Saint Louis Rapid day three: Aronian leads as we enter blitz

What is it that makes us cling to our past, those days of bygone glory even though we know from our hearts that ‘Old order changeth, yielding place to new?’ Is it our desire to live in those days when the world was sunny, our soul was young, and our favourites were not just liked but idolized? And what makes us cringe deep inside when those heroes appear once again on the stage only to be relegated to pale shadows in presence of brutal reality and destiny?

Magnus Carlsen perhaps captured the mood of the day with a tweet of condolence and support for Garry Kasparov:

Brutal... when the clock is down and heart rate is up, common sense goes out the window #STLRapidBlitz #Garry

— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) August 16, 2017

You read the tweet, and you feel sad for Garry, who had a victory slip through his fingers, and then warmth for Magnus Carlsen, for concern shown to his former teacher and the player whose shoes he seem to be determined to fill. Then you looked at the game, where Garry Kasparov played such energetic and admirable chess from the word go:

Kasparov - Navara, position after 8...h5:

Ever the champion, Garry uncorked 9.f5!? here, answering 9...exf5 with 10.g5 going for a complete assault with a pawn sacrifice. Then you realise that the words he uttered the previous day were indeed serious: “As promised I played more aggressively. I wanted big fight(s). I said I would entertain everybody. I am going to have fun!” Fun it definitely was, going to the extent of even compromising his pawn strcuture in front of the king:

Kasparov - Navara, position after 17.bxc3:

Unbelievable to observe the force with which Kasparov conducts the game, throwing caution to the winds and aiming for a complete fight! Building his position carefully and energetically, he reached a point where White’s advantage seemed overwhelming:

Kasparov - Navara, position after 33...Ke8:

34.Nd3?? [Garry suffers from time pressure, missing a certain win which he painstakingly built up all through the game] 34.e6 and it is even difficult to suggest a move for Black. And then came the final piece of misery:

Kasparov - Navara, position after 48...Ke7:

In a drawn position, believing for the win which didn’t exist anymore, Kasparov blundered: 49.Nc6?? Qxc6! 50.Qxc6 (50.Kxc6 is met with 50...Rc1+) 50...Rd6 and Kasparov resigned. 49.Qc5 could have ended in a draw for him.

Then you watch this video, about that particular point of the game when Kasparov blundered. One of those videos you start watching for the sake of entertainment, and then it transcends to feeling of sadness for Kasparov, as it registers his shock at realising the blunder. And then finally when he sadly smiles at his cruel fate in spite of so much bravery, your heart reaches out for him

Our friend Lennart Ootes came up with the camera captures of those cruel moments too: 

Oh my. Poor @Kasparov63. #STLRapidBlitz
LIVE: https://t.co/emLfO08P45 pic.twitter.com/zX8qFReoIQ

— Lennart Ootes (@LennartOotes) August 16, 2017

The other world champion, Viswanathan Anand too, had a rough day at the office. “Desire alone is not enough to win games over the chess board, unless you have the position on the board”, were the immortal words of Bronstein about chess. Creation of winning chances do not succeed unless there is basic soundness in one’s own position. When the created pseudo-activity doesn’t stem out of conducive factors, that is when you invariably get exposed to the opponent’s tactical onslaughts.

This was painfully apparent in Anand’s loss to Karjakin in the final round of the Rapid section. Having achieved near equality after 30 moves, Anand went for an unusual misadventure in the next 3 moves, and was completely lost when White started his probing on the kingside:

Karjakin - Anand, position after 30.Kh2:

Vishy went for a misadventure with 30...exd4?! 31.cxd4 Qb4?! And landed up in a lost position after 32.Rc2 Qb7 33.Qd7 Qxe4 34.Rxc7, when he could have preserved status quo by simply holding on to the position to see his opponent’s intentions with a move like 30...Kh7.

But at the same time, you had Nakamura on the other end of the spectrum, who fought a valiant battle with Nepomniachtchi, where the Russian was simply unlucky to lose the game. Nepo conducted the whole game with lots of energy, and brought up an admirable position where his knights held sway:

Nakamura - Nepomniachtchi, position after 32.Qc4:

32... Nxd5! Admirable play by Nepomniachtchi, who plays for a win at all costs aiming for the title} 33. Rxc8 Nxe3 34. Nd6 Nxc4 35. Nxb7 Ne3 and Black's compensation comes from his active pieces, b-passer and possible activity on the kingside.

But tragically, after missing his chances when he could have increased his chances of a win, Nepo went on to bring pressure on himself and the heartbreak came with a blunder in the final minutes of the game:

Nakamura - Nepomniachtchi, position after 68.Rh6:

68...Ke5?? (Missing the thread of the game. The black king had to remain on f4 to keep white king from advancing and thus holding a draw) (68... Nd5 69. Rxh5 Kg4 70. Rh8 Nf4+ 71.Kf2 Nh5 with a draw) 69. Kf3 and White went on to win the game.

In the previous game, Nakamura had clearly shown his aggressive intentions, delighting spectators with his positive and energetic play:

Aronian - Nakamura, position after 19.Qd2:

19...e4 Bravo! Nakamura should be complimented for his energy and gumption here 20. Rxe4 Rxe4 21. Dxe4 Bxf3 22. Bxf3 a4 23. Rb1 Ne5 24. Bg2 axb3 25. Rxb3 Nxc4 Black has regained his pawn here but Aronian still retains a sound position, where he might even be slightly better. The game ended in a fighting draw after 10 more moves.

But Aronian clearly deserved winning the Rapid section at the end of the day. Apart from Dominguez Perez in the last round, he had ‘made his bones’ in the first game. Playing with Black pieces against a player who has been praised by one and all for his defensive qualities, Aronian conducted an admirable game:

Karjakin - Aronian, position after 22.g3: 

22...Qc8! Start of an energetic kingside operation, which proves to be difficult for even the 'best defender in the world', Sergey Karjakin! 23. Qd1 (White cannot capture 23. gxf4??Qg4+ 24. Kh1 Qxf3+ 25. Kg1 Qg4+ 26. Kh1 Qe2 and Black wins) 23... Nh3+ 24. Kg2 f5! 25. exf5 Qxf5 26.Bc1 g5 27. Qe2 g4 28. Nd2 Ng5 29. f3? gxf3+ 30. Nxf3 Qe4! 31. Qxe4 Nxe4 32.Bh6 Rf6 33. Bd2

Karjakin - Aronian, position after 33.Bd2:

33...Rxf3! 34. Rxf3 Nxd2 -/+

So, at the end of the day, what sustained was striving for victory and gumption, but provided you didn’t lose your way through the final minutes of that merciless equaliser of men, Chess Clock! As much as we admire Aronian and Nakamura for their performances on the day, you can’t help admire Nepomniachtchi too, for the ambition shown on the final day.

Standings after nine rounds of Rapid

About the Author:

Saravanan Venkatachalam is an International Master and has been an active chess player in the Indian circuit, and has been consistently writing on chess since late 1980s. He turned complete chess professional in 2012, actively playing and being a second and a trainer to a handful of Indian players. He reports on chess tournaments, occasionally being a correspondent to national newspapers and news channels. Apart from chess, he is also interested in Tamil and English literature, music and photography.

Coverage on Firstpost

Firstpost and ChessBase India have collaborated to bring you extensive and detailed coverage of the chess scene in India and internationally.

Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz will be extensively covered by Venkatachalam Saravanan who is in USA.

Viswanathan Anand vs Garry Kasparov: A classic rivalry set to revive at Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz event 

Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz: All eyes on Garry Kasparov as former champion returns to chess after 12 years

Viswanathan Anand has disastrous Day 1; Garry Kasparov impresses on return

Viswanathan Anand vs Garry Kasparov: Stalwarts show glimpses of brilliance but settle for draw at Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz

Viswanathan Anand, hampered by fatigue, finishes disappointing joint 8th