Superbet Classic: Firouzja beats Nepo, Giri beats Ding

Firouzja shared leader

A first-round loss did not bode well for a rusty Alireza Firouzja in Bucharest. However, his three wins (and three draws) in the next six rounds have allowed him to go into the final two days of action sharing the lead with Fabiano Caruana. Furthermore, the 19-year-old has gained 7.6 rating points in the process, climbing to clear second place in the live ratings list, almost 13 points ahead of third-placed Ian Nepomniachtchi.

Attack like a Super Grandmaster

In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.

Firouzja’s widening the gap relative to Nepo and Ding Liren in the world ranking also has to do with the World Championship contenders’ subpar performance in the Romanian capital. The protagonists of the thrilling match in Astana have minus-two scores and are currently standing in shared last place, together with underdog Bogdan-Daniel Deac.

Not to mention the fact that Firouzja has beaten both Ding and Nepo. Fortunately for the French representative, he got white against the world champion in round 5 and also white against Nepo on Saturday. After beating the Russian, Firouzja explained:

[Nepo] has a very solid repertoire with black, so it was very difficult to get a game. So I’m really happy with this win, and it improves my score in the standings.

With two rounds to go, Firouzja and Caruana are sharing the lead with 4½ points each. Wesley So, Richard Rapport and Anish Giri make up the chasing pack a half point behind.

Giri joined the chasers by beating Ding with white, after the latter played somewhat carelessly in the opening. The position was quite complicated, though, as Giri needed to show persistence and a good tactical eye to convert his advantage into a full point.

As ever, the Dutchman was very eloquent while analysing the game afterwards:

Firouzja 1 - 0 Nepomniachtchi

Firouzja, Alireza2785

1–0

Nepomniachtchi, Ian2794

GCT Superbet Romania 2023 Bucharest13.05.2023[Besenthal,Klaus-Günther]

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 c5 4.Be2 Nc6 5.0-0 Bg4 6.h3 Bh5 7.dxc5 e6 8.a3 Bxc5 9.b4 Bd6 10.Nbd2 Qe7 11.Bb2 Rd8 12.c4 dxc4 13.Qa4 c3 14.Bxc3 0-0 15.Nc4 Ne4 16.Bb2 Ng5 17.Nxd6 Bxf3 18.Bxf3 Nxf3+ 19.gxf3 Qxd6 20.Rfd1 Qc7 21.Rxd8 Rxd8 22.b5 Ne7 23.Qxa7 Nf5 24.Rc1 Qd7 25.Qc5 h6 26.a4 Ra8 27.Qb4 Qd3 28.a5

White has an extra pawn, but Black has good control of a6 and perhaps he can also occasionally threaten White's king position with his agile knight and queen. So the realisation of the material advantage is not yet a foregone conclusion. 28...Qe2? Now, however, he is too optimistic. Correct was 28...f6! The move denies the white bishop the possibility of going to e5. Moreover, the queen, still on the d-file, can return to its own camp for defensive purposes at any time for precisely this reason. 29.a6 bxa6 30.b6 Rb8 31.b7? Qd7 29.a6! Now this move is strong. Qxf3 29...bxa6 30.b6 also results in a winning position for White. Rb8 31.b7 There is a threat of Be5 or Rc8+. 30.Qg4! Qd5 30...Qxg4+ 31.hxg4 Nd6 32.Be5 bxa6 33.Bxd6 axb5+- loses a piece. 31.e4 Qxb5 32.Ba1 The knight must not leave its place because of the mate on g7. Qxa6 33.exf5 Qxa1 This is the only possible defence of g7. 33...g6 34.Qd4 34.Rxa1 Rxa1+ 35.Kg2 exf5 36.Qxf5

Of course, this endgame still requires a certain amount of skill, but Firouzja is not one to let this advantages slip away easily. 36...Ra6 Attempting to build a fortress. 37.h4 g6 38.Qc8+ Kg7 39.h5 g5 40.Qc4 Re6 41.Qc3+ Kh7 42.Qf3 Kg8 43.Qxb7 Kg7 44.Kg3 Kg8 45.Qd5 Kg7 46.Kg4 Ra6 47.Qc4 Rd6 48.Qc5 Re6 49.Qd4+ Kg8 50.Kf5 Ra6 51.Qc4 Rd6 52.Qc5 Rd3 The rook must leave the sixth rank. 52...Re6 53.Qc8+ Kg7 54.Qxe6 fxe6+ 55.Kxe6 g4 56.Ke7 wins easily. 53.Kf6 Rf3+ 54.Ke7 Rf4 55.Qc8+ Kg7 56.Qf8+ Kh7 57.Qxf7+ That's how it's done! 1–0

Calculation Training in Attack & Defence Vol.1 & Vol.2

The two DVDs offer you the chance to solve 66 exercises with multiple questions. These exercises are presented in the interactive format, which makes them accessible for players of different strengths as we will go through the thought process step by step

Anish Giri has plenty of fans in Bucharest! | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Results - Round 7

Standings - Round 7

All games

Middlegame Secrets Vol.1 + Vol.2

Let us learn together how to find the best spot for the queen in the early middlegame, how to navigate this piece around the board, how to time the queen attack, how to decide whether to exchange it or not, and much more!

Links

• Official site
• Vachier-Lagrave has a brilliant day, wins Superbet Chess Classic (2022)
• Shakhriyar Mamedyarov wins Superbet Chess Classic (2021)