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The London Classic started with three entertaining rounds of chess. Coincidentally, all nine decisive results seen on the first three days of action were won by the player marshalling the white pieces.
Three players remain undefeated in London: co-leaders Michael Adams and Gukesh D., and U.S. star Hans Niemann. While the first two grabbed wins in two out of three rounds, Niemann has signed three consecutive draws at the outset of the event. The American grandmaster is sharing third place with three other players — who all kicked off the event with a win, a draw and a loss: Andrei Volokitin, Jules Moussard and Shreyas Royal.
Notably, Royal defeated Amin Tabatabaei in round 3. With a 2438 rating, the 14-year-old is the clear underdog in the field. His handling of a positional advantage in a technical position with queens, rooks and pawns was nothing short of impressive.
Royal needed 20 moves to convert this materially balanced position into a win.
Shreyas Royal beat Amin Tabatabaei | Photo: Tao Bhokanandh
In another position with major pieces on the board, Adams found a nice way to break through in his game against Mateusz Bartel.
31.Rxb7 is a winning shot! The idea is that after 31...Qxb7 32.Qf6+ Kg4 White can regain the rook with 33.Qe6+ Kh5 34.Qxg8
The simple-yet-effective sequence allowed the experienced English grandmaster to convert his strategic advantage into a clear, straightforward winning position, as the black king is now fully exposed and the white e-pawn is ready to promote into a new queen.
Michael Adams got the better of Mateusz Bartel | Photo: Tao Bhokanandh
Analysis by GM Karsten Müller
Gukesh now +2 through three rounds at the London Chess Classic, and if he wins sole first place he passes Anish for the FIDE Circuit lead.
— Chess by the Numbers (@ChessNumbers) December 3, 2023
However he's not the only player on +2... there is... another... pic.twitter.com/2MjFwFfVB0
