London Chess Classic R 8

Round eight in London was relatively peaceful.
The only exception was once again the game of Veselin Topalov. In a game against his old rival Vishy Anand he got a nasty surprise early in the opening:

Report and pgn here.

Anand back in Business

After a bad performance in Gibraltar the former world champion Vishy Anand is in his element in Zurich. First he did well at the blitz event, sharing the second place and defeating the sole winner Hikaru Nakamura. Yesterday was even better for him after a convincing start of the rapid part of the event. First there was a blitz-krieg against Aronian:

[Event "Zürich Chess Challenge 2016"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.02.13"]
[Round "1.3"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2784"]
[BlackElo "2792"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "37"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:28:15"]
[BlackClock "0:23:36"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. Nc3 {[%csl Gc3,Gc6,Gf3,Gf6] Diagram [#] One
more way to avoid the Berlin- just get into the Four Knights.} Bd6 {A fighting
move. Aronian avoids the heavily explored lines after} (4... Bb4) ({Or} 4...
Nd4 {which both have somewhat drawish reputation.}) 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 Re8 {
One of Black's plans is to transfer the knight to g6 and go for regroupment
with c7-c6 and Bd6-c7. The immediate} (6... Ne7 {however allows the highly
entertaining} 7. Nxe5 Bxe5 8. d4 d6 9. dxe5 dxe5 10. Be3 {with advantage for
White in Michiels,B (2462) -Stefanova,A (2527) Antwerp 2009}) 7. a3 h6 8. Bc4
Bc5 9. Be3 Bxe3 (9... d6 {looks more solid.}) 10. fxe3 {[%csl Yf7,Rg8][%cal
Gf1f7,Gc4f7,Gf3h4,Gh4f5,Rd1f3,Rd1e1,Re1g3] Diagram [#] Now that the "f" file
has been opened White's plan is crystal-clear- Nf3-h4-f5 followed by either
Qd1-f3 or sometimes Qd1-e1-g3 and mate on the kingside.} d6 11. Nh4 ({Also
good is} 11. Qe1 Ne7 12. Nh4 c6 13. Qg3 {with kingside attack in Bicho,
N-Santos,A Aveiro 2003}) 11... Be6 $146 {This is Black's best bet but his
position remains highly suspicious after Anand's reply.} ({The only
predecessor saw:} 11... Na5 $2 {When instead of White could have won with the
beautiful} 12. Bxf7+ $3 {Diagram [#]} Kxf7 13. Qh5+ Kg8 (13... Kf8 14. Rxf6+
Qxf6 (14... gxf6 15. Qxh6+ Kf7 16. Qh7+ Kf8 (16... Ke6 17. Nd5 Nc6 18. Nf5 {
and Black is helpless.}) 17. Ng6#) 15. Rf1) 14. Rxf6 $1 gxf6 (14... Qxf6 15.
Qxe8+) 15. Qg6+ Kf8 16. Qh7 Re6 17. Nf5 Ke8 18. Nd5 $18 {[%csl Ya5,Ya8,Rc7,Yc8,
Yd8,Ye6,Re8][%cal Rd5c7] Diagram [#] and Black cannot parry the threat Nd5xc7+!
}) 12. Nf5 $1 {The knight on f5 is more important than any double pawns on the
"c" file. There will be no endgame!} Bxc4 ({Or} 12... Bxf5 13. Rxf5 {when
White proceeds with his kingside attack and the attempt to bring fresh
defenders with} Ne7 {fails to} 14. Rxf6 $1 gxf6 15. Qh5 Rf8 16. Qxh6 $18) 13.
dxc4 Kh7 14. Qf3 {Diagram [#] The outcome of the opening battle is a failiure
for Aronian. On the top of that he blunders.} Nb8 $2 ({Black is usually trying
to bring a pawn on f6 in these positions. However} 14... Ng8 {will be strongly
met with} 15. c5 $1 ({It is too early for} 15. Nxg7 Kxg7 16. Qxf7+ Kh8) 15...
dxc5 16. Rad1 {with clear edge for White after} Qg5 17. Rd7 Qg6 18. Rxc7 {
[%csl Gc7,Gf1,Gf3,Gf5] Diagram [#]} ({Or} 18. Nd5)) 15. Nxh6 $1 {[%csl Yh7]
Diagram [#] A deadly blow! It is highly unusual to see a top GM losing that
quickly, albeit in a rapid game.} Kxh6 ({Or} 15... gxh6 16. Qxf6 Qxf6 17. Rxf6
{with certain loss in the endgame.}) 16. Qh3+ Kg6 ({Since} 16... Nh5 {loses to
both} 17. g4 ({And} 17. Rxf7 {is very convincing too.}) 17... g6 18. gxh5) 17.
Rf3 Nh5 18. Rf5 $1 {Diagram [#] The final touch.} Nf6 (18... Rh8 19. Qg4+ Kh6
20. Rxh5#) 19. Qh4 {Aronian resigned just a move before the mate.} 1-0

Then came a devilish trick against Giri:

[Event "Zurich Chess Challenge 2016"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2016.02.13"]
[Round "2.2"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2798"]
[BlackElo "2784"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[EventDate "2016.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:02:42"]
[BlackClock "0:06:21"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 a6 7. a4 O-O 8. Re1 h6
({A fresh game saw} 8... Ba7 9. Na3 h6 10. Nc2 Re8 11. Be3 Be6 12. Bxe6 Rxe6
13. Bxa7 Rxa7 14. d4 exd4 15. Nfxd4 Nxd4 16. Qxd4 Ra8 {with approximate
equality, So,W (2773)-Mamedyarov,S (2747) Wijk aan Zee 2016}) 9. h3 Be6 10.
Bxe6 fxe6 {[%csl Rf2][%cal Gd8e8,Ge8g6,Rf6h5,Rh5f4,Rf8f2,Rc5f2] Diagram [#]
Funnily, Anand is trying to achieve similar position to the one he had against
Aronian the round before with reversed colours!} 11. Be3 Bxe3 $146 {The
simplest and strongest move.} ({The predecessor saw Black getting into some
trouble after:} 11... Ba7 12. Bxa7 Rxa7 13. d4 (13. b4 $5) 13... exd4 14. cxd4
e5 15. Nc3 $14 {[%csl Gd4,Ge4] Diagram [#] Duexmann,M (1060)-Fraenzel,M (1495)
Solingen 2005}) 12. Rxe3 Qd7 (12... Nh5 {is premature due to the standard trick
} 13. Nxe5 $1) ({But} 12... Qe8 {is perfectly playable.}) 13. Nbd2 ({Normally
White will be happy to advance in the center, but} 13. d4 {allows} exd4 14.
cxd4 d5 15. e5 Ne4 $11) 13... Qf7 14. g3 (14. b4 $5 {Diagram [#] to exapand on
the queenside makes sense as well.}) 14... Nd7 15. Kg2 a5 $1 {[%csl Gb4][%cal
Ga5b4] Diagram [#] Anand can be happy with the opening, he equalized
comfortably.} 16. Qc2 Nc5 17. Rf1 Qd7 18. b3 Ne7 (18... Rf7 {is more obvious,
but Anand's move is more concrete.}) 19. Nc4 b5 {[%csl Rb3] Diagram [#] The
point behind Black's play. He gets counterplay against the b3 pawn.} 20. axb5
Qxb5 21. Rb1 Nc6 22. Ncd2 Rab8 23. d4 {Giri is trying to reduce the pressure
against the b3 pawn.} Nd7 (23... exd4 24. Nxd4 Qb7 25. Nxc6 Qxc6 26. b4 {
is somewhat better for White instead.}) 24. dxe5 Ndxe5 25. Nd4 {Safer was} (25.
Nxe5 Qxe5 26. f4 Qc5 27. Qd3 Qb5 28. Qxb5 Rxb5 {Diagram [#] with approximate
equality.}) 25... Nxd4 26. cxd4 Nc6 27. Qc3 Qb6 {Now the weaknesses are
leveling themselves. The black pawns on c7 and a5 do not look too good, but
neither do d4 and b3 in White's camp.} 28. Nf3 Nb4 29. Qc4 Rbe8 30. Rc1 Rf7 31.
Nd2 $6 {A serious inaccuracy. Correct was:} (31. Ne1 $1 {when} Ref8 32. Qxe6 {
may lead to a sweet draw after} d5 $1 33. exd5 (33. Qxb6 $2 Rxf2+ {is bad for
White.}) 33... Qxe6 34. dxe6 Rxf2+ 35. Kg1 Rf1+ 36. Kh2 R8f2+ 37. Ng2 Rxc1 38.
e7 {Diagram [#]} Rf8 39. exf8=Q+ Kxf8 $11) 31... Ref8 32. f4 $2 {One
inaccuracy leads to a serious mistake.} ({This time} 32. Qxe6 $2 {was bad for
White as the knight on d2 is hanging} d5 $1 33. exd5 Qxe6 34. dxe6 Rxf2+) ({
However} 32. Rf1 $1 {was correct when the game would have remained
approximately even.}) 32... e5 $1 {[%csl Yd4,Re3,Yf4,Rg2] Diagram [#] Anand
immediately spots a tactical possibility and nets a pawn.} 33. Nf3 (33. f5 exd4
) (33. fxe5 d5 $1) 33... exf4 34. gxf4 d5 $1 {[%csl Yc4,Ye4,Rg2] Diagram [#]
And sacrifices is back for activity. The real problem for Giri is not the pawn,
but the horrendous situation of his king.} 35. exd5 Qd6 36. Ne5 Rxf4 37. Kg1 {
The pawn on c7 is taboo due to the knight fork} (37. Qxc7 Qxc7 38. Rxc7 Nxd5
$19 {[%csl Yc7,Ye3] Diagram [#]}) 37... Kh7 (37... Nxd5 38. Rg3 {is less clear.
}) 38. Rg3 R8f5 39. Rg4 {Once more the c7 pawn is invincible:} (39. Qxc7 Rf1+
40. Kh2 R5f2+ 41. Rg2 Qf6 $19 {[%csl Rh2] Diagram [#]}) 39... Qf6 {Anand
energetically conducts the attack.} 40. Rxf4 Rxf4 41. Rf1 Qg5+ 42. Kh2 Re4 43.
Nf3 ({Slightly more resilent is} 43. Rg1 {but this should also lose say after}
Qf4+ 44. Kh1 Qf5 45. Kh2 Re3 46. Qf1 Qxf1 47. Rxf1 Rxb3 $19) 43... Qf4+ {
Diagram [#]} 44. Kg2 Re3 45. Qc1 Re2+ 46. Kh1 Qg3 0-1

Report.

On a High Note

The battle for the first place at the Norway Chess finished early with a quick draw between the leader and his closest pursuer. Veselin Topalov played solidly in the opening and left no chance to his opponent Vishy Anand. However, Hikaru Nakamura found a way to try his luck with the black pieces and managed to outplay Levon Aronian to take joint second place.

[Event "Norway Chess"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.06.25"]
[Round "9.4"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2780"]
[BlackElo "2802"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "1:00:34"]
[BlackClock "1:07:22"]

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 Bc5 4. Bg2 d6 5. e3 a6 {Diagram [#] Sooner or later
Black will have to saveguard his bishop.} ({Also possible is} 5... Nf6 6. Nge2
Bf5 7. d4 Bb6 8. h3 O-O 9. O-O h6 10. Kh2 Re8 {Erdos,V (2621)-Wojtaszek,R
(2742) Germany 2015}) 6. Nge2 Ba7 7. a3 h5 {[%cal Gh5h4,Rh8h1] This is why
Nakamura kept his knight on g8, he wants to create play along the h file. This
plan is possible because the center is closed.} 8. d4 ({The problem with the
move} 8. h4 {is that Black can use the g4 square for his bishop} Bg4 9. b3 Nge7
10. Bb2 Rb8 11. Qc2 Qd7 12. d3 O-O {and Black is solid, Mwali,C (2250)-Anton
Guijarro,D (2624) Tromso 2014}) (8. h3) 8... h4 9. b4 $146 {[%csl Ya7][%cal
Gc4c5] Diagram [#] A novelty by Aronian. He plans to lock the bishop on a7.} ({
In the only predecessor White played rather inconsistently} 9. d5 Nce7 10. e4
$6 {Opens the bishop on a7 for no good reason.} Nf6 11. h3 $6 hxg3 12. fxg3 c6
13. b4 cxd5 14. Nxd5 Nfxd5 15. exd5 Qb6 $17 {and White's position is on the
verge of colapse, Felser,M (1913) -Jorczik,J (2333) Schwaebisch Gmuend 2010})
9... Nge7 10. c5 Bf5 {The first critical moment of the game as both the
players mentioned later.} ({Nakamura also considered alternative closure of
the white bishop after} 10... h3 11. Bf3 d5 12. O-O (12. dxe5 Nxe5 {followed
by c7-c6 and Ba7-b8 is good for Black.}) 12... e4 13. Bh1 ({The USA GM was
also afraif of the position sacrifice} 13. Nxe4 $5 {Diagram [#]} dxe4 14. Bxe4
{as the Ba7 needs plenty of moves to get into the game.}) 13... f5 {but he was
afraid that he cannot hold the line after} 14. f3 {Indeed} Be6 15. Nf4 Qd7 16.
Nxe6 Qxe6 17. Bd2 {followed by Qd1-b3, a3-a4 and b4-b5 looks easy for White.})
11. Bb2 ({Aronian was considering the sharp play after} 11. d5 $5 Nb8 12. f4
dxc5 13. d6 {to which Black react with an exchange sacrifice} cxd6 (13... Nec6
{is also possible though.}) 14. Bxb7 Nbc6 {(Nakamura)} ({Or} 14... Nd7 {In
both cases Black will have plenty of play on the light squares for the
exchange.})) 11... Qd7 {Diagram [#]} 12. Qb3 ({Once again} 12. d5 {does not
yield White anything} Nd8 13. e4 Bh3 14. Bxh3 Qxh3 15. Qa4+ Qd7 $11 {but this
was perhaps the best that he had.}) 12... h3 $1 {It is time to worry the white
king before it escapes from the center. If this happens, the locked bishop on
a7 might become the key factor of the position.} ({Better than the preliminary
trade} 12... exd4 13. exd4 h3 {when after} 14. Be4 Bxe4 15. Nxe4 Qf5 {White
has the important move} 16. f3 {(Nakamura)}) 13. Bf3 ({The line} 13. Be4 Bxe4
14. Nxe4 Qf5 {looks good for Black (Nakamura)}) ({White cannot evacuate the
king from the center} 13. Bxc6 Qxc6 14. O-O-O {because if the strong} Qf3 {
(Aronian)}) 13... exd4 {Diagram [#] Dynamic play.} (13... d5 14. O-O e4 15. Bh1
$11) 14. Nxd4 {Black clears too many lines in case of} (14. exd4 dxc5 15. dxc5
$6 Ne5 $17) 14... Bg4 15. Bxg4 Qxg4 16. Nxc6 ({The immediate} 16. Qd1 Qxd1+ 17.
Rxd1 {sacrifices a pawn but after} dxc5 18. Nxc6 bxc6 19. bxc5 f6 20. Ne4 {
White has compensation for it. Both Aronian and Nakamura considered this
position good for Black on the account of the excellent d5 square for the
black knight.}) 16... Nxc6 17. Qd1 $1 {[%csl Re1] Diagram [#] Aronian
correctly seeks trade of queens.} (17. cxd6 O-O-O {looks very dangerous for
White with the king in the middle.}) 17... Qg6 $1 {And Nakamura rejects it.}
18. cxd6 {Now Black's attack is very dangerous. The lesser evil was to chase
the black queen with} (18. Qb1 $5 Qxb1+ (18... Qh5 19. Qe4+ $1) 19. Rxb1 dxc5
20. b5 {when White should have enough compensation for the pawn. The excluded
bishop feels worse with less pieces on the board.}) 18... O-O-O 19. Rc1 $2 {"A
terrible move." (Aronian)} ({Close to equal was} 19. Qb1 Qh5 (19... f5 {can be
answered by} 20. b5 $1 axb5 21. dxc7) 20. Qd1 {although I would definitely
prefer Black after} Qe5 {The white king is still not safe.}) 19... Rxd6 20. Qc2
Qh5 $1 {[%csl Yd1,Yd3,Ye2,Yf3,Yg2] Diagram [#] Now White's weakened light
squares are a pain in the neck.} ({"Somehow I felt} 20... Rd3 {was kind of
forced." (Aronian) Indeed, White will be OK after} 21. Ne2 Qe4 22. Rf1 Rhd8 23.
Nf4 {as the sacrifice} Bxe3 24. fxe3 Rxe3+ 25. Ne2 {is not decisive.}) 21. Qe2
Ne5 {Also missed by Aronian. Now the weakness of the white squares decides the
game.} 22. Qxh5 {White loses the exchange as} (22. O-O Nf3+ 23. Kh1 Rd2 {loses
the house.}) 22... Nd3+ {Diagram [#]} 23. Ke2 {In case of} (23. Kf1 Rxh5 24.
Rc2 {Black has the nice} Bxe3 $1 25. fxe3 Rf5+ 26. Kg1 (26. Ke2 Rf2+ 27. Kd1
Nxb4+) 26... Rdf6 {Diagram [#] with unstoppable mate.}) 23... Nxc1+ 24. Rxc1
Rxh5 {The extra exchange wins easily.} 25. g4 Re5 26. Rg1 Re8 27. Rg3 Bd4 $1
28. Na4 (28. Rxh3 b5 {dominates the knight.} (28... Bf6 {with the ideas Rd6-c6
and Re8-d8 would also do.})) 28... Bxb2 29. Nxb2 Red8 {Diagram [#] The rooks
enter the second rank and it is all over.} 30. Nc4 Rc6 31. Ne5 Rc2+ 32. Ke1 f6
33. Nf3 Rh8 34. g5 Ra2 35. Nd4 Rxa3 36. Ne6 Ra1+ 37. Ke2 Rh1 38. gxf6 gxf6 39.
Nf4 b6 40. Nxh3 Rb1 0-1

Report.