The London Chess Classic 2016, continued with round-3 on December 11th. Unlike previous rounds, it contained mainly draws, with only one game being decisive. This was to the benefit of Hikaru Nakamura, who took the wind out of the sails of Viswanathan Anand.
Their game took the form of a Queen’s Gambit Declined, Ragozin Defence, which saw a very full position in which White obtained the best of things. Anand was handed the bishop pair, but was not in a position to use it with the board being so loaded with pieces. His position started to lack shine very quickly.
Nakamura, however, did not seem to be clear as to how best to proceed and this gave his opponent a glimmer of hope of getting back into the game. 22.Qd2(?) was especially poor, for tactical reasons and gave Black the opportunity to turn the stance with 22…Bxc5 and 23…Qxc5. Unfortunately for Anand, he did not take his chance and from here, Nakamura’s position grew steadily. Already under pressure, Anand’s 27…Qg6(?) allowed White to play decisively with 28.Nf6! and the point was his without too much resistance.
White continues with 28.Nf6, winning.
The rest of the games being draws was good news for GM’s Adams and Topalov, who had not recorded a score in the previous two rounds. I think that Veselin Topalov came out for his game against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave with a damage limitation attitude and that perhaps explains why the game only resulted in him gaining a half point. Personally, I think it could have been more. Playing the black side of a Berlin Defence, Topalov did not get a great situation out of the opening, but White failed to capitalise on this and Black’s situation steadily improved until he was actually slightly better — 25…f5-f4 was illustration that the initiative had shifted.
I think that this is where psychology and mentality over the board comes into play, and it is my belief that Topalov came out with the single objective to stop the rot and not lose. This in itself would explain the Berlin Defence as his choice of opening, it being widely known that it needs the cooperation of both players in order to get a fight.
Also, though, Topalov twice had the opportunity in this game to push for more than a half point — 29…Qf3+ looks extremely nice for Black, but was declined for the less committal (though well founded) …Nh5. Then, just a move later, 30…Qf5 gave way to …cxd5 and this allowed White to bail. I don’t feel that it is a case of Topalov missing these possibilities, I think it is more likely that he just was not looking for them. Anyway, whether I am right or wrong on this is no matter, after 30…cxd5, White solved his issues and the point was shared.
Black continued 30…cxd5. …Qf5 seems to offer more.
Wesley So will have been quite content to have held Levon Aronian with the Black pieces, especially as he did not have the best of things out of the opening. In the Symmetrical English, Aronian had the position in a tight grip, but his decision to not play d2-d4 on his 25th move likely cost him a little bit. When he did play it on his 26th, it had much less spice. His advantage gradually faded after this and Black was soon able to liquidate into a more manageable situation.
Fabiano Caruana and Vladimir Kramnik got into a Giuoco Piano, which saw White not making the best of a slight opening advantage. The Queens came off at move 26 and this was really a signal that the game was not going anywhere and sure enough, further liquidation and simplification followed rapidly. By contrast was Giri-Adams, who could arguably have agreed a draw at move 30, but managed to make their game last 61-moves before they split the point.
All this meant that Wesley So holds the lead going into round-4.
- So — 2.5
- Aronian, Kramnik, Caruana — 2.0
- Nakamura, Anand, Giri — 1.5
- Vachier-Lagrave — 1.0
- Adams, Topalov — 0.5
[Site “London ENG”]
[Date “2016.12.11”]
[Round “3.3”]
[White “Nakamura, Hikaru”]
[Black “Anand, Viswanathan”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “D37”]
[WhiteElo “2779”]
[BlackElo “2779”]
[PlyCount “85”]
[EventDate “2016.12.09”]{ Annotations by John Lee Shaw for www.hotoffthechess.com. }
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Bb4 7. e3 h6 8.
Bh4 g5 9. Bg3 Ne4 10. Nd2 Nxg3 {still in theory, here, it is long established
that taking twice on c3 doesn’t get Black anywhere.} 11. hxg3 c6 12. a3 {
A new move, Bd3, Qb3 and Qc2 had been played previously.} Ba5 13. Bd3 Kf8 14.
Qc2 Nf6 15. O-O-O Kg7 16. Kb1 Be6 17. Nb3 Bb6 {One would have to say that
White is doing better, here, with the better placed pieces.} 18. f4 Bg4 19.
Rde1 Qd6 20. Rhf1 Rae8 21. Nc5 Re7 (21… Bxc5 22. dxc5 Qxc5 23. fxg5 Ne4 {
seems ok for Black. Not 23…hxg5 when Rxf6 wins, due to the placement of
Black’s Queen (…Kxf6 would lose on the spot to Ne4+).}) 22. Qd2 {This is a
bit of a slip by Nakamura, making the double capture on c5 safe by removing
the discovery threat shown in the above variation.} Rhe8 {A let off from Anand,
…Bxc5 was far more to the point and may well have seen a different outcome
in this game.} (22… Bxc5 23. dxc5 Qxc5 {sees Black way better.}) 23. fxg5
hxg5 24. e4 {White was compelled to play this if he wanted to play for any
advantage.} Nxe4 25. N5xe4 dxe4 26. Rxe4 Rxe4 27. Nxe4 {Very complicit play
from Black, White’s position is steadily growing.} Qg6 {? It’s hard to believe
that Anand thought this was the right way to go, it loses tactically.} (27…
Qxd4 28. Qxg5+ Kf8 29. Qh6+ Ke7 30. Bc2 {Is still extremely good for White,
Black has big problems.}) 28. Nf6 Qxf6 29. Rxf6 Kxf6 {It is true that Black
has a piece and rook for his Queen, but it is no compensation and he’s in
trouble.} 30. Qc3 Bd7 31. d5+ Re5 32. Be4 {Very effective play by Nakamura} g4
33. dxc6 bxc6 34. Bxc6 Bxc6 35. Qxc6+ {It’s going to be extremely difficult
for Black from here. Anand can only hope for a mistake, but unfortunately this
is in vain. It is very instructive to observe how Nakamura controls the
position with just one piece.} Kg5 36. Qd7 Re3 37. Qxf7 Rxg3 38. Qd5+ Kh4 39.
a4 Bf2 40. Qd8+ Kh5 41. Qe8+ Kg5 42. Qe5+ Kg6 43. Qf4 {And Viswanathan Anand
resigned, here.} 1-0[Event “8th London Classic 2016”]
[Site “London ENG”]
[Date “2016.12.11”]
[Round “3.4”]
[White “Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime”]
[Black “Topalov, Veselin”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ECO “C67”]
[WhiteElo “2804”]
[BlackElo “2760”]
[Annotator “Shaw,John Lee”]
[PlyCount “87”]
[EventDate “2016.12.09”]
{ Annotations by John Lee Shaw for www.hotoffthechess.com. } 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nf5 8.
Nf3 O-O 9. d4 d5 10. g3 Re8 11. Nc3 {This is a line with which Vachier-Lagrave
has good experience, with 4 games, all against Hikaru Nakamura, in this year’s
Chess.com blitz semi-final (without any positive results at all, it must be
said) and at the Gibraltar Masters 2016, which was a draw. Infact, this line
doesn’t show too good for White, with only two draws and one win in the 8
games I have found.} Be6 12. Ne2 g5 13. h3 {This is a new move, usually White
plays c3 here, protecting d4 in anticipation of g5-g4, moving the f3-knight.
Vachier-Lagrave changes tact, looking to prevent the pawn coming to g4 instead.}
h6 14. Bg2 Ng7 15. Ne5 f6 {This is a bit of a loose move. Not least because
Topalov is putting a lot of air around his King and this could be very telling
later on.} (15… Nf5 16. Nxc6 bxc6 17. Qd3 Qd7 18. Bd2 Rab8 19. b3 c5 {
and Black wont be too unhappy.}) 16. Nxc6 {This exchange was not really
necessary. The knight still had some function and it may have been more
productive to keep it on.} (16. Ng4 h5 (16… Kh7 17. Nc3 f5 18. Ne5 Nxe5 19.
dxe5 c6 {With a pull for White.}) 17. Ne3 Na5 18. b3 c6 19. Bd2 Rc8 {With
White having the better potential in this position, Black is rather passive,
his knights especially are rather badly placed.}) 16… bxc6 17. c4 Qd7 18. Kh2
Bb4 19. Bd2 Bxd2 20. Qxd2 dxc4 {Black will have been rather content, here,
White has misplayed things somewhat and has allowed him to improve his
position.} 21. Nc3 Bd5 22. Ne4 Qf7 {Black is a little better in this position
and it is easy to see why, the Bd5 is a very nice piece and holding everything
together on the Queenside. The semi-open b-file is at Black’s disposal, which
is not small thing with the b-pawn being a little frozen in place. It is also
notable that with fewer pieces on the board, the air around Topalov’s King is
not so serious.} 23. Qa5 f5 {This is fine, but …Rab8 was also perfectly in
context.} 24. Nc3 Bxg2 25. Kxg2 {So, White manages to exchange the d5-bishop,
and for his own which was not playing a huge part in the game. However, he is
now with the probable weaknesses, as Black demonstrates.} f4 26. Qc5 fxg3 27.
fxg3 {All of a sudden, White’s King is the one looking the most vulnerable.}
Rxe1 28. Rxe1 Rf8 29. d5 {This is out of context, White has to defend with Ne4.
} (29. Ne4 Qd5 {this is probably most to the point, but …Nf5 is also
perfectly valid.} 30. Qxd5+ {There is nothing better than this and with Black
being so active it makes sense to exchange the Queens.} cxd5 31. Nc5 Nf5 32.
Re5 c6 33. Ne6 Re8 34. Rxf5 Rxe6 {And this is not a pleasant situation for
White.}) 29… Nh5 {This move would not have been possible after Ne4, due to
the knight defending the f2-square. As a result, White would be able to
capture c6 with his Queen very safely. Qf3+ was also very valid, here.} (29…
Qf3+ 30. Kh2 Nf5 31. Ne4 Rb8 {This looks winning and extremely tough to defend.
}) 30. Rg1 cxd5 {This allows White to simplify out of trouble — …Qf5 was
worth a look, instead.} (30… Qf5 31. Kh2 {answering the threat of …Qc2+,
leaving the b2-pawn for the taking — and thereafter the Nc3 and as a result
the a2-pawn.} Qe5 {and White is in a very precarious position from here, with
the threats of …Rf2+, …Rg3, even …Nxg3 in certain lines.} 32. Rg2 {
Answering the threat of …Rf2+, for example} Nxg3 33. Rxg3 Rf3 34. Qg1 cxd5 {
and this is too powerful a setup for White to even consider trying to hold on
to his piece.} 35. Nxd5 Qe2+ 36. Rg2 Qe6 37. Rg3 Qxd5 {and White is becoming
more and more limited.}) 31. Qxd5 Qxd5+ 32. Nxd5 Rd8 33. Rd1 {Moving the
knight is not an option due to Black’s potency along the d-file.} Kg7 34. Kf3
c6 35. Ne3 Rd3 36. Rxd3 cxd3 37. Nf1 {White is absolutely fine from here and
the position is largely resolved towards a draw.} Kf6 38. Ke3 Ke5 39. Kxd3 Nf6
40. Ne3 h5 41. Nc4+ Kd5 42. Ne3+ Ke5 43. Nc4+ Kd5 44. Ne3+ {And the players
split the point, here.} 1/2-1/2
[Event “London Chess Classic 2016”]
[Site “London ENG”]
[Date “2016.12.11”]
[Round “3.1”]
[White “Aronian, Levon”]
[Black “So, Wesley”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ECO “A34”]
[WhiteElo “2785”]
[BlackElo “2794”]
[PlyCount “73”]
[EventDate “2016.12.09”]
{ Annotations by John Lee Shaw for www.hotoffthechess.com. }
1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nb4 6. Bc4 Nd3+ 7. Ke2 Nf4+ 8.
Kf1 Nd3 9. Qe2 Nxc1 10. Rxc1 e6 11. h4 a6 12. e5 Nc6 13. Rh3 b5 14. Bd3 Bb7 15.
Be4 {varying from Kwan-Sand, Katerini 2014, (½-½), which had seen the knight
going to this square.} Qd7 {Black is keeping his options open for Queenside
castling, which is rather prudent with White looking very mobile on the
Kingside.} 16. Rg3 g6 17. Kg1 Be7 18. Qe3 O-O-O 19. Rg4 {This was one way to
go, but White could also have begun to probe the Queenside also, with a2-a4.} (
19. a4 b4 20. Ne2 Kb8 21. Rg4 {White has the better activity and a slight pull
here.}) 19… Kb8 {This is a very prudent move, tucking the King more in to
the corner and especially getting it off of the same file as the White rook on
c1.} 20. Rf4 Rhf8 21. a4 b4 22. Bxc6 Bxc6 23. Ne4 Bxe4 24. Rxe4 {Suddenly,
White’s position has taken on a lot of harmony.} a5 25. Rec4 (25. d4 {this is
a very viable move, the point is that Black would be unwise to capture on d4,
after …cxd4 Rxd4 could actually be strategically winning. …c4 would give
up a pawn and be bad positionally, so this would be a problem for Black to
sort out.} Qxa4 26. b3 Qb5 27. dxc5 Qd3 28. c6 Qxe3 29. c7+ {The only positive
move here.} Ka7 30. fxe3 {with a big initiative and Rd4 to follow.}) 25… Qxa4
26. d4 {This is still very potent, here, but Black has gained a tempo on the
variation above — and I guess that White has also, with the rooks doubled on
the c-file, but this was not absolutely essential and not without compromise.}
Rd5 27. dxc5 Qc6 28. Nd4 Qc7 29. Qf3 Rfd8 {Black seems to be on the way to
solving his problems, White’s large advantage is ebbing away.} 30. Nb5 Qxe5 31.
c6 Rc8 32. Qxf7 Qf6 33. Rf4 Qxf7 {The beginning of liquidation.} 34. Rxf7 Rxb5
35. Rxe7 Rc7 36. Rxe6 Ka7 37. Kf1 {The players agreed a draw, here, things are
very simplified.} 1/2-1/2
[Event “London Chess Classic 2016”]
[Site “London ENG”]
[Date “2016.12.11”]
[Round “3.2”]
[White “Caruana, Fabiano”]
[Black “Kramnik, Vladimir”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ECO “C53”]
[WhiteElo “2823”]
[BlackElo “2809”]
[PlyCount “92”]
[EventDate “2016.12.09”]
{ Annotations by John Lee Shaw for www.hotoffthechess.com. }
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d3 O-O 6. a4 d5 7. exd5 Nxd5 8. a5
a6 9. O-O b5 10. axb6 Nxb6 11. Bb3 Bf5 12. Bc2 Qd7 13. Qe2 Rfd8 {A new move in
this position, in Piorun-Lampert, Germany 2016, the rook had gone to e8.} 14.
Nxe5 Qe6 15. d4 Bxc2 16. Qxc2 Bxd4 (16… Nxe5 {not dxe5, obviously, which
drops a pawn to …Qxe5.} 17. dxc5 Nd5 18. Qe2 Qf5 19. Rd1 {White has yet to
develop his Queenside, but Black’s knights are not idealy placed, so one would
have to give White the best of things, here.}) 17. Nf3 Be5 18. Bg5 {I don’t
really know why Caruana didn’t play Re1 here, a very natural move to pin the
bishop and centralise the rook.} f6 19. Be3 Nc4 20. Re1 Rab8 21. Bc1 {I think
it’s fair to say that White has not made the best of things over the last few
moves, Black wont be too unhappy here.} a5 22. Ra4 Qd5 23. Nbd2 Nb6 24. Rae4 a4
25. Rh4 Qd3 26. Qxd3 {This exchange is really a signal that the game is going
nowhere, it is the prelude to a very natural liquidation sequence.} Rxd3 27.
Nc4 Nxc4 28. Rxc4 a3 29. Rxc6 axb2 30. Bxb2 Rxb2 31. Nxe5 fxe5 32. Rxc7 Rdd2
33. Rc8+ Kf7 {The game has fizzled out and though the players go through the
motions for a little while, it is a draw.} 34. Rc7+ Kf6 35. Rf1 h6 36. h4 e4
37. h5 Rb5 38. Ra1 Rd6 39. Kf1 Rxh5 40. Raa7 Rh1+ 41. Ke2 g5 42. Rf7+ Kg6 43.
g4 Rdd1 44. Rg7+ Kf6 45. Rgf7+ Kg6 46. Rg7+ Kf6 {And the players called it a
day here and split the point.} 1/2-1/2
[Event “London Chess Classic 2016”]
[Date “2016.12.11”]
[Round “3.5”]
[White “Adams, Michael”]
[Black “Giri, Anish”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ECO “B51”]
[WhiteElo “2748”]
[BlackElo “2771”]
[PlyCount “123”]
[EventDate “2016.12.09”]
{ Annotations by John Lee Shaw for www.hotoffthechess.com. }
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ {The Moscow Sicilian.} Nd7 4. d4 cxd4 5. Qxd4 a6 6.
Bxd7+ Bxd7 7. Nc3 e5 8. Qd3 Rc8 9. O-O h6 10. Nd2 Qc7 11. Rd1 Bg4 12. f3 Be6
13. Nf1 Nf6 14. Ne3 Be7 15. a4 O-O 16. Bd2 Rfd8 {This position has been seen
before, but it was with Black to move and …Qc5 was played (Egorova-Kelires,
Rethymna 2014 — 0-1).} 17. Be1 {White is not trying to stop Black from
playing …d5, as in many Sicilians, but rather to entice it and go with it,
using it to pass his e-pawn. This is a compromise Black must accept in order
to free his position.} d5 18. Nexd5 Bxd5 19. exd5 Bb4 20. Kh1 Bxc3 21. Qxc3
Qxc3 22. Bxc3 Nxd5 23. Bxe5 Ne3 (23… Rxc2 {doesn’t get Black any further.}
24. Bc3 f6 25. Rd4 Kf7 26. Kg1 {not Rad1, which looks natural due to the
vulnerable d8-rook, but Black has that covered with …Nxc3}) 24. Rxd8+ Rxd8 {
Due to the mass exchanges, the potential has left the position and it is
already looking very much like a draw.} 25. Rc1 f6 26. Bc3 Nxc2 27. Kg1 Nd4 28.
Kf2 Nb3 29. Re1 Nc5 30. Re7 b6 31. a5 bxa5 32. Bxa5 Rb8 33. Bc3 Nd3+ 34. Ke2
Nxb2 35. Re4 Rc8 36. Bxb2 Rc2+ 37. Ke3 Rxb2 {Despite Black’s extra pawn, White
should hold this position. The players play on for quite a while, but Black is
unable to make any progress in the end.} 38. g4 Rb3+ 39. Kf4 Kf7 40. Ra4 Rb6
41. h4 g6 42. h5 g5+ 43. Ke4 Re6+ 44. Kd4 Ke7 45. Ra5 Kd7 46. Kc4 Kc7 47. Kb4
Rc6 48. Rf5 Re6 49. Kc4 Kb7 {in such situations, it is very hard (nigh
impossible) to force a wing pawn through. I actually am quite puzzled as to
why Giri is trying — Adams is no novice.} 50. Kb4 Kb6 51. Rd5 Rc6 52. Rf5 Rd6
53. Kc4 a5 54. Kb3 Ka6 55. Kb2 Rb6+ 56. Ka3 Rc6 57. Kb2 Kb6 58. Kb3 Rd6 59. Kb2
Ka6 60. Kb3 Rb6+ 61. Ka3 Kb7 62. Ka4 {And here, the players finally called it
a day.} 1/2-1/2
[/pgn]
