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By IM Kostya Kavutskiy
Press release of the Saint Louis Chess Club
The format for the playoff was a match consisting of two 10+2 (delay) games, followed by an Armageddon Game (5 minutes for White vs. 4 minutes + draw odds for Black) in case of a tie.
The first game saw Kaidanov miss a golden opportunity out of the opening as Christiansen fell into trouble early on in a Bogo-Indian Defense. Despite winning a clear extra pawn, Kaidanov was not able to consolidate his advantage, as Christiansen created enough counterplay to win the pawn back and equalize the game. After more trades the players ended up in an equal rook endgame, agreeing to a draw soon thereafter.
Kaidanov showed some fantastic opening preparation in Game 1, but couldn’t capitalize. | Photo courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes
In the second game Christiansen essayed the London System, to which Kaidanov responded to in an aggressive manner, playing an early Qxb2 to isolate White’s queenside pawns. Christiansen in turn continued to play for the initiative, sacrificing a pawn for development. While under pressure, Kaidanov found an incredible resource to refute White’s attack, temporarily sacrificing a piece but leaving White with multiple pieces hanging. After the dust cleared, Kaidanov was left with an extra exchange, which he duly converted into the full point, winning the tiebreak and the national title.
Check out the full replay of live coverage from the day here.
