Division 4: Day 1 Round-up
The first day in Division 4 evidenced that holding the Online Olympiad, the first in chess history was a great idea. The event resonates all around the world (so far primarily in the countries whose teams are playing) discovering many new names. Although GMs have not entered the fight yet, there are plenty of interesting games in Division 4 that can impress even sophisticated and finicky chess fans. In this round-up, we can’t go deep into chess twists and turns and focus primarily on the results. Pool A Things have taken an unexpected turn from the very start in this pool. The triumphants of Base Division, Myanmar and Brunei Darussalam, stepped in the competition as rating-favorites. It was clear that it wouldn’t be as easy as among the teams consisting of inexperienced chess players, but no one could predict the scenario of the first three rounds. Myanmar suffered a defeat in the very first match – Thailand was simply better. 14-year old Thai Prin Laohawirapap launched a crushing attack: Prin Laohawirapap – Han Thiha Sai White fired 10.f5! b4? 11.fxe6 bxc3 12. exf7+! Kf8 13.Nf4!, and Black already could have resigned since 13…Kxf7 is met with an instructive checkmate 14.Ne6+! Kxe6 15.Qg4+ Ke5 16.Qf4+ Ke6 17.Bh3#. Black opted for 13…Qb6, but after 14.Qg4+ there is no defense against a check on e6 followed by checkmate. After Myanmar managed to level the score – 2.5:2.5, everything was at stake on the first board in the game between FM Thanadon Kulpruethanon (Thailand) and Wynn Zaw Htun (Myanmar). The Thai has silently offered a draw by repetition twice, but his higher-rated opponents turned it down, despite an inferior position. It is hard to argue with chess logic – the Thai player eventually prevailed and supplied the winning point to his team. Maynmar failed to recovers from this defeat, played two next matches way below its level, and ended the day with just 1 point out of 6 and just a slim chance to get into the top-3. Thailand, Hong Kong, and Kenya are leading the field, although Hong Kong has just seventh average rating in Pool A. It’s going to be very interesting to watch the matches in this unpredictable pool today – will favorites on paper prove their presumed strength? Pool B Unlike Pool A, here the preview (link!) by the official website of the Online Olympiad was much more prescient. Syria experienced no real problems and topped the standings. Given that this team forfeited two points, its dominance impresses even more. Team Malta (second-best average rating) is on the second position, but its tournament future doesn’t look trouble-free as it already lost one match point in the encounter with Pakistan. Team Pakistan became a real “hell-raiser” in this group – Pakistani chess players, many of whom don’t even have FIDE rating, proved that their success in Base Division was no coincidence. Pakistan could have been in the top-3 if not an accident that happened on the first board in Round 3 match against Mozambique. Yousuf Azeem Makhdoomi – Donaldo Paiva Yousuf Azeem Makhdoomi (fearless_king2 at chess.com) is launching a final assault: 21.Rxe6! fxe6 22.Bxg6! His more experienced opponent Donaldo Paiva put up stubborn resistance but the game was rolling to the inevitable result. Virtually any move wins, but White blundered his queen – 56.Qf8? Rxe6+ 57.Bxe6 Qxf8. White’s position is winning anyway – 57. с7 Qg7+, and here instead of an obvious 58.Kd6 White opted for an inexplicable 58.Kd5 and after 58…Qxc7 capitulated. Harrowing disappointment! Nevertheless, Pakistan along with Namibia, Qatar, and Mozambique still have a chance for one of the qualifying spots. Pool С There are no sensational results in this group – Nigeria and Lebanon won all their matches and moved atop the standings. Team Nigeria had some unexpected problems in the very first match with Ethiopia, which it won only by a minimal margin. In any case, we will probably talk about these teams again when covering Division 3. As for Mauritania, we have to tip a hat to this squad here and now, as the chessplayers from this country became real stars of the first day. Team Mauritania qualified from Base Division taking fourth place in their pool; only three players have FIDE rating. Nevertheless, Mauritania won all three matches, sensationally beating Oman 5:1 and Sudan 3.5:2.5. The victory over Sudan headed by IM Omar Eltigani is particularly impressive as all the players in this team have FIDE rating. The captain and leader of Mauritania FM Sidi Boidiya and its strongest woman Mine Hemam are the main attacking force of this team. Mine had shown the best result on her board in Base Division and won all her three games in Division 4. If Mauritania loses momentum, then Ethiopia and Lesotho may have a chance to advance to the next stage. As for Sudan, after a disastrous start, it will be very hard for this team to catch up with the leaders. Pool D There is a surprise hero in this pool – not many expected such a great start from team Palestine that won all three matches, whitewashing their opponents twice and topped the leaderboard. To be fair it is worth mentioning that in two matches Palestine faced weak opposition, whereas its third opponent, Haiti, as we already know, is prone to unexpected breakdowns. Still, Palestine has a very good chance to progress to Division 3. The other favorites – Angola, Surinam, and Puerto-Rico – already played each other. Only Angola came out of these encounters unscathed but not without incredible luck. In the match with Surinam the Angolan women-players scored 1.5 points with Black in the positions pictured below: Catherine Kaslan – Jemimo Paulo Virtually any move wins, but 35.Re7 wrap things up immediately. Alexandra Kaslan – Ednasia Junior After 57.Rh6 Black has no other options but to resign. Angola ended up winning the match 3.5:2.5. It looks like these four above-mentioned teams are fighting for three spots in Division 3, but who knows, maybe Haiti will repeat the trick it pulled out in Base Division where after a poor start the team roared back. Pool E The tournament fortune assembled a motley line-up in this pool. Sierra-Leone had huge
Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi get off to strong start in semis
The final four in the $150,000 chess24 Legends of Chess event got underway on Friday with World Champion Magnus Carlsen in frightening form. Having won nine matches on the trot in the prelim stage, the Norwegian picked up where he left off after yesterday’s rest day by taking a swift first set lead in his semi. Carlsen rattled off a 2.5-0.5 win against eight-time Russian champ Peter Svidler and just needs to win again tomorrow to reach the final. Carlsen, who earlier this week likened his play to the misfiring Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino, was typically harsh on himself afterward. “I think the games were of a sort of dubious quality,” he said. Asked what when he is satisfied with his performance, Carlsen said: “I always aim for more, that’s my take-away.” In the other semi, the Svidler’s fellow Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi and the Dutchman Anish Giri got their semi off to a marathon start – but it also ended quickly. The pair, who finished second and third in the prelim after Carlsen, played out a 131-move draw in the opening game. In the second, the in-form Nepomniachtchi – hoping to avenge his loss to Giri in the Chessable Masters tournament – went ahead with a win. Ian then finished off the set 2.5-0.5 with a game to spare as Giri crumbled in a worse position and under time pressure. Like Svidler, Giri now needs to win tomorrow to take the contest to a third set or face elimination. Today was the first day of the Legends of Chess semi-finals. The final-four stage is a best-of-three sets contest with the third set being played on Sunday if needed. The event, the fifth leg of the $1 million Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour, runs until August 5 and will carry a $150,000 prize fund. The winner will scoop a top prize of $45,000 and the last of the coveted spots in the tour’s Grand Final in August. Tournament rules and schedule The time control is a rapid 15m + 10s from move 1 played in the chess24 Playzone. There will be two stages starting with a 10-player round-robin (July 21-29) with each round consisting of 4-game matches and Armageddon tiebreaks if needed. The top four will advance to the knockout semi-finals (July 31-August 2) and two will go through to the final (August 3-5). July 30 is a free day. All sessions will begin at 16:00 CEST. Highlights in English:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Rmx6IFrFYxYPrNhZVtxZbRWTiMAIICvc?usp=sharingNew files at around 23.00 CEST Rough edit highlights:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SItw6DwCyoTsZ0WiVAjw4BkVHEaGQFDI?usp=sharingNew files ready around 02.00 CEST FOR MORE INFORMATION:Leon Watsonleon@chessable.com+447786 078770
Nino Batsiashvili wins Georgian Women’s Championship
The 77th Georgian Women’s Championship was held in a round-robin format on 21-30 July at the Chess Palace in Tbilisi and boasted of a very strong lineup with eight out of the top-10 national players taking part. The eventual champion Nino Batsiashvili started slowly with 1.5/3, losing to Salome Melia in the third round, but then she picked up tremendous speed winning five straight games. A draw against Bela Khotenashvili in the last round sealed the deal for Nino as she finished the event as a sole winner with 7/9. This is Batsiashvili’s third title, previously she won the Georgian championship in 2015 and 2018. Meri Arabidze (6.5 points) came second with a slightly better Sonneborn-Berger over Bela Khotenashvili (6.5 points) who claimed bronze. Both silver and bronze winners completed the tournament distance undefeated. Final standings: 1. Nino Batsiashvili (2457) – 7 2. Meri Arabidze (2428) – 6.5 3. Bela Khotenashvili (2458) – 6.5 4. Lela Javakhishvili (2475) – 6 5. Sofio Gvetadze (2308) – 5 6. Salome Melia (2370) – 5 7. Sopiko Khukhashvili (2339) – 4 8. Nino Khomeriki (2319) – 3 9. Aleksandra Vakhania (2138) – 2 10. Elene Tsotsonava (2012) – 0 Georgian Chess Federation Photo: Georgian Chess Federation Facebook
Wojtaszek clinches Biel Grandmaster title
Radoslaw Wojtaszek (Poland) won the Grandmaster Tournament at the 53rd Biel International Chess Festival, the first major chess event in the world to be played with games over the board again since the outbreak of the Corona pandemic. The Grandmaster Tournament was held in a new triathlon format with ten participants playing each other one game with classical time control (4 points for a win; 1½ point for a draw; 0 point for a loss), one rapid game with colors reversed (2 points for a win; 1 point for a draw; 0 point for a loss) and two blitz games (1 point for a win; ½ point for a draw; 0 point for a loss). The last round of the Biel Grandmaster Triathlon promised excitement, as three players had a chance to win the title – without facing each other directly. However, the leader Radoslaw Wojtaszek did not let his position at the top be taken away from him and defeated Noël Studer, even though the Swiss did not make his task easy. The Pole turned in an impressive tournament in Biel losing just a single game against Pentala Harikrishna. In an interview after his tournament victory, the champion stressed once again how important it was for him to be able to play normally again. Wojtaszek rated his victory on a par with his titles in Dortmund and the Isle of Man. Pentala Harikrishna (India) and Mickey Adams (England) also were victorious in the final round and finished second and third respectively. Harikrishna ended just a half-point behind Wojtaszek, a margin caused by his disappointing performance in blitz games. Mickey Adams was satisfied with his third place, just 1½ points behind the winner. The British champion finished the event on a high note, defeating Arkadij Naiditsch. Young Vincent Keymer (Germany) had a great start but lost steam closer to the end. Nevertheless, Keymer can look back at a strong tournament, which the 15-year-old finished in fourth place with an impressive margin over Arkadij Naiditsch. Final standings: Rank Name Games Classical Rapid Blitz Total 1 Radoslaw Wojtaszek 27 10 12 11 33 2 Pentala Harikrishna 27 16.5 10 6 32.5 3 Michael Adams 27 12.5 8 11 31.5 4 Vincent Keymer 27 13.5 10 4.5 28 5 Arkadij Naiditsch 27 11 5 6.5 22.5 6 David Antón Guijarro 27 9.5 4 8.5 22 7 Noël Studer 27 7 3 5 15 8 Romain Édouard 27 6 4 3.5 13.5 The organizing committee was satisfied with the festival that also included Corona Amateur Tournament (won by Christian Bauer) and Swiss Youth Championship. From an organizational standpoint, the pandemic-related requirements led to various additional expenses, but as things stand today, it can be concluded that the measures taken have proved their worth and could serve as a model for other organizers around the world. Thanks to the decision to hold the festival, “we were able to offer chess to the world, and it was noticed all over the world and associated with the name Biel/Bienne”, as Peter Bohnenblust, president of the organizing committee summed up. The triathlon format (classical + rapid + blitz) has proved its worth and found a positive response from the players. The fact that 4 points were awarded for a victory, with only 1½ in the case of a draw, has ensured exciting games. Only 10 of the 28 classic games ended in a draw, and in the last five rounds only five of them. Official website: http://www.bielchessfestival.ch/ Text and photo: the official website and Flickr
Kacper Piorun wins Polish Championship
The 77th Polish Individual Chess Championship took place in Warsaw from 21st to 28th of July. It was quite a challenge to run the event during the pandemic, but the federation was granted special permission by the government. It was extremely important for the national federation to run this historical tournament and not to abandon the tradition that traces back to 1926. The tournament was held under the patronage of Prime Minister Mr. Mateusz Morawiecki. Minister Lukasz Schreiber, former Polish Champion U10 (he defeated GM Wojtaszek then!) attended the opening ceremony as a special guest. President of Polish Chess Federation GM Jedynak and Mr. Schreiber played a friendly blitz game which eventually ended in a draw after a tense battle (Lukasz Schreiber is an accomplished player, rated 2100). For the first time in its history, the championship was held in a knock-out format. The exact system was two games of classical chess, then if it is 1-1 the opponents played two rapid games, if 2-2 – two blitz games and if it is 3-3 then Armageddon 5 minutes vs 4 minutes with White having to win. The tournament started with 16 players and the very first round spang a few surprises. The # 1 seed GM Mateusz Bartel, four-time Polish champion, faced 16th seed 17-year old IM Pawel Teclaf. Bartel had winning or much better positions in each of four games but lost the match 2,5-1,5. The first round was also devastating for one of the favorites GM Bartosz Socko, national coach of Polish team who lost to the eventual runner-up GM Daniel Sadzikowski. With this win, Sadzikowski started his incredible run which eventually propelled him into the final. In the second round, Sadzikowski and Orzegorz Gajewski qualified for the semifinals but both went through extremely dangerous positions. This is particularly true for Gajewski, whose opponent GM Marcin Dziuba had an overwhelming advantage +15.0 (according to a chess engine) but lost anyway! It looks like the stress of the knock-out system and a long break from tournament chess affected many players. In the semifinals, Kacper Piorun won over Gajewski 4-3 in Armageddon. It was 2-2 after classical and rapid games, in blitz Piorun delivered first punch, but Gajewski bounced back to make it 3-3. In the decisive Armageddon game, Gajewski chose white but lost and Piorun advanced into the final. Sadzikowski had a smooth sail in rapid games against GM Heberla, who defeated IM Teclaf one round before, ending youngster`s dream-run. In the final match, four first games were drawn and it went into blitz portion. After Sadzikowski shockingly forfeited on time in a drawish ending in the first game it looked like the end of a story. However, in a second blitz game, he came back sending the black king to the long journey up to the 2nd rank(!) and won a special brilliancy prize (a weekend in a luxury Dr. Irena Eris Spa hotel in the mountains). With 3-3 on the scoreboard, it came down to decisive Armageddon. Piorun confidently won the game and took the Polish Championship title for the second time in his career. In the match for third place, Gajewski downed Heberla 1,5-0,5. With Polish best commentators, GM Pakleza and IM Brodowski on the microphones the tournament had a record-breaking exposure doubling the number of spectators compared to any other previous championship. Only Jan-Krzysztof Duda games in the best events are comparable in terms of viewership.
Online Olympiad Division 4: Preview
On July 31, the matches in Division 4 of the first Online Olympiad in history will start on chess.com. 38 teams from all around the world are joined by 12 winners of Base Division (Myanmar, Lebanon, Cyprus, Brunei Darussalam, Qatar, Aruba, Pakistan, Bahrain, Haiti, Oman, Liberia & Mauritania). In Division 4, 50 teams are divided into 5 groups of 10 squads each. Three best teams from each pool advance to Division 3 – many strong squads with well-known GMs in their ranks will step into the competition at this stage. The official website of Online Olympiad olymp.fide.com presents a brief overview of all five Division 4 pools. Pool A (Bahrain, Nepal, Kenya, Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Myanmar, Brunei Darussalam, Tanzania, Maldives) The preview of this pool is going to be very similar to the one of Base Division. Teams Myanmar and Brunei are in the same tournament again (up to Division 4 it is allowed for two teams qualifying from the same division to play together in the next one ) and again they enter the competition as favorites. Myanmar has some problems with the 6th board, but the rest of the team, which can boast of three IMs (out of 14, playing in Division 4), is head and shoulders above others. The Hj Azahari Siti Nur sisters are the main striking force of Brunei Darussalam, who can easily pull the team to the next division. Based on ratings, the third favorite in the race for a spot in Division 3 is Thailand. Chinese Taipei also looks strong – although with just 6 people in its line-up it is headed by IM Raymond Song (pictured below). Nepal and Kenya also have a fair chance to qualify. It will be challenging for other teams to succeed, but everyone has equal changes before the start, and one thing is sure – Myanmar and Brunei will not have an easy walk like in Base Division. Pool B (Kuwait, Rwanda, Qatar, Uganda, Malta, Pakistan, Mozambique, Cyprus, Syria, Namibia) This pool features one of the clear frontrunners of Division 4 – Syria national team. The team has four titled players led by IM Bashir Eiti. It looks like only a concourse of unfavorable circumstances or connection problems can prevent Syrian chess players from progressing into the next stage. The run for 2nd and 3rd places promises to be unpredictable. Malta (which at the last moment was headed by the president of the country’s chess federation IM Geoffrey Borg) and Mozambique have better average rating comparing to other squads, but both teams are short of strong Women U20 player, which gives some hope to Uganda or even the qualifiers from Base Division Pakistan and Cyprus. Geoffrey Borg Pool С (Sudan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Ethiopia, Malawi, Lesotho, Nigeria, Eswatini, Oman, Cameroon) Two teams stand out in this division and most likely they will confidently advance to Division 3. Nigeria has the best average rating in Division 4, but with only 6 players in the roster, any forfeit or connection problem can seriously damage this team headed by the IM Oladapo Adu (pictured below). In any case, this tournament will not be a cakewalk for Nigeria, as Lebanon has already shown its strength in Base Division. This Mediterranean team, staffed with good reserve players and strong women’s boards shouldn’t experience any problems in Division 4 – Lebanon is well-positioned to continue its campaign in Division 3. Third place will be contested by African teams with Sudan looking slightly stronger, at least on paper. IM Omar Eltigani on the first board and Eyhab Rawan (1521) on the very important 6th board make Sudan a favorite against its neighbor from Ethiopia and Cameroon. Pool D (Liberia, Ghana, Puerto Rico, Angola, Togo, Palestine, Senegal, Netherlands Antilles, Suriname, Haiti) Since Angola is one of the leading African countries in terms of the number of FIDE-rated players it is no surprise that 9 out of 12 members of this team have international titles. Division 4 will be good practice for the Angolan players before much more difficult matches in Division 3, where they have to progress. David Silva (Angola) The only real competitor of Angola in Pool D is Puerto Rico. This team has very strong female boards; FM Danitza Vazquez Maccarini is a clear favorite when it comes to the best result on board 3. Suriname’s strength is on its sixth board, WFM Catherine Kaslan will surely become the main scorer for this South American country, famous for its vast rainforests and original cuisine (you can taste it not only in Suriname but also, for example, in Amsterdam). Haiti will try to make up for a lackluster performance in Base Division in matches against stronger opponents, but the chess players from this country need to raise the bar, otherwise, their Olympic quest will end at this stage. Pool E (Nicaragua, Jamaica, Bermuda, Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, Honduras, Sao Tome & Principe, Sierra Leone, Aruba, Bahamas) This pool brought together mainly countries from Central America and the Caribbean; the African teams of Sao Tome & Principe and Sierra Leone are unlikely to keep up with more experienced and stronger chess players from another part of the world. The neighboring countries Honduras and Nicaragua look like clear leaders of this pool, and the outcome of their clash is absolutely unpredictable. The Honduran chess players are a little more experienced, but in any case, both teams have every reason to count on a spot in Division 3. Overall, this group should be particularly interesting for women’s chess fans. Rachel Miller, rated 2004 sticks out in team Jamaica. Since she is turning 20 this year, Rachel plays on the 6th board. Bermuda’s Zuzana Kovacova (pictured above) is the strongest active chess player in the country, regardless of gender. And of course, we all wonder if Thamara Sagastegui (Aruba), who delivered a breakthrough performance in Base Division, will be able to prove herself again. The matches of Division 4 will start at 08:00 UTC on July 31. The Pool A teams will be the first to enter the battle. The official website of the Online Olympics olymp.fide.com will follow the competition closely.
Legends of Chess: Semifinals are set
The four semi-finalists for the $150,000 chess24 Legends of Chess event were confirmed today as Magnus Carlsen settled all remaining questions himself. The World Champion, who has dominated this online tournament so far, comfortably beat legend Vladimir Kramnik 3-1 to end the prelim stage on top of the leaderboard. However, despite chalking up nine wins out of nine and taking 25 out of a possible 27 points, Carlsen was typically hard on himself afterward. Carlsen said: “It seems that in the last few matches, to use a football analogy, I am getting Lewandowski level chances but I am converting them at a Firminio level. “For those who don’t watch football, that’s pretty bad. But at least the last two games were kind of ok.” Carlsen’s swift win kept Peter Svidler in the final four ahead of Kramnik – despite the eight-time Russian champ losing against Anish Giri. Giri, lying in third, was already safely into the semis and took the match 2.5-1.5. Carlsen’s nearest rival Ian Nepomniachtchi, already assured of a place in the semis, was beaten by 52-year-old Boris Gelfand in an Armageddon but still finished a clear second. With the semi-final places now decided, Svidler – the only old guard legend to make it through – will face Carlsen on Friday after tomorrow’s rest day while Giri faces Nepomniachtchi. It means Kramnik, the former World Champion, is eliminated along with Gelfand. Vasyl Ivanchuk and Vishy Anand both had no chance of progressing and took their match to an Armageddon, which Ivanchuk won. Ding Liren beat Peter Leko 2.5-1.5. Ding was already heading out of the Legends of Chess but still has a chance to qualify for the $300,000 tour Grand Final if Carlsen wins the Legends event overall. On the evidence of the first nine days, the Chinese number 1 should be confident. The event, the fifth leg of the $1 million Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour, runs until August 5 and will carry a $150,000 prize fund. The winner will scoop a top prize of $45,000 and the last of the coveted spots in the tour’s Grand Final in August. Tournament rules and schedule The time control is a rapid 15m + 10s from move 1 played in the chess24 Playzone. There will be two stages starting with a 10-player round-robin (July 21-29) with each round consisting of 4-game matches and Armageddon tiebreaks if needed. The top four will advance to the knockout semi-finals (July 31-August 2) and two will go through to the final (August 3-5). July 30 is a free day. All sessions will begin at 16:00 CEST. Highlights in English:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Rmx6IFrFYxYPrNhZVtxZbRWTiMAIICvc?usp=sharingNew files at around 23.00 CEST Rough edit highlights:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SItw6DwCyoTsZ0WiVAjw4BkVHEaGQFDI?usp=sharingNew files ready around 02.00 CEST FOR MORE INFORMATION:Leon Watsonleon@chessable.com+447786 078770
Legends of Chess: Carlsen shoots ahead
Magnus Carlsen turned on the afterburners to beat his nearest rival today in a super-fast finish to Round 8 of the $150,000 chess24 Legends of Chess. The World Champion made it an incredible eight match wins in a row as his encounter with Ian Nepomniachtchi went down to a nervy tiebreak finish. On a day when the great female chess player ever, Judit Polgar, joined the commentary, Carlsen had been moving towards a comfortable win. But the 30-year-old superstar admitted he lost his mind to let Ian off the hook in the last of their rapid games which finished 2-2. It took the top of the table clash into an “Armageddon” blitz chess play-off which Carlsen – playing Black – got the draw he needed with just seconds left on his clock. The Norwegian is left three points clear at the top of the tournament table, having dropped just one point so far in the online chess event. Carlsen said afterward: “I don’t want to talk about it too much, it was pretty bad. Today I was much better to winning in literally every game and then I just lost my mind in the fourth and we got an Armageddon in which I, somehow, managed to escape.” In the other matches, the battle for semi-final places has seen most of them sewn up before tomorrow’s final prelim round. Peter Svidler scored a vital win over former world champ and fellow Russian Vladimir Kramnik as both vied for a top-four spot. The pair were separated by just one point in the table going into Round 8 with Kramnik fourth and Svidler fifth. But Svidler made the early running with an opening game win, then Kramnik had a golden chance to level the score in game three. Kramnik, however, couldn’t convert and his opponent pulled off what seemed like a miraculous save to draw. Game 4 was also a draw as the match ended 2.5-1.5 to Svidler. It means that out of the Russian contingent, Nepo is already in and Svidler is in the driving seat to make it through. Kramnik, however, is now likely to miss out. Meanwhile, Anish Giri in third needed a win over Vasyl Ivanchuk to nail down his top-four place but faltered when the match went to Armageddon. It was a stunning win for the 51-year-old Ivanchuk, who became the first member of the old guard to win a tiebreak against a qualifier. However, the popular Ukrainian can’t progress. Boris Gelfand beat Peter Leko after their match also went to an Armageddon. Like Ivanchuk, neither legend can make it through. At the bottom, Ding Liren, who went into the event needing just a semi-final place to qualify for the tour Grand Final, also stands no chance of getting through. But he put his woeful form behind him today to dispatch another struggler, Indian legend Vishy Anand, by 2.5-0.5. Today was day eight of the round-robin battle for four places in the Legends of Chess semi-finals. The event, the fifth leg of the $1 million Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour, runs until August 5 and will carry a $150,000 prize fund. The winner will scoop a top prize of $45,000 and the last of the coveted spots in the tour’s Grand Final in August.
Online Olympiad Base Division: Day 3 Round-up
On July 27, the matches in Base Division came to close. 18 least experienced teams finished their campaign in this competition; 12 teams advanced to Division 4. Despite a relatively low chess level of the majority of participants, Base Division had everything we love chess for – strong, non-standard moves, unimaginable blunders, and dramatic twists and turns. In Pool B things came to a real crunch. Pool A The key matches in this pool were played in Round 7. After losing to Oman by a narrow margin in Round 4, Fiji had to beat Pakistan at any cost. Many Pakistani players do not have FIDE rating, but as we already mentioned in our preview, chess in on the rise in this country, and getting rating and titles is just a matter of time. Fiji suffered a painful defeat 2.5:3.5 – the leader of Pakistan Ali Khan Salman scored a decisive victory for his team defeating an opponent rated 300 points higher. In another important match, Oman prevailed over Guam 3.5:2.5 and rounded out the quartet of the teams qualifying for Division 4: Myanmar, Brunei, Pakistan, and Oman. Most likely Myanmar will be one of the main favorites in Division 4 as well. Unfortunately, team Somalia failed to finish the competition – the internet connection in this country has not been restored. Pool A Final Standings: 1. Myanmar – 182. Brunei Darussalam – 163. Pakistan- 13 (36,5)4. Oman – 13 (32,5)5. Fiji – 106. Guam – 87. Laos – 68. Macau – 3 9. Bhutan – 210. Somalia – 1 Pool B The final day in this pool turned into a real thriller. After Day 1 it became clear that Lebanon, Qatar, and Bahrain were substantially stronger than other participants, but the fourth spot in Division 4 would be closely contested by the African teams. As we pointed out in yesterday’s round-up, Burundi’s seemingly firm position in the leaderboard was an illusion as they were taking on all the three main favorites on the final say. Burundi threw a curve in the first match and became the first team to win a game over Lebanon on one of the boards. Nathalie Nahimana defeated her opponent, but her teammates failed to back her effort – the final score was 1:5. In a clash for second place Qatar – Bahrain the former somewhat unexpectedly dominated the proceedings. Whitewashing 6:0 seemed imminent but a Qatarian player on a women’s board lost connection in a winning position and forfeited the game. Round 8 sprang no surprises and as a result, Liberia overcame Burundi thanks to better tiebreaks (2.5 extra board points). However, in the last round, Liberia faced Lebanon, a team of a completely different level, and it was predictably swept 0:6. Thus, in order to advance to Division 4, Burundi had to score 2.5 points against Bahrain as this team won the face-off against Liberia. The strength of the Burundi team was in the women’s boards and they won the first point quickly enough – Deborah Niyonzima nicked her sixth victory in six games (in two other games her opponents defaulted). The holder of DeborahBurundi’s patriotic nickname at Chess.com was one of the finds of the tournament; let’s hope that the capable girl will continue to develop as a chess player. In three games Burundi had no chance, but the cherished 1.5 points could have been scored in the remaining two games – a winning position on the second women’s board and rough equality on the second men’s board. Alas, it was not the day of Burundi national team – first, Wilfried Ntamatungiro blundered an exchange whereas Francine Kwizera forfeited on time in a winning position. It’s a pity we won’t see talented Burundian chess players in Division 4, but Liberia earned its spot in the next round with a stable, consistent performance. Chess in this country has been supported by state lately; the federation is doing a great job which has begun to yield fruits. Pool B Final Standings: 1. Lebanon – 182. Qatar – 153. Bahrain – 144. Liberia – 10 (28,5)5. Burundi – 10 (27)6. Gambia – 87. Gabon – 78. Mali – 59. Congo – 210. San Marino – 1 Pool C The outcome in this pool seemed to be the most unpredictable, but the top-4 in the final standings emerged with one round to spare. The most important match was played in the 7th round – Mauritania managed to defeat Libya by a score of 3.5:2.5. This result secured the country-winner, 75% of whose territory is either desert or semi-desert, one of four spots in the tournament in Division 4 which starts on Friday, July 31. Mohamed Ahmed Taleb scored the most important point for the Moors – he conducted an instructive attack on an opponent’s king stuck in the center after boldly sacrificing an exchange. Also in Round 7 the winner of Pool C was finally decided. Cyprus made a quick work of Haiti 4.5:1.5 and guaranteed itself the first place. The last two rounds did not change much in the standings – only Haiti and Mauritania faced-off in the last round to determine who would take third place. The Haitians won by a narrow margin and found themselves in the third position. Mauritania tied for fourth place with Libya and Saint Lucia but had much better tiebreaks. When Talking about Pool C, we are bound to pay tribute to Thamara Sagastegui (Aruba) – she won all 8 games on the women’s junior board, and one more time her opponent didn’t show up. Tamara made a decisive contribution to 2nd place in Aruba and showed the absolute best result among all participants in Base Division. Pool С Final Standings: 1. Cyprus – 182. Aruba – 153. Haiti – 124. Mauritania – 10 (36)5. Libya – 10 (29,5)6. Saint Lucia – 10 (29)7. Cape Verde – 78. Cayman Islands – 59. Antigua & Barbuda – 310. Grenada – 1
Legends of Chess: V for Vishy as he gets first win
Vishy Anand was in vintage form as he tore apart fellow legend Boris Gelfand today in the $150,000 chess24 Legends of Chess. The 51-year-old Tiger of Madras gave his Israeli opponent a 2.5-0.5 mauling to polish him off with a game to spare. The match was a replay of the pair’s 2012 world title match which went to rapid games after the classical section before Anand retained his crown. This time, however, Gelfand was never in the running. Anand has started slowly in this event yet the legend from Chennai picked up points in the last two rounds after taking his opponents to Armageddon tiebreaks. Today Anand improved further and picked up a three-point maximum. He said: “Obviously it’s not been quite so disastrous the last three days as the first three, but it’s nice to get a win.” He added: “I simply forgot about Armageddon because I forgot what it’s like without increment… In normal chess the clock can intervene – in Armageddon the chess can intervene.” Meanwhile, Carlsen, the reigning World Champion, continued his imperious form to record a seventh straight match-win against Russia’s eight-time champ Peter Svidler. Carlsen’s first two games against Svidler were drawn but in between the champion found time to tweet his congratulations to the winner of the Premier League fantasy football. In a reply to his rival Aleksandar Antonov, the Norwegian said: “Bossed it on the final day. Congrats, TooGood indeed!” Carlsen, who was in with a chance of winning, finished joint 11th in the fantasy football – but is going far better in chess. After a third draw, Carlsen hit Svidler in the fourth game with the White pieces to take the match 2.5-1.5. It was hard on Svidler who battled hard. Meanwhile, the in-form Ian Nepomniachtchi – who has been Carlsen’s biggest threat in the tournament table – was taken to an Armageddon by Peter Leko. But Leko was outclassed in the faster tiebreak match as Ian picked up 2 tournament points to keep in touch with Carlsen. In the other matches, mercurial legend Vasyl Ivanchuk beat former world champ Vladimir Kramnik 3-1. Ding Liren’s woeful form, punctuated by disconnections because he is playing in China, continued as he went down 2.5-0.5 to Anish Giri. Today was day seven of the round-robin battle for four places in the Legends of Chess semi-finals. The event, the fifth leg of the $1 million Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour, runs until August 5 and will carry a $150,000 prize fund. The winner will scoop a top prize of $45,000 and the last of the coveted spots in the tour’s Grand Final in August. Tournament rules and schedule The time control is a rapid 15m + 10s from move 1 played in the chess24 Playzone. There will be two stages starting with a 10-player round-robin (July 21-29) with each round consisting of 4-game matches and Armageddon tiebreaks if needed. The top four will advance to the knockout semi-finals (July 31-August 2) and two will go through to the final (August 3-5). July 30 is a free day. All sessions will begin at 16:00 CEST. Highlights in English:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Rmx6IFrFYxYPrNhZVtxZbRWTiMAIICvc?usp=sharingNew files at around 23.00 CEST Rough edit highlights:https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SItw6DwCyoTsZ0WiVAjw4BkVHEaGQFDI?usp=sharingNew files ready around 02.00 CEST FOR MORE INFORMATION:Leon Watsonleon@chessable.com+447786 078770