Biel 2018

**Wayne Komer** · Wednesday, 9th May, 2018, 11:36 PM

Re: Biel 2018

Biel 2018

May 9, 2018

The field for the Accentus Grandmaster Tournament is now known:

1) Magnus Carlsen 27 yo Norway 2843 Elo
2) Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 33 yo Azerbaijan 2808 Elo
3) Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 27 yo France 2789 Elo
4) Peter Svidler 41 yo Russia 2760 Elo
5) David Navara 33 yo Czech Republic 2727 Elo
6) Nico Georgiadis 22 yo Switzerland 2527 Elo

22 July to 1 August 2018

**Wayne Komer** · Saturday, 21st July, 2018, 03:54 PM

Biel 2018

July 21, 2018

Tournament Pairings

Round 1, July 22

MVL-Svidler
Carlsen-Navara
Mamedyarov-Georgiadis

Round 2, July 23

Svidler-Georgiadis
Navara-Mamedyarov
MVL-Carlsen

Round 3, July 24

Carlsen-Svidler
Mamedyarov-MVL
Georgiadis-Navara

Round 4, July 25

Mamedyarov-Svidler
Georgiadis-Carlsen
Navara-MVL

Round 5, July 26

Svidler-Navara
MVL-Georgiadis
Carlsen-Mamedyarov

Round 6, July 27

Svidler-MVL
Navara-Carlsen
Georgiadis-Mamedyarov

Round 7, July 29

Georgiadis-Svidler
Mamedyarov-Navara
Carlsen-MVL

Round 8, July 30

Svidler-Carlsen
MVL-Mamedyarov
Navara-Georgiadis

Round 9, July 31

Navara-Svidler
Georgiadis-MVL
Mamdyarov-Carlsen

Round 10, August 1

Svidler-Mamedyarov
Carlsen-Georgiadis
MVL-Navara

This is a 6-player, double round-robin tournament. Players receive 100 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 50 minutes for 20 moves, then 15 minutes to the end of the game, plus a 30-second increment starting from move one.

Games start at 8:00 AM Toronto/Montreal time

You’ll recall that last year Hou Yifan won Biel!

https://forum.chesstalk.com/forum/ch...ifan-wins-biel

_________

Peter Doggers at chess.com

"The games will start every day at 2 p.m. central European time (5 a.m. Pacific, 8 a.m. Eastern). You can follow them in Live Chess. The Chessbrahs will be providing daily commentary with GMs Yasser Seirawan, Eric Hansen and Aman Hambleton which you can follow on Chess.com/TV and Twitch.tv/Chessbrah.

The commentary team for the official website consists of GM Danny King and IM Anna Rudolf, which happens to be the same duo as at the Chess.com Isle of Man tournament later this year. Good to have them warmed up a bit. "

https://www.chess.com/news/view/carl...rting-tomorrow

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 22nd July, 2018, 03:15 PM

Biel 2018

July 22, 2018

Round One

The commentators on the official site are Anna Rudolf and Daniel King.

The premier game was between Carlsen and Navara. Daniel said it was a fantastic fight. Magnus opined that it was a draw and he didn’t deserve to win this game. Navara, always the gentleman, said that Magnus was the stronger player and he won.

David was able to recall move by move a game with this opening that Carlsen played at Wijk three years ago! There was a live audience of 40 and their jaws dropped at this commentary by the players.

Position after 54.Nf5

Biel 2018
Round 1, July 22
Carlsen, Magnus – Navara, David
D38 QGD, Ragozin, Marshall variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.Bg5 Bb4+ 5.Nc3 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.e3 O-O 8.Rc1 dxc4 9.Bxc4 c5 10.dxc5 Nd7 11.O-O Nxc5 12.Nb5 a6 13.Nbd4 b5 14.Be2 e5 15.Nc2 Rd8 16.Nxb4 Rxd1 17.Rfxd1 a5 18.Nd5 Qd6 19.Nxe5 Bb7 20.Bf3 Rc8 21.Ng4 Qf8 22.h4 Nd7 23.Rxc8 Bxc8 24.a3 h5 25.Nh2 g6 26.Be2 Ne5 27.Bxb5 Bb7 28.Nc3 Qe7 29.Rd4 Qe6 30.Nf1 Qb3 31.Rd2 Nc4 32.Rd7 Nxb2 33.Rxb7 Qxc3 34.Be8 Kf8 35.Bxf7 Qc6 36.Rxb2 Kxf7 37.Rd2 Qa4 38.Rd3 Qxh4 39.Rd7+ Kg8 40.Rd4 Qe7 41.a4 Qa3 42.g3 Qa1 43.Kg2 g5 44.Nd2 g4 45.Ne4 Qc1 46.Nf6+ Kf7 47.Nxh5 Qc6+ 48.Kg1 Qc1+ 49.Kh2 Kg6 50.Nf4+ Kf6 51.Ng2 Kg5 52.Rf4 Qd1 53.Nh4 Qc2 54.Nf5 Qd3 55.e4 Qd7 56.e5 Qh7+ 57.Kg1 Qg6 58.Nd6 Qe6 59.Rf5+ Qxf5 60.Nxf5 Kxf5 61.f4 gxf3 62.Kf2 Kxe5 63.Kxf3 Kf5 64.Ke3 1-0

Round 1, July 22
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Georgiadis, Nico
A15 English Opening

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.e3 a6 5.b3 c5 6.Bb2 Nc6 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Rc1 Bg4 9.h3 Bh5 10.Na4 Nd7 11.Be2 b5 12.Nc3 Nf6 13.O-O Be7 14.a4 Bxf3 15.Bxf3 Rb8 16.axb5 axb5 17.Ne2 Qd6 18.Nf4 Nb4 19.Ba3 Na6 20.d4 b4 21.Bb2 O-O 22.Bxd5 Nxd5 23.dxc5 Nxc5 24.Nxd5 Rfd8 25.Qg4 Bf8 26.Nf6+ Kh8 27.Qf5 g6 28.Ne4+ 1-0

Impressive display by Shak..exploiting black’s haste to push his pawns

Round 1, July 22
MVL – Svidler, Peter
C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a3 Na5 9.Ba2 c5 10.Nc3 Be6 11.Nh4 O-O 12.Nf5 Nc6 13.Nd5 Bxf5 14.exf5 Rc8 15.a4 b4 16.Be3 Nxd5 17.Bxd5 Bf6 18.c4 bxc3 19.bxc3 Ne7 20.Bb7 Rb8 21.Bxa6 Nxf5 22.Bd2 d5 23.Rb1 Nd6 24.Rxb8 Qxb8 25.Qb1 Qa7 26.Bb5 Rb8 27.c4 Nxb5 28.axb5 Qa4 29.Rc1 e4 30.Bf4 Rb7 31.dxe4 dxc4 32.e5 Be7 33.e6 fxe6 34.Qe4 Qxb5 35.Qxe6+ Kf8 36.Qf5+ Kg8 37.Qe6+ Kf8 38.Qf5+ Kg8 39.Qe6+ 1/2-1/2

**Wayne Komer** · Monday, 23rd July, 2018, 03:30 PM

Biel 2018

July 23, 2018

Round Two

Round 2, July 23
MVL –- Carlsen, Magnus
B07 Pirc Defence

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Bf4 c6 5.Nf3 Bg7 6.Qd2 O-O 7.h3 Qa5 8.e5 dxe5 9.dxe5 Nd5 10.Nxd5 Qxd2+ 11.Bxd2 cxd5 12.O-O-O Nc6 13.Bc3 e6 14.h4 h6 15.Bd3 Bd7 16.Rhe1 Rfc8 17.Rd2 Rab8 18.Rde2 b5 19.Nd4 b4 20.Nxc6 Bxc6 21.Bd4 Bb5 22.Kd2 h5 23.f4 Bf8 24.g4 hxg4 25.Rg1 Bc5 26.Bxc5 Rxc5 27.Rxg4 Kf8 28.Rh2 Bxd3 29.Kxd3 Rc4 30.h5 gxh5 31.Rxh5 Ke7 32.Rgh4 Rg8 33.f5 Rg3+ 34.Kd2 Rg2+ 35.Kd1 Rcxc2 36.f6+ Kd7 37.Rxb4 a5 38.Rb8 Rcf2 39.Ke1 Kc6 40.Rc8+ Kb5 41.Rh7 d4 42.Rg8 Re2+ 43.Kf1 Rgf2+ 44.Kg1 Rf4 45.Rxf7 Rxe5 46.Rc7 Rxf6 47.Rb8+ Ka6 48.Rc6+ Ka7 49.Rg8 Rf7 50.Rg6 Re1+ 51.Kg2 d3 52.Rd6 Re2+ 53.Kh3 d2 54.Rg8 Kb7 55.Rgd8 d1=Q 56.Rxd1 Rxb2 57.Re1 Rf6 58.Rd6 Rxa2 59.Kg3 Rb2 60.Re5 Rb3+ 61.Kg2 a4 62.Ra5 a3 63.Rda6 Rff3 64.Ra7+ Kc6 65.R7a6+ Kd7 66.Ra7+ Kd6 67.R7a6+ Ke7 68.Re5 Rfc3 69.Rexe6+ Kd7 70.Kf2 Rb2+ 71.Re2 Rh3 72.Kg2 Rxe2+ 73.Kxh3 a2 74.Kg3 Kc7 75.Kf3 Kb7 76.Ra4 Rh2 77.Ke3 Kb6 78.Kd3 Kb5 79.Ra8 Kb4 0-1

Anish Giri (tweet) – Day by day I am getting more convinced that Pirc is a great opening!

A great performance by Magnus to grind out a win and become the sole leader.

Round 2, July 23
Navara, David -– Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
C80 Ruy Lopez, open, Bernstein variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.Nbd2 Nc5 10.c3 d4 11.Bxe6 Nxe6 12.cxd4 Ncxd4 13.a4 Rb8 14.axb5 axb5 15.Ne4 Qd5 16.Nxd4 Nxd4 17.Ng3 g6 18.Be3 Rd8 19.Bg5 Be7 20.Bxe7 Kxe7 21.Qg4 Ne6 22.Qh4+ g5 23.Qb4+ Qc5 24.Qe4 Qc4 25.Nf5+ Ke8 26.Qxc4 bxc4 27.Rfc1 Rd2 28.Ra8+ Rd8 29.Rca1 Rf8 30.h4 Rxa8 31.Rxa8+ Kd7 32.Ra4 Rb8 33.Rxc4 Rxb2 34.hxg5 c5 35.Rh4 Nxg5 36.f4 Ne6 37.Nd6 Rb4 38.g3 c4 39.f5 Ng5 40.Kf2 Rb2+ 41.Ke3 c3 42.Nxf7 c2 43.e6+ Ke7 44.Rc4 Nxf7 1/2-1/2

Daniel King says that this was a very exciting game, a draw and very tense. Navara missed a win.

Round 2, July 23
Svidler, Peter -– Georgiadis, Nico
B51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.O-O a6 5.Bd3 Ngf6 6.Re1 e6 7.a4 b6 8.c3 Bb7 9.Qe2 Qc7 10.Na3 Be7 11.Bc2 Rc8 12.d3 O-O 13.Bd2 Rfe8 14.Rac1 e5 15.Bb3 d5 16.exd5 Nxd5 17.Qe4 Nxc3 18.Bxf7+ Kxf7 19.Qf5+ Kg8 20.Bxc3 Bf6 21.Nc4 Qc6 22.Ncxe5 Nxe5 23.Bxe5 Qd5 24.Re3 Bxe5 25.Rxe5 Rxe5 26.Qxe5 Qxd3 27.Qe6+ Kh8 28.Re1 h6 29.h3 b5 30.Ne5 Qd5 31.Qg4 Kh7 32.Qg6+ Kg8 33.f3 Qd2 34.Qf7+ Kh7 35.Kf1 Qd5 36.Qg6+ Kg8 37.Ng4 Qg5 38.Qb6 Qd5 39.Nxh6+ Kh7 40.Ng4 Rf8 41.Kg1 Qd4+ 42.Kh1 Bxf3 43.gxf3 Rxf3 44.Qe6 Qd3 45.Ne3 bxa4 46.Kg2 Rf6 47.Qd5 Qg6+ 48.Kh1 Rf2 49.Rg1 Qh6 50.Rg3 Qf6 51.Qd3+ Kh8 52.Ng4 Qc6+ 53.Kg1 Rxb2 54.Qd8+ Kh7 55.Qh4+ Kg8 56.Nh6+ 1-0

A really tough game and Peter had to work very hard to beat Nico

Standings after Round Two

1 Carlsen 2
2-3 Mamedyarov, Svidler 1.5
4-5 MVL, Navara 0.5
6 Georgiadis 0

**Hans Jung** · Tuesday, 24th July, 2018, 01:03 PM

Enjoying Magnus play. Rd 1 queen sacrifice for initiative. Rd 2 technical conversion in long fascinating double rook ending with endless threats. Rd 3 two piece sacrifice in kingside attack Najdorf Sicilian Defence.

**Hans Jung** · Tuesday, 24th July, 2018, 01:06 PM

Rd3 on move 20 instead of Magnus Bg3 I was entranced by the creative yet shocking 20.Bg5! (wow - lots of lines lead to checkmate) Many complex variations. Not easy to defend.

**Hans Jung** · Tuesday, 24th July, 2018, 01:08 PM

There is good main site commentary. However I personally like the chessbrah's with Uncle Yaz and Aman Hambleton.

**Wayne Komer** · Tuesday, 24th July, 2018, 03:26 PM

Biel 2018

July 24, 2018

Round Three

Peter Doggers at chess.com:

“Shakhriyar Mamedyarov beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in round three of the Biel Chess Festival to catch Magnus Carlsen in first place as the world champion drew quickly with Peter Svidler. Nico Georgiadis also lost his third game, to David Navara.

In what was the shortest round so far, all games had finished after three hours and 15 minutes. Oddly, the shortest game in terms of moves (the 26-move draw between Carlsen and Svidler) was the last to finish.

That was because the players spent quite a bit of time on their clock, calculating lots of fascinating variations. Svidler summarized how the players felt when leaving the playing hall: "We kind of agree on critical points and we also agreed that we were never sort of in control of it at any point, neither of us!"

In the first round the Russian GM had already hinted at not playing a specific line in the 6.d3 Ruy Lopez any longer. He avoided it radically, by not going for 1...e5 altogether!

"I didn’t really expect the Najdorf," said Carlsen. "It's not that I haven’t looked at it but I didn't look at it today."

Svidler, who successfully defended a career's plus one score against the world champion today, suggested that Carlsen and his team had already checked this specific variation for the Big Match with Caruana in November. Carlsen put up a big smile when hearing these words:

"When 6.Bg5 appeared on the board I thought maybe 2018 is not the year to bluff Najdorf against Magnus. He probably has had reasons to take a peak, at some point!

Move 15 was an exciting moment, when Carlsen put his bishop on b5 with a black pawn still on a6. It reminded of the Gothenburg variation (6...e6 6.f4 Be7 8.Qf3 h6 9.Bh4 g5 10.fxg5 Nfd7 11.Nxe6 fxe6 12.Qh5+ Kf8 13.Bb5) although, as Anish Giri pointed out on Twitter, this theme also appeared in a recent game Dubov-Artemiev, Tbilisi 2017.”

Position after Carlsen’s 15.Bb5

“At first, Svidler wondered why he had to be afraid of it as he could just castle, but then he realized: “I'm always one tempo short of completely stabilising.”

Carlsen played a second piece sacrifice on move 17, and should have played a third on move 20: "The whole system is screaming out for 20.Bg5 but if you don’t see a mate…"

After that, the fun was over and if anyone could play on in the end, it was Svidler. "At this point I had lost control so I was just trying to hang on," said Carlsen.”

https://www.chess.com/news/view/mame...arlsen-in-biel

This was the game the other players commented on during their post-mortems. One feels that after the lights went out and the doors were closed, the cleaning staff would move pieces around on the board in their analysis!

Round 3, July 24
Carlsen, Magnus –- Svidler, Peter
B94 Sicilian, Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 Nbd7 7.Qe2 h6 8.Bh4 g6 9.f4 Qc7 10.O-O-O Bg7 11.g4 e5 12.fxe5 Nxe5 13.h3 Be6 14.Qf2 Nfd7 15.Bb5 O-O 16.Bxd7 Qxd7 17.Nf5 gxf5 18.gxf5 Kh7 19.Rhg1 Bh8 20.Bg3 Rac8 21.Bf4 Qe7 22.fxe6 fxe6 23.Qg3 Rg8 24.Qf2 Rgf8 25.Qg3 Rg8 26.Qf2 Rgf8 1/2-1/2

Comments online

magnus met his match on this day
I didn't expect the najdorf either; nice surprise weapon
peter loved playing Bh8 ..played it very quickly
15.Bb5 by Magnus Carlsen. Danny: "Wow, this is fantastic... That is a really original idea". Anna: "It takes Peter Svidler a while to write down that move"
Norwegian and ofc huge MC fan, but you gotta love Svidler
Not Norwegian, but a huge MC fan, but I still love Svidler too
Not Russian or Norwegian, but a huge fan of both
Trying not to watch Svidler during the game. He is too brilliant for me (Grischuk)
fantastic press conference with peter and magnus, for all you fellow latecomers

Round 3, July 24
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - MVL
A30 Englsh, symmetrical

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.e3 Nf6 5.d4 e4 6.Ne5 g6 7.g4 h6 8.Bg2 Bg7 9.h3 Qe7 10.b3 cxd4 11.exd4 Nxe5 12.dxe5 Qxe5 13.Bb2 d5 14.Qe2 Qe7 15.cxd5 O-O 16.O-O Re8 17.Rfe1 Bd7 18.Nxe4 Nxe4 19.Bxg7 Kxg7 20.Qxe4 Qxe4 21.Bxe4 h5 22.gxh5 gxh5 23.h4 Rac8 24.Bf3 Rxe1+ 25.Rxe1 Kf6 26.d6 b6 27.Re7 Rd8 28.Bxh5 Be6 29.Rxa7 Rxd6 30.Kg2 Rd8 31.Bf3 Ke5 32.Ra4 1-0

Round 3, July 24
Georgiadis, Nico –- Navara, David
E62 King’s Indian, Fianchetto, Uhlmann variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 O-O 5.Nc3 d6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.O-O e5 8.dxe5 dxe5 9.Bg5 Be6 10.Qa4 Qc8 11.Rfd1 Nd7 12.Nd5 e4 13.Ne1 Nb6 14.Qb3 Bxd5 15.cxd5 Nd4 16.Qe3 Nc4 17.Qxe4 Re8 18.Rxd4 Rxe4 19.Rxe4 Nd6 20.Re3 Bxb2 21.Rd1 a5 22.Rb3 Bg7 23.Bf4 b5 24.Rc1 Qd7 25.Nd3 b4 26.e4 Nb5 27.e5 Rd8 28.Nc5 Qe8 29.Nb7 Rb8 30.d6 cxd6 31.Bc6 Qe6 32.exd6 Nc3 33.Rb2 g5 34.Be3 Nxa2 35.Rxa2 Qxa2 36.d7 Bf6 37.Ba7 Rf8 38.Re1 Qd2 39.Kf1 b3 0-1

Standings after Round Three

1-2 Carlsen, Mamedyarov 2.5
3 Svidler 2
4 Navara 1.5
5 MVL 0.5
6 Georgiadis 0

**Wayne Komer** · Wednesday, 25th July, 2018, 03:17 PM

Biel 2018

July 25, 2018

Round Four

The first game got a lot of comments from the online kibitzers, who felt that Magnus would have an easy win.

Really disappointing for carlsen to draw with a player 300 points below him
Even the gods of endings can’t help magnus
When Nico gets a point he takes it from the best
Nico dropped an exchange and still gets a draw
Well-deserved draw from Nico
Big Shak vs King Carlsen tomorrow

Round 4, July 25
Georgiadis, Nico –- Carlsen, Magnus
C17 French, Winawer, Advance

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Ba5 6.b4 cxd4 7.Qg4 Kf8 8.Nb5 Bc7 9.Qxd4 Nc6 10.Qc5+ Nge7 11.Nxc7 Qxc7 12.Nf3 b6 13.Qd6 Qxd6 14.exd6 Nf5 15.Bf4 f6 16.g4 Nfd4 17.Nxd4 Nxd4 18.O-O-O e5 19.Rxd4 exd4 20.Bb5 Bxg4 21.Re1 g5 22.Bg3 Rd8 23.Re7 h5 24.h4 gxh4 25.Bf4 Bf5 26.Rxa7 Rh7 27.Rc7 Bd7 28.Bc6 h3 29.Kd2 Rg7 30.Bh6 Bxc6 31.Rxg7 Rxd6 32.Rg5+ Kf7 33.Rxh5 Bb5 34.Rxh3 Re6 35.Rf3 Kg6 36.Bf4 Rc6 37.Bg3 Rc4 38.Rd3 Kf5 39.Rf3+ Ke6 40.Rd3 f5 41.f3 f4 42.Bf2 Ke5 43.c3 Rc6 44.Rxd4 Rh6 45.Kc1 Rh3 46.Rd2 Rxf3 47.Bd4+ Ke4 48.Kb2 Rd3 49.Rxd3 Kxd3 50.Bxb6 Ba4 51.Ba7 f3 52.Bg1 Kd2 53.Ba7 Bd1 54.Bc5 Ba4 55.Ba7 Ke2 56.c4 d4 57.Bxd4 Kd3 58.Ba7 Kxc4 1/2-1/2

Position after White’'s 27.Rc7 Should Black have replied Kg8?

Round 4, July 25
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar -– Svidler, Peter
E60 King’'s Indian

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 c6 4.Bg2 d5 5.Qa4 dxc4 6.Qxc4 Be6 7.Qa4 Bg7 8.Nf3 O-O 9.O-O Nbd7 10.Nc3 Nd5 11.Rd1 N7f6 12.h3 Qb6 13.Ne1 Rfd8 14.e4 Nxc3 15.bxc3 Qb5 16.Qxb5 cxb5 17.Ba3 Bf8 18.d5 Bc8 19.Rac1 e6 20.d6 e5 21.Nd3 Ne8 22.Nxe5 Be6 23.Rd2 Bxd6 24.Rcd1 Bc7 25.Nd7 Nd6 26.Nf6+ Kg7 27.Nd5 Bxd5 28.Rxd5 Nc4 29.Bc5 a6 30.f4 Rxd5 31.Rxd5 Bb6 32.e5 Rc8 33.Bxb6 Nxb6 34.Rd6 Na4 35.Bxb7 Rxc3 36.Bxa6 Rxg3+ 37.Kh2 Ra3 38.Bxb5 Rxa2+ 39.Kg3 Nc5 40.Rd4 Ra3+ 41.Kg2 Ne6 1/2-1/2

Round 4, July 25
Navara, David –- MVL
D85 Grunfeld, Modern Exchange variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 c5 8.Be3 Qa5 9.Nd2 Bd7 10.Rb1 Ba4 11.Qxa4+ Qxa4 12.Bb5+ Qxb5 13.Rxb5 b6 14.dxc5 Nd7 15.Ke2 Bxc3 16.Nb3 O-O 17.c6 Nf6 18.Kd3 Bb2 19.Nd2 Rfd8+ 20.Kc4 Ba3 21.e5 Rac8 22.exf6 Rxc6+ 23.Kb3 Rd3+ 24.Ka4 Bd6 25.Rb3 Rd5 26.Rb5 Rd3 27.Rb3 Rd5 28.Rb5 Rd3 1/2-1/2

So, are the French fans watching Le Tour or MVL? I am watching the tour but checking in during commercial breaks.

Standings after Round Four

1-2 Carlsen, Mamedyarov 3
3 Svidler 2.5
4 Navara 2
5 MVL 1
6 Georgiadis 0.5

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 26th July, 2018, 04:39 PM

Biel 2018

July 26, 2018

Round Five

Anna Rudolf and Daniel King were talking about Baku in the past. Daniel was there for the Chess Olympiad in 2016 and liked it then. But, he also went in the old days when it was part of the Soviet Union. It was less well-organized, chaotic and he got food poisoning at the end of the tournament. The old SU was a bit grim and it was in late October. You couldn’t go out at night because there was no night life and was windy and cold.

He was asleep in the morning at his hotel, sleeping to midday like all young chess players at the time. There was a hammering on the door at 7 in the morning. The woman who looked after the floor, a powerful and fierce woman was there and she steamrolled in and chucked all his clothes into his suitcase. She made it clear that he had to change rooms. She had been told so by the administrator. Daniel was in a daze and sat half-naked on the edge of the bed. All the clothes went into the suitcase and he was just moved to a room down the hallway. He was leading the tournament at the time. He would get phone calls in the middle of the night. These events tended to make him paranoid. Ah, the good old days!

This was 1986 and Kasparov had just become World Champion and there was a chess culture then but the city has changed greatly in the past thirty years. Anna said that the night-life, the restaurants and the whole atmosphere of the city is a delight now.

There is a game Daniel King vs Vladimir Bagirov at

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1023475

Round 5, July 26
Carlsen, Magnus –- Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
C77 Ruy Lopez, Anderssen variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.c3 d6 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bh4 O-O 10.Nbd2 Be6 11.O-O Bb6 12.Re1 Bxb3 13.Nxb3 Nb8 14.d4 Nbd7 15.a4 Re8 16.Qc2 Qe7 17.h3 Rab8 18.axb5 axb5 19.Na5 Bxa5 20.Rxa5 c6 21.Ra7 Qe6 22.Rd1 Nf8 23.Rc7 Rec8 24.Rxc6 Rxc6 25.d5 Qc8 26.dxc6 Ne8 27.Be7 Qxc6 28.Nh4 Ng6 29.Nf5 Rb7 30.Bxd6 Rd7 31.Ba3 Rxd1+ 32.Qxd1 Qxe4 33.Ne3 Nf6 34.g3 h5 35.h4 Qc6 36.Bb4 Kh7 37.b3 Qa8 38.c4 bxc4 39.bxc4 Qc6 40.Bd6 Kg8 41.c5 Qe4 42.Qf1 Nd5 43.Nxd5 Qxd5 44.Qc1 f6 45.Qc2 e4 46.Kf1 Kf7 47.Qa4 Qd3+ 48.Kg1 Kg8 49.Qa2+ Kh7 50.Kh2 Qd1 51.Qa3 Qd2 52.Qe3 Qd5 53.Qc1 Kg8 54.Kg1 Kf7 55.Qa1 Kg8 56.Qc1 Kf7 57.Qb1 Ne7 58.Bxe7 Kxe7 59.Qb6 Qd1+ 60.Kh2 Qd4 61.Qb7+ Ke6 62.Qc6+ Ke7 63.Kg2 e3 64.Qb7+ Ke6 65.Qc8+ Kd5 66.fxe3 Qg4 67.Qd8+ 1/2-1/2

Carlsen kept poking away at Shakh but he defended well.

Round 5, July 26
Svidler, Peter -– Navara, David
A28 English, Four Knights, Romanishin variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.c3 d6 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bh4 O-O 10.Nbd2 Be6 11.O-O Bb6 12.Re1 Bxb3 13.Nxb3 Nb8 14.d4 Nbd7 15.a4 Re8 16.Qc2 Qe7 17.h3 Rab8 18.axb5 axb5 19.Na5 Bxa5 20.Rxa5 c6 21.Ra7 Qe6 22.Rd1 Nf8 23.Rc7 Rec8 24.Rxc6 Rxc6 25.d5 Qc8 26.dxc6 Ne8 27.Be7 Qxc6 28.Nh4 Ng6 29.Nf5 Rb7 30.Bxd6 Rd7 31.Ba3 Rxd1+ 32.Qxd1 Qxe4 33.Ne3 Nf6 34.g3 h5 35.h4 Qc6 36.Bb4 Kh7 37.b3 Qa8 38.c4 bxc4 39.bxc4 Qc6 40.Bd6 Kg8 41.c5 Qe4 42.Qf1 Nd5 43.Nxd5 Qxd5 44.Qc1 f6 45.Qc2 e4 46.Kf1 Kf7 47.Qa4 Qd3+ 48.Kg1 Kg8 49.Qa2+ Kh7 50.Kh2 Qd1 51.Qa3 Qd2 52.Qe3 Qd5 53.Qc1 Kg8 54.Kg1 Kf7 55.Qa1 Kg8 56.Qc1 Kf7 57.Qb1 Ne7 58.Bxe7 Kxe7 59.Qb6 Qd1+ 60.Kh2 Qd4 61.Qb7+ Ke6 62.Qc6+ Ke7 63.Kg2 e3 64.Qb7+ Ke6 65.Qc8+ Kd5 66.fxe3 Qg4 67.Qd8+ 1/2-1/2

Round 5, July 26
MVL –- Georgiadis, Nico
A18 English, Mikenas-Carls, Flohr variation

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4 d5 4.e5 d4 5.exf6 dxc3 6.bxc3 Qxf6 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.d4 e5 9.Be2 exd4 10.Bg5 Qg6 11.O-O Be7 12.Bd3 Qd6 13.Bxe7 Nxe7 14.cxd4 O-O 15.Re1 b6 16.c5 Qf6 17.Be4 c6 18.cxb6 axb6 19.Qb1 Bf5 20.Qxb6 Bxe4 21.Rxe4 Qd6 22.Qc5 Qxc5 23.dxc5 Nd5 24.a4 g6 25.g3 Rfb8 26.Rc4 Ra6 27.Nd4 Rb2 28.Ra3 Kg7 29.Rd3 Ne7 30.Nf3 Nd5 31.Ne5 Rb4 32.Rxb4 Nxb4 33.Rd7 Kg8 34.Nxf7 Ra5 35.Ng5 Rxc5 36.Rd8+ 1-0

Position after 35..Rxc5

Brutal! 35. …Rxc5?, then 36. Rd8+ and after Kg7, 37. Ne6+

Standing after Round Five

1-2 Carlsen, Mamedyarov 3.5
3 Svidler 3
4 Navara 2.5
5 MVL 2
6 Georgiadis 0.5

**Wayne Komer** · Friday, 27th July, 2018, 09:12 PM

Biel 2018

July 27, 2018

Round Six

Round 6, July 27
Navara, David –- Carlsen, Magnus
D41 QGD, Semi-Tarrasch

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 cxd4 8.cxd4 Bb4+ 9.Bd2 Bxd2+ 10.Qxd2 O-O 11.Rc1 b6 12.Bd3 Ba6 13.Bxa6 Nxa6 14.O-O Rc8 15.Rxc8 Qxc8 16.Rc1 Qb7 17.Qc2 Nb4 18.Qc4 a5 19.a3 b5 20.Qc7 Qxc7 21.Rxc7 Nd3 22.g3 Rb8 23.Rc3 Nb2 24.Ne5 f6 25.Nc6 Ra8 26.Rb3 Nc4 27.Rxb5 a4 28.d5 exd5 29.exd5 Nxa3 30.Rc5 Kf7 31.Nd4 Ke7 32.Rc3 Nb1 33.Rc7+ Kd6 34.Nb5+ Kxd5 35.Rc1 a3 36.Rxb1 a2 37.Nc3+ Kd4 38.Nxa2 Rxa2 39.Rb7 Ke4 40.Kg2 g5 41.Rxh7 Kf5 42.Rg7 g4 43.Rh7 Kg6 44.Rh4 f5 45.h3 1/2-1/2

Round 6, July 27
Georgiadis, Nico –- Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
B92 Sicilian, Najdorf, Opocensky variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.Be3 Be6 9.Nd5 Nbd7 10.Qd3 Bxd5 11.exd5 Rc8 12.c4 O-O 13.O-O Ne8 14.Qd2 b6 15.Rac1 a5 16.Na1 f5 17.f3 f4 18.Bf2 Bh4 19.Bd3 Bxf2+ 20.Qxf2 Nc5 21.Bc2 g6 22.Rfe1 Ng7 23.Be4 Qd7 24.Nc2 Nf5 25.b3 Kh8 26.Rb1 Ng7 27.Na3 Nf5 28.Nb5 Rf6 29.a3 g5 30.Nc3 Nd4 31.b4 axb4 32.Rxb4 g4 33.Qh4 Nxe4 34.Nxe4 Rg6 35.fxg4 Nc2 36.Rxb6 Nxe1 37.Nf6 Qg7 38.Rxd6 Rh6 39.Qxe1 Rxf6 0-1

Round 6, July 27
Svidler, Peter -– MVL
A34 English, symmetrical, Three Knights System

1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nb4 6.Bc4 Nd3+ 7.Ke2 Nf4+ 8.Kf1 Ne6 9.d3 Nc6 10.h4 g6 11.h5 Bg7 12.Be3 Ned4 13.h6 Bf6 14.Nd5 Bg4 15.Nxf6+ exf6 16.Bxd4 Nxd4 17.Qa4+ Qd7 18.Qxd7+ Bxd7 19.Nxd4 cxd4 20.e5 fxe5 21.Re1 f6 22.f4 Rf8 23.Kg1 Ke7 24.fxe5 f5 25.Rh4 f4 26.Re4 g5 27.Rh5 Rf5 28.g4 fxg3 29.Rg4 Raf8 30.Rhxg5 Rf1+ 31.Kg2 Bc6+ 0-1

Position after 26.Re4

Total collapse by Pyotr
He’s really having trouble with MVL and Anand

Peter played 20.e5 and he said he could have held the game if he hadn’'t played that line. The same two players played the same opening at the World Cup in Tbilisi in 2017

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1884988

Standings after Round Six

1 Mamedyarov 4.5
2 Carlsen 4
3-5 Svidler, Navara, MVL 3
6 Georgiadis 0.5

Tomorrow is a free day with the organizers taking the players on a boat ride with lunch. Wikipedia tells me that there are three Jura lakes – Lakes Biel, Neuchatel and Murten and the three-lake-cruise is very popular.

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 29th July, 2018, 03:42 PM

Biel 2018

July 29, 2018

Round Seven

I watched part of the commentary with the chessbrahs today. However, the books on the shelves behind Yasser distracted me and I forgot the play and spent much of my time trying to identify the titles by the size of the book and the colours!

There was a lot of analysis which seemed to show that MVL had an almost winning game against Magnus although the WC was a queen up.

Here is the position after Black’'s 36^thNf3+

Round 7, July 29
Carlsen, Magnus –- MVL
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be3 h5 9.Qd2 Nbd7 10.Nd5 Bxd5 11.exd5 g6 12.Be2 Bg7 13.O-O a5 14.a4 O-O 15.Bb5 Qc7 16.c4 b6 17.h3 Nc5 18.Nxc5 bxc5 19.Ra3 Nh7 20.Rb3 f5 21.Bc6 Rab8 22.Rb5 f4 23.Bf2 e4 24.Qc2 Qe7 25.Qxe4 Qxe4 26.fxe4 Ng5 27.Re1 Nf7 28.Rb1 Ng5 29.Rxa5 Rb3 30.Rb5 Rd3 31.Re1 f3 32.h4 Nf7 33.a5 Ne5 34.a6 Rd2 35.a7 fxg2 36.a8=Q Nf3+ 37.Kxg2 Nxe1+ 38.Kf1 Rxf2+ 39.Kxe1 Rxa8 40.Kxf2 Rf8+ 41.Ke2 Rf4 42.b4 cxb4 43.c5 Be5 44.cxd6 Bxd6 45.Kd3 Kf7 46.Rb6 Bc5 47.Rb5 Bd6 48.Rb6 Bc5 49.Rb5 1/2-1/2

Round 7, July 29
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Navara, David
E10 Queen’'s Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.e3 c5 5.Nc3 a6 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Be2 Nc6 8.O-O cxd4 9.Nxd4 Bd6 10.b3 Be5 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Bb2 h5 13.f4 Bb8 14.Na4 Ba7 15.Bd4 Bg4 16.Bxg4 hxg4 17.Rc1 Qd6 18.Qc2 Bxd4 19.exd4 O-O 20.Qxc6 Qa3 21.Qc2 Rac8 22.Qb2 Qxb2 23.Nxb2 Rxc1 24.Rxc1 Re8 25.Kf1 Re4 26.g3 Rxd4 27.Ke2 g5 28.fxg5 Ne4 29.Nd3 Nxg5 30.Nf2 Rb4 31.Rc5 Ne4 32.Ra5 Nxf2 33.Kxf2 Rb6 34.Rxd5 Rh6 35.Ke3 Rxh2 36.Ra5 f5 37.Rxa6 Rg2 38.Kf4 Rf2+ 39.Kg5 Rf3 40.Kh4 Kf7 41.b4 Ke7 42.b5 Kd7 43.Ra7+ Kd6 44.Rf7 Rf2 45.b6 Rxa2 46.Rxf5 Rb2 47.Rh5 Rb4 48.Rh8 Ke5 49.Rb8 Kf6 50.Kh5 Kg7 51.Kg5 Kf7 52.Rb7+ Ke8 53.Kh4 Kf8 54.Kh5 Ke8 55.Rb8+ Kf7 56.Kg5 Kg7 57.Rb7+ Kf8 58.Kf6 Ke8 59.Rb8+ Kd7 60.Kg5 Kc6 61.Kh5 Re4 62.Rg8 Kxb6 63.Rxg4 Re3 64.Rg7 Kc6 65.g4 Kd6 66.g5 Ke6 67.Kg6 Rg3 68.Ra7 1-0

Position after Shakh’'s 52. Rb7+

Round 7, July 29
Georgiadis, Nico –- Svidler, Peter
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Byrne Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e6 7.g4 h6 8.h4 e5 9.Nf5 g6 10.Nxh6 Bxh6 11.Bxh6 Bxg4 12.f3 Bxf3 13.Qxf3 Rxh6 14.O-O-O Nc6 15.Bxa6 Rxa6 16.Rhf1 Nd4 17.Rxd4 exd4 18.Nd5 Rxa2 19.Nxf6+ Kf8 20.Kb1 Ra5 21.Qf4 Kg7 22.b4 Rb5 23.Nd5 f5 24.exf5 Rxd5 25.f6+ Kh7 26.Qe4 Rhh5 27.Qe6 Qf8 28.Qd7+ Kh6 0-1

Standings after Round Seven

1 Mamedyarov 5.5
2 Carlsen 4.5
3 Svidler 4
4 MVL 3.5
5 Navara 3
6 Georgiadis 0.5

Mamedyarov now leading by a full point. He plays white against Magnus in Round Nine.

**Hans Jung** · Monday, 30th July, 2018, 11:56 AM

MVL - Shak wild game! super tactics! Did the Shak miss something?

**Hans Jung** · Monday, 30th July, 2018, 11:59 AM

Navara Georgiadis Interesting knight placings. Later Navara went pawn grabbing and somehow survived. (rd 8)