Keymer and Caruana share the lead going into the final round

Two decisive results were seen in the penultimate round of the Super Chess Classic in Bucharest. Javokhir Sindarov collected his second win in a row, defeating Jorden van Foreest with the black pieces, after the Dutch GM had entered the round as co-leader. Bogdan-Daniel Deac, meanwhile, scored his first win of the event, taking down Anish Giri, who stood half a point behind the leaders before this loss.

The two remaining games ended drawn. In the battle of co-leaders, Fabiano Caruana got an edge against Vincent Keymer out of a Reversed Sicilian, but failed to make the most of it, and the game was drawn after 48 moves.

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu v. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was a much longer affair. Pragg missed chances both in the middlegame and at different points in a marathon queen endgame with three pawns against two.

As shared by the Grand Chess Tour on X, the game between Pragg and MVL became the longest classical game in the tour's 11-year history: "139 moves. Over 6 hours of play. And a brand new Grand Chess Tour record". The previous record was the 132-move game between Wesley So and Ian Nepomniachtchi at the 2019 Sinquefield Cup. Across all Grand Chess Tour formats, the longest game remains the 180-move blitz battle between Alireza Firouzja and Vidit Gujrathi in Zagreb 2024.

How to attack - principles of training

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.

Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | Photo: Lennart Ootes

The results left Caruana and Keymer tied for first place going into the final round, with Sindarov, Van Foreest and Wesley So only half a point behind. So received a full point in round eight by forfeit, as he was scheduled to face Alireza Firouzja, who withdrew from the tournament due to an ankle injury. Sindarov, Van Foreest and So still have theoretical chances of winning the event after the final round, which starts two hours earlier than usual.

Round 8 results

Round 9 pairings

Master Class Vol.20 - Bent Larsen

In this video course experts examine the games of Bent Larsen. Let them show you which openings Larsen chose, where his strength in middlegames were, how he outplayed his opponents in the endgame & you’ll get a glimpse of his tactical abilities!
Bent Larsen (1935–2010) was the greatest chess player in Danish history, and for a time, the second-strongest player in the Western world behind Bobby Fischer. Between 1954 and 1971, he won the Danish Championship six times, and achieved numerous international tournament victories throughout his career. 
Free video sample: Introduction to Bent Larsen by Peter Heine Nielsen
Free video sample: Introduction to the Opening Section

Co-leaders Fabiano Caruana and Vincent Keymer | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Van Foreest 0-1 Sindarov

In what turned out to be the crucial decisive game of the day, Van Foreest faltered with the inexplicable 23.Rc1?, when he could have simplified into what would likely have been a quick draw. Sindarov found the refutation and eventually simplified into a superior endgame with rook and knight against rook and bishop.

The winner of the Candidates Tournament made a number of inaccuracies while trying to convert his advantage, but Van Foreest was the one to falter last.

That final mistake allowed Sindarov to show remarkable technique and find a mating net in an endgame with rook and knight against rook. Sindarov later noted that he knew exactly how to win the position because he remembered Garry Kasparov's famous win over Judit Polgar from the 1996 Dos Hermanas tournament. Kasparov reacted on X with the quip:

He studies the ancient texts!

Polgar 0-1 Kasparov

Dos Hermanas 1996

Master Class Vol.7: Garry Kasparov

On this DVD a team of experts gets to the bottom of Kasparov's play. In over 8 hours of video running time the authors Rogozenko, Marin, Reeh and Müller cast light on four important aspects of Kasparov's play: opening, strategy, tactics and endgame.

Javokhir Sindarov demonstrated excellent endgame technique | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Deac 1-0 Giri

King's Indian Attack - Simple. Flexible. Dynamic.

The King‘s Indian Attack is a universal opening: easy to learn, flexible, and rich in both tactical and positional opportunities.

Bogdan-Daniel Deac defeated Anish Giri | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Standings after round 8

All games

Links

• Grand Chess Tour website
• Javokhir Sindarov: "The quarantine changed my life"