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Kazakhstan's Edgar Mamedov and Denis Makhnev are sharing the lead at the KazChess Masters in Almaty after three rounds of play. Both have collected 2½ points, with Makhnev joining his compatriot at the top of the standings thanks to a third-round victory over Aram Hakobyan. Three of the five international participants - Daniil Dubov, Shamsiddin Vokhidov and Denis Lazavik - are half a point behind the leaders.
The KazChess Masters is a ten-player round-robin tournament taking place in Almaty, Kazakhstan, from 26 October to 3 November. The field features five local representatives (rated 2451 to 2581) and five foreign grandmasters, all of whom are rated above 2600. Among the visitors are Russian GM Daniil Dubov, Uzbek GM Shamsiddin Vokhidov, Armenian GM Aram Hakobyan and Belarusian GM Denis Lazavik, while Azerbaijan's GM Mahammad Muradli entered as the top seed.
The opening round saw four decisive games, all won by white. Dubov defeated 14-year-old Mark Smirnov, Lazavik got the better of Muradli, and the Kazakh duo of Edgar Mamedov and Denis Makhnev scored wins over Sauat Nurgaliyev and Alua Nurman, respectively.
Lazavik v. Muradli
Annotations by Stefan Liebig
Lazavik, who reached the final of the Esports World Cup a few weeks ago but lost to Magnus Carlsen, defeated the tournament's top seed. The 19-year-old online specialist from Minsk showed that he is also a force to be reckoned with over the board. Against the Azerbaijani GM, he gained the initiative out of a Sicilian Defence.
After a few less-than-accurate moves, a position arose which, despite the material imbalance, was assessed as equal by the engine. Muradli then embarked on a risky pawn hunt with 28...Be5??. Lazavik responded with 29.c4?! – also not optimal, but the position was already noticeably better for White:
The 2015 U12 world champion stuck to his (mistaken) plan and captured on g3: 29...Bxg3??+-. There followed 30.Bc3! Re6? 31.Qg5 Bc7 32.Rd7, and Black resigned in a hopeless position that had quickly turned around.
The threats of Rxc7 followed by Qd8+, as well as mate with the queen and bishop on the long diagonal, cannot be stopped.
Denis Lazavik | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Mamedov, aged 16 and the lowest-rated grandmaster in the field, became the sole leader in round two by defeating Hakobyan with the black pieces. The game lasted 92 moves and gave the youngster a perfect 2/2 score. Meanwhile, Vokhidov defeated Muradli, handing the top seed his second consecutive loss.
Smirnov bounced back from his opening defeat by beating Nurman.
Smirnov v. Nurman
Annotations by Stefan Liebig
Out of a King's Indian Defence reached by transposition, Smirnov quickly obtained the better position. Nurman defended well, however, equalised and reached the position above: White is more active, but Black's counterplay keeps the advantage within limits.
Black should have attacked the excellent white knight here with 29...Ba6. Instead, with both players in time trouble, the two-time Olympiad silver medallist went pawn-hunting: 29...Rxa2?? 30.Rxe8 Qxe8 31.Re1 Qf8 32.Qxd3 Ra7 33.Nb6 (even stronger would have been 33.Qb3). 33...Ba6 Too late! 34.Qc3 Qd8?!+-.
A pointless attack on the knight. White simply plays 35.Re6!, and the knight is untouchable anyway because of the mating attack with queen and rook against the now exposed king. Nurman defended the g-pawn with 35...Rg7. But the position was already hopeless, and Smirnov converted his advantage confidently.
14-year-old Kazakh talent Mark Smirnov | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase
Wednesday's third round produced considerably fewer decisive results. Four of the five encounters ended drawn, while Makhnev defeated Hakobyan with the white pieces to join Mamedov in the lead. The 25-year-old Kazakh GM has now won both his games with white.
Mamedov, meanwhile, drew his game against Muradli to remain undefeated on 2½/3.
With six rounds still to play, the two Kazakh leaders have made the most of the opening stage of the tournament. Mamedov has recorded two wins and a draw, while Makhnev has followed the same pattern, with his victories coming in both games in which he had the white pieces.
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