2018 Wijk aan Zee 12 - 28 January
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Re: 2018 Wijk aan Zee 12 - 28 January
Hou finally gets a draw with Abdihan after passing the 100 move mark
"Set up your attacks so that when the fire is out, it isn't out!" (H N Pillsbury)
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Re: 2018 Wijk aan Zee 12 - 28 January
That was an amazing game. Carlsen (correctly) gave up a pawn, then a piece, and then finished off with a (admittedly rather trivial at the end) flourish, giving up a rook for a bishop and leaving So with no option but to resign a rook up in the face of Carlsen's remorselessly advancing pawns.Matt Mackenzie wrote: ↑Wed Jan 24, 2018 6:02 pmCarlsen looking like he might pull off a miracle against So.
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Re: 2018 Wijk aan Zee 12 - 28 January
Round 11 not setting the board on fire. The three leaders drew. Gawain looks set to lose to So and drop into the bottom three (though he is still best of the back-markers). Hou lost to Anand. Adhiban drew with Wei Yi. Karjakin may beat Kramnik (probably not, though). Top seven set to be a point-and-a-half ahead of the rest going into the final two rounds.
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Re: 2018 Wijk aan Zee 12 - 28 January
Karjakin did win, though maybe he shouldn't have done.
"Set up your attacks so that when the fire is out, it isn't out!" (H N Pillsbury)
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Re: 2018 Wijk aan Zee 12 - 28 January
Shouldn't have won with best play, do you mean? Does that matter so much in human chess? Generally, I thought it was a great achievement, and that he deserved a win more than Kramnik deserved a draw.
So had a strong technical performance too, making the win look easier than it was (for a human).
Three leader still and Anand just half a point behind! Giri perhaps with the kindest pairings left.
So had a strong technical performance too, making the win look easier than it was (for a human).
Three leader still and Anand just half a point behind! Giri perhaps with the kindest pairings left.
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Re: 2018 Wijk aan Zee 12 - 28 January
If the game today was any kind of preparation by Gawain, then it shouldn't have been. I was lucky enough to finish work around 3.30 today and I was trying to work out what was going on in the early part of the game but failed miserably.
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Re: 2018 Wijk aan Zee 12 - 28 January
John Moore wrote: ↑Fri Jan 26, 2018 6:38 pmIf the game today was any kind of preparation by Gawain, then it shouldn't have been.
I've played 5. .. c5 myself a couple of times. You expect White to continue with 6. d5 for a Benoni or 6. Nf3 to stay in Kings Indian/Symmetrical English territory.
The line with 6. dxc5 is rarely played and the follow up with 9. c5 may be a novelty. Full credit then to So for coming up with something new in an otherwise mainstream variation. You only need a depth of 1-ply to see a pawn en prise, so taking a loose pawn has to be logical as a candidate move.
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Re: 2018 Wijk aan Zee 12 - 28 January
Carlsen apart, his White opponents have all been serving towards his Kings Indian, or at least some kind of Pirc in Kramnik's case; generally with success. Perhaps Gawain should have had something else prepared? (Easy enough to say, of course).
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Re: 2018 Wijk aan Zee 12 - 28 January
Prior to today, when 9.c5 was a genuine TN, the only loss was against Wei Yi, and there he was fine out of the opening.Jonathan Rogers wrote: ↑Fri Jan 26, 2018 6:59 pmCarlsen apart, his White opponents have all been serving towards his Kings Indian, or at least some kind of Pirc in Kramnik's case; generally with success. Perhaps Gawain should have had something else prepared? (Easy enough to say, of course).
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Re: 2018 Wijk aan Zee 12 - 28 January
But he went wrong very soon after, which should ring a bell; and he was much worse v Caruana and Kramnik. You are putting it too nicely when you say there was only game when he was clearly worse whilst still in the opening 12 moves and went on to lose. I can see why they have been targetting his KID.
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Re: 2018 Wijk aan Zee 12 - 28 January
Yes, I was actually thinking all of those things when I wrote my post. Even though 9.c5 was a TN, it came in a position Gawain could be predicted to reach and if you want to play with the elite today you have to be prepared for that sort of thing. In my opinion that's an argument for 960, but that's a different story.
Nonetheless, I think Gawain held the other games largely because he understood the positions, and their problems, very well. He should stay with what he's good at. To avoid days like today, he just needs to work even harder. If he felt the game wasn't worth the candle I would understand.
Nonetheless, I think Gawain held the other games largely because he understood the positions, and their problems, very well. He should stay with what he's good at. To avoid days like today, he just needs to work even harder. If he felt the game wasn't worth the candle I would understand.
If you want a picture of the future, imagine a QR code stamped on a human face — forever.
Re: 2018 Wijk aan Zee 12 - 28 January
Nor would he be aloneNickFaulks wrote: ↑Fri Jan 26, 2018 8:10 pmIf he felt the game wasn't worth the candle I would understand
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Re: 2018 Wijk aan Zee 12 - 28 January
Anish after his draw seemed, in a post game interview , amazingly modest. Is he playing like Smyslov in 1982??
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Re: 2018 Wijk aan Zee 12 - 28 January
Also the g1-knight usually comes out first, for reasons that aren't entirely clear to me
"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."
lostontime.blogspot.com
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."
lostontime.blogspot.com
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Re: 2018 Wijk aan Zee 12 - 28 January
I got hit by 9.c5 in a fairly similar position in a symmetrical English (Guernsey 2017 vs Dilleigh), which came as an awful shock as it looks so illogical. It is known in that line (but not by me at the time). Perhaps So was aware of that variation. Maybe Black should go Na6 instead of Qa5 after dxc5. That's normal for Benoni players.
Magnus lost a piece as the reply looked weird, this is not much different surely. Don't be too hard on the guy - he's playing non-stop very strong players!
Magnus lost a piece as the reply looked weird, this is not much different surely. Don't be too hard on the guy - he's playing non-stop very strong players!