Game of the Week #533: Firouzja vs. So

by Merijn van Delft
9/15/2022 – In his “Game of the Week” show, Merijn van Delft looks at a razor-sharp encounter between Alireza Firouzja and Wesley So. A crucial game which shed some light on current top-level chess trends. | Merijn’s show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

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Game of the Week #533

The Sinquefield Cup 2022 will always be connected to Magnus Carlsen’s withdrawal after losing with White to Hans Moke Niemann.

Anyway, the tournament continued with nine players, and in the end it was Alireza Firouzja who kept his nerves under control best, winning both the event and the Grand Chess Tour. His razor-sharp encounter against Wesley So was crucial and shed some light on current top-level chess trends — it is therefore our Game of the Week.

Warm-up question: What would you play here with White?

 

This week’s show

The flexible Open Spanish

In this opening Black opts for active piece play and is not afraid to fight for the initiative from an early stage. One of the many good features of this opening is that Black is often the side which controls the pace of the game.

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Topics: The Game of the Week, Training and improvement
Merijn van Delft is an International Master from the Netherlands who lived in Hamburg for many years and is currently based in Amsterdam. After scoring a GM norm in 2017 he is eager for more. His ChessBase show on Wednesday evenings has been running for over ten years now.
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See also

Game of the Week #534: Gukesh vs. G. Jones

9/21/2022 – In his “Game of the Week” show #534 Merijn van Delft looks at a nice win by rising Indian star Gukesh who defeated English Grandmaster Gawain Jones in a fine attacking game played in the Spanish League. | Merijn’s show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can <a href="https://account.chessbase.com/en/create-account" target="_blank">register a Premium account here</a>.

See also

Game of the Week #532: M. Carlsen vs O. H. Niemann

9/7/2022 – In his “Game of the Week” show #532 Merijn van Delft looks at the controversial game between Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann at the Sinquefield Cup 2022. Carlsen lost with White and then withdrew from the tournament. The tweet, with which Carlsen announced his withdrawal caused a fervent and on-going debate whether Niemann cheated when he won against Carlsen. But what about the game? | Merijn’s show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can <a href="https://account.chessbase.com/en/create-account" target="_blank">register a Premium account here</a>.
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Video

60m Caro Kann Exchange Variation

The Exchange Variation (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3) is a simple and easy to learn answer to the Caro-Kann. By clarifying the central tension White gives himself a clear plan of attack using the half open e-file and the e5 square. This is far from easy for Black to meet as Bobby Fischer, Jan Timman, Walter Browne and other leading Grandmasters have demonstrated in their games. Black too has his resources but he needs to know what he's doing. On this DVD you will find a clear explanation of the strategy for both sides as well as answers to popular treatments such as 4...Nc6 5.c3 Qc7. Whilst the main focus is on the White side of this opening you will also find ways for Black to defend.