FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem 2019

**Hugh Brodie** · Sunday, 3rd November, 2019, 05:08 PM

Is there a random draw for numbers, or does 1 (by rating) play 16; 2 play 15 etc.?

**Patrick Gougeon** · Sunday, 3rd November, 2019, 08:45 PM

Not totally random:

The top four seeds are placed into different quarters of the draw, and the remaining starting positions are decided by the drawing of lots at the opening ceremony.

See Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIDE_Grand_Prix_2019

**Patrick Gougeon** · Monday, 4th November, 2019, 06:27 PM

For additional details on pairings for Grand Prix tournaments, see articles 5.5.2 and 5.5.3 in the following 'Regulations for the FIDE Grand Prix Series 2019':

https://www.fide.com/FIDE/handbook/F...tions_2019.pdf

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 28th November, 2019, 02:27 PM

FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem 2019

November 28, 2019

From the official FIDE site:

Teimour Radjabov to be replaced in FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem

Grandmaster Radjabov will be replaced at the 4th stage of the Grand Prix for medical reasons.

GM Teimour Radjabov was forced to withdraw from the 4th stage of the Grand Prix in Israel for medical reasons. He will be replaced according to the reserve list of Grand Prix participants published before the start of the tournament by FIDE.

FIDE confirms that it conducted a necessary study of the medical causes of GM Radjabov and confirms their validity. Out of respect for privacy, FIDE will not comment further on these reasons.

https://www.fide.com/news/230

**Wayne Komer** · Saturday, 30th November, 2019, 12:37 PM

FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem 2019

November 30, 2019

Levon Aronian Withdraws from Grand Prix Jerusalem

After thoughtful consideration and with the permission of FIDE president Mr. Dvorkovich, I regretfully have to withdraw from the FIDE Grand Prix in Jerusalem. Unfortunately, the dates clash with the treatment of my exhausting and troublesome breathing problems related to previous (and multiple) nasal surgeries which have not resolved the original issues. After the Kolkata GCT I was examined and by doctor’s request I will be treated in the 2nd week of December. My fighting spirit, love of chess, and determination to bring my brand of creativity to this sport cannot be understated and that is why I consider a withdrawal from any tournament a very serious matter and not a choice to be taken frivolously, especially for ambassadors of the sport who are privileged to play the tournaments I do.

So please know that I will take that week to get the treatment I need to come back healthier and stronger.

https://twitter.com/LevAronian/statu...25079564439552

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 5th December, 2019, 10:16 PM

FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem 2019

December 5, 2019

Replacements for Radjabov and Aronian

World Chess rarely has up-to-date news on its site. It has old news and caricatures of the top ten in the ratings.

I have heard from two sources, the replacements for Radjabov and Aronian but there is nothing official and the tournament starts in five days.

From the website capakaspa:

https://www.capakaspa.info/evenement...019-jerusalem/

Leinier Dominguez Perez replaces Levon Aronian

Wang Hao replaces Teimour Radjabov

**Wayne Komer** · Friday, 6th December, 2019, 12:40 PM

FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem 2019

December 6, 2019

Replacements for Radjabov and Aronian

Well, I should have waited for the official announcement on replacements. It is not Dominguez but Andreikin!

From the official FIDE site:

https://www.fide.com/news/248

Friday, 06 Dec 2019

Wang Hao and Andreikin join the Jerusalem Grand Prix

Following the withdrawal Teymour Radjabov and Levon Aronian for medical reasons, the field for the Jerusalem Grand Prix has been completed with the inclusion of Wang Hao (CHN, 2756) and Dmitry Andreikin (RUS, 2724).

Wang Hao is the first player from the list of reserve players published in February who was available and ready to take part in the tournament. As for Andreikin, he is the strongest player who was available following the rating list.

1 - Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA, 2780)
2 - Shakriyar Mamedyarov (AZE, 2772)
3 - Anish Giri (NED, 2769)
4 - Ian Nepomniachtchi (RUS, 2767)
5 - Wesley So (USA, 2760)
6 - Wang Hao (CHN, 2756)
7 - Sergey Karjakin (2754)
8 - Yu Yangyi (CHN, 2738)
9 - Veselin Topalov (BUL, 2737)
10 - Radoslav Wojtaszek (POL, 2725)
11 - Wei Yi (CHN, 2725)
12 - Pentala Harikrishna (IND, 2724)
13 - Dmitry Andreikin (RUS, 2724)
14 - David Navara (CZH, 2707)
15 - Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS, 2698)
16 - Boris Gelfand (2684)

This is the official website to the FIDE Grand Prix in Jerusalem organized by World Chess:

https://worldchess.com/news/guide-to...rand-prix-2019

**Wayne Komer** · Wednesday, 11th December, 2019, 01:25 AM

FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem 2019

December 11, 2019

Round One Pairings

Topalov-MVL

Wojtaszek-Andreikin

Yu,Yangyi-So

Nepomniachtchi-Gelfand

Wei Yi-Giri

Harikrishna-Karjakin

Navara-Wang Hao

Mamedyarov-Jakovenko

The rounds start at 3:00 PM Jerusalem time. Toronto/Montreal are seven hours behind that, so the games begin here at 8:00 AM.

**Wayne Komer** · Wednesday, 11th December, 2019, 09:58 PM

FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem 2019

December 11, 2019

Round One

From the FIDE official site:

https://www.fide.com/news/263

FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem: All draws on the first day

The fourth leg of the FIDE Grand Prix Series organized by World Chess started in the Notre Dame Center Jerusalem on December, 11. Since all eight games ended in a draw all sixteen players keep chances to advance in the next round.

After three major tournaments in Moscow, Riga, and Hamburg earlier this year, the grandmasters arrived in Jerusalem to compete in the final leg of FIDE Grand Prix. This part of the series will draw the line under the season 2019 and designate two participants for the following Candidates Tournament 2020.

The prize fund in each leg of the Grand Prix amounts to €130,000, with an additional €280,000 for the top 10 finishers in the overall standings. Thus, the total prize fund of the FIDE Grand Prix amounts to a total of €800,000. The major goal for the 21 participants, however, is to finish in the top two at the end of the Series and earn a spot in the Candidates Tournament. This event will then determine the challenger of Magnus Carlsen in the World Championship match.

The official Opening Ceremony was held at the Notre Dame Center Jerusalem. State officials, FIDE representatives, key members of the local community and, of course, and all participants assembled in a hall together with other chess devotees to share the moment of the start. Chief Arbiter Almog Burstein drew lots at the technical meeting.

The games Nepomniachtchi - Gelfand and Harikrishna - Karjakin finished after less than one hour of play with Karjakin and Gelfand, who had Black pieces expressing their satisfaction with the outcome.

Ian Nepomniachtchi went for a well-known theoretical line in Sicilian Anti-Sveshnikov but according to Gelfand, his opponent misplayed it, so the final position was very dry and none of the sides had real chances to play for a win.

“First of all, I'm happy to play in Jerusalem Grand Prix tournament as Grand Prix events are one of my favorite tournaments. I had so many memorable games there. It's also especially nice to play in Jerusalem in front of the local public" said Boris Gelfand after the game.

Pentala Harikrishna opted for a solid Ruy Lopez Berlin against Sergey Karjakin, and after grandmasters traded most of the pieces, the draw was agreed on move 21.

Veselin Topalov chose to open with 1.c4 against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave after he had unsuccessfully tried 1.e4 and 1.d4 in their previous mini-matches. “It was a good choice, as at least I managed not to lose the game. It's a good start, compared to my usual first matches” Veselin noted in the postgame interview.

A symmetrical English was played and, in fact, the former World Champion got an advantage right after the opening. He put a lot of pressure on his opponent today and the French Grandmaster, who came directly from the Grand Chess Tour finals in London, had to defend “a very suspicious position”. However, Veselin missed his opponent's counterplay with a piece sacrifice, which turned out to be good enough to maintain balance in the game.

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov recalled the last stage of Grand Prix in 2017 when he was watching the last game between Jakovenko and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave at home. In case of victory, MVL would have qualified for the Candidates 2018 instead of Shakhriyar. Jakovenko won that game and helped Mamedyarov to advance to the Candidates 2018. Ironically, Shakhriyar was paired against Dmitry Jakovenko in the first match of the fourth leg of Grand Prix and needs to win the match to keep his chances to play in the Candidates 2020 alive.

Shakhriyar had quite deep preparation in the opening today and remembered the line in the Nimzo-Indian till the endgame. In the post-game interview, he pointed out that 22.Kf1 was a bad move and he had to play Re1, Nf1-Ne3 instead, keeping good wining chances. Dmitry Jakovenko agreed that his position was quite unpleasant and was happy with the outcome.

The Catalan Opening appeared in the game Yu Yangyi vs. Wesley So. The American grandmaster went for a pawn sacrifice and suddenly the position became very complex and tactical. According to Wesley Black had sufficient compensation for equality but he was not sure about pressing for more.

Wang Hao misplayed the opening and let his opponent David Navara to obtain an advantage. David had more active pieces and was trying to use the weakness of the b7-pawn but Wang Hao was defending quite well and managed to hold a draw.

Anish Giri mixed up the move order in the opening and decided to give up an exchange by analogy with the same idea in a different line. Although Anish thought his position was lost after 20.c3 he nevertheless managed to hold it after a long and resilient defense.

As Anish Giri and Wei Yi were the last to finish their encounter, the Dutchman was asked if he thought it would be unfair to lose since all other games were drawn. “That was the only thing that kept me going. I saw that everybody else made a draw. I thought maybe it`s today's magic so I have to try to use it,” Anish confessed.

The participants of the Jerusalem Grand Prix passed on their warm wishes to the former World Champion Viswanathan Anand, who turned 50 on December 11.

___________

The commentator is Evgeniy Miroshnichenko. At one stage in the opening, he said that he thought that the game he was talking about had ended unexpectedly in a draw and both players got up and left the board and no arbiters came over to have them sign their score sheets. Then it became apparent that everyone had left the playing area and Miro asked if he shouldn’t leave too.

Someone in the Chat said that it was a missile alarm. The disruption was only a few minutes long. Later, chess24 reported that it was a false fire alarm.

Round 1, Dec. 11
Topalov, Veselin – MVL
A37 English, symmetrical variation

1.c4 c5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.Nc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.O-O Bf5 7.b3 Nf6 8.Bb2 Ne4 9.Na4 Bxb2 10.Nxb2 Qd7 11.Nh4 Nf6 12.Nxf5 Qxf5 13.e3 O-O 14.Na4 Rad8 15.a3 Qc8 16.Rc1 Kg7 17.Qc2 h5 18.h3 b6 19.Nc3 Rfe8 20.f4 e6 21.Qb2 Kg8 22.Ne2 Nh7 23.d4 cxd4 24.Nxd4 Nxd4 25.exd4 Nf6 26.Kh2 Kg7 27.b4 Qc7 28.a4 e5 29.fxe5 dxe5 30.c5 h4 31.cxb6 hxg3+ 32.Kh1 Qxb6 33.Rc6 Qxd4 34.Qxd4 Rxd4 35.Rcxf6 Re7 36.R6f3 1/2-1/2

Position after 35…Re7

A fascinating position in the big Topalov-MVL game, where Maxime has now given up a piece for what's likely to be 3 pawns!

Round 1, Dec. 11
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw – Andreikin, Dmitry
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.Be2 dxc4 8.O-O Nd5 9.Bxc4 N7b6 10.Nxd5 exd5 11.Bd3 c6 12.Qc2 h6 13.h3 Be6 14.Rad1 Nc4 15.b3 Nd6 16.Ne5 a5 17.a4 Qb6 18.Rc1 Rac8 19.f3 Ne8 20.Qb2 Nf6 21.Bg3 c5 22.Bb5 cxd4 23.exd4 Nh5 24.Bf2 Bg5 25.Rxc8 Rxc8 26.Re1 Bf5 27.Bd3 Bxd3 28.Nxd3 Nf4 29.Qb1 Qg6 30.Nxf4 Qxb1 31.Rxb1 Bxf4 32.Kf1 Bd2 33.Be1 Rc2 34.Bxd2 Rxd2 35.b4 Rxd4 36.bxa5 Rxa4 37.Rb5 d4 38.Ke2 Ra3 39.h4 g6 40.g4 Re3+ 41.Kf2 Ra3 42.Ke2 Kg7 43.Rxb7 Rxa5 44.Rd7 Ra2+ 45.Kd3 Rh2 46.Rxd4 Rxh4 47.Ke3 Rh2 48.Kf4 Rg2 49.Rd5 g5+ 50.Ke3 Ra2 51.Rb5 Kg6 52.Rb6+ f6 53.Rc6 Ra4 54.Kf2 Rf4 55.Kg3 h5 56.gxh5+ Kxh5 57.Ra6 Kg6 58.Rc6 Rd4 59.Ra6 Rd5 60.Rb6 Kf5 61.Ra6 Ke5 62.Rb6 f5 63.Rg6 Rd1 64.Rxg5 Rg1+ 65.Kh4 Rh1+ 66.Kg3 Kf6 67.f4 Rg1+ 68.Kf3 Rxg5 69.fxg5+ Kxg5 70.Kg3 f4+ 1/2-1/2

(to be continued)

**Wayne Komer** · Wednesday, 11th December, 2019, 09:59 PM

FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem 2019

December 11, 2019

Round One (continued)

Round 1, Dec. 11
Yu, Yangyi – So, Wesley
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.Nc3 Nc6 11.Nxc4 Nd5 12.Nxd5 exd5 13.Bxd5 Nb4 14.Be3 Be7 15.Be4 Be6 16.Na3 Bxa2 17.Nb5 Bc4 18.Nd4 Bd5 19.Bxd5 Nxd5 20.Nf5 Bb4+ 21.Bd2 Rfd8 22.O-O-O Rac8+ 1/2-1/2

Round 1, Dec. 11
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Gelfand, Boris
B30 Sicilian Defence

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Bc4 Be7 5.d3 d6 6.Nd2 Nf6 7.Nd5 O-O 8.Nf1 Nxd5 9.Bxd5 Be6 10.Ne3 1/2-1/2

Round 1, Dec. 11
Wei, Yi – Giri, Anish
B9- Sicilian, Najdorf, Byrne Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nf3 Be7 8.Nd2 b5 9.a4 b4 10.Nd5 Nxd5 11.exd5 O-O 12.Nc4 Nd7 13.a5 Rb8 14.Be2 f5 15.O-O Kh8 16.Ba7 Rb7 17.Bb6 Nxb6 18.Nxb6 Rxb6 19.axb6 Qxb6 20.c3 bxc3 21.bxc3 e4 22.Qd4 Qxd4 23.cxd4 Bf6 24.Ra4 Bb7 25.Bc4 Bxd4 26.Rb1 Ba8 27.Rxa6 Bc5 28.Ra5 g6 29.Rab5 Ba7 30.Ra5 Bc5 31.Kf1 Rd8 32.Rab5 Ba7 33.Ra5 Bd4 34.Ke2 Kg7 35.Rd1 Bb6 36.Ra4 Bc5 37.Bb5 Kf6 38.Bc6 Bxc6 39.dxc6 Ke5 40.Rb1 Rc8 41.Ra6 d5 42.Rb5 Bd6 43.g3 Bc7 44.Ra2 Rd8 45.Ra7 Rc8 46.Ra2 Rd8 47.Ra7 Rc8 48.Ke3 g5 49.f4+ exf3 50.Kxf3 Kd6 51.Ra2 Re8 52.Rc2 Re4 53.Rd2 Re5 54.Rb1 h5 55.Rc1 Re4 56.Rcd1 Re5 57.Rc1 Re4 58.Rcd1 Re5 59.Rc1 1/2-1/2

Position after Black’s 33….Bd4

Round 1, Dec. 11
Harikrishna, Pentala – Karjakin, Sergey
C57 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.Nc3 Ne8 10.Nd5 Bd6 11.Re1 c6 12.Ne3 Bc7 13.Nf5 d5 14.Ne7+ Kh8 15.Nxc8 Rxc8 16.d3 f5 17.Qf3 Nf6 18.Bf4 Bxf4 19.Qxf4 Qc7 20.Qxc7 Rxc7 21.Re5 1/2-1/2

Round 1, Dec. 11
Navara, David – Wang, Hao
D40 Queen’s Gambit declined

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.Nc3 Nbd7 7.O-O dxc4 8.a4 c5 9.a5 a6 10.d5 exd5 11.Nxd5 Nxd5 12.Qxd5 Nb8 13.Qxc4 Nc6 14.Bd2 Be6 15.Qa4 Qd5 16.Bc3 Qh5 17.Rfd1 Rfd8 18.Qf4 Rac8 19.Ne5 Nxe5 20.Qxe5 Qxe5 21.Bxe5 f6 22.Bc3 Rxd1+ 23.Rxd1 Rb8 24.f4 Kf7 25.Kf2 g6 26.h3 h5 27.Bd5 f5 28.Kf3 b5 29.axb6 Rxb6 30.e4 fxe4+ 31.Kxe4 Bf6 32.Bxe6+ Rxe6+ 33.Be5 Rb6 34.Kd5 Bxe5 35.fxe5 Rxb2 36.Rf1+ Ke7 37.Rf6 Rd2+ 38.Kxc5 a5 39.Rxg6 a4 40.Ra6 a3 41.Rxa3 Ke6 42.Ra6+ Kxe5 43.Rh6 Rd5+ 44.Kc6 Ke4 45.h4 Rd3 46.Rg6 Kf3 47.Rg5 Rd4 48.Rxh5 Kxg3 49.Kc5 Rxh4 50.Rxh4 Kxh4 1/2-1/2

Round 1, Dec. 11
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Jakovenko, Dmitry
E21 Nimzo-Indian, Three Knights

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 b6 5.Qb3 c5 6.dxc5 bxc5 7.g3 Nc6 8.Bg2 Ba6 9.O-O O-O 10.Bf4 d5 11.Qa4 Qb6 12.Nb5 Qa5 13.Qxa5 Bxa5 14.a4 Bb6 15.Rfd1 Na5 16.Nd2 Rac8 17.b3 Rfd8 18.Rab1 Nc6 19.e4 dxc4 20.bxc4 e5 21.Bg5 Nd4 22.Kf1 Bxb5 23.axb5 Rd6 24.Rb2 Ne6 25.Bxf6 gxf6 26.Ra1 Rcd8 27.Ke1 Rd4 28.h4 Ng7 29.Bh3 Ne8 30.f3 Ng7 31.Rc2 Rd3 32.Ke2 Ne6 33.Bxe6 1/2-1/2

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 12th December, 2019, 09:35 PM

FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem 2019

December 12, 2019

Round Two

From Isaac Steincamp’s report in chess.com:

While Wesley So may have been the only player to win on the second day of the 2019 FIDE Grand Prix in Jerusalem, Alexander Grischuk was the round's biggest winner.

The Russian grandmaster, despite not playing in the event, clinched his berth for the 2020 Candidates' Tournament when both Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov took relatively quick draws.

With Anish Giri seemingly a lock to qualify by rating, this leg of the FIDE Grand Prix will determine the final non-wildcard spot in the 2020 tournament.

From fourth place in the Grand Prix standings, Ian Nepomniachtchi can still qualify for the candidates, but needs to win the event and hope Mamedyarov falters early. Despite being the favorite by rating, the Russian nearly had an early tournament exit today when Boris Gelfand built up a healthy advantage. Nepomniachtchi managed a draw, forcing the match into tiebreaks tomorrow.

Nepomniachtchi was not the only player to receive a lifeline on the event's second day. Elsewhere, Wang Hao escaped a losing rook endgame with White against David Navara in the day's longest game:

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

Round 2, Dec. 12
MVL – Topalov, Veselin
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 Bd7 10.Rd1 Kc8 11.g4 Ne7 12.Ng5 Be8 13.f4 h6 14.Ne4 h5 15.Kg2 b6 16.c4 Ng6 17.Nbc3 Be7 18.Be3 Kb7 19.Ng3 hxg4 20.hxg4 Rh4 21.Nf5 Rxg4+ 22.Kf3 Rh4 23.Nxh4 Nxh4+ 24.Kg4 g6 25.Bf2 Nf5 26.Rd2 1/2-1/2

Round 2, Dec. 12
Andreikin, Dmitry – Wojtaszek, Radoslaw
D38 QGD, Ragozin variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Qa4+ Nc6 6.e3 O-O 7.Bd2 dxc4 8.Bxc4 Bd6 9.Qc2 a6 10.a3 e5 11.dxe5 Nxe5 12.Nxe5 Bxe5 13.f4 Bxc3 14.Bxc3 Ng4 15.Bd4 c5 16.Bxc5 Re8 17.O-O Nxe3 18.Bxe3 Rxe3 19.Qf2 Re8 20.f5 Qf6 21.Rad1 b5 22.Ba2 Rb8 23.Qc5 Qb6 24.b4 Qxc5+ 25.bxc5 Rb7 26.c6 Rc7 27.Rd6 Kf8 28.f6 gxf6 29.Rdxf6 Ree7 30.Bd5 Kg7 31.Rd6 Be6 32.Bf3 Re8 33.Kf2 Kf8 34.Re1 Rb8 35.Ke3 b4 36.axb4 Rxb4 37.Ra1 Bc4 38.Rad1 Rb3+ 39.Kd4 Be6 40.Rd8+ Ke7 41.Ra8 Rb4+ 42.Kc5 Rb5+ 43.Kd4 Rb4+ 44.Ke3 Bg4 45.Rxa6 Bxf3 46.Kxf3 Rc4 47.Rd7+ Rxd7 48.cxd7 Kxd7 49.Rh6 Ke7 50.g4 Rc3+ 51.Kf4 Rc4+ 52.Kg3 Rc3+ 53.Kh4 Rc2 54.h3 Rc3 55.g5 Kf8 56.Rxh7 Kg8 57.Rh6 Kg7 58.Rf6 Rc4+ 59.Kg3 Rc3+ 60.Kg4 Rc4+ 61.Kh5 Rc3 62.h4 Rc4 63.Ra6 Rb4 64.Ra1 Rc4 65.Rg1 Ra4 66.Rg4 Rxg4 67.Kxg4 f6 68.Kf5 fxg5 69.hxg5 Kf7 70.g6+ Kg7 71.Kg5 Kg8 72.Kf6 Kf8 73.g7+ Kg8 74.Kg6 1/2-1/2

Position after Black’s 65….Ra4

Round 2, Dec. 12
Wang, Hao – Navara, David
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nbd2 Be6 7.Nb3 Bb6 8.O-O Qd6 9.Be3 Bxe3 10.fxe3 c5 11.Nbd2 O-O 12.a4 Ne8 13.Ng5 f6 14.Nxe6 Qxe6 15.Qh5 Nd6 16.b3 b6 17.Nc4 a6 18.Rf3 b5 19.Nxd6 cxd6 20.Rh3 h6 21.Qg6 Qe8 22.Rxh6 Qxg6 23.Rxg6 c4 24.dxc4 bxc4 25.Rd1 Rfd8 26.Kf2 Rab8 27.bxc4 Kf7 28.Rg3 Rbc8 29.Rb1 Rd7 30.Rb6 a5 31.Ra6 Rxc4 32.Rxa5 Rxe4 33.Kf3 f5 34.Rh3 Rc7 35.Rh8 Rc3 36.Ra7+ Kg6 37.Rd7 Rcxe3+ 38.Kf2 Re2+ 39.Kf1 Re1+ 40.Kf2 R1e2+ 41.Kf1 Rxc2 42.Rxd6+ Kg5 43.Rg8 Rc7 44.a5 Ra4 45.Rd2 Rxa5 46.g3 Rca7 47.Kg2 Kg6 48.Rd6+ Kf7 49.Rdd8 Ra2+ 50.Kh3 Rf2 51.g4 f4 52.Rge8 Re7 53.Rf8+ Ke6 54.Ra8 Rc2 55.g5 Kd5 56.Kg4 g6 57.Ra4 Rg2+ 58.Kf3 Rxg5 59.Ra5+ Ke6 60.Ra6+ Kd5 61.Ra5+ Kc6 62.Rf6+ Kb7 63.Raa6 Rh5 64.Rfb6+ Kc8 65.Rxg6 Rxh2 66.Ra8+ Kb7 67.Rga6 Rc7 68.R8a7+ Kc8 69.Ra8+ Kd7 70.Rg6 Rc3+ 71.Ke4 Re2+ 72.Kf5 Kc7 73.Rg7+ Kb6 74.Rb8+ Ka6 75.Rg1 Ka7 76.Rb5 Ra2 77.Rxe5 f3 78.Kf4 f2 79.Rf1 Kb6 80.Re3 Rc7 81.Rb3+ Ka5 82.Rb8 Ra4+ 83.Ke5 Re7+ 84.Kf6 Re2 85.Ra8+ Kb4 86.Rxa4+ Kxa4 87.Kg5 Kb5 88.Kg4 Kc4 89.Kg3 Kd4 90.Rxf2 Rxf2 91.Kxf2 1/2-1/2

Position after 70.Rg6 What is the best rook move for Black in reply?

Round 2, Dec. 12
So, Wesley – Yu, Yangyi
C43 Petrov, Modern Attack, symmetrical variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 Nxe4 4.dxe5 d5 5.Nbd2 Nxd2 6.Bxd2 Be7 7.Bd3 c5 8.c3 Nc6 9.O-O Bg4 10.Re1 Qd7 11.h3 Bh5 12.Bf4 Qe6 13.Be2 O-O 14.Qd2 Bg6 15.Rad1 Be4 16.Ng5 Bxg5 17.Bxg5 h6 18.Be3 d4 19.cxd4 Rfd8 20.Qc3 Qg6 21.g3 cxd4 22.Bxd4 Qe6 23.Kh2 Rac8 24.Qe3 Bf5 25.Bc3 Rxd1 26.Rxd1 Qxa2 27.g4 Be6 28.Qe4 Ne7 29.Qxb7 Nd5 30.Bd4 a5 31.Bf3 Qc4 32.b3 Qc2 33.Bxd5 Bxd5 34.Qxd5 Qxd1 35.e6 Qc2 36.exf7+ Kh7 37.Qe5 Qg6 38.Qe7 1-0

Round 2, Dec. 12
Gelfand, Boris – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
A33 English, symmetrical variation

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.g3 Qb6 7.Nb3 Ne5 8.e4 Bb4 9.Qe2 d6 10.Bd2 Bd7 11.f4 Ng6 12.e5 dxe5 13.fxe5 Ng8 14.c5 Qc7 15.Ne4 Bxd2+ 16.Nbxd2 Nh6 17.Nd6+ Kf8 18.b4 Bc6 19.Bg2 Bxg2 20.Qxg2 Nxe5 21.O-O Nf5 22.N2e4 a5 23.Nxf5 exf5 24.Nd6 g6 25.Qd5 f6 26.b5 Rb8 27.b6 Qd7 28.Rae1 h5 29.Rxe5 fxe5 30.Qxe5 Kg8 31.Ne4 Rf8 32.Nf6+ Rxf6 33.Qxf6 Kh7 34.Re1 Re8 35.Rxe8 1/2-1/2

Round 2, Dec. 12
Giri, Anish – Wei, Yi
A10 English Opening

1.c4 g6 2.g3 Bg7 3.Bg2 c5 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.e3 O-O 6.Nge2 e6 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 d5 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.O-O 1/2-1/2

Round 2, Dec. 12
Karjakin, Sergey – Harikrishna, Pentala
C53 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 d5 7.Bb5 Ne4 8.cxd4 Bb6 9.Nc3 O-O 10.Be3 Bg4 11.h3 Bh5 12.Qc2 Ba5 13.O-O Bxf3 14.gxf3 Nxc3 15.bxc3 Qd7 16.Kh2 Nxd4 17.cxd4 Qxb5 18.Rg1 g6 19.Rab1 Qc4 20.Qxc4 dxc4 21.Rxb7 Rfb8 22.Rgb1 Rxb7 23.Rxb7 Bb6 24.d5 Rd8 25.Bg5 Ra8 26.Be3 Rd8 27.Bg5 1/2-1/2

Round 2, Dec. 12
Jakovenko, Dmitry – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
B40 Sicilian, Anderssen variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.e5 Nd5 8.Ne4 Qc7 9.f4 Qb6 10.c4 Bb4+ 11.Ke2 f5 12.Nf2 Ba6 13.Kf3 Ne7 14.Be3 Bc5 15.Bxc5 Qxc5 16.Qd6 Qb6 17.b3 c5 18.Rd1 Bb7+ 19.Ke3 Qxd6 20.exd6 Ng6 21.h4 h5 22.Be2 Bxg2 23.Rhg1 Nxh4 24.Nd3 g5 25.fxg5 O-O 26.Kf2 Bc6 27.Kg3 Ng6 28.Bxh5 Kg7 29.Bxg6 Kxg6 30.Kf2 Rac8 31.Nf4+ Kg7 32.Nh5+ Kg6 33.Nf4+ Kg7 34.Nh5+ 1/2-1/2

**Hans Jung** · Friday, 13th December, 2019, 03:55 PM

Both Wesley So and MVL (rd 3) very smooth wins. Impressive!

**Wayne Komer** · Friday, 13th December, 2019, 09:55 PM

FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem 2019

December 13, 2019

Rounds Three to Nine

Rapid and Blitz

Grand Prix Jerusalem: MVL and Nepomniachtchi still in the hunt

Seven quarter-finalists were determined on tiebreaks today. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Dmitry Andreikin, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Wei Yi, Dmitry Jakovenko, David Navara and Sergey Karjakin advanced to the quarterfinals where they joined Wesley So who had already qualified for the second round one day earlier. The local hero, Boris Gelfand, fell in the play-off against one of the favorites, Ian Nepomniachtchi.

After losing a tiebreaker to Dmitry Jakovenko, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov has been knocked out from the competition and lost his chance to fight for the place in the Candidates Tournament 2020. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Ian Nepomniachtchi are still in the hunt.

Four matches were decided in two rapid games.

Dmitry Andreikin found a nice way to force a draw in the first game against Radoslaw Wojtaszek. After getting a serious advantage in the opening of the second encounter, Andreikin misplayed later on and lost control over the situation. Wojtaszek had good chances to win the battle but made a few mistakes in the time trouble, allowing his opponent to score a victory in the game and the match.

Things went smoothly for Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who convincingly won his rapid match against Veselin Topalov. The French grandmaster managed to get an advantage in Ruy Lopez Berlin after inaccurate 20…g5 and started the day with the victory. The former FIDE World Champion was pressing hard in the second game but Maxime defended well then turned the tables and whitewashed his opponent.

Boris Gelfand and Ian Nepomniachtchi had a breath-taking battle full of interesting ideas in the openings, unpredictable twists, and tactical motifs. After losing the first game the Israeli Grandmaster had good chances to level the score but could not find the precise way to finish his attack on the opponent's king. Nepomniachtchi also won the match 2:0 and continues his quest for the place in the Candidates.

Similarly to the previous Grand Prix stages, Anish Giri failed to get through the first round and has to go home after falling to Wei Yi. After the opponents split the point in the first encounter, the second game was in the balance until Anish ventured upon a tempting 30…Nf4. According to Anish, he simply missed 35.Qe8 at the end of the variation and had to resign one move later. He called his participation in the Grand Prix Series this year as his worst performance. Nevertheless, his qualification for the Candidates 2020 by rating can be considered as good compensation for his hardships.

Dmitry Jakovenko was the only player, who managed to strike back after losing the first game in the match with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. In the second game, Shakhriyar played too aggressively, even though he needed just a draw, and allowed his opponent to get a decisive material advantage. In both games with Black, the Azerbaijani grandmaster didn't get enough compensation and lost the match - 1.5:2.5.

David Navara and Wang Hao deserve praise for their fighting spirit, despite drawing the first five games today. The match was decided in the sixth encounter, in which Navara had white pieces and obtained an advantage right after the opening. David was steering his ship with a firm hand and gave his opponent no chance to survive.

Pentala Harikrishna and Sergey Karjakin played the longest match of the day. None of the opponents managed to win a game, even though they both had their chances in blitz. Karjakin made a decisive draw with Black in the last Armaggeddon encounter and claimed a victory in the match.

The quarterfinal matches will begin on December 14.

Round 2 pairings:
Vachier-Lagrave - Andreikin
So - Nepomniachtchi
Karjakin - Wei
Jakovenko - Navara

From the official site:

https://www.fide.com/news/267

Round 3, Dec. 13
25+10
MVL – Topalov, Veselin
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 Bd7 10.Rd1 Be7 11.g4 Nh4 12.Nxh4 Bxh4 13.Nd2 Kc8 14.Nf3 Be7 15.Bg5 Bc5 16.Rd3 b6 17.Be3 Bxe3 18.Rxe3 h6 19.Rd1 c5 20.Nh4 g5 21.Nf5 Bxf5 22.gxf5 Kb7 23.Kg2 Rad8 24.Rxd8 Rxd8 25.Kf3 c4 26.Re4 b5 27.Kg4 Kc8 28.e6 fxe6 29.fxe6 Rh8 30.Kf5 Kd8 31.e7+ Ke8 32.Kg6 1-0

Round 4, Dec. 13
25+10
Topalov, Veselin – MVL
B92 Sicilian, Najdorf, Opocensky variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 Ng4 7.Bc1 Nf6 8.Be2 e5 9.Nb3 Be7 10.Nd2 Nc6 11.Nc4 Nd4 12.Bd3 Bg4 13.f3 Be6 14.Ne3 O-O 15.O-O Nd7 16.Ncd5 Bg5 17.c3 Nc6 18.Kh1 Rc8 19.Nc4 Bxc1 20.Rxc1 Nf6 21.Nce3 Bxd5 22.exd5 Ne7 23.c4 a5 24.Qd2 Nd7 25.Bb1 Nc5 26.f4 exf4 27.Rxf4 Ng6 28.Rff1 Qg5 29.Qf2 Ne5 30.h4 Qd8 31.Qg3 g6 32.Nf5 Kh8 33.Nd4 f5 34.b3 Qf6 35.Rcd1 Rce8 36.a3 Ng4 37.Nxf5 gxf5 38.Rxf5 Qg7 39.Rg5 Nf2+ 40.Kh2 Qh6 0-1

MVL goes on to the next round, Topalov goes home

Round 3, Dec. 13
25+10
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw – Andreikin, Dmitry
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.d4 e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.Be2 dxc4 8.O-O c5 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.Bxc4 a6 11.Ng5 b5 12.Bxe6 fxe6 13.Nxe6 Qe8 14.Nxf8 Bxf8 15.Bd6 Bb7 16.Bxf8 Nxf8 17.a4 b4 18.Qb3+ Ne6 19.Qxb4 Rb8 20.Qc4 Rc8 21.Qb3 Rb8 22.Qc2 Ng5 23.Rae1 Bf3 24.Qf5 Qh5 25.h4 Qxh4 26.Qf4 Nh3+ 27.gxh3 Qxh3 28.Qxb8+ Kf7 29.Qc7+ Kg8 30.Qb8+ Kf7 31.Qh2 Qg4+ 32.Qg3 Qh5 33.Qc7+ Kg8 34.Qh2 Qg5+ 35.Qg3 Qh5 36.Qh2 1/2-1/2

Round 4, Dec. 13
25+10
Andreikin, Dmitry – Wojtaszek, Radoslaw
D02 Queen’s Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.e3 Be7 5.Nc3 O-O 6.a3 c5 7.dxc5 dxc4 8.Qc2 Qa5 9.Bxc4 Qxc5 10.Bd3 b6 11.b4 Qc7 12.Bb2 Bb7 13.Rc1 Rc8 14.Qb1 Qd8 15.O-O Nbd7 16.Rfd1 h6 17.e4 a5 18.e5 Nd5 19.Nxd5 Bxd5 20.Bh7+ Kh8 21.Be4 Rxc1 22.Bxc1 axb4 23.Bxd5 exd5 24.axb4 Nf8 25.Nd4 Qd7 26.Nf5 Ng6 27.Bb2 Bf8 28.Nxh6 Ra4 29.Re1 Nf4 30.e6 fxe6 31.g3 d4 32.Ng4 Nh3+ 33.Kg2 Ng5 34.Ne5 Qd5+ 35.Kg1 Nh3+ 36.Kf1 Qh1+ 37.Ke2 Qg2 38.Bxd4 Kg8 39.Qb3 Qe4+ 40.Be3 Rxb4 41.Qxe6+ Kh7 42.Qxh3+ Kg8 43.Nd3 Ra4 44.Rd1 Ra2+ 45.Rd2 Ra1 46.f3 Qc4 47.Qg4 Qb3 48.Bf2 Qb1 49.Qe6+ Kh7 50.Qh3+ Kg8 51.Bd4 Ra7 52.Qe6+ Kh7 53.Qe4+ Kg8 54.Ne5 1-0

Andreikin goes on to the next round, Wojtaszek goes home

Wesley So won yesterday and so goes on to the next round and Yu Yangyi goes home

Round 3, Dec. 13
25+10
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Gelfand, Boris
B30 Sicilian Defence

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Bc4 Be7 5.d3 d6 6.Nd2 Nf6 7.Nf1 Nd7 8.Nd5 Nb6 9.Nxb6 axb6 10.c3 O-O 11.h4 b5 12.Bxb5 d5 13.Ne3 d4 14.Nd5 f5 15.Bc4 Kh8 16.Qh5 Be6 17.Bg5 Bf7 18.Qf3 f4 19.Nxe7 Nxe7 20.Bxf7 Rxf7 21.Qh5 Rf8 22.O-O Qd6 23.Bxe7 Qxe7 24.cxd4 cxd4 25.Rfc1 f3 26.Qg5 Rf6 27.g3 Qd7 28.Kh2 Re8 29.Rc5 h6 30.Qc1 g5 31.h5 Qf7 32.g4 Rf4 33.Qg1 Qd7 34.Kh3 b6 35.Rc4 Qb5 36.b3 Ref8 37.Rac1 Qa5 38.R1c2 R8f7 39.Rc6 Kh7 40.Qc1 b5 41.Re6 Qd8 42.Rcc6 R4f6 43.Rxf6 Rxf6 44.Rc7+ 1-0

Round 4, Dec. 13
25+10
Gelfand, Boris – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
A04 Reti, King’s Indian Defence

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 e5 5.Nxe5 O-O 6.f4 d6 7.Nf3 Nxe4 8.Nxe4 Re8 9.d3 f5 10.Be2 fxe4 11.dxe4 Na6 12.O-O Nc5 13.f5 gxf5 14.Ng5 Qe7 15.Bh5 Rf8 16.Qd5+ Be6 17.Nxe6 c6 18.Bg5 Qxg5 19.Qxc5 Qe7 20.Qf2 Qxe6 21.exf5 Qxc4 22.Kh1 Kh8 23.Qg3 Be5 24.Qh3 Rf6 25.Bg6 Qg8 26.Rae1 Raf8 27.Rf3 Kg7 28.Bh5 Qxa2 29.Rb3 Rxf5 30.Rxb7+ Kg8 31.Qg4+ Kh8 32.Rxh7+ Kxh7 33.Bg6+ Kh6 34.Bxf5 Qg8 35.Qh3+ Kg7 36.Re4 Kf6 37.Rg4 Qd5 38.Rg6+ Ke7 39.Qh4+ Ke8 40.Qh5 Kd8 41.Qg5+ 0-1

Nepo goes on to the next round, Gelfand retires

Round 3, Dec. 13
25+10
Giri, Anish – Wei, Yi
D86 Grunfeld, Exchange, Classical variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 Nc6 9.Be3 O-O 10.O-O Na5 11.Bd3 b6 12.Rc1 cxd4 13.cxd4 e6 14.Qd2 Bb7 15.h4 Qd7 16.h5 Rfc8 17.h6 Bf8 18.Bg5 Rxc1 19.Rxc1 Rc8 20.Rxc8 Qxc8 21.Ng3 Nc6 22.Bf6 Nb8 23.Bg5 Nc6 24.Bf6 Nb8 25.Bg5 Nc6 1/2-1/2

Round 4, Dec. 13
25+10
Wei, Yi – Giri, Anish
B20 Sicilian Defence

1.e4 c5 2.Be2 Nc6 3.f4 d5 4.d3 g6 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.e5 Nh5 7.O-O Ng7 8.Be3 d4 9.Bf2 Ne6 10.g3 Bg7 11.Nbd2 O-O 12.c3 f6 13.exf6 exf6 14.Qb3 Kh8 15.Rfe1 b6 16.Bf1 dxc3 17.bxc3 Nc7 18.Rad1 Be6 19.Qb2 Qd7 20.d4 cxd4 21.Nxd4 Nxd4 22.Bxd4 Bg4 23.Be2 Rae8 24.Bxg4 Qxg4 25.Nc4 Nd5 26.Qf2 Rd8 27.Rd3 Rfe8 28.Nd6 Rxe1+ 29.Qxe1 Kg8 30.Ne8 Nxf4 31.Qe7 Nh3+ 32.Kf1 Qf5+ 33.Kg2 Rd7 34.Nxf6+ Bxf6 35.Qe8+ Kg7 36.Qxd7+ 1-0

Wei Yi goes on to the next round, Giri retires

**Wayne Komer** · Friday, 13th December, 2019, 09:56 PM

FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem 2019

December 13, 2019

Rounds Three to Nine

Rapid and Blitz (continued)

Round 3, Dec. 13
25+10
Harikrishna, Pentala – Karjakin, Sergey
E01 Catalan Closed

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Nc3 dxc4 7.Ne5 c5 8.dxc5 Qxd1+ 9.Nxd1 Bxc5 10.Ne3 c3 11.bxc3 Nbd7 12.Nd3 Rb8 13.Nc4 b6 14.Bf4 Bb7 15.Bxb7 Rxb7 16.Rb1 Nd5 17.Na5 Nxf4 18.Nxb7 Nxd3+ 19.exd3 Be7 20.c4 Rb8 21.c5 Ne5 22.f4 Nxd3+ 23.Ke2 Rxb7 24.Kxd3 Bxc5 25.Rhd1 Kf8 26.Kc4 Ke7 27.Kb5 a5 28.Kc6 Ra7 29.a4 h5 30.Rd3 Kf6 31.Rd8 Kf5 32.Rxb6 Bxb6 33.Kxb6 Re7 34.Ra8 f6 35.Rxa5+ e5 36.fxe5 fxe5 37.Kc6 Re6+ 38.Kd5 Re8 39.Kc4 Ke4 40.Kc3 Rc8+ 41.Kd2 Rc4 42.Ra8 Rd4+ 43.Kc2 Ke3 44.a5 e4 45.a6 Rd6 46.Kc3 Ke2 47.Re8 Rxa6 48.Rxe4+ Kf3 49.Re5 g6 50.Rg5 Rd6 51.h4 Ra6 52.Kd2 Kg2 53.Ke2 Re6+ 54.Kd2 Kf3 55.Kd1 Ra6 56.Kd2 Rc6 57.Kd3 Rd6+ 58.Kc2 Ke3 59.g4 Rc6+ 60.Kb3 1/2-1/2

Round 4, Dec. 13
25+10
Karjakin, Sergey – Harikrishna, Pentala
C53 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 O-O 6.O-O d6 7.h3 h6 8.Re1 a6 9.a4 Ba7 10.Nbd2 Re8 11.b4 Be6 12.Bxe6 Rxe6 13.Bb2 Qd7 14.Nf1 Rd8 15.Ng3 d5 16.Qc2 b5 17.axb5 axb5 18.Rad1 dxe4 19.dxe4 Rd6 20.Rxd6 cxd6 21.Bc1 d5 22.exd5 Qxd5 23.Be3 e4 24.Nxe4 Qxe4 25.Qxe4 Nxe4 26.Bxa7 Nxc3 27.Bc5 Na4 28.Be3 Nxb4 29.Rb1 Nc2 30.Rxb5 Nxe3 31.fxe3 Nc3 32.Rb3 Ne4 33.Rb4 Re8 34.Rd4 g6 35.Kf1 Kg7 36.Ke2 f5 37.Nd2 Nxd2 1/2-1/2

Round 5, Dec. 13
10+10
Harikrishna, Pentala – Karjakin, Sergey
E05 Catalan, open, Classical line

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bg5 Nbd7 11.Nc3 h6 12.Bxf6 Nxf6 13.a5 Qd6 14.Qd3 Rfd8 15.Rfd1 Qb4 16.e4 Bf8 17.Qc2 Rab8 18.h3 Rbc8 19.Kh2 Rb8 20.Kg1 Rbc8 21.Kh2 Rb8 22.Kg1 Rbc8 1/2-1/2

Round 6, Dec. 13
10+10
Karjakin, Sergey – Harikrishna, Pentala
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 O-O 7.h3 h6 8.Re1 a6 9.a4 Ba7 10.Nbd2 Re8 11.b4 Be6 12.Bxe6 Rxe6 13.Bb2 Qd7 14.Nf1 Rd8 15.b5 Ne7 16.c4 Nh5 17.Nd4 Bxd4 18.Bxd4 Nf6 19.Bc3 Ng6 20.Ng3 axb5 21.cxb5 c6 22.bxc6 Qxc6 23.Qb3 d5 24.Rec1 Qa6 25.Qb5 Nf4 26.Qxa6 bxa6 27.Rd1 Rc8 28.Bd2 Nxd3 29.exd5 Nxd5 30.Bxh6 e4 31.Be3 Nxe3 32.fxe3 Rc3 33.Ne2 Rc4 34.Rdb1 Nb4 35.Rd1 Nc2 36.Rd8+ Kh7 37.Rf1 f6 38.Rf5 Re5 39.Rxe5 fxe5 40.Rd5 Rxa4 41.Rxe5 Nxe3 42.Nc3 Ra1+ 43.Kf2 Nd1+ 1/2-1/2

Round 7, Dec. 13
5+3
Harikrishna, Pentala – Karjakin, Sergey
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 b6 7.Bd3 dxc4 8.Bxc4 Ba6 9.Qe2 Bxc4 10.Qxc4 c5 11.dxc5 Bxc5 12.O-O Qc8 13.Rac1 Nbd7 14.Nb5 Qa6 15.Nc7 Qxc4 16.Rxc4 Rad8 17.h3 h6 18.Rfc1 Nd5 19.Nxd5 exd5 20.R4c3 Nf6 21.Rd3 Rfe8 22.Rcd1 Bd6 23.Bxd6 Rxd6 24.Rc3 Rd7 25.Rdc1 g6 26.Nd4 Ne4 27.Rc7 Ree7 28.Rc8+ Kg7 29.b4 Nd6 30.R8c6 Nc4 31.a4 Re8 32.Nb5 Red8 33.Rd1 h5 34.Rd4 Ne5 35.Rc7 Kf6 36.Rxa7 Rxa7 37.Nxa7 Ra8 38.Nb5 Rxa4 39.Nc3 Ra1+ 40.Kh2 Nc6 41.Nxd5+ Ke5 42.Rd2 b5 43.Kg3 Rb1 44.Nc3 Rxb4 45.Rd5+ Ke6 46.Rxb5 Rc4 47.Ne2 Kf6 48.h4 Ne7 49.Nd4 Nf5+ 50.Nxf5 gxf5 51.Rb6+ Kg7 52.Rd6 f6 53.Rd4 Rc2 54.Kf3 Ra2 55.g3 Kg6 56.Rd8 Kg7 57.Rd4 Kg6 58.Rd1 Kg7 59.Re1 Kg6 60.Re2 Ra4 61.Rb2 Rc4 62.Kg2 Rc1 63.f3 Rc3 64.Kf2 Ra3 65.Re2 Ra1 66.e4 fxe4 67.Rxe4 Ra3 68.Kg2 Ra2+ 69.Kf1 Ra3 70.Kf2 Rb3 71.g4 hxg4 72.fxg4 Rh3 73.g5 fxg5 74.hxg5 1/2-1/2

Round 8, Dec. 13
5+3
Karjakin, Sergey – Harikrishna, Pentala
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 O-O 6.c3 d6 7.h3 h6 8.Re1 a6 9.a4 Ba7 10.Nbd2 Re8 11.b4 Be6 12.Bxe6 Rxe6 13.Bb2 Qd7 14.Nf1 b5 15.Ng3 Rd8 16.axb5 axb5 17.c4 Bb6 18.Bc3 Nd4 19.Bxd4 Bxd4 20.Nxd4 exd4 21.Qc2 bxc4 22.Qxc4 d5 23.exd5 Rb6 24.Re5 Nxd5 25.Rae1 Nf4 26.Nf5 Re6 27.h4 Rde8 28.Rxe6 Rxe6 29.Rxe6 Nxe6 30.b5 h5 31.Kf1 g6 32.Qd5 Qe8 33.Nxd4 Nxd4 34.Qxd4 Qxb5 35.g3 1/2-1/2

Round 9, Dec. 13
Armageddon
Harikrishna, Pentala – Karjakin, Sergey
A45 Trompovsky Attack

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 d5 3.e3 c5 4.c3 cxd4 5.Bxf6 gxf6 6.cxd4 Nc6 7.Nc3 e6 8.Bd3 f5 9.Nge2 Bd7 10.Rc1 Rc8 11.O-O Bg7 12.Nf4 O-O 13.Qh5 h6 14.a3 Qg5 15.Qf3 Qg4 16.Qg3 Ne7 17.Be2 Qxg3 18.hxg3 Rfd8 19.g4 fxg4 20.Bxg4 Rc6 21.Be2 a6 22.Nd3 Nf5 23.g4 Nd6 24.Kg2 Rdc8 25.Rh1 Rd8 26.Ne5 Rc7 27.f4 Be8 28.Bd3 Rdc8 29.Kf2 a5 30.Rcg1 b5 31.g5 hxg5 32.f5 f6 33.fxe6 fxe5 34.Rxg5 exd4 35.Nxd5 Bc6 36.Bh7+ Kf8 37.Nxc7 dxe3+ 38.Ke2 Bxh1 39.e7+ Kxe7 40.Rxg7+ Kf6 41.Rd7 Nc4 42.Nxb5 Bc6 43.Rc7 Rxc7 44.Nxc7 Nxb2 45.Bg8 Ke5 46.Kxe3 Na4 47.Kd2 Kd4 48.Ne6+ Ke5 49.Ng5 Kd6 50.Nf7+ Kc5 51.Ne5 Nb6 52.Nd3+ Kd6 53.Kc3 Bd5 54.Kd4 Bxg8 55.Ne5 Nc4 56.Nxc4+ Bxc4 57.Kxc4 Kc6 58.Kb3 Kb5 59.a4+ Kc5 60.Kc3 Kd5 61.Kd3 Kc5 62.Kc3 Kd5 1/2-1/2

Position after 55.Ne5. Black has a winning advantage if he plays Be6

All the games between these two players have been drawn, but by virtue of Armageddon, Karjakin goes on and Harikrishna goes home!

Round 3, Dec. 13
25+10
Wang, Hao – Navara, David
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.O-O O-O 6.Nbd2 d6 7.c3 a5 8.h3 h6 9.Re1 a4 10.Nf1 Ra5 11.a3 Be6 12.Bxe6 fxe6 13.d4 Bb6 14.Ng3 Qe8 15.Nd2 d5 16.exd5 exd5 17.Nf3 e4 18.Nh4 Qd7 19.f3 exf3 20.Nxf3 Raa8 21.Qc2 Rae8 22.Bd2 Qd6 23.Nf5 Qd7 24.Ng3 Qd6 25.Nf5 Qd7 26.Nxh6+ gxh6 27.Bxh6 Ne4 28.Bxf8 Rxf8 29.Rxe4 dxe4 30.Qxe4 Qf5 31.Qe2 Rf7 32.Qc4 Kg7 33.Rf1 Ne7 34.Nd2 Qg6 35.Qxa4 Rxf1+ 36.Nxf1 c5 37.Qd7 Kf8 38.Qxb7 cxd4 39.Qf3+ Qf5 40.Qxf5+ Nxf5 41.cxd4 Bxd4+ 42.Kh2 Bxb2 43.a4 Be5+ 44.g3 Ke7 45.Kg2 Kd6 46.Kf3 Kd5 47.Kg4 Nd6 48.h4 Ne4 49.h5 Kc5 50.h6 Kd5 51.a5 Ke6 52.a6 Bd4 53.Kh5 Kf7 54.g4 Nf6+ 55.Kg5 Ne4+ 56.Kf5 Nd6+ 57.Kg5 Ne4+ 58.Kh5 Nf6+ 59.Kh4 Kg6 60.Ng3 Bf2 61.Kh3 Kxh6 62.Kg2 Ba7 63.Kf3 Kg6 64.Ne4 Ne8 65.Nc3 Nc7 66.Ke4 Kg5 67.Nd5 Nxa6 68.Kd3 Nc5+ 69.Kc4 Kxg4 70.Kb5 Nd7 71.Nb6 Ne5 72.Ka6 Bb8 73.Kb7 Bd6 74.Nd7 Ng6 75.Kc6 Ba3 76.Kd5 Kf5 77.Nc5 Ne7+ 78.Kc4 Kf4 79.Nd3+ Ke3 80.Nb4 Ke4 81.Na2 Nf5 82.Nc3+ Ke5 83.Kd3 Nd6 84.Nd1 Bc5 1/2-1/2

Position after Black’s 67…Nxa6

Knight and pawn vs Knight and Bishop (a draw)

Round 4, Dec. 13
25+10
Navara, David – Wang, Hao
E07 Catalan, Closed, Botvinnik variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.Nc3 Nbd7 7.Qd3 c6 8.O-O b6 9.b3 Bb7 10.Rd1 Rc8 11.e4 dxe4 12.Nxe4 c5 13.Nxf6+ Nxf6 14.Bb2 cxd4 15.Nxd4 Bxg2 16.Kxg2 a6 17.Qf3 Qc7 18.a3 Rfd8 19.b4 Nd7 20.Rac1 Bf6 21.Qe4 h6 22.Ba1 Kh8 23.h4 Kg8 24.b5 Nc5 25.Qg4 Bxd4 26.Bxd4 Rxd4 27.Rxd4 Nb3 28.bxa6 Nxc1 29.Qd1 Qc6+ 30.Kg1 Qa8 31.Qxc1 Qxa6 32.Qc3 Qb7 33.h5 Qc7 34.Qd3 Qc5 35.Rd7 Rf8 36.Rb7 Qc6 37.Rd7 Qc5 38.Rb7 Qc6 1/2-1/2

FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem 2019

FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem 2019

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