World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia

[Wayne Komer]

World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia

September 15, 2019

Round Two

Tiebreaks

From the official site:

An overwhelming majority of matches ended after rapid chess games.

Eltaj Safarli (Azerbaijan) defeated Nihal Sarin (India), Lenier Dominguez (USA) beat Nijat Abasov (Azerbaijan), Jeffrey Xiong (USA) proved stronger than Amin Tabatabaei (Iran), Yu Yangyi (China) outplayed Baskaran Adhiban (India), Maxim Matlakov (Russia) defeated Boris Gelfand (Israel), Peter Svidler (Russia) knocked out his compatriot Andrey Esipenko, Alexander Grischuk (Russia) defeated Benjamin Bok (Netherlands), Ding Liren (China) bested Sergei Movsesian (Armenia), Kirill Alekseenko (Russia) won against Johan-Sebastian Christiansen (Norway), Dmitry Jakovenko (Russia) defeated Gawain Jones (England), Nikita Vitiugov (Russia) passed Niclas Huschenbeth (Germany), Sanan Sjugirov (Russia) lost to Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan), and David Anton Guijarro (Spain) lost to Wei Yi (China).

Giri-Najer and McShane-Yuffa matches were much closer.

Luke McShane (England) and Daniil Yuffa (Russia) exchanged blows first in rapid chess, then in 10+10 games. In blitz, however, the Russian won both games and advanced to the Third Round. One should note that in both starting rounds Daniil Yuffa was a big underdog, judging by ratings, and his performance is nothing short of sensational.

Anish Giri (Netherlands) and Evgeniy Najer (Russia) finished their first four rapid games peacefully. The 5-minute blitz match started with Giri's victory, but Najer managed to come back in the second game, bringing the match to an Armageddon. In the sudden death game Anish Giri got the black pieces, won the game outright and advanced to the Third Round of the World Cup.

Round 2, Game 3, Sept. 15
25+10
Ding, Liren – Movsesian, Sergei
A20 English, Modern Nimzowitsch

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.O-O Nb6 7.b3 Bd6 8.Bb2 O-O 9.d3 Qe7 10.Nbd2 Ba3 11.Bxa3 Qxa3 12.Qc1 Qe7 13.Qb2 Bg4 14.Rac1 Rad8 15.Rfe1 Rfe8 16.a3 a5 17.b4 axb4 18.axb4 Nd4 19.Nxd4 exd4 20.Bxb7 Na4 21.Qc2 Nc3 22.Bf3 h5 23.Bxg4 hxg4 24.Nb3 c5 25.bxc5 Nxe2+ 26.Kf1 Qf6 27.Rxe2 Qf3 28.Rxe8+ Rxe8 29.Kg1 Re2 30.Qxe2 Qxe2 31.c6 1-0

Ding Liren to Round 3

Round 2, Game 3, Sept. 15
25+10
Alekseenko, Kirill – Christiansen, Johan-Sebastian
C02 French, Advance, Milner-Barry Gambit

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Qb6 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.a3 Nge7 7.dxc5 Qc7 8.Be3 Nxe5 9.Nxe5 Qxe5 10.Bb5+ Nc6 11.O-O Bd7 12.Nd2 Be7 13.Nf3 Qh5 14.b4 Bf6 15.Rc1 O-O 16.Be2 Qg6 17.c4 Ne7 18.Bf4 Rfd8 19.Bc7 Rdc8 20.Ne5 Bxe5 21.Bxe5 a5 22.Rc3 Nf5 23.Rh3 axb4 24.axb4 Qg5 25.f4 Qe7 26.Bd3 dxc4 27.Bxf5 exf5 28.Qh5 f6 29.Qxh7+ Kf7 30.Rg3 Qf8 31.Qg6+ Ke6 32.Bd6 Qg8 33.Re3+ Kd5 34.b5 c3 35.Qg3 Ra3 36.Qf3+ Kc4 37.Qe2+ Kb3 38.c6 bxc6 39.Qd1+ 1-0

Alekseenko to Round 3

Round 2, Game 3, Sept. 15
25+10
Dominguez, Leinier – Abasov, Nijat
B30 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d3 g6 6.h3 Nh5 7.Be3 b6 8.a4 a5 9.O-O Bg7 10.e5 f5 11.exf6 Nxf6 12.Qc1 Nd5 13.Bh6 O-O 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.Nbd2 Nf4 16.Re1 Be6 17.b3 Bd5 18.Qb2+ Kg8 19.Re3 Qd7 20.c4 Be6 21.Rae1 Rae8 22.Ne5 Qc8 23.Ne4 Bf5 24.Ng5 h6 25.Ng4 Bxg4 26.Rxe7 Rxe7 27.Rxe7 Nh5 28.hxg4 Qxg4 29.Ne6 Rf6 30.Qe5 1-0

Dominguez to Round 3

Round 2, Game 4, Sept. 15
25+10
Bok, Benjamin – Grischuk, Alexander
D59 QGD, Tartakower (Makagonov-Bondarevsky) System

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 O-O 7.e3 b6 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Bxe7 Qxe7 10.Nxd5 exd5 11.Be2 Be6 12.Rc1 c5 13.dxc5 bxc5 14.O-O Nd7 15.Qa4 Rfb8 16.Bb5 a5 17.Bxd7 Bxd7 18.Qa3 Rb4 19.Qc3 Rc8 20.b3 a4 21.Rfd1 Be6 22.Nd2 axb3 23.Nxb3 Ra4 24.Qb2 Qa7 25.Rd2 c4 26.Nd4 Rb8 27.Qa1 Qa5 28.Rcc2 Rab4 29.Rd1 Bd7 30.Rdc1 Ra4 31.Rd1 Ra3 32.Rdd2 c3 33.Rd3 Rb2 34.Rdxc3 Rbxa2 35.Rxa2 Rxa2 36.Qe1 Ra1 0-1

Grischuk to Round 3

Round 2, Game 3, Sept. 15
25+10
Vitiugov, Nikita – Huschenbeth, Niclas
E51 Nimzo-Indian

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Nf3 d5 6.Bd2 c5 7.a3 Bxc3 8.Bxc3 Ne4 9.Rc1 Nxc3 10.Rxc3 cxd4 11.Nxd4 dxc4 12.Bxc4 Bd7 13.O-O Nc6 14.Nb3 Ne5 15.Be2 Bc6 16.Qxd8 Rfxd8 17.Nd4 Bd5 18.Rfc1 g6 19.f3 a6 20.Kf2 Rd6 21.Nc2 Bc6 22.Nb4 Be8 23.f4 Nc6 24.Nd3 Ne7 25.Rc7 Nd5 26.Rc8 Rxc8 27.Rxc8 Kf8 28.e4 Ne7 29.Rb8 b6 30.Ne5 b5 31.Ng4 Nc6 32.Ra8 Ke7 33.e5 Rd8 34.Rxa6 Nd4 35.Nf6 Rc8 36.Bd3 b4 37.axb4 Rb8 38.g4 h5 39.Ke3 Nc6 40.b5 Nb4 41.Ra7+ Kf8 42.Bc4 hxg4 43.Nxe8 Kxe8 44.Kd4 Rc8 45.b3 Nc2+ 46.Kc3 Ne3 47.Kb4 Rb8 48.Ka5 Nf5 49.b6 Nd4 50.b7 Nc6+ 51.Kb6 Nxa7 52.Kxa7 1-0

Vitiugov to Round 3

Round 2, Game 3, Sept. 15
25+10
Adhiban, B. – Yu, Yangyi
B38 QGD, Ragozin variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.e3 O-O 8.Rc1 Nd7 9.cxd5 exd5 10.a3 Bxc3+ 11.Rxc3 c6 12.Bd3 Nb6 13.Ne5 Nd7 14.Nf3 Nb6 15.Ne5 Nd7 16.Nxd7 Bxd7 17.O-O Rfe8 18.Qb3 Rab8 19.Qa4 a6 20.Qa5 Bf5 21.Bxf5 Qxf5 22.Qc7 Qc8 23.Qg3 Qd8 24.Rfc1 Qb6 25.R1c2 Qxd4 26.h3 Qe4 27.Rd2 Rbd8 28.Rb3 Rd7 29.Rd4 Qe5 30.Qf3 c5 31.Rf4 b5 32.Rf5 Qe6 33.Rc3 c4 34.Rf4 Qg6 35.Rc1 Re5 36.Rg4 Qe6 37.Rd4 a5 38.Qd1 Re4 39.Qd2 Rxd4 40.Qxd4 Qf6 41.Rd1 Qxd4 42.Rxd4 Kf8 43.a4 bxa4 44.e4 Rb7 45.exd5 Rb4 46.Rd2 Ke7 47.Kf1 Kd6 48.Ke2 Rb5 49.Ke3 Rxd5 50.Rd4 Kc5 51.Rf4 f6 52.Ke2 Kb4 53.Rg4 g5 54.Rg3 Rd3 0-1

Yu Yangyi to Round 3

Round 2, Game 4, Sept. 15
25+10
Anton Guijarro, David – Wei, Yi
A10 English, Adorjan Defence

1.c4 g6 2.e4 e5 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.g3 d6 5.Bg2 Ne7 6.d3 c5 7.f4 Nbc6 8.Nf3 Bg4 9.h3 Bxf3 10.Bxf3 f5 11.O-O O-O 12.Bg2 Qd7 13.h4 Nd4 14.h5 exf4 15.Bxf4 Ne6 16.Be3 Be5 17.Ne2 fxe4 18.Bxe4 Nf5 19.Qd2 Qg7 20.h6 Qe7 21.Bxf5 Rxf5 22.Rxf5 gxf5 23.Nf4 Kh8 24.Nxe6 Qxe6 25.Bf4 Rg8 26.Rf1 Rg4 27.Qe1 Kg8 28.Kg2 Kf7 29.Kf3 Qf6 30.Qa5 Kg6 31.Qc7 Bxf4 32.gxf4 Rh4 33.Qg7+ Qxg7 34.hxg7 Kxg7 35.Kg3 Rg4+ 36.Kf3 h5 37.d4 h4 38.dxc5 dxc5 39.Rd1 Kg6 40.Rd7 Rg3+ 41.Kf2 Kh5 42.Rxb7 a5 43.Rb5 Kg4 44.Rxc5 h3 45.Rc8 Rg2+ 46.Ke3 Rg3+ 47.Kf2 Kxf4 48.Rh8 Rg2+ 49.Kf1 Kg3 50.Rg8+ Kf3 51.Rh8 Kg3 52.Rg8+ Kh2 53.Rf8 Rxb2 54.Rxf5 Kg3 55.Rg5+ Kh4 56.Rg8 h2 57.Rh8+ Kg3 58.Rg8+ Kf3 59.Rf8+ Ke4 60.Rh8 Kd4 61.Rh4+ Kc5 62.a4 Rb1+ 63.Kg2 h1=Q+ 64.Rxh1 Rxh1 65.Kxh1 Kxc4 66.Kg2 Kb4 67.Kf2 Kxa4 68.Ke2 Kb3 69.Kd2 Kb2 0-1

Wei Yi to Round 3

Round 2, Game 9, Sept. 15
Armageddon 5/4
Najer, Evgeniy – Giri, Anish
A28 English, Four Knights, Nimzowitsch variation

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e4 Bb4 5.d3 d6 6.a3 Bc5 7.b4 Bb6 8.Na4 Bd4 9.Nxd4 Nxd4 10.Nc3 a5 11.b5 O-O 12.Be2 c6 13.O-O cxb5 14.Nxb5 Nxb5 15.cxb5 a4 16.Bb2 Be6 17.f3 Nh5 18.g3 Qg5 19.Bc1 Qg6 20.Kh1 f5 21.f4 Nf6 22.exf5 Bxf5 23.Bb2 Ng4 24.Qd2 e4 25.dxe4 Bxe4+ 26.Kg1 Rac8 27.Rac1 d5 28.Bd4 Nxh2 29.Kxh2 Qh6+ 30.Kg1 Qh1+ 31.Kf2 Qg2+ 32.Ke1 Qxg3+ 33.Bf2 Qxa3 34.Rxc8 Rxc8 35.Rg1 Rc1+ 36.Bd1 Bf3 37.Rxg7+ Kxg7 38.Bd4+ Kg8 0-1

Giri to Round 3

Round 2, Game 3, Sept. 15
Xiong, Jeffery – Tabatabaei, M.
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.a3 Nbd7 7.Nb5 Ne8 8.e3 dxc4 9.Bxc4 Nd6 10.Nxd6 Bxd6 11.Bxd6 cxd6 12.O-O b6 13.Rc1 Bb7 14.d5 e5 15.Bb5 Nf6 16.Bc6 Qe7 17.Nxe5 dxe5 18.d6 Qe6 19.Bxb7 Rad8 20.Qa4 a5 21.Rfd1 Rxd6 22.Rc6 Rxc6 23.Qxc6 Qb3 24.Rd2 h5 25.h3 h4 26.Ba6 Qa2 27.Qxb6 Qb1+ 28.Kh2 Qe1 29.Re2 Qd1 30.Qxa5 Ne4 31.Qb4 Ng5 32.Qxh4 Ra8 33.Bc4 Ra4 34.b4 Ne6 35.Ra2 Qd6 36.Qe4 Ng5 37.Qd5 Qc7 38.Ra1 g6 39.Bb3 Ra6 40.Qc4 Rc6 41.Qg4 e4+ 42.Qg3 Qe7 43.Bd5 Rc2 44.h4 Nh7 45.Qxg6+ Kh8 46.Qxe4 Qc7+ 47.Qf4 Qe7 48.Rd1 Rc8 49.Bxf7 Rf8 50.Qd4+ Nf6 51.Bg6 Qg7 52.h5 Rc8 53.Kg1 Rf8 54.b5 Qe7 55.a4 Kg7 56.b6 Qb7 57.Rc1 1-0

Xiong to Round 3

Round 2, Game 3, Sept. 15
25+10
Safarli, Eltaj – Nihal Sarin
C53 Giuoco Piano, Bird’s Attack

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.b4 Be7 6.d3 O-O 7.O-O d5 8.exd5 Nxd5 9.Re1 Bg4 10.h3 Bh5 11.b5 Na5 12.Rxe5 Nf6 13.Nbd2 Bd6 14.Re1 Re8 15.g4 Bg6 16.d4 Nxc4 17.Nxc4 Qd7 18.Nce5 Qxb5 19.c4 Qa6 20.Be3 Rad8 21.Qb3 c5 22.Nxg6 cxd4 23.Bxd4 hxg6 24.Rxe8+ Rxe8 25.Qb5 Rc8 26.Rd1 Bf4 27.Qxa6 bxa6 28.Be5 Bxe5 29.Nxe5 Kf8 30.Rd6 a5 31.Ra6 Rc5 32.f4 Rc7 33.Rxa5 Ne4 34.Kg2 g5 35.fxg5 Nxg5 36.c5 Ne6 37.Kf3 Ke7 38.Nd3 Kd7 39.h4 f6 40.Ke4 Ke7 41.a3 Nd8 42.Nf4 Kf7 43.Nd5 Rd7 44.Ra6 Ne6 45.Rc6 g6 46.Rc8 Rb7 47.c6 Rb1 48.Ra8 Re1+ 49.Ne3 f5+ 50.gxf5 gxf5+ 51.Kd3 Nf4+ 52.Kd2 Re2+ 53.Kd1 Rxe3 54.c7 Rc3 55.c8=Q Rxc8 56.Rxc8 Kg6 57.Ra8 Kh5 58.Rxa7 Kxh4 59.a4 Nd5 60.a5 f4 61.Ke2 1-0

Safarli to Round 3

(to be continued)

[Wayne Komer]

World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia

September 15, 2019

Round Two

Tiebreaks (continued)

Round 2, Game 4, Sept. 15
25+10
Radjabov, Teimour – Sjugirov, Sanan
D02 Queen’s Pawn game

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 Be7 7.e3 O-O 8.Rc1 c5 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Bxe7 Nxe7 11.Be2 b6 12.O-O Bb7 13.dxc5 Nxc5 14.b4 Ne4 15.Nxe4 Bxe4 16.Ne5 Bd5 17.a3 Rc8 18.Qd4 f6 19.Nc4 Qc7 20.Qb2 Rfd8 21.Rfe1 Qb8 22.Bf1 e5 23.Red1 Be6 24.Rxd8+ Rxd8 25.Nd2 Qd6 26.Ne4 Qd7 27.Nc3 Rc8 28.Rd1 Qc7 29.Nb5 Qb8 30.Qd2 Nc6 31.Rc1 Rd8 32.Qc2 Ne7 33.Bc4 Bxc4 34.Qxc4+ Kh8 35.Qe6 a6 36.Qxe7 axb5 37.h3 Qd6 38.Qf7 Qd3 39.Qc7 Qd6 40.Qc2 Qd7 41.Qe2 e4 42.Rc3 f5 43.g3 Qd1+ 44.Qxd1 Rxd1+ 45.Kg2 Rd6 46.Rc8+ Kh7 47.Re8 Rd3 48.Re5 Kg6 49.g4 fxg4 50.hxg4 Rxa3 51.Rxb5 Rb3 52.Kg3 Rb2 53.Rxb6+ Kf7 54.b5 g6 55.Kf4 Rxf2+ 56.Kxe4 Rb2 57.Ke5 h5 58.Rb7+ Ke8 59.g5 h4 60.Ke6 Kd8 61.Kf6 h3 62.Kxg6 h2 63.Rh7 Ke8 64.Rh8+ Ke7 65.e4 Ke6 66.b6 Ke5 67.Kf7 Rxb6 68.Rxh2 Rb7+ 69.Kg6 Rb6+ 70.Kh7 Rb7+ 71.Kh6 Rb8 72.Rf2 Kxe4 73.g6 1-0

Radjabov to Round 3

Round 2, Game 7, Sept. 15
5+3
McShane, Luke – Yuffa, Daniil
B11 Caro-Kann, Two Knights

1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Nc3 Bg4 4.h3 Bxf3 5.Qxf3 e6 6.a3 g6 7.g3 Bg7 8.Bg2 Ne7 9.d3 Nd7 10.O-O O-O 11.Qe2 b5 12.Nb1 a5 13.Nd2 b4 14.Nf3 Rb8 15.axb4 axb4 16.h4 h6 17.h5 g5 18.e5 c5 19.c3 Nc6 20.d4 bxc3 21.bxc3 cxd4 22.cxd4 g4 23.Nh2 Nxd4 24.Qxg4 Nf5 25.Bf4 Kh8 26.Rfe1 Rg8 27.Qd1 Rb4 28.Bd2 Rd4 29.Nf3 Re4 30.Bf4 Rxe1+ 31.Qxe1 Nc5 32.Bf1 Qb6 33.Rb1 Qa7 34.Kg2 Rb8 35.Rxb8+ Qxb8 36.g4 Ne7 37.Qe3 Qb4 38.Kh3 Ne4 39.Bxh6 Nxf2+ 40.Qxf2 Bxh6 41.g5 Bf8 42.Bd3 Qf4 43.Kg2 Qg4+ 44.Qg3 Qxh5 45.Qf4 Kg8 46.Qf6 Ng6 47.Kf1 Be7 48.Bxg6 Qh3+ 0-1

Yuffa to Round 3

Round 2, Game 3, Sept. 15
25+10
Jakovenko, Dmitry – Jones, Gawain
C78 Ruy Lopez, Moeller Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Bc5 6.c3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.d4 Bb6 9.a4 Rb8 10.a5 Ba7 11.h3 O-O 12.Be3 exd4 13.cxd4 Nb4 14.Nc3 Bb7 15.Re1 c5 16.Bg5 h6 17.Bh4 c4 18.Bc2 g5 19.Nxg5 hxg5 20.Bxg5 Nxc2 21.Qxc2 b4 22.Nd5 Bxd5 23.exd5 Bxd4 24.Qxc4 Bxb2 25.Rab1 Bc3 26.Qh4 Re8 27.Rxe8+ Qxe8 28.Bxf6 Bxf6 29.Qxf6 Qe5 30.Qxe5 dxe5 31.h4 Kf8 32.h5 Rd8 33.Rxb4 Rxd5 34.Rg4 e4 35.h6 Rh5 36.Rxe4 Rxh6 37.Re5 Rh4 38.f3 Ra4 39.Kh2 Kg7 40.Rc5 f6 41.g4 Kg6 42.Kg3 Ra3 43.Rf5 Ra4 44.Kf2 Ra3 45.Ke2 Rb3 46.Rc5 Ra3 47.Rd5 Kf7 48.Rc5 Kg6 49.Kf2 Kf7 50.Kg3 Ra4 51.g5 fxg5 52.Rxg5 Kf6 53.Rc5 Ke7 54.f4 Ra1 55.Kg4 Rg1+ 56.Kf5 Ra1 57.Kg6 Rg1+ 58.Rg5 Rf1 59.Re5+ Kd6 60.Rf5 Rg1+ 61.Rg5 Rf1 62.f5 Ke7 63.Rg2 Rf3 64.Re2+ Kf8 65.Re6 Rg3+ 66.Kf6 Rh3 67.Ke5 Re3+ 68.Kf4 Ra3 69.Rxa6 Kf7 70.Ra8 Kf6 71.a6 Ra4+ 72.Ke3 Ra3+ 73.Kd4 Kg7 74.a7 1-0

Jakovenko to Round 3

Round 2, Game 3, Sept. 15
25+10
Esipenko, Andrey – Svidler, Peter
D15 QGD Slav, Accepted

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 a6 5.Nc3 b5 6.b3 Bg4 7.Be2 e6 8.Ne5 Bxe2 9.Qxe2 Bd6 10.O-O O-O 11.Bb2 bxc4 12.bxc4 Nbd7 13.f4 c5 14.cxd5 cxd4 15.exd4 Nxd5 16.Ne4 N7f6 17.Nxd6 Qxd6 18.f5 Rab8 19.fxe6 Qxe6 20.Ba3 Rfc8 21.Rae1 Rc3 22.Bc5 Re3 23.Qf2 Ne4 24.Qxf7+ Qxf7 25.Nxf7 Rxe1 26.Rxe1 Nxc5 27.Ne5 Na4 28.Nc6 Rb6 29.Re8+ Kf7 30.Rc8 Nac3 31.Ne5+ Ke6 32.Re8+ Ne7 0-1

Svidler to Round 3

Round 2, Game 3, Sept. 15
25+10
Matlakov, Maxim – Gelfand, Boris
D43 QGD, Semi-Slav

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.e3 g6 8.Be2 Bg7 9.O-O O-O 10.Ne5 c5 11.cxd5 cxd4 12.exd4 exd5 13.Bf3 Nc6 14.Re1 Qd6 15.Nxf7 Rxf7 16.Bxd5 Bf5 17.g4 Bd7 18.Bxf7+ Kxf7 19.Nb5 Qb4 20.Qf3+ Kg8 21.Qd5+ Kh7 22.Qxd7 Qxb5 23.Re7 Rg8 24.Rae1 Qxb2 25.Qxb7 Qc2 26.Qc7 Qa4 27.Qd7 Qc4 28.Rf7 Nxd4 29.Ree7 Kh8 30.Kg2 Nc2 31.Qe6 Qd3 32.Re8 Rxe8 33.Qxe8+ Kh7 34.Qe5 Ne1+ 35.Qxe1 Qd5+ 36.Rf3 Qxa2 37.Qe4 1-0

Matlakov to Round 3

Round 3, Game 1 Pairings

Firouzja-Ding Liren
Giri-Xiong
Jakovenko-MVL
So-Vidit
Tomashevsky-Nepomniachtchi
Aronian-Matlakov
Safarli-Mamedyarov
Dominguez-Wang Hao
Xu Xiangyu-Grischuk
Radjabov-Yuffa
Le-Artemiev
Yu Yangyi-Wei Yi
Vitiugov-Karjakin
Nisipeanu-Svidler
Duda-Andreikin
Alekseenko-Harikrishna

16 matches

Vote for the best game of Round 1 and 2

An established jury of Maxim Notkin, Chief Editor of 64 Chess Review, Chairman, Evgenij Miroshnichenko, grandmaster and World Cup caster, Vladimir Barsky, Chief Editor of RCF Website, and Leontxo Garcia, commentator and a famous Spanish journalist, selected a shortlist of five best games out of the first two rounds of FIDE World Cup.

Svidler-Albornos

A spectacular tactical duel! Up to a very last moment it wasn't clear which king is getting mated, however, the more experienced player demonstrated deep and accurate calculation and elegantly refuted Black's dangerous yet premature attack.

Firouzja-Dubov

“Yet this one, restive, quests for tempests”. According to Dubov, this is his most spectacular loss ever. Daniil aimed at complications at all costs, voluntarily spoiling his pawn structure for dynamic play. The young Iranian grandmaster accepted the challenge. In a critical position, Firouzja sacrificed a piece, obtaining sufficient compensation – a passed pawn on the 7th rank. Black's attempt to rearrange his forces to survive was unsuccessful.

Sarin-Cori

The 15-year-old Indian teenager increased his positional advantage with impeccable technique, and finished the game in a very elegant manner – just like Karpov in the prime.

Mamedyarov-Kasimdzhanov

A brilliant attack by the grandmaster from Azerbaijan! He sacrificed two pieces in order to bring Black's king to the center, and then, combining attacking moves with threats to Black's queen, secured a decisive material advantage. White's play was fearless, resourceful, and required deep and accurate calculation.

Navara-Yuffa

Yuffa was defending during the first half of the game, but as soon as his opponent lost vigilance and made a slight error, the Russian found a petite combination, which gave him a stable positional advantage – a strong knight against a bad bishop. In addition, the white king's shelter was rather weak. Navara tried to carry out a pawn break on the queenside, but Yuffa skilfully denied him the counterplay. Black finished off the game with a direct and elegant attack.

[Hans Jung]

Radjabov scored first in rd 3 with a g4, gxf5 breakthru and sharp tactics (helped by his opponents nervous defence)

[Hans Jung]

Grischuk had sharp pressure on the kingside, his opponent chose to counterattack by capturing on g7 and eventually the pressure on his supporting knights was too much.

[Hans Jung]

Alekseenko - nice play with the rooks on 7th and 6th ranks led to large advantage.

[Hans Jung]

The Shak - high pressure tactics in the middlegame continue into a rook and pawn endgame with passed pawns.

[Hans Jung]

Jeffrey Xiong was prepared to be tested by Anish Giri and he passed the test. Anish headed for a position in the endgame where he was a pawn up but the pin on the knight meant that Anish could make no progress.

[Hans Jung]

Not all rook and pawn endings are drawn. The final position in Duda's game is a nice zugzwang.

[Hans Jung]

Wesley So demonstrated a textbook rook endgame win against Vidit.

[Hans Jung]

Sergei Karjakhin seemed to be holding and then an inexplicable blunder occurred. (very unusual for the minister of defence)

[Hans Jung]

Yu Yangyi missed a golden opportunity to head for a B+R and passed pawn vs N+R endgame and the game was drawn.

[Jeffrey Xu]

Sergei Karjakhin seemed to be holding and then an inexplicable blunder occurred. (very unusual for the minister of defence)

I don't think he really is the "minister of defence" anymore. Perhaps Ding Liren holds that title now.

[Wayne Komer]

World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia

September 16, 2019

Round Three

Game One

From the official site:

The biggest surprise of the day was Kirill Alekseenko (Russia) beating the higher-rated Pentala Harikrishna (India).

Alexander Grischuk (Russia) defeated Xu Xiangyu (China), Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan) won against Daniil Yuffa (Russia), Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan) was stronger than his compatriot Eltaj Safarli, Dmitry Andreikin (Russia) lost to Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland), Nikita Vitiugov (Russia) beat Sergey Karjakin (Russia), and Welsey So (USA) outplayed Santosh Vidit (India).

Tomashevsky-Nepomniachtchi, Jakovenko-Vachier-Lagrave, Ding Liren-Firouzja, Aronian-Matlakov, Dominguez-Wang Hao, Yu Yangyi-Wei Yi, Le Quang Liem-Artemiev, Giri-Xiong, and Nisipeanu-Svidler ended peacefully.

Round 3, Game 1, Sept. 16
Firouzja, Alireza – Ding, Liren
E20 Nimzo-Indian, Kmoch variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.f3 c5 5.d5 O-O 6.e4 b5 7.Nh3 bxc4 8.Bxc4 Nxd5 9.Bxd5 exd5 10.Qxd5 Nc6 11.O-O Ba6 12.Rf2 Re8 13.Bg5 Qb6 14.Be3 Ne5 15.Na4 Qa5 16.b3 c4 17.Nf4 Bb5 18.Nb2 cxb3 19.Qxb3 Rab8 20.Qd5 Qa3 21.Qb3 Qa5 22.Qd5 Qa3 23.Qb3 Qa5 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Game 1, Sept. 16
Alekseenko, Kirill – Harikrishna, Pentala
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 a6 7.a4 h6 8.Re1 O-O 9.h3 Re8 10.a5 Ba7 11.Qb3 Qe7 12.Be3 Bxe3 13.Rxe3 Rb8 14.d4 b5 15.axb6 cxb6 16.Nbd2 b5 17.Bf1 Qc7 18.d5 Ne7 19.c4 b4 20.Qa4 Nd7 21.Qa5 Qxa5 22.Rxa5 f5 23.Nb3 fxe4 24.Nfd2 Nf6 25.Nxe4 Nxe4 26.Rxe4 Bf5 27.Re1 Bc2 28.Nd2 Nf5 29.Rxa6 Red8 30.Rea1 Nd4 31.Ra7 Rf8 32.R1a6 Rbd8 33.Rb6 b3 34.Rbb7 g5 35.c5 dxc5 36.Bc4 Rf6 37.Re7 Kf8 38.Rxe5 Rf7 39.Ra6 Kg7 40.f3 Rdd7 41.d6 Rf8 42.Rxc5 Rfd8 43.Rd5 Nf5 44.Bxb3 Ne3 45.Re5 Rxd6 46.Rxd6 Rxd6 47.Rxe3 Rxd2 48.Bxc2 Rxc2 49.Rb3 h5 50.h4 gxh4 51.Kh2 Rc1 52.Rb4 1-0

Final position



Round 3, Game 1, Sept. 16
Dominguez, Leinier – Wang, Hao
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berln Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.O-O Qe7 7.Nbd2 Bg4 8.h3 Bh5 9.a3 a5 10.Nc4 Nd7 11.g4 Bg6 12.b4 Bb6 13.Nxb6 cxb6 14.Be3 O-O 15.Qd2 f6 16.Rab1 axb4 17.axb4 b5 18.Nh4 Ra2 19.Kh2 Rfa8 20.Rg1 Nf8 21.Nf5 Qd7 22.h4 h6 23.h5 Bxf5 24.gxf5 Kh8 25.Qd1 Nh7 26.Rg6 Nf8 27.Rg3 Nh7 28.Rg6 Nf8 29.Rg2 Nh7 30.Rg6 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Game 1, Sept. 16
Xu, Xiangyu – Grischuk, Alexander
D38 QGD, Ragozin variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 d5 5.Qa4+ Nc6 6.e3 O-O 7.Qc2 b6 8.Bd2 Bb7 9.a3 Bd6 10.cxd5 exd5 11.Bd3 a6 12.Ne2 Ne7 13.Bc3 Ne4 14.Bxe4 dxe4 15.Ng5 Nd5 16.Nxe4 Qh4 17.N4g3 Nxc3 18.Nxc3 Bxg2 19.Rg1 Bf3 20.Nf5 Qxh2 21.Rxg7+ Kh8 22.Ne4 Bh5 23.Nf6 Bg6 24.O-O-O Be7 25.Qc6 Bxf5 26.Rdg1 Bg6 27.R1xg6 hxg6 28.Rh7+ Qxh7 29.Nxh7 Kxh7 30.Kd2 Bd6 31.e4 Rad8 32.Ke3 Rfe8 33.f4 Re6 34.e5 Kg7 35.Qb7 c5 36.d5 Re7 37.Qxb6 Bxe5 38.fxe5 Rxe5+ 39.Kf3 Rexd5 0-1

Round 3, Game 1, Sept. 16
So, Wesley – Vidit, Gujrathi
D38 QGD, Ragozin

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Qa4+ Nc6 6.e3 O-O 7.Qc2 Re8 8.Bd2 a6 9.a3 Bd6 10.Rd1 Bd7 11.h3 h6 12.c5 Bf8 13.Ne5 Nxe5 14.dxe5 Ne4 15.Nxe4 dxe4 16.Ba5 Qc8 17.g4 Bc6 18.Bg2 Rd8 19.Rxd8 Qxd8 20.Bxe4 Bxe4 21.Qxe4 Bxc5 22.Qxb7 Rb8 23.Qxc7 Qxc7 24.Bxc7 Rxb2 25.O-O Rc2 26.Bd6 Bxd6 27.exd6 Rd2 28.Rb1 Rxd6 29.Rb8+ Kh7 30.Rb7 Kg6 31.Ra7 Kf6 32.h4 Rc6 33.Kg2 g5 34.Kg3 gxh4+ 35.Kxh4 Kg6 36.a4 Rc2 37.Kg3 Rc6 38.a5 Kf6 39.e4 Kg6 40.f3 Kf6 41.Kf4 e5+ 42.Kg3 Kg7 43.Ra8 Kh7 44.Rd8 Kg7 45.Ra8 Kh7 46.Kf2 Kg7 47.Kg2 Rc2+ 48.Kg3 Rc6 49.Ra7 Kf8 50.Kf2 Kg7 51.Kg2 Rc2+ 52.Kg3 Rc6 53.Rd7 Kf8 54.Rd5 Re6 55.Rc5 Ke8 56.Kh4 Kf8 57.Kh5 Kg7 58.g5 hxg5 59.Kxg5 Rh6 60.Kf5 Rf6+ 61.Kxe5 Rxf3 62.Rc6 Rh3 63.Kd5 Rd3+ 64.Kc5 Re3 65.Kd4 Ra3 66.Rxa6 Ra1 67.e5 Rd1+ 68.Kc5 Rc1+ 69.Kd5 Rd1+ 70.Kc6 Re1 71.Rb6 Rxe5 72.a6 Re7 73.Rb7 Re6+ 74.Kb5 Re5+ 75.Kb6 Re6+ 76.Ka5 Re5+ 77.Rb5 Re7 78.Rc5 Kg6 79.Kb6 f5 80.a7 Re8 81.Kb7 Kg5 82.Rc8 Re7+ 83.Kb8 Rxa7 84.Kxa7 Kf4 85.Kb6 Ke3 86.Re8+ Kd3 87.Rf8 Ke4 88.Kc5 f4 89.Kc4 Ke3 90.Kc3 f3 91.Re8+ Kf2 92.Kd2 Kf1 93.Ke3 1-0

Position after Black’s 72…Re7. Looks like White and Black don’t want to play together!



Round 3, Game 1, Sept. 16
Vitiugov, Nikita – Karjakin, Sergey
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nbd2 O-O 7.Qe2 Nd7 8.Nc4 Re8 9.Bd2 b5 10.Ne3 Nf8 11.h4 a5 12.a4 Bb6 13.h5 Ne6 14.Qd1 Nd4 15.h6 g6 16.Nxd4 Qxd4 17.axb5 cxb5 18.Qf3 Qd8 19.Nd5 f5 20.Nxb6 cxb6 21.exf5 Bxf5 22.Qb7 Re7 23.Qc6 Bd7 24.Qd5+ Re6 25.O-O Qe8 26.Rae1 Bc6 27.Qa2 Qf7 28.Re3 Rae8 29.Rfe1 R6e7 30.b3 b4 31.Qa1 Qf6 32.R1e2 Bd5 33.Qe1 Re6 34.Bc1 Qh4 35.Bb2 Bc6 36.Rh3 Qg5 37.Rg3 Qxh6 38.Bxe5 Qh4 39.Ree3 Qe7 40.Bd4 b5 41.Bb6 Qd6 42.Rxe6 Rxe6 43.Re3 Rxe3 44.Qxe3 a4 45.Bc5 Qd5 46.f3 axb3 47.cxb3 Qxb3 48.Qe5 Qf7 49.Bd4 Kf8 50.Bc5+ Kg8 51.Bd4 Kf8 52.Kf2 Qd5 53.Bc5+ 1-

Position after 52…Qd5?? 53.Bc5+



- Bad blunder by K.
- Big win for Vitiugov!
- Very impressive to crack Karjakin’s Berlin
- Wow. What a blunder! Maybe worst blunder ever by K.
- No Karjakin at next year’s Candidates.

Round 3, Game 1, Sept. 16
Tomashevsky, Evgeny – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
E60 King’s Indian

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 c6 5.Bg2 d5 6.cxd5 cxd5 7.Ne5 Ne4 8.Nd2 Nf6 9.Nb1 Ne4 10.O-O O-O 11.Nc3 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Nc6 13.Nxc6 bxc6 14.Qa4 Qb6 15.Ba3 Qa6 16.Qxa6 Bxa6 17.Rfb1 Rfb8 18.Bxe7 Bxe2 19.Bf1 Bxf1 20.Kxf1 Bf8 21.Bxf8 Kxf8 22.Ke2 Ke7 23.Kd3 Kd6 24.Rb3 Rb6 25.Re1 Rab8 26.Kc2 h5 27.h4 Kd7 28.Re3 Kd6 29.Re1 Kd7 30.Re3 Kd6 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Game 1, Sept. 16
Yu, Yangyi – Wei, Yi
D85 Grunfeld, Exchange variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Qa4+ Nd7 8.Nf3 O-O 9.Be2 Nb6 10.Qb4 Qd6 11.O-O Bd7 12.Be3 Qxb4 13.cxb4 Bc6 14.Nd2 f5 15.f3 Rfd8 16.b5 Be8 17.Nb3 Bf7 18.Rac1 fxe4 19.fxe4 Bxb3 20.axb3 Bxd4 21.Bxd4 Rxd4 22.Rxc7 Rxe4 23.Bf3 Re3 24.b4 Rf8 25.Rxb7 Rf4 26.Rb1 Nc4 27.Rxa7 Nd2 28.Rb2 Nxf3+ 29.gxf3 Rexf3 30.Kg2 Rf8 31.Re2 Rb3 32.Rexe7 Rb2+ 33.Kg3 Rb3+ 34.Kg2 Rb2+ 35.Kg3 Rb3+ 36.Kg2 1/2-1/2

- Call me crazy, but my money is on China in this matchup.

Round 3, Game 1, Sept. 16
Giri, Anish – Xiong, Jeffery
D26 QGA, Classical variation

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 dxc4 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.O-O Nc6 7.Nc3 a6 8.Re1 h6 9.d5 exd5 10.Nxd5 Ne4 11.Nc3 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Be7 13.Bd5 Bf6 14.Bxc6+ bxc6 15.Qxd8+ Kxd8 16.Rd1+ Kc7 17.e4 g5 18.Be3 Be7 19.Ne5 Be6 20.f4 Bd6 21.Nd3 c4 22.Nc5 gxf4 23.Rab1 Bc8 24.Bd4 Re8 25.Kf2 Rb8 26.Rxb8 Kxb8 27.Kf3 Rg8 28.Rb1+ Kc7 29.e5 Be7 30.Rb2 h5 31.Ne4 Be6 32.Bc5 Bxc5 33.Nxc5 Rg4 34.Nxa6+ Kc8 35.Rb8+ Kd7 36.Rb7+ Kc8 37.Rb8+ Kd7 38.Nc5+ Kc7 39.Rb7+ Kc8 40.Ra7 Bd5+ 41.Ne4 Rg5 42.Rxf7 Rxe5 43.Rxf4 Kc7 44.Ke3 c5 45.h4 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Game 1, Sept. 16
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Andreikin, Dmitry
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 a5 7.Re1 h6 8.Nbd2 O-O 9.Nf1 Be6 10.Bb5 Bb6 11.h3 Ne7 12.d4 exd4 13.cxd4 d5 14.e5 Ne4 15.Ng3 Nxg3 16.fxg3 Bf5 17.Bd3 c5 18.dxc5 Bxc5+ 19.Kh2 d4 20.Bxf5 Nxf5 21.Qc2 Qc8 22.g4 Ne3 23.Bxe3 dxe3 24.g5 Ba7 25.Qe4 Qe6 26.gxh6 Qxh6 27.Qxb7 Qf4+ 28.Kh1 Rfb8 29.Qd5 Rd8 30.Qxa5 Bd4 31.Qb5 Rab8 32.Qc4 Rbc8 33.Qe2 Bxe5 34.a4 Bd4 35.Nxd4 Rxd4 36.a5 Ra4 37.Qg4 Qxg4 38.hxg4 Rxg4 39.Rxe3 Rb4 40.a6 Kf8 41.Rc3 Ra8 42.Rc7 Rxb2 43.a7 g6 44.Rf1 Kg7 45.Rcxf7+ Kh6 46.Ra1 Kg5 47.Kh2 Rb3 48.Kg1 Rb2 49.Ra5+ Kh6 50.Kh2 Rb3 51.Re7 Rc3 52.Rb7 1-0

Position after 51….Rc3?



(to be continued)

[Wayne Komer]

World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia

September 16, 2019

Round Three

Game One (continued)

Round 3, Game 1, Sept. 16
Safarli, Eltaj – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
C41 Philidor, Exchange variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Be7 6.Be2 O-O 7.O-O Re8 8.Re1 Bf8 9.Bg5 h6 10.Bh4 g5 11.Bg3 Nxe4 12.Nxe4 Rxe4 13.Bf3 Rxe1+ 14.Qxe1 c6 15.Rd1 Qf6 16.c4 Na6 17.b4 Nxb4 18.Qxb4 c5 19.Qb2 cxd4 20.Bd5 Bg7 21.Re1 Be6 22.Qxb7 Bxd5 23.Qxd5 Rc8 24.Bxd6 Rd8 25.Be7 Rxd5 26.Bxf6 Rc5 27.Bxg7 Kxg7 28.Rc1 Kf6 29.Kf1 Ke5 30.Ke2 Ra5 31.Rc2 Ra3 32.Kd2 Kd6 33.Rb2 Kc5 34.Rb7 Kxc4 35.Rc7+ Kd5 36.Rd7+ Ke5 37.Rxf7 Rxa2+ 38.Kd3 Ra3+ 39.Kd2 a5 40.Re7+ Kd6 41.Rh7 a4 42.Rxh6+ Kc5 43.Ra6 Kb5 44.Ra8 Rc3 45.Rb8+ Kc4 0-1

Some people surprised that Safarli resigned here. Final position



Round 3, Game 1, Sept. 16
Radjabov, Teimour – Yuffa, Daniil
B11 Caro-Kann, Two Knights

1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Nc3 Bg4 4.h3 Bxf3 5.Qxf3 e6 6.Be2 Bc5 7.O-O Ne7 8.Qg3 O-O 9.d3 Nd7 10.Kh1 f5 11.Bg5 Bd4 12.Qd6 Bf6 13.f4 Rf7 14.Bxf6 Rxf6 15.e5 Rf7 16.d4 Nc8 17.Qb4 Qb6 18.a3 c5 19.Qxb6 Ncxb6 20.Nb5 Re7 21.b3 cxd4 22.Nxd4 Nc5 23.g4 Ne4 24.Rg1 Rf8 25.gxf5 exf5 26.h4 g6 27.Rg2 Kf7 28.h5 Rh8 29.Rag1 Ree8 30.a4 a6 31.a5 Nd7 32.c4 dxc4 33.e6+ Rxe6 34.Bxc4 Nf8 35.hxg6+ hxg6+ 36.Rh2 Rg8 37.Nxe6 Nxe6 38.Rh6 Nf2+ 39.Kg2 Ne4 40.Kh2 Nf2 41.Bxe6+ Kxe6 42.Rhxg6+ Rxg6 43.Rxg6+ Kd7 44.Rb6 Kc7 45.Kg3 1-0

Round 3, Game 1, Sept. 16
Jakovenko, Dimitry – MVL
A15 English Opening

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 O-O 7.Nc3 Qc7 8.Qd3 Nc6 9.O-O d6 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.Bf4 Nh5 12.Bg5 Rb8 13.b3 Qa5 14.Bd2 Bb7 15.b4 Qc7 16.Rab1 Nf6 17.Bf4 Ng4 18.c5 Ne5 19.cxd6 exd6 20.Bxe5 Bxe5 21.Rfc1 Qe7 22.e3 Rfd8 23.a4 d5 24.Ne2 Ba8 25.Nd4 Rxb4 26.Nxc6 Bxc6 27.Rxb4 Qxb4 28.Rxc6 Qxa4 29.Rc5 Qa1+ 30.Bf1 Qa2 31.Bg2 Qa1+ 32.Bf1 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Game 1, Sept. 16
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter – Svidler, Peter
C91 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Bogolyubov variation

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 d6 9.c3 Bg4 10.Be3 exd4 11.cxd4 Na5 12.Bc2 Nc4 13.Bc1 c5 14.b3 Nb6 15.Nbd2 Nfd7 16.h3 Bh5 17.a4 bxa4 18.bxa4 a5 19.dxc5 Nxc5 20.Rb1 Re8 21.Rb5 Qc7 22.Bb2 Bf8 23.Qa1 Bg6 24.Nh4 d5 25.Nxg6 hxg6 26.e5 Nc4 27.Nxc4 dxc4 28.Rc1 Rab8 29.Qa2 Nd7 30.Rxb8 Qxb8 31.Bxg6 fxg6 32.Rxc4 Re6 33.Rc6 Nc5 34.Rxe6 Nxe6 35.Qxe6+ Kh7 36.Bd4 Qb4 37.Qd7 Bc5 38.Bxc5 Qe1+ 39.Kh2 Qxe5+ 40.g3 Qxc5 41.Kg2 Qc4 42.Qg4 Qc6+ 43.Kh2 Qc5 44.Qf4 Qc2 45.h4 Qc5 46.Kg1 Qd5 47.Qg4 Kg8 48.Qc8+ Kh7 49.Qc2 Kh8 50.Kf1 Kh7 51.Ke2 Qd4 52.Qc6 Qb4 53.Kf3 Qb3+ 54.Kg2 Qb4 55.f3 Qd4 56.Qe4 Qd2+ 57.Kh3 Qd1 58.Qc6 Qd4 59.Qc2 Qg1 60.Qd3 Qa1 61.Qc4 Qb1 62.Qc3 Qd1 63.Qxa5 Qxf3 64.Qd2 Qh1+ 65.Kg4 Qe4+ 66.Qf4 Qe6+ 67.Kf3 Qb3+ 68.Kg2 Qc2+ 69.Kh3 Qc6 70.Qd4 Qf3 71.Qc4 Qh1+ 72.Kg4 Qd1+ 73.Kf4 Qd6+ 74.Kf3 Qd1+ 75.Kg2 Qd2+ 76.Kh3 Qe1 77.Qd5 Qf1+ 78.Kh2 Qf2+ 79.Qg2 Qe1 80.Qc2 Qe5 81.Qd2 Qa1 82.a5 Qa4 83.Qd5 Qc2+ 84.Kh3 Qe2 85.Qc6 Qe1 86.Qd5 Qe2 87.Qh1 Qe6+ 88.Kh2 Qa2+ 1/2-1/2

Final position



- These are the two oldest players now (with Gelfand out)

- While Peter Svidler is fighting a pawn down against Nisipeanu his second Kirill Alekseenko is close to beating Harikrishna!

- "I almost resigned" Peter can be overheard saying in the postmortem after his game vs. Nisipeanu ends in an 88-move draw!

Round 3, Game 1, Sept. 16
Aronian, Levon – Matlakov, Maxim
A09 Reti, Advance variation

1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 d4 3.b4 c5 4.Bb2 Nf6 5.g3 Qc7 6.Bg2 e5 7.O-O Nc6 8.b5 Ne7 9.e3 Ng6 10.a4 Be7 11.a5 Rb8 12.d3 O-O 13.Nbd2 Bf5 14.Qb3 h6 15.Rfe1 b6 16.Ra3 Rfd8 17.Qa2 Rd7 18.Nf1 Rbd8 19.N3d2 Bf8 20.exd4 cxd4 21.axb6 axb6 22.Rb3 Re7 23.Ra3 Red7 24.Rb3 Re7 25.Ra3 Red7 1/2-1/2

Round 3, Game 1, Sept. 16
Le, Quang Liem – Artemiev, Vladislav
C60 Ruy Lopez, Fianchetto (Smyslov-Barnes) Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.c3 a6 5.Ba4 d6 6.d4 Bd7 7.Bg5 f6 8.Be3 Bh6 9.Qd2 Bxe3 10.Qxe3 Kf8 11.dxe5 fxe5 12.c4 Kg7 13.Nc3 Nf6 14.h3 Nb4 15.a3 b5 16.Bd1 Nc6 17.Be2 bxc4 18.Bxc4 Qb8 19.Nd5 Qa7 20.Nxf6 Qxe3+ 21.fxe3 Kxf6 22.O-O Nd8 23.Rac1 a5 24.Rc2 Ke7 25.Ng5 Be8 26.Bf7 Ra7 27.Bxe8 Kxe8 28.Rcf2 h6 29.Nf7 Rh7 30.Nxd8 Kxd8 31.Rf8+ Ke7 32.Rb8 Rf7 33.Rxf7+ Kxf7 34.Kf2 Ke6 35.Ke2 Ra6 36.Kd3 Rc6 37.Rg8 Kf6 38.Ra8 Rc5 39.h4 1/2-1/2

The broadcast team of Miroshnichenko and Yermolinsky has been a pleasant surprise. They go well together and Yermo has a fund of great chess stories.

[Hans Jung]

In the second game of round 3 Grischuk scored first - a beautiful strategic win. Ne5 then the e4 break opening the play, exchanges and then his opponent had the choice to defend passively or capture Ne5 with the bishop. After the capture Grischuk played Qf6 and Rd6 and doubled rooks with a hugh black square bind that won the game. Pretty as a picture.