Grand Swiss: Firouzja scores third straight win

On his way to the Candidates?

Thanks to a win with the white pieces over Alexandr Predke, Alireza Firouzja grabbed the sole lead in the open section of the FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss. The 18-year-old is the only player in either section to have won his initial three games in Riga. His three consecutive wins have left him 20 points away from becoming only the 14th player in history to reach a 2800 Elo rating, as he is currently ranked 6th in the world in the live ratings list.

With two spots in the next Candidates Tournament up for grabs, odds are on his side for the time being. Notwithstanding, there are eight more rounds to play in Latvia, and as expected, the playing level has been outstanding, with Firouzja himself struggling in round 2 against 46th seed Dariusz Swiercz.

Master Class Vol.3: Alexander Alekhine

On this DVD GMs Rogozenco, Marin, Müller, and IM Reeh present outstanding games, stunning combinations and exemplary endgames by Alekhine. And they invite you to improve your knowledge with the help of video lectures, annotated games and interactive tests

Six players are sharing second place a half point behind the Iranian (who now represents France), with Yu Yangyi the highest-rated player in the pack. The experienced Yu beat Matthias Bluebaum in round 3, and will get a chance to face the undefeated leader in Saturday’s fourth round. 

...54 boards

Ivan Saric held Fabiano Caruana to a draw | Photo: Mark Livshitz

After beating Nijat Abasov in 28 moves on opening day, Firouzja battled through a rollercoaster 58-move game in the second round, and needed 63 moves on Friday to defeat Predke, who came from scoring a remarkable victory the day before. Fatigue will doubtlessly be a factor in this tournament, so being 18 and motivated might end up helping the youngster greatly in the days to come.

Firouzja got the initiative out of the opening, and eventually turned his positional advantage into an extra pawn in a queenless middlegame position.

This was the situation when the players received 50 extra minutes on move 40. White is a pawn up, but Black has the bishop pair, with the engines giving White only a slight edge. 

Here is when Firouzja began to show that he is not only a tactical wizard who can outplay anybody in a 1-minute game. After all, the youngster did not enter the world’s top 10 without proving he can transform small edges into wins in technical positions. 

Not long after, White had centralized his king, and his passed b-pawn had turned into a real menace.

After 58.b6, there followed 58...Bb8 59.Nxb8 Bxf3, when White should not capture the bishop as that would throw away the win due to Black’s passer on the g-file. Instead, 60.Nc6 is the way to go, and Black’s passed pawn will only reach the second rank. Predke resigned three moves later.

Baadur Jobava looking at the games in both sections | Photo: Mark Livshitz

For a third day in a row, we got to see only a few decisive results on the top boards of the open section. But some of the draws have been reached after remarkable tactical fights, as was the case in the game between Aryan Tari and Vladimir Fedoseev.

This wild position arose from a Caro-Kann. Black’s setup looks a bit less manic, but he still needs to deal with some immediate threats. Tari went for 19.h6 here, and after 19...Qxf4 20.hxg7 Rg8 it seemed unlikely Black would get to get his king to safety anytime soon.

The mayhem continued. On move 35, Black got a chance to force a draw by perpetual check but decided to go for the win.

The Fashionable Caro-Kann Vol.1 and 2

The Caro Kann is a very tricky opening. Black’s play is based on controlling and fighting for key light squares. It is a line which was very fashionable in late 90s and early 2000s due to the successes of greats like Karpov, Anand, Dreev etc. Recently due to strong engines lot of key developments have been made and some new lines have been introduced, while others have been refuted altogether. I have analyzed the new trends carefully and found some new ideas for Black.

It is not difficult to calculate here — especially for a player of Fedoseev’s calibre — that 35...Rb3+ forces a draw. In that line, White is forced to play 36.Ka1, and after 36...Qxd1, threatening mate on b1, White has nothing better than 37.Qb8+ Bc8 38.Qd6+, with a perpetual check.

What is difficult to foresee (for a human) is whether White has a forced win after 35...Qc2+, Fedoseev’s choice. There followed 36.Ka1 Qxd1 37.Re7 Qg4 38.Qf6 Rc4

Not going for a draw had been a mistake by the Russian, and Tari had played precisely up to this point — he just needed to find the way to finish his opponent off. As the engines show, the only winning move here is 39.Re4+, simply entering a position with queen and knight against two rooks and a bishop via 39...Kc7 40.Rxg4 Rxg4 41.Nc3, which is winning for White.

Apparently Tari wanted more, though, and opted for the more refined (albeit mistaken) 39.b6, which was quickly refuted by 39...Qg6, both dealing with any potential discovered checks and preparing to respond to 40.Qf8+ with 40...Be8

Incredibly, Black can neutralize all of White’s threats, even after 41.bxa7 Ra4 42.Rxb7 — the players had already passed the time control, and Fedoseev had calmly calculated that 42...Qxg7+ 43.Qxg7 Rxg7 44.Rxg7 is a draw due to 44...Bd7 45.Rg8+ Be8.

It was a spectacular fight, of the kind that can be more often seen in a classical tournament with particularly strong players in the lineup!

Standings after round 3

...108 players

All games

Nine co-leaders in the women’s section

Round 3 in the women’s tournament saw four draws on the top boards, which ended up allowing Harika Dronavalli and Lela Javakhishvili to join the leading pack. Harika beat former women’s world champion Antoaneta Stefanova on board 5, while Javakhishvili defeated Russian star Polina Shuvalova on board 6.

There was no lack of fighting chess on the four top boards though, as three of those games lasted over 50 moves.

...25 boards

Nino Batsiashvili | Photo: Mark Livshitz

Sixth seed Zhansaya Abdumalik was upset in round 1 by Leya Garifullina, but she is gaining back some ground, as she got the better of Nataliya Buksa on the third day of action.

Chess Endgames 14 - The golden guidelines of endgame play

Rules of thumb are the key to everything when you are having to set the correct course in a complex endgame. In this final DVD of his series on the endgame, our endgame specialist introduces you to the most important of these rules of thumb.

Black had defended resourcefully from an inferior position out of the opening, but she had a difficult technical task ahead. At this point, she needed to play 32...fxe4, when White will have trouble trying to make progress — despite her rook and knight looking menacing.

Buksa went for the passive 32...Bh8 instead, allowing White to gain a pawn by force with 33.exf5 gxf5 34.Nd6, attacking the rook and the f5-pawn.

Abdumalik grabbed the pawn and went on to comfortably convert her advantage into a 55-move win, which leaves her in a crowded 11-player chasing pack going into round 4.

Standings after round 3

...50 players

All games

Links

• Top GMs to fight for Candidates spots at Grand Swiss in Riga
• Pairings and results at Chess-Results: Open | Women’s