Karjakin Beats Grischuk in 4th Round Norway Chess

The fourth round of the Norway Chess tournament saw four draws and one decisive game. In a Grünfeld Sergey Karjakin beat his compatriot Alexander Grischuk, who hasn't played a single draw yet. Fabiano Caruana, who split the point with Anish Giri, maintained his half point lead but now Vladimir Kramnik is in clear second place. The two Norwegian participants, Magnus Carlsen and Simen Agdestein, both drew their first four games.

Before discussing the 4th round, here are some nice pictures from the events on the rest day, when the players visited the Vågen high school in Sandnes. There was a chess tournament for the pupils, and also non-chess activities.

The next day the players needed their brains once again for a new round in the strong Norway Chess tournament. Some of the “top boards” ended in draws, but as it turned out Fabiano Caruana had chances to increase his lead. 

The Italian player actually didn't get much with the White pieces against Anish Giri; both Levon Aronian and Peter Svidler felt that Black was slightly better after 20 moves. But in the next ten moves or so, Giri misplayed it and got “a lousy position”, as he said himself. It was Caruana's time trouble that prevented him from gaining an advantage, although also after move 40 White could perhaps improve. “I should manage my time better. Again I had 2 minutes for whatever it was, 10 moves....” (Caruana)

Aronian & Svidler commented on this game after playing a relatively quick draw in a Grünfeld. “I wasn't really prepared for this opening,” joked Aronian, who went for the 8.Rb1 line but had prepared nothing spectacular.

Magnus Carlsen played another draw, his fourth game in a row, against Veselin Topalov. It was the shortest game of the round, and it was the Bulgarian who had the better chances. In a Ragozin he played an interesting new move which forced his opponent to be careful. However, Carlsen was cautious enough and found the most accurate defence, after which neither player had good reason to avoid the repetition of moves. 

Carlsen: “The only issue for me really has been the game against Fabiano. In the first two games I thought I was paying fine and also today I didn't do anything wrong, it was just a normal game. Last year I started with four draws and then I won three in a row (before screwing up). I think there are still chances. Tomorrow [against Aronian - PD] will be a very interesting game.”

That other Norwegian player, Simen Agdestein, is still doing fine - result wise. Both he and his opponent Vladimir Kramnik appeared at the press conference coughing, and the Russian revealed that Agdestein had he were even sharing medicine! In the game they split the point in a Nimzo-Indian, after Kramnik had played a “new concept” (11...h6) in a well-known IQP position. “It was played by a female player - but a strong female player!” said Kramnik, who had looked at the idea while preparing for the Candidates tournament.

Nigel Short was surprised that Kramnik's opening play was so solid “against a player 150 Elo points lower”. The 14th World Champion explained his strategy as follows: “In the tournaments I play, even the lowest rated players are generally very strong. My approach is just to play my normal chess and if I will get a chance I will use it. I am not trying to win by all means.”

At the end Agdestein got a bit ambitious and then had to be careful, but objectively it was always a draw.

In the longest game of the day there was finally a result. Sergey Karjakin defeated Alexander Grischuk in another Grünfeld, where a good, practical decision turned out to be very important. When Black took on d4 on move 16 it was clear that White's opening had failed, and either recapture was unpleasant. Karjakin chose cxd4 as it was “more complicated”, and indeed it was. Black won an Exchange, but his rook was trapped for a while and he couldn't find the ideal setup on the queenside without letting a white rook becoming active. Grischuk played on for a win too long, and eventually lost.

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Norway Chess | Schedule & Pairings

Norway Chess 2014 | Round 4 Standings

#	Name	Rtg	Perf	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	Pts	SB
1	Caruana,F	2791	2985			½				1	½	1		3.0/4
2	Kramnik,V	2783	2842			½	½				1	½		2.5/4
3	Carlsen,M	2881	2775	½	½						½		½	2.0/4	4.25
4	Agdestein,S	2628	2780		½			½	½		½			2.0/4	4.00
5	Aronian,L	2815	2736				½		1	0		½		2.0/4	3.75
6	Karjakin,S	2771	2752				½	0		1			½	2.0/4	3.75
7	Grischuk,A	2792	2788	0				1	0				1	2.0/4	3.50
8	Giri,A	2752	2883	½	0	½	½							1.5/4	3.50
9	Svidler,P	2753	2702	0	½			½					½	1.5/4	3.00
10	Topalov,V	2772	2711			½			½	0		½		1.5/4	2.75

The Norway Chess tournament runs 2-13 June in the Stavanger region. All photos courtesy of the official website | Games via TWIC