Superbet Chess Classic 2021

[Wayne Komer]

Superbet Chess Classic 2021

June 8, 2021

Round Four

Round 4, June 8
Giri, Anish – Aronian, Levon
E04 Catalan, open

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 dxc4 5.Bg2 c5 6.O-O Nc6 7.dxc5 Qxd1 8.Rxd1 Bxc5 9.Nbd2 c3 10.bxc3 O-O 11.Nb3 Be7 12.c4 Bd7 13.a4 Rad8 14.Bb2 Bc8 15.Nfd4 Nxd4 16.Bxd4 b6 17.a5 Nd7 18.axb6 axb6 19.Bc6 Bf6 20.Bb5 g5 21.f4 gxf4 22.gxf4 Bxd4+ 23.Rxd4 Nf6 24.Ra7 e5 25.fxe5 Ng4 26.Ra8 Rxd4 27.Nxd4 Nxe5 28.Rb8 Be6 29.Rxb6 Bxc4 30.Bxc4 Nxc4 31.Rc6 Ne5 32.Rb6 Nc4 33.Rc6 Ne5 34.Rb6 Nc4 1/2-1/2

Round 4, June 8
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Radjabov, Teimour
E60 King’s Indian

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 c5 5.Bg2 cxd4 6.Nxd4 O-O 7.Nc3 Qc7 8.Nd5 Nxd5 9.cxd5 d6 10.O-O Qb6 11.Nb3 Qa6 12.Re1 Nd7 13.e4 Ne5 14.Bg5 Bg4 15.f3 Bd7 16.Bf1 Qb6+ 17.Be3 Qb4 18.Bd2 Qb6+ 19.Be3 Qb4 20.Bd2 Qb6+ 21.Be3 1/2-1/2

Round 4, June 8
MVL – Lupulescu, Constantin
C11 French, Steinitz, Boleslavsky variation

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Qb6 9.Qd2 Qxb2 10.Rb1 Qa3 11.Bb5 Nxd4 12.Bxd4 a6 13.Bxd7+ Bxd7 14.Rxb7 Bb4 15.O-O Bc8 16.Rb6 O-O 17.Rb1 Bc5 18.R6b3 Qa5 19.Bxc5 Qxc5+ 20.Qf2 Qxf2+ 21.Kxf2 Bd7 22.Ne2 Ba4 23.Rc3 Rfc8 24.Rxc8+ Rxc8 25.Nd4 g6 26.Ke3 Rc4 27.a3 Bxc2 28.Rc1 Bd3 29.Rxc4 Bxc4 30.g4 Kf8 31.Nc2 Bb3 32.Nb4 Bc4 33.g5 Kg7 34.Kd4 h5 35.Nc6 Bb5 36.Na5 Kf8 37.Kc5 Ke7 38.Nb3 Bc4 39.Nd4 Bd3 40.a4 Bf1 41.a5 Bd3 42.Kc6 Bc4 43.Kc5 Bd3 44.Kc6 Bc4 45.Kc5 Bd3 1/2-1/2

Lupulescu's fine start continues with a draw vs. MVL

Chirila: "How much risk were you willing to take in this game?"
MVL: "Well, not to the point of losing by force..."

Giri: "In this day and age, with people knowing so much theory the definition of 'risk' is changing to some extent. There are no more risky lines that nobody has studied, Trompowsky everybody knows, 1.b3 people also know, and if you play King's Gambit well it's an insane risk..."

Round 4, June 8
So, Wesley – Caruana, Fabiano
A20 English, Kingside Fianchetto

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 Bc5 4.d3 c6 5.Nf3 d6 6.O-O O-O 7.Nc3 a5 8.d4 exd4 9.Nxd4 a4 10.Rb1 Re8 11.e3 Qa5 12.Bd2 Bg4 13.f3 Bh5 14.Ne4 Qd8 15.Nxc5 dxc5 16.Ne2 Qd3 17.Nf4 Qxc4 18.b3 axb3 19.axb3 Qb5 20.e4 Bg6 21.Bc3 Na6 22.h4 h5 23.Qc1 Kh7 24.Rd1 Rad8 25.Qb2 c4 26.Bxf6 gxf6 27.Qxf6 Rxd1+ 28.Rxd1 Qc5+ 29.Kh2 Qe7 30.Qxe7 Rxe7 31.bxc4 Kg7 32.Bh3 Nc5 33.Rd6 f6 34.Ne6+ Nxe6 35.Bxe6 Be8 36.c5 Bf7 37.Bc8 Re5 38.Bxb7 Rxc5 39.Rxc6 Rb5 40.Ba6 Rb2+ 41.Kg1 Be8 42.Rc5 Kh6 43.Kf1 Bd7 44.Be2 Be8 45.Kf2 Rb3 46.Rd5 Ra3 47.Bd3 Kg7 48.Ke3 Rb3 49.Kf4 Rb4 50.Rc5 Bf7 51.Rc7 Kg6 52.g4 1-0

Wesley So defeats former leader Fabiano Caruana in the first decisive game between the heavyweight stars of the #GrandChessTour!

Wesley So: "I'd like to thank the Lord Jesus because I don't think I'd capable of beating guys like Caruana personally"

Round 4, June 8
Grischuk, Alexander – Deac, Bogdan-Daniel
D41 QGD, Semi-Tarrasch

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 c5 5.cxd5 cxd4 6.Qxd4 exd5 7.Bg5 Be7 8.e3 O-O 9.Be2 Nc6 10.Qd3 h6 11.Bh4 Be6 12.O-O Qb6 13.a3 Rfd8 14.Rfd1 Ne4 15.Bxe7 Nxe7 16.Nd4 Nxc3 17.Qxc3 Rac8 18.Qd2 Nf5 19.Bf3 Rc4 20.Nxf5 Bxf5 21.Bxd5 Be6 22.e4 Bxd5 23.exd5 Qb5 24.h3 Rd6 25.b4 Rc7 26.Qf4 Rcd7 27.Rac1 Rxd5 28.Rxd5 Qxd5 29.Qb8+ Kh7 30.Qxa7 Qd2 31.Qc5 g6 32.Qc3 Qf4 33.Re1 Rd2 34.Qe3 Qd6 35.Qf3 Qc7 36.Qf6 Rd6 37.Qe7 Rd7 38.Qe5 Qd8 39.g3 b6 40.a4 Rd4 41.Re4 Rd1+ 42.Kh2 Qa8 43.b5 Rf1 44.Qd4 Qb7 45.Qe3 Ra1 46.Qd4 Rf1 47.Qe3 Ra1 48.g4 Rd1 49.Qf3 Rd4 50.Re3 Qc7+ 51.Qg3 Qd7 52.Qb8 Rxa4 53.Qxb6 Rf4 54.Kg3 g5 55.Rf3 Rb4 56.Qc6 Qe6 57.Kg2 Kg8 58.Qa8+ Kh7 59.Qf8 Rf4 60.Rxf4 gxf4 61.Qa8 h5 62.Qc6 1-0

Position after White’s 52.Qb8



Deac has 2 minutes (+ increment) for 17 moves vs. Grischuk!

Alexander Grischuk beats Bogdan-Daniel Deac in an intense game full of twists and turns in time trouble to join Wesley So in the lead!

Endgames are tough business: against Alexander Grischuk, Bogdan-Daniel Deac could have maintained the balance with 52...Qd5! (keeping the threat of ...Rd1 alive), instead of the losing 52...Rxa4.

Standings at the end of Round Four

1-2 So, Grischuk 2.5
3-8 Caruana, Lupulescu, Deac, Mamedyarov, Aronian, Radjabov 2
9-10 MVL, Giri 1.5

[Hans Jung]

Congratulations to Lupulescu for giving the local fans something extra to cheer about! Both Romanians are very much in the mix!

[Wayne Komer]

Superbet Chess Classic 2021

June 7, 2021

Round Three

Round 3, June 7
Aronian, Levon – Caruana, Fabiano
D26 QGA, Classical variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bxc4 e6 5.Nf3 c5 6.O-O Nc6 7.Nc3 a6 8.Ne5 Qc7 9.Nxc6 Qxc6 10.d5 exd5 11.Nxd5 b5 12.Nxf6+ Qxf6 13.Bd5 Rb8 14.e4 Be7 15.a4 O-O 16.axb5 Rxb5 17.Ra3 Rb6 18.Rf3 Qe5 19.Bd2 Rg6 20.Bc3 Qc7 21.Rg3 Bb7 22.Rxg6 hxg6 23.Bxb7 Qxb7 24.Qg4 c4 25.e5 Bb4 26.Bxb4 Qxb4 27.e6 Qxb2 28.Qxc4 Qf6 29.Qxa6 Qxe6 30.Qxe6 fxe6 31.Kh1 Kh8 32.Kg1 Kg8 33.Kh1 Kh8 34.Kg1 Kg8 1/2-1/2

It felt like Levon Aronian had a serious advantage for a while, but leader Fabiano Caruana holds a draw and again only the games with the Romanian players remain in progress

Round 3, June 7
Deac, Bogdan-Daniel – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
E04 Catalan, open

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 dxc4 5.Bg2 Nc6 6.Qa4 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 Nd5 8.Bxb4 Nxb4 9.O-O Rb8 10.Na3 O-O 11.Qb5 b6 12.Qxc4 Ba6 13.Nb5 Qe8 14.Rfc1 Nd5 15.e4 Na5 16.Nxc7 Nxc4 17.Nxe8 Rfxe8 18.exd5 exd5 19.b3 Nd6 20.Ne5 Bb7 21.Nc6 Bxc6 22.Rxc6 Nb5 23.Bxd5 Re7 24.Bc4 Nxd4 25.Rd6 Nf3+ 26.Kg2 Ne1+ 27.Kf1 Nf3 28.h3 g5 29.Rad1 Ne5 30.R6d5 h6 31.Ba6 Kg7 32.Kg2 Rbe8 33.a4 Rc7 34.a5 Re6 35.Re1 Kf6 36.axb6 axb6 37.Re4 Rc3 38.Rb5 Nd7 39.Rxe6+ Kxe6 40.Rb4 Kd6 41.Bc4 f6 42.Rb5 Ke7 43.f4 Rc2+ 44.Kf3 Rc3+ 45.Kg2 Rc2+ 46.Kf3 Rc3+ 47.Kg2 Rc2+ 48.Kf3 Rc3+ 1/2-1/2

Round 3, June 7
Grischuk, Alexander – So, Wesley
C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, open variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.h3 Be7 10.Rd1+ Ke8 11.g4 Nh4 12.Nxh4 Bxh4 13.Nc3 h5 14.g5 f6 15.exf6 gxf6 16.Ne4 fxg5 17.Bxg5 Bxg5 18.Nxg5 Ke7 19.Re1+ Kf6 20.Ne4+ Kf7 21.Ng5+ Kf6 22.Ne4+ Kf7 23.Ng5+ Kf6 1/2-1/2

Round 3, June 7
Radjabov, Teimour – MVL
D85 Grunfeld, Modern Exchange variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Nf3 c5 8.Rb1 O-O 9.Be2 cxd4 10.cxd4 Qa5+ 11.Bd2 Qxa2 12.O-O Bg4 13.Rxb7 Bxf3 14.Bxf3 Bxd4 15.e5 Na6 16.Rxe7 Rad8 17.e6 fxe6 18.Qe1 Nc5 19.Be3 Nd3 20.Bxd4 Nxe1 21.Rg7+ Kh8 22.Rd7+ Kg8 23.Rg7+ Kh8 24.Rd7+ Kg8 25.Rg7+ 1/2-1/2

Round 3, June 7
Lupulescu, Constantin – Giri, Anish
A28 English, Four Knights, Romanishin variation

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e3 Bb4 5.Qc2 Bxc3 6.Qxc3 Qe7 7.d4 Ne4 8.Qd3 exd4 9.Nxd4 Nc5 10.Qd1 Nxd4 11.Qxd4 O-O 12.Be2 b6 13.O-O Bb7 14.f3 a5 15.Bd2 f5 16.Rad1 d6 17.b3 Rae8 18.Rf2 Rf6 19.Bd3 Qf7 20.Re2 Qh5 21.Be1 Be4 22.Bb1 Rg6 23.Bg3 Bxb1 24.Rxb1 Ne4 25.Rbe1 Nxg3 26.Qd5+ Kh8 27.hxg3 Rxg3 28.e4 Qxf3 29.Qf7 Rg8 30.exf5 Qc6 31.Rf2 Qc5 32.Re7 Qd4 33.Re8 Rxg2+ 34.Kxg2 Qg4+ 35.Kh2 Qh4+ 36.Kg2 Qg4+ 37.Kf1 Qh3+ 38.Ke1 Qc3+ 39.Rd2 1-0

Position after Black’s 31…Qc5?



31...Qc5? and the computer says 32.Re7! now would be winning for Lupulescu!

And he's played it! Lupulescu has completely turned the tables in a game where earlier he was on the verge of defeat...

33.Re8! and it's mate-in-10 for Lupulescu vs. Giri!

And it's over! Romanian no. 1 Constantin Lupulescu takes down Anish Giri

I don’t think it is a question of the Romanian Chess Federation feeding their players raw meat. Their advantage is being off chess for a year and hungry to play and having home field.

Standings after Round Three

1-2 Caruana, Deac 2
3-8 Aronian, Grischuk, So, Mamedyarov, Radjabov, Lupulescu 1.5
9-10 Giri, MVL 1

[Hans Jung]

Deac played a marvelous game. Timing is everything. Also it gives the home fans something to cheer about (and a win as Black to boot!). Cristian must be enjoying commentating in his home country. I have fond memories of my time with him.

[Wayne Komer]

Superbet Chess Classic 2021

June 6, 2021

Round Two

Yasser Seirawan, Alejandro Ramirez and Maurice Ashely in St. Louis and Cristian Chirila and Almira Skripchenko in Bucharest.

Round 2, June 6
Caruana, Fabiano – Lupulescu, Constantin
C11 French, Burn variation

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nbd7 6.Nf3 h6 7.Bxf6 Nxf6 8.Bd3 Nxe4 9.Bxe4 c5 10.Qe2 Qa5+ 11.c3 cxd4 12.Nxd4 Be7 13.O-O-O O-O 14.Kb1 Rd8 15.Bc2 Bd7 16.Qe4 g6 17.h4 Ba4 18.Bxa4 Qxa4 19.h5 g5 20.Qxb7 Bc5 21.Qc6 Qxc6 22.Nxc6 Rxd1+ 23.Rxd1 Bxf2 24.Rd7 f6 25.Nd8 Bb6 26.Nf7 Rf8 27.Nxh6+ Kh8 28.Kc2 1-0

Round 2, June 6
So, Wesley – Aronian, Levon
D38 QGD, Ragozin variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Qa4+ Nc6 6.e3 O-O 7.Bd2 dxc4 8.Bxc4 Bd6 9.Qc2 e5 10.dxe5 Nxe5 11.Nxe5 Bxe5 12.O-O-O Qe7 13.Kb1 Be6 14.Bxe6 Qxe6 15.f3 Rad8 16.e4 Rd7 17.Bc1 Rfd8 18.Rxd7 Qxd7 19.Ne2 c6 20.Be3 Bc7 21.Rc1 Bb6 22.Bg5 Qe6 23.Qb3 h6 24.Qxe6 fxe6 25.Bf4 Nh5 26.Be5 Rd2 27.Rc2 Rd1+ 28.Rc1 Rd2 29.Rc2 Rd1+ 30.Rc1 Rd2 1/2-1/2

Round 2, June 6
Giri, Anish – Radjabov, Teimour
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.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bf4 Bd6 11.Nc3 Nbd7 12.Rfd1 Bxf4 13.gxf4 Nb6 14.Qd3 a5 15.Ne5 Bxg2 16.Kxg2 Nbd5 17.Qf3 c6 18.e3 Qe7 19.h3 Nd7 20.Nxd7 Qxd7 21.Ne4 Qe7 22.Kh2 b6 23.Rac1 Rac8 24.Rc4 Rc7 25.Rdc1 Rfc8 26.b3 Qa3 27.Qd1 Qe7 28.Qf3 Qa3 29.Qd1 Qe7 30.Qf3 1/2-1/2

Round 2, June 6
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Grischuk, Alexander
B44 English, Sicilian Szen

1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 e6 6.e4 Bb4 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.Bd3 e5 9.O-O O-O 10.Be3 Bxc3 11.bxc3 d6 12.c5 d5 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Re1 Nxe3 15.Rxe3 Qd5 16.Bc2 Qxc5 17.Qh5 g6 18.Qxe5 Qxe5 19.Rxe5 a5 20.Rc5 Be6 21.a4 Rfc8 22.Be4 Bd5 23.Bxd5 cxd5 24.Rxd5 Rxc3 25.g3 Rc4 26.Kg2 Kg7 27.Kg1 Kg8 28.Kg2 Kg7 29.Kg1 Kg8 30.Kg2 Kg7 31.Kg1 1/2-1/2

Round 2, June 6
MVL – Deac, Bogdan-Daniel
C83 Ruy Lopez, open, Classical

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.Nbd2 Be7 10.c3 O-O 11.Bc2 f5 12.exf6 Nxf6 13.a4 b4 14.Re1 Bg4 15.Nf1 Bc5 16.Be3 d4 17.cxd4 Nxd4 18.Bxd4 Bxf3 19.Qxf3 Qxd4 20.Rad1 Qxb2 21.Re2 Qc3 22.Rd3 Qa1 23.Rd1 Qc3 24.Rd3 Qa1 25.g4 b3 26.Bxb3+ Kh8 27.g5 Ng8 28.Qd5 Bd6 29.Rh3 g6 30.Qd3 Rf5 31.Qc3+ Qxc3 32.Rxc3 Rxg5+ 33.Ng3 Nf6 34.Kf1 Rb8 35.h3 Re5 36.Bc4 Rc5 37.Rcc2 Ra5 38.Ne4 Nxe4 39.Rxe4 Rxa4 40.h4 Kg7 41.h5 gxh5 42.Re1 Rbb4 43.Be2 Rh4 44.Bf3 a5 0-1

Position after Black’s 24…Qa1



Here MVL played 25.g4 which the commentators thought was a brilliant way of pressing his advantage. But, Deac found an equally impressive defence with 25…b3. MVL started to lose confidence and eventually blundered with 30.Qd3 and lost the game.

Standings after Round Two

1-2 Caruana, Deac 1.5
3-8 Aronian, Giri, Grischuk, So, Mamedyarov, Radjabov 0.5
9-10 MVL, Lupulescu 0.5

The majority of players don’t seem to have come to play. There are no 5 hour games. It’s a pity that the young guns Rapport and Firouzja couldn’t be here.

Bogdan-Daniel Deac was born in October of 2001 and is 19 years old. He became the world's youngest International Master (2014) when he gained the title at the age of 12 years 10 months and 15 days. He then became the world's youngest Grandmaster when he gained the title in June 2016 at the age of 14 years 7 years and 27 days.

Almira Skripchenko is a Moldovan-French chess player who holds the titles of International Master and Woman Grandmaster. She won the European Women's Individual Chess Championship in 2001, and is a six-time French Women's Chess Champion.

Cristian Chirilă (born 6 January 1991) is a Romanian chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 2009. Chirilă served as one of the seconds of Fabiano Caruana during the 2018 World Chess Championship match.

[Hans Jung]

It seems you can never study enough tactics. 29.Re5 is a very useful move threatening Rxc5 so it should be easy to find. Also its a double threat and on Qg3 a discovery. It becomes stronger (more attractive) when you look for useful black moves and discover there arent many.

[Wayne Komer]

Superbet Chess Classic 2021

June 5, 2021

Round One

The commentators are Yasser Seirawan, Alejandro Ramirez and Maurice Ashley.

Round 1, June 5
Radjabov, Teimour – Caruana, Fabiano
D38 QGD, Ragozin, Marshall variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.e3 O-O 8.Rc1 dxc4 9.Bxc4 c5 10.O-O cxd4 11.Nxd4 Bd7 12.Qb3 Nc6 13.Nxc6 Bxc3 14.Rxc3 Bxc6 15.Bb5 Bd5 16.Bc4 Bc6 17.Bb5 Bd5 18.Bc4 Bc6 1/2-1/2

Round 1, June 5
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – So, Wesley
D27 QGA, Classical

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 dxc4 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 a6 6.O-O c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Be2 Ke7 10.Rd1 Nbd7 11.Nd4 Ne5 12.b3 Bd7 13.Bb2 Nc6 14.Nxc6+ Bxc6 15.Rc1 Bb4 16.Na3 Nd7 17.Nc4 Bd5 18.a3 Bc5 19.b4 Ba7 20.Na5 Rhc8 21.Bd3 f5 22.Bc4 Bxc4 23.Nxc4 b5 24.Na5 g6 25.Kf1 Bb6 26.Nb3 e5 27.Ke2 Rxc1 28.Rxc1 Ra7 29.e4 Rc7 30.Rxc7 Bxc7 31.f3 Ke6 32.Bc1 f4 33.g3 g5 34.g4 Bb6 35.h3 Kd6 36.Kd3 Bf2 37.Ke2 Bb6 38.Kd3 Bg1 39.Bb2 Nb6 40.Na5 Na4 41.Ba1 Bb6 42.Nb3 Be3 43.Bc3 Bb6 44.Ba1 Be3 45.Bc3 Bb6 46.Ba1 Be3 1/2-1/2

Round 1, June 5
Grischuk, Alexander – MVL
D85 Grunfeld, Modern Exchange variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Nf3 c5 8.Rb1 O-O 9.Be2 cxd4 10.cxd4 Qa5+ 11.Bd2 Qxa2 12.O-O Bg4 13.Rxb7 Bxf3 14.Bxf3 Bxd4 15.e5 Na6 16.Rxe7 Rad8 17.e6 fxe6 18.Qe1 Bf6 19.Rxa7 Rxd2 20.Rxa6 Qxa6 21.Qxd2 Qb6 22.g3 Bd4 23.Qe2 Rf6 24.Kg2 Qb2 25.Qxb2 Bxb2 26.Rd1 Kg7 27.Rd8 Rf8 28.Rd6 Kf6 29.h4 Re8 30.Be2 Be5 31.Rc6 Rd8 32.f4 Bd6 33.Bg4 e5 34.fxe5+ Kxe5 35.Rc8 Rxc8 36.Bxc8 Kf6 37.g4 g5 38.hxg5+ Kxg5 39.Kf3 h5 40.gxh5 Kxh5 41.Ke4 Bf4 42.Bd7 Kh4 43.Bh3 Kxh3 44.Kxf4 1/2-1/2

Round 1, June 5
Lupulescu, Constantin – Aronian, Levon
E39 Nimzo-Indian, Classical (without a3)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 c5 5.dxc5 O-O 6.Nf3 Na6 7.g3 Nxc5 8.Bg2 Nce4 9.O-O Nxc3 10.bxc3 Be7 11.e4 d6 12.e5 dxe5 13.Nxe5 Qc7 14.Qe2 Nd7 15.Bf4 Nxe5 16.Bxe5 Bd6 17.Bxd6 Qxd6 18.Qe3 Qc7 19.Rfb1 Qxc4 20.Bxb7 Bxb7 21.Rxb7 h6 22.Rxa7 Rxa7 23.Qxa7 Qxc3 24.Rb1 Qc2 25.Rb8 Qd1+ 26.Kg2 Qd5+ 27.Kg1 Qd1+ 28.Kg2 Qd5+ 29.Kg1 Qd1+ 1/2-1/2

Round 1, June 5
Deac, Bogdan-Daniel (2627) – Giri, Anish (2780)
D43 QGD, Semi-Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dxc4 7.e4 g5 8.Bg3 b5 9.Be2 Bb7 10.Qc2 Nh5 11.Rd1 Nxg3 12.hxg3 Na6 13.a3 Bg7 14.e5 Qe7 15.Ne4 O-O-O 16.Nd6+ Rxd6 17.exd6 Qxd6 18.O-O g4 19.Ne5 Bxe5 20.dxe5 Qxe5 21.Bxg4 h5 22.Rfe1 Qf6 23.Bf3 h4 24.b3 cxb3 25.Qxb3 hxg3 26.fxg3 Qg7 27.Qd3 Nc7 28.Qd6 c5 29.Qd7+ Kb8 30.Bxb7 Kxb7 31.Rxe6 Qxg3 32.Qc6+ Kb8 33.Qd6 Qxd6 34.Rexd6 Kb7 35.Rf6 Rh7 36.Rd7 b4 37.axb4 cxb4 38.Kf2 a5 39.Ke2 Rg7 40.Rfxf7 Rxg2+ 41.Kd1 Rg1+ 42.Kc2 Rg2+ 43.Kb1 Rg1+ 44.Kb2 Rg2+ 45.Kb1 Rg1+ 46.Kb2 Rg2+ 47.Kb1 Rg1+ 1/2-1/2

Position after Black’s 28….c5



What is White’s winning move from this position?


It's seems it's gone wrong for Giri with 23...h4!? and 24.b3! Can late replacement Bogdan-Daniel Deac claim a huge scalp?

If Deac finds 29.Re5! Qxg3 and now 30.Rh5! he should simply be winning!

But Deac plays 29.Qd7+?! instead and Giri is right back in the game!

29.Re5 Bd5 30.Bxd5 Nxd5 31.Qxc5+ Kb8 32.Qd6+ Ka8 33.Qc6+ Kb8 34.Rdxd5 exd5 is a possible line

Standings after Round One

Everyone is tied for first, each with a draw.

[Wayne Komer]

Superbet Chess Classic 2021

June 3, 2021

The 2021 Grand Chess Tour will kick off in classical fashion, with the Superbet Chess Classic moving away from 2019's rapid and blitz format. The Sheraton Bucharest hotel will host ten players in a heavyweight round-robin battle for a total of $325,000 in prize money.

DATES
June 3-15, 2021

VENUES
Sheraton Bucharest Hotel, Bucharest, Romania
(Public is not allowed due to Covid-19 restrictions)

FORMAT
10 Player Round Robin

PRIZE FUND
$325,000

Participants

Fabiano Caruana
Levon Aronian
Anish Giri
Alexander Grischuk
Wesley So
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Teimour Radjabov
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Bogdan-Daniel Deac
Constantin Lupulescu

Unfortunately due to a last-minute illness, GM Richard Rapport has withdrawn from the GCT Superbet Classic in Bucharest, Romania. He will be replaced by Romanian No. 2 GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac.

Time Limit
90 minutes for 40 moves and 30 minutes for the rest of the game; plus 30 seconds increment from move 1.


Schedule

June 5 Round 1
June 6 Round 2
June 7 Round 3
June 8 Round 4
June 9 Round 5
June 10 Rest Day
June 11 Round 6
June 12 Round 7
June 13 Round 8
June 14 Round 9

Rounds start at 3 PM local time which is 8 AM Montreal/Toronto time

https://grandchesstour.org/2021-gran...-chess-classic