Airthings Masters: Ding leads, Carlsen struggles

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
2/20/2022 – Ding Liren had the best start at the Airthings Masters online tournament. The Chinese scored 10/12 points after winning three games and drawing one on the first day of action. Ian Nepomniachtchi and Andrey Esipenko are placed second and third, while Magnus Carlsen is currently eleventh after losing in rounds 3 and 4, against Esipenko and Nepomniachtchi respectively. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

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Playing in the wee hours

Covid-related travel restrictions continue to impact the chess world. Recently, FIDE announced that Ding Liren will not be able to make it to Belgrade for the second leg of the Grand Prix, soon after the Chinese star had missed the first stage played in Berlin. This unfortunate circumstance makes it all but impossible for the world number 3 to play this year’s Candidates Tournament — save for an exceptional late withdrawal.

Fortunately for Ding, the fact that online tournaments seem to be here to stay means he can still face elite opposition from home. However, since most players are European — and perhaps because the big bulk of the audience also comes from that area — the 29-year-old from Wenzhou is set to start his workday at 1 a.m.

Despite this difficulty, the ever-humble grandmaster managed to go into day 2 of the Airthings Masters tournament in sole first place. To get his 10/12 score — wins are worth 3 points, draws are worth 1 point — Ding beat Vincent Keymer, Praggnanandhaa and Le Quang Liem, while only US rising star Hans Niemann managed a draw in their round-2 game.

Ding is closely followed by Ian Nepomniachtchi, who won three games and lost one for a 9/12 score, and Andrey Esipenko, who stands a further point back. Coincidentally, both Nepo and Esipenko defeated world champion Magnus Carlsen on Saturday. The perennial favourite and the tour’s defending champion stands on 4/12 at the bottom half of the table. The top 8 players in the preliminaries will move on to the knockout stage.

Airthings Masters 2022

The tournament did not start all that swiftly for Ding. Facing Vincent Keymer with the black pieces, he was on the worse side of a materially imbalanced endgame.

 
Keymer vs. Ding

In this peculiar position, Black has three pawns for White’s bishop and both players have pawns one square away from queening. Keymer’s best chance to keep fighting for a win was to place his king on g1 and then play Bg2. The young German instead ventured with his monarch to the centre of the board with 53.Ke3, though, allowing Ding to coordinate his queen and rook while harassing the white king.

The game continued 53...Qe7+ 54.Qe4 Qc5+ 55.Kd3 Qb5+ 56.Ke3 Qc5+ 57.Kd3 Qb5+ 58.Ke3 Qb6+ 59.Kd3 Rd6+, and Black was already in the driver’s seat.

 

Ding activated his major pieces along the dark squares, and it is tough to defend this position with White while his rook is stuck preventing the passer from promoting — especially in a rapid game. Keymer soon faltered again, and Ding eventually took the full point.

Unlike in his initial encounter, Ding kept things under control to win twice and draw Niemann in his remaining three games of the day. You can replay all four of the leader’s games from in the dynamic replayer below.

 
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1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 c5 4.0-0 e6 5.d3 Be7 6.e4 A08: King's Indian Attack. 0-0 7.a4 Nc6 8.Qe2 The position is equal. dxe4 9.dxe4 e5 10.c3 Inhibits Nd4. h6 11.Na3
11...Qc7N Predecessor: 11...a6 12.Nc4 Qc7 13.Ne3 Be6 14.Nh4 Rfe8 15.Nd5 Bxd5 16.exd5 Na5 17.Be3 Rad8 1-0 (35) Rendle,T (2381)-Flear,C (2156) Hastings 2013 12.Nc4 b6 13.Ne3 Na5 13...Nxe4? 14.Nd5 Qd6 15.Qxe4+- 14.Nf5 Nb3 14...Re8 feels hotter. 15.Be3 Be6 16.Nd2 Rad8 17.g4 Nh7 15.Rb1 Nxc1 16.Rbxc1 Re8 17.Nd2 Bf8 18.Rfd1 Bb7 19.c4 Bc6 20.b3 Rad8 21.Ne3 Rd4 22.Nd5 Nxd5 23.cxd5 Bd7 24.h4 Rb8 25.Nc4 a6 26.Kh2 b5 27.axb5 axb5 28.Ne3 c4 29.bxc4 b4 30.c5 30.Rxd4!± exd4 31.Nd1 30...Bxc5 31.Rxd4! exd4 32.Nc4 b3 Black wants to play ... Ba3! 33.e5 Bf5 34.d6 Qd7 35.Nb2 Prevents d3. d3 36.Nxd3 Bxd3 37.Qxd3 b2 38.Rb1 Bxf2 39.Qd2? 39.Bd5= Qg4 40.Ba2 40.Rf1? b1Q-+ 39...Bxg3+? 40.Kxg3 Qf5 41.Qe1 Rb3+! 41...Rb5? 42.Qe4 Qxe4 43.Bxe4+- 42.Kh2 aiming for Qe4. Qf4+ 43.Kh1 Re3! 44.Qf1 44.Qd1 Rc3 45.d7 45.Rxb2? Rc1-+ 45...Qxh4+ 46.Kg1 44...Qxh4+= 45.Kg1 Rxe5 46.Qf2 46.Rxb2? Re1 47.Rd2 47.Rb8+? Kh7-+ 47...Rxf1+-+ 46...Qd8 47.Qd4 Re6 47...Re2= and Black has nothing to worry. 48.d7 48.Rxb2 Rxb2 49.Qxb2 Qxd6= 48...Rc2 48.d7+- 48.Rxb2 Qxd6 49.Qxd6 Rxd6= 48...Rb6 49.Bh3 49.Rxb2 Rxb2 50.Qxb2 Qxd7= 49...Rg6+ 50.Bg2 Rb6 51.Bh3 51.Rxb2 Rxb2 52.Qxb2 Qxd7= 51...Rg6+! 52.Kf2 Rf6+ 53.Ke3? White should play 53.Ke2+- Qe7+ 54.Qe3 53...Qe7+= 54.Qe4 Qc5+ 55.Kd3 White is fighting back Qb5+ 56.Ke3 Qc5+ 57.Kd3 Qb5+ 58.Ke3 Qb6+ 59.Kd3 Rd6+ 60.Ke2 Threatens to win with Qe8+. Qb5+ 61.Kf2 61.Ke1!= g6 62.Qe3 62.Qe8+? Kg7-+ 61...Qc5+ 61...Rd2+ 62.Kg1 62.Ke1? Qa5-+ 62...Qc5+ 63.Kh1 Qc1+ 64.Qe1 Qc6+ 65.Kg1 Qc5+ 66.Kh1 Qd5+ 67.Kg1 Qd4+ 68.Kh1 Qd3 62.Kg3? 62.Ke2= Qb5+ 63.Ke1 63.Kf2? Rd2+ 64.Kg1 Qc5+ 65.Kh1 Qc1+ 66.Qe1 Qc6+ 67.Kg1 Qc5+ 68.Kf1 Qb5+ 69.Kg1 Qg5+ 70.Kh1 Qd5+ 71.Kg1 Qd4+ 72.Kh1 Qd3-+ 62...Qc3+-+ 63.Qf3 Qe5+ 64.Kg2 Rd2+ 65.Kg1 Qc5+ 66.Kh1 Qc1+ 67.Qf1 Qc6+? 67...Qc7 68.Bg2 Qxd7 68.Qg2
68...Qc1+? 68...Qc3!-+ 69.Rg1 69.Qa8+? Kh7-+ 69...g5 69.Qg1? 69.Qf1= Qc7 70.Bg2 Qxd7 71.Qf4 69...Qc6+? 69...Qc7 White must now prevent ...f5! 70.Re1 Qb7+ 71.Bg2 Qxd7 70.Qg2!
70...Qd6? The board is on fire. 70...Qc3!-+ And now ...Qc1+ would win. 71.Rg1 71.Qa8+? Kh7-+ 71...g5 71.Qa8+? 71.Rxb2 Rd1+ 72.Qg1 Qd5+ 73.Kh2 Qe5+ 74.Kh1 Qd5+ 75.Kh2 Qe5+ 76.Kh1 Qd5+ 71...Kh7 72.Bg2 Qxd7 72...Rd1+ 73.Bf1 Rxb1 74.Qf3 Rd1 75.Qf5+ Kg8 76.Qb5 b1Q 77.d8Q+ Qxd8 78.Qxb1 Rxb1 79.Kg2 Qd2+ 80.Kf3 Rxf1+ 81.Kg3 Qe3+ 82.Kh4 g5+ 83.Kh5 Qh3# 73.Qe4+ g6 ( -> ...Rd1+) 74.Kh2 Qd6+ Black mates. 75.Kh3 Rd4 76.Qe2 Qf4 77.Bf3 Rd2 Quite a comeback for Black. Weighted Error Value: White=0.27 (precise) /Black=0.17 (very precise)
0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Keymer,V2664Ding,L27990–12022Airthings Masters MCCT Prel 20221.6
Ding,L2799Niemann,H2642½–½2022Airthings Masters MCCT Prel 20222.3
Praggnanandhaa R2612Ding,L27990–12022Airthings Masters MCCT Prel 20223.7
Ding,L2799Le,Q27091–02022Airthings Masters MCCT Prel 20224.2

Ding was one of six players who kicked off the event with a win. Carlsen was also among the first-round winners, as he got the better of Vladislav Artemiev with the white pieces. 

 
Carlsen vs. Artemiev

An excellent technical player, Artemiev nonetheless faltered with 35...Qg4. As Karsten Müller mentions in his annotations (replayable below), mating motifs often occur out of the blue in queen endings. Carlsen found the refutation — 36.Qe7+ Kh6 37.Qf8+ Kh5 38.Qf3

 

The world champion correctly calculated that, after a queen exchange, his d-pawn will queen first and give mate before Black gets to activate a potential new queen on the a or b-files.

After this good-looking win, Carlsen got in trouble but managed to save a draw against world rapid champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Back-to-back losses against Esipenko and Nepomniachtchi followed. These results left him sharing 11th-13th place on 4/12 points going into the second day of action. 

See all games played by Carlsen on Saturday in the replayer below.

 
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1.g3 Nf6 2.Bg2 d5 3.Nf3 g6 4.0-0 Bg7 5.c4 dxc4 6.Na3 0-0 7.Nxc4 c5 8.b3!? An interesting side line. Nc6 9.Bb2 Be6 A09: Réti Opening: 1 Nf3 d5 2 c4. 10.Rc1 Rc8 11.d3 b6 The position is equal. 12.Qd2
12...Qd7N Predecessor: 12...h6 13.Rfd1 Kh7 14.e3 b5 15.Na3 Qb6 16.Qe2 a6 17.d4 cxd4 18.Nxd4 Nxd4 19.Bxd4 ½-½ (77) Rubzova,T (2240)-Aslanian,L (2165) Azov 1991 13.Rfd1 Rfd8 14.Nfe5 Nxe5 15.Nxe5 Qd6 16.b4 Nd7 Don't play 16...cxb4 17.Nc6 17.Nxd7 17.bxc5= Nxc5 18.Nc4 17...Bxb2 Better is 17...cxb4 18.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.Qxb2=
aiming for Ne5. 18...Bxd7 19.bxc5 Rxc5 20.Rxc5 Qxc5 21.Rc1 Qd6 22.h4 Rc8 23.Rxc8+ Bxc8 24.d4 Bd7 25.e4 f6 26.f4 e5 27.fxe5 fxe5 28.d5 a5 29.Kh2 b5 30.Bh3 Bxh3 31.Kxh3 Endgame KQ-KQ b4 32.Qc2 Qd7+ 33.Kg2 Kf7 34.Qf2+ Kg7 35.Qc5 Qg4? 35...Qa4!= and Black has nothing to worry. 36.Qe7++- And not 36.Qxa5 Qxe4+ 37.Kh2 Qd4= 36...Kh6?
36...Kg8+- 37.Qf8+ White mates. Kh5 38.Qf3 a4 39.d6 b3 40.Qxg4+ Kxg4 41.d7 bxa2 42.d8Q Weighted Error Value: White=0.04 (flawless) /Black=0.25 (precise)
1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2865Artemiev,V27001–02022Airthings Masters MCCT Prel 20221.1
Carlsen,M2865Abdusattorov,N2651½–½2022Airthings Masters MCCT Prel 20222.8
Esipenko,A2714Carlsen,M28651–02022Airthings Masters MCCT Prel 20223.2
Carlsen,M2865Nepomniachtchi,I27730–12022Airthings Masters MCCT Prel 20224.7

Endgame analyses by GM Karsten Müller

Besides the aforementioned endgame seen in Carlsen vs Artemiev, our in-house expert looked at a knight vs rook ending seen in the first-round game between Niemann and Eric Hansen.

 
Niemann vs. Hansen

Niemann’s 51.Kf2 immediately failed to 51...b2, since the rook is forced to capture the pawn and run into a fatal fork — 52.Rxb2 Nd1+, and White resigned six moves later. This was the first of two consecutive victories by the ChessBrah, who then went on to lose against Le and draw his round-4 game against Artemiev.

Go through both GM Müller’s instructive analyses in the replayer below.

 
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1.g3 Nf6 2.Bg2 d5 3.Nf3 g6 4.0-0 Bg7 5.c4 dxc4 6.Na3 0-0 7.Nxc4 c5 8.b3 Nc6 9.Bb2 Be6 10.Rc1 Rc8 11.d3 b6 12.Qd2 Qd7 13.Rfd1 Rfd8 14.Nfe5 Nxe5 15.Nxe5 Qd6 16.b4 Nd7 17.Nxd7 Bxb2 18.Qxb2 Bxd7 19.bxc5 Rxc5 20.Rxc5 Qxc5 21.Rc1 Qd6 22.h4 Rc8 23.Rxc8+ Bxc8 24.d4 Bd7 25.e4 f6 26.f4 e5 27.fxe5 fxe5 28.d5 a5 29.Kh2 b5 30.Bh3 Bxh3 31.Kxh3 b4 32.Qc2 Qd7+ 33.Kg2 Kf7 34.Qf2+ Kg7 35.Qc5 Carlsen's crushing queen In queen endings mating motifs often occur out of the blue: Qg4? This runs into a tactical refutation. After 35...Qa4 Black's counterplay is just sufficient: 36.Qe7+ 36.d6 Qxa2+ 37.Kf3 Qe6 38.Qc7+ Qf7+ 39.Ke2 a4 40.d7 Qa2+= 36...Kg8 Also here 36...Kh6? is wrong: 37.Qf8+ Kh5 38.d6 Qc2+ 39.Qf2 Qxe4+ 40.Qf3+ Qxf3+ 41.Kxf3 a4 42.d7+- 37.d6 Qc2+ 38.Kh3 Qxe4 39.d7 Qh1+ 40.Kg4 Qe4+ 41.Kh3 After 41.Kg5?? for a change White is mated: Qf5+ 42.Kh6 Qh5# 41...Qh1+= 36.Qe7+ Kh6?! 36...Kg8 is forced, but does not defend due to 37.Qe8+ Kg7 38.Qxe5+ Kf7 39.Qc7+ Of course not 39.Qf4+?? Qxf4 40.gxf4 a4 41.Kf3 b3 42.axb3 a3-+ 39...Ke8 40.Qc2+- and White wins in the long run. 37.Qf8+ Kh5 38.Qf3 In the resulting pawn ending White will queen and mate first. a4 38...Qxf3+ 39.Kxf3 a4 40.d6 b3 41.d7 bxa2 42.d8Q a1Q 43.Qg5# 39.d6 b3 40.Qxg4+ Kxg4 41.d7 bxa2 42.d8Q 42.d8Q a1Q 43.Qg5# 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2865Artemiev,V27001–02022A09Airthings Masters MCCT Prel 20221.1
Niemann,H2642Hansen,E26060–12022A16Airthings Masters MCCT Prel 20221.7

Crosstable (3 pts for a win, 1 pt for a draw)

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Carlos 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.

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