FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem 2019

[Wayne Komer]

FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem 2019

December 13, 2019

Rounds Three to Nine

Rapid and Blitz (continued)

Round 5, Dec. 13
10+10
Navara, David – Wang, Hao
D12 QGD Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Bg6 7.Be2 Nbd7 8.O-O Bd6 9.g3 O-O 10.Nxg6 hxg6 11.Qb3 Rb8 12.a4 a5 13.Rd1 Qe7 14.Qc2 Rfd8 15.b3 Rbc8 16.Bb2 Bb4 17.Na2 Bd6 18.Rac1 Ne4 19.Nc3 Nxc3 20.Bxc3 Bb4 21.Qd2 Bxc3 22.Qxc3 Ra8 23.Bf3 Nf6 24.h4 Ne8 25.e4 dxe4 26.Bxe4 Nf6 27.Bf3 Rd7 28.Rd2 e5 29.dxe5 Rxd2 30.Qxd2 Qxe5 31.b4 axb4 32.Qxb4 Qc7 33.Rb1 Ra7 34.a5 Rxa5 35.Qxb7 Qxb7 36.Rxb7 Rc5 37.Rb8+ Kh7 38.Rf8 Nd7 39.Rxf7 Ne5 40.Rf8 Nxf3+ 41.Rxf3 Rxc4 1/2-1/2

Round 6, Dec. 13
10+10
Wang, Hao – Navara, David
E05 Catalan, open, Classical line

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.d4 dxc4 7.Ne5 Nc6 8.Nxc6 bxc6 9.Na3 Bxa3 10.bxa3 Rb8 11.a4 Qd6 12.e4 e5 13.dxe5 Qxe5 14.Bf4 Qa5 15.Qd4 c5 16.Qe5 Re8 17.Qxc7 Qxc7 18.Bxc7 Rb7 19.Ba5 Nxe4 20.Rac1 Rbe7 21.Rfe1 Ba6 22.f3 Nf6 23.Rxe7 Rxe7 24.Bf1 h6 25.Kf2 Nd7 26.Bc3 Nb6 27.a5 Nd5 28.Be1 Nb4 29.Bxb4 cxb4 30.Rb1 Re5 31.Rxb4 Rxa5 32.a4 c3 33.Bxa6 Rxa6 34.Rc4 c2 35.Rxc2 Rxa4 36.g4 a5 37.Rc8+ Kh7 38.Ra8 h5 39.gxh5 Ra1 40.Ra6 f6 41.Ra8 a4 42.Kg3 a3 43.Kf4 Ra2 44.h3 Ra1 45.Kf5 Ra2 46.Kf4 Ra1 47.Kf5 a2 48.f4 Rh1 1/2-1/2

Round 7, Dec. 13
5+3
Wang, Hao – Navara, David
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.d4 dxc4 7.Ne5 Nc6 8.Nxc6 bxc6 9.Na3 Bxa3 10.bxa3 Rb8 11.a4 Qd6 12.e4 e5 13.dxe5 Qxe5 14.Bf4 Qa5 15.Qd4 c5 16.Qe5 Re8 17.Qxc7 Qxc7 18.Bxc7 Rb7 19.Ba5 Nxe4 20.Rac1 Rbe7 21.Rfe1 Ba6 22.f3 Nf6 23.Rxe7 Rxe7 24.Bf1 h6 25.Kf2 Nd7 26.Bc3 Nb6 27.a5 Nd5 28.Be1 Nb4 29.Bxb4 cxb4 30.Rb1 Re5 31.Rxb4 Rxa5 32.a4 c3 33.Bxa6 Rxa6 34.Rc4 c2 35.Rxc2 Rxa4 36.g4 a5 37.Rc8+ Kh7 38.Ra8 h5 39.gxh5 Ra1 40.Ra6 f6 41.Ra8 a4 42.Kg3 a3 43.Kf4 Ra2 44.h3 Ra1 45.Kf5 Ra2 46.Kf4 Ra1 47.Kf5 a2 48.f4 Rh1 1/2-1/2

Round 8, Dec. 13
5+3
Navara, David – Wang, Hao
E10 Dzindzikhashvili Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 a6 4.Nc3 d5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 Be6 7.e3 Nbd7 8.h3 Bd6 9.Bd3 c6 10.Bf4 Qc7 11.Qd2 O-O 12.O-O Rfe8 13.Rfe1 Nh5 14.Bxd6 Qxd6 15.e4 Qf4 16.Qd1 Qc7 17.Ng5 g6 18.e5 Qb6 19.Na4 Qa7 20.Rc1 Ng7 21.Bb1 h6 22.Nf3 Bf5 23.Qd2 Bxb1 24.Rxb1 Kh7 25.b4 Ne6 26.Nc5 Ndf8 27.Nh2 b6 28.Ng4 g5 29.Nf6+ Kg7 30.Nxe8+ Rxe8 31.Nxe6+ Nxe6 32.Rbc1 Rc8 33.a3 b5 34.Red1 Qb6 35.Rc3 a5 36.h4 axb4 37.axb4 Rh8 38.Rg3 Qd8 39.f4 f5 40.Ra1 Qb6 41.fxg5 h5 42.Rd3 Rf8 43.Qd1 Nf4 44.Rd2 Kg6 45.Kh2 Ne6 46.Ra3 Kg7 47.Qa1 Rf7 48.Ra6 Qb7 49.Rc2 Rc7 50.Rcxc6 1-0

Final Position



Navara goes on to the next round, Wang Hao retires

Round 3, Dec. 13
25+10
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Jakovenko, Dmitry
D37 QGD, Hastings variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.a3 Nbd7 7.Nb5 Ne8 8.e3 dxc4 9.Bxc4 a6 10.Nc3 b5 11.Be2 c5 12.O-O Bb7 13.d5 exd5 14.Nxd5 Bd6 15.a4 c4 16.Bg5 f6 17.Bh4 Nc5 18.axb5 axb5 19.Nc3 Rxa1 20.Qxa1 Bxf3 21.gxf3 Qb8 22.Bg3 Bxg3 23.hxg3 Nd6 24.Qa5 Kh8 25.Rd1 Nd3 26.Bxd3 cxd3 27.Qb4 Nc4 28.f4 Rd8 29.b3 Nb6 30.Qxb5 d2 31.Ne4 Rd5 32.Qb4 1-0


Round 4, Dec. 13
25+10
Jakovenko, Dmitry – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
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 Ng4 9.Re2 Qf6 10.Nbd2 g5 11.d4 Rg8 12.Nf1 exd4 13.e5 dxe5 14.cxd4 Kf8 15.h3 Nxd4 16.Nxd4 Bxd4 17.hxg4 Bxg4 18.Be3 Rd8 19.Qc2 Bxe2 20.Bxe2 Kg7 21.Ng3 Kh8 22.Ra3 g4 23.Qxc7 Rc8 24.Qxb7 Rc1+ 25.Nf1 g3 26.Bxd4 exd4 27.Rf3 Qe5 28.Bd3 gxf2+ 29.Rxf2 Qe3 30.Qxa6 Rd1 31.Bc2 Rc1 32.Qd3 Rg6 33.a5 Rh6 34.a6 Qe5 35.g3 Qd5 36.Rh2 Rg6 37.a7 Ra1 38.Qe4 Qd8 39.Qe5+ Qf6 40.Qb8+ Kg7 41.Rf2 1-0

Round 5, Dec. 13
10+10
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Jakovenko, Dmitry
E32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 O-O 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 d5 7.Bg5 dxc4 8.Qxc4 b6 9.Rd1 Ba6 10.Qa4 h6 11.Bh4 Qd7 12.Qc2 Nd5 13.Nf3 Rc8 14.Ne5 Qe8 15.e4 Bxf1 16.Kxf1 Ne7 17.Bxe7 Qxe7 18.g3 c5 19.Kg2 Nc6 20.Nxc6 Rxc6 21.d5 Rd6 22.Rd2 1/2-1/2

Round 6, Dec. 13
10+10
Jakovenko, Dmitry – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
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.Nbd2 Qe7 9.b4 O-O 10.h3 Be6 11.Re1 h6 12.Bxe6 fxe6 13.Nf1 Qf7 14.Be3 Bxe3 15.Rxe3 Ne7 16.d4 Nd7 17.Qc2 Ng6 18.N1h2 a5 19.b5 Rac8 20.Ng4 h5 21.Ngh2 Qf6 22.Rd1 Nh8 23.dxe5 Nxe5 24.Nxe5 Qxe5 25.Nf3 Qf4 26.c4 Nf7 27.c5 e5 28.Rc1 Kh8 29.cxd6 Nxd6 30.Rd1 Qf6 31.Rd5 Rfe8 32.Rc5 Re7 33.Rec3 Ne8 34.b6 c6 35.Rxa5 Nd6 36.Rac5 g5 37.a5 g4 38.Nh2 Rg8 39.a6 Qf4 40.axb7 Reg7 41.hxg4 hxg4 42.Qc1 g3 43.Qxf4 exf4 44.Rh5+ Rh7 45.Rxh7+ Kxh7 46.fxg3 fxg3 47.Rxg3 Rb8 48.Rc3 Rxb7 49.Rxc6 Nxe4 50.Nf3 Kg7 51.Nd4 Kf7 52.Rc7+ Rxc7 53.bxc7 Nd6 54.Nb5 Nc8 55.g4 Ke6 56.Kf2 Kd5 57.g5 Ne7 58.Na7 1-0

Final Position



White wins in 16 moves after 58….Ke6

Jakovenko goes on to the next round, Mamedyarov does not.

[Wayne Komer]

FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem 2019

December 14, 2019

Quarter-Finals

Game One

Grand Prix Jerusalem: Four quick draws

It was one of the shortest rounds at the FIDE Grand Prix in Jerusalem. Very much in the spirit of Shabbat in this holy city, all the second-round games were over within 90 minutes after the start. Tomorrow, on December 15, the grandmasters will face each other again with colors reversed.

Sergey Karjakin went for a quick draw that he gave to two reasons for this decision: he was tired after the longest tie-break match, and also felt uncomfortable to play the opening without any preparation after rare move 6…g5 by Wei Yi. “My opponent was very well prepared for a side line which is not very popular and I realized it only over the board. It was tested by Anish Giri a few times before and since Wei Yi just played the match with him, he knew this variation and obviously looked through it” explained Sergei in the post-game interview.

An interesting theoretical discussion in Gruenfeld Defence took place in the game Wesley So vs Ian Nepomniachtchi. Ian has played all correct moves of his home preparation to equalize the position but according to him, he had to make some decisions over the board as he was not sure if he remembered the line correctly. Wesley So preparation was interrupted as his computer went dead on the previous day and the internet was slow. Recalling their previous match against Ian in Fisher Random, he noted it would not be a problem to prepare without a computer in Norway, while here it was a different story.

David Navara chose a line in the Italian Game, where black spends an extra tempo for playing a6-a5. Dmitry Jakovenko didn’t manage to get any advantage out of the opening, traded a few pieces and the draw was agreed on move 18.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave had some hopes of getting a slight advantage in the Exchange French thanks to his pair of bishops versus bishop and knight, but Dmitry Andreikin ruined them with 18… Ne4. Maxim was about to play 19.Rad1 when he noticed 19…Rf2! with unnecessary complications for white. After a precise 19.Be4 and subsequent exchanges the opponents shook hands.

https://www.fide.com/news/270FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem

Round 10, Dec. 14
MVL – Andreikin, Dmitry
C01 French, Exchange

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bd3 Bd6 6.Qe2+ Be6 7.Ng5 Qe7 8.Nxe6 fxe6 9.Nd2 O-O 10.O-O Nc6 11.Nf3 e5 12.dxe5 Nxe5 13.Nxe5 Qxe5 14.Qxe5 Bxe5 15.c3 Rae8 16.h3 d4 17.c4 Bd6 18.Bd2 Ne4 19.Bxe4 Rxe4 20.Rfe1 1/2-1/2

Round 10, Dec. 14
So, Wesley – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
D85 Grunfeld, Modern Exchange variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Nf3 c5 8.Rb1 O-O 9.Be2 cxd4 10.cxd4 Qa5+ 11.Bd2 Qxa2 12.O-O Bg4 13.Be3 Nc6 14.d5 Na5 15.Bg5 Qa3 16.Re1 Bxf3 17.Bxf3 Qd6 18.e5 Bxe5 19.Qe2 Bf6 20.Bd2 Qd8 21.d6 Nc6 22.dxe7 Qxe7 23.Qxe7 Nxe7 1/2-1/2

Round 10, Dec. 14
Karjakin, Sergey – Wei, Yi
B10 Caro-Kann Defence

1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.d3 dxe4 4.dxe4 Qxd1+ 5.Kxd1 Nf6 6.Nfd2 g5 7.f3 Rg8 8.Nc4 1/2-1/2

Round 10, Dec. 14
Jakovenko, Dmitry – Navara, David
C54 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.O-O O-O 7.Re1 a6 8.a4 h6 9.Nbd2 a5 10.Nf1 Be6 11.Qb3 Qd7 12.Be3 Bxc4 13.Qxc4 Bxe3 14.Nxe3 Rfe8 15.Rad1 Rad8 16.Nd5 Nxd5 17.Qxd5 b6 18.Qb5 1/2-1/2

[Wayne Komer]

FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem 2019

December 15, 2019

Quarter-Finals

Game Two

Navara secures his place in semis

David Navara became the first semifinalist of the Jerusalem Grand Prix, after defeating Dmitry Jakovenko with white pieces in the second classical game. His next opponent will be the winner of the match Karjakin - Wei Yi.

The Head of the Administration of the Ministry of Sports of Israel, Mr. Ofer Bustan, was the special guest today at the Jerusalem Grand Prix, organized by World Chess. Mr. Bustan made the first symbolic move in the game Navara - Jakovenko, which produced the only victory today. David Navara got an advantage right out of the opening and slowly but surely was increasing the pressure on his opponent’s position. A well-played game by the Czech grandmaster, where the final result was never in doubt.

Wesley So chose to play the classical Ruy Lopez, which is the main opening weapon of the Grand Chess Tour champion Ding Liren. “I decided why not to copy him while he also defended very comfortably against Maxime in London”, said Wesley So with a smile. Wesley was still on his home preparation when Ian Nepomniachtchi offered a draw. Both players believed the final position was close to equality. “This line is all about 16…Qc8 move, if black knows it, he is equalizing. It's difficult to play on this position, it simplifies very quickly,” added the Russian grandmaster.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave pointed out that the line that occurred in his game today was usually played between Russian and French grandmasters. He was obviously referring to the encounter Kasparov - Lautier from Tilburg 1997, which followed the same path until the 20th move. With 20.Rc7, Joel Lautier blundered a pawn but Garry Kasparov missed his chance and accepted a draw without thinking much. Dmitry Andreikin chose a better continuation 20.Kf1, but it didn’t affect the final result as a peace treaty was signed a few moves later.

Wei Yi and Karjakin played a very complicated tactical game rife with sacrifices. For those who were wondering how far the preparation of Karjakin went today, the Russian Grandmaster gave a surprising answer: “I had some notes after 9.Ne5 but didn't remember them well. I just played some natural moves. Later on, he played 12.Ng4 and I answered with 12…Nd7 which looked interesting as I want to continue with h5 or f5. I saw this line after 13.Nh6 but I stopped calculation after 18…Nf3 and 19…Rg8, thinking I'm just crashing my opponent. I was shocked when I realized he has 20.Ng4 with an idea Bc3! Fortunately, I found 20…Be5.” Wei Yi could have posed more problems for his opponent in the endgame which emerged after massive exchanges. According to Wei Yi, he could have had more chances if he kept his h-pawn by playing 28. Kg2. After 28.Kf1 Sergey Karjakin found a precise way to keep the game in balance.


Three matches will continue on tiebreaks on December 16:

Vachier-Lagrave vs Andreikin
So vs Nepomniachtchi
Karjakin vs Wei Yi

https://www.fide.com/news/272

Round 11, Dec. 15
Andreikin, Dmitry – MVL
A34 English, symmetrical, Three Knights System

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nb4 6.Bb5+ N8c6 7.d4 cxd4 8.a3 dxc3 9.Qxd8+ Kxd8 10.axb4 cxb2 11.Bxb2 e6 12.O-O Bd7 13.Bxc6 Bxc6 14.Ne5 Ke8 15.Nxc6 bxc6 16.Ra4 f6 17.Rfa1 Be7 18.Rxa7 Rxa7 19.Rxa7 Kf7 20.Kf1 Rb8 21.Bc3 Kf8 22.Rc7 Bxb4 23.Rxc6 Bxc3 24.Rxc3 1/2-1/2

Round 11, Dec. 15
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – So, Wesley
C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a3 O-O 9.Nc3 Na5 10.Ba2 Be6 11.b4 Bxa2 12.Nxa2 Nc6 13.c4 Nd4 14.Nc3 c6 15.Be3 Nxf3+ 16.Qxf3 Qc8 17.h3 Qe6 18.Rfc1 1/2-1/2

Round 11, Dec. 15
Wei, Yi – Karjakin, Sergey
E51 Nimzo-Indian

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 O-O 5.e3 d5 6.Bd2 b6 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Bd3 Bb7 9.Ne5 Bd6 10.O-O c5 11.Rc1 Nc6 12.Ng4 Nd7 13.Nh6+ gxh6 14.Qg4+ Kh8 15.Qf5 Nf6 16.Nxd5 Nxd4 17.Qxf6+ Qxf6 18.Nxf6 Nf3+ 19.gxf3 Rg8+ 20.Ng4 Be5 21.Be2 Bxb2 22.Rxc5 bxc5 23.Rb1 Bg7 24.Rxb7 h5 25.Rxf7 hxg4 26.fxg4 Rgf8 27.Rxf8+ Rxf8 28.Kf1 Rb8 29.Bc4 Rb1+ 30.Ke2 Rh1 31.Bd5 Rxh2 32.g5 Rh5 33.e4 Bd4 34.Bf4 Kg7 35.e5 Kf8 36.Bf3 Rh4 37.Bg3 Rh3 38.Bg2 Rxg3 39.fxg3 Bxe5 40.Be4 1/2-1/2

Position after 20.Ng4




Round 11, Dec. 15
Navara, David – Jakovenko, Dmitry
B36 Sicilian, Accelerated Fianchetto, Gurgenidze variation

1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 g6 6.e4 Nxd4 7.Qxd4 d6 8.Be3 Bg7 9.f3 O-O 10.Qd2 Be6 11.Rc1 Qa5 12.b3 Rfc8 13.g4 a6 14.Na4 Qxd2+ 15.Kxd2 Nd7 16.Rg1 Rc6 17.Be2 Kh8 18.f4 Nc5 19.Nxc5 dxc5 20.Bf3 Rc7 21.Ke2 b5 22.e5 Rac8 23.Bd5 Bxd5 24.cxd5 g5 25.d6 exd6 26.exd6 Rd7 27.Bxc5 gxf4 28.Kf3 Kg8 29.Bb4 Rcd8 30.Rge1 Bf8 31.Rc7 f6 32.Rd1 Kf7 33.Kxf4 Rxc7 34.dxc7 Rxd1 35.c8=Q Bxb4 36.Qxa6 Bd6+ 37.Ke4 1-0

[Wayne Komer]

FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem 2019

December 16, 2019

Quarter-Finals

Rapid and Blitz

Vachier-Lagrave and Nepomniachtchi to clash in semifinals

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Ian Nepomniachtchi defeated Dmitry Andreikin and Wesley So respectively and both advanced to the semifinals. Sergey Karjakin was knocked out by Wei Yi in an eventful four-game match that could have gone either way.

The moment of truth has come: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Ian Nepomniachtchi will finally cross swords in the decisive clash for a sport in the Candidates tournament. If Maxime Vachier-Lagrave wins this match he will immediately qualify for the Candidates. For the Russian, things are a bit more difficult: to get his ticket to Ekaterinburg 2020 he has to not only eliminate Maxime but also win the event.

Israeli grandmaster Alik Gershon, who is also famous for setting the Guinness World Record for simultaneous games after playing 523 opponents, made a first symbolic move in the game Wei Yi-Karjakin. It turned out to be the longest match of the second round playoffs. After losing the first rapid game Sergey Karjakin took revenge and leveled the score in the second encounter. The Russian grandmaster had a pleasant advantage in the third game but missed his a few opportunities in the middlegame and then misplayed in the endgame, allowing his opponent to take the lead in the match. Sergey, who is known for his ability to fight back in any situation, tried to stage one more comeback, but Wei Yi didn't give him a second chance.

Dmitry Andreikin found an interesting idea to avoid the classical Naidorf in the first rapid game against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and confused his opponent. The French grandmaster didn’t react optimally and after f4-f5 found himself in a difficult position. According to Maxime, he still managed to create a mess on the board then turned the table and even won the game. Dmitry had to win the second encounter to level the score and was able to get a complicated position with black pieces. Since the match situation required to take extra risks, the Russian grandmaster sacrificed some material to stir up action, but Maxime found the most precise moves and transposed into the winning ending. The Frenchman preferred not to take any chances and offered a draw to seal his 1.5:0,5 victory.

Ian Nepomniachtchi was taken by surprise in the opening of the first game and could not recall his preparation clearly. According to Ian, he got into the position where black had positional disadvantages but his defense was still hard to break. Wesley So did not find a way to do it and the game was drawn. In the second encounter, the American fell into his opponent's preparation. “Once in a blue moon, I managed to get something out of the opening! Actually, this idea of 21…Bf3 22.Rf3 Re5 is a trap. I was lucky to remember all moves until it was better for white but it would not be me if I didn’t make some mistakes later in the game”, commented Nepomniachtchi. After 37…Rd4 38.Re8 the players entered the rook ending which clearly favored White. Wesley questioned his decision to go for this rook ending and assumed that he would probably have had better chances to defend the ending with queens on the board.

https://www.fide.com/news/274

Round 12, Dec. 16
25+10
Andreikin, Dmitry – MVL
B23 Sicilian, Closed

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.Nge2 Nf6 4.h3 e5 5.d3 Nc6 6.g4 Be7 7.Bg2 h5 8.g5 Nh7 9.h4 f6 10.Nd5 fxg5 11.hxg5 Nxg5 12.Nec3 g6 13.Nxe7 Qxe7 14.Nd5 Qd8 15.f4 Nf7 16.f5 gxf5 17.exf5 Nd4 18.Be3 Bxf5 19.Bxd4 Bg4 20.Bf3 cxd4 21.c4 dxc3 22.bxc3 Qa5 23.Rb1 Ng5 24.Nf6+ Kf7 25.O-O Nh3+ 26.Kh1 Kxf6 27.Bxg4+ Nf4 28.Bf3 Rag8 29.Rxb7 Rg3 30.Qb3 Rf8 31.d4 Qa6 32.c4 Rh3+ 33.Kg1 Rg8+ 34.Kf2 Rg2+ 35.Ke1 Qa5+ 36.Rb4 Rxa2 0-1

Round 13, Dec. 16
25+10
MVL – Andreikin, Dmitry
B06 Robatsch Defence, Two Knights, Suttles variation

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c6 4.Nf3 d6 5.a4 Bg4 6.Be2 d5 7.O-O Nf6 8.e5 Nfd7 9.Ng5 Bxe2 10.Nxe2 e6 11.c3 c5 12.Nf4 Qe7 13.Nf3 Nc6 14.b3 O-O 15.Nd3 Rfc8 16.Ba3 Qd8 17.Re1 b6 18.b4 Bf8 19.Qd2 Rc7 20.h4 Rac8 21.h5 cxd4 22.cxd4 Ne7 23.hxg6 hxg6 24.g4 Rc2 25.Qf4 Bg7 26.Ng5 Qe8 27.Re3 R8c4 28.Nb2 Rxb2 29.Bxb2 Nc6 30.b5 Ncxe5 31.Qh2 Nxg4 32.Qh7+ Kf8 33.Ba3+ Nc5 34.dxc5 bxc5 35.Rc1 Rxc1+ 36.Bxc1 Nxe3 37.Bxe3 d4 38.Bc1 Qe7 39.a5 d3 40.b6 axb6 41.axb6 Qb7 42.Nxe6+ fxe6 43.Bh6 Ke8 44.Qg8+ Kd7 45.Qxg7+ Kc6 46.Qxg6 Qd7 47.Be3 Kxb6 48.Kf1 Qd5 49.Qh7 Kb5 50.Qh8 c4 51.Ke1 Qf3 52.Qb2+ Ka4 53.Qa2+ Kb5 54.Qb2+ Kc6 55.Kd2 Qg4 56.Qb6+ Kd7 57.Qd4+ 1/2-1/2

MVL goes on to the next round, Andreikin goes home

Round 12, Dec. 16
25+10
So, Wesley – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
A33 English, symmetrical variation

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.a3 Be7 7.e4 O-O 8.Nf3 Qa5 9.Bd2 Qh5 10.Be2 d5 11.exd5 exd5 12.cxd5 Nxd5 13.Nd4 Qh4 14.Nxc6 bxc6 15.O-O Be6 16.Bf3 Rab8 17.g3 Qc4 18.Rc1 Qb3 19.Nxd5 cxd5 20.Bc3 Rfd8 21.Be5 Qxd1 22.Rfxd1 Rb3 23.Kg2 Bf6 24.Bxf6 gxf6 25.Rd2 Rdb8 26.Bxd5 Rxb2 27.Rd3 Rd8 28.Rcd1 Rd6 29.Bxe6 Rxe6 30.Rd8+ Kg7 31.R1d4 Rb5 32.Rg4+ Rg5 33.Ra4 Re2 34.Rd3 a5 35.Rf3 Re6 36.h4 Rge5 37.Rg4+ Kf8 38.Rc4 Kg7 39.Rc7 Re4 40.Rd3 Re8 41.Rcd7 Ra4 42.R7d4 Re4 43.Rxe4 Rxe4 44.Kf3 f5 45.Rd5 1/2-1/2

Round 13, Dec. 16
25+10
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – So, Wesley
C88
Ruy Lopez, Closed, anti-Marshall

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.a4 b4 9.d4 d6 10.dxe5 Nxe5 11.Nbd2 Nxf3+ 12.Nxf3 Bb7 13.Qd3 Nd7 14.Be3 Bf6 15.Bd4 Bxd4 16.Qxd4 a5 17.h3 Re8 18.Re3 Qf6 19.Qc4 Nc5 20.e5 Qg6 21.Ba2 Bxf3 22.Rxf3 Rxe5 23.Rxf7 d5 24.Qxc5 Qxf7 25.f4 Qxf4 26.Bxd5+ Kh8 27.Rf1 Rxd5 28.Qxd5 Qe3+ 29.Kh2 Qe8 30.Rf5 h6 31.Re5 Qf8 32.Qe4 c6 33.Re6 Rc8 34.Qe5 Kh7 35.Re7 Rd8 36.Qe4+ Kh8 37.b3 Rd4 38.Re8 Rxe4 39.Rxf8+ Kh7 40.Rf5 Re2 41.Rc5 Kg6 42.Rxc6+ Kf5 43.Kg3 Rd2 44.Kf3 g5 45.g3 Rh2 46.Rc5+ Kg6 47.Rxa5 Rxc2 48.Re5 Rb2 49.Re3 h5 50.g4 hxg4+ 51.hxg4 Kf6 52.Ke4 Rg2 53.Kd5 Rxg4 54.a5 Rg1 55.Kc5 g4 56.a6 Rh1 57.Re8 Rh5+ 58.Kxb4 Rh7 59.Rg8 Kf5 60.Ka5 Kf4 61.b4 g3 62.b5 Kf3 63.b6 Rh5+ 64.Ka4 Rh4+ 65.Ka3 1-0

Position after 37.b3



Nepo goes on to the next round

Round 12, Dec. 16
25+10
Wei, Yi – Karjakin, Sergey
C22 Centre game, Hall variation

1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6 4.Qc4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Bd2 O-O 7.O-O-O d6 8.f3 Re8 9.Qe2 Be6 10.Qf2 a5 11.Nge2 Qe7 12.Nf4 Bxc3 13.Bxc3 Nb4 14.a3 Na2+ 15.Kd2 d5 16.Bxf6 Qxf6 17.Nd3 dxe4 18.fxe4 Qg6 19.Be2 b5 20.Qg3 Qf6 21.Qe5 Qe7 22.Qxb5 Rab8 23.Qc5 Qh4 24.Bf3 g6 25.g3 Qh6+ 26.Ke2 Qg7 27.Kf2 Rxb2 28.Nxb2 Qxb2 29.Rb1 Qc3 30.Qxc3 Nxc3 31.Rb7 c5 32.Re1 Rd8 33.Ke3 Rd4 34.Ra1 Kg7 35.Ra7 Ra4 36.Rb7 Rd4 37.Rb6 Rc4 38.Rxe6 1-0

Round 13, Dec. 16
25+10
Karjakin, Sergey – Wei, Yi
B12 Caro-Kann

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.dxc5 e6 5.a3 Bxc5 6.Qg4 Ne7 7.Bd3 O-O 8.Nf3 f5 9.exf6 Rxf6 10.Qh4 h6 11.O-O Nbc6 12.c4 Qf8 13.Nc3 Ng6 14.Qh5 Nge5 15.Nxe5 Rxf2 16.Be3 Bxe3 17.Rxf2 Bxf2+ 18.Kh1 Nxe5 19.Qxe5 Qf6 20.Qe2 dxc4 21.Bc2 Qh4 22.Ne4 Bd4 23.Rd1 Bxb2 24.Nd6 e5 25.Nxc4 Bd4 26.Qd3 Qf6 27.Qh7+ Kf7 28.Bd3 Ke7 29.Rf1 Qg5 30.Bg6 e4 31.Rf7+ Ke6 32.Qg8 1-0

Round 14, Dec. 16
10+10
Karjakin, Sergey – Wei, Yi
B12 Caro-Kann Defence

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.Nf3 cxd4 5.Qxd4 e6 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.Qf4 h6 8.h4 g6 9.Bd3 a6 10.O-O Nge7 11.Ne2 Nf5 12.c3 Be7 13.Bxf5 gxf5 14.Qg3 Kf8 15.Be3 Bd7 16.Rfd1 Rc8 17.b3 b5 18.Rd2 Qc7 19.Rad1 Be8 20.Nf4 Rg8 21.Nxd5 Rxg3 22.Nxc7 Rxf3 23.Bxh6+ Kg8 24.Nxe8 Nxe5 25.Nd6 Bxd6 26.Rxd6 Rfxc3 27.Rxa6 Rc2 28.Bf4 Ng4 29.f3 Nf6 30.Rd2 Nd5 31.Rxc2 Rxc2 32.g3 b4 33.h5 Kg7 34.Bg5 Nc3 35.Ra8 Ne2+ 36.Kf2 e5 37.h6+ Kh7 38.Rf8 Nd4+ 39.Kf1 Rc7 40.Bf6 Nxf3 41.Kf2 Nh2 42.Rh8+ Kg6 43.Rg8+ Kxh6 44.Ke2 Ng4 45.Bh4 Rc2+ 46.Kd3 Rxa2 47.Kc4 f6 48.Kxb4 e4 49.Kc3 e3 50.b4 e2 51.Re8 Ne5 52.g4 fxg4 53.b5 g3 54.Bxg3 Ra3+ 55.Kd2 Rxg3 56.Kxe2 Rb3 57.Rb8 Kg5 58.b6 Nd7 0-1

Round 15, Dec. 16
10+10
Wei, Yi – Karjakin, Sergey
B91 Sicilian, Najdorf, Zagreb variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.g3 e5 7.Nde2 Be7 8.Bg2 Nbd7 9.a4 h5 10.Bg5 Nf8 11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.Nd5 h4 13.Nec3 Bg5 14.a5 Be6 15.Nb6 Rb8 16.Ncd5 Nd7 17.Ra3 O-O 18.O-O Nxb6 19.Nxb6 hxg3 20.hxg3 g6 21.Rd3 Qc7 22.Rc3 Qe7 23.Rd3 Bh6 24.Nd5 Qd8 25.Nb6 Qc7 26.Rc3 Qe7 27.Nd5 Qd8 28.Nc7 Qe7 29.Nxe6 Qxe6 30.Qd3 Rfc8 31.Rd1 Bf8 32.Bf1 Qa2 33.b4 d5 34.exd5 Bxb4 35.Rxc8+ Rxc8 36.d6 Qxa5 37.Qe4 Rd8 38.Qxb7 Bxd6 39.Bc4 Qc7 40.Qxc7 Bxc7 41.Rxd8+ Bxd8 42.Bxa6 1/2-1/2

Wei Yi goes on to the next round

The pairings will be:

MVL – Nepo
Wei Yi - Navara

[Wayne Komer]

FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem 2019

December 17, 2019

Semi-Finals

Game One

Nepomniachtchi beats MVL, Wei Yi and Navara draw

Ian Nepomniachtchi outplayed Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the first game of the match that will determine the holder of a spot in the Candidates tournament 2020. To level the score, the French grandmaster has to win the second classical game with White. The first game of the second semifinal, Wei Yi vs David Navara, ended in a draw.

Ian Nepomniachtchi came well-prepared for Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's Grünfeld and surprised his opponent with a rare move 8.Be3. “It's nothing serious but it worked out pretty well. He chose an interesting way but strategically it's very dangerous," commented Ian after the game. Maxime spent 20 minutes and decided to grab the bishop on e3, letting his opponent get a very strong center. Initially, the French grandmaster was going for a long defense, but remained true to himself and preferred to complicate matters with 14…b5. According to Ian, a tense battle would have continued had Maxime played 19…c5, sacrificing another pawn to open the position. It turned out that Vachier-Lagrave was tempted by a forced line starting with 21…Be5 but missed a very strong 24.Ne4 at the end of the variation.

If Maxime fails to level the score tomorrow, he is out of the tournament and Nepomniachtchi will have the qualification for the Candidates in his own hands. The Russian will also need to win the final to overtake Vachier-Lagrave in overall Grand Prix standings.

A funny accident happened in the encounter Wei Yi – David Navara. The Chinese grandmaster came to the game, thinking he was playing with Black – a real nightmare for any chess player! Playing without preparation, he spent a lot of time in the opening but came out with some original ideas. David Navara managed to equalize the position and even got some chances in the rook endgame. However, Wei Yi was defending precisely and achieved a draw after the opponents mutually eliminated all the pieces except kings.

The second games of the semifinals start on December 18 at 3 pm (GMT+2):

Vachier-Lagrave – Nepomniachtchi
Navara – Wei Yi

https://www.fide.com/news/276

Game 1, Dec. 17
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – MVL
D97 Grunfeld, Russian, Byrne variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 O-O 7.e4 Nc6 8.Be3 Ng4 9.e5 Nxe3 10.fxe3 Bg4 11.h3 Bxf3 12.gxf3 e6 13.h4 Ne7 14.f4 b5 15.Qc5 Nf5 16.Kf2 f6 17.Rd1 b4 18.Qxb4 Rb8 19.Qa3 fxe5 20.dxe5 Qe8 21.Bg2 Bxe5 22.fxe5 Nxh4+ 23.Kg1 Nxg2 24.Ne4 Rd8 25.Rc1 Qb5 26.Qe7 Rd7 27.Nf6+ Rxf6 28.Qxf6 Rf7 29.Qd8+ Rf8 30.Qxc7 Rf7 31.Qd8+ Rf8 32.Qe7 h5 33.Qxe6+ Kg7 34.Rc7+ Kh6 35.Rxh5+ Kxh5 36.Qh3+ 1-0

Position after 21.Bg2




Game 1, Dec. 17
Wei, Yi – Navara, David
A11 English

1.Nf3 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 e6 5.b3 Bd6 6.Bb2 O-O 7.Be2 e5 8.cxd5 cxd5 9.Nb5 e4 10.Ne5 Ne8 11.Rc1 f6 12.Qc2 Bxe5 13.Bxe5 fxe5 14.Qxc8 Nc6 15.Qxd8 Rxd8 16.f3 Nf6 17.fxe4 Nxe4 18.Rf1 Rxf1+ 19.Bxf1 Kf7 20.Nc3 Nxc3 21.Rxc3 Ke6 22.Ba6 d4 23.exd4 exd4 24.Bc4+ Kd6 25.Rh3 h6 26.Rg3 Re8+ 27.Kd1 Re7 28.Rf3 Ne5 29.Rf8 Nxc4 30.bxc4 d3 31.Rd8+ Kc5 32.Rxd3 Kxc4 33.Kc2 Re2 34.Rg3 g5 35.Rg4+ Kd5 36.Kd3 Re1 37.h4 gxh4 38.Rxh4 Re6 39.Rh5+ Kd6 40.Kc4 Rg6 41.d4 a6 42.a4 b6 43.Kd3 Rxg2 44.Rxh6+ Kd5 45.Rxb6 Rg3+ 46.Kc2 a5 47.Rb5+ Kxd4 48.Rxa5 Kc4 49.Rb5 Ra3 50.Rh5 Rxa4 51.Rh4+ Kb5 52.Rxa4 Kxa4 1/2-1/2

Position after 48.Rxa5



From the Chat:

- If Nepo wins this match, does he still need to win the final to qualify?

- Yes

- not really cause he'll likely be the wildcard anyway if he doesn't win

- The thing with MVL isn't just that he has just barely missed it so many times, he has done this every chance before too.

- I'm assuming the winner of MVL-nepo will win the final too, unless wei pulls a miracle

- MVL seems to have this bad habit sacrificing b5. Lost a game like that to Magnus this year.

[Wayne Komer]

FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem 2019

December 18, 2019

Semi-Finals

Game Two

Ian Nepomniachtchi eliminates Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

Ian Nepomniachtchi eliminates Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and advances to the final of Jerusalem Grand Prix, organized by World Chess. The second classical game of their match finished in a draw leaving the final score at 1½-½. After drawing their second encounter David Navara and Wei Yi will continue the battle on tiebreak tomorrow.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who was in a must-win situation today, made an audacious choice in the opening, going for an early 3.h4 that he had already tested against Grischuk at the second leg of Grand Prix in Riga. Of course, Ian Nepomniachtchi knew this game: “When I saw this move for the first time I thought, 'how can you play like this?'. But then Alexander Grischuk beat me in blitz in this line. I was analyzing it in the summer, but I could not remember my analysis,” commented Ian after the game.

Failing to remember his preparation put Nepomniachtchi in a very unpleasant situation as the Frenchman came out of the opening with a clear edge in a very dynamic position. However, Maxime lost the thread on move 25, when he committed a serious mistake allowing his opponent to break through with 25...f5. “My original idea was to play 26.e5, but in the line 26…f4 27.Bf4 gxf4 28.Nh5 I suddenly realized that after 28…Be5 29.dxe5 Black simply castles long and I can just resign. I decided to offer a draw in the end because I am really worse there and there is nothing to hope for anymore,“ said Maxime in the post-game interview.

“For the last 7 months I played chess for at least 3 months, I was traveling for another month, and one more month I spent it resting but also away from home. It has been a huge challenge for me! There was nothing I could do about it, since the schedule for both Grand Prix and Grand Chess Tour had been fixed".

Nepomniachtchi still needs to win the final in order to overcome Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the Grand Prix standings to qualify for the Candidates: at the moment, MVL has 16 GP points while Nepomniachtchi has 15. If the Russian grandmaster loses in the final, he will still have his last chance get a slot in the Candidates by playing a play-off for the wild card with Kirill Alekseenko. "I will be watching the match from home" said Maxime "and of course I will be rooting against Ian, there is nothing else I can do. But if Ian wins, it will be well deserved,” he added.

In the second game, David Navara and Wei Yi drew again. Wei Yi chose a rare line 10…Nbd7 in the Russian System of the Grunfeld, and after 11.Be3 Ng4 12.c6 he came up with a piece sacrifice, which was introduced in the game Volkov - Riazantsev (2017). Unfamiliar with this idea David Navara decided to take the piece. Black had enough compensation thanks to activity of his pieces and a few moves later the Czech grandmaster was forced to give back his extra material and steer the game into an ending. After the Queen's exchange Wei Yi had extra pawn in the rook ending but David Navara's task of reaching a draw was not particularly difficult.

The winner of the second semifinal Navara - Wei Yi will be determined on tiebreak tomorrow, December 19, with Navara playing White in the first game.

https://www.fide.com/news/277


Game 2, Dec. 18
MVL – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
E60 King’s Indian Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.h4 Bg7 4.Nc3 d5 5.h5 Nxh5 6.cxd5 e6 7.g4 Nf6 8.dxe6 Bxe6 9.e4 Bxg4 10.f3 Be6 11.Bg5 h6 12.Be3 c6 13.Nge2 Bc4 14.Qc2 Qa5 15.Nf4 Bxf1 16.Kxf1 Na6 17.a3 Nc7 18.Kf2 g5 19.b4 Qa6 20.Nd3 Qc4 21.Rac1 Nd7 22.Nb2 Qe6 23.Ne2 Nb5 24.a4 Nd6 25.Ng3 f5 26.exf5 Qd5 27.Nc4 Nxc4 28.Qxc4 Qxc4 29.Rxc4 Nb6 30.Rc5 O-O 31.a5 Nd5 32.a6 1/2-1/2

Game 2, Dec. 18
Navara, David – Wei, Yi
D97 Grunfeld, Russian, Alekhine variation

1.c4 g6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 O-O 7.e4 a6 8.Be2 b5 9.Qb3 c5 10.dxc5 Nbd7 11.Be3 Ng4 12.c6 Nxe3 13.cxd7 Nxg2+ 14.Kf1 Qxd7 15.Kxg2 Qh3+ 16.Kg1 Be6 17.Ng5 Qh4 18.Nxe6 fxe6 19.Qxe6+ Kh8 20.Rf1 Rf4 21.h3 Raf8 22.Rh2 Bxc3 23.bxc3 Rxe4 24.Qxa6 Rxe2 25.Qxb5 Qe4 26.Qb4 Qa8 27.c4 Qxa2 28.Qc3+ Kg8 29.Ra1 Rc2 30.Rxa2 Rxc3 31.Re2 Kf7 32.Re4 Rc8 33.Kg2 R8xc4 34.Rxc4 Rxc4 35.Rh1 Kf6 36.Ra1 h5 37.Ra6+ Kf5 38.Ra5+ e5 39.Ra8 Rc6 40.Rf8+ Rf6 41.Ra8 Kf4 42.Ra4+ Kg5 43.Ra5 Rf5 44.Ra6 Rf4 45.Re6 Kf5 46.Re8 e4 47.Re7 Kf6 48.Re8 g5 49.Rh8 h4 50.f3 exf3+ 51.Kf2 Ke7 52.Ra8 Rf5 53.Ra3 Kf6 54.Rxf3 g4 55.hxg4 Rxf3+ 56.Kxf3 Kg5 57.Kg2 Kxg4 58.Kh2 h3 59.Kh1 h2 60.Kg2 h1=N 1/2-1/2

Final Position



Humour in chess?

[Wayne Komer]

FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem 2019

December 19, 2019

Tiebreaks

Wei Yi and Ian Nepomniachtchi meet in the final

Wei Yi outplayed David Navara on the tie-break and advanced to the final of the FIDE Grand Prix.

Wei Yi and Ian Nepomniachtchi will meet in the final in Jerusalem, which will determine who will get a spot in the Candidates tournament. Ironically, the finalists have different motivations in this match – Ian Nepomniachtchi fights for the slot the Candidates, while Wei Yi has no chance to get higher than fourth place in the overall Grand Prix Series standings. However, the Chinese grandmaster can win a prestigious Jerusalem Grand Prix title, if he defeats his opponent in the final.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who was eliminated in the semifinal by Ian Nepomniachtchi, cannot affect the tournament situation anymore but keeps his hopes to get to the Candidates if Ian loses the final match.

The match between Wei Yi and David Navara was decided in two rapid games on tiebreak. David Navara, who had white pieces in the first game today, got a position with an extra pawn in Anti-Grunfeld for which his opponent had some compensation in form of active pieces. The Czech GM didn't find the right way to keep his material advantage and according to him, opted for a strange line starting with 25.Ba5 and ended up a pawn down. Nevertheless, David defended well and managed to save the first rapid game. Similarly to the previous encounters the opponents played to bare kings.

The second game became a crucial one for the outcome of the match. According to David, he mixed up something in a very silly way. He knew this idea e4 and saw it in various lines but not in the one which actually happened today. Wei Yi got a huge advantage out of the opening and gave his opponent no chance to escape. "My opponent just played better than me today and won deservedly", said David Navara. “I don't regret too much losing this match because I'm already tired and lack energy for the final anyway but of course I tried to play well. I'm a bit embarrassed about the way I lost the last game. I can play better sometimes but not today” added the Czech grandmaster.

https://www.fide.com/news/282

Game 3, Dec. 19
25+10
Navara, David – Wei, Yi
A16 English

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Qb3 Nb6 6.d4 Bg7 7.e4 Bg4 8.Bb5+ c6 9.Ng5 O-O 10.Be2 Bxe2 11.Nxe2 c5 12.dxc5 N6d7 13.Qxb7 Qa5+ 14.Bd2 Qa6 15.c6 Qxc6 16.Qxc6 Nxc6 17.Rc1 Rac8 18.b3 Nde5 19.O-O Nd3 20.Rcd1 Nb2 21.Rb1 Rfd8 22.Nf3 Nd3 23.Rfd1 Ncb4 24.a3 Nc2 25.Ba5 Rd6 26.b4 Nxa3 27.Rb3 Nc1 28.Rxd6 exd6 29.Rxa3 Nxe2+ 30.Kf1 Nc3 31.b5 Nxb5 32.Ra2 Rc4 33.Bd2 Rc6 34.Ke2 Kf8 35.Kd3 a6 36.Bb4 Ke8 37.Nd2 Kd7 38.Nc4 Bd4 39.f3 Bg1 40.Ra1 Bd4 41.Ra4 Bg1 42.Ra1 Bd4 43.Ra4 Be5 44.g3 Ke6 45.f4 Bg7 46.Na5 Rc7 47.Nc4 Rc6 48.Na5 Rc1 49.Nb3 Rb1 50.Kc4 Nc7 51.Ba5 Nb5 52.Bb4 Nc7 53.Ba5 d5+ 54.exd5+ Nxd5 55.Nc5+ Kd6 56.Nxa6 Rb2 57.Bb4+ Nxb4 58.Nxb4 Rxh2 59.Ra6+ Kd7 60.Nd3 Rc2+ 61.Kd5 Rc7 62.Ne5+ Bxe5 63.Kxe5 Ke7 64.g4 Rc4 65.Ra7+ Kf8 66.f5 Rc5+ 67.Kf6 Rc6+ 68.Kg5 Kg7 69.fxg6 hxg6 70.Rb7 Rc4 71.Ra7 Re4 72.Rb7 Kf8 73.Rb8+ Re8 74.Rb7 Re7 75.Rb8+ Kg7 76.Kf4 f6 77.Rb6 Rc7 78.Kg3 Rc3+ 79.Kf2 Kf7 80.Rb7+ Ke6 81.Rb6+ Kf7 82.Rb7+ Kf8 83.g5 f5 84.Rb6 Kf7 85.Rb7+ Ke8 86.Rb6 f4 87.Rxg6 Rg3 88.Rf6 Rxg5 89.Rxf4 Rg7 90.Kf3 Rf7 91.Rxf7 Kxf7 1/2-1/2

Position after White’s 70.Rb7




Game 4, Dec. 19
25+10
Wei, Yi – Navara, David
A06 Reti Opening

1.Nf3 d5 2.b3 Bf5 3.Bb2 e6 4.d3 h6 5.Nbd2 Nf6 6.g3 c5 7.Ne5 Nbd7 8.e4 Bh7 9.Nxd7 Qxd7 10.Bg2 Qd8 11.exd5 exd5 12.Qe2+ Be7 13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.O-O Bf5 15.Rae1 Be6 16.Qh5 Qd7 17.Rxe6 Qxe6 18.Bxd5 Qd7 19.Bxf7+ Kd8 20.Re1 Kc7 21.Be6 Qd8 22.Nc4 a6 23.Bd5 Ra7 24.Qf7 Re8 25.Bf3 b5 26.Na5 Kb6 27.Nc6 1-0

The match Wei Yi – Nepomniachtchi will take place, starting after the rest day, on Saturday, December 21

[Wayne Komer]

FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem 2019

December 21, 2019

Final

Game One

Nepomniachtchi is one draw away from the Candidates

Ian Nepomniachtchi won the first game against Wei Yi in the final match of Jerusalem Grand Prix. The Russian plays with White in the second game tomorrow and needs just a draw to win the tournament and get a spot in the Candidates 2020.

Yoav Evenstein, Consultant and Analyst in Evenovate and Tel Aviv University made a first symbolic move in the first game of the final Wei Yi – Nepomniachtchi.

Both players were smiling when they saw 1.Nc3 on the board and a few seconds later playing White Wei Yi, chose 1.Nf3 instead. Four knights variation in English Opening was played in what turned to be the longest game of Jerusalem Grand Prix so far.

After quite a rare 12.Rb1 Ian chose 12…Qb4, proposing the queen’s exchange. Even though It was the first key moment in the game, surprisingly it took Wei Yi record-breaking 53 minutes to play 13.Qd1, avoiding the exchange.

On the 31st move, the Chinese grandmaster had a choice of finishing the game or playing on. Ian Nepomniachtchi expected his opponent to end the game, thinking the position was balanced but with only a few seconds on his clock, Wei Yi spurned the repetition, tempted by a risky 32.Nb5. He entered a forced double-edged sequence where every move could have been a decisive one. According to Wei Yi, he simply missed the strong idea of exchange sacrifice after 32.Qb2.

Being short on time, Wei Yi failed to find a precise 34.Ra1 and ended up in a difficult position where only Black was playing for a win. Ian Nepomniachtchi didn’t want to force the issue and kept putting pressure on his opponent waiting for the best moment to push d4. White's position collapsed a few moves after Ian has finally advanced his passer with 84...d4. Only 87.Qa3 could have given White some hopes to save the game but it was not played. In the post-game interview, the Chinese grandmaster said he was not sure if he could have held his position by playing precisely but it was definitely hard to defend it for so long. The game was over after 96 moves with Ian scoring a very important victory with black pieces.

https://www.fide.com/news/284

Game 1, Dec. 21
Wei Yi – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
A33 English, symmetrical, Geller variation

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 e6 6.g3 Qb6 7.Ndb5 Ne5 8.Bg2 a6 9.Qa4 Rb8 10.Na3 Bc5 11.O-O O-O 12.Rb1 Qb4 13.Qd1 d6 14.Na4 b5 15.Nxc5 Qxc5 16.cxb5 axb5 17.Bg5 Ba6 18.Nc2 b4 19.Nd4 Bb7 20.Rc1 Qa5 21.Bxb7 Rxb7 22.Bxf6 gxf6 23.Qb3 Ra8 24.f4 Qa7 25.e3 Nd7 26.Qd1 Qxa2 27.Qg4+ Kh8 28.Qh5 Kg8 29.Qg4+ Kh8 30.Qh5 Kg8 31.Nb5 Rxb5 32.Qxb5 Qxb2 33.Rb1 Qc2 34.Rfc1 Qd2 35.Qxb4 Qxe3+ 36.Kh1 Ra2 37.Rc8+ Kg7 38.Rb2 Qf3+ 39.Kg1 Qd1+ 40.Kg2 Ra1 41.Qb5 f5 42.Qe2 Qd5+ 43.Kh3 Nf6 44.Rbb8 Ra2 45.Rc2 Rxc2 46.Qxc2 Qf3 47.Rb3 Qf1+ 48.Qg2 Qe1 49.Qb2 Kg6 50.Kg2 d5 51.Rb8 Qe4+ 52.Kh3 Qf3 53.Rb3 Qf1+ 54.Qg2 Qe1 55.Qc2 Qf1+ 56.Qg2 Qc4 57.Rb8 h6 58.Kh4 Qd3 59.Rb2 Ng4 60.Qe2 Qd4 61.Kh3 Qg1 62.Qg2 Qd4 63.Qe2 Qc5 64.Qc2 Qg1 65.Qg2 Qe3 66.Qe2 Qd4 67.Qc2 Ne3 68.Qb3 Nd1 69.Re2 Nf2+ 70.Kg2 Ng4 71.Qb8 Nf6 72.Qb2 Qc5 73.Rc2 Qe3 74.Re2 Qa7 75.Qa2 Qc5 76.Qc2 Qd6 77.Qb2 Ne4 78.Qd4 Qa6 79.Rc2 Nf6 80.Rd2 Qa5 81.Re2 Qa3 82.Qb2 Qa7 83.Qa2 Qd7 84.Qb2 d4 85.Rd2 Qd5+ 86.Kg1 d3 87.Qe5 Qe4 88.Qxe4 fxe4 89.Kf2 Nd5 90.Ke1 Kf5 91.Rd1 e5 92.Kd2 exf4 93.gxf4 Nxf4 94.Ra1 Ke5 95.Ra6 h5 96.Ra8 f5 0-1

Position after Black’s 30…Kg8




- Wei Yi memorably lost the position after 9.Qa4 in 16 moves earlier this year with Black, but after 10 mins Nepo picks 9...Rb8 not 9...Bc5:

- A pawn down and with two seconds left, Wei Yi declines a three-fold repetition and invites further edgy play with 31.Nb5!? Rxb5 32.Qxb5 Qxb2. This 20-year-old has ice running through his veins but he might regret this decision.

[Wayne Komer]

FIDE Grand Prix Jerusalem 2019

December 22, 2019

Final

Game Two

Nepomniachtchi wins Jerusalem Grand Prix and qualifies for the Candidates


Ian Nepomniachtchi wins the Jerusalem Grand Prix after defeating Wei Yi 1,5-0,5 in the final, thus qualifying to the Candidates Tournament 2020. The second game of the final match finished in a draw after 26 moves.

Dmitry Vasiliev, First Deputy Director General of CROC, one of the Russian IT market leaders, was the guest of honor in today's round. He made the first move in the last game of the FIDE Grand Prix 2019, organized by World Chess. It was not an easy task for Wei Yi today, who had to find a way to put up a decent fight with Black in the second game of the final. The Chinese grandmaster had to win the second game to equalize the score in the final match after losing the first game on the previous day. Wei Yi chose to play the Pirc system which looked promising for Black. The Chinese grandmaster decided to sacrifice 2 pieces in order to break through on the King's side but White had enough resources to defend and to keep the material advantage.

According to Ian, he was sure he had a strategically better position, and after he put his bishop on f5, White should be out of any danger. “Obviously, in the end, I could try to play on, but when I realized that I could end the game with the perpetual check I thought “why not?” It looks like my opponent attacked me, sacrificed two pieces and then brilliantly found a perpetual check. Everyone should be happy with today's game”, said Ian with a smile.

“I have very mixed feelings. It was a very busy and tough year and actually, my strategy was not to qualify for the London Grand Chess tour, as I knew that London almost clashes with the last leg in Jerusalem, which I suppose would be very difficult."

"Speaking seriously, I would like to say that it's a very big moment in my career. The run is still on and it's a bit difficult because I’m tired after this year and probably there will be no rest as I need to prepare for the Candidates right now. In fact, every match was tough, including yesterday’s game but the toughest match was against Boris Gelfand. I was the only match where I completely deserve to lose but managed to escape,” said Nepomniachtchi after his victory.

When asked about his chances in the Candidates, Ian added: "First of all I should play better in the Candidates than here if I want to have a few chances. I’m not a hundred percent sure who is playing there. Clearly it's a good point that I have a good experience playing in Grand Chess Tour events with a similar field, including Ding Liren, Fabiano Caruana and others. Let's wait until Candidates happens and let's show the best chess I’m capable of.”

The overall winner of the Grand Prix series 2019 is Alexander Grischuk, with 20 points, one more than Ian Nepomniachtchi. The third in the final standings for the series is Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, with 16 points: despite having had a very good 2019, his result is not good enough to get the Frenchman a place in the Candidates tournament.

https://www.fide.com/news/285


Final, Game 2
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Wei, Yi
B06 Robatsch Defence, Two Knights variation

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.Nf3 a6 5.Be2 e6 6.O-O Ne7 7.Re1 Nd7 8.a4 b6 9.Be3 Bb7 10.Qd2 h6 11.h3 g5 12.d5 e5 13.Nh2 Ng6 14.Bg4 Nf6 15.Nf1 Nf4 16.Bf5 h5 17.g3 Bh6 18.f3 Rg8 19.Kh1 Bc8 20.gxf4 gxf4 21.Bf2 Nxe4 22.fxe4 Qg5 23.Ne3 fxe3 24.Bxe3 Qg3 25.Bxh6 Qf3+ 26.Kh2 Qg3+ 1/2-1/2

Final Position