Tata Steel 2019

[Wayne Komer]

Tata Steel 2019

January 23, 2019

Masters

Round Ten

I think once there was a hypothetical question: You are playing in a tournament, in a State/city which allows bearing firearms openly (by licence). Your opponent sits down at the table and puts a pistol next to the board, saying, “I’m afraid someone might attack me while I’m concentrating. I hope you don’t mind?”

Intimidating?

There is a picture of a snowball on the shelf of a refrigerator at Tata with isklar water and other drinks

https://twitter.com/tatasteelchess?r...ess-news.ru%2F

with this caption:

Tata Steel Chess
January 22

It is snowing in Wijk aan Zee. Magnus Carlsen brought a snowball to the round and put it in the refrigerator. Any theories on why?! So many questions

Should Magnus’s opponent have been intimidated like the one sitting down to the revolver at the table?

He was Sam Shankland.

___________

Round 10, Jan. 23
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Rapport, Richard
A45 Trompovsky Attack

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 d5 3.Bxf6 exf6 4.e3 Be6 5.Nd2 c6 6.Ngf3 b5 7.a4 b4 8.a5 Bd6 9.c4 bxc3 10.bxc3 O-O 11.Be2 f5 12.O-O Nd7 13.Qa4 c5 14.c4 Nf6 15.Nb3 Ne4 16.Nxc5 Bxc5 17.dxc5 Rc8 18.c6 Nc3 19.Qc2 Nxe2+ 20.Qxe2 Rxc6 21.cxd5 Bxd5 22.Nd4 Rc5 23.Qd2 Qg5 24.f3 Rfc8 25.Rfc1 g6 26.Rxc5 Rxc5 27.Rb1 h5 28.Rb8+ Kh7 29.Re8 Qf6 30.Rb8 Qa6 31.Nb3 Bxb3 32.Qd8 Rc1+ 33.Kf2 Qf1+ 34.Kg3 f4+ 35.Kxf4 Rc4+ 36.Kg3 Qe1+ 37.Kh3 Rc8 38.Rxc8 Be6+ 39.g4 hxg4+ 40.fxg4 Qxe3+ 41.Kh4 Qf2+ 0-1

Rapport plays 6...b5!?
Peter: "Rapport went full-Rapport there..."
Jan: "You'd get expelled from Botvinnik's School?"
Peter: "Even a district Pioneer's House would seriously reprimand you for this!"

Round 10, Jan. 23
Ding, Liren – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
E60 King’s Indian

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 c6 4.Bg2 d5 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Nf3 Bg7 7.Ne5 O-O 8.Nc3 Bf5 9.O-O Ne4 10.g4 Be6 11.Nxe4 dxe4 12.Bxe4 Nc6 13.Nxc6 bxc6 14.e3 Qd7 15.Bf3 Rab8 16.b3 c5 17.Bb2 c4 18.Qe2 cxb3 19.axb3 Rxb3 20.Rfc1 Rfb8 21.Bc3 Bd5 22.h3 Qc6 23.Bxd5 Qxd5 24.Qf1 R8b7 25.Be1 h6 26.Qg2 Qb5 27.Qc6 Qxc6 28.Rxc6 e5 29.dxe5 Bxe5 30.Rac1 Rb1 31.Kg2 Rxc1 32.Rxc1 Rc7 33.Rb1 Bc3 34.Bxc3 Rxc3 35.Ra1 Rc7 36.h4 g5 37.Kg3 Kg7 38.Ra5 Kg6 39.Ra6+ Kg7 40.h5 Rb7 41.Kf3 Rc7 42.Ra3 Rb7 43.e4 Kf6 44.Ke3 Rd7 45.Ra6+ Kg7 46.f3 1/2-1/2

Round 10, Jan. 23
Van Foreest, Jorden – Nepomnniachtchi, Ian
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Adams Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.h3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f4 exf4 9.Bxf4 Nc6 10.Qe2 Be7 11.O-O-O Qc7 12.g4 O-O 13.g5 Nd7 14.Qe3 Rac8 15.Kb1 Rfe8 16.h4 b5 17.Qg3 Nce5 18.Nd4 Nb6 19.Bh3 Bxh3 20.Qxh3 Nec4 21.Nd5 Nxd5 22.exd5 Nb6 23.Bc1 Nxd5 24.h5 Bf8 25.g6 h6 26.Qg2 Nf6 27.Bxh6 fxg6 28.Rdf1 Qc4 29.Rxf6 Qxd4 30.Rxg6 Kh7 31.Bc1 Qe4 32.h6 Qxg6 33.hxg7+ Kxg7 34.Bh6+ Kf7 35.Rf1+ Qf6 36.Qd5+ Ke7 37.Bg5 Qxg5 38.Rf7+ Kd8 39.Qxg5+ Be7 40.Qd5 Rg8 41.a3 Rg1+ 42.Ka2 Re1 43.Qb7 Rxc2 44.Rh7 Rc7 45.Qxa6 Re5 46.Rh8+ Kd7 47.Qa8 Bf6 48.Rf8 Bg7 49.Rd8+ Ke7 50.Qb8 Rec5 51.Rg8 Ke6 52.Qe8+ Kd5 53.Qe2 Be5 54.Rb8 Kc6 55.Qe4+ Kd7 56.Qd3 Kc6 57.Qf3+ d5 58.Qh5 d4 59.Qg6+ Bd6 60.Qe4+ 1-0

Final position



Van Foreest had a king-side attack going and it looked like the game would be over when the black king started walking and hid itself in a fortress of sorts.

• You only need a fortress if your are losing
• It’s a fortress
• But you can’t see it
• No, it’s not a fortress. To be a fortress, the a pawn needs to be gone and the d pawn has to be on d7 not d6
• Black is as hard to beat as it is to pronounce his name
• Fortress looking a bit drafty
• It’s a roving fortress, like one of those Mad Max dealies
• Very dodgy fortress
• What? Still no mate? Looks like the prison cell of El Chapo!
• If he draws it, will be the first time I am seeing such a fortress in the middle of the board

Round 10, Jan. 23
Carlsen, Magnus – Anand, Vishy
C77 Ruy Lopez, Four Knights (Tarrasch) variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bc5 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.d3 Qd6 8.h3 Be6 9.Be3 Nd7 10.Bxc5 Nxc5 11.Qd2 Nd7 12.d4 exd4 13.Nxd4 c5 14.Nxe6 fxe6 15.O-O-O Qxd2+ 16.Kxd2 Ne5 17.f4 Nc4+ 18.Kc1 Ke7 19.b3 Nd6 20.e5 Nf5 21.Ne4 b6 22.g4 Nh4 23.Rhf1 Rad8 24.Rxd8 Rxd8 25.f5 exf5 26.gxf5 Rf8 27.f6+ gxf6 28.exf6+ Kf7 29.Rf4 Ng6 30.Ng5+ Ke8 31.Rf1 h6 32.Ne6 Rf7 33.Rd1 Rxf6 34.Nxc7+ Kf8 35.Nxa6 Nf4 36.h4 Ng6 37.Rh1 Rf7 38.h5 Nf4 39.a4 Ke7 40.Nc7 Kf6 41.Nb5 Kg5 42.Nd6 Re7 43.Kb2 Re6 44.Nf7+ Kf5 45.Rd1 Kg4 46.Kc3 Kxh5 47.Rh1+ Kg6 48.Nxh6 Re4 49.Kb2 Re2 50.Ng4 Nd3+ 51.Kc3 Nb4 52.Rh2 Rxh2 53.Nxh2 Kf5 54.Nf3 Ke4 55.Ne1 Kd5 56.Nd3 Nc6 57.Nf4+ Kd6 58.Kc4 Na7 59.Nd5 Kc6 60.Ne7+ Kd6 61.Nf5+ Kc6 62.Kd3 Kc7 63.Ke4 Nc6 64.Ne3 Kd6 65.Nc4+ Kc7 66.c3 Ne7 67.Ke5 Ng6+ 68.Kf5 Ne7+ 69.Ke6 Ng6 70.a5 b5 71.Ne3 Nf4+ 72.Ke5 Ne2 73.Nd5+ Kc6 74.b4 Nxc3 75.Nxc3 cxb4 76.Ne2 1-0

Statistics from Tarjei J. Svensen before today’s game

Carlsen vs Anand

• Today is their 64^thencounter
• Total score: +10 =45 -8
• First met OTB in Wijk aan Zee 4390 days ago (1/2)
• Anand was white in 10 of 12 last games
• 2^ndyear in a row they play on Jan. 23

Round 10, Jan. 23
Fedoseev, Vladimir – Giri, Anish
B23 Sicilian, Closed

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.Nge2 Nf6 4.g3 g6 5.Bg2 Nc6 6.d3 Bg7 7.h3 O-O 8.Be3 Rb8 9.f4 Ne8 10.a4 Nd4 11.O-O Nc7 12.g4 a6 13.Rb1 Bd7 14.Ng3 b5 15.axb5 axb5 16.Nce2 b4 17.f5 e6 18.Nxd4 cxd4 19.Bf4 e5 20.Bd2 Bf6 21.Kh2 b3 22.Ra1 Bb5 23.Ra3 bxc2 24.Qxc2 Na6 25.b4 Bg5 26.Rf3 Rb6 27.Qa2 Bf4 28.Bxf4 exf4 29.Ne2 Nxb4 30.Qd2 d5 31.Nxf4 Nxd3 32.Nxd5 Qd6+ 33.Rg3 Qxa3 34.Nxb6 Qd6 35.Nd5 Bc4 36.f6 Bxd5 37.Qxd3 Be6 38.Kg1 Bc4 39.Qf3 d3 40.e5 Qxe5 41.Qe3 Re8 0-1

Fabiano Caruana – Next year Anish should ask for black in every game

Round 10, Jan. 23
Shankland, Samuel – Radjabov, Teimour
E05 Catalan, open, Classical line

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qa4 a6 8.Qxc4 b5 9.Qc2 Bb7 10.Bd2 Be4 11.Qc1 c6 12.Rd1 Nbd7 13.Bg5 Rc8 14.Nbd2 Bg6 15.Nb3 Qc7 16.Nc5 Nxc5 17.dxc5 Rfd8 18.b4 Rxd1+ 19.Qxd1 a5 20.a3 Rd8 21.Qe1 Be4 22.Rd1 Rxd1 23.Qxd1 axb4 24.axb4 Nd5 25.Bxe7 Qxe7 26.Qd4 Bxf3 27.Bxf3 e5 28.Qg4 Qe6 29.Qxe6 fxe6 30.Bxd5 exd5 31.f3 1/2-1/2

Vidit – Kramnik given in an early post in this thread.

Standing after Round Ten

1 Carlen 7
2 Giri 6.5
3-5 Nepo, Ding, Anand 6
6-7 Radjabov, Vidit 5
8-11 Rapport, Fedoseev, Duda, Shankland 4.5
12-13 Van Foreest, J., Mamedyarov 4
14 Kramnik 2.5

___________

I can’t remember a more enjoyable day of chess than was afforded by the broadcast today. First the two losses by Kramnik and Bareev, the announcement about agon and the other surprises such as Nepo’s loss and Giri’s and Rapport’s wins.

Near the end of the transmission, Peter and Jan were discussing who the best eight Dutch players ever were.
Then, someone in Chat asked about the best Canadian players and they tried to name eight and did quite well, although Peter Svidler was unfamiliar with Duncan Suttles. After all, he was born in 1976.

Then someone said that the two nicest nationalities had to be Australian and Canadian. Australian was disputed, so Canadian won by default. This gave rise to the quotation about Canadians being the golden-retriever types. (See Great Chess Quotes #488)

https://forum.chesstalk.com/forum/ch...-quotes/page33

[Hans Jung]

Regarding the loaded revolver the best response was what I heard (and saw) at North Bay. It was at one of the famous internationals. A Quebec player brought a hunting knife and put it openly at the board when playing Todd Southam. Todd's reaction was to play his Immortal Game, a stunningly beautiful miniature. (I think I have that memory right - others could share detials if they recall)

[Wayne Komer]

Tata Steel 2019

January 24, 2019

Todd Southam

I wonder if this is the game to which Hans referred above?

North Bay International Open
North Bay, ON
Round 5, Aug. 13, 1996
Southam, Todd – Cote, Jacques
A80 Dutch

1.d4 f5 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bg5 Nf6 4.Bxf6 exf6 5.e3 c6 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.Qf3 g6 8.h3 h5 9.g4 fxg4 10.hxg4 Bxg4 11.Qxg4 hxg4 12.Rxh8+ Bf8 13.Bxg6+ Ke7 14.Nge2 Nd7 15.Bf5 Kd6 16.O-O-O b5 17.Rdh1 Qa5 18.R1h7 Nb6 19.Ng3 b4 20.Nce4+ dxe4 21.Nxe4+ Kd5 22.Nxf6+ Kd6 23.Ne4+ Kd5 24.Rh5 c5 25.Bd7+ Kxe4 26.Bc6+ 1-0

Final position




http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1415887


If it isn’t, would someone direct me to the right score?

[Hans Jung]

Thats the one.

[Wayne Komer]

Tata Steel 2019

January 25, 2019

Round Eleven

Challengers

Round 11, Jan. 25
Van Foreest, Lucas – Praggnanandhaa, R.
B41 Sicilian, Kan, Maroczy bind

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 Qc7 7.Be2 Bb4 8.Qd3 O-O 9.O-O Bxc3 10.bxc3 d6 11.Nb3 Nbd7 12.Bf4 e5 13.Bg5 h6 14.Bh4 g5 15.Bg3 Nc5 16.Nxc5 Qxc5 17.Rfd1 Rd8 18.Rab1 b5 19.cxb5 axb5 20.Qxb5 Nxe4 21.Qxc5 Nxc5 22.Bxe5 Bf5 23.Bf6 Bxb1 24.Bxd8 Bc2 25.Rxd6 Ne4 26.Rd4 Nxc3 27.Bf3 Be4 28.Rd2 Bxf3 29.gxf3 Rxa2 30.Rxa2 Nxa2 31.Ba5 Nc1 32.Bd2 Ne2+ 33.Kg2 Nd4 34.h4 f6 35.Bc3 Nf5 36.Bxf6 Nxh4+ 37.Kg3 Kf7 38.Bxg5 hxg5 39.Kg4 Nxf3 1/2-1/2

Round 11, Jan. 25
L’Ami, Erwin – Keymer, Vincent
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.a4 e5 7.Nf3 Be7 8.Bg5 Be6 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.Nd5 Nd7 11.Bc4 O-O 12.O-O Nb6 13.Bb3 Be7 14.a5 Nd7 15.Nd2 Rc8 16.Nc4 Nc5 17.Ncb6 Rc6 18.Nb4 Rc7 19.Bd5 Nd7 20.c3 Re8 21.Nxd7 Qxd7 22.Qb3 Bd8 23.Nd3 Bg5 24.Kh1 h5 25.Rad1 h4 26.Bxe6 Qxe6 27.Qxe6 fxe6 28.Rfe1 Rd8 29.Kg1 Kf7 30.g3 Bf6 31.Kf1 g5 32.f3 Rc4 33.Nf2 Rc5 34.Ra1 Rd7 35.Ra4 Rdc7 36.Ke2 Rc4 37.Rxc4 Rxc4 38.Ra1 Bd8 39.Kd3 Rc7 40.Ng4 Ke8 41.b4 Rf7 42.Ke2 Kd7 43.Rd1 Kc7 44.c4 Be7 45.b5 Rf8 46.Nf2 axb5 47.cxb5 Ra8 48.Ra1 Kd7 49.Nd3 hxg3 50.hxg3 Bd8 51.a6 bxa6 52.bxa6 Bb6 53.Nf2 Kc6 54.Nh3 Bd8 55.f4 exf4 56.gxf4 gxf4 57.Nxf4 Bf6 58.Ra3 Kb6 59.Rb3+ Kc6 60.Nxe6 Rxa6 61.Nf4 Ra2+ 62.Kf3 Be5 63.Nd3 Ra4 64.Nxe5+ 1/2-1/2

Round 11, Jan. 25
Saduakassova, Dinara – Kuipers, Stefan
D43 QGD, Semi-Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Qc2 g6 7.Bg5 Bg7 8.e3 Bf5 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 O-O 11.O-O Nbd7 12.b4 Re8 13.b5 h6 14.Bxf6 Bxf6 15.Rfc1 Nb6 16.bxc6 bxc6 17.Rab1 Rc8 18.Nd2 c5 19.dxc5 Rxc5 20.Nb3 Rxc3 21.Rxc3 Bxc3 22.Qxc3 Qd7 23.Rd1 Qa4 24.Qb2 Rc8 25.h3 Qb4 26.Qe2 Qc4 27.Qd2 Qa4 28.Qe2 Qc4 29.Qe1 Qa4 30.Qd2 Rc4 31.Qb2 Rc8 32.Rd4 Rc4 33.Rd2 Qb4 34.Qf6 Rc8 35.Rd4 Rc4 36.Rd2 Rc8 37.Kh2 Qc3 38.Qe7 Qc7+ 39.Qxc7 Rxc7 40.Nd4 Rc1 41.Ne2 Rc5 42.Nf4 Kf8 43.g4 Ke7 44.Kg3 Ra5 45.h4 Ra3 46.h5 Kf6 47.Rc2 gxh5 48.Nxh5+ Ke5 49.Kh4 d4 50.f4+ Ke4 51.exd4 Nd5 52.Ng3+ Kf3 53.Nf5 Nxf4 54.Nxh6 f6 55.Ng8 Ng6+ 56.Kh5 Nf4+ 57.Kh4 Ng6+ 58.Kh5 Nf4+ 59.Kh4 Ng6+ 60.Kh5 Nf4+ 61.Kh4 Ng6+ 1/2-1/2

Round 11, Jan. 25
Chigaev, Maksim – Korobov, Anton
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Byrne Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 Nbd7 7.f3 h5 8.Qd2 e6 9.Bc4 Ne5 10.Bb3 b5 11.a4 b4 12.Na2 a5 13.c3 d5 14.exd5 Nxd5 15.Bxd5 Qxd5 16.Nb5 Qxd2+ 17.Bxd2 Ba6 18.Nc7+ Kd7 19.Nxa6 Rxa6 20.cxb4 axb4 21.b3 Bd6 22.Rd1 Ke7 23.Bxb4 Bxb4+ 24.Nxb4 Rb6 25.Nd3 Nxd3+ 1/2-1/2

Round 11, Jan. 25
Kovalev, Vladislav – Maghsoodloo, Parham
B01 Scandinavian (Centre Counter) Defence

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd8 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 g6 6.Bc4 Bg7 7.O-O O-O 8.h3 a6 9.a4 Nc6 10.Re1 b6 11.b3 e6 12.Be3 Bb7 13.Qe2 Ne7 14.Rad1 Qd6 15.Bg5 Ned5 16.Bd2 Nf4 17.Bxf4 Qxf4 18.d5 exd5 19.Nxd5 Nxd5 20.Bxd5 c6 21.Qe7 Rab8 22.Bc4 b5 23.Bf1 c5 24.Qd6 Qf5 25.Bd3 Qc8 26.Be4 bxa4 27.bxa4 a5 28.Bxb7 Rxb7 29.Ne5 c4 30.Nd7 Rd8 31.Nf6+ Bxf6 32.Qxf6 Rbd7 33.Rxd7 Qxd7 34.Re4 Rc8 35.Re7 Qd1+ 36.Kh2 Rf8 37.Qc3 Qd6+ 38.Qe5 Qb4 39.c3 Qxa4 40.f4 Qa3 41.h4 h6 42.h5 g5 43.fxg5 Qc1 44.gxh6 Qxh6 45.Ra7 f5 46.Qd5+ Kh8 47.Qd4+ Kg8 48.Qxc4+ Kh8 49.Qd4+ Kg8 50.Kg1 Re8 51.Qd5+ Kh8 52.Qd4+ Kg8 53.Rxa5 Qxh5 54.Qd5+ Kh8 55.Qd4+ Kg8 56.Qd5+ Kh8 57.Qxf5 Qd1+ 58.Kh2 Qd6+ 59.g3 Qd2+ 60.Kh3 Qxc3 61.Qh5+ Kg7 62.Rg5+ Kf6 63.Rf5+ Ke6 64.Qf7+ Kd6 65.Rd5+ Kc6 66.Qd7+ Kb6 67.Rb5+ Ka6 68.Qb7# 1-0

Mate




Round 11, Jan. 25
Gledura, Benjamin – Esipenko, Andrey
A5 English Opening

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.b3 e6 4.Bb2 b6 5.g3 Bb7 6.Bg2 Be7 7.O-O O-O 8.Nc3 d5 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.d4 Nxc3 11.Bxc3 cxd4 12.Qxd4 Qxd4 13.Nxd4 Bxg2 14.Kxg2 Rc8 15.Rac1 Nc6 16.Nxc6 Rxc6 17.Be5 Rxc1 18.Rxc1 f6 19.Bf4 e5 20.Be3 Bd6 21.f4 exf4 22.gxf4 Kf7 23.Kf3 Rd8 24.a4 Ke6 25.Rc4 f5 26.Bd4 g6 27.e4 Bc5 28.exf5+ gxf5 29.Bxc5 bxc5 30.Rxc5 Rd3+ 31.Kg2 Rxb3 32.Re5+ Kf6 33.Ra5 Kg6 34.Rxa7 Kh5 35.h3 Rb2+ 36.Kf3 Rb3+ 37.Ke2 h6 38.Ra5 Rxh3 39.Rxf5+ Kg4 40.Rf8 Ra3 41.f5 Rxa4 42.f6 Kf5 43.f7 Ra7 44.Rh8 Re7+ 45.Kd3 Rxf7 46.Rxh6 Rf6 47.Rxf6+ Kxf6 1/2-1/2

Round 11, Jan. 25
Bareev, Evgeny – Paehtz, Elisabeth
A00 Benko Opening

1.g3 Nf6 2.Bg2 d5 3.d3 g6 4.f4 c6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.Nc3 Ng4 7.d4 Bg7 8.h3 Nf6 9.O-O O-O 10.g4 Ne4 11.Nxe4 dxe4 12.Ne5 f6 13.Nc4 Qa6 14.b3 b5 15.Ne3 f5 16.gxf5 gxf5 17.Bb2 c5 18.Kh1 Bb7 19.Rg1 Qh6 20.Bf1 Kh8 21.Rb1 Qxf4 22.Rxg7 Kxg7 23.dxc5+ Kf7 24.Qd4 Rg8 25.Bg2 Nc6 26.Qd7 Bc8 27.Qxc6 Qxe3 28.Qxa8 Rxg2 29.Kxg2 Qxe2+ 30.Kh1 Qf3+ 31.Kh2 1/2-1/2

- Go Paehtz!
- She was doing fine up until 18th & 19th moves...
- sometimes you dont believe there’s an such an easy way like 18. ... cxd followed by Rd8 pin
- Absolutely!
- nice game, by the way
- 26. ... Bc8! strong play by black
- but I guess 28. ... Rxg2 will follow
- hmmm 28...Be6 is very deep
- If only Elisabeth had found 28...Be6!

Standing after Round Eleven

1-2 Kovalev, Chigaev 8
3 Esipenko 7.5
4 Gledura 6.5
5-7 Korobov, L’Ami, Maghsoodloo 6
8-10 Van Foreest L., Keymer, Bareev 5
11 Praggnanandhaa 4.5
12 Paehtz 3.5
13-14 Kuipers, Saduakassova 3

[Wayne Komer]

Tata Steel 2019

January 25, 2019

Round Eleven

Masters

In the chess24 broadcast, Peter and Jan have a quiz each day with the prize to the winner being a signed coffee mug.

Jan thought up the question and then, realizing it was full of holes, started adding restrictions:

Question: Only four payers that represent Asian Chess Federations have made it to the Candidates Tournament or Candidate matches. Name them!

Restrictions:

We don’t count Russians or Wesley So, who was representing the USA

We do count San Luis 2005 as a Candidates Tournament

We don’t count Azeris or Israelis because they have participated in European tournaments

___________

Peter, who misread the question, immediately mentioned Rustam Kasimdzhanov (Uzbekistan)

That left three others:

Vishy Anand
Ding Liren
Eugene Torre (1983)

__________

Round 11, Jan. 25
Radjabov, Teimour – Carlsen, Magnus
B33 Sicilian, Pelikan, Chelyabinsk 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.Nd5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 O-O 12.Nc2 Rb8 13.Be2 Bg5 14.O-O Kh8 15.a3 Ne7 16.Ncb4 Nxd5 17.Nxd5 Be6 18.Qd3 Qc8 19.Rad1 a5 20.Qg3 h6 21.h3 Qc6 22.Qd3 Qd7 23.Qg3 Qc6 24.Qd3 Qd7 25.Qg3 1/2-1/2

Round 11, Jan. 25
Kramnik, Vladimir – Van Foreest, Jorden
A08 Reti, King’s Indian Attack

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 c5 4.O-O Nc6 5.d3 e5 6.Qe1 Be7 7.e4 d4 8.a4 O-O 9.Na3 Ne8 10.Nc4 Qc7 11.b3 b6 12.Bd2 Be6 13.Qe2 f6 14.Nh4 Nd6 15.f4 Rae8 16.f5 Bd7 17.Ng6 Rf7 18.Qh5 Bd8 19.g4 Ne7 20.Rf3 Nxg6 21.fxg6 hxg6 22.Qxg6 Nxc4 23.bxc4 Qc8 24.Rg3 Be6 25.Rf1 Qd7 26.Bf3 Qxa4 27.Bd1 Qd7 28.Rh3 Kf8 29.Rh7 Ke7 30.Rxg7 Rxg7 31.Qxg7+ Kd6 32.Qxd7+ Bxd7 33.Kg2 a5 34.h4 a4 35.Bc1 Be7 36.Kg3 Ra8 37.Ba3 Rg8 38.Be2 Bd8 39.h5 Be8 40.Kh3 Rh8 41.Bc1 Be7 42.Bd2 Bd7 43.Kg3 Ra8 44.Rb1 b5 45.cxb5 a3 46.b6 a2 47.Ra1 Kc6 48.g5 fxg5 49.Bg4 Be8 50.Be6 Kxb6 51.Kg4 c4 52.h6 cxd3 53.cxd3 Bb5 54.Rxa2 Rxa2 55.Bxa2 Bxd3 56.Kf5 Bf8 57.h7 Bg7 58.Bxg5 Bc2 59.Bd5 d3 60.Kg6 Bh8 61.Kf7 Kc5 62.Kg8 Bf6 63.Bxf6 d2 64.h8=Q d1=Q 65.Kf7 Bd3 66.Qh2 1-0

"Today I think I played another bad game, but finally managed to win", Vladimir Kramnik on his first win of the #TataSteelChessTournament against @jordenvforeestin Round 11. Full interview: https://youtu.be/TZx--GqFwls

Round 11, Jan. 25
Anand, Vishy – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
C42 Petrov, Classical Attack, Marshall variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.O-O O-O 8.c4 c6 9.Re1 Bf5 10.Qb3 Qd7 11.Nc3 Nxc3 12.Bxf5 Qxf5 13.bxc3 b6 14.Bg5 f6 15.Bh4 dxc4 16.Qxc4+ Qd5 17.Qe2 b5 18.a4 a6 19.Bg3 Bxg3 20.hxg3 Nd7 21.Qe6+ Qxe6 22.Rxe6 Rfc8 23.Rd6 Nb6 24.axb5 axb5 25.Rxa8 Nxa8 26.d5 cxd5 27.Nd4 h5 28.Rxd5 Nb6 29.Rxb5 Na4 30.Nf5 Nxc3 31.Ne7+ 1/2-1/2

Round 11, Jan. 25
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Fedoseev, Vladimir
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.c3 h6 6.Be2 Ne7 7.Nbd2 a5 8.a4 Nd7 9.O-O g5 10.Ne1 Qb6 11.Nd3 Bg7 12.Nb3 O-O 13.Nbc5 Nxc5 14.Nxc5 Qc7 15.f4 gxf4 16.Bxf4 b6 17.Nd3 c5 18.Qd2 Kh7 19.Be3 Rac8 20.dxc5 bxc5 21.Bxc5 Rfe8 22.Kh1 Ng6 23.Bd4 Nxe5 24.Nxe5 Bxe5 25.Bxe5 Qxe5 26.Bd3 Bxd3 27.Qxd3+ f5 28.Rae1 Qg7 29.Qa6 Ra8 30.Qd6 Rad8 31.Qc5 Ra8 32.Re2 Qd7 33.Rfe1 Ra6 34.h3 Rg8 35.b4 axb4 36.cxb4 d4 37.b5 Rd6 38.b6 d3 39.Rd2 Rd5 40.Qb4 e5 41.Rc1 Rd4 42.Qa5 Rxa4 43.Qxe5 Re4 44.Qf6 Rg6 45.Rxd3 Rxf6 46.Rxd7+ Kg6 47.Rb1 Rfe6 48.Rdd1 Re8 49.b7 Rb8 50.Rd7 1-0

Round 11, Jan. 25
Rapport, Richard – Ding, Liren
C24 Bishop’s Opening, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 c6 4.Nf3 d5 5.Bb3 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Bxd2+ 7.Nbxd2 a5 8.a4 Bg4 9.h3 Bxf3 10.Qxf3 O-O 11.O-O dxe4 12.Nxe4 Nxe4 13.Qxe4 Nd7 14.Qe3 Re8 15.Rae1 Nf6 16.Re2 e4 1/2-1/2

Round 11, Jan. 25
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi
D38 QGD, Ragozin variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dxc4 7.a3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 Nbd7 9.e3 b5 10.a4 c6 11.Qb1 a6 12.Be2 O-O 13.O-O Qe8 14.Re1 Nd5 15.Qc2 Bb7 16.e4 N5f6 17.Bf1 c5 18.Rab1 Qc8 19.axb5 axb5 20.Rxb5 Bxe4 21.Qd2 Bxf3 22.gxf3 Qc6 23.Bxc4 cxd4 24.Qxd4 Rfc8 25.Rb4 Qxf3 26.Bg3 Ra3 27.Rc1 Nd5 28.Bxd5 exd5 29.Rd1 Nf6 30.Be5 Ne4 0-1

Round 11, Jan. 25
Giri, Anish – Shankland, Samuel
C50 Giuoco Piano, Italian Four Knights variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Na4 Qe7 7.a3 Be6 8.Bxe6 Qxe6 9.b4 Bb6 10.O-O O-O 11.c4 Nd7 12.Bb2 Nd4 13.Nd2 f5 14.Rc1 c5 15.exf5 Nxf5 16.Ne4 cxb4 17.Nxb6 axb6 18.axb4 Qg6 19.Ra1 Rxa1 20.Bxa1 Nf6 21.Nxf6+ Rxf6 22.Qf3 Nh4 23.Qd5+ Kh8 24.f4 h6 25.Qe4 Qxe4 26.dxe4 Rxf4 27.Rxf4 exf4 28.e5 dxe5 29.Bxe5 Ng6 30.Bc7 b5 31.cxb5 Kg8 32.Kf2 Kf7 33.Kf3 Nh4+ 34.Kxf4 Nxg2+ 35.Ke5 Ke7 36.Bd6+ Ke8 37.Ke6 g5 38.Kf6 Kd7 39.Bf8 Nh4 40.Bxh6 Nf3 41.h3 Ng1 42.Bxg5 Nxh3 43.Be3 Kd6 44.Kf5 Kd5 45.b6 1-0

Final position, just after Giri played 45.b6



and Shankland resigned in a drawn position.

Anish explained it this way:

“Initially the endgame was quite equal. I didn’t think I was playing for anything. Then he blundered into this position and from his body language it seemed to me that he thought he was lost. I thought it was a draw but it was difficult for me to behave. So, if he thought he would be lost after I played 45.b6 I decided to give it a shot and with a stone-cold face I played 45.b6 and he extended his hand, I shook it and I asked, “Have you resigned?” and he said “Yes”.”

Full interview at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnK4...ature=youtu.be

Afterwards, Sam said he'd had an hallucination and didn't realise the ending with a king on c8 would be drawn too (not just with a king on a8) - what an incredible end to the game!

Giri is now also up to world no. 4 ahead of Mamedyarov and just 3 points short of 2800!

Standing after Round Eleven

1-2 Carlsen, Giri 7.5
3 Nepo 7
4-5 Ding, Anand 6.5
6 Vidit 6
7 Radjabov 5.5
8-9 Rapport, Duda 5
10-11 Fedoseev, Shankland 4.5
12-13 Van Foreest, Mamedarov 4
14 Kramnik 3.5


Live Chess Ratings as of today

1 Carlsen 2841.5
2 Caruana 2828.0
3 Ding Liren 2813.3
4 Giri 2797.0
5 Mamedyarov 2793.6
6 Anand 2779.8
7 Nepo 2777.0
8 MVL 2776.7
9 Grischuk 2771.0
10 So 2768.5

[Serge Archambault]

0123456789

[Hans Jung]

Sam Shankland after resigning in a drawn position yesterday won an excellent game against Nepo today!

[Hans Jung]

Magnus is enjoying the extra piece (B+N vs rook) but needs to be accurate and careful.

[Hans Jung]

Magnus wins and leads by half a point going into the last round. Only Anish Giri can catch him.

[Bob Armstrong]

Last 13th round of the Tata Steel is at 6:00 AM EST (Toronto) tomorrow (Sunday). Get your coffee and go get your chess fix!

And if you want to multi-task (A mega-fix), at 10:00 AM EST (Toronto) tomorrow, watch, simultaneously, the Rd. 4 top 3 boards of the Oakville Winter Open!

[Wayne Komer]

Tata Steel 2019

January 26, 2019

Round Twelve

Masters

In the broadcast of Round Seven of Norway Chess 2013 there was a quiz question: How many smokers are there among the participants? And the answer was that none of the ten participants smoked.

How does one know these things unless he is a frequent tournament visitor?

Today, Peter and Jan posed the question, “How many kids do the Tata Steel Masters 2019 players have combined?”

Viewers started putting their answers into Chat and the first to get the right answer won! The answer is six.

The tally:

Carlsen 0
Duda 0
Kramnik 2 (boy and girl)
Anand 1 (boy)
Ding 0
Nepo 0
Giri 1
Rapport 0
Radjabov 1
Jorden 0
Vidit 0
Mamedyarov 1
Shankland 0

Total 6

Jan wasn’t initially sure about Ding and Rapport but intensive Wikipediaing convinced him that the number given are correct.

Round 12, Jan. 26
Carlsen, Magnus – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
D24 QGA

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e4 Bb4 6.Bxc4 Nxe4 7.O-O Nf6 8.Qa4+ Nc6 9.Ne5 Rb8 10.Rd1 O-O 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Qxa7 Bd7 13.Qa4 c5 14.Qc2 cxd4 15.Rxd4 Bc5 16.Rh4 h6 17.Bxh6 gxh6 18.Qd2 Nh7 19.Qxh6 Bxf2+ 20.Kxf2 Qf6+ 21.Qxf6 Rxb2+ 22.Kg1 Nxf6 23.Rf1 Kg7 24.Rf3 Rg8 25.Rhf4 Bc6 26.Rxf6 Bxf3 27.Rxf3 Rd8 28.Rf2 Rb4 29.Bb5 Ra8 30.a4 c6 31.Be2 Ra5 32.Rf3 f5 33.Kf2 Rc5 34.Bd1 e5 35.Ne2 Kf6 36.Ra3 Rb1 37.Ke1 e4 38.g3 Ke5 39.h4 Ra5 40.h5 c5 41.Kd2 c4 42.Kc2 Rb8 43.Kc3 Rb1 44.Kc2 Rb8 45.Kc1 Rb6 46.Bc2 Rd6 47.Nf4 Rc5 48.Re3 Kd4 49.Re1 Rh6 50.Kd2 Re5 51.Ne2+ Kc5 52.Rh1 Re8 53.Kc3 Rg8 54.Rb1 Rxh5 55.Bxe4 Re8 56.Nf4 Rg5 57.Rb5+ Kd6 58.Bxf5 Rxg3+ 59.Kd4 Rg1 60.Rb6+ Ke7 61.Ng6+ Kf7 62.Ne5+ Kg8 63.Nxc4 Ra8 64.a5 Ra1 65.Rb5 Ra7 66.Be4 Rc7 67.Rf5 Kg7 68.Bc2 Rc1 69.Kc3 Rf7 70.Rxf7+ Kxf7 71.Na3 1-0

In the post-game interview:"I think I played a bit inaccurately earlier on, but then I sort of got back on track. I think, practically, he had very decent drawing chances”, Carlsen said after winning the battle that lasted over six hours.”

Round 12, Jan. 26
Fedoseev, Vladimir – Kramnik, Vladimir
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.d4 Bf6 10.Re2 Nc4 11.b3 Nb6 12.c3 d5 13.Re1 Re8 14.Rxe8+ Qxe8 15.a4 Be6 16.Na3 Nc8 17.Bf4 Qd7 18.Bd3 c6 19.Nc2 Ne7 20.Qd2 Bf5 21.Nb4 Ng6 22.Bg3 Re8 23.a5 h5 24.h3 h4 25.Bh2 Bxd3 26.Nxd3 Qf5 27.a6 b6 28.Bd6 Bg5 29.Qd1 Qe4 30.Ra2 Qe6 31.Bc7 c5 32.Qg4 Qe7 33.dxc5 bxc5 34.Ba5 Ne5 35.Nxe5 Qxe5 36.Ra1 Re6 37.Rd1 Bd2 38.Qxh4 Rxa6 39.g3 f6 40.Bc7 Qxc7 41.Rxd2 Ra1+ 42.Kg2 Qe5 43.Qf4 Qe1 44.Kf3 Qh1+ 45.Kg4 Re1 46.Qd6 Qe4+ 47.Qf4 Qh1 48.f3 Re5 49.h4 a5 50.Rd3 Kf7 51.Qd2 Kg6 52.Re3 Rg5+ 53.Kf4 Rf5+ 54.Kg4 Rg5+ 55.Kf4 Qh3 56.g4 Qxh4 57.Qc2+ Kf7 58.Re2 g6 59.Qd1 Re5 60.Rxe5 Qh2+ 61.Ke3 Qxe5+ 62.Kd3 d4 63.Qd2 dxc3 64.Qxc3 Qxc3+ 65.Kxc3 Ke6 66.Kc4 Kd6 67.f4 Kc6 68.f5 gxf5 69.gxf5 Kd6 0-1

Kramnik’s second consecutive win

- So Vlad won a Berlin with Black. A rare event
- on the comeback trail!
- yaaay so happy for Kramnik !
- beautiful game today and a winning attack !

Round 12, Jan. 26
Ding, Liren – Anand, Vishy
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 a6 7.a4 O-O 8.Re1 h6 9.h3 a5 10.Nbd2 Be6 11.b3 d5 12.exd5 Nxd5 13.Ne4 Bb6 14.Ra2 f5 15.Ng3 Qf6 16.Nxe5 Nxe5 17.Nh5 Qf7 18.Rxe5 Nxc3 19.Rxe6 Nxd1 20.Re7 Rad8 21.Rae2 Nc3 22.R2e5 c6 23.Rxb7 Nd5 24.Rxf7 Rxf7 25.Re6 Kh7 26.Rxc6 Re7 27.Bxh6 gxh6 28.Bxd5 Rd6 29.Rxd6 Re1+ 30.Kh2 Bc7 31.g4 Bxd6+ 32.Kg2 Kg6 33.Ng3 Bxg3 34.Kxg3 Rd1 35.Bc4 Kf6 36.f3 Rg1+ 37.Kf2 Rh1 38.Kg2 Rd1 39.Kg3 Rg1+ 40.Kf2 1/2-1/2

Round 12, Jan. 26
Shankland, Samuel – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
B07 Pirc Defence

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Be3 a6 5.h3 e6 6.Bd3 Nbd7 7.Nf3 b5 8.e5 b4 9.Ne4 Nxe4 10.Bxe4 d5 11.Bd3 c5 12.c3 bxc3 13.bxc3 Qa5 14.Bd2 Qa3 15.Qe2 Bh6 16.Rb1 Bxd2+ 17.Qxd2 c4 18.Bc2 Rb8 19.Rxb8 Nxb8 20.h4 h6 21.h5 g5 22.Nh2 Nc6 23.Ng4 Na7 24.Bd1 Nb5 25.Rh3 Bd7 26.f4 gxf4 27.Qxf4 Qf8 28.Qf6 Bc6 29.a4 Na7 30.Rf3 Nc8 31.Bc2 Ne7 32.Bg6 Kd8 33.Bxf7 Kc7 34.Qxe6 Nc8 35.Qf6 1-0

- Nepo totally mishandled this
- It's nice that Shank won straight after yesterday.
- You cannot play like this against Shankland. Loose kingside,and this mysterious knight tango, it was humilating:)
- Shankland seemed upset from yesterday
- great game for Sam
- Nice bounce back for Sam!

Round 12, Jan. 26
Radjabov, Teimour – Giri, Anish
D31 QGD, Charousek Exchange

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 c6 6.e3 Bf5 7.g4 Be6 8.h3 Nd7 9.Bd3 h5 10.gxh5 Ndf6 11.h6 Nxh6 12.Qc2 Qd7 13.Nf3 Bf5 14.Ne5 Bxd3 15.Nxd3 Nh5 16.Bh2 Qxh3 17.O-O-O Qf5 18.Qb3 b5 19.f3 O-O 20.e4 Qxf3 21.Ne5 Qe3+ 22.Kb1 b4 23.Nxc6 bxc3 24.Nxe7+ Kh7 25.Rhe1 Qf2 26.Be5 f6 27.Bd6 Rfd8 28.Bc5 Qxb2+ 29.Qxb2 cxb2 30.exd5 Rd7 31.d6 Ng3 32.Kxb2 1/2-1/2

- Giri : are you resigning ? radja .no, I am offering draw. Giri : OK then, I agree.

Round 12, Jan. 26
Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi – Rapport, Richard
D02 Queen’s Pawn game, Chigorin variation

1.d4 Nc6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 Bg4 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nf6 6.Qb3 Bxf3 7.gxf3 Rb8 8.a3 Be7 9.f4 O-O 10.Qc2 Qd7 11.Rg1 Na5 12.cxd5 exd5 13.b4 Nc4 14.Nxd5 Nxd5 15.Bxc4 Bh4 16.f5 Rfe8 17.Kf1 Nf6 18.f3 Qc6 19.Kg2 Rbd8 20.b5 Qd7 21.Kh3 g5 22.e4 Qxd4 23.Bxg5 Bxg5 24.Rxg5+ Kh8 25.Rag1 Nxe4 26.fxe4 Rxe4 27.Bxf7 Rh4+ 28.Kg2 Qf6 29.Kh1 Qxf7 30.Qg2 Rhd4 31.f6 Rd1 32.Qf3 Rxg1+ 33.Rxg1 Qd5 34.Qxd5 Rxd5 35.f7 Rd8 36.Rc1 a6 37.bxa6 bxa6 38.Rxc7 Kg7 39.Ra7 Rd1+ 40.Kg2 Rd2+ 41.Kg1 Rd1+ 1/2-1/2

Round 12, Jan. 26
Van Foreest, Jorden – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
B10 Caro-Kann Defence

1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 Bg7 4.Bd3 d6 5.O-O Nf6 6.Re1 O-O 7.Nbd2 Qc7 8.c3 e5 9.h3 Nbd7 10.Nf1 Re8 11.Ng3 b6 12.Bg5 h6 13.Bd2 Bb7 14.a4 Rad8 15.Qc1 Kh7 16.b4 d5 17.dxe5 Nxe4 18.Bf4 Nxe5 19.Nxe5 Bxe5 20.Bxe5 Rxe5 21.Qf4 f5 22.f3 g5 23.Qe3 f4 24.Qf2 fxg3 25.Qxg3 Kg7 26.fxe4 d4 27.cxd4 Rxd4 28.Rf1 c5 29.bxc5 bxc5 30.Rab1 Bc6 31.Rf5 Re7 32.e5 Qd8 33.Rxg5+ hxg5 34.Qxg5+ Kh8 35.Qh6+ Kg8 36.Qg6+ Rg7 37.Qe6+ Rf7 38.Bh7+ Kxh7 39.Qxf7+ Kh8 40.Rb8 Qxb8 1/2-1/2

Tomorrow sees Giri against Carlsen and Kramnik vs Shankland

Standing after Round Twelve

1 Carlsen 8.5
2 Giri 8
3-5 Nepo, Ding, Anand 7
6 Vidit 6.5
7 Radjabov 6
8-9 Shankland, Rapport 5.5
10 Duda 5
11-14 Kramnik, Van Foreest, J., Mamedyarov, Fedoseev 4.5

__________

Last year, Carlsen and Giri drew their Round Four game and both ended up 9/13. There was a blitz playoff with Carlsen winning the first game and the second being drawn.

[Wayne Komer]

Tata Steel 2019

January 26, 2019

Round Twelve

Challengers

Round 12, Jan. 26
Kuipers, Stefan – Bareev, Evgeny
B13 Caro-Kann, Exchange variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 Nf6 5.h3 Nc6 6.c3 Qc7 7.Nf3 g6 8.Qc2 Bg7 9.O-O O-O 10.Be3 Bd7 11.Qc1 Rfe8 12.Bf4 Qc8 13.Re1 Bf5 14.Bf1 Ne4 15.Na3 Qd8 16.Qd1 a6 17.Bd3 Nd6 18.Bxd6 Qxd6 19.Bxf5 gxf5 20.Nc2 Kh8 21.Ne3 Qd7 22.Nh4 e6 23.Kh1 Qc7 24.Rg1 Qf4 25.Nf3 Qh6 26.Ne1 Qh4 27.Nd3 Rg8 28.Qf1 Bh6 29.Re1 Bf8 30.g3 Qh6 31.f4 Bd6 32.Kh2 Rg6 33.Qf3 Rag8 34.Ne5 Nxe5 35.dxe5 Bc5 36.h4 Be7 37.Ref1 Bxh4 0-1

Round 12, Jan. 26
Chigaev, Maksim – Van Foreest, Luas
E32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 O-O 5.e4 d5 6.e5 Ne4 7.Bd3 c5 8.Nf3 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Qh4 10.Nf3 Qh5 11.cxd5 exd5 12.O-O Nxc3 13.bxc3 Be7 14.Nd4 Qxe5 15.Bxh7+ Kh8 16.Bd3 Nc6 17.Be3 Bd6 18.g3 Bh3 19.Rfe1 Qh5 20.Nxc6 Qf3 21.Bf1 Bxf1 22.Rxf1 bxc6 23.Rad1 f5 24.Rfe1 Rae8 25.Qe2 Qxe2 26.Rxe2 f4 27.gxf4 Bxf4 28.Rde1 Bxe3 29.Rxe3 Rxe3 30.fxe3 Re8 31.c4 dxc4 32.e4 Rd8 33.Kf2 Rd2+ 34.Ke3 Rxh2 35.Kd4 Kg8 36.Rc1 Rxa2 37.Rxc4 Ra6 38.Ke5 Kf7 39.Kd6 c5+ 1/2-1/2

Round 12, Jan. 26
Maghsoodloo, Parham – L’Ami, Erwin
C02 French, Advance, Euwe variation

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.Be2 Nh6 7.O-O Nf5 8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.Bd3 Nh4 10.Nbd2 Ng6 11.Nb3 Bb6 12.Qe2 O-O 13.Be3 Bc7 14.Bg5 Qe8 15.Bxg6 fxg6 16.Nbd4 1/2-1/2

Round 12, Jan. 26
Paehtz, Elisabeth – Kovalev, Vladislav
A48 King’s Indian ,Torre Attack, main line

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bg5 Bg7 4.Nbd2 d6 5.c3 O-O 6.e4 c5 7.dxc5 dxc5 8.Be2 Nc6 9.O-O Qc7 10.Qc2 b6 11.Nc4 h6 12.Bh4 Nh5 13.Ne3 e6 14.Rad1 Bb7 15.Rd2 g5 16.Bg3 Nxg3 17.hxg3 Rad8 18.Rxd8 Rxd8 19.Nd2 Ne5 20.f4 Ng6 21.e5 gxf4 22.gxf4 Nxf4 23.Ndc4 Bxe5 24.Bf3 Bxf3 25.Rxf3 Bg7 26.Qe4 Ng6 27.Ng4 Rd1+ 28.Kf2 Qe7 29.Nge3 Rd8 30.Rh3 b5 0-1

Round 12, Jan. 26
Praggnanandhaa, R. – Gledura, Benjamin
A49 King’s Indian, Fianchetto

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.O-O O-O 5.d4 c5 6.d5 b5 7.c4 a6 8.Re1 d6 9.e4 Bg4 10.Nc3 bxc4 11.e5 Nfd7 12.exd6 exd6 13.Bf4 Ne5 14.Bxe5 Bxe5 15.Re4 Bxf3 16.Bxf3 Nd7 17.Rxc4 Bd4 18.Bg2 Rb8 19.Rb1 Ne5 20.Ra4 Qb6 21.Ne4 f5 22.Ng5 c4 23.Nf3 Bxf2+ 24.Kh1 Ng4 25.h3 Ne3 26.Qe2 Bxg3 27.Ng5 Be5 28.Ne6 Nxg2 29.Kxg2 Qb5 30.Qxc4 Rfc8 31.Qxb5 axb5 32.Rb4 Kf7 33.Kf3 Kf6 34.Ke3 Rc4 35.Rxc4 bxc4 36.b4 cxb3 37.axb3 Rb4 38.Nd8 Rh4 39.Nc6 Rxh3+ 40.Ke2 Bf4 41.b4 Be3 42.Na5 f4 43.b5 Rh2+ 44.Kd3 Rd2+ 45.Kc3 Rxd5 46.Nc4 Bd4+ 47.Kb4 Ke6 48.Ka5 f3 49.Ka6 g5 50.Re1+ Re5 51.Nxe5 dxe5 52.b6 Bxb6 53.Kxb6 g4 54.Rf1 Kd5 55.Kb5 Ke4 56.Kc4 g3 57.Re1+ Kf4 58.Kd3 f2 59.Rf1 Kf3 0-1

An interesting ending: 4 passed pawns vs R!



Round 12, Jan. 26
Korobov, Anton – Keymer, Vincent
D35 QGD, Exchange variation

1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 c5 7.a3 g6 8.Nf3 Bg7 9.Be3 O-O 10.Be2 Nc6 11.O-O cxd4 12.cxd4 b6 13.h4 Bb7 14.h5 gxh5 15.Rc1 Rc8 16.e5 Ne7 17.Rxc8 Qxc8 18.Bd3 Qc6 19.Qb1 Ng6 20.Rc1 Qd7 21.Ng5 Rd8 22.Be4 Bd5 23.Bxd5 exd5 24.f4 Qg4 25.Rc7 Rf8 26.e6 f6 27.e7 fxg5 28.exf8=Q+ Nxf8 29.Qb3 gxf4 30.Bf2 Qe6 31.Rxa7 h4 32.Rb7 Qe4 33.Qf3 h3 34.Qg4 Ng6 35.Rb8+ Nf8 36.gxh3 h5 37.Qxh5 Bxd4 38.Qg5+ Bg7 39.Rxb6 d4 40.Rb4 Ne6 41.Rb8+ Nf8 42.Rd8 Qb1+ 43.Kh2 Qc2 44.Qxf4 d3 45.Kg2 Qc6+ 46.Qf3 Qg6+ 47.Kh1 1-0

Round 12, Jan. 26
Esipenko, Andrey – Saduakassova, Dinara
C42 Petrov, Nimzowitsch Attack

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Be3 Nd7 8.Qd2 O-O 9.O-O-O c6 10.h4 d5 11.Kb1 Re8 12.Bd3 Nc5 13.Ng5 h6 14.Bh7+ Kf8 15.c4 Na4 16.Qd3 Qd6 17.Bc1 hxg5 18.hxg5 Bd8 19.cxd5 cxd5 20.Qf3 Be6 21.Bf5 Nb6 22.Rde1 Nd7 23.Rh8+ Ke7 24.Rxe6+ 1-0

Final position



Standing after Round Twelve

1 Kovalev 9
2-3 Esipenko, Chigaev 8.5
4 Gledura 7.5
5 Korobov 7
6-7 L’Ami, Maghsoodloo 6.5
8 Bareev 6
9 Van Foreest, L. 5.5
10 Keymer 5
11 Praggnanandhaa 4.5
12 Paehtz 3.5
13-14 Kuipers, Saduakassova 3

[Hans Jung]

Its appropriate that Magnus wins Tata Steel by drawing Anish Giri in the last round.

[Hans Jung]

Im impressed with Sam Shankland! He ends the tournament with 2 consecutive wins against Nepo and Kramnik, finishes with an equal score against the best in the world, and gains rating points to a new high of 2730, number 25 in the world. Onwards and upwards!