The Week in Chess

Home » Chess News » Events » 72nd Corus Wijk aan Zee 2010 » Shirov makes a 2/2 start

Today promised much in terms of results. In every single game white was more highly rated than black.

Michiel Abeln annotates Carlsen's and Nakamura's wins from this round. He also provided most of the photos.

For the second day in a row the last game to finish involved Alexei Shirov and for the second day in a row he won a rook ending with various bits and pieces. Shirov is one of the best in the world in these amorphous endings and especially the Rook and Bishop of opposite colour we saw today. He slowly pressured Fabiano Caruana for many moves gradually extracting concessions until on the run up to move 60 he got a winning position. Nice technique. This win takes Shirov to 2/2 and the sole lead at this early stage.

Shirov,Alexei - Caruana,Fabiano [C80]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (2), 17.01.2010
[Mark Crowther]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.Nbd2 Nc5 10.c3 Be7 11.Bc2 d4 12.Nb3 d3 13.Bb1 Nxb3 14.axb3 Bf5 15.b4 0-0 16.Re1 Qd7

[16...Qd5 17.h3 Rfd8 18.g4 Be6 19.Re3 h5 20.Qxd3 Qxd3 21.Bxd3 hxg4 22.hxg4 Bd5 23.Bc2 Bxf3 24.Rxf3 Nxe5 25.Rh3 g6 26.g5 Re8 27.Bf4 Bf8 28.Re3 Bd6 29.Bb3 Nc4 30.Bxc4 Bxf4 31.Rf3 Bh2+ 32.Kxh2 bxc4 33.Rf4 Re5 34.Rxc4 Rxg5 35.Ra5 Rxa5 36.bxa5 Ra7 37.Kg3 Kf8 38.Kf4 Ke7 39.b4 Kd7 40.Ke5 Rb7 41.Rd4+ Kc8 42.Kf6 Rb5 43.Rf4 Rd5 44.Kxf7 g5 45.Rf6 Rd3 46.c4 Rd4 47.c5 Rxb4 48.c6 Kd8 49.Rf5 Rb2 50.f4 Rf2 51.Rd5+ Kc8 52.Ke7 1-0 Karjakin,S (2723)-Mamedyarov,S (2719)/Khanty-Mansiysk RUS 2009/The Week in Chess 787]

17.h3 Bg6 18.Ba2 Kh8 19.Bf4 a5 20.bxa5 Rxa5 21.b4 Ra4 22.Bb3 Rxa1 23.Qxa1 Nd8 24.Qa7 Ne6 25.Bd2 Rd8 26.Bxe6 fxe6 27.Nd4 Bxb4 28.Nxb5 Qxb5 29.cxb4 Rc8 30.Qa5 Qd7 31.Ra1 Be4 32.Qc5 Qd5 33.Qxd5 Bxd5 34.f3

Shirov makes some kind of speciality of playing these bishops of opposite coloured endings.

34...Bc4 35.Ra5 c6 36.Kf2 Kg8 37.Ke3 Rc7 38.Kd4 Bb5 39.g4 Rd7+ 40.Kc3 Kf7 41.h4 g6 42.h5 gxh5 43.gxh5 Ke8 44.h6 Rd5 45.f4 Ke7 46.Ra7+ Rd7 47.Ra1 c5

Black wants to redeploy his bishop, whether he needs to do it at the expense of a pawn yet is open to question.

[47...Ke8 48.Rg1 Rf7 49.Be3]

48.bxc5 Bc6 49.Rg1 Be4 50.Rg7+ Kd8 51.Kc4 Kc7 52.Rg8 Kc6

[52...Bb7]

53.Rc8+ Rc7 54.Re8 Kd7 55.Rg8 Rb7 56.Ba5 Rb2 57.Rd8+ Ke7 58.Rd6 Rc2+ 59.Bc3 Kf7

[59...d2 60.Kb3 d1Q 61.Rxd1 Rf2 62.Kb4 Rxf4]

60.Rd4

[60.f5 exf5 61.c6 d2 62.Kb3 Rc1 63.c7 Bb7 64.Rd7+ Ke6 65.Rxd2 Rb1+ 66.Bb2]

60...d2

a final mistake in a pretty awful position.

[60...Rc1]

61.Kb3 Kg6

Now things are trivial.

62.Bxd2 Kxh6 63.f5+ Kg7 64.f6+ 1-0

World Number one Magnus Carlsen opened his account with a win against Jan Smeets. The players contested a Botvinnik Semi-Slav and if anything Smeets got some kind of an advantage. However playing Carlsen you know a couple of things, he probably isn't going to make it at all easy nomatter what kind of position he has, and secondly he, more likely than not, is going to pounce on any errors. The pressure started to get to Smeets and three inaccurate moves (29...b3 probably cost a chance of the advantage, 30...Qd5 was dubious and 31...Kc6 sealed his fate).

Carlsen,Magnus - Smeets,Jan [D44]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (2), 17.01.2010
[Abeln, Michiel]

1.c4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 b5 7.e5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Nxg5 hxg5 10.Bxg5 Nbd7 11.exf6 Bb7 12.g3 c5 13.d5 Qb6 14.Bg2 0-0-0 15.0-0 b4 16.Na4 Qb5 17.a3 Nb8 18.axb4 cxb4 19.Qd4 Nc6 20.Nb6+

[20.dxc6 Rxd4 21.cxb7+ Kc7 22.Be3 e5 23.Nc3 bxc3 24.bxc3 Bc5 25.cxd4 Bxd4 26.Rfb1 Qc5 27.Ra6 Rb8 28.Bc1 c3 29.Ba3 Qc4 30.Bd6+ Kd7 31.Bc6+ Ke6 32.Bb5 Bxf2+ 33.Kxf2 Qd4+ 34.Kf1 Qe4 35.Re1 Qh1+ 36.Kf2 Qxh2+ 37.Kf3 Rxb7 38.Bxe5+ Rb6 39.Bc4+ Kd7 40.Rxa7+ Kc8 41.Rc7+ 1-0 Kamsky,G-Kramnik,V/New York 1994/CBM 042/[Ftacnik]]

20...axb6 21.dxc6 Bxc6 22.Bxc6 Qxc6 23.Qg4 Bc5

[23...Kb7 24.b3 c3 25.Qe2 Bh6 26.Bxh6 Rxh6 27.Qa6+ Kc7 28.Rfd1 Rhh8 29.Rxd8 Rxd8 30.Qe2 Qc5 31.Qf3 Rd5 32.g4 Qd4 33.Kg2 Qd2 34.h4 c2 35.g5 Qd1 36.Qf4+ Kb7 37.Rc1 Rd4 38.Qf3+ Ka7 39.Rxd1 cxd1Q 40.Qxd1 Rxd1 41.h5 Rd5 42.f4 Rf5 43.h6 Rd5 44.Kf3 Kb7 45.Kg4 Kc7 46.h7 Rd8 47.Kh5 Kd7 48.Kh6 Rh8 49.Kg7 Ke8 50.Kxh8 Kf8 51.g6 fxg6 52.f5 exf5 53.f7 1/2-1/2 Hebden,M-Arun Prasad,S/Edinburgh 2009/CBM 131 Extra]

24.Ra7 Rd7

Black is completely ok.

25.Rxd7 Kxd7 26.h4 Kc7 27.h5

[27.Bf4+ was probably better to prevent black's plan of e5 and Bd4, which was missed by Carlsen.]

27...e5 28.h6 Bd4 29.Qe2

29...b3?

[29...c3 was the move to play, Carlsen thought that black might be better here.]

30.Be3 Qd5?!

[On 30...b5 there follows 31.Bxd4 exd4 32.Qe7+ Kb6 33.Ra1; 30...Qc5 was better than the game continuation 31.Rc1 b5]

31.Rd1 Kc6?

[31...Qc5]

32.Qg4 b5 33.Bxd4 exd4 34.Rxd4 Qe5 35.Qd7+ Kc5 36.Qa7+ Kc6 37.Qd7+ Kc5 38.Rf4 Qxb2 39.Rf5+ Kb4 40.Qxb5+ Kc3 41.Rf3+ 1-0

Hikaru Nakamura put Loek van Wely under pressure right from the off. Van Wely isn't want to back down from a battle in the Najdorf but it probably played into Nakamura's hand in giving him the kind of position he enjoys. After 21...h5? there was nothing to stop Nakamura taking the full point and he did so with minimum fuss.

Nakamura,Hikaru - Van Wely,Loek [B96]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (2), 17.01.2010
[Abeln, Michiel]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5

[6.h3]

6...e6 7.f4 Nbd7

[7...Be7]

8.Qf3 Qc7 9.Bxf6 Nxf6 10.g4 b5

[10...d5 11.exd5 Bb4 12.dxe6 fxe6 13.0-0-0 Bxc3 14.Qxc3 Qxc3 15.bxc3 Nxg4 16.Rg1 Ne3 17.Re1 Nxf1 18.Rxg7 Nxh2 19.Nxe6 Bxe6 20.Rxe6+ Kf8 21.Ree7 h5 22.Rxb7 Ng4 23.Rbf7+ Ke8 24.Re7+ Kf8 1/2-1/2 Nataf,I-Renet,O/Aix-les-Bains 2007/CBM 120]

11.g5 Nd7

[11...b4 12.Ncb5 axb5 13.gxf6+/=]

12.0-0-0 Nc5

[12...Bb7 13.Bh3 b4 14.Nd5 exd5 15.exd5 Be7 16.Rhe1 Kf8 17.Nf5 Re8 18.Qe4 Nc5 19.Qd4 Rg8 20.Re3 Bc8 21.Nxe7 Rxe7 22.Rde1 Rxe3 23.Qxe3 g6 24.Bxc8 Qxc8 25.Qe7+ Kg7 26.Qf6+ Kf8 27.Qxd6+ Kg7 28.Qf6+ Kf8 29.Re7 Rg7 30.Rxf7+ 1-0 Krivoborodov,E-Parligras,M/Bad Wiessee 2009/EXT 2010]

13.a3 Rb8 14.b4

Still prepared by Nakamura

14...Nd7

[14...Na4 15.Ndxb5 axb5 16.Bxb5+ Rxb5 17.Nxb5 Qb6 18.Qd3 Bd7 19.Nxd6+ Bxd6 20.Rd2+/- and white will be much better in the endgame (Immediately taking on d6 is not good: 20.Qxd6 Qe3+ 21.Kb1 Nc3+ 22.Ka1 Nxd1) ]

15.Nd5 exd5 16.exd5 Be7 17.Re1 Ne5

[The alternative also doesn't give much relief: 17...Nb6 18.Nc6 Nxd5 19.Nxb8 (19.Qxd5 Be6 20.Qg2 Rc8 21.Nxe7 Qc3) 19...Qxb8 20.Qxd5 Bb7 21.Qd4 Bxh1 22.Qxg7 Rf8 23.f5 and white is winning]

18.fxe5 Bxg5+ 19.Kb1 dxe5 20.Nc6 Bf6

[20...0-0 is refuted by 21.Rxe5 Bf6 22.Rh5 and white has a winning attack]

21.Bd3

White's knight on c6 is extremely strong, so in many instances it would be ashame to take on b8.

[21.Nxb8 Qxb8 22.Bd3 Ke7 and black would be better]]

21...h5?

[Much better was 21...Rb6 and now Nakamura had planned 22.Nxe5 (22.Rhg1 keeps the advantage) 22...Bxe5 23.Qh5 but this actually refuted by 23...g5!! 24.Qxg5 f6 and black is winning]

22.Rxe5+ Bxe5 23.Re1 Bg4 24.Qf4 0-0

[24...f6 25.Bg6+ Kf8 (25...Kd7 26.Bf5+ Ke8 27.Nxe5) 26.Rxe5 and white wins]

25.Rxe5 g6

[25...Rbe8 26.Rxe8 Qxf4 27.Ne7+ Kh8 28.Rxf8#; 25...a5 26.Rxh5; 25...f5 was black's last defence 26.Nxb8 Qxb8]

26.Qf6 Rbe8 27.Ne7+ Rxe7

[27...Kh7 28.Bxg6+ fxg6 29.Qxg6+ Kh8 30.Qh6#]

28.Rxe7 Qxh2 29.Bxg6 Qh1+ 30.Kb2 Qxd5 31.Bxf7+

[31.Be4 Qd2 32.Re5 Rd8]

31...Qxf7

[31...Rxf7 32.Re8+ Kh7 33.Rh8#]

32.Rxf7 Rxf7 33.Qxa6 Kg7 34.Qxb5 Kg6 35.Qc4 Rd7 36.b5 Kg5 37.b6 Bf3 38.Qb5+ Rd5 39.Qb3 1-0

Nigel Short was the unlucky player to get two blacks in the first two rounds. After going under against Van Wely in the first round he must have feared the worst in the second when he met World Champion Viswanathan Anand. They both headed towards a position in a Ragozin where black has a couple of extra pawns but has great problems hanging on to the material and getting developed. Short was forced to decide how he was to return the material and end up with a playable position at the end. The double rook ending at the end still held some perils but Short found his way through to the draw in the end.

Anand,Viswanathan - Short,Nigel [D38]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (2), 17.01.2010
[Mark Crowther]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 Nbd7 7.Rc1 c6 8.e3 Qa5 9.Bd3 Qxa2 10.0-0 Qa5 11.Ne5 Nxe5

[11...0-0 12.Qf3 Nxe5 13.dxe5 Ng4 14.Qg3 Nxe5 15.Qxe5 f6 16.Bxf6 Rxf6 17.Qe8+ Rf8 18.Qh5 h6 19.Qg6 Rf6 20.Qe8+ Rf8 21.Qg6 Rf6 22.Qe8+ 1/2-1/2 Navara,D (2719)-Aronian,L (2744)/ Wijk aan Zee NED 2007/The Week in Chess 636]

12.dxe5 Ng4 13.Bf4 f6 14.e4 fxe5 15.Bg3

Both players will have gone into this position with their eyes open. Black is two pawns up but it soon becomes apparent that white is at least equal due to a lead in development and the ability to press various weaknesses.

15...Bxc3N

[15...d4 16.Nd5 Bd6 17.h3 0-0 18.hxg4 cxd5 19.exd5 Kh8 20.Be4 Bd7 21.Kh2 Rf7 22.Rh1 g6 23.Kg1 Kg8 24.Rh6 Rc8 25.Bxg6 hxg6 26.Rxg6+ Rg7 27.Rxc8+ Bxc8 28.Rxd6 Bxg4 29.f3 Bxf3 30.Qc1 Bg4 31.Bxe5 d3 32.b4 Qa2 33.Rd8+ Kh7 34.Rh8+ Kg6 35.Qh6+ 1-0 Chatalbashev,B (2499) -Brancaleoni,M (2314)/Genova ITA 2005/The Week in Chess 563]

16.Rxc3 d4 17.Ra3 Qc5 18.Qd2 0-0 19.h3 Nh6 20.Ra5 b5 21.Rc1 Qd6 22.Qc2 Rf6 23.Qc5 Nf7 24.Qxd6 Rxd6 25.Rc5 Be6

[25...Re6 26.Bb1 probably wouldn't help black overly much.]

26.Kf1 h6

Creating a bit of luft.

27.Ke2 a6 28.b4 Bb3 29.Bxe5 Nxe5 30.Rxe5 Rg6 31.g3 Rg5 32.Re7 c5 33.bxc5 Rxc5 34.Rd7 Be6 35.Rd6 Bxh3 36.Raxa6

Both sides seem to have done the best with their positions. Double rook endings are supposed to be drawish but given that black has to be very accurate later on it must be at least possible that taking off a set of rooks here is best.

36...Rf8 37.f4 Rc1 38.Rxd4 Bf1+ 39.Kd2 Rfc8 40.Bxf1 Rxf1 41.Rd7 Rcc1 42.Rb7

I did fear for black here still. White's king is going to escape up the board, black's can very easily get into peril.

42...Rcd1+ 43.Ke3 Rfe1+ 44.Kf3 h5 45.f5

[45.e5 needs investigating.]

45...Rd3+ 46.Kf4 Rf1+ 47.Ke5 Rxg3 48.Rxb5 Kh7 49.Rb8 Rg4 50.Raa8 Kh6 51.Rh8+ Kg5 52.Rh7 Kh4

With black's king escaping the draw is inevitable.

53.Rah8 Rg5 54.Rg8 Rfg1 55.Ra8 Re1 56.Rg8 Rg4 57.Rgxg7 1/2-1/2

As I mentioned yesterday Sergei Tiviakov has a well thought out repertoire and he is rightly famous for his play on the black side of the Centre Counter. On the one hand this makes life easy to prepare for him, on the other you have to come up with something good. Today it seems Tiviakov found something new with 11...Qe4 and if anything it lead to a slightly better position. The position simplified down and a drawn rook and pawn resulted.

Ivanchuk,Vassily - Tiviakov,Sergei [B01]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (2), 17.01.2010

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 c6 6.Ne5 Nbd7 7.Bf4 Nd5 8.Nxd5 Qxd5 9.Nf3 Nb6 10.Be2 Bf5 11.c3 Qe4

Tiviakov is extremely familiar with this position and Ivanchuk will have prepared this well.

[11...e6 12.0-0 Be7 13.Ne5 (13.a4 a5 14.Bc7 Bd8 15.Bg3 Qd7 16.Qb3 Bc7 17.Rfe1 0-0 18.Rad1 Nd5 19.Ne5 Qc8 20.Rd2 Rd8 21.Bh5 Bg6 22.Bg4 Re8 23.Bf3 Nf6 24.c4 Bd6 25.c5 Bxe5 26.Bxe5 Nd5 27.h4 h6 28.h5 Bf5 29.Rde2 Rd8 30.Bd6 Nf6 31.Qe3 Rd7 32.Qf4 Qd8 33.Qg3 Ne8 34.Be5 Qg5 35.Qh2 Rad8 36.Re3 Qe7 37.g4 Bh7 38.Bd1 Kf8 39.Bb3 Qg5 40.Qg3 Nf6 41.f3 Nd5 42.Bxd5 Rxd5 43.f4 Qe7 44.g5 hxg5 45.fxg5 Bf5 46.h6 Rxd4 47.Bxd4 Rxd4 48.Re5 Bg6 49.Qh3 gxh6 50.Qxh6+ Kg8 51.Rxe6 fxe6 52.Qxg6+ Qg7 53.Qe8+ Qf8 54.Qxe6+ Qf7 55.Qc8+ Kg7 56.Qh3 Qg6 57.Kh1 Rd5 58.Re7+ Kf8 59.Re1 Kg7 1/2-1/2 Ivanchuk,V (2756)-Tiviakov,S (2670)/Hoogeveen NED 2009/The Week in Chess 781) 13...0-0 14.Re1 Qd8 (14...Rac8 15.a4 Qd8 16.a5 Nd5 17.Bg3 Bg5 18.Qb3 Qe7 19.Bf3 Rfd8 20.Rad1 h6 21.Nd3 Bxd3 22.Rxd3 Qd7 23.Rdd1 Ne7 24.Be4 Bf6 25.Bc2 Nd5 26.Qc4 g6 27.Qb3 Qe7 28.Be4 Kg7 29.h3 Rd7 30.Bf3 Qd8 31.Qa4 Ne7 32.Be5 Bxe5 33.dxe5 Rxd1 34.Rxd1 Qc7 35.Qd4 Qxa5 36.b4 Qc7 37.Qxa7 Nd5 38.Qd4 Ra8 39.b5 cxb5 40.Bxd5 Rd8 41.Qf4 Rxd5 42.Qf6+ Kh7 43.Rxd5 exd5 44.e6 fxe6 45.Qxe6 Qxc3 46.Qf7+ Qg7 47.Qxd5 b4 48.Qb5 Qe7 49.g3 g5 50.Qc4 Kg7 51.Kg2 Qd6 52.Kg1 Kf6 53.h4 Qd1+ 54.Kg2 b3 55.hxg5+ hxg5 56.Qc3+ Ke7 57.Qg7+ Kd6 58.Qf8+ Kc6 59.Qf6+ Kc5 60.Qe7+ Kc4 61.Qc7+ Kd3 62.Qxb7 g4 63.Qd5+ Kc2 64.Qc5+ Kb1 65.Qf5+ Kc1 66.Qf4+ Qd2 67.Qc4+ Qc2 68.Qf4+ Kb1 69.Qxg4 b2 70.Qf3 Qc4 71.Qf5+ Kc1 72.Qg5+ Kc2 73.Qf5+ Qd3 74.Qc5+ Kd1 75.Qh5+ Kd2 76.Qg5+ Kc3 77.Qc5+ Kb3 78.Qb6+ Ka2 79.Qa5+ Kb1 80.g4 Kc1 0-1 Vila Gazquez,X (2422) -Tiviakov,S (2686)/Benidorm ESP 2008/The Week in Chess 736) 15.Qb3 Qd5 1/2-1/2 Pikula,D (2570)-Tiviakov,S (2684)/Budva MNE 2009/The Week in Chess 749]

12.Qd2 Qc2 13.Qxc2 Bxc2 14.Ne5 h5 15.0-0 e6 16.Rfe1 Be7 17.h3 Rd8 18.g3 Bd6 19.Be3 Nd5 20.Bd2 h4 21.Rac1 Bh7 22.Bf3 hxg3 23.fxg3

If anything black is a tiny bit better here.

23...0-0

[23...f6 24.Ng4 Bxg3 25.Rxe6+ Kd7 maybe.]

24.Kg2 c5 25.a3 cxd4 26.cxd4 Rfe8 27.Nc4 Bc7 28.Ne3 Nxe3+ 29.Bxe3 Bb6 30.d5 e5 31.Bxb6 axb6 32.Red1 e4 33.Be2 e3 34.Bf3 Be4 35.Rd4 Bxf3+ 36.Kxf3 Rd6

One of those drawish rook endings again.

37.Re1 Rf6+ 38.Rf4 Rd6 39.Rxe3 Rxe3+ 40.Kxe3 Rxd5

This rook ending is just drawn.

41.Rd4 Re5+ 42.Kd3 Rf5 43.Kc4 b5+ 44.Kb4 Rf3 45.Rg4 f6 46.Kxb5 Rb3+ 47.Rb4 Rxg3 48.h4 Rd3 49.a4 f5 50.Kb6 Rd7 51.a5 Rf7 52.Rf4 Kh7 53.b4 g5 54.hxg5 Kg6 55.b5 Kxg5 56.Rf1 f4 57.a6 1/2-1/2

Vladimir Kramnik made no headway against Peter Leko in a very complicated Queen's Indian. They finished with a draw by repetition after 33 moves.

Kramnik,Vladimir - Leko,Peter [E15]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (2), 17.01.2010

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.b3 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Be7 7.Bg2 c6 8.Bc3 d5 9.Nbd2 Nbd7 10.Qc2 c5 11.dxc5

[11.e4 dxc4 12.bxc4 cxd4 13.Nxd4 Bb7 14.0-0 Qc8 15.a4 0-0 16.a5 Nc5 17.axb6 axb6 18.Rfb1 1/2-1/2 Khalifman,A (2700)-Adams,M (2744)/Bonn GER 2001/The Week in Chess 361]

11...bxc5 12.0-0 0-0 13.Bb2

[13.Rfe1 Rc8 (13...Bb7 14.cxd5 Nxd5 15.Rad1 Nxc3 16.Qxc3 Qc7 17.Nc4 Nb6 18.Qe5 Rac8 19.Na5 Ba6 20.Rc1 Nd5 21.Qxc7 Rxc7 22.Nd2 Bg5 23.f4 Bf6 24.Ndc4 Bd4+ 25.e3 Bc3 26.Red1 Bxa5 27.Bxd5 Bb4 28.Bf3 Bxc4 29.Rxc4 Rcc8 30.Kf2 Rfd8 31.Rcc1 Kf8 32.Bb7 Rb8 33.Be4 Ke7 34.Ke2 h6 35.Rxd8 Rxd8 36.Bd3 f5 37.h3 Kf6 38.a3 Bxa3 39.Ra1 Bb4 40.Rxa7 g5 41.Ra6 Ke7 42.g4 fxg4 43.hxg4 gxf4 44.exf4 Bc3 45.g5 hxg5 46.fxg5 Rd5 47.g6 Rg5 48.Ra7+ Kd6 49.Rf7 Rg3 50.Rf8 1/2-1/2 Kramnik,V (2809)-Gelfand,B (2703)/Monaco MNC 2002/The Week in Chess 384) 14.Rad1 Qb6 15.e3 Rfd8 16.Qc1 Bb7 17.Qb2 Bc6 18.cxd5 exd5 19.Nh4 Bf8 20.Qa1 Ba8 21.e4 d4 22.Nc4 Qa6 23.Bd2 Nb6 24.Bf1 Nxc4 25.Bxc4 Qc6 26.f3 Re8 27.Qb1 Nd7 28.a4 Be7 29.Nf5 Ne5 30.Bb5 Nxf3+ 31.Kf2 Qf6 32.e5 Qe6 33.Bxe8 Rxe8 34.Re2 Nxh2 35.Qd3 Ng4+ 36.Kg1 Qd5 0-1 Asabri,H (2277)-Adams,M (2731)/Tripoli LBA 2004/The Week in Chess 502]

13...Rc8 14.Rfe1 d4 15.e3 dxe3 16.fxe3 Ne8 17.Rad1 Qb6 18.Ne4 Rd8 19.Neg5 g6 20.Qe4 Bb7 21.Qh4 h5 22.g4 Ndf6 23.h3 Ng7 24.Qg3 Nfe8 25.h4 Bf6

[25...Rxd1 26.Rxd1 f6 27.Nh3 Bd6 28.Nf4]

26.Be5 Bxf3 27.Nxf3 hxg4 28.Qxg4 Nh5 29.Bh2 Bc3 30.Rf1 Nef6 31.Qg5 Ne4 32.Qg4 Nef6 33.Qg5

Repetition ends a very complicated struggle.

1/2-1/2

Sergey Karjakin and Leinier Dominguez Perez played a very complicated Najdorf Sicilian which eventually fizzled out into a draw.

Karjakin,Sergey - Dominguez Perez,Leinier [B90]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (2), 17.01.2010

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 h5 9.Qd2 Nbd7 10.0-0-0 Be7 11.h3 Qc7 12.Bd3 b5

[12...h4 13.f4 b5 14.Rhe1 Rb8 15.Kb1 Nb6 16.Qf2 b4 17.Ne2 Nc4 18.Nd2 Nxe3 19.Qxe3 a5 20.b3 a4 21.Bc4 axb3 22.cxb3 Bd7 23.Nf3 0-0 24.fxe5 dxe5 25.Nxh4 Bc6 26.Ng3 Nxe4 27.Nxe4 Bxh4 28.g3 Be7 29.Nf2 Rbd8 30.Rxd8 Qxd8 31.Rd1 Qa5 32.Ng4 e4 33.Nh6+ gxh6 34.Qxh6 Qf5 35.g4 Qc5 36.Qg6+ Kh8 37.Qh6+ Kg8 38.Qg6+ 1/2-1/2 Svidle r,P (2728)-Topalov,V (2783)/Morelia/Linares MEX/ESP 2007/The Week in Chess 644]

13.g4 b4 14.Ne2 d5 15.g5 dxe4 16.fxe4 Nh7 17.Ng3 g6 18.Nf5 gxf5 19.exf5 Bd5 20.Rhe1 Bf3 21.f6 Nhxf6

[21...Bd6 22.Bxh7 Bxd1 23.Rxd1 Rxh7 24.Qxd6 Qxd6 25.Rxd6 with a big advantage.]

22.gxf6 Nxf6 23.Bd4 exd4 24.Qf2 Qf4+ 25.Nd2 Ng4 26.Qxf3 Qxf3 27.Nxf3 Ne3 28.Rd2 Kf8 29.Nxd4 Bg5 30.Nf3 Bf4 31.Kb1 1/2-1/2

There is a huge amount of coverage on the internet with ICC (http://www.chessclub.com/ with Macauley Peterson on the spot with video reports), Playchess.com (ChessBase) have live commentary as do ChessDom.com. Videos from Peter Doggers at ChessVibes.com along with reports. Europe-Echecs also are producing reports and videos.

TWIC coverage includes the games and results live (the PGN for each event is updated along with a PGN for that day's play for each group), there will be roundup reports every day, photos and Malcolm Pein's chess columns. I will be there for the final rounds too. There seemed to be some very heavy traffic today towards the end of the round as the website somewhat staggered under the weight at the end of round 2.

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.	Shirov, Alexei	g	ESP	2723	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	1	.	2
2.	Nakamura, Hikaru	g	USA	2708	.	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	½	.	.	.	1½	2842
3.	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2810	.	.	*	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	.	.	.	1½	2852
4.	Tiviakov, Sergei	g	NED	2662	.	.	½	*	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	2779
5.	Dominguez Perez, Leinier	g	CUB	2712	.	.	.	.	*	½	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	.	1	2754
6.	Karjakin, Sergey	g	UKR	2720	.	.	.	.	½	*	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	2751
7.	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2790	.	.	.	.	.	½	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	1	2708
8.	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2749	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	*	.	.	.	½	.	.	1	2668
9.	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2788	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	*	.	.	.	½	.	1	2725
10.	Van Wely, Loek	g	NED	2641	.	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	*	.	.	.	1	1	2702
11.	Smeets, Jan	g	NED	2657	.	½	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	*	.	.	.	½	2566
12.	Caruana, Fabiano	g	ITA	2675	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	*	.	.	½	2543
13.	Leko, Peter	g	HUN	2739	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	*	.	½	2562
14.	Short, Nigel D	g	ENG	2696	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	0	.	.	.	*	½	2522

Round 2 (January 17, 2010)
Shirov, Alexei	- Caruana, Fabiano	1-0	64	C80	Ruy Lopez Open
Nakamura, Hikaru	- Van Wely, Loek	1-0	39	B96	Sicilian Najdorf
Carlsen, Magnus	- Smeets, Jan	1-0	41	D44	Anti-Meran Gambit
Karjakin, Sergey	- Dominguez Perez, Leinier	½-½	31	B90	Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Anand, Viswanathan	- Short, Nigel D	½-½	57	D38	QGD Ragozin
Ivanchuk, Vassily	- Tiviakov, Sergei	½-½	57	B01	Centre Counter
Kramnik, Vladimir	- Leko, Peter	½-½	33	E15	Queens Indian

The B-tournament is being led by Anish Giri who is the only player in the group to start with 2/2. Ray Robson occupies a similar position in Group C.

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	*	.	.	.	.	.	1	.	.	.	.	.	1	.	2
2.	Ni Hua	g	CHN	2657	.	*	.	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	.	.	.	1½	2829
3.	Naiditsch, Arkadij	g	GER	2687	.	.	*	.	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	.	.	1½	2835
4.	L'Ami, Erwin	g	NED	2615	.	½	.	*	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	2656
5.	So, Wesley	g	PHI	2656	.	.	½	½	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	2651
6.	Negi, Parimarjan	g	IND	2621	.	.	.	.	.	*	.	½	½	.	.	.	.	.	1	2564
7.	Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter	g	ROU	2681	0	.	.	.	.	.	*	.	.	1	.	.	.	.	1	2615
8.	Howell, David W L	g	ENG	2606	.	.	.	.	.	½	.	*	.	.	.	.	½	.	1	2646
9.	Muzychuk, Anna	m	SLO	2523	.	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	*	.	.	½	.	.	1	2624
10.	Nyback, Tomi	g	FIN	2643	.	.	.	.	.	.	0	.	.	*	.	.	.	1	1	2627
11.	Sutovsky, Emil	g	ISR	2657	.	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	*	.	.	1	1	2615
12.	Akobian, Varuzhan	g	USA	2628	.	.	0	.	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	*	.	.	½	2412
13.	Harikrishna, P	g	IND	2672	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	*	.	½	2404
14.	Reinderman, Dimitri	g	NED	2573	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	0	0	.	.	*	0

Round 2 (January 17, 2010)
Ni Hua	- Sutovsky, Emil	1-0	57	C07	French Tarrasch
L'Ami, Erwin	- So, Wesley	½-½	23	D27	QGA
Negi, Parimarjan	- Muzychuk, Anna	½-½	41	B41	Sicilian Paulsen
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter	- Giri, Anish	0-1	31	C42	Petroff's Defence
Akobian, Varuzhan	- Naiditsch, Arkadij	0-1	37	E10	Blumenfeld Counter Gambit
Harikrishna, P	- Howell, David W L	½-½	51	D80	Gruenfeld 4.Bg5
Reinderman, Dimitri	- Nyback, Tomi	0-1	39	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.	Robson, Ray	g	USA	2570	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	.	.	.	1	2
2.	Li Chao2	g	CHN	2604	.	*	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	.	.	.	1½	2601
3.	Vocaturo, Daniele	g	ITA	2495	.	½	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	.	1½	2634
4.	Kuipers, Stefan	f	NED	2340	.	.	.	*	.	.	1	.	½	.	.	.	.	.	1½	2724
5.	Peng Zhaoqin	g	NED	2402	.	.	.	.	*	½	.	.	1	.	.	.	.	.	1½	2694
6.	Van Kampen, Robin	m	NED	2456	.	.	.	.	½	*	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	1	2362
7.	Grandelius, Nils	m	SWE	2515	.	.	.	0	.	.	*	.	.	.	.	1	.	.	1	2393
8.	Gupta, Abhijeet	g	IND	2577	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	*	.	½	.	½	.	.	1	2471
9.	Lie, Kjetil A	g	NOR	2547	.	.	.	½	0	.	.	.	*	.	.	.	.	.	½	2178
10.	Swinkels, Robin	m	NED	2495	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	.	*	.	.	.	.	½	2380
11.	Bok, Benjamin	f	NED	2322	.	0	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	*	.	.	.	½	2337
12.	Muzychuk, Mariya	m	UKR	2447	.	.	.	.	.	.	0	½	.	.	.	*	.	.	½	2353
13.	Plukkel, Sjoerd		NED	2279	.	.	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	*	½	½	2216
14.	Soumya, Swaminathan	wg	IND	2323	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	*	½	2231

Round 2 (January 17, 2010)
Robson, Ray	- Swinkels, Robin	1-0	66	C87	Ruy Lopez
Li Chao2	- Vocaturo, Daniele	½-½	39	C45	Scotch Game
Van Kampen, Robin	- Bok, Benjamin	½-½	31	C99	Ruy Lopez Chigorin
Grandelius, Nils	- Kuipers, Stefan	0-1	49	A11	Reti Opening
Gupta, Abhijeet	- Muzychuk, Mariya	½-½	57	A81	Dutch Leningrad
Lie, Kjetil A	- Peng Zhaoqin	0-1	53	B48	Sicilian Paulsen
Soumya, Swaminathan	- Plukkel, Sjoerd	½-½	61	B65	Sicilian Rauzer

---

The Week in Chess Magazine

Send a £30 donation via Paypal and contact me via email (Email Mark Crowther - mdcrowth@btinternet.com) I'll send you an address for a cbv file of my personal copy of every issue of the games in one database. Over 3 million games.

Alternatively subscribe to donate £4 a month

Read about 25 years of TWIC.

TWIC 1536 15th April 2024 - 6345 games

Read TWIC 1536

Download TWIC 1536 PGN

Download TWIC 1536 ChessBase