World Cup: Round 3 kicks off in Khanty-Mansiysk
The starting games of the Round 3 of FIDE World Cup were played in the Ugra Chess Academy on September 16. Seven encounters ended with a victory for one side. The biggest upset of the day was Kirill Alekseenko’s (Russia) beating the higher-rated Pentala Harikrishna (India). The Russian GM broke through on the queenside and despite Black’s counterplay in the center infiltrated with his rooks into the opponent’s camp and took total control over the position. Alexander Grischuk (Russia) defeated Xu Xiangyu (China) demonstrating superior calculation of variations in a very complicated position. It should be noted though, that after 24…Be7? he could have found himself on the brink of defeat. Alexander confessed that in the variation 25. Rxh7+ Bxh7 26. Nxh7 Qxh7 he completely missed 27.Qe4! with a decisive advantage for White. Luckily for the Russian GM, the Chinese player opted for 25. Qc6? which left him high and dry. Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan) obtained a very comfortable position in his encounter with Daniil Yuffa (Russia) and despite an early queen exchange shattered Black’s defense combining the threats on both wings. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan) bested his compatriot Eltaj Safarli although the capitulation of the latter in the final position looks premature. Dmitry Andreikin (Russia) was very close to equality in his game with Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland) but several inaccuracies snowballed into a disaster in a four-rook endgame. Nikita Vitiugov (Russia) won one of the most important games in his chess career, beating Sergey Karjakin (Russia). “Sergey was defeating solidly, and after the time control, it seemed to me that the biggest part of my advantage has disappeared,” said Nikita in a post-game interview. “However, Black’s problems were bigger than they seemed at first sight. I am not sure about his decision to take a pawn on b3, maybe he could just stay. After the capture, it is sad for Black.” If Vitiugov makes a draw in the second game of the match against Karjakin, he will at least repeat his best result at the World Cups so far (Round 4 in 2009). Welsey So (USA) “squeezed water from a stone” winning a drawish rook endgame against Santosh Vidit (India). Other games – Tomashevsky – Nepomniachtchi, Jakovenko – Vachier-Lagrave, Ding Liren – Firouzja, Aronian – Matlakov, Dominguez – Wang Hao, Yu Yangyi – Wei Yi, Le Quang Liem – Artemiev, Giri – Xiong, and Nisipeanu – Svidler – ended peacefully. The second games of the third round with the colors reversed will be played on Tuesday, September 17. Photos Videos The competition is organized by the Government of Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra, International Chess Federation (FIDE), Ugra Chess Federation, and Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation. Official website: https://khantymansiysk2019.fide.com/en/General partner – Gazpromneft-Khantos LCC.Official airline – Utair.Official partners of the competition: OJSC Rostelecom, Ugra Chess Academy, Russian Chess Federation, AB InBev Efes and PJSC Rosneft.FIDE official partner – JSCo “RZD”.General media partner – News Agency TASS.Media partners – Match TV, World of Chess social network, OTRC “Ugra”, Ugra-news.ru News of Ugra regional newspaper, AIF-Ugra newspaper.
WGP: Ju Wenjun and Gunina still in the forefront
The first game to come to an end was the clash between Elisabeth Paethz (2479) and the tournament co-leader Ju Wenjun (2576). The World Champion went for a Petrov defense, and some early exchanges quickly lead to a dull position, in which the players found no better option than a threefold repetition on move 23. The German IM seemed to be particularly unsatisfied with the outcome of the game (her fifth consecutive draw in the tournament), while Ju Wenjun took it as a good result: the top-seeded is playing quite solid, avoiding unnecessary risks. A much more dramatic turn took the game of the other co-leader, Valentina Gunina (2502), against the former World Champion Antoaneta Stefanova (2491). The Russian Grandmaster went wrong in the opening and soon found herself under the fire of heavy artillery. Her King was cornered in the open h-file, and it looked like if she was about to get checkmated in spectacular fashion. In a hopeless situation, Gunina found the most aggressive ways to complicate the position. Stefanova started to consume lots of time in her moves, so much so that this was the last game to finish. Thanks to her opponent’s time trouble, Gunina found a way to save the game with a perpetual check being a rook down. By adding half-point to her tally Valentina managed to keep pace with Ju Wenjun (each has 3,5 points). The only decisive game of the round five was the victory of Kateryna Lagno (2545) over Pia Cramling (2487). In Rauzer Variation of Sicilian Defense pieces were quickly traded, and the position came down to an endgame with one rook and knight per side. Lagno had a majority of pawns on the queenside, but it looked completely equal until Cramling blundered with 36…Nc6. A simple tactic left Kateryna with two connected passed pawns, that eventually costed Pia her knight, and the game. Indian number one female player Humpy Koneru (2560) made a short draw with the World Championship Challenger, and this Women’s Grand Prix youngest participant, Aleksandra Goryachkina (2564). In one the lines of Slav Defense with symmetrical pawn structure the rooks were quickly traded in the open c-file, and a draw was agreed on move 27. Harika Dronavalli (2503) achieved a significant advantage in a Scotch Game against former World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk (2495). Harika tried to convert the positional edge into a material advantage, but Kosteniuk’s energetic counterplay forced a massive piece exchange. Players agreed on a draw with only rooks, opposite color bishops, and three pawns each on the kingside. The Classical Variation of the Petrov Defense was played between Marie Sebag (2450) and Alina Kashlinskaya (2487). Both opponents chose a risk-free approach, and the game ended with a draw on move 27. The sixth-round games will be played on September 16, at 3 pm local time (GMT +3). Standings after 5 rounds:1-2. Ju Wenjun and Valentina Gunina – 3.5; 3-5. Alexandra Goryachkina, Humpy Koneru, Kateryna Lagno – 3; 6-7. Elisabeth Paethz, Harika Dronavalli – 2.5; 8-10. Antoaneta Stefanova, Alina Kashlinskaya and Alexandra Kosteniuk – 2; 11-12. Marie Sebag, Pia Cramling – 1.5. Spectators can follow the games with English and Russian commentaries: www.youtube.com/fidechannel Official website: https://wgp2019.fide.com