FIDE World Cup Open Sochi 2021

[Hans Jung]

Thanks to Etienne Bacrot for making it interesting.

[Hans Jung]

Again a respectable performance by Bacrot. However the diabolical 32.Ne7! (I am in awe!) does Black in. (how many grandmasters would have seen that coming?) One for the tactics books. Oh beware of those knights!

[Hans Jung]

I was really rooting for Sam Shankland. One slip is all it takes and that is what happened. Kudos to Karjakhin for breaking thru spectacularly to the king.

[Hans Jung]

A very nice try by Vidit. Amazing tactical strokes. Also a very good lesson in the endgame. How do you maximize the potential of black's rook?

[Hans Jung]

Fedoseev - Tabatabaei Tension filled game. Lots of maneuvering in the endgame back and forth. The end was not really a blunder in the sense that Balck had to see the threat after choosing his move candidate (mini combination with a discovery) but definitely foreseeable (Rxg3?)

[Wayne Komer]

FIDE World Cup Open Sochi 2021

July 29, 2021

Round Six 1/4 Final

Game Two

Results

Bacrot-Carlsen 0-1
Vidit-Duda 0-1
Tabatabaei-Fedoseev 0-1
Shankland-Karjakin 0-1

Results by Colour

Carlsen-Bacrot 1-0
Duda-Vidit 1-0
Fedoseev-Tabatabaei 1-0
Karjakin-Shankland 1-0

Going Home

Bacrot
Vidit
Tabatabaei

Going to Tie-Breaks

Shankland-Karjakin

Games

Game 2, July 29
Carlsen, Magnus – Bacrot, Etienne
B52 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.c4 e5 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.d3 f5 8.exf5 Qxf5 9.Ng5 Be7 10.Nge4 Nf6 11.O-O O-O 12.f4 exf4 13.Bxf4 Nxe4 14.dxe4 Qg6 15.Nd5 Bg5 16.Qd3 Nd4 17.Bg3 Rxf1+ 18.Rxf1 Re8 19.Re1 h5 20.h3 Kh7 21.Bf2 Nc6 22.b3 Ne5 23.Qe2 Bh6 24.Kh2 Nc6 25.Qf3 Ne5 26.Qe2 Rf8 27.Bg3 Nc6 28.Rf1 Re8 29.Re1 Nd4 30.Qf2 b6 31.h4 Rxe4 32.Ne7 Rxe7 33.Rxe7 Nf5 34.Re2 Nd4 35.Re1 Qd3 36.Bf4 Nf5 37.Bxh6 Nxh6 38.Qf3 Ng4+ 39.Kg3 1-0

Magnus Carlsen is the first player into the #FIDEWorldCup semi-finals after defeating Etienne Bacrot 2:0 — he seems certain to play Jan-Krzysztof Duda!

Game 2, July 29
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Vidit, Santosh
C78 Ruy Lopez, Archangel variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.a4 Rb8 8.c3 d6 9.d4 Bb6 10.a5 Ba7 11.h3 Bb7 12.Be3 Nxe4 13.d5 Bxe3 14.dxc6 Nxf2 15.Qe2 Nxh3+ 16.Kh1 Nf2+ 17.Rxf2 Bxf2 18.Qxf2 Bxc6 19.Nxe5 Bxg2+ 20.Kg1 Qf6 21.Nxf7 Qxf2+ 22.Kxf2 Rf8 23.Kxg2 Rxf7 24.Bxf7+ Kxf7 25.Nd2 Re8 26.Rf1+ Kg6 27.Kf2 h5 28.Rg1+ Kf6 29.Kf3 g6 30.Ne4+ Kg7 31.Nf2 Rf8+ 32.Kg2 Re8 33.Nd3 g5 34.Nb4 Re2+ 35.Kh1 Rxb2 36.Ra1 c5 37.Nxa6 b4 38.Nxb4 cxb4 39.a6 bxc3 40.a7 c2 41.a8=Q Rb1+ 42.Kg2 c1=Q 43.Ra7+ Kf6 44.Qf8+ Ke5 45.Re7+ Kd5 46.Qf3+ Kc5 47.Rc7+ Kb4 48.Qb7+ Ka5 49.Qa7+ Kb5 50.Qb8+ 1-0

Position after White’s 38.Nxb4



38.Nxb4! here and we'll be heading for a Carlsen-Duda semi-final — Giri points out that even if Jan-Krzysztof loses that match he'll have a great chance of reaching the Candidates through a 3rd place match

Duda played it and is completely winning!

Game 2, July 29
Fedoseev, Vladimir – Tabatabaei, M.
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.Bb2 Rfc8 14.Ne1 Be8 15.Nd3 Rc7 16.c5 Rac8 17.Bc1 Nd5 18.Bxd5 exd5 19.Nf4 d4 20.Nd5 Rd7 21.Nxe7+ Rxe7 22.Kf1 Rd8 23.Bf4 Red7 24.Bd6 b6 25.Rac1 f6 26.f3 Bf7 27.Nxd4 Nxd4 28.Rxd4 Bxa2 29.Ra4 Be6 30.Ra6 Re8 31.Kf2 h5 32.h4 Bf7 33.Bf4 bxc5 34.Rxc5 Rb7 35.Ra3 Kh7 36.Be3 Ree7 37.Bd4 Kg6 38.Raa5 Kh7 39.Rc2 Red7 40.Be3 Re7 41.Bc5 Rec7 42.Rc3 Kg6 43.e4 Rc6 44.Bd4 Rxc3 45.Bxc3 Bc4 46.Rc5 Bb5 47.e5 Bd7 48.exf6 gxf6 49.Rd5 Be6 50.Rd6 Rb6 51.Rd8 Rc6 52.Bd4 a6 53.Ke3 Kf7 54.Rh8 Kg6 55.Rf8 Bf7 56.Rd8 Be6 57.Ke4 Kf7 58.Ra8 Kg6 59.Ra7 Bc8 60.Kd5 Rc2 61.Ke4 Rc6 62.Ke3 Bf5 63.Ra8 Bc8 64.Rb8 Kf7 65.Ke4 Be6 66.Rh8 Kg6 67.Rf8 Bf7 68.Rd8 Be6 69.Kf4 Rc4 70.Rd6 Kf7 71.Ke4 a5 72.f4 Ke7 73.Ra6 a4 74.Ra7+ Kd6 75.Ke3 Rb4 76.Bxf6 Rb3+ 77.Kd4 Rxg3 78.Be5+ Kc6 79.Ra6+ 1-0

After Amin Tabatabaei's 77...Rxg3 mistake in a dramatic endgame at the World Cup, an instant later, 78.Be5+ followed and White wins with a nifty trick: 78...Kc6 79.Ra6+ and White takes on e6 next.

A dramatic finish as Fedoseev tricks Tabatabaei and scores a 79-move win to reach the #FIDEWorldCup semi-finals! He'll play the winner of Shankland vs. Karjakin, which will be the only tiebreak tomorrow

Game 2, July 29
Karjakin, Sergey – Shankland, Sam
C00 French, King’s Indian Attack

1.e4 e6 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.Ngf3 Be7 5.g3 a5 6.Bg2 a4 7.a3 c5 8.O-O Nc6 9.Re1 O-O 10.e5 Nd7 11.Nf1 b5 12.h4 Bb7 13.h5 h6 14.Bf4 Qb6 15.Qd2 Rfc8 16.g4 Qd8 17.N1h2 Ra6 18.Kh1 b4 19.Rg1 Nf8 20.axb4 cxb4 21.d4 Na5 22.g5 Nc4 23.Qc1 hxg5 24.Bxg5 b3 25.Bxe7 Qxe7 26.Bf1 a3 27.Rxg7+ Kxg7 28.Ng4 f5 29.exf6+ Qxf6 30.Nxf6 axb2 31.Qg5+ Kf7 32.h6 Ng6 33.Nh4 bxa1=Q 34.Qxg6+ Ke7 35.Qg7+ Kd6 36.Qd7# 1-0

If Karjakin plays 22.Bf1! he seems to have a big advantage — Giri is sure Sergey will play it since he says Sergey did the same against him and crushed him in a "humiliating" blitz game that Karjakin enjoyed much too much!

Actually he played 22.g5! but Giri says "chances are very high that he's coming back"

27.Rxg7+! is winning now for Karjakin!

Sam Shankland allows Sergey Karjakin to give checkmate and they'll play tiebreaks tomorrow!

There is an interesting article entitled “The secret behind Samuel Shankland’s performance at the FIDE World Cup 2021” by Sagar Shah at

https://chessbase.in/news/The-secret...ds-improvement

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

Results

Bacrot-Carlsen 0-1
Vidit-Duda 0-1
Tabatabaei-Fedoseev 0-1
Shankland-Karjakin 0-1

While it is right it is not right :) In all second games White won.

[Hans Jung]

Fascinating article and very revealing. A must read.

[Hans Jung]

Playoff game one - Sam Shankland is so sharp! 39.Bxc6! (if bxc6 the rook pawn runs) and Sergei Karjakhin will suffer. Endgame tactics! - passed pawn creation
Hopefully Sergei can bounce back.

[Hans Jung]

Sam Shankland a little too eager in the second playoff game?

[Hans Jung]

Playoff game 3 Sam Shankland's Ra6 defence strategy as Black didnt work. We are now at must win for Sam. Fingers crossed.

[Wayne Komer]

FIDE World Cup Open Sochi 2021

July 30, 2021

Round Six 1/4 Final

Tie-Break

Results

Karjakin-Shankland 3-1

Games

Game 1, July 30
Shankland, Sam – Karjakin, Sergey
E05 Catalan, open, Classical line

1.c4 Nf6 2.g3 e6 3.Bg2 d5 4.d4 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bg5 Nbd7 11.Nc3 h6 12.Bxf6 Nxf6 13.e3 Qd6 14.Rfb1 a5 15.Qe2 Bxf3 16.Bxf3 c6 17.Rd1 g6 18.h4 h5 19.Qc2 Rfd8 20.Ne2 Kg7 21.Kg2 Qc7 22.Rac1 Rac8 23.Qb3 Bd6 24.Rc2 Qe7 25.Rcd2 Bb4 26.Rd3 Rd7 27.e4 Rcd8 28.Nf4 e5 29.dxe5 Qxe5 30.Rxd7 Rxd7 31.Nd3 Qe7 32.e5 Nd5 33.Qc2 Nc7 34.Nxb4 axb4 35.Rxd7 Qxd7 36.Qc5 Qd2 37.Qd6 Qxd6 38.exd6 Ne6 39.Bxc6 b6 40.Bd5 Nc5 41.Kf3 Kf6 42.b3 g5 43.hxg5+ Kxg5 44.Ke3 f5 45.Kd4 1-0

Game 2, July 30
Karjakin, Sergey – Shankland, Sam
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Adams Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.h3 Nc6 7.g4 g6 8.Be3 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 Bg7 10.O-O-O Be6 11.f4 Qa5 12.f5 Bxa2 13.Bd2 O-O 14.Nd5 Nxd5 15.Bxa5 Bxd4 16.Rxd4 Ne3 17.Kd2 Nxf1+ 18.Rxf1 Rfc8 19.b3 Rc6 20.Ra1 Bxb3 21.cxb3 Rac8 22.Ke3 Rc2 23.f6 exf6 24.Rxd6 Rh2 25.Rxf6 Rxh3+ 26.Rf3 Rh2 27.Rd1 Rb2 28.Rd3 h6 29.Kf4 g5+ 30.Kf5 Re2 31.Bd8 Kh7 32.Bf6 b5 33.Rd7 Kg8 34.b4 Ra2 35.Rd8+ Rxd8 36.Bxd8 Rd2 37.Bf6 Kf8 38.Rc3 Rf2+ 39.Ke5 Ke8 40.Rd3 1-0

Game 3, July 30
Karjakin, Sergey – Shankland, Sam
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Adams Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.h3 Nc6 7.g4 g6 8.Be3 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 Bg7 10.e5 Nd7 11.O-O-O Bxe5 12.Qd2 Qa5 13.Nd5 Qxd2+ 14.Rxd2 Kd8 15.f4 Bg7 16.Bg2 a5 17.a4 Ra6 18.Bf1 Rc6 19.Bb5 h5 20.g5 h4 21.Re1 Nb8 22.Ba7 e6 23.Bxc6 Nxc6 24.Bb6+ Kd7 25.Ne3 Ke7 26.Bc7 Nd4 27.Rd3 Bd7 28.Nd5+ Ke8 29.Nf6+ Bxf6 30.gxf6 Nf5 31.Bxd6 Kd8 32.Red1 Bxa4 33.Be7+ Kc7 34.Bd8+ Kc8 35.Bb6 1-0

Giri: "Sergey's preparation has worked out perfectly"
Sam has a tough endgame to try and defend in the 1st 10-minute game:

Game 4, July 30
Shankland, Sam – Karjakin, Sergey
A15 English Opening

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.b3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 c5 6.Bb2 Be7 7.O-O O-O 8.d4 cxd4 9.Qxd4 Nc6 10.Qf4 d5 11.Nc3 dxc4 12.Rfd1 Qb8 13.Qxc4 Rd8 14.e4 Rxd1+ 15.Rxd1 Ne5 16.Qe2 Nxf3+ 17.Bxf3 Bb4 18.a3 Bxc3 19.Bxc3 Qc7 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.e5 fxe5 22.Bxb7 Qxb7 23.Qxe5 Qf3 24.Rd7 h6 25.Qc7 Rf8 26.Qc2 a5 27.a4 Qa8 28.Qc1 Rd8 29.Rxd8+ Qxd8 30.Qxh6 Qd1+ 31.Kg2 Qd5+ 32.f3 Qxb3 33.Qg5+ Kf8 34.Qd8+ Kg7 35.Qd4+ Kg8 36.g4 Qb4 37.Qd7 Qb2+ 38.Kh3 Qh8+ 39.Kg2 Qb2+ 40.Kg1 Qa1+ 41.Kf2 Qb2+ 42.Ke3 Qxh2 43.Qd8+ Kg7 44.Kd3 Qa2 45.Qd4+ Kg8 46.Qc4 Qa3+ 47.Ke4 Qb2 48.g5 Qb1+ 49.Ke3 Qe1+ 50.Kd3 Qf1+ 0-1

28.Qd2! would have kept good winning chances for Sam here, but he seems to have let it slip with 28.Qc1?

Sergey Karjakin won both 10-minute games, with Sam forced to play on for a win at the end of the second game

It's all over, and Sergey Karjakin plays Vladimir Fedoseev in the #FIDEWorldCup semi-finals!

Semi-Final Matchups

Carlsen-Duda
Fedoseev-Karjakin

The games resume on August 1. Tomorrow is a Free Day.

[Hans Jung]

Sam Shankland went down after a long hard fight. Sorry to see Sam go.

[Marc Andre Beaudry]

Sam played a very bad game in game 2. Mixed up his opening preparation.

[Hans Jung]

Duda did well holding Magnus to a draw as Black in game one.