Airthings Masters: A dramatic day 3

by Johannes Fischer
12/28/2020 – The third and last day of the preliminary tournament of the Airthings Masters saw a lot of of exciting games and a close fight for the top eight places which secured the qualification for the knock-out stage. In the end and after a close tiebreak Carlsen, So, Nakamura, Nepomniachtchi, Radjabov, Aronian, Dubov and Vachier-Lagrave qualified. | Photo:
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Airthings Masters, Day 3

The first two days of the Airthings Masters saw a lot of draws and a cautious approach by most players but the third day of the preliminary tournament was dramatic because the players at the bottom of the table needed to take risks to finish among the first eight.

Round 9

Results

 

Daniil Dubov had good chances to qualify with safe play but he kept true to his usual risky style - which backfired in round 9 against Ian Nepomniachtchi.

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0-0 6.Be3 Nc6 7.d5 Ne5 8.f4 Neg4 9.Bd2 Nh6 10.h3 e6 11.dxe6 Bxe6 12.g4 After this move Black is more or less forced to sacrifice material. Re8 13.Nf3 Bd7 14.g5 Nxe4 15.gxh6 Bxh6 16.Nxe4 Rxe4 Black has two pawns for the piece and chances to attack. However, with precise play White should be able to defend. 17.f5 Qf8 18.0-0 Rae8!? Dubov is willing to sacrifice even more material to keep his attack going. However, better was 18...Be3+ 19.Bxe3 Rxe3 20.fxg6 hxg6 21.Rf2 Bxh3 and White might be better but Black still has chances. 19.Bd3 Re3!? 20.Bxe3 Bxe3+ 21.Kg2 Bc6 Now Black is a whole rook down but the engines evaluate this position as equal. 22.Qe1 g5?! It was probably better to play 22...Qg7 immediately, e.g. 23.Rb1 g5 24.Qg3 h5 25.Kh1 Kf8 and Black has more than enough compensation for the rook. After the text-move Black has problems to create threats. 23.Qg3 Bf4 24.Qg4 Re3 25.Rad1 Qg7 26.Rf2 Qh8 27.Qh5 Qg7 28.Kf1 White managed to keep the position closed and now starts to consolidate to convert his material advantage. Bg3 29.f6 Qxf6 30.Qxg5+ White gives some material back to liquidate into a won endgame. Qxg5 31.Nxg5 h6 32.Nxf7 Kg7 33.Nd8 Bxf2 34.Kxf2 Rf3+ 35.Ke2 Rxh3 36.Rf1 Rh2+ 37.Ke3 Rxb2 38.Ne6+ 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nepomniachtchi,I2784Dubov,D26991–02020E73Airthings Masters Preliminary9.4

Anish Giri and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave had both been struggling in the first two days of the preliminary but in their direct encounter in round 9 Giri scored an important victory.

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Be3 a6 8.Qe2 Qc7 9.0-0-0 Na5 10.Bd3 e5 11.Nb3 b5 12.Kb1 Be7 13.h3 Be6 14.g4 b4 15.Na4 Nc4 16.g5 Nd7 17.Nd2 Nxe3 18.Qxe3 0-0 19.h4 Rfc8 20.b3 Qa5 21.h5 Rc6 22.g6 Nf6 23.Rdg1 Rac8 24.gxf7+ Kxf7 25.Nf3 h6 26.Rg6 Bf8 27.Qe2 Ke8 28.Nd2 Qc7 29.Bc4 Bxc4 30.Nxc4 Rxc4 31.bxc4 Qc6 32.Rxf6 gxf6 33.Nb2 f5 34.f3 fxe4 35.fxe4 Rc7 36.Rf1 Rg7 37.c5 Qxc5 38.Qxa6 Rc7 39.Qa8+ Rc8 40.Qa4+ Qc6 41.Qb3 Be7 42.Re1 Bg5 43.Nd3 Qc4 44.Qa4+ Kf8 45.Re2 Kg7 46.Qd7+ Kg8 47.Qxd6 Rf8 48.Qd5+ Qxd5 49.exd5 Bf6 50.Re4 Bg7 51.Nxb4 Kf7 52.c4 Kf6 53.c5 Kf5 54.Re1 Rb8 55.a3 e4 56.Kc2 Rb5 57.c6 Rc5+ 58.Kb3 Rc3+ 59.Ka4 Be5 60.Re2 e3 61.Nc2 Ke4 62.Rxe3+ Rxe3 63.Nxe3 Kxe3 64.Kb5 Kd4 65.Kb6 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Giri,A2764Vachier-Lagrave,M27841–02020B89Airthings Masters Preliminary9.1

After this win Giri could hope again to qualify while "MVL" needed to start winning to catch up again.

The first to qualify was Hikaru Nakamura - he defeated David Anton in round 9 and with 5½/9 took the sole lead in the tournament.

Standings after round 9

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Round 10

Results round 10

 

Magnus Carlsen started the preliminary with eight draws and one win but in round 10 he scored his second win – against Nakamura who blundered in a drawn endgame.

 
M. Carlsen - H. Nakamura, Airthings Masters, Round 10
Position after 50.Kg1

Here Nakamura played 50...Bd5? (50...g4 should lead to a draw) but after 51.Rd7 Ke6 52.Rd8 c4 53.a6 c3 54.Rxd5 he had to resign. After 54...Kxd5 55.a7 c2 56.a8Q+ White queens with check. 1–0

Meanwhile, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played desperately for a win against Teimour Radjabov but in the end – and after a fascinating game – he was lucky to draw.

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.b3 d6 5.Bxc6+ bxc6 6.e5 Ne7 7.exd6 Ng6 8.Na3 Bxd6 9.d3 0-0 10.0-0 f6 11.Nc4 Bc7 12.Ba3 Qd5 13.d4 Rd8 14.Bxc5 e5 15.Re1 Nf4 16.Ne3 Qf7 17.Nh4 Be6 18.Qf3 exd4 19.Nef5 Be5 20.Ne7+ Kh8 21.Nxc6 Bd5 22.Nxd8 Rxd8 23.Qg4 h5 24.Qxf4 Bxf4 25.Re7 Bxh2+ 26.Kxh2 Qg8 27.Rae1 Qh7 28.Bxd4 Qxc2 29.R1e2 Qd3 30.Bxa7 Bc6 31.R2e3 Qd6+ 32.Rg3 Rg8 33.Be3 g6 34.Ra7 Be4 35.f4 Rg7 36.Ra4 Qe6 37.Bd4 Kh7 38.Ra5 Qd6 39.Be3 Qe6 40.Rc5 Qd6 41.b4 Rd7 42.a4 Qd1 43.Rc4 Qb1 44.Bc1 Bc2 45.Rgc3 Bxa4 46.Rc8 Qxb4 47.R3c4 Qb5 48.f5 g5 49.Ng6 Qxf5 50.Nf8+ Kg7 51.Nxd7 Bxd7 52.R8c5 Qe6 53.Rd4 Kg6 54.Bxg5 fxg5 55.Rcd5 Qe1 56.Rxd7 Qe5+ 57.Kh1 Qe1+ 58.Kh2 Qe5+ 59.Kh1 Qe1+ 60.Kh2 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Vachier-Lagrave,M2784Radjabov,T2765½–½2020B30Airthings Masters Preliminary10.1

Standings after round 10

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Round 11

Results round 11

 

The last and final round of the preliminary was particularly dramatic. Dubov once again took a lot of risk with Black against Wesley So but this again backfired when So countered with a beautiful combination:

 
W. So - D. Dubov, Airthings Masters, Round 11
Position after 30...Qg7

In this position So played 31.Re8! Black now tried 31...Ba7 (after 31...fxg5 White wins with 32.Qa8) but after 32.Qd7 h6 33.Qc8 Rxe8 34.Qxe8+ Kh7 35.Bxf6 he had to resign. 1–0

With this win So finished the tournament with 6½/11 and shared first with Carlsen and Nakamura. However, Carlsen had the best tie-break and won the preliminary. So is second, Nakamura third.

But in the end Dubov was rewarded for his bold play because in the last round everything else went his way: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave managed to win a theoretically drawn rook endgame against Alexander Grischuk, Pentala Harikrishna drew against Radjabov, and Giri lost against Nakamura which led to a four-way tie on the places seven to ten.

In case of a tie, direct results would decide, after that the number of wins. With 2.0/3 Vachier-Lagrave had the best direct results against the other three players with 5.0/11 (Grischuk, Harikrishna, and Dubov) and thus qualified for the knock-out stage. Dubov and Harikrishna both had 1½/3 but while Dubov had won two games Harikrishna did not win a single one, and thus Dubov made it to the knock-out stage.

Final standings after round 11

Games

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.0-0 a6 5.Bd3 Ngf6 6.c3 b5 7.a4 Bb7 8.axb5 axb5 9.Rxa8 Qxa8 10.Bxb5 Bxe4 11.d4 Bxb1 12.dxc5 Be4 13.Re1 e6 14.Rxe4 Qxe4 15.c6 Be7 16.Nd2 Qd5 17.cxd7+ Nxd7 18.Qa4 Qb7 19.Bc6 Qc7 20.Nc4 d5 21.Ne5 Qxe5 22.Bxd7+ Kd8 23.Qa8+ Kxd7 24.Qa4+ Kd8 25.Qa8+ Kd7 26.Qa4+ Kd8 27.Qa8+ Kd7 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Harikrishna,P2732Vachier-Lagrave,M2784½–½2020B51Airthings Masters Prelim1.1
Dubov,D2702Radjabov,T2765½–½2020E06Airthings Masters Prelim1.2
Anton Guijarro,D2675So,W2770½–½2020C67Airthings Masters Prelim1.3
Carlsen,M2862Aronian,L2781½–½2020D38Airthings Masters Prelim1.4
Giri,A2764Nepomniachtchi,I2784½–½2020D90Airthings Masters Prelim1.5
Grischuk,A2777Nakamura,H27360–12020C53Airthings Masters Prelim1.6
Vachier-Lagrave,M2784Nakamura,H2736½–½2020C50Airthings Masters Prelim2.1
Nepomniachtchi,I2784Grischuk,A27770–12020C53Airthings Masters Prelim2.2
Aronian,L2781Giri,A27641–02020B90Airthings Masters Prelim2.3
So,W2770Carlsen,M2862½–½2020E92Airthings Masters Prelim2.4
Radjabov,T2765Anton Guijarro,D26751–02020D38Airthings Masters Prelim2.5
Harikrishna,P2732Dubov,D2702½–½2020B33Airthings Masters Prelim2.6
Dubov,D2702Vachier-Lagrave,M2784½–½2020A33Airthings Masters Prelim3.1
Anton Guijarro,D2675Harikrishna,P2732½–½2020D45Airthings Masters Prelim3.2
Carlsen,M2862Radjabov,T2765½–½2020D37Airthings Masters Prelim3.3
Giri,A2764So,W27700–12020A14Airthings Masters Prelim3.4
Grischuk,A2777Aronian,L2781½–½2020C53Airthings Masters Prelim3.5
Nakamura,H2736Nepomniachtchi,I2784½–½2020B51Airthings Masters Prelim3.6
Vachier-Lagrave,M2784Nepomniachtchi,I27840–12020B90Airthings Masters Prelim4.1
Aronian,L2781Nakamura,H2736½–½2020C70Airthings Masters Prelim4.2
So,W2770Grischuk,A2777½–½2020C42Airthings Masters Prelim4.3
Radjabov,T2765Giri,A2764½–½2020D38Airthings Masters Prelim4.4
Harikrishna,P2732Carlsen,M2862½–½2020B33Airthings Masters Prelim4.5
Dubov,D2702Anton Guijarro,D26751–02020E04Airthings Masters Prelim4.6
Anton Guijarro,D2675Vachier-Lagrave,M2784½–½2020B51Airthings Masters Prelim5.1
Carlsen,M2862Dubov,D27021–02020B31Airthings Masters Prelim5.2
Giri,A2764Harikrishna,P27321–02020D47Airthings Masters Prelim5.3
Grischuk,A2777Radjabov,T2765½–½2020D37Airthings Masters Prelim5.4
Nakamura,H2736So,W2770½–½2020C67Airthings Masters Prelim5.5
Nepomniachtchi,I2784Aronian,L2781½–½2020C45Airthings Masters Prelim5.6
Vachier-Lagrave,M2784Aronian,L2781½–½2020A18Airthings Masters Prelim6.1
So,W2770Nepomniachtchi,I2784½–½2020D85Airthings Masters Prelim6.2
Radjabov,T2765Nakamura,H2736½–½2020D37Airthings Masters Prelim6.3
Harikrishna,P2732Grischuk,A2777½–½2020B53Airthings Masters Prelim6.4
Dubov,D2702Giri,A27641–02020C67Airthings Masters Prelim6.5
Anton Guijarro,D2675Carlsen,M2862½–½2020E46Airthings Masters Prelim6.6
Carlsen,M2862Vachier-Lagrave,M2784½–½2020A15Airthings Masters Prelim7.1
Giri,A2764Anton Guijarro,D2675½–½2020E04Airthings Masters Prelim7.2
Grischuk,A2777Dubov,D2702½–½2020A05Airthings Masters Prelim7.3
Nakamura,H2736Harikrishna,P2732½–½2020B11Airthings Masters Prelim7.4
Nepomniachtchi,I2784Radjabov,T2765½–½2020B30Airthings Masters Prelim7.5
Aronian,L2781So,W2770½–½2020C67Airthings Masters Prelim7.6
Vachier-Lagrave,M2784So,W2770½–½2020C88Airthings Masters Prelim8.1
Radjabov,T2765Aronian,L2781½–½2020D39Airthings Masters Prelim8.2
Harikrishna,P2732Nepomniachtchi,I2784½–½2020B53Airthings Masters Prelim8.3
Dubov,D2702Nakamura,H2736½–½2020E06Airthings Masters Prelim8.4
Anton Guijarro,D2675Grischuk,A2777½–½2020C78Airthings Masters Prelim8.5
Carlsen,M2862Giri,A2764½–½2020D94Airthings Masters Prelim8.6
Giri,A2764Vachier-Lagrave,M27841–02020B89Airthings Masters Prelim9.1
Grischuk,A2777Carlsen,M2862½–½2020D38Airthings Masters Prelim9.2
Nakamura,H2736Anton Guijarro,D26751–02020E04Airthings Masters Prelim9.3
Nepomniachtchi,I2784Dubov,D27021–02020E73Airthings Masters Prelim9.4
Aronian,L2781Harikrishna,P2732½–½2020D20Airthings Masters Prelim9.5
So,W2770Radjabov,T2765½–½2020D37Airthings Masters Prelim9.6
Vachier-Lagrave,M2784Radjabov,T2765½–½2020B30Airthings Masters Prelim10.1
Harikrishna,P2732So,W2770½–½2020D41Airthings Masters Prelim10.2
Dubov,D2702Aronian,L2781½–½2020E10Airthings Masters Prelim10.3
Anton Guijarro,D2675Nepomniachtchi,I2784½–½2020B53Airthings Masters Prelim10.4
Carlsen,M2862Nakamura,H27361–02020C67Airthings Masters Prelim10.5
Giri,A2764Grischuk,A2777½–½2020C53Airthings Masters Prelim10.6
Grischuk,A2777Vachier-Lagrave,M27840–12020B51Airthings Masters Prelim11.1
Nakamura,H2736Giri,A27641–02020A08Airthings Masters Prelim11.2
Nepomniachtchi,I2784Carlsen,M2862½–½2020B33Airthings Masters Prelim11.3
Aronian,L2781Anton Guijarro,D26750–12020B30Airthings Masters Prelim11.4
So,W2770Dubov,D27021–02020C78Airthings Masters Prelim11.5
Radjabov,T2765Harikrishna,P2732½–½2020D44Airthings Masters Prelim11.6

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Johannes Fischer was born in 1963 in Hamburg and studied English and German literature in Frankfurt. He now lives as a writer and translator in Nürnberg. He is a FIDE-Master and regularly writes for KARL, a German chess magazine focusing on the links between culture and chess. On his own blog he regularly publishes notes on "Film, Literature and Chess".

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