Rapid Championship Day 2: Carlsen outpaces the rest of the field
Magnus Carlsen has taken the sole lead in the Open with 8/10 after the second day of the World Rapid Championship in Moscow. Close behind are three players on 7½ – Wang Hao, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. In the women’s competition, the Romanian Irina Bulmaga is having a great tournament as she continues her strong performance from the first day – she is leading the pack of top four players, all on 6½/8. The Open The second day of the Open Rapid started with many draws in Round 6 – there were just three decisive outcomes on the top ten boards. As the day progressed draws continued to dominate the rounds, but important breakthroughs and turnarounds were happening anyway. At the end of the first day, World Champion Magnus Carlsen mentioned that he was slowly getting into his rhythm and hoped to peak on the second day. That is exactly what happened: after two draws in sixth and seventh rounds (against Wang Hao and Aleksandr Rakhmanov), Carlsen crushed Czech GM Viktor Laznicka in Round 8. This was the key moment as all the other top-boards drew in that round. In the ninth round, Carlsen played against Alexander Zubov who achieved a better position against the World Champion, but as luck would have it, the Ukrainian missed his chances and eventually lost. In Round 10, Carlsen was determined to keep the momentum going as he quickly and forcefully defeated Le Quang Liem, ending the second day half a point ahead of everybody else. In Round 11, Carlsen is taking on Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. After 10 rounds in the Open section, there are three players who can be considered as Carlsen’s main competitors: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Wang Hao and Jan-Krzysztof Duda, all on 7½/10. Among them, Wang Hao seems to be taking a more cautious approach – not objecting to fast draws with very strong players and looking for his chances against the slightly weaker opponents. The end of the second day of the Open Rapid in Moscow saw more strong players come up in the ranks after having a slow start on the first day such as Hikaru Nakamura, Peter Svidler, Sergey Karjakin, Dmitry Andreikin, to name a few. 1. Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 2886 – 82. Wang Hao (CHN) 2748 – 7½3. Jan-Krzysztof Duda (POL) 2751– 7½4. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) 2873 – 7½5. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) 2752 – 76. Ian Nepomniachtchi (RUS) 2745 – 77. Le Quang Liem (VIE) 2740 – 78. Leinier Dominguez Perez (USA) 2755 – 79. Gadir Guseinov (AZE) 2691 – 710. Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 2819 – 7 …205 players The Women’s tournament After eight rounds in the Women’s World Rapid, four players are sharing first place: Irina Bulmaga (who was also in the lead after the first day), two Chinese players – Tan Zhongyi and Lei Tingjie, as well as and Mariya Muzychuk. All are on 6½/8. Bulmaga – who unlike some other players has not had much experience in top tournaments – is performing very well and has scored 2½/4 on the second day, including a win against Humpy Koneru. Her preparation for this tournament, which was done together with Ekaterina Atalik, seems to be paying off. Mariya Muzychuk made a breakthrough of the day winning all four games – all against Russian players. In Round 5, Mariya defeated the young Russian prodigy Aleksandra Maltsevskaya; Alina Kashlinskaya fell in Round 6; Daria Charochkina – in Round 7 and, finally, the Ukrainian downed Natalija Pogonina, the runner-up of the Women’s World Chess Championship 2015. The second day was also good for Kateryna Lagno who celebrated her 30th birthday. After a surprise loss in Round 4 on the first day, Lagno bounced back winning three games in a row and ending the streak with a quick draw with Harika Dronavalli in Round 8. Lagno is now in seventh place, half a point behind the leaders. Olga Girya, who was one of the three leaders after the first day with a maximum result, had a poor start on the second day, losing two games (to Koneru and Pogonina) and falling to the middle of the score-board. She managed to fight her way back to the upper ranks by defeating Alexandra Kosteniuk in Round 7 and Zhansaya Abdumalik in Round 8. In Round 9, she will be playing with black pieces against Kateryna Lagno. The tournament is not going well for Alexandra Kosteniuk. The second-seeded player finished the second day of the Rapid with 4.5/8. Kosteniuk started day two with a loss to Alisa Gaillamova. Her victory over Maria Manakova in the fifth round gave her hope for repeating the scenario of the first day when she started with a loss and then cleared three wins. This was not the case, however: Kosteniuk lost to Olga Girya and then drew with Sofio Gvetadze in Round 8. 1. Irina Bulmaga (ROU) 2383 – 6½2. Tan Zhongyi (CHN) 2496 – 6½3. Lei Tingjie (CHN) 2498 – 6½4. Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) 2518 – 6½5. Humpy Koneru (IND) 2438 – 66. Olga Girya (RUS) 2365 – 67. Kateryna Lagno (RUS) 2533 – 68. Harika Dronavalli (IND) 2425 – 69. Ekaterina Atalik (TUR) 2360 – 610. Anna Muzychuk (UKR) 2592 – 6 …122 players Russian footballer Dmitri Bulykin on similarities between football and chess The second day of the World Rapid and Blitz started at 3 PM Moscow time, with the famous Russian footballer Dmitri Bulykin making the first move in the Open tournament. “It is a rare thing to see chess played at a football stadium”, Bulykin said, referring to the fact that the tournament is taking place at the famous Luzhniki Stadium, the home of the 1980 Olympics and the 2018 World Cup finals. Bulykin started his career in Lokomotiv Moscow, before moving on to other popular clubs such as Dynamo, Bayer Leverkusen, Anderlecht, and Ajax. He also played for the Russian national team at the European championship in 2004. Himself a chess fan who “plays chess a bit” (a claim which should be taken with a pinch of salt coming from a Russian), Bulykin pointed out that “a lot of footballers play chess, and a lot of chess players play football.
The World Rapid and Blitz Championship kicks off in Moscow
Wang Hao, Ilia Smirin, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Leinier Dominguez are the leaders of the Open section after the first day of the King Salman Rapid World Championship. Among women, Arabidze shares the first place with Olga Girya and Irina Bulmaga, the three of them with a perfect score. Round one of the Rapid World Championship started with the president of the Saudi chess federation Rami Altassan making the first move at board one of the Open event, while FIDE president Arkady Dvorkovich did the same in the women’s tournament. After five rounds in the Open Rapid, there are five players at the top, but all are half a point shy of a 100% score. Among them, however, one name stands out: Ilia Smirin. It is not often nowadays that you see anyone over 40 on the top of a tournament where the world elite play, but the 51-year-old Israeli GM did just that. Referring to the fact that he has risen up among a pack of “young lions”, Smirin noted with a smile that “even lions are prey to other animals sometimes”. The top group is led by Wang Hao – the Chinese player who surprisingly won the Isle of Man Grand Swiss to secure a place at the upcoming Candidates. Wang Hao climbed to the top together with Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Ilya Smirin and Leinier Dominguez. Magnus Carlsen is just a half-point behind them. It is worth noting that the first game of the World Rapid and Blitz Championship was decided after 27 minutes and 26 moves. Not surprisingly, it was the World Champion, Magnus Carlsen, who delivered on this, defeating Azamat Utegaliyev of Kazakhstan. However, Carlsen got off to a poor start in round two but managed to edge a draw with Hrant Melkumyan of Armenia. In round three the World Champion defeated Boris Savchenko but then had another hiccup with Rauf Mamedov of Azerbaijan in round four as the game was drawn. In round five Carlsen dispatched Aleksandr Shimanov and is set to face Wang Hao. Despite not being the leader on the first day, Carlsen always played at the top board. This decision was made for technical reasons thus allowing the Norwegian national television to cover their favorite. There is a special daily program about the Rapid and Blitz going live in the world champion’s home country. The performance of Nihal Sarin, the promising 15-year-old prodigy from India is also worth mentioning. The teenager did not flinch and scored 3.5 out of five. His rapid rating is 2292 – low compared to most others – but this is only because he hasn’t played enough tournaments. The position of a “formal underdog” in every game he plays at this event (assuming he performs well) is likely to play into Sarin’s hands. The Women’s tournament The first day of the women’s rapid started with an upset in round one as the second-seated Alexandra Kosteniuk lost to Baira Kovanova who is 280-points lower-rated! Round two saw another dramatic moment as Monika Socko (Poland) defeated the 2016 Women’s World Rapid winner and the top-rated player at this tournament, Anna Muzychuk. By round four, both Muzychuk sisters were on 50% – an underwhelming result by their standards. Altogether, seven players finished three rounds with a maximum score: a Russian FM Ekaterina Goltseva (ranked 91st at the start) was leading the pack, followed by Dinara Dordzhieva (Russia), Meri Arabidze (Georgia), Nana Dzagnidze (Georgia), Batkhuyag Munguntuul (Mongolia), Olga Girya (Russia) and Irina Bulmaga (Romania). The nature of the fast-tempo play is that mistakes are more common and sudden turnarounds happen quickly. This was the case in Round four – the final round of the day for the Women’s tournament (they are playing 12 games instead of 15 as is the case in the Open section). Playing on board one Olga Girya managed to score a full point in a drawish endgame after Nana Dzagnidze made a terrible blunder, while Meri Arabidze outplayed Ekaterina Goltseva. Irina Bulmaga beat Batkhuyag Munguntuul, while Dinara Dordzhieva lost to Tan Zhongyi of China. After four rounds, Arabidze (Georgia), Girya (Russia) and Bulmaga (Romania) are tied for the first at the women’s tournament. Official website and LIVE broadcast: https://wrbc2019.com Text: Milan Dinic Photos: Lennart Ootes & David Llada Photos are available for the press at our official Flickr account.
King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Championships officially opened
The King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Championships were officially opened on Wednesday evening at the Central Chess Club in Moscow. All top-seeded players in the Rapid and Blitz events drew white pieces in the drawing of lots: Magnus Carlsen (Rapid Open) started the trend which was followed by Anna Muzychuk (Rapid Women), Hikaru Nakamura (Blitz Open) and Kateryna Lagno (Blitz Women). It was a White night in Moscow (which, unusually for this time of the year – has no snow!) as the drawing of lots in all four categories ended with top seeds drawing white pieces. That means that all participants with odd numbers will have White in the first round in both the rapid and the blitz tournaments. The pairings for the first round of the Rapid will be published tomorrow at 11 AM Moscow time (GMT +3). The hall of the legendary Central Chess Club was crowded as players, arbiters, celebrities of the chess world and journalists gathered for the official opening of what will likely be one of the most exciting chess events of the year – the World Rapid and Blitz Championships. The president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), Arkady Dvorkovich, expressed gratitude to the continuous support by Saudi Arabia to this event as well as to global companies such as Total, Gazprom, and others. “I am happy that Russia is hosting another big event, this time in Moscow (the World Rapid and Blitz in 2018 were held in St Petersburg)… It is wonderful that the event is held at a great historic place such as the Luzhniki Stadium which was home to all important ceremonies in the Moscow Olympics of 1980, where I was present at the final rehearsal for the opening ceremony,” Dvorkovich said. “I wish everyone good luck and I declare the World Rapid and Blitz Championships 2019 in Moscow opened”. Tournament director and Executive Director of the Chess Federation of Russia Mark Glukhovsky stressed the historical importance of Moscow and its Central Chess Club and expressed hope that the organization will live up to the highest standards. “I wish everyone lots of success and invite you all to come and follow the event,” Glukhovsky said. The World Rapid and Blitz Championships have generated considerable coverage in Russian media and attracted a lot of public interest. Earlier on Wednesday Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a letter expressing delight at his country hosting “highly prestigious international competitions, involving world-famous chess players, real champions and winners”. “I am certain that many outstanding and beautiful battles, filled with honest and intense struggle, will take place over the next few days,” Putin said. The Rapid and Blitz tournaments will be held at the grandiose Luzhniki sports arena – the famous opening venue of the 1980 Summer Olympics and the venue for the 2016 finals of the football World Cup. The event kicks off with Rapid Championship December 26 – 28, followed by a two-day Blitz tournament on the 29th and the 30th. Over 330 participants from all around the world will be taking part. The accreditation cards will be handed out in the playing hall on December 26 from 1 PM until 2:30 PM. The games will start on December 26 at 3 PM Moscow time (GMT +3). Apart from the main events, there is also an additional program featuring simuls, chess solving exhibitions, blitz and rapid tournaments. The participants of the main chess events will not only square off in chess but also have a chance to face each other in a football tournament at the Luzhniki stadium in the evening on December 28. Text: Milan Dinic Photo: Eteri Kublashvili and Amruta Mokal Official site: https://wrbc2019.com/
Arbiters getting prepared for the King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Championships
An important step in preparation for King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Championships was made in Moscow yesterday. А Workshop for International Arbiters took place in the Central Chess Club on December 24. This event targeted arbiters selected to serve in the upcoming King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Championships (WRBC). The IA Workshop was held in Russian and English; it was based on the curriculum successfully used in the previous four events in the FIDE & CFR Pilot Project for Training and Certification of the International Arbiters for the 2020 World Chess Olympiad. The Principal Lecturer, IA/IO/FL Alexander Tkachev (Russia), the CFR Technical Director, opened the Workshop by summarizing lessons learned from previous Pilot Project events in Moscow, Tashkent, Baku, and Sochi. Mr. Tkachev proceeded to describe the criteria that arbiters shall meet in order to be nominated for the 2020 Olympiad and explained the process that the CFR will put in place for the arbiters from Russia. The Guest Lecturer, IA/IO Vadim Tsypin (Canada) worked with the participants on using English in typical tournament situations, then proceeded with a detailed refresher on Anti-Cheating Guidelines and specific measures to be taken at the World Rapid and Blitz. During a group discussion, the Lecturers helped the workshop attendees to develop a common interpretation of complex items in the FIDE Laws of Chess and the FIDE Competition (Tournament) Rules. Together, the arbiters chose the best processes and practices that they will be following in the upcoming competition. The second half of the IA Workshop featured two invited guests. IA Laurent Freyd (France), Chairman of the FIDE Arbiters’ Commission, warmly welcomed the attendees, stressed the importance of teamwork and answered a wide range of questions. IA Takis Nikolopoulos (Greece), Chief Arbiter of the King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Championships, shared his experience from the 2017 event in Riyadh and emphasized that the best practices agreed upon in advance are the key to success of the arbiter team at the WRBC. Round 1 of the WRBC starts in the VIP zone of the Grand Sports Arena at the Luzhniki Olympic Complex on December 26. The next IA Workshop in the Russian Federation will take place in Moscow in January of 2020. Photo: Vladimir Barsky
Rating analytics: The number of rated chess players goes up
Kaspars Migla is the creator and founder of chessratings.top. In his column, he analyzes monthly FIDE standard rating changes, career-high ratings, rating distribution by country, continent, region, and other rating-related statistics. In this edition, he looks at the absolute numbers of rated players and the percentage of active players in different countries. According to the FIDE December data, integrated by chessratings.top, the number of players with a standard rating has surpassed the 350,000 mark (352,234 people to be exact). The number of active (those who have participated in tournaments over the last 12 months) and inactive players is roughly equal. Over the month’s time, the number of chess players increased by 2546, whereas within a year we have almost 30,000 new players (29 517). If this trend continues, then by 2024 there will be over a half-million chess players with standard FIDE rating. We will definitely inform you when it happens. Stay tuned! Total number of new players over 12 months The number of people having FIDE standard rating has grown in almost all countries. This process seems irreversible, provided that there are no radical rules and rating calculation changes. It is enough to say, that the last year Russia was the only country with more than 30,000 rated players, but not anymore. As of December 1, there are 34,811 active players in Russia, whereas in India – 32 494. Given that in the second most populated country in the world the number of players increases faster, eventually, we might see the rise of a new leader. The top 5 countries – Russia and India mentioned above plus Germany (26 549), Spain (24 784) and France (23 414) – are head and shoulders above the others. Since other countries have far fewer rated players, we can’t expect real changes in the leading quintet. Total number of chess players Currently, there are 172 848 active and 179 386 inactive players with standard FIDE rating. Last year those figures were 166 862 and 155 855 respectively. It is worth mentioning that this year inactive players outnumbered active players. Comparing to the last month, the list of countries with the greatest number of active players remained the same but there have been some changes inside the upper echelon. Spain tops the list with 15 461 active players, followed by France (13 716) and Germany (11 989). The leaders by the overall number of players India (11 682) and Russia (11 164) round out the top 5. This data suggests that the geographic chess center on our planet is located in Western Europe. A closer look at the active players pivot table provides us insight into some things that were hard to imagine before. For example, in the list of Top Federations, the USA is second, but when it comes to active players this country brings up the rear of the top 20, trailing Swede (2741), Denmark (2779) and Serbia (2849). Subsequently, in terms of large-scale involvement, chess in the USA has great potential. The same applies to China, which is third in the list of top federations. Surprisingly, the most populated country in the world can boast of only 658 active players, which corresponds to 46th position in the list. Total number of active players In terms of percentage of active players among the countries with over 5,000 players, the top positions are occupied by Czech Republic (68,6%), Spain (62,4%) and France (58,6%), whereas Brazil (37,6%), India (36%) and Russia (32,1%) round out the list. One can see that the total number of players inversely proportional to the percentage of active players. The opposite is also true: the fewer players the bigger this percentage. In some countries, such as Oman (89.1%), Faroe Islands (80.1%), Kosovo ( 77.6%), Slovakia (74,6%) those figures are really impressive. Kaspars Migla, chessratings.top
FIDE announces a new partnership with TOTAL
The International Chess Federation is pleased to announce a new partnership with TOTAL. With presence in more than 130 countries and over 100,000 employees, TOTAL is a major energy player, which produces and markets fuels, natural gas, and low-carbon electricity. The company’s ambition is to become “the responsible energy major, providing energy that is safer, more affordable, cleaner and accessible to as many people as possible”. By this agreement, TOTAL becomes one of the sponsors of the Women’s Grand Prix series 2019-20, as well as the Women’s Rapid and Blitz World Championship 2019. Thanks to TOTAL’s support, two new special trophies are established: A prize for the Best Overall Performance in the FIDE Women Rapid and Blitz World Championship 2019. This trophy will be awarded to the player who achieves the best combined result in the blitz and rapid categories. A prize for the Best Overall Performance in the Women’s Grand Prix Series, combining the results attained in Skolkovo, Monaco, Lausanne, and Italy. The partnership, which became effective on December 1st, will have a duration of half a year. More info about TOTAL Group: Official site: www.total.com TWITTER: @Total
Nepomniachtchi wins Jerusalem Grand Prix and qualifies for the Candidates
Ian Nepomniachtchi wins the Jerusalem Grand Prix after defeating Wei Yi 1,5-0,5 in the final, thus qualifying to the Candidates Tournament 2020. The second game of the final match finished in a draw after 26 moves. Dmitry Vasiliev, First Deputy Director General of CROC, one of the Russian IT market leaders, was the guest of honor in today’s round. He made the first move in the last game of the FIDE Grand Prix 2019, organized by World Chess. It was not an easy task for Wei Yi today, who had to find a way to put up a decent fight with Black in the second game of the final. The Chinese grandmaster had to win the second game to equalize the score in the final match after losing the first game on the previous day. Wei Yi chose to play the Pirc system which looked promising for Black. The Chinese grandmaster decided to sacrifice 2 pieces in order to break through on the King’s side but White had enough resources to defend and to keep the material advantage. According to Ian, he was sure he had a strategically better position, and after he put his bishop on f5, White should be out of any danger. “Obviously, in the end, I could try to play on, but when I realized that I could end the game with the perpetual check I thought “why not?” It looks like my opponent attacked me, sacrificed two pieces and then brilliantly found a perpetual check. Everyone should be happy with today’s game”, said Ian with a smile. “I have very mixed feelings. It was a very busy and tough year and actually, my strategy was not to qualify for the London Grand Chess tour, as I knew that London almost clashes with the last leg in Jerusalem, which I suppose would be very difficult.” “Speaking seriously, I would like to say that it’s a very big moment in my career. The run is still on and it’s a bit difficult because I’m tired after this year and probably there will be no rest as I need to prepare for the Candidates right now. In fact, every match was tough, including yesterday’s game but the toughest match was against Boris Gelfand. I was the only match where I completely deserve to lose but managed to escape,” said Nepomniachtchi after his victory. When asked about his chances in the Candidates, Ian added: “First of all I should play better in the Candidates than here if I want to have a few chances. I’m not a hundred percent sure who is playing there. Clearly it’s a good point that I have a good experience playing in Grand Chess Tour events with a similar field, including Ding Liren, Fabiano Caruana and others. Let’s wait until Candidates happens and let’s show the best chess I’m capable of.” The overall winner of the Grand Prix series 2019 is Alexander Grischuk, with 20 points, one more than Ian Nepomniachtchi. The third in the final standings for the series is Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, with 16 points: despite having had a very good 2019, his result is not good enough to get the Frenchman a place in the Candidates tournament. FIDE Grand Prix Series 2019 Final Standings *Replacements At the closing ceremony, Ilya Merenzon, CEO of World Chess said: “The Series was dramatic. I am very grateful that all the players showed their best, but some were disappointed with the results, but that means that chess is a sport and is as unpredictable as the sport can get. Thanks to those who followed the Series that will no doubt become a part of chess history.” Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE President said: “The last stage of the FIDE Grand Prix Series 2019 is over. We watched the incredible games of the best chess players in the world. There were many bright and dramatic moments. At the end of the series, the spots in the Candidates Tournament are held by Alexander Grischuk and Ian Nepomniachtchi. Congratulations to all the winners and FIDE Grand Prix participants.” Andrey Guryev, Vice-President of the Russian Chess Federation and the head of PhosAgro expressed his satisfaction with the results: “The last stage of the FIDE Chess Grand Prix ended triumphantly for Russian chess players. Ian Nepomniachtchi showed a great game and will join Alexander Grischuk in the Candidates Tournament! PhosAgro will keep its promise and sign a personal sponsorship contract with both Grandmasters. Now the chances of bringing the chess crown back to Russia are much higher!” Costin Raiu, Director, Global Research & Analysis Team, Kaspersky: “Our work is very much like a game of chess – a constant struggle and fight between good and evil. Building a strong defense can take years, while some attacks happen in seconds. I learned a lot about security strategies while playing chess – overprotection, development, and time or space advantages are incredibly similar in both disciplines. As defenders, we need to be right every single time, while attackers only need to get lucky once. In chess – one bad move can undo 50 good ones. However, in security, we can often learn both from our mistakes and wins. In the words of one of the greatest players who ever played the game of kings – José Raúl Capablanca – “You may learn much more from a game you lose, than from a game you win. You will have to lose hundreds of games before becoming a good player.” Official website and LIVE broadcast: https://worldchess.com FIDE Press officer for the event: Anastasiya Karlovich Official Photographer: Niki Riga Photos are available for the press from the following link to Dropbox. Leading partners supporting the FIDE World Chess Grand Prix Series 2019 include: Algorand as the Exclusive Blockchain PartnerPhosAgro as the Official Strategic PartnerKaspersky as the Official Cybersecurity PartnerUsetech as the partner of the Jerusalem Grand PrixPrytek as the Technology Transfer Partner
Season’s Greetings and Holiday Announcement
Dear chess friends! The FIDE Secretariat will be closed 25-26 December 2019 and 1st January 2020. During the period of 27-30 December 2019 only urgent matters will be dealt with. We wish all of you Happy New Year! FIDE Secretariat
GP Jerusalem: Nepomniachtchi is one draw away from the Candidates
Ian Nepomniachtchi won the first game against Wei Yi in the final match of Jerusalem Grand Prix. The Russian plays with White in the second game tomorrow and needs just a draw to win the tournament and get a spot in the Candidates 2020. Yoav Evenstein, Consultant and Analyst in Evenovate and Tel Aviv University made a first symbolic move in the first game of the final Wei Yi – Nepomniachtchi. Both players were smiling when they saw 1.Nc3 on the board and a few seconds later playing White Wei Yi, chose 1.Nf3 instead. Four knights variation in English Opening was played in what turned to be the longest game of Jerusalem Grand Prix so far. After quite a rare 12.Rb1 Ian chose 12…Qb4, proposing the queen’s exchange. Even though It was the first key moment in the game, surprisingly it took Wei Yi record-breaking 53 minutes to play 13.Qd1, avoiding the exchange. On the 31st move, the Chinese grandmaster had a choice of finishing the game or playing on. Ian Nepomniachtchi expected his opponent to end the game, thinking the position was balanced but with only a few seconds on his clock, Wei Yi spurned the repetition, tempted by a risky 32.Nb5. He entered a forced double-edged sequence where every move could have been a decisive one. According to Wei Yi, he simply missed the strong idea of exchange sacrifice after 32.Qb2. Being short on time, Wei Yi failed to find a precise 34.Ra1 and ended up in a difficult position where only Black was playig for a win. Ian Nepomniachtchi didn’t want to force the issue and kept putting pressure on his opponent waiting for the best moment to push d4. White’s position collapsed a few moves after Ian has finally advanced his passer with 84…d4. Only 87.Qa3 could have given White some hopes to save the game but it was not played. In the post-game interview, the Chinese grandmaster said he was not sure if he could have held his position by playing precisely but it was definitely hard to defend it for so long. The game was over after 96 moves with Ian scoring a very important victory with black pieces. Official website and LIVE broadcast: https://worldchess.com FIDE Press officer for the event: Anastasiya Karlovich Official Photographer: Niki Riga World Chess contact: media@worldchess.com Photos are available for the press from the following link to Dropbox. Leading partners supporting the FIDE World Chess Grand Prix Series 2019 include: Algorand as the Exclusive Blockchain PartnerPhosAgro as the Official Strategic PartnerKaspersky as the Official Cybersecurity PartnerUsetech as the partner of the Jerusalem Grand PrixPrytek as the Technology Transfer Partner
Grand Prix Jerusalem: Wei Yi and Ian Nepomniachtchi meet in the final
Wei Yi outplayed David Navara on the tie-break and advanced to the final of the FIDE Grand Prix, organized by World Chess. Wei Yi and Ian Nepomniachtchi will meet in the final in Jerusalem, which will determine who will get a spot in the Candidates tournament. Ironically, the finalists have different motivations in this match – Ian Nepomniachtchi fights for the slot the Candidates, while Wei Yi has no chance to get higher than fourth place in the overall Grand Prix Series standings. However, the Chinese grandmaster can win a prestigious Jerusalem Grand Prix title, if he defeats his opponent in the final. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who was eliminated in the semifinal by Ian Nepomniachtchi, cannot affect the tournament situation anymore but keeps his hopes to get to the Candidates if Ian loses the final match. The match between Wei Yi and David Navara was decided in two rapid games on tiebreak. David Navara, who had white pieces in the first game today, got a position with an extra pawn in Anti-Grunfeld for which his opponent had some compensation in form of active pieces. The Czech GM didn’t find the right way to keep his material advantage and according to him, opted for a strange line starting with 25.Ba5 and ended up a pawn down. Nevertheless, David defended well and managed to save the first rapid game. Similarly to the previous encounters the opponents played to bare kings. The second game became a crucial one for the outcome of the match. According to David, he mixed up something in a very silly way. He knew this idea e4 and saw it in various lines but not in the one which actually happened today. Wei Yi got a huge advantage out of the opening and gave his opponent no chance to escape. “My opponent just played better than me today and won deservedly”, said David Navara. “I don’t regret too much losing this match because I’m already tired and lack energy for the final anyway but of course I tried to play well. I’m a bit embarrassed about the way I lost the last game. I can play better sometimes but not today” added the Czech grandmaster. Official website and LIVE broadcast: https://worldchess.com Text: Anastasiya Karlovich Photos: Niki Riga World Chess contact: media@worldchess.com Photos are available for the press from the following link to Dropbox. Leading partners supporting the FIDE World Chess Grand Prix Series 2019 include: Algorand as the Exclusive Blockchain PartnerPhosAgro as the Official Strategic PartnerKaspersky as the Official Cybersecurity PartnerUsetech as the partner of the Jerusalem Grand PrixPrytek as the Technology Transfer Partner