Grand Prix 2019

**Wayne Komer** · Saturday, 11th May, 2019, 12:55 AM

2019 FIDE Grand Prix – Moscow

May 10, 2019

May 16 – May 30, 2019

The 2019 Moscow Grand Prix is an inaugural event of the 2019-2020 World Chess Championship cycle and the first event in the Series. Two winners of the Grand Prix Series will win the ticket to the World Chess Candidates Tournament, and eventually a right to face the incumbent World Champion in the Championship Match.

Schedule

May 16 Opening Ceremony
May 17 Round 1 Day 1
May 18 Round 1 Day 2
May 19 Tie Breaks Day 3
May 20 Round 2 Day 4
May 21 Round 2 Day 5
May 22 Tie Breaks Day 6
May 23 Round 3 Day 7
May 24 Round 3 Day 8
May 25 Tie Breaks Day 9
May 26 Rest Day
May 27 Final Day 10
May 28 Final Day 11
May 29 Tie Breaks Day 12

The rounds start at 3PM Moscow time, and you can enter the playing venue starting at 2PM. There will be on-site commentary in Russian and invitation-only VIP lounge, where you can listen to English or Russian commentary, follow the games and meet chess and business luminaries. There will be a special media centre for accredited media.

Format

The Grand Prix format has been changed to make it exciting for players and fans: A knock-out system where in every tournament 16 grandmasters fight for the spots in the Candidates Tournament and a chance to dethrone the current World Champion, Magnus Carlsen of Norway. There will be four rounds in each Grand Prix tournament. Each round consists of two games with classical time control, and series of tie-breaks (rapid, blitz, and sudden death) in case of a tie. Unlike in many other chess events, there will be very few draws, and a winner in every round.

Participants

No Player Country

1 Mamedyarov Azerbaijan
2 Giri Netherlands
3 So USA
4 Aronian Armenia
5 Grischuk Russia
6 Nakamura USA
7 Karjakin Russia
8 Nepomniachtchi Russia
9 Svidler Russia
10 Radjabov Azerbaijan
11 Jakavenko Russia
12 Wojtaszek Poland
13 Wei Yi China
14 Duda Poland
15 Vitiugov Russia
16 Dubov Russia

Location

The Grand Prix is held if the famed Central Chessplayers’ House, a building dedicated to chess since 1930s. A former mansion, the building made history when John Kennedy and his family visited and played chess there. All top chess players visited the building and it held many international tournaments. The building, now being run but the Russian Chess Federation, also houses the Chess Museum and features the world’s best collection of chess memorabilia.

Address: Gogolevsky Blvd, 14, Moscow, Russia

https://worldchess.com/news/1349?ss_...5-10T18:01:49Z

Playing and Drinking in Moscow

If you happen to be in Moscow in May for a World Chess Grand Prix you will probably end up at the World Chess Club Moscow on one of the evenings — to mingle with the fellow chess players and friends, have a drink named after a chess great, and check out what is billed as the world’s only chess club with a bar.

Located in one of the most iconic buildings of the Soviet Era, one of the Seven Sisters, the club shares the wall with World Chess, the publisher of this website. Looking like a lobby of a hipster-friendly East Berlin hotel and hosting a curious mix of patrons, the club offers a glimpse into the future of chess establishments as the sport becomes less of an educational device for kids but a favorite pastime for millennials who grew up with chess installed on their smartphone.

“This is not so much a typical bar, but a community bar for chess fans,” — says Kenan Assab, head bartender for the club who was named the top bartender in Russia by Esquire Magazine. “Just a very, very good one!”

There is Capablanca (a mixed cocktail based on Cuban rum, sherry blend and clarified pineapple cordial with smoky spray), Euwe (based on Dutch jenever and vodka, a blend of vermouth and white port and a cardamom shrub with a rose extract) and the crown jewel of the collection, Spassky (a mixed cocktail based on smelt and sprat distillate, with the addition of tomato water, spices and sherry vinegar).

https://worldchess.com/news/1531?ss_...5-10T18:01:49Z

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 16th May, 2019, 03:56 PM

2019 FIDE Grand Prix – Moscow

May 16, 2019

1/8 Finals

Pairings

Round 1, Day 1

Giri, Anish - Dubov, Daniil

Radjabov, Teimour – Nakamura, Hikaru

__________

Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – So, Wesley

Karjakin, Sergey – Grischuk, Alexander

_________

Nepomniachtchi Ian – Aronian, Levon

Wei, Yi – Jakovenko, Dmitry

___________

Vitiugov, Nikita – Svidler, Peter

Wojtaszek, Radoslaw – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar

___________

There will be four rounds in the Grand Prix. Each consists of two games with the classic time control 100’ for 40 moves (50’/20+15’) and 30 seconds per move. In case of a tie, there is a tie breaks round, consisting of two games with 25 minutes and 10 seconds per move for each player. If the score is still tied, there are two games with 10 minutes and 10 seconds per month for each player. If it’s still a tie, it’s followed by 2 blitz games of 5 minutes and 3 seconds per move. If the score is tied, then there is an Armageddon game.

https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-to...-gp-2019/1/1/1

**Francis Rodriguez** · Friday, 17th May, 2019, 10:31 AM

MultiBoard - Round 1:
https://worldchess.com/tournament/28...517/multiboard

**Wayne Komer** · Friday, 17th May, 2019, 03:36 PM

2019 FIDE Grand Prix – Moscow

May 17, 2019

1/8 Finals

Round 1, Day 1

The broadcast is available on worldchess.com

The commentators are Daniil Yuffa and Evgenij Miroshnichenko. The commentary is good and professional.
The very short draw for Nakamura is puzzling. Perhaps some players are getting accustomed to the change in time zones…

Round 1, May 17
Giri, Anish – Dubov,Daniil
A04 Reti, King’s Indian Defence

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 e5 5.Nxe5 O-O 6.Nf3 Re8 7.d3 d5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Bd2 Bg4 10.Qb3 Nxc3 11.bxc3 Na6 12.Be2 Nc5 13.Qc2 Bxf3 14.gxf3 Qh4 15.d4 Ne6 16.Qc1 c6 17.a4 Qh3 18.Rb1 b6 19.Be3 Rac8 20.Qd2 f5 21.Qd3 Kh8 22.e5 c5 23.d5 f4 24.dxe6 Rcd8 25.Qe4 fxe3 26.fxe3 Rxe6 27.Rd1 Rde8 28.Bf1 Qh6 29.Qf4 g5 30.Qg4 Bxe5 31.Bb5 Rf8 32.Rd7 Bf4 33.Bd3 Rxe3+ 34.Kf2 Rfe8 35.h4 R3e7 36.Rxe7 Rxe7 1/2-1/2

Round 1, May 17
Radjabov, Teimour – Nakamura, Hikaru
E05 Catalan, open, Classical line

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 e6 4.c4 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.d4 dxc4 7.Qc2 b5 8.a4 b4 9.Nbd2 Bb7 10.Nxc4 c5 11.dxc5 Be4 12.Qd1 1/2-1/2

Round 1, May 17
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – So, Wesley
C53 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 O-O 6.O-O d5 7.exd5 Nxd5 8.a4 a6 9.Re1 Bg4 10.Nbd2 Kh8 11.h3 Bh5 12.Ne4 Ba7 13.Ng3 Bg6 14.Nxe5 Nxe5 15.Rxe5 Nb6 16.Qf3 c6 17.Bf4 Bb8 18.Ree1 Nxc4 19.dxc4 Qh4 20.Ne2 Ba7 21.Bd6 Rfe8 22.Nf4 Bc2 23.c5 a5 24.Re2 Bb3 25.Ra3 1-0

Final position

Round 1, May 17
Karjakin, Sergey – Grischuk, Alexander
D45 QGD, Semi-Slav

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.a4 Bd6 7.a5 O-O 8.Be2 e5 9.cxd5 cxd5 10.dxe5 Nxe5 11.O-O Bc7 12.Qb3 Nc6 13.a6 bxa6 14.Qa4 1/2-1/2

Round 1, May 17
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Aronian, Levon
C88 Ruy Lopez, Closed

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.d4 Nxd4 9.Bxf7+ Rxf7 10.Nxe5 Rf8 11.Qxd4 Bb7 12.Nc3 c5 13.Qd1 b4 14.Nd5 Nxd5 15.exd5 Bd6 16.c4 bxc3 17.bxc3 a5 18.Nf3 Qf6 19.Bg5 Qg6 20.Be7 Bxe7 21.Rxe7 Qd6 22.Qe2 Bxd5 23.Rd1 Rab8 24.Ne1 Qc6 25.Qe5 Bf7 26.Rdxd7 Rfe8 27.Qf4 Qf6 28.Rxe8+ Rxe8 29.Qd2 Qe6 30.Rd8 h6 31.Rxe8+ Qxe8 32.a3 Qa4 33.Qc1 Bg6 34.Nf3 Qb3 35.Ne5 Bc2 36.Ng4 a4 37.h3 Bf5 38.Ne5 Kh7 39.Kh2 Qa2 40.Kg1 Kg8 41.Qf4 Qxa3 42.Qxf5 Qxc3 43.Nc6 Kh8 44.Qf7 Qb3 45.Qe8+ Kh7 46.Qe4+ Kh8 47.Na5 Qd1+ 48.Kh2 Qd6+ 49.f4 a3 50.Qa4 c4 51.Qxc4 Qd2 52.Nb3 Qe3 53.Nc1 h5 54.h4 Qe7 55.Qc8+ Kh7 56.Qf5+ g6 57.Qh3 Qf7 58.f5 Qc7+ 59.Qg3 Qxc1 60.Qxg6+ Kh8 61.Qxh5+ Kg7 62.Qg6+ Kf8 63.Qf6+ Ke8 64.Qe6+ Kf8 65.Qd6+ Kf7 66.Qe6+ Kf8 67.Qf6+ Kg8 68.Qe5 Kf7 69.f6 Qc4 70.Qe7+ Kg6 71.Qg7+ Kf5 72.Qg5+ 1-0

Final position

Round 1, May 17
Wei, Yi – Jakovenko, Dmitry
A13 English, Neo-Catalan

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 d4 5.e3 c5 6.O-O Nc6 7.exd4 cxd4 8.d3 Bd6 9.Bg5 h6 10.Bxf6 Qxf6 11.Nbd2 Qe7 12.a3 a5 13.Ne4 Bc7 14.b4 axb4 15.axb4 Rxa1 16.Qxa1 f5 17.Nc5 O-O 18.Re1 Nxb4 19.Nxe6 Nc2 20.Nxf8 Qxe1+ 21.Qxe1 Nxe1 22.Nxe1 Kxf8 23.Bd5 1/2-1/2

Round 1, May 17
Vitiugov, Nikita – Svidler, Peter
A36 English, ultra-symmetrical variation

1.c4 g6 2.Nc3 c5 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.b3 e5 6.Bb2 Nge7 7.e3 d6 8.Nge2 O-O 9.d3 Rb8 10.h4 h6 11.Qd2 Bg4 12.O-O-O a6 13.f3 Be6 14.h5 d5 15.cxd5 Nxd5 16.hxg6 fxg6 17.Kb1 Qe7 18.f4 1/2-1/2

Round 1, May 17
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
D82 Grunfeld

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bf4 Bg7 5.e3 c5 6.dxc5 Qa5 7.Rc1 dxc4 8.Bxc4 O-O 9.Ne2 Qxc5 10.Qb3 Qa5 11.O-O Nbd7 12.Nb5 Ne4 13.Bc7 b6 14.Bxf7+ Rxf7 15.Qd5 Nec5 16.Qxa8 Qxb5 17.Nd4 Qa6 18.b4 Nd3 19.Rcd1 Nb2 20.Rb1 Bxd4 21.exd4 Nc4 22.Rbc1 b5 23.a4 Qb7 24.Qxb7 Bxb7 25.axb5 Na3 26.f4 Nxb5 27.Be5 Rf8 28.g3 Kf7 29.f5 g5 30.g4 a6 31.Kf2 Nf6 32.Rg1 Rh8 33.Ke2 h6 34.h3 Rd8 35.Rc4 Rg8 36.Re1 Nd5 37.Kf2 Rd8 38.Kg3 Ndc3 39.Kh2 Ne4 40.Re2 Nec3 41.Re3 Nd5 42.Re2 Rd7 43.Kg3 Nf6 44.h4 Rd8 45.hxg5 hxg5 46.Bxf6 exf6 47.Rh2 Kg7 48.Rd2 Rd7 49.Rc1 Bd5 50.Kf2 Kf7 51.Rc5 Ke7 52.Re2+ Kd6 53.Re8 Nxd4 54.Ra5 Bb7 55.Ra3 Kd5 56.Rc3 Bc6 57.Ke3 Nb3 58.Re6 Bb5 59.Rxb3 Kc4 60.Rb1 Kc3 61.Rxf6 Rd3+ 62.Ke4 Rd4+ 63.Ke5 Rxg4 64.Rb6 Bd3 65.Rc6+ Kd2 66.Rb2+ Ke3 67.f6 1-0

Position after White’s 56.Rc3 Is there a better move than 56…Bc6?

At the post-mortem interview, Rado appeared with his wife (a first?) Alina Kashlinskya, current European champion.

**Wayne Komer** · Saturday, 18th May, 2019, 10:06 PM

2019 FIDE Grand Prix – Moscow

May 18, 2019

1/8 Finals

From chessbase:

https://en.chessbase.com/post/moscow...rix-2019-r1-d2

Daniil Dubov's win over top seed Anish Giri was clearly the highlight of the day — a wild struggle with both kings uncastled and sharp attacking chances for both sides. Dubov described it thus: "It was one of those games that, you know, makes us love chess".

Giri started taking his time on move seven and found himself unable to deal with the complications while his clock was dangerously ticking down. By move 16, it was pretty clear that both kings would remain in the centre:

Daniil played 19.0-0-0 and commented: "When I played long castle I felt like it's just a complete mess". And we cannot disagree with his assessment! The Russian added: "Yesterday it was a complete mess and, I mean...I honestly think I don't have a single idea of what was going on. And today, I mean, it's kind of the same obviously".

The game had to keep going despite the players not having much of a clue of what was going on, however, and according to the computers Giri's big mistake was 22...Ba3. The Dutchman went on to protect his monarch on the kingside, but White's initiative was too much to handle. Dubov did not blunder in defence and got the win after 36 moves, with mate-in-three on the board.

Round 1, Day 2

Round 1, Day 2, May 18
Dubov, Daniil – Giri, Anish
D44 QGD, Semi-Slav, Botvinnik System

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Bg5 dxc4 5.e4 b5 6.a4 c6 7.Nc3 b4 8.Nb1 Ba6 9.e5 h6 10.Bxf6 gxf6 11.exf6 c5 12.Nbd2 c3 13.bxc3 bxc3 14.Ne4 cxd4 15.Bb5+ Bxb5 16.axb5 Qd5 17.Qxd4 Qxb5 18.Nxc3 Bb4 19.O-O-O Qa5 20.Nb5 Na6 21.Qd7+ Kf8 22.Kb1 Ba3 23.Rd3 Qb4+ 24.Kc2 Qa4+ 25.Kd2 Bb4+ 26.Ke2 Kg8 27.Ne5 Qc2+ 28.Kf3 Rf8 29.Rhd1 h5 30.Qd4 Rh7 31.Qf4 Bc5 32.Nd4 Qa2 33.R1d2 Qd5+ 34.Ke2 Bb4 35.Ndc6 Qc5 36.Ne7+ Kh8 1-0

Nakamura-Radjabov was another quick draw. The players evidently are hoping each will win in the quicker tie-breaks. Scratch what I said yesterday about Nakamura perhaps suffering from jet-lag!

Round 1, Day 2, May 18
Nakamura, Hikaru – Radjabov, Teimour
D37 QGD

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.g3 O-O 6.Bg2 dxc4 7.Ne5 c5 8.dxc5 Qxd1+ 9.Nxd1 Bxc5 10.O-O Nd5 11.Ne3 Nc6 12.N3xc4 Nxe5 13.Nxe5 Bd4 14.Nd3 1/2-1/2

Round 1, Day 2, May 18
So, Wesley – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
B78 Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav Attack, Korchnoi variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 O-O 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.O-O-O Ne5 11.Bb3 Rc8 12.Kb1 Nc4 13.Bxc4 Rxc4 14.g4 b5 15.b3 b4 16.bxc4 bxc3 17.Qxc3 Qc7 18.g5 Nh5 19.Ka1 Rc8 20.Rb1 Be6 21.Rb2 Bxc4 22.Rhb1 d5 23.exd5 Nf4 24.Rb7 Qe5 25.R1b4 Nxd5 26.Rxc4 Rf8 27.Rc5 Nxc3 28.Rxe5 Bxe5 29.Nc6 Bg7 30.Bxa7 e5 31.Kb2 e4 32.fxe4 Nxe4+ 33.Kb3 Re8 34.a4 Re6 35.Nd4 Ra6 36.Rb8+ Bf8 37.Bb6 Kg7 38.a5 Bd6 39.Re8 f5 40.gxf6+ Nxf6 41.Rd8 Bxh2 42.Ne6+ Kf7 43.Nc5 Rxb6+ 44.axb6 h5 45.b7 h4 46.Rd2 Bc7 47.Ne4 Ke6 48.Nxf6 Kxf6 49.Rd7 Bg3 50.Rh7 g5 51.Kc4 Kf5 52.Kd3 Kg4 53.Ke2 Kh3 54.c4 Kg2 55.Rh5 1-0

By winning, So has tied the score and so who goes through will be decided on tie-breaks tomorrow.

Round 1, Day 2, May 18
Grischuk, Alexander – Karjakin, Sergey
D38 QGD, Ragozin variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 O-O 8.e3 Bf5 9.Be2 Nbd7 10.Qb3 Bxc3+ 11.Qxc3 c6 12.Nd2 Ne4 13.Bxd8 Nxc3 14.bxc3 Rfxd8 15.a4 c5 16.Nf1 Rac8 17.Ng3 Bh7 18.Kd2 Rc7 19.a5 Kf8 20.h4 Nf6 21.Bf3 Ke7 22.h5 Kd6 23.Ra3 cxd4 24.exd4 Re8 25.Nf1 Be4 26.Ne3 Bxf3 27.Nf5+ Kc6 28.gxf3 Rg8 29.Raa1 Kd7 30.Rag1 Rgc8 31.Rc1 Rg8 32.Rce1 b6 33.a6 b5 34.Re5 Rb8 35.Rg1 Nxh5 36.Rxd5+ Ke6 37.Re5+ Kd7 38.Nxg7 Nxg7 39.Rxg7 Kd6 40.Rh7 b4 41.Rxh6+ Kd7 42.Rd5+ Ke7 43.Re5+ Kd7 44.cxb4 Rxb4 45.Ke3 Rc3+ 46.Ke4 Rcc4 47.Rd5+ Ke7 48.f4 Rc2 49.f3 Ra4 50.f5 Re2+ 51.Kf4 Rea2 52.Rhd6 1-0

Grischuk is through to the next round and Karjakin joins Giri in being out of the tournament. Sergey felt the need of a strong drink and intimated that he might go to the Abbey Tournament in Scotland.

See Whiskey and Chess

https://forum.chesstalk.com/forum/ch...skey-and-chess

Round 1, Day 2, May 18
Aronian, Levon – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
A22 English, Bremen, reverse Dragon

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Nc3 Nb6 6.e3 Nc6 7.Nge2 Qd3 8.f4 Bb4 9.fxe5 Nxe5 10.Nf4 Qa6 11.Qc2 O-O 12.d4 Ng4 13.Nd3 Bxc3+ 14.Qxc3 Na4 15.Qb3 c5 16.dxc5 Bf5 17.Nb4 Qa5 18.O-O Nxc5 19.Qc4 Ne5 20.Qd4 Bd3 21.Rd1 Be2 22.Qxe5 Rae8 23.Qf5 Qxb4 24.Bd2 Qb6 25.Rdc1 Nd3 26.Rc2 Rxe3 27.Qa5 Qxa5 28.Bxa5 b6 29.Bd2 Re7 30.a4 h6 31.a5 bxa5 32.Bxa5 Rb8 33.Bc3 Bh5 34.Bf1 Bg6 35.Rd2 Nc5 36.Rdd1 1/2-1/2

Nepo goes on, Aronian goes home. Really, it hurts to see such talented players only playing two games and then exiting.

Round 1, Day 2, May 18
Jakovenko Dmitry – Wei, Yi
C77 Ruy Lopez, Anderssen variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 Bc5 6.c3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bh4 Bd7 10.O-O Bb6 11.a4 Rb8 12.axb5 axb5 13.Na3 g5 14.Bg3 Ne7 15.d4 exd4 16.e5 dxe5 17.Nxe5 O-O 18.cxd4 Nf5 19.Nc2 Kg7 20.Qf3 Nxd4 21.Nxd4 Bxd4 22.Rad1 c5 23.Nxd7 Qxd7 24.Bxb8 Rxb8 25.Bc2 Qd5 26.Qg3 Re8 27.b3 Nh5 28.Qg4 Nf4 29.h4 Re2 30.hxg5 hxg5 31.Bd3 Rb2 32.Bxb5 Rxb3 33.Ba6 Kg6 0-1

Wei Yi goes on and Jakovenko goes home

Round 1, Day 2, May 18
Svidler Peter – Vitiugov, Nikita
C83 Ruy Lopez, open, Classical

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.Nbd2 Be7 10.c3 O-O 11.Bc2 f5 12.Nb3 Qd7 13.Nfd4 Nxd4 14.Nxd4 c5 15.Ne2 Rad8 16.f3 Ng5 17.Be3 d4 18.cxd4 cxd4 19.Nxd4 Bc5 20.Bxg5 Bxd4+ 21.Kh1 Rde8 22.Bb3 Bxb3 23.Qxb3+ Qe6 24.f4 Qxb3 25.axb3 Re6 26.Rfd1 Bxb2 27.Ra2 Bc3 28.Rd6 Rfe8 29.Raxa6 Rxd6 30.Rxd6 h6 31.Bd8 Kf7 32.Rd7+ Ke6 33.Rd6+ Kf7 34.g3 Re6 35.Rd5 Ra6 36.Rxb5 Ra1+ 37.Kg2 Ra2+ 38.Kh3 Bd2 39.Rb7+ Ke8 40.Bb6 g5 41.fxg5 hxg5 42.Bc5 g4+ 43.Kh4 Bc1 44.Kh5 Rxh2+ 45.Kg6 Rc2 46.Bd6 1-0

Svidler wins his match and goes through

Round 1, Day 2, May 18
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Wojtaszek, Radoslaw
A28 English, Four Knights, Romanishin variation

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e3 Bb4 5.Qc2 Bxc3 6.Qxc3 Qe7 7.d4 exd4 8.Nxd4 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 c5 10.Qh4 d5 11.f3 O-O 12.cxd5 Nxd5 13.Qxe7 Nxe7 14.Bc4 Nc6 15.b3 Re8 16.Kf2 Be6 17.Bb5 Red8 18.Bxc6 bxc6 19.e4 c4 20.bxc4 Rab8 21.Be3 Rb2+ 22.Kg3 h5 23.h4 Bxc4 24.Rhc1 Rxa2 25.Rxa2 Bxa2 26.Rxc6 Ra8 27.Rc5 g6 28.Ra5 Be6 29.Bxa7 f6 30.Kf4 Kf7 31.Ra6 Bd7 32.Ke3 Be6 33.Kd4 Rd8+ 34.Ke3 Ra8 35.f4 Bd7 36.Ra5 Be6 37.Kd4 Rd8+ 38.Kc3 Ra8 39.g3 Bd7 40.Kd4 Be6 41.Ke3 Bd7 42.Ra6 Bb5 43.Ra5 Bc6 44.e5 Bb7 45.Kd4 Ke6 46.exf6 1/2-1/2

Wojtaszek goes through

Day 3 Tiebreaks

Radjabov – Nakamura
Duda – So

Quarter-finals pairing

Dubov vs (Radjabov or Nakamura)
Grischuk vs (Duda or So)
Nepo vs Wei Yi
Svidler vs Wojtaszek

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 19th May, 2019, 01:05 PM

2019 FIDE Grand Prix – Moscow

May 19, 2019

1/8 Finals

Round One, Day Three, Tiebreaks

Round 1, Day 3, Game 1, May 19
25 + 10
Nakamura, Hikaru – Radjabov, Teimour
D37 QGD

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dxc4 7.e3 c5 8.Bxc4 cxd4 9.Nxd4 O-O 10.O-O Bd7 11.Qe2 Nc6 12.Rfd1 Qb6 13.Nf3 Rfd8 14.e4 Be8 15.e5 Nd7 16.Bxe7 Nxe7 17.Rd6 Qa5 18.Rad1 Nf5 19.R6d2 Nf8 20.Bd3 Bc6 21.Be4 Rxd2 22.Rxd2 Rc8 23.h4 a6 24.h5 b5 25.a3 Bxe4 26.Qxe4 Qb6 27.Kh2 Qa7 28.Qd3 Rc7 29.Ne4 Rd7 30.Nd6 Qb6 31.g4 Nxd6 32.exd6 f6 33.Nh4 Kf7 34.f4 Ke8 35.f5 e5 36.Qd5 Qe3 37.Ng6 Nxg6 38.hxg6 Qf4+ 39.Kh3 Qf1+ 40.Kh4 Qe1+ 41.Kh5 1-0

Round 1, Day 3, Game 2, May 19
25 + 10
Radjabov, Teimour – Nakamura, Hikaru
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 exd5 10.Bd3 Bb4+ 11.Nd2 d4 12.Qc2 Nc6 13.O-O dxe3 14.Bxe3 h6 15.Nf3 Bg4 16.Bh7+ Kh8 17.Be4 Rc8 18.Bf5 Bxf5 19.Qxf5 Qa5 20.Qd7 Rc7 21.Qh3 Re8 22.Rad1 Bf8 23.Bf4 Rce7 24.a3 Qb5 25.b4 a5 26.Bd6 Re6 27.Bxf8 Rxf8 28.bxa5 Qxa5 29.Rd7 Rf6 30.Rxb7 Qxa3 1/2-1/2

Nakamura goes through to the next round

Round 1, Day 3, Game 1, May 19
25 +10
So, Wesley – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
C54 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.O-O O-O 7.Re1 a5 8.Nbd2 Be6 9.Bb5 Ne7 10.d4 Ba7 11.Nf1 Ng6 12.Ng3 c6 13.Bd3 a4 14.h3 b5 15.Be3 Bb6 16.Qd2 Re8 17.a3 Rb8 18.Rad1 Bc7 19.Bc2 h6 20.Nf5 Bxf5 21.exf5 Nf8 22.dxe5 dxe5 23.Qxd8 Rbxd8 24.c4 N8d7 25.g4 Rb8 26.cxb5 cxb5 27.Kg2 Nb6 28.Bxb6 Rxb6 29.Be4 Bd6 30.Re2 Kf8 31.Bc2 e4 32.Nd2 Be5 33.Rb1 Rc6 34.Bxe4 Bd4 35.Nf3 Bxf2 36.Bxc6 Rxe2 37.Bxb5 Re3 38.Kxf2 Rb3 39.Bxa4 Ne4+ 40.Kg2 Rb8 41.Bc2 Nd6 42.b4 Rc8 43.Bb3 Rc3 44.a4 1-0

Round 1, Day 3, Game 2, May 19
25 + 10
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – So, Wesley
C53 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 O-O 6.a4 d5 7.exd5 Nxd5 8.a5 a6 9.Nbd2 f6 10.Ne4 Ba7 11.Qb3 Ne7 12.O-O Kh8 13.h3 b5 14.axb6 cxb6 15.d4 exd4 16.Nxd4 b5 17.Bd3 b4 18.Rd1 bxc3 19.bxc3 Rb8 20.Qa3 Bxd4 21.cxd4 Nc6 22.Bc4 Ncb4 23.Qg3 Rb6 24.Nc5 Qd6 25.Qf3 Rd8 26.Bb3 Be6 27.Re1 Bg8 28.Re4 a5 29.Bd2 Nc6 30.Bxa5 Ra8 31.Bc3 Rab8 32.Bc2 Ndb4 33.Ba4 Bd5 34.Qf4 Qxf4 35.Rxf4 Ra8 36.Re1 h6 37.Rg4 Na2 38.Bd2 Rb2 39.Bxh6 gxh6 40.Bxc6 Bxc6 41.Re6 h5 42.Rg3 Nc1 43.Rxc6 Ne2+ 44.Kh2 Nxg3 45.Kxg3 h4+ 46.Kxh4 Rxf2 47.g4 Kg7 48.Kg3 Rd2 49.Rxf6 Ra3+ 50.Rf3 Rxf3+ 51.Kxf3 Kf7 52.Kf4 Rxd4+ 53.Ne4 Ke6 54.Ke3 Rd1 55.h4 Ke5 56.Ng5 Re1+ 57.Kf3 Ra1 58.Nf7+ Kf6 59.Nd6 Ke5 60.Nc4+ Kd4 61.Nd6 Ke5 62.Nf7+ Kf6 63.Nd6 Ke5 64.Nc4+ Kd4 65.Nd2 Ke5 66.g5 Kf5 67.Nc4 Kg6 68.Ne3 Ra3 69.Kf4 Ra4+ 70.Kg3 Ra3 71.Kf4 Ra4+ 72.Kg3 Ra3 1/2-1/2

So goes through

Final position

¼ Finals Matchups

Dubov – Nakamura

Grischuk – So

Nepomniachtchi – Wei Yi

Svidler - Wojtaszek

**Wayne Komer** · Monday, 20th May, 2019, 02:38 PM

2019 FIDE Grand Prix – Moscow

May 20, 2019

Quarter-Finals

Round Two, Day One

Round 2, Day 1, May 20
Nakamura, Hikaru - Dubov, Daniil
D33 QGD, Tarrasch, Prague variation

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 c5 3.g3 e6 4.Nf3 d5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.d4 Nc6 7.Bg2 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bc5 9.Nb3 Bb6 10.O-O d4 11.Na4 O-O 12.Bg5 Re8 13.Nxb6 axb6 14.e3 d3 15.Bxf6 gxf6 16.a3 Be6 17.Rc1 Rc8 18.Rc3 Ne5 19.Nd4 Rxc3 20.bxc3 Qc7 21.Qd2 Bd7 22.Re1 Rc8 23.Rc1 Qc5 24.f4 Nc4 25.Qxd3 Qxa3 26.Rb1 Nd6 27.Ne2 Bf5 28.e4 1/2-1/2

Round 2, Day 1, May 20
Grischuk, Alexander – So, Wesley
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 b6 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Nxd5 Qxd5 9.Be2 Qa5+ 10.Nd2 Ba6 11.O-O c5 12.Nc4 Bxc4 13.Bxc4 cxd4 14.exd4 Nc6 15.d5 exd5 16.Qxd5 Qxd5 17.Bxd5 Rac8 18.Rad1 Rfd8 19.g3 Bf6 20.Kg2 h5 21.b3 g5 22.Be3 Nb4 23.Bb7 Rc7 24.Rxd8+ Bxd8 25.Rd1 Bf6 26.Bf3 g4 27.Be2 Nxa2 28.Bf4 Rc2 1/2-1/2

Round 2, Day 1, May 20
Wei, Yi – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
B51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.d4 cxd4 5.Qxd4 a6 6.Bxd7+ Bxd7 7.Nc3 e5 8.Qd3 h6 9.Nd2 Rc8 10.Nc4 Be6 11.Ne3 Nf6 12.O-O Be7 13.a4 O-O 14.a5 Qd7 15.Bd2 Bd8 16.Ncd5 Nxd5 17.exd5 Bg4 18.f4 exf4 19.Nxg4 Qxg4 20.Bxf4 Re8 21.Rf3 Bf6 22.c3 Be5 23.h3 Qh4 24.Ra4 Bxf4 25.Raxf4 Qe1+ 26.Rf1 Qe2 27.Qxe2 Rxe2 28.Rb4 Rc7 29.Rf2 Re1+ 30.Rf1 Re2 31.Rf2 Re1+ 1/2-1/2

Round 2, Day 1, May 20
Svidler, Peter – Wojtaszek, Radoslaw
B51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.O-O a6 5.Bd3 Ngf6 6.Re1 e6 7.a4 b6 8.c3 Bb7 9.Na3 Qc7 10.Qe2 Be7 11.Bb1 O-O 12.d4 Bc6 13.Bd3 Qb7 14.Bg5 h6 15.Bh4 cxd4 16.cxd4 Rfe8 17.Nc2 a5 18.b4 Qa7 19.Nd2 Rac8 20.Bg3 1/2-1/2

For this day only, Jan Gustafsson was doing the English commentary on chess24. He was joined by Magnus Carlsen (audio only) for an hour or so. Tomorrow, Jan is back doing the German broadcast. Some of the comments of the World Champion:

(During the Cote d’Ivoire Tournament in Abidjan, there was a gigglefest between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Magnus Carlsen. I mentioned it on Posting #8)

https://forum.chesstalk.com/forum/ch...re-rapid-blitz

At one point during his game with Nepo there was noise coming from an adjacent room. Whether it was commentary on the game or a conference or not he does not know. But each rather ordinary move was accompanied by applause and so the players started giggling.

Carlsen on the 1st Giri-Dubov game: "In the 1st game he encountered an idea that’s barely been played at all & frankly was an amazing concept at some point - that you give up the bishop pair & the central pawn & you have no threats… & you’re just better! Very fascinating!"

Magnus on watching the 2nd Giri-Dubov game: "Almost every move was a surprise for me, and I kept thinking, 'Boy is this guy good when he’s on his game!'" #GrandPrixFIDE

Magnus "I like the format. It definitely makes the tournaments way more interesting. Still the one strange thing is the prize money is pretty bad...On the one hand the tournaments are interesting as you can qualify for the Candidates but you’re not getting paid particularly well"

Magnus, on Radjabov & Karjakin: "There’s this thing called sudden death aversion, which I think affects a lot of people. You make decisions that give you a lesser chance of winning overall but at least extend the game or the match-you think 'as long as I’m in it I have a chance'"

Magnus leaves the building: "This week I’m going to Denmark for a small exhibition, then I’m going to Scotland to play a rapid tournament this weekend against Vishy, Ding & some Russian, probably Karjakin. Then the weekend after that it’s Norway Chess, so it’s pretty busy!"

__________

Tarjei J. Svensen (tweet) - Likely one of Carlsen's busiest years ever: Approximately 207 official games (classical/rapid/blitz) in a total of 14 events.

**Wayne Komer** · Tuesday, 21st May, 2019, 02:31 PM

2019 FIDE Grand Prix – Moscow

May 21, 2019

Quarter-Finals

Round Two, Day Two

Round 2, Day 2, May 21
Dubov, Daniil – Nakamura, Hikaru
E05 Catalan, open, Classical line

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qc2 b5 8.a4 b4 9.Nbd2 Bb7 10.Nxc4 c5 11.dxc5 Be4 12.Qd2 Nbd7 13.Nfe5 Bxg2 14.Kxg2 Bxc5 15.Nxd7 Nxd7 16.b3 Nb6 17.Qxd8 Rfxd8 18.Nxb6 Bxb6 19.a5 Bd4 20.Ra4 a6 21.Rxb4 Bc3 22.Rc4 Bxa5 23.b4 Bb6 24.Bf4 h6 25.Rc6 Bd4 26.Bc7 Rd5 27.Rd1 Rc8 28.Rdc1 Bf6 29.Bd6 Rd8 30.Bc7 Rc8 31.Bd6 Rd8 32.Bc7 1/2-1/2

Hikaru and Daniil came for the post-game interview. Recall that Daniil is the current world rapid champion, winning his title in December of last year in St. Petersburg.

At the end of the interview, the lady asked:

“You are going into the tiebreak against one of the strongest rapid players in the world. What are your expectations?”

Both players hesitated and then Daniil said, “Are you talking to me?”

I had a good laugh and later Miro emphasized the absurdity by saying that the two players were the strongest rapid players in the world.

Later: Chessbase identifies the interviewer as Eteri Kublshvili

Round 2, Day 2, May 21
So, Wesley – Grischuk, Alexander
B33 Sicilian, Pelikan, Chelyabinsk variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c3 Bg5 12.Nc2 Rb8 13.Be2 O-O 14.O-O a5 15.Na3 Na7 16.Qd3 Kh8 17.Rfd1 Be6 18.Ne3 b4 19.Nac4 Nb5 20.cxb4 axb4 21.Nxd6 Nxd6 22.Qxd6 Bxe3 23.Qxd8 Rfxd8 24.fxe3 Rdc8 25.Rd2 g6 26.Kf2 Kg7 27.Bd1 Ra8 28.a4 bxa3 29.Rxa3 Rab8 30.Ra5 Rc4 31.Rxe5 Rcb4 32.Ra5 Rxb2 33.Rxb2 Rxb2+ 34.Kg3 h6 35.h4 Bd7 36.Bf3 Rb5 37.Rxb5 Bxb5 38.Kf4 Kf6 39.e5+ Ke6 40.Bg4+ Ke7 41.Bc8 Bc4 42.g4 Kd8 43.Bb7 Ke7 44.g5 hxg5+ 45.Kxg5 Ke6 46.Kf4 Ke7 47.Ke4 Be6 48.Bd5 Bc8 49.Kf4 Kf8 50.Bf3 Be6 51.Bg4 Bb3 52.Kg5 Kg7 53.Bd7 Bc4 54.Bc6 Be6 55.Kf4 Kf8 56.Ke4 Ke7 57.Bd5 Bc8 58.Kf4 Kf8 59.Bc4 Bh3 60.Bb3 Bc8 61.Bd5 Kg7 62.Kg5 Bd7 63.Bc4 Bc8 64.Kf4 Kf8 65.Bb3 Bh3 66.e6 f6 67.Kg3 Bf5 68.Kf4 Bh3 1/2-1/2

Round 2, Day 2, May 21
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Wei, Yi
C83 Ruy Lopez, open, Classical

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.Nbd2 Be7 10.c3 O-O 11.Bc2 f5 12.exf6 Nxf6 13.Re1 Qd7 14.a4 Bf5 15.Bxf5 Qxf5 16.axb5 axb5 17.Rxa8 Rxa8 18.Nf1 Qd7 19.Bg5 Rd8 20.Ng3 h6 21.Bxf6 Bxf6 22.Nh5 Qf5 23.Nxf6+ Qxf6 24.Qb3 b4 25.cxb4 Nd4 26.Nxd4 Qxd4 27.Rd1 Qe5 28.g3 Kh8 29.Qc3 d4 30.Qd3 c6 31.b3 Qd6 32.Rc1 Rb8 33.h4 Rxb4 34.Qa6 Rb8 35.Rxc6 Qd5 36.Rc8+ Rxc8 37.Qxc8+ Kh7 38.Qc4 Qf3 39.Qxd4 Qxb3 40.Qe4+ Kh8 41.Kg2 Qf7 42.g4 Qf6 43.Kg3 g5 44.hxg5 hxg5 45.Qf5 Qe7 46.Kf3 Kg7 47.Qe4 Qf6+ 48.Qf5 Qe7 49.Qd5 Qf6+ 50.Ke2 Qb2+ 51.Qd2 Qb5+ 52.Qd3 Qb2+ 53.Kf1 Qc1+ 54.Kg2 Qc6+ 55.f3 Qe6 56.Qd4+ Qf6 57.Qb4 Qe5 58.Kf2 Kf7 59.Qe4 Qb2+ 60.Ke3 Qc3+ 61.Ke2 Qb2+ 62.Kd3 Qb3+ 63.Kd4 Qb4+ 64.Ke5 Qb2+ 65.Qd4 Qe2+ 66.Qe4 Qb2+ 67.Qd4 Qe2+ 68.Qe4 1/2-1/2

The most attractive game of the day was Wojtaszek-Svidler. The Polish players are doing well so far in the contest. It should be remembered that Poland was leading towards the end of the 43^rdOlympiad in 2018 and the top two boards were Duda and Wojtaszek, ending up fourth behind China, the US and Russia.

Round 2, Day 2, May 21
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw – Svidler, Peter
E60 King’s Indian Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.f3 e6 4.e4 c5 5.d5 d6 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.Nge2 O-O 8.Ng3 exd5 9.cxd5 a6 10.a4 h5 11.Bg5 Qe8 12.Bd3 Nh7 13.Bf4 Qe7 14.Nge2 Nd7 15.O-O Ne5 16.Bc2 Rb8 17.a5 b5 18.axb6 Rxb6 19.Bc1 h4 20.f4 Ng4 21.h3 Ngf6 22.Ra2 Bd7 23.Qe1 Nh5 24.Be3 Rfb8 25.b3 Rxb3 26.Bxb3 Rxb3 27.Bd2 Bd4+ 28.Kh2 N7f6 29.Rf3 Rb4 30.Rxa6 Rc4 31.Ra7 Qd8 32.Qa1 Nxe4 33.Ra8 Bc8 34.Qa6 Nxd2 35.Rxc8 Nxf3+ 36.gxf3 Qxc8 37.Qxc8+ Kg7 38.Nxd4 Rxd4 39.Qd8 Rd2+ 40.Kg1 Nxf4 41.Qxd6 Nxh3+ 42.Kf1 1-0

Peter said that the mistake that cost him the game was the exchange sacrifice ending with 27…Bd4+

Position after 27…Bd4+

I was looking at this line:

30. Rxa6 (30... Bxc3 31. Nxc3 Nxe4 32. Ra8+ Be8 33. f5 Qe5+ 34. Kg1 Nhf6 35. Bf4 Qd4+ 36. Kh2 g5 37. Nxe4 Qxe4 38. Qxe4 Rxe4 39. Bxg5 Nxd5 40. Rd8 c4 41. Rxd6 Re5 42. Bxh4 c3 43. Bg3 c2 44. Bxe5 c1=Q 45. Rxd5)

In any case, Peter is out and Rado goes on to the semi-finals. The other three matches Dubov-Nakamura, Nepo-Wei Yi and So-Grischuk are in tiebreak mode tomorrow.

Chessbomb kibitzers on the Svidler game

- It does look like Black is unravelling
- svidler, poor old dude
- defending a6 was more important than it looked, it gave white a big counterplay on the a file,
- At least peter has given us the only interesting game to watch, since yesterday
- impressive game by Rado, no weak moves today
- he plays like a machine
- Rest day for Radek tomorrow while others will have to fight

**Wayne Komer** · Wednesday, 22nd May, 2019, 03:12 PM

2019 FIDE Grand Prix – Moscow

May 22, 2019

Quarter-Finals

Round Two, Day Three, Tie-breaks

Round 2, Day 3, Game 1, May 22
25+10
Dubov, Daniil – Nakamura, Hikaru
A29 English, Bremen

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nb6 7.O-O Be7 8.b3 O-O 9.Bb2 Re8 10.Rc1 Bf8 11.d3 Nd4 12.e3 Nxf3+ 13.Qxf3 c6 14.Rfd1 Qg5 15.h4 Qg4 16.Ne4 Qxf3 17.Bxf3 a5 18.Nc5 a4 19.d4 axb3 20.axb3 Ra2 21.Bc3 Nd5 22.Bxd5 cxd5 23.Nd3 Bg4 24.Rd2 Rxd2 25.Bxd2 exd4 26.exd4 Bf5 27.Nc5 Re2 28.Be3 Rb2 29.Nxb7 Rxb3 30.Nc5 Rb4 31.Ra1 f6 32.Ra8 Kf7 33.Rd8 Be7 34.Rxd5 Bc8 35.Kf1 Rb5 36.Ke2 Be6 37.Nxe6 Rxd5 38.Nc5 f5 39.Nd3 Bd6 40.Kf3 Bc7 41.Nf4 Ra5 42.Ne2 Ra3 43.Nf4 Rb3 44.Nd5 Bb8 45.Nf4 Ba7 46.Ke2 Ra3 47.Nd3 Ke6 48.Nf4+ Kd6 49.Nh5 g6 50.Nf4 Bb6 51.Kd2 Kc6 52.Ke2 Kd6 53.Kd2 Bd8 54.Ke2 Bf6 55.Kd2 Kc6 56.Ke2 Kb5 57.h5 g5 58.Nd5 Bd8 59.Bd2 Ra7 60.Kd3 Rd7 61.Ne3 Rf7 62.Nc4 Rf8 63.Ne5 Be7 64.f3 Ra8 65.Nf7 Ra3+ 66.Ke2 Kc4 67.Bxg5 Bb4 68.Ne5+ Kd5 69.Nd3 Ra2+ 70.Kf1 Bd2 71.Bf6 Kc4 72.Ne5+ Kxd4 73.g4 Bf4 74.Ng6+ Ke3 75.Nh4 fxg4 76.fxg4 h6 77.Kg1 Bh2+ 78.Kf1 Rf2+ 79.Ke1 Rxf6 0-1

Round 2, Day 3, Game 2, May 22
25+10
Nakamura, Hikaru – Dubov,Daniil
A22 English, Bremen, Smyslov System

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bxc3 6.bxc3 O-O 7.O-O e4 8.Nd4 Ne5 9.d3 c5 10.Nc2 exd3 11.exd3 d5 12.Bf4 Ng6 13.Be3 Bg4 14.f3 Bf5 15.Bxc5 dxc4 16.Bxf8 Nxf8 17.Rf2 Bxd3 18.Bf1 Ne6 19.Bxd3 cxd3 20.Ne1 Nc5 21.Rd2 Nd5 22.Nxd3 Nxc3 23.Qe1 Nxd3 24.Qe3 Qf6 25.Qxd3 b5 26.Re1 h5 27.a3 a5 28.Qd4 Qxd4+ 29.Rxd4 Rb8 30.Re7 b4 31.axb4 axb4 32.Rdd7 Rf8 33.Rb7 Nd5 34.Red7 Nf6 35.Rd2 Rc8 36.Rxb4 Rc3 37.Kg2 g6 38.h3 Kg7 39.Rb7 Ra3 40.h4 Ra4 41.Kf2 Rc4 42.Ra2 Ng8 43.Rba7 Nh6 44.R7a4 Rc3 45.R4a3 Rc4 46.Ra4 Rc3 47.R4a3 Rc4 48.Ra4 1/2-1/2

Nakamura rook exchange up goes for a draw and thus wins the match and is in to the semi-finals.

Round 2, Day 3, Game 1, May 22
25+10
So, Wesley – Grischuk, Alexander
B33 Sicilian, Sveshnikov variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.Nd5 f5 11.Bd3 Be6 12.O-O Bxd5 13.exd5 Ne7 14.Re1 Bg7 15.c3 O-O 16.Nc2 f4 17.a4 bxa4 18.Nb4 f5 19.Bxa6 Ng6 20.Qh5 Qb6 21.Rxa4 e4 22.Rea1 Kh8 23.Bf1 Rxa4 24.Rxa4 f3 25.Ra6 Qc5 26.Rc6 Qa7 27.Ra6 Qc5 28.Rc6 Qa7 29.Ra6 1/2-1/2

Final position

Alexander said that he didn’t think he was ahead at the end, so took the draw. Going online afterwards kibitzers said that he had a winning advantage and that he was “chicken” drawing the game. Stockfish’s evaluation is -2.03 while my engine says it is indeed 0.00.

Round 2, Day 3, Game 2, May 22
25+10
Grischuk, Alexander – So, Wesley
D41 QGD, Semi-Tarrasch

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c5 5.cxd5 cxd4 6.Qxd4 exd5 7.e4 Nc6 8.Bb5 dxe4 9.Qxd8+ Kxd8 10.Ng5 Be6 11.Nxe6+ fxe6 12.Bxc6 bxc6 13.Ke2 Bb4 14.Na4 Ke7 15.Rd1 Rhd8 16.Rxd8 Rxd8 17.Be3 Ra8 18.Rc1 Kd7 19.Rc4 Bd6 20.b3 Nd5 21.Rxe4 Nxe3 22.Kxe3 Rf8 23.h3 Rf5 24.Ke2 h5 25.Nb2 Bc5 26.Nd3 Kd6 27.h4 Bb6 28.g3 Ra5 29.a4 g5 30.b4 Rd5 31.hxg5 Rxg5 32.a5 Bc7 33.Nc5 e5 34.Re3 Rg4 35.Ne4+ Ke7 36.f3 Rg6 37.Rc3 Kd7 38.Rc1 Bd6 39.Rd1 Kc7 40.Nxd6 Rxd6 41.Rh1 Rg6 42.Rxh5 Rxg3 43.Rxe5 Kd6 44.Re4 Rg5 45.Rc4 Rg1 46.Ke3 Kd5 47.Rc5+ Kd6 48.Ke4 Re1+ 49.Kf5 Rb1 50.Rc4 Kd5 51.Re4 c5 52.Re5+ Kd4 53.bxc5 Rb5 54.f4 Rxa5 55.Ke6 Ra6+ 56.Kd7 Rf6 57.c6 Rxf4 58.Ra5 Rf7+ 59.Kc8 Kc4 60.c7 Kb4 61.Rxa7 1-0

Round 2, Day 3, Game 1, May 22
25+10
Wei, Yi – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
B97 Sicilian, Najdorf, Poisoned Pawn variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Qb6 8.Qd2 Qxb2 9.Rb1 Qa3 10.f5 Be7 11.fxe6 Bxe6 12.Nxe6 fxe6 13.Bc4 Nbd7 14.Bxe6 Nc5 15.Bf5 g6 16.Bh3 Nfxe4 17.Nxe4 Nxe4 18.Qd4 Qc3+ 19.Qxc3 Nxc3 20.Bxe7 Kxe7 21.Rb3 Ne4 22.Rxb7+ Kf6 23.O-O+ Kg5 24.g3 Rab8 25.Ra7 Rb2 26.Bg2 d5 27.h4+ Kg4 28.Kh2 Nxg3 29.Bh3+ Kxh4 30.Rf4+ Kg5 31.Kxg3 Rxa2 32.Rg4+ Kh6 33.Rc7 Ra3+ 34.c3 Re8 35.Rh4+ Kg5 36.Rg4+ Kh6 37.Kf3 Re1 38.Rh4+ Kg5 39.Rg4+ Kh6 40.Rh4+ Kg5 41.Rd4 Re5 42.Rc5 h5 43.Bd7 h4 44.Bc6 Rf5+ 45.Ke3 h3 46.Rdxd5 h2 47.Rxf5+ gxf5 48.Be4 Kh4 49.Bf3 Kg3 50.Rc8 f4+ 51.Ke4 Ra4+ 52.c4 Ra3 53.Rg8+ Kh4 54.Rh8+ Kg3 55.Rg8+ Kh4 56.Bh1 Ra1 57.Rh8+ Kg3 58.Rg8+ Kh4 59.Bg2 Ra2 60.Kf3 Rc2 61.Rg4+ Kh5 62.Rxf4 Rc1 63.Ke3 Kg5 64.Re4 Rg1 65.Kf3 Rf1+ 66.Ke2 Rg1 67.Kf2 h1=Q 68.Bxh1 Rxh1 69.Re5+ Kf6 70.Ra5 1/2-1/2

Round 2, Day 3, Game 2, May 22
25+10
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Wei, Yi
B06 Robatsch Defence

1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Nc3 g6 4.d4 Bg7 5.h3 dxe4 6.Nxe4 Nf6 7.Nxf6+ exf6 8.Bc4 O-O 9.O-O a5 10.a4 Nd7 11.Bf4 Nb6 12.Bb3 Nd5 13.Bh2 Be6 14.Re1 h5 15.Nd2 f5 16.c3 Bh6 17.Nc4 f4 18.Ne5 Qg5 19.Qf3 Rae8 20.Re2 f6 21.h4 Qf5 22.Bc2 Qxc2 23.Rxc2 fxe5 24.dxe5 Bg4 25.Qd3 Bf5 26.Qd1 Bxc2 27.Qxc2 Re6 28.Re1 Bg7 29.c4 Nb4 30.Qd2 Rxe5 31.Rxe5 Bxe5 32.g3 fxg3 33.Bxg3 Bxg3 34.fxg3 c5 35.Qd7 Rf7 36.Qd8+ Kg7 37.Qxa5 Na6 38.Qb6 Kh7 39.Kg2 Kh6 40.a5 Kh7 41.Qd6 Kg7 42.g4 hxg4 43.Kg3 Kh7 44.Kxg4 Kg7 45.Qe6 1-0

Black gets his Queen trapped

Position after 21..Qf5

Some comments from chessbomb kibitzers:

- this position, also very complicated.
- Yi is pretty good at complicating
- queen trapped!
- wow, brilliant move by Ian
- h4 is just crushing
- Wei Yi back to China
- BLUNDER!!!!
- and he found it so quickly. once you see it, it's easy to calculate
- He found it Carlsen quickly, not So quickly!
- When a GM blunders a Q, it is over.
- queen for 2 pieces and initiative. getting an exchange back too
- R and N for Q & P
- cool to see Nepo and Wei Yi in such a death match

Semi-final Pairings

Nakamura – Grischuk

Nepomniachtchi – Wojtaszek

Round 3 starts tomorrow, May 23

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 23rd May, 2019, 03:16 PM

2019 FIDE Grand Prix – Moscow

May 23, 2019

Semi-Finals

Round Three, Day One

Round 3, Day 1, May 23
Nakamura, Hikaru – Grischuk, Alexander
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.O-O d6 6.c3 a6 7.a4 Ba7 8.Re1 O-O 9.h3 h6 10.Nbd2 Re8 11.Qb3 Qe7 12.a5 b5 13.axb6 cxb6 14.Bd5 Qc7 15.Qc4 Bb7 16.Bxc6 Bxc6 17.Rxa6 Qb7 18.Ra3 b5 19.Qb3 Rac8 20.Qa2 Bb6 21.b4 d5 22.Qc2 Re6 23.Nh4 Nh5 24.Nb3 dxe4 25.dxe4 Nf6 26.Nd2 Rd8 27.Nhf3 Rc8 28.Bb2 Qe7 29.c4 bxc4 30.Qxc4 Nh5 31.Nf1 Nf4 32.Ng3 Qe8 33.Rc1 Rd8 34.Qc2 Bb5 35.Rd1 Rc8 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Day 1, May 23
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Wojtaszek, Radoslaw
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Kristiansen Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bd3 e5 7.Nde2 Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.Ng3 Be6 10.Nd5 Bxd5 11.exd5 g6 12.c4 Nbd7 13.Bh6 Re8 14.Rc1 Nc5 15.Bb1 a5 16.b3 Rb8 17.f4 exf4 18.Bxf4 b5 19.Qf3 bxc4 20.Rxc4 Rb4 21.Bd2 Rxc4 22.bxc4 Ncd7 23.Bc3 Qb6+ 24.Kh1 Rf8 25.Qf4 Bd8 26.h3 1/2-1/2

Comments on this round from Dylan Loeb McClain on:

https://www.fide.com/component/conte...nse-draws.html

Nepomniachtchi blitzed out his first 25 moves against Wojtaszek's Najdorf Sicilian Defense, using almost no time on his clock, indicating that he was still basically following analysis that he had done before the game. At that point, Black's position was under pressure as White's pieces were all pointing menacingly at Black's castled king.

One move later, however, after thinking for about 10 minutes, Nepomniachtchi played 26 h3 (about 1:45 into the broadcast), a somewhat weak move, and offered a draw, which was quickly accepted.

Afterward, in an interview, Nepomniachtchi did not sound very confident, suggesting that he thought that Wojtaszek knew exactly what he should be doing. Radoslaw said that he accepted the draw because he was already well behind on the clock and the position was very complicated.

___________

Nakamura surprised Grischuk on Move 16 by exchanging his light-squared bishop, which is usually an essential piece for White, in order to win a pawn. The plan turned out to be double-edged as Grischuk's pieces began to spring to life, putting immense pressure on Nakamura's center. Grischuk followed up by posting his remaining knight aggressively on f4, presaging a possible attack against Nakamura's king. Though Nakamura was not objectively worse, the position was much easier to play for Black than for White.

But, with time running low on both players' clocks, Grischuk played 35... Rc8, which was readily accepted by Nakamura.

In an interview afterward, Nakamura said that Grischuk's 14... Qc7 had not been part of his pre-game analysis preparation, but that it turned out not to be bad. He said that he accepted the draw offer because the position was messy and he did not have enough time to evaluate it better. Grischuk said that he also did not have much confidence in his position at the end, which is why he offered the draw.

**Wayne Komer** · Friday, 24th May, 2019, 09:27 PM

2019 FIDE Grand Prix – Moscow

May 24, 2019

Semi-Finals

Round Three, Day Two

Round 3, Day 2, Game 2, May 24
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
E61 King’s Indian

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.e3 O-O 5.Be2 d6 6.Nc3 Nbd7 7.O-O e5 8.b4 Re8 9.Bb2 exd4 10.Nxd4 a5 11.a3 Ne5 12.Qb3 Bg4 13.Rad1 axb4 14.axb4 Bxe2 15.Ndxe2 c6 16.h3 Qe7 17.Nd4 Ned7 18.Ra1 Nb6 19.Rxa8 Rxa8 20.Rc1 Rd8 21.Na4 Nxa4 22.Qxa4 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Day 2, Game 2, May 24
Grischuk, Alexander – Nakamura, Hikaru
E05 Catalan, open, Classical line

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qc2 b5 8.a4 b4 9.Nfd2 c6 10.Nxc4 Qxd4 11.Rd1 Qc5 12.Be3 Qh5 13.Nbd2 Ng4 14.Nf3 Nxe3 15.Nxe3 a5 16.Nd4 Ba6 17.Rac1 Rc8 18.Bf3 Qg6 19.Be4 Qh5 20.Bf3 Qg6 21.Be4 Qh5 22.Kg2 Ra7 23.h4 g6 24.f4 Qh6 25.Nb3 Kh8 26.Bd3 Bb7 27.Nc4 c5+ 28.Be4 Ba6 29.Nbxa5 Qf8 30.Bf3 Rd8 31.h5 Bf6 32.Rxd8 Qxd8 33.Rd1 Rd7 34.Rxd7 Nxd7 35.h6 Nb6 36.Ne5 Bxe5 37.Nc6 Nc4 38.Nxd8 Ne3+ 39.Kf2 Nxc2 40.Nxf7+ Kg8 41.Nxe5 c4 42.Bg4 Nd4 43.Ke1 Kf8 44.Kd1 Ke7 45.e3 Nb3 46.Nc6+ Kf6 47.Nxb4 Bb7 48.Be2 Na5 49.Kd2 Nb3+ 50.Kc3 Nc5 51.a5 Ne4+ 52.Kxc4 Nxg3 53.Bd3 g5 54.fxg5+ 1-0

Peter Doggers at chess.com

“Nakamura's great predecessor Bobby Fischer used to have a narrow opening repertoire for the larger part of his career, based on 1.e4 as White and the Najdorf and King's Indian as Black. Those were different times, and with his willingness to work hard, Fischer was still on top in many theoretical battles.

In modern times, top players need to have a much broader repertoire to be able to challenge their opponents in different areas, and to avoid being too predictable. That Nakamura kept on repeating the Open Catalan with 7...b5 in the last few weeks was something we don't see very often anymore.

It seems that it had to go wrong at some point.”

https://www.chess.com/news/view/fide...emifinal-chess

Dylan Loeb McClain at fide.com

“The opening was a Catalan, which has been very heavily analyzed. Nakamura chose an aggressive continuation and Grischuk sacrificed a pawn, giving him a lasting initiative. Though chances were objectively equal, the position was much easier to play as White. The players repeated moves a couple of times, but Grischuk chose not to repeat the position, which would have led to a draw.

The position became increasingly complicated, but Grischuk navigated the situation a little better than Nakamura, who found himself under greater and greater pressure. Grischuk finally restored material equality on Move 29 by winning a pawn, but his position remained better and easier to play.

Nakamura erred with 31 … Bf6, and then cracked with 35 … Nb6. Grischuk pounced with 36 Ne5 and then 37 Nc6! After a forced sequence of moves, Grischuk had won a pawn and had a significant edge in an endgame.

Grischuk eventually won a second pawn, which was decisive. Nakamura resigned after 54 moves, allowing Grischuk to advance.

In an interview after, Grischuk said he sort of expected the variation that Nakamura played, but that he believed it is a very difficult line for Black to defend. Still, he said it was not easy, mentioning that at one point he calculated 15 moves deep (!), but found a resource for Black.

For his part, Nakamura pointed to 25… Kh8 as a crucial mistake because he overlooked 26 Bd3.”

https://www.fide.com/component/conte...-opponent.html

Position after 25…Kh8

Wojtaszek and Nepomniachtchi go through tiebreaks tomorrow.

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 26th May, 2019, 11:49 PM

2019 FIDE Grand Prix – Moscow

May 26, 2019

Semi-Finals

Round Three, Day Three

Round 3, Day 3, Game 1, May 25
25+10
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
A48 King’s Indian, East Indian Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.e3 Bg7 4.Be2 O-O 5.O-O d6 6.b3 e5 7.dxe5 Ng4 8.Bb2 Nc6 9.c4 Ngxe5 10.Nc3 Re8 11.Qd2 Bg4 12.Nxe5 Nxe5 13.f3 Be6 14.e4 Nc6 15.Nd5 Bxb2 16.Qxb2 Bxd5 17.cxd5 Ne5 18.Rac1 c5 19.dxc6 bxc6 20.Rfd1 Qe7 21.f4 Nd7 22.Bf3 Nc5 23.e5 dxe5 24.Qxe5 Qxe5 25.fxe5 Rxe5 26.Bxc6 Rb8 27.Rd5 Rxd5 28.Bxd5 Na6 29.a3 Rd8 30.Bb7 Nb8 31.b4 Kg7 32.Kf2 Rd3 33.Rc7 Rxa3 34.Bd5 Rd3 35.Rxf7+ Kh6 36.Bc4 Rd2+ 37.Ke3 Rxg2 38.b5 a6 39.bxa6 Nxa6 40.Bxa6 Rxh2 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Day 3, Game 2, May 25
25+10
Nepomiachtchi, Ian – Wojtaszek, Radoslaw
B51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.d4 cxd4 5.Qxd4 a6 6.Bxd7+ Bxd7 7.Nc3 e5 8.Qd3 Rc8 9.O-O h6 10.Nd2 Qc7 11.h3 Nf6 12.a4 Be7 13.Rd1 O-O 14.Nf1 Be6 15.Ne3 Qc5 16.Qe2 Bd8 17.Qf3 b5 18.axb5 axb5 19.Ne2 Bb6 20.Ng3 Ra8 21.Rxa8 Rxa8 22.c3 Ra1 23.Nef5 Ne8 24.Be3 Rxd1+ 25.Qxd1 Qc7 26.Bxh6 gxh6 27.Qg4+ Kf8 28.Qh4 f6 29.Qxh6+ Kg8 30.Qg6+ Kf8 31.Qh5 Qf7 32.Qh8+ Qg8 33.Qh6+ Kf7 34.Qh5+ Kf8 35.Qh6+ Kf7 36.Qh5+ Kf8 37.Qh6+ 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Day 3, Game 3, May 25
10+10
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
D78 Neo-Grunfeld

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 O-O 5.Bg2 c6 6.O-O d5 7.Qb3 Qb6 8.Nc3 Rd8 9.Na4 Qxb3 10.axb3 Na6 11.Nc3 Nc7 12.Bf4 Nfe8 13.Rfc1 Ne6 14.cxd5 Nxf4 15.gxf4 cxd5 16.Ne5 e6 17.Nb5 Bd7 18.Nxa7 Nd6 19.e3 Be8 20.Bf1 h6 21.b4 g5 22.fxg5 hxg5 23.b5 f6 24.Nd3 e5 25.Nc5 Bf7 26.b6 exd4 27.exd4 f5 28.Ra4 Nc4 29.Bxc4 dxc4 30.Nxb7 Rdb8 31.Nd6 Rxb6 32.Nxf7 Kxf7 33.Rcxc4 Rxb2 34.Rc7+ Kg8 35.Rc8+ Rxc8 36.Nxc8 Kf7 37.Ra7+ Kf8 38.Nd6 f4 39.Kg2 Rxf2+ 40.Kxf2 Bxd4+ 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Day 3, Game 4, May 25
10+10
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Wojtaszek, Radoslaw
B51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.d4 cxd4 5.Qxd4 a6 6.Bxd7+ Bxd7 7.Nc3 e5 8.Qd3 Rc8 9.O-O h6 10.Nd2 Qc7 11.h3 Nf6 12.a4 Be7 13.Rd1 O-O 14.Nf1 d5 15.exd5 Ne8 16.d6 Bxd6 17.Nd5 Qc6 18.Nfe3 Bc5 19.b4 Bd6 20.c4 b6 21.a5 e4 22.Qd4 Be6 23.axb6 Bxd5 24.Qxd5 Qxd5 25.Rxd5 Bxb4 26.Rxa6 Nd6 27.b7 Nxb7 28.Rb6 1-0

And so, Nepo goes on to the final against Alexander Grischuk.

There was a free day today. Tomorrow, the action resumes

**Wayne Komer** · Monday, 27th May, 2019, 08:52 PM

2019 FIDE Grand Prix – Moscow

May 27, 2019

Final

Round Four, Day 1

Round 4, Day 1, May 27
Grischuk, Alexander – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
D85 Grunfeld, Modern Exchange variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Nf3 c5 8.Be2 Nc6 9.d5 Bxc3+ 10.Bd2 Bxa1 11.Qxa1 Nd4 12.Nxd4 cxd4 13.Qxd4 O-O 14.O-O Qb6 15.Qc3 Bd7 16.Bh6 f6 17.Bxf8 Rc8 18.Qf3 Kxf8 19.e5 Kg7 20.exf6+ exf6 21.h3 Qd6 22.Qd3 h5 23.Qd2 b5 24.Qa5 a6 25.Bf3 Be8 26.h4 Bf7 27.g3 Rc4 28.Rd1 Rc2 29.Be4 Rc8 30.Bg2 Rc7 31.Bf3 Rc4 32.Bg2 Kg8 33.Bf3 Kh7 34.Kg2 f5 35.Qd2 b4 36.Qe3 Rc7 37.Rd3 a5 38.a3 bxa3 1/2-1/2

From the official site:

Despite playing White, Grischuk found himself under pressure almost from the beginning as he was surprised by the preparation of Nepomniachtchi. While Grischuk took large amounts of time to find the best moves, Nepomniachtchi blitzed through the opening. After 19 moves, Nepomniachtchi had used barely any time on his clock while Grischuk had used more than an hour.
Fortunately for Grischuk, he is used to playing under time pressure. He continued to find good moves and Nepomniachtchi could make no progress. Though Grischuk only had about eight minutes, plus 30 seconds after each move, to make 17 moves, he was never in any real danger and Nepomniachtchi finally offered a draw.
Afterward, in an interview, Grischuk, who is known for his humorous and self-deprecating comments, said he was looking forward to Game 2, in which he will have Black.

“At least the starting position of tomorrow’s game is definitely better than what I had today. At least there are some counter chances,” he said.

https://worldchess.com/news/1846

**Wayne Komer** · Tuesday, 28th May, 2019, 02:48 PM

2019 FIDE Grand Prix – Moscow

May 28, 2019

Final

Round Four, Day 2

From fide.com

Nepomniachtchi had White and opened with 1 e4. Grischuk replied 1… e5 and employed the Berlin Defense. Instead of ceding the bishops to cripple Black’s pawn structure by playing 5 d4 Nd6 6 Bc6 dc6 7 de5, Nepomniachtchi chose 5 Re1, a variation that is thought to be less testing for Black, but which has also been known to have some venom.

Grischuk showed that he was well prepared for that line, too, however and achieved a stable position with relatively few problems. Indeed, Black’s actively placed knight and bishop after 19 … Bf5 gave him full counterplay, which may have been why Nepomniachtchi offered a draw after 23 Re1. Grischuk accepted after a short reflection.

In an interview afterward, Nepomniachtchi explained that the opening was deceptively complex. Grischuk said that he accepted the draw because he did not see a way to obtain any sort of advantage.

Dylan Loeb McClain at:

https://www.fide.com/component/conte...rand-prix.html

So tomorrow, the schedule is, if needed,

2 x 25+10 games
2 x 10+10 games
2 x 5+3 games
1 x 5/4 Armageddon

Round 4, Day 2, May 28
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Grischuk, Alexander
C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, open variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5 Be7 7.Bf1 Nxe5 8.Rxe5 O-O 9.d4 Bf6 10.Re2 Nc4 11.b3 Nb6 12.a4 a5 13.Nc3 d6 14.Ne4 Be7 15.Qe1 Nd5 16.Nc3 Nxc3 17.Rxe7 Nd5 18.Re2 Bg4 19.f3 Bf5 20.Qd2 Re8 21.Bb2 Rxe2 22.Qxe2 Qe8 23.Re1 1/2-1/2

Position after 10.Re2

Peter Doggers at chess.com:

“Nepomniachtchi played the by now infamous 10.Re2 move. It was introduced by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave five years ago, after the Frenchman had accidentally played it in a game in the PlayMagnus app and thought it was interesting enough to try in a real game. It also featured in the third game of the 2016 Carlsen-Karjakin world championship.”

https://www.chess.com/news/view/2019...nepomniachtchi