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Ivan Cheparinov had a rough start, but managed to recover since and even scored two straight wins. Magnus Carlsen boosted his confidence after beating Radjabov with black pieces and will be looking to repeat his 2007 World Cup success when he eliminated Cheparinov in round 5. Live commentary starts at 12:00 CET/6:00 EST, see you there!
1.c4!? Carlsen also started with c4 against Topalov in Morelia/Linares. He was close to losing but managed to turn the tables. Looks like he's not keen to discuss Naidorf Sicilian with Bulgarian players.
1... e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 4. d3 was played in the game with Topalov, and after 4...d5 we had some sort of reversed Boleslavsky Sicilian.
4... d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nb6 The English Four Knights gained huge popularity in 90's and was extensively analysed since.
7.O-O Be7 8.a3 The most popular, beside 8. d3. White also tried 8. Rb1, 8. b3 and even immediate 8. b4.
8... O-O Ex-world champion Mikhail Botvinnik loved to play this reversed Dragon Sicilian with white. (8... a5 is interesting, black wants to slow b-pawn advance.)
9.b4 Be6 10.d3 f6 11.Rb1 Nd4 12.Nd2 (12.Nxd4 exd4 13.Ne4 Bd5 14.Bb2 f5 15.Nd2 Bxg2 16.Kxg2 was used only once in the recent times, the game Van Wely-Karjakin, 2008, ended in a draw. Generally, exchanging on d4 leaves white with reduced space and possible trouble with backward e2 pawn.)
12... c6 13.e3 (13.Nde4 Bf7 14.Be3 a5 15.Nc5 axb4 16.axb4 Ra3 Kramnik beat Leko with black in Melodi Amber few weeks ago.)
13... Nb5 This is possible because d3 pawn is hanging for a moment. 14. Nxb5 cxb5 gives black control over the complex of squares on the queenside, Na4 would be next.. . (13... Nf5 14.Nb3 Bf7 15.Qc2 Nd5 16.Ne4 Nd6 17.Rd1 Qc8 18.Nxd6 Bxd6 19.d4 Sargissian-L'Ami, Corus 2008.)
14.Qc2 Nxc3 Black has probably equalised, but Cheparinov, just like Topalov with whom he trained for many years, is known for forcing too much, even when position is not allowing it.
15.Qxc3 Now probably Qd7 and deploy the Rooks on central files. Knight should stay on b6 for the time of being, because white should lost a move if he wants to push a4.
15... Qd7 16.Nb3 Rad8!? 17. Rd1 is normal and safe move, but Carlsen could also fire 17. Nc5!? He likes those frequent changes in the pawn structure, when new motifs popup. (16... Rfd8 would have been expected, because Ra8 might come handy to cover possible weaknesses on the queenside.)
17.Rd1 Bg4!? A nice distraction. f2-f3 is not appealing, so Carlsen played Rd2. Now this could spoil coordination because Knight and Bishop are denied from this square.
18.Rd2 Kh8 Useful prophylactic move and black is also waiting to see what will white do next. (18... Bf5 is not so effective, because 19.Nc5! is strong.)
19.Nc5!? Perhaps 19...Qc8, but pawn sacrifice with 19...Nd5!? should also be calculated.
19... Qc8 20.Bb2 Black can choose between Nd7 and Nd5, while 20...Bxc5 21. bxc5 Na4 22. Qa5! is looking better for white.
20... Nd5 21.Qc2 Nc7 Rushing to slow b4-b5. Cheparinov could be planning Bxc5 and Bf5, when pressure on d3 compensates for b-file. But since he spent some time on shifting around, perhaps Carlsen could open the center with d4!?
22.Rc1 (22.d4!? exd4 23.Rxd4 Rxd4 24.Bxd4)
22... Ne6 Now that Rook has moved away from b-file, Cheparinov thought that he could afford time to challenge the Nc5. This idea has tactical flaw, however. 23. Nxb7 Qxb7 24. Qc4 looks strong because Bg4 can't defend Ne6 anymore and black's pawn structure is demolished.
23.h4 Carlsen didn't see it... (23.Nxb7 Qxb7 24.Qc4 Bf5 (24... e4!? 25.h3 Bf5 26.g4 is very complicated, but white should come out on the top in all subvariations. ) 25.g4)
23... Nxc5! 24.bxc5 Qe6 This was good time to trade off the Nc5. Carlsen will have to spend some time if he wants to exert pressure on the b-file. h4 also looks somewhat awkward, but he probably knows why he played it. The main battlefield will now be in the center.
25.d4!? exd4 26.Bxd4 Rd7 27.Qe4 Position is equal after the Queens exchange, but there is lots of play left, It is hard to organize attack on white weak pawn c5 and black Rooks might be tied on the 7th rank defending weakness on b7. (27.Qa4!? a6)
27... Qxe4 Maybe black should let white trade on e6 and play something useful in the meantime, for example Kg8, Bd8 or a Rook move. Cheparinov probably didn't want to risk Carlsen changing his mind and stepping away from the Queens trade. Now trading one pair of Bishops or Rooks should make black feel safer and allow him to move his King closer to the center.
28.Bxe4 Re8 29.Bg2 Bf8 Obviously Cheparinov wants to have an eye on c5, 29...Bd8 also comes as possibility.
30.Rb2 Kg8 The small problem is that after 31. Rcb1 Ree7, Bf8 is left out of play...
31.Rcb1 Ree7 32.Rb4 Time to move Bishop from g4...
32... h5!? Interesting decision. .. Cheparinov is anticipating f3-e4 in the future and wants to fix g3 and h4 as they stand without allowing pawn avalanche. On the other hand, h5 pawn could turn into weakness in some lines... (32... Bf5 33.R1b2 Kf7 looks perfectly safe.)
33.R1b2 Kf7 Maybe Carlsen will slip Ra4 in, to provoke a6.
34.f3 Be6 35.Kf2 g6 Black is very flexible in choosing future plans. Most likely, Cheparinov will play f5, with or without white's e4. 36. e4 f5! 37. e5 blocks everything and white has no possibility to play for a win...Dark-squared Bishop also comes back to life, and in event of trading Bd4, pawn c5 might become shaky.
36.Bf1 Bg7 37.Ra4 a6 38.Rab4 f5! 39.Bxg7 Kxg7 40.e4 Both 40...Kf6 and 40... fxe4 are sufficient. Black should be careful because all of his pawns are on light squares, on the other side white has three pawn islands.
40... fxe4 41.Rxe4 Bf5 42.Rxe7+ Rxe7 43.Bc4 Kf6 Many players would agree to a draw long time ago, but Carlsen and Cheparinov are both warriors and they would play this position on, regardless of Sofia rules. Cheparinov has adopted much of Topalov's attitude after many years of team work. This could explain poor start and now we're waiting to see the big comeback. It won't happen in this game though, draw is imminent. Cheparinov was also a "leading star" in the event called Handshake Gambit, when he refused to accept Nigel Short's hand before the game start. Short and Corus organizers made incredible noise, and more and more tournament contracts started to include the clause of obligatory handshake. However, nobody paid attention when this, and much worse, happened to "anonymous" WIM Anna Rudolf only few weeks earlier. The appeal submitted to FIDE has not seen resolution as of yet.
44.Be2 There is a huge delay in relaying games on the Grand Prix website, we're trying to get the moves on the phone.
44... Bc8!? Preparing to free the Rook and attack white's weak pawns, c5 comes first...
45.Rd2 White will also take his Rook into play, probably with Rd8 or Rd6+ first.
45... Re5 46.Rc2 Carlsen goes into defensive, but black can't do much either. (46.Rd8 Be6 47.Rf8+!? to take b7 with check 47... Ke7 48.Rb8 Rxc5 49.Rxb7+ Kf6 is still equal.)
46... a5 47.Rc3 Rd5 48.Ke3 Re5+ 49.Kf2 Rd5 50.Ke3 Re5+ 51.Kf2 And draw by moves repetition. Good play from both sides, although Carlsen missed one tactical shot that would have left black with destroyed pawn structure. Thank you everyone for following Chessdom live commentary, round report will be posted later tonight. Have a nice day.
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