FTX Crypto Cup: Carlsen and Pragg in the lead

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
8/17/2022 – Magnus Carlsen and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu are the only players who have collected three points in each of the first two rounds at the FTX Crypto Cup in Miami. With 6 out of 6 points, they have a 1-point lead over Levon Aronian in third place. In Tuesday’s second round, Carlsen lost the first game against Hans Niemann, but managed to recover magnificently, winning three games in a row to get match victory.
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The world champion stumbles, recovers

After beating fellow elite GM Anish Giri in round 1, Magnus Carlsen was paired up against the lowest-rated player in the field (according to the rapid ratings), 19-year-old US grandmaster Hans Niemann.

Instead of a clean sweep, though, Carlsen needed to bounce back from a loss in the first game. A confident Niemann was interviewed after beating the world champion, and somewhat cryptically responded to the reporter congratulating him with a single phrase: “Chess speaks for itself”.

Carlsen is not one to feel discouraged after a single loss, though, as he went on to score three wins in a row to collect his second 3-pointer in Miami — if a player wins outright in the 4-game rapid match, he gets 3 points; otherwise, the winner of the blitz tiebreak gets 2 points and the loser gets 1 point.

Game 2 saw Carlsen winning with black, before following a trend he has set in previous tournaments of the series: i.e., to play strange opening moves. Against Niemann, the world champion went for 1.a3 and got a 72-move victory.

In a must-win situation, Niemann tried to muddy the waters by sacrificing his knight on move 14 of game 4.

 
Niemann vs. Carlsen - Game #4

Instead of jumping backwards with his knight, which had been attacked by 14...a6, Niemann played 15.axb6, when after 15...axb5 White has 16.Ra7. The commentators were impressed insofar the refutation for Black was by no means trivial, but by this point Carlsen had fully recovered his usual confidence, and he found a line that left him an exchange up in the middlegame.

Niemann fought hard, and could have saved a draw, but given the match situation, he pushed for more and ended up losing the game.

 
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1.e4 0 c5 0 2.Nf3 22 Nc6 4 3.Bb5 5 g6 2 4.0-0 0 Bg7 7 5.Re1 2 Nf6 5 6.e5 13 Nd5 5 7.Nc3 1 Nc7 3 8.Bxc6 1 dxc6 0 9.Ne4 1 b6 1 10.Nf6+ 2 Kf8 1 11.Ne4 0 Bg4 38 11...h6 is the hot move. 12.d3 24 Ne6 17 B31: Sicilian: 2... Nc6 3 Bb5 g6. 12...Bxe5 is more complex. 13.Nxe5 Bxd1 14.Bh6+ Kg8 13.Neg5 3:19 Nxg5 1:36 14.Bxg5 3 Qd5 2 The position is equal. 15.Re4 1:45 Bf5 0
Hoping for ...h6. 15...Bxf3!? 16.Qxf3 Bxe5= 16.c4 1:22
16...Qe6N 2:57 aiming for ...h6. Predecessor: 16...Qd7 17.Re3 Rd8 18.Qe1 h6 19.Bh4 Kg8 20.Rd1 Bg4 21.Bg3 Kh7 22.a3 Bxf3 23.Rxf3 ½-½ (63) Eid,F (2398)-Sebenik,M (2425) Beirut 2003 17.Re3 18 h6 14 18.Bf4 12 g5 15 19.Bg3 1 Rd8 14 20.h3 1:11 Kg8 33 Black has some pressure. 21.a3 27 Kh7 46 22.b4 2 Rd7 51 23.bxc5 3 bxc5 6 24.Qb3 44 Rhd8 0 25.Rd1 35 Qg6 1:55 26.Ne1 10 26.Qa4!= 26...h5 22 27.Nf3 2 h4 1:20 28.Bh2 3 28.e6 Bxe6 29.Be5 28...e6-+ 27 Worse is 28...Bxd3 29.Qc3 29.Nxg5+? Qxg5 30.Kh1 Be4-+ 29.Qc3 1:28 Bf8 34 And not 29...Bxd3 30.Kh1 30.Nxg5+ Qxg5 31.Rexd3 Rxd3 30.Ne1 15 g4 21 31.hxg4 2 Bxg4 18 Black should play 31...Qxg4-+ 32.f3 Qd4 33.Qxd4 Rxd4 32.f3 44 32.Rd2 was called for. 32...Bf5 49 Better is 32...Bh6-+ 33.Re4 Bf5 34.Rxh4 Qg5 33.f4 2 Bh6 24 34.Qa5 0 Qg4 26 Inferior is 34...Bxd3 35.Nxd3 Rxd3 36.Rexd3 Rxd3 37.Rxd3 Qxd3 38.Qxc5 35.Rf3? 4 35.Ra1 35...Be4-+ 18 36.Qxc5 1:04 Bxf3 14 37.Nxf3 0 h3 24
38.Qf2 2 Rxd3 23 39.Rxd3 1 Rxd3 0 40.Ne1 1 Rxa3 19 And now ...Bf8 would win. 41.Qb2 10 Re3 10 42.Kf2 15 Bxf4 15 Weighted Error Value: White=0.71/Black=0.07 (flawless) 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2864Niemann,H26880–12022FTX Crypto Cup MCCT 20222.1
Niemann,H2688Carlsen,M28640–12022FTX Crypto Cup MCCT 20222.2
Carlsen,M2864Niemann,H26881–02022FTX Crypto Cup MCCT 20222.3
Niemann,H2688Carlsen,M28640–12022FTX Crypto Cup MCCT 20222.4

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Pragg beats Giri in close match

Throughout the series, 17-year-old Praggnanandhaa has proven to be a force to be reckoned with in online rapid chess. Back in May, at the Chessable Masters, the youngster even defeated Carlsen. Now, in the second Major of the season, he had a marvellous start, beating Alireza Firouzja and Anish Giri to go into round 3 sharing the lead with the world champion.

Tuesday’s match started with three fighting draws. Pragg, who was the underdog in the encounter, had the black pieces in the fourth game, but that did not prevent him from keeping his eyes open for winning opportunities.

On move 21, Giri faltered, and the Indian swiftly grabbed his chance.

 
Giri vs. Praggnanandhaa - Game #4

Giri’s 21.Rd3 fails tactically to 21...Rc2, when White is all but forced to enter a forcing sequence: 22.Ba3 Rxe2 23.Bxb4 Rxe1+ 24.Bxe1 Nxe4, and Black will manage to keep his extra pawn going forward.

The conversion was not at all easy, but Pragg patiently improved his position until beating his Dutch colleague in 81 moves.

 
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1.e4 0 e5 0 2.Nf3 3 Nc6 1 3.Bb5 0 a6 1 4.Ba4 1 Nf6 0 5.d3 0 Bc5 12 6.c3 5 0-0 0 C77: Ruy Lopez: 3...a6 4 Ba4 Nf6, unusual lines. 7.0-0 1:27 d5 7 8.Qe2 1:57
8...dxe4N 53 Predecessor: 8...Re8 9.Nbd2 Bg4 10.h3 Bh5 11.Re1 Ba7 12.Nf1 Bg6 13.Ng3 Nh5 14.Nxh5 Bxh5 0-1 (46) Sztokbant,B (2190)-Dubov,D (2711) Chess.com INT 2022 9.dxe4 3 Qe7 10 10.Bg5 24 Nd8 1:14 11.Bh4 1:26 11.Nh4= 11...Ne6! 38 12.Bg3 1:00 Bd6 4:35 12...Nh5!? 13.Nbd2 37 Nh5 4 14.b4 0 Don't go for 14.Bxe5? Bxe5 15.g3
15.Nxe5? Nef4-+ 15...Bf4!-+ White should play 14.Nc4 14...Nef4 1:13 15.Qe3 20 b5 49 Inhibits Nc4. 16.Bh4 1:44 16.Bb3 16...Nf6 2:44 16...f6 17.Bb3+ Be6 17.Bb3 31 Ng6 9 17...a5 18.a3 Bd7 18.Bg3 1:49 18.Bxf6= Qxf6 19.a4 18...c5 0 19.a4 2:08 bxa4 15 20.Bxa4 6 cxb4 5 21.cxb4 28 Bxb4 1 22.Nc4 2 Bc5 9 23.Qe1 1:22 23.Qe2 deserves consideration. 23...Nh5 2:43 23...a5 Threatens to win with ...Ba6. 24.Qb1 Bb7 25.Ncxe5 Nxe5 26.Nxe5 Bd4 24.Nfxe5 1:01 Nxg3 4 25.Nxg6 2 hxg6 0 26.hxg3 2 Be6 2 This bishop pair is nice. 26...a5!? 27.Ne3 23 Qg5 32 28.Bc6 17 Rac8 49 29.Bb7 37 Bxe3 21 29...Rb8 with more complications. 30.Bd5 Bxd5 31.Nxd5 Qxg3 32.Rxa6 Qd3 30.Qxe3 55 But not 30.Bxc8? Bd2 31.Qe2 Bxc8-+ 30...Qxe3 2 31.fxe3 0 Rc3 0 32.Rfe1 8 Rb8 13 33.Bxa6 18 Rb4 1 34.Rac1 21 Rxc1 20 35.Rxc1 2 Rxe4= 0 Endgame KRB-KRB 36.Rc3 8 g5 2 37.Bc8 32 The position is equal. g6 14 38.Bxe6 9 Rxe6 0 KR-KR 39.Kf2 0 Kg7 1 40.g4 4 Re5 3 41.Kf3 1 Kf6 1 42.Rc6+ 2 Ke7 1 43.Rc7+! 1 Kf6 0 44.Rc6+! 0 Ke7 1 45.Rc7+ 0 Kf6 0 46.Rc6+ 0 Weighted Error Value: White=0.13 (very precise) /Black=0.12 (very precise) ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Praggnanandhaa R2648Giri,A2760½–½2022FTX Crypto Cup MCCT 20222.1
Giri,A2760Praggnanandhaa R2648½–½2022FTX Crypto Cup MCCT 20222.2
Praggnanandhaa R2648Giri,A2760½–½2022FTX Crypto Cup MCCT 20222.3
Giri,A2760Praggnanandhaa R26480–12022FTX Crypto Cup MCCT 20222.4

Firouzja gets clear win over Le

Losing to Pragg in the first round in a very close match was a disappointment for Alireza Firouzja, but he bounced back brilliantly, getting a 2½-½ victory over Le Quang Liem at the Eden Roc Miami Beach Hotel.

In game 2, the French representative obtained the quickest win of the day (in terms of moves), as he obtained a 30-move victory with the black pieces. Out of a fashionable variation in the Semi-Tarrasch, Le dubiously decided to keep his king in the centre.

 
Le vs. Firouzja - Game #2

Le spent over 3 minutes (players have 15 minutes for the whole game) on 16.Ke2. The Vietnamese star was surely considering 16.0-0, which would claim that White’s better structure might end up being an advantage in the long run.

After the text, Firouzja prioritized the initiative, and went on to show his great calculating skills until securing the full point.

 
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1.e4 0 e5 0 2.Nf3 9 Nc6 3 3.Bb5 4 a6 2 4.Ba4 1 Nf6 1 5.0-0 1 Be7 1 6.Re1 0 b5 3 7.Bb3 1 d6 1 8.c3 3 0-0 1 9.h3 1 Bb7 2 10.d4 8 Re8 3 11.Nbd2 7 Bf8 10 12.a3 3 h6 12 13.Bc2 0 Nb8 3 14.b3 6 Nbd7 2 15.Bb2 2 g6 4 16.a4 13 16.Bd3 is vanishing. Bg7 3 C93: Closed Ruy Lopez: Smyslov Variation. 17.Bd3 47 bxa4 4 18.Rxa4 31 d5 1 19.dxe5 41 Nxe4 14 20.Nxe4 5 dxe4 0 21.Bxe4 1 Bxe4 0 22.Raxe4 2
Black must now prevent Rd4. 22...Nxe5! 27
The position is equal. 23.Nxe5N 25 23.Rxe5 seems wilder. Bxe5 24.Qxd8 Raxd8 25.Rxe5 Rd1+ 26.Kh2 Predecessor: 23.Nd2 Qd7 24.c4 Nf3+ ½-½ (24) Neborak,Y (2332)-Eremin,N (2074) ICCF email 2013 23...Qxd1 4 24.Rxd1 0 Rxe5 7 25.Rxe5 8 Bxe5= 0 Endgame KRB-KRB 26.Rd5 4 Bg7 1:12 27.Kf1 1:16 a5 4:25 28.Rb5 1:09 Inhibits Rb8. Kf8 1:20 29.Ke2 48 Ke8 24 30.Kd3 15 Kd7 1:12 31.Bc1 1:47 a4 0
Threatens to win with ...a3. 32.b4 49 a3 0 Hoping for ...a2. 33.Ra5 3 Rxa5 3 34.bxa5 1 KB-KB Bf8 51 34...a2!? 35.Bb2 Kc6= 35.Kc2 1:12 Kc6 15 35...a2!? 36.Bb2 Kc6= 36.c4 43 Kb7 25 36...a2!? 37.Bb2 Bb4= 37.Kb3 15 Ka6 3 38.Bd2 1 h5 0 39.f3 2 Bd6 16 40.Be1 4 c6 18 41.Bd2 4 Be7 5 42.Be1 0 Bd6 1 43.Bd2 0 Be7 4 44.Be1 1 Bd6 1 An interesting draw. Weighted Error Value: White=0.02 (flawless) /Black=0.01 (flawless) ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Firouzja,A2793Le,Q2722½–½2022FTX Crypto Cup MCCT 20222.1
Le,Q2722Firouzja,A27930–12022FTX Crypto Cup MCCT 20222.2
Firouzja,A2793Le,Q27221–02022FTX Crypto Cup MCCT 20222.3

Aronian beats Duda in tiebreaks

In the first match (out of 8) that went to tiebreaks, Levon Aronian defeated Jan-Krzysztof Duda by a 3½-2½ score. The Armenian-born grandmaster will face Carlsen in the marquee matchup of round 3. Aronian won the previous event of the series, and is certainly capable of stopping the world champion’s winning streak.

Duda and Aronian traded wins with black in the first two games of the day. Two draws followed, and Duda got white in the first tiebreaker. Aronian failed to make the most of his chances in that game, but nonetheless went on to beat his Polish rival in the blitz rematch.

 
Aronian vs. Duda - Blitz game #2

Aronian had no trouble converting this position with knight against two connected passers to get the deciding win of the match.

 
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1.e4 0 e5 0 2.Nf3 2 Nc6 4 3.Bc4 1 Nf6 0 4.d3 2 Be7 1 5.Nc3 15 0-0 15 6.0-0 29 d6 2 7.a4 0 7.a4 is the modern continuation. C55: Two Knights: 4 d3, 4 d4 exd4 5 e5 and Max Lange Attack. Bg4 10 8.h3 3 Bh5 3 9.Be3 3 The position is equal. Qc8 0 10.a5 47 a6 4 11.Nd5 6 Nxd5 2 12.Bxd5 0
12...Kh8N 4 Predecessor: 12...Nd8 13.g4 Bg6 14.Ne1 Kh8 15.Ng2 c6 16.Bb3 Ne6 17.f4 exf4 18.Nxf4 Nxf4 19.Bxf4 0-1 (76) Antipov,M (2584)-Demchenko,A (2641) Lichess.org INT 2020 13.g4 27 Bg6 3 14.Nh2 1:26 Nd8 7 15.f4 1:59 exf4 0 16.Bxf4 0 c6 2 17.Bb3 1 d5 10 18.exd5 12 cxd5 0 19.Be3 1 Bc5 19 20.d4 29 Better is 20.Qd2= 20...Bd6 7 20...Qc7!? 21.Qe1 21.dxc5 Qg3+ 22.Kh1 Qxe3 21...Bd6 21.Nf3 11 Ne6 10 next ...Be4 is good for Black. 22.Nh4? 2:27 22.Bxd5 Bf4 23.Qd2 Bxe3+ 24.Qxe3 Qxc2 22.Ne5= 22...Be4 0 23.Nf5 1:34 23.Qe2 keeps fighting. 23...Bc7? 36 23...Bb8!-+ 24.Kf2 Qc7 24.c4! 2:45 dxc4 3 25.Bxc4 0
25...Bh2+! 1 White needs to defend precisely. 26.Kxh2 0 Qxc4 1 27.Rc1 25 Qd5 3 28.Qd2 4 28.Ng3= feels stronger. 28...Rac8 20 29.Ng3 22 Bg6 17 30.h4 1:00
30...h6! 2 31.h5 13 Rxc1 30 Black is more active. 32.Rxc1 3 Be4 14 33.Bxh6 0 gxh6? 3:24 Black should try 33...Nxd4-+ ...Nf3+ is the strong threat. 34.Kh3 gxh6 34.Qxh6+= 0 Kg8 0 35.Nf5 2 35.Re1 Bd3 36.Nf5 35...Re8-+ 44 35...Bxf5 36.gxf5 Qd6+ 37.Kh1 Qxd4 38.fxe6 38.Rg1+ Ng7= 38...Qh4+ 39.Kg2 Qg4+ 40.Kh1 Qh3+ 41.Kg1 Qg3+ 42.Kh1 Qh4+ 43.Kg2 Qg4+ 44.Kh1 Qh3+ 45.Kg1 Qg4+ 46.Kh1= 36.Rg1 1:29 Qd8 29 Prevents Qf6. Hoping for ...Qc7+. 37.Rg3 2:14 Bc6 1:07 And now ...Qd5 would win. 38.Rg1 27 Qg5 1:18 38...Qc7+ 39.Kh3 Be4 39.Kg3 7 39.Rf1 might work better. 39...Qxh6 36 40.Nxh6+ 0 Kg7 4 41.Nf5+ 0 Kh7 2 42.Nd6 17 42.Rf1 42...Re7 9 Avoid the trap 42...Nxd4? 43.Nxe8 Ne2+ 44.Kf2 Nxg1 45.Nd6 Nh3+ 46.Ke2-+ 43.Rf1 6
43...Kg8 8 And not 43...Nxd4 44.Rxf7+ Rxf7 45.Nxf7 44.Nf5 26 Rd7 6 45.Kh4? 15 45.Rd1 Be4 46.Ne3 45...Nxd4 13 46.Nh6+ 17 Kg7 8 Weighted Error Value: White=0.51/Black=0. 29 (precise) 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Duda,J2750Aronian,L27750–12022FTX Crypto Cup MCCT 20222.1
Aronian,L2775Duda,J27500–12022FTX Crypto Cup MCCT 20222.2
Duda,J2750Aronian,L2775½–½2022FTX Crypto Cup MCCT 20222.3
Aronian,L2775Duda,J2750½–½2022FTX Crypto Cup MCCT 20222.4
Duda,J2750Aronian,L2775½–½2022FTX Crypto Cup MCCT 20222.5
Aronian,L2775Duda,J27501–02022FTX Crypto Cup MCCT 20222.6

Standings after round 2

FTX Crypto Cup 2022

In this two-volume video course former world-champion and startrainer Rustam Kasimdzhanov shows you the ins and outs of this hugely complex opening.

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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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