Goldmoney Asian Rapid 2021

[Hans Jung]

After your post I went and played over Firoujza - Hou Yifan. After the combo she initiated at move 11 getting the two knights was forced and then white had to defend and reposition himself for many moves. Still over 100 moves of sheer joy with the two knights! and kudos to Hou Yifan for playing into it.

[Hans Jung]

Wesley blunders away a much better position in game one (admittedly it was very complicated) but then keeps it closed in game two and wins an unexpectedly brilliant endgame! Game on!
In game three Wesley won the queen and a positional edge for two rooks but opened up too soon afterwards. Can he bounce back again?
Magnus survived game 4 and wins the match.

[Hans Jung]

After winning in a lovely finish in game one Artemiev has gotten into Giri's head and is up 3-0!

Erigaisi is playing brilliantly against Aronian and is up a game. Can he keep it up?
The kid plays into a very tricky two knights vs two bishops endgame and then blunders but its still not easy but Aronian plays a pawn race to queens and a spectacular mate at the end! Game 3 to Levon tying the match! - and game 4 is a draw!

Ding - Duda looked to be headed into tie breaks after three draws but in game four Ding went for everything and got - - - nothing - - - however with seconds on the clock at least the end is exciting. Duda almost threw it all away but a crazy draw is the result.

[Wayne Komer]

Goldmoney Asian Rapid 2021

June 29, 2021

Quarter Finals

Day 1

Round 1, June 29
Aronian, Levon – Erigaisi Arjun
A36 English, ultra-symmetrical variation

1.c4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 e6 6.h4 h6 7.h5 g5 8.f4 g4 9.Bxc6 bxc6 10.e4 f5 11.e5 d6 12.exd6 Qxd6 13.Be3 Bd4 14.Qd2 Nf6 15.Nge2 Kf7 16.Na4 Bd7 17.Bxd4 cxd4 18.Qa5 Rhd8 19.Nc5 Qb8 20.b4 Be8 21.Kf2 Qb6 22.Rab1 Nd7 23.Nxd7 Qxa5 24.bxa5 Rxd7 25.c5 Kf6 26.Rb4 Rad8 27.Rc1 Bf7 28.a6 Bg8 29.a4 Bf7 30.a5 e5 31.fxe5+ Kxe5 32.Nf4 Kf6 33.Rb7 Re7 34.Re1 Rdd7 35.Rxe7 Rxe7 36.Ng6 Bxg6 37.hxg6 h5 38.Rb6 Rc7 39.Rb7 Re7 40.Rb6 Rc7 41.Rb7 Re7 1/2-1/2

36.Rb6! would have been a brilliant win for Levon, but after 36.Ng6? and Rb6 only two moves later there was no more than a draw for the Armenian no. 1 against 17-year-old Arjun Erigaisi!

Round 2, June 29
Erigaisi Arjun – Aronian, Levon
E51 Nimzo-Indian

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.e3 O-O 6.Bd2 b6 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Bd3 Bb7 9.O-O Be7 10.Ne5 c5 11.Ne2 Nc6 12.Nxc6 Bxc6 13.dxc5 bxc5 14.Bc3 Qb6 15.Ng3 g6 16.b4 cxb4 17.Bd4 Qd8 18.Rc1 Bb7 19.Qf3 Qd6 20.h4 Rfc8 21.h5 a5 22.Bf5 Rxc1 23.Rxc1 Ne8 24.Qg4 Ng7 25.Bxg6 fxg6 26.Bxg7 Rc8 27.Rd1 Rc2 28.Ba1 Rc4 29.Qe2 Qc6 30.Bd4 Bf6 31.hxg6 hxg6 32.Kh2 Bxd4 33.exd4 Rc2 34.Qf3 Qe6 35.Qf4 Kg7 36.Rd3 Qf6 37.Qg4 Qxf2 38.Nh5+ Kh6 39.Nf4 Rc6 40.Rh3+ Kg7 41.Qd7+ Kf6 42.Rf3 Qxd4 43.Ne2+ 1-0

Position after Black’s 24…Ng7



Will Erigaisi spot a win here? After Bxg7 Kxg7 Bxg6 White wins due to the threat of Nf5+, forking the king and queen!

No, he plays 25.Bxg6 first, which the computer says is only equal!

Round 3, June 29
Aronian, Levon – Erigaisi Arjun
A13 English, Neo-Catalan

1.c4 e6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.Qa4+ Nbd7 6.Qxc4 c5 7.Qc2 b6 8.O-O Bb7 9.Nc3 Be7 10.e4 O-O 11.d4 cxd4 12.Nxd4 Rc8 13.Rd1 Bc5 14.Qe2 Qe7 15.Nb3 Ne5 16.Nxc5 Qxc5 17.Bf4 Rfd8 18.Rxd8+ Rxd8 19.Rd1 Rxd1+ 20.Qxd1 Ned7 21.Be3 Qc6 22.f3 h6 23.Qa4 Qxa4 24.Nxa4 Kf8 25.Bf1 Ke7 26.h4 Ne5 27.Be2 Ne8 28.Kf2 h5 29.b3 Nc7 30.Bd4 f6 31.Ke3 Ba6 32.Bd1 Nc6 33.Bb2 Kf7 34.Nc3 Ne5 35.Ne2 Nc6 36.Nf4 e5 37.Nd3 Bxd3 38.Kxd3 Nb4+ 39.Kc4 Nxa2 40.f4 exf4 41.gxf4 g6 42.b4 a5 43.b5 Ne6 44.f5 Nc5 45.Bd4 Nd7 46.fxg6+ Kxg6 47.Kd5 Ne5 48.Bxe5 fxe5 49.Kc6 Nc3 50.Kxb6 Kf6 51.Kc6 a4 52.b6 a3 53.b7 a2 54.b8=Q a1=Q 55.Qf8+ Kg6 56.Qg8+ 1-0

Round 4, June 29
Erigaisi Arjun – Aronian, Levon
D38 QGD, Ragozin variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.e3 c5 6.Bd2 cxd4 7.Qa4+ Nc6 8.Nxd4 Bd7 9.Nxc6 Bxc3 10.Bxc3 Bxc6 11.Qa5 Qxa5 12.Bxa5 O-O 13.f3 Rfc8 14.cxd5 Bxd5 15.e4 Bc4 16.Bxc4 Rxc4 17.Kd2 Rac8 18.Bc3 Nd7 19.Rhd1 f6 20.Ke3 Nb6 21.Ba5 Rc2 22.Bxb6 axb6 23.Rd2 Rxd2 24.Kxd2 Kf7 25.Rc1 Rxc1 26.Kxc1 Ke7 27.Kd2 Kd6 28.Kc3 Kc5 29.f4 b5 30.a3 f5 31.b4+ Kc6 32.Kd4 Kd6 33.h3 h5 34.h4 g6 35.g3 b6 36.e5+ Kc6 37.Kc3 Kd5 38.Kd3 Kc6 39.Kd4 Kc7 40.Kc3 Kc6 41.Kd4 Kc7 42.Kc3 Kc6 43.Kd4 1/2-1/2

Aronian-Erigaisi 2-2

Round 1, June 29
Carlsen, Magnus – So, Wesley
A28 English, Four Knights, Marini variation

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.a3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Qc2 f5 7.d3 Be7 8.e3 Be6 9.Be2 O-O 10.O-O a5 11.Rd1 Kh8 12.Na4 Qd6 13.Bd2 g5 14.d4 e4 15.Ne5 Nxe5 16.dxe5 Qxe5 17.Bc4 Bf6 18.Nc5 Bg8 19.Rab1 Qe7 20.Nxb7 f4 21.Nxa5 fxe3 22.fxe3 Rxa5 23.Bxd5 Rxd5 24.Bb4 Rxd1+ 25.Rxd1 c5 26.Bxc5 Qc7 27.b4 Re8 28.a4 Be5 29.h3 g4 30.hxg4 Qg7 31.Bd4 Be6 32.Qc6 Bd7 33.Qxd7 1-0

A crazy game ends with Wesley blundering a piece and Magnus takes the lead!

Magnus looked more upset about Wesley's blunder than Wesley!

Round 2, June 29
So, Wesley – Carlsen, Magnus
C54 Giuoco Piano

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 a6 9.Nf1 Ba7 10.a4 Re8 11.h3 Be6 12.Bxe6 Rxe6 13.b4 Qd7 14.Qc2 d5 15.Be3 Bxe3 16.Nxe3 Ne7 17.c4 d4 18.Nf5 a5 19.b5 c5 20.N3h4 Ng6 21.g3 Ne8 22.Kh2 Nd6 23.Qe2 Nxh4 24.Nxh4 Qe7 25.Nf5 Qf6 26.Nxd6 Rxd6 27.Rf1 Re8 28.f4 Qd8 29.Qh5 f6 30.h4 Qd7 31.Rf2 Qf7 32.Qf3 exf4 33.gxf4 f5 34.e5 Rg6 35.Rg1 Rxg1 36.Kxg1 b6 37.Rg2 Kh7 38.h5 Re6 39.Kf2 Qe7 40.Qh3 Qf7 41.Ke1 g6 42.hxg6+ Rxg6 43.Qh5 Rf6 44.Qxf7+ Rxf7 45.Kf2 Re7 46.Kg3 1-0

Magnus Carlsen resigns, and Wesley So has hit back to level the scores at 1:1:

Round 3, June 29
Carlsen, Magnus – So, Wesley
A28 English, Four Knights, Capablanca variation

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.d3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 Bc5 8.Be2 O-O 9.O-O Kh8 10.Be3 Bxe3 11.fxe3 Qe7 12.Qc2 f5 13.Nd2 Be6 14.d4 Qg5 15.Rf3 fxe4 16.Nxe4 Qh6 17.Re1 b6 18.Nf2 Ne7 19.Qe4 exd4 20.cxd4 Rfe8 21.Qe5 Nd5 22.Bb5 Re7 23.Bc6 Bg8 24.Qxe7 Nxe7 25.Bxa8 Qd6 26.Be4 c5 27.Rd1 c4 28.Bb1 c3 29.d5 b5 30.Ne4 Qc7 31.Bc2 Nxd5 32.Rf8 Ne7 33.Rdd8 h6 34.Nd6 g6 35.Nc8 Qe5 36.Kf2 Kg7 37.Nxe7 Bf7 38.Nxg6 Qe6 39.Bb3 Qf6+ 40.Nf4 Qh4+ 41.Kf3 Bxb3 42.axb3 c2 43.Rg8+ Kh7 44.Rh8+ Kg7 45.Rdg8+ Kf7 46.Rf8+ Kg7 47.Ne6+ 1-0

It turns out two rooks did pretty well for Magnus against Wesley's queen! Now So must win the next game to draw today's match.

Round 4, June 29
So, Wesley – Carlsen, Magnus
C53 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 h6 6.b4 Be7 7.O-O O-O 8.Re1 d6 9.Nbd2 Nh7 10.a4 Ng5 11.b5 Nb8 12.d4 Bg4 13.h3 Bh5 14.Be2 Nxf3+ 15.Bxf3 Bxf3 16.Nxf3 a6 17.Be3 axb5 18.axb5 Rxa1 19.Qxa1 Nd7 20.Qa7 Qb8 21.Ra1 exd4 22.cxd4 d5 23.e5 Nb6 24.Nd2 Qc8 25.Rc1 Bb4 26.Nf1 Nc4 27.Qa4 Be7 28.Nd2 Nb6 29.Qb3 Qd7 30.Ra1 Ra8 31.Rxa8+ Nxa8 32.Qa4 Nb6 33.Qa7 Qc8 34.Qa5 Qf5 35.Qc3 Qd7 36.Kh2 c6 37.bxc6 Qxc6 38.Qxc6 bxc6 39.g4 Bb4 40.Nb3 Nc4 41.Bc1 g5 42.Kg3 Kg7 43.h4 f6 44.exf6+ Kxf6 45.f4 Bd6 46.hxg5+ hxg5 47.Kf3 gxf4 48.Bxf4 Be7 49.Bg3 Kg6 50.Bf2 Bd6 51.Be1 Be7 52.Bf2 Bd6 53.Bh4 Bf8 54.Bg3 Be7 55.Bh2 Bf8 56.Bg1 Bd6 57.Bf2 Be7 58.Nc1 Nd2+ 59.Ke2 Ne4 60.Nd3 Nxf2 61.Kxf2 Bf6 62.Ke3 Kg5 63.Nb4 Bxd4+ 64.Kxd4 c5+ 65.Kxc5 d4 66.Nd3 Kxg4 67.Nf4 Kxf4 68.Kxd4 1/2-1/2

It was never easy, but Magnus Carlsen takes the lead in the #GoldmoneyAsianRapid quarterfinal against Wesley So. Wesley must now win tomorrow to force a playoff!

Carlsen-So 2.5-1.5

Round 1, June 29
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Ding, Liren
D38 QGD, Ragozin variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Qa4+ Nc6 6.e3 O-O 7.Qc2 Re8 8.Bd2 Bf8 9.a3 h6 10.cxd5 exd5 11.Bd3 Bg4 12.O-O-O Bd7 13.h3 b5 14.Bxb5 Rb8 15.Bxc6 Bxc6 16.Ne5 Ba8 17.Nd3 Ne4 18.Nxe4 dxe4 19.Nc5 Bd5 20.Ba5 Qc8 21.b4 Rb6 22.Kb2 Rg6 23.g3 c6 24.Na4 Rf6 25.Rd2 Qe6 26.h4 Bc4 27.Rc1 Bd3 28.Qd1 Qh3 29.Bc7 Ree6 30.Nc5 Bxc5 31.Rxc5 Rf5 32.Be5 a6 33.Rc1 f6 34.Bc7 Rd5 35.Qb3 Kh7 36.Rxd3 exd3 37.Qxd3+ Qf5 38.Kc3 g6 39.Qxf5 Rxf5 40.Rc2 g5 41.Kd3 h5 42.f4 gxf4 43.e4 Rb5 44.gxf4 f5 45.Be5 fxe4+ 46.Kxe4 Rg6 47.Rc4 a5 48.bxa5 Rxa5 49.a4 Ra6 50.Rb4 Rg4 51.Kf5 Ra7 52.Rc4 Rxh4 53.Rxc6 Rg4 54.d5 Rg8 55.d6 h4 56.Rc3 Rxa4 57.Bf6 Ra5+ 58.Ke6 Rh5 59.Rh3 Rf8 60.Bg5 Kg6 61.d7 Rxg5 62.fxg5 Kxg5 63.Rc3 Rd8 64.Rc8 Rxd7 65.Kxd7 h3 66.Ke6 Kg4 67.Rc4+ Kg3 68.Kf5 h2 69.Rc3+ Kg2 70.Kg4 h1=Q 71.Rc2+ Kg1 72.Rc1+ Kh2 73.Rxh1+ Kxh1 1/2-1/2

59.d7! was winning here for Duda, but after 59.Rh3? Rf8! it seems Ding can survive!

Round 2, June 29
Ding, Liren – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
D43 QGD, Semi-Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.cxd5 exd5 7.e3 Be7 8.Bd3 Ne4 9.Bf4 Ndf6 10.O-O Bf5 11.Qc2 O-O 12.Ne5 g6 13.f3 Nd6 14.Bxf5 Nxf5 15.g4 Ng7 16.Rad1 Nd7 17.Nd3 Bg5 18.Qf2 Bxf4 19.Nxf4 a5 20.e4 Ne6 21.Nfe2 dxe4 22.fxe4 Qg5 23.Qg3 h5 24.gxh5 Qxh5 25.Nf4 Qg5 26.Nxe6 Qxg3+ 27.hxg3 fxe6 28.Kg2 Nb6 29.Rxf8+ Rxf8 30.b3 a4 31.Nxa4 Nxa4 32.bxa4 Ra8 33.Rb1 Rxa4 34.Rxb7 Rxd4 35.Kf3 e5 36.Re7 Ra4 37.Rxe5 Rxa2 38.Re6 Rc2 39.Rxg6+ Kf7 40.Rh6 c5 41.Kf4 c4 42.Ke5 c3 43.Rf6+ Ke7 44.Rf3 Rc1 45.Kf4 Kd6 46.Kf5 c2 47.Rf2 Rg1 48.e5+ Ke7 49.Rxc2 Rxg3 50.Rc7+ Kf8 51.Kf6 Rf3+ 52.Ke6 Re3 53.Rf7+ Ke8 54.Ra7 Kf8 55.Ra8+ Kg7 56.Re8 Re1 57.Kd7 Rd1+ 58.Ke7 Ra1 59.Rd8 Ra7+ 60.Ke8 Ra6 61.Rd7+ Kg8 62.Rd6 Ra8+ 63.Ke7 Kg7 64.e6 Kg6 65.Rd8 Ra7+ 66.Rd7 Ra8 67.Rc7 Kg7 68.Rd7 Kg6 69.Rb7 Kg7 70.Rc7 Kg6 71.Rc1 Ra7+ 72.Kd6 Ra6+ 73.Kd7 Ra7+ 74.Rc7 Ra8 75.Rc8 Ra7+ 76.Kd6 Ra6+ 77.Ke7 Ra7+ 78.Kd6 Ra6+ 79.Kd7 Ra7+ 80.Rc7 Ra8 81.Ke7 Kg7 82.Rc6 Kg6 83.Rd6 Kg7 84.Rd1 Ra7+ 85.Rd7 Ra8 86.Rb7 Kg6 87.Rc7 1/2-1/2

(to be continued)

[Wayne Komer]

Goldmoney Asian Rapid 2021

June 29, 2021

Quarter Finals

Day 1 (continued)

Round 3, June 29
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Ding, Liren
D41 QGD, Semi-Tarrasch

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 cxd4 8.cxd4 Bb4+ 9.Bd2 Bxd2+ 10.Qxd2 O-O 11.Bc4 Nd7 12.O-O b6 13.Rfe1 Bb7 14.Rad1 Rc8 15.Bb3 Re8 16.d5 exd5 17.exd5 Nc5 18.d6 Bxf3 19.Rxe8+ Qxe8 20.gxf3 Qc6 21.Qg5 Re8 22.Kg2 Qd7 23.Bc4 h6 24.Qh5 a6 25.Rd4 Ne6 26.Rg4 b5 27.Bb3 Qxd6 28.Qxh6 Qe5 29.h4 Kf8 30.Qd2 f5 31.Rg3 Nf4+ 32.Kh2 Nh5 33.Qd7 Re7 34.Qc8+ Re8 35.Qd7 Re7 36.Qc8+ Re8 37.Qd7 1/2-1/2

Round 4, June 29
Ding, Liren – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
D43 QGD, Semi-Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.cxd5 exd5 7.e3 Be7 8.Bd3 h6 9.Bf4 Nh5 10.Be5 Nhf6 11.h3 Nxe5 12.dxe5 Nd7 13.e6 fxe6 14.Bg6+ Kf8 15.O-O Bd6 16.e4 Qf6 17.exd5 exd5 18.Qc2 Nc5 19.Rae1 Bd7 20.Re3 Ne6 21.Ne2 Kg8 22.Re1 Rf8 23.h4 h5 24.Ng3 Nf4 25.Be8 Bg4 26.Ng5 Rh6 27.a3 a5 28.Kh1 Qd4 29.Qb3 Bc8 30.Kg1 Nxg2 31.Kxg2 Qxh4 32.Bf7+ Rxf7 33.Nxf7 Kxf7 34.Rf3+ Rf6 35.Rxf6+ Qxf6 36.Nxh5 Qg6+ 37.Ng3 Qg4 38.Re3 a4 39.Rf3+ Kg8 40.Qb6 Qh4 41.Re3 Kf7 42.Rf3+ Kg8 43.Re3 Kf7 44.Rf3+ Kg8 1/2-1/2

Jan-Krzysztof Duda had big chances, but ultimately all 4 of his games against Ding Liren today ending in incredibly fighting draws!

Ding-Duda 2-2

Round 1, June 29
Artemiev, Vladislav – Giri, Anish
A07 Reti, King’s Indian Attack

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.O-O e5 5.d3 Nc6 6.Nbd2 Nf6 7.e4 O-O 8.c3 a5 9.Qc2 Re8 10.b3 d4 11.cxd4 exd4 12.a3 Nd7 13.Nc4 Nc5 14.Bg5 Qd7 15.Rab1 b5 16.Ncd2 Ne6 17.e5 Ne7 18.Ne4 Bb7 19.Nc5 Nxc5 20.Qxc5 Nf5 21.Rfe1 Bf8 22.Qc1 c5 23.a4 Bd5 24.axb5 Qb7 25.Qf4 Ng7 26.Nh4 Ne6 27.Bxd5 Qxd5 28.Qf3 Qxf3 29.Nxf3 Reb8 30.h4 Rxb5 31.Nd2 Rab8 32.Ra1 h6 33.Bf6 Bg7 34.Ra3 Nc7 35.Be7 Nd5 36.Bd6 R8b7 37.Ne4 Rxb3 38.Rxa5 Nb4 39.Ra8+ Kh7 40.Nf6+ Bxf6 41.exf6 Nd5 42.Ree8 Nxf6 43.Rh8+ Kg7 44.Be5 1-0

Artemiev takes the lead against Giri with a sudden mating attack!

Round 2, June 29
Giri, Anish – Artemiev, Vladislav
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.h4 Qc8 5.c4 h6 6.Nc3 e6 7.Nge2 Ne7 8.Ng3 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 dxc4 11.Qxc4 Nd7 12.O-O Nd5 13.Nxd5 cxd5 14.Qe2 Qc4 15.Qd1 Be7 16.b3 Qb4 17.a3 Qb6 18.Qg4 g5 19.h5 Qxb3 20.Bd2 Qa4 21.Bb4 a5 22.Bxe7 Kxe7 23.Rae1 Rac8 24.Re3 Qc2 25.Ne2 Qd2 26.Qg3 Rhg8 27.f4 gxf4 28.Qxf4 Rg7 29.Qxh6 Rcg8 30.Kh1 Rxg2 31.Qh7 R8g7 0-1

Position after White’s 29.Qxh6



Giri grabbed a pawn on h6, but now after 29...Rcg8! there's just no way to defend the g2-pawn! Artemiev is set to take a 2-point lead and will only need a draw in the next two games to clinch today's match

Round 3, June 29
Artemiev, Vladislav – Giri, Anish
D47 QGD, Semi-Slav, Meran variation

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Be2 b4 9.Na4 Bb7 10.O-O Be7 11.b3 O-O 12.Bb2 Rc8 13.Rc1 c5 14.dxc5 Nxc5 15.Nxc5 Bxc5 16.Qxd8 Rfxd8 17.Rfd1 Ne4 18.Kf1 a5 19.Rxd8+ Rxd8 20.Ng5 Bxe3 21.fxe3 Nxg5 22.Rc7 Bd5 23.Ra7 h6 24.Be5 Rc8 25.Bc7 a4 26.bxa4 Bxa2 27.Ba6 Re8 28.Rb7 b3 29.Bd3 e5 30.Bxe5 Ne6 31.Bd4 Rd8 32.a5 g5 33.a6 Nxd4 34.exd4 Kg7 35.a7 Ra8 36.Bc4 1-0

Artemiev-Giri 3-0

A birthday hangover for Giri, as Artemiev clinches Day 1 of their quarterfinal 3:0! Anish will have a chance to hit back tomorrow and force a playoff

Giri on Artemiev: "I think he has a phobia of openings, but otherwise he plays very well!"

Giri on getting a vaccination yesterday: "There's one side-effect that they haven't mentioned, that you play horrible chess!"

Artemiev on beating Giri 3:0: "I'm not such a bad player in rapid and blitz so it's not such a big surprise that I can make a score like this"

Giri and So must win on demand against Artemiev and Carlsen tomorrow, while the other two matches are still level!

[Wayne Komer]

Goldmoney Asian Rapid 2021

June 30, 2021

Quarter Finals

Day 2

Round 5, June 30
Erigaisi Arjun – Aronian, Levon
A56 Benoni

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.e4 d6 6.Be2 O-O 7.Bg5 h6 8.Be3 Na6 9.h3 Nc7 10.Nf3 b6 11.Qd2 Kh7 12.g4 Nfe8 13.h4 e6 14.O-O-O exd5 15.exd5 f5 16.gxf5 Bxf5 17.Rdg1 Qd7 18.Rg3 a6 19.Rhg1 b5 20.Bd3 bxc4 21.Bxf5 Qxf5 22.Rxg6 Qxf3 23.Bxh6 Bxc3 24.Qc2 Rf5 25.Be3 Bg7 26.R6g5 Qxd5 27.Rxf5 Qd3 28.Qxd3 cxd3 29.b3 a5 30.Kd2 a4 31.Kxd3 axb3 32.axb3 Nf6 33.Bc1 Rb8 34.Bb2 Rxb3+ 35.Kc2 Rxb2+ 36.Kxb2 Ne6 37.Ka3 Nd4 38.Rfg5 Bh6 39.Rg6 Ne8 40.h5 Nf5 41.Ka4 Neg7 42.Rf6 Bd2 43.Kb5 Bc3 44.Rf7 Be5 45.Kc4 Kh6 46.Rf8 Kh7 47.Rf7 Bd4 48.Rg5 Nh6 49.Rd7 Ng8 50.f4 Bf6 51.Rg6 Bd4 52.f5 Kh8 53.Rd8 Kh7 54.Rxg8 Kxg8 55.h6 Kf7 56.hxg7 Bxg7 57.Rxd6 Bd4 58.Kd5 Ke7 59.Re6+ Kf7 60.Ke4 Kg7 61.Kf4 Bf6 62.Rc6 Bd4 63.Kg5 Be3+ 64.Kg4 Bd4 65.Kf4 Kf7 66.Ke4 Ke7 67.Re6+ Kf7 68.Kd5 Kg7 69.Ra6 Kf7 70.Rc6 Ke7 71.Re6+ Kf7 72.Kd6 Bf2 73.Ke5 Bd4+ 74.Kf4 Bc3 75.Rc6 Bd4 76.Rd6 Bb2 77.Rc6 Bd4 1/2-1/2

Round 6, June 30
Aronian, Levon – Erigaisi Arjun
A36 English, ultra-symmetrical variation

1.c4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 Nf6 6.Rb1 O-O 7.a3 a6 8.b4 cxb4 9.axb4 b5 10.Nf3 bxc4 11.dxc4 Rb8 12.Qa4 Ng4 13.Bd2 Nge5 14.Nxe5 Nxe5 15.b5 Qc7 16.O-O Qxc4 17.Qa5 axb5 18.Bd5 Nc6 19.Bxc4 Nxa5 20.Bxb5 Bb7 21.Na4 Bc6 22.Bxc6 Nxc6 23.Kg2 Rxb1 24.Rxb1 Ra8 25.Nc3 Rb8 26.Rxb8+ Nxb8 27.Nd5 Nc6 28.Nb4 Nd4 29.e3 Nb3 30.Be1 f5 31.Nd3 Kf7 32.Kf3 d6 33.Ke2 Ke6 34.f3 Nc5 35.Nxc5+ dxc5 36.Kd3 Kd5 37.e4+ Kc6 38.Kc4 h5 39.h3 e6 40.g4 Bd4 41.gxf5 exf5 42.exf5 gxf5 43.Bg3 Be3 44.Be5 Bg5 1/2-1/2

Round 7, June 30
Erigaisi Arjun – Aronian, Levon
D35 QGD, Exchange variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 c6 7.e3 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Bg3 Nh5 10.Be5 Ng7 11.Bd3 g4 12.Bxg7 Bxg7 13.Ng1 h5 14.Nge2 Nb6 15.Qc2 Be6 16.Nf4 Qd6 17.Nce2 O-O-O 18.O-O-O Kb8 19.Kb1 Rc8 20.Rc1 Nd7 21.Qa4 h4 22.h3 gxh3 23.gxh3 c5 24.Rhg1 Bf6 25.Qa3 Qb6 26.Nc3 Qd6 27.Qxa7+ Kxa7 28.Nb5+ Kb6 29.Nxd6 Rc6 30.Nf5 c4 31.Bc2 Ka5 32.Ng7 Rb6 33.Ngxe6 fxe6 34.Rg6 Rf8 35.Bd1 Bxd4 36.Rc2 Bf6 37.Nh5 Bh8 38.Bg4 Nc5 39.Nf4 Rf6 40.Rg8 Rh6 41.Rc8 Rc6 42.Ra8+ Kb6 43.b4 cxb3 44.axb3 Be5 45.b4 Ne4 46.Nd3 Bd6 47.f4 Nc3+ 48.Kb2 d4 49.Bf3 Nd5 50.exd4 Rxc2+ 51.Kxc2 Nxb4+ 52.Nxb4 Bxb4 53.Rb8 Rh7 54.Re8 Rf7 55.Rxe6+ Ka7 56.Re4 Bd6 57.Bh5 Rxf4 58.Rxf4 Bxf4 1/2-1/2

Round 8, June 30
Aronian, Levon – Erigaisi Arjun
A35 English, symmetrical, Four Knights System

1.c4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e5 5.d4 e4 6.d5 exf3 7.dxc6 dxc6 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.gxf3 Be6 10.b3 b6 11.Bb2 Ke7 12.f4 g6 13.Bg2 Rc8 14.Ne4 Bg7 15.Rd1 Rhg8 16.Ng5 Bg4 17.Bf3 Bxf3 18.Nxf3 Ne4 19.Bxg7 Rxg7 20.Ng5 Nf6 21.Ke2 Rgg8 22.Rd3 Rgd8 23.Rhd1 Rxd3 24.Rxd3 b5 25.f3 Rb8 26.Rc3 Nd7 27.Ne4 b4 28.Rc1 a5 29.Kd2 a4 30.Kc2 Ra8 31.Kb2 Kd8 32.Rd1 Kc7 33.Ng5 Re8 34.Rd3 f6 35.Ne4 f5 36.Rxd7+ Kxd7 37.Nf6+ Ke7 38.Nxe8 a3+ 39.Kc2 Kxe8 40.Kd3 Ke7 41.h4 h5 42.Ke2 Ke6 43.Kd3 Ke7 44.Ke2 Ke6 45.Kd3 Ke7 46.Ke2 1/2-1/2

Arjun-Aronian 2-2

Round 5, June 30
So, Wesley – Carlsen, Magnus
C54 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 a6 8.Nbd2 Ba7 9.a4 Qe7 10.O-O Be6 11.b4 O-O 12.Re1 Bxc4 13.Nxc4 Qe6 14.b5 Ne7 15.Bxf6 Qxf6 16.Rb1 axb5 17.axb5 Ng6 18.g3 Rfc8 19.Kg2 Nf8 20.d4 Qe6 21.Qd3 Nd7 22.h4 Bb6 23.Ne3 Nf6 24.Nc4 Ra2 25.Nfd2 Rca8 26.Re2 R8a4 27.Rbe1 g6 28.Nxb6 cxb6 29.Nf3 Kg7 30.Rxa2 Rxa2 31.c4 Ra4 32.Nd2 Ra2 33.Re2 Qg4 34.f3 Qc8 35.Rf2 Ra4 36.Qb3 Qa8 37.Qc3 Qa5 38.Qxa5 bxa5 39.dxe5 dxe5 40.Nb3 b6 41.Rc2 Ra3 42.Nd2 Nd7 43.c5 Nxc5 44.Nc4 Rb3 45.Nxb6 Rxb5 46.Nc4 a4 47.Nxe5 Nxe4 48.Nd3 Nd6 49.Rc6 Rd5 50.Nb4 Rd2+ 51.Kh3 Nf5 52.Ra6 Rf2 53.Kg4 h5+ 54.Kf4 Rd2 55.g4 Rd4+ 56.Ke5 hxg4 57.fxg4 Rxg4 58.Nd5 Rxh4 59.Nf6 Rh1 60.Ne8+ Kf8 61.Nf6 Re1+ 62.Kf4 Kg7 63.Ne4 Ra1 64.Nc3 a3 65.Ke4 Ng3+ 66.Kf3 Nh5 67.Ra7 g5 68.Ra6 f5 69.Ra7+ Kf6 70.Ra6+ Kf7 71.Ra7+ Ke6 72.Ra6+ Kd7 73.Ra5 g4+ 74.Kf2 Ke6 75.Nb5 a2 76.Nd4+ Kd7 77.Ra7+ Ke8 78.Nxf5 Rh1 79.Ng3 Nxg3 80.Rxa2 Nf5 81.Ra4 g3+ 82.Kg2 Rh2+ 83.Kg1 Re2 84.Rg4 Re1+ 85.Kg2 Ne3+ 0-1

Wesley So had some fun at the end in a hopeless position, but Magnus Carlsen wins with Black and now Wesley needs to win at least 2 of the next 3 games to stay in the #GoldmoneyAsianRapid

Round 6, June 30
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 c6 15.Nd2 g6 16.Nf3 Ng7 17.Qe2 Bf5 18.Bxf5 Nxf5 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

A quick Berlin draw means Wesley So must now win both remaining games today or he's out!

Round 7, June 30
So, Wesley – Carlsen, Magnus
C53 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 d5 7.Bb5 Ne4 8.cxd4 Bb6 9.Nc3 O-O 10.Be3 Bg4 11.h3 Bh5 12.Qb3 Bxf3 13.gxf3 Ng5 14.O-O-O Nxf3 15.Qxd5 Qxd5 16.Nxd5 Bxd4 17.Bxc6 Bxe3+ 18.fxe3 bxc6 19.Ne7+ Kh8 20.Nxc6 Rae8 21.Rhf1 Nxe5 22.Nxe5 Rxe5 23.Rxf7 Rc5+ 24.Kb1 Kg8 25.Re7 Rf7 26.Rd8+ Rf8 27.Rd1 h6 28.a3 a5 29.Rdd7 Rg5 30.Rxc7 Rf1+ 31.Rc1 Rf2 32.h4 Rg4 33.Rh1 Re2 34.Ka2 a4 35.h5 Rg5 36.Rh4 Rb5 37.Rb4 Rxh5 38.Rxa4 Rg5 39.Rb4 Kh7 40.a4 h5 41.Ka3 Kh6 42.Rc4 Rg3 43.a5 Rgxe3+ 44.Rxe3 Rxe3+ 45.Ka4 g5 46.a6 g4 47.Rc6+ Kg5 48.b4 Re1 49.Rc3 h4 50.a7 Re8 51.Rc5+ Kf4 52.b5 g3 53.b6 g2 54.b7 Re4+ 55.Ka5 g1=Q 56.b8=Q+ Ke3 57.Rc3+ 1-0

Round 8, June 30
Carlsen, Magnus – So, Wesley
D24 QGA

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e3 a6 6.a4 b6 7.Bxc4 Bb7 8.O-O Bb4 9.Qe2 O-O 10.Rd1 Qe7 11.Bd3 c5 12.Na2 Nc6 13.Nxb4 Nxb4 14.b3 Nxd3 15.Rxd3 Be4 16.Rd1 Rfc8 17.Ba3 Qb7 18.dxc5 bxc5 19.Rdc1 Qxb3 20.Bxc5 Nd7 21.Bd4 Rxc1+ 22.Rxc1 Qxa4 23.Ne5 Nxe5 24.Bxe5 Bd5 25.f3 f6 26.Bd6 Rd8 27.Qb2 Bb3 28.Qa3 Qb5 29.h3 e5 30.Rb1 Qd3 31.Qxb3+ Qxb3 32.Rxb3 Rxd6 33.Rb7 h5 34.h4 Rd3 35.e4 a5 36.Ra7 Ra3 37.Kf2 a4 38.Ra8+ Kf7 39.Ra7+ Kg6 40.Kg3 Ra2 41.Kh3 Ra1 42.g3 Ra2 43.f4 a3 44.fxe5 fxe5 45.g4 Ra1 46.g5 a2 47.Kg2 Kh7 48.Kh2 Kg6 49.Kg2 Re1 50.Ra6+ Kf7 51.Rxa2 Rxe4 52.Kh3 Rd4 53.Ra7+ Kg6 54.Re7 Re4 55.Kg3 Rg4+ 56.Kh3 e4 57.Ra7 Rf4 58.Re7 Rg4 59.Ra7 Kf5 60.Rxg7 e3 61.Rf7+ Ke4 62.Re7+ Kd3 63.Rd7+ Kc2 64.Re7 Kd2 65.Rd7+ Ke1 66.Rh7 Kf2 67.Rf7+ Ke1 68.Rh7 e2 69.Rxh5 Re4 70.g6 Kd2 71.Rd5+ Ke3 0-1

So-Carlsen 2.5-1.5

What a shocker! Wesley So beats Magnus Carlsen twice in a row on demand and we're headed to a playoff!

Round 5, June 30
Ding, Liren – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
D43 QGD, Semi-Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.cxd5 exd5 7.e3 h6 8.Bh4 Be7 9.Qc2 O-O 10.Bd3 Re8 11.Nd2 Nh5 12.Bxe7 Qxe7 13.O-O Nhf6 14.h3 Nb6 15.Rab1 a5 16.Rbe1 Be6 17.f4 Nc8 18.Nf3 Nd6 19.g4 Nfe4 20.Qg2 f6 21.Nh4 a4 22.Bxe4 dxe4 23.a3 Bf7 24.f5 Kh7 25.Rf2 b5 26.Qg3 Rac8 27.Rd1 Nc4 28.Ng2 Ra8 29.h4 Nxb2 30.Rxb2 Qxa3 31.Rc2 Qe7 32.d5 b4 33.Nxa4 Rxa4 34.Rxc6 b3 35.d6 Qd8 36.Rc7 b2 37.Rxf7 Ra1 38.Qe1 Rxd1 39.Qxd1 Qb6 40.Qb1 Ra8 41.Kf2 Qb3 42.g5 Qa2 43.g6+ Kg8 44.Qxa2 Rxa2 45.Kg3 b1=Q 0-1

Round 6, June 30
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Ding, Liren
B12 Caro-Kann

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.dxc5 e6 5.a3 Bxc5 6.Qg4 Ne7 7.b4 h5 8.Qd1 Bb6 9.Nf3 a5 10.b5 a4 11.Bd3 Nd7 12.O-O Nc5 13.Nc3 Bd7 14.Rb1 Qc7 15.Ne2 O-O-O 16.Rb4 Kb8 17.Be3 Rc8 18.Nc3 f6 19.exf6 gxf6 20.Nxa4 Nxa4 21.Rxa4 e5 22.Nh4 Rhg8 23.Bxb6 Qxb6 24.Qd2 d4 25.g3 Nd5 26.Rc4 Nc3 27.Qh6 Rxc4 28.Bxc4 Rc8 29.Bd3 e4 30.Bxe4 Nxe4 31.Qf4+ Nd6 32.Rd1 Rc4 33.Qxf6 Ka7 34.a4 Rxa4 35.Nf3 Nxb5 36.Qf7 Bc6 37.Qxh5 Nc3 38.Re1 d3 39.cxd3 Ra2 40.d4 Ne2+ 41.Kf1 Nxd4 42.Nxd4 Qxd4 43.Qf5 Ka6 44.h4 Rd2 45.Qf8 Qd3+ 46.Kg1 Rd1 47.Qb4 Qf3 48.Qc4+ b5 49.Qxc6+ Qxc6 50.Rxd1 b4 51.h5 b3 0-1

Round 7, June 30
Ding, Liren – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
D52 QGD, Cambridge Springs Defence, Yugoslav variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.e3 Qa5 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Rc1 h6 9.Bh4 Nxc3 10.bxc3 Ba3 11.Rc2 b6 12.Be2 Ba6 13.O-O Bxe2 14.Rxe2 O-O 15.c4 Rfe8 16.Qc2 Rac8 17.Rd1 Bf8 18.h3 c5 19.d5 exd5 20.Rxd5 Nb8 21.Red2 b5 22.Ne5 bxc4 23.Nxf7 Qa6 24.Rd6 Qb7 25.Nxh6+ gxh6 26.Rg6+ Bg7 27.Bf6 Rc7 28.Qxc4+ Kh7 29.Rxg7+ Rxg7 30.Bxg7 Qxg7 31.Rd5 Rc8 32.Qd3+ Kh8 33.Qf5 Rg8 34.g3 Rf8 35.Qe6 c4 36.Rh5 Kh7 37.Qxc4 Nd7 38.Rd5 Nb6 39.Qe4+ Qg6 40.Qxg6+ Kxg6 41.Ra5 Rf7 42.Kg2 Nc4 43.Ra6+ Kg7 44.g4 Ne5 45.f4 Nc4 46.Re6 Rf6 47.Re4 Rc6 48.Kg3 a5 49.h4 a4 50.g5 h5 51.f5 Nd6 52.Re5 a3 53.Rd5 Kf7 54.Kf4 Ke7 55.g6 Rc4+ 56.Kg5 Ne4+ 57.Kh6 Nf6 58.Re5+ Kf8 59.Re6 Ng8+ 60.Kh7 Rxh4 61.f6 Rg4 62.Ra6 Nxf6+ 63.Rxf6+ Ke7 64.Rf2 1-0

Ding Liren takes the lead after a 3rd decisive game in a row - Duda must now hit back in the 4th game to force a playoff!

(to be continued)

[Wayne Komer]

Goldmoney Asian Rapid 2021

June 30, 2021

Day 2 (continued)

Round 8, June 30
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Ding, Liren
C59 Two Knights Defence, Steinitz variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Be2 h6 9.Nh3 Bd6 10.d3 O-O 11.O-O c5 12.Bf3 Rb8 13.Kh1 Bc7 14.Ng1 Qd6 15.g3 Nc6 16.Na3 Nd4 17.Nc4 Qa6 18.Bg2 e4 19.Be3 Rd8 20.Qc1 Bb7 21.b3 Qe6 22.dxe4 Nxe4 23.Re1 Qd5 0-1

Ding-Duda 3-1

Ding Liren wins again, so it's Ding vs. Artemiev

Round 5, June 30
Giri, Anish – Artemiev, Vladislav
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.h4 h5 5.c4 e6 6.Nc3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 Nd7 8.Nge2 Be7 9.g3 Bg4 10.Bf4 Nh6 11.Qd3 b5 12.Bb3 Nc5 13.Qd1 Nxb3 14.axb3 b4 15.Bxh6 bxc3 16.Bxg7 cxb2 17.Rb1 Rg8 18.Bf6 Qd5 19.Rh2 Ba3 20.Bg5 Bf5 21.Nc3 Bb4 0-1

Round 6, June 30
Artemiev, Vladislav – Giri, Anish
A07 Reti, King’s Indian Attack

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Bg4 3.Ne5 Bf5 4.c4 Nd7 5.d4 e6 6.Qb3 Nxe5 7.dxe5 Be4 8.f3 dxc4 9.Qxc4 Bd5 10.Qc2 Bb4+ 11.Bd2 Bxd2+ 12.Nxd2 Ne7 13.O-O-O O-O 14.e4 Bc6 15.Nc4 Qe8 16.Be2 Ba4 17.b3 Bb5 18.Kb2 a6 19.Rd2 Nc6 20.Rhd1 Qe7 21.f4 Rfd8 22.a4 Bxc4 23.Qxc4 Rxd2+ 24.Rxd2 Rd8 25.Rxd8+ Qxd8 26.Qc3 Qd4 27.Qxd4 Nxd4 28.Bd1 a5 29.Kc3 Nc6 30.Kc4 Na7 31.h4 Kf8 32.g4 h6 33.g5 hxg5 34.hxg5 Ke7 35.Bg4 g6 36.Be2 Kd7 37.Bg4 Kc6 38.Bh3 b6 39.Bg4 Kd7 40.Be2 Nc6 41.Kc3 Nb4 42.Bf1 Ke7 43.Be2 Kd8 44.Bf1 Ke8 45.Be2 Ke7 46.Bf1 Kd8 47.Be2 Nc6 48.Kc4 Nb8 49.Kd4 c6 50.Bc4 Ke7 51.Be2 Ke8 52.Bc4 Kd8 53.Kc3 Nd7 54.Kd4 Ke7 55.Kc3 Nb8 56.Kd4 Kd8 57.Kc3 Kc7 58.Kd3 Nd7 59.Ke3 Kd8 60.Kd3 Ke7 61.Ke3 Kd8 62.Kd3 Ke7 63.Ke3 Kd8 1/2-1/2

Round 7, June 30
Giri, Anish – Artemiev, Vladislav
D00 Queen’s Pawn, Mason variation, Steinitz Counter-Gambit

1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 c5 3.e3 cxd4 4.exd4 Nc6 5.c3 Bf5 6.Nf3 e6 7.Qb3 Qd7 8.Nbd2 Nge7 9.Be2 Ng6 10.Bg3 h5 11.h4 Bd6 12.Bxd6 Qxd6 13.g3 O-O 14.O-O Bg4 15.Rfe1 Rae8 16.Qd1 e5 17.dxe5 Ngxe5 18.Nxe5 Nxe5 19.Nb3 f5 20.f4 Nc4 21.Bxg4 fxg4 22.Qc2 Qb6+ 23.Kh2 Re3 24.Qg2 Rd3 25.Re2 Ne3 26.Qf2 Nf5 27.Qxb6 axb6 28.Rg1 Kf7 29.Nc1 Re3 30.Rxe3 Nxe3 31.Re1 Re8 32.Nd3 Re4 33.Nf2 Re6 34.Nd3 Re4 35.Nf2 Re6 36.Nd3 Re4 1/2-1/2

Artemiev-Giri 2-1

Vladislav Artemiev is the 1st player through to the semi-finals after knocking out Anish Giri! He'll play the winner of Ding vs. Duda

Playoffs (Blitz 5+3)

Round 9, June 30
Aronian, Levon – Erigaisi Arjun
D04 Queen’s Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 Bf5 4.c4 e6 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Qa4+ Nc6 7.Ne5 O-O 8.Nxc6 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 bxc6 10.f3 Qd7 11.Be2 Rfb8 12.O-O c5 13.Qa5 cxd4 14.cxd4 h6 15.Ba3 c6 16.Rac1 Rb6 17.Rc3 Rab8 18.Rfc1 Rb1 19.Bf1 h5 20.h4 Bg6 21.Qc5 dxc4 22.Rxc4 Nd5 23.e4 Ne3 24.Rxb1 Rxb1 25.Rc1 Rxc1 26.Bxc1 Nxf1 27.Kxf1 Qb7 28.Kf2 Qa6 29.a3 Qb6 30.Qc3 Qb5 31.Bf4 a5 32.Bd6 a4 33.Bb4 Kh7 34.Qc2 e5 35.dxe5 Qxe5 36.Qxc6 Qh2 37.Qxa4 Qxh4+ 38.Kg1 Qg5 39.Qd1 h4 40.Kh1 h3 41.g4 Qh4 42.Qf1 f6 43.Kh2 Kg8 44.Qxh3 Qf2+ 45.Qg2 Qe3 46.Qg3 Be8 47.Kg2 Ba4 48.Qf2 Qd3 49.Bc5 Bb5 50.Qe3 Qf1+ 51.Kg3 Qc4 52.Bd4 Kf7 53.e5 Qc7 54.f4 fxe5 55.Bxe5 Qd7 56.f5 Qd3 57.Qxd3 Bxd3 58.a4 Bc4 59.a5 g6 60.f6 Ke6 61.Kf4 Ba6 62.Ke3 Kf7 63.g5 1-0

Round 10, June 30
Erigaisi Arjun – Aronian, Levon
E03 Catalan, open

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 dxc4 5.Qa4+ Nbd7 6.Qxc4 c5 7.Nf3 a6 8.Qc2 b5 9.Ne5 Nd5 10.Nxd7 Bxd7 11.Bxd5 exd5 12.dxc5 Bc6 13.O-O d4 14.Bf4 Qd5 15.f3 d3 16.exd3 Qxc5+ 17.Qf2 Qxf2+ 18.Kxf2 O-O-O 19.Rd1 Bc5+ 20.Be3 Bxe3+ 21.Kxe3 Rhe8+ 22.Kf2 Re6 23.Nc3 Red6 24.Ke3 Re6+ 25.Kf2 Red6 26.Rac1 Rxd3 27.Rxd3 Rxd3 28.Ne4 Kc7 29.Ke2 Rd7 30.Nc5 Re7+ 31.Kf2 Kb6 32.Nxa6 Bxf3 33.Nb4 Bb7 34.Rd1 Re5 35.a3 h5 36.Rd6+ Kc7 37.Rd4 Rf5+ 38.Ke2 Re5+ 39.Kd2 Rf5 40.Nd3 g5 41.Ke3 f6 42.Rb4 Bc6 43.Rb3 Kd6 44.Rc3 Bd7 45.Nb4 Re5+ 46.Kd2 Bg4 47.Rd3+ Ke6 48.Re3 Rxe3 49.Kxe3 Ke5 50.b3 Bd7 51.Nd3+ Kd5 52.Nb4+ Kc5 53.Nc2 Kd5 54.Nd4 Ke5 55.Ne2 Be6 56.Nc3 Bxb3 57.Nxb5 f5 58.Nc3 f4+ 59.gxf4+ gxf4+ 60.Kf3 Be6 61.a4 Bg4+ 62.Kf2 Kd4 63.Ne2+ Kc5 64.Nxf4 Kb4 65.Kg3 Kxa4 66.Kh4 Kb5 67.Nxh5 Bd1 68.Kg5 Kc6 69.Nf6 Kd6 70.h4 Ke7 71.Kg6 Kf8 72.Nh7+ Kg8 73.Nf6+ Kh8 74.h5 Bxh5+ 75.Kxh5 1/2-1/2

Arjun-Aronian 0.5-1.5

Round 9, June 30
Carlsen, Magnus – So, Wesley
A29 English, Bremen

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Bc5 7.O-O O-O 8.d3 h6 9.Nxd5 Qxd5 10.Nd2 Qd8 11.Nc4 Re8 12.b3 Be6 13.Bxc6 bxc6 14.Be3 Bd6 15.Rc1 Qd7 16.Qc2 Bd5 17.f3 f5 18.Nd2 Bb4 19.Rf2 Re6 20.Rg2 h5 21.Nc4 Rae8 22.Rd1 Qe7 23.Qc1 Rg6 24.Bxa7 e4 25.dxe4 fxe4 26.f4 e3 27.Ne5 Bd2 28.Qc2 Re6 29.Qf5 Rf8 30.Qxh5 Rxe5 31.Qxe5 Qxe5 32.fxe5 Bxg2 33.Kxg2 Rf2+ 34.Kg1 Rxe2 35.e6 Bb4 36.Rd4 Be7 37.Re4 c5 38.a4 Kf8 39.Re5 Rb2 40.Rxe3 Bd6 41.Rc3 Rb1+ 42.Kg2 Rb2+ 43.Kh3 c4 44.bxc4 Ra2 45.Bd4 g6 46.c5 Be7 47.Rb3 Bd8 48.Rb8 Ke7 49.Be3 1-0

What a game! Magnus Carlsen hits back after two losses to win the first blitz game, where absolutely anything could have happened:

Round 10, June 30
So, Wesley – Carlsen, Magnus
D31 QGD, Janowski variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 a6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Bg5 Be6 7.e3 Nbd7 8.Bd3 c6 9.Qc2 Bd6 10.Bf4 Qc7 11.Bxd6 Qxd6 12.h3 O-O 13.O-O g6 14.a3 Ne8 15.Na4 Qe7 16.Ne5 Nd6 17.Rae1 Rae8 18.Re2 Bf5 19.Bxf5 Nxf5 20.Nf3 Nd6 21.Rfe1 Qd8 22.Nd2 Re7 23.f3 Nf5 24.g4 Nh4 25.Kf2 f5 26.Kg3 Rxe3 27.Rxe3 f4+ 28.Kf2 fxe3+ 29.Rxe3 Qc7 30.Nf1 Qf4 31.Qd3 b5 32.Nc3 Nc5 33.dxc5 d4 34.Re7 Qxf3+ 35.Qxf3 Rxf3+ 36.Ke2 dxc3 37.bxc3 Rxc3 38.Nd2 Ng2 39.Ne4 Nf4+ 40.Kd2 Rd3+ 41.Kc2 Rxh3 42.Nf6+ Kf8 43.Rc7 Ne6 44.Nxh7+ Ke8 45.Nf6+ Kd8 46.Rd7+ Kc8 47.Rd6 Nd8 48.Ng8 Rxa3 49.Rxg6 Re3 50.Rg7 Ne6 51.Rg6 Kd7 52.Nf6+ Ke7 53.Nh5 Re5 54.Rh6 Rxc5+ 55.Kb2 Re5 56.Ng3 Nd4 57.Rh7+ Kd6 58.Rh6+ Kd5 59.Rh5 Rxh5 60.gxh5 Ke5 61.Kc3 Nf5 62.Ne2 c5 63.Nc1 Kf6 64.Nd3 Kg5 65.Nxc5 Kxh5 66.Nxa6 b4+ 67.Nxb4 Nd4 68.Nc6 Nxc6 1/2-1/2

Wesley So put up an epic fight, but Magnus Carlsen is through to the semi-finals after winning the blitz playoff 1.5:0.5!

So-Carlsen 0.5-1.5

Semi-Final Pairings

Aronian-Carlsen

Ding-Artemiev

[Hans Jung]

To think that Duda played the Fried Liver Attack in rd 8. He obviously had a death wish!

[Hans Jung]

The kid played fantastic against Aronian but age and experience prevailed this time.

[Wayne Komer]

Goldmoney Asian Rapid 2021

July 1, 2021

Semi-Finals

Day 1

Round 12, July 1
Aronian, Levon – Carlsen, Magnus
C91 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Bogolyubov variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.d4 d6 9.c3 Bg4 10.Be3 exd4 11.cxd4 Na5 12.h3 Nxb3 13.axb3 Bd7 14.Bd2 Qc8 15.Ba5 Qb7 16.Nbd2 c5 17.d5 Bd8 18.b4 Bxa5 19.Rxa5 Qb6 20.Qb3 Rfe8 21.Qa3 h6 22.bxc5 dxc5 23.b4 cxb4 24.Qxb4 Rac8 25.Ra2 Rc7 26.Raa1 Bc8 27.Qd4 Qxd4 28.Nxd4 Bd7 29.f3 a5 30.Reb1 a4 31.Nxb5 Rc2 32.Nf1 Ra8 33.Na3 Rc3 34.Rc1 Rac8 35.Rxc3 Rxc3 36.Ng3 Ne8 37.Ne2 Rd3 38.Nc4 Bb5 39.Ne5 Rd2 40.Nc3 Nd6 41.Nxb5 Nxb5 42.Rxa4 f5 43.h4 fxe4 44.fxe4 Kf8 45.Nf3 Rd3 46.Kf2 Ke7 47.Kg3 Nc3 48.Rc4 1-0

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.d4 d6 9.c3 Bg4 10.Be3 exd4 11.cxd4 Na5 12.h3 Nxb3 13.axb3 Bd7 14.Bd2 Qc8 15.Ba5 Qb7 16.Nbd2 c5 17.d5 Bd8 18.b4 Bxa5 19.Rxa5 Qb6 20.Qb3 Rfe8 21.Qa3 h6 22.bxc5 dxc5 23.b4 cxb4 24.Qxb4 Rac8 25.Ra2 Rc7 26.Raa1 Bc8 27.Qd4 Qxd4 28.Nxd4 Bd7 29.f3 a5 30.Reb1 a4 31.Nxb5 Rc2 32.Nf1 Ra8 33.Na3 Rc3 34.Rc1 Rac8 35.Rxc3 Rxc3 36.Ng3 Ne8 37.Ne2 Rd3 38.Nc4 Bb5 39.Ne5 Rd2 40.Nc3 Nd6 41.Nxb5 Nxb5 42.Rxa4 f5 43.h4 fxe4 44.fxe4 Kf8 45.Nf3 Rd3 46.Kf2 Ke7 47.Kg3 Nc3 48.Rc4 1-0

Carlsen said whoever he got after Wesley So would be weaker, on paper, but Levon Aronian opens their semi-final with a win!

Round 13, July 1
Carlsen, Magnus – Aronian, Levon
E54 Nimzo-Indian, Gligoric System, main line

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 c5 6.Nf3 d5 7.O-O dxc4 8.Bxc4 cxd4 9.exd4 b6 10.Bd3 Bb7 11.a3 Be7 12.Re1 Nbd7 13.Qe2 Nd5 14.Nxd5 Bxd5 15.Bf4 Nf6 16.Ne5 Bb7 17.Qe3 Nh5 18.Qh3 g6 19.Be3 Rc8 20.Rac1 Rxc1 21.Rxc1 Bf6 22.Be2 Ng7 23.Bf3 Bxf3 24.Qxf3 Nf5 25.Nc6 Qc7 26.g4 Nxe3 27.fxe3 Bh4 28.Qf4 Qxf4 29.exf4 a5 30.Kg2 h6 31.Kf3 Kg7 32.Ne5 Bf6 33.Rc6 Bxe5 34.fxe5 g5 35.Ke4 h5 36.h3 hxg4 37.hxg4 Rh8 38.d5 exd5+ 39.Kf5 Rh2 40.Rxb6 Rf2+ 41.Kxg5 d4 42.Rd6 Rxb2 43.Rxd4 Rb3 44.a4 Rb4 45.Rf4 Kf8 46.Kf5 Rb1 47.e6 Ke7 48.exf7 Kxf7 49.Kg5+ Kg7 50.Rf5 Rb6 51.Rxa5 Rg6+ 52.Kf4 Rc6 53.Re5 Kf6 54.g5+ Kg6 55.a5 Rc1 56.Re6+ Kf7 57.Rb6 Rc4+ 58.Ke3 Ra4 59.a6 Kg7 60.g6 Kh6 61.Kd3 Kg7 62.Kc3 Kh6 63.Kb3 Ra1 64.Rc6 1-0

Magnus Carlsen hits back immediately after squeezing out a win in a rook ending against Levon Aronian!

Round 14, July 1
Aronian, Levon – Carlsen, Magnus
B31 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.d3 Bg7 5.Nc3 e5 6.Bg5 Nge7 7.Nd5 h6 8.Bxe7 Nxe7 9.Bc4 d6 10.c3 O-O 11.h4 Rb8 12.h5 b5 13.Bb3 g5 14.Nd2 Kh8 15.a4 b4 16.g4 Be6 17.Nxe7 Qxe7 18.c4 a5 19.Qf3 Kh7 20.Nf1 Kh8 21.Ne3 Qf6 22.Qxf6 Bxf6 23.f3 Rfd8 24.Rh3 Kh7 25.Rh1 Kh8 26.Rh3 Kh7 27.Rh1 Kh8 28.Rh3 1/2-1/2

Round 15, July 1
Carlsen, Magnus – Aronian, Levon
A45 Queen’s Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 d5 3.e3 Bg4 4.f3 Bd7 5.g4 c5 6.c3 Qb6 7.Qb3 e6 8.Nd2 c4 9.Qc2 Bd6 10.Bxd6 Qxd6 11.e4 Qc7 12.e5 Ng8 13.Ne2 Nc6 14.f4 h5 15.gxh5 Rxh5 16.Rg1 Kf8 17.Nf3 Nge7 18.Ng3 Rh6 19.Qd2 b5 20.a3 a5 21.h4 f5 22.Be2 Nd8 23.Kf2 a4 24.Rg2 Nf7 25.Rag1 Rh8 26.h5 Nh6 27.Ng5 Ra6 28.Nf1 Be8 29.Ne3 Neg8 30.Bf3 Qe7 31.Ke1 Bf7 32.Kd1 Ra7 33.Kc1 Rd7 34.Nxd5 Rxd5 35.Nxf7 Nxf7 36.Bxd5 exd5 37.Rxg7 Ngh6 38.Qg2 Ng4 39.Rxg4 fxg4 40.Qxg4 Ke8 41.f5 Nxe5 42.dxe5 Qxe5 43.f6 Qe3+ 44.Kb1 Qe4+ 45.Qxe4+ dxe4 46.Rh1 Kf7 47.h6 Kxf6 48.Kc1 Rd8 49.Rd1 Rd3 50.Rh1 Rd8 51.h7 Kg7 52.Rh5 Re8 53.Kd2 e3+ 54.Ke2 Kh8 55.Rxb5 Kxh7 56.Rb4 Kg6 57.Rxc4 Ra8 58.Kxe3 Kf5 59.Kd3 Ke5 60.Rb4 Kd5 61.c4+ Kc6 62.Kc3 Ra5 63.Rb5 Ra7 64.Kb4 Ra8 65.Ra5 Rb8+ 66.Kc3 1-0

Incredible finish as Magnus Carlsen finally wins the game and today's match after getting a 2nd chance despite earlier spoiling a winning position!

Carlsen-Aronian 2.5-1.5

Round 12, July 1
Artemiev, Vladislav – Ding, Liren
A07 Reti, King’s Indian Attack

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 c5 4.O-O e6 5.c4 d4 6.e3 Nc6 7.exd4 cxd4 8.d3 Bd6 9.Bg5 h6 10.Bxf6 Qxf6 11.Nbd2 Qe7 12.a3 a5 13.Ne4 Bc7 14.c5 O-O 15.Nfd2 Ne5 16.Qe2 f5 17.Nd6 Bxd6 18.cxd6 Qxd6 19.Rfe1 Nf7 20.Rac1 Bd7 21.Nc4 Qa6 22.Ne5 Nxe5 23.Qxe5 Rac8 24.Qxd4 Bb5 25.a4 Bxd3 26.Qd7 Rcd8 27.Qxe6+ Qxe6 28.Rxe6 Be4 29.Re7 Rfe8 30.Rxe8+ Rxe8 31.Rc5 b6 32.Rb5 Re6 33.Bxe4 Rxe4 34.Rxf5 Rxa4 35.Rb5 Ra1+ 36.Kg2 a4 37.Rxb6 a3 38.bxa3 Rxa3 39.g4 Rc3 40.h4 Ra3 41.f3 Ra4 42.Kg3 Rc4 43.Re6 Ra4 44.Re4 Ra5 45.Re6 Ra1 46.Kf4 Kh7 47.Kf5 Ra5+ 48.Re5 Ra6 49.f4 Rf6+ 50.Ke4 Ra6 51.Rd5 Re6+ 52.Kf5 Ra6 53.Ke5 Ra8 54.f5 Re8+ 55.Kf4 Re1 56.Rd7 Rh1 57.Ke5 Re1+ 58.Kd6 Rf1 59.Ke6 Ra1 60.g5 hxg5 61.hxg5 Ra6+ 62.Kf7 Ra8 63.Re7 Rb8 64.Re1 Rb7+ 65.Kf8 Rb8+ 66.Kf7 Rb7+ 67.Re7 Rb8 68.Ra7 Rc8 69.f6 gxf6 70.gxf6 Rb8 71.Re7 Ra8 72.Re1 Ra7+ 73.Re7 Ra8 74.Re8 Ra7+ 75.Ke6 Ra6+ 76.Kf5 Ra5+ 77.Ke6 Ra6+ 78.Kf7 Ra7+ 79.Re7 Ra8 1/2-1/2

Final Position



Round 13, July 1
Ding, Liren – Artemiev, Vladislav
D30 Queen’s Gambit declined

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 a6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 c6 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.Bg5 Ne7 8.e3 Bf5 9.Qxf5 Nxf5 10.Bxd8 Kxd8 11.Bd3 Ne7 12.e4 f6 13.O-O Nd7 14.Rfe1 dxe4 15.Nxe4 Bb4 16.Re2 Nd5 17.g3 Re8 18.a3 Bf8 19.Rae1 g6 20.h4 Kc7 21.Nc3 Rxe2 22.Nxd5+ Kd6 23.Rxe2 Kxd5 24.h5 f5 25.Bb1 c5 26.dxc5 Nxc5 27.hxg6 hxg6 28.Nh4 f4 29.gxf4 Bd6 30.Nxg6 Rc8 31.b4 Nb3 32.Ba2 Rc3 33.Re3 Rxe3 34.fxe3 Kc4 35.e4 Kc3 36.e5 Bc7 37.e6 Bd6 38.Bxb3 Kxb3 39.f5 Kxa3 40.f6 Kxb4 41.e7 1-0

Round 14, July 1
Artemiev, Vladislav – Ding, Liren
C00 French, King’s Indian Attack

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 c5 4.O-O e6 5.d3 Be7 6.e4 O-O 7.Qe2 Nc6 8.a4 dxe4 9.dxe4 e5 10.c3 Be6 11.Nbd2 Qc7 12.Nc4 Rad8 13.Ng5 Bg4 14.f3 Bc8 15.f4 Bg4 16.Qc2 h6 17.Nf3 exf4 18.gxf4 Be6 19.b3 Nh5 20.e5 Qd7 21.Nfd2 f5 22.Qd1 Qe8 23.Qe2 g5 24.fxg5 hxg5 25.Nf3 Qg6 26.Nd6 g4 27.Ne1 f4 28.Be4 Qg7 29.Nxb7 Nxe5 30.Nxd8 Bxd8 31.Nd3 Nf3+ 32.Kg2 Nh4+ 33.Kg1 f3 34.Bh7+ Kxh7 35.Qxe6 g3 36.Qe4+ Rf5 37.Ra2 gxh2+ 38.Kxh2 Bc7+ 39.Nf4 Nxf4 40.Bxf4 Bxf4+ 41.Kh1 Qg3 42.Qe7+ Kh6 43.Qe6+ Kh5 44.Qe8+ Ng6 45.Rff2 Kh6 46.Rh2+ Rh5 47.Rxh5+ Kxh5 48.Qe6 Kh6 49.Qe4 f2 50.Qg2 Qh4+ 0-1

Ding-Artemiev 2.5-0.5

With a 5th win in 6 games, Ding Liren wraps up Day 1 of his semi-final against Vladislav Artemiev, who will have to win on demand tomorrow to force a playoff!

[Hans Jung]

Rd 14 above, Artemiev - Ding Liren Black's full throttle f and g pawn push. Lovely to watch. Scintillating kingside attack! Bravo Ding Liren!

[Wayne Komer]

Goldmoney Asian Rapid 2021

July 2, 2021

Semi-Finals

Day 2

Round 16, July 2
Carlsen, Magnus – Aronian, Levon
C78 Ruy Lopez, Moeller Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Bc5 6.c3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a4 Bb7 9.d3 h6 10.Nh4 Rb8 11.axb5 axb5 12.Nd2 O-O 13.Ndf3 Ne7 14.h3 Bb6 15.Nh2 Kh8 16.Ng4 Nfg8 17.Be3 c5 18.Bc2 Nd5 19.Nf5 Nxe3 20.Nfxe3 g6 21.c4 h5 22.Nh2 bxc4 23.Nxc4 Bc7 24.Nf3 Kg7 25.Ne3 Ne7 26.Bb3 Bc8 27.Nd2 Nc6 28.Bd5 Nd4 29.Ra2 Ne6 30.Bxe6 Bxe6 31.Ndc4 Qg5 32.Ra7 Rfc8 33.Qf3 Rb3 34.Nd5 Bb8 35.Ra3 Rb7 36.Rfa1 Rf8 37.Ra6 Rd7 38.Rb6 f5 39.Qg3 Qxg3 40.fxg3 fxe4 41.dxe4 Bxd5 42.exd5 Bc7 43.Rb7 Re7 44.Ra3 e4 45.Re3 Rf5 46.Nd2 Rxd5 47.Rxe4 Rf7 48.Nf3 Rd1+ 49.Re1 Rxe1+ 50.Nxe1 d5 51.Rb5 Bxg3 52.Nf3 Ra7 53.Kf1 Ra1+ 54.Ke2 Rc1 55.b4 cxb4 56.Rxb4 Rc2+ 57.Kd3 Rxg2 58.Rd4 Bb8 59.h4 Rf2 60.Ke3 Ra2 61.Rxd5 Ba7+ 62.Kf4 Bf2 63.Rd7+ Kh6 64.Re7 Ra4+ 65.Re4 Ra5 66.Re6 Ra4+ 67.Re4 Bg3+ 68.Ke3 Ra3+ 69.Ke2 Ra2+ 70.Ke3 Kg7 71.Rb4 Ra3+ 72.Ke4 Ra7 73.Ke3 Ra3+ 74.Ke4 Ra6 75.Ke3 Re6+ 76.Re4 Rxe4+ 77.Kxe4 Kf6 78.Ke3 Kf5 79.Kd2 Kg4 80.Ke2 Kh3 81.Ng5+ Kxh4 82.Ne6 Bd6 83.Kf3 Kh3 84.Ng5+ Kh2 85.Ne6 Be5 86.Ke4 Bb8 87.Kf3 Bd6 88.Kf2 h4 89.Ng5 Bc5+ 90.Kf3 Be7 91.Ne4 h3 92.Nf2 Bh4 0-1

18...Nd5! is a nice little trick by Levon

What a start, as Levon manages to outplay Magnus in an endgame and get a set he must win off to the perfect start!

Round 17, July 2
Aronian, Levon – Carlsen, Magnus
B31 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch – Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.O-O Bg7 5.d3 Nf6 6.Nc3 O-O 7.e5 Ne8 8.Bxc6 dxc6 9.h3 Nc7 10.Be3 Ne6 11.Ne4 b6 12.Qd2 Bb7 13.Rae1 c4 14.dxc4 c5 15.Bh6 Qxd2 16.Bxd2 Rfd8 17.Bc3 Bh6 18.b3 Rd7 19.g3 Rad8 20.Re2 Rd1 21.Nfd2 Rxf1+ 22.Kxf1 Bxd2 23.Nxd2 g5 24.Re3 Kg7 25.Rd3 Kg6 26.Rxd8 Nxd8 27.f3 h5 28.h4 gxh4 29.gxh4 Ne6 30.Kf2 Kf5 31.Nf1 Kf4 32.Bd2+ Kxe5 33.Ng3 f6 34.Bc3+ Kf4 35.Nxh5+ Kf5 36.Ng3+ Kg6 37.h5+ Kf7 38.h6 Ng5 39.Bd2 Nxf3 40.Nf5 Ne5 41.Bf4 Ng6 42.Bb8 Be4 43.Ne3 Nf8 44.Bxa7 Nd7 45.c3 e6 46.b4 Kg6 47.b5 Kxh6 48.Nd1 Kg5 49.Nb2 Bc2 50.Ke3 f5 51.Kd2 Bb1 52.Na4 Bxa2 53.Nxb6 Nxb6 54.Bxb6 Bxc4 55.Ke3 f4+ 56.Ke4 Bd5+ 57.Ke5 c4 58.Bf2 Kg4 59.b6 Kf3 60.Bh4 Kg4 61.Bf2 f3 62.Be1 Kh3 63.Kf4 Kg2 64.Ke3 e5 65.Bh4 Bb7 66.Be1 Bd5 67.Bh4 Bb7 68.Be1 Bd5 1/2-1/2

Round 18, July 2
Carlsen, Magnus – Aronian, Levon
C78 Ruy Lopez, Moeller Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Bc5 6.c3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a4 Bb7 9.d4 Bb6 10.Bg5 O-O 11.axb5 axb5 12.Rxa8 Bxa8 13.d5 Na5 14.Ba2 c6 15.Na3 cxd5 16.Bxd5 b4 17.cxb4 Nc6 18.Nc4 Bc7 19.b5 Ne7 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Bxa8 Qxa8 22.b6 Bb8 23.Nfd2 f5 24.exf5 d5 25.f6 Ng6 26.Ne3 Qc6 27.Qf3 Rd8 28.g3 Qxb6 29.Nxd5 Qe6 30.Ne7+ Nxe7 31.fxe7 Rxd2 32.Qe3 Rd4 33.Qg5+ Kh8 34.Rc1 Bd6 35.Ra1 Rb4 36.Ra8+ Rb8 37.Rxb8+ Bxb8 38.Qf6+ Qxf6 39.e8=Q+ Kg7 40.Qxb8 Qf5 41.h4 Qe4 42.Qb6 Qe1+ 43.Kh2 Qd2 44.b3 h6 45.Qe3 Qb2 46.g4 e4 47.h5 Qe5+ 48.Kg2 Qe6 49.Kh3 Qd5 50.Qc3+ Kg8 51.Qe3 Kg7 52.b4 Qc4 53.Qc5 Qd3+ 54.Kh2 Qd2 55.Kg3 Qd3+ 56.Qe3 Qd6+ 57.Qf4 Qxb4 58.g5 hxg5 59.Qxg5+ Kh7 60.Qf5+ Kg7 61.Qe5+ Kh7 62.Qf6 Qf8 63.Kh4 Qg8 64.Qf5+ Kh8 65.Qxe4 Qd8+ 66.Kg4 Qb6 67.Qf4 Kg7 68.Qe3 Qb4+ 69.Kh3 Qb2 70.Qg5+ Kh7 71.Qf4 Kg7 72.Kh4 Qb6 73.Qe3 Qb4+ 74.f4 Kh7 75.Kg5 Qd6 76.Qe5 Qd8+ 77.Qf6 Qg8+ 78.Kh4 Qf8 79.Qf5+ Kh6 80.Qg5+ Kh7 81.Qf6 Qe8 82.Qf5+ Kh6 83.Qe5 Qf8 84.Qf6+ Kh7 85.Kg4 Qg8+ 86.Qg5 Qe8 87.Qf5+ Kh6 88.Qe5 Qc8+ 89.Kh4 Qf8 90.Qg5+ Kh7 91.Kg4 Qd6 92.Qf5+ Kh6 93.Kh4 Qf8 94.Qe5 Kh7 95.Kg5 Qh6+ 96.Kg4 Qc6 97.Kf5 Qh6 98.Qe2 Kg7 99.Kg4 Qc6 100.Qb2+ Kh7 101.Qe5 Qb6 102.Qe1 Qc6 103.Qb1+ Kg7 104.Qb2+ Kh7 105.Qd4 Qc8+ 106.f5 Qg8+ 107.Kf4 Qb8+ 108.Qe5 Qd8 109.f6 Qd2+ 110.Kg3 Qd3+ 111.Kh4 Qc4+ 112.Kg5 Qc1+ 113.Qf4 Qg1+ 114.Kf5 Qb1+ 115.Kg4 Qg1+ 116.Kh4 Qh1+ 117.Kg5 Qg2+ 118.Qg4 Qd2+ 119.Qf4 Qg2+ 120.Kf5 Qd5+ 121.Kg4 Qg2+ 122.Qg3 Qe4+ 123.Kg5 Qd5+ 124.Kh4 Qd4+ 125.Kg5 Qd5+ 126.Kh4 Qd4+ 127.Kg5 Qd5+ 1/2-1/2

Position after Black’s 55….Qd3+




Ouch! In a winning position Magnus has blundered his key pawn

127 moves, but huge frustration for Magnus, who misplayed a completely won position and must now win on demand with the black pieces to avoid a playoff for a place in the final!

Round 19, July 2
Aronian, Levon – Carlsen, Magnus
C01 French, Exchange

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 O-O 8.O-O Nc6 9.h3 h6 10.Re1 a6 11.a3 Bf5 12.Ne5 Bxe5 13.dxe5 Qxd1 14.Nxd1 Nd7 15.e6 fxe6 16.Bf4 Nd4 17.Ne3 Bd3 18.Rad1 Rxf4 19.Rxd3 c5 20.Bxe6+ Nxe6 21.Rxd7 Rf7 22.Rd5 Rd8 23.Rxd8+ Nxd8 24.Rd1 Ne6 25.Rd6 Nd4 26.Kf1 Nb3 27.Rb6 Nd2+ 28.Ke2 Ne4 29.f3 Nf6 30.Kd3 Rd7+ 31.Kc4 Rd4+ 32.Kxc5 Rd3 33.Ng4 Nd7+ 34.Kc4 1-0

In a must-win game Magnus plays the French - Levon replies with the Exchange Variation

In a promising position Magnus blunders with 19...c5? and we're heading towards another playoff!

Carlsen-Aronian 1-3

Round 16, July 2
Ding, Liren – Artemiev, Vladislav
E60 King’s Indian Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.f3 Nc6 4.d5 Ne5 5.e4 d6 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.f4 Ned7 8.Nh3 O-O 9.Nf2 Nb6 10.Be2 e6 11.O-O exd5 12.cxd5 c6 13.dxc6 bxc6 14.Be3 Qe7 15.Qd2 Re8 16.Rae1 d5 17.e5 Nfd7 18.a4 a5 19.f5 gxf5 20.Nh3 Rb8 21.Nf4 Nxe5 22.b3 Ng6 23.Bd3 Qb4 24.Nce2 Nd7 25.Nh5 Qxd2 26.Bxd2 Nc5 27.Nxg7 Kxg7 28.Bc2 Rxe2 29.Rxe2 Ba6 30.Bc3+ f6 31.Ree1 Bxf1 32.Rxf1 Ne5 33.Rxf5 Re8 34.Rf4 Ne6 35.Rh4 Ng5 36.Rf4 c5 37.Bxa5 Nc6 38.Bc3 d4 39.Bd2 Ne5 40.a5 Rb8 41.h4 Ne6 42.Rf2 d3 43.Bd1 c4 44.a6 cxb3 45.a7 Ra8 46.Be3 Nc4 47.Bf3 d2 48.Bxd2 Rxa7 49.Bc3 Ne5 50.Bd5 Nc5 51.Rf4 Rd7 52.Rd4 h5 53.Rd1 Rc7 54.Rb1 Ned3 55.Bxb3 Nxb3 56.Rxb3 Nc1 57.Ba5 Rc5 58.Rb7+ Kg6 59.Bd2 Ne2+ 60.Kf2 Nd4 61.Be3 Rc2+ 62.Kf1 Nf5 63.Bf2 Nh6 64.Rb5 Ng4 65.Bd4 Rd2 66.Bb6 Rc2 67.Ba7 Rc4 68.g3 Rc2 69.Bb8 Nh2+ 70.Kg1 Nf3+ 71.Kf1 Nd4 72.Ra5 Rb2 73.Bf4 Ne6 74.Bd6 Rd2 75.Bb8 Rd8 76.Ba7 Ra8 77.Bb6 Rxa5 78.Bxa5 Kf5 79.Kg2 Kg4 80.Bc3 f5 81.Be5 Nc5 82.Bd6 Nd3 83.Bc7 Ne1+ 84.Kf2 Nc2 85.Bb8 1/2-1/2

Ding Liren survives a very touchy first game of the day!

Round 17, July 2
Artemiev, Vladislav – Ding, Liren
A22 English, Bremen, Smyslov System

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.g3 Bb4 4.Bg2 O-O 5.Nf3 e4 6.Nd4 Nc6 7.Nc2 Bxc3 8.dxc3 h6 9.h3 d6 10.g4 Qe8 11.g5 hxg5 12.Bxg5 Nh7 13.h4 f5 14.Qd2 Be6 15.b3 a5 16.a4 Ra6 17.Na3 Ne5 18.Nb5 Qf7 19.Bf4 Nf6 20.h5 Kh7 21.h6 g6 22.f3 exf3 23.Bxf3 Rb6 24.Be3 c5 25.O-O-O Qe7 26.Bg5 Bd7 27.Qe3 Bxb5 28.cxb5 d5 29.Rxd5 Nxd5 30.Bxe7 Nxe3 31.Bxf8 Nd7 32.Be7 Re6 33.Bg5 b6 34.Kd2 Ng4 35.Bxg4 fxg4 36.Rg1 Nf6 37.Bxf6 Rxf6 38.b4 cxb4 39.cxb4 axb4 40.Rxg4 Kxh6 41.Rxb4 g5 42.Rc4 Kh5 43.Rc6 Rf4 44.Rxb6 Rxa4 45.Rb8 Rd4+ 46.Kc3 Rd7 47.b6 g4 48.e4 g3 49.Rg8 Kh4 50.e5 Rb7 51.Rg6 Kh3 52.Kd4 g2 53.Kc5 Rf7 54.e6 Rf6 55.Rxg2 Kxg2 56.e7 Re6 57.b7 Rxe7 58.b8=Q Re3 59.Kd4 Rf3 60.Ke4 Rf2 61.Qg8+ Kh3 62.Qg1 Rf8 63.Qg7 Rf2 64.Qg5 Rf1 65.Ke3 Kh2 66.Ke2 Rg1 67.Qh4+ Kg2 68.Qf4 Kh3 69.Qh6+ Kg3 70.Qh5 Rg2+ 71.Ke3 Rg1 72.Qg5+ Kh2 73.Qh4+ Kg2 74.Ke2 Ra1 75.Qg5+ Kh3 76.Qh6+ 1-0

Round 18, July 2
Ding, Liren – Artemiev, Vladislav
E60 King’s Indian Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.f3 Nc6 4.d5 Ne5 5.e4 d6 6.Nc3 Bg7 7.f4 Ned7 8.Nh3 Nb6 9.Nf2 e6 10.Be2 exd5 11.cxd5 O-O 12.g4 c6 13.g5 Ne8 14.dxc6 bxc6 15.h4 Nc7 16.h5 Re8 17.a4 Ba6 18.a5 Nbd5 19.hxg6 hxg6 20.Ra3 Nb4 21.Kf1 Rb8 22.Kg2 Bc8 23.Rh4 c5 24.Bc4 d5 25.Nxd5 Ncxd5 26.exd5 Bb7 27.f5 gxf5 28.Qh5 Bxd5+ 29.Rf3 Nc2 30.g6 Ne1+ 31.Kh3 Bxc4 32.Rg3 Qf6 33.gxf7+ Kf8 34.fxe8=Q+ Rxe8 35.Rxc4 Qe6 36.Rf4 1-0

Round 19, July 2
Artemiev, Vladislav – Ding, Liren
A45 Queen’s Pawn game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 d5 3.e3 c5 4.Nc3 cxd4 5.exd4 a6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Ne5 Bd7 8.g4 e6 9.g5 Nxe5 10.Bxe5 Ng8 11.Qh5 Ne7 12.Bd3 Nc6 13.g6 Nxe5 14.dxe5 Qe7 15.O-O-O O-O-O 16.gxf7 g6 17.Bxg6 Bg7 18.Bd3 Rdf8 19.Ne2 Qxf7 20.Qxf7 Rxf7 21.f4 Bh6 22.Rdf1 Rhf8 23.Kd1 Bxf4 24.Rxf4 Rxf4 25.Nxf4 Rxf4 26.Bxh7 Rh4 27.Bd3 d4 28.h3 Bc6 29.Rh2 Kd7 30.Bf1 Be4 31.Rd2 Kc6 32.Ke1 Bf5 33.Bg2+ Kc5 34.Kf2 b5 35.Kg3 Rh8 36.a3 a5 37.Bf1 b4 38.axb4+ axb4 39.b3 Rg8+ 40.Kh2 Rh8 41.Kg3 Rg8+ 42.Kf4 Rf8 43.Kg5 Rg8+ 44.Kf6 Rg6+ 45.Ke7 Kd5 46.Bc4+ Kxe5 47.Re2+ Kf4 48.Bxe6 Bxe6 49.Rxe6 Rg7+ 50.Kd6 Rg2 51.Kd5 Rxc2 52.Re4+ Kf5 53.Rxd4 Rc3 54.Rxb4 Rd3+ 55.Kc5 Rc3+ 56.Kd4 Rxh3 57.Rb6 Rh1 58.b4 Rd1+ 59.Kc5 Ke5 60.Rh6 Rc1+ 61.Kb6 Kd5 62.b5 Rb1 63.Ka6 Kc5 64.Rc6+ Kd5 65.Rc2 Ra1+ 66.Kb7 Rb1 67.b6 Kd6 68.Rd2+ Kc5 69.Kc7 Rxb6 70.Rc2+ 1-0

Ding-Artemiev 2.5-1.5

Both Aronian and Artemiev hit back and the finalists of the #GoldmoneyAsianRapid will be decided in two blitz playoffs!

(to be continued)

[Wayne Komer]

Goldmoney Asian Rapid 2021

July 2, 2021

Day 2 (continued)

Playoffs (Blitz 5+3)

Round 20, July 2
Aronian, Levon – Carlsen, Magnus
C79 Ruy Lopez, Stenitz Defence deferred

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O d6 6.c3 Nxe4 7.d4 Bd7 8.Re1 Nf6 9.dxe5 Nxe5 10.Nxe5 dxe5 11.Rxe5+ Be7 12.Bg5 Bxa4 13.Qxa4+ Qd7 14.Qxd7+ Kxd7 15.Nd2 h6 16.Bh4 Rae8 17.Nf3 Ng4 18.Rd1+ Bd6 19.Rf5 g6 20.Rxf7+ Ke6 21.Rg7 g5 22.Bg3 Kf6 23.Rd7 Ke6 24.Bxd6 Kxd7 25.Be5+ Ke6 26.Bxh8 Rxh8 27.Re1+ Kf7 28.h3 Nf6 29.Ne5+ Kg7 30.Nd7 Kf7 31.Nxf6 Kxf6 32.Rd1 Re8 33.Kf1 Re5 34.Rd4 a5 35.f3 b6 36.Kf2 Rb5 37.b3 Re5 38.h4 Re6 39.h5 Re5 40.g4 b5 41.c4 Rc5 42.Ke3 c6 43.Re4 bxc4 44.Rxc4 Re5+ 45.Kd3 Rd5+ 46.Rd4 Rc5 47.Rd6+ Kg7 48.Kd2 a4 49.Rd7+ Kg8 50.bxa4 Rc4 51.a5 Ra4 52.Ra7 c5 53.Kd3 Kf8 54.a6 Kg8 55.a3 Kh8 56.Kc3 c4 57.Kd4 Kg8 58.Kc3 Kh8 59.Kb2 Kg8 60.Rc7 Rxa6 61.Rxc4 Rf6 62.Rc3 Rf4 63.Kb3 1-0

More misery for Magnus, who's just a healthy pawn down after going for a flawed tactical operation!

Levon Aronian takes the lead and now Magnus Carlsen must win the next game to force Armageddon!

Round 21, July 2
Carlsen, Magnus – Aronian, Levon
C54 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 a6 8.Nbd2 Ba7 9.O-O O-O 10.a4 Na5 11.Ba2 g5 12.Bg3 Nh5 13.b4 Nxg3 14.hxg3 Nc6 15.Nh2 Kg7 16.g4 Qf6 17.g3 Ne7 18.Kg2 Ng8 19.f4 exf4 20.d4 Ne7 21.Nc4 d5 22.e5 Qc6 23.b5 axb5 24.axb5 Qxb5 25.Nd2 Ng6 26.Qc2 Be6 27.Bb1 c5 28.Ndf3 cxd4 29.Rxa7 Rxa7 30.Nxd4 Qb6 31.Nf5+ Kh8 32.Nf3 fxg3 33.Rh1 Qf2+ 34.Qxf2 gxf2 35.Kxf2 Ra1 36.Rxh6+ Kg8 37.Bd3 Rc8 38.N5d4 Nf4 39.Bf5 Rxc3 0-1

Aronian-Carlsen 2-0

Levon Aronian has done it, completing a 2:0 blitz victory over Magnus Carlsen to reach the final of the #GoldmoneyAsianRapid!

Round 20, July 2
Ding, Liren – Artemiev, Vladislav
D32 QGD, Tarrasch Defence

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.dxc5 d4 7.Na4 Bxc5 8.Nxc5 Qa5+ 9.Bd2 Qxc5 10.Rc1 Qb6 11.e3 Nf6 12.Bc4 dxe3 13.Bxe3 Qb4+ 14.Qd2 Qxd2+ 15.Nxd2 O-O 16.O-O Rd8 17.Rfd1 h6 18.Bf1 Be6 19.Nc4 Nd5 20.Bd2 Ndb4 21.Bxb4 Nxb4 22.a3 Nc6 23.Nd6 Rd7 24.Ne4 Rxd1 25.Rxd1 Rd8 26.Rxd8+ Nxd8 27.f4 Bd5 28.Nc3 Bc6 29.Kf2 Kf8 30.Ke3 Ke7 31.g3 Ne6 32.Bc4 Nc7 33.Kd4 Ne6+ 34.Ke3 Nc7 35.b4 b6 36.Kd4 Ne6+ 37.Ke3 Nc7 38.g4 Bd7 39.f5 h5 40.h3 hxg4 41.hxg4 f6 42.Kf4 Bc6 43.g5 Kd6 44.gxf6 gxf6 45.Ne4+ Ke7 46.Nc3 Kd6 47.Ne4+ Ke7 48.Nc3 Kd6 1/2-1/2

Round 21, July 2
Artemiev, Vladislav – Ding, Liren
A14 English, Neo-Catalan

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 c5 4.O-O e6 5.b3 Be7 6.Bb2 O-O 7.c4 d4 8.b4 Qc7 9.bxc5 e5 10.e3 Bg4 11.h3 Bxf3 12.Qxf3 Nc6 13.exd4 exd4 14.d3 Bxc5 15.Nd2 Ne5 16.Qf5 Rae8 17.Nb3 Nfd7 18.Bxd4 Bxd4 19.Nxd4 g6 20.Qf4 Qd8 21.Rad1 Nc5 22.Nb3 Ncxd3 23.Qe4 Re7 24.f4 Qb6+ 25.Qd4 Qxd4+ 26.Nxd4 Rd8 27.Bd5 Nxc4 28.Bxc4 Rxd4 29.Bxd3 Re3 30.Bc2 Rxg3+ 31.Kf2 Rxd1 32.Rxd1 Rxh3 33.Bb3 Rh5 34.Rd7 Rf5 35.Kg3 b5 36.Rxa7 Kg7 37.Rd7 h6 38.Kg4 h5+ 39.Kg3 Kf8 40.Bc2 Rc5 41.Bb3 Rf5 42.Rd5 Rxd5 43.Bxd5 b4 44.Kh4 Kg7 45.f5 gxf5 46.Kg5 h4 47.Kxf5 h3 48.Kg4 h2 49.Kg3 f5 50.Kxh2 Kf6 51.Kg3 Ke5 52.Bb3 Ke4 53.Bc2+ Ke5 54.Kf3 f4 55.Bh7 Kd4 56.Kxf4 Kc3 57.Bg8 Kb2 58.Ke5 Ka3 59.Bb3 Kb2 60.Kd4 Ka3 61.Kc5 1-0

Artemiev-Ding 1.5-0.5

Meanwhile Artemiev is up a piece vs. Ding - if he wins he's in the final!

Vladislav Artemiev completes the comeback and is in tomorrow's final of the #GoldmoneyAsianRapid! He'll play Levon Aronian there

Aronian and Artemiev finished no. 1 and 2 in the Prelims and after fantastic comebacks today they play in tomorrow's final! Ding & Carlsen finished no. 3 and 4 in the Prelims & now they'll play for 3rd place

Levon Aronian [after knocking out Magnus Carlsen with two consecutive blitz wins]: "Magnus had an off day today."

[Hans Jung]

Levon Aronian hung on for dear life and survived in the first match game against Artemiev. It was amazing to see the knight do so much in the endgame. The next two games Aronian played some sparkling kingside attacks. Aronian!

[Wayne Komer]

Goldmoney Asian Rapid 2021

July 3, 2021

Final

Day 1

Round 23, July 3
Aronian, Levon – Artemiev, Vladislav
D06 QGD, Grau

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Bf5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Bg5 c6 6.Nh4 Bg6 7.e3 Nbd7 8.Qb3 Qb6 9.c5 Qc7 10.Bf4 Qc8 11.h3 Be7 12.Rc1 Bd8 13.Be2 Bc7 14.Bxc7 Qxc7 15.f4 O-O 16.g4 b6 17.g5 Nh5 18.Nxg6 hxg6 19.cxb6 axb6 20.Nb5 Qb7 21.Nd6 Qc7 22.Nb5 Qb7 23.Nd6 Qc7 24.Nb5 1/2-1/2

Round 24, July 3
Artemiev, Vladislav - Aronian, Levon
A07 Reti, King’s Indian Attack

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 g6 3.c4 dxc4 4.Na3 Bg7 5.Nxc4 c5 6.Bg2 Nc6 7.d3 Bd7 8.Be3 b6 9.d4 cxd4 10.Nxd4 Rc8 11.O-O Nxd4 12.Bxd4 Nf6 13.Ne5 O-O 14.Rc1 Rxc1 15.Qxc1 Bb5 16.Rd1 Qc8 17.e3 Rd8 18.b3 Qb8 19.Qa1 Nd7 20.Nxf7 Bxd4 21.Qxd4 Kxf7 22.Qd5+ Kg7 23.Qxb5 Nf6 24.Rxd8 Qxd8 25.Bf3 a5 26.Qe5 Kf8 27.g4 h6 28.h4 Qd6 29.Qxd6 exd6 30.Kg2 g5 31.Kg3 Kg7 32.Bc6 d5 33.f3 Kf7 34.hxg5 hxg5 35.f4 Ne4+ 36.Kf3 Nc3 37.fxg5 Kg6 38.Kf4 Nxa2 39.Bxd5 b5 40.Be4+ Kg7 41.Ke5 a4 42.bxa4 bxa4 43.Kd4 a3 44.Kc4 Nc1 45.Kc3 Ne2+ 46.Kb3 a2 47.Kb2 Nc3 48.Bc2 Nd5 49.e4 Ne3 50.Bd3 Nxg4 51.Be2 Nf2 52.e5 Nh3 53.Kxa2 Nxg5 54.Kb3 Nf7 55.e6 Ng5 56.Bg4 Kf6 57.Kc4 Nxe6 58.Bxe6 1/2-1/2

Round 25, July 3
Aronian, Levon – Artemiev, Vladislav
D06 QGD, Grau

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Bf5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Nh4 Bg6 6.Qb3 Nc6 7.cxd5 exd5 8.e3 Bb4 9.Nxg6 hxg6 10.Bd2 O-O 11.Bd3 Re8 12.O-O Bxc3 13.Bxc3 Rb8 14.Rae1 g5 15.f3 Qd6 16.a3 g4 17.Qd1 gxf3 18.Rxf3 Re6 19.Bf5 Re7 20.Ref1 Rbe8 21.Qe1 Ne4 22.Qh4 g6 23.Rh3 Qf6 24.Qh7+ Kf8 25.Bxe4 1-0

Round 26, July 3
Artemiev, Vladislav – Aronian, Levon
A45 Trompovsky Attack

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.e3 cxd4 5.exd4 Bg4 6.Ngf3 e6 7.h3 Bxf3 8.Nxf3 Bd6 9.Bd3 Nc6 10.c3 Qc7 11.O-O O-O-O 12.Rc1 Kb8 13.b4 h6 14.Be3 g5 15.b5 Na5 16.Nd2 Nc4 17.Bxc4 dxc4 18.Qa4 Rc8 19.d5 b6 20.dxe6 fxe6 21.Nf3 g4 22.hxg4 Nxg4 23.Nd4 Rhf8 24.Nc6+ Ka8 25.Qxc4 Bh2+ 26.Kh1 Bg1 27.g3 Nxe3 28.Qe4 Nxf1 29.Nd8+ Kb8 30.Nc6+ Ka8 31.Rxf1 Bxf2 32.Nd8+ Kb8 33.Nc6+ Ka8 34.Na5+ Kb8 35.Nc6+ Ka8 1/2-1/2

A wild position, but Artemiev has nothing better than to force a draw, so Levon Aronian has won Day 1 of the #GoldmoneyAsianRapid final! Vladislav will have a chance to hit back tomorrow:

Aronian-Artemiev 2.5-1.5

Round 23, July 3
Carlsen, Magnus – Ding, Liren
A22 English Opening

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.e3 Nc6 4.Qb3 Bb4 5.Nd5 Bc5 6.d3 O-O 7.Nf3 d6 8.Nc3 Ne7 9.Be2 Ng6 10.O-O Re8 11.Bd2 h6 12.Rfd1 Bb6 13.Ne4 c6 14.Bc3 Nh7 15.Bb4 d5 16.cxd5 cxd5 17.Nd6 Re6 18.Nxc8 Rxc8 19.Rac1 Nf6 20.g3 Rc7 21.Bf1 Qc8 22.Rxc7 Qxc7 23.Bc3 Re8 24.Rc1 Qd7 25.Bg2 Qf5 26.Rd1 e4 27.dxe4 dxe4 28.Nd2 Ng4 29.Rf1 Nxf2 30.Nc4 Nh3+ 31.Bxh3 Qxh3 32.Nxb6 1-0

Round 24, July 3
Ding, Liren – Carlsen, Magnus
E05 Catalan, open, Classical line

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.Nbd2 a5 13.e4 Na6 14.b3 Qd7 15.Rfe1 Rfd8 16.Rad1 Nb4 17.Bf1 b6 18.Qc1 Bb7 19.Nc4 Nc6 20.d5 exd5 21.exd5 Nb4 22.Nfe5 Qf5 23.Bg2 Qc2 24.Qxc2 Nxc2 25.Re2 Nb4 26.Red2 Rab8 27.h4 Ba6 28.d6 cxd6 29.Rxd6 Rxd6 30.Rxd6 b5 31.axb5 Bxb5 32.Nd7 Bxd7 33.Rxd7 Rd8 34.Ra7 Bd4 35.Rxa5 Nd3 36.Rd5 Rxd5 37.Bxd5 Nxf2 38.Kg2 Ng4 39.Kf3 Nf6 40.Bc6 Bc5 41.Ne5 g5 42.Nd3 Bd6 43.hxg5 hxg5 44.g4 Kf8 45.b4 Ke7 46.b5 Bc7 47.Nf2 Ba5 48.Nh3 Bd2 49.b6 Kd6 50.b7 Kc7 51.Ke2 Bc1 52.Bf3 Nd7 53.Kd3 Ne5+ 54.Ke4 Nxf3 55.Kxf3 Kxb7 56.Ke4 Kc6 57.Ke5 Bb2+ 58.Kf5 f6 59.Nxg5 fxg5 60.Kxg5 Bc1+ 61.Kf5 Kd5 62.g5 Bxg5 1/2-1/2

Round 25, July 3
Carlsen, Magnus – Ding, Liren
B13 Caro-Kann, Exchange variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 Nf6 5.c3 Bg4 6.Qb3 Qc7 7.Ne2 Bxe2 8.Bxe2 e6 9.Nd2 Bd6 10.Nf3 Nc6 11.g3 h5 12.Be3 O-O-O 13.O-O-O Na5 14.Qc2 Nc4 15.Bg5 Kb8 16.Bxc4 Qxc4 17.Ne5 Qc7 18.Kb1 Rc8 19.Bf4 Rhd8 20.Rhe1 Ka8 21.Qe2 a6 22.Rc1 Bxe5 23.Bxe5 Qe7 24.Bxf6 Qxf6 25.h4 Qf5+ 26.Qc2 g6 27.Re5 Qxc2+ 28.Kxc2 Kb8 29.Re2 Kc7 30.Kd3 Kd6 31.a4 b6 32.b3 Rc6 33.c4 a5 34.Rec2 Rdc8 35.f3 R6c7 36.Rc3 Rc6 37.R3c2 R6c7 38.Rc3 Rc6 39.R3c2 1/2-1/2

Round 26, July 3
Ding, Liren – Carlsen, Magnus
E05 Catalan, open, Classical line

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.Rd1 a5 13.Nc3 Bd5 14.Nxd5 exd5 15.Qb3 Ra6 16.Ne5 Rb6 17.Qxd5 Qxd5 18.Bxd5 Bxe5 19.dxe5 Rxb2 20.Rab1 Rxb1 21.Rxb1 b6 22.f4 Rd8 23.e4 Na6 24.Rc1 Nc5 25.Kg2 Rc8 26.Kf3 c6 27.Bc4 Rd8 28.Ke3 Nxa4 29.e6 Kf8 30.exf7 b5 31.Be2 b4 32.Rxc6 b3 33.Rc7 b2 34.Rb7 Nc3 35.Rxb2 a4 36.Rc2 Nxe2 37.Rxe2 a3 38.Ra2 Ra8 39.Kd3 Kxf7 40.Kc3 Ra4 41.e5 g5 42.Kb3 Re4 43.Rf2 Re3+ 44.Kc4 gxf4 45.gxf4 Re4+ 46.Kb3 Re3+ 47.Ka2 Ke6 48.f5+ Kf7 49.e6+ Kf6 50.h4 h5 51.Rf4 Rd3 52.Rf1 Re3 53.Rf2 Rd3 54.Re2 Rd8 55.Rf2 Rd3 56.Rf4 Re3 57.Rf1 Rd3 58.Re1 Rd8 59.Kxa3 Kxf5 60.e7 Re8 61.Kb4 Kf6 62.Kc5 Rxe7 63.Rxe7 Kxe7 64.Kd5 Kf6 65.Ke4 Ke6 66.Kf4 Kf6 67.Ke4 Ke6 68.Kf4 Kf6 69.Ke4 1/2-1/2

Position after Black’s 28…Nxa4



Ding Liren must win this game, and he has a chance after Magnus seems to have overlooked 28...Nxa4?! 29.e6!

Carlsen-Ding 2.5-1.5
________

Vladislav Mikhailovich Artemiev born 5 March 1998) is a Russian chess player and former chess prodigy. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster in 2014. Artemiev is the 2019 European champion.

In September 2017, Artemiev competed in the Chess World Cup 2017. He defeated Benjamin Bok and Teimour Radjabov in rounds one and two, respectively, then was knocked out by Daniil Dubov in the third round.