World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia

[Hans Jung]

Congratulations to Firouzja for holding Ding Liren to two draws. Now come the playoffs tomorrow for the two of them.

[Hans Jung]

I like Shak's approach. d3-d4-d5-d6. The offending D pawn is finally eliminated but White has too much play on the dark squares = draw offer. The Shak advances to round 4.

[Hans Jung]

Radjabov's play with the knight and weak pawns is impressive, in the tradition of Nimzovitch. With this game the last of the real underdogs, Yuffa, is eliminated.

[Fred McKim]

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.

Hans: A couple of us non-Masters were wondering how Grischuk ulmitaely breaks though (we followed Stockfish's analysis - but still don't see the concrete finishing punch)

[Hans Jung]

The computer doesnt give good lines. Its virtually zugzwang. The slow way is white K to the A-file and up. The black queenside pawns cant move or at least one will be lost and the black rook has to stay on the 7th. If the black N xBf6 then e5xf6 and eventual Re7.

[Hans Jung]

Give Aronian two knights and he can work miracles. The computer pointed out better move along the way but I like Levon's play.

[Hans Jung]

I liked Jeffrey Xiong's confident play and the nice way he played the endgame (even though it was a draw).

[Hans Jung]

Ive got a feeling MVL missed a win in that endgame but end result is a draw.

[Wayne Komer]

World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia

September 17, 2019

Round Three

Game Two

Some biographic details from Yermolinsky:

Born in 1958 in Leningrad, The USSR. (Of course, now it's St. Peterburg, Russia). Began to play chess at 8, progressed slowly, but established myself in the top ten in the country by my high school years. Quit college after a couple of years, took a factory job. Scored my USSR Master of Sports (roughly USCF Senior Master) norm at 19. Worked as a chess coach 1981-1988, worked with Levitina and Khalifman. Played reasonably well, but could never qualify for the USSR Premier League.

Emigrated to the US in 1989 and took a job with a New Jersey pharmaceutical company. Played chess on weekends, got my FIDE up to 2615, was awarded the GM title during the Manila Olympiad in 1992. Became a full-time chessplayer in 1993. Won a lot of money in various opens and spent it all!

http://web.archive.org/web/200202020...rmo/diary.html

And an interesting note by Carlos Alberto Colodro in ChessBase:

Mednyi Vsadnik (Bronze Horseman), a club based in Saint Petersburg, are the current European and Russian champions, and no less than five of their members are still going strong in the World Cup: Peter Svidler, Leinier Dominguez, Nikita Vitiugov, Maxim Matlakov and Kirill Alekseenko.

While Dominguez and Matlakov signed rather quick draws, Vitiugov and Alekseenko scored remarkable wins over Sergey Karjakin and Pentala Harikrishna. Meanwhile, the long-time leader of the team, Peter Svidler, saved a half point in a complicated queen endgame against Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu. Curiously, no pair of teammates would meet in the next round even if they all go through. It's been a superb couple of years for the club, and there is a good chance one of their members will represent them in the next Candidates Tournament.

https://en.chessbase.com/post/world-cup-2019-r3-d1

Round 3, Game 2, Sept. 17
Ding, Liren – Firouzja, Alireza
E05 Catalan, open, Classical line

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Nc6 9.Qxc4 Na5 10.Qc2 b6 11.Ne5 Bb7 12.Bxb7 Nxb7 13.Nc6 Qe8 14.Rd1 Bc5 15.Ne5 Bd6 16.Nc3 c5 17.Ne4 Nxe4 18.Qxe4 cxd4 19.Nc4 Nc5 20.Nxd6 Nxe4 21.Nxe8 Rfxe8 22.Rxd4 Nf6 23.Be3 Rec8 24.Rd6 Rc2 25.Rc1 Rxb2 26.Rxb6 Rxb6 27.Bxb6 h6 28.a5 Nd5 29.Rc6 Ne7 30.Rd6 Rc8 31.e4 Rc1+ 32.Kg2 Nc6 33.Kf3 Kf8 34.Ke2 1/2-1/2

Players go to tiebreak tomorrow

Round 3, Game 2, Sept. 17
Harikrishna, Pentala – Alekseenko, Kirill
C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Nc6 9.Qxc4 Na5 10.Qc2 b6 11.Ne5 Bb7 12.Bxb7 Nxb7 13.Nc6 Qe8 14.Rd1 Bc5 15.Ne5 Bd6 16.Nc3 c5 17.Ne4 Nxe4 18.Qxe4 cxd4 19.Nc4 Nc5 20.Nxd6 Nxe4 21.Nxe8 Rfxe8 22.Rxd4 Nf6 23.Be3 Rec8 24.Rd6 Rc2 25.Rc1 Rxb2 26.Rxb6 Rxb6 27.Bxb6 h6 28.a5 Nd5 29.Rc6 Ne7 30.Rd6 Rc8 31.e4 Rc1+ 32.Kg2 Nc6 33.Kf3 Kf8 34.Ke2 1/2-1/2

Alekseenko to Round 4

Round 3, Game 2, Sept. 17
Wang, Hao – Dominguez, Leinier
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.Re1 Re8 11.Rxe8+ Nxe8 12.d5 b6 13.a4 a5 14.Na3 Nd6 15.c3 Bg5 16.Nb5 Nxb5 17.Bxb5 Bb7 18.Qd3 Bxc1 19.Rxc1 c6 20.Bc4 Qg5 21.Rd1 Re8 22.Qh3 cxd5 23.Qxd7 Qe7 24.Qxe7 Rxe7 25.f3 Rd7 26.Bb5 Rd6 27.b4 Kf8 28.bxa5 bxa5 29.c4 Ke7 30.c5 Re6 31.Kf2 g5 32.h3 h6 33.Rc1 Bc8 34.g4 Kd8 35.Rd1 Re5 36.Bc6 Be6 37.Rd4 Kc7 38.Bb5 f5 39.Rd2 f4 40.Rd3 Bf7 41.Rd1 1/2-1/2

Players go to tiebreaks tomorrow

Round 3, Game 2, Sept. 17
Grischuk, Alexander – Xu, Xiangyu
E10 Queen’s Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 g6 5.Bg2 Bg7 6.O-O O-O 7.b3 Nc6 8.Bb2 b6 9.Nbd2 Bb7 10.Rc1 Ne7 11.Qc2 Rc8 12.Rfd1 Re8 13.Ne5 Nd7 14.Nd3 Nf6 15.Ne5 h5 16.e4 dxe4 17.Nxe4 Nxe4 18.Bxe4 Bxe4 19.Qxe4 c6 20.Qf3 Bxe5 21.dxe5 Qc7 22.h3 Rcd8 23.Qf6 Nc8 24.Rd6 Qe7 25.Qxe7 Nxe7 26.Rcd1 Rb8 27.Bc1 c5 28.Bg5 Rb7 29.g4 Rc7 30.Rd8 Rxd8 31.Rxd8+ Kh7 32.Bf6 Ng8 33.g5 1-0

Grischuk goes on to Round 4

Round 3, Game 2, Sept. 17
Vidit, Gurathi – So, Wesley
A29 English, Bremen

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Bc5 7.O-O O-O 8.d3 Re8 9.Nxd5 Qxd5 10.Bd2 Qd8 11.Rc1 Bb6 12.b4 Nd4 13.a4 a6 14.Bc3 Nxf3+ 15.Bxf3 c6 16.b5 cxb5 17.axb5 axb5 18.Qb3 Bd7 19.Bxb7 Rb8 20.Be4 Qf6 21.e3 Bf5 22.Bb4 Bxe4 23.dxe4 h5 24.Qd1 Qg6 25.Qf3 Bd8 26.Rfd1 Be7 27.Rb1 Bxb4 28.Rxb4 Qg4 29.Kg2 f6 30.Rd5 Qxf3+ 31.Kxf3 g5 32.Ke2 Rec8 33.f4 exf4 34.gxf4 gxf4 35.Rxh5 fxe3 36.Kxe3 Kf7 37.h4 Rh8 38.Rbxb5 Rxb5 39.Rxh8 Kg7 40.Ra8 Rh5 41.Ra7+ Kg6 42.Ra6 Kg7 43.Ra7+ Kg6 44.Ra6 Kg7 45.Ra7+ 1/2-1/2

So goes on to Round 4

Round 3, Game 2, Sept. 17
Karjakin, Sergey -Vitiugov, Nikita
C54 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.O-O a6 7.a4 Ba7 8.Re1 O-O 9.h3 Kh8 10.b4 Ng8 11.Nbd2 f5 12.b5 Nce7 13.bxa6 bxa6 14.Ba2 Nf6 15.exf5 Nxf5 16.Ng5 Qe8 17.d4 h6 18.Ngf3 Bb7 19.dxe5 dxe5 20.Rxe5 Qg6 21.Qc2 Nh5 22.Re6 Bxf2+ 23.Kxf2 Qg3+ 24.Kg1 Nf4 25.Nf1 Nxh3+ 26.Kh1 Nf2+ 27.Kg1 Nh3+ 28.Kh1 Nf2+ 29.Kg1 Nh3+ 30.Kh1 Nf2+ 1/2-1/2

Vitiugov the Round 4

Round 3, Game 2, Sept. 17
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Tomashevsky, Evgeny
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.Re1 Re8 11.c3 Rxe1 12.Qxe1 Ne8 13.d5 Qe7 14.Qd1 b6 15.Na3 Bb7 16.g3 Nd6 17.Bg2 Bg5 18.Nc2 Re8 19.Be3 Nf5 20.d6 Nxd6 21.Bxg5 Qxg5 22.Bxb7 Nxb7 23.Qxd7 Qe7 24.Qc6 Qe4 25.Qxe4 Rxe4 26.Kf1 Kf8 27.Rd1 Re8 28.Rd7 Re7 29.Rd5 c6 30.Rd1 Re6 31.Rd7 Re7 32.Rd4 g6 33.h4 h5 34.Rd1 Re6 35.f3 Nc5 36.b3 Ke7 37.Kf2 1/2-1/2

Players on to tiebreaks tomorrow

Round 3, Game 2, Sept. 17
Wei, Yi – Yu, Yangyi
C99 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Qc7 12.Nbd2 cxd4 13.cxd4 Nc6 14.Nb3 a5 15.Be3 a4 16.Nbd2 Bd7 17.a3 Rfc8 18.Bd3 Qb7 19.dxe5 Nxe5 20.Nxe5 dxe5 21.Nf3 Bc6 22.Nxe5 Bxe4 23.Bxe4 Nxe4 24.Qf3 Nd6 25.Qxb7 Nxb7 26.Rad1 Na5 27.Rd5 b4 28.axb4 Bxb4 29.Red1 f6 30.Rb5 Rab8 1/2-1/2

Players on to tiebreaks tomorrow

Round 3, Game 2, Sept. 17
Xiong, Jeffery – Giri, Anish
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.Re1 Re8 11.Rxe8+ Nxe8 12.d5 d6 13.Nd2 a5 14.a4 Bd7 15.Ra3 Bg5 16.Nc4 Bxc1 17.Qxc1 Nf6 18.Qd1 Qe7 19.Re3 Qf8 20.b3 b5 21.axb5 Bxb5 22.Rc3 Qb8 23.Qd4 a4 24.bxa4 Bxa4 25.Ne3 Bd7 26.Qc4 Ra7 27.h3 h6 28.Rb3 Rb7 29.Rxb7 Qxb7 30.Bd3 Kf8 31.Kh2 Qb6 32.g4 Bc8 33.Qb5 Qxb5 34.Bxb5 Ne4 35.Kg2 g5 36.Bd3 Nc3 37.Kg3 Bb7 38.Bc4 Kg7 39.Nf5+ Kf6 40.Nxh6 Bxd5 41.Bxd5 Nxd5 42.Nf5 Ke5 43.h4 gxh4+ 44.Nxh4 Nb4 45.f4+ Kd5 46.c3 Na2 47.c4+ Kxc4 48.g5 Nc3 49.Kg4 Ne4 50.f5 Kd5 51.Kf4 Nc5 52.Ng2 Nd3+ 53.Ke3 Nb4 54.Kf4 Nd3+ 55.Ke3 Nc5 56.Kf4 Nd7 57.Ne3+ Kd4 58.g6 fxg6 59.fxg6 Nf8 60.Nf5+ Kd3 61.Nxd6 Nxg6+ 62.Kf5 Nf8 1/2-1/2

Final position



Players go on to tiebreaks tomorrow

Round 3, Game 2, Sept. 17
Andreikin, Dmitry – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
D30 QGD Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Nbd2 b6 6.Bd3 Bb7 7.O-O Be7 8.e4 dxe4 9.Nxe4 Nbd7 10.Bf4 Nxe4 11.Bxe4 Nf6 12.Bc2 O-O 13.Qe2 c5 14.Rad1 cxd4 15.Be5 Nd7 16.Bxd4 Qc7 17.Ne5 Nxe5 18.Bxe5 Qc6 19.Qg4 g6 20.Rd3 Qe4 21.Qxe4 Bxe4 22.Rd7 Bxc2 23.Rxe7 f6 24.Bc3 e5 25.f4 Bd3 26.Rf3 Bxc4 27.fxe5 fxe5 28.b3 Rxf3 29.gxf3 Bf7 30.Rc7 a5 31.Bxe5 a4 32.bxa4 Bxa2 33.Rg7+ Kf8 34.Rxh7 Rxa4 35.Rb7 Ra6 36.Kf2 Bd5 37.Rd7 Be6 38.Bd6+ Kg8 39.Re7 Bd5 40.Re5 Ra2+ 41.Re2 Rxe2+ 1/2-1/2

Duda to Round 4

Round 3, Game 2, Sept. 17
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Safarli, Eltaj
A04 Reti, Dutch

1.Nf3 f5 2.d3 Nc6 3.d4 e6 4.g3 Nf6 5.Bg2 g6 6.c4 Bg7 7.d5 exd5 8.cxd5 Ne7 9.Nc3 c6 10.d6 Ned5 11.Nxd5 Nxd5 12.O-O Qf6 13.Ng5 h6 14.Bxd5 cxd5 15.Nf3 Qxd6 16.Bf4 Qe6 17.Nd4 Qb6 18.Nf3 Qe6 19.Nd4 Qb6 20.Nf3 Qe6 21.Nd4 1/2-1/2

Mamedyarov to Round 4

(to be continued)

[Wayne Komer]

World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia

September 17, 2019

Round Three

Game Two (continued)

Round 3, Game 2, Sept. 17
Yuffa, Daniil – Radjabov, Teimour
E21 Nimzo-Indian, Three Knights

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 b6 5.Bd2 Bb7 6.e3 Bxc3 7.Bxc3 Ne4 8.Bb4 d6 9.Bd3 O-O 10.O-O f5 11.Be1 Nd7 12.Nd2 Qg5 13.f4 Qg6 14.Nxe4 Bxe4 15.Bxe4 fxe4 16.Qa4 Nf6 17.Qc6 Qh5 18.Bf2 Rac8 19.b4 Qe8 20.d5 exd5 21.cxd5 Qxc6 22.dxc6 Nd5 23.a3 b5 24.Rfd1 Nb6 25.Rd4 Rfe8 26.g4 Rb8 27.Rc1 a6 28.Be1 Nc4 29.Rcxc4 bxc4 30.Rxc4 h5 31.Kg2 hxg4 32.Kg3 d5 33.Rc5 Rb5 34.f5 Rd8 35.Kf4 Rxc5 36.bxc5 d4 37.exd4 Rxd4 38.Ke5 Rd8 39.Ba5 Re8+ 40.Kd4 Re7 41.Bd2 Kf7 42.Bg5 Re8 43.Bf4 e3 44.Bxe3 Kf6 45.Bf4 Rd8+ 46.Ke4 Re8+ 47.Kd5 Rd8+ 48.Ke4 Re8+ 49.Kd5 Rd8+ 50.Ke4 Re8+ 1/2-1/2

In the interview after winning yesterday’s game, Teimour says that he still hasn’t regained the motivation he had before London (2013). He sees a lot of the players he played with leaving chess for other things and he wonders if it is time for him to say bye-bye.

Radjabov on to Round 4

Round 3, Game 2, Sept. 17
MVL – Jakovenko, Dmitry
C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, open variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.h3 Ne7 10.Nc3 Bd7 11.b3 Ng6 12.Bb2 Kc8 13.Rae1 h6 14.Nd2 Nf4 15.Ne2 Bb4 16.c3 Nxe2+ 17.Rxe2 Be7 18.c4 h5 19.e6 Bxe6 20.Bxg7 Rg8 21.Bc3 Bd6 22.Kh1 b5 23.cxb5 Bd5 24.Ne4 cxb5 25.Nxd6+ cxd6 26.f3 Kd7 27.Rd1 Be6 28.Re5 Rac8 29.Bb4 d5 30.Rxh5 Rc2 31.Rd2 Rxd2 32.Bxd2 Rc8 33.Be3 a5 34.f4 Rc3 35.Bb6 Rc1+ 36.Kh2 Rf1 37.Kg3 a4 38.Bf2 Kd6 39.Rh6 Kd7 40.Rh5 Kd6 41.f5 Bd7 42.Rh7 Bxf5 43.Rxf7 Ke6 44.Rb7 Ra1 45.bxa4 bxa4 46.Rb2 Bd3 47.Bd4 Rd1 48.Kf4 Bf1 49.Bc5 d4 50.a3 d3 51.Bb4 Rc1 52.Rf2 Be2 1/2-1/2

Players have tiebreak match tomorrow

Round 3, Game 2, Sept. 17
Svidler, Peter – Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter
C17 French, Winawer, Advance

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Ba5 6.b4 cxd4 7.Nb5 Bc7 8.f4 Bd7 9.Nxc7+ Qxc7 10.Bd3 Ba4 11.Bb2 Ne7 12.Nf3 Nbc6 13.Qd2 a6 14.O-O Qb6 15.Qf2 Bb5 16.Bxd4 Nxd4 17.Qxd4 Qxd4+ 18.Nxd4 Bxd3 19.cxd3 Rc8 20.Rac1 Kd7 21.Kf2 Rxc1 22.Rxc1 Rc8 23.Rxc8 Nxc8 24.Ke3 Ne7 25.a4 Nc6 26.Nxc6 Kxc6 27.d4 b5 28.a5 Kd7 29.g4 Ke7 30.h4 g6 31.h5 1/2-1/2

Players go to tiebreak tomorrow

Round 3, Game 2, Sept. 17
Matlakov, Maxim – 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 Kh8 12.Ne4 Be7 13.Ng3 Bxf3 14.Qxf3 f5 15.a4 a5 16.d4 f4 17.Nh5 g6 18.dxe5 gxh5 19.Qxh5 Qd3 20.Bf7 Rxf7 21.Qxf7 Rf8 22.Qh5 Bc5 23.Qf3 Qxf3 24.gxf3 Rf5 25.Re4 Nxe5 26.Bxf4 Bd6 27.Kg2 Nd5 28.Bg3 Ng6 29.Rd1 Kg7 30.h4 Kf7 31.Rd2 Nf6 32.Red4 Nf4+ 33.Kh2 Ne6 34.Rc4 Bxg3+ 35.fxg3 Rxf3 36.Kg2 Re3 37.g4 Ke7 38.Rf2 Ne4 39.Rf5 Nd6 0-1

Aronian to Round 4

Round 3, Game 2, Sept. 17
Artemiev, Vladislav – Le, Quang Liem
B44 English, Sicilian Szen

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.e4 Bb4 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.Bd3 e5 9.O-O O-O 10.h3 h6 11.Na4 d5 12.a3 Bd6 13.cxd5 cxd5 14.exd5 e4 15.Bc2 Qe7 16.Re1 Bf5 17.Nc3 Rab8 18.Be3 Be5 19.Bd4 Rfd8 20.Bxe5 Qxe5 21.Qc1 Rbc8 22.Qb1 Rb8 23.Qc1 Bg6 24.Qe3 Rxb2 25.Bxe4 Nxe4 26.Nxe4 Qxd5 27.Nc3 Qa5 28.Rad1 Rc8 29.Nd5 Kh7 30.Nf4 Rcc2 31.Nxg6 fxg6 32.Rf1 Re2 33.Qf3 Qe5 34.Qa8 Qb8 35.Qxb8 Rxb8 36.Rd7 Ra2 37.Rxa7 Rb3 38.a4 Rb4 39.a5 1/2-1/2

The players go on to the tiebreak

Third Round, TieBreaks

Ding Liren-Firouzja
Xiong-Giri
Jakovenko-MVL
Tomashevsky-Nepo
Wang Hao-Dominguez
Artemiev-Le Quang Liem
Yu Yangyi-Wei Yi
Nispipeanu-Svidler

(eight matches)
__________

From the official site:

Interview with grandmaster, commentator and coach Shipov:

-Sergey, today the players are continuing their fight in the third round of the World Cup. What do you think has been the most memorable thing at the Tournament so far?

-This tournament, as well as all the other Cups, is special because the battle is really unpredictable. No top player is guaranteed to get to the top. The biggest surprise at the last World Cup was that the world champion Magnus Carlsen lost in the second round. Now we’re not having that many real sensations except for maybe Hikaru Nakamura, who lost in the second round. In general all the strongest players are going up. At the same time now I have a suspicion that the third round would be fateful for many top players. For example, now, while I’m giving this interview, Karjakin is close to losing after his misfortunate first game.

-What’s the reason for such a shaky situation?

-The thing is that there are many strong players. At the same time there are only few names known to the public – Carlsen, Karjakin and a couple of others. Chess-lovers can name maximum of 10 players like there are nobody else. However, we – professionals – know that even 50th, 100th and even 150th rating numbers are very strong and are capable of anything. In knockout system every mistake can cost you getting out of the tournament and there’s no time to win it back. There is a possibility of randomness but it’s purely sportive. Mistakes are not brought by the wind, it’s the player’s responsibility. Yesterday Sergey Karjakin made a mistake himself in the drawing position. It was not tournament’s fault; it was his own fault. He has to make amends today. Fortunately to Sergey, there is another game today. Spectators and commentators adore such emotional intensity. There are no pass-through games. The best thing about knockout system is that each move is important. I always feel excitement at such tournaments, I just really enjoy watching them and every day is memorable. I’m a big fan of World Cups and I wish there were more Cups. Once in two years is not enough.

-Let’s get back to chess players. There are many young grandmasters at the World Cup this time. It requires well-developed self-control as it is hard to resist such pressure. Have you noticed anyone outstanding?

-Indeed, the knockout system requires maximum self-control. A chess player can play well but if he can’t stand the pressure, he would never be able to show what he is capable of. At this World Cup we see that the players do really well. I’m speaking about those with the nerves of steel. I’d like to notice Kirill Alekseenko from Saint-Petersburg. He has never been a star nor was he on the media but step by step he has been getting stronger and now it’s obvious that he is the experienced player. Now he is playing in the third round. Many other young players would be out of breath in his place. One would be terrified to play against the Indian player Harikrishna who is 100 points higher in rating than you. But look at Kirill – he keeps calm, cold-blooded and strong. In the first game he won him almost clean off. I hope he can make it through the second game. It’s clearly seen that he can keep himself together. Another good example is Alireza Firouzja, the 16-year-old player from Iran who is predicted to become the next world champion. His direction of change is just amazing and the thing he does at his age is really impressive. He was to play with the top seed of the tournament Ding Liren and made the draw in the first game. I wouldn’t be much surprised if he would be the one to knock out the leader of the tournament.

-Are there any reverse examples?

Yes, of course. Nihal Sarin, the 15-year-old Indian boy. You could see the clear nervous breakdown, the roughest miss of the piece. I am sure he would never miss this bishop in a casual game but it’s clear that this time the tension overwhelmed him and knocked him out.

-So, there’s possibility that the tournament’s favourite can lose his positions. Can you call it the Cup’s peculiarity?

-This is the peculiarity of the knockout system. Let’s take all 128 chess players who have come to Khanty-Mansiysk and put them into one round tournament in which everyone would play with everyone. In this case I’m sure Ding Liren would be among three best players or, at least, among five. Anyway, this format is unacceptable as it would take 6-12 months. Here, otherwise you can get out with each of your steps and that’s why this pattern is exciting and interesting.

- Russian Chess Federation and the company AB InBev Efes initiated the Brilliancy Prize at the World Cup. Among the nominees you can see the games by Svidler-Albornos, Firouzja – Dubov, Sarin-Cori, Mamedyarov – Kasimdzhanov and Navara – Yuffa. Would you name anyone else? And how can be the ‘fascination of the game’ measured?

-Experts were considering the games from the chess point of view. If the game was lost with the rough mistakes, it wouldn’t impress anyone much. The fascination of the game is measured in interesting combinations, sacrifices and suddenness. They are the criteria for the expert group. I would also add the game in which Nisipeanu beat Nakamura. It was a fantastic game and also important as one of the rating favourites was knocked out of the tournament.

- One last thing, it’s rainy and cold now in Khanty-Mansiysk. Does it affect your mood and the air time?

- You know, it was -35 degrees during my last visits here, so this is like resort now, I’m even enjoying it and my mood is fine. September is ideal time for Khanty-Mansiysk as there are no mosquitos and it’s not cold yet. This is just perfect for holding tournaments.

[Hans Jung]

Shipov interview - well said.

[Hans Jung]

Hans: A couple of us non-Masters were wondering how Grischuk ulmitaely breaks though (we followed Stockfish's analysis - but still don't see the concrete finishing punch)

Another way to solve the final position in the Grischuk game is to put the white king on a6. Once you see that is winning. Then you can also find Black's tries (moving queenside pawns or Ne7 or Nxf6) and figure out how White wins in all those lines. Its a good exercise (and basically how I did it). An interesting idea is playing h4 and when do you play that move

[John Upper]

Bareev games fully (overly?) annotated on CFC Newsfeed:

https://chess.ca/newsfeed/node/1179

[Hans Jung]

In rd 3 game 3 (playoffs) Firoujza misstepped in the endgame. Kudos to Ding Liren for keeping the pressure up.

[Hans Jung]

Wang Hao - Dominguez what a fight!