A full-point lead
For the first time in Bucharest, three games finished decisively in a single round. While Levon Aronian and Anish Giri scored their first victories of the event, both to bounce back to a fifty percent score, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov obtained his third full point in a row to go into the last two rounds a full point ahead of the field.
The first game to finish decisively on Saturday was Aronian’s win over former co-leader Alexander Grischuk. Teimour Radjabov and Wesley So — both undefeated so far in the event, with Radjabov having signed seven draws so far — agreed to a 38-move draw meanwhile. These two results meant Mamedyarov would get a 1-point lead over Grischuk and So if he managed to beat Fabiano Caruana with the black pieces.
These DVDs are about Understanding Middlegame Strategies. In the first DVD dynamic decisions involving pawns are discussed. The second DVD deals with decision making process concerning practical play.
Caruana was struggling against the Azerbaijani’s bold opening choice, but once he found himself in a clearly inferior position he started to defend tenaciously, giving up two pawns to sharply complicate Black’s task. Eventually, Mamedyarov got to convert in the rook endgame a pawn to the good, climbing to the top stop in the standings table and gaining enough rating points to reach fifth place in the live ratings list.
The second-to-last game to finish was Giri’s victory over Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. The Dutchman managed to convert an opposite-coloured bishops endgame with an extra pawn. Giri confessed:
The more experienced I get, the more I realize chess is just about luck, there is really nothing else.
In the duel between Romanians, Bogdan-Daniel Deac tried hard but could not convert from a slightly superior endgame against Constantin Lupulescu. The players agreed to split the point after 75 moves — no short draw in the Romanian derby!

Is it FCSB v Dinamo București? No, it’s Lupulescu v Deac | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Two of the most fighting players in the elite predictably went for a sharp struggle from the get go. Caruana played the 4.d3 Anti-Berlin with white, while Mamedyarov did not hesitate to play his trademark move when given the chance.
9...g5 was a novelty, and one that discombobulated Caruana — one of the best theoreticians in the world. The American did not find the best response, as he spent a bit over three minutes on 10.Ne2 when 10.Nd5 was the way to go. The idea is that after 10...Bd7 White has 11.Bxg5 with a big advantage; thus, Black would need to play 10...h6, and White is more than fine.
In the game, Black advanced his g-pawn all the way to the third rank, getting attacking chances even after the queens left the board.
The Evans Gambit is an attempt to destroy Black in gambit fashion straight out of the opening. Featuring games of old, and numerous new and exciting ideas, this DVD will give you a genuine and more exciting way of playing the Giuoco Piano.
Mamedyarov was clearly the one with the initiative — 17...g3 18.Nd4 Bd8 19.fxg3 Rxg3 20.Re1 Rg4 21.Bg5 Bxg5 22.hxg5 Ke7 23.Rad1 Bd7
At this point, Caruana found two consecutive moves that were the first suggestions of the engines, giving up two pawns to get better defensive chances — 24.e6 fxe6 25.g6 hxg6.
In the post-mortem interview, Mamedyarov praised his opponent’s play in the last stage of the game, noting that, had he managed to save the draw, it would have been a brilliant defensive effort. However, it was not to be for the American, who thus suffered his second defeat in the tournament.
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Nc3 Nd4 6.Ba4 c6 7.0-0 d6 8.Nxd4 Bxd4 9.h3 9...g5N 9...Be6= 9...0-0 10.Ne2 Bb6 11.Ng3 Be6 12.c3 d5 13.Qf3 Nd7 14.Re1 Re8 15.Nf5 Nf8 10.Ne2 10.Nd5! Rg8 11.c3 10...Bb6!= 11.c3 Rg8 12.d4 Nxe4 13.Bc2 d5 14.Bxe4 dxe4 15.dxe5 15...Qxd1! 16.Rxd1 g4 17.h4 g3! 18.Nd4 Bd8 19.fxg3 Rxg3 20.Re1 20...Rg4! 20...Bxh4 21.Rxe4 Rg4 22.Rxg4 21.Bg5 Bxg5 22.hxg5 Ke7 23.Rad1 Bd7 24.e6 fxe6 25.g6 hxg6 26.Nb3 e5 27.Na5 Be6 28.Rd2 Rb8 28...Bxa2?! 29.b3 29.b4 Kf6 30.a4 30.Re3 30...Rg3 31.Rxe4? 31.Rf2+ Bf5 32.Rxe4 31...Bd5-+ 31...Rxc3 32.Rf2+ Kg5 33.Rxe5+ Bf5 34.b5 32.Rh4 Rxc3 33.Rh7 b6 34.Nxc6 Bxc6 34...Rxc6 35.Rxd5 Ke6 36.Rdd7 35.Rc7 Rc1+ 36.Kf2 Rf8 37.b5 Ke6+ 38.Kg3 Rc3+ 39.Kh2 Rh8+ 40.Kg1 40...Rh1+‼ 41.Kxh1 41.Kf2 41...Bxg2+! 42.Rxg2 Rxc7 43.Rxg6+? 43.a5 e4 44.axb6 Rc1+ 45.Kh2 axb6 46.Rxg6+ Kf5 47.Rg7 43...Kd5 44.a5? 44.Kg2 44...Kc5 45.axb6 axb6 46.Re6 Kxb5 47.Rxe5+ Rc5 47...Kc4 48.Re4+ Kd3 48.Re1 Rg5 0–1 - Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
Caruana,F | 2820 | Mamedyarov,S | 2770 | 0–1 | 2021 | | GCT Superbet Romania 2021 | 7.1 |
Please, wait...

Caruana resigns | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Much like Mamedyarov, who played enterprising chess from the get go, Grischuk showed one of his most salient features as a chess player: his proclivity to get into deep time trouble. Against Aronian, the Russian grandmaster faltered on move 21, when he already had less than five minutes on the clock.
Here Black needed to play carefully, as White might at any point get a strong kingside attack. The best moves in the position were 21...Re7 or 21...Ne5, trying to untangle. Instead, Grischuk erred with 21...Nd4, allowing White to play the forcing sequence 22.Nxd4 Bxd4 23.Rad1
People in Greenland can differentiate between 36 kinds of snow; the Swedish International Master Ari Ziegler will teach you to differentiate between 20 kinds of exchange sacrifice. His systematic approach to exchange sacrifices will rapidly enhance your understanding of one of the most exciting and difficult aspects of chess. Your widened horizon will help you to be able to follow the games of top GMs better and also to see more options in your own positions, which in turn will improve your chess results.
White has activated his pieces, while Black’s army is still struggling to find coordination. At this point, again, Grischuk needed to look for a way to relieve the tension with 23...Be5 and try to defend the position a pawn down that would ensue. His 23...Bc5, on the other hand, led to a quick defeat, as White went 24.Bb1 and soon advanced his pawn to e5, which allowed the light-squared bishop to decisively join the attack.
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c5 5.e3 Nc6 6.a3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 a6 8.0-0 b5 9.Ba2 Bb7 10.d5 exd5 11.Nxd5 Be7 12.e4 0-0 13.Bf4 c4 14.Re1 Re8 15.Qd2 15.Nc7! 15...Bc5= 16.Bg5 Be7 17.h4 h6 18.Bf4 Bc5 19.Bc7! Qc8 20.Nxf6+ gxf6 21.Qf4 Nd4 21...Re7= 22.Qg3+ Kh7 22.Nxd4!± Bxd4 23.Rad1! Bc5 23...Bxb2? 24.Re3+- 23...Be5± 24.Bxe5 fxe5 25.Qxh6 Qg4 24.Bb1+- Bf8? 24...Qe6 25.Bd6 25.Qxh6 Qg4± 25...Bxd6 26.Rxd6 Qe5 27.Qxh6 27.Qxf6 Qxf6 28.Rxf6 Rad8 27...Rad8 28.Rxf6 Re6 29.Rxe6 fxe6 25.Re3 Bg7 26.Rg3 Kh8 27.e5! Qe6 27...Rg8 28.exf6 28.Bf5 Qe7 29.Rd7 1–0 - Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
Aronian,L | 2781 | Grischuk,A | 2776 | 1–0 | 2021 | | GCT Superbet Romania 2021 | 7.2 |
Please, wait...

Levon Aronian | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Standings after round 7
All games
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
Links