Aronian and Caruana impress
Two US representatives had a great first day of blitz at the Superbet tournament in Warsaw. Fabiano Caruana (8/9 points on Sunday) and Levon Aronian (7/9) not only climbed to shared third place in the event but also surpassed Magnus Carlsen in the live ratings list for blitz chess. Caruana, who tends to underperform in blitz (compared to his usual level in classical), gained no fewer than twelve spots in the live rankings.
Aronian and Caruana now stand behind only Hikaru Nakamura in said ranking. Of course, this is a highly volatile measurement, which could vastly change in either direction during the last day of action in Poland.
This DVD allows you to learn from the example of one of the best players in the history of chess and from the explanations of the authors how to successfully organise your games strategically, and how to keep your opponent permanently under pressure.
Despite their impressive undefeated runs, the pair of Americans did not manage to overcome Jan-Krzysztof Duda in the tournament’s standings table. The Polish star kicked off the blitz with two straight losses, but managed to first get things under control and then score three victories in a row to go into the final nine rounds in sole second place.
Which takes us to the man of the hour: Vishy Anand. The former world champion grabbed the sole lead in round 2 of the rapid section and has not let go of it ever since. Anand collected three wins and suffered two losses on Sunday, which has left him 1½ points ahead of Duda.
Anish Giri, who is having a great performance at the Chessable Masters, wittily tweeted:

Vishy Anand beat Jan-Krzysztof Duda in the first round of blitz | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Caruana got the better of Anand with the white pieces in round 7. The Italian-American grandmaster faced the Petroff Defence, a system he used brilliantly during the run-up to the 2018 World Championship match in London (and also at the match itself).
White had been putting pressure on his opponent for a while, but failed to find a killer blow on move 45.
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.
Caruana vs. Anand - Round 7
Here 45.Rd5+ wins easily, while 45.a6, as played by Caruana, only makes the task of converting the advantage more difficult. But, of course, this was a blitz game, so by move 45 the clock is as much a factor as the position. Anand, who had been defending throughout, had fewer seconds available than his opponent, and in fact lost on time at this point.
This was Caruana’s fourth (out of five) straight victory. He would go on to beat Wesley So with black before ending the day with a draw against Aronian.
You can replay all games from the blitz section at the end of the article.

Fabiano Caruana facing Vishy Anand | Photo: Lennart Ootes
As for Aronian, he needed to work hard to get a few of his wins on Sunday, especially in the third round, when he had two connected passers in a queen endgame against Kirill Shevchenko. This is how the position looked after 61 moves.
Shevchenko vs. Aronian - Round 3
According to the tablebases, this is a draw, but of course it is White who needs to be precise in order to keep the balance. In a blitz game, Black can shuffle his queen, creating all kinds of threats while attempting to provoke a mistake by the defending player.
In this case, Aronian needed to continue playing until move 126 to get the full point!
Considered a master of prophylaxis, Petrosian sensed dangers long before they actually became acute on the board. In his prime, Petrosian was almost invincible. Let our authors introduce you into the world of Tigran Petrosian.
Shevchenko resigned.

Upbeat — Richard Rapport and Levon Aronian | Photo: Lennart Ootes
As pointed out by Sahil Tickoo on Twitter, one of Anand’s three wins on Sunday featured a good-looking configuration. The Indian, who is known for his predilection of knights, got to place his minor piece in a perfect defensive position during his round-6 game against So.
The knight protects all four pawns at the same time! Anand needed only four more moves to secure a victory in this game.
Current standings

All games
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.d4 cxd4 5.Qxd4 a6 6.Be2 Ngf6 7.0-0 g6 7...e5!? 8.Qe3 Be7= 8.Nc3 Bg7 9.Rd1 0-0 10.e5 Nxe5!? 10...Nh5= 11.Nxe5 Nd7 12.Nxf7 Bxd4 12...Rxf7 13.Qe3 13.Nxd8 Bxf2+ 14.Kh1 Rxd8 15.Nd5 15.Bg5 15...Bh4= 16.Bc4 16...Ne5N 16...Kh8 17.Bf4 b5 18.Bb3 Nc5 19.g3 Nxb3 20.axb3 Bf6 21.Nxf6 exf6 22.Rxd6 Rxd6 23.Bxd6 17.Nxe7+ 17.Rd4 Bf2 18.Rf4 17...Kg7 18.Nxc8 18.Nd5!= 18...Nxc4 19.Rd4 19...Bf6! 20.Rxc4 Raxc8 21.Rxc8 Rxc8 22.c3 d5 23.Be3 d4 24.Bxd4 Bxd4 25.cxd4= Rc2 26.b3 Kf6 27.h3 b5 28.b4 Rc4 29.a3 Rxd4 30.Rc1 Rc4 31.Rd1 Ke5 32.Rd3 Rc6 33.Kh2 Ke4 34.Rd7 h5 35.h4 Ke5 36.g3? 36.Rd3= 36...Rc3-+ 37.Re7+ Kf6 38.Rb7 38.Ra7 Rxa3 39.Rb7 38...Rxa3 39.Rb6+ Kf5 40.Kh3 Ra4 41.Kg2 Rxb4 42.Rxa6 Rb3? 42...Re4-+ 43.Ra5 Re5 43.Kf2 43.Rb6 43...b4 44.Rb6 44...Ke4? 44...Rb1!-+ 45.Ke3 b3 45.Rxg6 45.Re6+!= Kd3 46.Rxg6 45...Rb2+! 46.Kg1? 46.Ke1 46...Kf3 46...b3 47.Rb6 Kf3 47.Kh1 b3 48.Rg5 Rc2 49.Rf5+ Kg4 50.Rb5 b2 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.
Gavrilescu,D | 2518 | Aronian,L | 2765 | 0–1 | 2022 | B51 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 1.1 |
Shevchenko,K | 2644 | Korobov,A | 2671 | 1–0 | 2022 | B48 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 1.2 |
Anand,V | 2751 | Duda,J | 2750 | 1–0 | 2022 | C48 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 1.3 |
So,W | 2766 | Wojtaszek,R | 2696 | 0–1 | 2022 | E53 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 1.4 |
Caruana,F | 2786 | Rapport,R | 2776 | 1–0 | 2022 | E73 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 1.5 |
Aronian,L | 2765 | Rapport,R | 2776 | 1–0 | 2022 | E94 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 2.1 |
Wojtaszek,R | 2696 | Caruana,F | 2786 | 0–1 | 2022 | E61 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 2.2 |
Duda,J | 2750 | So,W | 2766 | 0–1 | 2022 | C65 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 2.3 |
Korobov,A | 2671 | Anand,V | 2751 | ½–½ | 2022 | A33 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 2.4 |
Gavrilescu,D | 2518 | Shevchenko,K | 2644 | ½–½ | 2022 | B31 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 2.5 |
Shevchenko,K | 2644 | Aronian,L | 2765 | 0–1 | 2022 | A18 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 3.1 |
Anand,V | 2751 | Gavrilescu,D | 2518 | 0–1 | 2022 | C11 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 3.2 |
So,W | 2766 | Korobov,A | 2671 | 1–0 | 2022 | E99 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 3.3 |
Caruana,F | 2786 | Duda,J | 2750 | ½–½ | 2022 | C67 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 3.4 |
Rapport,R | 2776 | Wojtaszek,R | 2696 | 0–1 | 2022 | B20 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 3.5 |
Aronian,L | 2765 | Wojtaszek,R | 2696 | 1–0 | 2022 | B50 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 4.1 |
Duda,J | 2750 | Rapport,R | 2776 | ½–½ | 2022 | A61 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 4.2 |
Korobov,A | 2671 | Caruana,F | 2786 | 0–1 | 2022 | A21 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 4.3 |
Gavrilescu,D | 2518 | So,W | 2766 | ½–½ | 2022 | B51 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 4.4 |
Shevchenko,K | 2644 | Anand,V | 2751 | 0–1 | 2022 | C42 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 4.5 |
Anand,V | 2751 | Aronian,L | 2765 | ½–½ | 2022 | C67 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 5.1 |
So,W | 2766 | Shevchenko,K | 2644 | 1–0 | 2022 | B52 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 5.2 |
Caruana,F | 2786 | Gavrilescu,D | 2518 | 1–0 | 2022 | D38 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 5.3 |
Rapport,R | 2776 | Korobov,A | 2671 | 1–0 | 2022 | B23 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 5.4 |
Wojtaszek,R | 2696 | Duda,J | 2750 | 0–1 | 2022 | A38 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 5.5 |
Aronian,L | 2765 | Duda,J | 2750 | ½–½ | 2022 | C54 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 6.1 |
Korobov,A | 2671 | Wojtaszek,R | 2696 | ½–½ | 2022 | A28 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 6.2 |
Gavrilescu,D | 2518 | Rapport,R | 2776 | 0–1 | 2022 | B51 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 6.3 |
Shevchenko,K | 2644 | Caruana,F | 2786 | 0–1 | 2022 | C49 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 6.4 |
Anand,V | 2751 | So,W | 2766 | 1–0 | 2022 | C48 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 6.5 |
So,W | 2766 | Aronian,L | 2765 | ½–½ | 2022 | A06 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 7.1 |
Caruana,F | 2786 | Anand,V | 2751 | 1–0 | 2022 | C42 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 7.2 |
Rapport,R | 2776 | Shevchenko,K | 2644 | ½–½ | 2022 | B30 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 7.3 |
Wojtaszek,R | 2696 | Gavrilescu,D | 2518 | ½–½ | 2022 | D50 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 7.4 |
Duda,J | 2750 | Korobov,A | 2671 | 1–0 | 2022 | E12 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 7.5 |
Aronian,L | 2765 | Korobov,A | 2671 | 1–0 | 2022 | B50 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 8.1 |
Gavrilescu,D | 2518 | Duda,J | 2750 | 0–1 | 2022 | B29 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 8.2 |
Shevchenko,K | 2644 | Wojtaszek,R | 2696 | ½–½ | 2022 | B10 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 8.3 |
Anand,V | 2751 | Rapport,R | 2776 | ½–½ | 2022 | B51 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 8.4 |
So,W | 2766 | Caruana,F | 2786 | 0–1 | 2022 | C42 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 8.5 |
Caruana,F | 2786 | Aronian,L | 2765 | ½–½ | 2022 | A18 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 9.1 |
Rapport,R | 2776 | So,W | 2766 | 0–1 | 2022 | C47 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 9.2 |
Wojtaszek,R | 2696 | Anand,V | 2751 | ½–½ | 2022 | D38 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 9.3 |
Duda,J | 2750 | Shevchenko,K | 2644 | 1–0 | 2022 | D15 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 9.4 |
Korobov,A | 2671 | Gavrilescu,D | 2518 | 0–1 | 2022 | C11 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 9.5 |
Aronian,L | 2765 | Gavrilescu,D | 2518 | ½–½ | 2022 | B13 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 10.1 |
Korobov,A | 2671 | Shevchenko,K | 2644 | 1–0 | 2022 | A77 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 10.2 |
Duda,J | 2750 | Anand,V | 2751 | 1–0 | 2022 | C43 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 10.3 |
Wojtaszek,R | 2696 | So,W | 2766 | ½–½ | 2022 | E05 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 10.4 |
Rapport,R | 2776 | Caruana,F | 2786 | 0–1 | 2022 | B23 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 10.5 |
Rapport,R | 2776 | Aronian,L | 2765 | 0–1 | 2022 | B78 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 11.1 |
Caruana,F | 2786 | Wojtaszek,R | 2696 | 0–1 | 2022 | E29 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 11.2 |
So,W | 2766 | Duda,J | 2750 | 0–1 | 2022 | A25 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 11.3 |
Anand,V | 2751 | Korobov,A | 2671 | 0–1 | 2022 | B30 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 11.4 |
Shevchenko,K | 2644 | Gavrilescu,D | 2518 | 0–1 | 2022 | C02 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 11.5 |
Aronian,L | 2765 | Shevchenko,K | 2644 | 1–0 | 2022 | B50 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 12.1 |
Gavrilescu,D | 2518 | Anand,V | 2751 | ½–½ | 2022 | C47 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 12.2 |
Korobov,A | 2671 | So,W | 2766 | 0–1 | 2022 | A16 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 12.3 |
Duda,J | 2750 | Caruana,F | 2786 | 0–1 | 2022 | A21 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 12.4 |
Wojtaszek,R | 2696 | Rapport,R | 2776 | 0–1 | 2022 | A73 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 12.5 |
Wojtaszek,R | 2696 | Aronian,L | 2765 | ½–½ | 2022 | D27 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 13.1 |
Rapport,R | 2776 | Duda,J | 2750 | 0–1 | 2022 | C47 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 13.2 |
Caruana,F | 2786 | Korobov,A | 2671 | 1–0 | 2022 | E73 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 13.3 |
So,W | 2766 | Gavrilescu,D | 2518 | 1–0 | 2022 | D35 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 13.4 |
Anand,V | 2751 | Shevchenko,K | 2644 | 1–0 | 2022 | B50 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 13.5 |
Aronian,L | 2765 | Anand,V | 2751 | 1–0 | 2022 | C49 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 14.1 |
Shevchenko,K | 2644 | So,W | 2766 | ½–½ | 2022 | C78 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 14.2 |
Gavrilescu,D | 2518 | Caruana,F | 2786 | 0–1 | 2022 | B30 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 14.3 |
Korobov,A | 2671 | Rapport,R | 2776 | 1–0 | 2022 | A77 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 14.4 |
Duda,J | 2750 | Wojtaszek,R | 2696 | 1–0 | 2022 | B26 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 14.5 |
Duda,J | 2750 | Aronian,L | 2765 | ½–½ | 2022 | A13 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 15.1 |
Wojtaszek,R | 2696 | Korobov,A | 2671 | 0–1 | 2022 | E17 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 15.2 |
Rapport,R | 2776 | Gavrilescu,D | 2518 | 1–0 | 2022 | A06 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 15.3 |
Caruana,F | 2786 | Shevchenko,K | 2644 | 0–1 | 2022 | D12 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 15.4 |
So,W | 2766 | Anand,V | 2751 | ½–½ | 2022 | E04 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 15.5 |
Aronian,L | 2765 | So,W | 2766 | 1–0 | 2022 | C24 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 16.1 |
Anand,V | 2751 | Caruana,F | 2786 | ½–½ | 2022 | B52 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 16.2 |
Shevchenko,K | 2644 | Rapport,R | 2776 | 0–1 | 2022 | B22 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 16.3 |
Gavrilescu,D | 2518 | Wojtaszek,R | 2696 | 1–0 | 2022 | B11 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 16.4 |
Korobov,A | 2671 | Duda,J | 2750 | 1–0 | 2022 | A33 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 16.5 |
Korobov,A | 2671 | Aronian,L | 2765 | ½–½ | 2022 | C67 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 17.1 |
Duda,J | 2750 | Gavrilescu,D | 2518 | 1–0 | 2022 | D50 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 17.2 |
Wojtaszek,R | 2696 | Shevchenko,K | 2644 | ½–½ | 2022 | E67 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 17.3 |
Rapport,R | 2776 | Anand,V | 2751 | 0–1 | 2022 | C44 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 17.4 |
Caruana,F | 2786 | So,W | 2766 | 1–0 | 2022 | D27 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 17.5 |
Aronian,L | 2765 | Caruana,F | 2786 | ½–½ | 2022 | B90 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 18.1 |
So,W | 2766 | Rapport,R | 2776 | 1–0 | 2022 | A61 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 18.2 |
Anand,V | 2751 | Wojtaszek,R | 2696 | 1–0 | 2022 | B50 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 18.3 |
Shevchenko,K | 2644 | Duda,J | 2750 | 0–1 | 2022 | C02 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 18.4 |
Gavrilescu,D | 2518 | Korobov,A | 2671 | 0–1 | 2022 | B53 | Superbet Blitz Poland 2022 | 18.5 |
Please, wait...
Links