Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge 2020

[Stephen Wright]

Surprisingly you may be correct, surprising in that according to databases the only games Tal and Botvinnik ever contested were in their two matches.

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

Surprisingly you may be correct, surprising in that according to databases the only games Tal and Botvinnik ever contested were in their two matches.

Just read a book by Tal's coach, Koblenc, --- something in these lines "Tal was dreaming to play a game against the world champion thus he got a whole match with him " :)

[Hans Jung]

rd 13 I enjoyed the knight and pawn endgame between Karjakhin and Dubov. Lots of strategy, tricks, traps, and even zugzwang.

[Wayne Komer]

Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge 2020

May 26, 2020

Quarterfinals

Round Two

Game 1, May 26
So, Wesley – Carlsen, Magnus
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 O-O 6.O-O d6 7.h3 a6 8.Ba4 b5 9.Bc2 Bb6 10.Re1 Ne7 11.d4 Ng6 12.Nbd2 Re8 13.Nf1 Bb7 14.Ng3 h6 15.Bd2 c5 16.dxe5 dxe5 17.Qc1 c4 18.Nf5 Re6 19.Be3 Bxe3 20.Qxe3 Qc7 21.Rad1 Rae8 22.Rd2 Nf4 23.Kh2 Rd8 24.Rxd8+ Qxd8 25.Nxe5 Nxg2 26.Qg3 Nh5 27.Qxg2 Rxe5 28.Nxh6+ Kf8 29.Ng4 Re6 30.Qf3 Qd2 31.Re2 Qd6+ 32.Kg1 Nf4 33.Re1 f5 34.Ne3 fxe4 35.Qg3 Nd3 36.Qxd6+ Rxd6 37.Rd1 Rg6+ 38.Kf1 Bc8 39.h4 Bh3+ 40.Ke2 Rf6 41.Bxd3 exd3+ 42.Ke1 Rf4 43.b3 Be6 44.bxc4 Bxc4 45.a4 Rxh4 46.axb5 axb5 47.Kd2 Kf7 48.Ra1 Rf4 49.Ra7+ Kf6 50.Ra6+ Kg5 51.Ke1 d2+ 52.Kxd2 Rxf2+ 53.Kd1 Rf4 54.Rc6 Kh5 55.Rc8 g5 56.Rh8+ Kg6 57.Ke1 g4 58.Rh4 Kg5 59.Rh7 Rf3 60.Kd2 Rf2+ 61.Kd1 g3 0-1

- Magnus Carlsen starts by beating Wesley So in a double-edged game with the black pieces - taking a huge step towards a Carlsen-Nakamura semi-final!

Game 2, May 26
Carlsen, Magnus – So, Wesley
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.c3 Rxe1 12.Qxe1 Ne8 13.Bf4 d5 14.Bd3 g6 15.Nd2 Ng7 16.Nf3 Bf5 17.Bxf5 Nxf5 18.Qe2 c6 19.Re1 Ng7 20.Be5 Bxe5 21.Nxe5 Qd6 22.Qf3 f6 23.Nd3 Re8 24.Rxe8+ Nxe8 25.Qe3 Kf7 26.Qh6 Kg8 27.Qe3 Kf7 28.Qh6 Kg8 29.Qe3 1/2-1/2

Game 3, May 26
So, Wesley – Carlsen, Magnus
E04 Catalan, open

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.g3 dxc4 5.Bg2 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 a5 7.O-O O-O 8.Na3 Bxa3 9.bxa3 b5 10.Qb1 c6 11.e4 h6 12.g4 Nh7 13.h4 e5 14.Nxe5 Qxd4 15.Bf4 Re8 16.Qc1 Qc5 17.Rd1 Na6 18.Nxc6 Qxc6 19.e5 Qc5 20.Bxa8 Bxg4 21.Be3 Qxe5 22.Rd4 Nf6 23.Bc6 Re6 24.Bg2 Nc5 25.Qc3 Kh7 26.Qxa5 Nd3 27.Rb1 Qf5 28.Rxb5 Qg6 29.Qa8 Ne5 30.Rd8 Ne8 31.Rxe8 Rxe8 32.Qxe8 Nf3+ 33.Kh1 Qd3 34.Bd2 Qxd2 0-1

Carlsen-So 2.5-0.5

Game 1, May 26
Karjakin, Sergey – Dubov, Daniil
B00 KP, Nimzowitsch Defence

1.e4 Nc6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.c3 e6 5.Be3 f6 6.f4 fxe5 7.fxe5 Nh6 8.Nf3 Be7 9.Bxh6 gxh6 10.Bd3 Bxd3 11.Qxd3 Kd7 12.Nbd2 Qg8 13.O-O Qg6 14.Qxg6 hxg6 15.Ne1 a5 16.a4 Raf8 17.Nd3 b6 18.g3 h5 19.Kg2 Bg5 20.Nf3 Bh6 21.h3 Ne7 22.g4 Bf4 23.Nxf4 Rxf4 24.Ng5 Rxf1 25.Rxf1 hxg4 26.hxg4 c5 27.Rf6 cxd4 28.cxd4 Rc8 29.Rxe6 Rc6 30.Rxc6 Nxc6 31.Nf3 Nd8 32.Kf2 Ne6 33.Ke3 g5 34.Kd2 Kc6 35.Kc3 b5 36.axb5+ Kxb5 37.Kb3 a4+ 38.Ka3 Ka5 39.b3 axb3 40.Kxb3 Kb5 41.Kc3 Ka5 42.Ne1 Nf4 43.Ng2 Ne6 44.Ne3 Nc7 45.e6 Kb5 46.e7 Kc6 47.Kb4 Kd6 48.Nf5+ Kd7 49.Kc5 Ne8 50.Ne3 Nf6 51.e8=Q+ Kxe8 52.Kd6 Kf7 53.Ke5 Kg6 54.Ke6 Kg7 55.Kf5 Ne4 56.Nxd5 Nd6+ 57.Ke6 Nc4 58.Ne7 Kf8 59.d5 Na5 60.Ng6+ Ke8 61.d6 Nb3 62.Ne5 Nd4+ 63.Kf6 Nb5 64.d7+ Kd8 65.Kxg5 Ke7 66.Kh6 Nd4 67.g5 Ne6 68.g6 Kf8 69.Nc6 1-0

Final Position



"This guy knows his business!"

Svidler on Karjakin's technique as he's beating Dubov in Game 1 today

Game 2, May 26
Dubov, Daniil – Karjakin, Sergey
E05 Catalan, open, Classical line

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.Bg5 Bc6 10.e3 Nbd7 11.Nbd2 h6 12.Bxf6 Nxf6 13.Nxc4 Be4 14.Qe2 Bb4 15.Rfd1 Qd5 16.Rac1 Rfd8 17.Nce5 Rac8 18.Nd3 Bf8 19.Nfe1 Bxg2 20.Nxg2 Qb3 21.Qc2 Qxc2 22.Rxc2 a5 23.Rdc1 c6 24.Nge1 Nd5 25.Nf3 h5 26.Nd2 Nb4 27.Nxb4 Bxb4 28.Nc4 f6 29.h3 Kf7 30.Kg2 Rg8 31.b3 Rcd8 32.Rf1 g5 33.g4 Rh8 34.Nb2 hxg4 35.hxg4 Rh4 36.Kf3 Rh3+ 37.Ke2 Rh4 38.Rg1 Be7 39.Nd3 Rd5 40.Rb2 Rd7 41.Rbb1 Kg6 42.Rbc1 Rd8 43.Rb1 Rd7 44.Rh1 Rxh1 45.Rxh1 Rd8 46.f4 Bd6 47.fxg5 fxg5 48.Kf3 Kg7 49.Ke4 Be7 50.Ne5 Rd5 51.Rf1 Bf6 52.Nd3 Be7 53.Ne5 Bf6 54.Nc4 Bd8 55.Rb1 Bc7 56.b4 axb4 57.Rxb4 b5 58.Nb2 Ba5 59.Rb3 Kf6 60.Nd3 bxa4 61.Ra3 Rb5 62.Rxa4 Kg7 63.Rc4 Kf6 64.Rxc6 Rb6 65.Rc5 Bb4 66.Rc1 Bd6 67.Rf1+ Ke7 68.Rh1 Ra6 69.Rh7+ Kf6 70.Rh6+ Kf7 71.Ne1 Bf8 72.Rh5 Be7 73.Nf3 Kg6 74.Rh1 Bf6 75.Rc1 Ra3 76.Rc6 Kf7 77.Rb6 Ra5 78.Ne1 Ra1 79.Nd3 Rg1 80.Ne5+ Ke7 81.Rb7+ Ke8 82.Nd7 Kf7 83.Nc5+ Be7 84.Ke5 Rxg4 85.Nxe6 Rg3 86.e4 g4 87.d5 Ra3 88.Nd4 Kf8 89.d6 Ra5+ 90.Ke6 Bxd6 91.Kxd6 g3 92.Ne6+ Ke8 93.Re7# 1-0

Final Position



- Daniil Dubov actually mates Sergey Karjakin to level the score at 1:1!

Game 3, May 26
Karjakin, Sergey – Dubov, Daniil
B01 Scandinavian, Pytel-Wade variation

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Nb5 Qd8 7.Bf4 Nd5 8.Bg3 a6 9.Na3 e5 10.dxe5 Bb4+ 11.Nd2 h5 12.h4 Bg4 13.Be2 Bxa3 14.Bxg4 Bxb2 15.Bxh5 Bxa1 16.e6 g6 17.Bf3 Bf6 18.exf7+ Kxf7 19.Be4 Nc3 20.Qg4 Nxe4 21.Nxe4 Qc8 22.Qf4 Qf5 23.Qxc7+ Kg8 24.f3 Rh7 25.Qd6 Re8 26.O-O Bd4+ 27.Bf2 Rd7 28.Qa3 Rxe4 0-1

Position after Black’s 15….Bxa1



- "It's an honest to god full rook in exchange for at most 1 or 2 checks - I don't recall this ever happening to Karjakin!"

- Karjakin finally concedes defeat and now will need to beat Dubov with Black in the 4th game to force Armageddon!

Game 4, May 26
Dubov, Daniil – Karjakin, Sergey
A53 Old Indian Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nf3 g6 4.Nc3 Bf5 5.e3 Bg7 6.Bd3 Bg4 7.O-O O-O 8.h3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 c6 10.b3 Nbd7 11.Bb2 e5 12.dxe5 dxe5 13.Qe2 Re8 14.Rfd1 Qc7 15.Ne4 Nxe4 16.Bxe4 Nc5 17.Bc2 a5 18.Ba3 Bf8 19.Rd2 e4 20.Rad1 Qe5 21.Bxc5 Bxc5 22.Rd7 b6 23.g3 h5 24.h4 Re6 25.Rd8+ Rxd8 26.Rxd8+ Kg7 27.Kg2 Qb2 28.Bd1 Qf6 29.Qd2 Re5 30.Rd7 Rf5 31.Bc2 Qe5 32.Qd1 Rf6 33.Rd2 Kh6 34.Qb1 Re6 35.Rd8 Qf6 36.Qd1 Bd6 37.Rd7 Bc5 38.Rd8 Kg7 39.Rd7 Re8 40.Kg1 Qb2 41.Rd2 Qe5 42.Rd7 Bxe3 43.fxe3 Qxg3+ 44.Kf1 Re6 45.Ke2 Qg2+ 46.Ke1 Rf6 47.Qd4 Qxc2 48.Rd6 Qf2+ 49.Kd1 Qg1+ 50.Kc2 Qh2+ 0-1

- Karjakin's patience pays off as Dubov allows 42...Bxe3! Armageddon ahead?

- Karjakin has won on demand to force Armageddon and has chosen to have the black pieces!

Game 5, May 26
Armageddon
Dubov, Daniil – Karjakin, Sergey
D55 QGD, Neo-orthodox, early..h6

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 O-O 6.e3 h6 7.Bxf6 Bxf6 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Qb3 c6 10.Bd3 Re8 11.h3 Nd7 12.O-O Nf8 13.Rae1 Ne6 14.Nh2 h5 15.f4 c5 16.Bb5 cxd4 17.Nxd5 Rf8 18.e4 Bh4 19.Rc1 a6 20.Bd3 Bg3 21.f5 Nc7 22.Nb6 Rb8 23.Nf3 Nb5 24.Nd5 Nc7 25.Nxc7 Bxc7 26.e5 b5 27.Qc2 Ba5 28.Qe2 Bb7 29.f6 Qd5 30.Nh4 g6 31.Nf5 Rbe8 32.Ne7+ Rxe7 33.fxe7 Re8 34.e6 f5 35.a4 Rxe7 36.axb5 Rxe6 37.Qf3 Qxf3 38.gxf3 axb5 39.Bxb5 Rb6 40.Bc4+ Kf8 41.b3 Bd2 42.Ra1 Be3+ 43.Kg2 g5 44.Ra7 g4 45.hxg4 hxg4 46.Be2 Rxb3 47.Ra5 f4 48.Rh1 gxf3+ 49.Bxf3 Rb2+ 50.Kh3 Bxf3 51.Rha1 Rb7 52.Rf5+ Rf7 0-1

"It's the flare that let Daniil down here!" (Svidler)
Dubov loses a totally won position against Karjakin and now has to come back tomorrow with the match score level at 1:1

- What a wild game

- Awesome comeback by Karjakin

Karjakin-Dubov 3-2

From the postmortem - Karjakin: "The only thing I want to say is that in the 1st game I was trying hard because I knew that I can win some decisive games because of my experience against Peter"

Svidler: "Thank you very much for that - I needed that..."

The Nakamura vs. Carlsen semifinal is all done and dusted, but Dubov, Karjakin, Ding Liren and Yu Yangyi will all come back tomorrow for the deciding matches!

[Wayne Komer]

Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge 2020

May 27, 2020

Quarterfinals

Round Three

This round of matches will determine who goes through to the semifinals.

Round Two Quiz Answers

1. Which World Champion was the first to have a cameo appearance in a feature film?

Jose Raul Capablanca appeared in the Soviet comedy, Chess Fever (1925).

2. In which World Championship match was an electronic chess clock used for the first time?

Kasparov-Anand (New York, 1995)

3. Which players played their first official game in a World Championship match?

Wilhelm Steinitz and Isidor Gunsberg (1890/1891),
Wilhelm Steinitz and Emanuel Lasker (1895),
Mikhail Tal and Mikhail Botvinnik (1960).

____________

One competitor answered Fischer-Karpov for the third question and mentioned that this match didn’t get played.

Round Three Quiz

1. In which novel does the heroine meet red chess pieces?

Name the author and the novel

2. The characters of which fantasy novel and movie had to win a chess game to accomplish their mission?

Name the author and novel

3. In what city were two World Championship matches played, one real and one fictional?

One popular opening system is also named after this location

Game 1, May 27
Yu, Yangyi – Ding, Liren
E39 Nimzo-Indian, Botvinnik System

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 d5 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 dxc4 8.Bxc4 c5 9.Ne2 Qc7 10.Bd3 b6 11.e4 Ba6 12.O-O Bxd3 13.Qxd3 Nbd7 14.f3 Rac8 15.Be3 Rfd8 16.Rfc1 h6 17.a4 Qc6 18.Qb5 Ne8 19.Bf4 Qb7 20.Qb3 Nb8 21.a5 b5 22.c4 b4 23.d5 Qe7 24.Ra2 Nd7 25.Rd2 e5 26.Be3 Nd6 27.Ng3 a6 28.Re1 Rf8 29.Rde2 f6 30.Bc1 Qf7 31.Qd3 Rfe8 32.h3 h5 33.Nf5 Qf8 34.g4 Kf7 35.Rg2 hxg4 36.fxg4 Nxf5 37.gxf5 Ke7 38.d6+ Kd8 39.Qd5 Qg8 40.Qb7 Qxc4 41.Rxg7 Qd4+ 42.Be3 Qxd6 43.Re2 Rc7 44.Qa8+ Rc8 45.Qb7 Rc7 46.Qa8+ Rc8 47.Qb7 1/2-1/2

Final Position



- The 1st Yu Yangyi vs. Ding Liren game ends in a draw by repetition... and a picturesque final position!

Game 2, May 27
Ding, Liren – Yu, Yangyi
D25 QGA, Janowsky-Larsen variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.Bxc4 e6 6.h3 Bh5 7.Nc3 Nbd7 8.O-O Be7 9.e4 O-O 10.g4 Bg6 11.Qe2 c6 12.a4 Bb4 13.g5 Ne8 14.Nh4 Nb6 15.Bb3 Qxd4 16.a5 Nc8 17.Ra4 Qd6 18.f4 b5 19.Ra1 Ne7 20.Kg2 Qd7 21.Rd1 Qc8 22.Be3 Nd6 23.Nxg6 Nxg6 24.Na2 Bc5 25.Rac1 Nxe4 26.Kf3 e5 27.Bxc5 Nxc5 28.Rxc5 Qxh3+ 29.Kf2 Qxb3 30.Nc3 Nxf4 31.Qxe5 Qxd1 0-1

Game 3, May 27
Yu, Yangyi – Ding, Liren
E49 Nimzo-Indian, Botvinnik System

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 d5 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 dxc4 8.Bxc4 c5 9.Ne2 Qc7 10.Bd3 Nc6 11.O-O e5 12.Ng3 Be6 13.Nh5 Nxh5 14.Qxh5 h6 15.Rb1 Rad8 16.Re1 Rfe8 17.Bb2 cxd4 18.cxd4 exd4 19.exd4 Nxd4 20.Rbd1 Bb3 21.Rc1 Rxe1+ 22.Rxe1 Be6 23.h3 Qb6 24.Bc3 Qb3 25.Re3 Rd5 26.Qh4 Qxc3 27.Bh7+ Kxh7 28.Rxc3 Ne2+ 29.Kh2 Nxc3 30.Qc4 Nb5 31.a4 Nd6 32.Qc7 a6 33.a5 h5 34.f3 h4 35.Qe7 Nf5 36.Qb4 Rb5 37.Qc3 Rb3 38.Qc2 Ra3 39.Qc7 Ra2 40.Qe5 g6 41.Qc5 Re2 42.Qb4 Ra2 43.Qc5 Ra1 44.Qc3 Rf1 45.Qb4 g5 46.Qe4 Kh6 47.Qe5 Kg6 48.Qe4 Kf6 49.Qd3 Ng3 50.Qd8+ Kf5 51.Qd3+ Ke5 52.Qe3+ Kf6 53.Qd4+ Kg6 54.Qd3+ Kh6 0-1

Game 4, May 27
Ding, Liren – Yu, Yangyi
D20 QGA

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.Bxc4 Nc6 6.Nc3 Nb6 7.Bb5 Bd7 8.Nge2 e6 9.a3 Ne7 10.Bd3 Bc6 11.O-O Qd7 12.b4 a6 13.Ne4 Nf5 14.Be3 Nd5 15.Qd2 Bb5 16.Bc2 Be7 17.Rfd1 O-O 18.N2c3 Bc6 19.Nxd5 Bxd5 20.Nc3 c6 21.Qd3 g6 22.Qd2 Nxe3 23.fxe3 a5 24.Ne2 axb4 25.axb4 f5 26.exf6 Bxf6 27.Rxa8 Rxa8 28.Qc3 b5 29.Bd3 Ra2 30.Rf1 Bg5 31.e4 Be3+ 32.Kh1 Bxe4 33.Bxe4 Rxe2 34.Bxc6 Qxd4 35.Qxd4 Bxd4 36.Bxb5 Rb2 37.Bc4 Rxb4 38.Bxe6+ Kg7 39.g3 1/2-1/2

Game 5, May 27
Armageddon
Yu, Yangyi – Ding, Liren
A45 Queen’s Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 cxd4 5.exd4 a6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.Be2 Bxf3 8.Bxf3 Nc6 9.Ne2 e6 10.O-O Bd6 11.c3 O-O 12.Bg5 Be7 13.Nc1 b5 14.a3 Na5 15.Nd3 Nc4 16.Qe2 a5 17.a4 Qb6 18.b3 Nd6 19.Nc5 Ra7 20.Rfb1 Rb8 21.g3 bxa4 22.Nxa4 Qd8 23.Bf4 Rc8 24.Nc5 Nf5 25.Nxe6 Qb6 26.Nc5 Bxc5 27.dxc5 Qxc5 28.b4 axb4 29.cxb4 Rxa1 30.bxc5 Rxb1+ 31.Kg2 Rb4 32.Qa6 Re8 33.Bg5 Ne4 34.Qc6 Rbb8 35.Bf4 Rbd8 36.Bc7 Rc8 37.Bg4 Nd4 38.Qxd5 Rxc7 39.Qxd4 Nxc5 40.Qd6 Rcc8 41.Bxc8 Rxc8 42.f4 Ne6 43.f5 Nf8 44.h4 h6 45.g4 Nh7 46.Kg3 Nf6 47.Qd4 Rc3+ 48.Kf2 Rc8 49.g5 hxg5 50.hxg5 Nh7 51.Qe3 Nf8 52.Kg3 g6 53.f6 Ne6 54.Qe5 Rd8 55.Qb5 Rc8 56.Kg4 Rd8 57.Qb6 Rc8 58.Qb7 Rd8 59.Qh1 Rf8 60.Kg3 Rd8 61.Kg4 Rf8 62.Qb7 Rd8 63.Qe7 Rf8 64.Kg3 Rd8 65.Kg4 Rf8 66.Qd6 Rd8 67.Qe7 1/2-1/2

Ding Liren-Yu Yangyi 2.5-2.5

But Ding Liren goes on by virtue of “winning” the Armageddon game.

Game 1, May 27
Dubov, Daniil – Karjakin, Sergey
D37 QGD

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.e3 h6 7.Bf4 O-O 8.g4 c5 9.g5 hxg5 10.Nxg5 cxd4 11.exd4 dxc4 12.Rg1 Nd5 13.Qc2 Bxg5 14.Bxg5 f6 15.Bh6 Rf7 16.Bxc4 N7b6 17.Be2 f5 18.O-O-O Qh4 19.Bg5 Qxf2 20.Qd2 Bd7 21.Rdf1 Qxh2 22.Rh1 Qd6 23.Rh3 Nxc3 24.Rfh1 Nxe2+ 25.Qxe2 Qc6+ 26.Kb1 Qxh1+ 27.Rxh1 Bc6 28.Rh4 Be4+ 29.Ka1 Rc8 30.Qh2 1-0

Final Position



- Karjakin resigns game 1 vs. Dubov - was the resignation a little premature?

- Daniil Dubov was also puzzled by Karjakin's resignation in Game 1, since he could have played on with Rf6 - "if you're Karjakin you play this fortress forever"

Game 2, May 27
Karjakin, Sergey – Dubov, Daniil
C41 Philidor, Exchange variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Bb5 Bd7 6.Qd3 Nb4 7.Bxd7+ Qxd7 8.Qb3 d5 9.a3 dxe4 10.axb4 exf3 11.O-O fxg2 12.Re1+ Be7 13.Ra5 Kf8 14.Nd2 Nf6 15.Nc4 Bd6 16.Bg5 Re8 17.Rxe8+ Nxe8 18.Rxa7 h6 19.Bd2 Qb5 20.Ra8 Kg8 21.Qd3 Bf8 22.Bc3 f6 23.b3 Qh5 24.Qe4 Nd6 25.Nxd6 cxd6 26.Rb8 d5 27.Qe6+ Kh7 28.Rxb7 Qd1+ 29.Kxg2 Qxc2 30.Qxf6 d4 31.Qxd4 Qg6+ 32.Kf1 Qa6+ 33.b5 Qxb7 34.Qd3+ Kg8 35.Be5 Be7 36.Qc4+ Kf8 37.Bd4 h5 38.b6 Rh6 39.Qd3 Qh1+ 40.Ke2 Re6+ 41.Be3 Qe4 42.Qb5 Qc2+ 43.Ke1 Rxe3+ 0-1

Position after Black’s 31….Qg6+



"Chess is a cruel game!" Leko
Karjakin blunders a rook in a winning position!

After Karjakin's blunder Dubov takes a commanding 2:0 lead and now just needs a draw in one of the next two games to reach the semi-finals. On the other hand, we haven't had a draw in any of their 10 games so far!

Game 3, May 27
Dubov, Daniil – Karjakin, Sergey
A53 Old Indian, Janowski variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 Bf5 4.f3 Bd7 5.e4 e5 6.Nge2 Be7 7.Be3 c5 8.d5 Nh5 9.Qd2 h6 10.O-O-O Bg5 11.g3 Bxe3 12.Qxe3 a6 13.f4 Nf6 14.h3 Qe7 15.Ng1 b5 16.fxe5 dxe5 17.d6 Qe6 18.Qxc5 O-O 19.Nf3 Nc6 20.Qe3 bxc4 21.Nd5 Rac8 22.Nc7 Rxc7 23.dxc7 Rc8 24.Kb1 Rxc7 25.Rh2 c3 26.bxc3 Na5 27.Rb2 Bb5 28.Nd2 Bxf1 29.Rxf1 Nc4 30.Nxc4 Rxc4 31.Qd3 Ra4 32.Qc2 Qc4 33.Re1 Nxe4 34.Ka1 g6 35.Qb3 Qc6 36.Qb8+ Kh7 37.Qxe5 Nxc3 38.Rc2 Ra3 39.Qe7 1-0

Leko "What does it mean that you qualified for the semi-finals?"
Dubov "It means I qualified for the next one, which is inspiring with the COVID situation!"
Dubov & the semi-finalists qualify for the next Magnus Tour event, the Online Chess Masters on June 20th!

- Daniil Dubov reveals he's playing with a touchpad.

Dubov explains he always loses to Chinese players, so he's "really pessimistic" about his upcoming semi-final. He would much rather play Magnus!

Dubov-Karjakin 3-0

Tomorrow, the Semifinals with these matchups:

Nakamura-Carlsen
Ding Liren-Dubov

[Wayne Komer]

Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge 2020

May 28, 2020

Semifinals

Commentators are Svidler, Gustafsson, Trent and Peter Heine Nielsen. There has been an effort to get all the famous chess-playing Peters on the show – Svidler, Leko and Nielsen.

The latter after some analysis: If it wasn’t Dubov you would think it a mistake.

Peter says at one point that Gelfand was playing the Slav against Morozevich. In his annotations in NIC, Gelfand said of a certain position they reached in the Slav: If I got this position as White in a simul I would think that my opponent was not a very strong player but because it was Morozevich I knew there was an idea behind it and I should take it seriously.

Jan makes a “German” joke concerning the word “schlecter” that no one laughs at. Peter says that a number of years ago, there was a list of the shortest books ever. And The Complete Compendium of German Humour was second on the list. Things I Wouldn’t Do For Money by Dennis Rodman was first on the list.

ChessTalkers may remember that the books were short because there was practically no content. Most of the titles would not be politically correct today. Three I recall:

Different Ways to Spell “Bob”
Everything Men Know About Women
Successful Methods of Training Cats

I wonder if readers can make up such titles with a chess content? One example of mine own:

All the Scholar's Mate Games from World Championship Matches
__________

Game 1, May 28
Carlsen, Magnus – Nakamura, Hikaru
C45 Scotch game

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nxc6 Qf6 6.Qf3 dxc6 7.Nc3 Be6 8.Be3 Bb4 9.O-O-O Qxf3 10.gxf3 Ne7 11.h4 Bxc3 12.bxc3 Rd8 13.Rxd8+ Kxd8 14.h5 f5 15.c4 Rf8 16.Rg1 Rf7 17.a4 a6 18.a5 g6 19.Rg5 Rf6 20.hxg6 Rxg6 21.c5 Ke8 22.Bd3 Rxg5 23.Bxg5 h5 24.Kd2 Kf8 25.Ke3 Kf7 26.Bxe7 Kxe7 27.e5 h4 28.f4 Kd7 29.f3 b6 30.axb6 cxb6 31.Bxa6 b5 32.Kf2 Kc7 33.Kg2 Kb8 34.Kh3 Ka7 35.Kxh4 Kxa6 36.Kg5 Kb7 37.Kf6 Bd5 38.c3 Kc7 39.Kxf5 Kd7 40.Kf6 Bxf3 41.e6+ Ke8 42.Ke5 Bg4 43.f5 Bh3 44.f6 Bg4 45.Kd6 Bh3 46.e7 Kf7 47.Kxc6 1-0

Position after White’s 31.Bxa6



Hikaru Nakamura reacts after Magnus Carlsen's brilliant 31.Bxa6!!, allowing his bishop to be trapped. What a strategic masterpiece by the Norwegian!

Game 2, May 28
Nakamura, Hikaru – Carlsen, Magnus
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nbd2 Bg4 7.h3 Bh5 8.a3 Nd7 9.g4 Bg6 10.b4 Bd6 11.Nc4 f6 12.Na5 Qc8 13.Nh4 Nf8 14.Nf5 Ne6 15.Be3 Kf7 16.c3 Re8 17.h4 Kg8 18.h5 Bf7 19.Qf3 b6 20.Nc4 Bf8 21.O-O a5 22.Qg3 axb4 23.cxb4 h6 24.Rfd1 b5 25.Nd2 c5 26.bxc5 Bxc5 27.Bxc5 Nxc5 28.Nf3 Qd7 29.Kh2 Be6 30.Rac1 Nb3 31.Rc3 Rxa3 32.d4 b4 33.Rcd3 Nxd4 34.N3xd4 exd4 35.Rxa3 bxa3 36.Rxd4 Qb5 37.Qxc7 Bxf5 38.exf5 Qb2 39.Qc4+ Kh8 40.Kg3 a2 41.Qa4 Qb8+ 0-1

Magnus Carlsen takes a commanding 2:0 lead - Hikaru will need to win the next 2 games to force Armageddon!

Game 3, May 28
Carlsen, Magnus – Nakamura, Hikaru
B06 Robatsch Defence

1.e4 g6 2.d4 d6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.Be2 e6 5.O-O h6 6.c4 g5 7.Nc3 Ne7 8.h4 g4 9.Ne1 h5 10.Bg5 f6 11.Be3 O-O 12.d5 f5 13.Bg5 Qe8 14.c5 fxe4 15.cxd6 cxd6 16.dxe6 Bxe6 17.Nxe4 Nf5 18.Nd3 Nc6 19.Nf4 Ncd4 20.Bd3 Be5 21.Re1 Qf7 22.Nxd6 Bxd6 23.Bxf5 Nxf5 24.Nxe6 Rfe8 25.Qb3 g3 26.fxg3 Nxg3 27.Re3 Rac8 28.Rae1 Rc6 29.Rf3 Qg6 30.Nc7+ 1-0

Jan: "g5, Hikaru is trying to spice things up - this is beginning to look like a Lawrence Trent game!"
Nakamura must win or today's match is over

- Magnus Carlsen starts with a 3:0 clean sweep against Hikaru Nakamura!

- The tie isn't over, as Hikaru still has a chance to come back tomorrow and force a decider on Saturday

Carlsen-Nakamura 3-0

Game 1, May 28
Dubov, Daniil – Ding, Liren
C28 Vienna game

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Na5 5.Bb3 Bb4 6.Nf3 Nxb3 7.axb3 O-O 8.O-O d5 9.Bg5 Bxc3 10.bxc3 dxe4 11.Nxe5 h6 12.Bh4 Bf5 13.Ra5 g5 14.Bg3 Bh7 15.f4 Nd5 16.Qh5 c6 17.Raa1 f6 18.Ng4 Qe8 19.Qxh6 Qg6 20.fxg5 1-0

Dubov's exotic 13.Ra5! seems to have brought almost immediate dividends!

Game 2, May 28
Ding, Liren – Dubov, Daniil
D11 QGD Slav

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.e3 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be2 O-O 7.O-O dxc4 8.Bxc4 b5 9.Be2 Bb7 10.Bd2 Nbd7 11.Qc2 Rc8 12.b4 a5 13.a3 Qc7 14.Rfc1 axb4 15.axb4 Qb8 16.Ne4 Nxe4 17.Qxe4 e5 18.Qh4 Rfe8 19.Bc3 exd4 20.Bxd4 Bxd4 21.Nxd4 Qd6 22.Ra7 Rb8 23.Qg3 Ne5 24.Rc5 Qf6 25.h4 Nd7 26.Rc1 Nb6 27.Bf3 Nc4 28.h5 c5 29.bxc5 Bxf3 30.Qxf3 Qxf3 31.gxf3 Re5 32.c6 Rxh5 33.c7 Rc8 34.Nc6 Kf8 35.Rb7 Kg7 36.Ne7 Nd6 37.Nxc8 Nxb7 38.Nb6 Nd6 39.Rc6 1-0

Game 3, May 28
Dubov, Daniil – Ding, Liren
C26 Vienna game

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 c6 5.Nf3 d6 6.a3 Nbd7 7.Ba2 Bb6 8.Be3 O-O 9.h3 Nc5 10.O-O h6 11.Re1 Re8 12.Qd2 Be6 13.Rad1 Bxa2 14.Nxa2 Ne6 15.Nc3 Bxe3 16.Qxe3 Qb6 17.Qxb6 axb6 18.d4 Nxd4 19.Nxd4 exd4 20.Rxd4 d5 21.Kf1 c5 22.Rd3 d4 23.Nd5 Nxd5 24.exd5 Kf8 25.Rb3 Ra6 26.Rxe8+ Kxe8 27.Ke2 Kd7 28.Rg3 g6 29.Rf3 f5 30.g4 fxg4 31.hxg4 Kd6 32.Rf6+ Kxd5 33.Rxg6 b5 34.Rxa6 bxa6 35.f4 a5 36.b3 c4 37.bxc4+ bxc4 38.a4 Ke4 39.g5 hxg5 40.fxg5 Kf5 41.Kf3 Kxg5 42.Ke4 d3 43.cxd3 cxd3 44.Kxd3 Kf6 45.Kc4 Ke7 46.Kb5 Kd7 47.Kxa5 Kc7 48.Ka6 Kb8 49.Kb6 Ka8 50.a5 Kb8 51.a6 Ka8 52.a7 1/2-1/2

Dubov-Ding Game 3 ends in stalemate, so it's all level at 1.5:1.5 before the final rapid game:

Game 4, May 28
Ding, Liren – Dubov, Daniil
E01 Catalan, reopened

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 c5 5.Bg2 cxd4 6.O-O Bc5 7.Nxd4 Nc6 8.Nb3 Bb6 9.cxd5 exd5 10.Nc3 d4 11.Na4 O-O 12.Re1 Re8 13.Bg5 h6 14.Bxf6 Qxf6 15.Rc1 d3 16.Nxb6 axb6 17.Qxd3 Rxa2 18.Nd2 Bf5 19.Be4 Bxe4 20.Nxe4 Qe6 21.Nc3 Rxb2 22.Rb1 Rxb1 23.Rxb1 Rd8 24.Qf3 Rd7 25.Kg2 Ne5 26.Qe4 f5 27.Qa4 Kh7 28.Qb5 Nc4 29.Rb4 Rc7 30.Qd5 Qc6 31.Qxc6 Rxc6 32.Nd5 Nd6 33.Ne7 Rc7 34.Rxb6 Rxe7 35.Rxd6 Rxe2 36.Rb6 Re7 37.h4 Kg8 38.h5 Kf7 39.Kf3 Ke8 40.Kf4 Rf7 41.Ke5 Kd8 42.Rb1 Kc7 43.Rc1+ Kd7 44.Rd1+ Kc6 45.Rc1+ Kb5 46.Rb1+ Kc4 47.Rc1+ Kd3 48.Rb1 Kc4 49.Rc1+ Kd3 50.Rb1 Ke2 51.Ke6 Rf6+ 52.Ke5 b6 53.f4 Kf3 54.Rc1 b5 55.Rb1 Rb6 56.Kxf5 Kxg3 57.Rg1+ Kf2 58.Rxg7 b4 59.Rd7 b3 60.Rd2+ Ke3 61.Rb2 Kd3 62.Ke5 Kc3 63.Rb1 Kc2 64.Rh1 b2 65.f5 b1=Q 66.Rxb1 Rxb1 67.f6 Rf1 68.Ke6 Kd3 69.f7 Ke4 70.Ke7 Ke5 71.Ke8 Ke6 72.f8=Q Rxf8+ 73.Kxf8 Kf6 74.Ke8 Kg5 75.Kf7 Kxh5 76.Kf6 Kg4 0-1

Position after Black’s 54…b5



Wow! It seemed we were heading to an inevitable Armageddon, but Dubov is beating Ding in Game 4!

Dubov has done it, and as in the quarterfinals Ding Liren will have to come from behind if he wants to reach the final!

Dubov-Ding Liren 2.5-l.5

[Hans Jung]

Ding - Dubov rd 27 Blitzkrieg miniature! If cxb7 then Rh1+! What a start to the days games. In Hikaru - Magnus checkmate chaos!

[Wayne Komer]

Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge 2020

May 29, 2020

Semifinals

Day Two

Round Three Quiz Answers

1. In which novel does the heroine meet red chess pieces?

Alice Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carrol

2. The characters of which fantasy novel and movie had to win a chess game to accomplish their mission?

The first novel and movie about Harry Potter “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”.

3. in what city were two World Championship matches played, one real and one fictional?

Merano, Italy. Meran Variation of the Semi Slav Defense
Karpov-Korchnoi (1981), played in Merano. Music “Chess” by Andersson & Ulvaeus.

Vienna, Vienna Game Lasker-Schlechter (1910), played in Vienna. Novel: “Carl Haffner’s Love of the Draw” by Glavinic.

As of now, only two participants have managed to answer every single question correctly. The final Round 4 on May 29 determines who will win one of the three boards designed by Karpov, which will also come with a signed certificate of authenticity signed by the former World Chess Champion himself.
__________

Round Four Quiz

1. What famous 19^th century author wrote an essay which exposed a chess related fraud?

2. Which World Championship matches were played on different continents?

3. In his novel, the main characters investigate a murder using retrograde analysis on a chessboard.
___________

Game 1, May 29
Nakamura, Hikaru – Carlsen, Magnus
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.O-O Bg4 7.h3 Bh5 8.g4 Nxg4 9.hxg4 Bxg4 10.Be3 Be7 11.Kh1 f5 12.Rg1 h5 13.Nc3 f4 14.Bd2 g5 15.Nb1 Bc5 16.Bc3 Bxf2 17.Nbd2 Qe7 18.Qf1 Bxg1 19.Qxg1 Bxf3+ 20.Nxf3 g4 21.Nxe5 Rg8 22.Rf1 Qg5 23.Qd4 Qh4+ 24.Kg1 Qg3+ 25.Kh1 Qh3+ 26.Kg1 g3 27.Nf3 g2 28.Re1 Qxf3 29.Qe5+ Kd8 30.Qf6+ Ke8 31.Bb4 c5 32.Bxc5 Kd7 33.Qf7+ 1-0

- Match on! Magnus rejected a draw by repetition, played on with no time on his clock and stumbled into a mating net!

Game 2, May 29
Carlsen Magnus – Nakamura, Hikaru
C45 Scotch, Potter variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nb3 Bb6 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Bg5 O-O 8.Qe2 Nd4 9.Qd2 Nxb3 10.axb3 Re8 11.O-O-O h6 12.h4 c6 13.Bxf6 Qxf6 14.f3 d5 15.Kb1 Be6 16.exd5 Bxd5 17.Nxd5 cxd5 18.Bb5 Red8 19.g4 Qxf3 20.g5 Qf2 21.Qb4 Qc5 22.Qa4 h5 23.g6 fxg6 24.Bd3 Rd6 25.Rde1 Qc6 26.Qf4 Rf8 27.Qe5 Rdf6 28.Qg5 Bf2 29.Re5 d4 30.Be4 Qd6 31.Rd5 Qe6 32.Rxd4 Kh8 33.Rc4 Bb6 34.Bd3 Qe3 35.Qg2 Bd4 36.Qxb7 Qe5 37.c3 Bb6 38.Qg2 Qd6 39.Bc2 Qe6 40.Rd1 Bf2 41.Re4 Qf7 42.Qg5 Rf5 43.Qd2 Bb6 44.Re2 Rf4 45.Qd6 Rf6 46.Qg3 Qc7 47.Qg5 Qf4 48.Qxf4 Rxf4 49.Bxg6 Rxh4 50.Rdd2 Rh1+ 51.Ka2 Rg1 52.Bxh5 g6 53.Bxg6 Rxg6 54.Rh2+ Kg7 55.Rhg2 Rd8 56.Rxg6+ Kxg6 57.Re2 Rf8 58.b4 Rf2 59.Rxf2 Bxf2 60.Kb3 Kf5 61.Kc4 Ke6 62.Kb5 Kd7 63.Ka6 Kc7 64.b5 Be3 65.b4 Bd2 66.Kxa7 Bxc3 67.b6+ Kc6 68.b7 Be5 69.b8=Q Bxb8+ 70.Kxb8 Kb5 71.Kb7 Kxb4 1/2-1/2

Position after White’s 13.Bxf6



- Long think, wrong think? Magnus thinks almost 10 minutes before playing 13.Bxf6!?

Game 3, May 29
Nakamura, Hikaru – Carlsen, Magnus
C67 Ruy Lopez, open Berlin Defence, l’Hermet variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.dxe5 Nxb5 7.a4 Nbd4 8.Nxd4 d5 9.exd6 Bxd6 10.Re1+ Be7 11.Nxc6 Qxd1 12.Rxd1 bxc6 13.Bf4 Bf5 14.Na3 Rd8 15.Bxc7 Rd7 16.Bf4 Rxd1+ 17.Rxd1 Bxa3 18.bxa3 Bxc2 19.Rd4 O-O 20.Rc4 Re8 21.f3 Bd3 22.Rxc6 f6 23.Rc3 Rd8 24.Rb3 a6 25.Rb8 Rxb8 26.Bxb8 Bc2 27.a5 Bd3 28.Bc7 Bc4 29.Bb6 Bd3 30.Ba7 Bc4 31.Bb6 Bd3 32.Ba7 Bc4 33.Bb6 1/2-1/2

Game 4, May 29
Carlsen, Magnus – Nakamura, Hikaru
C54 Giuoco Piano, d3 variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.O-O h6 7.Re1 O-O 8.Nbd2 a5 9.Nf1 Be6 10.Bb5 Ne7 11.d4 exd4 12.cxd4 Bb6 13.Ng3 d5 14.e5 Ne4 15.Be3 Nf5 16.Nxf5 Bxf5 17.Nd2 Nxd2 18.Qxd2 a4 19.b4 axb3 20.axb3 c6 21.Be2 Qe7 22.h3 Ra3 23.b4 Rfa8 24.Rxa3 Rxa3 25.Rc1 Rb3 26.b5 Qb4 27.Qd1 Rb1 28.Rxb1 Qxb1 29.Qxb1 Bxb1 30.bxc6 bxc6 31.Bd1 Bd3 32.f4 f6 33.Kf2 Kf7 34.Ba4 fxe5 35.fxe5 Bb5 36.Bc2 Ba5 37.g4 Bc3 38.Bf5 c5 39.e6+ Kf6 40.dxc5 g6 41.Bc2 g5 42.Bf5 d4 43.Bc1 Bb4 1/2-1/2

- And it's over, with Nakamura holding a draw in Game 4 to clinch today's match 2.5:1.5!

- Yesterday Magnus was absolutely crushing, today Hikaru fought like a lion. I am looking forward to tomorrow

Nakamura-Carlsen 2.5-1.5

Game 1, May 29
Ding, Liren – Dubov, Daniil
A11 English, Caro-Kann Defensive System

1.c4 Nf6 2.g3 c6 3.Bg2 d5 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.O-O Nbd7 6.Na3 Nb6 7.Qc2 Be6 8.Ne5 h5 9.Naxc4 Nxc4 10.Nxc4 h4 11.Ne5 hxg3 12.hxg3 Qc8 13.Rd1 Bh3 14.Bf3 g6 15.b4 Bg7 16.Bb2 Kf8 17.a4 Nh7 18.b5 Ng5 19.bxc6 Bxe5 20.Bxe5 Nxf3+ 21.exf3 Bg2 0-1

Final Position



- What a start to the day! Ding Liren resigns as he was getting mated by Daniil Dubov, with Black, in 21 moves:

Game 2, May 29
Dubov, Daniil – Ding, Liren
E00 Catalan Opening

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 O-O 7.Qc2 c6 8.h4 Nbd7 9.Nc3 dxc4 10.Rd1 b5 11.Ne5 Nxe5 12.dxe5 Nd5 13.Ne4 f5 14.exf6 gxf6 15.b3 cxb3 16.axb3 Qb6 17.O-O a5 18.Rc1 Bd7 19.Bh6 Rfc8 20.Rfd1 a4 21.bxa4 Rxa4 22.Qb2 Rb4 23.Qa1 Qd8 24.Rc2 Qe8 25.Nc5 Qg6 26.Qc1 Bxc5 27.Rxc5 Kf7 28.h5 Qxh5 29.e4 Rc4 30.Rxc4 bxc4 31.Be3 Nxe3 32.Rxd7+ Ke8 33.Qd2 Rb8 34.fxe3 c3 35.Qd6 Rb1+ 36.Bf1 Rxf1+ 37.Kxf1 Qf3+ 38.Ke1 Qxe3+ 39.Kd1 Qf3+ 40.Kc2 Qxe4+ 41.Qd3 Qa4+ 42.Kxc3 Qa3+ 43.Kd2 Qa5+ 44.Kd1 Qh5+ 45.Ke1 Qe5+ 46.Kf1 Qa1+ 47.Kg2 1-0

- Dubov went for an 8.h4!? novelty - if he can beat Ding Liren again it would be a huge step towards reaching the final!

- Daniil Dubov takes a 2:0 lead and only needs a draw in either of the next two games to reach the Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge

Game 3, May 29
Ding, Liren – Dubov, Daniil
E06 Catalan, Closed

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.d4 c6 7.Qc2 b6 8.Rd1 Bb7 9.Nc3 Nbd7 10.b3 Rc8 11.Bb2 Re8 12.e4 Nxe4 13.Nxe4 dxe4 14.Qxe4 Qc7 15.Qc2 Rcd8 16.Rac1 c5 17.d5 exd5 18.cxd5 Bf6 19.Nd4 Bxd4 20.Rxd4 Qd6 21.Rd2 Re7 22.h3 Rde8 23.Kh2 a5 24.Qc3 f6 25.a3 Re2 26.Qd3 Rxd2 27.Qxd2 Nf8 28.Re1 Rxe1 29.Qxe1 Qd7 30.Qe4 Ng6 31.Qc4 Kh8 32.h4 Ne7 33.Qf4 Bxd5 34.Bh3 Be6 35.Bxf6 Bxh3 36.Bxe7 Be6 37.Qf8+ Bg8 38.Bd8 Qe6 39.Qf3 Qxb3 40.Qxb3 Bxb3 41.Bxb6 a4 42.Bxc5 h5 43.f3 g6 44.g4 hxg4 45.fxg4 Kh7 46.Kg3 Bd1 47.Kf4 Bb3 48.Kg5 Bd1 49.Kf4 Bb3 50.Kg5 Bd1 51.Kf4 1/2-1/2

Position after White’s 19.Nd4




- 19.Nd4? was a bit too clever and 19...Qe5! would have put Dubov in the final! He missed it, playing 19...Bxd4, and the game goes on

Dubov-Ding Liren 2.5-0.5

[Wayne Komer]

Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge 2020

May 30, 2020

Semifinals

Day Three

Since Daniil Dubov is through to the final, it just remains for either Nakamura or Carlsen to join him in that match.

Lindores Abbey Heritage Chess has put extended biographies of the players on its official site. Here is part of the one on Dubov:

“Daniil Dubov was born in Moscow on 18 April 1996 and grew up in a chess family. His father, Dmitry Dubov, was a candidate master, and his grandfather, Eduard Dubov, was a famous chess arbiter and later a president of the Moscow Chess Federation.

Daniil learned chess at the age of 6 and joined a local chess club, where he met his first coach, Mikhail Ryvkin. Later he started working with IM Vasilij Gagarin. Before the beginning of this tournament, I had an opportunity to interview Daniil Dubov by email, in which Daniil shared that his partnership with Gagarin continues to this day:

Vasilij Gagarin is still my very close friend and sometimes he helps me as a second, which obviously means he's a very important person for me and my whole life. He has definitely influenced me a lot as a person – including improving my English, by the way.

As Dubov’s results improved, he also started to study with GM Sergey Dolmatov and then with GM Sergey Shipov. Dubov also worked with Alexander Morozevich (Dubov fondly remembers their endless blitz matches with tea breaks, which could run up to 24 hours) and later also with Boris Gelfand – an impressive list of chess coaches and partners that helped Dubov to shape his own, inimitable style. I asked Dubov who has influenced him the most as he was developing his style, and he replied:

Well, it's a tricky question. I have no idea who of them has influenced me most chess-wise, but it was very interesting to work with all of them for sure... I guess it was very inspiring to realize that chess is actually a very complex game and there are many ways to play it. Sasha [Morozevich] and Boris [Gelfand] are completely different persons with different opinions on many things, they have completely different approaches for chess, but they are both great players! That was a moment when I realized that I actually don't need to play like somebody to become a better player but I just need to improve playing and preparing the way I like.

In a recent interview for chess24 Dubov also said that he considers himself to be one of the last products of the Soviet Chess School, as he grew up learning from the players of that era. They taught Dubov to read chess books and think for himself instead of relying only on chess databases and engines.

It also helped that Dubov was growing up in the epicenter of Russian chess life, and came from a chess family. In an interview published in “New in Chess” in 2019 Dubov reflects on how it helped him grow:

I probably don’t know all the details, but grandfather clearly stood behind many opportunities I was given. I have no illusions about me being a self-made man. There were people with better conditions, of course, but mine were well above average, and everything has worked out well.

It’s interesting that our generation [those born in mid-1990s] was very strong. Suffice it to say I did not win a single Russian Junior Championship! There was Arseny Shurunov, who won a European Championship and two or three Russian Championships. I had “-3” or “-4” against him, with only one win. However, he was from Chelyabinsk, and they did not have enough chess action there, so I don’t even know if he is still playing, and he clearly did not become a chess pro. There is Darsen Sanzhaev from Elista, who also won several Russian Championship and was beating me badly. Something did not work out with him either. I could go on and on, a very strong generation indeed! Neither I nor Vladimir Fedoseev could really compete with these people, but we were lucky to live in Moscow and St. Petersburg, so our development has never completely stopped. My point is, there were many equally or more talented people, who just did not get sufficient support. I was getting most of it from my family, and for this I cannot be more grateful.

At the same time, Dubov’s father had serious misgivings about the viability of chess as a profession, and thus set some targets for his son. If Daniil would not achieve a given rating in time, or if he would not earn a master title by a certain age, then maybe chess was not the right career for him. However, Dubov beat the expectations by becoming a grandmaster at 14 years old, which quelled all concerns.

In 2009 Dubov won the “Young Stars of the World” tournament, which is organized annually in the small Russian town of Kirishi and that has previously been won by the likes of Nepomniachtchi and Karjakin. For a few years Dubov played in junior championships at a national and European level, but he quickly “graduated” to adult competitions. In January 2020 Dubov made his first appearance in the main tournament of Wijk aan Zee and delivered a strong performance, scoring 7 out of 13 and finishing in shared 4th/5th place.

In an interview for “New in Chess” after the tournament Dubov mentioned that in April 2020 he was planning to climb Mount Kilimanjaro together with his second, Alexander Riazantsev, who is an experienced mountaineer. However, a week before they were supposed to depart on that trip, the tour was cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Instead of Kilimanjaro, Dubov went to Yekaterinburg to comment on the Candidates Tournament. In fact, Dubov is still in Yekaterinburg – after the end of the Candidates he decided that the situation with the coronavirus there is less dramatic than at home in Moscow.”

Andrey Terekhov on chess24:

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/dan...sia-with-ideas

Trent and Svidler are the commentators and are joined by Daniil Dubov near the end.

Game 1, May 30
Carlsen, Magnus – Nakamura, Hikaru
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.exd5 Bg4 10.f3 Bh5 11.dxc6 Qd4+ 12.Kh1 Bxc3 13.bxc3 Qxc3 14.Bf4 Qxc6 15.h3 Bg6 16.Re1 Rad8 17.Qe2 Nd5 18.Bg3 Nb4 19.Be4 Qc3 20.Rad1 Rde8 21.Qd2 Qxd2 22.Rxd2 Bxe4 23.fxe4 Nxa2 24.Re3 Rd8 25.Rxd8 Rxd8 26.Ra3 Nb4 27.c3 Nc6 28.Ra6 Rd3 29.Rxc6 Rxg3 30.Rxc7 h5 31.Kh2 Re3 32.Rxa7 Rxc3 33.Ra5 g6 34.Ra8+ Kg7 35.h4 Re3 36.Ra4 Kf6 37.g3 Ke5 38.Ra7 Kf6 39.Ra6+ Ke5 40.Ra7 Kf6 41.Ra6+ Ke5 42.Ra7 1/2-1/2

- Advantage Nakamura? He holds a comfortable draw with Black in Game 1.

Game 2, May 30
Nakamura, Hikaru – Carlsen, Magnus
C81 Ruy Lopez, open, Howell Attack

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.Qe2 Be7 10.Rd1 O-O 11.c4 bxc4 12.Bxc4 Bc5 13.Be3 Bxe3 14.Qxe3 Qb8 15.Bb3 Na5 16.Nd4 c5 17.Nxe6 fxe6 18.f3 c4 19.fxe4 cxb3 20.exd5 bxa2 21.Rxa2 Nc4 22.Qd4 Qb3 23.Nc3 Nxb2 24.Rb1 Qc4 25.Qxc4 Nxc4 26.dxe6 Rf5 27.Nd5 Rxe5 28.Rxa6 Re8 29.Nc7 Rd8 30.Rc6 Ne3 31.Rd6 Rc8 32.Rd7 h6 33.e7 Kh7 34.Re1 1-0

Position after Black’s 29….Rd8




- Game 2 is still following a Caruana-Giri game, but Magnus has fallen 8 minutes behind on the clock!

- Magnus again getting down to under 2 minutes while Hikaru has more time than he started with!

- The time pressure tells! 29...Rd8? instead of 29...Rc8 looks to have been a losing blunder by Magnus!

Game 3, May 30
Carlsen, Magnus – 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.Be2 dxc4 8.O-O Nb6 9.Qc2 Nfd5 10.Bg3 c5 11.dxc5 Bxc5 12.Rfd1 Bd7 13.Ne5 Rc8 14.Rac1 Nb4 15.Qe4 N4d5 16.Qf3 Ba4 17.Nxa4 Nxa4 18.e4 Nxb2 19.exd5 Nxd1 20.Rxd1 exd5 21.Bxc4 Qe7 22.Bxd5 Bd6 23.Bxf7+ Kh8 24.Qh5 Bxe5 25.Bg6 h6 26.Bxe5 Qg5 27.Qxg5 hxg5 28.h4 Rc5 29.Bb2 Rb5 30.Ba3 Rc8 31.h5 Ra5 32.Bb2 Rxa2 33.Rd2 Kg8 34.Bb1 Ra5 35.Rd7 Rb5 36.Ba2+ Kh7 37.Bxg7 g4 38.Be5+ Kh6 39.Bf4+ Kxh5 40.Bf7+ Kh4 41.Kh2 g3+ 42.fxg3+ Kg4 43.Be6+ Kh5 44.Rh7+ Kg6 45.Rh6+ Kg7 46.Bxc8 1-0

Position after Black’s 16….Ba4?



Dubov: "It's nice to see Magnus started to do the right things - we had a short talk yesterday and I told him to stop this 1.e4 nonsense!"

- Only Dubov would give the world no. 1 advice to increase the chances of playing him in the final :)

- Magnus Carlsen hits back to beat Hikaru Nakamura in Game 3 and level the scores going into the final rapid game!

Game 4, May 30
Nakamura, Hikaru – Carlsen, Magnus
C88 Ruy Lopez, Closed

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.h3 Bb7 9.d3 d6 10.a3 Nb8 11.Nbd2 Nbd7 12.Nf1 Re8 13.Ng5 d5 14.exd5 Bxd5 15.Bxd5 Nxd5 16.Qh5 Bxg5 17.Bxg5 f6 18.Bd2 Qe7 19.Ng3 Qf7 20.Qf3 Nf8 21.Nf5 Ne7 22.Nxe7+ Qxe7 23.a4 Rab8 24.axb5 axb5 25.Ra6 Qd7 26.Rea1 Ne6 27.Be3 Rbd8 28.Qc6 Qxc6 29.Rxc6 Kf7 30.Ra5 Rb8 31.Raa6 Rb7 32.g3 Nd8 33.Rc5 Ne6 34.Rcc6 Nd8 35.Rc5 Ne6 36.Rcc6 1/2-1/2

(to be continued)

[Wayne Komer]

Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge 2020

May 30, 2020

Semifinals

Day Three (continued)

Svidler: "You still play on touchpad?"
Dubov: "Of course! ... I bought a mouse, but I still feel like it will take time to master my skills playing with a mouse to play at the same speed as with a touchpad"

Dubov: "For now I just feel like I am slower with a mouse than with a touchpad...

And we're heading to Armageddon, where Nakamura gets to choose the colour!

Lawrence says that because Hikaru is such a great blitz player, he should choose Black in the Armageddon.

He is reminded that Magnus is not chopped liver either in playing blitz.

Daniil said that he played he first Armageddon at 17 years of age. He was White and played 1.b3

Hikaru chooses Black and the players are waiting for the game to start. Daniil says that the players have been told about wearing proper attire for the games and there is Hikaru wearing an old sweater. Daniil wishes he could play in his Balenciaga. If you wonder what that is all about, see Posting #16 at:

https://forum.chesstalk.com/forum/chesstalk-canada-s-chess-discussion-board-go-to-www-strategygames-ca-for-your-chess-needs/205803-magnus-carlsen-invitational-2020/page2

Game 5, May 30
Armageddon
Carlsen, Magnus – 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.Be2 dxc4 8.O-O a6 9.a4 Nd5 10.Bg3 c5 11.Bxc4 cxd4 12.exd4 N7b6 13.Bb3 a5 14.Ne5 Bd7 15.Ne4 Bc6 16.Nxc6 bxc6 17.Rc1 Nb4 18.Qe2 N6d5 19.Rfd1 Re8 20.Qf3 Ra7 21.Be5 Bf8 22.Qg3 f6 23.Bd6 Bxd6 24.Nxd6 Rf8 25.Ne4 Qb8 26.Qf3 Re8 27.g3 Kh8 28.Nc5 Rae7 29.Bc4 e5 30.dxe5 Qxe5 31.Rd2 Qg5 32.Nb3 Nb6 33.h4 Qe5 34.Re2 Qc7 35.Rxe7 Qxe7 36.Nxa5 Qe5 37.Nb3 Nxa4 38.Bf7 Rf8 39.Rc4 Rxf7 40.Rxb4 Qe1+ 41.Kh2 Qxb4 42.Qxc6 Rf8 0-1

Position after Black’s 36…Qe5



Nakamura-Carlsen 3-2

- Disaster for Magnus as he misses a win and then blunders a tactic - Hikaru Nakamura will play Daniil Dubov in the Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge final!

- Nakamura (as the winner of the round-robin prelims) decides to start the final against Dubov with Black

Hikaru in the postgame interview says that it will take him five to six hours to come down off the high he is in, then he will start preparing for his match with Daniil. He will take Black in the first game, of course.

The three-day contest will start on Monday, June 1
___________-

John Fernandez - This comeback by @GMHikaru after going down 3-0 to @MagnusCarlsen in #HeritageChess to knock out the world champion is very reminiscent of 2004 Red Sox-Yankees.

To extend the baseball analogy into #chess even further, 31. Bb4! in M2G1 is the Dave Roberts steal.

[Wayne Komer]

Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge 2020

June 1, 2020

Final

Day One

Quiz Round 4 Answers

1. What famous 19^th century author wrote an essay which exposed a chess related fraud?

“Maelzel’s Chess Player” (1836) by Edgar Allan Poe.

2. Which World Championship matches were played on different continents?

The match Kasparov-Karpov (1990) started in New York and finished in Lyon, France; the match Karpov-Timman (1993) started in the Netherlands and finished in Indonesia.

3. In this novel, the main characters investigate a murder using retrograde analysis on a chessboard.

“The Flanders Panel,” by Arturo Perez Reverte

Round 4 was the final round, with the overall winners the only three participants to answer every question correctly.

The three winners of the quiz will receive a premium quality chessboard designed by 12th World Chess Champion Anatoly Karpov, including a certificate of authenticity. The overall value is around 3,000 EUR, with the items generously donated by the Lindores Abbey Preservation Society.

Since all three winners were tied on points, their average submission time determined the ranking on the podium. Their average submission times were:

TheBowTieClub - 17 minutes
Roy_Mustang - 28 minutes
fjefje - 46 minutes

Congratulations to the winners!
________

The Flanders Panel by Arturo Perez-Reverte (1994) published by Harvill Press. There is an edition by Bantam books (1996) – 294 pages.

Game 1, June 1
Dubov, Daniil – Nakamura, Hikaru
D53 QGD

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 O-O 7.Qc2 c5 8.dxc5 dxc4 9.e3 Na6 10.Bxc4 Nxc5 11.O-O a6 12.Rfd1 Qe8 13.Be2 b6 14.b4 Ncd7 15.Nd4 Bb7 16.Qb2 Rc8 17.b5 a5 18.Na4 Nd5 19.Bxe7 Qxe7 20.Bf3 Nc5 21.Nxc5 Rxc5 22.Nc6 Bxc6 23.bxc6 Qc7 24.Rac1 Qxc6 25.Rxc5 Qxc5 26.Bxd5 exd5 27.Rc1 Qd6 28.g3 Rd8 29.Qb5 d4 30.exd4 Qxd4 31.Rc6 Qe4 32.Rc1 Qf3 33.Qb1 g6 34.h4 Rd6 35.Qa1 Kh7 36.Qb1 h5 37.Re1 a4 38.Qb4 Rd1 39.Rxd1 Qxd1+ 40.Kh2 Qc2 41.Qxb6 Qxa2 42.Qf6 Qe6 43.Qc3 Qb3 44.Qf6 a3 45.g4 Qe6 46.Qf3 a2 0-1

Jan on Dubov: "I like his style. He looks like a popstar who's working very hard on looking like he's not working very hard on his look"

Peter Leko feels Daniil Dubov's "nerves let him down completely" in Game 1 and now he just needs to try and stop the bleeding in Game 2

Game 2, June 1
Nakamura, Hikaru – Dubov, Daniil
C41 Philidor, Exchange variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Be7 6.Bc4 O-O 7.O-O c6 8.Re1 a5 9.a4 Na6 10.Bf4 Nc5 11.Nb3 Ne6 12.Bg3 g6 13.e5 dxe5 14.Bxe5 Qxd1 15.Raxd1 Rd8 16.Nd4 Ne8 17.Nxe6 Bxe6 18.Bxe6 fxe6 19.Ne2 Bf6 20.Bxf6 Rxd1 21.Rxd1 Nxf6 22.f3 Kf7 23.Nf4 e5 24.Nd3 Re8 25.Re1 e4 26.Nc5 b5 27.Nxe4 Nxe4 28.Rxe4 Rd8 29.axb5 cxb5 30.Kf2 Rd2+ 31.Re2 Rd1 32.Ke3 Ke6 33.c3 Rh1 34.g3 Kd5 35.f4 h5 36.Kd3 a4 37.Rf2 Rd1+ 38.Kc2 Rg1 39.f5 gxf5 40.Rxf5+ Kc4 41.Rf4+ Kc5 42.Rh4 Kd5 43.Rxh5+ Kc4 44.Rh4+ Kc5 45.Rd4 Rg2+ 46.Rd2 Rg1 47.h4 Rxg3 48.Rh2 b4 49.cxb4+ Kxb4 50.h5 a3 51.Rh4+ Kc5 52.b4+ Kb5 53.h6 Rg2+ 54.Kb1 Ka4 55.h7 Rg1+ 56.Kc2 Rg2+ 57.Kd3 1-0

- So far Nakamura has the kryptonite to stop Dubov's swashbuckling style! Hikaru takes a 2:0 lead and only needs a draw in either of the next two games to win today's set

Game 3, June 1
Dubov, Daniil – Nakamura, Hikaru
A29 English, Bremen

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nb6 7.O-O Be7 8.a3 O-O 9.b4 Be6 10.Rb1 f6 11.b5 Nd4 12.e3 Nxf3+ 13.Bxf3 Rb8 14.d4 exd4 15.exd4 Qd7 16.Re1 Rfe8 17.a4 Bf7 18.a5 Nd5 19.Nxd5 Bxd5 20.Bf4 Rbc8 21.Bg4 f5 22.Bh5 Red8 23.Bf3 Bf8 24.Be5 b6 25.axb6 cxb6 26.Bxd5+ Qxd5 27.Qa4 Rd7 28.Rbc1 Rcd8 29.Rc6 f4 30.gxf4 Bd6 31.Qc4 Qxc4 32.Rxc4 Bxe5 33.dxe5 Rd4 34.Rec1 h5 35.Kg2 Kh7 36.Rxd4 Rxd4 37.Kf3 Rd5 38.e6 Kg6 39.Re1 Rd8 40.e7 Re8 41.Re5 Kf6 42.Ke4 Rxe7 43.Rxe7 Kxe7 44.Kf5 1-0

Final Position



Dubov must now win with Black to force Armageddon!

Game 4, June 1
Nakamura, Hikaru – Dubov, Daniil
B52 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Nxd7 5.O-O Ngf6 6.Re1 e6 7.c3 Be7 8.d4 O-O 9.e5 Ne8 10.exd6 Bxd6 11.Nbd2 Nef6 12.Qe2 Qc7 13.Nc4 Be7 14.Bg5 cxd4 15.Nxd4 Rac8 16.Ne3 Rfe8 17.Rad1 a6 18.Bh4 b5 19.a3 Qb7 20.Nf3 h6 21.Bg3 Ne4 22.Nf1 Nxg3 23.Nxg3 Nb6 24.Ne5 Red8 25.Nh5 Rxd1 26.Qxd1 Nd5 27.Qg4 Bg5 28.h4 Bf6 29.Nd3 Qe7 30.Nb4 Nxb4 31.axb4 g6 32.Nxf6+ Qxf6 33.g3 Kg7 34.Rd1 Rc4 35.Qe2 g5 36.hxg5 hxg5 37.Kg2 g4 38.Qe3 Qf5 39.Rh1 Qe4+ 40.Qxe4 Rxe4 41.Ra1 Re2 42.Rxa6 Rxb2 43.Rb6 Rc2 44.Rxb5 Rxc3 45.Rg5+ 1/2-1/2

Nakamura gets the draw he needed to clinch a win in the first mini-match against Dubov, who now needs to win tomorrow to take the match to a decider on Wednesday!

[Wayne Komer]

Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge 2020

June 2, 2020

Final

Day Two

Lawrence, Peter S. and Jan are in the commentator chairs.

The guys talk back and forth about a lot of things. What surprised me is that they were knowledgeable about the TV series, That 70s Show. In particular, they mentioned Laura Prepon, Ashton Kutcher and Fez (Wilmer Valderrama). It ran from 1998-2006).

Lawrence talked about meditation and self-awareness, about the most likeable grandmasters and Jan said he found many things he didn’t know in the article posted on the chess24 site on Alireza Firouzja & Iranian Chess Heritage, by Nima Javanbakht).

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/ali...chess-heritage

Excerpts from the part about Alireza:

GM Alireza Firouzja, who was born on June 13th, 2003 and raised in Babol city, Mazandaran province, Iran, has been considered a chess prodigy since 2016. Personally, I played with him in the Iranian Super League in September 2015, when he was just a 12-year-old 2300-rated player. I lost the game, but beyond the result, I liked the game and the way Alireza played, which encouraged me to publish it in the “Mahname Shatrandj” magazine a month later. That was the first point at which I started to realise that Alireza was an inimitable player, and I provide the game here as well. In general, in addition to Alireza's powerhouse dynamic playing style, one of his unique traits is a strong desire to win against anybody, i.e. a “no draw” rule, which means that neither the opponent’s age, rating nor title intimidates him.

In February 2016, he won the Iranian Chess Championship even though more experienced players such as Ehsan and Parham were playing in the tournament. This was a remarkable event, not only for his aspirations in chess but also for the country to get over some age-related misconceptions. Alireza got his IM title in 2016 and finally his GM title in 2018 at 14 years old, becoming the youngest Iranian GM ever and one of the youngest in the world. Although Parham and Alireza, and other young players, were rivals during these years, their relationship was more friendly than fiercely competitive, leading to chess improvements for all of them, and specifically Alireza. Indeed, whether they were sitting in a vehicle to get to the playing hall, or in a restaurant to eat a meal, they could not stop talking about chess. A common dialogue would be something like, "That position/opening is bad/good because of..." and in response "No! It cannot be, I will prove it...".

Alireza credits two of his coaches, IM Mohsen Sharbaf, the builder of his dynamic style, and GM Ivan Sokolov, who taught him numerous concepts such as chess openings and strategic planning. Nonetheless, none of this would have happened without two critical factors, Alireza's diligence and his parents' dedication. After years of hard work, he won the Iranian Chess Championship again in 2019, passed the unprecedented 2700 rating mark and, at this moment with a 2728 rating at the age of 16, is ranked 21st on the latest FIDE rating list. Ivan Sokolov has compared his talent to that of Bobby Fischer, the 11th World Chess Champion, and nominated him to challenge Magnus Carlsen for the World Championship title. Alireza recently beat Magnus in the chess24 Banter Blitz Cup.

However, in winter 2019 he changed from the Iranian flag to the FIDE flag, and he currently lives in France with his family, presumably due to the aforementioned issues and restrictions in Iran. If we suppose that mid-2013 was the starting point of his chess career, then over these 7 years his rating has increased roughly 110 points on average each year, which shows how fast he was, and still is, developing. Right now Alireza has become a pillar of Iran's chess heritage, and we will definitely hear more about him in the years to come.

On self-awareness, Lawrence said that the “Ginger GM” Simon Williams, was once going to go to a monastery and spend time in meditation there. He had the airplane tickets but never quite made it to the airport. Trent concluded that “almost” going was therapeutic.

His goal was not the Lindores Abbey!

Peter had enough of this and steered the conversation to the analysis of Game Four.

Game 1, June 2, 2020
Nakmura, Hikaru – Dubov, Daniil
B22 Sicilian, Alapin’s variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.Bc4 Nb6 6.Bb3 c4 7.Bc2 d5 8.exd6 Qxd6 9.O-O Bg4 10.Qe2 O-O-O 11.Na3 Qe6 12.Qxe6+ Bxe6 13.b3 Bd5 14.bxc4 Nxc4 15.Nxc4 Bxc4 16.Re1 Bd3 17.Bxd3 Rxd3 18.Re3 Rd7 19.Ba3 e5 20.Bxf8 Rxf8 21.h4 f6 22.h5 Rfd8 23.Kf1 b6 24.g3 Kb7 25.Kg2 Ne7 26.Re4 Rd3 27.a4 Nc6 28.Re2 Na5 29.Ra2 Nc4 30.g4 R8d5 31.Nh4 Rxd2 32.Nf5 Rxa2 33.Rxa2 g6 34.hxg6 hxg6 35.Ne7 Rd7 36.Ng8 f5 37.gxf5 gxf5 38.Nh6 Rg7+ 39.Kf3 Rg5 40.Nf7 Rh5 41.Kg3 Rh7 42.Ng5 Rd7 43.Kh4 Rd3 44.Kh5 Rxc3 45.Kh6 Kc6 46.Kg6 f4 47.Ne4 Ra3 48.Rc2 Rxa4 49.Kf5 b5 50.Rc1 Ra3 51.Rd1 b4 52.Rd8 Nb6 53.Kxe5 b3 54.Rd6+ Kb5 55.Rd1 Kb4 56.Kd4 Ra5 57.Nc3 0-1

Final Position



It's all going wrong for Hikaru, who seemed to mouse slip 45.Kh6 instead of Kg6, though his position was already bad!

In the chatter about the most likeable grandmasters Peter describes as "one of the most joyous experiences in recent years" as listening to Peter Leko describing his "73 files on the Giuoco Piano"... "I'm making fun of it a little bit, but also not!"

Game 2, June 2
Dubov, Daniil – Nakamura, Hikaru
A29 English, Bremen

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nb6 7.O-O Be7 8.a3 O-O 9.b4 Be6 10.Rb1 f6 11.b5 Nd4 12.e3 Nxf3+ 13.Bxf3 Qc8 14.a4 a5 15.bxa6 Rxa6 16.d4 Rd8 17.Qc2 Bf5 18.Qb3+ Be6 19.Qc2 Bf5 20.Be4 Bxe4 21.Qxe4 exd4 22.exd4 Bf8 23.Bf4 c6 24.Qc2 Nd5 25.Nxd5 Rxd5 26.Qb3 Qa8 27.Rfc1 Rxa4 28.Qxb7 Qxb7 29.Rxb7 Raxd4 30.Rxc6 Rd7 31.Rxd7 Rxd7 32.Kg2 Kf7 33.h4 h5 34.Ra6 Be7 35.Rc6 Bf8 36.Ra6 Be7 37.Rc6 Bf8 1/2-1/2

- Yesterday Daniil lost both the first two games, while this time Hikaru has made a draw in Game 2 - nevertheless, he only has 2 games left to level the scores!

Game 3, June 2
Nakamura, Hikaru – Dubov, Daniil
B35 Sicilian, Accelerated Fianchetto, Uogele variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 O-O 8.Bb3 Re8 9.h3 d6 10.Qd2 Bd7 11.O-O Na5 12.Bh6 Rc8 13.Bxg7 Kxg7 14.Rad1 Qb6 15.Nd5 Nxd5 16.exd5 Qc5 17.Rfe1 Nxb3 18.Nxb3 Qxc2 19.Qd4+ Kg8 20.Qxa7 Qxb2 21.Qxb7 Qxa2 22.Ra1 Qc2 23.Qxd7 Qxb3 24.Rxe7 Red8 25.Qb7 Qxb7 26.Rxb7 Rc5 27.Raa7 Rf8 28.Rd7 Rxd5 29.Ra6 h5 30.Raxd6 Rxd6 31.Rxd6 Kg7 32.h4 Re8 33.g3 Re1+ 34.Kg2 Re8 35.Rd1 Re7 36.Rd8 Re6 37.Rd1 Re8 38.Rd7 Re6 39.Rd8 Re7 40.Rd1 Re6 41.Rf1 Rc6 42.Rg1 Rc4 43.Rf1 Rc6 44.Rg1 Rc4 45.Rf1 Rc6 1/2-1/2

- Game 3 ends in a draw, so Nakamura must now win on demand with the black pieces to force an Armageddon decider!

Game 4, June 2
Dubov, Daniil – Nakamura, Hikaru
A81 Dutch Defence

1.d4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6 4.Nd2 Nc6 5.Ngf3 Bg7 6.O-O O-O 7.Re1 d5 8.c4 e6 9.b3 Ne4 10.Bb2 g5 11.Rc1 g4 12.Ne5 Nxe5 13.dxe5 c6 14.f3 Nxd2 15.Qxd2 h5 16.f4 h4 17.c5 Kf7 18.Bd4 Rh8 19.Kf2 Bd7 20.Rc3 Bf8 21.Rg1 Be7 22.Ke1 Qc7 23.Kd1 b6 24.Qe3 Qb7 25.Rc2 Rab8 26.Ke1 Qa6 27.Kf2 h3 28.Bf1 bxc5 29.Bxc5 Rb5 30.Bxe7 Kxe7 31.Qd2 Qa3 32.e3 Ra5 33.Bd3 c5 34.Rgc1 Rb8 35.Be2 Rb6 36.Bf1 Bc8 37.e4 d4 38.Bd3 Bd7 39.Re1 Qb4 40.Qxb4 cxb4 41.exf5 exf5 42.Ree2 Be6 43.Red2 Rb7 44.Bc4 Rc7 45.Bxe6 Rxc2 46.Rxc2 Kxe6 47.Ke2 Kd5 48.Kd3 Ra6 49.Re2 Re6 50.Rc2 Ra6 51.Re2 Ke6 52.Kxd4 Rc6 53.Ke3 Rc3+ 54.Kd2 Rf3 55.Re3 Rf1 56.Re1 Rf2+ 57.Re2 Rg2 58.Kd1 Ke7 59.Kd2 Kd7 60.Kd1 Ke6 61.Kd2 Kd5 62.e6 Rxe2+ 63.Kxe2 Kxe6 64.Kd3 Kd5 65.Ke3 a6 66.Kd3 Kc5 67.Ke3 Kd5 68.Kd3 a5 69.Ke3 Kc5 70.Kd3 Kd5 71.Ke3 Kc5 72.Kd3 Kd5 1/2-1/2

- Svidler describes 17.c5 as "game over" (and therefore match over), since White should never lose!

Daniil Dubov: "At least it was better than yesterday..."


- Dubov on Nakamura's strategy: "He basically plays fast and he never blunders, and then he waits..."

Dubov-Nakamura 2.5-1.5

[Wayne Komer]

Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge 2020

June 3, 2020

Final

Day Three

Svidler, Leko and Sachdev are commentating

On the official site, the last heritage essay is by Alan McGowan about chess in Scotland.

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/chess-in-scotland

The intro: Scotland's greatest claim to chess fame may be the 12th Century Lewis chessmen that were discovered on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides in 1831, while in the 1480s an inventory of Lindores Abbey mentioned "twa pairs of thabills wt thair men" ("two chessboards with their pieces"). It took until 1992 for Scotland to produce its first grandmasters, but the country has a rich chess history that Alan McGowan chronicles in the 13th and final installment of the #HeritageChess campaign.

Game 1, June 3
Dubov, Daniil – Nakamura, Hikaru
A29 English, Bremen

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nb6 7.O-O Be7 8.a3 O-O 9.b4 Be6 10.Rb1 f6 11.b5 Nd4 12.e3 Nxf3+ 13.Bxf3 c6 14.bxc6 bxc6 15.Bxc6 Rc8 16.Bb7 Rc7 17.Ba6 Bf5 18.Ra1 Qd7 19.Re1 Rd8 20.Qe2 Bg4 21.f3 Be6 22.Bb5 Qc8 23.Ba6 Qd7 24.Bb5 Qc8 25.Ba6 Qd7 1/2-1/2

- Game 1 ends in a quick draw by repetition!

- Seemingly just to torture Tania, Peter Svidler and Peter Leko have been joined by Peter Heine Nielsen!

Game 2, June 3
Nakamura, Hikaru – Dubov, Daniil
B35 Sicilian, Accelerated Fianchetto, Uogele variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 O-O 8.Bb3 Re8 9.Nxc6 dxc6 10.h3 Qc7 11.f4 b5 12.e5 b4 13.Na4 Nd5 14.Qf3 Nxe3 15.Qxe3 a5 16.O-O-O Qa7 17.Qe4 Bf5 18.Qc4 Qe3+ 19.Kb1 Be6 20.Qd4 Qxd4 21.Rxd4 Rad8 22.Rhd1 Rxd4 23.Rxd4 Bc8 24.Nb6 c5 25.Rd2 g5 26.Rd5 gxf4 27.Rxc5 f3 28.gxf3 Bxh3 29.Rxa5 Rd8 30.a4 bxa3 31.bxa3 e6 32.Ka2 h5 33.Ra4 Bxe5 34.Re4 Bf6 35.Re1 h4 36.Rg1+ Kf8 37.Nc4 Bf5 38.Rh1 Rd4 39.Ne3 Bg6 40.a4 Bh5 41.a5 Bxf3 42.Rf1 Rf4 43.a6 Bd4 44.Re1 Re4 0-1

Position after White’s 25.Rd2



- Svidler thinks that Hikaru started to lost any advantage after 25.Rd2

27...f3! and then taking on h3 and Dubov suddenly has a very dangerous passed pawn on the h-file!

A huge win for Daniil Dubov, who wins Game 2 with the black pieces. Hikaru Nakamura has just two games left to rescue the situation:

Svidler: "Hikaru completely outplayed Daniil in the first part of that game, and even not winning it would have felt like a body blow..."

Game 3, June 3
Dubov, Daniil – Nakamura, Hikaru
A27 English, Three Knights System

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 f5 4.d4 e4 5.Ng5 Bb4 6.d5 Ne5 7.Qb3 Bc5 8.Nh3 Nf6 9.Na4 Be7 10.Bf4 Ng6 11.d6 cxd6 12.Nc3 d5 13.e3 O-O 14.Rd1 d6 15.Be2 h6 16.O-O Be6 17.Nxd5 Bxd5 18.cxd5 Qb6 19.Rc1 Qxb3 20.axb3 Rfc8 21.Rc4 Nd7 22.Rfc1 Nb6 23.Rxc8+ Rxc8 24.Rxc8+ Nxc8 25.g4 fxg4 26.Bxg4 Nb6 27.Bg3 Nh4 28.Nf4 Nf3+ 29.Kg2 Nd2 30.Bf5 Nxb3 31.Bxe4 Nc4 32.Nd3 a5 33.Bf3 b5 34.Bd1 Nbd2 35.b3 Nb6 36.Nf4 a4 37.bxa4 bxa4 38.Nd3 a3 39.Nb4 Nxd5 40.Na2 Kf8 41.Ba4 Ne4 42.Bb3 Ndc3 43.Nb4 Nd2 44.Be6 d5 45.Nc2 Nc4 46.e4 a2 47.exd5 Bd6 48.Kf3 Ke7 49.Bf5 Nb5 50.Bd3 Nd4+ 51.Nxd4 a1=Q 52.Nf5+ Kf6 53.Bxc4 Bxg3 0-1

Position after 32.Nd3?



Dubov has blown open Hikaru's position but Svidler doesn't think this is what Daniil needs in this match situation: "This is exactly what you don't want when you're a point up"

Svidler thinks Dubov went astray because for 5 moves he played for a win and thought he could end the match early

"Unbelievable comeback!" (Leko) Hikaru Nakamura wins an incredibly complicated game to level the final score at 1.5:1.5 - there's one more game before potential Armageddon!

Peter Svidler: "This is tremendously impressive from Hikaru considering what happened in game two. This is unbelievable level of mental fortitude being displayed."

Teymur Radjabov - What a Final!

Game 4, June 3
Nakamura, Hikaru – Dubov, Daniil
B35 Sicilian, Accelerated Fianchetto, Uogele variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 O-O 8.Bb3 Re8 9.Nxc6 dxc6 10.h3 Qc7 11.f4 Rd8 12.Qf3 c5 13.e5 c4 14.exf6 Bxf6 15.Ba4 Qa5 16.O-O Bxc3 17.bxc3 Qxa4 18.Bd4 Qc6 19.Qe3 Bf5 20.Qe5 Qf6 21.Qxf6 exf6 22.Bxf6 Rd6 23.Be5 Re6 24.Rf2 f6 25.Bd4 h5 26.a4 Rae8 27.Bxa7 Re1+ 28.Rxe1 Rxe1+ 29.Rf1 Rxf1+ 30.Kxf1 Bxc2 31.a5 Kf7 32.h4 f5 33.g3 Ke6 34.Kf2 Kd5 35.Ke3 Be4 36.Bb6 Bb1 37.Ba7 Be4 38.Bd4 Bb1 39.Ba7 Be4 1/2-1/2

The 4th game is drawn and the $45,000 1st prize and place in the $300,000 Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour Grand Final is going to be decided in Armageddon!

Hikaru Nakamura has chosen the black pieces - he'll get 4 minutes to Dubov's 5 but only needs a draw to win the title!

Game 5, June 3
Armageddon
Dubov, Daniil – Nakamura, Hikaru
C25 Vienna, Paulsen variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 Bc5 4.Bg2 Nf6 5.Nge2 d6 6.d3 a6 7.O-O Be6 8.h3 h6 9.Kh2 d5 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.f4 exf4 12.Bxd5 Bxd5 13.Nxf4 Ne7 14.Qh5 c6 15.Ncxd5 cxd5 16.Ne6 Qd6 17.Nxg7+ Kd7 18.Rxf7 Raf8 19.Bf4 Rxf7 20.Bxd6 Rf2+ 21.Kh1 Bxd6 22.Re1 Rhf8 23.Qg4+ Kc6 24.Ne6 R8f6 25.Nd4+ Kb6 26.Re2 Rf1+ 27.Kg2 Nc6 28.Nxc6 bxc6 29.c3 R1f5 30.b4 Kb7 31.Qg7+ Rf7 32.Qxh6 Bc7 33.Qe3 Bb6 34.d4 Bc7 35.h4 a5 36.a3 a4 37.Qd3 Rf1 38.b5 R1f6 39.bxc6+ Kxc6 40.Qa6+ Bb6 41.Qxa4+ Kb7 42.Qe8 Rf8 43.Re7+ Bc7 44.Qb5+ Rb6 45.Rxc7+ 1-0

Position after Black’s 12….Bxd5



Wow! Dubov was completely winning in 13 moves!

Congratulations to Daniil Dubov on beating Hikaru Nakamura in Armageddon to win not just the $45,000 Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge top prize but also a place in the 4-player $300,000 Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour Grand Final!

Teymur Radjabov - Congrats to Dubov! Great fighting spirit and result!

Daniil Dubov: "Throughout the match I had the feeling that he's absolutely sure he'll win the Armageddon with Black"

Dubov: "Today was not our typical match. Normally he plays better and I'm better prepared, but today was the opposite"

Dubov-Nakamura 3-2