[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.23"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2765"]
[BlackElo "2808"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. c5 Ne4 8. Rc1
Nxc3 9. Rxc3 b6 10. c6 Nf6 11. a3 a5 12. Bd3 Ne4 13. Rc2 f6 {The first
deviation of the game. 12...Ba6 has been played before by Caruana (against
Giri in Wijk aan Zee). Although the game was drawn, his position was a little
suspicious.} 14. Qe2 Bd6 15. O-O g5 $5 {Black didn't want to capture on f4, so
he forces White to capture himself!} (15... Bxf4 16. exf4 $6 {leaves the e6
pawn weak in the long run, and e5 will never be achieved.}) 16. Bxd6 Nxd6 17.
Re1 a4 18. Nd2 e5 $5 19. e4 $1 {Creating serious tension on the center...} f5
$1 {A funny looking move! The tension accumulates, but Black is ok no matter
which pawn Aronian takes.} 20. f3 (20. dxe5 fxe4 (20... Nxe4 $5) 21. exd6 exd3
22. Qxd3 Qxd6 $13) (20. exd5 $2 e4 $15) 20... dxe4 $6 {Releasing the tension
at the wrong moment.} (20... Re8 $1) 21. fxe4 Ra5 $2 {Caruana underestimates
White's attack and allows a brilliancy!} (21... exd4 22. e5 Re8 $14) 22. exf5
Nxf5 23. Bc4+ Kg7 24. d5 {Now e5 is very weak.} Re8 25. Ne4 {Perhaps Fabiano
underestimated this move? The knight is magnificently placed and Nd4 doesn't
work...} Nd4 26. Qh5 $1 {The point.} Nxc2 {otherwise he is just lost} 27. Nxg5
Bf5 28. Rf1 {Simple and sufficient. Black is up a rook, but Black simply
cannot defend his position:} Qf6 (28... Bg6 29. Rf7+ Kg8 (29... Bxf7 30. Qxh7+
Kf6 31. Ne4+ Ke7 32. d6+ {and Black gets mated.}) 30. Qh6 $18) 29. Ne6+ (29.
Rxf5 Qxf5 30. Ne6+ {seemed easier, but everything wins.}) 29... Rxe6 30. Rxf5
Qg6 31. dxe6 {Being up two pawns usually forces resignation, but Black is
lucky to still be alive.} (31. Rg5 $1 {Was stronger according to the computer,
and flashier, but Aronian's move is winning also.}) 31... Qxh5 32. Rxh5 Nd4 33.
e7 Ra8 34. Rxe5 {Two pawns is too much. Caruana flutters for a few more moves,
but it is over.} Re8 35. Re4 Nf5 36. Be6 Nd6 37. Bd7 Nxe4 38. Bxe8 Kf6 39. Bg6
1-0
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.23"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B51"]
[WhiteElo "2853"]
[BlackElo "2816"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. O-O Ngf6 5. Re1 a6 6. Bd3 b5 7. c4 g5 $5 {An
improvement over Carlsen-Nakamura from Zurich 2014 (rapid). The move is bold,
but objectively it does look strange.} 8. Nxg5 {Picking up the gauntlet! This
is the most principled continuation. If Black doesn't play Ne5 and recapture
on c4, he is basically down a pawn, but if he does do that c4 will be a
weakness.} Ne5 9. Be2 bxc4 10. Na3 $2 {Played after a substantial think, White
does not choose the correct continuation.} (10. Nf3 $1 Nd3 (10... Nfd7 11. Na3
{is now slightly better for White:} Nxf3+ 12. Bxf3 Ne5 13. Be2 {and Rg8
doesn't attack anything.}) 11. Bxd3 cxd3 12. e5 $1 dxe5 13. Nxe5 {and White
has a dangerous initiative since Bb7 loses instantly.} Bb7 $2 14. Qa4+ Nd7 15.
Nxf7 $1 Kxf7 16. Qb3+ Kg7 17. Qxb7 $18) 10... Rg8 11. Nxc4 $5 {A piece
sacrifice! Black has no choice but to accept it, after which Carlsen will get
two pawns for a piece but some interesting initiative.} (11. f4 Nd3 12. Bxd3
cxd3 $13) (11. Nf3 Nd3 12. Bxd3 cxd3 13. Nc4 $13 (13. e5 dxe5 14. Nxe5 Qd5 $15
{is not the same at all.})) 11... Nxc4 12. d4 Nb6 13. Bh5 (13. dxc5 dxc5 14.
Qxd8+ Kxd8 15. Nxf7+ Ke8 {is not something anyone wants to go for Black will
have difficulties converting, but he has all the chances.}) 13... Nxh5 14. Qxh5
Rg7 (14... Rg6 {was stronger. The rook is much more active, and after} 15. Qxh7
Rg7 16. Qh8 cxd4 17. Nh7 Rxh7 18. Qxh7 e5 {Black is nearly winning.}) 15. Nxh7
Qd7 $6 {A strange move. Black wants to develop, but it was about time to get
rid of this knight on h7.} (15... Rxh7 16. Qxh7 cxd4 17. Qh8 e5 18. h4 Kd7 $1)
16. dxc5 dxc5 17. e5 $6 (17. Nxf8 Qh3 (17... Qg4 18. Qxg4 Rxg4 19. Nh7 f6 20.
Ng5 $1) 18. Qxh3 Bxh3 19. g3 Kxf8 (19... Rg8 20. Nh7 f6 $13 {White is up two
pawns, but that knight isn't going anywhere.}) 20. Bh6 {might even favor White
as Black's pieces are not well coordinated.}) 17... Qc6 $1 18. f3 Qg6 $1 {A
very good move!} 19. Nf6+ Kd8 $1 {Very precise. The Black king simply slides
over to safety.} 20. Qxg6 Rxg6 21. Ne4 {Black is basically up a piece for no
compensation. Two pawns are not enough.} Bb7 22. h4 Rc8 23. h5 Rg8 24. Bd2 Nc4
{White's position has not improved much.} 25. Bc3 Bh6 26. Rad1+ Ke8 27. Rd3 Bf4
28. Nf2 Bc6 29. Nh3 Bg3 30. Re2 Bb5 31. Rd1 Bc6 32. Nf2 Bxe5 $1 {A beautiful
shot in time scramble. White's position is now hopeless.} 33. Ng4 Bxc3 34. bxc3
Kf8 35. Kf2 Rh8 36. Ne5 Nxe5 37. Rxe5 Be8 38. g4 f6 39. Re6 Bb5 40. Rde1 Rc7 {
Magnus resigned with time pressure reached.} 0-1
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.23"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E05"]
[WhiteElo "2814"]
[BlackElo "2816"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4
Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bg5 Bd5 11. Qc2 Be4 12. Qd1 c5 13. dxc5 Bxc5 14. Qxd8 Rxd8
15. Nbd2 Bc6 16. Nb3 Be7 17. Na5 h6 18. Be3 Nd5 19. Bd2 {Even though this
position has been reached before (twice!) it seems that neither player was
100% familiar with the position. Anand finds a good equalizing plan though.}
Nb6 $1 {The double attack on a4 and d2 (after Bxf3) is annoying. White doesn't
want to take on b8 since Black's development would be seriously accelerated.}
20. Bf4 Nd5 21. Ne5 g5 $5 {Kicking out the bishop, but weakening the kingside.
This seems to be a good move, though not the most obvious.} 22. Bd2 Bf6 23. Nd3
(23. Nexc6 Nxc6 24. Nxc6 bxc6 {maybe is a bit better for White, but Black's
activity is considerable.}) 23... b6 24. Nc4 b5 25. Bxd5 (25. Nce5 bxa4 26.
Nxc6 Nxc6 $11) 25... bxc4 (25... Bxd5 26. Nb6 Ra7 27. axb5 {doesn't work.}) (
25... exd5 $5) 26. Bxc4 Bxb2 27. Ra2 {White keeps a little bit of pressure
with his superior development, but Black is close to equality.} Bg7 (27... Bd4
$1 28. Rc1 Be4 $11) 28. Rc1 Be8 {A little passive, but White has to prove his
advantage somehow.} 29. Nc5 Bf8 30. Bd3 Nc6 31. Be4 Rdc8 32. Kf1 Ra7 {White
has a little bit of pressure, but it isn't too bad for Black yet.} 33. Nb3 Rac7
34. Rac2 Bd6 $6 (34... Ba3 $1 {Was much better} 35. Ba5 $2 {is what Anand was
worried about.} Nxa5 36. Rxc7 Rxc7 37. Rxc7 Nxb3 $19 {and Black has Nd2+ as a
threat, so White can't do anything.}) 35. f4 f5 36. Bd3 Nb8 $2 (36... Rb8 $1 {
keeps the game interesting, with White being a bit better.}) 37. Rxc7 Rxc7 38.
Rxc7 Bxc7 39. fxg5 hxg5 40. Nc5 {Now Black just loses a pawn.} Bd6 41. Nxe6
Bxa4 42. Nxg5 Bd7 43. Bc3 {Perhaps premature resignation, but Black has a
horrible position and the h-pawn is rolling down the board.} 1-0
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.23"]
[Round "1"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A34"]
[WhiteElo "2779"]
[BlackElo "2731"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. g3 Bg7 6. Bg2 {c} c5 7. Qa4+ Nc6
8. Ng5 {An unusual move, though the maneuver is well know. White wants to put
his knight on e4 to target c5.} e6 9. Nge4 Nb6 10. Qb5 $6 {Going for the pawn,
this is too dangerous.} c4 11. Na4 $2 {White is too greedy. He will win a pawn,
but his position will be awful.} (11. O-O {was a better move.}) 11... O-O 12.
Nxb6 axb6 13. Qxc4 e5 {White is up a pawn, but Black has a huge initiative.
Be6 is coming soon, Nd4 is up in the air, and White is not close to finishing
his development. So will soon be punished.} 14. Qc2 Be6 {Aroun this time So
went in the confessional booth, claiming that he would have to work hard to
not simply lose - he was aware that something went wrong.} 15. Nc3 b5 $1 {A
very nice move. White cannot really take on b5:} 16. Bxc6 (16. Nxb5 Nb4 17. Qd1
Bd5 18. f3 Qb6 $17 {Black's position is so active and White can't even castle.}
) 16... bxc6 17. b3 Bf5 18. d3 (18. Qb2 b4 {is just over.}) 18... e4 $1 {The
bishops are way too powerful. So must give back material.} 19. dxe4 Bxe4 20.
Nxe4 (20. Qxe4 Bxc3+ $19) 20... Bxa1 21. O-O Re8 22. f3 Bd4+ 23. e3 Bg7 24. Rd1
Qc7 25. Rd6 c5 26. Rd5 Re5 27. Rd1 c4 28. a3 Re7 29. bxc4 Qxc4 {White's
position is no good, and he is down material. MVL cleans up from here.} 30. Qd2
Qb3 31. Qd6 Rc8 32. Nf2 Rec7 33. Bd2 Bf8 34. Qd4 Bxa3 35. Kg2 Bb2 0-1
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.23"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E15"]
[WhiteElo "2793"]
[BlackElo "2771"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "67"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8.
Qc2 c6 9. Rd1 b6 10. Bf4 Ba6 11. b3 Rc8 12. Nc3 dxc4 13. e4 Nh5 14. Be3 Nhf6
15. h3 b5 16. bxc4 bxc4 17. Rab1 Qa5 18. Bd2 Qa3 $6 (18... Qc7 {as pointed out
by Giri after the game, is much better.}) 19. Re1 {Surprisingly, this has all
been played before... in a blitz game! Anand-Leko, 2009. In that game Vishy
went g4 instead of Re1. Giri was perhaps somewhat familiar with the position
judging on how quickly he played, but Grischuk played, as usual, extremely
slowly.} Nb6 {after a long though, Grischuk makes a big mistake.} (19... Rb8 $1
) 20. Re3 {The queen feels very uncomfortable.} Rb8 21. Rxb6 $1 (21. Nd5 cxd5
22. Rxa3 Bxa3 {is perhaps better for White, but Black has a lot of
compensation for that missing queen.}) 21... Rxb6 (21... axb6 22. e5 $1 Nd7 23.
Nb1 {and the queen is trapped. White wins.}) 22. Na4 Rb1+ $1 23. Kh2 (23. Qxb1
Qxa4 {is no good for White.}) 23... c3 $1 {The only way to fight on} 24. Rxc3
Qb4 25. Rxc6 Qb5 (25... Bd3 26. Qxd3 Qxa4 27. Rc7 {is dangerous for Black:} Bd8
28. Rxf7 Rxf7 29. Qxb1 $16) 26. Ne5 $1 Ra1 27. Bc3 Rf1 28. Nb2 (28. Bxf1 Qxf1 {
gives Black way too much counterplay.}) 28... Qb7 29. Rxa6 Qxa6 30. Nbc4 {The
rook is trapped on f1!} Nxe4 31. Bxe4 {Three pieces are more powerful than two
rooks in most situations, they coordinate much better, and you can easily see
it in this position.} Rb8 32. Bxh7+ Kf8 33. Qe2 Rc1 34. Qh5 {Mate is
inevitable.} 1-0
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.24"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C84"]
[WhiteElo "2808"]
[BlackElo "2853"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:3600+30"]
1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} e5 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Nc6 {[%emt
0:00:05]} 3. Bb5 {[%emt 0:00:03]} a6 {[%emt 0:00:06] No Berlin this time,
Carlsen goes back to the more traditional Spanish channels.} 4. Ba4 {[%emt 0:
00:04]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 5. O-O {[%emt 0:00:06]} b5 {[%emt 0:00:18]} 6. Bb3
{[%emt 0:00:06]} Bb7 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 7. d3 {[%emt 0:01:15]} Be7 {[%emt 0:00:
09] An Archangel with Be7} 8. Nc3 {[%emt 0:02:22]} O-O {[%emt 0:01:01]} 9. a3 {
[%emt 0:01:01]} d6 {[%emt 0:16:21]} 10. Re1 {[%emt 0:09:39]} Qd7 {[%emt 0:00:
35]} 11. Ne2 {[%emt 0:05:12]} Nd8 {[%emt 0:06:15]} 12. Ng3 {[%emt 0:01:06]} Ne6
{[%emt 0:00:32]} 13. Ba2 {[%emt 0:29:44] Strangely played after a 30 minute
think, and a novelty. The position has been reached a few times, and most
grandmasters preferred 13.c3.} Rfe8 {[%emt 0:08:03]} 14. Ng5 {[%emt 0:06:30]}
d5 $5 {[%emt 0:16:04] The d5 break always has some drawbacks in the Spanish.
Usually, it is the e5 pawn that suffers. It lacks protection and the e1-rook
is now attacking it. On the other hand, Carlsen gets more space and the bishop
on a2 loses some of its influence on f7.} 15. Nxe6 {[%emt 0:08:59]} Qxe6 {
[%emt 0:00:15]} 16. Bg5 {[%emt 0:07:46]} h6 {[%emt 0:04:17]} 17. Bxf6 {[%emt 0:
01:23]} Bxf6 {[%emt 0:01:22]} 18. Qf3 {[%emt 0:05:51] taking advantage of the
pin on the d5 pawn. However Black is solid.} c6 {[%emt 0:03:08] keeping the
tension} (18... dxe4 19. dxe4 {simply activates the bishop on a2.} Qb6 20. Nf5
$14) 19. c4 {[%emt 0:06:36]} Rad8 {[%emt 0:03:30]} 20. cxd5 {[%emt 0:01:05]}
cxd5 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 21. Nf5 {[%emt 0:00:30] White's knight is annoying on f5,
but Black's position is holding together.} Bg5 $1 {[%emt 0:22:27]} 22. h4 {
[%emt 0:01:00]} Bd2 {[%emt 0:03:54]} (22... Bf4 {is also possible.} 23. g3 dxe4
24. Qg4 (24. dxe4 $2 Qxf5 $17) 24... Qf6 25. gxf4 exd3 {gets crazy, but
computers like Black a bit.} 26. fxe5 $2 d2 $19 {was something Carlsen missed.}
) 23. Re2 {[%emt 0:04:26]} dxe4 {[%emt 0:14:28]} 24. dxe4 {[%emt 0:05:18]} Qf6
{[%emt 0:00:11]} 25. g3 {[%emt 0:09:41]} Kf8 {[%emt 0:01:45] Magnus was
critical of this move, but maybe it was not so bad.} 26. h5 {[%emt 0:05:10]}
Bg5 {[%emt 0:04:20]} 27. a4 {[%emt 0:01:14] Played with under 5 minutes on the
clock.} b4 {[%emt 0:01:13]} (27... bxa4 $1) 28. a5 {[%emt 0:02:02] After this
Caruana was down to only seconds.} Kg8 {[%emt 0:04:23]} 29. Bc4 {[%emt 0:00:09]
} Rd7 $6 {[%emt 0:00:51]} (29... Kh8 $1) 30. Ra4 $1 {[%emt 0:00:28]} Kh8 {
[%emt 0:02:15]} 31. Rxb4 {[%emt 0:00:08]} g6 {[%emt 0:00:07] What a crazy
position! Specially since they were on bullet mode now: both players under
three minutes.} 32. hxg6 {[%emt 0:00:01]} fxg6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 33. Qb3 {[%emt
0:00:41] Forced, but Caruana took way too long on making this move... 41
seconds!} Bc6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 34. Ne3 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Bxe4 {[%emt 0:00:11]}
35. Bd5 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Bxd5 {[%emt 0:01:03]} (35... Qf3 36. Rxe4 $1 (36. Bxe4
Qxe2 37. Rb8 {Carlsen thought this was "at least a draw" but actually Black is
winning after} Rxb8 38. Qxb8+ Kh7 $1 39. Bd5 Rg7 $1 $18) 36... Qxe2 37. Nc4 Qh5
38. g4 $1 Qh4 39. Nxe5 $1 {with a strong initiative.}) 36. Nxd5 {[%emt 0:00:01]
} Qc6 {[%emt 0:00:01]} 37. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Qf3 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 38. Qc2 {
[%emt 0:00:03]} Red8 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 39. Rbe4 {[%emt 0:00:01]} (39. Qe4 $1 $16
Rd1+ $2 40. Nxd1 Rxd1+ 41. Re1 {doesn't work.}) 39... Rd2 {[%emt 0:00:04]} (
39... Bf4 $1 {but who would see this with seconds left?}) 40. Rxd2 $4 {[%emt 0:
00:00] Horrible! But Caruana only had a couple of seconds to play.} (40. Qb3
Rd1+ $1 41. Qxd1 Rxd1+ 42. Nxd1 h5 {gives Black enough compensation.}) 40...
Rxd2 {[%emt 0:00:00] Now it is clear that Black is winning. f2 is hanging as
well as the queen.} 0-1
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.24"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2816"]
[BlackElo "2814"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "145"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:3600+30"]
1. e4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} e5 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Nc6 {[%emt
0:00:04]} 3. Bb5 {[%emt 0:00:07]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 4. d3 {[%emt 0:00:14]}
Bc5 5. Nbd2 d6 {[%emt 0:03:28]} 6. O-O {[%emt 0:03:31]} O-O {[%emt 0:01:11]} 7.
c3 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Ne7 {[%emt 0:01:32]} 8. d4 {[%emt 0:04:02]} exd4 {[%emt 0:
00:21]} 9. cxd4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Bb6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 10. Re1 {[%emt 0:01:32]}
Ng6 {[%emt 0:04:43]} 11. h3 {[%emt 0:03:00]} c6 {[%emt 0:03:31]} 12. Bd3 {
[%emt 0:11:36] Already not a theoretical position. However the ideas heavily
resemble the Italian game.} Nh5 {[%emt 0:15:59]} (12... d5 13. e5 Nf4 14. Bc2
N6h5 {looks good for White because after} 15. Nf1 {it's hard to prevent Ng3
with problems:} f6 16. Ng3 fxe5 17. Nxh5 $1 $16) 13. Nc4 {[%emt 0:04:31]} Bc7 {
[%emt 0:00:12]} 14. d5 $5 {[%emt 0:03:20]} Nhf4 {[%emt 0:03:24]} 15. Bf1 {
[%emt 0:02:41]} f5 $5 {[%emt 0:04:13] Uncompromising play. Black hits the
center strong, but Topalov comes up with an excellent decision.} 16. e5 $1 {
[%emt 0:04:19] An excellent pawn sacrifice. He receives the pair of bishops
and specially an unopposed dark squared monster.} Nxd5 {[%emt 0:01:26]} 17.
exd6 {[%emt 0:09:23]} Bxd6 {[%emt 0:00:19]} 18. Nxd6 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Qxd6 {
[%emt 0:00:03]} 19. b3 {[%emt 0:00:23] The bishop on b2 will be targetting the
g7 pawn and the king feels very uncomfortable.} Bd7 $6 {[%emt 0:16:39]} (19...
Be6 {directly was much, much better.} 20. Bb2 Rfe8 21. Qd4 Qc7 22. Ng5 Ngf4 $5
{trying to consolidate, but White retains real initiative.}) 20. Bb2 {[%emt 0:
00:33]} Rfe8 {[%emt 0:00:48]} 21. Qd4 {[%emt 0:01:07]} Qf6 {[%emt 0:00:22]} 22.
Qd2 {[%emt 0:00:14]} Qd6 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 23. Bc4 {[%emt 0:05:16]} h6 {[%emt 0:
06:20]} 24. Qd4 {[%emt 0:04:56] Already Black's position is very bad. Nakamura
returns his material, but then the pair of bishops is very strong.} Qf6 {[%emt
0:01:16]} 25. Qxf6 {[%emt 0:04:31]} gxf6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 26. Bxf6 {[%emt 0:00:
38]} Rxe1+ {[%emt 0:07:55]} 27. Rxe1 {[%emt 0:00:32]} Re8 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 28.
Rd1 {[%emt 0:05:37]} Be6 {[%emt 0:05:39]} 29. Nd4 {[%emt 0:00:41]} Kf7 {[%emt
0:05:26]} 30. Nxe6 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Rxe6 {[%emt 0:02:09]} 31. Bd4 {[%emt 0:01:
40] The pair of bishops is very strong.} a6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 32. Kf1 $6 {[%emt
0:07:27]} (32. g3 $1 {preventing Ngf4 was better.}) 32... Ngf4 {[%emt 0:03:41]}
33. b4 {[%emt 0:00:30]} Re4 {[%emt 0:03:01]} 34. f3 {[%emt 0:03:48]} Re8 {
[%emt 0:00:03]} 35. g3 {[%emt 0:10:01]} Ne6 {[%emt 0:00:32]} (35... Nxh3 36. f4
{traps the knight, this doesn't look playable.}) 36. Bf2 {[%emt 0:00:39]} Rd8 {
[%emt 0:03:50]} 37. Re1 {[%emt 0:02:13]} f4 $2 {[%emt 0:01:10] A strange move.
This allows White easier play thanks to the possibility of moving forward on
the kingside with the pawns.} (37... Kf6 $14) 38. g4 {[%emt 0:02:01]} Ng5 {
[%emt 0:00:58]} 39. Kg2 {[%emt 0:01:16]} Re8 {[%emt 0:01:58]} 40. Rd1 {[%emt 0:
00:00]} Re5 {[%emt 0:00:00]} 41. Bd4 {[%emt 0:09:00]} Re8 {[%emt 0:01:27]} 42.
h4 {[%emt 0:04:02]} Ne6 {[%emt 0:00:30]} 43. Bf2 {[%emt 0:00:20]} Nec7 {[%emt
0:00:09]} 44. h5 {[%emt 0:06:34]} Kf6 {[%emt 0:07:15]} 45. Kh3 {[%emt 0:00:54]}
b5 {[%emt 0:08:15]} 46. Bd4+ {[%emt 0:11:08]} Kg5 {[%emt 0:04:27]
counterintuitive! The king is almost mated in this position, but Nakamura's
position was already bad.} 47. Bxd5 $6 {[%emt 0:07:26]} (47. Bb3 $1 {Was even
cleaner. Here Black basically gets mated:} Nxb4 48. Bf2 $18) 47... Nxd5 {[%emt
0:00:50]} 48. Rc1 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Re6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 49. Rc5 {[%emt 0:00:06]
} Rd6 {[%emt 0:00:01]} 50. Bg7 {[%emt 0:01:22]} Re6 {[%emt 0:01:58]} 51. Bd4 {
[%emt 0:03:43]} Rd6 {[%emt 0:00:37]} 52. a3 $1 {[%emt 0:04:58]} Re6 {[%emt 0:
00:05]} 53. Rc1 {[%emt 0:01:59] Black is in zugzwang.} Ne7 {[%emt 0:04:43]} ({
Analysis:} 53... Rd6 54. Re1 {gets mated.} Ne3 55. Rxe3 $1 fxe3 56. Be5 Rf6 57.
Kg3 $18) 54. Bf2 {[%emt 0:05:00]} Kf6 {[%emt 0:00:44]} 55. Bh4+ {[%emt 0:00:05]
} Kf7 {[%emt 0:00:12]} 56. g5 {[%emt 0:00:41]} hxg5 {[%emt 0:06:45]} 57. Bxg5 {
[%emt 0:00:13] White's passed pawn on the kingside gives him a decisive
advantage. Topalov converts in Capablanca style.} Nd5 {[%emt 0:00:15]} 58. Kg4
{[%emt 0:01:00]} Kg7 {[%emt 0:00:26]} 59. Bxf4 {[%emt 0:01:19]} Nxf4 {[%emt 0:
04:21]} 60. Kxf4 {[%emt 0:00:08] interestingly this endgame without all the
pawns on the queenside is probably drawn or close to drawn, but because of
potential queen trades I don't think Black has any hope here.} Rd6 {[%emt 0:00:
26]} 61. Rc3 $1 {[%emt 0:00:29]} Kf6 {[%emt 0:04:24]} 62. Kg4 {[%emt 0:01:08]}
a5 {[%emt 0:02:54] desperation.} 63. bxa5 {[%emt 0:00:24]} Rd4+ {[%emt 0:00:01]
} 64. f4 {[%emt 0:00:14]} Ra4 {[%emt 0:00:01]} 65. Rxc6+ {[%emt 0:02:19]} Kg7 {
[%emt 0:00:09]} 66. a6 {[%emt 0:01:52]} Rxa3 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 67. f5 {[%emt 0:
00:55]} b4 {[%emt 0:01:24]} 68. f6+ {[%emt 0:00:21]} Kf7 {[%emt 0:00:24]} 69.
h6 {[%emt 0:02:42] Too many passed pawns.} Kg6 {[%emt 0:00:26]} 70. Rc8 {[%emt
0:00:11]} b3 {[%emt 0:04:41]} 71. Rg8+ {[%emt 0:01:30]} Kf7 {[%emt 0:00:42]}
72. h7 {[%emt 0:00:21]} Ra4+ {[%emt 0:00:18]} 73. Kf3 {[%emt 0:00:36]} 1-0
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.24"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D00"]
[WhiteElo "2771"]
[BlackElo "2816"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:3600+30"]
1. d4 {[%emt 0:00:12]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 2. Bf4 $5 {[%emt 0:00:12] Some
kind of London system, completing bypassing theory. This is usually done after
Nf3, but Grischuk skips this move for quite a while. Grischuk called it the
"correct bishop opening".} d5 {[%emt 0:01:23]} 3. e3 {[%emt 0:00:35]} c5 $5 {
[%emt 0:00:38] Played quickly} 4. dxc5 {[%emt 0:02:05]} Nc6 {[%emt 0:00:30]} 5.
Bb5 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Qa5+ {[%emt 0:05:31]} 6. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:15]} a6 {[%emt 0:
00:13]} 7. Bxc6+ {[%emt 0:00:17]} bxc6 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 8. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:24]}
(8. Qd4 {can get crazy and might be the critical move. For example:} e6 9. b4
Qa3 10. Nge2 a5 11. b5 $13) 8... e6 {[%emt 0:04:51]} 9. O-O {[%emt 0:15:05]}
Bd7 $6 {[%emt 0:04:33] This move was very strange. The development of the
bishop to this square doesn't make much sense.} 10. a3 {[%emt 0:19:45]} (10. e4
$5 {was another attempt at creating complications, but Grischuk's approach is
also good.} dxe4 $6 11. Ne5 $16) 10... Qxc5 {[%emt 0:00:48] forced} 11. Na4 {
[%emt 0:00:37]} Qa7 {[%emt 0:02:49]} 12. c4 {[%emt 0:01:48] A typical break in
this structure. Black is behind in development. He definitely would wish that
his bishop on f8 was on e7 rather than the one on c8 going to d7.} Be7 {[%emt
0:02:01]} 13. Rc1 {[%emt 0:07:46]} (13. b4 $5) 13... Rc8 {[%emt 0:03:05]} (
13... O-O 14. cxd5 Nxd5 $14 {is worse for Black, but perhaps had to be played.}
) 14. cxd5 {[%emt 0:21:36]} (14. b4 $16) 14... cxd5 {[%emt 0:05:07]} 15. Rxc8+
{[%emt 0:00:28]} Bxc8 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 16. Qd4 $1 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Qxd4 {[%emt
0:01:06]} 17. exd4 {[%emt 0:00:27]} Bd7 {[%emt 0:07:01]} 18. Nb6 {[%emt 0:19:
45] The endgame is unpleasant for Black. His activity is limited and White
will rule the c-file.} Bd8 {[%emt 0:16:49]} (18... Bb5 19. Rc1 Nd7 20. Rc8+ Bd8
{is not human, but perhaps it was the best chance to equalize.}) 19. Nxd7 {
[%emt 0:01:02]} Nxd7 {[%emt 0:00:44]} 20. Rc1 {[%emt 0:00:14]} f6 $2 {[%emt 0:
00:37] This move is hard to understand. Black will simply lose a pawn here.} (
20... a5 21. Rc6 O-O 22. b4 axb4 23. axb4 Re8 {prepares an e5 break.
Uncomfortable, but not lost.}) 21. Rc6 {[%emt 0:03:48]} Kf7 {[%emt 0:01:24]}
22. Rxa6 {[%emt 0:03:49]} Bb6 {[%emt 0:00:31]} 23. Bd2 {[%emt 0:02:28]} g5 {
[%emt 0:04:22]} 24. h3 {[%emt 0:05:33]} Rb8 {[%emt 0:00:31]} 25. Bb4 {[%emt 0:
02:45] Grischuk was already down on time, and Anand tried to take advantage of
it by playing quickly, however this backfired.} Rb7 {[%emt 0:00:30]} 26. Ra8 {
[%emt 0:00:57]} Nb8 {[%emt 0:00:18]} 27. Kf1 {[%emt 0:00:39]} Nc6 {[%emt 0:06:
28]} 28. Bc3 {[%emt 0:00:01]} e5 $5 {[%emt 0:00:17] Going for complications,
but this doesn't work.} (28... h5 29. g4 hxg4 30. hxg4 e5 {was a slightly
better version, but still bad for Black.}) 29. dxe5 {[%emt 0:00:31]} d4 {[%emt
0:00:10]} 30. Bb4 $1 {[%emt 0:01:06]} Nxe5 {[%emt 0:01:05]} 31. Nxe5+ $1 {
[%emt 0:01:57] A relatively long think that was very accurate.} fxe5 {[%emt 0:
00:07]} 32. Ke2 {[%emt 0:00:12] Despite the low amount of time that Grischuk
had, he played very precisely.} e4 {[%emt 0:03:21]} 33. f3 {[%emt 0:00:01]} d3+
{[%emt 0:01:46]} (33... e3 34. Kd3 {doesn't look promising for Black: his two
passed pawns are blockaded and his pieces are happy. However this was a better
try.}) 34. Kd2 {[%emt 0:00:07]} exf3 {[%emt 0:00:33]} 35. Rf8+ $1 {[%emt 0:00:
19] White will pick up the f3 pawn and then the d3 pawn. It's done.} 1-0
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.24"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D38"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]
[BlackElo "2765"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:3600+30"]
1. d4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Nf6 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 2. c4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} e6 {[%emt 0:
00:04]} 3. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:04]} d5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 4. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Bb4
{[%emt 0:00:05]} 5. Bg5 {[%emt 0:00:05]} h6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 6. Bxf6 {[%emt 0:
00:03]} Qxf6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 7. Qa4+ {[%emt 0:00:18]} Nc6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 8.
e3 {[%emt 0:00:03]} O-O {[%emt 0:00:06]} 9. Be2 {[%emt 0:00:10]} dxc4 {[%emt 0:
00:14]} 10. O-O {[%emt 0:00:19]} Bd7 {[%emt 0:00:03]} 11. Bxc4 {[%emt 0:00:19]}
Bxc3 {[%emt 0:00:05] After 11...Bd6 stopped giving Black optimal positions,
people have been looking at this capture on c3 to even things out. Aronian
used it against Topalov in Norway this year.} 12. bxc3 {[%emt 0:00:06]} Rfd8 {
[%emt 0:00:04]} 13. Be2 {[%emt 0:01:35]} Be8 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 14. Qa3 {[%emt 0:
02:23]} Qe7 {[%emt 0:00:09]} 15. Qb2 {[%emt 0:00:07]} b6 {[%emt 0:00:05]
Played instantly. Aronian's improvement over 15...Na5, which he played against
Topalov.} (15... Na5 16. Qb4 Qxb4 17. cxb4 Nc6 18. Rab1 $14 {Topalov-Aronoian,
Norway 2015.}) 16. Nd2 {[%emt 0:03:53] Perhaps this is not the most
challenging, but I'm not sure what to suggest instead.} Na5 {[%emt 0:03:24]}
17. Nb3 {[%emt 0:02:05]} (17. Qb4 c5 {doesn't look anywhere near as appealing
as it did in the mentioned game.}) 17... Nxb3 {[%emt 0:00:47]} 18. axb3 {[%emt
0:00:09]} a5 {[%emt 0:04:04]} 19. b4 {[%emt 0:12:00]} (19. Bf3 Rab8 20. c4 {is
given as slightly better by the computers, but after} c5 {the position looks
pretty equal to me.}) 19... axb4 {[%emt 0:05:29]} (19... Bc6 20. bxa5 bxa5 $11)
20. Qxb4 {[%emt 0:03:18]} (20. cxb4 {was perhaps a bit better, but still Black
should be ok.}) 20... Kf8 {[%emt 0:02:12]} 21. Bf3 {[%emt 0:10:45]} Qxb4 {
[%emt 0:00:11]} 22. cxb4 {[%emt 0:00:08]} Rxa1 {[%emt 0:00:02]} 23. Rxa1 {
[%emt 0:00:10]} Ke7 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 24. Kf1 {[%emt 0:03:09]} Kd6 {[%emt 0:00:
06]} 25. Ke2 {[%emt 0:04:46] There is no reason to believe either side is
better. Even making a miniscule amount of progress looks impossible.} Bb5+ {
[%emt 0:00:53]} 26. Kd2 {[%emt 0:01:45]} e5 {[%emt 0:00:31]} 27. dxe5+ {[%emt
0:00:54]} Kxe5+ {[%emt 0:00:04]} 28. Kc3 {[%emt 0:00:10]} Rd3+ {[%emt 0:02:41]}
29. Kc2 {[%emt 0:00:09]} Rd8 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 30. Kc3 {[%emt 0:01:18]} Rd3+ {
[%emt 0:00:06]} 31. Kc2 {[%emt 0:00:05]} Rd8 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 32. Kc3 {[%emt 0:
00:04]} 1/2-1/2
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.24"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "So, Wesley"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A35"]
[WhiteElo "2793"]
[BlackElo "2779"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:3600+30"]
1. c4 {[%emt 0:00:03]} c5 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 2. Nf3 {[%emt 0:00:51]} Nc6 {[%emt
0:00:04]} 3. Nc3 {[%emt 0:00:34]} e5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 4. e3 {[%emt 0:00:28]} f5
{[%emt 0:00:30]} 5. d4 {[%emt 0:01:03]} e4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 6. d5 {[%emt 0:00:
11]} exf3 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 7. dxc6 {[%emt 0:00:04]} dxc6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 8.
Qxd8+ {[%emt 0:01:25]} Kxd8 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 9. gxf3 {[%emt 0:00:22]} Nf6 {
[%emt 0:00:09]} 10. b3 {[%emt 0:03:43]} Bd6 {[%emt 0:00:08]} 11. Bb2 {[%emt 0:
01:02]} Ke7 {[%emt 0:00:12]} 12. O-O-O {[%emt 0:05:29]} (12. Bd3 {was
Timman-Edouard, 2011.}) 12... Be6 {[%emt 0:00:06]} 13. Bd3 {[%emt 0:00:36]}
Rhd8 {[%emt 0:07:42]} 14. Kc2 {[%emt 0:03:42]} Rd7 {[%emt 0:07:05] Technically
the novelty of the game. 14...g6 was played in Zvjaginsev-Bukavshin back in
2011, a game that White won.} 15. Ne2 {[%emt 0:04:38]} (15. e4 $5) 15... g6 {
[%emt 0:09:48]} 16. h3 {[%emt 0:15:47]} (16. Nf4 Bxf4 17. exf4 {looks drawish,
as pointed out by Giri.}) 16... Rad8 {[%emt 0:12:36]} 17. f4 {[%emt 0:01:16]}
Bc7 {[%emt 0:08:12]} 18. Ba3 {[%emt 0:01:57]} b6 {[%emt 0:00:36]} 19. Ng3 {
[%emt 0:01:39]} Kf7 {[%emt 0:01:02]} 20. Bb2 {[%emt 0:01:31] It doesn't seem
that White has made any progress. None of his last few moves created any real
threats and now that Black has completed his development he is very close to
being simply equal, perhaps by moving his pawns on the queenside.} a6 {[%emt 0:
06:17]} 21. Be5 {[%emt 0:04:29]} b5 {[%emt 0:06:40]} 22. Bxf5 {[%emt 0:11:20]
The tactics work out, but this doesn't give White any advantage.} gxf5 {[%emt
0:04:27]} (22... Bxf5+ 23. Nxf5 Bxe5 24. fxe5 gxf5 25. exf6 Kxf6 26. Rxd7 Rxd7
{is slightly better for White, but very close to a draw.}) 23. Bxc7 {[%emt 0:
00:05]} Rxd1 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 24. Rxd1 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Rxd1 {[%emt 0:00:04]}
25. Kxd1 {[%emt 0:00:04]} bxc4 {[%emt 0:00:04] The game at this point is
extremely drawish.} 26. bxc4 {[%emt 0:04:52]} Ne4 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 27. Nxe4 {
[%emt 0:05:37]} fxe4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 28. h4 {[%emt 0:00:39]} Bxc4 {[%emt 0:00:
04]} 29. a3 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Ke6 {[%emt 0:00:58]} 30. f5+ {[%emt 0:00:57]} Kxf5
{With opposite colored bishops the game is basically dead.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.25"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B51"]
[WhiteElo "2816"]
[BlackElo "2816"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Nd7 4. d4 {no 7...g5 like in Carlsen-Topalov!} cxd4
5. Qxd4 a6 6. Bxd7+ Bxd7 7. O-O Nf6 8. Nc3 e5 9. Qd3 h6 10. Nd2 {a rare plan,
but it's been seen before. White tries to remaneuver his pieces to exploit the
weaknesses on d6 and d5. Black on the other hand is quite solid, with good
development, not to mention a potentially strong pair of bishops.} b5 {makes
plenty of sense to avoid the knight from coming to c4. White must justify his
play by attacking on the queenside aggressively.} 11. a4 Rb8 12. Rd1 Be7 13.
axb5 axb5 14. Nf1 {The knight heads to d5 anyway, but this seems to be too
slow. Black forces the hand of the knight on c3 before White can install his
knight on e3.} b4 $1 15. Nd5 Nxd5 16. Qxd5 (16. exd5 O-O {is already even
worse for White. His isolated pawn on d5 will be weak in the long run.}) 16...
O-O 17. Ne3 Be6 18. Qd3 Qc7 19. Bd2 Rfc8 {Black has more than sufficient
pressure on the queenside. He isn't better, but White has no hopes for an
advantage. Because of White's control of d5 he is still ok.} 20. c3 bxc3 21.
Bxc3 Qb7 22. Nd5 {Now it is just a matter of time until White wins one of the
bishops for his knight, leading towards a drawish endgame. It is safer for
Black to exchange his dark square bishop than his light square bishop to
retain opposite colored bishops.} Bg5 23. h3 Ra8 24. Ne3 Bxe3 25. Qxe3 Rxa1 26.
Rxa1 Ra8 27. Rxa8+ Qxa8 28. f3 {Clearly, this game isn't going anywhere. The
draw is in sight.} Qc6 29. Kf2 f6 30. Kg1 Qc5 31. Qxc5 dxc5 1/2-1/2
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.25"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A29"]
[WhiteElo "2765"]
[BlackElo "2793"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6 7. O-O Be7 8.
d3 O-O 9. Be3 Re8 10. Qd2 {A relatively rare move in a very well known
position. Aronian wants to swing his f1-rook to c1 rather than the a1 rook.}
Bf8 11. Rfc1 h6 12. a3 Bg4 13. Ne4 Nd4 (13... Bxf3 14. Bxf3) (13... a5) 14.
Bxd4 exd4 15. Qf4 Bxf3 16. exf3 $5 {Aronian went in to the confessional booth
explaining that he thought this move "was cool, just to have some fun". The
change of structure allows him to ram the f-pawn forward and eliminates his
weakness on e2.} Nd5 17. Qg4 c6 18. f4 a5 {Aronian thought he had a large
advantage, but Giri and Stockfish think that White is better, but its nothing
special at all.} 19. Nd2 a4 20. Qd1 Nb6 21. h4 Ra5 {A strange placement for
the rook, but it does control the fifth rank.} 22. Rc2 Nd7 23. Ne4 Nc5 (23...
Rb5 {was probably better than trading the knights.}) 24. Nxc5 Bxc5 25. Qd2 Bf8
{Giri thought he messed up with this move. Komodo thinks its fine. From a
human point of view it is clear that playing with White is more comfortable,
but breaking through is very difficult.} 26. Re1 Rxe1+ 27. Qxe1 Ra8 28. Qe4 Qb6
29. Re2 $14 {White is better, but it isn't clear how much.} Qc5 30. Bf3 Rd8 31.
Kg2 Bd6 32. f5 Bf8 33. f6 (33. Kh2 Qd6 34. Rc2) (33. g4 {was Carlsen's
suggestion, trying to improve the position slowly. It might have been the
strongest options. Aronian seemed to agree after the game.}) 33... gxf6 34. Qf4
Qd6 35. Qf5 Ra8 36. Rc2 (36. Re4 Bg7 37. Rf4 Qe6 38. Qc5 f5 {is still better
for White, but the endgames should be sustainable for Black.}) 36... Bg7 37.
Rc4 Qe6 38. Qf4 Qe5 39. Rb4 Qxf4 40. gxf4 Ra7 41. f5 Bf8 42. Rxd4 Ra5 {White
has nothing in this endgame.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.25"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E60"]
[WhiteElo "2853"]
[BlackElo "2731"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 c5 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 O-O 7. Nc3 Qc7 8.
Nd5 {A position that has been played many times. Wang Hao has had it more than
three times with white.} Qxc4 $5 {Perhaps surprised by the opening, MVL goes
for a strategically dubious move.} (8... Nxd5 9. cxd5 Qa5+ 10. Bd2 Qb6 11. Bc3
e5 $5 {Wang Hao - Grischuk, 2014. Grischuk eventually won that game.}) 9. Nxe7+
Kh8 10. Nxc8 Rxc8 11. O-O {pair of bishops and a problem with the isolated
pawn on d7. White has a slight edge, no doubt about it.} Nc6 12. Be3 Ng4 13.
Nc2 {Of course, White retains his advantages.} Nxe3 14. Nxe3 Qe6 15. Nd5 Bxb2 {
releasing somre tension. Black's best bet is to reach some kind of opposite
colored bishop endgame. His position is uncomfortable, but very far from lost.}
16. Rb1 Be5 17. Rxb7 Rab8 18. Rxb8 Rxb8 19. e3 Rb2 20. a4 Ne7 $6 (20... Qd6 $1
{with close to equality.}) 21. Nf4 Bxf4 $5 {Resourceful! Blcak gives up his
bishop to try to create waeknesses in the opponent's position. Taking with the
g-pawn weakens the kingside, taking with the e-pawn exposes f2.} 22. exf4 Qb6
23. a5 $1 Qc5 (23... Qxa5 24. Qd4+ {is no bueno.}) 24. Qxd7 (24. a6 d6) 24...
Ra2 25. Qd3 {surprisingly, it isn't easy to take on a5.} (25. Qb7 Kg7 26. a6 h5
) 25... Kg7 (25... Qxa5 26. Qd6 $1 Ng8 27. Qd4+ {is very uncomfortable.}) (
25... Rxa5 26. Qd2 Rb5 {Carlsen thought that this was the best way for Black.
White will eventually take on a7, but the 4v3 on the kingside is not
necessarily won.}) 26. a6 h5 {also somewhat surprisingly, Black doesn't have
to take the a-pawn! With the weakness on f2 it isn't easy to make progress.}
27. Bb7 Nf5 28. Qe4 Nd6 29. Qb1 Rd2 30. Qa1+ Kg8 31. Bg2 Nf5 32. Qe5 $1 {Black
really doesn't want to trade queens, but on the other hand the remaining
pieces would be more active than White's... a tough choice in practical play.}
Qxe5 33. fxe5 Re2 34. Rb1 $1 {The a7 pawn is now very weak. This variation is
the reason I don't believe Black should have traded queens.} Rxe5 35. Rb7 Re1+
36. Bf1 h4 37. Rxa7 h3 {Black tries to create random complications, but there
is nothing here.} 38. Rd7 $1 Ra1 39. g4 (39. a7 $1 Kg7 40. g4 Nh4 41. f4 Ng2
42. Kf2 Nxf4 43. g5 {finishes the game. Black is basically in zugzwang:} Ra2+
44. Kg3 Ne6 45. Bc4 {with a winning position.}) 39... Nh4 40. Rd3 Ng2 {Time
trouble is over and White is up two pawns for no compensation.} 41. Rxh3 Nf4
42. Rf3 g5 43. Rb3 {after some thought, MVL decided that two pawns was too
much. Two victories in a row for the World Champion.} 1-0
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.25"]
[Round "3"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E60"]
[WhiteElo "2779"]
[BlackElo "2771"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O Bg7 7. d4 cxd4 8. Nxd4
Bd7 9. b3 (9. Nc2 {is another possibility. Trying to avoid the exchange of
pieces.}) 9... Nxd4 10. Qxd4 Bc6 11. Bb2 O-O 12. Nd5 Bxd5 13. cxd5 {The
symmetrical pawn structure favors White very slightly. At some point he will
install a bishop on h3 and take control over the c-file. However, things are
not that bad for Black yet.} Qa5 14. Bc3 Qa6 15. Qd2 Rfc8 16. Rfc1 Qb5 17. Rab1
a5 18. e4 {This move is a little commital. Some of the lightsquares suffer
because of this.} Nd7 19. Bxg7 Kxg7 20. Qd4+ Kg8 21. Bf1 Rxc1 22. Rxc1 Qb4 23.
Rc4 $1 (23. Qxb4 axb4 24. Rc2 {should be an endgame in which neither side can
realistically make progress.}) 23... Qe1 24. Rc7 Ne5 25. Kg2 Qb4 $1 {Seeking
counterplay - a very smart practical decision.} 26. Qxb4 axb4 27. Rc2 Kg7 28.
f4 Nd7 29. Kf3 {As usual, Grischuk was already in time troubule by this point.}
f5 $2 {It's hard to understand this decision.} (29... Nc5 {first seemed
natural. Black can always play f5 later.}) 30. exf5 gxf5 31. Rc7 Nc5 32. Rxe7+
Kf6 33. Re2 {White simply took a pawn.} h5 34. Ke3 h4 35. Kd4 hxg3 36. hxg3 {
White's bishop is bad, but a pawn is a pawn. Black will have trouble defending
this position. His b4 pawn also feels uncomfortable.} Rg8 37. Re3 Ra8 38. Kc4
Rxa2 39. Kxb4 Rf2 40. Bc4 Ne4 41. Kb5 {Apparently, the b4 pawn was not the
only b-pawn that was fealing the heat! White is winning in this position,
Black can't do anything about the plan Kb6 and b4 when the knight defends c5.
Even so, it seems a little premature to resign.} (41. Kb5 Rh2 42. Kb6 Nc5 43.
b4 Rb2 44. b5 Rh2 {and at least Black could make So find a winning plan.}) 1-0
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.25"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D81"]
[WhiteElo "2814"]
[BlackElo "2808"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "147"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Qb3 dxc4 5. Qxc4 Be6 6. Qa4+ Bd7 7. Qb3 c5 8.
d5 b5 9. Nxb5 Bxb5 $5 (9... Qa5+ 10. Nc3 Na6 11. f3 c4 12. Qd1 e6 {gave Black
some compensation in Svidler-Gelfand, 2014. Black ended up winning that game.})
10. Qxb5+ Nbd7 {For the missing pawn, it is clear that Black has a lot of
development. It is difficult to coordinate all of White's pieces.} 11. g3 {
After a few minutes think. The Fianchetto seems natural as the d5 has good
chances to simply fall here.} Rb8 (11... Nxd5 12. Bg2 e6 {looks to be ok for
Black.}) 12. Qa4 Bg7 {Caruana decides not to take the pawn, but simply
continue his development. A bold decision.} 13. Bg2 O-O 14. Nh3 Nb6 15. Qxa7 {
Ambitious} (15. Qc2 Nfxd5 16. O-O $11 {Black has enough activity here for
equality.} (16. Qxc5 Rc8 {looks risky for White.})) 15... Nfxd5 16. O-O Qc8 {
The trap is set on the queen, it must retreat.} 17. Qa3 Nb4 (17... e6 {is what
all the computers wanted, simply improving the position.}) 18. Qb3 Nc6 $5 {
rerouting to d4.} 19. Bf4 (19. e3 c4 20. Qb5 Ne5 {reroutes yet again, this
time to d3.}) 19... Nd4 20. Qd1 e5 21. Be3 Rd8 22. Bxd4 Rxd4 (22... cxd4 {also
made a lot of sense, going for a spacial advantage to compensate for the pawn.}
) 23. Qc2 Rc4 24. Qd2 Rd4 25. Qc1 e4 $5 {Ambitious} (25... Rc4 26. Qe3 e4 {was
also possible if White wanted to decline the repetitions.}) 26. e3 Rc4 27. Qd2
Rb4 $1 {The pressure on b2 is very real.} 28. Rac1 Rxb2 29. Qd6 c4 30. Ng5 Rxa2
$6 (30... c3 $1 31. Bxe4 (31. Nxe4 c2 {is very different, the pawn has already
reached c2 and squashes the White position.}) 31... Qe8 $5 {and Black holds
all the trumps in this position.}) 31. Nxe4 {now the pawn on c4 is stuck, and
it becomes somewhat of a weakness.} Qf8 32. Rfd1 Qxd6 33. Rxd6 Ra1 $6 (33...
Rb2 $11 34. Rc6 f5 35. Nd6 c3 36. Bf1 $11) 34. Rxa1 Bxa1 35. Rc6 {Suddenly
Black is in serious danger of losing the c4 pawn.} Rc8 {A nice practical
decision. the Opposite colored bishops make it very hard to to anything.
However Caruana will be tortured from here on.} 36. Rxb6 c3 37. Nxc3 Bxc3 38.
Bd5 Rc7 39. h4 Kg7 40. g4 h6 41. g5 hxg5 42. hxg5 Rc5 43. Rd6 Kf8 44. e4 Be5
45. Rd8+ Ke7 46. Ra8 Rc7 47. Kg2 Bf4 48. Ra5 Kf8 49. Bb3 Rc3 50. Rb5 Kg7 51.
Bd1 Rd3 52. Be2 Rc3 53. Rd5 Kf8 54. Bb5 Ke7 55. Kf1 Rc2 56. Be2 Rd2 57. Ra5 Rd4
{[%emt 0:00:05]} 58. f3 {[%emt 0:00:52]} Kf8 {[%emt 0:00:41]} 59. Ba6 {[%emt 0:
01:50]} Rd7 {[%emt 0:00:48]} 60. Bc4 {[%emt 0:01:31]} Re7 {[%emt 0:00:26]} 61.
Kg2 {[%emt 0:02:16]} Re5 {[%emt 0:00:28]} 62. Ra8+ {[%emt 0:00:08]} Re8 {[%emt
0:00:06]} 63. Ra5 {[%emt 0:00:13]} Re5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 64. Rxe5 {[%emt 0:00:
03]} Bxe5 {[%emt 0:00:04]} 65. Kh3 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Bf4 {[%emt 0:01:07]} 66.
Kg4 {[%emt 0:00:04]} Bc1 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 67. f4 {[%emt 0:00:09]} Ke7 {[%emt 0:
00:06]} 68. f5 {[%emt 0:00:27]} gxf5+ {[%emt 0:00:05]} 69. Kxf5 {[%emt 0:00:03]
} Bb2 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 70. e5 {[%emt 0:00:03]} Bc3 {[%emt 0:00:07]} 71. Bb3 {
[%emt 0:00:45]} Bb2 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 72. Bc4 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Bc3 {[%emt 0:00:
05]} 73. Bb3 {[%emt 0:00:02]} Bb2 {[%emt 0:00:05]} 74. Bc4 1/2-1/2
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.26"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D43"]
[WhiteElo "2808"]
[BlackElo "2816"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 {the not very sharp
Moscow.} (6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 g5 {is the ultra-sharp anti-Moscow.}) 6... Qxf6 7.
e3 g6 8. Bd3 Bg7 9. O-O O-O 10. e4 {An interesting break, played rather
quickly. Sometimes White holds on to this and plays preparatory moves.} Qd8 11.
Re1 c5 $1 {An interesting novelty from the Indian player, always showing
superb opening knowledge.} 12. exd5 (12. dxc5 d4 13. Nb5 e5 {gives Black
plenty of compensation for the pawn. He will break on b6 if he cannot capture
c5, and his passed pawn, good development and open lines will give him a fine
position.}) 12... cxd4 13. dxe6 Bxe6 14. Ne2 {Caruana's solution clearly
cannot pose real problems for Anand. White has some kind of blockade, but
Black's position is active and well developed.} Qd6 15. Qd2 Nc6 16. Nf4 Bg4 {
giving up the bishop for the f3-knight is not necessary, but with the opposite
colored bishops coming into play the position should be rather equal.} 17. Be4
Bxf3 18. Bxf3 Ne5 19. Bd5 Rac8 20. b3 b5 21. Rac1 bxc4 22. bxc4 Rc7 23. Nd3
Nxd3 {Anand was critical of this move after the game, correctly pointing out
that the retreat with Nd7 was a better move and equalizing. Now he comes under
a little bit of pressure.} 24. Qxd3 Kh7 25. g3 Bf6 26. Rb1 {White is slightly
better with his control of the b-file and slightly better bishop.} Kg7 27. Rb5
Rfc8 28. Reb1 Rc5 29. a4 Rxb5 30. axb5 {White has some hopes of an advantage.
He can pressure f7 and he has potentially dangerous pawns, but to be fair this
should be holdable for Black if he just stays put.} Rc7 31. Qb3 Qe5 32. Qf3 Bg5
33. c5 {taking advantage of tactics to push the pawn, but Anand has this under
control.} Rd7 $1 34. b6 axb6 35. cxb6 (35. Bc6 Rd8 36. cxb6 d3 37. Qe4 Qxe4 38.
Bxe4 d2 39. Rd1 Bf6 {is going to be a draw, no matter what the computer says.})
35... Rxd5 36. Qxd5 Qxd5 37. b7 d3 38. b8=Q d2 {White won an exchange, but he
is simply not able to do anything with it due to the huge pawn on d2.} 39. Rd1
Qf3 40. Qb2+ Kh7 41. Qc2 Be3 {forcing the draw.} 42. fxe3 Qxe3+ 1/2-1/2
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.26"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "2793"]
[BlackElo "2853"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 {The Sveshnikov Sicilian.
It goes in and out of fashion, and Carlsen playing it might bring some
attention back to a defense that is largely overlooked, despite the fact that
there is no definite refutation of it.} 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Nd5
Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c3 Ne7 {One of several possibilities Black has at his
disposal. Krasenkow likes to play this move.} 12. Nc2 Nxd5 13. Qxd5 Rb8 14. Nb4
Bb7 15. Qd3 O-O 16. Be2 a5 17. Nd5 b4 {Giri took some time to get to this
position, but Carlsen reached it relatively quickly. Black shouldn't have any
real problems in this position. This vriation has been played a couple of
times. White might be able to pressure slightly on the light squares but it
won't big a big deal.} 18. O-O bxc3 19. bxc3 Bg5 20. Rab1 Qd7 21. Rb3 Bc6 22.
Rfb1 Rxb3 23. Rxb3 g6 24. Rb6 Rc8 25. h3 Bxd5 {Even this move was maybe
unnecessary.} (25... h5 26. Ra6 Bxd5 {is safer:} 27. Qxd5 Rc5 $1 {a nice
intermezzo.} 28. Qxd6 Qxd6 29. Rxd6 Rxc3 $11) 26. Qxd5 Rxc3 27. Rxd6 Qe7 28.
Bd1 Rc7 29. g3 Kg7 {White has a very minor amount of pressure, but this is way
closer to a draw. Black's bishop isn't the greatest but White can't create
threats, so it will eventually remaneuver.} 30. Ba4 Bc1 31. Rc6 1/2-1/2
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.26"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2771"]
[BlackElo "2816"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Ng4 7. Bc1 Nf6 8. f3
e5 {White has a choice between playing this, repeating moves or going for the
Bg5 lines after Ng4. Also he has 11 moves besides f3 that make sense... such
is the Najdorf.} 9. Nb3 Be6 10. Be3 h5 {The modern variations of the Najdorf
all involve an early h5. The idea is that g4 is delayed, or sometimes outright
prevented, but on the other hand Black can't castle.} 11. Nd5 Bxd5 12. exd5
Nbd7 13. Qd2 g6 14. O-O-O Nb6 {White has two possibilities in this position.
Qa5 has been played more, but Kb1 is the move that is trending.} 15. Kb1 Nbxd5
16. Bg5 Be7 17. Na5 {played after an 11 minute think, so its fair to say that
Grischuk wasn't in his preparation any more.} Rb8 18. Bc4 Nb6 (18... Qc7 {
worked tactically, and was maybe a very bit better than the move played in the
game.} 19. Bxd5 Nxd5 20. Qxd5 Bxg5 $11) 19. Bxf6 $6 {After this move Black has
no problems.} (19. Rhe1 $1 {Might be more accurate} Qc7 {what else?} (19... O-O
20. Bb3 {starts looking dangerous.}) 20. Bxf6 Bxf6 21. Qxd6 Qxd6 22. Rxd6 {is
like the game but White is up a tempo. Now e5 hangs.}) 19... Bxf6 20. Qxd6 Qxd6
21. Rxd6 Bd8 22. Rd3 Bc7 23. Bb3 Ke7 24. Rhd1 Rhd8 25. Rxd8 Bxd8 26. Nc4 Nxc4
27. Bxc4 {With opposite colored bishops, it is clear that this game is now a
dead draw.} Bb6 28. c3 Rd8 29. Rxd8 Bxd8 30. Kc2 Bc7 31. Bd5 {Done.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.26"]
[Round "4"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Aronian, Levon"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E20"]
[WhiteElo "2779"]
[BlackElo "2765"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 c5 5. d5 O-O 6. e4 d6 7. Nge2 a6 $5 {An
interestig idea. The sacrifice 7...b5 was played in Grischuk-Topalov earlier
this year, with a great result for the Bulgarian. Aronian changes his approach
and prepares b5, and interesting idea.} 8. a4 Ba5 $5 {Nice understanding from
the Armenian. This threatsn b5 again!} 9. Bd2 (9. Ng3 b5 10. axb5 axb5 {and
Black is better.}) 9... exd5 10. cxd5 Nh5 $1 {A very uncomfortable move for So.
Now it is unclear how to develop his pieces.} 11. g3 Nd7 12. Bg2 b5 {Black has
good play all around the board.} 13. g4 $2 {So tries to push back Aronian, but
the Armenian does not give back any ground!} (13. O-O b4 14. Nb1 {is ok for
Black but White isn't doing that badly.}) 13... b4 14. Nb1 (14. gxh5 bxc3 15.
bxc3 Qh4+ {is not pleasant.}) 14... Qh4+ 15. Kf1 Ne5 $1 {The start of a very
strong attack. There is nothing White can do but accept the piece.} 16. Be1 $6
(16. Qe1 Qf6 17. gxh5 Nxf3 $19) (16. gxh5 f5 {is too strong. Black is tooa
active, White has no plan and it is uncomfortable to defend. And yet, this was
the best continuation.}) 16... Qf6 $1 17. gxh5 Nxf3 18. Bf2 Bg4 $1 {Keeping
the initiative seems much stronger to me than to go for material with Qxb2.}
19. Qc1 (19. Bxf3 Qxf3 20. Rg1 Qh3+ 21. Ke1 f5 $19) 19... Nd4 $1 20. Nxd4 cxd4
{Black's attack is way too strong. The king is weak, So has no development...
how to defend this position?} 21. e5 {tryign to get some squares.} dxe5 22. Nd2
Rac8 23. Qb1 b3 $1 24. Nxb3 Bb6 25. a5 Ba7 (25... Rc2 $3 {is brilliant, but
everything wins.}) 26. Kg1 Bf5 $1 27. Be4 Qg5+ 28. Kf1 Qf4 {d3 comes next,
White's position clearly collapses.} 0-1
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.26"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A65"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]
[BlackElo "2814"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 {The KID! of course, Nakamura is going
aggressive against MVL playing for the full point.} 5. f3 {The Saemisch. This
has dropped in popularity considerably with the new Classical lines with 6.h3,
but it's nice and refreshing to see this sharp line.} O-O 6. Nge2 c5 7. d5 e6
8. Ng3 exd5 9. cxd5 a6 10. a4 h5 {This move is standard in this structure. It
makes the g3 knight uncomfortable and allows the f6 knight to have more
options.} 11. Be2 Nbd7 12. O-O h4 13. Nh1 Nh5 {An old game between
Spassky-Polgar happened in 1993, which was quite interesting.} 14. Be3 f5 $5 {
A standard breakthrough, MVL is given no time to consolidate his position and
finish good development. Black strikes while the knight is on h1.} (14... Bd4 {
was the aforementioned game.} 15. Bxd4 cxd4 16. Qxd4 Qg5 17. Rad1 {and Black
has a lot of compensation for the pawn. Spassky-Polgar,J 1993.}) 15. f4 Qe8 16.
Bxh5 (16. Qe1 $5 {is also messy.}) 16... gxh5 17. e5 $5 {The position is
extremely complicated. Even engines need some tiem to try to understand what
is going on. Tactics are everywhere, the pawn structures can change wildly,
some pieces are not in the best positions. Such is the King's Indian/Benoni!}
dxe5 18. d6 $5 {Creating counterplay by freeing the d5 square.} exf4 19. Bxf4
Nf6 20. Nf2 Bd7 21. Nd3 h3 22. Ne5 $5 hxg2 23. Re1 {The computers are confsued
about the evaluation. They keep jumping back and forth over which move is best.
When talking to MVL and Nakamura about the game the consesus simply seemed to
be "it's a mess".} Be6 $6 (23... Bc6 $1 {was definitely better. g2 needs a
defender.}) 24. Qf3 Ne4 $2 {A mistake, allowing a crushing continuation.} (
24... Ng4 $5) 25. Rad1 $2 {but MVL misses!} (25. Re2 $1 {Next White takes on
g2 with a big and obvious attack on the kingside.}) 25... Bxe5 $1 26. Bxe5 Qg6
{MVL might have missed that here Ng5 is a strong threat.} 27. Qxg2 (27. Re2 Ng5
28. Qxg2 f4 $17 {Black is definitely in the driver's seat.}) 27... Qxg2+ 28.
Kxg2 Bd7 $1 {Black is fine here, up a pawn. However it is clear that winning
chances are slim. The opposite colored bishops create strong drawing chances
and White is active.} 29. Rg1 Kf7 30. Kf3 Rg8 31. Nxe4 fxe4+ 32. Kxe4 Ke6 33.
Bf4 Bxa4 34. Rde1 h4 35. Rxg8 Rxg8 36. Kf3+ {Black can keep pushing for as
long as he wants, but as soon as the rooks come off the opposite colored
bishops will guarantee a draw as long as White keeps a queenside blockade.} Kf6
37. Re5 Bc6+ 38. Ke3 Re8 {what else?} 39. Rxe8 Bxe8 40. d7 {the d pawn is
irrelevant, its more important to make sure the black pawns are blockaded.}
Bxd7 41. Bd6 c4 42. Kd4 b5 43. Kc3 Ke6 44. Bc7 Kd5 45. Bd8 h3 46. b4 cxb3 47.
Kxb3 Kc5 48. Be7+ Kb6 49. Bd8+ Kc5 50. Be7+ Kb6 51. Bd8+ {Black can never make
progress.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.27"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B92"]
[WhiteElo "2816"]
[BlackElo "2731"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Be3
Be6 9. Qd3 {The idea of putting the queen on d3 to support a knight on d5 is
common, it hasn't been seen in top level chess in this particular position.}
Nc6 10. a3 {preventing Nb4 ideas and preparing Nd5.} d5 $5 {Black breaks
through before White can establish his bind. However this doesn't fully
equalize just yet.} 11. exd5 Nxd5 12. Nxd5 Qxd5 (12... Bxd5 13. O-O-O {seems
dangerous for Black. But perhaps after} (13. O-O $1 $14) 13... Bxg2 $5 {he can
get away with capturing the pawn.}) 13. O-O-O Qxd3 (13... Qxg2 {just looks
suicidal, even if the computers can navigate the complications.}) 14. Bxd3
O-O-O (14... Bxb3 $6 15. cxb3 O-O {doubles the pawns, but the bishop on the
lightsquares is too strong to control.}) 15. Nc5 Bd5 16. c4 {Black doesn't
want to give up the pair of bishops, but that means that this bishop must take
quite a tour.} Bxg2 17. Rhg1 e4 $1 {An important move.} 18. Be2 (18. Rxg2 exd3
19. Rxg7 Ne5 $11 {is not entirely clear.}) 18... Bf3 19. Bxf3 exf3 20. Rxg7
Rxd1+ 21. Kxd1 Rd8+ 22. Kc1 Ne5 {Black's structure isn't the best, and h7 is
hanging, but he has good compensation. His pieces are active and Black's pawn
on f3 is annoying.} 23. Ne4 $1 Kd7 (23... Nxc4 24. Rxf7 Re8 $14) 24. Rxh7 Ke6
25. Nd2 Rc8 26. Kc2 (26. Rh6+ $1) 26... Nxc4 27. Nxc4 Rxc4+ 28. Kd3 Rg4 29. h3
Ra4 30. Rh6+ f6 31. Rh7 Ra5 32. Ke4 Rb5 33. Bd4 Bd6 34. Rh6 Be5 35. Bxe5 Rxe5+
36. Kxf3 Rf5+ {White is up a pawn, but converting it is very difficult black
is too active and it is hard to make progress with a weak h-pawn.} 37. Ke2 Re5+
38. Kf1 Rb5 39. b4 Rd5 40. Rg6 a5 41. bxa5 Rxa5 42. Rg3 Ra4 1/2-1/2
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.27"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B13"]
[WhiteElo "2765"]
[BlackElo "2771"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "60"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. e3 $5 {Clever. Aronian comes into the game with a very
clear opening preparation. A few players have tried 1.Nf3 c5 2.e4 against
Grischuk to trick him into a Sicilian, but Aronian has other thoughts in mind.}
Nf6 4. d4 cxd4 5. exd4 d5 6. Nc3 {Suddenly, we are in a Panov Caro-Kann. The
positions's are usually very unabalanced.} Bg4 {main line.} (6... e6 {is
possible.}) 7. Bg5 $5 {In a position that has been reached thousands of times,
Aronian chooses a move that has only been played 19 times in the database.
Grischuk sank into deep thought after this.} e6 (7... Ne4 {seems possible, but
after} 8. Be3 {it's unclear if the knight is well placed on e4.}) 8. cxd5 exd5
9. Qe2+ {Played very quickly.} Be6 {very natural, but Aronian started thinking
after this move. Perhaps he didn't expect it or his preparation was simply not
that deep.} 10. Bxf6 gxf6 {Black's pawn structure is shattered, but he has the
pair of bishops and White hasn't finished developing yet.} 11. Qc2 Qb6 12. a3 {
It almost feels like Aronian's last two moves were too slow.} O-O-O {The king
is as safe on the queenside as it will be anywhere else.} 13. Na4 Qc7 14. Bb5
Rg8 {Surprisingly, it is not trivial for White to defend the g2 pawn.} 15. O-O
(15. g3 Bh3 {is some trouble, as Bg2 is a difficult threat to parry.}) 15...
Bh3 16. Nh4 (16. g3 {was a very interesting idea, sacrificing the exchanage}
Bxf1 17. Bxf1 {gives White the structural advantage and slightly safer king.
Howeever when one plays a game it is clear that an exchange is an exchange, so
this cannot be done lightly.}) 16... Rg4 17. Bxc6 bxc6 (17... Rxh4 $5 {leads
to other kinds of craziness.} 18. Rac1 bxc6) 18. Qd3 Rxh4 19. gxh3 Qf4 {
Getting low on time, Grischuk's hand hovered over his queen for a while before
making this move.} 20. Rac1 (20. Qa6+ $1 Kd7 21. Rfe1 $132) 20... Kd7 $1 {A
very nice move, preemptively removing the king from the dangerous c-file.} (
20... Bd6 21. Rxc6+ Kd7 22. Rxd6+ {gives White more than enouguh compensation
for the exchange.}) 21. Rfe1 Bd6 22. Kf1 Qxd4 {Already in severe time pressure,
Grischuk manages to win a pawn. However it is very messy and difficult to play
precisely here.} 23. Qf5+ Kc7 24. Nc3 Kb7 (24... Qc4+ 25. Ne2 Qb5 $1 {looks
too complicated to be played by a human with minutes left and 15 moves to go.})
25. Ne2 Qe5 (25... Qe4 $1) 26. Qc2 Rc4 27. Qb3+ {Regaining the pawn, Aronian
equalizes.} Kc7 28. Rxc4 dxc4 29. Qxc4 Qd5 30. Qxd5 cxd5 1/2-1/2
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.27"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "So, Wesley"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B90"]
[WhiteElo "2853"]
[BlackElo "2779"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. f3
Nbd7 9. Qd2 b5 10. O-O-O Be7 11. g4 b4 12. Nd5 Bxd5 13. exd5 Nb6 14. Na5 Nbxd5
15. Nc4 {Rare but possible. Dominguez used it many years ago to win a game
against Predojevic. The idea is that White will seek compensation for his pawn
by using the opposite colored bishops to restrain the d-pawn and create an
initiative on the light squares.} Nxe3 16. Nxe3 O-O 17. Bc4 Nd7 $1 {After a
long thing, this makes sense. The idea is that the knight will remaneuver to a
more useful spot, like b6, and make the bishop on c4 uncomfortable.} 18. h4 a5
(18... Nb6 {made more sense, but perhaps So didn't want to allow Qxb4} 19. Qxb4
d5 20. Qa5 $13) 19. g5 Rc8 20. Bd5 Nb6 21. Kb1 Qc7 22. Rhf1 Nxd5 23. Nxd5 Qb7
24. f4 f5 {White retains compensation for the pawn. His strong knight on d5 is
untouchable, but a pawn is a pawn.} 25. Qe3 e4 26. h5 $1 {White's advance of
this pawn is key. He will make Black's position very uncomfortable as So
cannot afford to open up the kingside.} Rc5 27. h6 g6 28. Qb3 {So is in
trouble, despite what the engines say. It is unpleasant to find moves and the
king is always suffering.} Rf7 29. a4 $1 Bd8 30. Rd4 {putting on the squeeze.}
Kf8 31. Rfd1 Rc6 32. Ne3 Bb6 {what else?} 33. Nc4 (33. Rxd6 $1 {was a big move,
even if White retains the advantage in the game continuation.} Rxd6 34. Rxd6
Bc7 35. Re6 $1 {The point is as follows:} Bxf4 36. Nd5 Bxg5 37. Qc4 $1 {and
the attack becomes too strong.}) 33... Bxd4 (33... Rxc4 34. Qxc4 Qc7 {is no
fun for So.}) 34. Nxa5 Qb6 35. Nxc6 Bc5 (35... Qxc6 36. Rxd4 {and all of
Black's pawns are falling and the king feels unsafe.}) 36. Qd5 e3 37. a5 $1 Qb5
(37... Qc7 {was better resistance}) 38. Nd8 $1 Ra7 39. Ne6+ Ke8 40. Nd4 $2 (40.
Nxc5 $1 {was much stronger} Qxc5 41. Qg8+ Kd7 42. Qxh7+ Kc6 43. Qxg6 {and
since e2 is not possible due to Qe8+ and Qxa5 isnt possible due to Qxd5+,
Black is just lost.}) 40... Qxa5 41. Qg8+ Kd7 42. Qxh7+ Kc8 43. Qg8+ Kb7 44. c3
bxc3 45. Qb3+ $1 Qb6 46. Qxb6+ (46. Qxc3 $1 {was very strong, though the move
in the game should be better for white, Qxc3 seems winning. Black has too many
problems to solve and his king is very weak.}) 46... Kxb6 47. bxc3 Bxd4 48.
Rxd4 Kc6 49. Kc2 Ra2+ 50. Kd1 Rf2 51. Ke1 {The pawn on h6 is just too strong.
Black has no hope to hold.} Kd7 52. Ra4 Ke6 53. Ra8 Rh2 54. c4 Kf7 55. Rb8 Ke6
56. Rg8 1-0
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.27"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Giri, Anish"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B48"]
[WhiteElo "2814"]
[BlackElo "2793"]
[Annotator "Ramirez alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. Qd2 Nf6 8.
O-O-O Be7 9. f4 b5 10. e5 b4 11. Ncb5 axb5 12. Nxb5 Qb8 13. exf6 gxf6 14. Kb1
d5 15. Qf2 {A novelty according to my database, but apparently both players
knew this move well.} Ba6 16. Bb6 Bxb5 17. Bxb5 Qb7 18. Rhe1 Rb8 19. Bxc6+ Qxc6
20. Bd4 Ra8 21. b3 Kd7 22. a4 $1 {Giri missed this move in his preparation, a
move which seems to be quite strong.} bxa3 23. Rd3 $2 {The players were very
critical of this move. Apparently up this point it had all been Nakamura's
preparation, but he confused which rook to move!} (23. Re2 $1 Rhc8 {a bizarre
thing about this position as that Stockfish gives a comfortable advantage to
White... but Komodo thinks Black is better. Just analyzing the position I
would say White has the better chances, planning to put his king on a2 and
preparing c4. On the other hand, Aronian told me he has a feeling Black is
better, so it's pretty confusing.}) (23. c4) (23. Ka2 Rhc8 24. Re2 Bc5) 23...
Rhc8 24. Re2 Qb5 $1 {Around this time Nakamura noticed something was wrong: c4
is impossible since the rook is always under attack. As he put it "I don't
know what I was doing".} 25. Qf3 Ra6 (25... Rc6 $1 {Was more precise, now f5
fails to} 26. f5 e5 $1 27. Bxe5 a2+ 28. Ka1 fxe5 29. Rxd5+ Rd6 {is the
important point. Here the queen is untouchable since a2 is still defended and
Rd1 is mate.}) 26. f5 $1 Rac6 (26... e5 27. Bxe5 $18) 27. fxe6+ fxe6 28. Rdd2
a2+ 29. Ka1 (29. Kxa2 {is playable, but strange.}) 29... f5 30. Qe3 (30. g4 $5
fxg4 31. Qxg4 Qxb3 {is a funny draw.} 32. cxb3 Rc1+ 33. Kxa2 Ra8+ 34. Kb2 Ba3+
35. Ka2 $11) 30... Rg8 31. c4 {Finally with the break through.} dxc4 32. Bc5+
Ke8 33. Bxe7 Kxe7 34. Qh6 Qb6 $1 {Very resourceful from Giri, now this was the
only move to draw.} 35. Qxh7+ Kf8 36. Qh4 Ke8 37. Qh5+ {White has nothing
better than a perpetual as Black has real threats now.} 1/2-1/2
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.27"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2816"]
[BlackElo "2808"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "106"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. Nbd2 Ne7 8. d4
exd4 9. cxd4 Bb6 10. Re1 Bg4 {a deviation from the Topalov-Nakamura game of
round two. Black immediately pressures the center and develops his bishop,
instead of improving his knight first.} 11. h3 Bh5 12. Qb3 {White gets out of
the pin so that he can improve his knight. Before this happens, Caruana
strikes the center.} d5 13. e5 Nd7 {Black would love to install a knight on e6
and start blockading, but he is a bit far away from doing so. On the other
hand White hasn't even fully developed yet, so any break on e6 lacks strength.}
14. a4 a5 15. Qd1 {since c5 was weakened by d5, the knight wants to go to b3
instead of the queen.} Nb8 $5 {Interesting remaneuvering, and notice that this
knight started on g8! It is now headed to b4.} 16. Nb3 Nbc6 17. Bg5 h6 18. Bh4
Qc8 (18... Bxf3 19. Qxf3 Nxd4 20. Nxd4 Bxd4 21. Qg4 {looks extremely
unpleasant. The attack on the kingside isn't easy to parry.}) 19. g4 $1 {
Gaining space, kicking out the bishop. White of course has to be worried of
weakening the kingside, but Caruana has to prove it.} Bg6 20. Rc1 Bh7 21. Bg3 (
21. Nc5 {seemed more consistent.}) 21... Nb4 22. Re3 Na2 23. Ra1 Nb4 24. Ne1 {
of course, Topalov doesn't want to draw right away.} Nec6 25. Qd2 Qe6 26. Bxc6
$6 {I don't understand this move. White's bishop wasn't the most valuable, but
Black's knights were superfluous and White in the future might want to have
his bishop to rip apart the blockade on the light squares.} Qxc6 27. Rc3 Qe6
28. Ng2 f6 $5 {Making things sharp. Black starts opening lines for his bishops
and pieces.} 29. Nf4 Qd7 30. e6 {"I thought this was a disastrous move" -
Fabiano Caruana.} (30. Nh5 $5 f5 31. e6 (31. Bf4 $5) 31... Qxe6 32. Be5 $19)
30... Qe7 31. Re1 f5 $1 {Going for the complications, despite being down on
time. Caruana keeps trying to rip apart the kingside.} 32. Nc5 Bxc5 33. Rxc5 c6
{White finds himself without coordination. The threat of g5 is seriously
looming.} 34. Rc3 g5 35. Ng2 (35. Nh5 f4 36. Bh2 {looks ugly, but at least
doesn't lose material yet.}) 35... f4 36. Nxf4 gxf4 37. Bxf4 Nd3 $1 {Going for
the greedy option!} 38. Rxd3 Bxd3 39. Bxh6 Rf3 $1 {Black is up a rook, but
White does have three passed pawns and Black's king is exposed} 40. Re3 Rxe3
41. Qxe3 Qh7 $1 {Very precise} (41... Be4 42. f3 Bxf3 43. Qxf3 Qxe6 {Was also
a good option as now both kings are under fire.}) 42. f3 Re8 43. h4 Qg6 44. e7
Qd6 {Threatening the pawn on e7 and check on g3. White, of course, cannot
afford to trade bishops.} 45. Bf4 Qxe7 $1 {Excellent understanding.} (45...
Rxe7 46. Be5 {is more material, but also more complicated.}) 46. Qxd3 Qe1+ 47.
Qf1 {forced} Qxf1+ 48. Kxf1 Rf8 49. Be5 Rxf3+ 50. Kg2 Rb3 51. h5 Rxb2+ 52. Kg3
b5 53. axb5 Rxb5 0-1
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.29"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Black "Topalov, Veselin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C67"]
[WhiteElo "2731"]
[BlackElo "2816"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5
8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 h6 10. Rd1+ Ke8 11. Nc3 Ne7 12. Nd4 (12. b3 {was the
famous game Caruana-Carlsen from Norway this year. MVL has other ideas in mind.
}) 12... Ng6 13. f4 Bc5 14. Be3 h5 15. Ne4 Bxd4 16. Rxd4 h4 (16... Bf5 17. Ng3
Bxc2 18. Rc1 h4 19. Rxc2 hxg3 20. Kf1 $13) (16... b6 17. Rad1 Bf5 18. Ng3 Bxc2
19. Rc1) 17. Rad1 Bf5 18. e6 {It is unclear if the players knew so, but this
has been all played so far. Considering that MVL spent 50 minutes to get to
this position, it is unlikely that he knew it, but Maurice Ashley thinks that
MVL had prepped it all! I digress, however.} Bxe6 (18... fxe6 19. Nc5 b6 20.
Na6 Rc8 (20... e5 21. fxe5 Rc8 22. e6) 21. Rd7 e5 22. Nxc7+ Kf8) 19. Nc5 Rh5 (
19... b6 20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. Rd7 Ne7 22. Rxc7 {was clearly better for White in
Saric-Sulava, 2011.}) (19... Bc8 20. Nxb7 $16) 20. Nxb7 Rd5 (20... Rb5 21. Nd8
Bd5 22. c4 Rxb2 23. cxd5 Rxd8 24. Re4+ Kf8 25. f5 Nh8 26. Rxh4 Kg8 27. Bd4 Rxd5
28. Rg4) 21. b3 Rb8 22. Rxd5 cxd5 23. Nc5 {This is very unpleasant for Black.
h4 is a long term weakness, his bishop is bad and his a7 pawn is also weak.} c6
24. Rd4 Bc8 25. Ra4 Ra8 {no one ever wants to play this, but life sucks
sometimes over the board.} 26. c4 dxc4 27. Rxc4 Bf5 28. Nb7 Kd7 29. Rd4+ {even
the king feels unsafe. Not a good thing with opposite colored bishops in the
position.} Kc7 30. Nd6 Bb1 31. Nxf7 Re8 32. Kf2 Bxa2 33. f5 Nf8 {Black's
position is clearly collapsing. He has no coordination, his king is weak, his
pawns are falling. MVL has his choice of coup de grace.} 34. Ra4 Bxb3 35. Rxa7+
(35. Bf4+ {was even easier.}) 35... Kb8 36. Nd6 Rd8 37. Rxg7 1-0
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.29"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Aronian, Levon"]
[Black "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A29"]
[WhiteElo "2765"]
[BlackElo "2853"]
[Annotator "Ramirez alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Nb6 7. O-O Be7 8.
d3 O-O 9. a3 Re8 10. b4 Bf8 11. Nd2 Be6 12. Bb2 {A normal version of a
reversed Dragon, though there are no games in the database with this exact
position!} Qd7 13. Nce4 Bh3 {Trading off the dragon bishop is very normal.
Black wastes some time on this operation, but it is more than acceptable.} 14.
Bxh3 (14. b5 Nd4 15. Bxh3 Qxh3 16. a4 {was not to Aronian's liking.}) 14...
Qxh3 15. Qb3 Qd7 16. Nf3 a5 17. b5 Nd4 18. Nxd4 (18. Bxd4 exd4 {gives Black
the ability to pressure a3 (after a4 from Black) and e2, which should give him
enough counterplay.}) 18... exd4 19. a4 Qd5 {Carlsen mentioned he didn't know
what else to do, this leads to a draw after many trades.} 20. Qxd5 Nxd5 21.
Bxd4 f5 22. Nc3 Nxc3 23. Bxc3 Rxe2 {so far forced. White has to take care of
the active rook.} 24. Rfe1 {no Rae8 because a5 is hanging} Rxe1+ 25. Rxe1 Bb4 {
more trades} 26. Rc1 {forced} (26. Bxb4 axb4 {gives Black an obvious edge in
an endgame.}) 26... c6 27. bxc6 bxc6 28. Bxb4 axb4 29. Rxc6 Rxa4 {the game is
very obviously drawn.} 30. Rb6 Ra1+ 31. Kg2 Rd1 32. Rxb4 Rxd3 1/2-1/2
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.29"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D11"]
[WhiteElo "2793"]
[BlackElo "2816"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. e3 Bg4 5. h3 Bh5 6. g4 Bg6 7. Ne5 Nbd7 8. Nxg6
hxg6 9. Bg2 {White's pair of bishops guarantees him long-term prospects, but
Black will always remain solid.} e6 10. Nd2 g5 11. O-O Be7 12. Re1 Nf8 13. e4
Nxe4 14. Nxe4 dxe4 15. Rxe4 Ng6 {White's advantage in the center is somewhat
offset by Black's dark-squared control.} 16. Be3 O-O 17. d5 {White has to
break through at some point, of course.} cxd5 18. cxd5 e5 {Black wants to keep
the center closed to restrain the light square bishop.} (18... Qxd5 19. Qxd5
exd5 20. Ra4 $1 {Will eventually regain the d5 pawn, with a slight advantage.})
19. Qd2 a5 20. d6 (20. a3 {was considered by Giri, keeping the tension, but it
is unclear how to proceed after Qd6.}) 20... Qxd6 21. Qxd6 Bxd6 22. Bxg5 (22.
Rd1 Be7 23. Rd7 (23. Rc4 $1 {is some computer find that gives Giri some
opportunity for an edge.}) 23... b5 $6 (23... b6 $1 {close to equal.}) 24. Rxe7
$5 Nxe7 25. Rxe5 {with chances for the advantage as all of Black's pawns are
hanging.}) 22... Rac8 23. Re2 b6 24. Rd1 Bc5 {White's pair of bishops
unfortunately will be neutralized by a strong knight on f4. Then the opposite
colored bishops makes the position closer to a draw than anything else, even
if White retains a small advantage.} 25. Be4 Nf4 26. Bxf4 exf4 27. Kg2 Rfd8 28.
Red2 Rxd2 29. Rxd2 g5 30. Rd7 Re8 31. Kf3 Re7 {White has no good way of making
progress.} 32. Rxe7 1/2-1/2
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.29"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Grischuk, Alexander"]
[Black "Caruana, Fabiano"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2771"]
[BlackElo "2808"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "76"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. d4 {[%emt 0:00:01]} Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7
7. c5 Ne4 8. a3 {Grischuk played this move very quickly, but it is not the
most logical move. The move itself doesn't threaten b4 yet, but it does cover
against b6 since b4 is not available for the bishop on e7.} (8. Qc2 {and}) (8.
Rc1 {have been seen before, in this tournament included.}) 8... Nxc3 9. bxc3 c6
10. Qa4 g5 $1 11. Bg3 f5 {This expansion seems completely justified. White
loses development time and Black grabs space.} 12. h3 f4 13. Bh2 e5 14. Be2 e4
$1 15. Nd2 Nxc5 $1 {Excellent decision making from Caruana. This piece
sacrifice nets him two pawns and a strong initiative, using his pawns as spear
points. Grischuk was playing quickly up to this point, but went into a long
thin after accepting the knight.} 16. dxc5 Bxc5 17. O-O $5 (17. exf4 gxf4 18.
Nxe4 dxe4 19. Qxe4 {is incredibly messy, with both kings feeling unsafe.})
17... b5 $6 {After a very long thing, Caruana played this move which seems
bizarre to me. Why improve White's queen?} (17... fxe3 18. Nxe4 $8 dxe4 19.
fxe3 (19. Qb3+ Kg7 20. Be5+ Kh6 (20... Kg6 21. fxe3 Qd5) 21. fxe3) (19. Qxe4
exf2+ 20. Kh1) 19... Bxe3+ $6 (19... Be6 $1 {Perhaps Caruana missed this.
After which Black has all the trumps in the position, for example} 20. Qxe4 Qd5
$15) 20. Kh1 {gives Black two extra pawns but the position remains very
unclear. White's initiative is real.}) 18. Qb3 Qe7 19. Kh1 Be6 {Again after a
long thing. Black has compensation for his missing piece but his initiative
evaporated.} 20. a4 $1 {Allowing d4, which actually doesn't do anything.} d4
21. Qd1 d3 22. Bg4 Bd5 23. axb5 cxb5 24. Nb3 fxe3 (24... Bb6 25. Nd4 $16) 25.
Nxc5 Qxc5 (25... e2 26. Bxe2 dxe2 27. Qxd5+ {doesn't work.}) 26. fxe3 {At the
end of the day, White simply has an extra bishop.} Qxe3 27. Re1 Qf2 28. Bg1 Qf7
29. Qd2 Qg6 30. Ra6 $1 {A nice touch.} Rf6 (30... Qxa6 31. Qxg5+ Qg6 32. Qxd5+
{basically gets mated.}) 31. Rea1 $1 {Salt in the wound.} Re8 32. Rxf6 Qxf6 33.
Rxa7 h6 34. Be3 Qe5 35. Qe1 Bc4 36. Bd4 Qf4 37. Rg7+ Kf8 38. Qa1 b4 {This move
was on the board, but not played. Caruana flagged before he could make his
move, but he was getting mated anyway.} 1-0
[Event "3rd Sinquefield Cup 2015"]
[Site "Saint Louis"]
[Date "2015.08.29"]
[Round "6"]
[White "So, Wesley"]
[Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E99"]
[WhiteElo "2779"]
[BlackElo "2814"]
[Annotator "Ramirez Alvarez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "78"]
[EventDate "2015.??.??"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5
Ne7 9. Ne1 Nd7 10. f3 f5 11. Be3 f4 12. Bf2 g5 13. Nd3 Ng6 14. c5 Nf6 15. Rc1
Rf7 16. Kh1 h5 17. cxd6 cxd6 18. Nb5 a6 19. Na3 b5 20. Rc6 {Up to this point
So had played instantly. This is surprising as he has achieved nothing on the
queenside. Nakamura continues his kingside attack.} g4 21. Qc2 Qf8 22. Rc1 Bd7
23. Rc7 $2 {I don't like this move at all. Releasing the tension on d6 and a6
is too lenient on Black's position. Asked after the game what they thought of
Wesley's play, most of the players agreed that it looked completely wrong and
anti-positional. "If it was White to move, I would consider playing Rc6 here"
- Anish Giri.} (23. Nb4 $1 Bxc6 (23... Bh6)) 23... Bh6 24. Be1 {removing the
bishop from potential g3 moves with tempo.} h4 {here the pawn on g4 is clearly
poisoned to an experience KID player.} 25. fxg4 {picking up the gauntlet, this
is not good. That being said, I don't know what else he could have done.} f3
26. gxf3 Nxe4 27. Rd1 $2 {This makes things esay for Nakamura to calculate as
almost every line wins.} (27. Rxd7 {was a much better try.} Rxf3 $1 {works
anyway} (27... Rxd7 28. fxe4 $16) 28. Bxf3 Qxf3+ 29. Qg2 Qxd3 30. Rd1 Bd2 $3 {
is the key move. Nakamura did not see this, but he would have found that h3
instead of Bd2 was favorable for Black, and upon reaching this position
probably would have found Bd2.} 31. Bxd2 Nf4 {and White is getting mated.}) (
27. Nf2 Nxf2+ 28. Bxf2 Bxc1 29. Qxg6+ Rg7) (27. Nc5 $1 dxc5 28. Rxd7 Rxd7 29.
Qxe4 Bxc1 30. Qxg6+ Rg7 $19) 27... Rxf3 28. Rxd7 (28. Bxf3 Qxf3+ 29. Qg2 Bxg4 {
is completely winning.}) 28... Rf1+ $1 29. Kg2 Be3 $1 {A very nice resource.
There were other winning moves, but this is fantastic.} 30. Bg3 (30. h3 Nf4+
31. Kh2 Nxd3 {and with the elimination of the knight on d3 White's dark
squares fall apart.}) 30... hxg3 31. Rxf1 Nh4+ 32. Kh3 Qh6 {White is up a rook,
but his position is hopeless. He is simply getting mated.} 33. g5 Nxg5+ {The
rest is a forced mating sequence.} 34. Kg4 {every move wins here.} Nhf3 35. Nf2
Qh4+ 36. Kf5 Rf8+ 37. Kg6 Rf6+ $1 {pretty but not the only way.} 38. Kxf6 Ne4+
39. Kg6 Qg5# 0-1
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