Shamkir 2018 - The Gashimov Memorial

**Hans Jung** · Wednesday, 18th April, 2018, 11:11 AM

Re: Shamkir 2018 - The Gashimov Memorial

How will GM Topalov do? He has taken a long break.

**Wayne Komer** · Wednesday, 18th April, 2018, 10:57 PM

Re: Shamkir 2018 - The Gashimov Memorial

Shamkir 2018 - The Gashimov Memorial

April 18, 2018

The pairings:

Round 1
Topalov-Radjabov
Giri-Karjakin
Ding Liren-Wojtaszek
Mamedyarov-Carlsen
Navara-Mamedov

Round 2
Radjabov-Mamedov
Carlsen-Navara
Wojtaszek-Mamedyarov
Karjakin-Ding Liren
Topalov-Giri

Round 3
Giri-Radjabov
Ding Liren-Topalov
Mamedyarov-Karjakin
Navara-Wojtaszek
Mamedov-Carlsen

Round 4
Radjabov-Carlsen
Wojtaszek-Mamedov
Karjakin-Navara
Topalov-Mamedyarov
Giri-Ding Liren

Round 5
Ding Liren-Radjabov
Mamedyarov-Giri
Navara-Topalov
Mamedov-Karjakin
Carlsen-Wojtaszek

Round 6
Radjabov-Wojtaszek
Karjakin-Carlsen
Topalov-Mamedov
Giri-Navara
Ding Liren-Mamedyarov

Round 7
Mamedyarov-Radjabov
Navara-Ding Liren
Mamedov-Giri
Carlsen-Topalov
Wojtaszek-Karjakin

Round 8
Radjabov-Karjakin
Topalov-Wojtaszek
Giri-Carlsen
Ding Liren-Mamedov
Mamedyarov-Navara

Round 9
Navara-Radjabov
Mamedov-Mamedyarov
Carlsen-Ding Liren
Wojtaszek-Giri
Karjakin-Topalov

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 19th April, 2018, 02:50 PM

Re: Shamkir 2018 - The Gashimov Memorial

Shamkir 2018 - The Gashimov Memorial

April 17, 2018

Round One

The commentators are Ljubomir Ljubojevich and Igor Khenkin as they were last year at this tournament.

There seems to be problems with the broadcast; it hangs up so frequently that there is no continuity.

Gashimov Memorial 2018
Shamkir, Azerbaijan
Round 1, Apr. 19
Navara, David - Mamedov, Rauf
B35 Sicilian, Accelerated Fianchetto, Uogele variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 O-O 8.Bb3 Re8 9.f3 e6 10.f4 d6 11.Ndb5 Bf8 12.Qf3 a6 13.Nd4 Na5 14.O-O b5 15.f5 exf5 16.exf5 Bb7 17.Bxf7+ Kxf7 18.Qg3 Bg7 19.fxg6+ hxg6 20.Bg5 Nc6 21.Rxf6+ Bxf6 22.Rf1 Nxd4 23.Bxf6 Qxf6 24.Rxf6+ Kxf6 25.Qh4+ Ke5 26.Qh7 Bxg2 27.Qg7+ Ke6 28.Qxg6+ Kd7 29.Qg7+ Ke6 30.Qxd4 Rg8 31.Kf2 Raf8+ 32.Ke3 Rg5 33.Qb6 Rc5 34.Ne2 Rf3+ 35.Kd2 Rf2 36.Ke3 Rf3+ 37.Kd2 Rf2 38.Ke3 Rf3+ 39.Kd2 Rf2 1/2-1/2

I suppose that a draw between World No. 1 and World No. 2 should not surprise.

Round 1, Apr. 19
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Carlsen, Magnus
E61 King's Indian Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.g3 O-O 5.Bg2 Nc6 6.Nf3 d5 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.O-O e5 9.Nxe5 Nxc3 10.Nxc6 Nxd1 11.Nxd8 Rxd8 12.Rxd1 Rxd4 13.Be3 Rxd1+ 14.Rxd1 Bf6 15.Bd4 Bxd4 16.Rxd4 Be6 17.f4 c6 18.Rb4 b6 19.Bxc6 Rc8 20.Bb5 Bxa2 21.Ra4 Be6 22.Rxa7 Rc1+ 23.Kf2 Rb1 24.Bd7 Bxd7 25.Rxd7 Rxb2 26.g4 b5 27.Rb7 b4 28.g5 b3 29.Kf3 Rb1 30.Ke4 Kg7 31.Ke5 Rb2 32.e4 Rxh2 33.Rxb3 h6 34.gxh6+ Rxh6 35.Rg3 Rh8 36.Rb3 Re8+ 37.Kd4 Ra8 38.Ke3 Ra7 39.Kf3 Ra8 40.Kg4 Ra7 41.Rc3 1/2-1/2

Round 1, Apr. 19
Giri, Anish - Karjakin, Sergey
E35 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Noa variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 c5 8.dxc5 g5 9.Bg3 Ne4 10.e3 Nc6 11.Bd3 Nxg3 12.hxg3 d4 13.exd4 Qxd4 14.Nf3 Qxc5 15.O-O Be6 16.Rfc1 g4 17.Ne1 O-O-O 18.Be4 Kb8 19.Nd3 Qc4 20.Qe2 Qa6 21.Nxb4 Nxb4 22.Qe3 Qb6 23.Qf4+ Qd6 24.Qe3 Qd4 25.Qf4+ Qd6 26.Qe3 Qd4 27.Qf4+ 1/2-1/2

Round 1, Apr. 19
Topalov, Veselin - Radjabov, Teimour
C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, open variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nc3 Ke8 10.h3 h5 11.Bf4 Be7 12.Rad1 Be6 13.Ng5 Rh6 14.Rfe1 Bb4 15.a3 Bxc3 16.bxc3 Ne7 17.Nf3 Rh8 18.Nd4 Nd5 19.Bg5 Nxc3 20.Rd3 Na4 21.f4 Nc5 22.Rc3 Na4 23.Rg3 c5 24.Nxe6 fxe6 25.f5 Kf7 26.Bh4 Rag8 27.Rb1 Nb6 28.fxe6+ Kxe6 29.Rg6+ Kf7 30.Rg5 Ke6 31.a4 Nxa4 32.Rxb7 Nc3 33.Rxc7 Ne4 34.Rg6+ Kf5 35.Ra6 g5 36.Be1 Re8 37.Raxa7 Rxe5 38.Rf7+ Ke6 39.c4 Re8 40.Rg7 Kf5 41.Rgf7+ Ke6 42.Rg7 Kf5 43.Rgf7+ 1/2-1/2

Round 1, Apr. 19
Ding Liren - Wojtaszek, Radoslaw
A29 English, Bremen, Smyslov System

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 Bb4 5.Bg2 d6 6.O-O O-O 7.d3 Re8 8.Bd2 Nd4 9.a3 Nxf3+ 10.Bxf3 Bxc3 11.Bxc3 c6 12.e4 Bh3 13.Re1 c5 14.b4 b6 15.a4 Nd7 16.a5 Be6 17.Ra3 Rb8 18.b5 Qc8 19.axb6 axb6 20.Re2 Ra8 21.Rea2 Rxa3 22.Rxa3 Qc7 23.Bg2 Nf8 24.f4 f6 25.f5 Bc8 26.Bd2 Bb7 27.g4 h6 28.h4 Nh7 29.Bf3 Qe7 30.Kf2 Rb8 31.Qc1 Ra8 32.Rxa8+ Bxa8 33.Qa1 Bb7 34.Qa7 Qc7 35.g5 fxg5 36.hxg5 Nxg5 37.Bxg5 hxg5 38.Bh5 Kf8 39.Kg3 Ke7 40.Kg4 Kd8 41.Bg6 Ke7 42.Kxg5 Kf8 43.Kh5 Ke7 44.Kg4 Kd8 45.Bh7 Ke8 46.Bg8 g6 47.Bd5 gxf5+ 48.Kf3 fxe4+ 49.Ke3 Qd8 50.Bxb7 Qg5+ 51.Kxe4 Qf4+ 52.Kd5 Qf3+ 53.Kxd6 Qf6+ 54.Kd5 Qf3+ 55.Kxe5 Qg3+ 56.Kf5 Qh3+ 57.Kf4 Qh4+ 58.Kf3 Qf6+ 59.Ke2 Qb2+ 60.Ke1 Qc1+ 61.Ke2 Qb2+ 62.Kf1 Qc1+ 63.Kg2 Qd2+ 64.Kg3 Qg5+ 65.Kf3 Qf6+ 66.Ke3 Qd4+ 67.Ke2 1/2-1/2

Evidently, Ding had a win with 49.Kf2 but played Ke3 instead; Ke2 also may have worked. A chessbomb kibitzer wrote that his engine said mate in 51 moves after Ke2!

Ding-Wojtaszek after Black's 47...fxe4+

________

We have tried to listen to the post-mortems on replay but the replays are just as broken up as the original transmission. Ljubo asked Karjakin why his games after the World Championship Match were down in quality. Sergey disagreed. Ljubo said that he thought that Giri played better after the birth of his son. Anish disagreed and said that he hadn’t adjusted to the life with a child. Ljubo asked Teimour and Veselin what they thought of the time controls at present and both said that they would like them speeded up.

Same old Ljubo. Terrible sound though from Shamkir. I hope it improves.

**Wayne Komer** · Friday, 20th April, 2018, 01:26 PM

Re: Shamkir 2018 - The Gashimov Memorial

Shamkir 2018 - The Gashimov Memorial

April 20, 2018

Round Two

The sound and transmission problems of yesterday must have been due to the first-round glitches.

Today, there are no problems whatever.

As you will see, since all the games were drawn, the main interest in the broadcast is the presentation, which was hilarious. Please, read on!

Ljubo's question of the day is about how we will deal with robots in the future. It takes him several minutes to pose the question and then several minutes for the players to answer. The poor lady interpreter has to wait until each is finished and then pose questions and answers in Azerbaijani.

Karjakin says that even if there is a robot car that drives itself, he likes to drive too and he would still drive himself. Ding Liren says that robots can't play sports, humans do. Robots should help mankind.

When Ljubo has given his final opinion, he often says, "There can be no question.." I have noticed that the players have faint smiles when he is going on and on about his latest hobby horse.

Some comments from the chat room:

- I remember Ljubo cannot be stopped contradicting the players on what was the correct move in the last tournament. This guy is an embarrassment
- Maurice and Ljubo are not Magnus's favourite interviewers
- Looks like Shamkir bought their mics at the same place where Chess24 purchased their computer mice
- Magnus was clearly showing that the interview was too long for his taste. That is unprofessional in my book but I forgive him 80% given Ljubo's behaviour
- Anish is lucky he hasn't been interviewed yet
- My ears are bleeding
- GM Kevin Spraggett should do the interviews, but only when the players are males, lol
- The commentary is hitting new levels of awkwardness
- At least they don't take callers
- There are people walking past the camera - this is hysterical
- Khenkin is commentating next to an empty chair and Ljubo is calling out moves from a distance behind the camera
- To be honest, the US coverage would be roughly twice as good if they didn't take callers
- To stay one step ahead the next chess24 show will have Svidler yelling moves from a moving vehicle
- This is horrible, Ljubo is shouting in the background without a mike
- Tomorrow there will be just empty chairs with all analysis shouted from offscreen
- Seriously, wtf is this?
- To be fair, I've laughed more in the past 20 minutes than in any peter and jan stream

After all this, Topalov-Giri is over and the players come to the tables for the press conference. Ljubo argues with Giri about a move he should have played. More chat room comments:

-this is like watching flowers wilt
-I really like how Giri and Lubo are talking to themselves and Veselin is just throwing in some moves and no one is listening to anyone
-if we can limit it to just three people talking at the same time
-so Yasser's broadcast is in 2 hours, right?
-Ljubo is slumped in his seat or is he really 3ft 6in tall?
-Ljubo is working on his yoda appearance
-Ljubo and his electronic gadgets question
-Is Lubo crazy?
-Veselin thinking about dinner
-Jokes on us. This meme stream is gonna go internet viral and get massive viewcounts

And the last press conference is over. All in all, a very enjoyable last hour or two because of the chaos. One chat room guy writes, "This will kill me. My head is pounding, my ears are hurting"

-Well, I'm off to study using my gadgets. I'll be back with the rest of you masochists tomorrow

Enough about the broadcast. Here are the games:

Round 2, Apr. 20
Karjakin, Sergey - Ding Liren
C54 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.O-O O-O 7.h3 a5 8.Re1 h6 9.Nbd2 Be6 10.b3 Ba7 11.Nf1 d5 12.exd5 Nxd5 13.Bd2 Qf6 14.N1h2 Rad8 15.Ng4 Bxg4 16.hxg4 e4 17.g5 hxg5 18.Bxg5 Nxc3 19.Bxf6 Nxd1 20.Raxd1 gxf6 21.Rxe4 Rfe8 22.Rde1 Rxe4 23.Rxe4 Kf8 24.Rh4 Kg7 25.Rg4+ Kf8 26.Rh4 Kg7 27.Rg4+ Kf8 1/2-1/2

Round 2, Apr. 20
Topalov, Veselin - Giri, Anish
A28 English, Four Knights, Marini variation

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.a3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Qc2 Nxc3 7.dxc3 Bd6 8.e4 O-O 9.Bc4 Qe7 10.Bg5 Qe8 11.O-O-O Be6 12.Bd5 f6 13.Be3 Bxd5 14.Rxd5 Ne7 15.Rdd1 Qc6 16.Nd2 a5 17.Qb3+ Kh8 18.Qc4 Qd7 19.a4 b6 20.f3 Rab8 21.Kc2 b5 22.axb5 Rxb5 23.Ra1 Rfb8 24.b3 Ng6 25.Qa4 Qe7 26.Nc4 Bc5 27.Bxc5 Qxc5 28.Rhd1 Nf4 29.Rd2 h6 30.Qa3 a4 31.bxa4 Rb4 32.Rb1 Qxc4 33.Rxb4 Rxb4 34.Qxb4 Qa2+ 35.Qb2 Qxa4+ 36.Qb3 Qa6 37.g3 Ne6 38.Qd5 Ng5 39.f4 Nf3 40.Rd1 Qe2+ 41.Kb3 Nd4+ 42.Rxd4 exd4 43.Qxd4 Qxh2 44.Qd8+ Kh7 45.Qd3 Kh8 46.e5 fxe5 47.fxe5 Qg2 48.Qd8+ Kh7 49.Qd3+ 1/2-1/2

Position after Black's 39th move

Round 2, Apr. 20
Carlsen, Magnus - Navara, David
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nd2 e6 5.Nb3 Nd7 6.Nf3 a6 7.Be2 c5 8.c3 h6 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.Nxc5 Nxc5 11.Be3 Nd7 12.Nd4 Ne7 13.f4 Be4 14.O-O Nc6 15.Nxc6 bxc6 16.c4 O-O 17.cxd5 cxd5 18.b4 f6 19.exf6 Qxf6 20.Rc1 e5 21.Bd3 Qg6 22.Bxe4 Qxe4 23.Re1 d4 24.Qb3+ Kh8 25.Bd2 Qf5 26.Qh3 Qxh3 27.gxh3 exf4 28.Rc4 Rad8 29.Re6 Rf6 30.Re4 Nb6 31.Rcxd4 Rxd4 32.Rxd4 g5 33.h4 Kg7 34.hxg5 hxg5 35.h4 Kg6 36.Kg2 gxh4 37.Bxf4 Rc6 38.Kf3 Kf5 39.Be3 Rc3 40.Rf4+ Ke5 41.Rxh4 Nc4 42.Re4+ Kd5 43.Kf4 Nxe3 44.Rxe3 Rxe3 45.Kxe3 Kc4 46.a3 Kb3 47.Kd4 Kxa3 48.Kc5 Kb3 49.b5 axb5 50.Kxb5 1/2-1/2

Round 2, Apr. 20
Wojtaszek, Radislaw - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
E04 Catalan, open

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 dxc4 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Qa4 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 Nd5 8.Bxb4 Nxb4 9.Ne5 O-O 10.Nxc6 Nxc6 11.e3 e5 12.d5 Ne7 13.Qxc4 c6 14.dxc6 Nxc6 15.Nc3 Be6 16.Qb5 Qb6 17.Qxb6 axb6 18.O-O Rfd8 19.Rfd1 Kf8 20.Bd5 Ke7 21.Kf1 f5 22.f3 b5 23.Bxe6 Rxd1+ 24.Rxd1 Kxe6 25.a3 b4 26.axb4 Nxb4 27.Ke2 Na2 28.Rb1 Nb4 29.Rd1 Na2 30.Rb1 Nb4 31.Rd1 Na2 1/2-1/2

Round 2, Apr. 20
Radjabov, Teimour - Mamedov, Rauf
D18 QGD Slav, Dutch variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 8.O-O Nbd7 9.Qe2 O-O 10.e4 Bg6 11.Bd3 Bh5 12.e5 Nd5 13.Nxd5 cxd5 14.Qe3 Be7 15.Ng5 Bxg5 16.Qxg5 Bg6 17.Qxd8 Rfxd8 18.Be2 Nb8 19.Be3 Nc6 20.Rfc1 Rdc8 21.Rc3 Nb4 22.Raa3 a5 23.h4 h6 24.g4 Nc2 25.Rab3 Nxe3 26.fxe3 Bc2 27.Rxc8+ Rxc8 28.Rxb7 Bxa4 29.Ra7 Bd1 30.Bxd1 Rc1 31.Rxa5 Rxd1+ 32.Kf2 Rd2+ 33.Kf3 Rxb2 34.Ra8+ Kh7 35.Ra7 Kg8 36.Ra8+ Kh7 37.Ra7 Kg8 38.Ra8+ Kh7 1/2-1/2

Rather an odd standings table:

Standings After Round Two

1-10 Carlsen, Mamedyarov, Ding Liren, Karjakin, Giri, Topalov, Radjabov, Navara, Wojtaszek, Mamedov 1.0

**Wayne Komer** · Saturday, 21st April, 2018, 02:35 PM

Re: Shamkir 2018 - The Gashimov Memorial

Shamkir 2018 - The Gashimov Memorial

April 21, 2018

Round Three

Transmission hang-ups again.

Comment in the chatroom:

"Cameraman doing his job while sound engineer drunk at the pub somewhere"

Ljubo's questions are about preparation for an opponent and playing women and reaction if you lose. He also asks each player what they do with their dear ladies on the 8th of March? This turns out to be International Women's Day. Is it like St. Valentine's Day here?

Giri is a real student of the game. He talks about the Karpov-Ljubo era and the openings and about Kasparov's games in World Championship play. He says that he has lost a couple of games to Hou Yifan and it doesn't trouble him a bit.

(The games were at Tata Steel in 2013 and Biel in 2014)

Mamedov comes to the press-conference alone. There is a suspicion that Magnus has had enough of Ljubo's questions and doesn't want to answer question about his ladies. Or, he is disgusted at drawing again!

One chat room kibitzer predicts that ten people will ascend to the podium for the first prize at the end of the tournament!

The only hope for a win today is in the game Ding Liren vs Veselin Topalov. Topa had a winning position after 42.Bf1 but played Nxf2 instead of Ng4

Position after 42.Bf1

The game ends in a draw

Round 3, Apr. 21
Ding Liren - Topalov, Veselin
D45 QGD, Semi-Slav

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Be2 Bd6 7.O-O O-O 8.b3 b6 9.Bb2 Bb7 10.Qc2 Qe7 11.Rfe1 Rfe8 12.Rad1 Rad8 13.Bf1 c5 14.cxd5 exd5 15.g3 a6 16.Bg2 Rc8 17.Qb1 h6 18.Nh4 c4 19.Nf5 Qf8 20.Nxd6 Qxd6 21.bxc4 Rxc4 22.a4 Rec8 23.Rc1 h5 24.h3 Nf8 25.Qa2 Ne6 26.Qb3 Qd8 27.Re2 Bc6 28.Rec2 b5 29.axb5 axb5 30.Nb1 Ng5 31.h4 Nge4 32.Na3 Qe7 33.Qd3 Rxc2 34.Nxc2 Bd7 35.Qa3 Qe8 36.Nb4 Rc4 37.Rxc4 bxc4 38.Bc1 Be6 39.Na6 Qb5 40.Nc5 Kh7 41.Nxe6 fxe6 42.Bf1 Nxf2 43.Kxf2 Ne4+ 44.Ke2 c3+ 45.Ke1 Qb1 46.Bg2 Qc2 47.Bxe4+ dxe4 48.Kf1 Kg6 49.Kg1 Kh7 50.Kh1 Kh6 51.Kg1 Kg6 52.Kh1 Qd1+ 53.Kh2 Qe2+ 54.Kg1 Qd1+ 55.Kh2 Qe2+ 56.Kg1 Qe1+ 57.Kg2 Qe2+ 1/2-1/2

At the press-conference Ding is asked if they celebrate March 8 in China and he says yes. When asked if they give flowers to a mother, a wife or sweetheart, he thinks they do not.

Round 3, Apr. 21
Navara, David - Wojtaszek, Radoslav
B91 Sicilian, Najdorf, Zagreb variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.g3 e5 7.Nde2 Be7 8.Bg2 b5 9.Nd5 Nbd7 10.Nec3 Nb6 11.Nxe7 Qxe7 12.Bg5 O-O 13.O-O h6 14.Bxf6 Qxf6 15.a4 b4 16.Nd5 Nxd5 17.Qxd5 Be6 18.Qxd6 a5 19.Qb6 Rfc8 20.Rfc1 Qe7 21.Qe3 Rc5 22.Bf1 Rac8 23.Ba6 R8c6 24.Bb5 Rc8 25.Ba6 R8c6 26.Bb5 Rc8 27.Ba6 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Apr. 21
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Karjakin, Sergey
E37 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Noa variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 Ne4 7.Qc2 c5 8.dxc5 Nc6 9.Nf3 Qa5+ 10.Bd2 Qxc5 11.e3 Nxd2 12.Nxd2 dxc4 13.O-O-O Qf5 14.Ne4 O-O 15.Bxc4 Ne5 16.g4 Nxg4 17.Rhg1 Nf6 18.Bd3 Nxe4 19.Bxe4 Qh5 20.f4 f5 21.Bh1 Qf7 22.Kb1 e5 23.fxe5 Be6 24.Rd6 Rac8 25.Qd2 Rc5 26.Bxb7 Rxe5 27.Qd4 Ba2+ 28.Ka1 Re7 29.Bc6 Bb3 30.Rc1 f4 31.exf4 Qxf4 32.Bd5+ Bxd5 33.Qxd5+ Kh8 34.Qd2 h6 35.Ka2 Qf7+ 36.Ka1 Qf4 37.Ka2 Qf7+ 38.Ka1 Qf4 39.Ka2 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Apr. 21
Mamedov, Rauf - Carlsen, Magnus
B09 Pirc, Austrian Attack, Dragon formation

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.e5 Ng4 8.Bxd7+ Qxd7 9.d5 dxe5 10.h3 e4 11.Nxe4 Nf6 12.Nxf6+ Bxf6 13.O-O O-O 14.c4 e6 15.Be3 exd5 16.cxd5 Rd8 17.Qc2 Na6 18.Rad1 Nb4 19.Qxc5 Nxd5 20.Bd4 Rac8 21.Qa3 Qf5 22.Bxf6 Qxf6 23.Qxa7 Nxf4 24.Rxd8+ Rxd8 25.Qe3 Nd5 26.Qb3 Nf4 27.Qe3 Nd5 28.Qb3 b6 29.Rd1 Nf4 30.Rxd8+ Qxd8 31.Qe3 g5 32.Kh2 h6 33.h4 Ne6 34.hxg5 hxg5 35.Qe4 Qf6 36.Qe5 Qg6 37.g4 Qd3 38.Kg3 b5 39.Kf2 Kf8 40.Qe2 Nf4 41.Qxd3 Nxd3+ 42.Ke3 Nxb2 43.Nxg5 Nd1+ 44.Kd4 Nf2 45.Nxf7 Kxf7 46.Kc5 Ne4+ 47.Kxb5 Nc3+ 48.Kc4 Nxa2 49.g5 Kg7 50.g6 Nb4 51.Kxb4 Kxg6 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Apr. 21
Giri, Anish - Radjabov, Teimour
C01 French, Exchange

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bd3 Bd6 6.O-O O-O 7.Bg5 Bg4 8.Nbd2 Nbd7 9.c4 dxc4 10.Nxc4 Re8 11.h3 Be6 12.Nxd6 cxd6 13.Nd2 Qa5 14.Bf4 Qb4 15.Bg3 Qxb2 16.Rb1 Qxa2 17.Rxb7 Qd5 18.Rc7 Rec8 19.Rxc8+ Rxc8 20.Qa1 Bf5 21.Bxf5 Qxf5 22.Qxa7 Qc2 23.Nf3 Qc6 24.Ra1 Ne4 25.d5 Qc3 26.Kh2 Ndf6 27.Ra6 Qb4 28.Qc7 Qb8 29.Qxb8 Rxb8 30.Bxd6 Re8 31.Be5 Nxd5 32.Bd4 Nc7 33.Ra2 Ne6 34.Be3 Nd6 35.Rc2 Nf5 36.Rc3 Nxe3 37.Rxe3 Nc7 38.Rc3 Ne6 39.Re3 Nc7 40.Rc3 Ne6 1/2-1/2

With all draws today, the standings remain unchanged

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 22nd April, 2018, 03:04 PM

Re: Shamkir 2018 - The Gashimov Memorial

Shamkir 2018 - The Gashimov Memorial

April 22, 2018

Round Four

Ljubo's question du jour is this: Cities today are sometimes very violent. Chessplayers could be assaulted in the street. If you were in a dangerous situation, could you defend yourself? Would you remain calm or just run?

Topalov said that he would just run.

The game that went on for hours is Anish Giri vs Ding Liren. Some say that both players kept the game going so that they wouldn't have to come to the interview!

- When you come to a Shamkir game the ljubo interview is more scary than losing

The Giri game had an interesting ending in which Giri was dead lost

Position after 62...Bxd2

Giri played 63.f4 and after 63...Kb4 64.Ke4 Black let the win slip away with 64..Kc5 when 64..a6 or 64..Ka3 would have easily done the job. That is, if you had seen it.

Mark Crowther - Looks like Giri-Ding will finish in a draw. They should put the Bishop and Rook Pawn vs 3 pawns endgame in a book. I don't really understand how you'd work out the winning method even with a computer.

Round 4, Apr. 22
Giri, Anish - Ding Liren
A15 English Opening

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.b3 d5 4.Bb2 c5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.g3 Nc6 7.Bg2 d4 8.O-O Be7 9.Na3 O-O 10.Nc4 Be6 11.e3 Rc8 12.exd4 cxd4 13.Re1 Bd5 14.Nce5 Nxe5 15.Nxe5 Re8 16.Bf3 Bc5 17.Rc1 Qd6 18.Nd3 Rxe1+ 19.Nxe1 Re8 20.Nd3 Bb6 21.Nf4 Bxf3 22.Qxf3 Qd7 23.h4 h6 24.Ng2 Ng4 25.Re1 Ne5 26.Qe4 Re6 27.Ba1 Ng4 28.Qd3 Ne5 29.Qe4 g6 30.Rf1 f5 31.Qf4 Qd5 32.f3 Kg7 33.g4 Rf6 34.g5 hxg5 35.hxg5 Re6 36.Qg3 Nd3 37.Nf4 Nxf4 38.Qxf4 Kf7 39.Qh4 Ke7 40.Qh7+ Kd6 41.Bb2 f4 42.Kh1 Qxg5 43.Ba3+ Kc6 44.Rc1+ Kb5 45.Qxb7 Qh4+ 46.Kg1 Re1+ 47.Rxe1 Qxe1+ 48.Kg2 Qxd2+ 49.Kh3 Qc2 50.Qd5+ Ka6 51.Bd6 Qc8+ 52.Kg2 Qc2+ 53.Kh3 Qc1 54.Kg4 Qg1+ 55.Kxf4 Qh2+ 56.Kg4 Qh5+ 57.Qxh5 gxh5+ 58.Kxh5 d3 59.Bf4 Ba5 60.Kg4 Kb5 61.Kf5 d2 62.Bxd2 Bxd2 63.f4 Kb4 64.Ke4 Kc5 65.Ke5 Kc6 66.f5 Bb4 67.Ke6 Ba3 68.f6 a5 69.Kf7 Kd7 1/2-1/2

Round 4, Apr. 22
Karjakin, Sergey - Navara, David
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 c5 6.Be3 Qb6 7.Nc3 Nc6 8.O-O Qxb2 9.Qe1 cxd4 10.Bxd4 Nxd4 11.Nxd4 Bb4 12.Ndb5 Ba5 13.g4 Bg6 14.Rb1 Qxc2 15.Rc1 Qb2 16.f4 Ne7 17.Nd6+ Kf8 18.f5 exf5 19.gxf5 Nxf5 20.Nxf5 Rc8 21.Bb5 Bxf5 22.e6 f6 23.Rxf5 Bxc3 24.Rxc3 Qxc3 25.e7+ Kf7 26.e8=Q+ Rhxe8 27.Bxe8+ Kf8 28.Qxc3 Rxc3 29.Ba4 Rc5 30.Bb3 Ke7 31.Rxd5 Rxd5 32.Bxd5 b5 33.Kf2 Kd6 34.Bg8 h6 35.Ke3 Ke5 36.Bb3 g5 37.Bd1 f5 38.h3 a5 39.Bf3 b4 40.Bd1 Kd5 41.Kd3 Ke5 42.Ke3 Kd5 43.Kd3 Ke5 1/2-1/2

Round 4, Apr. 22
Radjabov, Teimour - Carlsen, Magnus
D45 QGD, Semi-Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.b3 O-O 8.Be2 b6 9.O-O Bb7 10.Bb2 Qe7 11.Rad1 Rad8 12.Rfe1 Rfe8 13.e4 Nxe4 14.Nxe4 dxe4 15.Qxe4 Bb4 16.Rf1 Bd6 17.Rfe1 Bb4 18.Rf1 Bd6 19.Rfe1 Bb4 1/2-1/2

Round 4, Apr. 22
Topalov, Veselin - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
C80 Ruy Lopez, open

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.Be3 Be7 10.c3 O-O 11.Nbd2 Nxd2 12.Qxd2 Na5 13.Bc2 Nc4 14.Qd3 g6 15.Bh6 Nxb2 16.Qe2 Re8 17.Nd4 Bd7 18.f4 c5 19.Nf3 Qb6 20.Qf2 d4 21.Bg5 dxc3 22.Qh4 c4+ 23.Kh1 Bf8 24.f5 Nd3 25.e6 Bxe6 26.fxe6 Rxe6 27.Rad1 Rae8 28.Bxd3 cxd3 29.Rxd3 Re4 30.Bf4 Be7 31.Qg3 b4 32.Ng5 Bxg5 33.Bxg5 Qe6 34.h3 Qe5 35.Kh2 Qxg3+ 36.Kxg3 h6 37.Bxh6 Re1 38.Rf6 R1e6 39.Rf2 Re2 40.Rd5 Rxf2 41.Kxf2 f6 42.Be3 1-0

Round 4, Apr. 22
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw - Mamedov, Rauf
D30 QGD, Tarrasch Defence

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.g3 Nc6 6.Bg2 Nf6 7.O-O Be7 8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.Qc2 Bb6 10.Nc3 O-O 11.Bg5 Be6 12.Na4 h6 13.Nxb6 axb6 14.Bxf6 Qxf6 15.Qb3 Ra6 16.Rac1 d4 17.Qb5 Rxa2 18.Rc2 d3 19.exd3 Bg4 20.Qc4 Bxf3 21.Bxf3 Ne5 22.Qxa2 Nxf3+ 23.Kg2 Nd4 24.b4 Qf3+ 25.Kg1 Qxd3 26.Qc4 Qe4 27.Rd1 Nf3+ 28.Kh1 Nd4+ 29.Kg1 Qxc2 30.Rxd4 Qxc4 31.Rxc4 Rd8 32.Kg2 Kf8 33.h4 Rd6 34.Rc7 Rd4 35.Rxb7 Rxb4 36.h5 Rb5 37.f4 f5 38.Kf2 Rb3 39.Rd7 Rb5 40.Ke3 Rb3+ 41.Kf2 1/2-1/2

Standings after Round Four

1 Topalov 2.5
2-9 Navara, Mamedov, Ding, Giri, Radjabov, Carlsen, Karjakin, Wojtaszek 2
10 Mamedyarov 1.5

**Hans Jung** · Monday, 23rd April, 2018, 09:00 AM

Re: Shamkir 2018 - The Gashimov Memorial

Ironically Topalov is the first to win.

**Wayne Komer** · Monday, 23rd April, 2018, 04:30 PM

Re: Shamkir 2018 - The Gashimov Memorial

Shamkir 2018 - The Gashimov Memorial

April 23, 2018

Round Five

Ljubo's question today is, "Would you take a prize in a tournament in bit coins?"

Topalov didn't think so and Ljubo said that that was because he was of an older generation. David Navara said that he wouldn't like bit coins either and he said that he was the second oldest contestant.

At the end of the post-mortem, David appeared to read a page in Azeri, for which he received applause. I am told that Azeri is a Turkic language but will say no more.

The games:

Round 5, Apr. 23
Navara, David - Topalov, Veselin
A11 Reti, King's Indian Attack, Yugoslav variation

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c6 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.O-O Bg4 5.d3 Nbd7 6.c4 dxc4 7.dxc4 e5 8.Qc2 h6 9.Rd1 Qc7 10.Nc3 Be6 11.b3 Bc5 12.Na4 Be7 13.Nh4 g6 14.h3 Kf8 15.Bb2 Re8 16.e4 Kg8 17.Rac1 Kh7 18.Nf5 Bf8 19.Ne3 Nb6 20.Qc3 Nxa4 21.Qxe5 Bd6 22.Qxf6 Nxb2 23.Qxb2 Qe7 24.Qc3 Bb4 25.Qe5 Qg5 26.Qb2 Rd8 27.a3 Rxd1+ 28.Rxd1 Bc5 29.Nf1 Rd8 30.h4 Qe7 31.Rxd8 Qxd8 32.b4 Qd4 33.Qc2 Be7 34.c5 a5 35.bxa5 Bxc5 36.a4 Kg7 37.Nh2 Bb3 38.Qe2 Qxa4 39.Nf3 Qa1+ 40.Bf1 Qc3 41.Kg2 Ba4 42.Qc4 Qxc4 43.Bxc4 Bc2 44.Nd2 Bb4 45.Bb3 Bxb3 46.Nxb3 c5 47.Kf3 c4 48.Nd4 Bxa5 49.Nb5 c3 50.Nd4 b5 51.Ke2 b4 52.f4 Bb6 53.Nb3 h5 0-1

Round 5, Apr. 23
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Giri, Anish
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.Qc2 c5 8.Rd1 cxd4 9.Rxd4 Qa5 10.Bg3 Nb6 11.Nd2 dxc4 12.Bxc4 Nxc4 13.Nxc4 Qa6 14.O-O Rd8 15.Rxd8+ Bxd8 16.Ne5 Bd7 17.Nxd7 Nxd7 18.Rd1 Nf6 19.Qd3 Qxd3 20.Rxd3 Rc8 21.f3 Kf8 22.Kf1 a6 23.Ke2 Ke8 24.Rd4 Be7 25.Bd6 Nd5 26.Bxe7 Nxc3+ 27.bxc3 Kxe7 28.Kd3 Rc5 29.Rb4 b5 30.c4 Kd6 31.cxb5 axb5 32.a4 Rd5+ 33.Ke2 bxa4 34.Rxa4 Rc5 35.Ra6+ Ke7 36.Ra4 Rc2+ 37.Kf1 Rc1+ 38.Kf2 Rc2+ 39.Kf1 Rc1+ 40.Kf2 Rc2+ 1/2-1/2

Round 5, Apr. 23
Carlsen, Magnus - Wojtaszek, Radoslaw
B23 Sicilian, Closed

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2 Nf6 6.b3 e6 7.Bb2 a6 8.O-O-O b5 9.f3 h5 10.Nh3 Be7 11.Ng5 h4 12.f4 Bb7 13.Kb1 Rc8 14.Be2 Qc7 15.Rhe1 Nh7 16.Nxh7 Rxh7 17.g4 hxg3 18.hxg3 Bf6 19.Bd3 Rh8 20.g4 Nd4 21.Re3 Kf8 22.Ne2 Nxe2 23.Rxe2 Bc3 24.Bxc3 Qxc3 25.Qe3 Rc5 26.e5 dxe5 27.fxe5 Rh1 28.Rxh1 Bxh1 29.Rh2 Rxe5 30.Rh8+ Ke7 31.Qa7+ 1-0

Round 5, Apr. 23
Mamedov, Rauf - Karjakin, Sergey
B51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.O-O a6 5.Bd3 Ngf6 6.Re1 b5 7.c3 Bb7 8.Bc2 c4 9.a4 e6 10.axb5 axb5 11.Rxa8 Qxa8 12.Na3 Bxe4 13.Bxe4 Nxe4 14.d3 cxd3 15.Nxb5 Qb7 16.c4 d5 17.cxd5 exd5 18.Qb3 Nc5 19.Qxd5 Qxd5 20.Nc7+ Kd7 21.Nxd5 Bd6 22.b4 Nb3 23.Rxe4 Nxc1 24.Rc4 Ne2+ 25.Kf1 Rb8 26.Ne1 Nf4 27.Nxf4 d2 28.Ke2 dxe1=B 29.Kxe1 Rxb4 30.Rxb4 Bxb4+ 31.Ke2 Bd6 32.Kf3 Bb4 33.Ke2 Bd6 34.Kf3 Bb4 35.Ke2 1/2-1/2

Round 5, Apr. 23
Ding Liren - Radjabov, Teimour
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.c5 Nh5 8.Bd3 Nxf4 9.exf4 b6 10.b4 a5 11.a3 c6 12.O-O Qc7 13.g3 Ba6 14.Qe2 Bxd3 15.Qxd3 Ra7 16.Rfc1 Rfa8 17.cxb6 Qxb6 18.b5 a4 19.f5 c5 20.fxe6 fxe6 21.dxc5 Nxc5 22.Qe3 Rb7 23.Rab1 Nb3 24.Qxb6 Rxb6 25.Rc2 Bf6 26.Nxa4 Rxb5 27.Nc3 Rb7 28.Ne2 Rab8 29.Nf4 Nd4 30.Rxb7 Nxf3+ 31.Kg2 Ne1+ 32.Kf1 Rxb7 33.Kxe1 Kf7 34.a4 Ra7 35.Ra2 g5 36.Nd3 Ke7 37.f4 gxf4 38.gxf4 Kd6 39.Ke2 Bc3 40.Ke3 Ba5 1/2-1/2

Ranking after Round Five

1 Topalov 3.5
2 Carlsen 3
3-7 Radjabov, Ding, Giri, Karjakin, Mamedov 2.5
8-10 Wojtaszek, Mamedyarov, Navara 2

Tomorrow is a rest day.

**Wayne Komer** · Wednesday, 25th April, 2018, 04:13 PM

Re: Shamkir 2018 - The Gashimov Memorial

Shamkir 2018

April 25, 2018

Round Six

Among other questions Ljubo asks if the player believes that aliens or extra-terrestrials live on Earth.

Teimour Radjabov says that he would not believe it unless he saw some proof. Ljubo says that serious American pilots have seen extra-terrestrial vehicles but he is unconvincing.

The games:

Round 6, Apr. 25
Ding Liren - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
D60 QGD, Orthodox Defence

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.d4 Be7 5.Bg5 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.Be2 h6 8.Bh4 c5 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Bxe7 Nxe7 11.O-O cxd4 12.Nxd4 Nf6 13.Qb3 Qa5 14.a3 Rd8 15.Qb4 Qxb4 16.axb4 Nc6 17.Nc2 Rd2 18.Rfc1 Nd5 19.Nxd5 exd5 20.b5 Rxe2 21.bxc6 d4 22.exd4 bxc6 23.Kf1 Re4 24.f3 Rh4 25.Nb4 Bd7 26.Nxc6 Bxc6 27.Rxc6 Rxd4 28.Rc2 a5 29.b3 Rb4 30.Ra3 Rab8 31.Rxa5 Rxb3 32.Kf2 Rb2 33.Rxb2 Rxb2+ 34.Kf1 Rb1+ 35.Kf2 Rb2+ 36.Kf1 Rb1+ 37.Kf2 Rb2+ 1/2-1/2

Round 6, Apr. 25
Giri, Anish - Navara, David
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 c5 6.Be3 Qb6 7.Nc3 Nc6 8.Na4 Qa5+ 9.c3 cxd4 10.Nxd4 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 Ne7 12.O-O Nc6 13.b4 Qc7 14.Rc1 Be7 15.g4 Be4 16.f3 Bg6 17.f4 Be4 18.Nc5 a5 19.Be3 axb4 20.cxb4 Ra3 21.Bf2 Bxc5 22.Bxc5 Rxa2 23.b5 Bc2 24.b6 Bxd1 25.bxc7 Kd7 26.Bxd1 Kxc7 27.Bd6+ Kd7 28.Rb1 1-0

Position after White's 23.b5

Chessbomb kibitzers:

- Giri wins
- Such a wonderful day
- Our prayers are heard
- Now we know for sure that somebody messed with the Large Hadron Collider; it sent us into a bifurcation of the multiverse where Giri does win chess games

Round 6, Apr. 25
Karjakin, Sergey - Carlsen, Magnus
C89 Ruy Lopez, 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.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6 12.d3 Bd6 13.Re1 Bf5 14.Qf3 Qh4 15.g3 Qh3 16.Be3 Bxd3 17.Nd2 Qf5 18.Bd4 Rfe8 19.a4 Kf8 20.h4 h6 21.Qxf5 Bxf5 22.Rxe8+ Rxe8 23.axb5 axb5 24.Ra6 Ne7 25.Be3 Kg8 26.Ba2 Rd8 27.Bb6 Re8 28.Be3 Rd8 29.Bb6 Re8 30.Be3 1/2-1/2

Round 6, Apr. 25
Topalov, Veselin - Mamedov, Rauf
B33 Sicilian, Sveshnikov variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.Nd5 f5 11.Bd3 Be6 12.O-O Bxd5 13.exd5 Ne7 14.Re1 Bg7 15.c3 O-O 16.Nc2 Re8 17.Qh5 e4 18.Bf1 Nxd5 19.Qxf5 Re5 20.Qh3 Qb6 21.Rad1 Rae8 22.Rxe4 Rxe4 23.Rxd5 h6 24.Qd3 R8e6 25.g3 R4e5 26.Bg2 b4 27.cxb4 Re2 28.Rf5 Qc7 29.Ne3 Qc1+ 30.Bf1 Rxb2 31.a3 Ra2 32.Qd5 Rxa3 33.Kg2 Raxe3 34.fxe3 Qxe3 35.Bxa6 Qe4+ 36.Qxe4 Rxe4 37.Rb5 Kf8 38.Bb7 Re2+ 39.Kh3 Bd4 40.Bf3 Rb2 41.Rd5 1/2-1/2

Round 6, Apr. 25
Radjabov, Teimour - Wojtaszek, Radoslaw
B97 Sicilian, Najdorf, Poisoned Pawn variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Qb6 8.Qd2 Qxb2 9.Rb1 Qa3 10.e5 h6 11.Bh4 dxe5 12.fxe5 g5 13.exf6 gxh4 14.Be2 Qa5 15.O-O Nd7 16.Kh1 Qg5 17.Qe1 Nxf6 18.Nf3 Qg7 19.Ne5 Be7 20.Na4 O-O 21.Nb6 Rb8 22.Rb3 Ne4 23.Ned7 Bxd7 24.Nxd7 Qg5 25.Nxb8 Rxb8 26.Bh5 Nd2 27.Rxf7 Nxb3 28.Qxe6 Kh8 29.Rxe7 Rf8 30.Kg1 Qxh5 31.cxb3 Qd1+ 32.Qe1 Qd4+ 33.Qe3 Qd1+ 34.Qe1 Qd4+ 35.Qe3 1/2-1/2

Standings After Round Six

1 Topalov 4
2-3 Giri, Carlsen 3.5
4-7 Radjabov, Ding, Mamedov, Karjakin 3
8-9 Mamedyarov, Wojtaszek 2.5
10 Navara 2

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 26th April, 2018, 01:12 PM

Re: Shamkir 2018 - The Gashimov Memorial

Shamkir 2018

April 25, 2018

Round Seven

The longest game today was Carlsen-Topalov:

Round 7, Apr. 26
Carlsen, Magnus - Topalov, Veselin
A28 English, Four Knights, Romanishin variation

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e3 Bb4 5.Qc2 Bxc3 6.bxc3 d6 7.e4 O-O 8.g3 Ne8 9.Nh4 Ne7 10.d3 f5 11.exf5 Nxf5 12.Nxf5 Bxf5 13.Bg2 c6 14.h3 Nc7 15.O-O Ne6 16.Be3 Nc5 17.Rad1 Qd7 18.Kh2 Bg6 19.Rd2 Rae8 20.Qd1 b6 21.Re1 h6 22.Bxc5 dxc5 23.Re3 Re6 24.Kg1 Rd6 25.h4 Rd8 26.Rxe5 Bxd3 27.Be4 Bxc4 28.Rxd6 Qxd6 29.Re8+ Rxe8 30.Qxd6 Rxe4 31.Qxc6 Re1+ 32.Kh2 Bxa2 33.g4 Kh7 34.f4 h5 35.f5 hxg4 36.h5 Bf7 37.Qb7 Kg8 38.Qxa7 Bxh5 39.Qxb6 c4 40.Qd8+ Be8 41.Kg3 Kh7 42.Qc7 Kg8 43.Qxc4+ Bf7 44.Qd4 Re8 45.c4 Rf8 46.c5 Be8 47.Qd5+ Kh7 48.Qe6 Bb5 49.c6 Bxc6 50.Qg6+ Kg8 51.Qxc6 Rf6 52.Qe8+ Kh7 53.Kxg4 Rh6 54.Kf4 Rf6 55.Ke5 Rh6 56.Qe6 1-0

Position after White's 44.Qd4

Ljubo seems to be a student of numerology. He asks Topa and Magnus if they have a magic number or believe in them. He says that Kasparov liked 13, Fischer 9, Michael Jordan 3 and Joaquim Cruz 14.
Magnus says that he likes Number One.

-I doubt if questions about favorite numbers or the like will attract throngs to chess
-Ljubo is refreshment in the world of commentators. Good, old and bold

Round 7, Apr. 26
Navara, David - Ding Liren
C90 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Suetin variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.a3 d6 9.c3 Na5 10.Ba2 c5 11.d4 c4 12.Bg5 h6 13.Bh4 Bg4 14.h3 Bxf3 15.Qxf3 Nc6 16.d5 Na5 17.Bxf6 Bxf6 18.Nd2 Bg5 19.Nf1 g6 20.a4 Qe7 21.Bb1 Nb3 22.Ra2 Nc5 23.Bc2 Rfb8 24.g3 h5 25.h4 Bh6 26.axb5 axb5 27.Rea1 Rxa2 28.Rxa2 Kg7 29.Qe2 Rb7 30.Qe1 Qc7 31.Kg2 Qb6 32.Kf3 Rc7 33.Kg2 b4 34.cxb4 Nd3 35.Bxd3 cxd3 36.Ra1 Rc2 0-1

Round 7, Apr. 26
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw - Karjakin, Sergey
E00 Queen's Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Bb4+ 4.Nd2 c5 5.a3 Bxd2+ 6.Qxd2 cxd4 7.Nf3 d5 8.Bg2 dxc4 9.Qxd4 Qxd4 10.Nxd4 O-O 11.Be3 Nd5 12.Rc1 Nxe3 13.fxe3 Nd7 14.Rxc4 Nf6 15.O-O Rd8 16.Rc7 Rb8 17.b4 Rd7 18.Rc4 Rd8 19.Rc7 e5 20.Nb5 Bg4 21.Re1 a6 22.Nc3 Rbc8 23.Rxc8 Rxc8 24.Na4 Rc7 25.h3 Bc8 26.Nb6 Be6 27.a4 h5 28.a5 g6 29.Kf2 Kg7 30.Rd1 Bf5 31.Rd6 Be6 32.Rd1 g5 33.Ke1 Kf8 34.h4 gxh4 35.gxh4 Ke7 36.e4 Nd7 37.Nd5+ Bxd5 38.Rxd5 Rc4 39.Bh3 Nf6 40.Rxe5+ Kd6 41.Rf5 Nxe4 42.Kd1 Nc3+ 43.Ke1 Rxh4 44.Bg2 Rxb4 45.Rxf7 Nd5 46.Rh7 Rb5 1/2-1/2

Round 7, Apr. 26
Mamedov, Rauf - Giri, Anish
C42 Petrov's Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.O-O Be7 7.c3 O-O 8.Bc2 Bg4 9.h3 Bh5 10.d4 c6 11.Re1 Na6 12.Nbd2 Qd7 13.Nf1 Rae8 14.Ng3 Bg6 15.Bxg6 hxg6 16.Qb3 Bd8 17.Bg5 Nd5 18.Bxd8 Rxd8 19.Ne4 Rfe8 20.Qa3 Nf6 21.Nxf6+ gxf6 22.d5 c5 23.Qb3 Kg7 24.c4 Rxe1+ 25.Rxe1 Re8 26.a3 Rxe1+ 27.Nxe1 Nb8 28.Nc2 Qe7 29.Qe3 Qe5 30.Qb3 b6 31.Ne3 f5 32.Qa4 a6 33.b4 f4 34.Nf1 Kf8 35.bxc5 dxc5 36.Qb3 Nd7 37.Qa4 Nb8 38.Qb3 Nd7 39.Qa4 1/2-1/2

Round 7, Apr. 26
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Radjabov, Teimour
E60 King's Indian

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 c6 4.Bg2 d5 5.b3 Bg7 6.Nf3 O-O 7.O-O dxc4 8.bxc4 c5 9.Bb2 cxd4 10.Nxd4 Qb6 11.Qc1 Bd7 12.Nd2 Nc6 13.e3 Rac8 14.Bc3 Nxd4 15.exd4 Bf5 16.Qa3 Bd3 17.Rfe1 Bxc4 18.Nxc4 Rxc4 19.Rab1 Qa6 20.Qxa6 bxa6 21.Bb4 Rxd4 22.Bxe7 Re8 23.Bc5 Rxe1+ 24.Rxe1 Rd2 25.Rb1 Nd7 26.Bxa7 Bd4 27.Bxd4 Rxd4 28.Bf1 Ra4 29.Rb7 Nf8 30.Rb6 Rxa2 31.Rxa6 Rxa6 32.Bxa6 Ne6 33.Bf1 Nf8 34.Ba6 Ne6 35.Bf1 Nf8 36.Ba6 1/2-1/2

Standing after Round Seven

1 Carlsen 4.5
2-4 Topalov, Giri, Ding 4
5-7 Mamedov, Radjabov, Karjakin 3.5
8-9 Mamedyarov, Wojtaszek 3
10 Navara 2

**Wayne Komer** · Friday, 27th April, 2018, 02:32 PM

Re: Shamkir 2018 - The Gashimov Memorial

Shamkir 2018

April 27, 2018

Round Eight

Ding Liren is soft-spoken and seems very mild and likeable.

These questions today to Ding and to Rauf:

Ljubo: You are under the spotlight because you are famous both in China and around the world. Such people are often criticized in the press (false news). If you were criticized in this way, how would you respond?

Ding: What are they saying?

Ljubo: Theoretically, how would you react? Would you answer, would you go to your lawyer or talk with your press officer? There are chess magazines in China, yes? What if you were criticized there?

Ding: I would explain at an interview. I am not on twitter.

Ljubo: I understand Rauf, that you are sad today because you lost. What would you do?

Rauf: I've never had this problem.

Question from the audience:

Ding, what do you chew at the end of each game?

Ding: Dried fruit but not at the end of every game

Comments from the chat room:

- Does Ljubo only do commentary once a year?
- Hope so
- Unfortunately, wish we saw him more
- I've never laughed so much watching a post-game conference
- I don't understand people who criticize ljubo. He's an absolute master at this, and very polite
- I don't want to watch super-serious interviews; it's funny, it's witty; c'mon, we can have some fun once per year, right?
- The fake news stuff with Ding was painful, Ding initially answered, depends on what they say
- Mamedov almost fell asleep during his interview

The games:

Round 8, Apr. 27
Topalov, Veselin - Wojtaszek, Radoslaw
C78 Ruy Lopez, Moeller Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Bc5 6.c3 O-O 7.d4 Ba7 8.Re1 b5 9.Bb3 d6 10.h3 Bb7 11.a4 Ne7 12.Bc2 Ng6 13.Na3 c6 14.Bd3 Re8 15.Nc2 h6 16.dxe5 dxe5 17.Be3 Bxe3 18.Nxe3 Nf4 19.Bc2 Qc7 20.Nf5 Rad8 21.Qc1 Bc8 22.Nh2 Bxf5 23.exf5 e4 24.axb5 axb5 25.Nf1 c5 26.b3 Nd3 27.Bxd3 exd3 28.Rxe8+ Rxe8 29.c4 Re2 30.cxb5 Qe5 31.Ra8+ Kh7 32.Qc4 Qxf5 33.f3 Rc2 34.Qxf7 Qg5 35.g4 Qh4 0-1

Round 8, Apr. 27
Ding Liren - Mamedov, Rauf
D34 QGD, Tarrasch, Prague variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.g3 Nc6 6.Bg2 Nf6 7.O-O Be7 8.Nc3 O-O 9.Bg5 c4 10.e3 Be6 11.b3 cxb3 12.Qxb3 Na5 13.Qb2 Ne4 14.Nxe4 dxe4 15.Bxe7 Qxe7 16.Nd2 Nc4 17.Nxc4 Bxc4 18.Rfc1 Rac8 19.a4 g6 20.a5 Rc6 21.Bf1 b5 22.axb6 Rxb6 23.Qa3 Qxa3 24.Rxa3 Bxf1 25.Kxf1 a6 26.Rc5 f5 27.h3 Rff6 28.Kg2 h5 29.Raa5 Kg7 30.Rc7+ Rf7 31.Rc8 h4 32.Re8 hxg3 33.Kxg3 Rb3 34.Kg2 Rb2 35.Rxa6 f4 36.exf4 Rxf4 37.Ra7+ Kh6 38.Kg3 Rf6 39.h4 g5 40.Rh8+ Kg6 41.Rg8+ Kf5 42.Rxg5+ 1-0

Round 8, Apr. 27
Giri, Anish - Carlsen, Magnus
A29 English, Bremen

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nb6 7.O-O Be7 8.a3 a5 9.d3 O-O 10.Be3 Be6 11.Rc1 a4 12.Nd2 f5 13.Bxb6 cxb6 14.Nxa4 Bg5 15.Nc3 e4 16.Kh1 Qd7 17.Rb1 Rad8 18.Nc4 Qf7 19.b3 exd3 20.exd3 f4 21.Ne4 Be7 22.gxf4 Qxf4 23.a4 Nb4 24.Qe2 Qh6 25.Rbd1 Nd5 26.Rg1 Kh8 27.Bf1 Rf4 28.Ne5 Rdf8 29.f3 Rh4 30.d4 Nf4 31.Qd2 Bxb3 32.Rb1 Bxa4 33.Bb5 Bxb5 34.Rxb5 Qe6 35.Qb2 Bd8 36.Ng5 Qe8 37.Rb3 Bxg5 38.Rxg5 Ne6 39.Rg4 Rxg4 40.fxg4 Qd8 41.Rh3 Qd5+ 42.Kg1 Qe4 43.Qb4 Rf6 0-1

Giri-Carlsen after Black's 40...Qd8 and before 41.Rh3?

Tarjel J. Svensen: After Carlsen's win vs Giri, there are only 3 players among the World's top 20, he doesn't have a plus score against (among those he actually played):

Ding: +0 =2 -0
Nepomniachtchi: +4 =4 -0
Svidler: +2 =12 -1

Round 8, Apr. 27
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Navara, David
D90 Grunfeld, Three Knights variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.h4 dxc4 6.e4 c5 7.d5 b5 8.h5 O-O 9.hxg6 fxg6 10.d6 exd6 11.Nxb5 d5 12.Nc3 Re8 13.Be3 d4 14.e5 Ba6 15.Qa4 Qd7 16.Bxc4+ Bxc4 17.Qxc4+ Qe6 18.Qxe6+ Rxe6 19.exf6 Bxf6 20.Nd5 Bd8 21.O-O-O dxe3 22.Nxe3 Nc6 23.Rd7 Be7 24.Rxh7 Rb8 25.Rc7 Bf6 26.Rb7 Nb4 27.Rxb8+ Kxh7 28.Rb7+ Kg8 29.Rxa7 Nd3+ 30.Kb1 Bxb2 31.a4 Bd4 32.Kc2 Nb4+ 33.Kd2 Bxe3+ 34.fxe3 Nd5 35.a5 c4 36.Rd7 Nf6 37.Rd8+ Kg7 38.Kc3 Rc6 39.Ne5 Ne4+ 40.Kd4 c3 41.Kxe4 Rc4+ 42.Kf3 1-0

Round 8, Apr. 27
Radjabov, Teimour - Karjakin, Sergey
D47 QGD, Semi-Slav, Meran, Wade variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3 Bb7 9.O-O a6 10.e4 c5 11.d5 c4 12.Bc2 Qc7 13.dxe6 fxe6 14.Ne2 Nc5 15.Bf4 Qd7 16.Qxd7+ Nfxd7 17.Ned4 Be7 18.b4 cxb3 19.axb3 b4 20.Rfe1 O-O 21.Bc7 g6 22.Rad1 Rac8 23.Ba5 Rfe8 24.Re3 e5 25.Ne2 Nf6 26.Bxb4 Ncxe4 27.Bxe4 Nxe4 28.Bxe7 Rxe7 29.Ng3 Nxg3 30.hxg3 Bxf3 31.gxf3 Rc5 32.b4 Rb5 33.Ra1 Re6 34.Rea3 Rxb4 35.Rxa6 Rxa6 36.Rxa6 Rb5 37.Ra8+ Kg7 38.Ra7+ Kg8 39.Ra8+ Kg7 40.Ra7+ Kg8 1/2-1/2

Standings after Round Eight

1 Carlsen 5.5
2 Ding Liren 5
3-8 Topalov, Mamedyarov, Wojtaszek, Giri, Radjabov, Karjakin 4
9 Mamedov 3.5
10 Navara 2

And Carlsen plays Ding Liren tomorrow for all the marbles

**Wayne Komer** · Saturday, 28th April, 2018, 12:07 PM

Re: Shamkir 2018 - The Gashimov Memorial

Shamkir 2018

April 28, 2018

Round Nine

Most of the games finished quickly with only Karjakin-Topalov dragging on.

Ljubo asked Navara and Radjabov if they had a preference for any piece and Radjabov said that when he was learning chess, Fischer's games were still all the rage and his preference was for the bishop over the knight. Ljubo said that Fischer told him that the advantage of B over N was 10%.

An article on this very subject gives as examples Fischer-Taimanov, Match Rd 4, 1971, Fischer-Tal Rd 11, Curacao 1962 and Fischer-Addison Rd 11, US Champ 1957.

https://www.chess.com/article/view/f...against-knight

Round 9, Apr. 28
Mamedov, Rauf - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
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.Re1 c6 12.Ne3 Bc7 13.Nf5 d5 14.Ne7+ Kh8 15.Nxc8 Rxc8 16.d3 Nf6 17.Qf3 Qd7 18.g3 Ng4 19.d4 Rce8 20.Bd2 f5 21.Rxe8 Rxe8 22.Re1 Rxe1 23.Bxe1 Qe6 24.Qe2 Qd7 25.Qf3 Qe6 26.Qe2 Qd7 27.Qf3 Qe6 1/2-1/2

Round 9, Apr. 28
Wojtaszek, Radislaw - Giri, Anish
E05 Catalan, open, Classical line

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Bg5 Bc6 10.Rd1 b5 11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.Nc3 Qe8 13.d5 exd5 14.Nd4 Qe5 15.e4 dxe4 16.axb5 axb5 17.Nxc6 Nxc6 18.Rxa8 Rxa8 19.Qxe4 Qxe4 20.Bxe4 Ra6 21.Nxb5 Ne5 22.Nxc7 Ra2 23.Rb1 Nd7 24.Bc6 Nc5 25.Bd5 Rxb2 26.Rxb2 Bxb2 27.Bxc4 Be5 28.Na6 Nxa6 29.Bxa6 Bd6 30.Bb5 Be5 31.Ba6 Bd6 32.Bb5 Be5 1/2-1/2

Round 9, Apr. 28
Carlsen, Magnus - Ding Liren
C48 Four Knights, Rubinstein Counter-Gambit

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Nd4 5.Nxd4 exd4 6.e5 dxc3 7.exf6 Qxf6 8.Qe2+ Qe7 9.dxc3 Qxe2+ 10.Kxe2 Bc5 11.Be3 Bxe3 12.Kxe3 c6 13.Bd3 d5 14.Rae1 Ke7 15.c4 dxc4 16.Bxc4 Rd8 17.Rd1 Be6 18.Bxe6 Kxe6 19.Rhe1 Rxd1 20.Rxd1 Re8 21.f4 f5 22.Kf3 Re7 23.Re1+ Kf6 24.Rd1 Ke6 25.Re1+ Kf6 26.Rd1 Ke6 27.Re1+ 1/2-1/2

Round 9, Apr. 28
Navara, David - Radjabov, Teimour
B30 Sicilian Defence

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Bc4 Be7 5.d3 Nf6 6.Ng5 O-O 7.f4 exf4 8.Bxf4 d5 9.exd5 Nd4 10.Nge4 b5 11.d6 Nxe4 12.dxe7 Qxe7 13.Nxe4 bxc4 14.O-O cxd3 15.cxd3 Rd8 16.Qh5 Bf5 17.Rae1 Bg6 18.Qxc5 Qxc5 19.Nxc5 Rac8 20.Nb7 Rd7 21.Nc5 Rdd8 22.Nb7 Rd7 23.Nc5 1/2-1/2

Round 9, Apr. 28
Karjakin, Sergey - Topalov, Veselin
C50 Giuoco Piano, Italian Four Knights variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Na4 Bb6 7.a3 O-O 8.O-O Ne7 9.Nxb6 axb6 10.Bg5 Be6 11.Bxf6 gxf6 12.Nh4 d5 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.d4 c6 15.Re1 b5 16.Bxd5 cxd5 17.Qh5 e4 18.f3 b4 19.fxe4 dxe4 20.Rxe4 Ra5 21.Qh6 Qd5 22.Rf4 bxa3 23.bxa3 Qg5 24.Qxf6 Qxf6 25.Rxf6 Rc8 26.Rf2 b5 27.Rd2 b4 28.a4 Bd7 29.Kf2 Rxa4 30.Rb1 Rc4 31.Rb2 Kf8 32.g3 Bh3 33.Nf3 f6 34.Ke3 Bg4 35.Ne1 Ke7 36.Ng2 Bh3 37.Nf4 Be6 38.d5 Bf5 39.d6+ Kd8 40.Nd5 Ra3+ 41.Kf2 Be4 42.Nb6 Rc5 43.Rxb4 Rh5 44.Ke1 Bc6 45.Re2 Ra6 46.c4 Ra1+ 47.Kd2 Rf5 48.Re7 Ra2+ 49.Kc3 1-0

Final Standings

1 Carlsen 6
2 Ding Liren 5.5
3 Karjakin 5
4-7 Mamedyarov, Wojtaszek, Giri, Radjabov 4.5
8-9 Topalov, Mamedov 4
10 Navara 2.5

Thus, Carlsen wins the tournament. I was wondering how many supertournaments he has won so far in his career. In 2015 the number was 22. Just counting wins in classical tournament and excluding blitz, rapid and the world championships, I can add, London Chess Classic 2015, Qatar Masters 2016, Tata Steel 2016, Norway Chess 2016, Bilbao 2016, Isle of Man 2017, Tata Steel 2018 and now Gashimov Memorial 2018 for a total of 30 firsts. I welcome any corrections or additions to this list.

Speaking of the Isle of Man Open, at his press conference today, Sergey Karjakin said he would be playing at the Isle of Man. I believe it runs from Oct. 20 to 28th. This is a chance for a ChessTalker perhaps to be drawn versus Karjakin!

**Wayne Komer** · Saturday, 28th April, 2018, 10:53 PM

Re: Shamkir 2018 - The Gashimov Memorial

Shamkir 2018

April 28, 2018

Carlsen, Svensen Tweets

Tarjei J. Svensen - Carlsen after Shamkir Chess

- Won his 2nd tournament of 2018
- Won his 30th supertournament
- Remained undefeated after 32 gains
- Got rid of the "Giri curse"
- Gained 4 rating points

Tarjei J. Svensen - Carlsen is +10 =20 -0 so far this year, a rating performance of 2862. Obviously a lot left of 2018, but that's close to the level he was in 2012 & 2013 (2875)

Tarjei J. Svensen - Mamedyarov reveals he will play in Biel in July, along with Carlsen, MVL and Georgiadis.

Chess24.com - Carlsen: "I was playing much more when I was 17, 16 years old... normal for me [now] is to have at least a month between tournaments, and there will be a lot of time to rest on your laurels or to lick your wounds, if that's what you need!"

ChesscomNews - "I'm really happy with the result but I think the fact that I've won here three times in a row is something I'm very proud of but it's also always a bit coincidental. You cannot always control your own destiny in these tournaments."- Magnus Carlsen

**Hans Jung** · Monday, 30th April, 2018, 10:23 AM

Re: Shamkir 2018 - The Gashimov Memorial

Congrats to Magnus who came through in the end.