{"id":9368,"date":"2019-05-04T21:37:57","date_gmt":"2019-05-04T19:37:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mvlchess.com\/?p=9368"},"modified":"2019-05-20T21:46:40","modified_gmt":"2019-05-20T19:46:40","slug":"grenke-carlsen-far-ahead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mvlchess.com\/en\/2019\/05\/04\/grenke-carlsen-far-ahead\/","title":{"rendered":"Grenke: Carlsen far ahead"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Three months after I played in my last tournament (Gibraltar), the Elite season really took off on April 20, when the traditional Grenke Chess Classic organized by my German team Baden-Baden began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As\nusual, the first rounds took place in Karlsr\u00fche, alongside the\ngigantic Grenke Open, which gathered more than 2.000 players this\nyear! Among them, a lot of french friends, with my trainer Etienne\nBacrot and my Asni\u00e8res teammate Jules Moussard as leaders. Although\nboth unbeaten, they could never play a key role in the tournament,\nbecause of the too many draws they conceded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThe\nGrenke Classic offered this year a very strong line-up, leaded by\nMagnus Carlsen, in a state of grace those last months. With\nvice-world champion Caruana, as well as Anand, Aronian and myself, it\nis half the World Top 10 which was gathered in Germany. Three members\nof the Baden-Baden team also made the trip (Svidler, Naiditsch and\nVallejo), and the field was completed with German players Meier and\nKeymer. The latter, only 14 years old, was making a noteworthy\nentrance in a tournament of this caliber, thanks to his victory in\nlast year\u2019s Open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Round 1: Mvl – Anand (2774) 1\/2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quite a difficult introduction, as I didn\u2019t expect Vishy to enter this heavy tactical line of the Advance Caro-Kann. So I found myself falling between two chairs – so to speak – hesitating between taking a draw already known by theory, or trying to remember all the subtleties of a line I had previously analyzed. When I fully understood that I would never remember all details, I chose the path of wisdom!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Les
Black against Caruana (photo George Souleidis)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Round 2: Caruana (2819) – Mvl 1\/2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was expecting with delight a Najdorf debate, but Fabiano shied away from it, and had me wrong-footed with 2.Nc3 followed by 4.Qxd4! I had the feeling I equalized though, but the reality is that a few good moves gave him the edge, in particular 19.Kd1!<\/strong> in the following position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Caruana-Mvl,
Caruana-Mvl, round 2.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

After 19\u2026f6 20.Nxc6 Bxc6 21.Nd4 Bd7?!<\/strong>, he could have won a pawn with 22.c4! (instead of 22.f3<\/strong>), as what I had in mind 22\u2026Bf8 23.cxd5 Nc3+? doesn\u2019t work: 24.Bxc3 Rxc3 25.Bc4! and the trapped Rook will cost the exchange. Once the fright was gone, I could defend the position without much difficulty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Round 3: Mvl – Naiditsch (2695) 1\/2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is known that I remain one of the few Elite players to keep on fighting the Berlin Wall! The fact is that the opening went well, and I got an edge. My problem was that I had a lot of options, and I probably didn\u2019t choose the best one, at least from a practical point of view. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mvl-Naiditsch,
Mvl-Naiditsch, round 3.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n24.f4\nRf8<\/strong>\n(otherwise 25.f5!) 25.Nf6+!?<\/strong>\nis spectacular, but the main drawback of the line is that it gives\nblack a series of forced moves. Probably more efficient was 24.Re3!,\nwhich I rejected because of the counterplay on c4 with \u2026Nd7-b6. But\nactually, after 24\u2026Nd7, the manoeuver 25.Rg3! Rh7 26.Rgd3 Nb6\n27.Bc1! gives an overwhelming advantage. The threat is 28.Bg5, and if\n27\u2026Nxc4 28.Rd7!. In the game, after 25\u2026gxf6\n26.exf6 Bd6<\/strong>\n(26\u2026Rxf6? 27.Bxf6 Bxf6 28.Rxe6+ Kf7 29.Rxf6+! Kxf6 30.Rd8 is\ndecisive), I still had the option 27.Rd5! to keep an advantage. But I\ndidn\u2019t see this move and I chose 27.Rxe6+?!<\/strong>,\nafter which I have no more than a draw: 27\u2026Kf7\n28.Rde1<\/strong>\n(28.Rdxd6 cxd6 29.Re7+ Kg6 30.Kf2 Rd8 31.Rg7+ Kf5 32.Kf3 Nd7 33.Rg5+\nKe6 34.f5+ Kf7 35.Rg7+ Kf8 remains very messy) 28\u2026Rd8\n29.g4!? hxg4 30.h5 Nd7 31.Re7+ Bxe7 32.Rxe7+ Kg8<\/strong>\nand I will have to content myself with a perpetual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The beginning of a spectacular tactical fight with Naiditsch (Photo George Souleidis).<\/em> .<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Round 4 : Meier (2628) – Mvl 0-1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nI\nequalized easily against the try 5.h3 in the Grunfeld. After a few\nmidllegame inaccuracies from both of us, in particular when Meier was\nheavily low on time, we landed after move 40 in an endgame which is\nprobably a draw, but remains unpleasant to defend for white.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However,\nhe did it rather well, and got a clearly drawn position afew moves\nlater. By inertia, I kept on trying, with the vague hope of testing\nhim in the R+N vs R endame if I had an opportunity. That\u2019s\nprecisely when he began to make some rather strange decisions, until\nthe culminating point in the following position:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Meier-Mvl,
Meier-Mvl, round 4.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Here, I had seen that he had to play 71.Rd1!, in order to keep the King on the second rank, for instance 71\u2026g3+ 72.Ke2 Rb2+ 73.Rd2!. But he played 71.Ra1?<\/strong>, and after 71\u2026g3+ 72.Kg1 Nf3+ 73.Kh1 Rb2<\/strong>, I felt that I should be winning. But I couldn\u2019t find exactly how, so I groped for an idea, before to find the nice zugzwang of the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Meier-Mvl,
Meier-Mvl, round 4.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I travelled with my King from the Kingside to b3. Here, Meier had to find the only move 82.Kh1!, in order to get the same position than in the game, but with black on the move! For instance 82\u2026Kb2 83.Re1 Nf3 84.Rd1. In this nice position of mutual zugzwang, I would have had to admit that the King\u2019s journey was useless, and tried to find the winning plan with the King on the Kingside. Meier made things much easier for me with 82.Rd1? Nf3+ 83.Kh1 Kb2!<\/strong> and being on the move, white has nothing else than 84.Rg1<\/strong>, giving the exchange. But beware! It is not yet so trivial after 84\u2026Nxg1 85.Kxg1<\/strong>,because black\u2019s King is far away. But I I had foreseen a clinical line, which gives the g pawn away, but isolates the white\u2019s Knight from the King. 85\u2026Kc3 86.Ne3 Rd3 87.Nf1 Ke2! 88.Nxg3+ Kf3 89.Nf5 Rd2 90.Nh4+ Kg3 91.Nf5+ Kg4 92.Ne3+ Kf3 93.Nf5 Rd5 94.Ne7 Rc5 0-1<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Round 5: Mvl – Aronian (2763) 1\/2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nLevon\nuncorked a new idea of closing the center in an Anti-Marschall\nposition we had already discussed a number of times. Maybe I\nshouldn\u2019t have agreed to a draw so quickly, but all the possible\nplans to play for the advantage involved a Kingside expansion, which\non the board, looked quite risky to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After\nthis game, we had a rest day which was used to make the (short) trip\nbetween the tumultuous playing hall in Karlsr\u00fche, and the intimacy\nof the one in Baden-Baden!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nAfter\nthis game, we had a rest day which was used to make the (short) trip\nbetween the tumultuous playing hall in Karlsr\u00fche, and the intimacy\nof the one in Baden-Baden!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Carlsen
Carlsen over the moon in Grenke. (Photo George Souleidis).<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Round 6: Svidler (2735) – Mvl 1\/2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nI\nfairly easily equalized against the English, and Peter took a risk\nwhen he declined to exchange Queens on move 12. So I tried to play\nagainst his offside Queen on h3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Svidler-Mvl,
Svidler-Mvl, round 6.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, here I made the wrong decision of exchanging black squared Bishops by 18\u2026Bh6?!<\/strong>, as I didn\u2019t see any follow-up for the attack. I was not sure to be quicker in case of mutual attacks on opposite sides, a4-a5 being very fast for him, while his Queen might reenter the game if the position opens up. But the computer refutes me \uf04a, and argues that the simple 18\u2026Be7, as well as the sharp 18\u2026f5!? 19.exf5 Nd5, would both have given me a clear edge! In the game, after 19.Bxh6 Rxh6 20.Qe3 Rh7 21.Rfd1 Rhd7 22.Nf1<\/strong> and the exchange of all four Rooks, the position quickly simplified towards a draw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Round 7: Mvl – Vallejo (2693) 1\/2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nA\nlong game full of manoeuvers, typical of the Advance French. The\nproblem with this kind of position is that you always feel fine, with\na space advantage, but it\u2019s in fact never that simple. I tried to\norganize my pieces so as to be able to sac a piece on the Kingside,\nbut I never found a way to do so in a convincing manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Round 8: Mvl – Keymer (2516) 1-0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The young German is a Sicilian Najdorf fan, but I chose to transpose the fight right into the middlegame with 2.c3. In a rather simple and equal position, he opted for the radical 17\u2026b5?!<\/strong>, whose idea is to get control of d5, even though at the cost of time. He had no obligation to do so though. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mvl-Keymer,
Mvl-Keymer, round 8.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

After 18.cxb5 Nb4 19.Ne5 Qxb5 20.Rh3<\/strong>, I was able to play my Rook all along the third rank, alternating threats on both wings. I ultimately forced the weakening \u2026f5. Maybe the position was still within equalizing margin for him, but it\u2019s really tough to defend in a practical game! He had a last chance in the following position, however with very few time left for his remaining 4 moves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Mvl-Keymer,
Mvl-Keymer, round 8.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Here, objectively best was probably 37.gxf5 exf5 and white keeps an edge, but I still played 37.Qe3<\/strong>, as I felt that his idea was to bring the Rook to g8 via c8, and I had anticipated that it was wrong! Indeed, after 37\u2026Rc8? 38.gxf5 Rg8+ 39.Kh2 Nxf5 40.Nxf5 exf5<\/strong>, I could display a nice and winning stairway manoeuver; 41.Qb3+ Kf8 42.Qb4+ Kf7 43.Qc4+ Kf8 44.Qc5+ Kf7<\/strong>, and now 45.Ra1! Ra8 46.Ra6!<\/strong> is lethal as black can\u2019t move anymore (1-0, 49 moves). However, after 37.Qe3<\/strong>, he still had the loophole 37\u2026fxg4 38.Qxh6 g3!, and the position remains very unclear after 39.Qh7+ Ke8 40.Nf3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Last
Last game\u2026 (Photo George Souleidis).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Round 9: Carlsen (2845) – Mvl 1-0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A very difficult game against an amazing Carlsen, who was almost assured of the tournament victory before the last round. On the board, I decided not to play my usual systems against the English, opting for the flexible variation with \u2026d6 and \u2026Ff5, while avoiding his prep on the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, I was a bit surprised by his move 9.Be3<\/strong>, with the clear intention of playing d4 in good circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Carlsen-Mvl,
Carlsen-Mvl, round 9.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

But there was no reason to overreact with \u2026a6-\u2026b5 as I did. I had various other \u00ab\u00a0normal\u00a0\u00bb options at this moment; for example 9\u2026a6 10.Qd2<\/strong> Rb8, with the idea \u2026b5, but without sacrificing the pawn! But having said A, I went on with my idea and said B, pushing 10\u2026b5?<\/strong> immediately. I thought I had compensation after 11.cxb5 axb5 12.Nxb5 Qa5<\/strong>, but I quickly realized the truth, ie. that it was not to be! Nevertheless, I could ask Magnus tactical questions, and he had to find a transposition in a Queen\u2019s endgame with a pawn up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Carlsen-Mvl,
Carlsen-Mvl, round 9.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\nHere,\nI could have offered a much tougher reistance, had I played 34\u2026Kg8\n35.Qxd5 Qa3, and white still has to demonstrate how he wins this.\nInstead, I wanted to be active with 34\u2026f6?\n35.Qxd5 h5<\/strong>,\nonly facilitating white\u2019s task after 36.gxh5\ngxh5 37.Qd7+ Kg6 38.a4 Qe2 39.Qd5!<\/strong>\nand everything is under control (1-0, 44 moves).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks\nto this final win, Carlsen won the tournament with the staggering\nscore of 7.5\/9. There\u2019s nothing to add; just applaud\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Grenke
Grenke Chess Classic 2019 final crosstable.<\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\nAs\nfor me, I felt I was not really in great shape in this tournament,\nand I didn\u2019t play any particularly inspiring game. The result is\nmore or less ok, not the quality of the games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From\nnow on, the calendar is speeding up, as I will fly on Monday, May 6\nto Abidjan (Ivory Cost), where the first tournament of the Grand\nChess Tour 2019 will take place, May 8-12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n