Vladimir Fedoseev wins Aeroflot Open 2017

by Sagar Shah
3/4/2017 – Vladimir Fedoseev had a half point lead over the field going into the last round. He ensured that there were no hiccups and rightfully picked up the winner's purse of €18000. Along with that he gets an entry into the 2017 Dortmund super tournament. In the blitz section, it was Anton Korobov who crushed the field and won with 15.5/18. Illustrated report with analysis by IM Shah and GM Yermolinsky.

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Photos from Vasily Papin's blog and Eteri Kublashvili (EK)

Vladimir Fedoseev was leading the last round at the Aeroflot Open 2017 with 6.5/8. He was followed by Nikita Vitiugov and Evgeniy Najer at 6.0/8. A lot was at stake in the final round for Fedoseev. It goes without saying that he is one of the best Russian talents. However, he has never really shown the performance he is capable of. If he maintained his nerves in check and played a good game against Vitiugov, it could be the biggest break in his chess career.

The fact that you have to pack your bags before the last round always adds to the pressure! Fortunately in Aeroflot, the last round also begins at the same time i.e 3 PM and not early morning like many other events

A small flashback

In the eighth round we had four Russians donning the top two tables. It was Fedoseev against Matlakov and Vitiugov versus Artemiev. Both the games were high in chess content and had plenty of points to learn from.

Alex Yermolinsky found these two games to be quite instructive and has sent us his analysis

Fedoseev - Matlakov (analysis by Alex Yermolinsky)

[Event "Aeroflot Open A 2017"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2017.02.28"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Fedoseev, Vladimir"] [Black "Matlakov, Maxim"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "2658"] [BlackElo "2701"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2017.02.21"] {This battle between two of the best young Russian players had a big impact on the standings.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qb3 {A bit of an offside line.} c5 6. dxc5 Na6 ({More popular is} 6... Nc6 7. Bg5 dxc4 8. Qxc4 Qa5 9. Bxf6 ({The endgame offers nothing to White:} 9. Rc1 Qxc5 10. Qxc5 Bxc5 11. e3 Bb4 12. a3 Bxc3+ 13. Rxc3 Ne4 {Nakamura-Aronian, LOndon Classic, 2016.}) 9... gxf6 10. Rc1 Qxc5 11. Qh4 Ke7 {The black king is relatively safe here.} 12. g3 Bxc3+ 13. bxc3 (13. Rxc3 Qb4) 13... b6 14. Bg2 Bb7 15. O-O {Matlakov himself had a crack at this posiiton with White against Alexandrov in 2010, and failed to make the most of it after} Rad8 16. Nd4 h5 17. Rcd1 Rd6 18. Rd3 Ba6 19. Rf3 Rh6 {Once White is forced to trade his strong Nd4 there isn't a whole lot he can do.}) 7. a3 Bxc3+ 8. Qxc3 Nxc5 9. cxd5 Qxd5 10. Be3 {At least here White can boast about his bishop pair.} Nce4 11. Qe5 Qxe5 12. Nxe5 Nd5 13. Bc1 $1 {Vladimir Fedoseev is 21 years old, but he handles this game like a seasoned pro. White needs to preserve his DSB at any cost..} Nc5 (13... f6 14. Nd3 Kf7 15. f3 Nd6 16. e4 Ne7 17. Be3 $14) 14. Rb1 f6 (14... Nb3 $6 {would be consistent, but the whole operation costs Black too much time, which is telling after} 15. e4 Nf6 16. f3 Nxc1 17. Rxc1 $16 {What to do here?} Ke7 { is no good:} 18. Rc7+ Kd6 19. Nxf7+ Kxc7 20. Nxh8 Bd7 21. Nf7 {and having snatched an important pawn the knight escapes unscathed.}) 15. Nc4 e5 16. f3 $1 {The key to White's success in such positions is the proper pawn placement.} Ke7 17. e4 Nf4 18. Be3 Ncd3+ ({Perhaps, a small structural damage had to be conceded in order to facilitate Black's development.} 18... b6 $5) 19. Bxd3 Nxd3+ 20. Ke2 Nf4+ 21. Bxf4 exf4 22. Na5 $1 {Vladimir Kramnik has used this knight placement to gtreat success in similar positions.} b6 {It's all about the c6-square, and now the knight gets there.} ({It was high time to look for counterplay:} 22... Rd8 23. Rhc1 (23. Rhd1 Rxd1 24. Rxd1 Bd7 $11) 23... f5 24. Rc7+ Kf8 {Now in case of} 25. Rd1 Rxd1 26. Kxd1 fxe4 27. fxe4 b6 28. Nc6 Bg4+ 29. Kd2 Re8 30. Kd3 f3 {Black seems to be getting somewhere.}) 23. Nc6+ Kd6 $2 {Practically speaking, a losing move.} ({Only} 23... Ke6 24. Rbc1 Bd7 {would leave Black a chance to escape.} 25. Nd4+ Ke7 26. Rc7 Kd6 27. Rhc1 Rac8 28. Nf5+ (28. Nb5+ $4 Bxb5+ {well, check.}) 28... Bxf5 29. R1c6+ Ke5 {is a fascinating position. White seems to be close, but he can't quite secure his advantage, neither in} 30. Re7+ ({nor} 30. exf5 Rxc7 31. Rxc7 a5 32. Rxg7 Rc8 33. Kd3 Rd8+ 34. Kc3 Rc8+ 35. Kb3 h6) 30... Kd4 31. Rd6+ Kc4 32. exf5 Kb3) 24. Rbc1 Ba6+ 25. Kf2 Rhc8 26. Rhd1+ Ke6 27. g3 fxg3+ 28. hxg3 g6 {Maxim felt he had to get the f5-square under control.} (28... Bb7 29. Nd4+ Kf7 30. Nf5 $1 Rxc1 31. Rxc1 {and there's no} Rc8 {on account of}) 29. f4 Bb7 {He must have thought he was safe here.} (29... h5 30. Ke3 Re8 31. f5+ gxf5 32. Nd4+ Kf7 33. Nxf5 {and at least one of White's rooks gets to the 7th rank.}) 30. f5+ $1 { Suddenly Black is losing material. An excellent display of positional chess by Vladimir Kramnik. Sorry, I meant to say, Fedoseev.} 1-0

Vitiugov - Artemiev (analysis by Alex Yermolinsky)

[Event "Aeroflot Open A 2017"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2017.02.28"] [Round "8.2"] [White "Vitiugov, Nikita"] [Black "Artemiev, Vladislav"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B90"] [WhiteElo "2724"] [BlackElo "2655"] [Annotator "Alex Yermolinsky"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2017.02.21"] {Not so much luck for another talented youngster, Vladislav Artemiev. In the following game he couldn't handle the pressure in the middlegame.} 1. e4 { Normally, Vitiugov is a 1.d4 player, but the tournament situation called for aggressive play.} c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Nb3 $5 { A relatively fresh idea, effectively used by Grischuk in the World Rapid and Blitz at the end of 2016.} Nc6 {Black has a buffet of different Sicilians to choose from.} (6... e5 7. Bg5 {Grischuk beat Amonatov and Nepo from this position.}) (6... g6 7. Be2 Bg7 {was seen twice in games between Nakamura and Vachier-Lagrave, also in rapid chess last year.}) 7. Be3 e6 8. g4 {Keres Attack Delayed?} h6 ({Perhaps we should follow the lead of a great expert on the Sicilian, Boris Gelfand, who played} 8... b5 9. Bg2 Bb7 10. g5 Nd7 11. f4 Nb6 12. Qe2 Nc4 13. O-O-O {leading to a similar position, but without a K-side weakening h-pawn move.}) 9. h4 b5 10. Bg2 Ne5 11. g5 Nfd7 12. f4 (12. Qd4 hxg5 13. hxg5 Rxh1+ 14. Bxh1 Nc4 15. O-O-O Bb7) 12... Nc4 13. Qe2 Nxb2 $5 {So Black played the principled move, snatching off that poisoned pawn. How does White punish him? Easier said than done. It has to be g5-g6 somewhere} 14. e5 { Nikita decided to strike in the center first.} ({Maybe, right away?} 14. g6 Bb7 15. gxf7+ Kxf7 16. e5 {was the right move order.}) 14... Rb8 $6 ({Better was the natural} 14... d5 15. g6 (15. Nxd5 $6 exd5 16. Bxd5 Bb4+ 17. Kf1 Rb8 { White cannot succeed here, because arguably, his king is worse, than Black's, and a piece is a piece.}) 15... Bb4 16. Bd4 Qc7 17. Rh3 Na4 {and Black gets his play on.}) 15. g6 Nc4 16. gxf7+ Kxf7 17. Ba7 Rb7 18. Bd4 {Now White has compensation.} Ndb6 19. O-O d5 20. Rae1 (20. a4 $5 bxa4 21. f5 {was a fascinating idea to undermine Black's strongholds on d5 and c4.} axb3 22. fxe6+ Kg8 23. cxb3 Na3 24. Rf7 Qxh4 25. Bf2 Qg5 {All good, but how to proceed here?}) 20... b4 {Nikita's move was not without poison. Clearly he anticipated Black's b-pawn to move and prepared a sacrifice.} 21. Nxd5 $1 Nxd5 {Vladislav decides to return the pawn, counting on a strong position of his Nd5.} (21... exd5 22. Qh5+ Kg8 23. e6 {His king safety notwithstanding, it is going to be difficult for Black to get his Rh8 into play.}) 22. Qxc4 Rc7 23. Qe2 g6 24. h5 $1 Rg8 25. Rf2 Nc3 $6 {It's strange Artemiev let Vituigov's Queen to take an active position on the K-side, when he could have beaten him to the punch.} (25... Qh4 $5 {Perhaps, he was concerned with} 26. Bxd5 exd5 27. e6+ Ke8 28. Rg2 {and missed a good move for himself:} Rxc2 $1 29. Qxc2 Qxe1+ {guaranteeing a draw.}) 26. hxg6+ Rxg6 $2 (26... Kxg6 $1 27. Qd3+ Kg7 28. f5 Qh4 {with similar counterattacking ideas.}) 27. Qh5 Kg7 $2 {Third error in a row, and it's over.} (27... Qe8 $142 28. Bxc3 Rxc3 29. Kh1 Rcg3 30. Be4 Kg7 {looking for compensation the bishop pair might provide.}) 28. Bb6 $18 {As it always goes in the Sicilian Black cannot afford to miss his chances, because, generally speaking, his position is rather unsound and cannot be held with conventional means.} Bb7 29. Bxc7 Qxc7 30. Kh2 Bxg2 31. Rxg2 Rxg2+ 32. Kxg2 Nd5 33. Qg4+ Kh7 34. Kh1 Qxc2 35. Qxe6 Qd3 36. Qg4 h5 37. Qxh5+ Bh6 38. Nc5 Qc4 39. Qf7+ 1-0

Back to the final round

After those two wins by Fedoseev and Vitiugov in the eighth round, they both faced off against each other in the final round

Fedoseev managed to equalize without too many difficulties with black. He took the right breaks and Vitiugov wasn't in his best possible form, and the game petered out into equality pretty soon.

Vitiugov vs Fedoseev

[Event "Aeroflot Open A 2017"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2017.03.01"] [Round "9.1"] [White "Vitiugov, Nikita"] [Black "Fedoseev, Vladimir"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D43"] [WhiteElo "2724"] [BlackElo "2658"] [Annotator "Sagar,Shah"] [PlyCount "39"] [EventDate "2017.02.21"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. g3 Nbd7 {Fedoseev remains solid.} ( 5... dxc4 {is much more exciting.}) 6. Bg2 Be7 7. Qd3 b6 8. O-O Ba6 9. b3 O-O 10. Rd1 Rc8 11. e4 dxe4 12. Nxe4 b5 $5 {Black immediately creates some counterplay.} 13. Ned2 $6 {This is just too slow. Better was} (13. Nxf6+ Bxf6 ( 13... Nxf6 14. Ne5 $16) 14. Be3 bxc4 15. bxc4 c5 16. Rac1 cxd4 17. Nxd4 $14) 13... bxc4 14. Nxc4 c5 $1 15. Bb2 cxd4 16. Nxd4 Ne5 $1 {This move is the one that solves all of Black's opening problems.} 17. Qe3 Nxc4 18. bxc4 Qb6 (18... Bxc4 19. Nc6 Qe8 20. Nxe7+ Qxe7 21. Ba3 $16) (18... Rxc4 19. Nc6 Qe8 20. Nxe7+ Qxe7 21. Ba3 $18) 19. Rab1 Rxc4 (19... Bxc4) 20. Ba3 {A draw was agreed in this position.} (20. Ba3 Rxd4 21. Qxd4 Qxd4 22. Rxd4 Bxa3 23. Ra4 Bd3 24. Rb3 Bc2 25. Rbxa3 Bxa4 26. Rxa4 Rd8 27. Rxa7 Rd1+ 28. Bf1 g5 {And this position, although unbalanced, should end in a draw.}) 1/2-1/2

The game between Najer and Yu Yangyi also ended in a draw. Hence, Fedoseev became the champion of the tournament with 7.0/9.

Fedoseev with the winner's trophy (EK)

Final Ranking after 9 Rounds (top 10)

Rk. Name Pts.  TB1 
1 Fedoseev Vladimir 7,0 5
2 Najer Evgeniy 6,5 4
3 Kovalev Vladislav 6,5 4
4 Vitiugov Nikita 6,5 4
5 Jobava Baadur 6,0 5
6 Kamsky Gata 6,0 5
7 Korobov Anton 6,0 5
8 Inarkiev Ernesto 6,0 4
9 Firouzja Alireza 6,0 4
10 Yu Yangyi 6,0 4

Complete Standings

Aeroflot Open brings out the best in this man! Evgeniy Najer was the winner last year, and finished second in 2017 with a rating performance of 2823!

Khismatullin had been doing quite well throughout the event, but his last round defeat against Vladislav Kovalev will haunt him for many days to come!

Khismatullin vs Kovalev

[Event "Aeroflot Open A 2017"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2017.03.01"] [Round "9.3"] [White "Khismatullin, Denis"] [Black "Kovalev, Vladislav"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A15"] [WhiteElo "2639"] [BlackElo "2598"] [Annotator "Sagar,Shah"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2017.02.21"] {This was perhaps the most exciting game of the final round.} 1. c4 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. Nc3 O-O 5. d4 d6 6. e3 $5 {This approach to the King's Indian is quite novel. In a way you are keeping your position harmonious by developing knight to e2 and keeping the bishop open on g2, On the other hand you are not claiming the space and the bishop on c1 is shut down. I would call it an interesting option, not neccessarily the most ambitious one.} Nc6 7. Nge2 Bd7 8. b3 a6 9. Bb2 Rb8 {Kovalev follows the tradition method of developing the pieces and breaking with b5.} 10. Rc1 b5 11. Nd5 bxc4 12. Nxf6+ Bxf6 13. Rxc4 {Positionally I already prefer White. He has a solid structure and the half open c-file is a very useful asset.} Na5 14. Rc2 c5 15. dxc5 Bxb2 16. Rxb2 Nc4 17. Rc2 Qa5+ 18. Rc3 $2 (18. Kf1 $16 {If Khismatullin would have made this move, he would have most probably won this game. He played Rc3, because he thought he could just castle next move, and keep all his advantages alive.}) 18... Bg4 $1 {A strong move by Kovalev who was very alert.} 19. bxc4 (19. f3 Nxe3 $1 $17) 19... Bxe2 20. Qd2 Bg4 21. O-O dxc5 {Already Black is for choice here. His rook is perfectly posted on b8 and in this symmetrical structure he has his chances to wrest over the initiative.} 22. Qc1 Rb4 23. a3 Rb6 24. h3 ( 24. Rc2 {Preventing Be2 was more important.}) 24... Be2 $1 25. Re1 Rfb8 $1 { Powerful chess by Kovalev.} 26. Be4 (26. Rxe2 Rb1 $19) 26... Bf3 $1 {Every move that this bishop makes is a pain for White to face.} 27. Bd3 Rb3 28. Rxb3 Rxb3 {Look at the Black pieces. Just so active!} 29. Bf1 Be4 {Threatening Rb1.} 30. Qa1 Rxa3 31. Qb2 Qxe1 32. Qb8+ (32. Qxa3 Qd1 $1 {Threatening Qf3. Game over!}) 32... Kg7 33. Qe5+ Kh6 34. Qxe7 Ra1 35. Qf8+ Kg5 36. Qxc5+ Bf5 37. Qe7+ f6 38. f4+ Kh6 39. Qf8+ Kh5 40. g4+ Kh4 {Rc3 was a bad slip by Khismatullin, but Kovalev took the full opportunity and punished it to perfection.} 0-1

These two young guys surely had a good time at the Aeroflot Open! (EK)

"You must always be ready to sacrifice a pawn for activity!" Gata Kamsky's advice was not just limited to words. Check out his last round game against Rinat Jumabayev (EK)

Jumabayev vs Kamsky

[Event "Aeroflot Open A 2017"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2017.03.01"] [Round "9.9"] [White "Jumabayev, Rinat"] [Black "Kamsky, Gata"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B31"] [WhiteElo "2611"] [BlackElo "2669"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2017.02.21"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. O-O Bg7 6. Re1 Nh6 7. c3 O-O 8. h3 f5 9. e5 Nf7 {This is a well known opening system and has already been seen in 28 games.} 10. d3 (10. d4 $6 {It doesn't make sense to help Black dissolve his doubled pawns.} cxd4 11. cxd4 c5 12. dxc5 Bb7 $44) 10... Rb8 11. b3 Qc7 12. Bf4 h6 13. h4 c4 $5 {I don't know whether to give this move a dubious mark or interesting. I think from the practical stand point I would give it an interesting mark.} 14. dxc4 (14. d4 $5 c5 15. dxc5 $1 (15. d5 e6 $13) 15... e6 16. b4 $16) (14. bxc4 {was also preferable.}) 14... c5 $1 {Now the extra pawn doesn't matter much and the bishop on b7 would be really powerful.} 15. Qd2 e6 16. Qe3 Bb7 17. Nbd2 a5 18. Rab1 Qc6 19. Kf1 $2 {White is clearly flustered and doesn't know what is to be done.} d6 20. Ke2 {What's wrong with Jumabayev?} (20. exd6 e5 $1 $17) 20... Rbd8 21. g3 Qd7 22. Kf1 dxe5 23. Bxe5 Nxe5 24. Nxe5 Qxd2 {Black has won a piece and went onto win the game.} 25. Nxg6 Qxe3 26. Rxe3 Rfe8 27. Rbe1 Kf7 28. Ne5+ Kf6 29. Nd3 Bf8 30. f3 Bd6 31. g4 f4 32. Re4 Bxe4 33. Rxe4 h5 34. g5+ Kf5 35. Ke2 Rd7 36. Kd1 Bb8 37. Kc1 0-1

The biggest find of the tournament was definitely the Iranian Alireza Firouzja. He scored 6.0/9 and finished ninth. It goes without saying that he scored a GM norm. (Photo: Maria Emelianova)

What a performance! 2746, +33 Elo and wins gainst three strong German, a Russian and a Pervian grandmaster! Watch out for this boy! As an example just have a look at his last round victory. In a fist fight he managed to outplay a grandmaster rated 200 points above him!

Firouzja vs Cordova

[Event "Aeroflot Open A 2017"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2017.03.01"] [Round "9.11"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Cordova, Emilio"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B72"] [WhiteElo "2465"] [BlackElo "2655"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "75"] [EventDate "2017.02.21"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 a6 7. Be2 Bg7 8. Qd2 Nbd7 9. Bh6 Bxh6 10. Qxh6 b5 11. Bf3 e5 12. Nb3 Bb7 13. O-O Rc8 14. a3 Nb6 15. Na5 Ba8 16. Qd2 Nc4 17. Nxc4 Rxc4 18. Rfe1 Qc7 19. Rad1 Ke7 20. Qh6 b4 21. axb4 Rxb4 22. Rb1 Rhb8 {Black's king is in the centre. However, he has excellent activity. White needs to somehow co-ordinate his pieces in order to be able to make use of the king's position on e7. Firouzja does this wonderfully.} 23. Nd1 $1 {The e4 pawn is given up, but the knight on e3 would be really powerful.} Bxe4 24. Bxe4 Rxe4 (24... Nxe4 25. c3 Ra4 (25... Rc4 26. Ne3 $18) 26. Ne3 $16) 25. Ne3 Qc5 26. c4 Rb3 27. h3 $1 {Just a quiet move. Firouzja knows that in such positions if you just give the move to your opponent, there are chances that he would go wrong.} Qd4 28. Rbd1 Rd3 29. Qg5 (29. Rxd3 Qxd3 30. Qg5 $14 { was more accurate.}) 29... h6 $6 (29... Rexe3 $1 30. fxe3 Rxd1 31. exd4 Rxe1+ 32. Kf2 Re4 33. dxe5 Rxe5 {Black will be able to hold this.}) 30. Qxh6 Rf4 31. Qg5 (31. g3 Rf3 32. Rxd3 Qxd3 33. Kg2 e4 34. Qh8 $16) 31... Kf8 (31... Ke6 $11) 32. Qh6+ Kg8 $2 33. Rxd3 $1 Qxd3 34. Rd1 $1 Qe2 35. Rxd6 {And just like that, the game is over!} Qxf2+ 36. Kh2 Rd4 37. Nd5 Rxd5 38. cxd5 {In a complex middlegame position Alireza was able to outplay an opponent 200 points stronger than him. Now that's something!} 1-0

Vidit vs Bindrich. Black has just played his knight to d6 and attacked the queen on c4. Can you find the move, which according to Vidit will be his favourite for many days to come?

Vidit vs Bindrich

[Event "Aeroflot Open A 2017"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2017.03.01"] [Round "9.13"] [White "Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi"] [Black "Bindrich, Falko"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A07"] [WhiteElo "2673"] [BlackElo "2590"] [Annotator "Sagar Shah"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2017.02.21"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c6 3. Bg2 Bg4 4. O-O Nd7 5. d3 Ngf6 6. h3 Bh5 7. Qe1 e5 8. e4 dxe4 9. dxe4 Bc5 10. a4 a5 11. Nbd2 O-O 12. Nc4 Qc7 13. Bd2 b6 14. Nh4 Rfe8 15. Kh1 Bg6 16. Rd1 Nf8 17. Bg5 N6d7 18. Nf5 Ne6 19. Ncd6 Bxd6 20. Nxd6 Reb8 21. Be7 Ndc5 22. Nf5 Nb7 23. Qc3 Nec5 24. Bg5 Re8 25. b3 f6 26. Be3 Rad8 27. f4 Kh8 28. fxe5 fxe5 29. Qc4 Bh5 30. Rxd8 Rxd8 31. Bg5 Rb8 32. Nxg7 $1 {A strong move! White is already winning, but the prettiest move of the game comes on the next turn.} Nd6 {[#] What would you play as White?} 33. Ne8 $3 {A very nice interference!} Bf7 (33... Nxe8 34. Rf8+ $18) (33... Rxe8 34. Bf6+ $18) 34. Nxc7 Bxc4 35. bxc4 Rc8 36. Bf6+ Kg8 37. Bxe5 Nxc4 38. Bf4 Nxa4 39. h4 1-0

Twelfth World Champion Anatoly Karpov came to visit the tournament

Aeroflot Blitz

The Aeroflot blitz was held on the next day after the last round. It is one of the most popular blitz events in the world. Although there are nine rounds, the players have to play 18 games (2 games with different colours against the same opponent). (EK)

Naturally, it is mentally and physically draining for the players... (EK)

....but the spectators have a nice time! (EK)

Anton Korobov simply crushed the field, scoring 15.5/18, two points more than his nearest rival, and returned home with the winner's purse of €5000. What's simply amazing is that Anton won eight out of his nine mini-matches, most with perfect 2.0/2 scores! (EK)

Top three places at the blitz tournament: Anton Korobov, Rauf Mamedov and Daniil Dubov (EK)

A great result by ChessBase author GM Alejandro Ramirez who scored 13.0/18 and finished fourth with a 2728 performance (EK)

Standings of Aeroflot Blitz 2017

Place Title Name   Fed. FIDE Total Bch. Wins vs+  
1 GM Korobov, Anton UKR UKR B 2734 15.5 100.00 8 105;67;48;56;94;26;88;9;  
2 GM Mamedov, Rauf AZE AZE B 2765 13.5 107.00 6 103;65;31;8;6;15;  
3 GM Dubov, Daniil RUS RUS B 2804 13.0 96.00 5 111;51;37;35;64;  
4 GM Ramirez, Alejandro USA USA B 2657 13.0 92.50 5 116;80;69;72;26;  
5 GM Artemiev, Vladislav RUS RUS B 2785 13.0 88.00 6 102;190;78;97;94;53;  
6 GM Yu, Yangyi CHN CHN B 2720 12.5 106.00 5 108;66;58;40;14;  
7 GM Vitiugov, Nikita RUS RUS B 2670 12.5 98.00 6 114;76;97;52;70;66;  
8 GM Jobava, Baadur GEO GEO B 2758 12.5 96.00 5 104;62;42;60;88;  
9 GM Kamsky, Gata USA USA B 2675 12.5 95.50 5 113;77;87;60;55;  
10 GM Khismatullin, Denis RUS RUS B 2633 12.5 94.50 5 124;80;92;44;76;  
11 GM Gunina, Valentina RUS RUS B 2595 12.5 88.00 5 138;106;95;34;32;  
12 GM Maghsoodloo, Parham IRI IRI B 2539 12.0 96.50 6 132;3;23;13;8;25;  
13 GM Movsesian, Sergei ARM ARM B 2641 12.0 94.50 5 120;72;54;1;51;  
14 GM Bindrich, Falko GER GER B 2564 12.0 93.00 6 152;101;99;20;22;21;  
15 GM Lysyj, Igor RUS RUS B 2585 12.0 89.50 5 128;106;132;142;1;  
16 GM Fedoseev, Vladimir RUS RUS B 2651 12.0 87.50 4 117;55;73;48;  
17 GM Berkes, Ferenc HUN HUN B 2701 12.0 83.00 5 110;78;85;73;50;  
18 FM Esipenko, Andrey RUS RUS B 2489 11.5 101.50 5 187;39;31;33;64;  
19 GM Cordova, Emilio PER PER B 2631 11.5 101.00 6 125;85;173;59;5;77;  
20 GM Indjic, Aleksandar SRB SRB B 2534 11.5 91.50 5 165;125;126;135;7;

Complete final standings


Sagar is an International Master from India with two GM norms. He loves to cover chess tournaments, as that helps him understand and improve at the game he loves so much. He is the co-founder and CEO of ChessBase India, the biggest chess news portal in the country. His YouTube channel has over a million subscribers, and to date close to a billion views. ChessBase India is the sole distributor of ChessBase products in India and seven adjoining countries, where the software is available at a 60% discount. compared to International prices.

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