Shtembuliak and Zhukova win Ukrainian Championship
The Ukrainian men’s and women’s championships 2019 are in the books. The round-robin tournaments with 10 participants in each were held simultaneously in Lutsk in Ukraine Hotel, December 9-19. Although some of the best players were missing, the line-ups, especially in the men’s event, were still very strong. Both tournaments were closely contested and produced many exciting games. The men’s competition saw a major sensation – the newly-minted World Junior Champion Evgeny Shtembuliak turned in a great performance and achieved an excellent score 7 out of 9. The champion demonstrated enviable self-confidence throughout the event. In most of the games, he went for complicated positions in which he simply outplayed and outcalculated his opponents. Ironically, Evgeny scored his most spectacular victory in the first round. This game set a tone for Shtembuliak from the very start. Shtembuliak – Volokitin 32. h4! Qxh4 33. Nxf6! gxf6 34. Rxf6+ Kg8 35. Rg6+ 1-0 The champion’s only real competitor Yuri Kryvoruchko was hot on his heels all the distance and came to the last round just a half-point behind the leader. In the last round, both won (Shtembuliak with Black), Evgeny preserved his margin over Yuri and took the title. The women’s competition turned into an exciting race between Natalia Zhukova and Iulija Osmak who finished two points ahead of their closest pursuers Olena Martynova and Mariia Berdnyk. After Natalia made a quick draw in the last round with White Iulija, who was a half-point behind, managed to defeat Kateryna Dolzhnykova with black pieces and caught up with her main competitor. Nevertheless, Natalia Zhukova became the champion thanks to better tiebreaks. Official site Final standings of Ukrainian Championships 2019: 1. Evgeny Shtembuliak – 72. Yuriy Kryvoruchko – 6½ 3. Andrei Volokitin – 5½ 4. Alexander Moiseenko – 4½5. Spartak Vysochin – 4 6. Pavel Eljanov – 4 7. Yuriy Kuzubov – 4 8. Alexander Kovchan – 3½ 9. Vitaliy Bernadskiy – 3½10. Petr Golubka – 2½ 1. Natalia Zhukova – 72. Iulija Osmak – 7 3. Olena Martynkova – 5 4. Mariia Berdnyk – 5 5. Yelyzaveta Hrebenshchykova – 5 6. Maritsa Tsirulnik – 4 7. Evgeniya Doluhanova – 3½8. Anastasiya Rakhmangulova – 3 9. Kateryna Dolzhykova – 310. Olga Kalinina – 2½
Call for expression of interest for arbiters at the 44th Chess Olympiad 2020
The 44th Chess Olympiad will take place from the 5th to the 18th of August 2020 in Moscow, Russia. The FIDE Arbiter Commission is opening a call of interest to licensed arbiters (FIDE Arbiter or International Arbiter) who wish to be part of the arbiter team during the Olympiad. If you are interested, please send your application by email before the 10th of January 2020 to office@fide.com, secretary.arbiters@fide.com and chairman.arbiters@fide.com with the following elements : – your chess arbiter resume – the list of languages that you can speak and your level of proficiency – which role you would prefer in the team
Chess for seniors: Players’ satisfaction taken seriously!
Chess for seniors: Players’ satisfaction taken seriously! Just like for the World Championship for Senior Teams in Rhodes last April, the FIDE Director for senior chess, IM Jan Rooze, has carried out a satisfaction survey for players during the latest Senior World Championship in Bucharest, which took place in November. Actually, as many as 251 participants (69% of all players) gave their opinion by filling out a questionnaire in 3 languages, which again shows that players really care about the quality of FIDE events. The majority of players in Bucharest marked their satisfaction with the tournament and particularly emphasized the very good playing conditions in a large and comfortable playing hall. However, a significant number of players were less happy and marked their dissatisfaction, particularly with the hotel and its location. This feedback is very valuable, and it helps us make further improvements in future events. Also, we will continue the practice of measuring player satisfaction by way of a survey for senior events, beginning with the World Team Championships which will take place in Prague. For a full report, see https://events.fide.com/
King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Championships: Preliminary list of participants
Dear participants, The opening ceremony of the King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Championships will take place on December 25 at the Central Chess Club named after M. Botvinnik (Gogolevsky Boulevard, 14/1). The presence at the opening ceremony is obligatory only for the invited participants (players rated at least 2750 in the open event and 2500 in the women’s event in any of the FIDE rating lists from January 1st to December 1st, 2019). Guests and registered press are admitted according to the lists. The guests’ arrival time is 8 PM. The ceremony begins at 8:30 PM (Moscow time). The event will include a short press briefing with participants and officials. The drawing of colors will take place at the ceremony; the pairings will be published on the official website of the WRBC-2019 and in social media. The accreditation cards will be handed out in the playing hall on December 26 from 1 PM till 2:30 PM. The technical meeting will be held on December 26 at 2:30 PM right before the first round. The preliminary lists of participants are published on the official site of the King Salman World Rapid and Blitz Championships. The World Champion Magnus Carlsen is coming to the Rapid Championship as the rating favorite. He is to fight not only for the titles but also for the first position in the rapid rating list – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave overtook him in the live rating after his good run at the Grand Chess Tour Finals in London. Despite the fatigue of playing non-stop, the Frenchman will also participate (he skipped the last-year championship in St-Petersburg). Experts and fans will be closely following Anton Korobov (Ukraine), who is fourth in the rapid rating list. Back in November the Ukrainian won the rapid stage of Grand Chess Tour Bucharest and proved that this high position was no coincidence. The list of favorites also includes Hikaru Nakamura, Alexander Grischuk, Levon Aronian, and Vladislav Artemiev. Only three players from the top-10, namely Ding Liren, Fabiano Caruana and Teimour Radjabov have not registered yet. The reigning Rapid World Champion Daniil Dubov is sitting on 12th position in the preliminary list of participants ranked by the rating. Pretty much the same players are among favorites in the Blitz World Championship. The defending Champion Magnus Carlsen is not the rating favorite as the first line in the rating-list belongs to Hikaru Nakamura. There are three Russian GMs in the rating top-10: Sergey Karjakin, Ian Nepomniachtchi, and Peter Svidler. Incidentally, their blitz rating is much higher than rapid rating. The exact opposite is true for MVL – after several setbacks in blitz tournaments, he sank to the 12th position in the respective rating list. The only player to give Carlsen run for his money last year in St-Petersburg, Jan-Krzysztof Duda holds the seventh place in the rating list. Many are looking forward to watching Vladimir Kramnik in action. The former World Champion who had retired from professional chess a year ago registered only in the blitz competition (16th position in the rating list). The women’s events will bring together all the best except the World Champion Ju Wenjun and the Challenger Alexandra Goryachkina whose match for the chess crown starts on January 04. In rapid chess, Anna Musychuk, the rapid and blitz European Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk, Kateryna Lagno, Mariya Muzychuk, Lei Tingjie and Tan Zhongyi top the list of rating favorites. In blitz, the defending Champion Kateryna Lagno has the highest rating, followed by Lei Tingjie, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Anna Muzychuk, and Humpy Koneru. Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, who made her mark last year in St-Petersburg, will also play in Moscow. Since the registration for all events is open until 23:59, December 22, some new players might be added to the list of participants. Photo: David Llada
Grand Prix Jerusalem: Ian Nepomniachtchi eliminates Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Ian Nepomniachtchi eliminates Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and advances to the final of Jerusalem Grand Prix, organized by World Chess. The second classical game of their match finished in a draw leaving the final score at 1½-½. After drawing their second encounter David Navara and Wei Yi will continue the battle on tiebreak tomorrow. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who was in a must-win situation today, made an audacious choice in the opening, going for an early 3.h4 that he had already tested against Grischuk at the second leg of Grand Prix in Riga. Of course, Ian Nepomniachtchi knew this game: “When I saw this move for the first time I thought, ‘how can you play like this?’. But then Alexander Grischuk beat me in blitz in this line. I was analyzing it in the summer, but I could not remember my analysis,” commented Ian after the game. Failing to remember his preparation put Nepomniachtchi in a very unpleasant situation as the Frenchman came out of the opening with a clear edge in a very dynamic position. However, Maxime lost the thread on move 25, when he committed a serious mistake allowing his opponent to break through with 25…f5. “My original idea was to play 26.e5, but in the line 26…f4 27.Bf4 gxf4 28.Nh5 I suddenly realized that after 28…Be5 29.dxe5 Black simply castles long and I can just resign. I decided to offer a draw in the end because I am really worse there and there is nothing to hope for anymore,“ said Maxime in the post-game interview. “For the last 7 months I played chess for at least 3 months, I was traveling for another month, and one more month I spent it resting but also away from home. It has been a huge challenge for me! There was nothing I could do about it, since the schedule for both Grand Prix and Grand Chess Tour had been fixed”. Nepomniachtchi still needs to win the final in order to overcome Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the Grand Prix standings to qualify for the Candidates: at the moment, MVL has 16 GP points while Nepomniachtchi has 15. If the Russian grandmaster loses in the final, he will still have his last chance get a slot in the Candidates by playing a play-off for the wild card with Kirill Alekseenko. “I will be watching the match from home” said Maxime “and of course I will be rooting against Ian, there is nothing else I can do. But if Ian wins, it will be well deserved,” he added. In the second game, David Navara and Wei Yi drew again. Wei Yi chose a rare line 10…Nbd7 in the Russian System of the Grunfeld, and after 11.Be3 Ng4 12.c6 he came up with a piece sacrifice, which was introduced in the game Volkov – Riazantsev (2017). Unfamiliar with this idea David Navara decided to take the piece. Black had enough compensation thanks to activity of his pieces and a few moves later the Czech grandmaster was forced to give back his extra material and steer the game into an ending. After the Queen’s exchange Wei Yi had extra pawn in the rook ending but David Navara’s task of reaching a draw was not particularly difficult. The winner of the second seminfal Navara – Wei Yi will be determined on tiebreak tomorrow, December 19, with Navara playing White in the first game. 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 : Nepomniachtchi beats MVL, Wei Yi and Navara draw
Ian Nepomniachtchi outplayed Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the first game of the match that will determine the holder of a spot in the Candidates tournament 2020. To level the score, the French grandmaster has to win the second classical game with White. The first game of the second semifinal, Wei Yi vs David Navara, ended in a draw. Ian Nepomniachtchi came well-prepared for Maxime Vachier-Lagrave‘s Grünfeld and surprised his opponent with a rare move 8.Be3. “It’s nothing serious but it worked out pretty well. He chose an interesting way but strategically it’s very dangerous,” commented Ian after the game. Maxime spent 20 minutes and decided to grab the bishop on e3, letting his opponent get a very strong center. Initially, the French grandmaster was going for a long defense, but remained true to himself and preferred to complicate matters with 14…b5. According to Ian, a tense battle would have continued had Maxime played 19…c5, sacrificing another pawn to open the position. It turned out that Vachier-Lagrave was tempted by a forced line starting with 21…Be5 but missed a very strong 24.Ne4 at the end of the variation. If Maxime fails to level the score tomorrow, he is out of the tournament and Nepomniachtchi will have the qualification for the Candidates in his own hands. The Russian will also need to win the final to overtake Vachier-Lagrave in overall Grand Prix standings. A funny accident happened in the encounter Wei Yi – David Navara. The Chinese grandmaster came to the game, thinking he was playing with Black – a real nightmare for any chess player! Playing without preparation, he spent a lot of time in the opening but came out with some original ideas. David Navara managed to equalize the position and even got some chances in the rook endgame. However, Wei Yi was defending precisely and achieved a draw after the opponents mutually eliminated all the pieces except kings. The second games of the semifinals start on December 18 at 3 pm (GMT+2): Vachier-Lagrave – NepomniachtchiNavara – Wei Yi 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
Master Class for participants of the FIDE Confederation Cup
A master class by FIDE Executive Director GM Victor Bologan came as a nice bonus for 31 players from 24 countries who traveled to Ankara, Turkey to participate in the first edition of the FIDE Confederation Cup for the Disabled. GM Bologan gave a lecture covering many aspects of top-level chess such as tactical weaknesses, critical moments, strategy, training and much more. The master class was wrapped up with a Q & A session – the participants had an opportunity to ask GM Bologan various questions. Here are a few of the most interesting ones: Q: “Why is it important for you to support players with disabilities in this event?” GM Victor Bologan: “I believe we have to share the knowledge. This is very important and it’s my first point. Second, I have a personal motivation for this. My elder daughter has very serious cerebral palsy; she cannot move, she cannot talk, she cannot do many things. We take her places we go and she is really a part of society. The same thing with chess, it can be a tool to be part of the world of chess, competition, travel, seeing other people, discussing. Through chess, we don’t see limits, this is why I think it’s good to share the knowledge. In addition, I do not see a difference. When I was growing up in Moldova, I used to see chess players with disabilities and one player even managed to get a Ph.D., he’s a very good chess coach now. Also, we discussed in the DIS Commission, that we see the inclusion of players with disabilities not only as players but as arbiters, trainers, etc.” Another player asked GM Bologan for advice on how to teach his daughter, who has the same disability, to deal with losses in her own games. Q: “I have two daughters, and my second daughter, who is 7 years old, has the same disability as me. She is interested in chess because it is the only sport that we can practice. However, she has problems handling defeat. How can I advise her on how to deal with defeat in chess — she only wants to win.” GM Bologan’s: “This is not related to a disability, this applies to all of us, no one likes to lose, not even the big boys. Take my advice about self-confidence — you should not be afraid of losing. Every decision you make is something you get for yourself, you mature, you grow, and you get stronger. If you connect it with the analysis of every mistake, it is a way to improve. Then, psychologically, she will put it together. But it is important that she senses this improvement and doesn’t repeat her mistakes. Once she sees this works, then she will make the adjustment. If you simply tell her to be confident, don’t lose a game, this doesn’t work. On the other hand, if you say, look you made this mistake, try to avoid it by doing this or that. If she does this — that will be her victory. This is the way we progress. Then, victories will come by themselves because you grow and it is natural — you turn the defeat into a win.” Following the conclusion of the Master Class, the audience took a group photo and used this opportunity for selfies and individual photos with GM Bologan. The players were very happy to participate in the master class and, if they were not already, quickly became big fans of GM Bologan, expressing their appreciation at the conclusion of the class with a round of enthusiastic applause. Text: Dora L Martinez Photos: Dora L Martinez
GP Jerusalem: Vachier-Lagrave and Nepomniachtchi to clash in semifinals
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Ian Nepomniachtchi defeated Dmitry Andreikin and Wesley So respectively and both advanced to the semifinals of the FIDE Grand Prix organized by World Chess. Sergey Karjakin was knocked out by Wei Yi in an eventful four-game match that could have gone either way. The moment of truth has come: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Ian Nepomniachtchi will finally cross swords in the decisive clash for a spot in the Candidates tournament. If Maxime Vachier-Lagrave wins this match he will immediately qualify for the Candidates. For the Russian, things are a bit more difficult: to get his ticket to Ekaterinburg 2020 he has to not only eliminate Maxime but also win the event. Israeli grandmaster Alik Gershon, who is also famous for setting the Guinness World Record for simultaneous games after playing 523 opponents, made a first symbolic move in the game Wei Yi – Karjakin. It turned out to be the longest match of the second round playoffs. After losing the first rapid game Sergey Karjakin took revenge and leveled the score in the second encounter. The Russian grandmaster had a pleasant advantage in the third game but missed a few opportunities in the middlegame and then misplayed the endgame, allowing his opponent to take the lead in the match. Sergey, who is known for his ability to fight back in any situation, tried to stage one more comeback, but Wei Yi didn’t give him a second chance. Dmitry Andreikin found an interesting idea to avoid the classical Naidorf in the first rapid game against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and confused his opponent. The French grandmaster didn’t react optimally and after f4-f5 found himself in a difficult position. According to Maxime, he still managed to create a mess on the board then turned the table and even won the game. Dmitry had to win the second encounter to level the score and was able to get a complicated position with black pieces. Since the match situation required to take extra risks, the Russian grandmaster sacrificed some material to stir up action, but Maxime found the most precise moves and transposed into the winning ending. The Frenchman preferred not to take any chances and offered a draw to seal his 1.5:0,5 victory. Ian Nepomniachtchi was taken by surprise in the opening of the first game and could not recall his preparation clearly. According to Ian, he got into the position where black had positional disadvantages but his defense was still hard to break. Wesley So did not find a way to do it and the game was drawn. In the second encounter, the American fell into his opponent’s preparation. “Once in a blue moon, I managed to get something out of the opening! Actually, this idea of 21…Bf3 22.Rf3 Re5 is a trap. I was lucky to remember all moves until it was better for white but it would not be me if I didn’t make some mistakes later in the game”, commented Nepomniachtchi. After 37…Rd4 38.Re8 the players entered the rook ending which clearly favored White. Wesley questioned his decision to go for this rook ending and assumed that he would probably have had better chances to defend the ending with queens on the board. The first games of the semifinals will be played tomorrow, December 17, at 3 pm local time: Ian Nepomniachtchi – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave Wei Yi – David Navara 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
Team Europe wins FIDE Confederation Cup for Players with Disabilities
The FIDE Confederation Cup for Players with Disabilities in Ankara is in the books. Team Europe won all four matches and deservedly took the title. Although the top two places were determined before the fourth and final round the race for the third place behind Europe and Asia was on. Two contenders, Russia-Turkey and Americas, were facing each other with the winner of the match taking third place. This hard-fought battle full of exciting twists ended in a tie 3-3. This meant Team Americas secured third place with 4 points, one point behind Team Asia that played the tournament without a rest day only to finish one day earlier than others did. In the other match of the day the champion, Team Europe, beat Africa 3.5:2.5 to finish the tournament with a perfect score. African players put up a good fight again and came close to getting their first point but it was not meant to be in the end. Final standings: 1. EUROPE – 8 (15½)2. ASIA – 5 (12)3. AMERICAS – 4 (11½)4. RUSSIA-TURKEY – 3 (12)5. AFRICA – 0 (9) This wasn’t the only chess-related activity of the day, however. FIDE Executive Director and famous grandmaster Victor Bologan found time to give a masterclass to players in which he explained some principles in chess to an enthusiastic audience. It is extremely important to combine chess events with instructional seminars or lessons and FIDE Confederation Cup for Players with Disabilities proved to be a good example. Also the Events Commission (EVE) and Commission for the Disabled (DIS) meetings were held in course of the event. After five days of chess, it was time to award prizes. The closing ceremony was attended by all players and officials such as Ayse Kardas Ergezen (Deputy Minister of Family, Labor and Social Security of Turkish Republic), Akaki Iashvili, Gulkiz Tulay (FIDE Vice Presidents; the latter is also President of TCF), Victor Bologan (FIDE Executive Director), Ozgur Solakoglu (Chairman of FIDE Events Commission and the tournament director), GM Thomas Luther (Chairman of FIDE DIS Commission), Kema Goryaeva (Councillor of FIDE DIS Commission and Event Manager), Dora Martinez (Councillor of FIDE DIS Commission) and Turgay Seçkin Serpil (FIDE DIS Commission Member), Assoc. Prof. Veli Ozan Cakir (Deputy Director General of Sports) as well as Mr. Yaroslav Mozdakov (ROSATOM’s Head of International Communications) representing the financial partner of the event. In her opening speech, TCF President and FIDE Vice President Mrs. Gulkiz Tulay mentioned that it was a great joy seeing the happiness of players with disabilities coming from all over the world to play chess in Ankara and thanked FIDE and ROSATOM who made it happen. Deputy Minister of Family, Labor and Social Security and TCF Vice President Ayse Kardas Ergezen expressed the support by her ministry for events improving the conditions of people with disabilities and her wish to see more of such events hosted by Turkey in future. FIDE Vice President Akaki Iashvili welcomed everyone in the name of FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich and thanked all who made this fantastic event possible and emphasized that chess for players with disabilities was one of FIDE’s priorities. Mr. Iashvili also expressed his gratitude to ROSATOM for their support and said that the cooperation between ROSATOM and FIDE will be a long-lasting one. Head of International Communications of ROSATOM Mr. Mozdakov reiterated that ROSATOM’s support of mind sports competitions worldwide will continue in the future. Finally, it was time to award prizes! The teams taking the first three places, Europe, Asia, and Americas, received their cups and medals. There were also separate prizes in three categories for the hearing impaired, visually impaired and physically disabled participants with the top three players in each category receiving medals. Griffin McConnell from the USA earned a special award as the youngest and most successful player in the competition. The players have also received special gifts in bags from ROSATOM and participation certificates. Much more important than the prizes and titles were invaluable experience and friendship built among the participants of the FIDE Confederation Cup. The next event for people with disabilities, World Chess Paralympics in 2020 in Khanty-Mansiysk will be even bigger. Hope to see you all there!
Grand Prix Jerusalem: Navara secures his place in semis
David Navara became the first semifinalist of the Jerusalem Grand Prix, after defeating Dmitry Jakovenko with white pieces in the second classical game. His next opponent will be the winner of the match Karjakin – Wei Yi. The Head of the Administration of the Ministry of Sports of Israel, Mr. Ofer Bustan, was the special guest today at the Jerusalem Grand Prix, organized by World Chess. Mr. Bustan made the first symbolic move in the game Navara – Jakovenko, which produced the only victory today. David Navara got an advantage right out of the opening and slowly but surely was increasing the pressure on his opponent’s position. A well-played game by the Czech grandmaster, where the final result was never in doubt. Wesley So chose to play the classical Ruy Lopez, which is the main opening weapon of the Grand Chess Tour champion Ding Liren. “I decided why not to copy him while he also defended very comfortably against Maxime in London”, said Wesley So with a smile. Wesley was still on his home preparation when Ian Nepomniachtchi offered a draw. Both players believed the final position was close to equality. “This line is all about 16…Qc8 move, if black knows it, he is equalizing. It’s difficult to play on this position, it simplifies very quickly,” added the Russian grandmaster. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave pointed out that the line that occurred in his game today was usually played between Russian and French grandmasters. He was obviously referring to the encounter Kasparov – Lautier from Tilburg 1997, which followed the same path until the 20th move. With 20.Rc7, Joel Lautier blundered a pawn but Garry Kasparov missed his chance and accepted a draw without thinking much. Dmitry Andreikin chose a better continuation 20.Kf1, but it didn’t affect the final result as a peace treaty was signed a few moves later. Wei Yi and Karjakin played a very complicated tactical game rife with sacrifices. For those who were wondering how far the preparation of Karjakin went today, the Russian Grandmaster gave a surprising answer: “I had some notes after 9.Ne5 but didn’t remember them well. I just played some natural moves. Later on, he played 12.Ng4 and I answered with 12…Nd7 which looked interesting as I want to continue with h5 or f5. I saw this line after 13.Nh6 but I stopped calculation after 18…Nf3 and 19…Rg8, thinking I’m just crashing my opponent. I was shocked when I realized he has 20.Ng4 with an idea Bc3! Fortunately, I found 20…Be5.” Wei Yi could have posed more problems for his opponent in the endgame which emerged after massive exchanges. According to Wei Yi, he could have had more chances if he kept his h-pawn by playing 28. Kg2. After 28.Kf1 Sergey Karjakin found a precise way to keep the game in balance. Three matches will continue on tiebreaks on December 16: Vachier-Lagrave vs AndreikinSo vs NepomniachtchiKarjakin vs Wei Yi 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