Nakamura v Aronian / Yu v Ding
The Lindores Abbey Chess Challenge started on May 18th. Twelve players are taking part. After a three-day preliminary, the best eight players will advance to the deciding knockout section. The time control is 15 minutes for the game, with a 10-second increment per move.
A new format is being tried out at the quarter-finals of the Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge. Each match consists of three mini-matches — winning two of these is enough to go through — with each of them consisting of four rapid games and an Armageddon decider in case of a tie. After beating Aronian in their first mini-match, Nakamura shared his thoughts about the format, noting that it should lead to players taking more risks:
I think it lets you be a little bit looser. For example, in the third game of this match, when I got a bad position, my attitude was kind of ‘if it's losing, it's losing, I'll just play some random moves and whatever’, as opposed to thinking for a minute or two minutes in some critical positions, because I know that even if I lose game three I will have another shot in two days.
‘Naka’ lost game one and, after drawing games two and three, managed to tie the score with white in game four. He then won the right to choose a colour in Armageddon, and chose black. He explained that he would make this choice against most players, unless he came from having a lot of trouble with black in the match. The American was in trouble at some point in the sudden-death decider, but ended up restoring the balance and finally getting a win when Aronian blundered on move 60.
Meanwhile, the all-Chinese encounter between Ding and Yu was balanced throughout, with four draws leading to sudden death. Ding had the black pieces and achieved a completely winning position by move 69. Unfortunately for him, though, his time ran out, giving Yu the victory — after all, the player with black does get draw odds but also less time on the clock (White gets five minutes to Black's four).

Nakamura 2:2 Aronian
Repeating his strategy from the Magnus Carlsen Invitational, in game one Nakamura allowed his opponent to advance his c-pawn to the fifth rank in a Queen's Gambit Declined. The players repeated 13 moves from a game the American had played against Alireza Firouzja, and a long manoeuvring battle ensued. Aronian had an edge, which eventually turned into a rook and bishop v rook endgame:
Rook endings are amongst the most frequently encountered endgames there are, and so your training effort will be quickly repaid in the form of half and full points. Knowing even a few rules of thumb and key methods makes life a great deal easier and provides a guiding light even in complex positions. This DVD focuses on the important themes which are to be found in common rook endings.
Aronian vs. Nakamura - Game 1
Black has nothing better than 76...Bxc5 77.Kxc5 Rd1 and trying to defend the theoretically drawn ending. The problem is that defending this position is really difficult against someone as strong as Aronian. The Armenian kept up the pressure until getting the full point after 118 moves.
Playing black, Aronian continued employing the Petroff Defence he had used in the preliminaries when facing 1.e4. The world number seven got a draw after giving up an exchange out of the opening. Game three was the shortest of the match and was agreed drawn in a completely closed position with bishop pairs for both sides.
Nakamura needed a win to take the mini-match to Armageddon, and used an aggressive approach against the Petroff. While a pawn down, Aronian was forced to give up an exchange in what already looked like a hopeless position:
Nakamura vs. Aronian - Game 4
After 30...Rxb3 31.axb3 Qxb3, Nakamura's 32.Qxc6 both controls a number of key squares (a8, a4, e4) and attacks the rook. The five-time US champion went on to get the needed win.
‘Naka’ chose black for the Armageddon and repeated nine moves from the fourth game of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational final against the world champion. Aronian managed to create a position with imbalances, but found in his rival a proficient defender. White needed to muddy the waters, but ended up allowing Black's passer on the d-file to march down the board:
Like a fine wine, the Four Knights only improves with age, establishing itself as an extremely effective way of meeting 1...e5. On the outside this opening seems deceptively quiet, yet apparently natural moves can often lead to some devastating attacks.
Aronian vs. Nakamura - Armageddon
41.Bc4 gave way to 41...d3 42.Re3 d2, when Black will always have counterplay with his pawn on the second rank. Aronian's 41st move was not a blunder, but the alternative 41.Rc2 would have given him more chances to trick his opponent later in the game.
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 0-0 6.e3 Nbd7 7.c5 c6 8.h3 b6 9.b4 a5 10.a3! h6 11.Bd3 Ba6 12.0-0 Qc8 12...Bxd3 13.Qxd3 Qc8 14.Rfc1 Qb7 15.Rab1 axb4 16.axb4 Rfc8 17.Nd2 Bd8 18.Nb3 Bc7 19.Bxc7 Qxc7 13.Na4!? 13...Qb7N 13...Bxd3 14.Qxd3 b5 15.Nc3 Qb7 16.Nd2 Bd8 17.Nb3 a4 18.Nd2 Bc7 19.Bxc7 Qxc7 14.Qc2 Bxd3 15.Qxd3 Ne4 16.Rfb1 axb4 17.axb4 b5 18.Nc3 f5 19.Ne2 Bf6 20.Ne5 Ng5 20...Rxa1 21.Rxa1 Ra8 21.Nxd7± Qxd7 22.Nc1 22.Be5± 22...Nf7 23.Qc3 Rfe8 24.Nd3 Qb7 25.Rb3 Ra4 26.Rxa4 bxa4 27.Ra3 Qb5 28.Qc2 Ra8 29.Bc7 Bd8 29...Ra7 30.Ba5! Bf6 31.f4 31.Qxa4 Qxa4 32.Rxa4 e5 31.Rxa4 e5 31...g5 32.g3 32.Qxa4 Qxa4 33.Rxa4 gxf4= 32...h5 33.Qxa4 Qxa4 34.Rxa4 h4 35.gxh4 35.Kg2 hxg3 36.Kxg3 gxf4+ 37.Kxf4 Kf8 38.Ra2 35...gxf4 36.Nxf4 e5! 37.Ng6 exd4 38.exd4 Bxd4+ 39.Kf1 Bf6 40.Ra2 Kh7 41.h5 Ng5 42.Nf4 Ne4 43.Nd3 Bd4 44.Rg2 f4 45.Nxf4 Rf8 46.Bc7 Rf7 47.Ke2 Bc3 48.Ne6 Bxb4 49.Bd6 Bc3 50.Ng5+ 50.Bf4 Rf5 51.Rg6 Rxh5 52.Nf8+ Kh8 53.Rxc6 Rxh3 54.Rc8 50...Nxg5 51.Rxg5= Bb4 51...Rf6= 52.Rg4 Rb7 53.Kd3 53.Rg6 53...Rb5 54.Kd4 Ba3 55.Rg6 Rb3 56.Ke5 Rxh3 57.Ke6 Rxh5 57...d4= 58.Rg3! Bb4 59.Kd7 d4 60.Kxc6 Rf5 61.Rd3 Bc3 61...Kg6 62.Kd7? 62.Kb5+- 62...Bb4!= 63.Kc6? 63.Rh3+= Kg6 64.Kc6 63...Bc3!+- 64.Rg3 64.Kb5+- 64...Bb4 65.Kb5 Be1? 65...Bxc5! 66.Bxc5 Kh6 66.Rh3+ Kg6 67.Kc4! Ba5 68.Kxd4 68.Ra3+- Be1 69.Ra1 68...Kf7 68...Bb4 69.Rh7++- Kf6 69...Ke6 70.Rh6+ Kd7 70.Ke4 Rf1 71.Kd5! Rd1+ 72.Kc6? 72.Kc4+- 72...Bb4= 73.Rh4 Ba3 74.Rh3 Bb4 75.Rb3 Rd4 76.Kb5 Bxc5! 77.Kxc5 Rd1 78.Re3 Rc1+ 79.Kd5 Rd1+ 80.Kc6 Kf5 81.Rf3+ Ke4 82.Rf4+ Ke3 83.Rh4 Kf3 84.Kc5 Ke3 85.Be5 Rd8 86.Bd6 Ra8 87.Kd5 Ra5+ 88.Bc5+ Kf3 88...Kd2= 89.Rc4 89.Rh2! 89...Rb5 89...Ra8= 90.Ke5 90.Rc2! 90...Rb8 91.Rc2 Re8+ 92.Kf5 Rc8 93.Rc3+ Ke2 94.Ke4 Re8+ 95.Kf4 Rd8 96.Rh3 Re8 97.Bd4 Kd2 98.Be5 Kc2 99.Ke4 Rd8 100.Rc3+ Kd2 101.Rb3 Rc8 102.Rh3 Kc2 103.Rh2+ Kb3 104.Rb2+ Ka3 105.Rb7 Re8 106.Kd5 Rc8 107.Bc7 Rh8 108.Bd6+ Ka2 109.Kc4 Rc8+ 110.Bc7 Rf8 111.Be5 Rc8+ 112.Kd3 Rc1 113.Rb2+ Ka1 114.Rf2+ Kb1 115.Bd4 Rd1+ 116.Kc3 Re1? 116...Rc1+= 117.Kd3 Rc8 117.Kb3! Kc1 118.Bc3! 1–0 - Start an analysis engine:
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Aronian,L | 2778 | Nakamura,H | 2829 | 1–0 | 2020 | | Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge-KO | 1 |
Nakamura,H | 2829 | Aronian,L | 2778 | ½–½ | 2020 | | Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge-KO | 2 |
Aronian,L | 2778 | Nakamura,H | 2829 | ½–½ | 2020 | | Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge-KO | 3 |
Nakamura,H | 2829 | Aronian,L | 2778 | 1–0 | 2020 | | Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge-KO | 4 |
Aronian,L | 2778 | Nakamura,H | 2829 | 0–1 | 2020 | | Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge-KO | 5 |
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Yu 2:2 Ding
Although Yu Yangyi dropped to number 33 in the ratings list before the coronavirus outbreak, he has proven once and again he is perfectly capable of creating problems to elite opposition. In last year's World Cup, he was one match win away from reaching the Candidates, and was eliminated by none other than Ding Liren, his rival in the quarter-finals of the Lindores Abbey online event.
The all-Chinese confrontation saw both players trying to keep things under control as much as possible, entering technical endgames in all four rapid encounters. The one with a small edge in each game did try to push for a win, but to no avail, as all those games ended drawn. The position of game one after 35 moves is a good illustration of how the match went from beginning to end:
The aim of this course is to help you understand how to make tactical opportunities arise as well as to sharpen your tactical vision - these selected lectures will help to foster your overall tactical understanding.
Yu had a microscopic advantage with white, and tried to make something of it until move 49, when the point was finally split.
Given how balanced the match had been until that point, getting white in the Armageddon seemed to be a bad idea. However, the player who moved first — in this case, Yu — also had an extra minute on the clock. Unsurprisingly, the position remained balanced after 60 moves, when Yu blundered a whole piece, most likely after making a pre-move:
Ding was a bishop up and had a dangerous passer on the queenside after 61.Bf7 Kxf7 62.Rxg4, but by that point the clock was the main factor in the game. Seven moves later, Ding's time ran out and Yu got a valuable mini-match victory.
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0-0 5.Nge2 Re8 6.a3 Bf8 7.Ng3 d5 8.Be2 b6 9.0-0 Ba6 10.b3 Nc6 11.Qc2 Na5 12.cxd5 Bxe2 13.Ncxe2 exd5 14.Bd2 Nb7 15.Qc6 Nd6 16.Rfc1 Rc8 17.Nf4 Nde4 18.Nxe4 dxe4 19.Bb4 Bd6 20.Bxd6 cxd6 21.Qb7 Rxc1+ 22.Rxc1 Qa8 23.Qc7 d5 24.h4 h6 25.h5 Rd8 26.Rc6 Rd7 27.Qc8+ Qxc8 28.Rxc8+ Kh7 29.b4 g5 30.hxg6+ fxg6 31.b5 Ng4 32.a4 g5 33.Ne6 Rf7 34.Rc7 Rxc7 35.Nxc7 Nf6 36.Na6 Ne8 37.Nb4 Nc7 38.Nc6 a5 39.Ne7 Kg7 40.g4 Kf7 41.Nc6 Ne8 42.Kf1 Nd6 43.Ne5+ Ke6 44.Ke2 Ne8 45.Kd2 Nf6 46.Ke2 Ke7 47.Kd2 Ke6 48.Ke2 Ke7 49.Kd2 Ke6 ½–½
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
Yu,Y | 2738 | Ding,L | 2836 | ½–½ | 2020 | | Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge-KO | 1 |
Ding,L | 2836 | Yu,Y | 2738 | ½–½ | 2020 | | Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge-KO | 2 |
Yu,Y | 2738 | Ding,L | 2836 | ½–½ | 2020 | | Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge-KO | 3 |
Ding,L | 2836 | Yu,Y | 2738 | ½–½ | 2020 | | Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge-KO | 4 |
Yu,Y | 2738 | Ding,L | 2836 | 1–0 | 2020 | | Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge-KO | 5 |
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The second pair of quarter-finals mini-matches will kick off on Sunday — Magnus Carlsen v Wesley So and Sergey Karjakin v Daniil Dubov. Full schedule:
Scarcely any world champion has managed to captivate chess lovers to the extent Carlsen has. The enormously talented Norwegian hasn't been systematically trained within the structures of a major chess-playing nation such as Russia, the Ukraine or China.

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