World Cup: Eight players advanced to Round 4
The return games of round 3 of the FIDE World Cup were played on September 17. None of the players who had lost in the first game managed to level the score today. The tournament’s sensation Kirill Alekseenko (Russia) defeated the higher-rated Pentala Harikrishna (India) for the second time in a row. The Indian GM sacrificed the knight for two black central paws transposing into an unbalanced position that suited his aggressive agenda very well. However, in the ensuing complications, Kirill was up to the challenge. The Russian GM timely sacrificed an exchange and got excellent compensation in the form of two bishops and the advanced pawn on c3. One inaccuracy from Pentala shortly thereafter was enough to dash his hopes to advance into the next round. Alexander Grischuk (Russia) also won both games against Xu Xiangyu (China). In their second encounter, he obtained a very comfortable position with substantial space advantage and gradually strangulated his opponent. Levon Aronian scored a very important victory over Maxim Matlakov that paved his way into the fourth round. As the Armenian GM pointed out in his post-game interview, Maxim committed a blunder with 17.Nh5, most likely missing that after 18.d5 Nb8 19.Rxe5 Nd7 Black’s knight quickly comes back into play. Out of many ways to improve his position Aronian took the most practical and safest approach which eventually yielded dividends. All other games were drawn but for Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan), Nikita Vitiugov (Russia), Welsey So (USA), Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan) and Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland) who had won their first encounters these draws were equal to a victory. Probably Vitiugov’s task out of these five was the most difficult one as he faced his higher-rated compatriot Sergey Karjakin with black pieces. To Nikita’s credit, he reached the desired outcome in a sharp tactical skirmish on the kingside forcing a perpetual check. As a side note, So, Duda, Mamedyarov, and Aronian haven’t yet played a single tiebreak at this World Cup. Since a winner was not determined in the matches Yu Yangyi – Wei Yi, Ding Liren – Firouzja, Svidler – Nisipeanu, Nepomniachtchi – Tomashevsky, Artemiev – Le Quang Liem, Vachier – Lagrave-Jakovenko, Wang Hao – Dominguez, and Giri – Xiong, the opponents will sort things out in a tiebreak on September 18. Tiebreak pairings Video The competition is organized by the Government of Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra, International Chess Federation (FIDE), Ugra Chess Federation, and Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation. Official website: https://khantymansiysk2019.fide.com/en/ General partner – Gazpromneft-Khantos LCC.Official airline – Utair.Official partners of the competition: OJSC Rostelecom, Ugra Chess Academy, Russian Chess Federation, AB InBev Efes and PJSC Rosneft.FIDE official partner – JSCo “RZD”.General media partner – News Agency TASS.Media partners – Match TV, World of Chess social network, OTRC “Ugra”, Ugra-news.ru News of Ugra regional newspaper, AIF-Ugra newspaper.
WGP: Ju Wenjun surges ahead of the field
The game between Ju Wenjun (2576) Alina Kashlinskaya (2487) was a French Winawer with 7. Qg4 Kf8. The World Champion wasted no time on launching the attack on the kingside, a standard plan in this variation. Alina looked for counterplay on the queenside, grabbed two pawns, and tried to create some threats, but in the end, she had to sacrifice her queen for minor pieces. It was an ingenious try, but the main problem for the Russian player was the position of the h8-rook was trapped at the initial position for most of the game. When this heavy piece finally came into play when it was already too late. Ju Wenjun carried out the attack with precision and scored a full point that takes her to the top of the table. Valentina Gunina (2502) drops from the co-leadership, after losing to Elisabeth Paethz (2479). Gunina run into Paehtz’s home preparation in the Two Knights Variation of the Caro-Kann Defense, where the German IM sacrificed a pawn on move 11 in order to open lines. When time pressure started creeping on Valentina, Elizabeth added more fuel to the fire with an exchange sacrifice that, even if not completely correct according to the engines, it was a great practical decision. Just when frustration was starting to build up for her, Paethz finally got her first victory in the tournament to reach a plus score (3½/6). Quietly, the World Championship Challenger Aleksandra Goryachkina (2564) climbed to the second position in the standings, thanks to her victory over Harika Dronavalli (2503). In one of the most exciting games of the round, the Indian GM met the Saemisch Attack in the King’s Indian Defense with an aggressive play on the kingside. Goryachkina reacted opening up the center right on time, and managed to bring a pawn to the seventh rank that gave her a decisive advantage. Pia Cramling (2487) tried to avoid the main lines in the Catalan Defence against Indian top seed Koneru Humpy (2560), but the position transposed into a reverse Benoni Defense, where Black was able to increase the positional edge gradually. In order to keep the material balance, Pia was forced to concede the e-file and that, along with an exposed king, became a decisive factor. The Swedish legend had to resign on move 40. Kateryna Lagno (2545) played the Gruenfeld defense against Antoaneta Stefanova (2491). White came out from the opening with the upper hand, but from then on, Stefanova was outplayed by Lagno, especially in the transition to the endgame. The Russian player took the whole point and is still unbeaten in the tournament. The only draw of this feisty round happened in the game between Alexandra Kosteniuk (2495) and Marie Sebag (2450). Kosteniuk achieved a slightly better position in the Neo-Gruenfeld Defense, and with precise play, she could have gotten a nice edge. But after a couple of inaccuracies from her part, the position went into a drawish rook endgame in which the opponents agreed to a draw on the move 30. Standings after 6 rounds:1. Ju Wenjun – 4.5; 2. Alexandra Goryachkina – 4; 3-5. Humpy Koneru, Kateryna Lagno, Elisabeth Paethz – 3.5; 6. Valentina Gunina – 3; 7-8. Harika Dronavalli, Alexandra Kosteniuk – 2.5; 9-11. Antoaneta Stefanova, Alina Kashlinskaya, Marie Sebag – 2; 12. Pia Cramling – 1.5. Today, September 17th, is a rest day. The seventh-round games will be played on September 18, at 3 pm local time (GMT +3). Spectators can follow the games with English and Russian commentaries: www.youtube.com/fidechannel Official website: https://wgp2019.fide.com