TRADEWISE GIBRALTAR MASTERS 2018 – ROUND 9

On the top boards it was only Aronian that won in an interesting game where he moved his queen 6 times in the opening. This created even greater congestion at the top of the leader board.

Five players have 7/9 while an additional 14 are a half point back on 6.5. So, in theory 19 players have a shot at winning the Tradewise Gibraltar Masters in the final round.

All eyes will be on table 1 where Aronian will have White against Nakamura. In the past, Aronian has had White against Nakamura 21 times in classical games. Aronian leads that match up with 11 wins 8 draws and 2 losses.

Young Spanish talent Lance Henderson de la Fuente scored his first GM norm in round 9.

Nigel Short walked into a massive removing defender / king and knight fork against Valentina Gunina. See the annotated game at the end of the blog post and see 28.Rb8+! from Valentina Gunina forcing Nigel Short’s immediate resignation to save the blushes of his f4-knight!

Nino Batsiashvili secured her 3rd GM norm simply by turning up to Round 9! She was also poised to win the women only prize of GBP15000, but so much can still happen. She has 6/9 and a tiebreak score exactly equal to Pia Cramling. Valentina, Gunina who beat Nigel Short in round 9 is also on 6/9 but a lower tiebreak score. All three women are drawn to play stronger rated opponents in the final round.

The pairings on the top boards for round 9 were as follows, with tournament points in brackets:
Dubov Daniil (6.5) vs Vachier-Lagrave Maxime (6.5)

Nakamura Hikaru (6.5) vs Rapport Richard (6.5)

Aronian Levon (6) vs Sethuraman S.P. (6)

Howell David W L (6) vs Vitiugov Nikita (6)

Grandelius Nils (6) vs Wang Hao (6)

Gelfand Boris (6) vs Gupta Abhijeet (6)

Navara David (5.5) vs Oparin Grigoriy (6)

Le Quang Liem (5.5) vs Esipenko Andrey (5.5)

Duda Jan-Krzysztof (5.5) vs Grigoriants Sergey (5.5)

Moussard Jules (5.5) vs Adams Michael (5.5)

Michalik Peter (5.5) vs Cheparinov Ivan (5.5)

Perez Ponsa Federico (5.5) vs Sutovsky Emil (5.5)

  

Here are some decisive games from round 9:

Aronian,Levon (2797) - Sethuraman,S.P (2646)

Tradewise Gibraltar Masters 2018 Caleta (9), 31.01.2018

1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.Qa4+ Bd7 6.Qxc4 A13: English Opening: 1...e6 

6...c5 7.Ne5 Qc8 8.Qd3 Nc6 9.Nxd7 Nxd7 10.Nc3N [10.Qb3 Be7 11.Nc3 0–0 12.0–0 Rd8 13.d3 Nb6 1/2–1/2 (31) Aronian,L (2799)-Ding, L (2777) Tbilisi 2017] 

10...Be7 11.Qb5 a6 12.Qa4 Nd4 13.0–0 [13.e3!? Nc6 14.Bxc6 bxc6 15.b3=] 

13...0–0 14.d3 Nb6 15.Qd1 Rd8 16.Bd2 Qd7 17.Rc1 Rac8 18.b3 h6 19.Kh1 Nd5 20.Nxd5 exd5 21.e3 Nc6 22.Qh5 Qd6 23.f4 a5 24.a4 Rb8 [24...b6=] 25.e4ƒ White is pushing. 

25...dxe4 26.Bxe4 b6 27.g4 Nd4 28.Bc3 f5 29.gxf5 Bf6 30.Rg1 And now Qxh6 would win. 

30...Re8? [30...Kh8²] 

31.Qxh6!+-  Hoping for Rxg7+! 

31...Rbd8 32.Rce1 Re7 [32...Qf8 was worth a try. 33.Qh5 Qf7] 

33.Re3  1–0

Harikrishna,P (2745) - Cawdery,Daniel (2446)

Tradewise Gibraltar Masters 2018 Caleta (9), 31.01.2018

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.e3 Nc6 4.a3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Qc2 A25: English Opening vs King's Indian with ...Nc6 but without early d3 

6...Be6 [6...Be7 7.Nf3 0–0 8.b4 Nxc3 9.dxc3 Qd6 10.Bd3 f5 11.e4 f4 12.h3 a5 13.Bb2 Bf6 14.Rd1 Qe7 15.0–0 Be6 0–1 (38) Carlsen,M (2837)-Bu,X (2730) Riadh 2017] 

7.Nf3 a6 8.b4 Nxc3 9.dxc3 Be7 10.Bb2 Bf6N [10...0–0 11.c4 Bf6 12.Bd3 g6 13.Be4 Re8 14.0–0 1/2–1/2 (64) Shabalov,A (2534)-Bartholomew,J (2445) Wheeling 2012] 

11.Rd1 Qe7 12.Be2 0–0 13.0–0 g6 14.Nd2 Bg7 15.Ne4 Rad8 16.Nc5ƒ White fights for an advantage. 

16...Bc8 17.Bf3 Rd6 18.c4 Nd8 19.Rxd6 cxd6 20.Na4 Ne6 21.Nb6 White is better. 

21...Ng5 22.Bd5 Ne6 23.Rd1 Qc7 24.Nxc8 Qxc8 25.h3 Rd8 26.Rd2 Bf6 27.Qe4 Ng5 28.Qg4 1–0

Gunina,Valentina (2502) - Short,Nigel D (2681)

Tradewise Gibraltar Masters 2018 Caleta (9), 31.01.2018

1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 g6 5.Be2 Bg7 6.c4 Nb6 7.exd6 cxd6 8.0–0 0–0 9.Bg5 Nc6 10.h3 Bf5 11.Nc3 h6 12.Be3 d5 13.c5 Nc4 14.Bc1 b6 B04: Alekhine's Defence: 4 Nf3 

15.b3 bxc5 16.bxc4  Be3 is the strong threat. 

16...cxd4 White has an edge. 

17.Nxd5 Hoping for Ba3. 

17...e6 18.Ba3 exd5 [18...Re8!= remains equal.] 

19.Bxf8± Kxf8 20.cxd5N [20.Rc1 Kg8 21.Bd3 Be6 22.Qa4 Ne5 23.Nxe5 Bxe5 24.f4 Bc7 25.c5 Qf6 26.Qc6 Qd8 27.Rce1 1–0 (27) Sermek,D (2565) -Reznicek,T (2315) Pardubice 1997] 

20...Qxd5  aiming for ...d3. 

21.Bd3! Nb4 [Black should try 21...Bd7 ] 

22.Bxf5 Qxf5 23.Rb1ƒ White has strong initiative. [23.Nxd4?! Qe4²] 

23...Nd3 24.Rb7 And now Qb1 would win. 

24...Kg8 [24...Nc5± 25.Rb5 (25.Nxd4 Qd5µ) 25...Rc8] 

25.Qb1+- Qd5 26.Rb5 [Resist 26.Rd1?! Nf4±] 

26...Qc4 [¹26...Nc5 27.Rc1 Bf8] 

27.Rd1 Nf4? [27...a6] 

28.Rb8+ 1–0

Ivanchuk,Vassily (2726) - Lei,Tingjie (2531)

Tradewise Gibraltar Masters 2018 Caleta (9), 31.01.2018

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.Ngf3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nf6 6.exd5 Qxd5 7.N2f3 Be7  C07: French Tarrasch: 3...c5, 4 Ngf3 and 4 exd5 Qxd5 [7...Nc6 8.Nxc6 Qxc6 9.Bd3 a6 10.0–0 Bd6 11.b3 b5 12.a4 b4 13.Bb5 axb5 14.axb5 Bxh2+ 15.Nxh2 1–0 (27) Efimenko,Z (2682)-Ivanov,S (2551) Dagomys 2009] 

8.Bd3N [ 8.Be2 0–0 9.0–0 Rd8 10.Nb5 Qc5 11.Bd3 Nc6 12.Be3 Qh5 13.Nfd4 Qxd1 14.Rfxd1 Nd5 15.Nxc6 bxc6 1/2–1/2 (63) Ebeling,D (2350)-Illingworth,M (2360) Istanbul 2012] 

8...e5 9.Nb5! 0–0 The position is equal. 

10.0–0 e4! 11.Nc3! Qc6 12.Nd4 Qb6 13.Bxe4 Rd8 14.Be3 Qxb2 15.Qd3 Na6 16.Rab1 Qa3 With the idea ...Nc5. 

17.Bf3 [17.Bxb7? Bxb7 18.Rxb7 Nc5–+] 

17...Nb4 18.Qc4 aiming for Ndb5. 

18...Bd7 19.Ncb5 Qa5 20.Bf4  Hoping for Bc7. 

20...Bxb5 [20...Rac8!? 21.Bc7 Bxb5 22.Nxb5 b6=] 

21.Nxb5 Bc7 is the strong threat. 

21...Nbd5 22.Bg3ƒ Black is under pressure. 

22...Rac8 23.Qb3 a6 24.Na7 Rc3 25.Qxb7  Strongly threatening Nc6. 

25...Qc5 26.a4 h6 [26...Rd7!= remains equal. 27.Qa8+ Rd8] 

27.Qxa6± Rxc2 28.Nb5 Nb4 [28...Qc4!²] 

29.Qb7 Rd7 30.Qb8+ Rd8 31.Qc7 Rc8 [31...Rdd2± was necessary.] 

32.Qxc5+- Bxc5 33.Nd6 Rf8 34.Rfc1 White has a decisive advantage. 

34...Rxc1+ 35.Rxc1 Bb6 36.h3 Rd8  1–0

TRADEWISE GIBRALTAR MASTERS 2018 – ROUND 8

There was an interesting series of results from key players in round 8 of the Tradewise Gibraltar Masters. You may recall that after his win in round 7, Howell had moved up to share the lead with Nakamura.

Nakamura drew his third consecutive game to move up to 6.5 points. However, Rapport beat Howell in round 8, not only dropping Howell out of a share of the lead, but also moving up to 6.5 himself. Vachier-Lagrave and Dubov also won their games and also share the lead at 6.5 points.

Aronian drew his game to stay just a half a point off the lead, a score he shares with 8 other players.

There are 2 rounds remaining and the top 13 players are separated by just half a point.

The pairings on the top boards for round 8 were as follows, with tournament points in brackets:
Wang Hao (5.5) vs Nakamura Hikaru (6)

Rapport Richard (5.5) vs Howell David W L (6)

Oparin Grigoriy (5.5) vs Aronian Levon (5.5)

Vachier-Lagrave Maxime (5.5) vs Moussard Jules (5.5)

Dubov Daniil (5.5) vs Antipov Mikhail Al. (5.5)

Tregubov Pavel V. (5) vs Navara David (5)

Vitiugov Nikita (5) vs Gledura Benjamin (5)

Gupta Abhijeet (5) vs Ivanchuk Vassily (5)

Narayanan S. L. (5) vs Duda Jan-Krzysztof (5)

Adams Michael (5) vs Sandipan Chanda (5)

Ju Wenjun (5) vs Gelfand Boris (5)

Sutovsky Emil (5) vs Vocaturo Daniele (5)

  

Here are some decisive games from round 8:

Rapport,Richard (2700) - Howell,David W L (2682)

Tradewise Gibraltar Masters 2018 Caleta (8), 30.01.2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 c6 5.Nc3 d5 6.Qb3 0–0 7.Bg2 Qb6 8.0–0 Rd8 9.Bd2  D78: Fianchetto Grünfeld: 6 0–0 c6 

9...Be6 10.Na4 Qxb3 11.axb3 Strongly threatening Nb6!The position is equal. 

11...Na6 12.Rfc1 Ne4N [12...Ne8 13.e3 h6 14.Ba5 Rdc8 15.Nd2 Nec7 16.Bf1 Bd7 17.Bxc7 Rxc7 18.cxd5 cxd5 19.Bxa6 Rxc1+ 20.Rxc1 bxa6 1–0 (46) Ding,L (2777)-Haddouche,M (2487) Tbilisi 2017] 

13.Ba5 Rdc8 14.e3 g5 15.Nd2ƒ White has good play. 

15...Nxd2 16.Bxd2 g4 17.Bf1 dxc4 18.bxc4 c5 19.Bg2 Rab8 [#] 20.d5! Bd7 21.Bc3 Bxa4 22.Rxa4 Rd8 23.h3 gxh3 24.Bxh3 Rd6 25.e4 Bxc3 26.Rxc3 Rb6 27.b3 e5 28.Rf3 Kg7 29.Ra5 h6 30.Bd7 Rd6 31.Bb5 Nc7 32.Ba4 Na6 33.Rf5 f6 34.f4 exf4 35.gxf4 Kg6 36.b4! Nxb4 37.Bd1 [Not 37.Rxc5 Ra6=] 

37...Na6? [37...Kg7 is more resistant. 38.Rxc5 Na6] 

38.Bh5++- White is clearly winning. 

38...Kh7 39.e5 Rb6 40.Rb5 Rg8+ [¹40...Rxb5 41.cxb5 Nb4] 

41.Kf2 Rxb5 42.cxb5 Endgame KRB-KRN 

42...Nc7 43.d6 Nxb5 44.Rxf6 Rd8 45.Rf7+ Kg8 46.Rxb7 a6 [¹46...Nxd6 47.exd6 Rxd6 48.Rxa7 Rc6 49.Bf7+ Kf8] 

47.Rb6 c4 48.Rxa6 c3 49.Rc6  1–0

Vachier-Lagrave,Maxime (2793) - Moussard,Jules (2571)

Tradewise Gibraltar Masters 2018 Caleta (8), 30.01.2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d3 Nf6 6.d4 d5 7.Bd3 Bd6 8.Qe2+ Be6 C01: French: Exchange Variation 

9.c4 dxc4 10.Bxc4 Qe7 The position is equal. 

11.0–0 0–0 12.Nc3 h6 13.Re1N aiming for d5. [13.d5 Bg4 14.Qxe7 Bxe7 15.Nb5 Nbd7 16.Re1 1/2–1/2 (40) Carlsen,M (2838)-Caruana,F (2817) Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden 2017] 

13...Re8 ...Bxc4 is the strong threat. 

14.d5 Bg4 15.Qxe7 Bxe7 [15...Rxe7 looks sharper. 16.Rxe7 Bxe7 17.Ne5 Nbd7 18.Nxg4 Nxg4 19.Bf4 Rc8] 16.Nb5 Na6 17.Bf4 Bb4 18.Rec1 Bxf3 19.gxf3 Ba5 20.Bb3 Re7 21.d6 cxd6 22.Nxd6 Rd8 23.Rc8ƒ White is more active. 

23...Rxc8 24.Nxc8 Re2 [24...Rd7²] 

25.Kf1 [¹25.Be3!] 

25...Re8± 26.Nxa7 Nc5 27.Bc4 Rd8 28.Nb5 Nd3 29.Bxd3 Rxd3 30.Ke2 Rd5 31.a4 Nd7 32.Rb1 Bb4 [32...Nc5²] 

33.Rd1 Rxd1 34.Kxd1 Endgame KBN-KBN 

34...Kf8 35.Kc2 Ke7 36.Kd3 g5 37.Bc7 Ke6 38.Kc4 Be1 39.Nd4+ Kf6 40.Bg3 [40.b4!+-] 

40...Ne5+  [40...h5±] 

41.Kb5!+- Black must now prevent Nc2. 

41...Nd3 [¹41...Nd7 42.b4 Kg6] 

42.Nc2 Bd2 43.b4 Ke6 44.Kb6! Nb2 45.a5 Nc4+ 46.Kxb7 Strongly threatening a6. 

46...Bxb4 47.Nxb4 Hoping for a6. 

47...Nxa5+ 48.Kb6 Nb3 49.Nc2 h5 [¹49...f5 50.f4 Kd5] 

50.Kc6 h4 51.Bc7 h3 52.Bb6 White is clearly winning. 

52...Nd2 53.Nd4+ Ke5 54.Kc5 f5 55.Bc7+ Kf6 56.f4 Ne4+ 57.Kd5 Nxf2 58.Bd8+ Kg6 59.Bxg5 Ng4 60.Nf3 Kh5 61.Kd4 Nf2 62.Bh4 Ne4 63.Ke3 Nc3 64.Bg3 Ne4 65.Be1  1–0

Dubov,Daniil (2694) - Antipov,Mikhail Al (2588)

Tradewise Gibraltar Masters 2018 Caleta (8), 30.01.2018

1.c4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6 5.c5 g6 6.g3 D15: Slav Defence: 4 Nc3 a6 and gambit lines after 4 Nc3 dxc4 

6...Bg7 7.Bg2 0–0 8.0–0 The position is equal. 

8...Bg4 9.Ne5 Bf5 10.h3 Nfd7 11.f4 b6N [11...Nf6 12.Qb3 Qc8 13.g4 Be4 14.Nxe4 Nxe4 15.Bxe4 dxe4 1/2–1/2 (26) Krysa,L (2491)-Caruana,F (2827) Caleta 2017] 

12.cxb6 Qxb6 13.Kh2 Be6 14.b3 f6 15.Nxd7 Nxd7 16.Ba3 Rfe8 17.Na4 Qb7 18.Rc1 Rac8 19.e3 Bf7 20.Qf3 Kh8 21.h4 Be6 22.g4 Bg8 23.Bb2 [23.g5!±] 

23...e5² 24.dxe5 fxe5 25.g5 Be6 26.h5 exf4 27.Bxg7+ Kxg7 28.h6+ Kg8 29.Qxf4 Bf5 30.Kh1 Qb8 31.Qd4 Qe5 32.Nc5 Nb8 33.Rce1‚ White is up to no good. 

33...Rc7? [33...Rcd8²] 

34.Qxe5+- Rxe5 35.e4! dxe4 36.Nxe4 Bxe4 37.Rxe4 [Inferior is 37.Bxe4 Rce7=] 

37...Rxe4 38.Bxe4 KRB-KRN 

38...Nd7 39.Bd3 Threatens to win with Bc4+. 

39...Ne5 40.Bxa6 Rf7? [Much worse is 40...Ra7 41.Bc8+-; 40...c5 41.a4 c4 42.Bxc4+ Nxc4] 

41.Bc4 . 1–0

Solomon,Kenny (2420) - Moroni,Luca Jr (2547)

Tradewise Gibraltar Masters 2018 Caleta (8), 30.01.2018

1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 c5 3.e4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 d6 6.0–0 Nd7 B42: Sicilian: Kan Variation: 5 Bd3 

7.c3 [7.c4 Ne5 8.Be2 Nf6 9.Nc3 Be7 10.Be3 0–0 11.f4 Ng6 12.Nb3 b6 13.Bf3 Bb7 14.Qe1 Nd7 15.g3 Rc8 16.Nd2 Qc7 17.Rc1 Qb8 18.h4 Bf6 19.Qe2 1/2–1/2 (19) Palac,M (2535)-Sulava,N (2452) Mali Losinj 2017] 

7...Ngf6 8.Qe2 Be7 The position is equal. 

9.Rd1N [9.Bg5 Qc7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.Nd2 0–0 12.Kh1 b5 13.a3 Bb7 14.Rae1 Qc6 15.N2b3 1/2–1/2 (51) Korman,J (1409)-Lebek,R (1389) Saarbruecken 2006] 

9...Qc7 10.Bc2 0–0 11.Nd2 Re8 12.Nf1 b5 13.a4 bxa4! 14.Bxa4 Bb7 15.Ng3 Rec8 16.Bg5 Nf8 17.Bc2 h6 18.Be3 N8d7 19.f4 Bf8 20.Kh1 Rab8 21.Bd2 Re8 22.Ba4 [22.Rf1=] 

22...Red8 23.Bc2 Re8 24.Ba4 Re7 25.Nf3 g6 [25...Rc8=] 

26.e5 [26.Bc2²] 

26...dxe5= 27.Nxe5 [Better is 27.fxe5= Ng4 28.Bf4] 

27...Nxe5 28.fxe5 Nd7 29.Bf4 Bg7 30.Re1 Bd5 31.h4 Bc4 [Black should play 31...Nc5µ ...Qd8 is the strong threat. 32.Rf1 Nd7] 

32.Qe3 [32.Qd2³] 32...Rxb2–+ White must now prevent ...Nc5. 33.Bxh6 Qxe5 [33...Bxh6–+ 34.Qxh6 Nxe5] 34.Bg5 [34.Qxe5µ Bxe5 35.Bc1] 

34...Qxe3 [Inferior is 34...Qd5 35.Ne4=] 

35.Rxe3 f6‚ Black has strong attack. 

36.Bf4 [36.Re4 is the only way for White.] 

36...e5 37.Ree1 Bd5? [37...exf4–+ and Black stays clearly on top. 38.Rxe7 Ne5] 

38.Rad1? [38.Bc1µ Rxg2 39.Bb3! Bxb3 40.Kxg2] 

38...Bxg2+ 39.Kg1  Hoping for Bc1. 

39...Nc5 40.Bc1 Ra2 [Not 40...Nxa4 41.Bxb2 Bf3 42.Rd8+ Kh7 43.Ba3µ] 

41.Rd8+ Kh7 42.Bd1 Bb7 43.Re2 [¹43.Kf1] 

43...Ra1 Black is clearly winning. 

44.Bb2 Rb1 And now ...Rd7 would win. 

45.Kf2 Ne6 46.Rd6 Nf4 47.Bc2 Nh3+  0–1

TRADEWISE GIBRALTAR MASTERS 2018 – ROUND 7

Round 7 had a couple of interesting results from the top end of the leader board. Nakamura recorded his second consecutive draw to go 6/7. On board 2 Howell beat Saric to pull level with Nakamura. The American Grandmaster is still listed as the leader due to a very tiny tiebreak advantage.

Varchier-Lagrave and Aronian also won their games to move up to just a half a point off the lead. Aronian’s win over Nigel Short was especially interesting and is annotated below.

With just three rounds remaining and 2 players on 6 and another 8 players on 5.5 there is still everything to play for.

The pairings on the top boards for round 7 were as follows, with tournament points in brackets:
Nakamura Hikaru  (5.5) vs Antipov Mikhail Al.  (5)

Howell David W L (5) vs Saric Ivan  (5)

Vachier-Lagrave Maxime (4.5) vs Sandipan Chanda  (5)

Aronian Levon (4.5) vs Short Nigel D  (4.5)

Navara David (4.5) vs Gupta Abhijeet  (4.5)

Harikrishna P.  (4.5) vs Oparin Grigoriy  (4.5)

Grandelius Nils  (4.5) vs Vitiugov Nikita  (4.5)

Duda Jan-Krzysztof  (4.5) vs Esipenko Andrey (4.5)

Vocaturo Daniele  (4.5) vs Adams Michael  (4.5)

Rapport Richard (4.5) vs Huzman Alexander  (4.5)

Moussard Jules  (4.5) vs Cheparinov Ivan  (4.5)

Gelfand Boris  (4.5) vs Deac Bogdan-Daniel  (4.5)

  

Here are some decisive games from round 7:

Aronian,Levon (2797) - Short,Nigel D (2681)

Tradewise Gibraltar Masters 2018 Caleta (7), 29.01.2018

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 d6 3.Nf3 f5 4.g3 Nc6 5.d4 e4 6.d5 A27: English Opening: Three Knights Variation 

6...Ne5 7.Nxe5 [7.Nd4 h5 8.Bh3 g6 9.Bf4 Qe7 10.c5] 

7...dxe5 8.g4 White is slightly better. 

8...Bc5N [8...g6 9.gxf5 gxf5 10.Rg1 Nf6 11.Bg5 Be7 12.e3 Rg8 1–0 (27) Aronian,L (2793)-Ivanchuk,V (2738) Leuven 2017] 

9.Qb3 Nf6 10.Qb5+ Nd7 11.h4 a6 12.Qb3 e3! 13.Bxe3 Bxe3 14.fxe3 fxg4 15.Ne4 Nf6 16.Bg2 0–0 17.c5 Kh8 [Wrong is 17...Nxd5? 18.Nc3+-] 

18.0–0–0 Bf5 19.Ng3 Bg6 20.h5 Nxh5 [Black should try 20...Be8 ] 

21.Nxh5± Strongly threatening d6. 

21...Rf2 22.Bf1 Qf8 23.Ng3 aiming for Qb4. 

23...Qxc5+ 24.Qc3 Qe7 [24...Qd6± was called for.] 

25.e4 Qg5+ 26.Kb1 Qf4 27.Ka1 Rf8 28.Rg1 Rf7  [28...Bxe4 is a better defense. 29.e3 (29.Qxc7 Bxd5 30.Qc3 Bc6=) 29...Qf7] 

29.e3!+- Qg5 30.Bc4 And now d6 would win. 

30...Rd7 31.Qb4 b5 32.Nf5! h5 [32...Bxf5 33.Qf8#] 

33.Qe1 Hoping for Bxb5. 

33...Rf3 34.Be2 Rh3 35.Bf1 Bxf5? [35...Rh2 36.Qg3 Bxf5 37.Qxh2 (37.exf5 Qh4+-) 37...Bxe4] 

36.Bxh3 Bxe4 37.Bg2 Bxg2 38.Rxg2 h4? [38...Kh7 was necessary. 39.Qh1 Kg8] 

39.Qb4  1–0

Howell,David W L (2682) - Saric,Ivan (2664)

Tradewise Gibraltar Masters 2018 Caleta (7), 29.01.2018

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Bg4 3.Bg2 c6 4.0–0 e6 5.c4 Nf6 6.cxd5 Bxf3 7.Bxf3 cxd5 8.Nc3 Nc6 9.d4 Be7 A11: English Opening: 1...c6 

10.e3 0–0 11.Bd2 Rc8 12.Rc1 Ne8 13.Ne2N [13.Na4 Nd6 14.Nc5 b6 15.Nd3 Ne4 16.Be1 Qd7 17.Be2 1/2–1/2 (65) Bachmann,A (2598)-Lupulescu,C (2660) Dubai 2014] 

13...Nd6 14.Nf4 Qb6 15.Bc3 Rfd8 16.a3 Nb5 17.Bd2 Bg5 18.Nd3 Nd6 19.Bc3 Nb5 20.Bd2 Nd6 21.Rc2 h6 22.Kg2 Nc4 23.Bc1 a5 24.Rc3 Be7 25.Be2 Qa7 26.Qa4 Rb8 27.Qb5 Rdc8 28.Nc5 Bxc5 [28...b6 is more complex. 29.Nd3 Nd6 30.Qa4 b5 31.Qd1 b4] 

29.Qxc5 Qa8 30.Qb5 Na7 31.Qb3 b5 32.Qd1 a4 33.b3 [33.Rd3=] 

33...b4!µ 34.axb4 Nb5ƒ Black has strong initiative. 

35.Rd3 a3! 36.bxc4 dxc4+ 37.Bf3 Qa6! 38.Rd2 a2 39.Bb2 Hoping for Ba1. 

39...c3 40.Rc2 Ba1 is the strong threat. 

40...cxb2 41.Rxb2 Black should prevent Qa1. 

41...Nc3 42.Qa1 Qa3? [42...Rc4µ stays on course. 43.Rc1 Rcxb4 44.Rxb4 Rxb4 45.Rxc3 (45.Qxc3 Rb1µ) 45...Rb1 46.Rc8+ Qxc8 47.Qxa2 Rc1] 

43.Rc1± Rxb4? [43...Qa6±] 

44.Rxa2!+- Qxa2 45.Qxa2 Nxa2 46.Rxc8+± Endgame KRB-KRN 

46...Kh7 47.d5 exd5 48.Rc2 Ra4 49.Bxd5 Nb4 50.Rc4 Ra5 51.Be4+ White has a decisive advantage. [Weaker is 51.Rxb4 Rxd5 52.h4 Ra5±] 

51...f5 52.Rxb4 fxe4 53.Rxe4  1–0

Vachier-Lagrave,Maxime (2793) - Sandipan,Chanda (2579)

Tradewise Gibraltar Masters 2018 Caleta (7), 29.01.2018

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c6 4.Nf3 d5 5.h3 Nf6 6.e5 Ne4 7.Nxe4 dxe4 8.Ng5 c5 9.dxc5 aiming for Qxd8+. 

9...Qxd1+ B15: Caro-Kann: 3 Nc3: 3... g6 and 3...dxe4 4 Nxe4 Nf6 5 Nxf6+ exf6 

10.Kxd1 Bxe5 [10...Nc6 11.Nxe4 Bf5 12.Nd2 Bxe5 13.g4 Be6 14.Bc4 Bxc4 15.Nxc4 0–0–0+ 16.Bd2 Bd4 17.Ke2 Bxc5 1–0 (42) Navara,D (2710)-Polak,T (2520) Prague 2012] 

11.Nxe4 0–0 White is slightly better. 

12.c3 Rd8+ 13.Kc2! Bf5 14.f3N [14.Bd3 Na6 15.g4 Rxd3 16.gxf5 Rad8 17.fxg6 hxg6 1–0 (30) Michalczak,T (2260)-Heinemann,E Baden 1999] 

14...Nd7 15.Be3 Rdc8 16.Bd3 Bxe4 17.Bxe4 [Much worse is 17.fxe4 Nxc5 18.Rad1 e6=] 

17...Nxc5 18.Bxc5 Rxc5 19.Bxb7 Rb8 20.Be4 h5 21.Rhd1 h4 22.Rd5 Rxd5 23.Bxd5± Endgame KRB-KRB 

23...Rd8 24.Rd1 Kg7 25.Rd3 f5 [¹25...e6] 

26.b4 Kf6 27.c4 Kg5 [27...Bg3± 28.c5 e6] 

28.c5+- Kf4 29.a4 Kg3 30.Bf7 Rf8 31.Bxg6 Kf4 [¹31...Bf4] 

32.Rd2 Kg5 33.Rd5 Bb8 [¹33...Bg3 34.Bh7 a5] 

34.Bh7 e6 35.Rd7 Kh6? [35...Kf6 was called for. 36.Rb7 a6] 

36.Kd3 Rc8 37.a5 a6 [¹37...Rc7] 

38.Re7 White is clearly winning. 

38...Bg3 39.Kc4 Ra8 40.Bg8! Rxg8 41.Rxe6+ Kg5 42.Rxa6 Be5 43.Re6 Kf4 44.b5 Rxg2 45.b6  1–0

Ivanchuk,Vassily (2726) - Muzychuk,Mariya (2540)

Tradewise Gibraltar Masters 2018 Caleta (7), 29.01.2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Nf3 Nb6 7.Nc3 Nc6 8.e3 0–0 9.0–0 Re8 10.Re1 a5 D76: Fianchetto Grünfeld: Main Line with 7...Nb6 

11.h3 a4 12.Rb1 a3 The position is equal. [12...e5 13.d5 Nb4 14.e4 c6 15.a3 Na6 16.Bg5 f6 17.Be3 cxd5 18.Bxb6 Qxb6 19.Nxd5 1–0 (52) Le,Q (2712) -Cheparinov,I (2678) Khanty-Mansiysk 2013] 

13.bxa3N [13.b3 e5 14.dxe5 Nxe5 15.Nxe5 Bxe5 16.Qc2 Be6 17.e4 c6 18.Be3 0–1 (35) Ulrich,T (2213)-Eckert,D (2247) Saint Louis 2012] 

13...e5 14.dxe5 Nxe5 15.Qxd8 [15.Nxe5 Qxd1 16.Rxd1 Bxe5 17.Ne2 Nc4 18.Bxb7 Rb8 19.Be4] 

15...Nxf3+ 16.Bxf3 Rxd8 17.Nb5 Be5 18.Nd4 Bxh3 [18...Ra7= remains equal.] 

19.Bxb7± And now Nc6 would win. 

19...Bxd4 20.exd4 Rab8 21.Bf3 Black must now prevent Bf4. 

21...Be6 22.Bf4 Nd5 23.Bd2 [23.Rxb8± Rxb8 24.Bh6] 

23...Rxb1 24.Rxb1 Ra8 25.Rb5! c6 26.Ra5! Rb8 27.Bh6 f5 [27...Ne7± might work better.] 

28.Ra6+- Rc8 29.Ra7 Nc3 30.a4 Bd5 [¹30...Bxa2 31.a5 Bc4] 

31.Bxd5+ cxd5 Endgame KRB-KRN 

32.a5 White is clearly winning. 

32...Ne2+ 33.Kg2 Nxd4 34.a6 Nc6 35.Rg7+ Kh8 36.Rb7 d4 37.a7 d3 38.Rc7!!  1–0

Martinez Martin,David (2399) - Lagno,Kateryna (2556)

Tradewise Gibraltar Masters 2018 Caleta (7), 29.01.2018

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.d4 0–0 6.h3 e5 7.d5 Na6 8.Be3 Nh5 9.Nd2 Qe8 10.c5N E90: King's Indian: Classical: Early deviations and 6 h3 [White should try 10.a3= ; Predecessor: 10.a3 f5 11.Nb3 b6 12.Qc2 Qe7 13.0–0–0 Nc5 14.Be2 Nxb3+ 15.Qxb3 Nf6 16.Qc2 f4 17.Bd2 Bd7 1–0 (47) Bachmann,A (2577)-Istratescu,A (2671) Graz 2014] 

10...Nxc5³ 11.Nb3 [11.Nb5³ Qd8 12.b4] 

11...Nxb3µ 12.Qxb3 Black is better. 

12...c5 13.dxc6 bxc6 14.0–0–0 Qe7 15.Qa3 Rd8 16.Ba6 Be6 17.Rd2 Nf4 18.f3 Qc7 19.Kb1 d5 20.Bc5 [20.exd5µ Nxd5 21.Nxd5 Rxd5 22.Rxd5 cxd5 23.Rc1] 

20...dxe4!–+ 21.Bd6  [21.Rxd8+ might work better. 21...Rxd8 22.g3] 

21...Rxd6! 22.Qxd6 Qb6 23.Qa3 e3 24.Rc2 Rd8 25.Ne4 Rd4 26.Rhc1 Bd5 27.Ka1? [27.Be2 keeps fighting.] 

27...Bxe4 28.fxe4 Bf8 29.Qxe3 Qxa6 30.Rxc6 Qb5 31.R6c3 Nxg2 32.Qf2 Nf4 33.Rc7 a5 34.h4 Rxe4 35.Qa7 Nd3 36.Rb1 Ra4 37.b3 Rxa2+! 38.Kxa2 Qb4  0–1

TRADEWISE GIBRALTAR MASTERS 2018 – ROUND 6

The top 5 boards all drew in round 6, so Nakamura maintains his lead going into round 7. Aronian won and once again starts getting back up to the top tables.

The last game to finish of round 6 was the epic battle between GM Danyyil Dvirnyy and GM Kenny Solomon. By move 51 when Solomon erred with h4 the Italian GM has a clear winning position. What’s more, the South African GM was down to only a minute on his clock by move 60.  However,  GM Danyyil Dvirnyy couldn’t find the killer blow in a R+B+P vs R+P ending, even with Kenny Solomon’s severe time trouble. In the end it was Solomon that forced an exchange of pawns on move 74 and securing the draw by the 50 move rule. Unsurprisingly Kenny Solomon asked not to be paired for round 7 immediately after the game. I would have too. Defending over 60 moves with a single minute on the clock.

The pairings on the top boards for round 5 were as follows, with tournament points in brackets:
Nakamura Hikaru  (5) vs Howell David W L (4,5)

Antipov Mikhail Al.  (4,5) vs Harikrishna P. (4)

Gupta Abhijeet (4) vs Vachier-Lagrave Maxime (4)

Gledura Benjamin (4) vs Navara David  (4)

Vitiugov Nikita  (4) vs Vocaturo Daniele (4)

Sandipan Chanda (4) vs Ivanchuk Vassily (4)

Narayanan S. L. (4) vs Wang Hao (4)

Henderson De La Fuente L  (4) vs Rapport Richard  (4)

Cheparinov Ivan (4) vs Ju Wenjun (4)

Dubov Daniil  (4) vs Moussard Jules  (4)

Saric Ivan  (4) vs Batsiashvili Nino  (4)

Gagare Shardul  (4) vs Aronian Levon  (3.5)

  

Here are some decisive games from round 6:

Sandipan,Chanda (2579) - Ivanchuk,Vassily (2726)

Tradewise Gibraltar Masters 2018 Caleta (6), 28.01.2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 c5 5.Nge2 cxd4 6.exd4 d5 7.c5 Ne4 8.Bd2 Nxd2 9.Qxd2 a5 10.a3 Bxc3 11.Nxc3 a4  E42: Nimzo-Indian: Rubinstein: 4...c5 5 Ne2 

12.Nxa4N [12.Bb5+= keeps the balance. 12...Bd7 13.Bd3; 12.Rc1 0–0 13.Be2 Bd7 14.0–0 Nc6 15.Bd1 Ne7 16.Na2 Qa5 17.Qxa5 Rxa5 18.Bc2 Bb5 19.Rfe1 1/2–1/2 (31) Le,Q (2697)-Vitiugov,N (2725) Baku 2015] 

12...Rxa4µ 13.Bb5+ Bd7 Black is better. 

14.Bxa4 Bxa4 15.Qb4 Qd7 16.0–0 Qb5 [Black should try 16...0–0µ 17.Qc3 Nc6] 

17.b3!= Qxb4 18.axb4 Bb5! 19.Ra7! Bxf1 20.Rxb7 Nc6 21.Kxf1 And now b5 would win. 

21...0–0? [21...Rf8!= and Black has nothing to worry.] 

22.b5+- Na5  [Reject 22...Nxd4?! 23.c6±] 23.Rc7! 1–0

Gagare,Shardul (2494) - Aronian,Levon (2797)

Tradewise Gibraltar Masters 2018 Caleta (6), 28.01.2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Nbd2 0–0 5.a3 Be7 6.e4 d6 E11: Bogo-Indian 

7.Qc2 [7.Be2 c5 8.d5 e5 9.Qc2 Nbd7 10.Nf1 a6 11.Bd2 Nh5 12.g3 g6 13.Ne3 Ng7 14.Bd3 1/2–1/2 (35) Ding,L (2774)-Carlsen,M (2837) Saint Louis 2017] 

7...Nfd7 

8.Be2 e5 The position is equal. 

9.b3N [9.Nb1 Nc6 10.Be3 exd4 11.Nxd4 Nxd4 12.Bxd4 Bf6 13.Bxf6 Nxf6 14.Nc3 0–1 (44) Sumets,A (2583)-Riff,J (2499) Berlin 2015] 

9...exd4 10.Nxd4 Ne5 11.f4 Nbc6 12.Nxc6 [12.Bb2!? Nxd4 13.Bxd4=] 

12...Nxc6 13.Nf3 Bf6 14.Ra2 Nd4 15.Qd3 Ne6 16.Be3 b6 17.0–0 Bb7 18.Qb1 Nc5 19.e5 dxe5 20.fxe5 Be7 21.Rd2 Qe8 22.Rd5 f5 23.b4 Ne6 24.Rfd1 Qg6 25.Qb3 Rae8 26.Kh1 Kh8 27.Qd3 h6 28.Bf1 Bg5 29.Qd2 Re7 30.Qf2 Bxe3 31.Qxe3 Bxd5 32.cxd5 Ng5 33.Nxg5 Qxg5 34.Qxg5 [¹34.Qc3] 

34...hxg5µ Endgame KRR-KRB 

35.d6 Rxe5 [Much less strong is 35...cxd6 36.exd6 Re3 37.Bb5–+] 

36.d7 [36.dxc7 keeps fighting. 36...Rc8 37.Rd8+ Re8 38.Rd7] 

36...Rd8–+ 37.Kg1 c6 38.Ba6 Rd5 39.Rc1 [¹39.Rxd5 cxd5 40.Bb5] 

39...R8xd7 Black is clearly winning. 

40.Rxc6 Kh7 41.h3 g6 42.a4 Rd4 43.Bc4 g4 44.hxg4 Rxg4 45.a5 Rd2 46.Bf1 Rd1 47.Rc7+ Kh6  0–1

Saric,Ivan (2664) - Batsiashvili,Nino (2504)

Tradewise Gibraltar Masters 2018 Caleta (6), 28.01.2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.0–0 Bd7 6.c4 Nf6 7.Nc3 Bg4 C72: Ruy Lopez: Deferred Steinitz: 5 0–0 [7...Be7 8.Bxc6 Bxc6 9.Qc2 0–0 10.d4 exd4 11.Nxd4 Nd7 12.b3 Bf6 13.Nxc6 bxc6 14.Bb2 Re8 15.Rad1 1–0 (80) Areshchenko,A (2652)-Demchenko,A (2645) Tbilisi 2017] 

8.h3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 Nd7 The position is equal. 

10.Qg3 Nd4N [10...g5 11.d3 Be7 12.Nd5 h6 13.Be3 Nf6 14.d4 Nh5 15.Qf3 Nf4 16.dxe5 dxe5 17.Rfd1 Qc8 18.Bxf4 gxf4 19.Qh5 1–0 (19) Schreiber,K-Sutkus,R ICCF corr 1980] 

11.f4 White wants to play fxe5. 

11...c6 12.d3 Qb6 Hoping for ...Ne2+. 

13.Be3 [13.Kh1±] 

13...0–0–0 [13...Qxb2= 14.Rac1  14...Qxc3! 15.Rxc3 Ne2+ 16.Kf2 Nxg3 17.Kxg3 Be7] 

14.Rab1ƒ White has strong initiative. 

14...Nc5 [14...g6± might work better.] 

15.b4+- Nxd3? [15...Nxa4 16.Nxa4 Qc7] 

16.fxe5 dxe5 17.Rxf7 h5? [17...c5 18.Nd5 Rxd5 19.Qg4+ Qe6] 

18.Kh1 Bxb4 19.a3 a5 20.axb4 axb4 21.Bc2! Nf4 [21...Nxc2 22.Bxb6] 

22.Ra1  1–0

Adams,Michael (2709) - Christiansen,Johan-Sebastian (2492)

Tradewise Gibraltar Masters 2018 Caleta (6), 28.01.2018

1.c4 e5 2.g3 c6 3.Nf3 e4 4.Nd4 d5 5.cxd5 Qxd5 6.Nc2 A20: English Opening: 1...e5 

6...Nf6 7.Nc3 Qe5 [7...Qh5 8.Ne3 Bc5 9.Qc2 Qe5 10.Bg2 Bxe3 11.fxe3 Bf5 12.b4 0–0 13.Bb2 1–0 (41) Aronian,L (2801)-Papaioannou,I (2652) Heraklio 2017] 

8.Bg2 White has an edge. 

8...Bc5 9.b4N [9.Ne3 0–0 10.Qc2 Bxe3 11.fxe3 Bf5 12.0–0 Nbd7 13.b3 1/2–1/2 (20) Sebastian, D (2441)-Naumann,A (2563) Germany 2017] 

9...Bd6 10.Bb2 aiming for Nxe4. 

10...Qe7 11.0–0 Bf5 12.d3 exd3 13.exd3 0–0 14.Re1 Qd8 15.Ne4ƒ White is pushing. 

15...Be7 16.Qf3 Bg6 [16...Bd7²] 

17.Nxf6+± Bxf6 18.Bxf6 Qxf6 19.Qxf6 gxf6 20.Re7! Bxd3 21.Ne1 Bc4 [¹21...Bf5] 

22.Rxb7 a5 23.a3 axb4 24.Rxb4 Bd5 25.Bxd5 cxd5 26.Rb6 Rd8 27.Rxf6 Kg7 28.Rb6 Nd7 29.Rb5 Ne5 30.a4 Ra7 31.Nc2 Nc4 32.Nd4 Rda8 33.Rb4 Ra6 34.Nb5 Rb6 [34...Rc8± was necessary. 35.Rd1 Rc5] 

35.Rd1+- Rba6 36.Nc3 [Don't play 36.Rxd5?! Rxa4 37.Rxa4 Rxa4±] 

36...Nb6 37.Rdd4 h6 38.Kg2 R8a7 39.Rg4+ Kf8 40.Rh4 Kg7 41.Rbg4+ Kh7 42.Rf4  Threatens to win with Rf6. 

42...Kg7 43.Rhg4+ Kh7 44.Rf6 h5 45.Rb4  1–0