Tata Steel 2020

[Hans Jung]

In the Challengers the two young grandmasters Smirnov and Keymer duked it out. Leko's protege Keymer still has lessons to learn but Smirnov failed to put him away missing accuracy in tactics.

[Hans Jung]

Jan Smeets had a nice win in the challengers over the young attacking phenom Abdusattorov keeping him flat footed with nice defensive moves and counter attack.

[Wayne Komer]

Tata Steel 2020

January 12, 2020

Round Two

Some banter from Charbonneau, Gustafsson and Svidler at the end of Round One.

Pascal talked about a rook endgame and the other guys said that was a conclusion of the Canadian Endgame School. Pascal said he had not really played in the past ten years but another gifted Canadian player was Kevin Spraggett. Jan said that Kevin Spraggett’s website is 50% chess and 50% naked women.

Pascal lives in Florida and hopes one day to see a gator in the street. In his driveway he saw a giant water bug. They are big and very aggressive. They will fight anything larger than themselves. I quickly looked at a youtube video of a giant water bug biting someone’s toe. You don’t want to look at this!

Jan brings up Komodo dragon lizards. They always walk around looking p*ssed off.

Peter says he has a story about one. It seems to only be funny if told in Russian. I warn you before you read this.

Anyway, it was told to Peter in the mid-90s. He was invited to a Comedy Fest in St. Petersburg. Two famous actors sat at his table swapping stories.

One of the stories told: a friend of one of the actors – a sailor on a vessel. He went to one of these tropic countries and brought back a Komodo dragon as a pet. And it would live with him. He would put it on a leash and take it for walks. Clearly the scariest thing in the neighbourhood,; dogs were afraid of it. He goes for a walk in Moscow one day. He finds he has to make a purchase in a shop – say for cigarettes and so he ties the dragon to a fence post because nobody is going to steal that.

Nearby, there is a kiosk where they are selling small stuff. A typical kiosk lady is in it counting the cash at the end of the day. There is a door partially open in the kiosk. Now the sailor does his purchase, the dragon is tied up but the knot isn’t strongly tied. The dragon started to walk away and investigate. It went to the door at the side of the kiosk and nudged it a little. So, the lady is counting her earnings and she lifts up her head and sees the dragon and she faints. Which is what you expect. The sailor goes searching for the dragon and finds it in the kiosk with the lady on the floor in a faint. So, he gently tries to wake her and she comes to. She sees a guy who revived her but of course, she doesn’t know he is the owner of the dragon. He doesn’t want to let on to that fact either.

He asks, “What happened?” She realizes that if she says she saw a dragon, no one will believe her. So, she says, “I was counting my money and I got very tired”.

That’s the punch line. Peter apologizes and Pascal and Jan sit there amused.

Today, there is a doctored photo on the site of Peter Svidler in a suit walking a Komodo dragon lizard.

I suppose this seems pretty pointless to most ChessTalkers but it is why I watch Svidler and Gustafsson. I am amazed that Charbonneau is in the mix too.

The games from Round Two

Round 2, Jan. 12, 2020
Yu, Yangyi – Carlsen, Magnus
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Byrne Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nf3 Be7 8.Bc4 O-O 9.O-O Nc6 10.Bb3 Na5 11.Bg5 Nxb3 12.axb3 Be6 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Nd5 Rc8 15.c4 Bg5 16.Nxg5 Qxg5 17.Qd3 Bxd5 18.Qxd5 Rc6 19.Rfd1 Rfc8 20.Rd3 Qe7 21.g3 g6 22.Rad1 Qc7 23.Rc3 Kg7 24.Kg2 Re8 25.Qd3 Rb8 26.Rdc1 h5 27.h4 Qe7 28.Rd1 Qc7 29.Rdc1 Qe7 30.Rd1 Qc7 31.Rdc1 1/2-1/2

Round 2, Jan. 12, 2020
Artemiev, Vladislav – Vitiugov, Nikita
A06 Reti Opening

1.Nf3 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.Bxc4 a6 6.O-O b5 7.Be2 Bb7 8.a4 b4 9.Nb1 c5 10.d3 Nc6 11.Nbd2 Be7 12.e4 a5 13.Nb3 c4 14.dxc4 Nxe4 15.Qxd8+ Rxd8 16.Be3 O-O 17.Bb6 Ra8 18.Rfd1 Rfc8 19.Kf1 Nf6 20.Rac1 Bd8 21.Bxd8 Nxd8 22.Ne5 Kf8 23.Rd6 Ra7 24.Rcd1 Nc6 25.f4 Ba8 26.Bf3 Nxe5 27.fxe5 Bxf3 28.gxf3 Ne8 29.R6d4 Ke7 30.Ke2 g6 31.c5 Ng7 32.Rd6 Nf5 33.Rb6 f6 34.f4 g5 35.exf6+ Kxf6 36.fxg5+ Kxg5 37.Rxe6 Rf7 38.Re4 Rc6 39.Rg1+ Kh5 40.Re5 Kh4 41.Rf1 Rcf6 42.Rf3 Kg4 43.h3+ Kh4 44.Re4+ Kg5 45.Rg4+ Kh5 46.Kd2 Rd7+ 47.Rd3 Re7 48.Rd5 Kh6 49.Rf4 Kg6 50.Nxa5 1-0

Round 2, Jan. 12, 2020
Dubov, Daniil – Kovalev, Vladislav
A19 English, Mikenas-Carls, Sicilian variation

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4 c5 4.e5 Ng8 5.d4 cxd4 6.Qxd4 Nc6 7.Qf4 d6 8.Nf3 Nge7 9.exd6 Ng6 10.Qe4 Qxd6 11.Bd2 Be7 12.O-O-O f5 13.Qe1 O-O 14.h4 Bf6 15.Kb1 Qe7 16.Bg5 Bd7 17.c5 Rad8 18.h5 Nge5 19.Nxe5 Bxg5 20.Nxd7 Rxd7 21.Rxd7 Qxd7 22.Bc4 Kh8 23.Qxe6 Qxe6 24.Bxe6 Be7 25.Na4 Rd8 26.Bxf5 Rd2 27.Bc8 b5 28.cxb6 axb6 29.Re1 Rxf2 30.Bb7 Nd4 31.a3 Bf8 32.Re8 g5 33.h6 Rf6 34.Nxb6 Rxh6 35.Nd7 Kg7 36.Nxf8 Rd6 37.Be4 h5 38.Nh7 g4 39.Re5 1-0



Round 2, Jan. 12, 2020
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Firouzja, Alireza
D20 QGA

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 e5 4.Nf3 exd4 5.Qxd4 Qxd4 6.Nxd4 Bc5 7.Nb5 Na6 8.Bf4 Nf6 9.N1c3 Ng4 10.Bg3 O-O 11.Bxc4 c6 12.Nd6 b5 13.Bb3 Nxf2 14.Rf1 Nd3+ 15.Kd2 Nxb2 16.Rab1 Nc4+ 17.Nxc4 bxc4 18.Bxc4 Rd8+ 19.Kc2 Nb4+ 20.Kb3 Be6 21.Bxe6 fxe6 22.Rbd1 Be7 23.Kc4 Nc2 24.Rxd8+ Rxd8 25.Rf3 Rd7 26.Ne2 Rd2 27.Nf4 e5 28.Nd3 Na3+ 29.Kb3 Nb5 30.Bxe5 Rxg2 31.Rg3 Rxg3 32.Bxg3 Nd4+ 33.Kc4 Nf3 34.Bb8 a5 35.a4 Nd2+ 36.Kd4 Nb3+ 37.Kc4 Nd2+ 38.Kd4 g5 39.Ne5 Bf6 1/2-1/2

Position after Black’s 26…Rd2. What move should he have made?



Round 2, Jan. 12, 2020
Xiong, Jeffery – Van Foreest, Jorden
B52 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 g6 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bg7 9.f3 O-O 10.Be3 Nc6 11.O-O a6 12.Qd3 Rfc8 13.b3 b5 14.cxb5 Ne5 15.Qd2 d5 16.Nxd5 Nxd5 17.exd5 axb5 18.Rad1 b4 19.Qe2 Rc3 20.Bf2 Bf6 21.Nb5 Rcc8 22.d6 Rab8 23.Nc7 exd6 24.Nd5 Bd8 25.f4 Ng4 26.Bd4 Rb5 27.Qf3 Qf5 28.Rfe1 Bh4 29.Bb2 Bf2+ 30.Kh1 Bh4 31.g3 Nf2+ 32.Qxf2 Rxd5 33.gxh4 Rxd1 34.Rxd1 Rc2 35.Qd4 f6 36.Rc1 1-0

Round 2, Jan. 12, 2020
Giri, Anish – Caruana, Fabiano
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 Nd7 10.Bf4 Qh4 11.g3 Qh5 12.O-O g5 13.cxd5 gxf4 14.dxe6 Nxc3 15.exd7 Bxd7 16.bxc3 Rac8 17.Qd1 Qxd1 18.Raxd1 Bxc3 19.Bf5 Rcd8 20.Bxd7 Rxd7 21.Nf5 Rxd1 22.Rxd1 fxg3 23.hxg3 Bxe5 24.Rd7 b6 25.Rxa7 h5 26.Ra6 Rb8 27.Kg2 Kh7 28.Kf3 Bc3 29.Ra7 Kg6 30.Ne7+ Kg7 31.Rc7 Bf6 32.Nf5+ Kg6 33.Ne3 Bd4 34.Nd5 Ra8 35.Nf4+ Kf6 36.Nxh5+ Kg5 37.Nf4 Ra3+ 38.Ke4 Ra4 39.Kd5 Kg4 40.Rc2 Bc5 41.Rd2 Kf5 42.Ng2 Ra5 43.Kc6 Ke4 44.Ne1 Ra3 45.Rc2 f5 46.Kd7 f4 47.gxf4 Kxf4 48.Ke6 Kg5 49.Kd5 Kf5 50.Re2 Ra4 51.Kc6 Ra3 52.Nc2 Rf3 53.Ne3+ Ke4 54.Kb5 Kd3 55.Rb2 Bd4 56.Rb3+ Ke4 57.Nd1 Rf5+ 58.Kc4 Rc5+ 59.Kb4 Ra5 60.f3+ Kf4 61.Nc3 Bxc3+ 62.Kxc3 Rxa2 63.Rxb6 Kxf3 1/2-1/2

Round 2, Jan. 12, 2020
So, Wesley – Anand, Vishy
C54 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.Nbd2 O-O 7.h3 a6 8.Bb3 Be6 9.Bc2 d5 10.Ng5 dxe4 11.Nxe6 fxe6 12.dxe4 Bxf2+ 13.Kxf2 Ng4+ 14.Kg1 Ne3 15.Qe2 Nxc2 16.Rb1 N6d4 17.cxd4 Qxd4+ 18.Kh2 Rf2 19.Qg4 Ne3 20.Qxe6+ Kh8 21.Rg1 Qd3 22.Qxe5 Raf8 23.Qg3 Qe2 24.b4 Rxg2+ 25.Rxg2 Nxg2 26.Qg4 1-0

Round Two – Challengers

Warmerdam-L’Ami 0.5-0.5
Smirnov-Keymer 0.5-0.5
Saduakassova-Anton 0.5-0.5
Abdusattorov-Smeets 0-1
Eljanov-Nihal Sarin 0.5-0.5
Mamedov-Grandelius 1-0
Van Foreest- Ganguly 0.5-0.5

Challengers
Round 2, Jan. 12, 2020
Abdusattorov, Nodirbek – Smeets, Jan
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.h3 Re8 12.c4 Nb6 13.cxd5 Nxd5 14.Bc4 Be6 15.Bg5 f6 16.Bh4 Bf7 17.Rhe1 b5 18.Bb3 Qb6 19.Re2 Red8 20.Qc1 Bc5 21.Nd2 a5 22.Ne4 Bf8 23.c4 a4 24.c5 Qa7 25.Bxd5 Bxd5 26.Nd6 Bxd6 27.cxd6 Rxd6 28.Bg3 Rdd8 29.Rde1 Qf7 30.a3 Bxg2 31.Re7 Qg6+ 32.Ka1 Re8 33.Qc5 Bd5 34.h4 h5 35.Bf4 Rxe7 36.Qxe7 Rf8 37.Bd2 Rf7 38.Qe2 Rd7 39.Bc3 Kh7 40.f4 Qf5 41.Bd4 Bf7 0-1

Challengers
Round 2, Jan. 12, 2020
Smirnov, Anton – Keymer, Vincent
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Byrne Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nf3 Be7 8.Nd2 b5 9.a4 b4 10.Nd5 Nxd5 11.exd5 O-O 12.Nc4 Nd7 13.a5 f5 14.f3 Nf6 15.Be2 Qe8 16.f4 Bb7 17.Nb6 Rd8 18.O-O Ne4 19.Ra4 exf4 20.Bxf4 b3 21.cxb3 Bf6 22.Bf3 Nc5 23.Rc4 Rf7 24.b4 Nd7 25.Nxd7 Rdxd7 26.Rc6 g5 27.Bg3 g4 28.Be2 Be5 29.Bxe5 Qxe5 30.Bxa6 Bxa6 31.Rxa6 Qxb2 32.Rxf5 Rxf5 33.Qxg4+ Rg7 34.Ra8+ Rf8 35.Qe6+ Rf7 36.Rxf8+ Kxf8 37.Qc8+ Kg7 38.Qg4+ Kf8 1/2-1/2

[Wayne Komer]

Tata Steel 2020

January 13, 2020

Round Three

The Round Two Quiz question: How many (and which) participants of the 2020 Masters group have previously won a tournament in Wijk aan Zee before?

Answer: 6 – Carlsen, Kovalev, So, Giri, Caruana & Anand

Masters Games from Round Three

Round 3, Jan. 13, 2020
Carlsen, Magnus – Xiong, Jeffery
D41 QGD, Semi-Tarrasch

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 cxd4 8.cxd4 Bb4+ 9.Bd2 Bxd2+ 10.Qxd2 O-O 11.Bd3 Nc6 12.Bc2 Qe7 13.O-O Rd8 14.Qe3 b6 15.Rfd1 Bb7 16.Rac1 Rac8 17.h4 Na5 18.Bd3 h6 19.g4 Nc6 20.Bb1 Qd7 21.Kh2 Qd6+ 22.Kg1 Na5 23.Bd3 Rxc1 24.Rxc1 Nc6 25.Bb5 Nxd4 26.Qxd4 Qxd4 27.Nxd4 Rxd4 28.f3 a6 29.Bf1 Rd7 30.a4 Kf8 31.Kf2 Ke7 32.Rb1 Rd6 33.e5 Rc6 34.Bd3 g5 35.h5 Bc8 36.Ke3 Rc5 37.f4 Ra5 38.Rxb6 gxf4+ 39.Kxf4 Rxa4+ 40.Kf3 Ra3 41.Ke4 f6 42.Rb8 Bd7 43.Rb7 fxe5 44.g5 hxg5 45.h6 Kd6 46.Rb6+ Bc6+ 47.Rxc6+ Kxc6 48.h7 Ra4+ 49.Kxe5 Rh4 50.Kf6 g4 51.Kg5 Rh2 52.Kxg4 Kd5 53.Bg6 Rh6 54.Kg5 Rxh7 55.Bxh7 e5 56.Kg4 Kd4 1/2-1/2

Now it’s 110 classical games without a loss for Carlsen. Tomorrow, it is 111 games and the record possibly.

Round 3, Jan. 13, 2020
Kovalev, Vladislav – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
B51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.O-O a6 5.Bd3 Ngf6 6.Re1 e6 7.c3 b5 8.a4 c4 9.Bf1 Bb7 10.axb5 axb5 11.Rxa8 Qxa8 12.Na3 b4 13.Nxc4 Bxe4 14.d4 Be7 15.Bf4 Bxf3 16.Qxf3 Qxf3 17.gxf3 d5 18.Nd6+ Kf8 19.Ra1 g5 20.Bg3 bxc3 21.bxc3 Kg7 22.Ra7 Bxd6 23.Bxd6 Rc8 24.Bb5 Nf8 25.Be5 Ng6 26.Bd7 Rxc3 27.Bxe6 Nxe5 28.dxe5 Rc1+ 29.Kg2 Nh5 30.Rxf7+ Kh8 31.Rf8+ Kg7 32.Rf7+ Kh8 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Jan. 13, 2020
Anand, Vishy – Giri, Anish
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nbd2 Nd7 7.Nc4 f6 8.c3 Nb6 9.Na5 Bd6 10.b4 c5 11.a3 O-O 12.Be3 Nd7 13.O-O b6 14.Nc4 Be7 15.d4 exd4 16.cxd4 cxb4 17.axb4 Kh8 18.Bd2 Nb8 19.d5 f5 20.exf5 Qxd5 21.Ne3 Qd3 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Jan. 13, 2020
Vitiugov, Nikita – So, Wesley
C83 Ruy Lopez, open, Classical Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.c3 Be7 10.Be3 O-O 11.Nbd2 Bg4 12.Nxe4 dxe4 13.Qd5 Qxd5 14.Bxd5 exf3 15.Bxc6 fxg2 16.Rfe1 Rad8 17.a4 b4 18.cxb4 Bxb4 19.Rec1 Bd2 20.Bxd2 Rxd2 21.b4 f6 22.b5 a5 23.Bxg2 fxe5 24.Rxc7 Bf3 25.Bxf3 Rxf3 26.Rf1 Rf4 27.b6 Rb2 28.b7 Rf7 29.Rc8+ Rf8 30.Rxf8+ Kxf8 31.Re1 Rxb7 32.Rxe5 Rb4 33.Rxa5 Kf7 34.Kg2 h5 35.Kg3 Rg4+ 36.Kf3 Rh4 37.Kg3 Rg4+ 38.Kf3 Rh4 39.Kg3 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Jan. 13, 2020
Firouzja, Alireza – Artemiev, Vladislav
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.h4 h5 5.c4 e6 6.Nc3 Ne7 7.Nge2 Nd7 8.Ng3 Bg6 9.Bg5 Qb6 10.Rc1 dxc4 11.Bxc4 Nf5 12.O-O Be7 13.Nxf5 Bxf5 14.Bxe7 Kxe7 15.Qd2 Qd8 16.Nd1 Nb6 17.Ne3 Kf8 18.Nxf5 exf5 19.Bb3 Qxh4 20.Rfe1 Rh6 21.e6 fxe6 22.Bxe6 Re8 23.Bxf5 Rxe1+ 24.Rxe1 Qd8 25.Qd3 Kf7 26.Qf3 Qf6 27.Qb3+ Kf8 28.Qa3+ Qd6 29.Qe3 Qd8 30.Qe4 Rf6 31.Bg6 Kg8 32.Qh4 Qd5 33.Re8+ Rf8 34.Qe7 Nd7 35.Bc2 Qxd4 36.Rxf8+ Nxf8 37.Bb3+ Kh7 38.Qxf8 Qxb2 39.Bg8+ Kh6 40.Qf4+ g5 41.Qd6+ Kg7 42.Bb3 Qa1+ 43.Kh2 Qf6 44.Qxf6+ Kxf6 45.Kg3 b5 46.Bd1 h4+ 47.Kg4 c5 48.f4 gxf4 49.Kxf4 Ke6 50.Kg4 a5 51.Kxh4 a4 52.g4 c4 53.g5 a3 54.Be2 Kf5 55.Kh5 Ke4 56.g6 c3 57.Bd1 1-0

Final Position



Round 3, Jan. 13, 2020
Van Foreest, Jorden – Dubov, Daniil
B22 Sicilian, Alapin’s variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.Bc4 Nb6 6.Bb3 c4 7.Bc2 d5 8.exd6 Qxd6 9.O-O g6 10.Na3 Bg7 11.b3 cxb3 12.axb3 O-O 13.d4 Bg4 14.h3 Bxf3 15.Qxf3 e5 16.Nb5 Qd7 17.Rd1 a6 18.d5 Nb4 19.Na3 Nxc2 20.Nxc2 Rac8 21.c4 f5 22.Ba3 Rf7 23.Rac1 Re8 24.c5 e4 25.Qe2 Nc8 26.Qc4 Na7 27.Nd4 f4 28.Ne6 Nb5 29.Bb4 e3 30.Ng5 exf2+ 31.Kxf2 Qf5 32.Nxf7 Re4 33.c6 Kxf7 34.cxb7 Rxc4 35.bxc4 Qe5 36.cxb5 Qb2+ 37.Kf1 Be5 38.d6 f3 39.gxf3 Qb3 40.Ke2 Qe6 41.Rc7+ Kf6 42.b8=Q Bf4+ 43.Kd3 Qd5+ 44.Kc2 Qa2+ 45.Kc3 Be5+ 46.Kd3 Qb3+ 47.Ke2 1-0

- Dubov was just outplayed by Jorden, wow, already on move 27 +2.01 eval

- Van Foreest and Giri should cooperate and train together!

- That’s exactly what they do, Dumbo.

- That’s bad news for Van Foreest. Training with Giri will only set him back

Round 3, Jan. 13, 2020
Caruana, Fabiano – Yu, Yangyi
C43 Petrov, Modern Attack, symmetrical variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 Nxe4 4.Bd3 d5 5.Nxe5 Nd7 6.O-O Nxe5 7.dxe5 Nc5 8.Be3 c6 9.f4 Nxd3 10.Qxd3 g6 11.Nc3 b6 12.Rad1 Bg7 13.b4 Bf5 14.Qe2 Qc8 15.h3 O-O 16.g4 Be6 17.b5 f5 18.exf6 Bxf6 19.Bd4 Bxd4+ 20.Rxd4 cxb5 21.Nxb5 Bd7 22.Rxd5 Bxb5 23.Rxb5 Qc3 24.Rb3 Qc5+ 25.Kg2 Rae8 26.Qd2 Re4 27.Rf2 Qc6 28.Kg3 Rc4 29.Rd3 Rf7 30.Rd6 Qc5 31.f5 Qe5+ 32.Kg2 Rc3 33.Rf3 Rxf3 34.Kxf3 Re7 35.Rd5 Qe4+ 36.Kg3 Kg7 37.Rd6 Qe5+ 38.Kh4 gxf5 39.Qh6+ Kg8 40.Rd8+ Re8 41.Rd7 Re7 42.Qg5+ Kf7 43.Rxe7+ Qxe7 44.Qxe7+ Kxe7 45.gxf5 Kf6 46.Kg4 Ke5 47.Kg5 b5 48.c3 1-0

Challengers Round Three

Ganguly-Abdusattorov 0.5-0.5
Smeets-Saduakassova 0.5-0.5
Grandelius-Eljanov 0.5-0.5
Nihal Sarin-Smirnov 0.5-0.5
Keymer-Warmerdam 0.5-0.5
L’Ami-Van Foreest 0.5-0.5
Anton-Mamedov 0.5-0.5

Challengers
Round 3, Jan. 13, 2020
Ganguly, Surya – Abdusattorov, Nodirbek
E46 Nimzo-Indian

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd2 d5 6.Nf3 b6 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Rc1 Bb7 9.Bd3 a6 10.O-O Bd6 11.Ne5 c5 12.Bb1 Nbd7 13.f4 b5 14.Be1 cxd4 15.exd4 Be7 16.Qf3 Nxe5 17.dxe5 Ne4 18.Rd1 g6 19.Nxd5 Bxd5 20.Rxd5 Qxd5 21.Bxe4 Qd8 22.Bxa8 Qxa8 23.Qxa8 Rxa8 24.Bf2 Rc8 25.Be3 f6 26.b3 fxe5 27.fxe5 Rc2 28.Rf2 Rc3 29.Rf3 Rc2 30.Rf2 Rc3 31.Re2 Kf7 32.e6+ Ke8 33.Kf2 Bf6 34.g4 Rc6 35.Bd2 Be7 36.Kf3 Bf6 37.Bb4 Be7 38.Be1 Bf6 39.Kf4 h6 40.Kf3 Bg5 41.Bb4 Kd8 42.e7+ Ke8 43.Re4 Bf6 44.Re2 Bg5 45.Re4 Bf6 46.Re3 Bd4 47.Re2 Bc5 48.Bxc5 Rxc5 49.Ke4 h5 50.Kd4 Rg5 51.gxh5 Rxh5 52.Rg2 Kxe7 53.Rxg6 a5 54.Rg2 a4 55.Rd2 axb3 56.axb3 Kd6 57.Rg2 Rh4+ 58.Kc3 Kc5 59.b4+ Kd5 60.Rg5+ Kc6 61.Rg2 1/2-1/2

[Hans Jung]

Jeffery Xiong had success with black against the world champion. Draw, although interesting chances for black a pawn up entering the endgame.

[Hans Jung]

Jordan van Foreest - impressive win against Dubov

[Hans Jung]

Firoujza continues to impress - another crushing win.

[Wayne Komer]

Tata Steel 2020

January 14, 2020

Round Four

Round 4, Jan. 14, 2020
Van Foreest, Jorden – Carlsen, Magnus
C58 Two Knights Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Bd3 Nd5 9.Nf3 Bd6 10.Nc3 O-O 11.Be2 Nf4 12.O-O Bg4 13.d3 Nxe2+ 14.Qxe2 f5 15.h3 Bh5 16.g4 fxg4 17.Ng5 Qd7 18.Nce4 Be7 19.Ng3 Bg6 20.Qxg4 Qxg4 21.hxg4 c5 22.N5e4 Nc6 23.Be3 Nd4 24.Rac1 Rac8 25.Kg2 c4 26.Bxd4 exd4 27.f3 Rc6 28.b3 Ba3 29.Rce1 cxd3 30.cxd3 a5 31.Rf2 Bc1 32.Nd2 Bxd3 33.Nc4 Bf4 34.Ne5 Rc3 35.Nxd3 Rxd3 36.Nf5 g6 37.Re4 Bg5 38.Ne7+ Kh8 39.Nc6 Be3 40.Re2 Rd1 41.Nxa5 Rg1+ 42.Kh2 Rc1 43.Kg2 Rg1+ 44.Kh2 Rc1 45.Kg2 1/2-1/2

Tarjei J. Svensen – Breaking: Carlsen draws van Foreest in 45 moves and now has 111 games without a loss, the longest unbeaten streak in history of chess.

Meanwhile Tiviakov has told TV 2 ”Of course it’s sad. But Magnus is about to become the greatest chess player ever. I am not losing the record to an ordinary player, but one that really deserves it. I am still proud my record stood for 25 years”.

Chessbomb kibitzers:

- so now we can forget that Tiviakov thing?
- yes, tiviakov will be forgotten now
- No, Tiviakov claims he played another 2 games at the back of a truck when traveling between tournaments
- lol
- tiviakov who?

Round 4, Jan. 14, 2020
Yu, Yangyi – Anand, Vishy
D38 QGD, Ragozin variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 d5 5.Qb3 c5 6.dxc5 Nc6 7.Bg5 dxc4 8.Qxc4 h6 9.Bxf6 Qxf6 10.e3 Qe7 11.Rc1 Qxc5 12.Qb3 Qb6 13.a3 Bxc3+ 14.Qxc3 O-O 15.Bd3 Ne7 16.O-O Nd5 17.Qc2 Bd7 18.Ne5 Bb5 19.Rfd1 Bxd3 20.Rxd3 Qd6 21.Nf3 Qe7 22.h3 Nb6 23.Qc7 Qf6 24.Qxb7 Rfb8 25.Qa6 Qxb2 26.Rdc3 Nd5 27.R3c2 Qb7 28.Rc6 Qxa6 29.Rxa6 Rb6 30.Ra5 a6 31.Nd4 Rab8 32.g3 1/2-1/2

Round 4, Jan. 14, 2020
Dubov, Daniil – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
E04 Catalan, open

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 dxc4 5.Bg2 a6 6.O-O Nc6 7.Qc2 Nxd4 8.Nxd4 Qxd4 9.Nd2 c3 10.bxc3 Qc5 11.Rb1 Be7 12.Ne4 Nxe4 13.Bxe4 h6 14.c4 O-O 15.Be3 Qe5 16.Bxb7 Bxb7 17.Rxb7 Bg5 18.Ba7 Rfd8 19.f4 Qd6 20.fxg5 Rxa7 21.Rxa7 Qb6+ 22.e3 Qxa7 23.Qf2 1/2-1/2

Round 4, Jan. 14, 2020
So, Wesley – Firouzja, Alireza
D27 QGA, Classical

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.O-O a6 7.b3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Be7 9.Bb2 O-O 10.Be2 Bd7 11.Nd2 Nc6 12.Rc1 Rc8 13.N4f3 b5 14.a3 Qb6 15.Rc2 e5 16.Bd3 Rfd8 17.Qe2 Bg4 18.Rfc1 Na7 19.Rxc8 Rxc8 20.Rxc8+ Nxc8 21.h3 Bxf3 22.Qxf3 Qd8 23.Qe2 Qd5 24.Bc2 Nd6 25.Qd3 Qxd3 26.Bxd3 Nd7 27.g4 g6 28.Ne4 Nxe4 29.Bxe4 Nc5 30.Bc2 e4 31.b4 Nd3 32.Bc3 Kf8 33.Kf1 f5 34.Ke2 Bd8 35.Bxd3 exd3+ 36.Kxd3 Kf7 37.e4 fxg4 38.hxg4 g5 39.Kd4 Bb6+ 40.Kd5 Bxf2 41.Kc6 Ke6 42.Kb7 Kd7 43.Kxa6 Kc6 44.e5 Be3 45.e6 Bc1 46.a4 bxa4 47.Be5 1-0

Round 4, Jan. 14, 2020
Xiong, Jeffery – Caruana, Fabiano
E39 Nimzo-Indian, Classical

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 O-O 5.Qc2 c5 6.dxc5 Na6 7.g3 Nxc5 8.Bg2 Nce4 9.O-O Nxc3 10.bxc3 Be7 11.e4 d6 12.e5 dxe5 13.Nxe5 Qc7 14.Qe2 Nd7 15.Bf4 Nxe5 16.Bxe5 Bd6 17.Rfe1 Rb8 18.Rad1 Bxe5 19.Qxe5 Qxe5 20.Rxe5 b6 21.c5 Ba6 22.c6 Rbc8 23.Bf3 Rc7 24.Rd4 Re8 25.a4 Kf8 26.Re1 Bc8 27.a5 bxa5 28.Re5 Ke7 29.Rxa5 Rd8 30.Rb4 a6 31.Kg2 Ra7 32.c4 Kd6 33.Rb7 Bxb7 34.cxb7 Kc7 35.c5 Rxb7 36.Rxa6 1/2-1/2

Round 4, Jan. 14, 2020
Giri, Anish – Vitiugov, Nikita
D02 Queen’s Bishop game

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.Bf4 e6 4.e3 Bd6 5.Nbd2 Bxf4 6.exf4 O-O 7.c3 b6 8.h4 c5 9.h5 h6 10.Ne5 Bb7 11.Ndf3 Nc6 12.Nxc6 Bxc6 13.Bd3 Rc8 14.Qe2 Rc7 15.a3 Ba4 16.Kf1 Bb3 17.Kg1 Qd6 18.Qd2 a5 19.Re1 Rb8 20.Rh3 Ba4 21.Bb1 Ne4 22.Qe3 b5 23.dxc5 Qxc5 24.Nd4 b4 25.axb4 axb4 26.Bxe4 dxe4 27.Qxe4 Bd7 28.g4 Rbc8 29.Ree3 Qa5 30.Kh2 1/2-1/2

Round 4, Jan. 14, 2020
Artemiev, Vladislav – Kovalev, Vladislav
E20 Nimzo-Indian Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bd2 O-O 5.Nf3 b6 6.e3 d5 7.Rc1 Ba6 8.Qa4 c5 9.cxd5 Bxf1 10.Rxf1 exd5 11.Ke2 Nbd7 12.Rfd1 Qe7 13.Kf1 Rfc8 14.Qa6 Qe6 15.Ne2 Bxd2 16.Nxd2 Qf5 17.h3 Nf8 18.Nf3 Qd7 19.Ne5 Qc7 20.Kg1 Ne6 21.Rc2 Rab8 22.Qb5 a6 23.Qxa6 Ra8 24.Qd3 Rxa2 25.Qf5 Rca8 26.Nc3 Ra1 27.Rd2 cxd4 28.exd4 Rxd1+ 29.Rxd1 Re8 30.Nf3 Qc4 31.g4 h6 32.h4 Qb3 33.Rd2 b5 34.g5 hxg5 35.hxg5 Nh7 36.Nxd5 g6 37.Nf6+ Nxf6 38.Qxf6 Qd5 39.Re2 Rd8 40.Rxe6 fxe6 41.Ne5 Rf8 42.Qxg6+ Kh8 43.Qh6+ Kg8 44.Ng6 1-0

The Apple Horses Story

Jan and Peter

(It seems that Snake is the nickname for Smeets.)

They are discussing his game with Anton when Peter says, “What is scarier one hundred horse-sized snakes or one snake-sized horse?

He continues: Actually, horses are scarier up close. You don’t fully appreciate how big they are until you try to feed them. Our summer house is half a kilometre from a place where they breed Arabians. A field near us is where they go to graze every day. There are some apple trees and there are a lot of fallen apples in late summer or early fall. And you can get a bag of those apples and feed them. That sounds very romantic but it is a very big herd. And they crowd you from every direction. I am a big unit but they are two heads taller than I and very heavy and they really crowd you, demanding apples. And at some point you run out of apples and they don’t like that. You try to shoo them away but that doesn’t work. The way to do it is to bring along a couple of extra plastic bags and they don’t like the sound of your hand rubbing the plastic bags up and down. It is a bit of an unnerving experience being surrounded from every side by these heavy animals. They could trample you if they wanted. They don’t want to but they could do it.

Elisabeth Paehtz was at our summer house and a horse stepped on her foot.

Challengers Round Four

Van Foreest, L.- Keymer 0.5-0.5
Warmerdam-Nihal Sarin 0-1
Abdusattorov-L’Ami 0.5-0.5
Mamedov-Eljanov 0.5-0.5
Saduakassova-Ganguly 0-1
Anton-Smeets 1-0
Smirnov-Grandelius 0.5-0.5

Challengers
Round 4, Jan. 14, 2020
Anton, David – Smeets, Jan
C42 Petrov, Classical Attack

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Be7 7.O-O Nc6 8.Nbd2 Bf5 9.Re1 Nd6 10.Nf1 O-O 11.Bf4 Be6 12.c3 Qd7 13.Qc2 g6 14.Ne3 Rfe8 15.h4 Bf8 16.Ng5 Nd8 17.h5 Bg7 18.hxg6 hxg6 19.Re2 b6 20.Rae1 N8b7 21.Nxe6 Qxe6 22.Nf5 Qd7 23.Nxg7 Kxg7 24.Be5+ f6 25.Bxg6 fxe5 26.Bxe8 Rxe8 27.Rxe5 Rxe5 28.dxe5 Ne4 29.f3 Ng5 30.Qd2 Qf5 31.Qxd5 Nc5 32.Qd8 Nge6 33.Qf6+ Qxf6 34.exf6+ Kxf6 35.Rd1 b5 36.g3 Na4 37.Rd2 a5 38.Kf2 Nb6 39.b3 a4 40.Ke2 Nc5 41.b4 Ne6 42.f4 a3 43.Kf3 Na4 44.Rc2 c6 45.g4 Nc7 46.Ke4 Nd5 47.g5+ Kg6 48.Ke5 Naxc3 49.Rc1 Kg7 50.f5 Nxa2 51.Ra1 Naxb4 52.Rxa3 Nc7 53.f6+ Kg6 54.Rf3 Nba6 55.f7 Nc5 56.Rf6+ Kxg5 57.Rd6 N7e6 58.Rxe6 Nd7+ 59.Kd6 1-0

Challengers
Round 4, Jan. 14, 2020
Warmerdam, Max – Nihal Sarin
B12 Caro-Kann Defence

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.dxc5 e6 6.Be3 Nh6 7.c3 Nf5 8.Qd2 Bd7 9.Na3 Nxe3 10.Qxe3 b6 11.cxb6 Bxa3 12.b7 Rb8 13.bxa3 Rxb7 14.Ba6 Rb2 15.O-O Qb6 16.Qc1 O-O 17.Bd3 h6 18.c4 Rb8 19.cxd5 exd5 20.Rb1 Rxb1 21.Bxb1 Bg4 22.Qc2 g6 23.Re1 Bxf3 24.gxf3 Nxe5 25.Rxe5 Qxb1+ 26.Qxb1 Rxb1+ 27.Kg2 Rb5 28.Re3 Kg7 29.Rb3 Ra5 30.f4 Kf6 31.Kf3 Kf5 32.Rd3 d4 33.h3 Ra4 34.Rb3 a6 35.Rd3 Rc4 36.Rd2 h5 37.h4 Rc3+ 38.Ke2 Ke4 0-1

Tomorrow is a rest day

[Hans Jung]

Van Foreest and Xiong played well against Carlsen and Caruana. Both had the advantage at some point.

[Hans Jung]

Firoujza was cruising along against Wesley So (probable result draw) but then inexplicably pushed a pawn to e4. You cant make those weaknesses against Wesley and thats all he needed to aim for a win.

[Hans Jung]

In the Challengers some very nice endgame play but one that wasnt was Abdusattorov - L'Ami. Erwin L'Ami messed up a very nice endgame. Happens.

[Hans Jung]

Rd 5 Wild game Caruana vs Van Foreest

[Hans Jung]

Firoujza had a big edge against Giri but Anish fought back only to blunder in the king and pawn ending.

[Hans Jung]

Jeffery Xiong mixed up move order in the French against Vishy Anand but fought back with a game try to simplify but unfortunately the rook and pawn endgame was dead lost.

[Hans Jung]

Magnus had been having his own headaches as one player after another has been playing well against him - result - draw, draw, draw, draw but also many saves by Magnus.