Caruana shows way
No. 2 seed American Fabiano Caruana posted his second consecutive victory to take the lead along with four others, after the second round of the FIDE Grand Swiss tournament at the Comis Hotel in the British coast Isle of Man.
Caruana, 27, had two points, and was tied with Alexey Shirov of Spain, Baskaran Adhiban of India and the Chinese tandem of Wang Hao and Bu Xiangzhi.
World champion and top favorite Magnus Carlsen of Norway salvaged a draw against Russian youngster Alexey Sarana and shared second spot with a large group at 1.5 apiece, that included seeded players Alexander Grischuk of Russia and Hikaru Nakamura of the USA.
The 160-player, 11-round event, is being played as part of the world championship selection process, in which the winner automatically earns a spot to the eight-player, double round Candidates tournament.
So far, three of the eight players have already booked their tickets next March for Ekaterinburg, Russia. They are Caruana, as last cycle’s official challenger; World Cup champion Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan) and World Cup finalist Ding Liren of China.
* * * * Here, a highly dubious move by Black enables White to launch a powerful Kingside attack. For some time the position is fraught with razor sharp possibilities, with Black putting up a stiff resistance. At the end, Black collapses, but the struggle makes this game a pleasant one to follow. FIDE Grand Swiss 2019 W) E. Najer (Russia) B) V. Anand (India) Nimzo-Indian Defense
1. d4 Nf6; 2. c4 e6; 3. Nc3 Bb4; 4. e3 ....
The Rubinstein Variation, a steady but modest alternative which slightly favors White.
4 .... O-O; 5. Bd2 d5; 6. Nf3 b6; 7. Rc1 Bb7; 8. cxd5 exd5; 9. Bd3 Be7; 10. O-O Nbd7; 11. Ne5 Nxe5; 12. dxe5 Nd7; 13. f4 Nc5; 14. Bb1 d4; 15. Nb5 d3; 16. Nd4 a5; 17. Qg4 g6; 18. f5 Ne4?
This move allows White to enlarge a bridgehead for his Kingside operations. Better is the engine’s 18 .... h5, and after 19. Qh3 Qd5.the game is unclear. 19. Bxd3! .... A brilliant piece sacrifice, after which the position is fraught with tactical turns in White’s favor.
19 .... Nxd2; 20. fxg6 fxg6; 21. Bxg6 Kh8; 22. Bxh7 Rxf1ch; 23. Rxf1 Bg5; 24. Nf5 Qd3; 25. Re1 Bxe3ch; 26. Kh1 Bh6; 27. Qg6 Bxg2ch; 28. Kxg2 Qd5ch?!
Another dubious move by the former world champion... Better is 28 .... Qd3ch, which may compel exchanges and reduce the sting of White’s attack. E.g. 29. Kg1 Qf4 and the game still hangs in the balance. 29. Kh3 Qd3ch?
Black goes astray. Correct is 29 .... Qf3ch 30. Kh4 Qf4ch 31. Kh5 Qxh2ch and the game continues. 30. Kh4 1-0
If 30 .... Qd8ch 31. Kh5 and Black has run out of check. Solution to last week puzzle White to play and win.
White=Kh1, Qe3, Rg1, Bd2, Nc3, Pb5, Pc2, Pf2, Ph3
Black=Kh8, Qd6, Ra8, Rf8, Nf5, Pa7, Pb6, Pc6, Ph7 Raf81. Ne4! Nxe3; 2. Bc3ch Rf6; 3. Nxd6 If 3 .... Nd5 4. Nf7 mate. 4. fxe3 1-0