10/20/2023 – Round 8 of the Qatar Masters saw Arjun Erigaisi beating David Paravyan to enter Friday’s final round as the sole leader, with six players standing a half point behind. Among these six chasers are Hikaru Nakamura and Nodirbek Abdusattorov — Arjun’s rival in round 9 — who both grabbed wins on Thursday. Former co-leaders Karthikeyan Murali, Narayanan S.L., Javokhir Sindarov and Nodirbek Yakubboev still have chances to win the event as well. | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy
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After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6!?, Black takes the initiative, luring White into overextending their central pawns, only to dismantle them with precise counterplay. The Tango is not just an opening – it’s a weapon, designed for players who want to win as Black
In round 8, out of the three games featuring a clash of co-leaders, only one finished decisively, with sixth seed Arjun Erigaisi beating David Paravyan on board 3 (Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura play all their games on fixed boards, the first and the second).
Before Arjun collected the crucial win, though, Abhimanyu Puranik ended Anish Giri’s hopes of making a last-minute run for tournament victory. The Indian grandmaster thought for half an hour before giving up his queen to enter a forced drawing line.
Abhimanyu vs. Giri
12.Qxf7+ is the strongest move in the position, leading to a forced repetition — i.e. any other move grants an advantage for Black. After 12...Kxf7 13.Nxe6 Qa5 14.Nc7+ Black cannot escape the checks without making major concessions.
Two Super Grandmasters from India explain the ins & outs of Attack, Tactics an Calculations in these two video courses.
By this point Giri knew there was no way around it, as he silently agreed to a draw by allowing a perpetual check: 14...Kf8 15.Ne6+ 15.Kf7, etc.
Anish Giri took on Abhimanyu Puranik in the 8th round of the Qatar Masters 2023. What happened in this game was simply epic - Abhimanyu sacrificed his Queen!
Arjun, on his part, found a tactical sequence that left him in the driver’s seat in a position that looks completely balanced at first sight.
Arjun vs. Paravyan
Paravyan, playing black against one of the tournament favourites, mistakenly offered a trade of queens two moves ago. What he had missed in his calculations is that after the queen swap, White can play 17.Bxb5 — the idea is that after the forced 17...axb5 18.Nxb5 Ra6 19.Nxd6 Rxd6, White can gain an exchange with 20.Ba3
Arjun not only emerged with a rook and two pawns for two minor pieces — but what two pawns! The connected passers guaranteed him a long-standing advantage, which he proficiently converted into a 48-move victory.
In this Videocourse we deal with different aspects of the middlegame which are important to study and improve your general understanding of chess structures.
Paravyan resigned in this position. Note that the passers on the a and b-files are still alive, and now have two connected colleagues in an identical configuration a few squares to the right.
Arjun Erigaisi facing David Paravyan | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy
Standing a half point behind Arjun are six players. Besides former co-leaders Karthikeyan, Narayanan S.L., Javokhir Sindarov and Nodirbek Yakubboev, the powerful duo of Hikaru Nakamura and Nodirbek Abdusattorov now belong to the chasing pack, as they both scored victories in Thursday’s eighth round.
Abdusattorov will play white against the leader in the final round, while Nakamura will have the black pieces against Narayanan.
In case of a tie for first place, a playoff will decide the winner of the event.
Arjun Erigaisi is the sole leader of Qatar Masters Open 2023 after Round 8 with 6.5/8 points♟️
The final round will take place tomorrow, Friday 20th of October, at Lusail Sport Arena at 1 pm. 📍
Completely out of contention for first place is perennial favourite Magnus Carlsen, who nonetheless obtained a nice win over experienced grandmaster Gregory Kaidanov, a United States Hall of Fame inductee.
1.d4d52.Bf4c53.e3Nc64.c3Nf65.Nd2e66.Ngf3cxd47.exd4Nh58.Be3Bd69.Bd3Nf410.Bxf4Bxf411.0-00-012.Re1Bd713.Nb3b614.Qe2g615.a4f616.Bb5Qc717.a5Rae818.g3Bh619.axb6axb620.c4dxc421.Qxc4Qd622.Ra6Rb823.Nc5Nxd424.Nxd4Qxc525.Ra7Rbd826.b4Qxc427.Bxc4Rfe828.b5Bc829.Nc6Rd630.Rc7Bd731.Ra1Bf832.Raa7Bxc633.bxc6Rd1+34.Kg2Rc135.Ra4b536.Bxb5Rc537.Bc4Bd6Opposite-colored bishops
favor the attacker. Pure opposite-colored bishop endings have a large drawish
tendency, but with rooks they favor the attacker, like in the middlegame:38.Rb7!Kh8?!This runs into a direct refutation. But Black is lost in any
case.38...Rxc6?!39.Bb5+-After38...h6!?one sample line runs39.Bb3Rxc640.Raa7Rc341.Ba4Rd842.Rg7+Kh843.Rh7+Kg844.Rag7+Kf845.Rf7+Kg846.Rhg7+Kh847.Rxg6Rc748.Rxh6+Kg849.Rfxf6+-39.Bxe6!Magnus' mighty point.Re739...Rxe640.Ra8+Re841.Rxe8+Bf842.Rxf8#39...Rxc640.Bd7+-40.Rxe7Bxe741.Ra8+Kg742.Ra7Rxc642...Kf843.c7+-43.Rxe7+Kf844.Rf7+44.Rf7+Ke845.Bd7+Kxf746.Bxc6+-1–0
Most players prefer to attack rather than defend. But what is the correct way to do it? GM Dr Karsten Müller has compiled many rules and motifs to guide you, along with sharpening your intuition for the exceptions.
Carlos Alberto ColodroCarlos 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.
How do you play the Queen's Gambit Accepted? Does White have promising variations or can Black construct a water-tight repertoire? The Powerbook provides the answers based on 300 000 games, most of them played by engines.
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