Russian Championship Super Finals

The tournament is hosted by the Russian Chess Federation in cooperation with the Charity Foundation of Elena and Gennady Timchenko , with the support of the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod region. The Super Final will be a continuation of the program "chess in the museums", started by the match for the world title in 2012 at the Retyakov Gallery in Moscow on the initiative of businessmen Andrei Filatov and Gennady Timchenko. The venue for the prestigious tournament in Nizhny Novgorod will be the State Historical and Architectural Museum Manor Rukavishnikov. The Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum will also take part in the organization of the tournament. The tournament is a ound robin with ten players over nine rounds. Sofia-Rules. If first place is shared than the champion will be decided through a tiebreaker match. Time Control: 90 minutes/40 moves + 30 minutes + 30 seconds/move starting with the 1st move.

Round 2: Men's

Nepo took time out of his busy schedule after the round to sign autographs to young fans

Nepomniachtchi, Ian 1-0 Andreikin, Dmitri

Our friend grandmaster Joshua Friedel from America brings us very detailed commentary on how exactly Nepomniachtchi was able to dismantle Andreikin, who just recently made it to the final of the World Cup:

Vitiugov, Nikita 1-0 Motylev, Alexander
Motylev had an acceptable position from the opening: despite playing against the pair of bishops and having an isolated pawn, it seemed that his pieces were very active and that it would be difficult for White to prove something in the position, no to mention Vitiugov's bishops were somewhat exposed and Black could trade them off. The players reached an endgame position that did not seem to be very dangerous for Black, but he strangely traded of knights on f3, leaving the pawn that recaptured in that square very vulnerable. Despite Black's active rook it was clear that this pawn was not going to last very long. Still Black had good chances to hold the endgame, but this did not happen because of the mistake 58...Rb3?; instead of this trying to swap pawns with 58...Rb2+! and Rf2 would have saved the game. After Black's second and last mistake the win was trivial for Vitiugov.

Vitiugov was aided by his opponent's mistakes today, and takes an early lead with 2.0/2

Kramnik, Vladimir ½-½ Svidler, Peter
Kramnik famously beat Svidler's Gruenfeld in the Candidate's tournament in an interesting endgame, and he chose to go for another typical Gruenfeld position without queens, but Svidler was well prepared. Black quickly grabbed a pawn on d4 which left his position vulnerable and without development, but he was able to give back a pawn to force the opposite colored bishops and it was clear from that point on that neither side was going to win. Kramnik kept pushing forward since he had a minimal edge but Svidler held without problems.

Kramnik was unable to break Svidler's Gruenfeld this time

Shomoev, Anton ½-½ Inarkiev, Ernesto
It would be interesting to know what Inarkiev had prepared against the blow 13.Bxe6. The move wins a pawn due to simple tactics but maybe Black's activity would compensate for this and he would be able to regain it eventually. In any case Shomoev chose the more sedate 13.Rad1 but was soon able to sacrifice on f7 for a winning attack. His 21.Bxf7+? gave Inarkiev some chances, both 21.Rd1 and 21.Qg4+ would've won a decisive amount of material and kept the attack going. The way Shomoev played he still held a winning advantage: he had an extra pawn and Black's king was exposed, but he played passively for no apparent reason and let Inarkiev hang on to a half point.It is not easy to win in this tournament, specially for a player that is not yet 2600, and if Shomoev forgives positions like the one he forgave today he will not score any full points.

Karjakin, Sergey ½-½ Goganov, Aleksey
Despite Karjakin's almost 200 point lead in Elo over his rival and the fact that he was playing white, it is hard to say that Goganov at any point stood worse. He even sacrificed an exchange that Karjakin decided to decline, and soon it was the higher rated player that forced the perpetual when things weren't looking so good.

Goganov's showed that even a 200 point rating gap is nothing to fear

Joshua Friedel Josh was born in 1986 in New Hampshire, USA and is currently living in Wisconsin. He obtained his international master title in 2005 and his grandmaster in 2008. He has participated in five US Championships, including a tie for fourth in 2008. Major Open tournament victories include: the 2003 Eastern Open, 2005 Berkeley Masters, 2008 National Open, 2009 Edmonton International, 2009 North American Open, 2010 Saint Louis Open, 2010 American Open, 2013 Chicago Open. Josh is the current US Open Champion and is the first person qualified for the 2014 US Chess Championship.

Round2: Women's

Goryachkina, Aleksandra ½-½ Kovanova, Baira
Goryachking obtained strong and typical Catalan pressure as the endgame certainly favored her. However she was a little slow in bringing her rooks into play and it allowed her opponent just enough time to counterattack and secure a draw.

Kosintseva, Tatiana ½-½ Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina
Kosintseva was able to obtain an extra pawn, though it was crippled and doubled, and it gave her a small edge. She had to play a little risky to try to make use of it, by trading her opponent's d5 pawn for her own h3 and trying to use her passed pawn as a deflection for Black's pieces. Instead she played it safe and it seems that it gave enough time for Kovalevskaya to solidify. Eventually Kovalevskaya blundered in a queen endgame, but Kosintseva blundered back and a draw was agreed.

The highest rated player, Kosintseva, starts with no wins

Kashlinskaya, Alina 0-1 Gunina, Valentina
Kashlinskaya showed an excellent opening idea. Her 20.Qf4! is a powerful novelty that certainly put Gunina against the ropes early in the opening. However, it is obvious that a player must be good beyond opening knowledge. White stalled for too long instead of transferring her rook on the third rank and going for Black's king as soon as possible. She traded off into an endgame where White had a rook and a pawn for two minor pieces, and granted there is no way White was worse. In a complicated position she could have traded queens and gone into an unclear endgame, or she could play a silly check and mate herself, unfortunately she chose the latter and Gunina won the game.

Not the cleanest game in history but Gunina moves to 2.0/2

Kosteniuk, Alexandra 1-0 Pogonina, Natalia
Kosteniuk played a terrific game today. She got a small advantage from the opening due to her pair of bishops, and with a perfect amount of patience she slowly outplayed her opponent. First she obtained strong play against Black's kingside, she won a pawn and she simplified into a won position. A very clean game by the ex-World Champion.

Charochkina, Daria ½-½ Bodnaruk, Anastasia
Black declined an early repetition and went for the win in this complicated game. She was entitled to as her piece sacrifice granted her a strong initiative that not only regained her the piece, but also left her with a better position. However she was too hasty in dismantling her opponent's structure. 31...Rxc4? allowed her opponent a well calculated perpetual check while the more patient 31...Rce8! would have left White in a really bad position.

Replay Men's Round 2 games

Replay Women's round 2 games

Schedule

Links Official tournament site All men games in PGN All women games in PGN The games will be broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.