GRENKE CHESS CLASSIC 2018 ROUND 1

Just four days ago Caruana won the Candidates Tournament in Berlin to become the player to challenge for the crown of Magnus Carlsen in November. This will be the first match between “Western” players (not including Anand) since Lasker / Capablanca in 1921.

Quite ironic that Caruana drew White vs Carlsen in the first round of the Grenke Classic. You can be sure that the fans and media will be reading a lot more into the psychology of this game than the players. Expect the game to game all about probing the opponent for ideas while not giving away anything that will be of use in November. To quote Gary Veynerchuk, today will be all about planting jabs – leaving the right hooks for November in London.

When Fischer was a child he studied the games of Capablanca – a genius at Rook endgames. When looking at how the Caruana vs Carlsen game ended, it is clear that Capablanca’s games hold lessons for the youth of today as well.

Quote of the round: Leko: "Chess is the toughest! The only problem is that people don't understand it. Those who are involved do, but the general public cannot understand how much effort is behind preparation and decision making."

Caruana vs Carlsen ½-½

Kings Indian: If nothing else, the game gave Caruana essential match practice in the skill of defending the kinds of unpleasant positions that Carlsen conjures up at the board. There is a saying in chess that all Rook and Pawn endgames are drawn, except the ones that aren’t. Indeed, even Magnus said after the game: “Rook endings are difficult.” This was the ninth draw in the last ten games between Carlsen and Caruana.

Anand vs Hou ½-½

English Opening: Hou Yifan met Vishy’s g4 with a pawn sacrifice. The position was looking good for Black. White had a centrally trapped King and needed to sacrifice the exchange. Anand then had a 4 vs 2 Queen-side pawn majority and the Bishop pair that needed vigilance.

Meier vs Aronian ½-½

Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defense: I am sure that on some level Aronian must have emerged from Berlin mentally or emotionally shattered. This game with Black against Georg Meyer may have been a sort of therapy. A stepping stone on the path to recovery.

Naiditsch vs Vachier-Lagrave ½-½

Torre, London and Colle Systems: With the strong 14.Nxd5! Naiditsch set up the possibility to beat MVL in a second consecutive Grenke Classic.

Bluebaum vs Vitiugov 0-1

Slav Defense: The commentary team got super excited after White played 24.Qa7. Everyone was wondering whether Vitiugov would find the not so obvious computer tactic of 24…Ne4+ that wins material in all lines. We had the agonizing wait of 21min 39sec of calculations before Nikita played the winning move.

Here are the games from the Grenke Classic Round 1:

Bluebaum,Matthias (2616) - Vitiugov,Nikita (2735)

5th GRENKE Chess Classic 2018 Karlsruhe (1), 31.03.2018

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Bg6 7.Bd2 D12: Slav Defence: 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 e3 Bf5 

7...Nbd7 8.Nxg6 hxg6 9.c5 [9.Qb3 Rb8 10.cxd5 cxd5 11.Bd3 a6 12.e4 dxe4 13.Nxe4 Nxe4 14.Bxe4 Rh4 15.f4 Bd6 ½–½ (32) Krasenkow,M (2651)-Sasikiran,K (2677) Germany 2017] 

9...e5 10.b4 Be7 11.b5 

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11...0–0N [11...exd4 12.exd4 Nf8 13.bxc6 bxc6 14.Qa4 Qd7 ½–½ (45) Baumgartner,U (2381)-Mauro,L (2325) ICCF email 2016] 

12.Qa4 [12.bxc6= keeps the balance. 12...bxc6 13.Be2] 

12...Re8 [12...exd4µ 13.exd4 Re8] 

13.bxc6 bxc6 14.Be2 exd4 15.exd4 Nxc5 16.dxc5 d4 

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17.0–0 [Don't play 17.Qxc6 dxc3 18.Bxc3 Rc8µ] 

17...dxc3 18.Bxc3 Bxc5 19.Bf3 Rc8 20.Bxc6 Re2 21.Bf3 

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21...Rxf2! 22.Rxf2 Bxf2+ 23.Kxf2 Rxc3 24.Qxa7 

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24...Ne4+! 25.Kg1? 

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[25.Bxe4 Qh4+ 26.Kg1 Qxe4 27.Rd1] 

25...Ra3–+ 0–1

Meier,Georg (2636) - Aronian,Levon (2767)

5th GRENKE Chess Classic 2018 Karlsruhe (1), 31.03.2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0–0 Nxe4 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5 Be7 7.Bf1 Nxe5 8.Rxe5 0–0 9.Nc3 C67: Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defence: 4 0–0 Nxe4 

9...Ne8 10.Nd5 Bd6 11.Re2 c6 12.Ne3 Be7 13.Nf5 Bf6 14.Qe1 d5 15.Ne7+ Kh8 16.Nxc8 Rxc8 

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17.d3N Nd6 18.Qb4 a5 19.Qg4 b5 20.c3 d4 21.cxd4 b4 22.d5 cxd5 23.Bf4 g6 24.Be5 Bxe5 25.Rxe5 Qf6 26.Qd4 Rc2 27.Rb1 

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27...Rfc8 [27...Nb5!? 28.Qe3™ d4=] 

28.Rxd5 Qxd4 29.Rxd4 Nf5 30.Rc4 R8xc4 31.dxc4 Nd4 32.Rd1 Ne6 33.Rd5 a4 34.Ra5 Rxb2 35.Rxa4 Kg7 36.Ra5 Kf6 37.h4 Nd4 38.c5 Rc2 39.Ra6+ Ke5 40.Rb6 Rxa2 41.Rxb4 Ra1 42.g3= ½–½

Naiditsch,Arkadij (2701) - Vachier Lagrave,Maxime (2789)

5th GRENKE Chess Classic 2018 Karlsruhe (1), 31.03.2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bg5 Bg7 4.c3 h6 5.Bh4 d6 6.Nbd2 g5 7.Bg3 Nh5 8.e4 e6 9.Nc4 [A48: 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 g6: Torre, London and Colle Systems [9.Bd3 Qe7 10.Nc4 Nd7 11.Qe2 b6 12.Nfd2 Nxg3 13.hxg3 Bb7 14.Ne3 a6 15.f4 c5 16.d5 b5 17.a4 1–0 (34) Berkes,F (2653)-Kozul,Z (2604) Hungary 2018] 

9...f5 10.Nfd2 Nxg3 11.hxg3 0–0 

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[11...fxe4= keeps the balance. 12.Qh5+ (12.Nxe4 d5µ) 12...Ke7] 

12.Ne3N [12.exf5 exf5 13.Bd3 Nc6 14.Qc2 Be6 15.Ne3 Ne7 16.f4 Nd5 17.Nxd5 Bxd5 18.0–0–0 Bxg2 19.Rhg1 Bd5 20.Bxf5 Qf6 21.Be4 Bf7 22.Rdf1 ½–½ (22) Kodinets,K (2405)-Vaulin,A (2535) Moscow 1998] 

12...d5 13.exf5 exf5 14.Nxd5 Re8+! [But not 14...Qxd5? 15.Bc4+-] 

15.Ne3 f4 16.Bc4+ Be6! 17.Bxe6+ Rxe6 18.Qb3 Qe8 [18...Qd6!=] 

19.Ne4 Nd7 [19...Kf8!²] 

20.gxf4 gxf4 

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21.Ng4! Kh8 22.f3 Rxe4+ 23.fxe4 Qxe4+ 24.Kf2 f3 25.gxf3 Rf8 26.Nh2 Qh4+ 

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27.Kg2! Qg5+ 28.Kf1! Qh5 

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29.Qc2! [Much weaker is 29.Qxb7?! Rb8=] 

29...c5 30.Qg2 [30.Kg2±] 

30...cxd4 31.Ng4 Qb5+ 32.Kg1 [White should play 32.c4!² Qxc4+ 33.Kg1] 

32...dxc3 33.bxc3 Qc5+! 34.Qf2 Qxc3 35.Kg2 Ne5 36.Nxe5 Bxe5 37.Rxh6+ Kg7! 38.Rhh1 Rf6 39.Rag1 Bd4 40.Kf1+ Kf7 41.Rh7+ Kf8 42.Rh8+ Kf7 43.Rh7+= Kf8 44.Rh8+= ½–½

Anand,Viswanathan (2776) - Hou,Yifan (2657)

5th GRENKE Chess Classic 2018 Karlsruhe (1), 31.03.2018

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.e3 Bd6 A17: English Opening: 1...Nf6 with ...Bb4 [4...Be7 5.b3 0–0 6.Bb2 dxc4 7.bxc4 c5 8.Rg1 Nc6 9.g4 a6 10.g5 Ne8 11.h4 Nd6 12.h5 f5 13.Be2 Rb8 14.a4 1–0 (35) Grischuk,A (2767)-Kramnik,V (2800) Moscow 2018] 

5.b3 0–0 6.Bb2 c5 7.g4 d4 [7...h6³] 

8.exd4 cxd4 9.Nxd4 e5 10.Nf5 Bxf5 11.gxf5 

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11...Nc6N [11...e4 12.d4 0–1 (27) Loxine,J (2409)-Santos Ruiz,M (2508) Germany 2017] 

12.Bg2 Nb4 13.Qe2 [13.0–0=] 

13...Nc2+ 14.Kd1 Nxa1 15.Bxa1 Qd7 16.Ne4 Qxf5 17.Nxf6+ Qxf6 18.Bxb7 Rad8 19.Kc2 Rfe8 20.Bc3 Bc5 21.f3 Bd4 22.Re1 g6 23.Qe4 Kg7 24.Bd5 Qb6 25.b4 f5 26.Qd3 Bxc3 27.dxc3 Qd6 28.a4 a5 29.Kb3! Rb8 30.b5 Qc5 31.h4 Rbd8 

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32.h5! Kf6 33.hxg6 hxg6 34.Qe3 Qxe3 35.Rxe3 Rd6 36.Re1 Rc8 37.Rh1 Kg7 38.Kc2 g5 39.Rd1 Kf6 40.Kd3 Rb6 41.Rh1 Kg7 42.Rg1 Kf6 43.Ke3 Rd6 44.Rb1 Rb6 45.Ke2 Kg6 46.Kf2 Kf6 47.Rh1 Kg7 48.Re1= ½–½

Caruana,Fabiano (2804) - Carlsen,Magnus (2843)

5th GRENKE Chess Classic 2018 Karlsruhe (1), 31.03.2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.e3 0–0 5.Be2 d6 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.d5 E61: King's Indian: Early deviations for White, including Smyslov System [7.0–0 e5 8.d5 Ne7 9.b4 a5 10.bxa5 Rxa5 11.Nd2 Nd7 12.Nb3 Ra8 13.a4 f5 14.Ba3 e4 15.Qc2 b6 1–0 (23) Kuzubov,Y (2638)-Onischuk,V (2614) Lvov 2016] 

7...Nb4 8.a3 Na6 9.Nd4 White has an edge. 

9...e5 

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10.dxe6N [10.Nc2 Nc5 11.b4 Nb3 12.Rb1 Nxc1 13.Rxc1 Nd7 14.0–0 f5 0–1 (46) Breutigam,M (2340)-Brendel,O (2375) Germany 1996] 

10...fxe6 11.0–0 e5 12.Nb3 c6 13.e4 Nc7 14.f4 Ne6 15.f5 Nd4 16.Be3 [16.Bd3 gxf5 17.exf5 Qb6 18.Nxd4 Qxd4+ 19.Kh1] 

16...Nxe2+ 17.Qxe2 gxf5 18.exf5 d5! 19.cxd5 cxd5 20.Rad1 d4 21.Bg5 Qb6! 22.Qc4+ Rf7 23.Na4 Qc7 24.Qxc7! Rxc7 25.Nac5 

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25...b6!ƒ White is under pressure. 

26.Bxf6 bxc5 27.Bxg7 Kxg7 28.Nd2 [28.f6+³ Kf7 29.Rc1] 

28...Bb7!–+ 29.f6+ Kf8! 30.Rde1 Re8 31.Ne4 Bxe4! 32.Rxe4 Endgame KRR-KRR 

32...c4 33.g4? [33.h4] 

33...Rb8 34.Rxe5 Rxb2 35.Rd5 c3! 36.Rd8+ Kf7 

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...c2 is the strong threat. 

37.Rh8 Rbb7 38.Rxh7+ Kg6 39.Rxc7 Rxc7 KR-KR 

40.Kf2 c2 41.Rc1 d3! aiming for ...Rd7. 

42.Ke3 Rd7! 43.Kd2 Kxf6 44.h4 Ke5 45.Rf1 Kd4! 46.h5 Re7!? 47.Rf4+™ Kd5 [47...Kc5=] 

48.Rf1? Kc4! 49.Rf4+ Kd5 50.Rf1 Kc4 ( -> ...Re2+) 

51.Rf4+ Kb3! 52.Rb4+ Kxa3 53.Rc4 Kb3 54.Rc8 

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54...a5? [54...Rh7!–+ 55.Rc5 [#] (55.Kxd3? Rd7+ 56.Ke3 a5–+) 55...a5! 56.Rxa5 Rc7] 

55.h6= The position is equal. 

55...Re2+ 56.Kxd3 Rh2 Hoping for ...Kb2. 

57.g5 Strongly threatening Rc3+. 

57...Rh3+ 58.Kd2 Rh2+ 59.Kd3  ½–½

EUROPEAN INDIVIDUAL CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2018

The 2018 European Individual Championship in Batumi, Georgia has concluded on 28 March.

Aside from the 100.000€ prize fund and 20.000€ first prize, there are 23 qualification spots to the 2019 World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia available.

Croatian GM Ivan Ivan Saric took the win with 8.5 from 11 games. He was just a half point ahead of a group of 7 players. He sealed victory by winning his last round game.

An interesting side note to the tournament was seventeenth place finisher Ivan Cheparinov of Bulgaria. Bulgaria is currently suspended by FIDE and will likely not be competing at the Olympiad this year.

Many of you may remember Cheparinov as the second to Veselin Topalov during his glory years in the early 2000’s. Many of the ideas for Topalov’s wins on the way to become the FIDE World Champion in 2005 have been credited to Cheparinov. As you can tell GM Cheparinov is a player of influence on the world stage. Therefore it was only logical that he compete at the European Individual Championship under the FIDE flag due to Bulgaria’s suspension.

On a personal note, a couple of years ago South Africa was suspended by FIDE for unpaid debt. During that period of suspension I was not permitted to play in any open tournaments in Europe, nor was my club allowed to include me in their league team. No FIDE flag option was available at that time.

Here is Saric’s game from the final round that won the tournament. I’m also including two other interesting games:

Saric,Ivan (2657) - Navara,David (2737)

19th EICC 2018 Batumi (11), 28.03.2018

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Bg7 5.c4 Nc6 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Nc3 Ng4 8.Qxg4 Nxd4 9.Qd1 e5 10.Bd3 d6 11.0–0 0–0 12.a4 

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12...Be6 B39: Sicilian: Maroczy Bind with 5...Bg7 and 7...Ng4 [12...a5 13.Nb5 Bd7 14.Bxd4 Bxb5 15.Be3 Bc6 16.f3 f5 17.Qc2 Qf6 18.Rad1 Qe6 19.Rd2 Kh8 20.Rfd1 1–0 (35) Van Wely,L (2663)-Edouard,R (2640) Chartres 2017] 

13.a5N [13.Nb5 Qb6 14.Qd2 Rfc8 15.Rfc1 a6 16.a5 Qc5 17.b4 Qc6 18.Nxd4 exd4 19.Bh6 Bh8 20.f4 f5 21.exf5 Bxf5 22.Bxf5 gxf5 23.Ra3 d5 24.Rg3+ Kf7 1/2–1/2 (24) Horvath,A (2473)-Seres,L (2461) Hungary 2011] 

13...Qd7 14.Qa4 Qxa4 White is slightly better. 

15.Rxa4 Rfc8 16.Nd5 Bxd5 17.exd5 Re8 18.Re1 f5 19.Kf1 Kf7 20.b4 Rac8 21.Rc1 e4 22.Be2 Be5 23.g3 Rc7 24.c5 Rec8 25.Bxd4 [White should play 25.Rb1± ] 

25...Bxd4² 26.c6 bxc6 27.b5 c5 [27...Bxf2!? 28.Kxf2 cxb5 29.Rxc7+ Rxc7 30.Bxb5 Rc2+ 31.Be2 Kf6²] 

28.b6 axb6 29.axb6 Rb7! 

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Strongly threatening ...Rcb8. 

30.Rxd4! cxd4 31.Rxc8 Rxb6 Endgame ...Rb1+ is the strong threat. KRB-KR 

32.Ke1 g5 [Black should try 32...Rb1+² 33.Bd1 h5] 

33.Bd1 [Better is 33.Rc6 Rb1+ 34.Bd1] 

33...Rb1 

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[¹33...Rb5] 

34.g4!± fxg4 35.Rc4! Kf6 36.Rxd4 Ke5 37.Ra4 h5 38.Kd2 Kxd5? [38...Rb5±] 

39.Bc2? [39.Ra5++- and the rest is easy. 39...Kd4 40.Rxg5] 

39...Rg1? [39...Rf1± was necessary.] 

40.Ra5+!+- [Less strong is 40.Bxe4+ Ke5±; Inferior is 40.Rxe4 Rh1=] 

40...Kd4? [40...Ke6 41.Bxe4 Kf6 42.Rf5+ Kg6] 

41.Bb3 e3+ 42.fxe3+ Ke4 43.Bc2+ Kf3 intending ...Rg2+. 

44.Rf5+ Kg2 45.Rxg5 Kxh2 46.Rxh5+ Kg3 [¹46...Kg2 47.Be4+ Kg3] 

47.Bd1 Rg2+ 48.Be2 Rf2 49.Ke1 Rg2 50.Rd5 Rg1+ 51.Kd2 Ra1 52.Rd4 Ra2+ 53.Ke1! Ra1+ 

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54.Bd1! Kh3 55.Rxd6 g3 56.Kf1 g2+ 57.Kg1 Rb1 58.Rd2 Rc1 59.e4 Kg3 

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60.e5! Rc6 61.Rd4 Rc5 62.Rg4+ [¹62.e6 Rc7 63.Rd7 Rc6 64.Rg7+ Kf4 65.e7 Re6 66.Kxg2 Ke4 67.Bh5] 

62...Kh3 63.Re4 Rc3 64.e6 White mates. 

64...Rd3 65.Re1 Rd4 66.e7 Rh4 67.Re3# 1–0

Safarli,Eltaj (2639) - Ivanchuk,Vassily (2713)

19th EICC 2018 Batumi (11), 28.03.2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0–0 9.h3 Re8 10.Ng5 Rf8 11.Nf3 Bb7 12.d4 Re8 13.Ng5 Rf8 14.Nf3 Nd7 15.a4 Bf6 16.axb5 axb5 17.Rxa8 Qxa8 18.d5 Ne7 19.Na3 Ba6 20.Ba2 C92: Closed Ruy Lopez: 9...Be6, Karpov and Flohr-Zaitsev Variations [20.Nh2 Ng6 21.Ng4 Be7 22.Ne3 Rb8 23.Nec2 Nc5 24.Nb4 Bc8 25.Nc6 Rb6 26.Bc2 Bd7 27.b4 Nb7 28.Be3 Rxc6 29.dxc6 Bxc6 1/2–1/2 (78) Dominguez Perez,L (2726)-Svidler,P (2739) Tbilisi 2015] 

20...g6 

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21.Nc2N [21.Bh6 Bg7 22.Qd2 f6 23.Nc2 Bc8 24.Nb4 Nc5 25.Bb1 Bd7 26.Bc2 Qb7 27.Be3 Na6 1/2–1/2 (53) Pichot,A (2577)-Torres,J (2275) Medellin 2017] 

21...Bg7 22.Nb4 White is slightly better. 

22...Bc8 23.Qe2 Qb7 24.Bg5 Nf6 25.Ra1 Re8 26.Bb1 Bd7 27.Bd3ƒ White has good play. 

27...Nexd5? [27...h6² 28.Be3 Ra8 29.Rxa8+ Qxa8] 

28.exd5+- [And not 28.Nxd5 Nxd5 29.exd5 e4=] 

28...e4 29.Bc2 exf3 30.Qxf3 Nh5 31.g4 h6 32.gxh5 hxg5 33.hxg6 fxg6 34.Bxg6 Rf8? [34...Re7 35.Nc6 Bxc6] 

35.Qh5 

XABCDEFGHY
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White is clearly winning. 

35...Rf6 36.Re1 Qa7 37.Nd3 Threatening mate with Re7. 

37...c5 38.Re7 Intending Qh7+ and mate. 

38...Kf8 

XABCDEFGHY
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39.Rxg7! 1–0

Stefanova,Antoaneta (2481) - Kovchan,Alexander (2596)

19th EICC 2018 Batumi (11), 28.03.2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.g3 c5 4.dxc5 [4.c3 b6 5.Bg2 Bb7 6.Bg5 Bg7 7.Nbd2 0–0 8.0–0 d6 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.e3 Nd7 11.a4 d5 0–1 (67) Carlsen,M (2857)-Grischuk,A (2754) chess.com INT 2016] 

4...Qa5+ 5.Nfd2 

XABCDEFGHY
8rsnl+kvl-tr(
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5...h5N [5...Qxc5 6.Bg2 Bg7 7.Nb3 Qc7 8.Nc3 d6 9.0–0 Nc6 10.Bg5 Be6 11.e4 h6 0–1 (38) Dounis,A (2246)-Zubarev,A (2583) Heraklion 2014] 

6.h3 A49: 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 g6 3 g3: Anti-King's Indian systems 

6...h4 White should prevent ...hxg3. 

7.g4! Na6 8.a3 White is better. 

8...Qxc5 9.Bg2 Bg7 10.Nc3 Nc7 11.Nb3 Qe5 12.f4 Qe6 13.Qd3ƒ Black is under strong pressure. 

13...d5 14.Be3 0–0 [14...b6±] 

15.Bd4 b6 16.Be5 Ba6 17.Qf3 Rac8 18.Rd1 Rfd8 [¹18...Nce8] 

19.Nd4± Qd7 20.Qf2 Nce8 21.Qxh4 Black must now prevent 0–0. 

21...Nd6 Threatening ...Nc4. 

22.Nxd5 

XABCDEFGHY
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[Better is 22.0–0± ] 

22...Nxd5? [22...Nc4= and Black is okay. 23.Bxf6 (23.Nxf6+ exf6 24.Bxf6 Bxf6=) 23...Bxf6 24.Qxf6 (24.Nxf6+ exf6 25.Qxf6 Nxb2=) 24...exf6 25.Nxf6+ Kh8 26.Nxd7 Rxd7] 

23.Bxd5+- Bb7 24.Bxg7 Kxg7 25.Bxb7 Qxb7 26.0–0 [26.Rf1+-] 

26...Nc4 [26...Qe4± was called for.] 

27.Rd3 [27.f5+- is more deadly. White threatens fxg6 and mate. 27...Ne3 28.Rf3] 

27...Rh8 [27...Qe4±] 

28.Qg5 Hoping for f5. 

28...Qe4? [28...f6± 29.Qb5 Qe4] 

29.f5 Qe5 

XABCDEFGHY
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30.c3? [30.Ne6+! Kg8 (30...fxe6 31.Qxg6+) 31.Qxe7 fxe6 32.Rd8+ Rxd8 33.Qxd8+ Kh7 34.Qe7+ Kg8 35.Qe8+ Kg7 36.Qxg6+ Kf8 37.fxe6+ Qf4 38.Rxf4+ Ke7 39.Qf7+ Kd6 40.Qd7+ Ke5 41.Rf5+ Ke4 42.Qd3#] 

30...Qf6 31.Qxf6+ exf6 32.fxg6 fxg6 33.Ne6+ Kf7 34.Nf4 g5 [34...Rhd8± 35.Rb1 b5] 

35.Nh5 Rh6 [¹35...Rcd8 36.Rxd8 Rxd8 37.Rxf6+ Ke7] 

36.Rd7+ White is clearly winning. 

36...Ke6 37.Rfd1 

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Intending Ng7+ and mate. 

37...f5 38.b3 fxg4 39.hxg4 Rxh5 40.gxh5 Ne5 41.Rxa7 Rxc3 42.h6 1–0

WORLD CHESS CANDIDATES 2018 BERLIN – ROUND 14

This year in November an American chess player will contest a World Championship match for the first time since that famous event in Reykjavík during July and August 1972.

There was one aspect of Caruana’s play today that caught me completely by surprise. When Mamedyarov finished his game Caruana only needed a draw to secure his spot in the World Championship match and a guaranteed large payday. Yet he has a winning position on the board and Grischuk was down to 4 minutes on the clock. Many players, me included, would have offered the draw and take the tournament rather than risk it all by pressing on. What would you have done?

Aronian vs So was the first to finish. It was a Symmetrical English. This was the only game that had zero impact on the top spot in the tournament. The handshake came at only 17 moves.

The second game of the day was a Closed Ruy Lopez between Karjakin and Ding. Ding needed to win the game to have any chance of qualifying. So it was really surprising for him to take a draw in an almost winning position. By taking the draw karjakin needed both Mamedyarov and Caruana to both lose their games.

Then was Kramnik vs Mamedyarov, an Open Catalan. Nothing unusual seeing Kramnik bring out his trusty Open Catalan in a crunch game.  The draw guaranteed second place for Mamedyarov, unless Caurana somehow managed to lose against Grischuk.

The final game was a Petroff between Grischuk and Caruana. I’ll admit that I was very surprised to see Caruana choose the Petroff in a game where he had to win to have full control over his tournament outcome. Yet somehow it all worked out for him.

Hopefully we get to see some fighting games in November rather than the sawdust that Karjakin brought to the board two years ago. In a way it is a relief that none of the Russian players won. Having a team of Russian players and officials in London in November would have been rather awkward to say the least.

Here are the games from round 14:

Aronian,Levon (2794) - So,Wesley (2799)

World Chess Candidates 2018 Berlin (14), 27.03.2018

1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 4.e3 Nf6 5.d4 cxd4 6.exd4 d5 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Qb3 Nxc3 9.Bc4 e6 10.bxc3 Bd7 11.Be2 A35: Symmetrical English: 2 Nc3 Nc6 3 Nf3 

11...Na5 12.Qc2 

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12...Bg7N The position is equal. 

13.Ba3 Bf8 14.Bb2 Bg7 15.Ba3 Bf8 16.Bb2 Bg7 17.Ba3 ½–½

Karjakin,Sergey (2763) - Ding,Liren (2769)

World Chess Candidates 2018 Berlin (14), 27.03.2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a3 0–0 9.Nc3 Bg4 10.Be3 Nd4 C84: Closed Ruy Lopez: Unusual White 6th moves 

11.Bxd4 exd4 12.Nd5 c5 13.a4 Be6 14.Nxf6+ Bxf6 15.Bxe6 fxe6 16.Qe2 Qd7 17.b3 

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17...e5N [17...Qc7 18.Rfe1 1–0 (42) Motylev,A (2687)-Eljanov,P (2732) Poikovsky 2014] 

18.Ra2 b4 19.Nd2 Rae8 20.Raa1! Bd8 21.g3 g5 22.Nc4 Re6 23.a5 Ref6 24.f3 h5 25.Nb6 Qf7 26.Kg2 h4 27.Nd5 

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Strongly threatening f4. 

27...h3+ 28.Kg1 Rxf3 29.g4! Kg7 30.Rxf3 Qxf3 31.Qxf3 Rxf3 32.Rf1! Rxf1+ 33.Kxf1 Bxa5³ Endgame KB-KN 

34.Ne7 [Better is 34.Kf2!³ ] 

34...Kf6µ 35.Nf5 Ke6 36.Ng3 Bd8 37.Nh1 a5 38.Ke2 d5 White must now prevent ...dxe4. 

39.Nf2 Kd6 40.exd5 Kxd5 41.Ne4 

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41...Kc6 [Black should play 41...c4!µ Threatens to win with ...c3. 42.bxc4+ Kc6] 

42.Kd2= Be7 43.Kc1! Kb5 44.Kb2 [44.Kb1!=] 

44...a4 [Black should try 44...Kb6³ ] 

45.Ka2 [45.bxa4+= was the only way to keep the balance. 45...Kxa4 46.Ka2] 

45...a3  ½–½

Kramnik,Vladimir (2800) - Mamedyarov,Shakhriyar (2809)

World Chess Candidates 2018 Berlin (14), 27.03.2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 d5 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 0–0 6.0–0 dxc4 7.Ne5 Qd6 8.Na3 E05: Open Catalan: 5 Nf3 Be7 

8...Rd8 9.Naxc4 Qa6 

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10.Qc2N [10.Qb3 Rxd4 11.Bf4 Nbd7 12.Rac1 c6 13.Rfd1 Rxd1+ 14.Rxd1 h6 15.e4 Nb6 ½–½ (67) So,W (2674)-Ljubojevic,L (2572) Amsterdam 2010] 

10...Rxd4 11.Bg5 Nbd7 12.Rfd1 Rxd1+ 13.Rxd1 Nxe5 14.Nxe5 Qa5 15.Bf4 Nd5 16.Be4 g6 17.Bh6 

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17...Qc5 [Avoid the trap 17...Qxa2? 18.Bxd5 Qa5 19.Nc4+-] 

18.Qd2 Qb4 19.Qc2 Qc5 20.Qd3 Qd6 21.Nc4 Qc5 22.Qf3 c6 

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23.Bd3 [But not 23.Ne5 f5µ; Much weaker is 23.Bxd5 exd5 24.Ne3 Qd6µ] 

23...Nf6 24.e4 e5 25.Be3 Qb4 26.Nxe5 Qxb2 27.Bf4! Be6 28.Rb1 Qxa2 29.Rxb7 Bc5 30.Kg2 Re8 [30...Bd4=] 

31.h3 [Better is 31.Bg5± Nh5 32.Nxc6] 

31...Bxf2 32.Qxf2 Bxh3+! 33.Kg1 Qxf2+ 34.Kxf2 Rxe5! 35.Bxe5 Ng4+ 36.Kg1 Nxe5 37.Be2 Kg7 38.Rxa7 Kf6 39.Ra5 Bd7 40.Kf2 Ke6 41.Ke3 Kd6 42.Ra1 h5 43.Rd1+ Ke7 44.Kd4 f6 45.Kc5 Bh3 46.Ra1 Bg2 47.Ra4 Ke6 48.Rd4 Nf3 49.Rd8 Ng5 

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1+-+-+-+-!
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50.Bc4+ [Don't play 50.Kxc6 Nxe4 51.Bc4+ Kf5µ] 

50...Ke7 51.Rg8 Nxe4+ 52.Kxc6 Nd6+ 53.Kc5 Nxc4 54.Kxc4= Kf7 ½–½

Grischuk,Alexander (2767) - Caruana,Fabiano (2784)

World Chess Candidates 2018 Berlin (14), 27.03.2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 Nxe4 4.dxe5 d5 5.Nbd2 Nxd2 6.Bxd2 C43: Petroff Defence: 3 d4 

6...Be7 7.Bd3 [7.Be2 0–0 8.0–0 c5 9.Bf4 Nc6 10.Qd2 Be6 11.c3 Qd7 12.h3 Rad8 13.Rfd1 h6 14.Bd3 Bf5 15.Bg3 Bxd3 16.Qxd3 Qe6 17.a3 b6 ½–½ (31) Nepomniachtchi,I (2751)-Mamedyarov,S (2809) Moscow 2018] 

7...c5 8.c3 Nc6 9.0–0 Bg4 10.Re1 Qd7 11.h3 

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11...Bh5N [11...Bf5 12.Qc2 Bxd3 13.Qxd3 0–0 1–0 (47) Vallejo Pons,F (2696)-Perez Garcia,R (2426) Lugo 2009] 

12.Bf4 Qe6 13.a3 0–0 14.b4 h6 15.Bg3 b6 16.Nd4 Bxd1 17.Nxe6 fxe6 18.Raxd1 c4 19.Bc2 b5 20.a4 a6 21.f3 Bg5 [21...Nxb4!? 22.cxb4 Bxb4=] 

22.Bf2 Bf4 23.Bc5 Rfd8 24.Bd6 Bg3 25.Re2 g5 26.Kf1 Kf7 27.Bc7 Re8 28.Bd6 Rac8 29.Ra1 Red8 30.Bb1 Rd7 31.Ra3 

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[31.axb5= keeps the balance. 31...axb5 32.Ra6] 

31...d4! 32.axb5 axb5 33.cxd4 Nxd4 34.Rea2 Nc6 35.Be4 Bxe5 36.Bxc6 Rxd6 37.Bxb5 Rd1+ 38.Ke2 Rg1! 39.Ke3 Rb1 [Better is 39...c3µ 40.Bd3 Rd8] 

40.Ra7+ 

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[40.Ra8³ Rxa8 41.Rxa8] 

40...Kf6! 41.Bd7 Bf4+ 42.Ke2 Rd8 43.Rc2? [43.R2a6 only move.] 

43...Rxb4 [¹43...Rg1 44.Kf2 Rd1] 

44.Bc6 

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44...c3! 45.Rd7 Rc8 46.Be4 h5 47.Kd3 Rb2 48.Ke2 h4 49.Rd1 Ke5 50.Ra1 Rd8 51.Rd1 Rdb8 52.Ra1 Bd2 53.Ra6 [53.Ra4 was called for.] 

53...Rd8 54.Rc6 [¹54.Ra3] 

54...Rb1 55.Kf2 Ra1 56.Rc4 Rd4 57.Rc8 Rb4 

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58.Ke2? [58.Bd3] 

58...Kf4 [¹58...Re1+ 59.Kf2 Rbb1 60.Rc5+ Kd4 61.R2xc3 Bxc3 62.Bxb1 Kxc5] 

59.Kf2 Rbb1 60.Rf8+ Ke5 61.Bd3 Rb2 62.Ke2 Re1+ 63.Kf2 Rc1 64.Rxb2 cxb2 65.Rb8 Bc3 66.Be4 Bd4+ 67.Ke2 Kf4 68.Rb4 e5 69.Rb7–+ Kg3–+ 0–1