We saw some of the finest chess at the highest levels in the Candidates Tournament. Players introduced their preparations that brought new areas to the study of openings and we saw some very imaginative defensive ideas and a lot of technique that was put to work in different areas of the game. Many of the decisive games included some very precise execution of techniques whether in positions that involved an exchange advantage, positional advantage, an outside passed pawn or executing a plan based on developing an attack.
Of course all of this was a tribute to the excellent preparation of the participants that make this game such a joy and expand the possibilities of combinations in positions and developing and executing a game plan for desired outcomes in various situations. I’ve selected a few games that are very instructive to study for any student and aspirant of this beautiful game.
Caruana v So Rd 1 (1-0):
This game was a beautiful execution of a plan based on simple observation of development of pieces on different side of the board. Its important to notice how your opponents pieces are positioned in the middle game – how many pieces on what side- King side or Queen side; how to exploit the activity of your pieces by undermining the relatively passive positioning of the opponent’s pieces. In this game Fabi executed a winning combination on the King side after So found most of his pieces flanked on the Queen side.
Kramnik v Grischuk Rd 1(1-0):
Kramnik had a terrific start to the Candidates Tournament and that surely must have given him and his team of seconds that included Anish Girl a big boost at the end of the first three rounds. Playing White Kramnik won convincingly against Grischuk in their round 1 encounter. Known for getting under time pressure Grischuk found himself squeezed with time in this game. This game demonstrates the importance of keeping the Rook controlling an open rank or file. Grischuk playing black allowed his Queen’s Rook (Positioned on a8 at start of the game) to wander too far and get himself entangled in a mesh of his own and opponent pieces in the middle of the board. The perils of exposing the rook too far out front with the minor pieces is plainly on display here. Kramnik closed out any “escape holes” for the rook and won the piece in an exchange.
When Grand Masters play with the advantage of an exchange it is not a given that a win will be the likely result with advantage of an exchange (allowing a minor piece – a Knight or a Bishop to be capture in exchange for a Rook). It requires clear understanding of the advantage over your opponent and a systematic and precise exploitation of the advantage to convert it into a win. Kramnik demonstrated that effectively and won the game in convincing fashion.
Aronian v Kramnik Rd 3 (0-1):
This game was the start of Aronian’s problems. In hindsight it seems he never fully recovered from this loss as he was delivered 7…Rg8! like a thunderbolt. Levon never felt comfortable after the move and couldn’t find the best response on the board. Kramnik effectively demonstrated his excellent preparation and executing his game plan with thorough precision. The game is a classic example of executing an attack effectively with accurate follow through of moves. All the Black pieces were effectively committed to the attack and flawlessly executed their roles in breaking any resistance and delivering a final mating attack.
Wesley So v Levon Aronian Rd 6 (1-0):
Much as a challenging tournament this was for Wesley, he put a decent show. There was inconsistency in his form and he was punished for the inaccuracies, but he showed class in the games he won. I think Wesley will take a hard look at preparing for a tournament of this class and level going forward. Levon came into this game after gaining some confidence in his win against Karjakin following the loss against Kramnik, but his missed chances in rd 5 to Grischuk sure left his confidence shaken.
This game is a result of some preparation on part of Wesley and beautifully demonstrates piece coordination- especially the Rooks. Its important to move pieces around the board to shifting opportunities and Wesley was smooth. Playing White against Levon and deploying the closed Ruy Lopez Wesley was initially active on the Queen side and doubled his Rook to pressure on the a file. As the game progressed and Aronian’s Rook was shut out on b5 Wesley moved his Rooks over to the ‘d’ file to put pressure on Levon and leveraged their presence to exploit tactical opportunities on the ‘e’ file. That onus gradually shifted in an all out winning combination on the King side and a brilliant win. This game also reinforces the importance of having Rooks on open files / ranks to realize their full potential. Levon found his Rook shut out on b5 and vulnerable to many tactical exploits. Trade offs had to be made and Black ended up giving up enough for White to exhibit some fine technique to finish matters.
Mamedyarov v Kramnik Rd 6 (1-0):
Coming into his first Candidates Tournament as World #2 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov was in a solid form and that gave him a very realistic chance to come out on top. Mamedyarov continued some solid form from his recent performances over the past year and gave away very little. This game also brought a stark realization of the importance of stamina in a Candidates Tournament. And this put the spot light on the two oldest of the group- Vladimir Kramnik and Levon Aronian. Kramnik blundered horribly in this game making a major miscalculation in imagining wrong piece position in a critical stage of the game. At the press conference later he said he felt tired mentioning some long games he’d played previously.
This game brings to front the importance of realizing that it’s important to stay in best physical form to be in the best mental form at a tournament to be able to give it your best. Players at this level work hard to squeeze out wins from marginal advantages. Realizing an advantage- whether material or positional – they follow up with precise technique to convert the advantage into a win. I’ve used this word repeatedly – technique – well how to interpret? Advantages in position and material in chess arise out of patterns in positions – patterns the pieces find themselves developed, patterns the pieces find themselves deployed after development, patterns arising from missed chances and inaccuracies. After many hours and experiences of study and learning a student understands there is a technique to be deployed, precisely to convert. The technique – a certain set of principles – is a direct result of the pattern in a position and that technique has to deployed accurately. Here Shakh exploits the advantage from Kramnik’s oversight and deploys the follow through technique to convert the advantage into a win. He navigated the traps and pitfalls set up by the experienced Kramnik- precisely.
Kramnik v Aronian Rd 10 (1-0)
Kramnik and Aronian both entered this round as the wounded warriors in the tournament. Both giving it all they got put up a brilliant exhibition of fireworks on the board. Both of them threw caution to the wind and showed some great spirit in taking the chances they had to take. The game abruptly ended when Levon, playing Black made the decisive mistake of the game. He was totally heartbroken and resolved to the possibility that lady luck just wasn’t on his side this time. Again.
Sergey Karjakin v Fabiano Caruana Rd 12 (1-0)
Facing Caruana needing to win the game in this round to overcome the whole point deficit he was facing against the tournament leader Sergey, playing White, delivered the goods. Caruana played the Petroff for the third time this tournament, after scoring 1.5/2 with it against Kramnik and So. But after facing the 5.Qe2 line twice, this time the American GM had to deal with one of the absolute main lines: 5.Nc3. Facing a lost endgame after finding himself in time trouble Caruana took chances sacrificing pieces and trying to lay the traps, but nothing worked. Resigned to the outcome, Fabi resigned after 48 moves.
Grischuk v Caruana Rd 14 (0-1):
Entering the round with better chances than any of the others to walk away with the tournament win, all Fabi needed to do was draw the game. But he was focused- on not doing anything crazy, and not giving away an obvious advantage. That would definitely make a statement and a statement he made. Securing the tournament win with the other games drawn Fabi continued to play on, confident of the advantage and knowing- he was winning. He played out one of the longest games of the tournament and secured a convincing tournament victory over Grischuk playing white and displaying solid form, technique and resilience that is sure to have been noticed by the World Champion.
