On to the quarterfinals
The new format used in the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour has proven to make for an exciting preliminary stage and a more quick-paced — and entertaining — knockout. At the Chessable Masters, the fourth leg of this year’s tour, three 2700+ rated players (according to their tour ratings) did not move on to the second stage, as Jorden van Foreest, Vidit Gujrathi and Nils Gradelius were all eliminated in the prelims.
This Najdorf-DVD is suited for the beginner as well as experienced club players. Pelletier presents a classical repertoire that's easy to learn and covers all you need to know about the Najdorf.On the other hand, the one player rated below 2700 who did advance to the quarterfinals was Aryan Tari. The 22-year-old lost three games in the first six rounds, but four consecutive wins in rounds 10-13 allowed him to bounce back and eventually get eighth place in the final standings table.
In the first round of the knockout, Tari will face Anish Giri, who won the prelims after collecting seven wins and eight draws in an impressive undefeated run. Giri outscored world champion Magnus Carlsen by a single point and is set to face Tari in the quarterfinals — Carlsen will play Spain’s David Anton.
The remaining two pairings in Monday’s matches will be Ding Liren vs Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Wei Yi vs Praggnanandhaa.
In an exciting round-13 matchup, Giri defeated former leader Wei with the black pieces. Out of a Najdorf Sicilian, the two tactical whizzes created strong attacks on opposite flanks. A single imprecision is all it takes to tip the balance in such sharp positions.
Giri had just played the correct 29...h5, knowing all too well that White cannot capture with 30.Qxh5 due to 30...Ra2+, and Black gives mate first — e.g., 31.Kxa2 Qc4+ 32.Kb1 a2+ 33.Ka1 Qc3+ 34.Kxa2 Qa3+, etcetera.
In this video course, twenty-nine examples with multiple questions are presented in the interactive format, which is ideal for a range of playing strengths. Step by step you will be taken through the complex positions.As the variation mentioned above shows, it all comes down to a single tempo, and in the game there was only one move that kept the balance for White: 30.gxf7+, when after 30...Kg7, any move other than 31.Qg3 loses. A difficult line to find in a rapid game, indeed!
Moreover, Wei had to calculate the consequence of several alternatives, including the ones following 30.gxh6, the move he chose in the game. Giri, who has been in great form throughout the event, quickly replied with 30...fxg6 31.Qg3 Kh8
The Dutchman knew that he only needed a tempo to begin his unstoppable attack. Wei resigned in the diagrammed position, as there is no way to deal with all the threats surrounding his king. For example:
- 32.Qxg6 fails to 32...Ra2+
- 32.Bxg6 fails to 32...e4, opening up the dark-squared long diagonal
- 32.Bd3 fails to Qc3
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.h3 8.f3 Be6 9.Qd2 h5 10.0-0-0 Nbd7 11.Kb1 Rc8 12.h4 b5 13.a3 0-0 14.Bg5 Re8 15.g4 hxg4 16.fxg4 Bxg4 17.Re1 d5 18.Nxd5 Nxd5 19.exd5 Bf5 8...Be6 9.Qd2 Nbd7 10.0-0-0 b5 11.g4 0-0 12.a3N 12.Kb1 Qc7 13.Bg2 Nb6 14.Bxb6 Qxb6 15.f4 Bc4 16.g5 Nh5 17.fxe5 dxe5 18.Nd5 Bxd5 19.exd5 12...Nb6 13.g5 Nfd7 14.Na5 Qc7 15.Kb1 Rab8 15...Rfc8= 16.Nd5 Nxd5 17.exd5 Bxd5 18.Qxd5 Qxa5 19.Bd3 Qc7 20.Qe4 g6 21.h4 Nc5 22.Bxc5 d5 22...Qxc5 23.h5 Kg7 24.hxg6 hxg6 25.Rh7+‼ 25.Qh4 Rh8 25...Kg8 26.Rdh1 Bxg5 27.Rh8+ Kg7 28.R1h7+ Kf6 29.Rxf7+‼ Rxf7 30.Qxg6+ Ke7 31.Qxg5+ Ke6 32.Qg6+ Ke7 33.Qg5+ Kd7 34.Rxb8+- 23.Qxd5 Qxc5 24.Qb3 24.Qe4 24...a5 24...Qxf2? 25.h5 Qb6 26.Be4+- 25.Be4 a4 26.Qh3 b4 27.h5 bxa3 28.hxg6 Rxb2+ 29.Ka1 h5 30.gxh6? 30.Qxh5 Ra2+‼ 31.Kxa2 Qc4+ 32.Kb1 a2+ 33.Kc1 a1Q+ 34.Kd2 Qac3+ 35.Kc1 Ba3+ 36.Kb1 Qb2# 30.gxf7+= Rxf7 31.g6 31.Qxh5 Rb1+ 32.Rxb1 Qd4+ 33.Ka2 Qc4+ 34.Ka1 Qd4+ 35.Ka2 Qc4+ 36.Ka1 Qd4+= 31...Rxf2 32.Qe6+ 32.Qxh5 Ra2+ 33.Kxa2 Rxc2+ 34.Kb1 a2+ 35.Ka1 Qc3# 32...Kg7 33.Rd7 33.Rxh5 Rb1+ 34.Rxb1 Qc3+ 35.Ka2 Rxc2+ 36.Bxc2 Qxc2+ 37.Ka1 Qc3+ 38.Ka2 Qc2+ 39.Ka1 Qc3+ 40.Ka2 Qc2+= 33...Rb1+ 34.Rxb1 Qc3+ 35.Ka2 Rxc2+ 36.Bxc2 Qxc2+ 37.Ka1 Qc3+ 38.Ka2 Qc2+ 39.Ka1 Qc3+ 40.Ka2 Qc2+ 30...fxg6!-+ 30...Qc4 31.h7+ Kh8 32.g7+ Kxg7 33.h8Q+ Rxh8 34.Qxh8# 31.Qg3 31...Kh8! 0–1 - Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
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| Wei,Y | 2727 | Giri,A | 2761 | 0–1 | 2022 | | MCCT Chessable Masters 2022 | 13.8 |
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In another tactical skirmish from the same round, Tari — much like Giri — stopped Vidit’s attack on the kingside and went on to win the game with the black pieces.
Vidit vs. Tari - Round 13
Vidit here put both his knights en prise with 24.Nh5, taking advantage of the fact that ...gxh5 loses on the spot to Qh7#. However, Black has the counter-sacrifice 24...Nc3+, when 25.bxc3 allows a quick mate.
The Indian continued fighting with 25.Rxc3 bxc3 26.Nf6+, but it turned out that White has everything under control on the kingside after 26...Kg7
On this DVD Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin, Oliver Reeh and Karsten Müller present the 8. World Chess Champion in video lessons: his openings, his understanding of chess strategy, his artful endgame play, and finally his immortal combinations.White was forced to defend with 27.Qc2, but now Black can safely capture the knight with 27...hxg5 and is simply a rook up. Tari forced further simplifications and collected the full three points (a football scoring system was in place) seven moves later.
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1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.h4 a6 5.g4 Bd7 6.Nc3 6.c4!? 6...e6 7.Be3 c5 8.dxc5 Qc7 9.Nf3 Bxc5 10.Bxc5 Qxc5 11.Qd2 11...b5!?N 11...Nc6 12.0-0-0 0-0-0 13.Bd3 Nge7 14.Rde1 h5 15.gxh5 Rxh5 16.Ng5 Be8 17.f4 Kb8 12.Bd3 Ne7 13.0-0-0 13.Qg5 13...b4= 14.Ne2 Bb5 15.Kb1 Nbc6 16.Nf4 h6 17.Rc1 Qb6 18.c4 dxc4 19.Bxc4 Rd8 20.Qe2 0-0 21.Qe4 21.Qe3!= Qxe3 22.fxe3 21...Nd4 22.Ng5 22...g6!-+ 23.Bxb5? 23.h5 Bc6 24.Qe3 hxg5 25.hxg6 Nxg6 26.Nh5! Bxh1 27.Rxh1 23...Nxb5 23...hxg5? 24.hxg5 Nxb5 25.Qf3 Nc3+ 26.Ka1-+ 24.Nh5? 24.Ka1 hxg5 25.hxg5 24...Nc3+ 25.Rxc3 bxc3 26.Nf6+ Kg7 27.Qc2 hxg5 28.Qxc3 Qxf2 29.h5 Nd5 30.Nxd5 Rxd5 31.hxg6 Qd2 32.Qc7 Qd3+ 33.Kc1 Qe3+ 34.Kb1 Qe4+ 0–1 - Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
| Vidit,S | 2723 | Tari,A | 2654 | 0–1 | 2022 | | MCCT Chessable Masters 2022 | 13.7 |
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Crosstable (win = 3 points, draw = 1 point)
All games
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- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
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