Tata Steel Challengers: Kovalev out in front

by Macauley Peterson
1/26/2019 – Vladislav Kovalev has won three in a row and takes a half point lead into Sunday's final round. Maksim Chigaev and Andrey Esipenko remain undefeated and a half point back. But Kovalev has the easiest pairing in Round 13 — White against the bottom seed Stefan Kuipers — while the young Russians both have Black against tougher opponents. We take a closer look at the past week in the Challengers. | Photo: Alina l'Ami

Winning starts with what you know
The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.

Russian newcomers give chase

Three Wijk aan Zee rookies are at the top of the Challengers leader board — two from Russia, one from Belarus. The average age between them is a mere 21 years and through ten rounds of play, they collectively amassed 21½ points. Two rounds later the trio of Kovalev, Chigaev and Esipenko has 26 points and are virtually certain to finish in the top three spots. The only question is, in which order. Kovalev is not only leading, he also has the best Sonneborn-Berger score, which will be the decisive tiebreak criteria, since the three players have drawn their games against each other. He is clearly in the sweet spot with White against Stefan Kuipers, the bottom seed in last place. A draw should be enough, but even a freak accident would put the pressure on his Russian rivals to win with Black.

Standings after Round 12

Loading Table...

Vladislav Kovalev is by far the strongest player from Belarus, and also the youngest in the top ten nationally. He won the prestigious Aeroflot Open in 2018 and was invited to the Dortmund super-tournament as a result, where he turned in a strong performance, undefeated with a win over Anish Giri. After Saturday's win in Wijk aan Zee, he has just barely cracked 2700 for the first time.

By the end of play in Friday's Round 11, Maxim Chigaev was tied for the lead with Kovalev on 8/11. But their ascent is largely thanks to one round earlier.

To win a tournament, you not only have to play well, but you also need a little luck, and both Chigaev and Kovalev were very lucky in Round 10. Kovalev was clearly worse against IM Vincent Keymer out of the opening but still managed to win. 

 
Keymer vs Kovalev, Round 10
Position after 16...Ra8

After dubious opening play from Kovalev, White is a pawn up and has a pleasant position. Kovalev deserves some credit for applying constant pressure and eventually provoking a mistake that changes the course of the game:

 
Position after 30...Rf8

You can play the moves on the live diagram

It's understandable that Keymer would love to exchange some pieces, but 31.Nc5? was the wrong way. 31...Rae8 and if White exchanges on e6 the e3-pawn will drop. So Keymer tried 32.Rd2 Rf2 33.Ne4 Rg2 but now Black's piece activity more than compensates for the pawn deficit and he's playing for two results. 

 
Position after 43...g5

An unusual sort of zugzwang. 44.Ka1 Rc3 and White can't avoid losing either the g-pawn or the a-pawn (after Rc2). Kovalev converted with relative ease.

Kovalev and Keymer

Kovalev and Keymer join a long list of talented players whose names start with 'K'! | Photo: Alina l'Ami

Chigaev surged to the lead by scoring 4½/5 from Rounds 6 to 10. In Round 10, down a pawn with Black against Praggnanandhaa, he was able to save himself with a hidden tactical idea in the endgame. Praggnanandhaa lost his bearings and missed a chance to keep the game drawn.

 
New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Position not in LiveBook
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.f4 a6 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.Bd3 d5 9.Qe2 Nf6 10.0-0 Be7 11.Bd2 0-0 12.Rae1 Bb7 13.Kh1 g6 14.exd5 cxd5 15.f5 gxf5 16.Bxf5 d4 17.Bd3 Qc6 18.Ne4 Nxe4 19.Bxe4 Qxe4 20.Qxe4 Bxe4 21.Rxe4 h5 22.Rxd4 Rfd8 23.Rxd8+ Rxd8 24.Be3 f5 25.Kg1 Rc8 26.c3 Kf7 27.Rd1 e5 28.Rd5 Ke6 29.Ra5 Rc6 30.Kf1 Bd8 31.Rc5 Rd6 32.Rc8 f4 33.Bc5 Rd7 34.Ke2 Kf5 35.Bf2 Be7 36.Ra8 h4!? Black is a pawn down, but comes up with a creative defence. 37.Rxa6 h3 The point of the previous move: Black wants to clear a path for his central pawns and provokes: 38.g3? Just before the time control Praggnanandhaa loses the big picture. The fact is Black's h-pawn is more dangerous than his e and f-pawns. After 38.gxh3 White retains good winning chances. 38...Bg5 Preparing a treacherous tactical trick. 39.Ra5 Rd2+‼ An unpleasant surprise for White. 40.Kxd2 fxg3+ 41.Kd3 gxh2 The black h-pawn seems to be queening, but White also has a trick up his sleeve: 42.Rxe5+! Kxe5 43.Bg3+ Bf4 44.Bxh2 Bxh2 Black has an extra bishop, but it's of the "wrong" colour. If the white king gets to h1, the position is a draw. But White, perhaps flummoxed by the sudden turn of events does not find the path to a draw. 45.Ke3? Now White, under pressure commits a losing error. After 45.Ke2! White can save himself because when the black bishop moves away from h2, the white king arrives at h1. But White also threatens 46.Kf3 together with 47.Kg4 to seize the h-pawn. And so Black cannot win. 45...Bg3 46.Kf3 Be1 Now the white king is frozen or else the h-pawn queens. But on the queenside white will soon run out of pawn moves. 47.a4 Kd5 48.a5 Kc5 49.b3 Kb5 50.b4 Bh4 51.c4+ Ka6 White gave up. After 52.c5 Kb5 White is in Zugzwang. A bitter defeat for the young Indian and a lucky win for Chigaev, who was able to maintain his lead. 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.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Praggnanandhaa R2539Chigaev,M26040–1201981st Tata Steel Challengers 201910

Draws against Anton Korobov and Lucas van Foreest, however, let the lead slip away.

Chigaev

Maxim Chigaev has to win on demand on Sunday to have an outside shot at joining the Masters | Photo: Alina l'Ami

16-year-old Andrey Esipenko has had a hotter hand in the second half. He beat the top seed Anton Korobov — who had been leading — in Round 7, and has scored 5/6 since then.

IM Merijn van Delft focused on this game during his last 'Game of the Week' live webcast: 

Merijn is live at 19:00 UTC (20:00 CET, 2 pm EST)

Esipenko has Black against Evgeny Bareev in Round 13 and he will also have to press for a win to have any chance at an invitation to next year's Masters group.

Results of Round 12

 

Round 13 pairings

 

IM Lawrence Trent also made the Challengers group the focus of his most recent Weekly Show:

Lawrence is live most Tuesdays at 18:00 CEST / 5 pm BST time / 12 Noon EDT


All games

 
New ...
Open...
Share...
Layout...
Flip Board
Settings
MoveNResultEloPlayers
Replay and check the LiveBook here
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 h5 9.Nd5 B90: Sicilian Najdorf: Unusual White 6th moves, 6 Be3 Ng4 and 6 Be3 e5 9.Qd2 Nbd7 10.Nd5 Bxd5 11.exd5 g6 12.Be2 Bg7 13.0-0-0 0-0 14.g4 a5 15.a4 Nb6 16.gxh5 Nxh5 17.Bb5 Nf6 0-1 (71) Leko,P (2690)-Vachier Lagrave,M (2780) Batumi 2018 9...Nxd5 10.exd5 Bf5 11.Bd3 Bxd3 12.Qxd3 Nd7 LiveBook: 20 Games 13.0-0 Be7 14.Qd2 0-0 15.Na5N Predecessor: 15.c4 Qc7 16.Na5 Bd8 ½-½ (33) Jacobsen,J (2151)-Kuhne,D (2273) ICCF email 2010 15...Qc8 16.c4 Bd8 17.Rac1 Re8 18.Kh1 e4 19.Nb3 exf3 20.gxf3 Ne5       21.c5 Qh3       Black has strong initiative. 22.Qd1
22.Bd4 22...Ng6!-+ 23.Qd2 Rc8 24.Bg1 Nh4 25.Qf2? 25.Rcd1 is a better defense. 25...Bg5 26.Rc4 Nf5 27.Qg2
27...Ng3+!       Deflection 28.Qxg3 Qxf1 29.Rc2 Bf6 30.Rf2 Qb5 31.cxd6 Rcd8 32.Rd2 h4       33.Qf4 Re1 34.Rg2 Qxf6 is the strong threat. h3 35.Rg4 White threatens Qxf6 and mate. Be5 36.Qg5 Rxd6 ( -> ...Qe2) 37.Nd2 Qe2 38.Qf5 Qxh2# Accuracy: White = 18%, Black = 93%.
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.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Maghsoodloo,P2679Korobov,A26990–12019B9081st Tata Steel Challengers 20191
Chigaev,M2604Saduakassova,D24721–02019C5081st Tata Steel Challengers 20191
Esipenko,A2584Kovalev,V2687½–½2019A4981st Tata Steel Challengers 20191
Praggnanandhaa R2539Bareev,E26500–12019C1581st Tata Steel Challengers 20191
Van Foreest,L2502Gledura,B2615½–½2019B3181st Tata Steel Challengers 20191
Paehtz,E2477Keymer,V2500½–½2019B9081st Tata Steel Challengers 20191
Kuipers,S2470L'Ami,E26430–12019B6281st Tata Steel Challengers 20191
Korobov,A2699Gledura,B2615½–½2019D8581st Tata Steel Challengers 20192
Kovalev,V2687Praggnanandhaa R2539½–½2019B3181st Tata Steel Challengers 20192
Maghsoodloo,P2679Paehtz,E24771–02019A0781st Tata Steel Challengers 20192
Bareev,E2650Chigaev,M2604½–½2019A4581st Tata Steel Challengers 20192
L'Ami,E2643Esipenko,A2584½–½2019C8881st Tata Steel Challengers 20192
Keymer,V2500Kuipers,S24701–02019D1281st Tata Steel Challengers 20192
Saduakassova,D2472Van Foreest,L2502½–½2019E3281st Tata Steel Challengers 20192
Gledura,B2615Saduakassova,D2472½–½2019C4281st Tata Steel Challengers 20193
Chigaev,M2604Kovalev,V2687½–½2019C5481st Tata Steel Challengers 20193
Esipenko,A2584Keymer,V25001–02019B9081st Tata Steel Challengers 20193
Praggnanandhaa R2539L'Ami,E2643½–½2019C1181st Tata Steel Challengers 20193
Van Foreest,L2502Bareev,E26501–02019B1381st Tata Steel Challengers 20193
Paehtz,E2477Korobov,A2699½–½2019A6281st Tata Steel Challengers 20193
Kuipers,S2470Maghsoodloo,P26790–12019B6281st Tata Steel Challengers 20193
Korobov,A2699Saduakassova,D2472½–½2019E5681st Tata Steel Challengers 20194
Kovalev,V2687Van Foreest,L25021–02019C6781st Tata Steel Challengers 20194
Maghsoodloo,P2679Esipenko,A2584½–½2019A3481st Tata Steel Challengers 20194
Bareev,E2650Gledura,B2615½–½2019D0381st Tata Steel Challengers 20194
L'Ami,E2643Chigaev,M2604½–½2019C7781st Tata Steel Challengers 20194
Keymer,V2500Praggnanandhaa R2539½–½2019D2481st Tata Steel Challengers 20194
Paehtz,E2477Kuipers,S2470½–½2019C1381st Tata Steel Challengers 20194
Gledura,B2615Kovalev,V26870–12019C5081st Tata Steel Challengers 20195
Chigaev,M2604Keymer,V2500½–½2019B9081st Tata Steel Challengers 20195
Esipenko,A2584Paehtz,E2477½–½2019D1181st Tata Steel Challengers 20195
Praggnanandhaa R2539Maghsoodloo,P2679½–½2019C5481st Tata Steel Challengers 20195
Van Foreest,L2502L'Ami,E2643½–½2019B5681st Tata Steel Challengers 20195
Saduakassova,D2472Bareev,E26500–12019A5881st Tata Steel Challengers 20195
Kuipers,S2470Korobov,A26990–12019B3281st Tata Steel Challengers 20195
Korobov,A2699Bareev,E2650½–½2019D1981st Tata Steel Challengers 20196
Kovalev,V2687Saduakassova,D24721–02019C4281st Tata Steel Challengers 20196
Maghsoodloo,P2679Chigaev,M26040–12019C5481st Tata Steel Challengers 20196
L'Ami,E2643Gledura,B26150–12019C9281st Tata Steel Challengers 20196
Keymer,V2500Van Foreest,L2502½–½2019A1881st Tata Steel Challengers 20196
Paehtz,E2477Praggnanandhaa R2539½–½2019E0181st Tata Steel Challengers 20196
Kuipers,S2470Esipenko,A2584½–½2019C5481st Tata Steel Challengers 20196
L'Ami,E2643Gledura,B2615201981st Tata Steel Challengers 20196.3
Keymer,V2500Van Foreest,L2502201981st Tata Steel Challengers 20196.4
Maghsoodloo,P2679Chigaev,M2604201981st Tata Steel Challengers 20196.5
Kuipers,S2470Esipenko,A2584201981st Tata Steel Challengers 20196.7
Bareev,E2650Kovalev,V2687½–½2019E1181st Tata Steel Challengers 20197
Gledura,B2615Keymer,V25001–02019A0781st Tata Steel Challengers 20197
Chigaev,M2604Paehtz,E24771–02019B9081st Tata Steel Challengers 20197
Esipenko,A2584Korobov,A26991–02019D4381st Tata Steel Challengers 20197
Praggnanandhaa R2539Kuipers,S24701–02019C1181st Tata Steel Challengers 20197
Van Foreest,L2502Maghsoodloo,P2679½–½2019B0681st Tata Steel Challengers 20197
Saduakassova,D2472L'Ami,E2643½–½2019A8581st Tata Steel Challengers 20197
Korobov,A2699Kovalev,V2687½–½2019E9481st Tata Steel Challengers 20198
Maghsoodloo,P2679Gledura,B2615½–½2019A0681st Tata Steel Challengers 20198
L'Ami,E2643Bareev,E26501–02019D1981st Tata Steel Challengers 20198
Esipenko,A2584Praggnanandhaa R25391–02019B6981st Tata Steel Challengers 20198
Keymer,V2500Saduakassova,D24721–02019A1881st Tata Steel Challengers 20198
Paehtz,E2477Van Foreest,L25020–12019E0681st Tata Steel Challengers 20198
Kuipers,S2470Chigaev,M26040–12019C5481st Tata Steel Challengers 20198
Kovalev,V2687L'Ami,E2643½–½2019C0181st Tata Steel Challengers 20199
Bareev,E2650Keymer,V2500½–½2019D0281st Tata Steel Challengers 20199
Gledura,B2615Paehtz,E24771–02019A0581st Tata Steel Challengers 20199
Chigaev,M2604Esipenko,A2584½–½2019C5081st Tata Steel Challengers 20199
Praggnanandhaa R2539Korobov,A2699½–½2019C5481st Tata Steel Challengers 20199
Van Foreest,L2502Kuipers,S24700–12019C1181st Tata Steel Challengers 20199
Saduakassova,D2472Maghsoodloo,P26790–12019A3481st Tata Steel Challengers 20199
Korobov,A2699L'Ami,E2643½–½2019D0081st Tata Steel Challengers 201910
Maghsoodloo,P2679Bareev,E26501–02019B1281st Tata Steel Challengers 201910
Esipenko,A2584Van Foreest,L25021–02019D3781st Tata Steel Challengers 201910
Praggnanandhaa R2539Chigaev,M26040–12019B4781st Tata Steel Challengers 201910
Keymer,V2500Kovalev,V26870–12019A1081st Tata Steel Challengers 201910
Paehtz,E2477Saduakassova,D2472½–½2019B4781st Tata Steel Challengers 201910
Kuipers,S2470Gledura,B2615½–½2019B4881st Tata Steel Challengers 201910
Kovalev,V2687Maghsoodloo,P26791–02019B0181st Tata Steel Challengers 201911
Bareev,E2650Paehtz,E2477½–½2019A0081st Tata Steel Challengers 201911
L'Ami,E2643Keymer,V2500½–½2019B9081st Tata Steel Challengers 201911
Gledura,B2615Esipenko,A2584½–½2019A0581st Tata Steel Challengers 201911
Chigaev,M2604Korobov,A2699½–½2019B9081st Tata Steel Challengers 201911
Van Foreest,L2502Praggnanandhaa R2539½–½2019B4181st Tata Steel Challengers 201911
Saduakassova,D2472Kuipers,S2470½–½2019D4381st Tata Steel Challengers 201911
Korobov,A2699Keymer,V25001–02019D3581st Tata Steel Challengers 201912
Maghsoodloo,P2679L'Ami,E2643½–½2019C0281st Tata Steel Challengers 201912
Chigaev,M2604Van Foreest,L2502½–½2019E3281st Tata Steel Challengers 201912
Esipenko,A2584Saduakassova,D24721–02019C4281st Tata Steel Challengers 201912
Praggnanandhaa R2539Gledura,B26150–12019A0581st Tata Steel Challengers 201912
Paehtz,E2477Kovalev,V26870–12019A4881st Tata Steel Challengers 201912
Kuipers,S2470Bareev,E26500–12019B1381st Tata Steel Challengers 201912
Kovalev,V2687Kuipers,S24701–02019C0781st Tata Steel Challengers 201913
Bareev,E2650Esipenko,A25841–02019A4981st Tata Steel Challengers 201913
L'Ami,E2643Paehtz,E24771–02019E0081st Tata Steel Challengers 201913
Gledura,B2615Chigaev,M26041–02019B0881st Tata Steel Challengers 201913
Van Foreest,L2502Korobov,A2699½–½2019B3081st Tata Steel Challengers 201913
Keymer,V2500Maghsoodloo,P2679½–½2019D7181st Tata Steel Challengers 201913
Saduakassova,D2472Praggnanandhaa R2539½–½2019A0581st Tata Steel Challengers 201913

Andre Schulz and Johannes Fischer contributed reporting

Links


Macauley served as the Editor in Chief of ChessBase News from July 2017 to March 2020. He is the producer of The Full English Breakfast chess podcast, and was an Associate Producer of the 2016 feature documentary, Magnus.

Discuss

Rules for reader comments

 
 

Not registered yet? Register

We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.