Tata Steel Masters: Abdusattorov stuns Carlsen, grabs the lead
Nodirbek Abdusattorov beat Magnus Carlsen and emerged as the sole leader. Levon Aronian and Parham Maghsoodloo scored their first victories in the event. The fifth round of the Tata Steel Masters, played at Ajax football arena in Amsterdam, produced the sole leader. Nodirbek Abdusattorov prevailed over Magnus Carlsen and took the pole position, whereas his main rival Anish Giri drew his game with Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa. The Uzbek youngster leads with 4/5, followed by Anish Giri. Magnus Carlsen – Nodirbek Abdusattorov 0-1 The World Champion essayed a rare line of English Opening, which he previously tested in a blitz game with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, but after a series of logical moves by his opponent, did not achieve much. On move 13 Carlsen played somewhat reserved 13.Nf3 to which Nodirbek, instead of safe castling, reacted in the most aggressive way 13…Bf6, attacking the rook and taking control over a big diagonal. Carlsen picked up the gauntlet and sacrificed an exchange. In the subsequent complicated play, Black evacuated his king to the queenside and emerged slightly better, although White had a chance to equalize. Abdusattorov was building up pressure and got a sizable advantage at some point, but then it was his turn to make inaccuracies. Closer to the time control, he sacrificed an exchange to liquidate into a queen endgame with an extra pawn, which, according to the 7-piece tablebase was drawn. However, just a few moves later, the pendulum swang back. 43.Qe8+ was the only move leading to a draw. Magnus played 43.Kh2 and after 43…Qe2+ 44.Kg1 Qe5! Nodirbek transferred his queen to the center and slowly but surely converted his extra pawn. Praggnanandhaa R – Anish Giri ½–½ After massive exchanges of the minor pieces and queens in Giuoco Piano, the opponents steered into an equal rook endgame and signed peace on move 47. Fabiano Caruana – Wesley So ½–½ The game saw a very sharp line of the Scotch Game in which Fabiano introduced a novelty 15.Re1. Castling opposite wings suggested a very interesting middlegame battle, but after making a series of precise moves, the opponents found themselves in an equal endgame in which a draw was soon agreed. Arjun Erigaisi – Ding Liren ½–½ The opponents had a theoretical discussion in a trendy line Giuoco Piano with h7-h6 and g7-g5 by Black, which Erigaisi recently tested against Le Quang Liem. Ding deviated from this game with a new move 12…g4 (the first line of Stockfish). Arjun sacrificed a pawn and got sufficient compensation but played an active 17.Nf5 too early. Black did not react in an optimal way, and White got an edge. However, choosing between two squares for his knight Erigaisi made the wrong one and Ding Liren engineered an active play on the kingside. Black could have kept up the pressure with 31…Bc5 (Be3). Ding decided to force events but miscalculated. The Chinese GM played 31…Rxf3, but after 32.Qd5+ Rf7 33.Bd8! Qf4 34.Bc7 Qf6 35.Bd8 White secured a draw by repetition. Levon Aronian – Vincent Keymer 1-0 Black completely equalized in the Ruy Lopez but played some sluggishly and without a clear purpose in the middle game. As a result, Levon regrouped his pieces and launched a dangerous attack on the kingside. To avoid the worst, Vincent had to part with a pawn only to trade the queens. The endgame looked gloomy for Black, but Levon miscalculated, and after finding the only but sufficient defence Keymer built a fortress which was very hard to break. However, when a draw was just a few steps away, Vincent committed a grave mistake. 65…Be8? Ignoring White’s only active idea h4-h5 and Bxf5. After 65…Kf6 White would have been hard-pressed to make progress. Levon immediately jumped on the opportunity – 66.h5! and after 66…gxh5 67.Bxf5 Bd4 68.Ne4 White eventually captured the h5-pawn via the Bh7-f5-Bg6 maneuver and scored a full point. Parham Maghsoodloo – Jorden Van Foreest 1-0 After Jorden mixed up lines the Queen’s Gambit Accepted, Parham correctly sacrificed a piece and got a huge compensation. However, instead of natural 14.Bxc4, with overwhelming position, he regained a piece immediately and also got some edge, but not as big. Still, White had better chances thanks to two bishops and a potential attack on the kingside, which he indeed launched later on. Van Foreest tried to bail out with a queen sacrifice and could have put up more stubborn resistance, but it was not his day after all, as Maghsoodloo smoothly sailed to his first victory in the event. Gukesh D – Richard Rapport ½–½ The opponents played a long line in the Gruenfeld Defence in which, according to modern theory, Black holds his ground comfortably. The game did not question this evaluation as even after making a slight inaccuracy, Rapport reached a draw on move 47. Standings after Round 5: 1. Nodirbek Abdusattorov – 4; 2. Anish Giri – 3.5; 3-5. Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Fabiano Caruana and Levon Aronian – 3; 6-9. Arjun Erigaisi, Wesley So, Parham Maghsoodloo, Ding Liren – 2.5; 10-11. Magnus Carlsen and Richard Rapport – 2; 12-14. Vincent Keymer, Gukesh D and Jorden Van Foreest – 1.5. Photos: tatasteelchess.com, Jurriaan Hoefsmit
Astana to host FIDE World Championship match 2023
Lausanne, January 19, 2023 The FIDE World Championship 2023 is due to take place in Astana, Kazakhstan, from April 7th to May 1st. A new World Champion will be crowned, as Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren will battle to seize the throne left vacant by Magnus Carlsen’s withdrawal The General Partner of the event, which boasts a sensational prize fund of 2 million euros, will be NASDAQ-listed firm Freedom Holding Corp, a US-based corporation with Kazakh roots that provides financial services. Since almost five centuries ago, the question of who the best chess player in the world is has been resolved over a match, a face-off between two players competing over the course of several weeks, usually with a large purse at stake. In the case of Astana 2023, the prize fund will be 2 million, with 60% going to the winner and 40% to the runner-up. But more importantly: whatever happens in Astana, history will be made, as a new World Champion will be crowned. On October 31, 2022, the reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen officially confirmed that he would not defend his title as Classical World Champion against his challenger, the world’s number three Ian Nepomniachtchi. The Chinese Grandmaster Ding Liren, the runner-up in the Candidates Tournament and current #2 in the world ranking, received the unexpected opportunity to play for the highest recognition in the chess world. With no defending champion and two challengers, the event promises to be one of the most thrilling and open championships of recent times, as none of them is a clear favourite. Ding Liren is the higher-rated player, with an Elo rating of 2811. However, Ian Nepomniachtchi, who is currently rated 2793, has the head-to-head slightly in his favour: of 13 classical chess games played between them, ‘Nepo’ has won 3, lost 2, and they drew 8. Nepomniachtchi’s lead increases to 13-9, with 17 draws, if we include rapid and exhibition games. More importantly, Nepomniachtchi came ahead of his rival in the super competitive Candidates tournament, held in Madrid in June-July 2022, with an impressive score of 9,5 points in 14 games. There, Ding could only score 8 points – a result good enough, though, to secure him this golden opportunity. The Candidates Tournament was the last event where the two contenders crossed swords, reaching a draw in the 8th round. Previously, Nepomniachtchi had defeated Ding in the first round of this tournament, which allowed him to grab an early lead. ‘Nepo’ would go on to become the outright winner, achieving the rare feature of winning the Candidates Tournament twice a row, following his victory in Yekaterinburg 2021. The two finalists first met in a China VS Russia exhibition match held in Sochi in August 2009, when Nepomniachtchi was 19 years old and Ding just 16. ‘Nepo’ won all four games in their match, which consisted of two rapid games and two blitz games. The World Championship match in Astana will once again be played to the distance of 14 games, with a time control of 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 60 minutes for the next 20 moves, and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 61. In case of a tie, the Champion would be determined in a rapid chess playoff. Kazakhstan, geographical pivot of Central Asia Argentina was the other main contender to host the FIDE World Chess Championship match, while Mexico and China also expressed an interest. However, given the nationality of the contenders, the bid received from Kazakhstan’s capital had obvious advantages due to its geographical situation and its track record of hosting world chess events, and was the option preferred by the FIDE Council. “It is the first time in history that a Chinese Grandmaster reaches the final and fights for the World Championship title. We anticipate an enormous interest from China in this event, and that’s an opportunity we must capitalise on to promote chess in Asia”, said the FIDE president, Arkady Dvorkovich. “As much as we would have loved to hold a world event in the American continent, the time difference would have seriously impacted the audience in this particular case. Kazakhstan is a thriving country with a flourishing economy and a privileged geographical situation, which made it perfect for hosting this match”. A decisive figure in bringing the World Championship match to Astana is Timur Turlov, a former trader who, in 2008, founded Freedom Finance, the foundation stone over which he would build a financial empire. Turlov is now the CEO of Freedom Holding Corp., a US-based group whose affiliated companies operate in all of Central Asia, Europe and the US, trading on the NASDAQ (FRHC) since 2019. More information about Freedom Holding Corp: freedomholdingcorp.com One of the companies in the group, Freedom Broker, was the main sponsor of the recently concluded FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championship that was held in Kazakhstan’s largest city, Almaty, where it has its headquarters. Shortly after its conclusion, Turlov expressed his interest in giving continuation to this successful cooperation with FIDE. Besides being the main driving force behind this bid, he also decided to run for President of the Kazakh Chess Federation, being elected this very same week, on January 18. Astana has a long tradition of hosting chess events. In September 2022, it held the first leg of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix, won by Kateryna Lagno, and in March 2019, it also hosted the FIDE World Team Chess Championship. With just over one million inhabitants, the city has received different names during its history: Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and until recent times, Nur-Sultan. The city became the capital of Kazakhstan in 1997. Since then, it has grown and developed economically, dramatically changing its shape and turning into one of the most modern cities in Central Asia, home to a range of futuristic buildings and skyscrapers. On 16 July 1999, Astana was awarded the medal and title of the City of Peace by UNESCO.
List of Open Tournaments to receive FIDE Aid Packages 2023
Following a successful implementation of the FIDE aid package for Opens in 2022, the program was extended for the year 2023. The total amount of Aid Package Program 2023 reached €200,000. This impressive amount will be distributed among 50 open tournaments in as many countries/federations selected by FIDE (a national federation can receive no more than one package). The list can be found below in the pdf and docx formats. List of selected Opens Tournaments (pdf)List of selected Opens Tournaments (docx)
Tata Steel Masters 2023: Giri and Abdusattorov pull ahead
Anish Giri and Nodirbek Abdusattorov scored victories with the white pieces and are now in the lead with 3 out of 4 points. Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa outplayed Ding Liren and reached the +1 mark. Anish Giri – Magnus Carlsen 1-0 The game featured a trendy line of Nimzo-Indian in which White sacrifices a pawn for the initiative. Interestingly back in 2007, Magnus won a spectacular game vs Vasyl Ivanchuk with the white pieces. Unlike Ivanchuk, Carlsen opted for a not nearly as popular 12…d6 and found himself in a slightly inferior position. On move 18 Anish introduced a novelty 14.Ne5, which, according to chess engines, is not the strongest move, but it forced Magnus to work hard over the board while the Dutchman probably was in his preparation. Just a few moves down the road, Magnus played a natural 22…Nd4? which was a serious mistake. Most likely, the World Champion missed a very strong retort 23.b4! and after 23…Rxd7 (more stubborn was 23…h5) 24.Bd5 Nd6 25.bxc6 bxc6 26.Ba3 Black was in dire straits as White’s dark-squared bishop exerted unbearable pressure along the a3-f8 diagonal. Although Anish loosened his grip at some point, Magnus did not dare part with his last bishop and capitulated a few moves later. It was an impressive victory by Giri, who grabbed the lead. Richard Rapport – Fabiano Caruana ½–½ The opponents tested a long theoretical line of the Ragozin Defence in which the first original move was made very late. White had a slightly better pawn structure but Black soon rectified his own, and the position became dead equal. On move 25, Rapport somewhat surprisingly created an isolated pawn in his camp, but Caruana forced a draw by repetition. It turned out that the American had accepted a draw offer on move 19, but an arbiter ruled that the opponents should have played a few more moves. Ding Liren – Praggnanandhaa 0-1 After Black comfortably equalized in the Giuoco Piano and traded the queens on move 17, an equal position emerged on the board. Somewhat surprisingly, Ding started making little inaccuracies here and there and ended up in a slightly inferior ending. From that moment on, the young Indian slowly but surely ground down his strong opponent and scored a fully deserved victory. Nodirbek Abdusattorov – Parham Maghsoodloo 1-0 Abdusattorov got a clear advantage on the white side of Ruy Lopez, but instead of 17.cxd4, he played 17.Bb3 and the opponent traded several pieces and nearly equalized with a few the only moves. Still, from the practical standpoint, it was much easier to play for White due to the exposed position of Black’s king. In such a situation, a weaker side should try to exchange the queen or the rooks to safeguard his king, even at the cost of some minor concessions, and Parham had a couple of such opportunities but did not seize them. According to chess engines, the position was balanced for quite a while but eventually, Black could not bear the burden of energy and time-consuming defence. Parham just played 47…Qd5-b5? (according to chess engines after 47…Qe6 White is just slightly better) and after 48. a4! Qc5 49. Rd1 Rd7 50. Rb1 Rd8 51. Qg7+ Rd7 52. Qb2 White got to Black’s king. Thanks to this tough but well-deserved victory, Nodirbek Abdusattorov caught up with Anish Giri and now shares the top position with him. Wesley So – Levon Aronian ½–½ Levon Aronian demonstrated excellent preparation on the black side of a popular line of English Opening, and after massive exchanges, the opponents shook hands in a dead-equal opposite-coloured bishop endgame. Vincent Keymer – Arjun Erigaisi ½–½ Vincent Keymer essayed an innocuous Colle System with Be2, the line that does not offer White much. Black quickly got a comfortable position, and soon it was White who had to demonstrate some accuracy. After Vincent got rid of his backward c-pawn, the opponents traded most of the pieces and split a point in an equal rook endgame. Jorden Van Foreest – Gukesh D ½–½ The young Indian played a sharp line of the Sicilian Defense, to which Van Foreest reacted with a rare 7.Qd3. White achieved a promising position as Black’s king got stuck in the center, but Gukesh found an original manoeuvre and made an artificial long castling to solve most of his problems. After trading the rooks and a couple of minor pieces, White had a small edge thanks to two bishops, but Jorden decided not to test the opponent’s endgame technique. January 18 is the rest day at Tata Steel Masters. The players will return over the boards on January 19 at 2 PM local time. Standings after Round 4: 1-2. Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Anish Giri – 3; 3-4. Fabiano Caruana and Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa – 2.5; 5-9. Magnus Carlsen, Levon Aronian, Ding Liren, Wesley So, Arjun Erigais – 2; 10-13. Richard Rapport, Praham Maghsoodloo, Vincent Keymer and Jorden Van Foreest – 1.5; 14. Gukesh D – 1. Photos: tatasteelchess.com, Jurriaan Hoefsmit and Lennart Ootes
Costa Rican Championship: Jiménez and Díaz clinch titles
Emmanuel Jiménez and Kristel Díaz are the new champions of Costa Rica. Both absolute and women’s sections of the national chess championship, 9-round Swiss tournaments with classical time control, took place in Costa Rica Tennis Club (first round) and then at the National Stadium from January 7-15, 2023. The open event that brought together 27 players turned into an exciting race between top-rated IMs Emmanuel Jimenez and the defending champion Leonardo Valdes. Coming to the final round a half-point ahead of his main rival, Jiménez drew his game with Felipe Fernández. In his turn, Valdes could not break David Cabezas‘s resistance and had to settle for a draw as well. As a result, Jiménez retained a half-point margin and won the title with an excellent score of 8/9. Both the champion and the runner-up completed the event unbeaten. IM Sergio Duran and WFM Mauricio Valverde tied for third place, with the former taking bronze thanks to superior Buchholz. “It is a very important step, I had already won this title in 2021, but it was online, and it was time to win it over the board. I am pleased to take the title since this year, I am going to make an effort to become a grandmaster. This type of results help a lot to seek sponsorship when it comes to going out and playing tournaments,” Jiménez said after receiving the champion’s trophy. Final standings: 1 IM Jimenez Garcia, Emmanuel 2411 8 2 IM Valdes Romero, Leonardo 2399 7½ 3 IM Duran Vega, Sergio 2374 6 4 Valverde Mora, Mauricio 1800 6 5 CM Fernandez Sibaja, Felipe 2024 5½ 6 FM Cabezas Solano, David 2057 5½ 7 Pastor Carvajal, Jeigoth 1967 5 8 Cartin Aguilar, Luis 1880 5 9 NM Ugalde Garcia, Ronald 2084 5 10 NM Chaves Sanchez, Gabriel 2104 5 Kristel Díaz from Guapilena dominated the women’s section conceding just a half-point to her opponents. After three runner-up attempts in previous years, she finally clinched her maiden national title. WFM María José Ramírez finished a full point behind on 7.5/9 while WCM Sofía Mayorga came third with 7. “I am quite happy to win this championship. I think I played well, and I am very excited and satisfied. It is an achievement that I sought for a long time, and I am happy that my effort paid off,” the champion said. Final standings: 1 WFM Diaz Charpentier, Kristel 1948 8½ 2 WFM Ramirez Gonzalez, Maria 1765 7½ 3 WCM Mayorga Araya, Sofia 1774 7 4 Canales Chinchilla, Victoria 1429 5 5 Lobo Meneses, Natalia 1371 5 6 Bogantes Robleto, Karina 1680 4½ 7 Diaz Charpentier, Ashly 1174 4½ 8 Campos Astorga, Priscila 1449 4½ 9 Campos Munoz, Valentina 1081 4½ 10 WFM Acevedo Mendez, Jennifer 1745 4½ Photo: Costa Rican Chess Federation webpage and Emmanuel Jiménez García Facebook page
Chess for Freedom Conference scheduled for May 2023
Background Information FIDE and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office (Chicago, USA) are pleased to announce the 2023 Chess for Freedom Conference, scheduled to take place May 17th – May 20th, 2023, in Chicago, USA. This will be the first in-person Chess for Freedom Conference. We are very grateful for our sponsors and all the participating correctional facilities around the world. Invitations will be extended to all previous online intercontinental event participants. Chess For Freedom – Conference Goals To debrief on the outcomes from past online intercontinental chess events, hosted by FIDE and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, including highlighting notable event accomplishments, and identifying improvement areas. To introduce the latest available research on the impact of programming in a correctional setting and its impact on the population post-release. To discuss engagement strategies for potential partners associated with the Chess for Freedom program. The conference event schedule is as follows: May 17th: Guests arrive. May 18th: Cook County Jail tour (includes meeting with CCDOC administration and Programs staff. May 19th: Conference plenary session featuring various breakout topics. May 20th: Sightseeing throughout downtown Chicago. May 21st: Guests departure. “The prison officials see that in the places where the chess program is implemented, the behavior of the individuals in-custody changes, depression and stress levels decrease, they are better with socialization skills when they leave the facility It’s not only about the skills and another way of spending free time, but also the sense of belonging to a community, to the chess family. We’ve been working a lot to advocate for a program itself, but the examples of the other countries work even better,” says Deputy Chair of the FIDE Management Board Dana Reizniece-Ozola about the rapid growth of the program. Chess for Freedom Conference – Lodging Details The official hotel for the Chess for Freedom Conference is the Hyatt Place Chicago/Schaumburg, located at 1851 McConnor Parkway in Schaumburg, Illinois (60173). Please click this link above for special conference rate details. All attendees are required to register for the conference via this link. Chess for Freedom Conference – Contact Information Mikhail Korenman Chess Program Coordinator at CCDOC,FIDE International Chess Organizer and Member of FIDE Social CommissionE-mail Mikhail.Korenman@ccsheriff.orgWhatsApp.: +1-785-906-0402 More information about the Conference and Chess for Freedom program at chessforfreedom.fide.com.
Tata Steel Masters 2023: Caruana joins the leaders
In the only game in Round 3 that saw a decisive outcome, Fabiano Caruana defeated Jorden Van Foreest to join the leaders. As many as five players share the top position on 2/3 after Fabiano Caruana beat Jorden Van Foreest with the white pieces. It has been the most peaceful round so far, as all other games were drawn. Magnus Carlsen – Ding Liren ½–½ The World Champion essayed the London System with early Bb5xc6, the line to which his opponent seemed to be fully prepared. Still, after trading the queens, White had some pressure over Black’s a7 pawn, but Ding skillfully regrouped his pieces and got rid of his only weakness. As soon as the rooks and the queenside pawn left the board, the draw was just a question of time. Fabiano Caruana – Jorden Van Foreest 1-0 Jorden opted for quite an unusual line in the Petrov Defence with early 6…Be6 and 7…f5 weakening the e5-square. Fabiano came up with a sensible concept of dislodging Black’s e4-night and planting his bishop on e5. Still, the Dutchman would have had a playable position had he traded the bishops on e5 at some point, but instead, he simply blundered a pawn a few moves later. Caruana then sacrificed an exchange and got an overwhelming position. As soon as White’s central paws set in motion, the Dutchman threw in the towel. Richard Rapport – Wesley So ½–½ The opponent tested a well-known line of the Caro Kann in which Black sacrifices a pawn. White managed to hold it, but it was his only achievement as Black found the right setup to force a draw by repetition on move 25. Gukesh D – Nodirbek Abdusattorov ½–½ Gukesh D employed an interesting idea against Abdusattorov’s Bogo-Indian, creating an outpost on e5. The Indian could have posed some problems for Black on move 20 by defending his pawn with seemingly passive 20.Bf1, but after he missed this chance, the opponents promptly traded all the pieces and signed peace in a drawn pawn ending. Gukesh D scored his first half-point in the event and got some respite. Praggnanandhaa R – Vincent Keymer ½–½ The opponents quickly found themselves in the uncharted territory of Nimzo-Indian, where White got a clear edge in the form of two bishops and space advantage after Black’s dubious 9…c5. Trying to relieve pressure in the middlegame, Vincent sacrificed a pawn and liquidated into an endgame. It turned out to be a good idea as this ending, albeit unpleasant for Black, was holdable after all. Praggnanandhaa did his best grinding the opponent down but had to settle for a draw on the move 79. Parham Maghsoodloo – Anish Giri ½–½ In the Giuoco Piano, Anish advanced his kingside pawns h6-g5 and pushed Parham’s bishop to g3. It could have caused some problems for Black in the middlegame, but on move 16, the queens were exchanged, and the opponents ended up in an equal ending. Arjun Erigaisi – Levon Aronian ½–½ Levon comfortably equalized in the Nimzo-Indian and started pressuring slowly in the middlegame. Black was awarded for his efforts with a promising bishop vs. knight endgame in which he had the remote a-passer. After long manoeuvring Aronian reached a won position but let the victory slip away when it was near at hand. Black could have sealed the deal with 56…Kg5! The main line is 57. Nc5 Kg6 58. Na4 Kf6 59. Nb2 Be7 60. Na4 Kf5 61. Nb2 Kf4. The key idea for Black is to either advance his a-pawn or play Kf4 when White’s knight is far away. Instead, Levon played 56…Ke7 and the opponents split a point after 57. Nb6 Be1 58. Ke5 Bg3+ 59. Kd5 Bh4 60. Ke5 Kd8 61. Nd5 a4 Standings after Round 3: 1-5. Magnus Carlsen, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Ding Liren, Anish Giri and Fabiano Caruana – 2; 6-10. Levon Aronian, Wesley So, Arjun Erigaisi, Praham Maghsoodloo, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa – 1.5; 11-13. Richard Rapport, Vincent Keymer and Jorden Van Foreest – 1; 14. Gukesh D – 0.5. Photos: tatasteelchess.com, Jurriaan Hoefsmit
Tata Steel Masters 2023: Four in the lead after Round 2
Magnus Carlsen and Anish Giri scored victories to join the leaders. As many as four players are sharing first place with 1.5/2. Round 2 of the Tata Steel Masters again produced two decisive outcomes. Magnus Carlsen and Anish Giri beat Vincent Keymer and Gukesh D respectively and caught up with the leaders Ding Liren and Nodirbek Abdusattorov who drew their games. Anish Giri – Gukesh D 1-0 The opponents followed the footsteps of Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Lenier Dominguez in the well-known line of the Ragozin Defense up to move 14 when Anish introduced a new approach 14.Rc2 with the idea of doubling his rooks along the e-file. Somewhat surprisingly, this idea bore fruit just a few moves later after Gukesh made a fatal error 17…Kh8? Anish did not need to be asked twice and quickly pounced on Black’s king: 18. Neg5! hxg5 19. Rxe6 fxe6 20. Rxe6 Qxe6 21. Bxe6 Bxf3 22. Qf5 Be4 23. Qxe4 Rxd4? (more stubborn was 23…Re8). Black was doomed due to poor coordination of his pieces and lag in development. It did not take Anish long to finish off his opponents and score his first victory in the event. Wesley So – Arjun Erigaisi ½–½ The game saw an interesting line of the Gruenfeld reversed with Arjun’s committing inaccuracy 12…Be6 early on. After Wesley’s energetic reaction, Black’s king got stuck in the center while White’s pieces started eyeing the d4-pawn. Erigaisi had no desire to go down meekly and engineered some interesting counterplay, first thrusting his pawn to g5 and then sacrificing c6-pawn. Although White got a sizable advantage, he had to find a study-like move to keep the ball rolling: After 21.e4! Black would have been in deep trouble. Wesley, however, opted for sluggish 21.Ba4, allowing Arjun to get serious activity with 21…h5. After trading a couple of rooks and the queens, the opponents steered into an endgame in which White had a dangerous c-passer, but Black had enough resources to stop it and force a draw. Ding Liren – Parham Maghsoodloo ½–½ In a topical line of Morphy Defense in Ruy Lopez (a pet variation of Alexey Shirov), the Chinese GM traded two minor pieces for a rook but did not get much. Moreover, Black could have ended up in a promising endgame had Parham avoided opening the files for White’s rooks. After a natural 24…d5 keeping the position semi-closed, Parham is more than OK. However, he opted for the erroneous 24…Nxe5 and after 25. Nxe5+ dxe5 26. Rxe5 Rg8 27. g4 Rd8 28. Rae1 White’s rooks jumped into action while his pawns moved forward. The opponents traded several mistakes in subsequent play with Ding erring last. White has an overwhelming advantage, but after 49.Rd3? (49.Rc7!) Rf7+ 50. Kg6 Rg7+ Black came out dry and reached a draw on move 79. Levon Aronian – Praggnanandhaa ½–½ Rameshbabu comfortably equalized in the Ruy Lopez Open, methodically traded most of the pieces, and reached a draw in a rook endgame. Vincent Keymer – Magnus Carlsen 0-1 The World Champion surprised his young opponent with a rare 7…c6 move in the Gruenfeld Defence and got a quite comfortable position. Choosing between solid and active approaches, Vincent played somewhat inconsistently and, by move 15, handed the initiative to Magnus. Carlsen advanced and consolidated his queenside pawn-chain and after another quasi-active move by Keymer 28. Bg5? he sacrificed an exchange and got in the driving seat. After 28..Nxe4! 29. Ne7+ Rxe7 30. Bxe7 Nxc3 Black’s queenside passers are way too dangerous. Right before the time control, Magnus decided to simplify and transposed into a rook endgame with two extra pawns. The evaluation of this ending is debatable, but from a practical standpoint, it was very difficult to defend for White. Carlsen went on to convert his advantage in an exemplary manner and notched up his first win in the event. Nodirbek Abdusattorov – Fabiano Caruana ½–½ Fabiano Caruana voluntarily went for an inferior endgame with a shattered pawn structure that emerged out of a rare line of the Ragozin Defense, but apparently, it was not as bad as it looked after all. Nodirbek pressured his formidable opponent for most of the game but had to settle for a draw in a rook ending. Jorden Van Foreest – Richard Rapport ½–½ Up to move 15, the opponents reproduced the game between Fabiano Caruana and Boris Gelfand in the Petrov Defence played back in 2009, in which White sacrificed a pawn for the initiative. Fabiano naturally kept the queens on the board with 15.Qg3. The point is that 15…Nxa1 16.Qxg7 Rf8 17. Bg5 is too risky for Black. Jorden traded the queens with 15.Qxc8?! and switched to fighting for a draw in an endgame down a pawn. Just like in Round 1, the Dutchman eventually saved a half-point but only with some effort. Standings after Round 2: 1-4. Magnus Carlsen, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Ding Liren, Anish Giri – 1.5; 5-11. Fabiano Caruana, Levon Aronian, Wesley So, Arjun Erigaisi, Praham Maghsoodloo, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Jorden Van Foreest – 1; 12-13. Richard Rapport and Vincent Keymer – 0.5; 14th Gukesh D – 0. Round 3 parings: Richard Rapport – Wesley SoFabiano Caruana – Jorden Van Foreest,Gukesh D – Nodirbek AbdusattorovParham Maghsoodloo – Anish Giri,Magnus Carlsen – Ding LirenPraggnanandhaa R – Vincent KeymerArjun Erigaisi – Levon Aronian Photos: tatasteelchess.com, Jurriaan Hoefsmit
Tata Steel Masters: Ding and Abdusattorov take early lead
Ding Liren and Nodirbek Abdusattorov scored victories with the black pieces and emerged as early leaders. The 85th edition of Tata Steel Chess, one of the most prestigious chess events, kicked off in the Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands, and will last until January 29. Often called the “chess Wimbledon”, the festival traditionally includes the Masters and Challengers tournaments. This year Tata Steel is a part of FIDE Circuit, with a winner of the Masters earning 27 circuit points and the top-finisher in the Challengers getting 13.3 points. Magnus Carlsen – Levon Aronian ½-½ On top board, Carlsen and Aronian had a discussion in a popular line of Catalan in which Levon played the rare 15…Bh7 instead of exchanging his bishop for the f3-knight, which is a more popular continuation. Magnus got some edge but maybe released the tension too early with 19.Nxa5. Black traded several pieces and ended up in a slightly inferior but defendable position. Carlsen tried his last chance by sacrificing a pawn threatening to infiltrate the eighth rank with his heavy pieces, but Levon was up to the challenge. White is threatening with 33.Rd8 which looks very dangerous, but Levon has everything under control – 32…Rxe2! 33.Rd8 Be4! 34. Bxe4 Rxe4 35. Qxf7 Re1 and Magnus delivered perpetual by 36.Qg8+ Kg6 37.Qe8+ ½-½ Fabiano Caruana – Anish Giri ½-½ The opponents played a relatively fresh line of English Opening which was recently tested by Vincent Keymer on both sides. Black comfortably equalized and quickly became the strongest side. White had enough resources to maintain balance, but on move 22 Fabiano accepted a pawn sacrifice and found himself in trouble. Anish correctly sacrificed a piece to increase pressure but regained it too quickly. After a natural 24…Bf6 White got a sufficient counterplay with 25.Rxc8 Rxc8 26.Qa2 Bxd4 27.Nxd4 Qxd4 28.Qa5 and several moves down the road the game was drawn. Chess engines suggest 24…a4 25.Nd2 Rxc1 26.Rxc1 Bc5 27.Nff3 Bxf2+ 28.Kh1 a3 29.Qb3, but in this line, Black has to play a piece down, and it is not that easy for a human being. Gikesh – Ding Liren 0-1 White essayed a new plan Nf3-e1-d3 in a popular line of Queen’s Indian but failed to pose any problems for Black. Moreover, after a timely break in the center Ding’s position seemed more comfortable. Gukesh was doing OK, but then he lost track. Black’s c6-pawn looks taboo, but 23.Bxc6 was the way to handle this position. After 23…Rc8 24.Nf4 Bb5 White sacrifices his queen 25.Bxb5 Rxc2 26.Rxc2, building some sort of a fortress. Instead, Gukesh played 23.Nf4 and after 23…g5! 24.Nh5 Qh6 25.Bf3 c5! fell under heavy pressure. To make things worse, he blundered on move 32 and resigned soon afterwards. Jorden Van Foreest – Wesley So ½-½ White achieved a slight advantage in the form of two bishops in Catalan. Usually, it is a good idea to trade rooks in this type of position, but Van Forest did not demonstrate the necessary accuracy when implementing it. 20.Be1 (20.Kf1 looks better) was met with 20…Nf4! Apparently, White missed this powerful move. After 21.Rxd7 Nxe2+ 22.Kf1 Rxd7 23.Kxe2 Bxg2 Black emerged a pawn up. To Jorden’s credit, he put up a stubborn defence and reached a draw on move 49. Richard Rapport – Nodirbek Abdusattorov 0-1 The opponents battled in a rare line of Vienna with 5.Qf3 in which Richard, true to his creative style, placed his king on d1 but exerted pressure in the center and along the b-file. On move 14 White had an interesting option 14.h4 preventing Black’s kingside pawn advancement, which Nodirbek carried out to get a sufficient counterplay. In ensuing complications, Abdusattorov managed to exchange the most active White’s pieces and the game transposed in an ending which was favourable for Black. Rapport defended resourcefully and was very close to a draw but being short on time, he let it slip away with the last two moves before reaching the time control. Parham Maghsoodloo – Vincent Keymer ½-½ The last-minute replacement for Jan-Krzysztof Duda, who withdrew for personal reasons, Maghsoodloo tried some sort of reversed Benoni but did not achieve much. After the light-squared bishops left the board, Black got a very promising position but first missed a very strong 23…Re6 (or 23…Qd7), then an interesting exchange sacrifice 25…Rxd3 and let White get off the hook. Praggnanandhaa R – Arjun Erigaisi ½-½ The Indian youngsters played a high-quality game and demonstrated excellent opening preparation. In a popular line of Gruenfeld Defense White sacrificed his h-pawn (the idea introduced by Gukesh vs. Svidler) and got compensation but hardly more. Both opponents played with precision, and as soon as Praggnanandhaa regained a pawn, a draw was agreed. Standings after Round 1: 1-2. Ding Liren, Abdusattorov – 1; 3-12. Carlsen, Caruana, Giri, So, Aronian, Erigaisi, Maghsoodloo, Keymer, Praggnanandhaa, Van Foreest – ½; 13-14. Rapport, Gukesh – 0. Photos: tatasteelchess.com, Jurriaan Hoefsmit and Lennart Ootes
Mikheil Mchedlishvili wins 2023 Georgian Championship
Mikheil Mchedlishvili emerged as the winner of the 2023 Georgian Championship, earning his fourth national title. The 82nd Georgian Championship, the 10-player round-robin with classical time control, took place from January 4-13, 2023, at the Nona Gaprindashvili Chess Palace in Tbilisi, Georgia. Although two top Georgian players – Baadur Jobava and the 2022 champion Levan Pantsulaia – did not participate, the event brought together seven GMs and three IMs. Coming into the final round a full point ahead of his main rival, Mikheil Mchedlishvili (pictured above) made a quick draw with the black pieces against IM Gaioz Nigalidze to finish on 7/9 and secure the title. The fifth-seed GM Giga Quparadze (pictured below) also turned in a solid performance and came clear second, scoring 6/9. The champion and the runner-up completed the event undefeated and picked up 15 and 18 rating points, respectively. Three players tied for third place, with Tornike Sanikidze claiming bronze thanks to the best score in the direct encounters. Final standins: 1 GM Mchedlishvili Mikheil 2553 7 2 GM Quparadze Giga 2461 6 3 GM Sanikidze Tornike 2444 5 4 GM Paichadze Luka 2514 5 5 GM Gagunashvili Merab 2560 5 6 IM Kacharava Nikolozi 2538 4½ 7 IM Nigalidze Gaioz 2432 4 8 GM Maghalashvili Davit 2444 4 9 IM Petriashvili Nikoloz 2441 3 10 IM Tutisani Noe 2434 1½ Photos: Georgian Chess Federation Facebook page Official website: gcf.org.ge