Chessable Houska's Caro

6th Tal Memorial 2011 (1)

Nepomniachtchi and Ivanchuk lead after lively first round of Tal Memorial

Ian Nepomniachtchi beat Vladimir Kramnik in Round 1. Photo ©

Ian Nepomniachtchi beat Vladimir Kramnik in Round 1. Photo © | http://www.russiachess.org

The first round of the 6th Tal Memorial saw some very hard fought games. Ian Nepomniachtchi took the initiative right from the opening as black against Vladimir Kramnik. After the queen's came off Kramnik should have held but a further error led to another loss of initiative which proved fatal. Vassily Ivanchuk won the final game to finish beating Peter Svidler after the latter missed a reasonable chance for the advantage on move 29 and then gave up a pawn on move 30 for what turned out to be insufficient compensation. However Colin Mcgourty's WhyChess report (with an excellent account of the round as a whole) points out that Ivanchuk was out of control at the start of this game and this must have been very disturbing to Svidler. Viswanathan Anand's scrappy form at Bilbao doesn't seem to have changed here with several inaccuracies in a simplified position not being exploited by Sergey Karjakin before a draw was agreed. Neither Levon Aronian nor Magnus Carlsen seemed very certain what was going on in a complex middle-game but Aronian couldn't convert the favourable ending the emerged. Nakamura-Gelfand was a quiet draw. The lengthier classical time control seemed to have a favourable impact on the quality of the games compared to Bilbao. Rd2 Pairs 11am Thurs: Aronian - Kramnik, Nepomniachtchi - Ivanchuk, Svidler - Anand, Karjakin - Nakamura, Carlsen - Gelfand

The stage during Round 1

The stage during Round 1. Photo © http://www.russiachess.org/

The Tal Memorial started on Wednesday 16th November 2011 in the classical Pashkov House in Moscow. With the top 4 players in the World, 7 of the top 10 and the lowest rated Nempomniachtchi being 20th it is one of the strongest tournaments in history. Once again there are high definition images from the Russian Chess Federation but, not surprisingly, only Russian commentary this time. Some of the press conferences were in English.

Ian Nepomniachtchi against Vladimir Kramnik

Ian Nepomniachtchi against Vladimir Kramnik in Round 1. Photo © http://www.russiachess.org/

Vladimir Kramnik was potentially one of the pre-event favourites but he lost with white to the bottom seed (although World Number 20 is hardly weak) Ian Nepomniachtchi. Nepomniachtchi is not a very solid player, instead he gets success with tactical creativity. Here he would have been very happy with the position he got from the opening. Nepomniachtchi had the opportunity to blow the board open by sacrificing his queen with 19...dxc2 with unclear chances of which afterwards he demonstrated some lines. Instead after queens came off Kramnik had the opportunity to make his position fairly safe with 25.b5. Instead his 25.h4 seems to have been an error as Nepomniachtchi got some sharp chances with his remaining pieces which he used to win a pawn after which it was difficult if not impossible for Kramnik to save the position (it is an interesting position to study).

Kramnik,Vladimir - Nepomniachtchi,Ian [A37]
6th Tal Memorial Moscow RUS (1.3), 16.11.2011

1.Nf3

Nepomniachtchi press conference at: 19:08:30 in the HD coverage.

1...c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.g3 g6 5.Bg2 Bg7 6.a3 d6 7.0-0 Nge7 8.b4 e4 9.Ne1 f5 10.Bb2 0-0 11.d3 Be6 12.dxe4 fxe4 13.Bxe4 Bxc4 14.Nc2

[14.Nd3 d5 15.Bg2 Bxd3 16.exd3 cxb4 17.axb4 Nxb4 18.Qb3 a5 19.Ba3 Rc8 20.Bxb4 axb4 21.Nxd5 Nxd5 22.Qxd5+ Kh8 23.Rab1 Bc3 24.Qxb7 Rb8 25.Qa6 1/2-1/2 Zubarev,A (2546)-Borovikov,V (2580)/Poltava UKR 2008/The Week in Chess 735]

14...d5 15.Bg2 d4 16.Ne4

Ian Nepomniachtchi

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Vladimir Kramnik

Position after 16.Ne4

16...Bxe2

[16...d3 17.exd3 Bxb2 18.dxc4 Bxa1 19.Qxa1 is equal.]

17.Qxe2 d3 18.Qg4

[18.Qe3 Bxb2 19.Rad1 c4 20.Nc5 Qd6]

18...Bxb2 19.Rad1

Ian Nepomniachtchi

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Vladimir Kramnik

Position after 19.Rad1

19...Qc8

Safest but black can sacrifice the queen with complications, not always in his favour.

[19...dxc2 20.Rxd8 Raxd8 21.Nxc5 Nd4 (21...Rxf2 22.Kxf2 Rf8+ 23.Bf3 Nd4 is equal!; 21...Rd2 22.Nb3 Rfxf2 23.Rxf2 Bd4 was examined by Nepomniachtchi but doesn't work.) 22.Nd3 Nef5 23.Nxb2 Ne3 24.fxe3 Rxf1+ 25.Bxf1 c1Q 26.exd4 Qxb2 was given by Nepomniachtchi but as he pointed out it loses a rook for him with 27.Qe6+ Kg7 28.Qe7+ Kh6 29.Qxd8.]

20.Qxc8 Raxc8 21.Rxd3 cxb4 22.axb4 Rcd8

[22...Ne5 23.Rd2]

23.Rxd8 Rxd8 24.Rb1 Bg7

Ian Nepomniachtchi

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Vladimir Kramnik

Position after 24...Bg7

25.h4

This seems quite loose.

25.b5 seems the best move here when Kramnik almost certainly wouldn't have lost.

25...b5! 26.Bf1 a6 27.Nc5 Rd2 28.Ne3 Bd4

Ian Nepomniachtchi

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Vladimir Kramnik

Position after 28...Bd4

Black now has a very unpleasant initiative.

29.Ne4

[29.Nxa6 Also seems risky for white. 29...Ne5 30.Rb3 Nf5 31.Nxf5 gxf5 32.Bxb5 Rxf2 33.Nc5 Kf7 34.Kh1 Nf3 35.Rxf3 Rxf3 36.Kg2 Rf2+ 37.Kh3 Bxc5 38.bxc5]

29...Rb2!

[29...Ra2 in spite of being Nepomniachtchi's recommendation seems to be well met by 30.Bh3]

30.Rxb2 Bxb2 31.Nc2 Nd5 32.Nc5 Ndxb4

and white loses a pawn.

33.Nxb4 Nxb4 34.Nd3

[34.Nxa6 Nxa6 35.Bxb5 Nc5 36.Kg2 I imagine will eventually be a win for black.]

34...Nxd3 35.Bxd3 Kf7 36.f4 Ke6 37.Kf2 Kd5 38.Ke2 Kc5 39.Kd2?

[39.f5 is the last chance 39... gxf5 40.Bxf5 h6 41.g4 a5 42.g5 h5 (42...hxg5 43.hxg5) 43.Bg6 b4 44.Bc2 Kc4 45.Bd3+]

39...a5 40.f5 a4 41.Bc2

[41.fxg6 b4 42.Bc2 b3]

41...a3 42.Bb1

[42.Bb3 gxf5 43.Kc2 Be5 44.Be6 a2 45.Bxa2 Bxg3 46.h5 h6]

42...gxf5 43.Kc2 Kb4 44.Ba2 Be5 45.Be6 a2 46.Bxa2 Bxg3 47.h5 h6 48.Kd3 Ka3 49.Bd5 b4 50.Kc2 Be5 51.Bb3 f4 52.Bd5 Bf6 53.Kb1 b3 0-1

Magnus Carlsen against Levon Aronian in Round 1

Magnus Carlsen against Levon Aronian 1. Photo © http://www.russiachess.org/

Levon Aronian and Magnus Carlsen drew a complex struggle where neither seemed very sure of the assessment at many stages of the game. Aronian did emerge with a better ending but it is far from clear he was winning. His 50.Rf5 was a bad idea that led almost directly to a draw. [I now think this ending must be winning somehow for Aronian]

Aronian,Levon - Carlsen,Magnus [E15]
6th Tal Memorial Moscow RUS (1.2), 16.11.2011

1.d4

Press conference at 2:38 on the HD coverage.

1...Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.Qa4 Be7 6.Bg2 c6 7.Nc3 0-0 8.0-0 d5 9.Ne5 Qe8 10.b3

[10.Re1 b5 11.cxb5 cxb5 12.Qd1 b4 13.Nb1 Nc6 14.Nxc6 Qxc6 15.Nd2 Qb6 16.e3 Rac8 17.Bf1 Rc6 18.Bxa6 Qxa6 19.Nf3 Rfc8 20.Qb3 Ne4 21.Nd2 Rc2 22.Nxe4 dxe4 23.a3 h5 24.d5 R8c4 25.Rd1 exd5 26.Bd2 Qf6 27.Rab1 h4 28.Qa4 Qf5 29.Qxa7 Bf8 30.Qb8 g5 31.gxh4 gxh4 32.Qf4 Qxf4 33.exf4 d4 34.b3 Rc6 35.axb4 f5 36.h3 Ra6 37.Rbc1 Rxc1 38.Rxc1 Ra2 39.Be1 Rb2 40.Kg2 Rxb3 41.Rc8 Rb1 42.Bd2 e3 0-1 Stahlberg,G-Taimanov,M/Zurich 1953; 10.cxd5 cxd5 11.Qxe8 Rxe8 12.Bf4 Nbd7 13.Nxd7 Nxd7 14.a4 Bc4 15.Rfc1 Rac8 16.e4 Nf6 17.Nb5 Bxb5 18.Rxc8 Rxc8 19.axb5 Nxe4 20.Rxa7 1/2-1/2 Kaidanov,G (2596)-Sargissian,G (2515)/ Moscow RUS 2002/The Week in Chess 379]

10...b5 11.Qa5 Bd8 12.Qa3 Be7 13.c5 Bb7 14.Qb2 a5 15.Nd3

"If I keep the position closed I'm not doing so badly. " - Magnus Carlsen.

[15.a3 Nfd7! and black might be OK although it is a different game.]

15...b4

[15...Nbd7? 16.a3 and black doesn't have any moves according to Carlsen.]

16.Na4 Nbd7 17.a3 Ba6 18.Rd1

[18.Be3]

18...Bxd3 19.Rxd3 Ne4

Magnus Carlsen

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Levon Aronian

Position after 19...Ne4

"I felt I was making good moves at some point but still didn't like my position." - Magnus Carlsen. But Aronian wasn't that enthusiastic about his position either.

20.f3

[20.Re3 Somehow I spent all my time on Re3. - Aronian. 20...e5 21.Bxe4 dxe4 22.Rxe4 f5 23.Rxe5 Nxe5 24.dxe5 It's not that easy, it's not that clear - Aronian. 24...bxa3 I thought you might go f4 somewhere. - Aronian to Carlsen.]

20...Nef6

Magnus Carlsen

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Levon Aronian

Position after 20...Nef6

21.Rd1

[21.e3 with a very pleasant position may have been better here probably winning some tempi over the game.]

21...e5 22.e3 bxa3 23.Qc2 Bd8 24.Bxa3 Rb8 25.Re1 Qe6 26.Nb2 Re8 27.Nd3 Bc7 28.Bb2 e4 29.Nf2 exf3 30.Bxf3

Magnus Carlsen

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Levon Aronian

Position after 30.Bxf3

At this point I was pretty optimistic. - Carlsen. I had the feeling I ought to be under a siege - Aronian. Somehow I couldn't find any good ideas. - Carlsen.

30...Ne4 31.Nxe4 dxe4 32.Bd1 Nf6

[32...h5?! 33.Bxh5 was Aronian's intention. (33.Bc3 h4 34.gxh4 was what Carlsen saw. 34...Qh3 35.h5) ]

33.Bc3 Nd5 34.Bxa5 Ra8 35.Qd2 Qg6 36.Kh1 Qh6 37.b4 Bxg3

Magnus Carlsen

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Levon Aronian

Position after 37...Bxg3

Aronian thought this move too risky. "I got too tempted by this nonsense." - Carlsen.

38.Rg1 Bh4 39.Bb3 Bg5

[39...Qxe3 40.Qxe3 Nxe3 41.b5 cxb5 42.d5 Somehow it looks all very exciting - Aronian.; 39...Nxe3 40.b5 cxb5 41.d5]

40.Bxd5 Bxe3 41.Bxf7+ Kxf7 42.Qa2+ Qe6 43.Rgf1+ Kg8

[43...Ke7 You cannot play chess this way. - Carlsen. 44.Qg2]

44.Qxe6+ Rxe6 45.Rad1 Bg5 46.d5 cxd5 47.Rxd5 Bf6 48.Rd6

Magnus Carlsen

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Levon Aronian

Position after 48.Rd6

48...Rxd6

[48...Kf7 49.Rxe6 Kxe6 50.c6 Be5 51.Re1 Kd5 52.c7 Rc8 53.Rc1 and there is not much to do about this according to Carlsen with white having a winning position. (53.b5 Aronian thought this was winning. but 53...Bxc7 54.Rc1 Kd6 seems to hold) ]

49.cxd6 Bd8

Magnus Carlsen

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Levon Aronian

Position after 49...Bd8

50.Rf5?

Throwing away two tempi. Carlsen draws easily now. It may be he is holding anyhow but the lines to equality if there are very narrow.

50.Bc7

Magnus Carlsen

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Levon Aronian

Analysis after 50.Bc7. This is the key move. It seemed to me that the players found lines that showed black could hold here but Carlsen is certainly having to work hard.

50...e3 51.b5 Bh4 then either:

Magnus Carlsen

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Levon Aronian

Analysis after 51...Bh4

52.d7 e2 53.Rg1 was unclear to the players even after the game. (53.Rb1 Ra2 54.Bg3 Bd8 55.b6 still seems to be OK for black after 55...Rd2) 53...Rf8 (53...e1Q? Are you sure the [white] pawn is promoting? - Aronian. I couldn't believe it at first - Carlsen. 54.Rxe1 Bxe1 55.d8Q+ Rxd8 56.Bxd8 Kf7 57.b6 Bc3 58.b7 Be5 59.Bh4 Oh! Dammit. Aronian. as 60.Bg3 follows with the pawn indeed queening) 54.Kg2 Rf2+ 55.Kh3 Rf1 wins for black.]

[50. Bc7 e3 51. b5 Bh4 52. d7 e2 53. Rg1 Rf8 54. b6 e1=Q 55. Rxe1 Bxe1 56. d8=Q Rxd8 57. Bxd8 looks like a winning line for Aronian that might be the one that proves he should have won.]

52.b6 e2 53.Rg1 e1Q 54.Rxe1 Bxe1 55.b7 Rf8 56.d7 Bh4 57.Kg2 but there doesn't seem to be a way for the king to come in for white (57.d8Q Bxd8 58.b8Q Bxc7 59.Qxc7 with a theoretical draw. )

50...Bxa5 51.bxa5 Rd8 52.Rd5 Kf7 53.a6 Ke6 54.Rd4 Kd7 55.Rb4 e3 56.Kg2 Rf8 57.a7 e2 1/2-1/2

Sergey Karjakin against Viswanathan Anand

Sergey Karjakin against Viswanathan Anand. Photo © http://www.russiachess.org/

World Champion Viswanathan Anand and Sergey Karjakin played a topical line in the Nimzo-Indian where Anand took the game straight into an ending. Anand's form at the moment must be worrying for his fans. He needed precision but even in this simplified position he made a number of inaccuracies that could have got him into trouble. He suggested 25.Nc4 as being better than his game continuation but it was only sufficient for the most minute of edges. His 30.Ra1 was an error which left Karjakin better. 32...Rd7 was Anand's suggestion for his opponent and maybe this would have left him at a disadvantage. As it was both players headed for the draw which was agreed on move 42.

Anand,Viswanathan - Karjakin,Sergey [E36]
6th Tal Memorial Moscow RUS (1.1), 16.11.2011

1.d4

Anand and Karjakin press conference in English at 19:00 in the HD coverage.

1...Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 d5 7.Nf3 dxc4 8.Qxc4 b6 9.Bg5 Ba6 10.Qa4 h6 11.Bh4 c5 12.dxc5 bxc5 13.Rd1 Qb6 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.e3

[15.Qg4+ Kh8 16.Qf4 Kg7 17.h4 Qxb2 18.Rh3 Qc3+ 19.Nd2 Qe5 20.Qg4+ Kh8 21.f4 Qf5 22.Qf3 Rc8 23.Rg3 c4 24.e4 Qc5 25.Qg4 Qf8 26.Bxc4 Rd8 27.Rc1 Rc8 28.Rd1 Rd8 29.Rc1 Rc8 30.Rcc3 Bxc4 31.Nxc4 Nd7 32.Qd1 Nb6 33.Nxb6 Rxc3 34.Rxc3 axb6 35.Qd4 Qd8 36.Qxd8+ Rxd8 37.Ke2 Kg7 38.Rb3 1/ 2-1/2 Vitiugov,N (2710)-Alekseev,E (2700)/Dagomys RUS 2010/The Week in Chess 805]

15...Bxf1 16.Kxf1 Nc6 17.Rb1 Rab8 18.Ke2 Qb5+ 19.Qxb5 Rxb5 20.Kd3 Rfb8 21.Kc2 Na5 22.Nd2 Kf8 23.b3 Ke7 24.Kc3 Kd7

Sergey Karjakin

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Viswanathan Anand

Position after 24...Kd7

25.Rb2?!

Anand didn't like this move after the game.

[25.Nc4 "is better than what I did" Anand. "His King is in time already." 25...Nxc4 26.Kxc4 a5 27.Rhd1+ Kc6?! Dubious but this was Anand's line that he calculated. (27...Kc7 is equal.) 28.Rd3 a4 29.Rbd1 axb3 30.Rd6+ (30.Rd7! Karjakin, wins.) 30...Kc7 31.Rd7+ Kc8]

25...Kc6 26.Rhb1 Rd8 27.b4 cxb4+ 28.axb4 Nb7

[28...Rbd5 29.Rc2 (29.bxa5 Rd3+ 30.Kb4 Rxd2 31.Rc1+ Kb7) 29...Rd3+ (29...Nb7 is perfectly OK for black.) 30.Kb2+ Kb5 31.bxa5 Rxd2 32.Kc1+ and white wins.]

29.Nc4 Nd6

Sergey Karjakin

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Viswanathan Anand

Position after 29...Nd6

30.Ra1?

"Just a blunder on my part." Anand. The other rook is better.

[30.Ra2]

30...Ne4+ 31.Kc2 Nxf2 32.Rb3

[32.Rxa7 Nd3 attacks the rook and black is better.]

32...Rg8

[32...Rd7 was Anand's post-game suggestion. 33.Rc3 Kb7 34.Na5+ Kb8 35.Nc6+ Ka8 36.Rca3 Rbb7 37.b5 Rdc7 and then black brings the knight back.; 32...Kd5 33.Rf1 Kxc4 34.Rxf2 "and I think this is equal" Anand. 34...Rf5 35.Rxf5 exf5 36.Ra3; 32...Kb7 33.Rba3 And Anand thought he was getting enough counter-play.]

33.Ra6+ Kc7 34.Rxa7+ Rb7 35.Rxb7+ Kxb7 36.g3 Ng4 37.Rd3 Rg5 38.h4 Rg7

and now Anand forces a draw.

39.Rd7+ Kc6 40.Ra7 Ne5 41.Nxe5+ fxe5 42.Kd3 1/2-1/2

Gelfand against Nakamura

Gelfand against Nakamura in Round 1. Photo © http://www.russiachess.org/

Hikaru Nakamura drew against Boris Gelfand in a Slav Defence where Nakamura's choice didn't seem to put any pressure on Gelfand and a draw was agreed in 34 moves.

Nakamura,Hikaru - Gelfand,Boris [D37]
6th Tal Memorial Moscow RUS (1.5), 16.11.2011

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 0-0 6.e3 Nbd7 7.c5

Alex Yermolinsky in ICC commentary felt that people wouldn't play this line without the encouragement of computers and this isn't very dangerous to black.

7...Nh5 8.Be2 Nxf4 9.exf4 c6 10.0-0 b6

[10...f6 11.b4 Qc7 12.Qd2 Rf7 13.Rae1 Nf8 14.Bd3 Bd7 15.g3 Re8 16.Re3 Bd8 17.Rfe1 Qb8 18.Na4 Bc7 19.Nb2 Rfe7 20.Qc3 Rd8 21.Bf5 Rf7 22.Bg4 e5 23.Bxd7 exf4 24.Be8 fxe3 25.Qxe3 Ng6 26.Bxf7+ Kxf7 27.Qe6+ Kf8 28.Qh3 Qc8 29.Qxc8 Rxc8 30.Kf1 Re8 31.Rb1 Ke7 32.Nd3 a6 33.a4 Kd7 34.b5 axb5 35.axb5 cxb5 36.Rxb5 Rb8 37.Nb4 Ne7 38.Ne1 Nc6 39.Nxc6 1/2-1/2 Grischuk,A (2747)-Gelfand,B (2733)/Kazan RUS 2011/The Week in Chess 864]

11.b4 a5 12.a3 Qc7 13.g3 Ba6 14.Re1 Bf6 15.Ne5 Bxe5 16.fxe5 Qb7 17.Bxa6 Rxa6 18.Qe2 axb4 19.axb4 Rfa8 20.Rab1 Ra3 21.Rec1 bxc5 22.bxc5 Qa7 23.Kg2

Boris Gelfand

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Hikaru Nakamura

Position after 23.Kg2

With control of the a-file black has nothing to fear.

23...h6 24.h4 Rb8 25.Rxb8+ Qxb8 26.Rb1 Qa7 27.Qc2 Qa6 28.Ne2 Ra2 29.Rb2 Ra1 30.h5 Qa5 31.Qd2 Qa6 32.Qc2 Qa5 33.Qd2 Qa6 34.Qc2

Draw by repetition.

1/2-1/2

Peter Svidler's game started with a bit of drama as Vassily Ivanchuk arrived at the board only at the last minute. Colin Mcgourty's WhyChess report outlines Ivanchuk was almost out of control after saying there was no clock back stage. All a bit dramatic and maybe very disturbing to his opponent.

Peter Svidler seemed to be doing fine with black in his Gruenfeld speciality but the position was very difficult for both sides. He missed the opportunistic 29...Ng4 which would have maybe even given him the advantage. The following move he gave up the c5 rather than playing 30...a4 and his position subsided into a very difficult one a pawn down and his knight and bishop struggled against Ivanchuk's two bishops. The game finished in 61 moves.

Peter Svidler against Vassily Ivanchuk

Peter Svidler against Vassily Ivanchuk in Round 1. Photo © http://www.russiachess.org/

Peter Svidler

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Vassily Ivanchuk

Position after 29.Kh1

29...Nd7

29... Ng4! 30. hxg4 (30. Bc3 Bxc3 31. bxc3 Nxf2+ 32. Nxf2 Nxe3 33. Qd2 Nxd1) 30... Rxb2 31. Qa4 Qh4+ 32. Kg1 Rxe2)

30. Rb1 Nc5

Giving up a pawn. Called "reckless" on ChessDom 30... a4 31. Nc3 Bxc3 32. Bxc3 Nxc3 33. Qxc3 Rb3 looks a reasonable alternative.

31. Bxc4 Nb6 32. Bb5 Nd5 33. a4 Na6 34. Qe2 Nab4 35. Rbc1 Rc7 36. Nc3 Rbc8 37. Nxd5 exd5 38. Rxc7 Rxc7 39. b3 Bc3 40. Rc1 Qf6 41. Qf3 Qe5 42. Qg3 Qxg3 43. fxg3 Be5 44. Rxc7 Bxc7 45. Kg1 Nc2 46. Bd2 Bb6 47. Kf2 d4 48. e4 d3+ 49. Kf1 Ne3+ 50. Ke1 Nxg2+ 51. Kd1 h4 52. gxh4 Nxh4 53. b4 axb4 54. Bxb4 Nf3 55. a5 Bd4 56. Be7 f5 57. exf5 gxf5 58. Bd8 Kf7 59. Bb6 Ke6 60. Bxd4 Nxd4 61. Bxd3 1-0

Nakamura and Karjakin in action

Nakamura and Karjakin in action. Photo © http://www.russiachess.org/

6th Tal Memorial 2011 Moscow (RUS), 16-25 xi 2011 cat. XXII (2776)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
1. Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2775 * . . . . . . . . 1 1
2. Nepomniachtchi, Ian g RUS 2730 . * . . . . . . 1 . 1
3. Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2811 . . * . . ½ . . . . ½ 2763
4. Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2826 . . . * ½ . . . . . ½ 2802
5. Aronian, Levon g ARM 2802 . . . ½ * . . . . . ½ 2826
6. Karjakin, Sergey g RUS 2763 . . ½ . . * . . . . ½ 2811
7. Nakamura, Hikaru g USA 2758 . . . . . . * ½ . . ½ 2744
8. Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2744 . . . . . . ½ * . . ½ 2758
9. Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2800 . 0 . . . . . . * . 0
10. Svidler, Peter g RUS 2755 0 . . . . . . . . * 0
Round 1 (November 16, 2011)
Ivanchuk, Vassily - Svidler, Peter 1-0 61 D80 Gruenfeld 4.Bg5
Anand, Viswanathan - Karjakin, Sergey ½-½ 42 E32 Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Aronian, Levon - Carlsen, Magnus ½-½ 57 E15 Queens Indian
Nakamura, Hikaru - Gelfand, Boris ½-½ 34 D37 QGD 5.Bf4
Kramnik, Vladimir - Nepomniachtchi, Ian 0-1 53 A37 English Symmetrical

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