Saturday, June 15, 2013

Spectactular Start 8th Tal Memorial

The first round of the 8th Tal Memorial lived up to its expectations, with three decisive games and lots of excitement. The top encounter between Magnus Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik, the two players who tied for first at the London Candidates Tournament in March, ended in the Norwegian's favour. Fabiano Caruana, who finished last in the blitz tournament on Wednesday, defeated none other than Viswanathan Anand with the black pieces. And Hikaru Nakamura, the convincing winner of the blitz, lost very quickly against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov!


While yesterday's blitz tournament might be a poor predictor for the main tournament, the pairings of the latter were a direct result of the former. And so it happened that the first round immediately saw the biggest match-up possible: world number one Magnus Carlsen against world number three Vladimir Kramnik. (Unfortuantely, #2 Levon Aronian is not playing in Moscow.) It was the first time Carlsen and Kramnik faced each other at the board since the Candidates tournament in London, where the Norwegian edged out his Russian rival on tiebreak to qualify for the next title match.
Back then, Carlsen didn't get anything with White in an English Opening. This time he switched to a strategy that fits him more: avoid theory! At the press conference he said:
"Usually I don't get much in my white games against Vladimir, so I tried to play something a bit non-theoretical and be the first to surprise."
[Event "8th Tal Mem"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2013.06.13"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Carlsen, M."]
[Black "Kramnik, V."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A45"]
[WhiteElo "2864"]
[BlackElo "2803"]
[Annotator "Peter"]
[Plycount "143"]
[Eventdate "2013.06.13"]

{ [Annotations courtesy of ChessVibes] } 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5!? { Yet again Carlsen plays an opening that's rare at top
level: the Trompovsky. } 2...d5 3.e3 c5 4.Bxf6 gxf6 5.dxc5 e6 6.Nf3 Nd7 { "A little bit surprising, but very logical." (Carlsen) } ( 6...Qa5+ 7.Nbd2 Rg8 8.a3 Qxc5 9.c4 Nc6 10.b4 Qd6 11.Qc2 f5 12.cxd5 exd5 13.g3 a5 { Bagirov,R
(2470)-Bajarani,U (2413)/Baku 2010 } ) 7.c4 dxc4 8.c6 ( 8.Bxc4 Nxc5 9.Nbd2 Bg7 { is a nice configuration for Black, which Carlsen didn't want to allow. } ( 9...Nd3+?! 10.Ke2 ) ) 8...Nb6 9.Nbd2 c3 { "A little bit surprising." (Carlsen) } 10.bxc3 bxc6 11.Qc2 Bg7 12.Bd3 { "This is one of the ideas of White's play,
to force Black to make some decisions." (Carlsen) } 12...f5 ( { After } 12...h6 { "White should be a little bit better." (Carlsen) } ) 13.e4 Qf6 14.Rc1 O-O 15.O-O c5 16.Rfe1 { "Maybe not the best move." (Carlsen) } ( 16.a4!? c4 17.Nxc4 ( 17.Bxc4 Nxc4 18.Nxc4 Ba6 ) 17...Nxc4 18.Bxc4 Bb7 19.Bd3 Rac8 { "and I don't
see anything for White." (Carlsen) } ) 16...Rd8 17.a4 ( 17.exf5 exf5 18.Nc4 { Carlsen } ( 18.Nf1?! c4 19.Be2 f4 ) ) 17...c4 18.Bf1 fxe4 19.Nxe4 Qf5 ( { "I
expected } 19...Qg6 20.a5 Nd5 21.Bxc4 Bb7 22.a6 Bc6 { and it felt like Black
had quite a bit of compensation for the pawn." (Carlsen) } ) 20.Nd4 { "Now I get
to play more actively." (Carlsen) } 20...Bxd4 21.cxd4 Bb7 ( 21...Rxd4 22.Rcd1 Rxd1 23.Qxd1 { looks dangerous for Black e.g. } 23...Bb7 24.Nd6 Qd5 25.Qg4+ Kf8 26.Qf4 { Carlsen } ) 22.Nc5 Qxc2 23.Rxc2 Bc6! 24.a5 Rxd4 25.axb6 axb6 { Carlsen had
missed this idea. } 26.Nxe6 { "I wasn't really ready to make a draw yet so I
decided to play on a bit." (Carlsen) } ( 26.Nd3?! Ba4 27.Nb4 Bxc2 28.Nxc2 Rd2 29.Ne3 b5 { Carlsen } ) 26...fxe6 27.Bxc4 Bd7 28.h3 Kf7 29.Bb3 Ke7 30.Rce2 Rd6 31.Re4 { "I was not very optimistic about my winning chances." (Carlsen) } 31...Ra3 32.R1e3 h5 33.Rh4 Be8 34.Kh2 Bg6 35.Rb4 Kf6 36.Kg3 e5 37.Kh4 Rd4+ { This surprised Carlsen; it's perhaps not the most practical decision. } ( 37...Ra5!? { Carlsen } ) 38.Rxd4 exd4 39.Re6+ Kg7 40.Rxb6 d3 41.Bd1 Ra2 42.Kg3 ( 42.Bxh5 Bxh5 43.Kxh5 Rxf2 44.g4 Rf6! { "and the rook will get behind the
pawn and secure the draw quite easily." (Carlsen) } ) 42...h4+ { This "surprised
me quite a bit." (Carlsen) } ( 42...Ra1 43.Bf3 Ra4 44.Rd6 ( 44.h4 Rd4 { "gives
Black much more winning chances than me winning chances." (Carlsen) } ) 44...h4+ 45.Kh2 Rb4 ( 45...Ra2 46.Rd4 Rxf2 47.Rxh4 d2 48.Rd4 Bc2 49.Bg4! ) 46.g4 hxg3+ 47.Kxg3 ) 43.Kxh4 Rxf2 { After this exchange of pawns, Carlsen started
to believe that he could win this game. } 44.Kg3 Rf6? ( 44...Rf1!? 45.Bg4 ( 45.Bf3? d2 46.Rd6 Be4 47.Rxd2 Bxf3 48.gxf3 ) 45...d2 46.Rd6 { Carlsen } ) 45.Rxf6 Kxf6 { Here the analysis on the official website pointed out that
the, Lomonosov tablebase gives "mate in 40" here... } 46.Kf4 d2 47.Ke3 Ke5 48.g3 Bf5 49.h4 Be6 50.Kxd2 Ke4 51.Ke2 Bg4+ 52.Ke1 Be6 53.Kf2 Ke5 54.Ke3 Bd7 55.Bc2 Bg4 56.Bg6 Bd7 ( 56...Bd1 57.h5 Kf6 58.Kf4 Be2 59.Be8 { Carlsen } ) 57.h5 Kf6 58.Kf4 Be6 59.Be4! ( 59.g4?? Bxg4 60.Kxg4 Kg7 { would be a theoretical draw of course. } ) 59...Kg7 ( { After } 59...Bd7 60.h6 Be6 { White can play } 61.g4 { because after } 61...Bxg4 62.Kxg4 Kf7 { he has the
crucial move } 63.Bh7 ) 60.Kg5 Bd7 61.h6+ Kh8 62.Kf4 Be6 63.Bf5 Bf7 64.g4 Bh5 65.g5 Kg8 66.Be6+ Kh7 67.Kf5 Bg6+ 68.Kf6 Kh8 69.Bd7 Bh5 70.Bc6 Kh7 71.Bd5 Bg6 72.Bg8+ 
1-0
Magnus Carlsen showing his game to the audience
So, does this mean that Carlsen is already hiding his opening preparation? Carlsen's answer to that question was:
"As you saw today, the emphasis was not really on winning in the opening. As long as I'm in good form, and I have a good attitude towards the games, I can do very well. It may not depend too much on opening preparation. I probably won't play all my ideas for the World Championship here, but that's probably because I don't know what they are yet! For me the present tournament is always the most important one so that's what I'm going to focus on for the next week or so."
Viswanathan Anand's loss to Fabiano Caruana was reason for Spanish grandmaster Miguel Illescas to tweet:
"MOSCOW: Anand and Kramnik lose to Caruana and Carlsen. End of an era?"
Well, that remains to be seen but it's interesting to note that both games were decided in an ending. Perhaps fatigue played a role in these games!? In any case, Caruana played a splendid game with Black, which included a great pawn sacrifice and instructive play with the bishop pair.
[Event "8th Tal Mem"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2013.06.13"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Anand, V."]
[Black "Caruana, F."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C88"]
[WhiteElo "2786"]
[BlackElo "2774"]
[Annotator "Peter"]
[Plycount "94"]
[Eventdate "2013.06.13"]

{ [Annotations courtesy of ChessVibes] } 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.h3 Bb7 9.d3 d5 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nbd2 ( 11.a4 Nd4 12.Nxd4 exd4 13.axb5 axb5 14.Rxa8 Bxa8 15.Na3 Bb4 16.Re5 Bd6 17.Re1 Bb4 18.Re5 Bd6 19.Re1 { 1/2-1/2
Dominguez Perez,L (2723)-Ponomariov,R (2742)/Thessaloniki 2013 } ) 11...f6 12.c3 Kh8 13.Bc2 ( 13.Nf1 Qd7 14.a3 Rae8 15.d4 exd4 16.cxd4 Nd8 { 1/2-1/2
Lanka,Z (2475)-Gustafsson,J (2607)/Austria 2008 } ) 13...Qd7 14.Nb3 a5 15.a4 bxa4 16.Rxa4 Ncb4!? { A very interesting pawn sacrifice. } 17.Rxa5 Nxc2 18.Qxc2 Nb6 19.Rxa8 Rxa8 20.Nbd2 g5 { An "important move." (Caruana) } 21.Nh2 ( 21.d4 g4 ) ( 21.Ne4 g4 { with "a very strong attack." (Caruana) } ) 21...Rd8 22.d4 exd4 ( 22...Qc6 23.Qe4 Qxe4 24.Nxe4 exd4 25.Ng4 ) 23.cxd4 Bb4 { "This is
decent for Black. I'm down a pawn but I have strong compensation. But I was
still playing for equality." (Caruana) } 24.Re2 { This surprised Caruana. } ( 24.Nhf1!? { Houdini } ) 24...Qxd4 25.Ndf1 ( 25.Qxc7 { is "critical" (Caruana) e.g. } 25...Qd5 26.Nhf3 Na4!? ) 25...Qc5 26.Qxc5 Bxc5 27.Rc2 Bd6 { Now Black has a nice
advantage thanks to his strong bishop pair. In the following sequence of moves
Black's advantage becomes more clear. } 28.Ng4 Kg7 29.Bd2 Kg6 30.Nge3 f5 31.Nc4 Nxc4 32.Rxc4 Ra8 33.Rc1 f4 34.Bc3 h5 35.Nd2 Bd5 36.f3 Bc5+ 37.Kf1 Be3 38.Ke2?! { "Probably a mistake, but if he plays another move it's also very
bad for White." (Caruana) } ( 38.Rd1 ) 38...Bc4+! 39.Ke1 Re8! { The white
king is under a terrible attack. } 40.Kd1?! { "Losing on the spot." (Caruana) } ( 40.Rc2 Bd3 41.Rc1 Bb5 42.Rc2 Kf5 { is also terrible for White. } ) 40...Bxd2 41.Kxd2 Re2+ 42.Kd1 Rxg2 { "Here I take pretty much all his pawns." (Caruana) } 43.Bd4 Be2+ 44.Ke1 Bxf3 45.Rxc7 Re2+ 46.Kf1 Rh2 47.Rg7+ Kf5 
0-1

The third decisive game was actually the first to finish. Hikaru Nakamura was nowhere close to his form of the other day, when he killed almost the complete field at 3 minutes (and 2 seconds). In a Ragozin, the American gave Shakhriyar Mamedyarov too much freedom to develop and one or two more inaccurate moves led to a crisis on the kingside.
[Event "8th Tal Mem"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2013.06.13"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Nakamura, Hi"]
[Black "Mamedyarov, S."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D38"]
[WhiteElo "2784"]
[BlackElo "2753"]
[Annotator "Peter"]
[Plycount "62"]
[Eventdate "2013.06.13"]

{ [Annotations courtesy of ChessVibes] } 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Qa4+ Nc6 6.e3 O-O 7.Bd2 dxc4 8.Bxc4 a6 ( 8...Bd6 9.Nb5 Be7 10.Rd1 a6 11.Nc3 Bd6 12.Bc1 Qe7 13.Be2 Bd7 14.O-O e5 { Zubov,A (2617)-Moiseenko,A (2711)/Kiev 2012 } ) 9.O-O Bd6 10.Rad1?! { The players agreed afterwards that this is wrong. } ( 10.Be2 Bd7 11.Qb3 b5 12.Qc2 e5 13.dxe5 Nxe5 14.Nxe5 Bxe5 15.f4 Bd6 16.Bf3 c6 { Zhou Jianchao (2652)
-Hou,Y (2589)/Danzhou 2010 } ) ( 10.Qc2 e5 11.dxe5 Nxe5 12.Nxe5 Bxe5 13.f4 Bd6 14.Bd3 Kh8 15.Kh1 b5 16.Ne4 Bf5 17.Nxf6 Bxd3 18.Qxd3 Qxf6 19.Bc3 Qe6 20.e4 f6 21.b3 { 1/2-1/2 Radjabov,T (2648)-Kramnik,V (2785)/Dortmund 2003 } ) 10...e5 11.dxe5 { Afterwards Mamedyarov tried to convince Nakamura that this is
wrong. "Now the position is very easy to play for Black." } ( { Mamedyarov
suggested } 11.d5 { "with a normal position". } ) 11...Nxe5 12.Be2 ( 12.Nxe5 Bxe5 13.Be2 Bd7 14.Qh4 Bc6 15.Bc1 Qe7 16.f3 Rad8 17.Qc4 Bd6 { Raicevic,V (2446)-Stevanovic,S (2253)/Serbia 2006 } ) 12...Qe7 13.Ng5?! { The
start of a plan that won't achieve much. } 13...Bf5!? { Black provokes White's next
move, hoping to be able to put pressure on the white e-pawn and perhaps make
use of the d4 square. } 14.e4 Bd7 15.Qc2 h6 16.Nf3 Rfe8 17.Rfe1 Rad8 18.g3 ( 18.Bc1!? ) 18...Neg4 { With the strong threat 19...Bc5. } 19.h3 ( 19.Bc1 Bc5 20.Nd4 ( 20.Rf1 Nxf2! 21.Rxf2 Ng4 ) 20...Qe5 21.Be3 Qh5 ) 19...Nxf2! 20.Kxf2 Bxh3 21.Kg1 ( 21.Nd4 Bc5 22.Be3 Qe5 23.Qd3 Rxd4! 24.Bxd4 Rd8 ) 21...Bxg3 { With three pawns for the piece and another exchange coming up,
Black is winning. Mamedyarov finishes the game with some very forcing
attacking moves. } 22.Bf1 Bxe1 23.Rxe1 Bg4 24.Bg2 Bxf3 25.Bxf3 Qd6 26.Re2 Qg3+ 27.Bg2 Ng4 28.Nd1 Re6 29.Ne3 Rc6 30.Qb1 Qh2+ 31.Kf1 Qf4+ 

0-1
Especially the opening phase of the game Dmitry Andreikin vs Alexander Morozevich was very interesting. A Sicilian Dragon is always a welcome guest, isn't it? In the Yugoslav Attack without Bc4, the players followed quite some theory and quickly reached an ending where White was better. Morozevich had to give a pawn but could liquidate to a rook ending and managed to hold it.

[Event "8th Tal Mem"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2013.06.13"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Andreikin, D."]
[Black "Morozevich, A."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B76"]
[WhiteElo "2713"]
[BlackElo "2760"]
[Annotator "Peter"]
[Plycount "95"]
[Eventdate "2013.06.13"]

{ [Annotations courtesy of ChessVibes] } 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 O-O 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.O-O-O d5 10.Kb1 Nxd4 11.e5 Nf5 ( 11...Nd7 12.Bxd4 Nxe5 13.Qe3 Nc6 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.Nxd5 Qa5 16.b4 Qa4 17.b5 Rb8 18.Qb3 Qxb3+ 19.axb3 e6 { Milov,L (2520)-Golubev,M (2545)/Biel 1994 } ) 12.exf6 exf6 13.Nxd5 ( 13.Bc5 d4 14.Bxf8 Qxf8 15.Ne2 Ne3 16.Re1 f5 17.Nxd4 f4 18.Rxe3 fxe3 19.Qxe3 Bd7 { Landa, K (2641)-Gustafsson,J (2622)/Germany 2012 } ) 13...Nxe3 14.Qxe3 Be6 15.Bc4 f5 16.Nc3!? ( { The main line goes } 16.c3 Re8 17.Nf4 Qc7 18.Bxe6 fxe6 19.g3 b5 20.Rhe1 Rac8 21.a3 a6 { Cornejo,W (2551)-Lecroq,M (2609)/ICCF 2011 } ) 16...Qe7 ( 16...Bxc4 17.Rxd8 Raxd8 18.Rd1 Rde8 19.Qd2 Bf6 20.Qf4 Be6 21.Ne4 Be5 22.Qg5 fxe4 23.fxe4 Bg7 24.h4 h5 { Machado,F (2023)-Pinheiro, I
(2321)/Fortaleza 2012 } ) 17.Bxe6 fxe6 18.Rhe1 Rfe8 19.Nb5 Qb4 20.Qb3 Qxb3 21.axb3 Re7 22.c4 a6 23.Nd6 Rd8 24.b4 Red7 25.Rxe6 Bf8 26.c5 Bxd6 27.cxd6 Kf7 28.Rde1 b6 29.Re7+ Rxe7 30.Rxe7+ Kf6 31.Rxh7 Rxd6 32.Kc2 Ke5 33.Rh4 b5 34.Rh6 Kf4 35.h4 Ke3 36.Kc1 Rc6+ 37.Kb1 Rc4 38.Rxg6 Rxh4 39.Rf6 Rh2 40.Rxf5 Rxg2 41.Rf6 Rf2 42.Rxa6 Rxf3 43.Rc6 Ke4 44.Rd6 Rf5 45.Kc2 Rf2+ 46.Kc3 Rf3+ 47.Kc2 Rf2+ 48.Kc3 

1/2-1/2

The third clash of generations (compare Carlsen-Kramnik and Anand-Caruana), Boris Gelfand versus Sergey Karjakin, was less exciting. In this Catalan, the theoretical repetition at move 11 almost put a premature end to this game. Gelfand decided to continue and got some advantage, but Karjakin was solid as a rock.
[Event "8th Tal Mem"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2013.06.13"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Gelfand, B."]
[Black "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E06"]
[WhiteElo "2755"]
[BlackElo "2782"]
[Annotator "Peter"]
[Plycount "78"]
[Eventdate "2013.06.13"]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.Qxc4 b5 9.Qc2 Bb7 10.Bd2 Bd6 11.Re1 ( 11.a3 Nbd7 12.b4 Ra7 13.Nc3 Qa8 14.Nh4 Bxg2 15.Nxg2 c6 16.Rac1 a5 17.Ne4 Nxe4 18.Qxe4 Rc8 19.Nf4 axb4 20.Bxb4 c5 { Carlsen,M (2872)-Aronian,L (2809)/London 2013 } ) 11...Be4 12.Qc1 Bb7 13.Qc2 Be4 14.Qc1 Bb7 15.a3 Nbd7 16.Ba5 Qb8 17.b4 e5 18.dxe5 Nxe5 19.Nxe5 Bxe5 20.Ra2 Bxg2 21.Kxg2 Qb7+ 22.f3 Nd5 23.e4 Nb6 24.Nd2 Rfd8 25.Rc2 Rac8 26.Re2 g6 27.Bxb6 cxb6 28.Nf1 Bg7 29.Red2 a5 30.Ne3 Bh6 31.Kf2 Re8 32.Rxc8 Qxc8 33.Qxc8 Bxe3+ 34.Kxe3 Rxc8 35.Rd6 Rc4 36.Rd4 Rc2 37.Rd2 Rc4 38.Rd4 Rc2 39.Rd2 Rc4 

1/2-1/2

2013 Tal Memorial | Results & pairings

Round 115:00 MSK13.06.13 Round 215:00 MSK14.06.13
Andreikin½-½Morozevich Morozevich-Mamedyarov
Anand0-1Caruana Kramnik-Nakamura
Gelfand½-½Karjakin Karjakin-Carlsen
Carlsen1-0Kramnik Caruana-Gelfand
Nakamura0-1Mamedyarov Andreikin-Anand
Round 315:00 MSK15.06.13 Round 415:00 MSK17.06.13
Anand-Morozevich Morozevich-Kramnik
Gelfand-Andreikin Karjakin-Mamedyarov
Carlsen-Caruana Caruana-Nakamura
Nakamura-Karjakin Andreikin-Carlsen
Mamedyarov-Kramnik Anand-Gelfand
Round 515:00 MSK18.06.13 Round 615:00 MSK19.06.13
Gelfand-Morozevich Morozevich-Karjakin
Carlsen-Anand Caruana-Kramnik
Nakamura-Andreikin Andreikin-Mamedyarov
Mamedyarov-Caruana Anand-Nakamura
Kramnik-Karjakin Gelfand-Carlsen
Round 715:00 MSK21.06.13 Round 815:00 MSK22.06.13
Carlsen-Morozevich Morozevich-Caruana
Nakamura-Gelfand Andreikin-Karjakin
Mamedyarov-Anand Anand-Kramnik
Kramnik-Andreikin Gelfand-Mamedyarov
Karjakin-Caruana Carlsen-Nakamura
Round 913:00 MSK23.06.13    
Nakamura-Morozevich    
Mamedyarov-Carlsen    
Kramnik-Gelfand    
Karjakin-Anand    
Caruana-Andreikin    

2013 Tal Memorial | Round 1 standings

#PlayerRating1234567890PointsSB
1Carlsen,M2864*11.0/10.00
2Caruana,F2774*11.0/10.00
3Mamedyarov,S2753*11.0/10.00
4Karjakin,S2782*½0.5/10.25
5Morozevich,A2760*½0.5/10.25
6Gelfand,B2755½*0.5/10.25
7Andreikin,D2713½*0.5/10.25
8Kramnik,V28030*0.0/10.00
9Anand,V27860*0.0/10.00
10Nakamura,H27840*0.0/10.00

The 8th Tal Memorial takes place June 12-23, 2013 at the technology center Digital October in Moscow, Russia. The total prize fund is 100,000 EUR. The official website is providing live games,streaming video and commentary in Russian by GMs Alexander Grischuk, Peter Svidler, Sergey Rublevsky and Sergey Shipov. The games start each day at 15:00 local time which is 16:00 CET, 10:00 EDT and 07:00 PDT. The last round starts two hours earlier. Photos © Eteri Kublashvili courtesy of the Russian Chess Federation. Games via TWIC.

No comments: