Giri leads the Tata Steel Masters going into the final round but lets Firouzja off the hook

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83rd Tata Steel Chess 2021 (12)

Giri leads the Tata Steel Masters going into the final round but lets Firouzja off the hook

Mark Crowther - Saturday 30th January 2021

Giri against Firouzja in Round 12. Photo ©

Giri against Firouzja in Round 12. Photo © | https://chess.com

Anish Giri could have taken a giant stride towards winning the Tata Steel Masters by defeating Alireza Firouzja in the twelfth round but had to settle for a draw in the end after strong resistance for the second half of the game. Firouzja's fighting spirit should not have been enough but on move 61 Giri was down to just a single winning move and he did not play it. This means that Giri leads on 8 points, half a point clear of three players; Jorden Van Foreest (draw today against Esipenko), Firouzja and Fabiano Caruana (draw against David Anton). If there is a tie for first place there will be a rapid match to decided the title. World Champion Magnus Carlsen guaranteed his worst finish for many years after yet another draw, this time against Radoslaw Wojtaszek. The only winner of the day was Pentala Harikrishna who whipped up a decisive attack in a Queen, Rook and Pawns endgame against Alexander Donchenko.

Round 12 Standings: 1st Giri 8pts 2nd-4th Van Foreest, Firouzja, Caruana 7.5pts 5th Esipenko 7pts; 6th Carlsen 6.5pts; 7th-8th Harikrishna, Grandelius 6pts; 9th Tari 5.5pts; 10th-11th Duda, MVL 5pts; 12th-13th Anton, Wojtaszek 4.5pts; 14th Donchenko 3.5pts;

Final Round 13 Pairings 11:00am GMT 2 hours early: Anton-Giri, Donchenko-Esipenko, Carlsen-MVL Van Foreest-Grandelius, Tari-Caruana, Firouzja-Wojtaszek, Duda-Harikrishna.

Tata Steel Masters 2021 Round 12

Alireza Firouzja pulled off a miracle save against Anish Giri in an endgame where his knight and rook faced rook and four pawns. Firouzja came for a battle and chose the French Defence. Firouzja had to work hard tactically to keep his position alive but starting with 28...d3?! (28...f6!?) 29.c3 (29.c4!?) Ne2?! (29...Rb8!?) he started to go wrong - Firouzja pointed to 36...Kf8 as the culprit. Pretty soon Giri was winning. Firouzja did find some active counter play but the material imbalance was too much allowing Giri to give up his bishop and eliminate all of Firouzja's pawns, this four pawns vs a knight should have made for a winning advantage. Later however Giri had to find only a single move to win, 61.Ka4 and instead after 61.g4? it turned out Firouzja could save the game after all.

Fabiano Caruana and David Anton drew a razor sharp Ragozin where even after Caruana's novelty 12.Qc1 Anton also continued to show he knew what he was doing. If anyone was better it was Anton but the game was eventually agreed drawn in 50 moves.

Pentala Harikrishna won a grim battle against Alexander Donchenko, the game was heading for a draw after first time control but the careless 42...Qf6? allowed a swift mating attack with 43.c5.

Andrey Esipenko drew in 41 moves against Jorden Van Foreest. A dynamic draw after a Van Foreest sacrifice.

Nils Grandelius draw in 30 moves of a Giuoco Piano against Aryan Tari. Grandelius thought it was "quite a big missed opportunity" after getting a variation where his opponent had to be extremely accurate to even hold and it was clear that he hadn't expected the variation and didn't remember everything accurately. 27.Qxb7? was a mistake allowing an immediate draw, 27.Qc3 and white continues to press for a win.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave draw in 76 moves of a Petroff Defence against Jan-Krzysztof Duda it seemed reasonably balanced throughout.

Radoslaw Wojtaszek drew in 35 moves against Magnus Carlsen in a quiet Anti-Meran. Carlsen equalised after 13...c5 and pieces were traded at a steady rate until a draw was agreed.

83rd Tata Steel Masters Wijk aan Zee (NED), 15-31 i 2021																cat. XIX (2725)
					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4
1.	Giri, Anish	g	NED	2764	*	½	½	½	½	½	½	1	1	½	1	1	.	½	8	2850
2.	Van Foreest, Jorden	g	NED	2671	½	*	½	½	½	½	1	.	1	½	½	½	1	½	7½	2829
3.	Firouzja, Alireza	g	FID	2749	½	½	*	½	½	0	1	½	½	1	½	.	1	1	7½	2819
4.	Caruana, Fabiano	g	USA	2823	½	½	½	*	½	½	½	½	.	½	1	1	½	1	7½	2819
5.	Esipenko, Andrey	g	RUS	2677	½	½	½	½	*	1	½	½	0	½	½	1	1	.	7	2790
6.	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2862	½	½	1	½	0	*	½	1	½	½	.	½	½	½	6½	2737
7.	Harikrishna, Pentala	g	IND	2732	½	0	0	½	½	½	*	1	½	.	½	½	½	1	6	2722
8.	Grandelius, Nils	g	SWE	2663	0	.	½	½	½	0	0	*	½	1	1	½	½	1	6	2734
9.	Tari, Aryan	g	NOR	2625	0	0	½	.	1	½	½	½	*	½	½	½	½	½	5½	2695
10.	Duda, Jan-Krzysztof	g	POL	2743	½	½	0	½	½	½	.	0	½	*	½	½	½	½	5	2665
11.	Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime	g	FRA	2784	0	½	½	0	½	.	½	0	½	½	*	½	½	1	5	2651
12.	Wojtaszek, Radoslaw	g	POL	2705	0	½	.	0	0	½	½	½	½	½	½	*	½	½	4½	2637
13.	Anton Guijarro, David	g	ESP	2679	.	0	0	½	0	½	½	½	½	½	½	½	*	½	4½	2638
14.	Donchenko, Alexander	g	GER	2668	½	½	0	0	.	½	0	0	½	½	0	½	½	*	3½	2575

Round 12 (January 30, 2021)
Giri, Anish	- Firouzja, Alireza	½-½	67	C11	French Defence
Caruana, Fabiano	- Anton Guijarro, David	½-½	50	D37	QGD 5.Bf4
Esipenko, Andrey	- Van Foreest, Jorden	½-½	41	D00	Queen's Pawn Game
Harikrishna, Pentala	- Donchenko, Alexander	1-0	50	E21	Nimzo Indian 4.Nf3
Grandelius, Nils	- Tari, Aryan	½-½	30	C53	Giuoco Piano
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime	- Duda, Jan-Krzysztof	½-½	76	C42	Petroff's Defence
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw	- Carlsen, Magnus	½-½	35	D45	Anti-Meran Variations

Tata Steel Masters 2021 Commentary Round 12

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