Sinquefield Cup 2019

**Wayne Komer** · Monday, 12th August, 2019, 09:28 PM

Sinquefield Cup 2019

August 12, 2019

2019 Sinquefield Cup

Pairings

Round 1, August 17

Carlsen-Giri
Nakamura-Caruana
Ding Liren-So
Aronian-MVL
Nepo-Anand
Karjakin-Mamedyarov

Round 2, August 18

Karjakin-Ding Liren
Mamedyarov-Nakamura
Caruana-Nepo
Anand-Carlsen
Giri-Aronian
MVL-So

Round 3, August 19

Ding Liren-MVL
So-Giri
Aronian-Anand
Carlsen-Caruana
Nepo-Mamedyarov
Nakamura-Karjakin

Round 4, August 20

Nakamura-Ding Liren
Karjakin-Nepo
Mamedyarov-Carlsen
Caruana-Aronian
Anand-So
Giri-MVL

Round 5, August 21

Ding Liren-Giri
MVL-Anand
So-Caruana
Aronian-Mamedyarov
Carlsen-Karjakin
Nepo-Nakamura

Round 6, August 23

Nepo-Ding Liren
Nakamura-Carlsen
Karjakin-Aronian
Mamedyarov-So
Caruana-MVL
Anand-Giri

Round 7, August 24

Ding Liren-Anand
Giri-Caruana
MVL-Mamedyarov
So-Karjakin
Aronian-Nakamura
Carlsen-Nepo

Round 8, August 25

Carlsen-Ding Liren
Nepo-Aronian
Nakamura-So
Karjakin-MVl
Mamedyarov-Giri
Caruana-Anand

Round 9, August 26

Ding Liren – Caruana
Anand-Mamedyarov
Giri-Karjakin
MVL-Nakamura
So-Nepo
Aronian-Carlsen

Round 10, August 27

Aronian-Ding Liren
Carlsen-So
Nepo-MVL
Nakamura-Giri
Karjakin-Anand
Mamedyarov-Caruana

Round 11, August 28

Ding Liren-Mamedyarov
Caruana-Karjakin
Anand-Nakamura
Giri-Nepo
MVL-Carlsen
So-Aronian

https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-to...cup-2019/1/1/1

**Wayne Komer** · Saturday, 17th August, 2019, 07:15 PM

Sinquefield Cup 2019

August 17, 2019

Round One

Comments by Kasparov on the blunders in the St. Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament, just concluded:

Wow, I don’t know where to start! When I made blunders two years ago I could justify it by being old and rusty, but these guys are making blunders that even I’m getting confused! I think there’s only one explanation - they are overworked, because it’s hard, because there’s so many mistakes, so many blunders.

I don’t have a solution. I feel sorry about my former colleagues, because seeing them making blunders and looking at the internet, seeing lolololol from a bunch of amateurs, that makes me feel a little sick. People are celebrating when MVL or Magnus are making a blunder. I don’t like it.

Garry put the blame for the packed schedule firmly at the feet of FIDE:

These guys are just coming at the last minute with four extra tournaments. When we extended the Grand Chess Tour for the year, having 8 events instead of 5 or 6, we looked at the calendar and it was empty, not empty, but it had many, many holes that we could fill, because there’s no chess Olympiad, there’s no Candidates, no World Championship match, so we thought, “ok, why not extend the Grand Chess Tour?” because as you said, great news, more people would like to host, we can go to Africa, we can go to India, so we could go to Romania, but all of a sudden we have to deal with FIDE installing four qualification tournaments into the calendar. You don’t expect all the players to refuse a FIDE qualifier because they want to have their fair chance to qualify. But that means they have to play almost every week.

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/stl...wrong-kasparov

Round 1, August 17
Carlsen, Magnus – Giri, Anish
A28 English, Four Knights, Nimzowitsch variation

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e4 Bb4 5.d3 d6 6.Be2 Bg4 7.a3 Bc5 8.b4 Bb6 9.Be3 Bxf3 10.Bxf3 Nd4 11.Na4 Nxf3+ 12.Qxf3 Bxe3 13.Qxe3 O-O 14.O-O Re8 15.Nc3 a5 16.b5 c6 17.Rab1 d5 18.Na4 Qe7 19.bxc6 bxc6 20.cxd5 cxd5 21.Nb6 Rad8 22.Rb5 Qxa3 23.exd5 e4 24.dxe4 Qxe3 25.fxe3 Rxe4 26.Rxa5 Rb4 27.Ra8 Rxa8 28.Nxa8 Nxd5 29.Rd1 Rb8 30.Rxd5 Rxa8 31.Kf2 Kf8 32.Kf3 h6 33.Kf2 Ra2+ 34.Kf3 Ra8 35.Kf2 Ra2+ 36.Kf3 Ra8 1/2-1/2

Magnus: "After all my misery in rapid and blitz I was happy to get one quiet game today"

Round 1, August 17
Nakamura, Hikaru – Caruana, Fabiano
C80 Ruy Lopez, open

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 Be7 7.Re1 b5 8.Rxe4 d5 9.Nxe5 Nxe5 10.Rxe5 bxa4 11.b3 Be6 12.Ba3 Bxa3 13.Nxa3 O-O 14.Nb1 Qd6 15.Nc3 axb3 16.axb3 c5 17.Ne2 f6 18.Re3 c4 19.Ng3 cxb3 20.cxb3 g6 21.Qf3 Bf7 22.h3 Rfe8 23.Rxe8+ Rxe8 24.Qd3 Re6 25.Nf1 Qb6 26.Ne3 Rc6 27.h4 Kg7 28.h5 Qb4 29.Ng4 Be6 30.h6+ Kf7 31.Ne3 a5 32.Qd1 Rc3 33.Ra4 Qxb3 34.Qxb3 Rxb3 35.Rxa5 g5 36.Ra7+ Kg6 37.Ra6 Kf7 38.g4 Rb4 39.Ra7+ Kg6 40.Ra6 Kf7 41.Ra7+ Kg6 42.Ra6 Kf7 43.Ra7+ 1/2-1/2

Round 1, August 17
Ding, Liren – So, Wesley
E05 Catalan, open, Classical line

1.c4 Nf6 2.g3 e6 3.Bg2 d5 4.Nf3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.d4 dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 c5 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.Qxc4 b6 11.Ne5 Ra7 12.Nd3 Be7 13.Bf4 Bb7 14.Bxb7 Rxb7 15.Rc1 Nd5 16.Be5 Bd6 17.Nd2 Bxe5 18.Nxe5 b5 19.Qd4 bxa4 20.Rxa4 Qb6 21.Nd3 Rd8 22.Ne4 Nd7 23.Nec5 Nxc5 24.Rxc5 Nf4 25.Qxf4 Rxd3 26.Rc8+ Rd8 27.Rac4 h6 28.R4c6 Rxc8 29.Rxc8+ Kh7 30.Qe4+ f5 31.Qc4 Qb3 32.Qxb3 Rxb3 33.Rc6 Rxb2 34.Rxe6 a5 35.Ra6 Rxe2 36.Rxa5 Kg6 37.Ra6+ Kh7 38.Ra5 Kg6 39.Ra6+ Kh7 40.Ra5 1/2-1/2

Round 1, August 17
Aronian, Levon – MVL
A48 King’s Indian, East Indian Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Nbd2 d5 4.e3 Bg7 5.b4 a5 6.b5 c5 7.bxc6 Nxc6 8.Be2 O-O 9.O-O Bf5 10.c3 Qc7 11.a4 e5 12.Ba3 Rfc8 13.Rc1 e4 14.Nh4 Be6 15.g3 g5 16.Ng2 Qd7 17.f3 exf3 18.Bxf3 Bf5 19.Qb3 Bd3 20.Rf2 Qe6 21.Qd1 b6 22.Nf1 Be4 23.Nd2 Bd3 24.Nf1 Be4 25.Nd2 Bd3 1/2-1/2

Round 1, August 17
Karjakin, Sergey – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
B01 Scandinavian Defence

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Bf5 6.Bd2 e6 7.Bc4 Bb4 8.a3 Bxc3 9.Bxc3 Qb6 10.d5 exd5 11.Bxd5 Be6 12.Bxe6 Qxe6+ 13.Qe2 Qxe2+ 14.Kxe2 Nbd7 15.Rhe1 O-O-O 16.Kf1 h6 17.Re7 Rhf8 18.Bxf6 Nxf6 19.Ne5 Rfe8 20.Rxe8 Rxe8 21.Nxf7 Ng4 22.f3 Ne3+ 23.Kf2 Nxc2 24.Rc1 Re7 25.Rxc2 Rxf7 26.Ke3 Kd7 27.Rd2+ Ke7 28.Rc2 Kd7 29.Rd2+ Ke7 30.Rc2 Kd7 31.Rd2+ 1/2-1/2

Round 1, August 17
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Anand, Viswanathan
A21 English, Kramnik-Shirov Counter-Attack

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Bb4 3.Nd5 Be7 4.Nf3 d6 5.d4 Nf6 6.Nc3 exd4 7.Nxd4 d5 8.Bf4 O-O 9.e3 a6 10.Nf3 c6 11.cxd5 Nxd5 12.Nxd5 Qxd5 13.Qxd5 cxd5 14.O-O-O Nc6 15.Bg5 f6 16.Bf4 Be6 17.Kb1 Rac8 18.a3 Rfd8 19.Bd3 Bc5 20.Rhe1 Kf7 21.Bg3 Bb6 22.Bc2 h5 23.h3 Ne7 24.Bb3 g5 25.h4 g4 26.Nd4 Bxd4 27.Rxd4 Nc6 28.Rf4 d4 29.Bxe6+ Kxe6 30.exd4+ Kf7 31.f3 gxf3 32.Rxf3 Nxd4 33.Rf4 Ne6 34.Rf3 Nd4 35.Rf4 Nb3 36.Bf2 Rc4 37.Rxc4 Nd2+ 38.Kc2 Nxc4 39.Re2 Ne5 40.Be1 Ke6 41.a4 Rd6 42.g3 Kf5 43.Rf2+ Kg4 44.Rf4+ Kh3 45.Rf1 Rc6+ 46.Kb1 Re6 47.Rf5 Ng6 48.Bf2 Kg4 49.Rd5 Ne5 50.Rd4+ Kh3 51.Rd5 Re7 52.Kc2 Ng4 53.Bb6 Rh7 54.Rd3 Ne5 55.Rb3 Rd7 56.Be3 Nf3 57.Rb6 Kxg3 58.Rxf6 Nxh4 59.b4 Ng2 60.Ba7 h4 61.Kc3 h3 62.Bb8+ Kg4 63.Rg6+ Kh5 64.Rg8 Ne3 65.Rg3 Nd5+ 66.Kb3 Kh4 67.Rg8 Nf6 68.Rg6 Ng4 69.Rg8 Rh7 70.Kc4 h2 71.Bxh2 Nxh2 72.b5 Ng4 73.Ra8 axb5+ 74.Kxb5 Nf6 75.a5 Nd5 76.Ra7 Kg5 77.Kc4 b5+ 0-1

Vishy had a win earlier but RN vs R is a draw, so 70..h2 was a mistake. Nepo had the draw in his pocket and then blundered the game with 77.Kc4

Position after 70….h2

Position after 77.Kc4

Possible continuation after 77,,,b5+

(78. axb6 Nxb6+ 79. Kc5 Rxa7 80. Kxb6 Rd7 81. Kc5 Kf4 82. Kc6 Rd1 83. Kc5 Ke4 84. Kc6 Rd5 85. Kc7 Ke5 86. Kc6 Ke6 87. Kc7 Rd6 88. Kb8 Rd7 89. Ka8 Kd6 90. Kb8 Kc6 91. Kc8 Rd3 92. Kb8 Ra3 93. Kc8 Ra8#) 0-1

**Hans Jung** · Sunday, 18th August, 2019, 09:29 AM

Persistence by Vishy Anand! He now leads Sinquefeld Cup! and Nepo, dangerous at all times, has a bad start.

**Hans Jung** · Sunday, 18th August, 2019, 07:01 PM

Vishy still leads after round 2!

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 18th August, 2019, 10:19 PM

Sinquefield Cup 2019

August 18, 2019

Round Two

From the official site:

Nepomniachtchi had the perfect opportunity to bounce back from his tragic loss from round 1 as Caruana made a grave error on move 28. The game started as a complicated Najdorf, with opposite side castling and each side trying to attack the enemy king. The players reached an opposite colored bishop middle game, with both bishops restricted by the pawn structure. Caruana retreated his queen on move 28 in order to consolidate his position which gave black the opportunity to play a beautiful winning tactic. The combination was difficult to find as it involved a queen retreat, an atypical motif in an attacking line. Caruana actually found the line after playing his move but Nepomniachtchi did not and the game ended with a repetition a few moves later.

Anand opted out for the Rossolimo Variation in the Sicilian; surprisingly Carlsen recaptured the knight with the b pawn as opposed to with the d pawn which he prefers. Anand essayed a variation which he thought his opponent spent the least amount of time preparing, getting a lead in development. The turn of events prompted the World Champion to enter the confessional booth and share his thoughts, explaining that being two moves away from castling can be dangerous. In the postgame interview, the former World Champion explained that he had many continuation which would him give him a pleasant position but there was no major hitter waiting. Amidst these choices, he missed a move by Carlsen which rendered his knights quickly. Sensing the long term danger, he quickly reacted, exchanging the minor pieces thus getting rid of his opponent’s menacing bishop pair. The resulting endgame was completely equal and quickly ended in a draw.

The longest game of the round did not prove to be fruitful for Giri. After a long grind, the Dutchman won a pawn on the queenside in a rook and knight endgame but the conversion remained difficult. Giri gave up a pawn in order to create a potential mating on the kingside with the pawn structure. The critical moment in the game was on move 48, when Giri pushed his passed pawn all the way to 7th rank instead of exchanging the knight pair to enter a rook ending. The rook endgame would have been winning, but Giri chose his continuation missing his opponent’s defensive resource - he couldn’t activate his king due to the mating net Aronian could create. With no winning resourced left in the position, the game ended in a draw with repetition.

Mamedyarov played an enterprising move, 11.Rg1 in Queen’s Gambit Declined after castling queenside, signaling his readiness to enter murky waters. He explained that it’s a risky move, one that he would normally play in a rapid game but he was in the mood for a fight. Nakamura looked uncomfortable in the opening, as it is always an unpleasant feeling to walk into one’s opponent’s preparation. After a tactical battle, the players entered an endgame that was favorable for the white pieces due to black’s misplaced knight and bad pawn structure. Mamedyarov felt that his position was always good and joked that it was the kind of position he would lose with the black pieces but can’t win with white. Nakamura survived the storm by putting up an obstinate resistance and ultimately entering a drawn endgame with a tactical shot.

https://grandchesstour.org/blog/2019...up-recap-day-2

Round 2, August 18
Anand, Vishy – Carlsen, Magnus
B31 Sicilian, Nimowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6 bxc6 5.d4 Bg7 6.dxc5 Qa5+ 7.Nbd2 Qxc5 8.O-O d6 9.Re1 f6 10.a3 Nh6 11.b4 Qh5 12.c4 O-O 13.Qa4 Bd7 14.Nf1 Nf7 15.Ng3 Qg4 16.c5 e5 17.cxd6 c5 18.Qb3 cxb4 19.axb4 Qe6 20.Qxe6 Bxe6 21.Be3 a6 22.Rec1 Rfd8 23.Nd2 Bf8 24.Nc4 Rac8 25.Bc5 Bxc4 26.Rxc4 Nxd6 27.Rcc1 Rc6 28.f3 Nb5 29.Bxf8 Rxc1+ 30.Rxc1 Kxf8 31.Nf1 Nd4 32.Rc4 Ke7 33.Ne3 Kd6 34.Rc5 Nc6 35.Rd5+ Ke7 36.b5 axb5 37.Rxb5 Rb8 38.Rxb8 Nxb8 39.Kf2 Ke6 40.g3 Nd7 41.Nc4 Nc5 42.Ke3 Nd7 43.Kf2 Nc5 44.Ke3 Nd7 45.Kf2 1/2-1/2

Round 2, August 18
Carlsen, Fabiano – Nepomniachtchi, 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 Be7 8.g4 b5 9.g5 Nfd7 10.h4 Nb6 11.Be3 Be6 12.Bxb6 Qxb6 13.Qf3 b4 14.Nd5 Bxd5 15.exd5 Nd7 16.O-O-O a5 17.Kb1 a4 18.Nd2 Nc5 19.Bd3 b3 20.cxb3 axb3 21.a3 Ra4 22.Ne4 Nxe4 23.Bxe4 O-O 24.Rhg1 Qa7 25.h5 g6 26.Rd3 Rb8 27.hxg6 hxg6 28.Qg2 Bf8 29.f3 Rc4 30.Rh1 Qc7 31.Qh2 Bg7 32.Qe2 Bf8 33.Qh2 Bg7 34.Qe2 Bf8 35.Qh2 Bg7 1/2-1/2

Round 2, August 18
Karjakin, Sergey – Ding, Liren
C89 Ruy Lopez, Marshall Counter Attack

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 Rfd8 19.a4 h6 20.h4 Rac8 21.axb5 axb5 22.Bxd5 cxd5 23.Ra5 Qxf3 24.Nxf3 Re8 25.b4 f6 26.Ra6 Bf8 27.Ra7 Ra8 28.Rxe8 Rxe8 29.h5 Be2 30.Kg2 Bd6 31.Rd7 Re6 32.Bc5 Be5 33.Bd4 Bd6 34.Bc5 Be5 35.Bd4 Bd6 1/2-1/2

Round 2, August 18
MVL – So, Wesley
C54 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.O-O a6 7.a4 Ba7 8.Re1 O-O 9.h3 Kh8 10.d4 Ng8 11.b4 exd4 12.cxd4 Nxb4 13.Nc3 a5 14.Bf4 f6 15.Qb3 Ne7 16.Rad1 c6 17.Bc1 d5 18.exd5 Bf5 19.dxc6 Bc2 20.cxb7 Rb8 21.Qa3 Bxd1 22.Rxd1 Nf5 23.Nb5 Nd6 24.Bf1 Nxb5 25.axb5 Rxb7 26.Bd2 Nc2 27.Qa4 Nxd4 28.Nxd4 Qxd4 29.Qxd4 Bxd4 30.Bxa5 Bb6 31.Bxb6 Rxb6 32.g3 g6 33.Rd7 Rfb8 34.Bc4 R8b7 35.Rd8+ Kg7 36.Bd5 Rxb5 37.Bxb7 Rxb7 38.Kg2 h5 39.h4 Ra7 40.Rc8 Rb7 41.Rd8 Ra7 42.Rc8 Rb7 43.Rd8 1/2-1/2

Round 2, August 18
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Nakamura, Hikaru
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

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.a3 Qa5 10.O-O-O Be7 11.Rg1 a6 12.g4 dxc4 13.Bxc4 b5 14.g5 Nh5 15.Bd3 b4 16.Bxh7+ Kh8 17.Be4 bxc3 18.Bxc6 cxb2+ 19.Kb1 Qxa3 20.Qxb2 Qxb2+ 21.Kxb2 Ra7 22.Bd6 Bxd6 23.Rxd6 Bb7 24.Ne5 Bxc6 25.Rxc6 Rb8+ 26.Kc2 a5 27.Rb1 Rd8 28.Rbb6 Kh7 29.f4 Rda8 30.Kb3 a4+ 31.Ka3 f6 32.Nf3 Rd7 33.Rd6 Rxd6 34.Rxd6 Rc8 35.gxf6 gxf6 36.Rxe6 Nxf4 37.exf4 Rc3+ 38.Kxa4 Rxf3 39.Rxf6 Kg7 40.Rb6 Rxf4+ 41.Rb4 Rxb4+ 42.Kxb4 Kg6 43.h3 Kh5 44.h4 Kxh4 1/2-1/2

Round 2, August 18
Giri, Anish – Aronian, Levon
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.O-O d6 6.c3 a6 7.a4 O-O 8.Nbd2 Ba7 9.h3 h6 10.Re1 Re8 11.b4 Be6 12.Bxe6 Rxe6 13.Qc2 Qd7 14.Nf1 d5 15.Be3 d4 16.cxd4 Nxd4 17.Bxd4 Bxd4 18.Nxd4 Qxd4 19.Qxc7 Qxd3 20.Qxb7 Qd8 21.Red1 Qb8 22.Qxb8+ Rxb8 23.f3 Rxb4 24.Ne3 g6 25.a5 Rb5 26.Rdb1 Rc5 27.Rb6 Kf8 28.Ra2 h5 29.h4 Nd7 30.Rb7 Rc1+ 31.Kh2 Nc5 32.Rb8+ Re8 33.Rb6 Re6 34.Nd5 Rxb6 35.axb6 Rb1 36.Ra5 Nd7 37.Rxa6 Rb2 38.Kg1 Kg7 39.Kh2 Kf8 40.Kg3 Kg7 41.Kh3 Kf8 42.g4 hxg4+ 43.fxg4 Nc5 44.Ra8+ Kg7 45.g5 Nxe4 46.Rd8 Kh7 47.Rb8 Rb5 48.b7 Rb2 49.Ne7 Nd6 50.Ng8 Ne4 51.Ne7 Nd6 52.Nd5 Ne4 53.Ne7 1/2-1/2

Position after Black’s 47….Rb5

Better here is 48.Nf6+

48...Nxf6 49.gxf6 Rb3+ 50.Kg4 Rb4+ 51.Kg3 Rb3+ 52.Kf2 Rb5 53.b7 Rb3 54.Ke2 Rb2+ 55.Kd3 Rb4 56.Kc3 Rb6 57.Kc4 Rb2 58.Kd5 Rb5+ 59.Ke4 Rb3 60.Kxe5 Rb6 61.Kd5

**Neil Frarey** · Sunday, 18th August, 2019, 11:51 PM

I hope Vishy wins ... I have his autograph.

**Serge Archambault** · Monday, 19th August, 2019, 06:38 AM

0123456789

**Hans Jung** · Monday, 19th August, 2019, 04:05 PM

I understand your point but not all draws "grandmaster". I think in addition to the regular commentary they should invite Dr. Karsten Mueller as special endgame commentator. The good endgame doctor could put on quite a show. For example in rd 1 Ding - So, Naka - Fabi, Magnus - Anish, and Nepo - Vishy all had their endgame "moments". In round 2 MVL - So, Shak - Naka, Vishy - Magnus, Anish - Levon had all endgame "moments". All very interesting endgame variations. In this round Magnus is already doing it - applying the squeeze. And as Rex especially loves endgames why not the endgame doctor? The other point is that this is still shaping up to be a great fighting tournament. Its early. If you dont want to enjoy the entire ambience (and there is plenty more besides the celebrity grandmasters, than you should attend only the later rounds. Theres much to enjoy in St Louis and at the chess club and Hall of Fame.

**Hans Jung** · Monday, 19th August, 2019, 07:30 PM

Thanks Hikaru for the entertainment. I wonder what was the critical move. Was there a win somewhere. Part of the fascination of that endgame was the huge computer evaluations but no clear sign of a breakthru.

**Hans Jung** · Monday, 19th August, 2019, 07:32 PM

Amazingly Vishy Anand is still in the lead after round 3.

**Wayne Komer** · Monday, 19th August, 2019, 09:21 PM

Sinquefield Cup 2019

August 19, 2019

Round Three

Chess24 is broadcasting the match in six different languages:

English: Jennifer Shahade, Yasser Seirawan, Maurice Ashley

Russian: Evgeny Miroshnichenko and Almira Skripchenko

German: Jan Gustafsson and Steve Berger

Spanish: FST David Martinez (aka Divis) and David Larino

French: Iossif Dorfman and Jean-Baptiste Mullon

Portuguese: Krikor Mekhitarian (Brazil)

Really, chess coverage is really amazing these days!

Round 3, August 19
Aronian, Levon – Anand, Vishy
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.O-O h6 6.c3 d6 7.Re1 O-O 8.h3 a6 9.a4 a5 10.d4 Bb6 11.Be3 exd4 12.cxd4 d5 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Bxd5 Qxd5 15.Nc3 Qd8 16.d5 Bxe3 17.dxc6 Qxd1 18.Raxd1 Bc5 19.Ne5 bxc6 20.Nxc6 Bb7 21.Ne7+ Kh7 22.Rd7 Bd6 23.Rd1 Rab8 24.Nb5 Bxe7 25.Rxe7 Bc6 26.Nc3 Rb4 27.Rxc7 Bxa4 28.Nxa4 Rxa4 29.Rb7 Rf4 30.g3 Rf6 31.Rb5 Ra8 32.Ra1 Rc8 33.Raxa5 Rc2 34.Rf5 Rxb2 35.Rxf6 gxf6 36.Ra4 Rb3 37.Kg2 Kg7 38.Rg4+ Kh7 39.Rf4 Kg7 40.Rg4+ Kh7 41.Rf4 Kg7 42.Rg4+ 1/2-1/2

Round 3, August 19
Carlsen, Magnus – Caruana, Fabiano
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 Bd6 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Qxc6+ Bd7 12.Qf3 O-O 13.Bg5 h6 14.Bh4 Rb8 15.b3 Rb6 16.Ne4 Be7 17.Nxf6+ Bxf6 18.Bxf6 Qxf6 19.Qxf6 gxf6 20.d5 e5 21.Rfc1 a5 22.Be2 c6 23.dxc6 Rxc6 24.Rxc6 Bxc6 25.Rc1 Bd7 26.Rc5 Ra8 27.f4 exf4 28.Bf3 Ra6 29.Kf2 Be6 30.Be2 Ra8 31.Bf3 Ra6 32.Bb7 Ra7 33.Be4 Kg7 34.Kf3 a4 35.Bc2 axb3 36.Bxb3 Rb7 37.Kxf4 Bxb3 38.axb3 Rxb3 39.g3 Rb4+ 40.Kf3 Rb3+ 41.Kf4 Rb4+ 42.Kf3 Rb3+ 43.Kf4 1/2-1/2

Round 3, August 19
Ding, Liren – MVL
D90 Grunfeld, Three Knights Exchange

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Bd2 Bg7 6.e4 Nb6 7.Be3 O-O 8.Be2 Nc6 9.Nf3 Bg4 10.d5 Na5 11.Bd4 Bxf3 12.gxf3 Qd6 13.Bxg7 Kxg7 14.Qd2 Qf6 15.h4 Nac4 16.Qc1 c6 17.h5 Kg8 18.a4 a5 19.dxc6 bxc6 20.Nd1 Nd6 21.Ne3 Qd4 22.Ng4 f5 23.Nh6+ Kg7 24.hxg6 hxg6 25.Nxf5+ Nxf5 26.exf5 Rxf5 27.Qh6+ Kf6 28.Rd1 Qf4 29.Qh4+ Qxh4 30.Rxh4 Nd5 31.Rc4 Nb4 32.f4 g5 33.fxg5+ Rxg5 34.Bf3 Rg1+ 35.Ke2 Rxd1 36.Kxd1 Ra6 37.Kd2 Ke5 38.Re4+ Kd6 39.Rd4+ Nd5 40.Rh4 Ra8 41.Rh6+ Kc5 42.Re6 Rf8 43.Bxd5 Rxf2+ 44.Kc3 cxd5 45.Rxe7 d4+ 46.Kd3 Rf3+ 47.Kc2 Rf2+ 48.Kd3 Rf3+ 49.Kc2 Rf2+ 50.Kd3 1/2-1/2

Round 3, August 19
So, Wesley – Giri, Anish
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.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bg5 Nbd7 11.Nc3 h6 12.Bxf6 Nxf6 13.b4 Bd5 14.Nxd5 exd5 15.Qb3 c6 16.e3 Bd6 17.Rab1 Qe7 18.Rfd1 g6 19.Ne1 Kg7 20.b5 axb5 21.axb5 Qd7 22.Nd3 Rfc8 23.bxc6 bxc6 24.Qc2 Ra6 25.Rdc1 Qa7 26.Bf3 Rb8 27.Rxb8 Qxb8 28.Kg2 h5 29.Nc5 Bxc5 30.Qxc5 Qb2 31.Qc3 Qb8 32.h4 Qb7 33.Rc2 Rb6 34.Qc5 Ra6 35.Qc3 Rb6 36.Qc5 Ra6 37.Qc3 Rb6 1/2-1/2

Round 3, August 19
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
C78 Ruy Lopez, Moeller Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Bc5 6.c3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a4 Bb7 9.d4 Bb6 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bxf6 Qxf6 12.Bd5 O-O 13.dxe5 dxe5 14.Qe2 bxa4 15.Nbd2 Rad8 16.Nc4 Bc8 17.Rxa4 Ne7 18.Nxb6 cxb6 19.c4 a5 20.Qe3 Ba6 21.Rc1 Rc8 22.Raa1 Qd6 23.h3 Nxd5 24.cxd5 f5 25.Rxc8 Bxc8 26.Rd1 fxe4 27.Qxe4 Re8 28.Nd2 b5 29.Qd3 Qb4 30.Ne4 Kh8 31.d6 Bf5 32.f3 Rd8 33.Qc2 Rxd6 34.Rxd6 Qxd6 35.Nxd6 Bxc2 36.Nxb5 Kg8 37.Nd6 Bd3 38.Kf2 Kf8 39.Nb7 a4 40.Ke3 Bf1 41.Nc5 Bxg2 42.h4 g5 43.hxg5 hxg5 44.Nxa4 Bh3 45.Nc5 Bc8 46.b4 g4 47.fxg4 Bxg4 48.Ke4 Ke7 49.Kxe5 Be2 50.Ne4 Kd7 51.Nc3 Bf1 52.b5 Bxb5 53.Nxb5 1/2-1/2

Round 3, August 19
Nakamura, Hikaru – Karjakin, Sergey
E00 Catalan Opening

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 O-O 7.O-O Nbd7 8.a4 a5 9.Qc2 c6 10.Na3 Ne4 11.Bf4 g5 12.Be3 f5 13.Rad1 Qe8 14.Qc1 h6 15.Ne5 Kh7 16.f3 Nef6 17.b3 Bd6 18.f4 g4 19.Nc2 h5 20.Ne1 Rh8 21.N1d3 Kg7 22.Bf2 Rh6 23.Qe3 Nf8 24.Rb1 Ng6 25.Nxg6 Qxg6 26.c5 Bc7 27.b4 axb4 28.Rxb4 Rh7 29.Ne5 Qe8 30.Ra1 Ba5 31.Rb3 Qd8 32.Qc1 Ra7 33.Be1 Rh8 34.Bxa5 Qxa5 35.Qc3 Qxc3 36.Rxc3 Ra5 37.Rb3 Rh7 38.Rb4 Kf8 39.h4 Ke8 40.e3 Kd8 41.Nd3 Kc7 42.Nc1 Rh8 43.Nb3 Ra7 44.Kf1 Bd7 45.Ke1 Rha8 46.Kd2 Be8 47.Kc3 Bd7 48.a5 Be8 49.Rb6 Bd7 50.Kb4 Be8 51.Rg1 Nd7 52.Bf1 Bf7 53.Bd3 Be8 54.Ra1 Bf7 55.Kc3 Be8 56.Rb4 Nb8 57.Rba4 Bd7 58.Nc1 Be8 59.Bc2 Bd7 60.R4a3 Be8 61.Bd3 Bd7 62.Ne2 Be8 63.Kb4 Na6+ 64.Kb3 Nb8 65.Nc3 Bd7 66.Kb2 Kd8 67.Nd1 Kc7 68.Nf2 Be8 69.Bc2 Bd7 70.Nd3 Be8 71.Bd1 Kc8 72.Be2 Kc7 73.Nb4 Bd7 74.Kc2 Be8 75.Nd3 Bd7 76.Nc1 Be8 77.Nb3 Bd7 78.Ra4 Be8 79.Rb4 Bf7 80.Rb6 Nd7 81.Bd3 Be8 82.Kc3 Bf7 83.Rb1 Rb8 84.Rb4 Be8 85.Kd2 Bf7 86.Ke1 Be8 87.Kf1 Bf7 88.Kf2 Be8 89.Kg2 Bf7 90.a6 bxa6 91.Rxb8 Nxb8 92.Na5 Be8 93.Rb6 Bd7 94.Bc2 Be8 95.Ba4 Bd7 96.Kf2 Be8 97.Ke1 Bd7 98.Kd2 Be8 99.Kc3 Bd7 100.Kb4 Be8 101.Bc2 Bd7 102.Ba4 Be8 103.Bc2 Bd7 104.Ba4 Be8 1/2-1/2

Position after 94….Be8

The last game of the day, and the longest. It looks here like Nakamura has a win but needs to make computer moves to do it. This is one ending that will have to be analyzed in the chess journals to find the correct path.

Standings after Round Three

1 Anand 2
2-11 Carlsen, Caruana, Ding, Giri, MVL, So, Aronian, Mamedyarov, Karjakin, Nakamura 1.5
12 Nepomniachtchi 1

**Wayne Komer** · Tuesday, 20th August, 2019, 07:29 PM

Sinquefield Cup 2019

August 20, 2019

Round Four

Another day, another long game but not a draw.

Round 4, August 20
Caruana, Fabiano – Aronian, Levon
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 O-O 6.O-O Re8 7.d4 Bb6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Nxe5 Nxe4 10.Qf3 Nf6 11.d6 cxd6 12.Nc4 d5 13.Nd6 Rf8 14.Bg5 Ne4 15.Nxe4 dxe4 16.Qxe4 f6 17.Be3 d5 18.Qf3 Ng6 19.Na3 Bc7 20.Rad1 Ne5 21.Qe2 a6 22.Ba4 Bg4 23.f3 Be6 24.Bb3 Re8 25.f4 Nc6 26.Qf3 Bb6 27.Nc2 Na5 28.Bxd5 Bxd5 29.Rxd5 Bxe3+ 30.Nxe3 Qb6 31.Rd3 Nc4 32.Qd5+ Kf8 33.Qxc4 Rxe3 34.Rxe3 Qxe3+ 35.Kh1 Rd8 36.h3 b5 37.Qc6 Qe2 38.Rf3 Qxb2 39.Qxa6 h5 40.Kh2 h4 41.Qa7 Kg8 42.Qe7 Qd2 43.Re3 Qd6 44.Qe4 Qd5 45.Qb4 Rc8 46.a4 Qc5 47.Re8+ Kh7 48.Rxc8 Qxc8 49.axb5 Qf5 50.b6 Qd3 51.c4 Qg3+ 52.Kh1 Qd3 53.c5 1-0

Position after Black’s 46….Qc5

Round 4, August 20
Karjakin, Sergey – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
E60 King’s Indian

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 c6 4.Bg2 d5 5.Nf3 Bg7 6.Qb3 O-O 7.Nc3 Qb6 8.O-O Rd8 9.Bd2 dxc4 10.Qxc4 Be6 11.Qa4 Bf5 12.Rfd1 a5 13.Nh4 Bd7 14.Qc2 Qxd4 15.Nf3 Qb6 16.Be3 Qc7 17.Nb5 Qc8 18.Na7 Qc7 19.Nb5 Qc8 20.Na7 Qc7 21.Nb5 1/2-1/2

Round 4, August 20
Anand, Vishy – So, Wesley
C42 Petrov, Classical Attack

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bf5 7.O-O Be7 8.Re1 O-O 9.c4 Nc6 10.cxd5 Qxd5 11.Nc3 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Bxd3 13.Qxd3 Rae8 14.Rb1 b6 15.Bf4 Bd6 16.Ng5 f5 17.Rxe8 Rxe8 18.c4 Qa5 19.Bd2 Nb4 20.Qf3 h6 21.Bxb4 Qxb4 22.Qd5+ Kh8 23.Nf7+ Kh7 24.Rf1 Re1 25.Qxf5+ Kg8 26.Nxd6 cxd6 27.Qd3 Rxf1+ 28.Kxf1 Qb2 29.a3 d5 30.cxd5 Qa1+ 31.Ke2 Qa2+ 32.Ke3 Qxd5 33.g3 b5 34.Qc3 Qe6+ 35.Kd3 a5 36.Qxa5 Qc4+ 37.Ke3 Qe6+ 38.Kd2 Qa2+ 39.Ke1 Qb1+ 40.Kd2 Qa2+ 41.Ke3 Qe6+ 42.Kd2 Qa2+ 1/2-1/2

Round 4, August 20
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – 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.Bd3 dxc4 8.Bxc4 b5 9.Be2 O-O 10.O-O a6 11.Rd1 Qc7 12.e4 e5 13.g3 Re8 14.a3 exd4 15.Nxd4 Be5 16.Bf3 c5 17.Nde2 Bb7 18.Be3 c4 19.b4 cxb3 20.Qxb3 Nc5 21.Bxc5 Qxc5 22.Rac1 Qb6 23.Na4 Qa7 24.Nc5 Rac8 25.Nd7 Rxc1 26.Nxc1 h6 27.Nxf6+ Bxf6 28.Rd7 Re7 29.Rd8+ Kh7 30.Qd3 Be5 31.Rh8+ Kxh8 32.Qd8+ Kh7 33.Qxe7 Bd4 34.Qxf7 Bxf2+ 35.Kg2 Bc8 36.Qa2 Bb6 37.e5 Bf5 38.g4 Bg6 39.Ne2 Qc7 40.Nf4 Qc2+ 41.Qxc2 Bxc2 42.Nd5 Bc5 43.Nb4 Bb3 44.Nxa6 Bxa3 45.Nc7 Bc4 46.e6 Bd6 47.Bc6 b4 48.Nd5 Kg6 49.e7 Bxd5+ 50.Bxd5 Bxe7 51.Kf3 Kf6 52.Ke4 Kg5 53.Kf3 Kh4 54.Be6 Bg5 55.Kg2 Bf4 56.h3 Kg5 57.Kf3 Kf6 58.Bg8 Ke5 59.h4 g5 60.hxg5 hxg5 61.Ke2 Kd4 62.Kd1 Kc3 63.Bf7 b3 64.Be6 Be3 65.Bf7 Bf4 66.Be6 Be3 67.Bf7 Bf4 68.Be6 1/2-1/2

Round 4, August 20
Nakamura, Hikaru Ding, Liren
C88 Ruy Lopez, Closed

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.h3 Bb7 9.d3 d6 10.a3 Qd7 11.Nc3 Rfe8 12.Nd5 Nxd5 13.exd5 Na7 14.d4 exd4 15.Qxd4 c5 16.dxc6 Nxc6 17.Qd3 Bf6 18.Bd2 Ne5 19.Rxe5 Rxe5 20.Nxe5 Bxe5 21.c3 Qc6 22.f3 d5 23.Re1 Bc7 24.Bc2 g6 25.Bh6 Re8 26.Rxe8+ Qxe8 27.Qe3 Qxe3+ 28.Bxe3 f5 29.f4 Kf7 30.g3 Ke6 31.Kf2 h5 32.h4 Bc6 33.Ba7 Bd8 34.Ke3 Bf6 35.Bb6 Kd6 36.Kd2 Bd7 37.Kd3 Bc6 38.Bd1 Bd7 39.Bf3 Bc6 40.Kc2 d4 41.Bxc6 Kxc6 42.Bxd4 Be7 43.Kd3 Kd5 44.Be3 Bd6 45.Bd4 Be7 46.Be3 Bd6 47.Bd4 Be7 1/2-1/2

Round 4, August 20
Giri, Anish – MVL
D86 Grunfeld, Echange, 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.Bb5 Rc8 13.Qd2 Na5 14.d5 e6 15.c4 a6 16.Ba4 exd5 17.exd5 Nxc4 18.Rxc4 b5 19.Bxb5 axb5 20.Rxc5 Qd7 21.Rxc8 Rxc8 22.Rd1 Rd8 23.Qb4 Rc8 24.Qb3 Rd8 25.Nc3 Bxc3 26.Qxc3 Qc6 27.Qxc6 Bxc6 28.d6 f6 29.h4 Bd7 30.a3 Re8 31.Bc5 Re4 32.Bb4 Rxh4 33.Re1 Rd4 34.Re7 Bf5 35.Re8+ Kf7 36.Re7+ Kg8 37.f3 h5 38.Rb7 Rd5 39.g3 g5 40.Kf2 Be6 41.Re7 Bf5 42.Rb7 Be6 43.Re7 Bf5 44.Ra7 Be6 45.Re7 1/2-1/2

Standings after Round Four

1-2 Caruana, Anand 2.5
3-10 Carlsen, Ding, Giri, MVL, So, Mamedyarov, Karjakin, Nakamura 2
11-12 Nepo, Aronian 1.5

**Hans Jung** · Tuesday, 20th August, 2019, 07:58 PM

Finally another win and an interesting endgame until Levon blundered.

**Hans Jung** · Tuesday, 20th August, 2019, 08:00 PM

Vishy Anand is tied for first with Fabulous Fabi. Will there be any fireworks tomorrow?