Grand Prix – Zug 2013 5th round

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Playing hall, 5th round
(photo taken from the official site)

What an interesting day – 5 games out of 6 were decisive!

Results of the 5th round

GM Caruana Fabiano 2772 1 – 0 GM Kasimdzhanov Rustam 2709
GM Karjakin Sergey 2786 1 – 0 GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2766
GM Giri Anish 2727 0 – 1 GM Morozevich Alexander 2758
GM Leko Peter 2744 ½ – ½ GM Ponomariov Ruslan 2733
GM Kamsky Gata 2741 1 – 0 GM Radjabov Teimour 2793
GM Topalov Veselin 2771 1 – 0 GM Nakamura Hikaru 2767

Leko-Ponomariov was a Bogo-Indian where White made a novelty on move 13. Black equalized quite easily and once queens came off it wasn’t difficult to predict the outcome.

Karjakin-Mamedyarov was a Classical Caro-Kann and White had made a novelty on move 16 – Nxh6. A positional sacrifice in a way – no clear path to an attack, no active pieces on the kingside. Still, White had a clear plan of g2-g4-g5 after which the Black king didn’t feel safe at all.

Giri-Morozevich was a King’s Indian Fianchetto variation. Black got a very good position out of the opening, sacrificed a pawn on move 21 and got an interesting play on the e-file & two bishops for it.

Caruana-Kasimdzhanov was a Queen’s Gambit Declined in which 13.Rd1 was an interesting novelty. The position looked fairly equal in the middlegame as both sides were maneuvering due to lack of open files. 37…b5 was done to block the position and try to create a fortress but instead 37…Qb5 was still equal.

Kamsky-Radjabov was a Rossolimo in which white implemented a novelty on move 9, instead of Tal’s 9.Ba3. Black’s position looked solid and equal throughout the middlegame when he decided to simplify and sacrifice a pawn to get to a R endgame. It looked drawish but naturally White decided to play it out :).42…Rb1 would have made it very difficult for white to win, instead he allowed Rc7+ and was soon lost.

Topalov-Nakamura was a Ruy Lopez which reminded me of Fischer games 🙂 Exchange on e5, then a4-axb5 and play on the a-file for a small advantage or more. Black’s last change of getting counterplay was 33…Nh1 or 33…Nef5 stopping the white h-pawn from advancing.

Round 6 on 2013/04/24 at 14:00

GM Kasimdzhanov Rustam 2709 – GM Nakamura Hikaru 2767
GM Radjabov Teimour 2793 – GM Topalov Veselin 2771
GM Ponomariov Ruslan 2733 – GM Kamsky Gata 2741
GM Morozevich Alexander 2758 – GM Leko Peter 2744
GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2766 – GM Giri Anish 2727
GM Caruana Fabiano 2772 – GM Karjakin Sergey 2786

Official Site.

Grand Prix – Zug 2013 4th round

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Morozevich-Karjakin
(Photo taken from the official site)

Again all games were drawn, despite many interesting positions! Leaders are the same – Ponomariov, Topalov and Morozevich and they have 2.5 points out of 4 games.

Results of the 4th round

Round 4 on 2013/04/21 at 14:00

GM Kasimdzhanov Rustam 2709 ½ – ½ GM Topalov Veselin 2771
GM Nakamura Hikaru 2767 ½ – ½ GM Kamsky Gata 2741
GM Radjabov Teimour 2793 ½ – ½ GM Leko Peter 2744
GM Ponomariov Ruslan 2733 ½ – ½ GM Giri Anish 2727
GM Morozevich Alexander 2758 ½ – ½ GM Karjakin Sergey 2786
GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2766 ½ – ½ GM Caruana Fabiano 2772

Radjabov-Leko was a Queen’s Gambit Declined. Black King was safe in the center, even though the center was quite open. 18.Rb5-Re5 maneuver looks interesting and perhaps could give white an initiative if not more. Also, 33.g4 was an interesting path leading to advantage.

In Nakamura-Kamsky, Black equalized rather easily out of a mixture of Slav and Gruenfeld. Later on, due to better pieces, White won a pawn but Black was never in danger of losing due to active Rook.

Kasimdzhanov-Topalov was a King’s Indian with exd4 where White implemented a rare but very interesting piece sacrifice on f5. 14…d5 was a novelty which gave white the piece back by force but stopped the initiative. The position would have become equal had Black played 20…Bf8.

In Ponomariov-Giri, Black got a very solid position from the Archangel variation of Ruy Lopez. Once rooks came off the board nobody could press for an advantage anymore.

In Morozevich-Karjakin, White chose the very rare 9.Rc1 in the Classical Nimzo Indian and soon launched a pawn attack on the kingside. Still but breaking through in the center, Black’s position didn’t look dangerous. The R and bishop endgame looked equal despite the g7-pawn. Perhaps, it was worth playing 26…Rc5, preventing Bc2 and making the game more simple. The game got very complicated in the Bishops endgame and both sides missed many nice opportunities.

In Mamedyarov-Caruana game Black played an interesting novelty (14…Nc5) in the well known Gruenfeld line. 19.Rxf7 was a very nice sacrifice but it didn’t seem to work as Black King became safe again after some moves.

Today is the rest day!

Pairings of the 5th round

GM Caruana Fabiano 2772 – GM Kasimdzhanov Rustam 2709
GM Karjakin Sergey 2786 – GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2766
GM Giri Anish 2727 – GM Morozevich Alexander 2758
GM Leko Peter 2744 – GM Ponomariov Ruslan 2733
GM Kamsky Gata 2741 – GM Radjabov Teimour 2793
GM Topalov Veselin 2771 – GM Nakamura Hikaru 2767

Official Site.