Corus, Wijk aan Zee 2006 Round 5. Brief comments by Mark Crowther.

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Corus, Wijk aan Zee 2006

Corus, Wijk aan Zee 2006. Round 5 19th January 2006. Brief comments by Mark Crowther

Viswanathan Anand now leads alone after defeating Peter Leko. Photo from http://www.coruschess.com © Fred Lucas - Momentoo

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (NED), 14-29 i 2006                    cat. XIX (2716)
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                                         1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 
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 1. Anand, Viswanathan       g IND 2792  * 1 . . 1 . . = 1 = . . . .  4.0  2954 
 2. Ivanchuk, Vassily        g UKR 2729  0 * . . . . . 1 = 1 . . . 1  3.5  2880 
 3. Topalov, Veselin         g BUL 2801  . . * . . 0 = . . . 1 . 1 1  3.5  2842 
 4. Gelfand, Boris           g ISR 2723  . . . * . 1 . . = . = . 1 0  3.0  2771 
 5. Karjakin, Sergey         g UKR 2660  0 . . . * = . . = . . . 1 1  3.0  2800 
 6. Adams, Michael           g ENG 2707  . . 1 0 = * . = . . . = . .  2.5  2721 
 7. Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar   g AZE 2709  . . = . . . * . . = = = = .  2.5  2704 
 8. Aronian, Levon           g ARM 2752  = 0 . . . = . * = . . . . 1  2.5  2730 
 9. Leko, Peter              g HUN 2740  0 = . = = . . = * . . . . .  2.0  2659 
10. Sokolov, Ivan            g NED 2689  = 0 . . . . = . . * = = . .  2.0  2637 
11. Van Wely, Loek           g NED 2647  . . 0 = . . = . . = * = . .  2.0  2646 
12. Tiviakov, Sergei         g NED 2669  . . . . . = = . . = = * 0 .  2.0  2621 
13. Bacrot, Etienne          g FRA 2717  . . 0 0 0 . = . . . . 1 * .  1.5  2563 
14. Kamsky, Gata             g USA 2686  . 0 0 1 0 . . 0 . . . . . *  1.0  2493 
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Round 5 (January 19, 2006)

Anand, Viswanathan      -  Leko, Peter             1-0   49  B90  Sicilian Najdorf Variation
Ivanchuk, Vassily       -  Kamsky, Gata            1-0   54  B42  Sicilian Paulsen
Topalov, Veselin        -  Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar  1/2   46  C87  Ruy Lopez
Gelfand, Boris          -  Van Wely, Loek          1/2   26  D85  Gruenfeld Defence
Karjakin, Sergey        -  Bacrot, Etienne         1-0   41  C92  Ruy Lopez Chigorin
Aronian, Levon          -  Adams, Michael          1/2   57  E46  Nimzo Indian Rubinstein
Tiviakov, Sergei        -  Sokolov, Ivan           1/2   34  C77  Ruy Lopez Anderssen

The first game to finish was Boris Gelfand against Loek van Wely, who played idea in the Exchange Gruenfeld. They ended up in an ending where white had the exchange for Bishop and Pawn and Gelfand presumably thought there was no progress to be made.

Sergey Karjakin defeated Etienne Bacrot in the second game to finish. In a closed Ruy Lopez Karjakin played the new 21.Ng4 in response to a known risky pawn grab which I suppose we can presume he prepared. Things had already gone wrong for black when he was forced to give up Queen for Rook and Bishop. White's task was easier and things were settled with a blunder from Bacrot just before first time control.

Sergey Tiviakov has recently revived the Worrell Attack against the Ruy Lopez and he played it again against Ivan Sokolov. The game was drawn after 34 reasonably interesting moves.

Veselin Topalov tried extremely hard against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov sacrificing the exchange for long term pressure. By the time he'd got his final rook in play Mamedyarov was a rook for bishop and three pawns down. However he found a nice combination to draw the game shortly afterwards. One to look at in detail.

Topalov,V - Mamedyarov,S [C87]
Corus Wijk aan Zee (5), 19.01.2006

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 d6 7.c3 Bg4 8.d3 Nd7 9.h3 Bh5 10.Be3 h6 11.g4N Seems to be new. [11.Nbd2 Bg5 12.Qe2 Bxe3 13.Qxe3 0-0 14.b4 Re8 15.a3 Nb6 16.Bxc6 bxc6 17.Nb3 d5 18.Nc5 Nd7 19.Nxd7 Qxd7 20.Nd2 Qe6 21.Reb1 Rad8 22.Nb3 dxe4 23.Nc5 Qd5 24.dxe4 Qc4 25.f3 Rd6 26.Re1 f6 27.Rac1 Rb8 28.Qe2 Bf7 29.Kf2 Qxe2+ 30.Rxe2 Bc4 31.Rb2 Kf7 32.h4 h5 33.Ke3 Rbd8 34.Rcc2 Rd1 35.Rd2 R8xd2 36.Rxd2 Re1+ 37.Kf2 Rc1 38.Rd7+ Kg8 39.Rxc7 Rxc3 40.Rxc6 Rxa3 41.Rc8+ 1/2-1/2 Leko,P-Adams,M/Wijk aan Zee NED 2005/The Week in Chess 533] 11...Bg6 12.Nbd2 h5 13.g5 Nb6 14.Bb3 h4 15.a4 d5 16.a5 d4 17.cxd4 exd4 18.Bf4 Nd7 19.Rc1 Nc5 20.Rxc5!? Bold and risky but there is definite compensation. 20...Bxc5 21.Ba4 Kf8 22.Bxc6 bxc6 23.Qa4 Kg8 24.Qxc6 Bb4 25.Rc1 Bxa5 26.Nc4 Bb6 27.Nxb6 cxb6 28.Bc7 Qc8 29.Kg2 b5 30.Nxd4 Qe8 31.Qxe8+ Rxe8 Black's rook is locked out of the game. 32.Ra1 Rc8 33.Bd6 Kh7 34.Rxa6 Rc1 35.Nxb5 Rd1 36.Ra3 Rc8 Finally the rook gets out but white has a knight and three pawns for the exchange. However now the counterattack is ready to start. 37.Bf4 Rc2 38.Rb3

38...Rxd3! A nice saving combination. 39.Rxd3 Bxe4+ 40.Rf3 Rxb2 White's rook is pinned to the King and won't be able to extricate itself in time. 41.Nd6 Bd5 42.Nf5 Rb4 43.Bd6 Ra4 44.Be7 Kg6 45.Nxh4+ Rxh4 46.Kg3 1/2-1/2

Vassily Ivanchuk inflicted another defeat on Gata Kamsky. Things didn't look all that terrible out of the opening but Ivanchuk had a nice initiative with a better minor piece and pawns. Kamsky couldn't hold it.

Ivanchuk,V - Kamsky,G [B42]
Corus Wijk aan Zee (5), 19.01.2006

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Bc5 6.Nb3 Ba7 7.Qe2 d6 8.Be3 Nf6 9.Bxa7 Rxa7 10.c4 [10.Nc3 0-0 11.0-0 Nbd7 12.Rad1 Qc7 13.Qe3 b6 14.f4 Re8 15.Kh1 Ra8 16.Be2 Re7 17.Bf3 Rb8 18.g4 b5 19.g5 Ne8 20.Nd4 Bb7 21.Nce2 Nb6 22.b3 g6 23.h4 e5 24.fxe5 dxe5 25.Nf5 gxf5 26.exf5 Bxf3+ 27.Rxf3 Qxc2 28.Rc1 Qb2 29.h5 Nd5 30.Qe4 Rd7 31.Rg1 Nf4 32.Nxf4 exf4 33.Qxf4 Rbd8 0-1 Nikolin,Z-Otovic,L/Vrnjacka Banja YUG 1999] 10...Nc6 11.Nc3 0-0 12.0-0 b6 13.Qe3 Qc7 14.Be2 Qb8 15.Rfd1 Rd8 16.Rd2 e5 17.Rc1 Be6 18.Rcd1 h6 19.h3 Rb7 20.Bf1 b5 21.cxb5 axb5 22.Nd5 Bxd5 23.exd5 Ne7 24.Na5 Rc7 25.Nc6 Nxc6 26.dxc6 Rxc6 27.Qxe5 b4 28.Qd4 Qb6 29.Bc4 Qxd4 30.Rxd4

White's pawns are better and he has the better minor piece. Probably this should be savable but it turns out to be hard. 30...Rb6 31.Bb3 Kf8 [31...g6 is what I'd try.] 32.g4 Ke7 33.Re1+ Kf8 34.Rc1 Rd7 35.Rc8+ Ke7 White has made real progress. 36.h4 g5? Not great but its already getting hard. [36...d5] 37.Rh8 Rd8 38.Rxh6 Rg8 39.f3 Probably black is lost, and this is slow and sure. 39...gxh4 40.Rxh4 d5 41.Kf2 Rbb8 42.Ke3 Kd6 43.Rh6 Rbe8+ 44.Kf4 Kc5 45.Rd2 Rg6 46.Rh1 Reg8 47.Rc1+ Kd6 48.Rdc2 Rd8 49.Rc7 Rd7 50.R1c6+ Ke7 51.Bc2 d4 52.Rxd7+ Kxd7 53.Bxg6 Kxc6 54.Bxf7 1-0

Viswanathan Anand now leads alone after defeating Peter Leko. Photo from http://www.coruschess.com © Fred Lucas - Momentoo

Viswanathan Anand took the lead when he defeated Peter Leko in a Sicilian Najdorf. Leko is a very strong player but his taste for passive positions is neither winning him games against weaker opposition nor saving him from losses like this. Anand generally plays this kind of position very well and that was the case today.

Anand,V - Leko,P [B90]
Corus Wijk aan Zee (5), 19.01.2006

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nf3 Be7 8.Bc4 0-0 9.0-0 Be6 10.Bb3 Nc6 11.Bg5 Nd7 12.Bxe7 Qxe7 13.Nd5 [13.Qd2 Nc5 14.Rad1 Rad8 15.Qe3 Nxb3 16.axb3 f5 17.Nd5 Qd7 18.Ng5 Nd4 19.Nxe6 Qxe6 20.c3 1/2-1/2 Predojevic,B-Shirov,A/Sarajevo BIH 2005/The Week in Chess 551] 13...Qd8 14.c3 Na5 [14...Nc5 15.Bc2 a5 16.Qd2 Ne7 17.Ne3 a4 18.Rfd1 f6 19.Qxd6 Qxd6 20.Rxd6 Rfd8 21.Rxd8+ Rxd8 22.Kf1 Rd6 23.Ke1 Rb6 24.Nd1 Nc6 25.Nd2 Na5 26.b4 axb3 27.axb3 Nc6 28.b4 Nd7 29.Ne3 Ne7 30.Ra8+ Kf7 31.Ndc4 Rc6 32.Ba4 Rc7 33.Bb3 Kg6 34.Re8 Bxc4 35.Bxc4 Nc8 36.Be6 Ndb6 37.Nd5 Nxd5 38.exd5 Nd6 39.Rd8 Nf7 40.Rf8 Ng5 41.d6 Rc6 42.Bd5 Rxd6 43.Bxb7 Kf5 44.Ke2 h5 45.b5 Ne4 46.Bxe4+ Kxe4 47.Rc8 Rd7 48.b6 Rb7 49.f3+ Kd5 50.c4+ Ke6 51.c5 Kd7 52.Ra8 Kc6 53.Ra5 Rd7 54.Ke3 Rd8 55.f4 exf4+ 56.Kxf4 Rd5 57.Ke4 g5 58.h3 f5+ 59.Ke3 h4 60.Kf3 Rd3+ 61.Ke2 Rd8 62.Ke3 Rd5 63.Ke2 Rd8 64.Ra7 Kxc5 65.Ra5+ Kxb6 66.Rxf5 Kc6 67.Rxg5 Rh8 68.Re5 Kd6 69.Re4 Kd5 70.Ke3 Rg8 71.Rg4 Rh8 72.Kf4 Ke6 73.Kg5 Kf7 74.Rf4+ Ke7 75.Re4+ Kf8 76.Ra4 Kf7 77.Ra7+ Ke6 78.Ra2 Ke7 79.Kf5 Rg8 80.Rb2 Rg3 81.Rb7+ Ke8 82.Rb8+ 1/2-1/2 Moroz,A-Yuferov,S/Belgorod 1989] 15.Re1 Rc8 16.h3 Nb6? [16...b5] 17.Nxb6 Qxb6 18.Bxe6 fxe6 19.Re2 Rc6 20.Qd3 Qc7 21.Rd1 Nc4? The trouble with this is that white gets b3 and c4 with a spacial advantage and simple passivity for black. [21...b5] 22.b3 Nb6 [22...Na3 is reported to be Leko's intended move but he realised 23.Re3 which leaves black in a mess.] 23.c4 Nc8 [23...Nd7] 24.Red2 h6 25.Qe2 Kh7 26.h4 Qb6 27.h5 Qc5 28.Ne1 Rc7 29.Nd3 Qc6

30.c5! Black is very passive, its time to open things up. 30...Ne7 31.Qg4 Rf6 32.b4 d5 33.Nxe5 Qa4 34.Qg3 Rc8 35.Ng4 Rf7? Black has a bad position, this makes it worse. [35...Rff8] 36.Qd6 Rcf8 37.Qxe6 Qxb4 38.exd5 Qxc5 39.d6 Nc6 40.d7 Its all over. 40...Nd8 41.Qe4+ Qf5 42.Re2 Qxe4 43.Rxe4 b5 44.f3 a5 45.Ne5 Rf6 46.Ng6 Rg8 47.Re8 Rf7 48.Rd5 b4 49.Ne7 1-0

Levon Aronian against Michael Adams was the final game to finish. Michael Adams started in trouble out of the opening then errors were traded on the run up to first time control. They ended up in a Queen, Rook and four pawns ending with Adams having a passed a-pawn. Adams tried very hard to convert this tiny advantage but in the end he had to give in to a perpetual check.

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