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When elite chess stars are given a chance to prepare against a five-player field, there is no doubt they will study their opponents' play in depth. Not doing so would simply be naïve. Maybe that is why most supertournaments prefer to gather a larger field and some — perhaps following the example given by Wijk aan Zee — prefer to call up players of different strengths, looking for more unbalanced struggles.
The Shenzhen Masters, on the other hand, has kept its original approach despite the first two editions ending up with 46 out of 60 games drawn. Ding Liren won the first edition after scoring a convincing 'plus 3', while Maxime Vachier-Lagrave won in 2018 after getting better tie-break scores than Giri and Ding, who also finished on 'plus 1'.
The newcomers, Jakovenko and Rapport | Photo: cca.imsa.cn
Anish Giri scored 5½/10 on both occasions, with a single win and no defeats in 2017 and 2018. Curiously, his victim in the first edition was Pentala Harikrishna, who back then had the white pieces and was overpowered by Giri's pair of bishops after the queens left the board rather early in a Sicilian. This year, Giri had the white pieces and played the Italian...but the result was the same.
The players reached the same position Anish had played against Ernesto Inarkiev during last year's World Rapid Championship, except that Ernesto did not capture on d3 when given the chance:
My Black Secrets in the Modern Italian
The Italian Game is considered a sound but quiet opening without early trades, giving rise to rich positions where plans are more important than forced variations. So shows black's plans on this DVD.
White had just moved the bishop away from the defence of d3 and Harikrishna quickly snapped off the undefended pawn, going for a forced variation that swiped the queens off the board: 11...♛xd3 12.♘xe5 ♝xd1 13.♘xd3 ♝xb3 14.axb3 and White is ready to expand on the queenside.
Black's position is uncomfortable, and Anish started taking his time to find the most precise continuations. This led to White gaining a pawn with a small tactic soon afterwards:
You can move the pieces on the diagram above!
25.♖xd7! and after 25...♜xd7 26.♘xf6+ gxf6 27.♖xe8 White has both a material edge and the initiative. Five moves later, Giri gobbled up another pawn, and the Indian player decided it was time to resign when he was about to reach the time control.
The playing hall | Photo: cca.imsa.cn
Hari quickly bounced back, however, showing good technique to take down Richard Rapport in the very next round. Rapport played the French and a position with symmetrical pawn structures was reached after 17 moves:
Unorthodox against the French Winawer
The French Defence is an aggressive and tough opening. Typically, the second player shows his ambitions as early as on move three in the main, after - 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 - the Winawer Variation. Black’s intentions are clear - pressure in the center, and quick development. Check the new Learn in 60 minutes to find a repertoire based on the move 4.Ng1-e2. The author GM Dejan Bojkov used it to win a crucial game at the Canadian Open Championship 2011, which helped him share victory at this prestigious event.
White has a bishop against Black's knight and has pushed his h-pawn, but there are not many more imbalances to work with, especially when facing a strong player well-versed in defence. The position was close to equal throughout, until Richard incorrectly chose to exchange the minor pieces:
Offering a queen exchange with 39...♛xd6 was called for, trying to liquidate, sign a draw and go back to the hotel. Rapport's choice, 39...♞xb6, on the other hand, led to a dangerous queen endgame for Black after 40.axb6 c5 41.c4!
Power Play 15 - Practical Pawn Endgames
Based on his own playing experience, Grandmaster Daniel King reveals what is essential knowledge, saving you time in your studies. In the first section of the DVD he takes you through typical motifs and themes. In the second section he tests your knowledge with typical scenarios from actual games.
Video: 4 hours.
After 41...dxc4 42.bxc4 cxd4 43.♕xd4 White's queenside pawns are further advanced and represent a big threat. Harikrishna proved he knew how to deal with this position and was clearly winning when he managed to get a passer on the b-file:
India's number two calculated for around seven minutes before moving forward with 51.c6, and the game was over after 51...bxc6 52.b7 ♛g1+ 53.♔h3 ♛f1+ 54.♔g4 ♛g1+ 55.♕g3.
Harikrishna has played two games with Black so far | Photo: cca.imsa.cn
Round three also saw the big clash between Ding Liren and Anish Giri ending up with a draw, while Dmitry Jakovenko and Yu Yangyi also shared the point. After facing Jakovenko with Black, the leader will have two straight Whites with a rest day in between — will Giri manage to score a second win for the first time in Shenzhen?
