Ivan Saric is 2018 European Champion

Seven a half point behind

There have certainly been editions in which one player has dominated the proceedings from end to end, such as Alexander Motylev’s record win a few years ago, and there have been others with large groups crowded on the podium that could only be decided by a playoff. For a while it rather seemed like this would be one of the latter.

In the previous report, there was nothing strange about having seven players splitting the top spot with 5.0/6, and a nearly endless number a half-point behind. The very first leader came the very next round when Englishman GM Gawain Jones beat Russian GM Ernesto Inarkiev and emerged with 6.0/7. Unfortunately for his fans, the rejoicing was shortlived as he was caught up the very next round by Nabaty, Wojtaszek, and McShane. It was anyone’s guess what would happen next.

Gawain Jones had a strong campaign and was in the lead until the very end | photo: Sophie Nikoladze

37. Qxe3!! and after 37...Nxe3, White has a cute epaulette mate with 38. Rxe8+ Kf7 39. Rf8! 

The names continued to change a bit with Ukrainian Anton Korobov joining the top in round nine, as well as the previous winner Maxim Matlakov. The problem was that while these players were certainly having excellent results, many in the 2800 Elo performance range, none of them seemed able to build any momentum, which was the only way anyone was going to really stand above the rest, even with the help of their opponents.

Take a look at this next position from round ten between Ernesto Inarkiev and Spanish GM Manuel Lopez Martinez.

Black played 37…Rxe4 to which White uncorked the very strong tactical counterstroke 38. Nd6!! Take a moment to look at it, since it deserves a diagram of its own:

The point is that White’s queen is untouchable due to the threat of Nf7 mate! If the knight is captured, then the black queen on b5 falls, so he plays 38...Qb3, covering f7 and protecting the queen. White replied now with 39. Qb5! Again tempting Black to take (and get mated with Nf7). Black’s reply was 39...Re1+! Curiously, here is where the game ends with a full point for …. White!

One can only assume that Black’s time was up and he missed the time control. However, it still leaves one question for you the readers: With White to play now, how does he stand here? Is he winning, equal, or lost? Answer below.

Magic of Chess Tactics 2

FM Claus Dieter Meyer has put under the microscope a comprehensive fund of topical and timeless games / fragments. On video Hamburg GM Dr. Karsten Müller has outlined corner points of Meyer's work and created 14 tests plus 10 interactive test sets.

It all came down to the last round, with a massive eight players sharing first with 7.5/10. The eight players were all paired against one another, so they had their fates in their hands. Would any of them rise to the occasion? One player managed to do so.

Ivan Saric pulled off the biggest win of his career in the last round | Photo: Sophie Nikoladze

The Maroczy System

The Maroczy System of the Sicilian Defence is one of the modern openings where Black attacks the white centre mainly with pieces. After the moves 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.c4 Nf6 the pawns c4 and e4 secure White a space advantage in the middle, however, it is exactly these central pillars which may easily become targets of the black counterattack. Sergei Tiviakov has been applying this system with Black in his tournament practice since 1991 and is considered one its greatest experts.

A huge win for the Croatian grandmaster, who managed to bring down an opponent rated 80 Elo more and did so with ambitious play, never content to take the easy draw.

GM Antoaneta Stefanova was the best placed among the female players, though none really had a memorable event | photo: Sophie Nikoladze

One might think that with the top spots spoken for, the players out of the running for a prize would not press too hard in the last round, but as a matter of fact, no fewer than 17 out of the top 32 boards ended in a decisive result. One such example was Ruslan Ponomariov’s lightning strike over his compatriot IM Petro Golubka (2503 Elo).

White played the superb 24.Rxe6!! with the point being that if 24...Qxe6, White wins the queen with 25.Bxg7+ Kxg7 26.Bxf5+

Finally, among the top results, a special mention must be made of Spanish IM Miguel Santos Ruiz, rated 2488, who finished in 19th place with 7½/11, undefeated against ten grandmasters, and a 2678 performance. With the two GM norms this is worth, and the 34 Elo he gained, it seems certain he will become Spain’s newest grandmaster.

With a relatively quick draw in the last round, IM Miguel Santos Ruiz (left) crowned a fantastic campaign | Photo: Sophie Nikoladze

Solution: If White plays the knee-jerk response Rxe1, then he is dead lost, but if he instead plays Bc1!!, the game is about equal since the threats of Nf7 and Qxb3 are still on the board.

Final standings

The top 23 places qualify to the next FIDE World Cup.

Links

• Official site
• Tournament regulations
• Full results (Chess-results)