By Chess Coach William Stewart
Original article on Banza 2011 – 5th Kings Chess Tournament, Round 7 available here
Magnus Carlsen achieved a very solid positional victory against Vassily Ivanchuk, grinding down his experienced opponent in an endgame that appeared drawish at first. White emerged from the opening with a very slight advantage due to his opponent’s isolated d-pawn. Carlsen then went on to provoke multiple weaknesses as Ivanchuk defended passively. Carlsen certainly deserved the win and taught Ivanchuk that passive defense is not enough to stop a win from Carlsen. I do believe that Ivanchuk could have defended much more actively. Carlsen now leads with 5/7, trailed by Karjakin at 4.5/7 and Nakamura at 3.5/7.
- Carlsen Presses After Ivanchuk’s 48. ..f5
Karjakin vs. Radjabov
Karjakin played a very peaceful game today with Radjabov, maintaining his position near the top as the tournament enters the final rounds. Nisipeanu played a somewhat off-beat line against Nakamura’s Najdorf to trade pieces early and force a perpetual check on move 31.
For more coverage, please check out the Banza 2011 – 5th Kings Chess Tournament, Round 7 article on Will’s website.
Nakamura should have won today again.