Tata Steel Chess 2016, Round Ten

Caruana Closes the Gap!

I like blogging Grandmaster games while watching them live on the internet, but it can be exhausting. This morning, I considered blogging Navara -- Mamedyarov in this manner. They are playing in the Tata Steel Masters that is holding today's round in the Railway Museum in Utrecht, Netherlands. After the first six moves, the players reached a position that I had in one of my most memorable games (see "Pawn Wars").

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.c3 a6 5.Ba4 d6 6.d4 Bd7

White to move

I was playing for a draw because I was tired from the prior round and inadequate sleep the night before, because I was playing the highest rated player in my city, and because I did not feel that I understood the position very well after 3...g6. Also, with a draw, I would finish in a tie for second place in the tournament. After liquidation of most of the pieces, my opponent and I brought our rooks to the open file and repositioned our knights. We repeated the position once, and then my opponent struck with a pawn break that we both thought should favor him. We were wrong. I won the game and finished in second place alone. That tournament pushed my rating over 1900 for the first time.

David Navara castled here and the game was drawn after a short fight that concluded in a rook endgame with two pawns each. I am sure that the game would have been instructive to follow live.

The game of the day, however, must be Caruana -- Wei. When the round began, Fabiano Caruana trailed Magnus Carlsen by one point. Carlsen drew his game against Anish Giri and Caruana beat Wei Yi.

The Tata Steel Masters shares an exciting feature with the K-12 section of the youth tournament that I ran on Saturday. In the youth tournament, three players finished with 4.0/5. The second seed beat the first, but lost to a newcomer. The first seed beat the newcomer. In Tata Steel, Navara beat Caruana, but lost to Wei, who then lost to Caruana.

Caruana's win brought him one-half point closer to Carlsen with three rounds remaining. Caruana faces Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Loek Van Wely, and Evgeny Toashevsky. Carlsen has yet to play Hou Yifan, Wesley So, and Ding Liren. Perhaps Caruana's remaining games are slightly easier, especially as Tomashevsky seems out of form.

I wrote most of these annotations without reference to the commentary before watching the two minute postgame interview with Caruana. After watching that video, I added two quotes to my annotations. Most of my variations seem worse for Black than in the game. I have not checked any part of the game or variations with an engine.

Caruana,Fabiano (2787) -- Wei ,Yi (2706) [C83]
78th Tata Steel GpA Utrecht (10), 27.01.2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Nxe4

It is logical for Black to take an unprotected pawn, with the idea that while White is recapturing it Black gets a stake in the center. The chief disadvantage is that Black's position becomes a trifle loose. Nick DeFirmian, Modern Chess Openings, 13th ed. (1990), 27. 

5...Be7 is the most popular move. Wei's choice was slightly more popular in the nineteenth century, and was a favorite of Victor Korchnoi in the 1960s and 1970s.

6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.c3

9.Nbd2 is second most popular. The effort to gain the two bishops with  9...Na5 runs aground to  10.Nxe4 Nxb3 11.axb3 dxe4 12.Ng5 Qxd1 (12...Bd5 13.Qe2 and Black is losing a pawn; 12...Bd7?? 13.Qd5+-) 13.Rxd1 Bf5 when Black's other weaknesses more than compensate for the two bishops.

9...Be7 10.Bc2

"A rare move." Caruana

10.Nbd2 is played vastly more often; 10.Re1 is also popular.

10...Bg4

This sharp move appears in sixteen games in my database. White has done well.

10...0–0

11.h3

Black to move

11...Bh5

Wei spend over 40 minutes on this move.

11...Bxf3 wrecks White's kingside pawns 12.gxf3 Nc5 13.f4 Qd7 14.Qf3 Rd8 15.Rd1 f5 16.Be3 Qe6 17.Nd2 0–0 18.Nb3 Na4 19.Rab1 Rd7 20.Kh1 g6 21.Bd3 Bh4 22.Bf1 Rdd8 23.Bg2 Ne7 24.Nd4 Qf7 25.Qe2 g5 26.Rg1 c5 27.Nf3 Ng6 28.fxg5 f4 29.Bd2 Qf5 30.b3 Nb6 31.Rbe1 Rfe8 32.Bf1 d4 33.cxd4 cxd4 34.Ba5 Qe6 35.Rg4 Rd5 36.Qd2 Nd7 37.Nxh4 Ndxe5 38.Bg2 1–0 Polgar,J (2540) -- Huebner,R (2620), Munich 1991.

12.g4 Bg6 13.Nd4!N

Caruana's novelty appears to create problems for Black that are more difficult to solve than the loss of a pawn. The bishop on g6 may be vulnerable to a pawn storm, for instance. It is instructive that White's king seems impervious to attack even with all of the kingside pawns marching forward.Caruana has still been playing extremely fast, spending only a few seconds per move. According to the move times at ChessBase News, his longest move time up to this point was 35 seconds for 9.c3.

13.Bb3 wins a pawn 13...Na5 14.Bxd5 c6 15.Bxe4 Bxe4 16.Qxd8+ Rxd8 17.Nbd2 Bd5 18.Re1 h5 19.Ne4 hxg4 20.hxg4 Nc4 21.Kg2 Be6 22.b3 Nb6 23.Be3 Nd5 24.Kg3 f6 25.Bc5 f5 26.Nd6+ Bxd6 27.exd6 Kd7 28.Ne5+ Kc8 29.Nxc6 f4+ 30.Kg2 Ne3+ 31.Kg1 Bd5 32.Ne7+ Kd7 33.fxe3 Rh1+ 34.Kf2 Rh2+ 35.Kf1 Bf3 36.Ng6 Be4 37.Ne5+ 1–0 Fischer,R -- Olafsson,F, Havana 1966.

13...Qd7

13...Nxe5 14.f4
13...Nxd4 14.cxd4

14.f4 Nxd4 15.cxd4

Black to move

15...f5

This move seems forced.

15...h6 16.f5 Bh7 17.Bxe4 dxe4 18.d5.
15...f6?? 16.f5 Bf7 17.e6+-.

16.Be3 0–0 

16...fxg4 17.hxg4.

17.Nc3

Black to move

17...c6?

The critical error, according to Caruana.

17...Nxc3 18.bxc3 may give Black better chances than in the game. White has more space and a passed pawn on the e-file.

18.Bxe4! dxe4

The e-pawns are both passed!

18...fxe4 19.f5 Be8.

19.d5 b4

19...cxd5 20.Qxd5+ Qxd5 21.Nxd5 Bd8.

20.dxc6 Qxd1

20...Qxc6 21.Qd5+ Qxd5 22.Nxd5 Bd8.

21.Nxd1 Rfd8 22.Rc1 Rd3

White to move

23.Bc5 Bd8

23...Bxc5+ 24.Rxc5.

24.e6 Rc8

24...Bc7 25.Nf2 Rf3.

25.e7 Ba5 26.gxf5 Be8

26...Bxf5

27.Nf2 Rd5 28.Nxe4 Bxc6 29.Bxb4 Bxb4

White to move

30.Rxc6! Re8

30...Rxc6 31.e8Q+ Bf8 32.Qxc6.

31.f6 Rd4

31...gxf6 32.Nxf6+ Kf7 33.Nxd5 Bxe7 34.Rc7.

32.Re6 1–0

Standings after ten rounds.

Smashing the Berlin Defense

Tata Steel 2016, Round 9

The Berlin Wall variation of the Spanish (or Ruy Lopez) has been popular since Vladimir Kramnik employed it in his World Championship match against Garry Kasparov in 2000. Most games in this line have ended in draws, but not often quick draws. After the queens come off, the game reaches an immediate endgame, or perhaps a queenless middlegame, depending on how one defines the endgame. Black has a queenside pawn majority with doubled c-pawns. White has a slight lead in development.

The Berlin is rich in positional subtleties. If both contestants play accurately, the game will end in a draw. Small errors lead to decisive results.

This afternoon I won a blitz game from the Black side. My opponent created a phalanx of center pawns, but that gave me 3-2 on the queenside and 2-1 on the kingside. When my queenside pawn majority lured his king that direction, a breakthrough on the kingside led to a pawn promotion.

In the Tata Steel Chess Tournament this year, there have been no Berlin Walls and few Berlin Defense games. Then today, a novelty was played in relatively new line against the Berlin that keeps the queens on the board. This novelty was played in two games. Fabiano Caruana played it first against Sergey Karjakin. Karjakin played accurately and the game was drawn when it was clear that all the pawns would be consumed.

Wei Yi, who claimed the novelty was opening preparation, played the novelty a few minutes after Caruana. His opponent, David Navara, did not play Karjakin's move and was swiftly punished.

Wei,Yi (2706) -- Navara,David (2730) [C65]
78th Tata Steel GpA Wijk aan Zee NED (9.3), 26.01.2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3

I saw this move in Hou -- So in round two and immediately became excited, recalling that I had seen an article in Chess Informant 126 concerning the d3 Spanish. I checked the journal that morning, however, and discovered the article focused on 6.d3 after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7. Here, it is a little different. Even so, the intent may be similar.

[I]t's a very practical move for White as it assures easy development and stability in the centre. Thus many sharp lines, including the popular Marshall Attack are avoided.
Emanuel Berg, "Mirroring, The d3 Ruy Lopez: A Test of Patience," Chess Informant 126 (2015), 75.

Against the Berlin, it avoids the Berlin Wall. The move was played as early as 1836 but is a distant second in popularity to 4.O-O.

4...Bc5 5.Bxc6

This move first appears in my database in a game played in 1982. There are 567 games with more than 200 played in 2014 and 2015.

5...dxc6 6.Nbd2

Wei mentioned Anand while discussing this line. According to my database. Anand played this move in 2012 and again in 2013 against Kramnik. He won the second game and then drew Magnus Carlsen when he played it in their World Championship.

6...0–0 7.Nc4

Six games 2009-2011 and then quite a few more in 2012. Anand played it in his win against Kramnik.

7...Nd7

White to move

8.Qe2

8.O-O has been played at least 26 times. As near as I can discover from my database, 8.Qe2 was first played in 2010. There are three games that reached this position in my database, two from 2015. After Black's next move, however, a fourth game joins the selection, Anand -- Giri, Grand Slam Masters 2015.

8...Re8 9.Bd2 Bd6 10.h4N

The novelty played in two games today!

10...c5

Karjakin played 10...Nf8, which Wei said in his postgame interview was the correct move.

11.h5 h6

This sensible looking move creates a weakness that might be exploitable by a pawn storm. As White planned to castle queenside anyway, it might be deemed an error.

12.0–0–0 Nb8

Black's knight maneuver is too slow. Even relative beginners can observe that White has a significant lead in development having completed the essential opening tasks of mobilizing minor pieces, advancing the center pawns, lifting the queen from the back rank and castling to connect the rooks. In addition, Wei has already thrust forward one of his kingside pawns.

With opposite side castling, both players should storm the castled kings with pawns. Black, however is not prepared to support his pawn storm, while White's pieces are well-coordinated. White, thus, has a substantial strategic advantage, but how will he break through tactically?

White to move 

13.Rdg1 Nc6 14.g4 f6 15.g5 fxg5 

White to move

16.Nxg5 

It is much easier to sacrifice a piece when part of the opponent's forces remain in the bleachers. Black's queenside cannot be mobilized in time to protect the king. In this position, the knight sacrifice appears the only way to continue the attack. The attack is coming fast. Even White's other knight--the piece furthest from the action--is mobilized for the assault on Black's king.

16...Nd4

A zwischenzug before capturing the knight.

17.Qd1 hxg5

The computer prefers 17...b5

18.Bxg5 Be7 19.Be3

Yasser Seirawan asked whether 19.Bh6 could be played here. Wei thought it might be as good, but Stockfish 7 finds Wei's move vastly superior to 19.Bh6.

19...Bf6 

White to move

20.h6 Re7 

20...g5 was considered during the commentary and again in Wei's postgame analysis. A possible continuation might be 21.Bxg5 Bxg5+ 22.f4 Ne6 23.fxg5 Nxg5 24.Qh5+-.

21.hxg7 

21.Qh5 is strong.

21...Rxg7 22.Qh5 Be6

White to move

23.Bh6

I would probably take a more direct approach if I had such a nice position.

23.Qh8+ Kf7 24.Rxg7+ Bxg7 25.Nxe5+ Bxe5 These moves would have been easy to calculate, but White is ahead two pieces and there is not a checkmate in sight. Even so, with some time to think, it should be possible to see that White can win the bishop with a small tactical maneuver. 26.Rh7+ Kg6 27.Rh6+ Kf7 28.Qxe5 when White has two pawns for the knight. In addition, Black's king remains vulnerable to attack and his rook is still sitting in the stands watching the battle.

Wei's practical decision to exchange pieces into an endgame with a decisive material advantage is good enough.

23...Bf7

23...Qe8 leads to a similar position. 24.Bxg7 Qxh5 25.Bxf6+

This discovery and the same move in the position reached in the game offers an instructive lesson for my young students. 25...Kf7 26.Rxh5 Ne2 27.Kd2 Nxg1 28.Bxe5 Nf3+ 29.Ke3 Kg6 30.Rh1 and White is ahead two pawns, but at least Black's rook can come out to play.

24.Bxg7 Bxh5 

White to move

25.Bxf6+ Kf8 26.Bxd8 Ne2+ 27.Kb1 Nxg1 28.Bxc7 1–0

This game will be my lesson of the week for my advanced students. My beginning students this afternoon saw the two instructive positions that Navara offered in his postgame analysis of Sunday's win (see "Navara -- Caruana, Tata Steel 2016").

Navara -- Caruana, Tata Steel 2016

At the Tata Steel Masters Tournament in Wijk aan Zee, David Navara assisted Magnus Carlsen today. After an opening novelty, Navara maintained pressure against Fabiano Caruana throughout the game. Caruana had several opportunities to maintain equality, but his position proved difficult to play and Navara won a nice ending.

Vasily Smyslov has been credited with the assertion, "I will make 40 good moves and if you are able to do the same, the game will end in a draw." After winning the World Championship, Magnus Carlsen stated that his plan had been to make "40 to 50 good moves in every game" ("Magnus Carlsen: My goal was to play 40 to 50 good moves in every game").

Emanuel Lasker made a strong impression upon me with his annotations to his loss against Harry Nelson Pillsbury in Nuremburg, 1896. He was honest about his own mistakes. Also, in the critical middlegame position, he noted that he had presented a problem to Pillsbury.

Black wants to set White a task. The situation merits attention. Black has a pawn plus, an immediate danger is not apparent. If White does not threaten, Black fortifies his position.
Lasker's Manual of Chess (1947), 247.

Mulling over this statement, I developed the understanding that a chess player's job was to set problems for the opponent. If all of these problems are solved well, the game should be equal and the result may end in a draw. Navara managed to set problems for Caruana. The first problem resulted from an error, but Caruana missed his chance for an advantage. Then, Navara's pressure led to further inaccuracies and a difficult position. Even the, perhaps Caruana could have held until a critical error in a difficult position. Once he had a clear adantage, Navara demonstrated precise technique.

Navara,David (2730) -- Caruana,Fabiano (2787) [E39]
Tata Steel Masters Wijk aan Zee (7), 24.01.2016

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0–0 5.Nf3 c5 6.dxc5 Na6 7.g3 Nxc5 8.Bg2 Nce4 9.0–0 Nxc3 10.bxc3 Be7 11.e4 d6 12.e5 dxe5 13.Nxe5 Qc7 14.Qe2 Nd7 15.Bf4 Nxe5 16.Bxe5 Bd6 17.Rfe1 Rb8 18.Rad1 Bxe5 19.Qxe5 Qxe5 20.Rxe5 b6 21.c5 f6 22.cxb6 axb6

White to move

23.Re2N

23.Re4 e5 24.Rb4 Be6 25.Rd6 Kf7 26.Ra4 Ke7 27.Rc6 Bd7 28.Ra7 Ra8 29.Rcc7 Rxa7 30.Rxa7 Kd6 31.Rb7 b5 32.Bf1 Rc8 33.Bxb5 Bxb5 34.Rxb5 Rxc3 35.Rb7 g5 36.Rb6+ Ke7 37.Ra6 f5 38.h4 ½–½ Ankit,R (2494) -- Khademalsharieh,S (2378), Doha QAT 2014.

23...Kf7 24.f4

"I miscalculated." Navara

I found Navara's postgame commentary interesting. It is available on Livestream for those who missed the broadcast. He describes his feelings during the game (annoyed with Caruana's inaccuracies), lines that he calculated for both players, and several fantasy positions that could be included in instructional collections for beginners. Yasser Seirawan conducted the interview.

24...e5 25.fxe5?

25.Bd5+ is still equal 25...Kg6 26.Be4+ f5 27.Bc6 e4 28.Rd6+ Kf7 (28...Kh5 29.Bb5).

25...Bg4 26.e6+ Kg6

26...Bxe6 27.Rde1 Rfe8?

Analysis diagram

After 27...Rfe8?

28.Rxe6 Rxe6 29.Bd5+- a line for the tactics books for beginners, according to Navara.

27.Be4+

Black to move

27...f5?!

"Maybe that was too ambitious?" Seirawan
"Yes." Navara

27...Kh6 28.Rde1 Bxe2 29.Rxe2 Rbc8 30.Bd5 Rc7 (30...Rxc3? is not possible (Navara) 31.e7 Re8 32.Bf7) 31.c4 and perhaps White has compensation for the exchange. Black at least would be the one pressing for advantage.

28.e7

28.Rd6? Rf6 Navara and Black is better.

28...Bxe2 29.Rd6+ Kg5

29...Rf6 30.Rd8 Bb5 31.Bd5 "Black is completely dominated." Navara

Stockfish 7 thinks the position is equal after 31...Rb7 32.Bxb7 Kf7 33.Rd5 Bc6 34.Bxc6 Rxc6 35.Rxf5+ Kxe7.

30.exf8R Rxf8 31.Bd5 Rf6 32.Rd7 Kh6 33.Kf2

This position should be equal

33...Bb5 34.Rc7

Black to move

34...Rd6

34...f4 "looked logical to me." Navara 35.g4 Bd3 (35...g5 36.Be4).

35.c4 Be8 36.Rc8 Bd7

36...Ba4 "still fine" Navara 37.Ke3 Kg5 38.Rc7 (38.Kd4 Rh6 "My pawns become weak." Navara) 38...Rd7 39.Rxd7 Bxd7 should be a draw. Black can exchange bishop for queenside pawns and f-pawn for White's g-pawn and White's bishop is on the wrong color squares.

37.Rd8

Navara had been happy to make a draw up until this point, but now felt that had some chances. Objectively, the position may be equal, but Black's position is unpleasant. Neither player's errors so far have been fatal

Black to move

37...Kg6 38.Ke3 Kf6 39.Kd4 

39.Rf8+ Ke5 40.Rf7 Be6= Navara.

39...Ke7

White's pieces seem a little more active

40.Rg8 Rg6 41.Ke5

"I hoped to put Black into zugzwang. It's not so easy for him to make a useful move."

Black to move

41...Rg5

Caruana played correctly, according to Navara.

41...h5 initiates another line that Navara offered for the beginner's books. 42.Rh8 Rg5 43.Bf3 Be8?? (43...f4+)

Analysis diagram

After 43...Be8??

44.Rxe8+ Kxe8 45.Kf4+-

42.Rb8

Navara considered 42.Rh8 Rh5 43.h4 Rh6 44.Rg8 Rg6 45.h5 Offering Black a chance to go wrong. Rg5 (45...Rxg3?? 46.h6 Re3+ 47.Kf4 Rh3 48.Rxg7+ Kd6 49.Rxh7+-).

42...Rg6

42...h5? 43.Bf3 Be8 44.Rxe8+ Kxe8 45.Kf4 Rg4+ (45...Rg6 46.Bxh5) 46.Bxg4 fxg4 47.Kg5+-.

43.Rh8 Rh6 44.h4 Be6 45.Ra8 Bd7 46.Rh8 Be6 47.a4

Black to move

47...Bd7

47...Bxd5 48.cxd5 Rh5 49.Kf4 Rh6 50.Kxf5 and White has a promising rook ending.

48.Ra8 Rg6 49.Ra7

Black to move

49...Rxg3?

Finally, Caruana makes a significant error.

49...Kd8 50.h5 Rh6 51.Bf3 g5 seems equal.

50.a5!

50.Bc6 Rd3 "should be fine for Black." Navara.

50...bxa5 51.c5 Kd8

51...Rg6 52.c6 Rd6 53.cxd7 Rxd7 54.Rxa5+- (54.Rxd7+= wrong bishop).

52.h5

Preventing the rook's return to g6.

52...f4 53.Kd6 Bc8 

53...Rd3 54.Rxd7++-

54.c6

Black to move

54...Rg5

54...Rd3 55.Rxg7 (55.c7+ Ke8 56.Ra8 Rxd5+ 57.Kxd5 Kd7) 55...Rxd5+ 56.Kxd5+-.

55.Bf7 1–0

Checkmate is coming.

Chess is a game. Even a top player forced to play for several hours in an unpleasant position may eventually crack and give the game to the other player.

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