Decisive games
No draws were seen in the open section of the World Cup on Thursday. Etienne Bacrot and Sergey Karjakin needed to win to take their matches to tiebreaks — while Bacrot lost for a second day in a row against Magnus Carlsen, Karjakin managed to bounce back against Sam Shankland. In the meantime, Vladimir Fedoseev and Jan-Krzysztof Duda moved on to the semifinals thanks to wins over Amin Tabatabaei and Vidit Gujrathi.
Duda and Vidit played no fewer than 18 moves of theory out of a Spanish Opening.
The Ruy Lopez is one of the oldest openings which continues to enjoy high popularity from club level to the absolute world top. In this video series, American super GM Fabiano Caruana, talking to IM Oliver Reeh, presents a complete repertoire for White.
Both Alexander Grischuk and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave reached this position with white earlier this year (in rapid and blitz events), and they both went for 18.cxb7. Duda, on the other hand, opted for 18.Qxf2, which had been tried by Adhiban back in 2013. Unlike Adhiban’s opponent, though, who played 18...Bc8 and castled next, Vidit played the sharper 18...Bxc6.
Not surprisingly, the contenders were well aware of what they were doing, as they only once thought for over 5 minutes until move 25, when they reached an endgame with rook, knight and three pawns against rook and six pawns.
The position was dynamically balanced, until Vidit faltered on move 34.
As GM Karsten Müller notes in his annotations below, after 34...Re2+, White is quicker in the pawn races following 35.Kh1 Rxb2 36.Nxa6 — Vidit needed to be more cautious and get rid of White’s a-pawn with 34...c5 35.Nxa6 Ra8 36.Nc6 Rxa5.
Queening half a tempo earlier was enough for Duda to score the all-important victory, despite being three pawns down.
GM Müller thus describes the situation: “White gives the first check and wins”.
Duda will get two rest days before facing Carlsen in the semifinals. Even if he loses that match, he will get a second chance at reaching the Candidates in the match for third place — in that case, Carlsen will be in the final and the second qualification spot will be given to the player finishing in third place.
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.a4 Rb8 8.c3 d6 9.d4 Bb6 10.a5 Ba7 11.h3 Bb7 12.Be3 Nxe4 13.d5 Bxe3 14.dxc6 Nxf2 15.Qe2 Nxh3+ 16.Kh1 Nf2+ 17.Rxf2 Bxf2 18.Qxf2 Bxc6 19.Nxe5 Bxg2+ 20.Kg1 Qf6 21.Nxf7 Qxf2+ 22.Kxf2 Rf8 23.Kxg2 Rxf7 24.Bxf7+ Kxf7 25.Nd2 Re8 26.Rf1+ Kg6 27.Kf2 h5 28.Rg1+ Kf6 29.Kf3 g6 30.Ne4+ Kg7 31.Nf2 Rf8+ 32.Kg2 Re8 33.Nd3 g5 34.Nb4 Re2+? 34...c5 35.Nxa6 Ra8 36.Nc7 Rxa5= 35.Kh1‼ Rxb2 36.Ra1! c5 37.Nxa6 b4 38.Nxb4 cxb4 39.a6! 39.cxb4? Rxb4 40.a6 Rb8= 39...bxc3 40.a7 c2 41.a8Q Rb1+ 42.Kg2 c1Q 43.Ra7+ Kf6 44.Qf8+ Ke5 45.Re7+ Kd5 45...Kd4 46.Qf2+ Kd5 47.Qf3+ Kd4 48.Qe4+ Kc3 49.Rc7+ Kb3 50.Qd3+ Ka4 51.Ra7+ Kb4 52.Rb7+ Ka5 53.Rxb1+- 46.Qf3+ Kc5 47.Rc7+ Kb4 48.Qb7+ Ka5 49.Qa7+ Kb5 50.Qb8+ 1–0 - Start an analysis engine:
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Duda,J | 2738 | Vidit,S | 2726 | 1–0 | 2021 | C78 | FIDE World Cup 2021 | 6.4 |
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About to make a crucial decision — Vidit Gujrathi | Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova
Karjakin bounces back
While Duda and Vidit played a nerve-wracking encounter, which was decided by a single tempo, certainly the most exciting game of the day was Karjakin vs Shankland. Only needing a draw, Shankland played the French Defence with black, to which his opponent reacted with the King’s Indian Attack.
Karjakin got the kind of imbalanced position — with attacking potential — that suits best a player in a must-win situation.
This French Defence DVD is a complete attacking opening repertoire for black after 1.e4 e6. GM Nick Pert has played the French defence his whole life and provides all his la test and most up to date analysis crammed into 1 DVD.
Karjakin vs. Shankland - Game 2
With his g and h-pawns already on the fourth and fifth ranks, the Russian played 18.Kh1, preparing to transfer his rook to g1.
Nine moves later, it was clear that he had chosen the correct path.
Shankland’s 26...a3 in the previous move was a fatal mistake — the American was already in trouble, but 26...f5 would have been the best defensive try. Karjakin found 27.Rxg7+, and Black has no way to defend against the ensuing attack (which started with 27...Kxg7 28.Ng4) as his pieces are far away from the action.
Eight moves later, Shankland allowed his opponent to show mate on the board, a rarely seen occurrence in grandmaster games. This is the only match that will be decided in Friday’s tiebreakers.
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1.e4 e6 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.Ngf3 Be7 5.g3 a5 6.Bg2 a4 7.a3 c5 8.0-0 Nc6 9.Re1 0-0 10.e5 Nd7 11.Nf1 b5 12.h4 Bb7 13.h5 h6 14.Bf4 Qb6 15.Qd2N 15.Ne3 Rfb8 16.Ng4 Bf8 17.Qd2 Nd4 18.Nxd4 cxd4 19.Bh3 Ra6 20.Bxh6 gxh6 21.Nxh6+ Bxh6 22.Qxh6 15...Rfc8 16.g4 Qd8 17.N1h2 Ra6 18.Kh1 b4 19.Rg1 19.Kg1 19...Nf8 19...bxa3 20.bxa3 Rb6 20.axb4= cxb4 21.d4 Na5 21...a3= 22.g5± Nc4 23.Qc1 hxg5 24.Bxg5 b3? 24...a3 25.Bxe7 Qxe7 26.bxa3 Rxa3 25.Bxe7 Qxe7 26.Bf1 a3? 26...f6± 27.Rxg7+‼+- Kxg7 28.Ng4! f5 29.exf6+ Qxf6 30.Nxf6 axb2 31.Qg5+ Kf7 32.h6! Ng6 33.Nh4! bxa1Q 33...Rg8 34.Nxg8 34.Qxg6+ Ke7 35.Qg7+ Kd6 36.Qd7# 1–0 - Start an analysis engine:
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Karjakin,S | 2757 | Shankland,S | 2709 | 1–0 | 2021 | | FIDE World Cup 2021 | 6.2 |
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Back in business — Sergey Karjakin | Photo: Eric Rosen
Fedoseev and Carlsen go through
After beating Bacrot for a second day in a row, Carlsen told Michael Rahal, referring to the fact that he will get two rest days prior to the semifinals:
I desperately need them. I intend to go for a hike in the mountains, try to relax and be glad for two things: that I don’t have to play for a couple of days and, most of all, that I am still in the tournament.
The highest-rated player in the world — and by quite a margin — has gained 5.4 rating points so far in Sochi! The Norwegian has an 8/10 score (in classical games) against players rated 2548, 2639, 2691, 2716 and 2678.

Magnus Carlsen | Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova
Meanwhile, another player who has stood out for his remarkable performance in Sochi moved on to the semifinals: Fedoseev will face either Karjakin or Shankland in the next stage after knocking out Tabatabaei, who blundered horribly in a rook and bishop endgame.
Double rook endings occur frequently and are different from single rook endings in several respects.
Fedoseev vs. Tabatabaei - Game 2
77...Rxg3 loses to the simple 78.Be5+ Kc6 79.Ra6+. Tabatabaei resigned as there would have followed 79...Kd7 80.Rxe6 Kxe6 81.f5+ and White will grab the rook on g3.
The players’ reactions:
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.c4 e5 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.d3 f5 8.exf5 Qxf5 9.Ng5 Be7 10.Nge4 Nf6 11.0-0 0-0 12.f4N 12.Be3 Qg6 13.Qd2 Kh8 14.f3 a6 15.a4 Rad8 16.a5 Rd7 17.Kh1 Bd8 18.Ne2 12...exf4 13.Bxf4 Nxe4 14.dxe4 Qg6 15.Nd5 Bg5 15...Qxe4?! 16.Re1± 16.Qd3 Nd4 17.Bg3 Rxf1+ 18.Rxf1 Re8 19.Re1 h5 20.h3 Kh7 21.Bf2 Nc6 22.b3 Ne5 23.Qe2 Bh6 24.Kh2 Nc6 25.Qf3 Ne5 26.Qe2 Rf8 27.Bg3 Nc6 28.Rf1 Re8 29.Re1 Nd4 30.Qf2 b6 31.h4 Rxe4 31...Re6= 32.Ne7! Rxe7 33.Rxe7± Nf5 34.Re2 34.Rxa7 Be3 34...Nd4 34...a6± 35.Re1!+- Qd3 35...Nf5 36.Bf4 a6 36.Bf4 Nf5 37.Bxh6 Nxh6 38.Qf3 Ng4+ 38...Qg6 39.Qd5 a6 39.Kg3 1–0 - Start an analysis engine:
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Carlsen,M | 2847 | Bacrot,E | 2678 | 1–0 | 2021 | | FIDE World Cup 2021 | 6.1 |
Bacrot,E | 2678 | Carlsen,M | 2847 | 0–1 | 2021 | | FIDE World Cup 2021 | 6.1 |
Karjakin,S | 2757 | Shankland,S | 2709 | 1–0 | 2021 | | FIDE World Cup 2021 | 6.2 |
Shankland,S | 2709 | Karjakin,S | 2757 | 1–0 | 2021 | | FIDE World Cup 2021 | 6.2 |
Fedoseev,V | 2696 | Tabatabaei,M | 2613 | 1–0 | 2021 | | FIDE World Cup 2021 | 6.3 |
Tabatabaei,M | 2613 | Fedoseev,V | 2696 | ½–½ | 2021 | | FIDE World Cup 2021 | 6.3 |
Duda,J | 2738 | Vidit,S | 2726 | 1–0 | 2021 | | FIDE World Cup 2021 | 6.4 |
Vidit,S | 2726 | Duda,J | 2738 | ½–½ | 2021 | | FIDE World Cup 2021 | 6.4 |
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Draws in the women’s section
After getting a rest day on Wednesday, the semifinalists of the women’s tournament played the first games of their matches. While a pretty balanced game ended in a 31-move draw in Tan Zhongyi vs Alexandra Kosteniuk, Anna Muzychuk got a positional advantage with the white pieces against Aleksandra Goryachkina.
Smyslov cultivated a clear positional style and even in sharp tactical positions often relied more on his intuition than on concrete calculation of variations. Let our authors introduce you into the world of Vasily Smyslov.
Muzychuk vs. Goryachkina - Game 1
Playing black, top seed Goryachkina defended her inferior position resourcefully until getting a half point in a completely equal rook endgame on move 46.

Anna Muzychuk vs Aleksandra Goryachkina | Photo: Eric Rosen
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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d5 6.exd5 Qxd5 7.Bc4 Qd6 8.b4 Bb6 9.Nbd2 0-0 10.0-0 Bg4 11.a4 a5 12.b5 e4 13.Nxe4 Nxe4 14.dxe4 Bxf3 15.Qxd6 cxd6 16.gxf3 Ne5 17.Bd5 Rac8 18.f4 Nd3 19.Bxb7 Rxc3 20.Bd2 Rc2 21.Be3 Bxe3 22.fxe3 Rb8 23.Bc6 Kf8 24.Rfd1 Rc3 25.Bd5 Ke7 26.Rd2 Nb4 27.Kf2 Rbc8 28.Rb1 Ra3 29.b6 Rxa4 30.b7 Rb8 31.Rd4 Nxd5 32.Rxd5 Rxe4 33.Rxa5 Kd7 34.Rf5 f6 35.Rfb5 Kc7 36.Rc1+ Kd7 37.h4 g6 38.Rb6 f5 39.h5 Re7 40.hxg6 hxg6 41.Rc8 Re8 42.Rxe8 Kxe8 43.Kg3 Ke7 44.Rb1 Ke6 45.Kf3 Kd7 46.Kg3 ½–½
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Muzychuk,A | 2527 | Goryachkina,A | 2596 | ½–½ | 2021 | | FIDE Womens World Cup 2021 | 6.1 |
Tan,Z | 2511 | Kosteniuk,A | 2472 | ½–½ | 2021 | | FIDE Womens World Cup 2021 | 6.1 |
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