FIDE World Cup Round 3 Tiebreaks: A day of the underdogs
Several rating favourites were eliminated in the third stage of the World Cup, including the winner of the 2021 women’s competition and former World Champion, Alexandra Kosteniuk The most significant upset of the round three tiebreaks occurred as Alexandra Kosteniuk was eliminated by Serbia’s Teodora Injac, who defeated her in both rapid games of the first tiebreak. It was also a challenging day for India’s Harika Dronavalli, who secured her place in round four only after winning the final blitz-game match with a 3+2 time control. The Open tournament witnessed dramatic eliminations as several top GMs were defeated by rating underdogs. Anish Giri faced a tough battle against Nijat Abasov and was ultimately knocked out after three stages of tiebreaks. Super GMs Teimour Radjabov (who won the 2019 World Cup winner) and Yu Yangyi were also stopped from making it to the next stage. The Open Tiebreaks: After an intense series of three tiebreak matches which altogether lasted five hours, Anish Giri was eliminated from the World Cup by the 28-year-old Baku native, Nijat Abasov. In the first rapid match, both sides exchanged victories. The second tiebreak ended with two draws. Then, in the third stage of the tiebreaks – where the time control was 5+3 – the first game ended in a draw, but Giri misplayed in the second and lost. The 2019 World Cup winner and the hosts’ biggest hope in this edition in Baku, Teimour Radjabov was also knocked out. Spanish GM Jaime Santos Latasa defeated him with black pieces in the first tiebreak rapid game after Radjabov badly misplayed in a rook and queen endgame. The second game ended in a draw despite Santos Latasa being slightly better. Fabiano Caruana defeated Turkey’s Mustafa Yilmaz 2-0 to qualify for round four and was the only player of the top favourites to finish the tiebreak on 100%. Wesley So, who faced France’s Jules Moussard, had to go through two rounds of rapid tiebreaks before he could qualify. The two drew both of their first rapid match games. In the second rapid match, So was better at the finish of game one. Game two ended in a draw despite So completely dominating since move 23. Jan-Krzysztof Duda qualified by capitalising on Ivan Cheparinov’s endgame slip in the rapid. Ian Nepomnichi is also through after Rauf Mamedov blundered towards the endgame in their first rapid duel. Wang Hao defeated England’s David Howell, who also misplayed in the endgame but in the first rapid tiebreaker. Peter Svdler scored a victory against Jorden Van Foreest as Black and then drew in their second rapid game to seal his path to the next stage. The round three tiebreak seems to have favoured the underdogs as several notably higher-rated GMs were eliminated. Turkish GM Vahap Sanal won both rapid games against the rating favourite Anton Korobov. In the first game, Korobov completely misplayed and had to give up an exchange, while in the second one, he blundered in the endgame. Hungary’s Ferenc Berkes (celebrating his birthday tomorrow) is having a great tournament in Baku and is through to Round 4 after knocking out Nikita Vitiugov in the first rapid tiebreaker with 1.5-0.5. It was the third tiebreaker Berkes had to play. In Round 1, he defeated Iran’s Pouria Darani via tiebreaks, then in the second round, he eliminated the former world champion candidate and 2009 World Cup winner Boris Gelfand, also in the tiebreaks. Once France’s leading star player, Etienne Bacrot, eliminated China’s 2700+ strong GM Yu Yangyi, defeating him with black pieces in game two of the rapid. Despite achieving a better position, Yu miscalculated. In an attempt to seize the black king in the centre, he first dropped the advantage and then blundered into a lost position. Ukraine’s Vasyl Ivanchuk (54) outmatched his opponent, the 30-years-younger and 2700+-rated Chinese GM Wei Yi, defeating him 1.5-0.5. Sweden’s Nils Grandelius prevailed over Amin Bassem by 1.5-0.5 and secured his qualification for the next stage. Nihal Sarin, Salem Saleh, Andrey Esipenko, and Radoslaw Wojtaszek also advanced. The Women’s Tiebreaks: In a monumental upset for the women’s tournament, Serbia’s Teodora Injac eliminated Women’s World Cup 2021 winner and former Women’s World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk, defeating her in both games of the first rapid tiebreak. However, in the first game, Kosteniuk missed an opportunity for a perpetual check, allowing Injac to secure victory. This was a very long day for India’s Harika Dronavalli, who qualified for Round 4 only after winning the final blitz-game match with a 3+2 time control. Dronavalli was playing Lela Javakhishvili of Georgia after they drew both games in the classical part of round three. The first rapid match ended with two draws. In the second, Harika scored first, but Lela bounced back in the second. Then, in match three – with a time control of 5+3, both games ended in a draw. In the final two-game match, played under 3+2 time control, game one ended without either side having many chances. But in the second and final game, Harika took advantage of her opponent’s imprecisions and ended in a knight endgame where she was two pawns up, finishing with a victory. Grandmaster Zhu Jiner (whose title was officiated just recently by FIDE) has qualified after winning both of her rapid games against IM Yuliia Osmak. Another Chinese GM and former Women’s World Champion, Tan Zhongyi, is also through, having defeated Estonia’s IM Mai Narva in the second rapid match 2:0 (the first one ended with both sides scoring a victory each). The full list of the results from the round three tiebreaks can be found here: https://worldcup2023.fide.com/tree. Top performers head for the Grand Swiss Before the Baku event, the International chess federation (FIDE) announced that up to three players from those who reach the Round of 16 in the World Cup, and up to two players from the Women’s World Cup Round of 16, who haven’t qualified otherwise, will get a place in the upcoming Grand Swiss which will be held in October. On the
FIDE World Schools Team Championship: Schools from Turkey and India lead with perfect score
Only two rounds are left at the FIDE World Schools Team Championship in Aktau. FIDE World Schools Team Championship is entering its final day. The tournament’s favourite Istanbul ENKA High School is one step from securing gold medals in the U18 category. The Turkish team won all their matches and, with 12 match points, is three points ahead of the closest pursuers. Considering excellent tiebreaks, one draw in the last two rounds will likely suffice to claim the Championship. At the start of the day, two teams were in the lead with perfect scores: Istanbul ENKA High School and Velammal Vidyalaya Alapakkam, Chennai. In Round 5, the Turkish team defeated their rivals in a close match by 2½:1½. In the next round, the Indian team conceded more points by making a draw with Photon Gymnasium from Armenia and is now trailing Istanbul ENKA High School by three points. Four more teams share the second place with the same score of 9 match points: Gymnasium Theodorianum Paderborn (Germany), Theoretical Lyceum “N. Gogol” (Moldova), Mongeni Complex School (Mongolia), and the abovementioned Photon Gymnasium (Armenia). The competition for silver and bronze medals is wide open. Six top teams will meet each other in the two final rounds and determine the pedestal in direct encounters. In the U12 section, Indian Velammal MHS Mogappair is unstoppable. Number 2 in the starting list, this team won all the matches so far and is leading by 3 points. In Round 7, they will face off with the number 1 seed Lyceum School No. 8 for gifted children from Kazakhstan. The team from the host country must win this match to continue their pursuit of the medals as they share third with five other teams that scored 8 points. The second spot is currently occupied by Lviv Academic Gymnasium from Ukraine. Trailing the leader by 3 points, number 3 in the starting rank, this team has already met with the leaders and a few close rivals. Solid play in the final games will likely lead them to a medal. Below are the Top Standings after six rounds. Under 18: Istanbul ENKA High School (TUR) – 12 match points Velammal Vidyalaya Alapakkam, Chennai (IND) – 9 Gymnasium Theodorianum Paderborn (GER) – 9 Theoretical Lyceum “N. Gogol” (MDA) – 9 Mongeni Complex School (MGL) – 9 Photon Gymnasium (ARM) – 9 Under 12: Velammal MHS Mogappair (IND) – 12 match points Lviv Academic Gymnasium (UKR) – 9 National Physics & Mathematics School (KAZ) – 8 Lyceum School No. 8 for gifted children (KAZ) – 8 Silver Stream Public School (CAN) – 8 IT lyceum No 9 named after O. Zholdasbek (KAZ) – 8 School of Astana, number 72 (KAZ) – 8 Saco Oliveros (PER) – 8 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)