5/8/2025 – The Superbet Chess Classic in Bucharest got underway with a mixed set of results, as Alireza Firouzja and Wesley So emerged as early co-leaders following the first round. Firouzja's convincing win over Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and So's fortunate victory against wildcard Bogdan-Daniel Deac set the pace, while the remaining games ended in draws. The all-Indian clash between Gukesh Dommaraju and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu provided plenty of excitement. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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The first round of the 2025 Superbet Chess Classic in Bucharest saw Alireza Firouzja and Wesley So take the early lead after securing contrasting wins.
Firouzja claimed victory in the all-French matchup against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, demonstrating fine technique to secure the full point. Meanwhile, So benefitted from a one-move blunder by wildcard and local representative Bogdan-Daniel Deac. Deac's oversight handed So a straightforward win in a game that had otherwise remained balanced.
So v. Deac
39...Nxg3 loses at once - 40.f7 is the killer blow!
In this video course, experts including Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin, Karsten Müller and Oliver Reeh, examine the games of Boris Spassky. Let them show you which openings Spassky chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were and much more.
As it is often the case, Deac found himself in deep time trouble while facing So. His error on move 40 came in the very last move before getting 30 extra minutes on the clock.
Wesley So facing the time-trouble addict Bogdan-Daniel Deac | Photo: Lennart Ootes
The clash between Indian prodigies Gukesh Dommaraju and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu was one of the more entertaining encounters of the round. Gukesh, the reigning world champion, gained a clear advantage in a sharp, tactical middlegame. However, he failed to convert his edge, and the game ended in a 35-move draw.
Gukesh v. Praggnanandhaa
Gukesh had a queen for a rook, a bishop and a pawn in this position, which is evaluated by engines as favourable for him - his 26.g5, however, was not very precise, as 26.Ne5 was the way to keep his advantage
Despite the missed opportunity, the game provided an engaging display of dynamic chess from both players.
Reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Levon Aronian and Nodirbek Abdusattorov played the first game to finish, agreeing to a relatively quiet draw. Meanwhile, Fabiano Caruana, the winner of the last two Superbet Classics, pushed for a long time against Jan-Krzysztof Duda. Caruana managed to reach a (theoretically drawn) rook endgame with an extra pawn but was unable to make further progress. After 73 moves, Duda's precise defence forced Caruana to concede the draw.
Most players prefer to attack rather than defend. But what is the correct way to do it? GM Dr Karsten Müller has compiled many rules and motifs to guide you, along with sharpening your intuition for the exceptions.
Looking ahead to round two, Firouzja will have the black pieces against Duda, while So will also play black against Vachier-Lagrave.
The playing hall in the Grand Hotel Bucharest | Photo: Lennart Ootes
GCT Superbet Classic Romania 2025 Bucharest07.05.2025[Schulz, A]
1.e4c52.Nf3e63.d3d54.Qe2Nf65.g3Nc66.Bg2Be77.a4b68.0-0Bb79.Bf4h610.h40-011.e5Nh712.c3Qd713.Re1Rae814.Nbd2f515.exf6Bxf616.Bh3g517.hxg5hxg518.Be5Qg719.Bxf6Rxf620.Nh2Rh621.Bg2Nf622.Ng4Nxg423.Qxg4Ne524.Qe2Nc625.Nf1g426.a5b527.a6Ba828.Rad1Rf829.Nh2Rg630.Qd2Nb831.d4c432.Ra1Bc633.Re5Nd734.Rh5Nf635.Rh4Bd736.Re1Bc837.Nf1Rg538.Re5Rg639.Ne3Kf740.Qe2Re8
White maintained the initiative throughout, but Black had defended carefully up to this point.41.b3Bxa6?This proves to be the decisive mistake.41...Bd742.bxc4bxc443.Qa2Bc844.Nxd5!
Black was probably only considering44.Qxa7+Kg8after which White's advantage would still be manageable.44...exd544...Nxd545.Bxd5exd546.Qxa7+Kf847.Qc5+Kf748.Rxe8Kxe849.Qxc8+Kf750.Rh8+-45.Qxa7+Bd7
Carlos Alberto ColodroCarlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.
5/16/2025 – The 2025 Superbet Chess Classic in Bucharest marks the second stage of this year's Grand Chess Tour and the first of two classical tournaments in the series. Held on 6–16 May, the event brings together ten top grandmasters in a single round-robin format. Reigning tournament champion Fabiano Caruana and world champion Gukesh Dommaraju are part of the star-studded lineup. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 14.00 CEST (8.00 ET, 17.30 IST)
5/5/2025 – The 2025 Superbet Chess Classic in Bucharest marks the second stage of this year's Grand Chess Tour and the first of two classical tournaments in the series. Held on 6–16 May, the event brings together ten top grandmasters in a single round-robin format. With high stakes and a strong international line-up, including reigning champion Fabiano Caruana and world champion Gukesh Dommaraju, the tournament will play a key role in shaping the race to qualify for the season-ending finals in São Paulo. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
For a long time the Scotch opening was considered harmless and rarely played. This changed in 1990 when Garry Kasparov successfully employed the Scotch opening in his World Championship match against Anatoly Karpov. But that was 25 years ago. Now, there is no need to panic if you want to play 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 and need a line against the Scotch. On this 60 Minutes renowned and successful coach Adrian Mikhalchishin gives simple practical tips how to neutralize and counter the Scotch.
Ruy Lopez Powerbase 2025 is a database and contains a total of 12092 games from Mega 2025 and the Correspondence Database 2024, of which 1276 are annotated.
In this 60 Minutes, Andrew Martin guides you through all the key ideas you need to know to play with confidence. Whether you’re looking to surprise your opponents, or simply want a straightforward weapon against e5, the Centre Attack has you covered.
Videos by Mihail Marin: Najdorf Variation with 6.f4 and Nico Zwirs: Italian ‘giucco pianissimo’. ‘Lucky bag’ with 45 analyses by Edouard, Ftacnik, Gupta, Pelletier and others. Update service with over 50,000 new games for your database!
This video course provides a comprehensive and practical White repertoire in the Ruy Lopez! Through instructive model games and in-depth theoretical explanations, you will learn how to confidently handle both main lines and sidelines.
€49.90
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