Ukraine’s Vasily Ivanchuk took the lead after round four of the Tata Steel Masters Chess Tournament, in a tough competition which boasts the male and female world champions and the world’s number two chess player. Ivanchuk scored three wins and a draw from his four games, beating Ba Jobava, Loek Van Wely and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and drawing with Teimour Radjabov. Ivanchuk outplayed Vachier-Lagrave in the Najdorf variation off the Sicilian Defence of which Vachier-Lagrave, is considered an expert.
Fourteen of the world’s finest players are participating in the single round robin Tata Steel Masters. In a single round robin system, each competitor opposes everyone else in turns. Victories are difficult to achieve because the games are contested at a very high standard. Magnus Carlsen is still regarded as the favourite to win the 2015 Tata Steel, although he was defeated by Poland’s Radoslaw Wojtaszek, and picked up his first win in the fourth round. There are nine games yet remaining to be played. Hou Yifan is yet to score a win in the tournament. However, her Chinese colleague Ding Liren seems to be on a roll as he scored three extraordinary victories, one after another, against Radjabov, Yifan and Jobava following a loss to Italy’s Fabio Caruana. Liren is placed third on the tournament table.
Meanwhile, aficionados worldwide are patiently awaiting the winner of the coveted 2015 Tata Steel Brilliancy Prize. In 1975, the organizers of Tata Steel introduced a prize for the most delightful game of the tournament. Its winners have included Garry Kasparov, Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand. But world champions are not the only ones who are destined to win the prize. Any participating player in Tata Steel can do so. This prize has since become as important as the winner of the tournament.
A crucial game promises to be Carlsen vs Fabiano Caruana, pitting the number one and two chess players of the day. Last year, Caruana crushed the Norwegian world champion, and the impending game therefore, promises to be a bitter grudge match between the two grandmasters. Caruana will have the advantageous white pieces.
Chess games
The games below were played at the 2015 Tata Steel Chess Tournament which is underway. You will notice that Radosław Wojtaszek defeated Magnus Carlsen.
White – R Wojtaszek
Black – M Carlsen
1. d4 d6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 f5 4. b4 Bg7 5. Bb2 a5 6. b5 a4 7. e3 Nf6 8. Be2
c6 9. bxc6 bxc6 10. O-O O-O 11. Qc2 Qc7 12. Nc3 a3 13. Bc1 Nbd7 14. Rb1 Ne4
15. Nxe4 fxe4 16. Nd2 Nf6 17. Rb3 Bf5 18. Rxa3 h5 19. Rxa8 Rxa8 20. a3 h4
21. Bb2 h3 22. g3 Qc8 23. Re1 Rb8 24. Bc3 Nh7 25. a4 Ng5 26. Rb1 Ra8 27.
Qd1 c5 28. Rb6 Qe6 29. g4 cxd4 30. Bxd4 Bxd4 31. exd4 e3 32. gxf5 gxf5 33.
Nf1 exf2+ 34. Kxf2 Ne4+ 35. Ke1 Qf6 36. Qd3 Rxa4 37. Rb1 Qh4+ 38. Ng3 Kf7
39. Qf3 Kg7 40. Qf4 Qxf4 41. Nh5+ Kf7 42. Nxf4 Ng5 43. d5 Kf6 44. Kf2 Ra3
45. Bd3 Ra2+ 46. Kg3 Ra3 47. Re1 Ne4+ 48. Kf3 Ng5+ 49. Ke3 Ra2 50. Re2 Ra3
51. Rf2 Ne4 52. Rf3 1-0.
White Ding Liren
Black Fabiano Caruana
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 c6 4. Bg2 d5 5. Nf3 Bg7 6. O-O O-O
7. b3 dxc4 8. bxc4 c5 9. Bb2 Qb6 10. Qc1 cxd4 11. Nxd4 Nc6
12. Nxc6 bxc6 13. Nd2 Bf5 14. Nb3 Rac8 15. e4 Be6 16. e5 Nd7
17. Re1 c5 18. Nd2 Qa6 19. Re3 Rb8 20. Ra3 Qb6 21. Rb3 Qc7
22. f4 Nb6 23. Rb1 Rbd8 24. Bc3 Qd7 25. Bf1 Bf5 26. Ra1 f6
27. exf6 exf6 28. Rb5 Na4 29. Nb3 Nxc3 30. Qxc3 Be4 31. f5
Qxf5 32. Re1 Rfe8 33. Rxc5 Qd7 34. Qc1 f5 35. Qf4 Re7 36. h4
a5 37. Rxa5 Bc3 38. Rd5 Qa7+ 39. Kh2 Rxd5 40. cxd5 Bxe1 0-1.
White Yifan Hou
Black Ding Liren
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 Be6
7. Nge2 dxc4 8. Nf4 Nxd4 9. Nxe6 Nxe6 10. Bxc4 Qxd1+ 11. Rxd1
a6 12. Bxe6 fxe6 13. O-O h6 14. Bc1 g5 15. f4 g4 16. Na4 Rc8
17. b4 Kf7 18. Nc5 b6 19. Nd3 Nd7 20. Be3 b5 21. Ne5+ Nxe5
22. fxe5+ Kg6 23. Rd7 Bg7 24. Rxe7 Rhe8 25. Ra7 Rc6 26. Rc1
Rec8 27. Rxc6 Rxc6 28. Bd4 h5 29. a3 Bh6 30. Bc5 Bf4 31. h3
gxh3 32. gxh3 Bxe5 33. Rd7 Bb2 34. Rd3 e5 35. Kf2 e4 36. Rb3
Bc1 37. Rc3 Bb2 38. Rb3 Bc1 39. Rc3 Bg5 40. Ke2 Kf5 41. a4 Be7
42. axb5 axb5 43. Ke3 Bxc5+ 44. bxc5 Ke5 45. Rc1 Kd5 46. Rd1+
Kxc5 47. Kxe4 Re6+ 48. Kf4 b4 49. Rc1+ Kb5 50. Rb1 Rg6 51. Re1
b3 52. Re5+ Kb4 53. Re8 b2 54. Rb8+ Kc3 55. Rc8+ Kb3 56. Rb8+
Kc2 57. Rc8+ Kb1 58. Rh8 Rb6 0-1.
