Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021

[Amit R]

I assumed that chess.com was the only source ; chess24 seems to be an awesome alternative too. Heavy-weight commentators.

Any other options? Where do you follow commentary ?

OK, commentary is finally live.

[Larry Castle]

I watch on chess 24. Peter Leko is awesome and I'm in love with Tania Sachdev. (lol) (

[Wayne Komer]

Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021

January 18, 2021

Round Three

Round Three Quiz Question – Which world champions have won a Wijk aan Zee tournament during their reign?

(FIDE WCH 1993 – 2006 included)

Answer – Kasparov, Carlsen, Topalov

Round 3, Jan. 18
Carlsen, Magnus – Tari, Aryan
D41 QGD, Semi-Tarrasch

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c5 5.cxd5 cxd4 6.Qxd4 exd5 7.e4 dxe4 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Ng5 Be6 10.Nxe6+ fxe6 11.Bg5 Nc6 12.O-O-O+ Ke8 13.Bb5 Rc8 14.Kb1 Bb4 15.Bxf6 gxf6 16.Nxe4 f5 17.Ng5 Ke7 18.a3 Ba5 19.f4 h6 20.Nf3 Rhd8 21.Rxd8 Nxd8 22.Rd1 Rc7 23.Ne5 a6 24.Be2 Bb6 25.Ng6+ Ke8 26.Bh5 Nc6 27.g4 fxg4 28.Rd6 Kf7 29.f5 Kf6 30.fxe6 Kg5 31.Rd5+ Kf6 32.Nf4 Be3 33.Ng2 Bg5 34.Bxg4 Ne5 35.Bh3 h5 36.Ka2 Re7 37.Ne1 Bf4 38.Nf3 Nxf3 39.Rf5+ Kg6 40.Rxf4 Nxh2 41.Kb3 Ng4 42.Bxg4 hxg4 43.Rxg4+ Kf5 44.Rb4 Kxe6 45.Rb6+ Kf7 46.Kb4 Ke8 47.Rd6 Rd7 48.Kc5 Rxd6 49.Kxd6 Kd8 50.b4 Kc8 51.a4 Kd8 52.b5 axb5 53.axb5 Kc8 54.b6 Kb8 55.Kd7 Ka8 56.Kc7 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Jan. 18
Giri, Anish – Donchenko, Alexander
E21 Nimzo-Indian, Three Knights variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 O-O 5.Bd2 b6 6.e3 Bxc3 7.Bxc3 Ne4 8.Rc1 Bb7 9.Bd3 d6 10.O-O Nxc3 11.Rxc3 Nd7 12.d5 e5 13.e4 a5 14.Bc2 Nc5 15.g3 c6 16.dxc6 Bxc6 17.Qe2 Qe7 18.Qe3 g6 19.Re1 Rae8 20.b3 Kh8 21.Nh4 Rb8 22.a3 Ne6 23.b4 axb4 24.axb4 Nd4 25.Bd1 Ba8 26.Nf3 Ne6 27.Ra3 f5 28.exf5 Rxf5 29.Nd2 Rf7 30.f4 Nd4 31.fxe5 dxe5 32.Qxe5+ Qxe5 33.Rxe5 Nc6 34.Re1 Nxb4 35.Nf3 Bxf3 36.Rxf3 Rxf3 37.Bxf3 b5 38.cxb5 Rxb5 39.Rb1 Rb8 40.Rd1 Rf8 41.Be4 Na6 42.Rc1 Rf7 1/2-1/2

Giri 1/2-1/2 Donchenko - Alexander Donchenko finally gets off the mark in his #TataSteelChess Masters debut!

Round 3, Jan. 18
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw – Van Foreest, Jorden
D41 QGD, Semi-Tarrasch

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 c5 5.cxd5 cxd4 6.Qxd4 exd5 7.Bg5 Be7 8.e3 O-O 9.Rd1 Be6 10.Bd3 h6 11.Bh4 Nc6 12.Qa4 Qb6 13.Rd2 Rfd8 14.O-O Rac8 15.h3 a6 16.Rc1 Kf8 17.Bb1 Na5 18.Qd4 Qxd4 19.Nxd4 Nc4 20.Rdc2 b5 21.Nce2 Bd7 22.b3 Ne5 23.Rxc8 Rxc8 24.Rxc8+ Bxc8 25.Bg3 Ng6 26.f3 Bc5 27.Kf2 Ne7 28.Nc1 Ba3 29.Nd3 Nf5 30.Nc2 Nxg3 31.Nxa3 Nh1+ 32.Ke1 Ng3 33.Nc2 Ke7 34.Nd4 Nf5 35.Nf4 Nxd4 36.exd4 b4 37.g4 a5 38.Bd3 Kd6 39.h4 Bd7 40.Kd2 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Jan. 18
Grandelius, Nils – Harikrishna, Pentala
C02 French, Advance, Wade variation

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Qb6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.Be2 cxd4 7.cxd4 Bb5 8.O-O Bxe2 9.Qxe2 Nc6 10.Nc3 Nge7 11.Qd3 Rc8 12.Rd1 h6 13.Bd2 Ng6 14.h4 Bb4 15.Na4 Qc7 16.h5 Nge7 17.Bf4 Qa5 18.b3 b5 19.Nb2 Ba3 20.Qe2 O-O 21.Rab1 Rc7 22.Nd3 Qb6 23.b4 a5 24.bxa5 Nxa5 25.Bc1 Bxc1 26.Rdxc1 Rxc1+ 27.Nxc1 Nc4 28.Nb3 Ra8 29.Rc1 Nc6 30.g3 Ra3 31.Kg2 Qa7 32.Rc2 Nb4 33.Rc3 Nxa2 34.Rd3 Rxb3 35.Rxb3 Nc1 36.Qc2 Nxb3 37.Qxb3 Qa4 38.Qb1 b4 0-1

"A positional masterpiece by Hari" says Leko as Harikrishna takes down leader Grandelius!

Round 3, Jan. 18
Esipenko, Andrey – MVL
B53 Sicilian, Chekhover variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qe3 Nf6 6.Be2 g6 7.O-O Bg7 8.Rd1 O-O 9.Nc3 Be6 10.Nd5 Rc8 11.c3 Re8 12.Qf4 Qa5 13.Qh4 Nxd5 14.exd5 Bxd5 15.b4 Bxf3 16.bxa5 Bxe2 17.Rd5 Bxc3 18.Rb1 Nb4 19.Rd4 Bxd4 20.Qxd4 Nc6 21.Qd5 Ba6 22.Bg5 Ne5 23.Be3 Rc3 24.Rb3 Rc2 25.Rb1 Rc3 26.Rb3 Rc2 27.Rb1 Rec8 28.h3 R2c3 29.Rb3 Rc2 30.Rb4 R2c3 31.Rb3 Rc2 32.Rb4 R2c3 33.Rb3 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Jan. 18
Caruana, Fabiano – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
C42 Petrov, Nimzowitsch Attack

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Be3 Nd7 8.Qd2 O-O 9.O-O-O Nf6 10.Bd3 c5 11.Rhg1 b5 12.g4 Bb7 13.Qe2 c4 14.Bf5 Re8 15.Nd4 Nd5 16.Ne6 Qa5 17.Qf3 Bf6 18.g5 Bxc3 19.Bxh7+ Kxh7 20.g6+ fxg6 21.Ng5+ Kh8 22.Bd4 Bxd4 23.Rxd4 Nf6 24.Qxb7 Rab8 25.Qf7 Re1+ 26.Rd1 Rxg1 27.Rxg1 Re8 28.Ne6 Rxe6 29.Qxe6 Qxa2 30.Qh3+ Kg8 31.Qe6+ Kh7 32.Qh3+ Kg8 33.Qa3 Qxa3 34.bxa3 Kf7 35.Kd2 a6 36.Ke3 Nd5+ 37.Kd4 Ne7 38.Re1 Ke8 39.a4 Kd7 40.axb5 axb5 41.Rg1 Kc6 42.h4 Nf5+ 43.Kc3 Nxh4 44.Kb4 Nf3 45.Rxg6 Nd4 46.c3 Ne2 47.Rxg7 Nf4 48.Ka5 Ne2 49.Kb4 Nf4 50.Ka5 Ne2 51.Kb4 1/2-1/2

Position after Black’s 37….Ne7




One false step by Caruana in time trouble (38.Re1?! instead of the immediate 38.a4!) & Duda is right back in the game! "Even if White finally converts it will cost him a hell of a lot of energy!" (Leko)

Wow, Duda is not losing this game?! Defense in modern Chess is incredible. A key difference to Chess in former times!

An unfinished masterpiece as Fabiano Caruana plays a brilliant attack against Jan-Krzysztof Duda but can't take home the full point

Round 3, Jan. 18
Firouzja, Alireza – Anton Guijarro, David
D02 Queen’s Bishop game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 Nc6 5.Nbd2 cxd4 6.exd4 Bf5 7.Bb5 Rc8 8.c3 e6 9.Qe2 Nd7 10.h4 a6 11.Bd3 Bxd3 12.Qxd3 Be7 13.Kf1 Qb6 14.Rb1 Qb5 15.Qxb5 axb5 16.a3 h5 17.Nb3 f6 18.Re1 Kf7 19.Nc1 Nf8 20.Nd3 Ng6 21.Bg3 Na5 22.Kg1 Nc4 23.Re2 Rhe8 24.Kh2 Bf8 25.Rhe1 b6 26.Kg1 Ra8 27.Bf4 Rac8 28.g3 Rc6 29.Kg2 Be7 30.Ng1 Bf8 31.Nh3 Be7 32.Ng1 Bf8 33.Nf3 Be7 34.Kh3 Ra8 35.Bc1 Re8 36.g4 hxg4+ 37.Kxg4 Rh8 38.h5 Nf8 39.Nf4 Bd8 40.Rh1 Rg8 41.Nh4 Bc7 42.Nfg6 Nd7 43.Rhe1 Re8 44.Bf4 Bxf4 45.Nxf4 Rd6 46.Kh3 Nf8 47.Nfg6 Nh7 48.f4 Rdd8 49.Rg1 Nd6 50.Reg2 Rg8 51.Ne7 Ng5+ 52.fxg5 Kxe7 53.gxf6+ Kxf6 54.Rg6+ Kf7 55.Nf3 Rdf8 56.Ne5+ Ke7 57.Rxg7+ Rxg7 58.Rxg7+ Kf6 59.h6 Rh8 60.Kg4 Rxh6 61.Rd7 1-0

Alireza Firouzja caps a fine game with a beautiful finish and Round 3 of #TataSteelChess is over!

Standings after Round Three

1-5 Harikrishna, Carlsen, Giri, Caruana, Grandelius 2
6-10 MVL, Van Foreest, Esipenko, Firouzja, Wojtaszek 1.5
11-13 Duda, Anton Guijarro, Tari 1
14 Donchenko 0.5
_________

I usually like to watch Peter Leko giving the move-by-move analysis. I have chess24 on the left screen and chessbomb or https://analysis.sesse.net on the right screen.

My favorite commentators – Jan Gustafsson and Peter Svidler.

Today, Peter Leko made this statement: "I've never in my life ever tasted coffee"

A guy on Chat replies: I’m waking up at 5 AM local time for these Tata Steel games. I would be dead without coffee.

[Hans Jung]

Grandelius - Hari a masterpiece by Hari but poor play by Grandelius. Was he surprised in the opening? I sometimes play the e5 French but never against a top GM.

Firouzja won that position from the middlegame! Cant believe it. He's a wizard.

[Wayne Komer]

Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021

January 19, 2021

Round Four

Round Four Quiz Question - Which women's world champion(s) have participated in the top group of Wijk aan Zee during their career(s)?

Answer - Nona Gaprindashvili, Hou Yifan

Judit Polgar has never been Women's World Champion. Her sister Susan was.

Round 4, Jan. 19
Van Foreest, Jorden – Carlsen, Magnus
C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O b5 6.Bb3 Bb7 7.d3 Be7 8.Nc3 O-O 9.a3 Nd4 10.Nxd4 exd4 11.Ne2 c5 12.Bg5 d5 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Bxd5 Bxd5 15.exd5 Qxd5 16.Ng3 c4 17.Re1 Rae8 18.a4 Rxe1+ 19.Qxe1 cxd3 20.cxd3 bxa4 21.Qd1 Qb5 22.Ne4 Be7 23.Qc2 Rb8 24.Rxa4 Qxb2 25.Qxb2 Rxb2 26.g4 Rb6 27.Rxd4 Kf8 28.Rd7 Rg6 29.Kf1 Rxg4 30.Ra7 f5 31.Ng3 g6 32.Rxa6 Rh4 33.Kg2 Rd4 34.Ne2 Rxd3 35.Ng1 Rd7 36.Nf3 Kg7 37.h3 Bf6 38.Kg3 Rb7 39.Kg2 Re7 40.Ra5 Rc7 41.Rd5 Ra7 42.Rb5 Be7 43.Nd4 Rd7 44.Nf3 Rd6 45.Rb7 Kf6 46.Ra7 h6 47.Nh4 Bd8 48.Rh7 Rd2 49.Rxh6 Kg7 50.Rxg6+ Kh7 51.Nf3 Rxf2+ 52.Kxf2 Kxg6 53.Kg2 Kh5 54.Nd4 f4 55.Ne6 Bg5 56.Nxg5 Kxg5 57.Kf3 Kh4 58.Kxf4 Kxh3 1/2-1/2

Position after White’s 48.Rh7



Carlsen should have played 48….Kg5

Peter explains this would be an easy draw for Jorden with just rooks, but with minor pieces as well, "this is actually a very, very nasty endgame"!

Round 4, Jan. 19
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Giri, Anish
D87 Grunfeld, Exchange, Spassky variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 O-O 9.O-O Nc6 10.Be3 b6 11.dxc5 Qc7 12.Nd4 Ne5 13.Nb5 Qb8 14.Be2 bxc5 15.Bxc5 a6 16.Na3 Qc7 17.Bd4 Rd8 18.Qc1 Ng4 19.Bxg4 Bxg4 20.Qe3 Rac8 21.e5 Qc6 22.Nc2 Bf5 23.Nb4 Qe4 24.Qxe4 Bxe4 25.Rfe1 Bb7 26.Rab1 e6 27.Nd3 Bd5 28.Nc5 Bf8 29.Nxa6 Bxa2 30.Rb6 Bc4 31.h3 Bxa6 32.Rxa6 Bc5 33.Ra4 Bxd4 34.cxd4 Rc2 35.g3 Rd2 36.Re4 Rd7 37.Kg2 Kg7 38.h4 h6 39.Kf3 1/2-1/2

Round 4, Jan. 19
Esipenko, Andrey – Grandelius, Nils
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 Be6 8.f4 Be7 9.O-O O-O 10.Kh1 Re8 11.Qd3 b5 12.Nd5 Nc6 13.c3 exf4 14.Bxf4 Ne5 15.Nxe7+ Qxe7 16.Qc2 Qb7 17.Nd2 Rac8 18.Bg5 Nfd7 19.Rf2 d5 20.exd5 Bxd5 21.Rg1 Re6 22.Nf1 h6 23.Bf4 Nf6 24.Ne3 Be4 25.Qd1 Ng6 26.Bg3 Bc6 27.Nf5 Ne4 28.Rff1 Nxg3+ 29.hxg3 Qc7 30.Qd4 Re5 31.Bg4 Rd8 32.Qf2 Rdd5 33.Rd1 Qd8 34.Rgf1 Qg5 35.Rd4 f6 36.Bh3 Bd7 37.Rxd5 Rxd5 38.Qf3 Rd2 39.Qa8+ Kh7 40.Qe4 Kh8 41.Nh4 Ne5 42.Qa8+ Kh7 43.Qe4+ Kh8 44.Qa8+ Kh7 1/2-1/2

Another big miss as it seems Nils could have grabbed the b2-pawn on move 40, but 40...Kh8? the moment had gone. We may well now get all 7 draws

Round 4, Jan. 19
Harikrishna, Pentala – 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.a4 Rb8 8.c3 d6 9.d4 Bb6 10.a5 Ba7 11.h3 Bb7 12.Re1 O-O 13.Be3 exd4 14.cxd4 Ne7 15.Nbd2 Ng6 16.d5 Bxe3 17.Rxe3 c6 18.dxc6 Bxc6 19.Bc2 Re8 20.Re1 Bb7 21.b4 Nh5 22.Ra3 Nhf4 23.Nf1 Qf6 24.Ng3 Rbd8 25.Rae3 Ne5 26.Bb3 g6 27.Nh2 h5 28.Ne2 Nc4 29.Bxc4 bxc4 30.Nxf4 Qxf4 31.Qc2 d5 32.exd5 Rxe3 33.Rxe3 Bxd5 34.Nf3 Be6 35.Ne5 Qd4 36.Nxg6 Qd1+ 37.Qxd1 Rxd1+ 38.Kh2 c3 39.Rxc3 fxg6 40.Rc6 Kf7 41.Rxa6 Rd2 42.Kg1 Rd1+ 43.Kh2 Rd2 44.Kg1 Rd1+ 1/2-1/2

Round 4, Jan. 19
Donchenko, Alexander – Wojtaszek, Radoslaw
B0 Sicilian, Najdorf, Adams Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.h3 e5 7.Nde2 h5 8.g3 Be7 9.Bg2 b5 10.Nd5 Nxd5 11.Qxd5 Ra7 12.Be3 Rb7 13.g4 h4 14.f4 Nd7 15.f5 Nb6 16.Qc6+ Qd7 17.Qxd7+ Bxd7 18.b3 g5 19.O-O-O f6 20.Bd2 Bc6 21.Bb4 Rd7 22.Nc3 Kf7 23.Rd2 Ra8 24.Rhd1 a5 25.Bxd6 b4 26.Bxe7 Rxd2 27.Rxd2 Kxe7 28.Nd1 Rd8 29.Rxd8 Kxd8 30.Nf2 Ke7 31.Kb2 Kd6 32.a3 bxa3+ 33.Kxa3 Kc5 34.c3 Bb5 35.Nd1 Be2 36.Ne3 Bd3 37.Kb2 a4 38.Ka3 axb3 39.Kxb3 Nc4 40.Nxc4 Bxc4+ 41.Kc2 Kb5 42.Kd2 Ka4 43.Bf3 Kb3 44.Bd1+ Kb2 45.Bc2 Ka3 46.Bd3 Ba2 47.Bb5 Bb1 48.Bd3 Ba2 49.Bb5 Bb1 50.Bd3 1/2-1/2

Alexander Donchenko got off the mark yesterday, today he's come up with a g4 novelty!

The win for Donchenko if Wojtaszek tries to win here with 45...Bf1? is amazing! Peter summarises the incredible complexity in a seemingly simple position...

Round 4, Jan. 19
Tari, Aryan – Firouzja, Alireza
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Ne7 6.c3 Ng6 7.O-O Nd7 8.Ne1 h5 9.Be3 Qb6 10.b3 f6 11.Bxh5 fxe5 12.g4 Rxh5 13.gxh5 Nf4 14.dxe5 Nh3+ 15.Kg2 c5 16.f4 Qc6 17.Nf3 O-O-O 18.Nbd2 Nb6 19.Qe1 Be7 20.Rc1 d4 21.cxd4 Nd5 22.Nc4 Ndxf4+ 23.Bxf4 Nxf4+ 24.Kg1 Bg4 25.Rc3 Rxd4 26.Nd6+ Kb8 27.Qe3 Bg5 28.Rxc5 Qxc5 29.Nxg5 Ne2+ 30.Kg2 1/2-1/2

Position after Black’s 27…Bg5



"This is very scary for Black!" says Leko after Firouzja goes for the risky 8...h5!?

Firouzja's ability to inject brain-bending complications into positions is amazing. Very hard to study and emulate, but worth trying. Or just watch and enjoy...

A crazy position in Tari-Firouzja! When Tania pointed out the computer's move was impossible to find Peter did see 28.Kh1!! here, but Aryan went for 28.Rxc5 and should now objectively be lost... but Alireza has just 2 minutes

After 28...Qxc5 29.Nxg5 Ne2+? (29...Be2! is apparently winning) 30.Kg2 a draw was agreed, with Alireza down to seconds in a roughly equal position!

Round 4, Jan. 19
MVL – Anton Guijarro, David
C89 Ruy Lopez, Marshall Counter-Attack

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6 12.Re1 Bd6 13.d3 Qh4 14.g3 Qh3 15.Re4 Qf5 16.Nd2 Qg6 17.Nf3 Bg4 18.h3 Bxh3 19.Nh4 Qf6 20.Qh5 g6 21.Qe2 Qg7 22.Be3 Nxe3 23.Qxe3 Qf6 24.Re1 Kg7 25.g4 Qxh4 26.g5 Bf4 27.Qxf4 Qxf4 28.Rxf4 Bf5 29.Re7 c5 30.Bd5 Rae8 31.Rc7 Re5 32.c4 h6 33.gxh6+ Kxh6 34.Rf3 Re2 35.Rxc5 Rxb2 36.Rc6 Kg5 37.Rxa6 bxc4 38.Bxc4 Rb1+ 39.Kg2 Bc8 40.Ra5+ f5 41.Rg3+ Kf6 42.d4 Rc1 43.Be2 Re1 44.Ba6 f4 45.Rf3 Bf5 46.Rxf4 Ra8 47.d5 Ke5 48.Rfa4 Rb8 49.d6+ Kxd6 50.Bd3 Bxd3 51.Rd4+ Ke6 52.Rxd3 Rb6 53.Rg3 Kf6 54.Rf3+ Kg7 55.Ra7+ Kh6 56.Rh3+ Kg5 57.Rf7 Re2 58.Ra3 Rc2 59.Kg3 Rb1 60.Kg2 Rb6 61.Ra5+ Kh6 62.Ra8 Kg5 63.a4 Ra2 64.Ra5+ Kh6 65.Rf4 Rc6 66.Rh4+ Kg7 67.Kg3 Ra3+ 68.f3 Rd6 69.Ra7+ Kf6 70.Rb4 Kg5 71.Ra8 Rc6 72.a5 Kh6 73.Rh4+ Kg5 74.Rf4 Rd6 75.Rf7 Rc6 76.Rb8 Ra6 77.Rb6 R3xa5 78.f4+ Kh6 79.Rbb7 g5 80.Kg4 1/2-1/2

Final Position



Standings after Round Four

1-5 Harikrishna, Caruana, Carlsen, Giri, Grandelius 2.5
6-10 MVL, Van Foreest, Esipenko, Firouzja, Wojtaszek 2
11-13 Duda, Anton, Tari 1.5
14 Donchenko 1

[Hans Jung]

Never would have predicted 7 draws this round. Interesting chess was played but some interesting opportunities missed. Definitely most exciting was Tari - Firouzja

[Wayne Komer]

Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021

January 20, 2021

Playing Schedule

Rest Day, Wed. Jan. 20

Round 5, Thur. Jan. 21

Carlsen-Donchenko
Firouzja-Van Foreest
Anton-Tari
Giri-Harikrishna
Caruana-Esipenko
Grandelius-MVL
Wojtaszek-Duda

Round 6, Fri. Jan. 22

MVL-Tari
Van Foreest-Anton
Donchenko-Firouzja
Duda-Carlsen
Harikrishna-Wojtaszek
Esipenko-Giri
Grandelius-Caruana

Round 7, Sat. Jan. 23

Caruana-MVL
Giri-Grandelius
Wojtaszek-Esipenko
Carlsen-Harikrishna
Firouzja-Duda
Anton-Donchenko
Tari-Van Foreest

Round 8, Sun. Jan. 24

MVL-Van Foreest
Donchenko-Tari
Duda-Anton
Harikrishna-Firouzja
Esipenko-Carlsen
Grandelius-Wojtaszek
Caruana-Giri

Rest Day, Mon. Jan. 25

Round 9, Tue. Jan. 26

Giri-MVL
Wojtaszek-Caruana
Carlsen-Grandelius
Firouzja-Esipenko
Anton-Harikrishna
Tari-Duda
Van Foreest-Donchenko

Round 10, Wed. Jan. 27

MVL-Donchenko
Duda-Van Foreest
Harikrishna-Tari
Esipenko-Anton
Grandelius-Firouzja
Caruana-Carlsen
Giri-Wojtaszek

Rest Day, Thur. Jan. 28

Round 11, Fri. Jan. 29

Wojtaszec-MVL
Carlsen-Giri
Firouzja-Caruana
Anton-Grandelius
Tari-Esipenko
Van Foreest-Harikrishna
Donchenko-Duda

Round 12, Sat. Jan. 30

MVL-Duda
Harikrishna-Donchenko
Esipenko-Van Foreest
Grandelius-Tari
Caruana-Anton
Giri-Firouzja
Wojtaszek-Carlsen

Round 13, Sun. Jan. 31

Carlsen-MVL
Firouzja-Wojtaszek
Anton-Giri
Tari-Caruana
Van Foreest-Grandelius
Donchenko-Esipenko
Duda-Harikrishna

[Hans Jung]

Grandelius redeems himself with a great win against MVL! - and leads Tata Steel again!

[Hans Jung]

Anton Guijarro - Tari has entered an almost "pure" 3 connected pawns vs bishop endgame. Its actually 4 pawns vs 1 pawn and bishop. This used to be one of the most exciting endgames for me to play or watch. I suppose tablebases have taken the fun out of them but its always fun trying to find variations where the pawns will win.

The fans are getting their monies worth this round with two exciting endgames to watch (maybe three!?).

[Wayne Komer]

Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021

January 21, 2021

Round Five

Round 5 Quiz Question – In its 83-year history, this event has had 3 title sponsors, all from the same industry. Name the three sponsors and the countries in which they were based.

Answer – Hoogovens (Netherlands), Corus (UK), Tata Steel (India)

Round 5, Jan. 21
Giri, Anish – Harikrishna, Pentala
D20 QGA

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 e5 4.Nf3 exd4 5.Bxc4 Nc6 6.O-O Be6 7.Nbd2 Bd6 8.Qb3 Qd7 9.Qxb7 Rb8 10.Qa6 Nge7 11.a3 O-O 12.b4 Bg4 13.Bb2 Bf4 14.Rfe1 Qd6 15.g3 Bh6 16.e5 Qd7 17.Bf1 Ng6 18.Bg2 Rb6 19.Qf1 a5 20.b5 Bxd2 21.Nxd2 Ncxe5 22.a4 Bf5 23.Ne4 d3 24.Rad1 Rd8 25.Bc3 Nc4 26.Nd2 1/2-1/2

Round 5, Jan. 21
Caruana, Fabiano – Esipenko, Andrey
A29 English, Bremen, Smyslov System

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 Bb4 5.Nd5 e4 6.Nh4 d6 7.Bg2 O-O 8.O-O g5 9.d4 h6 10.Ne3 gxh4 11.a3 Ba5 12.b4 Bb6 13.c5 h3 14.Bh1 dxc5 15.dxc5 Qxd1 16.Rxd1 Bxc5 17.bxc5 Re8 18.Bb2 Ne5 19.Rd4 Neg4 20.Rf1 a5 21.a4 Ra6 22.Nxg4 Bxg4 23.f3 Be6 24.fxe4 Nd7 25.Ba3 Ne5 26.Rb1 b6 27.cxb6 Rxb6 28.Rxb6 cxb6 29.Bd6 Bb3 30.Bc7 Re6 31.Bf3 Nxf3+ 32.exf3 Rc6 33.Bf4 h5 34.Kf2 Rc2+ 35.Rd2 Bxa4 36.Rxc2 Bxc2 37.Bc7 a4 38.Bxb6 Bd1 39.Bc5 Kg7 40.Ke3 1/2-1/2

18-year-old Andrey Esipenko spent an amazing 57 minutes on 19...Neg4 against world no. 2 Fabiano Caruana, but at least it was the computer's top move!

Round 5, Jan. 21
Grandelius, Nils – MVL
B97 Sicilian, Najdorf, Poisoned Pawn variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Qb6 8.Qd2 Qxb2 9.Rb1 Qa3 10.f5 Be7 11.fxe6 Bxe6 12.Nxe6 fxe6 13.Bc4 Nbd7 14.Bxe6 Nc5 15.Bb3 Rc8 16.O-O Nxb3 17.Rxb3 Qc5+ 18.Be3 Qc4 19.Rf4 Qe6 20.Rxb7 O-O 21.h3 Rb8 22.Ra7 Ra8 23.Rxa8 Rxa8 24.Nd5 Rb8 25.c4 Bd8 26.Qf2 Nd7 27.Bd4 Bg5 28.Rf5 Bh6 29.Kh2 Rc8 30.Qg3 g6 31.Qh4 Bf8 32.Rf6 Qe8 33.Rxf8+ Qxf8 34.Ne7+ Kf7 35.Nxc8 1-0

Nils Grandelius can grab a pawn and have a big advantage against MVL

Round 5, Jan. 21
Anton Guijarro, David – Tari, Aryan
C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, open variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.h3 Be7 10.Nc3 Nh4 11.Nxh4 Bxh4 12.Be3 h5 13.Rad1+ Ke8 14.Ne4 Bf5 15.Ng5 Rf8 16.Rd4 Bxg5 17.Bxg5 f6 18.exf6 gxf6 19.Bh4 Kf7 20.Rf4 Kg6 21.Re1 Bxc2 22.Re6 Bf5 23.Re3 Bb1 24.Rg3+ Kh7 25.Bxf6 Rf7 26.Rg5 Kh6 27.Be5 Raf8 28.Rxf7 Rxf7 29.f4 h4 30.Rg4 Kh5 31.Bg7 Rf5 32.Bc3 Bxa2 33.Be1 a5 34.Rxh4+ Kg6 35.Bc3 a4 36.Be5 b5 37.Rh8 b4 38.Rb8 c5 39.Rb5 b3 40.Rxc5 Rxe5 41.Rxe5 a3 42.bxa3 b2 43.Rb5 b1=Q+ 44.Rxb1 Bxb1 45.Kf2 Bc2 46.g4 c5 47.Ke3 Kf6 48.Kd2 Ba4 49.h4 Bd7 50.f5 Ba4 51.Ke3 c4 52.Kf4 c3 53.g5+ Kf7 54.Ke3 c2 55.Kd2 Kg7 56.h5 Bb3 57.Kc1 Ba4 58.Kb2 Bb3 59.Kc1 Ba4 60.Kb2 1/2-1/2

Position after White’s 54.Ke3



Shocker, as after pushing for a win for 5.5 hours David Anton is now losing to Aryan Tari!

54...c2? and Tari misses the win
Leko: "c2, draw! Good! Not good, but both players after they will be told Black could have won, with this result they can both live. But if Tari had won after 54...Bb5! I would be worried for David - that's just too crazy!

Anton-Tari ends in a draw - a great result for Aryan given he was desperately hanging on for most of the game, but he missed a beautiful win near the end!

Round 5, Jan. 21
Carlsen, Magnus – Donchenko, Alexander
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 Nc6 9.Qf3 Rc8 10.O-O-O Na5 11.Bg5 Be7 12.Bxf6 Bxf6 13.Nd5 Bg5+ 14.Kb1 h5 15.Be2 h4 16.Nxa5 Qxa5 17.Qb3 Qc5 18.Bg4 Qc4 19.Bxe6 fxe6 20.Nb6 Qxb3 21.axb3 Rc6 22.Nc4 Ke7 23.Rd3 Rf8 24.f3 Bf4 25.Rhd1 Rd8 26.c3 Rd7 27.Kc2 Rd8 28.Na5 Rc7 29.b4 Rdd7 30.Kb3 Rd8 31.Nc4 Rc6 32.Na3 d5 33.b5 Rcd6 34.bxa6 bxa6 35.Ka4 Rb8 36.b4 Rc6 37.Kb3 Rbc8 38.Ra1 Rc4 39.Ra2 a5 40.bxa5 Rb8+ 41.Kc2 Rc5 42.Nb1 Rbb5 43.exd5 exd5 44.a6 Ra5 45.Rxa5 Rxa5 46.c4 Rxa6 47.cxd5 Ra2+ 48.Kb3 Rxg2 49.Nc3 Rg3 50.d6+ Kd7 51.Ne4 Rxh3 52.Kc4 Rh1 53.Kd5 Rc1 54.Nc5+ Ke8 55.Ke6 Rxc5 56.Ra3 Rc8 57.d7+ Kd8 58.dxc8=Q+ Kxc8 59.Ra1 h3 60.Rh1 h2 61.Kf5 g5 62.Kg4 Kd7 63.Kh3 Ke6 64.Kg2 Kf5 65.Kh3 e4 66.fxe4+ Kxe4 67.Kg4 Ke3 68.Rxh2 Bxh2 69.Kxg5 1/2-1/2

Alexander Donchenko has come ready to take on Magnus Carlsen in the Najdorf!

Leko "You are Magnus Carlsen or not, I don't think there was even a slightest moment in this game where you could see that Magnus could have played better. He plays a perfect game but Donchenko nevertheless with perfect defence holds on!"

Round 5, Jan. 21
Firouzja, Alireza – Van Foreest, Jorden
D02 Queen’s Pawn game

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 Bf5 4.c4 e6 5.Nc3 Nbd7 6.Nh4 dxc4 7.Nxf5 exf5 8.Qa4 Bd6 9.Qxc4 O-O 10.Bg2 c6 11.Qd3 g6 12.O-O Re8 13.Rb1 Nb6 14.b4 a6 15.a3 Qd7 16.Bg5 Nfd5 17.Nxd5 Nxd5 18.Rbe1 Bc7 19.Bd2 h5 20.Bg5 Kg7 21.Rc1 Bd8 22.Bd2 Bf6 23.e3 h4 24.a4 Nc7 25.Rfd1 Rad8 26.Be1 Rh8 27.Qb3 Qe6 28.Rd3 Rd7 29.Rb1 Rhd8 30.Qc2 Rh8 31.Rdd1 Rhd8 32.Qb3 Rh8 33.Rdc1 Re8 34.Qxe6 fxe6 35.b5 axb5 36.Ba5 hxg3 37.hxg3 e5 38.axb5 Nxb5 39.d5 e4 40.dxc6 bxc6 41.Rxc6 Re5 42.Bb4 Rc7 43.Ra6 Re8 44.Bf1 Nc3 45.Rb3 Rec8 46.Ba5 Rc6 47.Ra7+ Kh6 48.Kg2 Nd5 49.Ba6 Rh8 50.Bb7 Rh7 51.Bxc6 Rxa7 52.Ra3 Bc3 53.Bxd5 1/2-1/2

Round 5, Jan. 21
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
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 Nc6 12.O-O b6 13.Rad1 Bb7 14.Qf4 Qf6 15.Qg4 Rfd8 16.d5 exd5 17.Bxd5 Ne5 18.Nxe5 Bxd5 19.Rxd5 Rxd5 20.exd5 Qxe5 21.Qd7 Qe8 22.Qc7 Qb8 23.Qe7 Qf8 24.Qb7 Qc8 25.Qe7 Qf8 26.Qb7 Qc8 27.Qe7 1/2-1/2

The all-Polish Wojtaszek-Duda clash ends in a draw

Ranking after Round Five

1 Grandelius 3.5
2-5 Harikrishna, Caruana, Giri, Carlsen 3
6-9 Van Foreest, Firouzja, Wojtaszek, Esipenko 2.5
10-13 Anton, MVL, Tari, Duda 2
14 Donchenko 1.5

[Hans Jung]

Rd 6 Van Foreest - Anton A real interesting endgame was shaping up when Anton blundered - that too is a part of chess - sadly.

[Wayne Komer]

Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021

January 22, 2021

Round Six

Round Six Quiz Question: In how many editions of the top group of the event has a Hungarian player won or tied for first? Name the players.

Answer: 6 (Portisch, Ribli, Sax, Leko)

Round 6, Jan. 22
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Carlsen, Magnus
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.O-O d6 6.c3 a5 7.Re1 O-O 8.Nbd2 Ba7 9.Nf1 Be6 10.Bb5 Ne7 11.Ng3 Ng6 12.h3 c6 13.Ba4 d5 14.exd5 Nxd5 15.d4 exd4 16.Nxd4 Qc7 17.Qf3 Bxd4 18.cxd4 Qb6 19.Rd1 Rad8 20.Bb3 Nc7 21.Nf5 Bxb3 22.axb3 Qb5 23.h4 h5 24.Bd2 b6 25.Bg5 f6 26.Bh6 Rf7 27.Qxh5 Ne7 28.Nxe7+ Rxe7 29.Qxb5 cxb5 30.Bd2 Re4 31.d5 Nxd5 32.Be3 Rd7 33.g3 Ree7 34.Bd4 Re6 35.Rac1 Red6 36.Re1 Nb4 37.Rc8+ Kf7 38.Be3 Nd5 39.Rb8 b4 40.Kf1 Kg6 41.g4 Nxe3+ 42.Rxe3 Rd4 43.g5 f5 44.Rh8 Re4 45.Ke2 Rxe3+ 46.Kxe3 Re7+ 47.Kd3 Rd7+ 48.Ke3 Re7+ 49.Kd3 Rd7+ 50.Ke3 Re7+ 1/2-1/2

A game with brilliant moves and ideas from both sides, but Magnus Carlsen is held to a 5th draw in a row - he may have missed a big chance when he rushed in Jan-Krzysztof Duda's time trouble!

Round 6, Jan. 22
MVL – Tari, Aryan
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 a5 8.Bf4 a4 9.Qb4 dxc4 10.Qxc4 Qa5 11.Na3 Be6 12.Qc1 Bd5 13.Re1 Nbd7 14.Nc4 Qa7 15.Nce5 Nxe5 16.Bxe5 Qb6 17.h4 Rfd8 18.Bf1 Ne4 19.Bxg7 Kxg7 20.Rd1 c5 21.dxc5 Qxc5 22.Qxc5 Nxc5 23.Nd4 Rac8 24.Nc2 e5 25.Nb4 Be6 26.e3 Bg4 1/2-1/2

MVL 1/2-1/2 Tari is the first result of the day, with Aryan perhaps better in the final position

Round 6, Jan. 22
Van Foreest, Jorden – Anton Guijarro, David
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.c3 O-O 9.h3 h6 10.a4 Bd7 11.Bc2 b4 12.Nbd2 Re8 13.a5 Bf8 14.Re1 Rb8 15.d4 bxc3 16.bxc3 exd4 17.cxd4 Nb4 18.Bb1 g6 19.Ra3 Bg7 20.Nf1 Rb5 21.Ng3 Nh5 22.Nxh5 Rxh5 23.d5 c5 24.Bf4 Bb2 25.Rae3 Qf6 26.Bg3 c4 27.Qe2 Bb5 28.e5 Bxe5 29.Nxe5 dxe5 30.Bxe5 Rexe5 31.Rxe5 c3 32.Qe3 c2 33.Rxh5 gxh5 34.Bxc2 Nxc2 35.Qe5 Kg7 36.Re4 Bd3 37.Qg3+ 1-0

Position after Black’s 27….Bb5




Jorden could have gone for the beautiful 28.Bxd6! here, with the idea of sacrificing the queen after 28...c3 29.Qxb5! cxb5 30.Bxb4 with a winning advantage. Instead, he went for the more normal-looking e5 which seems to give a winning advantage as well

Round 6, Jan. 22
Harikrishna, Pentala – Wojtaszek, Radoslaw
D38 QGD, Ragozin variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 O-O 8.e3 Bf5 9.Be2 Nbd7 10.Qb3 Qe7 11.O-O c6 12.a3 Bxc3 13.Bxf6 Nxf6 14.bxc3 b5 15.a4 a6 16.Qa3 Qb7 17.Ra2 Rfc8 18.Ne5 Rab8 19.Rb2 Nd7 20.Nxd7 Qxd7 21.h3 Qd8 22.Ra1 Qf8 23.Qxf8+ Kxf8 24.axb5 axb5 25.Ra7 Ra8 26.Rba2 Rxa7 27.Rxa7 Rb8 28.g4 Be6 29.Bd3 b4 30.cxb4 Rxb4 31.Rc7 Rb6 32.Bf5 Bxf5 33.gxf5 Rb1+ 34.Kg2 Rc1 35.Kg3 h5 36.Kf4 f6 37.f3 Rc4 38.h4 Rc3 39.e4 dxe4 40.fxe4 Rd3 41.Rc8+ Kf7 42.Rc7+ Kf8 43.Rc8+ 1/2-1/2

Round 6, Jan. 22
Esipenko, Andrey – Giri, Anish
D45 QGD, Semi-Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.b3 O-O 8.Be2 b6 9.O-O Bb7 10.Bb2 Qe7 11.Rad1 Rad8 12.Rfe1 Rfe8 13.Bf1 c5 14.cxd5 exd5 15.g3 Rc8 16.Bh3 c4 17.bxc4 Rxc4 18.Nd2 Rc7 19.Qb3 a6 20.a4 h5 21.Rc1 h4 22.Ncb1 Rec8 23.Rxc7 Rxc7 24.Rc1 Rxc1+ 25.Bxc1 hxg3 26.hxg3 Bb4 27.Nc3 Qd6 28.Ndb1 Nf8 29.Ba3 Bxa3 30.Qxa3 Qc7 31.Nd2 N8h7 32.Bg2 Ng5 33.Nf3 Nge4 34.Nxe4 Nxe4 35.Ne5 Bc8 36.Qb2 Be6 37.Kh2 a5 38.Bxe4 dxe4 39.Qb5 Kf8 40.Nc6 Bd7 41.d5 f5 42.Kg2 Bxc6 1/2-1/2

Round 6, Jan. 22
Donchenko, Alexander – Firouzja, Alireza
D31 QGD

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.e3 b5 6.a4 c6 7.Bd2 a5 8.axb5 Bxc3 9.Bxc3 cxb5 10.b3 Bb7 11.bxc4 b4 12.Bb2 Nf6 13.Bd3 O-O 14.O-O Nbd7 15.Nd2 e5 16.Bc2 Qc7 17.h3 Rfe8 18.Bb3 h6 19.Nf3 Ra6 20.Nxe5 Nxe5 21.dxe5 Nd7 22.f4 Nc5 23.Bc2 a4 24.f5 b3 25.Bb1 Raa8 26.e6 Qg3 27.Rf2 f6 28.Bd4 Ne4 29.Bxe4 Bxe4 30.Ra3 Rec8 31.c5 Kh7 32.Qd2 b2 33.Qxb2 Rab8 34.Qa2 Rb1+ 35.Rf1 Rcb8 36.Qf2 Rxf1+ 37.Kxf1 Rb1+ 38.Ke2 Qb8 39.Qf4 Qb5+ 40.Kd2 Qb4+ 41.Bc3 Qxa3 42.Qxe4 Qc1+ 43.Kd3 Qf1+ 0-1

Position after Black’s 38…Qb8



38...Qb8!, threatening Qb5+, is a brilliant final touch 17-year-old Alireza Firouzja needed to spot in advance! He's about to win a 2nd game and move to a plus score in this year's tourney

Firouzja is right back in business after his 1st round loss to Magnus!

Round 6, Jan. 22
Grandelius, Nils – Caruana, Fabiano
B30 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e5 4.O-O Bd6 5.c3 a6 6.Ba4 b5 7.Bc2 Nge7 8.d4 cxd4 9.cxd4 exd4 10.Nbd2 Bb7 11.Nb3 Qc7 12.h3 Rc8 13.Nbxd4 Nxd4 14.Qxd4 O-O 15.Bb3 Nc6 16.Qd1 Ne5 17.Nxe5 Bxe5 18.Re1 Rfe8 19.f4 Bxf4 20.Bxf7+ Kxf7 21.Bxf4 Qb6+ 22.Kh2 Qe6 23.e5 Kg8 24.Bg3 Rc4 25.Rf1 a5 26.Rf2 a4 27.a3 Rec8 28.Qd6 h5 29.Raf1 h4 30.Qxe6+ dxe6 31.Bf4 b4 32.axb4 Rxb4 33.Bg5 Bd5 34.Be7 Rbc4 35.Rf8+ Rxf8 36.Rxf8+ Kh7 37.Rf2 Kg6 38.Bd8 Re4 39.Bc7 Kh5 40.Bd6 g5 41.Bc7 g4 42.hxg4+ Kxg4 43.Bd6 Bb3 44.Kg1 Bc4 45.Kh1 h3 46.Kh2 hxg2 47.Kxg2 Bd5 48.Kf1 Re3 49.Kg1 Re1+ 50.Rf1 Re2 51.Rf2 Re3 52.Rf1 Rg3+ 53.Kf2 Rb3 54.Ra1 Bc6 55.Ke2 Rxb2+ 56.Ke3 Bb5 57.Kd4 Kf4 58.Ra3 Be8 59.Kc3 Rb1 60.Kd4 Bd7 61.Rc3 Rb5 62.Rc7 Rd5+ 1/2-1/2

Position after White’s 61.Rc3



Did Caruana have a better move than 61…Rb5 here?

Grandelius holds on against Caruana and remains the sole leader of #TataSteelChess after 6 rounds - Firouzja and Van Foreest win to join the now 6-player chasing pack half a point behind!

Standings after Round Six

1 Grandelius 4
2-7 Van Foreest, Carlsen, Harikrishna, Caruana, Giri, Firouzja 3.5
8-9 Esipenko, Wojtaszek 3
10-12 Tari, MVL, Duda 2.5
13 Anton 2
14 Donchenko

[Hans Jung]

Firouzja had an enjoyable king hunt to end the game and Grandelius held an important draw against Caruana.

[Wayne Komer]

Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021

January 23, 2021

Round Seven

Round Seven Question - How many times has the top group of this even (all-time) been held as a knock-out?

When? Name the runners-up.

Answer: 2 (1993: Miguel Illescas Cordoba, 1995: Evgeny Bareev)

The winners were first, Anatoly Karpov in 1993, and second, Alexey Dreev in 1995, according to Peter. The tournament in those years was Hoogovens Wijk aan Zee.

Quote of the Day: Nils is probably short for Cornelius. Cornelius Grandelius would have been a mouthful.

Round 7, Jan. 23
Carlsen, Magnus – Harikrishna, Pentala
B47 Sicilian, Taimanov (Bastrikov) variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.f4 a6 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.Bd3 d5 9.O-O Nf6 10.Qe2 Be7 11.Bd2 c5 12.b3 Bb7 13.Rae1 c4 14.bxc4 dxe4 15.Nxe4 Nxe4 16.Bxe4 Bxe4 17.Qxe4 Rc8 18.f5 Qxc4 19.fxe6 f6 20.Qb7 Qc6 21.Rb1 Bc5+ 22.Kh1 Qxb7 23.Rxb7 O-O 24.Re1 Rfe8 25.g3 Rc6 26.e7 Kf7 27.c4 Bd6 28.Bb4 Bxb4 29.Rxb4 Rxe7 30.Rxe7+ Kxe7 1/2-1/2

Round 7, Jan. 23
Anton Guijarro, David – Donchenko, Alexander
B23 Sicilian, Closed

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.Nge2 Nf6 4.g3 Nc6 5.Bg2 g6 6.d4 cxd4 7.Nxd4 Nxd4 8.Qxd4 Bg7 9.O-O O-O 10.a4 Be6 11.Qd1 Rc8 12.Nd5 Qd7 13.Re1 Rfe8 14.c3 Bh3 15.Bf3 Nxd5 16.exd5 a6 17.a5 h5 18.Be3 Bf6 19.Ra4 Kg7 20.Rb4 Rh8 21.Qd2 Bg4 22.Bxg4 hxg4 23.Qd1 Rh5 24.Bd4 Rch8 25.Bxf6+ exf6 26.Qxg4 Qxg4 27.Rxg4 Rxh2 28.Re7 Rh1+ 29.Kg2 R8h2+ 30.Kf3 Rf1 31.Re2 Rd1 32.Rd4 Rxd4 33.cxd4 Rh5 34.Ke4 Rh1 35.Kd3 1/2-1/2

Round 7, Jan. 23
Tari, Aryan – Van Foreest, Jorden
C70 Ruy Lopez, Classical Defence deferred

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Bc5 5.O-O Nge7 6.c3 Ba7 7.d4 Ng6 8.Bg5 f6 9.Be3 O-O 10.d5 Nce7 11.Bxa7 Rxa7 12.d6 cxd6 13.Qxd6 b5 14.Bb3+ Kh8 15.a4 Rb7 16.axb5 Rb6 17.Qd1 axb5 18.Nbd2 Bb7 19.c4 f5 20.Bc2 fxe4 21.Ng5 Nf5 22.Ngxe4 Nf4 23.Nf3 bxc4 24.Nxe5 Nd4 25.Re1 Nxc2 26.Qxc2 Re6 27.Qc3 Qe7 28.Ra5 d6 29.Ng5 Rxe5 30.Raxe5 dxe5 31.Rxe5 Qf6 32.Qc2 Nd3 0-1

Position after White’s 24.Nxe5



“The beginning player will find that if he places his knight on a central square, it attacks the maximum number of other squares”

21-year-old Jorden van Foreest effortlessly wins a 2nd game in a row to climb above Magnus into the sole lead... for now!

Round 7, Jan. 23
Caruana, Fabiano – MVL
B97 Sicilian, Najdorf, Poisoned Pawn variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Qb6 8.Qd2 Qxb2 9.Rb1 Qa3 10.Be2 Nc6 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.e5 Nd5 13.Nxd5 exd5 14.e6 f6 15.Bh5+ Kd8 16.Bh4 d4 17.Bf2 Qc3 18.f5 Qxd2+ 19.Kxd2 c5 20.Bf3 Ra7 21.g4 g6 22.Bh4 Be7 23.Rb6 h5 24.h3 Ke8 25.Bg3 Rc7 26.Kd3 hxg4 27.hxg4 Rxh1 28.Bxh1 gxf5 29.gxf5 Bf8 30.Kc4 Rh7 31.Be4 Be7 32.Bxd6 Bxd6 33.Rxd6 Bb7 34.Bxb7 Rxb7 35.Rxa6 Rb2 36.Kxc5 Rxc2+ 37.Kxd4 1-0

Echoes of the game vs. Duda, as after 33 minutes Caruana goes for the winning 14.e6! Will he take home the full point this time?

And last year's winner Fabiano Caruana joins this year's leaders after taking down MVL - a result Fabi would love to repeat when the Candidates restarts later this year!

Round 7, Jan. 23
Giri, Anish – Grandelius, Nils
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be3 Be7 9.Qd2 h5 10.Nd5 Nxd5 11.exd5 Bf5 12.Be2 a5 13.a4 O-O 14.O-O Nd7 15.f4 exf4 16.Bxf4 Rc8 17.c3 Nf6 18.Be3 Be4 19.Bd4 Nxd5 20.Bf3 Bg5 21.Qe2 Bxf3 22.Qxf3 Nf6 23.Qf5 Ng4 24.Qxa5 Re8 25.Qxd8 Bxd8 26.Rfe1 Ne5 27.Nd2 Re6 28.Red1 Kf8 29.b4 Nc6 30.Bf2 Ne5 31.a5 Rxc3 32.b5 Ng4 33.Bd4 Rd3 34.Nc4 Rxd4 35.Rxd4 Bf6 36.Rdd1 d5 37.Nb6 Ne3 38.Nd7+ Ke7 39.Nxf6 1-0

"So that's the best I can get? I play the Najdorf, I follow Anish Giri's course & I have to suffer this horrible endgame?"

Giri joins his Dutch colleague Van Foreest in the #TataSteelChess lead after taking down leader Grandelius. Anish won the ending he told Nils should be fine for Black in his Chessable course! [Sharp practice by Anish WK]

Round 7, Jan. 23
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw – Esipenko, Andrey
E20 Nimzo-Indian, Kmoch variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.f3 d5 5.a3 Be7 6.e4 dxc4 7.Be3 b5 8.Nxb5 Ba6 9.a4 c6 10.Na3 Bxa3 11.Rxa3 Nbd7 12.Ne2 Rb8 13.Ra2 O-O 14.Nc3 Qa5 15.Be2 Rfd8 16.Qc2 c5 17.O-O cxd4 18.Bxd4 Nc5 19.Nb5 Rxd4 20.Nxd4 Nb3 21.Nb5 Bxb5 22.axb5 Qxa2 23.Bxc4 Na1 24.Qc3 Qa4 25.b3 Nxb3 26.Qxb3 Qxb3 27.Bxb3 Rxb5 28.Rc1 g5 29.Rc3 Kg7 30.Kf2 h5 31.Ke3 h4 32.g3 h3 33.Bd1 Rb2 34.Be2 g4 35.fxg4 Nxe4 36.Ra3 Ng5 37.Rxa7 Rb3+ 38.Kd4 Rb1 39.Ke3 Rh1 40.Ra5 Kf6 41.Bf3 Rxh2 42.Ra1 Rb2 0-1

Wojtasek-Esipenko - clever tactic here by Black - 19...Rxd4! 20.Nxd4 Nb3. The knight is attacked by another knight, but it can't capture it, and it has nowhere to go, while pins on the diagonal ...a7-g1 loom

After both players drew their first 6 games, 18-year-old Esipenko knocks Wojtaszek out of the 2700 club while climbing to 2688.6 himself!

Round 7, Jan. 23
Firouzja, Alireza – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
D02 Queen’s Bishop game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bf4 e6 4.e3 Bd6 5.Nbd2 O-O 6.Ne5 c5 7.c3 Qc7 8.Bd3 b6 9.h4 Ba6 10.Bxa6 Nxa6 11.h5 Nd7 12.Ndf3 f6 13.Nd3 cxd4 14.Nxd4 e5 15.Ne6 Qc4 16.Nxf8 Bxf8 17.Bg3 Ndc5 18.Nxc5 Nxc5 19.Rh4 e4 20.Qe2 Nd3+ 21.Kf1 f5 22.Kg1 Rc8 23.Rh1 Kf7 24.Kh2 Be7 25.a3 b5 26.Rad1 Ke6 27.Rxd3 Qxd3 28.Qxd3 exd3 29.Rd1 Bxa3 30.bxa3 Rxc3 31.Kg1 Rxa3 32.Kf1 b4 33.Ke1 b3 34.Kd2 b2 35.Rb1 Rb3 36.Bc7 d4 37.exd4 Kd5 38.f4 g6 39.h6 Kxd4 40.Be5+ Ke4 41.Bxb2 Rb7 42.Re1+ Kxf4 43.Be5+ Kg4 44.Kxd3 g5 45.Bd4 Rd7 46.Re6 Kg3 47.Rf6 Kg4 48.Ra6 f4 49.Ke4 Re7+ 50.Be5 Rb7 51.Bf6 Rb4+ 52.Bd4 Kh5 53.Rd6 Ra4 54.Kf5 Ra2 55.Bf6 Kxh6 56.Rd1 1-0

Position after Black’s 50…Rb7




The sesse supercomputer gives the line:

51. Bf6 Rb4+ 52. Bd4 Rb7 53. Ke5 Rd7 54. Ra3 Re7+ 55. Kf6 Rc7 56. Ra6 Rd7 57. Be5 Rb7 58. Ra3 Rb6+ 59. Kg7 Kf5 60. Bd4 Rd6 61. Ba1 Rd7+ 62. Kg8 g4 63. Bg7 Ke4 64. Kxh7 f3 65. Kg6 f2 66. Ra1 Rd6+ 67. Bf6 Rd7 68. Bh4 Rd6+ 69. Kh5 Ra6770. Rf1 Ra2 71. Rxf2

Alireza Firouzja also wins a 2nd game in a row to join the #TataSteelChess leaders!

We have 4 new leaders - Jorden van Foreest, Anish Giri, Fabiano Caruana & Alireza Firouzja - after they all won today! Andrey Esipenko also won to catch Magnus Carlsen before they play tomorrow.

Standings after Round Seven

1-4 Van Foreest, Giri, Caruana, Firouzja 4.5
5-8 Harikrishna, Esipenko, Carlsen, Grandelius 4
9 Wojtaszek 3
10-13 MVL, Tari, Anton, Duda 2.5
14 Donchenko 2

[Hans Jung]

Lot of knight dancing going on in Tari - Van Foreest. I loved Esipenko's kamikaze knight.
With all the wins in today's round the leaderboard is still tight (8 players within half a point) which makes the tournament very interesting at the halfway point.