Legends of Chess: Svidler qualifies to the semifinals

by André Schulz
7/30/2020 – Vladimir Kramnik still had a theoretical chance to get into the knockout stage of the Legends of Chess had Peter Svidler lost to Anish Giri — which he did — and he defeated Magnus Carlsen — in round 9 of the preliminaries. Kramnik could not beat the world champion in the end, which means Carlsen, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Giri and Svidler are the semifinalists. The four-player knockout kicks off on Friday. | Photo: Eteri Kublashvili

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On to the semis

Three players had already qualified to the knockout phase before the final round of the preliminaries: Magnus Carlsen, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Anish Giri. Peter Svidler was fourth, but he could still be caught by Vladimir Kramnik. In order for Kramnik to advance, Svidler had to lose to Giri and he had to beat Carlsen. Svidler did lose, but Kramnik could not get the better of the world champion.

The final standings of the nine-round all-play-all preliminary stage mean Carlsen will face Svidler in the first matchup of the knockout, while Nepomniachtchi is set to play against Giri in a repeat of their Chessable Masters semifinal — Giri won in three sets.

Although the course was already set for most of the other players, we got to enjoy fighting chess in some of the games.

Legends of Chess 2020

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Gelfand 3 : 2 Nepomniachtchi

Ian Nepomniachtchi apparently does not consider his Grünfeld Defence to have been disproved, despite losing with it to Carlsen in the previous round. The Russian used his favourite defence against Boris Gelfand, himself a big supporter of this opening. In the theoretical duel between the two experts, Nepomniachtchi kept the upper hand with black. Gelfand had given up a pawn looking for an advantage. Although he did not get an edge, he was by no means lost in the endgame:

 
Gelfand-Nepomniachtchi, 9.1

54...Rb1+ 55.Kc5? [55.Kc3 Rb3+ 56.Kd4 Ra3 and Black wins.] [Correct was 55.Ka3! Rb3+ 56.Ka2 Bb1+ 57.Ka1 Bd3 58.Rc5 and Black cannot make progress.]

55...Rb3 56.Kd6 The white king had to move far away to stop the pawn advance. But there is also an ulterior motive...

56...Ra3 57.Ke5

 

57... Kg4 Black is alert. [57...c3? 58.Kf4 That was the trap. With the king’s departure, mate is threatened, and so is the pawn on c3.]

58.Be7 Rxa4 59.Rc8 Ra7 60.Bf6 Ra3 61.Kd6 Kf3 62.Rh8 Ke2 63.Rh2+ Kd1 64.Kc5 Rb3 [64...c3 would have been wrong again: 65.Kb4]

65.Rf2 c3 [The time has come to push the pawn.]

66.Rf1+ Ke2 67.Rc1 c2 0–1

Boris Gelfand equalized in the second game, after Nepomniachtchi had chosen to go for an ‘online-freestyle’ strategy. Gelfand kept the white king in the centre with an exchange sacrifice and won a queen endgame in 88 moves. Two draws and an Armageddon tiebreaker followed, and the Israeli won the sudden-death decider.

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 Nc6 9.Be3 0-0 10.0-0 Bg4 11.f3 Bd7! now scores much better than the old 11...Na5. Played by Ian Nepomniachtchi in May 2020. 12.Rb1 Qc7 13.Qd2 D87: Exchange Grünfeld: Classical Line: Variations without ...cxd4. Rfd8 14.Bd3 Be8
15.d5N The position is equal. Predecessor: 15.Rfc1 e6 16.Bg5 Rd7 17.f4 a6 18.e5 Qa5 19.Qe3 Qa4 20.dxc5 h6 21.Bf6 1/2-1/2 (31) Peralta,F (2572)-Abdumalik,Z (2457) Vienna 2019 15...Ne5 16.c4 a6 17.Rfc1 Rac8 18.f4 18.Nf4± 18...Nxd3= 19.Qxd3 b5 20.cxb5 Bxb5 21.Qd2 c4
...c3 is the strong threat. 22.Nc3 Rb8 23.e5 f6 24.d6 exd6 25.exf6 Bxf6 26.Nd5 Qf7 27.Nxf6+ Qxf6 28.Bd4 Qf5 29.Ba1 Hoping for Qc3. Qd3
30.Qf2 30.Qb2!= c3 Decoy 31.Rxc3 Qd4+ Double Attack 32.Qf2 Qxf2+ 33.Kxf2 30...Bc6 31.Qa7 Rb7! 32.Rxb7 Bxb7 33.Qd4 Qxd4+ 34.Bxd4 Endgame KRB-KRB Rc8 35.Kf2 Be4 36.g4 Kf7 37.Ke3 Bd3 38.Kd2 Ke6 39.Re1+ Kd5 40.Bf6 Rf8 41.g5 Rb8 42.Kc3 a5 43.h4 Rb7 44.Re7 Rb1 45.Ra7 Rc1+ 46.Kb2 Rc2+ 47.Ka3 Ke4 48.Rxa5 d5 Resist 48...Kxf4 49.Rd5 49.Ra7 Kxf4 50.Rxh7 Kg4 Better is 50...Rh2 51.Re7 Kf3 51.Ra7 Be4 52.Kb4 Rc1 53.Rc7 53.Ra3= keeps the balance. 53...Kxh4 54.a4 Rb1+ 55.Kc5? Now White is beyond hope. 55.Ka3! 55...Rb3-+ 56.Kd6 Ra3 57.Ke5 57.Kc5 Rxa4 58.Rh7+ Kg3 59.Kb5 57...Kg4 58.Be7 Rxa4 59.Rc8 Ra7 Black is clearly winning. 60.Bf6 60.Bb4 60...Ra3 61.Kd6 Kf3 62.Rh8 Ke2 63.Rh2+ Kd1 64.Kc5 Rb3 Weaker is 64...c3 65.Kb4 65.Rf2 65.Rb2 65...c3 66.Rf1+ Ke2 67.Rc1 c2 Accuracy: White = 58%, Black = 80%.
0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Gelfand,B2702Nepomniachtchi,I27780–12020Chess24 Legends of Chess9.1
Nepomniachtchi,I2778Gelfand,B27020–12020Chess24 Legends of Chess9.2
Gelfand,B2702Nepomniachtchi,I2778½–½2020Chess24 Legends of Chess9.3
Nepomniachtchi,I2778Gelfand,B2702½–½2020Chess24 Legends of Chess9.4
Nepomniachtchi,I2778Gelfand,B27020–12020Chess24 Legends of Chess9.5

Ding 2½ : 1½ Leko

The match between Ding Liren and Peter Leko saw the Chinese winning the first game and getting match victory by drawing the remaining three encounters.

Leko was a pawn down in a knight ending in game 1:

 
Ding-Leko, 9.1

51.b4 [Zugzwang.] 51...Nd5 [51...Ke6 52.Nxg6 Nxg6 53.f5+] 52.Nxg6 Nxb4 53.f5 Nd5 54.f6 Nxf6+ [Perhaps to remove all the pawns from the board...] 55.gxf6 Ke6 56.Nf4+ Kxf6 57.Nxh5+ Kg5 58.Nf4 Kh4 59.Kf3 [Nach 59.Kd4? b4 60.Kc4 Kg3 would have worked out.] 59...b4 60.Kg2 b3 61.Nd3 Kh5 62.Kg3 Kg5 63.h4+ Kf5 64.Kf3 Ke6 65.Nc5+ 1–0

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.0-0 d6 6.c3 a6 7.Re1 C54: Giuoco Piano: 4 c3 Nf6, main lines with 5 d4 and 5 d3. Ba7 8.a4 0-0 The main line 8...0-0 scores better than 8...h6. 9.h3 White has an edge. Ne7 10.d4 Ng6 11.Nbd2 exd4 12.cxd4 d5 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Ne4 c6 15.Bg5 f6 16.Bd2 Kh8 17.Qb3
17...Nge7N Predecessor: 17...Ngf4 18.Nc5 Rb8 19.Re4 Qd6 20.Bxf4 Nxf4 21.Qe3 Ng6 22.Re8 Bf5 23.Rxf8+ Nxf8 1-0 (31) Fressinet,L (2662)-Saeed,I (2312) Sharjah 2017 18.Nc5 White is pushing. Rb8 19.Ne6 Bxe6! 20.Rxe6 Nc7 21.Re2 Nf5 21...Ned5 22.Rd1 Better is 22.Bf4!± 22...Nd5 22...b5 23.Bd3 Nxd4 24.Nxd4 Bxd4 23.Bxd5!± Qxd5 24.Qxd5 cxd5 25.g4! Nd6 26.Bf4 Rbd8 27.Re7 Ne4 28.Rc1 Bb8 28...Rfe8± 29.Rf7 29.Rxb7 Bb8± 29...Bb8 30.Bxb8 Rxb8 29.Bxb8+- Rxb8 30.Rcc7 Rg8 31.Nh4 Don't do 31.Rxb7?! Rbc8± 31...Nd6 32.Rcd7 Nc8 33.Re6 Na7 34.Nf5 Don't play 34.Rxd5?! Rgd8± 34...Nc6 35.Rxd5 Rge8 36.Rxe8+ Rxe8 Endgame KRN-KRN 37.Rd7 g6 38.Ne3 38.Nd6!+- Re1+ 39.Kg2 38...Re4 38...Re7± 39.Rd6 Kg7 39.Nd5 Rxd4 40.Nxf6 Rxd7 41.Nxd7 KN-KN b5 41...Nb4± 42.Ne5 Kg7 42.Nc5 Nb4 43.axb5 axb5 44.f4 Nd5 45.Nd3! h5? 45...Kg7 46.Kg2 Kf6 46.g5 Kg7 47.Kf2 Kf7 48.Kf3 Ke6 49.Ke4 Ne7 50.Ne5 Kd6 51.b4 Nd5 52.Nxg6 Nxb4 53.f5 Nd5 54.f6 White mates. Nxf6+ 55.gxf6 KN-KPP Ke6 56.Nf4+ Kxf6 57.Nxh5+ KN-KP Kg5 58.Nf4 Kh4
59.Kf3! b4
60.Kg2! b3 61.Nd3 Kh5 62.Kg3 Kg5 63.h4+ Kf5 64.Kf3 Ke6 65.Nc5+ Double Attack. Accuracy: White = 84%, Black = 58%.
1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Ding,L2836Leko,P27101–02020Chess24 Legends of Chess9.1
Leko,P2710Ding,L2836½–½2020Chess24 Legends of Chess9.2
Ding,L2836Leko,P2710½–½2020Chess24 Legends of Chess9.3
Leko,P2710Ding,L2836½–½2020Chess24 Legends of Chess9.4

Ivanchuk* 2½ : 2½ Anand

*Drew with black in Armageddon

All five games were drawn in the match between Viswanathan Anand and Vasyl Ivanchuk. After the four draws in the rapid games, the draw in Armageddon gave Ivanchuk 2 points for the overall standings, as he was playing with the black pieces.

So how did the two matches that were relevant to decide who would get the fourth qualifying spot in the knockout go?

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 dxc4 7.e3
D38: Queen's Gambit Declined: Ragozin Defence (4 Nf3 Bb4). 7...Qd5N Predecessor: 7...c5 8.Bxc4 Qc7 9.Be2 0-0 10.Bb2 b6 11.c4 cxd4 12.exd4 Nbd7 13.0-0 Bb7 14.Re1 Rac8 0-1 (24) Ivanchuk,V (2710) -Wojtaszek,R (2727) Huaian 2016 8.Nd2 0-0 9.Nxc4 White is slightly better. b6 10.f3 c5 11.e4 Qc6 12.Be3 Ba6 13.Rc1 Rd8 14.Be2 Qc7 15.0-0 Nc6 16.Qa4 Na5 17.Rfe1 Bxc4 18.Bxc4 Nxc4 19.Qxc4 Rac8 20.Red1 cxd4 21.Qxc7 Rxc7 22.cxd4 Rdc8 23.Kf1 Kf8 24.Ke2 Ke7 25.Kd3 Rxc1 26.Rxc1 Rxc1 The position is equal. 27.Bxc1= Endgame KB-KN Ne8 28.a4 Kd7 29.g4 a6 30.Bf4 f6 31.h4 Nd6 32.h5 g6 33.hxg6 hxg6 34.Kc3 f5 35.Kd3 fxe4+ 36.fxe4 Nf7 37.Kc4 e5 38.dxe5 Ke6 39.Kd4 Nd8 40.Kc3 Nc6 41.Be3 b5 42.axb5 axb5 43.Bf4 Nxe5 44.g5 Nc6 45.Bg3 Kd7 46.Bf2 Nd8 47.Bb6
Black must now prevent Bxd8. 47...Ne6 48.Kb4 Kc6 49.Be3 Nc7 50.Kc3 Na6 51.Kd4 Nc5 52.Ke5 b4 53.Kf6 b3 54.Bd4 Nxe4+ 55.Kxg6 Nxg5 56.Kxg5 b2 57.Bxb2 Accuracy: White = 98%, Black = 100%.
½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Ivanchuk,V2686Anand,V2751½–½2020Chess24 Legends of Chess9.1
Anand,V2751Ivanchuk,V2686½–½2020Chess24 Legends of Chess9.2
Ivanchuk,V2686Anand,V2751½–½2020Chess24 Legends of Chess9.3
Anand,V2751Ivanchuk,V2686½–½2020Chess24 Legends of Chess9.4
Anand,V2751Ivanchuk,V2686½–½2020Chess24 Legends of Chess9.5

Giri 2½ : 1½ Svidler

After two draws at the beginning of his matchup with Anish Giri, Svidler lost game 2 in a rather brutal way.

 
Svidler-Giri, 9.3

18...Qe7 19.Qxa6 Bxe4 20.Rc1 [20.Bxe4 Qxe4 with a double attack on the rooks.] 

20...Bf5 21.Nf4 [The toughest defence here was 21.Ng1, but who wants to make that move?] 

21...Bd2 22.Rxc6 Rab8 There is no really useful defence against the mate threat on b1.

23.e3 [23.Bf3 Bxf4 24.gxf4 Bh3+ leads to mate.]

23...Bxe3 24.Nd5 [24.fxe3 Qxe3 followed by mate.]

24...Rb1+ 25.Ke2 Rb2+ 26.Kd1 Qe5 [No chance for the lone white king against the army of black pieces.] 0–1

The fourth game ended in a draw.

 
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1.c4 e5 2.g3 c6 3.Nf3 e4 4.Nd4 d5 5.cxd5 Qxd5 6.e3 Bc5 A20: English Opening: 1...e5. 7.Nc3 Qe5 8.d3 exd3 9.Qxd3 Nf6 10.Bg2 0-0 11.0-0 Rd8
12.Nce2N Predecessor: 12.Qc2 Na6 13.a3 Qh5 14.Nce2 Bxd4 15.Nxd4 Bh3 16.Bxh3 Qxh3 17.f3 c5 18.Ne2 1-0 (45) Svidler,P (2723)-Vidit,S (2726) chess24.com INT 2020 12...Bb6 13.Qc2 Na6 14.Bd2 Qc5 15.Qb3 Qe7 16.Rfd1 Bg4 17.h3 Bh5 Black wants to play ...Bxd4. 18.Nf5 Qc7 19.g4 White has good play. Bg6 20.Neg3 Nc5 21.Qc4 Ne6 22.Bc3 Rxd1+ 23.Rxd1 Rd8 24.Qa4 Nc5 25.Qc2 Rxd1+ 26.Qxd1 Qd8 26...Bxf5 27.Nxf5 Ne8 27.Qxd8+± Bxd8 28.Bd4 Bb6
29.Nd6! Nfd7 30.b4 Nd3 31.Bc3 Don't play 31.Nxb7 Nxb4 32.a3 Bxd4 Better is 31.a3± 31...Nc1!= 32.Bd2 The position is equal. Nxa2 33.Nxb7 c5 34.bxc5 Nxc5 35.Na5 Nc1 36.Nf5 Bxf5 37.gxf5 N1b3 38.Nxb3 Nxb3 Endgame KBB-KBN 39.Bc3 a5 40.Bd5 Nc5 41.Kf1 Bd8 42.Ke2 g6 43.fxg6 hxg6 44.f4 Kf8 45.e4 Ne6 46.Kf3 a4 47.f5 gxf5 48.exf5 Ng5+ 49.Kg4 Bb4+ is the strong threat. Nh7 50.h4 Nf6+ 51.Bxf6! Bxf6 Accuracy: White = 92%, Black = 93%.
½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Svidler,P2742Giri,A2731½–½2020Chess24 Legends of Chess9.1
Giri,A2731Svidler,P2742½–½2020Chess24 Legends of Chess9.2
Svidler,P2742Giri,A27310–12020Chess24 Legends of Chess9.3
Giri,A2731Svidler,P2742½–½2020Chess24 Legends of Chess9.4

Carlsen 3 : 1 Kramnik

The first part of Kramnik’s plan in order for him to reach the knockout had worked out fine — Svidler lost to Giri. The second part of the plan — beating Carlsen — proved to be more difficult. In the first game, Kramnik found himself in a lost position with black.

 
Carlsen-Kramnik

27.Nc6 [27.Nf5!? with the intention of 27...Ng6 28.Nfd6 Rxd6 29.Nxd6 Qxd6 30.Qxd5 and White wins.] 

27...Qc7 [After 27...bxc6 28.bxc6 Rc7 White has the good-looking 29.Nb6]

28.N6xa5 Ng6 29.h4 Rxa5 30.Nxa5 Qxa5 31.Qd3 [The cleaner execution of the idea was 31.Qc2 Nb4 32.Qb1 Rxd1 33.Rxd1 h5 34.Rd4 winning.]

31...Nb6 32.Qb1 Rxd1 33.Rxd1 h5 34.Rd4 Qc3 35.Rd6 [35.Rd3 Qe5 36.Qd1 Nc4 37.Rd4 White retains an advantage with the upcoming queenside pawns.]

35...Nc4 [Black has consolidated.]

36.Rd3 [White must watch out too: 36.Rd7 Nce5 37.Rxb7 Qc8 38.Rb6 Nf3+ 39.Kg2 Qg4]

36...Qe5 37.Rd7 b6 38.Qd1 Qf5 39.Qd3 Qh3 40.Qd1 Qf5 [40...Kh6 41.Qc1+]

41.Qd3 Qe6 42.Qd1 Qf5 ½–½

In the second game, Carlsen was again on the winning side, with black, in an endgame.

 
Kramnik-Carlsen

50... g6 51.Nf4 Kg7 52.Kh3 Be7 53.Kg4 Bd6 54.Nd5 h5+ [54...Be5!? 55.Ne3 Kf6 56.Nc4 h5+ 57.Kh4 Kf5 58.Ne3+ Ke4 59.Nc4 Kf4 60.Nd2 Bf6+]

55.Kg5 Na3 56.Nc3 Bc1+ 57.Kh4 Nb2 [57...Kh6 58.Ne4 g5+ folgt 59.Nxg5 Bxg5+ and Black has the wrong bishop.]

58.Ne4 Bf6+ 59.Kh3 Kf7 [Only this move spoils the win. One way to get the full point was 59...Be5 60.Kg2 Kf7 61.Ng5+ Kf6 62.Nf3 Bc7 (62...g5? 63.Nxg5) 63.Kh3 Bd8 64.Ng1 g5 65.Nf3 g4+ 66.Kg3 Kf5 (66...gxf3? 67.Kxf3) 67.Ng1 h4+ 68.Kg2 Be7 69.Ne2 Bc5 70.Kh2 Ke4 71.Kg2 h3+ 72.Kh2 Kf3 and Black wins.]

60.Ng3 [Simply threatens Nxh5.]

60...h4 61.Ne4 Ke6 62.Kg4 Now the pawns are blocked on the light squares and cannot advance.

62...Ke5 63.Nf2 Kd4 64.Kf3 Be5 65.Nh3 Bg3 66.Ng5 Ke5 67.Kg4 Bf2 68.Nh7 Ke4 69.Nf8 g5 70.Ne6 Be3 71.Nxg5+ Bxg5 72.Kh3 Kf3 73.Kh2 Bf4+ 74.Kh1 h3 75.Kg1 h2+ 76.Kh1 Kg3 ½–½

Kramnik saved two lost positions, but could not continue to find miraculous defensive resources in games 3 and 4. Carlsen won both final encounters, giving Svidler the qualification to the knockout stage.

 
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.0-0 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 a6 7.a4 h6 8.Re1! 8.Re1 scores better than 8.Nbd2. C54: Giuoco Piano: 4 c3 Nf6, main lines with 5 d4 and 5 d3. 0-0 9.Nbd2 Ba7 10.Nf1 White has an edge. Re8 11.Be3 Bxe3 12.Nxe3 Be6 13.Bxe6 Rxe6 14.b4 a5
15.b5N Predecessor: 15.Rb1 axb4 16.cxb4 d5 17.b5 Nd4 18.exd5 Nxd5 19.Nxd5 Qxd5 20.Nxd4 Qxd4 21.Re4 1/2-1/2 (29) Giri,A (2771)-Anand,V (2786) Leuven 2017 15...Ne7 16.Qc2 Ng6 17.g3 d5 18.c4 c6 18...d4!? 19.Nf5 Nd7= 19.cxd5 cxd5 20.Rac1 Re7 21.Qb3 Rd7 21...dxe4 22.dxe4 Rc7 22.exd5± Nxd5 23.Nc4 f6 23...Nf6± 24.d4+- exd4 25.Nxd4 And now Ne3 would win. Nf8? 25...Kh8± 26.Rcd1 Kh7 27.Nc6 Qc7 28.N6xa5 Ng6 29.h4 Rxa5? 29...Kh8 30.Rd4 Nge7 30.Nxa5 Qxa5
31.Qd3 31.Qc2! h5 is the strong threat. Nb4 32.Qb1 31...Nb6 32.Qb1 Rxd1 33.Rxd1 White wants to mate with h5. h5 34.Rd4 White has strong compensation. Qc3
35.Rd6 35.Rd3!± Qe5 36.Qd1 35...Nc4! Black is pushing.The position is equal. Wrong is 35...Nxa4? 36.Qd1+- 36.Rd3 Qe5 37.Rd7 b6 38.Qd1 Qf5 aiming for ... Nce5. 39.Qd3 Qh3 Threatens to win with ...Nce5. 40.Qd1 Qf5 Strongly threatening ...Nce5. 41.Qd3 Qe6 Black wants to play ...Nce5! 42.Qd1 Qf5 White really could win this. Accuracy: White = 78%, Black = 66%.
½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Carlsen,M2881Kramnik,V2756½–½2020Chess24 Legends of Chess9.1
Kramnik,V2756Carlsen,M2881½–½2020Chess24 Legends of Chess9.2
Carlsen,M2881Kramnik,V27561–02020Chess24 Legends of Chess9.3
Kramnik,V2756Carlsen,M28810–12020Chess24 Legends of Chess9.4

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

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