World Cup: Vachier-Lagrave, Vitiugov and Yu Yangyi progress to quarters
The return games of the Round 4 were played on September 21. Only three players advanced to the next stage outright, and we saw two comebacks. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who played against Peter Svidler with Black, made a draw and became the first player to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup, winning the match 1.5 to 0.5. The encounter So – Vitiugov followed a similar pattern. The American, playing White, was unable to pose serious challenges to his opponent. The game ended in a draw, which promoted grandmaster from St. Petersburg to the next stage. Yu Yangyi won as White against Ian Nepomniachtchi and also advanced to the quarterfinals. In the Gruenfeld Defense, the Chinese player sacrificed two pawns and got certain compensation but hardly more. However, after trading the queens Black made a serious mistake that cost him dearly. Nepomniachtchi put up a tenacious defense but was unable to save the day and resigned on the 43rd move. Jeffrey Xiong managed to come back against Jan-Krzysztof Duda after a painful loss in the first game. The American surprised the opponent with a rare Bishop’s Opening, got an upper hand right off the bat, and the rest of the game was basically one-sided. After the queens were exchanged, Xiong obtained a material advantage and converted it with relative ease. This match will be decided on tie-break. Leinier Dominguez beat Alexander Grischuk in a tough battle and leveled the score in their match. At some point, the Russian had an advantage but the position remained double-edged. Alexander spent too much time trying to find the most accurate moves but did not succeed. After Black’s serious mistake on the 28th move, things went downhill for Grischuk. “It was my only chance today to get this type of position. Black has many, many options and I think it is one of the things that made Alexander going into time trouble. After he had 5 minutes for 25 moves I was quite optimistic because my position was quite promising and he had no time. I had to find some precise continuations and I am not sure if made the best moves, but finally it worked.” Leinier told in his post-game interview. The games Radjabov-Mamedyarov, Aronian-Le Quang Liem, and Alekseenko-Ding Liren were drawn. The opponents will also square off on the tiebreaks. Results: Alekseenko – Ding Liren: 1/2 (1-1) Xiong-Duda: 1-0 (1-1) Svidler-Vachier-Lagrave: 1/2 (0.5-1.5) So-Vitiugov 1/2 (0.5-1.5) Yu Yangyi-Nepomniachtchi 1-0 (1.5-0.5) Aronian-Le Quang Liem 1/2 (1-1) Radjabov-Mamedyarov 1/2 (1-1) Dominguez-Grischuk 1-0 (1-1) Five matches will be decided on tie-break on September 22: Aronian – Le Quang Liem Radjabov – Mamedyarov Dominguez – Grischuk Ding Liren –Alekseenko Xiong – Duda. Photo Video 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.
FIDE Resolution on Financial Regulations
The Presidential Board confirms its intention to reduce a number of applicable fees and in development of decisions approved at the Q3 meeting (decision No. Q2PB-2019/11) hereby resolves as follows: 1. To confirm its decision to suggest a major fee reduction to the General Assembly, including: a) waiving all fees for the developing countries (levels 4-5);b) 50% reduction for level 3 countries;c) waiving all veteran fees;d) a quota for additional 30% tournaments to be rated for free (countries level 1-2);e) 40% reduction on youth competitions fees. 2. To assign the FIDE Treasurer Ms. Zhu Chen to draft changes to the Financial regulations no later than on 31.10.2019 for their further approval. FIDE PresidentArkady Dvorkovich
Humpy Koneru wins and overtakes Ju Wenjun
Humpy Koneru wins her fourth game in a row and takes the lead at Skolkovo Women’s Grand Prix after the previous leader Ju Wenjun is defeated by Kateryna Lagno and drops to the second position. Kateryna Lagno beat the tournament’s leader Ju Wenjun, in their first clash since their World Championship match played last November. The Chinese went for a Petrov’s Defense, in which Lagno managed to surprise her opponent with 20.h4. The critical moment appeared when Ju Wenjun broke up in the center with 23…e5, a dubious move that allowed Lagno to gain the initiative. The weaknesses in Ju Wenjun’s camp made her king very vulnerable and Lagno carried out a mating attack with a firm hand. Humpy Koneru accepted Valentina Gunina’s Blumenfeld Gambit, giving up the right to castle in return. To her credit, Humpy came up with an imaginative plan to activate her trapped kingside rook via h4 and Rh3. The position was very unbalanced but about equal, when Gunina made a blunder with 17…c4, which forced her to sacrifice an exchange. With precise play, Humpy converted the material advantage into a full point and became the new leader of the tournament with 7 points out of 9 games (+5 =4). A very sharp position in the French Defense arose in the Russian derby between the namesakes Alexandra Kosteniuk and Aleksandra Goryachkina. The former World Champion obtained a significant advantage out of the opening, but in the middle game, Kosteniuk allowed her young opponent to get a dangerous counterplay going on the kingside. Goryachkina didn’t let the opportunity slip and won some material, which later on became the decisive factor. With 6 points, she is clear third, just behind the leaders. The encounter between Alina Kashlinskaya and Pia Cramling took a dramatic turn in the very end. The game started with 1.d4 and later transposed into a Hedgehog Sicilian. Cramling achieved a small edge, despite playing with black, and held the initiative for an extended period of time. However, being under time pressure, Pia blundered a piece with 40…Bh4, and resigned two moves later. Harika Dronavalli, from India, and Elisabeth Paethz, from Germany, also went for a hedgehog set up in their game but quickly wrapped it up after a threefold repetition on the move 25. Another draw was agreed in the game between Marie Sebag and Antoaneta Stefanova. Sebag opted the Ruy Lopez Opening but the former World Champion equalized with relative ease and at some point even made her opponent demonstrate some accuracy to reach a safe heaven. Standings after 9 rounds:1. Humpy Koneru – 7; 2. Ju Wenjun – 6.5; 3. Alexandra Goryachkina – 6; 4. Kateryna Lagno – 5.5; 5-7. Valentina Gunina, Elisabeth Paehtz, Harika Dronavalli – 4.5; 8-9. Alexandra Kosteniuk, Alina Kashlinskaya – 3.5; 10-11. Marie Sebag, Antoaneta Stefanova – 3; 12. Pia Cramling – 2.5. The tenth round will be played on September 21, at 3 pm local time (GMT +3). Spectators can follow the games with English and Russian commentaries: www.youtube.com/fidechannel Official website: https://wgp2019.fide.com