Wijk R07: Movsesian beats Ivanchuk, joins Karjakin in the lead 24.01.2009– After beating the third seed yesterday Sergei Movsesian today downed top seed Vassily Ivanchuk with the black pieces. Jan Smeets blundered at the end of a tough game to give Morozevich a win. Daniel Stellwagen somehow wriggled his way out of a dead lost position against Gata Kamsky to salvage a draw. In group B Nigel Short leads after defeating Rustam Kasimdzanov. Round seven report.
Nigel Davies:
A busy persons opening system Players with interests and commitments away from the chess board often find it difficult to compete against those with more study time. Their opponents come to the board armed with the latest theory and can bash out moves well into the middle game. On this DVD Nigel Davies addresses this issue by demonstrating a simple and easy to learn opening system designed for the busy person.
More information...
One of the most eternal debates in chess is over so-called "Grandmaster
draws". The right of two players to agree a draw at any moment in the game
causes considerable distress to many spectators, and especially to sponsors.
All manner of ideas have been suggested to deal with this problem, with the
simple banning of draw offers in less than 40 or 50 moves being the most common
nowadays. But even that does not stop the players engineering a threefold repetition.
I have no desire to get involved in the debates about the rights and wrongs
of draws, but one point seems to have escaped attention, as far as repetitions
are concerned. The oriental game of Go has a similar problem, with what are
called Ko positions. This is a repetition situation, where White plays a stone
on a certain point, and captures a black stone, and Black could then play on
the adjacent point, capturing the white stone, and repeating the initial position.
Without something to prevent it, many games of Go would end in early draws due
to this repetition.
The ko rule (from the Japanese 劫 kō "eon"),
prevents unending repetition. Black has just played the stone marked 1,
capturing a white stone at the intersection marked with a circle. If White
were now allowed to play on the marked intersection, that move would capture
the black stone marked 1 and recreate the situation before Black made
the move marked 1. Allowing this would result in an unending cycle of
captures by both players. The ko rule therefore prohibits White from playing
at the marked intersection immediately. Instead White must play elsewhere.
See Wikipedia on Go.
The rules of Go deal with the repetition issue very elegantly, by providing
that after one player has captured in a Ko situation, the second player is not
allowed to play his next stone into the Ko. Instead, he must make a move elsewhere
on the board. In principle, this allows the first player to fill in the Ko,
and end the possible repetition. However, if the second player manages to find
a move elsewhere on the board, which creates a serious threat, the first player
has no time to fill in the KO, and must attend to the threat. Once he has done
so, the second player can retake the Ko. Now the boot is on the other foot –
the first player must find a threat elsewhere on the board, which is sufficiently
strong to force the second player to attend to it, whereupon the first player
retakes the Ko. And so it goes on, with the players exchanging Ko threats,
and alternately retaking the Ko. Eventually, one player runs out of threats,
is forced to play an inoffensive move elsewhere on the board, and the opponent
fills in the Ko once and for all.
The effect of this is that what would otherwise be the cause of many premature
draws becomes a great element of skill. The ability to gauge in advance who
has the greater number of effective Ko threats, and therefore who will ultimately
win the Ko fight, is frequently the key to determining the outcome of the game.
I once saw a classic game involving Go Seigen, one of the greatest of all Go
players, in which a Ko fight extended for over 40 moves of mutual threats and
counter-threats. Eventually, Seigen emerged victorious, and by taking the Ko,
achieved a decisive advantage in the game. It would be most interesting to experiment
with a similar rule in chess. I am far from sure it could be made to work effectively
in our game, but it may be worth thinking about it. I believe some similar prohibition
on repetitions applies in Shogi, although not having played that game, I am
not sure of the details. In any event, it seems that we players of the Royal
Game may be able to learn something from our gaming siblings, and perhaps the
time has come to consider this.
These thoughts about draws in chess were prompted partly by events in today's
game between Kariakin and Aronian. Sadly, it was the sort of game that opens
up the debate about short draws. The players repeated 18 moves of Anti-Marshall
theory, then shook hands, just 30 minutes after the start of the round.
Karjakin,Sergey (2706) - Aronian,L (2750) [C88]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (7), 24.01.2009 Notes by Sergey Shipov, translation by Steve Giddins
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.00 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 00 8.h3.
No Marshall. Kariakin prefers to avoid a theoretical duel and saves his
novelties for another day. 8...Bb7. Nowadays, Black leaves the pawn on
d7 a little longer. Maybe he can still play d5 in one move, and also the bishop
retains the chance to come to c5. 9.d3 d5. See the previous note. Black
is ready to part with a pawn. 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.a4. White plays it safe.
The point is that after 11.Nxe5 Nd4! Black manages to exchange off the powerful
Spanish bishop.11...Nd4 12.Nxd4 exd4 13.axb5. The speed of play suggests
that both players were prepared for exactly this variation. 13...axb5 14.Rxa8
Bxa8 15.Na3. I have seen this position before. Yes, now I remember! It was
in December, at the Grand Prix in Elista, the game Leko-Jakovenko. White quickly
achieved a decisive advantage, but could not win. Peter's team was very upset,
and Dima was delighted... 15...Bb4. Virtually the only sensible move.
If 15...Qd7 16.Qg4! is very strong.; and after 15...Bxa3 16.bxa3 c5 17.Qg4 White's
two bishops give him a strong initiative.; 15...b4 is just positionally bad.
16.Bd2. In the above-mentioned game, the players first repeated moves:
16.Re5 Bd6 17.Re1 Bb4 and only then was 18.Bd2 played. 16...Bxd2 17.Qxd2
17...Qf6. Novelty! The Leko-Jakovenko game went 17...Bc6? 18.Re5! b4
19.Nb5! Nf6 20.Qf4 Bd5 21.Bxd5 Nxd5 22.Qxd4 c6 23.Na7! Qc7 24.Nxc6 Qxc6 25.Rxd5
Qxc2 26.Qxb4 and, believe it or not, the Hungarian no. 1 and Super-GM could
not realize the advantage of two extra pawns. I remember we analysed the text
in the press-centre at Elista, and we humans could not find any advantage for
White. Now we will see what Kariakin and his computer have come up with. Black
offers the b5-pawn,but prepares the powerful Nd5-f4. After 18.Nxb5 there is
18...Nf4 19.f3 Qh6 20.Kh2 (20.Qf2 Qg5!) 20...Bxf3 21.gxf3 Qxh3+ 22.Kg1
Qg3+ and Black has at least a draw. Probably a draw at most, as well. 18.Bxd5
DRAW! A cynical decision, in my view. No fight at all took
place here. Poor show, Sergey. Poor show, Levon. [Click
to replay]
Adams-Radjabov was also a short draw, after the former's quiet treatment of
the Sicilian produced no advantage. With his first choice game having finished
so quickly, our tireless commentator Sergey Shipov switched his attention to
the encounter between Morozevich and Smeets, which was to prove a tragedy for
the Dutchman.
Morozevich,A (2771) - Smeets,J (2601) [D11]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (7), 24.01.2009 Notes by Sergey Shipov, translation by Steve Giddins
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3. I like Sasha's caution! Yesterday,
he played too adventurously, even recklessly, and paid the price. Today, it
seems, he has taken himself in hand and is playing solidly. 4...Bg4 5.Qb3.
A slight side-step, looking to avoid well-known paths as soon as possible.
Sasha wants to avoid a memory test, and just play chess. 5...Qb6 6.Nc3. It
is not in either side's interest to exchange queens at present, as this would
improve the opponent's pawn structure. 6...e6 7.Nh4. Going after Black's
light-squared bishop. 7...Bh5 8.h3 g5. A very sharp move! The game Carlsen-Movsesian,
earlier this week, continued 8...Nbd7 9.g4 Bg6 10.g5 Ng8 11.Nxg6 hxg6 12.Qc2
Ne7 13.Bd2 Nf5 14.cxd5 cxd5 15.Nb5 Bd6 16.Qa4 a6 17.Rc1 Ke7 18.Nxd6 Nxd6 and
Black, rather surprisingly, demonstrated that the two knights can fight successfully
against White's two bishops. 9.Nf3. Again played quietly. The game Gonzales-Savchenko,
Palma 2008, went 9.g4 gxh4 10.gxh5 Rg8 11.Be2 Nbd7 12.Bd2 Qc7 13.cxd5 exd5 14.Rc1
Nb6 15.Qc2 Qe7 16.b4 Qe6 17.b5 c5 18.Kf1 Nc4 and Black eventually won a sharp
game. 9...h6 10.g4. Sasha lurches forward. One cannot forever restrain
one's temperament. The source game continued 10.Ne5 Nfd7 11.Nd3 Bg6 12.Bd2 Na6
13.Rc1 Qxb3 14.axb3 Nb4 15.Nxb4 Bxb4 16.h4 00 17.cxd5 exd5 18.Be2 a6 and Black
had no problems. Wang Yue - Aronian, Dresden 2008. 10...Bg6 11.h4. Attack
at all costs! Frankly, though, it seems to me that this move leads only to numerous
exchanges and a draw. But let us see. 11...Qxb3. A small concession.
However, after 11...Nxg4 12.hxg5 Na6 White can force the queen exchange by 13.c5!
12.axb3 Rg8. Smeets believes his opponent. After 12...Nxg4 13.hxg5 White
has the cunning idea of trapping the knight on g4 by means of Nf3-g1 and f2-f3,
eg 13...Na6 14.c5 Nb4 15.Ra4 Nd3+? (But stronger is 15...a5 though
here Black has to calculate a long forced variation: 16.Ng1 Bd3! 17.f3
Nc2+ 18.Kd2 Bxf1 19.Kxc2 Nf2! 20.Rh2 Nd3!21.Bd2 Nb4+ and the king's
knight escapes to the queenside! ) 16.Bxd3 Bxd3 17.Ng1! and White emerges
with an extra piece. 13.hxg5 hxg5. Now the mutual capture of the g-pawns
will just lead to equality. But Sasha is spending time, looking for something
better. 14.c5. A sensible reaction. White intends b4-b5, with strong
pressure on the queenside. Smeets' exaggerated respect for his opponent may
turn out badly for him. 14.Nxg5 Bc2! is not dangerous for Black.; It is tempting
to examine 14.Ne5 Bc2 15.c5 but it is very hard to analyse to the end the daring
capture 15...Bxb3!? After 16.Bd3 the black bishop is in trouble, but he can
play 16...Nbd7 17.Ra3 Nxe5 18.dxe5 Nd7 19.Rxb3 Nxc5 20.Bc2 Nxb3 21.Bxb3 and
I am not sure how to evaluate this unusual position. Probably, Black is OK.
14...Nxg4. I don't see any alternative. Black cannot hold up the queenside
advance: 14...Nbd7 15.b4 a6 16.b5! 15.b4. Morozevich rushes it! he does
not believe it necessary to regain the pawn. I am not sure that his compensation
is so significant, however. It seems to me that the simple line is more promising:
15.Nxg5 Bc2 16.Nf3 Bxb3 17.Bd3 17...Nd7 (Looking deeper, I found
an improvement for Black:17...Na6 and the threat of the knight jump to
b4 forces White to part with one of his bishops. 18.Bxa6 bxa6 19.Rxa6 Kd7
20.Rg1 f6 and it is difficult to find resources for White to develop his
initiative.) 18.Nd2 Bc4 19.Nxc4 dxc4 20.Bxc4 and White has a clear advantage,
thanks to his two bishops and superiority in the centre. 15...f6. Agreed!
A good reply. By defending his pawn on g5, Black enables the knight to return
via h6. [After 15...Be7 the knight would be stuck on g4 for a long time. 16.b5.
An important moment. How should Black meet his opponent's queenside attack?
He has no time to waste. If the second white b-pawn reaches b5, White will have
a large advantage. Black needs to meet this by playing a6, cxb5, and putting
a knight on c6 and his king on d7. I do not see any other way. 16...cxb5.
The same idea, but in a less convincing form. I was looking at 16...a6!
17.b4 cxb5 18.Bxb5+ (18.Nxb5 Kd7) 18...Nc6 and did not find anything
special for White. 17.Rg1. After 17.Bxb5+ Nc6 the striking 18.Ra6 does
not bring anything after 18...000! 17...Nh6. Played carefully. Also
not bad is 17...Bf5; and even 17...Bh5 but approaching time-trouble makes Black
hurry things. 18.Nxb5 Kd7 19.Rxa7. He has to recapture the pawn. 19...Rxa7
20.Nxa7 Nc6 21.Nxc6. Too slow is 21.Nb5 Nb4! 21...bxc6. Each side's
weaknesses roughly cancel each other out. 22.b4. White has a pawn majority
on the queenside. But at present, the infantry lack artillery support, and by
themselves they cannot win the battle. 22...Be7. Played after quite long
thought. I believe the position is about equal and a repetition may be forced.
A depressing prospect for the Muscovite! He ahs too few points, and is much
the higher-rated player...But I fear that Sasha may overdo things in trying
to avoid a draw. My analysis managed to cast doubts on the alternative 22...Bg7
23.b5 cxb5 24.Bxb5+ Kc7 25.Bd2 Ra8 26.Nxg5! Ra1+ 27.Ke2 Rxg1 28.Nxe6+ Kc8 29.Nxg7
and White's two pawns are worth more than Black's extra exchange. 23.Kd2.
Here is the line which leads to an early dinner: 23.b5 cxb5 24.Bxb5+ Kc7
25.Bd2 Ra8 26.Ke2 Ra2 27.Rh1 Ng4 28.Rh8 e5 (28...Be4 29.Re8!) 29.Rg8
Bh5 30.Rh8 Bg6 31.Rg8 etc. 23...Be4. The rook penetration does not lead
to success: 23...Ra8 24.Bb2 Ra2?! 25.Kc3! 24.Ne1. An equal ending results
from 24.Be2 g4 25.Nh2 f5 26.f3. 24...g4! Black successfully exploits
White's slowness. 25.Kc3? But this is dubious, if not downright bad.
Morozevich should have maintained equality by 25.Be2 f5 26.f3. 25...f5. The
bishop comes to h4 and Black develops strong pressure. 26.Nd3?! Continuing
to drift. He should defend by 26.Be2 Bh4 27.Rf1 so as to put the king on b3
and play f2-f3. 26...Bh4! The f2 pawn is on the verge of extinction.
White now needs study-like accuracy to save the game. Clearly, he needs to find
a way to sacrifice the f2 pawn and create piece counterplay. In time-trouble
this is the best chance. Clock times are 0.220.14. 27.f4? Seemingly
another oversight. More stubborn was 27.Ne5+ Kc7 28.Bg2! Bxf2 29.Rh1 Rh8 30.Bxe4
dxe4 31.Ng6 g3! (31...Rh7 32.Nf8 Rh8 33.Ng6 =) 32.Nxh8 g2 33.Rd1
Ng4 34.Ng6 Black has the initiative, but I cannot see a clear win. White seems
to have time to win the e6 pawn with his knight. 27...gxf3. I think Black
would retain a serious advantage by keeping the pawn on g4. But taking on f3
is even stronger. 28.Rh1. 28.Ne5+ Kc7 29.Rh1 f2! 30.Rxh4 Rg1
28...Bg5? Jan is getting nervous! [He could secure a decisive advantage
by 28...Nf7! 29.Rxh4 Rg1. 29.Ne5+ Kc7. Times:0.16 - 0.06. There are still
many moves to make to the time control, and so, many chances to go wrong. 30.Rh3
Ra8? Correct was 30...f2! 31.Rh2 Bf6! 32.Rxf2 Bxe5 33.dxe5 Rg1 and White
will lose the e5 pawn, since after 34.Rf4 Ng4 35.Kd4? Nh2! he loses a piece.
31.Nxf3 Bxf3 32.Rxf3. Now the worst is behind White. 32...Ra2. Black
retains some slight pressure, but nothing too serious. 33.Rh3 Accurately
played. Trying to take the initiative by 33.Rg3 Ng4 34.Bh3 rebounds: 34...Bh4!
35.Rg1 Bf2 36.Rg2 Nxe3! 37.Rxf2 (37.Bxe3 Ra3+!) 37...Rxf2 38.Bxe3 Rf3.
33...Ng4 34.b5. Morozevich returns to the right idea. Passive defence
of e3 could lead to new problems. 34...cxb5 35.Bxb5 Rh2. In serious time-trouble,
Jan hurries to simplify. Stronger was 35...Bh6. 36.Rxh2 Nxh2 37.Kd3. The
initiative has passed to White. 37...Ng4 38.Bd2. The bishops are ready
to drive off the black kin and support their passed pawn. 38...Bh4. An
accurate manoeuvre. From g3, the bishop will cover the crucial c7 square. 39.Ba5+
Kc8 40.Be8. There was no win by 40.Ba6+ Kb8 41.c6 Bg3! 40...Nf6. A
further inaccuracy. Better was 40...Bd8! 41.Be1 Nf6 and now 42.Bf7 is ineffective
because of 42...Kd7 But only those who have never been in his situation could
criticise the Dutch player - after time-trouble ends, one's hands are shaking
and one's head is spinning. 41.Bf7. Now Black is losing a pawn. 41...Kd7
42.c6+ Kxc6 43.Bxe6. F5 must drop. A new phase of the battle is beginning.
With two bishops and an extra pawn, White ahs winning chances, at least in practice.
It is certainly the best position Morozevich has had in the whole game. 43...Ne4
44.Bxf5 Nd6. A good set-up. Black sits tight and waits for White to attempt
something. 45.Bg4 Nc4 46.Bc3 Nd6. It seems he can draw by 46...Bf2 47.e4
Ne3! but the resulting variations are too difficult for a tired player to work
out. 47.Bf3 Bf2 48.Bd2
48...Nc4? The last tragic oversight in this game. By simply moving his
bishop to and fro, Black can hold. 49.Bxd5+! and if 49...Kxd5 50.e4+,
winning a pawn and the game. 1-0. One can only sympathise with Smeets,
whose nerves failed him. [Click
to replay]
Dominguez-Wang Yue saw the Berlin Wall uphold its solid reputation, while Movsesian
had another great result, downing Ivanchuk with the black pieces. In a Scheveningen
Sicilian, the Ukrainian lost control in the middlegame, and Black's e and f-pawn
couplet sliced through the white position like the proverbial hot knife through
butter.
Carlsen drew his seventh straight game, but can count himself as rather fortunate
to do so, as it was only with his opponent's help that he survived a distinctly
malodorous position against van Wely.
Van Wely,L (2625) - Carlsen,M (2776) [A17]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (7), 24.01.2009
Both 28.Re2 and 28.Bxg7 give White a near-winning advantage, according to Fritz,
but van Wely instead chose 28.Red1? and Carlsen slipped out:
g6 29.Qc3 f6 30.Ne7+ Kh7 31.Nxc8 Bxg3 32.Qc2 Rxc8 33.Qg2 Qxg2+ 34.Kxg2 Bf4 35.Bd4
Bxc1 36.Rxc1 Kg7 37.Ra1 draw. [Click
to replay]
If Fritz were an undertaker, Daniel Stellwagen is another who would have been
declared dead and cremated at almost any point from about move 25 onwards. However,
with Mark Twain-like reluctance to acknowledge the fact of his own demise, the
young Dutchman wriggled and wriggled, and eventually salvaged half a point with
perpetual check, in what must surely have been a lost heavy piece ending.
Can you imagine any other outcome than a simple white win? 54...Qe3+
55.Kg2 Qe4+ 56.Rf3 Qe2+ 57.Kg3 Qe5+ 58.Kf2 Qb2+ 59.Ke3 Qe5+ 60.Kd3 Qd5+ 61.Kc2
Qa2+ 62.Kc3 Qa1+ 63.Kc4 Qa6+ 64.Kc3 Qa1+ 65.Kb3 Qb1+ 66.Ka4 Qe4+ 67.Qb4 Qa8+
68.Kb5 Qb7+ 69.Ka5 Qa7+ 70.Kb5 Qb7+ 71.Kc4 Qe4+ draw. [Click
to replay]
Live commentary on Playchess by Yasser Seirawan
Once again the server Playchess.com GM Yasser Seirawan entertained the visitors
with three hours of live commentary. He will be on Playchess with live commentary
again on Sunday January 25. Additional days of commentary will be announced.
Each session consists of a minimum of three one-hour lectures, beginning approximately
thirty minutes after play has started. For a charge of ten Ducats (about one
Euro) a visitor gets a twelve hour pass to listen to the live lectures.
Playchess commentator GM Yasser Seirawan
Ducats are the currency used on Playchess.com. You can purchase Ducats here.
The amount will be credited to your playchess.com account. You need to allow at
least one working day for processing. If you want your Ducats immediately you
can order them using our Click&Buy
service. Ducats can also be used to buy ChessBase products. Note that you can
also purchase Ducats directly from Fritz or the Playchess client using the menu
"Edit Payments Fill up account". This takes you to a special purchase
page with your account name automatically passed on, to simplify the process.
Mystery solved: it's the Dutch Sea Rescue service
For five years Magnus Carlsen and his father Henrik, and probably a lot of
other top players, have wondered what was in this building, locacted midway
between the Zeeduin Hotel and the playing venue. Magnus' little sister Signe
solved the mystery.
It contains a rescue boat of the Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution (Dutch:
Koninklijke Nederlandse Redding Maatschappij, abbreviated KNRM), a voluntary
organization in the Netherlands tasked with saving lives at sea.
The lifeboat is mounted on a caterpillar trailer and towed to the beach by
a similar vehicle. In the above picture it is just passing the Zeeduin.
Later in the day our investigative photo reporter found the tracks on the beach
where the rescue boat had been launched. If you are interested to know how this
is done you can watch it in the following video:
The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the
chess server Playchess.com.
If you are not a member you can download the free
PGN reader ChessBase Light, which gives you immediate access. You
can also use it to read, replay and analyse the PGN games.
