Topalov (BUL) vs Kamsky (USA)
Gelfand (ISR) vs Mamedyarov (AZE)
Kramnik (RUS) vs Radjabov (AZE)
Aronian (ARM) vs Grischuk (RUS)
Grischuk replaces Carlsen who decided to skip this world championship cycle.
The first and second matches will have four games while the finals will have six. Rapid and blitz games will be played in case of a tie. The winner will face world champion Anand in a 12-game match next year.
According to ChessBase, “The pairings are organized in such a way that [bitter enemies] Kramnik and Topalov could only meet in the finals in the third match. However, one wonders what will happen in the event that Topalov does qualify to meet either Kramnik or Grischuk, considering that the Bulgarian’s manager previously declared that Vesselin would not play against a Russian on Russian soil.” Stay tuned.
London wanted to host next year’s world championship but said recently that it was withdrawing its 2 million euro, or $2.7 million bid, citing the collapse of negotiations with FIDE. FIDE said it was “disappointed” and claimed that it was all about…Carlsen. Without the Norwegian superstar in the candidates matches, London is no longer interested in the world championship. Anand’s native India has expressed interest, but 2012 is still a long way off and perhaps other venues will offer their own bids.
The annual Aeroflot tournament in Moscow is ongoing with Vietnam GM Le Quang Liem sharing the lead with Bulgarian Ivan Cheparinov after eight of the nine rounds. Le’s the defending champ but has been in a slump in previous tournaments. He was actually in solo lead until Cheparinov beat him in the eighth round, Also participating are Kamsky, Jakovenko, Kasimdzhanov and the Philippines’ So, who later withdrew, disgusted at his inability to play well. We’ll have more info about this tourney next week.
Game of the week. GM Lubosh Kavalek, who annotates our featured partie, describes it as “very instructive.” It’s really a pity that Magnus is not among the candidates for the world title.
White: M. Carlsen,M (2814)
Black: Wang Hao (2731)
Caro-Kann Defense
Wijk aan Zee 2011
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Be3 [Carlsen goes for a positional line, quickly developing his light pieces and avoiding the wild 4.h4 ] 4…e6 5.Nd2 Nd7 6.Ngf3 [Preventing the advance c6-c5 with 6.Nb3 runs into the undermining 6… 6…f6 ] 6…Bg6 [6…c5 ] 7.Be2 Ne7 [After 7…Nh6 white can use an idea from the French Tarrasch and play 8.Bxh6 gxh6 9.0-0 ] 8.Nh4 c5 [8…Nf5 9.Nxf5 Bxf5 ] 9.c3 Nc6 10.Nxg6 hxg6 11.Nf3 White has a strong center, more space and a bishop pair. Moreover, it is hard to find a counterplay for black. Wang Hao bets on a queenside play. 11…Rc8 12.0-0 a6 13.g3 Carlsen finds a good plan: fixing the kingside first. 13…Be7 14.h4 b5 15.a4! The second rook-pawn move in the row opens the a-file, giving Carlsen the opportuinity to operate on both wings. 15…Qb6 16.axb5 axb5 17.Kg2 c4?! [Closing the shop in the center gives Carlsen a free hand on the kingside. Black probably had to close his eyes and play 17…0-0 pretending he did not see the kingside storm. ] 18.Ng5 Qd8 19.Bg4 Sacrifices on the squares e6 or f7 are in the air. 19…Bxg5 [The exchange seals black’s fate, but Wang Hao was afraid of the knight sacrifice, for example after 19…Qb6 20.Nxf7! Kxf7 21.Bxe6+ Kxe6 22.Qg4+ Kf7 23.e6+ Kg8 24.exd7 and black’s position collapses.] 20.Bxg5 Qc7 21.Rh1 Nb6 [21…Kf8 22.h5 gxh5 23.Bxh5 Kg8 (23…f6 24.exf6 gxf6 25.Qg4 fxg5 26.Qxe6+- ) 24.Qf3+- ] 22.h5! gxh5 23.Bxh5 Na4 The wrong adventure at the wrong time. It is only the second time when a black piece ventures into white’s territory. It closes the a-file, but does not protect the rook on c8 anymore. [The black king doesn’t have time to cross to the queenside. For example, after 23…g6 24.Bg4 Rxh1 (24…Kd7 25.Qf3 ) 25.Qxh1 Kd7 26.Bxe6+! wins.] Carlsen took a deep breath here, calculating the bishop sacrifice. In a critical moment, he wanted to make sure everything worked smoothly and didn’t want to trip up. 24.Bxf7+! Computer engines could not come up quickly with the bishop sacrifice, but once it was played, they were united in high praise for Carlsen’s tactical skills. 24…Kxf7 [24…Qxf7 25.Rxh8+ ] 25.Qf3+ Kg8 [After 25…Kg6 white wins with the spectacular 26.Bf6!! Rxh1 (26…Rcg8 27.Rxh8 Rxh8 28.Qg4+ Kh7 (28…Kf7 29.Qxg7+ wins) 29.Qh5+ Kg8 30.Qe8+ Kh7 31.Rh1# ; 26…gxf6 27.Qxf6# ) 27.Rxh1 Kf7 28.Qh5+ g6 29.Qh7+ Ke8 30.Qg8+ Kd7 31.Rh7+ wins] 26.Rxh8+ Kxh8 27.Rh1+ Kg8 28.Qh5 All three white pieces aim at the black king and black has no defence against the beautiful finale. 28…Rf8 [28…Nxb2 29.Bf6! Ne7 (29…Qa7 30.Qh8+ Kf7 31.Qxg7+ Ke8 32.Rh8# ) 30.Qh8+ Kf7 31.Qxg7+ Ke8 32.Rh7 wins.; 28…Ne7 29.Bxe7 Qxe7 30.Qh8+ Kf7 31.Qxc8 wins.; 28…Nd8 29.Qe8# ; 28…Qf7 29.Qh8# ] 29.Bf6! [Closing the show with a splendid bishop move. 29.Bf6 gxf6 (After 29…Qa7 white reshuffles the pieces 30.Qg6 Nb6 31.Rh7 Rf7 32.Qh5 and wins.) 30.exf6! Rxf6 31.Qh8+ Kf7 32.Rh7+ Kg6 33.Qg8+ Kf5 34.Rh5+ Ke4 35.Qg4+ Kd3 36.Qd1+ Ke4 37.Qb1# ] 1-0.
Puzzler.
White: Ka5, Nb5, Qc1, Bd3, pawn on d4
Black: Kd5, Ne5, pawns on a6 and f3
White to play and mate in three moves.
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