Three youngsters cross 2700 mark in September rating list
The ups and downs in the standard list are tightly connected to the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad results, where the elite often faced players outside of the top 100. Magnus Carlsen lost 3 points despite his excellent 7.5/9 result in Chennai. However, the most significant drops in the top 10 belong to Fabiano Caruana (-18) and Levon Aronian (-16). The loss to Greek GM Nikolas Theodorou alone cost Aronian 7.6 points. The main news on the women’s list is the return of Humpy Koneru, who played her first tournament since February 2020. Despite losing 12 rating points in Chennai, she reappeared in the third position, pushing the rest of the top 10 down, except for Mariya Muzychuk, who kept her #7 spot. Photo: Lennart Ootes Biggest gains in Top 100 Open and Women Savitha Shri B WIM IND 2435 (+61) Erigaisi Arjun GM IND 2725 (+36) Abdusattorov, Nodirbek GM UZB 2713 (+36) Vega Gutierrez, Sabrina IM ESP 2395 (+29) Sukandar, Irine Kharisma IM INA 2401 (+28) Gukesh D GM IND 2726 (+27) Kiolbasa, Oliwia WIM POL 2410 (+27) Nihal Sarin GM IND 2677 (+26) Vantika Agrawal WGM IND 2396 (+25) Keymer, Vincent GM GER 2693 (+21) Savitha Shri B (pictured below) is a clear winner in this category following her excellent performance in the Czech Open 2022, where she picked up 61 points. Although this result pales compared to her +96 points earned by Savitha in the previous month, it is still very impressive. Photo: Savitha Shri’s Instagram The biggest news outside of the top 10 is the meteoric rise of three outstandingly talented teenagers – Arjun Erigaisi (pictured below), Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Gukesh D – who crossed a 2700 mark and broke into the top 30 Open. All three performed exceptionally well in Chennai but did not stop there. Abdusattorov and Gukesh D netted some extra points in the Turkish Chess League, while Erigaisi came out on top in very strong Abu Dhabi Masters, where he earned 22 points. Photo: Lennart Ootes Adding to this equation Nihal Sarin and the winner of German Masters Vincent Keymer, who are rapidly approaching the 2700 mark, we can expect a new sweeping wave of youngsters on the very elite level in the nearest future. Speaking of the top performers at the 44th Chess Olympiad, we should also give full credit to female players: Oliwia Kiolbasa (pictured below), Sabrina Vega Gutierrez, and Vantika Agrawal did an excellent job in Chennai, singnificantly increased their rating and deservedly made it to the list of winners in this category. Photo: Lennart Ootes The rapid part of the 2022 GCT Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz finished just in time to bring exciting changes in the rapid ratings of the elite. Hikaru Nakamura lost 48 rapid points and dropped from #1 to #4 in the world’s rankings, letting Magnus Carlsen reclaim the top spot. Ian Nepomniachtchi and Fabiano Caruana dropped as many as -16 and -19 rating points, respectively but remained in the top 10. The tournament winner, Firouzja, picked up 48 rapid points, climbing to #15. For the official effects of the blitz, we’ll have to wait for the following rating list as the tournament ended too late to be included in this one.
European Women’s Championship 2022: Monika Socko clinches title
GM Monika Socko (Poland) emerged as the winner of the European Women’s Championship 2022. It is probably the most significant achievement in the professional career of 8-time Polish Women’s Champion. The European Women’s Championship, an 11-round Swiss tournament with classical time control, took place from August 20-31, 2022, in Prague, Czech Republic. The event, with a prize pool of €60,000 (€10,000 reserved for the champion), brought together 123 players from 28 countries. Monika Socko grabbed the sole lead in Round 5 and never looked back. Coming into the final round on 8/10, a half-point ahead of Gunay Mammadzada (Azerbaijan), Aleksandra Maltsevskaya (Poland) and Lilit Mkrtchain (Armenia), Monika took a practical decision. Socko made a quick draw with Mkrtchain to secure the title as she had better tiebreaks over her main competitors. Mammadzada and Maltsevskaya played a topsy-turvy game which eventually ended in a draw. As a result, Gunay took silver, but Alexandra and Lilit missed the podium as Ulviyya Fataliyeva (Azerbaijan) scored a crucial last-round victory over her compatriot Gulnar Mammadova and claimed bronze by dint of better Buchholz. Final standings: 1 GM Socko, Monika POL 2423 8½ 2 IM Mammadzada, Gunay AZE 2466 8 3 WGM Fataliyeva, Ulviyya AZE 2413 8 4 IM Mkrtchian, Lilit ARM 2362 8 5 IM Maltsevskaya, Aleksandra POL 2360 8 6 IM Bulmaga, Irina ROU 2403 8 7 GM Ushenina, Anna UKR 2423 7½ 8 IM Sargsyan, Anna ARM 2378 7½ 9 IM Brunello, Marina ITA 2341 7½ 10 IM Salimova, Nurgyul BUL 2404 7½ The 2022 European Individual Women Chess Championship served as a qualification event for the FIDE Women’s World Cup 2023. According to the FIDE regulations and the ECU Board decision, 9 best players qualified for FIDE Women’s World Cup 2023. Photo: Official website Official website: ewcc2022.net/
Asian Chess Federation and VADR Media create Checkmate Live
United Arab Emirates – (August 31, 2022) – Asian Chess Federation and Australasian-based VADR Media are pleased to announce that they have entered into an exclusive long-term partnership with the creation of Checkmate Live. The strategic partnership sees Checkmate live becoming the Asian Chess Federations’ official online tournament platform, data and broadcast partner. Asian Chess Federation General Secretary Hisham Al Taher (left) and John McRae, Founder and Managing Director of VADR Media The Asian Chess Federation (ACF) is the international governing body of chess across the Asian Continent, uniting 52 national member federations across Asia, the Middle East and Oceania. Its headquarters are in Al-Ain, the United Arab Emirates, and its President is His Highness Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nahyan. VADR is an executive production firm established in 2008 that produces and promotes new media, sports and entertainment. They ventured into e-sports in 2015 when they launched Let’s Play Live and subsequently grew it into Australia and New Zealand’s largest independent e-sports provider. Asian Chess Federation General Secretary Hisham Al Taher (center) signing the contract with John McRae (right), Founder and Managing Director of VADR Media, witnessed by David Jenns, Principal of White Wolf Strategies. Checkmate live is a new web3 initiative by the VADR team focused on producing and broadcasting OTB and online tournaments for a new generation of players. At its heart is a skills-based platform that provides the opportunity to compete and also win cash prizes, credits, and in-game assets in an XR-led, e-sports international chess series. His Highness Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Bin Shakboot Al Nahayan, President Asian Chess Federation (ACF), commented: “Technology has played an important part in the journey and development of sports over the years, often overlooking chess. In recent years, the onset of online gaming and internet improvements has enabled greater access globally. The lack of effective integrity measures for online chess has also been a concern for the community hindering greater involvement. The partnership with Checkmate will allow the Asian Chess Federation to deliver competitive online tournaments and increase opportunities for our players. A key determining factor in the decision to partner with Checkmate was their commitment to improving the integrity of online chess and their ability to successfully create a solution that satisfies ACF’s vision for the future. Once launched, ACF will be able to host official online events that are inclusive and equitable and will provide even greater access for our members.” “We are delighted to have partnered Checkmate with the Asian Chess Federation and are extremely grateful for the support of His Highness Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Bin Shakboot Al Nahayan. It was fortuitous that both His Highness and ACF Secretary General Hisham Al Taher also share our passion for chess and esports. We all jointly recognize the ability for competitive online chess to connect mates (friends), generations and nations”, said VADR Founder and Managing Director John McRae. It is estimated up to 700 million people play the 1500-year-old skill-based game. COVID-19 had a marked impact on its increasing popularity along with the release of Netflix hit mini-series ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ in 2020. This growth has seen a significant increase in chess being streamed online by influencers, major esports teams signing professional players and record online viewership numbers. A key focus for the Checkmate team since they started their planning was to improve the integrity of online chess games. “We identified the problem of online cheating and its impact on fair play early on and believe we have resolved this issue, although we are realistic that it will be an ongoing battle as players continue to try and game the system. We have achieved this through a mix of proprietary AI exclusive to Checkmate and existing technology, partnerships and the development of a strong integrity programme. As part of its roadmap, Checkmate will be releasing a third-party module for associations, federations and tournament organizers who wish to benefit from these efforts”, said McRae. Checkmate’s take on chess, the world’s oldest game, will launch in Q1 2023 on Web and Mobile. Media Contacts: Asian Chess Federation Hisham Al Taher Secretary-General Asian Chess Federation asianchessfederation@yahoo.com Checkmate John McRae Managing Director VADR Media john@vadr.media +61421001766
Alireza Firouzja wins 2022 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz
The fifth day of Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz was smooth sailing for Alireza Firouzja, who made it to the top of the standings and won the 2022 St Louis Grand Chess Tour with four rounds to spare. Alireza scored amazing 8/9 points today and will collect $40,000 for his efforts. Firouzja’s rivals for first place, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Hikaru Nakamura, could not chase an unstoppable leader for too long today. After a couple of rounds, it was clear they could fight for second place only. Hikaru Nakamura was able to keep pace and finished the tournament in second place with one round to go, while MVL tied for third place with Fabiano Caruana, who fought hard today as well. There will be only two rest days for the players, and then the Sinquefield Cup Round 1 will begin on Friday, September 2, at 1:00pm. Things will heat up even more as the World Champion Magnus Carlsen joins the field. After 9 rapid games and 18 blitz games over the course of 5 days, Alireza Firouzja lost only one rapid game on the second day vs Levon Aronian and won 15 games. Such an achievement is incredibly impressive on its own, given the strength of the field. During the interview after the end of the tournament, It turned out that a long time ago, Alireza made a promise to himself to win his first tournament when he finally comes to St Louis. Alireza Firouzja: I could reveal a secret now, it was my promise for a long time if I come to St Louis, I will win my first tournament. Cristian Chirila: whom did you make that promise? Alireza: to myself. | Photo: GCT/Lennart Ootes ”The chess club in St Louis is really remarkable. I’m really in love with the club and really happy to be here”, said the winner. Alireza not only won the tournament but also crossed 2900 border in the blitz rating list. The winner was still a bit sad, as his accomplishment was not good enough to jump over Hikaru Nakamura in the world blitz rankings. Hikaru won both blitz games vs Fabiano | Photo: GCT/Lennart Ootes Hikaru started day 5 with a victory against Fabiano Caruana but suddenly lost two games in a row vs Alireza Firouzja and Levon Aronian. It seemed like the American grandmaster was losing his track, but he managed to stabilize his play after winning in the next round vs Sam Shankland. He scored an impressive 5.5/6 and finished the tournament in the sole second place, being the last after the first three days of rapid. Hikaru Nakamura in the studio | Photo: GCT/Lennart Ootes “I’m very happy with the way I played after those two unfortunate loses today, just won a couple of games at the end, so second place is pretty good,” said Hikaru. He was happy to show he still could play chess, as lots of people were saying after the rapid it was time for him to come back and retire. The good news for Hikaru’s fans – he will be back in Saint Louis for the Champions Showdown this September. Fabiano Caruana managed to catch MVL and tied for third place | Photo: Crystal Fuller The two players who tied for third place, MVL and Fabiano Caruana, had different journeys these days. Maxime was chasing the winner from day one and tied for first place a few times, while Fabiano Caruana was struggling to get to the top and stayed at a distance from the leaders for most of the tournament. The American redeemed himself in the second half, finishing with a score of 3.5/4, including a crucial win over Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in the last round. “I feel embarrassed with what happened in the end because I should have lost the last game,” said Fabiano, adding that he feels that his result was better than his play. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | Photo: GCT/Lennart Ootes MVL slowed down in the blitz portion of Saint Louis GCT and finished day five with the same result as on the previous day – 4/9. Three draws in the last rounds with Aronian, Firuozja and Shankland helped Fabiano Caruana to catch the Frenchman in third place. The fight for the top places in the overall Grand Chess Tour standings continues. With the Sinquefield Cup starting on Friday, there are still several players who are in contention for the title of 2022 Grand Chess Tour Champion. Text: WGM Anastasiya Karlovich Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz Sponsors Further Information:Web: GrandChessTour.org | Twitter: @GrandChessTourInstagram: @GrandChessTour | Facebook: @GrandChessTour Venue: Saint Louis Chess Club August 25 – 30, 2022 Press Contact:press@grandchesstour.org Livestream:GrandChessTour.org Photos:Courtesy of Grand Chess Tour and Spectrum StudiosCredits available on Flickr.
FIDE to compensate for airfare losses at Rapid & Blitz 2021
Dear players, As you know, due to force majeure (the introduction of additional measures by the government of Kazakhstan in connection with the outbreak of the omicron virus), the Rapid and Blitz World Championships planned for Kazakhstan in December 2021 were cancelled and moved to a different location. Some players were unable to change or get a reimbursement for the flights they had already booked. Although legally, FIDE is not liable for this cancellation, we have done our best to find additional resources to cover those expenses and compensate players for their loss. We are happy to announce now that FIDE will cover these expenses for all players who: 1) were included in the official list of participants, regardless of whether they had previously informed FIDE about their financial loss. 2) were not included in the official list of participants, as long as they had reported their intention to participate and the losses in which they had incurred. We request all players in this situation to confirm the total amount of the loss by filling out the online form: worldrapidandblitz.fide.com/reimbursement In cases where the player has received a partial refund, we will probably get back to you requesting additional information. Reimbursements will be made within 10 days once all the relevant information has been collected by FIDE. The deadline to request reimbursement is September 30, 2022.
2022 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz – Day 4 Recap
After 9 rounds of blitz, the tournament has the sole leader again – Alireza Firouzja! Coming into the day, both Frenchmen Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja were tied for the lead with 13 points each, but by the end of the day, Vachier-Lagrave slowed down and let his countryman pass him. Before the second day of blitz, Alireza keeps a comfortable three points distance from MVL. Another storyline was the surge of Hikaru Nakamura, who climbed up the standings from finishing in last place after the rapid portion to being third after an impressive 7.5/9 performance. Tomorrow promises to be an exciting day as both MVL and Hikaru Nakamura may try to overtake Firouzja on the final day of the 2022 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz. The sole leader of the tournament Alireza Firouzja; photo: GCT/Lennart Ootes Alireza started the day with a victory against Ian Nepomniachtchi and made four consecutive draws after that. It’s hard to say if a topsy-turvy game vs Fabiano was a turning point today or something else, but after that game, Alireza scored 4 points, finishing the day with a 7/9 performance. “In blitz, you should really have the Day, so I was lucky I was in a good mood today and showed a good performance,” said Alireza during his interview in our studio. Hikaru Nakamura is known for his blitz expertise and didn’t disappoint his numerous fans today. Hikaru Nakamura wears his lucky pineapple shirt | Photo: GCT/Lennart Ootes He came fully equipped, wearing his famous pineapple shirt, even though, according to Hikaru, it didn’t play a huge role in his success today. Hikaru started the day with two victories against Fabiano Caruana and Levon Aronian, which definitely boosted his self-confidence after yesterday’s collapse. Things went Hikaru’s way for most of the games except his encounters vs Leinier Dominguez and Ian Nepomniachtchi, which were up and down. “It could not really have gone worse than it was in the rapid portion, so I just tried to play good chess,” commented Hikaru on his performance. He is currently three and a half points behind Firouzja and half a point behind MVL but can move up in the standings if he can keep the momentum going tomorrow. MVL lost in the 8th round to Alireza Firouzja | Photo: GCT/Lennart Ootes The current blitz world champion Maxime Vachier-Lagrave had an unpleasant start, losing the first game of day four to Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. Later on, MVL defeated Leinier Dominguez and Levon Aroinian, but lost key matches against the leader Firouzja and “awakened” Nakamura. Despite an unimpressive 4/9 in blitz, MVL is in second place and will keep fighting tomorrow. Ian Nepomniachtchi showing winning moves in his game vs Nakamura to Levon Aronian and MVL | Photo: GCT/Lennart Ootes Ian Nepomniachtchi scored 5/9 and kept his 4th place in the tournament. He lost his first and last games vs Firouzja and Aronian and won the encounters against Mamedyarov, Xiong and Dominguez. Nepo certainly missed good chances in the games vs Shankland and Nakamura and could grab more points today. Jeffery Xiong at the Saint Louis Chess Club between the games | Photo: GCT/Lennart Ootes Jeffery Xiong scored an impressive 5/9 and tied for fourth place with Ian Nepomniachtchi. He was fighting in all his games, won four of them, lost three and made two draws. His fastest victory was against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, who blundered a piece right in the opening and could resign after ten moves. The Azeri Grandmaster started the day with two victories, but in the game vs Ian Nepomniachtchi made 2 (!) illegal moves. Both players could not stop laughing during the game, but it took Shakhriyar a long time to recover after this loss. He started to play below his usual exemplary blitz form and scored only two points in the six remaining games. Players could not stop laughing after Shakh’s illegal move | Photo: GCT/Lennart Ootes Levon Aronian started the day with 1.5 points out of 4, but he made up some ground with a strong showing, scoring 4/5 later on. Fabiano Caruana finished the day with a solid plus-one. Follow all the action on the final day of blitz live with our commentators GMs Peter Svidler, Yasser Seirawan and Christian Chirila at grandchesstour.org/live. Text: WGM Anastasiya Karlovich Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz Sponsors Further Information:Web: GrandChessTour.org | Twitter: @GrandChessTourInstagram: @GrandChessTour | Facebook: @GrandChessTour Venue: Saint Louis Chess Club August 25 – 30, 2022 Press Contact:press@grandchesstour.org Livestream:GrandChessTour.org Photos:Courtesy of Grand Chess Tour and Spectrum StudiosCredits available on Flickr.
Filip Haring wins FIDE Slovak Open
Skalický Šachový festival, a chess forum financially supported by the FIDE Aid Package, took place in the town of Skalica (Slovakia) from August 20-28. The main event, FIDE Slovak Open, a nine-round Swiss tournament, attracted 68 players from 10 federations. To the delight of local fans, two Slovakian players, IM Filip Haring and GM Jergus Pechac (who was recently awarded Gligoric Tropy 2021), tied for first place, scoring 7/9 each, with the former coming out on top thanks to a slightly better Buchholz. The 19-year-old Haring was in the leading pack from start to finish and deservedly took the title, earning 19 ELO points along the way. Vlastimil Babula (Czech Republic), Pranav Anand (India) and Gergely Aczel (Hungary) finished a half point behind Haring and Pechac and shared third place. Final standings: 1 IM Haring Filip SVK 2449 7 2 GM Pechac Jergus SVK 2587 7 3 GM Babula Vlastimil CZE 2577 6½ 4 IM Pranav Anand IND 2489 6½ 5 GM Aczel Gergely HUN 2497 6½ 6 GM Mihok Oliver HUN 2552 6 7 FM Turcan Richard SVK 2320 6 8 GM Lanka Zigurds LAT 2399 6 9 IM Sahidi Samir SVK 2477 6 10 FM Holtel Jasper GER 2405 5½ Photo: Skalický Šachový festival Facebook page Official website: chessslovakopen.sk/
Inmates around the world getting ready for Intercontinental Chess Championship for Prisoners
FIDE, jointly with Cook County (Chicago) Sheriff’s office, will hold the second Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners, dedicated to the International Day of Education in Prison, from 13-14 October 2022. The online event is open to male, female and youth teams representing correctional facilities. Registration for participation is open here until September 21. So far, prisons and correctional facilities from 20 countries have ready registered for the competition. Inmates from Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, England, Germany, India, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, North Macedonia, Norway, Philippines, Serbia, South Sudan, Spain, Turks and Caicos Islands and the USA are getting ready for the October event. For some, this will be the first official online chess tournament ever played; still, others have already participated in the inaugural event held in October 2021 and are working hard to improve their results. “As the international chess competition is fast approaching, we are determined to join again and become champions. Our team is composed of the persons deprived of liberty who are competitive, and with the help of some Philippines’ chess masters, namely NM Winston Silva, AGM Shrihaan Poddar and yours truly, we will showcase our talent worldwide”, – says Jail officer 1 Cedrix B Cabangal representing the General Santos City Jail in South Cotabato, Philippines. A chess enthusiast, Cabangal also serves as a team coach. “In 2021, when I saw a post on FIDE’s website about the Chess for Freedom programme and got to know they would be hosting a tournament for prisoners, I immediately signed up”, – he said. And the team showed its worth as it finished a solid fifth place in the first FIDE Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners. The chess program started at General Santos City Jail Male Dorm under the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) when the COVID-19 pandemic hit last April 2020. The project supervisor said that during the pandemic, a lot of changes in the mental health of the prisoners were noticed due to the restrictions related to the COVID-19 health protocols. “Therefore, we have organized a chess competition inside the jail facility to manage the anxieties of the inmates. Around 50 prisoners participated. Out of the 50 competitors, only 5 were chosen to compete in the National Competition. Thus, the Philippines held the first ever BJMP Caraga National Inter-Jail E-Chess Tournament Championship.” Now the team is getting ready for the second intercontinental championship. Players train every day; they watch videos and chess tutorials and analyze and review their past games. “We saw the potential of our team, and we believe that playing chess will build our self-confidence and teamwork”, – adds Cabangal. To learn more about the Chess for Freedom Programme and the second Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners, please visit the official website of the initiative: chessforfreedom.fide.com/
2022 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz – Day 3 Recap
Alireza Firouzja and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave win the rapid portion of the 2022 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz. It was also a big day for Sam Shankland, who moved up the standings and missed out on the first place after losing the last game. We also followed a comeback for Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, who won all three games today after an unfortunate start of the tournament. Round 7 Firouzja-Nepomniachtchi was the big clash of the round. Nepomniachtchi’s risky intuitive play seemed to be about to be punished for the first time. One quick think was not enough to repel White’s unpleasant opening novelty, and he had to accept an endgame with an extra exchange for Firouzja. There were many chances for the Frenchman to convert his edge, yet, in the end, Nepomniachtchi saved half a point. Ian Nepomniachtchi managed to escape | Photo: GCT/Lennart Ootes The other game ending in a draw was Aronian-Dominguez — an interesting exchange of opening ideas resulted in a move repetition not too late after players got out of their notes. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, struggling with three losses and no victories up to this point, beat the super solid Jeffery Xiong in a very convincing manner, steadily growing his advantage all the way until a pawn-up endgame, converting into a full point. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave outplayed Fabiano Caruana in a seemingly equal but a bit unpleasant rook endgame, and all eyes were on the Nakamura-Shankland clash. Sam has been having a good tournament so far with all draws, missing chances here and there, and this game was the one to finally break the drawing curse. Nakamura’s Anti-Berlin strategy was not successful, and Shankland was absolutely dominating from the early middlegame. The technical stage was a bit rocky, but he eventually managed to promote one of his three extra pawns to a queen and win the game. Sam Shankland winning his first game in the tournament| Photo: GCT/Lennart Ootes Round 8 There were not too many chances for the two Frenchmen, now in the first place, to improve their positions. Leinier Dominguez decided to check on Maxime Vachier-Lagrave’s homework — repeating a Najdorf line they played in the 2021 Sinquefield Cup, which brought Dominguez a huge victory. MVL remembered the details correctly, though, and demonstrated the precise way to defend and force a draw. It was a really tough game for Firouzja, who was under a decisive mating attack against Levon Aronian. Fortunately enough for him, the winning line was hard to find over the board, and after the natural continuation, there was nothing more than just a draw. 20…Re6 was the winning move, followed by the brilliant 21.Nxf7 Rg6+ 22.Nfg5 Rf8!!, as was discovered in the studio The magical number of the day was three, and we had three decisive games in every round. Struggling Xiong became victim to Nakamura’s ambitious King’s Indian. Another big result was Sam Shankland winning again, this time vs Nepomniachtchi. Ian had a great position out of the opening, but his opponent found an escape. When it was time to agree to a move repetition and make a draw, the World Championship Challenger overpressed and Shankland’s counterattack turned decisive. As a result, Sam Shankland tied for the first place before the last round. In the longest game of the round, Mamedyarov outplayed Caruana, this time with the black pieces, and eventually managed to overcome his defence. Nevertheless, things were far from clear, as even four moves before the end, with Mamedyarov’s passed pawns on c2 and d2 about to be promoted and our commentators calling his victory, Caruana missed an incredible chance to save the game. Mamedyarov managed to finish this move with just one second to spare! Photo: GCT/Lennart Ootes Round 9 A short Berlin draw between two of the co-leaders MVL and Firouzja set the stage for the final round of rapid very clearly. It was all in Sam Shankland’s hands. A win against Jeffery Xiong would guarantee him sole first place and a draw would mean tying for first with the two Frenchmen. A quick draw gave MVL a chance to join Yasser, Peter and Cristian for commentary in the studio Xiong gladly accepted his invitation to play a big game, castling right under Shankland’s queenside attack, while the star of the previous two rounds left his king in the center. The turning point was Xiong’s smart 17…Nb8 retreat, moving his knight closer to the defence. It seemed, there were not enough forces for White to continue his attack, and Shankland later lost control over the position and soon the whole game. On the rest of the boards, Ian Nepomniachtchi held a slightly suspicious position against Levon Aronian, and Fabiano Caruana beat Hikaru Nakamura. The defending champion was the one to make the last mistake in a topsy-turvy game, storming off into the heavy rain outside without his umbrella and moving to the last place. Hikaru Nakamura (left), Fabiano Caruana (center) | Photo: GCT/Lennart Ootes The man that stole the show and gave the closing interview was Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, though. Scoring another nice win, beating Dominguez, he went from being dead last to sharing fourth place in just one day. After the heroic comeback, winning three games in a row, he’s suddenly back in the race for overall tournament victory. Alireza Firouzja and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave are in the lead, with Sam Shankland one point behind. There are 18 more points to be fought for during two days of blitz and if there’s still no winner at the end of the tournament, then we will have a potential playoff thriller. Follow all the action live with our commentators GMs Peter Svidler, Yasser Seirawan and Christian Chirila at grandchesstour.org/live. Text: WGM Anastasiya Karlovich Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz Sponsors Further Information:Web: GrandChessTour.org | Twitter: @GrandChessTourInstagram: @GrandChessTour | Facebook: @GrandChessTour Venue: Saint Louis Chess Club August 25 – 30, 2022 Press Contact:press@grandchesstour.org Livestream:GrandChessTour.org Photos:Courtesy of Grand Chess Tour and Spectrum StudiosCredits available on Flickr.
2022 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz – Day 2 Recap
Players fought hard on day two of the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament, yet very little progress was made. Tough fights and spectacular fireworks on all boards, but we only had three decisive results out of fifteen games. Alireza Firouzja managed to stay in the lead after a big comeback at the end of the day. Round 4 The scoring was opened with Ian Nepomniachtchi defeating Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. Good opening preparation in Catalan with the modern h2-h4 setup quickly turned into an irresistible attack on the kingside. After delivering the final blow, Alireza gave a very modest post-game interview. But it was clear that the World Championship Challenger “Nepo” played a very impressive game and was in a great mood to show us more of his entertaining chess. Ian Nepomniachtchi started the day in a great style | Photo: GCT/Lennart Ootes Jeffery Xiong had some chances to fight for the advantage in the game vs Firouzja and Caruana kept squeezing an academic edge against Dominguez for some time. Both games managed to stay on the rails and eventually finished in a draw. It seemed Sam Shankland was in trouble against Aronian after a very shaky opening performance, but eventually he managed to come out on top. Sam can certainly be the most disappointed player of the round as at some point, he was just one or two precise moves away from claiming a full point, but Levon Aronian managed to escape. Finally, Hikaru Nakamura was very disappointed after not being able to break Vachier-Lagrave’s defense. Nevertheless, he got just one real, but difficult to find chance to win in the whole game. Round 5 Fabiano Caruana managed to strike for the first time and it was against none other than Alireza Firouzja, the tournament leader, with the black pieces. It looked like everything went wrong for the young Frenchman who decided to go for a desperate attack after an opening disaster. He sacrificed a lot of material on the way but Caruana kept control and collected a “gift” — a much needed victory after his bad day one. The outcome of the game was crucial for the standings as Alireza lost his sole lead in the tournament. Alireza Firouzja resigns to Fabiano Caruana | Photo: GCT/Lennart Ootes In a scenario very similar to the previous round, we again had one quick decisive outcome, two relatively correct draws (Xiong easily holding Aronian to a draw, and Nakamura successfully doing the same against Mamedyarov), and two more very eventful games. Nepomniachtchi played a Petroff against Leinier Dominguez, yet something fell off this time and he almost let his queen be trapped in the middle of the board on move 16. 17.Ne4! would be a cold shower, as black’s queen is soon getting trapped after Nh4 Fortunately for Nepomniachtchi, his opponent did not manage to find the winning combination, leading to immediate material losses, and ended up in a defensible endgame instead. After a couple of missed chances for Sam Shankland, it was time for him to save a very difficult game as well — MVL missed the winning manoeuvre in a rook endgame and let Shankland escape with a draw. Round 6 Five players shared the first place before the 6th round after Firouzja stumbled. The question was whether he would be able to regain his lead by winning against Dominguez. Both players were spending a lot of time in the early opening; most of the other games finished while they still had all 32 pieces on the board! Maxime Vachier-Lagrave demonstrated an inhuman level of opening preparation, sacrificing his queen in his favorite Gruenfeld against Xiong, eventually forcing his opponent to make a draw by perpetual check. The Shankland-Mamedyarov game finished in a draw after massive exchanges and Caruana with Aronian did not manage to get anywhere either, despite a creative opening choice. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is in the chase for the first place| Photo: GCT/Lennart Ootes Nepomniachtchi prepared another unpleasant Catalan opening surprise (16.Qa1) and his opponent Hikaru Nakamura seemed to be in a lot of trouble after the mysterious queen move. This time Nepomniachtchi did not manage to find the precise way to keep the pressure and was soon glad to be able to force a draw. And finally, back to the Firouzja game which was just passing into the middlegame stage. Dominguez definitely had the advantage, but the tables turned after the American fell into time trouble and played the passive 18.Nfe1 move. Firouzja quickly advanced his kingside pawns, creating big weaknesses in his opponent’s camp, Leinier lost on time vs Alireza while struggling to make a move in a very difficult position Dominguez did not manage to finish his move in time, photo: GCT/Lennart Ootes Replay the broadcast from day 2 on our YouTube. Alireza Firouzja has managed to keep his tournament lead and it was anything but an easy task. He was forced to work hard in all three games and it’s still three competitors breathing on his neck: MVL, Xiong & Nepomniachtchi just a point behind him. We’ll see how the final part of the rapid portion develops tomorrow, with Firouzja playing with white pieces against Ian Nepomniachtchi in round 7. Follow all the action live with our commentators GMs Peter Svidler, Yasser Seirawan and Christian Chirila at grandchesstour.org/live. Text: WGM Anastasiya Karlovich Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz Sponsors Further Information:Web: GrandChessTour.org | Twitter: @GrandChessTourInstagram: @GrandChessTour | Facebook: @GrandChessTour Venue: Saint Louis Chess Club August 25 – 30, 2022 Press Contact:press@grandchesstour.org Livestream:GrandChessTour.org Photos:Courtesy of Grand Chess Tour and Spectrum StudiosCredits available on Flickr.