GRENKE CHESS CLASSIC 2018 ROUND 6

A year ago at the Grenke Classic Hou created an upset by beating Caruana. That time though she had the White pieces, unlike today.

Early on in the round Bluebaum had already created an upset by beating Anand.

However it was Hou’s game that had me at the edge of my seat. It was by far the last game to finish. Caruana was pinned on the ropes for most of the game just getting pummelled. Unfortunately Hou couldn’t find the knock-out blow under huge time pressure on the at least two occasions when the opportunity opened up.

Carlsen vs Aronian ½-½

English Opening, Flohr-Mikenas System. Every time Carlsen and Aronian meet you can be sure of a very interesting fight. Aronian said after the game that Carlsen gets into much more dubious positions in their games, simply to provoke Aronian into a fight. The only problem is that Aronian blunders into traps too often which is why Carlsen wins so often. Indeed, even today Aronian almost played a5 on move 30 and pulled back his hand at the last moment.

Caruana vs Hou ½-½

Petroff Defence. It will be really worth your while to play through this endgame, less for the actual moves played, but rather the variations that were not played. Afterwards in the press conference it was confirmed that neither had seen the brilliant idea that builds out of Ne1.

Vitiugov vs Vachier-Lagrave ½-½

Fianchetto Grünfeld. This was the game between two of the three co-leaders of the tournament.Vitiugov managed to hold the pawn sacrificed by Black in the opening. However, MVL had the Bishop pair that was easily enough compensation.

Bluebaum vs Anand 1-0

Queens Gambit Accepted. During the press conference Bluebaum stated that he guessed Anand had just blundered something – but he wasn’t exactly sure what.

Meier vs Naiditsch 0-1

Closed Catalan, Main Line. Unlike Bluebaum above, Meier was under no illusion where he blundered badly. This coming just 24 hours after he missed the brilliancy against Carlsen.

Here are the games from the Grenke Classic Round 6:

Bluebaum,Matthias (2616) - Anand,Viswanathan (2776)

5th GRENKE Chess Classic 2018 Baden-Baden (6), 06.04.2018

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 dxc4 4.e3 b5 5.a4 b4 6.Bxc4 D21: Queen's Gambit Accepted: 3 Nf3 sidelines 

6...Nf6 7.a5 [7.0–0 Be7 8.Qe2 0–0 9.b3 Bb7 10.Bb2 Nbd7 11.Nbd2 c5 12.Rac1 Rc8 ½–½ (27) Bu,X (2730)-Inarkiev,E (2689) Riadh 2017] 

7...a6 8.Nbd2 Bb7 9.0–0 c5 10.Nb3 Nbd7 

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11.dxc5N [11.Qe2 Bd6 12.Rd1 0–1 (38) Alfaro,W (2181)-Quesada Perez,Y (2541) Managua 2017] 

11...Nxc5 12.Nxc5 Bxc5 13.Qa4+ Qd7 14.Qxd7+ Nxd7 15.Bd2 Ke7 16.Rac1 Rhc8 17.Nd4 Ne5 18.Be2 Threatens to win with Rxc5! 

18...Bd6 19.Rfd1 Bd5 [19...Nc6=] 

20.Rxc8± Rxc8 21.Bxa6 Ra8 22.Bf1 Rxa5 23.Nb5! Bc5 24.Rc1 Ra2 25.Rxc5 Rxb2 26.e4 Rxd2 27.exd5 exd5 28.Rc1 b3 29.Rb1 b2 

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[29...Nc4±] 

30.Nc3!+- Nc4 Strongly threatening ...Na3. 

31.Nxd5+! Rxd5 [31...Kd6± 32.Bxc4 Rc2 33.Rxb2 Rxb2] 

32.Bxc4 Endgame KRB-KR 

32...Rc5 33.Re1+ Kf6 [33...Kd6± might work better. 34.Ba2 (34.Rd1+ Ke5µ) 34...Ra5 35.Rd1+ Kc5 36.Rd5+ Kb6 37.Rxa5 Kxa5] 

34.Bd3 Rd5 35.Bb1 [Don't go for 35.Bxh7? g6–+] 

35...h5 36.g3 g5 [36...Rc5 was necessary. 37.Kf1 h4] 

37.Kg2 g4 38.Re2 Rb5 39.Re8 Rd5 40.Re2 Rb5 41.h4 Kg7 42.Re7 Rd5 [¹42...Kf8 43.Rc7 Ke8] 

43.Rb7 White is clearly winning. 

43...Rd2 44.Ba2 Kh6 45.Bxf7  1–0

Meier,Georg (2636) - Naiditsch,Arkadij (2701)

5th GRENKE Chess Classic 2018 Baden-Baden (6), 06.04.2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 0–0 7.0–0 c6 8.Qc2 b6 9.Rd1 Bb7 10.b3 Nbd7 11.Nc3 Rc8 12.Bf4 c5 13.Nb5 E08: Closed Catalan: Main Line: 7 Qc2 [13.dxc5 Nxc5 14.Ne5 Qe8 15.cxd5 exd5 16.Nxd5 Nxd5 17.Bxd5 Bf6 18.Qf5 Bxd5 19.Rxd5 Qe6 20.e4 g6 21.Qxe6 fxe6 0–1 (42) Oliva Castaneda,K (2497)-Salgado Lopez,I (2627) Linares 2017] 

13...cxd4 14.Nd6 Bxd6 15.Bxd6 Re8 16.Nxd4 Nc5 17.Bxc5 Rxc5 

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18.Qb2N [18.Qd2 Qa8 19.cxd5 Bxd5 20.f3 Bb7 0–1 (30) Krishna,C (2326)-Barua,D (2429) Kolkata 2012] 

18...e5 19.Nb5 Qb8 20.e3 

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[20.Rac1=] 

20...h5 [Not 20...dxc4 21.Bxb7 c3 22.Qc2±; Black should try 20...a6!µ 21.Na3 dxc4 22.Nxc4 Bxg2 23.Kxg2 Qc7] 

21.Qe2 a6 22.Na3 d4 23.Nc2 Bxg2 24.Kxg2 Ne4 25.Qf1 h4 [25...Rc6!³] 

26.f3 Nc3 27.Rd2 hxg3 28.hxg3 Re6 29.Qf2 

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[29.b4= Rc8 30.exd4] 

29...Rf6 [Better is 29...e4!µ 30.Rxd4 exf3+ 31.Qxf3 Rg5] 

30.exd4 Ne4! 31.Qe3 Nxd2 32.dxc5 Nxf3 33.cxb6–+ [33.Nb4= Nd4 34.cxb6 Rxb6 35.Nd5] 

33...Qb7 0–1

Carlsen,Magnus (2843) - Aronian,Levon (2767)

5th GRENKE Chess Classic 2018 Baden-Baden (6), 06.04.2018

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4 d5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.e5 Ne4 6.Nf3 Bf5 A18: English Opening: Flohr-Mikenas System (1 c4 Nf6 2 Nc3 e6 3 e4) 

7.d3 Nxc3 8.bxc3 c5 9.d4 

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9...c4N [9...Nc6 10.Bd3 Bxd3 11.Qxd3 Be7 12.dxc5 Bxc5 13.0–0 Qd7 14.Re1 ½–½ (96) Grischuk,A (2767)-Nakamura,H (2787) Moscow 2018] 

10.g3 Be7 11.Bg2 Bd3 12.Ng1 Qa5 13.Bd2 Nc6 14.Ne2 Ba3! 15.0–0 0–0 16.Re1 Rad8 17.Bg5 Bb2 18.Bxd8 Rxd8 19.Rc1! Bxe2 20.Qxe2 Bxc1 21.Rxc1 Qa3! 22.Qe3 b5 23.e6 f6 24.h4 Ne7 25.Rb1 a6 26.Qd2 Qd6 [Black should try 26...h6³ ] 

27.a4 bxa4 28.Qa2 a3 29.Rb4 h5 30.Qxa3 Nc6 31.Ra4 

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31...Qxa3! 32.Rxa3 a5 33.e7 Nxe7 34.Rxa5 Rb8 [34...g5=] 

35.Bxd5+ Nxd5 36.Rxd5 Rb3 37.Rxh5 Rxc3 38.Rc5 Rc1+ 39.Kg2 c3 40.Kf3 c2 41.Kf4 Rd1 42.Rxc2 Rxd4+ 43.Kf5 Kh7 44.f4 Ra4 45.Rc5 Kh6 46.Rd5 Ra6 47.g4 g6+ 48.Ke4 Ra4+ 49.Rd4 Ra5 50.Rd5 Ra4+= 51.Ke3 Ra3+ 52.Rd3 Ra6 ½–½

Vitiugov,Nikita (2735) - Vachier Lagrave,Maxime (2789)

5th GRENKE Chess Classic 2018 Baden-Baden (6), 06.04.2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 c6 4.Bg2 d5 5.Qa4 D71: Fianchetto Grünfeld: 3 g3 d5 sidelines and 5 cxd5 (without Nf3) [5.Nf3 Bg7 6.Qb3 0–0 7.0–0 Qb6 8.Nc3 Rd8 9.h3 Bf5 10.Bf4 Na6 11.Qxb6 axb6 12.cxd5 Nxd5 13.Nxd5 Rxd5 14.Be5 Bxe5 15.dxe5 Be4 16.Rfd1 Bxf3 17.Bxf3 Rxe5 0–1 (68) Li,C (2732)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2789) Riadh 2017] 

5...Bg7 6.cxd5 

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6...0–0N [6...Nxd5 7.Nf3 Nb6 8.Qc2 Bg4 9.e3 0–0 10.Nbd2 Na6 11.0–0 c5 12.Qe4 Be6 13.Qxb7 0–1 (38) Bruzon Batista,L (2673)-Zherebukh,Y (2633) Saint Louis 2018] 

7.dxc6 Nxc6 8.Nf3 Nd5 9.e3 Nb6 10.Qd1 e5 11.0–0 Bg4 12.dxe5 Qxd1 13.Rxd1 Nxe5 14.Nbd2 Rfd8 [14...Nbc4!?] 

15.Rf1 Nd3 16.Nb3 Nxc1 17.Raxc1 Bxb2 18.Rc2 Bf6 19.Nfd4 Rac8 20.Rfc1 Rxc2 21.Rxc2 Nd5 22.Rc5 Nb4 23.Bxb7 Nxa2 24.Ra5 Nc3 25.Rxa7 Ne2+ 26.Nxe2 Bxe2 27.Kg2 Bc4 28.Na5 Be6 29.Bf3 Rd2 30.Nc6 Ra2 31.Rc7 Bg5 32.Nb4 Rd2 33.Rc3 Bf6 34.Rc2 Rxc2 35.Nxc2 Kf8 36.Nb4 Bc3 37.Nc6 h6 38.Nd4 Ke7 39.Bb7 Kf6 40.f4 g5 41.Kf3 gxf4 42.gxf4 Bb2 43.Ne2 Ke7 44.Ng3 f5 45.Ne2 Kf6 46.Nd4 Bc4 47.Bc8 Bd3 48.Kf2 Bc3 49.Bb7 Bb2 50.Bg2 Ba6 51.Bf1 Bc8 52.Bh3 Bc3 53.Nb5 Bd2 54.Nd4 Bc3 55.Ne2 Bd2 56.Ng3 Bc1 57.Ne4+ fxe4 58.Bxc8 h5 59.h4 Ba3 60.Bd7 Be7 61.Be8 Kf5 62.Kg3 Bc5 

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63.Kf2 [White should try 63.Bxh5² Bxe3 64.Bg4+ Kf6 65.Bc8] 

63...Be7 64.Bxh5 Bxh4+ 65.Ke2 Bg3= 66.Bf3 Bxf4 67.Bxe4+ Kxe4 68.exf4 Kxf4 ½–½

Caruana,Fabiano (2804) - Hou,Yifan (2657)

5th GRENKE Chess Classic 2018 Baden-Baden (6), 06.04.2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Be3 0–0 8.Qd2 C42: Petroff Defence: 3 Nxe5 and unusual White 3rd moves [8.Bd3 Nd7 9.Qe2 Nc5 10.Bc4 d5 11.Bd3 Nxd3+ 12.Qxd3 c5 13.h4 h6 14.0–0–0 Be6 15.Rdg1 Qa5 1–0 (53) Ponomariov,R (2694)-Ni,H (2671) Riadh 2017] 

8...Nd7 9.0–0–0 Nf6 10.h3 c5 

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11.Bf4N [11.Bd3 Re8 12.g4 Be6 13.c4 b5 14.g5 bxc4 15.gxf6 Bxf6 16.Bf1 c3 17.bxc3 Qa5 18.Qd3 Bxc3 0–1 (18) Sadler,K (1810)-Hofer,R (2375) ICCF email 2016] 

11...Be6 12.a3 d5 13.Ng5 Bd7 14.g4 Bc6 15.Bg2 Re8 16.Qd3 [16.c4³ dxc4 17.Qxd8 Raxd8 18.Rxd8 Bxd8 19.Bxc6 bxc6 20.Nf3] 

16...Bd6 [16...c4µ 17.Qf1 Bc5] 

17.Qg3! Bxf4+ 18.Qxf4 h6 19.Nf3 Qb8 20.Qxb8 Raxb8 21.Nd2 Re2 22.Rhf1 b6 23.Rde1 Rbe8 24.Rxe2 Rxe2 25.Kd1 Re6 26.f4 Kf8 27.Re1 Ke7 28.Rxe6+ Kxe6 29.Ke2 g5 30.fxg5 hxg5 31.Nf3 Ne4 32.Ke3 f6 33.Bf1 Nd6 34.Nd2 [34.h4=] 

34...f5 35.gxf5+ Nxf5+ 36.Kf2 Ke5 37.Nf3+ Kf4 38.Ne1 

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38...c4 [38...Ne3!µ 39.Be2 c4] 

39.Ng2+! Ke5 40.Be2! Ba4 41.Bd1 Be8 42.Bg4 Bg6 43.Be2 Nd6 44.Ne3 Ne4+ 45.Kf3 Nf6 46.Kf2 Bf7 47.Ng2 

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47...Be6! 48.h4 Ne4+ 49.Kf3 [49.Kg1µ] 

49...Bh3! 50.hxg5 Nxg5+ 51.Kg3 

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51...Bxg2! 52.Kxg2 Ne6! 53.Kf2 Nc5! 54.Bh5 Na4 55.Be8 Nxb2 56.Ke2 

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56...a6! 57.Kd2 b5 58.Bh5 Na4 59.Bf7 Nc5 60.Kc1 Ne6 61.Kb2 Nf4 62.Be8 Ke4 63.Bc6 Ke3 64.Bb7? [64.Kc1µ] 

64...a5 65.Kc1 

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65...Ne2+? [65...Ke2!–+ 66.Ba8 Ke1] 

66.Kb2 Kd2 67.Bxd5 Nxc3 68.Bc6 Nd1+ 69.Kb1 Ne3 70.Be4 c3 71.Bh7!= Nc4 72.Ka2 Ne5 73.Be4 Ke3 74.Bh7 Nc6 75.Bg6 Kd2 76.Be4 Nd4 77.Kb1 Kd1 78.Bd5 Nf5 [Much worse is 78...Nxc2?! 79.Bb3=] 

79.Be4 Ne3 80.Bg6 Kd2 [80...Nc4µ 81.Ka2 Nd2] 

81.Bd3 Nc4! 82.Ka2! Nb6 83.Kb1 

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83...Nc4 [83...b4!µ 84.Ka2 Nd7] 

84.Ka2 a4 85.Bg6 Kc1 86.Bd3 Nd6 87.Ka1 Nb7 88.Ka2 

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88...Nc5! 89.Bf5 Na6 90.Bg6 Kd2 91.Bh7 Nb8 [Better is 91...Nc5µ 92.Kb1 Nb7] 

92.Bd3 Nc6 93.Bxb5 Nd4 94.Bxa4 Nxc2 95.Kb3! Nd4+ 96.Kc4 

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96...Nc2= [Of course not 96...c2 97.Bxc2 Kxc2 98.Kxd4=; 96...Nf5!µ] 

97.Kb3 Ne3 98.Kb4 c2= ½–½