3/22/2019 – In the second round of the US Championships, Wesley So showed flashes of brilliance against Timur Gareyev, giving a master class in the endgame with rook and knight against rook and knight. Just when everyone thought it was a draw, that's when the struggle really began. So now leads alongside Sam Sevian and Jeffrey Xiong. Carissa Yip and Jennifer Yu in the Women's Championship are now the only two players in either tournament to remain with a perfect score. | Photo: Justin Kellar
new: Fritz 20
Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally. FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before.
Wesley So published two new opening DVDs: 1.b3, the so called Nimzo-Larsen-Attack, for White and his black secrets in the modern Italian. Get them in a package and save money!
GM Blohberger presents a complete two-part repertoire for Black: practical, clear, and flexible – instead of endless theory, you’ll get straightforward concepts and strategies that are easy to learn and apply.
€49.90
Let's go Bogo vs So
In the second round of the US championship Timur Gareyev met Wesley So, the 2017 winner and one of the favorites, and "surprised" chess fans by playing a completely "normal" opening: the Bogo-Indian defense.
The former US Champion failed to achieve a significant advantage in either the opening or middlegame against the unpredictable Uzbek.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Qe7 5.g3 Bxd2!? 6.Qxd2 Nc6! 7.Nc3 d5! is a modern line where Black tries to play actively in the center. Shah shows the possible variations which occur in this position.
Flying in: Gareyev turns heads with his chess attire | Photo: Justin Kellar
Tap into your creative mind and start the game on a fresh note. The Trompowsky (1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5) is an opening outside of conventional wisdom. Create challenges and make your opponent solve problems early on.
When a perfectly balanced endgame with a rook and a knight against rook and knight arose, you'd be forgiven for expecting an imminent handshake. But you'd be wrong!
We're not heading for a draw? Nope! In fact, now the game became really interesting. A few moves later this position was on the board.
Endings with rook and minor piece against rook and minor piece occur very frequently, even more often than rook endings, yet there's not much literature on them. This endgame DVD fills this gap. The four different material constellations rook and knight vs rook and knight, rooks and opposite coloured (and same coloured ) bishops and rook and bishop vs rook and knight are dealt with. In view of the different material constellations Karsten Mueller explains many guidelines like e.g. "With knights even a small initiative weighs heavily".
The task certainly has become more difficult for Black, though not impossible. But now his opponent shocked him with 47.♘f6! When the black rook moves, 48.♘g8 follows and the f8-knight is lost. After 47...♚xf6 (47....gxf6 48.g7) 48.♖xf8 ♚e7 49.♖f7+ Gareyev played ♚d6. Far better is 49...♚e8 with good drawing chances. The game continued with 50.♖xg7 ♜xh5 and now 51.♖d7+!, after which the g-pawn cannot be stopped. The resulting position with e6-pawn rook against the queen was not holdable for Black.
Tap into your creative mind and start the game on a fresh note. The Trompowsky (1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5) is an opening outside of conventional wisdom. Create challenges and make your opponent solve problems early on.
Sam Sevian also joined the leaders getting his first win of the tournament against Awonder Liang. After castling on opposite wings, both sides were attacking but White landed the first blow.
Actually, here White missed his chance to drop the hammer with 33.Nf6+! deciding the game on the spot. The king, denuded of defenders, won't survive for long. However, he first played 33.♖g1 and after 33...♜xe5 34.dxe5 ♕e2 35.♕g4 g6 36.♘f6+ ♚h8 37.♕e4 went into a promising endgame.
"Did you hand in your phone, Sam?" — Cristian Chirila (not really) | Photo: Lennart Ootes
Results of Round 2
All games
Standings after Round 2
Women's Championship
In the women's championship, unlike yesterday — a true bloodbath — this time there were also "only" two decisive games. First, Carissa Yip won with Black against Akshita Gorti in unconventional fashion.
White gave up after 23...♝f5. But why? Gorti had missed that after 24.♕c1 and ♝xb1 she has 25.♗f3 ♛d3 26.♗a5 regaining the material.
Jennifer Yu also won against Ashrita Eswaran as Yu better handled the tactics in a complicated middlegame. Yip and Yu now lead the field with two wins.
YOUR PERSONAL CHESS COACH - Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.
The Nimzo-Indian has stood the test of time for over a century: Still a top choice for elite players today, from Magnus Carlsen to Praggnanandhaa, it remains one of Black's most reliable ways to fight for real chances against 1.d4 2.c4 3.Nc3.
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Bb4!? is an opening idea well worth considering. Black immediately threatens to double the pawns on c3 in the style of the Trompowski or Sicilian Grand Prix attack.
Italian Game Powerbase 2026 is a database and contains 8571 top class games from Mega 2026 and the Correspondence Database 2026, of which 479 are annotated.
Videos: Nico Zwirs discusses the Sicilian with 2…e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qe3 Nf6 6.Nc3. Mihail Marin examines Sindarov’s 6.Ne5 in the Queen’s Pawn Defence. Plus the ‘Lucky bag’ featuring 41 analyses by Berg, Ftacnik, Gupta and many others.
If you're looking for a dynamic alternative to the Slav, Queen's Gambit Declined, or other mainstream systems, the Chigorin Defence offers exactly what modern tournament players need.
€34.90
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