FIDE World Cup Round 3 Game 2: Intense showdowns and surprises
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Daniil Dubov were eliminated from the Open, while Bibisara Assaubayeva was knocked out of the Women’s competition after a loss to Elisabeth Paehtz The World Cup in Baku has seen another set of top favourites eliminated as the pressure is mounting. While some of the strongest players directly qualified for Round 4, many will have to fight in the tiebreaks. Among the favourites in the Open, Carlsen and Nakamura are through to the next stage. In the Women’s tournament, Alexandra Goryachkina qualified, as did Ju Wenjun, who scored a victory after miraculously saving a lost endgame. The Open Tournament highlights: The first qualifier to round four was the 23-year-old Alexey Sarana (playing for Serbia), who defeated Kirill Shevchenko today in just 26 moves, with an overall score of 1.5-0.5. The 17-year-old Uzbek prodigy Javokhir Sindarov eliminated one of the top players in the tournament, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (MVL). After a draw in game one, MVL had slightly more initiative in the second game, playing as White. After making a few inaccuracies in the middlegame the Frenchmen went for an attack on the black king which was refuted by several precise moves by the young Uzbek GM. Daniil Dubov is out. After a shocking loss in the first game, he could not make more than a draw with black pieces against Daniele Vocaturo in the second. In fact, throughout the second game, Dubov was notably weaker and made errors. At the moment when the draw was agreed, Vocaturo had a better position in a rook and queen endgame. Magnus Carlsen is through to round four after a draw with Aryan Tari (1.5-0.5 for Carlsen). Hikaru Nakamura also qualified after defeating Hungarian Benjamin Gledura in the second game with White. Leinier Dominguez Perez advanced to Round 4 after a lucky escape with a draw in a lost endgame against Guseinov. Parham Maghsoodloo also qualified, eliminating Alexander Donchenko (1.5-0.5) after making a hard-fought draw in the second game. After scoring victories in game one, Peter Svidler and Sleh Salem lost today, which means they will go to the tiebreaks. The 2021 World Cup winner Jan-Krzysztof Duda drew as White with Ivan Cheparinov and will be going to his first tiebreak in Baku. Several top favourites will also be playing in the tiebreaks after two draws: Fabiano Caruana, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Teimour Radjabov, Wesley So (who finished today after just 17 moves!), and Anish Giri. Other super GMs going to the tiebreaks after two draws are Yu Yangyi, Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, Nikita Vitiugov, Wang Hao, Wei Yi, Vasyl Ivanchuk and Radoslaw Wojtaszek who managed to level the score playing with the black pieces after losing the first game against Ivan Schitco. The Women’s Tournament highlights: The biggest story in round three of the Women’s World Cup is the elimination of the reigning World Blitz Champion, Bibisara Assaubayeva, who lost to Germany’s Elisabeth Paehtz. In the transition towards the endgame, Bibisara chose the wrong time to offer an exchange of queens, and from that moment on, her position went south. The two drew their first game. Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun had a tough game against nearly 200 points lower-rated Ulviyya Fataliyeva. After the English opening, Fataliyeva (playing as Black) completely outplayed Ju in the Nimzo-Indian-type pawn structure and reached an overwhelming position. However, she misplayed in time trouble and allowed White to equalise. The two finally reached an endgame where Ju had a rook and a knight against Black’s rook, with no pawns on the board. There was a path to a draw, but Black needed to play precisely, which she did not, walking into checkmate. A lucky escape and victory for Ju. Of the top women’s favourites, Aleksandra Goryachkina is through after drawing her second game, while Mariya Muzychuk won again today and qualifies for round four with two victories. Her sister, Anna, is also through to round four as she defeated the former Women’s World Champion and compatriot Anna Ushenina with an effective attacking combination to finish the match 1,5:0,5. Polina Shuvalova eliminated American Irina Krush, while Humpy Koneru was better than Olga Badelka, outplaying her in the Torre Attack. Dutch champion Eline Roebers is also through with a maximum score, beating Poland’s Klaudia Kulon in both games. The 2021 Women’s World Cup winner, and former Women’s World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk, will head to the tiebreaks as today again she could not break the resistance of Teodora Injac of Serbia. Zhu Jiner and Harika Dronavalli also go to the tiebreaks. The full list of the results from the second game of round three can be found here:https://worldcup2023.fide.com/tree. The tiebreaks of round three will take place on Monday, 7th August, at 3 PM local time in Baku, Azerbaijan. Here follows a look at some of the most interesting positions from the second game of round three: In a sharp line of the Morphy Defence, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave emerged with a slight edge. White has three pawns and a knight for a rook, an advanced protected pawn on a6 and more control over the centre. Still, Black has resources to counter. The best option for White was to go 22.Qa5, offer an exchange of queens, then try to relocate the c1-bishop to e3. Vachier-Lagrave decided to start an attack on the black king which backfired. 22.Qf5? Bxd4 23.Ng5 h6 24.Qh7+ Kf8 25.Nf3 Qb6 26.Nxd4? MVL overlooked – 26…Rxa6! forcing White either to lose material or get checkmated. 27.g3 Qb7! Now a threat of checkmate from h1! 28.Qh8+ Ke7 29.Qg7 Rxa1 Black collects the rook 30.Nf5+ 30…Ke6! Demonstrating precision to the very end. If 30…Kd8 then 31.Qf6+ and Black has chances to save the game. 31.Nd4+ Kd5 32.Nf3 Rxc1 32.Kg2 Rc4 33.Qxh Re6 and here the Frenchman realised it’s time to call it a day. 0-1 Kirill Shevchenko was very close to equality with the black pieces against Alexey Sarana, but one mistake cost him dearly. Black should hold with the precise 20…Kc6!, whereas after 20…Nc7?? 21.Rhb1! he has no way out. Kirill tried 21…Rc7 but after 22.Nb5 a3 23.Na7 White won
FIDE World Schools Team Championship: Schools from Turkey and India are in the lead
Two more rounds were played today at the FIDE World Schools Team Championship in Aktau. Two teams are in the lead in the U18 section. Four match victories of Istanbul ENKA High School come as no surprise as Turkish players are the rating favourites of the event. So far, IM Isik Can and his peers have conceded only half a point to their opponents. The same result from Velammal Vidyalaya Alapakkam, a school in Chennai, India, is even more impressive as they started 11th. The team made a tricky choice of putting their lowest-rated player, Santhosh V L, on the top board, and he has a tough time, but his teammates greatly compensate for that. In the U12 category, the Indian squad of Velammal MHS Mogappair is in sole lead with four match wins. Tomorrow they will be put to serious test facing the National Physics & Mathematics School of Kazakhstan, trailing just one point behind. Apart from creating chess masterpieces, the participants of the Championship continue exploring what Aktau has to offer. Today the players visited a local water park to refill their batteries and lift team spirits! The organizers prepared a diverse program of fun side activities so everyone would return home with lifetime memories. Here are the top standings after Round 4: Under 18 1 TUR Istanbul ENKA High School 8 2 IND Velammal Vidyalaya Alapakkam, Chennai 8 3 PER Saco Oliveros 7 4 KAZ Republican School of Physics and Mathema 6 5 PAR ABSE Escuela 6 6 GER Gymnasium Theodorianum Paderborn 6 7 UZB No 5 Xatirchi 6 8 MGL Mongeni Complex School 6 9 ARM Photon Gymnasium 6 10 AZE Sumgayit city No-1 Secondary School name 6 Under 12 1 IND Velammal MHS Mogappair 8 2 KAZ National Physics & Mathematics School 7 3 POL Szkoła Podstawowa nr 48 im. Szarych Szer 6 4 KAZ School of Astana, number 72 6 5 PER Saco Oliveros 6 6 CAN Silver Stream Public School 6 7 UKR Lviv Academic Gymnasium 6 About World Schools Team Championship 2023 Schoolkids come to Aktau from all over the world to defend the honour of their school and country. The Championship is organized by FIDE and Kazakhstan Chess Federation, with the support of the akimat of Mangistau region, as well as the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Education of Kazakhstan. Freedom Holding Corp is the General Partner and Sponsor. Official website: wstcc2023.fide.com Photos: Flickr (can be used only for media reporting about the event, with credit given to Kazakhstan Chess Federation)