GRENKE CHESS CLASSIC 2018 ROUND 9

In the final round of the Grenke Classic either Caruana or Vitiugov can win the tournament outright. What’s more, they face each other in the final round. Meanwhile, Carlsen who has the black pieces against Anand could potentially be in a rapid / blitz tiebreak playoff for the title against either of the aforementioned players.

In both opening choice and outcome, this was a remarkably similar ending to what happened in the final round of the Berlin Candidates just two weeks ago.

Vitiugov vs Caruana 0-1

Giuoco Piano. This was a logical choice for Caruana in the final round of the Grenke Classic against one of the players that could possibly overtake him for the title. After  Carlsen made his draw versus Anand, the American GM only needed a draw to secure the title. However, just like the final round of the Berlin Candidates, Caruana had a winning position on the board out of an identical opening. Caruana pushed his advantage, collected the win to seal his “just for fun training tournament” title by a full point over Carlsen. This win also takes Caruana to second place on the rating list.

Anand vs Carlsen ½-½

Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer. In a way it is not surprising that Carlsen rolled out the Sicilian against Anand taking into account that he needs to win to have a hope of a playoff for the title. Carlsen has only lost one of his last 28 games that he has played the Sicilian – and that was against MVL in 2011. Even though Anand was surprised by the opening, the career e4 player has played the Richter-Rauzer enough times to be completely comfortable with the position.

Vachier-Lagrave vs Meier ½-½

Torre, London and Colle Systems. For MVL it was a chance to leap up the scoreboard to potentially finish tied second with Carlsen, but that was not to be.

Aronian vs Bluebaum vs ½-½

Queen’s Gambit Declined, Ragozin Defence. Matthias must have felt as if he had walked into a deep history of Armenian theory when Aronian blitzed off his moves. It must have felt daunting to be at move 21 and White had used only six of the opening 80 minutes of play.

Hou vs  Naiditsch ½-½

Giuoco Piano. When Hou played 35.Kg3 I was holding some hope that she would be able to close out the tournament with a win. However, 48.Nf8 instead of 48.Kd3 allowed Naiditch to equalize with Ke7.

Here are the games from the Grenke Classic Round 9:

Vitiugov,Nikita (2735) - Caruana,Fabiano (2784)

5th GRENKE Chess Classic 2018 Baden-Baden (9), 09.04.2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 Nxe4 4.dxe5 d5 5.Nbd2 Qd7 6.Bd3 Nc5 7.Be2 g6 8.Nb3 Ne6 9.Be3 c5 10.Ng5 b6 11.Nxe6 fxe6 12.a4 Bb7 13.0–0 

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13...Nc6 14.f4 Bh6 15.a5 Ne7 16.Bg4 d4 17.Bc1 0–0 18.Qd3 Bd5 19.Qh3 Bg7 20.Nd2 Nf5 21.c4 dxc3 22.bxc3 Rad8 23.axb6 axb6 24.Re1 b5 

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25.Ne4 [25.Bf3= remains equal.] 

25...Qe7 [25...Bxe4³ 26.Rxe4 h5 27.Bxf5 Qd1+ 28.Kf2 Rxf5] 

26.Ng5 h6 27.Nf3 Bc6 28.Bxf5 gxf5 [Reject 28...exf5?! 29.Qg3=] 

29.Be3 Rd3 30.Rac1 

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30...Ra8! 31.Qh4 Qxh4 32.Nxh4 c4 33.Kf2 

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[33.Bc5µ] 

33...Bf8! 34.Nf3 Bd5 [34...Bxf3–+ has better winning chances. 35.Kxf3 Ra3] 

35.Nd4 Bc5 

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36.Nxf5 [¹36.Nc2 Ba3 37.Nxa3 Rxa3 38.Bc5 Rd2+ 39.Re2 Rxe2+ 40.Kxe2 Ra2+ 41.Ke1] 

36...Ba3! 37.Nxh6+ Kg7 38.f5 Bxc1 39.Bxc1 Rxc3 40.f6+ Kxf6 exf6 

40...Kg6–+ 0–1

Anand,Viswanathan (2776) - Carlsen,Magnus (2843)

5th GRENKE Chess Classic 2018 Baden-Baden (9), 09.04.2018

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.0–0–0 Bd7 9.f3 Nxd4 10.Qxd4 Be7 B67: Sicilian: Richter-Rauzer: 7...a6 8 0–0–0 Bd7, lines without 9 f4 Be7 

11.Kb1 [11.h4 Qc7 12.Kb1 b5 13.Qd2 b4 14.Ne2 a5 15.g4 h5 16.gxh5 Nxh5 17.Nd4 Rb8 18.Bh3 g6 19.Rhg1 0–1 (54) Areshchenko,A (2652)-Demchenko,A (2645) Tbilisi 2017] 

11...b5 

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12.Bxf6N [12.g4 0–0 13.Be3 Bc6 14.h4 Nd7 15.h5 h6 16.Qd2 Rc8 17.a3 Ne5 18.Qg2 ½–½ (40) Gleichmann,M (2550)-Laghetti,G (2457) ICCF email 2015] 

12...gxf6 13.Ne2 Rc8 14.Qd2 Qb6 15.Nf4 h5 16.g3 Rc7 17.Bd3 Kd8 18.c3 Kc8 19.Bc2 Kb8 20.a3 a5 21.Bb3 Rb7 22.Nd3 Bc6 23.Rhe1 Rd8 24.f4 d5 25.exd5 exd5 26.Ka1 Bf8 27.Rc1 Ka7 28.Ba2 Rc7 29.Red1 Bb7 30.Ne1 d4 31.Nc2 d3 32.Nd4 Bc5 33.Qxd3 

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33...Bxd4! 34.cxd4 Rxd4 35.Qe2 Rxc1+ 36.Rxc1 b4 37.Bxf7 h4 38.Qe3 Rd7 39.Qxb6+ Kxb6 40.Be6 Rd2= 41.gxh4 ½–½

Aronian,Levon (2794) - Bluebaum,Matthias (2631)

5th GRENKE Chess Classic 2018 Baden-Baden (9), 09.04.2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 c5 7.Bxc4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Qa5 10.Bb5+ Bd7 D39: Queen's Gambit Declined: Ragozin Defence with 5 Bg5 dxc4 

11.Bxf6 gxf6 12.Bxd7+ Nxd7 13.0–0 Qxc3 14.Rc1 Qa5 

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15.Rb1N [15.Qb3 Rd8 16.Nxe6 fxe6 17.Qxe6+ Kf8 18.Qd6+ ½–½ (30) Jobava,B (2687)-Wojtaszek,R (2745) Linares 2017] 

15...Rd8! 16.Rxb7 

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aiming for Nc6. 

16...Ne5 17.f4 Nc6 18.Nxc6 Qc5+ 19.Kh1 Qxc6 20.Qb3 

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Strongly threatening Qb4. [20.Qb1!? 0–0 21.Rxa7²] 

20...Qxe4 The position is equal. 

21.f5 0–0 22.fxe6 fxe6 23.Rxa7 Rf7„ Black puts up resistance 

24.Rxf7 [24.Qg3+ is more complex. 24...Qg6 25.Ra6 Qxg3 26.hxg3 e5 27.Rfxf6 Rxf6 28.Rxf6 e4 29.Kh2] 

24...Kxf7= Endgame KQR-KQR 

25.Qc3 Qd4 26.Qf3 Rd5 27.h3 h5 28.a4 h4 29.Qf4 Qxf4 30.Rxf4 KR-KR 

30...Rd1+ 31.Kh2 e5 32.Rxh4 f5 33.Rb4 Ra1 34.h4 Kg6 35.g4 fxg4 36.Rxg4+ Kf5 37.Rb4 e4 38.Kg2 Kf4 39.h5 Ra2+ 40.Kh3 Ra3+ 41.Kg2 Ra2+  ½–½

Vachier Lagrave,Maxime (2789) - Meier,Georg (2648)

5th GRENKE Chess Classic 2018 Baden-Baden (9), 09.04.2018

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 e6 4.0–0 Be7 5.d4 b5 6.Qd3 A46: 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 e6: Torre, London and Colle Systems [6.Nbd2 Bb7 7.Ne5 Nbd7 8.c4 bxc4 9.Ndxc4 c5 10.Bf4 0–0 11.Rc1 Rc8 12.Qa4 Nxe5 13.dxe5 Bc6 ½–½ (33) Radjabov,T (2738)-Aronian,L (2784) Berlin 2015] 

6...0–0 

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7.Bg5N [7.Qxb5 Ba6 8.Qa5 Bxe2 9.Re1 Nc6 10.Qa4 Bxf3 11.Bxf3 Qd7 12.b3 Nb4 13.Qxd7 Nxd7 1–0 (40) Landa,K (2617)-Barbot,P (2453) Escaldes 2017] 

7...c6 8.Nbd2 a5 9.e4 Ba6 10.Rfe1 h6 11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.c3 b4 13.c4 dxc4 14.Nxc4 Ra7 15.Qc2 Bxc4 16.Qxc4 Rd7 17.Rad1 Qb6 18.Bf1 Rfd8 19.e5 Be7 20.Rc1 Qa7 21.Rc2 c5 22.Rec1 cxd4 23.Qd3 a4 24.b3 axb3 25.axb3 Qa5 26.Rc8 g6 27.h4 Kg7 28.h5 gxh5 29.Be2 Rxc8 30.Rxc8 Rd8 31.Rxd8 Bxd8 32.Qe4 Nd7 33.Bd3 Nf8 34.Nxd4 Qc5 35.Nf3 Bb6 36.Qe2 Nd7 37.Kg2!= Qd5 38.Bc4 Qc5 [38...Qa5³] 

39.Bb5 Nf8 40.Bd3 Nd7 41.Bb5 Nf8 42.Bd3 Ng6 43.Qc2 Qc3 44.Be4 Bc7 [44...Nf8³] 

45.Bxg6! fxg6 46.Qe4 Qc5 47.Qh4 Bxe5= 48.Nxe5 Qxe5 49.Qe7+ Kg8 50.Qe8+ Kg7 51.Qe7+ Kg8 52.Qe8+= ½–½

Hou,Yifan (2654) - Naiditsch,Arkadij (2701)

5th GRENKE Chess Classic 2018 Baden-Baden (9), 09.04.2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.0–0 h6 7.Re1 a5 C54: Giuoco Piano: 4 c3 Nf6, main lines with 5 d4 and 5 d3 [7...0–0 8.h3 a6 9.a4 Re8 10.b4 Ba7 11.Nbd2 Be6 12.Bxe6 Rxe6 13.Qc2 Qd7 14.Nf1 Ne7 15.Ng3 Ng6 16.c4 ½–½ (45) Karjakin,S (2763)-Anand,V (2776) Moscow 2018] 

8.Nbd2 0–0 9.Nf1 Be6 10.Bxe6 fxe6 

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11.Be3N [11.a4 Rf7 12.Ng3 d5 13.exd5 exd5 14.d4 exd4 15.cxd4 ½–½ (28) Rook,D (2477)-Holroyd,K (2529) ICCF email 2015] 

11...Bxe3 12.Nxe3 d5 13.h3 a4 14.Qe2 a3 15.b4 d4 16.cxd4 exd4 17.Nc2 Nh5 [17...b5=] 

18.b5 Nf4 19.Qd1 [19.Qf1² Ne7 20.g3 (20.Nfxd4 e5²) 20...Nxh3+ 21.Qxh3 Rxf3 22.Qxe6+ Kh7 23.e5] 

19...Ne5 [19...Na7= 20.Ncxd4 Qf6] 

20.Nxe5± [#] Nf3 is the strong threat. 

20...Qg5 21.Ng4 h5 22.Nxd4 Black must now prevent Nf3. 

22...hxg4 23.Qxg4 [Not 23.hxg4? Rad8–+] 

23...Qxg4 24.hxg4 Rad8 25.Nb3! Hoping for d4. 

25...Nxd3 26.Re2 b6 27.f3 Rd7 28.Rc2 Rfd8 29.Kf1 g5 30.Ke2 Rh7 

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[30...Kf7=] 

31.Rd2 [31.Nd2!±] 

31...Nf4+!= 32.Kf2 Rxd2+ 33.Nxd2 Endgame White wants to play Nc4. KRN-KRN 

33...Rh2 [33...Rd7!= remains equal. 34.Nf1 e5] 

34.Rg1± Nh3+ [34...Rh7± might work better.] 

35.Kg3+- Nxg1 36.Kxh2 KN-KN 

36...Ne2 37.Nc4 Nc3 38.Nxa3 Nxa2 39.g3 [39.Kg1+-] 

39...Nb4 [39...e5± was called for. 40.Nc4 Nc3 41.Nxe5 Nxb5] 

40.Kg2 [40.Kg1+-] 40...c6± 41.f4 [Better is 41.Kf2± ] 

41...cxb5= 42.Nxb5 Strongly threatening e5. 

42...e5 43.Kf3 Nd3 44.Ke3 Nc5 

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45.f5 [Much weaker is 45.fxg5 Kf7=; White should play 45.fxe5± Threatens to win with Kd4. 45...Kf7 46.Kd4] 

45...Kf7 46.Nc7 Nb7 [46...Kg7=] 

47.Ne6 Kf6 48.Nf8 [White should try 48.Kd3± ] 

48...Ke7! The position is equal. 

49.Nh7 b5! 50.Nxg5 b4 51.Nf3 b3 52.Nd2 Nc5 53.g5 b2 54.Nb1 Kf7 55.g6+ Kg7 56.g4 Kf6 57.Kf3 Kg7 58.g5 Nd3 59.Ke2 Nc5 60.Ke3 Na4 61.Ke2 Nc5 62.Kf3 Nd3 63.Kg4 Nf4 64.Kf3  ½–½