Navara D.	½	½	Topalov, V.
Gelfand, B	0	1	Giri, G.
Radjabov, T	½	½	Caruana, C.
Karjakin, S.	0	1	Aronian, L.
Nakamura, H	½	½	Ivanchuk, V.
Carlsen, M	1	0	Gashimov, V.
Kamsky, G.	½	½	Van Wely, L.

ROUND 2 - Sunday 15th January

Topalov, V.	½	½	Van Wely, L.
Gashimov, V.	½	½	Kamsky, G.
Ivanchuk, V	½	½	Carlsen, M
Aronian, L.	1	0	Nakamura, H
Caruana, C.	1	0	Karjakin S.
Giri, G.	½	½	Radjabov, T
Navara D	½	½	Gelfand B.

This was a rather quiet round enlivened by just three games that came to, or close to, a definite conclusion. 

In order to get off the mark, the world championship contender, Boris Gelfand had to resort to the Petrov Defence, which duly delivered him a draw.  He will no doubt be hoping to lift up his performance before meeting Vishy Anand later this year.

For the second round running, Sergey Karjakin suffered a defeat, this time at the hands of the Italian/American Fabiano Caruana.

Veselin Topalov has had a spell away from top international chess and is playing rather carefully as opposed to his previous sharp style.  His game with Loek van Wely came down to a queen and rook ending with Topalov having an extra pawn.  However, his pawns were spread around the board and were incapable of yielding a queen.

Levon Aronian and Hikaru Nakamura finished in an ending with unequal pieces, Aronian having a rool, knight and a bishop against Nakamura's queen and knight.  However, Aronian had two extra pawns and although they were not needed to secure the victory they no doubt had an influence on the game.  In the final position the black king was blocked up in a corner, and according to the computer was going to be mated 16 moves after Nakamura resigned.

So Aronian, the second favourite, has made a positive start to the competition having scored wins against two formidable opponents.

Mathew Sadler had a hard fight to save his game against Tania Sachdev.

---

ROUND 3 - Monday 16th January

Gelfand B.	½	½	Topalov V.
Radjabov, T	1	0	Navara D
Karjakin S.	1	0	Giri, G.
Carlsen, M	1	0	Aronian, L.
Nakamura, H	½	½	Caruana, C.
Kamsky, G	½	½	Ivanchuk, V
Van Wely, L	½	½	Gashimov, V   .

The clash of the day was bound to be between the two favourites Carlsen and Aronian and so it proved.  Carlsen played an English Opening, which turned into what the refined modern chess nomenclature has named the Agincourt Kurijica Defence.  Eventually, Carlsen launched an attack which Aronian could only survive by reducing to an ending where he had a rook and three pawns against Carlsen's bishop, knight and four pawns. Carlsen's immaculate endgame play then saw him home to a win and a lead in the tournament.  Up to now this was the game of the tournament.

Another interesting encounter was Gelfand - Topalov, the contender for the world championship and an ex-world champion.  Topalov is still getting acclimatised to this level of chess after a long lay-off, but for sure his ambitions have not been blunted.  Although lacking the capacity to play the double-edged chess that was his trade-mark, he is playing soundly and is unlikely to fail in his "come back."  The game itself was rather disappointing.  The opening promised to be a Nimzo-Indian, but Gelfand played a line that prohibited the normal ...Bb4 by Black.  Eventually a double rook and pawn ending emerged, with White having the advantage of a strong passed pawn.  However, Topalov slowed its advance on the seventh rank, then won it.  This called for the game to end as a draw.

Teimour Radjabov scored his first full point when David Navara blundered.

Sergey Karjakin must have sighed with relief at scoring his first point when winning his game with Anish Giri.  Before the game one would have backed the young Dutchman but his play didn't reach the standard shown in the first two rounds.

The other games were played to a point where draws were a fair result.

Mathew Sadler had another unsettling game with a women competitor and may have counted himself lucky to draw.

Carlsen can count himself lucky when Caruana offered him a draw in a position where the Italian could have carried on playing with every hope victory.

Nakamura and Giri agreed a quick draw.  With a rest day coming up tomorrow, Nakamura needs to re-group and put the first four round results out of his mind.  With nine rounds to go he can still come out of tournament with a good result.

Topalov and Gashimov powered their way to a 55 move draw in next to no time. In a queen and pawn ending a draw was a never in doubt.

Gelfand and Radjabov reached a position where, with heavy pieces on the board, Black had perpetual check,

The game Ivanchuk - van Wely also reached a queen and pawn ending when a draw was agreed.  Perhaps that is the best way to settle on a draw when there are regulations governing the number of moves to be played and an agreed draw has to have some measure of agreement on the part of the arbiter.

The remaining two games continued well after the others had finished where Aronian, Navara and Karjakin still had something to play for.  The first named wanted to get back on terms with Carlsen and the other two were fighting to get off the bottom of the table.

Showing extreme determination, Aronian pursued his game with Kamsky to a satisfactory conclusion and now shares first place with Carlsen.  Aronian is gritty player who will not easily throw in the towel.  One could have understood had he played for a draw after suffering his loss against Carlsen yesterday.

Karjakin confirmed his renewed will to win by beating Navara.

Sadler's game finished in a draw, and has now drawn in all four rounds.

Wednesday 19th January is a rest day.

Positions after four rounds

74th Tata Steel GMA 2012

			1	2	3	4
1	Carlsen,M	2835	◊ 1/12	♦ ½/6	◊ 1/2	♦ ½/3	3.0 / 4
2	Aronian,L	2805	♦ 1/5	◊ 1/10	♦ 0/1	◊ 1/11	3.0 / 4
3	Caruana,F	2736	♦ ½/4	◊ 1/5	♦ ½/10	◊ ½/1	2.5 / 4
4	Radjabov,T	2773	◊ ½/3	♦ ½/7	◊ 1/14	♦ ½/13	2.5 / 4
5	Karjakin,Sergey	2769	◊ 0/2	♦ 0/3	◊ 1/7	♦ 1/14	2.0 / 4
6	Ivanchuk,V	2766	♦ ½/10	◊ ½/1	♦ ½/11	◊ ½/8	2.0 / 4
7	Giri,A	2714	♦ 1/13	◊ ½/4	♦ 0/5	◊ ½/10	2.0 / 4
8	Van Wely,L	2692	♦ ½/11	♦ ½/9	◊ ½/12	♦ ½/6	2.0 / 4
9	Topalov,V	2770	♦ ½/14	◊ ½/8	♦ ½/13	◊ ½/12	2.0 / 4
10	Nakamura,Hi	2759	◊ ½/6	♦ 0/2	◊ ½/3	♦ ½/7	1.5 / 4
11	Kamsky,G	2732	◊ ½/8	♦ ½/12	◊ ½/6	♦ 0/2	1.5 / 4
12	Gashimov,V	2761	♦ 0/1	◊ ½/11	♦ ½/8	♦ ½/9	1.5 / 4
13	Gelfand,B	2739	◊ 0/7	♦ ½/14	◊ ½/9	◊ ½/4	1.5 / 4
14	Navara,D	2712	◊ ½/9	◊ ½/13	♦ 0/4	◊ 0/5	1.0 / 4

---

ROUND 5 - Thursday 19th January

Radjabov T.	½	½	Topalov V.
Karjakin S.	0	1	Gelfand B.
Nakamura, H	1	0	Navara D
Carlsen, M	½	½	Giri, G.
Kamsky, G	½	½	Caruana, C.
Van Wely, L	½	½	Aronian, L.
Gashimov, V	0	1	Ivanchuk, V

The first game to finish was van Wely - Aronian,  After opening with a Petrosian Variation of the Queen's Gambit, this went to 31 moves and was a level game throughout with neither player wishing to break the quiet play. Now that the tournament is reaching the half-way point and the preceding rounds have set the stage, Aronian will have settled on a strategy that he hopes will place him at the top of the table and the result of this game will not upset his expectations.  As he has already played Carlsen, he will be hoping that someone else will be able to halt the advance of the young Norwegian and thus give him an opportunity to get back into the frame..

Ivanchuk essayed a form of the Pirc Defence and was able to generate some pressure against Gashimov's position.  Eventually, Gashimov exchanged his queen for two rooks but thereafter was never in the game.

Nakamura quickly got the better of the luckless David Navara using an English Opening.  In the early middlegame Navara put a knight on the edge of the board where it remained for the rest of play leaving him virtually a piece down,  Nakamura gradually gained a large material advantage that forced Navara to resign.

Radjabov and Topalov agreed a draw and then played out a threefold repetition to finish in 28 moves. 

At last Gelfand began to show his class in his game against Karjakin.  After the first Najdorf Sicilian of the tournament, the game went to a queen and pawn ending, where Karjakin was forced into a losing king and pawn ending when he had to exchange queens to avoid Black gaining another queen.

Carlsen again played an English Opening against Giri but could make no headway against steady defence.  In the end there were just bare kings left on the board. 

An Arkangelsk version of the Ruy Lopez was played in the game Kamsky - Curuana and the game continued along calm lines reaching an ending where in a rook and bishop endgame, White had an extra pawn which on move 62 became the only pawn on the board but White had given up his bishop to achieve this.  The struggle waged on and a draw was agreed on the 84th move.

Mathew Sadler drew his fourth game in a row and is now due for some wins.

Positions after five rounds.

74th Tata Steel GMA 2012

			1	2	3	4	5
1	Carlsen,M	2835	◊ 1/13	♦ ½/4	◊ 1/2	♦ ½/3	◊ ½/6	3.5 / 5
2	Aronian,L	2805	♦ 1/12	◊ 1/7	♦ 0/1	◊ 1/11	♦ ½/8	3.5 / 5
3	Caruana,F	2736	♦ ½/5	◊ 1/12	♦ ½/7	◊ ½/1	♦ ½/11	3.0 / 5
4	Ivanchuk,V	2766	♦ ½/7	◊ ½/1	♦ ½/11	◊ ½/8	♦ 1/13	3.0 / 5
5	Radjabov,T	2773	◊ ½/3	♦ ½/6	◊ 1/14	♦ ½/9	◊ ½/10	3.0 / 5
6	Giri,A	2714	♦ 1/9	◊ ½/5	♦ 0/12	◊ ½/7	♦ ½/1	2.5 / 5
7	Nakamura,Hi	2759	◊ ½/4	♦ 0/2	◊ ½/3	♦ ½/6	◊ 1/14	2.5 / 5
8	Van Wely,L	2692	♦ ½/11	♦ ½/10	◊ ½/13	♦ ½/4	◊ ½/2	2.5 / 5
9	Gelfand,B	2739	◊ 0/6	♦ ½/14	◊ ½/10	◊ ½/5	♦ 1/12	2.5 / 5
10	Topalov,V	2770	♦ ½/14	◊ ½/8	♦ ½/9	◊ ½/13	♦ ½/5	2.5 / 5
11	Kamsky,G	2732	◊ ½/8	♦ ½/13	◊ ½/4	♦ 0/2	◊ ½/3	2.0 / 5
12	Karjakin,Sergey	2769	◊ 0/2	♦ 0/3	◊ 1/6	♦ 1/14	◊ 0/9	2.0 / 5
13	Gashimov,V	2761	♦ 0/1	◊ ½/11	♦ ½/8	♦ ½/10	◊ 0/4	1.5 / 5
14	Navara,D	2712	◊ ½/10	◊ ½/9	♦ 0/5	◊ 0/12	♦ 0/7	1.0 / 5

 

---

ROUND 6 - Friday 20th January

Topalov V	½	½	.Ivanchuk, V
Aronian, L.	1	0	Gashimov.V
Caruana, C.	½	½	Van Wely, L
Giri, G	½	½	Kamsky, G
Navara D	½	½	Carlsen, M
Gelfand B.	0	1	Nakamura, H
Radjabov T.	1	0	Karjakin S.

 

In such a long tournament as this is, it is most unfortunate if a player is off-form as he is immediately targeted by the remaining players as a source for an easy point.  Such is the case with David Navara.  Under normal circumstances he would be treated with some respect, but here he is dreadfully off-form having scored just one point from five games.  Naturally, someone such as Carlsen, already in the lead and wanting to secure that position, will try harder to beat him.  Their game opened with the Semi - Slav and very quickly Carlsen seized the initiative.  After the exchange of many pieces, the endgame was reached with each player having a rook, bishop and five pawns.  The opposite-coloured bishops favoured Carlsen who plays such endings with supreme technique but here he went wrong and his error brought about a level position, but with Navara having a queenside pawn majority.  Carlsen hustled his e-pawn through to queen and this cost White his bishop but left him with three pawns as compensation.  After slogging through to 84 moves, a draw was agreed.  Magnus claimed that although a draw was assured much earlier, he preferred to sit and play chess rather than twiddle his thumbs in his hotel room.

The game  Caruana - van Wely opened with the Centre Counter (or Scandinavian) often used by club players but rarely appearing at this level.  The reason why quickly became apparent when Black had his kingside pawns disrupted leaving doubled f-pawns and shortly thereafter the foremost pawn fell without Black getting any compensation. However, van Wely continued his rear-guard action and finally achieved a draw.

The Blumenfeld Variation was the opening of Aronian - Gashimov, and White quickly gained a pawn advantage which took Black some time to redress only to lose it yet again. When the endgame was reached, Aronian had reasserted his pawn advantage in a rook and bishop versus rook and knight ending. It didn't take Aronian long to convert this advantage into a win.

The young Dutchman, Giri, played a Reti opening against Kamsky, who tried to inject some life into the game by giving up a knight for two pawns.  A long game ensued and in an ending with bishop, knight and one pawn against bishop and two pawns, Giri won.

Following his win yesterday, Gelfand must have been thinking that he was recovering his form.  But it was not to be. Nakamura, using his favourite Dutch Defence, established a strong passed pawn, which should have been neutralised.  However, Gelfand, resorted to passive defence and ultimately allowed Black to double his rooks with threats of large scale material gains.  There was no answer to this and Gelfand resigned.

 

 

ARONIAN PREPARES FOR THE START OF ROUND SIX

Following a Ruy Lopez opening, the game Topalov - Ivanchuk did not stretch either player and peace was declared after 59 moves.

Radjabov - Karjakin looked to be heading for a Nimzo-Indian Defence, but the black bishop was never able to reach b4.  after some steady play Radjabov won a pawn and had gained two passed pawns on the queenside which had a long way  to travel before queening.  Eventually Karjakin resigned when his opponent was about to queen a pawn.

Mathew Sadler failed to break new ground and drew yet again.  At the moment he is not living up to his rating as one of the favourites to win this group.

Positions after 6 rounds

74th Tata Steel GMA 2012

			1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Aronian,L	2805	♦ 1/12	◊ 1/4	♦ 0/2	◊ 1/11	♦ ½/8	◊ 1/13	4.5 / 6
2	Carlsen,M	2835	◊ 1/13	♦ ½/7	◊ 1/1	♦ ½/5	◊ ½/6	♦ ½/14	4.0 / 6
3	Radjabov,T	2773	◊ ½/5	♦ ½/6	◊ 1/14	♦ ½/10	◊ ½/9	◊ 1/12	4.0 / 6
4	Nakamura,Hi	2759	◊ ½/7	♦ 0/1	◊ ½/5	♦ ½/6	◊ 1/14	♦ 1/10	3.5 / 6
5	Caruana,F	2736	♦ ½/3	◊ 1/12	♦ ½/4	◊ ½/2	♦ ½/11	◊ ½/8	3.5 / 6
6	Giri,A	2714	♦ 1/10	◊ ½/3	♦ 0/12	◊ ½/4	♦ ½/2	◊ 1/11	3.5 / 6
7	Ivanchuk,V	2766	♦ ½/4	◊ ½/2	♦ ½/11	◊ ½/8	♦ 1/13	♦ ½/9	3.5 / 6
8	Van Wely,L	2692	♦ ½/11	♦ ½/9	◊ ½/13	♦ ½/7	◊ ½/1	♦ ½/5	3.0 / 6
9	Topalov,V	2770	♦ ½/14	◊ ½/8	♦ ½/10	◊ ½/13	♦ ½/3	◊ ½/7	3.0 / 6
10	Gelfand,B	2739	◊ 0/6	♦ ½/14	◊ ½/9	◊ ½/3	♦ 1/12	◊ 0/4	2.5 / 6
11	Kamsky,G	2732	◊ ½/8	♦ ½/13	◊ ½/7	♦ 0/1	◊ ½/5	♦ 0/6	2.0 / 6
12	Karjakin,Sergey	2769	◊ 0/1	♦ 0/5	◊ 1/6	♦ 1/14	◊ 0/10	♦ 0/3	2.0 / 6
13	Gashimov,V	2761	♦ 0/2	◊ ½/11	♦ ½/8	♦ ½/9	◊ 0/7	♦ 0/1	1.5 / 6
14	Navara,D	2712	◊ ½/9	◊ ½/10	♦ 0/3	◊ 0/12	♦ 0/4	◊ ½/2	1.5 / 6

 

With the tournament roughly at the half-way stage, we take a look at some statistics.  Below we see that of the 42 games played, White has won 11, Black 6 and there have been 25 draws,  This is just about average for tournaments of such a high level.

---

ROUND 7 - Saturday 21st January

Karjakin S.	1	0	Topalov V
Nakamura, H	½	½	Radjabov T
Carlsen, M	1	0	Gelfand B.
Kamsky, G	1	0	Navara D
Van Wely, L	½	½	Giri, G
Gashimov V	½	½	Caruana, C.
Ivanchuk, V	½	½	Aronian, L.

The first game to finish was Ivanchuk - Aronian, agreed drawn in thirty moves.  Starting as an English Opening, neither side appeared to be ready to "rock the boat" and an ending of knight and bishop versus knight and bishop was reached with level pawns.  This result now gave Carlsen a target as winning his game with Gelfand would bring them level again.

The Carlsen - Gelfand game started with a Slav Defence and after some pressure Carlsen won a pawn. reaching an ending where he had two bishops and a knight plus an extra pawn against two knights and a bishop.  Now it was a matter of testing the young Norwegian's endgame technique.  His technique passed the test by first of all setting up a pawn majority on the kingside and then breaking through on the opposite flank resulting in a passed pawn.

Meanwhile, Nakamura had settled on a draw with Radjabov and the appropriate threefold repetition appeared on the board on the 28th move.

The all-Dutch clash between van Wely and Giri opened with the little seen Trompovsky Attack.  Giri gradually acquired more space putting Black's pieces in a bind. Van Wely defended skilfully and achieved a draw on the 66th move.

Following an Open Variation of the Ruy Lopez, Kamsky obtained a typical pawn formation against Navara, where his kingside pawn majority was not balanced by his opponents on the queenside as Black's c-pawns were doubled.  By making use of this imbalance, Kamsky advanced the kingside pawns and eventually reached a position where queening one of these was inevitable.  This tournament is gong to produce a rich harvest of endgames to satisfy the analysts.

The Grand Prix variation of the Closed Sicilian made an appearance in the game Karjakin - Topalov and White gained the exchange at the cost of two pawns.  Gradually, Karjakin increased his slight advantage and regained the two pawns but left Black with a dangerous passed d-pawn.  On White's 70th move the computer was indicating that he had a mate in 42!!!  Understandably, the game did not follow the prescribed course. Topalov toughed it out until giving in on the 99th move.

Gashimov and Curuana played a steady game following an Arkengelsk Variation of the Ruy Lopez and when a draw was agreed there was nothing to choose between the respective positions.

Mathew Sadler added to his collection of draws and must be wondering what he needs to do to win.

Positions after 7 rounds

74th Tata Steel GMA 2012

			1	2	3	4	5	6	7
1	Aronian,L	2805	♦ 1/9	◊ 1/4	♦ 0/2	◊ 1/10	♦ ½/8	◊ 1/13	♦ ½/5	5.0 / 7
2	Carlsen,M	2835	◊ 1/13	♦ ½/5	◊ 1/1	♦ ½/7	◊ ½/6	♦ ½/14	◊ 1/12	5.0 / 7
3	Radjabov,T	2773	◊ ½/7	♦ ½/6	◊ 1/14	♦ ½/12	◊ ½/11	◊ 1/9	♦ ½/4	4.5 / 7
4	Nakamura,Hi	2759	◊ ½/5	♦ 0/1	◊ ½/7	♦ ½/6	◊ 1/14	♦ 1/12	◊ ½/3	4.0 / 7
5	Ivanchuk,V	2766	♦ ½/4	◊ ½/2	♦ ½/10	◊ ½/8	♦ 1/13	♦ ½/11	◊ ½/1	4.0 / 7
6	Giri,A	2714	♦ 1/12	◊ ½/3	♦ 0/9	◊ ½/4	♦ ½/2	◊ 1/10	♦ ½/8	4.0 / 7
7	Caruana,F	2736	♦ ½/3	◊ 1/9	♦ ½/4	◊ ½/2	♦ ½/10	◊ ½/8	♦ ½/13	4.0 / 7
8	Van Wely,L	2692	♦ ½/10	♦ ½/11	◊ ½/13	♦ ½/5	◊ ½/1	♦ ½/7	◊ ½/6	3.5 / 7
9	Karjakin,Sergey	2769	◊ 0/1	♦ 0/7	◊ 1/6	♦ 1/14	◊ 0/12	♦ 0/3	◊ 1/11	3.0 / 7
10	Kamsky,G	2732	◊ ½/8	♦ ½/13	◊ ½/5	♦ 0/1	◊ ½/7	♦ 0/6	◊ 1/14	3.0 / 7
11	Topalov,V	2770	♦ ½/14	◊ ½/8	♦ ½/12	◊ ½/13	♦ ½/3	◊ ½/5	♦ 0/9	3.0 / 7
12	Gelfand,B	2739	◊ 0/6	♦ ½/14	◊ ½/11	◊ ½/3	♦ 1/9	◊ 0/4	♦ 0/2	2.5 / 7
13	Gashimov,V	2761	♦ 0/2	◊ ½/10	♦ ½/8	♦ ½/11	◊ 0/5	♦ 0/1	◊ ½/7	2.0 / 7
14	Navara,D	2712	◊ ½/11	◊ ½/12	♦ 0/3	◊ 0/9	♦ 0/4	◊ ½/2	♦ 0/10	1.5 / 7

---

ROUND 8 - Sunday 22nd January

Topalov V	½	½	Aronian, L.
Caruana, C.	½	½	Ivanchuk, V
Giri, G	0	1	Gashimov V
Navara D	½	½	Van Wely, L
Gelfand B.	½	½	Kamsky, G
Radjabov T	½	½	Carlsen, M
Karjakin S.	½	½	Nakamura, H

A quiet round as far as results are concerned the only positive score was made by Gashimov in his game with Giri.  This started as a Najdorf Sicilian with White playing the rather old-fashioned 6.Bg5.  It has been suggested that Giri was rather lax in his preparation and played a rather doubtful 23.Bd5 getting into a bit of a tangle and allowing Black to set up a rather nasty pin of the bishop resulting in the win of a pawn.  Black's king was then able to escort a powerful passed pawn through to the queening square, causing White's resignation.  This game was awarded the "Game of the Day" prize.

Aronian agreed a draw quite early in his game with Topalov, once again leaving Carlsen a target to go ahead in the race for first place.  Carlsen tried his best to pick up this challenge but he was denied by Radjabov who played a solid game after a Reti Openiing.  Eventually Carlsen had to agree a draw on the 44th move.

Van Wely played his favourite line of the Siciian that Navara tried to break down.  He tried for most of the middlegame to bring this about, thinking that he had a chance of redressing some of the bad results he has recorded.  His striving almost led to his defeat but eventually he had to agree a draw in a rook and pawn ending even though he was a pawn down.

Ivanchuk played a French Defence against Curuana and the game resolved into the Burn Variation, which seems to be popular for the players of the white pieces when confronted with the French.  Although White was able to set up a fierce kingside attack, he was unable to push this through to a conclusion and agreed to a draw.

Gelfand was confronted by a Gruenfeld Defence which the American Kamsky played perfectly until wavering in the middlegame and missing a clear win with 34. ...Qc7ch.  after this fright the remainder of the game was played without any further alarums.

Nakamura again essayed his favourite Dutch Defence but was unable to dent Karjakins resolve.  Nakamura's penchant for this defence must now be common knowledge to his opponents, affording them plenty of opportunity to prepare.

Mathew Carlsen again drew but this time with the tournament leader.

 

Positions after 8 rounds

74th Tata Steel GMA 2012

			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
1	Aronian,L	2805	♦ 1/9	◊ 1/6	♦ 0/2	◊ 1/10	♦ ½/8	◊ 1/12	♦ ½/4	♦ ½/11	5.5 / 8
2	Carlsen,M	2835	◊ 1/12	♦ ½/4	◊ 1/1	♦ ½/5	◊ ½/7	♦ ½/14	◊ 1/13	♦ ½/3	5.5 / 8
3	Radjabov,T	2773	◊ ½/5	♦ ½/7	◊ 1/14	♦ ½/13	◊ ½/11	◊ 1/9	♦ ½/6	◊ ½/2	5.0 / 8
4	Ivanchuk,V	2766	♦ ½/6	◊ ½/2	♦ ½/10	◊ ½/8	♦ 1/12	♦ ½/11	◊ ½/1	♦ ½/5	4.5 / 8
5	Caruana,F	2736	♦ ½/3	◊ 1/9	♦ ½/6	◊ ½/2	♦ ½/10	◊ ½/8	♦ ½/12	◊ ½/4	4.5 / 8
6	Nakamura,Hi	2759	◊ ½/4	♦ 0/1	◊ ½/5	♦ ½/7	◊ 1/14	♦ 1/13	◊ ½/3	♦ ½/9	4.5 / 8
7	Giri,A	2714	♦ 1/13	◊ ½/3	♦ 0/9	◊ ½/6	♦ ½/2	◊ 1/10	♦ ½/8	◊ 0/12	4.0 / 8
8	Van Wely,L	2692	♦ ½/10	♦ ½/11	◊ ½/12	♦ ½/4	◊ ½/1	♦ ½/5	◊ ½/7	♦ ½/14	4.0 / 8
9	Karjakin,Sergey	2769	◊ 0/1	♦ 0/5	◊ 1/7	♦ 1/14	◊ 0/13	♦ 0/3	◊ 1/11	◊ ½/6	3.5 / 8
10	Kamsky,G	2732	◊ ½/8	♦ ½/12	◊ ½/4	♦ 0/1	◊ ½/5	♦ 0/7	◊ 1/14	♦ ½/13	3.5 / 8
11	Topalov,V	2770	♦ ½/14	◊ ½/8	♦ ½/13	◊ ½/12	♦ ½/3	◊ ½/4	♦ 0/9	◊ ½/1	3.5 / 8
12	Gashimov,V	2761	♦ 0/2	◊ ½/10	♦ ½/8	♦ ½/11	◊ 0/4	♦ 0/1	◊ ½/5	♦ 1/7	3.0 / 8
13	Gelfand,B	2739	◊ 0/7	♦ ½/14	◊ ½/11	◊ ½/3	♦ 1/9	◊ 0/6	♦ 0/2	◊ ½/10	3.0 / 8
14	Navara,D	2712	◊ ½/11	◊ ½/13	♦ 0/3	◊ 0/9	♦ 0/6	◊ ½/2	♦ 0/10	◊ ½/8	2.0 / 8

Monday 23rd January is a rest day.

---

ROUND 9 - Tuesday 24th January

Nakamura, H	½	½	Topalov V
Carlsen, M	0	1	Karjakin S.
Kamsky, G	0	1	Radjabov T
Van Wely, L	½	½	Gelfand B.
Gashimov V	½	½	Navara D
Ivanchuk, V	1	0	Giri, G
Aronian, L.	1	0	Caruana, C

Van Wely and Gelfand jointly decided that the afternoon was better spent away from the chess board, so they connived a draw.  It is difficult to understand why players decided to take this route, particularly on the day following a rest day.  It seems unlikely that tournament strategy was involved in this case as neither player gained anything by deciding on a draw.  Perhaps van Wely wanted to lay claim to the fact that he was the only unbeaten player in Group A.

At the same time exciting things were happening in the game Aronian - Curuana.  Starting from a Reti Opening, Curuana established a powerful beast of a queen dominating proceedings from the middle of the board.  Aronian launched a knight down the board to counter and finally from c7 it captured a black rook and then Black had to spend time re-taking the knight, time that Aronian put to good use in consolidating his pieces and targeting the weak points in Black's game. Having weathered the storm Curuana established connected passed pawns on the d- and e-files.  Black then sacrificed a bishop in order to push through one of his passed pawns.  However, now being a whole rook up, it was no problem foe Aronian to set up a blockade of Black's passed pawns.  In desperation, Black tried to break through by advancing his d-pawn only to fall into a mating attack.

Carlsen set up a King's Indian Attack against Karjakin, an opening that he is using quite often nowadays.  On his 18th move Carlsen played a very suspect knight to e4 aiming it at a strong point on d6.  Karjakin quickly removed the knight and got a strong passed d-pawn in return, forcing Carlsen onto the defensive and claiming the initiative.  Karjakin supported his passed pawn by massing his major pieces behind it and thus forcing White to defend by similar means.  However, he did not have sufficient room to accommodate all his defensive pieces on the d-file and he was forced to give up a piece.  Carlsen fought back and an ending occurred in which he had a rook, bishop and two pawns against rook, knight and four pawns.  However, this was not enough for the world's number one to stave off defeat.

Both Nakamura and Topalov are dynamic players and their game buzzed with inventiveness.  However, they were evenly matched and a draw was a fair result.

Navara played the Berlin Defence against Gashimov's Ruy Lopez, but the game did not descend into the stodgy affair that this variation normally brings about.  There were some interesting points in a queen and double rook ending, but with an open pawn structure there was little chance of the game being won by either player.

Giri suffered his second loss in a row, this time against Ivanchuk.  When a king and pawn endgame arrived, both sides had passed pawns but it was a white pawn that reached a queening square first.

Mathew Sadler managed yet another draw, although it looked at one point as if he could win.

Mathew Sadler -           the draw master

Positions after 9 rounds

74th Tata Steel GMA 2012

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1

Aronian,L

2805

♦ 1/8

◊ 1/5

♦ 0/2

◊ 1/11

♦ ½/7

◊ 1/13

♦ ½/3

♦ ½/9

◊ 1/6

6.5 / 9

2

Carlsen,M

2835

◊ 1/13

♦ ½/3

◊ 1/1

♦ ½/6

◊ ½/10

♦ ½/14

◊ 1/12

♦ ½/4

◊ 0/8

5.5 / 9

3

Ivanchuk,V

2766

♦ ½/5

◊ ½/2

♦ ½/11

◊ ½/7

♦ 1/13

♦ ½/9

◊ ½/1

♦ ½/6

◊ 1/10

5.5 / 9

4

Radjabov,T

2773

◊ ½/6

♦ ½/10

◊ 1/14

♦ ½/12

◊ ½/9

◊ 1/8

♦ ½/5

◊ ½/2

♦ ½/11

5.5 / 9

5

Nakamura,Hi

2759

◊ ½/3

♦ 0/1

◊ ½/6

♦ ½/10

◊ 1/14

♦ 1/12

◊ ½/4

♦ ½/8

◊ ½/9

5.0 / 9

6

Caruana,F

2736

♦ ½/4

◊ 1/8

♦ ½/5

◊ ½/2

♦ ½/11

◊ ½/7

♦ ½/13

◊ ½/3

♦ 0/1

4.5 / 9

7

Van Wely,L

2692

♦ ½/11

♦ ½/9

◊ ½/13

♦ ½/3

◊ ½/1

♦ ½/6

◊ ½/10

♦ ½/14

◊ ½/12

4.5 / 9

8

Karjakin,Sergey

2769

◊ 0/1

♦ 0/6

◊ 1/10

♦ 1/14

◊ 0/12

♦ 0/4

◊ 1/9

◊ ½/5

♦ 1/2

4.5 / 9

9

Topalov,V

2770

♦ ½/14

◊ ½/7

♦ ½/12

◊ ½/13

♦ ½/4

◊ ½/3

♦ 0/8

◊ ½/1

♦ ½/5

4.0 / 9

10

Giri,A

2714

♦ 1/12

◊ ½/4

♦ 0/8

◊ ½/5

♦ ½/2

◊ 1/11

♦ ½/7

◊ 0/13

♦ 0/3

4.0 / 9

11

Kamsky,G

2732

◊ ½/7

♦ ½/13

◊ ½/3

♦ 0/1

◊ ½/6

♦ 0/10

◊ 1/14

♦ ½/12

◊ ½/4

4.0 / 9

12

Gelfand,B

2739

◊ 0/10

♦ ½/14

◊ ½/9

◊ ½/4

♦ 1/8

◊ 0/5

♦ 0/2

◊ ½/11

♦ ½/7

3.5 / 9

13

Gashimov,V

2761

♦ 0/2

◊ ½/11

♦ ½/7

♦ ½/9

◊ 0/3

♦ 0/1

◊ ½/6

♦ 1/10

◊ ½/14

3.5 / 9

14

Navara,D

2712

◊ ½/9

◊ ½/12

♦ 0/4

◊ 0/8

♦ 0/5

◊ ½/2

♦ 0/11

◊ ½/7

♦ ½/13

2.5 / 9

 

---

ROUND 10 - Wednesday 25th January

Topalov V	0	1	Caruana, C
Giri, G	0	1	Aronian, L.
Navara D	0	1	Ivanchuk, V
Gelfand B.	½	½	Gashimov V
Radjabov T	½	½	Van Wely, L
Karjakin S.	0	1	Kamsky, G
Nakamura, H	½	½	Carlsen, M

The first game to finish was that between Nakamura and Carlsen with a draw being agreed in 21 moves.  Does this indicate that Carlsen has given up any hope of winning the tournament?  Nakamura was probably quite happy to accept a draw from the world number one.

Gashimov played the Rubinstein Variation of the Queen's Indian against Gelfand's 1.d4.  After many exchanges within the first twenty moves a position emerged with both sides having two rooks and a minor piece but with Gelfand holding sway over the d-file.  However, Gashimov had an active rook on the a-file hitting a backward pawn. White gained an extra passed pawn on c4 and looked to have prospects of advancing it further.  Black with a bishop had starved White's knight of moves, but then, almost inexplicably, a draw was agreed - a decision that to we untutored observers found rather strange. The final position is detailed opposite with Black to play.

Aronian, armed with the black pieces, generated more space on the queen's flank against Giri.  Both sides had allowed doubled pawns but those of Giri on the half-open f-file looked more vulnerable than Black's on the g-file. Aronian quickly established a two pawn advantage, one of them being a powerful passed pawn on c3.  He nursed this into an overwhelming winning position on which Giri resigned.  Even if Carlsen had not given up hope, this victory of Aronian's would certainly have dented his ambitions.

Playing the black side of the Ruy Lopez against Radjabov, Kamsky quickly got the upper-hand when White indulged himself in a rather strange looking manoeuvre of his king's knight that settled on g6. His piece disposition took on a strange appearance with a rook and two bishops on the a-file and a knight, queen and rook on the e-file.  By the first time control, Kamsky had an easily won position, and Radjabov resigned.

The Navara - Ivanchuk game went into an ending with White having a rook and bishop plus five pawns against Black's queen and four pawns.  The queen looked to be superior and after thirty moves Black established a winning position that just needed the employment of good technique to convert into victory. This he duly did.

Van Wely adopted the Dutch Defence against Radjabov.  This opening has had a good airing in this tournament and it remains to be seen whether or not the theory has been enhanced.  White gained an advantage in space but was unable to put this to good use.  A draw was a fair result.

Topalov came crashing down when playing white against Caruana.  After a slow Reti Opening, play settled down to White having a slight advantage for twenty plus moves, when suddenly Caruana offered a rook for a deadly attack on the white king.  Topalov then gave up his queen in order to stay in the game, but eventually went down when his king's position was opened up.

Meanwhile, Mathew Sadler had won - do I hear the sounds of trumpets?  This win came at the right time as both the previous leaders had lost their games, and now Sadler came into a position that could afford him a chance of a high finishing place.

74th Tata Steel GMA 2012

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1

Aronian,L

2805

♦ 1/9

◊ 1/6

♦ 0/3

◊ 1/8

♦ ½/7

◊ 1/13

♦ ½/2

♦ ½/10

◊ 1/5

♦ 1/11

7.5 / 10

2

Ivanchuk,V

2766

♦ ½/6

◊ ½/3

♦ ½/8

◊ ½/7

♦ 1/13

♦ ½/10

◊ ½/1

♦ ½/5

◊ 1/11

♦ 1/14

6.5 / 10

3

Carlsen,M

2835

◊ 1/13

♦ ½/2

◊ 1/1

♦ ½/5

◊ ½/11

♦ ½/14

◊ 1/12

♦ ½/4

◊ 0/9

♦ ½/6

6.0 / 10

4

Radjabov,T

2773

◊ ½/5

♦ ½/11

◊ 1/14

♦ ½/12

◊ ½/10

◊ 1/9

♦ ½/6

◊ ½/3

♦ ½/8

◊ ½/7

6.0 / 10

5

Caruana,F

2736

♦ ½/4

◊ 1/9

♦ ½/6

◊ ½/3

♦ ½/8

◊ ½/7

♦ ½/13

◊ ½/2

♦ 0/1

♦ 1/10

5.5 / 10

6

Nakamura,Hi

2759

◊ ½/2

♦ 0/1

◊ ½/5

♦ ½/11

◊ 1/14

♦ 1/12

◊ ½/4

♦ ½/9

◊ ½/10

◊ ½/3

5.5 / 10

7

Van Wely,L

2692

♦ ½/8

♦ ½/10

◊ ½/13

♦ ½/2

◊ ½/1

♦ ½/5

◊ ½/11

♦ ½/14

◊ ½/12

♦ ½/4

5.0 / 10

8

Kamsky,G

2732

◊ ½/7

♦ ½/13

◊ ½/2

♦ 0/1

◊ ½/5

♦ 0/11

◊ 1/14

♦ ½/12

◊ ½/4

♦ 1/9

5.0 / 10

9

Karjakin,Sergey

2769

◊ 0/1

♦ 0/5

◊ 1/11

♦ 1/14

◊ 0/12

♦ 0/4

◊ 1/10

◊ ½/6

♦ 1/3

◊ 0/8

4.5 / 10

10

Topalov,V

2770

♦ ½/14

◊ ½/7

♦ ½/12

◊ ½/13

♦ ½/4

◊ ½/2

♦ 0/9

◊ ½/1

♦ ½/6

◊ 0/5

4.0 / 10

11

Giri,A

2714

♦ 1/12

◊ ½/4

♦ 0/9

◊ ½/6

♦ ½/3

◊ 1/8

♦ ½/7

◊ 0/13

♦ 0/2

◊ 0/1

4.0 / 10

12

Gelfand,B

2739

◊ 0/11

♦ ½/14

◊ ½/10

◊ ½/4

♦ 1/9

◊ 0/6

♦ 0/3

◊ ½/8

♦ ½/7

◊ ½/13

4.0 / 10

13

Gashimov,V

2761

♦ 0/3

◊ ½/8

♦ ½/7

♦ ½/10

◊ 0/2

♦ 0/1

◊ ½/5

♦ 1/11

◊ ½/14

♦ ½/12

4.0 / 10

14

Navara,D

2712

◊ ½/10

◊ ½/12

♦ 0/4

◊ 0/9

♦ 0/6

◊ ½/3

♦ 0/8

◊ ½/7

♦ ½/13

◊ 0/2

2.5 / 10

 

Thursday 26th January is a rest day

---

 

ROUND 11 - Friday 27th January

Carlsen, M	1	0	Topalov V
Kamsky, G	½	½	Nakamura, H
Van Wely, L	0	1	Karjakin S.
Gelfand B.	1	0	Ivanchuk, V
Gashimov V	0	1	Radjabov T
Aronian, L.	0	1	Navara D
Caruana, C	1	0	Giri, G

 

An amazing round that saw six games played to a positive response.  Aronian lost his game to back-marker Navara and was in danger of losing the lead to Ivanchuk.  However, Ivanchuk had a bad day and lost.  Carlsen took his chance and won a fine game against Topolav,  Aronian's lead has been reduced to half-a-point.

Quite against current form and expectations, Navara got the best of his game against Aronian.  Navara is a greatly under-rated player, but he is quite capable of beating the best in the world and today gave him a chance to prove this.  Aronian seems to have prepared thoroughly for this tournament and his position so far almost demands that he draws his last three games.  Following a Reti Opening, Aronian thought for some 40 minutes over his 14th move, and decided to exchange queens.  The resultant position turned out to favour Black, in that, although pawns were equal, he had a queenside majority and his pieces were more active.  Aronian defended grimly and reached an endgame where he was a knight down, but otherwise the presence of queens on the board and equal pawns gave him drawing chances.  This he was not able to achieve and Aronian lost his first game of the tournament.

 

The Carlsen - Topalov game promised great things as Carlsen has scored heavily in their individual encounters, claiming five points from six games.  Carlsen had probably not given up hope of catching Aronian and the events on that board must have given him some encouragement.  The Sicilian Defence played offered Topalov the better prospects and when he played 20. ...Nxb2 winning a pawn and threatening a rook, it looked as though Carlsen had blundered.  (See diagram)  Carlsen's counter-attack yielded an endgame in which he had a queen and two pawns against rook, two bishops and two pawns..  This favoured White, but a draw was expected.  On move 53, the Houdini chess engine was indicating that White had a mate in 23 moves!  Although this line was not followed, Topalov resigned.

 

 

The two "old-stagers" Ivanchuk and Gelfand have played each other many times over the last twenty plus years, and so neither player could hold secrets over the other.  However, after a Bogulybov type opening and a quiet middlegame, Ivanchuk lost the thread of the game and quite quickly drifted into a loss, that Gelfand duly converted.

The clash of the youngsters, Caruana against Giri, soon provided the Italian with the better game where he had an overwhelming advantage on the queenside that included two passed connected pawns.  An advance of these tied most of the black pieces down to defence allowing White to create a mating attack on the opposite wing. When he was about to suffer a ruinous loss of material, Black resigned.

The all-American encounter between Kamsky and Nakamura was bound to be an aggressive game as Nakamura has never won in their individual games and no doubt -Nakamura wanted to redress this situation.  A Dragon Variation of the Sicilian was played illustrating the no-holds barred expectations.  However, trading blow for blow the game came down to a bishop and pawn ending that could only yield a draw.

The Gashimov - Radjabov game started with a Closed Sicilian that progressed rather sedately into an equal middlegame.  Then, as a result of gaining some pressure, Radjabov won a pawn.  He managed to convert this into a rook, bishop and knight ending against two rooks, still remaining a pawn ahead.  Radjabov increased this advantage and won,

Karjakin faced an English Opening played by van Wely and held a slight advantage until, on move 53 van Wely blundered and allowed Black to advance his king with tempo, creating a mating net that forced White's resignation.

74th Tata Steel GMA 2012

Positions after 11 rounds

1	Aronian,L	2805	+77	&;	0		1	½	1	1	1	½		1	½	1	0	7.5 / 11
2	Carlsen,M	2835	+17	1	&;	½	½	½	½		0		1	½	1	1	½	7.0 / 11
3	Radjabov,T	2773	+71		½	&;	½		½	½	1	½	½	½	½	1	1	7.0 / 11
4	Caruana,F	2736	+89	0	½	½	&;	½	½	½	1	½		1	1	½		6.5 / 11
5	Ivanchuk,V	2766	+48	½	½		½	&;	½	½		½	0	1	½	1	1	6.5 / 11
6	Nakamura,Hi	2759	+31	0	½	½	½	½	&;	½	½		1	½	½		1	6.0 / 11
7	Kamsky,G	2732	+15	0		½	½	½	½	&;	1	½	½	0		½	1	5.5 / 11
8	Karjakin,Sergey	2769	-17	0	1	0	0		½	0	&;	1	0	1	1		1	5.5 / 11
9	Van Wely,L	2692	+28	½		½	½	½		½	0	&;	½	½	½	½	½	5.0 / 11
10	Gelfand,B	2739	-17		0	½		1	0	½	1	½	&;	0	½	½	½	5.0 / 11
11	Giri,A	2714	-50	0	½	½	0	0	½	1	0	½	1	&;		0		4.0 / 11
12	Topalov,V	2770	-108	½	0	½	0	½	½		0	½	½		&;	½	½	4.0 / 11
13	Gashimov,V	2761	-106	0	0	0	½	0		½		½	½	1	½	&;	½	4.0 / 11
14	Navara,D	2712	-80	1	½	0		0	0	0	0	½	½		½	½	&;	3.5 / 11

---

ROUND 12 - Saturday 28th January

Topalov V	1	0	Giri, G
Navara D	½	½	Caruana, C
Gelfand B.	0	1	Aronian, L.
Radjabov T	½	½	Ivanchuk, V
Karjakin S.	½	½	Gashimov V
Nakamura, H	1	0	Van Wely, L
Carlsen, M	½	½	Kamsky, G

 

Radjabov and Ivanchuk agreed a draw quite early which appeared rather strange as both players had a chance of getting into a high position.  Ivanchuk is known to have a tendency for a run of bad form and yesterday's loss may have rung warning bells in his mind.  Radjabov had not yet lost a game, so it may have been an incentive to keep a clean score.

This draw was followed very closely by a draw between Karjakin and Gashimov.  This is easy to understand as neither player would have gained much by a victory and Karjakin was in need of a draw after he had made such a bad start to the tournament.

Kamsky and Carlsen haven't met recently, but a few years ago Kamsky was having the best of their encounters.  Today's game was of interest because of the history of the two players.  As expected, Kamsky defended against the Ruy Lopez with  6.Nb-d7 and on move 17 set Carlsen a problem that he was forced to think about for 45 minutes.  However, Kamsky was unmoved and  having a powerful passed pawn on e3 it looked as though he was going to win the game.  Eventually Carlson was able to liquidate the dangerous pawn at the cost of the exchange. Moving onto the ending Carlsen had two pawns and a bishop against a rook and one pawn.  At this point a draw was agreed.

Nakamura's 1.e4 was met by the Chelybinsk Variation of the Sicilian in the hands of Loek van Wely. Nakamura made good use of the weak d5-square that is inevitable in this variation and occupied it first with a dominate knight and then a queen with pressure against the backward d6-pawn.  Under mounting pressure, van Wely blundered and lost the exchange.  When faced with an advanced and passed e-pawn close to queening van Wely resigned.  This was his second successive loss.

The game Gelfand - Aronan moved steadily to the first time control with nothing apparent for either player, but then Gelfand began to get into time problems sufficiently severe for Aronian to continue to press optimistically.  Eventually his optimism paid off as, in desperate time trouble, Gelfand blundered, allowing mate.

Topalov put yesterday's disaster behind him and gradually gained space against Giri's Petroff Defence.  At the first time control he was a pawn down in a rook and queen ending, but his pieces were more aggressively positioned.  On  his 44th move, the young Dutchman advanced his c-pawn instead of looking after his king's safety.  Topalov made full use of this mistake and piled up his pieces against g7 and eventually broke through.

Sadly Mathew Sadler broke his string of draws by losing to one of the C-Group leaders.

 

Loek van wely watches the game between Gelfand and Aronian.

 

74th Tata Steel GMA 2012

Positions after 12 rounds

1	Aronian,Levon	2805	+97	&;	0		½	1	1	1	1	½	1	½	1	0	1	8.5 / 12
2	Carlsen,Magnus	2835	+6	1	&;	½	½	½	½	½	0		1	1	1	½	½	7.5 / 12
3	Radjabov,Teimour	2773	+64		½	&;	½	½	½	½	1	½	½	½	1	1	½	7.5 / 12
4	Ivanchuk,Vassily	2766	+44	½	½	½	&;	½	½	½		½	0	½	1	1	1	7.0 / 12
5	Caruana,Fabiano	2736	+79	0	½	½	½	&;	½	½	1	½		1	½	½	1	7.0 / 12
6	Nakamura,Hikaru	2759	+53	0	½	½	½	½	&;	½	½	1	1	½		1	½	7.0 / 12
7	Kamsky,Gata	2732	+23	0	½	½	½	½	½	&;	1	½	½		½	1	0	6.0 / 12
8	Karjakin,Sergey	2769	-16	0	1	0		0	½	0	&;	1	0	1	½	1	1	6.0 / 12
9	Van Wely,Loek	2692	+2	½		½	½	½	0	½	0	&;	½	½	½	½	½	5.0 / 12
10	Gelfand,Boris	2739	-40	0	0	½	1		0	½	1	½	&;	½	½	½	0	5.0 / 12
11	Topalov,Veselin	2770	-73	½	0	½	½	0	½		0	½	½	&;	½	½	1	5.0 / 12
12	Gashimov,Vugar	2761	-96	0	0	0	0	½		½	½	½	½	½	&;	½	1	4.5 / 12
13	Navara,David	2712	-70	1	½	0	0	½	0	0	0	½	½	½	½	&;		4.0 / 12
14	Giri,Anish	2714	-72	0	½	½	0	0	½	1	0	½	1	0	0		&;	4.0 / 12

 

 

---

ROUND 13 - Sunday 29th January

Kamsky, G			Topalov V
Van Wely, L	½	½	Carlsen, M
Gashimov V	½	½	Nakamura, H
Ivanchuk, V	½	½	Karjakin S.
Aronian, L	½	½	Radjabov T
Caruana, C	1	0	Gelfand B.
Giri, G	½	½	Navara D

Not surprisingly, the first game to finish was Aronian v Radjabov.  This was no surprise from Aronian's standpoint as a half a point cemented his status as the tournament winner.  However, more could have been expected from Radjabov as not only has he a good record against Aronian, but a win would have placed him among the tournament leaders.  However, "C'est las vie."

This was followed quite shortly thereafter by a draw being agreed between Gashimov and Nakamura.  Neither player would have gained much by playing for a win and as their gradings were close, nothing was lost. So Gashimov had navigated the whole tournament with just one win.

Carlsen met van Wely's 1.d4 with a Dutch Defence with which he has considerable experience.  Thus it was a surprise when he walked into a well-known opening trap and had to give up the minor exchange.  It would appear that van Wely did not make the best use of his opportunities and allowed Carlsen to get back onto level terms. An endgame arrived with oppposite coloured bishops and black having two extra pawns, doubled on the a-file.  These can easily be stopped by the White king whilst his bishop looks after things on the kings wing.  A draw was a fair result.

The game Ivanchuk - Karjakin headed for a draw after a Ruy Lopez and this was duly agreed on white's 22nd move.

David Navara used the Berlin Defence in answer to Arish Giri's Ruy Lopez, indicating his readiness to accept a draw.  The young Dutchman looked to play on, but having suffered so many losses in recent rounds, he settled for any early draw. 

The last game to finish was Kamsky - Topalov, in which Black essayed a massive pawn advance on the queenside.  These pawns tended to become vulnerable and White began to pick them off finishing up with an extra pawn himself on that side of the board in a rook and knight ending against rook and bishop.  Kamsky succeeded in bottling up the bishop whilst the white knight had the run of the board.  Eventually White got three passed pawns and Black resigned.

Meanwhile the game Curuana - Gelfand had gone past a draw and by the 20th move the young Italian had the advantage over the world championship contender.  However, he missed the chance to win a pawn and as a result his advantage disappeared.  The next error was perpetrated by Gelfand in a queen and pawn ending when he allowed the unopposed advance of White's passed b-pawn.  Shortly after the time control Gelfand made another and final mistake.

Mathew Sadler reverted to his drawing mode.

74th Tata Steel 2012

Final Positions

Average Elo: 2754 <=> Cat: 21 gm = 3.90 m = 1.30

1	Aronian,Levon	2805	+86	&;	0	½	1	½	1	1	1	½	1	½	1	0	1	9.0 / 13
2	Carlsen,Magnus	2835	-5	1	&;	½	½	½	½	½	0	½	1	1	1	½	½	8.0 / 13
3	Radjabov,Teimour	2773	+61	½	½	&;	½	½	½	½	1	½	½	½	1	1	½	8.0 / 13
4	Caruana,Fabiano	2736	+101	0	½	½	&;	½	½	½	1	½	1	1	½	½	1	8.0 / 13
5	Ivanchuk,Vassily	2766	+41	½	½	½	½	&;	½	½	½	½	0	½	1	1	1	7.5 / 13
6	Nakamura,Hikaru	2759	+49	0	½	½	½	½	&;	½	½	1	1	½	½	1	½	7.5 / 13
7	Kamsky,Gata	2732	+51	0	½	½	½	½	½	&;	1	½	½	1	½	1	0	7.0 / 13
8	Karjakin,Sergey	2769	-15	0	1	0	0	½	½	0	&;	1	0	1	½	1	1	6.5 / 13
9	Van Wely,Loek	2692	+13	½	½	½	½	½	0	½	0	&;	½	½	½	½	½	5.5 / 13
10	Gelfand,Boris	2739	-64	0	0	½	0	1	0	½	1	½	&;	½	½	½	0	5.0 / 13
11	Topalov,Veselin	2770	-98	½	0	½	0	½	½	0	0	½	½	&;	½	½	1	5.0 / 13
12	Gashimov,Vugar	2761	-88	0	0	0	½	0	½	½	½	½	½	½	&;	½	1	5.0 / 13
13	Navara,David	2712	-64	1	½	0	½	0	0	0	0	½	½	½	½	&;	½	4.5 / 13
14	Giri,Anish	2714	-66	0	½	½	0	0	½	1	0	½	1	0	0	½	&;	4.5 / 13

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