2013 Tata Steel Chess (Wijk aan Zee)

Video by tatasteelchess.com.

Interviews by Bianca Muhren.

GROUP B
Robin van Kampen – Jan Smeets, ½-½
Nils Grandelius – Daniil Dubov, ½-½
Alexander Ipatov – Maxim Turov, ½-½
Arkadij Naiditsch – Sergey Tiviakov, 0-1
Jan Timman – Sergei Movsesian, ½-½
Pedrag Nikolic – Sipke Ernst, 1-0
Richard Rapport – Romain Edouard, 1-0

GROUP C
Alexandra Goryachkina – Mark van der Werf, ½-½
Twan Burg – Hjorvar Gretarsson, 0-1
Oleg Romanishin – Krikor Mekhitarian, ½-½
Miguoel Admiraal – Igor Bitensky, ½-½
David Klein – Lisa Schut, 1-0
Alexander Kovchan – Sabino Brunello, 0-1
Fernando Peralta – Robin Swinkels, 1-0

Interviews by Bianca Muhren.

Interviews by Bianca Muhren.

https://www.thechessdrum.net/blog/2013/01/16/3-way-tie-at-tata-13-after-four/

Interviews by Bianca Muhren.

Good Loek and Queen of Dragons!

The story of the round has to be the breathrough for Hou Yifan with a nice win over fellow teen Anish Giri on the black side of a Dragon. The lesson to learn from this is to maintain a positive attitude and good things will happen. Hou Yifan seems very relaxed and is looking at this as a learning experience, but of course her learning was at Giri’s expense. Below was her reaction…

Video by tatasteelchess.com.

In the game, Hou Yifan unleashed the Dragon variation which Nakamura used to defeat her a round earlier. Apparently, the Chinese star learned her lesson well and played actively against the tame 6.g3 system. Hou sacrificed the exchange for a pawn and gained a strong initiative accented by her dangerous outside passed pawn. She won another pawn to boot.

In order to eliminate the outside pawn, Giri had to return the exchange, but he had to contend with yet another passed pawn. As the pawn started to roll up the board, Giri had to sacrifice another exchange for the passed pawn. Hou then converted the famous rook vs. bishop ending and in the final position, white was in zugzwang and would lose the bishop. While Hou was relieved to win, she wasn’t pleased with her execution. Sounds like someone still improving.

Levon Aronian’s persistence was rewarded for his second win in a row. He would nurse his extra pawn when Peter Leko was trying to stifle play with his bishop pair. However, a pawn is a pawn and even the opposite-colored bishops couldn’t help save the game and the white king was dominant in the endgame. All of a sudden, Aronian is only a point out of contention. There are yet seven more rounds and some key matchups are coming up.

Loek van Wely was on the bad side of a brilliancy in the last round, but came out with an energetic performance against Wang Hao. The win puts him at an even score and salvages some honor for the beleaguered Dutch players. Magnus Carlsen pushed Ivan Sokolov into the bottom of the field with a nice win in which he slowly but surely took control. In the final position, material losses are unavoidable. Carlsen is now in sole first. All the other games were drawn including the Indian derby. Anand and Karjakin now trail by half-point.

Standings after Round #6 (Group A)

GROUP B

Robin van Kampen – Alexander Ipatov, ½-½
Arkadij Naiditsch – Nils Grandelius, 1-0
Jan Timman – Jan Smeets, 1-0
Pedrag Nikolic – Daniil Dubov, 0-1
Richard Rapport – Maxim Turov, ½-½
Romain Edouard – Sergey Tiviakov, 1-0
Sipke Ernst – Sergei Movsesian, 0-1

While Richard Rapport has held onto his lead, Sergey Tiviakov has faded with two consecutive losses. Daniil Dubov, Arkadij Naiditsch and Sergei Movsesian won their battles moving into a point of the lead. Jan Timman also won again as the veteran gave a spanking to his namesake. In a masterfully played rook ending featuring a couple of pawn sacrifices, Timman was able to get his second win and is even on 3½/6… a credible score against opponents, some who are one-third his age.

Standings after Round #6 (Group B)

GROUP C
Alexandra Goryachkina – Oleg Romanishin, ½-½
Miguoel Admiraal – Twan Burg, ½-½
David Klein – Mark van der Werf, 1-0
Alexander Kovchan – Hjorvar Gretarsson, ½-½
Fernando Peralta – Krikor Mekhitarian, ½-½
Robin Swinkels – Igor Bitensky, ½-½
Sabino Brunello – Lisa Schut, 1-0

Sabino Brunello has caught Fernando Peralta once again after beating Lisa Schut who was completely worse before move twenty. Schut tried sacrificing a pawn, but miscalculated and the tactical sequence favored white. The Latin American rivalry between Peralta of Argentina and Krikor Mekhitarian of Brazil ended in a draw as neither could claim any regional bragging rights this time. David Klein has closed the gap by beating compatriot Mark van der Werf. This round was rather peaceful compared to the bloodletting seen previously.

Standings after Round #6 (Group C)

Round #7… The Champ, the Prodigies and the Rebel

World Champion surged into joint first with another win over Loek van Wely in a Center Counter after the Dutchman had overlooked 23.Qb1! losing a pawn. Anand was critical of 11…Nxb3 relieving the tension early. Van Wely made a final blunder with 35…Rf8? 36.g5! when Bxd4 and 37.Re6+ sealed the victory for Anand. He will try to go for the full point against tailender Ivan Sokolov in the next round.

Video by tatasteelchess.com.

Meanwhile Magnus Carlsen will play fellow former prodigy Sergey Karjakin. Carlsen drew an 83-move enounter with Peter Leko, while Karjakin barely survived an onslaught from Levon Aronian. The Armenian had an evaluation as high as +4 after sacrificing a pawn for activity.

Later on Aronian uncorked a zinger in 30…Bxh3! and five moves later had an evaluation of +4.43 but the advantage frittered away and Sergey Karjakin escaped with a draw. Karjakin had stated that he was close to resigning. Nevertheless he held on and is still in the hunt for his first Tata title.

Hikaru Nakamura got a win over Wang Hao and was no doubt relieved after suffering a number of consecutive losses against the Chinese #1. There were a number of small mistakes that built up into a sizable advantage and Nakamura converted his exchange advantage.

Standings after Round #7 (Group A)

GROUP B

Sergei Movsesian – Robin van Kampen, 1-0
Sergey Tiviakov – Sipke Ernst, 0-1
Maxim Turov – Romain Edouard, ½-½
Daniil Dubov – Richard Rapport, ½-½
Jan Smeets – Pedrag Nikolic, 1-0
Nils Grandelius – Jan Timman, 0-1
Alexander Ipatov – Arkadij Naiditsch, 0-1

Jan Timman won again beating the dreadlocked Swede Nils Grandelius. Timman stated that he was pleased with his result. Grandelius trotted out the sharp 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. h4 h6 5. g4 Bd7 but Timman didn’t back down. He showed that he can still enter sharper variations and capitalized on the Swede’s overambition after 34.Nd5 and won the tactical skirmish.

Video by tatasteelchess.com.

One-time leader Sergei Tiviakov has totally collapsed losing to Sipke Ernest and thus, his third game in a row. Arkadij Naiditsch and Sergei Movsesian inched closer with wins after leader Richard Rapport was held by Daniil Dubov.

Standings after Round #7 (Group B)

GROUP C
Lisa Schut – Alexandra Goryachkina, ½-½
Igor Bitensky – Sabino Brunello, ½-½
Krikor Mekhitarian – Robin Swinkels, ½-½
Hjorvar Gretarsson – Fernando Peralta, 0-1
Mark van der Werf – Alexander Kovchan, ½-½
Twan Burg – David Klein, ½-½
Oleg Romanishin – Miguoel Admiraal, 1-0

Another tame round of chess in the “C” group with only two decisive games. Fernando Peralta got another win to move back into the clear lead after Sabino Brunello took a quick draw. In other news, Oleg Romanishin got another win and the two women in the group drew a rather calm game in 42 moves.

Standings after Round #7 (Group C)

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The story of the round should be Magnus Carlsen win over Sergey Karjakin, but it could very well be that Levon Aronian resurgence gets the nod. Aronian won again against Hou Yifan when the latter miscalculated and ended up a clear piece down. The Armenian has won three out of his last four games and could have been four if he had converted his +4 advantage yesterday. He now stands a mere point out of the lead with five rounds remaining.

Viswanathan Anand drew his game after he failed to get anything versus Ivan Sokolov’s surprise Schliemann Defense. This may have been his chance to keep pace against a rather over-matched Sokolov who is at the bottom of the charts. However, the World Champion is on form and will make a push after the second rest day.

Aronian seems to be making a charge.
Photo by tatasteelchess.com.

Caruana-L’Emi saw an aggressive Advanced Caro Kann. L’Ami offered an early trade of queens, but white had much more space and began a kingside expansion. Black tried to counter, but when more pieces came off, black had a retarded bishop and knight. Caruana found a nice shot with 47.Rxc3! The black bishop was blocked by its own pawns and couldn’t stop the march of the white pawns. Nice lesson by Caruana!

Standings after Round #8 (Group A)

GROUP B

Robin van Kampen – Arkadij Naiditsch, 1-0
Jan Timman – Alexander Ipatov, 1-0
Pedrag Nikolic – Nils Grandelius, 1-0
Richard Rapport – Jan Smeets, 0-1
Romain Edouard – Daniil Dubov, 1-0
Sipke Ernst – Maxim Turov, 0-1
Sergei Movsesian – Sergey Tiviakov, ½-½

Fatigue has officially become a factor. The last two rounds has featured some incredible blunders including two this round. In Nikolic-Grandelius, black tossed at piece with 13…Ne4?? and after 14.Qxe5 white nets a piece. The game lasted until move 19. Yikes. In another blunder, Arkadij Naiditsch saw a ghost against Robin van Kampen on 21…Bxh5??? Van Kampen stated that he was shocked and it took awhile for him to overcome Naiditsch’s poker face and simply snap the piece off. The German immediately resigned. Sheesh.

Jan Timman continues to impress with another victory. Now the possibility of him winning the tournament has to be taken seriously as he is joint first with Richard Rapport (who lost to Jan Smeets) and Sergei Movesesian (who drew with Sergei Tiviakov). Timman beat the World Junior Champion Alexander Iptov who has played below expectations this tournament. The game went to an interesting ending of one bishop and two pawns versus four pawns. Black was a bit too rash is trying to trade off pawns and allowed the white bishop to blockade.

Standings after Round #8 (Group B)

GROUP C
Alexandra Goryachkina – Miguoel Admiraal, 1-0
David Klein – Oleg Romanishin, 1-0
Alexander Kovchan – Twan Burg, ½-½
Fernando Peralta – Mark van der Werf, ½-½
Robin Swinkels – Hjorvar Gretarsson, ½-½
Sabino Brunello – Krikor Mekhitarian, 1-0
Lisa Schut – Igor Bitensky, 1-0

From the mastery of Fred Lucas’, Alexandra Goryachkina unfurls Russian pride. Photo by Fred Lucas.

Group “C” has been a see-saw affair throughout with Fernando Peralta and Sabino Brunello leading the way. They are again tied after Brunello neatly dispatched of Krikor Mekhitarian of Brazil. Peralta was drawing with Mark van der Werf. Both of the ladies were victorious today a day after drawing with each other. Igor Bitensky played the Hungarian Defense without much energy and was brutally crushed. Schut’s first win gives her some consolation after a string of losses. Alexandra Goryachkina beat back the Grunfeld Defense and capitalized on Miguoel Admiraal’s poor handling of the endgame.

Standings after Round #8 (Group C)

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https://www.thechessdrum.net/blog/2013/01/21/carlsen-still-holds-lead-at-tata-13/

GROUP A
Loek van Wely – Anish Giri, ½-½
Fabiano Caruana – Hikaru Nakamura, 0-1
Levon Aronian – Wang Hao, 1-0
Magnus Carlsen – Erwin L’Ami, 1-0
Pentala Harikrishna – Hou Yifan, 0-1
Viswanathan Anand – Sergey Karjakin, ½-½
Ivan Sokolov – Peter Leko, 0-1

Anand on Carlsen… “He’s winning every type of position.”
Photo by tatasteelchess.com.

Hikaru Nakamura won his game against Wang Hao, but summed up the tenor of the tournament by saying, “+3… At least I have a chance for second place.” Well… after Magnus Carlsen squeezed another point out of an ending, he has virtually clinched the Tata Steel Chess Tournament with three rounds remaining. World Champion Viswanathan Anand also resigned himself despite his own solid tournament, “He’s converting almost every game. It’s a huge disadvantage if you’re trying to keep up with him.” Well stated.

In the battle for second place, Anand was held by Sergey Karjakin in a rather lifeless Queen’s Indian. So it goes… Anand, Nakamura and Levon Aronian are tied for joint second with three rounds. Aronian beat a slumping Wang Hao (one point in last five games) and Nakamura got in a nice shot against Fabiano Caruana.

In the position above, White has just played 54.Kc2 (diagram #1) and the position looks normal, but a deeper look uncovers a nice tactical motif involving several pins. Black plays 54…g4!! 55. hxg4 h3! 56. Rd1 (On 56.gxh3 Rf8 57.Kd3 Rf4! wins a piece) 57. Kd3 h2 (57…Rf4! still) 58.Rh1 Bg1 choking the rook out (diagram #2). White resigns a few moves later.

Hou Yifan won her second game and has finally pulled herself out of the cellar. Her win was from the black side of a Keres Attack in which white had some trouble mounting an attack. Pentala Harikrishna brutally mated Loek van Wely a couple of rounds earlier, but was rebuffed and lost an interesting ending. Hou Yifan went over her game and had some very interesting insights in the ending… very alert. This experience will help build her confidence a bit.

Hou Yifan discusses her win over Pentala Harikrishna. Interesting insights!
Video by tatasteelchess.com.

Standings after Round #10 (Group A)

GROUP B

Robin van Kampen – Jan Timman, 1-0
Predrag Nikolic – Arkadij Naiditsch, ½-½
Richard Rapport – Alexander Ipatov, 1-0
Romain Edouard – Nils Grandelius, 1-0
Sipke Ernst – Jan Smeets, 0-1
Sergei Movsesian – Daniil Dubov, ½-½
Sergey Tiviakov – Maxim Turov, ½-½

Richard Rapport jumped back into a share for the lead with Sergei Movsesian with a technical win over the hapless Alexander Ipatov. The group race is tightening with both Arkadij Naiditsch and Jan Smeets only a half-point out. Smeets got a gift from Sipke Ernst who tossed his queen in a difficult position. Absolutely awful. All good things come to an end and such is the case with Jan Timman’s string of wins. Unfortunately, he has his second loss in a row and perhaps the rest day has come just in time.

Standings after Round #10 (Group B)

GROUP C

Alexandra Goryachkina – David Klein, 0-1
Alexander Kovchan – Miguoel Admiraal, ½-½
Fernando Peralta – Oleg Romanishin, 1-0
Robin Swinkels – Twan Burg, 1-0
Sabino Brunello – Mark van der Werf, 1-0
Lisa Schut – Hjorvar Gretarsson, 0-1
Igor Bitensky – Krikor Mekhitarian, 1-0

Sabino Brunello won again and stands on a stellar 8½/10. With a +7 score one would think that he would be a runaway winner, but Fernando Peralta is only half-point back. There were six decisive games. Players in the middle of the pack are beating each other which does not help close the gap. At this point, the first two positions are virtually clinched barring a total collapse, but the race for 3rd place is on between Robin Swinkels and David Klein on 6½/10.

Standings after Round #10 (Group C)

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Hou Yifan fought from the brink of defeat to earn a draw.
Photo by tatasteelchess.com.

Not so fast! A train is coming down the tracks of Wijk aan Zee… and it’s Levon Aronian! The three-time Olympiad and world #2 (1/10 point over Kramnik on live list) is now hot on the heels of front-runner Magnus Carlsen after beating Hikaru Nakamura in a very exciting battle. The win moved Aronian into second place and pushed the American into joint 3rd with Sergey Karjakin and Peter Leko, both winners in round 11.

While there was lost of movement on the top of the chart, an impressive game was played by Anish Giri who got his first win against Fabiano Caruana…

Caruana is having a lackluster tournament and is on -2 and his poor performance against Giri may show that fatigue may be a factor. Meanwhile China’s Hou Yifan gained another boast after holding World Champion Viswanathan Anand to a draw. Anand mistakenly traded knights into what he thought would be a trivial win. An interesting conclusion was seen.

After 42…Nf5? (diagram #1) Hou Yifan snapped the knight with 43.Nxf5 Kxf5 44.a4 Ke6 45.g4! Kd5 46.Kc3 Ke4 47.Kc2! Kd4 48.Kb3 e4 49.b5 axb5 50.axb5 e3 51.Kc2 Ke4 52.Kd1! with a draw. (diagram #2)

This draw is a certain confidence builder for Hou Yifan as she has played well in the second half of the tournament scoring three from her last six games. She will most likely escape the last position on the chart despite having the lowest rating.

Standings after Round #11 (Group A)

GROUP B

Maxim Turov – Robin van Kampen, ½-½
Daniil Dubov – Sergey Tiviakov, 1-0
Jan Smeets – Sergei Movsesian, ½-½
Nils Grandelius – Sipke Ernst, 0-1
Alexander Ipatov – Romain Edouard, 0-1
Arkadij Naiditsch – Richard Rapport, 1-0
Jan Timman – Predrag Nikolic, 1-0

Richard Rapport on the move against Arkadij Naiditsch. Rapport would lose the game and a share of the lead. Naiditsch would replace him. Photo by tatasteelchess.com.

Arkadij Naiditsch has finally caught up. After an inexplicable oversight against Robin van Kampen in round eight, he has gotten back on track by beating Rapport and is now in joint first with Sergei Movsesian on +4. However, the field is completely wide open with Daniil Dubov, Richard Rapport and Jan Smeets only 1/2-point out with Jan Timman only 1-point out. Check out Naiditsch’s 57. Nxa6! against Rapport! Nice!

Standings after Round #11 (Group B)

GROUP C

Krikor Mekhitarian – Alexandra Goryachkina, 1-0
Hjorvar Gretarsson – Igor Bitensky, 1-0
Mark van der Werf – Lisa Schut, 0-1
Twan Burg – Sabino Brunello, ½-½
Oleg Romanishin – Robin Swinkels, ½-½
Miguoel Admiraal – Fernando Peralta, 0-1
David Klein – Alexander Kovchan, ½-½

When asked about his lead last round, Sabino Brunello gave perhaps the wisest answer. He stated that Fernando Peralta was only 1/2-point out. As if on cue, Peralta promptly won another game to reclaim joint first with Brunello who drew. Both are on a blistering 9/11. The only question now is who will win 3rd place as 1st and 2nd will go to either Brunello or Peralta. Robin Swinkels and David Klein are battling for 3rd with 7/11. Incidentally Klein will play Peralta tomorrow and can play “spoiler” why helping his own cause.

Standings after Round #11 (Group C)

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Last round romp over Nakamura clinches 2013 Tata Steel for Carlsen!
Photo by tatasteelchess.com.

Magnus Carlsen wins the 2013 Tata Steel tournament with one remaining after a brutal crush of nemesis Hikaru Nakamura. Carlsen remarked being pleased with his +7 score and people are already speaking of him hitting the 2900 ELO. He is 2874 on the live rating list.

Levon Aronian will not catch Carlsen as he was held by Anish Giri in a rather strange game. Meanwhile, Viswanathan Anand won his game and has had a stellar tournament, but he will also fall short. Both he and Aronian are on 8/12 and playing for 2nd-3rd place. Sergey Karjakin and Peter Leko drew with each other putting them on 7/12.

Another story is Hou Yifan’s win over tailender Ivan Sokolov who will try to beat Erwin L’Ami tomorrow to get out of last place. Hou’s second half has been inspirational as she has scored 4/7 including a draw with Anand. She is now 2615 on the live list and is closing ground on Judit Polgar’s rating of 2696. For Sokolov, he has had poor form and summed up his feelings in this interview…

Photo by tatasteelchess.com.

Standings after Round #12 (Group A)

GROUP B

Who will win Group “B”???

A three-way tie has developed and a number of scenarios are possible with one round remaining in the Tata Steel “B” tournament. Arkadij Naiditsch drew with Frenchman Eduoard Romain while Sergei Movsesian split the point with Nils Grandelius of Sweden. Richard Rapport bounced back yet again with a win over Jan Timman to get to 8/12. Jan Smeets is still in the running for first after drawing with Sergei Tiviakov. Each of the frontrunners will face “spoilers” who are every bit as motivated to win to stay out of the bottom as they are to stopping foreign players from dominating on their soil. 🙂

Standings after Round #12 (Group B)

GROUP C

Alexandra Goryachkina – Alexander Kovchan, 0-1
Fernando Peralta – David Klein, 1-0
Robin Swinkels – Miguoel Admiraal, ½-½
Sabino Brunello – Oleg Romanishin, 1-0
Lisa Schut – Twan Burg, 0-1
Igor Bitensky – Mark van der Werf, ½-½
Krikor Mekhitarian – Hjorvar Gretarsson, 1-0

While the “A” group has been decided and the “B” group is complicated, an absolute battle has erupted between two players in the “C” group… Sabino Brunello and Fernando Peralta. Each has been matching the other’s wins throughout. Peralta picked off David Klein’s pawns one-by-one in the middlegame and coasted to victory. Brunello-Romanishin was equal after 40 moves, but the Ukrainian legend began a kingside expansion (e5, f5, g5, h5) weakening his position. The white pieces flooded into black’s camp resulting in a complete demolition.

So… tomorrow will be the showdown and both players will be taking note of the other’s game.

GM Fernando Peralta of Argentina gives an account of his chances.

Standings after Round #12 (Group C)

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GROUP A
Sergey Karjakin – Loek van Wely, 1-0
Hou Yifan – Peter Leko, ½-½
Erwin L’Ami – Ivan Sokolov, ½-½
Wang Hao – Vishy Anand, 1-0
Hikaru Nakamura – Pentala Harikrishna, ½-½
Anish Giri – Magnus Carlsen, ½-½
Fabiano Caruana – Levon Aronian, ½-½

The 75th anniversary of Wijk aan Zee chess events was celebrated with the closing of the 2013 Tata Steel tournament. The world’s #1 player Magnus Carlsen hoisted the championship trip in a fine performance of 10/13 tying the Garry Kasparov’s mark at the 1999 Wijk aan Zee tournament. This victory put Carlsen’s ELO at 2874 on the live list.

Levon Aronian closed out with a draw against Fabiano Caruana and secured second place. The Armenian tried to end with a full point in a R+B vs. R ending but Caruana held the draw. The tournament was disappointing for Caruana, but losing the last round would have been devastating along with the 24-point ELO drop.

Levon Aronian would only score a draw with Fabiano Caruana, but the Armenian would get 2nd. Photo by tatasteelchess.com.

Viswanathan Anand closed the book on the tournament with his only loss. This was not indicative of his stellar play, but may have indicated fatigue. More or less, Anand was satisfied with his play and will pocket eight ELO points. The Candidate’s tournament will begin in March and Anand will be anxious to know who his challenge will be for 2014.

The tournament had a lot of high point including several stellar games with Aronian-Anand, Harikrishna-Van Wely along with Carlsen-Nakamura as top candidates. Hou Yifan also cast sunshine on the tournament as her bright smile and spirited play will certainly be a welcome sight in next year’s tournament.

Final Standings after Round #13 (Group A)

GROUP B

Daniil Dubov – Robin van Kampen, ½-½
Jan Smeets – Maxim Turov, 1-0
Nils Grandelius – Sergey Tiviakov, ½-½
Alexander Ipatov – Sergei Movsesian, ½-½
Arkadij Naiditsch – Sipke Ernst, 1-0
Jan Timman – Romain Edouard, ½-½
Predrag Nikolic – Richard Rapport, 0-1

Arkadij Naidistsch knew that Richard Rapport had won his game, so he needed to score a win against the off-form Sipke Ernst. It took 82 moves in a technical queen ending, but he finally won and secured an invitation to the “A” group in the 2014 Tata Steel tournament. Naiditsch won with 9/13 on tiebreaks over Rapport since he won their head-to-head encounter and against 3rd place winner Jan Smeets. Sergei Movsesian fell off pace and ended on joint third with Smeets on 8½/13.

Final Standings after Round #13 (Group B)

GROUP C

Hjorvar Gretarsson – Alexandra Goryachkina, ½-½
Mark van der Werf – Krikor Mekhitarian, 0-1
Twan Burg – Igor Bitensky, 1-0
Oleg Romanishin – Lisa Schut, 1-0
Miguoel Admiraal – Sabino Brunello, 0-1
David Klein – Robin Swinkels, 0-1
Alexander Kovchan – Fernando Peralta, ½-½

Just about everyone was surprised when Fernando Peralta had agreed to a 13-move book draw against Alexander Kovchan. Sabino Brunello was poised to win the group if he beat Miguoel Admiraal with the black pieces. The game was a sharp encounter and the position became unbalanced. Brunello then launched a decisive attack along the h-file. The attack broke throw and would put the Italian on a sizzling 11/13. Brunello reflects on his tournament performance:

Final Standings after Round #13 (Group C)

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Group A: GM Magnus Carlsen (Norway), 10/13
Group B: GM Arkadij Naiditsch (Germany), 9/13
Group C: GM Sabino Brunello (Italy), 11/13

Levon Aronian (2nd), Sergey Karjakin (=3rd), Viswanathan Anand (=3rd),
Magnus Carlsen (1st)