Hi again dear reader! With the Norway Chess Tournament 2019 just around the corner, (June 3-15), I thought it would be a nice idea to take a look at a game from one of their previous editions. It is from their 2014 tournament and sees Alexander Grischuk facing off against Fabiano Caruana.
The game was played in the first round and is a Benoni Defence, with Grischuk White. His 1.d4 perhaps already signalled that he wanted to mix things up as he mostly opens with 1.e4. Perhaps this showed a little, as the Russian did not get very much from the opening. His American opponent looked the better prepared and will probably have been the more content.
Worthy of note in this game, is the early rook sortie by Caruana, which sees the King’s rook transferred from e8, to e4, to b4 by move 12. Black’s dark-squared bishop also becomes a very nice piece, fianchetto’d on g7. Coupled together, these pieces become very influential upon the position.
With Caruana controlling Grischuk’s efforts, while making his own on the Queenside, I think that it is fair to say that White is not allowed to play this game with much ambition. To make matters worse for the Russian, he saddles himself with time pressure, and this is detrimental to him at crucial stages. It is most likely to blame for the fatal error of 38.Qa2(??) which loses on the spot — there were more credible options.
Despite this loss, Alexander Grischuk would finish the tournament in 3rd place with 5/9. Fabiano Caruana would be just a half point behind, with 4.5/9. The tournament was won by Sergey Karjakin, with 6/9, just pipping home favourite, Magnus Carlsen, who finished on 5.5/9.
[Event “Norway Chess”]
[Site “Stavanger NOR”]
[Date “2014.06.03”]
[Round “1”]
[White “Alexander Grischuk”]
[Black “Fabiano Caruana”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “A62”]
[EventDate “2014.06.02”]
{ Annotations by John Lee Shaw for www.hotoffthechess.com. } 1.d4 { Perhaps this came as a surprise to Fabiano, as according to my statistics, Alexander tends to favour 1.e4. His King’s-pawn games outnumber his games with other first moves combined. } 1…Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 c5 5.d5 O-O 6.Nc3 e6 7.Nf3 exd5 8.cxd5 d6 { The Benoni Defence. It is not often seen in super-GM tournaments, but can be extremely potent in the hands of someone who knows how to wield it. } 9.O-O Re8 10.a4 Ne4 11.Nxe4 Rxe4 12.Nd2 Rb4 { It is still known territory up to this point, with this position having been seen multiple times before. Of course, this kind of excursion with the rook is very risky, not only could the piece be targeted, but the other Black pieces remain at home while it moves around. Black must be careful that his development does not suffer. } 13.Ra2 { With the Black bishop on g7, this move is very prudent, ticking a couple of defensive boxes. } 13…a5 { A new move at the time, 13…b5, and 13…Bd7 have been seen before, with a slight positive score for Black, however Fabiano will have expected Alexander to have been ready for those. 13…Nd7, was seen in Lieb-Hartmann 1989, saw a win for White and has not been repeated since. } 14.b3 b5 15.axb5 { This seems the best continuation. It is hardly worth White’s time to play 15.Ba3. I would think that Caruana would have then plopped out 15…Na6 rather quickly. Then, if 16.Bxb4 Nxb4, White may then be regretting the materialistic approach as 17.Ra3 is unpleasant. (Obviously, the rook can’t go to a1 or b2, due to the Bg7, when Black would simply win a piece. And 17.Rc2 (with the idea to pick the knight up for the rook) doesn’t work either due to 17….Nxc2 18.Qxc2 bxa4 19.bxa4 Ba6 when Black’s pieces are way better. } 15…Nd7 16.Ne4 Qe7 17.Qc2 Rxb5 { White should not be very satisfied with his opening outcome, here. Yes, his pieces are out, but strike me as rather muted. By contrast, Black’s Bg7 is very influential and his access of the b-file is no small thing either. } 18.Bg5 Nf6 19.Qd3 Rb7 20.Qe3 h6 21.Bxf6 { Nxf6 was the other way to go, (as shown in the variation), which probably would have led to a draw with these two players. } ( 21.Nxf6+ Bxf6 22.Bxh6 { or 22.Qxe7 Bxe7 23.Bxe7 Rxe7 24.Rfa1 Kg7 when both players look to have their i’s dotted and t’s crossed. } 22…Qxe3 23.fxe3 Bc3 24.Bf4 Ra6 { Would see Black the happier but White should hold. } ) 21…Bxf6 22.Qf4 Be5 23.Qxh6 Rxb3 24.Nxc5 { ! Anything other than this leaves Black in command. } 24…Rb5 ( { Grischuk’s idea, if } 24…dxc5 { is } 25.d6 Qa7 26.Qg5 Bxd6 27.Bd5 { which is best met by } 27…Be6 { and then Bxe6 or Rxa5 should draw. } ) 25.Nd3 Bg7 26.Qd2 { The game is about equal, here, White will be feeling much better about his position. However, Black is still able to make his presence felt on the Queenside. } 26…a4 27.Qc2 a3 28.Rxa3 { Very drastic. It was not necessary to liquidate this pawn at this point, but it was obviously making Grischuk nervous. He was also being plagued by his usual condition of bad time management. I am not exactly sure what the clock situation was, but perhaps he couldn’t afford to analyse each option as much as he would have liked. } 28…Rxa3 29.Qxc8+ Kh7 30.Bf3 Rc3 31.Qg4 { The most active retreat, there was hardly any value in Qh3+. } 31…Rbb3 32.h4 f5 33.Qa4 Ra3 34.Qd1 { The Queen was at risk of being chased around, so this retreat is quite prudent. However, a certain something seems to be happening with the Black pieces again and White’s seem stuck in the mud. } 34…Bh6 35.Kg2 Qf6 36.Rh1 Qd4 { Applying pressure and giving his opponent new situations to deal with. The way to go when they are under time pressure. } 37.Qb1 Rab3 38.Qa2 { ?? A very bad blunder, exposing the Queen and taking his eyes off of the f2-square. Even with the time pressure, this move should not have entered the mind of a player of Grischuk’s calibre. And to add insult to injury, a1, e1, f1, g1, were all fine squares for the Queen. } 38…Rxd3 { ! Caruana pounces. Grischuk can respectably resign, here, as illustrated by what happens when he doesn’t. } 39.exd3 Rb2 { And now the Queen or the f2-square fall, White is toast. } 0-1
[/pgn]
I publish a new annotated game each Thursday on HOTCH. If you would like to suggest a game to be featured, you are very welcome to do so in the comments or drop me a line.
