FIDE World Cup: Blunders abound as Aronian and Vitiugov are knocked out

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
9/26/2019 – The play-offs of the quarter-finals at the FIDE World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk showed how much knock-out events are about keeping one's head together, as Levon Aronian and Nikita Vitiugov were eliminated after blundering horribly from completely winning positions. While Maxime Vachier-Lagrave knocked Aronian out in the second rapid game, Yu Yangyi and Vitiugov decided their match-up in Armageddon. GM YANNICK PELLETIER reviewed the highlights of the day. | Photo: FIDE

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Nerves, nerves, nerves


The FIDE World Cup is taking place in Khanty-Mansiysk. It is a seven-round knock-out event for 128 players, with a total prize fund of US$ 1.6 million and a first prize of US$ 110,000. The matches consist of two classical games with a time control of 90 minutes for 40 moves plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move. The finals consist of four classical games. Full schedule.


The stakes are high as can be for professional chess players in the World Cup, as the difference between qualifying to the Candidates and being knocked out one or two rounds before reaching that goal is massive. If we add the fact that rapid and blitz chess are used as deciders, it makes total sense that nerves become the single most important deciding factor in each duel. 

The prime event of the day was the first one to finish. After having lost a golden chance to participate in the previous Candidates by dramatically losing against Levon Aronian in the semi-finals of the 2017 World Cup, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave advanced to this year's semis by taking down his Armenian friend in the second 25-minute tiebreaker. Aronian had played a clean-cut exchange sacrifice to get a winning position, but missed a couple of chances to convert his large advantage. Moreover, the tables completely turned when the Armenian blundered on move 38. Aronian will now put all his hopes to get a spot in the Candidates on the Grand Swiss Tournament that starts in just over two weeks.

It was a much longer day at the office for Nikita Vitiugov and Yu Yangyi. First, the contenders drew both 25-minute games; in the 10-minute section, Vitiugov blundered in a drawn rook endgame but bounced back with a win in the next encounter; while two draws were seen in the 5-minute blitz phase. Thus, Armageddon was the only recourse left to put an end to the match. Vitiugov had the black pieces and saw how his opponent inexplicably gave away two pawns as early as move 9. The Russian had a winning position by move 17, but his timid play allowed Yu Yangyi to recover and get an unlikely 40-move victory. Vitiugov could not believe what had just happened — dismayed, he stayed in the playing hall processing the staggering developments of the day. 

FIDE World Cup 2019

Arbiters — witnessing the tension | Photo: FIDE

Vachier-Lagrave 2½:1½ Aronian

Levon Aronian has been a constant feature amongst the potential aspirants to take the World Championship crown away from Magnus Carlsen. He participated in every single Candidates Tournament since 2007, but somehow has not managed to keep up his usual top-notch level at the last hurdles. The biggest example of this phenomenon was seen a couple of years ago, when he had a brilliant 2017 (winning the GRENKE Chess Classic, the Norway Chess Tournament, the St. Louis Rapid & Blitz and the World Cup) only to go on and finish dead last at the 2018 Candidates. We can never rule him out though, as he is totally capable of winning the upcoming Grand Swiss to get a spot in the 2020 Candidates event.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, on the other hand, has never played the Candidates despite having crossed the 2700 rating mark in 2012, and having reached a 2800+ rating in no less than eight official monthly lists. The Frenchman now only needs to defeat Teimour Radjabov in the semi-finals to get a spot at the deciding tournament for the first time.

Levon Aronian

Levon Aronian gained 2.8 rating points in Khanty-Mansiysk | Photo: FIDE

Aronian did not get much out of his white game at the start of the play-offs, as a draw was signed in a balanced position after 31 moves. In game two, however, the Armenian got the upper hand in the early middlegame — he correctly decided to give up an exchange to open up some lines in the centre:

 
Vachier-Lagrave vs. Aronian
Position after 26.gxf4

Black continued 26...f6 27.f1 xf5 and went on to coordinate an attack with his queen and knight. Aronian missed a big shot a couple of moves later though:

 
Position after 31.Kh2

Black opted for 31...e2+, when 31...♞e4 was more forcing. There followed 32.g1 xd3 and Aronian's task only became tougher. He still had the initiative though...until disaster struck on move 38:

 
Position after 38.Qd1

38...h4 is the kind of blunder that can easily haunt a chess player's dreams for quite a while. White has the simple 39.f3, simplifying into a winning endgame an exchange to the good. The game continued 39...b2 40.xe3 xd1 41.d3 b2 42.xd4, and Vachier-Lagrave converted his advantage seamlessly.   


Vachier-Lagrave vs. Aronian - All games

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Bg5 Ne4 6.Bf4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 c5 8.cxd5 Qxd5 9.e3 0-0 10.Be2 cxd4 11.cxd4 Nc6 12.0-0 Bf5 13.Qa4 D80: Grünfeld: Unusual White 4th moves and 4 Bg5 Qa5 14.Qxa5 Nxa5 15.Nd2 White has an edge. Rac8 16.Rfc1 Rxc1+ 17.Rxc1 Rc8 18.Rxc8+ Bxc8 19.Bf3 Nc6
20.Bxc6N Predecessor: 20.Bc7 Kf8 1/2-1/2 (74) Carlsen,M (2881)-Grischuk,A (2792) Stavanger 2014 20...bxc6= Endgame KBB-KBN 21.Bb8 a6 22.Ne4 f6 23.f3 Kf7 24.Kf2 Bf8 25.Ba7 f5 26.Ng5+ Ke8 26...Kg7= 27.f4 White should try 27.Nxh7 Bh6 28.h4 27...Bh6 Black should play 27...h6= 28.Nf3 Bg7 28.Nxh7 Be6 29.a3 a5 30.Ke2 Bg8 31.Ng5 Bxg5 32.fxg5 KB-KB a4 33.Kd3 Bb3 34.Kc3 Kf7 35.Kb4 Bc2 36.Bb8 Bb3 37.h4 Kg7 38.e4 fxe4 39.Bf4 e3 39...Kf7 40.Bxe3± White is better. Kf7 41.g4 Bd1 42.h5 e6 43.Bf4 Kg7 44.Be5+ Kh7 Accuracy: White = 86%, Black = 56%.
½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Aronian,L2758Vachier-Lagrave,M2774½–½2019FIDE World Cup 20195.1
Vachier-Lagrave,M2774Aronian,L2758½–½2019FIDE World Cup 20195.2
Aronian,L2758Vachier-Lagrave,M2774½–½2019FIDE World Cup 20195.3
Vachier-Lagrave,M2774Aronian,L27581–02019FIDE World Cup 20195.4

Post-tiebreak interview with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave


Yu Yangyi 5:4 Vitiugov

As mentioned in a previous report, getting a ticket to the Candidates would be a huge career enhancer for either contender of this match-up. After drawing both classical encounters, the players split the point twice in the 25-minute phase of the play-offs, with Nikita Vitiugov failing to make the most of his positional edge in his game with White. Then came the 10-minute stage, and the first game seemed to be heading to a draw in a rook endgame:

 
Yu Yangyi vs. Vitiugov
Position after 59.Re7+

In a less pressure-packed situation, Vitiugov would surely find the correct 59...♚f6 here. But the Russian opted for 59...g8, losing all chances of survival after the simple sequence 60.hxg5 hxg5 61.e5. Vitiugov resigned and now needed to win on demand to keep the match going.

Russia's number seven showed his strength in seemingly equal positions by overpowering Yu Yangyi in the next encounter. Out of a Petroff Defence, Vitiugov got the upper hand in a position with symmetrical pawn structures, and never looked back — Yu Yangyi was lost by move 40, but made his opponent work extra for the full point, only resigning with mate-in-eight on the board after 75 moves.

Yu Yangyi

Yu Yangyi will face Ding Liren in the semi-finals | Photo: FIDE

The 5-minute games finished drawn after 39 and 90 moves respectively, with both players admirably avoiding blunders despite the quicker time control. The sudden-death decider was all that was left to find a winner. Yu Yangyi was given the chance to choose which colour he wanted to play with, and the Chinese opted for the white pieces. A draw would be enough for Vitiugov to reach the semi-finals.

Vitiugov played the French Defence, and a big shocker was seen as early as move 9:

 
Yu Yangyi vs. Vitiugov
Position after 8...Nh4

Yu played the inexplicable 9.♗e4, allowing Black to capture two pawns with 9...xg2+ 10.f2 xf4. Vitiugov had shown good technique to win under pressure in the second 10-minute encounter, but perhaps lost his composure here due to the fact that the coveted victory was so unbelievably simple at this point. Just to give an example, he missed a straightforward chance to gain a piece on move 17:

 
Position after 17.Qh5

17...♛c5 pins the knight and threatens to win the queen with a discovered check. White's best alternative is the sad-looking 18.♔g3, but resigning here would also be completely justified. Vitiugov played 17...d7 instead and allowed his opponent to get counterplay along the g-file soon after.

What followed was painful to see. Yu Yangyi took over and forced his opponent to resign while a rook down on move 40:

 
Position after 40.Rxa6

Vitiugov could not believe what had just happened and remained seated long after the match was over. If divine justice exists, he will have another chance to prove his strength in the future. 

Nikita Vitiugov

Nikita Vitiugov is a gentleman on and off the board | Photo: FIDE


Yu Yangyi vs. Vitiugov - All games

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.g3 e5 7.Nde2 Be7 8.Bg2 0-0 9.0-0 b5 10.Nd5 B91: Sicilian Najdorf: 6 g3 Nxd5 10...Nbd7 11.Nec3 Nb6 12.Nxf6+ Bxf6 13.b3 Be6 14.Ba3 Qc7 15.Qd3 Rfc8 16.Bb4 a5 17.Nxb5 Qxc2 18.Qxc2 Rxc2 19.Bxd6 1/2-1/2 (73) Vachier Lagrave,M (2778)-Wojtaszek,R (2749) Shenzhen 2018 11.Qxd5 Ra7 12.Be3 The position is equal. Rb7 13.Qd2 Nd7 14.Nc3 Nf6 15.Bg5 Be6 16.Bxf6 Bxf6 17.Nd5 Bg5
18.Qd3N a5 19.a3 Qc8 20.c3 Qc6 21.Rfd1 Kh8 22.Qe2 Qc4 23.Qh5 Bh6 24.Qf3 24.Nf6!? 24...Qb3 25.Qe2 Qc4 26.Qc2 f5 27.b3 White fights for an advantage. Qc5 28.b4 Qa7 ...fxe4 is the strong threat. 29.exf5 Bxf5 30.Qe2 Rbf7 31.Rf1 Be6 Better is 31...Bd7!= 32.Qxb5 Rxf2
33.Kh1 Threatens to win with Rxf2. Qa8 Strongly threatening ...Rxf1+. 34.Rxf2 Rxf2 35.Nf4! Rxg2 36.Nxg2 axb4 37.Qxb4 Bd5 38.Qb2 Be3! 39.a4 h6
40.h3! Bc5 41.Kh2 Bc4 42.Qc2 Qf3 43.Nh4 Qe3 Accuracy: White = 68%, Black = 68%.
½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Vitiugov,N2732Yu,Y2763½–½2019FIDE World Cup 20195.1
Yu,Y2763Vitiugov,N2732½–½2019FIDE World Cup 20195.2
Yu,Y2763Vitiugov,N2732½–½2019FIDE World Cup 20195.3
Vitiugov,N2732Yu,Y2763½–½2019FIDE World Cup 20195.4
Yu,Y2763Vitiugov,N27321–02019FIDE World Cup 20195.5
Vitiugov,N2732Yu,Y27631–02019FIDE World Cup 20195.6
Yu,Y2763Vitiugov,N2732½–½2019FIDE World Cup 20195.7
Vitiugov,N2732Yu,Y2763½–½2019FIDE World Cup 20195.8
Yu,Y2763Vitiugov,N27321–02019FIDE World Cup 20195.9

Round-up show

GM Yannick Pelletier reviewed the highlights of the day's action


Commentary webcast

Commentary by IM Anna Rudolf and GM Evgeny Miroshnichenko


All results

Rk.NameRtg.Nt.Pts.n
1
2
3
4
5
TBPerf.
1
GM

7
GM
2811
½

7
GM
2811
½

7
GM
2811
1

7
GM
2811
½

7
GM
2811
½

7
GM
2811
1

7
GM
2811
½

7
GM
2811
1

Ø 2811
5.5/8
2758
5.5
8
5.5
19.25
2952
2
GM
GM
2811

1
FM
1954
1

7
GM
2758
½

7
GM
2758
½

7
GM
2758
0

7
GM
2758
½

7
GM
2758
½

7
GM
2758
0

7
GM
2758
½

7
GM
2758
0

Ø 2669
3.5/9
2811
3.5
9
2.5
13.75
2589
3
GM

7
GM
2763
1

7
GM
2763
1

7
GM
2763
½

7
GM
2763
½

Ø 2763
3/4
2774
3.0
4
3.00
2956
4
GM
2763
1.0
4
3.00
2581
5
FM
FM
1954

1
GM
2811
0

Ø 2811
0/1
1954
0.0
1
0.00
2011
TBs: Sonneborn-Berger

All games from the quarter-finals

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 dxc4 5.Bg2 a6 6.0-0 Nc6 7.e3 Rb8 8.Nfd2 e5 E04: Open Catalan: 5 Nf3 9.Bxc6+ bxc6 10.dxe5 Ng4 White is slightly better. 11.Nxc4 Be6 And now .. .Qxd1 would win. 12.Qe2 12.Nbd2± 12.Nbd2 h5 13.f3 Rb4 14.fxg4 Bxc4 15.Nxc4 Qxd1 16.Rxd1 Rxc4 1-0 (40) Ding,L (2777)-Mamedyarov,S (2799) Huaian 2017 12...h5!= 13.Rd1 Qc8!
Threatens to win with ...h4. 14.Qf3N White should play 14.Nc3 Predecessor: 14.Nbd2 h4 15.Nf1 hxg3 16.hxg3 1-0 (31) Vorobiov,E (2586)-Goudriaan,E (2375) Leiden 2012 14...Rb6? 14...Bd5! 15.Rxd5 cxd5 16.Qxd5 Qf5 17.Qc6+ Double Attack Kd8! 15.Nxb6 cxb6 16.h4 16.Nc3± 16...Nxe5= 17.Qf4! Ng6 18.Qe4 Be7 19.Nc3 Bf5 20.Qh1 Ne5 21.f3 Bc2 21...Bc5!= 22.Rd2± Bg6 23.Qg2 23.e4± 23...0-0 24.Rd1 Qf5
25.Rf1! Qe6 26.Ne2 Nd3 27.Kh2 Rd8
27...Bc5± is a better defense. 28.e4 28.Rd1!+- 28...f5! 29.exf5 Qxf5 30.Nf4 Bf7 31.Nxd3 31.Qc2± 31...Rxd3= 32.Bf4 Bxh4! 33.Rad1 Rxd1 34.Rxd1 Bf6 35.b3 g5 36.Bc7 White has good play. Bd5 37.Qe2 g4 38.Qd3 Qxd3 39.Rxd3 fxg4 is the strong threat. gxf3 aiming for ...f2. 40.Bxb6 Be5 41.Bd4 41.Kg1 41...Be4 Accuracy: White = 61%, Black = 64%.
½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Grischuk,A2759Ding,L2811½–½2019FIDE World Cup 20195.1
Aronian,L2758Vachier-Lagrave,M2774½–½2019FIDE World Cup 20195.1
Vitiugov,N2732Yu,Y2763½–½2019FIDE World Cup 20195.1
Xiong,J2707Radjabov,T2758½–½2019FIDE World Cup 20195.1
Ding,L2811Grischuk,A27591–02019FIDE World Cup 20195.2
Vachier-Lagrave,M2774Aronian,L2758½–½2019FIDE World Cup 20195.2
Yu,Y2763Vitiugov,N2732½–½2019FIDE World Cup 20195.2
Radjabov,T2758Xiong,J27071–02019FIDE World Cup 20195.2
Yu,Y2763Vitiugov,N2732½–½2019FIDE World Cup 20195.3
Aronian,L2758Vachier-Lagrave,M2774½–½2019FIDE World Cup 20195.3
Vachier-Lagrave,M2774Aronian,L27581–02019FIDE World Cup 20195.4
Vitiugov,N2732Yu,Y2763½–½2019FIDE World Cup 20195.4
Yu,Y2763Vitiugov,N27321–02019FIDE World Cup 20195.5
Vitiugov,N2732Yu,Y27631–02019FIDE World Cup 20195.6
Yu,Y2763Vitiugov,N2732½–½2019FIDE World Cup 20195.7
Vitiugov,N2732Yu,Y2763½–½2019FIDE World Cup 20195.8
Yu,Y2763Vitiugov,N27321–02019FIDE World Cup 20195.9

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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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