1 May 2017

As Strict as Time Control

Round six of the Vugar Gashimov Memorial in the review of Eteri Kublashvili.

A rest day seems to have flown past as if in no time at all. Out of all supertournament participants only Veselin Topalov took part in the traditional football match. Keeping the Bulgarian grandmaster’s company for the chess team were Faiq Hasanov, Lutfiyar Rustamov, Igor Khenkin and Denis Khismatullin, but the top place was still taken by the Shamkir region administration team.   

Sergey Karjakin, Vladimir Kramnik, Wesley So and Michael Adams spent their weekend giving simuls to young chess players. 

April 26 was a birthday of grandmaster Rauf Mamedov, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov's second in Shamkir. The Russian Chess Federation congratulates Rauf and wishes him new creative achievements! 

Round six produced a lot of sharp fight and many other than draw results. Time control without increment up to move 61 has turned into a major factor influencing battle outcomes to a great extent. 

An extremely crucial victory over Vladimir Kramnik has been scored by Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in a game that was opened to Gucci Piano. Curiously enough, but Shakhriyar has won his games here with the black pieces only. 

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, “My position was bad out of the opening with all my pieces utterly misplaced. White enjoyed a comfortable game with a substantial edge. On move 19 he needed to move his bishop to b5 to have it traded for the c6-knight. As for the game, Kramnik's mood seems to have spoiled after he had let go of his advantage. Winning the h5-pawn gave me all reasons to play for a win.”

Nevertheless, bringing his advantage home proved far from easy for Shakhriyar. With second time control looming on the horizon, Vladimir was resolute in launching his kingside pawns forward, not minding to part with his second pawn along the way. By that time Black's advantage was quite substantial already, and an exotic position appeared on the board in a short while: 
  
Kramnik – Mamedyarov 
  


56…Nc7! 57. Bh3 d2 58. Bg4 a3 59. e6 gxf6 60. Rxf6+ Kg8! 




61. e7 a2 62. Ra6 d1Q 63. Nxd1 Bxd1 64. Ra8+ Kg7 65. Bxd1 Rb1 
  


66. Rxa2 Rxd1 67. Ra7 Ne8 68. Ra4 Rd3+ 69. Kf4 c3 70. Ke5 White resigns. 
  
Running forward full speed is Wesley So, who defeated Sergey Karjakin. Playing with the black pieces, the world vice-champion got a robust position out of the opening (the opponents opted for the English Opening). However, being pressed for time, he committed a strategic blunder. He should not have traded the last pair of rooks, which gave White’s minor pieces free hand in infiltrating the enemy camp. So managed to win a pawn and have it converted in the knight ending. 

Veselin Topalov and Pavel Eljanov battled in the Queen's Indian Defense, in which Black resolved his opening problems and launched an active kingside offensive to achieve a significant edge. Meanwhile, time trouble stepped into the matter: Pavel started by letting his edge go first, then parted with an exchange with just seconds on his clock. White’s material edge made its toll, and Topalov scored a confident victory. 

Michael Adams and Pentala Harikrishna was an exciting duel, in which neither player did anything wrong to lose control over the battle flow, though. The Indian grandmaster sidestepped the beaten track of the Ruy Lopez, which saw him losing an epic battle to Vladimir Kramnik. Black successfully thwarted all White’s threats, and the game ended in a draw by repetition. 

Teimour Radjabov, playing Black against Radoslaw Wojtaszek, held his position together in the Nimzo-Indian Defence despite White’s small but steady advantage. A competent defensive strategy allowed Black to timely liquidate into a balanced position. A draw was agreed immediately after move 40. 

Having won his round six game, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov has further entrenched his lead with 4.5 points under his belt. Trailing a point behind are Veselin Topalov, Wesley So and Michael Adams. 




Round seven, among other things, has a Russian derby in store for us: 

S. Karjakin - V. Kramnik, P. Eljanov - W. So, T. Radjabov - V. Topalov, P. Harikrishna - R. Wojtaszek, S. Mamedyarov - M. Adams.