Chess thread

[Tal]

http://en.chessbase.com/post/tata-05-melee-on-the-boards

Not much is spoken about Lenier Dominguez-Perez. He's in that bracket of player just below the elite but only just. The sort of player who could finish third in a comp like this but couldn't realistically win it.

He's giving it a blinking good go.

The game today - there's analysis and a video walk-through in the link above - was a belter. Knowing how to combat unusual openings is often about your broader understanding of positions than of learning opening theory, which is better used in the more orthodox lines.

He played patiently at first and made good use of his bishops. Then, he swapped off pieces that most weakened the opposing defences. The tactics saw him home from there.

It want all one way and master games these days almost exclusively are like that; these guys would rather have a loud of material just to keep life in their position.

Aronian leads still after five rounds.

[Tal]

Click to see full-size image.

[MintTrav]

There's a player called Harikrishna? Actually, I've just Wikied him and he seems pretty nifty.

My new favourite player. Come on Harry!

[McGlashan]

Game of the day must be Anish Giri pulling off the Frankenstein Dracula varation as black vs Fabiano Caruana.

[McGlashan]

@MarkTWIC deadline for Anand to decide on #FIDECandidates participation well and truly passed. Still no announcement. Wondering what's going on.

[Tal]

You'll be suggesting next FIDE make the rules up as they go along, McGlashan.

Anyway, better news: a young girl we might well hear more of in the future:

http://en.chessbase.com/post/the-remarkably-talented-harmony-zhu

Harmony Zhu. Remember the name.

[Tal]

TheBaron posted a problem from Garry Kasparov's Twitter page last week. Here is the story of that position and the solution to it:

http://en.chessbase.com/post/kasparov-and-the-almost-oman-immortal

[Tal]

http://en.chessbase.com/post/tata-07-exchange-sacrifice-anyone

I've not gone through the games, so you'll have to make do with people who are far better than me instead.



We don't see Richard Rapport playing these sorts of events very often. He's playing to his rating, though.

Crosstable is here:

[Tal]

Anand confirmed by FIDE as competing in the Candidates.

[McGlashan]

Anand confirmed by FIDE as competing in the Candidates.

A late confirmation is not exactly the behaviour of someone who fancies their chances in the competition.

[Tal]

Anand confirmed by FIDE as competing in the Candidates.

A late confirmation is not exactly the behaviour of someone who fancies their chances in the competition.

I can't really think of a price inside 20/1 I'd back him at. He looked shot at the end of that match and this is far too soon to be back, but what can he do? It's a chance to win it back and he has sponsors and a billion fans to answer to if he doesn't play.

[McGlashan]

He's got to play but when it comes down to finest margin at the top level the other players will have more fight in them.

What about that Harmony Zhu though? She's puntastic!

[Tal]

Six games. Five wins for the white bits. Only Lev Aronian could prevent the clean sweep with his draw against Giri. It was not a day to be moving second at the Dutch seaside.

http://en.chessbase.com/post/tata-08-a-special-guest



Bawse.

Caption Comp:



Harikrishna delivered the game of the day for me with his crushing finish against Nakamura, who is one of the most dynamic players around with the Black pieces.

The Bb5 Sicilian (Rossilimo Variation if you like the detail) is one of the quieter lines; the game builds more slowly than you get in the more classical variations and you avoid the really sharp stuff Black can throw at you, like the Dragon. In an opening that is analysed to death and where being precise often makes a difference, dodging all of that for something less flamboyant is not a bad idea. There is still plenty of theory, but you have much more control, even if you only know a few moves of theory.

Harikrishna had a small surprise by dropping his bishop back, rather than exchanging it for a knight, opting to keep his light squares under better control, but allowing Black the chance to have a stronger defence. The resulting position was like one of the quiter and slower Ruy Lopez lines. Don't get me wrong, Nakamura, like all these great players, is completely comfortable with any type of position, but this isn't a bad idea against him if you're more comfortable yourself playing that sort of game. The smaller margins are what decide games at this level.

There was something for both sides until Nakamura played Qc5. Harikrishna sprung into life with a brilliant finish. It really is worth a look at that game to see it.

[Tal]

While most of the other top dogs are in Wijk, Carlsen is in the US on a tour. He went to Google recently and played a simul. A couple of fun games have been annotated and we'll worth a play through. The second game is a 2100 player, so a strong county player. He almost gets the draw but blunders at the end. The first game saw someone have the right idea: attack. Sharp, aggressive play gives you the best chance of beating a GM in these things, as they might miss something. You've got no chance playing quietly. You've got next to no chance in a ten board simul against Carlsen anyway, but you have zero chance if you just plod around and hope he doesn't mate you.

http://en.chessbase.com/post/carlsen-google



Google is worth, what, a gajillion dollars? Can't they afford ten nice, matching wooden chess sets?

[Tal]

When the Candidates tournament starts in March, one of the big games will be Aronian v Karjakin. The Russian (former Ukrainian) is a top player who can blow alittle hot and cold. He had won some big tournaments against this sort of stellar field and he is capable of very impressive games.

A win against Aronian at Wijk would see him lead the comp with two rounds to go.

He played the opening line he's becoming known for playing against the Catalan (where white plays d4 and c4 but fianchettos on the kingside) but it seems likely he forgot or misremembered some of his preparation after about 20 moves.

Aronian was merciless in response.

http://en.chessbase.com/post/tata-09-aronian-takes-1-5-point-lead

Danny King covers the game with typical aplomb.

Click to see full-size image.

Aronian has two games left, against dangerous opponents, but his lead is practically insurmountable.