Tata Steel 2020

[Wayne Komer]

Tata Steel 2020

January 16, 2020

Round Five

Previous Quizzes

Rd 3 – How many times has the famous legend GATA KAMSKY played the Wijk aan Zee group events?

Answer: 3 (2006, 2009, 2012)

Rd 4 – Which players of the 2020 Candidates have won/tied for 1^stin a Wijk aan Zee event?

Hint: The Candidates are Caruana, Ding, Giri, Alekseenko, Wang Hao, Radjabov, Grischuk and Nepo.

Answer: Caruana (2008, C group + 2009, B Group), Giri (2010, B Group) and Radjabov (2007, A Group, tie)

From chess24: 16-year-old Alireza Firouzja hit straight back to join Wesley So in the Tata Steel Masters lead after luring Anish Giri into a lost pawn ending in their first ever classical game. That was Firouzja's third win in this year's event, with Vishy Anand the only other player to pick up a full point as he took down Jeffery Xiong. Magnus Carlsen confessed he had to "grovel" for a draw against Daniil Dubov, while Caruana-Van Foreest and Duda-Artemiev were terrific slugfests that nevertheless ended peacefully.

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/tat...ri-for-3rd-win

Round 5, January 16, 2020
Carlsen, Magnus – Dubov, Daniil
B31 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.O-O Bg7 5.Re1 e5 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.d3 Qe7 8.a4 Nf6 9.Bg5 h6 10.Be3 O-O 11.h3 b6 12.a5 Ba6 13.Qd2 Kh7 14.Qc3 Nd7 15.axb6 axb6 16.Nbd2 f5 17.Nc4 Qe6 18.Qb3 fxe4 19.Nfd2 exd3 20.cxd3 e4 21.Nxe4 Bxc4 22.Qxc4 Qd5 23.Rxa8 Rxa8 24.Qc2 Ne5 25.Rd1 Rd8 26.Nc3 Qd7 27.b3 Qf5 28.Ne4 Rd5 29.Nc3 Rxd3 30.Rxd3 Qxd3 31.Qxd3 Nxd3 32.Na4 c4 33.bxc4 b5 34.cxb5 cxb5 35.Nc5 Nxc5 36.Bxc5 Kg8 37.Kf1 Kf7 38.Ke2 Ke6 39.Kd3 Kd5 40.Bb4 Bd4 41.f4 Bc5 42.Bd2 Bf8 43.g4 b4 44.h4 h5 45.gxh5 gxh5 46.Bxb4 Bxb4 47.Ke3 1/2-1/2

Round 5, January 16, 2020
Caruana, Fabiano – Van Foreest, Jorden
A20 English, Kingside Fianchetto

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 Bc5 4.Nc3 c6 5.Nf3 e4 6.Nh4 d5 7.cxd5 cxd5 8.d3 Ng4 9.O-O g5 10.dxe4 gxh4 11.Bf4 hxg3 12.Bxg3 Bd6 13.Qd3 Bxg3 14.Qxg3 Be6 15.exd5 Bc8 16.Nb5 Na6 17.Rac1 Bd7 18.Nd6+ Kf8 19.Rc4 Rg8 20.Qa3 Kg7 21.Rf4 Ne5 22.Qc3 Qg5 23.Rf3 Kf8 24.Rg3 Qe7 25.Nxb7 Rxg3 26.hxg3 Rc8 27.Qe3 Ng4 28.Qf4 Qe5 29.Bf3 Qxf4 30.gxf4 Rc2 31.Rb1 h5 32.b4 Rc4 33.b5 Nc5 34.Nxc5 Rxc5 35.a4 1/2-1/2

Round 5, January 16, 2020
Anand, Vishy – Xiong, Jeffery
C18 French, Winawer, Advance

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 Ne7 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 c5 7.Qg4 Kf8 8.h4 h5 9.Qd1 b6 10.Bg5 Qc7 11.Rh3 cxd4 12.cxd4 Nf5 13.c3 Ba6 14.Bxa6 Nxa6 15.Ne2 Nb8 16.Nf4 g6 17.g4 hxg4 18.Qxg4 Nd7 19.Rc1 Rg8 20.h5 gxh5 21.Qxh5 Qc4 22.Ne2 Rc8 23.Rf3 Rc6 24.Ng3 Ke8 25.Nxf5 exf5 26.Rxf5 Rcg6 27.Kd2 Nf8 28.Be3 Ne6 29.Qe2 Qa2+ 30.Rc2 Qb1 31.c4 Rg4 32.cxd5 Rxd4+ 33.Bxd4 Qxc2+ 34.Kxc2 Nxd4+ 35.Kd3 Nxe2 36.Kxe2 Rg4 37.f4 Rg3 38.Rg5 Rxa3 39.Rg8+ Kd7 40.Rf8 Ke7 41.Rb8 Kd7 42.Rb7+ Ke8 43.d6 1-0

Round 5, January 16, 2020
Vitiugov, Nikita – Yu, Yangyi
E11 Bogo-Indian Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 O-O 7.O-O c6 8.Qc2 b6 9.Bf4 Nbd7 10.cxd5 cxd5 11.Rc1 Ba6 12.Nc3 Qc8 13.Qd1 Qb7 14.e4 Nxe4 15.Nxe4 dxe4 16.Nd2 Bd3 17.Rc3 Qa6 18.Nxe4 Bxe4 19.Bxe4 Rac8 20.Qd3 Qxd3 21.Bxd3 Nf6 22.Ba6 Rxc3 23.bxc3 Nd5 24.Bd2 Rd8 1/2-1/2

Round 5, January 16, 2020
Firouzja, Alireza – Giri, Anish
D31 QGD, Charousek variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 c6 6.Qc2 Nf6 7.e3 Nh5 8.Be5 Nd7 9.Be2 Nxe5 10.dxe5 g6 11.Bxh5 gxh5 12.Nge2 f6 13.exf6 Bxf6 14.Rd1 O-O 15.O-O Kh8 16.e4 d4 17.Nf4 Be5 18.Nd3 Bg7 19.Ne2 h4 20.h3 Qe7 21.e5 Rd8 22.f4 Bf5 23.Kh2 Qe6 24.Ng1 Bh6 25.Nf3 Qe7 26.Kh1 Bxf4 27.Qc5 Qxc5 28.Nxc5 Bc2 29.Rxd4 Rxd4 30.Nxd4 Be3 31.Nce6 Bg6 32.Rf3 Bh6 33.Nf5 Bxf5 34.Rxf5 Be3 35.Rf3 Re8 36.Rxe3 Rxe6 37.Kg1 Kg7 38.Kf2 Kg6 39.Re4 Re7 40.Kf3 Kf5 41.Rxh4 Kxe5 42.Re4+ Kf6 43.Rxe7 Kxe7 44.Kf4 Kf6 45.g4 a5 46.a4 h6 47.h4 Ke6 48.g5 hxg5+ 49.Kxg5 Kf7 50.Kf5 b5 51.Ke5 1-0

Position after White’s 40.Kf3



Round 5, January 16, 2020
Kovalev, Vladislav – So, Wesley
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.Re1 Re8 11.c3 Rxe1 12.Qxe1 Nf5 13.a4 d5 14.a5 Nd6 15.Bf4 Bf5 16.Nd2 Bg5 17.Bxg5 Qxg5 18.Nf3 Qd8 19.Ne5 f6 20.Nd3 c6 21.Qd1 Qc7 1/2-1/2

Round 5, January 16, 2020
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Artemiev, Vladislav
D45 QGD, Semi-Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.Bd3 O-O 8.O-O dxc4 9.Bxc4 e5 10.h3 exd4 11.exd4 Nb6 12.Bb3 Nbd5 13.Bg5 Be7 14.Rfe1 Be6 15.Re5 Qd7 16.Rae1 Rae8 17.Qd2 Bd8 18.Bc2 Qc8 19.Bh6 Ne7 20.Ne4 Nf5 21.Bxg7 Nxe4 22.R1xe4 Nxg7 23.Qh6 f5 24.Rg4 Bf6 25.Ng5 Bxg5 26.Rxg5 Qd7 27.d5 cxd5 28.Ba4 Qf7 29.Bxe8 Rxe8 30.Rxe6 Rxe6 31.Rxg7+ Qxg7 32.Qxe6+ Qf7 33.Qxf7+ Kxf7 34.Kf1 Ke6 35.Ke2 f4 36.g4 fxg3 37.fxg3 Ke5 38.Ke3 d4+ 39.Kf3 Kf5 40.g4+ Kg5 41.Kg3 d3 42.h4+ Kf6 43.Kf3 Ke5 44.Ke3 d2 45.Kxd2 Kf4 46.g5 Kg4 47.Ke3 Kxh4 48.Kf4 a6 49.a3 b6 50.a4 a5 51.b3 Kh3 52.Kf3 Kh4 1/2-1/2

Masters Standing after Round 5

1-2 So, Firouzja 3.5
3-5 Caruana, Van Foreest, Artemiev 3
6-10 Dubov, Xiong, Carlsen, Anand, Duda 2.5
11-12 Giri, Vitiugov 2
13 Yu 1.5
14 Kovalev 1

Results of Round 5 Challengers

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

Challengers Standing after Round 5

1-3 Eljanov, Ganguly, L’Ami 3.5
4-6 Anton, Van Foreest,L.,Smeets 3
7-10 Mamedov, Grandelius, Nihal, Abdusattorov 2.5
11-13 Smirnov, Keymer, Saduakassova 1.5
14 Warmerdam 1

Challengers
Round 5, Jan. 16
Keymer, Vincent – Abdusattorov, Nodirbek
D37 QGD

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.g3 O-O 6.Bg2 dxc4 7.Ne5 c5 8.dxc5 Qxd1+ 9.Nxd1 Bxc5 10.O-O Nc6 11.Bxc6 bxc6 12.Be3 Bb6 13.Bxb6 axb6 14.Nc3 Bb7 15.a4 b5 16.axb5 cxb5 17.Nxb5 Rab8 18.Nc3 Bd5 19.Rfb1 Rfc8 20.f3 Bc6 21.g4 Be8 22.Ra5 Nd5 23.Nxd5 exd5 24.Rxd5 f6 25.Nd7 Rb7 26.Rbd1 Rxb2 27.Rc5 Rxc5 28.Nxc5 Rxe2 29.Rd8 Kf7 30.Rc8 c3 31.Ne4 c2 32.Kf1 Rxh2 33.Kg1 Re2 34.Kf1 Bb5 35.Nd6+ Kg6 36.Nxb5 Rd2 0-1

Challengers
Round 5, Jan. 16
Nihal Sarin – Van Foreest, Lucas
C54 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d6 6.Nbd2 a6 7.Bb3 Ba7 8.h3 O-O 9.O-O Be6 10.Bc2 h6 11.Re1 Re8 12.Nf1 d5 13.Bd2 d4 14.c4 b5 15.cxb5 axb5 16.a4 b4 17.a5 Qd6 18.Ba4 Nd7 19.Ng3 Nc5 20.Bxc6 Qxc6 21.Bxb4 Nb3 22.Rb1 Qb5 23.Ba3 Qxa5 24.Nf1 Qb5 25.Qc2 Bb6 26.N1d2 Ba5 27.Red1 Bxd2 28.Nxd2 f6 29.Re1 c5 30.Nxb3 Bxb3 31.Qd2 Rac8 32.Rbc1 Rc6 33.Rf1 c4 34.dxc4 Bxc4 35.Rfe1 Rec8 36.f3 Bb3 37.Rxc6 Qxc6 38.Bb4 Qa4 39.Ba3 Rc2 40.Qb4 Qxb4 41.Bxb4 d3 42.Ra1 d2 43.Kh2 Rxb2 44.Bxd2 Rxd2 45.h4 Kh7 46.Kg3 h5 47.Rb1 Bc4 48.Rc1 Bd3 49.Ra1 Kh6 50.Rc1 g5 51.hxg5+ Kxg5 52.Kh3 Bb5 0-1

[Wayne Komer]

Tata Steel 2020

January 17, 2020

Round Six

(Chess24) - Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana drew their 19th consecutive game of classical chess as the World Champion's frustrating start to the 2020 Tata Steel Chess Masters continues. Wesley So and Alireza Firouzja also drew and continue to lead after Round 6, while the day's winners were Anish Giri, who hit back straight away to beat Vladislav Kovalev, and Daniil Dubov, who impressively dismantled Vladislav Artemiev's Caro-Kann.

Round 6, January 17, 2020
Carlsen, Magnus – Caruana, Fabiano
D37 QGD

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dxc4 7.e3 c5 8.Bxc4 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Bd7 10.O-O O-O 11.Rc1 Nc6 12.Nb3 Rc8 13.Be2 Nd5 14.Bg3 Nxc3 15.Rxc3 Nb4 16.Rxc8 Qxc8 17.Bd6 Nd5 18.Bxe7 Nxe7 19.Qd6 Nf5 20.Qa3 Qb8 21.e4 Qe5 22.exf5 Qxe2 23.Nd4 Qe5 24.fxe6 Qxd4 25.exd7 Rd8 26.g3 Rxd7 27.Re1 Kh7 28.Qf3 1/2-1/2

Round 6, January 17, 2020
Giri, Anish – Kovalev, Vladislav
C54 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 a6 8.Nbd2 Ba7 9.O-O O-O 10.a4 g5 11.Bg3 Kg7 12.Re1 Nh7 13.b4 h5 14.h3 h4 15.Bh2 g4 16.hxg4 Bxg4 17.b5 Ne7 18.d4 Ng6 19.bxa6 bxa6 20.Nf1 exd4 21.cxd4 Bxf3 22.gxf3 f5 23.Ne3 fxe4 24.fxe4 Qg5+ 25.Kh1 Rxf2 26.Nf5+ Kh8 27.Rg1 Rxh2+ 28.Kxh2 Qf4+ 29.Kh3 Ng5+ 30.Rxg5 Qxg5 31.Qg1 Nf4+ 32.Kh2 Qxg1+ 33.Rxg1 d5 34.Bxd5 Nxd5 35.exd5 Re8 36.Kh3 Bb6 37.Kxh4 Rd8 38.Rg5 Kh7 39.Rh5+ Kg6 40.Ne7+ Kf6 41.Nc6 Re8 42.Re5 Rh8+ 43.Kg4 a5 44.Rf5+ Kg6 45.Ne5+ Kg7 46.Rg5+ Kh7 47.Rh5+ Kg7 48.Rxh8 Kxh8 49.Nc4 Kg7 50.Kf5 Kf7 51.d6 1-0

Final Position



Round 6, January 17, 2020
Van Foreest, Jorden – Anand, Vishy
C48 Four Knights, Rubinstein Counter-Gambit

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Nd4 5.Bc4 c6 6.Nxe5 d5 7.exd5 Bd6 8.Nf3 Qe7+ 9.Kf1 Nxf3 10.Qxf3 O-O 11.dxc6 Re8 12.Qe2 Qd8 13.Qd1 bxc6 14.d3 Rb8 15.h3 Be5 16.Bb3 c5 17.Be3 Qc7 18.Qd2 Ba6 19.Re1 c4 20.dxc4 Bxc4+ 21.Bxc4 Qxc4+ 22.Qd3 Qxd3+ 23.cxd3 Rxb2 24.d4 Bc7 25.Re2 Rbb8 26.g3 Ba5 27.Na4 Nd5 28.Nc5 Bc3 29.Nb3 a5 30.Bc1 Rxe2 31.Kxe2 a4 32.Nc5 Bxd4 33.Ne4 Re8 34.Kf3 Nc3 1/2-1/2

Round 6, January 17, 2020
So, Wesley – 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.e3 Bd7 8.a4 Bd6 9.a5 Nb4 10.Na3 Bb5 11.Nd2 Bc6 12.Ndxc4 Bxg2 13.Kxg2 O-O 14.f3 Be7 15.Bd2 Nc6 16.Qb3 Rb8 17.Bc3 b5 18.axb6 cxb6 19.Nc2 Qc8 20.e4 b5 21.Na5 Nxa5 22.Bxa5 Qb7 23.Rfd1 Rfc8 24.Ne3 Nd7 25.h4 Bf8 26.Rac1 Rxc1 27.Rxc1 Rc8 28.Rc3 Nb8 29.Bb4 Rxc3 30.Qxc3 Qc6 31.Bxf8 Qxc3 32.bxc3 Kxf8 33.Kf2 Ke7 34.Ke2 1/2-1/2

Round 6, January 17, 2020
Yu, Yangyi – Firouzja, Alireza
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 Qc7 8.a4 Be7 9.Be2 O-O 10.O-O Be6 11.a5 h6 12.Nd5 Nxd5 13.exd5 Bf5 14.c4 Nd7 15.b4 Rac8 16.Rc1 Qd8 17.Nd2 Nf6 18.Qb3 Qd7 19.Rfd1 Ng4 20.Bxg4 Bxg4 21.f3 Bf5 22.c5 Qb5 23.Qc4 Bd3 24.Qxb5 Bxb5 25.Ne4 Rfd8 26.cxd6 Rxc1 27.Rxc1 Bxd6 28.Bb6 Rd7 29.Rc8+ Kh7 30.Bc5 Bc7 31.Kf2 f5 32.Nc3 Bc4 33.d6 Bd8 34.Na4 Bb5 35.Nb6 Bxb6 36.axb6 1/2-1/2

- 31.Bf8 is better than move played

Round 6, January 17, 2020
Dubov, Daniil – Artemiev, Vladislav
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.h4 h5 5.c4 e6 6.Nc3 Be7 7.cxd5 cxd5 8.Bd3 Bxd3 9.Qxd3 Nc6 10.Nf3 Nh6 11.Bxh6 Rxh6 12.Rc1 Kf8 13.g3 g6 14.O-O Kg7 15.Na4 Rh8 16.Nc5 Bxc5 17.Rxc5 Qd7 18.Rfc1 Rhc8 19.Qc3 a5 20.a3 a4 21.Ne1 Qe7 22.Nf3 Qd7 23.Kg2 Rc7 24.Qc2 Qd8 25.Qd1 Rd7 26.Ng5 Ra6 27.g4 Qh8 28.Qf3 Rb6 29.gxh5 Qxh5 30.Qf6+ Kg8 31.Ra5 Qg4+ 32.Kf1 Nd8 33.Ra8 1-0

Round 6, January 17, 2020
Xiong, Jeffery – Vitiugov, Nikita
C54 Giuoco Piano, d3 variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.O-O a6 7.a4 Ba7 8.Nbd2 O-O 9.b4 h6 10.h3 Re8 11.Re1 Be6 12.Bxe6 Rxe6 13.Rb1 Qd7 14.b5 axb5 15.axb5 Ne7 16.Nc4 Ng6 17.b6 Bxb6 18.Rxb6 cxb6 19.Nxb6 Qc6 20.Nxa8 Re8 21.c4 Rxa8 22.Qb3 Ra1 23.Be3 Rxe1+ 24.Nxe1 Nd7 25.Nc2 Nc5 26.Qa3 Na6 27.Qa5 Nf8 28.Na3 Ne6 29.Nb5 Nac5 30.Qa8+ Kh7 31.Qb8 Nxd3 32.Nxd6 f6 33.Nf5 Qd7 34.Qd6 Qxd6 35.Nxd6 Ndc5 36.g4 g6 37.Ne8 Nxe4 38.f3 N4g5 39.Nxf6+ 1/2-1/2

Masters Standings after Round Six

1-2 So, Firouzja 4
3-5 Van Foreest, J., Caruana, Dubov 3.5
6-11 Anand, Carlsen, Giri, Artemiev, Xiong, Duda 3
12 Vitiugov 2.5
13 Yu 2
14 Kovalev 1

Challengers Round Six

Smeets-Ganguly 0.5-0.5
Van Forest, L.-Grandelius 0-1
Mamedov-Smirnov 0.5-0.5
Warmerdam-Eljanov 0-1
Saduakassova-Keymer 0-1
Abdusattorv-Nihal 0.5-0.5

Challengers
Round 6, January 17, 2020
Saduakassova, Dinara – Keymer, Vincent
E11 Bogo-Indian Defence

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 O-O 7.O-O c6 8.Qc2 Nbd7 9.Bf4 b6 10.Rd1 Bb7 11.Ne5 Nh5 12.Bc1 Nhf6 13.Bf4 Nh5 14.Bd2 Nhf6 15.cxd5 cxd5 16.Nc6 Bxc6 17.Qxc6 Rc8 18.Qb5 Ne8 19.Qd3 Nd6 20.Bc3 f5 21.Nd2 Ne4 22.Rac1 Ndf6 23.f3 Nd6 24.e4 fxe4 25.fxe4 Nfxe4 26.Nxe4 Nxe4 27.Bxe4 dxe4 28.Qxe4 Qd5 29.Re1 Bf6 30.Kg2 Rc4 31.Rcd1 Qxe4+ 32.Rxe4 e5 33.g4 exd4 34.g5 Bxg5 35.Rexd4 Rxd4 36.Rxd4 Bf6 37.Rc4 Bxc3 38.Rxc3 Rd8 39.Kf3 Rd7 40.Rc6 h6 41.Ke3 Kh7 42.b3 Re7+ 43.Kf3 Rf7+ 44.Ke3 h5 45.h4 Re7+ 46.Kf3 Rd7 47.Ke3 Rf7 48.Rc2 Kh6 49.Rc6+ g6 50.Rc8 Rf1 51.Rh8+ Kg7 52.Ra8 Rf7 53.Rc8 Rd7 54.Rc6 Kh6 55.Rc8 Rd1 56.Rh8+ Kg7 57.Ra8 a5 58.Rb8 Rh1 59.Rxb6 Rh3+ 60.Kf2 Rxh4 61.a4 Rh3 62.Rb5 Kh6 63.Kg2 Rc3 64.b4 Rc4 65.bxa5 Rxa4 66.Kg3 h4+ 67.Kh3 g5 68.Rb8 Rxa5 69.Rh8+ Kg7 70.Rb8 Ra4 71.Rc8 Kf7 72.Rb8 Ke7 73.Rb6 Ra3+ 74.Kh2 Kf7 75.Rc6 Rf3 76.Rh6 Kg7 77.Rh5 Kg6 78.Rh8 Kf5 79.Rb8 Kg4 80.Rb4+ Rf4 0-1

Position after 69.Rh8+

Can you win from this position with Black in 31 moves?




Challengers Standings after Round Six

1 Eljanov 4.5
2-3 Ganguly, L’Ami 4
4-6 Anton, Smeets, Grandelius 3.5
7-10 Van Foreest, L., Abdusattorv, Nihal, Mamedov 3
11 Keymer 2.5
12 Smirnov 2
13 Saduakassova 1.5
14 Warmerdam 1

[Hans Jung]

Dubov - Artemiev - it pays to know Alekhine's games.

[Hans Jung]

Rd 7 (coming up) Firoujza - Xiong - Now thats a match up! Cant wait!

[Hans Jung]

I cant decide between Caruana - Dubov or Firoujza - Xiong for game of the round (rd 7) both thrillers.

[Hans Jung]

Firoujza in clear first at the half!

[Hans Jung]

Miss of the round: Ganguly - Mammedov 31....Rd3!!!

[Hans Jung]

Van Foreest game in the elite also noteworthy.

[Wayne Komer]

Tata Steel 2020

January 18, 2020

Round Seven

Quizzes of Rounds Five and Six

Round 5 – How many games has Magnus Carlsen lost in Wijk aan Zee and which year and opponent was his last loss? Hint: He has played the tournament 15 times (including the present one).

Answer: 17 losses. Last loss was against Richard Rapport in 2017.

Round 6 – In the annotations to a game he played in Wijk aan Zee, Vladimir Kramnik coined the term “toilet move”. Name his opponent and the year.

Unfortunately, the answer to the above has been cut from the edited YouTube coverage, so I don’t know the answer. One suspects it is with Topalov. Kramnik played in Wijk
in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2018. If anyone knows the answer, please post.

Peter has mentioned playing in the States. There is a game against Nakamura’s father at the 23^rd World Open, 1995, in Philadelphia. There is a game too against J. Bonin, the master mentioned in these pages a while ago. Then the New York Open, 1995, in Newark, New Jersey.

__________

(Chess24) - 16-year-old Alireza Firouzja beat Jeffery Xiong in Round 7 to retake the sole lead in the Tata Steel Masters on an incredible 5/7. The Iranian now leads Magnus Carlsen by 1.5 points after the World Champion once more struggled to draw, this time against Vishy Anand. Meanwhile Wesley So has been joined in second place by Jorden van Foreest, whose win over Nikita Vitiugov was the first win for Black in this year's event, and Fabiano Caruana, who ground down Daniil Dubov in 79 moves.

Round 7, January 18, 2020
Vitiugov, Nikita – Van Foreest, Jorden
C11 French Defence

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Nce2 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Nf3 Be7 8.a3 O-O 9.Nf4 Qa5 10.Bd3 Nxd4 11.Nxd4 cxd4 12.Qh5 f5 13.O-O Nxe5 14.cxd4 Nc6 15.Be3 Bf6 16.Ne2 Qb6 17.Kh1 Bd7 18.b4 Rac8 19.Rac1 Ne7 20.Rc5 Rxc5 21.dxc5 Qc6 22.Nd4 Qa4 23.Ra1 Be8 24.Qh3 Ng6 25.Bc2 Qa6 26.Rb1 Bf7 27.f4 Qc4 28.Bb3 Qc3 29.Rd1 Nxf4 30.Bxf4 Bxd4 31.Qxc3 Bxc3 32.Bd6 Rc8 33.b5 Bb2 34.a4 Ba3 35.a5 Bxc5 36.Rc1 b6 37.g4 fxg4 38.Rxc5 bxc5 39.b6 axb6 40.axb6 Rc6 41.Bc7 Rxb6 42.Bxb6 c4 43.Bd1 Bg6 44.Bxg4 Bf5 45.Bf3 c3 46.Kg1 Kf7 47.Bd4 c2 48.Bb2 d4 49.Kf2 e5 50.Bd5+ Kf6 51.h4 Kg6 52.Kg3 Bd3 53.Bc1 e4 54.Bb2 Kf5 55.Bg8 h6 56.Bc1 e3 57.Bb2 Be4 58.Bc1 g5 59.h5 g4 60.Bh7+ Ke5 61.Bg8 e2 62.Kf2 d3 0-1

Round 7, January 18, 2020
Anand, Vishy – Carlsen, Magnus
B31 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.O-O Bg7 5.c3 Nf6 6.Re1 O-O 7.d4 a6 8.Bd3 d5 9.e5 Ne8 10.dxc5 Bg4 11.Be2 Nc7 12.Nbd2 a5 13.h3 Bc8 14.Bd3 Ne6 15.Nb3 a4 16.Nbd4 Nxc5 17.Bc2 Qa5 18.Bd2 Rd8 19.Qc1 Ne6 20.b4 Qc7 21.Nxc6 bxc6 22.Be3 c5 23.bxc5 Nxc5 24.Qa3 Ne6 25.Rab1 d4 26.Nxd4 Bxe5 27.Nb5 Qc6 28.Rb4 Bb7 29.Be4 Qd7 30.Bxb7 Qxb7 31.Rxa4 Bf4 32.Rxa8 Rxa8 33.Qb3 Bxe3 34.Rxe3 Nf4 35.Rf3 Qe4 36.Kh2 Nd5 37.c4 Qe5+ 38.g3 Nf6 39.a3 Ne4 40.Qc2 Ng5 41.Re3 Qc5 42.h4 Ne6 43.Qe2 Rc8 44.Rc3 h5 45.Kg2 Kf8 46.Qe4 Kg8 47.Qd5 Qb6 48.a4 Qa6 49.c5 Qxa4 50.c6 Rd8 51.Qc4 Qxc4 52.Rxc4 Rb8 53.c7 Rc8 54.Rc1 1/2-1/2

Round 7, January 18, 2020
Caruana, Fabiano – Dubov, Daniil
B31 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.O-O Bg7 5.c3 Nf6 6.Re1 O-O 7.d4 d5 8.e5 Ne4 9.Be3 Qb6 10.Bxc6 bxc6 11.Qc1 Rb8 12.b3 Qa5 13.dxc5 Rxb3 14.axb3 Qxa1 15.b4 Qa4 16.Nd4 Bxe5 17.f3 Nf6 18.Qa3 Qxa3 19.Nxa3 Re8 20.Bg5 Bxd4+ 21.cxd4 Kg7 22.b5 Bd7 23.bxc6 Bxc6 24.Bd2 a6 25.Nc2 Bb5 26.Ra1 Nd7 27.Nb4 e6 28.Bf4 Ra8 29.Ra5 Nb8 30.g4 Kf8 31.Kf2 Ke8 32.g5 Nd7 33.Bc7 f6 34.h4 Ra7 35.Bd6 Ra8 36.Ke3 Kf7 37.f4 Kg7 38.Kd2 h5 39.Kc3 Kf7 40.Nd3 Bc6 41.Kb4 Ra7 42.Ra3 Kg7 43.Nc1 Kf7 44.Nb3 Bb5 45.Na5 Ra8 46.c6 Nb6 47.c7 f5 48.Re3 Rc8 49.Nb7 Nc4 50.Re1 Bd7 51.Kc5 Ke8 52.Be5 Kf8 53.Ra1 Bb5 54.Bd6+ Ke8 55.Na5 Nd2 56.Be5 Kd7 57.Kb6 Nc4+ 58.Nxc4 dxc4 59.Kc5 Re8 60.Rd1 Ba4 61.Ra1 Bb5 62.Ra2 Kc8 63.Kd6 Kb7 64.Bf6 Kc8 65.Bd8 Kb7 66.Ke5 Rf8 67.Ra3 Kc8 68.Kxe6 Re8+ 69.Kf7 Re4 70.Kxg6 Rxf4 71.Kxh5 Rxd4 72.g6 Rd6 73.Kg5 Rd3 74.g7 c3 75.Kxf5 Rg3 76.Bg5 Bc4 77.Rxa6 c2 78.Rc6 Bb3 79.h5 1-0

Round 7, January 18, 2020
Firouzja, Alireza – Xiong, Jeffery
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.O-O Nd7 7.c3 O-O 8.d4 Bd6 9.Bg5 f6 10.Bh4 Qe8 11.Re1 Nb6 12.Bg3 Bg4 13.Nbd2 Kh8 14.Qc2 Rd8 15.h3 Bh5 16.Nh4 exd4 17.Bxd6 d3 18.Qxd3 cxd6 19.f4 Bf7 20.Ndf3 Bg8 21.Nd4 c5 22.Ndf5 Qd7 23.b3 d5 24.e5 Be6 25.Ng3 f5 26.Nf3 h6 27.b4 d4 28.bxc5 dxc3 29.Qxc3 Nd5 30.Qd2 Qa4 31.Ne2 Nb4 32.Ned4 Nc6 33.Rad1 Bxa2 34.Qc3 Rd5 35.e6 Re8 36.Rd2 Qc4 37.Qxc4 Bxc4 38.Nxc6 bxc6 39.Rd4 Bb3 40.Re3 Ba2 41.e7 Kg8 42.Ra3 Rxd4 43.Nxd4 Bd5 44.Nxf5 g6 45.Nxh6+ Kg7 46.Ng4 Rxe7 47.Ne3 Be4 48.Kf2 Rd7 49.Nc4 Rb7 50.g4 Bd5 51.Ne3 Rb2+ 52.Kg3 Rb3 53.Rxa7+ Kf6 54.Kf2 Rb2+ 55.Kf1 Be4 56.Rd7 Rh2 57.Rd4 Bf3 58.Rd6+ Kg7 59.f5 gxf5 60.Nxf5+ Kf7 61.g5 Bh5 62.Rf6+ Kg8 63.g6 Rxh3 64.Ne7+ Kh8 65.Rf8+ Kg7 66.Rf7+ Kh6 67.Rh7+ Kg5 68.g7 1-0

Round 7, January 18, 2020
Artemiev, Vladislav – So, Wesley
A06 Reti Opening

1.Nf3 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.Bxc4 a6 6.O-O c5 7.Be2 Nc6 8.d4 cxd4 9.exd4 Be7 10.Be3 Ng4 11.Bf4 Nf6 12.Rc1 O-O 13.Be3 Ng4 14.Bd3 Nxe3 15.fxe3 b6 16.Be4 Bb7 17.Ne5 Nxe5 18.Bxb7 Ra7 19.Be4 Nd7 20.Qe2 b5 21.Bf3 Rc7 22.a4 bxa4 23.Qxa6 a3 24.bxa3 Qc8 25.Qxc8 Rfxc8 26.Ne2 Rxc1 27.Rxc1 Rxc1+ 28.Nxc1 Bxa3 29.Nd3 Kf8 30.Bc6 Nb6 31.e4 Ke7 32.e5 Nc4 33.Kf2 f6 34.Bb5 Nb2 35.Nf4 fxe5 36.dxe5 Nd1+ 37.Kf3 Bb2 38.Ba4 Nc3 39.Bc6 Na2 40.Nd3 Bc3 41.Be4 1/2-1/2

Round 7, January 18, 2020
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Giri, Anish
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 Qh4 14.g3 Qh3 15.Re4 Nf6 16.Rh4 Qf5 17.Bc2 Qg6 18.Nd2 Bg4 19.Nf3 Rad8 20.Kg2 Rfe8 21.a4 h6 22.axb5 axb5 23.h3 Bf5 24.Rd4 Qh5 25.Rh4 Qg6 26.Rd4 Qh5 27.Rh4 1/2-1/2

Round 7, January 18, 2020
Kovalev, Vladislav – Yu, Yangyi
C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a3 O-O 9.Nc3 Bb7 10.Bg5 Qd7 11.a4 Nd8 12.axb5 axb5 13.Rxa8 Bxa8 14.Bxf6 Bxf6 15.Nd5 Bxd5 16.Bxd5 c6 17.Ba2 d5 18.Re1 Qd6 19.d4 dxe4 20.dxe5 Bxe5 21.Qxd6 Bxd6 22.Ng5 Re8 23.Nxe4 Kf8 24.Kf1 Bc7 25.h4 h6 26.c3 Nb7 27.g3 Nd6 28.Nc5 Rxe1+ 29.Kxe1 Ke8 30.Nd3 Nc8 31.Ke2 Nb6 32.g4 Bd6 33.b4 1/2-1/2

Masters Standing after Round Seven

1 Firouzja 5
2-4 Caruana, So, Van Foreest 4.5
5-10 Dubov, Carlsen, Duda, Anand, Giri, Artemiev 3.5
11 Xiong 3
12-13 Vitiugov, Yu 2.5
14 Kovalev 1.5

Challengers Results Round Seven

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

Challengers
Round 7, January 18, 2020
Nihal Sarin – Saduakassova, Dinara
E46 Nimzo-Indian

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd2 d5 6.Nf3 c5 7.a3 Bxc3 8.Bxc3 Ne4 9.Rc1 Nxc3 10.Rxc3 cxd4 11.Nxd4 Nc6 12.cxd5 Qxd5 13.Nxc6 bxc6 14.Qc2 h6 15.f3 a5 16.Bc4 Qe5 17.f4 Qf6 18.O-O Ba6 19.Rf2 Rfd8 20.h3 Rd6 21.Ba2 Rc8 22.f5 exf5 23.Qxf5 Rc7 24.Qxf6 Rxf6 25.Rxf6 gxf6 26.Kf2 Kg7 27.Bb1 c5 28.Be4 Rc8 29.Kf3 Bb5 30.g4 Bd7 31.Kf4 Be6 32.Bf5 Bxf5 33.Kxf5 Rb8 34.b3 Re8 35.Kf4 Rb8 36.h4 Kg6 37.h5+ Kg7 38.Ke4 Rb7 39.Kd5 Re7 40.Kxc5 Re4 41.b4 axb4 42.axb4 Re5+ 43.Kc6 Re6+ 44.Kb7 f5 45.gxf5 Re5 46.Kc6 Rxf5 47.b5 1-0

Challengers
Round 7, January 18, 2020
Ganguly, Surya – Mamedov, Rauf
B78 Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 O-O 8.Bb3 d6 9.f3 Bd7 10.h4 h5 11.Qd2 Rc8 12.O-O-O Ne5 13.Bg5 Rc5 14.Kb1 Re8 15.Bh6 Bh8 16.g4 Qa5 17.gxh5 Nxh5 18.Rhg1 Kh7 19.Bg5 b5 20.f4 Nc4 21.Qd3 e6 22.Rdf1 Nxb2 23.Kxb2 b4 24.f5 Rxc3 25.fxg6+ fxg6 26.Qd1 Qc5 27.e5 Qxe5 28.Rf7+ Kg8 29.Rxd7 Qxd4 30.Kc1 d5 31.Re1 Rcc8 32.Qxd4 Bxd4 33.Bh6 Kh8 34.Re2 a5 35.Ba4 Bg7 36.Bxg7+ Nxg7 37.Rg2 Rcd8 38.Ra7 Ra8 39.Rb7 Rab8 40.Ra7 Ra8 41.Rb7 1/2-1/2

[Wayne Komer]

Tata Steel 2020

January 19, 2020

Game Eight

(Chess24) - Magnus Carlsen finally won a game in 2020, beating Nikita Vitiugov to move within a point of Alireza Firouzja before they meet in Round 9 on Tuesday. Alireza drew against Jorden van Foreest and was caught in the lead by Fabiano Caruana, who managed to win a totally lost position against Vishy Anand. Vladislav Kovalev pulled off a similar trick against Jeffery Xiong, while Jan-Krzysztof Duda completed the day's action by fashioning a win out of nowhere against Yu Yangyi.

Game 8, January 19, 2020
Carlsen, Magnus – Vitiugov, Nikita
C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.Bd2 O-O 9.h3 h6 10.Re1 Re8 11.a3 Bf8 12.Nc3 Rb8 13.Ba2 Ne7 14.Nh4 g5 15.Nf3 Ng6 16.Nh2 c6 17.Ne2 d5 18.Ng3 dxe4 19.dxe4 Rb7 20.Qf3 Nf4 21.Rad1 Rd7 22.Be3 Rxd1 23.Rxd1 Qe7 24.Ng4 Nxg4 25.hxg4 Rd8 26.Re1 c5 27.Nf5 Qc7 28.g3 Ne6 29.Qh1 f6 30.Bd5 1-0

Game 8, January 19, 2020
Xiong, Jeffery – Kovalev, Vladislav
A42 Modern Defence, Averbakh System

1.c4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.e4 d6 4.Nc3 e5 5.d5 h5 6.Be2 Bh6 7.Nf3 Bg4 8.Bxh6 Nxh6 9.Nd2 c5 10.dxc6 bxc6 11.b4 O-O 12.O-O Nd7 13.Nb3 Nb6 14.Na5 Qc7 15.f3 Be6 16.Qd2 Kg7 17.Rfd1 Rad8 18.Rac1 f5 19.b5 c5 20.Nc6 Rd7 21.a4 f4 22.a5 Nc8 23.Nd5 Qb7 24.Qc3 Kh7 25.Rd2 Rg7 26.Rb1 g5 27.a6 Qa8 28.Nxa7 Qxa7 29.Qa5 Bxd5 30.Rxd5 Nb6 31.Rxd6 Rg6 32.Rc6 Rc8 33.Rxc8 Nxc8 34.Qd8 Nb6 35.Rd1 Nf7 36.Qe8 Kg7 37.g3 Qc7 38.Ra1 Qd6 39.Rd1 Qc7 40.Ra1 Qd6 41.Rd1 Qf6 42.Rd3 fxg3 43.hxg3 h4 44.Qc6 Qxc6 45.bxc6 Rxc6 46.a7 Rc7 47.Ra3 Na8 48.Ra6 Rb7 49.Ra2 Kf6 50.Kg2 hxg3 51.Kxg3 Nd8 52.Ra5 Nc6 53.Rxc5 Nd4 54.Rc8 Nxe2+ 55.Kf2 Rxa7 56.Kxe2 Nc7 57.Rf8+ Kg6 58.Rg8+ Kf6 59.Rf8+ Ke7 60.Rf5 Ra5 61.Kf2 Ne6 62.Kg3 Nd4 63.Rxg5 Kf6 64.Rg8 Ra3 65.Kg2 Ra2+ 66.Kg3 Ra3 67.Kg2 Rc3 68.Rc8 Kg5 69.Rf8 Rxc4 70.Kh3 Rc6 71.Kg3 Rc3 72.Kg2 Rc6 73.Kg3 Rf6 74.Rg8+ Kh5 75.Re8 Nxf3 76.Re7 Kg6 77.Kg4 Rf4+ 78.Kg3 Kf6 0-1

Game 8, January 19, 2020
Yu, Yangyi – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
B35 Sicilian, Accelerated Fianchetto, Uogele variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 Qa5 8.O-O O-O 9.Bb3 d6 10.Nd5 Re8 11.Nxf6+ Bxf6 12.c3 Bd7 13.f4 Nxd4 14.Bxd4 Bxd4+ 15.Qxd4 Qc5 16.Qxc5 dxc5 17.Kf2 e5 18.Ke3 exf4+ 19.Rxf4 Be6 20.Rd1 Bxb3 21.axb3 Re7 22.Rd5 b6 23.Kd3 Rae8 24.b4 cxb4 25.cxb4 Kg7 26.Rd4 Rc7 27.Rf1 Re6 28.Rf2 Rec6 29.e5 Rc1 30.Re2 Rd1+ 31.Ke4 Rf1 32.Kd3 h5 33.g3 Rf3+ 34.Ke4 Rb3 35.Rf2 Re7 36.Kf4 Kh6 37.Ke4 f5+ 38.Kd5 Rd7+ 39.Kc4 Rxb4+ 40.Kxb4 Rxd4+ 41.Kb5 Rd5+ 42.Ka6 Ra5+ 43.Kb7 Rxe5 44.Kxa7 Rb5 45.h4 Rb3 46.Rc2 b5 47.Kb6 b4 48.Kb5 Rxg3 49.Kxb4 Rg4+ 50.Kc5 Rxh4 51.b4 Re4 52.b5 Re8 53.Rb2 g5 54.b6 g4 55.b7 Rb8 56.Kd4 Kg5 57.Ke3 h4 58.Rb5 h3 59.Kf2 h2 60.Kg2 g3 61.Kh1 Kg4 62.Rb6 f4 63.Rg6+ Kh4 64.Rh6+ Kg5 65.Rb6 Rh8 66.Rb1 f3 67.Rb5+ Kg4 68.Rb4+ Kh3 0-1

Game 8, January 19, 2020
Dubov, Daniil – So, Wesley
D38 AGD, Ragozin variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.e3 O-O 8.Qb3 c5 9.cxd5 exd5 10.dxc5 Bxc3+ 11.Qxc3 Qxc3+ 12.bxc3 Nd7 13.Rd1 Nf6 14.c4 Be6 15.Nd4 1/2-1/2

Game 8, January 19, 2020
Van Foreest, Jorden – Firouzja, Alireza
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Rg1 Nc6 7.g4 g6 8.g5 Nd7 9.h4 Nxd4 10.Qxd4 Ne5 11.Kd1 Rg8 12.Nd5 Be6 13.Qb4 Rb8 14.f4 Nc6 15.Qb6 Qxb6 16.Nxb6 Bg7 17.c3 f5 18.gxf6 Bxf6 19.Nd5 Kd7 20.Rh1 Bg4+ 21.Be2 Bxe2+ 22.Kxe2 b5 23.Be3 Bg7 24.Rad1 b4 25.e5 bxc3 26.bxc3 Rb2+ 27.Kf3 Rf8 28.exd6 exd6 29.Rb1 Rb5 30.Rxb5 axb5 31.Rb1 Rb8 32.h5 gxh5 33.Rg1 Bh8 34.Rg5 Ne7 35.Nxe7 Kxe7 36.Rxh5 Bxc3 1/2-1/2

Game 8, January 19, 2020
Caruana, Fabiano – Anand, Vishy
D38 QGD, Ragozin variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bf4 O-O 7.e3 Bf5 8.Qb3 Nc6 9.Bg5 a5 10.Bxf6 Qxf6 11.a3 a4 12.Qxd5 Bxc3+ 13.bxc3 Na5 14.Qe5 Qc6 15.c4 Nb3 16.Qxf5 Nxa1 17.Bd3 g6 18.Qf4 Nb3 19.O-O Qd6 20.Qh6 Qf6 21.c5 b6 22.cxb6 cxb6 23.Ne5 Rfc8 24.f4 Rc1 25.Rxc1 Nxc1 26.Bc4 Ra7 27.Ng4 Qd6 28.Qg5 Qe7 29.Qb5 Kg7 30.f5 f6 31.Qd5 Qf8 32.fxg6 hxg6 33.e4 Qc8 34.h3 Rd7 35.Qe6 Qd8 36.e5 f5 37.Qf6+ Qxf6 38.exf6+ Kh7 39.Ne5 Rd6 40.f7 Kg7 41.Nf3 Nb3 42.Ng5 Nd2 43.Be6 Rd8 44.Kf2 Kf6 45.Bd7 Ne4+ 46.Nxe4+ fxe4 47.Be8 Ke7 48.Ke3 Rb8 49.Bxa4 b5 50.Bb3 Ra8 51.Kxe4 Rxa3 52.Be6 Ra1 53.d5 Rd1 54.Ke5 Rf1 55.d6+ Kf8 56.Kd5 Rf6 57.d7 Ke7 58.Kc6 Rf2 59.Kxb5 Rb2+ 60.Kc6 Rb8 61.Kc7 1-0



Position after White’s 52.Be6. What should Black have replied?

From Chat:

- Uh, I went to Wijk today, when I left Vishy was totally winning, what happened...?
- Vishy blundered victory, draw, victory and draw again - all in a single game, that's hard to find

Game 8, January 19, 2020
Giri, Anish – Artemiev, Vladislav
D52 QGD, Cambridge Springs Defence, Yugoslav variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.e3 Qa5 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Rc1 Bb4 9.a3 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 b6 11.Qd2 h6 12.Bh4 c5 13.Be2 Ba6 14.c4 Qxd2+ 15.Nxd2 Ne7 16.f3 Rc8 17.O-O Nf5 18.Bf2 cxd4 19.exd4 O-O 20.Rfd1 Rfd8 21.g4 Ne7 22.Bg3 f5 23.a4 fxg4 24.fxg4 Nf6 25.Bf2 Ng6 26.h3 e5 27.dxe5 Nxe5 28.Bg3 Nd3 29.Rc2 Nc5 30.Bf2 Bb7 31.a5 bxa5 32.Ra1 a4 33.Bxc5 Rxc5 34.Rxa4 Re5 35.Bf1 a6 36.c5 Rc8 37.Nb3 Bd5 38.Nd4 Be4 39.Rf2 1/2-1/2

Masters Standing after Round Eight

1-2 Caruana, Firouzja 5.5
3-4 So, Van Foreest, J. 5
5-6 Duda, Carlsen 4.5
7-9 Dubov, Giri, Artemiev 4
10 Anand 3.5
11 Xiong 3
12-14 Yu, Vitiugov, Kovalev 2.5

Challengers Results Round Eight

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

Challengers Standing after Round Eight

1 Eljanov 5.5
2-5 Anton L’Ami, Ganguly, Grandelius 5
6 Mamedov 4.5
7-11 Van Foreest, L., Abdusattorov, Smeets, Keymer, Nihal 4
12 Smirnov 3
13-14 Saduakassova, Warmerdam 1.5

Challengers
Round 8, Jan. 19, 2020
Anton, David – Nihal Sarin
A11 English

1.c4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.b3 Bd6 6.Bb2 O-O 7.d4 Nbd7 8.Be2 b6 9.O-O Qe7 10.Re1 Bb7 11.Bd3 Rfe8 12.cxd5 Nxd5 13.Ne4 Bc7 14.Rc1 Rad8 15.Bb1 e5 16.Ng3 g6 17.Be4 c5 18.b4 f5 19.Bxd5+ Bxd5 20.dxc5 Nf6 21.Qc2 bxc5 22.bxc5 Qe6 23.Ng5 Qc6 24.e4 fxe4 25.N5xe4 Nxe4 26.Nxe4 Bxa2 27.Bxe5 Rxe5 28.Qxa2+ Kg7 29.f3 a5 30.Qb2 Kg8 31.Red1 Rb8 32.Qa2+ Kg7 33.Rc2 Rbe8 34.Qb2 Kh6 35.Qc1+ Kg7 36.Qb2 Kh6 37.Qc1+ Kg7 38.Rcd2 R8e7 39.Qc3 Kh6 40.Rd3 Rf5 41.Qc4 Kg7 42.g3 Rf8 43.Kg2 Be5 44.Ra3 Bc7 45.Rd5 h6 46.Rad3 Kh7 47.h4 Be5 48.Re3 a4 49.Ra3 Qb7 50.Rd2 Ref7 51.Qxa4 Qb1 52.Rad3 Kh8 53.Qd1 Qb5 54.Qb3 Qc6 55.Qd5 Qc7 56.Qe6 Bxg3 57.Nxg3 Qxc5 58.Qxg6 Rg7 59.Qxh6+ Kg8 60.Qe6+ Kh8 61.Rd5 Rxg3+ 62.Kxg3 Qg1+ 63.Rg2 Rxf3+ 64.Kxf3 Qf1+ 65.Rf2 1-0

Challengers
Round 8, January 19, 2020
Smeets, Jan – Keymer, Vincent
B55 Sicilian, Prins variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.f3 e5 6.Nb3 d5 7.Bg5 Be6 8.Bxf6 gxf6 9.exd5 Qxd5 10.Qxd5 Bxd5 11.Nc3 Be6 12.O-O-O Nc6 13.Bb5 Rc8 14.Nd5 f5 15.Nf6+ Ke7 16.Nd5+ Ke8 17.Ba4 Bh6+ 18.Kb1 Kf8 19.Nc5 Nd4 20.Nxe6+ fxe6 21.Nf6 Ke7 22.Nd7 Rhd8 23.Nxe5 Bg7 24.f4 Bxe5 25.fxe5 Rc4 26.b3 Rc7 27.Rd3 Ne2 28.Rh3 Kf8 29.Kb2 Nf4 30.Rg3 Rd4 31.a3 Ng6 32.Re1 Rd5 33.b4 Rxe5 34.Rd1 Re2 35.Rd8+ Ke7 36.Ra8 a6 37.h4 Kf6 38.h5 Nf4 39.Rf8+ Ke5 40.h6 Rxg2 41.Rc3 Rxc3 42.Kxc3 Nd5+ 43.Kd3 f4 44.Rf7 Nf6 45.Rxb7 Ne4 46.Rg7 Rd2+ 47.Kc4 f3 0-1

[Wayne Komer]

Tata Steel 2020

January 20, 2020

No games today. The results of previous quizzes:

Round Seven

Question: How many winners (and which) in the 1994 Wijk aan Zee Candidates matches have also won the top group event outright?

Answer: 3 – Jan Timman, Vishy Anand and Valery Salov.

Round Eight

Question: Which players have won/tied for 1^st in the top group of the Wijk aan Zee tournaments representing more than one country?

Hint: The fall of the Soviet Union to becoming Russia would be two countries.


Answer: P. Nikolic (1989 YUG, 1994 BIH)
Korchnoi (1968, 1971 URS, 1984, 1987 SUI)
Karpov (1988 URS, 1993 RUS)

___________

In 1994 there were two Candidates eliminations

The PCA World Chess Championship produced Anand and Kamsky when they defeated Michael Adams and Nigel Short. The quarter-finals were in New York, the semi-finals at Linares and the final between Anand and Kamsky in Las Palmas.

In FIDE’s contest at Wijk aan Zee the winners were Anand over Yusupov, Kamsky over van der Sterren, Kramnik over Yudashin, Timman over Lautier, Salov over Khalifman and Gelfand over Adams. Subsequently, in the semi-finals in India, Gelfand eliminated Kramnik, Kamsky eliminated Anand and Salov eliminated Timman.

[Wayne Komer]

Tata Steel 2020

January 21, 2020

Round Nine

Another quiz today with Peter and Jan admitting that the questions are so tough that it is not a question of chess knowledge but of being the fastest to google the answer.

Question: How many times have there been a tie for 1^st place in the top group of Wijk aan Zee between players representing the same country and what years?

The answer give is 4: in 1958, 1964, 1969 and 1980. These are the players:

1958 – Donner and Euwe
1964 – Keres and Nei
1969 – Geller and Botvinnik
1980 – Seirawan and Browne

But the guys in Chat have come out with 1989 when Anand, Ribli, Sax and Nikolic finished with 7.5 points. Ribli and Sax were both Hungarians. Does a four player finish qualify under the above question? Jan and Peter leave that to the judges who made up the question.

++++++++

The premier game today is Firouzja vs Carlsen, which Magnus seems to win smoothly.


Round 9, January 21, 2020
Firouzja, Alireza – Carlsen, Magnus
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 d6 5.c3 a6 6.Ba4 Be7 7.O-O O-O 8.Re1 Re8 9.Nbd2 Bf8 10.h3 b5 11.Bc2 Bb7 12.d4 g6 13.a3 Nb8 14.d5 c6 15.c4 Nbd7 16.a4 Qc7 17.b3 Rec8 18.Ra2 bxc4 19.bxc4 a5 20.Nf1 Ba6 21.Ne3 Nc5 22.Nd2 cxd5 23.cxd5 Rab8 24.Ba3 Qd8 25.Qf3 h5 26.Raa1 Bh6 27.Rab1 Rxb1 28.Rxb1 Kg7 29.Nef1 h4 30.Ne3 Bf4 31.Nef1 Qc7 32.g3 hxg3 33.fxg3 Bh6 34.h4 Qd7 35.Kg2 Nxa4 36.Bxa4 Qxa4 37.Bxd6 Qd4 38.Qf2 Qxf2+ 39.Kxf2 Bxf1 0-1

Final Position



Firouzja resigned here with little time left on his clock.
Chat told Peter and Jan that he resigned with the best position he had in the game. That doesn’t mean that it could have been a draw or win. Here are two lines though:

(39...Bxf1 { -1.32/21 } 40.Kxf1 Bxd2 41.Bxe5 Bc3 42.Rc1 Bxe5 43.Rxc8 Nxe4 44.g4 Nf6 45.h5 Nxd5 46.hxg6 Kxg6 47.Rc5 Ne3+ 48.Ke2 Nxg4 49.Rxa5 f5 50.Kf3 Bc3 51.Rc5 Bd4 52.Rd5 Bf6 53.Kf4 Be5+ 54.Kf3 Kg5 55.Ra5 Kg6 56.Rb5 Kg5)

(39...Bxf1 { -2.06/21 } 40.Bxe5 Bh3 41.Rb6 Bxd2 42.Bxf6+ Kg8 43.Kf3) 0-1

Round 9, January 21, 2020
Artemiev, Vladislav – Yu, Yangyi
D77 Neo-Grunfeld

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.d4 Nf6 5.O-O O-O 6.c4 c5 7.dxc5 dxc4 8.Nc3 Nc6 9.Qa4 Qa5 10.Qxa5 Nxa5 11.Rd1 Bf5 12.Be3 Ng4 13.Bg5 Nc6 14.h3 Nge5 15.Nxe5 Bxe5 16.g4 Be6 17.Bxc6 bxc6 18.Bxe7 Rfe8 19.Bd6 Bg7 20.e4 f5 21.gxf5 gxf5 22.e5 Kf7 23.f4 Bh6 24.Rd4 Rg8+ 25.Kf2 Rg6 26.Rg1 Rxg1 27.Kxg1 Rd8 28.Kf2 Rd7 29.Ke3 Rb7 30.Rd2 Rb4 31.Rg2 Ke8 32.Rf2 Kf7 33.Kf3 Kg6 34.Kg3 Kf7 35.Rd2 Bc8 36.Bc7 Be6 37.Kf3 Bf8 38.a3 Rb7 39.Bd6 Bh6 40.Ke3 Kg6 41.Ne2 Rb3+ 42.Nc3 Rb7 43.Kf3 Kh5 44.h4 Kg6 45.a4 a6 46.a5 Kf7 47.Ke3 Ke8 48.Rg2 Kf7 49.Rc2 Ke8 50.Rg2 1/2-1/2

Round 9, January 21, 2020
Anand, Vishy – Dubov, Daniil
B31 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.O-O Bg7 5.c3 Nf6 6.Re1 O-O 7.d4 d5 8.e5 Ne4 9.Be3 Qb6 10.Bxc6 Qxc6 11.dxc5 Bg4 12.Nbd2 Nxd2 13.Bxd2 Qxc5 14.Be3 Qc6 15.h3 Bxf3 16.Qxf3 Qb5 17.Bd4 e6 18.a4 Qd7 19.a5 1/2-1/2

Round 9, January 21, 2020
Vitiugov, Nikita – 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 fxg3 17.hxg3 Rac8 18.Bf5 Bxc3 19.Qd1 Qxd1 20.Raxd1 Rc4 21.Bxd7 Rxd4 22.Rxd4 Bxd4 23.Rb1 1/2-1/2

Round 9, January 21, 2020
So, Wesley – Giri, Anish
D14 QGD Slav, Exchange, Trifunovic variation

1.c4 c6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.Bf4 Nc6 6.Nf3 Bf5 7.e3 e6 8.Qb3 Bb4 9.Bb5 O-O 10.Bxc6 Bxc3+ 11.Qxc3 Rc8 12.Ne5 Ng4 13.Nxg4 Bxg4 14.Qb4 Rxc6 15.Qxb7 Qc8 16.Qxc8 Rfxc8 17.O-O a5 18.b3 f6 19.f3 Bf5 20.Rfe1 Bg6 21.e4 dxe4 22.fxe4 Rd8 23.Rad1 Rc2 24.e5 fxe5 25.Bxe5 Rxa2 26.Ra1 Rxa1 27.Rxa1 Rd5 28.Rc1 Rb5 29.Rc8+ Kf7 30.Rb8 Rxb8 31.Bxb8 1/2-1/2

Round 9, January 21, 2020
Kovalev, Vladislav – Van Foreest, Jorden
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Qe2 g6 7.Bg5 Bg7 8.O-O-O O-O 9.e5 dxe5 10.Nf3 Nbd7 11.Nxe5 Qa5 12.f4 Nxe5 13.Qxe5 b5 14.Qxe7 Re8 15.Qa3 Qxa3 16.bxa3 Ng4 17.Nd5 Nf2 18.Nc7 Bg4 19.Nxe8 Bxd1 20.Nxg7 Rc8 21.c4 Nxh1 22.Kxd1 Nf2+ 23.Ke1 Ne4 24.cxb5 Nxg5 25.fxg5 axb5 26.Nh5 gxh5 27.Bxb5 Rc5 28.a4 Rxg5 29.Kf2 h4 30.h3 Kg7 31.Kg1 Kf6 32.Kh2 Rg3 33.Bc4 Rc3 34.Bd5 Rd3 35.Be4 Ra3 36.Bxh7 Rxa4 37.Bd3 Rxa2 38.Be4 Ke5 39.Bf3 f5 40.Bb7 Kd6 41.Bf3 Rb2 42.Ba8 Rb3 43.Kg1 Ra3 44.Bb7 Ra1+ 45.Kh2 Rb1 46.Bf3 Rb8 47.Kg1 Rb3 48.Ba8 Rb1+ 49.Kh2 Rf1 50.Bb7 Kc7 51.Ba8 Rd1 52.Bf3 Rd3 53.Ba8 Kb6 54.Kg1 Kc5 55.Kh2 Rb3 56.Kg1 Kd4 57.Kh2 Ke3 58.Bd5 Rb4 59.Bf3 Re4 60.Kg1 Kd2 61.Kh2 Kd3 62.Kh1 Kc2 63.Kh2 Kd2 64.Kh1 Rf4 65.Ba8 Rf1+ 66.Kh2 Ke3 67.Bb7 f4 68.Bc6 f3 1/2-1/2

Round 9, January 21, 2020
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Xiong, Jeffery
C50 Giuoco Pianissimo

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.O-O d6 6.c3 a6 7.a4 Ba7 8.Na3 Ne7 9.Nc2 Ng6 10.Be3 Bxe3 11.Nxe3 O-O 12.a5 b5 13.axb6 cxb6 14.Re1 Bb7 15.h3 b5 16.Ba2 Qd7 17.Nh2 d5 18.Nhg4 Nxg4 19.hxg4 d4 20.Nd5 Qd6 21.cxd4 exd4 22.g3 a5 23.Kg2 Ne7 24.Nxe7+ Qxe7 25.Rh1 a4 26.Qf3 h6 27.Qf5 Bc8 28.Qxb5 Ba6 29.Qf5 Bxd3 30.Bd5 Ra6 31.g5 Qxg5 32.Qxg5 hxg5 33.Rhd1 Be2 34.Rxd4 g4 35.Rdxa4 Rh6 36.e5 Rh5 37.Rf4 Rxe5 38.Bxf7+ Rxf7 39.Ra8+ Kh7 40.Rxf7 Bc4 41.Rd7 Bd5+ 42.Rxd5 Rxd5 43.Ra4 Rd2 44.Rb4 Kh6 45.Kf1 Kg5 46.Rb5+ Kf6 47.Rb7 Rc2 48.Ke1 Kg6 49.Rb8 Kg5 50.Rb4 Kh5 51.Rb5+ Kg6 52.Rb7 Kf6 53.Rb8 Kg5 54.b4 Rb2 55.b5 Kg6 56.b6 Kg5 57.Rb7 Kf6 58.Kd1 Rxf2 59.Rc7 Rb2 60.b7 g6 61.Kc1 Rb6 62.Kd2 Ke5 63.Kc3 Kd5 64.Rg7 Rb1 65.Kc2 Rb6 66.Kd3 Rb3+ 67.Kd2 Rb6 68.Ke3 Ke5 69.Re7+ Kf6 70.Rc7 Ke5 71.Kd3 Kd5 72.Rd7+ Ke6 73.Rh7 Kd5 74.Rg7 Rb3+ 75.Ke2 Ke5 76.Kd2 Kd5 77.Kc2 Rb6 78.Kc3 Rb1 79.Rxg6 1/2-1/2

Masters Standing after Round Nine

1 Caruana 6
2-5 Carlsen, So, Van Foreest, J., Firouzja 5.5
6 Duda 5
7-9 Dubov, Giri, Artemiev 4.5
10 Anand 4
11 Xiong 3.5
12-14 Yu, Vitiugov, Kovalev 3

Results of Challengers Round Nine

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

Challengers Standing after Round Nine

1-3 Anton, L’Ami, Eljanov 6
4 Ganguly 5.5
5-6 Abdusattorov, Grandelius 5
7-11 Smeets, Van Foreest, L., Keymer, Nihal, Mamedov 4.5
12 Smirnov 3
13-14 Saduakassova, Warmerdam 2

Round 9, January 21, 2020
Smirnov, Anton – Abdusattorov, Nodirbek
E25 Nimzo-Indian, Samisch, Keres variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.f3 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 c5 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.dxc5 Qa5 9.e4 Ne7 10.Be3 O-O 11.Qb3 Qc7 12.Bb5 Nec6 13.Ne2 Na5 14.Qb4 e5 15.Nd4 Nbc6 16.Qb2 Rb8 17.Nf5 Be6 18.O-O a6 19.Ba4 Nc4 20.Qf2 Ne7 21.Nd6 Nxe3 22.Qxe3 b6 23.Rfd1 bxc5 24.Rd2 Nc8 25.Nxc8 Rbxc8 26.Rad1 Rb8 27.h4 Qa5 28.Bc6 Bb3 29.Ra1 c4 30.Bd5 Kh8 31.Kh2 Rbd8 32.g4 Rd6 33.h5 Rf6 34.Kg3 h6 35.Rg2 Rd8 36.Kf2 Rxd5 37.exd5 Qxd5 38.g5 hxg5 39.Qxg5 Rxf3+ 40.Kg1 Qc5+ 41.Kh2 Qf8 42.Rag1 Ba4 43.Rd2 f6 44.Qg6 Rd3 45.Rxd3 cxd3 46.h6 gxh6 47.Qxd3 h5 48.c4 e4 49.Qxe4 Bd7 50.Qh4 Qf7 51.c5 Bc6 52.Qf4 Kh7 53.Kh3 Qe6+ 54.Kh4 Bd7 55.Rh1 Kg6 56.Qd4 Kf7 57.Qf4 Qd5 58.Rf1 Qe6 59.Rf3 Qe1+ 60.Rf2 Qc3 61.Qf3 Qd4+ 62.Qf4 Qc3 63.Qf3 Qd4+ 64.Kg3 h4+ 65.Kh2 Bc6 66.Qb3+ Kg7 67.Qb2 Qd8 68.Qd2 Qe8 69.Qf4 Qg6 70.Qxh4 Kf7 71.Qc4+ Ke7 72.Re2+ Kf8 73.Qh4 Kf7 74.Rf2 Ke7 75.Re2+ Kf7 76.Qh3 Kf8 77.Qc8+ Be8 78.Qh3 Bc6 79.Rd2 Qe4 80.Qc8+ Kf7 81.Qc7+ Kg6 82.Qg3+ Kf7 83.Kg1 Qb1+ 84.Kf2 Qf5+ 85.Ke1 Qe4+ 86.Kf2 Qf5+ 87.Ke2 Bb5+ 88.Rd3 Qxd3+ 89.Qxd3 Ke6 90.c6 Bxd3+ 91.Kxd3 Kd6 92.Ke4 Kxc6 93.Kf5 Kb5 94.Kxf6 Ka4 95.Ke5 Kxa3 96.Kd4 Kb3 0-1

Position after Black’s 86…Qf5+

[Hans Jung]

I watched the computer evals in Firoujza's game from move 20 at about 0 they went progressively (and steadily) almost move by move for about 15 moves downwards to -4 without Firoujza making any obvious tactical mistakes. Amazing!

[Hans Jung]

This opens the door for Fabulous Fabi to win the tournament. Will he do it?

[Hans Jung]

A fascinating try Firoujza against Caruana. Well worth watching.