Niemann beats Giri twice in classical chess, grabs 6-point lead

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
8/10/2024 – Hans Niemann scored back-to-back classical victories over Anish Giri to get a 6-point lead in their match in Utrecht. Giri came from tying the score on Thursday, and despite the consecutive losses still has chances of winning the match as 18 points are still up for grabs in the remaining 8 games (2 in classical chess and 6 in rapid). Niemann's pair of wins allowed him to climb to the 24th spot in the live ratings list. | Photo: Harry Gielen

Winning starts with what you know
The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.

Niemann up to world number 24

Hans Niemann obtained his peak rating in classical chess in the latest official list published by FIDE. After performing strongly at the French Top 16 tournament and the Turkish League, he achieved a 2711 Elo rating, surpassing his previous record of 2708, achieved in May 2023. Now, at the first match of the "Hans Niemann against the world" series, the 21-year-old has scored 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss against Anish Giri (rated 2746) to gain 7 Elo points and climb to world number 24 in the live ratings list.

The match consists of 12 blitz games (1 pt. per game), 6 classical games (3 pts.) and 12 rapid games (2 pts.), and is taking place from Wednesday to Sunday with a rather demanding schedule. Niemann won the blitz section by a 7½-4½ score, then saw Giri tying the score by winning once and drawing once on Thursday, and now got a 6-point lead after grabbing consecutive wins on the third day of action.

With 18 points up for grabs in the last two days of the contest, Giri still has chances of winning the match, though Niemann is now the clear favourite to start his series of confrontations against strong GMs with a win - later this month, the US grandmaster will face Nikita Vitiugov and Etienne Bacrot.

The two games played on Friday featured a fierce tactical struggle in the middlegame and required Niemann to show proper technique in the endgame to convert his advantage.

Playing white in the first game of the day, Niemann correctly sacrificed an exchange to take advantage of Giri's undermined king position.

Niemann v. Giri - Classical game #3

Giri's 27...g6, weakening the dark squares on the kingside, invited Niemann to go for 28.Rxg5, the strongest move in the position.

After 28...hxg5 29.Nf6+ Kh8 30.Nd7+ (a discovered check), White quickly recovered the material and got a clear positional advantage.

30...f6 31.Nxf8 Rxf8 32.Bc4 Qe7 33.Bd5

White is clearly in the driver's seat, but the conversion was not at all trivial. At some point, after move 46, Niemann correctly simplified into a position with four pawns for a rook - surely not a frequently seen material imbalance.

Black's rook and knight will not be able to stop the three connected passers on the queenside. Niemann needed 16 more moves to force his opponent's resignation.

The second game of the day also saw Niemann getting a clear positional edge in the middlegame, but he needed to work much harder to convert his advantage into a win. In a tricky endgame which saw Giri making the decisive mistake on move 97, Niemann ended up prevailing only after playing his 117th move.

Utrecht City Hall

The beautiful playing hall at the Utrecth City Hall | Photo: Harry Gielen

Blitz

Rk. Name  TB1 
1 Niemann, Hans Moke 7,5
2 Giri, Anish 4,5

Classical

Rk. Name  TB1 
1 Giri, Anish 4,5
2 Niemann, Hans Moke 7,5

All games

New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.e4 2 c5 0 2.Nf3 2 d6 1 3.Bc4 3 Nf6 2 4.d3 1 e6 2 5.0-0 3 Be7 1 6.c3 2 B50: Sicilian: 2...d6, Miscellaneous. 0-0 2 7.Bb3 2 b5 10 8.Re1 8 Bb7 3 9.Nbd2 3 Nbd7 4 10.Bc2 2 e5 22 11.a4 9 a6 2 12.Nf1 13 Re8 0 13.Ng3 9 Bf8 3 14.d4 12 cxd4 17 15.cxd4 1 exd4 6 16.Nxd4 2 bxa4N 22 Predecessor: 16...d5 17.axb5 axb5 18.Rxa8 Bxa8 19.Nxb5 Nxe4 20.Nxe4 dxe4 21.Bf4 Nc5 22.Nc7 Qxd1 23.Rxd1 1-0 Lie,K (2531)-Urkedal,F (2438) NOR-chT 1011 2010 (2) 17.Ndf5 1:01 d5 12 18.Bxa4 16 dxe4 37 19.Bg5 1 Re5 36 20.Bxd7 41 Qxd7 2 21.Bxf6 5 Qxd1 1 22.Nh6+ 11 gxh6 1 23.Raxd1 2 Re6 9 24.Nh5 2 Be7 10 25.Bxe7 4 Rxe7 1 26.Rd6 1 Rc8 4 27.Rxh6 2 Rc2 1 28.Rb6 3 f5 4 29.Nf4 2 Kf7 3 30.h4 2 Rec7 2 31.Rd1 3 Rc1 2 31...R2c6= 32.Rd6 Rxd6 33.Rxd6 a5 32.Rxc1 1 Rxc1+ 1 33.Kh2 0 Bc8 3 34.h5 6 Rc5 2 35.Nh3 5 White should try 35.Kg3± 35...Kf8 14 35...f4 36.Kg3± 4 f4+ 4 37.Nxf4 2 Rg5+ 0 38.Kh2 0 Kf7 3 38...Rf5± 39.Rc6+- 2 Bd7 1 40.Rxa6 1 Rb5 1 41.Rd6 4 Ke7 2 42.Rd2 2 Bf5? 1 42...Bg4 43.Kg3 Bc8 43.Nd5+ 2 Kf7 1 44.Ne3 0 Be6 1 45.g4 1 Kf6 1 46.Kg3 1 Kg5 17 47.Rd6 2 Re5? 0 47...Kf6 48.Ra6 Rb7 48.b4+- 2 Bf7 0 49.Rc6 1 h6 0 50.Rc5 2 Rxc5 0 51.bxc5 1 Be8 0 52.Nf5 2 Bd7 0 53.Nd6 8 Bxg4 6 54.Nxe4+ 1 Kf5 1 55.c6 1 Be2 4 56.c7 2 Ba6 1 57.Nd6+ 1 1–0
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Niemann,H2711Giri,A27461–02024B50Hans Niemann vs The World 11.1
Giri,A2746Niemann,H27111–02024D50Hans Niemann vs The World 12.1
Niemann,H2711Giri,A27460–12024B50Hans Niemann vs The World 13.1
Giri,A2746Niemann,H27110–12024D50Hans Niemann vs The World 14.1
Niemann,H2711Giri,A2746½–½2024B51Hans Niemann vs The World 15.1
Giri,A2746Niemann,H27110–12024E17Hans Niemann vs The World 16.1
Niemann,H2711Giri,A27461–02024B51Hans Niemann vs The World 17.1
Giri,A2746Niemann,H2711½–½2024E08Hans Niemann vs The World 18.1
Niemann,H2711Giri,A2746½–½2024Hans Niemann vs The World 19.1
Giri,A2746Niemann,H27111–02024D50Hans Niemann vs The World 110.1
Niemann,H2711Giri,A27461–02024B51Hans Niemann vs The World 111.1
Giri,A2746Niemann,H27110–12024D38Hans Niemann vs The World 112.1
Niemann,H2711Giri,A27460–12024B51Hans Niemann vs The World 113.1
Giri,A2746Niemann,H2711½–½2024C65Hans Niemann vs The World 114.1
Niemann,H2711Giri,A27461–02024B90Hans Niemann vs The World 115.1
Giri,A2746Niemann,H27110–12024E11Hans Niemann vs The World 116.1
Niemann,H2711Giri,A2746½–½2024B90Hans Niemann vs The World 117.1
Giri,A2746Niemann,H2711½–½2024C65Hans Niemann vs The World 118.1
Niemann,H2711Giri,A27461–02024B90Hans Niemann vs The World 119.1
Giri,A2746Niemann,H27111–02024C65Hans Niemann vs The World 120.1
Niemann,H2711Giri,A27461–02024D10Hans Niemann vs The World 121.1
Giri,A2746Niemann,H27111–02024C65Hans Niemann vs The World 122.1
Niemann,H2711Giri,A27460–12024E11Hans Niemann vs The World 123.1
Giri,A2746Niemann,H27110–12024C66Hans Niemann vs The World 124.1

All technical information on Chess-Results...

Official website...


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.

We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.