FIDE BECOMES A GLOBAL FINANCIAL PARIAH AS UBS CLOSES BANK ACCOUNT

As of 30 April 2018 the UBS Bank in Switzerland has closed the FIDE bank account. The immediate impact for global chess is huge. As from 1 May all payment orders will be declined, incoming payments will be returned to the sender and all debit and credit cards will be blocked.

In addition, the asset balance in the FIDE bank account will be placed in escrow and held, frozen, until FIDE supplies details of a new banking partner.

Thus far 18 different international banks have refused to even grant FIDE a meeting to discuss the possibility of opening an account. Some say that the refusal by other banks is a consequence of Kirsan Ilymzhinov being on the US Treasury sanctions list.

A further possibility is that when other banks hear that it was the UBS that closed the FIDE accounts they already know better than to be seen anywhere near FIDE.  A simple Google search shows a string of cases against the UBS for facilitating cross border tax evasion, money laundering for a Turkish drug cartel and even holding accounts for South Africa’s apartheid government. So, if FIDE has become too hot for the UBS to handle, then it is unlikely that any respectable bank on the planet will go near the organization under current leadership.

For the sake of those unfamiliar with this aspect of FIDE political history, here is a brief summary of what caused all the problems. Back in 2015 the US treasury placed four individuals and six entities for assisting the Assad regime and facilitation transactions of the Central Bank of Syria. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov is one of those. In terms of the sanctions US persons and corporations are prohibited from engaging in transactions with them. A division of the UBS of Switzerland is registered as a bank in the USA and subject to US Treasury regulations.

Since Ilyumzhinov has stated that he has no accounts or property outside of Russia, there is a risk that the FIDE account could potentially become an Ilyumzhinov proxy.

In the immediate future FIDE’s frozen assets can impact on the organizing budgets of the Women’s World Championship Match in May 2018, the Chess Olympiad in October and the Carlsen / Caruana match in November.

So FIDE lies in limbo while Kirsan Ilyumzhinov is president. What’s more, Ilyumzhinov has announced his candidacy for re-election in October this year to extend his 25 year grip on chess power.

As you can imagine Ilyumzhinov, a close Putin ally for many years, has a very different opinion of who is responsible for all the FIDE problems. According the Kirsan (the self-confessed UFO abductee) the sanctions against him are nothing more than a conspiracy between Kasparov and the Americans to discredit the relationship between him and his friend Putin.

It now remains to be seen how long the future of organized chess on an international level can survive without access to any of its funds and assets.

We close out with a game from the German Bundesliga where the normally solid French Defense is demolished in just 18 moves.

Rapport,Richard (2713) - Bluebaum,Matthias (2616)

BL 2017–18 Germany (15), 01.05.2018

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Bd3 Nge7 C01: French: Exchange Variation 

7.0–0 Bg4 [7...0–0 8.Ne2 Bf5 9.c3 Bd6 10.Bf4 Re8 11.Bg3 Qd7 12.Bb5 a6 13.Ba4 Bg4 14.Qd3 1–0 (57) Rapport,R (2707) -Akobian,V (2647) Riadh 2017] 

8.h3 Bh5 9.a3 Bd6 [9...Bxc3= 10.bxc3 f6] 

10.Re1² 

XABCDEFGHY
8r+-wqk+-tr(
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10...Bxf3N [10...0–0²; or: 10...Nxd4 11.g4 Nxf3+ 12.Qxf3 Bg6 13.Bxg6 hxg6 14.Nxd5 0–0 15.Nxe7+ Bxe7 16.Qxb7 1–0 (46) Hovhannisyan,R (2591)-Vaganian,R (2577) Yerevan 2014] 

11.Qxf3± Nxd4 12.Qxd5! c6 

XABCDEFGHY
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13.Qh5 [Worse is 13.Qxd4 Bh2+ 14.Kxh2 Qxd4µ] 

13...Qd7 14.Ne4 

XABCDEFGHY
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14...Ne6 [¹14...0–0–0 15.Nxd6+ (15.Qxf7 Bc7±) 15...Qxd6 16.Qxf7 Nd5] 

15.Bh6!+- Qc7 [15...gxh6 16.Nf6+] 

16.Bc4 Bh2+ 17.Kh1 

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17...Qe5? [17...0–0 18.g3 Bxg3 19.fxg3 Nd5] 

18.Ng5  1–0

EUROPEAN WOMEN INDIVIDUAL CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP 2018 – ROUND 4

Four rounds have already been played at the European Women Individual Chess Championship 2018, which takes place from 7th-20th April in Vysoke Tatry, Slovakia, with participation of 144 players coming from 30 European federations.

The event was officially declared opened during the ceremony which took place before the first round of the event. The Opening ceremony was attended by Mayor of Vysoke Tatry, Ing. Eugen Knotek, President of the Slovak Chess Federation Ing. Frantisek Jablonicky, ECU Treasurer, Martin Huba, Chief Arbiter Dr. Ivan Syrovy and the Tournament Director Eva Repkova. The distinguished guests addressed the players and after short dance performance the battles for the top of the European Women Individual Chess Championship had started.

After four played rounds, many of the top seeds suffered upsets and there is only one player who has emerged as leader with a maximum result of 4 points: GM Nana Dzagnidze of Georgia (2507). She is followed by group of 6 players with 3.5 points among whom are top seeded: Mariya Muzychuk of Ukraine (2540) and Valentina Gunina of Russia (2507). Marie Sebag of France (2492) and Elisabeth Paehtz of Germany (2468) are part of a group of 16 players that are a further half point back.

Top pairings of the 5th round:

The European Individual Women’s Chess Championship is a qualification event for the next World Women’s Chess Championship. According to the current FIDE regulations and the decision of the ECU Board, 14 players will qualify. The total prize fund of the event is 70.000 EUR.

The Championship is played in 11 rounds, Swiss system, in accordance with the ECU Tournament Rules and FIDE Rules of Chess with time control 90 minutes for 40 moves plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move, starting from the move one.

Stefanova,Antoaneta (2479) - Eric,Jovana (2300)

EIWCC 2018 Vysoke Tatry (3), 10.04.2018

1.d4 f5 2.Bg5 g6 3.h4 h6 [3...Bg7 4.h5 h6 5.Bd2 g5 6.e3 d6 7.c4 e5 8.Bc3 Nc6 9.Nf3 e4 10.Nfd2 Nf6 11.d5 Ne5 12.Bxe5 dxe5 0–1 (45) Korobov,A (2693)-Bartel,M (2664) Wroclaw 2014] 

4.Bf4 Nf6 5.Qd3 d6 6.Nc3 

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A80: Dutch Defence: Unusual White second moves 

6...Nc6N [6...Bg7 7.f3 Nh5 8.Bh2 e5 9.0–0–0 exd4 10.Nb5 Nc6 11.g4 0–1 (34) Cornette,M (2399)-Sorbe,S (2260) France 2003] 

7.0–0–0 a6 8.f3 [8.e4²] 

8...Bd7 9.g4 [White should play 9.e4² ] 

9...e6 [9...e5= 10.dxe5 dxe5] 

10.gxf5² gxf5 11.e4 fxe4 [11...Qe7= remains equal.] 

12.fxe4± Nh5 13.Bh2 Qf6 

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14.e5! dxe5 15.dxe5 Qf7 16.Bg2 aiming for Nge2. 

16...Nb4? [16...Bb4±] 

17.Qe3+- Bc6 18.Bxc6+ Nxc6 19.Nge2 Threatens to win with Ne4. 

19...Rd8 

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[¹19...Be7 20.Rhf1 Qg6] 

20.Rdf1! Qe7 21.Qe4 Rg8 22.Qf3 Ng7 [¹22...Kd7 23.Rd1+ Kc8 24.Rxd8+ Nxd8 25.Qxh5 Qf7 26.Qxf7 Nxf7] 

23.Ne4 Nf5 24.Nf6+ Kf7 25.Qh5+ Rg6 26.Rhg1  1–0

Shuvalova,Polina (2389) - Dzagnidze,Nana (2507)

EIWCC 2018 Vysoke Tatry (3), 10.04.2018

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 a6 4.e3 Nf6 5.b3 [5.Nc3 dxc4 6.Bxc4 c5 7.0–0 b5 8.Be2 Bb7 9.dxc5 Qxd1 10.Rxd1 Nc6 11.b3 Bxc5 12.Bb2 0–0 13.Nd2 Be7 14.Bf3 Rfd8 15.Nde4 Nxe4 16.Nxe4 f5 17.Ng3 Na5 18.Ne2 Bxf3 19.gxf3 Kf7 20.f4 Rxd1+ 21.Rxd1 1–0 (46) Andreikin,D (2712)-Yu,Y (2751) Huaian 2017] 

5...b6 6.Bd3 D30: Queen's Gambit Declined: Systems without Nc3 

6...Bb7 7.cxd5 exd5 8.0–0 

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The position is equal. 

8...Nbd7N [8...Bd6 9.Bb2 0–0 10.Ne5 Re8 11.Nd2 Nbd7 12.f4 Nf8 13.a3 0–1 (41) Hoi,C (2445)-Arnason,J (2525) Ostersund 1992] 

9.Bb2 Bd6 10.Nbd2 Qe7 11.a3 0–0 12.b4 Ne4 13.Nb3 f5 14.Rc1 f4 15.Qc2 fxe3 16.fxe3 Ng5 17.Nxg5! Qxe3+ 18.Kh1 Qxg5 19.Bxh7+ Kh8 20.Bf5! Qh6‚ Black has some attack. 

21.g4 

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[21.g3³ Nf6 22.Qd2] 

21...Nf6!µ 22.g5 [22.Qd2µ Qh4 23.Qg2] 

22...Qxg5–+ 23.Rf3 

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Black must now prevent Rg1.
23...Bc8! 24.Bxc8 Raxc8 25.Rg1 Qh5 [But not 25...Qh6 26.Bc1µ]
26.Rf5? [26.Qg2 Ng4 27.Nd2]
26...Qh7 Threatens to win with ...Ne4.
27.Rgf1 Ne4 28.Rxf8+ Rxf8 29.Rxf8+ Bxf8 30.Kg1 [¹30.Qg2]
30...Bd6 31.Qe2 Qh3 32.Bc1? [32.Nd2]
32...Kg8 33.Nd2 Qc3 0–1

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

GRENKE CHESS CLASSIC 2018 ROUND 8

In order to stand a chance at winning the tournament, round 8 with White is a must win for Carlsen. In the final round he will be up against Anand with Black for the ninth time out of their last 10 meetings. And when Caruana and Aronian chose a threefold repetition barely out of their home preparation it opened the door for Carlsen to catch the lead.

Caruana vs Aronian ½-½

Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence. Taking the early draw seems to be the current modus operandi for Caruana when he has the tournament lead. We saw that happen twice during the Candidates in Berlin.

Naiditsch vs Anand ½-½

Giuoco Piano. This was a game that hardly generated a pulse all the way through.

Meier vs Hou ½-½

Open Catalan. A draw is all Hou needed to stay ahead of Meier at the bottom of the tournament table.

Bluebaum vs Vachier-Lagrave ½-½

Symmetrical English. MVL was pushing for a win with Black. After Bluebaum played 41.Rc2 that might have seemed a possibility. However, when MVL took the Knight on e3 the resulting position was a dead draw.

Carlsen vs Vitiugov ½-½

Ruy Lopez. The two players tied for second place duked it out for the chance to be level with Caruana heading into the final round.

Here are the games from the Grenke Classic Round 8:

Caruana,Fabiano (2784) - Aronian,Levon (2794)

5th GRENKE Chess Classic 2018 Baden-Baden (8), 08.04.2018

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.d4 Bf6 10.Re1 Nf5 C67: Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defence: 4 0–0 Nxe4 [10...Re8 11.Bf4 Rxe1 12.Qxe1 Ne8 13.c3 d5 14.Bd3 g6 15.Qe2 c6 16.Nd2 Ng7 17.Re1 Bf5 18.Bxf5 Nxf5 ½–½ (34) So,W (2799)-Grischuk,A (2767) Berlin 2018] 

11.d5 Re8 12.Bd3 Rxe1+ The position is equal. 

13.Qxe1 Qe7 14.Qxe7 Nxe7 

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15.d6N [15.c4 d6 16.Nc3 Bxc3 17.bxc3 Bf5 18.Be2 ½–½ (29) Teufel,J (2215)-Berezovsky,I (2375) Wuerttemberg 1999] 

15...cxd6 16.Na3 d5 17.Nb5 aiming for Nc7. 

17...d6 18.Nxd6 Nc6 19.Bf4 Be6 20.Nxb7 Nb4 21.Nc5 Bxb2 22.Rb1 Nxd3 23.cxd3 Bd4 24.Be3 Bxc5 25.Bxc5= Endgame KRB-KRB 

25...d4 26.Bxa7 Bxa2 27.Rb8+ [27.Rb2 looks sharper. 27...Be6 28.Kf1 f6 29.Rb8+ Rxb8 30.Bxb8 Kf7 31.Ba7] 

27...Rxb8 28.Bxb8 Bb1 29.Ba7 Ba2 30.Bb8 Bb1 31.Ba7 Ba2 32.Bb8  ½–½

Carlsen,Magnus (2843) - Vitiugov,Nikita (2735)

5th GRENKE Chess Classic 2018 Baden-Baden (8), 08.04.2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5  7.c3 0–0 C77: Ruy Lopez: 3...a6 4 Ba4 Nf6, unusual lines 

8.0–0 Re8 9.Re1 h6 10.Nbd2 Bb6 11.Nf1 d6 12.Ng3 Be6 13.h3 Bxb3 14.axb3 

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14...d5N [14...a5 15.Nh2 ½–½ (77) Dominguez Perez,L (2719)-Karjakin,S (2723) Moscow 2009] 

15.Qe2 Bc5 16.b4 Bf8 17.Nd2 a5 18.bxa5 Rxa5 19.Rxa5 Nxa5 20.exd5 Qxd5 21.Nde4 Nxe4 22.dxe4 Qc4 23.Qf3 Qe6 24.Nf5 Nc4 25.h4 Kh7 26.h5 g6 27.Ne3 Nxe3 28.hxg6+ fxg6 29.Bxe3 Bd6 30.Qe2 Qc4 

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31.Qxc4! bxc4 32.Ra1! Rb8 33.Bc1 Rb6 34.Ra4 Rc6 35.Be3 h5 36.Kf1 Kg7 37.Ke2 Kf6 38.Kd1 Ke6 39.Kc2 Be7 40.f3 Bh4 41.Ra5 Bg3 42.Bc5 g5 43.Bb4 g4 44.fxg4 hxg4 45.Ra8 Kf7 46.Rc8 Bf4 47.Kd1 Kg7 48.Ke2 Kf7 49.Rf8+ Kg7 50.Rd8 Kf7 51.Kf2 Kg7 52.Rd7+ Kf6 53.g3 Bc1 54.Rd1 Bg5 55.Ke2 Ke6 56.Rh1 Ra6 57.Ba3 Rb6 58.Rh7 Rb7 59.Kd1 Rb8 60.Kc2 Rd8 61.Rg7 Rd2+ 62.Kc1 Bf6 63.Kxd2= Bxg7 64.Bc5 Kd7 65.Be3 ½–½

Bluebaum,Matthias (2631) - Vachier Lagrave,Maxime (2789)

5th GRENKE Chess Classic 2018 Baden-Baden (8), 08.04.2018

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 A34: Symmetrical English: 2 Nc3, lines with ...d5 

6...Qc7 [6...Qxd1+ 7.Kxd1 Nc6 8.e4 b6 9.Kc2 Bb7 10.Bf4 h6 11.Rd1 g5 12.Bg3 Bg7 13.h3 ½–½ (45) Harikrishna,P (2744)-Nepomniachtchi,I (2729) Riadh 2017] 

7.e4 Nc6 8.Qd2 e6 9.Qg5 

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9...f6N [9...h6 10.Qg3 Qxg3 11.hxg3 Bd6 12.Be3 b6 13.g4 ½–½ (42) Bluebaum,M (2640)-Tari,A (2599) Wijk aan Zee 2018] 

10.Qh5+ Qf7 11.Qxf7+ Kxf7 12.Be3 e5 13.Bc4+ Be6 14.Bxe6+ Kxe6 15.0–0–0 Be7 16.Rd5 Rhd8 17.Rhd1 b6 18.g4 Na5 19.b3 Rxd5 20.exd5+ Kf7 21.c4 [Much worse is 21.d6 Bf8³] 

21...Nb7 22.Nd2 Rh8 23.Rg1 Nd6 24.Kc2 Re8 25.Kd3 h5 Hoping for ...hxg4. 

26.g5 f5 White must now prevent ...f4. 

27.f4 e4+ 28.Ke2 g6 29.Rc1 Rc8 30.a4 Nb7 31.Nf1 Bf8 32.Bd2 Bg7 33.Ne3 a6 34.Bc3 Bd4 35.Kd2 Re8 36.Rc2 Nd6 37.Ra2 Nb7ƒ Black has good play. 

38.Rc2 Ke7 39.Ra2 Na5 40.Bxa5 [White should play 40.Rb2= ] 

40...bxa5³ 41.Rc2 [41.Ng2³] 

41...Rb8–+ 42.Rc3 h4 [42...Bxc3+–+ 43.Kxc3 Rh8] 

43.h3µ Kd6 44.Kc2 Bxe3 [44...Bxc3? 45.Kxc3 Rb7 46.Kc2–+; 44...Re8µ And now ...Rb8 would win. 45.Kd2 Bxc3+ 46.Kxc3 Re7] 

45.Rxe3  ½–½

Naiditsch,Arkadij (2701) - Anand,Viswanathan (2776)

5th GRENKE Chess Classic 2018 Baden-Baden (8), 08.04.2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 d5 7.Bb5 Ne4 8.cxd4 Bb6 9.Nc3 0–0 10.Be3 C54: Giuoco Piano: 4 c3 Nf6, main lines with 5 d4 and 5 d3 

10...Bg4 [10...Ne7 11.0–0 c6 12.Bd3 f5 13.exf6 Nxf6 14.Qc2 Bc7 15.Ne5 Ng4 16.Bxh7+ Kh8 17.Bg5 Nxe5 18.dxe5 Bxe5 0–1 (25) Amonatov,F (2636)-Svidler,P (2765) Riadh 2017] 

11.h3 Bh5 12.Qc2 Bxf3 13.gxf3 Ng5 14.0–0–0 

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14...Nxf3N [14...Ne6 15.Ne2 Ne7 16.Kb1 f5 17.exf6 Rxf6 1–0 (35) Kravtsiv,M (2621)-Bruzon Batista,L (2659) Berlin 2015] 

15.Bxc6 bxc6 16.Qf5 Nh4 17.Qg4 

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Bg5 is the strong threat. 

17...Ng6 18.f4 Qh4 [18...Qc8!³] 

19.Rd3 Qxg4 20.hxg4 f5 21.g5 Kf7 22.Rxh7 [22.Ne2 Rh8 23.Rh5 a5 24.Rd2 Nf8 25.Rc2] 

22...Rh8 The position is equal. 

23.Rxh8 Rxh8 24.a3 Nf8 25.Ne2 Ke7 26.Rc3 Kd7 27.Kd2 Ne6 28.Rc1 g6 29.b4 a5 30.Kd3 axb4 31.axb4 Ba7 32.Ra1 Bb6 33.Ra6 Rb8 34.Ra2 Rh8 35.Ra1 Ke7 36.Ra2 Kd7 37.Ra1 Ke7 38.Ra2  ½–½

Meier,Georg (2648) - Hou,Yifan (2654)

5th GRENKE Chess Classic 2018 Baden-Baden (8), 08.04.2018

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 0–0 6.0–0 dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bg5 Bd5 11.Qc2 Be4 12.Qd1 E05: Open Catalan: 5 Nf3 Be7 

12...c5 13.dxc5 Bxc5 14.Qxd8 [14.Nbd2 Bc6 15.Ne5 Bxg2 16.Kxg2 Nbd7 17.Rc1 Nxe5 18.Rxc5 Ned7 19.Bxf6 Nxf6 ½–½ (59) Meier,G (2654)-Hou,Y (2676) Dortmund 2015] 

14...Rxd8 15.Nbd2 Bc6 16.Rfc1 

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16...Bb4N [16...Nbd7 17.Ne1 Bxg2 18.Kxg2 h6 19.Bxf6 Nxf6 ½–½ (31) Onischuk,A (2666)-Karjakin,S (2785) Istanbul 2012]
17.Rc4 Be7 18.Ne5 Bxg2 19.Kxg2 Nbd7 20.Nd3 Rac8 21.Rac1 Nb6 22.Rxc8 Rxc8 23.Rxc8+ Nxc8 24.e4 Nd7 25.Be3 Nd6 26.f4 f5 27.Kf3 Kf7 28.g4 g6 29.h3 Ke8 30.Bd4 Kd8 31.Bc3 Ke8 32.Bd4 Kd8 33.Bc3 Ke8= ½–½