Prague International Chess Festival 2020

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  • Prague International Chess Festival 2020

    Prague International Chess Festival 2020

    February 6, 2020

    From ChessBase:

    The second annual Prague International Chess Festival will take place from February 11th to 22nd 2020 at the four-star hotel Don Giovanni. The participants will be able to take part in the Masters tournament, the Challengers tournament; the Open tournament and rating class tournaments, competing for sets of medals.

    The preparations for the second annual of the Prague International Chess Festival are in their final stages. Last year's inaugural tournament was held from March 5th-16th, but moving the tournament from March to February prevents an overlap with the Czech Youth Championship. Current plans are to keep this calendar slot in the future.

    Petr Boleslav, the festival director, explains:

    We definitely want our best junior and youth players to have the opportunity to participate in the festival...March is often filled with international events, too. February presents a less eventful month, certainly. I believe that after the Tata Steel Chess in January and Gibraltar in late January, our own chess festival will have a permanent spot on the world calendar, in the second week of February.

    The traditional format of the festival remains the same. The Masters tournament will be for ten players from the World’s top 50 will take part in the fight for the main trophy of the chess festival. In the closed Challengers tournament, there will be ten further players who will be competing not only for first place but also for an advanced position in the tournament in the upcoming year.

    https://en.chessbase.com/post/prague...l-2020-preview

    World Junior #1 Alireza Firouzja to play in Prague

    A few days before the start of the Prague International Chess Festival, the organizers had to deal with unexpected circumstances. Due to coronavirus, Chinese Grandmaster Wei Yi had to cancel his participation in the Masters Tournament at the last minute and will be replaced by the top Junior chess player GM Alireza Firouzja.

    The situation from last year repeats. The young Chinese had already completed all the formalities required to participate in the first edition of the PICF Masters tournament but was nominated by the Chinese Chess Federation to participate in the World Team Chess Championship less than two months before the start.

    “It was a difficult situation, but we understood that the national team comes first. We immediately agreed with Wei Yi that we would send him an invitation for the next year”, remembers the Festival Director Petr Boleslav and adds “I would not imagine that we will be in the same situation again.” The organizers have been in constant contact with the Chinese Grandmaster since the end of January as the coronavirus crisis deepened. Eventually, the events from the last weekend have definitely put an end to the participation of Chinese #3 at the Prague Masters tournament.

    “12 years ago, I went to Pardubice with my friends. It was the first time I traveled abroad. I was happy when I was invited by Petr Boleslav to play at PICF Masters event, it was a great chance to visit the Czech Republic again. Prague is a fantastic city, and the tournament is high-leveled, featuring great players in the world, such as Duda, Vitiugov, Navara, Vidit and Hari. It would have been very challenging for me. But then the sudden coronavirus happened in China, and as the situation became worse and worse, it was impossible to make this journey. It is a pity, but I still look forward to playing in Prague. Perhaps next year. It's hard to predict who will win this tournament because all of them are very strong, but personally I prefer David because he was my teammate and helped us to win the 2014 Chinese League.”

    In light of the results at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in January, and especially at the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship in December, the name of the substitute was obvious. The 16-year-old Iranian #1 Alireza Firouzja joined the 2700 club last August and seems to be settling in. “I think we have something to look forward to. Firouzja simply lifts viewers out of their chairs, as I experienced recently in Wijk aan Zee” says the Festival Director Petr Boleslav.

    The opening ceremony of the Prague International Chess Festival starts on Tuesday 11 February in Don Giovanni Hotel, and the first round of Masters, Challengers and Futures is scheduled on 12 February at 3.00 pm, while the open events start on 14 February at the same time.

    http://praguechessfestival.com/tourn...layers-english

    Masters Participants

    1 Jan-Krzysztof Duda
    2 Nikita Vitiugov
    3 Alireza Firouzja
    4 Harikrishna Pentala
    5 Vidit Santosh Gujarathi
    6 David Navara
    7 David Anton Guijarro
    8 Nils Grandelius
    9 Samuel Shankland
    10 Markus Ragger

    _____________

    Peter Doggers take on all this at:

    https://www.chess.com/news/view/alir...yis-withdrawal

  • #2
    0123456789
    Last edited by Serge Archambault; Tuesday, 5th May, 2020, 07:44 PM.

    Comment


    • #3
      Firoujza is playing again so soon. Awesome!

      Comment


      • #4
        Firoujza also played for the Chessbrahs recently in the Pro Chess League. Even though they lost to the Saint-Louis Team in the Western division, it was quite an interesting match. Today the Central division is playing it's week 5 matches. And suprisingly the German team is crushing the French "Roosters" !!

        Comment


        • #5
          'The preparations for the second annual of the Prague International Chess Festival are in their final stages. Last year's inaugural tournament was held from March 5th-16th, but moving the tournament from March to February prevents an overlap with the Czech Youth Championship. Current plans are to keep this calendar slot in the future.'

          Also the World Senior Team Championships will be in Prague March 5-15! However, probably not too many Seniors are affected. Canada does have a team, although, a country can send as many teams as they wish. David Cummings, Victor Plotkin, myself and Michael Barron make up our team and we are currently the 14th seed. http://chess-results.com/tnr491114.a...et=YES&flag=30

          Comment


          • #6
            Thats a good Canadian team. Everyone IM strength. I hope they have a good website as I would be keen to follow the games.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Serge Archambault View Post
              Firoujza also played for the Chessbrahs recently in the Pro Chess League. Even though they lost to the Saint-Louis Team in the Western division, it was quite an interesting match. Today the Central division is playing it's week 5 matches. And suprisingly the German team is crushing the French "Roosters" !!
              Yes I saw Firoujza's exciting win against Caruana. Wish the chessbrahs all the best.

              Comment


              • #8
                Prague International Chess Festival 2020

                February 11, 2020

                Schedule

                Masters

                Round 1, Feb. 12

                Grandelius-Harikrishna
                Firouzja-Ragger
                Vitiugov-Anton
                Vidit-Shankland
                Navara-Duda

                Round 2, Feb. 13

                Harikrishna-Duda
                Shankland-Navara
                Anton-Vidit
                Ragger-Vitiugov
                Grandelius-Firouzja


                Round 3, Feb. 14

                Firouzja-Harikrishna
                Vitiugov-Grandelius
                Vidit-Ragger
                Navara-Anton
                Duda-Shankland

                Round 4, Feb. 15

                Harikrishna-Shankland
                Anton-Duda
                Ragger-Navara
                Grandelius-Vidit
                Firouzja-Vitiugov

                Round 5, Feb. 16

                Vitiugov-Harikrishna
                Vidit-Firouzja
                Navara-Grandelius
                Duda-Ragger
                Shankland-Anton

                Round 6, Feb. 18

                Harikrishna-Anton
                Ragger-Shankland
                Grandelius-Duda
                Firouzja-Navara
                Vitiugov-Vidit

                Round 7, Feb. 19

                Vidit-Harikrishna
                Navara-Vitiugov
                Duda-Firouzja
                Shankland-Grandelius
                Anton-Ragger

                Round 8, Feb. 20

                Harikrishna-Ragger
                Grandelius-Anton
                Firouzja-Shankland
                Vitiugov-Duda
                Vidit-Navara

                Round 9, Feb. 21

                Navara-Harikrishna
                Duda-Vidit
                Shankland-Vitiugov
                Anton-Firouzja
                Ragger-Grandelius

                Games start at 15:00 Prague time which is 9 AM Toronto/Montreal time

                The Challengers

                Nguyen Thai Dai Van
                Krejci
                Bartel
                Stefansson
                Piorun
                Van Foreest, Jorden
                Kriebel
                Esipenko
                Cernousek
                Abasov

                In the Open, there are five Canadians

                Thomas Roussel-Roozmon
                Aman Hambleton
                Omid Malek
                Jafar Faraji
                Josef Maxant

                Comment


                • #9
                  Prague International Chess Festival 2020

                  February 12, 2020

                  Round One

                  (Chess24) - Alireza Firouzja arrived late for the Prague Masters and played a quiet draw against Markus Ragger in Round 1, but any fears of a cautious start soon disappeared. 2019 Masters winner Nikita Vitiugov began by beating 2019 Challengers winner David Anton, though midway through the game the opposite result had seemed more likely. Vidit scored the fastest and most brutal win to take down Sam Shankland, while top seed Jan-Krzysztof Duda moved up to world no. 13 by beating local hero David Navara.

                  There was one player conspicuously absent from the Prague International Chess Festival opening ceremony – Alireza Firouzja. The youngster was playing as a late replacement for Wei Yi, and seems to have had some prior engagements organised in Qatar.

                  Round 1, Feb. 12
                  Grandelius, Nils – Harikrishna, Pentala
                  B47 Sicilian, Taimanov

                  1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.g3 a6 7.Bg2 Nf6 8.O-O Nxd4 9.Qxd4 Bc5 10.Bf4 d6 11.Qd2 h6 12.Rad1 e5 13.Be3 Bb4 14.a3 Bxc3 15.Qxc3 Qxc3 16.bxc3 Be6 17.Rxd6 Rc8 18.Bb6 O-O 19.Ba5 Rc4 20.Rb6 Nxe4 21.Re1 Nxc3 22.Bxb7 Na4 23.Rxa6 Nc5 24.Ra7 Nxb7 25.Rxb7 Rxc2 26.Rxe5 Ra2 27.Kg2 Re8 28.Bc7 Rxa3 29.Rb8 Rxb8 30.Bxb8 g5 31.h3 Rd3 32.Re1 h5 33.Ba7 Kg7 34.Kh2 Kg6 35.Be3 g4 36.h4 Bd5 1/2-1/2

                  Round 1, Feb. 12
                  Navara, David – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
                  B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Adams Attack

                  1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.h3 e6 7.g4 h6 8.Bg2 Nc6 9.Be3 Be7 10.f4 Nd7 11.Nf3 g5 12.Ne2 gxf4 13.Bxf4 Nde5 14.Nxe5 Nxe5 15.Ng3 Qb6 16.Bxe5 dxe5 17.Qf3 Bg5 18.h4 Qe3+ 19.Qxe3 Bxe3 20.Ke2 Ba7 21.Rad1 Bd7 22.Kf3 Ke7 23.Rh2 Rhg8 24.Bh3 Ba4 25.Rhd2 Rac8 26.Bf1 Rg6 27.Nh5 Bd4 28.Bd3 Rcg8 29.Rg2 f5 30.exf5 Bc6+ 31.Ke2 exf5 32.Ng3 Bxg2 33.Nxf5+ Kf6 34.Nxd4 Rxg4 35.Nf5 e4 36.Nxh6 Bf3+ 0-1

                  Round 1, Feb. 12
                  Firouzja, Alireza – Ragger, Markus
                  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.Rxa2 Nc6 13.Bg5 Ng4 14.Bd2 Nf6 15.Re1 Qd7 16.Nd5 Nxd5 17.exd5 Na7 18.a4 c6 19.axb5 axb5 20.Qa1 cxd5 21.Be3 d4 22.Nxd4 exd4 23.Bxd4 Bf6 24.Bxf6 gxf6 25.h3 Rfe8 26.Rxe8+ Qxe8 27.Rxa7 Rxa7 28.Qxa7 Qe1+ 29.Kh2 Qxb4 30.Qe3 Kg7 31.d4 d5 32.Qg3+ Kf8 33.Qb8+ Kg7 34.Qg3+ Kf8 35.Qd3 Kg7 36.Kg3 Qd6+ 37.Kg4 Qe6+ 38.Kh5 f5 39.Qg3+ Kh8 40.Qg5 Qe2+ 41.g4 fxg4 42.Qf6+ Kg8 43.Qg5+ Kh8 44.Qf6+ Kg8 1/2-1/2

                  Final Position

                  


                  Round 1, Feb. 12
                  Vitiugov, Nikita - Anton, David
                  B31 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

                  1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.O-O Bg7 5.c3 Nf6 6.Re1 O-O 7.d4 a6 8.Bxc6 dxc6 9.h3 cxd4 10.cxd4 c5 11.d5 b5 12.Qc2 c4 13.a4 Bb7 14.Bd2 Qd7 15.axb5 axb5 16.Rxa8 Rxa8 17.Bb4 Nh5 18.Qd2 e5 19.Rd1 Nf4 20.Ne1 f5 21.f3 Bf8 22.Kh2 fxe4 23.fxe4 Bxb4 24.Qxb4 Rf8 25.Nd2 Bc8 26.Qc3 Qa7 27.Ndf3 Bxh3 28.Qxe5 Bg4 29.d6 Qf7 30.Rd2 Bd7 31.Ng5 Qg7 32.Qxg7+ Kxg7 33.g3 Ne6 34.Nxe6+ Bxe6 35.Nc2 Bd7 36.Nb4 Rf3 37.Kg2 Re3 38.Na6 Rd3 39.Rxd3 cxd3 40.Kf2 Kf6 41.Nc5 Bg4 42.Ke3 h5 43.Kxd3 g5 44.Ke3 1-0

                  Round 1, Feb. 12
                  Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi – Shankland, Sam
                  E46 Nimzo-Indian

                  1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd2 b6 6.Nf3 Bb7 7.Bd3 d5 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Rc1 Re8 10.Nb5 Nc6 11.O-O Bf8 12.a3 a6 13.Nc3 Bd6 14.b4 Nb8 15.Qb3 c6 16.Qb1 Bc8 17.e4 dxe4 18.Nxe4 Nxe4 19.Bxe4 h6 20.Rfd1 Ra7 21.Ne5 Rc7 22.h3 Qh4 23.Re1 Rce7 24.Bh7+ Kf8 25.Re4 Qf6 26.Rf4 Bxe5 27.Rxf6 Bxf6 28.Bf4 Bg5 29.Bd6 g6 30.Bxg6 fxg6 31.Qxg6 Nd7 32.Rc3 1-0

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Prague International Chess Festival 2020

                    February 13, 2020

                    Round Two

                    A commentary in ChessBase said this: “It's only the second edition of the Prague Masters 2020, but everyone is already calling it the Czech Wimbledon!”

                    Wikipedia says this about the Tata Steel Tourney: “Top grandmasters compete in the tournament, but regular club players are welcome to play as well. The Masters group pits fourteen of the world's best against each other in a round-robin tournament, and has sometimes been described as the "Wimbledon of Chess".”

                    I can hardly wait for The Championships, Wimbledon to describe itself as the Wimbledon of Tennis!

                    Round 2, Feb. 13
                    Grandelius, Nils – Firouzja, Alireza
                    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.Bf4 Rxe1 12.Qxe1 Ne8 13.c3 d5 14.Nd2 g6 15.Nf3 c6 16.Bd3 Ng7 17.Bh6 Nf5 18.Bxf5 Bxf5 19.h3 Be4 20.Nd2 Qe7 21.Qe3 Re8 22.Qf4 Bf5 23.Nf3 Qd8 24.Ne5 Be7 25.g4 Be6 26.Re1 Bd6 27.Bg5 Qb6 28.b4 Qc7 29.Bf6 b6 30.h4 c5 31.bxc5 bxc5 32.h5 cxd4 33.cxd4 Qc3 34.Rb1 Bf8 35.hxg6 fxg6 36.Kg2 Qc2 37.Rb7 Rc8 38.Rxa7 Qe4+ 39.Qxe4 dxe4 40.a4 Bd5 41.Rd7 Be6 42.Rd8 Rxd8 43.Bxd8 Bd6 44.Kg3 Kf8 45.Kf4 Bd5 46.a5 Ke8 47.Bb6 Bb4 48.Ke3 Ba3 49.a6 Bc1+ 50.Ke2 Bf4 51.a7 Ke7 52.Ke1 Bxe5 53.dxe5 Ke6 54.Bc7 h5 55.gxh5 gxh5 56.Kf1 h4 57.Kg1 h3 58.Kh2 e3 59.f4 e2 60.Ba5 Bg2 61.Be1 Kf5 62.Kg1 Bd5 63.Bg3 Kg4 64.Kh2 Kf5 65.Bf2 Bg2 66.Kg3 Bd5 67.Be1 Bg2 68.Bd2 Bd5 69.Kh2 Bg2 70.Kg1 Bc6 71.Be1 Bd5 72.Bg3 Kg4 73.Kh2 Kf5 74.Kxh3 e1=Q 75.Bxe1 Kxf4 76.Bg3+ Kf5 77.Kh4 Ke6 78.Kg5 Kd7 79.Kf6 Kc8 80.e6 Kb7 1/2-1/2

                    Final Position

                    



                    Chess24: Alireza Firouzja holds an opposite-coloured bishop ending 2 pawns down after 5 hours and 80 moves, meaning that all games were drawn on Day 2 of the Prague Masters!

                    Round 2, Feb. 13
                    Shankland, Sam – Navara, David
                    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.Bf4 Bd6 11.Qc1 a5 12.Nc3 Bxf4 13.Qxf4 Qd6 14.Rfc1 Na6 15.Ne5 Bxg2 16.Kxg2 Rad8 17.e3 c5 18.Nb5 Qd5+ 19.Qf3 cxd4 20.exd4 Qxf3+ 21.Kxf3 Nd5 22.Nc4 b6 23.Ne3 Nab4 24.Rc4 Rd7 25.Ke2 Rfd8 26.Rac1 Na2 27.Rd1 Nab4 28.Nxd5 Rxd5 29.Rdc1 e5 30.Rc8 exd4 31.Rxd8+ Rxd8 32.Nxd4 g6 33.Rc4 Kg7 34.h4 h5 35.b3 Na6 36.Nf3 Re8+ 37.Kf1 Nc5 38.b4 1/2-1/2

                    Round 2, Feb. 13
                    Anton Guijarro David – Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi
                    D38 QGD, Ragozin variation

                    1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.Qa4+ Nc6 8.e3 O-O 9.Be2 dxc4 10.O-O Bd7 11.Bxc4 Bxc3 12.bxc3 Rfd8 13.Be2 Be8 14.Qa3 Qe7 15.Qb2 b6 16.c4 Na5 17.e4 Qf6 18.Qd2 e5 19.d5 Bd7 20.Qe3 Nb7 21.Nd2 Nc5 22.Nb3 Qd6 23.g3 Re8 24.Rfc1 a5 25.Nxc5 Qxc5 26.Qxc5 bxc5 27.Rab1 Reb8 28.Rb5 a4 29.a3 Bxb5 30.cxb5 Kf8 31.Rxc5 Ra7 32.Kg2 Rb6 33.f4 exf4 34.gxf4 g5 35.Kf3 gxf4 36.e5 Rg6 37.Kxf4 Rg2 38.Bg4 Rd2 39.Ke3 Rb2 40.d6 cxd6 41.exd6 Ra8 42.d7 Rd8 43.Kd4 Ke7 44.Re5+ Kd6 45.Rd5+ Kc7 46.Kc5 Rc2+ 47.Kb4 Rb2+ 48.Kc5 Rc2+ 49.Kb4 Rb2+ 1/2-1/2

                    Round 2, Feb. 13
                    Harikrishna, Pentala – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
                    E00 Queen’s Pawn game

                    1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Bb4+ 4.Nd2 c5 5.dxc5 Bxc5 6.Bg2 Nc6 7.Ngf3 b6 8.O-O Bb7 9.b3 O-O 10.Bb2 d5 11.cxd5 Nxd5 12.Ne4 Be7 13.Nd4 Rc8 14.Rc1 Qd7 15.Nxc6 Bxc6 16.Nc3 Nxc3 17.Rxc3 Qxd1 18.Rxd1 Bb5 19.Bf3 Rxc3 20.Bxc3 Rc8 21.Bd2 Rd8 22.Kf1 Bb4 23.Ke1 Rxd2 24.Rxd2 Kf8 25.a3 Bc3 26.Kd1 Bxd2 27.Kxd2 Ke7 28.e3 Kd6 29.Be4 h6 30.Kc3 f6 31.f4 1/2-1/2

                    Round 2, Feb. 13
                    Ragger, Markus – Vitiugov, Nikita
                    C11 French, Steinitz, Boleslavsky variation

                    1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 a6 8.a3 Qb6 9.Be2 cxd4 10.Nxd4 Bc5 11.Na4 Qa5+ 12.c3 Bxd4 13.Bxd4 Nxd4 14.Qxd4 Qc7 15.b4 O-O 16.O-O b5 17.Nb2 Bb7 18.a4 bxa4 19.Rxa4 Rfc8 20.Ra3 a5 21.b5 Nc5 22.Rfa1 Rab8 23.Na4 Ne4 24.Bd3 h6 25.c4 Nc5 26.Qxc5 Qxc5+ 27.Nxc5 Rxc5 28.cxd5 Rxd5 29.Bf1 Rd4 30.g3 Bd5 31.Rxa5 Rd2 32.Rc1 Rb2 33.Raa1 Be4 34.Ra4 Bd5 35.Raa1 Be4 36.Ra4 Bd5 1/2-1/2


                    The commentators on Twitch/Chess24 are I. Stohl, V. Babula and P. Simacek.

                    The name Igor Stohl might be in the back of your memory somewhere. He is the author of Garry Kasparov’s Greatest Chess Games Vols 1 and 2 (Gambit) 2005-2006

                    From the cover blurb:

                    Igor Stohl is a well-known grandmaster from Slovakia. He plays in several national leagues and is a noted opening theoretician. His thorough annotations frequently appear in Ceskoslovensky Sach, Informator and ChessBase Magazine. His first book for Gambit, Instructive Modern Chess Masterpieces, won the United States Chess Federation Cramer Award for Best Book.

                    John Anderson - "This first volume comprises 74 games analysed in painstaking depth by one of the very best annotators around, Igor Stohl. Very few writers on the game could do justice to such an important project but if you are familiar with his previous book for Gambit, Instructive Modern Chess Masterpieces, you will already appreciate the very high standard he works to. This new book follows the same highly successful formula as IMCM - the opening stage of each game is discussed thoroughly taking into account any new developments since the game was played, critical decisions in the middlegame are subjected to intense scrutiny and, when Kasparov's opponents do manage to survive to the endgame, Stohl gives clear insights into the approach and high-level technique that has made Kasparov the highest rated player for the past 20 years. This is a terrific book, all the more so as it is published as a beautiful hardback."


                    Stephen Hamm - "I enthusiastically recommend Garry Kasparov’s Greatest Chess Games, Volume 2. It’s yet another fine effort from both Igor Stohl and Gambit Publications, which in combination with volume 1, provides us with 129 Kasparov games. All are annotated to the highest level of accuracy. Yes, many of these games are already well known (but of course most of GK’s games are!) - all have been previously published and annotated, often by Kasparov himself. But, given Stohl’s attention to detail, his access to multiple previously published versions of these games, and his updating of all the analyses with computer assistance, this means that we now have the finest annotations to date for these games. Besides, the mere act of pairing Kasparov’s selected games with a superb and objective author/annotator means that those who love fighting chess and detailed annotations will really appreciate this book."

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      In Rd 2 there are draws and there are draws. These draws in rd 2 are particularly interesting. I try to go thru games and find the interesting positions. In Grandelius - Firouzja White is a great strategic player so I was surprised to see 42.Rd8 exchanging rooks? With the White rook on the seventh rank vs the black rook - no comparison - that to me was a red flag. Sure enough in the bishop of opposite color endgame (which was fascinating) 67.Kxh3 (not played) Kxf4 68.e6 Bxe6 is check and saves Black's bacon - thats how close it was and White cant win that endgame even tho he tried. So Rd8 exchanging rooks turned out to be a kick myself moment for Gradelius. A player of his caliber should have won that.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        In Anton-Vidit the king walk at the end Ke5, Kf6 etc (instead of Kc5) should win!? No? I would love to play it. What am I missing

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          In Shankland - Navarra White played 20.exd4. Particularly fascinating was 20.Qxd5 Rxd5 (the computer gives 20...exd5) 21.exd4 Nd7 (anticipating Nc4) 22.Nc4 threatening Ne3.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            In Ragger - Vitiugov White made a decision to trade queens and then a knight exchange to head into an endgame. Surely 32.Rb1 was the move and White could torture Black with an enduring advantage. These are great players but basic strategy is basic strategy.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Prague International Chess Festival 2020

                              February 14, 2020

                              Round Three

                              Round 3, Feb. 14
                              Firouzja, Alireza – Harikrishna, Pentala
                              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.c3 O-O 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Qc7 12.d5 Nc4 13.b3 Nb6 14.a4 c4 15.axb5 axb5 16.Rxa8 Nxa8 17.bxc4 bxc4 18.Ba3 Nd7 19.Bb4 Nc5 20.Qe2 Nb6 21.Nbd2 f5 22.Rd1 g6 23.Qe3 f4 24.Qe2 Ba6 25.Ra1 Ra8 26.Qf1 Qc8 27.Ra5 Ncd7 28.Qa1 Bb5 29.Nb1 g5 30.Rxa8 Nxa8 31.Qa7 Nc7 32.Na3 Ba6 33.Ba4 Nf6 34.Nxg5 Nfxd5 35.exd5 Bxg5 36.Bxd6 Nxd5 37.Bd7 Qb7 38.Be6+ Kg7 39.Bxe5+ Bf6 40.Qd4 1-0

                              Final Position

                              

                              Round 3, Feb. 14
                              Navara, David – Anton Guijarro, David
                              D35 QGD, Exchange (Tartakower System)

                              1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Be7 6.e3 c6 7.Bd3 Nbd7 8.Nf3 Ne4 9.Bf4 Ndf6 10.Qc2 O-O 11.O-O Bf5 12.Ne5 g6 13.f3 Nd6 14.Rad1 Bxd3 15.Rxd3 a6 16.Kh1 Rc8 17.e4 Nb5 18.Qb3 Kg7 19.a4 Nxc3 20.bxc3 b5 21.Qa2 Nh5 22.Bc1 Nf6 23.axb5 axb5 24.Qd2 Ng8 25.Re3 dxe4 26.Rxe4 Qd5 27.Rfe1 Ra8 28.Ng4 Bd6 29.R4e2 Rfd8 30.Bb2 Kf8 31.Ne5 Kg7 32.Bc1 Re8 33.h4 f6 34.Ng4 Rxe2 35.Rxe2 Bg3 36.Kg1 Qh5 37.Qe3 Qxh4 38.Qe6 Ra1 39.Rc2 h5 40.Ne3 Qh2+ 41.Kf1 Rxc1+ 0-1

                              Round 3, Feb. 14
                              Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Shankland, Sam
                              B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Adams attack

                              1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.h3 e5 7.Nde2 h5 8.Bg5 Be6 9.Bxf6 Qxf6 10.Nd5 Qd8 11.Qd3 Nd7 12.O-O-O g6 13.Kb1 Nc5 14.Qa3 Bg7 15.h4 Rb8 16.Nec3 O-O 17.f3 f5 18.Ne3 b5 19.b4 Bh6 20.Ned5 fxe4 21.bxc5 b4 22.Nxb4 a5 23.Rxd6 axb4 24.Qa6 bxc3+ 25.Ka1 Qxd6 26.Qxd6 Bf7 27.Be2 Rb2 28.Qa6 Rxa2+ 29.Qxa2 Bxa2 30.Kxa2 Rc8 31.fxe4 Rxc5 32.Kb3 Kg7 33.Rh3 Bd2 34.g4 hxg4 35.Bxg4 Rb5+ 36.Kc4 Rb2 37.Bd1 Rb1 38.Rh1 Kh6 39.Kd5 Bf4 40.Kc4 Bd2 41.Kd5 Bf4 42.Kc4 1/2-1/2

                              Round 3, Feb. 14
                              Vitiugov, Nikita – Grandelius, Nils
                              B07 Pirc-Queen’s Pawn-KID-East Indian

                              1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Nbd2 Bg7 4.e4 O-O 5.Bd3 d6 6.O-O Nc6 7.c3 e5 8.dxe5 Nxe5 9.Nxe5 dxe5 10.Nc4 Nh5 11.Re1 Nf4 12.Bf1 Qf6 13.a4 a5 14.Be3 Rd8 15.Qc2 b6 16.b4 Bb7 17.f3 Ne6 18.Red1 Rxd1 19.Rxd1 axb4 20.cxb4 Nd4 21.Bxd4 exd4 22.Bd3 Qc6 23.b5 Qc5 24.Rb1 Bc8 25.f4 Be6 26.Kh1 Bh6 27.f5 gxf5 28.exf5 Bd5 29.Qe2 Kh8 30.Qe5+ f6 31.Qxf6+ Bg7 32.Qh4 Bxc4 33.Be4 Bd5 34.f6 Bxe4 35.fxg7+ Kxg7 36.Qxe4 Rd8 37.Qd3 Qe5 38.Rd1 Rd6 39.Kg1 1/2-1/2

                              Round 3, Feb. 14
                              Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi – Ragger, Markus
                              D85 Grunfeld, Modern Exchange variation

                              1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Be3 c5 8.Nf3 Qa5 9.Qd2 Nc6 10.Rb1 a6 11.Rc1 cxd4 12.cxd4 Qxd2+ 13.Kxd2 e6 14.Bd3 O-O 15.h4 h6 16.Rc5 Rd8 17.Rb1 Bf8 18.Rc4 Bd7 19.Rb6 Be8 20.Rc1 Bg7 21.e5 Bf8 22.Rxb7 Nb4 23.Bc4 Bc6 24.Rc7 Bb5 25.Bb3 Nd5 26.Bxd5 Rxd5 27.Rc8 Rd8 28.Rxa8 Rxa8 29.Bf4 Kg7 30.Rc7 Bb4+ 31.Ke3 Rd8 32.g4 Rd7 33.Rc8 a5 34.Bg3 Ba6 35.Rc2 Bb7 36.Ng1 g5 37.f4 gxf4+ 38.Bxf4 Be7 39.h5 Ba6 40.Nf3 Bb4 41.g5 hxg5 42.Nxg5 Bb7 43.Ne4 Be7 44.Nd6 Bd5 45.h6+ Kg6 46.Rc1 1-0

                              Standings after Round Three

                              1 Vidit 2.5
                              2-4 Vitiugov, Firouzja, Duda 2
                              5-6 Grandelius, Anton 1.5
                              7-9 Ragger, Harikrishna, Shankland 1
                              10 Navara 0.5

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