London 02: Anand crushes the Najdorf, So enters 2800+ league!
Maxime Vachier Lagrave is famed for his Najdorf Defence. The Frenchman essayed it against Vishy Anand in the second round and found that the Indian had done his homework to perfection. Vishy played a powerful game and registered a win. Wesley So entered the 2800+ league by squeezing the life out of Michael Adams. Caruana swindled Topalov in a position that was extremely complicated. Anand's brilliant win is annotated in depth by Sagar, while for Caruana's heroics we have the 10-year-old Aditya Mittal explaining the intricacies!
Pictures by Lennart Ootes
Results of round 2:
|
Vladimir Kramnik |
½-½ |
Levon Aronian |
|
|
Veselin Topalov |
0-1 |
Fabiano Caruana |
|
|
Viswanathan Anand |
1-0 |
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave |
|
|
Anish Giri |
½-½ |
Hikaru Nakamura |
|
|
Wesley So |
1-0 |
Michael Adams |
Some of you might recognize this picture from round two game at the London Chess Classic 2016. No, it's not! This is the seventh round battle between Vishy Anand and MVL from the London Chess Classic 2015 (photo by Amruta Mokal). Vishy had the white pieces on that occasion as well and MVL played the Najdorf. You can check out the complete analysis of the game over here, but suffice it to say that Vishy was beaten comprehensively on his 46th birthday and MVL scored a fine win with his favourite defence. Let's fast forward exactly one year...
10th December 2016, Vishy Anand vs MVL, Round two of the London Chess Classic
The settings were identical. Instead of round seven, it was the second round. Instead of 11th December, it was 10th. Instead of Anand being the higher rated player like in 2015, this time it was Maxime. Well these are minor differences! What matters the most is the Anand opened the game with 1.e4 and Maxime replied with the Najdorf once again!
This time Vishy came well prepared. Playing the h3 variation against the Najdorf, Vishy blitzed out his opening moves and soon had Maxime in trouble. The game was complex and interesting and it seemed like Vishy had the advantage throughout. However, a few inaccuracies were enough for MVL to get his initiative on the queenside going. Seeing that Black's attack may get dangerous Vishy sacrificed an exchange. This landed him into a pleasant position where only two results were possible. A win for white or a draw. Maxime immediately went wrong and with a nice bishop sacrifice, Vishy ended the game.
"I want to be like you when I grow up!" The little boy made the opening move and wished Anand luck
Before we look at the analysis I would like to pose you with a study by Cheron.
It's White to play and win
Experienced players would have absolutely no difficulty in finding the win for white here. He plays 1.Ng7+ Nxg7 2.h6!
Once you see this position, you will never forget it. The knight on g7/b7 or g2/b2 once attacked by opponent's rook pawn cannot stop it from queening. In the above diagram even though the black king is near, he is still unable to stop the pawn because the knight on g7 comes right in its path!
Using the above knowledge, it will be easy for you to find how Vishy won the game! Yes, he sacrificed his bishop on b7 and MVL resigned instantly as Nxb7 a6 is just game over!
There were some other interesting moments in the game like 11...Rxc3. This would have been a very exciting exchange sacrifice - typical of the Sicilian Defense.
Maxime played 11...d5 in the game, but theoreticians will consider the move 11...Rxc3 in future. It surely leads to complex play. Anand's fierce preparation convinced MVL that he shouldn't venture into this territory.
The extra white pawn on d5 will fall anytime but it's an extra pawn! Meanwhile the one on e4 is weak. The good news for Black is that his king is relatively safe on g8.
Things started to become really intense when Maxime pushed his pawn to a4. That's when Anand realized that he must do something radical or else he would be subjected to a strong queenside attack.
Rxd5 is not computer's first preference, but according to Anand it's a very natural move and gives White a risk free position. Humanly I would say that this was an excellent decision.
It's very surprising that Re8 turned out to be the decisive mistake in this position. Usually when you are an exchange up, it makes sense to exchange the rooks, as then your remaining rook becomes much more powerful than opponent's minor pieces. But that was not the case here and after Bf3! and exchange of rooks, we all know how the game ended! A bishop sac on b7.
Vishy who was just few hours shy of 47 years, gave himself a nice pre-birthday present!
[Event "8th London Chess Classic 2016"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2016.12.10"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2779"]
[BlackElo "2804"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:3600+30"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2016.12.10"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2779"]
[BlackElo "2804"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:3600+30"]
{Rewind one year: The date was 11th December 2015. Vishy Anand had the white
pieces against MVL at the London Chess Classic. The players went for a Najdorf
and Anand lost. Fast forward to the present day and Vishy takes his revenge
against the same opponent, in the same opening!} 1. e4 {3} c5 {4} 2. Nf3 {6} d6
{3} 3. d4 {7} cxd4 {4} 4. Nxd4 {5} Nf6 {8} 5. Nc3 {7} a6 {3 The Najdorf has
become synonymous with MVL at top level chess. While everyone toys around with
the Berlin, the Frenchman makes a living out of the Najdorf!} 6. h3 {7 This
move surged into popularity when Bobby Fischer played it against Miguel
Najdorf at the Varna Olympiad in 1962.} e5 {8} 7. Nb3 {7} (7. Nde2 {is the
most popular move, but Anand has some new ideas in Nb3.}) 7... Be6 {24} 8. f4 {
24} Nbd7 {213} 9. g4 {157 Anand is following the game Khismatullin-Duda.} Rc8 {
237 Four minutes for this move. MVL would have been trying to remember his
analysis, but most probably he was already out of his preparation.} (9... exf4
{looks normal, but after} 10. g5 $1 (10. Bxf4 $2 Nh5 $1 {An excellent move
that gives Black the advantage.} 11. gxh5 Qh4+ $19) 10... Ng8 11. Bxf4 $14) 10.
f5 {101} Bxb3 {111} 11. axb3 {9} d5 $5 {374 A pawn sacrifice similar to the
Vaganian Gambit in the Queen's pawn opening. Black would like to play around
the d-pawn by developing his bishop to c5 or b4.} (11... Rxc3 {is, of course,
a key resource in this position. After the game when Maurice Ashley asked
Anand whether he had seen this in his prep, the Indian replied, Let's put it
this way that I was not unaware about this possibility.} 12. bxc3 Nxe4 {
Black's position looks promising. The only problem is that Anand has looked at
this position at home while MVL has not. And this is a big turn off for Black
to venture into this terra incognita.} 13. h4 Qb6 14. Qf3 d5 $44 {with
compensation. The game is double edged and all results are possible.}) 12. exd5
{44} Bb4 {17} 13. Bg2 {10} Qb6 {289} 14. Bd2 {360} e4 {635} 15. Qe2 {169} O-O {
16 Anand mentioned that this position is surely very nice for Black, he is
well developed, but he is a pawn down and to recover the pawn, he will have to
invest time which makes things not so simple.} 16. O-O-O {188} Nc5 {96} 17. Kb1
{401} Rfd8 {1026} 18. Rhe1 {623} a5 {1071} (18... Nxd5 19. Nxd5 Rxd5 20. Be3
Rxd1+ 21. Rxd1 $18 {Black is badly pinned and moves like c3 will soon end the
game.}) (18... Bxc3 19. Bxc3 Nxd5 20. Bd4 Nf4 21. Qf2 Nxg2 22. Qxg2 $16 {
is not a fun position for Black as most certainly the e4 pawn will fall in the
near future.}) 19. Qf2 {854} (19. Nxe4 $5 {was winning this pawn not possible?}
Nfxe4 (19... Ncxe4 20. Bxe4 Re8 21. Qd3 $16 {White is now two pawns up and has
no real problems.}) 20. Bxe4 Re8 21. Qc4 $1 Bxd2 (21... Nxe4 22. Rxe4 $18) 22.
Rxd2 a4 $1 23. bxa4 h6 $5 {What a position! Black is three pawns down and
makes the move ...h6!? Well, White has no real good way to play against Nxe4
threat.} 24. Rd4 Nb3 $1 25. Qxb3 Qxd4 $13) (19. d6 $5 Rxd6 20. g5 Bxc3 21. Bxc3
Nd5 22. Be5 Rdd8 23. Bxe4 $16) 19... Qc7 $5 {1104 A smart move by Maxime. He
wants to lure the bishop away from d2, so that a5-a4 becomes possible.} (19...
a4 $2 20. Nxa4 Nxa4 21. Qxb6 Nxb6 22. Bxb4 $18) 20. Bf4 {1283} Qb6 {158} 21.
Be5 {220 The bishop has moved to a good diagonal where it is god for both
offence and defence. However, Now Black gets in a5-a4 which is going to be
very strong.} (21. Nxe4 $5 {was another nice move at Anand's disposal.} Bxe1 (
21... Nfxe4 22. Rxe4 $18) 22. Nxf6+ Qxf6 23. Qxe1 $18) 21... a4 {87} 22. bxa4 (
22. Nxa4 Nxa4 23. Qxb6 Nxb6 24. c3 Bd6 25. Bxf6 gxf6 26. Rxe4 Kf8 $17) 22...
Bxc3 {46} 23. Bxc3 {466} Nxd5 {16} 24. Rxd5 $5 {A very interesting exchange
sacrifice. By now Anand's exchange sacrifices on d5 have become well known
tales in chess circles. This one however is not crushing. However, with this
move, the attack on the white king ends and practically it was a very good
decision.} (24. Bd4 Qb4 {is not really working in White's favour any more.} 25.
Qg3 Qxa4 26. Qa3 Qxa3 27. bxa3 Na4 {Black should be able to hold this.}) 24...
Rxd5 {6} 25. Bxe4 {459} Rd6 {247} 26. a5 {183} Qb5 {342} 27. Qe2 $1 {103 The
queens have to be exchanged. Anand was happy that after the queen exchange, he
doesn't have any chances to lose.} Qxe2 {202} 28. Rxe2 {5} Rd1+ {54} (28... Re8
29. Bf3 Rxe2 30. Bxe2 $14 {Even this endgame is pleasant for White.
Objectively it might be equal. However, White has many chances because the b7
pawn is weak.}) 29. Ka2 {6} Re8 $2 {6 A bad mistake by MVL. Not characteristic
of him, but of course such things keep happening in chess all the time.
Besides ...Re8 looks like a very natural move.} 30. Bf3 {10} Rxe2 {4} 31. Bxe2
{5} Rc1 {7} (31... Rd7 32. Bf3 $18 {b4-Kb3 and gradual improvement of the
position is coming up. White is just better.}) 32. Bf3 {21} Rxc2 {51} 33. Bxb7
$1 {113 A very common theme in chess. The knight on b7 cannot stop the a6 pawn
from queening.} (33. Bxb7 Nxb7 34. a6 Re2 35. axb7 Re8 36. Be5 $18) 1-0
pieces against MVL at the London Chess Classic. The players went for a Najdorf
and Anand lost. Fast forward to the present day and Vishy takes his revenge
against the same opponent, in the same opening!} 1. e4 {3} c5 {4} 2. Nf3 {6} d6
{3} 3. d4 {7} cxd4 {4} 4. Nxd4 {5} Nf6 {8} 5. Nc3 {7} a6 {3 The Najdorf has
become synonymous with MVL at top level chess. While everyone toys around with
the Berlin, the Frenchman makes a living out of the Najdorf!} 6. h3 {7 This
move surged into popularity when Bobby Fischer played it against Miguel
Najdorf at the Varna Olympiad in 1962.} e5 {8} 7. Nb3 {7} (7. Nde2 {is the
most popular move, but Anand has some new ideas in Nb3.}) 7... Be6 {24} 8. f4 {
24} Nbd7 {213} 9. g4 {157 Anand is following the game Khismatullin-Duda.} Rc8 {
237 Four minutes for this move. MVL would have been trying to remember his
analysis, but most probably he was already out of his preparation.} (9... exf4
{looks normal, but after} 10. g5 $1 (10. Bxf4 $2 Nh5 $1 {An excellent move
that gives Black the advantage.} 11. gxh5 Qh4+ $19) 10... Ng8 11. Bxf4 $14) 10.
f5 {101} Bxb3 {111} 11. axb3 {9} d5 $5 {374 A pawn sacrifice similar to the
Vaganian Gambit in the Queen's pawn opening. Black would like to play around
the d-pawn by developing his bishop to c5 or b4.} (11... Rxc3 {is, of course,
a key resource in this position. After the game when Maurice Ashley asked
Anand whether he had seen this in his prep, the Indian replied, Let's put it
this way that I was not unaware about this possibility.} 12. bxc3 Nxe4 {
Black's position looks promising. The only problem is that Anand has looked at
this position at home while MVL has not. And this is a big turn off for Black
to venture into this terra incognita.} 13. h4 Qb6 14. Qf3 d5 $44 {with
compensation. The game is double edged and all results are possible.}) 12. exd5
{44} Bb4 {17} 13. Bg2 {10} Qb6 {289} 14. Bd2 {360} e4 {635} 15. Qe2 {169} O-O {
16 Anand mentioned that this position is surely very nice for Black, he is
well developed, but he is a pawn down and to recover the pawn, he will have to
invest time which makes things not so simple.} 16. O-O-O {188} Nc5 {96} 17. Kb1
{401} Rfd8 {1026} 18. Rhe1 {623} a5 {1071} (18... Nxd5 19. Nxd5 Rxd5 20. Be3
Rxd1+ 21. Rxd1 $18 {Black is badly pinned and moves like c3 will soon end the
game.}) (18... Bxc3 19. Bxc3 Nxd5 20. Bd4 Nf4 21. Qf2 Nxg2 22. Qxg2 $16 {
is not a fun position for Black as most certainly the e4 pawn will fall in the
near future.}) 19. Qf2 {854} (19. Nxe4 $5 {was winning this pawn not possible?}
Nfxe4 (19... Ncxe4 20. Bxe4 Re8 21. Qd3 $16 {White is now two pawns up and has
no real problems.}) 20. Bxe4 Re8 21. Qc4 $1 Bxd2 (21... Nxe4 22. Rxe4 $18) 22.
Rxd2 a4 $1 23. bxa4 h6 $5 {What a position! Black is three pawns down and
makes the move ...h6!? Well, White has no real good way to play against Nxe4
threat.} 24. Rd4 Nb3 $1 25. Qxb3 Qxd4 $13) (19. d6 $5 Rxd6 20. g5 Bxc3 21. Bxc3
Nd5 22. Be5 Rdd8 23. Bxe4 $16) 19... Qc7 $5 {1104 A smart move by Maxime. He
wants to lure the bishop away from d2, so that a5-a4 becomes possible.} (19...
a4 $2 20. Nxa4 Nxa4 21. Qxb6 Nxb6 22. Bxb4 $18) 20. Bf4 {1283} Qb6 {158} 21.
Be5 {220 The bishop has moved to a good diagonal where it is god for both
offence and defence. However, Now Black gets in a5-a4 which is going to be
very strong.} (21. Nxe4 $5 {was another nice move at Anand's disposal.} Bxe1 (
21... Nfxe4 22. Rxe4 $18) 22. Nxf6+ Qxf6 23. Qxe1 $18) 21... a4 {87} 22. bxa4 (
22. Nxa4 Nxa4 23. Qxb6 Nxb6 24. c3 Bd6 25. Bxf6 gxf6 26. Rxe4 Kf8 $17) 22...
Bxc3 {46} 23. Bxc3 {466} Nxd5 {16} 24. Rxd5 $5 {A very interesting exchange
sacrifice. By now Anand's exchange sacrifices on d5 have become well known
tales in chess circles. This one however is not crushing. However, with this
move, the attack on the white king ends and practically it was a very good
decision.} (24. Bd4 Qb4 {is not really working in White's favour any more.} 25.
Qg3 Qxa4 26. Qa3 Qxa3 27. bxa3 Na4 {Black should be able to hold this.}) 24...
Rxd5 {6} 25. Bxe4 {459} Rd6 {247} 26. a5 {183} Qb5 {342} 27. Qe2 $1 {103 The
queens have to be exchanged. Anand was happy that after the queen exchange, he
doesn't have any chances to lose.} Qxe2 {202} 28. Rxe2 {5} Rd1+ {54} (28... Re8
29. Bf3 Rxe2 30. Bxe2 $14 {Even this endgame is pleasant for White.
Objectively it might be equal. However, White has many chances because the b7
pawn is weak.}) 29. Ka2 {6} Re8 $2 {6 A bad mistake by MVL. Not characteristic
of him, but of course such things keep happening in chess all the time.
Besides ...Re8 looks like a very natural move.} 30. Bf3 {10} Rxe2 {4} 31. Bxe2
{5} Rc1 {7} (31... Rd7 32. Bf3 $18 {b4-Kb3 and gradual improvement of the
position is coming up. White is just better.}) 32. Bf3 {21} Rxc2 {51} 33. Bxb7
$1 {113 A very common theme in chess. The knight on b7 cannot stop the a6 pawn
from queening.} (33. Bxb7 Nxb7 34. a6 Re2 35. axb7 Re8 36. Be5 $18) 1-0
Vishy executing the final move of the game Bxb7!
Topalov vs Caruana: An intense battle!
Perhaps the craziest game of the day was Topalov against Caruana. Fabiano saw that his opponent has not been playing the best possible chess recently and tried to test him with the French Defence. Korchnoi's favourite Defence has been neglected in modern chess. The reappearance of this fighting system brought a lot of cheer amongst the French Defence afficianados.
The game was littered with tactical possibilities and crazy variations. Hence, it makes sense for a young and agile mind to annotate this game!
The young Candidate Master from Mumbai Aditya Mittal was all set with his laptop to watch the live games at 9.30 p.m. IST. It was at that moment that he realized that the round had begun two hours earlier! Well Aditya, it's going to begin at 7.30 p.m. today as well! 10-year-old Aditya points out that there were two tactics which are worthy of being added to any high level tactics book. Hence, we present these two positions to you and the answers to them are given below.
Test 01
Black (Caruana) to play. White has just retreated his rook back to e1. There is something tremendous here. Aditya calls it a brilliancy. Fabiano couldn't find it, can you do better?
Test 02
With Nc4 Topalov has attacked the black queen. But here Fabi found the counter attacking idea. What was it?
Solutions:
1. ...Rxg7!! was the correct move as after Rxg7 Rh8!! forces a mate on h1. There is just no way to prevent it.
2. ...Re8!! This deflection ends the game as Qxe8 is met with Qb1 Qe1 c2 -+
Analysis by CM Aditya Mittal
[Event "London Chess Classic 2016"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.12.10"]
[Round "2.4"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C02"]
[WhiteElo "2760"]
[BlackElo "2823"]
[Annotator "Aditya Mittal"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:22"]
[BlackClock "0:01:49"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.12.10"]
[Round "2.4"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C02"]
[WhiteElo "2760"]
[BlackElo "2823"]
[Annotator "Aditya Mittal"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:22"]
[BlackClock "0:01:49"]
1. e4 {Aah! 9.30 pm, I opened my laptop, not wanting to miss a move. But aah!
The game has started at 7.30! Wooosh!} e6 {The French defense, not the most
popular opening these days.} 2. d4 d5 3. e5 {Bit of a surprise already. 2012
was the last time Veselin played this.} c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bd7 6. Be2 Nge7 7.
h4 $5 {Signifying his intentions!} Qb6 8. Na3 $6 {I don't like to give this a
dubious mark, but it seriously helped Fabiano!} cxd4 9. cxd4 Nb4 10. h5 {
Okay, in simple words, he is going 'BOOM'} h6 (10... Rc8 {might be a good move.
} 11. Kf1 (11. Bd2 Nf5 $1 $13) 11... Nf5 12. g4 Nh6 13. Bxh6 gxh6 {with a very
very doubled edge position.}) 11. Bd2 a6 {Kind of a waiting move.} 12. Bc3 Nec6
13. Rh3 $5 {There! Veselin stays true to his style, and he is ready to burn
all bridges.} O-O-O $1 {What a move! Black does 0-0-0!!!! Fabiano isn't shying
away from the fight.} 14. Kf1 {Of course, the king is more safer here.} (14.
Nc2 {could also be considered.} Nxc2+ 15. Qxc2 $13) 14... Kb8 15. Qd2 $6 {
Now Fabiano comes! He shows why he is 2823!} f6 $1 16. exf6 gxf6 17. Rg3 Be8
18. Nh4 $1 {Both the players are playing like 'Blast of Mars'} Bd6 (18... e5 $1
{was the best.} 19. Ng6 Bxg6 20. hxg6 Rg8 21. dxe5 fxe5 {Black has the
initiative.}) 19. Rg7 e5 20. dxe5 fxe5 21. Ng6 Bxg6 22. hxg6 e4 $6 {A move
very hard to understand and especially its continuation.} (22... Rhf8 $1 23.
Rf7 Rxf7 24. gxf7 Qc7 25. Bh5 Qe7 $1 $15) 23. Rf7 Rhg8 $6 (23... Rhf8 $1 {
was called for. Fabiano starts to drift because of time trouble.} 24. Qxh6 Bc5
$13) 24. g7 Ka7 $1 {Brilliant move!} 25. Qxh6 Nd3 $2 {Now White is almost
winning.} (25... Bc5 $1 {was definitely a computer move! If the obvious} 26.
Qg6 Rd6 $1 27. Qh7 Ne7 $1 {Now Black is winning. Wow!}) 26. Bxd3 exd3 27. Re1
Bc5 $2 {And now he is clearly winning.} (27... d2 $1 28. Bxd2 Qxb2 29. Rb1 Qxa3
30. Rfxb7+ Ka8 31. Kg1 $1 {is winning according to the engines but messy.}) 28.
Re6 $2 {A crucial moment. From here on Veselin loses the thread.} Rc8 $1 29.
Qg5 $2 {Now. Fabiano has a chance!} (29. Qf6 $1 {was better.}) 29... Bd4 (29...
Bxa3 $3 30. bxa3 Qb5 31. a4 Qc4 $1 $17) 30. Re1 $2 {Veselin is making mistake
every move!} Bxc3 (30... Rxg7 $3 {was the brilliancy.} 31. Rxg7 Rh8 $19 {
And as unbelievable as it may seem, there is just no way to stop mate.}) 31.
bxc3 Qb2 32. Nb1 $6 {Veselin became nervous here, Fabiano playing at full
speed!} (32. Qc1 $1 Qxc1 33. Rxc1 d4 34. c4 $14) 32... Rce8 $1 33. Qd2 (33.
Rxe8 Rxe8 {with mate threat.}) 33... Rxe1+ $1 34. Qxe1 d4 $1 {White is already
feeling the heat and Veselin makes the final mistake.} 35. Nd2 $4 (35. cxd4 Qb5
36. Kg1 Qd5 $13 {is unclear.}) 35... dxc3 $1 36. Nc4 Re8 $3 {What a piece of
calculation!} 37. Rxb7+ (37. Qxe8 Qb1+ 38. Qe1 c2 $19) 37... Qxb7 38. Qxe8 Qb1+
0-1
The game has started at 7.30! Wooosh!} e6 {The French defense, not the most
popular opening these days.} 2. d4 d5 3. e5 {Bit of a surprise already. 2012
was the last time Veselin played this.} c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bd7 6. Be2 Nge7 7.
h4 $5 {Signifying his intentions!} Qb6 8. Na3 $6 {I don't like to give this a
dubious mark, but it seriously helped Fabiano!} cxd4 9. cxd4 Nb4 10. h5 {
Okay, in simple words, he is going 'BOOM'} h6 (10... Rc8 {might be a good move.
} 11. Kf1 (11. Bd2 Nf5 $1 $13) 11... Nf5 12. g4 Nh6 13. Bxh6 gxh6 {with a very
very doubled edge position.}) 11. Bd2 a6 {Kind of a waiting move.} 12. Bc3 Nec6
13. Rh3 $5 {There! Veselin stays true to his style, and he is ready to burn
all bridges.} O-O-O $1 {What a move! Black does 0-0-0!!!! Fabiano isn't shying
away from the fight.} 14. Kf1 {Of course, the king is more safer here.} (14.
Nc2 {could also be considered.} Nxc2+ 15. Qxc2 $13) 14... Kb8 15. Qd2 $6 {
Now Fabiano comes! He shows why he is 2823!} f6 $1 16. exf6 gxf6 17. Rg3 Be8
18. Nh4 $1 {Both the players are playing like 'Blast of Mars'} Bd6 (18... e5 $1
{was the best.} 19. Ng6 Bxg6 20. hxg6 Rg8 21. dxe5 fxe5 {Black has the
initiative.}) 19. Rg7 e5 20. dxe5 fxe5 21. Ng6 Bxg6 22. hxg6 e4 $6 {A move
very hard to understand and especially its continuation.} (22... Rhf8 $1 23.
Rf7 Rxf7 24. gxf7 Qc7 25. Bh5 Qe7 $1 $15) 23. Rf7 Rhg8 $6 (23... Rhf8 $1 {
was called for. Fabiano starts to drift because of time trouble.} 24. Qxh6 Bc5
$13) 24. g7 Ka7 $1 {Brilliant move!} 25. Qxh6 Nd3 $2 {Now White is almost
winning.} (25... Bc5 $1 {was definitely a computer move! If the obvious} 26.
Qg6 Rd6 $1 27. Qh7 Ne7 $1 {Now Black is winning. Wow!}) 26. Bxd3 exd3 27. Re1
Bc5 $2 {And now he is clearly winning.} (27... d2 $1 28. Bxd2 Qxb2 29. Rb1 Qxa3
30. Rfxb7+ Ka8 31. Kg1 $1 {is winning according to the engines but messy.}) 28.
Re6 $2 {A crucial moment. From here on Veselin loses the thread.} Rc8 $1 29.
Qg5 $2 {Now. Fabiano has a chance!} (29. Qf6 $1 {was better.}) 29... Bd4 (29...
Bxa3 $3 30. bxa3 Qb5 31. a4 Qc4 $1 $17) 30. Re1 $2 {Veselin is making mistake
every move!} Bxc3 (30... Rxg7 $3 {was the brilliancy.} 31. Rxg7 Rh8 $19 {
And as unbelievable as it may seem, there is just no way to stop mate.}) 31.
bxc3 Qb2 32. Nb1 $6 {Veselin became nervous here, Fabiano playing at full
speed!} (32. Qc1 $1 Qxc1 33. Rxc1 d4 34. c4 $14) 32... Rce8 $1 33. Qd2 (33.
Rxe8 Rxe8 {with mate threat.}) 33... Rxe1+ $1 34. Qxe1 d4 $1 {White is already
feeling the heat and Veselin makes the final mistake.} 35. Nd2 $4 (35. cxd4 Qb5
36. Kg1 Qd5 $13 {is unclear.}) 35... dxc3 $1 36. Nc4 Re8 $3 {What a piece of
calculation!} 37. Rxb7+ (37. Qxe8 Qb1+ 38. Qe1 c2 $19) 37... Qxb7 38. Qxe8 Qb1+
0-1
Deep under time pressure, Fabi managed to find many difficult resources.
Man of the moment is definitely Wesley So
Wesley ground out a win from a nearly equal endgame against Michael Adams. With this win he crossed 2800 in the live rating list. He is only the twelfth person in the history of the game to have done so.
[Event "8th London Chess Classic 2016"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2016.12.10"]
[Round "2"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E05"]
[WhiteElo "2794"]
[BlackElo "2748"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:3600+30"]
1. d4 {2} Nf6 {7} 2. c4 {6} e6 {4} 3. g3 {4} d5 {14} 4. Bg2 {6} Be7 {64} 5. Nf3
{7} O-O {5} 6. O-O {5} dxc4 {3} 7. Qc2 {6} a6 {4} 8. a4 {5} Bd7 {32} 9. Qxc4 {5
} Bc6 {30} 10. Bg5 {6} a5 {180} 11. Nc3 {177} Ra6 {227} 12. Qd3 {141} Rb6 {172}
13. Qc2 {14} h6 {95} 14. Bd2 {465} Bb4 {1230} 15. Rfe1 {600} Bxf3 {157} 16.
Bxf3 {6} Nc6 {3} 17. e3 {161} e5 {136} 18. Bxc6 {623} exd4 {86} 19. Bf3 {52}
dxc3 {43} 20. bxc3 {30} Bc5 {190} 21. Rab1 {1730} Rd6 {250} 22. Red1 {252} b6 {
90} 23. c4 {19} Qe7 {266} 24. Bc3 {87} Rfd8 {43} 25. Bb2 {357} Qe6 {857} 26.
Rxd6 {123} Rxd6 {58} 27. Rd1 {21} Rxd1+ {411} 28. Qxd1 {4 White has a slight
edge because of the bishop pair. But it is nothing substantial. Wesley manages
to build up his position steadily.} Bd6 {70} (28... Qxc4 29. Bxf6 gxf6 30. Bd5
$16) 29. Qd4 {792} Qe8 {175} 30. Bd1 {67} Qc6 {614} 31. Bc2 {132 The bishop is
well placed on this diagonal.} Kf8 {40} 32. e4 {293} Bc5 {874} 33. Qd8+ {4} Ne8
{4} 34. Qd5 {5} Qg6 {13} (34... Qxd5 35. cxd5 $16 {is surely an improvement
for White.}) 35. Kg2 {45} Ke7 {274} 36. f4 {133} c6 {80} 37. Qd3 {14} Nc7 $2 {
147 The crucial mistake of the game.} (37... Qd6 {was better although White is
better here as well.}) 38. f5 $1 {93} Qg5 {136} (38... Qh7 {is relatively the
best but with such a passive queen things are not going to work out.}) 39. Be5
{0} Ne6 {0} (39... Ne8 40. Bf4 Qf6 41. e5 {The queen is trapped.}) 40. fxe6 {0}
(40. fxe6 Qxe5 41. Qd7+ Kf6 42. Qxf7+ Kg5 43. h4+ Kg4 44. Bd1#) 1-0
[Site "London"]
[Date "2016.12.10"]
[Round "2"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E05"]
[WhiteElo "2794"]
[BlackElo "2748"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:3600+30"]
1. d4 {2} Nf6 {7} 2. c4 {6} e6 {4} 3. g3 {4} d5 {14} 4. Bg2 {6} Be7 {64} 5. Nf3
{7} O-O {5} 6. O-O {5} dxc4 {3} 7. Qc2 {6} a6 {4} 8. a4 {5} Bd7 {32} 9. Qxc4 {5
} Bc6 {30} 10. Bg5 {6} a5 {180} 11. Nc3 {177} Ra6 {227} 12. Qd3 {141} Rb6 {172}
13. Qc2 {14} h6 {95} 14. Bd2 {465} Bb4 {1230} 15. Rfe1 {600} Bxf3 {157} 16.
Bxf3 {6} Nc6 {3} 17. e3 {161} e5 {136} 18. Bxc6 {623} exd4 {86} 19. Bf3 {52}
dxc3 {43} 20. bxc3 {30} Bc5 {190} 21. Rab1 {1730} Rd6 {250} 22. Red1 {252} b6 {
90} 23. c4 {19} Qe7 {266} 24. Bc3 {87} Rfd8 {43} 25. Bb2 {357} Qe6 {857} 26.
Rxd6 {123} Rxd6 {58} 27. Rd1 {21} Rxd1+ {411} 28. Qxd1 {4 White has a slight
edge because of the bishop pair. But it is nothing substantial. Wesley manages
to build up his position steadily.} Bd6 {70} (28... Qxc4 29. Bxf6 gxf6 30. Bd5
$16) 29. Qd4 {792} Qe8 {175} 30. Bd1 {67} Qc6 {614} 31. Bc2 {132 The bishop is
well placed on this diagonal.} Kf8 {40} 32. e4 {293} Bc5 {874} 33. Qd8+ {4} Ne8
{4} 34. Qd5 {5} Qg6 {13} (34... Qxd5 35. cxd5 $16 {is surely an improvement
for White.}) 35. Kg2 {45} Ke7 {274} 36. f4 {133} c6 {80} 37. Qd3 {14} Nc7 $2 {
147 The crucial mistake of the game.} (37... Qd6 {was better although White is
better here as well.}) 38. f5 $1 {93} Qg5 {136} (38... Qh7 {is relatively the
best but with such a passive queen things are not going to work out.}) 39. Be5
{0} Ne6 {0} (39... Ne8 40. Bf4 Qf6 41. e5 {The queen is trapped.}) 40. fxe6 {0}
(40. fxe6 Qxe5 41. Qd7+ Kf6 42. Qxf7+ Kg5 43. h4+ Kg4 44. Bd1#) 1-0
Michael Adams has botched up two even positions and is currently on 0.0/2
Kramnik and Aronian are happy to greet each other before the game! In the game they were brutal as they both tried to get to opponent's king. The game finally ended in a draw.
[Event "8th London Chess Classic 2016"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2016.12.10"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E17"]
[WhiteElo "2809"]
[BlackElo "2785"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:3600+30"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2016.12.10"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Kramnik, Vladimir"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E17"]
[WhiteElo "2809"]
[BlackElo "2785"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:3600+30"]
1. Nf3 {4} d5 {12} 2. g3 {5} Nf6 {13} 3. Bg2 {8} e6 {5} 4. O-O {8} Be7 {4} 5.
c4 {8} O-O {7} 6. b3 {3} b6 {17} 7. Nc3 {96} Bb7 {25} 8. d4 {9} Nbd7 {430} 9.
Bb2 {35} Rc8 {143} 10. cxd5 {342} Nxd5 {22} 11. Nxd5 {22} Bxd5 {27} 12. Qd3 {
103} c5 {250} 13. e4 {415} Bb7 {342} 14. Rad1 {406} cxd4 {340} 15. Nxd4 {514}
Nf6 {9} 16. Qe2 {731} Qe8 {13} 17. a3 {345} a5 {175} 18. Rfe1 {315} Bc5 {652}
19. Nb5 {684} Qe7 {808} 20. e5 {632} Bxg2 {13} 21. exf6 {16} Qb7 {3} 22. Nd6 {
425} Bxd6 {5} 23. Rxd6 {27} Bh1 {215} 24. f3 {158} Qxf3 {526} 25. Qd2 {862}
Qg2+ {69} 26. Qxg2 {139} Bxg2 {6} 27. fxg7 {12} Rfe8 {3} 28. Re2 {179} Bf3 {156
} 29. Rf2 {18} Be4 {298} 30. Re2 {147} Bf3 {22} 31. Rf2 {48} Be4 {5} 32. Re2 {
56} 1/2-1/2
c4 {8} O-O {7} 6. b3 {3} b6 {17} 7. Nc3 {96} Bb7 {25} 8. d4 {9} Nbd7 {430} 9.
Bb2 {35} Rc8 {143} 10. cxd5 {342} Nxd5 {22} 11. Nxd5 {22} Bxd5 {27} 12. Qd3 {
103} c5 {250} 13. e4 {415} Bb7 {342} 14. Rad1 {406} cxd4 {340} 15. Nxd4 {514}
Nf6 {9} 16. Qe2 {731} Qe8 {13} 17. a3 {345} a5 {175} 18. Rfe1 {315} Bc5 {652}
19. Nb5 {684} Qe7 {808} 20. e5 {632} Bxg2 {13} 21. exf6 {16} Qb7 {3} 22. Nd6 {
425} Bxd6 {5} 23. Rxd6 {27} Bh1 {215} 24. f3 {158} Qxf3 {526} 25. Qd2 {862}
Qg2+ {69} 26. Qxg2 {139} Bxg2 {6} 27. fxg7 {12} Rfe8 {3} 28. Re2 {179} Bf3 {156
} 29. Rf2 {18} Be4 {298} 30. Re2 {147} Bf3 {22} 31. Rf2 {48} Be4 {5} 32. Re2 {
56} 1/2-1/2
Anish tried a new idea against Hikaru Nakamura in the opening
Usually the pawn on d4 is taken with the knight. But here Anish picked it up with his queen. His idea was to transfer the queen to h4 and start an attack.
Nakamura was upto the task and played his queen to a5-h5. Anish had a slight edge but the game ended in a draw.
[Event "8th London Chess Classic 2016"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2016.12.10"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E60"]
[WhiteElo "2771"]
[BlackElo "2779"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:3600+30"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2016.12.10"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E60"]
[WhiteElo "2771"]
[BlackElo "2779"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventCountry "ENG"]
[SourceTitle "playchess.com"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:3600+30"]
1. d4 {3} Nf6 {6} 2. Nf3 {5} g6 {6} 3. g3 {250} Bg7 {18} 4. Bg2 {5} O-O {14} 5.
c4 {42} c5 {39} 6. Nc3 {112} cxd4 {96} 7. Qxd4 {93} Qa5 {2579} 8. O-O {354} Qh5
{114} 9. Qe5 {515} Qxe5 {84} 10. Nxe5 {4} Nc6 {5} 11. Nd3 {77} b6 {784} 12. Bg5
{1722} Ba6 {346} 13. b3 {63} h6 {73} 14. Bd2 {189} Rac8 {29} 15. Rac1 {24} Rfd8
{11} 16. Rfd1 {125} e6 {73} 17. Bf4 {295} Ne8 {281} 18. h4 {94} Bf8 {424} 19.
Ne5 {151} Nxe5 {93} 20. Bxe5 {5} Bg7 {9} 21. Bxg7 {93} Kxg7 {6} 22. a4 {260} g5
{464} 23. hxg5 {263} hxg5 {5} 24. e3 {687} Nf6 {69} 25. Rd6 {350} Kf8 {28} 26.
Rcd1 {133} Rc5 {283} 27. Na2 {107} Bc8 {100} 28. Nb4 {11} Re8 {3} 29. Nd3 {98}
Ra5 {113} 30. Nb2 {52} Rc5 {5} 31. Nd3 {33} Ra5 {14} 32. Nb2 {14} Rc5 {5} 33.
R6d2 {56} g4 {130} 34. Nd3 {78} Rc7 {14} 35. Ne5 {99} Ke7 {22} 36. a5 {54} bxa5
{136} 37. Ra2 {50} Bb7 {28} 38. Rxa5 {33} Bxg2 {8} 39. Kxg2 {1} Rb8 {9} 40. Ra3
{0} Rc5 {200} 41. Nd3 {220} Rc7 {201} 42. Ne5 {270} Rc5 {36} 43. Nd3 {3} Rc7 {1
} 1/2-1/2
c4 {42} c5 {39} 6. Nc3 {112} cxd4 {96} 7. Qxd4 {93} Qa5 {2579} 8. O-O {354} Qh5
{114} 9. Qe5 {515} Qxe5 {84} 10. Nxe5 {4} Nc6 {5} 11. Nd3 {77} b6 {784} 12. Bg5
{1722} Ba6 {346} 13. b3 {63} h6 {73} 14. Bd2 {189} Rac8 {29} 15. Rac1 {24} Rfd8
{11} 16. Rfd1 {125} e6 {73} 17. Bf4 {295} Ne8 {281} 18. h4 {94} Bf8 {424} 19.
Ne5 {151} Nxe5 {93} 20. Bxe5 {5} Bg7 {9} 21. Bxg7 {93} Kxg7 {6} 22. a4 {260} g5
{464} 23. hxg5 {263} hxg5 {5} 24. e3 {687} Nf6 {69} 25. Rd6 {350} Kf8 {28} 26.
Rcd1 {133} Rc5 {283} 27. Na2 {107} Bc8 {100} 28. Nb4 {11} Re8 {3} 29. Nd3 {98}
Ra5 {113} 30. Nb2 {52} Rc5 {5} 31. Nd3 {33} Ra5 {14} 32. Nb2 {14} Rc5 {5} 33.
R6d2 {56} g4 {130} 34. Nd3 {78} Rc7 {14} 35. Ne5 {99} Ke7 {22} 36. a5 {54} bxa5
{136} 37. Ra2 {50} Bb7 {28} 38. Rxa5 {33} Bxg2 {8} 39. Kxg2 {1} Rb8 {9} 40. Ra3
{0} Rc5 {200} 41. Nd3 {220} Rc7 {201} 42. Ne5 {270} Rc5 {36} 43. Nd3 {3} Rc7 {1
} 1/2-1/2
With 2.0/2 Wesley So is the sole leader of the 8th London Chess Classic
The official commentators Chris Ward and Lawrence Trent had a great time commentating on the exciting games of the second round. As Chris Ward said, "The best thing about this event until now is that we are seeing all kinds of different openings!"