Chessable Houska's Caro

73rd Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2011 (11)

Nakamura half a point clear of Anand on 8/11 with two rounds to go

Ian Nepomniachtchi was defeated by the now sole leader Hikaru Nakamura in Round 11.  Photo © Michiel Abeln.

Ian Nepomniachtchi was defeated by the now sole leader Hikaru Nakamura in Round 11. Photo © Michiel Abeln. | http://www.tatasteelchess.com

Hikaru Nakamura has put himself in a strong position to win his first elite tournament when he went to 8/11 by defeating Russian Champion Ian Nepomniachtchi with the black pieces. World Champion Viswanthan Anand was held by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave as was Levon Aronian by Ruslan Ponomariov. Magnus Carlsen ground down Vladimir Kramnik on the black side of a Catalan. The remaining games were drawn. See Michiel Abeln's annotation of the Nakamura win as well as his photos, additional text by Mark Crowther.

Ian Nepomniachtchi against Hikaru Nakamura. Photo © Michiel Abeln. 2011 www.chess.co.uk/twic.

Hikaru Nakamura took a huge step towards winning the Tata Steel tournament when he beat Ian Nepomniachtchi with the black pieces in a Caro-Kann. Michiel Abeln analyses this win in detail below having seen the press conference by Nakamura and also done some computer analysis.

Nepomniachtchi,Ian - Nakamura,Hikaru [B12]
73rd Tata Steel GMA Wijk aan Zee NED (11), 28.01.2011
Annotator Michiel Abeln

1.e4 c6

Nakamura decided to play something solid because he considered Nepomniachtchi to be an even more aggresive player than he is himself. Probably this opening choice was a surprise for the white player.

2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.h4

Maybe not the main line, but lately quite fashionable

4...h5 5.c4 e6 6.Nc3 Ne7 7.Nge2

[An important alternative is 7.Bg5 Nd7 8.Nge2 f6 9.exf6 gxf6 10.Be3 dxc4 11.Ng3 Nb6 12.Be2 Bg6 13.Bxh5 as played in the game Svidler,P - Nielsen,P Copenhagen DEN 2010/The Week in Chess 822 (51)]

7...Bg4

Hikaru Nakamura

rn_qkb_r
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PP__NPP_
R_BQKB_R

Ian Nepomniachtchi

Position after 7...Bg4

According to Nakamura recommended by Karpov, but not something he had deeply studied.

[A previous encounter led to a painful loss for Nakamura: 7...dxc4 8.Ng3 Bg6 9.Bg5 Qb6 10.Qd2 Qb4 11.a3 Qb3 12.Nge4 Nd5 13.Rh3 Qb6 14.Bxc4 Qa5 15.Nd6+ Bxd6 16.exd6 Nd7 17.Rc1 Nxc3 18.Rcxc3 Nf6 19.b4 Qd8 20.Qf4 Kd7 21.Rhe3 Re8 22.b5 Qa5 23.Bxf6 gxf6 24.Kf1 Bf5 25.Be2 Rac8 26.Rc5 Qa4 27.Rec3 a6 28.b6 Bg6 29.Qxf6 e5 30.Rxe5 Rxe5 31.dxe5 Re8 32.Re3 Re6 33.Qg5 Qd4 34.Kg1 Be4 35.Qxh5 Rxe5 36.Qxf7+ Kxd6 37.Qxb7 1-0 Svidler,P (2734) -Nakamura,H (2729)/Amsterdam NED 2010/The Week in Chess 824]

8.f3 Bf5 9.Ng3 Bg6 10.Bg5 Qb6 11.Qd2

Obviously white is taking a very aggresive approach which in this game backfires

11...Nd7 12.a3 f6 13.Be3 Qb3

and now thanks to the insertion of 7...,Bg4 8.f3 the queen can no longer be harrased by a white rook on h3

14.cxd5

[Not so good is 14.Rc1 dxc4 15.Be2 0-0-0 16.Nce4 Nd5; an alternative is 14.exf6 gxf6 15.c5 0-0-0]

14...Nxd5 15.Nxd5 Qxd5 16.Rc1 Nb6

Hikaru Nakamura

r___kb_r
pp____p_
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_P_Q__P_
__R_KB_R

Ian Nepomniachtchi

Position after 16...Nb6

17.Ne2

After a long think white decided to sacrifice a pawn

[The solid approach with 17.exf6 gxf6 18.Bd3 Bxd3 19.Qxd3 0-0-0 is probably still a bit better for black]

17...fxe5

and Nakamura saw no reason not to accept

18.dxe5 Qxe5 19.Bd4 Qc7 20.Qg5 Bf5

[20...Bf7 21.Bxg7 Bxg7! (Nakamura calculated 21...Rg8 22.Be5 Rxg5 23.Bxc7 Rb5 24.b4 when white is still holding on) 22.Qxg7 0-0-0 and black's superior development will decide]

21.g4 hxg4 22.fxg4 Be4 23.Rh3 Be7

Hikaru Nakamura

r___k__r
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__R_KB__

Ian Nepomniachtchi

Position after 23...Be7

24.Qxg7

a blunder

[A safer option was 24.Qe3 but after 24...Bd5 25.h5 0-0-0 26.Bxg7 (26.Nc3 Bf6 27.Bxf6 gxf6 28.Nb5 Qb8) 26...Rh7 27.h6 Bd6 black is still better]

24...Rh7 25.Qe5

[Nepomniachtchi had planned 25.Bxb6 but found too late that this is refuted by 25...Bb4+ 26.axb4 Qxg7; Also not working is 25.Qg8+ Kd7 26.Bxb6 Rxg8 27.Bxc7 Kxc7 and white will drop his kingside pawns]

25...Qxe5 26.Bxe5 Bxh4+

now it's basically game over

27.Ng3

[27.Bg3 Bxg3+ 28.Nxg3 Rxh3 29.Bxh3 Bd5 is also winning for black]

27...Nd7

Hikaru Nakamura

r___k___
pp_n___r
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P_____NR
_P______
__R_KB__

Ian Nepomniachtchi

Position after 27...Nd7

28.Bd4

[In the post mortem the players looked at the more stubborn 28.Bd6 Bg6 but black is still a pawn up]

28...Bf3 29.g5 Bg4 30.g6 Rh6 31.Rxh4

sacrificing the exchange the only way to keep the fight going and hope for a miracle

31...Rxh4 32.Rc3 Bf3

unnecessarily complicating things

[32...Ke7 would have been much simpler]

33.Rxf3 Rxd4 34.Bh3

Hikaru Nakamura

r___k___
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P____RNB
_P______
____K___

Ian Nepomniachtchi

Position after 34.Bh3

this move was missed by Nakamura, but he's still winning thanks to

34...Ne5!

[white could fight after 34...Ke7 35.Re3]

35.Rf6 Nd3+ 36.Ke2 Nf4+ 37.Ke3 e5 38.Rf7 Rd3+ 39.Ke4 Rxg3 40.Bd7+ Kd8 41.Bf5 Nxg6 42.Rg7 Rb8 43.b4 b5 44.Bxg6 Rg5 0-1

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave against Viswanathan Anand. Photo © Michiel Abeln. 2011 www.chess.co.uk/twic.

Anand played a flexible Scheveningen Sicilian against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave where there were many pawn structures available to both sides. It turned into a French pawn structure when it wasn't clear who benifitted from the differences in positioning of some pieces. Vachier played cautiously not pushing f5 too early and securing his king's position. In the end a draw was achieved by repetition. Anand said afterwards that the game was always balanced, he was at some point a bit optimisitic, but failed to find anything concrete, both over the board and afterwards in the post-mortem.

Vachier-Lagrave,Maxime - Anand,Viswanathan [B90]
73rd Tata Steel GMA Wijk aan Zee NED (11), 28.01.2011

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.h3 e6 7.g4 Be7 8.Bg2 Nfd7 9.Be3 Nc6 10.Qe2 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 0-0 12.0-0-0 b5 13.e5 d5 14.f4

[14.Nxd5 exd5 15.Bxd5 Rb8 16.Ba7 Rb7 17.Bxb7 Bxb7 18.Rhe1 Qc7 19.Kb1 Nc5 20.Bxc5 Qxc5 21.f4 Bd5 22.Qe3 Qc6 23.f5 Bh4 24.Re2 h6 25.b3 Bf3 26.Rd6 Qa8 27.Rh2 Re8 28.Qf4 Bg5 29.Qd4 Be7 30.Rd7 Qb8 31.Qc3 Ba3 32.e6 Rc8 33.exf7+ Kf8 34.Qa5 Be7 35.Qe1 Bc5 36.f6 g5 37.Rhd2 Bc6 38.Re7 Qf4 39.Qe6 Qf1+ 40.Kb2 Ba3+ 41.Kxa3 Qc1+ 42.Kb4 Qxd2+ 43.c3 a5+ 44.Kxa5 Qxc3+ 45.Ka6 Ra8+ 46.Kb6 Qd4+ 47.Kc7 Qd8+ 48.Kxc6 Ra6+ 49.Kc5 Rxe6 50.Rxe6 Qa5 51.Re7 Qxa2 0-1 Movsesian,S (2716)-Ponomariov,R (2727)/Donostia ESP 2009/The Week in Chess 766]

14...Bb7 15.Qe3 Rc8 16.Kb1 Qc7 17.Rc1 Bc5

The game looks more like a French Defence than the Sicilian that it started as.

18.Ne2 a5 19.c3 Ba6 20.Rc2 Qb6 21.Rhc1 b4 22.cxb4 Bxd4 23.Nxd4 Rxc2 24.Rxc2 axb4

Viswanathan Anand

_____rk_
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PPR___B_
_K______

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

Position after 24...axb4

25.f5

Finally white plays f5.

[25.Rc6 Qa7 26.f5 Bc4 27.b3 Ra8 is the kind of attack white is looking to avoid. 28.Qd2 Bd3+ 29.Qxd3 Qxa2+ 30.Kc1 Nxe5 is over.]

25...Rc8 26.Rxc8+ Bxc8 27.g5 Nf8

Playing to resolve the pawn structure.

28.h4 exf5 29.Bxd5 g6 30.Bb3

The game now heads for a draw.

30...Qb7 31.e6 Nxe6 32.Nxe6 Qh1+ 33.Kc2 Qh2+ 34.Kb1 Qh1+ 1/2-1/2

Vladimir Kramnik against Magnus Carlsen. Photo © Michiel Abeln. 2011 www.chess.co.uk/twic.

Magnus Carlsen almost certainly can't win the Tata Steel tournament in Wijk aan Zee but he is going down fighting. Today he achieved the almost impossible, beating Vladimir Kramnik with the black pieces in a Catalan. Carlsen steered the game towards complications and seemed to have caught Kramnik in a miscalculation. The game quickly switched to an endgame where the chances to win for Carlsen seemed to be about the same as the chances to draw for Kramnik. Kramnik is normally the most precise calculator in these endings but Carlsen also has the reputation of causing the maximum discomfort for his opponent. It isn't clear when or indeed whether Kramnik went wrong in this complex ending as in the end Carlsen played it in the most convincing way.

Kramnik,Vladimir - Carlsen,Magnus [E00]
73rd Tata Steel GMA Wijk aan Zee NED (11), 28.01.2011

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Bxd2+ 5.Qxd2 d5 6.Bg2 Nbd7 7.Nf3 c6 8.0-0 b6 9.Rc1

[9.b3 Bb7 10.Nc3 h6 11.Rac1 0-0 12.cxd5 cxd5 13.Nb5 a6 14.Nd6 Qb8 15.Nxb7 Qxb7 16.Rc2 Rfc8 17.Rfc1 Ne4 18.Qd3 a5 19.a4 Rxc2 20.Rxc2 Rc8 21.Nd2 1/2-1/2 Shen Yang (2452)-Chiburdanidze,M (2514)/Jermuk ARM 2010/The Week in Chess 817]

9...0-0 10.cxd5 cxd5 11.Na3 Bb7!?

Carlsen thought for quite some time about this which is not a surprise as it invites the complications that happen. It seems however that Carlsen has things better worked out than Kramnik in what is a pretty deep line.

[11...Ba6 was a less complicated alternative.]

12.Nb5 a6 13.Nd6 Qb8 14.Qb4 a5 15.Qa3 Ba6 16.Ne5

[16.Rc6 Bxe2 17.Rac1 was a clear alternative.]

16...b5 17.Qxa5?!

This seems to be the move that gets Kramnik into prolonged trouble.

[17.Nc6 again is an alternative but now comes the critical line.]

17...Qxd6 18.Rc6 Qb8

Magnus Carlsen

rq___rk_
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b_R_pn__
Qp_pN___
___P____
______P_
PP__PPBP
R_____K_

Vladimir Kramnik

Position after 18...Qb8

19.Rxa6

Bailing out, perhaps he missed when playing 17.Qxa5 that 19.Nxd7 here is met by 19... Bb7! 20.Qxb5 Bxc6 21.Qxb8 Raxb8 22.Nxb8 Rxb8 and is losing for white.

19...Rxa6 20.Qxa6 Nxe5 21.dxe5 Qxe5 22.Qxb5

With a Kramnik draw offer. Carlsen said "I know him well enough to know what that means, so I had to play on."

22...Rb8 23.Qd3 Rxb2 24.Qe3

Taking an ending that looks very strong for black but which actually is quite difficult for black to win but also quite difficult to draw as white.

24...Qxe3 25.fxe3 Rxe2

[25...Rb5 26.a4 Ra5 27.Rb1 Kf8 28.Rb4]

26.a4 Rc2 27.a5 Rc7 28.a6 Ra7 29.Bf1 Kf8 30.Rb1 Ke7 31.Rb7+ Rxb7 32.axb7 Nd7

Now black will lose a pawn in rounding up the b-pawn and white will also activate his king. Black is playing for a win but a draw is also still a strong possiblility. However it is clear that Carlsen plans to make Kramnik suffer.

33.Kf2 Kd6 34.Bb5 Nb8 35.Be8 Ke7 36.Bb5 f6 37.Kf3 Kd6 38.Be8

Magnus Carlsen

_n__B___
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Vladimir Kramnik

Position after 38.Be8

Black has got the most favourable version of this try and now rounds up the b-pawn.

38...Kc7 39.Bf7 Kxb7 40.Bxe6 Kc6 41.Bg8 h6 42.Kg4 Nd7 43.Kf5 Ne5 44.h3

Magnus Carlsen

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________

Vladimir Kramnik

Position after 44.h3

Played only after prolonged thought. This may be a critical position.

Alternatives: 44.h4 or 44.Ke6 Ng4 (44...Kc5 45.Kf5 Nc4 46.Kf4 g5+) 45.Kf7 Nxe3]

44...Kc5 45.g4?

Carlsen said that he believed 45...Ke6! was the way to draw here and indeed such a line was discussed in detail during play by Yasser Seirawan and Peter Svidler on ICC. It is down to the concrete calculation of whether white can remove the pawns and get the bishop on a diagonal covering d1 without being blocked or driven away so black can't queen.

45...Kd6 46.Bh7 Ke7 47.Bg8 g6+ 48.Kf4 Nf7 49.Bh7 g5+

Magnus Carlsen

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Vladimir Kramnik

Position after 49...g5+

Black has made big progress, he now isn't in danger of losing his Kingside. Black must now be thought to be close to winning. Black can gradually improve the positioning of his pieces, white can't really. But there is still an awful lot of work to do.

50.Kg3 Nd6 51.Bg8 Ne4+ 52.Kg2 Kd6 53.Kf3 Kc5 54.Bh7 Nc3 55.Bd3 Kb4 56.Ba6 Kb3 57.Bb7 Kc2 58.Ba6 Kd1 59.Bb7 Kd2 60.Bc6 Ke1 61.Bb7 Kf1 62.Ba8 Kg1 63.Kg3 Ne4+ 64.Kf3 Nd2+ 65.Kg3 Nf1+ 66.Kf3 Nd2+ 67.Kg3 Nc4

Magnus Carlsen

B_______
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Vladimir Kramnik

Position after 67...Nc4

Carlsen has taken his time but this is the winning plan.

68.Bxd5

[68.Kf3 Kh2 69.Bxd5 Ne5+ 70.Ke4 Kxh3 71.Be6 Kg3 wins.]

68...Nxe3 69.Bb7 Nf1+ 70.Kf3 Kh2 71.Kf2 Nd2 72.Bg2 Nc4 73.Bf1 Ne5 74.Ke3 Kg1 75.Be2 Kg2 76.Ke4 Kxh3 77.Kf5 Kh4 78.Bd1 Nc4 79.Ke4 Nd6+ 80.Kd5 f5

Magnus Carlsen

________
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___B____

Vladimir Kramnik

Final Position after 80...f5

[80...f5 81.Kxd6 fxg4 82.Be2 Kh3 83.Bf1+ Kh2 84.Ke5 g3 85.Ke6 g2 86.Bxg2 Kxg2]

0-1

Levon Aronian against Ruslan Ponomariov. Photo © Michiel Abeln. 2011 www.chess.co.uk/twic.

Levon Aronian found a way to win two minor pieces for Rook and two pawns after a nasty little trap. At first it looked like he might have winning chances but these quickly went away and a draw was almost inevitable after that. He would have hoped for more, especially in conjunction with Nakamura's win that gives him a point advantage over the Armenian.

Aronian,Levon - Ponomariov,Ruslan [E00]
73rd Tata Steel GMA Wijk aan Zee NED (11), 28.01.2011

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Bb4+ 4.Nd2 c5 5.a3 Bxd2+ 6.Qxd2 Nc6 7.dxc5 Ne4 8.Qe3 Qa5+ 9.Bd2 Nxd2 10.Qxd2 Qxc5 11.Rc1 b6

[11...a5 1-0 Safin,S (2542)-Ivanov,A (2527)/Bled SLO 2002/The Week in Chess 418 (64)]

12.Bg2 Bb7 13.Nh3

A nice idea and a new one. White must have some kind of edge here.

[13.Nf3 1/2-1/2 Haba,P (2455)-Farago,I (2525)/Austria 1996/EXT 1998 (25)]

13...Qe7 14.0-0 0-0 15.Rfd1 Rfd8 16.Qg5 Rab8 17.Rc3 Qxg5 18.Nxg5 h6 19.Ne4 d5 20.cxd5 exd5 21.Nd2

Things don't look to have gone all that well but Aronian finds a very interesting trap.

21...Nd4 22.Rd3!

Ruslan Ponomariov

_r_r__k_
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P__R__P_
_P_NPPBP
___R__K_

Levon Aronian

Position after 22.Rd3

The point is that the knight doesn't escape.

22...Nxe2+ 23.Kf1 Ba6 24.Nb3 Nxg3+ 25.hxg3 Rbc8 26.Nd4 g6

[26...Re8 May be the better move, as it was it didn't make a difference.]

27.Bf3

[27.Ke2 Kg7 28.Kd2 Bxd3 29.Kxd3]

27...Bxd3+ 28.Rxd3 Kg7

Peter Svidler wanted to put the King on d3 in commentary.

29.Kg2 h5 30.Bd1 a5 31.Bb3 Rc5 32.f4 b5 33.Bd1 a4 34.Kf2 Rb8 35.b4 axb3 36.Rxb3 Rc4 37.Nxb5 h4

White hasn't made any progress at all and now the position is just level.

38.Be2 Ra4 39.Bf1 hxg3+ 40.Kxg3 Rb6 41.Be2 Kf6 42.Rc3 g5 43.fxg5+ Kxg5 44.Rc5 Rxb5 45.Rxb5 Rxa3+ 46.Kf2 Ra7 47.Rxd5+

Actually white can't even win the f-pawn nevermind win the Bishop and Rook vs Rook ending.

47...Kf6 48.Bc4 Rc7 49.Rd4 Kg7 50.Ke3 Re7+ 51.Kd3 Kf8 52.Rg4 Rd7+ 53.Ke4 Re7+ 54.Kd5 Rd7+ 55.Kc6 Ra7 56.Rg1 Re7 57.Ra1 Re4 58.Bd5 Rf4 59.Kd7 Rf2 60.Ra8+ Kg7 61.Ra3 Kf8 62.Rd3 Rf6 63.Bf3 Kg7 64.Bd1 1/2-1/2

Alexei Shirov avoided the worst complications that Anish Giri tried to entice him into and the game was drawn after 31 moves.

Shirov,Alexei - Giri,Anish [C42]
73rd Tata Steel GMA Wijk aan Zee NED (11), 28.01.2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Be3 Nc6 8.Qd2 Be6 9.0-0-0 Qd7 10.h4 h6 11.Bb5

[11.Kb1 1-0 Adams,M (2719)-Nielsen,P (2668)/Dortmund GER 2005/The Week in Chess 558 (27)]

11...a6 12.Ba4 b5 13.Bb3 Bf6 14.Qe2

[14.Bd5 1/2-1/2 Zawadzka,J (2389)-Socko,M (2473)/Karpacz POL 2008/The Week in Chess 724 (76)]

14...0-0-0 15.c4 Na5 16.c5 Nxb3+ 17.axb3 Qc6 18.cxd6 Bxb3

Anish Giri

__kr___r
__p__pp_
p_qP_b_p
_p______
_______P
_b__BN__
_PP_QPP_
__KR___R

Alexei Shirov

Position after 18...Bxb3

Sharply played but in fact Shirov didn't spend very long in giving up a pawn in return for a very drawish position rather than seeking complications with his alternatives.

19.Nd4 Bxd4 20.Rxd4 Rxd6 21.Rxd6 cxd6 22.Rd1 Be6 23.Qd3 Rd8 24.f3 Rd7 25.Bf4 Kb7 26.Bxd6

Recovering his pawn.

26...g6 27.Qe4 Bf5 28.Qxc6+ Kxc6 29.Bf4 Rxd1+ 30.Kxd1 h5

Of course there isn't anything to play for here.

1/2-1/2

Alexander Grischuk against Erwin L'Ami. Photo © Michiel Abeln. 2011 www.chess.co.uk/twic.

Erwin L'Ami drew very comfortably with black against Alexander Grischuk.

Grischuk,Alexander - L'Ami,Erwin [E48]
73rd Tata Steel GMA Wijk aan Zee NED (11), 28.01.2011

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.d4 Bb4 4.e3 0-0 5.Bd3 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Nge2 Bd6 8.Bd2 Re8 9.Rc1 c6

[9...a6 0-1 Delchev,A (2600)-Graf,A (2620)/Torrelavega ESP 2007/The Week in Chess 660 (63)]

10.Qc2

[10.0-0; 10.Ng3; 10.f3]

10...Na6

[10...Nbd7]

11.a3 Nc7 12.f3 Ne6 13.0-0 c5 14.dxc5 Bxc5 15.b4 Bb6

In this unusual position the pawn on e3 is a weakness.

16.Nb5

Quickly moving to put a knight on the good square d4.

16...Bd7 17.Nbd4 Rc8 18.Qb2 Nxd4 19.Nxd4 Rxc1 20.Rxc1 a6 21.Re1 h5 22.Bc3 h4!

A good move that creates counter-play for black.

23.Qf2 Nh5 24.Kh1

White was behind on the clock and he didn't have a better position anyhow. That plus surely Grischuk just wants this disappointing tournament to finish.

1/2-1/2

Erwin L'Ami

___qr_k_
_p_b_pp_
pb______
___p___n
_P_N___p
P_BBPP__
_____QPP
____R__K

Alexander Grischuk

Final Position after 24.Kh1

Wang Hao against Jan Smeets. Photo © Michiel Abeln. 2011 www.chess.co.uk/twic.

Jan Smeets looked almost to have equalised as black against Wang Hao before losing a pawn. He eventually had to play 108 moves before the draw was agreed.

Wang Hao - Smeets,Jan [D43]
73rd Tata Steel GMA Wijk aan Zee NED (11), 28.01.2011

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Qd3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 b5 7.Qd3 a6 8.Bg5 c5 9.Bxf6 Qxf6

[9...gxf6 10.e3 Bb7 11.Be2 Nc6 12.a3 cxd4 13.exd4 b4 14.axb4 Nxb4 15.Qd2 Rb8 1/2-1/2 Lugovoi,A (2540)-Yagupov,I (2450)/St Petersburg RUS 1998]

10.Ne4 Qf5 11.Nxc5 Bxc5 12.Qc3 b4 13.Qxc5 Qxc5 14.dxc5

Interesting liquidation from black. He just needs to round up the c-pawn!

14...Bb7 15.Rc1 Ke7 16.e3 Rc8 17.Nd4 Bd5 18.Kd2 Nd7 19.Bc4 Rxc5 20.Bxd5 Rxd5 21.Ke2 a5 22.Rc7 Rc5 23.Rc1 Rxc1 24.Rxc1 Nb6 25.Rc7+ Kf6 26.f4 Nd5 27.Rb7 a4 28.Nc6 g5

[28...Rc8 29.Ne5 Rc7 30.Rxc7 Nxc7 31.Nd3 Na6 32.e4 g5 33.Ke3 gxf4+]

29.fxg5+ Kxg5 30.Nxb4 Nxb4 31.Rxb4 f5

Jan Smeets

r_______
_______p
____p___
_____pk_
pR______
____P___
PP__K_PP
________

Wang Hao

Position after 31...f5

Now black is in for a long struggle to hold this ending.

32.h4+ Kf6 33.a3 Rc8 34.Kd3 Rd8+ 35.Kc3 Rc8+ 36.Rc4 Ra8 37.g4 fxg4 38.Rxg4 Ke5 39.Kd3 Rd8+ 40.Rd4 Ra8 41.Rb4 Kf5 42.Rf4+ Ke5 43.Kc3 Rc8+ 44.Rc4 Rxc4+ 45.Kxc4 Ke4 46.Kb4 Kxe3 47.Kxa4 e5 48.b4 e4 49.b5 Kf3 50.b6 e3 51.b7 e2 52.b8Q e1Q 53.Qb7+ Kg3 54.Qb3+ Kh2 55.Qc4 h5 56.Kb5 Qe8+ 57.Ka5 Qe5+ 58.Kb4 Qb2+ 59.Ka4 Qe5 60.Kb3 Qg3+ 61.Kb2 Qg7+ 62.Kc2 Qg2+ 63.Kb3 Qg3+ 64.Kb2 Qg7+ 65.Qc3 Qg4 66.Qb4 Qe2+ 67.Kc3 Qf3+ 68.Kd4 Qf2+ 69.Ke5 Qe3+ 70.Kf6 Qf3+ 71.Kg5 Kh3 72.Qe7 Qg4+ 73.Kh6 Qf3 74.Kg6 Qd1 75.Qe5 Qg4+ 76.Kh6 Qd1 77.Qf5+ Kh2 78.Kg5 Kg3 79.Qf4+ Kh3 80.Qe3+ Kh2 81.Kh6 Qg4 82.Qe7 Kh3 83.Qf6 Kg3 84.Qd6+ Kh3 85.Qe5 Qa4 86.Qe7 Qd1 87.Qe3+ Kg4 88.Qe5 Kh3 89.Kg6 Qg4+ 90.Qg5 Qa4 91.Qe7 Qg4+ 92.Kh6 Qd1 93.Kg7 Qg4+ 94.Kh7 Qf5+ 95.Kh6 Qg4 96.Qf6 Kg3 97.Qg5 Kh3 98.Kg6 Qa4 99.Kxh5 Qxa3 100.Qf5+ Kh2 101.Qe5+ Kh3 102.Qe6+ Kh2 103.Qe4 Kh3 104.Qd5 Qc3 105.Qe6+ Kh2 106.Qe7 Kh3 107.Qd7+ Kg3 108.Qd8 Kh3 1/2-1/2

David Navara. Photo © Michiel Abeln. 2011 www.chess.co.uk/twic.

The B-Group is set for a photo finish with Zahar Efimenko, Wesley So, David Navara and Luke McShane leading on 7/11 and with Le Quang Liem and Gabriel Sargissian just half a point behind.

73rd Tata Steel GMB Wijk aan Zee (NED), 14-30 i 2011 cat. XVII (2659)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4
1. Efimenko, Zahar g UKR 2701 * ½ 1 1 . . 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 7 2755
2. So, Wesley g PHI 2673 ½ * 1 . ½ ½ ½ . 0 1 1 1 ½ ½ 7 2753
3. Navara, David g CZE 2708 0 0 * . ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 . ½ 7 2762
4. McShane, Luke J g ENG 2664 0 . . * 0 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 7 2754
5. Le, Quang Liem g VIE 2664 . ½ ½ 1 * 1 ½ 0 0 1 0 . 1 1 2720
6. Sargissian, Gabriel g ARM 2667 . ½ ½ ½ 0 * ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 . 2720
7. Tkachiev, Vladislav g FRA 2636 1 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ * ½ . ½ . 1 ½ 1 6 2708
8. Wojtaszek, Radoslaw g POL 2726 ½ . 0 0 1 0 ½ * 1 1 ½ . 1 ½ 6 2688
9. Li, Chao b g CHN 2649 ½ 1 0 0 1 ½ . 0 * . 0 ½ ½ 1 5 2621
10. Fressinet, Laurent g FRA 2707 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 . * 0 1 ½ . 4 2554
11. Spoelman, Wouter g NED 2547 0 0 0 0 1 ½ . ½ 1 1 * 0 . 0 4 2575
12. Ganguly, Surya Shekhar g IND 2651 ½ 0 0 0 . 0 0 . ½ 0 1 * 1 1 4 2551
13. Nijboer, Friso g NED 2584 ½ ½ . ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ . 0 * ½ 2538
14. Hammer, Jon Ludvig g NOR 2647 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 . 0 ½ 0 . 1 0 ½ * 2521
Round 11 (January 28, 2011)
Efimenko, Zahar - Wojtaszek, Radoslaw ½-½ 27 B17 Caro Kann
So, Wesley - Nijboer, Friso ½-½ 80 E84 King's Indian Saemisch
Navara, David - Tkachiev, Vladislav 1-0 35 C78 Ruy Lopez Moeller Defence
Sargissian, Gabriel - Fressinet, Laurent ½-½ 45 D30 Queen's Gambit (without Nc3)
Spoelman, Wouter - Li, Chao b 1-0 36 D85 Gruenfeld Defence
Ganguly, Surya Shekhar - McShane, Luke J 0-1 57 C67 Ruy Lopez Berlin
Hammer, Jon Ludvig - Le, Quang Liem 0-1 39 A15 English counter King's Fianchetto

Zahar Efimenko against Radoslaw Wojtaszek. Photo © Michiel Abeln. 2011 www.chess.co.uk/twic.

Daniele Vocaturo took his lead back to a point and a half (now with just two rounds to go) after defeating his closest rival Kateryna Lahno. Illya Nyzhnyk moved second and still has to meet the leader.

73rd Tata Steel GMC Wijk aan Zee (NED), 14-30 i 2011 cat. XI (2507)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4
1. Vocaturo, Daniele g ITA 2570 * . 0 1 . 1 0 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 2707
2. Nyzhnyk, Illya g UKR 2530 . * 0 ½ 0 1 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 . ½ 7 2607
3. Ivanisevic, Ivan g SRB 2630 1 1 * ½ ½ ½ 0 . 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ . 2559
4. Lahno, Kateryna g UKR 2518 0 ½ ½ * ½ . 1 ½ 1 1 0 1 ½ . 2565
5. Swiercz, Dariusz g POL 2540 . 1 ½ ½ * . 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 6 2522
6. Kazhgaleyev, Murtas g KAZ 2637 0 0 ½ . . * 1 1 0 0 1 ½ 1 1 6 2527
7. Tania, Sachdev m IND 2391 1 0 1 0 1 0 * 0 ½ . . ½ ½ 1 2530
8. Bluvshtein, Mark g CAN 2590 0 ½ . ½ 1 0 1 * 0 . ½ 0 1 1 2494
9. Bok, Benjamin m NED 2453 ½ 0 0 0 1 1 ½ 1 * ½ ½ . . 0 5 2484
10. Siebrecht, Sebastian g GER 2439 0 0 ½ 0 0 1 . . ½ * 1 ½ 1 0 2451
11. Van Der Werf, Mark m NED 2439 0 ½ ½ 1 1 0 . ½ ½ 0 * . 0 0 4 2424
12. Pruijssers, Roeland m NED 2484 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 1 . ½ . * ½ ½ 4 2418
13. Van Kampen, Robin m NED 2443 0 . ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 . 0 1 ½ * 1 4 2413
14. De Jong, Jan-Willem m NED 2437 0 ½ . . 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 ½ 0 * 4 2399
Round 11 (January 28, 2011)
Vocaturo, Daniele - Lahno, Kateryna 1-0 69 B07 Pirc Defence
Nyzhnyk, Illya - Bok, Benjamin 1-0 68 E60 King's Indian without Nc3
Kazhgaleyev, Murtas - Ivanisevic, Ivan ½-½ 61 E71 King's Indian 5.h3
Tania, Sachdev - Pruijssers, Roeland ½-½ 34 E70 King's Indian Fianchetto
Bluvshtein, Mark - Van Der Werf, Mark ½-½ 104 E42 Nimzo Indian Rubinstein
Van Kampen, Robin - Swiercz, Dariusz 0-1 49 C11 French Defence
De Jong, Jan-Willem - Siebrecht, Sebastian 1-0 30 D46 Semi-Slav Defence

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