By Chess Coach William Stewart (FIDE 2234, USCF 2256)

Original article on Bazna 2011 – 5th Kings Chess Tournament – Round 9

Round 9 of the 5th Kings Chess Tournament was quite exciting with many interesting wins. Round 8 wasn’t too exciting as every game was drawn. Round 9 was a different story.

Karjakin destroys Ivanchuk

Karjakin Destroys Black’s Pawn Cover With 19.Bxg6!

Karjakin destroyed Ivanchuk’s Pirc Defense to catch up to Carlsen at 6/9 points. I appreciate Ivanchuk’s creativity, especially in the opening, but he simply played too slowly in this game. He has been having a tough tournament, uncharacteristically displaying many inconsistencies in his play that have been persistently exploited by the competition. Karjakin played aggressively and finished with the solid 19. Bxg6! to demolish the pawn cover around Ivanchuk’s king.

Carlsen draws Nisipeanu after tough battle

Carlsen Presses With 22. …c5!?
Carlsen had an interesting game with Nisipeanu today, achieving solid pressure from the black side of a Ruy Lopez. I expected him to extract more from the middlegame, however Nisipeanu pragmatically sacrificed an exchange with 26. Rxd4! to achieve a drawn endgame.
Nakamura – Radjabov: Final Position
Nakamura attempted to press however Radjabov’s preparation was too strong. Radjabov sacrificed a pawn with 10. …Nd4!? although he obtained ample compensation in the resulting position as white was simply unable to make progress due to the closed pawn structure and bad light-squared bishop.

Standings – Round 9

1-2 6.0 GM Magnus Carlsen NOR 2815, GM Sergey Karjakin RUS 2776

3 4.5 GM Hikaru Nakamura USA 2774

4 4.0 GM Teimour Radjabov AZE 2744

5 3.5 GM Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu ROU 2662

6 3.0 GM Vassily Ivanchuk UKR 2776

Check out Will’s site for more articles on the 2011 5th Kings Chess Tournament check out Will’s site.

Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Susan Polgar June 20, 2011 General News, Major Tournaments 4 Comments
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