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Home » Chess News » Events » 72nd Corus Wijk aan Zee 2010 » Carlsen catches Kramnik with two rounds to go

Magnus Carlsen joined Vladimir Kramnik in the lead with two rounds to go. Carlsen beat Leinier Dominguez Perez in a Gruenfeld where time trouble played a part in the Cuban's loss. Kramnik was put under some pressure by Alexei Shirov but eventually held on.

Notes and photos by Michiel Abeln, further reporting by Mark Crowther.

Magnus Carlsen joined Vladimir Kramnik in the lead with a win against Leinier Dominguez Perez in Round 11. Carlsen admitted to being tired, and he certainly sounded like it. He also said that he somewhat overestimated his chances during the game. However Dominguez fell a long way behind on the clock and this goes quite a way to explaining why his position collapsed later in the game as it did.

Carlsen,Magnus - Dominguez Perez,Leinier [D97]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee (11), 29.01.2010
[Michiel Abeln]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 0-0 7.e4 a6 8.e5 b5 9.Qb3 Nfd7 10.Ng5

a rare move, a bit primitive, but prepared on the rest day

10...Nb6

A logical move, but now the Knight on d7 is not supporting the c5 break anymore

11.Be3 Nc6 12.Rd1 Bf5

[12...Na5 was also prepared by Carlsen; a serious alternative was 12...Bg4 13.f3 Bf5]

13.Be2 Na5 14.Qb4 Nac4 15.0-0

[Carlsen also considered 15.Bc1 Bc2 16.0-0 Bxd1 17.Rxd1 but this position is quite unclear, while in the game white is just better]

15...f6

[15...Nxe3 16.fxe3 Bh6 17.e4 and white is on top]

16.Nf3 Nxe3 17.fxe3 fxe5

Not clear that this excahnge helps black, white now gets the d4 square for his knight and the d-file for his rook

[17...Nd5 18.Qb3 (18.Nxd5 Qxd5) 18...e6]

18.dxe5 Qe8 19.Qc5 Rc8

[19...Nd7 20.Qxc7 (20.Qd5+ Kh8 21.e4) 20...Rc8 21.Qa7 Nxe5 22.Nxe5 Bxe5 23.Qxa6 gives white a clear edge]

20.a4?!

[Maybe it was better to play 20.Nd4 Nd7 21.Qa3 Nxe5 22.Nd5 (Carlsen mainly coinsidered 22.Nxf5 gxf5 23.Nd5 Kh8 24.Nxe7 b4 25.Qxb4 c5 26.Qb7 Rb8 27.Qc7 Rf7) 22...Bf6 23.Nxf5 gxf5 24.Rxf5 and white is clearly better]

20...Nxa4

[20...Nd7 21.Qd5+ Kh8 22.axb5]

21.Nxa4 bxa4 22.Nd4 Rb8 23.g4

a bit of a gamble in a way, not a particular good move, but Dominguez was already short of time.

[23.Nc6 Rxb2 24.Bc4+ Kh8 25.Rd8 Qxd8 26.Nxd8 Rxd8 27.Qxe7 Rbb8 and black might be able to hold]

23...Be4

[23...Bd7 was also a reasonable alternative 24.Rxf8+ Bxf8 (24...Qxf8 25.Qd5+; 24...Kxf8 25.Bc4) 25.e6 Bc8 and black survives 26.Nc6 Rb6 27.Rd8 Rxc6 (27...Qxc6 28.Qxe7 Qc1+ 29.Kg2 (29.Kf2 Qxe3+ 30.Kxe3 Rxe6+) ) 28.Qd4 Qxd8 29.Qxd8 Bxe6]

24.Ne6

[24.Rxf8+ Bxf8 (24...Qxf8 25.Ne6 Qf7 26.Ng5) 25.Ne6 Qc6]

24...Rxf1+ 25.Bxf1 c6 26.Ng5

[26.Bc4 Kh8 27.Ng5 Bd5 with a very complex position]

26...Bd5 27.e4 Bb3 28.Bc4+ e6 29.Nxe6 Bxc4 30.Qxc4

and in time trouble Dominguez gives the game away

30...Kh8?

[30...Bxe5! 31.Rf1 Qe7 (31...Kh8 32.Rf8+ Qxf8 33.Nxf8 Rxf8 34.Qc5 Re8 35.Qxc6 and maybe black can hold) 32.Nd8+ (32.Nf8+ Kg7 (32...Kh8 33.Rf7) ) 32...Kh8 33.Nxc6 Bxh2+ 34.Kxh2 Qh4+ 35.Kg1 Qg3+ with a perpetual]

31.Nxg7

Now white is suddenly winning

31...Kxg7 32.e6 Rb7

[32...Rd8 33.Rf1]

33.Qc3+ Kg8 34.Rd6 Re7 35.Rxc6 Qf8 36.Rc8 Re8 37.Rxe8 Qxe8 38.Qf6 Qc8 39.Kg2 Qc2+ 40.Kh3 Qc5 41.Kh4 Qb4 42.Qf7+ Kh8 43.e7 Qe1+ 44.Kg5 Qe3+ 45.Qf4 1-0

The heavy-weight clash of the day was between Alexei Shirov and Vladimir Kramnik. Having lost the lead Shirov could have regained it with a win. He certainly set a lot of problems but calm defence from Kramnik seemed to just about hold in all lines.

Shirov,Alexei - Kramnik,Vladimir [C42]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (11), 29.01.2010
[Mark Crowther]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.c4 Nb4 9.Be2 0-0 10.Nc3 Bf5 11.a3 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Nc6 13.Re1 Re8 14.cxd5 Qxd5 15.Bf4 Rac8 16.h3 Be4 17.Nd2

[17.Qa4 Qf5 18.Bg3 Bd6 19.Ne5 Bxe5 20.Bg4 Qg6 21.dxe5 Bf5 22.Bf3 Rb8 23.Ra2 Red8 24.Rb2 Qe6 25.Bh4 Nxe5 26.Kh1 b5 27.Bxd8 bxa4 28.Rxb8 1-0 Grischuk,A (2717)-Nielsen,P (2644)/Monte Carlo MNC 2006/The Week in Chess 594]

17...Bxg2 18.Bg4 Bh1 19.f3 Bh4 20.Re4

[20.Rxe8+ Rxe8 21.Qb3 Qxb3 22.Nxb3 f5 23.Bh5 g6 24.Kxh1 gxh5 25.d5 Ne5 26.Nd4 Kf7 27.Rb1 Kf6 28.Rxb7 Nd3 29.Bxc7 Rg8 30.Nc6 Kg6 31.Ne5+ Nxe5 32.Bxe5 f4 33.Rb4 Re8 34.Re4 Bg3 35.Bc7 Rxe4 36.fxe4 h4 37.Bb8 a6 38.c4 Kf7 39.c5 Ke8 40.c6 Kd8 41.Be5 f3 42.Bxg3 hxg3 43.d6 1-0 Van Oosterom,C (2420)-Wellen,H (2139)/Germany 2009/EXT 2010]

20...f5 21.Kxh1 fxg4 22.hxg4 Qf7

The first new move. They've been following a comment by Viswanathan Anand who didn't think 20.Re4 was all that special.

23.Qb3 Ne7 24.Qxf7+ Kxf7 25.c4 Ng6 26.Bh2 Bf6 27.Rb1 b6 28.d5 Be5 29.f4

Shirov starts complications that look risky. But he is terribly good in this kind of position, but queenless middlegames are also played well by Kramnik also.

29...Bd6 30.a4 h6 31.Rbe1 Nf8 32.f5 Nd7?!

After the game Kramnik was critical of this move.

[32...Bxh2 33.Kxh2 Rxe4 34.Nxe4]

33.Bxd6 cxd6 34.Re6!

The only move but a good one.

34...Ne5 35.c5!!

Now black certainly has to be careful.

35...Nd3 36.cxd6

[36.Ne4 was a suggestion in a lengthy post-mortem between the two players. 36...Nxe1 37.Nxd6+ Kf8 38.Nxe8 bxc5 (38...Rxe8 39.c6 seems to win) and Kramnik was just about saving the position after a few tries.]

36...Nxe1 37.d7 Rcd8 38.dxe8Q+ Rxe8 39.Nc4 Rxe6 40.fxe6+ Ke7 41.Ne5 Kd6 42.Nc4+ Ke7 43.Ne5 Kd6 44.Kh2 Nc2 45.Nc4+ Ke7 46.Kg3 Nb4 47.Ne3 Nxd5!

Rightly understanding this is just a draw.

48.Nxd5+ Kxe6 49.Nc3 a6 50.Kf4 b5 51.axb5

Shirov was nearly out of time when he played this. The accepts that the position is a draw.

1/2-1/2

Nigel Short didn't get much of an advantage in his game against Fabiano Caruana. The pieces gradually started to come off and it was then only a matter of time until the two players agreed a draw.

Short,Nigel - Caruana,Fabiano [B40]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (11), 29.01.2010
[Mark Crowther]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 Nc6 4.Bg2 d5 5.exd5 exd5 6.0-0 Nf6 7.d4 Be7 8.Be3

[8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.Nbd2 0-0 10.Nb3 Bb6 11.c3 Re8 12.Nbd4 Bg4 13.Qd3 Ne4 14.Be3 Qf6 15.Rae1 h6 16.a3 Rad8 17.Nxc6 bxc6 18.Bxb6 axb6 19.Nd4 Ng5 20.Re3 Nh3+ 21.Bxh3 Bxh3 22.Rfe1 Rxe3 23.Qxe3 c5 24.Nf3 Qf5 25.Qf4 Qxf4 26.gxf4 Rd6 27.Ne5 Rf6 28.Re3 Be6 29.Rf3 Kf8 30.Kf1 Ke7 31.Ke2 Rf5 32.Ke3 Rh5 33.Rg3 g6 34.Nf3 Bf5 35.h4 Kd6 36.b4 Bc2 37.Ne5 Ke6 38.Nf3 Bd1 39.bxc5 bxc5 40.a4 Bxa4 41.Rg1 Bc6 42.Ne5 Be8 43.Nf3 Kf6 44.Ra1 Bd7 45.Ra7 Be6 46.Rc7 d4+ 47.cxd4 cxd4+ 48.Kxd4 Ra5 49.Rc3 Ra1 50.Ke4 Rf1 51.Rc5 Rxf2 52.h5 Bg4 53.Rc6+ Kg7 54.Ne5 Bxh5 55.Rc7 g5 56.f5 Rf4+ 0-1 Boidman,Y (2450)-Schlosser,P (2579)/Baden Baden GER 2007/The Week in Chess 684]

8...cxd4 9.Nxd4 0-0 10.h3 Re8 11.Re1 h6 12.Nd2 Bd6 13.c3 Bd7 14.Qb3 a6 15.Rad1 Qc7 16.Nf1 Re7 17.Qc2 Rae8 18.Nf5 Bxf5 19.Qxf5 Qa5 20.Qb1 Qb5 21.b3 Bc5 22.Qd3 Bxe3 23.Rxe3 Qa5 24.Qd2 Rc8 25.Bxd5 Nxd5 26.Qxd5 Rxe3 27.Qxa5 Rxg3+ 28.Nxg3 Nxa5 29.c4

After all the trades the ending is pretty drawish.

29...Rc7 30.Rd8+ Kh7 31.Ne4 Nc6 32.Rf8 Kg6 33.Kg2 Nb4 34.Nc3 Rd7 35.Rb8 Kf5 36.Na4 Rc7 37.Nc3 1/2-1/2

Vassily Ivanchuk seemed to put Sergey Karjakin under pressure early in their game. However Karjakin defended well and it was Ivanchuk who had time trouble on the run up to move 40 where the game was due to finish in perpetual check.

Ivanchuk,Vassily - Karjakin,Sergey [E06]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (11), 29.01.2010
[Mark Crowther]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.0-0 dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bf4 a5 11.Nc3 Na6 12.Ne5 Bxg2 13.Kxg2 Nd5 14.Rad1 Nxf4+ 15.gxf4 Bd6 16.e3 Qh4

[16...Nb4 17.Nf3 c6 18.Rg1 Nd5 19.Ne4 f5 20.Nxd6 Qxd6 21.Ne5 Rfd8 22.h4 Nf6 23.Kh3 Rac8 24.Qb3 Qe7 25.Rg5 Ne4 26.Rg2 Rc7 27.Rdg1 Qe8 28.Qb6 Rdc8 29.Qxa5 c5 30.dxc5 Nxc5 31.Qxc5 1-0 Shirov,A (2726)-Landa,K (2613)/Muelheim GER 2009/The Week in Chess 743]

17.Qe2 f6 18.Nc4 g5 19.d5 e5 20.f5 Nc5 21.e4 Rf7 22.Kh1 Nb3 23.Nb5 Nd4 24.Nxd4 exd4 25.f3 Qh3 26.Rf2 h5

Black continues with his plan.

27.Rg2 Bf4 28.Rxd4 Kh8 29.Rd3 Rh7 30.Rc3 Rd8 31.Rd3 Ra8 32.b3

Played after a long think. The position is still pretty complicated.

32...Qh4 33.Qf2 Qh3 34.Rd1 Rg7 35.Rdg1

Ivanchuk only had a couple of minutes left.

35...Rag8 36.Nxa5 g4 37.fxg4 Rxg4 38.Rxg4 Rxg4 39.Rxg4 hxg4 40.Qxf4 g3

Leads to perpetual.

1/2-1/2

Hikaru Nakamura and Peter Leko drew just a few moves outside of theory after they repeated position in a Symmetrical English.

Nakamura,Hikaru - Leko,Peter [A30]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (11), 29.01.2010
[Mark Crowther]

1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg2 g6 7.0-0 Bg7 8.Nxd5 Qxd5 9.d3 0-0 10.Be3 Bxb2 11.Rb1 Bf6 12.Qa4 Qd7 13.Bxc5 b6 14.Bxb6 Nd4 15.Qd1 axb6 16.Nxd4 Rxa2 17.Qb3

[17.Nc6 Qe6 18.Bf3 Bd7 19.Nb4 Ra5 20.Qd2 Rc8 21.Rfc1 Rxc1+ 22.Qxc1 Qd6 23.Nc2 h5 24.Ne3 Rc5 25.Nc4 Qc7 26.Qf4 Qxf4 27.gxf4 b5 28.Nd2 Rc2 29.Ne4 Bb2 30.e3 b4 31.Kg2 Ba3 32.Bd1 Rc8 33.Bb3 Kg7 34.d4 Bf5 35.f3 Bc1 36.Kf2 Bxe4 37.fxe4 Rc3 38.Bd1 Bxe3+ 39.Ke2 Bxd4 40.Rxb4 Re3+ 41.Kd2 Rxe4 42.Kd3 Re1 43.Bxh5 Bc5 44.Rc4 Re3+ 45.Kd2 gxh5 46.Rxc5 Rh3 47.Rg5+ Kf6 48.Ke2 Rxh2+ 49.Kf3 Rh3+ 50.Kg2 Rh4 51.Kf3 e6 52.Ra5 Kg6 53.Rg5+ Kh6 54.Rg1 Rh3+ 55.Ke4 Ra3 56.Rg8 Ra5 57.Kf3 Rf5 58.Ke4 Kh7 59.Rg2 h4 60.Rh2 Rh5 0-1 Kveinys,A (2517)-Naiditsch,A (2639)/Baden Baden GER 2007/The Week in Chess 684]

17...Rd2 18.Qb4 Ra2 19.Qb3 Rd2 20.Qb4 Ra2 1/2-1/2

World Champion Viswanathan Anand allowed a repetition of position against tail-ender Jan Smeets after just 15 moves of a Sicilian Scheveningen.

Smeets,Jan - Anand,Viswanathan [B81]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (11), 29.01.2010
[Mark Crowther]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.g4 h6 7.h4 Nc6 8.Rg1 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxd5 Qxd5 11.Be3 Bd7

[11...Be7 12.Nxc6 Qxc6 13.Qd2 e5 14.0-0-0 Be6 15.Qa5 0-0 16.Bb5 Qc8 17.g5 Bf5 18.Bd3 hxg5 19.hxg5 Rd8 20.Bxf5 Rxd1+ 21.Rxd1 Qxf5 22.f4 Rc8 23.Rd2 Rc4 24.Qxe5 Qxe5 25.fxe5 Re4 26.Rd7 Rxe5 27.Kd2 Bxg5 28.Bxg5 Rxg5 29.Rxb7 Ra5 30.c4 g5 31.Rb5 Rxb5 32.cxb5 Kf8 33.a4 Ke7 34.a5 Kd6 35.b4 f5 36.Ke3 g4 1/2-1/2 Velicka,P (2437)-Navara,D (2543)/Ostrava CZE 2002/The Week in Chess 394]

12.c3 Be7 13.Bg2 Qc4 14.Bf1 Qd5 15.Bg2 Qc4 1/2-1/2

The final game to finish was between Loek van Wely and Sergei Tiviakov. This was a long grind that seemed to be set for a draw for a long time. Eventually after an exchange sacrifice for pawns and more manoevering Van Wely was suddenly winning.

Van Wely,Loek - Tiviakov,Sergei [E18]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (11), 29.01.2010
[Mark Crowther]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.Nc3 0-0 7.0-0 Ne4 8.Bd2 f5 9.Qc2 Bf6 10.Rad1 Nxc3 11.Bxc3 Be4 12.Qc1 d6 13.Rfe1 Nd7 14.Bf1 Bb7 15.b4

[15.d5 Nc5 16.dxe6 Nxe6 17.Bg2 Bxc3 18.Qxc3 Qf6 19.Qxf6 Rxf6 20.Nd2 Bxg2 21.Kxg2 Nc5 22.Nb1 a5 23.b3 Ne4 24.f3 Nc5 25.Nc3 Re8 26.Nd5 Rf7 27.h4 g6 28.Rd2 Kg7 29.Kf2 Rb8 30.Rc1 Kf8 31.Rc3 Ke8 32.a3 Kd7 33.b4 Ne6 34.Rb3 Ra8 35.Rdd3 Ra7 36.Rb1 Ra8 37.Rg1 axb4 38.axb4 Ra2 39.Rc1 Kc8 40.Rcc3 f4 41.g4 c6 42.Nxb6+ Kb7 43.c5 Nxc5 44.bxc5 Re7 45.Kf1 Ra1+ 46.Kf2 Ra2 47.Kf1 Ra1+ 48.Kf2 Ra2 1/2-1/2 Van Wely,L (2655)-Tiviakov,S (2590)/Beijing CHN 1997]

15...Qe7 16.Qc2 c5 17.Bg2 Be4 18.Qb2 cxd4 19.Bxd4 Rac8 20.Nd2 Bxg2 21.Kxg2 e5 22.Bc3 Qe6 23.e4 f4 24.Qb3 Rf7 25.c5 Qxb3 26.axb3 fxg3 27.hxg3 b5 28.Nf3 dxc5 29.Rd5 cxb4 30.Bxb4 a6 31.Red1 Nb6 32.Rd6 Rb7 33.Ba5 Rcb8 34.Rc6 Kf7 35.Rdd6 Nd7 36.b4 Ra8 37.Ne1 Be7 38.Rd5 Ke8 39.Nd3 Bf6 40.Rdd6 h6 41.Rxa6 Rxa6 42.Rxa6 Be7 43.Kf3 Kf7 44.Kg4 h5+ 45.Kf3 g6 46.Ke2 Rb8 47.Rc6 h4 48.gxh4 Rh8 49.Rc7 Ke6 50.Rc6+ Kf7 51.Rc7 Ke6 52.Rxd7

White turns down the draw and continues to grind with an exchange sacrifice for pawns.

52...Kxd7 53.Nxe5+ Ke8 54.Nxg6 Rh6 55.Nxe7 Kxe7 56.Ke3 Rxh4 57.Bb6 Ke6 58.f4 Rh1 59.f5+ Kf6 60.Bd4+ Kg5 61.Bc3 Rd1 62.Bd2 Kf6 63.Bc3+ Kg5 64.Bg7 Rd7 65.Bf8 Kg4 66.Bc5 Kg5 67.Kf3 Rh7 68.Kg3 Kf6 69.Bd4+ Kg5 70.Bc5 Kf6 71.Bd6 Kg5 72.Bf4+ Kf6 73.Kg4 Rg7+ 74.Kf3 Rh7 75.Bg3 Kg5 76.Bf4+ Kf6 77.Ke3 Rd7 78.Bg3 Kg5 79.Be5 Rd8

[79...Rd1 80.Bc3 Rd7 81.Bd4 Rc7 82.Kf3 Rh7 83.Be3+ Kf6 84.Bb6 Ke5 85.Bf2 Rh1 86.Bg3+ Kf6 87.Kg4 Rb1 88.Bd6 Rg1+ 89.Kf4 Rf1+ 90.Ke3 Rd1]

80.Bd4

Suddenly black is struggling.

80...Rd7 81.Bc5 Kg4 82.f6

Now white is winning.

82...Kg5 83.e5 Kf5 84.Bd6 Ke6 85.Kd4 Rxd6+ 86.exd6 Kxd6 87.f7 Ke7 88.Kc5 1-0

Anish Giri found a wonderful swindel to beat Wesley So and take a huge step towards taking first place in the B-Group.

So,Wesley - Giri,Anish [C42]
Corus B Wijk aan Zee (11), 29.01.2010
[Michiel Abeln]

Probably the decisive game of Group B

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.Re1 Bg4 9.c3 f5 10.Qb3 0-0 11.Nbd2 Na5 12.Qc2 Nc6 13.b4 a6 14.a4 Bd6 15.Ba3 Kh8 16.Qb2

[16.Reb1 Nxd2 17.Nxd2 Qh4 18.Nf1 Ne7 19.f3 Bh5 20.b5 Bxa3 21.Rxa3 axb5 22.Rxb5 b6 23.Ra1 Qf6 24.Ne3 Be8 25.Rbb1 Bd7 26.Bb5 Qd6 27.Re1 c6 28.Bd3 c5 29.Bb5 Bxb5 30.axb5 cxd4 31.cxd4 Qb4 32.Qd3 Rxa1 33.Rxa1 f4 34.Nc2 Qb2 35.Re1 Ng6 36.Re6 Rc8 37.Ne1 Qa1 38.Kf1 Qa5 39.Qe2 Nf8 40.Re8 Qa8 41.Re7 Ng6 42.Re6 Qb8 43.Nd3 Kg8 44.Qe1 Qc7 45.Rc6 Qd7 46.Qc3 Ne7 47.Ne5 Qd8 48.Rxc8 Qxc8 49.Nc6 Kf7 50.Qb3 Qe6 51.Nd8+ 1-0 Morozevich,A-Gelfand,B/Yerevan 2008/CBM 124 Extra]

16...Ne7

A novelty from Giri

[16...Re8 17.b5 axb5 18.Bxb5 Qf6 19.Bxd6 cxd6 20.a5 Reb8 21.Ra4 Qd8 22.Rea1 Nxa5 23.Qa3 Bxf3 24.Nxf3 Nc4 25.Bxc4 Rxa4 26.Qxa4 dxc4 27.Qxc4 Qc8 28.Qf7 Qxc3 29.Rf1 Qc8 30.Nh4 Qf8 31.Qxf5 Qxf5 32.Nxf5 b5 33.f3 Nc3 34.Nxd6 Ne2+ 35.Kf2 Nxd4 36.Ke3 Ne6 37.Rb1 b4 38.Ne4 g5 39.g3 Kg7 40.Kd3 Rd8+ 41.Ke3 Rb8 42.Kd3 Rd8+ 43.Ke3 Rb8 1/2-1/2 Svidler,P-Nielsen,P/Dortmund 2005/CBM 108/[Huzman]]

17.Ne5 Bxe5 18.dxe5 Ng6 19.f3 Nxe5

Black gets sufficient compensation for the pawn

20.Bf1 Qf6 21.fxe4 fxe4

[21...Qb6+ 22.Kh1 fxe4 23.b5 Rf2 24.bxa6 Qxb2 25.Bxb2 bxa6 is clearly better for white]

22.Kh1

[22.Nb3 was a much better alternative]

22...b5

Closing the bishop, it's not so easy for white to improve his position

[Black had a serious alternative in 22...Qh6 23.Nb3 e3 and now white can easily lose in the complications: 24.b5 Rxf1+ 25.Rxf1 e2 26.Rfe1 Nf3]

23.Nb3

[One of the ideas is 23.axb5 axb5 24.Bxb5 Qb6 25.Bf1 e3]

23...Qh4 24.Qd2 Rf5

[The nice trick 24...Rf2 25.Qxd5 Nf3 fails simply to 26.Qxa8+]

25.Nd4

25...Rh5?!

[but now 25...Rf2 was the way to go for black. In fact Giri calculated this line with Bf3, but thought that the game continuation was even stronger 26.Qe3 Bf3 and now for example 27.Nf5 Bxg2+ 28.Bxg2 Rxf5 29.Qg3 Qf6 and black has sufficient compensation]

26.h3 Rf8 27.Re3!

This is the move that Giri had missed when he decided on Rh5 over Rf2 on move 25.

27...Rf2?

A bad move

[27...Bd7 is also no great joy for black, but at least a lot better than the game 28.Qe1 Qf6 29.Be2 Rh6]

28.Qe1 Qf6??

Blundering a piece

[28...Rh6]

29.Kg1!

Again missed by Giri, white is now completely winning, despite the silly bishop on a3, two pieces is really too much

29...Rf4

Not only has Giri a lost position, he was also short on the clock, while So still had more than 30 minutes

30.hxg4 Nxg4 31.Rh3 Rxh3 32.gxh3 Nf2 33.Qe3

There are many winning lines, this is good enough

33...Qg5+ 34.Bg2 Nd1 35.Qc1?

[Simply winning was 35.Rxd1 Rf1+ 36.Kxf1 Qxe3 37.Ne2]

35...Qg3

36.Ne2??

An unbelievable blunder by So

[A lot less clear than a move before was 36.Qxd1 Rf2 37.Qf1 Rxf1+ 38.Rxf1 h6 39.Ne2 Qe3+ 40.Rf2 bxa4; No advantage for white after 36.Qxf4 Qxf4 37.Rxd1 Qe3+ 38.Kh2 Qxc3]

36...Rf1+

with mate to follow

0-1

Corus A Wijk aan Zee (NED), 16-31 i 2010														cat. XIX (2719)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4
1.	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2788	*	1	½	.	1	½	.	½	½	½	1	½	½	1	7½	2839
2.	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2810	0	*	½	½	½	1	1	1	.	.	1	½	½	1	7½	2846
3.	Shirov, Alexei	g	ESP	2723	½	½	*	0	0	½	.	.	1	1	1	½	1	1	7	2821
4.	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2790	.	½	1	*	½	½	½	½	½	½	.	½	½	½	6	2749
5.	Nakamura, Hikaru	g	USA	2708	0	½	1	½	*	½	0	½	½	.	1	1	.	½	6	2765
6.	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2749	½	0	½	½	½	*	½	.	.	½	1	½	½	1	6	2751
7.	Karjakin, Sergey	g	UKR	2720	.	0	.	½	1	½	*	½	½	½	½	1	½	½	6	2748
8.	Dominguez Perez, Leinier	g	CUB	2712	½	0	.	½	½	.	½	*	½	½	½	½	1	½	5½	2716
9.	Leko, Peter	g	HUN	2739	½	.	0	½	½	.	½	½	*	1	0	½	½	1	5½	2706
10.	Caruana, Fabiano	g	ITA	2675	½	.	0	½	.	½	½	½	0	*	½	½	1	0	4½	2651
11.	Van Wely, Loek	g	NED	2641	0	0	0	.	0	0	½	½	1	½	*	1	1	.	4½	2660
12.	Short, Nigel D	g	ENG	2696	½	½	½	½	0	½	0	½	½	½	0	*	.	.	4	2630
13.	Tiviakov, Sergei	g	NED	2662	½	½	0	½	.	½	½	0	½	0	0	.	*	1	4	2625
14.	Smeets, Jan	g	NED	2657	0	0	0	½	½	0	½	½	0	1	.	.	0	*	3	2559

Round 11 (January 29, 2010)
Carlsen, Magnus	- Dominguez Perez, Leinier	1-0	45	D97	Gruenfeld Russian
Shirov, Alexei	- Kramnik, Vladimir	½-½	51	C42	Petroff's Defence
Nakamura, Hikaru	- Leko, Peter	½-½	20	A30	English Symmetrical
Ivanchuk, Vassily	- Karjakin, Sergey	½-½	40	E06	Catalan
Van Wely, Loek	- Tiviakov, Sergei	1-0	88	E18	Queens Indian
Short, Nigel D	- Caruana, Fabiano	½-½	37	B40	Sicilian Classical
Smeets, Jan	- Anand, Viswanathan	½-½	15	B81	Sicilian Keres Attack

Corus B Wijk aan Zee (NED), 16-31 i 2010														cat. XVI (2629)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4
1.	Giri, Anish	g	NED	2588	*	½	½	½	1	.	1	1	0	1	1	½	1	.	8	2808
2.	L'Ami, Erwin	g	NED	2615	½	*	½	.	½	1	½	1	½	½	½	.	½	1	7	2732
3.	Ni Hua	g	CHN	2657	½	½	*	½	½	½	½	0	1	1	.	.	1	1	7	2728
4.	Naiditsch, Arkadij	g	GER	2687	½	.	½	*	½	½	0	½	.	½	1	½	1	1	6½	2699
5.	So, Wesley	g	PHI	2656	0	½	½	½	*	½	½	.	.	½	1	1	1	½	6½	2703
6.	Negi, Parimarjan	g	IND	2621	.	0	½	½	½	*	½	½	½	½	½	1	.	1	6	2668
7.	Harikrishna, P	g	IND	2672	0	½	½	1	½	½	*	½	1	.	½	0	.	½	5½	2621
8.	Howell, David W L	g	ENG	2606	0	0	1	½	.	½	½	*	½	0	½	1	1	.	5½	2628
9.	Muzychuk, Anna	m	SLO	2523	1	½	0	.	.	½	0	½	*	½	½	½	½	½	5	2595
10.	Sutovsky, Emil	g	ISR	2657	0	½	0	½	½	½	.	1	½	*	.	1	0	½	5	2581
11.	Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter	g	ROU	2681	0	½	.	0	0	½	½	½	½	.	*	½	1	½	4½	2554
12.	Reinderman, Dimitri	g	NED	2573	½	.	.	½	0	0	1	0	½	0	½	*	0	1	4	2530
13.	Nyback, Tomi	g	FIN	2643	0	½	0	0	0	.	.	0	½	1	0	1	*	½	3½	2491
14.	Akobian, Varuzhan	g	USA	2628	.	0	0	0	½	0	½	.	½	½	½	0	½	*	3	2460

Round 11 (January 29, 2010)
Naiditsch, Arkadij	- Howell, David W L	½-½	61	C69	Ruy Lopez Exchange
So, Wesley	- Giri, Anish	0-1	36	C42	Petroff's Defence
Negi, Parimarjan	- Sutovsky, Emil	½-½	77	B19	Caro Kann
Harikrishna, P	- Ni Hua	½-½	59	D17	Slav Defence
Muzychuk, Anna	- L'Ami, Erwin	½-½	53	C01	French Exchange
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter	- Reinderman, Dimitri	½-½	72	B31	Sicilian Rossolimo
Akobian, Varuzhan	- Nyback, Tomi	½-½	47	D45	Anti-Meran Variations

Corus C Wijk aan Zee (NED), 16-31 i 2010														cat. IX (2455)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4
1.	Li Chao2	g	CHN	2604	*	½	½	1	½	1	0	1	.	1	.	1	1	1	8½	2667
2.	Vocaturo, Daniele	g	ITA	2495	½	*	1	1	0	½	1	.	0	0	1	1	.	1	7	2577
3.	Van Kampen, Robin	m	NED	2456	½	0	*	1	1	1	0	½	.	½	½	.	1	1	7	2568
4.	Robson, Ray	g	USA	2570	0	0	0	*	.	1	.	1	1	1	1	½	1	½	7	2530
5.	Gupta, Abhijeet	g	IND	2577	½	1	0	.	*	½	1	½	1	0	½	½	.	1	6½	2510
6.	Swinkels, Robin	m	NED	2495	0	½	0	0	½	*	.	1	½	.	½	1	1	1	6	2473
7.	Grandelius, Nils	m	SWE	2515	1	0	1	.	0	.	*	0	0	1	½	1	0	1	5½	2435
8.	Bok, Benjamin	f	NED	2322	0	.	½	0	½	0	1	*	1	0	1	½	1	.	5½	2479
9.	Kuipers, Stefan	f	NED	2340	.	1	.	0	0	½	1	0	*	½	0	1	½	1	5½	2452
10.	Lie, Kjetil A	g	NOR	2547	0	1	½	0	1	.	0	1	½	*	0	.	½	½	5	2407
11.	Peng Zhaoqin	g	NED	2402	.	0	½	0	½	½	½	0	1	1	*	½	½	.	5	2426
12.	Muzychuk, Mariya	m	UKR	2447	0	0	.	½	½	0	0	½	0	.	½	*	1	1	4	2345
13.	Soumya, Swaminathan	wg	IND	2323	0	.	0	0	.	0	1	0	½	½	½	0	*	½	3	2277
14.	Plukkel, Sjoerd		NED	2279	0	0	0	½	0	0	0	.	0	½	.	0	½	*	1½	2179

Round 11 (January 29, 2010)
Li Chao2	- Muzychuk, Mariya	1-0	37	B30	Sicilian Rossolimo
Vocaturo, Daniele	- Peng Zhaoqin	1-0	38	B48	Sicilian Paulsen
Van Kampen, Robin	- Swinkels, Robin	1-0	51	B29	Sicilian Defence
Grandelius, Nils	- Gupta, Abhijeet	0-1	50	D85	Gruenfeld Defence
Bok, Benjamin	- Soumya, Swaminathan	1-0	40	B96	Sicilian Najdorf
Lie, Kjetil A	- Robson, Ray	0-1	41	B23	Sicilian Closed
Plukkel, Sjoerd	- Kuipers, Stefan	0-1	37	B33	Sicilian Sveshnikov

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