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Tata Steel 12+13: Wesley So scales Mt. Wijk aan Zee

by Priyadarshan Banjan - 30/01/2017

Wesley So did it again! After winning the London Chess Classic last month, the American has won his second super tournament in succession by winning the TATA Steel tourney. Wesley is now undefeated since 56 games! But the hero for India was Adhiban Baskaran who tore Richard Rapport apart to finish third! Analysis, Pictures, Videos, more, in our Illustrated Report.

Tata Steel 12+13: Wesley So scales Mt. Wijk aan Zee

Photos by Alina L'Ami

The leader Wesley So fittingly played Wei Yi in the penultimate round. Wei had demolished Sergey Karjakin in the previous round but any hopes of a turnaround at the top were forgotten as the American chose to remain solid and drew.

But the tournament was blasted open when Magnus Carlsen beat Pavel Eljanov with a lot of help from the Ukrainian.

Eljanov with white is clearly better but things begin to go wrong from this point. He eventually blundered in time trouble and Magnus won the game to waltz back into contention.

Magnus, with his typical fighting spirit, said," I have a good score against him and maybe it was on the back of his head... It is amazing considering how poorly I've played in the second half that I'm still with a chance. But I am happy that I am and I will try my best."

 

Eljanov-Carlsen (Notes by GM Julio Sadorra)

[Event "79th Tata Steel Chess-Masters "]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.01.28"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Eljanov, Pavel"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A90"]
[WhiteElo "2755"]
[BlackElo "2840"]
[Annotator "Sadorra, Julio"]
[PlyCount "120"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
1. d4 e6 2. c4 f5 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 d5 5. Nf3 Bd6 6. Nc3 c6 {For a must-win
game, it is interesting that the Magnus chooses the Dutch Stonewall which is
also part of the repertoire of other World Champions such as Steinitz,
Alekhine, Botvinnik, Petrosian etc!} 7. Bf4 ({The most common way to continue
here is} 7. O-O O-O 8. Bf4 (8. Qc2) 8... Bxf4 9. gxf4 Nbd7 {leading to similar
paths as in the game.}) 7... Bxf4 8. gxf4 O-O 9. e3 Bd7 {This is one of the
typical ways to develop the famous or infamous, depending on your perspective
and experience, Stonewall bishop.} ({Another way to bring it out is} 9... b6
10. O-O Bb7 (10... Ba6 $6 11. Ne5 {now Black cannot develop the b8-knight.}
Nfd7 12. b3 $1 $14 Nxe5 13. dxe5 dxc4 14. Qxd8 Rxd8 15. b4 $1 {shutting out
the Black bishop followed by exploiting the development advantage and weak
a8-h1 diagonal is the idea behind b2-b3.}) 11. Ne5 Nbd7 12. Rc1 Qe7 {with a
solid position.} (12... Ne4 $5 {is also playable.})) 10. Qb3 Qc7 11. O-O Be8
12. Rfc1 {White now starts to make threats before Black finishes development
which can bring him closer to equality.} Qe7 (12... Bh5 $4 13. cxd5 exd5 14.
Nxd5 $18) 13. Qa3 $1 {One of the well-known ideas in the Stonewall for White
is to trade off Black's good dark-squares bishop in order to weaken the dark
squares and sometimes even leave Black with the "worse minor piece." Eljanov
rightfully extends this idea by trading off Black's queen which serving the
same function of the aforementioned bishop.} ({Another good way to increase
the advantage is to simply keep improving his pieces and prepare the Qa3 idea
or a queenside expansion.} 13. Ne5 Bh5 14. Rab1 Na6 (14... Kh8 15. Qa3 $1) 15.
cxd5 $5 (15. Qa3 Nb4) 15... exd5 (15... cxd5 16. Qa3 Nb4 17. Nb5 $16 {with a
clear plan of invasion.}) 16. Qc2 Ne4 17. b4 $36 {with an easy plan of using
the minority attack.}) (13. Rab1 $5 $14) 13... Qxa3 14. bxa3 Nbd7 15. Rab1 {
White has successfully transformed a slightly better middlegame into superior
endgame position.} Rb8 16. a4 $1 {a nice prophylactic move-- it both prepares
to meet Nb6 and plans to further weaken the queenside pawns in the future.} a5
(16... Nb6 17. c5 (17. Bf1 $5) 17... Nc4 {now the a-pawn is not under attack!}
18. Bf1 $1 (18. Ne5 Na5 19. Rb4 Nd7) 18... Na5 19. Rb4 $14 {and Black will
have to be very careful and alert in this complex ending as White has a
dangerous plan of doubling on the b-file and then bring his knight to b3!}) 17.
Rb2 Ne4 $6 ({It was objectively better to do "trench warfare" with} 17... Bh5
18. Ne5 (18. Rcb1 $2 Bxf3 19. Bxf3 b6 {and there's no way to break through the
Black's fortress.}) 18... Rfc8 19. Rcb1 b6 20. Bf1 Be8 {but it's probably too
depressing for Carlsen's taste.}) 18. Nxe4 dxe4 19. Ng5 $1 {the right square
and plan} (19. Ne5 Nxe5 20. dxe5 (20. fxe5 c5 $1 $132 {and things start to
look complicated for White. Just look at Black's famous/infamous bishop!} 21.
d5 Bxa4 22. Rcb1 $2 b5 $1 $15) 20... c5) 19... Rf6 20. f3 $1 {this pawn break
is all part of the plan. Because if not, then what is the future of his knight
after h7-h6??} h6 21. Nh3 exf3 22. Bxf3 Rf7 23. Nf2 c5 24. Nd3 $1 {Eljanov has
been playing excellently, exercising good control on the board and on his
clock.He has 30 min left to Magnus's 39 min in a great position that he knows
he's fully capable of winning.} cxd4 25. exd4 Nf6 26. Nc5 ({Another way to
step up the pressure is to prepare the march of the future passed c-pawn:} 26.
Ne5 Rc7 27. c5 $1 (27. Rcb1 Rd8 {gives Black some counterplay}) 27... Bxa4 (
27... Rd8 28. Rxb7 Rxb7 29. Bxb7 Rxd4 30. c6 $18) 28. Rcb1 $16) 26... Ne4 27.
Nxe6 Bxa4 28. d5 Bd7 29. Bxe4 $6 {a misjudged exchange. It's not disastrous,
but it already allows Black counterplay in the form of piece activity.} fxe4
30. Nc5 Bg4 31. Re1 {all part of Eljanov's plan connected on his decision to
trade on move 29, at least according to the quick pace at which he played the
moves.} Rc8 $1 {This is most probably what he missed in his analysis as he now
stops for 10 min before making his next move.} 32. Nxe4 Rxf4 {just look at
Black's pieces now compared when they are living under the Stonewall bridge,
say around move 22.} 33. Nd6 Rcf8 $1 {Magnus now starts playing quickly and
more confidently.} 34. Rb3 {Eljanov now starts to switch to more solid play.} (
34. Rxb7 $4 Bh3 35. Rbb1 Rg4+ 36. Kh1 Bg2+ 37. Kg1 Be4# {is one line that
shows the dynamic power of Black's pieces, thus the game move.}) 34... R8f6 35.
Ne4 Rg6 36. Rg3 b6 $1 {a nice little move that makes a big impact as it makes
it difficult for White to push his passed pawn in the future.} 37. d6 $6 {
a risky decision.} ({I think it's best to go for waiting tactics especially as
time control is approaching:} 37. Nd2 Bf5 {and White at least has a sure way
to keep the balance.} (37... Rgf6 38. Ne4) (37... Kh7 38. Re4 $1) 38. Rxg6 Bxg6
39. Re6 $11) 37... Kh7 38. Nf2 $2 {Panic sets in as Eljanov tries to make time
control with 2 minutes left.} (38. Ree3 $142) ({or} 38. h4 $5 Bf5 39. h5 $1
Rxg3+ 40. Nxg3 $13) 38... Rxc4 39. Nxg4 Rgxg4 40. Rxg4 Rxg4+ 41. Kf2 Rd4 42.
Re6 Kg8 {Suddenly, it is White that must play for a draw.} 43. Ke3 Rd1 44. d7 {
the best chance to obtain drawing chances as holding on to the pawn only makes
things worse for White.} ({E.g.} 44. Ke4 Kf7 ({Not} 44... Re1+ $4 45. Kd5 Rxe6
46. Kxe6 Kf8 47. d7 $4) 45. Re7+ Kf6 46. Rd7 h5 47. Rd8 (47. h4 g6 $1 48. Rd8
Ke6 49. Rg8 (49. Re8+ Kd7 $19) 49... Rg1 50. Rd8 Rg4+ {netting another pawn.})
47... Ke6 48. Rg8 (48. Re8+ Kd7 49. Re7+ Kxd6 50. Rxg7 Rd2 {similar to the
mainline.}) 48... Rd2 $1 {the enemy passed pawn isn't going anywhere!} (48...
Rxd6 49. Rxg7 Rd2 50. Rg6+ {is a big difference.}) 49. Rxg7 Kxd6 $19) 44...
Rxd7 45. Rxb6 Rd5 {At this point of the game, one can't help but stop and
wonder at how Magnus was able to turn the game around against a strong
strategic player!} 46. Rb2 Kh7 47. Ke4 Rh5 48. Kf4 Rh4+ 49. Kg3 g5 50. Rb7+ Kg6
51. Rb6+ Kh5 52. h3 Ra4 53. Rc6 ({Defending the a-pawn doesn't help as well.}
53. Rb2 Ra3+ 54. Kg2 Kh4 $19) 53... Ra3+ 54. Kg2 Rxa2+ 55. Kg3 a4 56. Ra6 a3
57. Kf3 Rb2 58. Kg3 (58. Rxa3 Kh4 $19 {and the h-pawn falls.}) 58... a2 59. Kf3
a1=Q 60. Rxa1 Kh4 {and because there's nothing White can do to hold on to his
h-pawn, Black resigns. An very important win for the current World Champion,
setting up a tense and dramatic finale in the last round!} 0-1

 

 

Magnus talks about the game and reflects on the missed mate against Giri.

Joining Magnus and Wei half a point behind Wesley was Levon Aronian who beat...

...Loek Van Wely.

Aronian-Van Wely (Notes by Aditya Mittal)

[Event "TSCT2017 masters"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2017.01.28"]
[Round "12.4"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "Van Wely, Loek"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E81"]
[WhiteElo "2780"]
[BlackElo "2695"]
[Annotator "Aditya Mittal"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[TimeControl "5400+30"]
[WhiteClock "0:10:17"]
[BlackClock "0:02:01"]
1. d4 {0 Aronian was almost in a must win situation and it was only fitting
that he faced the out of sorts Loek.} Nf6 {0} 2. c4 {0} g6 {0} 3. f3 {0 The
saemisch is a great choice by Aronian.} Bg7 {0} 4. e4 {0} O-O {0} 5. Nc3 {0} (
5. Ne2 d6 6. Nec3 {is another idea.}) 5... d6 {0} 6. Nge2 {0} a6 {0 Doesn't
look too good.} (6... e5 {is the normal KID move.}) 7. Ng3 {0} (7. h4 $5 {
was calling out to be played. For eg.} Nbd7 (7... h5 8. Bg5 {is a good outpost.
} Nh7 $6 9. Be3 $14) 8. g4 $5 $13 {going all out.}) 7... Nbd7 {0} 8. Be2 {0} c6
$5 {0 Of course this is another idea, trying to get b5.} (8... e5 {was still
normal.}) 9. O-O {0 Unadvisable would be} (9. a4 $6 e5 10. d5 a5 $1 $13 {
with a good position for Black.}) 9... b5 {0} 10. Be3 {0} Rb8 {331} (10... bxc4
$6 11. Bxc4 {would scatter Black's pawns.}) 11. Rf2 $5 {0 Prophylaxis!} (11.
Qd2 $1 {might have been better though.}) 11... Qc7 {451} 12. Rc1 {170
Threatening cxb.} b4 {59 Finally releasing the tension.} 13. Na4 {100} c5 {15}
14. d5 {304} e6 {564} (14... b3 $6 {was an interesting idea but unfortunately
there is} 15. a3 $1 $16) 15. b3 {79} Re8 {482} (15... h5 $5 {immediately comes
to mind.} 16. h4 $5 $14) (15... e5 {Closing might have been better objectively,
but now White has all the time in the world....} 16. a3 a5 17. Bd3 h5 18. Ra2
h4 19. Ne2 $14) 16. Qd2 {183} exd5 {346} 17. cxd5 {102} Nb6 {92 An important
moment.} 18. Nxb6 $5 {184 Taking the right decision?} (18. Nxc5 $5 dxc5 19.
Bxc5 Bb7 20. Bxb4 Qd8 {White's centre might come under threat.}) 18... Qxb6 {25
} 19. Bh6 {248} Bh8 {245 Of course you dont exchange this bishop as Black in
these lines!} 20. h3 {1489} Bd7 {576} 21. Bc4 {344} Bb5 $1 {110} 22. Kh1 $6 {
53 Aronian's waiting game went unpunished.} Qd8 {456} (22... Nd7 $1 $15 {
is so strong I already like Black.}) 23. Bg5 {525} Rb7 $2 {974 Now White's
attack speedens up.} (23... Qb6 {Why not?} 24. Bh6 Nd7 $1 $15) 24. Qf4 $1 {538}
Qe7 {423} 25. Qh4 $1 {299} Qe5 {33} 26. Rd2 {536 What exactly is the purpose
of this?} (26. Rfc2 $16 {looks clearly better.}) 26... Bxc4 $2 {166} (26... Nd7
27. f4 Qg7 {was holdable.}) 27. f4 $1 {191 An intermezzzzzzo!} Qxe4 $2 {557} (
27... Qc3 $5 {is another interesting queen sack!} 28. Rxc3 bxc3 29. Rc2 Bd3 30.
Rxc3 Nxe4 31. Nxe4 Bxe4 32. Bf6 $16) 28. Nxe4 $6 {7 Flashy, but it might have
been costly.} (28. bxc4 Qe7 29. Re2 $18 {is simple.}) 28... Nxe4 {2} 29. Re1 {
94} Bc3 $2 {62 The computer doesn't realise it, but Aronian does!} (29... Bb5 {
was the final chance.} 30. f5 $16 gxf5 31. g4 $1 {and White is clearly better.}
) 30. f5 $1 $18 {160} Bxd2 {80} 31. Bxd2 {15 Black is very weak on the dark
squares.} Bxd5 {15} 32. Rxe4 {176} Bxe4 {46} 33. Qf6 {3} Bxg2+ {189} 34. Kg1 {
3 And Bh6 is impossible to meet. A great game by Aronian and the tournament
has blasted open as going into the last round Wei Yi, Carlsen, Aronian trail
Wesley by just half a point!} 1-0

Giri and Adhiban are good friends off the board.

Adhiban has been hell-bent to take the fight to his opponents' camp in his super-tournament debut. After letting off Magnus in what could have been a mind-boggling victory, the rising star from Tamil Nadu played the Bishop's opening with 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4!? against Anish Giri. Both sides traded methodically — repetition.

 

Giri commented,"In general I know Adhiban's preference for chess positions and women. I think I was on my way but I got seduced by a pawn endgame... I thought the pawn ending is winning but apparently, I saw some ghosts there."

[Event "79th Tata Steel Chess 2017-Masters"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2017.01.29"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Rapport, Richard"]
[Black "Adhiban, Baskaran"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A45"]
[WhiteElo "2702"]
[BlackElo "2653"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
1. d4 {(0:00)} Nf6 {(0:04)} 2. Bg5 {(1:22) The Trompowsky Returns!} c5 {(0:07)}
3. Nc3 {(1:59)} (3. Bxf6 gxf6 4. d5 $11 {is more famous.}) 3... cxd4 {(0:08)}
4. Qxd4 {( (13)} Nc6 {(0:03)} 5. Qh4 {(0:26)} e6 {(0:15)} 6. O-O-O {(1:11)} Be7
{(1:59)} 7. e4 {(1:49)} a6 {( (10)} 8. Nf3 {(5:46)} Qc7 {(8:12)} 9. Bd3 {
(10:11)} d6 {(1:03) A Taimanov where White looks strangley placed.} 10. Rhe1 {
(0:45)} Bd7 {(11:38)} 11. e5 {(12:43)} dxe5 {(6:50)} 12. Ne4 {(1:43)} Nd5 {
(20:45)} 13. Bxe7 {(3:12)} Ncxe7 {(2:38)} 14. Ng3 {(7:35)} f6 {(11:54)} 15. Nh5
{(1:01)} O-O-O {(2:02)} 16. Nxg7 {(1:30)} Ng6 {(0:45)} 17. Qc4 {(17:14)} Ngf4 {
(0:54)} 18. Qxc7+ {(0:22)} Nxc7 {(4:51)} 19. g4 {(2:37)} Bc6 {(3:32)} 20. Be4 {
(1:21)} Ng2 {(4:36)} 21. Re2 {(0:03)} Nf4 {(0:11)} 22. Ree1 {(0:39)} Rxd1+ {
( (55)} 23. Kxd1 {(0:03)} Ng2 {(0:17)} 24. Re2 {(0:43)} Nf4 {(0:11)} 25. Re1 {
(3:27)} Ng2 {(4:54)} 26. Re2 {(0:08)} Rd8+ {(0:26)} 27. Nd2 {(3:16)} Nf4 {
(0:08)} 28. Bxc6 {(0:02)} Nxe2 {(0:07)} 29. Bxb7+ {(0:06)} Kxb7 {(0:03)} 30.
Kxe2 {(0:04)} Rg8 {(2:40)} 31. Nh5 {(0:05)} Rg6 {(8:58)} 32. Kf3 {(4:07)} f5 {
(0:45)} 33. gxf5 {(0:34)} exf5 {(0:05)} 34. Ng3 {(0:02)} e4+ {(5:37)} 35. Kf4 {
(0:44)} Nd5+ {(0:19)} 36. Kxf5 {(2:05)} e3 {(0:03)} 37. fxe3 {(0:13)} Nxe3+ {
( (02)} 38. Ke5 {(4:20)} Nxc2 {(0:28)} 39. Nde4 {(0:14]} Rh6 {(2:32)} 40. Nf1 {
(0:00)} Nb4 {(0:09)} 41. Nf6 {(2:00)} Nxa2 {(3:39)} 0-1

 

Giri and Adhiban speak

Harikrishna blundered in the opening and landed in a soup.

Richard Rapport has been playing mercurial chess the last couple of weeks. A loss to most of the stars balanced by a win over Magnus.

[Event "79th Tata Steel Chess 2017-Masters"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2017.01.28"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Harikrishna, Pentala"]
[Black "Rapport, Richard"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B12"]
[WhiteElo "2766"]
[BlackElo "2702"]
[Annotator "alera"]
[PlyCount "105"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 Ne7 6. O-O Ng6 {A rare, but
playable line.} 7. Be3 Nd7 8. Ne1 h5 9. Nd2 $2 {This is bad for White already.}
Ndxe5 {Oops!} 10. dxe5 d4 11. Nc4 dxe3 12. Nxe3 Nxe5 13. Nxf5 exf5 14. Nd3 Bd6
15. Nxe5 Bxe5 16. Qxd8+ Kxd8 {Black is simply up a pawn. Because of the
opposite colored bishops, conversion is very, very difficult, but Black is
pushing. Fast forward to many moves later...} 17. c3 f4 18. Bc4 f6 19. Rfe1 Kc7
20. Rad1 Rae8 21. h3 Re7 22. Bd3 g5 23. Bf5 Rg8 24. f3 a5 25. a4 Rb8 26. Kf1 b5
27. axb5 Rxb5 28. Rd2 a4 29. Re4 Ra5 30. Bg6 h4 31. Rc4 Bd6 32. Be4 Bc5 33. Rd1
Kb6 34. Ra1 Rb5 35. Ra2 Rd7 36. Rcxa4 Kc7 37. b4 Be3 38. c4 Rb8 39. c5 Rd1+ 40.
Ke2 Rg1 {Somehow White recovered his pawn, and the queenside is looking shaky.}
41. Kd3 $2 (41. Ra7+ Rb7 42. R2a6 Rxg2+ 43. Kd3 Rxa7 44. Rxa7+ Kc8 45. Bxc6 {
should be a winning endgame for White. Plenty of analysis needs to be done
still, but it's clear that White is pushing hard.}) 41... Rd1+ 42. Kc3 Rc1+ 43.
Bc2 Bf2 44. Ra7+ Rb7 45. Rxb7+ Kxb7 46. Kb3 Bd4 47. Kc4 Ra1 48. Ra5 Rxa5 49.
bxa5 Bf2 50. Be4 Be1 51. a6+ Kxa6 52. Bxc6 Ka7 53. Kd4 1/2-1/2

 


The Calm before the Storm?

Going into the final round, Wesley So was leading by a half point. Behind him in the hunt were Wei Yi, Magnus Carlsen, and Levon Aronian.

 

The tournament looked wide open... until an hour after the round began, news came in that Ian Nepomniachtchi had suicide against Wesely.

Winning his second successive supertournament, +14 in Elo, moving to World No. 2 — the champ is here!

Nepomniachtchi went berserk with the white pieces against Wesley's Sicilian and the American ripped him into shreds. So finished with 9.0/13, ahead of the rest of the pack by a full point.

 

Wesley commented,"My next goal would be to rest up, study my games, try to improve in every way possible. I think that the secret is that if you keep working and you have a clear view of your visions and goals, the results will come."

 

Nepomniachtchi-So (Notes by GM Georg Meier)

[Event "79th Tata Steel Chess 2017-Masters"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2017.01.29"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, Ian"]
[Black "So, Wesley"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D00"]
[WhiteElo "2767"]
[BlackElo "2808"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
{After such a long event, I believe that the last round can be fraught with
emotions, especially for the players who feel like they suffered through their
tournament. I suspect that Nepo brought quite a bit of frustration to the
board and desperately wanted to redeem himself.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 d5 3. Nd2 c5
4. dxc5 e6 5. e4 h6 6. Bh4 dxe4 7. Qe2 Qa5 8. O-O-O $6 {19th-century-style} ({
After} 8. c3 Nbd7 9. Nxe4 Nxe4 10. Qxe4 Qxc5 11. Nf3 Be7 {it is about to look
like a Rubinstein-French - my pet opening. Black would be close to equality
and certainly Ian was in no mood for this.}) 8... Qxa2 9. Qb5+ $4 {The queen
goes to no-man´s-land, and I just can´t see any point to it. I guess Ian
gave in to another impulse.} ({Of course White should eliminate the knight and
recapture on e4, but after} 9. Bxf6 Qa1+ 10. Nb1 gxf6 11. Qxe4 a6 $1 {stopping
Bb5, Black has no reason to worry - the bishop pair is an asset and White has
no initiative.} 12. Nf3 Nd7) 9... Nbd7 10. c6 (10. Bxf6 a6 $1 {just kills
White´s clumsy coordination}) 10... bxc6 11. Qxc6 Bb7 $1 12. Qxb7 Qa1+ 13. Nb1
Rb8 {And that´s it - game over!} 14. Qxb8+ Nxb8 15. Bb5+ Nfd7 16. Ne2 Be7 17.
Bxe7 Kxe7 18. Nd4 Nc5 19. h4 Rd8 20. Rh3 Nd3+ 21. Bxd3 Rxd4 22. Be2 Rxd1+ 23.
Bxd1 Qa5 24. Nd2 f5 25. Rg3 Qe5 26. Ra3 Nc6 27. g3 Qd4 28. Re3 Nb4 0-1

 

Wesley speaks on his victory.

Popularity wise, temperatures were soaring high as the world champion took on his 2016 challenger.

Magnus playing white opened with an Italian game and Karjakin chose to play the dubious ...g5 idea. Magnus made the typical knight sacrifice on g5.

After 8...g5 9. Nxg5 hxg5 10. Bxg4 Be6, Magnus saw that Nepomniachtchi had already shot himself to death. Our commentator Georg Mier speculates that this may have unsettled the world champ as he played 11.b4, instead of the stronger 11. Bd5!

 

The game ended in a draw and Magnus finished second with 8.0/13.

 

Magnus-Karjakin (Notes by Georg Mier)

[Event "79th Tata Steel Chess 2017-Masters"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2017.01.29"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C54"]
[WhiteElo "2840"]
[BlackElo "2785"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[PlyCount "105"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. Bg5 {Magnus is exploring
these positions from all possible angles. In the recent match against Sergey
he tried this line with the B on b5.} d6 (6... h6 7. Bh4 Be7 {is a frequent
reaction, defusing any worries about the pin and anticipating a welcome
exchange of dark-squared bishops.}) 7. Nbd2 h6 8. Bh4 g5 $2 {According to
Karjakin´s tweet "Loran" Fressinet told him Nxg5 never works in the Italian.
I am quite sure that Magnus´s on- and off-second informed his boss about the
exceptions!} 9. Nxg5 hxg5 10. Bxg5 Kg7 11. Qf3 Be6 {Armed with engines, many
wrote Karjakin off already. But in the meantime, Wesley So was running away
with tournament victory as Nepomniachtchi had already(!) self-destructed. I am
sure this unsettled Magnus...} 12. b4 $2 (12. Bd5 $1 {This creates a terrible
bind, since Black is at pains to defuse the pin. Nb8-d7 is the only maneover
left to do so, but drops the exchange.} Nb8 (12... a5 13. O-O-O Nb8 14. Qg3
Nbd7 15. d4 exd4 16. cxd4 Bxd4 17. Nf3 Bc5 18. Bxf6+ Kxf6 19. Qg5#) 13. Qxf6+
Qxf6 14. Bxf6+ Kxf6 15. Bxb7 Nd7 16. Bxa8 Rxa8 17. b4 Bb6 18. Ke2 {With 3
pawns and a rook for 2 pieces, White of course has a significant edge, but
some difficulties remain, as the White rooks won´t be active for a long time.}
) (12. O-O-O $2 {Allows a main defensive idea:} Bxc4 13. Nxc4 Qe7 {And the
queen gets to e6 - consolidating.}) 12... Bb6 13. Bd5 a5 $1 {Given a second
lease on life Karjakin is going to play very well from here on. A main reason
for him being dubbed "World Defense Champion" by colleague Giri and others
must be that he seems so unaffected by his mistakes. He can commit the most
despicable errors and then show world-class toughness from the next second!}
14. b5 Nb8 {Not only will the rook not drop, but Black has secured squares on
the queenside forever. Stable squares are very significant in all types of
positions with light against heavy pieces.} 15. Bxb7 Ra7 (15... Nbd7 16. Bc6
Rb8 17. Nc4) 16. Bd5 $2 {Allowing Black to overprotect f6.} (16. Bc6 $1 {
Was definitely stronger, and may give great winning chances, but Black´s
position is still full of eye-popping resources.} Nxc6 17. bxc6 Ra8 18. h4 Rh8
19. d4 $1 (19. Nc4 {Slow play is not enough, after} Bc5 20. h5 Rh6 21. Ne3 Bxe3
22. Qxe3 Qh8 23. Bxh6+ Qxh6 24. Qxh6+ Kxh6 {Black is very well coordinated.})
19... exd4 $1 (19... Rh6 20. d5 Bc8 21. Nc4 Bc5 22. Bxh6+ Kxh6 23. Ne3 {
looks hopeless for Black.}) 20. e5 dxe5 21. Ne4 Nxe4 22. Bxd8 f5 {Here we have
a complete mess and direct attempts appear to run into powerful counterplay.}
23. Be7 $1 {The sane approach, just sticking to the material.} (23. g4 {
Opening literally all the gates, but Black can respond in kind!} d3 $1 24. Bxc7
d2+ 25. Kd1 Bxc7 26. gxf5 Bd5 27. Rg1+ Kf7 28. Rg6 {Looks like Black ran out
of steam?} Rab8 {Reinforcements!} 29. c4 (29. Kc2 Rb5 {calmly doubling on the
b-file!}) 29... Rb2 30. cxd5 Rxh4 31. Rh6 $1 Rg4 $1 (31... Rxh6 $4 32. Qxe4 $18
) 32. Rh7+ Kf6 33. Rh1 Rf4 34. Rh6+ Kg7 35. Rh7+ Kxh7 36. Qh5+ $11) (23. Bg5
Nxg5 24. Qg3 $1 {Neat, but not quite enough.} Kf7 25. Qxg5 Rag8 26. Qd2 dxc3
27. Qe2 {Black only has 2 bishops for the queen, but wonderful coordination
after} Rg4 $1 28. O-O-O Re4 {and White is obliged to part with an important
pawn or go:} 29. Qc2 (29. Qb5 Bxf2) 29... Bc5 30. Rd7+ Kf6 31. h5 Ba3+ 32. Kd1
Bb4 33. a3 Bxd7 34. cxd7 Rd4+ 35. Ke1 Rd2 36. Qc1 c2 37. axb4 Rd1+ 38. Qxd1
cxd1=Q+ 39. Kxd1 axb4 $11) 23... Kf7 24. Ba3 d3 25. O-O-O $1 (25. Rf1 d2+ 26.
Kd1 Rad8) 25... Nxf2 26. g4 $1 Nxg4 (26... Rad8 27. c4 $1) 27. Qxd3 Kf6 28. h5
{sees White consolidating without having to give up much material yet.
Whenever neccesary, an exchange will be sacrificed to extinguish the
counterplay.}) 16... Nbd7 17. Nc4 Bxd5 18. exd5 Qe8 {Black has consolidated
and will be able to untangle gradually.} 19. Ne3 Rg8 20. O-O Nh7 21. Nf5+ Kh8 {
Relative safety, finally.} 22. Bh4 Ra8 23. Rae1 f6 {It´s hard to formulate a
plan for White here, while Black will just keep on improving his position,
until opportunities come up.} 24. Re4 Nc5 {Karjakin felt its time to invite a
repetition.} (24... Qf7 $5 25. Nh6 Qg6 26. Nxg8 Rxg8 {and again, Black´s
position seems easier to play, at the very least.}) 25. Re3 Nd7 26. d4 $5 {
I don´t think White holds an advantage at this point, but as everybody knows,
Magnus wants to fight it out!} Qg6 $1 {I like the concept of giving up a rook
for the very strong Nf5. After that Black´s position becomes very solid.} 27.
Ne7 Qg4 28. Nxg8 Rxg8 29. Qxg4 Rxg4 30. g3 exd4 $2 {Opening files should be
done with great care only, when opposing the rooks. And here Black could just
regroup to go after the stranded - but nagging - Bh4 first.} (30... Nhf8 31. h3
(31. Rd1 exd4 32. cxd4 Ng6) 31... exd4 32. Re8 Rg8 33. cxd4 Ng6) 31. cxd4 Bxd4
32. Re8+ {Of course White infiltrates immediately} Rg8 33. Re7 {Mysterious -
Exchanging Black´s rook would greatly weaken the defense.} (33. Rxg8+ $142
Kxg8 34. Kg2 Nhf8 35. g4 Ng6 36. Bg3 $14) 33... Rg7 34. Re4 Ne5 35. Kg2 Bb6 36.
f4 Ng6 37. Kh3 $2 {Here Carlsen passed up on his last chance to force the
favourable rook-exchange.} (37. Re8+ Rg8 38. Rxg8+ Kxg8 39. f5 (39. Kh3) 39...
Ne7 40. g4 Nxd5 41. Bf2 Bxf2 42. Kxf2 Ng5 43. Re1 Kf8 44. h4 Nf7 {Black may
hold, but he has to suffer without counterplay.}) 37... Kg8 38. Rfe1 Kf7 {
It´s hard to play constructively as White here, which usually means that the
opponent will in a practical game make progress one way or another.} 39. Re6
Rg8 40. R1e4 f5 41. Re2 Rh8 {Black is step by step improving his position and
would eventually shatter White´s pawn structure and try to go after the weak
pawns one by one.} 42. a4 Kg7 43. Rxg6+ $1 {A very very important decision!
Carlsen used his last chance to disturb Black´s regroupment, and secures
activity for his remaining pieces.} (43. Re7+ $1 Nxe7 44. Rxe7+ {is the same})
({while} 43. Re8 $2 Nhf8 {would leave White helpless already.}) 43... Kxg6 44.
Re6+ Kf7 45. Re7+ Kg8 (45... Kg6 $5 46. Re6+ Kh5 {looks awkward, as the Black
king is not that far from a mating net, but some calculation shows that Black
is in time to regroup after} 47. Be7 Bd4 48. Kg2 Re8 49. Kf3 {(h3-g4 would be
a big threat...)} Nf6 50. Bxf6 Rxe6 51. dxe6 Bxf6 {Still, White survives with
perfect play:} 52. h3 Kg6 53. Ke3 Bb2 54. g4 fxg4 55. hxg4 Kf6 56. f5 d5 57.
g5+ Ke7 58. g6 $11) 46. Kg2 Nf8 47. Bg5 Rh7 48. Re8 Kf7 49. Rd8 {Black has no
space to regroup now.} Kg8 50. Re8 Rf7 51. Bh6 Rf6 52. Bg5 ({Even} 52. Rxf8+
Rxf8 53. Bxf8 Kxf8 {is a fortress for White.}) 52... Rf7 53. Bh6 {What a
full-blooded struggle, after the game seemed to be almost over early on!
Karjakin´s self-composure is admirable time and again.} 1/2-1/2

 

Levon Aronian had this position with black against Dimitry Andreikin. It is white (Andreikin) to move. Decide between 42. R7c6 and 42. R7c5. Can you spot the difference?

Andreikin did spot the difference and led Aronian to his doom knocking him out of the race for the second spot right away.

[Event "79th Tata Steel Chess 2017-Masters"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2017.01.29"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Andreikin, Dmitry"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2736"]
[BlackElo "2780"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/2R5/1n2r1pk/4Pp2/1P1P3p/n7/5PK1/2R5 w - - 0 42"]
[PlyCount "17"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
{[#]} 42. R7c5 $1 {A brilliant waiting move! It also heavily restricts the a3
knight.} (42. R7c6 Rxc6 43. Rxc6 Nd5 44. Rc5 Nxb4 45. e6 Kg7 {is extremely
murky, and it's likely White isn't even better any more.}) 42... Kh5 43. Rc6 $1
{This is the point! The endgame is now winning easily.} Rxc6 44. Rxc6 Nd5 45.
Rc5 Nf4+ (45... Nxb4 46. e6 {and no one is catching the e-pawn.}) 46. Kh1 g5
47. b5 {The knights are powerless against the pawns.} Nxb5 48. Rxb5 g4 49. d5
h3 50. e6 1-0

 

The other player in contention — Wei Yi — had to make a life and death decision at this point against Radoslaw Wojtaszek.

The Chinese went wrong and lost as well. It is amazing to think what the final standing could've like had he converted even half of the handful of misses he suffered in this tourney.

[Event "79th Tata Steel Chess 2017-Masters"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2017.01.29"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Wei, Yi"]
[Black "Wojtaszek, Radoslaw"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2706"]
[BlackElo "2750"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5k2/5qp1/p4pRp/P3pP2/3rP3/3pB2P/1P2nQPK/8 w - - 0 60"]
[PlyCount "22"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
{[#]} 60. Qe1 $2 (60. Bxd4 exd4 61. e5 Qc7 (61... fxe5 62. Rxa6 $5 (62. Qf3 {
gives White at least enough counterplay here.})) 62. Qf3 $1 Qxe5+ 63. g3 {
and the threat of the perpetual cannot be avoided.}) 60... Rxe4 61. Qd2 Rxe3 (
61... Qd5 {was cleaner, but who is counting?}) 62. Qxe3 Qd7 {Now White has no
perpetual possibilities and the pawn on d3 is a monster. The rook on g6,
without the possibilities of breaks on f6, seems completely stuck and out of
place.} 63. Qb6 Nf4 64. Rg3 d2 65. Qb8+ Kf7 66. Qb3+ Qd5 67. Qd1 e4 68. Qg4 g5
69. fxg6+ Kg7 70. Rc3 Qd6 {Black queens next move.} 0-1

 

And this allowed Adhiban Baskaran to walk into contention! He demolished the erratic Richard Rapport mercilessly and took the third spot on the tiebreak pipping Aronian and Wei Yi!

Rapport opened with a Trompovsky, which made a return to top flight chess after Magnus' first round game in the 2016 World Championship.

Rapport chose to attack with 11. e5 and Adhiban steered clear of any complications, activated his forces and won.

[Event "79th Tata Steel Chess 2017-Masters"]
[Site "Wijk aan Zee"]
[Date "2017.01.29"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Rapport, Richard"]
[Black "Adhiban, Baskaran"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A45"]
[WhiteElo "2702"]
[BlackElo "2653"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "2017.??.??"]
[TimeControl "60"]
1. d4 {(0:00)} Nf6 {(0:04)} 2. Bg5 {(1:22)} c5 {(0:07)} 3. Nc3 {(1:59)} cxd4 {
(0:08)} 4. Qxd4 {( (13)} Nc6 {(0:03)} 5. Qh4 {(0:26)} e6 {(0:15)} 6. O-O-O {
(1:11)} Be7 {(1:59)} 7. e4 {(1:49)} a6 {( (10)} 8. Nf3 {(5:46)} Qc7 {(8:12)} 9.
Bd3 {(10:11)} d6 {(1:03)} 10. Rhe1 {(0:45)} Bd7 {(11:38)} 11. e5 {(12:43)} dxe5
{(6:50)} 12. Ne4 {(1:43)} Nd5 {(20:45)} 13. Bxe7 {(3:12)} Ncxe7 {(2:38)} 14.
Ng3 {(7:35)} f6 {(11:54)} 15. Nh5 {(1:01)} O-O-O {(2:02)} 16. Nxg7 {(1:30)} Ng6
{(0:45)} 17. Qc4 {(17:14)} Ngf4 {(0:54)} 18. Qxc7+ {(0:22)} Nxc7 {(4:51)} 19.
g4 {(2:37)} Bc6 {(3:32)} 20. Be4 {(1:21)} Ng2 {(4:36)} 21. Re2 {(0:03)} Nf4 {
(0:11)} 22. Ree1 {(0:39)} Rxd1+ {( (55)} 23. Kxd1 {(0:03)} Ng2 {(0:17)} 24. Re2
{(0:43)} Nf4 {(0:11)} 25. Re1 {(3:27)} Ng2 {(4:54)} 26. Re2 {(0:08)} Rd8+ {
(0:26)} 27. Nd2 {(3:16)} Nf4 {(0:08)} 28. Bxc6 {(0:02)} Nxe2 {(0:07)} 29. Bxb7+
{(0:06)} Kxb7 {(0:03)} 30. Kxe2 {(0:04)} Rg8 {(2:40)} 31. Nh5 {(0:05)} Rg6 {
(8:58)} 32. Kf3 {(4:07)} f5 {(0:45)} 33. gxf5 {(0:34)} exf5 {(0:05)} 34. Ng3 {
(0:02)} e4+ {(5:37)} 35. Kf4 {(0:44)} Nd5+ {(0:19)} 36. Kxf5 {(2:05)} e3 {
(0:03)} 37. fxe3 {(0:13)} Nxe3+ {( (02)} 38. Ke5 {(4:20)} Nxc2 {(0:28)} 39.
Nde4 {(0:14]} Rh6 {(2:32)} 40. Nf1 {(0:00)} Nb4 {(0:09)} 41. Nf6 {(2:00)} Nxa2
{(3:39)} 0-1

 

Adhiban speaks about his tournament

Pentala Harikrishna played a bad opening and simply crumbled against the Dutchman Loek Van Wely.

Daniel King analyzes the crucial moments from the final round

Final Standing


 

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