Two co-leaders, ten chasers

After four rounds at the Sharjah Masters, Anish Giri and Aleksandar Indjic are sharing the lead with 3½ points. Giri, the second seed, has won three games and drew in round two against Karthik Venkataraman. Indjic, who won the 2024 European Championship, dropped half a point in round three when he was held to a draw by Visakh N R. Giri and Indjic are scheduled to face each other in round five, with Giri playing white in the match between co-leaders.

Ten players are half a point behind on 3/4, including the aforementioned Visakh, who remains the lowest-rated in the chasing group. Among the higher seeds in this pack are Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Parham Maghsoodloo and Amin Tabatabaei.

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.

Faustino Oro, the 11-year-old Argentine competing as the penultimate seed, continues to impress. He has collected 2½ points from one win and three draws, all against opponents rated 2555 or above (the 'Messi of chess' currently has a 2454 rating). In round five, he will face Sergei Azarov, the 42-year-old Belarusian grandmaster ranked 20^th in the tournament.

Aleksandar Indjic during round four

Faustino Oro

Zemlyanskii 0-1 Giri

Zemlyanskii, Ivan2563

0–1

Giri, Anish2738

8th Sharjah Masters-A 2025 20.05.2025[CC]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.0-0 d6 6.a4 Zemlyanskii, aged 14, obtained his final GM norm last year in Sharjah. He demonstrates that he is not afraid to enter a positional battle against one of the strongest positional players in the circuit. Be6 Giri steers away from the main line, perhaps to check if his young opponent's preparation is up to par. 7.Nbd2 0-0 8.Re1 h6 The players, via a different move order, have returned to a somewhat theoretical setup. This was played, for example, by Erwin l'Ami - Giri's longtime second - back in 2010. 9.b3 The youngster, however, deviates from the most popular lines here. This move is only recorded once in the database - it was played by Hans Niemann during his blitz match against Daniil Dubov earlier this year. More popular is 9.c3 Qd7 10.a5 a6 11.Qb3 Rab8 following the typical plans in the Italian Opening. 9...Nh7 10.h3 Ng5 11.Nf1 Nxf3+ 12.Qxf3 Bg5 13.Bb2

Zemlyanskii fianchettoed his bishop almost instantly. It was worth considering to develop it via e3. 13.Be3 and e.g. Bxc4 14.bxc4 g6 13...Qe7 14.Ng3 g6 By playing natural, developing moves, Giri has managed to fully equalise with black. 15.Bc3 a5 16.Bd5 Bd7 Giri keeps the tension - he wants to keep the battle strategic, as he intends to outplay his young opponent slowly. 17.Ne2 Qf6 18.Qxf6 Bxf6 19.f4 The queens have left the board, and it is White who plays the first major pawn break. Engines like this move - unlike the pawn break that will come later in the game. Bg7 20.fxe5 Bxe5 21.d4 Bg7 22.Rad1 Nd8 23.e5 c6 24.Bc4 d5 25.Bd3 Ne6 26.Bb2 b5 Black looks for active play on the queenside, since White has pushed his e-pawn to the fifth rank, gaining space on the opposite flank. With this pawn structure on the board, the bishop on b2 looks rather misplaced. 27.axb5 cxb5 28.c4

The crucial positional mistake in the game. White needed to improve his pieces before breaking open the position. White might try 28.Ra1 Rfb8 29.Reb1 and it is unclear how to make progress with either side - probably a lengthy battle would ensue. 28...dxc4 29.bxc4 b4 Following White's c2-c4, Giri quickly entered this line. Despite White's central pawns looking dangerous, his connected passers on the queenside are quicker - and are ready to wreak havoc on Black's position. 30.Be4 Rac8 31.c5 Zemlyanskii spent 15 minutes (of the 21 he had left) before playing this move, which is a major concession. Black was already in trouble. A single positional mistake (c2-c4) turned out to be quite costly. Bb5 32.Ng3 Another mistake - the king leaves the queenside while not creating any active threats. It is difficult to suggest anything for White. The engine gives 32.g3 a4 33.Nf4 a3 34.Ba1 b3 35.Rb1 which also looks quite bad. 32...a4 33.Bc2 a3 34.Ba1

It has been a bad day for this bishop. 34...Bc4 35.Rb1 Rb8 36.Bb3 Bxb3 37.Rxb3 Rfd8 38.Ne2 Bxe5 The killer shot. Everything works tactically for Black. 39.Reb1 39.dxe5 Nxc5 40.Rbb1 b3 41.Bc3 b2 is winning for Black. 39...a2

White resigned, as there is no good square for the rook. 39...a2 40.Rd1 40.Re1 Nxd4 41.Nxd4 Bxd4+ 42.Bxd4 Rxd4 43.Ra1 Rd2 44.c6 and even the straightforward Rc8 45.Rxb4 Rxc6 is winning. 40...Nxc5 41.dxc5 Rxd1+ 0–1

The Classical Sicilian - A Timeless Counterattacking Weapon

The course is designed to provide a deep yet practical repertoire for Black, balancing solid foundations with aggressive counterplay.
The Classical Sicilian has stood the test of time as one of the most principled and fighting defences against 1.e4. With its rich history spanning world championship matches and modern elite tournaments, this opening remains a favourite among players who seek a dynamic, counterattacking approach without venturing into extreme theoretical battles like the Najdorf or Sveshnikov.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: 6.h3

Ivan Zemlyanskii

Standings after round 4

...82 players

All available games

Links

• Official site
• Full technical information on Chess-Results
• Daneshvar wins Sharjah Masters, Divya clinches Challengers (2024)
• Arjun Erigaisi wins Sharjah Masters (2023)
• Nodirbek Abdusattorov wins Sharjah Masters (2022)
• M. Amin Tabatabaei wins Sharjah Masters (2021)