FIDE GRAND PRIX – PALMA DE MALLORCA 2017 - ROUND 6

All nine games in round 5 were draws – a sort of truce before the rest day. Aronian leads with 3.5 points. However, the chase pack of 6 players is only half a point back. A win with white against Svidler on table 1 will make life a lot more comfortable going into the final 3 rounds.

The challenge with these small field swiss events is that by the end of round 6 or maybe 7 all the players at the top of the leader board have already played each other. This leaves everyone with must win games in the closing rounds against relatively weaker opponents.

The pairings for round 6 are as follows, with tournament points in brackets:

Levon Aronian (3.5) vs Peter Svidler (3)

Pentala Harikrishna (3) vs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (3)

Hikaru Nakamura (3) vs Ding Liren (3)

Anish Giri (2.5) vs Dmitri Jakovenko (3)

Evgeny Tomashevsky (2.5) vs Teimour Radjabov (2.5)

Alexander Riazantsev (2.5) vs Richard Rapport (2.5)

Li Chao (2) vs Pavel Elanjanov (2)

Jon Ludvig Hammer (1.5) vs Francisco Vallejo Pons (2)

Boris Gelfand (1.5) vs Emesto Inarkiev (2)

Hikaru Nakamura (3) vs Ding Liren (3) DRAW

A 21 move draw out of a Catalan and the first game of the day to finish.

Nakamura,Hikaru (2780) - Ding,Liren (2774)

FIDE Grand Prix Palma 2017 Palma de Mallorca (6), 22.11.2017

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.g3 dxc4 6.Bg2 Nbd7 7.0–0 Be7 8.a4 0–0 9.a5 E01: Catalan: Early deviations 

9...Nd5 10.Bd2 b5 11.axb6! Qxb6 12.Na4 Qd8N [12...Qb5 13.Qb1 Bb7 14.Rc1 c5 15.dxc5 Nxc5 16.Nxc5 Bxc5 0–1 Bareev,E (2667)-Potkin,V (2606) Rijeka 2010] 

13.Qc2 Ba6 14.Rfd1 Bb5 15.e4 Nb4 16.Bxb4! Bxb4 17.d5 [White should play 17.Bf1 ] 

17...cxd5 18.Nd4 Bxa4 19.Rxa4 Bc5 20.exd5 Bxd4 21.Rxd4= ½–½

Levon Aronian (3.5) vs Peter Svidler (3) DRAW

Svidler’s King’s Indian presented no real threat to Aronian’s preparation and the game was drawn in 24 moves.

Aronian,Levon (2801) - Svidler,Peter (2763)

FIDE Grand Prix Palma 2017 Palma de Mallorca (6), 22.11.2017

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.f3 c5 4.d5 Bg7 5.e4 d6 6.Nc3 e6 E80: Kings Indian (Sämisch-Angriff) 

7.Nge2 exd5 8.cxd5 a6 9.a4 Nbd7 10.Ng3 Nh5 11.Nxh5 gxh5 12.Bd3N [12.Be2 Bd4 13.Bf4 Rg8 14.g3 Ne5 15.Qd2 Bh3 16.Bxe5 dxe5 ½–½ Vitiugov,N (2721)-Grischuk,A (2752) Novosibirsk 2016] 

12...0–0 13.0–0 f5 14.exf5 Ne5 15.Bc2 Bxf5 16.Bxf5 Rxf5 17.Ne4 c4 18.Qc2 Qb6+ 19.Kh1 Rff8 20.Ng5 Nd3= 21.Ne6 Rae8 22.Nxg7 Nf2+ 23.Kg1 Nd3+ 24.Kh1 Nf2+ ½–½

Jon Ludvig Hammer (1.5) vs Francisco Vallejo Pons (2) DRAW

Hammer accepted the Spanish GM’s Queens Gambit till the truce was called at move 21.

Hammer,Jon Ludvig (2629) - Vallejo Pons,Francisco (2705)

FIDE Grand Prix Palma 2017 Palma de Mallorca (6), 22.11.2017

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 e5 4.Nf3 exd4 5.Bxc4 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Bxd2+ 7.Nbxd2 Nc6 8.0–0 Qf6 9.e5 D20: Queen's Gambit Accepted: 3 e3 and 3 e4 

9...Qg6 10.Nb3 Bh3  The position is equal. 

11.Nh4 Qg5 12.Qf3 Be6 13.Bxe6 fxe6 14.Qe4N [14.Qh3 Qh6 15.Nc5 Nd8 ½–½ Shapiro,V (2331)-Povarenkov,S (2219) ICCF email 2008] 

14...0–0–0 15.Nf3 Qf5 16.Rfe1 Nh6 17.Nfxd4 Nxd4 18.Nxd4 Qxe4 19.Rxe4 Rhe8 20.Rc1 Rd5 21.Kf1 Nf5 ½–½

Anish Giri (2.5) vs Dmitri Jakovenko (3)  DRAW

Another Berlin Wall in the Ruy Lopez. This time Mr 50% offered the draw on move 36.

Giri,Anish (2762) - Jakovenko,Dmitry (2721)

FIDE Grand Prix Palma 2017 Palma de Mallorca (6), 22.11.2017

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nbd2 C65: Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defence (3...Nf6), unusual lines and 4 0–0 Bc5 

6...0–0 7.Qe2 Re8 8.Nc4 Nd7 9.Rg1N [9.Bd2 b5 10.Ne3 a5 11.a4 Bb6 12.0–0 Nf8 13.Qe1 b4 0–1 Dominguez Perez,L (2739)-Karjakin,S (2773) Saint Louis 2017] 

9...Bb4+ 10.Bd2 Bxd2+ 11.Qxd2 Qf6 12.h4 c5 13.0–0–0 b5 14.Ne3 Nb6 15.Qa5 a6 16.Kb1 Be6 17.h5 h6 18.b3 Qf4 19.Rh1 Qf6 20.Rd2 Bd7 21.c4 Qd6 22.Nh4 Qc6 23.Rc1 Be6 24.f3 Nd7 25.Nd5 Rac8 26.g4 Qb7 27.Nf5 Bxf5 28.gxf5 c6 29.Ne3 Nf6 30.Rh2 Qd7 31.Rd1 Kh7 32.Qe1 Qd4 33.Nc2 Qd6 [Better is 33...Qd8!³ ] 

34.Ne3 Qd4 35.Nc2 Qd6= 36.Ne3³ ½–½

Alexander Riazantsev (2.5) vs Richard Rapport (2.5) BLACK WINS

Everything was equal out of a Classical Stonewall Dutch until white played 35. Nc5? Rapport jumped on the opportunity with Ng5! and forced white’s resignation just 2 moves later.

Riazantsev,Alexander (2651) - Rapport,Richard (2692)

FIDE Grand Prix Palma 2017 Palma de Mallorca (6), 22.11.2017

1.d4 e6 2.c4 f5 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 d5 6.0–0 Ne4 A92: Classical Dutch: Classical Stonewall (with ...Be7): Early deviations 

7.Nc3 c6 8.Nd2 [8.Ne5 Nd7 9.Nxd7 Bxd7 10.Nxe4 fxe4 11.Bf4 0–0 12.e3 b5 13.c5 a5 14.f3 exf3 15.Bxf3 ½–½ Ipatov,A (2625)-Rapport,R (2649) Germany 2015] 

8...Nd6N [ 8...Nxd2 9.Bxd2 dxc4 10.Be3 0–0 11.Qc2 Nd7 12.Rfd1 Nb6 13.Bc1 Nd5 14.e4 1–0  Feige,M-Rehm,U Gruenheide 1996] 

9.b3 Nd7 10.a4 h5 11.b4 [11.h4!²] 

11...h4 12.b5 hxg3 13.hxg3 Nf6 14.Qb3 Bd7 15.a5 a6 16.bxc6 bxc6 17.Ba3 Rb8 18.Qc2 Nfe4 19.Ncxe4 fxe4 20.Rfb1 Rxb1+ 21.Qxb1 e3 22.Qg6+ Nf7 23.Bxe7 Qxe7 24.fxe3 0–0 25.Qd3 Qg5! 26.e4 dxc4 27.Nxc4 c5 28.Qe3 Qxe3+ 29.Nxe3 cxd4 30.Nc2 e5 31.e3 Rc8 32.Nb4 dxe3 33.Bf1 Rb8 34.Nxa6 Rb2! 35.Nc5? [35.Bc4= Bc6 36.Re1] 

35...Ng5! 36.Bg2 Bh3! 37.Bxh3 Nf3+ 0–1

Boris Gelfand (1.5) vs Emesto Inarkiev (2) BLACK WINS

Gelfands woes for this tournament continue and parallel what has been a dismal year for the Israeli Grandmaster.

Gelfand,Boris (2719) - Inarkiev,Ernesto (2683)

FIDE Grand Prix Palma 2017 Palma de Mallorca (6), 22.11.2017

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 Bb4 5.Bg2 0–0 6.0–0 d6 7.d3 Re8 A29: English Opening: Four Knights Variation with 4 g3 

8.Nd5 Nxd5 9.cxd5 Ne7 10.a3 [10.d4 e4 11.Ng5 h6 12.Nxe4 Nxd5 13.a3 Ba5 14.Nd2 Nf6 15.Nc4 ½–½ Gelfand,B (2737)-Wojtaszek,R (2737) Heraklio 2017] 

10...Ba5 11.b4 Bb6 12.Nd2 c6 13.dxc6 Nxc6 14.Bb2 a6N [14...Bg4 15.Rc1 ½–½ Primakov,V (2397)-Girard,E (2404) ICCF email 2012] 

15.Rc1 Be6 16.e3 Qd7 17.Nc4 Ba7 18.a4 Nxb4 19.Ba3 a5! 20.Nxa5 Na2! 21.Rc4 [21.Rc2³ Qxa4 22.Rxa2 Qxd1 23.Rxd1 Bxa2 24.Nxb7] 

21...Bxe3 [Much weaker is 21...Bxc4?! 22.Nxc4 Bc5 23.Bxc5=; Black should try 21...e4µ 22.Qb1 Bb8 23.Qxa2 Rxa5] 

22.Nxb7 [White should play 22.Bxb7= Bd4 23.Bc6] 

22...Bxc4 23.dxc4 23...Bd4! 24.Nxd6 Nc3 25.Qh5 [25.Qc2µ] 

25...Rxa4 26.Nxe8 Rxa3 27.Nxg7 Kxg7 28.Qg5+ Kf8 29.Qh6+ Ke7 30.Qxh7 Qg4 31.Qh6 Ra2 32.Qc6 Qf5 33.c5 Kf8 34.Kh1 Kg7 35.f4 [¹35.g4 Qf4 36.Qf3 Qxf3 37.Bxf3] 

35...e4 36.g4 Qxg4 37.Bxe4 Ne2 0–1

Pentala Harikrishna (3) vs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (3) DRAW

The draw that ensures that Aronian goes into round 7 still with the sole lead.

Harikrishna,Pentala (2738) - Vachier-Lagrave,Maxime (2796)

FIDE Grand Prix Palma 2017 Palma de Mallorca (6), 22.11.2017

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.g3 Qb6 7.Nf3 A33: Symmetrical English: 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 e6 5 Nc3 Nc6 7...Bb4 8.Bg2 0–0N [8...Qa6 9.Qb3 d5 10.cxd5 exd5 11.0–0 0–0 12.Nxd5 Nxd5 13.Qxd5 Qxe2 ½–½ Hracek,Z (2635)-Bologan,V (2672) Tromsoe 2013] 

9.0–0 Bxc3 10.bxc3 Qc5 11.Qa4 Re8 12.Nd4 Ne5 13.Qb5 d6 14.Qxc5 dxc5 15.Nb5! Rd8 16.Na3 a6 17.Bf4 Ned7 18.Rfd1 Re8 19.Rab1 e5 20.Be3 e4 21.h3 h6 22.Nc2 b6 23.a4 [White should play 23.Bf4± ] 

23...Ne5! 24.Na3 Be6 25.Rxb6 Bxc4 26.Rb2 Nd5 27.Bf4 Nxc3 28.Rdd2 Nxe2+ 29.Kh2 Nxf4 30.gxf4 Nd3 31.Nxc4 Nxb2 32.Rxb2 Rab8 33.Rc2 Rb4 34.a5 Ra4 35.Bf1 Re6 36.Rd2 Ra1 [36...Rf6=] 

37.f5 Re8 38.Be2 g6 39.fxg6 fxg6 40.Kg2 Kg7 41.Rd7+ Kf6 42.Ra7 Ra2 43.Rxa6+ Re6= 44.Rxe6+= ½–½

Li Chao (2) vs Pavel Elanjanov (2) DRAW

Elanjanov’s Slav defence held up to the Chinese onslaught.

Li,Chao b (2741) - Eljanov,Pavel (2707)

FIDE Grand Prix Palma 2017 Palma de Mallorca (6), 22.11.2017

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6 5.c5 Bf5 6.Qb3 Ra7 D15: Slav Defence: 4 Nc3 a6 and gambit lines after 4 Nc3 dxc4 

7.Bf4 [7.Nh4 Bg6 8.Bg5 Nbd7 9.Nxg6 hxg6 10.e4 dxe4 11.g3 e6 12.Bg2 Be7 13.0–0 Nd5 14.Bxe7 Nxe7 15.Nxe4 ½–½ Grischuk,A (2785)-Malakhov,V (2691) Antalya 2017] 

7...Nbd7 8.h3 e6 9.e3 Be7 10.Be2 0–0 11.0–0 Ne4 12.Nxe4 Bxe4 13.Ne5 Nxe5 14.Bxe5 14...a5N 15.a4 Re8 16.Rfc1 Bf6 17.Bxf6 Qxf6 18.Qc3 e5 19.Bf1 h5 20.b4 axb4 21.Qxb4 Rea8 22.Ra3 h4 23.Rca1 g5 24.a5 Kg7 25.Qb2 Re8 26.Rb3 Re7 27.Be2 Bf5 28.dxe5 Qxe5 29.Qxe5+ Rxe5 30.Kf1 Kf8 31.Ke1 Ke7 32.Kd2 Kd8 33.f3 Kc7 34.Rb4 f6 35.Bd3 Bd7 36.a6 Re8 37.Rxb7+ Rxb7 38.axb7 Kxb7 39.Ba6+ Kc7 40.Bd3 Kb7= ½–½

Evgeny Tomashevsky (2.5) vs Teimour Radjabov (2.5)  WHITE WINS

Tomashevsky was steadily squeezing more and more out of Radjabov’s Pirc till eventually black blundered with 57. … b6? and the game was over just one move later.

Tomashevsky,Evgeny (2702) - Radjabov,Teimour (2741)

FIDE Grand Prix Palma 2017 Palma de Mallorca (6), 22.11.2017

1.d4 d6 2.e4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be2 0–0 6.0–0 c6 7.a4 Nbd7 8.a5 Qc7 9.Be3 e5 B08: Pirc Defence: Classical System [9...Rb8 10.d5 Nc5 11.Nd2 b6 12.axb6 axb6 13.Bf3 Bb7 14.Re1 Nfd7 15.Bg5 Rfe8 16.Ra3 h6 17.Be3 Ra8 18.Rxa8 Rxa8 0–1 Yilmaz,M (2531)-Kokarev,D (2635) Moscow 2013] 

10.h3 exd4 11.Bxd4 Re8 White has an edge. 

12.Bc4 Nf8 13.Re1 Be6 14.Bf1N [14.e5 Bxc4 15.exf6 Bh8 16.b3 Rxe1+ 17.Qxe1 0–1 Yepez Gutierrez,J (2187)-Martins Mesquita,U (2458) CADAP email 2004] 

14...N8d7 15.Ng5 a6 16.Qd2 c5 17.Be3 Ne5 18.Bf4 Rad8 19.Nxe6 fxe6 20.Na4 Nf7 21.Rad1 Nh5 22.Be3 Nf6 23.Bf4 Qc6 24.Nc3 Kh8 25.b3 h6 [25...Nh5=] 

26.Bd3 g5 27.Bh2 Nd7 28.Ne2 Nfe5 29.f4 gxf4 30.Nxf4 Bf6 [30...c4±] 

31.Kh1 Kh7 32.Rf1 Bg5 33.Qe2 [¹33.Be2] 

33...Nf6 34.Nh5 Rf8 35.Bxe5 dxe5 36.Nxf6+ Bxf6 37.Bc4  Strongly threatening Rxd8. 

37...Qe8 38.Qg4 Rxd1 39.Rxd1 Rg8 40.Qxe6 Qxe6 41.Bxe6± Endgame KRB-KRB 

41...Rd8 42.Bd5 Kg7 43.g3 Rd7 44.h4 Bd8 45.Ra1 Kf6 46.Kg2 Kg6 47.Kf3 Rg7 48.c3 h5 49.Ra2 Kf6 50.Kg2 Kg6 51.Kf2 Kf6 52.Kf3 Kg6 53.b4 cxb4 54.cxb4 Kh6 55.Rc2 Be7 56.Rb2 Bd8 57.Rb3 b6? [57...Rc7± 58.Ke3 Kh7] 

58.b5  1–0