London Chess Classic 2018

**Wayne Komer** · Wednesday, 24th October, 2018, 02:33 AM

London Chess Classic 2018

October 24, 2018

Press Release

Book your ringside London Chess Classic tickets now!

Just days after the end of his World Championship match in London against Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana will be pitting his wits against Hikaru Nakamura, Levon Aronian and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the Grand Chess Tour Finals at the London Chess Classic, which this year will be a four-player knockout supported by our new sponsor the Lohia Foundation.

The big question is: After going 12 rounds with Magnus, just how will Fabi fare against some of the most dangerous hitmen in world chess? Will he be buoyed by victory or desperate to take out the pain of defeat on his rivals?

To watch the action live, simply apply here for FREE tickets to the Semi-Finals, to be hosted by pioneering artificial intelligence company DeepMind at Google on December 11-13. Those chosen by ballot will be notified on November 27.

You can also book your tickets now (daily £25, season £60) for entrance to the London Chess Classic Final (December 15-17) at Olympia London.

After two Classical games on December 11-12, play switches to Rapid & Blitz on Dec. 13. The winners then go through to the 3-day Final, held at the traditional Olympia London venue on December 15-16 (Classical) & 17 (Rapid & Blitz). There will also be a third place play-off.

The 2018 GCT champion will take home a 1st prize of $120,000 (there’s $80,000 for 2nd, $60,000 for 3rd and $40,000 for 4th).

https://www.londonchessclassic.com/d...180914_pr2.pdf

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 2nd December, 2018, 12:40 AM

London Chess Classic 2018

December 1, 2018

Fabi’s Back: This Time It’s a Knockout!
Press Release 4 | 30 November 2018

Fans eager for more fabulous top-class chess after the World Championship in London need look no further than the London Chess Classic, where the valiant challenger, Fabiano Caruana, will be back in town for a showdown with three of the world’s most exciting players from December 11-17, thanks to support from our new sponsor, The Lohia Foundation.

With an exciting Semi-finals and Final format, complete with Classical, Rapid & Blitz, plus a nail-biting Armageddon decider, the London Chess Classic will pit Fabi against fellow American Hikaru Nakamura, Armenia’s Levon Aronian and France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (MVL) in the finale of the 2018 Grand Chess Tour.

The fantastic four will be dueling for a total of $300,000 (£230,000) in GCT prize money.

Just how Fabi will come back after his narrow loss (tied 6-6 in Classical, 3-0 in the Rapid playoffs) in the World Championship match against Magnus Carlsen will be the question on everyone’s lips – as his opponents are likely to face more of the superb opening preparation that Fabi displayed there.

In his Semi-Final matchup, Fabi faces Rapid & Blitz specialist Hikaru, while in the other Semi-Final, Levon plays MVL.

Player Stats (World rankings, November 2018):

- Fabiano Caruana (Classical #2, 2832; Rapid #10, 2789; Blitz #16, 2767)
- Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (Classical #6, 2778; Rapid #11, 2786; Blitz #2, 2937)
- Levon Aronian (Classical #11, 2765; Rapid #7, 2802; Blitz #3, 2889)
- Hikaru Nakamura (Classical #17, 2746; Rapid #2, 2844; Blitz #4, 2858)

After two Classical games on December 11-12, play switches to Rapid & Blitz on Dec. 13. The winners then go through to the 3-day Final, held at the traditional Olympia London venue on December 15-16 (Classical) & 17 (Rapid & Blitz). There will also be a Third Place Playoff.

The 2018 GCT champion will take home a 1st prize of $120,000 (there’s $80,000 for 2nd, $60,000 for 3rd and $40,000 for 4th).

To watch the action live, you can book your tickets now (daily £25, season £60) for entrance to the London Chess Classic Final (December 15-17) at London Olympia.

These tickets will also give you access to the accompanying London Chess Festival events (total prizes over £24,000) at Olympia London, including the FIDE-rated Open, 5-Day Classic events & Weekend Classic events, GM simultaneous displays, chess teacher training courses, & live commentary by leading Grandmasters.

For more info contact our team at:

info@londonchessclassic.com

Visit our website: www.londonchessclassic.com

Follow us on Twitter: @london_chess

**Wayne Komer** · Wednesday, 12th December, 2018, 12:45 AM

London Chess Classic 2018

December 11, 2018

Round One

Press Release

- World Championship challenger Fabiano Caruana is held to a draw by Hikaru Nakamura in the first semi-final game of the London Chess Classic, the final leg of the Grand Chess Tour, despite coming close to a decisive kingside attack on multiple occasions.

- The result leaves Caruana still just short of World Champion Magnus Carlsen’s No. 1 spot on the live ratings.

- Levon Aronian presses Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in an endgame but is also held to a draw in 74 moves.

- In the accompanying British Knockout Semi-Finals, Luke McShane forces a perpetual after mounting a strong counter-attack on Mickey Adams’ king.

LONDON (December 11, 2018) – The big question on everyone’s lips at the start of play at the London Chess Classic Semi-Finals was whether Fabiano Caruana could win to overtake Magnus Carlsen – just 3 points ahead of him in the live ratings – to grab the coveted World No. 1 spot that the Norwegian has held for seven years.

Caruana came very close to securing the win, playing aggressively against Hikaru Nakamura’s Queen’s Gambit Declined, and sacrificing the front of two g-pawns to mount a kingside attack against Nakamura’s king. Yet perhaps in an echo of Caruana’s World Championship match last month with Carlsen, the win proved elusive as even computer analysis showed no clear way through, despite giving Caruana a sizeable advantage.

The other game in the Semi-Finals, with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave playing a Ruy Lopez against double king-pawn specialist Levon Aronian, was eventually drawn despite the Armenian having a slight advantage in the endgame.

Both games in the British Knockout Championship, which were played in the same auditorium at Google Deep Mind’s London offices, were also drawn. While David Howell versus Gawain Jones was a fairly sedate affair, Luke McShane’s game with Mickey Adams was an end-to-end running battle, with first Adams and then
McShane taking the initiative on the kingside. An exchange sacrifice by McShane led to a forced draw, leaving all still to play for in Game 2 tomorrow.

Both the London Classic and British Knockout follow the same Grand Chess Tour knockout format. After the second Classical game on Wednesday, play switches on Thursday to two rapid and four blitz games. If the players are still level, rapid playoff matches and if required an Armageddon blitz game will decide who goes through to the finals.

The London Chess Classic is the final leg of the 2018 Grand Chess Tour. It is the flagship event of Chess in Schools and Communities and includes a range of amateur and age-grade competitions for 1,000s of children from the charity initiative nationwide.

https://www.londonchessclassic.com

Round 1, Dec. 11, 2018
Caruana, Fabiano – Nakamura, Hikaru
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 b6 7.Qc2 Bb7 8.Rd1 Bd6 9.Bg3 Nbd7 10.cxd5 Nxd5 11.e4 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Bxg3 13.hxg3 e5 14.Bb5 c6 15.Be2 Qc7 16.g4 Rfe8 17.g5 Rad8 18.Kf1 b5 19.Rh4 a6 20.a4 Qa5 21.g6 hxg6 22.Ng5 Nf8 23.Rd3 Bc8 24.Qb3 Qc7 25.axb5 axb5 26.Rf3 Be6 27.d5 cxd5 28.exd5 Rxd5 29.Nxe6 fxe6 30.Rfh3 e4 31.Rxe4 Ra8 32.g3 Qc5 33.Re3 Ra3 34.Qb2 Qd6 35.Rh4 Ra4 36.Rhe4 Qa3 37.Qxa3 Rxa3 38.Bg4 Rc5 39.Bxe6+ Nxe6 40.Rxe6 Raxc3 41.Rxc3 Rxc3 42.Rxg6 b4 43.Rb6 b3 44.Kg2 Kf7 45.f4 g5 46.fxg5 Rc2+ 47.Kf3 b2 48.Kg4 Kg7 49.Rb7+ Kg6 50.Rb6+ Kg7 51.Rb7+ Kg6 1/2-1/2

Final position

Round 1, Dec. 11, 2018
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.Nbd2 Qb8 13.Nb3 Nd8 14.d4 exd4 15.Qxd4 c5 16.Qc4 Nd7 17.Be3 Bf6 18.Ra2 Re8 19.Nbd2 Nf7 20.Qb3 Qb5 21.Rd1 Nde5 22.Nxe5 Nxe5 23.Qa4 Qxa4 24.Rxa4 Rac8 25.h3 g5 26.c3 d5 27.exd5 exd5 28.cxb4 Nd3 29.Bxc5 Nxb2 30.Raa1 Nxd1 31.Rxd1 Bc3 32.Nf3 d4 33.Nxg5 Rb8 34.Nf3 Bxb4 35.Bb6 Re4 36.Nxd4 Re1+ 37.Rxe1 Bxe1 38.Ne6 Re8 39.Nc5 Rc8 40.Nxa6 Bxa5 41.Bxa5 Ra8 42.Bd2 Rxa6 43.g4 Kf7 44.Kg2 Kg6 45.Be3 h5 46.f4 hxg4 47.hxg4 Rf6 48.Kf3 Rf7 49.Bc5 Rf6 50.Bb4 Rf7 51.Ke4 Rb7 52.Bc5 Rb3 53.Be3 Rb4+ 54.Ke5 Kf7 55.Kf5 Rb5+ 56.Ke4 Kf6 57.Bd2 Rc5 58.Be1 Rc4+ 59.Kf3 Rc5 60.Bh4+ Kg6 61.Be7 Ra5 62.Kg3 Kf7 63.Bd6 Kg6 64.Kh4 Ra1 65.Bc5 Rd1 66.f5+ Kf6 67.Be3 Rh1+ 68.Kg3 Rb1 69.Bc5 Rb5 70.Bd4+ Kg5 71.Be3+ Kf6 72.Bd4+ Kg5 73.Be3+ Kf6 74.Bd4+ 1/2-1/2

Final position

Round 10, Dec. 11, 2018
McShane, Luke – Adams, Michael
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.O-O O-O 6.Re1 d6 7.c3 a6 8.a4 Ba7 9.Nbd2 Ng4 10.Re2 Kh8 11.h3 f5 12.d4 Nh6 13.Bd5 exd4 14.cxd4 fxe4 15.Nxe4 Bxh3 16.Neg5 Bf5 17.Ne6 Bxe6 18.Rxe6 Ng8 19.Bxc6 bxc6 20.Ra3 Qd7 21.Rae3 Rf6 22.Qe2 Rxe6 23.Rxe6 a5 24.Ng5 h6 25.Qf3 Nf6 26.Rxf6 gxf6 27.Qxf6+ Qg7 28.Nf7+ Kh7 29.Qf5+ Qg6 30.Qd7 Bxd4 31.Ne5+ Qg7 32.Qf5+ Kg8 33.Qe6+ Kh7 34.Qf5+ Kg8 1/2-1/2

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 13th December, 2018, 02:05 AM

London Chess Classic 2018

December 12, 2018

Round Two

Round 2, Dec. 12
Nakamura, Hikaru – Caruana, Fabiano
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 c6 10.h4 d5 11.Kb1 Re8 12.Bd3 Bc5 13.Bd4 Bxd4 14.cxd4 Nf6 15.Rde1 Ne4 16.Qf4 Qf6 17.Qxf6 Nxf6 18.Kc1 Rxe1+ 19.Rxe1 Kf8 20.Kd2 h6 21.Ne5 Ng4 22.Nxg4 Bxg4 23.c3 Re8 24.Rxe8+ Kxe8 25.Ke3 g5 26.hxg5 hxg5 27.f3 Be6 28.f4 f6 29.g3 Ke7 30.a3 Bd7 31.Bc2 Be6 32.Bd3 Bd7 33.Bc2 Be6 1/2-1/2

Round 2, Dec. 12
Aronian, Levon – MVL
A34 English, symmetrical, Three Knights System

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nb4 6.Bc4 Nd3+ 7.Ke2 Nf4+ 8.Kf1 Ne6 9.d4 cxd4 10.Bxe6 Bxe6 11.Nxd4 Nc6 12.Nxe6 Qxd1+ 13.Nxd1 fxe6 14.Bd2 e5 15.f3 e6 16.Be3 Bb4 17.Nf2 Ba5 18.Ke2 Bb6 19.Rhd1 Bxe3 20.Kxe3 Ke7 21.Rac1 Rhd8 22.Rxd8 Rxd8 23.Nd3 Kd6 24.Nc5 Rb8 25.h4 Nb4 26.a3 b6 27.Nxe6 Na2 28.Ra1 Kxe6 29.Rxa2 Rc8 30.Kd2 Rd8+ 31.Ke2 Rc8 32.b3 Rc1 33.Rd2 Ra1 34.a4 Rb1 35.Rd3 Rb2+ 36.Kf1 a6 37.Kg1 b5 38.Rd8 bxa4 39.bxa4 Ra2 40.Rh8 h6 41.Re8+ Kf6 42.Rb8 Rxa4 43.Rb6+ Kf7 44.h5 a5 45.Ra6 Ra2 46.Kh2 a4 47.Kh3 a3 48.g3 Ra1 49.Kg4 a2 50.Kf5 Rf1 51.Rxa2 Rxf3+ 52.Kxe5 Rxg3 53.Ra7+ Kg8 54.Kd6 g6 55.Ra8+ Kf7 56.Ra7+ Kg8 57.Ra8+ Kf7 58.Ra7+ 1/2-1/2

Macauley Peterson – “The game between Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana ended quickly and without even a hint of fireworks. Levon Aronian (pictured) surprised Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the opening and got an advantage, but could not exploit it.

Aronian quickly uncorked 9.d4!?, exactly the move that Black actually aimed to prevent. Vachier-Lagrave thought for nearly 24 minutes before taking 9...cxd4 10.Bxe6 Bxe6 11.Nxd4 and now, 'MVL' avoided the complexities of 11...Bc4+, opting instead to tread lightly with 11...Nc6 12.Nxe6 Qxd1+ 13.Nxd1 fxe6 for a slightly worse position and a long-suffering defence.

This strategy paid off, however, and although the Frenchman stood with his back to the wall, Aronian could not make use of his chances. After the game, he was particularly hard on himself for missing the idea of 28.Rc2, which he called "embarrassing".”

https://en.chessbase.com/post/london...o-draws-game-2

Tomorrow there will be two rapid games and four blitz. The winners then go through to the three-day Final, held at the Olympia – two classical on the 15^thand 16^thand then, rapid and blitz on the 17^th. There will be a third place playoff.

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 13th December, 2018, 01:25 PM

London Chess Classic 2018

December 13, 2018

Rapids

Rounds Three and Four

Round 3, Dec. 13
Rapid 25+10
Nakamura, Hikaru – Caruana, Fabiano
A20 English, Kingside Fianchetto

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 c6 4.Nf3 e4 5.Nd4 Qb6 6.Nc2 d5 7.O-O dxc4 8.Nc3 Na6 9.d3 exd3 10.exd3 Be7 11.Re1 Be6 12.dxc4 O-O 13.Be3 Qa5 14.Bd2 Qb6 15.Na4 Qd8 16.b3 Re8 17.Bc3 Nc5 18.Bxf6 Qxd1 19.Raxd1 gxf6 20.Nc3 f5 21.Ne2 Bf6 22.Ned4 Rad8 23.Bh3 f4 24.Nxe6 Rxd1 25.Rxd1 Nxe6 26.Bxe6 Rxe6 27.Kf1 b5 28.cxb5 cxb5 29.gxf4 Re4 30.f5 Kg7 31.Rd5 a6 32.Rd6 Rh4 33.Ne3 a5 34.Ra6 a4 35.bxa4 bxa4 36.Kg2 Rd4 37.Kf3 h5 38.Ra5 Rh4 39.Kg2 Rf4 40.Kg3 Rb4 41.Nd5 Bh4+ 42.Kg2 Rd4 43.f6+ Kg6 44.Kf3 Bg5 45.h3 h4 46.Rb5 Bxf6 47.Ke3 Rd1 48.Nf4+ Kg7 49.Ra5 Rh1 50.Kf3 Rh2 51.Nh5+ Kg6 52.Nf4+ Kg7 53.Rxa4 Be5 54.Kg4 Rxf2 55.Nd3 Rg2+ 56.Kf5 Bg3 57.Nf4 Rf2 58.Kg4 Bxf4 59.Rxf4 Rxa2 60.Kxh4 Ra6 61.Rg4+ Kh7 62.Rf4 Kg7 63.Rg4+ Kh7 64.Rf4 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Dec. 13
Rapid 25+10
Aronian, Levon – MVL
A34 English, symmetrical, Three Knights System

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e3 Nxc3 6.bxc3 g6 7.Bb5+ Bd7 8.Be2 Bg7 9.O-O O-O 10.d4 Nc6 11.Rb1 Qc7 12.e4 Bg4 13.d5 Ne5 14.c4 b6 15.Nxe5 Bxe2 16.Qxe2 Bxe5 17.f4 Bd4+ 18.Kh1 e6 19.e5 exd5 20.cxd5 Qd7 21.Qc4 Rad8 22.d6 Rfe8 23.Bb2 Bxb2 24.Rxb2 Qe6 25.Qa4 Qd7 26.Qa6 f6 27.Re2 Re6 28.a4 Qf7 29.Rd2 fxe5 30.fxe5 Qg7 31.d7 Rxe5 32.Qxa7 Qf6 33.Kg1 Qc6 34.Rb1 Re7 35.Qxb6 Qxb6 36.Rxb6 Rexd7 37.Rxd7 Rxd7 38.a5 c4 39.a6 c3 40.Rc6 Ra7 41.h3 c2 42.Rxc2 Rxa6 43.Kh2 Ra7 44.Rc1 Kg7 45.Rc2 Kg8 46.Rc1 Kg7 47.Rc2 Kg8 1/2-1/2

Round 4, Dec. 13
Rapid 25+10
Caruana, Fabiano – Nakamura, Hikaru
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 b6 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Nxd5 Qxd5 9.Bd3 Qa5+ 10.Kf1 Ba6 11.Bxc7 Bxd3+ 12.Qxd3 Na6 13.Bg3 Nb4 14.Qe2 Rfc8 15.a3 Qa4 16.Kg1 Na2 17.h3 Nc1 18.Qf1 Qc2 19.Kh2 Ne2 20.Be5 Qxb2 21.d5 Nc3 22.dxe6 fxe6 23.Rd1 Qxa3 24.Rd7 Nd5 25.Nd4 Bf6 26.Bg3 Bxd4 27.exd4 Qa4 28.Rd6 Rc6 29.Rd7 Rcc8 30.Rd6 Qe8 31.Qa6 Rc6 32.Ra1 Rxd6 33.Bxd6 Qd7 34.Be5 Nb4 35.Qe2 Nc6 36.Bg3 Qd5 37.Qa6 Nxd4 38.Rc1 Nf5 39.Rc8+ Rxc8 40.Qxc8+ Kf7 41.Qc7+ Kf6 42.Bf4 e5 43.Bc1 h6 44.Bb2 Qc5 45.Qb8 a5 46.f4 Kg6 47.Bxe5 Qc6 48.Qa7 h5 49.h4 a4 50.Qa6 Kh7 51.Qd3 Qg6 52.g3 Nh6 53.Qc4 Ng4+ 54.Kh3 Qb1 0-1

Final position

Round 4, Dec. 13
Rapid 25+10
MVL – Aronian, Levon
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.h3 Be7 10.Nc3 Nh4 11.Nxh4 Bxh4 12.Re1 b6 13.g4 Be7 14.Be3 Bd7 15.Rad1 Kc8 16.Ne2 Re8 17.Nf4 Bf8 18.Bc1 g6 19.Re2 Bg7 20.Rde1 Kb7 21.e6 fxe6 22.Nxe6 Bf6 23.c3 c5 24.Bf4 Bxe6 25.Rxe6 Rf8 26.R1e4 Rf7 27.g5 Bd8 28.h4 b5 29.c4 bxc4 30.Be3 Rb8 31.Bxc5 Kc8 32.Bd4 Rb5 33.Rc6 Kd7 34.Rxc4 c6 35.a4 Rb3 36.Bxa7 Rxb2 37.Bd4 Rd2 38.Be3 Rd5 39.Rb4 Bc7 40.Kg2 Rf8 41.Rb7 c5 42.a5 Kc6 43.a6 Ra8 44.Re6+ Bd6 45.Rxh7 Rxa6 46.Rxg6 c4 47.Rg8 Rf5 48.g6 Be5 49.g7 1-0

Final position

Both MVL and Nakamura draw first blood and are ahead heading into the blitz portion of the match

Standings

Caruana 8
Nakamura 12

MVL 12
Aronian 8

Scoring:

In the Standardplay games, a win shall score 6 points, a draw 3 points and a loss 0 points.

In the Rapid games, a win shall score 4 points, a draw 2 points and a loss 0 points.

In the Blitz games, a win shall score 2 points, a draw 1 point and a loss 0 points

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 13th December, 2018, 01:50 PM

London Chess Classic 2018

December 13, 2018

Blitz

Rounds Five and Six

Round 5, Dec. 13
Blitz 5+3
Nakamura, Hikaru – Caruana, Fabiano
A06 Reti Opening

1.Nf3 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.b3 e6 4.c4 Be7 5.Bb2 O-O 6.Nc3 c5 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Be2 b6 9.Nxd5 exd5 10.d4 a5 11.dxc5 bxc5 12.O-O Be6 13.Bb5 Qb6 14.Qe2 Nc6 15.Rac1 Rac8 16.Ne5 Nxe5 17.Bxe5 Rfd8 18.Rfd1 h6 19.h3 Bf8 20.Bd3 g6 21.Bf6 Rd7 22.Bb5 Ra7 23.Ba1 Bg7 24.Bxg7 Kxg7 25.Qb2+ Kg8 26.Be2 a4 27.Bf3 Rd8 28.Qf6 axb3 29.axb3 Rad7 30.Qc3 Rc8 31.Ra1 d4 32.exd4 Rxd4 33.Rab1 Rb4 34.Bd5 Bxd5 35.Rxd5 c4 36.Rbd1 Rxb3 37.Qe5 c3 38.Qe7 Rb1 39.Kh2 Rxd1 40.Rxd1 c2 41.Rd7 Qb8+ 42.g3 Qb3 43.Rd8+ Rxd8 44.Qxd8+ Kg7 45.Qd4+ Kh7 46.Qf4 Kg8 47.Qd2 Qb2 0-1

Round 5, Dec. 13
Blitz 5+3
Aronian, Levon – MVL
B51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.c3 Nf6 5.Bd3 Ne5 6.Be2 Nxf3+ 7.Bxf3 e5 8.d4 Be7 9.O-O O-O 10.Be3 b6 11.Nd2 Qc7 12.Re1 Bd7 13.a4 a6 14.b4 cxd4 15.cxd4 Rfc8 16.h3 b5 17.axb5 Bxb5 18.Nb3 Qc2 19.d5 Qxd1 20.Rexd1 Rc4 21.Na5 Rxb4 22.Rdc1 Ra4 23.Nc6 Rxa1 24.Rxa1 Kf8 25.g3 Bd3 26.Bg5 h6 27.Bxf6 Bxf6 28.Ra3 Bb5 29.Bg4 Bd8 30.h4 Bb6 31.Rf3 Be2 32.Rb3 Bxf2+ 33.Kxf2 Bxg4 34.Ra3 Bd7 35.Na5 Ke7 36.Rc3 Rc8 37.Rb3 Bb5 38.Rb2 Rc3 39.Nb3 g6 40.g4 Rh3 41.Nd2 Rxh4 42.Kg3 Rh1 43.Rc2 Kd7 44.Nf3 Rb1 45.Nd2 Rb4 46.Kf3 a5 47.Ke3 a4 48.Ra2 Ke7 49.Ra1 Bd7 50.Kf3 h5 51.gxh5 gxh5 52.Ra3 f5 53.exf5 Bxf5 54.Nf1 Be4+ 55.Ke2 Bxd5 0-1

Round 6, Dec. 13
Blitz 5+3
Caruana, Fabiano – Nakamura, Hikaru
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 b6 7.Rc1 Ba6 8.Qa4 dxc4 9.Bxc4 Bb7 10.O-O a6 11.Be2 Nbd7 12.Rfd1 b5 13.Qc2 Rc8 14.Ne5 c5 15.dxc5 Rxc5 16.Qb1 Qe8 17.Nxd7 Nxd7 18.Ne4 Rxc1 19.Rxc1 Qa8 20.Bf3 Rc8 21.Rd1 Nf6 22.Ng5 h6 23.Bxb7 Qxb7 24.Nf3 Qe4 25.Be5 Qxb1 26.Rxb1 Ne4 27.Ne1 f6 28.Bg3 Rd8 29.Nf3 Rc8 30.Ne1 e5 31.f3 Nd2 32.Rd1 Nc4 33.Rd7 Bc5 34.b3 Nxe3 35.Bf2 Nf5 36.g4 Nd4 37.Kf1 Ne6 38.h4 Bxf2 39.Kxf2 Nf4 40.Rd6 a5 41.Ra6 Rd8 42.Rxa5 Rd2+ 43.Kf1 Nh3 44.Nd3 Rxd3 45.Rxb5 Rxf3+ 46.Ke1 Rf2 47.a4 Ra2 48.a5 Nf4 49.Kd1 e4 50.Kc1 e3 0-1

Round 6, Dec. 13
Blitz 5+3
MVL – Aronian, Levon
B06 Robatsch Defence

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nf3 d6 4.Bc4 e6 5.Bb3 Ne7 6.c3 b6 7.O-O Bb7 8.Re1 Nd7 9.Nbd2 O-O 10.Nf1 c5 11.Ng3 Qc7 12.Bg5 Nc6 13.Qd2 Rac8 14.Bh6 Na5 15.Bxg7 Kxg7 16.Rad1 Nxb3 17.axb3 Nf6 18.e5 dxe5 19.dxe5 Ng8 20.Ng5 Rcd8 21.Qf4 Rd5 22.c4 Rd7 23.h4 Rfd8 24.Rd6 Rxd6 25.exd6 Rxd6 26.Nxf7 Rd7 27.Ne5 Rd4 28.Qg5 Qe7 29.Nf3 Qxg5 30.Nxg5 Bc8 31.Nxe6+ Bxe6 32.Rxe6 Kf7 33.Re4 Rd1+ 34.Kh2 Rd2 35.Re2 Rd3 36.Re3 Rd2 37.Re2 Rd4 38.Ne4 h6 39.Kg3 Ne7 40.Kf3 Nf5 41.g3 Rd3+ 42.Kf4 Rxb3 43.g4 Nxh4 44.Nd6+ Kf6 45.Ne8+ Kf7 46.Nd6+ Kf8 47.Ke5 Ke7 48.f4 Nf3+ 49.Kd5+ Kd7 50.Nf7 Nd4 51.Rh2 Rd3 52.Ne5+ 1-0

Standings

Caruana 10
Nakamura 14

Aronian 8
MVL 16

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 13th December, 2018, 03:07 PM

London Chess Classic 2018

December 13, 2018

Blitz

Rounds Seven and Eight

Round 7, Dec. 13
Blitz 5+3
Nakamura, Hikaru – Caruana, Fabiano
A11 English

1.Nf3 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.b3 Bf5 5.Bb2 e6 6.Nc3 h6 7.d4 Be7 8.Bd3 O-O 9.O-O Nbd7 10.Qc2 Bg4 11.Ne5 Nxe5 12.dxe5 Nd7 13.h3 Bh5 14.g4 Bg6 15.Bxg6 fxg6 16.Qxg6 Rf7 17.Ne2 Nf8 18.Qc2 Rc8 19.Rad1 Bc5 20.Kg2 Qh4 21.Bd4 Be7 22.f4 Bb4 23.cxd5 exd5 24.f5 h5 25.Rf4 Nh7 26.Ng3 c5 27.gxh5 Qd8 28.Bb2 d4 29.e6 Rfc7 30.Qc4 b5 31.e7+ bxc4 32.exd8=Q+ Rxd8 33.bxc4 d3 34.h6 gxh6 35.Rg4+ Kf8 36.Ne4 Ng5 37.Nxg5 hxg5 38.Rxg5 d2 39.Kf3 Rh7 40.Rg3 Rdd7 41.Be5 Rh5 42.Kg4 Rdh7 43.Bf6 R5h6 44.Bg5 Ra6 45.e4 Rxa2 46.Rd3 Rc2 47.Bxd2 Rxc4 48.Rd8+ Kf7 49.Bxb4 Rxe4+ 50.Kf3 Re7 51.Bxc5 Rxh3+ 52.Kg4 1-0

Round 7, Dec. 13
Blitz 5+3
Aronian, Levon – MVL
B51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.c3 Nf6 5.Bd3 Ne5 6.Be2 Nxf3+ 7.Bxf3 e5 8.d4 Be7 9.dxe5 dxe5 10.Qxd8+ Bxd8 11.Nd2 Be6 12.Be2 Bc7 13.f3 Ke7 14.a4 h5 15.h4 Rhd8 16.Nc4 Ne8 17.Be3 b6 18.Bf2 f6 19.O-O g6 20.Rfc1 Nd6 21.Ne3 f5 22.Nd5+ Bxd5 23.exd5 c4 24.Be3 Kd7 25.Rab1 Rf8 26.b3 f4 27.Bf2 e4 28.fxe4 Rae8 29.bxc4 Nxe4 30.c5 Nxc3 31.Rxc3 Rxe2 32.d6 Bd8 33.c6+ Kc8 34.a5 Rxf2 35.Kxf2 Rf5 36.c7 Bxh4+ 37.Kf3 Rd5 38.axb6 1-0

Round 8, Dec. 13
Blitz 5+3
Caruana, Fabiano – Nakamura, Hikaru
E71 King’s Indian, Makagonov System

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.h3 O-O 6.Be3 e5 7.d5 a5 8.g4 Na6 9.Nge2 Nd7 10.Qd2 Ndc5 11.Ng3 c6 12.Be2 cxd5 13.cxd5 a4 14.h4 Bd7 15.h5 Rc8 16.Kf1 a3 17.b3 Qa5 18.Rc1 f6 19.Kg2 Nb4 20.hxg6 hxg6 21.Bh6 Rf7 22.Rh2 Bxh6 23.Qxh6 Rg7 24.Rch1 Rf8 25.Qc1 Nbd3 26.Qd2 Nf4+ 27.Kg1 Kf7 28.Rh7 Rc8 29.Bc4 b5 30.Nge2 g5 31.Nxf4 gxf4 32.g5 Rg8 33.Be2 Kf8 34.Kf1 fxg5 35.f3 b4 36.Nd1 Nxb3 37.Qc2 Nd4 38.Qc1 b3 39.axb3 a2 0-1

Round 8, Dec. 13
Blitz 5+3
MVL – Aronian, Levon
C02 French, Advance, Wade variation

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Bd7 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.a3 Bb5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.Bxb5+ Qxb5 9.b4 Bb6 10.a4 Qc4 11.a5 Qe4+ 12.Qe2 Qxe2+ 13.Kxe2 Bc7 14.c4 Ne7 15.Bg5 Nbc6 16.Bxe7 Kxe7 17.cxd5 exd5 18.Nc3 Rhd8 19.Rhd1 d4 20.Nb5 Bxe5 21.Nxe5 Nxe5 22.Nxd4 Rac8 23.a6 bxa6 24.Rxa6 Ke8 25.Ra5 f6 26.f4 Ng6 27.g3 Rd7 28.Nf5 Rc2+ 29.Ke1 Rdc7 30.Rd2 Rc1+ 31.Ke2 Ne7 32.Nd6+ Kf8 33.Nb5 Rc8 34.Rxa7 Nc6 35.Rb7 Re8+ 36.Kf3 Nd8 37.Rc7 Rf1+ 38.Kg2 Rb1 39.Nd6 Re7 40.Rxe7 Kxe7 41.Nf5+ Ke8 42.Nxg7+ Ke7 43.Nf5+ Ke8 44.Re2+ Kf8 45.Nd6 Nc6 46.b5 Nd4 47.Re8+ Kg7 48.Re7+ Kg6 49.g4 Rb2+ 50.Kf1 h5 51.h3 Nf3 52.Nf5 hxg4 53.hxg4 Nh2+ 54.Ke1 Nxg4 55.Nd6 Nh2 56.Re2 Rb1+ 57.Kd2 Nf3+ 58.Kc3 Kh5 59.Rb2 Rxb2 60.Kxb2 Kg4 61.b6 Nd4 62.Kc3 Nc6 63.f5 Kf4 64.Kc4 Ke5 65.Kc5 Nd8 66.Nf7+ 1-0

Final Scores

Caruana 10
Nakamura 18

Aronian 10
MVL 18

Schedule

Tomorrow Rest Day

Finals

Classic Game 1 Dec. 15
Classic Game 2 Dec. 16
Rapid and Blitz Dec. 17

Nakamura and MVL are the finalists

Hikaru said that he had to go to the Russian Embassy today to get his visa for the World Rapid and Blitz in St. Petersburg.

Updated Ratings in Rapid and Blitz

Name Rapid Blitz

1. Carlsen 2903.0 2939.0
2. Caruana 2760.4 2760.6
3. Mamedyarov 2786.0 2754.0
4. Ding 2760.0 2773.0
6. MVL 2796.8 2948.2
16.Nakamura 2849.6 2895.4

**Wayne Komer** · Saturday, 15th December, 2018, 11:47 PM

London Chess Classic 2018

December 15, 2018

Round Nine

Round 9, Dec. 15
Nakamura, Hikaru – MVL
D86 Grunfeld, Exchange, Classical variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 Nc6 9.Be3 O-O 10.O-O b6 11.Rc1 Bb7 12.Qd2 e6 13.Rfd1 Rc8 14.f3 cxd4 15.cxd4 Qd6 16.Bh6 Bxh6 17.Qxh6 Na5 18.Bd3 Rxc1 19.Qxc1 Rc8 20.Qd2 e5 21.d5 Nc4 22.Bxc4 Rxc4 23.Qe3 Rc2 24.a3 Ba6 25.Ng3 Qc5 26.Qxc5 Rxc5 27.d6 Rc8 28.a4 Bc4 29.a5 bxa5 30.d7 Rd8 31.Rc1 Be6 32.Ra1 Rxd7 33.Rxa5 f6 34.Nf1 Rd1 35.Kf2 a6 36.Ne3 Rd2+ 37.Kg1 Rd6 38.h4 Kf7 39.g4 Bd7 40.g5 Bb5 41.Kf2 Ke6 42.gxf6 Kxf6 43.Nd5+ Kf7 44.Nc7 Rb6 45.Ke3 h6 46.Kf2 h5 47.Kg3 Be2 48.Kf2 Bb5 49.Kg3 Be2 50.Kf2 Bb5 1/2-1/2

Round 9, Dec. 15
Caruana, Fabiano – Aronian, Levon
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d5 6.exd5 Qxd5 7.Bc4 Qd6 8.Nbd2 O-O 9.b4 Bb6 10.a4 a5 11.b5 e4 12.Ba3 Bc5 13.dxe4 Ne5 14.Nxe5 Qxe5 15.Bxc5 Qxc5 16.Qe2 Re8 17.f3 Be6 18.Bxe6 Rxe6 19.Rc1 Nd7 20.Nb3 Qa3 21.Rb1 Nc5 22.Nxc5 Qxc5 23.Rd1 f5 24.Rd4 Qxc3+ 25.Qd2 Qa1+ 26.Qd1 Qc3+ 27.Qd2 Qa1+ 28.Qd1 Qc3+ 1/2-1/2

From the official site:

VL & Nakamura Fight to a Standstill in 1st Final Game
Round-up Day 4 | 15 December 2018

France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and American Hikaru Nakamura split the honours in a keenly contested Main Line Grunfeld in Game 1 of the London Chess Classic Final, the concluding event of the Grand Chess Tour, which was played at the Olympia Conference Centre.

The result ratchets up the tension for Game 2, which will be broadcast live from 14:00 UTC on Sunday, as a win would give a lead of 6 points going into the Rapid and Blitz portion of the match on Monday.

In the Third Place Playoff match, Levon Aronian challenged Fabiano Caruana strongly in an Italian Game, but the players acquiesced to a draw by repetition as Caruana neutralized Aronian’s initiative.

Game 1 in the British Knockout Final and Third Place Playoff matches also finished in well-contested draws.

LONDON (December 14, 2018) – Hikaru Nakamura took on Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in a main line of his favourite Grunfeld Defence in Game 1 of the London Chess Classic on Saturday but failed to achieve any advantage. After Nakamura’s far advanced passed d-pawn fell, MVL emerged with a small endgame edge, but was unable to convert it and a draw was agreed in 50 moves.

The result leaves the players on 3 points each going into Game 2. In total, the Grand Chess Tour Final will be decided over 2 Classical, 2 Rapid and 4 Blitz games, with a total of 28 points at stake. The winner of the Grand Chess Tour Final will pocket $120,000, while the runner-up will take home $80,000.

In the Third Place Playoff match, Levon Aronian caused Fabiano Caruana some awkward moments with a sharp pawn sacrifice for the initiative in an Italian Game, but Caruana was able to neutralize Aronian’s play and the players opted for a repetition after a series of checks against Caruana’s uncastled king.

In the British Knockout Final, Gawain Jones managed to neutralize Luke McShane’s Italian Game, rounding up an insufficiently defended extra kingside pawn to force a drawn king and pawn ending.

In the British KO Third Place Playoff, Mickey Adams pressed David Howell strongly in an offbeat Two Knights Caro-Kann. The game was drawn in 41 moves, when Adams was the exchange up for a pawn in the ending.

https://www.londonchessclassic.com/press/gct18_day4.htm

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 16th December, 2018, 10:12 PM

London Chess Classic 2018

December 16, 2018

Round Ten

A disappointing round.

From the chessbomb kibitzers:

- Can't blame Lev vs Fabi though
- They are playing for the consolation prize and neither wants that.
- Disappointing
- Caruana has now drawn at least 20 games in a row.
- weak

- if stockfish or alphazero were playing , we’d have some decisive games
- Problem is they are afraid to take risks I think
- I feel it’s very difficult to take risks in top level games as all players are so well versed with most lines now
- if you play classical after blitz and rapid, none of the players is in the situation "if you draw you lose".
- could be an idea : play rapid first
- When will the rapid games be played?
- tomorrow
- ok, thx

Round 10, Dec. 16
MVL – Nakamura, Hikaru
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.h3 Ke8 10.Nc3 h5 11.Bf4 Be7 12.Rad1 Be6 13.Ng5 Rh6 14.Rfe1 Bb4 15.a3 Bxc3 16.bxc3 h4 17.Ne4 Rg6 18.g4 hxg3 19.fxg3 Bd5 20.g4 Bxe4 21.Rxe4 Ne7 22.e6 f5 23.Re5 Nd5 24.Rxf5 Nxf4 25.Rxf4 Rxe6 26.Rdf1 Kd7 27.Rf7+ Re7 28.h4 Rh8 29.h5 Ke8 30.Rxe7+ Kxe7 31.Kg2 g6 32.hxg6 Rg8 33.Rf7+ Ke6 34.Rxc7 Rxg6 35.Kg3 Rg5 36.Kh4 Rc5 37.g5 Rxc3 38.g6 Rxc2 39.Kg5 Rg2+ 40.Kh6 Rh2+ 41.Kg7 Ra2 42.Kf8 Rxa3 43.Rxb7 Rf3+ 44.Rf7 Rb3 45.Rc7 Rb8+ 46.Kg7 Kd5 47.Rxa7 c5 48.Kf7 c4 49.g7 c3 50.Rc7 Kd4 51.Rxc3 Kxc3 52.g8=Q Rxg8 53.Kxg8 1/2-1/2

Round 10, Dec. 16
Aronian, Levon – Caruana, Fabiano
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 c6 10.Kb1 d5 11.Bd3 Nc5 12.h4 Nxd3 13.Qxd3 Qd6 14.c4 Rd8 15.cxd5 Qxd5 16.Qxd5 cxd5 17.Nd4 Bd7 18.Nb3 Bf5 19.Nd4 Bd7 20.Nb3 Bf5 21.Nd4 1/2-1/2

__________

From the official site:

GCT Final, Day 5: Nakamura & MVL draw Game 2, setting up Rapid & Blitz showdown

Accurate defensive play and good endgame technique once again featured in the second Classical Game of the London Chess Classic Final, with Hikaru Nakamura and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave drawing after 53 moves of an evenly-contested Ruy Lopez Berlin Wall variation.

As in Game 1, Black demonstrated full equality in a well-trodden main line of the queenless middlegame, leaving the players to dispute the merits of an ultimately level endgame that had elements of asymmetry, but not enough imbalance to create a serious advantage for either side. MVL’s 22 e6!? effectively led to simplification and further accurate play by both players ensured the draw.

As in the recent World Championship match, draws in Classical play now mean that the London Chess Classic, the concluding event in the Grand Chess Tour 2018, will be decided fully in the Rapid and Blitz portion of the match.

On Monday, there will be 2 Rapid and 4 Blitz games, and if required there will be a playoff of 2 more rapid games and ultimately an Armageddon game. The total prize money for the Final is $200,000.

The Third Place Playoff match between Fabiano Caruana and Levon Aronian, which has a prize fund of $100,000, also saw a draw in Game 2, with a draw by repetition after 21 moves as Caruana equalised comfortably with his trademark Petroff Defence.

Each Classical game counts for 6 points, while the Rapid games are worth 4 points and the Blitz games 2 points.

**Wayne Komer** · Monday, 17th December, 2018, 01:22 PM

London Chess Classic 2018

December 17, 2018

Rounds Eleven and Twelve

Rapids

Announcement:

New for 2019

Minimum 2 classical, 4 rapid & blitz tournaments & the finals

New classical tournament in Croatia

New rapid & blitz tournaments in India & Cote d’Ivoire

Minimum of 10 full tour participants

Top 3 finishers at the 2018 GCT Finals qualify automatically

Minimum $1.5 million prize fund

More details to come…

____________

Round 11, Dec. 17
Rapid 25+10
MVL – Nakamura, Hikaru
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.h3 Ke8 10.Nc3 h5 11.Ne2 b6 12.Bg5 c5 13.Nc3 Bb7 14.Rfd1 Bxf3 15.gxf3 c6 16.Rd3 Be7 17.Ne4 Rd8 18.Rad1 Rxd3 19.Rxd3 Bxg5 20.Nxg5 Ke7 21.Kf1 h4 22.f4 f6 23.Ne4 Ke6 24.Nd6 Ne7 25.f5+ Nxf5 26.Nxf5 Kxf5 27.exf6 gxf6 28.Rd7 Ra8 29.Rc7 Rd8 30.Ke2 Re8+ 31.Kf1 Rd8 32.Ke2 Re8+ 33.Kf1 1/2-1/2

Round 11, Dec. 17
Rapid 25+10
Aronian, Levon – Caruana, Fabiano
D37 QGD, Hastings variation, main line

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.Qc2 Nc6 9.Rd1 Qa5 10.a3 Rd8 11.Nd2 d4 12.Nb3 Qb6 13.Na4 Bb4+ 14.axb4 Qxb4+ 15.Nd2 Qa5 16.Qb3 e5 17.Bg5 Nb4 18.Be2 Bd7 19.Bxf6 gxf6 20.Ra1 dxe3 21.fxe3 b5 22.O-O bxa4 23.Qc3 f5 24.Nf3 f6 25.Nh4 Nc6 26.Qa3 e4 27.Bd1 Ne5 28.Bxa4 Qxa4 29.Qxa4 Bxa4 30.Rxa4 f4 31.Rxf4 Rd1+ 32.Rf1 Rxf1+ 33.Kxf1 Rb8 34.b4 Nxc4 35.Nf5 Rb5 36.g4 h5 37.h3 hxg4 38.hxg4 Ne5 39.Rxa7 Rxb4 40.Kg2 Rb1 41.Re7 Rb2+ 42.Kh3 Rf2 43.Re8+ Kh7 44.Re7+ Kg8 45.Re8+ Kh7 46.Re7+ Kg8 1/2-1/2

Round 12, Dec. 17
Rapid 25+10
Nakamura, Hikaru – MVL
A34 English, symmetrical, Three Knights System

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e3 Nxc3 6.bxc3 g6 7.Bb5+ Bd7 8.Be2 Bg7 9.O-O O-O 10.d4 Bc6 11.Ba3 cxd4 12.cxd4 Re8 13.Ne5 Qa5 14.Qb3 Bxe5 15.dxe5 Qxe5 16.Bc4 Rf8 17.f4 Qe4 18.Rf2 Nd7 19.Rd1 b5 20.Be2 Qa4 21.Qxa4 bxa4 22.Rc1 Bd5 23.Ba6 Rab8 24.Rd2 Be6 25.Bxe7 Rfe8 26.Bd6 Rb6 27.Bf1 Bf5 28.Bc7 Rb7 29.Ba6 Rb4 30.Ba5 Rbb8 31.Bc7 Rb4 32.Ba5 Rbb8 33.h3 h5 34.Bc7 Rb4 35.Ba5 Rbb8 36.Bc7 Rb4 37.Bd6 Rb6 38.Bc8 Nf6 39.Bxf5 gxf5 40.Be5 Ne4 41.Rd7 a6 42.Bd4 Rbb8 43.Rc6 Re6 44.Rcc7 Rf8 45.Rd5 Ng3 46.Kf2 h4 47.Kf3 a3 48.Rdd7 Ne4 49.Rd5 Ng3 50.Rdd7 Ne4 51.Ke2 Rg6 52.Kf1 Rb8 53.Rb7 Rc8 54.Rdc7 Rc6 55.Rxc6 Rxc6 56.Rb8+ Kh7 57.Rh8+ Kg6 58.Rg8+ Kh6 59.Rh8+ Kg6 60.Rg8+ Kh6 61.Rh8+ 1/2-1/2

Round 12, Dec. 17
Rapid 25+10
Caruana, Fabiano – Aronian, Levon
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d5 6.exd5 Qxd5 7.Bc4 Qd6 8.b4 Bb6 9.Nbd2 O-O 10.a4 Bf5 11.Ba3 e4 12.dxe4 Nxe4 13.Nxe4 Bxe4 14.Qxd6 cxd6 15.O-O-O Rac8 16.Bd5 Bxd5 17.Rxd5 Ne5 18.Nxe5 dxe5 19.Kb2 Bxf2 20.Rxe5 Bh4 21.Rd1 Bf6 22.Re3 Rc7 23.b5 Rfc8 24.Bb4 h5 25.Kb3 b6 26.Rdd3 g6 27.Re4 Bg7 28.Rde3 f5 29.Re8+ Rxe8 30.Rxe8+ Kf7 31.Ra8 g5 32.c4 Be5 33.h3 g4 34.a5 f4 35.hxg4 hxg4 36.Rf8+ Ke6 37.Bd2 f3 38.gxf3 g3 39.axb6 axb6 40.Be3 Rd7 41.Re8+ Kf5 42.Bxb6 Rd3+ 43.Kb4 Rxf3 44.Rf8+ Ke4 45.Rxf3 Kxf3 46.Bg1 Kg2 47.Bc5 Kf3 48.b6 Ke4 49.b7 g2 50.Kb5 Bf4 51.Bg1 Bg3 52.Kc6 Be5 53.Kd7 1-0

Standings after Rapids

Nakamura 10
MVL 10

Caruana 12
Aronian 8

**Wayne Komer** · Monday, 17th December, 2018, 02:57 PM

London Chess Classic 2018

December 17, 2018

Rounds Thirteen to Sixteen

Blitz

Round 13, Dec. 17
Blitz 5+3
MVL – Nakamura, Hikaru
A17 English Opening

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.e3 Be7 5.Be2 O-O 6.O-O c5 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Qc2 Nc6 9.b3 Nxc3 10.dxc3 b6 11.Rd1 Qc7 12.e4 Bb7 13.g3 Rad8 14.Bf4 Qc8 15.h4 Rxd1+ 16.Rxd1 Rd8 17.e5 Rxd1+ 18.Qxd1 Bd8 19.Bd3 h6 20.Be4 Bc7 21.Qd3 Ne7 22.h5 Bc6 23.c4 Qa8 24.Bxc6 Qxc6 25.g4 Qa8 26.Kg2 g5 27.Qd7 Qd8 28.Qxd8+ Bxd8 29.Bd2 Nc6 30.Bc3 Bc7 31.Kf1 f6 32.exf6 Kf7 33.Ke2 e5 34.Kd3 Kxf6 35.Ke4 Ke6 36.Nd2 Nb8 37.Kd3 Nd7 38.Ne4 Nf6 39.Nxf6 Kxf6 40.Ke4 Ke6 41.b4 Bd6 42.b5 Bc7 43.a4 Bd6 44.a5 Bc7 45.a6 Bd6 46.Bd2 Be7 47.Ba5 Bd8 48.Bc3 Bc7 49.f3 Bd6 50.Be1 Bb8 51.Bd2 Bd6 52.Be3 Be7 53.Bc1 Bd6 54.Bd2 Be7 55.Ba5 Bd8 56.Be1 Be7 57.Bf2 Bd6 58.Bg3 Bc7 59.Be1 Bd6 60.Bd2 Be7 61.Be3 1/2-1/2

Round 13, Dec. 17
Blitz 5+3
Aronian, Levon – Caruana, Fabiano
A45 Queen’s Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 d5 3.e3 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nd2 Qb6 6.Qb3 Nh5 7.Qxb6 axb6 8.Bc7 cxd4 9.exd4 e5 10.Bxe5 Nxe5 11.dxe5 Bc5 12.g3 O-O 13.Be2 g6 14.Bxh5 gxh5 15.Ngf3 f6 16.b4 Be7 17.e6 Bxe6 18.Nd4 Bd7 19.N2b3 f5 20.f4 Bf6 21.Kd2 Rfe8 22.Rhe1 Re4 23.h4 Kf7 24.Re3 Ra3 25.Nc2 Ra8 26.Nbd4 Kg6 27.Rd3 Rae8 28.Re1 Rxe1 29.Nxe1 Ra8 30.Ndc2 Rxa2 31.Rxd5 Bc6 32.Rd6 Kf7 33.Rd3 Ke6 34.Kc1 Be4 35.Re3 Kd6 36.Kb1 Ra8 37.Kb2 Kc6 38.Na3 Rd8 39.Kc1 b5 40.Nf3 h6 41.Nc2 Ra8 42.Nfd4+ Kb6 43.Kb2 Rd8 44.Nb3 Be7 45.Ncd4 Bd6 46.Nc5 Bxc5 47.bxc5+ Ka7 48.Nxb5+ Kb8 49.Nd6 Rg8 50.Nxe4 fxe4 51.c4 Kc7 52.Kc3 Kc6 53.Kd4 Rd8+ 54.Kxe4 Kxc5 55.Rb3 Rd7 56.Rc3 Rd2 57.Kf5 Kb4 58.Rc1 Rg2 59.Kg6 Rxg3+ 60.Kxh5 Rf3 61.Kxh6 Rxf4 62.Kg5 Rf2 63.h5 Rg2+ 64.Kf6 Rf2+ 65.Kg6 Rg2+ 66.Kf6 Rf2+ 67.Kg7 Rg2+ 68.Kh7 Kc5 69.h6 b6 70.Kh8 Rg6 71.h7 Rg2 72.Rb1 Rg4 73.Rb5+ Kc6 74.Rf5 Rxc4 75.Kg7 Rh4 76.Rf6+ 1-0

Final position

White wins in 18 moves after 76.Kc7

Round 14, Dec. 17
Blitz 5+3
Nakamura, Hikaru – MVL
A34 English, symmetrical, Three Knights System

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e3 Nxc3 6.bxc3 g6 7.Bb5+ Bd7 8.Be2 Bg7 9.O-O O-O 10.d4 Bc6 11.Ba3 cxd4 12.cxd4 Re8 13.Ne5 Qa5 14.Nxc6 Qxa3 15.Ne5 Bxe5 16.dxe5 e6 17.Rb1 Nc6 18.Rxb7 Qxa2 19.f4 Red8 20.Qe1 Rab8 21.Rxb8 Rxb8 22.Bf3 Ne7 23.Qc3 Rc8 24.Qd3 Nd5 25.Bxd5 exd5 26.Rd1 Rc5 27.Qd4 Qc4 28.Ra1 a5 29.h3 Qxd4 30.exd4 Rc4 31.Rxa5 Rxd4 32.g3 h5 33.h4 Rd2 34.Ra7 d4 35.Ra8+ Kg7 36.Rd8 Rd1+ 37.Kf2 Rd2+ 38.Kf3 Rd3+ 39.Kf2 Rd2+ 40.Kf3 Rd3+ 41.Kf2 Rd2+ 1/2-1/2

Round 14, Dec. 17
Blitz 5+3
Caruana, Fabiano – Aronian, Levon
C63 Ruy Lopez, Schliemann Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 f5 4.d3 fxe4 5.dxe4 Nf6 6.O-O d6 7.Bc4 Bg4 8.h3 Bh5 9.Nc3 Nd4 10.g4 Nxf3+ 11.Qxf3 Bg6 12.Be6 c6 13.Be3 Qe7 14.Bb3 Bf7 15.Rfd1 a6 16.Qg3 b5 17.f4 Bxb3 18.axb3 g6 19.b4 Qe6 20.Qf3 exf4 21.Bxf4 Nd7 22.e5 d5 23.Rd4 Bg7 24.Bg3 Bxe5 25.Rd3 Bxg3 26.Qxg3 O-O 27.Re1 Qf6 28.Rd2 Rae8 29.Rxe8 Rxe8 30.Rf2 Qe5 31.Qxe5 Rxe5 32.Ne2 c5 33.bxc5 Nxc5 34.Nd4 Kg7 35.Kg2 Ne6 36.Nxe6+ Rxe6 37.Rd2 Rd6 38.Kf3 Kf6 39.c3 Ke5 40.Re2+ Kf6 41.Re8 d4 42.cxd4 Rxd4 43.Ra8 Rd6 44.Ke4 Kg5 45.Rh8 Rd7 46.Ra8 Rd6 47.Rh8 h6 48.b4 Rc6 49.Kd5 Rc4 50.Ra8 Rxb4 51.Rxa6 Rb3 52.h4+ Kxg4 53.Rxg6+ Kh5 54.Rb6 b4 55.Ke4 Rh3 56.Rb5+ Kg6 57.Rb6+ Kg7 58.Rb7+ Kf8 59.Kf5 Rxh4 60.Kf6 Ke8 61.Ke6 Re4+ 62.Kf5 Rc4 63.Rb6 h5 64.Ke6 Kd8 65.Kd6 Kc8 66.Kd5 Kc7 67.Rh6 Rh4 68.Kc5 Kd7 69.Kd5 b3 70.Rh7+ Kc8 71.Kc6 Rc4+ 72.Kd5 Rb4 73.Kc6 Rc4+ 74.Kd5 b2 75.Kxc4 b1=Q 76.Rxh5 Qc2+ 77.Kd4 Qd1+ 0-1

Final position

Black wins in 9 moves after 78.Ke4

Round 15, Dec. 17
Blitz 5+3
MVL – Nakamura, Hikaru
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 Nf5 8.Nf3 d5 9.d4 O-O 10.g3 Re8 11.Nc3 Be6 12.Ne2 g5 13.Bg2 h6 14.c3 Bf8 15.Nd2 Qd7 16.Nf1 Bg7 17.Ne3 Nxe3 18.Bxe3 Ne7 19.Nc1 Nf5 20.Bd2 b6 21.Nd3 f6 22.Qb3 c6 23.a4 Nd6 24.Qd1 Bg4 25.f3 Bf5 26.Nf2 Nc4 27.b3 Rxe1+ 28.Qxe1 Re8 29.Qc1 Nxd2 30.Qxd2 Qe7 31.Bf1 Qd6 32.Bd3 Bd7 33.Re1 Rxe1+ 34.Qxe1 Qe6 35.Qxe6+ Bxe6 36.Nd1 Bf8 37.Kf2 f5 38.f4 Kf7 39.Ne3 Kf6 40.Ng2 Ba3 41.Ke2 Bf7 42.Kd2 Bd6 43.Ke3 Bh5 44.Be2 Bf7 45.Bd3 Bh5 46.Be2 Bf7 47.Bd3 1/2-1/2

Round 15, Dec. 17
Blitz 5+3
Aronian, Levon – Caruana, Fabiano
A45 Queen’s Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.f3 e6 5.e4 c4 6.a4 exd5 7.exd5 Bb4+ 8.c3 Qe7+ 9.Qe2 Bc5 10.d6 Qxe2+ 11.Nxe2 b4 12.Nd2 Ba6 13.cxb4 Bxb4 14.Nc3 O-O 15.Rc1 Re8+ 16.Kd1 Bxc3 17.bxc3 Nd5 18.Bg3 Ne3+ 19.Ke2 Nc6 20.Ne4 Nxf1 21.Kxf1 Na5 22.Kf2 Nb3 23.Rc2 Bb7 24.Nd2 Bd5 25.Rd1 Nc5 26.Kg1 Bc6 27.Rb2 Nxa4 28.Rc2 Nc5 29.Ra2 Re2 30.Kf1 Re6 31.Rb1 h5 32.Ra5 Nb7 33.Rxh5 Nxd6 34.Ra5 Nb7 35.Ra3 d5 36.Bf2 a5 37.Rb6 a4 38.Bd4 Na5 39.f4 Bd7 40.Rxe6 fxe6 41.Nf3 Rb8 42.Ne5 Be8 43.Ra2 Rb1+ 44.Ke2 Nb3 45.Be3 Kh7 46.h3 Bb5 47.Kf2 d4 48.Bxd4 Nxd4 49.cxd4 c3 50.Nf3 Rb2+ 0-1

Final position

Round 16, Dec. 17
Blitz 5+3
Nakamura, Hikaru – MVL
A34 English, symmetrical, Three Knights

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e3 Nxc3 6.bxc3 g6 7.Bb5+ Bd7 8.Be2 Bg7 9.O-O O-O 10.d4 Bc6 11.Ba3 cxd4 12.cxd4 Re8 13.Rc1 Qa5 14.Qb3 Nd7 15.Bb4 Qf5 16.Bd3 Qh5 17.e4 e6 18.h3 Rad8 19.Rfe1 a5 20.Bd2 a4 21.Qb1 Rc8 22.Be2 Bf6 23.Rcd1 Red8 24.Ng5 Qh4 25.g3 Qh6 26.Nxf7 Qxh3 27.Bf1 Qh5 28.Be2 Qh3 29.Bg4 1-0

Round 16, Dec. 17
Blitz 5+3
Caruana, Fabiano – Aronian, Levon
B07 Pirc-Robatsch

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Be3 c6 5.a4 d5 6.h3 dxe4 7.Nxe4 Bf5 8.Ng3 Be6 9.Nf3 Nf6 10.Be2 Nd5 11.Bd2 Qc7 12.Qc1 h6 13.c4 Nf6 14.O-O Nbd7 15.a5 g5 16.Bd3 g4 17.hxg4 Bxg4 18.Bf4 Qc8 19.Nh4 Nh5 20.Nxh5 Bxh5 21.Nf5 Bf6 22.Re1 Kd8 23.Qe3 Nf8 24.Nxe7 Qd7 25.Nf5 Ng6 26.Bh2 Bg4 27.Nd6 Bg5 28.Qe4 Nh4 29.Nxf7+ Qxf7 30.Qxg4 Rf8 31.Bg3 Nf5 32.Bxf5 Qxf5 33.Qxf5 Rxf5 34.a6 b5 35.Re6 bxc4 36.Rd6+ Ke8 37.Re1+ Kf8 38.Rxc6 Rb5 39.Rxc4 Rxb2 40.d5 Ra2 41.Rc6 Rd8 42.d6 Ra4 43.Rb1 Rd7 44.Rb7 Rxa6 45.Rc8+ 1-0

Standings after Blitz

Nakamura 15
MVL 13

Caruana 16
Aronian 12

Hikaru Nakamura

Overall GCT Standing 1^st

Your Next Move 4^th
Paris GCT 1^st
Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz 1^st
Sinquefield Cup 7-9^th
London Chess Classic 1^st

Total Prize Money $225,000

____________

Grand Chess Tour Finals

1. Nakamura 34.5 points $225,000 prize money
2. MVL 31 $120,000
3. Caruana 25 $155,000
4. Aronian 34 $125,000
5. So 26 $80,000
6. Karjakin 25.5 $72,000
7. Mamedyarov 25 $65,000
8. Grischuk 18 $45,000
9. Anand 15 $45,000

London Chess Classic 2018

London Chess Classic 2018

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