Legends of Chess 2020

[Wayne Komer]

Legends of Chess 2020

July 25, 2020

Preliminaries

Round Five

Ivanchuk is the subject of the profile on chess24 today.

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/vas...k-chess-genius

Excerpts from that article:

Vasyl Ivanchuk has spent three decades as one of the world’s best loved chess grandmasters — and one of the most feared by his colleagues. At his best Ivanchuk was always as good as anyone, and when he beat Kasparov, Karpov, Anand and Gelfand on the way to winning Linares 1991 as a 21-year-old it seemed he was the heir apparent to Garry Kasparov’s crown. That never came to pass, but the eccentric Ukrainian will be one of the most eagerly followed participants in the chess24 Legends of Chess.

Name: Vasyl Ivanchuk
Born: Kopychyntsi, Ukraine, 18 March, 1969
Age: 51 years old
Current ratings: 2678 (classical), 2686 (rapid), 2710 (blitz)
Peak rating: 2787 (October 2007, aged 38)
World rank: 59
World Championship: Runner-up in the 2001-2 FIDE World Championship, 2011 World Cup semi-finalist – qualifying for the 2013 Candidates
Individual Tournaments (1st place): Linares (1989, 1991, 1995 – 1999 tied for 1st with Grischuk, who took the title on the tiebreak of most wins), Biel (1989), Manila Interzonal (1990), Tilburg (1990), Wijk aan Zee (1996), European Championship (2004), World Blitz Championship (2007), Tal Memorial (2008 – also the Blitz), Gibraltar (2011), World Rapid Championship (2016), Capablanca Memorial (2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2019)
Team Tournaments: 14 consecutive Olympiads, 2 for the USSR, 12 for Ukraine – 4 team golds, combined team and individual gold in 2010, 8 World Team Championships, team & individual gold for the USSR in 1989, 2 more individual golds and 1 team gold for Ukraine.

Ivanchuk has long been considered a genius (88% voted in favour under Vlad Tkachiev’s article Is Ivanchuk a genius?), and in 2009 was encouraged to talk about other geniuses in chess, as reported by Yury Vasiliev:

A local journalist asked the “genius Ivanchuk” (as she put it) about who he considers chess geniuses. Vasily said it was a complicated question. And then he began to name names:
— Capablanca, definitely. Fischer, also.
A pause.
— Alekhine? someone suggested.
— Yes. Alekhine was “approved” by Vasily.
— Kasparov?
— Yes
— Karpov?
— No
— And Tal?
— A mystery. I can’t give a clear answer yes or no. I don’t understand Tal.
— Among women?
— Judit Polgar
— And Magnus Carlsen?
— A big talent. But I wouldn’t be confident of calling him a genius.

Eleven years later, he said he regarded Carlsen as a great sportsman and fighter but still wouldn’t admit the he is a genius.

Game 1, July 25
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Svidler, Peter
C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 d6 7.c3 O-O 8.h3 Re8 9.Re1 h6 10.Nbd2 Bf8 11.d4 b5 12.Bc2 Bb7 13.d5 Nb8 14.c4 c6 15.b3 Qc7 16.Nf1 Nbd7 17.Be3 Rec8 18.Bd3 bxc4 19.bxc4 cxd5 20.cxd5 Nc5 21.Bxc5 Qxc5 22.N1d2 Nd7 23.Rb1 Qc7 24.Nc4 Rcb8 25.Bf1 Bc8 26.Rc1 Nc5 27.Nfd2 Bd7 28.h4 a5 29.Re3 a4 30.Be2 Qd8 31.g3 Rb7 32.Bg4 Bb5 33.Kg2 Rab8 34.Qf3 Be7 35.Rec3 Ba6 36.R1c2 Rb4 37.Bh3 R4b7 38.Kh2 Rb4 39.Kg2 R4b7 40.Nf1 Bxc4 41.Rxc4 Rb2 42.Ne3 Rxc2 43.Rxc2 Rb4 44.Nc4 Bf8 45.h5 Qb8 46.Bf5 Rb1 47.Nd2 Rb2 48.Qc3 Rxc2 49.Qxc2 Be7 50.Nc4 Qb4 51.Bg4 g6 52.Be2 Kg7 53.Kf1 Qb8 54.Na5 a3 55.Nc4 Qb4 56.hxg6 fxg6 57.Qc1 Nxe4 58.Qxa3 Qxa3 59.Nxa3 Nc3 60.Bc4 Bd8 61.Bb3 Bb6 62.Nc4 Bc5 63.Kg2 Nxd5 64.Nxd6 Nf4+ 65.gxf4 Bxd6 66.fxe5 Bxe5 1/2-1/2

Game 2, July 25
Svidler, Peter – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
A33 English, symmetrical variation

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 e6 6.a3 Be7 7.e4 O-O 8.Nf3 Qa5 9.Bd2 Qh5 10.Be2 d5 11.exd5 exd5 12.cxd5 Nxd5 13.O-O Nxc3 14.Bxc3 Qg6 15.Bd3 Bf5 16.Bxf5 Qxf5 17.Qb3 b6 18.Rad1 Rad8 19.Qa4 Rxd1 20.Rxd1 Rc8 21.h3 h6 22.Qg4 Qxg4 23.hxg4 Rd8 24.Rxd8+ Bxd8 25.Nd4 Nxd4 26.Bxd4 f6 27.f3 Kf7 28.Kf2 Ke6 29.Ke3 Kd5 30.Kd3 a6 31.a4 b5 32.axb5 axb5 33.b3 Be7 34.Be3 Bf8 35.Bd2 Be7 36.Be3 Bf8 37.Bd2 Be7 38.Be3 1/2-1/2

Game 1, July 25
Carlsen, Magnus – Ivanchuk, Vasyl
E11 Bogo-Indian, Grunfeld variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Nbd2 O-O 5.a3 Be7 6.e4 d6 7.Be2 Nfd7 8.Nb1 d5 9.Nc3 dxe4 10.Nxe4 Nf6 11.Qc2 Nbd7 12.Neg5 c5 13.Be3 Qa5+ 14.Kf1 Qc7 15.Rd1 b6 16.Ne5 Nxe5 17.dxe5 Qxe5 18.Bf3 Rb8 19.h4 Qc7 20.Rh3 Bb7 21.Re1 Rbd8 22.Bxb7 Qxb7 23.Bd2 h6 24.Bc3 Rfe8 25.Kg1 Rd7 26.Nf3 Bd6 27.Ne5 Bxe5 28.Bxe5 Red8 29.Bc3 Qc7 30.Qc1 Ne4 31.Rf3 Nxc3 32.Qxc3 Rd4 33.g3 R8d7 34.b3 Qc6 35.Rfe3 a5 36.a4 Qd6 37.Qc2 Qc6 38.Qe2 R7d6 39.Qh5 Qd7 40.Qf3 Qd8 41.Kh2 Rd2 42.R1e2 Rxe2 43.Qxe2 Rd2 44.Qe1 h5 45.Rf3 g6 46.Qe4 Rd4 47.Qb7 Rd7 48.Qc6 Kg7 49.Kg2 Rd6 50.Qb7 Qd7 51.Qe4 f6 52.Re3 e5 53.Kh2 Rd2 54.Re2 Rd4 55.Qa8 Rd3 56.Rb2 f5 57.Qb8 Qd6 58.Qb7+ Kh6 59.Qc8 Qf6 60.Qc7 f4 61.Re2 fxg3+ 62.fxg3 e4 63.Qb8 Rxb3 64.Qe8 e3 65.Kg2 Rc3 66.Rxe3 Rxc4 67.Rf3 Qg7 68.Qe3+ Kh7 69.Qe6 Rc2+ 70.Kh3 Kh6 71.Qe3+ Kh7 72.Qe8 Kh6 73.Qe3+ Kh7 74.Qb3 Qd7+ 0-1

Ivanchuk had winning positions most of the game. Time pressure takes its toll of him and in this position Carlsen misses 73.Rf8



and then blunders into a mate in four:



- Drama at the highest level! Carlsen after 15 games undefeated loses his first game in #ChessLegends - against the player he was most excited to face - Ivanchuk! More to come

- Wow!!! Magnus blunders last and Vasyl Ivanchuk does take the lead after all!

Game 2, July 25
Ivanchuk, Vasyl – Carlsen, Magnus
E10 Queen’s Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 a6 5.e3 dxc4 6.a4 c5 7.Bxc4 Nc6 8.O-O cxd4 9.exd4 Be7 10.Re1 O-O 11.Bf4 Nd5 12.Bg3 Bb4 13.Rc1 Nce7 14.Qb3 a5 15.Bh4 f6 16.Bg3 Bd7 17.Re2 Rc8 18.Rcc2 Kh8 19.Nb5 Qb6 20.Bd3 Rfd8 21.h3 Be8 22.Rxc8 Rxc8 23.Rc2 Rxc2 24.Qxc2 Qc6 25.Qxc6 Bxc6 26.b3 Nf5 27.Bb8 Kg8 28.Na7 Bd7 29.Bb5 Bxb5 30.Nxb5 g5 31.Kf1 Kf7 32.Ke2 h5 33.Kd3 Kg6 34.g3 Kf7 35.Nd2 Bxd2 36.Kxd2 Ke7 37.g4 hxg4 38.hxg4 Nh4 39.Bg3 Kd7 40.Ke2 Ng6 41.f3 Ngf4+ 42.Kd2 f5 43.Na3 fxg4 44.fxg4 Nf6 45.Ke3 Nxg4+ 46.Kf3 Nh6 47.Bxf4 gxf4 48.Kxf4 Nf5 49.Ke5 Ne7 50.Nc4 Nc6+ 51.Ke4 Kc7 52.Ne3 Kd6 53.Nc4+ Kc7 54.d5 exd5+ 55.Kxd5 b6 56.Ke4 Nb4 57.Kd4 Nc6+ 58.Kc3 Nb4 59.Kd4 Nc6+ 60.Kc3 Nb4 61.Kd4 1/2-1/2

Game 1, July 25
Kramnik, Vladimir – Ding, Liren
B92 Sicilian, Najdorf, Opocensky variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.Be3 Be6 9.Qd3 O-O 10.O-O Nbd7 11.a4 Rc8 12.a5 Qc7 13.Rfd1 Rfd8 14.Bf3 Nc5 15.Nxc5 dxc5 16.Nd5 Nxd5 17.exd5 f5 18.Qb3 Bf7 19.d6 Bxb3 20.dxc7 Rxd1+ 21.Rxd1 Be6 22.Bxb7 Rxc7 23.Bf3 Kf7 24.g3 g5 25.Bh5+ Kf6 26.f4 gxf4 27.gxf4 e4 28.Kf2 Kg7 29.Be2 c4 30.Bb6 Rc8 31.Ke3 Kf7 32.Bh5+ Kf8 33.Bd4 Rc7 34.c3 Rd7 35.Be2 Kf7 36.h4 Rb7 37.Rg1 Bf6 38.Bb6 Rb8 39.h5 Bd5 40.h6 Ke6 41.Bh5 Kd6 42.Rd1 Kc6 43.Rg1 Be6 44.Bd4 Bxd4+ 45.Kxd4 Rxb2 46.Ke5 Bd7 47.Rh1 Rg2 48.Bf7 Kc5 49.Bd5 Rg3 50.Bf7 e3 51.Re1 Rh3 52.Rxe3 Rxe3+ 0-1

Game 2, July 25
Ding, Liren – Kramnik, Vladimir
E10 Queen’s Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.Qc2 dxc4 6.e4 Nb6 7.Be3 Bb4 8.Be2 Bd7 9.O-O Bxc3 10.bxc3 Ba4 11.Qb1 Bc6 12.Nd2 Na4 13.Qc2 b5 14.Rad1 Qe7 15.Rfe1 O-O 16.f3 h6 17.Qc1 a5 18.Nf1 Rfd8 19.Ng3 Be8 20.d5 Nd7 21.Bf1 Ndc5 22.e5 Rxd5 23.Nf5 exf5 24.Rxd5 Ne6 25.Bf2 Bc6 26.Rd2 f4 27.Rdd1 Qg5 28.Kh1 Qf5 29.h3 Re8 30.Rd2 Qg5 31.Qc2 Qe7 32.Qc1 Rd8 33.Rxd8+ Qxd8 34.Kh2 Qe7 0-1

- Vladimir Kramnik won when Ding Liren disconnected and lost on time in a bad position - the only decisive result of the 2nd games of Round 5, though Leko and Anand both missed wins!

Game 1, July 25
Giri, Anish – Gelfand, Boris
B22 Sicilian, Alapin’s variation

1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.Bc4 Nb6 5.Bb3 c4 6.Bc2 d6 7.exd6 Qxd6 8.Na3 g6 9.b3 cxb3 10.axb3 Bg7 11.Nf3 Nc6 12.O-O O-O 13.Nc4 Qc7 14.Nxb6 Qxb6 15.d4 Qc7 16.Re1 b5 17.Bg5 e6 18.Be4 Bb7 19.Qd3 f5 20.Bxc6 Qxc6 21.h4 a5 22.c4 bxc4 23.bxc4 a4 24.c5 Qd5 25.Ra3 Bc6 26.Qe3 Rfe8 27.Bh6 Bf6 28.Bg5 Bg7 29.Bh6 Bf6 30.Bg5 Bg7 1/2-1/2

Game 2, July 25
Gelfand, Boris – Giri, Anish
A07 Reti, King’s Indian Attack

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.O-O e5 5.d3 Nc6 6.e4 dxe4 7.dxe4 Qxd1 8.Rxd1 Bg4 9.c3 Nf6 10.Nbd2 O-O-O 11.h3 Bd7 12.Re1 Ne8 13.Nc4 Be6 14.Bf1 f6 15.Be3 Nd6 16.Nxd6+ Rxd6 17.b4 Kb8 18.Nd2 Nd8 19.Nb3 Nf7 20.Nc5 Bc8 21.h4 Bh6 22.f4 Rdd8 23.a4 Rhe8 24.a5 Nd6 25.Rad1 b6 26.axb6 cxb6 27.Na6+ Bxa6 28.Bxa6 Nxe4 29.Rxd8+ Rxd8 30.Bxb6 axb6 31.Rxe4 Re8 32.Bb5 Re7 33.fxe5 Rxe5 34.Rxe5 fxe5 35.Bc4 Bd2 36.Bg8 h6 37.c4 Bxb4 38.Bh7 g5 39.hxg5 hxg5 40.Kf2 Kc7 41.Kf3 Kd6 42.Ke4 Be1 43.g4 Bd2 44.Bg8 Bf4 45.Bf7 Kc5 46.Bg8 Kd6 1/2-1/2

(to be continued)

[Wayne Komer]

Legends of Chess 2020

July 25, 2020

Round Five (continued)

Game 1, July 25
Anand, Vishy – Leko, Peter
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 a6 7.a4 Ba7 8.Re1 O-O 9.h3 h6 10.Nbd2 Re8 11.b4 Be6 12.Bxe6 Rxe6 13.Qc2 Qd7 14.Nf1 d5 15.Be3 Bxe3 16.Nxe3 Rd8 17.b5 Ne7 18.c4 d4 19.Nd5 Ng6 20.Rab1 axb5 21.axb5 Nxd5 22.cxd5 Rf6 23.Qd1 Ra8 24.Kh2 Ra5 25.b6 cxb6 26.g3 Ra3 27.Qe2 Rc3 28.Rb2 b5 29.Reb1 Rc5 30.Kg2 Ra6 31.h4 Qg4 32.Kh2 Rf6 33.Ne1 Qd7 34.h5 Nf8 35.Nf3 Qe8 36.Kg2 Ra6 37.Nh4 g6 38.hxg6 fxg6 39.f4 exf4 40.gxf4 g5 41.fxg5 Ng6 42.Qg4 Nxh4+ 43.Qxh4 Rg6 44.Kh1 Rc3 45.gxh6 Rxd3 46.h7+ Kh8 47.Rf2 Qc8 48.Rf5 Rc3 49.Rbf1 Rc1 50.Qf4 Rxf1+ 51.Qxf1 Kxh7 52.Rh5+ Kg8 53.Rf5 d3 54.d6 d2 55.Kh2 Qc2 56.Rf8+ Kg7 57.Qf7+ 1-0

Game 2, July 25
Leko, Peter – Anand, Vishy
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 a6 7.a4 h6 8.Re1 a5 9.Nbd2 O-O 10.Nf1 Be6 11.Bb5 Na7 12.d4 exd4 13.Nxd4 Nxb5 14.axb5 Re8 15.Ng3 Bd7 16.h3 Re5 17.c4 c6 18.bxc6 Bxc6 19.Nxc6 bxc6 20.Bd2 Qb6 21.Qf3 Bb4 22.Be3 Qa6 23.Rec1 Rae8 24.Bd4 R5e6 25.Nf5 Kh7 26.Rc2 Qb7 27.Rd1 Qc7 28.Re2 Bc5 29.Bc3 Bb4 30.Bxb4 axb4 31.Qg3 g6 32.Nxd6 Nxe4 33.Rxe4 Rxd6 34.Rxd6 Rxe4 35.c5 Re2 36.b3 Rc2 37.Rxg6 Qxg3 38.Rxg3 Rxc5 39.Rg4 Rc1+ 40.Kh2 c5 41.Rf4 Kg6 42.Re4 Kf5 43.f3 Rc3 44.g4+ Kf6 45.Rf4+ Ke6 46.Rf5 Kd6 47.Rxf7 Rxb3 48.h4 c4 49.g5 hxg5 50.hxg5 Ra3 51.g6 Ra8 52.Rb7 Rg8 53.f4 Kc5 54.f5 c3 55.g7 Kc6 56.Rxb4 Rxg7 57.Rc4+ Kd5 58.Rxc3 Rf7 59.Rf3 Ke4 60.Kg3 Rxf5 61.Rxf5 Kxf5 1/2-1/2

Game 3, July 25
Anand, Vishy – Leko, Peter
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.b4 Bd6 10.Na5 O-O 11.Be3 Re8 12.O-O Nd7 13.Nd2 Nf8 14.d4 Qd7 15.dxe5 fxe5 16.Nac4 Ng6 17.a4 Qf7 18.Qf3 Qe7 19.b5 Be6 20.bxc6 bxc6 21.Rfb1 Rf8 22.Qe2 Nf4 23.Bxf4 Rxf4 24.Nxd6 cxd6 25.Qe3 Rff8 26.Rb4 Rab8 27.Rab1 Qc7 28.h3 h6 29.Qd3 Kh7 30.Nf1 a5 31.Rxb8 Rxb8 32.Rd1 Rd8 33.Ne3 Kh8 34.c4 Qb6 35.Rb1 Qd4 36.Qc2 Rf8 37.Rd1 Qc5 38.Qd3 Rd8 39.Rb1 Qd4 40.Qc2 Rf8 41.Rd1 Qc5 42.Qd3 Rd8 43.Rb1 Qd4 1/2-1/2

Game 3, July 25
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Svidler, Peter
C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 d6 7.c3 O-O 8.Re1 Re8 9.Nbd2 Bf8 10.Nf1 h6 11.Ng3 b5 12.Bb3 Na5 13.Bc2 c5 14.d4 cxd4 15.cxd4 Nc6 16.d5 Nb4 17.Bb1 a5 18.a3 Na6 19.b4 Bd7 20.Bd2 axb4 21.axb4 Qb8 22.Bd3 Be7 23.Qe2 Rc8 24.Nh4 g6 25.h3 Kg7 26.Nf3 Bd8 27.Kh2 Bb6 28.Rf1 Nc7 29.Nh4 Rxa1 30.Rxa1 Nce8 31.f4 exf4 32.Bxf4 Bd4 33.Rf1 Be5 34.Bxe5 dxe5 35.Qb2 Ng8 36.Nf3 f6 37.Nd2 Nd6 38.Nb3 Nb7 39.Rc1 Rxc1 40.Qxc1 Ne7 41.Nc5 Be8 42.Ne6+ Kh7 43.Qf1 Ng8 44.Bxb5 Nd6 45.Bxe8 Nxe8 46.Qa6 Nd6 47.Qc6 1-0

Game 4, July 25
Svidler, Peter – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
A05 Reti Opening

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.e3 g6 3.b4 Bg7 4.Bb2 O-O 5.c4 d6 6.Be2 e5 7.d3 a5 8.b5 e4 9.dxe4 Nxe4 10.Bxg7 Kxg7 11.O-O Qf6 12.Nd4 Nd7 13.f3 Nec5 14.Nc3 Nb6 15.Qd2 Be6 16.Nxe6+ Qxe6 17.Rfe1 Rfe8 18.Bf1 Qf6 19.Rac1 Re7 20.e4 Rae8 21.Nd1 a4 22.Nf2 h5 23.Re3 Kg8 24.Rce1 Qe6 25.Qc3 Qe5 26.Qc1 Qd4 27.Rd1 Qg7 28.g3 f5 29.Nh3 fxe4 30.f4 Nd3 31.Bxd3 exd3 32.Rexd3 Nd7 33.b6 Nc5 34.Rd5 Ne4 35.Re1 c6 36.Rd3 Nf2 37.Rde3 Nxh3+ 38.Kg2 Rxe3 39.Rxe3 Rxe3 40.Qxe3 Qd7 0-1

Game 3, July 25
Carlsen, Magnus – Ivanchuk, Vasyl
E11 Bogo-Indian Defence, Grunfeld variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Nbd2 O-O 5.a3 Be7 6.e4 d6 7.Be2 Nfd7 8.Nb1 d5 9.Nc3 dxe4 10.Nxe4 Nf6 11.Qc2 Nbd7 12.Nxf6+ Nxf6 13.O-O b6 14.Rd1 Bb7 15.b4 Be4 16.Qb3 Qc8 17.Ne5 Nd7 18.Qe3 Bb7 19.Nf3 Bf6 20.Bb2 Rd8 21.Rd2 Nf8 22.h4 Ng6 23.h5 Ne7 24.d5 Bxb2 25.Rxb2 Nf5 26.Qf4 exd5 27.Bd3 Nh6 28.c5 bxc5 29.bxc5 Ba6 30.Bxa6 Qxa6 31.Nd4 Re8 32.f3 c6 33.Kh2 Rac8 34.Rb3 Qa5 35.Rc1 f6 36.Rb7 Re5 37.Qh4 Qd2 38.Rc2 Qd3 39.Rcb2 Nf5 40.Nxf5 Qxf5 41.h6 g5 42.Rg7+ Kh8 43.Qg4 Qf4+ 44.g3 Qxg4 45.fxg4 Rg8 46.Rxa7 1-0

Game 4, July 25
Ivanchuk, Vasyl – Carlsen, Magnus
D27 QGA, Classical

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 a6 5.e3 dxc4 6.a4 c5 7.Bxc4 Nc6 8.O-O Be7 9.Qe2 cxd4 10.Rd1 e5 11.exd4 exd4 12.Nxd4 Nxd4 13.Qe5 Qd6 14.Qxd4 Qxd4 15.Rxd4 Bc5 16.Rd1 Be6 17.Bxe6 fxe6 18.Kf1 Kf7 19.Ke2 Rhd8 20.Be3 Bxe3 21.Kxe3 e5 22.f3 Ke6 23.Rac1 Rxd1 24.Rxd1 Rc8 25.Rd3 Rc4 26.b3 Rb4 27.Ne4 Nxe4 28.fxe4 a5 29.h4 h5 30.g3 b6 31.Kf3 Kf6 32.Ke3 g5 33.Kf3 g4+ 34.Ke3 Ke6 35.Rc3 b5 36.axb5 Rxb5 37.Kd3 Kd6 38.Ke3 Rc5 39.Rxc5 Kxc5 40.Kd3 Kb4 41.Kc2 a4 42.bxa4 Kxa4 43.Kc3 Kb5 44.Kb3 Kc5 45.Kc3 Kb5 46.Kb3 Kc5 47.Kc3 Kb5 1/2-1/2

Game 3, July 25
Kramnik, Vladimir – Ding, Liren
B86 Sicilian, Sozin Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 Nbd7 8.Be3 Nc5 9.f3 b5 10.Qd2 Qc7 11.O-O-O Be7 12.g4 b4 13.Na4 O-O 14.Qxb4 Nxa4 15.Qxa4 Bd7 16.Qc4 Qb7 17.g5 Nh5 18.Ba4 Bxa4 19.Qxa4 Rab8 20.Nc6 Qxb2+ 21.Kd2 Rfe8 22.Nxb8 Qxb8 23.Rb1 Qd8 24.Rhg1 d5 25.Kc1 g6 26.Rb7 Ng7 27.Kb1 Qc8 28.Qxa6 e5 29.Qa7 Bf8 30.Rxf7 d4 31.Bc1 Ne6 32.Qb7 Qc4 33.Rxh7 Nc5 34.Rc7 d3 35.Qd5+ Qxd5 36.exd5 Rb8+ 37.Ka1 e4 38.Be3 Na6 39.Rc4 Nb4 40.cxd3 exd3 41.Bd4 Nc2+ 42.Rxc2 dxc2 43.Rc1 Rb5 44.Rxc2 Rxd5 45.Bf6 Ba3 46.Rc8+ Kf7 47.Kb1 Rd1+ 48.Kc2 Rc1+ 49.Kb3 Rxc8 50.Kxa3 Ke6 51.f4 Ra8+ 52.Kb2 Rb8+ 53.Kc3 Ra8 54.Kb3 Rb8+ 55.Kc3 Ra8 56.Kb2 Rb8+ 57.Ka1 Rb7 58.Be5 Rh7 59.Kb2 Rxh2+ 60.Kb3 Kd5 61.a4 Kc5 62.a5 Kb5 63.Kc3 Ra2 64.Bc7 Ra4 65.Kd3 Kc6 66.Be5 Kd5 67.Bc7 Kc6 68.Be5 Rxa5 69.Ke4 Ra4+ 70.Kf3 Kd5 71.Bc7 Ra3+ 72.Kg4 Ke4 73.Bd6 Rf3 74.Bc7 Rf1 75.Kg3 Rg1+ 76.Kf2 Rc1 77.Be5 Rb1 78.Ke2 Rb3 79.Kf2 Rf3+ 80.Ke2 Rh3 81.Kf2 Rh2+ 82.Kg3 Re2 83.Bc7 Re3+ 84.Kf2 Rf3+ 85.Kg2 Ke3 86.Be5 Ke2 87.Bd6 Rf2+ 88.Kg3 Rf1 89.Kg2 Rf2+ 90.Kg3 Kf1 91.Be5 Rg2+ 92.Kf3 Re2 93.Bd4 Rd2 94.Ke3 Re2+ 95.Kf3 Ra2 96.f5 gxf5 97.Kf4 Ra4 98.Kxf5 Rxd4 99.g6 Rd8 100.g7 Rg8 101.Kg6 Rxg7+ 102.Kxg7 1/2-1/2

Game 4, July 25
Ding, Liren – Kramnik, Vladimir
D35 QGD, Exchange variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 c6 7.e3 h6 8.Bh4 Be7 9.Qc2 O-O 10.Bd3 Re8 11.Nd2 Nf8 12.O-O Nh5 13.Bxe7 Qxe7 14.Rae1 Ne6 15.f4 Nf6 16.Nf3 c5 17.Qf2 Bd7 18.Ne5 Bc6 19.Bf5 Rad8 20.g4 Ne4 21.Nxe4 dxe4 22.Nxc6 bxc6 23.Bxe4 Qd6 24.f5 Ng5 25.Bg2 Rb8 26.Qf4 Qe7 27.b3 cxd4 28.f6 Qb4 29.fxg7 dxe3 30.h4 e2 31.Qxb4 Rxb4 32.Rf2 Ne6 33.Rexe2 Rxg4 34.Kh2 Rxh4+ 35.Kg3 Rh5 36.Bxc6 Rc8 37.Bd7 Rc3+ 38.Kg2 Rg5+ 39.Kf1 Nd4 40.Re4 Nf3 41.Bg4 Ne5 42.Bf5 Rc1+ 43.Re1 Rxe1+ 44.Kxe1 Kxg7 45.b4 h5 46.b5 Rg3 47.a4 Nf3+ 48.Kf1 Rg1+ 49.Ke2 Nd4+ 50.Ke3 Nb3 51.Bc2 Na5 52.Rf5 Rg3+ 53.Kd4 h4 54.Rh5 Rg4+ 55.Kd5 Rc4 56.Be4 Rxa4 57.Rxh4 f5 58.Rf4 fxe4 59.Rxe4 Rxe4 60.Kxe4 Kf6 61.Kd5 Ke7 62.Kc5 Kd7 63.b6 a6 0-1

Game 3, July 25
Giri, Anish – Gelfand, Boris
A04 Reti Opening

1.Nf3 c5 2.c3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.e3 Nbd7 5.Be2 g6 6.O-O Bg7 7.b3 O-O 8.Bb2 b6 9.Nbd2 Bb7 10.Rc1 Rc8 11.c4 cxd4 12.Bxd4 Nc5 13.b4 Ne6 14.Be5 Qd7 15.Qb3 Rfd8 16.Rfd1 Qe8 17.c5 bxc5 18.bxc5 Bc6 19.Qa3 Ba4 20.Nb3 Ne4 21.Bxg7 Kxg7 22.Nfd4 Nxd4 23.exd4 e5 24.Qb2 f6 25.Re1 Bxb3 26.axb3 exd4 27.Qxd4 Qe5 28.Qxe5 fxe5 29.b4 Rc7 30.Bd3 Rb8 31.Bxe4 dxe4 32.Rc4 Rcb7 33.Ra1 Rxb4 34.Rxb4 Rxb4 35.Rxa7+ Kf6 36.Kf1 h5 37.c6 Rc4 38.c7 h4 39.Ra4 Rxc7 40.Rxe4 g5 41.h3 Kf5 42.f3 Rc1+ 43.Kf2 Rc2+ 44.Kg1 Rc1+ 45.Kh2 Ra1 46.Rb4 Re1 47.Rc4 e4 48.fxe4+ Rxe4 49.Rc5+ Kg6 50.Rc6+ Kf5 51.Rc5+ Kg6 52.Rc6+ Kf5 53.Rc5+ 1/2-1/2

Game 4, July 25
Gelfand, Boris – Giri, Anish
D12 QGD Slav

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Be4 7.f3 Bg6 8.Bd2 Be7 9.Nxg6 hxg6 10.Qc2 Nbd7 11.cxd5 cxd5 12.Qb3 O-O 13.Bd3 Qb8 14.O-O Bd6 15.f4 a6 16.a4 Rc8 17.Rac1 Rc6 18.a5 Qa7 19.Na4 Rac8 20.Rc3 Qb8 21.Rfc1 Rxc3 22.Rxc3 Rxc3 23.Qxc3 g5 24.Qc1 gxf4 25.exf4 g5 26.g3 Qa7 27.Nb6 Nxb6 28.fxg5 Nbd7 29.Bc3 Ne8 30.g6 fxg6 31.Bxg6 Ng7 32.Qg5 Qb8 33.Kg2 Nf8 34.Bd3 Qc7 35.h4 Qe7 36.Qxe7 Bxe7 37.Kh3 Nf5 38.Kg4 Bd6 39.Bxf5 exf5+ 40.Kxf5 Bxg3 41.h5 Kf7 42.h6 Bd6 43.Bd2 Bc7 44.Bb4 Ne6 45.Bc3 Nd8 46.b4 Bd6 47.h7 Kg7 48.Bd2 Kxh7 49.Bg5 Nc6 50.Ke6 Bxb4 51.Kxd5 Bxa5 52.Kc5 Kg6 53.Bh4 Kf7 54.d5 Ne7 55.Bg5 Nf5 0-1

Armageddon, July 25
Leko, Peter – Anand, Vishy
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 a6 7.a4 O-O 8.Re1 Ba7 9.h3 h6 10.Nbd2 Re8 11.b4 Be6 12.Bxe6 Rxe6 13.Qc2 Qd7 14.Rb1 Ne7 15.Nf1 Ng6 16.Ng3 c6 17.c4 Ree8 18.Bd2 Rad8 19.Nf5 Ne7 20.Ng3 Ng6 21.Rbd1 d5 22.Bc3 Bb8 23.c5 Bc7 24.Nf5 Nf4 25.Bb2 d4 26.Bc1 Ne6 27.a5 Kh7 28.Nd2 g6 29.Ng3 h5 30.Nc4 h4 31.Nf1 Nh5 32.Nh2 Nef4 33.Kh1 Qe7 34.Rg1 Rg8 35.Rde1 g5 36.Qd1 Nf6 37.Bxf4 gxf4 38.Qf3 Rg6 39.g3 hxg3 40.fxg3 fxg3 41.Rxg3 Rdg8 42.Rxg6 fxg6 43.Rg1 Nh5 44.Rf1 Nf4 45.Qg3 Rf8 46.Rf3 Nh5 47.Qf2 Rxf3 48.Nxf3 Nf4 49.Qf1 Kg7 50.Kh2 Bb8 51.Ne1 Qg5 52.Ng2 Nxg2 53.Qxg2 Qf4+ 54.Qg3 Qf1 55.h4 Bc7 56.Qg2 Qf4+ 57.Kh3 Bd8 58.Qg3 Qf1+ 59.Kh2 Qe2+ 60.Qg2 Qh5 61.Qg3 Qe2+ 62.Kh3 Qf1+ 63.Kg4 Qd1+ 64.Qf3 Qg1+ 65.Kh3 Bxh4 66.Kxh4 Qh2+ 67.Kg4 Qh5+ 68.Kg3 Qg5+ 69.Kh3 1-0

Armageddon, July 25
Ivanchuk, Vasyl – Carlsen, Magnus
E00 Neo-Indian (Seirawan) Attack

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Bg5 h6 4.Bh4 Be7 5.e3 b6 6.Be2 Bb7 7.Bf3 Bxf3 8.Nxf3 Ne4 9.Qc2 f5 10.Bxe7 Qxe7 11.Ne5 O-O 12.O-O Qe8 13.f3 Nf6 14.Nc3 d6 15.Nd3 Nbd7 16.Rae1 Qf7 17.e4 fxe4 18.fxe4 e5 19.d5 Qg6 20.Nb5 Rfc8 21.Nb4 a6 22.Nc6 Kh8 23.Nc3 Rf8 24.b4 Rf7 25.Rf3 Raf8 26.Ref1 Nb8 27.Nxb8 Rxb8 28.Qa4 Ra8 29.c5 bxc5 30.bxc5 dxc5 31.Qc6 Rb8 32.Rg3 Qh7 33.Rf5 Rbf8 34.Rgf3 Qg6 35.Qxc5 Rb8 36.Qf2 Nxe4 0-1

Round Five Results

Nepo-Svidler 3-1
Carlsen-Ivanchuk 3-2
Kramnik-Ding 2.5-1.5
Giri-Gelfand 2.5-1.5
Anand-Leko 2-3

Standings after Round Five

1-2 Nepo, Carlsen 14 points, 3 Kramnik 10 points, 4 Svidler 9 points, 5 Giri 8 points, 6 Gelfand 6 points, 7 Ivanchuk 5 points, 8 Leko 4 points, 9 Ding 3 points, 10 Anand 2 points

[Wayne Komer]

Legends of Chess 2020

July 26, 2020

Round Six

It was announced yesterday that the Ding-Carlsen match would be starting four hours earlier than the beginning of the rest of the games.

Evidently, Carlsen in one of the leaders in the Fantasy Premier League and he wanted to watch his selections play today.

- World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen says it's a "long shot" that he can win the #FPL today ahead of 7.5 million people, but it's not impossible!

- Can Magnus Carlsen win the #FPL?
"Yeah, I hope so. It’s a long shot, but as long as there is a chance that’s cool and I would like to thank Ding for agreeing to play at an earlier time today so that I can sweat the games properly later today!"

- Not going to reveal my transfers, but let's just say I would not mind Antonio getting another four and Salah staying on the bench (Carlsen)

From The Times, this morning:

He is already the best chess player in the world, but today Magnus Carlsen will aim for silverware in a different field.

The Norwegian grandmaster and current world champion, 29, will battle it out to be crowned the 2020 king of Premier League fantasy football, an online game that sees players select a team of real-life footballers who accumulate points based on how well they play in each match.

Going into the season’s final round this afternoon, Carlsen is fourth out of 7.6m players worldwide, 12 points behind the overall leader.

Some of the star names in his team — called “MCT 50% mgfl.bass” as a baffling inside joke — include the England strikers Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford, who is his virtual captain.

Just like chess, Carlsen treats the football simulation as a game of strategy, picking his teams based on data on player performance provided by Opta.

It will be a busy afternoon for Carlsen, who will also be playing in the chess24 Legends of Chess tournament, which has a £35,000 prize up for grabs.

Matches in the event typically start an hour before the football games kick off, but Carlsen’s tie against China’s Ding Liren has been rescheduled to noon. Carlsen says this is just a coincidence.

Speaking on Norwegian television earlier this month, Carlson said: “It will be super exciting now to follow the last round. This season I generally think I have made good choices and then I have had a little luck — and with a little luck it can go very well.”

For one week this season Carlsen, who does not support a real Premier League team, topped the global standings. This led him to change his Twitter biography to “World Chess Champion. Highest-ranked chess player in the world. Current (live) #1 Fantasy Premier League player.”

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/c...itle-j67l9d79f

Game 1, July 26
Ding, Liren – Carlsen, Magnus
A05 Reti, King’s Indian Attack, Spassky’s variation

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 b5 3.d3 e6 4.e4 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Bb7 7.O-O Nf6 8.a4 b4 9.Nbd2 Be7 10.Nc4 O-O 11.Nfe5 Bxg2 12.Kxg2 c5 13.b3 Qd5+ 14.Qf3 Qxf3+ 15.Kxf3 Nd5 16.Bb2 f6 17.Ng4 Nc6 18.Nge3 Kf7 19.Kg2 Rfd8 20.Rae1 h5 21.f4 f5 22.Ne5+ Nxe5 23.Bxe5 Nxe3+ 24.Rxe3 Rd5 25.h4 Bf6 26.Rfe1 Re8 27.Kf3 Re7 28.R1e2 Re8 29.Re1 Re7 30.R1e2 Re8 31.Re1 1/2-1/2

Game 2, July 26
Carlsen, Magnus – Ding, Liren
D43 QGD, Semi-Slav

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dxc4 7.e4 g5 8.Bg3 b5 9.Be2 Bb7 10.O-O Nbd7 11.Nd2 Qb6 12.a4 a6 13.e5 Nd5 14.Nde4 c5 15.Nxd5 Bxd5 16.Nc3 cxd4 17.Nxd5 exd5 18.Bh5 Nc5 19.Qxd4 Qe6 20.Bg4 Nb3 21.Qd1 Qc6 22.axb5 Qxb5 23.e6 fxe6 24.Bxe6 Ra7 25.Bxd5 Nxa1 26.Qf3 1-0

Game 3, July 26
Ding, Liren – Carlsen, Magnus
D78 Neo-Grunfeld

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.d4 Nf6 5.O-O O-O 6.c4 c6 7.Qb3 dxc4 8.Qxc4 b5 9.Qc3 Bb7 10.Ne5 Nd5 11.Qc2 Na6 12.Nxc6 Qd7 13.Bxd5 Rac8 14.Qb3 Bxc6 15.Bxc6 Rxc6 16.Be3 Bxd4 17.Rd1 Rd6 18.Bxd4 Rxd4 19.Nc3 Nc7 20.Rxd4 Qxd4 21.Nxb5 Nxb5 22.Qxb5 Rc8 23.Qb7 Rc2 24.Qxe7 Kg7 25.Rb1 a5 26.a4 Rxb2 27.Rxb2 Qxb2 28.Qe4 Qb4 29.Qc2 h5 30.h4 Kg8 31.Kf1 Kg7 32.e3 Kg8 33.Ke2 Kg7 34.Qc6 Qb2+ 35.Kf3 Qb4 36.Qd7 Qb3 37.Qd4+ Kh7 38.Kg2 Qb7+ 39.Kf1 Qb1+ 40.Ke2 Qc2+ 41.Kf3 Qb3 42.Qe4 Qd1+ 43.Kg2 Qb3 44.g4 hxg4 45.Qxg4 Qd5+ 46.Qf3 Qc4 47.h5 g5 48.Qf5+ Kh6 49.e4 Qe6 50.Qxe6+ fxe6 51.Kg3 Kxh5 52.f4 Kg6 53.Kg4 gxf4 54.Kxf4 Kf6 55.e5+ Kg6 56.Kg4 Kh6 57.Kh4 Kg6 58.Kg4 Kh6 59.Kh4 Kg6 60.Kg4 1/2-1/2

Game 4, July 26
Carlsen, Magnus – Ding, Liren
B51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.d4 cxd4 5.Qxd4 a6 6.Bxd7+ Bxd7 7.c4 Nf6 8.Nc3 g6 9.O-O Bg7 10.a4 Bc6 11.Qd3 Nd7 12.Be3 Nc5 13.Qc2 O-O 14.Nd4 Rc8 15.a5 Ne6 16.Rfd1 Bxd4 17.Bxd4 f5 18.e5 f4 19.f3 Rf5 20.Bb6 Qf8 21.exd6 exd6 22.Qd3 Ng5 23.Qxd6 Qh6 24.Rd3 Nf7 25.Qd4 Rh5 26.h3 Ng5 27.Qf6 Nxh3+ 28.Kf1 Ng5 29.Rd8+ Rxd8 30.Qxd8+ Qf8 31.Qxf8+ Kxf8 32.b4 Ne6 33.Rd1 Kf7 34.b5 axb5 35.cxb5 Bxb5+ 36.Nxb5 Rxb5 37.Rd7+ Kf6 38.Rxb7 Rb1+ 39.Ke2 Rb2+ 40.Kf1 Rb1+ 41.Ke2 Rb2+ 42.Kf1 Rb1+ 1/2-1/2

Other Early Round Six Games

Game 1, July 26
Anand, Vishy – 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.Be3 Be6 9.Qf3 Nbd7 10.g4 Nb6 11.Bxb6 Qxb6 12.g5 Nd7 13.h4 h6 14.Bh3 hxg5 15.hxg5 O-O-O 16.g6 Rdf8 17.Qg2 Bh4 18.O-O-O Qxf2 19.Qxf2 Bxf2 20.Bxe6 fxe6 21.Rxh8 Be3+ 22.Kb1 Rxh8 23.Rxd6 Kc7 24.Rd1 Rh6 25.Na5 Nb6 26.Rf1 Bf4 27.Rg1 Nc8 28.a4 Nd6 29.Nb3 Be3 30.Rg2 Nc4 31.Ka2 Rh4 32.Re2 Bd4 33.Nc1 Rg4 34.Nd3 Rxg6 35.Nb1 Rg4 36.c3 Rg3 37.Nd2 Nxd2 38.Rxd2 Be3 39.Rd1 Rg4 40.Rf1 Bf4 41.Nc5 Rg6 42.a5 Kc6 43.b4 Rg3 44.Kb3 g5 45.Rd1 Rg2 46.Rd8 g4 47.Rc8+ Kd6 48.Re8 g3 49.Rxe6+ Kc7 50.Re7+ Kc6 51.Re6+ Kc7 52.Re7+ Kc6 53.Re6+ Kc7 1/2-1/2

Game 1, July 26
Leko, Peter – Giri, Anish
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.Qc2 c6 9.Rd1 b6 10.Bf4 Bb7 11.Ne5 Nh5 12.Bd2 Nhf6 13.cxd5 cxd5 14.Nc6 Bxc6 15.Qxc6 Rc8 16.Qb5 Ne8 17.Qd3 Nd6 18.Nc3 Nf6 19.Be1 Qd7 20.Rac1 h5 21.Rc2 Rc7 22.Rdc1 Rfc8 23.e3 g6 24.Ne2 Kg7 25.Rxc7 Rxc7 26.Rxc7 Qxc7 27.h4 Nfe4 28.Qd1 Nf6 29.Nf4 Nf5 30.Nd3 Bd6 31.Qc1 Qd7 32.Qc2 Qb7 33.Bf3 Qb8 34.Qe2 Qc7 35.Kg2 Qc4 36.b3 Qc7 37.Qd2 a5 38.Qc3 Qd7 39.a4 Ne7 40.Qc2 Nc6 41.Be2 Ne4 42.Bf3 Nf6 43.Be2 Ne4 44.Bf3 Nf6 1/2-1/2

Game 1, July 26
Gelfand, Boris – Kramnik, Vladimir
E10 Queen’s Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.Bf4 dxc4 6.e3 b5 7.Nxb5 Bb4+ 8.Nd2 Nd5 9.Bg3 N7b6 10.a3 Ba5 11.Rc1 O-O 12.Nc3 Bb7 13.Nxc4 Nxc4 14.Bxc4 Nxc3 15.bxc3 Bxg2 16.Rg1 Be4 17.Qh5 Bf5 18.Ke2 Bb6 19.Be5 Bg6 20.Qg4 Qe8 21.h4 f5 22.Qf3 f4 23.exf4 Rf5 24.Kf1 Rd8 25.Bd3 Rh5 26.Bxg6 hxg6 27.Bxg7 Qb5+ 28.c4 Qf5 29.Bf6 Rf8 30.Rg5 Rxf6 31.Rxf5 Rhxf5 32.c5 Ba5 33.Rc2 c6 34.Qxc6 Rxf4 35.Qa8+ Rf8 36.Qxa7 Bd8 37.c6 Bf6 38.c7 Bxd4 39.Qa6 Bxf2 40.Qxe6+ Kh7 41.c8=Q 1-0

Game 1, July 26
Ivanchuk, Vasyl – Svidler, Peter
D94 Grunfeld, Makogonov variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.e3 O-O 6.b4 c6 7.Bb2 Bg4 8.h3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 a5 10.b5 a4 11.Rc1 Qa5 12.Bd3 cxb5 13.cxb5 Nbd7 14.O-O e6 15.Rc2 Rfc8 16.Rfc1 a3 17.Ba1 Qd8 18.Nb1 Bf8 19.Bc3 Nb6 20.Qd1 Nc4 21.Ba1 Nb6 22.Nd2 Ne8 23.Rxc8 Rxc8 24.Bc3 Qd7 25.Ba5 Rxc1 26.Qxc1 Na4 27.Qc2 Nb2 28.Bf1 Nd6 29.Qb3 Nbc4 30.Nxc4 dxc4 31.Bxc4 Qc8 32.Bd3 Qc1+ 33.Kh2 Nf5 34.Qc2 Bd6+ 35.g3 Nxg3 36.Qxc1 Ne2+ 37.Kg2 Nxc1 38.Bc4 1-0

Final Position




- Ivanchuk traps Svidler's knight behind enemy lines


(to be continued)

[Hans Jung]

Nice game by Nepo over Anand (game 2)

[Wayne Komer]

Legends of Chess 2020

July 26, 2020

Round Six (continued)

Game 2, July 26
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Anand, Vishy
C24 Bishop’s Opening, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 Bc5 4.Nc3 d6 5.f4 Nc6 6.Nf3 Ng4 7.Ng5 Bf2+ 8.Kf1 exf4 9.Bxf7+ Kf8 10.Ne6+ Bxe6 11.Bxe6 Ne3+ 12.Bxe3 Bxe3 13.Qh5 Ne5 14.Nd5 c6 15.Nxe3 Qf6 16.Ke2 Qxe6 17.Rhf1 Qf6 18.Rxf4 Qxf4 19.Rf1 Qxf1+ 20.Kxf1 Re8 21.Kg1 Nf7 22.Qg4 g6 23.Nc4 Re7 24.Qf4 Re6 25.Na5 Kg7 26.Nxb7 Rb8 27.Nc5 Re7 28.Nb3 Ne5 29.h3 c5 30.Qd2 Rf8 31.d4 cxd4 32.Qxd4 Rf6 33.Nd2 g5 34.Nf1 1-0

Game 3, July 26
Anand, Vishy – 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 h6 9.Qf3 b5 10.Be3 b4 11.Nd5 Nxd5 12.exd5 O-O 13.O-O-O Nd7 14.Nd2 a5 15.Ne4 a4 16.h4 b3 17.a3 bxc2 18.Rd2 Rb8 19.Rg1 Nf6 20.g5 Nxe4 21.Qxe4 g6 22.Bd3 Bf5 23.Qxa4 Ra8 24.Qc4 Rc8 25.Qa6 Ra8 26.Qb6 Qxb6 27.Bxb6 hxg5 28.hxg5 Rfb8 29.Be3 Rxa3 30.bxa3 Rb1+ 31.Kxc2 Rxg1 32.a4 Bd8 33.Bxf5 gxf5 34.Rd1 Rg4 35.Rb1 Kg7 36.Rb8 Ba5 37.Kb3 f4 38.Ba7 e4 39.Bd4+ Kg6 40.Ra8 Bd2 41.Kc2 e3 42.Kd3 Be1 43.fxe3 f3 44.Rg8+ Kh5 45.Rf8 Kg6 46.Rg8+ Kh5 47.Rf8 Kg6 48.Rg8+ 1/2-1/2

Game 4, July 26
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Anand, Vishy
B47 Sicilian, Taimanov (Bastrikov) variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Qc7 6.a3 a6 7.Be3 Nf6 8.Qf3 b5 9.e5 Nxd4 10.Bxd4 Bb7 11.Qg3 Nd5 12.Ne4 Qxc2 13.Bd3 Qa4 14.b4 Bxb4+ 15.axb4 Qxb4+ 16.Bc3 Nxc3 17.Nd6+ Kf8 18.O-O Bc6 19.Rac1 f5 20.Qg5 Qd4 21.Rfe1 Qxd3 22.Qh5 g6 23.Qg5 Kg8 24.Qe7 Rf8 25.Ne8 Rf7 26.Nf6+ Kg7 27.Nh5+ Kh6 28.Qxf7 Kxh5 29.Re3 Ne2+ 30.Kf1 Bxg2+ 31.Ke1 Nxc1 32.Rxd3 Nxd3+ 33.Kd2 Nxe5 34.Qg7 Nf3+ 35.Ke3 Rc8 36.Qxh7+ Kg5 37.Qe7+ Kg4 38.h3+ Bxh3 39.Qd6 Rc3+ 40.Ke2 Bf1+ 41.Kxf1 Rc1+ 0-1

Game 2, July 26
Giri, Anish – Leko, Peter
A14 English, Neo-Catalan

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.h3 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.g4 h6 9.Qf3 b5 10.Be3 b4 11.Nd5 Nxd5 12.exd5 O-O 13.O-O-O Nd7 14.Nd2 a5 15.Ne4 a4 16.h4 b3 17.a3 bxc2 18.Rd2 Rb8 19.Rg1 Nf6 20.g5 Nxe4 21.Qxe4 g6 22.Bd3 Bf5 23.Qxa4 Ra8 24.Qc4 Rc8 25.Qa6 Ra8 26.Qb6 Qxb6 27.Bxb6 hxg5 28.hxg5 Rfb8 29.Be3 Rxa3 30.bxa3 Rb1+ 31.Kxc2 Rxg1 32.a4 Bd8 33.Bxf5 gxf5 34.Rd1 Rg4 35.Rb1 Kg7 36.Rb8 Ba5 37.Kb3 f4 38.Ba7 e4 39.Bd4+ Kg6 40.Ra8 Bd2 41.Kc2 e3 42.Kd3 Be1 43.fxe3 f3 44.Rg8+ Kh5 45.Rf8 Kg6 46.Rg8+ Kh5 47.Rf8 Kg6 48.Rg8+ 1/2-1/2

Game 3, July 26
Leko, Peter – Giri, Anish
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.Qc2 c6 9.Rd1 b6 10.b3 a5 11.Bc3 Ne4 12.Ne5 Nxe5 13.Bxe4 f5 14.Bg2 Ng4 15.e3 h5 16.Nd2 h4 17.h3 Nf6 18.gxh4 Ne4 19.Nf3 Bd7 20.Be1 Be8 21.Ne5 Bxh4 22.f3 Bxe1 23.Rxe1 Nd6 24.f4 Rf6 25.Rac1 Nf7 26.Nf3 b5 27.Kh2 a4 28.Rg1 axb3 29.axb3 bxc4 30.bxc4 Rg6 31.c5 Ra3 32.Qf2 Qa8 33.Rc2 Bd7 34.Rb2 Qd8 35.Rgb1 Ra8 36.Rb7 Rh6 37.Qb2 Kf8 38.Ra1 Rxa1 39.Qxa1 Rh8 40.Qa7 Ke7 41.Rc7 Ke8 42.Rb7 Ke7 43.Bf1 g6 44.Bb5 cxb5 45.c6 Kf6 46.Rxd7 Qf8 47.Ne5 Nh6 48.Rf7+ Qxf7 49.Nxf7 Nxf7 50.Qd7 Rd8 51.Qxd8+ Nxd8 52.c7 1-0

What a positional crush by Peter Leko!

Game 4, July 26
Giri, Anish – Leko, Peter
A05 Reti Opening

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 c5 3.Bg2 Nc6 4.O-O e5 5.e4 d6 6.c3 Nxe4 7.d4 f5 8.dxe5 dxe5 9.Nbd2 Nxd2 10.Nxd2 Be6 11.Re1 Qd7 12.Qa4 Bd5 13.Bxd5 Qxd5 14.Nc4 O-O-O 15.Bg5 Rd7 16.Rad1 Qe6 17.Nxe5 Rxd1 18.Qxd1 Ne7 19.Nd3 Qd6 20.Qe2 Ng6 21.Qe8+ Kc7 22.Nf4 Qd7 23.Nxg6 Qxe8 24.Rxe8 hxg6 25.Be7 Bxe7 26.Rxh8 c4 27.Kf1 b5 28.Ke2 a5 29.Re8 Bf6 30.Re6 Kb7 31.Kd2 a4 32.a3 Kc7 33.h4 Kb7 34.Ke3 Kc7 35.f3 b4 36.Rxf6 1-0

Game 2, July 26
Kramnik, Vladimir – Gelfand, Boris
A06 Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack

1.Nf3 c5 2.b3 d5 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bb2 g6 5.Bb5+ Bd7 6.Bxf6 exf6 7.Bxd7+ Qxd7 8.d4 Bg7 9.Nc3 f5 10.Qd2 cxd4 11.Nxd4 Nc6 12.O-O O-O 13.Nde2 Ne7 14.Nf4 Bxc3 15.Qxc3 Rac8 16.Qb2 Qc7 17.Rac1 Qc3 18.Qa3 Qc5 19.Qb2 Qc3 20.Qb1 Rc5 21.Rfd1 Rfc8 22.Rd4 R5c6 23.h4 h5 24.g3 a6 25.a4 Kh7 26.Qa2 Kg8 27.Ne2 Qa5 28.Qb2 Qc7 29.Rd2 Rc5 30.Qf6 Rc6 31.Qg5 Kh7 32.Nd4 Rc5 33.Rcd1 Qd6 34.Kg2 Ng8 35.Qf4 Qxf4 36.exf4 Ne7 37.Re1 R8c7 38.Nf3 Nc6 39.Re8 Nb4 40.c4 dxc4 41.bxc4 Nc6 42.Ne5 Nxe5 43.fxe5 Rc8 44.Re7 R8c7 45.Re8 Rc8 46.Re7 R8c7 47.Re8 1/2-1/2

Game 3, July 26
Gelfand, Boris – Kramnik, Vladimir
E17 Queen’s Indian

1.d4 e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.O-O O-O 7.Re1 Qc8 8.Nc3 Bb4 9.Bd2 d6 10.d5 Nbd7 11.e4 Nc5 12.Qc2 exd5 13.Nxd5 Bxd5 14.cxd5 Bxd2 15.Nxd2 a5 16.Nf3 Re8 17.e5 dxe5 18.Nxe5 Qd8 19.d6 cxd6 20.Bxa8 dxe5 21.Bc6 Re7 22.Rad1 Qc7 23.Bg2 g6 24.Qd2 Kg7 25.Qd8 e4 26.Qxc7 Rxc7 27.f3 Nd3 28.Re2 exf3 29.Bxf3 Nc1 30.Re5 Nxa2 31.Rb5 Nd7 32.Rbd5 Nc5 33.Rd6 Nb4 34.Rxb6 Ncd3 35.Rd2 Rc1+ 36.Kg2 Ne1+ 37.Kf2 Ned3+ 38.Ke3 Re1+ 39.Kd4 Ne5 40.Be2 f6 41.Rb7+ Kh6 42.Kc5 Rh1 43.Bb5 Rc1+ 44.Kb6 a4 45.Ka5 Nbc6+ 46.Kb6 Rb1 47.Kc5 Na5 48.Ra7 Nb3+ 49.Kb4 Nxd2 0-1

- Wow! Gelfand was on the verge of winning the match vs. Kramnik but he blundered two forks in a row and Vladimir levels the match.

- In time trouble, knights are gold

Game 4, July 26
Kramnik, Vladimir – Gelfand, Boris
D04 Queen’s Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 c5 4.dxc5 e6 5.b4 a5 6.c3 axb4 7.cxb4 b6 8.Bb5+ Bd7 9.Bxd7+ Nbxd7 10.a4 bxc5 11.b5 Bd6 12.Bb2 O-O 13.O-O Bc7 14.Nbd2 c4 15.Nd4 Ne5 16.Bc3 Nfd7 17.f4 Nd3 18.Nc6 Qe8 19.a5 e5 20.Kh1 exf4 21.exf4 Bxf4 22.Rxf4 Nxf4 23.Qg4 Ne6 24.Re1 d4 25.Nxd4 Nf6 26.Qg3 Qd7 27.Nf5 Qd3 28.Ne7+ Kh8 29.b6 Qxg3 30.hxg3 Nc5 31.Nxc4 Nb7 32.Bxf6 gxf6 33.Ra1 Nc5 34.Rb1 Nb7 35.Rb5 Rfe8 36.Nd5 Re1+ 37.Kh2 Ra1 38.Nc7 R8xa5 39.Nxa5 Rxa5 40.Rxa5 Nxa5 41.Ne8 Nb7 42.Kh3 f5 43.g4 fxg4+ 44.Kxg4 Kg8 45.Nf6+ Kg7 46.Nd5 Nd6 47.Kf4 f6 48.Nc3 Kf7 49.Ne4 Nb7 50.Kf5 Ke7 51.Nxf6 Nd6+ 52.Kg5 Nf7+ 53.Kf4 Kd6 54.Nxh7 Kc6 55.Ng5 Nh6 56.Nf3 Kxb6 57.Kg5 Nf7+ 58.Kf6 Nd6 59.g4 Kc5 60.Nd2 Kd5 61.g5 Ne8+ 62.Kg6 Ke5 63.Nf3+ Kf4 64.Nd4 Nd6 65.Ne6+ Ke5 66.Nc5 Kd5 67.Nd7 Ke6 68.Nf8+ Ke7 69.Kg7 Nf7 70.Ng6+ Ke8 71.Kg8 Nxg5 72.Ne5 Ne6 73.Nd7 Kxd7 1/2-1/2

Game 2, July 26
Svidler, Peter – Ivanchuk, Vasyl
A13 English Opening, Agincourt variation

1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 Nf6 4.b3 Bd6 5.Bb2 O-O 6.Nc3 c6 7.Be2 Nbd7 8.O-O Re8 9.Rc1 dxc4 10.bxc4 e5 11.d4 exd4 12.exd4 Nf8 13.Qc2 Bg4 14.h3 Bh5 15.Rcd1 Qa5 16.d5 Rad8 17.Nd4 Bxe2 18.Ncxe2 cxd5 19.Nb3 Qxa2 20.Nec1 Qa6 21.Bxf6 gxf6 22.cxd5 Ng6 23.Nd4 Re5 24.Nf3 Rh5 25.Ne2 Qa5 26.Qe4 Qc7 27.g3 Qd7 28.h4 Re8 29.Qc4 f5 30.Rfe1 f4 31.Nc3 Rxe1+ 32.Rxe1 fxg3 33.Ne4 gxf2+ 34.Kxf2 Rf5 35.Nxd6 Rxf3+ 36.Kxf3 Qxd6 37.Re8+ Kg7 38.Qd4+ Kh6 39.Rg8 f6 40.Re8 Ne5+ 41.Kg2 Qa3 42.Qf4+ Kg6 43.Qg3+ Qxg3+ 44.Kxg3 Nf7 45.Kf4 Nd6 46.Re6 Nc4 47.d6 Nb6 48.h5+ Kxh5 49.Kf5 1-0

Game 3, July 26
Ivanchuk, Vasyl – Svidler, Peter
E60 KID/Neo-Grunfeld

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 c6 5.Bg2 O-O 6.Nc3 d5 7.cxd5 cxd5 8.Ne5 Bf5 9.O-O Ne4 10.Be3 Nxc3 11.bxc3 Nc6 12.Qb3 e6 13.Nxc6 bxc6 14.Rac1 Qa5 15.Bf4 Rac8 16.e3 c5 17.Bd6 c4 18.Qb4 Qxb4 19.Bxb4 Rfe8 20.Rfe1 Rb8 21.e4 Bxe4 22.Bxe4 dxe4 23.Rxe4 f5 24.Re2 Bxd4 25.Bd6 Rbd8 26.cxd4 Rxd6 27.Rxc4 Kf7 28.Ra4 a6 29.Re5 Red8 30.Rea5 Rxd4 31.Rxd4 Rxd4 32.Rxa6 Kf6 33.h4 Rd2 34.Kf1 h6 35.Ra5 g5 36.hxg5+ hxg5 37.Kg2 Rb2 38.Kf1 Rd2 39.Kg2 Rb2 40.Kf1 Rd2 1/2-1/2

Game 4, July 26
Svidler, Peter – Ivanchuk, Vasyl
A11 English

1.c4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6 5.d4 Bf5 6.Qb3 Ra7 7.Nh4 Bc8 8.a4 e6 9.Nf3 c5 10.cxd5 exd5 11.Be2 Nc6 12.O-O Be6 13.Qd1 cxd4 14.Nxd4 Bc5 15.Nxe6 fxe6 16.b3 O-O 17.Bb2 Ra8 18.Rc1 Qe7 19.Bd3 Rad8 20.Ne2 e5 21.Ng3 g6 22.Qe2 Na5 23.Bxe5 Nxb3 24.Rb1 Qxe5 25.Rxb3 Rd7 26.Rfb1 Rff7 27.Qb2 Ng4 28.Qxe5 Nxe5 29.Be2 Kg7 30.Kf1 h5 31.Bf3 Kh6 32.Ke2 b6 33.Rd1 h4 34.Nf1 d4 35.exd4 Bxd4 36.Ne3 h3 37.Rb4 hxg2 38.Bxg2 Rf4 39.Rb3 Rdf7 40.Rf1 Bc5 41.a5 bxa5 42.Rb7 a4 43.Rxf7 Rxf7 44.Bd5 Rf4 45.Rb1 a3 46.Rb8 Ra4 47.Ba2 Bxe3 48.fxe3 Rh4 49.h3 Kg7 50.Rb3 Rxh3 51.Rxa3 Rh2+ 52.Kf1 Ng4 53.Be6 Nf6 54.Rxa6 Rh5 55.Ke2 1/2-1/2

Rustam talking to Jan about sayings –

Jan – The early bird gets the worm and, the second mouse..
Rustam – Gets what?
Jan – The second mouse gets the cheese. You know what happens with the first mouse and the mousetrap!

(to be continued)

[Wayne Komer]

Legends of Chess 2020

July 26, 2020

Round Six (continued)

Armageddon, July 26
Nepomnichtchi, Ian – Anand, Vishy
A06 Reti Opening

1.Nf3 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 c5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Qc2 Nb4 7.Qb1 Be7 8.b3 Nd7 9.Bb2 a6 10.a3 Nc6 11.Ne4 Nf6 12.Bd3 Bd7 13.O-O Nxe4 14.Bxe4 f5 15.Bd3 O-O 16.Qc2 b5 17.Rfd1 Rc8 18.Rac1 Bd6 19.e4 Nd4 20.Bxd4 cxd4 21.Qb2 Rxc1 22.Rxc1 Qf6 23.Re1 e5 24.exf5 Bxf5 25.Qb1 g6 26.a4 Bg4 27.Be4 Kg7 28.h3 Bd7 29.axb5 Bxb5 30.Rc1 Qe7 31.Qc2 Rb8 32.Re1 Qd7 33.Bd5 Rc8 34.Qe4 Qe7 35.h4 Qf6 36.Qg4 Qf5 37.Qg3 Rc5 38.Be4 Qf6 39.h5 Be8 40.Nh4 Qf4 41.Nf5+ 1-0

Armageddon, July 26
Kramnik, Vladimir – Gelfand, Boris
A30 English, symmetrical variation

1.c4 c5 2.b3 Nf6 3.Bb2 Nc6 4.Nf3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Nc3 e5 7.e3 Nxc3 8.Bxc3 Bd6 9.Bc4 Qe7 10.h4 h6 11.Qc2 Bd7 12.d3 O-O-O 13.O-O-O g5 14.Kb1 Kb8 15.hxg5 hxg5 16.Nd2 f5 17.g4 f4 18.Rxh8 Rxh8 19.Ne4 Bxg4 20.Rg1 Bf5 21.Nxd6 Qxd6 22.Rxg5 Bc8 23.Kb2 Rh2 24.exf4 Nd4 25.Qd2 exf4 26.Rd5 Qf8 27.b4 b6 28.bxc5 bxc5 29.Bxd4 cxd4 30.Rb5+ Bb7 31.Bd5 Rh7 32.Qb4 Qc8 33.Rxb7+ Rxb7 34.Qxb7+ Qxb7+ 35.Bxb7 Kxb7 36.Kb3 Kb6 37.Kc4 Ka5 38.Kxd4 Kb4 39.Ke4 a5 40.d4 a4 41.d5 Ka3 42.d6 Kxa2 43.d7 a3 44.d8=Q Kb2 45.Qd4+ Kb1 46.Qd3+ Kb2 47.Qd2+ Kb1 48.Qd1+ Kb2 49.Qe2+ Kb1 50.Kxf4 1-0

- A great Armageddon by Kramnik, who continues to do well!

Armageddon, July 26
Svidler, Peter – Ivanchuk, Vasyl
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Byrne Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 h5 9.Qd2 Nbd7 10.Nd5 Bxd5 11.exd5 g6 12.O-O-O Nb6 13.Kb1 Nbxd5 14.Bg5 Be7 15.g3 O-O 16.h4 Qc7 17.Bd3 a5 18.a4 Nb4 19.Bb5 d5 20.c3 Nc6 21.Bxf6 Bxf6 22.Qxd5 Rad8 23.Qe4 Kg7 24.Rdg1 Rh8 25.Ka2 Ne7 26.g4 hxg4 27.Rxg4 Rh5 28.Qc4 Qb6 29.f4 Nf5 30.fxe5 Bxe5 31.Rg5 Rdh8 32.Qd5 Bf6 33.Rxh5 Rxh5 34.Be2 Rxh4 35.Rxh4 Bxh4 36.Nxa5 Qf2 37.Bc4 Ne3 38.Qxb7 Nd1 39.Qb3 Qd2 40.Kb1 Bf6 41.Qc2 Qe1 42.Ka2 g5 43.Nb3 g4 44.a5 g3 45.a6 Ne3 46.Qe4 g2 47.Qb7 Nxc4 48.Qxg2+ Kh6 49.a7 Nb6 50.Qc6 Qe6 51.a8=Q Nxa8 52.Qxa8 Be7 53.Qh1+ Kg7 54.Qg2+ Kf8 55.Qa8+ Kg7 56.Qb7 1-0

Final Position



You'd be hard-pressed to say who lost this Armageddon!

Nepo: "You can never get a time advantage against Chucky in the opening - he plays the trickiest lines and he knows them"

Results of Round Six

Anand-Nepo 2-3
Leko-Giri 1.5-2.5
Gelfand-Kramnik 2-3
Ding-Carlsen 1.5-2.5
Ivanchuk-Svidler 2-3

Standings After Round Six

1 Carlsen 17 points
2 Nepo 16 points
3 Kramnik 12 points
4-5 Svidler, Giri 11 points
6 Gelfand 7 points
7 Ivanchuk 6 points
8 Leko 4 points
9-10 Ding, Anand 3 points

[Hans Jung]

Some interesting endgames in Game 1. Chucky had a lovely kingwalk against Kramnik. Anand interesting compensation for a piece with the passed pawns.

[Wayne Komer]

Legends of Chess 2020

July 27, 2020

Round Seven

Magnus Carlsen’s weekly score in the Fantasy Premier League was one of the lowest among players near the top and he dropped from 4^th to 11^th on the provisional standings.

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/che...t-fantasy-king

https://fantasy.premierleague.com/le...14/standings/c

Magnus Carlsen says after his #FPL disappointment that a new season is coming soon:

"To some extent a bummer, but I know there wasn't really anything realistic I could have done to win that"

Game 1, July 27
Leko, Peter – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
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.Bc4 Nd7 12.O-O b6 13.Rad1 Bb7 14.Rfe1 Rc8 15.Bb3 h6 16.Re3 Nf6 17.d5 exd5 18.exd5 Qd6 19.Nh4 Rfe8 20.Nf5 Qd7 21.Rf3 Bxd5 22.Nxh6+ gxh6 23.Rxf6 Qe7 24.Rf4 Bxb3 25.axb3 Qe2 26.g3 Qxd2 27.Rxd2 Rcd8 28.Ra2 Rd7 29.Rfa4 Re1+ 30.Kg2 Rb1 31.Rxa7 Rxa7 32.Rxa7 Rxb3 33.g4 Kg7 34.f3 Rb5 35.Kg3 h5 36.h3 hxg4 37.hxg4 Rb3 38.Rb7 Kg6 39.Kf4 Rb4+ 40.Kg3 Rb3 41.Kf4 Rb4+ 42.Kg3 f5 1/2-1/2

Game 2, July 27
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Leko, Peter
E21 Nimzo-Indian, Three Knights variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 O-O 5.Bg5 c5 6.Rc1 cxd4 7.Nxd4 h6 8.Bh4 d5 9.cxd5 g5 10.Bg3 Qxd5 11.e3 Qxa2 12.Qc2 Bxc3+ 13.Qxc3 Ne4 14.Qc2 Qa5+ 15.Ke2 Nxg3+ 16.hxg3 Kg7 17.f4 Nc6 18.Nxc6 bxc6 19.Kf2 Rd8 20.Rd1 Rxd1 21.Qxd1 Qf5 22.Qd6 Qd5 23.Qa3 a5 24.Qc3+ e5 25.Bc4 Qd6 26.fxe5 Qb4 27.Qd4 Be6 28.Bxe6 Qxd4 29.exd4 fxe6 30.Rc1 Ra6 31.g4 Rb6 32.b3 Rxb3 33.Rxc6 Rd3 34.Rxe6 Rxd4 35.Re7+ Kg6 36.Re6+ Kg7 37.Re7+ Kg6 38.Re6+ Kg7 1/2-1/2

- Peter Leko has played very few top tournaments in recent years, but he continues to show he's a top player as he draws his 2nd game against world no. 4 Nepomniachtchi

Game 3, July 27
Leko, Peter – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
A31 English, symmetrical variation

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.g3 e5 6.Nb5 Bb4+ 7.N1c3 d6 8.a3 Bxc3+ 9.Nxc3 Be6 10.Bg2 Bxc4 11.Bg5 O-O 12.Rc1 Rc8 13.Bxf6 Qxf6 14.Ne4 Qe6 15.Rxc4 Qxc4 16.Nxd6 Qa2 17.Nxc8 Rxc8 18.O-O Qxb2 19.Qd7 Rd8 20.Qc7 Qb6 21.Qxb6 axb6 22.Rb1 g6 23.Rxb6 Rd1+ 24.Bf1 Ra1 25.Rxb7 Rxa3 26.e3 Ra7 27.Rb6 Ne7 28.g4 Kg7 29.Kg2 g5 30.Bd3 Ng6 31.Rb5 Kf6 32.Be4 Ra4 33.Bxg6 hxg6 34.h3 Ke6 35.Rb6+ Ke7 36.Rb7+ Ke6 37.Rb6+ Ke7 38.Rb7+ Ke6 39.Rb6+ 1/2-1/2

Game 4, July 27
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Leko, Peter
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 O-O 6.c3 d5 7.exd5 Nxd5 8.a4 a5 9.Nbd2 Nb6 10.Bb5 Bd6 11.Re1 Bg4 12.Ne4 Na7 13.h3 Bh5 14.d4 Nxb5 15.axb5 exd4 16.Nxd6 Qxd6 17.Qxd4 Qxd4 18.Nxd4 Bg6 19.Bf4 Rfc8 20.Bg3 a4 21.Re7 Nc4 22.b3 axb3 23.Rxa8 Rxa8 24.Nxb3 Rc8 25.Rxc7 Rxc7 26.Bxc7 b6 27.Kf1 Bd3+ 28.Ke1 Kf8 29.h4 Ke7 30.f3 Kd7 31.Bg3 Na3 32.Bf2 Kc7 33.Bg3+ Kd7 34.Bf2 Kc7 35.Bg3+ Kd7 1/2-1/2

Armageddon, July 27
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Leko, Peter
A01 Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack, Indian variation

1.b3 Nf6 2.Bb2 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.e3 Be7 5.c4 O-O 6.Nc3 c6 7.Qc2 b6 8.g4 Nxg4 9.Rg1 Nf6 10.O-O-O c5 11.d4 cxd4 12.Rxd4 Nc6 13.Rh4 g6 14.Ng5 Nb4 15.Qb1 dxc4 16.Bxc4 Qe8 17.Nce4 Nbd5 18.Bxd5 exd5 19.Nxf6+ Bxf6 20.Bxf6 Qc6+ 21.Qc2 Qxf6 22.Qb2 Qxb2+ 23.Kxb2 h5 24.Nf3 Bg4 25.Ne5 Rfe8 26.Nxg4 hxg4 27.Rhxg4 Kg7 28.Rd1 Re5 29.h4 Rh8 30.a4 a5 31.Kc3 Rc8+ 32.Kd3 Rf5 33.Rd2 Kf6 34.b4 Ke6 35.bxa5 bxa5 36.Rb2 Rc5 37.Ke2 Kf6 38.Rd4 Rh5 39.Kf3 Kg7 40.Rf4 Rc4 41.Rb5 Rxf4+ 42.exf4 Rxh4 43.Rxd5 Rh3+ 44.Kg2 Ra3 45.Rxa5 Kh6 46.f3 Ra2+ 47.Kg3 f6 48.Ra7 Ra3 49.Ra6 Ra2 50.Ra8 Ra3 51.a5 Ra2 52.a6 Kg7 53.Kg4 Ra4 54.Ra7+ Kh6 55.Kg3 Ra3 56.Kf2 Ra4 57.Ke3 Ra3+ 58.Ke4 Ra4+ 59.Ke3 Ra3+ 60.Ke2 Ra2+ 61.Kd3 Ra3+ 62.Kc4 Ra4+ 63.Kb5 Rxf4 64.Rc7 Rxf3 65.Rc4 Rb3+ 66.Rb4 Re3 67.a7 Re8 68.Ka6 1-0

Game 1, July 27
Gelfand, Boris – Anand, Vishy
E00 Catalan Opening

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 O-O 7.Qc2 Nbd7 8.h4 c5 9.cxd5 exd5 10.Nc3 Re8 11.O-O h6 12.Bf4 a6 13.Rad1 c4 14.Ne5 Nb6 15.b3 Bb4 16.bxc4 dxc4 17.e4 a5 18.Nb5 Nh5 19.Be3 Bd7 20.Nxd7 Qxd7 21.a4 Nf6 22.d5 Nxa4 23.Qxa4 Nxe4 24.Bxe4 Rxe4 25.Nc3 Qxa4 26.Nxa4 b5 27.Nb6 Rd8 28.Bf4 Bd6 29.Bxd6 Rxd6 30.Nc8 Rd7 31.d6 c3 32.Rd5 b4 33.Nb6 Rd8 34.d7 Re6 35.Na4 Rc6 36.Nc5 Rc7 37.Re5 Kh7 38.Ra1 a4 39.Rxa4 c2 40.Ra1 Rdxd7 41.Nxd7 Rxd7 42.Rc5 b3 43.Rf1 Rd1 44.Kg2 Rxf1 45.Kxf1 b2 0-1

Game 2, July 27
Anand, Vishy – Gelfand, Boris
B30 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.Bxc6 bxc6 5.d3 Qc7 6.O-O Ne7 7.h4 e5 8.h5 h6 9.Nh2 d6 10.f4 exf4 11.Bxf4 g5 12.Bd2 Bg7 13.Bc3 O-O 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.Qd2 Be6 16.Qc3+ f6 17.Nd2 Rf7 18.Rf2 Raf8 19.Raf1 Qb6 20.Nc4 Qb8 21.b3 d5 22.Nb2 Qb4 23.Na4 Qxc3 24.Nxc3 f5 25.Na4 c4 26.Nc5 Bc8 27.bxc4 dxe4 28.dxe4 fxe4 29.Nxe4 Rxf2 30.Rxf2 Rd8 31.Nf1 Rd4 32.Nfg3 Be6 33.c5 Bxa2 34.c3 Rd1+ 35.Kh2 Be6 36.Nd6 Re1 37.c4 Nc8 38.Ngf5+ Bxf5 39.Nxf5+ Kh7 40.Rd2 Re5 41.Rd7+ Kg8 42.Nxh6+ Kf8 43.Ng4 Re7 44.Rd1 Re4 45.Rf1+ Kg7 46.h6+ Kg6 47.Rf6+ Kh5 48.h7 Re8 49.Kg3 1-0

Game 3, July 27
Gelfand, Boris – Anand, Vishy
E00 Catalan Opening

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 O-O 7.Qc2 Nbd7 8.h4 dxc4 9.Qxc4 c5 10.O-O b5 11.Qxb5 Rb8 12.Qa4 Rxb2 13.Qxa7 Bb7 14.Bc3 Qb6 15.Qxb6 Rxb6 16.a4 Ra8 17.Rc1 Rba6 18.a5 cxd4 19.Nxd4 Bxg2 20.Kxg2 Ne4 21.Be1 Nec5 22.Nd2 Bf6 23.N2f3 e5 24.Nb5 Nb3 25.Rd1 Nxa1 26.Nc7 Nf8 27.Rxa1 e4 28.Ra4 exf3+ 29.Kxf3 Ne6 30.Nxa8 Rxa8 31.e3 Bd8 32.Ra2 Kf8 33.Ke4 Nc5+ 34.Kd5 Nd3 35.Bc3 Bxa5 36.Bxa5 Ke8 37.Kc6 Nb4+ 38.Kb7 Nxa2 39.Kxa8 Nc1 40.Kb7 Nd3 41.Kc6 Nxf2 42.Kd5 Ng4 43.Ke4 Kd7 44.Bc3 g6 45.Kf4 h5 46.e4 1/2-1/2

Game 1, July 27
Ding, Liren – Giri, Anish
E01 Catalan, Closed

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Qd3 b6 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.O-O Ba6 9.Qc2 Nd7 10.Nc3 c5 11.Nxd5 exd5 12.Re1 Re8 13.Bf4 Bf6 14.e3 Bb7 15.h4 h6 16.h5 Nf8 17.dxc5 Rc8 18.Qa4 bxc5 19.Qxa7 Re7 20.Qa3 Ne6 21.Be5 Bxe5 22.Nxe5 d4 23.e4 Ng5 0-1

- It just hasn't been Ding Liren's tournament, as he loses the first game to Anish Giri after disconnecting and his time running out

Game 2, July 27
Giri, Anish – Ding, Liren
A20 English, Nimzowitsch, Flohr variation

1.c4 e5 2.Nf3 e4 3.Nd4 Nc6 4.e3 Qf6 5.Nb5 Qd8 6.d3 Nf6 7.N1c3 a6 8.Nd4 Bb4 9.Qb3 Nxd4 10.exd4 Qe7 11.dxe4 Qxe4+ 12.Be3 Bxc3+ 13.Qxc3 d5 14.f3 Qe7 15.c5 O-O 16.O-O-O Re8 17.Re1 Bf5 18.g4 Bg6 19.h4 h5 20.g5 Nd7 21.Bh3 Nf8 22.Bd2 Qd8 23.b3 b6 24.Kb2 a5 25.a4 Ne6 26.Re5 bxc5 27.dxc5 Rb8 28.Rhe1 Rb4 29.Bxe6 fxe6 30.Rxe6 Rxe6 31.Rxe6 d4 32.Qc1 Rxb3+ 33.Kxb3 Qd5+ 34.Ka3 Qxe6 35.Qb2 Qe5 36.Bxa5 Qxc5+ 37.Bb4 Qe5 38.Qc1 Qd5 39.Qxc7 Qxf3+ 40.Kb2 Qf2+ 41.Ka3 Qxh4 42.a5 Qh3+ 43.Kb2 Qg2+ 44.Ka3 Qf3+ 45.Kb2 Qe2+ 46.Kc1 h4 47.a6 Qxa6 48.Qd8+ Kh7 49.Qxd4 Qf1+ 50.Kd2 Qg2+ 51.Ke1 Qg3+ 52.Qf2 Qe5+ 53.Qe2 Qxg5 54.Be7 Qg3+ 55.Qf2 Qe5+ 56.Qe2 Qc3+ 57.Qd2 Qf3 58.Qf2 Qe4+ 59.Qe2 Qb7 60.Kf2 h3 61.Kg3 Qh1 62.Bc5 Qd5 63.Be3 Qe6 64.Qf2 Bf5 65.Kh2 Qe4 66.Bf4 Be6 67.Qh4+ Kg8 68.Qf2 Kh7 69.Qh4+ Kg6 70.Qg3+ Kf7 71.Qf2 Ke8 72.Bg3 g5 73.Qb2 Kf7 74.Qf2+ Kg6 75.Qf1 Bd7 76.Qf2 Bc6 77.Kxh3 Qh1+ 78.Bh2 Bd7+ 79.Kg3 Qe4 80.Qf3 Qe1+ 81.Kg2 Qd2+ 82.Kg1 Qc1+ 83.Qf1 Qe3+ 84.Qf2 Qc1+ 85.Qf1 Qe3+ 86.Qf2 Qe4 87.Qg2 Qd3 88.Bg3 Be6 89.Be1 Bd5 90.Qg3 Qe4 91.Bd2 Qd4+ 92.Be3 Qd1+ 93.Kf2 Qc2+ 94.Ke1 Qb1+ 1/2-1/2

Game 3, July 27
Ding, Liren – Giri, Anish
E48 Nimzo-Indian

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Ne2 Re8 8.Bd2 b6 9.Rc1 Bd6 10.Nb5 c5 11.Nxd6 Qxd6 12.dxc5 bxc5 13.Bc3 Nbd7 14.O-O Ne5 15.Bb5 Bd7 16.Bxd7 Nexd7 17.Ng3 Ne4 18.Nxe4 Rxe4 19.Rc2 Rd8 20.Rd2 Nf8 21.Qf3 Qe6 22.h3 Ng6 23.Rfd1 h6 24.Qg3 Rd7 25.b3 Kh7 26.Bb2 f5 27.Kh2 f4 28.exf4 Rxf4 29.Qe3 Qc6 30.Qd3 d4 31.Rc1 Qd6 32.Kg1 Rdf7 33.Ba3 R4f5 34.Rdc2 Nf4 35.Qe4 Qg6 36.Kh1 Rg5 37.Qxg6+ Rxg6 38.f3 d3 39.Rf2 Re7 40.Bxc5 Re2 41.Rd1 Rc6 42.Bxa7 Ra6 43.Bd4 Raxa2 44.Kg1 Ne6 45.Bb6 Ra6 46.Rxd3 Re1+ 47.Kh2 Rxb6 48.Rc2 Rb1 49.h4 Kg6 50.Rcc3 Rb2 51.Kg3 Kf6 52.Re3 g5 53.hxg5+ hxg5 54.Rc8 Nf4 55.Rf8+ Kg7 0-1

Game 1, July 27
Ivanchuk, Vasyl – Kramnik, Vladimir
D40 QGD, Semi-Tarrasch Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c5 5.e3 dxc4 6.Bxc4 a6 7.O-O b5 8.Be2 Bb7 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.Qxd8+ Kxd8 11.Nd2 Ke7 12.Nb3 Nbd7 13.Nxc5 Nxc5 14.f3 b4 15.Nd1 a5 16.e4 Ba6 17.Be3 Rhc8 18.Bxa6 Rxa6 19.Rc1 Rac6 20.Nf2 Nfd7 21.b3 f6 22.Rfd1 Nb7 23.Nd3 Nd6 24.Nb2 Rc3 25.Kf2 Ne5 26.Ke2 Nb5 27.Na4 Nd4+ 28.Kf1 Rxc1 29.Rxc1 Rxc1+ 30.Bxc1 Kd6 31.Be3 Nec6 32.Bf2 e5 33.Ke1 g5 34.Kd2 h5 35.Kd3 h4 36.Kc4 h3 37.gxh3 Nxf3 38.Kb5 Ncd4+ 39.Kxa5 Nc2 40.Nb6 Kc6 41.Nd5 Nd2 42.Nxf6 Kd6 43.h4 gxh4 44.Bxh4 Ke6 45.Bg5 Nb1 46.Nd5 Nc3 47.Nxc3 bxc3 48.h4 Kf7 49.a4 Nd4 50.Kb4 Ne2 51.a5 c2 52.Bd2 Ng3 53.a6 Nxe4 54.Bc1 Nf6 55.a7 Nd5+ 56.Kc5 Nc7 57.Kc6 1-0

- Vasyl Ivanchuk, who first played Vladimir Kramnik 27 years ago in Linares 1993, takes the lead in their match!

(to be continued)

[Wayne Komer]

Legends of Chess 2020

July 27, 2020

Round Seven (continued)

Game 2, July 27
Kramnik, Vladimir – Ivanchuk, Vasyl
B76 Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav Attack, Rauser main line

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 O-O 9.O-O-O d5 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Bd4 e5 13.Bc5 Be6 14.Ne4 Re8 15.h4 h6 16.g4 Qc7 17.g5 h5 18.Qe1 Nf4 19.Bd6 Qb6 20.Bc5 Qc7 21.c4 Bd5 22.Bd6 Qb6 23.Bc5 Qc7 24.Rh2 Bxe4 25.Bd6 Qc8 26.Qxe4 c5 27.b4 Bf8 28.bxc5 Qa6 29.Rb2 Qa3 30.Kb1 Bxd6 31.cxd6 Rab8 32.Rb7 Red8 33.c5 Qxc5 34.d7 Nd5 35.Qxd5 Qxd5 36.Rxd5 Rxb7+ 37.Kc2 Rdxd7 38.Rxe5 Rd4 0-1

21...Bd5! is a cool move by Ivanchuk

Game 3, July 27
Ivanchuk, Vasyl – Kramnik, Vladimir
A32 English, symmetrical variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nf3 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 Qa5 7.Bxf6 gxf6 8.a3 Nc6 9.e3 h5 10.Be2 h4 11.O-O f5 12.b4 Qe5 13.Rc1 Rg8 14.c5 Bh6 15.Bf3 f4 16.Nxc6 bxc6 17.Qd4 Qxd4 18.exd4 h3 19.Rfe1 Kd8 20.Ne4 Kc7 21.Nd6 f6 22.a4 Rb8 23.b5 axb5 24.axb5 cxb5 25.Ra1 Bf8 26.Ne8+ Kd8 27.Nxf6 Rg6 28.Ng4 Bg7 29.Ne5 Bxe5 30.Rxe5 b4 31.g3 fxg3 32.hxg3 b3 33.Rb1 Rf6 34.Be4 h2+ 35.Kg2 Rh6 36.Kh1 Rb4 37.d5 b2 38.f3 Rc4 39.Bd3 Rc3 40.Bf1 Rxf3 41.Bg2 Rf2 42.Re3 Rxg2 0-1

Game 4, July 27
Kramnik, Vladimir – Ivanchuk, Vasyl
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 a6 6.O-O Ba7 7.Re1 d6 8.Bb3 h6 9.Nbd2 O-O 10.Nf1 Re8 11.Ng3 Be6 12.Ba4 b5 13.Bc2 d5 14.exd5 Qxd5 15.Be3 Bb6 16.h3 Qd6 17.a4 b4 18.a5 Bxe3 19.fxe3 bxc3 20.bxc3 e4 21.Nxe4 Nxe4 22.dxe4 Qg3 23.Kh1 Rab8 24.Ba4 Red8 25.Qe2 Nxa5 26.Nd4 Rd6 27.Qf3 Qg5 28.Qf4 Nc4 29.Bb3 Rxd4 30.cxd4 Rxb3 31.d5 Bd7 32.Rac1 Bb5 33.h4 Qe7 34.Rc2 Rb4 35.Rec1 a5 36.Kg1 a4 37.e5 Nxe5 38.Rxc7 Qxc7 39.Rxc7 Rxf4 40.exf4 Nc4 41.Rb7 Be8 42.Kf2 Kf8 43.g4 a3 44.Ra7 Bb5 45.Kf3 Nb6 46.d6 Ba4 47.Rb7 Bc6+ 0-1

Game 1, July 27
Svidler, Peter – Carlsen, Magnus
A20 English, Kingside Fianchetto

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.Qb3 Nc6 7.Bxc6+ bxc6 8.Nf3 Bd6 9.d4 exd4 10.Nxd4 O-O 11.Qc4 Qd7 12.Bg5 Nd5 13.Ne4 Nb6 14.Qd3 Bb4+ 15.Bd2 Ba6 16.Qxa6 Qxd4 17.Qd3 Qxb2 18.Qb1 Bxd2+ 19.Nxd2 Qe5 20.Nf3 Qc3+ 21.Kf1 Rfe8 22.e3 Qf6 23.Kg2 c5 24.Qc2 c4 25.Rhd1 Rad8 26.Rac1 Qc6 27.Rxd8 Rxd8 28.e4 Qe6 29.Rd1 Rd6 30.a4 Rxd1 31.Qxd1 Qd6 32.Qxd6 cxd6 33.a5 Na4 34.Nd4 Nc5 35.Kf3 a6 36.Ke3 Kf8 37.Nc6 c3 38.Nb4 Ke8 39.Kd4 Kd7 40.f3 c2 41.Nxc2 Nb3+ 42.Kd5 Nxa5 43.Nb4 Nb3 44.Nxa6 Nd2 45.f4 Nf1 46.Nb8+ Kc7 47.Na6+ Kd7 48.Nb8+ Ke8 49.Kxd6 Nxh2 50.Nc6 h5 51.Nd4 Nf1 52.Ne2 g6 53.e5 Ne3 54.Nd4 Nf1 55.Ne2 Ne3 56.Nd4 Nf1 57.Ne2 1/2-1/2

Game 2, July 27
Carlsen, Magnus – Svidler, Peter
C90 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Pilnik variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.Re1 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7 12.dxc5 dxc5 13.Nbd2 Bb7 14.b3 Qc7 15.Nf1 Rfd8 16.Qe2 Nb6 17.Ne3 g6 18.h4 Nc6 19.h5 b4 20.c4 Nd4 21.Nxd4 exd4 22.Nd5 Nxd5 23.exd5 Bf6 24.Bd3 Qd7 25.Qf3 Bg7 26.Bg5 Re8 27.Qf4 Bf8 28.Bf6 Rxe1+ 29.Rxe1 Re8 30.Rxe8 Qxe8 31.Kf1 Bc8 32.Be5 Qd8 33.Bf6 Qd6 34.Qg5 h6 35.Qh4 Bg7 36.Be7 Qe5 37.hxg6 Bf5 38.gxf7+ Kxf7 39.Qh5+ Kxe7 40.Qxf5 Qxf5 41.Bxf5 Be5 42.g3 a5 43.Kg2 Kf6 44.Bd3 Bd6 45.Kh3 Kg5 46.f4+ Kf6 47.Kg4 Bc7 48.Kh4 Bd6 49.Kg4 Bc7 50.Kf3 Bd6 51.Ke4 Kg6 52.Be2 Kf6 53.Bh5 Bf8 54.Bg4 Bd6 55.Kd3 Bf8 56.Kc2 Kg6 57.Kb2 h5 58.Bd7 h4 59.gxh4 Kh5 60.Kc2 Kxh4 61.Kd3 Kg3 62.f5 Kf4 63.f6 Ke5 64.f7 Kf4 65.Be6 Bd6 66.Bd7 Bf8 67.Be6 Bd6 68.Ke2 Kg3 69.Kd3 Kf4 1/2-1/2

Svidler pulls off a 2nd great escape in a row against Carlsen

Jan: "Maybe with Karjakin no longer active Peter sees an opening as Minister of Defence!"

Game 3, July 27
Svidler, Peter – Carlsen, Magnus
A22 English, Bremen, Smyslov System

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.g3 Bb4 4.e4 O-O 5.Nge2 b5 6.cxb5 a6 7.b6 cxb6 8.Bg2 Nc6 9.O-O Bc5 10.d3 d6 11.h3 Bd7 12.Be3 Bxe3 13.fxe3 Ne7 14.d4 b5 15.dxe5 dxe5 16.Qd6 Ng6 17.Nd5 Be6 18.Qxd8 Rfxd8 19.Nec3 Ne8 20.a4 Nd6 21.h4 Bg4 22.Rfc1 h5 23.Bf1 Rac8 24.axb5 axb5 25.Bd3 Nc4 26.Nxb5 Nxb2 27.Bf1 Rxc1 28.Rxc1 Rc8 29.Rxc8+ Bxc8 30.Be2 Bg4 31.Bxg4 hxg4 32.Nd6 Nd3 33.h5 Nh8 34.h6 gxh6 35.Nf5 Kh7 36.Nf6+ Kg6 37.Nxg4 h5 38.Nf2 Nxf2 39.Kxf2 f6 40.Kf3 Nf7 41.Kg2 Ng5 42.Nd6 Kg7 43.g4 hxg4 44.Kg3 Nxe4+ 45.Nxe4 f5 46.Nf2 f4+ 47.exf4 exf4+ 48.Kxf4 g3 49.Kf3 gxf2 50.Kxf2 1/2-1/2

Game 4, July 27
Carlsen, Magnus – Svidler, Peter
A48 King’s Indian, London System

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bf4 Bg7 4.e3 O-O 5.Be2 c5 6.O-O Qb6 7.Nbd2 d5 8.Qc1 Nc6 9.c3 Nh5 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bh4 g5 12.Bg3 Nxg3 13.hxg3 e5 14.Nxe5 Nxe5 15.dxe5 Bxe5 16.e4 dxe4 17.Nc4 Qe6 18.Qe3 Bg7 19.Qxc5 b6 20.Qa3 f5 21.Rad1 Bd7 22.Rd6 Qe8 23.Bh5 Qe7 24.Ne3 Be6 25.Bd1 f4 26.Rxe6 Qxa3 27.bxa3 fxe3 28.fxe3 Rxf1+ 29.Kxf1 Kf8 30.Ke2 Rc8 31.Bb3 Rxc3 32.Rxe4 Rc5 33.Re6 Re5 34.Rd6 Ke7 35.Rg6 Kf8 36.g4 Rc5 37.a4 Re5 38.Kd3 Rc5 39.Bc4 Re5 40.Rc6 Rc5 41.Rd6 Ke7 42.Rg6 Kf8 43.e4 Rc7 44.a5 bxa5 45.Ra6 Ke7 46.e5 Kf8 47.Rxa5 Ke7 48.Bb3 Rb7 49.Ke4 Bf8 50.Kf5 Rc7 51.Ra6 Ke8 52.Kg6 Rb7 53.Re6+ Kd8 54.Rf6 Be7 55.Kxh6 Rb5 56.Rf5 Rb4 57.e6 Rxg4 58.Rd5+ Ke8 59.Kg6 Rf4 60.Ra5 Kf8 61.Rxa7 Rf6+ 62.Kh7 Bd6 63.Rf7+ Rxf7+ 64.exf7 1-0

Round Seven Results

Leko-Nepo 2-3
Gelfand-Anand 0.5-2.5
Ding-Giri 0.5-2.5
Ivanchuk-Kramnik 3-1
Svidler-Carlsen 1.5-2.5

Standings After Round Seven

1 Carlsen 20 points
2 Nepo 18 points
3 Giri 14 points
4 Kramnik 12 points
5 Svidler 11 points
6 Ivanchuk 9 points
7 Gelfand 7 points
8 Anand 6 points
9 Leko 5 points
10 Ding 3 points

- With two rounds to go it's Carlsen, Nepo, Giri and Kramnik who would qualify for the chess24 Legends of Chess knockout stage!

- Magnus on why he's doing so well: "I don't have obvious weaknesses in my play that they can try and exploit"

- After Ding Liren's loss today Hikaru Nakamura has qualified alongside Magnus Carlsen and Daniil Dubov for the $300,000 Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour Grand Final. Ding can still qualify if Magnus wins the #ChessLegends

[Hans Jung]

Chucky is playing young mans chess!

[Wayne Komer]

Legends of Chess 2020

July 28, 2020

Preliminaries

Round Eight

Judit Polgar takes over for Rustam Kazimdzhanov as Jan’s co-commentator.

There is the matchup between the two leaders today.

Game 1, July 28
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Carlsen, Magnus
A11 English, Caro-Kann Defensive System

1.c4 Nf6 2.g3 c6 3.Bg2 d5 4.Nf3 Bf5 5.Qb3 Qb6 6.d3 e6 7.Be3 Qxb3 8.axb3 a6 9.Bd4 Nbd7 10.Bc3 Bd6 11.Nh4 Bg4 12.h3 Bh5 13.g4 Bg6 14.Nd2 Ke7 15.O-O Bf4 16.e3 Bd6 17.g5 Ne8 18.Nxg6+ hxg6 19.b4 Rc8 20.f4 f6 21.Nf3 Bb8 22.b3 Nd6 23.Rae1 Nf5 24.Rf2 Ba7 25.c5 Bb8 26.e4 dxe4 27.dxe4 Nh4 28.gxf6+ gxf6 29.Nd2 g5 30.fxg5 Bg3 31.gxf6+ Kf7 32.Nc4 Rcg8 33.Nd6+ Kf8 34.Rfe2 Nf3+ 35.Kf1 Nh2+ 36.Kg1 Bxe1 37.Bxe1 Rxh3 38.Nxb7 Ne5 39.Nd8 Rh6 40.Nxe6+ Kf7 41.Ng7 Nhf3+ 42.Bxf3 Nxf3+ 43.Kf2 Ne5 44.Bc3 Kxf6 45.Nf5 Rh2+ 46.Ke3 Rxe2+ 47.Kxe2 Rg2+ 48.Ke3 Ke6 49.Bxe5 Kxe5 50.Nd4 Rg6 51.Nf3+ Ke6 52.Nd4+ Ke5 53.Nf3+ Ke6 54.Nd4+ Ke5 1/2-1/2



Position after White’s 39.Nd8. Find the win for Black here.

Neither player looked thrilled by the draw in Nepo-Carlsen, though it was Magnus who let big winning chances slip!

Game 2, July 28
Carlsen, Magnus – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
D85 Grunfeld, Modern Exchange variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 c5 8.Rb1 O-O 9.Be2 cxd4 10.cxd4 Qa5+ 11.Bd2 Qxa2 12.O-O Bg4 13.Be3 Nc6 14.d5 Na5 15.Bg5 Qa3 16.Re1 Bc3 17.Qd3 Rfc8 18.Red1 b6 19.h3 Bd7 20.Rdc1 f6 21.Bd2 Bb2 22.Rxc8+ Rxc8 23.Qa6 Qa2 24.Rxb2 Qxb2 25.Qxa7 Qa1+ 26.Kh2 Qa4 27.Bd1 Qxd1 28.Qxd7 Qc2 29.Qe6+ Kh8 30.d6 exd6 31.Qxf6+ Kg8 32.Bh6 Qc7 33.Qe6+ Kh8 34.Ng5 1-0

- "Total chess!" says Grischuk of a game Magnus is about to win against Nepo. 27.Bd1! was the clever point that our commentators had initially missed

Game 1, July 28
Kramnik, Vladimir – Svidler, Peter
B84 Sicilian, Scheveningen (Paulsen), Classical variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e6 7.f4 Be7 8.Be3 Qc7 9.Bf3 Nc6 10.g4 Nxd4 11.Qxd4 e5 12.Qd3 Nxg4 13.Nd5 Bh4+ 14.Ke2 Qc6 15.Rag1 Nxe3 16.Nxe3 g6 17.f5 Bd7 18.Rd1 O-O-O 19.c4 Qb6 20.Rd2 Bc6 21.Qc3 Rhg8 22.b4 gxf5 23.Nxf5 Qf2+ 24.Kd1 Ba4+ 25.Kc1 Bg5 26.Bh5 Bf4 27.Ng3 Kb8 28.Bd1 Bc6 29.Bc2 f5 30.Rd1 fxe4 31.Kb2 Bxd2 32.Rxd2 Qf3 33.b5 Qxc3+ 34.Kxc3 e3 35.Re2 axb5 36.cxb5 Bxb5 37.Rxe3 Rg7 38.Kb4 Bc6 39.Bb3 Rg4+ 40.Ka3 Rh4 41.Re2 Rf8 42.Bc2 e4 43.Kb2 d5 44.Kc3 Kc7 45.Kd4 e3+ 46.Kxe3 Re8+ 0-1

Game 2, July 28
Svidler, Peter – Kramnik, Vladimir
D77 Neo-Grunfeld

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.d4 Nf6 5.O-O O-O 6.c4 dxc4 7.Na3 c5 8.dxc5 c3 9.Nb5 Na6 10.Nxc3 Nxc5 11.Be3 Nfe4 12.Nxe4 Nxe4 13.Bd4 Bf5 14.Bxg7 Qxd1 15.Rfxd1 Kxg7 16.Nd4 Nd6 17.Nxf5+ gxf5 18.Rac1 Rfc8 19.e3 Kf6 20.Kf1 a5 21.Ke2 a4 22.a3 Rxc1 23.Rxc1 Ra5 24.Rc2 Rb5 25.Kd2 Ne4+ 26.Kc1 Nc5 27.Bf1 Ra5 28.Kd1 Ne4 29.Ke1 Nd6 30.Rc7 Rd5 31.Bc4 Re5 32.Bd3 h6 33.Ke2 Rd5 34.Bc4 Ra5 35.Bd3 Ra8 36.Rc5 Rd8 37.Rd5 Rc8 38.Rd4 b5 39.Rh4 Kg7 40.g4 fxg4 41.Rxg4+ Kf6 42.Rf4+ Kg7 43.Rg4+ Kf6 44.Rf4+ Kg7 45.Rg4+ 1/2-1/2

Kramnik-Svidler in the penultimate round is a big match for the race to qualify for the Final 4 - Kramnik will be hoping to seal a place today, since tomorrow he faces Magnus!

Game 1, July 28
Giri, Anish – Ivanchuk, Vasyl
E30 English, symmetrical, hedgehog System

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 b6 3.g3 c5 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.O-O e6 6.Nc3 Be7 7.Re1 d6 8.e4 a6 9.d4 cxd4 10.Nxd4 Qc7 11.Be3 O-O 12.Rc1 Re8 13.g4 Bf8 14.g5 Nfd7 15.h4 Nc6 16.b3 Rad8 17.h5 Qb8 18.g6 hxg6 19.hxg6 fxg6 20.Bg5 Nf6 21.Nxc6 Bxc6 22.Re3 Rd7 23.Rg3 Nh5 24.Rg4 Rf7 25.Be3 Qb7 26.Qd3 b5 27.cxb5 axb5 28.Rxg6 b4 29.Ne2 e5 30.Rg5 Nf4 31.Bxf4 exf4 32.Nd4 Bxe4 33.Bxe4 Qxe4 34.Qxe4 Rxe4 35.Nf3 Be7 36.Rb5 Bf6 37.Rc6 Ra7 38.Rc2 Kf7 39.Kg2 Ke6 40.Kh3 d5 41.Kg4 Ra6 42.Rd2 Rd6 43.Rb8 Ra6 44.Rb5 Rd6 45.Rb8 Ra6 46.Rb5 1/2-1/2

Game 2, July 28
Ivanchuk, Vasyl – Giri, Anish
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Nbd2 Nd4 6.Ba4 O-O 7.c3 Nxf3+ 8.Nxf3 d5 9.Qe2 dxe4 10.dxe4 Qe7 11.O-O Rd8 12.Bb3 Bg4 13.Be3 Nxe4 14.Bxc5 Nxc5 15.Qxe5 Re8 16.Rfe1 Qxe5 17.Nxe5 Be6 18.Bxe6 Rxe6 19.Nc4 Rd8 20.Red1 Rde8 21.Kf1 g6 22.Rd2 Kg7 23.Rad1 h5 24.Ne3 Ne4 25.Rd3 Rb6 26.Nc4 Rc6 27.Ne3 Ra6 28.a3 Rf6 29.f3 Nc5 30.Rd5 Na4 31.Nc4 Rc6 32.R1d4 Rce6 33.Rd2 a6 34.Kf2 R8e7 35.h4 b6 36.g3 Nc5 37.Rd8 Nb3 38.Rc2 b5 39.Nd2 Re2+ 40.Kf1 Re1+ 41.Kg2 R7e2+ 42.Kh3 Rh1# 0-1

Final Position



- That escalated fast! Anish Giri checkmates Vasyl Ivanchuk

Game 1, July 28
Anand, Vishy – Ding, Liren
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Adams Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.h3 e6 7.g4 h6 8.Bg2 Be7 9.Be3 Nc6 10.f4 Nd7 11.Nf3 b5 12.Qd2 Bb7 13.O-O-O Na5 14.b3 Rc8 15.Kb1 Qc7 16.Ne2 Bxe4 17.Rc1 d5 18.Ng3 Ba3 19.Bd4 O-O 20.g5 Nc5 21.Bxc5 Qxc5 22.gxh6 Nc4 0-1

Game 2, July 28
Ding, Liren – Anand, Vishy
A08 Reti, King’s Indian Attack

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.O-O g6 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Bg7 7.Nb3 Nc6 8.Nc3 e6 9.a4 O-O 10.a5 h6 11.Be3 Re8 12.Qc1 Kh7 13.Rd1 Nd7 14.Bf4 a6 15.h4 e5 16.Bd2 d4 17.Nd5 Nf6 18.Nb6 Rb8 19.Nc5 Nd7 20.Bxc6 bxc6 21.Nbxd7 Bxd7 22.Nxa6 Ra8 23.Nc5 Bh3 24.e4 Bf8 25.b4 f5 26.f3 Bxc5 27.bxc5 fxe4 28.fxe4 Rf8 29.Bxh6 Rf3 30.Qg5 Qd7 31.a6 Qg4 32.Qxg4 Bxg4 33.Bg5 Rxg3+ 34.Kh2 Rh3+ 35.Kg2 Bxd1 36.Kxh3 Bxc2 37.Bf6 Ra7 38.Bxe5 Bd3 39.Bxd4 Rxa6 40.Rxa6 Bxa6 41.Kg4 Bd3 42.Kf4 Kg8 43.Ke5 Kf7 44.Bf2 Bc2 45.Be3 Bd3 46.Bg5 Bc2 47.Bf4 Bb1 1/2-1/2

Game 1, July 28
Leko, Peter – Gelfand, Boris
A35 English, symmetrical, Four Knights System

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.g3 d5 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 dxc4 7.Nxc6 Qxd1+ 8.Nxd1 bxc6 9.Bg2 Nd5 10.Ne3 e6 11.Nxc4 Ba6 12.Na5 Rc8 13.Bd2 Be7 14.Rc1 c5 15.b3 O-O 16.O-O Rfd8 17.Bf3 Nb4 18.Bxb4 cxb4 19.Nc6 Bg5 20.Rc5 h6 21.h4 Bf6 22.Rfc1 Rd2 23.R5c2 Rxc2 24.Rxc2 Kf8 25.Nxb4 Rxc2 26.Nxc2 Bc3 27.Kf1 f5 28.Ne3 Ke7 29.Bd5 g5 30.hxg5 hxg5 31.Bc4 Bb7 32.g4 f4 33.Nd1 Bf6 34.f3 Kd6 35.Nf2 a5 36.Ke1 Bc3+ 37.Kd1 Ke7 38.Kc2 Bd4 39.Nd1 Bc5 40.Nc3 Kf6 41.Kd3 Ke5 42.Bb5 Bd5 43.Nb1 Bb4 44.Nc3 Bc5 45.Be8 Bb4 46.Na4 Bb7 47.Bb5 Kd6 48.Nc3 Ke5 49.Bc4 Bc6 50.Bb5 Bxc3 51.Bxc6 Bb4 52.Kc4 Kd6 53.Be4 Kc7 54.Kb5 Be1 55.a3 Bd2 56.b4 axb4 57.axb4 Kd6 58.Kc4 Be1 59.Bd3 Bd2 60.Kb5 Be1 61.Kc4 Bd2 62.Be4 Be1 63.b5 Bf2 64.Bc6 Bb6 65.Kd3 Ke5 66.Kc4 Kd6 67.Kd3 Ke5 68.Kc4 Kd6 1/2-1/2

Game 2, July 28
Gelfand, Boris – Leko, Peter
D38 QGD, Ragozin variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Qa4+ Nc6 6.e3 O-O 7.Bd2 dxc4 8.Bxc4 Bd6 9.Qc2 e5 10.dxe5 Nxe5 11.Nxe5 Bxe5 12.O-O b6 13.f4 Bxc3 14.Bxc3 Bb7 15.Bd3 Re8 16.Rae1 Be4 17.Bxe4 Nxe4 18.Be5 Nd6 19.e4 Qe7 20.Rd1 f6 21.Bxd6 cxd6 22.Rd4 Rac8 23.Qd3 Rc6 24.h3 h6 25.Kh2 Kh8 26.Rd1 Qc7 27.Rd2 Re6 28.a3 Qe7 29.Rc2 Rc5 30.b4 Rxc2 31.Qxc2 b5 32.Qc6 Qe8 33.Qxe8+ Rxe8 34.Kg3 Kh7 35.Rxd6 Rxe4 36.Kf3 Re7 37.Rd5 Rb7 38.Ke4 Rb6 39.Kd4 Ra6 40.Rxb5 Rxa3 41.Ra5 Rg3 42.Rxa7 Rxg2 43.b5 Rb2 44.Kc5 Rc2+ 45.Kd5 Rd2+ 46.Kc6 Rc2+ 47.Kb7 Rc4 48.f5 Rc5 49.b6 Rxf5 50.Kc6 Rf3 51.Ra5 Rc3+ 52.Rc5 Re3 53.b7 Re8 54.Kd7 Rb8 55.Kc7 Rf8 56.b8=Q Rxb8 57.Kxb8 g5 58.Kc7 Kg6 59.Kd6 f5 60.Ke5 f4 61.Ke4 Kh5 62.Rc6 1-0

- Leko blew it with 47…Rc4 and 48…Rc5

(to be continued)

[Wayne Komer]

Legends of Chess 2020

July 28, 2020

Round Eight (continued)

Game 3, July 28
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Carlsen, Magnus
E00 Catalan Opening

1.c4 Nf6 2.g3 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.d4 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 a5 6.Bg2 dxc4 7.O-O O-O 8.Qc2 Bxd2 9.Nbxd2 b5 10.a4 c6 11.e4 Na6 12.b3 Nb4 13.Qc3 cxb3 14.Qxb3 Ba6 15.Rfc1 bxa4 16.Rxa4 Bb5 17.Ra3 e5 18.dxe5 Nd3 19.Rc3 Nxe5 20.Nxe5 Qxd2 21.Nf3 Qd7 22.Ne5 Qd4 23.Nxc6 Bxc6 24.Rxc6 Rab8 25.Qc4 Rb1+ 26.Bf1 Qd1 27.Kg2 Nxe4 28.Qd3 Nd2 29.Rd6 Qxf1+ 30.Qxf1 Nxf1 31.Rxa5 Re1 32.h4 h6 33.Rd7 Rb8 34.Raa7 Nxg3 35.Kxg3 Rb3+ 36.f3 Rg1+ 37.Kf2 Rg6 38.Rxf7 Rb5 39.Rf4 Kh7 40.Rg4 Rxg4 41.fxg4 Rb2+ 42.Kg3 Rb3+ 43.Kf4 Rb4+ 44.Kg3 Rb3+ 45.Kf4 Rb4+ 46.Kg3 Rb3+ 1/2-1/2

Game 4, July 28
Carlsen, Magnus – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
B06 Robatsch Defence

1.d4 d6 2.e4 g6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Bd3 Bg7 5.O-O O-O 6.Re1 c5 7.c3 cxd4 8.cxd4 Bg4 9.Nbd2 Nc6 10.h3 Bh5 11.g4 Nxg4 12.hxg4 Bxg4 13.Be2 Rc8 14.a3 Qd7 15.d5 Bxf3 16.Nxf3 Qg4+ 17.Kh2 Ne5 18.Ng5 Qh4+ 19.Kg2 Bf6 20.Rh1 Rxc1 21.Rxh4 Rxd1 22.Rxd1 Bxg5 23.Rh3 Rc8 24.Rc3 Rxc3 25.bxc3 Nd7 26.Rb1 Nc5 27.e5 dxe5 28.a4 Nxa4 29.Rxb7 Nxc3 30.d6 exd6 31.Ba6 e4 32.Rxa7 e3 33.fxe3 Bxe3 34.Rc7 Bd4 35.Bc4 d5 36.Bb3 Kg7 37.Rd7 Kf6 38.Kf3 Be5 39.Bxd5 Nxd5 40.Rxd5 Kf5 41.Rd7 Ke6 42.Ra7 h5 43.Ra6+ Kf5 44.Ra7 f6 45.Rh7 Bc3 46.Rh8 Be1 47.Re8 Bc3 48.Rh8 Kg5 49.Rc8 Be5 50.Rh8 Kh4 51.Kg2 g5 52.Ra8 Kg4 53.Ra4+ Bf4 54.Ra3 h4 55.Rb3 f5 56.Rb4 h3+ 57.Kf2 Kh5 58.Rb5 Kg6 59.Rb6+ Kf7 60.Kf3 Be5 0-1

- You can't get much more provocative than Nepo's 10...Bh5!?, inviting 11.g4

- Fortune favours the brave as Nepo levels the score and takes his match vs. Magnus to Armageddon! The consolation for Magnus is that whatever the result he'll still be the leader at the end of today

Game 3, July 28
Kramnik, Vladimir – Svidler, Peter
B86 Sicilian, Sozin Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 Nbd7 8.Be3 Nc5 9.f3 h5 10.Qd2 b5 11.O-O-O Bd7 12.Kb1 Qc7 13.a3 Qb7 14.Rhe1 Be7 15.Bg5 b4 16.axb4 Qxb4 17.e5 dxe5 18.Rxe5 O-O 19.Nd5 Nxb3 20.Qxb4 Bxb4 21.Nxf6+ gxf6 22.Bxf6 Kh7 23.Nxb3 Bc6 24.Rd4 Rfb8 25.Rf4 Kh6 26.Rg5 Be1 27.h4 Rg8 28.Nd4 Bd5 29.Rxg8 Rxg8 30.Bg5+ Kg6 31.Ne2 Bd2 32.Rf6+ Kg7 33.Rh6 Bxg5 34.hxg5 e5 35.Ng3 Kf8 36.Rxh5 Ke7 37.b3 a5 38.Nf5+ Kd7 39.Ne3 Be6 40.g3 Rb8 41.Rh4 Bxb3 42.Kc1 Be6 43.Ra4 Rb5 44.Kd2 Rc5 45.c4 Ke7 46.Kc3 Bd7 47.Ra1 a4 48.Nd5+ Kd6 49.Nb6 Bc6 50.Nxa4 Ra5 51.Kb4 Ra7 52.Rd1+ Ke7 53.Nb6 Rb7 54.Kc5 Bxf3 55.Rf1 Rc7+ 56.Kb4 Bc6 57.Rf6 Bg2 58.Kc3 Rc6 59.Rxc6 Bxc6 60.c5 Ke6 61.Kd3 Kf5 62.Nc4 e4+ 63.Kd4 Kxg5 64.Ne5 Ba4 65.Nxf7+ Kg4 66.Kxe4 Kxg3 67.Ne5 Be8 68.Kd5 Kf4 69.Nc4 Bf7+ 70.Kd4 Be8 71.Nb6 Bc6 72.Nd5+ Kf3 73.Ke5 Ke2 74.Kd6 Be8 75.Nc7 Ba4 76.Kd5 Kd3 77.Ne6 Kc3 78.Nd4 Kb4 79.Nc6+ Kc3 80.Ne5 Kb4 81.Kd6 Bb5 82.Nf3 Ba4 83.Nd2 Kc3 84.Ne4+ Kb4 85.Nf6 Kc4 86.Nd5 Be8 87.Nb6+ Kb5 88.Nc8 Ka6 89.Kd5 Bd7 90.Nd6 Ka7 91.Ne4 Kb7 92.Kd6 Bc6 93.Nc3 Bh1 94.Na2 Bg2 95.Nb4 Bh1 96.Kd7 Bg2 97.Nc2 Bh1 98.Nd4 Bg2 99.Kd6 Bh1 100.Nb3 Bg2 101.Na5+ Ka6 102.Nc6 Kb7 103.Nd8+ Kc8 104.Ne6 Kb7 105.Ng5 Bh1 106.Nf7 Bg2 107.Nd8+ Kc8 108.Nc6 Kb7 109.Na5+ Ka6 110.Nc4 Kb7 111.Ne3 Bh1 112.Nf5 Bg2 113.c6+ Bxc6 114.Nd4 Ka8 115.Nxc6 1/2-1/2

Position after White’s 100.Nb3



- "What a save by Peter!" (Polgar)

Svidler retains the lead against Kramnik going into the final rapid game (Vlad was struggling so much to believe it he played on to 115 moves!)

Game 4, July 28
Svidler, Peter – Kramnik, Vladimir
B15 Caro-Kann, Tartakower variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6 6.c3 Bd6 7.Bd3 O-O 8.Qc2 Re8+ 9.Be3 h6 10.Nf3 Bf4 11.Qe2 c5 12.dxc5 Qc7 13.O-O-O Bxe3+ 14.fxe3 Qxc5 15.Nd4 Nc6 16.Nxc6 bxc6 17.Bc4 Be6 18.Bxe6 Rxe6 19.Rd3 Rae8 20.Re1 Qc4 21.b3 Qc5 22.Kb2 Qe5 23.g3 a5 24.Rd4 c5 25.Ra4 Rd6 26.Rc1 Red8 27.Rc2 Rd3 28.Rxa5 Qe7 29.e4 Qc7 30.Ra8 c4 31.Rxd8+ Qxd8 32.e5 fxe5 33.Qxe5 Rd1 34.Re2 Qd3 35.Qe8+ Kh7 36.Qe4+ f5 37.Qxd3 cxd3 38.Rf2 Re1 39.Rd2 g5 40.c4 Kg6 41.c5 f4 42.gxf4 g4 43.Rxd3 Re2+ 44.Kc3 Rxh2 45.c6 Rh1 46.Kc2 Rh2+ 47.Kc3 Rh1 48.Kc2 Rh2+ 49.Kc3 1/2-1/2

Game 3, July 28
Giri, Anish – Ivanchuk, Vasyl
A15 English Opening

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 b6 3.d4 Bb7 4.g3 c5 5.d5 b5 6.b3 g6 7.Bb2 Bg7 8.Bg2 O-O 9.O-O d6 10.Nbd2 Re8 11.Qc2 a6 12.Rfe1 Nbd7 13.e4 e6 14.dxe6 Rxe6 15.Ng5 Re7 16.Rad1 Qc7 17.Nh3 Rae8 18.Nf4 Bh6 19.Qc3 b4 20.Qd3 Bg7 21.f3 Ne5 22.Qc2 g5 23.Nd3 Nc6 24.Nf1 Nd4 25.Qf2 g4 26.Bxd4 cxd4 27.Nd2 a5 28.Re2 gxf3 29.Bxf3 Bc8 30.Nf4 Qc5 31.Rf1 Bh6 32.Kh1 Kh8 33.Nd3 Qa7 34.Nf4 Ng4 35.Bxg4 Bxg4 36.Ree1 f5 37.exf5 Re3 38.f6 Qf7 39.Nd5 Re2 40.Rxe2 Rxe2 41.Qxd4 Bh3 42.Qh4 Bg2+ 43.Kg1 Bxd2 44.Rf2 Qa7 45.g4 Bxd5 0-1

Game 4, July 28
Ivanchuk, Vasyl – Giri, Anish
E51 Nimzo-Indian

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.e3 O-O 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 c5 8.Bb2 b6 9.cxd5 exd5 10.c4 cxd4 11.Nxd4 Re8 12.Rc1 Bg4 13.f3 Bd7 14.Kf2 Qe7 15.Qd2 Na6 16.Bd3 Nc5 17.Bb1 dxc4 18.Rxc4 Rad8 19.Qe2 Nd5 20.e4 Nf4 21.Qe3 Bb5 22.Qxf4 Bxc4 23.Nf5 Qd7 24.Bxg7 Qd2+ 25.Qxd2 Rxd2+ 26.Kg3 Re6 27.Bc3 Rg6+ 28.Kh4 Rdxg2 29.Ne7+ Kf8 30.Nxg6+ hxg6 31.Kh3 Rg5 32.Kh4 Rg2 33.Kh3 Rg5 34.Kh4 Rg2 1/2-1/2

Game 3, July 28
Anand, Vishy – Ding, Liren
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Byrne Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.h3 Be7 9.Qf3 O-O 10.O-O-O b5 11.g4 b4 12.Nd5 a5 13.Nd2 Nxd5 14.exd5 Bc8 15.Bd3 Ba6 16.Bf5 a4 17.h4 b3 18.axb3 axb3 19.Nxb3 Nd7 20.g5 Nb6 21.Na5 Be2 22.Qxe2 Rxa5 23.b4 Ra3 24.Rh3 Na4 25.Kd2 Nc3 26.Qc4 Nxd1 27.Kxd1 g6 28.Bg4 h5 29.Bc1 Ra1 30.Be2 Bxg5 31.hxg5 Qxg5 32.Re3 Qg1+ 33.Bf1 Qxf2 34.Qe2 Qf4 35.b5 Rfa8 36.Qf3 Qd4+ 37.Rd3 Qb2 38.Qe3 Rxc1+ 39.Qxc1 Ra1 40.Qxa1 Qxa1+ 0-1

- Ding Liren wins Game 3 against Anand to clinch match victory against his fellow struggler with a game to spare!

Game 3, July 28
Leko, Peter – Gelfand, Boris
B30 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.O-O Nge7 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Ng6 7.Be2 Be7 8.Nb3 O-O 9.c4 b6 10.Nc3 Bb7 11.Be3 Qc7 12.Rc1 Nf4 13.Bf3 Rad8 14.Qd2 Ng6 15.Be2 Qb8 16.Rfd1 d6 17.Nd4 Rfe8 18.Bf1 h6 19.Ndb5 Nge5 20.f3 Nd7 21.Qf2 Nf6 22.Kh1 Rd7 23.Rd2 Rc8 24.b3 Ne5 25.Nd4 Bf8 26.h3 Rdd8 27.Rdd1 Ng6 28.Bd3 Ne5 29.Bb1 Ned7 30.Nde2 Qa8 31.Nf4 Qb8 32.Bd3 Ne5 33.Bf1 Be7 34.Qg3 Kh8 35.Qf2 Kg8 36.Rc2 Kh8 37.a4 Nc6 38.Rcd2 Nd7 39.Nh5 Nf6 40.Nxf6 Bxf6 41.Nb5 Be7 42.Qg3 Na5 43.Nxd6 Bxd6 44.Rxd6 Rxd6 45.Rxd6 Nxb3 46.Bf4 Re8 47.Be5 f6 48.Rd7 1-0

Game 4, July 28
Gelfand, Boris – Leko, Peter
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.Rfd1 Rc8 14.a5 Bd5 15.Qd3 c5 16.Nxd5 Nxd5 17.Qb3 Qc7 18.dxc5 Bxc5 19.Rdc1 Qe7 20.Ne1 Nb4 21.Rc4 Bd6 22.Rac1 Rb8 23.Rd1 Bc5 24.Qc3 Na2 25.Qb3 Nb4 26.Qc3 Na2 27.Qe5 b6 28.axb6 Bxb6 29.Nd3 a5 30.Rg4 g5 31.Rc4 Rbc8 32.Rxc8 Rxc8 33.Qb5 Rb8 34.e3 Nb4 35.Nxb4 Qxb4 36.Qe5 Rd8 37.Rxd8+ Bxd8 38.Bc6 Qe7 39.b3 Qf6 40.Qxf6 Bxf6 41.Kg2 Kg7 42.Kf3 Bc3 43.Ke2 Bb4 44.f4 Bc3 45.Kf3 Bb4 46.h3 Bc3 47.g4 Bb4 48.Ke2 Bc3 49.Kf3 Bb4 50.Ke2 Bc3 51.Kf3 1/2-1/2

Armageddon between the two leaders. Magnus gets a draw by perpetual. Judit calls it a bullet master class!

Armageddon, July 28
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Carlsen, Magnus
A20 English Opening

1.c4 e5 2.g3 d5 3.cxd5 Qxd5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qd8 6.Bg2 Nf6 7.b4 a6 8.a3 Bd6 9.Bb2 O-O 10.d3 Re8 11.O-O h6 12.Rc1 Bf5 13.Nd2 Qd7 14.Re1 Rab8 15.Nde4 Nxe4 16.Nxe4 Bh3 17.Bh1 Nd4 18.Nc5 Bxc5 19.Rxc5 Bg4 20.Rd5 Qe6 21.Bxd4 exd4 22.Rxd4 Bxe2 23.Qd2 Qb6 24.Rh4 g5 25.Re4 Rxe4 26.dxe4 Bg4 27.e5 Be6 28.h4 gxh4 29.Qxh6 hxg3 30.Re3 gxf2+ 31.Kxf2 Bf5 32.e6 fxe6 33.Qg5+ Kf7 34.Bf3 Qd4 35.Bh5+ Kf8 36.Kf1 Rd8 37.Rg3 Qa1+ 38.Kf2 Qd4+ 39.Kf1 Qa1+ 40.Kg2 Qb2+ 41.Kg1 Qa1+ 42.Kh2 Qb2+ 43.Kh1 Qb1+ 44.Rg1 Qe4+ 45.Rg2 Qe1+ 46.Kh2 Qe5+ 47.Rg3 Qb2+ 48.Kh1 Qb1+ 49.Rg1 Qe4+ 50.Rg2 Qe1+ 51.Kh2 Qe5+ 52.Qg3 Qxg3+ 53.Kxg3 Rd3+ 54.Kf4 Ke7 55.Ke5 Rd5+ 56.Kf4 Kd6 57.Rg8 Rd4+ 58.Ke3 Ke5 59.Rb8 Rd3+ 60.Kf2 Rxa3 61.Rxb7 c6 62.Rb6 Be4 63.Be2 Bd5 64.Rb8 Kd4 65.Rh8 e5 66.Rh4+ e4 67.Rg4 Ra2 68.Ke1 Ke3 69.Rg3+ Kd4 70.Rg4 Ke3 71.Rg3+ Kd4 72.Rh3 Ra1+ 73.Kf2 Ra2 74.Kf1 Ra1+ 75.Kf2 Ra2 76.Ke1 Ra1+ 77.Bd1 e3 78.Rh4+ Kd3 79.Rh6 Bf3 80.Rd6+ Kc3 1/2-1/2

Chucky does it in Armageddon!

Armageddon, July 28
Ivanchuk, Vasyl – Giri, Anish
D18 QGD Slav, Dutch variation

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 8.O-O O-O 9.Nh4 Bg6 10.Nxg6 hxg6 11.Qc2 Nbd7 12.Rd1 Qe7 13.a5 Rac8 14.Bd2 Rfd8 15.Be1 Bd6 16.g3 b5 17.axb6 axb6 18.Ba6 Rc7 19.Bf1 b5 20.Bg2 b4 21.Na4 c5 22.dxc5 Nxc5 23.Bxb4 Nxa4 24.Qxa4 Bxb4 25.Rxd8+ Qxd8 26.Qxb4 Rc8 27.h4 Nd5 28.Qd4 Rb8 29.Bxd5 exd5 30.b4 Qe7 31.Qc5 Qb7 32.Rb1 Rc8 33.Qd6 Qb5 34.Qe5 Rc4 35.Qb2 f6 36.Qa3 Kh7 37.Qa5 Qxa5 38.bxa5 Ra4 39.Rb5 d4 40.exd4 Rxd4 41.a6 Ra4 42.Rb6 Kh6 43.Kf1 Ra2 44.g4 Ra4 45.f3 Ra2 46.Ke1 g5 47.h5 Kh7 48.Kd1 Kh6 49.Kc1 Kh7 50.Kb1 Ra3 51.Kb2 Ra5 52.Kb3 Ra1 53.Kb4 Rb1+ 54.Kc5 Rc1+ 55.Kb5 1-0

Vasyl Ivanchuk shows that old guys can win Armageddon! "Excellent game actually" (Magnus)

(to be continued)

[Wayne Komer]

Legends of Chess 2020

July 28, 2020

Round Eight (concluded)

Peter Svidler and Magnus Carlsen, finished with their games, comment on the Armageddons

Armageddon, July 28
Leko, Peter – Gelfand, Boris
B30 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.O-O Nge7 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Ng6 7.Be2 Be7 8.Nb3 O-O 9.c4 b6 10.Nc3 Bb7 11.Be3 Qc7 12.f4 Rad8 13.Rc1 Qb8 14.Qd2 d6 15.g3 Rfe8 16.Bf3 Bf6 17.Rfd1 Nf8 18.Bf2 Be7 19.Qe2 Nd7 20.Nd2 Bf6 21.a3 Nd4 22.Qe3 Nxf3+ 23.Qxf3 Qa8 24.Qe2 Bxc3 25.Rxc3 Nf6 26.Re1 d5 27.e5 Ne4 28.Nxe4 dxe4 29.Be3 Rd7 30.Kf2 Red8 31.Rec1 Rd3 32.b4 Rxc3 33.Rxc3 Rd3 34.Qc2 h6 35.b5 Qd8 36.Ke2 Rd7 37.a4 f6 38.c5 bxc5 39.Rxc5 Qe8 40.Ke1 Rd3 41.Qe2 Qe7 42.Kf2 fxe5 43.Rxe5 Bd5 44.a5 Qb4 45.g4 Rb3 46.Kg3 Rb2 47.Qd1 Rb3 48.Qc1 Rc3 49.Qd2 Qb3 50.Kf2 Rc2 51.b6 Rxd2+ 52.Bxd2 Qf3+ 53.Ke1 Bc4 0-1

Results of Round Eight

Nepo-Carlsen 2.5-2.5
Kramnik-Svidler 1.5-2.5
Giri-Ivanchuk 2-3
Anand-Ding 0.5-2.5
Leko-Gelfand 2-3

Standings after Round Eight

1 Carlsen 22 points
2 Nepo 19 points
3 Giri 15 points
4 Svidler 14 points
5 Kramnik 12 points
6 Ivanchuk 11 points
7 Gelfand 9 points
8-10 Leko, Anand, Ding 6 points

Last Round Pairings

Gelfand-Nepo
Ding-Leko
Ivanchuk-Anand
Svidler-Giri
Carlsen-Kramnik

[Hans Jung]

Nepo - Magnus 39.Nd8 Nhf3+ - such knight play - how sweet it is!

[Wayne Komer]

Legends of Chess 2020

July 29, 2020

Preliminaries

Round Nine

Game 1, July 29
Gelfand, Boris – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
D86 Grunfeld, Exchange, 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 Bg4 11.f3 Bd7 12.Rb1 Qc7 13.Qd2 Rfd8 14.Bd3 Be8 15.d5 Ne5 16.c4 a6 17.Rfc1 Rac8 18.f4 Nxd3 19.Qxd3 b5 20.cxb5 Bxb5 21.Qd2 c4 22.Nc3 Rb8 23.e5 f6 24.d6 exd6 25.exf6 Bxf6 26.Nd5 Qf7 27.Nxf6+ Qxf6 28.Bd4 Qf5 29.Ba1 Qd3 30.Qf2 Bc6 31.Qa7 Rb7 32.Rxb7 Bxb7 33.Qd4 Qxd4+ 34.Bxd4 Rc8 35.Kf2 Be4 36.g4 Kf7 37.Ke3 Bd3 38.Kd2 Ke6 39.Re1+ Kd5 40.Bf6 Rf8 41.g5 Rb8 42.Kc3 a5 43.h4 Rb7 44.Re7 Rb1 45.Ra7 Rc1+ 46.Kb2 Rc2+ 47.Ka3 Ke4 48.Rxa5 d5 49.Ra7 Kxf4 50.Rxh7 Kg4 51.Ra7 Be4 52.Kb4 Rc1 53.Rc7 Kxh4 54.a4 Rb1+ 55.Kc5 Rb3 56.Kd6 Ra3 57.Ke5 Kg4 58.Be7 Rxa4 59.Rc8 Ra7 60.Bf6 Ra3 61.Kd6 Kf3 62.Rh8 Ke2 63.Rh2+ Kd1 64.Kc5 Rb3 65.Rf2 c3 66.Rf1+ Ke2 67.Rc1 c2 0-1

Game 2, July 29
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Gelfand, Boris
B20 Sicilian Defence

1.e4 c5 2.a3 g6 3.Bc4 Bg7 4.h4 e6 5.Nc3 Ne7 6.h5 d5 7.Ba2 d4 8.Nce2 d3 9.cxd3 Qxd3 10.Nf3 Nbc6 11.Bb1 Qd6 12.d3 b6 13.Bf4 e5 14.Be3 Bg4 15.h6 Bf6 16.Ba2 Rd8 17.Nc3 O-O 18.Bc4 Nd4 19.Bxd4 cxd4 20.Nd5 Nxd5 21.Bxd5 Bg5 22.Qa4 Bxf3 23.gxf3 Qf6 24.Rh3 Rxd5 25.exd5 Qf5 26.Rg3 Bf4 27.Rg4 Qxd3 28.Rxf4 exf4 29.Rd1 Qxf3 30.Qxd4 Qh1+ 31.Kd2 Qxh6 32.d6 Rd8 33.Qf6 Qf8 34.Kc2 Qe8 35.Kb1 Rd7 36.Ka1 Qe6 37.Qxf4 Kg7 38.Qd2 h5 39.Qc3+ Kh7 40.Qd4 Qg4 41.f4 Qe6 42.a4 Kg8 43.Rd3 Qe1+ 44.Ka2 Qe6+ 45.Ka1 Kh7 46.b3 f6 47.Ka2 Kg7 48.Rd2 Kf7 49.Qc3 h4 50.Qc6 Kg7 51.f5 Qxf5 52.Re2 Kh6 53.Re7 Rd8 54.Qc1+ g5 55.Qd2 h3 56.d7 Kg6 57.Kb2 g4 58.Ka2 a6 59.Kb2 b5 60.b4 bxa4 61.Ka3 g3 62.Re3 g2 63.Rg3+ Kf7 64.Qa2+ Qe6 65.Qc2 f5 66.Qb2 Qf6 67.Qa2+ Ke7 68.Re3+ Kf8 69.Rg3 Rxd7 70.Qg8+ Ke7 71.Re3+ Kd6 72.Qb8+ Kd5 73.Qg8+ Kd4 74.Re1 Rg7 75.Qb8 g1=Q 76.Rxg1 Rxg1 77.Qa7+ Ke4 78.Qxg1 Qc3+ 79.Kxa4 Qe3 80.Qh1+ Kf4 81.Qf1+ Kg4 82.Qxa6 h2 83.Qg6+ Qg5 84.Qc6 Qf4 85.Qg2+ Kh4 86.Ka5 Qe5+ 87.Kb6 Qd4+ 88.Kb5 Qg1 0-1

- 52-year-old Boris Gelfand exacts full punishment for world no. 4 Ian Nepomniachtchi's opening sins (2.a3!? 4.h4!?) to level their match! (though to be fair, Nepo got a good position out of the opening)

Game 3, July 29
Gelfand, Boris – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
D86 Grunfeld, Exchange, 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 Bg4 11.f3 Bd7 12.Rb1 Qc7 13.Qd2 Rfd8 14.Rfc1 Be8 15.Bf4 Qc8 16.d5 Ne5 17.Bb3 c4 18.Bc2 e6 19.Bxe5 Bxe5 20.f4 Bg7 21.Qe3 e5 22.f5 b5 23.Rf1 a5 24.h4 Ra6 25.h5 Qc7 26.Kh2 Rb8 27.Ng1 b4 28.fxg6 hxg6 29.Nf3 Qe7 30.g3 Rab6 31.hxg6 fxg6 32.Nh4 b3 33.axb3 cxb3 34.c4 a4 35.c5 Rf6 36.Bd3 Rb4 37.c6 a3 38.Rxf6 Bxf6 39.Bc4 a2 40.Rf1 Rxc4 41.Qxb3 Qb4 42.Qxa2 Bxh4 43.gxh4 Rxe4 44.d6+ Kg7 45.d7 Rxh4+ 46.Kg1 Qg4+ 47.Qg2 Bxd7 48.cxd7 Qxd7 49.Qe2 Qd4+ 50.Kg2 Rg4+ 51.Kh1 Rg3 52.Rf7+ Kxf7 53.Qf2+ Qf4 54.Qxg3 Kf6 55.Qa3 Kf5 56.Kg2 e4 57.Qa8 Kg4 58.Qc8+ Qf5 59.Qc2 Qf3+ 60.Kh2 g5 61.Kg1 Qd3 62.Qc8+ Kf4 63.Qb8+ Kf3 64.Qf8+ Ke2 65.Qf2+ Kd1 66.Qa7 e3 67.Qa1+ Ke2 68.Qb2+ Ke1 69.Qc1+ Ke2 70.Qb2+ Qd2 71.Qb5+ Qd3 72.Qb2+ 1/2-1/2

- Nepo can't stop laughing as he blunders a draw by 3-fold repetition in a won position!

Game 1, July 29
Ding, Liren – Leko, Peter
C50 Giuoco Piano

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 Bg4 11.f3 Bd7 12.Rb1 Qc7 13.Qd2 Rfd8 14.Rfc1 Be8 15.Bf4 Qc8 16.d5 Ne5 17.Bb3 c4 18.Bc2 e6 19.Bxe5 Bxe5 20.f4 Bg7 21.Qe3 e5 22.f5 b5 23.Rf1 a5 24.h4 Ra6 25.h5 Qc7 26.Kh2 Rb8 27.Ng1 b4 28.fxg6 hxg6 29.Nf3 Qe7 30.g3 Rab6 31.hxg6 fxg6 32.Nh4 b3 33.axb3 cxb3 34.c4 a4 35.c5 Rf6 36.Bd3 Rb4 37.c6 a3 38.Rxf6 Bxf6 39.Bc4 a2 40.Rf1 Rxc4 41.Qxb3 Qb4 42.Qxa2 Bxh4 43.gxh4 Rxe4 44.d6+ Kg7 45.d7 Rxh4+ 46.Kg1 Qg4+ 47.Qg2 Bxd7 48.cxd7 Qxd7 49.Qe2 Qd4+ 50.Kg2 Rg4+ 51.Kh1 Rg3 52.Rf7+ Kxf7 53.Qf2+ Qf4 54.Qxg3 Kf6 55.Qa3 Kf5 56.Kg2 e4 57.Qa8 Kg4 58.Qc8+ Qf5 59.Qc2 Qf3+ 60.Kh2 g5 61.Kg1 Qd3 62.Qc8+ Kf4 63.Qb8+ Kf3 64.Qf8+ Ke2 65.Qf2+ Kd1 66.Qa7 e3 67.Qa1+ Ke2 68.Qb2+ Ke1 69.Qc1+ Ke2 70.Qb2+ Qd2 71.Qb5+ Qd3 72.Qb2+ 1/2-1/2

Game 2, July 29
Leko, Peter – Ding, Liren
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.O-O O-O 6.Nbd2 d6 7.c3 a5 8.h3 h6 9.Re1 Be6 10.Bb5 Qb8 11.Nf1 Qa7 12.Be3 Bxe3 13.Nxe3 Ne7 14.a4 Ng6 15.Bc4 Bxc4 16.Nxc4 Rfe8 17.Qc2 Qa6 18.g3 Rad8 19.Ne3 c6 20.Kg2 d5 21.Nf5 b6 22.Re2 Qc8 23.Rae1 Qe6 24.N3h4 Nxh4+ 25.Nxh4 dxe4 26.dxe4 g6 27.Nf3 Kg7 28.Rd1 Rxd1 29.Qxd1 b5 30.Qc2 Nd7 31.b4 Ra8 32.axb5 cxb5 33.bxa5 Rxa5 34.Qb2 Nf6 35.Qb4 Qc4 36.Rb2 Qxb4 37.Rxb4 Nd7 38.c4 bxc4 39.Rxc4 Nf6 40.Rb4 Rc5 41.Ra4 Rb5 1/2-1/2

Game 3, July 29
Ding, Liren – Leko, Peter
D38 QGD, Ragozin, Marshall variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.e3 O-O 8.Rc1 dxc4 9.Bxc4 c5 10.O-O cxd4 11.Nxd4 Bd7 12.Qb3 Nc6 13.Nxc6 Bxc3 14.Rxc3 Bxc6 15.Bb5 Bd5 16.Bc4 Bc6 17.Bb5 Bd5 18.Bc4 Bc6 1/2-1/2

Game 1, July 29
Ivanchuk, Vasyl – Anand, Vishy
D38 QGD, Ragozin variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 dxc4 7.e3 Qd5 8.Nd2 O-O 9.Nxc4 b6 10.f3 c5 11.e4 Qc6 12.Be3 Ba6 13.Rc1 Rd8 14.Be2 Qc7 15.O-O Nc6 16.Qa4 Na5 17.Rfe1 Bxc4 18.Bxc4 Nxc4 19.Qxc4 Rac8 20.Red1 cxd4 21.Qxc7 Rxc7 22.cxd4 Rdc8 23.Kf1 Kf8 24.Ke2 Ke7 25.Kd3 Rxc1 26.Rxc1 Rxc1 27.Bxc1 Ne8 28.a4 Kd7 29.g4 a6 30.Bf4 f6 31.h4 Nd6 32.h5 g6 33.hxg6 hxg6 34.Kc3 f5 35.Kd3 fxe4+ 36.fxe4 Nf7 37.Kc4 e5 38.dxe5 Ke6 39.Kd4 Nd8 40.Kc3 Nc6 41.Be3 b5 42.axb5 axb5 43.Bf4 Nxe5 44.g5 Nc6 45.Bg3 Kd7 46.Bf2 Nd8 47.Bb6 Ne6 48.Kb4 Kc6 49.Be3 Nc7 50.Kc3 Na6 51.Kd4 Nc5 52.Ke5 b4 53.Kf6 b3 54.Bd4 Nxe4+ 55.Kxg6 Nxg5 56.Kxg5 b2 57.Bxb2 1/2-1/2

Game 2, July 29
Anand, Vishy – Ivanchuk, Vasyl
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 Na5 10.Ba2 Be6 11.b4 Bxa2 12.Nxa2 Nb7 13.c4 Qd7 14.Nc3 Nd8 15.cxb5 axb5 16.d4 exd4 17.Nxd4 Ne6 18.Nf5 Rfe8 19.Nxe7+ Rxe7 20.f3 c6 21.Bb2 d5 22.Ne2 dxe4 23.Bxf6 gxf6 24.fxe4 Qxd1 25.Rfxd1 Rea7 26.Rac1 Rxa3 27.Rxc6 Rb3 28.Nc3 Rxb4 29.Nd5 Rb2 30.Nxf6+ Kg7 31.Nh5+ Kf8 32.Rb6 b4 33.e5 b3 34.h4 h6 35.Rd3 Re2 36.Rdxb3 Rxe5 37.Rb8+ Rxb8 38.Rxb8+ Ke7 39.Rb7+ Kf8 40.Rb8+ Ke7 41.Rb7+ Kf8 42.Rb8+ 1/2-1/2

Game 3, July 29
Ivanchuk, Vasyl – Anand, Vishy
E51 Nimzo-Indian

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.e3 O-O 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 c5 8.Bb2 Qa5 9.Nd2 cxd4 10.cxd4 Bd7 11.Bd3 dxc4 12.Bxc4 Bb5 13.Bxb5 Qxb5 14.Qb3 Qxb3 15.Nxb3 Nbd7 16.Ke2 Rfc8 17.Rhc1 Nd5 18.a4 f5 19.a5 Kf7 20.f3 b6 21.axb6 axb6 22.g3 Rxa1 23.Nxa1 Rxc1 24.Bxc1 e5 25.dxe5 Nxe5 26.Bb2 Nc6 27.Nb3 g6 28.Nd2 b5 29.e4 Nb6 30.exf5 gxf5 31.g4 Nc4 32.Nxc4 bxc4 33.Ke3 Kg6 34.h4 fxg4 35.fxg4 h5 36.gxh5+ Kxh5 37.Bf6 Nb4 38.Kd4 c3 39.Kxc3 Nd5+ 40.Kb2 Nxf6 41.Ka1 Kxh4 1/2-1/2

Game 1, July 29
Svidler, Peter – Giri, Anish
A20 English Opening

1.c4 e5 2.g3 c6 3.Nf3 e4 4.Nd4 d5 5.cxd5 Qxd5 6.e3 Bc5 7.Nc3 Qe5 8.d3 exd3 9.Qxd3 Nf6 10.Bg2 O-O 11.O-O Rd8 12.Nce2 Bb6 13.Qc2 Na6 14.Bd2 Qc5 15.Qb3 Qe7 16.Rfd1 Bg4 17.h3 Bh5 18.Nf5 Qc7 19.g4 Bg6 20.Neg3 Nc5 21.Qc4 Ne6 22.Bc3 Rxd1+ 23.Rxd1 Rd8 24.Qa4 Nc5 25.Qc2 Rxd1+ 26.Qxd1 Qd8 27.Qxd8+ Bxd8 28.Bd4 Bb6 29.Nd6 Nfd7 30.b4 Nd3 31.Bc3 Nc1 32.Bd2 Nxa2 33.Nxb7 c5 34.bxc5 Nxc5 35.Na5 Nc1 36.Nf5 Bxf5 37.gxf5 N1b3 38.Nxb3 Nxb3 39.Bc3 a5 40.Bd5 Nc5 41.Kf1 Bd8 42.Ke2 g6 43.fxg6 hxg6 44.f4 Kf8 45.e4 Ne6 46.Kf3 a4 47.f5 gxf5 48.exf5 Ng5+ 49.Kg4 Nh7 50.h4 Nf6+ 51.Bxf6 Bxf6 1/2-1/2

Game 2, July 29
Giri, Anish – Svidler, Peter
D91 Grunfeld

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Bg5 Ne4 6.Bf4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 c5 8.cxd5 cxd4 9.cxd4 Qxd5 10.e3 O-O 11.Be2 Nc6 12.O-O Bf5 13.a3 Rac8 14.Rc1 Qa2 15.Bd3 Bd7 16.Ra1 Qd5 17.Rb1 Na5 18.e4 Qa2 19.Qd2 Qxd2 20.Bxd2 Nc4 21.Bxc4 Rxc4 22.Rxb7 Bc6 23.Rxe7 Bxd4 24.Nxd4 Rxd4 25.Bh6 Re8 26.Rxa7 Rdxe4 27.h3 Ra4 28.Rc7 Bd5 29.Rd1 Be6 30.Rd3 Rh4 31.Bg5 Ra4 32.Be7 h6 33.Bb4 g5 34.Kh2 Kg7 35.f4 Kg6 36.Rc5 Rc8 37.f5+ Bxf5 38.Rd6+ f6 39.g4 Rxc5 40.Bxc5 Be4 41.Rd4 1/2-1/2

Game 3, July 29
Svidler, Peter – Giri, Anish
A20 English Opening

1.c4 e5 2.g3 c6 3.d4 e4 4.Qa4 d5 5.cxd5 Bd7 6.d6 Bxd6 7.Nc3 Nf6 8.Bg5 c5 9.Qd1 Be7 10.Bg2 O-O 11.dxc5 Na6 12.Bxf6 Bxf6 13.Nxe4 Bxb2 14.Rb1 Ba3 15.Nh3 Bb4+ 16.Kf1 Bf5 17.c6 bxc6 18.Qa4 Qe7 19.Qxa6 Bxe4 20.Rc1 Bf5 21.Nf4 Bd2 22.Rxc6 Rab8 23.e3 Bxe3 24.Nd5 Rb1+ 25.Ke2 Rb2+ 26.Kd1 Qe5 0-1

- Giri takes the lead against Svidler in a game that demonstrates why it's generally a good idea to castle!

(to be continued)