Zug GP R10: four wins, three with black

by ChessBase
4/29/2013 – Veselin Topalov has scored his greatest victory since 2010. He beat his nearest rival, Fabiano Caruana and is now a full point ahead of the rest. Even if he loses the final round the Bulgarian will be the winner of the Grand Prix on tiebreak. His performance so far: close to 2900. Morozevich, Nakamura and Kamsky also won today, the latter two (like Topalov) with black. Full report with GM commentary.

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From April 14 to April 30, 2013, the third stage of the FIDE Grand Prix Series 2012-2013 is taking place in Zug, Switzerland. Twelve players are competing in a round robin tournament with time controls of 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, 60 minutes for the next 20 moves and then 15 minutes and an increment of 30 seconds per move for each player. The Grand Prix Series consists of six tournaments to be held over two years, with 18 top players, each participating in four of the six tournaments. The winner and second placed player overall of the Grand Prix Series will qualify for the Candidates Tournament to be held in March 2014.

Round ten report

Veselin Topalov (second from right above in a post-game chat with GM Robert Fontaine, FIDE CEO Geoffrey Borg, FIDE Continental President for Africa Lakhdar Mazouz and chief arbiter Panagiotis Nikolopoulos) defeated his main rival Fabiano Caruana and is now on a sole lead with seven points, one point ahead of Hikaru Nakamura. The American player beat Shakhriyar Mamedyarov to take the second place. Alexander Morozevich managed to outplay Teimur Radjabov, while Gata Kamsky won against Sergey Karjakin. Kasimzdhanov-Ponomariov, Giri-Leko were drawn. Ruslan Ponomariov and Fabiano Caruana share the third place while Kamsky, Morozevich, Karjakin share the fifth place.

Commentary for the spectators provided by Robert Fontaine and Geoffrey Borg

Round 10 – April 29 2013, 14:00h
Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2709
½-½
Ruslan Ponomariov 2733
Alexander Morozevich 2758
1-0
Teimour Radjabov 2793
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2766
0-1
Hikaru Nakamura 2767
Fabiano Caruana 2772
0-1
Veselin Topalov 2771
Sergey Karjakin 2786
0-1
Gata Kamsky 2741
Anish Giri 2727
½-½
Peter Leko 2744

Caruana-Topalov 0-1
Fabiano Caruana (above right) got a pleasant position and managed to create threats on the kingside. The players showed many possible variations on the notebbok and agreed that White could have played more precisely, but at the same time they didn’t find any direct attack. Things went wrong when White lost a few tempos after the dubious Qf2-Qa7, but Caruana was in time trouble and it was not easy for him to find the right plan. After the first time control the Italian player should have kept queens on the board to have better chances for a draw, because the knight and bishop endgame turned out to be absolutely winning for Black.

[Event "Renova Group Grand Prix 2013"] [Site "Zug"] [Date "2013.04.29"] [Round "?"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Topalov, Veselin"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Margvelashvili, Giorgi"] [PlyCount "98"] [EventDate "2013.??.??"] [EventCountry "SUI"] 1. e4 {Before this game, Topalov was leading the tournament and had half point more than Caruana. So it was one of Caruana's last chances to catch Topalov. No wonder he chose a very aggressive set-up with White.} c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 {Topalov chooses the Sicilian Najdorf, one of the most active and well analyzed variations.} 6. Be3 (6. h3 {Has been played by White with success lately.}) (6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 {is another main line.}) 6... e5 (6... e6 {leads to a different type of positions.}) 7. Nb3 Be6 8. f3 { Defending the e4 pawn and preparing a g4 push.} Be7 9. Qd2 O-O (9... h5 {This move has been played by Topalov previously. The idea is to prevent g4 and develop an attack on the queenside. On the other hand the h5 pawn almost denies Black an opportunity to castle short.}) 10. O-O-O {Caruana and Topalov have castled on opposite sides. Now the question is whose attack will be faster.} a5 $5 {Topalov tries to push pawn to a4 and then possibly to a3, getting rid of the knight from b3 and weakening Caruana's queensside pawns.} 11. a4 {Preventing the above mentioned plan.} Na6 {We will see on the next move why Topalov developes his knight on a6, and not c6.} 12. Bb5 Nc7 $1 { Strong move. Topalov wants to exchange the b5 bishop that defends Caruana's position on the queensside, and also prepares for a possible d5 push.} (12... Nb4 {is more natural, but in many variations this knight is misplaced on b4.}) 13. Bb6 {Caruana cannot afford to give up his b5 bishop, so he decides to exchange the dark-squared bishop for the c7 knight.} (13. Be2 {this retreat is too slow, since after} d5 $1 {Black developes a big initiative in the center.}) 13... Qc8 14. Bxc7 Qxc7 15. g4 {Caruana proceeds with his own plan. He wants to get rid of the f6 knight and occupy the d5 square.} Rfd8 16. g5 Nh5 17. Nd5 Bxd5 18. exd5 g6 19. Kb1 {The opening phase of this game is over and we can draw some conclusions. Both kings are defended very well, and neither side can develop an attack. But whereas Black has a clear plan of pushing f6 and attacking the weak f3 pawn, White's plan is less obvious. Probably the best Caruana can do is to bring the b3 knight to e4. Overall, I think Topalov's position is slightly preferable and easier to play.} Rf8 $1 20. Qe3 Qd8 (20... Nf4 21. h4 f6 {was already possible, with a slight advantage for Black.}) 21. h4 Nf4 22. Qg1 h6 $5 {Topalov deviates from his original plan. He wants to exchange the h6 pawn for the g5 pawn, which would allow him to push f5 and dominate in the center.} 23. Nd2 Kg7 24. gxh6+ Kxh6 {The king looks dangerously placed on h6, but Caruana does not have enough resources to cause any troubles.} 25. Nc4 Qc7 26. Qe3 Kh7 27. h5 $1 {A strong move by Caruana: sacrificing a pawn to open files.} g5 $1 {Topalov is correct to decline the pawn sacrifice.} (27... Nxh5 $4 {would just lose a game.} 28. Rdg1 f5 29. f4 $1 {with the following Qf3 and Black has no defense against Rh5.}) (27... gxh5 { is possible, but risky. For example:} 28. Nb6 Rad8 29. Rd3 $1 {preparing Rc3 followed by Nd7.}) 28. h6 f5 29. Qd2 {Freeing the e3 square for the knight, which can attack the f5 pawn from there. This position is very complicated, which means that plan with f6 was better than Topalov's h6 plan.} Rf6 30. Rdg1 Rg6 31. Ne3 Rf8 32. Nc4 $6 {Not a good move.} (32. Ng2 $1 {is the right move, exchanging the f4 knight.} Nxg2 33. Rxg2 Bd8 34. Bd3 {with a slight advantage for Caruana.}) 32... Bd8 $1 33. Rd1 Rff6 34. Qf2 Rxh6 35. Qa7 $2 {In time trouble Caruana makes several inaccurate moves.} (35. Ne3 {is better.}) 35... Rxh1 36. Rxh1+ Rh6 37. Qg1 $6 (37. Rxh6+ Kxh6 38. Qg1 {was more accurate, since it would not allow Topalov to place his rook on h4.}) 37... Rh4 $1 38. Ne3 Qf7 39. Ng2 $6 Rxh1 40. Qxh1+ Qh5 41. Qxh5+ Nxh5 42. Ne3 Ng3 43. Kc1 Kg6 44. Kd1 g4 $6 (44... e4 $1 45. fxe4 Nxe4 46. Bd7 Ng3 {and White cannot stop the black pawns from advancing.}) 45. fxg4 f4 46. Nc4 $2 {The final mistake by Caruana.} (46. Nf5 $1 {aiming for an opposite color bishop ending that has huge drawing tendencies.} Nxf5 47. Bd3 f3 48. Kd2 Kg5 49. Bxf5 Kf4 50. Kd3 Kg3 51. Be4 Kxg4 52. c3 {and it is not clear to me how Topalov was going to win this position.}) 46... Bc7 {Now it is over.} 47. Bd7 Kg5 48. Ke1 f3 49. Ne3 Bb6 {Topalov's pawns are unstoppable, so Caruana resigned. A very intense game, where Caruana took a lot of risks, but in the end Topalov just played a better game.} 0-1

Despite victory in the game and, as a result, victory in the tournament, Veselin Topalov looked very serious and tired at the press conference. It is obvious that the tournament is not over for the former world champion and he will fight for the sole victory in the tournament at the last round.

Mamedyarov-Nakamura 0-1
The Slav Defence was played in this game, and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (above) got an unpleasant position out of the opening. White could not prove he has enough compensation for the pawn, and after 21...f5 his position became really bad. It was still not necessary to resign after 22…Rc4, even the position was still much better for Black but the Azeri player miscalculated the variation and thought he would end up in the position with rook against three pieces. The game could have continued after 23.bxc4 Bxc4 24.Nxb4 Bxe2 25. Nxd5 exd 26.Bxe2 Nxd2 27.Rc7.

According to Hikaru Nakamura (above right in the press conference) his position was still winning. However, White keeps some drawing chances in the endgame.

Morozevich-Radjabov 1-0
Teymur Rajabov (above left) chose to play the Sveshnikov Variation against Alexander Morozevich. Black was okay until the moment he has to find a very accurate move, 21…Qb3! The difference to the move in the game was that Black had 22…Qd5 after 22.Rc8, and after 23. Qa3 there was an important resource: 23…Ra2. After 21…Qa4 White won an exchange and increased his advantage.

Alexander Morozevich (above) could have won easier, but Black never got a real chance to fight for a draw. On move 43 Black could have tried to trick White with a stalemate idea by playing 43…Kh6 44. Rxg7?? Qg2!

Commentary by GM Giorgi Margvelashvili

[Event "Renova Group Grand Prix 2013"] [Site "Zug"] [Date "2013.04.29"] [Round "?"] [White "Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar"] [Black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "Margvelashvili, Giorgi"] [PlyCount "44"] [EventDate "2013.??.??"] [EventCountry "SUI"] 1. d4 {This is one of those tournaments that Mamedyarov will want to forget. Today was clearly not his day.} d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 dxc4 4. e3 b5 5. a4 b4 6. Nce2 (6. Ne4 {is the most popular move, but Mamedyarov has already played 6. Nce2 once and decisively beat his opponent.}) 6... Nf6 (6... Qd5 7. Ng3 Nf6 8. Be2 e5 9. Nf3 Nbd7 10. O-O Bd6 11. Nd2 c3 12. bxc3 bxc3 13. e4 Qe6 14. Nf5 O-O 15. Bc4 Nd5 16. Nf3 N7b6 17. Bb3 Ba6 18. Re1 Bc7 19. dxe5 {1-0 Mamedyarov,S (2733)-Brunello,S (2575)Porto Carras 2011}) 7. Nf3 Ba6 8. Ng3 c5 $1 {A stong improvement by Nakamura. I think this move calls into question Mamedyarov's whole opening plan.} 9. Bd2 (9. Ne5 e6 10. Nh5 $5 {is suggested by chess engines.} Nbd7 11. Bxc4 Bxc4 12. Nxc4 Rc8 {and Black has solved all the opening problems.}) 9... e6 10. Rc1 Qd5 11. Ne5 (11. dxc5 Nbd7 12. Bxb4 Nxc5 13. Bc3 Rb8 {leads to a slightly better endgame for Black.}) 11... cxd4 12. Nxc4 Nbd7 13. Be2 $1 {Good move by Mamedyarov.} Rc8 (13... Qxg2 $4 14. Bf3 {is losing for Black.}) (13... Bxc4 $1 14. Bxc4 (14. Rxc4 {is also possible} d3 15. Qc1 $1 Rd8 (15... dxe2 $2 16. Rc8+ Rxc8 17. Qxc8+ Ke7 18. Bxb4+ $18) 16. Bf3 Qa5 17. Ne4 {with some, but clearly not enough compensation for the sacrificed pawn.}) 14... Qxg2 15. Bb5 Rd8 16. Bc6 Qh3 17. exd4 Bd6 18. Qf3 O-O {with advantage for Black.}) 14. Bf3 Qc5 15. b3 Be7 16. Ne2 $6 {This is an inaccuracy.} (16. O-O $1 {would be a lot stronger, since after} O-O 17. exd4 Qxd4 18. Ne2 Qd3 19. Nf4 Qd4 20. Ne2 {White forces a draw.}) 16... d3 $1 17. Nf4 O-O 18. Nxd3 Qf5 $1 {now Mamedyarov is dangerously behind in development.} 19. e4 $2 {A terrible blunder. Such blunders sometimes happen when player is clearly unsatisfied with his previous play and is psychologically stressed. There is no other way to explain this blunder by Mamedyarov, who is one of the strongest players in the world.} (19. Nxb4 Bxc4 20. Rxc4 Rxc4 21. bxc4 Ne5 22. Nc6 $1 Nxc6 23. Bxc6 {would give Mamedyarov excellent drawing chances.}) 19... Nxe4 20. g4 Qd5 {I do not know what Mamedyarov overlooked, but nothing works here for White.} 21. Qe2 f5 {Nakamura has an extra pawn and a winning position. } 22. O-O Rxc4 $6 {Not the best move, but one which surprisingly led to Mamedyarov's resignation.} (22... Bxc4 $1 23. bxc4 Qb7 24. Rfe1 Ndc5 {would give Black a winning position.}) (22... Rxc4 $6 23. bxc4 Bxc4 24. Nxb4 $1 { Probably both players overlooked this resource that saves White from immediate disaster.} Bxe2 (24... Bxb4 25. Rxc4 Bxd2 26. Bxe4 fxe4 27. Rxe4 {is worse for White, but the position is still playable.}) 25. Nxd5 exd5 26. Bxe2 Nxd2 27. Rc7 Nf6 28. Rxe7 Nxf1 29. Kxf1 Rf7 30. Rxf7 Kxf7 31. gxf5 {This endgame looks winning for Black, but White has some drawing chances. Good win for Nakamura and a game to forget for Mamedyarov.}) 0-1

Karjakin-Kamsky 0-1
Sergey Karjakin (above) managed to get a slightly better position after the opening. Nevertheless Black were looking for counterplay and the position became very sharp. Black could get a huge advantage after 27…Qxd5, but both opponents missed this move. After that the game was dynamically equal but with his 41st move Sergey Karjakin made a big mistake. After 41.Qf3 the game would most probably finish in a draw.

Gata Kamsky (above) found the force winning line and after 15 moves the game was over.

Uzbek beauty Firzua Kasimdzanova, wife of ...

... this well-known former FIDE world champion

Current standings

The tie Break criteria for trophies only:

  1. direct encounter
  2. number of wins Sonnenborn-Berger System
  3. Koya System.

Veselin Topalov won against Hikaru Nakamura at the fifth round, and this means even in the worst-case scenario for him he will take the gold at Grand Prix in Zug.

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Information and pictures by WGM Anastasiya Karlovich (above) and GM Robert Fontaine

Schedule and pairings

Round 01 – April 18 2013, 14:00h
Alexander Morozevich 2758
1-0
Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2709
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2766
½-½
Ruslan Ponomariov 2733
Fabiano Caruana 2772
1-0
Teimour Radjabov 2793
Sergey Karjakin 2786
½-½
Hikaru Nakamura 2767
Anish Giri 2727
½-½
Veselin Topalov 2771
Peter Leko 2744
½-½
Gata Kamsky 2741
Round 02 – April 19 2013, 14:00h
Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2709
1-0
Gata Kamsky 2741
Veselin Topalov 2771
1-0
Peter Leko 2744
Hikaru Nakamura 2767
½-½
Anish Giri 2727
Teimour Radjabov 2793
½-½
Sergey Karjakin 2786
Ruslan Ponomariov 2733
1-0
Fabiano Caruana 2772
Alexander Morozevich 2758
½-½
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2766
Round 03 – April 20 2013, 14:00h
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2766
½-½
Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2709
Fabiano Caruana 2772
½-½
Alexander Morozevich 2758
Sergey Karjakin 2786
½-½
Ruslan Ponomariov 2733
Anish Giri 2727
½-½
Teimour Radjabov 2793
Peter Leko 2744
½-½
Hikaru Nakamura 2767
Gata Kamsky 2741
½-½
Veselin Topalov 2771
Round 04 – April 21 2013, 14:00h
Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2709
½-½
Veselin Topalov 2771
Hikaru Nakamura 2767
½-½
Gata Kamsky 2741
Teimour Radjabov 2793
½-½
Peter Leko 2744
Ruslan Ponomariov 2733
½-½
Anish Giri 2727
Alexander Morozevich 2758
½-½
Sergey Karjakin 2786
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2766
½-½
Fabiano Caruana 2772
Round 05 – April 23 2013, 14:00h
Fabiano Caruana 2772
1-0
Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2709
Sergey Karjakin 2786
1-0
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2766
Anish Giri 2727
0-1
Alexander Morozevich 2758
Peter Leko 2744
½-½
Ruslan Ponomariov 2733
Gata Kamsky 2741
1-0
Teimour Radjabov 2793
Veselin Topalov 2771
1-0
Hikaru Nakamura 2767
Round 06 – April 24 2013, 14:00h
Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2709
0-1
Hikaru Nakamura 2767
Teimour Radjabov 2793
½-½
Veselin Topalov 2771
Ruslan Ponomariov 2733
1-0
Gata Kamsky 2741
Alexander Morozevich 2758
½-½
Peter Leko 2744
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2766
½-½
Anish Giri 2727
Fabiano Caruana 2772
½-½
Sergey Karjakin 2786
Round 07 – April 25 2013, 14:00h
Sergey Karjakin 2786
½-½
Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2709
Anish Giri 2727
½-½
Fabiano Caruana 2772
Peter Leko 2744
½-½
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2766
Gata Kamsky 2741
1-0
Alexander Morozevich 2758
Veselin Topalov 2771
½-½
Ruslan Ponomariov 2733
Hikaru Nakamura 2767
½-½
Teimour Radjabov 2793
Round 08 – April 26 2013, 14:00h
Rustam Kasimdzhanov
2709
½-½
Teimour Radjabov 2793
Ruslan Ponomariov
2733
½-½
Hikaru Nakamura 2767
Alexander Morozevich
2758
0-1
Veselin Topalov 2771
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
2766
½-½
Gata Kamsky 2741
Fabiano Caruana
2772
½-½
Peter Leko 2744
Sergey Karjakin
2786
½-½
Anish Giri 2727
Round 09 – April 28 2013, 14:00h
Anish Giri 2727
½-½
Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2709
Peter Leko 2744
½-½
Sergey Karjakin 2786
Gata Kamsky 2741
0-1
Fabiano Caruana 2772
Veselin Topalov 2771
½-½
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2766
Hikaru Nakamura 2767
1-0
Alexander Morozevich 2758
Teimour Radjabov 2793
1-0
Ruslan Ponomariov 2733
Round 10 – April 29 2013, 14:00h
Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2709
½-½
Ruslan Ponomariov 2733
Alexander Morozevich 2758
1-0
Teimour Radjabov 2793
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2766
0-1
Hikaru Nakamura 2767
Fabiano Caruana 2772
0-1
Veselin Topalov 2771
Sergey Karjakin 2786
0-1
Gata Kamsky 2741
Anish Giri 2727
½-½
Peter Leko 2744
Round 11 – April 30 2013, 12:00h
Peter Leko 2744
-
Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2709
Gata Kamsky 2741
-
Anish Giri 2727
Veselin Topalov 2771
-
Sergey Karjakin 2786
Hikaru Nakamura 2767
-
Fabiano Caruana 2772
Teimour Radjabov 2793
-
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2766
Ruslan Ponomariov 2733
-
Alexander Morozevich 2758

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