FIDE World Cup Round 7 Day 2: Ukrainian Anna Muzychuk wins bronze
Anna Muzychuk defeated former Women’s World Champion Tan Zhongyi by 1.5:0.5 and took third place. In the Open, Magnus Carlsen qualified for his first-ever final in this competition Anna Muzychuk has won third place in the Women’s World Cup after drawing in today’s game against former World Champion Tan Zhongyi. She scored in the first game, winning the match 1.5:0.5. In a post-game interview, Anna – with the Ukrainian flag on her shoulders, a gift from the Ukrainian ambassador to Azerbaijan – thanked everyone for their support and to those who helped and are helping her and her family who now live in Spain. In the Women’s finals, Aleksandra Goryachkina had a lucky escape with a draw against Nurgyul Salimova, as the two head for the tiebreaks. The former World Champion Magnus Carlsen has qualified for his first-ever final of the Open World Cup tournament after drawing as Black against Nijat Abasov of Azerbaijan. The Norwegian won in the first game, so a draw was enough. Carlsen’s biggest success at the World Cup so far was clinching third place in the 2021 event in Sochi. Now, he will fight for a chance to add the only missing jewel in his crown of tournament victories. The second semi-final match, between R Praggnanandhaa and Fabiano Caruana, goes to the tiebreaks after another draw following a tense battle which lasted over four and a half hours. The Women’s Tournament Highlights In their second game of the match for third place, Anna Muzychuk (playing as Black) achieved a significant advantage as early as move 10. After White’s 22nd move, Black was on the brink of scoring a victory with a piece sacrifice which Muzychuk didn’t see. Throughout the game, Black had the initiative and was pushing, but the Ukrainian could not find the best moves to secure a victory. In the end, the two reached a drawn bishop endgame. The longest game of the day was in the fight for first place between Nurgyul Salimova and Aleksandra Goryachkina. Playing as White, Salimova achieved a significantly better position against Goryachkina by move 33. By move 45, White was winning. Unfortunately for Salimova, she made several mistakes in the endgame, which was enough for Goryachkina to reach safety. Moreover, Aleksandra then tested Nurgyul in a rook and knight vs rook drawing endgame for quite a while before they agreed to split a point. The winner of the Women’s World Cup will be decided in the tiebreaks. The Open Tournament Highlights Magnus Carlsen only needed a draw to get through to the finals. To stay in the race, his opponent Nijat Abasov (the Azeri star who surprisingly reached the finals) needed to win in this game where he was playing as White. Abasov went for the London system – an opening which does not require detailed knowledge of many lines and which also allows White to achieve a solid position. In the first part of the game, White got a slight edge, but soon it was Black exerting some pressure on the opponent’s position. As the situation started clearing in the centre, the two reached an equal endgame with two rooks and a bishop each, where neither side had a chance to make progress. After trading the rooks, Magnus gave up his bishop to end up with two runners on the Queenside, but White was just in time to hold, and a draw was agreed after all the pieces were exchanged on the board. Despite losing this match, Nijat Abasov is still in the race, but he will be fighting for third place. R Praggnandnandhaa and Fabiano Caruana drew again today. In the Catalan, White (Praggnanandhaa) made a mistake right after the opening, which allowed Black some chances, but Caruana decided not to take them. In a complicated game with plenty of manoeuvring and tactics, Black emerged slightly better, but Pragg held his ground with an accurate defence. In the end, the opponents advanced passers on the opposite wings, but after trading them, they realised it was time for a draw. The tiebreaks will take place on Monday, 21st of August. Here follows a closer look at some of the top games from the second day of the semi-finals of the Open and the finals in the Women’s World Cup: Praggnanandhaa, playing with White, made an imprecision in the early stage of the game, allowing Black some chances that Caruana did not utilise. White has just played 15.Na3? Taking on c6, followed by Rc1 and pressuring the weak pawns on the c-file, was the best option. Now, Black had a good chance to grab the initiative with 15…Nxd4 16.Bxb7 Rb8 17.Bxa6 e5! 18.Qe3 Ng4 with powerful pressure on both wings. It seems that, however, Caruana either missed it or did not feel comfortable venturing down this line and went for 15…g5 16.Qe3 Qxd4 17.Qxd4 Nxd4 18.Bxb7 Ra7 19.Bg2 Rb8 20.Rd1 c5 Black was pressuring in the endgame, but Pragg demonstrated accuracy in defence and found the only move to hold his ground in the end. It looks like White’s a4 is doomed, but Pragg found 34.Na1! With this paradoxical move in the corner, White was right in time to protect his queenside pawns. After 34…Nc5 (exchanging the knights would have been devastating for Black) 35.b3 Rb4 36.Ke3 f5, the position is even. 37.Kd2 f4 38.Kc3 Rb8 39.gxf4 gxf4 40.a5 Ne4+ 41.Kb2 f3 42.Nc2 43.f2 Rf1 e5 44.a6 Nc6 45.Nb4 Ra8 46.Rxf2 Nxa6 47.Nc6 and the two agreed to split a point. ½ – ½ Anna Muzychuk was significantly better in the second game against Tan Zhongyi. Despite finishing the game with a draw, that was enough for third place. It was a more than fair outcome, given how well Anna played today and in the first game against Tan. After several imprecisions by Tan, Anna grabbed the initiative right in the opening and, by move 21, got a chance for a spectacular finish. Black could have launched a devastating attack with 21…Bxc3 22.bxc3 Rab8 23.Qd4 Rb1+ 24.Kd2 Rb2+ and White’s position is desperate. Instead, Muzychuk went for 22…Rae8 23.Ba6
5th FIDE World Championship for People with Disabilities starts in Lublin, Poland
The 2023 FIDE World Championship for People with Disabilities, organized by the Polish Chess Federation, got underway in Lublin on August 18. The ten-day competition brought together 46 players from various parts of the world. With 22 participants, Polish players are the largest group in the championship, followed by the delegation of Ukraine, consisting of 12 participants. Other participants represent the Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, Israel, Kazakhstan, the United States and Angola. Polish GM Marcin Tazbir (FIDE rating 2500; pictured above) tops the starting list, followed by International Master Daniel Pulvett Marin (2496) from Spain. The third seed is Polish IM Łukasz Nowak (2408). Among the Women, the highest-rated player is Polish WIM Liliana Leszner (1936; pictured below), followed by her fellow countrywoman, 17-year-old Emilia Egeman (1870) and Woman FIDE Master Aleksandra Aleksandrova (1772) of Israel. The youngest participant is 12-year-old Szymon Barszcz and the oldest is Sławomir Sobocinski (pictured below), aged 69. Notably, the entire Polish team that won gold medals at this year’s Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities in Belgrade (Tazbir, Molenda, Dukaczewski, Piekielny, Stachańczyk) is taking part in the competition. The fifth edition of the championship, a nine-round Swiss tournament with classical time control, is open to all players with visual, hearing and physical disabilities. Rounds 1-8 start at 3:00 PM, and Round 9 begins at 10:00 AM. The playing venue is located in the Arche Hotel Lublin. The tournament director is Paweł Zaskalski, while the chief arbiter IA Sabrina de San Vicente officiates the competition. The championship is financially supported by the Ministry of Sports and Tourism of Poland.
FIDE World Cup Round 7 Day 1: Carlsen and Muzychuk start with wins
Magnus Carlsen is off to a good start in the semi-finals after defeating Azerbaijan’s Nijat Abasov in a very sharp game. Goryachkina and Salimova draw in the finals of the Women’s In the second semi-finals of the Open, Fabiano Caruana drew with white pieces against Praggnanandhaa in the longest game of the day. In the first duel of the Women’s finals, GM Aleksandra Goryachkina drew as White with 150 points lower rated Nurgyul Salimova in what was largely a calm game. Anna Muzychuk defeated former World Champion Tan Zhongyi in the first game of the match for third place. The Open Tournament Highlights Magnus Carlsen defeated the Azeri surprise Nijat Abasov in their first semi-final game. Playing as White, Carlsen went for the Rossolimo attack against the Sicilian. In a very sharp game requiring both sides to play extremely precisely, Carlsen grabbed the initiative. However, at one point he dropped his advantage and could have ended up in trouble had Black played the right move. Abasov did not find this continuation and misplayed. Carlsen then went for a dangerous plan after which Black could have equalised. But Abasov missed that chance as well and, instead, landed his king in a mating net. A huge success by Carlsen, making his first step towards reaching the finals of the World Cup – something he has never done before in his career. In the second game of the semi-finals, Fabiano Caruana and R Praggnanandhaa played until the bare kings were left on the board. In the main line of the Giuoco Piano, Caruana (White) got some initiative and pushed on the queenside. The two transitioned into a rook endgame in which Pragg smartly traded his two queenside pawns for White’s a-pawn, to reach a drawish position. The two played until move 78 when just the two kings were left standing. The Women’s Tournament Highlights The first game of the Women’s World Cup finals, played between Aleksandra Goryachkina as White and Nurgyul Salimova (who secured her GM norm!) as Black, ended in a draw. In the Queen’s Gambit Declined, Black (Salimova) gave up one pawn and then offered another, without visible compensation. Goryachkina accepted the frist gift but declined the second. She instead opted to exchange the queens and the two entered into a position where White had a weaker pawn structure on the queenside but could hold. In a knight vs bishop endgame, the two agreed to split a point on move 33. In the duel for third place, Anna Muzychuk was better with white pieces against former World Champion Tan Zhongyi, outplaying her in the finish of the game. In the English Opening, Muzychuk gained the initiative early on and was better on at least two occasions. In the endgame, where the position was even, Tan misplayed and allowed White to advance her king and b-pawn, before ending up without a bishop, in the end. The games continue on Sunday, 20th of August. A closer look at the games from today’s round will be published on the following link shortly: worldcup2023.fide.com/en/news Here follows a closer look at some of the top games from the semi-finals of the Open and the finals in the Women’s World Cup: Magnus Carlsen’s game against Nijat Abasov saw a lot of sharp twists and turns, requiring both sides to calculate various combinations and branches very precisely before deciding which path to follow. Carlsen went for the Rossolimo attack and suggested that his opponent was “clearly caught out” in the opening. White had an throughout the game then let it slip away and then made a serious mistake that could have cost him dearly. The best choice for White was to put his king to c3, securing his position a bit further. Instead, Carlsen went for 34.Qh2??. The top seed and his opponent missed 34…Qf1! – Black penetrates White’s camp and has a chance to soon bring his rook down and make serious threats against White. Abasov, however, missed this and soon blundered ending up weaker after both traded inaccuracies in subsequented play 34…Rg6? 35.Bf4 Rf6 36.Be3 Bf5? 37.Bc5 Qg6? 38.Kc3 Re6? 39.Rh4 Bg4 White is clearly better again, but now Carlsen made a mistake with 40.Bxa7? Qg3 or Qf4 were preferable options. 40…Qg7+ followed by Qg5, threatening to get to c1 offered Black equality. Instead, under time pressure, Abasov played 40…Qf6+? It turned out that there was a huge difference between the checks from g7 and f6 as on g7 the queen covers the c7-square. 41.Kb4! And now the white king escapes, wheras with the queen on g7 Black could have captured 41…Kxa7 41…Re6 42.d4 Qe7+ 43.c5 And Black will either have to give up a rook or face checkmate. 1-0 Caruana was pressuring Praggnanandhaa from the opening and trancisioned into a favourable rook ending. 40.Rc6? with this control move Fabiano missed a chance to pose some serious problems for Black. After 40.Ke3! Rc7 41. Kd2 Pragg would have had to demonstrate accuracy. As played, the young Indian quickly liquidated into 4:3 drawish rook endgame – 40…Rd7! 41.Rxa6 c3 42. Rc6 Ra7 43.a6 c2 44. Rxc2 Rxa6 – and reached a draw on move 78. The first game of the day to finish was between GM Aleksandra Goryachkina and the surprise of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, IM Nurgyul Salimova. The game did not bring about much excitement save for one point where White, according to the engine, had a chance to secure a sizable advantage: White is a pawn up. In the only previous game this position emerged (Malek – Bartel, 2023) Black opted for 12…Nc6 and got some compensation. Instead, Salimova sacrificed another pawn with 12…c5. The engines can’t not see any clear compensation for Black for the two pawns after simple 13.Qxc5. When asked about this after the game, Salimova said that she did not see anything wrong with the move and did not expect Goryachkina to take on c5, adding “there’s no way a human can play like this”, adding that White was significantly behind in development. Still, after thinking for 10 minutes, Goryackina decided not to
China Wins FIDE World Youth U16 Olympiad in Eindhoven, Netherlands
China emerged victorious in the FIDE World Youth U16 Olympiad held in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The team dominated the competition, securing an impressive 17 out of 18 match points. Turkey, the last year’s champions, finished second, while Greece claimed the bronze medal. A record-breaking total of 252 players from 63 teams representing 47 countries participated in the Youth Olympiad, organized to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Royal Dutch Chess Federation. The Chinese team ruled supreme in Eindhoven. Only Armenia managed to tie the match against the Chinese squad. Out of the 36 games played, China scored a total of 31 board points. Miaoyi Lu became the top scorer of the Chinese team, winning all her games on the fourth board. She also impressed chess fans and experts with her aggressive playing style. Tong(Qd) Xiao (board 2) and Xiangrui Kong (3rd board) both netted 7.5 out of 9, while Haowen Xue, on the top board, scored 7 points. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich visited the Youth Olympiad during the 6th and 7th rounds of the tournament. He extended his congratulations to the Royal Dutch Chess Federation on its 150th anniversary, commending it as a strong part of the chess community. The tournament was hosted by Eindhoven’s High Tech Campus. According to Dvorkovich, it is important to bring chess to the University campus and tech business. FIDE President expressed his hope that the participants made lasting friendships during the Youth Olympiad. Bianca de Jong-Muhren, President of the Royal Dutch Chess Federation, expressed her happiness at the successful conclusion of the tournament. “As part of the 150th anniversary of the Dutch Chess Federation KNSB, our aim was to host a prominent international youth event in the Netherlands. We are delighted with our accomplishment and the hosting of the Youth Olympiad in our country. It is also important that every team comprises both male and female players, aligning with our commitment to promote youth chess for all.” Final standings (top 10): 1 China 17 2 Turkey 15 3 Greece 13 4 Kazakhstan 1 13 5 Georgia 12 6 Kazakhstan 2 12 7 Armenia 12 8 Israel 12 9 Romania 12 10 Canada 1 12 Complete standings Board Prizes:Board 1: Read Samadov (Azerbaijan)Board 2: Tong(Qd) Xiao (China)Board 3: Xiangrui Kong (China)Board 4: Miaoyi Lu (China) Photos: Lennart Ootes and Frans Peeters Official website: youtholympiad2023.fide.com/
FIDE World Youth Olympiad 2023: Day 5 Recap
Two more rounds were played at the FIDE World Youth Olympiad 2023. That means a lot of hard work, both for the participants and for the reporters. But hard work is not the same as tedious work. On the contrary: as spectators, we’re getting a lot of value for our money. Round 7 All eyes were on the leader, China facing Armenia and especially on their star player Miaoyi Lu, who still had a perfect 100% score going into Round 7. Miaoyi Lu – Nvard Hayrapetyan 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 d5 5. exd5 exd5 6. d4 Bg4 7. O-O Nxd4 8. Qe1+ Ne6?! The knight is awkwardly placed here. 8…Be7 would have been better, allowing Black to achieve a normal development after moves like 9. Nxd4 cxd4 10. Qe5 Nf6. 9. Ne5 Bf5 10. c4! White seizes the opportunity and forcefully opens the center. 10… Nf6 11. cxd5 Nxd5 12. g4 Bxb1 This seems to win a tempo since White has to capture back. After 13. Rxb1 Be7 It seems like Black can finally castle. However, she doesn’t get the chance: 14. Qe4 Ndc7 After 14…Nec7, 15. Rd1 follows, winning material. 15. Qa4+ b5 16. Bc6+ Kf8 17. Qe4 Black’s castling is prevented, and the rook on a8 becomes trapped. 17…Rc8 18. Bb7 Bd6 19. Bxc8 Qxc8 20. Le3 f6 21. f4! Nd8 After 21…fxe5 22. fxe5+ Black is in check. White regains the piece with interest and also obtains a dangerously advanced passed pawn. 22. Rbd1 Ne8 23. Kh1 Qe6 24. Bxc5 fxe5 25. fxe5+ Kg8 26. Bxd6 Nf7 27. Qd5 Qg6 28. Rf4 h5 29. Rdf1 Nf6 30. exf6 1-0 A textbook example of punishing opening mistakes. With two draws on the top boards, China seemed to be heading for victory. Xiangrui Kong appeared to be holding well against Benik Agasarov, until it all went terribly wrong towards the end: Black played the unfortunate 85…Qe4?? (Black could have held with something like 85…f4 ) and then after 86.Nf4+ Kg4 87.Qg6+ White delivered checkmate. 1-0 China suffered their first defeat in a game and conceded their first match point in the tournament after tying the match with Armenia. China is now at 13 match points after seven rounds; Armenia follows with 11 points. They are joined in the battle for second place by Kazakhstan 1, who won 2½-1½ against Uzbekistan, and Turkey, who defeated Ukraine 3-1. Uzbek player Afruza Khamdamova, along with Miaoyi Lu, was the only player with a 100% score before this round, but she had to settle for a draw after 119 moves against Alua Nurmanova. The game between Asronjon Omonov and Edgar Mamedov ended in a disaster for the white player. It might seem like there’s not much going on, but three moves later, it was all over for White: 56.h5?? Rcd8 57.Rf1?? Nf4 Suddenly, it’s Black who delivers checkmate! After 58.Bxf4 Rd1 Asronjon stopped the clock. 0-1 Eray Kilic took advantage of opponent Vladyslav Fishchuk’s overconfidence in the middle game, where Fishchuk moved his central pawns enthusiastically, leaving a few pieces hanging. Eray’s teammate Elifnaz Akat initially had less space after the opening and stood worse, until her opponent Roman Kovalskyi blundered in the following position: 24.Nb6?? The wrong piece. After 24.Bb6 Qd7 25.Rbd1, White stands much better. 24…dxe5! Suddenly, Black takes control. 25.Nxc8 exd4 26.Bxb7 Bxc8 27.Qd5 Black is winning, and on move 53, she delivered checkmate. 0-1 The first Dutch team secured a 2½-1½ victory against the well-performing Bangladesh. Yichen Han sacrificed a piece for two pawns but didn’t get the type of play he was looking for and eventually had to capitulate after defending for a long time. Arthur de Winter won a crucial pawn in the opening and gradually expanded his advantage into a win. In Prajit Sai Kumar’s game, the advantage swung back and forth, but in the end, White’s attack proved stronger than Black’s. Dana Verheij found herself in a difficult position in a queenless middlegame but managed to secure a crucial half-point for her team. Round 8 China secured victory in the Olympiad with one round to go. They defeated Hungary 4-0, a team that, on paper, wasn’t expected to lag behind China (with only a 49-point difference in average rating). This means that Miaoyi Lu still maintains a perfect score. Congratulations to the Chinese team, who, with 15 match points and 27½ board points, have an insurmountable lead: second-placed Turkey, after a 3½-½ victory against Kazakhstan, is 2 match points and 5 board points behind. Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus achieved a swift win after his opponent Daniyal Sapenov greedily grabbed a central pawn on move 19: The game continued with the daring 19…Nxe4?! 20.Ba7 Rxf4 21.Rd4, and here Black made a serious mistake with 21…Nxc3?. White’s advantage grew considerably after 22.Qxe6+ Rf7 23.Bxb8 d5 24.Re1, and a few moves later, Black resigned. 1-0 Armenia and Azerbaijan drew 2-2. The game between Khagan Ahmad and Erik R. Gasparyan exemplifies what can go wrong for White in the Novosibirsk Variation of the Sveshnikov Sicilian: If White now calmly continues with 14.0-0, there would be no issues. However, he made an instructive mistake 14.cxb5? Black responded to this flank action with the classic Sicilian counteraction in the center: 14…d5!. It is a key move in virtually every Sicilian, and this situation is no exception. After 15.bxa6 0-0 16.0-0 fxe4 17.Bb5 Rd8, Black gained a powerful block of central pawns. Black’s advantage remained unchallenged, and it was a matter of time when the Tetris block started moving. Once that happened, White had no chance. 0-1 Netherlands 1 lost 2½-1½ against Austria. Yichen Han played a draw in a game that hasn’t strayed far from equality. In the endgame, Prajit Sai Kumar failed to neutralize Black’s passed pawn while trying to protect his own kingside pawns, leading to the pawn becoming an increasingly troublesome presence on the board. Dana Verheij didn’t find the strongest defence and succumbed to weaknesses around her king. Arthur de Winter won, although it required a fair share of luck: The position here is evaluated as 0.0 according to the engines. However, in the next five moves, the Lichess engine gives
Revised Tie-break Regulations come to force on September 1, 2023
FIDE TEC is pleased to announce that the FIDE Council has ratified the updated tie-break regulations effective from September 1, 2023. These newly instituted rules are an enhanced version of those initially approved during the 44th FIDE Congress and later retracted in July 2023. Our heartfelt gratitude goes to Mr. Roberto Ricca and the entire SPP Department for their meticulous efforts in clarifying the stipulations regarding Play-Offs, Direct Encounters, and Unplayed Games. Kindly note, Pairing Software Vendors have a deadline until April 1, 2024, to integrate these revised tie-break guidelines into their systems. Enquiries: Hendrik du Toit – secretary.tec@fide.com Revised Tie-break Regulations effective from September 1, 2023
FIDE World Cup R6 tiebreaks: Salimova and Praggnanandhaa advance
Salimova eliminates Muzychuk after two rapid tiebreak matches. Praggnanandhaa clinches the last remaining place in the semifinals after a gruelling seven-game tiebreak duel with Erigaisi Bulgaria’s IM Nurgyul Salimova is having a spectacular run in the World Cup and will be playing in the finals after knocking out Anna Muzychuk, defeating her with 1.5:0.5 in the second tiebreak match. Both played sharp and decisive games in the tiebreaks, with only one ending in a draw. Salimova will compete against Aleksandra Goryachkina in the Women’s World Cup finals, while Anna Muzychuk will face Tan Zhongyi in the battle for third place. Both matches will start on Saturday, 19th August, alongside the semifinal matches in the Open. The tiebreak in the Open section today lasted notably longer than that in the Women’s: In a sharp duel which saw a heavy exchange of blows in each game, after two rounds of rapid and a round of blitz, everything came down to one, single, blitz game. Playing as White, Praggnanandhaa took the initiative early on, forced a winning rook endgame and ended up victorious, clinching the last free place in the final four. The Open Tournament Highlights Arjun Erigaisi and R Praggnanandhaa were the only two participants of the Open to head to the tiebreaks in round six. In the regular part of the round, somewhat unusually, the opponents traded victories with black pieces. Both games in the first rapid tiebreak today ended in a draw, with neither side achieving a substantial advantage. In the second tiebreak match, Praggnanandhaa took the lead after winning with Black again. This is even though Erigaisi had a better position from move 12. In a rook and queen endgame, Erigaisi was winning. The critical moment of the game came after Black’s 44th move: White had an overwhelming advantage but untimely went for an exchange of queens which resulted in him losing an advanced passer on the a-file. In an even rook endgame, with both sides having two passers on opposite flanks, Arjunn misplayed, eventually ending with a rook against a queen and capitulated soon after. However, in the second game, the reverse happened: Praggnanandhaa made a serious opening mistake on the White side of the Queen’s Gambit Declined, allowing Black to save his place in the race by scoring a victory. Then came the third tiebreak – this time, in the Blitz (with five minutes for each player, plus three seconds of bonification, starting from move one). Praggnanandhaa (playing as Black) took the initiative early on, securing a sizable advantage from the opening and maintaining it throughout. In a topsy-turvy game two that followed, Pragg was clearly better at some point in the transition towards the endgame, he overlooked a rook and ended up losing. Now, everything was hanging on just one game. Praggnanandhaa was White. In the Reti opening, White emerged slightly better. Erigaisi began to falter, making imprecisions, losing a pawn and gradually handing ever more space to White. Praggnanandhaa finally broke through, entering a completely winning rook endgame. He finished with two pawns and a rook against a rook. On move 72, Erigaisi had to accept the inevitable and resign. The Women’s Tournament Highlights Anna Muzychuk’s troubles started early on, in the first rapid tiebreak game. Playing as White, Muzychuk responded well to the Tartakower line of the Caro-Kann played by Nurgyul Salimova. With opposite castles, Black made a premature attempt to advance on White’s queenside and ended in a weaker position, giving up a pawn without much compensation. However, in the proceeding moves, Muzychuk chose the wrong plan and underestimated the threats posed by Black’s bishops. In an unpleasant but still holdable position for White, Muzychuk made her biggest error snatching Black’s rook and was immediately lost. In game two Muzychuk bounced back. In the Dutch Defence, leading black pieces, Muzychuk managed to get the upper hand in the transition to an endgame, winning a pawn. At one point, Black dropped the advantage but Salimova blundered again, entering a lost rook endgame. In the second tiebreak, Salimova again started well – defeating Muzychuk with the white pieces, finishing with a nice checkmate combination. In game two Muzychuk tried to push in an even position but ended up overlooking a piece. Salimova promptly traded all White’s active pieces and liquidated into a won endgame where she settled for a draw by repetition which propelled the Bulgarian into the finals. Friday, the 18th of August is a rest day. The games continue on Saturday, 19th of August. Here follows a closer look at some of the top games from Round 6 tiebreaks: In the first game of the second tiebreak match, Arjun Erigaisi had a notably better position as White. This is the position after just 11 moves. Black just made a mistake by placing the knight on d4 instead of on Nd7 or castling. Erigaisi continued to play natural moves and his advantage gradually increased. Following an exchange of pieces in the centre, the two reached the following position: White has the decisive advantage. He has an extra pawn while Black’s pawn on d6 is weak and, overall, White’s pieces are better positioned. 31…Rb5 32.Rd2 Rb3 33.Rd3? The first serious innacuracy by Erigaisi. He should have kept his rook on the second line and activated his queen. Now, however, Praggnanandhaa made a serious mistake 33…Rb6?. He should have just gone for an exchange of rooks and but understandably he tried to keep as many pieces as possible on the board. In the moves that followed neither Arjun was more precise. In addition, Pragg dropped another pawn to create some chances but entered completely lost position: White has an overwhelming position (+13 Stockfish). Indeed after 45.Qc6! Qe1 46.a7 Qa5+ 47.Kb3 Black runs out of checks. Instead, Arjun completely dropped the advantage with 45.Qc4?? Now after the exchange of queens, the position is equal as White loses his a6-passer. A huge gift by Erigaisi which Praggnanandhaa enthusiastically accepted. 45…Qxc4 46.Rxc4 Ra8 47.b4 Rxa6+ 48.Kb3 h3 49.b5 Rh6 50.Rc8+ Kh7 51.Rc1 g5
21st European Union Youth Championship kicks off in Kouty nad Desnou, Czech Republic
On Wednesday, August 16th, the 21st European Union Youth Chess Championship U8, U10, U12 and U14 started in the Hotel Dlouhe Strane in Kouty nad Desnou in the Czech Republic. Following several previous successful editions, the European Union Youth Chess Championship 2023, under the patronage of the European Chess Union, is organized again by Sachovy klub Svetla nad Sazavou in cooperation with the Czech Chess Federation. Boys and girls in each category play the same competition (9-round Swiss tournament with classical time control), but they will be ranked separately. This prestigious event attracts many young chess players – this year there was registered 101 players from 15 national federations of ECU. The highest-rated player of the event is Czech player Matej Jasso (U14), with a rating of 2143. For players’ parents and all chess fans, the organizers prepared various chess and non-chess activities, plus online broadcast of all the games. All participants can use their leisure time for activities offered by the hotel, such as pool, wellness, bowling, billiard and table tennis. The list of local attractions includes a new aquapark recently opened in Velke Losiny, Sky Bridge 721 and The Sky Walk in Dolni Morava. On Thursday, August 24th, we will know eight new 2023 European Champions. The winners in each category will receive laptops, while those finishing second and third will be presented with digital chess clocks. All participants will receive memorial diplomas and medals, plus a T-shirt with the championship logo. After each round, the organizers will award special prizes for the best game in every category. Photos: Official website Official website: chess.cz/mistrovstvi-evropske-unie/
FIDE World Youth Olympiad 2023: Day 4 Recap
China is leading, followed by Armenia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine. Despite the heavy double-round playing day yesterday, the young players were back at the boards today at 10:30 AM local time. Fortunately for them, they only had to play one game today. Perhaps the young world travelers can spend the rest of the day exploring the center of Eindhoven, where Mr. X will also make his appearance. At the beginning of the sixth round, the top teams started pulling away from the rest of the field. China is lonely at the top, while Turkey, Armenia, and Hungary are trying to close the gap. The first and last two played against each other. Xiangrui Kong plays a stunning game against Eray Kilic. Photo: Lennart Ootes After an hour of play, China seemed to be in control again. Xiangrui Kong dominates his opponent, Eray Kilic. In a sharp Ruy Lopez, the Chinese player with the white pieces manages to open lines while keeping the black king trapped in the center of the board. With 19.Qh3!, white prevents short castling, due to the pin on e6. After 19…Qf6, the position opens up: 20.e5 dxe5 21.fxe5. Even exchanging queens offers no relief: after 21…Qh4, 22.Bd7+ Kd8, and now white can simply exchange and infiltrate with the rook on the seventh rank. The position would then be: However, Eray didn’t fancy that. He decided to keep the queens on the board and see what his opponent had in mind. He didn’t have to wait long. When Eray refused with 21…Qg5. Here, Kong decisively continued with 22.Rad1. The black king is almost mated due to the open lines. With 22…Bc6, Eray tried to cover square d7, but it was met with precise 23.Ne4! The black player had seen enough and threw himself on the sword: 23…Bxe4 24.Bh5+ with the inevitable 25.Qd7# to follow. 1-0. At the fourth board, Miaoyi Lu also proved to be superior once again. In search of a plan in the following position, opponent Elifnaz Akat decided to seek refuge on the queenside with 14.Na4? However, that knight was immediately called back. After 14…b5!, a gap indeed appears on c5, but the white knight is not allowed to jump in. 15.Nc5? would be punished by 15…Nxd4!, eliminating the defense with a pawn capture. Elifnaz retreated sadly with 15.Nc3, but Lu was on a roll: 15…Qb4 at least wins a pawn. It’s clear that Chinese chess has a bright future with these top talents. In a resilient middlegame without queens, Tong(Qd) Xiao outplayed his opponent Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus. An amusing moment occurred toward the end: It was tempting here to exchange rooks with 36…Rxd3 37.Ne5+ Kd6 38.Nxd3. Black is already two pawns ahead, and their king is better. A piece of cake. But commentator Anna-Maja Kazarian came up with the clever 36…Nc3! here, threatening mate on b1. White must then proactively exchange rooks on d6 and then passively place the other rook on the bottom rank to prevent mate. The black king can then simply enter. Thus, there’s still something for the Chinese top player to learn: when your opponent is in time trouble, it’s better to play annoying moves rather than quick ones. But it didn’t affect the result: black easily won the endgame. 0-1. So, for the final result in this match, it didn’t matter what happened on the first board. Ediz Gurel couldn’t break through against Hoawen Xue, and thus China won again with a crushing score: 3.5-0.5. Matyas loves rook endgames. Photo: Lennart Ootes In the match Armenia-Hungary, things were intense. Matyas Palczert once again had the chance to showcase his technique in a rook endgame, this time against Erik Gasparyan. Yesterday he went all the way in the endgame against Ukraine’s Anastasiia Hnatyshyn and won. Today, he managed it with some twists. After Matyas missed a few winning chances, the following position arose: Here, white can draw with the unlikely 59.g8Q! after 59…Rxg8 60.Kxg8 h3 61.Kf7, and white is just in time to stop both pawns. White has to keep giving checks for a while: 61…Ka2 62.Ra8+ Kb3 63.Rb8+ Kc3 64.Rc8+ Kd3 65.Rd8+ Ke3 (on 65…Ke2 to keep the rook off the bottom rank, 66.Rb8 follows). Now, white stands on the bottom rank: 66.Rd1 h2. The white rook can now keep going between b1 and h1. The point is that at the moment the black king comes to the second rank to support one of the pawns, white can capture the other pawn. For instance: 67.Rb1 Kd3 68.Rh1 Kc3 69. Ke6 Kb3 70.Kd5 Ka2?! 71.Rxh2, and the pin leads to a draw. Instead of all this, Erik played 59.Rc6?? and lost after 59…h3 60.Rg6 h2 with the point 61.Rh6 Kc1!! 62.Rxh2 and 62…b1Q+ is check! Matyas promoted, but the win was still not trivial. Shortly after, the oppoennts reached the following position: Perhaps Matyas didn’t want to go into the queen vs. rook endgame, so he decided on 64…Qg8?! That could have cost him the win, although the defense was again not trivial: with 65.Rg6! the black queen is trapped. If the king tries to move away from the pawn, white can give checks until they get back behind the b-pawn. For example: 65…Kd3 66.Rb6 Qa2 and now 67.Rxb2!! and the black queen can’t simultaneously support its own pawn and watch the white pawn on g4. However, things went differently once again. In the position above, Erik played 65.Rf3??, after which the black king could find shelter: 65…Ka2 66.Rf2 Ka1 67.Rf8 Qe6+ 68.Kh5 and here Matyas gave a few checks, but the point is that black can simply promote. After 68…b1Q 69.Ra8+ follows the nice finish with 69…Qba2! 0-1. At the first board, Robert Piliposyan continued his winning streak. Yesterday, he dismantled Dutch player Yichen Han’s position. Today, he stopped Zsoka Gaal, who had been on a winning streak. At the third board, Hungarian Kristof Pal Kolimar had done everything right in yet another tricky endgame, this time with a bishop and two pawns against a rook. But when victory was within reach, it went wrong. Here, the white king simply needs to move along with the d-pawn. But what’s not simple is
FIDE World Cup R6 Game 2: Goryachkina advances to Women’s finals
Aleksandra Goryachkina reaches the finals in the Women’s tournament after eliminating Tan Zhongyi. Carlsen, Caruana and Abasov all qualify for the Open semi-finals Leinier Dominguez Perez was eliminated from the race, after losing to Fabiano Caruana. R Praggnanandhaa staged a comeback against Erigaisi, as the two will be the only pair in the Open going to the tiebreaks. Both games in the Women’s tournament ended in a draw. After winning in the first game, Aleksandra Goryachkina eliminated the former World Champion Tan Zhongyi, while Anna Muzychuk and Nurgyul Salimova drew again and will have to play the tiebreaks. The Open Tournament Highlights Nijat Abasov was the first to qualify for the semi-finals of the World Cup, having defeated Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, checkmating him on move 44. The two split a point after a long and tense game yesterday. Today, the representative from Azerbaijan won with white pieces in the London System, taking the initiative as early as move 15 and then increasing the pressure until reaching a winning position by move 30. Magnus Carlsen drew his second game with Gukesh D. In the Alapin line of the Sicilian, Carlsen (playing as White) got slightly more initiative after the opening. However, the Norwegian opted for a secure path – transitioning to an even endgame where he was a pawn down. A draw was enough for Carlsen to move to the semi-finals. R Praggnanandhaa made an impressive comeback against compatriot Arjun Erigaisi with the black pieces following yesterday’s loss. In the second Alapin game of the day, the two entered an even endgame, although Black had an extra pawn. However, a couple of inaccuracies by Erigaisi were enough for Pragg to activate his king and pose some serious problems for White. Eventually, Black broke up in the centre and penetrated with his king to the kingside, with decisive effect. Both sides ended up promoting a queen, but Black had three extra pawns, and White had none. Erigaisi tried to engineer a way to a perpetual check, but it was impossible. The game ended after Black promoted his second queen. The two will now have to play in the tiebreaks. The final game to finish was between Fabiano Caruana and Leinier Dominguez Perez. After a heroic escape from a lost position as Black in yesterday’s game, today, playing as White, Caruana was clearly better than his opponent. In the Tarrasch, the two entered a typical position with an isolated pawn in which White had a slight edge and a chance to pressure his opponent without taking serious risks. Black maintained balance for a while but eventually cracked closer to the time control. Fabiano won a pawn and slowly but surely converted it. This marks the end of the road for Dominguez Perez, who had a great tournament ousting several strong GMs, including the European champion, Alexey Sarana. The Women’s Tournament Highlights Former Women’s World Champion Tan Zhongyi is out after drawing with black pieces against Aleksandra Goryachkina. In the exchange line of the King’s Indian, Black managed to get some initiative but nothing substantial. Throughout the game, Goryachkina aimed to tame the position and keep it even, succeeding eventually. The former world champion now awaits to see who will be her opponent for third place, while Goryachkina becomes the first qualifier for the Women’s Grand Prix finals. Nurgyul Salimova and Anna Muzychuk also drew. In the Queen’s Gambit Accepted, Salimova (playing as Black) created some chances in an early endgame but quickly dropped them, and the two agreed to split a point after 41 moves. With two draws in both games, the two head for a tiebreak on Thursday. The full results of today’s games can be found here: worldcup2023.fide.com/pairings. Round six tiebreaks take place on Thursday, 17th of August, at 3 PM local time in Baku, Azerbaijan. Here follows a closer look at some of the games played today: Nijat Abasov is having a great tournament in his native Baku. The local star has so far eliminated the likes of Anish Giri and Peter Svidler, and has now added Vidit to the list of heavyweights he knocked out of the World Cup. In today’s game, in the London system, Abasov started increasing the pressure from early on. Add to that some mistakes by Vidit, and the Azeri GM quickly got into a strong position. This was the last moment in the game when the engine showed both sides to be equal. In the next several moves, White’s position gradually improved. 11…Ne5?! A dubious novelty by Vidit. 11…h6 or castle are considered as a better plan. 12.Nxe5 Qxe5 13.0-0 Bd7 14.e4 dxe4 15.Nxe4 Nd5?! 16.Rfe1 Bc6 17.Rad1 0-0-0? A very risky move as White is much better prepared for active operations. After 17…Nf4 18.Bb5! 0-0 19.Bxc6 White is clearly better but it was the best option for Black. In subsequented play the opponents made some inaccuracies but Nijat was more precise. 26.b5! With this move White started a direct attack on the black king. 26…Be8 27.a4 Kc8 28.Nb3 f6 29.a5 Qd1 30.Qb4 b6? The last error by Vidit led him to a completely lost position. 30…e5 or 30…Qd8 even offered more chances to hold, but now… 31.axb6 axb6 32.c5 bxc5 33.Qxc5+ Kb8 Now the black king is at the mercy of White. 34.Qb6 Kc8 35.Qxe6 Bd7 36.Qc4+ Kd8 37.b6Qd6 38.Qg8+ Ke7 39.b7 Be8 And now Abasov found a wonderful finishing sequence: 40.Bb5! Qd1+ 41.Kh2 Qd6+ 42.g3 Bf7 43.b8=Q Bxg8 44.Qxe8# 1-0 Pragnanandhaa defeated Arjun Erigaisi with black pieces. In the Alapin, Arjun tried to force an even endgame and chose a plan which ended up costing him a point. The position is even. However, White has to demonstrate accuracy. The best way to proceed was 28.Kf1 28.a4? After this natural but wrong move Black regrouped and started posing serious problem for White. 28…Be5 29.Kf1 Bd6 30.Ke2 e5 31.Kd3 Ke6 32.Rb7 Kd5 33.f3 c5 34.a5 Rf8? A mistake by Prag. He should have played 34…g5 and started his push on the kingside. 35.a6 Ra8 36.Kc3 g5! Black admitted his mistake and