Sinquefield Cup 2021

[Hans Jung]

In the puzzle above (post 28, page 2) posted by Guillaume (thanks Guillaume for posting - its a lovely example of what went on in the game and what was missed) I will post what I see in 24 hours, if no one else posts a potential solution.

[Hans Jung]

In the puzzle (post 28, page 2) I at first thought 29.Nxd4 exd4 30.Rf6 with unstoppable threats mainly against the black king, but that doesnt work because of 30...Qh3! with counterplay.
After long thought I came up with 29.Nd2 Nxd5 30.exd5 and no matter what Black does the knight on e4 dominates.

[Hans Jung]

Rd 6 Five draws and no grandmaster draw among them (chuckle, chuckle - pun intended)

[Guillaume Cardin]

For the puzzle, White is better on many moves but 29. Nh4 is winning (29... gxh4 is impossible, 30. Rf6 wins with the queen or mates with Rg6+ and Qh5) with white dominating the white squares and threatening Nf5, Qh5, Raf1 and Rh2

29... Nxd5 30. exd5 also doesn't work as the queen must move and the knight comes on f5 with a winning attack, for exemple 30... Qxd5 31. Nf5 Qe6 32. Qh5 Rb6 33. Raf1 and black can't stop Rh2 without losing material

The best defense for black seems to be 29... Nh6 which is actually quite messy (trying to both protect f5 and close the h file) 30. Raf1 with threats on f6, 30... gxh4 still doesn't work 31. Nf6+ Kg7 32. Qh5 and the Qg5 threat wins, for instance 32... Rf7 33. Qg5+ Kf8 34. Qxh6 Ke7 35. Nd5+

The best line for black seems to be the simplification 29... Nh6 30. Raf1 Nxd5 31. exd5 Qg4 but white gets a winning endgame 32. Nf5 Qxe2 33. Nxh6+ Kh7 34. Rxe2 Kxh6 35. Rxe5

[Wayne Komer]

Sinquefield Cup 2021

August 23, 2021

Round Six

Commentators are Srinath Narayanan, Simon Williams and Andras Toth.

Srinath Narayanan (born 14 February 1994) is an Indian chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in August 2017. He is the coach of the Indian super-talent Nihal Sarin and he also coaches some of India's rising stars.

2021 Sinquefield Cup - Day 5 Recap

What started off as a slow day with three draws quickly turned dramatic as Vachier-Lagrave bounced back in today’s round to defeat Swiercz, while Xiong took advantage of a time-trouble blunder by Caruana to upset the World No. 2 in stunning fashion. With the win, Vachier-Lagrave propelled himself back into a tie for first place with 3.5/5, where he shares the lead with both So and Dominguez heading into the rest day tomorrow.

So - Rapport | ½-½, 17 moves

A surprise quick draw in the Berlin ended this game in less than 40 minutes into the round. In the post-game interview afterwards, So admitted he was not feeling well due to “a lack of sleep” from drinking too much coffee in the days prior. The draw also gets Wesley one step closer to clinching first place in the overall GCT standings.
After the game, So apologized to the fans and organizers for making a quick draw with White.

Svidler - Shankland | ½-½, 24 moves

Svidler opted for the rare 6.Bd3 against the Najdorf as the players quickly left charted waters and were on their own in a thematic Sicilian structure. The game stayed even the whole time, with both sides having weaknesses that balanced each other out. After an exchange of knights the players soon repeated moves in an otherwise equal position.

Mamedyarov - Dominguez | ½-½, 38 moves

Using the rare move 7.Re1 in the Classical Queen’s Gambit Accepted, Mamedyarov prepared a sharp pawn sacrifice that gave him long-term compensation in the form of piece activity. However Dominguez defended well, and after a series of exchanges the players found themselves in a dead-equal rook endgame, where they immediately repeated moves.

Vachier-Lagrave - Swiercz | 1-0, 47 moves

Although Swiercz was able to get in some nice preparation in a topical line of the Italian Game, Vachier-Lagrave reacted well and still found a way to pose problems for his opponent. One wrong decision by Black gave MVL the opportunity to seize the initiative, as he found a dynamic way to activate his pieces and secure a large advantage. Further precise technique by MVL allowed him to reach a rook endgame with two pawns up, which he converted smoothly.



MVL’s 24.Re7! was a powerful move, landing the rook on the all-important seventh rank.

Xiong - Caruana | 1-0, 36 moves

Things looked a bit dangerous for Xiong as he quickly fell worse as White in a Reti Opening, due to Black’s space advantage in the center. However one wrong move by Caruana turned the tables, as Xiong was able to activate his entire position thanks to a strong knight maneuver. In mutual time-trouble it seemed like Caruana had managed to escape into an equal endgame, but a further blunder by Fabiano gave Xiong the opportunity to win a full minor piece, which he immediately spotted. Not seeing a way out, Caruana then flagged in a lost position, earning the 20-year-old Xiong one of the biggest scalps of his career.

After Black’s last move 23...Nc6-d8, Xiong found the strong reply 24.Nb4!, looking to plant the knight on the excellent d5-square.



Round 6, August 23
Caruana, Fabiano – MVL
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Byrne Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 Be7 9.Qd2 O-O 10.O-O-O Nbd7 11.g4 b5 12.g5 Nh5 13.Kb1 Nb6 14.Na5 Rc8 15.a3 g6 16.h4 Ng3 17.Rg1 Nxf1 18.Rgxf1 Na4 19.Nxa4 bxa4 20.h5 Qc7 21.Rh1 Rfe8 22.Qh2 Bf8 23.c4 Re7 24.Bd2 Bxc4 25.Bb4 Rd7 26.f4 Bb5 27.hxg6 fxg6 28.f5 Rg7 29.f6 Rf7 30.Qd2 Qd7 31.Qd5 Be2 32.Rc1 Rxc1+ 33.Rxc1 h5 34.Nc4 Bxc4 35.Rxc4 h4 36.Rc2 h3 37.Ka2 Kh8 38.Rd2 Rh7 39.Bxd6 Qxd6 40.Qxd6 Bxd6 41.Rxd6 Kg8 42.Rd8+ Kf7 43.Rd7+ Kg8 44.Rd8+ Kf7 45.Rd7+ Kg8 46.Rd8+ 1/2-1/2

Round 6, August 23
Dominguez, Leinier – Svidler, Peter
C54 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 Qe7 8.O-O a6 9.b4 Ba7 10.Nbd2 g5 11.Bg3 Nh7 12.a4 h5 13.h4 g4 14.Ne1 Nf8 15.Nc2 Ng6 16.Ne3 Be6 17.b5 Nd8 18.d4 Nxh4 19.dxe5 dxe5 20.Bxe5 O-O 21.Bxe6 fxe6 22.Bd4 c5 23.bxc6 Nxc6 24.Bxa7 Rxa7 25.Ndc4 Rd8 26.Qb3 Raa8 27.Rfd1 Kh8 28.Rab1 Rxd1+ 29.Qxd1 Rd8 30.Qb3 Ng6 31.Rb2 Rd7 32.Nb6 Rd8 33.Nbc4 Rd7 34.Nb6 Rd8 35.Nbc4 Rd7 1/2-1/2

Round 6, August 23
Xiong, Jeffery – So, Wesley
D02 Queen’s Bishop game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bf4 e6 4.e3 Bd6 5.Nbd2 O-O 6.Bd3 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.O-O Nbd7 9.c4 b6 10.Rc1 Bb7 11.Qe2 Rc8 12.Rfd1 Qe7 13.cxd5 e5 14.Bg5 Bxd5 15.Ba6 Rcd8 16.Nc4 Bc6 17.a3 h6 18.Bh4 Ba4 19.Re1 e4 20.Nd4 Bxd4 21.exd4 Nb8 22.Ne3 Nxa6 23.Qxa6 Qd7 24.Qc4 Rc8 25.Qb4 Nh5 26.Bg3 Bc6 27.d5 Bb7 28.Qxe4 Nf6 29.Qd3 Nxd5 30.Rxc8 Rxc8 31.Nf5 Re8 32.Rxe8+ Qxe8 33.h3 Qd7 34.Bb8 Bc6 35.Bg3 Nf6 36.Qxd7 Bxd7 37.Nd4 Nd5 38.Kf1 Ne7 39.Bb8 a6 40.Bc7 b5 41.Ke2 f6 42.Kd3 Kf7 43.Ke4 g6 44.f3 Nf5 45.Nxf5 Bxf5+ 46.Kd4 b4 47.axb4 h5 48.g4 Bd7 49.Ke3 hxg4 50.hxg4 f5 51.gxf5 Bxf5 52.Kd4 Bd7 53.Ke3 Bf5 54.Kd4 Be6 55.Ke3 Bf5 56.Kd4 1/2-1/2

Round 6, August 23
Shankland, Sam – Rapport, Richard
C45 Scotch, Potter variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nb3 Bb6 6.Qe2 Qf6 7.Nc3 Nge7 8.h4 d6 9.Bg5 Qe6 10.O-O-O Bd7 11.Qd2 O-O-O 12.f3 h6 13.Be3 Bxe3 14.Qxe3 Kb8 15.Bb5 f5 16.Qd2 fxe4 17.Rhe1 Qg6 18.Rxe4 a6 19.Bf1 Rhe8 20.Rde1 Nf5 21.Bd3 Rxe4 22.Bxe4 Qg3 23.h5 Re8 24.Nd5 Qg5 25.Qxg5 hxg5 26.Kd2 Ng3 27.Bg6 Rh8 28.f4 gxf4 29.Nxf4 Ne5 30.Nc1 Bc6 31.Ncd3 Nxh5 32.Bxh5 Nxd3 33.Kxd3 g5 34.Bf3 gxf4 35.Bxc6 bxc6 36.Re2 d5 37.Rf2 Rg8 38.Kd4 Rg5 39.Kc5 Kb7 40.Rxf4 Rxg2 41.Rb4+ Kc8 42.Kxc6 Rxc2+ 43.Kxd5 Rd2+ 44.Kc6 Rc2+ 45.Kd5 Rd2+ 46.Kc6 Rc2+ 47.Kd5 1/2-1/2

Round 6, August 23
Swiercz, Dariusz – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
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.Nc3 Ne8 10.Nd5 Bd6 11.Re1 Nf6 12.Nxf6+ Qxf6 13.d4 b6 14.Qg4 Bb7 15.Bd3 h6 16.Bd2 c5 17.Bc3 Qf4 18.Qxf4 Bxf4 19.dxc5 bxc5 20.Be5 Bxe5 21.Rxe5 d6 22.Re7 Bd5 23.Rd1 Bxa2 24.b3 d5 25.Bb5 c4 26.Ba4 Rab8 27.Rxa7 Rfd8 28.bxc4 Bxc4 29.h3 Rb2 30.Rc7 Rdb8 31.Bb3 Bxb3 32.cxb3 R2xb3 33.Rxd5 R3b7 34.Rdd7 Rxc7 35.Rxc7 g5 36.g4 Kg7 37.Kg2 Kg6 38.Rc6+ Kg7 39.Rc7 Kg6 40.Rc6+ Kg7 41.Rc7 Kg6 42.Rc6+ 1/2-1/2

Standings after Round Six

1-3 MVL, Dominguez, So 4
4 Caruana 3.5
5-7 Xiong, Mamedyarov, Rapport 3
8 Shankland 2.5
9-10 Swiercz, Svidler 1.5

[Hans Jung]

For the puzzle, White is better on many moves but 29. Nh4 is winning (29... gxh4 is impossible, 30. Rf6 wins with the queen or mates with Rg6+ and Qh5) with white dominating the white squares and threatening Nf5, Qh5, Raf1 and Rh2

29... Nxd5 30. exd5 also doesn't work as the queen must move and the knight comes on f5 with a winning attack, for exemple 30... Qxd5 31. Nf5 Qe6 32. Qh5 Rb6 33. Raf1 and black can't stop Rh2 without losing material

The best defense for black seems to be 29... Nh6 which is actually quite messy (trying to both protect f5 and close the h file) 30. Raf1 with threats on f6, 30... gxh4 still doesn't work 31. Nf6+ Kg7 32. Qh5 and the Qg5 threat wins, for instance 32... Rf7 33. Qg5+ Kf8 34. Qxh6 Ke7 35. Nd5+

The best line for black seems to be the simplification 29... Nh6 30. Raf1 Nxd5 31. exd5 Qg4 but white gets a winning endgame 32. Nf5 Qxe2 33. Nxh6+ Kh7 34. Rxe2 Kxh6 35. Rxe5

Great and tricky find! I love interesting knight moves and this is an unorthodox but deep one! - and its the only one that gives the discovery on f6 a chance of working. White's knights are better than Black's knights but I never thought of Nh4. Lots to ponder. Again nice find!

[Hans Jung]

So another line is 29.Nh4 Qh3 30.Ne7+ Kg7 31.Nhf5+ Kf6 32.Rh2 and the queen is trapped. Nice!

[Hans Jung]

Rd7 MVL crushes Xiong and takes the clear lead in the Sinquefeld Cup!

[Wayne Komer]

Sinquefield Cup 2021

August 24, 2021

Round Seven

Recap of Round Six

All recaps are from

https://grandchesstour.org/blog/2021...up-day-6-recap

For the first time in the event all five games in today’s round ended peacefully, as while a few players stood better at various points no one could increase their advantage to a significant degree. With the slew of draws, So, Vachier-Lagrave, and Dominguez remain at the top of the standings with 4.0/6, while Caruana is still a half-point behind with three rounds left to play.

Swiercz - Mamedyarov | ½-½, 42 moves

A 5.Re1 Berlin gave Swiercz a small but nagging advantage in terms of the structure, though he was never able to do much against Mamedyarov’s stubborn defense. A risky pawn grab (23...Bxa2) a-la Game 1 of the 1972 Spassky-Fischer World Championship worked out just fine for Mamedyarov, who was able to force liquidations and eventually secure a draw in the endgame.

Dominguez - Svidler | ½-½, 35 moves

One of the sharpest games of the round featured an aggressive handling of the Black side of the Italian Game by Svidler, who seemed to burn all bridges by advancing his kingside pawns towards White’s king. Missing an opportunity (pointed out by the engines) in the middlegame to sacrifice a knight and launch a powerful attack, Svidler instead played more calmly, allowing Dominguez to consolidate and equalize the game.

Position after White’s 26.Qb3



26...b5! 27.axb5 Nf3+!! was winning according to the engines, with the point that 28.gxf3 gxf3 29.Rfd1 Qh4!-+ (followed by Ra7-g7) gives Black a decisive attack.

Svidler had some attacking chances, but Dominguez put up stiff resistance.

Caruana - Vachier-Lagrave | ½-½, 46 moves

In a highly important game for the standings Caruana came armed with some deep theoretical preparation, targeting MVL’s beloved Najdorf and repeating the same line (6.Be3) that Dominguez used earlier to score a win against the French No. 1. MVL deviated from the game with Dominguez, though still found himself under serious pressure, using up more than half his time while Caruana was still clearly in his preparation. In a complex middlegame with opposite sides castling, Fabi had managed to create a powerful passed pawn on f6, but MVL was just in time to create counterplay with a passed pawn of his own. Not seeing a way to break through, Caruana then forced a draw as the players reached the first time-control.

After 30 moves Caruana still had more time than he started with, but soon caught up on time with MVL.

Despite his fantastic preparation, Caruana could not achieve a clear edge.

Shankland - Rapport | ½-½, 47 moves

An unusual line in the Scotch Opening led to a fresh position early on, as both players castled queenside before starting to fight for key squares in the center and kingside. It seemed as though Rapport had a small edge thanks to his healthier pawn structure, but ultimately couldn’t make anything out of it, eventually allowing simplifications into a drawn rook endgame.

Xiong - So | ½-½, 56 moves

The final game of the round to finish saw Xiong utilizing the London System, as he managed to put So under some pressure in the middlegame thanks to his better piece coordination. So defended well, and although Xiong missed a few chances to increase his edge he was never close to winning, as the game eventually petered out into a drawn bishops of opposite color endgame.

Round 7, August 24
Rapport, Richard – Dominguez, Leinier
D23 QGA, Mannheim variation

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Qa4+ Nc6 5.Qxc4 e5 6.Nxe5 Nxe5 7.dxe5 Ng4 8.Bf4 c6 9.e3 g5 10.Bg3 Qa5+ 11.Nd2 Be6 12.Qc2 O-O-O 13.O-O-O Bb4 14.a3 Bxd2+ 15.Rxd2 Bb3 16.Qf5+ Be6 17.Qc2 Bb3 18.Qc3 Qxc3+ 19.bxc3 Rxd2 20.Kxd2 Rd8+ 21.Ke2 Rd5 22.h4 Bc4+ 23.Kf3 Nxe5+ 24.Bxe5 Bxf1 25.Bd4 Rf5+ 26.Kg3 gxh4+ 27.Rxh4 Rg5+ 28.Rg4 Rxg4+ 29.Kxg4 Bxg2 30.Bxa7 b5 31.Kg5 Kd7 32.Kh6 Be4 33.f3 Bxf3 34.Kxh7 Ke6 35.Kg7 f5 36.Kf8 Kd5 37.Ke7 Kc4 38.Kd6 Kxc3 39.Bb6 Kb3 40.Bc5 Be4 41.Ke5 Kc4 42.Kd6 Kb3 43.Ke5 Kc4 44.Kd6 Kb3 45.Ke5 1/2-1/2

Round 7, August 24
So, Wesley – Shankland, Sam
A20 English Opening]

1.c4 e5 2.g3 c6 3.Nf3 e4 4.Nd4 d5 5.cxd5 Qxd5 6.Nc2 Nf6 7.Nc3 Qe5 8.Bg2 Na6 9.O-O Be7 10.d4 exd3 11.Qxd3 O-O 12.Rd1 Qh5 13.Qe3 Re8 14.Qg5 Qxg5 15.Bxg5 Nc7 16.Bf4 Ne6 17.Bd6 Kf8 18.e4 Rd8 19.Bxe7+ Kxe7 20.e5 Ne8 21.Ne3 a5 22.Rxd8 Nxd8 23.Rd1 f6 24.exf6+ Nxf6 25.f4 Be6 26.f5 Bd7 27.g4 Nf7 28.h4 h6 29.Kf2 Rg8 30.Kg3 Nd6 31.Re1 Kd8 32.Rd1 Ke7 33.Re1 Kd8 34.Rd1 Ke7 1/2-1/2

Round 7, August 24
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Caruana, Fabiano
E20 Nimzo-Indian, Kmoch variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.f3 c5 5.d5 d6 6.e4 b5 7.Bd2 Bxc3 8.Bxc3 b4 9.Bd2 O-O 10.Ne2 exd5 11.exd5 Nh5 12.Kf2 f5 13.Nf4 Nxf4 14.Bxf4 g5 15.Bc1 Nd7 16.f4 Nf6 17.Kg1 Ne4 18.fxg5 f4 19.Bd3 Qe7 20.Qe2 Bf5 21.Bxf4 Qg7 22.Rf1 Bg6 23.h3 Rae8 24.Qc2 Qd4+ 25.Kh2 Rf7 26.Qe2 Nf6 27.Qd1 Bxd3 28.gxf6 Bxf1 29.Qg4+ Kh8 30.Rxf1 Rxf6 31.Rf3 Rg8 32.Qh4 Qxb2 33.Rg3 Rxg3 34.Bxg3 Qd4 35.Qh5 Qe4 36.Qg5 Qg6 37.Qe3 Qf7 38.Qb3 Rg6 0-1

Position after White’s 13.Nf4



I like the line here that starts with Black playing 13…Qh4+ (14. g3 Nxg3 15. hxg3 Qxh1 16. Qe2 g5 17. Ne6 Re8 18. Bxg5 Nd7 19. Qc2 Ne5)

Round 7, August 24
Svidler, Peter – Swiercz, Dariusz
C88 Ruy Lopez, Closed, anti-Marshall

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.a4 Bb7 9.d3 d6 10.Nbd2 Nd7 11.c3 Nc5 12.axb5 axb5 13.Rxa8 Qxa8 14.Bc2 b4 15.d4 bxc3 16.bxc3 Nd7 17.Nf1 Qa1 18.Ne3 Qxc3 19.Nd5 Qa1 20.Re3 Qa7 21.Ba4 Bd8 22.Ra3 Qa6 23.Bc2 Na5 24.Bd2 c6 25.Ne3 Qb5 26.Bxa5 Bxa5 27.Bd3 Qb6 28.Nc4 Qb4 29.Rb3 Qa4 30.Nb2 Qa2 31.Rxb7 Nb6 32.Qb1 Qxb1+ 33.Bxb1 exd4 34.Nxd4 Bc3 35.Nxc6 1-0

Round 7, August 24
MVL - Xiong, Jeffery
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 Bd7 10.Rd1 Be7 11.Nc3 Ke8 12.g4 Nh4 13.Nxh4 Bxh4 14.Bf4 Rd8 15.Kg2 Be7 16.Be3 a5 17.f4 h5 18.f5 hxg4 19.hxg4 g6 20.Rh1 Rf8 21.f6 Bb4 22.Ne4 Be6 23.c3 Bd5 24.Kf3 Bd6 25.c4 Bxe4+ 26.Kxe4 Bb4 27.a3 Bd2 28.Bc5 Rg8 29.e6 1-0

Standings after Round Seven

1 MVL 5
2-4 Caruana, Dominguez, So 4.5
5 Rapport 3.5
6-8 Xiong, Mamedyarov, Shankland 3
9 Svidler 2.5
10 Swiercz 1.5

[Hans Jung]

Well we should get a great finish! - 4 in the race, two rounds to go!

[Marc Andre Beaudry]

MVL exploded the berlin yesterday which is very rare, he played a great game. Caruana played the b5 and d6 variation in the f3 nimzo, which is relatively new and played a truly great game.
MVL has played a great tournament winning one ruy and 2 beautiful italian, but in my opinion he has low nerves ans might collapse, hope not.

[Hans Jung]

Rd8 Draw on top board and I saw that coming for a while. At least MVL drew from a position of strength and I loved the dueling F and G pawns and play to bare kings.

Three sharp games left and I like the sparring in all of them: Dominguez - Shankland, Swiercz - Rapport, and Xiong - Shak.

[Hans Jung]

Amazingly MVL goes into the last round with a clear lead, a half point ahead of the field! Everyone of the leaders drew in rd 8. Im rooting for MVL to win.

[Wayne Komer]

Sinquefield Cup 2021

August 25, 2021

Round Eight

Recap of Round Seven

A clear leader emerged today as Vachier-Lagrave broke through the gridlock with a crucial win over Xiong, giving him a half-point lead over So and Dominguez who could only draw their games. Meanwhile, Caruana scored an important victory as Black over Mamedyarov, propelling him into a tie for second place as well. With two rounds left to play, everything is still on the line both in terms of the tournament and the overall GCT standings.

Rapport - Dominguez | ½-½, 45 moves

A sharp counter-gambit (5...e5) in the Queen’s Gambit Accepted gave Dominguez the initiative from the opening, as he gained a lead in development while chasing down Rapport’s queen. Though Rapport defended well, finding all the right moves needed to go into a drawish endgame. More simplifications occurred before the players agreed to a draw in a dead-equal bishops of opposite color endgame.

Vachier-Lagrave - Xiong | 1-0, 29 moves

It only took one mistake (18...hxg4) for Xiong to land in massive trouble in the Berlin Endgame, as he erroneously opened up the h-file for White’s connected rooks. MVL wasted no time in seizing the initiative, as he advanced his pawn all the way to f6 before taking over the h-file and soon crashing through with his pieces. Facing huge material losses with his king stuck on e8, Xiong resigned.



MVL’s 20.Rh1! led to catastrophe for Black, as the resulting invasion along the h-file simply couldn’t be prevented.

Svidler - Swiercz | 1-0, 35 moves

Despite solid preparation as Black in the Ruy Lopez, Swiercz quickly got himself in trouble after an ill-advised pawn grab (18...Qxc3) left his position under severe tactical strain. Svidler rapidly activated his pieces, and managed to stir up threats that would soon win him a full piece. With no compensation for the lost material, Swiercz was forced to throw in the towel.



21.Ba4! was the killing shot in Svidler - Swiercz, leading to huge material losses after the follow-up of Ra3.

So - Shankland | ½-½, 34 moves

It wasn’t the best day for So, who outplayed Shankland in a topical line of the English but quickly let his advantage dissipate as he failed to find the optimal way to capitalize on his edge. Shankland took the opportunity to equalize with a nice pawn break (23...f6), successfully neutralizing White’s space advantage. From there, So forced a repetition of moves, and the game was drawn.

Mamedyarov - Caruana | 0-1, 38 moves

The final game of the day to finish was exciting throughout, with both players opting for a sharp struggle in the 4.f3 Nimzo. It was Caruana who held the initiative early on, as he had the safer king and more active pieces, but Mamedyarov held the better long-term chances, thanks to his two bishops and somewhat healthier structure. After defending quite well, however, Mamedyarov ended up blundering in mutual time-trouble, losing the exchange without any significant compensation for it. Caruana grabbed the extra material and was able to consolidate, forcing resignation before the end of the first time control.


26.Qe2 was the start of White’s problems, as after Caruana’s reply 26...Nf6! Mamedyarov immediately erred with 27.Qd1, losing the exchange after 27...Bxd3 28.gxf6 Bxf1 -+

Round 8, August 25
Xiong, Jeffery – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
D31 QGD, Janowski variation

1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 a6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 Nf6 6.e3 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.Nf3 Nc6 9.Be2 O-O 10.O-O Re8 11.Rc1 h6 12.Qc2 Ba7 13.Rfd1 Be6 14.Ne5 Rc8 15.Bf3 Qa5 16.Qd3 Ne7 17.h3 Red8 18.Qe2 b5 19.a3 d4 20.exd4 Rxd4 21.Nd3 Rdd8 22.Nb4 Ng6 23.Be3 Rxd1+ 24.Rxd1 Bb8 25.Nc6 Rxc6 26.Bxc6 Qc7 27.f4 Nxf4 28.Qd2 Nd3 29.Qxd3 Qh2+ 30.Kf2 Qg3+ 31.Kg1 Qh2+ 32.Kf2 Qg3+ 33.Kg1 Qh2+ 34.Kf2 1/2-1/2

Round 8, August 25
Caruana, Fabiano – Svidler, Peter
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.Qc2 Nxc3 12.bxc3 f6 13.Bxc6 bxc6 14.exf6 Qxf6 15.Ne5 Bf5 16.Qa4 c5 17.O-O cxd4 18.cxd4 c5 19.dxc5 Qxe5 20.cxb6 axb6 21.Qb4 Be4 22.Qxb6 Rf6 23.Qd4 Qxd4 24.Bxd4 Rfa6 25.f3 Bc2 26.Rae1 Ra4 27.Rf2 Bd3 28.Bc5 R8a5 29.Re8+ Kf7 30.Re7+ Kf6 31.Rc7 Rc4 32.Bd6 Ra6 33.Bg3 Rxc7 34.Bxc7 Bc4 35.Rb2 h5 36.Bb6 Ke5 37.Bc5 Rxa2 38.Rxa2 Bxa2 39.Bf8 Kf6 40.Bc5 Ke5 41.Bf8 Kf6 42.Bc5 Ke5 1/2-1/2

Round 8, August 25
Swiercz, Dariusz – Rapport, Richard
D02 Queen’s Bishop game

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4 Bf5 4.e3 e6 5.Bd3 Bg6 6.c4 Bd6 7.Bg5 c6 8.Nc3 Nbd7 9.O-O Qb8 10.h3 Bh5 11.Re1 dxc4 12.Bxc4 h6 13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.Be2 Rg8 15.Nd2 Bxe2 16.Qxe2 Rg6 17.Nc4 Bb4 18.Rac1 Nb6 19.a3 Bxc3 20.Rxc3 Qd8 21.e4 Kf8 22.Rd1 Nxc4 23.Rxc4 Qd6 24.Qf3 Rd8 25.Rc3 Kg7 26.Rcd3 Qc7 27.Qe3 Qa5 28.b4 Qh5 29.Qf4 e5 30.dxe5 fxe5 31.Qc1 Rd4 32.Rxd4 Qxh3 33.g3 exd4 34.Rxd4 Qe6 35.Qc3 Qf6 36.Qe3 h5 37.e5 Qg5 38.Qxg5 Rxg5 39.Rd7 Rxe5 40.Rxb7 a5 41.Rc7 axb4 42.axb4 Rb5 43.Rxc6 Rxb4 44.Kg2 h4 45.gxh4 Rxh4 46.Kg3 Rb4 47.Kg2 Rh4 48.Kg3 Rb4 49.Kg2 Rh4 50.Kg3 1/2-1/2

Round 8, August 25
MVL – 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.Nc3 Ne8 10.d4 Bf6 11.Re1 d5 12.b3 c6 13.Ba3 Nd6 14.Qf3 Be6 15.Qf4 Be7 16.Bd3 Ne8 17.Bxe7 Qxe7 18.Re5 g6 19.Rae1 Ng7 20.Ne2 Rae8 21.Ng3 Qd6 22.Qf6 Qd8 23.Qxd8 Rxd8 24.h4 Rfe8 25.h5 f6 26.R5e3 Bf7 27.hxg6 hxg6 28.Rxe8+ Rxe8 29.Rxe8+ Nxe8 30.f3 Nd6 31.Kf2 Kg7 32.Ke3 Be6 33.Ne2 g5 34.g4 f5 35.f4 Kf6 36.fxg5+ Kxg5 37.gxf5 Bxf5 38.c4 Bxd3 39.Kxd3 dxc4+ 40.bxc4 Kf5 41.Nc3 Ke6 42.a4 b6 43.a5 bxa5 44.d5+ cxd5 45.Nxd5 Nxc4 46.Kxc4 a4 47.Nf4+ Kf5 48.Kb4 a5+ 49.Kxa4 Kxf4 50.Kxa5 1/2-1/2

Round 8, August 25
Dominguez, Leinier - Shankland, Sam
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Byrne Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nf3 Be7 8.Bc4 Nc6 9.Nd5 O-O 10.Bb6 Qd7 11.Nxf6+ Bxf6 12.Qd3 Ne7 13.O-O-O Qc6 14.Be3 b5 15.Bb3 Bb7 16.Qxd6 Qxd6 17.Rxd6 Bxe4 18.Nd2 Bb7 19.Bc5 Rac8 20.Rd7 Bxg2 21.Rg1 Rxc5 22.Rxg2 Nf5 23.Bd5 Nd4 24.Ne4 Rxc2+ 25.Kb1 Bd8 26.Bxf7+ Kh8 27.Bd5 Re2 28.Rg1 Nf5 29.Be6 Nd4 30.Bd5 Nf5 31.Be6 Nd4 32.Bd5 1/2-1/2

Standings after Round Eight

1 MVL 5.5
2-4 Caruana, Dominguez, So, Rapport 5
5 Rapport 4
6-8 Xiong, Shankland, Mamedyarov 3.5
9 Svidler 3
10 Swiercz 2

Round Nine Matches

Shankland-Swiercz
Mamedyarov-MVL
So-Dominguez
Svidler-Xiong
Rapport-Caruana

[Hans Jung]

With his draw in rd 8 Wesley So has won the Grand Chess Tour this year. Congratulations Wesley! In addition to all the tournament prizes the Grand Chess tour awards $100,000 dollars (US) to the winner of the tour.