Giri -- Caruana, Tata Steel 2016

Fabiano Caruana currently leads the Masters Group at the Tata Steel Chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee. Today, he is playing Anish Giri, the current number three on the FIDE rating list. Caruana is number five. Giri has White in today's game.

My database, ChessBase Big 2012 updated with every issue of The Week in Chess through 1104 (4 January 2016), contains 22 games between these two players with an even score. Each has four wins; most games have been draws. With Giri playing White, the Queen's Gambit and the English have been the norm. In rapid play, they have played a Four Knights, and Caruana played a Sicilian Kan in a blitz game.

Today's game is important because Caruana is the current leader and these two are the second and third seeds behind Magnus Carlsen. In addition, Giri lost to Wesley So in the first round and was worse for most of his game against David Navara yesterday (see "Wei Yi").

Watching the Tata Steel Chess tournament live while blogging always proves challenging. There are seven games in the Master's Group and seven more in the Challengers. It is easy to get a superficial look at all the openings when I first wake up as the first hour of play is finishing, but then some of the games become quite complex and I must make choices. As the players near the time control, watching even one game can be a challenge.

I could just sit back and listen to Yasser Seirawan, but I prefer the active engagement of challenging blogging. Most satisfying is when I chose a single game to follow and it becomes one of the more interesting games of the day.

Giri,Anish (2798) -- Caruana,Fabiano (2787) [C83]
Tata Steel Chess Wijk aan Zee (4), 19.01.2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.Be3 

These two players contested this position from opposite sides last summer.

9.Nbd2 Nc5 10.c3 Be7 11.Bc2 d4 12.Nb3 d3 13.Bb1 Nxb3 14.axb3 Bf5 15.Re1 0–0 16.b4 Qd7 17.h3 Rfd8 18.g4 Bg6 19.Bf4 a5 20.bxa5 Rxa5 21.Ba2 Rf8 22.b4 Ra4 23.Qd2 Nd8 24.Bg5 c5 25.Bxe7 Qxe7 26.bxc5 Qxc5 27.Nh4 Ne6 28.Bb3 Rxa1 29.Rxa1 Qxe5 30.Nxg6 hxg6 31.Bxe6 fxe6 32.Qxd3 b4 33.Rc1 Qf4 34.Rf1 b3 35.Qxg6 Qc4 36.Re1 Rf6 37.Qe8+ Kh7 38.Qh5+ Rh6 39.Qe5 Rxh3 40.Qxe6 Qxe6 41.Rxe6 Rxc3 42.Rb6 Rc4 43.Rxb3 Rxg4+ ½–½ Caruana,F (2805) -- Giri,A (2773), Stavanger NOR 2015, The Week in Chess 1077.

9...Be7 10.c3 Qd7 11.Nbd2

Black to move

11...Nxd2

Last played in 2001 by Victor Kortschnoj

11...Rd8 has been played in a handful of games, including against Giri.

a) 12.Qe1 1–0 Giri,A (2686) -- Van Wessel,R (2383), Netherlands 2010 (80 moves)
b) 12.Re1 1–0 Kasparov,G (2813) -- Shirov,A (2726), Izmir 2004 (40 moves)

12.Qxd2 Na5 13.Bg5 c5

Kortschnoj played 13...Nc4 ½–½ Ponomariov,R (2677) -- Kortschnoj,V (2639), Donetsk 2001 (91 moves).

14.Bxe7 Qxe7

Perhaps this position was one that Giri looked at in home preparation.

White to move

15.Bxd5N 

15.Ng5 0–1  was played by Andrei Sokolov against Artur Jussupow, who went on to win after a long struggle that included a queen and pawn ending. Jussupow annotated the game for Chess Informant 40/414 (Sokolov,A (2555) -- Jussupow,A (2600), Montpellier 1985, Candidates [85 moves]).

15...Rd8 16.c4 Nxc4 17.Bc6+ Kf8!?

17...Bd7 18.Bxd7+ Rxd7 "Black is okay." Yasser Seirawan.

What is going on here?

Part of how this tournament always appeals to me is the exceptional coverage. English language coverage is hosted by GM Yasser Seirawan with a rotating cast of co-hosts. Yesterday and today, IM Jan Van de Mortel joined Seirawan. In the image above, they are trying to get a handle on Giri -- Caruana after Caruana's surprising 17...Kf8, and the subsequent two moves by each player.

18.Qc3 b4 19.Qc1 h6 20.a3 bxa3 21.bxa3 g5

Black threatens g4 to kick White's knight to an awkward square.

22.Rb1

Now, Black's queen is threatened.

Black to move

22..Qc7 23.Be4 Qa5 24.Rb7 Rg8 25.Rb3 Nd6!

White to move

26.exd6

26.Re3 Nxe4 Rxe4 and Black seems a little better.

26...Bxb3

Giri goes for the exchange sacrifice as a practical decision.

27.Qb2 Be6 28.Rd1 Qb5 29.Qf6 Qa4

White is down material, but Black's rook on g8 is not really in the game yet. Moreover, White's king seems a bit more comfortable.

White to move

30.Rb1

30.Qxd8+?? Kg8

Oops! Both queen and rook are hanging and White's king is in trouble.

30...Qxe4 31.Qxd8+ 

"Box." Seirawan

31...Kg7 32.Qb6 g4 33.Nd2 Qd3

White has won back the sacrificed exchange. All three results are possible. Seirawan feels that he would prefer to be playing Black's position because the bishop on e6 seems a better piece than White's knight. Caruana, however, is a little short of time, under six minutes plus the increment.

34.Qb2+ Kg6 35.f3

Seirawan and Mortel had been looking at this position when Hou Yifan arrived in the broadcasting booth after her terrific win against David Navara. If I find the time, I may post something about that game tomorrow.

White's 35.f3 seems like an effort to improve the knight.

Black to move

While Hou discussed her game with Seirawan, matters were clarified a bit in Giri -- Caruana and both players made the time control.

35...c4 36.Ne4 c3 37.Nxc3 gxf3 38.Nd1 Qxd6 39.Ne3 Qd3 40.Qc2 Qxc2 41.Nxc2 Kf6

White to move

42.Ne1 fxg2

The tournament leader appears to me to be in full control today.

43.Rb6

Pinning the bishop with a fork on the a-pawn may be the only way to eliminate the pesky pawn on g2 without capitulation.

43...a5

I would have played this move, but Seirawan and Mortel were willing to shed the a-pawn in favor of securing the g-pawn. 43...h5!?

44.Ra6 Rg5 45.Nxg2 Rf5 46.h3 Rc5 47.Nf4 Kf5 48.Nxe6 fxe6

White to move

With the minor pieces gone, has White improved his chances of holding a draw?

49.Kf2 h5 50.a4 e5

Watching Seirawan and Mortel analyze this rook ending is great pleasure and very instructive. Rook endings are critical to chess strength.

51.Ra8 e4 52.Ke3 Rc3+ 53.Kd4 Rd3+ 54.Kc4 Kf4 55.Rxa5

Black to move

55...Rxh3=

55...Ra3 was the winning move. Seirawan received word that a fellow in Norway with a super computer put the position up on a website. My computer (an i7 desktop with 16 GB of RAM) finds the truth in under a minute. Reportedly, Black's score on the super computer is -40. Stockfish 6 on my box has -8.

56.Ra8 Rh1 57.a5 h4 58.a6 Ra1 59.a7 Ke3

Avoiding checks.

60.Kb5 h3 61.Kb6 Rb1 62.Kc6 Ra1 63.Kb6 1/2-1/2

Giri dodged another bullet. Caruana remains the leader with 3.0. Five players are one-half point behind: Wesley So, Hou Yifan, Sergey Karjakin, Ding Liren, and Pavel Eljanov.

Wei Yi

Tata Steel Chess 2016, Round Three

After two rounds, the leaders in the Masters Group of this year's tournament in Wijk aan Zee are Wesley So, Fabiano Caruana, and Ding Liren. Nonetheless, the focus today will be on the first game between current World Champion Magnus Carlsen, and probable World Championship contender, Wei Yi. Wei Yi is sixteen years old, the current youngest Grandmaster, and last summer won a game that many analysts have claimed is the best game of the twenty-first century.

In late December at Inland Chess Academy's Holiday Chess Camp after dismissing my young students for the lunch break, I walked into the classroom next door where FM Jim Maki was conducting camp for the advanced group. He had this position on the projection screen.

White to move

Seeing this position, I claimed to have seen it in the Encyclopedia of Chess Combinations, where it cannot be found. Maki pointed out that it is not there, yet. It could not be as it had been played several months after the latest edition of the Encyclopedia was published. I was probably remembering a position from Ragozin -- Veresov, Moscow 1945. The position above is from Wei -- Bruzon Batista, Danzhou 2015, Chess Informant 125/65. I had looked at Wei Yi's beautiful game last summer. The intuitive sacrifice on f7 is a familiar pattern, but is far less clear in this position than in Ragozin's game. There have been many instances of such a sacrifice, several of which are elucidated in Grigory Serper, "From Paul Morphy to Wei Yi," Chess.com (19 July 2015), http://www.chess.com/article/view/from-paul-morphy-to-wei-yi.

Not only this game, but Wei's rapid ascent, has created a great deal of anticipation of his coming battles with Carlsen. The young Chinese player will not dethrone the World Champion today because that is not how it works. But, he could score a symbolic victory. I predict a fighting draw. But, today's battle offers a first glimpse of more battles to come.

Magnus Carlsen is the strongest player ever to sit at a chess board. His style is torturous, rather than flashy. Wei's approach, on the other hand, reflects a hunger for tactical fireworks. Today, we will see a battle of styles as well as the current World Champion defending his position against one of his possible successors.

Wei,Yi (2706) -- Carlsen,Magnus (2844) [C89]
Tata Steel Chess Wijk aan Zee (3), 18.01.2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0–0 8.c3 d5

The Marshall!

Carlsen previously has played 8...d6 9.h3 Nb8 10.d4 Nbd7 11.c4 c6 12.Nc3 b4 13.Na4 c5 14.d5 Re8 15.Bc2 Nf8 16.a3 a5 17.b3 Ng6 18.Nb2 Bd7 19.Nh2 h6 20.Nf1 Nh7 21.Ne3 Bg5 22.axb4 axb4 23.Rxa8 Qxa8 24.Nf5 Bxc1 25.Qxc1 Bxf5 26.exf5 Ngf8 27.Nd1 Nf6 28.f3 Qa2 29.g4 Ra8 30.Nf2 Qa3 31.Qb1 Qa2 32.Qc1 Qa3 33.Qb1 Qa2 34.Qc1 ½–½ Nakamura,H (2774) -- Carlsen,M (2815) Medias 2011.

9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6 

White to move

12.d3

12.d4 has been more popular. 12.d3 was first played by Vassily Smyslov in 1949.

12...Bd6 13.Re1 Bf5 14.Qf3 Qh4 15.g3 Qh3

White to move

16.Be3

A relatively rare move.

16.Bxd5 has been most frequent.

16...Bxd3 17.Nd2 Qf5 18.Bd4 Rae8 19.Kg2 Qxf3+

19...h6 20.a4 Qxf3+ 21.Kxf3 Re6 22.axb5 axb5 23.Kg2 Rfe8 24.Rxe6 Rxe6 25.c4 bxc4 26.Nxc4 Be4+ 27.f3 Bd3 28.Nxd6 Rxd6 29.Kf2 Rd7 30.Ra3 Nc7 31.Be3 Nd5 32.Bc5 f6 33.Ba4 Bb5 34.Bc2 Nc7 35.Bg6 Na6 36.Re3 Rd8 37.Be7 Rc8 38.b4 c5 39.Bf5 Rc6 40.Bd7 cxb4 41.Bxc6 Bxc6 42.Re6 1–0 Vachier Lagrave,M (2731) -- Adams,M (2740) Biel SUI 2015.

20.Kxf3 Re6

Wei has gone into a long think.

White to move

21.Rac1

21.a4 might have been expected, as it is a common idea when playing against the Marshall. The threat to play c4, however, seems to complicate this position.

21...h6

Yasser Seirawan had commented on the absence of this move earlier. The rook could go to h6, provoking White to play h4, a possibly weakening move.

22.Kg2 Rg6 23.Ne4 Nf4+ 24.Kf3 Bxe4+ 25.Rxe4 Nd3 26.Rd1

I would have played 26.Rc2, which my engine tells me is a slight inaccuracy. The computer likes 26.Rb1, a move that Seirawan also mentioned.

26...Nxb2 27.Rd2 Ba3

White to move

28.Bb6 Rd6

Seirawan looked at 28...c5 29.Ba5 c4 30.Bc2 Nd3 and also other lines prior to 28.Bb6 where Black's queenside pawns become separated. At this point in the game, or a few moves earlier, it appeared that Wei had some chances to play for a win.

29.Rxd6 Bxd6 30.Re2 Nd3 31.Rd2 Ne5+ 32.Kg2 Be7 33.f4 Nc4 34.Bxc4 bxc4 

White to move

Black's pawns have become separated after all, but with substantially less material on the board, their weaknesses do not offer White much.

35.Rd7 Bf6 36.Rc7 Bxc3 37.Rxc6 Rb8 38.a4 Bb2 39.Ba5 c3 40.Bxc3 Bxc3

Both players have reached the time control.

41.Rxc3

Black to move

A few years ago, I would have suggested that this position should be a simple draw. However, Carlsen became the World Champion by squeezing blood from turnips. If there is anything to play for, any resource in the position, Carlsen will make his opponent play on. His opponents usually find themselves in time pressure and occasionally crack.

41...Rb4 42.a5 Rb5 43.Ra3 Rb2+ 44.Kh3 f5 

White to move

Although this position should be objectively drawn, it is worth noting that Black's rook is more active, his king is more active, and it is possible for the White king to blunder into checkmate (I have been on both sides of that particular checkmate in many a blitz game).

45.Rc3 Rb5 46.Ra3 g5 47.fxg5 hxg5 48.Kg2 Kg7 49.h4 g4 50.Rc3 Rxa5 51.Rc6 Ra2+ 52.Kg1 a5 53.Ra6 a4

White to move

54.Kh1 Kf7 55.Kg1 Ra1+ 56.Kg2 Ra3 57.Kh2 Ra2+ 58.Kg1 Ke7 59.Kh1 a3 60.Kg1 ½–½


David Navara!

While trying to sort out the possibilities in the endgame for Wei and Carlsen, David Navara created some excitement with a rook sacrifice against Anish Giri. My attention was diverted to Navara's game after Carlsen's 20...Re6.

Navara,David (2730) -- Giri,Anish (2798) [D97]
Tata Steel Chess Wijk aan Zee (3), 18.01.2016

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 0–0 7.e4 a6 8.Be2 b5 9.Qb3 c5 10.dxc5 Bb7 11.e5 Nfd7 12.Be3 e6 13.0–0 Qc7 14.Rad1 Nxc5 15.Qa3 Ne4 16.Nxe4 Bxe4 17.Ng5 Bc6 18.f4 Qb7 19.Bc5 Re8

White to move

20.f5! exf5 21.Rxf5 gxf5 22.Bh5 Bd5 23.Rxd5 Qxd5 24.Bxf7+ Qxf7 25.Nxf7 Kxf7

White to move

26.Qb3+ Kg6 27.Qg3+ Kf7 28.Qb3+ Kg6 29.Qg3+

Such a repetition could prove useful for reaching the time control before a difficult endgame.

29...Kf7 30.Qf3

30.Bd4 was examined by Seirawan during the commentary and may have been Navara's best chance to win.

30...Nd7 31.Qd5+ Kg6 32.Qc6+ Nf6 33.exf6 Rac8 34.Qxa6 Ra8 35.f7+ Kxf7 36.Qxb5 Rad8 37.Qb3+ Kg6 38.Qg3+ Kf7

Navara is essentially playing on the increment at this point in the game.

White to move

39.Qb3+ Kg6 40.Bd6?

40.h4!

Bxb2 41.Qxb2 Rxd6 42.h3 Ra6 ½–½

Giri dodged a bullet. After the forcing continuation initiated by 20.f5! both players faced a position with difficult imbalances. Giri managed to stay ahead on the clock and Navara was unable to take advantage of his inaccuracies. I hope to see this game with detailed analysis in Chess Informant 127.

The decisive games in the round came when Shakhriyar Mamedyarov blundered a rook in a winning position to Pavel Eljanov. In his postgame interview, Eljanov seemed relieved to have escaped without a loss but did not enjoy such a win. Fabiano Caruana also managed to grind out a win against Michael Adams, which now puts Caruana in sole possession of first place with ten rounds remaining. It is a long tournament.

Tata Steel Chess 2016, Round One

Last night, in preparation for today's opening round of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, I reviewed previous encounters for each of the pairs of contestants. Although the overall strength of this year's event is down from prior years, there will be some interesting match-ups. In the Tata Steel Masters, there are three players from China and only two from Russia. The future is thus well represented.

Hou -- Karjakin

I found one game in the database between these two players, and it was a game that I remember watching live three years ago. It was played during the Tata Steel Chess tournament. Hou Yifan played the French Defense and chose an obscure line of the Steinitz variation designed to immediately swap off her bad bishop. Against a player of Sergey Karjakin's caliber, this strategy was fatal. Too much time was spent in the exchange. Karjakin built up his attack and forced the Black king to remain in the middle of the board. That was enough for a lasting advantage.

Today's game was drawn after both players reached the time control. Each had two rooks and four pawns remaining.

So -- Giri

Anish Giri had White in his first meeting with Wesley So in the Corus C-Group of the 2009 Wijk aan Zee tournament. That game was agreed drawn after it was reduced to a pawn ending. Both players were elevated to the B-Group the following year. Giri won with the Petroff. Later in 2010, Giri beat So again in Biel. Their next two encounters were draws, one in the 2014 Tata Steel Masters. In last year's Tata Steel Masters, Giri won a marathon battle of 111 moves. So then scored a win against Giri in the Vugar Gashimov Memorial in April. They played six more games against one another in 2015, with So winning one of the blitz games and the others all drawn.

So won a symmetrical English that left Black's minor pieces inferior to White's.

Ding -- Adams

The only prior encounter between these two players in my database was at the 2013 Alekhine Memorial. Ding Liren played 4.f3 against Michael Adams' Nimzo-Indian Defense. Most of the pieces came off in a tactical melee, and the players agreed to a draw in a balanced endgame.

Ding Liren won an ending that featured a knight, rook, and pawns on each side. Eventually, Adams lost his knight with a stalemate trap that Ding easily saw through.

Navara -- Carlsen

According to my database, David Navara has an even score against Magnus Carlsen, but all but one of these games were played before Carlsen ascended to the top of the rating list. Navara was over 2700, and ranked above Carlsen when he beat the future World Champion with a Grunfeld Defense at Wijk aan Zee 2007. The previous year, they drew their game in the B-Group. Carlsen's win against Navara came in 2008 at the Dresden Olympiad. Two other games, most recently in 2012, ended as draws.

David Navara gave a nice interview with Yasser Seirawan where he described how he avoided the sort of strategic complications that would have favored the World Champion. In the end, Carlsen forced a draw by repetition.

Caruana -- Eljanov

All of the games between these two players have been decisive with Pavel Eljanov leading 3-2. Two games were played in the World Blitz Championship in 2010. Caruana won with White, but lost in three moves from the Black side. There must have been an illegal move or some other irregularity. The only clue that I could find in ten minutes of searching was Mark Crowther's comment (The Week in Chess, theweekinchess.com, 18 November 2010) that some games were incomplete. Perhaps the game score is incomplete due to problems with the DGT boards. Fabiano Caruana's sole classic time control win against Eljanov came against the Berlin Defense in 2011. Later that year, Eljanov opted for the Caro-Kann and won. Will Eljanov opt to test Caruana in the Berlin once again?

Caruana told Seirawan that he was worse early on in this Queen's Gambit, but his attack began to gain ground after a coupld of time wasting moves by Eljanov. The score between these two players is now even.

Wei -- Tomashevsky

If Wei Yi and Evgeny Tomashevsky have played one another prior to today, the game is not in my database. Nor do any games from the usual online database appear via a Google search.

This 23 move draw was the shortest game of the round.

Mamedyarov -- Van Wely

These two have seventeen prior encounters at my fingertips. Shakhryar Mamedyarov leads Loek Van Wely 7-7-3 (W-D-L). Two of these games were played at Wijk aan Zee.

If you showed this position to any Grandmaster and mentioned that Black has a win, he or she would find it in under two minutes. Alas, there is no such voice of assistance in a tournament game and Loek van Wely missed his chance. The game was drawn after a long ending where White was unable to convert a small advantage.

Black to move

Pawn Thrusts

Tata Steel Chess, Round 3

The Tata Steel Tournament began on Saturday, in Wijk aan Zee. When I awoke this morning, the competitors were nearly two hours into play. I glanced through the opening moves in their games and two caught my eye. Anish Giri aggressively thrust forward his c-pawn against Fabiano Caruana. Magnus Carlsen, playing Black, thrust forward an a-pawn early against Radoslaw Wojtaszek.

Giri was provoked.

Giri,Anish (2784) -- Caruana,Fabiano (2820) [D37]
Tata Steel Masters Wijk aan Zee (3), 12.01.2015

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bf4 0–0 6.e3 Nbd7 7.c5

This position appeared in this blog two months ago. Viswanathan Anand beat Magnus Carlsen from this position in game three of their World Championship match.

7...Ne4

Carlsen played 7...c6

8.Rc1

My database has four prior instances of 8.Rc1, three of them in the past two years.

8...Nxc3N 9.Rxc3 b6

Caruana provokes White's c-pawn.

10.c6

Black to move

10...Nf6 11.a3 a5 12.Rc2 Ne4 13.Bd3 Ba6 14.Bxa6 Rxa6 15.Ne5

Giri's advanced c-pawn provides a forward post for a knight, and so a knight is headed there.

15...Bd6 16.Nd7 Bxf4 17.Nxf8 Bxe3 18.Nd7 Bg5

White has won an exchange, gaining a rook for a bishop and pawn. Caruana has shown so far in this tournament that his performance over the past few months is no fluke. He is the only player with two wins so far in this event.

19.Qd3 Ra8 20.a4 Nf6 21.h4

Black to move

21...Bh6 22.Nxf6+ Qxf6 23.h5 Bg5 24O-O Qf4 25.Rd1 Bf6 26.g3

I will return to this game later.

Magnus Carlsen employed an unusual move order to reach the Dutch Defense, and then thrust forward his a-pawn early.

Wojtaszek,Radoslaw (2744) -- Carlsen,Magnus (2862) [A41]
Tata Steel Masters Wijk aan Zee (3), 12.01.2015

1.d4 d6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 f5 4.b4 Bg7 5.Bb2 a5

Already, my database finds only three reference games.

6.b5 a4 7.e3N

7.a3 was played by an unrated player in the 2001 Brasil championship.

7...Nf6 8.Be2 c6 9.bxc6 bxc6

Some elements of this position are not uncommon in the Dutch, but I cannot recall many Dutch games with a b-file that opened so early.

White to move

10.0–0 0–0 11.Qc2 Qc7 12.Nc3 a3

Now that the knight no longer guards a3, the pawn is able to harass the bishop.

13.Bc1 Nbd7 14.Rb1

Seize the open file. 14...Ne4 15.Nxe4 fxe4

White to move

16.Nd2

16.Qxe4 would be a mistake 16...Nc5 17.Qh4

17.dxc5 is worse Bf5 18.Qh4 Bf6 19.Ng5 Bxg5 20.Qxg5 Bxb1 Black has a clear material advantage.

17...Bf6 18.Qh6 Bg7 19.Qh4 Bf5 20.Ra1 White's pieces seem to lack effective coordination.

16...Nf6 17.Rb3 Bf5 18.Rxa3 h5 

Another pawn thrust by Carlsen.

19.Rxa8 Rxa8

Wojtaszek has won a pawn and traded off a pair of rooks.

20.a3 h4

The h-pawn keeps coming.

21.Bb2 h3 22.g3 Qc8 23.Re1

Black to move

The light squares around White's king might become a problem. Indeed, if Carlsen starts some activity on the kingside, White may find that his pieces cannot get there for defense due to the central pawn structure. Black appears to have more than adequate compensation for the pawn.

23...Rb8 24.Bc3 Nh7 25.a4 Ng5 26.Rb1 Ra8 27.Qd1

Wojtaszek makes an important defense move.

27...c5 28.Rb6 Qe6 29.g4 cxd4 30.Bxd4

More on this game later.

Giri -- Caruana

Returning to Giri -- Caruana, we find that White is maintaining some initiative. We left this game after 26.g3

Black to move

After 26.g3

26...Qg4 27.Qe2 Qh3

Black's queen is getting kicked around a bit. She is posted aggressively near White's king, but cannot do much alone.

28.Rc3 Be7 29.g4 Qh4 30.f4 Bd6 31.Rf1 Qf6 32.Qf2 Rb8 33.Rb3 g6 34.hxg6 hxg6 35.Kg2

Black to move

Both White rooks are prepared to occupy the opened h-file.

35...Kf8

Caruana's king takes a walk to a safer haven.

36.Rh3 Ke7 37.b3 Rh8 38.g5 Qg7 39.Rxh8 Qxh8 40.Rh1 Qg8

Both players have made the time control.

White to move

Giri maintains a material advantage and has Caruana on the defensive. Whether this game is winnable, however, is less clear. Two results seem possible: White could win or the players could draw.

41.Rh3 Qg7 42.Kf3 Qg8 

I will return to this game.

Wojtaszek -- Carlsen

I seem to have overestimated Carlsen's compensation.

My last comment was after Wojtaszek's 27.Qd1, which began to address some problems that I had identified, and then had the game score up to 30.Bxd4.

Black to move

Carlsen's 28...Qe6 left his bishop without escape. White's potential problems on the kingside were real, and he acted to address those problems. The position opened up, and Black opted to sacrifice a bishop for some kingside play.

30...Bxd4 31.exd4 e3 32.gxf5 gxf5

The Polish player is ahead a bishop, but his pawn shield is shattered. Black's pawn shield never existed, as the World Champion has been thrusting it forward for most of the game.

33.Nf1 exf2+ 34.Kxf2 Ne4+ 35.Ke1

At this point in the game, Carlsen had perhaps two minutes. Wojtaszek had perhaps six after spending several minutes on a forced move.

Yasser Seirawan was quite clear that White is winning, but had some difficulty guessing the moves.

35...Qf6 36.Qd3 Rxa4 37.Rb1 Qh4+ 38.Ng3 Kf7 39.Qf3

Black to move

Qh5 is threatened, forcing queens off the board.

39...Kg7 40.Qf4

An elementary decoy to set up a fork gets the queens off the board.

40...Qxf4

Alternatives are much worse. Both players have reached the time control, and White seems to have a decisive advantage.

41.Nh5+ Kf7 42.Nxf4 Ng5 43.d5 Kf6 44.Kf2

Black to move

44...Ra3 45.Bd3 Ra2+ 46.Kg3 Ra3 47.Re1 Ne4+ 48.Kf3 Ng5+ 49.Ke3 Ra2 50.Re2 Ra3 51.Rf2 Ne4 52.Rf3 0-1

I spent some time watching Seirawan discuss Wesley So's win against Levon Aronian with So. So also commented on Giri -- Caruana during their discission.

Giri -- Caruana

"White is clearly playing for a win, but ..."
Wesley So

We left this game after 42...Qg8.

43.Kg2 Kd8 44.Qh4 Qe8

White to move

So thought that he would probably play 45.Qh8 were he in this position. It seems to me that dropping the f-pawn would not be such a good idea. Of course, So and Seirawan were going through the moves quickly and may have had a slightly different position on their analysis board. They said they could not understand what White had in mind with the king dance between g2 and f3.

45.Rc3 Kc8 46.Kf3 Kb8 47.Qh7 Qf8 48.Kg4 Ka7

Black's king looks secure. Seirawan described its journey as a marathon.

49.Rf3 Qe8 50.Qg7 Qxc6 51.Qxf7 Qc1 52.Qxe6 Qg1+

White to move

Will Black find a forced draw by repetition?

53.Rg3 Qxd4 54.Qe3 Qh8 55.Rh3 Qc8+ 56.Kh4 Qf8 57.Rf3 Qh8+ 58.Kg3 Qh5 59.Kg2 Qg4+ 60.Kf1 Bc5 61.Qd3 Qg1+ 62.Ke2 Bb4

White to move

That Black threatens a checkmate in one accentuates that Caruana has seized the inititiative. He is not playing for a win, but his threats keep White from making any progress. Sooner or later, the pawns on the kingside are destined for liquidation.

63.Rf1 Qg4+ 64.Qf3 Qf5 65.Rd1 c6 66.Rh1 Bc5 67.Kf1 Bd6 68.Rh7+ Kb8 69.Qe3

Black to move

White, too, has threats.

69...Qxf4+ 70.Qxf4 Bxf4

Caruana forced the queens off the board, and with them the kingside pawns are nearly liquidated.

71.Rg7 Bxg5 72.Rxg6 Be7 73.Rxc6

Black to move

I cannot imagine either player making any progress from this position unless time trouble causes a blunder.

73...Bc5 74.Ke2 Kb7 75.Rg6 Kc7 76.Kf3 Kd7 77.Kf4 Bd4 78.Kf5 Ke7 79.Rg4 Bc3 80.Rg3 Bb2 81.Rg2 Bc3 82.Rc2 Ba1 83.Rc6 Bd4 84.Rh6 Kd7 85.Re6 Kc7 86.Kf4 Kd7 87.Rh6 Kc7 88.Kf3 Kd7 89.Ke2 Bc5 90.Kf3 Bd4 91.Rh4 Bc5 92.Rg4 Kd6 93.Rg6+ Kd7 94.Rh6 Bd4 95.Kf4 Kc7 96.Kf5 Kd7 97.Rh4 Bc3 ½–½


I usually follow this tournament live and often blog my perceptions of one or more selective games. My busy schedule has made it hard to observe this year. I have not yet found the time to look at Saturday's games, and only glanced through yesterday's superficially.

Giri -- Aronian, Tata Steel 2014

Defending Against the Catalan

Levon Aronian leads the Tata Steel Grandmaster tournament in Wijk aan Zee by a full point over Sergey Karjakin and Anish Giri. Giri can catch him with a win today. I have been following Aronian's games throughout this event and blogging them while they are in progress.

If Aronian were playing Vladimir Kramnik, I would be uncertain who I favored as a fan. Otherwise, I choose Aronian. I hope that one of these two becomes Magnus Carlsen's first challenger for the World Championship title and that he beat the young Norwegian. I know that is a long shot, but Aronian's play in this event so far has been impressive. Or, at least his results have been impressive. In the postgame interviews, he credits luck.

Giri has not yet fallen behind on the clock, which may be a first for Aronian's opponents in this year's Tata Steel tournament.

Giri,Anish (2734) -- Aronian,Levon (2812) [E05]
Tata Steel Wijk aan Zee (8), 21.01.2014

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 0–0 6.0–0 dxc4 7.Qc2 a6

White to move

8.a4

I usually play 8.Qxc4, but Giri's move is almost as popular. Aronian played 8.a4 against Karjakin in blitz last month. In the same event, Le Quang played 8.Qxc4 against Aronian. Black won both of those games.

8...Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bf4 Bd6

Both players have taken a less-well trod path on move ten. Now there are a mere few dozen reference games in the database.

White to move

11.Bg5 Nbd7 12.Nc3 h6 13.Bxf6 Nxf6 14.a5 Qe7 15.Nd2

This move appears to be a novelty.

Black to move

15...Bd5 16.Bxd5 exd5 17.Nxd5 Nxd5 18.Qxd5 Qxe2 19.Ne4 Rab8 20.Rfe1 Qxb2

White to move

This position seems to be a sort that could lend itself to a draw if that is what White is seeking. The rooks harass the queen which slides back and forth along the second rank.

21.Rab1 Qc3 22.Rec1 Qe2 23.Re1

Giri spent fifteen minutes on this move. He intends to apply some pressure.

23...Qc2 24.Nxd6 cxd6 25.Rb6 Rbe8 26.Rf1

Black to move

26...Qe4 27.Qxb7 Qxb7 28.Rxb7 Re4 29.Rd1 Rc8

Perhaps Black is the one who is applying pressure. My initial, superficial assessment is cliche-bound: "rook endings are drawn." However, such endings are not simple and always require concrete analysis.

30.Rb6 Rc2

Aronian gets a pig.

White to move

31.Rd3

Aronian appears to be thinking for a long time. He remains ahead on the clock, but both players have roughly an hour for less than ten moves. The clock is not a significant factor today.

I played out a line in my database record that starts with 31...d5 and had the idea of winning the d-pawn. In my line, White gained a passed a-pawn, but it fell with an exchange of rooks on a7. There is plenty to calculate in this ending. My line was quick and superficial.

31...g5

I was not looking at this move. I do see that Rxd6 can be met with Re6, so the vulnerability Aronian has just created on h6 may not be so important.

32.h3

A lot of moves were made while I drove my wife to work. Most of them were easy to predict. Although I did not anticipate 31...g5, once it was played, I more or less thought that I understood Aronian's plan.

32...h5 Rf3 g4 34.hxg4 hxg4 35.Rxf4 Rxf4 36.gxf4 Ra2 37.Rxa6 Kg7 38.Kg2 Kg6

White to move

39.Rxd6+ Kf5 40.a6 Kxf4 41.Rf6+ Kg5 42.Rb6 Kf4 43.d5

Here, I arrived back home, got the garbage cans set out and started following the game again.

43...Ke5

Seemed the obvious move to me.

44.d6 Ke6 45.Kg3 f5

White to move

I think that Aronian is looking for a draw, but his position is not without threats if Giri becomes careless.

46.d7+ Kxd7

Both players have over an hour on their clocks.

47.Rf6 Ke7 48.Rh6 Kf7 1/2-1/2

Just as I am wondering whether there is anything more than elementary rook ending technique here, the players agreed to a draw. Aronian maintains his one point lead over Giri. He has White against Karjakin on Thursday. I will follow the game until it is time to leave for work.

This game was the only draw today and Karjakin was one of the winners. Aronian's lead has been cut to 1/2 point.

Tata Steel Chess, Final Round

Yesterday's win over Hikaru Nakamura assured Magnus Carlsen of first place. When Levon Aronian agreed to a draw with Anish Giri, Carlsen was assured that he would not be sharing first. What remained to determine today was whether Carlson would break Garry Kasparov's 1999 record of 10/13 in this event. Second place, too, remains to be determined.

The games today began at noon Central European Time. As that is 3:00 am in my part of the world, I cherished no illusions about watching these games while in progress. I told my wife, when we wake up, I will check the results. At 7:00 am, I checked the games. Carlsen found himself in some danger with the King's Indian Defense, but Anish Giri's could not find the way. In the end, Giri's king was under attack but had sufficient defense. Magnus Carlsen tied Kasparov's record of 10/13.

Viswanathan Anand got a playable endgame against Wang Hao, but was outplayed and lost. Levon Aronian needs a draw for clear second. Fabiano Caruana is ahead the exchange against Aronian, and both have passed pawns. Aronian has two pawns to Caruana's one.

After watching the game to its conclusion from the point illustrated above, I began to go back through the game from the beginning and make some notes.

Caruana,Fabiano (2781) - Aronian,Levon (2802) [C67]
75th Tata Steel Chess Group A Wijk aan Zee, 27.01.2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0–0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8

White to move

This position in the Berlin Wall has become frequent when Black wants a draw. Indeed, the percentage of draws is quite high. But as this game and others have demonstrated, both sides have chances to play for an advantage.

9.h3

9.Nc3 is vastly more popular. 9.h3 appears to have been introduced into play by Women's World Champion Nona Gaprindashvili in 1978. The move had been suggested as interesting in Dragoljub Minic's annotations to Gulko -- Bisguier, Sombor 1974 (see Chess Informant 18/264). It may be no more than a move order nuance, but it has been growing in popularity, especially in the past three years.

Caruana has played 9.Nc3 in his previous game, but Aronian has played 9.h3 against Vladimir Kramnik.

Reference game:

Aronian,Levon (2820) - Kramnik,Vladimir (2801) [C67]
Zuerich m Zuerich (4), 25.04.2012

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0–0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.h3 Ke8 10.Nc3 h5 11.Bg5 Be6 12.b3 Be7 13.Rad1 h4 14.Rfe1 Rd8 15.Rxd8+ Kxd8 16.Ne4 b6 17.Bf4 Kc8 18.Neg5 Bxg5 19.Bxg5 Bd5 20.Nh2 c5 21.Rd1 Bc6 22.c3 a5 23.Ng4 Bd7 24.f3 a4 25.Kf2 ½–½

9...Bd7 10.Nc3 Kc8

10...h6 is more common.

11.b3

White scores an astonishing 73% after 11.g4, but drawing conclusions from a mere fifteen games would be foolishness. Clearly, 11.g4 is an aggressive try for action on the kingside, but Black's tenth move demonstrates thta his king seeks sanctuary on b7.

11...b6 12.Bb2

Black to move

12...Be7

12...h6 could have transposed into a more frequent position.

13.Rad1 Nh4

This position had been played twice before, and White won both games. Presumably, Aronian has done some preparation and developed some ideas.

14.Nd4 h5

White to move

This position is unique in the annals of chess history. Did Aronian prepare it? There are imbalances that allow both sides to struggle for advantage.

15.Kh2 Kb7 16.g3 Ng6 17.Rfe1 c5 18.Nf3 Bf5 19.Rd2 Rhd8 20.Rde2 Nf8 21.Ne4 Ne6

White to move

It appears to me that both players have sought to improve their pieces. My chess engine, Stockfish 2.3, considers this position as favoring Black.

22.Bc1 a5 23.Neg5 Bxg5 24.Bxg5 Rd5 25.Be3 a4

White to move

26.Nh4

The players are in a complicated positional struggle. What alterations of the pawn structure might be beneficial? What minor piece exchanges are worth pursuing?

My chess engine prefers 26.Ng5 and evaluates White's position as deteriorating after the move played by Caruana. Do engines understand this sort of position?

The text move allows Aronian to create a material imbalance, giving up a rook for a minor piece and two pawns.

26...Rxe5 27.f4 Rxe3 28.Rxe3 Bxc2 29.bxa4 Rxa4 30.a3 Nd4 31.Nf3 Bf5 32.Rc1 Be6 33.Nd2 c4 34.g4 hxg4 35.hxg4

Black to move

Black would seem to have a clear advantage. His queenside pawns are compact and mobile. White's a-pawn may be difficult to defend.

35...Nb3 36.Rc2 Nxd2 37.Rxd2 Bxg4 38.Rg2 Bh5 39.Rxg7 Ra5 40.Kg3 Bg6 41.Rc3 Rc5 42.Rg8 b5 43.Re8 Rd5 44.Kf2 Bd3 45.Ke3 c5 46.Rc1

Black to move

46...Rh5

My engine favors the immediate 46...b4 here. It's evaluation suggests that here Black is letting the advantage slip away. In the final press conference, Magnus Carlsen said that he got the most from each game throughout the tournament. Aronian, who finished 1 1/2 points behind, with a score that has often been good enough to win the event, had two draws in games where at one point he had a decisive advantage.

Had he been able to solve over the board problems that Anand and his team prepared for the World Chess Championship match with Gelfand, but that was used in Wijk aan Zee instead, Aronian might have avoided his one loss. Carlsen called that loss the best game of the event.

47.Re7+ Kb6 48.Rxf7 Rh3+ 49.Kf2 b4 50.Re1 Rh2+ 51.Kf3 Rh6 52.axb4 cxb4 53.f5 b3 54.Rf8 Kc5 55.f6 Kd4 56.Kf4 Kc3 57.Ke5

Black to move 

It was from this position that I began watching the game more or less continuously. Both players, it seems to me, have problems to solve. Neither faces problems that strike me as insurmountable. The key positions, I now realize, occurred while I slept. Aronian managed to create an apparently winning position, and then let the win slip from his grasp.

57...Rh5+ 58.Ke6 Kd2 59.Rg1 Rh6 60.Rd8 b2 61.Ke7 Rh7+ 62.f7 c3 63.Rg2+ Ke3 64.Rb8 Bc4

White to move

Looking at this position on the Tata Steel Chess website during the game, I told my beloved wife that Caruana could trade a rook for two pawns, losing his pawn in the process. The result would be a theoretically drawn endgame of rook and bishop against rook.

Almost as soon as I subjected my poor wife to my patzer commentary, the website showed that three rapid moves had been played, and my fantasy position appeared on the board.

65.Rbxb2 Rxf7+ 66.Kd6 cxb2 67.Rxb2 Kd4

White to move

Inasmuch as I thought it was well-known that rook and bishop vs. rook is drawn, I cannot comprehend why an additional 36 moves were played. It may be because the theoretical draw was not without checkmate threats, and Caruana appeared to be playing with approximately three minutes on his clock, with thirty seconds added per move. Perhaps Aronian wanted to test his opponent's tactics in blitz mode. Perhaps Aronian was frustrated at having let the win slip away.

68.Rd2+ Bd3 69.Rd1 Rf6+ 70.Ke7 Ra6 71.Kd7 Ke4 72.Ke7 Bb5 73.Rc1 Kd5 74.Rd1+ Ke5 75.Re1+ Kf5 76.Re3 Bc6 77.Re1 Be4 78.Rf1+ Ke5 79.Re1 Ra7+ 80.Ke8 Kd5 81.Kf8 Bf5 82.Re7 Ra6 83.Re1 Be4 84.Re2 Re6 85.Ra2 Ke5 86.Ra7 Rb6 87.Re7+ Kf4 88.Ra7 Bd5 89.Rc7 Ke5 90.Ke7 Rh6 91.Kd8 Bc6 92.Re7+ Kd5 93.Rg7 Re6 94.Kc7 Kc5 95.Rg5+ Bd5 96.Rg7 Ra6 97.Kd8 Kd6 98.Rd7+ Ke5 99.Rc7 Ra5 100.Re7+ Be6 101.Rb7 Rc5 102.Ke7 Rc1 103.Ra7 Bc8 104.Ra5+ ½–½

I knew that rook and bishop against rook is a theoretical draw while watching the game, but in fact there are many positions that are not drawn. None of these positions occurred in this game, but a few were threatened. Moreover, the weaker side's defense can prove difficult. In practice, these ending frequently are won. I expect that I will offer another post on this ending in the coming days.