.Bh4 Bd6 10.O-O O-O 11.Rc1 Re8 12.a3 c6 13.Bg3 Bxg3 14.hxg3 Bg4 15.Ne2 Ne4 16.Nf4 Ndf6 17.Be2 Nd6 18.Ne5 Bxe2 19.Qxe2 Nfe4 20.g4 Qg5 21.g3 f5 22.Kg2 fxg4 23.Rh1 Nf6 24.Rh4 Rxe5 25.dxe5 Qxe5 26.Rhh1 Qe4+ 27.Kg1 Nc4 28.Qc2 Ne5 29.Qxe4 Nxe4 30.Kg2 Rf8 31.Rc2 Rf6 32.Rd1 g5 33.Nd3 Nxd3 34.Rxd3 h5 35.b4 h4 36.a4 Kg7 37.b5 axb5 38.axb5 Kg6 39.bxc6 bxc6 40.Ra3 c5 41.Rd3 h3+ 42.Kg1 Rd6 43.Rd1 Kf5 44.Rb2 c4 45.Rb8 c3 46.Rf8+ Ke5 47.Re8+ Re6 48.Rd8 Rd6 49.Re8+ Kf5 50.Rf8+ Ke6 51.Re8+ Kd7 52.Ra8 Nd2 53.Rc1 Rc6 54.Ra3 Ne4 55.Rd1 Ke6 56.Rc1 Rb6 57.Raxc3 Nxc3 58.Rxc3 Rb1+ 59.Kh2 Rf1 60.Rc2 Kf5 61.Rb2 Ke4 62.Ra2 Kf3 63.e4 Kxe4 64.Re2+ Kd3 65.Re3+ Kc4 0-1

Final position Game Eight



G/10 Final Result

Carlsen-Ding 6.5-1.5

Total Score

Carlsen-Ding 50-18

- After winning this last game of the day, Magnus will need 18 points to reach 3000 tomorrow. He gained 34 on 8 games today.

Mark Crowther - No doubt Carlsen was the pre-event favourite but I'm more than a little surprised how much of a massacre this has been.

- Awesome

- Speechless

- if ding doesn't recover in some way, it could be disastrous for him tomorrow plus I feel something like this could affect one's entire carreer

- On the bright side the games aren't rated anymore, so it can't get any worse!
(they stop rating after the match was won)

- This is one of the best performances....maybe ever

________

Match starts two hours earlier tomorrow (noon Toronto/Montreal time)

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

Champions Showdown, St. Louis, 2017

November 14, 2017

Carlsen-Ding Match

G/5

Results of the G/5 Match with weighted scores

Carlsen-Ding

Game 1 1-1
Game 2 2-0
Game 3 0-2
Game 4 2-0
Game 5 1-1
Game 6 2-0
Game 7 1-1
Game 8 2-0
Game 9 1-1
Game 10 2-0
Game 11 2-0
Game 12 1-1

Overall Score

Carlsen-Ding 67-25

Magnus wins $60,000 , Liren $40,000 and Ding has to rush off to Palma de Mallorca for the Grand Prix Tournament there.

Selection of Games

G/5, Game 2, Nov. 14
Ding, Liren – Carlsen, Magnus
E62 King’s Indian, Fianchetto, Larsen System

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 O-O 5.Nc3 d6 6.Nf3 c6 7.O-O Bf5 8.Ne1 Be6 9.d5 cxd5 10.cxd5 Bd7 11.Be3 a5 12.Bd4 Na6 13.Nd3 b5 14.a3 b4 15.axb4 Nxb4 16.Qd2 Rb8 17.Nxb4 Rxb4 18.e3 Qb8 19.Ne2 a4 20.Bc3 Rb5 21.Nd4 Rxd5 22.Bxd5 Nxd5 23.Rfc1 Qb7 24.Ne2 Nxc3 25.Nxc3 Rb8 26.Nd5 Bxb2 27.Rc7 Qxc7 28.Nxc7 Bxa1 29.Nd5 Kf8 30.Qa5 Bc6 31.Nb4 Bc3 32.Qc7 Rxb4 33.Qxc6 Bf6 34.Qa8+ Kg7 35.Qa5 Rb1+ 36.Kg2 Ra1 37.f4 a3 38.e4 Bb2 39.Qb4 Re1 40.Qb3 Rxe4 41.Kf3 Re1 42.h4 h5 43.Qc4 e6 44.Qb3 d5 45.Qa2 Ra1 46.Qb3 Rc1 47.Kg2 Rc3 48.Qa4 Rc4 49.Qa7 Rc2+ 50.Kf3 d4 51.Qa5 d3 52.Qa4 Rc1 53.Qb4 Rc8 54.g4 hxg4+ 55.Kxg4 Rd8 56.Qd2 Bf6 57.h5 a2 0-1

- What a game !!!

- Imagine if Carlsen took up the KID for real

G/5, Game 3, Nov. 14
Carlsen, Magnus – Ding, Liren
B23 Sicilian, Closed

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.Nge2 Nf6 4.g3 Nc6 5.Bg2 g6 6.d3 Bg7 7.O-O O-O 8.h3 e6 9.Be3 b6 10.Qd2 d5 11.Bh6 Bxh6 12.Qxh6 Nd4 13.exd5 Nxe2+ 14.Nxe2 exd5 15.Rfe1 Bb7 16.g4 Re8 17.Ng3 Qd6 18.g5 Rxe1+ 19.Rxe1 Re8 20.Rxe8+ Nxe8 21.Nf1 Bc8 22.Qh4 d4 23.Qg3 Be6 24.a3 Kg7 25.Nd2 Qxg3 26.fxg3 Nd6 27.Kf2 Nf5 28.Nf1 f6 29.gxf6+ Kxf6 30.g4 Nd6 31.Nd2 h5 32.gxh5 gxh5 33.Kg3 Nf5+ 34.Kf4 Ne3 35.Bf3 h4 36.Ne4+ Ke7 37.Ng5 Nxc2 38.Nxe6 Kxe6 39.Kg5 Ke5 40.Kxh4 Kf4 41.Bc6 Ne1 42.Bb5 Ke3 43.Kg5 Nxd3 44.h4 Nf4 45.Kf5 Kf3 46.Bc6+ Kg3 47.Bb5 Kf3 48.Bc6+ Ke3 49.Bb5 Nh5 50.Kg5 Ng3 51.Kg4 Ne4 52.h5 Nf6+ 53.Kg5 Nxh5 54.Kxh5 d3 55.Kg4 d2 56.Ba4 Ke2 57.Kf4 d1=Q 0-1

G/5, Game 8, Nov. 14
Ding, Liren – Carlsen, Magnus
A56 Benoni

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.e4 d6 6.Nge2 O-O 7.Ng3 a6 8.a4 h5 9.Be2 e5 10.Bg5 Qe8 11.Qd2 Nbd7 12.O-O Nh7 13.Bh6 h4 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.Nh1 f5 16.exf5 gxf5 17.f4 Qg6 18.Nf2 e4 19.a5 Ndf6 20.Ncd1 Rb8 21.b4 cxb4 22.Qxb4 Nd7 23.Ne3 b6 24.Rfb1 Qf6 25.axb6 Rxb6 26.Qd2 Rxb1+ 27.Rxb1 Nc5 28.Rb6 Bd7 29.g3 hxg3 30.hxg3 Kh8 31.Kg2 Rg8 32.Nfd1 Qf8 33.Nf1 Nf6 34.Nde3 Qe7 35.Qd4 Kh7 36.Qd2 Ra8 37.Rb1 a5 38.g4 fxg4 39.Ng3 a4 40.Rh1+ Kg8 41.Qd4 Nb3 42.Qc3 Nc5 43.Ngf5 Bxf5 44.Nxf5 Qf8 45.Rh6 Ncd7 46.c5 a3 47.Rg6+ Kf7 48.Rg7+ Qxg7 49.Nxg7 Kxg7 50.c6 a2 51.cxd7 a1=Q 52.Qxa1 Rxa1 53.d8=Q Ra2 54.Kf2 g3+ 55.Ke3 g2 56.Qe7+ Kg6 57.f5+ Kxf5 58.Qg7 Nxd5+ 59.Kd4 Rxe2 60.Kxd5 Rd2+ 61.Kc4 e3 62.Qf7+ Ke4 63.Qg6+ Kf3 64.Qf5+ Ke2 65.Qg4+ Kf2 66.Qf4+ Ke2 67.Qg4+ Ke1 68.Qg3+ Rf2 69.Qxe3+ Re2 70.Qg3+ Kf1 71.Qf3+ Ke1 72.Qg3+ Kd1 73.Kd3 Rd2+ 74.Ke3 Re2+ 75.Kf3 Rd2 76.Ke3 Kc2 77.Ke4 d5+ 78.Ke3 Rd3+ 0-1

Final position of Game 8. Black wins in 9 moves



G/5, Game 11, Nov. 14
Carlsen, Magnus – Ding, Liren
A05 Reti, King’s Indian Attack

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.b3 Bg7 4.Bb2 O-O 5.Bg2 d6 6.d4 c5 7.c4 Qa5+ 8.Bc3 Qc7 9.Nbd2 Re8 10.O-O e5 11.d5 e4 12.Ng5 Bf5 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Ngxe4 Bxa1 15.Qxa1 Bxe4 16.Nxe4 Nd7 17.f4 Re7 18.g4 Rae8 19.Ng3 b5 20.e4 bxc4 21.bxc4 Qa5 22.Qc1 Nf6 23.e5 dxe5 24.f5 Nxg4 25.Qg5 e4 26.d6 Re5 27.Qxg4 Qc3 28.fxg6 hxg6 29.d7 Rd8 30.Nxe4 Qd4+ 31.Kh1 Kg7 32.Nf6 Qxg4 33.Nxg4 Rg5 34.Nf6 Rf5 35.Rxf5 gxf5 36.Ne8+ Kf8 37.Bc6 Ke7 38.h4 Rb8 39.h5 Rb4 40.Nd6 1-0