Sharjah GP Rd1: MVL, Adams, and Rapport draw first blood

The first leg, in Sharjah, is being held from February 18 - 27 (with a rest day on the 23rd) at the Sharjah Cultural & Chess Club. The time control in the GP tournaments is 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, 50 minutes for the next 20 moves and then 15 minutes for the rest of the game plus an additional 30 seconds per move starting from move one. The first prize is €20,000; the total prize fund is is €130,000.

While the underlying principle of the FIDE Grand Prix is unchanged, the structure brings some fundamental modifications that have significant repercussions. This is not to imply they are bad though. The idea remains to organize four major tournaments that bring in a number of the world’s best players, and let them duke it out to find the two best overall performers and give them a spot in the next Candidates tournament.

All photos by Max Avdeev

While top seed Maxime Vachier-Lagrave seems in a wistful mood...

... Hou Yifan arrived as her chipper self. Initially she had been slated to play the Grand Prix, then she ducked out of it, and was replaced by Wei Yi. Finally, at the last minute, it was announced she woujld indeed play in the Grand Prix, and the Chinese Chess Federation, with whom AGON had been negotiating this, was more than happy to oblige.

What has changed is the number of players who are allowed to participate, 24 in all with 18 per event, increasing the opportunities for players not already in the top ten, and give them a chance at a fairy tale result. One need not worry this is a return to the massive 20+ player round-robins that were not unheard of in the 60s and 70s. This will be a reduced Swiss Open with 18 players played over nine rounds. For the players, this changes the dynamic considerably. For one thing, it means that contrary to a round-robin where you not only know who you will play and when, but you even know the color. Here, every day will mean a surprise, and since the number of rounds is odd, even the colors can be swapped if circumstances warrant it.

Security was tight and the players were thoroughly scanned, searched and prodded before entering the playing hall. Shoes were understandably checked very closely.

Hou Yifan's game against Ian Nepomniachtchi was far from dull, as both set out complications that left the engineless spectator scratching his head, but ended in a draw.

Maxime Vachier Lagrave had an intriguing bout with Li Chao, one of the three Chinese players in the Grand Prix. The Frenchman seemed to have a lingering edge, but it was not obvious it could be squeezed into a win, though that is exactly what he did.

Michael Adams scored a nice win over Saleh Salem in which he seemed to be the all-powerful puppeteer

Michael Adams vs Salem Saleh

Hikaru Nakamura never got anything to work with against Dmitry Jakovenko, and while he squirmed and squeezed, it was to no avail and they drew.

Jon Hammer faced Alexander Grischuk in a tough game, but the curious thing was the position in which they agreed to shake hands and call it a day.

Grischuk vs Hammer

While it's true Black is a pawn down, White's pawns are hardly an issue, and Black has both the bishop pair, and a very thorny a-pawn that could easily be advanced the next move to a2. After that Bh7-g6-f7 would secure the pawn and an advantage.

The Norwegian undoubtedly appreciates he is the underdog not only in the game, but in the event, however if he does not seize the chances when he gets them, there will be no Cinderalla endings awaiting him at the end.

Grischuk clearly had no illusions on how he stood

On the other hand, two players who know nothing about the word 'peace' are Ding Liren and...

...the incredibly active and entertaining Richard Rapport.

Guest commentator Alexander Yermolinsky, who once crossed swords with Garry Kasparov back when they were juniors in the Soviet Union, brings in his experience and knowledge as he annotates the game between the two firebrand players.

Ding Liren vs Richard Rapport (annotated by Alex Yermolinsky)

If you enjoyed Yermolinsky's analysis, be sure to check out the next issue of ChessBase Magazine where a more in-depth version of his analysis will appear.

Ilya Merenzon (right) shows off the WorldChess website to his hosts

Round 1 on 2017/02/18 at 15:00

Round one games (with times per move)

Live Commentary

AGON is offering exclusive pay-per-view video of the games and live commentary. It comes in three packages: a one-time $10 fee just for Sharjah GP, a full package of all the events in the World Championship cycle for $30, and a $250 package, which is the same as the $30 Base but comes with signed posters from each event.

For more information, see the widget on the main page.

See also reports with game analysis on ChessBase India

Links Official tournament site All games in PGN The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 14 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.