Half time at the Summer Chess Classic

No changes at the top

England's David Howell, and American top Junior Jeffrey Xiong continue to lead the A tournament, now standing on 3/5, with one win apiece. In the the B tournament, Surya Ganguly's pace slowed, allowing Grigoriy Oparin to catch up with both scoring 3½ points, while in the C tournament, the Latvian Arturs Neiksans also remains in the lead with 3½.

In Friday's fourth round only two of the nine games were decided. The A tournament saw a draw between the English GMs David Howell and Gawain Jones but it was by no means a boring one:

New ...

New Game

Edit Game

Setup Position

Open...

PGN

FEN

Share...

Share Board (.png)

Share Board (configure)

Share playable board

Share game as GIF

Notation (PGN)

QR Code

Layout...

Use splitters

Swipe notation/lists

Reading mode

Flip Board

Settings

Move	N	Result	Elo	Players

1.e4	1,165,570	54%	2421	---
1.d4	946,474	55%	2434	---
1.Nf3	281,312	56%	2441	---
1.c4	181,937	56%	2442	---
1.g3	19,688	56%	2427	---
1.b3	14,236	54%	2427	---
1.f4	5,886	48%	2377	---
1.Nc3	3,796	51%	2384	---
1.b4	1,753	48%	2380	---
1.a3	1,197	54%	2403	---
1.e3	1,068	48%	2408	---
1.d3	948	50%	2378	---
1.g4	662	46%	2361	---
1.h4	446	53%	2374	---
1.c3	426	51%	2425	---
1.h3	279	56%	2416	---
1.a4	108	60%	2468	---
1.f3	91	47%	2431	---
1.Nh3	89	66%	2508	---
1.Na3	42	62%	2482	---

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Nf3 Bg7 6.g3 Nxc3 7.bxc3 c5 8.Bg2 Nc6 9.0-0 cxd4 10.cxd4 0-0 11.Rb1 Nxd4 12.Nxd4 Qxd4 13.Qxd4 Bxd4 14.Bh6 Rd8 15.Bxb7 This position has been reached several times before. Bxb7 But so far only 15...Rb8 has been tried, which should be easier because the white rook does not reach the seventh rank. 16.Rxb7 Bc5 17.Rc1 Rac8 18.Bf4 Re8 19.a4

Objectively speaking, White has almost no advantage, but in practice, Black is in a defensive posture which few top grandmasters would enjoy. 19...a5 And Jones promptly makes a dubious move: He places his pawn on a square where the white bishop can attack it. It's not long before this pawn is no more. The first promising alternative was 19...a6! On closer inspection, one quickly realizes that none of White's pieces can attack the undefended a6-pawn. 20.Bd2 f6 21.Rcb1 Red8 22.Bxa5 Rd4 23.Bb4 Kf7 24.a5 Bxb4 25.R1xb4 Rxb4 26.Rxb4 Rc1+ 27.Kg2 Ra1

In the position reached, Black lacks sufficient compensation for the pawn. Nevertheless, there are, of course, countless drawing resources in rook endgames, even with a measly extra pawn. But Black may have hours of work ahead. 28.Rb5 Ra2 29.Kf3 g5 30.Ke3 Kg6 31.f4 gxf4+ 32.gxf4 Ra4 33.h4 h5

After the last move, the computer signals that Black is lost. And indeed he has placed his isolated pawn in range of White's rook. Black could draw with 33...e6 first. Then the burden would be on White to show any way to make progress. 34.Kf3 Ra3+ Another mistake allows the white king to cross the fourth rank. 35.Ke4 Ra4+

36.Kf3 White, understandably, backtracks. Marching the king to b6 could cost him pawns on the kingside. How quick might Black's own pawns be? It's hard to judge, and Howell believed he could prevail without taking the risk. After 36.Kd5! control of the 5th rank will ensure that Black's pawns won't get rolling. Rxf4 37.Kc6 Rxh4 38.a6 Ra4 39.Kb6 h4 40.a7 Rxa7 41.Kxa7 with a simple win for White. 36...Ra3+ 37.e3 Ra4

38.f5+ Only now does White finally relinquish the advantage. Black's king is released from guarding the h5 square and can move to the centre. From there's it's much easier to curtail the a5 pawn. Kf7 39.e4 Ra3+ 40.Ke2 Ke8 41.Rd5 Rh3 42.Rd4 Ra3 43.Rd5 Rh3 44.e5 fxe5 45.Rxe5 Kf7 46.a6 Ra3 47.Re6 Ra5 48.Kd3 Rxf5 49.Rb6 Ra5 50.Kc4 e5 51.Kb4 Ra1 52.Kc5 e4 53.Kd4 Ra4+ 54.Ke3 Kg7 55.Rc6 Kh7 56.Rd6 Kg7 57.Rb6 Kh7 58.Re6 Kg7 59.Rd6 Kh7 60.Kf4 e3+ 61.Kxe3 Rxh4 62.Rd4 Rh3+ 63.Kf4 Ra3 64.Rd6 Ra5 65.Rd7+ Kg6 66.Rd6+ Kg7 67.Rd7+ Kg6 68.Ra7 Ra4+ 69.Kf3 Ra3+ 70.Kg2 h4 71.Ra8 Kg7 72.Kh2 Kh7 73.Kg2 Kg7 74.a7 h3+ 75.Kh2 Kh7 76.Kg1 Ra1+ 77.Kh2 Ra3 78.Re8 Rxa7 79.Kxh3 ½–½

White	EloW	Black	EloB	Res	Year	ECO	Event	Rnd

Howell,D

2692

Jones,G

2709

½–½

2019

D75

Summer Chess Classic-A 2019

4.3

Chess Endgames 8 - Practical Rook Endgames

Rook endings are amongst the most frequently encountered endgames there are, and so your training effort will be quickly repaid in the form of half and full points. Knowing even a few rules of thumb and key methods makes life a great deal easier and provides a guiding light even in complex positions. This DVD focuses on the important themes which are to be found in common rook endings.

Converting a position with a healthy extra pawn makes every chess player rejoice but the realization of small advantages like this often turns out to be extremely difficult or even fails completely. Sam Shankland had to work hard for 72 moves in the fifth round, before finally being able to score the full point in his pawn up endgame.

New ...

New Game

Edit Game

Setup Position

Open...

PGN

FEN

Share...

Share Board (.png)

Share Board (configure)

Share playable board

Share game as GIF

Notation (PGN)

QR Code

Layout...

Use splitters

Swipe notation/lists

Reading mode

Flip Board

Settings

Move	N	Result	Elo	Players

Replay and check the LiveBook here

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Nbd7 5.d4 Bb4+ 6.Nbd2 0-0 7.0-0 b6 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Ne5 Bb7 10.Qa4 a5 11.Nc6 Qe8 12.Nxb4 axb4 13.Qxb4 Qxe2 14.Nf3 Qc4 15.Bd2 Ra4 16.Qb3 Qxb3 17.axb3 Rxa1 18.Rxa1 Ra8 19.Rc1 c6 20.Bh3 h6 21.Bb4 Re8 22.Ra1 c5 23.Bc3

In this position, the move Ra1-a7 looks unpleasant. 23...Bc6 and there's nothing speaking against Ra8! = 23...Ra8!= 24.b4 White tries to get rid of the doubled pawns. Ne4 A mistake. Not only does the knight achieve nothing on this new square, he also weakens the important d7-square. 24...c4 was probably best here. That does not look good, becaus the bishop on c6 is literally walled in, but on the other hand there would have been no weaknesses in the black position that White would be likely to exploit. 25.Ra7 cxb4 26.Bxb4 Ndf6 This exposes the f7 square with little justification. In order to strengthen the d7 point, 26...Nef6! is the lesser evil. 27.Ne5 Bb5 28.Nxf7

Thus White has already gained a winning position, although it takes exactly 100 moves to score the full point, with penty of opportunity to go wrong. In a practical game, however, White can torment his opponent endlessly without any risk. 28...Ng5 29.Nxg5 hxg5 30.Bf5 g4 31.Rc7 Ra8 32.Rc8+ Rxc8 33.Be6+ Kh7 34.Bxc8 Be2 35.Bd6 Ne4 36.Bf4 g5 37.Be3 Kg6 38.Be6 Nf6 39.Bd2 Bd3 40.Bc8 Be2 41.Bb7 Kf5 42.Bc8+ Kg6 43.Bb4 Kf7 44.Bd6 Ne4 45.Bc7 b5 46.Ba5 Nd6 47.Bd7 Ke7 48.Bc6 Ke6 49.Bb4 Ne4 50.Bb7 Nf6 51.Bc8+ Kf7 52.Kg2 Ne4 53.Ba6 Ke6 54.Bb7 Nf6 55.Bc8+ Kf7 56.Be1 Ke7 57.Bf5 Kf7 58.Bd2 Ne4 59.Be3 Bf3+ 60.Kf1 Ke7 61.Ke1 Kd6 62.Bd2 Kc6 63.Bb4 Kc7 64.Be6 Kc6 65.Be7 b4 66.b3 Nd6 67.Bxg5 Nb5 68.Bf6 Nc3 69.Be7 Ne2 70.h3 gxh3 71.Bxh3 Nxd4 72.Kd2 Nxb3+ 73.Ke3 Bh5 74.Bxb4 d4+ 75.Kf4

75...Kb5 75...Kd5! was Black's last chance to offer tough resistance. 76.Be1 Nc5 77.Bf1+ Kc6 78.Bb4 Bg6 79.g4 Nd3+ 80.Bxd3 Bxd3 81.Ke5 Kd7 82.f4 Ke8 83.f5 Kf7 84.Kxd4 Be2 85.g5 Bb5 86.Ke5 Be8 87.Bc3 Bb5 88.Kf4 Kg8 89.g6 Bd3 90.Kg5 Bc4 91.f6 Kf8 92.Bb4+ Kg8 93.Kf4 Bb3 94.Ke5 Bc4 95.Be7 Bb3 96.Kd6 Bc4 97.Kc7 Bb3 98.Kd8 Bc4 99.Ba3 Bb3 100.Ke7 1–0

White	EloW	Black	EloB	Res	Year	ECO	Event	Rnd

Shankland,S

2717

Swiercz,D

2667

1–0

2019

E16

Summer Chess Classic-A 2019

5.3

Marin's English Love Vol.1 and 2 - A complete repertoire for White after 1.c4

The aim of these Dvd's is to build a repertoire after 1.c4 and 2.g3 for White. The first DVD includes the systems 1...e5, the Dutch and Indian setups. The second DVD includes the systems with 1...c5, 1...c6 and 1...e6.

Gawain Jones was looking forward to seeing the city on Sunday's rest day, after his first five games were all "somehow" drawn:

Three more fighting games but somehow all draws for me at the halfway point at the #SummerClassic @STLChessClub Day off tomorrow to explore St Louis. Let's hope for no more thunderstorms.
— Gawain Jones (@GMGawain) 23. Juni 2019

Round 4 results

	Name	Rtg.	Pts.		Pts.		Name	Rtg
GM	Howell,D GM Howell,D 2692 1 GM Shankland,S 2717 1 2 GM Swiercz,D 2667 ½ 3 GM Le,Q 2694 ½ 4 GM Jones,G 2709 ½ 5 GM Xiong,J 2684 ½ Ø 2694 3/5	2692	2	½-½	1½	GM	Jones,G GM Jones,G 2709 1 GM Xiong,J 2684 ½ 2 GM Shankland,S 2717 ½ 3 GM Swiercz,D 2667 ½ 4 GM Howell,D 2692 ½ 5 GM Le,Q 2694 ½ Ø 2691 2.5/5	2709
GM	Swiercz,D GM Swiercz,D 2667 1 GM Le,Q 2694 ½ 2 GM Howell,D 2692 ½ 3 GM Jones,G 2709 ½ 4 GM Xiong,J 2684 ½ 5 GM Shankland,S 2717 0 Ø 2699 2/5	2667	1½	½-½	2	GM	Xiong,J GM Xiong,J 2684 1 GM Jones,G 2709 ½ 2 GM Le,Q 2694 1 3 GM Shankland,S 2717 ½ 4 GM Swiercz,D 2667 ½ 5 GM Howell,D 2692 ½ Ø 2696 3/5	2684
GM	Le,Q GM Le,Q 2694 1 GM Swiercz,D 2667 ½ 2 GM Xiong,J 2684 0 3 GM Howell,D 2692 ½ 4 GM Shankland,S 2717 ½ 5 GM Jones,G 2709 ½ Ø 2694 2/5	2694	1	½-½	1	GM	Shankland,S GM Shankland,S 2717 1 GM Howell,D 2692 0 2 GM Jones,G 2709 ½ 3 GM Xiong,J 2684 ½ 4 GM Le,Q 2694 ½ 5 GM Swiercz,D 2667 1 Ø 2689 2.5/5	2717

Round 5 results

	Name	Rtg.	Pts.		Pts.		Name	Rtg
GM	Xiong,J GM Xiong,J 2684 1 GM Jones,G 2709 ½ 2 GM Le,Q 2694 1 3 GM Shankland,S 2717 ½ 4 GM Swiercz,D 2667 ½ 5 GM Howell,D 2692 ½ Ø 2696 3/5	2684	2½	½-½	2½	GM	Howell,D GM Howell,D 2692 1 GM Shankland,S 2717 1 2 GM Swiercz,D 2667 ½ 3 GM Le,Q 2694 ½ 4 GM Jones,G 2709 ½ 5 GM Xiong,J 2684 ½ Ø 2694 3/5	2692
GM	Shankland,S GM Shankland,S 2717 1 GM Howell,D 2692 0 2 GM Jones,G 2709 ½ 3 GM Xiong,J 2684 ½ 4 GM Le,Q 2694 ½ 5 GM Swiercz,D 2667 1 Ø 2689 2.5/5	2717	1½	1-0	2	GM	Swiercz,D GM Swiercz,D 2667 1 GM Le,Q 2694 ½ 2 GM Howell,D 2692 ½ 3 GM Jones,G 2709 ½ 4 GM Xiong,J 2684 ½ 5 GM Shankland,S 2717 0 Ø 2699 2/5	2667
GM	Jones,G GM Jones,G 2709 1 GM Xiong,J 2684 ½ 2 GM Shankland,S 2717 ½ 3 GM Swiercz,D 2667 ½ 4 GM Howell,D 2692 ½ 5 GM Le,Q 2694 ½ Ø 2691 2.5/5	2709	2	½-½	1½	GM	Le,Q GM Le,Q 2694 1 GM Swiercz,D 2667 ½ 2 GM Xiong,J 2684 0 3 GM Howell,D 2692 ½ 4 GM Shankland,S 2717 ½ 5 GM Jones,G 2709 ½ Ø 2694 2/5	2694

Standings after Round 5

Rk.		Name	Rtg.	Pts.	n	1	2	3	4	5	6	TB	Perf.
1	GM	Howell,D GM Howell,D 2692 1 GM Shankland,S 2717 1 2 GM Swiercz,D 2667 ½ 3 GM Le,Q 2694 ½ 4 GM Jones,G 2709 ½ 5 GM Xiong,J 2684 ½ Ø 2694 3/5	2692	3.0	5		½	½	1	½	½	7.25	2766
2	GM	Xiong,J GM Xiong,J 2684 1 GM Jones,G 2709 ½ 2 GM Le,Q 2694 1 3 GM Shankland,S 2717 ½ 4 GM Swiercz,D 2667 ½ 5 GM Howell,D 2692 ½ Ø 2696 3/5	2684	3.0	5	½		½	½	½	1	7.00	2768
3	GM	Jones,G GM Jones,G 2709 1 GM Xiong,J 2684 ½ 2 GM Shankland,S 2717 ½ 3 GM Swiercz,D 2667 ½ 4 GM Howell,D 2692 ½ 5 GM Le,Q 2694 ½ Ø 2691 2.5/5	2709	2.5	5	½	½		½	½	½	6.25	2691
4	GM	Shankland,S GM Shankland,S 2717 1 GM Howell,D 2692 0 2 GM Jones,G 2709 ½ 3 GM Xiong,J 2684 ½ 4 GM Le,Q 2694 ½ 5 GM Swiercz,D 2667 1 Ø 2689 2.5/5	2717	2.5	5	0	½	½		1	½	5.75	2689
5	GM	Swiercz,D GM Swiercz,D 2667 1 GM Le,Q 2694 ½ 2 GM Howell,D 2692 ½ 3 GM Jones,G 2709 ½ 4 GM Xiong,J 2684 ½ 5 GM Shankland,S 2717 0 Ø 2699 2/5	2667	2.0	5	½	½	½	0		½	5.25	2627
6	GM	Le,Q GM Le,Q 2694 1 GM Swiercz,D 2667 ½ 2 GM Xiong,J 2684 0 3 GM Howell,D 2692 ½ 4 GM Shankland,S 2717 ½ 5 GM Jones,G 2709 ½ Ø 2694 2/5	2694	2.0	5	½	0	½	½	½		5.00	2622
TBs: Sonneborn-Berger

All games

New ...

New Game

Edit Game

Setup Position

Open...

PGN

FEN

Share...

Share Board (.png)

Share Board (configure)

Share playable board

Share game as GIF

Notation (PGN)

QR Code

Layout...

Use splitters

Swipe notation/lists

Reading mode

Flip Board

Settings

Move	N	Result	Elo	Players

Replay and check the LiveBook here

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.h4 h5 5.Bd3 Bxd3 6.Qxd3 B12: Caro-Kann: Advance Variation Qa5+ 6...e6 7.Bg5 Be7 8.Nf3 Nh6 9.Nbd2 Nf5 10.Nf1 Qa5+ 11.c3 Qa6 12.Qd2 Nd7 13.Ng3 Nxg3 14.fxg3 f6 ½-½ (72) Inarkiev,E (2693)-Tomashevsky,E (2705) St Petersburg 2018 7.Nd2 With the idea e6! e6 8.Ngf3 Nh6 9.0-0 Nf5 10.Nb3 Qa6 11.Qd1 Nd7 12.Bf4N Predecessor: 12.Re1 Be7 ½-½ (29) Nataf,I (2535)-Godard,M (2329) Chartres 2017 12...Be7 13.g3 Rc8 14.c3 c5 15.a4 Qb6 16.Ra2 a6 17.dxc5 Bxc5 18.Kg2 Nf8 19.a5 Qb5 20.Nxc5 Rxc5 21.Re1 Ng6 22.Be3 Rc8 23.Bb6 Nge7 24.Nd4 Qd7 25.Ra3 Rc4 26.Qf3 Qc8 27.Rd1 g6 28.b4 0-0 29.Bc5 Re8 30.Bxe7 Nxe7 31.Rb3 Nc6 32.Qe3 Qc7 33.Re1 Rc8 34.Qf4 Nxd4 35.cxd4 Rc3 36.Re3 Rc1 37.Rf3 Rf8 38.g4 hxg4 39.Qxg4 Hoping for h5. Qc4 aiming for ...Rd1. 40.Rfd3 next h5 is good for White. Ra1 White must now prevent ...Qc1. 40...Re1!? 41.Qg5 Qc2 41.Qf4 The position is equal. Qc2 42.Qe3 Kg7

White should prevent ...Rh8. 43.h5! Rh8 43...gxh5 44.Qg5+ 44.Qf4 Qe2 Wrong is 44...Rxh5? 45.Rbc3+- 45.Qf6+ Kg8 46.Qd8+

46...Kg7! ( -> ...Qf1+) 47.Qf6+ Kg8 48.Qd8+ Accuracy: White = 69%, Black = 73%. ½–½

White	EloW	Black	EloB	Res	Year	ECO	Event	Rnd

Jones,G	2709	Xiong,J	2684	½–½	2019	B12	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	1.1
Shankland,S	2717	Howell,D	2692	0–1	2019	C67	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	1.2
Swiercz,D	2667	Le,Q	2694	½–½	2019	C65	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	1.3
Xiong,J	2684	Le,Q	2694	1–0	2019	E21	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	2.1
Howell,D	2692	Swiercz,D	2667	½–½	2019	A20	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	2.2
Jones,G	2709	Shankland,S	2717	½–½	2019	C07	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	2.3
Shankland,S	2717	Xiong,J	2684	½–½	2019	A20	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	3.1
Swiercz,D	2667	Jones,G	2709	½–½	2019	C78	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	3.2
Le,Q	2694	Howell,D	2692	½–½	2019	C50	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	3.3
Swiercz,D	2667	Xiong,J	2684	½–½	2019	B06	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	4.1
Le,Q	2694	Shankland,S	2717	½–½	2019	C50	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	4.2
Howell,D	2692	Jones,G	2709	½–½	2019	D85	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	4.3
Xiong,J	2684	Howell,D	2692	½–½	2019	C42	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	5.1
Jones,G	2709	Le,Q	2694	½–½	2019	B31	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	5.2
Shankland,S	2717	Swiercz,D	2667	1–0	2019	A15	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	5.3
Xiong,J	2684	Jones,G	2709	½–½	2019	D85	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	6.1
Howell,D	2692	Shankland,S	2717	½–½	2019	A35	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	6.2
Le,Q	2694	Swiercz,D	2667	1–0	2019	A28	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	6.3
Le,Q	2694	Xiong,J	2684	1–0	2019	B90	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	7.1
Swiercz,D	2667	Howell,D	2692	½–½	2019	E06	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	7.2
Shankland,S	2717	Jones,G	2709	½–½	2019	D85	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	7.3
Xiong,J	2684	Shankland,S	2717	½–½	2019	E10	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	8.1
Jones,G	2709	Swiercz,D	2667	0–1	2019	B40	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	8.2
Howell,D	2692	Le,Q	2694	½–½	2019	A05	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	8.3
Howell,D	2692	Xiong,J	2684	0–1	2019	A06	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	9.1
Le,Q	2694	Jones,G	2709	1–0	2019	C78	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	9.2
Swiercz,D	2667	Shankland,S	2717	½–½	2019	D12	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	9.3
Xiong,J	2684	Swiercz,D	2667	½–½	2019	E21	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	10.1
Shankland,S	2717	Le,Q	2694	½–½	2019	E18	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	10.2
Jones,G	2709	Howell,D	2692	0–1	2019	C65	Summer Chess Classic-A 2019	10.3

Commentary playlist

Select a video from the playlist ('burger' icon upper left corner)

B Tournament

Round four's lone winner was the young Russian Grigoriy Oparin, who knocked off Igor Kovalenko, with the black pieces, to move into shared first place. But Oparin first dodged a bullet in the middlegame after 28...♞h5?

Kovalenko vs Oparin

Position after 28...Nh5

This was the moment for White to strike with 28.♕e5+ ♚g8 29.♔f1 when White's king is safe and his piece activity will force the queens off into an easily winning endgame. Instead, 28.♕d2 gave Oparin the compensation for the pawn he needed: 29...♞f4 30.♖g3 d3 and Black's initiative led Kovalenko to jettison an exchange a few moves later giving Oparin a technically winning game.

All games of the 5th round ended in draws, so nothing changed.