10/6/2023 – Magnus Carlsen’s Offerspill and Vishy Anand’s Superchess are sharing the lead in the open section of the European Club Cup. Both teams have a perfect 10/10 score after beating Novy Bor and Asnieres in closely contested matches. Meanwhile, SP Gaz Ukraine grabbed the lead in the women’s tournament after beating former sole leaders TAJFUN SK Ljubljana. | Photo: Niki Riga
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Carlsen on 4/4
It was all about the top two matches in round 5 of the European Club Cup. Finally, one of the favourites failed to win after all four top seeds reached the fifth round with perfect scores, as Magnus Carlsen’s Offerspill (4th seeds) defeated defending champions Novy Bor (2nd seeds).
Out of the six games, five finished drawn in this match, with Carlsen scoring the deciding victory on the top board, where he faced Vincent Keymer — who had beaten the Norwegian in a classical game in round 4 of the FIDE World Cup.
Meanwhile, Superchess, the team with the highest rating average in the field, got the better of Asnieres. Similarly to Offerspill’s victory, a single decisive game tipped the balance in Superchess’ favour. It was Vladimir Fedoseev who gave the Romanian team overall victory, by beating Sergei Movsesian on board 5.
These video courses feature a black repertoire against 1.d4, 1.Nf3 and 1.c4. The recommended variations are easy to learn and not difficult to remember, but also pose White serious challenges.
The top performer so far in Durrës is none other than Carlsen, who collected four wins in as many games to gain 8.7 rating points — and now stands over 62 points ahead of Fabiano Caruana in the live ratings list!
IM Robert Ris analysed Carlsen’s victory.
Curiously, both matches were inches away from ending draws, as Novy Bor’s Thai Dai Van Nguyen and Asniere’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave both missed chances to make the most of big advantages in their games against Pranav V and Richard Rapport, respectively.
In the following position, Nguyen had already lost some of his advantage, but his two passers on the queenside continue to give him the upper hand. Pranav, however, found the one trick that could potentially lead to a miraculous escape.
Nguyen vs. Pranav
48...Bxh3 49.gxh3 e4 is a clever way to create counterplay. Grabbing the pawn with 50.Qxe4, for example, fails to 50...Qg5, threatening mate on g1 and attacking the rook on d2.
The only move that keeps White’s advantage is 50.Qc3, while Nguyen’s 50.Qb2 is bad due to the good-looking 50...Rh1+
Now White cannot escape the perpetual check after 51.Kxh1 Qxh3+, etcetera. Note that 50.Qc3 would have prevented this idea. A narrow escape!
Offerspill beat Novy Bor, the defending champions | Photo: Niki Riga
In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.
Women’s: SP Gaz Ukraine leapfrog TAJFUN SK Ljubljana
A new leader emerged in the women’s tournament, as SP Gaz Ukraine beat former sole leaders TAJFUN SK Ljubljana, with wins for Lela Javakhishvili and Deimante Daulyte-Cornette on boards 2 and 3.
In this video course, experts (Pelletier, Marin, Müller and Reeh) examine the games of Judit Polgar. Let them show you which openings Polgar chose to play, where her strength in middlegames were, or how she outplayed her opponents in the endgame.
Now three teams are sharing second place a match point behind. Besides Ljubljana, Garuda Ajka BSK and Superchess now stand on 8/10 points. It will be Superchess who will face the new leaders in Friday’s sixth round.
SP Gaz Ukraine defeated TAJFUN SK Ljubljana | Photo: Niki Riga
In a total of 6 chapters, we look at the following aspects: the right decision based on tactical factors, decisions in exchanges and moves, complex and psychological decisions in longer games and in defence.
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.
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Whether it’s a weak pawn, a vulnerable king, or poor piece coordination, this course will teach you how to pinpoint the critical targets, prioritise your attack, and execute a clear, effective plan.
Videos by Nico Zwirs: Nimzo-Indian with 4.e3 b6 and Robert Ris: French Advance Variation with 6.Na3. Alexander Donchenko analyses his winning game against Fabiano Caruana from the Saint Louis Masters 2024. “Lucky bag" with another 43 analyses by Edouard,
The Black Sniper is back – sharper and deadlier than ever! This dynamic system (1...g6, 2...Bg7, 3...c5 against 1.e4, 1.d4 and 1.c4) creates unpredictable, high-pressure positions, leaving opponents struggling to adapt.
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