Tata Steel 2020

[Wayne Komer]

Tata Steel 2020

January 22, 2020

Round Ten

There is a video on YouTube of Peter Svidler analyzing the game Firouzja-Carlsen from Round 9.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q2MCBzcPTM

- It is pure pleasure to watch Peter analyzing. In my opinion, among the elite, he is by far the best commentator. The depth of his knowledge and understanding is staggering for an average player such as myself, but at the same time he helps one really understand what's going on on the chessboard. Brilliant!

- The prodigy is 16 and so does not know the finesses of the prehistoric Zaitsev system. A very cruel punishment by Carlsen and an excellent commentary by Svidler.

- Great Analysis. This will be the biggest rivalry in 3-4 years when Alireza matures and gets some big tournament wins under his belt.

___________

Chess24 - Magnus Carlsen made it three wins in a row after what he called a "pretty easy day" against Vladislav Kovalev, but Fabiano Caruana remains the sole leader after inflicting a second defeat in a row on 16-year-old Alireza Firouzja. The day's only other winner in the Tata Steel Masters was Jeffery Xiong, who ground down Vladislav Artemiev in a tricky ending. Meanwhile in the Challengers, 24-year-old Spanish GM David Antón crossed 2700 for the first time as he beat Pavel Eljanov to take pole position in the race to qualify for next year's Masters.

Round 10, Jan. 22
Carlsen, Magnus – Kovalev, Vladislav
D55 QGD, Neo-orthodox variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 O-O 6.e3 h6 7.Bf4 c5 8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.a3 Nc6 10.Qc2 Nh5 11.Bg3 dxc4 12.Bxc4 Be7 13.Ba2 a6 14.Rd1 Qa5 15.Bb1 f5 16.O-O Nxg3 17.hxg3 Bf6 18.e4 Bxc3 19.bxc3 Qxa3 20.exf5 exf5 21.Rfe1 Qa5 22.g4 Qc7 23.Nh4 g5 24.Nxf5 Bxf5 25.gxf5 Rf6 26.Re6 Raf8 27.Rxf6 Rxf6 28.Ba2+ Kf8 29.Qd3 Ne5 30.Qe4 Rd6 31.Qb4 Ke7 32.f6+ Kd7 33.Re1 Rxf6 34.Qd4+ Qd6 35.Qxe5 Qxe5 36.Rxe5 Rc6 37.Re3 1-0

Round 10, Jan. 22
Anand, Vishy – Vitiugov, Nikita
C54 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.O-O a6 7.a4 h6 8.Re1 O-O 9.h3 a5 10.d4 Bb6 11.Be3 exd4 12.cxd4 d5 13.exd5 Nb4 14.Nc3 Bf5 15.Bf4 Nfxd5 16.Nxd5 Nxd5 17.Bxd5 Qxd5 18.Re5 Qd7 19.Qb3 Rae8 20.Rd1 Be4 21.d5 Bxf3 22.Qxf3 Qxa4 23.Rc1 Qd4 24.Rce1 Rxe5 25.Bxe5 Qd2 26.Bc3 Qc2 27.Re2 Qb1+ 28.Re1 Qc2 29.Re2 Qb1+ 30.Re1 Qc2 1/2-1/2

Round 10, Jan. 22
Xiong, Jeffery – Artemiev, Vladislav
D15 QGD Slav Accepted

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6 5.e3 g6 6.Be2 Bg7 7.O-O O-O 8.a4 a5 9.cxd5 cxd5 10.b3 Nc6 11.Ba3 Bg4 12.Ne5 Bxe2 13.Qxe2 Nxe5 14.dxe5 Ne4 15.Nxe4 dxe4 16.Qc4 Qd3 17.Qxd3 exd3 18.Rad1 Bxe5 19.Rxd3 Rfd8 20.Rfd1 Rxd3 21.Rxd3 Rc8 22.g4 Bf6 23.Rd5 b6 24.Rb5 Bh4 25.Rxb6 Rc2 26.f3 Bf2+ 27.Kh1 Bxe3 28.Rb8+ Kg7 29.Bxe7 f5 30.Rb7 Kg8 31.gxf5 gxf5 32.Rb5 f4 33.Rxa5 Kf7 34.Re5 h5 35.Bg5 Kg6 36.Bh4 Rb2 37.Rb5 Bd4 38.a5 Ra2 39.b4 Be3 40.Rg5+ Kh6 41.Rd5 Kg6 42.Bd8 Rf2 43.Bh4 Ra2 44.Bd8 Rf2 45.Rd1 Rb2 46.Be7 Ra2 47.Bc5 h4 48.Bd4 Ra4 49.Ra1 Rxb4 50.Bxe3 fxe3 51.Kg1 Rd4 52.Kf1 Rd2 53.a6 Rxh2 54.Kg1 Rd2 55.a7 e2 56.a8=Q Rd1+ 57.Kg2 e1=Q 58.Qc6+ Kh5 59.Qc5+ Kh6 60.Ra6+ Kg7 61.Qc7+ 1-0

Position after Black’s 46…Ra2



Round 10, Jan. 22
Van Foreest, Jorden – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
B22 Sicilian, Alapin

1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 e6 6.Na3 Nc6 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nb5 Qd7 9.Nbxd4 Nd5 10.Bd2 Bd6 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Bd3 Rb8 13.Qc2 h6 14.O-O c5 15.Rad1 Qc7 16.c4 Nb4 17.Bxb4 Rxb4 18.Rfe1 O-O 19.b3 Rb6 20.Qe2 Rd8 21.Bc2 Be7 22.Qe4 f5 23.Qe5 Rbd6 24.Rxd6 Rxd6 25.Qe3 Bf6 26.h3 Bb7 27.b4 cxb4 28.c5 Rc6 29.Bb3 Bc8 30.Rc1 Kh7 31.Nd4 Rxc5 32.Rxc5 Qxc5 33.Nxe6 Qd6 34.Qd3 Qxd3 35.Nf8+ Kh8 1/2-1/2

Round 10, Jan. 22
Caruana, Fabiano – Firouzja, Alireza
E71 King’s Indian, Makagonov, System

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.h3 O-O 6.Be3 Nc6 7.d5 Ne5 8.f4 Ned7 9.g4 c6 10.Nf3 cxd5 11.cxd5 b6 12.Nd4 Nc5 13.Qf3 Bb7 14.g5 Nfxe4 15.Nxe4 Bxd5 16.Nf6+ exf6 17.Qxd5 Re8 18.Nc2 fxg5 19.O-O-O gxf4 20.Bd4 Bxd4 21.Qxd4 Ne6 22.Qd2 Qf6 23.Kb1 Rac8 24.Bb5 Red8 25.Nb4 d5 26.Rhf1 Rc5 27.a4 d4 28.Nd3 Rf5 29.Rf3 g5 30.Rg1 Kf8 31.h4 h6 32.hxg5 hxg5 33.Rh3 f3 34.Bc4 Ke7 35.Bxe6 Kxe6 36.Qh2 f2 37.Rf1 Kd7 38.Rh6 Qe7 39.Rxf2 Rxf2 40.Qxf2 Kc8 41.a5 bxa5 42.Qc2+ Kb8 43.Nc5 Rd6 44.Rh8+ Rd8 45.Qb3+ Kc7 46.Qb7+ Kd6 47.Rh6+ f6 48.Ne4+ 1-0

- 16 year old daring kid mauled by lions. More news at 11:00

Position after Black’s 30…Kf8?



Round 10, Jan. 22
Dubov, Daniil – Giri, Anish
D40 QGD, Semi-Tarrasch Defence

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 c5 5.Bg5 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Be7 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Bxe7 Nxe7 9.Ndb5 Nec6 10.g3 Qxd1+ 11.Rxd1 Na6 12.Bg2 Ke7 13.O-O Rd8 14.a3 Bd7 15.Nd6 Rab8 16.Rd2 Be8 17.Rfd1 Nc5 18.Nxe8 Rxd2 19.Rxd2 Rxe8 20.Nb5 Rc8 21.Rc2 Na4 22.Nd4 1/2-1/2

Round 10, Jan. 22
Yu, Yangyi – So, Wesley
C47 Four Knights, Scotch variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 d5 8.exd5 O-O 9.O-O Bg4 10.f3 Bh5 11.Bg5 cxd5 12.Bxf6 Qxf6 13.Nxd5 Qxb2 14.Rb1 Bc5+ 15.Kh1 Qe5 16.f4 Bxd1 17.fxe5 Bg4 18.h3 Bd7 19.Rb7 Rac8 20.Rxc7 Rfd8 21.Rf4 Be6 22.Ne7+ Bxe7 23.Rxe7 Bxa2 24.Rxa7 Be6 25.Ra5 g6 26.Kg1 Rc7 27.Kf2 Bb3 28.Bxg6 Bxc2 29.Bh5 Bg6 30.Bf3 Rdc8 31.h4 Rc5 32.Rfa4 Bc2 33.Ra3 Bf5 34.Bd5 Kg7 35.Ke3 Rxa5 36.Rxa5 Re8 37.Kf4 Be6 38.Bxe6 Rxe6 39.Ra7 h5 40.Ra3 f6 41.Re3 Kg6 42.Rg3+ Kh6 43.Kf5 Rxe5+ 44.Kxf6 Re4 45.Rg6+ Kh7 46.Rg7+ Kh6 47.Rg6+ 1/2-1/2

Masters Standing after Round Ten

1 Caruana 7
2 Carlsen 6.5
3-4 So, Van Foreest, J. 6
5-6 Duda, Firouzja 5.5
7-8 Giri, Dubov 5
9-11 Anand, Xiong, Artemiev 4.5
12-13 Vitiugov, Yu 3.5
14 Kovalev 3

Challengers Round 10 Results

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

Challengers Standings after Round Ten

1 Anton 7
2 L’Ami 6.5
3-5 Abdusattorov, Ganguly, Eljanov 6
6 Grandelius 5.5
7-11 Van Foreest, L., Smeets, Keymer, Mamedov, Nihal 5
12 Smirnov 4
13-14 Warmerdam, Saduakassova 2

Challengers
Round 10, Jan. 22
Anton, David – Eljanov, Pavel
A13 English, Neo-Catalan

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 d4 5.O-O c5 6.e3 Nc6 7.exd4 cxd4 8.d3 Bd6 9.Na3 O-O 10.Nc2 e5 11.b4 Re8 12.Re1 Bg4 13.b5 Nb4 14.h3 Bxf3 15.Bxf3 Nxc2 16.Qxc2 Qc7 17.Bd2 Bc5 18.Kg2 h6 19.a4 Rad8 20.a5 e4 21.dxe4 d3 22.Qb3 Nd7 23.e5 Bd4 24.Rad1 Nc5 25.Qa3 Bxe5 26.Bb4 Bd4 27.Rxe8+ Rxe8 28.Bxc5 Bxc5 29.Qxd3 b6 30.a6 Qe5 31.h4 g6 32.Qd5 Qb2 33.Qd2 Qg7 34.Qf4 g5 35.hxg5 hxg5 36.Qf5 Qe5 37.Qxe5 Rxe5 38.Rd8+ Kg7 39.Ra8 Re7 40.g4 Kf6 41.Bb7 Ke5 42.Kf3 1-0

Challengers
Round 10, Jan. 22
Abdusattorov, Nodirbek – Warmerdam, Max
B67 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer, Rauzer Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.O-O-O Bd7 9.f3 Nxd4 10.Qxd4 Be7 11.h4 Qc7 12.g4 h5 13.gxh5 Nxh5 14.Bg2 Rc8 15.Qd2 b5 16.Ne2 b4 17.Kb1 a5 18.Rhe1 e5 19.Rh1 Bb5 20.Bh3 Bxg5 21.hxg5 Bxe2 22.Qxe2 Ng3 23.Qd2 Nxh1 24.Bxc8 Ke7 25.Ba6 Ng3 26.g6 Nh5 27.gxf7 Nf4 28.Bc4 Qxc4 29.Qxd6+ Kxf7 30.Qd7+ Kf6 31.b3 Qe6 32.Rd6 Ra8 33.a3 Rb8 34.Qc7 Rh8 35.Rxe6+ Nxe6 36.Qxa5 bxa3 37.Qxa3 Rh3 38.b4 Nd4 39.b5 1-0

[Hans Jung]

Rd 11 Fabulous Fabi is one step closer to winning Tata. His opponents position went downhill fast but not in an obvious way. Great kingside play by Fabi.

[Hans Jung]

Duda played extremely well to hold Magnus.

[Hans Jung]

Vishy Anand gave Firoujza a valuable lesson.

[Wayne Komer]

Tata Steel 2020

January 24, 2020

Round Eleven

A couple of days ago, Peter and Jan promised an easier quiz question. This is the one from Round Ten:

Question: Which players have both participated in a Tata Steel Masters event and won their national championship exactly eight times?

Peter Svidler is always introduced as an 8-time winner of the Russian Championship, so the real question is: Is there another?

Answer: 2 – Peter Svidler and Loek Van Weley.

The guys have been examining Lawrence Trent games from Gibraltar when time allows. And, they bring up the attacking games of Emory Tate.

The name rang a bell with me. There was a discussion in ChessTalk in 2015 about him. It was on the occasion of his death:

https://forum.chesstalk.com/forum/ch...331-emory-tate

___________

Round 11, Jan. 24
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Carlsen, Magnus
C54 Giuoco Piano, d3 variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.Nbd2 a6 7.Nf1 h6 8.Ng3 O-O 9.O-O Ba7 10.Bb3 Re8 11.h3 Be6 12.Bc2 d5 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Re1 Qd6 15.Nh4 Qe7 16.Nhf5 Qf6 17.Qf3 g6 18.Nxh6+ Kg7 19.Qxf6+ Nxf6 20.Ne4 Nh7 21.g4 f5 22.gxf5 gxf5 23.Ng3 f4 24.Ngf5+ Kg6 25.d4 Ng5 26.Kg2 Bd5+ 27.Kf1 Nf3 28.Rd1 Rad8 29.Ne7+ Kxh6 30.Nxd5 Nfxd4 31.cxd4 Rxd5 32.dxe5 Rxd1+ 33.Bxd1 Kg5 34.h4+ Kf5 35.Bc2+ Kg4 36.Bd1+ f3 37.Bg5 Nxe5 38.Bc2 Nc4 39.Re1 Rxe1+ 40.Kxe1 Nxb2 41.Bf6 Nc4 42.Bg6 Bc5 43.Bf7 Kf5 1/2-1/2

Chess24 - A great fight and a 118th game without a loss for Magnus, but Caruana's lead has grown to a full point with just two rounds to go!

Round 11, Jan. 24
Giri, Anish – Yu, Yangyi
C42 Petrov, Classical Attack

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.O-O Be7 8.Nbd2 Nxd2 9.Bxd2 Bg4 10.c3 O-O 11.h3 Bh5 12.g3 Qd7 13.Kg2 Bg6 14.Bf4 Bxd3 15.Qxd3 a6 16.Rae1 Rae8 17.Re2 Bd8 18.Rfe1 Rxe2 19.Rxe2 f6 20.h4 Re8 21.Rxe8+ Qxe8 22.Qf5 Ne7 23.Qe6+ Kf8 24.Nd2 Qc6 25.Qg4 g6 26.Nb3 b6 27.Nc1 Kf7 28.h5 Qe6 29.Qxe6+ Kxe6 30.g4 f5 31.f3 fxg4 32.fxg4 Nc6 33.Nd3 g5 34.Bg3 Kd7 35.Kf3 Bf6 36.Ke3 Be7 37.b3 Bf6 38.Bh2 Bg7 39.b4 Bf8 40.a4 Be7 41.Bg3 b5 42.a5 Nd8 43.Ne5+ 1/2-1/2

Round 11, Jan. 24
Firouzja, Alireza – Anand, Vishy
E20 Nimzo-Indian, Kmoch variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.f3 d5 5.a3 Be7 6.e4 dxe4 7.fxe4 c5 8.e5 Nfd7 9.dxc5 Nxe5 10.Qxd8+ Bxd8 11.Be2 Bd7 12.Nf3 Nxf3+ 13.Bxf3 Bc6 14.Ne4 Bc7 15.b4 Nd7 16.Bb2 Ne5 17.O-O-O Nxf3 18.gxf3 Bf4+ 19.Kb1 f6 20.Rhg1 Kf7 21.Nd6+ Bxd6 22.Rxd6 g5 23.Rf1 a6 24.Kc2 Rhd8 25.Kd2 e5 26.Ke3 Rxd6 27.cxd6 Ke6 28.c5 b6 29.h4 h6 30.hxg5 hxg5 31.cxb6 Rb8 32.Rd1 Rxb6 33.Kf2 Ba4 34.Rd2 Rb8 35.Kg3 Rc8 36.Kf2 Rc4 37.Kg3 Rc8 38.Kf2 Rh8 39.Kg3 Rh1 40.Kg2 Rb1 41.Kg3 Bc6 42.Kf2 Kd7 43.Kg3 Rf1 44.Rd3 Ke6 45.Kg4 Rb1 46.Rd2 Rg1+ 47.Kh3 Rf1 0-1

Chess24 - Three legends, three losses for 16-year-old Alireza Firouzja, but there's little doubt he'll come back stronger!

Round 11, Jan. 24
Kovalev, Vladislav – Caruana, Fabiano
C78 Ruy Lopez, Archangel variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.c3 d6 8.a4 Rb8 9.d4 Bb6 10.axb5 axb5 11.Na3 O-O 12.Nxb5 Bg4 13.Re1 Bxf3 14.gxf3 Nh5 15.f4 Nxf4 16.Bxf4 exf4 17.Kh1 Ne7 18.Bc2 Ng6 19.b4 c6 20.Na3 c5 21.bxc5 dxc5 22.Nc4 cxd4 23.Nxb6 Rxb6 24.cxd4 Rd6 25.Ra4 Ne5 26.f3 Nc6 27.e5 Rxd4 28.Rxd4 Nxd4 29.Be4 Qh4 30.Rg1 Rd8 31.Qf1 g6 32.Rg4 Qe7 33.Rxf4 Qxe5 34.Rh4 Ne6 35.Rh3 Nf4 36.Rg3 Rd2 0-1

Round 11, Jan. 24
Artemiev, Vladislav – Van Foreest, Jorden
A28 English, Four Knights, Capablanca variation

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.d3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e3 Be7 7.Be2 g5 8.h3 Be6 9.a3 f5 10.Nd2 O-O 11.O-O Nf6 12.b4 Bd6 13.Bb2 Ne7 14.Nc4 Ng6 15.d4 exd4 16.Qxd4 Be7 17.Nb5 c6 18.Qxd8 Raxd8 19.Nd4 Bc8 20.Rfd1 Nd5 21.Rd2 Bf6 22.Rad1 Nb6 23.Nxb6 axb6 24.Bc4+ Kh8 25.Be6 Be5 26.Bxc8 Rxc8 27.Ne6 Rg8 28.Nxg5 Bxb2 29.Rxb2 Ne5 30.Ne6 Rge8 31.Nd4 Rcd8 32.Rbb1 Nc4 33.Nxf5 Nxa3 34.Rbc1 Kg8 35.Nd6 Re7 36.Nf5 Red7 37.Rxd7 Rxd7 38.g4 Kf7 39.Kg2 Rd2 40.h4 Nc2 41.Nd6+ Rxd6 42.Rxc2 Ke6 43.h5 Rd5 44.f4 Rb5 45.Rc4 c5 46.bxc5 bxc5 47.g5 Kd5 48.g6 hxg6 49.hxg6 Ra5 50.Rc2 Ra8 51.f5 c4 52.f6 c3 53.f7 Ke6 54.Rf2 c2 55.Rxc2 Kf6 56.Rf2+ Kg7 57.e4 1-0

Round 11, Jan. 24
So, Wesley – Xiong, Jeffery
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 e6 8.g4 h6 9.h4 Ne5 10.Rg1 Qb6 11.Na4 Qa5+ 12.Nc3 Qb6 13.Na4 Qa5+ 14.Nc3 1/2-1/2

Round 11, Jan. 24
Vitiugov, Nikita – Dubov, Daniil
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 O-O 12.Rxe7 Qxe7 13.Ba3 Qg5 14.Bxf8 Bh3 15.Qf1 Kxf8 16.Nc3 axb3 17.cxb3 Re8 18.Kh1 Qd2 19.Nxd5 Bxg2+ 20.Qxg2 Re1+ 21.Rxe1 Qxe1+ 22.Qg1 Qe4+ 23.Qg2 Qe1+ 24.Qg1 1/2-1/2

Masters Standing after Round Eleven

1 Caruana 8
2 Carlsen 7
3 So 6.5
4-5 Van Foreest, J., Duda 6
6-10 Anand, Dubov, Firouzja, Artemiev 5.5
11 Xiong 5
12-13 Vitiugov, Yu 4
14 Kovalev 3

Challengers Results of Round Eleven

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

Challengers Standing after Round Eleven

1 Anton 8
2-3 Abdusattorov, L’Ami 7
4-5 Ganguly, Eljanov 6.5
6 Grandelius 6
7-10 Smeets, Keymer, Mamedov, Nihal 5.5
11 Van Foreest, L. 5
12 Smirnov 4
12-14 Saduakassova, Warmerdam 2.5

Challengers
Round 11, Jan. 24
Van Foreest, Lucas – Abdusattorov, Nodirbek
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bd2 e5 7.Nf5 d5 8.Qf3 d4 9.Nd5 Nxd5 10.exd5 Qf6 11.Bd3 Nd7 12.O-O Nc5 13.Nxd4 exd4 14.Rfe1+ Kd7 15.Bf5+ Kc7 16.Ba5+ b6 17.d6+ Bxd6 18.Qxa8 Qxf5 19.Qa7+ Bb7 20.Qxb6+ Kd7 0-1

A Tale of Two Antons

Challengers
Round 11, Jan. 24
Smirnov, Anton – Anton, David
D24 QGA

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e4 Bb4 6.Bxc4 Nxe4 7.O-O Nxc3 8.bxc3 Bd6 9.Qe2 Nd7 10.Re1 O-O 11.Bd3 Re8 12.Bg5 Be7 13.h4 Nf8 14.Bxe7 Qxe7 15.Rab1 Rb8 16.Be4 c5 17.Ne5 Nd7 18.h5 cxd4 19.cxd4 Nxe5 20.dxe5 b6 21.h6 g6 22.Qd2 Rd8 23.Qf4 Bb7 24.Rbc1 Rd4 25.f3 Bxe4 26.fxe4 Rbd8 27.Rf1 Kf8 28.Kh2 Ke8 29.Rc6 Rd2 30.Rfc1 R2d7 31.R1c2 Rd4 32.Rf2 R4d7 33.Kh3 Rd3+ 34.g3 R3d7 35.Rfc2 Rd1 36.Kg4 R1d4 37.Kh3 Rd3 38.Kg4 R3d4 39.Kh3 Rd3 40.Rc7 R3d7 41.Qc1 Kf8 42.Rc8 Rxc8 43.Rxc8+ Rd8 44.Rc7 Rd7 45.Rc8+ Rd8 46.Rc7 Rd7 47.Rb7 Qd8 48.Qa3+ Kg8 49.Qxa7 Rxb7 50.Qxb7 Qf8 51.Kg2 Qxh6 52.Qb8+ Kg7 53.Qxb6 Qd2+ 54.Qf2 Qxf2+ 55.Kxf2 Kf8 56.g4 h6 57.Ke3 Ke7 58.Kd4 Kd7 59.Kc5 Kc7 60.a3 Kb7 61.a4 Ka6 0-1

[Hans Jung]

In the challengers it was mainly about good defence. Both Anton and Abdusattorov won when their opponents overpressed. Anton looks to be running away with the tournament.

[Hans Jung]

Rd 12 Dubov played a very nice game. The white square bishop was a workhorse and dominated in most of the middlegame.

[Hans Jung]

Magnus surprisingly only managed a draw.

[Hans Jung]

In the challengers Anton was not tactically alert and lost to the tail ender Warmerdam (who did find a nice finish) thus making the tournament finish very interesting with possibly three players a half point back.

[Hans Jung]

The Caruana - Duda game is going on and on and its thoroughly enjoyable. The position is a spectacle after move 37. Curiously that extra central pawn for white is all the difference but it doesnt move! The problem is that Black's attempts at counterplay (and simplify) dont work and land him in a worse position. Interesting exercises are how to play Black and then determine how to play White to build the advantage.

[Wayne Komer]

Tata Steel 2020

January 25, 2020

Round Twelve

(Chess24) - Caruana wins with a round to spare

Fabiano Caruana has won the 2020 Tata Steel Masters with a round to spare after beating Jan-Krzysztof Duda while Magnus Carlsen was held to a draw by Vladislav Artemiev. Fabiano's 1st ever victory in the top event in Wijk aan Zee, and his 1st tournament victory since the 2018 World Championship match, consisted of 6 wins and no losses. The world no. 2's live rating has climbed to 2837.8, heights no-one other than himself, Magnus and Garry Kasparov have ever reached. Meanwhile the Challengers still hangs in the balance after David Antón suffered a shock loss to bottom-placed Max Warmerdam.

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/tat...round-to-spare

___________

Daily Quiz

Which of the participants of the top group entered the event with a positive or equal classical score against Carlsen (having already met)?

Answer: 2 – Vitiugov and Kovalev

Round 12, Jan. 25
Carlsen, Magnus – Artemiev, Vladislav
D85 Grunfeld, Exchange variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Be3 c5 8.Rc1 Qa5 9.Qd2 O-O 10.Nf3 Rd8 11.Be2 cxd4 12.cxd4 Qxd2+ 13.Bxd2 Na6 14.Be3 Bg4 15.Ne5 Bxe2 16.Kxe2 f5 17.Kf3 Rac8 18.h4 Nb4 19.exf5 gxf5 20.Rxc8 Rxc8 21.Rb1 a5 22.a3 Nd5 23.Rb5 e6 24.Rxa5 Bxe5 25.dxe5 Rc3 26.Ke2 Nxe3 27.fxe3 Rb3 28.Kf3 Kg7 29.g3 Kg6 30.a4 Rb4 31.Ra7 h6 32.Ra8 Re4 33.Ra5 Rb4 34.Ra7 Kh5 35.Ra8 Re4 36.Ra5 Rc4 37.Ra7 1/2-1/2

Round 12, Jan. 25
Vitiugov, Nikita – Firouzja, Alireza
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.d4 Bb6 9.Be3 O-O 10.Nbd2 h6 11.h3 Bb7 12.Re1 Re8 13.d5 Ne7 14.Bxb6 cxb6 15.a4 bxa4 16.Bxa4 b5 17.Bc2 Ng6 18.Bd3 Nh5 19.b4 Ngf4 20.Bf1 f5 21.exf5 Nf6 22.c4 bxc4 23.Nxc4 N4xd5 24.Na5 Qb6 25.Nxb7 Qxb7 26.Bc4 Kh8 27.Bxd5 Nxd5 28.Ra5 Nxb4 29.Qxd6 Rad8 30.Qg6 Nd3 31.Nxe5 Nxe1 32.Nf7+ Kg8 33.Nxd8 Qxg2+ 1/2-1/2

Round 12, Jan. 25
Xiong, Jeffery – Giri, Anish
B30 Sicilian Defence

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Bc4 d6 5.d3 Be7 6.Nd2 Nf6 7.Nf1 Bg4 8.f3 Be6 9.Ne3 O-O 10.O-O Rb8 11.a4 Nb4 12.Bd2 Nh5 13.Ned5 Nxd5 14.Bxd5 Bg5 15.g3 Bxd2 16.Qxd2 Nf6 17.Bxe6 fxe6 18.f4 exf4 19.Qxf4 Qb6 20.Nb5 Rbd8 21.e5 dxe5 22.Qxe5 c4+ 23.d4 Rd5 24.Qe3 e5 25.Qe2 Rc8 26.c3 a6 27.Na3 exd4 28.Nxc4 Qc6 29.cxd4 Qxc4 30.Qe6+ Kh8 31.Rxf6 Qxd4+ 32.Rf2 Rf8 33.Rf1 Rdf5 34.Qe2 R5f6 35.Qc2 Kg8 36.a5 h6 37.Qb3+ R8f7 38.Qc2 Rf5 39.Kg2 Rxf2+ 40.Rxf2 Rxf2+ 41.Qxf2 Qd5+ 42.Qf3 Qd2+ 43.Kh3 Qxb2 44.Qd5+ Kh7 45.Kg4 Qb4+ 46.Kf3 Qc3+ 47.Ke4 Qe1+ 48.Kd4 Qd2+ 49.Ke5 Qg5+ 50.Kd4 Qd2+ 51.Ke5 Qb2+ 52.Qd4 Qa3 53.Qb6 Qe7+ 54.Kd5 Kg8 55.Qe6+ Kf8 56.Qc8+ Kf7 57.h4 g6 58.g4 Kg7 59.Qe6 Qd8+ 60.Kc4 Qc7+ 61.Kd3 Qg3+ 62.Ke2 Qg2+ 63.Ke3 Qg1+ 64.Ke2 Qg2+ 65.Ke3 Qg3+ 66.Ke2 Qf4 67.Qe7+ Qf7 68.Qe5+ Kg8 69.Qb8+ Kh7 70.Qd6 Qc4+ 71.Ke3 Qc3+ 72.Ke2 Qc8 73.Ke3 Qe8+ 74.Kd4 Qa4+ 75.Ke3 Qb3+ 76.Kd4 Qb2+ 77.Kd3 Qb1+ 78.Ke3 Qe1+ 79.Kf3 Qh1+ 80.Ke3 Qh3+ 81.Kd2 Qg2+ 82.Ke3 Qg1+ 83.Kf3 Qh1+ 84.Ke3 Qc1+ 85.Ke2 Qc2+ 86.Ke3 Qc3+ 87.Ke2 Qc8 88.Ke3 Kg7 89.Qe5+ Kf7 90.Qf4+ Ke7 91.Qb4+ Kf7 92.Qf4+ Kg8 93.Qd6 Qc3+ 94.Kf4 Qc1+ 95.Ke4 Qe1+ 96.Kf3 Qh1+ 97.Ke3 Qh3+ 98.Kd2 Qg2+ 99.Ke3 Qg1+ 100.Kf3 Qf1+ 101.Ke3 Qe1+ 102.Kf3 Qc3+ 103.Kf4 Qc4+ 104.Ke3 Qc1+ 105.Ke4 Qb1+ 106.Ke3 Qb3+ 107.Ke4 Qa4+ 1/2-1/2

Round 12, Jan. 25
Van Foreest, Jorden – So, Wesley
C47 Four Knights, Scotch variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 d5 8.exd5 O-O 9.O-O cxd5 10.h3 c6 11.Qf3 Rb8 12.Bf4 Bd6 13.b3 a5 14.Rfe1 Be6 15.Na4 Qc7 16.Bg5 Nd7 17.Qh5 g6 18.Qe2 Bh2+ 19.Kh1 Bf4 20.Bxf4 Qxf4 21.Rad1 Rfe8 22.Qe3 Qxe3 23.Rxe3 Kf8 24.Kh2 c5 25.Ba6 Red8 26.Re2 d4 27.c3 dxc3 28.Nxc3 Nb6 29.Rxd8+ Rxd8 30.Ne4 c4 31.Ng5 cxb3 32.Nxe6+ fxe6 33.axb3 Ke7 34.Rc2 Rd4 35.Rc5 Rd5 36.Rc6 Rd6 37.Rc5 Rd5 38.Rc6 Rd6 39.Rc5 1/2-1/2

Round 12, Jan. 25
Caruana, Fabiano – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
E05 Catalan, open, Classical line

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qa4 c6 8.Qxc4 b5 9.Qb3 Bb7 10.Rd1 Nbd7 11.Ne5 Nxe5 12.dxe5 Nd7 13.Bf4 Qc7 14.Nc3 Nc5 15.Qc2 b4 16.Nb1 Ba6 17.Bf3 Rac8 18.a3 Rb8 19.axb4 Rxb4 20.Be3 Qb7 21.Nd2 Rxb2 22.Qc3 Rb5 23.Ra3 Qb8 24.Rda1 Bb7 25.Rxa7 Nd7 26.Nc4 Rd8 27.Be4 c5 28.Qc2 h6 29.Bd2 Nf8 30.Bd3 Rd7 31.Nd6 Rb6 32.Qxc5 Bd5 33.Rxd7 Nxd7 34.Qc8+ Nf8 35.Qxb8 Rxb8 36.f4 Bd8 37.Kf2 Nd7 38.Be3 g5 39.Bd4 Rb4 40.Ke3 gxf4+ 41.gxf4 Kf8 42.Bb5 Nf6 43.exf6 Rxd4 44.Rc1 Bxf6 45.Rc7 Bh8 46.Rc8+ Ke7 47.Rxh8 Rb4 48.Nc8+ Kf6 49.Bd3 Be4 1-0

Round 12, Jan. 25
Dubov, Daniil – Yu, Yangyi
D43 QGD, Semi-Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.e3 Nd7 8.Be2 Bb4 9.O-O O-O 10.Qc2 Bxc3 11.Qxc3 dxc4 12.Rfd1 c5 13.Bxc4 a6 14.Qa3 b6 15.Bb5 Rd8 16.Bc6 Ra7 17.dxc5 Nxc5 18.Qb4 Nd7 19.Qd6 Rf8 20.Rd2 Nc5 21.Rad1 Qe7 22.b4 Qxd6 23.Rxd6 Nb7 24.R6d2 f6 25.h4 h5 26.Be4 e5 27.Rc1 Ra8 28.Rc6 b5 29.Rb6 Kh8 30.Rc2 Rf7 31.Rxa6 1-0

Round 12, Jan. 25
Anand, Vishy – Kovalev, Vladislav
C61 Ruy Lopez, Bird’s Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4 4.Nxd4 exd4 5.O-O Bc5 6.d3 c6 7.Ba4 d6 8.Nd2 Nf6 9.f4 O-O 10.Bb3 d5 11.Kh1 Re8 12.e5 Ng4 13.Nf3 f6 14.h3 Nh6 15.c3 Nf5 16.Qe1 fxe5 17.fxe5 Rf8 18.Bg5 Be7 19.Bxe7 Qxe7 20.Nxd4 1/2-1/2

Masters Standing after Round Twelve

1 Caruana 9
2 Carlsen 7.5
3 So 7
4-5 Van Foreest, J., Dubov 6.5
6-10 Firouzja, Anand, Giri, Duda, Artemiev 6
11 Xiong 5.5
12 Vitiugov 4.5
13 Yu 4
14 Kovalev 3.5

- Fabiano Caruana has wrapped on sole first place with a round to spare, but So-Carlsen in the final round could still be an entertaining battle for 2nd place... if Wesley feels in the mood after 8 draws in a row!

Challengers Results of Round Twelve

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

Challengers Standing after Round Twelve

1 Anton 8
2-4 Abdusattorov, L’Ami, Eljanov 7.5
5-6 Ganguly, Grandelius 6.5
7-11 Keymer, Van Foreest, L., Smeets, Mamedov, Nihal 6
12 Smirnov 4.5
13 Warmerdam 3.5
14 Saduakassova 2.5


Challengers
Round 12, Jan. 25
Anton, David – Warmerdam, Max
A13 English, neo-Catalan open

1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.Qa4+ Nbd7 6.Qxc4 c5 7.d3 Bd6 8.a4 O-O 9.Nc3 b6 10.Nb5 Ba6 11.Qh4 Be7 12.O-O Bb7 13.Rd1 a6 14.Nc3 Rc8 15.Qc4 Nd5 16.Nxd5 exd5 17.Qf4 Bf6 18.d4 Re8 19.Be3 c4 20.Qf5 Bc6 21.h4 b5 22.axb5 axb5 23.Qc2 b4 24.Ng5 Nf8 25.Ra7 Rxe3 26.fxe3 Bxg5 27.hxg5 Qxg5 28.Rf1 Bd7 29.Rf3 g6 30.e4 dxe4 31.Qxe4 c3 32.bxc3 bxc3 33.Qc2 Bf5 34.Qb3 Be6 35.Qc2 Qd2 0-1

Challengers
Round 12, Jan. 25
Saduakassova, Dinara – Van Foreest, Lucas
A40 Reti


1.d4 g6 2.Nf3 Bg7 3.g3 c5 4.c3 cxd4 5.cxd4 b6 6.Bg2 Bb7 7.Nc3 Nf6 8.O-O O-O 9.d5 Na6 10.Nd4 Nc7 11.d6 Ncd5 12.Nxd5 Bxd5 13.Bxd5 Nxd5 14.Bg5 h6 15.dxe7 Nxe7 16.Bf4 Nc6 17.Nb5 Bxb2 18.Bxh6 Re8 19.Rb1 Be5 20.Qd2 Qf6 21.Bg5 Qf5 22.Be3 Rac8 23.Rfd1 a6 24.Nd6 Bxd6 25.Qxd6 Ne5 26.Bf4 Ng4 27.Rb2 g5 28.Qd5 Re5 29.Qb7 Rce8 30.f3 Rxe2 31.Qxb6 Nxh2 32.Rxe2 Rxe2 33.Qxa6 Nxf3+ 34.Kf1 Re8 35.Qd3 Qh3+ 36.Kf2 g4 37.Be3 Qh2+ 38.Kf1 Qxg3 39.Rc1 Nh4 40.Rc3 Qf3+ 0-1

[Hans Jung]

Fabulous Fabi is playing for a win in the last round! Interesting position. Can he break through?

[Hans Jung]

Jan Smeets grabbed the poisoned pawn on b2 to finish the tournament - and finished he was. Im sure the fans enjoyed the resulting king hunt.

[Hans Jung]

Anton Smirnov chose his own attack instead of defending against his opponents attack and his position quickly but sensationally collapsed.

[Hans Jung]

Jorden Van Foreest was the biggest surprise of the elite finishing 4th - a great result!