Carlsen catches Aronian in last round, wins Tal Memorial on tiebreak

Magnus Carlsen caught Levon Aronian in the Tal Memorial final standings on Friday in Moscow, Russia. The Norwegian defeated Hikaru Nakamura and finished shared first with the Armenian, who drew with Ian Nepomniachtchi. This means that Carlsen won the tournament on the first tiebreak rule: number of black games. In the last round Peter Svidler defeated Vladimir Kramnik.

Photographers at work at the start of the final round

Yet another big one for Magnus Carlsen. The Norwegian, who will turn 21 in six days, won so many tournaments in recent years that it's not a surprise to see him finishing first in Moscow as well.

However, somehow it came as a small surprise anyway, because not many had really thought about what the the tiebreak rules would mean for the tournament situation. Just before he was going to show his win over Hikaru Nakamura, Carlsen was asked about his chances to win overall. His answer made clear that he had done some calculations himself:

If Ian [Nepomniachtchi] wins, he has a better tiebreak than me. But I don't really care.

Because Levon Aronian managed to draw this game, Carlsen finished first together with the Armenian.

The final handshake that finished the Tal Memorial

The first tiebreak rule decided matters: number of black games. Carlsen played with the black pieces five times, Aronian four. The two did share the first two money prizes of 30,000 and 20,000 Euros.

Carlsen not only did a good job behind the chess board; also behind the computer screen he was in great form as he explained his game as an experienced trainer. As we did in previous rounds, we entered all his lines and comments for you for replay:

[Event "6th Tal Memorial"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2011.11.25"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Nakamura, Hi"]
[Black "Carlsen, M."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E15"]
[WhiteElo "2758"]
[BlackElo "2826"]
[Annotator "ChessVibes"]
[PlyCount "116"]
[EventDate "2011.11.16"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 {"Maybe a strange way to play for a win but at
least it's less drawish than the Queen's Gambit." (Carlsen)} 4. g3 Ba6 5. Qc2
Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 {"I suspect neither of us had an idea of what we were doing in
the opening." (Carlsen)} (6... Bxd2+ 7. Nbxd2 Bb7 8. e4 d6 9. Bg2 Qe7 10. O-O
e5 11. Qc3 Nbd7 12. Nh4 g6 13. f4 O-O 14. Rae1 Rae8 15. fxe5 dxe5 16. d5 c6 17.
Bh3 cxd5 18. exd5 b5 {1/2-1/2 (18) Wojtaszek,R (2705)-Banikas,H (2620)/Porto
Carras 2011}) 7. Bg2 c6 8. O-O d5 9. Ne5 Nfd7 10. cxd5 cxd5 11. Bf4 Nxe5 12.
dxe5 O-O 13. Rd1 ({"One of the tricks here is that if White goes} 13. Nc3 {
Black can play} Nc6 14. Nxd5 Nd4 15. Nxe7+ Qxe7 16. Qa4 Nxe2+ {which is about
equal} 17. Kh1 Nxf4 18. Bxa8 Bxf1 19. Qxf4 {or maybe even slightly better for
Black." (Carlsen)}) 13... Bb7 {"I wasn't so sure how White was going to play
for an advantage here." (Carlsen)} (13... Nd7 14. e4 Rc8 15. Nc3 d4 16. Rxd4 {
is a well-known theoretical line known as slightly better for White -
something Carlsen needed to avoid - e.g.} Qc7 17. Rad1 Rfd8 18. h4 Nb8 19.
Rxd8+ Rxd8 20. Rxd8+ Qxd8 21. Qa4 Qd7 22. Qxd7 Nxd7 23. Bf1 Bxf1 24. Kxf1 {
Gelfand,B (2720)-Alekseev,E (2708)/Moscow 2008}) 14. Nd2 $146 (14. Nc3 Nc6 15.
Nxd5 exd5 16. Bxd5 Qe8 17. Qe4 Rd8 18. Rac1 Ba8 19. e6 f5 20. Qg2 Nb4 21. Bxa8
Rxd1+ 22. Rxd1 Qxa8 23. Rd7 Qxg2+ 24. Kxg2 Re8 25. Bd2 a5 26. a3 Nc6 27. Be3 {
Feller,S (2424)-Palac,M (2582)/Cap d'Agde 2006}) (14. e4 d4 15. Nd2 d3 16. Qc3
Na6 {Carlsen}) 14... Nc6 15. Nf3 $2 {"I wasn't sure if this was a blunder or
whether he sacrificed [the pawn]." (Carlsen)} ({"Better was} 15. h4 {but Black
is relatively comfortable." (Carlsen)}) 15... g5 {"I thought I wouldn't be
able to live with myself if I wouldn't play 15...g5." (Carlsen)} 16. Be3 g4 17.
Nd4 Nxe5 18. Bh6 Re8 {"I don't see how White can get any serious compensation.
" (Carlsen)} 19. e4 Bc5 20. Nb3 ({"After} 20. exd5 Qf6 21. Bf4 Bxd5 22. Bxd5
exd5 {Black is just better." (Carlsen)}) 20... Rc8 ({"} 20... Qf6 21. Nxc5 bxc5
22. Bf4 dxe4 23. Bxe4 Nf3+ 24. Kg2 Bxe4 25. Qxe4 {and White is more or less OK.
" (Carlsen)}) 21. Nxc5 $2 ({Carlsen expected} 21. exd5 Bxd5 (21... Qf6 $5) 22.
Bxd5 exd5 23. Qf5 Rc6 24. Bf4 Rf6 25. Qg5+ Rg6 26. Qxd8 Nf3+ 27. Kg2 Rxd8)
21... Rxc5 22. Qa4 Bc6 23. Qd4 Qf6 24. Bf4 dxe4 25. Bxe4 {"Of course here
Black is almost winning." (Carlsen)} Nf3+ ({"I could have played} 25... Bxe4
26. Qxe4 Nf3+ 27. Kg2 Qf5 {but I thought it was better to have a bishop on f3
than a knight." (Carlsen)}) 26. Bxf3 Qxd4 ({"Here} 26... e5 $2 27. Bxc6 exd4
28. Bxe8 {would be an amusing way to go wrong for Black." (Carlsen)}) 27. Rxd4
Bxf3 28. Rd7 Rd5 {During the game Carlsen thought this "was more or less
winning by force" and during the post-mortem he called it "technically
winning".} (28... e5 29. Be3 Rd5 30. Rxd5 Bxd5) 29. Rxd5 exd5 30. Be3 Re4 31.
Re1 d4 32. Bd2 Rxe1+ 33. Bxe1 Be2 34. f4 {"His only chance." (Carlsen)} gxf3
35. Bf2 d3 36. Be1 Kg7 37. Kf2 Kf6 38. Ke3 Kf5 39. h3 {Necessary.} (39. Bd2 Kg4
) (39. h4 Kg4 40. Kf2 Bd1 41. Bd2 Bc2 42. Bf4 Bb1 43. a3 b5 44. Bd2 Bc2 45. Be3
a6 46. Bd2 Bb3 47. Be3 Bd5 48. Bd2 Be4 49. Be3 Kf5 {and the king walks to b3
with a winning position according to Carlsen. "In general I'm winning when I'm
able to force his a-pawn to move and I can free my bishop."}) 39... h5 40. Bd2
Bf1 41. Be1 (41. h4 {would lead to similar positions as analyzed above.}) (41.
Kxf3 Bxh3 42. Ke3 Bf1 43. Kf2 Be2 44. Ke3 Kg4 45. Kf2 f5 {also wins (Carlsen).}
) 41... Bxh3 42. Kxd3 Bf1+ 43. Ke3 Kg4 44. Kf2 Bb5 45. Bc3 Bc6 46. Be5 b5 {"I
don't want him to exchance any pawns on the queenside." (Carlsen)} 47. Bb8 a6
48. Bc7 f5 49. b3 $6 {Now the win is "completely trivial" for Black (Carlsen).}
({After} 49. a3 {Carlsen's intention was} Bd7 50. Bd6 f4 51. gxf4 Bf5 52. Bc5
h4 53. Kg1 Kxf4 54. Bf2 h3 55. Kh2 Ke4 56. Kg3 Bg4 {Carlsen} 57. Bg1 Kd3) 49...
Bd5 50. Bd6 f4 51. gxf4 h4 52. f5 Kxf5 53. Ke3 (53. a4 Bxb3 54. axb5 axb5 55.
Kxf3 Bd5+ {the pawns are too far apart so White cannot stop them." (Carlsen)})
53... Kg4 54. Kf2 h3 55. Ke3 Be4 56. Kf2 Bb1 57. a3 (57. a4 b4 58. a5 Be4 59.
Kg1 Bd5 60. Bc5 Kf5 {(planning to march with the king to b5)} 61. Kh2 Bxb3 62.
Kg3 Bd5) 57... Ba2 58. b4 Bf7 ({Carlsen explained that the plan is} 58... Bf7
59. Bh2 Bh5 60. Bg3 Kf5 61. Bh2 Ke4 62. Bg3 Kd3 63. Bc7 Kc4 64. Kg3 Bg4 65. Bb6
Kb3 66. Bc7 Kxa3 {but here the computer system crashed. It's not difficult
anymore:} 67. Ba5 Ka4 {and White is in Zugzwang.}) 0-1

Carlsen beats Nakamura in the last round to clinch first place

Last seed Ian Nepomniachtchi played a fine tournament. In the first round he started with a win against Kramnik, and in the end he almost won the tournament. In the last round it was Aronian who had to defend for the whole game:

[Event "6th Tal Memorial"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2011.11.25"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Nepomniachtchi, I."]
[Black "Aronian, L."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2730"]
[BlackElo "2802"]
[Annotator "ChessVibes"]
[PlyCount "169"]
[EventDate "2011.11.16"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. Qc2 c5 8. Rd1
Qa5 (8... cxd4 9. Rxd4 Qa5 10. Bg3 b5 11. cxb5 Bb7 12. Bd3 Nc5 13. O-O {1/2-1/
2 Bacrot,E (2714)-Aronian,L (2802)/Porto Carras 2011}) 9. Nd2 cxd4 10. exd4
dxc4 11. Nxc4 Qd8 12. Bd3 Nb6 13. O-O Bd7 14. Nxb6 Qxb6 15. d5 Rfd8 $146 (15...
Kh8 16. Qe2 Rae8 17. d6 {1/2-1/2 Svidler,P (2755)-Giri,A (2714)/Porto Carras
2011}) 16. Qe2 Rac8 17. Bb1 Bb4 18. Be3 Qc7 19. Bd4 Bxc3 20. Bxc3 Nxd5 21. Rxd5
$5 exd5 22. Qd3 f5 23. Qxd5+ Kh8 24. Qf7 Rg8 25. Rd1 (25. Re1 Be8 26. Qe7 Qxe7
27. Rxe7 Rd8) 25... Be8 26. Qxc7 Rxc7 27. Bxf5 Bg6 28. Bg4 Re8 29. h4 Kg8 30.
Bd7 Re7 31. Ba4 h6 32. f3 Kh7 33. Kf2 a6 (33... Rc4 34. Bb3 Rxh4 35. Rd8 Bf7
36. Bc2+ Bg6 37. Bb3 $11) 34. Rd6 b5 35. Bb3 Bf7 36. Bc2+ Kg8 37. Bf5 Ra7 38.
a3 Re8 39. g4 Bc4 40. g5 (40. Bd4 Rae7) 40... hxg5 41. hxg5 Rf8 42. Bg4 ({
Interesting was} 42. Be4 Re7 43. Kg3 Re6 44. Rd7 Rf7 45. Rd8+ Rf8 46. Bh7+ Kf7
{and now} 47. Rd7+ $1 ({after the game the players only looked at} 47. g6+)
47... Re7 48. Rxe7+ Kxe7 49. Bb4+ Kf7 50. Bxf8 Kxf8 51. b4 {with what seems
like a winning endgame.}) 42... a5 43. Kg3 Re8 44. Bd7 Rea8 45. Be5 Kf8 46. Bg4
(46. a4 $5 {Aronian}) 46... Re7 47. Bd4 (47. f4 $5) 47... Ke8 48. Rg6 Bd3 49.
Rb6 (49. Rxg7 Rxg7 50. Bxg7 Kf7 51. Bc3 Kg6 52. Kh4 b4 $1 (52... Bf5 53. f4)
53. axb4 axb4 54. Bh5+ (54. Bxb4 Rh8+) 54... Kh7 $11 {with the idea} 55. Bxb4
$2 Ra4 $19) 49... Rd8 50. Bc3 Rd5 51. Bh5+ Kd8 52. Kh4 b4 53. axb4 axb4 54.
Rxb4 Kc7 55. f4 g6 56. Bf3 Rb5 57. Ra4 (57. Rxb5 Bxb5 58. f5 Re3 59. Bg2 Be8
60. f6 Bf7 {Aronian}) 57... Re6 58. Kg3 Bf5 59. Ra7+ (59. Ba5+) 59... Kd8 60.
Ra4 (60. Ba5+ Ke8 61. b4 Kf8 62. Kf2 Be4) (60. Ra8+ Kc7 61. Ra4 Rc5 62. Kf2 {
Nepomniachtchi}) 60... Ke8 61. Rd4 Rb8 62. Kf2 Reb6 63. Rd2 Rc8 64. Bd5 Rd6 65.
Re2+ Kd7 66. Bb3 Ra6 67. Rd2+ Ke8 68. Ke3 Rb6 69. Ba4+ Kf7 70. Bd7 Bxd7 71.
Rxd7+ Ke8 72. Rh7 Rc4 73. Rh6 Re6+ 74. Be5 Rb4 75. Kd3 Kd7 76. Rh7+ Kc6 77. Kc3
Re4 78. Rc7+ Kd5 79. Kd3 R6xe5 80. fxe5 Rxe5 81. Ra7 Ke6 82. Ra6+ Kf5 83. b4
Kxg5 84. Ra5 Kf4 85. Rxe5 1/2-1/2

A fighting draw between Nepomniachtchi and Aronian

Aronian won't mind too much that officially he's not the winner. An undefeated +2 in this super strong tournament means that he's now won 13.3 rating points for the January 2012 list, not long after passing the 2800 barrier. Carlsen's virtual rating is 2829 at the moment.

World Cup winner Peter Svidler eventually finished OK with a 50% score thanks to a last-round win against Vladimir Kramnik. The former World Champion cannot be satisfied with -2 and not a single victory.

[Event "6th Tal Memorial"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2011.11.25"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Svidler, P."]
[Black "Kramnik, V."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A13"]
[WhiteElo "2755"]
[BlackElo "2800"]
[Annotator "ChessVibes"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2011.11.16"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 e6 3. g3 dxc4 4. Qa4+ Nd7 5. Bg2 a6 6. Qxc4 b5 7. Qb3 Bb7 8.
O-O Ngf6 9. Nc3 Be7 10. d3 O-O 11. a4 (11. Qc2 c5 12. a4 Qb6 13. Bg5 h6 14. Be3
Ng4 15. Bd2 Rfc8 16. Qb3 {Aleksandrov,A (2617)-Vitiugov,N (2638)/Warsaw 2008})
11... b4 12. Nb1 Nc5 13. Qc2 (13. Qd1 e5 14. Nxe5 Qd5 15. Nf3 Nb3 16. e4 Nxe4 {
Svidler}) 13... e5 $146 (13... Bd5 14. Nfd2 Rb8 15. b3 {Bang,A (2285)-Kishnev,
S (2540)/Copenhagen 1991}) 14. Be3 e4 15. Bxc5 Bxc5 (15... exf3 16. Bxe7 Qxe7
17. exf3 Rfd8 18. Nd2 Qe2 (18... Nd7) 19. Qxc7 {Svidler}) 16. dxe4 Nxe4 17.
Nfd2 (17. e3) 17... Bxf2+ (17... Nxd2 18. Nxd2 Bxg2 19. Kxg2 {Svidler}) 18.
Rxf2 Nxf2 19. Bxb7 Ng4 (19... Rb8 20. Kxf2 Rxb7 21. Nf3) (19... Qd4 20. Nf3 Qe3
21. Bxa8 {Svidler}) 20. Nf3 Rb8 21. Bxa6 Qf6 22. Bd3 Qb6+ 23. Kh1 Nf2+ (23...
Qf2 24. Qc1) 24. Kg2 Nxd3 25. exd3 (25. Qxd3 Rbd8 26. Qb3 Rfe8 27. Kf1 Qh6 {
Svidler}) 25... Rfe8 26. a5 (26. Qf2 Qa6 27. Qf1 Rbd8 28. Nbd2 Rxd3 29. Rc1 {
Svidler}) 26... Qf6 (26... Qa6 27. Kf2 {Svidler}) 27. Qf2 (27. Ng1 $4 Re1 $19 {
Svidler}) 27... Rbd8 28. Ra4 (28. d4 Qa6 29. Ng1 Qd3 30. Nd2 Rxd4 31. Ndf3 Rc4
32. Ne1 Qd5+ 33. Ngf3 Rce4 {Svidler}) 28... c5 29. a6 Rxd3 30. a7 (30. Nbd2
Qxb2 31. a7 Ra3 32. Rxa3 bxa3 33. Qxc5 {Svidler}) 30... Qc6 31. Ra5 Qa8 (31...
Rxf3 32. Qxf3 Re2+ 33. Kg1 Re1+ 34. Kf2 Rf1+ 35. Kxf1 Qxf3+ 36. Ke1 Qe3+ 37.
Kd1 Qf3+ 38. Kc2 Qe4+ 39. Kb3 Qd5+ 40. Ka4 Qc6+ {Svidler}) 32. Nbd2 Rde3 (32...
h6 {Svidler} 33. Nc4) (32... Rd7 $1) 33. Nc4 R3e6 (33... Re2 34. Nb6 Rxf2+ 35.
Kxf2 Qe4 36. a8=Q Qe2+ 37. Kg1 Qe3+ 38. Kg2 Qe2+ 39. Kh3 Qf1+ 40. Kh4 g5+ 41.
Nxg5 Rxa8 42. Rxa8+ Kg7 {Svidler}) 34. Kg1 f6 (34... h6 35. Nfe5 f6 (35... Rxe5
36. Nxe5 Rxe5 37. Rxc5 Re7 38. Ra5) 36. Qxc5 fxe5 37. Nb6) 35. Ncd2 c4 (35...
Re3 36. Qf1 Re2 37. Qc1 {Svidler}) (35... g5 36. Qxc5 g4 37. Nd4 Re1+ 38. Kf2 {
Svidler} Rd1 $1) 36. Nxc4 Qe4 37. Nd4 R6e7 (37... Qb1+ 38. Kg2 Qe4+ 39. Qf3
Qxd4 40. a8=Q {Svidler}) 38. Nd6 Qb1+ 39. Kg2 Ra8 40. Qf3 Raxa7 41. Qa8+ 1-0

Svidler beat his compatriot Kramnik with a nice little mating combination at the end

Ivanchuk played an excellent game with Black against Karjakin and almost won. How deep he calculated becomes clear in the lines below - not to be missed!

[Event "6th Tal Memorial"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2011.11.25"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Karjakin, Sergey"]
[Black "Ivanchuk, V."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B46"]
[WhiteElo "2763"]
[BlackElo "2775"]
[Annotator "ChessVibes"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2011.11.16"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 Qc7 8.
Qe2 Bb7 (8... Bd6 9. Qg4 Ne7 10. Qxg7 Rg8 11. Qxh7 Be5 12. Qh5 Rxg2 13. Ne2 d5
{Kramnik,V (2807)-Timman,J (2594)/Wijk aan Zee 2003}) 9. e5 $146 (9. O-O d5 10.
Na4 Nf6 11. c4 dxe4 12. Bxe4 Nxe4 13. Qxe4 c5 14. Bf4 Qc8 15. Qc2 Qc6 16. f3
Be7 17. Rad1 {Hector,J (2553)-Timman,J (2579)/Malmo 2003}) 9... c5 10. O-O d5
11. exd6 Bxd6 12. Be4 Nf6 (12... Bxh2+ 13. Kh1 Bd6 {fails to} 14. Nb5 $1 {and
White will win the pawn back with an advantage.}) 13. Bxb7 Qxb7 14. Bg5 Qxb2 $5
(14... Be7 {would have been the safe choice.}) 15. Bxf6 ({After} 15. Qf3 O-O
16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. Qxf6 {Black can play} Qxc2) 15... gxf6 16. Ne4 Be5 (16... Be7
17. Rab1 Qe5 18. f4 Qd4+ 19. Kh1 f5 20. Ng3 {Karjakin}) 17. Rab1 Qxa2 18. f4 (
18. Qf3 {Karjakin showed} O-O 19. Nxf6+ Bxf6 20. Qxf6 Qxc2 {and Ivanchuk
immediately shouted} 21. Rb3 $1 {with the point} Qxb3 22. Qg5+ Kh8 23. Qf6+ Kg8
$11) 18... Bd4+ 19. Kh1 O-O (19... f5 20. Nd6+ Kd7 21. Nxf7 Rhb8 22. Rbd1 {
Karjakin}) 20. f5 (20. Rb3 Rfb8 21. Rg3+ Kf8) 20... Kh8 21. Qf3 Qd5 22. c3 Be5
23. Qe3 Rg8 24. fxe6 fxe6 25. Rb2 Rg4 $1 {"A brilliant idea." (Karjakin)} ({
Karjakin had expected} 25... Rg6 26. Rd2 Qc6 {and here the computer comes uo
with} 27. Nxf6 $1 Bxf6 28. Rxf6 Rxf6 29. Qe5 Kg7 (29... Raf8 30. Rd8 $1) 30.
Rf2 Raf8 31. Qg5+ Kh8 (31... Rg6 $6 32. Qe7+) 32. Rxf6 Rg8 33. Qd2 {with good
drawing chances.}) 26. Nxf6 Rf8 27. Rd2 (27. Qh6 Rxf6) 27... Qc4 ({Another
amazing computer line goes} 27... Re4 $5 28. Qxe4 Qxe4 29. Rd8 $1 Qxg2+ $1 30.
Kxg2 Rxd8 31. Ne4 {and Black has a slightly better version of the ending that
will arise in the game.}) 28. Rdd1 $1 {The only move!} (28. Rdf2 Bxf6 29. Qh6
Rgg8 30. Rxf6 Qxf1+) (28. Rf3 Bxf6 29. Qh6 Rgg8 30. Rd7 Bg7 31. Rxg7 Qf1+ {
Karjakin}) 28... Rf4 (28... Bxf6 29. Qh6 Rgg8 30. Rxf6 Qe4 31. Rg1 Rxg2 32.
Rxg2 Qb1+ (32... Qe1+ 33. Rg1 Qe4+ {Karjakin}) 33. Rg1 Qb7+ 34. Rg2 Rg8 35.
Rfg6 Qb1+ 36. Rg1 Qe4+ 37. R6g2 Rxg2 38. Rxg2 Qe1+ 39. Rg1 Qe4+ {was a
fantastic line Ivanchuk mentioned afterwards.}) 29. Rxf4 Bxf4 30. Qe4 Qxe4 31.
Nxe4 {This is very drawish.} a5 32. g3 Be5 33. Ra1 Ra8 34. Ra4 c4 35. Kg2 Kg7
36. Kf3 Kg6 37. h3 h5 38. g4 h4 39. Ke2 Bg7 40. Kf2 Rf8+ 41. Ke2 Ra8 42. Kf2
Rf8+ 1/2-1/2

Great play by Ivanchuk, but Karjakin was solid until the end

The last round also included what was probably the last classical game between Vishy Anand and Boris Gelfand, before they will meet for their World Championship match next year, also in Moscow. Let's hope the games of next year will be more interesting.

[Event "6th Tal Memorial"]
[Site "Moscow RUS"]
[Date "2011.11.25"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Gelfand, B."]
[Black "Anand, V."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2744"]
[BlackElo "2811"]
[Annotator "ChessVibes"]
[PlyCount "57"]
[EventDate "2011.11.16"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. a3 dxc4 7. e4 (7. e3 Nd5
8. Bxc4 Nxf4 9. exf4 Bf6 10. Qd3 c5 11. O-O-O cxd4 12. Ne4 Nd7 13. Kb1 b5 14.
Bxb5 Bb7 15. Bxd7 Bxe4 16. Qxe4 Qxd7 {Vachier Lagrave,M (2715)-Kramnik,V (2791)
/Hoogeveen 2011}) 7... b5 (7... a6 8. Bxc4 c5 9. dxc5 Qxd1+ 10. Rxd1 Bxc5 11.
e5 Nfd7 12. Ne4 Be7 13. Nd6 h6 14. O-O Rd8 15. Rd2 Nc6 16. Rfd1 Nf8 {Pashikian,
A (2611)-Mohamed,N (2275)/Al Ain 2008}) 8. Nxb5 Nxe4 9. Bxc4 Nd6 10. Bd3 $146 (
10. Nxd6 cxd6 11. O-O Nd7 12. b4 Bb7 13. Qe2 Rc8 14. Rfc1 Nb6 {Moiseenko,A
(2715)-Fridman,D (2661)/Porto Carras 2011}) 10... Nxb5 11. Bxb5 Bb7 12. O-O Nd7
13. Rc1 Bd6 14. Bg3 Rb8 15. Ne5 Nxe5 16. dxe5 Be7 17. Qxd8 Bxd8 18. Bc4 Be7 19.
Rfd1 Rfd8 20. Bf4 Rxd1+ 21. Rxd1 Bc6 22. Rd2 a5 23. Kf1 Kf8 24. Be3 Ke8 25. f4
a4 26. Ba7 Ra8 27. Be3 Rb8 28. Ba7 Ra8 29. Be3 1/2-1/2

A draw between World Champ and his next Challenger

And so the strongest 10-player round robin ever (certainly rating wise) comes to an end. The younger generation finished on top, with one exception: Hikaru Nakamura. After his glorious victory in Wijk aan Zee in January, the American only managed to come close to his top level in Sao Paulo/Bilbao. He will have another chance soon, at the London Chess Classic where he'll meet Anand, Aronian, Carlsen and Kramnik again, and also Adams, Short, McShane and Howell.

Tal Memorial 2011 | Round 9 (Final) Standings

Schedule and pairings

Not a bad commentary team for the final round: Grischuk, Sutovsky and the last hour or so... Svidler!