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Round 3 in the open section of the World Cup kicked off with 10 (out of 32) decisive games. Most of them were achieved either by the higher-rated contender or in matches facing two players with roughly the same level rating-wise.
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Out of the very top seeds, only Magnus Carlsen (1st seed) and Leinier Dominguez (11th seed) grabbed wins on Saturday. These were the non-shocking (rating-wise) decisive results from the day:
Magnus Carlsen is on 3 out of 3 in Baku | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman
Meanwhile, the players who got to upset higher-rated opponents were Daniele Vocaturo (Italy, 2609) and Ivan Schitco (Moldova, 2507). Vocaturo got the better of Daniil Dubov, who could not prove that his rook sacrifice gave him enough compensation in a double-edged position.
29.Nc5, leaving the rook on b1 en prise, is correct according to the engines — in fact, the only good move in the position. However, after 29...Qxb1+ 30.Kg2 Qd1 31.Nb7+ Ke7, Dubov failed to find the correct continuation.
Here 31.Qc5+ was the best way to continue harassing the king, intending to go 31...Ke8 32.Nd6+, which prevents Black from ever untangling to make the most of his material advantage. Instead, 31.Qxc7+ was seen in the game, and after 31...Qd7, Black managed to escape the checks and eventually find himself a rook up in an endgame with queens still on the board. Dubov resigned on move 45.
The top boards of the open section | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage
Schitco, on his part, swindled his way into a win from an equal (or losing) rook endgame against a top-notch grandmaster for a second time in the tournament.
Although Black’s king is active and White needs to be careful, the protected passer on the queenside is definitely the most important asset in the position for either side. The direct 52.a7 won here for Radoslaw Wojtaszek, while his 52.Kd5 prompted a 0.00 evaluation.
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This was not the end of the story, though, as Wojtaszek faltered again later on and lost the game. Similarly, Schitco had defeated 2711-rated Sam Shankland with black at the start of round 2 after the latter played a one-move blunder in an equal endgame. Fortune has surely smiled on the Moldovan representative!
Ivan Schitco | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman
Peter Svidler, the winner of the 2011 World Cup and the finalist of the 2015 World Cup, grabbed a good-looking win over Jorden van Foreest with the white pieces.
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At 47, Svidler later confessed that he prefers not to prepare too much before facing young opponents, since it is almost impossible to predict what they will play. The strategy worked wonders against an over-optimistic Van Foreest on Saturday, as shown by IM Robert Ris in his video below.
Replay games from all round at Live.ChessBase.com
The women’s section saw 7 (out of 16) games ending decisively, with no big upsets on the third round’s first day of play. Among the winners were second seed Aleksandra Goryachkina and eighth seed Mariya Muzychuk. Also noteworthy is the fact that 17-year-old Eline Roebers from the Netherlands has so far won all five of her games in Baku. Yesterday, she got the better of Klaudia Kulon.
The full list of decisive results:
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Alexandra Kosteniuk is facing Teodora Injac in round 3 | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage
In an all-Ukrainian battle, Anna Muzychuk, Mariya’s sister, escaped with a draw from a losing rook endgame against Anna Ushenina.
White here wins with 52.Rh5, while the direct 52.h7, played by Ushenina, spoils the advantage (the opposite of what happened to Wojtaszek in the game shown above). After 52...Rb1+, there is no way for White to escape perpetual check without losing her rook on h2. Draw.
If both Muzychuk sisters advance to round 4, they will be paired against each other. In that case, we might see — hopefully not — a pair of quick draws in their classical encounters.
Mariya Muzychuk | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman
Replay games from all round at Live.ChessBase.com
Full schedule | Pairings and results
All games with computer analysis: Open | Women’s
