Three co-leaders
Each of the three first rounds at the Superbet Chess Classic has seen a single decisive game. Three different players scored full points, while none of the losing players bounced back from previous defeats, thus leaving three players tied for first place with a plus-one score.
Wesley So won on opening day; Ian Nepomniachtchi beat Alireza Firouzja in the second round; and now Bogdan-Daniel Deac has joined the lead by defeating third seed Richard Rapport. The latter had a strong initiative out of a Nimzo-Indian with opposite-side castling.
Rustam Kasimdzhanov, the FIDE World Champion in 2004, has been extremely successful with the Nimzo-Indian with 4.Qc2 with White and with Black. In over 4 hours of video, Rustam Kasimdzhanov explains all the important ideas, strategies and tricks helped by sample games in which the white side is represented, e.g., by Kasparov, Anand, Kramnik and Ivanchuk as well as the author himself.
White’s king looks quite weak, but after 19.Rxd3 Qxd3 20.Nxf6 it is Black who needs to be careful. Of course, 20...gxf6 fails to 21.Qxf6#, but the young Romanian was not going to fall for such a simple tactic — he found 20...Qd6, preparing to defend the weak g7-square after 21.Nfh5, which threatens mate-in-one.
Deac’s follow-up was not as strong though, as he gave a check with 21...Qh6+ instead of going for the correct 21...Qf8
White now gets the upper hand after 22.f4. Finding the right path to make the most of the initiative was no easy task for Rapport, though, who failed to play the most precise continuation on move 26.
A dynamically balanced position appeared on the board with the clocks ticking down dangerously four hours into the round.
Suddenly, however, the balance was tipped in Black’s favour as Rapport found himself in a clearly losing position after blundering on the last move before the time control.
The Hungarian needed to play 40.Nf6+ here, when Black is forced to give up his extra exchange with 40...Rxf6 — 40...Kf8 fails to 41.Rh2, since there is nothing better for Black than 41...Qb5+ 42.Qxb5 cxb5 43.Rh8+ Ke7 44.Rxa8 Rxf6, and White has the upper hand in the rook endgame. (You can try your own variations on any of our dynamic diagrams!)
Instead, Rapport faltered with 40.Ng5, which allows an immediate simplification which clearly favours Black: i.e. 40...Qxf4 (crucially attacking both the knight on g5 and the rook on d2) 41.Qxf4 Rxf4 and Black is simply an exchange up in the endgame.
Rapport went through the motions until move 52, when he finally resigned. In Sunday’s fourth round, the Hungarian will have the tough task of facing Alireza Firouzja with the black pieces.
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0-0 5.Nge2 c6 6.a3 Ba5 7.c5 d5 8.cxd6 Qxd6 9.b4 Bb6!? 10.Bb2 Nbd7 11.Ng3N 11.g3 a5 12.b5 c5 13.Na4 cxd4 14.Nxd4 Nc5 15.Nxc5 Bxc5 16.Nb3 Qxd1+ 17.Rxd1 11...Rd8 12.Bc4 e5 13.Qb3 13.Na4= 13...exd4 14.Bxf7+ Kh8 14...Kf8! 15.Nce4 Qe7 15.exd4!= Bxd4 16.0-0-0 Ne5 17.Nce4 Bxb2+ 17...Nxe4 18.Bxd4 18.Rxd4? Qh6+ 19.Qe3 Qxe3+ 20.fxe3 Rxd4-+ 18...Nxf7 19.Qxf7 Qh6+ 20.Be3± 18.Qxb2 Nd3+ 19.Rxd3! Qxd3 20.Nxf6 Qd6! 21.Nfh5 Qh6+ 21...Qf8! 22.Bb3 Bg4 22.f4!± Bg4 23.Qe5! a5 24.bxa5 Rd7 24...Rf8± 25.Be8? 25.Bb3!+- 25...Rdd8! 25...Rd5? 26.Qe7 g5 27.Nf6 Rdxa5 28.Nxg4+- 26.Re1 Kg8! 27.Nf5 Bxf5 28.Bf7+ Kxf7 29.Qxf5+ Kg8 30.Re7 Rf8 31.Qe5 Rf7 32.Re6 32.Rxf7 Kxf7 33.Qc7+ Kg8 34.Qxb7 Re8 32...g6 33.Nf6+ Kh8 34.g4 Qxh2 35.Rd6 Qh1+ 36.Kc2 Qg2+ 37.Rd2 Qh3 38.Kb2 Qf1 39.Nxh7+ Kg8! 40.Ng5? 40.Nf6+= Rxf6 41.Qxf6 Qb5+ 42.Kc2 42.Ka1 Qf1+ 43.Ka2 Qc4+ 44.Kb2 Qb5+ 45.Ka2 Qc4+ 46.Kb2 Qb5+= 42...Qc4+ 43.Qc3 Qxc3+ 44.Kxc3 40...Qxf4-+ 41.Qxf4 Rxf4 42.Rd6 Rxa5 43.Rxg6+ Kh8 44.Ne6 Rf3 45.g5 45.Nd4 Rfxa3 46.Rh6+ Kg7 47.Rd6 45...Raxa3 46.Nd4 Rh3 47.Rd6 Rag3 48.Rd8+ Kh7 49.Rd7+ Kg6 50.Rxb7 Rg2+ 51.Ka1 Ra3+ 52.Kb1 Rd3 0–1 - Start an analysis engine:
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Rapport,R | 2776 | Deac,B | 2671 | 0–1 | 2022 | | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 3.3 |
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Bogdan-Daniel Deac leaves the playing hall, while young fans await to get an autograph | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Aronian escapes
After a bit over five months of inactivity in classical chess, Firouzja entered the tournament in Bucharest as the top seed. A draw against Fabiano Caruana was followed by a defeat with white against Ian Nepomniachtchi.
Facing an in-form Levon Aronian in round 3, the 18-year-old seemed to be heading to a speedy recovery after his loss on Friday.
In over 4 hours in front of the camera, Karsten Müller presents to you sensations from the world of endgames - partly reaching far beyond standard techniques and rules of thumb - and rounds off with some cases of with own examples.
Firouzja, playing black, correctly agreed to enter this double-edged endgame with bishop against knight and passed pawns on both sides of the board.
Such sharp positions need extremely precise calculation though, as both players must consider every potential pawn endgame carefully. A long-standing competitor like Aronian knew this all too well, as he continued to create problems for his opponent.
By move 47, a mutual-zugzwang position appeared on the board.
As Yosha Iglesias pointed out on Twitter, this position is winning for Black if it is White to play. But it is Firouzja’s turn, and he has no way to make progress — the position is drawn.
The grandmasters continued playing until move 62.
62.Qxb2+ Qxb2 Stalemate!
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1.c4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Ne5 Nbd7 7.Nxc4 Qc7 8.g3 e5 9.dxe5 Nxe5 10.Bf4 Nfd7 11.Bg2 g5! 12.Ne3 gxf4 13.Nxf5 0-0-0 13...Qb6 14.gxf4 Ng6 15.e3± 14.Qc2 14.gxf4 Nc5 15.Qc2 Nc4 14...Kb8 15.gxf4 Nc4 16.e3 Nc5! 17.Rd1 Rxd1+! 18.Nxd1 Qa5+! 19.Ke2N 19.Nc3! 19.Nc3 Qb6 20.0-0 Qxb2 21.Qxb2 Nxb2 22.Rb1 Ncd3 23.Be4 Kc7 24.Kf1 a5 25.Bxd3 Nxd3 19...Qa6 20.Kf3! Qxa4 21.Qxa4 Nxa4 22.Ke2 22.Nd4= 22...Ncxb2 23.Nxb2 Nxb2 24.Rb1 Na4 25.Kd2 Nb6 26.Bf3 Bc5 27.Nh6 f6 28.Rg1 a5 29.Rg8+ Rxg8 30.Nxg8 f5 31.Kc2 a4 32.Nh6 Nc4 33.Be2 Nd6 34.Bd3 Ne4 35.Bxe4? 35.Nxf5 Nxf2 36.Bf1 35...fxe4-+ 36.Ng8 b5 37.Nf6 Kc7 38.Nxh7? 38.f5 38...b4 39.Ng5 b3+ 40.Kb2 Bb4 41.Nxe4 c5? 41...Kb6-+ 42.f5 Bf8 42.Nc3!= Bxc3+ 43.Kxc3 c4 44.Kb2 Kd6 45.f5! Ke5 46.f3! Kxf5 47.h4 Ke5 47...Kf6!? 48.f4 Kf5= 48.h5 Kf5 49.f4 Ke4! 50.h6 Kd3 51.h7 c3+ 52.Ka3! 52.Kb1? Kd2 53.h8Q c2+ 54.Kb2 c1Q# 52...c2 53.h8Q! 53.Kb2 Kd2 54.Ka3 c1Q+ 55.Kxa4 b2 56.h8Q Qa1+ 57.Kb4 b1Q+ 53...c1Q+ 54.Kxa4 b2 54...Qc3!? 55.Qh7+ Ke2= 55.Qh7+ Kxe3 55...Kd2!? 56.Qh2+ Ke1 57.Qg3+ Kd2 58.Qh2+ Kxe3 59.Qh3+ Kd4 60.Qd7+ Ke4 61.Qh7+ Kxf4 62.Qh6+ Kg3 63.Qg6+ Kh4 64.Qe4+ Kh5 65.Qe8+ Kh6 66.Qe6+ Kg7 67.Qe7+ Kg8 68.Qe8+ Kh7 69.Qf7+ Kh8 70.Qe8+ Kh7 71.Qf7+ Kh8 72.Qe8+ Kh7= 56.Qh3+ Kxf4 57.Qh4+ Kf5 58.Qh3+ Ke5 59.Qh5+ Kd6 60.Qg6+ Kc7 61.Qg7+ Kb6 62.Qxb2+ Qxb2 ½–½ - 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.
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Aronian,L | 2765 | Firouzja,A | 2804 | ½–½ | 2022 | | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 3.4 |
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A smiling Levon Aronian | Photo: Lennart Ootes
In the all-American confrontation between Caruana and So, it was the latter who got a slight edge with black out of a Catalan. A draw was nonetheless signed after 40 moves.
Meanwhile, in Nepomniachtchi vs Leinier Dominguez, the Cuban-born grandmaster spent over an hour on moves 22 and 23, as his opponent was better prepared in the variation of the Petroff Defence that the strong theoreticians explored in their round-3 contest. Dominguez spent his time wisely though, as he managed to keep things under control against the latest World Championship challenger.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov reached a draw by triple repetition after merely 20 moves.
Round 3 results
| Name | Rtg. | Nt. | Pts. | | Pts. | | Name | Rtg | Nt. |
---|
GM | | 2786 | | 1 | ½-½ | 1½ | GM | | 2766 | |
GM | | 2773 | | 1½ | ½-½ | 1 | GM | | 2753 | |
GM | | 2776 | | 1 | 0-1 | 1 | GM | | 2671 | |
GM | | 2765 | | 1 | ½-½ | ½ | GM | | 2804 | |
GM | | 2750 | | 1 | ½-½ | ½ | GM | | 2770 | |
Standings after round 3
Rk. | | Name | Rtg. | Nt. | Pts. | n | | | | | | | | | | | TB | Perf. |
---|
1 | GM | | 2773 | | 2.0 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | 2.75 | 2868 |
2 | GM | | 2671 | | 2.0 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | 2.75 | 2896 |
3 | GM | | 2766 | | 2.0 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | 2.50 | 2894 |
4 | GM | | 2753 | | 1.5 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | 2.50 | 2770 |
5 | GM | | 2786 | | 1.5 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | 2.25 | 2774 |
6 | GM | | 2750 | | 1.5 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | 2.25 | 2763 |
7 | GM | | 2765 | | 1.5 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | 2.00 | 2750 |
8 | GM | | 2804 | | 1.0 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | 1.50 | 2650 |
9 | GM | | 2776 | | 1.0 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | 1.25 | 2610 |
10 | GM | | 2770 | | 1.0 | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | 1.25 | 2639 |
TBs: Sonneborn-Berger |
All games
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1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 c6 6.e3 h6 7.Bh4 Be7 8.Bd3 0-0 9.Nge2! Re8 10.0-0 Nbd7 11.a4 Nh5 12.Bxe7 Qxe7 13.a5N 13.Nc1 Nhf6 14.Re1 b6 15.f3 c5 16.Bb5 Bb7 17.dxc5 bxc5 18.Nb3 Rac8 19.Na5 13.Nc1 Nhf6 14.Re1 b6 15.f3 c5 16.Bb5 Bb7 17.dxc5 bxc5 18.Nb3 Rac8 19.Na5 13...a6 14.Ra3 Nf8 15.Na4 Rb8 16.Qd2 Qg5 17.f3 g6 17...Qxe3+ 18.Qxe3 Rxe3 19.Bh7+ Kxh7 20.Rxe3 17...Qxe3+ 18.Qxe3 Rxe3 19.Bh7+! Kxh7 20.Rxe3± 18.Bb1 Ng7 19.Nf4 Bf5 20.Ba2 h5 21.Qf2 Nd7 22.h4 Qf6 23.b4 Qd6 24.Nc5 Nf6 25.Qg3 Qd8 26.Qg5 Qd6 27.Qg3 Qd8! 28.Qg5 Qd6 29.Qg3 ½–½ - 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 | 2786 | Firouzja,A | 2804 | ½–½ | 2022 | D35 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 1.1 |
Aronian,L | 2765 | Rapport,R | 2776 | ½–½ | 2022 | D17 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 1.2 |
Nepomniachtchi,I | 2773 | Deac,B | 2671 | ½–½ | 2022 | C43 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 1.3 |
So,W | 2766 | Mamedyarov,S | 2770 | 1–0 | 2022 | E48 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 1.4 |
Vachier-Lagrave,M | 2750 | Dominguez Perez,L | 2753 | ½–½ | 2022 | C42 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 1.5 |
So,W | 2766 | Vachier-Lagrave,M | 2750 | ½–½ | 2022 | D27 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 2.1 |
Firouzja,A | 2804 | Nepomniachtchi,I | 2773 | 0–1 | 2022 | C24 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 2.2 |
Dominguez Perez,L | 2753 | Caruana,F | 2786 | ½–½ | 2022 | B33 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 2.3 |
Mamedyarov,S | 2770 | Rapport,R | 2776 | ½–½ | 2022 | C10 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 2.4 |
Deac,B | 2671 | Aronian,L | 2765 | ½–½ | 2022 | D27 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 2.5 |
Caruana,F | 2786 | So,W | 2766 | ½–½ | 2022 | E05 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 3.1 |
Nepomniachtchi,I | 2773 | Dominguez Perez,L | 2753 | ½–½ | 2022 | C43 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 3.2 |
Rapport,R | 2776 | Deac,B | 2671 | 0–1 | 2022 | E46 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 3.3 |
Aronian,L | 2765 | Firouzja,A | 2804 | ½–½ | 2022 | D17 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 3.4 |
Vachier-Lagrave,M | 2750 | Mamedyarov,S | 2770 | ½–½ | 2022 | B11 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 3.5 |
So,W | 2766 | Nepomniachtchi,I | 2773 | 1–0 | 2022 | E05 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 4.1 |
Mamedyarov,S | 2770 | Deac,B | 2671 | ½–½ | 2022 | D39 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 4.2 |
Firouzja,A | 2804 | Rapport,R | 2776 | ½–½ | 2022 | B45 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 4.3 |
Vachier-Lagrave,M | 2750 | Caruana,F | 2786 | 1–0 | 2022 | C82 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 4.4 |
Dominguez Perez,L | 2753 | Aronian,L | 2765 | 0–1 | 2022 | C24 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 4.5 |
Aronian,L | 2765 | So,W | 2766 | ½–½ | 2022 | A30 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 5.1 |
Nepomniachtchi,I | 2773 | Vachier-Lagrave,M | 2750 | ½–½ | 2022 | B55 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 5.2 |
Deac,B | 2671 | Firouzja,A | 2804 | ½–½ | 2022 | E73 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 5.3 |
Caruana,F | 2786 | Mamedyarov,S | 2770 | 1–0 | 2022 | C42 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 5.4 |
Rapport,R | 2776 | Dominguez Perez,L | 2753 | ½–½ | 2022 | C20 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 5.5 |
So,W | 2766 | Rapport,R | 2776 | ½–½ | 2022 | D46 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 6.1 |
Vachier-Lagrave,M | 2750 | Aronian,L | 2765 | 0–1 | 2022 | D39 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 6.2 |
Dominguez Perez,L | 2753 | Deac,B | 2671 | 1–0 | 2022 | B90 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 6.3 |
Caruana,F | 2786 | Nepomniachtchi,I | 2773 | ½–½ | 2022 | C42 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 6.4 |
Mamedyarov,S | 2770 | Firouzja,A | 2804 | ½–½ | 2022 | E39 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 6.5 |
Deac,B | 2671 | So,W | 2766 | ½–½ | 2022 | D27 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 7.1 |
Aronian,L | 2765 | Caruana,F | 2786 | ½–½ | 2022 | C24 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 7.2 |
Firouzja,A | 2804 | Dominguez Perez,L | 2753 | 1–0 | 2022 | E48 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 7.3 |
Nepomniachtchi,I | 2773 | Mamedyarov,S | 2770 | 0–1 | 2022 | C54 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 7.4 |
Rapport,R | 2776 | Vachier-Lagrave,M | 2750 | 0–1 | 2022 | D48 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 7.5 |
So,W | 2766 | Firouzja,A | 2804 | ½–½ | 2022 | E92 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 8.1 |
Nepomniachtchi,I | 2773 | Aronian,L | 2765 | ½–½ | 2022 | C54 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 8.2 |
Vachier-Lagrave,M | 2750 | Deac,B | 2671 | ½–½ | 2022 | C42 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 8.3 |
Caruana,F | 2786 | Rapport,R | 2776 | ½–½ | 2022 | B45 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 8.4 |
Mamedyarov,S | 2770 | Dominguez Perez,L | 2753 | 0–1 | 2022 | D27 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 8.5 |
Dominguez Perez,L | 2753 | So,W | 2766 | ½–½ | 2022 | C54 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 9.1 |
Aronian,L | 2765 | Mamedyarov,S | 2770 | ½–½ | 2022 | C49 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 9.2 |
Firouzja,A | 2804 | Vachier-Lagrave,M | 2750 | 0–1 | 2022 | D78 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 9.3 |
Deac,B | 2671 | Caruana,F | 2786 | ½–½ | 2022 | D17 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 9.4 |
Rapport,R | 2776 | Nepomniachtchi,I | 2773 | ½–½ | 2022 | E36 | GCT Superbet Romania 2022 | 9.5 |
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