Renova Group Grand Prix

Decorre de 14 a 30 de Abril a terceira etapa do FIDE Grand Prix (GP) Series 2012-2013  na cidade de  Zug, Switzerland. 

São 12 jogadores num torneio round robin com 120 minutos para os primeiros 40 lances, 60 minutos for seguintes 20 e depois mais  15 minutos com 30 seg./lance . 

O Grand Prix Series consiste em 6 torneios que se disputam em 2 anos com o top 18 jogadores, cada um participante em 4 dos 6 torneios. 

O vencedor e o 2º classificado da geral do GP qualifica-se para o Torneio de Candidados que se vai disputar em Março 2014.

 Foi uma pena um deste torneios, que estava previsto jogar-se em Portugal este ano, ter sido 'deslocado' para outras paragens (Alemanha ?). Enfim....

Ronda 10 (penultima) – Abril 29 2013, 14:00h
Rustam Kasimdzhanov	2709	½-½	Ruslan Ponomariov	2733
Alexander Morozevich	2758	1-0	Teimour Radjabov	2793
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov	2766	0-1	Hikaru Nakamura	2767
Fabiano Caruana	2772	0-1	Veselin Topalov	2771
Sergey Karjakin	2786	0-1	Gata Kamsky	2741
Anish Giri	2727	½-½	Peter Leko	2744

Destacamos a vitória do Topalov sobre o Caruano nesta penultima ronda....

Caruana-Topalov 0-1

Caruana,Fabiano - Topalov,Veselin
Renova Group Grand Prix 2013 
Zug, 29.04.2013   
[Margvelashvili, Giorgi]


1.e4 Before this game, Topalov was leading the tournament and had half point more than Caruana. So it was one of Caruana's last chances to catch Topalov. No wonder he chose a very aggressive set-up with White. 1...c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 Topalov chooses the Sicilian Najdorf, one of the most active and well analyzed variations. 6.Be3 [6.h3 Has been played by White with success lately.; 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 is another main line.] 6...e5 [6...e6 leads to a different type of positions.] 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 Defending the e4 pawn and preparing a g4 push. 8...Be7 9.Qd2 0-0 [9...h5 This move has been played by Topalov previously. The idea is to prevent g4 and develop an attack on the queenside. On the other hand the h5 pawn almost denies Black an opportunity to castle short.] 10.0-0-0 Caruana and Topalov have castled on opposite sides. Now the question is whose attack will be faster. 10...a5!? Topalov tries to push pawn to a4 and then possibly to a3, getting rid of the knight from b3 and weakening Caruana's queensside pawns. 11.a4 Preventing the above mentioned plan. 11...Na6 We will see on the next move why Topalov developes his knight on a6, and not c6. 12.Bb5 Nc7! Strong move. Topalov wants to exchange the b5 bishop that defends Caruana's position on the queensside, and also prepares for a possible d5 push. [12...Nb4 is more natural, but in many variations this knight is misplaced on b4.] 13.Bb6 Caruana cannot afford to give up his b5 bishop, so he decides to exchange the dark-squared bishop for the c7 knight. [13.Be2 this retreat is too slow, since after 13...d5! Black developes a big initiative in the center.] 13...Qc8 14.Bxc7 Qxc7 15.g4 Caruana proceeds with his own plan. He wants to get rid of the f6 knight and occupy the d5 square. 15...Rfd8 16.g5 Nh5 17.Nd5 Bxd5 18.exd5 g6 19.Kb1 The opening phase of this game is over and we can draw some conclusions. Both kings are defended very well, and neither side can develop an attack. But whereas Black has a clear plan of pushing f6 and attacking the weak f3 pawn, White's plan is less obvious. Probably the best Caruana can do is to bring the b3 knight to e4. Overall, I think Topalov's position is slightly preferable and easier to play. 19...Rf8! 20.Qe3 Qd8 [20...Nf4 21.h4 f6 was already possible, with a slight advantage for Black.] 21.h4 Nf4 22.Qg1 h6!? Topalov deviates from his original plan. He wants to exchange the h6 pawn for the g5 pawn, which would allow him to push f5 and dominate in the center. 23.Nd2 Kg7 24.gxh6+ Kxh6 The king looks dangerously placed on h6, but Caruana does not have enough resources to cause any troubles. 25.Nc4 Qc7 26.Qe3 Kh7 27.h5! A strong move by Caruana: sacrificing a pawn to open files. 27...g5! Topalov is correct to decline the pawn sacrifice. [27...Nxh5?? would just lose a game. 28.Rdg1 f5 29.f4! with the following Qf3 and Black has no defense against Rh5.; 27...gxh5 is possible, but risky. For example: 28.Nb6 Rad8 29.Rd3! preparing Rc3 followed by Nd7.] 28.h6 f5 29.Qd2 Freeing the e3 square for the knight, which can attack the f5 pawn from there. This position is very complicated, which means that plan with f6 was better than Topalov's h6 plan. 29...Rf6 30.Rdg1 Rg6 31.Ne3 Rf8 32.Nc4?! Not a good move. [32.Ng2! is the right move, exchanging the f4 knight. 32...Nxg2 33.Rxg2 Bd8 34.Bd3 with a slight advantage for Caruana.] 32...Bd8! 33.Rd1 Rff6 34.Qf2 Rxh6 35.Qa7? In time trouble Caruana makes several inaccurate moves. [35.Ne3 is better.] 35...Rxh1 36.Rxh1+ Rh6 37.Qg1?! [37.Rxh6+ Kxh6 38.Qg1 was more accurate, since it would not allow Topalov to place his rook on h4.] 37...Rh4! 38.Ne3 Qf7 39.Ng2?! Rxh1 40.Qxh1+ Qh5 41.Qxh5+ Nxh5 42.Ne3 Ng3 43.Kc1 Kg6 44.Kd1 g4?! [44...e4! 45.fxe4 Nxe4 46.Bd7 Ng3 and White cannot stop the black pawns from advancing.] 45.fxg4 f4 46.Nc4? The final mistake by Caruana. [46.Nf5! aiming for an opposite color bishop ending that has huge drawing tendencies. 46...Nxf5 47.Bd3 f3 48.Kd2 Kg5 49.Bxf5 Kf4 50.Kd3 Kg3 51.Be4 Kxg4 52.c3 and it is not clear to me how Topalov was going to win this position.] 46...Bc7 Now it is over. 47.Bd7 Kg5 48.Ke1 f3 49.Ne3 Bb6 Topalov's pawns are unstoppable, so Caruana resigned. A very intense game, where Caruana took a lot of risks, but in the end Topalov just played a better game. 0-1

Após 10 rondas e a uma do final...

Informações e fotos de WGM Anastasiya Karlovich