Ivanchuk plays 210 moves in two games

The opening two rounds of the TePe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament in Malmö featured plenty of fighting spirit, with three of the eight games ending decisively, yet no shortage of competitive play in the drawn encounters. After two rounds, three players share the lead on 1½/2 points: Richard Rapport, Javokhir Sindarov and Yagiz Erdogmus.

Rapport began his campaign with a win over Erwin l'Ami in the first round, while both Sindarov and Erdogmus defeated Tan Zhongyi with the black pieces - in rounds one and two, respectively. For Tan, who recently had a strong showing in the final stage of the Women's Grand Prix after losing to Ju Wenjun in the Women's World Championship match, two early losses with the white pieces represent a significant setback in the seven-round tournament.

Drawn games were by no means lacking in tension. Vasyl Ivanchuk, in particular, played two marathon encounters, taking theoretically drawn endgames to the bitter end against Ray Robson in round one (110 moves) and against L'Ami in round two (100 moves). Both games required the contenders to show proper technique to maintain the balance.

Improve your pieces - a winning system you need to know

In this course, we will learn how to identify passively placed pieces in any given situation and how to improve their health by bringing them into active squares.

Round three, scheduled for Thursday, features a notable pairing between the two youngest participants, as Sindarov (19) faces Erdogmus (13) in a co-leaders' clash. Rapport, the remaining co-leader and the tournament's top seed, will play white against the struggling Tan.

Vasyl Ivanchuk, aged 56, had two long days at the office in Malmö | Photo: Mikael Svensson

Rapport 1-0 L'Ami

Rapport, Richard2722

1–0

L'Ami, Erwin2621

TePe Sigeman 2025 Malmo20.05.2025[COLODRO]

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Bb4 3.Nd5 Be7 4.Nf3 d6 5.d4 Nc6 L'Ami, a well-known theoretician, goes for a sideline here. The main variation is 5...e4 6.Nd2 f5 7.e3 Nf6 8.Nxe7 Qxe7 with an imbalanced structure. 6.g3 This move, preparing to fianchetto the bishop, has been played in the past, though not by elite grandmasters. Boris Gelfand and David Howell, among others, opted for 6.e3 and there might follow Nf6 7.Be2 0-0 8.0-0 Re8 6...Nf6 7.Bg2 Nxd5 8.cxd5 Nxd4 9.Nxd4 exd4 The late Robert Huebner played this from the black side at the 1984 Bundesliga. He was facing Jan Smejkal, and the game ended in a draw. 10.Qxd4

10...Bf6 11.Qd3 0-0 12.0-0 Re8 13.Re1 g6 14.Rb1 Bf5 L'Ami spent 13 minutes before playing this move, which only intends to force White to push his e-pawn to the fourth rank - nuanced play by elite grandmasters. 15.e4 Bd7 16.Bf4 a5 17.h4 a4 18.Qd2 b6 In such strategic battles, extreme care is needed. This harmless-looking pawn push turned out to be inaccurate, as it all but fixes a weakness on c7 - keeping the chance of playing ...c7-c6 later on was called for in this setup. An alternative line is 18...h5 19.Kh2 Ra6 20.Bf1 Rb6 19.Rbc1 Ra5 20.Be3 h5 21.Rc2 a3 22.b4 Ra7 Black has lost a few tempi in this sequence. White is now for choice. 23.Bd4 Kh7 24.f4 Bg4 25.Rc3 Bxd4+ 26.Qxd4 Qe7 27.Ree3 Rea8

White has more space and his pieces are more active. He is targetting weaknesses on a3 and c7, while Black needs to permanently look out for potential central breaks. But Rapport still needs to find the best way to make progress against an experienced, resourceful defender. 28.Bf1 Kg8 29.Bb5 Bd7 30.Bd3 Qf8 31.Kf2 Qg7 32.Qxg7+ Kxg7 33.Re1 Rc8 34.Rec1 Kf6 35.Ke3 Ke7 36.e5 b5 37.Kd2 Be8 38.Be4 Bd7 39.Kc2 Be8 40.Kb3 Bd7 41.Bd3

After trading queens, White has gained more space and activated both his king and his bishop. But Black has so far managed to keep the material balance. The time control has been reached, and Rapport now got enough time to figure out a way to break through. 41...Be8 42.Be2 Bd7 43.Bf1 f6 This is a mistake - but Black was already running out of moves. Engines suggest 43...f5 when 44.e6 There might follow 44.Re1 Rd8 45.exd6+ Kxd6 and White still needs to find a way to break through Black's defences. 44...Be8 does not work (as in the game), since White cannot play f4-f5. 44.e6 Be8 45.f5

The point! White finally gets to open up lines for his stronger army. 45...g5 46.g4 Rapport correctly calculates that getting a passer on the kingside is winning for him. hxg4 47.h5 Kf8 48.h6 Kg8 49.Be2 Kh7 50.Bxg4 c5 51.dxc6 Rac7 52.Bf3 g4 53.Bxg4 Rxc6 54.Rxc6 Rxc6 55.Rh1 Rc4 56.Bh5 Bxh5 57.Rxh5 With his two far-advanced passers on the sixth rank, Rapport happily simplifies into a rook endgame. d5 58.Rh2 Re4 59.Kc3 1–0

The Benko Gambit Explained

In this DVD, Erwin l'Ami guides you through the fascinating Benko Gambit. As early as move three Black starts a fight for the initiative, a strategy that has proved to be successful in countless amateur and master level games.

The playing hall during round one | Photo: Mikael Svensson

Standings after round 2

All games

Links

• Official website
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