FIDE World Cup: A few upsets

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
9/11/2019 – The most anticipated tournament of the year kicked off in Khanty-Mansiysk. Most of the favourites started with a win, with eleven out of the sixteen top seeds getting a full point on Tuesday. The biggest surprise rating-wise was given by Norwegian Johan-Sebastian Christiansen, who beat Radoslaw Wojtaszek with Black. But Christiansen was not the only young player to have a good day, as Alireza Firouzja, Nihal Sarin, Andrey Esipenko and Nodirbek Abdusattorov also got off to a good start. Do not miss the round-up show by IM Lawrence Trent. | Photo: FIDE

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A young man's game?

The future generation of top players is quickly rising through the ranks, as increasingly younger talents are making a name for themselves in the world of professional chess. The inaugural round of the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk was no exception to the rule, as most players aged 20 or younger got things rolling favourably in the Siberian city.

This does not mean the older generations are doomed by any stretch of the imagination, as was proven in previous editions — if we just focus on the winners, Boris Gelfand was 41 when he won the event in 2009 and  Vladimir Kramnik was 38 when he got first place in 2013. 

Nonetheless, we cannot but be stunned by the precocity of players like Nodirbek Abdusattorov (14 years old), Nihal Sarin (15) or Alireza Firouzja (16).

Alireza Firouzja

Will Alireza Firouzja continue his brisk ascent? | Photo: FIDE

Sarin's victory was particularly startling, as he took down Jorge Cori in style from the white side of a Sicilian Kalashnikov. Let us not forget that the youngster from India got a wild-card invitation to participate in this tournament — the organizers' decision has already been justified. Sarin spent quite a while on moves 10 to 12, but he had used his time wisely, as he correctly decided to give up a pawn for the initiative at that point:

 
Sarin vs. Cori
Position after 12...bxc4

After 13.ed5, Cori found the first suggestion of the computers, 13...f6, but by then it was clear White was the one pushing. Black could capture on b3 and get a small material edge, but his out-of-play knight on a5 and White's active pieces gave the Indian more than enough compensation. 

Later on, Sarin found another fine positional move to consolidate his advantage:

 
Position after 18...Rc3

19.fb1 cemented White's advantage and Sarin went on to show great maturity to convert his positional advantage into a 57-move victory.


Sarin vs Cori analysed by IM Sagar Shah


While Sarin took down a higher-rated opponent, Alireza Firouzja — the youngest 2700+ player in the world — defeated Arman Pashikian with the white pieces before the time control was reached. In the meantime, the youngest of all, Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2608), got a safe draw with the white pieces against Maxim Matlakov (2716), despite having been surprised by his Russian opponent as early as move 5.

Another success story for a youngster on opening day was Andrey Esipenko's win over Ruslan Ponomariov. A very accomplished player in this format, Ponomariov won the FIDE World Championship knock-out tournament in 2002 and was the World Cup runner-up in 2005 and 2009. After his loss against Esipenko, though, he will need to win with Black to stay alive in Khanty-Mansiysk. 

The 17-year-old from Russia played the Caro-Kann Defence, equalized after the opening and reached a comfortable endgame by move 35:

 
Ponomariov vs. Esipenko
Position after 35.Nd1

Esipenko gobbled up White's f-pawn five moves later and went on to patiently convert his advantage into a win.

Diego Flores, Gawain Jones

Ruslan Ponomariov blurred on the background (left) — focus on Diego Flores, who lost against Gawain Jones | Photo: FIDE

All games mentioned in this section

Notice Sarin's game has been annotated by IM Sagar Shah.

 
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1.e4 0 c5 0 2.Nf3 4 Nc6 0 3.d4 28 cxd4 16 4.Nxd4 7 e5!? 53 Cori plays the Kalashnikov. It has been played by Cori in seven games before and he has won all seven of them! Although it must be mentioned that all his opponents were less than 2350 rated! 5.Nb5 30 d6 12 6.c4 81 Be7 53 7.N1c3 73 Once the knight has been developed to c3, it makes sense to kick the knight from b5 so that it doesn't get the c3 square. a6 8 8.Na3 5 Be6 9 9.Nc2 199 Rc8 40 10.Be2 1240 This was played after nearly 20 minutes of thought, which is a bit too much! 10.b3 Nf6 11.Bd3 0-0 12.0-0 is how many games have progressed. 10...Na5 1468 11.b3 698 b5 29 It seems as if White's entire opening strategy has failed. Black has got the b5 break and there is absolutely no way for White to defend his c4 pawn. But who needs the c4 pawn? 12.Ne3! 865 It seems to me that this is all Nihal's preparation and to get his opponent into something that he had prepared, he was taking a lot of time! bxc4 529 13.Ned5 214 White says to Black that look you have been playing on the queenside and your knight is not so well place, I am going to give up material! Nf6 1178 This looks like the best move. It was played after nearly 20 minutes! 13...cxb3 14.axb3 Now the a6 pawn is hanging and the knight on a5 is also very weak. 14.Be3! 208 Now Nihal is speeding up! The bishop is threatening Bb6. Bxd5 300 14...Nd7 15.b4 Nc6 16.Qd2! Prophylaxis against Bg5. And it seems to me that White is doing really well. The pawn on c4 is not running away and White has complete control over the position. 15.Nxd5 155 Nxd5 12 15...Nxe4 16.Bb6+- 16.Qxd5± 153 0-0 89 17.0-0 678 Nihal is not at all concerned about black taking the pawn on b3. He knows that after taking back axb3 he would get his rook activated along the a-file and the a6 pawn would be weak. cxb3 325 18.Bxa6 587 Cori is in deep thought now because moving the rook to b8 can trap his knight on a5 after Bd2. Black has to play very resourcefully to keep the balance. Rc3 1349 18...b2 19.Rab1 Rc6 20.Bb5 Rc2 21.Bd3 Rc3 22.Rxb2± 19.Rfb1! 263 Another powerful move! Nc6 311 19...bxa2 20.Rxa2 Nc6 21.Bb6 And Black is in grave trouble. Qd7 22.Qd2+- 20.Rxb3 111 20.axb3 Nd4 21.Bxd4 exd4 22.Bc4 Would have given White an excellent position with risk free advantage to press for the rest of the game. 22.Qxd4 Bf6 23.Qd1 d5 gives Black some active play. 20...Rxb3 11 21.Qxb3 73 21.axb3 Nb4 22.Qb7 Nxa6 23.Rxa6 is also a position work exploring. 21...Nd4 48 Nihal Sarin (2610)-Cori,J (2676) Khanty-Mansiysk 2019 playchess.com [ChessBase] 22.Bxd4 310 exd4 7 White should be able to press in this position for quite some time thanks to his a pawn and the bishop that will sit very well on d5. But the question is whether it is sufficient for a win? 23.Bc4 70 Qa5 47 24.g3! 15 Just a small luft for the king, but it's moves like these which showcase good technique. Bg5 121 25.Kg2! 24 Very slowly improving the position. g6 19 26.Bd5 50 Qc3 36 27.Rd1 20 Kg7 82 28.Rd3 27 Qc5 32 28...Qxb3 29.Rxb3 is a nightmarish endgame to defend. f7 is weak and the a-pawn is quite strong. 29.a4 46 Bd8 44 30.Qb2 17 Bb6 32 31.Rb3 45 Ba5 32 32.Rd3 9 32.Rb7 with the idea of Qe2 and Qf3 looks pretty good. Here's a sample line: Qc3 33.Qe2 d3 34.Qf3 d2 35.Rxf7+ Rxf7 36.Qxf7+ Kh6 37.Bb3+- 32...Bb6 34 33.h4 25 Rc8 22 34.Qe2 53 Ba7 23 35.h5 22 Qc1 41 36.Qg4 43 Rc7 9 37.Rf3 22 d3 26 38.Qh4 31 Bd4 54 39.Rxd3 31 Taking the pawn is fine, but White had a faster way to win. 39.Bxf7! Rxf7 39...d2 40.h6+ Kh8 41.Qd8# 39...Qh6 40.Bb3+- 40.h6+ Kg8 40...Qxh6 41.Rxf7+ Kxf7 42.Qxh6+- 41.Qd8++- 39...g5 33 40.h6+ 0 Kf8 0 41.Qh5 303 White is still much better. Now that 40 moves are over, both players also have an additional 30 minutes on the clock. Bxf2! 613 Cori makes a very nice practical decision. Of course the bishop cannot be taken, but when such a move is played it is often easy to be unsettled. But not Nihal. 42.Rf3! 166 42.Kxf2 Rc2+ 43.Kf3 Qf1+ 44.Kg4 Rf2! And now Nihal has to find the only move to make a draw. 45.Rd2! Rxd2 46.Qxg5 Qe2+ 47.Kh4 Qh2+ 48.Kg4 Qe2+= 42...Qg1+ 31 43.Kh3 6 Qh1+ 83 44.Kg4 5 Qxh5+ 5 45.Kxh5 8 This position is clearly better for White on many counts. First of all he is winning a pawn. Secondly the a-pawn is a passer. Thirdly the white king is just so active! Bd4 243 46.a5 346 Ra7 681 47.a6 578 f6 37 48.Ra3 259 Ke7 138 49.Kg4 12 Kd8 141 50.Bb7 52 Bc5 8 51.Rb3 15 Ke7 20 52.Kf5 15 Bd4 5 53.g4 66 Kd7 45 54.Bd5 81 Rxa6 130 55.Rb7+ 9 Kc8 4 56.Rxh7 10 Ra1 5 57.Rf7 33 1-0 (57) Nihal Sarin (2610)-Cori, J (2676) Khanty-Mansiysk 2019 playchess.com [ChessBase] 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Nihal Sarin2610Cori,J26761–02019B32FIDE World Cup 20191.39
Firouzja,A2702Pashikian,A25991–02019FIDE World Cup 20191.32
Abdusattorov,N2608Matlakov,M2716½–½2019FIDE World Cup 20191.27
Ponomariov,R2675Esipenko,A26240–12019FIDE World Cup 20191.46

Top boards action

Johan-Sebastian Christiansen turned 21 this year, but we will choose to include him in this section (and not in the 'young guns category' above), as his opponent was not only older than him but also the sixteenth highest-rated player in the field. Christiansen had the black pieces against Radoslaw Wojtaszek and slowly outplayed his experienced rival after getting a strategic advantage in the middlegame:

 
Wojtaszek vs. Christiansen
Position after 28...axb5

Wojtaszek's 29.b4 boosted the computer's evaluation in Black's favour, but proving the advantage was not a trivial task. Christiansen kept up the pressure, creating threats on both sides of the board and sidestepping his opponent's tricks until forcing White's resignation on move 51. Much like Ponomariov, Wojtaszek will need to bounce back with Black to stay in the race.

FIDE World Cup 2019

A crowded playing hall...for now | Photo: FIDE

Other top players that got in trouble were Levon Aronian and Hikaru Nakamura. While Nakamura kept things under control when he noticed he was in danger against Algerian Bilel Bellahcene, Aronian was facing difficulties against the oldest player in the field, 53-year-old Essam El-Gindy from Egypt. The Egyptian was an exchange up against the defending champion, but chose to give up his material edge to eliminate White's powerful central knight on the last move prior to the time control:

 
Aronian vs. El-Gindy
Position after 40.Rxh2

El-Gindy's 40...db6 was not a mistake, but converting a heavy-piece endgame against someone as tricky as Aronian is not an easy task. Furthermore, the Armenian equalized three moves later and the point was eventually split. In the diagrammed position, the Egyptian could have gone for the initiative with 40...♛g4, but we cannot blame him for not finding that move with the clock ticking down and such a strong player on the other side of the board.

Leinier Dominguez, Alder Escobar

Eighth seed Leinier Dominguez defeated Colombian GM Alder Escobar | Photo: FIDE 

There were some hiccups, as we saw above, but it was mostly smooth sailing for those at the very top of the ratings list. Ian Nepomniachtchi, for example, built up a devastating attack after giving up a piece against Mongolian Sugar Gan-Erdene:

 
Gan-Erdene vs. Nepomniachtchi
Position after 26.Qxd6

Here Nepomniachtchi had planned to go 26...b4+ — which he played in less than a minute — and after 27.cxb4 c4+ 28.a1 axb4 the a-file is wide open. Gan-Erdene, the only untitled player in the line-up, used some desperate defensive resources, but soon enough was pushed to accept defeat with mate-in-three on the board:

 
Position after 37...Kh7

Ian Nepomniachtchi

Ian Nepomniachtchi only needs a draw on Wednesday to reach round two | Photo: FIDE

All games mentioned in this section

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 c5 4.dxc5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.Nc3 cxd4 7.Nxd4 Qc7 8.Nd5 Nxd5 9.cxd5 Qb6 10.Nb3 d6 11.0-0 Bd7 12.Be3 Qa6 13.Bd4 Qa4 14.Bxg7 Kxg7 15.Qd4+ Qxd4 16.Nxd4 1/2-1/2 (28) Ding,L (2805) -Vachier Lagrave,M (2780) Abidjan 2019 4...Na6 5.Nc3 Nxc5 6.Bg2 E60: King's Indian: Unusual lines and Fianchetto Variation without Nc3 Bg7 7.Nf3 b6 8.Nd4N White is slightly better. Predecessor: 8.e4 Bb7 9.e5 Ng4 10.0-0 Nxe5 11.Nxe5 Bxe5 12.Bxb7 Nxb7 1/2-1/2 (37) Nagy,G (2471)-Darban,M (2264) Ankara 2019 8...Bb7 9.Bxb7 Nxb7 10.e4 Qc7 11.Qe2 Nc5 12.0-0 d6 13.Rd1 Qb7 14.f3! 0-0 15.Be3 Rac8 16.Rac1 Ne6 17.Nc2 Rfe8 18.Nb4 Nd8 19.Bf2 Nc6 20.Nbd5 Nd7 21.Nb5 a6 22.Nbc3 Bh6 22...e6!? 23.Nf4 Qc7= 23.f4 Rb8 23...Bg7= remains equal. 24.b3 24.Na4± 24...Bg7 25.f5 25.Na4 25...Nce5 26.fxg6 hxg6 27.h4 b5 28.cxb5 axb5 29.b4 29.Nb1 29...e6 30.Nf4 Bf8 31.h5 g5 32.Nd3 Rec8 33.Qe3 33.Nxe5 was called for. Nxe5 34.Bd4 33...Bg7 34.Kg2 Kh7 35.h6 Bf6 35...Kxh6 36.Rh1+ Kg6 37.Nf4+ gxf4 38.gxf4 36.Nxe5 Nxe5 37.Qa7 Ng4 37...Kxh6 38.Qxb7 Rxb7 39.Rxd6 38.Qxb7 Rxb7 39.Ne2 Ra8 Black has a decisive advantage. 40.Rc2 Ra4 40...Kxh6 41.Nd4 41.Rxd6 Rxb4 41...Kxh6 42.Bc5 42.Nc1 Rxe4 42...Kxh6 43.Re2-+ 43.Nb3 Rc4 44.Re2 intending Na5. Rbc7 Weaker is 44...Kxh6 45.Na5= 45.Bd4 Bxd4 46.Nxd4 b4 Much less strong is 46...Nxh6 47.Nxb5 Nf5 48.Rd3-+ 47.Nb5 Rb7 48.Rd4 Rxd4 49.Nxd4 Kxh6 Don't take 49...Nxh6 50.Rb2-+ 50.Kf3 Nf6 51.Rb2 Ra7 Accuracy: White = 33%, Black = 62%. 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Wojtaszek,R2739Christiansen,J25580–12019FIDE World Cup 20191.16
Nakamura,H2745Bellahcene,B2540½–½2019FIDE World Cup 20191.14
Aronian,L2758El Gindy,E2431½–½2019FIDE World Cup 20191.6
Gan Erdene,S2407Nepomniachtchi,I27760–12019FIDE World Cup 20191.5

The myriad of chess action continues tomorrow, as sixty-four parallel games will take place for a last time in the tournament — barring the unimaginable occurrence of all match-ups ending up tied. Some will stay, some will go.


Round-up show

GM Daniel King reviews the action of the round


The Weekly Show with IM Lawrence Trent


Commentary webcast

Commentary by GM Evgeny Miroshnichenko, GM Alex Yermolinsky and IM Anna Rudolf


All results

Rk.NameRtg.Nt.Pts.n
1
2
3
4
5
TBPerf.
1
2758
5.5
8
5.5
19.25
2952
2
2811
3.5
9
2.5
13.75
2589
3
2774
3.0
4
3.00
2956
4
2763
1.0
4
3.00
2581
5
1954
0.0
1
0.00
2011
TBs: Sonneborn-Berger

All games

 
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1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4 d5 4.e5 Nfd7 5.d4 dxc4 6.Bxc4 Nb6 7.Bd3 c5 A18: English Opening: Flohr-Mikenas System (1 c4 Nf6 2 Nc3 e6 3 e4). 8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.Nf3 Nc6 White is slightly better. 10.0-0 h6 11.Qe2 Bd7 12.a3 Nd5 13.Ne4 Be7
14.b4N       Predecessor: 14.Bd2 Na5 15.Nd4 a6 16.Rac1 Nc6 17.Nxc6 Bxc6 18.Rfe1 Qd7 19.Nc5 Bxc5 20.Rxc5 1-0 (67) Matko,O (2302)-Zubak,Z (2005) Mali Losinj 2017 14...Qb8 Black should try 14...a6 15.Bb2± Nf4 16.Qe3 16.Qd2+- Nxd3 17.Qxd3 16...Nxd3 16...Nd5± 17.Qe1 a6 17.Qxd3+- 0-0 17...a6 18.Rad1 Bc8 19.Nd6+ Kf8 18.b5 Accuracy: White = 81%, Black = 60%. Stronger than 18.Qxd7 Rd8
1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Ding,L2811Press,S19541–02019A18FIDE World Cup 20191.2
Yu,Y2763Vachier-Lagrave,M2774½–½2019D86FIDE World Cup 20197.3
Radjabov,T2758Ding,L28111–02019C89FIDE World Cup 20197.3
Ding,L2811Radjabov,T2758½–½2019A29FIDE World Cup 20197.4
Vachier-Lagrave,M2774Yu,Y2763½–½2019C42FIDE World Cup 20197.4
Vachier-Lagrave,M2774Yu,Y27631–02019B40FIDE World Cup 20197.5
Radjabov,T2758Ding,L2811½–½2019D41FIDE World Cup 20197.5
Ding,L2811Radjabov,T2758½–½2019A29FIDE World Cup 20197.6
Yu,Y2763Vachier-Lagrave,M27740–12019D85FIDE World Cup 20197.6
Ding,L2811Radjabov,T2758½–½2019A29FIDE World Cup 20197.7
Radjabov,T2758Ding,L2811½–½2019D40FIDE World Cup 20197.8
Ding,L2811Radjabov,T27580–12019A05FIDE World Cup 20197.9
Radjabov,T2758Ding,L28111–02019B59FIDE World Cup 20197.10

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Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.

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