Grischuk wins "Play for Russia" charity event

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
5/15/2020 – Alexander Grischuk won the three-day online "Play for Russia" charity tournament after beating Vladimir Kramnik and Evgeny Tomashevsky in the knockout phase. Kramnik, the main initiator of the event, showed he still has what it takes to face strong active grandmasters by clearly winning the round-robin section and only losing to Grischuk in the Armageddon tiebreaker of the semi-final.

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All proceeds go to charity 

The sole purpose of the "Play for Russia" tournament, played on Lichess.org, was to raise funds to support the country's regional hospitals and health workers fighting the Covid-19 epidemic. The Russian Chess Federation announced that they will continue to accept donations until the end of the week (see how you can help here) while so far 24,670,000 roubles have been collected, or around $335,000 USD. 

Each of the eight participants, representing a different region, destined his share of the money raised to a different organization. The winner of the event, Alexander Grischuk, donated his share to a charity institution dealing with the problem of homelessness in Russia.

homeless.ru

Photo taken from homeless.ru, the official website of the organization Grischuk decided to support with his participation

Kramnik dominates the round-robin

Although Vladimir Kramnik stated that all participants were the initiators of the charity event, everything seems to indicate, especially after Grischuk's post-tournament interview, that the former world champion was the main force behind the initiative. Kramnik was not only strong on the organizational side of things but also on the sportive component, as he was the clear winner of the double round-robin section.

The veteran from Tuapse scored six consecutive wins from rounds six to eleven before convincingly finishing first on 10½ out of 14 despite a penultimate-round loss against Evgeny Tomashevsky. Second-placed Peter Svidler ended 1½ points behind Kramnik, while Grischuk and Tomashevsky entered the knockout phase after collecting 8 out of 14 points.

Kramnik showed great tactical alertness in simple-looking positions, a great skill particularly in blitz chess — as has been proved by Anatoly Karpov, who continued to post strong results in this format many years after his retirement. Against Grischuk in round eleven, for example, the 44-year-old quickly noticed his opponent had blundered in a drawish endgame:

 
Grischuk vs. Kramnik - Round 11
Position after 48.Nd5

White thought playing 48.Nd5 was a way to quickly simplify the position, counting on 48...Nxd5 49.Bc4 pinning the piece. Instead, Black can win immediately with 48...Nc6+ 49.Kc4 Nd6+ and the knight is lost. 

Despite finishing day one as the leader, Grischuk made more mistakes like the one seen above and barely made it to the semi-finals on day two, winning in round fourteen while Sergey Karjakin lost against Svidler — Karjakin almost became one of the final four thanks to a strong performance in the second half of the round-robin section.

Standings after Round 14

Rk. Name Blitz rating Points TPR
1  Kramnik, Vladimir 2797 10½ 2913
2  Svidler, Peter 2754 9 2826
3  Tomashevsky, Evgeny 2765 8 2776
4  Grischuk, Alexander 2695 8 2766
5  Karjakin, Sergey 2766 2749
6  Inarkiev, Ernesto 2639 2653
7  Nepomniachtchi, Ian 2785 5 2613
8  Riazantsev, Alexander 2497 2474

All games - Round-robin section

 
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1.c4 e5 2.d3 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.g3 Ne7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.h4 h6 A21: English Opening: 1...e5 2 Nc3. 7.h5 Strongly threatening hxg6. g5! 8.f4
8...gxf4N White is slightly better. Predecessor: 8...exf4 9.gxf4 g4 10.e4 f5 11.Nge2 d6 12.Be3 Nd7 13.Qd2 c6 14.0-0-0 Nf6 0-1 (50) Rotstein,A (2501)-Eisenbeiser,A (2387) Austria 2017 9.gxf4 Nbc6 10.fxe5 Nxe5 Black should try 10...d6 11.Bf4!± d5 12.cxd5 Stronger than 12.Nxd5 Nxd5 13.cxd5 13.Bxd5 c6= 13...Re8 12...c6 13.Qd2 White is in control. Ng4 14.Bf3 14.dxc6± Nxc6 15.Bxc6 bxc6 16.Nf3 14...Kh7? This move loses the game for Black. Black should play 14...Nxd5 15.Nxd5 cxd5 15.d6+- Nd5 16.Bxd5 cxd5 17.Nxd5 Be6 18.Nc7 Rc8 19.Nf3 Qf6 20.d4 Bf5? 20...Qf5 21.Rc1 Bd7 21.Be5 Qd8 22.Qf4 Bd7 23.Bxg7 Kxg7 24.Rg1 Kh7 25.Rxg4 Bxg4 26.Qxg4 Black must now prevent Qf5+. Qxd6 27.Qf5+ Kg7 28.Nd5 Rfd8 29.Nf4 Qf6 30.Qxf6+ Kxf6 31.Kd2 Rg8 32.Rf1 Rcd8 33.e4 Ke7 34.Nd5+ Kf8 35.Ne5 Rg2+ 36.Kc3 Rc8+ 37.Kb3 Rg3+ 38.Kb4 Rg7 39.Rf6 Rh7 40.a4 Rc2 41.b3 Ke8 42.Rd6 Re2
43.Rd7! Nf6+ would kill now. Rg7 44.Nf6+ 44.Rxb7 a5+ 45.Kxa5 Rc2 46.Rb8+ Rc8 47.Rxc8# 44...Kf8 45.Kc5 45.Rxb7 Rc2 46.Rxa7 45...Rf2
46.Neg4! White wants to mate with Rd8+. Rg5+
47.Kd6! Kg7 48.Nxf2 Accuracy: White = 70%, Black = 36%.
1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Kramnik,V2797Inarkiev,E26391–02020Russia Charity Tournament14
Nepomniachtchi,I2785Tomashevsky,E2695½–½2020Russia Charity Tournament14
Karjakin,S2766Svidler,P27540–12020Russia Charity Tournament14
Riazantsev,A2497Grischuk,A27650–12020Russia Charity Tournament14

Semi-finals: Grischuk beats Kramnik in Armageddon

The semis were not played simultaneously, and the first match-up was the showdown between Grischuk and Kramnik. The players traded blows with black before going to Armageddon. Grischuk needed a win in the tiebreaker as he had the white pieces. He went for it and got a second straight win to advance to the final. Kramnik resigned after 40.Nh5:

 
Grischuk vs. Kramnik - Armageddon
Position after 40.Nh5

The threat of exchanging everything and forking on f6 prompted the former world champion to resign. Grischuk later called his two consecutive wins of the semi-finals the "cleanest" games he played in the tournament.

 
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1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.0-0 e5 5.d3 Nc6 6.c3 A07: Réti Opening: New York and Capablanca Systems. Nge7 7.e4 0-0 8.b4 The position is equal. dxe4 9.dxe4 Qxd1 10.Rxd1 Be6
11.Bb2N Predecessor: 11.Be3 f6 12.Nbd2 Nc8 13.Bf1 Nd6 14.a3 Rfd8 15.c4 Bg4 16.Kg2 f5 17.c5 Nxe4 0-1 (36) Pantsulaia,L (2572)-Sivuk,V (2490) Ureki 2015 11...Rfd8 12.Nbd2 f6 13.Bf1 Nc8 14.a3 Nb6 15.Rab1 a5 16.Rdc1 Bh6 17.Rc2 Rd7 18.Bc1 Rad8 19.Kg2 Kg7 20.Be2 axb4 20...Re7 feels hotter. 21.Bb5 a4 22.Be2 Rf7 23.h3 Rff8 21.axb4 Ra8 22.Nb3 Bxb3 23.Bxh6+ Kxh6 24.Rxb3 Nd8 25.Rbb2 Ne6 26.Ra2 Rdd8 27.Nd2 c5 28.Bg4 Nc7! 29.bxc5 Na4 30.Nb3 Nb5 31.Rd2
aiming for Rxd8. 31...Nbxc3 32.f3? 32.Rxd8= and White stays safe. Rxd8 33.Ra3 32...Nxa2-+ 33.Rxa2 Nc3 34.Rc2 Nd1 Hoping for ... Ne3+.Black is clearly winning. 35.Rc1 35.Kg1 35...Ra3 36.Be6 Ra2+ 37.Kg1 Re2 38.Bd5 Re1+ 39.Kg2 Ne3+
Double Attack 40.Kf2 Rxc1 41.Kxe3 41.Nxc1 Nxd5 42.exd5 41...Rxd5 42.exd5 Rc3+ Double Attack 43.Kd2 Rxb3 44.d6 Ra3 Accuracy: White = 66%, Black = 91%.
0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Grischuk,A2765Kramnik,V27970–12020Russia Charity Final-41.1
Kramnik,V2797Grischuk,A27650–12020Russia Charity Final-41.2
Grischuk,A2765Kramnik,V27971–02020Russia Charity Final-41.3

Select an entry from the list to switch between games

Later on, Tomashevsky defeated Svidler 1½:½, showing strong technical skills to beat his rival from Saint Petersburg. In game one, he entered a slightly superior rook endgame, the kind that is particularly difficult to defend against in blitz — especially when facing such a strong technical player:

 
Tomashevsky vs. Svidler - Game 1
Position after 33.axb3

Tomashevky won this endgame and drew game two to reach the final.

 
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1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 Bc5 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3 0-0 6.Nge2 A23: English Opening: 1...e5 2 Nc3 Nf6 3 g3 c6. d5 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Nxd5 White has an edge. cxd5 9.d4 exd4 10.Nxd4 Nc6 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.0-0 Bf5 13.Bd2
13...Qb6N Predecessor: 13...Qd6 14.Qa4 Bb6 15.Rfd1 Rfd8 16.Bc3 Qe6 17.Rd2 Rac8 18.b4 Bxe3 19.Re2 d4 20.Bxd4 Rxd4 21.Rxe3 Qd7 22.Rae1 Be6 23.a3 h6 24.Rc3 1/2-1/2 (24) Varkentin,W (1939)-Jacon,M (1972) ICCF email 2016 14.Rc1 Be7 15.Bc3 Rfd8 16.Qa4 Strongly threatening Ba5. a5 17.Rfd1 Be6 18.Rd2 Bf8 19.h4 h6 20.Rcd1 Bb4 21.Qc2 Qc5 21...Bxc3= 22.Qxc3 a4 22.Rc1 Rdc8 23.e4 Bxc3 24.Qxc3 Qxc3 25.Rxc3 Rab8 Better is 25...d4 26.Rxd4 Rd8 27.Rxd8+ Rxd8 26.b3 26.exd5± cxd5 27.Bxd5 26...Kf8 27.Rc5 a4 28.bxa4 dxe4 29.Bxe4 Rb4 30.Bxc6 Rxa4 31.Bxa4 Threatens to win with Rxc8+. Rxc5 32.Bb3 Bxb3 33.axb3± Endgame KR-KR Rc1+ 34.Kg2 Rb1 35.Rd3 Ke7 36.Kf3 Kf6 36...Rb2 37.Kf4 37.Ke3 37...g5+? Now Black is done in. 37...Rb2± 38.hxg5++- hxg5+
39.Ke4! Rb2?
39...Ke6 was necessary. 40.g4 f6 40.f3! Ke6 41.g4 f6 42.Re3 Rb1 43.Kd4+ Kd6 44.Kc4 Rc1+ 45.Rc3 Rb1 46.b4 Ke5? 46...Kc6 47.Re3 Rc1+ 48.Kb3 Rb1+ 49.Ka4 Ra1+ 50.Ra3 Re1 47.Kc5 f5 48.gxf5 Kxf5 49.b5 Ke6 50.Kc6 Accuracy: White = 86%, Black = 53%.
1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Tomashevsky,E2695Svidler,P27541–02020Russia Charity Final-41.1
Svidler,P2754Tomashevsky,E2695½–½2020Russia Charity Final-41.2

Final: A misleading result

The deciding match of the event was a four-game encounter which saw Grischuk getting tournament victory before playing game four, as he already had a 3:0 lead. However, as stated by the winner himself, the face-off was "very complex". Taking advantage of your opponent's mistakes is a key ability in blitz though, and the former world blitz champion is not one to let these opportunities slip away easily.

In game one, Tomashevsky allowed the black queen to enter his position decisively:

 
Tomashevsky vs. Grischuk - Game 1
Position after 29...f4

Black is already better, but 30.Rxd5 loses the game more quickly than 30.Bf2, going for a passive defence. After 30...Qxg5+ 31.Kh2 Qg3+, there is no way to save the game.

 
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1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.d4 0-0 6.h3 e5 7.d5 a5 8.g4 Na6 9.Be3 Nc5 10.Nd2 c6 11.Be2 a4 12.Qc2 Qa5 E92: King's Indian: Classical: 6 Be2 e5: 7 dxe5, 7 Be3 and Petrosian System without 7...Nbd7. 13.a3 Bd7
14.Kf1N 14.0-0-0± Predecessor: 14.0-0-0 Rfc8 15.Kb1 cxd5 16.exd5 Rab8 17.f3 b6 18.Rdg1 e4 19.fxe4 b5 20.e5 dxe5 21.cxb5 1/2-1/2 (44) Hamitevici,V (2476) -Fedorov,A (2566) Kishinev 2019 14...cxd5= The position is equal. 15.cxd5 b5 16.Kg2 Rac8 17.f3 Ne8 18.Rhc1 f5 19.b4 Black is under pressure. axb3! 20.Nxb3 Nxb3 21.Qxb3 Nf6 22.Qb4 Qd8! 23.Nxb5 Rb8 24.a4 h5 24...fxe4= keeps the balance. 25.fxe4 Nh5 25.exf5 White should play 25.gxf5± gxf5 26.Rg1 26.Qxd6 fxe4 27.Bc5 Ne8-+ 25...gxf5 26.g5 Nxd5
Double Attack 27.Bc4 Be6 28.Bxd5! Bxd5 29.Rd1 But not 29.Qxd6?
29...Rxb5! 30.Qxd8 Rb2+ 31.Bf2 Rxd8-+
29...f4 30.Rxd5?? This move loses the game for White. 30.Bf2 nothing else works. Qxg5+ 31.Kh2 30...Qxg5+-+ Not 30...fxe3 31.Rg1 31.Kh2 31.Kh1-+ fxe3 32.Rg1 31...Qg3+ Double Attack. Black mates. 32.Kh1 Qxf3+ Double Attack 33.Kh2 Qg3+ 34.Kh1 Qxh3+ 35.Kg1 Qxe3+ Accuracy: White = 40%, Black = 81%. 35...fxe3 36.Rd2 exd2 37.Qxd2 Rf4 38.Qd5+ Kh7 39.Qg2 Qe3+ 40.Kh1 Rh4+ 41.Qh2 Qf3+ 42.Kg1 Rg4+ 43.Qg3 Rxg3+ 44.Kh2 Qg2#
0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Tomashevsky,E2695Grischuk,A27650–12020Russia Charity Final-42.1
Grischuk,A2765Tomashevsky,E26951–02020Russia Charity Final-42.2
Tomashevsky,E2695Grischuk,A27650–12020Russia Charity Final-42.3

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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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