London Chess Classic 2013

**Jack Maguire** · Wednesday, 11th December, 2013, 12:56 PM

Re: London Chess Classic 2013

The games can also be followed live at ChessBomb. R1 is now finished and there was only 1 draw (Jones vs Nakamura) in the 8 games.

**Jack Maguire** · Wednesday, 11th December, 2013, 01:16 PM

Re: London Chess Classic 2013

In 4 of those 7 decisive R1 games, namely the Rowson, Anand, Short, and Kramnik wins, the ultimate winner stood (according to Stockfish) at least 2 Pawns worse during the game. Gotta love 'Rapid' play where the tide can so quickly turn.

**Wayne Komer** · Wednesday, 11th December, 2013, 05:14 PM

Re: London Chess Classic 2013

London Chess Classic Rapid 2013

Round Two

Dec. 11, 2013

This tournament is running two rounds a day.

The game Svidler-Sadler gets the most discussion. Peter found that he almost had checkmate but not quite, and goes for a draw.

London Chess Classic Rapid
Round Two
Dec. 11, 2013
Svidler, Peter - Sadler, Matthew
C11 French, Steinitz, Boleslavsky Variaion

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 cxd4 8. Nxd4 Bc5 9. Qd2 O-O 10. O-O-O a6 11. Qf2 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 b6 13. Bd3 f6 14. Qh4 g6 15. Bxc5 bxc5 16. exf6 Nxf6 17. Rhe1 Rb8 18. Qg5 Qb6 19. b3 c4 20. Bxg6 hxg6 21. Qxg6+ Kh8 22. Nxd5 Nxd5 23. Qh6+ Kg8 24. Qg5+ Kh8 25. Qh6+ Kg8 26. Qg6+ Kh8 0.5-0.5

Vishy Anand seems to be quite happy. It is his birthday today – 44 years.

London Chess Classic Rapid
Round Two
Dec. 11, 2013
Anand, Vishy - Adams, Michael
E00 Catalan

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 c6 7. O-O Nbd7 8. Qc2 O-O 9. Rd1 b6 10. Bf4 Bb7 11. Nc3 dxc4 12. Nd2 Nd5 13. Nxc4 Nxf4 14. gxf4 Qc7 15. e3 Rad8 16. a4 a6 17. Rac1 b5 18. axb5 cxb5 19. Na5 Qxa5 20. Bxb7 Qb6 21. Bf3 Rc8 22. Qe4 Bb4 23. Ne2 Nf6 24. Qb7 Qxb7 25. Bxb7 Rb8 26. Bf3 Rfc8 27. e4 g6 28. Kg2 a5 29. d5 exd5 30. e5 Ne4 31. Rb8+ Kg7 40. Rb7 Kf8 0.5-0.5

Nigel Short plays 1.b4 and goes down from there – loses in just 26 moves.

London Chess Classic Rapid
Round Two
Dec. 11, 2013
Short, Nigel - Caruana, Fabiano
A00 Sokolsky

1. b4 d5 2. Bb2 Nf6 3. e3 Bf5 4. Be2 e6 5. a3 Be7 6. d3 h6 7. Nd2 Nbd7 8. Ngf3 O-O 9. h3 Bg6 10. Nb3 Bd6 11. g4 e5 12. Nh4 Bh7 13. Nf5 Bxf5 14. gxf5 Re8 15. Rg1 c5 16. bxc5 Nxc5 17. Nxc5 Bxc5 18. Bf1 Rc8 19. Qd2 Bb6 20. Kd1 Ba5 21. c3 Kh8 22. f3 d4 23. Qg2 Rg8 24. cxd4 Nd5 25. Qf2 Qb6 26. Be2 Qb3# 0-1

The mixture of super-grandmasters and grandmasters and the rapid format has produced some exciting games.

London Chess Classic Rapid
Round Two
Dec. 11, 2013
Polgar, Judit - Nakamura, Hikaru
C70 Ruy Lopez, Cozio Defence Deferred

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nge7 5. c3 g6 6. d4 exd4 7. cxd4 b5 8. Bb3 Bg7 9. Nc3 d6 10. a4 b4 11. Nd5 h6 12. a5 O-O 13. O-O Bg4 14. Be3 Rb8 15. Bc4 Nxd5 16. Bxd5 Qd7 17. Bc4 Qc8 18. Be2 Ne7 19. h3 Bd7 20. Qd2 Kh7 21. Rfc1 f5 22. e5 Nd5 23. Bc4 Nxe3 24. Qxe3 Qb7 25. Qb3 dxe5 26. Nxe5 Be8 27. Bd5 Qa7 28. Rd1 c5 29. Rac1 Rd8 30. Qf3 cxd4 31. Nc6 Bxc6 32. Rxc6 Rf6 33. Rxf6 Bxf6 34. Bc4 Qc7 35. Bxa6 Qxa5 36. Qb7+ Bg7 37. Re1 d3 38. Re7 Qa1+ 39. Kh2 Qxb2 40. Qc7 Rf8 41. Bxd3 Qc3 42. Qd7 b3 43. Bb1 b2 44. Ba2 h5 45. Qb7 Kh6 46. Re6 Be5+ 47. g3 f4 48. gxf4 Rxf4 49. Kg2 Qd4 50. f3 Qd2+ 51. Kf1 Qd1+ 52. Kf2 Qd2+ 53. Kf1 Qe3 54. Rxg6+ Kxg6 55. Bb1+ Kf6 56. Qc6+ Kg5 0-1

London Chess Classic Rapid
Round Two
Dec. 11, 2013
Gelfand, Boris - Jones, Gawain
E94 King's Indian, Orthodox

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Nf3 e5 7. O-O Nbd7 8. Be3 Qe7 9. Qc2 c6 10. Rad1 h6 11. d5 c5 12. g3 Nb6 13. Nh4 Bh3 14. Rfe1 Nbd7 15. Bf1 Bxf1 16. Rxf1 Nh5 17. Rb1 b6 18. Kh1 Bf6 19. Ng2 Bg7 20. Qe2 Rac8 21. Nb5 Nb8 22. b4 Na6 23. a3 Qd7 24. Bd2 Rfe8 25. Ne3 Nf6 26. f3 h5 27. Ng2 Ra8 28. Qd3 Kh7 29. Rbe1 Nc7 30. Nc3 Na6 31. Nb5 Nc7 32. bxc5 bxc5 33. Rb1 Reb8 34. Nxc7 Qxc7 35. Rxb8 Rxb8 36. Rb1 Nd7 37. Qc2 Rxb1+ 38. Qxb1 Qb6 39. Qb5 Qxb5 40. cxb5 Nb6 41. Kg1 Bh6 42. Bxh6 Kxh6 43. Ne3 Kg7 44. Kf2 Kf8 45. Ke2 Ke7 46. Kd3 Kd7 47. Kc3 Kc7 48. Kb3 Kb7 49. g4 h4 50. g5 a6 51. bxa6+ Kxa6 52. Ng4 Nd7 53. Nh6 f6 54. Nf7 fxg5 55. Nxd6 Nf6 56. Nf7 g4 57. fxg4 Kb6 58. Nxe5 Nxe4 59. Nxg6 Nf6 60. Nxh4 Nxg4 61. Nf3 Ne3 62. h4 Nxd5 63. h5 Kb5 64. a4+ Ka5 65. h6 Nf6 66. Ne5 Nh7 67. Nc4+ Ka6 68. Kc2 Kb7 69. Kd3 Nf6 70. Ne5 Kb6 71. Kc4 Ka5 72. Kxc5 Kxa4 73. Kd6 Kb4 74. Nd7 Nh7 75. Ke7 Kb5 76. Kf7 Kc6 77. Kg6 1-0

Nothing worse in chess than to try to defend against passed pawns with a knight

London Chess Classic Rapid
Round Two
Dec. 11, 2013
Howell, David - Sutovsky, Emil
A36 English, Symmetrical, Modern Botvinnik System

1. c4 g6 2. Nc3 c5 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 Nc6 5. d3 Nf6 6. e4 O-O 7. Nge2 d6 8. O-O a6 9. Rb1 Bg4 10. f3 Bd7 11. a4 Ne8 12. Be3 Nd4 13. b4 Rb8 14. Bf2 cxb4 15. Rxb4 Qa5 16. Qb1 Nxe2+ 17. Nxe2 b5 18. Rc1 Nc7 19. Be1 Qb6+ 20. Bf2 Qa5 21. Be1 Ne6 22. Kf1 Nc5 23. axb5 axb5 24. d4 Ne6 25. Bc3 f5 26. exf5 Ng5 27. Rxb5 Rxb5 28. Bxa5 Rxb1 29. Rxb1 Rxf5 30. f4 Rxa5 31. fxg5 Be6 32. Rc1 Rf5+ 33. Ke1 Rxg5 34. Nf4 Bg4 35. Bd5+ Kf8 36. h4 Rf5 37. Ne6+ Kf7 38. Nxg7+ Kxg7 39. Be6 Kf6 40. Bxf5 Kxf5 41. c5 Ke4 42. c6 Kd5 43. Kd2 Bc8 44. Ke3 e5 45. dxe5 dxe5 46. c7 Kd6 47. Rd1+ Kxc7 48. Ke4 Bg4 49. Rd2 Kc6 50. Kxe5 Bf5 51. h5 1-0

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 12th December, 2013, 11:59 AM

Re: London Chess Classic 2013

London Chess Classic Rapid 2013

Thursday, December 12, 2013

http://live4.londonchessclassic.com/index.html

Round Three Results (cumulative score in brackets)

Gawain Jones (1) – Judit Polgar (0) 0 - 1
Hikaru Nakamura (4) – Boris Gelfand (6) 0.5 – 0.5
Fabiano Caruana (6) – David Howell (4) 0.5 – 0.5
Emil Sutovsky (0) – Nigel Short (1) 0 - 1
Andrei Istratescu (0) - Vishy Anand (4) 0 - 1
Michael Adams (4) – Luke McShane (3) 0.5 – 0.5
Jonathan Rowson (3) – Peter Svidler (1) 0 - 1
Matthew Sadler (1) – Vladimir Kramnik (6) 0.5 – 0.5
+++++++++++++++

Round Four Results

Judit Polgar (3) – Boris Gelfand (7) 0.5 – 0.5
Hikaru Nakamura (5) – Gawain Jones (1) 1 - 0
David Howell (5) – Nigel Short (4) 0 - 1
Emil Sutovsky (0) – Fabiano Caruana (7) 0 - 1
Vishy Anand (7) – Luke McShane (4) 1 - 0
Michael Adams (5) – Andrei Istratescu (0) 1 - 0
Peter Svidler (4) – Vladimir Kramnik (7) 1 - 0
Matthew Sadler (2) – Jonathan Rowson (3) 1 - 0
++++++++

The first tier of the morning round, (Rd 3) starts at 14:00 London Time – 9 a.m. Toronto/Montreal
The first tier of the afternoon round, (Rd 4) starts at 18:00 or 1 p.m. Toronto/Montreal
++++++++++

Yesterday’s rounds had poor audience attendance. This was attributed to the 25 pound day pass price ($43.40 CND). Also, it was a Wednesday, a working day and the weather was poor.

After the first day, Anand and Adams lead the A group with 4 points (1.5/2) following the football score that is used in London. Kramnik started with 2.0/2 and so he's leading the B group with 6 points, followed by Rowson with 3 points. Gelfand also won both games and so he tops the standings in C, two points ahead of Nakamura. Caruana is on 6 points in D, also with two more points than runner-up Howell. (Chess Vibes)

- There could be another reason why there are relatively few spectators: they are primarily interested in the later knockout phase - choosing the forthcoming weekend if they are willing/able to spend 25 pounds only once or twice.

It was different with a classical round-robin: everyone picked the day(s) that either suited best for other reasons, or happened to feature his/her favorite game(s)

- Yesterday was a mid-week cold day, people are at work and kids at school, weekend should be fully packed
++++++++++++++

Standings at the end of Round Four

A: Anand 10, Adams 8, McShane 4, Istratescu 0
B: Kramnik 7, Svidler 7, Sadler 5, Rowson 3
C: Gelfand 8, Nakamura 8, Polgar 4, Jones 1
D: Caruana 10, Short 7, Howell 5, Sutovsky 0

Today we had two teams commentating – Lawrence Trent/Danny King and Chris Ward/Stephen Gordon. The difficulty is that the games all more or less end at the same time. The participants of a game just finishing come in to talk to the guys while other exciting games are close to their ends.

There is obvious partisanship towards the British players – David Lovell was cheered on against Fabiano Caruana this morning. It would have no effect on Fabiano himself but the fans back in Italy might get upset at the transmission.

Players are hurried in to give their analysis and then hurried out because others are waiting off-camera to come in.

- Yes, the coverage has still been quite watchable, but a little frustrating at times, with pointless post-match interviews replacing some of the best of the action.

All in all though, the top players look relaxed and happy – Svidler, Kramnik and Anand look like they are on a vacation.

Where are the other usual suspects? Well, the World Mind Games are on in Beijing. Among the participants are Leko, Karjakin, Grischuk, Kamsky, Ivanchuk, Giri, Radjabov, Ponomariov and Nepomniachtchi.

Yesterday, in Round Two, Nigel Short opened with 1.b4 against Caruana. Lawrence said that made it a target and that 1.b3 was the better move. Today, in Rounds Three and Four, Nakamura took the advice and played 1.b3. Against Gelfand, the result was a draw and a win against Gawain Jones.

At the post-mortem in the last-named game, the interviewer said, “I thought that after the opening, you played much in the style of your arch-enemy Magnus Carlsen”. Nakamura replied, “I don’t consider him my arch-enemy. In fact, I drew inspiration from the Georgian master – Jobava.”

[Some readers may remember that Baadur Jobava beat Evgeny Bareev in 2003 with 34 moves of prepared analysis!

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1268811

He is reputed to have said in NIC "It's nice to beat Bareev while sitting at home, fully relaxed, drinking a cup of coffee."

Source: NIC Magazine 2003/7]
++++++++++

A summary of the tournament situation after today from This Week in Chess:

The ratings favourites top every preliminary group of the 5th London Chess Classic Super 16 rapid event after the second day's play. Final day of the preliminary groups on Friday before the weekend's knockouts for the top two finishers in each group.

In group A Viswanathan Anand scored two wins to top the group with 10/12 points. His sacrificial win against Luke McShane was made to look very straightforward. Michael Adams has strong control of second place following Luke McShane's defeat to Anand.

In group B Peter Svidler caught Vladimir Kramnik by gaining revenge for his round one loss. Svidler's two wins made a much better impression than his day one performance. Matthew Sadler won the final game of the day to finish when his risk taking looked set to rebound before Jonathan Rowson wondered into a snap mate.
In group C Boris Gelfand and Hikaru Nakamura are on 8/12 four points clear of Judit Polgar who looked to be playing much better than on day one but may have left it a bit late. Gawain Jones is last on one point but will feel he shouldn't have lost either game.

In group D Fabiano Caruana continued his strong showing holding an inferior position in game one and then following up with yet another demolition, this time of the struggling Emil Sutovsky. Nigel Short played "very poor chess" on day one but was obviously much happier with his day two performance when wins over Sutovsky and Howell moved him into second. David Howell is two points behind Short now but still has some chances to qualify.

**Laurentiu Grigorescu** · Friday, 13th December, 2013, 09:26 PM

Re: London Chess Classic 2013

The format of this tournament is very entertaining and Rapids seem to bring more risk taking, surprising lines, and reversal of fortune. Glad to see Giucco Pianno, Larsen Opening and not so much Slavs. Kramnik-Anand will happen too soon and too bad to see one of them leaving. Glad to see that Istratescu, this super talented player whose career came to a halt in unlucky circumstances, was finally invited to a super tournament, where he played acceptable.

**Wayne Komer** · Saturday, 14th December, 2013, 02:19 AM

Re: London Chess Classic 2013

London Chess Classic 2013

Dec. 13, 2013

Round Five

When live broadcasting goes bad.. There was no live video of the games or commentators when Round Five started. A message appeared on the screen from time to time to day that they were working on it.

The tweet column had comments like:

- Still, the sound of silence
- We want live stream
- Live steam is currently emanating from Macauley Peterson’s ears
(Lawrence Trent’s producer is Macauley Peterson)

Suggestions started coming through for work-arounds and I had three different sites open to hear commentary including someone called kingscrusher on YouTube.

This was all very distracting. For the afternoon sessions they had the video back but couldn’t use the on-screen boards. This didn’t bother Peter Svidler describing his game at the post mortem. He just ran through the variations as he pictured them in his mind at top speed. We could not keep up. When the board finally appeared, the mouse action was slow and chunky. In late afternoon here, the last moves of some games were still missing.

Round Five Results

Boris Gelfand (8) - Hikaru Nakamura (8) 0.5-0.5
David Howell (5) - Fabiano Caruana (13) 0-1
Judit Polgar (4) - Gawain Jones (4) 0-1
Luke McShane (4) - Michael Adams (8) 0-1
Nigel Short (10) - Emil Sutovsky (0) 1-0
Peter Svidler (7) - Jonathan Rowson (3) 1-0
Vishy Anand (10) - Andrei Istratescu (0) 0.5-0.5
Vladimir Kramnik (7) - Matthew Sadler (5) 0.5-0.5

Gelfand drew against Nakamura presumably putting them both into the quarter-finals. Neither Jones nor Polgar could oust them unless they had two consecutive victories. Then, Jones beat Polgar in a Sicilian Dragon.

Kramnik – Sadler ended in a draw. Svidler seemed in control all through his game with Rowson. It got down to a rook and pawn ending. Stockfish calculated that Rowson went wrong on his 56th move by not playing 56…g5. Famed author Olimpiu Urcan tweeted “In the next few minutes, Rowson will realize he should have gone 55...Kxh4! (after 55.h4+) 56.Rxg6 Re2!

In any case, he lost. A nice guy though. He tweeted after “Here I am again, back at the hotel, packing bags. Another ending of sorts, and no stalemate this time. Thank you London Classic.”

Svidler, Peter – Rowson, Jonathan
London Chess Classic Rapid 2013
Dec. 13, 2013
Round Five
B52 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. c4 Nc6 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 g6 7. O-O Bg7 8. Bxc6 Bxc6 9. Nc3 Nf6 10. Re1 Rc8 11. b3 O-O 12. f3 b6 13. Bg5 h6 14. Be3 Bb7 15. Qd2 Kh7 16. Rad1 Nd7 17. Bf2 Nc5 18. Bh4 Qd7 19. Nd5 Rce8 20. h3 Ne6 21. Nxe6 fxe6 22. Ne3 Qc6 23. Ng4 b5 24. Rc1 h5 25. Nf2 bxc4 26. Rxc4 Qb6 27. Bg5 Ba6 28. Be3 Qb7 29. Rb4 Qa8 30. Ra4 Qb7 31. Bd4 e5 32. Be3 Rc8 33. Qd5 Qxd5 34. exd5 Bb7 35. Rxa7 Bxd5 36. Rxe7 Rc2 37. Rd1 Rf7 38. Rxf7 Bxf7 39. Ne4 Rxa2 40. Ng5+ Kg8 41. Rxd6 Bh6 42. b4 Re2 43. Rd8+ Kg7 44. Rd7 Bxg5 45. Bxg5 e4 46. fxe4 Rxe4 47. Bd2 Kf6 48. b5 Ke6 49. Ra7 Rd4 50. Bg5 Be8 51. Re7+ Kf5 52. Rxe8 Kxg5 53. b6 Rb4 54. Re6 Rb2 55. h4+ Kf5 56. Rc6 Rb4 57. Kf2 Rxh4 58. Rc5+ Ke6 59. Rb5 Rf4+ 60. Kg3 Rf8 61. b7 Rb8 62. Kh4 Kd6 63. g3 Ke6 64. Kg5 Kf7 65. Rb6 1-0

So Svidler is in the quarter-finals, probably with Kramnik but Sadler has an outside chance of getting in.

Adams and Anand got into the quarters with their victories over Istratescu and McShane respectively.

Howell had good positions against Caruana for the whole of their game. Viewers on Chessbomb said that white was completely winning but were afraid that Howell would spoil everything, which proved to be true when he played 45.Kf5. The rest was not pretty. A win would not have changed the fact that Caruana and Short were going through.
++++++++++++

Round Six

Andrei Istratescu (1) - Luke McShane (4) 1-0
Emil Sutovsky (0) - David Howell (5) 1-0
Fabiano Caruana (13) - Nigel Short (10) 1-0
Gawain Jones (4) - Boris Gelfand (9) 1-0
Hikaru Nakamura (9) - Judit Polgar (4) 0.5-0.5
Jonathan Rowson (3) - Vladimir Kramnik (8) 0.5 – 0.5
Matthew Sadler (6) - Peter Svidler (10) 0.5-0.5
Michael Adams (11) - Vishy Anand (11) 0.5-0.5

There was little to lose in the last round because most of the places for the guarters were already claimed. Luke McShane played the Hippopotamus and was punished for it by Istratescu. Anand had the better of Adams but the latter got off with a draw.

Kramnik played the Scandinavian against Rowson and drew. Sadler needed a win against Svidler in his last game, had a chance but then drew. Svidler paid Sadler a great compliment about his play. Sadler is now officially an amateur with chess as a hobby. He is an infrastructure consultant for a Dutch software house. Yet he keeps up with theory and still plays strongly.

Nakamura was down a pawn in the endgame with Judit Polgar but drew. Gawain Jones, who had beaten Polgar in the last round, beat Gelfand in this. But it wasn’t enough for him to qualify.

Jones, Gawain – Gelfand, Boris
London Chess Classic Rapid 2013
Dec. 13, 2013
Round Six
B52 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Qxd7 5. O-O Nc6 6. c3 Nf6 7. Re1 e6 8. d4 cxd4 9. cxd4 d5 10. e5 Ne4 11. Nbd2 Nxd2 12. Bxd2 Be7 13. Rc1 O-O 14. Rc3 Rac8 15. a3 Nb8 16. Rd3 Qb5 17. Rb3 Qc6 18. Ng5 Bxg5 19. Bxg5 Nd7 20. Qg4 f5 21. Qh4 Rfe8 22. Bf6 Nf8 23. Bxg7 Kxg7 24. Qf6+ Kg8 25. h4 Rc7 26. Rg3+ Ng6 27. h5 Rf8 28. Qg5 Rg7 29. Rc1 Qb6 30. hxg6 Rxg6 31. Qh4 Rxg3 32. Qxg3+ Kh8 33. Qh4 Qd8 34. Qxd8 Rxd8 35. Rc7 Rg8 36. Rxb7 Rg4 37. Rxa7 Rxd4 38. b4 Rd1+ 39. Kh2 d4 40. b5 d3 41. Rd7 d2 42. a4 Kg8 43. a5 Rb1 44. b6 d1=Q 45. Rxd1 Rxd1 46. b7 1-0

Short lost to Caruana in a BogoIndian in 46 moves. Fabiano was in control all the way. Caruana and Short pass through to the quarters.
+++++++++++++++

Results

A: Anand 12, Adams 12, McShane 4, Istratescu 4
B: Svidler 11, Kramnik 9, Sadler 7, Rowson 4
C: Nakamura 10, Gelfand 9, Jones 7, Polgar 5
D: Caruana 16, Short 10, Howell 5, Sutovsky 3

Quarterfinal Matchups

Saturday December 14 (two games each)

Kramnik – Anand
Adams – Svidler
Caruana – Gelfand
Short – Nakamura
++++++++

Semi-finals are on Sunday December 15. As well, the Final is on Sunday December 15.

Noted without comment – Special Rule: Any player who arrives at the chessboard more than 10 minutes after the start of the session shall lose the game.

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 15th December, 2013, 02:20 AM

Re: London Chess Classic 2013

London Chess Classic 2013

Dec. 14, 2013

Results

Quarter-Finals

QF1
Game One (25 min + 10 sec)
Vladimir Kramnik-Vishy Anand 0.5-0.5
Michael Adams–Peter Svidler 1-0

Game Two (25 min + 10 sec)
Peter Svidler-Michael Adams 1-0
Vishy Anand-Vladimir Kramnik 0-1

QF2
Game One (25 min + 10 sec)
Fabiano Caruana-Boris Gelfand 0.5-0.5
Nigel Short-Hikaru Nakamura 0-1

Game Two (25 min + 10 sec)
Boris Gelfand-Fabiano Caruana 0.5-0.5
Hikaru Nakamura-Nigel Short 0.5-0.5

Tie-Breaks (10 min + 10 sec)

Game One
Michael Adams-Peter Svidler 1-0
Fabiano Caruana-Boris Gelfand 0-1

Game Two
Peter Svidler-Michael Adams 0-1
Boris Gelfand-Fabiano Caruana 1-0
++++++++++

Kramnik was first through, beating Anand although he said that he hadn’t beaten him in a rapid game in something like fifteen years.

Anand, Viswanathan 2773 - Kramnik, Vladimir 2793 0-1 5th Classic KO 2013, London ENG (1.2), 2013.12.14 D40: QGD, Semi-Tarrasch, symmetrical (...a6 a3) 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 e6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 c5 5.e3 Nc6 6.a3 a6 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.b4 Bd6 9.Bb2 O-O 10.Qc2 Qe7 11.Rd1 Rd8 12.Be2 dxc4 13.Bxc4 b5 14.Bd3 Bb7 15.Ne4 Nxe4 16.Bxe4 Rac8 17.Qb1 f5 18.Bd3 a5 19.bxa5 Nxa5 20.O-O Nc4 21.Be2 Be4 22.Qa1 Nxb2 23.Qxb2 b4 24.axb4 Rc2 25.Qb3 Rxe2 26.Nd4 Bd5 27.Qd3 Qh4 0-1

Vladimir said that this would be his last tournament before the Candidates.
+++++++++

Hikaru Nakamura beat Nigel Short in the first game and drew in the second to go through to the semis.

Short, Nigel D 2683 - Nakamura, Hikaru 2786 0-1 5th Classic KO 2013, London ENG (1.1), 2013.12.14 B25: Sicilian, Closed 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 d6 6.Nge2 Rb8 7.a3 b5 8.O- O e6 9.Be3 b4 10.axb4 cxb4 11.Na4 Nge7 12.Qd2 O-O 13.Bh6 Bxh6 14.Qxh6 a5 15.b3 Kh8 16.Ra2 e5 17.Qe3 Qc7 18.Nb2 Bg4 19.f3 Be6 20.Nc4 d5 21.exd5 Nxd5 22.Qc5 Rfc8 23.Re1 Qd8 24.Qf2 Nc3 25.Nxc3 Bxc4 26.bxc4 bxc3 27.Ra3 Rb2 28.Rxc3 Qd4 29.Qxd4 Nxd4 30.Rxe5 a4 31.f4 Nb5 32.Rxb5 Rxb5 33.Ra3 Rb2 34.Rxa4 Rxc2 35.Bd5 Rb8 36.Ra8 Rxa8 37.Bxa8 Rd2 38.Be4 f5 39.Bg2 Rxd3 40.c5 Rc3 41.c6 Rc1+ 42.Kf2 Rc2+ 43.Kg1 Kg7 44.Bf3 Kf6 45.h4 Ke6 46.Kf1 Kd6 47.Ke1 Kc5 48.Kf1 Kd4 49.Kg1 Ke3 50.Bd5 Rc5 51.c7 Rxc7 52.Ba8 h6 53.Kg2 Rg7 54.Bd5 g5 55.hxg5 hxg5 56.fxg5 Rxg5 57.Bf3 f4 58.g4 Rc5 59.Bb7 Rc2+ 60.Kh3 f3 0-1

(Tweet after the game from Nigel Short - Didn't feel in bad form, but couldn't cope with the problems that Hikaru posed me. Nevertheless, happy to have reached the 1/4 finals)
+++++++++

Peter Svidler’s endgame with Michael Adams probably was lost but 41…g5 loses spectacularly and immediately.

- Svidler is a gentleman like Anand and Kramnik

- svidler's smile at the end, classic cool guy

- svidler laughed when adams played 42.Re4+

- svidler had to play 41...Rxb5

Adams, Michael 2754 - Svidler, Peter 2758 1-0 5th Classic KO 2013, London ENG (1.1), 2013.12.14 B40: Sicilian Defence 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 Nc6 4.Bg2 Nf6 5.Qe2 d5 6.d3 g6 7.e5 Nd7 8.c4 Bg7 9.Bf4 Qa5+ 10.Nbd2 dxc4 11.dxc4 h6 12.h4 Nd4 13.Nxd4 cxd4 14.O-O Bxe5 15.Nb3 Qc7 16.Bxe5 Qxe5 17.Qd2 Qd6 18.Rfe1 Kf8 19.Nxd4 e5 20.Nb3 Qxd2 21.Nxd2 a5 22.Rad1 Ra6 23.Bh3 Kg7 24.Nf3 Nc5 25.Bxc8 Rxc8 26.Rxe5 Rb6 27.Rdd5 Ne6 28.b3 a4 29.Rb5 Rcc6 30.Kg2 axb3 31.axb3 Nc7 32.Rxb6 Rxb6 33.Nd4 Kf6 34.Re3 Rd6 35.Ne2 b5 36.Nc3 Rd4 37.Nxb5 Nxb5 38.cxb5 Rb4 39.Kf3 Kf5 40.Ke2 Kg4 41.Kd3 g5 42.Re4+ 1-0

Adams lost the second game but then dominated in the blitz tie-break and he is through to the semis.
++++++++++++++

Boris Gelfand drew his two rapid games with Fabiano Caruana and then thrashed him in the tie-breaks.

Caruana, Fabiano 2782 - Gelfand, Boris 2777 0-1 5th Classic KO 2013, London ENG (1.3), 2013.12.14 E46: Nimzo-Indian, Simagin variation 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Ne2 d5 6.a3 Bd6 7.Ng3 c6 8.Bd3 dxc4 9.Bxc4 e5 10.O-O Nbd7 11.dxe5 Bxe5 12.Qc2 Nb6 13.Be2 Re8 14.e4 Ng4 15.Bxg4 Bxg4 16.f4 Bd4+ 17.Kh1 Qh4 18.Nce2 Bxe2 19.Qxe2 Rad8 20.e5 Qe7 21.Be3 Qe6 22.Rae1 Bxe3 23.Qxe3 f5 24.Rd1 g6 25.Ne2 Qc4 26.Nd4 Rd5 27.Nf3 Qc2 28.Rd2 Nc4 29.Rxc2 Nxe3 30.Rcc1 Nxf1 31.Rxf1 Red8 0-1

Gelfand, Boris 2777 - Caruana, Fabiano 2782 1-0 5th Classic KO 2013, London ENG (1.4), 2013.12.14 A80: Dutch 1. d4 f5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bg5 d5 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 c5 6. Bb5+ Bd7 7. Bxf6 gxf6 31. d4 f5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bg5 d5 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 c5 6. Bb5+ Bd7 7. Bxf6 gxf6 8. Ne5 h5 9. Ng6 Rh7 10. Nxf8 Kxf8 11. O-O Nc6 12. dxc5 Qe7 13. Bxc6 Bxc6 14. b4 b6 15. Ne2 bxc5 16. Nf4 Kf7 17. bxc5 Rg8 18. Qd3 Rhg7 19. g3 Qxc5 20. Nxh5 Rh7 21. Nf4 Bb5 22. c4 Bxc4 23. Rfc1 Rc8 24. Qc2 Qc6 25. Rab1 Kg8 26. Qd2 Rhc7 27. Rb2 e5 28. Ng2 Qe6 29. Rbc2 Rh7 30. f4 Kf7 31. Qb4 Rch8 32. Nh4 exf4 33. Qb7+ Kg8 34. Qb8+ Kf7 35. Qc7+ Ke8 36. Qb8+ Kd7 37. Qxa7+ Kc6 38. Rxc4+ dxc4 39. Qa6+ Kd7 40. Rd1+ Ke7 41. Qb7+ Ke8 42. Qb8+ Kf7 43. Qc7+ 1-0
++++++++++

The schedule for the semi-finals tomorrow, Sunday, December 15, 2013 is this:

Game One Vladimir Kramnik-Hikaru Nakamura
Michael Adams-Boris Gelfand

Game Two Hikaru Nakamura-Vladimir Kramnik
Boris Gelfand-Michael Adams

If the score is 1-1 after both games then an Armageddon game will be played with 5 mins v 4 + 3 secs. White has to win
+++++++++++

Viewers’ Comments

- Anand and Svidler played amazingly badly today in the quarter finals. Maybe they were tired! Uncharacteristic blunders abounded

- Great to see how Gelfy just took Caruana apart

- The correct result. Caruana's time pressure weaknesses lain bare. Funny thing is he was totally outplaying Gelfand in their two rapid games. He just isn't great at spotting tactics fast but is a fabulous slow player.

- Gelfand and Adams, the old chaps rule!

- (Ben Finegold) Another interesting feature of the London Chess Classic, unknown to most Americans, is that it is a chess festival, with several events alongside Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand, Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, and the other Super-GMs. There is a very strong Open tournament, with several GMs and almost 200 participants. There are daily simuls against British GMs such as John Nunn, Jon Speelman, and Julian Hodgson. There is live commentary on the games with GM Danny King and IM Lawrence Trent. And there are daily events for lower rated players and blitz events as well. Something for everyone, and many are not playing at all, but simply come to watch, like yours truly!

Another strong Grandmaster who is here to watch, and not play, is Garry Kasparov himself! I saw Garry in the VIP room, where one can find commentary by GM Hodgson, and an assortment of GMs and IMs who want to watch and kibitz the action. Garry suggested a lot of moves in the first round, and his banter with GM Nigel Short was quite amusing. In fact, a lot of the players kibitz in the VIP room when they are not playing a game, and the analysis can get quite exciting with so many GMs in one room suggesting moves!

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 15th December, 2013, 12:32 PM

Re: London Chess Classic 2013

London Chess Classic 2013

Dec. 15, 2013

Semi-Finals

SF1

Game One
Boris Gelfand-Michael Adams 1-0
Vladimir Kramnik-Hikaru Nakamura 0.5-0.5

Game Two
Michael Adams-Boris Gelfand 0.5-0.5
Hikaru Nakamura-Vladimir Kramnik 1-0
+++++++++++

Kramnik, Vladimir-Nakamura, Hikaru
London Chess Classic Rapids Semi-Finals
Dec. 15, 2013
A15 English Opening

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. b3 Bg7 4. Bb2 O-O 5. g3 d6 6. Bg2 e5 7. O-O Nh5 8. Nc3 f5 9. d3 Nc6 10. e3 h6 11. a3 a5 12. Nd2 Nf6 13. Nd5 Be6 14. f4 Kh7 15. Qc2 Qd7 16. Rae1 Rae8 17. Bc3 Bxd5 18. cxd5 Ne7 19. e4 exf4 20. gxf4 fxe4 21. dxe4 Nh5 22. Bxg7 Kxg7 23. e5 Nxf4 24. e6 Qb5 25. Qxc7 Nxg2 26. Rxf8 Kxf8 27. Kxg2 Qxd5+ 28. Ne4 Qxe6 29. Qxd6 Qxd6 30. Nxd6 Rd8 31. Rf1+ Kg8 32. Nxb7 Rd5 33. Rb1 Nc6 34. Rb2 h5 35. b4 axb4 36. axb4 Rb5 37. Nd6 Rxb4 38. Rxb4 Nxb4 39. Ne4 Kf7 40. Kf3 Nd5 41. Kg3 Kg7 42. Kh4 Kh6 43. Ng5 Ne7 44. Nf7+ Kg7 45. Nd6 Nd5 46. Kg5 Nc7 47. Kf4 Nd5+ 48. Kg5 Nf6 49. h4 Nh7+ 50. Kf4 Nf8 51. Ke5 Nd7+ 52. Ke6 Nc5+ 53. Ke5 Nd7+ 54. Ke6 Nc5+ 55. Ke5 Nd3+ 56. Ke4 Nb4 57. Kf4 Nd3+ 58. Kg5 Ne5 59. Ne8+ Kf7 60. Nd6+ Ke7 61. Nc4 Nxc4 62. Kxg6 Ne5+ 63. Kxh5 Kf6 64. Kh6 Ng4+ 65. Kh5 Kf5 0.5-0.5

Gelfand, Boris-Adams, Michael
London Chess Classic Rapids Semi-Finals
Dec. 15, 2013
D37 QGD 4.Nf3

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. g3 dxc4 6. Bg2 O-O 7. Ne5 c5 8. dxc5 Qxd1+ 9. Nxd1 Bxc5 10. Ne3 c3 11. bxc3 Nbd7 12. Nd3 Rb8 13. Nc4 b6 14. Nxc5 Nxc5 15. Ba3 Ba6 16. Ne5 Rfc8 17. Nc6 Rb7 18. Bxc5 bxc5 19. Ne5 Rb2 20. c4 h5 21. Bf3 Ng4 22. Nc6 Rc7 23. h3 Nf6 24. Ne5 Nd7 25. O-O-O Nxe5 26. Kxb2 Nxf3 27. exf3 Bxc4 28. Rd8+ Kh7 29. Rc1 Bd5 30. Rc3 Kg6 31. h4 Kf6 32. a3 Ke5 33. Rh8 g6 34. g4 hxg4 35. fxg4 Kd4 36. Re3 f5 37. gxf5 gxf5 38. h5 f4 39. Rh3 Rb7+ 40. Kc1 Be4 41. Rd8+ Ke5 42. h6 c4 43. Kd2 Rb2+ 44. Ke1 Rb1+ 45. Rd1 Rb7 46. Rh5+ Kf6 47. Rd4 Rb1+ 48. Kd2 Rb2+ 49. Kc3 Rc2+ 50. Kb4 Bh7 51. Rxf4+ Kg6 52. Rh3 e5 53. Rxc4 Rxf2 54. Rc7 1-0

Adams, Michael-Gelfand, Boris
London Chess Classic Rapids Semi-Finals
Dec. 15, 2013
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Byrne Attack

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Ng4 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Bg3 Bg7 10. Qd2 Nc6 11. Nb3 b5 12. f3 Nge5 13. Bf2 Na5 14. Nxa5 Qxa5 15. Be2 Be6 16. Bd4 b4 17. Nd1 d5 18. exd5 Qxd5 19. c3 bxc3 20. bxc3 Rd8 21. Ne3 Qa5 22. Rd1 Nc6 23. Nc2 Qxa2 24. O-O Nxd4 25. cxd4 Bb3 26. Bd3 Bxc2 27. Bxc2 Rxd4 28. Qe2 Qe6 29. Qxe6 fxe6 30. Rde1 Rd6 31. Bb3 Bd4+ 32. Kh1 e5 33. Rc1 Kf8 34. Rc7 Bb6 35. Rb7 Bc5 36. Re1 Rb6 37. Rxb6 Bxb6 38. Rxe5 Bd4 39. Re6 a5 40. g3 Bf6 41. Ra6 Bc3 42. Rc6 Bf6 43. Rc5 Kg7 44. Rxa5 Rb8 45. Bd5 Rb2 46. Be4 h5 47. f4 gxf4 48. Rxh5 fxg3 49. hxg3 Re2 50. Bf3 Re5 51. Rh3 Re3 52. Kg2 Ra3 53. Rh5 Ra2+ 54. Kh3 Ra3 55. Kg2 Ra2+ 56. Kf1 Ra3 57. Kf2 Bd4+ 58. Kg2 Re3 59. Rh4 Bf6 60. Rg4+ Kf7 61. Bd5+ e6 62. Bf3 Ra3 63. Re4 Bg5 64. Re2 Kf6 65. Rf2 Be3 66. Rf1 Ra2+ 67. Be2+ Kg5 68. Kf3 Bc5 69. Bc4 Ra3+ 70. Kg2 Bd6 71. Rf3 Rxf3 72. Kxf3 e5 73. Ke4 0.5-0.5

Nakamura, Hikaru-Kramnik, Vladimir
London Chess Classic Rapids Semi-Finals
Dec. 15, 2013
D35 QGD, Exchange Variation

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 c5 7. a3 g6 8. Nf3 Bg7 9. h4 Nc6 10. Be3 Qa5 11. Qd2 cxd4 12. cxd4 Qxd2+ 13. Kxd2 O-O 14. Bb5 Bd7 15. Rhd1 Rfd8 16. Ke1 Nb4 17. Bxd7 Nc2+ 18. Kd2 Nxa1 19. Ba4 b5 20. Bxb5 Nb3+ 21. Ke2 Rac8 22. d5 exd5 23. exd5 Nc5 24. Rc1 Ne4 25. Rxc8 Rxc8 26. Bc6 Rb8 27. Bxa7 Rb2+ 28. Kf1 Ra2 29. a4 Ra1+ 30. Ke2 Nc3+ 31. Kd3 Nxa4 32. Bxa4 Ra3+ 33. Ke2 Rxa4 34. Bb6 Kf8 35. g3 Ke8 36. Be3 Ra5 37. d6 Rd5 38. Bf4 f6 39. Nd2 Kd7 40. Ne4 Ke6 41. Bd2 h6 42. d7 Kf7 43. Nc5 Bf8 44. Ba5 Be7 45. Bb6 Rd6 46. Ba5 Rd5 47. Bb6 h5 48. Kf3 f5 49. Kg2 Rd2 50. Ba5 Rd5 51. Bb6 f4 52. Kf3 fxg3 53. fxg3 Rd6 54. Ba5 Rd4 55. Bb6 Rd1 56. Ba5 Rd5 57. Bb6 Rd1 58. Ba5 g5 59. hxg5 Kg6 60. Bb6 Bxg5 61. Ne6 Rd3+ 62. Ke4 Rd6 63. Nxg5 Rxd7 64. Nf3 Re7+ 65. Ne5+ Kf6 66. Bd8 1-0
++++++++++

A very entertaining morning with the commentators cheering the good moves and groaning at the bad. So much for English stoicism.

In Gelfand-Adams, Black played 24…Nd7 and the balance of the game changed when White answered with 25.0-0-0.

- Boris's O-O-O was the move of the day

- Gelfand has been super impressive!!

- who thought chess could be that exciting and what a brilliant 0-0-0 move?

- Semifinal game two under way. Adams needs to win with white vs Gelfand. Nakamura - Kramnik still in the balance
++++++++++

In the second game, Nakamura-Kramnik, it looked like Vladimir had the better position throughout the game and then it worsened in time trouble near the end and Vlad got caught in a pure skewer by Naka. He looked disgusted with himself, and got out of the playing hall as soon as he could.

- Wow, incredible ending by Nakamura

- amazing play by nakamura. kramnik deserved it by trying to be too adventurous in time trouble

- Incredible comeback by Nakamura against Kramnik in Londonchess!

- Wow! GM Hikaru with the blitz skewer on Kramnik. I got goosebumps from that endgame.

- London chess, final: Nakamura vs Gelfand:
+++++++++++

The Nakamura-Gelfand final is coming up early this afternoon Montreal/Toronto time.

**Gordon Ritchie** · Sunday, 15th December, 2013, 12:44 PM

Re: London Chess Classic 2013

Thanks, Wayne. I have heard very few complaints about the faster formats. Perhaps this is a harbinger of the future for chess. If an event this prestigious can make it work....

**Adam Cormier** · Sunday, 15th December, 2013, 02:50 PM

Re: London Chess Classic 2013

Originally posted by Gordon Ritchie View Post

Thanks, Wayne. I have heard very few complaints about the faster formats. Perhaps this is a harbinger of the future for chess. If an event this prestigious can make it work....

Really you've only heard very few complaints? This change is awful in my opinion and before the tournament began most comments were complaining about it on chess.com, and now we are seeing hosts of blunders throughout the rounds. Plus the organizers are not happy with the turnouts so clearly the move to rapid didn't really help in that regard either. I hope next year this goes back to classical time control. I don't think they've made it work, despite it being entertaining to watch super-gms miss two move tactics. If there is a massive open tournament with many gms playing classical, why can't the super-gms do the same thing (like they have always done before)?

Also a poll was done on chess.com about the format:
43%- It should always be classical
3%- The chess is so imperfect I won't watch it
18%- Let's just do it for one year
26%- Rapid chess is exciting
11%- I won't watch regardless of format

Clearly the majority of chess fans on this site at least do not want this to become a yearly event over the classical time controls.

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 15th December, 2013, 04:27 PM

Re: London Chess Classic 2013

London Chess Classic 2013

Dec. 15, 2013

Final

F1
Game One

Nakamura, Hikaru-Gelfand, Boris
Dec. 15, 2013
London Chess Classic Rapid 2013
D97 Grunfeld, Russian
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 O-O 7. e4 a6 8. e5 b5 9. Qb3 Nfd7 10. Ng5 Nc6 11. Nxf7 Rxf7 12. e6 Nxd4 13. exf7+ Kf8 14. Qd1 Nc5 15. Be3 Bf5 16. Rc1 Qd6 17. b4 Ne4 18. Nxe4 Bxe4 19. f3 Bf5 20. Qd2 Rd8 21. Kf2 Kxf7 22. Be2 Qf6 23. Rxc7 Ne6 24. Rd7 Rc8 25. Bd3 Rc3 26. Bxf5 gxf5 27. f4 Rc4 28. Rc1 Re4 29. g3 h5 30. h4 Qg6 31. Bc5 Bf6 32. Re1 Qg4 33. Rxe4 fxe4 34. Qd1 Qf5 35. Rd5 Qh3 36. Qf1 1-0

Game Two

Gelfand, Boris-Nakamura, Hikaru
Dec. 15, 2013
London Chess Classic Rapid 2013
E74 King’s Indian, Averbakh (6…c5)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Bg5 c5 7. d5 a6 8. a4 Qa5 9. Bd2 e6 10. Nf3 exd5 11. exd5 Bg4 12. O-O Nbd7 13. h3 Bxf3 14. Bxf3 Qc7 15. Qc2 Ne8 16. Rae1 Be5 17. Bd1 Ng7 18. f4 Bd4+ 19. Kh2 f5 20. Ne2 Bf6 21. Ng1 b5 22. cxb5 axb5 23. axb5 Qb7 24. Be2 Ra2 25. Bc3 Bxc3 26. Qxc3 Nb6 27. Nf3 Ra4 28. Ng5 h6 29. Ne6 Nxd5 30. Bf3 Nxc3 31. Bxb7 Rb8 32. Bc6 Nxb5 33. Nc7 Nxc7 34. Bxa4 Rxb2 35. Rf3 Rb4 36. Bd7 Kf7 37. g3 Kf6 38. Ra3 Rb6 39. h4 d5 40. Ra7 Nge6 41. Rea1 c4 42. Bxe6 Nxe6 43. Rd7 Rb2+ 44. Kg1 c3 45. Re1 Rb6 46. Rxd5 c2 47. Rde5 Nd4 48. Rc5 Nf3+ 49. Kf2 Nxe1 50. Kxe1 Rb3 51. Rc6+ Kf7 52. Kf2 Rb2 53. Ke3 h5 54. Kd4 Rb3 55. Rxc2 Rxg3 56. Rc7+ Kf6 57. Rc6+ Ke7 58. Ra6 Rg1 59. Ra7+ Ke6 60. Ra6+ Ke7 61. Ra7+ Ke6 62. Ra6+ Ke7 0.5-0.5
++++++++++++

Hikaru Nakamura is the winner, with Boris Gelfand the runner-up.

1st €50,000; 2nd €25,000; 3rd – 4th €12,500; 5th – 8th €6,250; 9th – 16th €3,125 Total Prize Fund €150,000
++++++++

Hikaru comes in to join the commentators.

21…b5 was played intuitively in the second game. He explains his thinking and receives a round of applause at the end. Malcolm Pein says that he hopes that there will be a 6th London Classic Tournament next year. He doesn’t know if it will be a rapid or classical – they have received so many good comments about both formats.

Chess boards from the London Classic are being auctioned for charity on eBay – signed by Anand, Kramnik, Polgar, Nakamura, Gelfand etc. Auction up in three days and the price right now is at 56 pounds ($96.50 CND)

Viewers’ Comments

- Nakamura now being told that his prize was spent on getting the live broadcast working again. Sorry.

- (Garry Kasparov tweet) Congrats to Hikaru for big win in London! Comments on his opponents’ errors are strange. That is how you win! Push hard and punish mistakes.

- Fascinating and innovative London Classic comes to an end. Congrats to Naka and the fab commentary team

- Soonest Nakamura can play Carlsen is 3 years time. A lot can change! I'd like to see Aronian get his chance.

- I am enjoying this. He plays suicidally against Magnus, so what? If he is losing to Magnus then that is better than losing to weaker players, no? That is all the detractors have. Seems he has solved Svidler, Wang Hao and looks to be solving Gelfand given before this event his record vs Gelfand in rapids was a dismal 1.0/4 but in this event he got 2.5/4 with no losses, which is a complete turnaround. Gelfand was in top form as well so that isn't a reason. He is crossing his tormentors off the list one by one and only Magnus awaits.

**Alan Baljeu** · Sunday, 15th December, 2013, 04:35 PM

Re: London Chess Classic 2013

Nakamura did not lose a single game out of 12 played!

I did watch the video coverage, and although it was interesting it was just too fast. We couldn't get a feel for any positions before it moved forward, especially when there were 4 simultaneous matches. I would be happier with G/50+20s or G/2h+etc.

**Wayne Komer** · Tuesday, 17th December, 2013, 05:22 PM

Re: London Chess Classic 2013

Official News Release

Monday, December 16, 2013

John Saunders writes:

Nakamura triumphs in the Super Sixteen Rapid

26-year-old US grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura of the USA has won the 5th London Chess Classic, staged this year as a rapid chess tournament and billed as the Super Sixteen Rapid. The top American grandmaster defeated former world championship finalist Boris Gelfand of Israel by 1½-½ in the final.

As the world number four on the FIDE Rating List for classical chess, and number three at rapid chess, the result was far from being a surprise but it was a significant achievement in the career of a remarkable player who must be a leading contender to threaten Magnus Carlsen’s world crown in the next few years.

Hikaru’s progression through the competition was impressive. He scored +2, =4, -0 in the preliminary phase, and then improved that to +3, =3, -0 against sterner opposition in the knock-out phase. To go through without a loss was a clear sign of strength. His toughest moment was when he came close to elimination in his second semi-final game with Vladimir Kramnik but he showed an amazing resilience in first holding the former world champion at bay and then taking advantage of Kramnik’s evident state of confusion to finish the match off with a win.

In the final match against Boris Gelfand, Hikaru showed the courage of his convictions by going straight for an ultra-sharp tactic in the opening against a player who had hitherto proved himself the best defender in the event, and also at this time control in world championship qualifiers. They say ‘fortune favours the brave’ and Hikaru’s conquest of this elite rapid chess event backs that up. Congratulations to him.

THE FINAL Nakamura 1½-½ Gelfand

Game 1 - win for Nakamura
Hikaru received the white pieces in the draw for colours conducted by chief arbiter Albert Vasse, and they launched into a Grünfeld Defence, one of the most fashionable of all current super-GM openings. Hikaru's 10. Ng5 is quite a double-edged move but Boris avoided the standard continuation 10... Nb6 by playing instead 10... Nc6. Hikaru's response was brave and speculative – 11. Nxf7!? – a move we all like to play against a castled king, whatever level we play at.

On the face of it, the line looks very dodgy for Black as he has to give up the exchange, but it is almost inconceivable that Boris wouldn’t have something prepared for this. By way of compensation he demolished the white centre and got his minor pieces to strong outposts. Was it enough? The unofficial grandmaster jury in the VIP Room was undecided: the Hiarcs engine thought White was better around move 15 but Matthew Sadler and others preferred Black.

Hikaru may not have been entirely confident of his chances as he thought for nine minutes about his 16th move: quite a big chunk of his allotted 25 minutes. However, within a few moves, the initiative seemed to have shifted back to the American after Boris played the dubious 17... Ne4. "He's blown it," exclaimed

GM Julian Hodgson, perhaps a little melodramatically. Then, calming down slightly, "I think Hikaru's over the worst now – he'll survive." Julian might have been right the first time. The next few moves saw Hikaru consolidate his material advantage, in machine-like fashion, and Boris never really looked like getting back into the game. At move 25 he used around half of his remaining six minutes, suggesting he was running out of ideas. More solid moves followed from Hikaru and Boris had to resign.

Game 2 - draw Boris, with White, played the Averbakh variation of the King's Indian Defence. It followed theory for about 15 moves and Boris acquired a space advantage. However, Black’s position remained playable and White couldn’t bring any real pressure to bear on it. Hikaru used his tactical prowess to exchange queens and then give up the exchange for two pawns. It might sound risky but Black’s pieces remained well-coordinated and Boris’s pair of rooks had no useful inroads. Boris pressed too hard and made a slip. Eventually only Hikaru could win the position but, since he didn’t need to, he was happy to acquiesce to a draw.

What a gripping competition! Thanks to Malcolm Pein and his team for their hard work, the players for their wonderful chess, and to everyone at home and at the venue for being a great audience.
+++++++++

The closing ceremony took place at Simpson's-in-the-Strand. This is one of London's oldest traditional English restaurants, known as the Grand Cigar Divan when it opened in 1828. It developed from a smoking room to a coffee house, and finally achieved dual fame for its traditional English food, particularly roast meat, and as the most important venue in Britain for chess in the nineteenth century.

As is now traditional, the players teamed together in a simultaneous exhibition, alternating moves. For those that have not tried this type of chess before, it is incredibly complicated. In many occasions the grandmasters, not knowing exactly what the previous player was trying to do, will simply undo the move and the plan that had just been played!

The above from a spread at the ChessBase site with lots of photos of the affair.

http://en.chessbase.com/post/london-closing-ceremony