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Curiously, Magnus Carlsen finished the 2023 edition of the Norway Chess super-tournament without a single win in classical chess. However, the local hero won 7 out of the 8 Armageddon deciders he played in Stavanger. This year, in the inaugural edition of the parallel women’s event, Ju Wenjun has followed in the footsteps of Carlsen in the first four rounds, drawing all her classical games and prevailing in every single tiebreaker.
Given the tournament’s scoring system, this approach is not enough to top the standings — Carlsen finished the 2023 event in sixth place (out of 10). Now, Ju’s victories in the rapid tiebreakers left her in shared second place at a 2½-point distance from sole leader R Vaishali. The Indian rising star obtained classical wins in rounds 2 and 4.
In Thursday’s fourth round, Vaishali got the better of Pia Cramling with the black pieces. Cramling faltered decisively amid a balanced-yet-tricky rook endgame.
48.fxe6, as played in the game, loses to 48...Rxe6 49.Rg5 Re5 50.Rg6+ Kc5, and the king crucially approaches the a-file passer. Cramling resigned four moves later.
Understanding Middlegame Strategies Vol.1 - 9
In this Video-Course we deal with different dynamic decisions involving pawns. The aim of this Course is to arm club/tournament players with fresh ideas which they can use in their own practice.
In the first diagrammed position, Cramling needed to play 48.Rg8 or 48.Rg7, and after 48...exf5 49.Kf4 White can keep the battle going.
Vaishali was not the only player to grab a classical win in round 4, as Anna Muzychuk defeated Humpy Koneru, also with the black pieces. Muzychuk is now tied for second place with Ju, who beat Lei Tingjie with black in the Armageddon tiebreaker.
R Vaishali playing black against living legend Pia Cramling | Photo: Stev Bonhage
Analysis by André Schulz
The aim of this course is to help you understand how to make tactical opportunities arise as well as to sharpen your tactical vision - these selected lectures will help to foster your overall tactical understanding.
Anna Muzychuk | Photo: Stev Bonhage
| Rk | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts |
| 1 | R Vaishali | IND | 2489 | 8.5 |
| 2 | Ju Wenjun | CHN | 2559 | 6 |
| Anna Muzychuk | UKR | 2505 | 6 | |
| 4 | Lei Tingjie | CHN | 2548 | 5 |
| 5 | Humpy Koneru | IND | 2545 | 3 |
| Pia Cramling | SWE | 2449 | 3 |
Attacking with the Jobava London System
The Jobava London System is a minor form of the London System. White tries to play Lf4 quickly followed by Nc3.
