World Cup: Firouzja and Dominguez knocked out

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
7/18/2021 – Two matches, one in each section, went the distance in the playoffs of round 2 in Sochi: Ivan Cheparinov and Olga Badelka (pictured, right) scored wins with white in Armageddon to advance to round 3 in the longest matches of the event so far. Alireza Firouzja and Leinier Dominguez were knocked out by two Uzbek players, Javokhir Sindarov and Jakhongir Vakhidov respectively. | Photo: Eric Rosen

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Uzbek upsets

Besides Levon Aronian, who had to withdraw from the World Cup due to health-related issues, the two strongest GMs to have been knocked out from the event in Sochi so far are Alireza Firouzja and Leinier Dominguez, seeded 8th and 9th respectively. 

In his first tournament representing France, Firouzja was eliminated in round 2 by 15-year-old Javokhir Sindarov from Uzbekistan. Dominguez, who also changed federations (in December 2018), was coincidentally knocked out by Sindarov’s compatriot, Jakhongir Vakhidov.

After drawing both classical games and the first two rapid tiebreakers, Sindarov beat Firouzja with the black pieces.

 
Firouzja vs. Sindarov - Game 5

Instead of defending his inferior position passively, Firouzja went for 26.a4, trying to complicate matters. Sindarov, one of the few players in the field younger than his round-2 opponent, kept his cool and played 26...Qxb4, and after 27.Bc3 Qc4 28.Rc2 Qxa4 Black is simply two pawns to the good.

The 15-year-old went on to win the game, and a draw with white in the next encounter gave him a pass to round 3. His next rival is Peruvian GM Jorge Cori.


Sindarov vs Firouzja and Vakhidov vs Dominguez

 
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1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Qe2 Nxe4 6.Qxe4 Nd7 7.Bc4 Nf6 8.Ne5 e6 9.Qe2 b5 10.Bd3 Qc7 11.a4 Bd6 12.Nxc6 b4 13.Nd4 a6 14.Nf5 Bb7 15.Nxd6+ Qxd6 16.0-0 h5 17.Qe3 b3 18.c4 Qc6 19.f3 Ng4 20.Be4 Qxe4 21.Qxe4 Bxe4 22.fxe4 Ne5 23.d4 Nxc4 24.Rf3 Rb8 25.Bf4 Rb4 26.Rc1 Ke7 27.Bg5+ f6 28.Bh4 Rd8 29.Be1 Rxa4 30.Rxb3 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Sindarov,J2558Firouzja,A2759½–½2021B10FIDE World Cup 20212.3
Firouzja,A2759Sindarov,J2558½–½2021D96FIDE World Cup 20212.4
Firouzja,A2759Sindarov,J25580–12021E91FIDE World Cup 20212.5
Sindarov,J2558Firouzja,A2759½–½2021B90FIDE World Cup 20212.6
Vakhidov,J2534Dominguez Perez,L27581–02021A37FIDE World Cup 20212.3
Dominguez Perez,L2758Vakhidov,J25340–12021B38FIDE World Cup 20212.4

Jakhongir Vakhidov

Jakhongir Vakhidov | Photo: Eric Rosen


Sindarov and Vakhidov are two of the seven players rated below 2600 who are still in contention. That list also includes:

  • Bobby Cheng (2552, knocked out Aronian by forfeit)
  • Velimir Ivic (2581, Francisco Vallejo Pons)
  • Michal Krasenkow (2591, Kirill Alekseenko)
  • Ante Brkic (2592, Yuriy Kryvoruchko)
  • Kiril Georgiev (2594, Anton Korobov) 

Two other upsets were seen in the playoffs of round 2, with Vasif Durarbayli (AZE, 2606) knocking out Alexandr Predke (RUS, 2683) and Timur Gareyev (USA, 2606) leaving Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS, 2684) out of contention.

The ever-entertaining — and blindfold specialist — Gareyev did not shy away from pushing his pawns down the board in the first rapid tiebreaker against the experienced Jakovenko.

 
Jakovenko vs. Gareyev - Game 3

The bold 18...e4 needed to be responded by 19.Nxe4, keeping a solid structure while not fearing 19...Nxa2+. Instead, Black’s 19.fxe4 gave Gareyev the kind of initiative that suits his play so well — 19...f3 20.Bd3 Qf6. The black f-pawn, in fact, survived until the end of the game. Jakovenko resigned on move 43.


Gareyev vs Jakovenko 

 
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1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.d4 g6 4.Nc3 Bf5 5.d5 Bg7 6.Nd4 Bd7 7.e4 e5 8.Nc2 a5 9.Be2 Na6 10.Be3 Nc5 11.f3 Nh5 12.g3 0-0 13.Na3 f5 14.exf5 gxf5 15.Qc2 Na6 16.0-0-0 Nb4 17.Qd2 f4 18.Bf2 e4 19.fxe4 f3 20.Bd3 Qf6 21.Kb1 Qg6 22.Nc2 Nxd3 23.Qxd3 Bxc3 24.Qxc3 Nf6 25.e5 Ne4 26.Qe1 dxe5 27.Ka1 Ba4 28.Rc1 Bxc2 29.Rxc2 Rae8 30.Be3 b6 31.Rf1 Nc5 32.Bxc5 bxc5 33.Rc3 e4 34.Qe3 Qh5 35.Qxc5 Qxh2 36.Qe3 Rf5 37.a3 Qg2 38.Rcc1 f2 39.c5 Qf3 40.Rc3 Qxe3 41.Rxe3 Kf7 42.c6 Kf6 43.Ka2 Ke5 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Jakovenko,D2684Gareyev,T25960–12021A15FIDE World Cup 20212.3
Gareyev,T2596Jakovenko,D2684½–½2021E12FIDE World Cup 20212.4

Timur Gareyev

Timur Gareyev | Photo: Eric Rosen


In the women’s section, the biggest surprise on Saturday was given by 17-year-old Kazakhstani IM Bibisara Assaubayeva, who knocked out her compatriot Zhansaya Abdumalik. The latter arrived in Sochi as the eighth seed and, more importantly, she came from having a remarkable performance in Gibraltar.

Assaubayeva showed that her win in the first classical game was no fluke, as she outplayed her opponent from a rather technical position in the second encounter of the playoff.

 
Abdumalik vs. Assaubayeva - Game 4

Abdumalik, playing white, actually had a better position here. To convert it, though, she needed to part with her bishop by playing 52.Bxc5 Rxc5 53.f4, and the engines give White an advantage. Instead, 52.Rd8+ gave Black a chance to regroup. Assaubayeva won the game in 79 moves.

Bibisara Assaubayeva

Bibisara Assaubayeva | Photo: Eric Rosen

Other highlights from Saturday’s action in the women’s section:

  • The match between Olga Badelka and Ana Matnadze was decided in Armageddon. Badelka won with white to advance to round 3.
  • Germany’s number one Elisabeth Paehtz knocked out 18-year-old Bulgarian IM Nurgyul Salimova only in the third set of tiebreaker games.
  • In a hard-fought duel, Pia Cramling knocked out Monika Socko.

Assaubayeva vs Abdumalik and Cramling vs Socko

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.e3 Nd7 8.Bd3 dxc4 9.Bxc4 g6 10.0-0 Bg7 11.e4 0-0 12.e5 Qe7 13.Re1 b5 14.Bd3 Rd8 15.Qc2 Bb7 16.Be4 Rab8 17.Rad1 Nb6 18.Ne2 Rbc8 19.Nf4 c5 20.Bxb7 Qxb7 21.dxc5 Rxd1 22.Rxd1 Nd7 23.b4 Nxe5 24.Nxe5 Bxe5 25.Nxg6 fxg6 26.Qxg6+ Bg7 27.Qxe6+ Kh8 28.Rd7 Qb8 29.g3 Re8 30.Qd5 Rf8 31.Re7 Bf6 32.Rb7 Qe8 33.Rxa7 Bg7 34.Qd2 Qe4 35.Rd7 Qb1+ 36.Kg2 Qe4+ 37.Kg1 Qb1+ 38.Kg2 Qe4+ 39.Kg1 Qb1+ ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Assaubayeva,B2389Abdumalik,Z2505½–½2021D43FIDE World Cup Women 20212.3
Abdumalik,Z2505Assaubayeva,B23890–12021B90FIDE World Cup Women 20212.4
Socko,M2393Cramling,P2459½–½2021E10FIDE World Cup Women 20212.3
Cramling,P2459Socko,M2393½–½2021E12FIDE World Cup Women 20212.4
Socko,M2393Cramling,P24590–12021E01FIDE World Cup Women 20212.5
Cramling,P2459Socko,M2393½–½2021A04FIDE World Cup Women 20212.6

Pia Cramling

Pia Cramling | Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova


The wall of umbrellas - Endgame analyses

Once again, GM Karsten Müller sent us the endgame positions he deemed most interesting. Among the five instructively annotated games, he included Daniil Dubov’s missed chance against Gukesh in their second playoff encounter.

 
Gukesh vs. Dubov - Game 4

It is worth noting that Dubov only needed a draw with black to move on to round 3. Maybe that is why he played 65...Nxe4 in the above position, all but securing a draw by force.

Nonetheless, this is a good example of a case in which keeping the white pawns alive actually helps Black — the winning move was 65...Kf4, and the black king will be protected from unwanted checks by his opponent’s pawns. Or, as GM Müller puts it, he will be able to make good use of a “wall of umbrellas”.

Our in-house specialist also looked at games won by Gulnar Mammadova, Alexei Shirov, Vladislav Artemiev and Vidit Gujrathi.

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0-0 6.Be3 c5 7.d5 e6 8.Nf3 exd5 9.cxd5 Re8 10.Nd2 Na6 11.0-0 Nc7 12.a4 Rb8 13.h3 b6 14.Qc2 a6 15.Nc4 b5 16.Na5 Bd7 17.Bf3 b4 18.Nb1 Ncxd5 19.Nc4 Nxe3 20.fxe3 Qc7 21.Qd3 Bc6 22.Qxd6 Qxd6 23.Nxd6 Re6 24.e5 Bxf3 25.Rxf3 Rxe5 26.Nd2 Re6 27.N2c4 Bf8 28.Raf1 Be7 29.e4 Nxe4 30.Nxf7 Kg7 31.Nfe5 Bf6 32.Nd3 Rd8 33.Nf4 Bd4+ 34.Kh2 Re7 35.Re1 Rde8 36.Nd5 Rd7 37.Nf4 Rf7 38.g3 Kg8 39.Ref1 Ng5 40.Rd3 Ref8 41.h4 Ne6 42.Nxe6 Rxf1 43.Nxf8 Kxf8 44.Rd2 Kf7 45.Re2 Kf6 46.Kg2 Rb1 47.g4 h5 48.g5+ Kg7 49.Re7+ Kf8 50.Re2 b3 51.Kf3 Rf1+ 52.Kg3 Rg1+ 53.Kf3 Rf1+ 54.Kg3 Rf7 55.Na5 Re7 56.Rxe7 Kxe7 57.Nxb3 Be5+ 58.Kf3 Kd6 59.Nd2 Kd5 60.b3 Kd4 61.Ne4 Bc7 62.Nf6 a5 63.Nd7 Bd8 64.Nf8 Kc3 65.Nxg6 Kxb3 66.Nf4 c4 67.Nd5 c3 68.g6 c2 69.g7 c1Q 70.g8Q Qf1+ 71.Ke4 Qc4+ 72.Kf5 Bxh4 73.Qb8+ Ka3 74.Qd6+ Ka2 75.Qh2+ Kb3 76.Qb8+ Ka2 77.Qh2+ Kb1 78.Qh1+ Kb2 79.Qh2+ Qc2+ 80.Qxc2+ Kxc2 81.Nf4 Kb3 "The wrong rook's pawn". One "injustice" in chess is that a bishop and the wrong rook's pawn cannot win: 82.Nd3? But not like this. The knight must start the hunt for the a5 pawn with 82.Ng6 Bg3 82...Bd8 83.Ne5 Kxa4 84.Nc6 Kb3 85.Nxa5+ Not however 85.Nxd8?? a4-+ The rook's pawn is the worst enemy of the knight. 85...Bxa5 86.Kg5= 83.Ne7 Kxa4 84.Nc6 Kb5 85.Nxa5 Kxa5 86.Kg5 h4 87.Kg4 Kb4 88.Kh3 Kc3 89.Kg2 Kd3 90.Kh1= White's king has reached the saving corner and nothing can be done anymore. 82...Kxa4 83.Kg6 83.Ne5 is met by Kb3 84.Nd3 Be7 85.Ke6 h4-+ 83...Be7 84.Kxh5 Kb3 85.Kg4 a4 86.Kf3 a3 87.Ke2 Bg5 Of course not 87...a2?? 88.Nc1+ 88.Nc5+ Kc4 A real knightmare for the knight. 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Javakhishvili,L2470Mammadova,G23850–12021E73FIDE Womens World Cup 20212.3
Gukesh D2578Dubov,D2714½–½2021D00FIDE World Cup 20212.17
Zherebukh,Y2620Shirov,A26620–12021A06FIDE World Cup 20212.50
Artemiev,V2704Murzin,V25021–02021A11FIDE World Cup 20212.23
Vidit,S2726Fier,A25691–02021E04FIDE World Cup 20212.13

Alexei Shirov

A well-known face — Alexei Shirov | Photo: Eric Rosen



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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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