FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss: Round 5 Recap
Alexei Shirov and Evgeniy Najer have joined Alireza Firouzja as the leaders of the Open Event. In the Women’s section, six players are tied for the top after five rounds of play Despite an extra hour of sleep (due to clocks changing the night before), Sunday was a tough day at the 2021 FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss. Not only were players facing very difficult opponents but many of them were randomly selected for the anti-doping control following the games, which is usually seen by the players as one of the biggest inconveniences. Open Event Tournament leader Alireza Firouzja was on board one playing as white against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. In the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defence, MVL timely got rid of his backward d6-pawn by playing 23…d6-d5 and equalized completely. Eight moves down the road the game ended with a draw. Firouzja is still in the lead but is joined by two more players. On the second board, Yu Yanhgyi of China opted for Petrov’s Defence as Black against Norwegian Aryan Tari. White managed to get to a slightly more comfortable position but predictably couldn’t create much from that. Yangyi, however, tried to force his way in the endgame. Aryan was playing precisely and managed to hold with relative ease. After nearly six hours, the game ended in a draw. The duel between Pavel Ponkratov and Samuel Sevian on board three was the first one to finish. In the Catalan, White went for a line which led to the repetition on move 23. Ponkratov played so quickly that he finished the game with more time than he started with (due to time increment in each move). Croatian Ivan Saric’s run has come to a halt after he was defeated by Alexei Shirov, a native of Riga, Latvia. Shirov, who was black, played the Morphy Defence in the Ruy Lopez. White’s problems in a complicated position started after his queen’s foray to g4, but the real mistake (21.dxc5?) came four moves later. Being in his element, Alexei quickly coordinated his pieces and forced the Croatian’s capitulation. With four out of five, Shirov has now tied for the top place in the tournament. Top seed Fabiano Caruana won as White against David Howell of England, getting back among the leaders of the tournament. In the Ruy Lopez, world number two played very fast while Howell was more than an hour and 10 minutes behind as early as move 18, suggesting that he was caught out by Caruana’s preparation. By move 23, Howell had 11 minutes on his clock, meaning he had 17 moves to make before the first time control. Nevertheless, he did not manage to solve all his opening problems and lost a pawn after missing some tactics (23.Rxc6!). Fabiano seamlessly converted his advantage to score a clean victory. World number four, Levon Aronian, was Black against Grigoriy Oparin. On 1.e4 Aronian responded with Petrov’s defence. Oparin took much longer to make his moves, suggesting that the Russian walked into Aronian’s preparation. By move 20, the position transpired into a drawn bishop ending, and the two agreed to split a point. On board five, Evgeniy Najer, who missed a win against Ivan Saric in Round Four, recorded a victory as Black against Armenian Robert Hovhannisyan. The Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian was played, and the position was mostly equal, but Hovhannisyan was slightly weaker on time. The Russian sacrificed his weak d6-pawn but got excellent compensation in the form of two bishops and more active pieces. White should have proceeded with extreme caution, but on move 27 Hovhannisyan made a decisive mistake that cost him a pawn and eventually the game. Najer played with confidence and made sure victory didn’t slip like it did yesterday. Speaking after the game, Najer said that it was difficult for him to go over his slip in Round 4 but that each game is a new challenge. Asked about how much luck plays a role in chess, the Russian GM said that “it’s not more than 5% given how logical chess is compared to other sports”. With this victory, Najer is one of the three leaders of the tournament. One of the more interesting games of the day was played on board 37 between Rinat Jumabayev and Volodymyr Onyshchuk. In the Pirc Defence each side was pushing a pawn down the opposite flanks. After wild complications, the final position saw four queens on the board! As it was Black’s turn, White’s king quickly perished. After five rounds, there are three leaders in the Open event, with 4/5. They are followed by a score of GMs on 3½ points. Women’s Event In the women’s section, there were six decisive games on the top-10 boards. Six players are tied for the top place: Lei Tingjie, Nino Batsiashvili, Harika Dronavalli, Elisabeth Paehtz, Zhu Jiner and Jolanta Zawadzka. The duel between the tournament leader Lei Tingjie and top seed Nana Dzagnidze started with the English Opening. A strategical battle in the centre took place but the game was very level. On move 30, the two agreed to a draw. With 3½/5 top-seed Dzagnidze is no longer in the lead, trailing the top-6 by half a point. On board two, Nino Batsiashvili scored a spectacular victory against former women’s World Champion, Alexandra Kosteniuk. The Ragozin line in the Declined Queen’s Gambit was played leading to a strategical battle in which White built a strong pawn formation in the centre. Bacashvili set it in motion and then delivered a crushing blow: Nino Batsiashvili – Alexandra Kosteniuk With 17.Nxh6+! Nino destroyed Black king’s fortress. After 17…Kxh7 18.fxe4 Kg7 19.e5! Black has no defence against numerous threats. | 1-0, 33 moves Batsiashvili is now on 4/5. Harika Dronavalli was on third board, up against the two-times Russian Champion Natalija Pogonina. Dronavalli exerted heavy pressure in the Italian Game and got a decisive advantage, but a couple of suboptimal moves from her part were enough to let the victory slip away. The opponents split a point in a dead equal position. Alina Kashlinskaya, the 2019 European Women’s Individual Chess Champion, was playing on the fourth board against Zhu Jiner of China. In the Nimzo-Indian Defence Kashlinskaya overlooked the idea of Black’s sacrificing the a5-knight as her position quickly
ARB Lecturer Training Programme CALL OF INTEREST announced
Training Arbiters worldwide is one of the major missions of the FIDE Arbiters’ Commission. While FIDE Arbiter seminars are mostly organised with the support of Federations or Continental Chess Associations, Lecturers are under the direct responsibility of the FIDE Arbiters’ Commission. Since the inaugural sessions in 2008, almost 100 colleagues have been accredited as FIDE Lecturers touching approximately 11,000 candidates worldwide. Naturally, the list of Lecturers has been evolving over time and it currently contains 73 names: 6 of them covered more than 20 seminars over the years, while 12 colleagues are still waiting for their first seminar as the main Lecturer. Whatever the profiles, differences in seniority, gender, location, etc. the FIDE Arbiters’ Commission wanted to have ALL Lecturers on board to reach the next level of quality! That’s why we introduced in 2020 the Lecturer Training Programme (LTP). We want our teachers to be well trained, better supported in their mission and connected with each other. The introduction of the FIDE Arbiter Training Portal earlier this year is another important milestone on our way to develop the sector of Arbiters’ Education! Step by step, the commission and the whole community will get better equipped to seek excellence as arbiters, for the well-being of chess players. Call of interest While priorities in the first part of the year were put on designing and executing the Online/Hybrid Arbiters’ Training Programme, we are now ready to open a call of interest to our colleagues who wish to contribute to the training of arbiters. This is the first step of the LTP recruitment process. The call is open to International Arbiters of category A or B. The experience in tournaments is important (and should be reflected by the category); however pedagogical skills and teaching ability are a must to be recruited. Candidates interested should send their details to Alex McFarlane (EDU Leader – ahmcfarlane@yahoo.co.uk) and Nebojsa Baralic (Secretary – secretary.arbiters@fide.com), by November 20th 2021: Identification and contact details Arbiter resume, including languages spoken (with the level of proficiency) and experience in teaching Motivations to get accredited as a lecturer Practical contribution: please submit 5 multiple choice questions which you would consider suitable to ask in a FIDE Arbiter Exam It is hoped that most who express an interest can be part of the LTP. However, if demand exceeds requirements, criteria used in selection will include the predicted geographical spread required in the near future and the quality of the practical contribution submitted. The ARB Education Team FIDE Arbiter’s Commission website: arbiters.fide.com
FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss: Round 4 Recap
The fourth day of the 2021 FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss was marked by draws, several of which were made fairly quickly. With 3.5 out of four, Alireza Firouzja still leads in the Open section. In the Women’s section, Lei Tingjie defeated Valentina Gunina and, with 3.5/4, is the sole leader The Open event All the games in the top five boards in the Open section of the Grand Swiss ended in a draw, leaving Alireza Firouzja as the sole leader on 3.5/4, with more than ten players behind on three points. World number two, Fabiano Caruana, is in the third tier of players, with 2.5 points. The game between the Chinese player Yu Yangyi and tournament leader Alireza Firouzja finished with a draw after an hour and a half of play. In an interview after the game, dissatisfied with his performance, Yu Yangyi noted he did not check his preparation well and that he ended up in a position in the Slav Defence which he wasn’t very comfortable with. Despite having white pieces, the Chinese player opted for a line which led to a draw, and the opponents shook hands on the move 30. On board two, Nihal Sarin and Pavel Ponkratov also split a point. In the semi-Slav defence, Sarin was thinking for a long time whether he wanted a draw or not, but, in the end, he decided not to take chances and went for repetition as White. The tragic person of the day is Evgeniy Najer, who was very close to winning as White against Ivan Saric in the last game to finish on the top boards. After the Croatian’s mistake on the move 45, the Russian got an overwhelming position, although some accuracy was required. Unluckily for Evgeniy, he missed an important subtlety on the move 55: Evgeniy Najer – Ivan Saric In the position that emerged after 54…f7-f5, White had a study-like win 55.Bf6+! Bxf6 56.Rc7 Bxg5 57.Rxd7 Kf6 58.Rb7, and so on. Najer played a more natural 55.gxf6+ Kf7 56.Rc6? and allowed Saric to build an unbreacheable fortress. After both players reached the next critical time control, the Russian realised he couldn’t do much and had to accept a draw. Top seed Fabiano Caruana has drawn his game against fellow compatriot Dariusz Swiercz. In the Queen’s Gambit Declined, the position quickly transpired into a rook and bishop ending in which both sides were equal. The top seed player at the tournament, Caruana, now has just one victory and three draws in four rounds. On board six, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave broke through in the centre in the game with Anton Demchenko and wedged his pawn on e6: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Anton Demchenko Be it for good or bad Black should have rolled the dice taking this pawn immediately 19…Nxe6 and there is no forced win for White in sight. Anton opted for 19…Qc6? but after 20.Re4! Ned5? 21. Nxd5 Nxd5 22.Rg4 Rxe6 23.Bb3 found himself in a hopeless position | 1-0, 28 moves With three out of four, Vachier-Lagrave came out as the only winner of the day on the top boards and has again reminded everyone he is one of the key players who will be attacking the top spots at the Grand Swiss. One of the most exciting games of the round was between the only woman playing in the Open event, Aleksandra Goryachkina and one of the top world youngsters, Hans Moke Nieman. After a risky play by Nieman in a sharp position, presumably trying to take advantage over Goryachkina’s time trouble, White managed to regroup to launch an attack on the black king’s castle, putting the black monarch on the run. Surprisingly, the game ended in a draw after Goryachkina missed a clear win in severe time trouble. Jorden Van Foreest, who took the Wijk aan Zee this year, scored an impressive victory against Surya Shekhar Ganguly of India. In the English Opening, Van Foreest sacrificed a pawn but got an excellent compensation that quickly morphed into powerful pressure in the centre and the kingside. After Ganguly’s mistake on move 25, Jorden sacrificed an exchange and finished his opponent off with a direct attack. A big upset of the round was young Danish star Jonas Buh Bjerrel (17) victory against over a hundred points higher rated player, former Indian champion and the former World Under-16 Champion, Baskaran Adhiban. With two out of four Bjerrel is now in the middle of the standings, while the former Indian Champion will need to do some serious thinking about how to get back into the tournament. The Women’s event Unlike the previous three days, day four brought a lot of draws in the Women’s event, with just one decisive game in the top five boards. Lei Tingjie became the sole leader of the inaugural Women’s FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss after defeating Valentina Gunina in the Caro-Kann. Gunina found herself in a strategically difficult position and tried to complicate matters by sacrificing a pawn and then exchange. Very often, this approach has worked for her but not this time, as Lei returned part of her extra material to steer into a won endgame. With this loss, Gunina is no longer among the leaders in the women’s event. Top German player IM Elisabeth Paehtz was White against top-seed Nana Dzagnidze on board one. Black also responded with the Caro-Kann defence and had some problems in the opening as well, but unlike Valentina, Nana managed to equalise by move 19. The position transpired into a rook endgame with both sides being equal, and the two called it a draw. Former Women’s World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk won her game on board six against Bibisara Assaubayeva, as did Alina Kashlinskaya, who bested Rout Padmini. With 3/4 Kosteniuk and Kashlinskaya have joined the pack of players trailing Lei Tingjie by half a point. In the women’s event, there are now ten players with three points: Nana Dzagnidze, Elisabeth Paehtz, Zhu Jiner, Harika Dronavalli, Natalija Pogonina, Nino Batsiashvili, Lela Javakhishvili, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Alina Kashlinskaya and Jolanta Zawadzka. Round 5 Round 5 starts at 2 PM on the 31st of October. The pairings for Round 5 for the Open event can be found here: grandswiss.fide.com/open/ The pairings for Round 5 of the Women’s event can be found here: grandswiss.fide.com/grand-swiss-women/ For more information about the tournament, please visit: https://grandswiss.fide.com/ Press