Gashimov Memorial

[IM Jack Rudd]

Google Translate gives the Suba book title as "Dynamic Chess Strategy" and the Dvoretsky as "Never forget that ... you have an opponent opposite!".

{Moderator Hat}
Having come back from Sunningdale, I've got some time to looking at the earlier heated exchanges in this thread between Crouch and Chandler; my view, for what it's worth, is that Chandler had a valid point but the tone of his first post was always going to get things off on the wrong foot. Had he said something like "I'm at work and can't follow the official site from here; is there any chance you could post a diagram of the position you're talking about?", I suspect things would have been far more pleasant.
{/Moderator Hat}

[Roger de Coverly]

Speaking from my ECF 160-ish perspective, it looks as if Carlsen missed a relatively simple pawn-winning tactic from Caruana (25. Nxc7!) and is now dead lost...

I would suspect he saw it as the least worst option. If you wind back the position at the chessdom.com site to before the critical position, the Houdini engine prefers 24. .. c6 as does the Komodo engine. The Komodo engine doesn't score much difference between c6 and falling for the cheapo.

[AustinElliott]

Speaking from my ECF 160-ish perspective, it looks as if Carlsen missed a relatively simple pawn-winning tactic from Caruana (25. Nxc7!) and is now dead lost...

I would suspect he saw it as the least worst option. If you wind back the position at the chessdom.com site to before the critical position, the Houdini engine prefers 24. .. c6 as does the Komodo engine. The Komodo engine doesn't score much difference between c6 and falling for the cheapo.

Ah. I was looking at the Houdini lines after 24. ..c6 on the tournament site... which appeared noticeably less bad than what Carlsen got in the game - passed h pawn for white, but material equal and R + B (opposite) apiece.

After his repeat and a good think at move 41. Caruana has now presumably calculated the h4 defence to the mating threats fully, and grabbed the f-pawn. Presume the End is Nigh now.

[Edit: if Carlsen's King weren't on the back rank (say on b7 instead), 43. ..Be3 might be fun]

[Mick Norris]

Carlsen's first loss in 31 games since Caruana beat him at the Tal Memorial June 2013

He needs 6/6 from here to break 2900

I believe Karjakin was avoiding Carlsen's Berlin yesterday, wonder whether he still thinks that was the right idea

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi Jack,

So you were in Sunningdale - any chance of posting a picutre postcard?

"...at the earlier heated exchanges in this thread between Crouch and Chandler."

The heat was coming all one way. I'm always getting picked on and called names.

And look at the post above this.

What is anybody meant to make of that - without a diagram it is utter gibberish.
A waste of space, time and effort.

I was naffed off with Colin because I kew he would he would good things to say.
It's frustrating, the diagram feature is on here, not it using and posting bland analysis is pointless.
Nobody is going to look at it without a digram.

And I'm pulling hairs out of nostrils over at Chessgames.com as well by insisting they use diagrams.
On there all you need do is post the fen - their system even adds the [fen's] for you so there is no excuse.
(Carl - any chance of getting that on here - or even a wee diagram creator thingy?)

Magnus has lost - here as Black he has just played 24...Kc8.

2k1r3/p1pbbpp1/1p5p/2pNP3/2P3P1/1P3PBP/P5K1/3R4 w - - 0 25

Originally I was thinking Caruana had played his Knight to d5 to chop the e7 Bishop (oppos Bishops).

Everyone seems to be slating 24...Kc8 as a blunder but I'm thinking it was meant to
activate the e7 Bishop, give him some Queenside squares. (maybe - maybe not.)
How about Carlsen giving the lad a usueless pawn to tempt him into
playing for win and not chop on e7 - it worked!

Anyway smashing struggle. Good watching Carlsen fighting and trap setting.

Fabiano Caruana vs Magnus Carlsen, Gashimov Memorial 2014

1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 h6 10. Rd1+ Ke8 11. Nc3 Bd7 12. Bf4 Rd8 13. Ne4 Be7 14. g4 Nh4 15. Nxh4 Bxh4 16. Kg2 Be6 17. f3 b6 18. b3 c5 19. c4 Rd7 20. Bg3 Be7 21. Rxd7 Bxd7 22. Nc3 Kd8 23. Nd5 Re8 24. Rd1 Kc8 25. Nxc7 Rd8 26. Nd5 Re8 27. Be1 Bd8 28. Bc3 g6 29. Kg3 b5 30. cxb5 Bxb5 31. Ne3 Re6 32. f4 Ra6 33. Rd2 h5 34. gxh5 gxh5 35. Nf5 Rg6+ 36. Kh2 Bc6 37. Nd6+ Kb8 38. f5 Rg8 39. f6 Bb6 40. Nc4 Re8 41. Nd6 Rg8 42. Nxf7 c4 43. h4 Rg4 44. e6 Be3 45. Be5+ Ka8 46. Rd8+ Kb7 47. Bg3 c3 48. Rb8+ Ka6 49. Rc8 Bd5 50. Rxc3 Bd4 51. Rd3 Re4 52. Rd2 Rxe6 53. Ng5 1-0

A lot of them are yakking on about the Berlin Wall...
This game lasted 53.moves, not 23 moves. The opening came and went then
the players had a tense middle game where the key decisions were made.
Nothing at all to do with the opening.

(I like that - think I'll stick it in their forum.)

[Carl Hibbard]

And I'm pulling hairs out of nostrils over at Chessgames.com as well by insisting they use diagrams.
On there all you need do is post the fen - their system even adds the [fen's] for you so there is no excuse.
(Carl - any chance of getting that on here - or even a wee diagram creator thingy?)

You just click the B8 square to show the FEN for that position.

[Roger de Coverly]

Nothing at all to do with the opening.

I think it had quite a lot to do with the opening. Not perhaps the individual moves, but the choice. As Black in a Berlin you are left defending against a King Side majority with a locked doubled pawn structure on the Queenside.

[Roger de Coverly]

You just click the B8 square to show the FEN for that position.

There's a problem following live games on chessgames.com as it's one of the features they don't give away.

Only premium members of Chessgames may access the live game page at this time.

The b8 square now seems to be debug info, rather than the FEN string

shortcut squares

A8 go to the pgn4web website
B8 debug info v1.96
C8 show this game PGN source data
D8 show full PGN source data

[Carl Hibbard]

The b8 square now seems to be debug info, rather than the FEN string.

I will have to check but they are running a very old version, even we don't appear to be current release so I will need to investigate.

[Roger de Coverly]

I will have to check but they are running a very old version, even we don't appear to be current release so I will need to investigate.

Actually there's a fairly simple trick, provided you can paste or key the pgn format data. Just paste the data to this forum and put pgn tags around it. Then use "b8" to get the Fen string and paste that. Finally delete the pgn if it's just the diagram to be discussed.

[Paolo Casaschi]

The b8 square now seems to be debug info, rather than the FEN string.

I will have to check but they are running a very old version, even we don't appear to be current release so I will need to investigate.

The chessgames.com site uses a very old version of pgn4web, I could not convince them to upgrade.

[Jonathan Bryant]

Vancura rook’s pawn rook ending in today's Radjabov v Nakamura. Has anybody had it in a rated game?


J

[Geoff Chandler]

Vancura rook’s pawn rook ending in today's Radjabov v Nakamura.
Has anybody had it in a rated game?

Teimour Radjabov vs Hikaru Nakamura, Gashimov Memorial 2014

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bg4 5. Qb3 Qb6 6. Nc3 e6 7. Nh4 Bh5 8. h3 g5 9. Nf3 h6 10. Bd3 Nbd7 11. g4 Qxb3 12. axb3 Bg6 13. Bxg6 fxg6 14. Ke2 Bg7 15. Bd2 O-O 16. Be1 a6 17. h4 gxh4 18. g5 hxg5 19. Nxg5 Rfe8 20. Rxh4 e5 21. cxd5 cxd5 22. Rd1 Rad8 23. Nf3 exd4 24. Rhxd4 Nb6 25. Rb4 Rd6 26. Na4 Nxa4 27. bxa4 Re7 28. Bc3 Ne4 29. Bxg7 Kxg7 30. Nd2 Rc6 31. Nxe4 dxe4 32. Rdd4 Rc2 33. Rd2 Rxd2 34. Kxd2 Kf6 35. Rb6 Kf5 36. Ke2 Rc7 37. Kf1 Rd7 38. Kg2 Rf7 39. b4 Kg5 40. a5 Re7 41. Kg3 Rf7 42. Re6 Kf5 43. Rd6 Re7 44. Rb6 Rf7 45. b5 axb5 46. Rxb5 Ke6 47. Kg4 Rxf2 48. Rxb7 Rf5 49. a6 Ra5 50. Rb6 Kf7 51. Kf4 g5 52. Kxe4 g4 53. Kf4 Ra4 54. Kg3 Re4 55. Rb8 Rxe3 56. Kxg4 Ra3 57. Ra8 Ra5 58. Kf4 Kg7 59. Ke4 Rb5 60. Ra7 Kg6 61. Kd4 Rb6 62. Ke5 Rc6 63. Ra8 Kg7 64. Ra7 Kg6 65. Re7 Rxa6 66. Re6 Rxe6 67. Kxe6

[Jonathan Bryant]

Specifically the Vancura position is this ...


R7/6k1/P7/r7/4K3/8/8/8 b - - 0 1



With White to play it’s 1-0. With Black to play, though, it’s a draw (although only after an exact sequence of moves starting with 59 ... Rb5).

[Jonathan Rogers]

Impressive, if you knew that off the top of your head, which I expect you do by now.

I have an idea! Gentlemen, we can build an invincible Frankenstein's monster, made of a collection of players under 2200, who could be expected to do well even against 2500 opposition! You know, with Jonathan B being the part of the monster which plays the pure rook and pawn ending as required, and so on. Which other players would we cannabilise to play the other parts of the game?