London Classic: Bartel scores, Adams leads

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
12/6/2023 – Michael Adams continues to be the sole leader at the London Chess Classic after a fifth round with one decisive result. Going into the rest day, Adams has a half-point lead over four players, including Mateusz Bartel, who was the one participant to collect a full point on Tuesday. Adams played Gukesh in round 5, got a very promising position, and agreed to a draw by repetition while still in the driver’s seat. | Photo: Tao Bhokanandh

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Solid! Solid?

The race to reach the Candidates either by rating or via the FIDE Circuit is very likely to be decided by the smallest of margins. Both contenders and pundits are keeping a close eye to see what scenarios would favour each of the players in the hunt.

Surely, FIDE tried to make the World Championship cycle more inclusive by setting up the FIDE Circuit, but the degree of complexity of some qualification paths and the ability to ‘game’ the system (by creating last-minute tournaments, for example) do not make for the most enjoyable experience for spectators — except for hardcore fans of statistics, perhaps!

Nevertheless, this race created a subplot in the London Chess Classic: will Gukesh manage to get clear first place to overtake Anish Giri in the FIDE Circuit leaderboard? After round 5, the Indian prodigy stands in shared second place a half point behind sole leader Michael Adams.

In their direct confrontation on Tuesday, Adams and Gukesh signed a draw on move 54. However, at that point, the English veteran had two extra pawns in an endgame with two rooks and a knight per side. Adams’ decision to take the half point might have to do with the fact that his opponent had a passer on c4, but as Karsten Müller asserts in his analysis of the game (see below), White is winning in that position!

Tai Pruce-Zimmerman, a.k.a. Chess by the Numbers, noted what a big difference it made for Gukesh to escape with a half point (regarding the fight to reach the Candidates):

Giri has been making good use of the ‘mathematical’ race on social media, sharing clever, amusing posts while following the games live. Soon after Adams agreed to a draw, he quipped, “Solid! Solid?”. As the players now got a rest day, he joked about his alleged anxiety:

Adams and Gukesh signed one of the four draws seen in the last round before the rest day, as Mateusz Bartel scored the one win of the day. Bartel, who has yet to sign a draw in the event, collected a second win in a row to join the chasing pack on 3/5 points. The Polish GM is sharing second place with Gukesh, Jules Moussard and Hans Niemann.

Adams ½ - ½ Gukesh

Analysis by GM Karsten Müller

Michael Adams, Gukesh

Mickey Adams and Dommaraju Gukesh | Photo: Tao Bhokanandh

Royal 0 - 1 Bartel

Analysis by GM Karsten Müller

Shreyas Royal and Mateusz Bartel

Shreyas Royal and Mateusz Bartel | Photo: Tao Bhokanandh

Standings - Round 5

Rk.NameRtg.Nt.Pts.n
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
TBPerf.
1
GM
GM
2670

1
GM
2694
1

2
GM
2659
½

3
GM
2651
1

4
GM
2712
½

5
GM
2746
½

Ø 2692
3.5/5
2670
3.5
5
9.50
2841
2
GM
GM
2746

1
GM
2651
1

2
GM
2712
½

3
GM
2660
1

4
GM
2639
0

5
GM
2670
½

Ø 2666
3/5
2746
3.0
5
7.75
2738
3
GM

1
GM
2659
½

2
GM
2651
0

3
GM
2712
1

4
GM
2746
1

5
GM
2660
½

Ø 2686
3/5
2639
3.0
5
7.50
2758
4
GM
GM
2659

1
GM
2639
½

2
GM
2670
½

3
GM
2626
½

4
GM
2404
1

5
GM
2694
½

Ø 2607
3/5
2659
3.0
5
6.75
2679
5
GM
GM
2651

1
GM
2746
0

2
GM
2639
1

3
GM
2670
0

4
GM
2626
1

5
GM
2404
1

Ø 2617
3/5
2651
3.0
5
6.00
2689
6
GM

1
GM
2670
0

2
GM
2626
1

3
GM
2404
0

4
GM
2660
1

5
GM
2659
½

Ø 2604
2.5/5
2694
2.5
5
5.00
2604
7
GM

1
GM
2660
½

2
GM
2746
½

3
GM
2639
0

4
GM
2670
½

5
GM
2626
½

Ø 2668
2/5
2712
2.0
5
5.00
2596
8
GM

1
GM
2712
½

2
GM
2404
1

3
GM
2746
0

4
GM
2694
0

5
GM
2639
½

Ø 2639
2/5
2660
2.0
5
4.00
2567
9
GM
GM
2626

1
GM
2404
½

2
GM
2694
0

3
GM
2659
½

4
GM
2651
0

5
GM
2712
½

Ø 2624
1.5/5
2626
1.5
5
3.25
2475
10
GM
GM
2404

1
GM
2626
½

2
GM
2660
0

3
GM
2694
1

4
GM
2659
0

5
GM
2651
0

Ø 2658
1.5/5
2404
1.5
5
3.25
2509
TBs: Sonneborn-Berger

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MoveNResultEloPlayers
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1.Nf3 31 Nf6 23 2.b3 57 g6 6:56 3.Bb2 36 Bg7 7 4.g3 29 c5 1:51 5.c4 32 d6 7:55 6.Bg2 3:30 e5 3:38 7.0-0 42 Nc6 50 8.Nc3 56 0-0 1:03 9.d3 2:10 Ne8 20:45 10.a3 5:00 A38: Symmetrical English vs ...g6: 4 Bg2 Bg7 5 Nf3 Nf6. a5 5:38
11.Ne1N 9:46 Predecessor: 11.Nd2 Nc7 12.e3 Be6 13.Nd5 Rb8 14.Nxc7 Qxc7 15.Ne4 b5 16.Nc3 Na7 17.Rb1 a4 ½-½ Kazakouski,V (2499)-Brazdzionis,A (2321) Panevezys Kveinys Memorial op 2021 (5) 11...Nc7 2:29 12.Nc2 1:05 Rb8 11:40 13.Ne3 16:47 Bd7 6:04 14.Ned5 3:14 Nxd5 2:21 15.Nxd5 2:31 Ne7 12:47 16.Nxe7+ 2:22 Qxe7 2 17.Bc3 12 b6 6:12 18.b4 1:39 axb4 2:10 19.axb4 3 b5 5 20.Ra7 14:14 Threatens to win with Bc6. cxb4 13 21.Bxb4 11:08 Black must now prevent Bc6. bxc4 2 22.Ba5 4 aiming for Bc6. e4 4:17
23.dxc4 3:38 And not 23.Bxe4 Bd4 24.Rc7 Rfc8 White has to play 23.Bh3!± f5 24.dxe4 23...Ra8= 26 The position is equal. 24.Rxa8 3:02 Rxa8 2 25.Bb4 1:06 Ra6 2:04 26.c5 4:26 dxc5 1:10 27.Bxc5 2 Qe8 1:53 28.Qd2 7:50 Bc6 29 29.Rd1 44 Ra1 31 30.Rxa1 12 Bxa1 1 31.h4 2:04 h5 13 32.Bd4 43 Qd7 1:09 33.e3 22 Bxd4 29 34.Qxd4 40       Endgame KQB-KQB Qe6 55 35.Bf1 29 Bd5 21 36.Bb5 46 Kh7 14 37.Qc5 39 Kg7 11 38.Kg2 11 Qf5 30 39.Qd6 2:41 Qf3+ 54 40.Kg1 0 Qd1+ 0 41.Kh2 5:20 Qb3 10:27 Prevents Bc4. 42.Qe5+ 58 Kh7 28 43.Bd7 2:20 Be6 4:00 44.Bxe6 6:20 Weighted Error Value: White=0.07 (flawless) /Black=0.06 (flawless)
½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Vitiugov,N2712Volokitin,A2660½–½2023A3813th London Chess Classic 20231.1
Gukesh D2746Bartel,M26511–02023C1113th London Chess Classic 20231.2
Moussard,J2639Niemann,H2659½–½2023C6713th London Chess Classic 20231.3
Adams,M2670Tabatabaei,M26941–02023C5013th London Chess Classic 20231.4
McShane,L2626Royal,S2404½–½2023B5113th London Chess Classic 20231.5
Volokitin,A2660Royal,S24041–02023C7813th London Chess Classic 20232.1
Tabatabaei,M2694McShane,L26261–02023C5413th London Chess Classic 20232.2
Niemann,H2659Adams,M2670½–½2023A2013th London Chess Classic 20232.3
Bartel,M2651Moussard,J26391–02023A1713th London Chess Classic 20232.4
Vitiugov,N2712Gukesh D2746½–½2023D1413th London Chess Classic 20232.5
Gukesh D2746Volokitin,A26601–02023A3413th London Chess Classic 20233.1
Moussard,J2639Vitiugov,N27121–02023C8813th London Chess Classic 20233.2
Adams,M2670Bartel,M26511–02023B1213th London Chess Classic 20233.3
McShane,L2626Niemann,H2659½–½2023C6713th London Chess Classic 20233.4
Royal,S2404Tabatabaei,M26941–02023D3813th London Chess Classic 20233.5
Volokitin,A2660Tabatabaei,M26940–12023C7713th London Chess Classic 20234.1
Niemann,H2659Royal,S24041–02023C5413th London Chess Classic 20234.2
Bartel,M2651McShane,L26261–02023C6513th London Chess Classic 20234.3
Vitiugov,N2712Adams,M2670½–½2023D3713th London Chess Classic 20234.4
Gukesh D2746Moussard,J26390–12023C4213th London Chess Classic 20234.5
Moussard,J2639Volokitin,A2660½–½2023A2913th London Chess Classic 20235.1
Adams,M2670Gukesh D2746½–½2023B3013th London Chess Classic 20235.2
McShane,L2626Vitiugov,N2712½–½2023B5113th London Chess Classic 20235.3
Royal,S2404Bartel,M26510–12023D9413th London Chess Classic 20235.4
Tabatabaei,M2694Niemann,H2659½–½2023E3213th London Chess Classic 20235.5
Volokitin,A2660Niemann,H26591–02023C6713th London Chess Classic 20236.1
Bartel,M2651Tabatabaei,M26940–12023A1913th London Chess Classic 20236.2
Vitiugov,N2712Royal,S2404½–½2023B6713th London Chess Classic 20236.3
Gukesh D2746McShane,L26261–02023D3513th London Chess Classic 20236.4
Moussard,J2639Adams,M26700–12023C8813th London Chess Classic 20236.5
Adams,M2670Volokitin,A2660½–½2023B5113th London Chess Classic 20237.1
McShane,L2626Moussard,J2639½–½2023B5513th London Chess Classic 20237.2
Royal,S2404Gukesh D2746½–½2023E5313th London Chess Classic 20237.3
Tabatabaei,M2694Vitiugov,N27121–02023B9313th London Chess Classic 20237.4
Niemann,H2659Bartel,M26510–12023C5513th London Chess Classic 20237.5
Volokitin,A2660Bartel,M26511–02023C1813th London Chess Classic 20238.1
Vitiugov,N2712Niemann,H2659½–½2023C6713th London Chess Classic 20238.2
Gukesh D2746Tabatabaei,M2694½–½2023C5413th London Chess Classic 20238.3
Moussard,J2639Royal,S24040–12023D0213th London Chess Classic 20238.4
Adams,M2670McShane,L2626½–½2023C6513th London Chess Classic 20238.5
McShane,L2626Volokitin,A2660½–½2023B5113th London Chess Classic 20239.1
Royal,S2404Adams,M2670½–½2023D3513th London Chess Classic 20239.2
Tabatabaei,M2694Moussard,J2639½–½2023B4813th London Chess Classic 20239.3
Niemann,H2659Gukesh D27461–02023C5413th London Chess Classic 20239.4
Bartel,M2651Vitiugov,N2712½–½2023B3013th London Chess Classic 20239.5

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Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.

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