FIDE Online Nations Cup 2020

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  • FIDE Online Nations Cup 2020

    FIDE Online Nations Cup 2020

    April 26, 2020

    From the official FIDE site

    https://www.fide.com/news/493

    The International Chess Federation and Chess.com announce the Online Nations Cup, a team competition held May 5-10, 2020. Six teams are due to take part in this competition: Russia, USA, Europe, China, India, plus a team representing the "Rest of the World."

    This epoch-making battle draws some similarities with golf's Ryder Cup, or with the 1970 "USSR vs. Rest of the World" chess match-up that made headlines in Bobby Fischer's heyday. But the new "match of the century" will be more global, entirely online, and also gender-inclusive, since the team line-ups must include at least one female player.

    A retired legend, Garry Kasparov, will be the captain for the European team, while his former world championship rival, Vishwanathan Anand, will defend the first board of the Indian team.

    The Online Nations Cup is a team championship showdown, where six teams of four players each will fight under a rapid play format, for a prize fund of USD 180.000. The event, co-organized by the International Chess Federation and the leading chess-playing platform Chess.com, is expected to feature nearly all the top players on the planet, representing China, India, Russia, the USA, Europe, and "Rest of the World".

    The first stage, a double round-robin with the six teams, will take place on May 5-9. The top two teams will then play in a Superfinal on Sunday, May 10, to determine the FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup champion. The games will be played in a rapid format, where each player begins the game with 25 minutes on their clock, plus 10 seconds of extra time added after each move.

    The exact composition of the teams will be confirmed tomorrow (April 22). The preliminary entry list includes three generations of the best players: from 50-year-old Viswanathan Anand (multiple-time World Champion and still in the world's top-20) to the newest chess phenomenon, the 16-year-old Iranian Alireza Firouzja. The regulations stipulate that in every match the line-up of the teams must include at least one female player, and the best women's players in the world have already expressed their readiness to take part in the tournament.

    In order to guarantee fair play in an entirely online event, during their games, players will be observed by FIDE-affiliated international arbiters via a video conference call. To ensure that the participants don't receive any kind of external help from a computer, their webcam, computer screen and the room in which they are playing will be under supervision.

    The tournament will be broadcast live across multiple outlets including FIDE's and Chess.com's own channels across Twitch, YouTube, Mixer, Twitter, and other international streaming platforms. With an estimated audience of several million worldwide, commentary by chess experts will be conducted in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Turkish and Polish.

    "This is a unique event that will combine competitive chess at the highest level, with a top-notch online spectacle", says Arkady Dvorkovich, President of the International Chess Federation. "The reasons why an official tournament like this has to be conducted online are very unfortunate - but we are happy to see that chess is providing solace to millions of people who are under a home lockdown: they can play themselves, and they can also enjoy the thrill of a first-class sporting event".

    The move represents the latest initiative by FIDE to shift its activities to the online arena. Like every other sport, the International Chess Federation has seen its activities disrupted amid the coronavirus shutdown: one of its flagship events, the Candidates Tournament, had to be halted midway, while the Chess Olympiad, which was supposed to take place in Russia this summer, had to be postponed to 2021.

    However, chess has an advantage over other sports: fully competitive chess can be played online, with no compromise on quality. And in fact, this sport is experiencing a boom when it comes to casual players: chess clubs online have witnessed a record number of games being played. An estimated 16 million games are being played online every day since the lockdown began - 9 million of them on Chess.com alone. "We are currently experiencing significant accelerated growth”, says Nick Barton, Director of Business Development for Chess.com. “While we wish the unfortunate circumstances surrounding this groundbreaking event were different, we are pleased to be working with FIDE in bringing a major championship to the online landscape for fans around the world.”

    The FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup is the first in a series of competitive online events to be organized by FIDE in cooperation with various partners. The governing body of Chess has also launched a number of online workshops and lectures for its members and affiliates.

    Regulations at:

    https://www.fide.com/docs/regulation...ons%202020.pdf

    Schedule
    - - -
    Date Time Event
    - GMT -
    May 5 1:00 PM Round 1
    May 5 2:45 PM Round 2
    May 6 1:00 PM Round 3
    May 6 2:45 PM Round 4
    May 7 1:00 PM Round 5
    May 7 2:45 PM Round 6
    May 8 1:00 PM Round 7
    May 8 2:45 PM Round 8
    May 9 1:00 PM Round 9
    May 9 2:45 PM Round 10
    May 10 2:00 PM Superfinal
    - -
    1:00 PM GMT is 9 AM Toronto/Montreal time

    8. 1. Rules that apply in the case of technical problems:

    If the disconnect is determined by HIP to be caused by factors under the player's control and the disconnect occurs mid-game, the player's clock continues to run as normal until time has expired. HIP should be in touch with the players via digital communication methods and attempt to guide them through reconnection. In the event the player is not able to reconnect during the game in which he/she have disconnected, the HIP will continue its efforts until the next round has begun. HIP may, in their sole determination, decide to postpone the round until a later time.
    If the fault is a server error or other error not in the player's control (natural disaster, widespread power outage, etc.), HIP will recreate the current position and will reset clocks to the proper time from before the outage or error took place. Upon doing so, the game should continue as normal. In the event the error is not resolved within 1 hour, the HIP may, at their sole determination, decide to postpone the round until a later time.



  • #2
    FIDE Online Nations Cup 2020

    April 26, 2020

    Rosters revealed for the FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup

    The Chinese team, winner of a historic double gold in the last Chess Olympiad, will be the top-seed at the FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup, which will take place May 5-10.

    The field for the event includes six players who have held the title of World Chess Champion, plus twelve others who have been Candidates to the throne at some point.

    China, with an average rating of 2717, is followed in the initial ranking by Europe (2687), Russia (2662), USA (2641), India (2605), and the "Rest of the World" team (2597).

    The Chinese team is headed by Ding Liren and Wang Hao, the world's numbers three and twelve respectively. They are two of the eight players who are currently a part of the Candidates tournament - the final stage which decides who will be the finalist in the World Championship Match. But the main news is the return of Hou Yifan to the Chinese national team. The four-time World Champion is a former prodigy and the youngest female player ever to achieve the Grandmaster title. Two years ago Hou won the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University and put her career on hold, but she is still the highest-ranked female player in ranking. Hou Yifan's temporary return to the board might imply that the reigning Women's World Champion, Ju Wenjun, is sent to the bench.

    CHINA

    Captain: Ye Jiangchuan

    Ding Liren
    Wang Hao
    Wei Yi
    Hou Yifan
    Yu Yangyi
    Ju Wenjun

    Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, from France, will be leading a super-strong European team that also includes Levon Aronian, Anish Giri, and Anna Muzychuk, with Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Nana Dzagnidze as reserve players. But even the best players of the moment are slightly overshadowed when the team captain is a living legend like Garry Kasparov. The multiple-time world champion, who ruled the world of chess for two decades, put an end to his career in 2005 and has barely taken part in any competitive chess activity ever since. His presence in this event, even if only as a team captain, has been a pleasant surprise to chess fans all over the world.

    EUROPE

    Captain: Garry Kasparov

    Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
    Levon Aronian
    Anish Giri
    Anna Muzychuk
    Jan-Krzysztof Duda
    Nana Dzagnidze

    Russia no longer dominates the chess world as it once did, but even with the absence of some important players - like Alexander Grischuk and Kateryna Largo - the Russian team cannot be ruled out as a possible winner. Ian Nepomniachtchi has proven to be in great shape recently, and he will be defending the first board, along with Vladislav Artemiev, Sergey Karjakin, and Aleksandra Goryachkina. With Dmitry Andreikin and Olga Girya as reserve players, Russian is still a formidable rival, with great team spirit.

    RUSSIA

    Captain: Alexander Motylev

    Ian Nepomniachtchi
    Vladislav Artemiev
    Sergey Karjakin
    Aleksandra Goryachkina
    Dmitry Andreikin
    Olga Girya


    The USA, winners of the 2016 Olympiad, brings to the competition all their top guns, starting with the world's number two Fabiano Caruana. With him, Hikaru Nakamura, who is considered one of the biggest specialists in fast time controls, and the Fischer Random World Champion Wesley So. The team is completed by two experienced female players - Irina Krush and Anna Zatonskih, plus the Cuban-born Leinier Dominguez, who has represented the US Chess Federation since 2018.

    USA

    Captain: John Donaldson

    Fabiano Caruana
    Hikaru Nakamura
    Wesley So
    Irina Krush
    Leinier Dominguez Perez
    Anna Zatonskih

    India will be led one more time by the legendary Viswanathan Anand who, despite having reached the age of 50 in November, is still one among the top 15 players in the world - and remains as dangerous as ever when it comes to rapid play. It is a bit paradoxical that the average age of this team is the highest in the event when India is producing more young chess prodigies than any other country in the world. But the young Indian cubs are not ready yet to make it into the national team: the generational changeover will have to wait a bit more.

    INDIA

    Adviser to the team:
    Vladimir Kramnik

    Viswanathan Anand
    Vidit Gujrathi
    Pentala Harikrishna
    Humpy Koneru
    Adhiban Baskaran
    Harika Dronavalli

    The "Rest of the World Team" is, as it would be expected, the most colorful one, including players from Azerbaijan, Iran, Egypt, Peru, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. On top of the list, the winner of the 2019 FIDE World Cup, Teimour Radjabov. With him, one of the main attractions of the event, the 16-year-old prodigy from Iran, Alireza Firouzja. The teenager is developing a rivalry with the World Champion Magnus Carlsen that is becoming more and more serious by the day, and probably all eyes will be on him, as he will be taking on some of the very top players in the world during this event. The team also features the best African player of all times, Bassem Amin, one of the biggest talents from South America, Jorge Cori, a former Women's World Champion, Mariya Muzychuk, and the Kazakhstani star Dinara Saduakassova. The FIDE President, Arkady Dvorkovich, will be acting as a captain for this team.

    REST OF THE WORLD

    Captain: Arkady Dvorkovich

    Teimour Radjabov
    Alireza Firouzja
    Bassem Amin
    Mariya Muzychuk
    Jorge Cori
    Dinara Saduakassova

    The tournament will be broadcast live across multiple outlets including FIDE's and Chess.com's own channels across Twitch, YouTube, Mixer, Twitter, and other international streaming platforms. With an estimated audience of several million worldwide, commentary by chess experts will be conducted in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Turkish, and Polish.

    https://www.fide.com/news/497

    Comment


    • #3
      Why are the Muzychuk sisters on different teams?

      Comment


      • #4
        FIDE Online Nations Cup 2020

        May 4, 2020

        From https://www.fide.com/news/509

        Pairings for the FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup announced

        At the opening ceremony held on May 4, 2020, the teams-participants of the FIDE Chess.com Online Nations Cup were paired in accordance with the drawing of lots:

        1. Europe
        2. China
        3. India
        4. USA
        5. Rest of the World
        6. Russia

        That means on May 5, 2020, the following matches will be played:

        Round 01

        Europe – Russia
        China – Rest of the World
        India – USA

        Round 02

        Russia – USA
        Rest of the World – India
        Europe - China

        Each team captain decides on his team composition for each match. This decision should be announced not later than 30 minutes before the beginning of the relevant round. In case of substitution on male boards, the reserve player goes to board 3.

        The tournament takes place May 5-10, 2020. The group stage runs May 5-9, with two rounds per day. The Superfinal is played on May 10. The games start 15:00 CEST / 9 a.m. Eastern / 6 a.m. Pacific.

        The tournament will be broadcast live across multiple outlets including FIDE's and Chess.com's own channels across Twitch, YouTube, Mixer, Twitter, and other international streaming platforms. With an estimated audience of several million worldwide, commentary by chess experts will be conducted in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Turkish and Polish. You can watch live broadcasts on FIDE Youtube channel. Round 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmDtpw5HJEQ Hosts: GM Robert Hess and IM Daniel Rensch.

        See also:

        http://chess-results.com/tnr526924.aspx?lan=1

        Comment


        • #5
          FIDE Online Nations Cup 2020

          May 5, 2020

          Watch on

          https://www.chess.com/tv

          https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-to...cup-2020/1/1/1

          The time control is 25min + 10 second increment.

          The Muzychuk sisters are from Ukraine but have played against each other. Anna played for Slovenia from 2004-2014. Mariya has been Women’s World Chess Champion 2015-2016. I think they are both in demand to be on the women’s board in this competition and their country designation is not important.

          Round One

          Europe-Russia 2-2

          MVL–Nepomniachtchi 0.5-0.5
          Artemiev-Aronian 1-0
          Duda-Andreikin 1-0
          Goryachkina-A. Muzychuk 0.5-0.5

          India-USA 2-2

          Anand-Nakamura 0.5-0.5
          Caruana-Vidit 1-0
          Harikrishna-Dominguez 0.5-0.5
          Zatonskin-Koneru 0-1

          China-Rest of the World 3-1

          Wang Hao-Radjabov 0.5-0.5
          Firouzja-Wei Yi 0.5-0.5
          Yu Yangyi-Amin 1-0
          M. Muzychuk-Hou Yifan 0-1

          Selection of Games

          Round 1, May 5
          Russia-Europe
          Board 2
          Artemiev, Vladislav – Aronian, Levon
          E20 Nimzo-Indian Defence

          1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bd2 O-O 5.Nf3 c5 6.a3 Bxc3 7.Bxc3 Ne4 8.Rc1 b6 9.g3 Bb7 10.Bg2 Nxc3 11.Rxc3 cxd4 12.Qxd4 Nc6 13.Qd2 Qe7 14.O-O Rfd8 15.e4 Rac8 16.Rd1 d6 17.b3 Ne5 18.Nd4 a6 19.Re3 Qc7 20.h3 h6 21.Qb2 Qc5 22.a4 Kf8 23.Kh2 a5 24.Qe2 Nc6 25.Red3 Nxd4 26.Rxd4 Rc7 27.Qd2 Rcd7 28.Rd3 Ke7 29.f4 Bc6 30.Rf1 g5 31.fxg5 hxg5 32.Rd5 Bxd5 33.Qxg5+ Kf8 34.cxd5 Re7 35.e5 Rc8 36.Rf4 dxe5 37.Rc4 exd5 38.Qh6+ Ke8 39.Rxc5 Rxc5 40.Qxb6 Rec7 41.Bxd5 Rc2+ 42.Bg2 e4 43.Qb5+ R7c6 44.h4 Kf8 45.Qb8+ Ke7 46.Kh3 f5 47.Qe5+ Re6 48.Qxf5 1-0

          Round 1, May 5
          Russia-Europe
          Board 3
          Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Andreikin, Dmitry
          D42 Sicilian, Kan, Gipslis variation

          1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.O-O Qc7 7.Qe2 d6 8.c4 g6 9.Nc3 Bg7 10.Be3 O-O 11.Rac1 Nbd7 12.b3 b6 13.Rfd1 Bb7 14.f3 Rac8 15.Qf2 Qb8 16.Bf1 Rfd8 17.Kh1 h5 18.h3 Ba8 19.b4 Ne5 20.Na4 Ned7 21.Nb3 b5 22.Nb6 Nxb6 23.Bxb6 bxc4 24.Bxc4 Re8 25.Bxa6 Rxc1 26.Rxc1 d5 27.b5 Qd6 28.Bc5 Qd8 29.b6 Qb8 30.e5 Nd7 31.f4 g5 32.Bd4 gxf4 33.Bb5 Nxe5 34.Bxe5 Bxe5 35.Bxe8 Qxe8 36.Qe2 Qb8 37.Nc5 Bd6 38.Nxe6 Qxb6 39.Rc8+ 1-0

          Round 1, May 5
          China-Rest of the World
          Board 2
          Firouzja, Alireza – Wei Yi
          D43 QGD, Semi-Slav

          1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.e3 g6 8.Be2 Bg7 9.O-O O-O 10.Rc1 Nd7 11.cxd5 exd5 12.b4 a6 13.a4 Qd6 14.b5 axb5 15.axb5 Re8 16.Ra1 Rxa1 17.Qxa1 c5 18.Qa3 b6 19.Qa8 cxd4 20.Nxd4 Bxd4 21.exd4 Qb4 22.Nxd5 Qxd4 23.Bf3 Kg7 24.Qc6 Qc5 25.Rc1 Re6 26.Qc7 Qxc7 27.Nxc7 Re5 28.Bg4 h5 29.f4 Re3 30.Bf3 Nc5 31.Nd5 Rb3 32.Nxb6 Nd3 33.Rd1 Bf5 34.Bc6 Nxf4 35.Na4 Rb4 36.Nc3 Rb3 37.Na4 Rb4 38.Nc3 Rb3 39.Na4 1/2-1/2

          Round 1, May 5
          China-Rest of the World
          Board 4
          Muzychuk, Mariya – Hou Yifan
          B52 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

          1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.c4 e5 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.d3 g6 8.a3 Bg7 9.b4 Nge7 10.Rb1 O-O 11.O-O h6 12.Nd5 f5 13.b5 Nd8 14.Nh4 Nxd5 15.cxd5 Kh7 16.exf5 g5 17.Nf3 Qxf5 18.Qb3 Nf7 19.Nd2 Nh8 20.Ne4 Qd7 21.Be3 Ng6 22.f3 Rad8 23.Qc4 Kh8 24.a4 Qf7 25.a5 Ne7 26.Nc3 Nf5 27.Bd2 Nd4 28.Be3 Nc2 29.Qe4 Nxe3 30.Qxe3 e4 31.Qd2 e3 32.Qc2 Be5 33.g3 Rde8 34.Kg2 Kg8 35.Rbe1 Bxc3 36.Qxc3 Qxd5 37.Qc4 Rf5 38.Re2 Kf8 39.Qc3 Kf7 40.Qc2 g4 41.Qc4 Qxc4 42.dxc4 h5 43.f4 d5 44.cxd5 Rxd5 45.Rc1 Re4 46.Rc3 c4 47.Rcxe3 Rxe3 48.Rxe3 Rxb5 49.Rc3 Rxa5 50.Rxc4 Ra2+ 51.Kg1 Rb2 52.Rc5 Kg6 53.Rg5+ Kh6 54.Rg8 a5 55.f5 Rb5 56.Rg6+ Kh7 57.Rg5 a4 58.Rxh5+ Kg8 59.Rg5+ Kf7 60.Rxg4 Ra5 61.Rd4 a3 62.Rd1 a2 63.Ra1 b5 64.g4 b4 0-1

          Round 1, May 5
          India-USA
          Board 1
          Anand, Vishy – Nakamura, Hikaru
          D37 QGD Hastings variation

          1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.a3 c5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 exd5 10.dxc5 Nxc5 11.Be5 Bf5 12.Rc1 Ne6 13.Bd3 Bxd3 14.Qxd3 Bf6 15.O-O Bxe5 16.Nxe5 d4 17.Rfd1 Re8 18.exd4 Qxd4 19.Qxd4 Nxd4 20.Rxd4 Rxe5 21.Rd7 Rb5 22.Rc2 a5 23.g3 g6 24.Rcc7 Rf5 25.Rxb7 h5 26.h4 Rc8 27.Rd2 Kg7 28.Kg2 Rc1 29.a4 Rc4 30.b3 Rc3 31.Re2 Rcf3 32.Ra2 Rc3 33.b4 axb4 34.Rxb4 Ra5 35.Rd2 Ra3 36.Rdd4 Ra7 37.Rf4 Kg8 38.Kf1 Ra2 39.Kg2 Ra3 40.Kf1 Ra2 41.Kg2 Ra3 1/2-1/2

          I suspect that the team captains used the rapid or blitz ratings to pick board order and that is why Naka is top board and Fabi is on second

          Round 1, May 5
          India-USA
          Board 2
          Caruana, Fabiano – Vidit, Santosh
          C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

          1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Ba4 O-O 6.O-O d6 7.c3 Ne7 8.Re1 Ng6 9.Nbd2 c6 10.Nf1 d5 11.exd5 Nxd5 12.Ng3 Re8 13.h3 Bb6 14.Bc2 h6 15.Bd2 Bc7 16.d4 exd4 17.Rxe8+ Qxe8 18.Nxd4 Bd7 19.Qf3 Qe5 20.Re1 Qd6 21.Kf1 Ne5 22.Qe2 Re8 23.Ndf5 Qf8 24.Qh5 Bxf5 25.Nxf5 Ng6 26.Rxe8 Qxe8 27.g3 Nf6 28.Qf3 Qd8 29.Bc1 Qd5 30.Qxd5 Nxd5 31.Ke2 Kf8 32.h4 Ne5 33.Bb3 Ne7 34.Nxe7 Kxe7 35.h5 Nd7 36.Bd1 Nf6 37.Kd3 Bb6 38.f4 g6 39.hxg6 fxg6 40.Ke2 Nd5 41.Kf3 h5 42.Bd2 Kf6 43.c4 Ne7 44.Bc3+ Ke6 45.b4 Nf5 46.c5 Bc7 47.Bb3+ Ke7 48.Bc4 b6 49.a4 bxc5 50.bxc5 Ke8 51.a5 Bd8 52.Bd3 Be7 53.Bb4 Bf6 54.a6 Be7 55.g4 hxg4+ 56.Kxg4 Ne3+ 57.Kf3 Nd5 58.Bxg6+ Kf8 59.Ba3 Nc7 60.Bd3 Ne6 61.Bc4 Nxc5 62.Bc1 Nd7 63.Ke4 Bc5 64.Kf5 Ke7 65.Bb2 Be3 66.Be2 Nb6 67.Bf3 c5 68.Bf6+ Kf7 69.Bh5+ Kf8 70.Be5 c4 71.Ke4 Bc5 72.f5 Nd7 73.Bc3 Be7 74.Be2 Nc5+ 75.Ke5 Nxa6 76.Bxc4 Nc5 77.Bd2 Nd7+ 78.Ke6 Nc5+ 79.Kd5 Kg7 80.Be2 Kf6 81.Bg4 Nd7 82.Bc3+ Kg5 83.Bh3 Bf6 84.Bd2+ Kh4 85.Bf1 Bg5 86.Bb4 Nf6+ 87.Ke6 Ne4 88.Bd3 Ng3 89.f6 Bxf6 90.Kxf6 Kg4 91.Ke5 Kf3 92.Ba6 Ne2 93.Bd2 Ng3 94.Bg5 Ne4 95.Bb7 Kg4 96.Be3 Ng3 97.Bf2 a5 98.Bc6 a4 99.Bxa4 Kf3 100.Bd4 Kg4 101.Bd1+ Kg5 102.Be3+ Kg6 103.Bc2+ Kf7 104.Bd1 Kg6 105.Ke6 Nh5 106.Bc2+ Kg7 107.Ke7 Ng3 108.Bd3 Nh5 109.Bg5 Ng3 110.Ke6 Nh5 111.Kf5 Kf7 112.Bc4+ Kg7 113.Bh4 Kh6 114.Bf7 Ng7+ 115.Kg4 Kh7 116.Kg5 Kh8 117.Kg6 Ne6 118.Bf6+ Ng7 119.Bxg7# 1-0

          Final Position

          

          Just a lovely mate!

          Round 1, May 5
          India-USA
          Board 4
          Zatonskih, Anna – Koneru, Humpy
          C47 Four Knights, Scotch variation

          1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 O-O 8.O-O d5 9.Bd2 Rb8 10.Re1 Re8 11.a3 Bd6 12.Bg5 d4 13.Na4 h6 14.Bh4 c5 15.b3 Bb7 16.Qf3 g5 17.Bg3 c4 18.Bxc4 Bxe4 19.Qd1 Bxg3 20.hxg3 Qd6 21.Qd2 Kg7 22.Nb2 Ba8 23.Bd3 Rxe1+ 24.Qxe1 Re8 25.Qd2 Qd5 26.f3 g4 27.Rf1 gxf3 28.Rxf3 Qh5 29.Rf5 Qg4 30.Qf2 Re6 31.Rf4 Qg5 32.Nc4 Kg8 33.Bf5 Re7 34.Rxd4 Qc1+ 35.Kh2 Re1 36.g4 Rh1+ 37.Kg3 Kg7 38.Ne3 Re1 39.Rd3 Be4 40.Rc3 Qa1 41.Rxc7 Qe5+ 42.Qf4 Rxe3+ 0-1

          Comment


          • #6
            FIDE Online Nations Cup 2020

            May 5, 2020

            Round Two

            Russia-USA 1-3

            Nepomniachtchi-Nakamura 0-1
            Caruana-Artemiev 1-0
            Andreikin-So 0.5-0.5
            Krush-Goryachkina 0.5-0.5

            Europe-China 1-3

            MVL-Ding Liren 0.5-0.5
            Wei Yi-Aronian 0.5-0.5
            Giri-Yu Yangyi 0-1
            Ju Wenjun-Dzagnidze 1-0

            Rest of the World-India 2.5-1.5

            Radjabov-Anand 0.5-0.5
            Harikrishna-Firouzja 0.5-0.5
            Cori-Adhiban 1-0
            Koneru-M. Muzychuk 0.5-0.5

            Jorge Cori is a Peruvian chessplayer, born in 1995. His sister Deysi (born 1993) is a Woman Grandmaster.

            Round 2, May 5
            Russia-USA
            Board 1
            Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Nakamura, Hikaru
            D37 QGD Hastings variation

            1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.c5 c6 8.h3 b6 9.b4 a5 10.a3 h6 11.Qc1 Bb7 12.Bd3 Qc8 13.O-O Ba6 14.Bxa6 Rxa6 15.Qb2 Qb7 16.Rfb1 axb4 17.axb4 Rxa1 18.Qxa1 Ra8 19.Qb2 Nh5 20.Bh2 Bd8 21.Ra1 Nhf6 22.g4 Ne8 23.Rxa8 Qxa8 24.Qa2 Qb7 25.Qa4 b5 26.Qa1 Bc7 27.Bxc7 Nxc7 28.Qa5 f6 29.Ne2 Kf7 30.Nc1 g5 31.Nd3 Ke7 32.Nd2 Kd8 33.Nb3 Qa6 34.f4 Qxa5 35.Nxa5 Nb8 36.Kf2 Ne8 37.Kg3 Kc7 38.h4 Nd7 39.Nb3 gxh4+ 40.Kxh4 Ng7 41.Nd2 Nf8 42.Nf3 Ng6+ 43.Kg3 Kd8 44.Nh4 Ne7 45.Kf3 Ke8 46.Nc1 Kf7 47.Nb3 h5 48.Na5 hxg4+ 49.Kxg4 Ne8 50.f5 Nc7 51.fxe6+ Kxe6 52.Ng2 Ne8 53.Nf4+ Kd7 54.Nh5 Kc7 55.Nb3 Kd7 56.Nc1 Ke6 57.Nf4+ Kf7 58.Nb3 Ng7 59.Na5 Ngf5 60.Kf3 Nh4+ 61.Kg3 Nhf5+ 62.Kf2 Ng7 63.Nb7 Ke8 64.Kf3 Kd7 65.Na5 Nef5 66.Kf2 Ne7 67.Kf3 Nef5 68.Nb3 Nh4+ 69.Kf2 Nhf5 70.Nd2 Ke7 71.Nf3 Kf7 72.Nh2 Ke7 73.Ng4 Kf7 74.Kf3 Nh4+ 75.Ke2 Nhf5 76.Nf2 Ng3+ 77.Kf3 N3f5 78.Nd1 Nh4+ 79.Kf2 Nhf5 80.Nc3 Ne8 81.Kf3 Nc7 82.Nce2 Na6 83.Nd3 Nc7 84.Nec1 Ne6 85.Nb3 Ke8 86.Nf2 Kf7 87.Na5 Nd8 88.Ng4 Kg6 89.Nf2 Kf7 90.Nd3 Kg6 91.Nf4+ Kf7 92.Ng2 Kg6 93.Kf4 Ne6+ 94.Kg4 Nh6+ 95.Kf3 Nd8 96.Nf4+ Kf5 97.Nh5 Kg6 98.Ng3 Nhf7 99.e4 Ng5+ 100.Ke3 dxe4 101.Nxe4 Nge6 102.Nc3 Nc7 103.Kf4 Na6 104.Na2 Nc7 105.Ke4 f5+ 106.Ke5 Nf7+ 107.Kf4 Nd5+ 108.Kf3 Nd8 109.Kg3 Kh5 110.Kf3 Kg5 111.Kg3 f4+ 112.Kf3 Kf5 113.Nc1 Nxb4 114.Ne2 Nd5 115.Nc1 Nc7 116.Nd3 Nce6 117.Nb3 Ng5+ 118.Kf2 Ke4 119.Nb4 Nge6 120.d5 cxd5 121.c6 Ke5 122.Na5 Nc7 123.Kf3 Nde6 124.Nd3+ Kd4 125.Nxf4 Nxf4 126.Kxf4 Kc3 127.Nb7 b4 128.Nc5 Kc4 129.Na4 Kb5 130.Nb2 Kxc6 131.Ke5 Kc5 132.Na4+ Kc4 133.Kd6 d4 134.Kxc7 d3 135.Kb6 d2 136.Nb2+ Kb3 137.Nd1 Kc2 138.Ne3+ Kc1 0-1

            Position after Black’s 105.... f5+.

            

            Peter said that Nepo was completely fine on move 105 but continued because of the match situation. Resch and Hess said that Nepo could have claimed the draw but went on for his team and lost.

            Round 2, May 5
            Russia-USA
            Board 2
            Caruana, Fabiano – Artemiev, Vladislav
            A25 English, Closed System

            1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.d4 exd4 7.Nxd4 O-O 8.O-O Re8 9.Nc2 d6 10.Qd2 a5 11.b3 Bf5 12.Ne3 Be4 13.Bb2 Bxg2 14.Nxg2 Nd7 15.Nd5 Bxb2 16.Qxb2 Nb4 17.Ngf4 Nxd5 18.cxd5 Qf6 19.Qd2 Nc5 20.f3 Qe5 21.e4 b5 22.Rac1 f5 23.exf5 Qxf5 24.Rfe1 b4 25.Qd4 Qf7 26.Ne6 Nxe6 27.dxe6 Rxe6 28.Rxe6 Qxe6 29.Rxc7 Qe5 30.Qxe5 dxe5 31.Rc5 a4 32.Rxe5 axb3 33.axb3 Ra1+ 34.Kg2 Rb1 35.Re3 Rb2+ 36.Kh3 h5 37.g4 hxg4+ 38.fxg4 g5 39.Kg3 Rb1 40.h3 Kf7 41.Kf3 Rf1+ 42.Ke4 Ke6 43.Kd4+ Kd6 44.Kc4 Rf4+ 45.Kb5 Rd4 46.Re8 Rf4 47.Rg8 Rf3 48.Kxb4 Rxh3 49.Rxg5 Rh1 50.Kb5 Rg1 51.b4 Rb1 52.Rg8 Rb2 53.g5 Ke6 54.g6 Kf6 55.Kc5 Rc2+ 56.Kb6 1-0

            Round 2, May 5
            India-Rest of the World
            Board 2
            Harikrishna, Pentala – Firouzja, Alireza
            B10 Caro-Kann Defence

            1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.d3 dxe4 4.dxe4 Qxd1+ 5.Kxd1 Nf6 6.Nfd2 h5 7.h4 Ng4 8.Ke1 e5 9.Nb3 a5 10.a4 Na6 11.f3 Nf6 12.Be3 Nb4 13.Na3 Be6 14.Nc5 Bxc5 15.Bxc5 Nd7 16.Be3 f6 17.Kf2 Ke7 18.Be2 Rhd8 19.Rhd1 b6 20.Rd2 Nc5 21.Bxc5+ bxc5 22.Rad1 Rxd2 23.Rxd2 Na6 24.Bc4 Bd7 25.Rd3 Nc7 26.Rb3 Ne8 27.Rc3 Nd6 28.Bb3 Nb7 29.Nc4 Be6 30.Ne3 Bd7 31.g3 Rb8 32.Ke2 Rh8 33.Bc4 Ra8 34.f4 Nd6 35.Bd3 Nb7 36.fxe5 fxe5 37.Nc4 Bg4+ 38.Ke1 Ke6 39.Ne3 Bh3 40.Bc4+ Ke7 41.Be2 g6 42.Nc4 Ke6 43.Rb3 Nd6 44.Rb6 Nxc4 45.Bxc4+ Kd6 46.Rxc6+ Kxc6 47.Bd5+ Kd6 48.Bxa8 Bd7 49.Bd5 Bxa4 50.Bf7 g5 51.Kd2 gxh4 52.gxh4 Bc6 53.Ke3 Ke7 54.Bxh5 Kf6 55.Kf3 Ba4 56.b3 Bc6 57.Ke3 c4 58.Bd1 cxb3 59.cxb3 Kg6 60.Kd3 Kh6 61.Bf3 Bb5+ 62.Kc3 Ba6 63.Bg4 Bb7 64.Bf3 Ba6 65.Bd1 Bb5 66.Bg4 Bc6 67.Bf3 1/2-1/2

            Round 2, May 5
            India-Rest of the World
            Board 3
            Cori, Jorge – Adhiban, Bl
            D45 QGD, Semi-Slav

            1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.d3 dxe4 4.dxe4 Qxd1+ 5.Kxd1 Nf6 6.Nfd2 h5 7.h4 Ng4 8.Ke1 e5 9.Nb3 a5 10.a4 Na6 11.f3 Nf6 12.Be3 Nb4 13.Na3 Be6 14.Nc5 Bxc5 15.Bxc5 Nd7 16.Be3 f6 17.Kf2 Ke7 18.Be2 Rhd8 19.Rhd1 b6 20.Rd2 Nc5 21.Bxc5+ bxc5 22.Rad1 Rxd2 23.Rxd2 Na6 24.Bc4 Bd7 25.Rd3 Nc7 26.Rb3 Ne8 27.Rc3 Nd6 28.Bb3 Nb7 29.Nc4 Be6 30.Ne3 Bd7 31.g3 Rb8 32.Ke2 Rh8 33.Bc4 Ra8 34.f4 Nd6 35.Bd3 Nb7 36.fxe5 fxe5 37.Nc4 Bg4+ 38.Ke1 Ke6 39.Ne3 Bh3 40.Bc4+ Ke7 41.Be2 g6 42.Nc4 Ke6 43.Rb3 Nd6 44.Rb6 Nxc4 45.Bxc4+ Kd6 46.Rxc6+ Kxc6 47.Bd5+ Kd6 48.Bxa8 Bd7 49.Bd5 Bxa4 50.Bf7 g5 51.Kd2 gxh4 52.gxh4 Bc6 53.Ke3 Ke7 54.Bxh5 Kf6 55.Kf3 Ba4 56.b3 Bc6 57.Ke3 c4 58.Bd1 cxb3 59.cxb3 Kg6 60.Kd3 Kh6 61.Bf3 Bb5+ 62.Kc3 Ba6 63.Bg4 Bb7 64.Bf3 Ba6 65.Bd1 Bb5 66.Bg4 Bc6 67.Bf3 1/2-1/2

            Round 2, May 5
            China-Europe
            Board 3
            Giri, Anish – Yu, Yangyi
            C42 Petrov, Classical Attack

            1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 Be7 6.Bd3 Bf5 7.O-O O-O 8.Re1 d5 9.Nbd2 Nd6 10.Nf1 Nd7 11.Bxf5 Nxf5 12.Qd3 g6 13.Bf4 Re8 14.Re2 Bd6 15.Rxe8+ Qxe8 16.Re1 Qf8 17.Bxd6 Nxd6 18.Ne5 Rd8 19.Ne3 c6 20.N3g4 f6 21.Nxd7 Rxd7 22.Re6 Ne4 23.f3 Kf7 24.fxe4 Kxe6 25.Qh3 f5 26.Ne5 Re7 27.exd5+ cxd5 28.Qa3 Qb8 29.Qe3 Kf6 30.Qh6 Rxe5 31.dxe5+ Qxe5 32.h4 Qe7 33.c3 b6 34.a4 Ke6 35.h5 Kf6 36.hxg6 hxg6 37.Qh8+ Kg5 38.Kh2 Qe4 39.Qd8+ Kg4 40.Qf6 g5 41.Qh6 Qe5+ 42.Kg1 Qe1+ 43.Kh2 Qh4+ 0-1

            Round 2, May 5
            China-Europe
            Board 4
            Ju, Wenjun – Dzagnidze, Nana
            E05 Catalan, open, Classical line

            1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Nf3 Be7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bg5 Bd5 11.Qc2 Be4 12.Qc1 h6 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Rd1 Nc6 15.Nbd2 Bh7 16.Nb3 Nb4 17.Ne1 c6 18.a5 Qe7 19.f4 g5 20.e4 gxf4 21.gxf4 Rad8 22.Qc3 Kh8 23.Nc5 Rg8 24.Kh1 Nd5 25.exd5 exd5 26.Nf3 Rxg2 27.Kxg2 Qe2+ 28.Kh1 Be4 29.Nxe4 dxe4 30.Ng1 Qf2 31.Rf1 Qh4 32.Rad1 Qh5 33.Qe3 Re8 34.Ne2 Qxa5 35.Nc3 Qb4 36.Nxe4 c5 37.f5 Bg7 38.f6 Bf8 39.Rg1 1-0

            Standings After Round Two

            1 China 4 MP
            2 USA 3 MP
            3 Rest of the World 2 MP
            4-6 India, Russia, Europe 1 MP

            Comment


            • #7
              Caruana - Vidit interesting endgame.

              Comment


              • #8
                re: Nepo - Nakamura - loved that game! More than 100 knight moves and a passed pawn picturesque promotion at the end!

                Comment


                • #9
                  Rd 4 Aronian gets the king!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    FIDE Online Nations Cup 2020

                    May 6, 2020

                    Round Three

                    China-Russia 2-2

                    Ding-Nepomniachtchi 1-0
                    Artemiev-Wei Yi 1-0
                    Yu Yangyi-Karjakin 0.5-0.5
                    Goryachkina-Ju Wenjun 0.5-0.5

                    USA-Rest of the World 2.5-1.5

                    Nakamura-Radjabov 0.5-0.5
                    Firouzja-Dominguez 0.5-0.5
                    So-Amin 0.5-0.5
                    Saduakassova-Krush 0-1

                    India-Europe 1.5-2.5

                    Anand-MVL 0.5-0.5
                    Aronian-Vidit 1-0
                    Harikrishna-Duda 0.5-0.5
                    A. Muzychuk-Koneru 0.5-0.5

                    Selected Games

                    Round 3, May 6
                    China-Russia
                    Board 1
                    Ding, Liren – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
                    D85 Grunfeld, Exchange variation

                    1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Be3 c5 8.Rc1 Qa5 9.Qd2 O-O 10.Nf3 Bg4 11.d5 b5 12.Bxc5 Rc8 13.Bd4 Bxf3 14.Bxg7 Bxe4 15.Bh6 Qb6 16.f3 Bf5 17.g4 Bd7 18.h4 Be8 19.h5 f6 20.hxg6 Bxg6 21.Be3 Qd6 22.Bxb5 Nd7 23.Kf2 Rab8 24.Be2 Qa3 25.Bd4 Rb2 26.Qe3 Ne5 27.Bxe5 fxe5 28.Qxe5 Qd6 29.Qxd6 exd6 30.Rhe1 Re8 31.Rcd1 Rc8 32.Kg3 Rxc3 33.a4 a5 34.Bf1 Rb4 35.Re6 Rxa4 36.Rxd6 Raa3 37.Rf6 Kg7 38.d6 Rc8 39.d7 Rd8 40.Re6 Rb3 41.Re5 Rb7 42.Bb5 Bc2 43.Rd2 Bg6 44.Re8 Rbb8 45.Rde2 1-0

                    Round 3, May 6
                    China-Russia
                    Board 2
                    Artemiev, Vladislav - Wei, Yi
                    A10 English Opening

                    1.c4 g6 2.g3 Bg7 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nc3 O-O 5.Nf3 c5 6.O-O d5 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Qb3 e6 9.d3 Nc6 10.Qb5 Qb6 11.Qc4 Qb4 12.Ne4 Qxc4 13.dxc4 Nb6 14.Rb1 Nxc4 15.b3 N4e5 16.Nxe5 Bxe5 17.Bh6 Rd8 18.Rfd1 Rb8 19.Nxc5 Bc7 20.Bg5 Rxd1+ 21.Rxd1 Kg7 22.Ne4 Be5 23.Nd6 h6 24.Be3 Nb4 25.Bxh6+ 1-0

                    Round 3, May 6
                    USA-Rest of the World
                    Board 2
                    Firouzja, Alireza – Dominquez, Leinier
                    A28 English, Four Knights, Romanishin variation

                    1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e3 Bb4 5.Qc2 Bxc3 6.bxc3 e4 7.Ng5 Qe7 8.f3 exf3 9.Nxf3 O-O 10.Be2 b6 11.O-O Bb7 12.d3 Ng4 13.e4 f5 14.Bg5 Qe8 15.exf5 h6 16.Bf4 Ne3 17.Bxe3 Qxe3+ 18.Kh1 Rxf5 19.d4 Raf8 20.Rae1 Qf4 21.Bd3 R5f6 22.Re4 Qd6 23.c5 Qd5 24.Qe2 Na5 25.c4 Qh5 26.d5 c6 27.Re5 Qg4 28.h3 Qg3 29.d6 Ba6 30.Qe4 g6 31.Re7 Nb7 32.Qe3 Qf4 33.Qxf4 Rxf4 34.Bxg6 Nxc5 35.Rfe1 Bxc4 36.Ne5 Kh8 37.Rh7+ Kg8 38.Ng4 Rxg4 39.hxg4 Be6 40.g5 hxg5 41.Re5 Rf6 42.Bc2 g4 43.Reh5 Bd5 44.Rg5+ Kf8 45.Rxg4 Rxd6 46.Rf4+ Ke8 47.a4 Re6 48.Kg1 Re1+ 49.Kf2 Ra1 50.Bg6+ Kd8 51.g4 Ra3 52.g5 Ne6 53.Rg4 Rf3+ 54.Kg1 Nf4 55.Bh5 Ne2+ 56.Kh2 Rf1 57.Rg2 Bxg2 58.Kxg2 Rf5 59.Bxe2 Rxg5+ 60.Kf2 Rd5 61.Ke3 Kc7 62.Bd3 1/2-1/2

                    Round 3, May 6
                    USA-Rest of the World
                    Board 4
                    Saduakassova, Dinara – Krush, Irina
                    B56 Sicilian Defence

                    1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bd7 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 a6 8.O-O-O h6 9.Bxf6 Qxf6 10.f4 Nc6 11.Nb3 Qd8 12.Kb1 Be7 13.g4 g5 14.e5 dxe5 15.fxe5 Nxe5 16.Qd4 Qc7 17.Bg2 O-O-O 18.Qa7 Bc6 19.Bxc6 Nxc6 20.Qf2 Bd6 21.Rdf1 Rd7 22.Ne4 Bf4 23.Nf6 Re7 24.Nh5 Be5 25.Nf6 Rd8 26.Qe3 Kb8 27.a3 Bf4 28.Qh3 Ne5 29.Nh5 Nc4 30.Nxf4 gxf4 31.Qxh6 e5 32.Rd1 Red7 33.Rxd7 Rxd7 34.Qf8+ Rd8 35.Qb4 Rc8 36.Rc1 f3 37.Nd2 Nxd2+ 38.Qxd2 e4 39.Re1 Re8 40.Qf2 Qf4 41.Qd4 Qxg4 42.Qf2 Qg2 43.Qb6 f2 44.Qd6+ Ka8 0-1

                    Round 3, May 6
                    India-Europe
                    Board 2
                    Aronian, Levon – Vidit, Santosh
                    A06 Reti Opening

                    1.Nf3 d5 2.e3 c5 3.c4 d4 4.exd4 cxd4 5.Bd3 Nc6 6.O-O Nf6 7.Bc2 Bg4 8.Ba4 Nd7 9.h3 Bh5 10.d3 e5 11.Re1 Be7 12.Nbd2 O-O 13.Ne4 Qc7 14.a3 a5 15.Ng3 Bg6 16.Bxc6 bxc6 17.Nxd4 exd4 18.Rxe7 Qd6 19.Re2 Nc5 20.Ne4 Nxe4 21.dxe4 Rfe8 22.f3 a4 23.c5 Qxc5 24.Bf4 Qb6 25.Rc1 c5 26.Rc4 f6 27.Qc1 Ra5 28.Rec2 f5 29.Rxc5 Rxc5 30.Rxc5 fxe4 31.fxe4 d3 32.Be3 Qe6 33.Rc7 Qxe4 34.Bd2 h6 35.Qc5 Bf7 36.Bc3 Qg6 37.Re7 Rxe7 38.Qxe7 Kh7 39.Qe5 Be8 40.Kf2 Bf7 41.g4 Bb3 42.Ke3 Bc2 43.Kd2 Bb3 44.Ke3 Bc2 45.Kd2 Bb3 46.Qe7 Bc2 47.b4 axb3 48.Bb2 h5 49.g5 h4 50.a4 Kg8 51.a5 Kh7 52.a6 Bd1 53.Kxd1 d2 54.Qxg7+ Qxg7 55.Bxg7 Kxg7 56.Kxd2 1-0

                    Position after White’s 47.b4

                    

                    - b4!! Is a brilliant move
                    - Great win for Levon

                    In the interim between rounds there would be a lot of dead air time. Since Magnus was with the guys, he suggests that they take questions from the viewers on chat. The question that many of us have in our minds is what is his relationship with Anish Giri. Magnus stick handles around it and then says to call them frenemies.

                    On playing in this tournament - "I think for me it would have felt more important to play if I had been let's say American or Chinese or even Russian. Representing your country in such a tournament is huge, but representing Europe - I don't feel so strongly about Europe". Chess.com never contacted him directly.

                    On how they are handling things in his city - Magnus: "In Norway it's pretty relaxed - I was out on a bike today and people are walking around like it is normal."

                    Magnus: "Why are you not playing the tournament, Peter?"
                    Svidler: "I'm not good enough!"

                    Peter Svidler says it left him "physically shaking for half a year" when he was left out of the Russian team in 2012 at a time when he was both the Russian Champion and the World Cup winner. It's been easier since..

                    "What is your favourite comic?"
                    Magnus: "I grew up with Donald Duck, but now I'd say it's Pearls before Swine - I really find the puns there speak to me a lot!"

                    (WK Note: Wikipedia says: Pearls Before Swine is an American comic strip written and illustrated by Stephan Pastis. It chronicles the daily lives of an ensemble cast of suburban anthropomorphic animals: Pig, Rat, Zebra, Goat, and a fraternity of crocodiles, as well as a number of supporting characters.)

                    Magnus: I was really nervous in the semi-finals of the recent Invitational. I went through the whole range of emotion then. The most tension I have felt in a long time.

                    Magnus: I feel one day I could quit the World Championship, not waiting till I am over the hill.

                    Peter, where did you learn your fantastic English and what other languages do you speak?
                    Peter: Just Russian and English and I picked up my English by playing Leisure Suit Larry and reading, mainly.

                    Peter, who would you like to meet – non-chess?
                    Peter: Bob Dylan. I would feel like I was imposing but there are so many things I would like to ask him.

                    Magnus, are you still in touch with Garry? Not really – we talk occasionally.

                    Peter, who are your top five chess players of all time?
                    Peter: Tal, Alekhine, Capa, Vishy and Kramnik.

                    Magnus, who would you pick between Vishy and Kramnik?
                    Magnus: Vishy for sure. You could make a case that Kramnik is in the top ten of all time.

                    Who is the dumbest 2700?
                    (Magnus and Jan laugh about this but don’t actually give any names.)

                    Who is the GOAT in the NBA? Jordan, LeBron or Kareem?
                    Magnus: It’s Jordan now but in the end it will be LeBron.
                    (GOAT=Greatest of all time)

                    Who are the biggest complainers in chess?
                    (This is a standing joke on the program with Svidler and Nepo as the ones everyone chooses.)

                    Magnus, what are your views on My System?
                    Magnus: Nimzo presented the concepts but they weren’t really new. An interesting book but I’ve never really read it until I was 11 or 12 and knew most of the concepts then.

                    Where do you like to play tournaments the most?
                    Magnus: Wijk aan Zee.
                    Peter: London

                    Peter, would you ever move to England permanently?
                    Peter: It is sort of a joking dream of ours – to move to the shires.

                    Magnus on Karjakin not being very active lately: "He's turned 30 and has kids... I think he's not fully motivated to play chess at this point"

                    And there is much more of these but it is time to get back to the next round.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      FIDE Online Nations Cup 2020

                      May 6, 2020

                      Round Four

                      Russia-Rest of the World 3-1

                      Nepomniachtchi-Radjabov 1-0
                      Firouzja-Artemiev 0.5-0.5
                      Karjakin-Cori 1-0
                      M. Muzychuk-Girya 0.5-0.5

                      China-India 2.5-l.5

                      Ding-Anand 0.5-0.5
                      Vidit-Wang Hao 0-1
                      Yu Yangyi-Harikrishna 0.5-0.5
                      Koneru-Hou Yifan 0.5-0.5

                      Europe-USA 3-1

                      MVL-Nakamura 0.5-0.5
                      Dominguez-Aronian 0-1
                      Giri-So 0.5-0.5
                      Zatonskih-Dzagnidze 0-1

                      Selected Games

                      Round 4, May 6
                      Russia-Rest of the World
                      Board 1
                      Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Radjabov, Teimour
                      D37 QGD, Hastings variation

                      1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.c5 Nh5 8.Bd3 Nxf4 9.exf4 b6 10.b4 a5 11.a3 c6 12.O-O Ba6 13.Bxa6 Rxa6 14.Qe2 Qa8 15.b5 cxb5 16.Qxb5 Ra7 17.Ne5 Nxe5 18.cxb6 Nc4 19.bxa7 Qxa7 20.Ne2 Rb8 21.Qa4 g6 22.Ra2 Qb6 23.g3 Kg7 24.Rc1 Bf6 25.Qd1 Nb2 26.Qc2 Nc4 27.a4 Qb3 28.Qxb3 Rxb3 29.Rd1 h5 30.h4 Nd6 31.Rc1 Nc4 32.Kg2 Rb4 33.Rd1 Nd6 34.Rdd2 Nc4 35.Rd1 Nd6 36.Kf1 Nc4 37.Rc1 Rb3 38.Ke1 Rb4 39.Raa1 Nd6 40.Rcb1 Rc4 41.Ra2 Nf5 42.Rb5 Bd8 43.Rb7 Nxd4 44.Nxd4 Rxd4 45.Rc2 Kf6 46.Ke2 Rxa4 47.Rc8 1-0

                      Round 4, May 6
                      Russia-Rest of the World
                      Board 2
                      Firouzja, Alireza – Artemiev, Vladislav
                      B46 Sicilian, Taimanov variation

                      1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 a6 6.g3 Nxd4 7.Qxd4 b5 8.Bg2 Bb7 9.O-O Ne7 10.a4 Nc6 11.Qd1 b4 12.Nd5 Bc5 13.Qg4 O-O 14.Bh6 Bd4 15.c3 bxc3 16.bxc3 Be5 17.f4 Bf6 18.e5 exd5 19.exf6 Qxf6 20.Bg5 Qxc3 21.Qxd7 Rab8 22.Rac1 Qe3+ 23.Kh1 Qe6 24.Qxd5 Qxd5 25.Bxd5 Nd4 26.Bxb7 Rxb7 27.f5 h6 28.Be3 Rd8 29.Rc4 Rbd7 30.f6 g5 31.h4 gxh4 32.Rf4 Ne6 33.Rxh4 Nf8 34.Bxh6 Ng6 35.Rhe4 Rd6 36.Kg2 Rb8 37.Bg5 Rd5 38.Be3 Rb2+ 39.Kh3 Rh5+ 40.Kg4 Rd5 41.Bd4 Rd2 42.Bc3 R2d3 43.Rc8+ Kh7 44.Rc7 Kh6 45.Kh3 Rf3 46.Kg2 Rfd3 47.Be1 Rd7 48.Rxd7 Rxd7 49.Rc4 Rd6 50.Bc3 Kg5 51.Rc7 Rd3 52.Kf2 Kf5 53.Rc5+ Ke4 54.Rc4+ Kd5 55.Rc7 Ke4 56.Ba1 Rd1 57.Bc3 Rd3 58.Rc6 Kd5 59.Rc8 Ke4 60.Re8+ Kf5 61.Re3 Rd1 62.Ke2 Rb1 63.Kd3 Rb8 64.Kc4 Rc8+ 65.Kd5 Nf8 66.Re5+ Kg6 67.Re3 Nd7 68.Rf3 Nb6+ 69.Kd6 Nxa4 70.Bd4 Rd8+ 71.Ke5 Rb8 72.Rf4 Rb5+ 73.Kd6 Nb6 74.Rg4+ Kf5 75.Rf4+ Kg6 76.Rg4+ Kf5 77.Rf4+ Kg6 1/2-1/2

                      Round 4, May 6
                      Russia-Rest of the World
                      Board 3
                      Karjakin, Sergey – Cori, Jorge
                      B47 Sicilian, Taimanov (Bastrikov) variation

                      1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be2 a6 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.Qd3 Nf6 9.Qg3 Qxg3 10.hxg3 d5 11.g4 Bb4 12.Bd2 d4 13.e5 Nd7 14.Ne4 Bxd2+ 15.Nxd2 c5 16.Nc4 Ke7 17.Bf3 Rb8 18.O-O-O Nb6 19.Na5 Bd7 20.g5 Na4 21.Bb7 Kd8 22.Rd3 Kc7 23.Rf3 Be8 24.Rb3 c4 25.Rb4 Nc5 26.Rxc4 Kb6 27.Bc6 Bxc6 28.Nxc6 Kxc6 29.b4 Rb5 30.Rh4 Rhb8 31.Rhxd4 a5 32.a3 axb4 33.axb4 Kc7 34.Rxc5+ Rxc5 35.bxc5 Kc6 36.Rd6+ Kxc5 37.Rd7 h6 38.gxh6 1-0

                      Round 4, May 6
                      Europe-USA
                      Board 2
                      Dominguez, Leinier – Aronian, Levon
                      C42 Petrov, Classical Attack, Marshall variation

                      1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.O-O O-O 8.c4 c6 9.Qc2 h6 10.Re1 Be6 11.cxd5 cxd5 12.Bxe4 dxe4 13.Qxe4 Bd5 14.Qg4 Qd7 15.Qxd7 Nxd7 16.Nc3 Bxf3 17.gxf3 Bb4 18.Bd2 Rfd8 19.Ne4 Bxd2 20.Nxd2 Nf6 21.Nb3 b6 22.Rac1 Nd5 23.a3 Rd6 24.Re4 Rad8 25.Kf1 a5 26.a4 g5 27.Rc4 Kg7 28.Re1 Kg6 29.Nd2 Nb4 30.Nb3 Nd3 31.Re2 Nf4 32.Re1 Rf6 33.Nd2 Nd3 34.Rb1 Rf4 35.Rc6+ Kg7 36.Rxb6 Rdxd4 37.b3 Nxf2 38.Ke2 Rh4 39.Nf1 Nd3 40.Rb5 Nf4+ 41.Kf2 Rd3 42.Re5 Rc3 43.Rxa5 Rh3 44.Rb5 Rhxf3+ 45.Kg1 Rc2 46.Rb6 Rff2 47.a5 Rg2+ 48.Kh1 Nh3 0-1

                      Round 4, May 6
                      Europe-USA
                      Board 3
                      Giri, Anish – So, Wesley
                      E05 Catalan, open, Classical variation

                      1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bg5 Bd5 11.Qc2 Be4 12.Qc1 h6 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Nbd2 Bxf3 15.Nxf3 a5 16.Qc3 Nc6 17.Rad1 Nb4 18.Ne5 c6 19.e4 Bxe5 20.dxe5 Qb6 21.Rd6 Na6 22.Rfd1 Qc5 23.Qxc5 Nxc5 24.R1d4 Rfc8 25.Bf1 b5 26.axb5 cxb5 27.Bxb5 Rab8 28.Ba6 Nxa6 29.Rxa6 Rxb2 30.Ra7 Rb5 31.Rdd7 Rf8 32.Rd4 Rxe5 33.Ra4 Rb8 34.R7xa5 Rxa5 35.Rxa5 Rb4 36.h4 Rxe4 37.Kg2 g6 38.Rb5 Kg7 39.Ra5 Rd4 40.Ra7 Kf6 41.Ra8 Kf5 42.Rh8 h5 43.Ra8 e5 44.Ra5 Rd2 45.Rb5 Ra2 46.Rc5 f6 47.Rb5 Ra4 48.Rc5 g5 49.hxg5 Kxg5 50.Rb5 Re4 51.Rb8 Rg4 52.Kf3 Ra4 53.Rg8+ Kf5 54.Rh8 Ra3+ 55.Kg2 Kg6 56.Rg8+ Kh7 57.Rb8 Ra2 58.Re8 Kg6 59.Rg8+ Kf5 60.Rh8 Kg6 61.Rg8+ Kh7 62.Re8 Rb2 63.Rf8 Kg7 64.Re8 Rb4 65.Kf3 Ra4 66.Rb8 Kg6 67.Rg8+ Kf5 68.Rh8 e4+ 69.Kg2 Kg6 70.Rg8+ Kf7 71.Rh8 Ra5 72.Kf1 Rf5 73.Ke2 Re5 74.Ke3 Kg7 75.Ra8 Kg6 76.Kf4 Rf5+ 77.Kxe4 Rxf2 78.Rg8+ Kh6 79.Rh8+ Kg6 80.Rg8+ Kh7 81.Ra8 Rf1 82.Rb8 f5+ 83.Ke3 Kg6 84.Rg8+ Kh7 85.Ra8 Kg6 86.Rg8+ Kh7 87.Ra8 Kg6 88.Rg8+ 1/2-1/2

                      Final Position

                      

                      Round 4, May 6
                      China-India
                      Board 2
                      Vidit, Santosh – Wang, Hao
                      D20 QGA

                      1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 e5 4.Nf3 exd4 5.Bxc4 Nc6 6.O-O Be6 7.Bb5 Bc5 8.b4 Bb6 9.a4 a6 10.Bxc6+ bxc6 11.a5 Ba7 12.Bb2 Nf6 13.Nbd2 O-O 14.Qc2 Re8 15.Rad1 Rb8 16.Ne5 Bd7 17.Ndc4 Rxb4 18.Qd2 c5 19.Bxd4 Rxc4 20.Ba1 Rd4 21.Bxd4 cxd4 22.Qf4 Bb5 23.Rfe1 Qd6 24.Nd3 Qxf4 25.Nxf4 Rxe4 26.Rxe4 Nxe4 27.Nd5 d3 28.Nxc7 Bxf2+ 29.Kh1 Bc4 0-1

                      Standings after Round 4

                      China 7 match points
                      USA, Europe 5 match points
                      Russia 4 match points
                      Rest of the World 2 match points
                      India 1 match point

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Rd 5 Anand - Nepo Sure it may be all prep but it is delightful to see. The ultimate in pawn play!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Hou Yifan's game is full of lovely tactics.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            FIDE Online Nations Cup 2020

                            May 7, 2020

                            Round Five

                            Jan’s thoughts on food: No pineapple on your pizza. It’s wrong. In Germany we call it Pizza Hawaii and I have very little patience for it

                            If you like your peanut butter smooth and not crunchy, we cannot be friends. Usually I am very tolerant about foods but not these two.

                            Mr. Dodgy comes on. He is legendary on this website and this is his first appearance. He lives in Sweden. He is from Dundee in Scotland. He is full-bearded and wears glasses. The guys ask to see his horses but he says that they are on vacation. The guys pepper him with questions, trying to establish his bona fides.

                            Enough of this, back to business.

                            Round Five Results

                            India-Russia 2-2

                            Anand-Nepomniachtchi 1-0
                            Artemiev-Harikrishna 1-0
                            Adhiban-Karjakin 0.5-0.5
                            Harika-Girya 0.5-0.5

                            Rest of the World-Europe 1.5-2.5

                            Radjabov-MVL 0.5-0.5
                            Aronian-Firouzja 1-0
                            Amin-Giri 1-0
                            Dzagnidze-Saduakassova 1-0

                            USA-China 1.5-2.5

                            Nakamura-Ding Liren 0.5-0.5
                            Wang Hao-Caruana 0-1
                            Dominguez-Yu Yangyi 0-1
                            Hou Yifan-Krush 1-0

                            Selected Games

                            Round 5, May 7
                            India-Russia
                            Board 1
                            Anand, Vishy – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
                            D85 Grunfeld, Exchange variation

                            1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Bd2 Bg7 6.e4 Nxc3 7.Bxc3 c5 8.d5 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Qd6 10.Qd2 O-O 11.f4 e6 12.Nf3 exd5 13.Bc4 Be6 14.O-O d4 15.f5 Bxc4 16.e5 Qd7 17.f6 1-0

                            Final Position

                            

                            Round 5, May 7
                            India-Russia
                            Board 2
                            Artemiev, Vladislav - Harikrishna, Pentala
                            A13 English Opening, Agincourt variation

                            1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 Nf6 4.d4 c5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bb5+ Nc6 7.O-O cxd4 8.exd4 Be7 9.Ne5 Bd7 10.Nc3 O-O 11.Bg5 h6 12.Bh4 Ne4 13.Bxe7 Qxe7 14.Nxd5 Qd6 15.Nxd7 Qxd7 16.Nb4 Qd6 17.Nxc6 bxc6 18.Ba4 Rab8 19.Qc2 Ng5 20.Rad1 Ne6 21.Qxc6 Qxc6 22.Bxc6 Rxb2 23.a3 Rb6 24.d5 Nd8 25.Ba4 Nb7 26.h4 Nd6 27.Rd4 Rfb8 28.Bc6 Ra6 29.Rd3 Rab6 30.Re1 Rb1 31.Rxb1 Rxb1+ 32.Kh2 Rb2 33.Kg3 g5 34.hxg5 hxg5 35.Kf3 Kf8 36.g4 Ke7 37.Ke3 f6 38.Kd4 Nf7 39.Rh3 Ne5 40.f3 Rc2 41.Bb5 a5 42.a4 Kd6 43.Rh6 Nxf3+ 44.Kd3 Nd2 45.Kxc2 1-0

                            44...Ne1+ instead of 44...Nd2?? and India would have beaten Russia!

                            Round 5, May 7
                            Rest of the World-Europe
                            Board 2
                            Aronian, Levon – Firouzja, Alireza
                            A13 Reti, Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack

                            1.Nf3 d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.b3 c5 5.Bb2 Nc6 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Bb5 Bd6 8.d4 cxd4 9.Nxd4 O-O 10.O-O Nxd4 11.Qxd4 a6 12.Be2 Re8 13.Qd1 Qc7 14.h3 Ne4 15.Nd2 Nc3 16.Bxc3 Qxc3 17.Rc1 Qf6 18.Bg4 Bxg4 19.Qxg4 Qb2 20.Nf3 Qxa2 21.Qd7 Bf8 22.Qxb7 Rab8 23.Qc6 Qxb3 24.Qxa6 Qb6 25.Qa2 Rbd8 26.Rfd1 Qe6 27.Rc2 Rd7 28.Qa4 Red8 29.Nd4 Qe4 30.Rdc1 g6 31.Qb5 Rd6 32.Rc8 Kg7 33.Qb2 Rxc8 34.Rxc8 Rf6 35.Rd8 Bc5 36.Nf3 Be7 37.Rd7 Qe6 38.Rb7 Bd6 39.Ng5 Qe5 40.Qxe5 Bxe5 41.Rd7 h6 42.Nf3 Bd6 43.Nd4 Kf8 44.Nb5 Bb4 45.Rxd5 Be1 46.f3 Re6 47.Rd3 Bg3 48.Kf1 Rb6 49.Rd5 Rc6 50.Ke2 Rc1 51.Rd1 Rc2+ 52.Rd2 Rc1 53.Kd3 Be5 54.Ke4 Bf6 55.Nd4 Bxd4 56.exd4 Ke7 57.Ra2 h5 58.Kd5 Rd1 59.Re2+ Kd7 60.Ke5 Ke7 61.f4 Rf1 62.h4 f6+ 63.Kd5+ Kd7 64.g3 Ra1 65.Rb2 Ra5+ 66.Kc4 Kc6 67.d5+ Kc7 68.Re2 Ra4+ 69.Kb5 Ra3 70.Re6 Rxg3 71.Rxf6 Rg1 72.Ra6 Kd7 73.Kc5 Rc1+ 74.Kd4 Rd1+ 75.Ke5 Re1+ 76.Kf6 Rg1 77.Ra7+ Kd6 78.Rg7 Rg4 79.Rxg6 Rxf4+ 80.Kg5+ Ke5 81.d6 Rd4 82.Kxh5 Kf5 83.Kh6 Rxh4+ 84.Kg7 Ra4 85.Rh6 Kg5 86.Re6 Kf5 87.Kf7 Rh4 88.Re1 1-0

                            Final Position

                            

                            White wins in 23 moves

                            Round 5, May 7
                            Rest of the World-Europe
                            Board 3
                            Amin, Bassem – Giri, Anish
                            A05 Reti, King’s Indian Attack, Neo-Closed Sicilian

                            1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.g3 Nf6 4.d3 g6 5.Bg2 Bg7 6.O-O O-O 7.Re1 Nc6 8.c3 e5 9.a3 b5 10.h3 Rb8 11.Be3 a5 12.a4 b4 13.Nbd2 h6 14.Rc1 Re8 15.d4 bxc3 16.bxc3 exd4 17.cxd4 Nb4 18.Nc4 Nxe4 19.dxc5 Na2 20.Nxd6 Nxd6 21.Rc2 Bf5 22.Rxa2 Nc4 23.Qxd8 Rbxd8 24.c6 Rc8 25.Nd2 Ne5 26.g4 Nd3 27.Rb1 Be6 28.Rc2 Nb4 29.Rc5 Ba2 30.Rf1 Bf8 31.Rxa5 Nxc6 32.Rb5 Ne5 33.Ra1 Bc4 34.Nxc4 Nxc4 35.Bd4 Red8 36.Bf6 Rd6 37.g5 hxg5 38.Bxg5 Na3 39.Rb3 f6 40.Be3 Nc2 41.Rc1 Rc4 42.Bf1 Rc8 43.a5 Rdc6 44.Bb6 Nb4 45.Rxc6 Rxc6 46.a6 Rc1 47.a7 Ra1 48.Rxb4 Bxb4 49.Kg2 Bd6 50.Bc4+ Kg7 51.Bd5 Bc7 52.Bd4 Be5 53.Bxa1 1-0

                            Round 5, May 7
                            USA-China
                            Board 2
                            Wang, Hao – Caruana, Fabiano
                            A07 Reti, King’s Indian Attack, Keres variation

                            1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Bg4 3.Bg2 Nd7 4.O-O e6 5.d3 Bd6 6.Nbd2 Ne7 7.h3 Bh5 8.b3 O-O 9.Bb2 a5 10.a4 c5 11.g4 Bg6 12.Nh4 Nc6 13.Nxg6 hxg6 14.e4 d4 15.f4 g5 16.f5 Bf4 17.Nc4 e5 18.Bc1 Ra6 19.Qe2 Qe7 20.Qf2 Nb4 21.Bxf4 gxf4 22.h4 g5 23.fxg6 fxg6 24.g5 Nb6 25.Bf3 Nxc4 26.bxc4 Rb6 27.Rfb1 Kg7 28.Kg2 Rh8 29.Bg4 Kf8 30.Rb3 Ke8 31.Kf3 Kd8 32.Rh1 Qe8 33.Ra1 Kc7 34.Kg2 Kb8 35.Kf3 Rc6 36.Rbb1 Rc7 37.Rh1 Rch7 38.Rh2 Qc6 39.h5 gxh5 40.Bf5 Rg7 41.g6 Rf8 42.Rxh5 Rxf5 43.Rxf5 Qxg6 44.Qh2 Nxc2 45.Rh1 Qg4+ 46.Kf2 Nb4 0-1

                            Round 5, May 7
                            USA-China
                            Board 3
                            Dominguez, Leinier – Yu, Yangyi
                            C42 Petrov, Modern Attack, symmetrical variation

                            1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Bg4 3.Bg2 Nd7 4.O-O e6 5.d3 Bd6 6.Nbd2 Ne7 7.h3 Bh5 8.b3 O-O 9.Bb2 a5 10.a4 c5 11.g4 Bg6 12.Nh4 Nc6 13.Nxg6 hxg6 14.e4 d4 15.f4 g5 16.f5 Bf4 17.Nc4 e5 18.Bc1 Ra6 19.Qe2 Qe7 20.Qf2 Nb4 21.Bxf4 gxf4 22.h4 g5 23.fxg6 fxg6 24.g5 Nb6 25.Bf3 Nxc4 26.bxc4 Rb6 27.Rfb1 Kg7 28.Kg2 Rh8 29.Bg4 Kf8 30.Rb3 Ke8 31.Kf3 Kd8 32.Rh1 Qe8 33.Ra1 Kc7 34.Kg2 Kb8 35.Kf3 Rc6 36.Rbb1 Rc7 37.Rh1 Rch7 38.Rh2 Qc6 39.h5 gxh5 40.Bf5 Rg7 41.g6 Rf8 42.Rxh5 Rxf5 43.Rxf5 Qxg6 44.Qh2 Nxc2 45.Rh1 Qg4+ 46.Kf2 Nb4 0-1

                            Final Position

                            

                            It appears that Dominguez resigned prematurely

                            For example:

                            38.Kf1 Bd3+ 39.Kg2 Rc1 40.Ra8+ Kh7 41.Rd8 Be4+ 42.f3 Rxd1 43.fxe4 Kg6 44.Rd7 Re1 45.Rd6+ Kg5 46.Rxd2

                            Round 5, May 7
                            USA-China
                            Board 4
                            Hou, Yifan - Krush, Irina
                            B52 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

                            1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.c4 Bxb5 5.cxb5 Nf6 6.Nc3 g6 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bg7 9.O-O O-O 10.Be3 Nbd7 11.Qe2 Rc8 12.Rfd1 Re8 13.Rac1 e6 14.Nb3 Nb6 15.Na5 d5 16.e5 Nfd7 17.Nxb7 Qh4 18.Nd6 Bxe5 19.g3 Qf6 20.Nxc8 Rxc8 21.f4 Bb8 22.Bxb6 Nxb6 23.Nxd5 exd5 24.Rxc8+ Nxc8 25.Qe8+ Kg7 26.Qxc8 Qb6+ 27.Kg2 Qxb5 28.Qc3+ Kg8 29.Rd2 Bd6 30.Qb3 Qa6 31.Qxd5 Be7 32.f5 Bf6 33.fxg6 hxg6 34.Rf2 Kg7 35.Qf3 Qe6 36.Qxf6+ 1-0

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              FIDE Online Nations Cup 2020

                              May 7, 2020

                              Round Six

                              Round Six Results

                              Russia-Europe 1.5-2.5

                              Nepomniachtchi-MVL 0-1
                              Aronian-Artemiev 0.5-0.5
                              Karjakin-Duda 0.5-0.5
                              A. Muzychuk-Goryachkina 0.5-0.5

                              USA-India 2.5-1.5

                              Nakamura-Anand 0.5-0.5
                              Vidit-Caruana 0.5-0.5
                              So-Adhiban 1-0
                              Koneru-Krush 0.5-0.5

                              Rest of the World-China 0.5-3.5

                              Radjabov-Ding Liren 0-1
                              Wei Yi-Firouzja 1-0
                              Amin-Yu Yangyi 0.5-0.5
                              Ju Wenjun-M. Muzychuk 1-0

                              Selected Games

                              Round 6, May 7, 2020
                              Russia-Europe
                              Board 1
                              Nepomniachtchi, Ian – MVL
                              B12 Caro-Kann, Advance variation

                              1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 c5 6.Be3 Qb6 7.Nc3 Nc6 8.Na4 Qa5+ 9.c3 cxd4 10.Nxd4 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 Ne7 12.g4 Bg6 13.Nc5 Qc7 14.h4 h5 15.gxh5 Bf5 16.Qb3 O-O-O 17.a4 Nc6 18.a5 Nxd4 19.cxd4 Bxc5 20.dxc5 Qxc5 21.O-O Kb8 22.Rfc1 Qe7 23.a6 b6 24.Rc6 Be4 25.f3 Rxh5 26.fxe4 Rxh4 27.Bf3 Rh3 28.exd5 Qg5+ 29.Kf1 Qf4 30.Ra3 Rh1+ 31.Ke2 Rh2+ 32.Kf1 Rh1+ 33.Ke2 Qxe5+ 34.Kd3 Rxd5+ 35.Bxd5 Rh3+ 36.Kc2 Rxb3 37.Rxb3 Qe2+ 38.Kb1 exd5 39.Ra3 d4 40.Rc2 Qb5 41.Rd2 Qf1+ 42.Ka2 Qc4+ 43.Kb1 g5 44.Rf3 g4 45.Rf4 g3 46.Rdxd4 Qe6 47.Rg4 b5 48.Rg8+ Kc7 49.Rdg4 Qxa6 50.Rxg3 Qe6 51.Rc3+ Kb7 52.Rgg3 b4 53.Rce3 Qf5+ 54.Ka2 Qd5+ 55.b3 a5 56.Rd3 Qc6 57.Rgf3 Qc2+ 58.Ka1 f5 59.Rfe3 Qc1+ 60.Ka2 Qc2+ 61.Ka1 Qc7 62.Kb1 f4 63.Rh3 Qe7 64.Kc2 Qe2+ 65.Kc1 Qe4 66.Kd2 a4 67.bxa4 Kb6 68.Rhf3 Ka5 69.Rf1 Qg2+ 70.Ke1 Qc2 71.Rff3 Kxa4 72.Rd4 Qc1+ 73.Rd1 Qc5 74.Kf1 Qc4+ 75.Kg1 Qg8+ 76.Kf1 Qg4 77.Kf2 Qh4+ 78.Kg2 Qg5+ 79.Kf2 Qe5 80.Rf1 b3 81.Kg1 Qd4+ 82.Kh2 Qh8+ 83.Kg1 Qg7+ 84.Kh2 Qh7+ 85.Kg1 Qg6+ 86.Kh2 b2 87.Rxf4+ Kb3 88.R4f3+ Ka2 89.R3f2 Qh7+ 90.Kg1 Qd3 91.Kh2 Ka3 92.Rf7 Qd6+ 93.Kg2 Qd5+ 94.R7f3+ Ka2 95.Rf2 Ka1 96.Kg3 Qd6+ 97.Kg2 b1=Q 98.Rf1 Qxf1+ 99.Kxf1 Kb2 100.Ke2 Kc2 101.Re3 Qd5 102.Kf2 Qf5+ 103.Ke2 Qg4+ 104.Rf3 Qe4+ 105.Kf2 Kd2 106.Ra3 Qd5 107.Rg3 Qe5 108.Kf3 Qf5+ 109.Kg2 Ke2 110.Kg1 Qf2+ 111.Kh1 Kf1 0-1

                              Position after Black’s 79…Qe5

                              

                              - A painful 111-move loss by Nepo to MVL, in what for a long time was a drawn ending, means Europe trails China by 2 points while Russia are now a full 4 points behind Europe!

                              Round 6, May 7
                              Russia-Europe
                              Board 2
                              Aronian, Levon – Artemiev, Vladislav
                              D45 QGD, Semi-Slav

                              1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 d5 4.d4 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.Bd3 O-O 8.O-O dxc4 9.Bxc4 e5 10.b3 exd4 11.Nxd4 Ne5 12.Be2 Qe7 13.Bb2 Ba3 14.Bxa3 Qxa3 15.Rfd1 Re8 16.Rd2 Qe7 17.Rad1 Ng6 18.Qb1 Qe5 19.Qb2 a5 20.Nf3 Qe7 21.h3 b5 22.Bd3 Bb7 23.Ne2 c5 24.Ng3 Bxf3 25.gxf3 Qe6 26.Bf5 Qe7 27.Bd3 Qe6 28.Bf5 Qe7 29.Bd3 1/2-1/2

                              Round 6, May 7
                              USA-India
                              Board 2
                              Vidit, Santosh – Caruana, Fabiano
                              E62 King’s Indian, Fianchetto, Larsen System

                              1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.g3 O-O 5.Bg2 d6 6.Nf3 c6 7.O-O Bf5 8.b3 Ne4 9.Bb2 Nxc3 10.Bxc3 Be4 11.e3 Nd7 12.Qe2 c5 13.Rac1 Qc7 14.Rfd1 a5 15.Bh3 b6 16.Ng5 Bb7 17.d5 Bxc3 18.Rxc3 a4 19.e4 axb3 20.axb3 Nf6 21.f4 h6 22.Nf3 e5 23.dxe6 Nxe4 24.exf7+ Qxf7 25.Re3 Rfe8 26.Re1 Qg7 27.Qd3 Ra1 28.Rxa1 Qxa1+ 29.Re1 Qg7 30.Nd2 Nf6 31.Re6 Rxe6 32.Bxe6+ Kh7 33.Qxd6 Ne4 34.Nxe4 Bxe4 35.Qd2 Qf6 36.Qd7+ Qg7 37.Bg4 Bc2 38.Kf2 Bxb3 39.Qxg7+ Kxg7 40.Be2 Kf6 41.Ke3 Ba4 42.h4 h5 43.g4 hxg4 44.Bxg4 Be8 45.Ke4 Bc6+ 46.Ke3 b5 47.cxb5 Bxb5 48.h5 gxh5 49.Bxh5 c4 50.Kd4 Kf5 51.Be2 Kxf4 52.Bxc4 1/2-1/2

                              Round 6, May 7
                              USA-India
                              Board 3
                              So, Wesley – Adhiban, B.
                              C78 Ruy Lopez, Moeller Defence

                              1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Bc5 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.d3 Qe7 8.Nbd2 Bg4 9.Nc4 Nd7 10.h3 Bh5 11.a3 O-O-O 12.b4 Bd4 13.Rb1 Nb6 14.Ne3 Bxe3 15.Bxe3 g5 16.Bxg5 f6 17.Bh4 Rhg8 18.Qe2 Na4 19.Rb3 Rdf8 20.Qe3 Kb8 21.Kh2 Ka8 22.c4 Nb6 23.Bg3 f5 24.Nxe5 fxe4 25.dxe4 Qe6 26.c5 Nc8 27.Rd3 Ne7 28.Re1 Ka7 29.a4 Be8 30.Rd8 h5 31.h4 Qf6 32.b5 cxb5 33.axb5 Bxb5 34.c6+ b6 35.Nd7 Rxg3 36.Qxg3 1-0

                              Final Position

                              

                              Round 6, May 7
                              Rest of the World-China
                              Board 1
                              Radjabov, Teimour Ding, Liren
                              A05 Reti, Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack

                              1.Nf3 Nf6 2.b3 d5 3.Bb2 Bf5 4.e3 h6 5.d3 e6 6.Nbd2 Be7 7.h3 Bh7 8.g4 c5 9.Ne5 Nbd7 10.Nxd7 Qxd7 11.Bg2 d4 12.O-O O-O 13.Nc4 Rad8 14.Qf3 Nd5 15.exd4 cxd4 16.Bxd4 Nb4 17.Bc3 Nxc2 18.Rad1 Nd4 19.Qe3 Bf6 20.Ne5 Qd6 21.Bxd4 Qxd4 22.Qxd4 Rxd4 23.Rfe1 Bxe5 24.Rxe5 b6 25.Be4 Rc8 26.Bxh7+ Kxh7 27.Re4 Rd5 28.Ra4 Rc7 29.Kg2 Kg6 30.Rd2 Rcd7 31.f4 Kf6 32.d4 g5 33.fxg5+ hxg5 34.Kf3 Kg6 35.Rc4 f6 36.a4 R5d6 37.Ke3 f5 38.Rcc2 Rh7 39.Rh2 Rh4 40.Rcg2 Kf6 41.Rf2 Kg6 42.Rfg2 a5 43.Rh1 Rh8 44.Rhh2 Rc6 45.Kd3 Rhc8 46.Rc2 Rxc2 47.Rxc2 Rxc2 48.Kxc2 Kf6 49.Kd3 Ke7 50.Ke3 Kd6 51.Kf2 fxg4 52.hxg4 Kd5 53.Ke3 e5 0-1

                              Round 6, May 7
                              Rest of the World-China
                              Board 2
                              Wei, Yi – Firouzja, Alireza
                              B10 Caro-Kann Defence

                              1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.d3 dxe4 4.dxe4 Qxd1+ 5.Kxd1 Nf6 6.Nbd2 Bg4 7.Be2 Nbd7 8.Ne1 e5 9.Bxg4 Nxg4 10.Ke2 f6 11.Nc4 h5 12.Nd3 Nh6 13.Be3 Nf7 14.Rhd1 h4 15.h3 g5 16.a4 b6 17.f3 Be7 18.Bf2 Nd8 19.Ne3 Ne6 20.Nf5 c5 21.a5 b5 22.a6 Rb8 23.b4 c4 24.Nc5 Ndxc5 25.bxc5 Bxc5 26.Bxc5 Nxc5 27.Rd6 Kf7 28.Rd5 Ne6 29.Rd7+ Kg6 30.Rxa7 b4 31.Rd7 Rb6 32.Rb7 Rxb7 33.axb7 Rb8 34.Nd6 Nd4+ 35.Kd1 b3 36.cxb3 cxb3 37.Kc1 Nc6 38.Ra6 Nd8 39.Rb6 Kg7 40.Rxb3 Nf7 41.Nxf7 Kxf7 42.Kc2 Ke6 43.Kc3 Kd6 44.Kc4 1-0

                              - The old future of chess Wei Yi beats the new future of chess Alireza Firouzja!

                              Round 6, May 7
                              Rest of the World-China
                              Board 4
                              Ju, Wenjun – Muzychuk, Mariya
                              E60 King’s Indian

                              1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 c6 4.Bg2 d5 5.Qa4 Bg7 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Nf3 Bg4 8.e3 O-O 9.Nc3 Nb6 10.Qc2 N8d7 11.O-O e5 12.Nxe5 Nxe5 13.dxe5 Bxe5 14.Qe4 Bxc3 15.bxc3 Bf5 16.Qb4 a5 17.Qd4 Re8 18.Ba3 Qxd4 19.cxd4 Nc4 20.Bc5 Nb2 21.Rfc1 Nd3 22.Rc3 Nxc5 23.Rxc5 a4 24.d5 cxd5 25.Bxd5 Be4 26.Bxe4 Rxe4 27.Rb1 Re7 28.Kf1 h5 29.h4 Kg7 30.Ke2 Ra6 31.Rb4 Rd7 32.Rcc4 a3 33.Ra4 Rb6 34.Rc2 Rb1 35.Rxa3 Rdd1 36.Rac3 Re1+ 37.Kf3 Rb6 38.Rc7 Ra1 39.Rd7 Ra6 40.Rdd2 Ra4 41.Rb2 b5 42.e4 Re1 43.Re2 Rxe2 44.Rxe2 Ra3+ 45.Kf4 Kf6 46.Rc2 Ke6 47.f3 Kf6 48.e5+ Ke6 49.Rc6+ Ke7 50.Rb6 Rxa2 51.Rxb5 Kf8 52.e6 Ra6 53.Rb8+ Ke7 54.exf7 Kxf7 55.Kg5 Ra5+ 56.Kh6 Ra3 57.Rb7+ Kf8 58.Rg7 Rxf3 59.Rxg6 Rf5 60.Rg5 Rf6+ 61.Kxh5 Kf7 62.Kg4 Ra6 63.Rf5+ Kg6 64.h5+ Kh6 65.Kh4 Ra1 66.Rf6+ Kg7 67.Rb6 Ra5 68.g4 Rc5 69.Rb7+ Kf6 70.g5+ 1-0

                              Final Position

                              

                              White wins in 18 moves

                              Standings after Round Six

                              China 11 match points
                              Europe 9 match points
                              USA 7 match points
                              Russia 5 match points
                              India, Rest of the World 2 match points

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