Hans Niemann kept his winning ways at the outset of his match against Etienne Bacrot in Paris. After beating Anish Giri and Nikita Vitiugov in similar matches, Niemann again got off to a strong start, scoring a draw and a win to get a 3-point lead against his French opponent.
Giri, who is now playing the Sinquefield Cup, talked about Niemann in his round-1 post-game interview with Cristian Chirila. The Dutch star noted that what surprised him the most about Niemann was "just the level", and then elaborated:
I sort of understand some of my colleagues. They have this strong assumption that Hans is a noob, and that he must be a noob - but then when he proves you wrong, it's really hard to accept that.
In the first game of the match taking place at the Blitz Society Bar, Niemann had little trouble equalising with black out of a Sicilian Defence. Following simplifications, a draw was signed in a materially balanced rook endgame with four pawns per side.
Another Sicilian was seen in game 2. A tactical struggle (analysed below) saw Niemann emerging victorious after Bacrot failed to find a tactical continuation that would have left him in the driver's seat.
Days 2 and 3 of the match will feature 2 classical games per day. Then, on Friday and Saturday, the rapid and blitz sections will follow, respectively.
A great-looking venue for a chess match | Photo: Frans Peeters
