European Ch: A long list of leaders

by Macauley Peterson
3/22/2019 – Four rounds into the European Championship and we no longer find any perfect scores. Dutch GM Lucas van Foreest was one of the players with 3 points after as many rounds of play, but he lost on Thursday to top seed Vladislav Artemiev. The remaining undefeated players all drew, creating a 19-way tie on 3½. GM DANIEL FERNANDEZ annotates highlights of rounds three and four. Pictured: Benjamin Gledura (right) is one of the leaders, GM Vincent Keymer (left) is only on 50%. | Photo: Patricia Claros

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Number 135 in front, for now

Israeli GM Tal Baron is currently atop the standings at the European Individual Championship in Skopje. After winning his fourth round game on board 23, he has the highest tiebreak (opponents' rating minus the lowest) score among the 19 players with 3½ points. Of course with seven round still to go at this stage, it means little. With so many strong players, and a lot riding on reaching the top 22 places (for World Cup qualification), it's no surprise that the leaders are cautious.

Trophies

Trophies are nice, but a ticket to Khanty-Mansiysk is the bigger prize | Photo: Patricia Claros

On the third day of the European Championship, many of the games ended drawn on the top boards. Of the 19 games between players with two points, twelve ended with the point shared. Among them was the game of top seed Vladislav Artemiev, who wound up lucky to escape with a move repetition draw from a Caro-Kann against Samvel Ter-Sahakyan. 

 
Ter-Sahakyan vs Artemiev
Position after 23...Kh7

White played 24.c2 in this position, which, while not a bad move, did not pose as many problems for Artemiev as 24.gxh6 gxh6 25.g2 with the idea of playing Rg3 and doubling rooks on the g-file.

Instead, it was Aremiev who doubled rooks and Ter-Sahakyan bailed out:

 
Ter-Sahakyan vs Artemiev
Position after 32.Qd3+

32...h8 33.e3h7 34.d3+ etc.

Ter-Sahakyan vs Artemiev

Ter-Sahakyan and Artemiev, first of two handshakes | Photo: Patricia Claros

Among the winners was Sergei Azarov, who managed to win this rook ending against Nils Grandelius: 

 
Azarov-Grandelius

It was a less technical victory in Ivan Cheparinov vs Sebastian Maze:

 
Maze-Cheparinov

In this position White just played the careless 32.b4. After 32...c2 the Frenchman gave up immediately. No matter what he does with the queen, there follows 33...♛xg5 with with devastating mating threats.

Cheparinov

Cheparinov is in the 3½ score group | Photo: Patricia Claros

Lucas van Foreest worked his way up the leaderboard with a win against Aleksandar Indijic.

 
Lucas van Foreest vs Indijic

The younger brother of Jorden van Foreest shocked his opponent here with 34.h6. Black responded 34...♞h5 (34...♜b7 was forced) and was getting mated after 35.g8+.

GM Daniel Fernandez looks at a few more highlights of the round:

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 h5 8...Be7 is an absolute main line and may be the best order for delaying White's g4 8...Nc6!? 9.Nd5 Bxd5 10.exd5 Nbd7 11.Qd2 11.a4 Rc8 12.a5 may indeed deprive Black of ...Nb6, but now Black is more interested in the e5 square and other dark squares and could continue g6 13.Qd2 Bg7 14.Be2 e4! 11...g6 12.0-0-0 12.Be2 Trying to castle short. While annotating Leko-Saric for this site, I noted the following precedent game: Bg7 13.Na5 13.0-0 b6 14.c4 0-0= Topalov,V-Vachier Lagrave,M Paris 2017 13...Qc7 14.c4 0-0 15.0-0 e4 16.f4 16.b4!? 16...Ng4= Adair,J-Gormally,D Llandudno 2017 12.Na5 is another long-castling-like move 12...Nb6 12...Qc7!? 13.Kb1 Bg7 14.Be2 0-0 14...a5!? could be worth considering since White has already committed the Bf1, and not to b5: 15.Bb5 15.a4 0-0 16.g4 Nb6 15...a4 16.Na1 0-0 17.c4 Nc5 15.g4! This was Leko's contribution and I think it gains an edge. Rfc8 15...a5 16.g5 Ne8 17.Qd3 15...hxg4 16.fxg4 Nb6 17.h4! 16.Rc1 a5 17.g5 Ne8 18.a4 Leko,P-Saric,I European Team Championship 2017 13.Kb1 Nfxd5 With this capture, Black discourages Bg5, so it is definitely worth a look. 13...Nbxd5 It is still unclear to me whether this capture equalises. 14.Bg5 Be7 15.g3!? was the precedent. 15.c4 Nb6 16.Na5 0-0!? 17.h4 d5∞ is the principled way for both sides to go 15.Bc4 Nb6! 15...Qc7 16.Bxd5 Nxd5 17.Bxe7 Nxe7 18.Qxd6 16.Na5 0-0 17.Bxf6 Bxf6 18.Qxd6 Kg7= 15...0-0 16.f4 a5 16...Nb6!? seems to equalise 17.Bg2 17.a4 17...a4= Leko,P-Giri,A London 2012 14.Bf2 Nf6 15.Qe1 15.Na5N was what I proposed in my notes to the Leko game: Qc7 16.Bh4! Nfd7 16...Be7 17.Bxf6 Bxf6 18.Qxd6 16...Nbd7? 17.Nc4 17.f4 Rc8 18.Be2 and practical tests are needed here 15.Bd3= Saric,I-Palac,M Porec 2016 15.Bh4 Be7 16.Bxf6 Bxf6 17.Qxd6 is what the computer says, but despite its initial enthusiasm I'm not sure that this version of the ending is any better than the others, e.g. Qxd6 18.Rxd6 Bd8= 15...Be7 16.g3?! This line is difficult to play! In many positions, g3 works just fine; here, though, it is simply too slow. 16.f4 exf4!? 16...e4 17.f5 looks more weakening 17.g3 fxg3 18.Bd4 Nbd7 19.hxg3 Qc7 20.g4 Ne5∞ White probably does have enough for two pawns, but it is hard to come up with concrete ideas to get through to the Black king, which is protected by the bulwark on e5. 16...Qc7 17.Bd3 17.f4 Na4 18.Bg2 Rc8 19.c3 b5 sees Black commence aggressive operations. 17...Rc8 18.f4 Nc4 19.Nd2 19.Qe2 19...b5 20.h3 0-0 21.f5 21.Bxc4 bxc4 22.Ne4 is just a pawn, but White should have done this. 21...d5! 22.Bxc4 22.fxg6 Nxb2-+ 22...bxc4 23.Nf3 Bd6 24.g4 Rb8 The game is already almost over. 25.gxh5 Ne4 25...Ba3 was probably more clinical, and only after 26.b3 then Ne4-+ 26.Qe3 26.hxg6 Ba3 27.gxf7+ Rxf7 28.Rg1+ Kh8-+ 26...Bc5 27.Qh6 Rxb2+! 28.Kxb2 Rb8+ 29.Ka1 Qa5 Mate is inevitable. For instance, on Be1 there would follow Nc3. 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Zanan,E2514Yilmaz,M26360–12019European Championship3
Quparadze,G2501Onischuk,V26261–02019B09European Championship3
Azarov,S2585Grandelius,N26941–02019European Championship3

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Results of Round 3 (top 10)

Name Pts. Result Pts. Name
Ter-Sahakyan Samvel 2 ½ - ½ 2 Artemiev Vladislav
Azarov Sergei 2 1 - 0 2 Grandelius Nils
Maze Sebastien 2 0 - 1 2 Cheparinov Ivan
Buhmann Rainer 2 ½ - ½ 2 Rodshtein Maxim
Berkes Ferenc 2 ½ - ½ 2 Lomasov Semyon
Alonso Rosell Alvar 2 ½ - ½ 2 Melkumyan Hrant
Martinovic Sasa 2 ½ - ½ 2 Gelfand Boris
Fressinet Laurent 2 ½ - ½ 2 Arutinian David
Alekseenko Kirill 2 1 - 0 2 Halkias Stelios
Tsydypov Zhamsaran 2 0 - 1 2 Piorun Kacper

Commentary webcast

In round four, Artemiev adopted a very patient strategy against Lucas van Foreest, accepting a slightly passive position with White, exchanging pieces when needed and waiting for an opportunity. It eventually presented itself in the form of a chronically weak and backward c-pawn in the Black camp. 

 
Artemiev vs van Foreest
Positon after 40.R1c3

Black can possibly survive this by just defending and staying put, but after van Foreest's 40...a4 41.xc6 xc6 42.xc6 g7 43.c2 Artemiev's better major piece coordination gave him a strong edge.

Artemiev vs van Foreest

Van Foreest's c-pawn was felled like a tree...in the forest | Photo: Patricia Claros

The lone IM among the leading pack is the 17-year-old Russian Semyon Lomasov who beat one of his trainers, veteran GM Mikhail Kobalia. It was another major piece ending, but this time, there was no drawn out technical conversion required.

 
Lomasov vs Kobalia
Position after 26...Kh7

Lomasov went for the throat with 27.h5! and Kobalia needed to activate his rook along the 5th rank in defence. But his effort to trade queens instead went down in flames: 27...c6 28.f7! gxh5 29.xh5+ g8 30.e7 and Kobalia resigned.

GM Daniel Fernandez examines the other key highlights of the round:

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 h5 8...Be7 is an absolute main line and may be the best order for delaying White's g4 8...Nc6!? 9.Nd5 Bxd5 10.exd5 Nbd7 11.Qd2 11.a4 Rc8 12.a5 may indeed deprive Black of ...Nb6, but now Black is more interested in the e5 square and other dark squares and could continue g6 13.Qd2 Bg7 14.Be2 e4! 11...g6 12.0-0-0 12.Be2 Trying to castle short. While annotating Leko-Saric for this site, I noted the following precedent game: Bg7 13.Na5 13.0-0 b6 14.c4 0-0= Topalov,V-Vachier Lagrave,M Paris 2017 13...Qc7 14.c4 0-0 15.0-0 e4 16.f4 16.b4!? 16...Ng4= Adair,J-Gormally,D Llandudno 2017 12.Na5 is another long-castling-like move 12...Nb6 12...Qc7!? 13.Kb1 Bg7 14.Be2 0-0 14...a5!? could be worth considering since White has already committed the Bf1, and not to b5: 15.Bb5 15.a4 0-0 16.g4 Nb6 15...a4 16.Na1 0-0 17.c4 Nc5 15.g4! This was Leko's contribution and I think it gains an edge. Rfc8 15...a5 16.g5 Ne8 17.Qd3 15...hxg4 16.fxg4 Nb6 17.h4! 16.Rc1 a5 17.g5 Ne8 18.a4 Leko,P-Saric,I European Team Championship 2017 13.Kb1 Nfxd5 With this capture, Black discourages Bg5, so it is definitely worth a look. 13...Nbxd5 It is still unclear to me whether this capture equalises. 14.Bg5 Be7 15.g3!? was the precedent. 15.c4 Nb6 16.Na5 0-0!? 17.h4 d5∞ is the principled way for both sides to go 15.Bc4 Nb6! 15...Qc7 16.Bxd5 Nxd5 17.Bxe7 Nxe7 18.Qxd6 16.Na5 0-0 17.Bxf6 Bxf6 18.Qxd6 Kg7= 15...0-0 16.f4 a5 16...Nb6!? seems to equalise 17.Bg2 17.a4 17...a4= Leko,P-Giri,A London 2012 14.Bf2 Nf6 15.Qe1 15.Na5N was what I proposed in my notes to the Leko game: Qc7 16.Bh4! Nfd7 16...Be7 17.Bxf6 Bxf6 18.Qxd6 16...Nbd7? 17.Nc4 17.f4 Rc8 18.Be2 and practical tests are needed here 15.Bd3= Saric,I-Palac,M Porec 2016 15.Bh4 Be7 16.Bxf6 Bxf6 17.Qxd6 is what the computer says, but despite its initial enthusiasm I'm not sure that this version of the ending is any better than the others, e.g. Qxd6 18.Rxd6 Bd8= 15...Be7 16.g3?! This line is difficult to play! In many positions, g3 works just fine; here, though, it is simply too slow. 16.f4 exf4!? 16...e4 17.f5 looks more weakening 17.g3 fxg3 18.Bd4 Nbd7 19.hxg3 Qc7 20.g4 Ne5∞ White probably does have enough for two pawns, but it is hard to come up with concrete ideas to get through to the Black king, which is protected by the bulwark on e5. 16...Qc7 17.Bd3 17.f4 Na4 18.Bg2 Rc8 19.c3 b5 sees Black commence aggressive operations. 17...Rc8 18.f4 Nc4 19.Nd2 19.Qe2 19...b5 20.h3 0-0 21.f5 21.Bxc4 bxc4 22.Ne4 is just a pawn, but White should have done this. 21...d5! 22.Bxc4 22.fxg6 Nxb2-+ 22...bxc4 23.Nf3 Bd6 24.g4 Rb8 The game is already almost over. 25.gxh5 Ne4 25...Ba3 was probably more clinical, and only after 26.b3 then Ne4-+ 26.Qe3 26.hxg6 Ba3 27.gxf7+ Rxf7 28.Rg1+ Kh8-+ 26...Bc5 27.Qh6 Rxb2+! 28.Kxb2 Rb8+ 29.Ka1 Qa5 Mate is inevitable. For instance, on Be1 there would follow Nc3. 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Zanan,E2514Yilmaz,M26360–12019European Championship3
Quparadze,G2501Onischuk,V26261–02019B09European Championship3
Azarov,S2585Grandelius,N26941–02019European Championship3

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Results of Round 4 (top 10)

Name Pts. Result Pts. Name
Cheparinov Ivan 3 ½ - ½ 3 Chigaev Maksim
Bartel Mateusz 3 ½ - ½ 3 Alekseenko Kirill
Piorun Kacper 3 ½ - ½ 3 Azarov Sergei
Artemiev Vladislav 1 - 0 3 Van Foreest Lucas
Rodshtein Maxim 1 - 0 Moussard Jules
Gordievsky Dmitry 0 - 1 Berkes Ferenc
Melkumyan Hrant ½ - ½ Antipov Mikhail Al.
Gelfand Boris 1 - 0 Petrov Nikita
Fressinet Laurent ½ - ½ Ter-Sahakyan Samvel
Can Emre ½ - ½ Moiseenko Alexander

Commentary webcast

All available games

 
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Standings after Round 4 (top 30)

Rk. Name Pts.  TB1 
1 Baron Tal 3,5 2619
2 Azarov Sergei 3,5 2596
3 Cheparinov Ivan 3,5 2575
4 Rodshtein Maxim 3,5 2566
5 Berkes Ferenc 3,5 2562
6 Gelfand Boris 3,5 2555
7 Alekseenko Kirill 3,5 2554
8 Artemiev Vladislav 3,5 2550
9 Chigaev Maksim 3,5 2549
10 Piorun Kacper 3,5 2544
11 Lomasov Semyon 3,5 2544
12 Bartel Mateusz 3,5 2525
13 Zvjaginsev Vadim 3,5 2499
14 Erdos Viktor 3,5 2496
15 Aleksandrov Aleksej 3,5 2496
16 Gledura Benjamin 3,5 2488
17 Svane Rasmus 3,5 2484
18 Deac Bogdan-Daniel 3,5 2463
19 Pantsulaia Levan 3,5 2445
20 Van Foreest Lucas 3,0 2671
21 Warmerdam Max 3,0 2658
22 Arizmendi Martinez Julen Luis 3,0 2619
23 Ter-Sahakyan Samvel 3,0 2617
24 Buhmann Rainer 3,0 2586
25 Christiansen Johan-Sebastian 3,0 2578
26 Melkumyan Hrant 3,0 2558
27 Fressinet Laurent 3,0 2553
28 Grandelius Nils 3,0 2544
29 Arutinian David 3,0 2535
30 Alekseev Evgeny 3,0 2533

Andre Schulz contributed reporting


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Macauley served as the Editor in Chief of ChessBase News from July 2017 to March 2020. He is the producer of The Full English Breakfast chess podcast, and was an Associate Producer of the 2016 feature documentary, Magnus.

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