Grenke Chess Classic 2018

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  • Grenke Chess Classic 2018

    Grenke Chess Classic 2018

    February 17, 2018

    The GRENKE Chess Classic 2018 will be held from March 31 to April 09 in Karlsruhe, Baden Baden. It will be the fifth edition of the super tournament. So far the event has had different winner in each edition - Viswanathan Anand, Arkadij Naiditsch, Magnus Carlsen, and Levon Aronian.

    The participants are:

    Magnus Carlsen
    Levon Aronian
    Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
    Fabiano Caruana
    Vishy Anand
    Nikita Vitiugov
    Arkadij Naiditsch
    Hou Yifan
    Georg Meier
    Matthias Bluebaum


    Parallel to the Grenke Chess Classic the organizers will have an open tournament. Already 86 titled players are among those already entered.

    Schedule

    Round 1 31 Mar Karlsruhe
    Round 2 1 Apr Karlsruhe
    Round 3 2 Apr Karlsruhe
    Rest Day 3 Apr
    Round 4 4 Apr Baden-Baden
    Round 5 5 Apr Baden-Baden
    Round 6 6 Apr Baden-Baden
    Round 7 7 Apr Baden-Baden
    Round 8 8 Apr Baden-Baden
    Round 9 9 Apr Baden-Baden

    Games begin at 15:00 each day (9:00 AM Toronto/Montreal time)


    http://grenkechessclassic.com/en/gre...c-2015/players

  • #2
    Re: Grenke Chess Classic 2018

    Grenke Chess Classic 2018

    March 29, 2018

    The pairings are just out and Caruana meets Carlsen in the first round!

    How will Levon Aronian do after the Candidates?

    http://www.grenkechessclassic.de/en/...ings-standings

    https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-to...sic-2018/1/1/1


    Pairings 1st round (31.03.2018 / 15:00)
    Table Player - Player
    1 Caruana, Fabiano - Carlsen, Magnus
    2 Bluebaum, Matthias - Vitiugov, Nikita
    3 Meier, Georg - Aronian, Levon
    4 Naiditsch, Arkadij - Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime
    5 Anand, Viswanathan - Hou, Yifan

    Pairings 2nd round (01.04.2018 / 15:00)
    Table Player - Player
    1 Carlsen, Magnus - Hou, Yifan
    2 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime - Anand, Viswanathan
    3 Aronian, Levon - Naiditsch, Arkadij
    4 Vitiugov, Nikita - Meier, Georg
    5 Caruana, Fabiano - Bluebaum, Matthias

    Pairings 3rd round (02.04.2018 / 15:00)
    Table Player - Player
    1 Bluebaum, Matthias - Carlsen, Magnus
    2 Meier, Georg - Caruana, Fabiano
    3 Naiditsch, Arkadij - Vitiugov, Nikita
    4 Anand, Viswanathan - Aronian, Levon
    5 Hou, Yifan - Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime

    Pairings 4th round (04.04.2018 / 15:00)
    Table Player - Player
    1 Carlsen, Magnus - Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime
    2 Aronian, Levon - Hou, Yifan
    3 Vitiugov, Nikita - Anand, Viswanathan
    4 Caruana, Fabiano - Naiditsch, Arkadij
    5 Bluebaum, Matthias - Meier, Georg

    Pairings 5th round (05.04.2018 / 15:00)
    Table Player - Player
    1 Meier, Georg - Carlsen, Magnus
    2 Naiditsch, Arkadij - Bluebaum, Matthias
    3 Anand, Viswanathan - Caruana, Fabiano
    4 Hou, Yifan - Vitiugov, Nikita
    5 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime - Aronian, Levon

    Pairings 6th round (06.04.2018 / 15:00)
    Table Player - Player
    1 Carlsen, Magnus - Aronian, Levon
    2 Vitiugov, Nikita - Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime
    3 Caruana, Fabiano - Hou, Yifan
    4 Bluebaum, Matthias - Anand, Viswanathan
    5 Meier, Georg - Naiditsch, Arkadij

    Pairings 7th round (07.04.2018 / 15:00)
    Table Player - Player
    1 Naiditsch, Arkadij - Carlsen, Magnus
    2 Anand, Viswanathan - Meier, Georg
    3 Hou, Yifan - Bluebaum, Matthias
    4 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime - Caruana, Fabiano
    5 Aronian, Levon - Vitiugov, Nikita

    Pairings 8th round (08.04.2018 / 15:00)
    Table Player - Player
    1 Carlsen, Magnus - Vitiugov, Nikita
    2 Caruana, Fabiano - Aronian, Levon
    3 Bluebaum, Matthias - Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime
    4 Meier, Georg - Hou, Yifan
    5 Naiditsch, Arkadij - Anand, Viswanathan

    Pairings 9th round (09.04.2018 / 15:00)
    Table Player - Player
    1 Anand, Viswanathan - Carlsen, Magnus
    2 Hou, Yifan - Naiditsch, Arkadij
    3 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime - Meier, Georg
    4 Aronian, Levon - Bluebaum, Matthias
    5 Vitiugov, Nikita - Caruana, Fabiano

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Grenke Chess Classic 2018

      Grenke Classic 2018

      March 31, 2018

      The commentators on chess24 are Jan Gustafsson and Peter Leko. We saw Peter last year paired with Lawrence Trent commentating on the Grenke Classic 2017.

      The venues are Karlsruhe (Rds 1-3) and Baden Baden (Rds 4-9)

      The premier game today is between Fabiano Caruana and Magnus Carlsen. There is a delay at the first. These comments from chessbomb kibitzers:

      - Baden Baden is a famous town where Dostoyevsky lost a lot of money in the casino playing roulette
      - If he didn't lose so much, we wouldn't have his excellent novel Gambler
      - When does the game start?
      - Not sure if they are playing with a delay
      - Maybe the Chinese space station landed on the playing hall

      There are other comments on how good a commentator Leko is and some suggestions that Peter Leko and Peter Svidler would make a good team.

      Talking about computers, Peter says that many a 2700 GM believes that if they could glance at the computer evaluation of their position a couple of times during the game then they would be playing at a 3000 level.

      I remember that in July of 1979 the American Skylab was to come hurtling to earth and looking up and worrying it might hit me.

      Tiangong-1 Chinese space station is going to crash to earth this weekend. One hopes it will not be on one's house nor on the Karlsruhe Schwarzwaldhalle.

      The Caruana game gets into a complex ending with the evaluation by Stockfish varying wildly from move to move. The analysts should have a field day with this ending.

      The games:

      Grenke Chess Classic 2018
      Round 1, Mar. 31
      Bluebaum, Matthias - Vitiugov, Nikita
      D12 QGD Slav

      1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Bg6 7.Bd2 Nbd7 8.Nxg6 hxg6 9.c5 e5 10.b4 Be7 11.b5 O-O 12.Qa4 Re8 13.bxc6 bxc6 14.Be2 exd4 15.exd4 Nxc5 16.dxc5 d4 17.O-O dxc3 18.Bxc3 Bxc5 19.Bf3 Rc8 20.Bxc6 Re2 21.Bf3 Rxf2 22.Rxf2 Bxf2+ 23.Kxf2 Rxc3 24.Qxa7 Ne4+ 25.Kg1 Ra3 0-1

      Round 1, Mar. 31
      Caruana, Fabiano - Carlsen, Magnus
      E61 King's Indian

      1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.e3 O-O 5.Be2 d6 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.d5 Nb4 8.a3 Na6 9.Nd4 e5 10.dxe6 fxe6 11.O-O e5 12.Nb3 c6 13.e4 Nc7 14.f4 Ne6 15.f5 Nd4 16.Be3 Nxe2+ 17.Qxe2 gxf5 18.exf5 d5 19.cxd5 cxd5 20.Rad1 d4 21.Bg5 Qb6 22.Qc4+ Rf7 23.Na4 Qc7 24.Qxc7 Rxc7 25.Nac5 b6 26.Bxf6 bxc5 27.Bxg7 Kxg7 28.Nd2 Bb7 29.f6+ Kf8 30.Rde1 Re8 31.Ne4 Bxe4 32.Rxe4 c4 33.g4 Rb8 34.Rxe5 Rxb2 35.Rd5 c3 36.Rd8+ Kf7 37.Rh8 Rbb7 38.Rxh7+ Kg6 39.Rxc7 Rxc7 40.Kf2 c2 41.Rc1 d3 42.Ke3 Rd7 43.Kd2 Kxf6 44.h4 Ke5 45.Rf1 Kd4 46.h5 Re7 47.Rf4+ Kd5 48.Rf1 Kc4 49.Rf4+ Kd5 50.Rf1 Kc4 51.Rf4+ Kb3 52.Rb4+ Kxa3 53.Rc4 Kb3 54.Rc8 a5 55.h6 Re2+ 56.Kxd3 Rh2 57.g5 Rh3+ 58.Kd2 Rh2+ 59.Kd3 1/2-1/2

      Round 1, Mar. 31
      Anand, Vishy - Hou Yifan
      A15 English Opening

      1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.e3 Bd6 5.b3 O-O 6.Bb2 c5 7.g4 d4 8.exd4 cxd4 9.Nxd4 e5 10.Nf5 Bxf5 11.gxf5 Nc6 12.Bg2 Nb4 13.Qe2 Nc2+ 14.Kd1 Nxa1 15.Bxa1 Qd7 16.Ne4 Qxf5 17.Nxf6+ Qxf6 18.Bxb7 Rad8 19.Kc2 Rfe8 20.Bc3 Bc5 21.f3 Bd4 22.Re1 g6 23.Qe4 Kg7 24.Bd5 Qb6 25.b4 f5 26.Qd3 Bxc3 27.dxc3 Qd6 28.a4 a5 29.Kb3 Rb8 30.b5 Qc5 31.h4 Rbd8 32.h5 Kf6 33.hxg6 hxg6 34.Qe3 Qxe3 35.Rxe3 Rd6 36.Re1 Rc8 37.Rh1 Kg7 38.Kc2 g5 39.Rd1 Kf6 40.Kd3 Rb6 41.Rh1 Kg7 42.Rg1 Kf6 43.Ke3 Rd6 44.Rb1 Rb6 45.Ke2 Kg6 46.Kf2 Kf6 47.Rh1 Kg7 48.Re1 1/2-1/2

      Round 1, Mar. 31
      Meier, Georg - Aronian, Levon
      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.Nc3 Ne8 10.Nd5 Bd6 11.Re2 c6 12.Ne3 Be7 13.Nf5 Bf6 14.Qe1 d5 15.Ne7+ Kh8 16.Nxc8 Rxc8 17.d3 Nd6 18.Qb4 a5 19.Qg4 b5 20.c3 d4 21.cxd4 b4 22.d5 cxd5 23.Bf4 g6 24.Be5 Bxe5 25.Rxe5 Qf6 26.Qd4 Rc2 27.Rb1 Rfc8 28.Rxd5 Qxd4 29.Rxd4 Nf5 30.Rc4 R8xc4 31.dxc4 Nd4 32.Rd1 Ne6 33.Rd5 a4 34.Ra5 Rxb2 35.Rxa4 Kg7 36.Ra5 Kf6 37.h4 Nd4 38.c5 Rc2 39.Ra6+ Ke5 40.Rb6 Rxa2 41.Rxb4 Ra1 42.g3 1/2-1/2

      Round 1, Mar. 31
      Naiditsch, Arkady - Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime
      A48 King's Indian, Torre Attack

      1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bg5 Bg7 4.c3 h6 5.Bh4 d6 6.Nbd2 g5 7.Bg3 Nh5 8.e4 e6 9.Nc4 f5 10.Nfd2 Nxg3 11.hxg3 O-O 12.Ne3 d5 13.exf5 exf5 14.Nxd5 Re8+ 15.Ne3 f4 16.Bc4+ Be6 17.Bxe6+ Rxe6 18.Qb3 Qe8 19.Ne4 Nd7 20.gxf4 gxf4 21.Ng4 Kh8 22.f3 Rxe4+ 23.fxe4 Qxe4+ 24.Kf2 f3 25.gxf3 Rf8 26.Nh2 Qh4+ 27.Kg2 Qg5+ 28.Kf1 Qh5 29.Qc2 c5 30.Qg2 cxd4 31.Ng4 Qb5+ 32.Kg1 dxc3 33.bxc3 Qc5+ 34.Qf2 Qxc3 35.Kg2 Ne5 36.Nxe5 Bxe5 37.Rxh6+ Kg7 38.Rhh1 Rf6 39.Rag1 Bd4 40.Kf1+ Kf7 41.Rh7+ Kf8 42.Rh8+ Kf7 43.Rh7+ Kf8 44.Rh8+ 1/2-1/2


      Caruana-Carlsen after 37..Rbb7



      Caruana-Carlsen after 54.Rc8



      - Magnus played the wrong move. According to Sesse, it was mate in 33 moves if Magnus had played Rh7 instead of 54..a5

      (see analysis.sesse.net)

      Both players come in for the post-game interview and Jan shows them that they played the best moves but failed when Rh7 should have been made. Neither Fabiano nor Magnus saw this. Magnus seems frustrated with his play. Jan very wisely lets the two players discuss the ending without his input.

      Magnus said that he wanted to play fighting chess today.

      Peter comes back when the players go off to dinner and says that Magnus deserved to win and Fabiano deserved to draw this ending.

      Anand-Hou Yifan was spectacular from the beginning.

      A draw was the logical result in Naiditsch's game because MVL kept finding resources.

      A brilliant win by Vitiugov with some wonderful tactical tricks.

      All the favorites have white tomorrow.
      Last edited by Wayne Komer; Monday, 2nd April, 2018, 10:44 PM.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Grenke Chess Classic 2018

        Grenke Chess Classic 2018

        March 31, 2018

        Comments on the Caruana-Carlsen ending of Round One

        Lars Bo Hansen - Watching the great rook endgame in Caruana-Carlsen, I am reminded of the famous Botvinnik-Fischer game from 1962. Of course, her we know instantly that Carlsen actually missed a win (54..Rh7!) instead of 54...a5); it took decades of analysis in Botvinnik-Fischer

        Mikhail Golubev - After Magnus failed to win quite a tricky rook ending vs Fabiano at Grenke Chess R1, online spectators armed with engines started to write things like "Blunder of the year". But CHESS IS COMPLEX, fools! Your day is coming. Ask your engine what it thinks about it.




        Caruana-Carlsen after White's 38.Rxh7+


        Peter Doggers - (Carlsen) was almost sure that 38...Kg8 (instead of 38...Kg6 which he played) would have won. "I think the game is over," he said, supporting it with 39.Rxc7 Rxc7 40.Kf2 Rd7.

        However, when a computer engine showed him that 41.g5! draws here for White, Carlsen sighed: "What do I know?"

        https://www.chess.com/news/view/caru...ssic-takes-off

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Grenke Chess Classic 2018

          Grenke Chess Classic 2018

          April 1, 2018

          Round Two

          Carlsen-Hou Yifan goes on for a long time - all other games have finished. Gustafsson and Leko have a lot of air time to fill.

          Peter talks a lot about himself. He is an aging (b. 1979) professional. He is working with 13-year-old German chess prodigy, Vincent Keymer, who on 6/7 is leading the pack in the Grenke Open.

          Peter was born in Serbia of Hungarian parents. When he was one they moved from Subotica to Szeged in Hungary. When he was seven years old he saw the tournament at Subotica in 1987 in which Tal was participating - Sax, Short, Ribli and Speelman were also there. He and his parents came late and went into the hall and an arbiter kept young Leko from going on the stage with the players. Tal was already playing but came over and signed an autograph for Peter.

          He is not participating in tournaments regularly. He will be playing top board for the Hungarian team in the Olympiad in September. He can see working with a computer on his openings at home every day but to what result? Commentating allows him to share his knowledge with the public.

          He plays table tennis on a team, bikes a lot. He used to play tennis and football but injured his knee and had to give up squash and the tennis and football.

          He finally got a cell phone and uses it mainly to take photos. When he went to the Isle of Man tournament last September, he went two days early and took over 200 photos of the castle there. He showed the photos to people, who all wanted copies but because he isn't on social media, they have not got them!

          Peter wishes that there was more support by Hungary for chess. There are high expectations by the people for the Olympiad players. But, there are few tournaments there and no support for the players. He would like a sponsored match or a supertournament but there are none.

          Eventually, Magnus beats Hou Yifan and the players come in for an interview with Peter. Magnus is not wearing glasses and his hair is nowhere as long as Aman Hambleton's. Peter goes through a long variation that it is impossible for the viewer to follow but both Magnus and Hou Yifan see it, of course, and comment.

          Peter comments on the ending with all the pieces on the f-file being aesthetically pleasing.

          Pleasing position after 54.Bf3



          The games:

          Round 2, Apr. 1
          Carlsen, Magnus - Hou Yifan
          C24 Bishop's Opening, Berlin Defence

          1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 c6 4.Qe2 Be7 5.Nf3 d6 6.c3 Nbd7 7.Bb3 O-O 8.O-O a5 9.d4 a4 10.Bc2 Re8 11.Re1 Bf8 12.Qd1 b5 13.Nbd2 Qc7 14.Nf1 g6 15.Bg5 h6 16.Bd2 Bg7 17.Ng3 Nb6 18.b3 axb3 19.axb3 Rxa1 20.Qxa1 Bg4 21.Qc1 Bxf3 22.gxf3 h5 23.Bh6 Qe7 24.Bxg7 Kxg7 25.Qg5 Kh7 26.f4 Nfd7 27.Qxe7 Rxe7 28.fxe5 dxe5 29.Rd1 Re8 30.dxe5 Nxe5 31.f4 Ng4 32.Rd6 Re6 33.Rd8 Kg7 34.Nf1 Rf6 35.h3 Nh6 36.f5 gxf5 37.Ng3 Rg6 38.Kf2 fxe4 39.Nxh5+ Kh7 40.Bxe4 f5 41.Bg2 Nf7 42.Rf8 Ne5 43.Nf4 Rd6 44.Rxf5 Nbd7 45.Ke2 Kg7 46.h4 Nf7 47.Be4 Nde5 48.Nh5+ Kh6 49.Ng3 Re6 50.Ke3 Kg7 51.Rf1 Kf8 52.Nf5 Ng4+ 53.Kf4 Nf6 54.Bf3 Nd5+ 55.Bxd5 cxd5 56.Ra1 Kg8 57.Ra8+ Kh7 58.Ra7 Rf6 59.h5 Kg8 60.Rd7 b4 61.cxb4 1-0

          Round 2, Apr. 1
          Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime - Anand, Vishy
          B48 Sicilian, Taimanov variation

          1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 a6 7.Qf3 Nf6 8.O-O-O Ne5 9.Qg3 b5 10.a3 Bb7 11.Bxb5 Rc8 12.Ba4 Nxe4 13.Nxe4 Bxe4 14.Bf4 Qc4 15.Bxe5 Qxa4 16.Rd2 f6 17.Bd6 Kf7 18.Re1 Bg6 19.Bxf8 Rhxf8 20.Qd6 Kg8 21.f4 Rfe8 22.Re3 Qc4 23.b3 Qc7 24.Qxc7 Rxc7 25.Kb2 Rb8 26.g4 Bf7 27.a4 Rc5 28.Ne2 Rc7 29.Rd6 Ra7 30.Red3 Be8 31.f5 exf5 32.gxf5 Rc8 33.Nc3 Rc5 34.R3d5 Rc6 35.Ne4 Kf7 36.Rd3 Rac7 37.c4 g6 38.fxg6+ 1-0

          Round 2, Apr. 1
          Caruana, Fabiano - Bluebaum, Matthias
          C11 French, Steinitz variation

          1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Be7 7.Be3 O-O 8.Qd2 a6 9.Bd3 b5 10.Qf2 Nc6 11.dxc5 Qa5 12.O-O b4 13.Ne2 Nxc5 14.Nfd4 Nxd4 15.Nxd4 Qc7 16.Nb3 Nxb3 17.axb3 a5 18.Bb6 Qc6 19.Bd4 Bd8 20.g4 Ba6 21.f5 Bxd3 22.cxd3 f6 23.Rac1 Qd7 24.fxe6 Qxe6 25.Qf5 Qxf5 26.Rxf5 fxe5 27.Rxf8+ Kxf8 28.Bxe5 Kf7 29.Kf2 Ra6 30.Kf3 Bf6 31.Rc7+ Kg6 32.d4 Re6 33.Kf4 Bg5+ 34.Kf3 Bf6 35.Kf4 Bg5+ 36.Kf3 1/2-1/2

          Round 2, Apr. 1
          Aronian, Levon - Naiditsch, Arkady
          E70 King's Indian, Kramer System

          1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.e4 d6 4.d4 Bg7 5.Nge2 O-O 6.Ng3 e5 7.d5 a5 8.Be2 Na6 9.h4 h5 10.Bg5 Qe8 11.Qd2 Kh7 12.f3 Ng8 13.Nb5 b6 14.a3 Bd7 15.b4 f6 16.Be3 f5 17.exf5 gxf5 18.Bg5 e4 19.Rb1 exf3 20.gxf3 axb4 21.axb4 Bxb5 22.cxb5 Nb8 23.O-O Nd7 24.Rbc1 Ra7 25.Bd3 Qe5 26.Nxh5 Qxd5 27.Nf4 Qb3 28.Bc4 Qb2 29.Rc2 Qd4+ 30.Qxd4 Bxd4+ 31.Kg2 Be5 32.Ne6 Rc8 33.Nd8 d5 34.Nc6 Ra3 35.Bxd5 1-0

          Round 2, Apr. 1
          Vitiugov, Nikita - Meier, Georg
          C02 French, Advance, Milner-Barry Gambit

          1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.a3 Nh6 7.b4 cxd4 8.b5 Na5 9.Bxh6 gxh6 10.cxd4 Bd7 11.Nbd2 Rc8 12.a4 Qc7 13.Bd3 Qc3 14.Ke2 Be7 15.Rc1 Qxc1 16.Qxc1 Rxc1 17.Rxc1 Bd8 18.Nf1 Bb6 19.Rc3 Ke7 20.Ng3 a6 21.Ke3 axb5 22.axb5 Nc4+ 23.Bxc4 Rc8 24.Nd2 Ba5 25.Rc2 dxc4 26.Nge4 c3 27.Nb1 Rg8 28.Nbxc3 Rxg2 29.Nd6 Rxh2 30.Nxb7 Bb6 31.Nc5 h5 32.Nxd7 Kxd7 33.Ne4 h4 34.Rc6 Bd8 35.Nc5+ Ke8 36.b6 Rh1 37.b7 h3 38.b8=Q h2 39.Rc8 1-0

          The Chinese space station has still not fallen to earth.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Grenke Chess Classic 2018

            In the game Meier - Caruana after 20 ...Qh6 Stockfish gives the eval line 21 Ba5 Nh2 22 Ne1 Ng4 23 Nf3 and draw if repeated.
            However 22....Nf1 seems to win the White Q or forces mate since 23 Kxf1 Bc4ch etc

            >>>>file:///C:/Users/Mahkameh/Desktop/Meier,%20Georg%20-%20Caruana,%20Fabiano%20_%20Grenke%20Classic%202018%20r

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Grenke Chess Classic 2018

              Sorry don't know how to copy the diagram. Can Stockfish miss such a simple continuation? ...or did I miss something?

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Grenke Chess Classic 2018

                Grenke Chess Classic 2018

                April 2, 2018

                Round Three

                Vlad's line in Meier-Caruana after 21.Ba5 Nh2 22.Ne1 Nf1




                Round 3, Apr. 2
                Meier, G. - Caruana, F.
                C68 Ruy Lopez, Exchange variation

                1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O Qf6 6.d4 exd4 7.Bg5 Qd6 8.Nxd4 Be7 9.Be3 Nh6 10.Qd2 g5 11.Nf3 Rg8 12.h4 Qg6 13.hxg5 Ng4 14.Nc3 h6 15.Bf4 Be6 16.Bxc7 Rc8 17.Bb6 hxg5 18.Ne2 c5 19.Ng3 Rh8 20.Rfd1 Qh6 21.b4 (21.Ba5 Nh2 22.Ne1 Nf1)

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Grenke Chess Classic 2018

                  Originally posted by Vlad Dobrich View Post
                  In the game Meier - Caruana after 20 ...Qh6 Stockfish gives the eval line 21 Ba5 Nh2 22 Ne1 Ng4 23 Nf3 and draw if repeated.
                  However 22....Nf1 seems to win the White Q or forces mate since 23 Kxf1 Bc4ch etc

                  >>>>file:///C:/Users/Mahkameh/Desktop/Meier,%20Georg%20-%20Caruana,%20Fabiano%20_%20Grenke%20Classic%202018%20r
                  After Bc4+ cover with the knight (24. Nd3) not a queen.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Grenke Chess Classic 2018

                    Originally posted by Egidijus Zeromskis View Post
                    After Bc4+ cover with the knight (24. Nd3) not a queen.
                    Good point Egis, (It's those funny knight moves!) that's why they're there and I'm here! :D

                    & Thanks Wayne for posting the diagram.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Grenke Chess Classic 2018

                      Grenke Chess Classic 2018

                      April 2, 2018

                      Round Three

                      The games:

                      Round 3, Apr. 2
                      Bluebaum, Matthias - Carlsen, Magnus
                      E92 King's Indian, Gligoric-Taimanov System

                      1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.Be3 exd4 8.Nxd4 Re8 9.f3 c6 10.Bf2 d5 11.exd5 cxd5 12.O-O Nc6 13.c5 a6 14.Qd2 Qa5 15.Rfe1 Qxc5 16.Ne6 Qa5 17.Nxg7 Kxg7 18.a3 d4 19.Bxd4 Nxd4 20.Qxd4 Rd8 21.Qe3 Bd7 22.Rad1 Be6 23.Rxd8 Rxd8 24.Rd1 Rxd1+ 25.Bxd1 Qd8 26.Be2 Qd6 27.f4 Bd7 28.Bf3 Bc6 29.Bxc6 Ng4 30.Qg3 Qc5+ 31.Kf1 Ne3+ 32.Ke2 Nf5 33.Qf2 Qxc6 34.g4 Qc4+ 35.Kd2 Nd4 36.Qe3 Nc6 37.Ne2 h5 38.h3 hxg4 39.hxg4 g5 40.fxg5 Qxg4 41.Qc3+ Kg8 42.Qf6 Qg2 43.Ke3 Qh3+ 44.Kd2 Qd7+ 45.Kc2 Ne7 46.Nc3 Ng6 47.b4 Nf8 48.Qe5 Qe6 49.Qxe6 Nxe6 50.Ne4 Kg7 51.a4 b6 52.Kc3 Kg6 53.Kc4 Nxg5 54.Nd6 f5 55.Nxf5 Kxf5 56.Kd5 Nf3 57.Kc6 b5 58.axb5 Nd4+ 59.Kc5 Nxb5 60.Kb6 1/2-1/2

                      Round 3, Apr. 2
                      Hou Yifan - MVL
                      A30 English, symmetrical

                      1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 g6 4.b3 Bg7 5.Bb2 b6 6.Bg2 Bb7 7.O-O O-O 8.d4 cxd4 9.Qxd4 Nc6 10.Qc3 Qc7 11.Rd1 Rad8 12.Na3 a6 13.Rac1 Rfe8 14.Qe1 Qb8 15.Nc2 b5 16.c5 d5 17.cxd6 Rxd6 18.Rxd6 Qxd6 19.Nfd4 Nd5 20.Ba3 Qd7 21.Nxc6 Bxc6 22.e4 Nc7 23.Nb4 Bb7 24.Rd1 Qc8 25.Qe3 a5 26.Nd3 b4 27.Bb2 Bxb2 28.Nxb2 Nb5 29.Nc4 Nc3 30.Rd2 Rd8 31.Nxa5 Rxd2 32.Qxd2 Ba6 33.Bf1 Bxf1 34.Kxf1 Qa8 35.Nc4 Qxe4 36.Kg1 Ne2+ 37.Kf1 Nd4 38.f3 Qxf3+ 39.Qf2 Qh1+ 40.Qg1 Qe4 41.Qf2 f6 42.Ne3 Kf7 43.h4 Qh1+ 44.Qg1 Qxg1+ 45.Kxg1 Ne2+ 46.Kf2 Nc3 0-1

                      Round 3, Apr. 2
                      Anand, Vishy - Aronian, Levon
                      C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

                      1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 O-O 6.O-O Re8 7.Bg5 Be7 8.Re1 d6 9.d4 Bd7 10.d5 Nb8 11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.a4 Be7 13.Na3 Rf8 14.Bxd7 Nxd7 15.Nc4 Kh8 16.b4 g6 17.a5 a6 18.Ncd2 f5 19.h3 Bg5 20.c4 Bh6 21.Nb1 fxe4 22.Rxe4 Nf6 23.Re1 Qd7 24.Nc3 Rf7 25.Ne4 Nxe4 26.Rxe4 Raf8 27.Ra3 Rf4 28.Rae3 R4f6 29.Rc3 Rf4 30.Rce3 R4f6 31.Rc3 Rf4 1/2-1/2

                      Round 3, Apr. 2
                      Naiditsch, Arkady-Vitiugov, Nikita
                      C77 Ruy Lopez, Anderssen variation

                      1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 Bc5 6.c3 d6 7.Bg5 Ba7 8.Nbd2 h6 9.Bh4 Bd7 10.Nf1 g5 11.Bg3 Ne7 12.Ne3 Ng6 13.Nf5 Ne7 14.Ne3 Ng6 15.Bb3 Qe7 16.Qc2 O-O-O 17.O-O-O Nf4 18.Rhe1 N4h5 19.Nd2 Nxg3 20.hxg3 Ng4 21.Ndf1 Nxe3 22.Nxe3 Bxe3+ 23.Rxe3 h5 24.d4 h4 25.Ba4 Bxa4 26.Qxa4 hxg3 27.Rxg3 Rh4 28.Re3 Rdh8 29.dxe5 Qxe5 30.Qd4 Qxd4 31.cxd4 Rf4 32.Rd2 Rh1+ 33.Kc2 Rf1 34.Ree2 Kd7 35.Kd3 c6 36.Ke3 d5 37.exd5 cxd5 38.f3 Rf6 39.Kd3 Re6 40.Rc2 Rd1+ 41.Red2 Ree1 42.Rxd1 Rxd1+ 43.Rd2 Re1 1/2-1/2

                      Round 3, Apr. 2
                      Meier, Georg - Caruana, Fabiano
                      C68 Ruy Lopez, Exchange variation

                      1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O Qf6 6.d4 exd4 7.Bg5 Qd6 8.Nxd4 Be7 9.Be3 Nh6 10.Qd2 g5 11.Nf3 Rg8 12.h4 Qg6 13.hxg5 Ng4 14.Nc3 h6 15.Bf4 Be6 16.Bxc7 Rc8 17.Bb6 hxg5 18.Ne2 c5 19.Ng3 Rh8 20.Rfd1 Qh6 21.b4 cxb4 22.Bd4 f6 23.c3 bxc3 24.Bxc3 Kf7 25.Rac1 Rc4 26.Bd4 b5 27.Qa5 Nh2 28.Qxa6 Nxf3+ 29.gxf3 g4 30.f4 Qxf4 31.Rxc4 bxc4 32.Be3 Qf3 33.Rd6 Rh3 34.Rxe6 Rxg3+ 35.fxg3 Qxe3+ 36.Kh2 Qf2+ 37.Kh1 Qf1+ 0-1

                      Final position in Meier-Caruana



                      38.Kh2 Qh3+ 39.Kg1 Bc5#

                      Tomorrow is a free day

                      Standings after Round Three

                      MVL 2.5
                      Vitiugov 2.5
                      Caruana 2
                      Carlsen 2
                      Aronian 2
                      Anand 1
                      Naiditsch 1
                      Bluebaum 1
                      Hou Yifan 0.5
                      Meier 0.5

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Grenke Chess Classic 2018

                        Grenke Chess Classic 2018

                        April 4, 2018

                        Round Four

                        An interesting discussion with the guys

                        Tweet: Why is it almost always so important to keep it secret who is helping the top players in candidates matches and WC matches? Why the hush? Stefan

                        Is it really a secret? It was known at Berlin that Kasimdzhanov was there with Fabiano, Dreev with Mamedyarov, Wei Yi with Ding Liren, Grischuk had Potkin and Grachev, Karjakin was with Riazantsev and Kramnik had Giri and Tomashevsky too.

                        It also depends on whether it was an old associate or a new guy brought in to treat a special opening.

                        Peter said that he was sometimes announced as a second and sometimes not. It was up to his boss.

                        In the match between Anand and Carlsen at Chennai when Anand announced his seconds and Carlsen didn't name anyone, that was kind of a shock.

                        Carlsen doesn't want to have his helpers all around. They are usually remote and keeping in touch by computer.

                        The seconds also may be in different time zones. While you are sleeping your workers are working away at their analyses. Usually they work at night if they are in the same city as you.

                        The helpers usually do night work.

                        Peter was going to sleep at 6 in the morning and then getting up when his principal was up to explain what he was doing.
                        ________

                        The guys were also asked which of their games they were most proud of. Peter mentioned Kramnik-Leko in the World Championship Match at Brissago in 2004

                        See:

                        http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1309482

                        Kramnik and his team with the computer analyzed a whole line as good for white but didn't go far enough and Peter refuted it with 25..Qd3.

                        The other game is Leko vs Grischuk, Corus/Wijk 2002:

                        http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1241369
                        ________

                        Round Four Games

                        Round 4, Apr. 4
                        Vitiugov, Nikita - Anand, Vishy
                        B12 Caro-Kann

                        1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.dxc5 e6 5.Nf3 Bxc5 6.Bd3 Ne7 7.O-O Ng6 8.a3 O-O 9.Nbd2 Nc6 10.b4 Bb6 11.Bb2 Nf4 12.Nb3 a5 13.Qd2 Nxd3 14.cxd3 d4 15.bxa5 Bxa5 16.Nxa5 Rxa5 17.Nxd4 Nxe5 18.Rfe1 Rd5 19.Rxe5 Rxe5 20.Nc6 bxc6 21.Bxe5 f6 22.Bc3 c5 23.d4 cxd4 24.Qxd4 Qxd4 25.Bxd4 Rd8 26.Bb6 Rd6 27.Bc5 Rd5 28.Be3 Bd7 29.h3 Ba4 30.Rc1 Rd1+ 31.Rxd1 Bxd1 32.f3 e5 33.h4 h5 34.Kf2 Kf7 35.Ke1 Ba4 36.Kf2 Bd1 37.Ke1 Ba4 38.Kf2 1/2-1/2

                        Round 4, Apr. 4
                        Carlsen, Magnus - MVL
                        A30 English, symmetrical

                        1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.e3 Nf6 5.d4 e4 6.d5 exf3 7.dxc6 fxg2 8.cxd7+ Bxd7 9.Bxg2 g6 10.b3 Bg7 11.Qd6 Qb6 12.Qxb6 axb6 13.Bb2 Bc6 14.O-O Ke7 15.Nd5+ Bxd5 16.cxd5 Rhg8 17.d6+ Kxd6 18.Rad1+ Ke7 19.Be5 Rgd8 20.Bxb7 Rxd1 21.Rxd1 Rd8 22.Rxd8 Kxd8 23.Kf1 Ne8 24.Bg3 Kd7 25.a4 f5 26.f3 Ke6 27.Bc8+ Kd5 28.Bb7+ Ke6 29.Bc6 Nd6 30.Bf2 Be5 31.h4 f4 32.exf4 Bxf4 33.a5 bxa5 34.Bxc5 Nf5 35.Bb6 Bd2 36.Bd8 Nd4 37.Ba4 Kd6 38.Kg2 Ne6 39.Bb6 Nc5 40.Bxc5+ Kxc5 1/2-1/2

                        Round 4, Apr. 4
                        Aronian, Levon - Hou Yifan
                        E05 Catalan, open, Classical line

                        1.c4 e6 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 d5 4.Nf3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.d4 dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 c5 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.Qxc4 b6 11.Ne5 Ra7 12.Nd3 Be7 13.Bf4 Bb7 14.Bxb7 Rxb7 15.Rc1 Nd5 16.Bxb8 b5 17.axb5 axb5 18.Qb3 Qxb8 19.Nd2 Rc8 20.Nf3 g6 21.Nd4 Rxc1+ 22.Rxc1 Bf6 23.Nc6 Qa8 24.Ncb4 Nxb4 25.Qxb4 Kg7 26.Qe4 Qa7 27.Qc6 Rb6 28.Qc5 Be7 29.Qe3 Qb7 30.Ne5 Ra6 31.h3 Bf6 32.Kh2 h5 33.Nd3 Ra8 34.Qc5 Ra4 35.b3 Ra2 36.Rc2 Ra1 37.Rc1 Ra2 38.Rc2 Ra1 39.Rc1 Ra2 1/2-1/2

                        Round 4, Apr. 4
                        Bluebaum, Matthias - Meier, Georg
                        E00 Queen's Pawn game

                        1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Bxd2+ 5.Qxd2 d5 6.Bg2 c6 7.Nf3 Nbd7 8.O-O b6 9.Ne5 Bb7 10.Nc3 O-O 11.Rac1 Qe7 12.Nxd7 Qxd7 13.b3 Ba6 14.cxd5 cxd5 15.Qb2 Qe7 16.Rc2 Rac8 17.Rfc1 h6 18.Nb1 Rfd8 19.Rxc8 Rxc8 20.Rxc8+ Bxc8 21.Bf1 Ba6 22.e3 Bxf1 23.Kxf1 Ne4 24.Nd2 Nd6 25.Qc2 Qd7 26.a4 f6 27.Nf3 Kf7 28.Kg2 Qc8 29.Qxc8 Nxc8 30.Nd2 Ne7 31.Kf3 Nc6 32.Ke2 e5 33.dxe5 fxe5 34.e4 Ke6 35.Kd3 g5 36.exd5+ Kxd5 37.Nc4 h5 38.Ne3+ Ke6 39.Ke4 Nd4 40.b4 g4 41.Nd5 Nf3 42.Nc7+ Kd7 43.Nd5 Ke6 44.Nc7+ Kd7 1/2-1/2

                        Round 4, Apr. 4
                        Caruana, Fabiano - Naiditsch, Arkady
                        C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

                        1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 d6 5.O-O Bd7 6.Re1 Be7 7.c3 O-O 8.h3 Re8 9.a4 Bf8 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bh4 g5 12.Bg3 Ne7 13.Bxd7 Qxd7 14.Nbd2 Ng6 15.Nc4 Rad8 16.Ne3 d5 17.exd5 Bg7 18.d4 exd4 19.cxd4 Nxd5 20.Nxd5 Rxe1+ 21.Qxe1 Qxd5 22.Bxc7 Rc8 23.Rc1 Bxd4 24.Qd2 Qd7 25.Nxd4 Rxc7 26.Rxc7 Qxc7 27.Nf5 Kh7 28.g3 Ne5 29.Qe3 Nc4 30.Qc3 Qe5 31.Qd3 Nxb2 32.Qc2 Qe1+ 33.Kg2 Qd1 34.Qe4 Qxa4 35.Qxb7 Qa2 36.Ne3 Kg7 37.Qb4 Qb1 38.g4 Kg8 39.Nf5 Qc2 40.Qb8+ Kh7 41.Qb7 Kh8 42.Qe7 1-0

                        Position after White's 36.Ne3



                        Klaus Besenthal said of this game in ChessBase:

                        "This game too looked at first to be headed for a draw. But with reduced material - an endgame of queen and knight against queen and knight - Caruana suddenly created dangerous threats against his opponent's king position. The basic problem for Naiditsch was perhaps the fact that he had led his knight too far into enemy territory. He grabbed a pawn, but it resulted in nothing but grief. Still, Caruana's play in this phase was enviable, beginning with the precise move 36.Ne3."

                        https://en.chessbase.com/post/grenke...c-2018-round-4

                        Standings after Round Four

                        1-3 MVL, Caruana, Vitiugov 3.0
                        4-5 Carlsen, Aronian 2.5
                        6-7 Anand, Bluebaum 1.5
                        8-10 Naiditsch, Hou Yifan, Meier 1.0

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Grenke Chess Classic 2018

                          Grenke Chess Classic 2018

                          April 5, 2018

                          Round Five

                          Question: Peter congratulations on your student. How important is a coach and a second given that Wesley So failed so miserably without a second at the Candidates?

                          Peter: He never revealed it but you got the impression from the interviews that he didn't have one. There is so much work that has to be done day and night in such a contest that you must have three or four seconds. You have to have the financing and assemble a team. There is glory and prestige at the end of the Candidates and the money is well-spent.

                          Regarding the coaching: a coach is necessary for a young player to make progress. It is a pleasure working with Vincent. My work with him started at the U20 at Tarvisio, Italy. We got to know each other for the tournament not before. The first day I asked him to show me some of his games and by his explanations, I thought he was an accomplished player already. I worked on his openings when he was at the games during the two weeks of the tourney. Vincent learned his openings when he was 10 - 11. His rating was 2200 then and he made the quick jump the new level and his openings didn't catch up, so to speak.

                          My situation was similar - a jump from 2255 to 2555 within one and a half years. I got the chance to play against Karpov and the other stars. With white I had no problems but I did with black.

                          In teaching chess to youngsters, the student should always experience the fun and the joy of playing chess. It is not only about concentration and hard work.

                          The games:

                          Round 5, Apr. 5
                          Hou Yifan - Vitiugov, Nikita
                          C92 Ruy Lopez, Closed

                          1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Re8 10.d4 Bb7 11.Nbd2 Bf8 12.d5 Nb8 13.Nf1 Nbd7 14.N3h2 c6 15.dxc6 Bxc6 16.Bg5 Qc7 17.Ng3 a5 18.Bxf6 Nxf6 19.Ng4 Nxg4 20.hxg4 a4 21.Bd5 Bxd5 22.Qxd5 a3 23.bxa3 Rxa3 24.Rab1 Qc4 25.Qxb5 Qxb5 26.Rxb5 Rxa2 27.Nf5 Rc2 28.Ne3 Rxc3 29.Ra1 Rcc8 30.Rb7 Rb8 31.Raa7 Rxb7 32.Rxb7 h6 33.Nd5 Ra8 34.Kh2 g6 35.f3 Kg7 36.Nc7 Rc8 37.Nd5 Ra8 38.Nc7 Rc8 39.Nd5 1/2-1/2

                          Round 5, Apr. 5
                          MVL - Aronian, Levon
                          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.a5 d6 10.d3 Be6 11.Bxe6 fxe6 12.h3 Qb8 13.c3 Qb5 14.c4 Qb7 15.Nbd2 Nd7 16.Nb3 Nd8 17.d4 exd4 18.Nbxd4 c5 19.Nxe6 Nxe6 20.Qd5 Qxd5 21.exd5 Rxf3 22.gxf3 Ne5 23.Rxe5 dxe5 24.dxe6 Rd8 25.Be3 g5 26.Kf1 Kg7 27.Ke2 Kf6 28.Rd1 Rxd1 29.Kxd1 Kxe6 30.Kc2 Kf5 31.Kd3 Bd6 32.b3 Be7 33.Bc1 Bd6 34.Be3 Be7 35.Bc1 Bd6 36.Be3 1/2-1/2

                          Round 5, Apr. 5
                          Anand, Vishy - Caruana, Fabiano
                          B12 Caro-Kann, Advance variation

                          1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nd2 e6 5.Nb3 Nd7 6.Nf3 c5 7.dxc5 a6 8.Be3 Ne7 9.Be2 Be4 10.Ng5 Nxe5 11.Nxe4 dxe4 12.c3 Nf5 13.Bd4 Nc6 14.O-O Be7 15.Bc4 O-O 16.Re1 b5 17.cxb6 Ncxd4 18.b7 Rb8 19.cxd4 a5 20.d5 e5 21.d6 Nxd6 22.Bd5 Nxb7 23.Rxe4 Bf6 24.Rc1 Qd7 25.Bc6 Qxd1+ 26.Rxd1 Rfc8 27.Bxb7 Rxb7 28.Ra4 h6 29.Rxa5 Rc2 30.Rb1 e4 31.Ra4 Re7 32.Re1 Rxb2 33.Kf1 Rc7 34.Raxe4 Rxa2 35.R4e2 Rxe2 36.Rxe2 Re7 37.Rxe7 Bxe7 38.Nc1 h5 39.h3 g6 40.g4 hxg4 41.hxg4 1/2-1/2

                          Round 5, Apr. 5
                          Naiditsch, Arkady - Bluebaum, Matthias
                          A13 English Opening, Agincourt variation

                          1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 Nf6 4.b3 Be7 5.Bb2 O-O 6.Nc3 dxc4 7.bxc4 c5 8.Rg1 Nc6 9.g4 e5 10.g5 Ne8 11.Qb1 f5 12.gxf6 Nxf6 13.Be2 Kh8 14.Ng5 h6 15.Nf3 Ne8 16.Nd5 Bf5 17.d3 Bd6 18.Bc3 Rb8 19.Qb2 Bxd3 20.Bxd3 Rxf3 21.Qe2 Rf8 22.Qh5 Ne7 23.Rxg7 Kxg7 24.O-O-O Rf7 25.Rg1+ Kf8 26.Qxh6+ Rg7 27.Rxg7 Nxg7 28.Qf6+ Kg8 29.Bxe5 Nef5 30.Bxf5 Qxf6 31.Nxf6+ Kf7 32.Bxd6 Rd8 33.Bc7 Rh8 34.Be4 Kxf6 35.Bxb7 Nf5 36.Bf4 Rg8 37.a4 Rg1+ 38.Kd2 Rb1 39.Bc6 Rb2+ 40.Ke1 Rb4 41.a5 Rxc4 42.a6 Rb4 43.Bb7 Ke6 44.Bc8+ Kf6 45.Kd2 Rb2+ 46.Kd3 Rxf2 47.Ke4 Ra2 48.Be5+ Kg5 49.Bb8 Ra4+ 50.Ke5 c4 51.Bxf5 Ra5+ 52.Kd4 Kxf5 53.Bxa7 Rxa6 54.Bc5 Ra4 55.e4+ Ke6 56.Kc3 Ke5 57.Bb4 Ra2 58.Kxc4 Rxh2 59.Kd3 Rh3+ 60.Ke2 Kxe4 61.Kf2 Rb3 62.Bd6 Rb2+ 63.Kg3 Rc2 64.Bb8 Rc3+ 65.Kg2 Rb3 1/2-1/2

                          Round 5, Apr. 5
                          Meier, Georg - 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.Qc2 c6 9.Bf4 Ne4 10.h4 Ndf6 11.Nbd2 Nxd2 12.Nxd2 Nh5 13.Be3 f5 14.Bf3 Qe8 15.Bg5 Nf6 16.e3 b6 17.Rac1 Ba6 18.a3 Ne4 19.Bxe7 Qxe7 20.Be2 Bb7 21.b4 Rac8 22.c5 e5 23.dxe5 Qxe5 24.Nxe4 fxe4 25.Qc3 Qf5 26.a4 g5 27.hxg5 Qxg5 28.Kg2 Rc7 29.Rh1 Rg7 30.Rcg1 Qf5 31.Rf1 Ba6 32.b5 cxb5 33.Rh5 Qf7 34.Qe5 Bb7 35.cxb6 bxa4 36.bxa7 Ba8 37.Rg5 Qxa7 38.Bg4 Kh8 39.Ra1 Qe7 40.Qxg7+ Qxg7 41.Rxg7 Kxg7 42.Rxa4 Bc6 43.Rb4 1/2-1/2

                          Position after 38..Kh8



                          Sam Copeland in chess.com says that here that Georg Meier could have played "the beautiful combination beginning 39.Rh1 Qe7 40.Rxh7+! Kxh7 41. Rh5+. In mutual time trouble both players understandably missed the critical 41...Kg6 42.Rh6+!! mating the hapless Black monarch."

                          https://www.chess.com/news/view/meie...in-grenke-8361

                          Standing after Round Five

                          1-3 MVL, Caruana, Vitiugov 3.5
                          4-5 Carlsen, Aronian 3
                          6-7 Anand, Bluebaum 2
                          8-10 Naiditsch, Hou Yifan, Meier 1.5
                          Last edited by Wayne Komer; Saturday, 7th April, 2018, 04:43 PM.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Grenke Chess Classic 2018

                            Grenke Chess Classic 2018

                            April 6, 2018

                            Round Six

                            After the first hour, Peter Heine Nielsen joins Jan and Peter. He considers himself Magnus's second but with the Norwegian media allows his position to be that of coach.

                            He joins Magnus at some big events. Depending on game time he can work both during the day and during the night on preparation and analysis. Normally, during the game he has free time as he does today.

                            Peter is Danish, 44 years old. In 2007 he worked as second to WCC Vishy Anand. In 2013 he joined Magnus.

                            Because the three commentators are opening experts and have all been involved in World Championships, the conversation is quite lively and opening directed.
                            _________

                            When there was one game left to finish and Peter and Jan had a lot of air time to fill - this question: Hi Peter, do you still sometimes think back about the last game you had against Kramnik in your World Championship match and how close you came to achieving immortal glory as the Chess World Champion?

                            You'll recall that the match was in 2004 in Brissago, Switzerland. It was only 14 games long.

                            From chessgames.com:

                            "Come game 14, Leko needed only one more draw to secure the title of World Chess Champion. Kramnik was faced with the task of winning, at all costs, in order to save his title. Chess author and grandmaster Raymond Keene wrote of this phenomenal game:

                            Kramnik, the defending world champion, scored a brilliant victory in the 14th and final game; Peter Leko resigned after 41 moves when faced with checkmate. This is only the third time in the entire history of the World Championship that the defending champion has saved his titled by winning in the final game.

                            The game itself was a jewel of controlled aggression. Despite consistent exchanges throughout the game, Kramnik maintained an iron grip on the position and ultimately blasted his way into the black camp via the dark squares. Taking no account of material sacrifices it was Kramnik's king that dealt the fatal blow when it marched right into the heart of the opposing position.

                            After 14 games, with a tie score of 7 to 7, Vladimir Kramnik defended his title of World Chess Champion."

                            http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?tid=41138

                            Peter: I felt after game 12, I was completely exhausted and there were two games left. Kramnik was putting a lot of pressure on the openings and I was changing the openings almost every day. In that last game I saw a sacrifice which I should have played. Kramnik played a brilliant game but the energy I spent early, took its toll.

                            I don't think now about the match but it was one of the highlights of my career. It was before serious computer work and Kramnik had a wealth of experience and help from Soviet grandmasters. (Officially, they were Bareev, Illescas and Svidler). I depended on my team, which consisted of Arshak Petrosian, Akopian and Tkachiev. We were all exhausted at the end.

                            The games:

                            Round 6, Apr. 6
                            Meier, Georg - Naiditsch, Arkady
                            E11 Bogo-Indian Defence

                            1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 O-O 7.O-O c6 8.Qc2 b6 9.Rd1 Bb7 10.b3 Nbd7 11.Nc3 Rc8 12.Bf4 c5 13.Nb5 cxd4 14.Nd6 Bxd6 15.Bxd6 Re8 16.Nxd4 Nc5 17.Bxc5 Rxc5 18.Qb2 e5 19.Nb5 Qb8 20.e3 h5 21.Qe2 a6 22.Na3 d4 23.Nc2 Bxg2 24.Kxg2 Ne4 25.Qf1 h4 26.f3 Nc3 27.Rd2 hxg3 28.hxg3 Re6 29.Qf2 Rf6 30.exd4 Ne4 31.Qe3 Nxd2 32.dxc5 Nxf3 33.cxb6 Qb7 0-1

                            Round 6, Apr. 6
                            Carlsen, Magnus - Aronian, Levon
                            A18 English, Mikenas-Carls variation

                            1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4 d5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.e5 Ne4 6.Nf3 Bf5 7.d3 Nxc3 8.bxc3 c5 9.d4 c4 10.g3 Be7 11.Bg2 Bd3 12.Ng1 Qa5 13.Bd2 Nc6 14.Ne2 Ba3 15.O-O O-O 16.Re1 Rad8 17.Bg5 Bb2 18.Bxd8 Rxd8 19.Rc1 Bxe2 20.Qxe2 Bxc1 21.Rxc1 Qa3 22.Qe3 b5 23.e6 f6 24.h4 Ne7 25.Rb1 a6 26.Qd2 Qd6 27.a4 bxa4 28.Qa2 a3 29.Rb4 h5 30.Qxa3 Nc6 31.Ra4 Qxa3 32.Rxa3 a5 33.e7 Nxe7 34.Rxa5 Rb8 35.Bxd5+ Nxd5 36.Rxd5 Rb3 37.Rxh5 Rxc3 38.Rc5 Rc1+ 39.Kg2 c3 40.Kf3 c2 41.Kf4 Rd1 42.Rxc2 Rxd4+ 43.Kf5 Kh7 44.f4 Ra4 45.Rc5 Kh6 46.Rd5 Ra6 47.g4 g6+ 48.Ke4 Ra4+ 49.Rd4 Ra5 50.Rd5 Ra4+ 51.Ke3 Ra3+ 52.Rd3 Ra6 1/2-1/2

                            Round 6, Apr. 6
                            Vitiugov, Nikita - MVL
                            E60 King's Indian

                            1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 c6 4.Bg2 d5 5.Qa4 Bg7 6.cxd5 O-O 7.dxc6 Nxc6 8.Nf3 Nd5 9.e3 Nb6 10.Qd1 e5 11.O-O Bg4 12.dxe5 Qxd1 13.Rxd1 Nxe5 14.Nbd2 Rfd8 15.Rf1 Nd3 16.Nb3 Nxc1 17.Raxc1 Bxb2 18.Rc2 Bf6 19.Nfd4 Rac8 20.Rfc1 Rxc2 21.Rxc2 Nd5 22.Rc5 Nb4 23.Bxb7 Nxa2 24.Ra5 Nc3 25.Rxa7 Ne2+ 26.Nxe2 Bxe2 27.Kg2 Bc4 28.Na5 Be6 29.Bf3 Rd2 30.Nc6 Ra2 31.Rc7 Bg5 32.Nb4 Rd2 33.Rc3 Bf6 34.Rc2 Rxc2 35.Nxc2 Kf8 36.Nb4 Bc3 37.Nc6 h6 38.Nd4 Ke7 39.Bb7 Kf6 40.f4 g5 41.Kf3 gxf4 42.gxf4 Bb2 43.Ne2 Ke7 44.Ng3 f5 45.Ne2 Kf6 46.Nd4 Bc4 47.Bc8 Bd3 48.Kf2 Bc3 49.Bb7 Bb2 50.Bg2 Ba6 51.Bf1 Bc8 52.Bh3 Bc3 53.Nb5 Bd2 54.Nd4 Bc3 55.Ne2 Bd2 56.Ng3 Bc1 57.Ne4+ fxe4 58.Bxc8 h5 59.h4 Ba3 60.Bd7 Be7 61.Be8 Kf5 62.Kg3 Bc5 63.Kf2 Be7 64.Bxh5 Bxh4+ 65.Ke2 Bg3 66.Bf3 Bxf4 67.Bxe4+ Kxe4 68.exf4 Kxf4 1/2-1/2

                            Round 6, Apr. 6
                            Bluebaum, Matthias - Anand, Vishy
                            D30 Queen's Gambit declined

                            1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 dxc4 4.e3 b5 5.a4 b4 6.Bxc4 Nf6 7.a5 a6 8.Nbd2 Bb7 9.O-O c5 10.Nb3 Nbd7 11.dxc5 Nxc5 12.Nxc5 Bxc5 13.Qa4+ Qd7 14.Qxd7+ Nxd7 15.Bd2 Ke7 16.Rac1 Rhc8 17.Nd4 Ne5 18.Be2 Bd6 19.Rfd1 Bd5 20.Rxc8 Rxc8 21.Bxa6 Ra8 22.Bf1 Rxa5 23.Nb5 Bc5 24.Rc1 Ra2 25.Rxc5 Rxb2 26.e4 Rxd2 27.exd5 exd5 28.Rc1 b3 29.Rb1 b2 30.Nc3 Nc4 31.Nxd5+ Rxd5 32.Bxc4 Rc5 33.Re1+ Kf6 34.Bd3 Rd5 35.Bb1 h5 36.g3 g5 37.Kg2 g4 38.Re2 Rb5 39.Re8 Rd5 40.Re2 Rb5 41.h4 Kg7 42.Re7 Rd5 43.Rb7 Rd2 44.Ba2 Kh6 45.Bxf7 1-0

                            Round 6, Apr. 6
                            Caruana, Fabiano - Hou Yifan
                            C42 Petrov, Nimzowitsch Attack

                            1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Be3 O-O 8.Qd2 Nd7 9.O-O-O Nf6 10.h3 c5 11.Bf4 Be6 12.a3 d5 13.Ng5 Bd7 14.g4 Bc6 15.Bg2 Re8 16.Qd3 Bd6 17.Qg3 Bxf4+ 18.Qxf4 h6 19.Nf3 Qb8 20.Qxb8 Raxb8 21.Nd2 Re2 22.Rhf1 b6 23.Rde1 Rbe8 24.Rxe2 Rxe2 25.Kd1 Re6 26.f4 Kf8 27.Re1 Ke7 28.Rxe6+ Kxe6 29.Ke2 g5 30.fxg5 hxg5 31.Nf3 Ne4 32.Ke3 f6 33.Bf1 Nd6 34.Nd2 f5 35.gxf5+ Nxf5+ 36.Kf2 Ke5 37.Nf3+ Kf4 38.Ne1 c4 39.Ng2+ Ke5 40.Be2 Ba4 41.Bd1 Be8 42.Bg4 Bg6 43.Be2 Nd6 44.Ne3 Ne4+ 45.Kf3 Nf6 46.Kf2 Bf7 47.Ng2 Be6 48.h4 Ne4+ 49.Kf3 Bh3 50.hxg5 Nxg5+ 51.Kg3 Bxg2 52.Kxg2 Ne6 53.Kf2 Nc5 54.Bh5 Na4 55.Be8 Nxb2 56.Ke2 a6 57.Kd2 b5 58.Bh5 Na4 59.Bf7 Nc5 60.Kc1 Ne6 61.Kb2 Nf4 62.Be8 Ke4 63.Bc6 Ke3 64.Bb7 a5 65.Kc1 Ne2+ 66.Kb2 Kd2 67.Bxd5 Nxc3 68.Bc6 Nd1+ 69.Kb1 Ne3 70.Be4 c3 71.Bh7 Nc4 72.Ka2 Ne5 73.Be4 Ke3 74.Bh7 Nc6 75.Bg6 Kd2 76.Be4 Nd4 77.Kb1 Kd1 78.Bd5 Nf5 79.Be4 Ne3 80.Bg6 Kd2 81.Bd3 Nc4 82.Ka2 Nb6 83.Kb1 Nc4 84.Ka2 a4 85.Bg6 Kc1 86.Bd3 Nd6 87.Ka1 Nb7 88.Ka2 Nc5 89.Bf5 Na6 90.Bg6 Kd2 91.Bh7 Nb8 92.Bd3 Nc6 93.Bxb5 Nd4 94.Bxa4 Nxc2 95.Kb3 Nd4+ 96.Kc4 Nc2 97.Kb3 Ne3 98.Kb4 c2 1/2-1/2

                            Position after 63..Ke3



                            It seems that Hou Yifan missed the win here when Fabi played 64.Bb7 and she didn't play 64..Kd2

                            Final position of the game




                            Standing after Round Six

                            1-3 MVL, Vitiugov, Caruana 4
                            4-5 Carlsen, Aronian 3.5
                            6 Bluebaum 3
                            7 Naiditsch 2.5
                            8-9 Anand, Hou Yifan 2
                            10 Meier 1.5
                            Last edited by Wayne Komer; Friday, 6th April, 2018, 04:17 PM.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Grenke Chess Classic 2018

                              Grenke Chess Classic 2018

                              April 7, 2018

                              Round Seven

                              Caruana was better right out of the opening. At move 19 Jan made this remark:

                              Fabi is like a dolphin smelling blood in the water

                              One isn't sure whether he made a mistake or was pulling our leg.

                              Position after 19...g5




                              Round 7, Apr. 7
                              MVL - Caruana, Fabiano
                              A29 English, Bremen, Smyslov System

                              1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 Bb4 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O e4 7.Ng5 Bxc3 8.bxc3 Re8 9.Qc2 d5 10.cxd5 Qxd5 11.d3 Bf5 12.Bf4 h6 13.Nxe4 Nxe4 14.Qb2 b6 15.Rfd1 Qc5 16.dxe4 Bxe4 17.Bf1 Re7 18.a4 Rae8 19.Rac1 g5 20.Bd2 Qf5 21.f3 Qc5+ 22.Kh1 Bd5 23.Be1 Bc4 24.e4 Bxf1 25.Bf2 Qc4 26.Rxf1 Qxa4 27.c4 Ne5 28.Bd4 g4 29.fxg4 Qd7 30.Qc3 c5 31.Bxe5 Rxe5 32.Qf3 Rxe4 33.Rcd1 Qe6 34.g5 hxg5 35.Rd5 g4 36.Qc3 Re5 0-1

                              MVL is not at the post-mortem. Jan has a question about honing one's endgame skills. Fabi says he likes to avoid hard work and does things like Dvoretsky studies only when forced to.

                              He said that he looked at endgames of rook and two pawns against rook and one pawn just before London. At that contest he was surprised to see the game Adams vs Nepomniachtchi exactly the ending we looked at. White could put his king on f3 or h3. It could not be figured out at the board. h3 draws and f3 loses.

                              Not quite sure where in the game one was supposed to make this king move but here is the

                              Position after 53..Rb5



                              That game can be seen at chessgames.com

                              http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1899431

                              The World Champion keeps pace with a victory over Naiditsch:

                              Round 7, Apr. 7
                              Naiditsch, Arkady - Carlsen, Magnus
                              B91 Sicilian, Najdorf, Zagreb variation

                              1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.g3 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.Bg2 O-O 9.O-O Be6 10.Re1 Nbd7 11.Nd2 b5 12.Nf1 Bg4 13.f3 Be6 14.Ne3 Rc8 15.a3 Nb6 16.f4 Re8 17.Kh1 Bf8 18.f5 Bd7 19.Qd3 h6 20.b3 Bc6 21.Bd2 Qc7 22.Rac1 Qb7 23.Ned5 Bxd5 24.exd5 Nbd7 25.Nd1 e4 26.Qd4 Ne5 27.Nf2 Nf3 28.Bxf3 exf3 29.c4 bxc4 30.bxc4 Re5 31.Re3 Rxe3 32.Qxe3 Qb2 33.Nd3 Qxa3 34.Qxf3 Qa2 35.Bc3 Rxc4 36.Ra1 Qb3 37.Bxf6 gxf6 38.Kg2 Rc3 39.Rd1 h5 40.Kh3 Bh6 41.Re1 Rxd3 42.Qxh5 Re3 0-1

                              Carlsen thinks he has a chance at winning the tournament. He seemed satisfied after the game.

                              Round 7, Apr. 7
                              Anand, Vishy - Meier, Georg
                              C10 French, Rubinstein variation

                              1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.g3 Be7 6.Nf3 Ngf6 7.Qe2 Nxe4 8.Qxe4 Rb8 9.Bg2 b5 10.O-O O-O 11.Rd1 Bb7 12.Qe2 Nf6 13.c3 a6 14.a4 Bd5 15.Ne5 Bxg2 16.Kxg2 Qd5+ 17.Qf3 Qxf3+ 18.Kxf3 Bd6 19.axb5 axb5 20.Bg5 Bxe5 21.dxe5 Nd5 22.Ra6 c5 23.Be3 Rfc8 24.Rda1 h5 25.Ra7 c4 26.Rd7 b4 27.Bd4 bxc3 28.bxc3 Rb3 29.Rxd5 exd5 30.Kf4 Rbb8 31.Kg5 Ra8 32.Re1 Rc6 33.f4 Ra2 34.h3 Rd2 35.f5 Rd3 36.Kf4 h4 37.e6 Kf8 38.gxh4 fxe6 39.Ra1 exf5 40.Kxf5 Rxh3 41.Ra8+ Ke7 42.Ra7+ Ke8 43.Ke5 Rxh4 44.Kxd5 Rg6 45.Bxg7 1/2-1/2

                              Vishy tried to exploit a large mass of pawns on the kingside and an advanced king but it didn't work out and there was a draw

                              Round 7, Apr. 7
                              Aronian, Levon - Vitiugov, Nikita
                              A11 English, Caro-Kann Defensive System

                              1.c4 c6 2.g3 d5 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Bg2 dxc4 5.O-O Nbd7 6.Na3 Nb6 7.Qc2 g6 8.Nxc4 Nxc4 9.Qxc4 Bg7 10.d3 O-O 11.Bd2 Nd5 12.Qc1 a5 13.Bh6 Bg4 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.Ne5 Be6 16.d4 Nf6 17.Rd1 Qb6 18.e4 Rfd8 19.Qc3 Kg8 20.Rd3 Rd6 21.Rad1 Rad8 22.b3 Qb4 23.Qa1 a4 24.h3 axb3 25.axb3 Nd7 26.Nxd7 R6xd7 27.d5 cxd5 28.exd5 Bf5 29.Re3 Be6 30.Rde1 Bxd5 31.Bxd5 Rxd5 32.Rxe7 Qxe7 33.Rxe7 Rd1+ 34.Qxd1 Rxd1+ 35.Kg2 b6 36.Kf3 Rd3+ 37.Re3 Rd2 38.Re4 Rd3+ 39.Re3 Rd2 40.Re4 Rd3+ 1/2-1/2

                              Round 7, Apr. 7
                              Hou Yifan - Bluebaum, Matthias
                              A13 English Opening, Agincourt variation

                              1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 Nf6 4.b3 Be7 5.Bb2 O-O 6.Nc3 c5 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Qc2 Nb4 9.Qb1 b6 10.a3 Nd5 11.Nxd5 exd5 12.d4 Nc6 13.Bb5 Bd7 14.O-O Nxd4 15.Nxd4 cxd4 16.Bxd7 Qxd7 17.Bxd4 Rfc8 18.Rd1 Rc6 19.Qb2 Qf5 20.Qe2 Rc2 21.Qf3 Qxf3 22.gxf3 Bh4 23.e4 dxe4 24.fxe4 Bg5 25.a4 Bd2 26.Rab1 Rac8 27.Rb2 Rxb2 28.Bxb2 Rc2 29.Bd4 f6 30.Kg2 Kf7 31.Kf3 Ke6 32.h3 h5 33.Ke2 Bf4+ 34.Kf3 Bd2 35.Ke2 Bf4+ 36.Kf3 g5 37.Rd3 Bd2 38.Ke2 Bf4+ 39.Kf3 Be5 40.Be3 Rb2 41.a5 bxa5 42.Bxa7 f5 43.exf5+ Kxf5 44.Kg2 g4 45.hxg4+ hxg4 46.Rd5 Rxb3 1/2-1/2

                              Standing after Round Seven

                              1 Caruana
                              2-3 Carlsen, Vitiugov 4.5
                              4-5 MVL, Aronian 4
                              6 Bluebaum 3.5
                              7-9 Naiditsch, Anand, Hou Yifan 2.5
                              10 Meier 2

                              Last two round pairings:

                              Round Eight

                              Carlsen-Vitiugov
                              Caruana-Aronian
                              Bluebaum-MVL
                              Meier-Hou Yifan
                              Naiditsch-Anand

                              Round Nine

                              Anand-Carlsen
                              Hou Yifan-Naiditsch
                              MVL-Meier
                              Aronian-Bluebaum
                              Vitiugov-Caruana

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