World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia

[Hans Jung]

Grischuk resigned as the black queenside pawns are weak and at least one will fall.

[Hans Jung]

Jeffery Xiong went down in flames.

[Hans Jung]

Congratulations to Jeffery Xiong who made it to the quarterfinals and played exciting chess all the way.

[Wayne Komer]

World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia

September 24, 2019

Round Five

Game Two

From the official site:

Ding Liren and Alexander Grischuk opted for a complex maneuvering game in the English Opening. It seemed Black successfully solved his opening problems, however, in the middlegame the Russian decided to trade rooks, which proved wrong. White bishops and a queen developed dangerous activity, and Black started experiencing difficulties protecting his weaknesses on opposite wings, especially as he was in the time trouble. White won a pawn, and Black resigned on the 42nd move. Ding Liren was first to advance to the World Cup Semifinals.

Teimour Radjabov and Jeffrey Xiong played a mind-blowing game. White surprised his opponent in the Gruenfeld Defense and got an advantage with prospects of a crushing kingside attack. However, later in the game Radjabov missed a strong reply of his opponent, and soon the entire board was on fire. In a complicated tactical struggle spiced up by mutual time pressure, Xiong made the last mistake, and the white queen finished the black king off. Teimour Radjabov advances to the World Cup Semifinals as well.

The game between Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Levon Aronian lasted less than an hour. The players discussed a popular line of the Giuoco Piano with a pawn sacrifice on d3 and demonstrated deep opening knowledge. The game continued in a quiet manner and ended peacefully on the 31st move.

Yu Yangyi and Nikita Vitiugov also finished their game in a draw. In the Nimzo-Indian Defense the Russian, who was playing Black, sacrificed a pawn and obtained certain compensation, keeping the white king in the center. A draw was agreed on the 40th move.

Round 5, Game 2, Sept. 24
Ding, Liren – Grischuk, Alexander
A20 English, Kingside Fianchetto

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 Bc5 4.d3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Nc3 Nb6 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.O-O O-O 9.a3 a5 10.Na4 Nxa4 11.Qxa4 Nd4 12.Nxd4 Bxd4 13.Bd2 c6 14.e3 Bb6 15.Bc3 Re8 16.Rfd1 Bd7 17.Rac1 h6 18.h3 Rb8 19.Rd2 Bc7 20.d4 c5 21.Qc2 exd4 22.exd4 c4 23.a4 Bd6 24.Rdd1 b6 25.Re1 Rxe1+ 26.Rxe1 Qc7 27.h4 Re8 28.Bd5 Rxe1+ 29.Bxe1 Be6 30.Bxe6 fxe6 31.Qe4 Kf7 32.Bc3 Bf8 33.d5 Qd6 34.dxe6+ Qxe6 35.Qb7+ Kg8 36.Bd4 Qf5 37.Kh2 Qc2 38.Qd5+ Kh7 39.Qf7 Qd3 40.Bc3 Qd6 41.Qxc4 Qg6 42.Bd4 1-0

Position after White’s 29.Bxe1



One chessbomb kibitzer likens Ding’s play to that of Capablanca.

Ding moves on to the semifinals

Round 5, Game 2, Sept. 24
Yu, Yangyi – Vitiugov, Nikita
E32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 O-O 5.Nf3 d5 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.Qxc3 dxc4 8.Qxc4 b6 9.Bg5 Bb7 10.Rd1 Nbd7 11.Ne5 h6 12.Bh4 c5 13.Nxd7 Qxd7 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.dxc5 Qc7 16.h4 Rfd8 17.Rxd8+ Rxd8 18.Rh3 Bd5 19.Qc1 Kh7 20.Rc3 bxc5 21.Rxc5 Qh2 22.Qe3 Qxh4 23.Rc7 Kg6 24.Rxa7 Rc8 25.g3 Qc4 26.f3 Qc2 27.Qd3+ Qxd3 28.exd3 Rc1+ 29.Kf2 Rc2+ 30.Be2 Rxb2 31.a4 f5 32.f4 Ra2 33.a5 Ra1 34.a6 Ra2 35.Ke3 Bc6 36.d4 Ra3+ 37.Kf2 Ra2 38.Ke3 Ra3+ 39.Kf2 Ra2 40.Ke3 1/2-1/2

The players go on to the tiebreaks tomorrow

Round 5, Game 2, Sept. 24
MVL – Aronian, Levon
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 O-O 6.O-O d5 7.exd5 Nxd5 8.Re1 Bg4 9.Nbd2 Nb6 10.h3 Bh5 11.Bb3 Qxd3 12.Nxe5 Qf5 13.Nef3 Rad8 14.Qe2 Nd5 15.Ne4 Bxf3 16.Qxf3 Qxf3 17.gxf3 Bb6 18.Kf1 Nde7 19.Bg5 h6 20.Bxe7 Nxe7 21.Nf6+ gxf6 22.Rxe7 Rd2 23.Re2 Rfd8 24.Rae1 Kf8 25.Rxd2 Rxd2 26.Re2 Rxe2 27.Kxe2 Ke7 28.f4 f5 29.Kf3 Kf6 30.Bd5 c6 31.Bb3 1/2-1/2

Check out the symmetry in the final position:



President Trump said this is not the result of collusion but I have my doubts.

The players go on to the tiebreaks tomorrow

Round 5, Game 2, Sept. 24
Radjabov, Teimour – Xiong, Jeffery
D85 Grunfeld, Exchange variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bb5+ c6 8.Ba4 O-O 9.Ne2 e5 10.O-O Nd7 11.Be3 Qe7 12.Bc2 Nb6 13.f4 exd4 14.Bxd4 Rd8 15.f5 Bxd4+ 16.cxd4 c5 17.Qd2 Nc4 18.Qd3 Ne5 19.Qa3 Nc4 20.Qc3 b5 21.f6 Qd6 22.d5 Re8 23.Bd3 Ne3 24.Bxb5 Rxe4 25.Ng3 Ng4 26.Rac1 c4 27.h3 Bb7 28.hxg4 Rxg4 29.Bc6 Rxg3 30.Qxc4 Ba6 31.Qf4 Rd8 32.Rce1 Qc5+ 33.Rf2 Rc3 34.Re7 Rc1+ 35.Kh2 Rc3 36.Qh6 1-0

Position after 28.hxg4



Final position



Xiong resigned but chessbomb showed the result as a draw and then within a minute corrected this. For a moment that really amazed the kibitzers and then they complimented both players on their game.

Radjabov goes on to the semifinals

Mikhail Golubev - Radjabov vs Xiong 1-0 is one of the most curious/interesting games in the #FIDEWorldCup so far. A tense, tactical fight. One way or another, this is the kind of chess I like. "The Gruenfeld" is one of the rare and not boring openings that the elite play these days. Not a dull one.

Tomorrow’s tiebreaks

Aronian-MVL

Yu Yangyi-Vitiugov

[Hans Jung]

Levon Aronian missed a key zwischenzug on move 32 in game 4.and ended up losing. I really enjoyed the queen and knight play to that point.

[Hans Jung]

Vitiugov in game 4 in the endgame missed the accurate b3 which would have led to straightforward play.

[Hans Jung]

In game 5 Vitiugov blundered at the end trying to hold a rook and pawn endgame.

[Hans Jung]

In game 6 Vitiugov redeemed himself heading into a winning endgame with the luxury of two bishops and several pawns up.

[Hans Jung]

The Vitiugov-Yu Yangyi match is headed to armageddon.

[Hans Jung]

Vitiugov was several pawns up in the armageddon game. Nerves must have played a huge role.

[Wayne Komer]

World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia

September 25, 2019

Round Five

Tiebreaks

From the official site:

Levon Aronian and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave made a draw in the first rapid game and then played a highly dramatic second game. Aronian, having Black, sacrificed an exchange and created a very dangerous attack on the enemy king. However, a couple of inaccurate moves by the Armenian let his opponent consolidate. And then Black's 38th move turned out to be a blunder that gave White a winning advantage. After the queens left the board, the remaining white rook proved superior to the black knight, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave advanced to the World Cup Semifinals.

Yu Yangyi and Nikita Vitiugov made two draws in rapid games. The Chinese grandmaster prevailed in a first 10-minute game, squeezing a win in a rook ending with an extra pawn. In a second 10-minute game Vitiugov managed to get a win after a lengthy and tense fight. As both blitz games ended in a draw, for the second time at this World Cup an Armageddon game decided the match outcome. Yu Yangyi got White and won the ultimate game, thus becoming the last Semifinalist of the World Cup.

Round 5, Game 3, Sept. 25
25+10
Aronian, Levon – Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime
A30 English, symmetrical

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Nc3 g6 7.d3 Bg7 8.Bd2 O-O 9.h4 Nf6 10.Qc1 Bg4 11.Nh2 Bd7 12.Bh6 Bxh6 13.Qxh6 Nd4 14.Qd2 Qc7 15.e3 Bc6 16.Ne4 Bxe4 17.dxe4 Nc6 18.Qc3 Qe5 19.Rc1 Rfd8 20.Qxe5 Nxe5 21.Ke2 Rac8 22.Rhd1 Rxd1 23.Rxd1 c4 24.f4 Nd3 25.e5 Nh5 26.Nf1 Nxb2 27.Rb1 c3 28.Bxb7 Rc5 29.Rc1 Ng7 30.Be4 Ne6 31.Nh2 1/2-1/2

Round 5, Game 4, Sept. 25
25+10
MVL – Aronian, Levon
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 a6 6.O-O d6 7.a4 O-O 8.Re1 Ba7 9.h3 h6 10.Nbd2 Re8 11.b4 Be6 12.Bxe6 Rxe6 13.Nf1 Qd7 14.Be3 Bxe3 15.Nxe3 d5 16.b5 Ne7 17.c4 d4 18.Nf5 Re8 19.N3h4 Ng6 20.g3 Nxh4 21.Nxh4 Qe7 22.Qc1 Nd7 23.Qa3 Nc5 24.f4 exf4 25.Nf5 Qf8 26.gxf4 Rf6 27.Rf1 Rxf5 28.exf5 Re3 29.Rae1 Qe7 30.Rxe3 Qxe3+ 31.Kh2 Qe2+ 32.Kg1 Nxd3 33.bxa6 bxa6 34.Qb3 Qe3+ 35.Kh2 Qd2+ 36.Kg1 Qe3+ 37.Kh2 h5 38.Qd1 h4 39.Rf3 Nb2 40.Rxe3 Nxd1 41.Rd3 Nb2 42.Rxd4 c5 43.Rd5 Nxa4 44.Kg2 Kf8 45.Kf3 Ke7 46.Kg4 Nb6 47.Rxc5 Kd6 48.Ra5 Nxc4 49.Rxa6+ Ke7 50.Kxh4 Nd6 51.Rxd6 Kxd6 52.Kg5 Ke7 53.f6+ 1-0

Position after Black’s 38….h4



Round 5, Game 3, Sept. 25
25+10
Yu, Yangyi – Vitiugov, Nikita
E32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 O-O 5.Nf3 d5 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.Qxc3 dxc4 8.Qxc4 b6 9.Bg5 Bb7 10.Rc1 h6 11.Bh4 c5 12.dxc5 Nbd7 13.c6 Rc8 14.Qa4 Nb8 15.Ne5 Nxc6 16.Ng4 b5 17.Nxf6+ Qxf6 18.Bxf6 bxa4 19.Bc3 Ne7 20.f3 Nd5 21.e4 Nxc3 22.Rxc3 Rxc3 23.bxc3 Rd8 24.Bb5 a6 25.Be2 Kf8 26.Kf2 Rd2 27.Rb1 Bc6 28.Ke3 Rc2 29.Rb6 Be8 30.c4 e5 31.Rxa6 Rc3+ 32.Kd2 Rxa3 33.Bd1 Ra2+ 34.Bc2 Ra1 35.c5 Ke7 36.c6 a3 37.c7 Bd7 38.Ra8 a2 39.Ba4 Rg1 40.Bxd7 a1=Q 41.Rxa1 Rxg2+ 42.Ke3 Kxd7 43.Ra8 Kxc7 44.Ra7+ Kd6 45.Rxf7 Ke6 46.Ra7 Kf6 47.Ra6+ Kf7 1/2-1/2

Round 5, Game 4, Sept. 25
25+10
Vitiugov, Nikita – Yu, Yangyi
B56 Sicilian Defence

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bd7 6.Bg5 e6 7.Ndb5 Bxb5 8.Bxb5+ Nc6 9.Qf3 Be7 10.e5 Nd5 11.Bxc6+ bxc6 12.Bxe7 Qxe7 13.Qg3 dxe5 14.Qxg7 Qf6 15.Qxf6 Nxf6 16.O-O-O Rg8 17.g3 Rd8 18.Rhe1 Rg5 19.Rxd8+ Kxd8 20.Kd2 Ke7 21.f3 Nd5 22.Re4 Rh5 23.h4 Nb6 24.Ke2 a5 25.Kf2 f6 26.Rg4 Kf7 27.Ne4 f5 28.Rg5 Rh6 29.Nd6+ Kf8 30.c4 Rf6 31.h5 Na4 32.b3 Nc5 33.Ke2 Ke7 34.Nc8+ Kd7 35.Nb6+ Kc7 36.Na4 Nxa4 37.bxa4 Kd6 38.Rg7 Rh6 39.g4 e4 40.Ke3 Ke5 41.f4+ Kd6 42.Rg5 Rf6 43.Rg7 Rh6 44.Kd4 c5+ 45.Ke3 fxg4 46.Rg5 g3 47.Kxe4 g2 48.Rxg2 Rxh5 49.Rb2 Kc6 50.Rb5 Rh1 51.Rxa5 Re1+ 52.Kd3 Rd1+ 53.Ke3 Rd4 54.Ra6+ Kd7 55.Ra7+ Kd6 56.Ra6+ Kd7 57.Ra7+ Kd6 58.Ra6+ Kd7 1/2-1/2

Round 5, Game 5, Sept. 25
10+10
Yu, Yangyi Vitiugov, Nikita
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 d6 8.a4 Bd7 9.c3 O-O 10.d4 h6 11.Nbd2 exd4 12.cxd4 Nb4 13.e5 Nfd5 14.Ne4 bxa4 15.Bxa4 Bxa4 16.Rxa4 Qd7 17.Ra5 Rab8 18.Bd2 Rb5 19.Bxb4 Nxb4 20.Rxb5 Qxb5 21.Nc3 Qc4 22.Qa4 dxe5 23.dxe5 Qc6 24.Qxc6 Nxc6 25.Nd5 Rd8 26.Nxc7 a5 27.g3 Rd7 28.Nb5 Rb7 29.Nd6 Rxb2 30.Rc1 Rb3 31.Rxc6 Rxf3 32.Rc8+ Kh7 33.Kg2 Rd3 34.Nxf7 Kg6 35.Nd6 Bxd6 36.Rc6 a4 37.exd6 a3 38.d7+ Kf7 39.Rc3 Rxd7 40.Rxa3 Rd2 41.Ra5 g6 42.g4 g5 43.Kg3 Kg6 44.Ra6+ Kg7 45.f3 Rd3 46.Ra8 Rb3 47.Ra5 Kg6 48.Ra7 Rc3 49.Ra6+ Kg7 50.Ra8 Rb3 51.Ra5 Kg6 52.Ra6+ Kg7 53.Re6 Ra3 54.Kf2 Ra2+ 55.Re2 Ra3 56.Re3 Ra2+ 57.Kg3 Rb2 58.h4 Ra2 59.Re7+ Kg8 60.hxg5 hxg5 61.Re5 1-0

Round 5, Game 6, Sept. 25
!0+10
Vitiugov, Nikita – Yu, Yangyi
C43 Petrov, Modern Attack, main line

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 exd4 4.e5 Ne4 5.Qxd4 d5 6.exd6 Nxd6 7.Nc3 Nc6 8.Qf4 Nf5 9.Nb5 Bb4+ 10.c3 Ba5 11.Be2 O-O 12.O-O a6 13.Na3 Bb6 14.Nc4 Ba7 15.Rd1 Qe7 16.Bd3 Rd8 17.Re1 Qf6 18.Bc2 Be6 19.Ncd2 Qh6 20.Nf1 Qxf4 21.Bxf4 Bb6 22.Ng5 Bd7 23.g4 h6 24.Nxf7 Kxf7 25.gxf5 Ne7 26.Bb3+ Kf8 27.f6 Ng6 28.fxg7+ Kxg7 29.Bg3 h5 30.h4 Bh3 31.Ne3 Rd3 32.Kh2 Bxe3 33.Rxe3 Rxe3 34.fxe3 Bg4 35.Rf1 Rd8 36.Rf7+ Kh6 37.Kg1 Rd3 38.Bc2 Rd7 39.Rf6 Rg7 40.Bxc7 Kh7 41.Bd6 Bd7 42.Kf2 Be8 43.Rf8 Rf7+ 44.Rxf7+ Bxf7 45.b3 Kg7 46.Kg3 Kf6 47.Be4 Ke6 48.Bf4 b6 49.Bd3 b5 50.c4 Ne7 51.cxb5 axb5 52.Bxb5 Nf5+ 53.Kh3 Ke7 54.e4 Nd4 55.Bd3 Be6+ 56.Kg3 Kd7 57.Be3 Nc6 58.Kf4 Nb4 59.Bb1 Kc6 60.Bd2 Na6 61.Ke5 Bg4 62.Bd3 Nc5 63.Bc4 Nd7+ 64.Kd4 Nf8 65.Bd5+ Kd7 66.a4 Ne6+ 67.Ke5 Nc5 68.a5 Kc7 69.b4 Nd7+ 70.Kd4 Be2 71.Bf4+ Kd8 72.Bc6 Nf8 73.Bd6 Ng6 74.b5 Nxh4 75.a6 1-0

Round 5, Game 7, Sept. 25
5+3
Yu, Yangyi – Vitiugov, Nikita
C01 French, Exchange, Svenonius variation

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.exd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Be7 6.Bd3 c6 7.Nge2 Nbd7 8.O-O O-O 9.h3 Re8 10.Re1 Nf8 11.Qd2 Ng6 12.Nf4 Bd7 13.Re2 Bd6 14.Rae1 Rxe2 15.Rxe2 Qc7 16.Nxg6 hxg6 17.Re1 Re8 18.Rxe8+ Bxe8 19.Ne2 Nh5 20.Qe3 Bd7 21.Be7 Nf4 22.Bxd6 Nxe2+ 23.Bxe2 Qxd6 24.c3 Be6 25.h4 Kf8 26.g3 b6 27.a3 Bf5 28.Bf3 Be6 29.Kg2 Bf5 30.Qe2 Bc8 31.Qe3 Be6 32.Qg5 Bf5 33.Qe3 Be6 34.Qc1 Qc7 35.b3 Qd6 36.b4 Ke7 37.Qg5+ Kf8 38.Qd2 Bf5 39.Qe2 Bc8 40.Qe3 Be6 41.Qd2 Bf5 42.Qe2 Bc8 43.Qe3 Bf5 44.Qe1 Be6 45.a4 a5 46.bxa5 bxa5 47.Qb1 Qc7 48.Qc1 Qd6 49.Qb2 Qc7 50.Qa3+ Qe7 51.Qb2 Qc7 52.Qe2 Bf5 53.Qa6 Bc2 54.c4 Bxa4 55.cxd5 cxd5 56.Bxd5 Be8 57.Bf3 a4 58.d5 Ke7 59.Bd1 Qd6 60.Qa5 a3 61.Bb3 Bd7 62.Qa7 Qb4 63.Qe3+ Kd8 64.Qf3 Bf5 65.Kh2 Qd2 66.d6 Qxd6 67.Bxf7 Ke7 68.Ba2 Qd3 69.Qb7+ Kd6 70.Qb4+ Kc7 71.Qc5+ Kd7 72.Bc4 Qd6 73.Qa7+ Kd8 74.Qxg7 Qc5 75.Qg8+ Kc7 76.Kg1 Be4 77.Qf7+ Kb6 78.Qf6+ Bc6 79.Qc3 Bb5 80.Qf6+ Bc6 81.Qc3 Bb5 82.Qf6+ Ka5 83.Bf7 Bc6 84.Kh2 Kb4 85.Qf4+ Ka5 86.Qc7+ Kb4 87.Qf4+ Ka5 88.Qc7+ Kb4 89.Qf4+ Ka5 90.Qc7+ 1/2-1/2

Round 5, Game 8, Sept. 25
5+3
Vitiugov, Nikita – Yu Yangyi
B22 Sicilian-Alekhine-Alapin

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.d4 cxd4 6.cxd4 d6 7.Bc4 Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.Qe2 Nc6 10.Rd1 Bd7 11.a3 Rc8 12.Bxd5 exd5 13.Nc3 Be6 14.Bf4 Re8 15.h3 a6 16.Rac1 h6 17.b4 Bf8 18.Qd2 Rc7 19.Na4 dxe5 20.dxe5 d4 21.Nxd4 Nxd4 22.Qxd4 Qxd4 23.Rxd4 Rxc1+ 24.Bxc1 Bb3 25.Nc5 Bxc5 26.bxc5 Rxe5 27.Be3 Bd5 28.Kf1 Bc6 29.h4 Kh7 30.Rd6 Re4 31.Rd4 Re5 32.Rd6 f6 33.g3 Kg6 34.Ke2 Kf5 35.Rd4 h5 36.Kd2 g5 37.hxg5 fxg5 38.Bxg5 Rxc5 39.Be7 Rd5 1/2-1/2

Round 5, Game 9, Sept. 25
Armageddon 5/4
Yu, Yangyi – Vitiugov, Nikita
C00 French, Labourdonnais variation

1.e4 e6 2.f4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.c3 Nh6 6.Na3 Nf5 7.Nc2 d4 8.Bd3 Nh4 9.Be4 Nxg2+ 10.Kf2 Nxf4 11.d3 Ng6 12.cxd4 cxd4 13.Bg5 Be7 14.Bxe7 Qxe7 15.Ncxd4 Ncxe5 16.Nxe5 Nxe5 17.Qh5 Nd7 18.Rhg1 Nf6 19.Qe5 Nxe4+ 20.dxe4 f6 21.Qh5+ Qf7 22.Qc5 Qe7 23.Qxe7+ Kxe7 24.Rxg7+ Kf8 25.Rag1 e5 26.Nb5 a6 27.Nc7 Rb8 28.Nd5 f5 29.Nf6 fxe4 30.Rc7 Bf5 31.Rgg7 Bg6 32.Rgd7 b5 33.h4 h5 34.Rg7 Rc8 35.Rg8+ Rxg8 36.Rxc8+ Kf7 37.Nxg8 Ke6 38.Ke3 Kd7 39.Ra8 Bf5 40.Rxa6 1-0

Round 6, Semifinals, Game 1 - Pairings

Ding Liren – Yu Yangyi
MVL – Radjabov

_________

From the official site:

Photographer Kirill Merkuryev

- Do you have any favourites at chess tournaments? Perhaps you like shooting Levon Aronian in his bright shirts or maybe somebody’s mimics?

- I really like Levon’s red boots which he wore to some games. I also like the way Ian Nepomniachtchi expresses his emotions and at the same time, it’s interesting to watch Ding Liren. He is very discreet, always keeps a poker face and sometimes it’s hard to capture his emotions. These are the three most interesting players for me at this Cup.

- There were 128 players at the beginning so it wasn’t that difficult to make an interesting shot. Now there are only four players. What are you going to capture next?

- Now it’s time to look around. I’m going to follow not only the players but their parents and coaches, as well, to capture their worries. However, I’ll focus my attention on the strongest four players.

https://khantymansiysk2019.fide.com/en/news/408/

[Wayne Komer]

World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia

September 26, 2019

Round Six

Semifinals

Game One

From the official site:

Ding Liren and Yu Yangyi played the English Opening. After the game the rating favorite confessed that he had mixed up something in the opening, and had ended up in a worse position. However, Yu Yangyi was noticeably tired after a dramatic tie-break yesterday and did not manage to create serious problems for his friend and compatriot. The game was drawn by a threefold repetition on the 27th move.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Teimour Radjabov had an opening discussion in the Rossolimo Sicilian. The Frenchman had White and improved his play compared to a recent game against Magnus Carlsen. However, after the queens were exchanged, Black was already out of danger, and after the rook were traded, White already needed to play accurately in order to preserve the balance. Nevertheless, Black decided not to squeeze water from a stone, and a draw was agreed on the 31st move.

Round 6, Game 1, Sept. 26
Ding, Liren – Yu, Yangyi
A20 English Opening

1.c4 e5 2.g3 c6 3.Nf3 e4 4.Nd4 d5 5.d3 Bc5 6.Nb3 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 Bxd2+ 8.Qxd2 dxc4 9.dxc4 f5 10.Nc3 Qxd2+ 11.Kxd2 Nf6 12.f3 Nbd7 13.fxe4 Ne5 14.c5 fxe4 15.Bg2 Bf5 16.Raf1 Nc4+ 17.Kc1 Ne3 18.Rf4 O-O 19.Nd4 Nxg2 20.Rxf5 Ne3 21.Re5 Rae8 22.Rxe8 Rxe8 23.Nc2 Nf5 24.Na3 Ne3 25.Nc2 Nf5 26.Na3 Ne3 27.Nc2 1/2-1/2

Round 6, Game 1, Sept. 26
MVL – Radjabov, Teimour
B31 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6 bxc6 5.d4 cxd4 6.Qxd4 f6 7.Qa4 Bg7 8.O-O Nh6 9.c4 Qb6 10.Nc3 O-O 11.Re1 Nf7 12.Be3 Qb7 13.Qb3 Qxb3 14.axb3 Rb8 15.Rxa7 Rxb3 16.Na4 Rb7 17.Rxb7 Bxb7 18.Nb6 d6 19.c5 e5 20.b4 Ba6 21.Ra1 Bb5 22.Nd2 Rd8 23.Ra8 Rxa8 24.Nxa8 Bf8 25.Nc7 dxc5 26.Nxb5 cxb5 27.bxc5 Nd8 28.Nb3 Nc6 29.Kf1 Kf7 30.Ke2 Ke6 31.g4 1/2-1/2

Distribution of Prizes (USD)

'-

Round		Players		Prize
-
1		64		6000
2		32		10000
3		16		16000
4		8		25000
5		4		35000
4th		1		50000
3rd		1		60000
2nd		1		80000
Winner		1		110000

____________

It is true that with only one winner in the World Cup you have 127 players who are disappointed.

Levon Aronian crashed out and would later tweet a picture of a page of Russian.

Colin McGourty writes in chess24 of that:

For those who don’t know Russian that reads, “I read a book and discovered my favourite method of handling failures. And I thought I’d come up with it myself… #Guberman”. The quote is by a Jewish Ukrainian-born Russian writer living in Israel, Igor Guberman, and is the start of a friend’s advice for dealing with depression. It could be translated roughly:

It’s more reliable to relax and help it on. You need to say aloud and to yourself a few times that you’re bullshit, that you were bullshit in the past and will undoubtedly continue to be bullshit. And past successes don’t matter – they were accidental, nor the feeling of power or ability – that was inspired by a demon, nor anyone’s praise – that was definitely inspired by a demon. All has been lost, disappeared and sunk, scattered, vanished, evaporated, collapsed and dissolved. And now it will always be like that. Or even worse and more woeful. Hopeless, helpless and endless.

At that point it’s high time to lift the first shot glass.

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/fid...ugov-crash-out

Two more tweets from Vitiugov and Nepo:

Nikita Vitiugov

- This tournament is like life - eventually, it has a sad end. Lucky guys leave it quickly, stubborn ones, who fight on their limits - sometimes painfully. But what happened here also matters and I am proud of the level of chess I've showed in the tournament (not today:-).

- I was fighting for the title as long as I could, but the last 2 games were far from normal, even by my standards. They say - there is the first place and there are other places. They are right. But I will remember some emotional moments from this tournament.

Yan Nepomniachtchi

- I’d like to say a lot... but seems like sometimes you don’t have to play chess well or even decent to advance far in the World Cup. Both matches were just far beyond any good or evil. Current KO system has nothing to do with determining the best player.

[Hans Jung]

Round 6 Game 2 This game must have been very painful for MVL. It seems he was caught in the opening and chose the wrong defensive plan and the position got better and better for Radjabov. Radjabov is also playing very well.

[Wayne Komer]

World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia

September 27, 2019

Round Six

Semifinals

Game Two

From the official site:

Teimour Radjabov and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave had a discussion in the English Opening. After Black rejected exchanging queens early in the game, White created a powerful attack on the kingside. The French grandmaster defended resourcefully and saved his king, but lost a pawn in process, while White kept a dominating position with strong pressure on the kingside. Black kept avoiding exchanging the queens, and by the 40th move White's attack was already decisive. In a hopeless position Vachier-Lagrave blundered a rook and resigned on the 45th move.

Yu Yangyi and Ding Liren played the Nimzo-Indian Defense and up to a certain point followed an earlier game between Yu Yangyi and Nikita Vitiugov. On the 18th move, Ding Liren improved Black's play. The game simplified, and the players agreed to a draw in an equal queen ending on the 30th move, having spent less than an hour at the board.

Round 6, Game 2, Sept. 27
Yu, Yangyi – Ding, Liren
E36 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Noa variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 O-O 7.Nf3 dxc4 8.Qxc4 b6 9.Bg5 Bb7 10.Rd1 Nbd7 11.Ne5 h6 12.Bh4 c5 13.Nxd7 Qxd7 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.dxc5 Qc7 16.h4 Rfd8 17.Rxd8+ Rxd8 18.Rh3 Rd5 19.Rg3+ Kf8 20.Rc3 Rxc5 21.Qb4 Kg7 22.Rxc5 bxc5 23.Qc3 Qh2 24.Qxc5 Bxg2 25.Bxg2 Qxg2 26.Qxa7 Qh1+ 27.Kd2 Qd5+ 28.Kc3 Qc6+ 29.Kd2 Qd5+ 30.Kc3 Qc6+ 1/2-1/2

Round 6, Game 2, Sept. 27
Radjabov, Teimour – MVL
A34 English, symmetrical, Three Knights System

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Qc7 7.e4 e6 8.Bd3 Be7 9.Qe2 Bd7 10.O-O O-O 11.e5 Bc6 12.Ng5 h6 13.Bh7+ Kh8 14.Bc2 c4 15.Re1 Qd8 16.Nh3 Qd5 17.Nf4 Qc5 18.Bb1 Bg5 19.Nxe6 fxe6 20.Bxg5 Qd5 21.Qg4 Nd7 22.Be4 Nxe5 23.Qh5 Qb5 24.Bxh6 Bxe4 25.Bf4+ Kg8 26.Qxe5 Bd5 27.Re2 Rf5 28.Qe3 Qe8 29.f3 Qg6 30.h4 Raf8 31.Bg5 a6 32.Rd1 Qe8 33.Rd4 Qc6 34.Rg4 Kh7 35.Bf4 R8f7 36.Be5 b5 37.Qf2 Qd7 38.Qg3 Rh5 39.Bd4 Qc7 40.Re5 Rhf5 41.Rg5 Kg8 42.h5 Rxg5 43.Qxg5 Qe7 44.Qg4 Rf5 45.Qxf5 1-0

Position after Black’s 10….O-O




Position after White’s 19.Nxe6




Final position




Tiebreaks for Yu Yangyi and Ding Liren tomorrow.

September 29 is a rest day.

_____________

Tweets

Olimpiu Urcan - He's 3,500 miles away from Paris, in an empty conference hall in the cold Siberian wasteland, one step away from the final, in a horrible position after just 10 moves. Yet, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave calmly sips some hot tea and digs himself out inch by inch.

- MVL rejected all the unpleasant endings, but it's only led to a totally miserable position with queens still on the board

Lawrence Trent - I'm gutted for my boy MVL. Simply gutted for him. I can't recall a player who deserved a shot at the big time more than him. Allez @Vachier_Lagrave keep your chin up!

- More misery for Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who misses out on Candidates Tournament qualification yet again! Teimour Radjabov will now play either Ding Liren or Yu Yangyi in the #FIDEWorldCup final

- Not a bad day for Teimour Radjabov, who not only reached the Candidates Tournament and the #FIDEWorldCup final but also rejoined the Top 10 on the @2700chess live rating list!

[Wayne Komer]

World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia

September 27, 2019

Round Six

Semifinals

Some on-line comments about Game Two and the rest of the tournament

Peter Doggers at chess.com

Seeing Radjabov back in the Candidates' Tournament is both surprising and not 100 percent certain yet. The following remark, which he made in his post-game interview, should probably be taken with a grain of salt: "I don’t even know if I will play the Candidates' but to get the invitation for a nice party is always good!" he said.

Few would have expected the Azerbaijani grandmaster to reach the final in Khanty-Mansiysk. His best achievement in 128-player knockout events was the semifinals in 2004. Further, he hasn't been very active in recent years as his motivation hasn't been great.

Once you play well you have this illusion that this will always be with you. Then you suddenly get a lot of losses and you simply understand who you are and that’s it.

— Teimour Radjabov

In fact, Radjabov today said (though with a smile, so it's not clear how serious he was) that he's considered quitting chess for a long time: "Either you are here and you play or you just don’t play chess and that was a kind of thing I am considering for the last 10 years."

https://www.chess.com/news/view/2019...mifinals-day-2

- Radjabov: "I don’t even know if I will play the Candidates, but to get the place, an invitation for a nice party, is always good"


- Not exactly an inspiring outlook from Radjabov. Wouldn't want him to be the person to try to talk me off a ledge. Guess he'll just focus on winning the World Cup, which would be impressive enough.

- If Radj declines the invitation The place would go to the player with the next highest average rating for 2019 (which actually easily could be MVL...)


Inselshaker - I am playing chess at 1900ish amateur level .... . I am fine with one exclamation mark because Bh7+ followed by Bc2 is "instructive".
As to the black collapse: it seems that MVL completely missed the (simple-straightforward) point behind the novelty 8.Bd3. Maybe a false sense of security: he had the position after 8.-Qc7 no less than six times since 2017, four times this year and never had problems out of the opening (he lost one blitz game against So because he then became overly aggressive). Two other high-level games had Svidler with black - apparently Grunfeld specialist are targeted and don't like the early endgame after 8.-Qxd1+.

I like MVL as a player and - having met him personally - as a person, but with his shaky recent results and play he doesn't necessarily "belong" into the candidates IMO. It was a different story in the previous cycle, also then about wildcards: qualifying events would lose a lot of drama/tension if a player who misses out narrowly could "expect" a candidates wildcard.

The candidates will apparently be in Jekaterinburg/Russia. But with new restrictive wildcard criteria (top 10 on average or first non-qualifier in World Cup or GP series or Grand Swiss) it is conceivable that no Russian player will be eligible [would they then re-adopt Giri?!]. BTW this wildcard criterion also means that MVL and the loser of Yu Yangyi - Ding Liren will stay in Khanty-Mansiysk to play a match for third place.

- Having Liren warn everyone in the above article that Yu often beats him at speed chess does not help.

Sergey Karjakin - Congratulations to @rajachess on reaching the World Cup finals! Great result and great game! Good luck in the finals