Inarkiev recovered from yesterday’s defeat, Cheparinov lost again (updated)

Round 2 results:

Kamsky Gata 2726 ½ – ½ Navara David 2672

Grischuk Alexander 2716 ½ – ½ Karjakin Sergey 2732

Adams Michael 2729 1 – 0 Cheparinov Ivan 2695

Bacrot Etienne 2705 0 – 1 Radjabov Teimour 2751

Yue Wang 2689 ½ – ½ Gashimov Vugar 2679

Svidler Peter 2746 ½ – ½ Carlsen Magnus 2765

Inarkiev Ernesto 2684 1 – 0 Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2752

Tomorrow LIVE on Chessdom: Magnus Carlsen vs Ernesto Inarkiev. See you there!

All news about Baku Grand Prix

A quick 19-move perpetual check in the game Grischuk-Karjakin was seen as a slap in the face by outraged FIDE representatives. The tournament is being played under the Sofia rules which prohibit draw proposals and it is unclear if the players have tried to bypass the system. After the game, Karjakin said he’s trying his best in every game, while Grischuk explained that he is still searching for his best form. Grischuk spoke in favor of Sofia rules, claiming that it forces players to make better games.

Zurab Azmaiparashvili, who is acting as FIDE special adviser for Sofia rules, expressed his disappointment that there is no adequate legal framework for these rules as of yet. At the present, there is no way to stop players from making a threefold repetition.

Inarkiev recovered after yesterday’s unpleasant episode and defeated Mamedyarov with white pieces. Mamedyarov admitted on more than one occasion that opening preparation is his weakest spot. This time he opted for Pirc defence and reached equal position, but then, in his own words, he “made a couple of empty moves” allowing Inarkiev to seize the advantage. Black resigned shortly before the time control.

Svidler-Carlsen ended in a draw after correct play from both sides in the Open Ruy Lopez. Adams employed a tricky Moscow variation (3.Bb5+) in order to prevent Cheparinov from playing his favorite Naidorf Sicilian. Black should be able to equalize in this line, but once Cheparinov locked his rook on b6, Adams got something to play against. White regrouping on the kingside got black nervous and he overreacted with 32…d5? A quick 33.Rf3! was key in reaching a rook endgame with extra pawn, which Adams skillfully converted into full point.

Seeing Gashimov to play his pet Benoni defence didn’t come as a surprise for Wang Yue. The Chinese tried with fashionable fianchetto variation, but Gashimov was well prepared and ideally distributed black pieces on all fronts. A status quo was reached before the time control and soon both of them started repeating moves trying not to spoil the position with uncalled activity. Draw was agreed on move 46.

Navara used Chebanenko Slav against Kamsky, an opening that American Grandmaster likes to play himself. White made it into the middlegame with small advantage, mainly consisting of more active pieces and queenside majority. Massive exchanges transposed the game into material-wise equal ending, but with two connected passed pawns for white. Navara defended with precision and took a well deserved draw. Read also David Navara’s profile, written in his own words.

The longest game of the day was Sveshnikov Sicilian battle between Bacrot and Radjabov. Bacrot sacrificed a pawn in order to reach the position with opposite-colored bishops where both sides had better attacking chances. After exchanging a pair of rooks, Radjabov started moving his kingside majority forward. Combined power of rook and bishop allowed black to advance his f-pawn and lock white pieces in passivity. Bacrot made a terrible blunder with 59. Kg2 and lost on the spot. Radjabov said later that game was exhausting.

Round 2 standings:

1-4. Kamsky Gata 2726 USA, Radjabov Teimour 2751 AZE, Adams Michael 2729 ENG and Grischuk Alexander 2716 RUS - 1½

5-11. Karjakin Sergey 2732 UKR, Navara David 2672 CZE, Carlsen Magnus 2765 NOR, Yue Wang 2689 CHN, Gashimov Vugar 2679 AZE, Svidler Peter 2746 RUS and Inarkiev Ernesto 2684 RUS - 1.0

12-13. Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2752 AZE and Bacrot Etienne 2705 FRA – ½

14. Cheparinov Ivan 2695 BUL – 0.0

Round 3 on 23rd April at 15:00 local time

Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2752 - Kamsky Gata 2726

Carlsen Magnus 2765 - Inarkiev Ernesto 2684

Gashimov Vugar 2679 - Svidler Peter 2746

Radjabov Teimour 2751 - Yue Wang 2689

Cheparinov Ivan 2695 - Bacrot Etienne 2705

Karjakin Sergey 2732 - Adams Michael 2729

Navara David 2672 - Grischuk Alexander 2716

Aronian beats World Champion Anand, Ivanchuk victorious against Leko. Report and replayable games

Round 2 results:

Vishy Anand – Levon Aronian 0-1

Teimour Radjabov – Veselin Topalov draw

Vassily Ivanchuk – Peter Leko 1-0

Alexei Shirov – Magnus Carlsen draw

Round 2 standings:

1-2. Vassily Ivanchuk and Veselin Topalov 1.5

3-6. Vishy Anand, Levon Aronian, Magnus Carlsen and Peter Leko 1.0

7-8. Teimour Radjabov and Alexei Shirov 0.5

Levon Aronian played his pet Marshall Attack with black against Anand. Exactly Anand marked Aronian as favorite to win this tournament. Anand was never afraid of Marshall attack and he dived into complications after introducing novelty 16. Be3 (Zoltan Almasi played 16. Nd2 before). It looked like he had things under control, particularly after snapping that second pawn on h4. Aronian, on the other hand, wasn’t worried, as he recalled after the game, and continued to along the usual “Marshall counterplay” where pair of bishops and heavy pieces are causing trouble on the kingside. Anand first made an inaccuracy with 29. Nd2 and then blundered on the next move with 30. Nf3. Aronian quickly launched mating attack and won.

Magnus Carlsen continues with introducing new openings into his repertoire. This time he played a rare line of Kan Sicilian with black against Alexei Shirov. Spaniard was surprised and spent some time to find the most appropriate setup. After some inspired play, when both of them tried to avoid exchanges and find attacking motifs, the game ended in righteous draw right before the time control.

Veselin Topalov also astonished his opponent by choosing Berlin Ruy Lopez, which is exceptional for his repertoire with black pieces. Already on move 18, Teimour Radjabov simply dropped a central pawn with Rd2. Black knight cannot be recaptured because white central pieces are hanging. He knew what he did long before Topalov took it and quickly replied with 19. b3, like if nothing happened. Whether this confused Topalov, it is still unclear, but he missed strong c6-c5 in the next two moves, and Radjabov was able to grab his pawn back. Soon, Topalov found himself in weaker position as both players were heading into time trouble. Draw was signed on move 41 when white still enjoyed small advantage but probably insufficient for win because black held pair of bishops.

Peter Leko also attempted to play Marshall Attack, but Vassily Ivanchuk avoided it with imaginative 8.d4!? Not retreating with rook on 10th move would be a call for trouble after 10…Ne6 11. Nxf7 Kxf7 12. e5! Next Ivanchuk went for the line where he gives queen for two rooks, an idea that was tested in only one game before. Leko soon established himself with a queen and pair of bishops, but exactly his pawn on e4 was limiting active options. Ivanchuk was slowly improving the scope of his rooks and Leko was forced to resign after the breach over the 7th or 8th rank became inevitable.

Morelia Linares round 1 report

Round 3 pairings:

Magnus Carlsen – Vishy Anand

Peter Leko – Alexei Shirov

Veselin Topalov – Vassily Ivanchuk

Levon Aronian – Teimour Radjabov

Join us on Sunday at 16:30 EST / 22:30 CET for the live commentary on the 3rd round of Morelia-Linares. GM Vladimir Dimitrov and Goran Urosevic will cover Carlsen-Anand and Aronian-Radjabov. See you there!