London 05: Crg Krishna among the leaders
Indians had a bad day at the office as International Masters Swayams Mishra and Sagar Shah both lost their games to higher rated grandmasters. The greatest damage came in the Classic when Anand lost to Nakamura with the black pieces. Nevertheless, the star of the day for Indians was undoubtedly IM Crg Krishna, who defeated GM Jahongir Vakhidov with the black pieces to move into the joint lead. An illustrated report with video interviews with Crg Krishna, Vishnu Prasanna and Tania Sachdev!
London 05: Crg Krishna among the leaders
Indians had a bad day at the office as International Masters Swayams Mishra and Sagar Shah both lost their games to higher rated grandmasters. GM Vishnu Prasanna settled for a repetition with IM John Cox (2342) while IM Tania Sachdev played on until only the kings were left on her board. Untitled V. Ap Karthik also settled for a draw with yet another titled player.
Nevertheless, the star of the day for Indians was undoubtedly IM Crg Krishna, who defeated GM Jahongir Vakhidov with the black pieces to move into the joint lead.
White has just played 29.Nxe6, what will you play here as black?
Crg Krishna, who was black here was under severe time trouble at this point. He had to make a dozen moves with mere minutes left on the clock. Of course, Black began with 29... fxe5 30. dxe5, and now, a move like 30... Nc4 is winning because 31. Nxg7+ Kf7 32. Nh5 Bg6 33. Rxb2 Rxb2+ 34. Kg3 Bxh5 35. gxh5 Ke6, and, at least, a pawn is falling.
However, Black instead replied 30…Bf5??. GM Vakhidov had a golden opportunity to turn the tables and gain a better position with 31. Nxg7+! Kf7 32. Rxb2 Rxb2+ 33. Kg3 Kxg7 34. Rc7+ Kf8 35. exd6 Be6 36. Kf4. Here, the point is that the d6 pawn is a very powerful passer and the white king is much more active than its black counterpart is.
Sadly for Vakhidov, he missed this point and instead chose to play 31. Nc7+, when simply 31... Kd7 32. Rxb2 Rxb2+ 33. Kg3 Nc4 34. Nxd5 Bc2, and the position is close to equal.
However, chess truly is a fairytale of blunders. Vakhidov went horribly wrong at the 40th move, allowing the black king to invade and set up a mating net around the white king!
Crg Krishna finished with 44... Be4+ 45. Kg3 g5, weaving the net. Play continued 46. fxg5 hxg5 47. h4 Rg2+ 48. Kh3 Bf3, and it is a real mating net!
[Site "Olympia Conference Centre"]
[Date "2015.12.07"]
[Round "5.6"]
[White "Vakhidov, Jahongir"]
[Black "Krishna, Crg"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D10"]
[WhiteElo "2546"]
[BlackElo "2367"]
[PlyCount "102"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
e6 9. Qb3 Bd6 (9... b5 10. Nxb5 axb5 11. Bxb5 Rc8 12. Rc1 $18) 10. Bxd6 Qxd6
11. Qxb7 O-O 12. Qb3 Rfc8 (12... Rfb8 13. Qa3 Qxa3 14. bxa3 Rb2 $2 (14... Na7
15. a4 Rb2 16. Ne5 (16. Nh4 Bc2 $15) 16... Rc2 17. Nd1 Nc6 $11) 15. Na4 $1 $16)
(12... Nb4 13. Rc1 Nc2+ 14. Rxc2 Rfb8 15. Nb5 Bxc2 16. Nxd6 Bxb3 17. axb3 Rb6
18. Nc4 dxc4 19. Bxc4 a5 $11) 13. O-O Rab8 14. Qa4 Rxb2 15. Qxa6 Qf8 16. Rac1
Nb4 17. Qa3 Nd3 18. Qxf8+ Kxf8 19. Bxd3 Bxd3 20. Rfe1 $11 Bc2 21. Na4 Rxa2 22.
Nc5 Rb8 23. Ne5 Rbb2 24. h3 Ne8 25. Re2 Nd6 26. g4 h6 27. f3 Ke8 28. Kf2 f6 29.
Nxe6 (29. Nc6 Ba4 30. Rxb2 Rxb2+ 31. Kg3 Bxc6 32. Nxe6 Nc4 33. Nxg7+ Kf7 34.
Nf5 Bd7 35. Nxh6+ Kg7 36. Nf5+ Bxf5 37. gxf5 Nxe3 38. Rc7+ Kh6 $19) 29... fxe5
30. dxe5 Bf5 $4 (30... Nc4 31. Nxg7+ Kf7 32. Nh5 Bg6 33. Rxb2 Rxb2+ 34. Kg3
Bxh5 35. gxh5 Ke6 $19) 31. Nc7+ (31. Nxg7+ $1 Kf7 32. Rxb2 Rxb2+ 33. Kg3 Kxg7
34. Rc7+ Kf8 35. exd6 Be6 36. Kf4 $18) 31... Kd7 32. Rxb2 Rxb2+ 33. Kg3 Nc4 34.
Nxd5 Bc2 35. f4 Ke6 36. Nc7+ Kd7 37. Na6 (37. Nd5 $11 Be4 (37... g6 38. Ra1 $11
) (37... Bd3 38. Rd1 Nd2 39. f5 $11) 38. Rxc4 Bxd5 39. Ra4 $11) 37... Nxe3 38.
Nc5+ Kc6 39. Ne6 g6 40. Kf3 Kd5 41. Nc7+ Kd4 42. Ne6+ Kd5 43. Nc7+ Kd4 44. e6 (
44. Ne6+ Kd3) 44... Be4+ 45. Kg3 g5 46. fxg5 hxg5 47. h4 Rg2+ 48. Kh3 Bf3 49.
Nb5+ Ke5 50. Rc4 Bxg4+ 51. Rxg4 Rxg4 0-1
[Site "Olympia Conference Centre"]
[Date "2015.12.07"]
[Round "5.2"]
[White "Lenderman, Alex"]
[Black "Swayams, Mishra"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E32"]
[WhiteElo "2626"]
[BlackElo "2477"]
[PlyCount "89"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:43:53"]
[BlackClock "0:27:24"]
Bg2 b6 9. O-O Bb7 10. Nb5 Nce4 11. Ng5 d5 12. Nxe4 Nxe4 13. Rd1 Qf6 14. Be3 a6
15. Bxe4 axb5 16. cxd5 Bxd5 17. Bxd5 exd5 18. Rxd5 Rfc8 19. Qb3 Bc5 20. Bxc5
bxc5 21. Rc1 c4 22. Qxb5 g6 23. Rxc4 Rcb8 24. Ra4 Rxb5 25. Rxa8+ Kg7 26. Rxb5
Qe6 27. Rb3 Qxe2 28. Ra7 g5 29. h3 h5 30. Rbb7 Kg6 31. Rxf7 Qxb2 32. Rfc7 Qb1+
33. Kh2 Qf1 34. Rc6+ Kf5 35. Rf7+ Ke4 36. Re6+ Kd3 37. Re5 g4 38. Rxh5 gxh3 39.
Rxh3 Ke2 40. g4 Qb1 41. Re3+ Kf1 42. Kg3 Qxa2 43. Rf5 Qb2 44. g5 Qh8 45. Rfe5
1-0
[Site "Olympia Conference Centre"]
[Date "2015.12.07"]
[Round "5.18"]
[White "Sachdev, Tania"]
[Black "Andersen, Mads"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D43"]
[WhiteElo "2357"]
[BlackElo "2474"]
[PlyCount "89"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:03:37"]
[BlackClock "0:18:02"]
c5 9. d5 Be7 10. O-O-O Nxd5 11. Bxe7 Qxe7 12. Nxd5 exd5 13. Qxd5 Bb7 14. Qe5 f6
15. Qxe7+ Kxe7 16. e3 Nd7 17. Be2 Nb6 18. h4 Bd5 19. Kb1 Rad8 20. Bd3 Rd6 21.
Bc2 Rhd8 22. e4 Bb7 23. Rxd6 Rxd6 24. e5 fxe5 25. Nxe5 Re6 26. Nd3 Re2 27. Nxc5
Bxg2 28. Rg1 Rxf2 29. Be4 Bxe4+ 30. Nxe4 Rf4 31. Rxg7+ Kf8 32. Rb7 Rxe4 33.
Rxb6 Rxh4 34. Rxa6 h5 35. Rb6 b4 36. a3 bxa3 37. bxa3 Rg4 38. Kc2 h4 39. Kd2 h3
40. Rh6 Rg2+ 41. Ke3 Ra2 42. Kf3 Kg7 43. Rxh3 Rxa3+ 44. Kg4 Rxh3 45. Kxh3
1/2-1/2
[Site "Olympia Conference Centre"]
[Date "2015.12.07"]
[Round "5.8"]
[White "Cox, John J"]
[Black "Vishnu, Prasanna V"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D94"]
[WhiteElo "2342"]
[BlackElo "2514"]
[PlyCount "46"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:26:56"]
[BlackClock "1:09:56"]
Nxd5 9. Nxd5 Qxd5 10. Bd2 Nc4 11. Qb3 Be6 12. Rc1 Nxd2 13. Qxd5 Bxd5 14. Kxd2
Rfc8 15. Bc4 Bxc4 16. Rxc4 a6 17. Rhc1 axb5 18. Rxc7 Rxa2+ 19. Ke1 Rxc7 20.
Rxc7 Ra1+ 21. Ke2 Ra2+ 22. Ke1 Ra1+ 23. Ke2 Ra2+ 1/2-1/2
Rankings after Round 05:
| Rk. | SNo | Name | Rtg | Pts. | |||
| 1 | 1 | GM | Postny Evgeny | ISR | 2670 | 4,5 | |
| 5 | GM | Lenderman Alex | USA | 2626 | 4,5 | ||
| 9 | GM | Hansen Eric | CAN | 2577 | 4,5 | ||
| 22 | GM | Fodor Tamas Jr | HUN | 2492 | 4,5 | ||
| 51 | IM | Krishna Crg | IND | 2367 | 4,5 | ||
| 6 | 3 | GM | Melkumyan Hrant | ARM | 2654 | 4,0 | |
| 4 | GM | Edouard Romain | FRA | 2627 | 4,0 | ||
| 7 | GM | Jumabayev Rinat | KAZ | 2599 | 4,0 | ||
| 8 | GM | Bok Benjamin | NED | 2594 | 4,0 | ||
| 10 | GM | Hawkins Jonathan | ENG | 2569 | 4,0 |
Classic: Nakamura outplays Anand
Most special guests who inaugurate the games at the Classic, as has been the tradition, usually choose to play the king's pawn opening.
Nakamura's Catalan was the only decisive bout of round four at the Classic. Prior to this game, Naka had a lead of 6:1 in classical games against the ageless champion. Naka made it 7:1. He once again got the better of Anand in the Catalan - he had achieved the same result in the same opening at the Sinquefield Cup 2015.
Nakamura played, what he later described to be a study-like solution, 26. Re2! Now, the aesthetically pleasing point is that after 26... Bxb4 27. Re4 a5 28. Kg2, Black's pieces are stuck!
Analysis by IM Sagar Shah:
[Site "London ENG"]
[Date "2015.12.07"]
[Round "4.1"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E06"]
[WhiteElo "2793"]
[BlackElo "2803"]
[Annotator "Sagar Shah"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2015.12.04"]
[SourceDate "2003.06.08"]
better of Anand in the Catalan - he had achieved the same result in the same
opening at the Sinquefield Cup 2015.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 d5 4. g3 Be7 5.
Bg2 O-O 6. Qc2 $5 {This move has been played in 1400 games before but it's
popularity is nothing compared to 6.0-0 which has been played in 14000 games!
Qc2 is played so as to avoid the most popular dxc4 followed by a6-b5 setup in
the Catalan.} c5 {The most principled approach. The king is in the centre so
Anand tries to open the position as quickly as he can.} 7. O-O cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qb6
(8... Nc6 {is the main move.}) 9. Rd1 Nc6 10. Nxc6 Qxc6 11. Bg5 $146 {Nakamura
finds a novelty in a position where moves like Na3, b3 and a4 have been played
before.} h6 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. Na3 Bd7 14. Rab1 (14. cxd5 Qxc2 15. Nxc2 Ba4 $15
{leads to an excellent position for Black.}) 14... Rac8 15. Qd3 Rfd8 16. cxd5
Qa4 17. Rd2 (17. dxe6 Bxe6 18. Qf3 Rxd1+ $19) 17... b5 {Until this move was
Nakamura's preparation. b5 was a move that he had not seen at home.} (17... Bg5
$5 18. e3 exd5 19. h4 (19. Bxd5 Be6 $19) (19. Qxd5 Bc6 $11) 19... Bf6 20. Bxd5
{Now Be6 or c6 can be met with e4. Nakamura had seen this position at home and
had realized how useful the move h4 was. Hence, he played that move in the
game as well.}) 18. Rbd1 exd5 $6 19. Bxd5 {Now White can defend the bishop on
d5 with his pawn on e4 and simply be a pawn up. Of course Black has some
compensation but it doesn't seem to be enough.} Bc6 (19... b4 20. Nc4 $16) 20.
e4 a6 21. h4 $5 {This move was based on the note to Black's 17th move.} Bxd5
22. exd5 Qb4 23. Rb1 Qa5 24. b4 Qa4 25. Rb3 Be7 26. Re2 $1 {As Nakamura
described it in the press conference this is a study like continuation.} Rc7 (
26... Bxb4 {Black could have snatched a pawn and suffered!} 27. Re4 a5 28. Kg2
$16) 27. Kg2 Bf6 28. Qf3 Re7 29. Rd2 Red7 30. Qe2 g6 $6 31. h5 $1 {Gaining
more space and further weakening Black's structure.} g5 32. Qd1 Bg7 33. Nc2 $1
Qxa2 34. Ne3 $18 {Once the knight gets to e3 it becomes very easy to win the
game.} Qa1 (34... Qa4 35. Qb1 Qa1 36. Qxa1 Bxa1 $18 {transposes to the game.})
35. Qxa1 Bxa1 36. Ra2 Bd4 37. Nf5 Bg7 38. Rxa6 Bf8 39. d6 Bxd6 40. Nxh6+ Kh7
41. Ng4 $18 {An excellent positional game by Nakamura who kept great control
and has increased his lead to 7:1 in classical games against Vishy Anand.} 1-0
Pairings for Round 05 (9.30 PM IST):
| Round 5 Tuesday 8 Dec, 16.00-23.00 | ||
|
M Vachier-Lagrave
|
-
|
Anish Giri |
|
Fabiano Caruana
|
-
|
Alexander Grischuk |
|
Viswanathan Anand
|
-
|
Veselin Topalov |
|
Michael Adams
|
-
|
Hikaru Nakamura |
|
Levon Aronian
|
-
|
Magnus Carlsen |
LINKS
Complete report at our international site
Pairings for Round 06 at the FIDE Open
Watch the games LIVE at Playchess starting 9.30 PM
All pictures by Amruta Mokal