Caruana leads instead of Naiditsch after winning lost position in Baden-Baden Round 8

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1st GRENKE Chess Classic Baden-Baden 2013 (8)

Caruana leads instead of Naiditsch after winning lost position in Baden-Baden Round 8

Mark Crowther - Friday 15th February 2013

Naiditsch vs Caruana probably settled the winner of the Baden-Baden Classic. Photo © Georgios Souleidis.

Naiditsch vs Caruana probably settled the winner of the Baden-Baden Classic. Photo © Georgios Souleidis. | http://www.grenkechessclassic.de

Fabiano Caruana leads by a point from Visanathan Anand on 5.5/8 with two rounds to go of the Baden-Baden Chess Classic. It could and probably should have been different. Caruana had a bit of a disaster at the Tata Steel tournament where nothing went right, in Baden-Baden he has had many worse positions but turned them round. Today he went wrong early in an Exchange Ruy Lopez and his rather desperate queenside push of pawns was a desperate try for counterplay but by move 24 he was lost. This was another game where Naiditsch's good and bad points were both on show. He's optimistic, creative and a deep but sometimes unreliable calculator. 25.Rd1! would have left two knights en-prise but finished things quickly but he was still winning later with 28.c3! or 28.Qg3! instead he was at a loss why he played the "five question mark move" 28.Nxf6? after which he was close to losing with only Caruana's very serious time trouble keeping him going, Final chance 35.Qe5 would probably have drawn for Naiditsch. After that he was just lost and once Caruana made time control he finished things off with a certain touch. Viswanathan Anand got no advantage against Georg Meier's interesting French Defence. Anand found some tactical tricks to test his opponent but wasn't better until 21.Qa4?! Anand thought he was winning after that but couldn't demonstrate a clean line even after the game. As it was Meier lost his entire queenside but needed just his fast running h-pawn to put Anand on the back foot and seeking the draw. Birthday boy Daniel Fridman had lost two games in a row and his quiet Nimzo-Indian left him just a tiny bit better with few winning chances and no losing chances against Michael Adams. Drawn by repetition in 38 moves. Round 8 Standings: Caruana 5.5pts, Anand 4.5pts, Naiditsch 4pts, Adams, Meier 3.5pts, Fridman 3pts. Round 9 Sat 16th Feb 2013 2pm: Anand-Fridman, Meier-Naiditsch, Caruana-Adams.

Arkadij Naiditsch 0-1 Fabiano Caruana

Naiditsch,A (2716) - Caruana,F (2757) [C69]
1st GRENKE Chess Classic Baden Baden GER (8.2), 15.02.2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.0-0 Qf6 6.d4 exd4 7.Bg5 Qd6 8.Nxd4 Be7 9.Be3 Nf6

Caruana thought this was the start of his problems.

10.f3 0-0 11.Nd2

[11.Nc3 c5 12.Nde2 Be6 13.Nf4 Bc4 14.Rf2 Qc6 15.Qe1 Rad8 16.Rd1 Rxd1 17.Qxd1 Rd8 18.Rd2 Rxd2 19.Qxd2 h6 20.b3 Be6 21.Nxe6 Qxe6 22.Ne2 Bd6 23.Qc3 Qe7 24.h3 Nd7 25.Nf4 Qg5 26.Ne2 Qe7 27.Kf1 c6 28.Nf4 Be5 29.Qa5 Bd6 30.Qc3 Be5 31.Qd2 Nf8 32.Nd3 Bd4 33.Bxd4 cxd4 34.Qa5 1/2-1/2 Meier,G (2558)-Adams,M (2734)/Kallithea GRE 2008/The Week in Chess 728]

11...c5 12.Nc4 Qd8 13.Ne2 Qe8

Fabiano Caruana

Arkadij Naiditsch

Position after 13...Qe8

Already Caruana didn't like his position so he starts activity on the queenside in the hope it will help.

14.Bf4 b5 15.Ne3 c4 16.Kh1 Qc6 17.Nd4 Qb6 18.Ndf5 Bc5 19.Qe1 g6 20.Nh6+ Kg7

Fabiano Caruana

Arkadij Naiditsch

Position after 20...Kg7

According to Naiditsch "just any move" wins here.

21.g4!

[21.Rd1 Re8 22.Qc3 b4]

21...Bb7 22.g5 Nh5 23.Be5+ f6 24.gxf6+ Nxf6

Fabiano Caruana

Arkadij Naiditsch

Position after 24...Nxf6

Diagram

[24...Rxf6 Might stave off mate a bit longer against the best but Caruana thought this the equivalent to resignation ."At least I wanted to keep material." Caruana.]

25.Neg4

Hard to criticise because it's still good but Naiditsch could end things very quickly here.

[25.Rd1! Pretty much wins on the spot as neither knight can be captured. 25...Qe6 (25...Bxe3 26.Rd7+ Kh8 27.Ng4 wins.; 25...Kxh6 26.Rd7 Nxd7 27.Qh4#) 26.Neg4]

25...Bd4 26.Bxd4 Qxd4 27.Rd1 Qxb2

Fabiano Caruana

Arkadij Naiditsch

Position after 27...Qxb2

White missed his first clear win, now he throws the remains of his advantage away.

28.Nxf6?

A five question mark move. Naiditsch.

[28.c3 Nakamura's online suggestion. Naiditsch was going to play this and had no explanation as to why he didn't. Black's queen is cut out completely from the action.; 28.Qg3 Nxg4 29.Rd7+ Kh8 30.Nxg4]

28...Qxf6 29.Ng4 Qf4

White isn't better anymore - Caruana.

30.Rd7+ Rf7 31.Qc3+ Kg8 32.Rxf7 Kxf7 33.Rd1? Rf8

Caruana was still pretty short of time and just trying to get to time control. He didn't think he was winning yet.

[33...Re8]]

34.Kg2 Bc8

Fabiano Caruana

Arkadij Naiditsch

Position after 34...Bc8

35.h3?

Caruana wasn't really sure what this move did and was worried about the endgame.

[35.Qe5 Qxe5 36.Nxe5+ Ke6 37.Nc6 Bd7 38.Nb4 with the result very much in the balance.]

35...Kg8 36.e5 Qg5 37.Qd4 Bb7

[37...Bxg4 38.hxg4]

38.Kh2 Bxf3 39.Nf6+ Kg7 40.Rg1 Qf5

Playing it safe on the final move before time control.

[40...Rd8 41.Ne8+ (41.Nd7 Was the move that had Caruana most concerned that he might miscalcuate. 41...c5) 41...Kg8]

41.Kg3 Bc6 42.h4 Rf7

[42...Qxc2 43.Nh5+ Kg8 44.Nf6+ Kh8 45.h5 Qd3+ 46.Qxd3 cxd3 47.Rd1 Rd8 was winning for Caruana.]

43.Qe3 Re7 44.Ng4 h5! 45.Qh6+ Kg8 46.Nf6+ Kf7 47.Qh7+ Ke6 48.Qg8+ Kxe5 49.Re1+ Kd4 0-1

Fabiano Caruana

Arkadij Naiditsch

Position after 49....Kd4

Viswanathan Annad draw Georg Meier

Anand,Viswanathan (2780) - Meier,Georg (2640) [C10]
1st GRENKE Chess Classic Baden-Baden GER (8.1), 15.02.2013

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Nxf6+ Nxf6 7.Be3 Bd6 8.Bd3 0-0 9.Qe2 b6 10.0-0-0 Bb7 11.c4

This seems new but it doesn't seem to cause black any problems.

[11.Kb1 Nd5 12.Bg5 Be7 13.h4 h6 14.Bc1 Qd6 15.Ne5 Nb4 16.Bc4 Bd5 17.Bxd5 Nxd5 18.g4 c5 19.c4 Nb4 20.dxc5 Qxc5 21.a3 Na6 22.Nd7 Qc6 23.Nxf8 Rxf8 24.g5 h5 25.b4 Nc7 26.Bb2 Rc8 27.Rhe1 Bf8 28.Qxh5 Qxc4 29.g6 fxg6 30.Qxg6 e5 31.Rc1 Qb3 32.Re3 Qd5 33.Rxe5 Qd7 34.Rh5 Ne6 35.Qh7+ Kf7 36.Rf5+ Ke7 37.Bf6+ Ke8 38.Qg6+ 1-0 Ivanchuk,V (2734)-Drozdovskij,Y (2552)/Odessa/Istanbul UKR/TUR 2006/The Week in Chess 617]

11...c5 12.dxc5 bxc5 13.Ng5 h6 14.Nh7!?

Georg Meier

Viswanathan Anand

Position after 14.Nh7

an attempt to stur things up but objectively it might even get Anand into trouble.

14...Nxh7 15.Bxh7+ Kxh7 16.Qd3+ Kg8

[16...f5 17.Qxd6 Qf6 18.Bxc5 Rfc8 with more than enough compensation for the pawn.]

17.Qxd6 Qa5 18.Kb1 Be4+ 19.Ka1 Bc2!? 20.Qg3!

Georg Meier

Viswanathan Anand

Position after 20.Qg3

Absolutely the only way to keep things going and a move overlooked by Meier.

[20.Qxc5 Qxc5 21.Bxc5 Bxd1 22.Bxf8 Be2 23.Bd6 Bxc4 is a dead draw.]

20...Kh7 21.Bd2 Qa4?!

Georg Meier

Viswanathan Anand

Position after 21.Qa4

Not the most accurate.

[21...Qa6]]

22.b3 Qc6 23.Bc3 Bg6 24.Rd6

Now white achieves a nasty initiative but still has to be aware of the bishops of opposite colour positions that aren't good for him.

24...Qe4 25.Re1 Qc2 26.Rd2 Qf5 27.Qe5 f6 28.Qxf5 Bxf5 29.Ba5!

Georg Meier

Viswanathan Anand

Position after 29.Ba5!

Stopping black occupying the d-file.

29...Rf7 30.Red1 g5 31.Rd6 Rc8 32.Rd7 Rcf8 33.R1d6 Kg6 34.Bd2 e5 35.Rxf7 Rxf7 36.Be3 Rc7 37.Ra6 h5!

Georg Meier

Viswanathan Anand

Position after 37...h5

This whole counterplay proves incredibly important shortly.

38.Kb2 h4 39.Ra5

White is about to wipe out black's entire queenside pawns so black has to do something right now.

39...Rd7

Georg Meier

Viswanathan Anand

Position after 39...Rd7

40.Bxc5

[40.Kc1 was Anand's suggestion after the game but black also gains counterplay. 40...Be4 41.f3 Bd3 42.Bxc5 Bf1 43.Rxa7 Rxa7 44.Bxa7 Bxg2]

40...Rd1 41.Ra6 Bc8 42.Rxa7 Rh1!

Georg Meier

Viswanathan Anand

Position after 42.Rh1

Black is the only one with winning chances here now.

43.Rc7 Bf5 44.h3! Rh2 45.a4 Rxg2 46.a5 g4!

all these last moves were the best.

47.hxg4

Georg Meier

Viswanathan Anand

Position after 47.hxg4

47...Bxg4

[47...Be4 and precisely now white has to force a draw. 48.Rc8 Kh7 49.Rc7+ Kg6 there doesn't seem any way to avoid this perpetual check.]

48.a6 h3 49.a7 Bf3 50.Rd7 h2 51.Rd5

Georg Meier

Viswanathan Anand

Position after 51.Rd5

The only move but sufficient to force a draw.

51...Bxd5 52.cxd5 h1Q 53.a8Q Rg1 54.Qg8+

and now neither player can avoid perpetual check without being in danger of losing.

54...Kf5 55.Qe6+ Kg6 56.Qg8+ 1/2-1/2

Georg Meier

Viswanathan Anand

Position after 56.Qg8+

Daniel Fridman draw Michael Adams

Fridman,Daniel (2667) - Adams,Michael (2725) [E34]
1st GRENKE Chess Classic Baden-Baden GER (8.3), 15.02.2013
[Crowther,Mark]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.cxd5 Qxd5 6.e3 c5 7.Bd2 Bxc3 8.Bxc3 cxd4 9.Bxd4 Nc6 10.Bxf6 gxf6 11.Ne2 Bd7 12.a3 Qe5

Considered the most accurate move. Adams.

[12...0-0-0 1/2-1/2 Jones,G (2632)-Adams,M (2725)/Caleta ENG 2013/The Week in Chess 951 (46)]

13.Rd1 Ne7 14.Nd4 Bc6

Michael Adams

Daniel Fridman

Position after 14...Bc6

"The whole idea for white is to stop Bc6" Fridman and of course black played it anyway. "After two losses in a row you want such a position." - Fridman.

[14...Qa5+ 15.Qd2 1/2-1/2 Dreev,A (2640)-Gelfand,B (2695)/Groningen NED 1997; 14...Qa5+ 15.Qd2 Qxd2+ 16.Rxd2]

15.Nxc6 Nxc6 16.Be2 Qa5+ 17.Qd2 Qxd2+ 18.Rxd2 Ke7

I thought he might go for the rook and pawn ending maybe. - Adams.

19.Bf3 Rac8 20.Ke2 Rhd8 21.Rhd1

[21.Rxd8 Kxd8 22.Rd1+ Ke7 23.Rd2]

21...Rxd2+ 22.Rxd2 Rc7 23.Kd1

[23.Bxc6 Rxc6 was something Adams considered but there isn't much in the position.]

23...Ne5 24.Be2 f5 25.h3 h6 26.Rd4 Rd7 27.Rxd7+ Nxd7

The position is a draw and they just have to engineer a finish or agree a draw at move 40.

28.f4 Kd6 29.Bf3 b6 30.Kd2 Nc5 31.Kc3 Na6 32.b4 Nc7 33.Kc4 f6 34.Bb7 Ne8 35.Bf3 Nc7 36.Bb7 Ne8 37.Bf3 1/2-1/2

1st GRENKE Chess Classic Baden Baden GER (GER), 7-17 ii 2013											cat. XIX (2714)
					1		2		3		4		5		6
1.	Caruana, Fabiano	g	ITA	2757	*	*	½	½	1	1	½	.	1	½	½	.	5½	2849
2.	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2780	½	½	*	*	1	.	½	½	½	½	½	.	4½	2746
3.	Naiditsch, Arkadij	g	GER	2716	0	0	0	.	*	*	1	½	1	.	½	1	4	2714
4.	Adams, Michael	g	ENG	2725	½	.	½	½	0	½	*	*	½	.	½	½	3½	2672
5.	Meier, Georg	g	GER	2640	0	½	½	½	0	.	½	.	*	*	½	1	3½	2688
6.	Fridman, Daniel	g	GER	2667	½	.	½	.	½	0	½	½	½	0	*	*	3	2625

Round 8 (February 15, 2013)
Anand, Viswanathan	- Meier, Georg	½-½	56	C10	French Rubinstein
Naiditsch, Arkadij	- Caruana, Fabiano	0-1	49	C69	Ruy Lopez Exchange
Fridman, Daniel	- Adams, Michael	½-½	37	E34	Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2

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