7/31/2021 – Sergey Karjakin knocked out Sam Shankland in the only match of the quarterfinals that was decided in a rapid and blitz playoff at the open section of the FIDE World Cup in Sochi. Meanwhile, Alexandra Kosteniuk and Aleksandra Goryachkina (pictured) advanced to the final in the women’s section after knocking out Tan Zhongyi and Anna Muzychuk respectively. Saturday is a rest day for both categories. | Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova
Winning starts with what you know The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.
As we pointed out in our recap after the first rest day, 5 out of the 8 previous editions of the World Cup were played in Russia, with 3 of them seeing an all-Russian final match. This year, we are sure to have one finalist in the open section hailing from the host country, while the first women-only edition will have a Russian winner.
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.
Although chess has grown incredibly in other countries — i.e. India, China, Iran — and the years of Soviet domination in the elite are over, Russia continues to be a chess powerhouse. In this year’s World Cup, 28 out of the 206 participants in the open and 15 out of 103 players in the women’s event were Russian.
On Friday, Sergey Karjakin set up an all-Russian semifinal against Vladimir Fedoseev after beating Sam Shankland in the only match of the quarterfinals that went to tiebreaks, while both Aleksandra Goryachkina and Alexandra Kosteniuk scored wins with white to knock out Anna Muzychuk and Tan Zhongyi respectively in the classical phase of the semifinals in the women’s tournament.
The women’s semifinals took centre stage on Friday | Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova
Winning on demand
Not one single game finished drawn in Karjakin vs Shankland. Twice did the Russian won on demand throughout the match, scoring victories with the white pieces both in the classical section and the first set of rapid tiebreakers.
After beating Shankland in the first 10-minute game — also with white — the Russian kept his cool in a slightly inferior position and ended up winning the game to move on to the next stage. Karjakin’s first two wins on Friday finished similarly, with his rooks and dark-squared bishop threatening to mate the opposite king on the back rank.
On this DVD, Grandmaster and worldrenowned commentator Maurice Ashley reviews some of the most interesting patterns with examples meant to educate and entertain.
Game 4 - Karjakin plays white
Game 5 - Karjakin plays white
With two spots in the Candidates in contention and Carlsen not fighting for any of them, it is possible that the losers of both matches will get a second chance at getting the coveted prizes in the match for third place (unless Carlsen loses against Duda, in which case the loser of Karjakin vs Fedoseev will be out of contention).
Sergey Karjakin had an incredibly difficult rival in Sam Shankland | Photo: Eric Rosen
Rating was much more of a reliable predictor in the women’s section, as 3 out of 4 semifinalists were seeded 1st, 4th and 7th in the initial ranking. On Friday, top seed Aleksandra Goryachkina knocked out Anna Muzychuk (4th) and Alexandra Kosteniuk (14th) knocked out Tan Zhongyi (7th).
Kosteniuk is the ‘outsider’ rating-wise, but the 37-year-old former world champion is no stranger to fighting at the very top in the women’s circuit. In the second game of the semis, she made the most of a blunder by her Chinese opponent.
On this DVD, well-known Indian WGM Tania Sachdev shows you how to evaluate certain positions and then find the right concepts and plans on the basis of her own games.
Kosteniuk vs. Tan - Game 2
Tan’s 25...Nd5 allowed 26.Bxh5, when Black cannot adequately prevent White from grabbing the exchange due to the threats connected to Qd6+. The Chinese GM went for 26...Rf8, but her position was already hopeless. Kosteniuk swiftly converted her advantage into a 38-move win.
Double rook endings occur frequently and are different from single rook endings in several respects.
Goryachkina vs. Muzychuk - Game 2
GM Karsten Müller demonstrates in his annotations below that Black needed to play actively to get good drawing chances in this position. Instead of Müller’s suggestion of 30...g5, though, Muzychuk went for the passive 30...Rc5 and was duly outplayed by her opponent.
New ...
New Game
Edit Game
Setup Position
Open...
PGN
FEN
Share...
Share Board (.png)
Share Board (configure)
Share playable board
Share game as GIF
Notation (PGN)
QR Code
Layout...
Use splitters
Swipe notation/lists
Reading mode
Flip Board
Settings
Move
N
Result
Elo
Players
Replay and check the LiveBook here
Please, wait...
1.d4Nf62.c4g63.Nc3d54.cxd5Nxd55.e4Nxc36.bxc3Bg77.Bc4c58.Ne2cxd49.cxd4Nc610.Be3Qa5+11.Bd2Qa312.Rb10-013.0-0Bg414.f3Be615.Bc1Qa516.Bxe6fxe617.a4Nxd418.Nxd4Rfd819.Be3Qc320.Rb3Qc421.Rxb7Bxd422.Bxd4Rxd423.Qc1Qe224.Re1Rc425.Rxe2Rxc1+26.Kf2Kf727.Rd2a528.Rdd7Re829.Ra7Rc2+30.Kg3"In rook endings activity is
of crucial importance". Passive defense often does not work:Rc5?This
retreat is too passive.30...g5!is forced and gives Black good drawing
chances, e.g.31.Rxa5Kf632.Kh3h533.Kg3Rb834.Rb5Ra835.e5+Kf736.Rbb7Re837.a5Ra238.Ra7Ra4and Black should be able to defend.31.Rdc7Rxc7The active approach31...Rg5+32.Kf2Rb8is refuted by33.g4h534.h4Re535.Rxe7+Kg836.g5+-32.Rxc7Ra833.Rc5h634.Kf4g5+35.Kg4Kf635...Kg6is met by36.Re5h5+37.Kg3Kf638.Rc5e539.h4+-36.h4e536...gxh437.Kxh4Kg638.Kg4Kf639.Kh5Kg740.Rb5Ra741.g3Ra842.f4Ra743.Rb6Kf744.g4Ra845.f5exf546.exf5Rd847.Rxh6+-37.Rc6+e638.h5Rb839.Rc5Ra840.Kg3Ra741.Rb5Ra842.Rb7g4
Desperation, but Black is lost in any case as42...Ra6is met by43.Rh7+-43.Kxg443.Kxg4Rg8+44.Kh3Rg545.g4Rg846.Rh7Kg547.Kg3Ra848.Rg7+Kf649.Rg6+Kf750.Rxh6+-1–0
Aleksandra Goryachkina vs Anna Muzychuk | Photo: Anastasiia Korolkova
The final and the match for third place kick off on Sunday. All the players involved are qualified to the Candidates, but they are still fighting for prize money:
Carlos Alberto ColodroCarlos 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.
The free app from ChessBase! ChessBase Mobile has everything you need as a chess player on the go:
access your chess data in cloud databases - and 13 million games.
Whether it’s a weak pawn, a vulnerable king, or poor piece coordination, this course will teach you how to pinpoint the critical targets, prioritise your attack, and execute a clear, effective plan.
Videos by Nico Zwirs: Nimzo-Indian with 4.e3 b6 and Robert Ris: French Advance Variation with 6.Na3. Alexander Donchenko analyses his winning game against Fabiano Caruana from the Saint Louis Masters 2024. “Lucky bag" with another 43 analyses by Edouard,
The Black Sniper is back – sharper and deadlier than ever! This dynamic system (1...g6, 2...Bg7, 3...c5 against 1.e4, 1.d4 and 1.c4) creates unpredictable, high-pressure positions, leaving opponents struggling to adapt.
YOUR EASY ACCESS TO OPENING THEORY: Whether you want to build up a reliable and powerful opening repertoire or find new opening ideas for your existing repertoire, the Opening Encyclopaedia covers the entire opening theory on one product.
€169.90
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.
Pop-up for detailed settings
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies, analysis cookies and marketing cookies. You can decide which cookies to use by selecting the appropriate options below. Please note that your selection may affect the functionality of the service. Further information can be found in our privacy policy.
Technically required cookies
Technically required cookies: so that you can navigate and use the basic functions and store preferences.
Analysis Cookies
To help us determine how visitors interact with our website to improve the user experience.
Marketing-Cookies
To help us offer and evaluate relevant content and interesting and appropriate advertisement.
