Sinquefield Cup 2021

[Hans Jung]

Shak - Rapport crazy game, almost five hours. Long by modern standards. Richard Rapport runs out of variations and Shak wins.

[Wayne Komer]

Sinquefield Cup 2021

August 19, 2021

Round Three

From Alex Yermolinsky in chess.com

One could not have foreseen a more disastrous script written for Swiercz's maiden appearance in elite tournaments. Two losses with White, both caused by unnecessary drifting into time trouble. A total lack of confidence is to blame. Like many of his GM colleagues, Dariusz has been kept away from the chessboard, as the wave of cancellations swept over the chess world. The top guys have had their chances to stay sharp during the pandemic, but the second-tier players—not so much.

When a young player, such as Swiercz, spends his time demonstrating computer moves on a Smart TV chessboard instead of playing and studying, he is not doing his chess any favors. There is enough time for Dariusz to right his ship, he just needs a draw or two to stop the bleeding.

https://www.chess.com/news/view/2021...ield-cup-day-2

Round 3, August 19
So, Wesley – Svidler, Peter
A37 English, symmetrical, Botvinnik System reversed

1.c4 g6 2.Nc3 c5 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.Nf3 e5 6.a3 a5 7.d3 Nge7 8.Nd2 d6 9.Nf1 O-O 10.Ne3 Rb8 11.Rb1 Nd4 12.Bd2 Bd7 13.O-O Bc6 14.b4 axb4 15.axb4 cxb4 16.Rxb4 Bxg2 17.Kxg2 Qd7 18.Ned5 Nec6 19.Rb6 f5 20.f3 Rf7 21.Be3 h5 22.Qd2 Ne6 23.Rfb1 Kh7 24.h4 f4 25.gxf4 exf4 26.Bf2 Ncd4 27.Bxd4 Bxd4 28.Ne4 1-0

Round 3, August 19
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Rapport, Richard
D49 QGD, Semi-Slav, Meran, Blumenfeld variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3 a6 9.e4 c5 10.e5 cxd4 11.Nxb5 axb5 12.exf6 Qb6 13.O-O Nxf6 14.Nxd4 Bd7 15.Nf3 Bd6 16.Be3 Qb8 17.Bd4 O-O 18.Re1 Rd8 19.Rc1 Rxa2 20.Bb1 Ra6 21.Bxf6 gxf6 22.Qd4 Kg7 23.Qg4+ Kf8 24.Qh4 Ke7 25.g3 Ra4 26.Qxh7 Rh8 27.Qd3 Qb6 28.Rcd1 Bc8 29.Bc2 Rg4 30.Nd4 Be5 31.Nxb5 Qc5 32.Nc3 Kf8 33.Ne4 Qc6 34.b4 Ba6 35.Qf3 f5 36.Nd2 Qxc2 37.Rxe5 Bb7 38.Qb3 Qc7 39.Qb2 Rgg8 40.f3 f6 41.Rxe6 Rxg3+ 42.Kf1 Rxh2 43.Qxf6+ Qf7 44.Qe5 f4 45.Rf6 Ba6+ 46.Rxa6 Rh1+ 47.Kf2 Rh2+ 48.Ke1 Rh1+ 49.Nf1 Rxf1+ 50.Kxf1 Qc4+ 51.Ke1 Rg1+ 52.Kf2 Qc2+ 53.Kxg1 Qxd1+ 54.Kf2 1-0

Position after 14.Nxd4



Sacha Grischuk sure knows his #Chessclassics remembering Botvinnik-Euwe 1948! But few will know that 75 years ago Kottnauer, British citizen to be, twice spectacularly beat Kotov from this position (Staunton/Groningen 1946)

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1242957

Round 3, August 19
MVL – Shankland, Sam
C54 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.O-O a6 7.a4 h6 8.Re1 Ba7 9.Nbd2 Be6 10.Bxe6 fxe6 11.Nf1 a5 12.Ng3 Qd7 13.Be3 Bxe3 14.Rxe3 g5 15.d4 O-O-O 16.d5 exd5 17.exd5 Ne7 18.c4 Ng4 19.Rb3 Rdf8 20.Qe1 b6 21.Rb5 Nxf2 22.Qxf2 g4 23.Nxe5 Qxb5 24.axb5 Rxf2 25.Kxf2 dxe5 26.Ke3 Rf8 27.Rf1 Rxf1 28.Nxf1 Nf5+ 29.Kd3 Kd7 30.Nd2 Nd6 31.Ne4 Ke7 32.Nxd6 cxd6 33.Ke4 Kf6 34.b3 Kg6 35.c5 dxc5 36.d6 Kf7 37.Kd5 e4 38.Kc6 e3 39.d7 e2 40.d8=Q e1=Q 41.Kxb6 Qe6+ 42.Ka7 c4 43.bxc4 a4 44.b6 a3 45.b7 a2 46.Qc7+ Kg6 47.Qa5 1-0

Round 3, August 19
Xiong, Jeffery – Dominguez, Leinier
C47 Four Knights, Scotch variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 O-O 8.O-O d5 9.exd5 cxd5 10.h3 c6 11.Qf3 Bd6 12.Re1 Re8 13.Rxe8+ Qxe8 14.Bf4 Qe7 15.Na4 c5 16.Bxd6 Qxd6 17.c4 Bd7 18.Nc3 Rb8 19.Nxd5 Nxd5 20.Rd1 Rxb2 21.Be4 Bc6 22.g3 g6 23.Bxd5 Bxd5 24.Qxd5 Qxd5 25.Rxd5 Rxa2 26.Rxc5 a5 27.Rc7 Rc2 28.Ra7 Rxc4 29.Rxa5 Kg7 30.h4 h5 31.Kg2 Kg8 32.Kg1 Kg7 33.Kg2 Kg8 34.Kg1 Kg7 1/2-1/2

Round 3, August 19
Caruana, Fabiano – Swiercz, Dariusz
B320 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.O-O Nge7 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Qb6 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.Be2 Ng6 9.c4 Be7 10.Nc3 O-O 11.Rb1 c5 12.Be3 Qc7 13.f4 Bb7 14.g3 Rfe8 15.h4 Nf8 16.Bf3 d6 17.Qd2 a6 18.b3 Rad8 19.Qf2 Nd7 20.Rbd1 Bf6 21.Ne2 Nb6 22.g4 d5 23.g5 Be7 24.f5 exf5 25.Bf4 Bd6 26.Bxd6 Qxd6 27.exd5 Nd7 28.Bg2 Bc8 29.Nf4 Ne5 30.b4 cxb4 31.c5 Qb8 32.Rfe1 b3 33.axb3 Qb4 34.Re2 Ng4 35.Qd4 Qxb3 36.Nh5 f6 37.Rxe8+ Rxe8 38.gxf6 gxf6 39.d6 Be6 40.d7 Rd8 41.c6 Qc2 42.Re1 Kf7 43.Nf4 Bb3 44.c7 Qxc7 45.Bd5+ Bxd5 46.Qxd5+ Kg7 47.Ne6+ 1-0

Standings after Round Three

1-3 Caruana, So, MVL 2.5
4-5 Mamedyarov, Dominguez 2
6 Xiong 1.5
7 Rapport 1
8-9 Svidler, Shankland 0.5
10 Swiercz 0

[Hans Jung]

I have great respect for the Yermolator and his comments and yes Darius Swiercz needs to stop the bleeding. However I have to add that he is outclassed. He is 2655. The rest of the field consists of seasoned 2700 players, 6 in the top 20 of the world, Peter Svidler who is a chess legend, and Shankland and Xiong who are seasoned fighters. Everybody is out to win. Nobody is giving any easy points or half points. I dont see him placing anywhere except last place.

[Kerry Liles]

[QUOTE=Wayne Komer;n214944]Sinquefield Cup 2021

[...some stuff snipped]

Round 3, August 19
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Rapport, Richard
D49 QGD, Semi-Slav, Meran, Blumenfeld variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3 a6 9.e4 c5 10.e5 cxd4 11.Nxb5 axb5 12.exf6 Qb6 13.O-O Nxf6 14.Nxd4 Bd7 15.Nf3 Bd6 16.Be3 Qb8 17.Bd4 O-O 18.Re1 Rd8 19.Rc1 Rxa2 20.Bb1 Ra6 21.Bxf6 gxf6 22.Qd4 Kg7 23.Qg4+ Kf8 24.Qh4 Ke7 25.g3 Ra4 26.Qxh7 Rh8 27.Qd3 Qb6 28.Rcd1 Bc8 29.Bc2 Rg4 30.Nd4 Be5 31.Nxb5 Qc5 32.Nc3 Kf8 33.Ne4 Qc6 34.b4 Ba6 35.Qf3 f5 36.Nd2 Qxc2 37.Rxe5 Bb7 38.Qb3 Qc7 39.Qb2 Rgg8 40.f3 f6 41.Rxe6 Rxg3+ 42.Kf1 Rxh2 43.Qxf6+ Qf7 44.Qe5 f4 45.Rf6 Ba6+ 46.Rxa6 Rh1+ 47.Kf2 Rh2+ 48.Ke1 Rh1+ 49.Nf1 Rxf1+ 50.Kxf1 Qc4+ 51.Ke1 Rg1+ 52.Kf2 Qc2+ 53.Kxg1 Qxd1+ 54.Kf2 1-0

Position after 14.Nxd4



Sacha Grischuk sure knows his #Chessclassics remembering Botvinnik-Euwe 1948! But few will know that 75 years ago Kottnauer, British citizen to be, twice spectacularly beat Kotov from this position (Staunton/Groningen 1946)

... I don't think the diagram is correct - looks like after move 3 or so?

Note-original post has been corrected...

[Sam Sharpe]

I am enjoying Grischuk's commentary.

[Wayne Komer]

Sinquefield Cup 2021

August 20, 2021

Round Three

Diagram corrected. Thank you Kerry

[Hans Jung]

Rd4 Dominguez checkmated MVL in the Najdorf. I had bad feelings about Black's position after ...Qg7.

Magnificent pawns by Richard Rapport (d4, e5, f6) Hard to fight against and so Rapport won.

Superb play in the endgame by Sam Shankland. He made it look easy and beat the Shak.

[Hans Jung]

The Najdorf didnt do to well today (Rd4) Should be 0-2. First MVL got checkmated and then Jeffery Xiong waved a red flag at the bull with castles queenside. If that game doesnt end in a loss its entirely due to Jeffery Xiong's abilities to be Houdini in lost positions.

[Wayne Komer]

Sinquefield Cup 2021

August 20, 2021

Round Four

2021 Sinquefield Cup - Day 3 Recap

It was a bloody day in Saint Louis as four players won their games today, with Caruana, So, and Vachier-Lagrave remaining in the lead with 2.5/3 so far. Bringing his score to 2.0/3 was Mamedyarov, who defeated Rapport in an incredibly action-packed game.

Xiong - Dominguez | ½-½, 34 moves

The only draw of the day was the first one to finish as Xiong essayed the Four Knights Scotch but was unable to generate much imbalance against the solid play of Dominguez. A balanced middlegame saw the players trade everything off before ending up in a dead drawn rook endgame.

So - Svidler | 1-0, 28 moves

A difficult game for the eight-time Russian champion, who fell worse in a Symmetrical English after So executed the thematic queenside break of b2-b4. Things rapidly turned sour for Svidler, as White’s pressure on the queenside and center soon reached a breaking point, causing Black’s position to collapse under the stress.



28.Ne4! forced resignation from Svidler, as 28...Be5 runs into 29.Rxd6! and Black can’t take back in view of Nef6+, winning the queen.

Caruana - Swiercz | 1-0, 47 moves

After starting the tournament with two losses Darius Swiercz had the unpleasant task of facing Caruana today as Black. Unfortunately for Swiercz, Caruana showed up in excellent form, outplaying the former World Junior Champion in a dynamic Open Sicilian. Thanks to some powerful play in the middlegame, Caruana obtained two powerful passed pawns in the center, which allowed him to quickly steamroll his opponent soon thereafter.



30.b4! gave Caruana two unstoppable pawns in the center, leading to a crushing victory.

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

Good preparation by Shankland allowed him to seize the initiative on the Black side of an Italian Game, but after castling queenside he did not find the most accurate way to proceed and allowed Vachier-Lagrave good counterplay. After the ensuing complications the players ended up in a knight endgame that was objectively drawn, but a blunder by Shankland gave MVL the chance to go into a winning king and pawn endgame, which he promptly seized and eventually converted.



32.Nxd6! led to a winning king and pawn endgame for Vachier-Lagrave, as after 32...cxd6 33.Ke4 Black soon found himself in zugzwang.

Mamedyarov - Rapport | 1-0, 54 moves

The most exciting game of the day, as Mamedyarov and Rapport squared off in the ultra-sharp Meran Variation of the Semi-Slav. In a dynamic middlegame with chances for both sides, Mamedyarov got the better of his opponent in a wild time-scramble, as Rapport ended up blundering on the 40th move. Upon reaching the time control, Mamedyarov was able to accurately calculate his way to victory, finding a number of only-moves to finish off the game.

[5k2/1b3q2/4R3/4Qp2/1P6/5Pr1/3N3r/3R1K2 b - - 2 44fen]5k2/1b3q2/4R3/4Qp2/1P6/5Pr1/3N3r/3R1K2 b - - 2 44[/fen]

44.Qe5! was the only winning move in the position, with the point that 44...Rg2 45.Ne4!+- is winning for White, as pointed out by Mamedyarov after the game.

https://grandchesstour.org/blog/2021...up-day-3-recap

Round 4, August 20
Caruana, Fabiano – So, Wesley
A33 English, symmetrical variation

1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 e6 6.g3 Qb6 7.Nb3 Ne5 8.e4 Bb4 9.Qe2 d6 10.Bd2 O-O 11.Bg2 Bd7 12.f4 Ng6 13.Rc1 Bc6 14.a3 Bxc3 15.Rxc3 a5 16.Qe3 Ra6 17.c5 dxc5 18.Nxc5 Raa8 19.Nb3 Qxe3+ 20.Rxe3 Ng4 21.Rc3 Rfd8 22.Rc4 Bb5 23.Rc5 Ba4 24.h3 Nf6 25.e5 Nd5 26.Bxd5 exd5 27.Nd4 b6 28.Rc7 Rac8 29.Rb7 Rb8 30.Rxb8 Rxb8 31.Kf2 Rc8 32.b4 axb4 33.Bxb4 h5 34.Ke3 Rc4 35.h4 Nf8 36.Bxf8 Kxf8 37.Rb1 b5 38.Kd3 g6 39.f5 gxf5 40.Rf1 b4 41.axb4 Rxb4 42.Rxf5 Bd1 43.Rf6 Bg4 44.Ke3 Rb1 45.Nf5 Rb3+ 46.Kd4 Bxf5 47.Rxf5 Rxg3 48.Rxh5 Kg7 49.Kxd5 Rg4 50.Rg5+ Rxg5 51.hxg5 Kg6 52.e6 fxe6+ 53.Kxe6 Kxg5 1/2-1/2

Round 4, August 20
Rapport, Richard – Svidler, Peter
A07 Reti, King’s Indian Attack

1.g3 d5 2.Nf3 Nd7 3.d4 Nb6 4.a4 a5 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.Bg2 Bf5 7.Nh4 e6 8.Nxf5 exf5 9.Qd3 Qd7 10.O-O Bb4 11.Nd1 O-O 12.f3 Rfe8 13.Nf2 Qe6 14.Bg5 Nc4 15.c3 Bf8 16.Rae1 Nxb2 17.Qc2 Nc4 18.e4 h6 19.Bxf6 Qxf6 20.e5 Qe6 21.f4 h5 22.h3 g6 23.g4 hxg4 24.hxg4 fxg4 25.Qd1 g3 26.Ng4 Bg7 27.Bh3 Qb6 28.Qd3 c5 29.Rb1 Qc7 30.f5 Ra6 31.f6 cxd4 32.cxd4 Bf8 33.Qxg3 Nd2 34.Qh4 Ne4 35.Nh6+ Bxh6 36.Qxh6 Nxf6 37.exf6 Qg3+ 38.Bg2 1-0

Round 4, August 20
Shankland, Sam – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d5 6.exd5 Qxd5 7.Bc4 Qd8 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bh4 g5 10.Bg3 e4 11.Qe2 Qe7 12.dxe4 Nxe4 13.Nbd2 Nxg3 14.Qxe7+ Bxe7 15.fxg3 Bf5 16.O-O Bg6 17.Bb5 O-O-O 18.Bxc6 bxc6 19.Nb3 Rd5 20.Rae1 Bf6 21.Nfd4 Bxd4+ 22.Nxd4 Kb7 23.Nb3 Kb6 24.c4 Rd7 25.a4 a5 26.Rf6 Ra8 27.Re5 Rd1+ 28.Kf2 Ra6 29.Rb5+ Ka7 30.Rxa5 Rxa5 31.Nxa5 Rd2+ 32.Kf3 Rxb2 33.Nxc6+ Ka8 34.Ne5 Bc2 35.Nxf7 h5 36.Nxg5 Bd1+ 37.Ke3 Re2+ 38.Kd4 Rxg2 39.a5 Rxh2 40.Ne6 h4 41.Nxc7+ Kb8 42.Nb5 hxg3 43.a6 Rh8 1-0

Round 4, August 20
Dominguez, Leinier – 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.Nd5 Nxd5 16.exd5 Bxd5 17.Qxd5 Qxa5 18.c4 Nf4 19.Bxf4 exf4 20.h4 Qa4 21.Bd3 bxc4 22.Qe4 g6 23.Bc2 Qd7 24.h5 Qe6 25.hxg6 hxg6 26.Qxf4 Qe5 27.Qh4 Qg7 28.Rd2 Rc5 29.f4 f6 30.Rdh2 fxg5 31.Qe1 Bf6 32.Rh6 Qb7 33.Qe6+ 1-0

Position after 28.Rd2



Trouble looms for MVL as Dominguez finds the critical Rd2!

Round 4, August 28
Swiercz, Dariusz – Xiong, Jeffery
B96 Sicilian, Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 h6 8.Bh4 Qb6 9.a3 Nbd7 10.Bf2 Qc7 11.Bd3 b5 12.Qe2 Bb7 13.O-O-O Be7 14.Kb1 g6 15.Rhe1 Nc5 16.g4 g5 17.fxg5 hxg5 18.Bg3 O-O-O 19.Rf1 Qb6 20.Nb3 Ncd7 21.Bf2 Qc7 22.a4 bxa4 23.Nxa4 Qc6 24.Nc3 Rxh2 25.Na5 Qc7 26.Nxb7 Kxb7 27.Bxa6+ Ka8 28.Nb5 Qc6 29.Nd4 Qb6 30.Rd3 Nc5 31.Ra3 Kb8 32.Nf3 Rxf2 33.Qxf2 Nfxe4 34.Qe3 Kc7 35.Nd4 Rb8 36.Bb5 f5 37.c4 d5 38.gxf5 e5 39.Nc6 dxc4 40.Nxb8 Qxb5 41.Na6+ Nxa6 42.Rxa6 c3 43.Ra7+ Kb8 44.Ra8+ Kxa8 45.Qxe4+ Ka7 46.Rf2 Bc5 47.Qd5 Kb6 48.Qe6+ Ka5 49.Rc2 Ba3 50.b3 Qc5 51.f6 Bb2 52.Rxb2 cxb2 53.b4+ Kxb4 54.Qe7 1-0

Standings after Round Four

1-3 Dominguez, Caruana, So 3
4 MVL 2.5
5-6 Mamedyarov, Rapport 2
7-8 Shankland, Xiong 1.5
9 Swiercz 1
10 Svidler 0.5

[Marc Andre Beaudry]

Leinier Dominguez played an outstanding attack on MVL, he played a great game, Sam Shankland played a good game vs Shaq in a Berlin where he played c3 d3, which I have started to study as it leads to non boring games usual of the very resilient Berlin.

[Hans Jung]

( Rd 5) There must be something in the water this round. Caruana uncorked a howler 23...Nd8?? and Xiong found the tactical reply Nb4 (thank you very much!)

Also MVL - Swiercz move 11. Bb3? Swiercz could have grabbed a pawn in broad daylight (11...Qxd3 as 12.Bc2 Black has the zwischenzug Bxf3)

In Shak-Dominguez, Dominguez rarely parts with the bishops so 21...Bxe5 was really odd giving Shak the two bishops (especially when Black had many other good continuations.

Add in two short draws in the other games and we dont have much of a round.

[Guillaume Cardin]

Nice tactics here on move 29 for white which was missed in the game. White to play !
https://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2021...aruana_Fabiano

[Guillaume Cardin]

Here is the position

[Hans Jung]

Instead of the opportunity to take a clear lead Caruana sit a half point back of Dominguez, MVL, and So at the half way point.

[Wayne Komer]

Sinquefield Cup 2021

August 21, 2021

Round Five

2021 Sinquefield Cup - Day 4 Recap

It was another exciting round as Leinier Dominguez joined the leaders today thanks to a spectacular victory over Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, while Caruana and So drew their individual game to remain on a ‘plus two’ score. Meanwhile Swiercz won his first game of the event, defeating Xiong, as did both Shankland and Rapport, bouncing back from yesterday’s losses with nice wins over Mamedyarov and Svidler.

Dominguez - Vachier-Lagrave | 1-0, 33 moves

A theoretical battle in the Najdorf turned into a brilliant victory for Dominguez, who found several exceptionally precise maneuvers to generate a decisive attack on the kingside. Vachier-Lagrave tried to put up some resistance, but it simply wasn’t enough as White’s pieces soon crashed through to deliver a forced mate.




31.Qe1! was the killer blow, threatening Qe6+ as well as ideas on the h-file. After 31...Bf6 32.Rh6!+- it was all over.

Rapport - Svidler | 1-0, 36 moves

After starting with 1.g3 Rapport was able to achieve a complex middlegame, gaining the pair of bishops early on and slowly building up pressure in the center. Although Svidler’s position was tenable, he didn’t react correctly to White’s advances on the kingside, and soon found himself under an irresistible attack. Rapport was accurate until the end, and forced resignation after his attack netted him a full piece.



30.f5! gave White a crushing attack on the kingside. After 30...Ra6 31.f6 White followed up with Qxg3 and Qh4, with a decisive advantage.

Shankland - Mamedyarov | 1-0, 44 moves

Mamedyarov’s surprising treatment of the Berlin Defense caught Shankland off-guard in the opening, but it wasn’t the end of the world as Sam managed to reach a fairly equal endgame with two knights and a better structure against Black’s two bishops. Although the game remained balanced for some time, Mamedyarov misplayed the position and all of a sudden fell worse when he could no longer sufficiently defend his weaknesses. This allowed Shankland to win a pawn, and then another, before smoothly converting the material advantage to win his first game of the event.

Caruana - So | ½-½, 53 moves

In the critical match-up between the leaders, Caruana did not get much out of the opening, a Symmetrical English, but did obtain a structural advantage in the middlegame after saddling Black with an isolated queen pawn. Unfortunately for Caruana he wasn’t able to increase his advantage, and So held the draw with some patient defense.

Swiercz - Xiong | 1-0, 54 moves

Despite losing his first three games of the event Swiercz continued to play principled chess and was rewarded for it, winning after a sharp struggle in a 6.Bg5 Najdorf. The game quickly reached a boiling point in the middlegame after a risky decision by Xiong to castle queenside, giving White huge attacking chances against Black’s king. Swiercz seized the opportunity and opened up the queenside to start a furious attack, but was unable to land the knockout blow in view of Xiong’s stubborn defense. Once the players reached the time control, Swiercz found himself up an exchange, and won in style after Xiong missed the only saving defense.



53.b4! was the final winning shot, as 53...Kxb4 54.Qe7 leads to a winning king and pawn endgame, as does 53...Qxb4 54.Qa2+, followed by Qxb2 where White’s f-pawn will decide.

Round 5, August 21
Svidler, Peter – Shankland, Sam
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Kristiansen Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bd3 e5 7.Nde2 Be6 8.O-O Nc6 9.f4 exf4 10.Nxf4 Ne5 11.a4 g6 12.Be2 Bg7 13.Be3 O-O 14.a5 Rc8 15.Ra4 Re8 16.h3 Qe7 17.Bd4 h5 18.Qe1 Bd7 19.Nfd5 Nxd5 20.Nxd5 Qe6 21.Nf4 Qe7 22.Nd5 Qe6 23.Nf4 Qe7 24.Nd5 1/2-1/2

Round 5, August 21
MVL – Swiercz, Dariusz
C53 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 O-O 6.O-O d5 7.exd5 Nxd5 8.Re1 Bg4 9.Nbd2 Nb6 10.h3 Bh5 11.Bb3 Kh8 12.Ne4 Nd7 13.Bd5 Bb6 14.Ng3 Bxf3 15.Qxf3 f5 16.d4 f4 17.Ne4 Qh4 18.Nd2 exd4 19.Nc4 Rad8 20.Bxc6 bxc6 21.Bd2 Nf6 22.Nxb6 cxb6 23.cxd4 c5 24.Re7 Rxd4 25.Bc3 Nd5 26.Rxa7 Nxc3 27.bxc3 Rdd8 28.Re1 c4 29.Re4 b5 30.a4 Rd3 31.Qxf4 Qxf4 32.Rxf4 Rg8 33.axb5 Rxc3 34.Rc7 Rb3 35.Rc5 c3 36.Rfc4 h6 37.Rxc3 Rb1+ 38.Kh2 Kh7 39.Rg3 Rb2 40.f4 g6 41.f5 g5 42.Rd3 Re8 43.Rd7+ Kg8 44.Rc6 Rxb5 45.Rg6+ Kf8 46.Rxh6 Kg8 47.f6 1-0

Round 5, August 21
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Dominguez, Leinier
D27 QGA, Classical

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 a6 6.O-O c5 7.Re1 Nc6 8.Bd3 cxd4 9.exd4 Be7 10.Nc3 O-O 11.Ne5 Nxd4 12.Bf4 Nf5 13.Qc2 Nd4 14.Qd1 Nf5 15.Qf3 Nh4 16.Qh3 Nd5 17.Bg3 Ng6 18.Rad1 Bf6 19.Bb1 Qb6 20.Qh5 Nxc3 21.bxc3 Bxe5 22.Bxe5 Rd8 23.h4 Rxd1 24.Rxd1 Bd7 25.Bxg7 Kxg7 26.Bxg6 hxg6 27.Qe5+ Kg8 28.Rxd7 Rd8 29.Re7 Qb1+ 30.Kh2 Qf5 31.Qxf5 exf5 32.Rxb7 Rd2 33.f3 Rxa2 34.Ra7 Rc2 35.Rxa6 Rxc3 36.Ra8+ Kg7 37.Ra6 Kg8 38.Ra8+ Kg7 39.Ra6 Kg8 1/2-1/2

Round 5, August 21
So, Wesley – Rapport, Richard
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 Nf5 8.c3 Nxe5 9.Rxe5 d6 10.Re1 O-O 11.d4 d5 12.Bf4 Bd6 13.Qf3 Nh4 14.Qe3 Nf5 15.Qf3 Nh4 16.Qg3 Nf5 17.Qf3 1/2-1/2

Round 5, August 21
Xiong, Jeffery – Caruana, Fabiano
A08 Reti, King’s Indian Attack

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 c5 3.Bg2 e6 4.O-O Nf6 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 e5 7.Nb3 a5 8.Bg5 a4 9.Nc1 Be6 10.e4 d4 11.f4 Be7 12.Nd3 Nc6 13.Bf3 Nd7 14.Bxe7 Qxe7 15.Nd2 b5 16.b3 f6 17.Bh5+ g6 18.f5 Bf7 19.fxg6 hxg6 20.Bg4 Be6 21.Bxe6 Qxe6 22.Nf3 g5 23.Qe2 Nd8 24.Nb4 Rb8 25.Nd5 O-O 26.h4 Nf7 27.hxg5 fxg5 28.Rf2 Nb6 29.Qxb5 Nxd5 30.Qxd5 Qxd5 31.exd5 axb3 32.axb3 d3 33.cxd3 Rxb3 34.Ra6 Rd8 35.Rg6+ Kh7 36.Rf6 Rxd3 1-0

Standings after Round Five

1-3 MVL, Dominguez, So 3.5
4 Caruana 3
5-7 Xiong, Mamedyarov, Rapport 2.5
8 Shankland 2
9-10 Swiercz, Svidler 1

Tomorrow is a rest day