Interesting opening idea

[Hans Jung]

https://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2020...Bifulco_Michel The central pawn cluster is worth a rook!

[Wayne Komer]

Interesting opening idea

February 17, 2020


Cannes Open 2020
Round 1, Feb. 17, 2020
Fier, Alexandr (2539) – Bifulco, Michel (2237)
A21 English Opening

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 c5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e3 Nf6 5.d4 cxd4 6.exd4 e4 7.Ne5 Bb4 8.Be2 O-O 9.O-O Re8 10.Bf4 d5 11.Nxd5 Nxd5 12.cxd5 Ne7 13.Bc4 Bd6 14.f3 f6 15.fxe4 fxe5 16.dxe5 Bc5+ 17.Kh1 Ng6 18.Qh5 Nxf4 19.Rxf4 g6 20.Qh6 Be3 21.e6 Qd6 22.Raf1 Bxf4 23.Rxf4 Rxe6 24.dxe6 Bxe6 25.Rf6 Rd8 26.Bd5 Re8 27.h3 Qe5 28.Bxe6+ 1-0

Position after Black’s 17….Ng6

[Hans Jung]

https://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2020...ello_Sebastien Rxc5! The diagram at move 28 a pretty picture. What a conception!

[Wayne Komer]

Interesting opening idea

February 20, 2020

The Cannes Open 2020

Round 5, Feb. 20
Fier, Alexandr – Abello, Sebastien
A34 English, symmetrical, Three Knights System

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.cxd5 Nxd5 4.Nf3 c5 5.e3 Nxc3 6.bxc3 g6 7.h4 Bg7 8.h5 Nc6 9.Bc4 Qc7 10.Qb3 e6 11.Ba3 b6 12.Bb5 Bd7 13.Rb1 Rd8 14.Qa4 Na5 15.Ng5 Bxb5 16.Rxb5 Qd7 17.Ne4 Nc6 18.h6 Be5 19.d4 f5 20.Rxc5 bxc5 21.Nxc5 Qc8 22.dxe5 O-O 23.f4 Rd5 24.c4 Rdd8 25.Nb3 Rf7 26.Bd6 Qb7 27.O-O Qb6 28.c5 Qb7 29.Qc4 Qc8 30.Nd4 Re8 31.Qa4 Nxd4 32.exd4 Rb7 33.c6 1-0

Position after White’s 28.c5

[Hans Jung]

https://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2020...-Fier_Alexandr If only the knight would move in the final position Qxh3 would be checkmate. Hmmmm. Fier is on fire.

[Wayne Komer]

Interesting opening idea

The Cannes Open 2020

February 24, 2020

Indian GM Gukesh wins title at Cannes Open chess

India’s 13-year old Grandmaster D. Gukesh emerged champion in the 34th Cannes Open in Cannes, France on Saturday, beating Harutyun Bargseghyan of the host nation in the final round to end with 7.5 points.

Gukesh (Elo rating 2542), who last year became the world’s second youngest Grandmaster ever, beat the Frenchman in 50 moves to emerge clear winner.

He had started the event as the fourth seed and Chongsheng Zeng, the top seed, took the second place.

The Tamil Nadu player had last week won his first open tournament, bagging top honours in the Hillerod 110th Anniversary Open event in Denmark.

He remained unbeaten in the tournament and posted wins over Chongsheng Zeng of China and Bargseghyan among others.

He also had three draws including one against compatriot G.B. Harshavardhan who finished with 5.5 points and took the 18th spot.

Siva Mahadevan was the next best Indian performer after Gukesh, taking the 10th place with six points.

Gukesh had recently taken part in coaching camps conducted by former world champion Vladimir Kramnik and Boris Gelfand.

https://sportstar.thehindu.com/chess...le30897312.ece

Gukesh’s Games from the Event

Round 1, Feb. 17
Bruaset, Elvind – Gukesh, D.
B46 Sicilian, Taimanov variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 d5 8.O-O Nf6 9.Qe2 Bb7 10.f4 Qc7 11.Kh1 Be7 12.Bd2 c5 13.exd5 exd5 14.Rae1 Kf8 15.Nd1 Bd6 16.Nf2 h5 17.c4 d4 18.Ne4 Re8 19.Qf3 Nxe4 20.Bxe4 Rxe4 21.Rxe4 f5 22.Ba5 Qd7 23.Re8+ Kxe8 24.Qh3 Kf7 25.b4 g6 26.Bb6 Re8 27.bxc5 Bxf4 28.Qh4 Qc6 0-1

Round 2, Feb. 18
Gukesh, D. – Bressy, Theo
A06 Reti Opening

1.Nf3 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 b6 5.cxd5 exd5 6.b3 Bb7 7.Bb2 Nbd7 8.Rc1 a6 9.d4 Bd6 10.g3 O-O 11.Bg2 Re8 12.O-O Ne4 13.Qc2 Rc8 14.Rfd1 Qe7 15.Qe2 f5 16.Ne1 Ndf6 17.Nd3 c5 18.dxc5 bxc5 19.Na4 Nd7 20.Nf4 Bxf4 21.exf4 Qf7 22.Qd3 Rc7 23.f3 c4 24.Qd4 Nd6 25.Nc3 Nf6 26.Re1 Nb5 27.Nxb5 axb5 28.Bh3 Bc8 29.Re5 Rxe5 30.fxe5 Ne8 31.Qb6 Rb7 32.Qc6 Be6 33.Rd1 Qd7 34.Qc5 Qf7 35.Bg2 f4 36.Ba3 g5 37.Bb4 h5 38.gxf4 gxf4 39.Qd4 Ra7 40.Rd2 Ng7 41.Bf1 Ra8 42.a3 h4 43.Kf2 h3 44.Ke1 Qf5 45.bxc4 bxc4 46.Rb2 Ra6 47.Bd6 Rc6 48.Rb8+ Kh7 49.Kd2 Qg5 50.Rb7 Kg6 51.Qa7 c3+ 52.Kc1 Nh5 53.Bd3+ Bf5 54.Rh7 Rc7 55.Bxf5+ Kxf5 56.Rxc7 Qg2 57.Rxc3 Qf1+ 58.Kb2 Qb5+ 59.Bb4 Qe2+ 60.Rc2 Qxe5+ 61.Bc3 Qe8 62.Qd4 Qb8+ 63.Ka2 Qd6 64.Re2 Kg6 65.Re5 Qa6 66.Qxd5 Nf6 67.Re6 1-0

Round 3, Feb. 18
Joie, Sebastien – Gukesh, D.
A13 English Opening

1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.d4 dxc4 4.Nf3 c5 5.Qa4+ Nc6 6.dxc5 Bxc5 7.Bg2 Qa5+ 8.Nc3 Qxa4 9.Nxa4 Bb4+ 10.Bd2 Bd7 11.O-O Nf6 12.Bxb4 Nxb4 13.Nc5 b6 14.Nxd7 Nxd7 15.Nd4 Rd8 16.a3 Nd5 17.Nb5 Nc5 18.Nxa7 Ne7 19.Rad1 O-O 20.Nc6 Nxc6 21.Bxc6 Nb3 1/2-1/2

Round 4, Feb. 19
Gukesh, D. – Rakotomaharo Fy Antenaina
A34 English, symmetrical variation

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 c5 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.d4 d5 7.dxc5 Qa5 8.Qa4 Qxc5 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Nxd5 Qxd5 11.Qh4 Qa5+ 12.Bd2 Qb6 13.Qxe7 Nc6 14.Qh4 Qxb2 15.O-O h5 16.h3 Re8 17.g4 hxg4 18.hxg4 Re4 19.Rab1 Qxa2 20.Ng5 Rxg4 21.Qh7+ Kf8 22.Rfd1 b6 23.Kf1 Bb7 24.Bf3 Rd4 25.Bc3 Rad8 26.Bxd4 Rxd4 27.Qh3 Ba6 28.Kg2 Rxd1 29.Rxd1 Ne5 30.Nh7+ Ke7 31.Qh4+ f6 32.Qb4+ Ke8 33.Qd6 Bc4 34.Qc7 1-0

Round 5, Feb. 20
Harshavardhan, G.B. – Gukesh, D.
D39 ABD, Ragozin variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 Bb4 5.Qa4+ Nc6 6.Ne5 Bd7 7.Nxd7 Qxd7 8.e3 e5 9.a3 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 O-O 11.dxe5 Ne4 12.Qc2 Nxe5 13.Be2 Nc5 14.cxd5 Qxd5 15.O-O Qe4 16.Qxe4 Nxe4 17.Bb2 Nd2 18.Rfd1 Nec4 19.Bc1 Rad8 20.Bxd2 Nxd2 21.f3 Rd6 22.Kf2 Rfd8 23.Ke1 Kf8 24.Ra2 Nb3 25.Rxd6 Rxd6 26.Rb2 Nc5 27.Rd2 Ke7 28.Rd4 Re6 29.Kf2 Re5 30.g4 Ne6 31.Rb4 b6 32.Rc4 Ra5 33.a4 Rc5 34.Rxc5 Nxc5 35.Bd1 Kd6 36.Bc2 h6 37.Ke2 Kd5 38.Kd2 a5 39.h4 g5 40.hxg5 hxg5 41.Bd1 f6 42.f4 Ke4 43.fxg5 fxg5 44.c4 Ke5 45.Bc2 Ne4+ 46.Ke2 Nf6 47.Bf5 Ne4 48.Ke1 Nd6 49.Bd3 Ne4 50.Bc2 Nf6 51.Bf5 Ne4 52.Bg6 Nd6 53.Bd3 Nf7 54.Bf5 Nh6 55.Bc8 Kd6 56.Kd2 Nf7 57.Bf5 Ne5 58.Kc3 Kc5 59.Be6 c6 60.Kb3 Nd3 61.Bd7 Kd6 62.Bf5 Nc5+ 63.Ka3 Ke5 64.Bg6 Ne4 65.Kb3 Nc5+ 66.Ka3 Ne4 67.Kb3 Nf2 68.c5 bxc5 69.Kc4 Nxg4 70.Kxc5 Nf6 71.Kxc6 g4 72.Bd3 g3 73.Bf1 Ke4 74.Bg2+ Kxe3 75.Kb5 Kf2 76.Bh1 Kg1 77.Ba8 Nd7 78.Kxa5 Ne5 79.Kb5 Kf2 80.a5 Nf3 81.Bxf3 Kxf3 82.a6 g2 83.a7 1/2-1/2

Position after 78.Kxa5 (draw)



Round 6, Feb. 20
Gukesh, D. – Degraeve, Remy
A16 English, Anglo-Grunfeld Defence

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6 4.c4 Bg7 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Nc3 Nb6 7.O-O O-O 8.d3 Nc6 9.Be3 e5 10.Ne4 h6 11.Rc1 Nd4 12.Nxd4 exd4 13.Bd2 Rb8 14.Nc5 Nd5 15.Qb3 Ne7 16.Qa3 a5 17.Qxa5 c6 18.Qa7 Bg4 19.h3 Bf5 20.Bf4 Ra8 21.Qxb7 Rxa2 22.Bc7 Qc8 23.Bd6 Qxb7 24.Nxb7 Rxb2 25.Bxe7 Re8 26.Bd6 Rxb7 27.Bxc6 1-0

Round 7, Feb. 21
Zeng, Chongsheng – Gukesh, D.
B31 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.O-O Bg7 5.Re1 e5 6.a3 Nge7 7.b4 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.Bb2 h6 10.Bf1 a6 11.d3 f5 12.exf5 gxf5 13.Nbd2 Be6 14.g3 Qd7 15.Bg2 Rad8 16.Rb1 Ng6 17.c4 cxb4 18.axb4 Nxb4 19.Qb3 Nc6 20.Qb6 d5 21.Nb3 dxc4 22.Nc5 Qf7 23.Nxb7 Rxd3 24.Nc5 Rd6 25.Rbd1 Bd5 26.Nxe5 Bxe5 27.Bxe5 Ngxe5 28.Rxe5 Bxg2 29.Rxd6 Nxe5 30.f4 Ng4 31.Kxg2 c3 32.Qxa6 c2 33.Nd3 Re8 34.Nc1 Ne3+ 35.Kg1 Ng4 36.Kg2 Qh5 37.h3 Ne3+ 38.Kh2 Ng4+ 39.Kg2 Ne3+ 40.Kh2 Re7 41.Re6 Ng4+ 42.Kg2 Ne3+ 43.Kh2 1/2-1/2

Round 8, Feb. 22
Gukesh, D. – Di Nicolantonio, Lucas
A07 Reti, King’s Indian Attack (Barcza System)

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nd7 3.d4 Nb6 4.b3 Bf5 5.Bg2 e6 6.O-O c6 7.Nbd2 Be7 8.c4 Nf6 9.Bb2 O-O 10.Rc1 Ne4 11.Ne5 Nxd2 12.Qxd2 Nd7 13.Nd3 a5 14.c5 Bg5 15.e3 Bf6 16.h3 Bxd3 17.Qxd3 e5 18.e4 dxe4 19.Bxe4 exd4 20.Bxh7+ Kh8 21.Be4 Re8 22.Rfe1 Re6 23.Kf1 Nf8 24.Qf3 Re5 25.Kg2 Kg8 26.Bd3 Qe7 27.Rxe5 Qxe5 28.Kf1 Rd8 29.Ba3 Ne6 30.Re1 Qg5 31.Qe4 Nf8 32.Re2 Rd5 33.h4 Qh5 34.Qf4 Be5 35.Qd2 Bxg3 36.fxg3 Qf3+ 37.Kg1 Qxg3+ 38.Rg2 Qxh4 39.Qf2 Qh5 40.Bc4 Rf5 41.Qxd4 Rg5 42.Bb2 Rxg2+ 43.Kxg2 Qg5+ 44.Kf3 Ne6 45.Bxe6 fxe6 46.Qg4 Qh6 47.Be5 a4 48.b4 Kh7 49.Ke2 g5 50.Qe4+ Kg8 51.Qd3 Qh5+ 52.Kf2 Qf7+ 53.Kg3 Qf5 54.Qxf5 exf5 55.Bf6 Kf7 56.Bxg5 Ke6 57.Kf4 Kd5 58.Kxf5 Kc4 59.Ke6 Kxb4 60.Kd6 Kb5 61.Be3 Ka6 62.Kc7 Ka7 63.Bd4 a3 64.Be3 Ka8 65.Kb6 Kb8 66.Bc1 Ka8 67.Bxa3 Kb8 68.Bc1 Ka8 69.a4 Kb8 70.a5 Ka8 71.a6 Kb8 72.Bf4+ 1-0

Round 9, Feb. 23
Gukesh, D. – Barseghyan, Harutyun
A22 English, Bremen, Smyslov System

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.g3 Bb4 4.e4 Bxc3 5.dxc3 d6 6.f3 a5 7.Nh3 Na6 8.Nf2 Nc5 9.Be3 Be6 10.Qc2 a4 11.f4 b6 12.f5 Bd7 13.Bg2 Qc8 14.O-O Qa6 15.Rfe1 Bc6 16.Bg5 Nfd7 17.Qe2 b5 18.cxb5 Qxb5 19.c4 Qb7 20.Rab1 Rb8 21.Bd2 Qa6 22.g4 h6 23.h4 Rb6 24.Bf3 Qb7 25.Ba5 Ra6 26.Bc3 g6 27.Qe3 Rb6 28.Kh2 Kd8 29.Nh1 Qa6 30.Ng3 Kc8 31.Rf1 Rh7 32.Rf2 Qxc4 33.Rd1 Nf6 34.Be2 Ncxe4 35.fxg6 fxg6 36.Nxe4 Qxe4 37.Qg3 Nd5 38.Ba5 Ne3 39.Re1 Rxb2 40.Ba6+ Kd8 41.Rxb2 Nxg4+ 42.Kh3 Qd5 43.Rb8+ Ke7 44.Bxc7 Bd7 45.Bd8+ Kf7 46.Rb7 Ke8 47.Bb6 Rf7 48.Rb8+ Ke7 49.Bd8+ Kf8 50.Bf6+ 1-0

Final Standings (after Round Nine)

1. Gukesh 7.5
2-3 Zeng, Lamard 7
4-9 Barseghyan, Di Nicolantonio, Fier, Nasuta, Antal, Godena 6.5
10-17 Siva, Rakotomaharo, Guichard, Razafindratsima, Vidal, Tanriverdi, Travadon, Flear 6

104 players