Paris Rapid & Blitz: Firouzja strong in the blitz

by André Schulz
6/22/2021 – After three days of rapid chess, the blitz section of the Paris Rapid & Blitz Tournament kicked off on Monday. Alireza Firouja was the strongest in the first half of the blitz phase, while Vladimir Kramnik had a rough time facing his younger opponents. Wesley So still leads the overall standings. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

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Firouzja shines

Wesley So finished the rapid stage of the Paris Rapid & Blitz Tournament at the top of the standings. On Monday, the blitz section of the event kicked off in France’s capital. At the end of the day, Alireza Firouzja was the top scorer in the blitz. As is well known, the Iranian by birth has been living in France for a while now, as lives with his family near Paris, in Chartres.

Firouzja got off to a rocketing start with 5½ out of 6. In round seven, the youngster was dealt a blow and lost to Wesley So. Ian Nepomniachtchi seized the opportunity and drew level after a win over Levon Aronian.

In the eighth round, Firouzja defeated Nepo in their direct encounter. In the final round, Firouzja could even afford to lose to Fabiano Caruana without losing the lead in the blitz section, as Nepomniachtchi could not get more than half a point against So.

The tournament saw Vladimir Kramnik joining the field on Monday — after his retirement from tournament chess, the Russian only wanted to play the blitz stage of the event. Kramnik is also practically a local player in Paris, having played and lived in the French capital for many years. At the time, however, he lives with his family in Switzerland.

Vladimir Kramnik | Photo: Bryan Adams

Kramnik replaced Etienne Bacrot, who played the rapid stage. For all the joy of seeing Kramnik again at the board, this kind of board-sharing gives the tournament the character of a show tournament. That is ultimately what it is, but the format of the Grand Chess Tour actually wants to give the series a distinctly sporting nature by awarding points. For the upcoming tournament in Croatia, it will be Kasparov and Ivan Saric who will play each one of the sections of the event.

During the first half of the blitz phase, Kramnik suffered five defeats and could only win one game. Before the second day, Kramnik is at the bottom of the standings.

The game in Round 8 between Nepomniachtchi and Firouzja was a wild battle in which each of the two players was on the winning side several times, as it usually happens in blitz.

Ian Nepomniachtchi v Alireza Firouzja | Photo: Lennart Ootes

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.d4 cxd4 6.Bc4 Nb6 7.Bb3 g6 The most popular move here is 7...d5 8.Ng5 Nxe5? A better alternative is 8...d5 9.exd6 e6 9.Qxd4 9.Bf4!? 9...f6 10.Qxe5 Oops! d5 10...fxe5 11.Bf7# 11.Qe2 fxg5 12.Bxg5 Bg7 Black survived the early turbulences without material loss, but he has to cope with a lot of weaknesses in his position. 13.0-0 Qd6 14.Na3 Bd7 15.Rad1 15.Rfe1!? e6 16.Nb5 Bxb5 17.Qxb5+ 15...e6 16.Nb5 Bxb5 17.Qxb5+ Qd7 17...Kf7!? 18.Qb4 h6 19.Bh4 g5 20.Bg3 Qe7 21.Bd6 Qd7 22.Rfe1 White is clearly better. 0-0-0 23.Rxe6? However, this does not work. The correct move-order was 23.Qc5+ Qc6 24.Rxe6 23...Qxe6 24.Qc5+ Kd7 25.Qc7+ White almost mates, but only almost. Ke8 26.Qxg7 Rg8 27.Qxb7 Rxd6 A quick count reveals that White is a rook down. However, White has three pawns for the rook and Black's king is exposed. Reason enough to continue - even more so in a blitz game. 28.Qxa7 Kf8 29.a4 Nd7 30.Bxd5 There we go! Kg7 30...Rxd5? 31.Qa8+ 31.c4 31.Bxe6?? Rxd1# 31...Qf6?? 31...Qe2 32.Qd4+ Qe5 33.Qxe5+ Nxe5 34.Re1 Nd3 35.Re7+ Kf6 36.Rf7+ Kg6 with an interesting position in which Black has the better chances. 32.c5 Suddenly Black's rook is trapped. Now White is winning - a complete turn of events. Re8 33.cxd6 Qxd6 34.g3 Re7 35.Bf3 White is clearly winning. He is three pawns up and has the better position. Qe6 36.Qd4+ Ne5 37.Bg2 Rd7 38.Bd5 Qf6 39.Qe4 Re7 40.Kg2 h5 41.a5 h4 42.a6? Blundering the pawn. 42.b4+- 42...h3+ 43.Kg1 After 43.Kxh3 Qxf2 White's king is in serious danger. 43...Qxa6 44.Qf5 Qh6 45.Bb3?? White prophylactically defends the rook on d1 but this does not neutralize Black's threats. 45.Be4+- 45.b4+- 45...Qh5 Threatening 46... Qxd1! 47.Bxd1 Nf3+ followed by 48....Re1#. 46.Kh1 Ng4 47.Rf1?! The position is complicated and it is blitz. Better was 47.Rd7 e.g. Rxd7 47...Nxf2+ 48.Kg1 Rxd7 49.Qxd7+ Kh6 50.Qe6+ Qg6 51.Qxg6+ Kxg6 52.Kxf2+- 48.Qxd7+ Kh6 49.Kg1 Nf6 50.Qe6 Qg6 51.Qxh3+ and White wins. 47...Nf6 48.Qd3? 48.Bd1+- 48...Qe8 49.f3 Re3= 50.Qf5? This blunders/sacrifices the bishop on b3. 50.Qc2 g4 51.Qc7+= 50...Rxb3 51.Qxg5+ Kf7 52.Qh4 Qe6? Better was 52...Qc8-+ with the idea 53.g4 Rxf3 54.Rxf3 Qc1+ und Matt. 53.Qd4? 53.g4 Rxb2 54.Qxh3 and Black still has a lot of work to do to win. 53...Qe2 Now Black can use his extra piece. 54.Qf2 Qb5 55.Rb1 Qd5 56.Rf1 Ng4 57.Qe2 Ne5 57...Re3!? 58.Qe4 Qxe4 59.fxe4+ Ke6 After 59...Nf3 60.g4 Ke6 61.Rb1 Rd3 62.b4 Rd2 White will be mated. 60.Rf2 Ng4 61.Re2 Rd3 62.Re1 Rd2 63.Rb1 Rxh2+ 64.Kg1 Rg2+ 65.Kf1 Ne3+ 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nepomniachtchi,I2792Firouzja,A27590–12021B22GCT Blitz Paris 20218

Standings after Round 9 - Blitz

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Overall standings

Grand Chess Tour Paris 2021

All games - Blitz

 
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André Schulz started working for ChessBase in 1991 and is an editor of ChessBase News.

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