Tal 05: Carlsen beats Anand, Gelfand catches Nakamura

by ChessBase
6/18/2013 – Carlsen demolished a very passive Anand. Gelfand played a clean game and punished Morozevich for a dubious opening choice. The other games were drawn. After five rounds, not a single one of the four Russian players have scored a win. Report and GM analysis.

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The Eighth International Tal Memorial Chess Tournament is being held from June, 13 to 24, 2013, with a rest days on June 16 and June 20. The rounds generally start at 15:00h (=3 p.m.) Moscow time, with the first round starting at 6 p.m. and the final round at 1 p.m. Accommodation is in the Ritz-Carlton, Moscow, Tverskaya str. 3, while the event takes place in the in New Technologies Center Digital October, in Moscow. The tournament has ten invited players and is a round robin with time controls of one hour and 40 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 50 minutes for next 20 moves and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds for each move starting from move one. Full information on special rules, regulation, prize money, etc. can be found in our initial report.

Round four report

Round 05 – June 18 2013, 15:00h
Boris Gelfand 2755
1-0
Alexander Morozevich 2760
Magnus Carlsen 2864
1-0
Vishy Anand 2786
Hikaru Nakamura 2784
½-½
Dmitry Andreikin 2713
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2753
½-½
Fabiano Caruana 2774
Vladimir Kramnik 2727
½-½
Sergey Karjakin 2782

Gelfand, Boris - Morozevich, Alexander 1-0
Morozevich's delayed Benoni allowed Gelfand to obtain a set-up that is known to be advantageous for White. To evaporate this advantage and cause significant structural damage the Russian sacrificed an exchange, but it is unlikely that it was fully compensated in this variation. Gelfand resourcefully gave back the material to obtain a strong passed pawn in the center and then finished off the game with a precisely calculated sequence that forced it through to queening.

A cheerful Carlsen steamrolled over Anand in today's game.

Carlsen, Magnus - Anand, Vishy 1-0
Carlsen obtained a pleasant advantage out of the opening - truthfully more than he deserved considering the variation choice. Anand (above) had some aggressive choices to try to liberate his position early on, but instead he decided to hold with a more passive set up. Anand's problems intensified when he allowed Carlsen to achieve e4 without much of a fight, but it became especially terrible when Anand missed a very clever sequence that netted White a decisive advantage. Probably miscalculating the consequences of 22.d5 was what cost the World Champion the game. In the final position Black wasn't even down a single pawn, but his position was completely dominated. Not a good omen for the match in November.

GM Daniel King provides video analysis of Carlsen vs Anand 

[Event "8th Tal Memorial"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "2013.06.18"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E46"]
[WhiteElo "2864"]
[BlackElo "2786"]
[Annotator "Ramirez,Alejandro"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]
[EventCountry "RUS"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Nge2 d5 6. a3 Be7 7. cxd5 Nxd5 {
This is not the main line but has been tried recently. Black trades off pieces
quickly so as to alleviate the pressure that will come to d5.} (7... exd5 8. g3
{has been played countless times.}) 8. Bd2 Nd7 9. g3 b6 $5 {A new idea. This
seems like a good way of obtaining a solid position.} (9... N5f6 10. Bg2 e5 11.
O-O exd4 12. Nxd4 Ne5 {eventually led to an interesting draw in
Aronian-Gelfand 2005.}) 10. Nxd5 (10. Bg2 Bb7 11. Nxd5 Bxd5 12. Bxd5 (12. e4
Bb7 {followed by c5 also promises little for White.}) 12... exd5 13. O-O Nf6
$11) 10... exd5 11. Bg2 Bb7 12. Bb4 $5 {A provocative move. Black certainly
does not want to trade on b4 as White's pawns will restrict him from any
potential break. But it would have been interesting to lash out with c5.} Nf6 (
12... c5 13. dxc5 bxc5 14. Bc3 Nf6 15. O-O Rb8 $5 {With the ide of d4,
liquidating the central hanging pawns, at least deserves some attention,
though I wouldn't be surprised that with a precise continuation White will
obtain an edge.}) 13. O-O Re8 14. Rc1 c6 15. Bxe7 Rxe7 16. Re1 Qd6 17. Nf4 Bc8
$6 {A little too passive. Black is relying on the position not opening up any
time soon so that he can regroup his pieces, but White will give him no such
time.} 18. Qa4 Rc7 19. f3 {A simple and effective way to take advantage of
Black's awkward piece placement. Usually Black would be trying to pressure d4,
thus preventing the break e4, but now this is impossible because the rook on
a8 is stuck.} Be6 20. e4 dxe4 $2 {Probably missing White's 22nd move.} (20...
Qd7 21. Nxe6 Qxe6 22. e5 Ne8 {is very uncomfortable but Black isn't lost yet.})
21. fxe4 Qd7 22. d5 $1 {A killer. Magnus calculated accurately and Black's
position crumbles.} cxd5 23. Qxd7 Rxd7 24. Nxe6 fxe6 25. Bh3 {The point. White
will emerge at least up a pawn from this sequence.} Kh8 (25... Re8 26. exd5 {
the pawn is completely taboo.} Rd6 27. Rxe6 $16) (25... Rd6 $2 26. e5 $18) 26.
e5 $1 {Positionally accurate. Bxe6 was greedier but this is much harder to
play for Black.} Ng8 27. Bxe6 Rdd8 (27... Re7 28. Bxd5 Rd8 29. Bb3 {is awful
but again Black doesn't have to resign.}) 28. Rc7 d4 29. Bd7 {Black's position
is absolutely crushed. White can, if he wants, push this pawn to e6, scoop the
d pawn with his spare rook, and then even bring his king forward before giving
Black the slightest breathing room.} 1-0

Nakamura, Hikaru - Andreikin, Dmitry ½-½
It is very commendable to see Andreikin's fine preparation for this tournament. He has had no opening problems, and he has given no one a chance to obtain a position that is better or even very playable against him. On the other hand, his ambition seems to be completely lacking and draw after draw it would appear as if he is happy with obtaining a 50% score and calling it a day. Nakamura was definitely uncomfortable out of the opening, and in the final position it is hard to say that Andreikin really had any advantage, but he definitely held the more pleasant side of equality and could have played on even if it was just a few moves.

The best scoring Russian has not lost a single game, but he hasn't won one either.

Kramnik, Vladimir - Karjakin, Sergey ½-½
The reverse Dragon gives Black good chances of equalizing. In today's' game Karjakin took advantage of all of those opportunities and after the trade of queens White's position was only marginally better. After more trades the draw was obvious.

Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Caruana, Fabiano ½-½
When White breaks the center with e4 in the super solid Schlecter set-ups, his d4 pawn becomes a big liability. Despite having more space and the pair of bishops, this pawn usually holds White from doing anything active. In this game, Mamedyarov was able to push the pawn down to d7, but it was isolated from the rest of White's pieces, its only lifeline being the bishop on h3. After some piece trades the players agreed to a draw in a position that would end up being an opposite colored bishop endgame.

At 50% Caruana is still having a good tournament.

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Schedule

Round 01 – June 13 2013, 15:00h
Dmitry Andreikin 2713
½-½
Alexander Morozevich 2760
Vishy Anand 2786
0-1
Fabiano Caruana 2774
Boris Gelfand 2755
½-½
Sergey Karjakin 2782
Magnus Carlsen 2864
1-0
Vladimir Kramnik 2803
Hikaru Nakamura 2784
0-1
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2753
Round 02 –June 14 2013, 15:00h
Alexander Morozevich 2760
½-½
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2753
Vladimir Kramnik 2755
0-1
Hikaru Nakamura 2784
Sergey Karjakin 2782
½-½
Magnus Carlsen 2864
Fabiano Caruana 2774
0-1
Boris Gelfand 2755
Dmitry Andreikin 2713
½-½
Vishy Anand 2786
Round 03 – June 15 2013, 15:00h
Vishy Anand 2786
1-0
Alexander Morozevich 2760
Boris Gelfand 2755
½-½
Dmitry Andreikin 2713
Magnus Carlsen 2864
0-1
Fabiano Caruana 2774
Hikaru Nakamura 2784
1-0
Sergey Karjakin 2782
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2753
½-½
Vladimir Kramnik 2803
Round 04 – June 17 2013, 15:00h
Alexander Morozevich 2760
½-½
Vladimir Kramnik 2803
Sergey Karjakin 2782
½-½
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2753
Fabiano Caruana 2774
0-1
Hikaru Nakamura 2784
Dmitry Andreikin 2713
½-½
Magnus Carlsen 2864
Vishy Anand 2786
½-½
Boris Gelfand 2755
Round 05 – June 18 2013, 15:00h
Boris Gelfand 2755
1-0
Alexander Morozevich 2760
Magnus Carlsen 2864
1-0
Vishy Anand 2786
Hikaru Nakamura 2784
½-½
Dmitry Andreikin 2713
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2753
½-½
Fabiano Caruana 2774
Vladimir Kramnik 2727
½-½
Sergey Karjakin 2782
Round 06 – June 19 2013, 15:00h
Alexander Morozevich 2760
-
Sergey Karjakin 2782
Fabiano Caruana 2774
-
Vladimir Kramnik 2803
Dmitry Andreikin 2713
-
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2753
Vishy Anand 2786
-
Hikaru Nakamura 2784
Boris Gelfand 2755
-
Magnus Carlsen 2864
Round 07 – June 21 2013, 15:00h
Magnus Carlsen 2864
-
Alexander Morozevich 2760
Hikaru Nakamura 2784
-
Boris Gelfand 2755
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2753
-
Vishy Anand 2786
Vladimir Kramnik 2803
-
Dmitry Andreikin 2713
Sergey Karjakin 2782
-
Fabiano Caruana 2774
Round 08 – June 22 2013, 15:00h
Alexander Morozevich 2760
-
Fabiano Caruana 2774
Dmitry Andreikin 2713
-
Sergey Karjakin 2782
Vishy Anand 2786
-
Vladimir Kramnik 2803
Boris Gelfand 2755
-
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2753
Magnus Carlsen 2864
-
Hikaru Nakamura 2784
Round 09 – June 23 2013, 13:00h
Hikaru Nakamura 2784
-
Alexander Morozevich 2760
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2753
-
Magnus Carlsen 2864
Vladimir Kramnik 2803
-
Boris Gelfand 2755
Sergey Karjakin 2782
-
Vishy Anand 2786
Fabiano Caruana 2774
-
Dmitry Andreikin 2713

All pictures by Etery Kublashvili


Links

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