Superbet Rapid & Blitz: Giri forges ahead
The penultimate leg of the 2019 Grand Chess Tour kicked off yesterday in Bucharest, Romania with an exciting opening ceremony. The event featured special guest and former world number one tennis player, Boris Becker. Additionally, former Romanian basketball player and captain of the national team Virgil Stănescu made the ceremonial first move in Caruana – Aronian game of round 1. After an eventful first day, Anish Giri is leading the tournament by a full point ahead of the field. Round 1 In the central game of Round 1, Fabiano Caruana played with Levon Aronian. Having White pieces, World #2 went for an ambitious piece sacrifice right after the opening & seemed to have sufficient compensation. Aronian defended really well and then sacrificed an exchange to grab the initiative. After Fabiano let the black knight occupy e3 square White seemed doomed. Aronian converted his advantage in mutual time trouble and scored a very important victory. Vlad Artemiev from Russia started the year 2019 really well but it looks like he has been out of form for the last few months. In the first round, he had White against Vishy Anand. Anand sacrificed an exchange but he had two bishops and a dangerous pawn center. Objectively Artemiev was still holding his own but he carelessly let the ex-World Champion from India break his pawn structure on the kingside and launch a murderous attack. Anish Giri proved his impeccable technique once again. Many amateur players have problems with Black in these seemingly equal Catalan endgames, and even Fischer Random World Champion Wesley So repeated their fate in his Round 1 game against the Dutch GM. Move after move Giri was increasing his advantage and by the move 39 So found himself in a complete zugzwang. He blundered there but his position was lost anyway. Two other games were drawn. Sergey Karjakin couldn’t convert his extra passed pawn versus Anton Korobov, whereas Shakhriyar Mamedyarov played to bare kings against Le Quang Liem, but never had a real chance to score a full point. Round 2 Round 2 of the Superbet Rapid & Blitz was as close to classical chess as a rapid event can be. Players with White pieces were pressing in all five games, had some chances here and there, but Black defended successfully. As a result, all five games were drawn. Aronian got absolutely nothing from the opening against Karjakin, and though later in the game he was pushing for a win, opposite-colored bishops were a key factor. So chose a very interesting line in Reti Opening against Anand and had some initiative on the kingside but the Indian GM responded with a pawn sacrifice to create some threats on the long diagonal. So found nothing better than to force further exchanges which resulted in a drawn endgame. Giri was trying his best to outplay Caruana and grab a sole lead. Since a weakness on b6 was a constant headache for the American, he finally had to give it up a pawn on the move 36. In the endgame, Caruana resourcefully created a very serious counterplay against the white king, and Giri had to give up an exchange. He never was in danger of losing though as his passed pawn on the a-file was too strong. The central game of the round ended in a perpetual. Mamedyarov – Artemiev & Korobov – Le Quang Liem were pretty comfortable draws for Black. Aronian, Anand & Giri were in the lead with 3 points out of 4 each. Round 3 Anish Giri seems to be on fire in Bucharest. He won a second game in three rounds and moved to a sole lead. Karjakin was too slow in a calm line of Najdorf and Giri came up with a brilliant maneuver Be7-d8-a5 getting a clear advantage. Classical Sicilian pressure on the “c” file was too much for Karjakin to endure and he quickly lost several pawns and the game. Anand was also very close to winning his second game of the day. He got a better position after the opening against Mamedyarov and could have gone for the checkmate but preferred to exchange queens to reach much better endgame where Black bishops didn’t compensate for multiple weak pawns. Anand was at his best until he hastily grabbed an a5-pawn – the white rook got trapped on this square and disappointed Anand had to accept a draw. Fabiano Caruana had his first win in the tournament in the encounter with Wesley So. He sacrificed a pawn in the Gioco Piano, but So defended really well and timely returned his extra material to almost achieve equality. Unfortunately, you can never be safe playing against such a player as Caruana. Somehow Fabiano engineered a menacing attack even without queens on board. In a difficult position So blundered a piece and resigned immediately. Artemiev’s troubles continued as he lost an equal endgame playing White versus Korobov. Le Quang Liem – Aronian was a very solid draw. Standings after Round 3: 1. Giri, Anish 5/62-4. Aronian, Levon 4/62-4. Anand, Viswanathan 4/62-4. Korobov, Anton 4/65-7. Caruana, Fabiano 3/65-7. Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 3/65-7. Le, Quang Liem 3/68. Karjakin, Sergey 2/69-10. So, Wesley 1/69-10. Artemiev, Vladislav 1/6 Official site Livestream:GrandChessTour.org Photos:Courtesy of Grand Chess Tour and Spectrum StudiosCredits available on Flickr.
World Youth U-16 Chess Olympiad: Azerbaijan takes gold
FIDE World Youth U-16 Chess Olympiad 2019 is concluded in an ancient Turkish city Çorum. From October 20 to November 5 forty-eight teams from all around the world were fighting for medals. Each squad consisted of five players, including one girl. The event was held in the playing hall of the five-star Anitta hotel, which offered accommodation to all participants. Azerbaijan, Russia, and Ukraine entered the tournament as favorites but only the first one lived up to its promise. The contest turned into an exciting race of Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. Belarus was in front until Round 5 in which the team lost to Kazakhstan. As a result, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan tied for the lead but after round 6 the trio became a duo – Azerbaijan won a key match over Kazakhstan. The ex-leader did not give up and beat Uzbekistan in the next round, but Azerbaijan won its match as well, shot ahead and preserved its top-position to the very end. Final standings: 1. AZERBAIJAN – 162. UZBEKISTAN – 153. BELARUS – 144. KAZAKHSTAN – 135. ISRAEL – 126. UKRAINE – 127. INDIA – 128. MONGOLIA – 129. GREECE – 1110. RUSSIA – 11
FIDE Grand Prix Hamburg: Four winners in the first round
The first day of the FIDE Grand Prix in Hamburg attracted many spectators until the organizers announced: “sold out”. The German chess fans didn’t regret coming as they witnessed many dramatic battles and four victories. The president of the German Chess Federation, Ulrich Krause, symbolically opened the 1st round of the FIDE Grand Prix in Hamburg by playing 1. e2-e4 on the board of Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Wei Yi. “It was a pleasure,” he said afterward and added: “It is an honor for me to be the chairman of the appeals committee during the next two weeks. At the same time, I expect not to be active in this role.” Superb technique by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave One of the favorites of the FIDE Grand Prix in Hamburg got off to a great start. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave outplayed his opponent Wei Yi from the very beginning to the end. The Chinese grandmaster boldly chose the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defense with the black pieces against the world’s leading expert of this opening. Vachier-Lagrave reacted with a rare idea on move seven. After the exchange of queens on move 19, he got a better ending and was gradually improving his position. On the move 29 Vachier-Lagrave won the crucial a-pawn, which proved to be decisive. A blunder by Ian Nepomniachtchi Jan-Krzysztof Duda opened his duel against Ian Nepomniachtchi by pushing his pawn to c4. “I just wanted a random game and to avoid any theoretical battle in the Grunfeld or Najdorf”, he stated afterward. It was an equal fight until the Russian grandmaster played 23.e5-e4. “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw this move,” said Duda. It was just a terrible blunder. The Polish GM was not only a pawn up, but also had the bishop pair and the center. Nepomniachtchi tried to complicate things by sacrificing an exchange, but the outcome of the game was never in doubt. Peter Svidler thanked his compatriot Kirill Alekseenko for showing him the line he used today to beat Pentala Harikrishna. In the second Italian Game of the day, Black seemed to have some initiative on the kingside, but Svidler parried all threats with precise counters and reached a favorable ending. White’s advantage increased when the Russian grandmaster infiltrated the 7th rank with one of his rooks on move 29. Harikrishna sacrificed an exchange and tried to create some counterplay with his passed pawn on the a-file, but Svidler was always in command and seamlessly converted his advantage into a full point. Radoslaw Wojtaszek and Alexander Grischuk split the point after an intense and open battle in a variation of the Catalan Opening. “We are both happy and unhappy”, said Grischuk, meaning that both players missed their chances. In a highly complex middlegame, Black got the upper hand around move 30 when the white pieces were clumsily flocked up on the kingside. The Polish grandmaster nevertheless was able to turn the tables by giving some material for the black queen and forcing Grischuk’s majesty to leave the corner and run to the center. He chased the black king over half of the board, but the position promised nothing more than a perpetual check, which he delivered after the first time control. In a battle lasting nearly five hours, Hikaru Nakamura and Veselin Topalov played the longest game of the day, which ended in favor of the Bulgarian grandmaster. “I used a line, which Anand played against me once”, Topalov explained. His decision was justified as he started a vicious attack against the white king right after the opening. Even if Topalov missed a win by force, the position on the board never raised serious doubts about the outcome. David Navara and Nikita Vitiugov tested their theoretical knowledge in a deeply analyzed line of the Marshall Attack. The Czech grandmaster followed in the footsteps of Teimour Radjabov, who beat Ding Liren in the final of the World Cup. Vitiugov deviated on move 17 by putting the bishop on f5 instead of the queen. He sacrificed a pawn, but soon afterward Navara gave the pawn back and forced the draw after 25 moves. “This is modern chess”, said Vitiugov later and added that Black has typical compensation in this position, which often leads to a draw. The first game to end in the starting round was the one between Teimour Radjabov and Daniil Dubov. It was only twelve moves long and it concluded in less than an hour. In an Italian Game, the Russian grandmaster gave up castling short but advanced his pawns on the kingside. Just when the battle began to heat up, Radjabov offered a draw, which Dubov accepted. Dmitry Jakovenko and Yu Yangyi shook hands shortly afterward. In a line of the rock-solid Petroff, Jakovenko decided to call it a day after 17 moves in a symmetrical and balanced position. The opponents will face each other on November 6 at 3 pm (CET) with colors reversed. The games are broadcasted live via the official website, www.worldchess.com. Round 1 first games results: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Wei Yi: 1-0Hikaru Nakamura – Veselin Topalov: 0-1David Navara – Nikita Vitiugov: 1/2-1/2Radoslaw Wojtaszek – Alexander Grischuk: 1/2-1/2Teimour Radjabov – Daniil Dubov: 1/2-1/2Peter Svidler – Pentala Harikrishna: 1-0Dmitry Jakovenko – Yu Yangyi: 1/2-1/2Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Ian Nepomniachtchi: 1-0 Schedule FIDE Grand Prix Hamburg Nov. 5 14:00 Round 1 game 1Nov. 6 14:00 Round 1 game 2Nov. 7 14:00 TiebreakNov. 8 14:00 Round 2 game 1Nov. 9 14:00 Round 2 game 2Nov. 10 14:00 TiebreakNov. 11 14:00 Round 3 game 1Nov. 12 14:00 Round 3 game 2Nov. 13 14:00 TiebreakNov. 14 Rest dayNov. 15 14:00 Round 4 game 1Nov. 16 14:00 Round 4 game 2Nov. 17 14:00 Tiebreak FIDE Press officer for the event: Georgios Souleidis Official Photographer: Valeria Gordienko World Chess contact: media@worldchess.com Photos are available for the press from the following link to Dropbox. The list of key partners supporting the FIDE World Chess Grand Prix Series 2019 includes: Algorand as the Exclusive Blockchain PartnerPhosAgro as the Official Strategic PartnerKaspersky as the Official Cybersecurity PartnerPella Sietas Shipyard as Official PartnerPrytek as the Technology Transfer Partner