Bilbao: Both games drawn, Carlsen battles for 175 moves

Bilbao Masters 2010

The 2010 Masters Final takes place from October 9th to October 15th in Bilbao, Spain. It is a six-round double round-robin event. Time control: 90 minutes/40 moves + 60 minutes + 10 seconds/move as of move 41. Game start: 4:30 PM local time (2:30 PM GMT - 10:30 AM New York / 7:30 AM Pacific daylight). Rest day: Tuesday, October 12th.

Postscript to round two

After round two Magnus Carlsen wrote in his Arctic Securities blog: "Generally I don’t like to lose and I don’t like to blog after a loss. This worked fine when a loss was the exception. Recently that has changed so I guess I’d better say a few words about round 1 and 2. Against Kramnik in round 1 I think I was perfectly okay after the opening and simply made too many mistakes later in the game. The g5 push looked natural but was probably not correct in the actual position. I should have played d5 earlier and misevaluated the strength of the white initiative when I actually did. Kramnik played well and punished my inaccuracies to win right after the first time control. In round 2 the opening against Anand went fine as well. A small advantage and all the pieces left on the board, you cannot ask for more. I played for an advantage with Qc3 but had to give back the pawn anyhow. I guess I was struggling but should make a draw when I blundered with Kf4? and the ending is lost. A terrible start for me."

After the first two rounds Magnus had lost his number one ranking in the world, a place he had held since January 1st. This is what the last FIDE rating list (September 1st 2010) showed:

The live ratings after round two have changed the world rankings considerably:

Note that these are informally calculated ratings that appeared on the Live Rating site. Magnus Carlsen shed a bunch of points at the Olympiad in Khanty Mansiysk and now in Bilbao; Aronian and Kramnik gained at the Olympiad and the latter now in Bilbao; Topalov lost his in Khanty. Note that on the FIDE rating list Magnus is of course still number one, and may have regained the place at the end of this tournament, or in the next one. That will be in Nanjing, China, where Anand, Carlsen and Topalov play. The next official list is due in November.

Round three report

Anand,Viswanathan (2800) - Kramnik,Vladimir (2780) [E04]
Grand Slam Final Masters 2010 Bilbao/Spain (3), 11.10.2010 [Romain Edouard]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 The usual Catalan, one of Kramnik's speciailities, with white pieces! 4...dxc4 5.Bg2 Nc6 6.Qa4 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 Nd5 8.Bxb4 Ndxb4 9.0-0 Rb8 10.Na3 Clearly the most fashionable move. 10...0-0. The tempting 10...a6 seems to lead by force to the following continuation: 11.Ne5 0-0 12.Nxc6 Nxc6 13.Qxc4 Qxd4 14.Bxc6 Qxc4 15.Nxc4 bxc6 with a slightly better endgame for White according to practise, due to Black's weak pawn structure and rather bad pieces coordination. 11.Qb5 b6 12.Qxc4 Ba6 13.Nb5 Qd5 14.Qxd5 Nxd5. 14...exd5?! is just wrong in my opinion, as it is positionally weak and there is no tactical reason to play it: 15.Nc3 Rfe8 16.Rfd1 Ne7 17.a3 Nbc6 18.b4 Bb7 19.Rdc1 and White was better in Huzman-Cornette, Montreal 2008. 15.a4 Na5 16.Ne5 Rbd8 17.Nxa7. 17.Bxd5 has already been tried, but it looks like Black simply equalized by force: 17...Bxb5! 18.Bxe6 (18.axb5 is more or less the same sketch: 18...Rxd5 19.b4 Nb3 20.Nc6 Nxa1 21.Rxa1 Ra8 22.Ne7+ Kf8 23.Nxd5 exd5 24.Rc1 Rc8 25.Ra1 Ra8 26.Rc1 Rc8 27.Ra1 1/2-1/2 Rodshtein-Macieja, Copenhagen 2010) 18...Be8 19.b4 fxe6 20.bxa5 Rxd4 and after more and more simplification, draw was agreed in Grischuk-Gelfand (Sochi 2008) later on. 17...Nb4 18.Rac1 Rxd4

19.Rxc7N. There comes the novetly! Actually, the impression I had is that both players had more or less analyzed the rest of the game. After Kramnik's perfect defense, Anand took some time in order to try to find out some ideas, but could not disrupt the solid leader. [19.Nb5 has been played twice, and twice gave White an edge. But according to Rybka 4, Black can defend with 19...Bxb5 20.axb5 f6 21.e3 Rdd8!N (21...Rd2 22.Nf3 was better for White in Prohaszka-Csonka 2010.) 22.Nf3 Rf7 and Black seems to hold in spite of his slightly misplaced knights on the border.] 19...Bxe2 20.Rfc1 f6! Looks like Kramnik knew that the following simplifications are leading to a draw. 21.Nec6 Naxc6 22.Nxc6 Nxc6 23.R7xc6 Rfd8 24.h3 R8d6 This is where Anand spent the most of time (about 25 minutes). Taking into account that Kramnik had more time on clock at this moment, the most logical explanation would be that Anand couldn't find any "/portals/all/_for_legal_reasons.jpg" at home. After having a new look at the position over the board, he probably drew the same conclusion. 25.Rxd6 Rxd6 26.Rc6. 26.b4 was the other logical try, and I guess Black should hold after 26...Rd4!? 27.Rc2 (27.Re1 Rd2 28.Ra1 Kf7 29.a5 bxa5 30.bxa5 Ba6=; 27.Rb1 e5=) 27...Bd1 28.Rc8+ Kf7 29.a5 bxa5 30.bxa5 Ra4 31.Ra8 Ra1 32.Kh2 Be2 and I believe White has no winning chances, as it is very difficult to bring the so-needed King help the a-pawn. 26...Rxc6 27.Bxc6 e5! Maybe not the only move to hold, but an important one from the technical aspect. Black should gain some space and at the same time not let White go f4 and create Black and isolated pawn on e5 in the event of ...e5 move. 28.f4 exf4 29.gxf4 Kf7 30.Kf2 Bc4 31.b4 g5 32.fxg5 fxg5 33.h4. Setting a definite draw. 33...gxh4 34.a5. 1/2-1/2 [Click to replay]

After the game, Leontxo Garcia, the color commentator and conductor of the press conferences, asked Kramnik about any advice he might give a player who might have peaked, and what he should do. Vladimir started lightly by saying that it depended: if the player was rated 2200, he might suggest a change in jobs, whereas if the player was rated 2800, well, just continue doing what he was doing. It was obvious that they were alluding to Carlsen, which was confirmed by the follow-up. Kramnik explained that when he was much younger he had reached a point where he not only peaked, but even seemed to regress. This forced him to do a great deal of soul-searching and cold analysis, as this type of issue always happens for a reason. This is nothing particularly unusual for a young player, but it must be dealt with logically and vigorously. As a result, he made a number of serious changes in his life, and overcame the problem.

Shirov,Alexei (2749) - Carlsen,Magnus (2826) [C95]
Grand Slam Final Masters 2010 Bilbao/Spain (3), 11.10.2010 [Romain Edouard]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Nb8 10.d4 Nbd7. The well-known Breyer Defense. Carlsen already played it twice this year, but in rapid games only (against Smeets and Anand). 11.Nbd2 Bb7 12.Bc2 Re8. Magnus tried the rarer 12...c5!? against Smeets. 13.a4 Bf8 14.Bd3 c6 15.b4!? The most fashionable move during the last months. 15.b3 and 15.Nf1 are the two other common options. 15...Nb6 16.axb5 cxb5!?

Played only once, but convincingly, by the German player Baramidze! And not against just anybody: against Shirov himself! This leads to a totally different kind of position in comparison to the other capture. Instead of trying to hold a rather "/portals/all/_for_legal_reasons.jpg" draw, Black tries to put up pressure on the king-side. Typical Magnus! 16...axb5 17.Rxa8 Bxa8 (17...Qxa8 18.Nb3 is also possible.) 18.Nb3 Bb7 19.dxe5 dxe5 20.Be3 Bc8 21.Qc2 Qc7 22.Na5 Bd7 23.Rc1 h6 24.Nd2 Na4 25.Ndb3 Rb8 26.Ra1 c5 27.bxc5 Nxc5 28.Nxc5 1/2-1/2 Anand-Carlsen, Kristiansund (NOR) 2010. 17.d5 Rc8 18.Bb2N. Shirov's improvement. 18.Qb3 Qc7 19.Bb2 Nh5 20.Rac1 f5 (20...Nf4!? 21.Bf1 f5 is also to check.) 21.c4 fxe4 22.cxb5 Qd7 23.Nxe4 Bxd5 24.Qd1 Rxc1 25.Bxc1 axb5 26.Nfg5 Bxe4 27.Nxe4 Nf4 28.Bxf4 exf4 29.Ng5 Rxe1+ 30.Qxe1 Qe7 31.Ne6 Kf7?? (31...g6 should hold a draw.) 32.Bxh7 Qf6 33.h4 Qe5 34.Ng5+ Ke8 35.Qc1 Nc4 36.Nf3 Qf6 37.Bg8 d5 38.Bxd5 Qb2 39.Bc6+ Kd8 40.Qd1+ Nd6 41.Nd4 Qxb4 42.Bxb5 Qc3 1-0 Shirov,A (2730)-Baramidze,D (2532)/GER 2010. 18...Nh5 19.Bf1 f5 20.Nxe5. The point of leaving White's queen on d1! 20.exf5 Nf4 should be OK for Black without huge problems. 20...Rxe5 21.c4! 21.Qxh5 fxe4 would be fine for Black. 21...Nf6! 22.Bxe5. 22.c5 fxe4 (22...Rxd5 23.exd5 dxc5 24.bxc5 Bxc5 looks risky for Black, somehow!) 23.Bxe5 dxe5 24.d6 comes back into the game. 22...dxe5 23.c5 fxe4 24.d6!

A totally messy position. But what else to expect in a game between Shirov and Carlsen?! 24.cxb6 Bxb4 is definitely fine for Black. 24...Na4!? Interesting, brave, and clever option, while everybody was expecting a capture on d6! Instead, Black wants to sac a piece on c5! 24...Bxd6 25.cxd6 Qxd6 26.Qb3+ Kh8 27.Rad1 should be better for White, with an easy play. 25.Nc4?! A funny move, which seems like a mistake. 25.Rxa4 bxa4 26.Nc4 (26.Qxa4 Bxd6 27.cxd6 Qxd6 should hold a draw easily.) 26...Qe8 followed by ...Rd8, and sooner or later, Black will sac a piece and equalize (yes, yes, I'm for sure right: the engine agrees with me, not to say that I agree with the engine!); 25.Bc4+ should be best: 25...Kh8 26.Be6 Rxc5! 27.bxc5 Nxc5 and again, I will not push too much analysis of this crazy position, as it would become unreadable! But for instance, it could go on with 28.Bf5 Bxd6 (28...Qxd6 29.Qc2 Qc6 30.Nb3 e3 31.f3 Nxb3 32.Qxb3 Bc5 33.Rac1 e4 34.fxe4 Nxe4 35.Bxe4 Qxe4 36.Re2 here White is for sure better, but I would be surprised if there were no draw!) 29.Qc2 Qa8 30.Nb3 Nd3 31.Red1 after which White should have better chances. I must admit that this position is too complicated for my small mind!; 25.Rc1 Bxd6 26.cxd6 Rxc1 27.Qxc1 Qxd6 should be an improvement (for Black) to 24...Bxd6. 25...Nxc5! 26.bxc5 Rxc5 27.Qb3 Bd5 28.Qb4

28...Rxc4. 28...Rc6!? should be stronger, but after 29.Nxe5 (29.Ne3 Qxd6 30.Qxd6 Bxd6 31.Rec1 Rb6 32.Rc8+ Kf7 33.Nxd5 Nxd5 and only Black can try to go for a win.) 29...Rxd6 30.Red1 the position should most likely be a draw, thought Black still keeps better chances. 29.Bxc4 bxc4 30.Rxa6. Now White should be able to keep the balance. 30...Qc8 31.Qa5 c3 32.d7 Qxd7 33.Qxc3 Qb7 34.Rea1 Qb8 35.Ra7 h6 36.Rc7 Qb6 37.Qxe5 Bd6 38.Rc8+ Kf7 39.Qc3 Qb7 40.Rca8 Qxa8!? 41.Rxa8 Bxa8

It is very impressive to see Magnus's determination to win games. It is also pretty understandable after his difficult start.

42.Qd4 Bd5 43.Qa7+ Be7 44.Qc7 h5 45.Qe5 g6 46.Kh2 Be6 47.Kg1 Bf5 48.Kf1 Ne8 49.Kg1 Ng7 50.Qd5+ Ne6 51.Qb7 h4 52.Kh2 Nf4 53.Kg1 Nd3 54.Kf1 Nc5 55.Qd5+ Be6 56.Qe5 Bf5 57.Qd5+ Ne6 58.Qb7 Kf8 59.Qa8+ Bd8 60.Qa7 Bf6 61.Qb7 Kg8 62.Qa7 Bg5 63.Ke2 Nf4+ 64.Kf1 Nh5 65.Ke2 Kf8 66.Kf1 Bf6 67.Qc7 Ng7 68.Qa7 Ne6 69.Qb7 Nd8 70.Qa7 Nf7 71.Kg1 Kg7 72.Kf1 Be5 73.Qe7 g5 74.Kg1 Bf6 75.Qb7 Kg6 76.Qd5 Ne5 77.Qg8+ Bg7 78.Qe8+ Kh6 79.Qe7 Nd3 80.Kf1 Nf4 81.Qd6+ Bg6 82.Qe7 Nd5 83.Qe6 Nf6 84.Kg1 Be8 85.Qf5 Bd7 86.Qe5 Kg6 87.Kf1 Bf8 88.Kg1 Ba3 89.Qc7 Bb4 90.Qe5 Bd2 91.Qd4 Bf4 92.Qb6 Be8 93.Kf1 Bf7 94.Kg1 Kf5 95.Qa7 Be6 96.Kf1 Kg6 97.Qb6 Bd7 98.Kg1 Ba4 99.Qe6 Bb5 100.Qb6 Bc4 101.Qd4 Be6 102.Kf1 Bf5 103.Kg1 g4 104.hxg4 Bxg4 105.Qc3 Bf5 106.Qb3 Bg5 107.Kf1 Kh6 108.Kg1 Kg6 109.Kf1 Bd7 110.Kg1 Be8 111.Qc3 Bf7 112.Qe5 Bd5 113.Qc3 Be6 114.Qe5 Bd7 115.Qc3 Bf5 116.Qb3 Nh5 117.Qg8+ Ng7 118.Qb3 Ne6 119.Kh2 Bf6 120.Kg1 Bg7 121.Kf1 Ng5 122.Qb6+ Bf6 123.Kg1 h3 124.gxh3 Bxh3 125.Qd6 Bf5 126.Kg2 Nf3 127.Qd5 Kg5 128.Qg8+ Bg6 129.Qd5+ Be5 130.Qd8+ Kh5 131.Qd5 Bf5 132.Qf7+ Kg4 133.Qg8+ Ng5 134.Qc4 Bf4 135.Qg8 Be6 136.Qg7 Bf7 137.Qd4 Kf5 138.Qc5+ Be5 139.Qf8 Kg6 140.Qc5 Bf6 141.Qd6 Bc4 142.Qc6 Be6 143.Qd6 Bg4 144.Qd5 Bf3+ 145.Kf1 Nf7 146.Kg1 Ne5 147.Qg8+ Kf5 148.Qc8+ Kg5 149.Qg8+ Ng6 150.Qd5+ Kh6 151.Qe6 Be5 152.Qf5 Bf4 153.Qf6 Bg5 154.Qe6 Kg7 155.Qd7+ Ne7 156.Qe6 Bf6 157.Kf1 Kg6 158.Kg1 Nf5 159.Qg8+ Kh5 160.Qf7+ Kg5 161.Qg8+ Kf4 162.Qb8+ Kg4 163.Qg8+ Bg5 164.Qc8 Bf6 165.Qg8+ Kf4 166.Qb8+ Be5 167.Qb4 Nd4 168.Qf8+ Kg5 169.Qg8+ Kh6 170.Qf8+ Bg7 171.Qd6+ Kh5 172.Qh2+ Kg5 173.Qg3+ Bg4 174.Qe3+ Kf5. Now the game is drawn according to the 50-moves rule. The transmission shows 175.Qd2 as a last move. Either a mistake, or some fun from Shirov, aiming to claim a draw in the event of 175...Nf3+. 175.Qd2 1/2-1/2. [Click to replay]

The annotator GM Romain Edouard was born on 28.11.1990 in Poitiers, France, learnt chess at the age of five and is currently rated 2636 on the FIDE list. In 2007 he became the European U16 Champion, a year later the European & World U18 Vice-Champion, and in the same year won the "Grand Prix de Bordeaux 2007". Romain was selected for the first time in the French national team in 2009, for the second time in 2010. This year he became the French Vice Champion (sharing first place). He was also the winner of several open tournaments: Bad Wiessee 2008, Zaragoza 2008, Echternach 2009, Andorra 2009, Hastings 2010 (shared), Echternach 2010...

Bilbao system scores

Traditional cross table

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