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Home » Chess News » Events » 73rd Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2011 » Nakamura leads Tata-Steel A-Group after fantastic win against Shirov

Hikaru Nakamura leads the A-Group with 2.5/3 after a tremendous struggle against Alexei Shirov. Nakamura's determination against Shirov an expert in all phases that were seen in this game produced a truly heavyweight clash. In the end he just wore Shirov down and won a difficult ending

Nakamura,Hikaru - Shirov,Alexei [C78]
73rd Tata Steel GMA Wijk aan Zee NED (3), 17.01.2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.c3 d6 8.a4 Rb8 9.d4 Bb6 10.axb5 axb5 11.Na3 0-0 12.Nxb5 Bg4 13.d5 Ne7 14.Bc2 Qd7 15.Na3

[15.c4 Ng6 16.h3 Bxh3 17.gxh3 Qxh3 18.Ng5 Qg3+ 19.Kh1 Qh4+ 20.Kg2 h6 21.Nh3 Nxe4 22.Qe2 f5 23.Ra3 Rf6 24.Rh1 Rbf8 25.b4 Ne7 26.Rf3 Rg6+ 27.Kf1 Rg4 28.Rg1 Rf6 29.Be3 Rfg6 30.Rh1 Bxe3 31.Rxe3 Ng5 32.Ke1 f4 33.Ra3 Rf6 34.Ra8+ Kf7 35.Nxg5+ Qxg5 36.Nxc7 f3 37.Ne6 Qc1+ 38.Qd1 Qxd1+ 39.Kxd1 Rxe6 40.dxe6+ Kxe6 41.b5 Rd4+ 42.Ke1 d5 43.b6 Rxc4 44.b7 Nc6 45.Ra6 1-0 Karjakin,S (2672)-Radjabov,T (2729)/Cap d'Agde FRA 2006/The Week in Chess 625]

15...Nexd5 16.h3 Bh5 17.exd5 e4 18.Bg5 Bxf3 19.Qd2 e3 20.Bxe3 Bxe3 21.fxe3 Be4 22.Rxf6 Bxc2 23.Rf4 Bg6 24.Nc4 Ra8 25.Na5 Rfe8 26.Ra3 Be4

Already there has been extremely lively play from both players.

27.c4 g5 28.Rf1 g4 29.h4 Qe7 30.Qf2 Bg6 31.b4 h5 32.Rc3 Qe5 33.Rb3 Qe4 34.Rc3 Qe5 35.Rfc1 Be4 36.Qf4 g3 37.Qxe5 Rxe5 38.Ra3 Kg7 39.Rf1 Ree8 40.Rfa1 Re5 41.Nb3 Rxa3 42.Rxa3 Bxd5

It is unclear whether Nakamura missed this or allowed it because it was the best way to make progress. He now will win the g3 pawn.

43.Nd2

[43.cxd5 Rxe3 44.Kf1 Kg6 and white can't move any of his pieces.]

43...Be6 44.e4 Bg4 45.Rxg3 f5 46.Re3 Re8 47.Kf2 Ra8 48.exf5 Ra2 49.Rd3 Bxf5 50.Rd5 Be6 51.Rg5+ Kh6 52.Ke3 Ra3+

[52...Ra4 may be more accurate.]

53.Kd4 Ra1 54.g3 Rd1 55.Kc3 Rg1 56.b5 Rc1+ 57.Kd3 Bf7 58.Nb3 Rd1+ 59.Ke2 Rb1 60.Nd4 Bxc4+

again Nakamura has to give up material to make progress.

61.Kd2 d5 62.Nf5+ Kh7 63.Rxh5+ Kg6 64.Rg5+ Kf6 65.Ne3 Rb2+ 66.Kd1 Be2+

[66...Rb1+ 67.Kc2 Rxb5 68.Nxc4 Rc5 69.Rg4 dxc4]

67.Kc1 Rxb5 68.Kd2 Rb2+ 69.Kc3 Rb5 70.Nxd5+ Kf7 71.Re5 Bg4 72.Re7+ Kf8 73.Re4 Bf5 74.Nxc7

Finally Nakamura is winning.

74...Rc5+ 75.Rc4 Re5 76.Rf4 Ke7 77.Kd4 Ra5 78.Nd5+ Ke6 79.Nc3 Ra8 80.g4 Bh7 81.Ke3 Rc8 82.Ne2 Ke5 83.Ra4 Rb8 84.Nd4 Rb1 85.Ra5+ Kf6 86.Kf4 Rf1+ 87.Nf3 Bc2 88.Kg3 Rb1 89.Ra6+ Kg7 90.Nd4 Bd3 91.Rd6 Kf7 92.Kf4 Ra1 93.h5 1-0

Erwin L'Ami seemed to have a threatening attack against Viswanathan Anand. The World Champion seemed to defend precisely and held the draw comfortably enough in the end. Definitely worth analysing in details.

L'Ami,Erwin - Anand,Viswanathan [E11]
73rd Tata Steel GMA Wijk aan Zee NED (3), 17.01.2011

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 a5 5.Nc3 b6 6.e3 Bb7 7.Bd3 0-0 8.0-0 d5 9.cxd5 exd5 10.Ne5 Nbd7 11.f4 c5

[11...Bxc3 12.Bxc3 Ba6 13.Bxa6 Rxa6 14.Qd3 Ra8 15.Nc6 Qe8 16.b4 Ne4 17.Rfc1 Nb8 18.Nxb8 Qxb8 19.bxa5 bxa5 20.Rab1 Qc8 21.Be1 Re8 22.h3 a4 23.Rc6 Nd6 24.Rbc1 Nc4 25.e4 Rxe4 1/2-1/2 Piket,J (2619)-Anand,V (2781)/Monte Carlo MNC 1999]

12.a3 Bxc3 13.Bxc3 c4 14.Bc2 b5 15.Rf3 Ra6 16.Rg3 Qe7 17.Qe1 Rfa8 18.Rd1 Nb6 19.Ng4 Nxg4 20.Rxg4 Nd7 21.e4 dxe4

[21...Nf6 22.Rg5 Nxe4 23.Bxe4 dxe4 24.Rxb5 Qd7]

22.d5 f6 23.Bxe4 Re8 24.Qg3

24...Nc5 25.Bf5 Nd3! 26.Bxd3

In time pressure L'Ami heads for safety.

26...cxd3 27.Qxd3 Rd6 28.Re1 Qd7 29.Rxe8+ Qxe8 30.f5 Rxd5 31.Rd4 1/2-1/2

Levon Aronian held Maxime Vachier-Lagrave comfortably on the black side of a Queen's Gambit. They called it a day after 21 moves.

Ian Nepomniachtchi and Alexander Grischuk played a Sicilian Najdorf following a couple of rapid games between Leko and Gelfand. Pieces were traded off to a drawn position.

The first game to finish was World Number One Magnus Carlsen's defeat to Anish Giri. This reported fully in a separate article.

Vladimir Kramnik played for a tiny advantage against Wang Hao but the Chinese player held his ground.

Jan Smeets lost his first game of the event when Ruslan Ponomariov beat him on the black side of a French. Smeets novelty may not really have been prepared (perhaps he was surprised by the whole line) as he quickly got into trouble on the board and on the clock. Ponomariov didn't make any mistake.

73rd Tata Steel GMA Wijk aan Zee (NED), 14-30 i 2011																cat. XX (2740)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4
1.	Nakamura, Hikaru	g	USA	2751	*	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	1	.	.	1	2½	3039
2.	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2810	.	*	.	.	½	.	½	1	.	.	.	.	.	.	2	2843
3.	Giri, Anish	g	NED	2686	.	.	*	.	½	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	1	.	2	2826
4.	Nepomniachtchi, Ian	g	RUS	2733	.	.	.	*	.	.	½	.	.	.	½	1	.	.	2	2887
5.	L'Ami, Erwin	g	NED	2628	.	½	½	.	*	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	1½	2746
6.	Aronian, Levon	g	ARM	2805	½	.	.	.	.	*	.	.	½	.	.	.	½	.	1½	2760
7.	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2784	.	½	.	½	.	.	*	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	1½	2758
8.	Ponomariov, Ruslan	g	UKR	2744	.	0	.	.	½	.	.	*	.	1	.	.	.	.	1½	2700
9.	Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime	g	FRA	2715	.	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	*	.	½	½	.	.	1½	2769
10.	Smeets, Jan	g	NED	2662	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	0	.	*	.	.	.	1	1½	2717
11.	Grischuk, Alexander	g	RUS	2773	0	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	½	.	*	.	.	.	1	2608
12.	Wang, Hao	g	CHN	2731	.	.	.	0	.	.	½	.	½	.	.	*	.	.	1	2619
13.	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2814	.	.	0	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	*	½	1	2612
14.	Shirov, Alexei	g	ESP	2722	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	0	.	.	½	*	½	2469

Round 3 (January 17, 2011)
Nakamura, Hikaru	- Shirov, Alexei	1-0	93	C78	Ruy Lopez Moeller Defence
Nepomniachtchi, Ian	- Grischuk, Alexander	½-½	23	B90	Sicilian Najdorf Variation
L'Ami, Erwin	- Anand, Viswanathan	½-½	31	E11	Bogo Indian Defence
Kramnik, Vladimir	- Wang, Hao	½-½	46	E25	Nimzo Indian Saemisch
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime	- Aronian, Levon	½-½	21	D37	QGD 5.Bf4
Smeets, Jan	- Ponomariov, Ruslan	0-1	40	C18	French Winawer
Carlsen, Magnus	- Giri, Anish	0-1	22	D71	Gruenfeld 3.g3

Luke McShane remained the only player on 100% with a win against former French Champion Vladislav Tkachiev. He leads the B-Group by a point.

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.	McShane, Luke J	g	ENG	2664	*	.	.	.	.	.	1	.	.	.	.	1	1	.	3
2.	Sargissian, Gabriel	g	ARM	2667	.	*	½	.	.	½	.	1	.	.	.	.	.	.	2	2802
3.	Navara, David	g	CZE	2708	.	½	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	½	.	.	.	2	2810
4.	Efimenko, Zahar	g	UKR	2701	.	.	.	*	½	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	.	1	2	2793
5.	Fressinet, Laurent	g	FRA	2707	.	.	.	½	*	.	.	.	½	.	.	½	.	.	1½	2640
6.	So, Wesley	g	PHI	2673	.	½	.	.	.	*	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	½	1½	2659
7.	Spoelman, Wouter	g	NED	2547	0	.	.	.	.	.	*	.	.	½	1	.	.	.	1½	2684
8.	Ganguly, Surya Shekhar	g	IND	2651	.	0	.	½	.	.	.	*	.	.	.	.	.	1	1½	2671
9.	Nijboer, Friso	g	NED	2584	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	*	.	.	½	½	.	1½	2664
10.	Wojtaszek, Radoslaw	g	POL	2726	.	.	0	.	.	.	½	.	.	*	.	.	1	.	1½	2634
11.	Le, Quang Liem	g	VIE	2664	.	.	½	.	.	½	0	.	.	.	*	.	.	.	1	2517
12.	Tkachiev, Vladislav	g	FRA	2636	0	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	½	.	.	*	.	.	1	2526
13.	Li, Chao b	g	CHN	2649	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	½	0	.	.	*	.	½	2385
14.	Hammer, Jon Ludvig	g	NOR	2647	.	.	.	0	.	½	.	0	.	.	.	.	.	*	½	2402

Round 3 (January 17, 2011)
McShane, Luke J	- Tkachiev, Vladislav	1-0	56	C78	Ruy Lopez Moeller Defence
Sargissian, Gabriel	- Navara, David	½-½	27	D85	Gruenfeld Defence
Efimenko, Zahar	- Ganguly, Surya Shekhar	½-½	99	B90	Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Nijboer, Friso	- Fressinet, Laurent	½-½	32	C91	Ruy Lopez
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw	- Li, Chao b	1-0	33	D72	Gruenfeld 3.g3
Le, Quang Liem	- Spoelman, Wouter	0-1	73	D16	Slav Lasker/Smyslov
Hammer, Jon Ludvig	- So, Wesley	½-½	63	D56	Queens Gambit Lasker's Defence

In the C-Group Kateryna Lahno leads on 2.5/3 alongside Daniele Vocaturo. Illya Nyzhnyk drew with in form Mark Bluvshtein and these two are a further half point back alongside Sebastian Siebrecht and Tania Sachdev.

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.	Lahno, Kateryna	g	UKR	2518	*	.	½	.	.	1	.	1	.	.	.	.	.	.	2½	2761
2.	Vocaturo, Daniele	g	ITA	2570	.	*	.	.	.	.	½	.	.	1	.	1	.	.	2½	2784
3.	Bluvshtein, Mark	g	CAN	2590	½	.	*	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	.	2	2654
4.	Nyzhnyk, Illya	g	UKR	2530	.	.	½	*	.	.	.	.	.	1	.	.	.	½	2	2679
5.	Siebrecht, Sebastian	g	GER	2439	.	.	.	.	*	.	½	½	1	.	.	.	.	.	2	2583
6.	Tania, Sachdev	m	IND	2391	0	.	.	.	.	*	.	.	.	.	1	.	1	.	2	2687
7.	Bok, Benjamin	m	NED	2453	.	½	.	.	½	.	*	.	½	.	.	.	.	.	1½	2482
8.	Pruijssers, Roeland	m	NED	2484	0	.	.	.	½	.	.	*	.	.	½	.	.	.	1	2404
9.	Van Der Werf, Mark	m	NED	2439	.	.	.	.	0	.	½	.	*	.	½	.	.	.	1	2382
10.	Kazhgaleyev, Murtas	g	KAZ	2637	.	0	.	0	.	.	.	.	.	*	.	1	.	.	1	2389
11.	Ivanisevic, Ivan	g	SRB	2630	.	.	.	.	.	0	.	½	½	.	*	.	.	.	1	2313
12.	Van Kampen, Robin	m	NED	2443	.	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	0	.	*	.	1	1	2423
13.	Swiercz, Dariusz	g	POL	2540	.	.	0	.	.	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	*	1	1	2347
14.	De Jong, Jan-Willem	m	NED	2437	.	.	.	½	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	0	0	*	½	2231

Round 3 (January 17, 2011)
Lahno, Kateryna	- Pruijssers, Roeland	1-0	41	C63	Ruy Lopez Schliemann
Vocaturo, Daniele	- Kazhgaleyev, Murtas	1-0	62	C41	Philidor's Defence
Nyzhnyk, Illya	- Bluvshtein, Mark	½-½	25	E10	Blumenfeld Counter Gambit
Siebrecht, Sebastian	- Bok, Benjamin	½-½	100	A15	English counter King's Fianchetto
Ivanisevic, Ivan	- Van Der Werf, Mark	½-½	66	E32	Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Van Kampen, Robin	- De Jong, Jan-Willem	1-0	43	C91	Ruy Lopez
Swiercz, Dariusz	- Tania, Sachdev	0-1	72	D37	QGD 5.Bf4

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