Superbet Rapid & Blitz: Korobov maintains his lead
The rapid portion of the Superbet Rapid and Blitz concluded day 3 with wildcard Anton Korobov maintaining his lead of the event. The tournament is still wide open with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Levon Aronian and Anish Giri trailing the leader by only two points. There’s still time for a new leader to emerge with 18 exciting blitz games left to play over the weekend. Round 7 Anton Korobov started the day with a draw against Levon Aronian with the white pieces. Korobov’s position was slightly unpleasant but the transition to an opposite-colored bishop’s endgame ensured him half a point. After a successful day two, Fabiano Caruana decided to keep the momentum going by playing a sharp line in the Giuoco Piano against Vishy Anand. The former World Champion kept his cool in the chaotic position, and eventually punished his opponent for taking too many liberties with his position. Anish Giri suffered the same fate as Caruana, after playing a sharp line in the Nimzo-Indian against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov leaving his king in the center and compromising the kingside. Giri played too slowly at the critical moment thus allowing his opponent to develop and castle into safety, and was punished swiftly. Sergey Karjakin had a great day today, beginning with a win over Vladislav Artemiev. After his countryman blundered, Sergey quickly found a geometric sequence to win his opponent’s bishop with a queen and knight maneuver. Both Le Quang Liem and Wesley So are still struggling to find their form and consequently drew their game, after the Vietnamese player slowly let his advantage slide and finally missed a study-like win at the end. Round 8 Korobov extended his lead to two points after a miraculous draw against Giri. The Dutchman has been playing very dynamic chess as of late, and this game was no exception. After posing some problems to his opponent in the Najdorf, he emerged three pawns up in the middle game. The position still required some work and a few inaccuracies later, Giri found his king in real danger and had to force a draw with a perpetual. This result puts Giri in second place two points behind the leader. He was joined by Aronian, Mamedyarov, and Anand for a big tie for second place. Aronian’s dynamic play with black pieces in the Giuoco Piano paid off handsomely against the suffering So; the Armenian won his game with a direct kingside attack in 33 moves. The game between Caruana and Mamedyarov was a rollercoaster ride. In another Giuoco Piano, Caruana suffered with white pieces, going down a pawn and defending for most of the game. He managed to outplay his opponent and win a pawn in the endgame, only to blunder his knight in a time scramble. Karjakin continued his comeback by demonstrating his impressive endgame skills and winning a queen endgame against Anand. The game between Le Quang Liem and Artemiev was another rollercoaster ride with the interesting dynamic of queen vs three pieces on the board. The Vietnamese star keeps struggling in this event as his winning advantage turned into a losing position in a matter of moves. Thanks to his opponent’s inaccuracy, he was able to give up his queen for a rook and a bishop and force a draw in the resulting endgame. Round 9 The only decisive result of this round was between Anand and Le Quang Liem. In a messy tactical battle, the former Blitz World Champion achieved a winning position but blundered the advantage away. Anand found the best moves to keep the game going only to return the favor and allowing his opponent to score the first victory of the tournament. Korobov had the perfect opportunity to extend his lead to three points as he played an excellent game, putting enormous pressure on Caruana. However, this event keeps proving that converting winning positions is extremely difficult against strong players. Caruana created enough difficulties for his opponent to escape with half a point. Aronian had two dangerous connected passed pawns against Giri, but the opposite-colored bishops allowed a comfortable draw. Artemiev and Mamedyarov drew So and Karjakin respectively in quiet games. Official site Livestream:GrandChessTour.org Photos:Courtesy of Grand Chess Tour and Spectrum StudiosCredits available on Flickr.
FIDE Grand Prix Hamburg: Vachier-Lagrave is the only winner of the day
Hamburg is known as a hub of chess activity. The city in northern Germany hosts one of the largest clubs in Europe that has its clubhouse and a long tradition dating back to 1830. Additionally, the Chess in Schools project has been successfully supported by the local associations and authorities for decades. One result of these steady efforts is the annual “Alsterufer” match with more than 100 schools and nearly 4000 kids participating. One of the winning teams of this annual match, consisting of eight children, was invited onto the stage to open the first game of the second round of the FIDE Grand Prix. Vachier-Lagrave does it again Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is the only winner of the day. The French grandmaster chose his beloved Grünfeld Defence with Black against Veselin Topalov who opted for a sideline which transposes the position into a Benoni-like-structure. In a highly complex middlegame, the Bulgarian grandmaster used one of his trademark exchange sacrifices to complicate matters even more. In time trouble, both players attacked the enemy’s king and risked everything. Topalov committed the final mistake on move 36. He could have sacrificed a piece and hide his king in the corner, but this was extremely difficult to spot. Instead, he allowed his opponent to win very important b-pawn. In the end, Vachier-Lagrave found a lovely combination to force a queen exchange and promote his passed pawn. Yu Yangyi misses a possible win Yu Yangyi demonstrated a fantastic preparation once again. In the main line of the Petrov’s Defence, which the Chinese grandmaster often uses himself, he presented an interesting novelty on move twelve, which immediately put pressure on his opponent. Duda spent about an hour for the next six moves but landed in an inferior position. Yu Yangyi played a perfect game until 27th move. In a heavy piece endgame, he had a strong passed pawn on e6 and could dominate the situation with a quiet queen move. Instead, he lost two tempi with unnecessary rook moves. Duda was able to activate his queen and force a draw by a perpetual. “When I played my rook to e5 I completely missed that he can activate his queen”, Yu Yangyi confessed after the game. Alexander Grischuk and David Navara followed the main line in the Catalan Opening that the Russian grandmaster used to beat Leinier Dominguez Perez in the third round of the World Cup in Khanty Mansiysk. After exchanging three minor pieces, Grischuk pinned his hopes on slight space advantage and a better minor piece, but Navara’s position remained solid. Alexander spent a lot of time, but he couldn’t find a way to put Black under serious pressure. Navara countered with a well-timed centre push, and the position soon petered out into an equal queen endgame. In a battle of generations, the Russians Daniil Dubov and Peter Svidler discussed an important theoretical line of the Grünfeld Defence. White started to build up a strong centre but Svidler timely undermined it with typical counters even at the cost of a pawn. Afterwards, both players agreed that objectively White should hold an advantage. Over the board, Dubov wasn´t able to demonstrate this statement to be the case. With his time running down, Dubov decided to avoid unnecessary risks and offered a draw on move 23. Round 2, game 1 results: Veselin Topalov – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 0-1Alexander Grischuk – David Navara 1/2-1/2Daniil Dubov – Peter Svidler 1/2-1/2Yu Yangyi – Jan-Krzysztof Duda 1/2-1/2 Official website and LIVE broadcast: https://worldchess.com FIDE Press officer for the event: Georgios Souleidis Official Photographer: Valeria Gordienko World Chess contact: media@worldchess.com Photos are available for the press from the following link to Dropbox. Leading partners supporting the FIDE World Chess Grand Prix Series 2019 include: Algorand as the Exclusive Blockchain PartnerPhosAgro as the Official Strategic PartnerKaspersky as the Official Cybersecurity PartnerPella Sietas Shipyard as Official PartnerPrytek as the Technology Transfer Partner
Superbet Rapid & Blitz: Korobov takes the lead
After another day of rapid, a surprising new leader has emerged. Wildcard Anton Korobov is not well known in the chess elite but he is the highest-rated rapid player in the tournament and now he is leading the tournament. The Ukrainian had a phenomenal day defeating Viswanathan Anand and Wesley So, while Anish Giri stumbled in the fifth round and lost to another wildcard, Vladislav Artemiev. Tomorrow is the final day of the rapid as the tournament will move on to the blitz portion. Round 4 Anish Giri maintained his lead with a win over Le Quang Liem in a complicated Rossolimo Variation of the Sicilian. The Dutch player’s extra bishop against his opponent’s three pawns was too powerful in the middlegame, allowing him to unleash an attack against his opponent’s weak dark squares. Coming to the round, there was a tie for second place between Anton Korobov, Levon Aronian and Viswanathan Anand. Korobov separated himself from the pack by defeating Anand in 27 moves by pushing his “g” pawn down the board and creating a mating net around his opponent’s king. Aronian saved his game against Vladislav Artemiev, who wasn’t able to find a win with only seconds left on the clock. The Armenian star was joined by Fabiano Caruana in a tie for third place after the latter defeated Sergey Karjakin in a marathon 99 move encounter. Wesley So bounced back from a tough first day with a win over Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in a topsy turvy game. Round 5 Giri suffered his first loss of the tournament against Artemiev after he went pawn grabbing with his queen, leaving his king vulnerable. Artemiev’s attack played itself out, forcing his opponent to resign ten moves later. This round 5 result blew the tournament wide open, allowing Korobov to catch up with the Dutch GM after a comfortable draw against Mamedyarov. Caruana joined the top duo after finding a beautiful checkmating pattern with his knight pair while leaving his queen en prise. Anand put himself only a point behind the leaders after converting his extra pawn against Aronian. The game between Karjakin and So ended in a 25 move draw. Round 6 Korobov described his middle game position against So as strategically lost in the postgame interview, thus forcing him to seek complications. So let his advantage slip away then allowed a big turnaround in the game by leaving his back rank weak. So resigned after realizing that his only options were either parting with his queen or allowing a checkmate. Giri – Anand game was quite balanced, but the draw put the long-time leader a full point behind Korobov. Caruana wasn’t able to keep pace and lost to Artemiev, by making the same mistake Giri did in the previous round – putting his queen out of play and leaving his king alone surrounded by the enemy pieces. Aronian and Karjakin drew Mamedyarov and Le Quang Liem respectively in quite uneventful games. Official site Livestream:GrandChessTour.org Photos:Courtesy of Grand Chess Tour and Spectrum StudiosCredits available on Flickr.
FIDE Grand Prix Hamburg: Rapid & blitz drama on Day 3
She is 21 years old, lives in Hamburg and aspires to take part in the next Summer Olympiad 2020 in Tokio. We are talking of Yusra Mardini, a professional swimmer whose personal story has inspired the world. In 2015 she fled from war in Syria to find a shelter in Europe. Germany is her new home, and today she opened the tiebreak of the first round at the FIDE Grand Prix in Hamburg. If classical chess sometimes doesn’t provide enough drama rapid and blitz chess does. Today the players had much less time to think and this lead to mistakes, turnarounds and finally to the answer who will qualify for the next round. No luck for Vitiugov At the board of Nikita Vitiugov and David Navara, Yusra Mardini moved the white Knight to f3, but this brought no luck for the Russian grandmaster. He won a pawn at the queenside in the Benoni reversed, then went for another pawn on the other side of the board but gave the opponent dangerous initiative. Navara used the open h-file to start a menacing counterattack and with time running down, Vitiugov lost control of the action and went down in flames. In the must-win-situation, Vitiugov chose the Dutch Opening in the second game but never came close to level the score. Navara broke through in the center and repelled all the attacking attempts by the Russian GM. After some tactical blows, the Czech won material and Vitiugov threw in the towel. As usual, Navara showed a lot of respect for his opponent: “Nikita played many other tournaments this year with very good results, and I considered him the favorite in the classical games. In rapid of course, everything can happen.” Yu Yangyi made up for the missing win from the previous day against Dmitry Jakovenko. The first game of the tiebreak saw an exciting tactical fight which ended with a clear advantage for White due to his active heavy pieces. The Chinese grandmaster won some material and progressed into an easily winning rook endgame with connected passed pawns on the queenside. In the second game, Dmitry Jakovenko was close to equalizing the score. In a position with opposite-colored bishops, he was the one attacking, and chess experts know that usually, this factor favors an active part. Jakovenko had a decisive advantage around move 50, but in rapid chess, everything can change in a blink of an eye. Yu Yangyi managed to exchange the queens and held the resulting endgame with relative ease. Grischuk advances The first game between Radoslaw Wojtaszek and Alexander Grischuk was an unclear case from start to the end. Grischuk opted for a dutch-like setup with Black, but White chose to castle long. With no time on the clock, the Russian grandmaster decided to repeat moves, despite having slightly more active pieces. In the second game, the Russian grandmaster went for a Kings-Indian-like setup with White to confuse his adversary. In a position with opposite-castled kings, both sides had their chances, but Grischuk prevailed after Wojtaszek went for a queen exchange in an unclear situation. The favorite won a pawn and converted his advantage safely, even being as usual short of time. “After my opponent completely out-prepared me in the classical games in rapid I decided to play anything just to avoid preparation”, stated Grischuk afterwards. Dubov faster and luckier After finishing the two classical games fast and leaving the stage early in the first two days of the FIDE Grand Prix Daniil Dubov and Teimour Radjabov regaled the spectators with a long battle which lasted 4.5 hours, much longer than the rest of the tiebreak matches. First, they continued their non-aggression pact with a quick draw, but the second game nearly became decisive. After blundering a pawn, Dubov was standing on the edge of a precipice but showed all his resilience. Apart from playing much faster, he was able to maintain tension which saved him half the point. As the two rapid games with the time control of 10 minutes + 10 seconds increment also ended in a draw, the spectators could enjoy the two grandmasters blitzing out for the slot in the next round. It was a question of nerves. The first game with the time control of 5 minutes + 5 seconds was a clear-cut win for Dubov. In the second game, Radjabov was as dominating until he blundered with 63…b3 and had to take a draw. Round 1, tiebreak results: Nikita Vitiugov – David Navara: 0-2Alexander Grischuk – Radoslaw Wojtaszek: 1,5-0,5Daniil Dubov – Teimour Radjabov: 3,5-2,5Yu Yangyi – Dmitry Jakovenko: 1,5-0,5 The pairings for the second round are as follows: Veselin Topalov – Maxime Vachier-LagraveAlexander Grischuk – David NavaraDaniil Dubov – Peter SvidlerYu Yangyi – Jan-Krzysztof Duda Official website and LIVE broadcast: https://worldchess.com FIDE Press officer for the event: Georgios Souleidis Official Photographer: Valeria Gordienko World Chess contact: media@worldchess.com Photos are available for the press from the following link to Dropbox. Leading partners supporting the FIDE World Chess Grand Prix Series 2019 include: Algorand as the Exclusive Blockchain PartnerPhosAgro as the Official Strategic PartnerKaspersky as the Official Cybersecurity PartnerPella Sietas Shipyard as Official PartnerPrytek as the Technology Transfer Partner
FIDE Grand Prix Hamburg: Four players advance to the second round
FIDE oversees the undoubtedly most beautiful game humankind has ever created, the royal game of chess, which unites nearly all countries of this world with one language. Algorand has the vision of building technical innovations for a borderless economy. What could be more natural than joining forces with World Chess, the organizer of the FIDE Grand Prix? The COO of Algorand, Mr Sean Ford, opened the 2nd round of the FIDE Grand Prix in Hamburg on the board of Wei Yi and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave by pushing the e-pawn two squares ahead. “Probably this was the best move I ever made over a chessboard”, he joked afterwards. All of the games of the second day of the first round of knockouts at the FIDE Grand Prix in Hamburg ended with a draw, but not without drama. Four players advanced to the next round, and four need to pack their bags. The remaining eight players will meet again on the tiebreaks. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave at the top of his game Maxime Vachier-Lagrave has lived up to expectations so far. After winning the first game against Wei Yi in grand style, he was close to winning the second game as well. The rivals again discussed a line of the Najdorf Variation, but once again the Frenchman seemed to be better prepared. The critical moment arose after White’s twelfth move. Vachier-Lagrave correctly pushed his h-pawn and then his e-pawn to destroy the pawn armada that threatened to overrun his position. Black’s pieces exerted a lot of pressure, and although his king stayed in the centre for the whole game, it was the white king that was in much more danger. Instead of taking any chances, Vachier-Lagrave forced a draw by repetition at move 27. “So far the preparation before the tournament pays off”, said the 29-year-old with a smile after the match. A draw in the second game of the first round against Pentala Harikrishna was enough for Peter Svidler to qualify for the next round. With a strong pawn centre and well-placed pieces, the Indian grandmaster could hope for more than a half-point in the middlegame, but Svidler’s position was very solid and “Hari” did not manage to find a way to breakthrough. After a massive exchange of pawns, there was no play left and the players agreed to a draw. Hikaru Nakamura playing with the black pieces was not able to turn the tables in his match against Veselin Topalov. In a Queen´s Gambit Accepted White got an upper hand due to better development. Nakamura left his king in the centre and tried to create some play against the white king with his queen and the bishop pair, but it caused only a slight disturbance to White, who obtained a clear advantage. After 25 moves Topalov was a pawn up in an ending and could have continued without any risks, but decided that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Bitter end for Ian Nepomniachtchi Ian Nepomniachtchi was in a must-win-situation after he lost the first game against Jan-Krzysztof Duda. The rising Polish star chose the Accelerated Dragon with Black but was never able to equalize. An ending that arose after only 15 moves favoured White due to the better structure and the more active pieces. After a long fight, Nepomniachtchi managed to win a pawn, but it was not enough to win the game due to the reduced material. This defeat in the first round of the FIDE Grand Prix in Hamburg substantially reduces the chances for the Russian grandmaster to qualify for the Candidates, but there is still hope for him to bounce back in the last leg of the series in Jerusalem. In total contrast with their exciting first battle, Alexander Grischuk and Radoslaw Wojtaszek concluded the second game of their mini-match with a draw after just an hour of play. In a line of the Italian Game, the Polish grandmaster showed excellent preparation, whereas Grischuk weighed the pros and cons of the position in his typical tempo. After spending more than 50 minutes for the first 14 moves and realizing that his opponent still was blitzing out his analysis, he offered a draw which Wojtaszek accepted. Grischuk justified his decision by saying: “I didn’t want to continue playing against a computer,” and added with an ironic undertone: “Besides I don’t want to spoil the spectators”. Nikita Vitiugov and David Navara will meet again on the tiebreak after drawing both games with classical time control. It seemed that the Russian grandmaster was applying pressure throughout the game, but afterwards, he denied doing so: “Actually this was nothing until David tried to lose the game”. He was referring to the way the Czech grandmaster handled the position. Navara deliberately sacrificed material to enter a rook endgame a pawn down. Here he showed an excellent technique and apparently aware of how to save a half-point. Yu Yangyi fails to convert Yu Yangyi missed a big chance to win the second game against Dmitry Jakovenko. After only 18 moves, the two players had exchanged most of the pieces including the queens, but something went wrong for the 36-year-old Russian as he lost a pawn shortly thereafter. The battle headed into a knight ending where Yu Yangyi was completely winning but failed to convert his advantage. “It was a miracle, and it took several mistakes from my opponent to save the game”, Jakovenko admitted. Daniil Dubov tried to bedazzle Teimour Radjabov by using the Italian Gambit as White, a rare choice on top-level. The Azerbaijanian took his time to recall the critical lines, and after forcing the exchange of queens, the players reached an equal ending with two rooks and one minor piece respectively. The rising Russian star, who used only a bit more than 15 minutes for the whole game, penetrated the 7th rank with one of his rooks and forced Radjabov to oppose the threats with one of his own rooks. Daniil tried to continue battle after the exchange of the rooks, but in the emerging endgame a draw was unavoidable. Round 1, game 2 results: Wei Yi – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave: 1/2-1/2Veselin Topalov – Hikaru Nakamura: 1/2-1/2Nikita Vitiugov – David Navara: 1/2-1/2Alexander Grischuk – Radoslaw Wojtaszek: 1/2-1/2Daniil Dubov – Teimour Radjabov: 1/2-1/2Pentala Harikrishna – Peter Svidler: 1/2-1/2Yu Yangyi – Dmitry Jakovenko: 1/2-1/2Ian
Superbet Rapid & Blitz: Giri forges ahead
The penultimate leg of the 2019 Grand Chess Tour kicked off yesterday in Bucharest, Romania with an exciting opening ceremony. The event featured special guest and former world number one tennis player, Boris Becker. Additionally, former Romanian basketball player and captain of the national team Virgil Stănescu made the ceremonial first move in Caruana – Aronian game of round 1. After an eventful first day, Anish Giri is leading the tournament by a full point ahead of the field. Round 1 In the central game of Round 1, Fabiano Caruana played with Levon Aronian. Having White pieces, World #2 went for an ambitious piece sacrifice right after the opening & seemed to have sufficient compensation. Aronian defended really well and then sacrificed an exchange to grab the initiative. After Fabiano let the black knight occupy e3 square White seemed doomed. Aronian converted his advantage in mutual time trouble and scored a very important victory. Vlad Artemiev from Russia started the year 2019 really well but it looks like he has been out of form for the last few months. In the first round, he had White against Vishy Anand. Anand sacrificed an exchange but he had two bishops and a dangerous pawn center. Objectively Artemiev was still holding his own but he carelessly let the ex-World Champion from India break his pawn structure on the kingside and launch a murderous attack. Anish Giri proved his impeccable technique once again. Many amateur players have problems with Black in these seemingly equal Catalan endgames, and even Fischer Random World Champion Wesley So repeated their fate in his Round 1 game against the Dutch GM. Move after move Giri was increasing his advantage and by the move 39 So found himself in a complete zugzwang. He blundered there but his position was lost anyway. Two other games were drawn. Sergey Karjakin couldn’t convert his extra passed pawn versus Anton Korobov, whereas Shakhriyar Mamedyarov played to bare kings against Le Quang Liem, but never had a real chance to score a full point. Round 2 Round 2 of the Superbet Rapid & Blitz was as close to classical chess as a rapid event can be. Players with White pieces were pressing in all five games, had some chances here and there, but Black defended successfully. As a result, all five games were drawn. Aronian got absolutely nothing from the opening against Karjakin, and though later in the game he was pushing for a win, opposite-colored bishops were a key factor. So chose a very interesting line in Reti Opening against Anand and had some initiative on the kingside but the Indian GM responded with a pawn sacrifice to create some threats on the long diagonal. So found nothing better than to force further exchanges which resulted in a drawn endgame. Giri was trying his best to outplay Caruana and grab a sole lead. Since a weakness on b6 was a constant headache for the American, he finally had to give it up a pawn on the move 36. In the endgame, Caruana resourcefully created a very serious counterplay against the white king, and Giri had to give up an exchange. He never was in danger of losing though as his passed pawn on the a-file was too strong. The central game of the round ended in a perpetual. Mamedyarov – Artemiev & Korobov – Le Quang Liem were pretty comfortable draws for Black. Aronian, Anand & Giri were in the lead with 3 points out of 4 each. Round 3 Anish Giri seems to be on fire in Bucharest. He won a second game in three rounds and moved to a sole lead. Karjakin was too slow in a calm line of Najdorf and Giri came up with a brilliant maneuver Be7-d8-a5 getting a clear advantage. Classical Sicilian pressure on the “c” file was too much for Karjakin to endure and he quickly lost several pawns and the game. Anand was also very close to winning his second game of the day. He got a better position after the opening against Mamedyarov and could have gone for the checkmate but preferred to exchange queens to reach much better endgame where Black bishops didn’t compensate for multiple weak pawns. Anand was at his best until he hastily grabbed an a5-pawn – the white rook got trapped on this square and disappointed Anand had to accept a draw. Fabiano Caruana had his first win in the tournament in the encounter with Wesley So. He sacrificed a pawn in the Gioco Piano, but So defended really well and timely returned his extra material to almost achieve equality. Unfortunately, you can never be safe playing against such a player as Caruana. Somehow Fabiano engineered a menacing attack even without queens on board. In a difficult position So blundered a piece and resigned immediately. Artemiev’s troubles continued as he lost an equal endgame playing White versus Korobov. Le Quang Liem – Aronian was a very solid draw. Standings after Round 3: 1. Giri, Anish 5/62-4. Aronian, Levon 4/62-4. Anand, Viswanathan 4/62-4. Korobov, Anton 4/65-7. Caruana, Fabiano 3/65-7. Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 3/65-7. Le, Quang Liem 3/68. Karjakin, Sergey 2/69-10. So, Wesley 1/69-10. Artemiev, Vladislav 1/6 Official site Livestream:GrandChessTour.org Photos:Courtesy of Grand Chess Tour and Spectrum StudiosCredits available on Flickr.
World Youth U-16 Chess Olympiad: Azerbaijan takes gold
FIDE World Youth U-16 Chess Olympiad 2019 is concluded in an ancient Turkish city Çorum. From October 20 to November 5 forty-eight teams from all around the world were fighting for medals. Each squad consisted of five players, including one girl. The event was held in the playing hall of the five-star Anitta hotel, which offered accommodation to all participants. Azerbaijan, Russia, and Ukraine entered the tournament as favorites but only the first one lived up to its promise. The contest turned into an exciting race of Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. Belarus was in front until Round 5 in which the team lost to Kazakhstan. As a result, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan tied for the lead but after round 6 the trio became a duo – Azerbaijan won a key match over Kazakhstan. The ex-leader did not give up and beat Uzbekistan in the next round, but Azerbaijan won its match as well, shot ahead and preserved its top-position to the very end. Final standings: 1. AZERBAIJAN – 162. UZBEKISTAN – 153. BELARUS – 144. KAZAKHSTAN – 135. ISRAEL – 126. UKRAINE – 127. INDIA – 128. MONGOLIA – 129. GREECE – 1110. RUSSIA – 11
FIDE Grand Prix Hamburg: Four winners in the first round
The first day of the FIDE Grand Prix in Hamburg attracted many spectators until the organizers announced: “sold out”. The German chess fans didn’t regret coming as they witnessed many dramatic battles and four victories. The president of the German Chess Federation, Ulrich Krause, symbolically opened the 1st round of the FIDE Grand Prix in Hamburg by playing 1. e2-e4 on the board of Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Wei Yi. “It was a pleasure,” he said afterward and added: “It is an honor for me to be the chairman of the appeals committee during the next two weeks. At the same time, I expect not to be active in this role.” Superb technique by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave One of the favorites of the FIDE Grand Prix in Hamburg got off to a great start. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave outplayed his opponent Wei Yi from the very beginning to the end. The Chinese grandmaster boldly chose the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defense with the black pieces against the world’s leading expert of this opening. Vachier-Lagrave reacted with a rare idea on move seven. After the exchange of queens on move 19, he got a better ending and was gradually improving his position. On the move 29 Vachier-Lagrave won the crucial a-pawn, which proved to be decisive. A blunder by Ian Nepomniachtchi Jan-Krzysztof Duda opened his duel against Ian Nepomniachtchi by pushing his pawn to c4. “I just wanted a random game and to avoid any theoretical battle in the Grunfeld or Najdorf”, he stated afterward. It was an equal fight until the Russian grandmaster played 23.e5-e4. “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw this move,” said Duda. It was just a terrible blunder. The Polish GM was not only a pawn up, but also had the bishop pair and the center. Nepomniachtchi tried to complicate things by sacrificing an exchange, but the outcome of the game was never in doubt. Peter Svidler thanked his compatriot Kirill Alekseenko for showing him the line he used today to beat Pentala Harikrishna. In the second Italian Game of the day, Black seemed to have some initiative on the kingside, but Svidler parried all threats with precise counters and reached a favorable ending. White’s advantage increased when the Russian grandmaster infiltrated the 7th rank with one of his rooks on move 29. Harikrishna sacrificed an exchange and tried to create some counterplay with his passed pawn on the a-file, but Svidler was always in command and seamlessly converted his advantage into a full point. Radoslaw Wojtaszek and Alexander Grischuk split the point after an intense and open battle in a variation of the Catalan Opening. “We are both happy and unhappy”, said Grischuk, meaning that both players missed their chances. In a highly complex middlegame, Black got the upper hand around move 30 when the white pieces were clumsily flocked up on the kingside. The Polish grandmaster nevertheless was able to turn the tables by giving some material for the black queen and forcing Grischuk’s majesty to leave the corner and run to the center. He chased the black king over half of the board, but the position promised nothing more than a perpetual check, which he delivered after the first time control. In a battle lasting nearly five hours, Hikaru Nakamura and Veselin Topalov played the longest game of the day, which ended in favor of the Bulgarian grandmaster. “I used a line, which Anand played against me once”, Topalov explained. His decision was justified as he started a vicious attack against the white king right after the opening. Even if Topalov missed a win by force, the position on the board never raised serious doubts about the outcome. David Navara and Nikita Vitiugov tested their theoretical knowledge in a deeply analyzed line of the Marshall Attack. The Czech grandmaster followed in the footsteps of Teimour Radjabov, who beat Ding Liren in the final of the World Cup. Vitiugov deviated on move 17 by putting the bishop on f5 instead of the queen. He sacrificed a pawn, but soon afterward Navara gave the pawn back and forced the draw after 25 moves. “This is modern chess”, said Vitiugov later and added that Black has typical compensation in this position, which often leads to a draw. The first game to end in the starting round was the one between Teimour Radjabov and Daniil Dubov. It was only twelve moves long and it concluded in less than an hour. In an Italian Game, the Russian grandmaster gave up castling short but advanced his pawns on the kingside. Just when the battle began to heat up, Radjabov offered a draw, which Dubov accepted. Dmitry Jakovenko and Yu Yangyi shook hands shortly afterward. In a line of the rock-solid Petroff, Jakovenko decided to call it a day after 17 moves in a symmetrical and balanced position. The opponents will face each other on November 6 at 3 pm (CET) with colors reversed. The games are broadcasted live via the official website, www.worldchess.com. Round 1 first games results: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Wei Yi: 1-0Hikaru Nakamura – Veselin Topalov: 0-1David Navara – Nikita Vitiugov: 1/2-1/2Radoslaw Wojtaszek – Alexander Grischuk: 1/2-1/2Teimour Radjabov – Daniil Dubov: 1/2-1/2Peter Svidler – Pentala Harikrishna: 1-0Dmitry Jakovenko – Yu Yangyi: 1/2-1/2Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Ian Nepomniachtchi: 1-0 Schedule FIDE Grand Prix Hamburg Nov. 5 14:00 Round 1 game 1Nov. 6 14:00 Round 1 game 2Nov. 7 14:00 TiebreakNov. 8 14:00 Round 2 game 1Nov. 9 14:00 Round 2 game 2Nov. 10 14:00 TiebreakNov. 11 14:00 Round 3 game 1Nov. 12 14:00 Round 3 game 2Nov. 13 14:00 TiebreakNov. 14 Rest dayNov. 15 14:00 Round 4 game 1Nov. 16 14:00 Round 4 game 2Nov. 17 14:00 Tiebreak FIDE Press officer for the event: Georgios Souleidis Official Photographer: Valeria Gordienko World Chess contact: media@worldchess.com Photos are available for the press from the following link to Dropbox. The list of key partners supporting the FIDE World Chess Grand Prix Series 2019 includes: Algorand as the Exclusive Blockchain PartnerPhosAgro as the Official Strategic PartnerKaspersky as the Official Cybersecurity PartnerPella Sietas Shipyard as Official PartnerPrytek as the Technology Transfer Partner
Third leg of the FIDE Grand Prix takes off in Hamburg
After 54 years, Hamburg is hosting a high-class chess event again. In 1965, the Soviet Union won the gold medal at the European Team Championship held in this city. In the year 2019, sixteen of the world’s best grandmasters fight at the FIDE Grand Prix for two spots at the next Candidates tournament. The President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), Arkady Dvorkovich, ceremoniously opened the third leg of the FIDE Grand Prix 2019 at the Curio-Haus, the same venue where the world champions Tigran Petrosian, Mikhail Botvinnik, and Vassily Smyslov lead their team to victory. During his speech, Mr. Dvorkovich announced that FIDE had received two bids for the next World Championship match. The United Arab Emirates and Argentina are interested in hosting the most important chess event in the second half of the year 2020. FIDE will take a decision within the next few days. The speeches by the authorities were followed by the drawing of lots. The 16 grandmasters took the stage, where the main arbiter, Mr. Jens Wolter, announced the pairings for the 1st round: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Wei YiHikaru Nakamura – Veselin Topalov David Navara – Nikita VitiugovRadoslaw Wojtaszek – Alexander GrischukTeimour Radjabov – Daniil DubovPeter Svidler – Pentala HarikrishnaDmitry Jakovenko – Yu YangyiJan-Krzysztof Duda – Ian Nepomniachtchi Can the nominal favorite Maxime Vachier-Lagrave make a further step towards the Candidates? The number four in the world is one of the elite players to be permanently on duty. During the first press conference in Hamburg, he was asked about the number of games he has played this year. The 29-year-old grandmaster took a guess something around 100, but he wasn’t even close: adding blitz and rapid games, the number is 280! Consequently, it was essential for the Frenchman to take a well-deserved rest after the World Cup in Khanty Mansiysk at the beginning of October, where he finished third. In the first round of the FIDE Grand Prix in Hamburg Vachier-Lagrave faces Wei Yi. The Chinese grandmaster collected only two points at the FIDE Grand Prix in Moscow and needs to finish strong in Hamburg and Jerusalem to keep his hopes alive to qualify for the Candidates. In one of the other eight duels, it will be interesting to see if the winner of the World Cup, Teimour Radjabov, can tame the resourceful and creative play of Daniil Dubov. Alexander Grischuk, who is leading the FIDE Grand Prix along with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov with 10 points, is facing the Polish grandmaster Radoslaw Wojtaszek. Grischuk needs a perfect result in Hamburg to stay in the game for the Candidates spot, as this is his last tournament within the Grand Prix series. Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia is another firm candidate to claim the spot to the Candidates. “Nepo” tested his creativity last week at the first official Fischer Random Worldchampionship in Oslo. In Hamburg, he has to adjust again to the more classical play against the young Polish super-grandmaster Jan-Krzysztof Duda. All the action starts on November 5 at 3 pm (CET). The games are broadcasted live via the official website, www.worldchess.com. Schedule FIDE Grand Prix Hamburg Nov. 5 14:00 Round 1 game 1Nov. 6 14:00 Round 1 game 2Nov. 7 14:00 TiebreakNov. 8 14:00 Round 2 game 1Nov. 9 14:00 Round 2 game 2Nov. 10 14:00 TiebreakNov. 11 14:00 Round 3 game 1Nov. 12 14:00 Round 3 game 2Nov. 13 14:00 TiebreakNov. 14 Rest dayNov. 15 14:00 Round 4 game 1Nov. 16 14:00 Round 4 game 2Nov. 17 14:00 Tiebreak Format: The Grand Prix is a knockout (KO) tournament. In each round, two games are played with contestants receiving 90 minutes for the first 40 moves plus 30 seconds bonus per move. If there is a draw, then it continues with further two-game matches with shorter time control. Official website: https://worldchess.com FIDE Press officer for the event: Georgios Souleidis Official Photographer: Valeria Gordienko World Chess contact: media@worldchess.com Photos are available for the press from the following link to Dropbox. Leading partners supporting the FIDE World Chess Grand Prix Series 2019 include: Algorand as the Exclusive Blockchain PartnerPhosAgro as the Official Strategic PartnerKaspersky as the Official Cybersecurity PartnerPella Sietas Shipyard as Official PartnerPrytek as the Technology Transfer Partner
Third leg of FIDE Grand Prix starts in Hamburg on November 5
Hamburg, November 4, 2019 – Hamburg welcomes the third leg of the FIDE Grand Prix Series organized by WorldChess. There hasn’t been a top chess tournament for 54 years, since the European Team Championship in 1965 in the Curio-Haus. From 5 to 17 November Hamburg will become a centerpiece for all chess enthusiasts. 16 of the world’s top chess players will take part in the FIDE Grand Prix Hamburg 2019. The third leg of the Grand Prix series opened with a press conference today at the Theater Kehrwieder, featuring Arkady Dvorkovich, the president of FIDE; Ilya Merenzon, CEO of World Chess, the organizer of the Grand Prix; Ulrich Krause, German Chess Federation President, W. Sean Ford, Chief Operating Officer, Algorand; as well as Peter Neumeier, Head of Channel Germany, Kaspersky. Speakers thanked the city authorities for their help in organizing the tournament, invited all chess fans to the event and explained the new system of the Grand Prix. Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE President, said: «We are officially opening the third leg of the FIDE Grand Prix Series, organized by World Chess. This time we are running the tournament in Hamburg, a city known for its chess culture. We are grateful to our Hamburg colleagues for their hospitality and help. We hope that the games will please all chess enthusiasts.» Ilya Merenzon, CEO of World Chess, said: «We are very pleased that the third leg of the Grand Prix is taking place in Hamburg, one of the most chess friendly cities. We hope chess fans from all over Germany will join us in following the live games of the greatest grandmasters.» Andreу Guryev, CEO of PhosAgro, Vice President of the Russian Chess Federation: «We believe that Russian grandmasters have all the chances to enter the Candidates tournament! We will be watching the games of the third leg of the Grand Prix with great interest. Hoping for the success of our players, PhosAgro, as a strategic partner of FIDE, promises to sign a sponsorship contract with those Russian chess players who will win the Grand Prix series and enter the Candidates tournament. We believe that in Hamburg, one of the most chess-intensive cities in Europe, an exciting and non-compromising battle awaits us!» “We are honored to support the most played sport in the world and inspired by the World Chess’ focus on bringing innovation and technology to the forefront of the game,” said W. Sean Ford, COO of Algorand. “We look forward to collaborating on next generation blockchain solutions for our joint communities of blockchain adopters, computer scientists and chess enthusiasts in the coming months.” Peter Neumeier, Head of Channel Germany, Kaspersky: «We’re proud to be – for several years already – the official cybersecurity partner of the FIDE World Championship series. Chess requires a sharp mind and a high level of strategic thinking. These are essentials traits also for our work at Kaspersky. Our mission to build a safer world depends on the commitment, creativity, and skills of our experts around the world.» The four-tournament series, which is running throughout the year, features 22 of the world’s best Grandmasters fighting for two spots in next year’s Candidates Tournament to select a challenger for the World Championship title. The players are also competing for a total of €800,000 in prizes, with €130,000 in each Grand Prix and an additional €280,000 for the overall performance in the whole series. To make the series even more exciting, each tournament has a knock-out format, starting with 16 players. To win a Grand Prix, a player has to survive four rounds. Each round consists of two classical games, followed by rapid tie-breaker games if necessary. The FIDE Grand Prix Hamburg will be held in the Theater Kehrwieder (Kehrwieder 6, 20457 Hamburg) from November 5-17. All guests and spectators will be able to enjoy games as well as the outstanding architecture of the historical buildings and Elbphilarmonie – the most recognizable landmark of the city. The rounds start at 3 PM Hamburg time. Chess fans will be able to enter the playing venue starting from 2 PM. The organizers will provide on-site commentary. The games will be broadcast live at worldchess.com, the official FIDE broadcasting platform. First round parings: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Wei Yi Hikaru Nakamura – Veselin Topalov David Navara – Nikita Vitiugov Radoslaw Wojtaszek – Alexander Grischuk Teimour Radjabov – Daniil Dubov Peter Svidler – Pentala Harikrishna Dmitry Jakovenko – Yu Yangyi Jan-Krzysztof Duda – Ian Nepomniachtchi Leading partners supporting the FIDE Grand Prix Series 2019 include: Algorand as the Exclusive Blockchain Partner PhosAgro as the Official Strategic Partner Kaspersky as the Official Cybersecurity Partner Pella Sietas Shipyard as the Official Partner PRYTEK as the Technology Transfer Partner For further questions, please contact: media@worldchess.com. Guide to FIDE Grand Prix Hamburg for Press Official FIDE Grand Prix Hamburg Press Kit About FIDE The World Chess Federation or Fédération Internationale des Echecs, (FIDE), is recognized by its members and the International Olympic Committee as the international federation in the domain of chess, the supreme body responsible for the sport of chess and its Championships. FIDE has the exclusive rights to organize the World Chess Championships and the Chess Olympiads. www.fide.com About World Chess World Chess is a London-based media company. It’s the official broadcaster of the World Chess Federation events and a commercial partner of the World Chess Federation (FIDE). World Chess organized the World Championship Matches in Russia, the USA, and the UK. It revolutionized chess by signing the biggest media partnerships in the history of chess. World Chess is also developing Armageddon, the chess league designed for television. It operates worldchess.com. About Algorand Based in Boston and founded by cryptography pioneer and Turing award winner Silvio Micali, Algorand is an open-source software company building technical innovation for the borderless economy with a platform that delivers decentralization, scalability, and security. Algorand’s first-of-its-kind, permissionless, pure proof-of-stake protocol supports the scale, open participation, and transaction finality needed by users to build opportunity and fulfill the promise of blockchain technology. For more information, visit https://www.algorand.com. About Kaspersky Kaspersky is a global cybersecurity company founded in 1997. Kaspersky’s deep threat intelligence and security expertise is constantly transforming into innovative security solutions and services