ChessBase 17 - Mega package - Edition 2024
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Grand Chess Tour press release
By IM Kostya Kavutskiy
Master your technique - manoeuvres you must know
Every player must develop the necessary classical knowledge of technical manoeuvres. With this video course I give you the essential knowledge for your own practice.
Despite a last round loss GM Ray Robson ended up winning the rapid portion of the 2023 Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, with a score of 11.0/18 heading into the blitz tomorrow. Tied for second were GMs Fabiano Caruana and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, both on 10.0/18, with several players (Firouzja, Nepomniachtchi, Giri, Liem) trailing closely behind with an even 9.0/18.
The initial round started off quietly, with only Nepomniachtchi scoring victory over So, allowing Robson to keep his one point lead after drawing with Vachier-Lagrave. In Round 8 Robson would then defeat Nepo, as he managed to force the win of a piece before successfully navigating through a series of complications:
Robson-Nepomniachtchi: After 37.Rxc8! everything is hanging, but White's capturing more. The game concluded 37...Nd3+ 38.Kg3 Nxf4 39.Rxe8+ Kh7 40.Qxf4 1-0
Robson lost the final game, but still managed to stay on top | Photo courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes
The win gave Robson a two-point lead heading into the last round of the rapid, where he ended up losing in a well-played game by So. Once again the final round was the most decisive–in addition to So’s win, Firouzja defeated Giri, Nepo scored against Liem, and Caruana converted a big advantage against Xiong:
So-Robson: After 25.d4! White got a strong initiative on the dark-squares - So later converted a rook and bishop vs. rook and knight endgame
Firouzja-Giri: After 32.Nc6!, an elegant move to keep White's extra material
Caruana-Xiong: After 46.Nf5!, White's attack on the king was too strong
Navigating the Ruy Lopez Vol.1-3
The Ruy Lopez is one of the oldest openings which continues to enjoy high popularity from club level to the absolute world top. In this video series, American super GM Fabiano Caruana, talking to IM Oliver Reeh, presents a complete repertoire for White.
With all the results in, Robson was left atop of the standings as his closest competitors (MVL, Giri, Liem), all failed to win in the final round.
Firouzja (9.0/18) is one of several players still in striking distance for the blitz | Photo courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes
After a first round loss to Alireza, Caruana has bounced back to end on +1 | Photo courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Lennart Ootes
Understanding Middlegame Strategies Vol.7 - 9
Let Toptrainer Sokolov show you the ins and outs of middlegames. This course is about the catalan structures vs. semi-slav/triangle setups
MVL had a very solid rapid event, with eight draws and one win | Photo courtesy of Saint Louis Chess Club, Crystal Fuller
The field will next play a double round-robin in blitz, with just one point awarded for a win instead of two.
