Tata Steel Masters 2020: Dubov and Giri win on a quiet day
A calm and short game between two best chess players in the world set the tone for Round 6 of Tata Steel Masters 2020. As in a few earlier rounds, White won two games, and the other five encounters ended in draws. After six rounds Black hasn’t had a single victory which is pretty unique for a chess tournament in the new era. Carlsen – Caruana game was potentially a jewel of the round, but with the champion being clearly out of form a short draw was definitely one of several possible scenarios. Unfortunately, this was the case today. Caruana chose a very solid line in the Queen’s Gambit Declined and though Carlsen was slightly pressing, Fabiano never felt he was in any real danger. “We made a lot of draws before, this was not the most spectacular,” Caruana admitted. “First five draws were the problem, this one – not so much” was Carlsen’s comment. He expressed hope that his drawing streak won’t be as long as his “no-losing” streak which is still very much alive. Both leaders – Wesley So and Alireza Firouzja – also had a peaceful day. So had White against Jan-Krzystof Duda and put some pressure in the Catalan. It isn’t easy to spot where he made an inaccuracy, but after massive exchanges, the knight endgame was already completely drawn. Firouzja, on the other hand, was in real danger in the game with Yu Yangyi. The Chinese GM chose a positional approach against Najdorf and got almost everything White dreams about in the line mastered by Efim Geller and Anatoly Karpov. Even after queens’ exchange Firouzja’s position still looked dangerous, but somehow move after move White’s advantage started evaporating – the final position was a dead draw with the opposite-colored bishops. Holding such a position is definitely an achievement for the 16-year-old. 23-year-old Daniil Dubov and 21-year-old Vlad Aremiev played numerous games against each other and they’re always fun to follow as both players are usually extremely aggressive especially with White. Today’s round went to the older one. Artemiev played Caro-Cann again but this time he chose a different set-up in the same variation with 6…Be7 (6…Ne7 against Firouzja brought him nothing, but troubles). This time the result of the opening was not that disastrous, but White still obtained a more pleasant position having control over the c-file. Dubov outmaneuvered his opponent and after Artemiev seemingly missed or underestimated 27.g4! his position became hopeless. Known for his tactic tricks Dubov didn’t miss a chance to finish the game with a nice little combo 31.Ra5! though for the player of his caliber it was a cakewalk. After this victory, the World Rapid Champion 2018 is only half a point behind the leaders. Anish Giri came back after yesterday’s disappointing loss at the expense of the tournament’s outsider Vladislav Kovalev. It was Gioco Piano only on paper as Kovalev went for an ambitious and very risky assault on the kingside. 22…f5?! was definitely too much as White didn’t do anything wrong. It looks like Black’s gutsy onslaught was doomed from the very start. Engines insist that 26.Bg1 could have just finished the game, but it’s not the move a human can easily make, though 26.Ra2 was definitely findable. Giri went for a natural 26.Nf5+ and the game went to a slightly better endgame for White. It is important to note, that Kovalev was in time trouble once again and failed to find the best defense. When the opponents reached the time control, it was already all over for Black. Xiong – Vitiugov was a completely different game in the same line – Black defended tenaciously and secured a half-point. Jorden Van Foreest and Vishy Anand who are entertaining the viewers with their games almost every day didn’t disappoint once again. In Four Knights Opening which is rarely played nowadays, Anand went for a gambit line – he sacrificed not one, but two pawns to grab the initiative and forced the white king to stay in the center. Van Foreest decided to give up his material advantage to transpose into a drawn endgame and it’s hard to blame him for that. Meanwhile, in Tata Steel Challengers Pavel Eljanov grabbed the sole lead after 6 rounds with 4.5 points. Tomorrow’s Round 7 will feature Anand – Carlsen game. Caruana – Dubov encounter will be interesting to follow also as both players are chasing the leaders. Tata Steel Masters 2020 Standings after Round 6:1-2. So, Firouzja – 4;3-5. Dubov Caruana, Van Foreest – 3½;6-11. Artemiev, Xiong, Duda, Anand, Carlsen, Giri – 3;12. Vitiugov – 2½;13. Yu Yangyi – 2;14. Kovalev – 1 Official site: https://www.tatasteelchess.com/Photo: Alina l’Ami
WWCC Game 8: Goryachkina scores a crucial victory
Aleksandra Goryachkina wins the 8th game and leads the Women’s World Chess Championship by one point: 4½-3½. The World Champion Ju Wenjun only has four games left to overturn the score and retain her title. Regardless of the outcome, it has become increasingly clear that Alexandra Goryachkina is punching above her rating. In this match, she has demonstrated enviable grit, patience, and perseverance. Will it be enough to become the next World Champion? In today’s Carlsbad variation of Queen’s Gambit, Ju Wenjun (playing Black) opted for an unorthodox 8…Ne4. A quick database search showed that White scored 71% in over 70 games played. It is unclear why Ju went for this line. At the press conference, the World Champion admitted that after 17.dxc5 she felt that the game was getting out of hand and she struggled to come up with an equalizing plan. Goryachkina continued to push, while Black seemed to always go for safer, more passive moves when presented with an option to either play intuitively or defend. A good example of this was 25… Qg7, protecting a dead-weight h-pawn, instead of a much more dynamic and intuitive Nd7 — a reflection of how Ju has played this match. Game after game, around move 30, Ju has a choice between going with her gut and intuition, she seems to be choosing a much safer, less opportunistic option. Presented with a golden opportunity, Goryachkina played extremely accurately. She was not perfect: 32.b5! would have ended the game on the spot, before the time control. Nevertheless, 32.Be4 was good enough and Aleksandra was still winning. Goryachkina felt that after 37.e6 this was a game she was not going to let go. The next game is a test for Goryachkina. For the first time in the match, she is the hunted. Suddenly, this is her World Championship match to lose. In a huge psychological shift, we’ll now see what Goryachkina is truly made of. Will she be nervous? How will today’s result impact her opening preparation? What about Ju? Does she have it in her to play winning chess? A player known for aggressive, tactical brilliance, how will she react to being four games away from losing her title? Game 9 will be played on Sunday, January 19, at 15:30 local time. Ye Jiangchuan, President of the Chinese Chess Association and FIDE Vice-President, together with Efim Zvenyatsky, Art Director of the Gorky Drama Theatre made the first symbolic moves in Game 8. Former World Champion Hou Yifan joined Nigel Short. She will be a co-commentator for the remaining games of the match. Aleksandra always follows the same ritual, setting up the pieces after the game is over – regardless of the result. Official website: https://wwcm2020.fide.com Text: Michael Friedman Photos: Michael Friedman and Eteri Kublashvili Contact: press@fide.com Photos in high resolution are available for the press at our official Flickr account.