The Tata Steel tournament remains the best start of New Chess Year. A lot of things are happening as usual, with Magnus Carlsen being on a minus score after 3 rounds, and some of the other top guys suffering.
In round four one of the hidden favorites of the event won his third straight win:
A game that I liked (ChessBase 13)
[Event "Tata Steel Masters"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.01.13"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Black "Ding, Liren"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2734"]
[BlackElo "2732"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:51:23"]
[BlackClock "0:55:11"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. h3 {An interesting
opening choice by Radjabov. According to my Megabase, he had never played the
Bagirov line. At least, with White...} e5 ({I believe that the line} 6... Na6 {
is a viable option as well. Ding Liren have tried it as well, but has a better
percentage with the line that he chose in the game.}) 7. d5 Nh5 8. g3 f5 {The
latest trend in the line. Two more moves are of an interest} (8... a5 {which
was tried by both Ding Liren and Radjabov} 9. Nh2 Na6 10. Be2 Nf6 11. Ng4 Nd7
12. Nh6+ Kh8 13. h4 Ndc5 14. g4 f5 15. h5 fxe4 16. hxg6 Qf6 {Aronian,L (2797)
-Radjabov,T (2734) Beijing 2014}) ({And} 8... Qe8 9. Be2 Na6 10. Nh2 Nf6 11.
Ng4 Nd7 12. Nh6+ Kh8 13. h4 $14 {Wang,H (2735)-Radjabov,T (2713) Beijing 2013})
9. exf5 gxf5 10. Ng5 {As you could see from the previous examples, Radjabov
has good experience in this line, but with Black. He had possibly prepared
something special for this game.} (10. Nh4 {is another interesting move which
scores well for White.}) 10... Qe8 11. Be2 ({Ding Liren have faced} 11. Bg2 e4
12. O-O Na6 13. Re1 {and here he had gone wild against his compatriot with} Nc5
(13... Qg6 $5 {looks safer}) 14. Nb5 Qg6 15. Nxc7 f4 $13 {Wang,Y (2245)-Ding,L
(2718) China 2013}) 11... Nf6 12. Be3 Na6 13. Qd2 Bd7 14. O-O-O h6 $146 {Ding
must have been well prepared for the game as he is the first one to come with
a novelty.} ({The only predecessor came from China} 14... Nc5 15. g4 b6 16.
Rdg1 Kh8 17. Bd1 $1 h6 18. Ne6 $1 Bxe6 19. dxe6 f4 20. Bxc5 dxc5 {And here
instead of} 21. Bf3 ({White could have played} 21. g5 hxg5 22. Bg4 $16 {with
strong play on the light squares}) 21... Rd8 22. Qe2 Qxe6 {which allowed Black
time to defend in Le,T (2318)-Ju,W (2500) China 2010}) 15. Nf3 Nc5 16. Nh4 ({
The computer likes} 16. Bxc5 dxc5 17. Kb1 {but I doubt that a real KID player
will give his dark-squared bishop like that, even when playing as White!} e4 {
Black has good play on the long diagonal.}) 16... Nce4 17. Nxe4 Nxe4 18. Qc2 {
Despite all the maneuvers with the knights, Black's position remains shaky.
The positional threat of g3-g4 which will win all the light squares for White
is hard to meet.} Ng5 {Ding tries to clue the king's flank at first.} 19. Bd3
$5 {White lures the pawn on e4. Then, if he gets the time his g3-g4 break will
prove deadly.} ({Radjabov could have opted for the tempting pawn sacrifice} 19.
g4 $5 f4 20. Bd2 e4 21. Nf5 $1 {with the idea} Bxf5 22. gxf5 Rxf5 23. Bg4 Rf8
24. h4 {and strong pressure on the light squares.}) 19... e4 20. Be2 Rc8 ({Or
else b7-b5 will be ineffective} 20... Rb8 21. Kb1 b5 22. c5) 21. Kb1 c5 {with
the idea to fix the pawn on c4 and prepare b7-b5.} 22. dxc6 $1 Rxc6 {Diagram
[#]} {The first critical moment of the game. Radjabov chose the solid} 23. Qd2
({Instead} 23. Ng2 $1 {seemed stronger with the idea to bring the knight on d5
and secure himself of the queenside attack} Be6 (23... b5 24. c5 $1) 24. Nf4
Bf7 25. Nd5) ({An the immediate} 23. c5 {deserved serious attention with the
idea} dxc5 24. Bb5 Rc7 25. Rxd7 Rxd7 26. Bxd7 (26. g4 $5) 26... Qxd7 27. Bxc5 {
in both cases with advantage for White.}) 23... Be6 $1 {The Chinese GM
captures his chance. By sacrificing a pawn he wins time to start the attack.
Who is faster now, that is the question!} 24. Bxg5 hxg5 25. Qxg5 Ra6 $1 ({
Naturally, not} 25... Bxc4 $2 26. Bxc4+ Rxc4 27. Nxf5 $16) 26. Rd2 {Teimour
decided not to push any pawn, but perhaps} (26. a3 {was better.}) 26... b5 {
Ding believes in his lucky start. He could have forced a draw with the
spectacular} (26... Qa4 27. b3 ({Or} 27. a3 Qb3 28. Qe7 Rf6 {when a draw is
also most likely result after say} 29. g4 Rxa3 30. Nxf5 Bxf5 31. gxf5 Qa2+ 32.
Kc1 Qa1+ 33. Kc2 Qxh1 34. bxa3) 27... Qxb3+ $1 {Diagram [#]} 28. axb3 Ra1+ 29.
Kc2 Ra2+ $11) 27. Rc1 ({The pawn is poisoned} 27. cxb5 $2 Bxa2+ 28. Ka1 Bc4+
29. bxa6 Qa4+ 30. Kb1 Ba2+ 31. Ka1 (31. Kc1 Rc8+) 31... Bb3+ 32. Kb1 Qa2+ 33.
Kc1 Qa1#) ({But} 27. g4 {was strong, with the idea} bxc4 $2 ({Therefore, Black
should settle for} 27... Qd8 28. Qxd8 Rxd8 29. Nxf5 bxc4 {with compensation
for a pawn.}) 28. gxf5 c3 29. fxe6 cxd2 30. Rg1 $18) 27... Qf7 28. Ng6 {A step
in the wrong direction.} (28. b3 {also gives Black plenty of play after} bxc4
29. Bxc4 Bxc4 30. Rxc4 Kh7 (30... d5 $2 31. Rc5) 31. Ng2 d5 32. Rc5 d4 33. Nf4
d3 {when Black is definitely having more fun.}) ({But} 28. g4 $1 {was still
possible with sharp and double edged play.}) 28... Bf6 29. Qh6 $2 {Diagram [#]
And that is the actual blunder. After the correct} (29. Qh5 Rb8 {can be
answered} 30. Nf4 $1 {swapping the queens.}) 29... Rb8 30. Nf4 Bxc4 31. Rxc4 $1
{The best practical chance.} (31. Bxc4 bxc4 32. Nd5 Bxb2 33. Rxb2 Rxb2+ 34.
Kxb2 Qxd5 35. Qg6+ Kf8 36. Qf6+ Ke8 37. Ka1 Ra3 $17 {should be a win for Black.
}) 31... bxc4 32. Nd5 Bg7 $1 {Ding is alert!} ({White's idea is revealed in
the line} 32... Bxb2 $4 {Diagram [#]} 33. Ne7+ $1 Qxe7 34. Bxc4+ $18) 33. Qg5
c3 34. Bc4 {Looks very scary for Black but the Chinese GM had calculated
everything very well.} cxd2 $1 35. Nf6+ Kf8 36. Nh7+ ({No time for} 36. Bxf7
d1=Q+) 36... Ke8 37. Bxf7+ Kxf7 38. Qxf5+ Kg8 {As a result of the
complications Black won material and is close to winning. Radjabov's next move
makes things easier for Ding.} 39. Kc2 (39. Qe6+ {was more resilent, although}
Kxh7 40. Qxe4+ Kg8 41. Qe6+ Kh8 42. Kc2 Rxb2+ 43. Kd1 Rb8 $19 {should win for
Black}) 39... Rxb2+ 40. Kd1 Rb1+ {A very strong flank atack by Ding who
correctly estimated that the time is more valuable than the material in this
game!} ({White resigned due to the line} 40... Rb1+ 41. Kxd2 Rxa2+ 42. Ke3 Re1+
43. Kf4 Rxf2+) 0-1
Full report by Peter Doggers here.
In round four one of the hidden favorites of the event won his third straight win:
[Event "Tata Steel Masters"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2015.01.13"]
[Round "4.2"]
[White "Radjabov, Teimour"]
[Black "Ding, Liren"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2734"]
[BlackElo "2732"]
[Annotator "Bojkov, Dejan"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:51:23"]
[BlackClock "0:55:11"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. h3 {An interesting
opening choice by Radjabov. According to my Megabase, he had never played the
Bagirov line. At least, with White...} e5 ({I believe that the line} 6... Na6 {
is a viable option as well. Ding Liren have tried it as well, but has a better
percentage with the line that he chose in the game.}) 7. d5 Nh5 8. g3 f5 {The
latest trend in the line. Two more moves are of an interest} (8... a5 {which
was tried by both Ding Liren and Radjabov} 9. Nh2 Na6 10. Be2 Nf6 11. Ng4 Nd7
12. Nh6+ Kh8 13. h4 Ndc5 14. g4 f5 15. h5 fxe4 16. hxg6 Qf6 {Aronian,L (2797)
-Radjabov,T (2734) Beijing 2014}) ({And} 8... Qe8 9. Be2 Na6 10. Nh2 Nf6 11.
Ng4 Nd7 12. Nh6+ Kh8 13. h4 $14 {Wang,H (2735)-Radjabov,T (2713) Beijing 2013})
9. exf5 gxf5 10. Ng5 {As you could see from the previous examples, Radjabov
has good experience in this line, but with Black. He had possibly prepared
something special for this game.} (10. Nh4 {is another interesting move which
scores well for White.}) 10... Qe8 11. Be2 ({Ding Liren have faced} 11. Bg2 e4
12. O-O Na6 13. Re1 {and here he had gone wild against his compatriot with} Nc5
(13... Qg6 $5 {looks safer}) 14. Nb5 Qg6 15. Nxc7 f4 $13 {Wang,Y (2245)-Ding,L
(2718) China 2013}) 11... Nf6 12. Be3 Na6 13. Qd2 Bd7 14. O-O-O h6 $146 {Ding
must have been well prepared for the game as he is the first one to come with
a novelty.} ({The only predecessor came from China} 14... Nc5 15. g4 b6 16.
Rdg1 Kh8 17. Bd1 $1 h6 18. Ne6 $1 Bxe6 19. dxe6 f4 20. Bxc5 dxc5 {And here
instead of} 21. Bf3 ({White could have played} 21. g5 hxg5 22. Bg4 $16 {with
strong play on the light squares}) 21... Rd8 22. Qe2 Qxe6 {which allowed Black
time to defend in Le,T (2318)-Ju,W (2500) China 2010}) 15. Nf3 Nc5 16. Nh4 ({
The computer likes} 16. Bxc5 dxc5 17. Kb1 {but I doubt that a real KID player
will give his dark-squared bishop like that, even when playing as White!} e4 {
Black has good play on the long diagonal.}) 16... Nce4 17. Nxe4 Nxe4 18. Qc2 {
Despite all the maneuvers with the knights, Black's position remains shaky.
The positional threat of g3-g4 which will win all the light squares for White
is hard to meet.} Ng5 {Ding tries to clue the king's flank at first.} 19. Bd3
$5 {White lures the pawn on e4. Then, if he gets the time his g3-g4 break will
prove deadly.} ({Radjabov could have opted for the tempting pawn sacrifice} 19.
g4 $5 f4 20. Bd2 e4 21. Nf5 $1 {with the idea} Bxf5 22. gxf5 Rxf5 23. Bg4 Rf8
24. h4 {and strong pressure on the light squares.}) 19... e4 20. Be2 Rc8 ({Or
else b7-b5 will be ineffective} 20... Rb8 21. Kb1 b5 22. c5) 21. Kb1 c5 {with
the idea to fix the pawn on c4 and prepare b7-b5.} 22. dxc6 $1 Rxc6 {Diagram
[#]} {The first critical moment of the game. Radjabov chose the solid} 23. Qd2
({Instead} 23. Ng2 $1 {seemed stronger with the idea to bring the knight on d5
and secure himself of the queenside attack} Be6 (23... b5 24. c5 $1) 24. Nf4
Bf7 25. Nd5) ({An the immediate} 23. c5 {deserved serious attention with the
idea} dxc5 24. Bb5 Rc7 25. Rxd7 Rxd7 26. Bxd7 (26. g4 $5) 26... Qxd7 27. Bxc5 {
in both cases with advantage for White.}) 23... Be6 $1 {The Chinese GM
captures his chance. By sacrificing a pawn he wins time to start the attack.
Who is faster now, that is the question!} 24. Bxg5 hxg5 25. Qxg5 Ra6 $1 ({
Naturally, not} 25... Bxc4 $2 26. Bxc4+ Rxc4 27. Nxf5 $16) 26. Rd2 {Teimour
decided not to push any pawn, but perhaps} (26. a3 {was better.}) 26... b5 {
Ding believes in his lucky start. He could have forced a draw with the
spectacular} (26... Qa4 27. b3 ({Or} 27. a3 Qb3 28. Qe7 Rf6 {when a draw is
also most likely result after say} 29. g4 Rxa3 30. Nxf5 Bxf5 31. gxf5 Qa2+ 32.
Kc1 Qa1+ 33. Kc2 Qxh1 34. bxa3) 27... Qxb3+ $1 {Diagram [#]} 28. axb3 Ra1+ 29.
Kc2 Ra2+ $11) 27. Rc1 ({The pawn is poisoned} 27. cxb5 $2 Bxa2+ 28. Ka1 Bc4+
29. bxa6 Qa4+ 30. Kb1 Ba2+ 31. Ka1 (31. Kc1 Rc8+) 31... Bb3+ 32. Kb1 Qa2+ 33.
Kc1 Qa1#) ({But} 27. g4 {was strong, with the idea} bxc4 $2 ({Therefore, Black
should settle for} 27... Qd8 28. Qxd8 Rxd8 29. Nxf5 bxc4 {with compensation
for a pawn.}) 28. gxf5 c3 29. fxe6 cxd2 30. Rg1 $18) 27... Qf7 28. Ng6 {A step
in the wrong direction.} (28. b3 {also gives Black plenty of play after} bxc4
29. Bxc4 Bxc4 30. Rxc4 Kh7 (30... d5 $2 31. Rc5) 31. Ng2 d5 32. Rc5 d4 33. Nf4
d3 {when Black is definitely having more fun.}) ({But} 28. g4 $1 {was still
possible with sharp and double edged play.}) 28... Bf6 29. Qh6 $2 {Diagram [#]
And that is the actual blunder. After the correct} (29. Qh5 Rb8 {can be
answered} 30. Nf4 $1 {swapping the queens.}) 29... Rb8 30. Nf4 Bxc4 31. Rxc4 $1
{The best practical chance.} (31. Bxc4 bxc4 32. Nd5 Bxb2 33. Rxb2 Rxb2+ 34.
Kxb2 Qxd5 35. Qg6+ Kf8 36. Qf6+ Ke8 37. Ka1 Ra3 $17 {should be a win for Black.
}) 31... bxc4 32. Nd5 Bg7 $1 {Ding is alert!} ({White's idea is revealed in
the line} 32... Bxb2 $4 {Diagram [#]} 33. Ne7+ $1 Qxe7 34. Bxc4+ $18) 33. Qg5
c3 34. Bc4 {Looks very scary for Black but the Chinese GM had calculated
everything very well.} cxd2 $1 35. Nf6+ Kf8 36. Nh7+ ({No time for} 36. Bxf7
d1=Q+) 36... Ke8 37. Bxf7+ Kxf7 38. Qxf5+ Kg8 {As a result of the
complications Black won material and is close to winning. Radjabov's next move
makes things easier for Ding.} 39. Kc2 (39. Qe6+ {was more resilent, although}
Kxh7 40. Qxe4+ Kg8 41. Qe6+ Kh8 42. Kc2 Rxb2+ 43. Kd1 Rb8 $19 {should win for
Black}) 39... Rxb2+ 40. Kd1 Rb1+ {A very strong flank atack by Ding who
correctly estimated that the time is more valuable than the material in this
game!} ({White resigned due to the line} 40... Rb1+ 41. Kxd2 Rxa2+ 42. Ke3 Re1+
43. Kf4 Rxf2+) 0-1
Full report by Peter Doggers here.
