Niemann starts off with a win in match against Vitiugov

A win and a draw

The second match of the "Hans Niemann against the world" series kicked off on Wednesday at the Gem Fitzrovia Hotel in London. Unlike the match against Anish Giri in Utrecht - which started with the blitz section - the match in England sees the 6 classical games taking place first, with 2 encounters scheduled daily until Friday.

In the series, classical games are played with a 90+30 time control (90 minutes for the game, with 30-second increments per move). This rather quick classical control prompted Nikita Vitiugov to struggle with time management during the first 2 encounters - especially in the inaugural game, in which Niemann made the most of a considerable advantage on the clock to score a win with the black pieces (analysed below).

Understanding Middlegame Strategies Vol.1 - 9

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Fatigue was not a damaging factor for Niemann, who beat Giri in a similar 5-day match just last week. The format of the matches - including 6 classical games, 6 rapid games and 12 blitz games - is quite exhausting. This aspect might end up being decisive, as Niemann, aged 21, is much younger than Vitiugov (37 y.o.) and his next opponent, Etienne Bacrot (41 y.o.).

Nonetheless, Vitiugov managed to escape with a draw from a considerably worse position in Wednesday's afternoon game.

The second game in progress | Photo: Frans Peeters

Vitiugov 0 - 1 Niemann

Vitiugov, Nikita2678

0–1

Niemann, Hans Moke2711

Hans Niemann vs The World 2 London14.08.2024[CC]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0-0 5.Bd3 d5 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 dxc4 8.Bxc4 c5 9.Nf3 Qc7 10.Be2 b6 11.Bb2 Bb7 12.0-0 Nc6 13.dxc5 bxc5 14.c4 This line had been recently played by Maghsoodloo and Pranav at the World Blitz Team Champioship. Despite the structure being symmetrical, there is plenty of recourses available for both sides. e5 Niemann quickly played this novelty, showing he was looking for a fighting game. 15.Qc2 Rfe8 16.Rfd1

16...Na5 Again the most trying continuation in the position. 16...h6 would keep the status quo, and the game might continue with 17.Rab1 Re6 18.Nd2 etcetera. 17.Nd2 Bc6 18.Bc3 Nb7 19.Nf1 Ne4 20.Be1 f5 21.f3 Ned6 22.Ng3 Now that the manoeuvring phase is coming to an end, it's time to look for a plan. After thinking for 9 minutes, Vitiugov plays this knight jump, which prepares the upcoming f3-f4 - which turned out not to be the most precise plan in this setup. Better is 22.a4 a5 23.Bf2 Re6 keeping the tension. Engines evaluate the position as very slightly favourable for White - in a practical game, it's a 3-result encounter. 22...Qf7 23.f4 Qe6 24.Bd3 g6 Niemann does keep the tension, correctly. He should not play ...e5-e4, blocking his bishop. Notice that he has given up the dark-squared bishop for a knight, so he would have trouble defending against a potential attack by White along the dark squares. 25.Rab1 Re7 26.Bf2 Rae8 27.Qc3 Qf7 28.h3 h6 29.Rb2 g5

Not the strongest move objectively. However, Niemann had 52 minutes to Vitiugov's 22 at this point, and he probably felt he could put pressure on his opponent by creating more imbalances in the position. An alternative line is 29...h5 30.Nf1 Qg7 31.Bh4 Rd7 and the tense struggle continues. 30.fxe5 Rxe5 31.Bb1 Vitiugov spent 5 of the 17 minutes he had left on the clock before playing this move, which is imprecise. Niemann still had more than 50 minutes available. 31.Be2 is stronger, keeping an eye on the kingside - though Vitiugov surely feared f4 32.Bh5 Qxc4 33.Ne2 Qxc3 34.Nxc3 R8e7 which, granted, looks better for Black. But the engines evaluate the position as close to equal. 31...f4 Black has the initiative and a big advantage on the clock. 32.Nf1 f3 A tempting move, but not the most accurate. Better is 32...Ne4 all but forcing 33.Bxe4 Rxe4 34.Nd2 R4e6 and Black is still threatening to break through along the light squares. 33.Bg3 Ne4 34.Bxe4 Rxe4 35.Rf2 Rxc4 36.Qb2 g4

Inviting White to create more weaknesses around his king - Niemann ups the pressure with close to a half-hour advantage on the clock. 37.hxg4 Better is 37.Nd2 Ra4 38.e4 looking to alleviate the pressure. 37...Rxg4 38.gxf3 Rg6 39.e4 Kh7 40.Qc3 Bb5 41.Rg2 Reg8 Doubling on the g-file. White's position is slowly collapsing, and Vitiugov had only 1.5 minutes on the clock. 42.f4 Bxf1 Niemann kept playing quickly, and this was an imprecise capture - but finding the correct response with almost no time on the clock was surely going to be difficult for his opponent. 43.Rxf1 Much better is 43.Kxf1 but figuring out why is no easy task, and Vitiugov was playing (almost) solely on increments. 43...Nd6 44.Qf3 Rg4 45.Rff2 This is the decisive mistake. But it would have still been difficult to defend the position otherwise. Stronger is 45.Re1 and after Qh5 White goes for 46.Re3 defending from the side. 45...Qg7 46.Kh2 Qg6 47.f5 Qh5+

White is doomed. 48.Kg1 Nxe4 The square of white defenders on f2-g2-f3-f3 cannot keep the king safe anymore. Vitiugov resigned. 0–1

All games

Master Class Vol.17 - Boris Spassky

In this video course, experts including Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin, Karsten Müller and Oliver Reeh, examine the games of Boris Spassky. Let them show you which openings Spassky chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were and much more.

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