8/8/2023 – Two players from the top 10 rating-wise in Baku were eliminated in the tiebreaks of round 3 at the open section of the World Cup. Nijat Abasov knocked out Anish Giri, while Jaime Santos left Teimour Radjabov out of contention. Meanwhile, the lowest-rated player still going is Turkish GM Vahap Sanal, who got the better of Anton Korobov on Monday. In the women’s section, the one upset of the day saw Teodora Injac from Serbia knocking out Alexandra Kosteniuk. | Photo: chess.com / Maria Emelianova
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Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally. FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before.
In this video course, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov explores the fascinating world of King’s Indian and Pirc structures with colours reversed, often arising from the French or Sicilian.
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Bacrot, Ivanchuk and Svidler advance
Three experienced fighters moved on to round 4 of the World Cup after beating really tough opponents in Monday’s tiebreaks. Vasyl Ivanchuk and Etienne Bacrot knocked out two of the three highest-rated Chinese players in the world — Wei Yi and Yu Yangyi respectively — while Peter Svidler eliminated Jorden van Foreest, who came from winning on demand to take the match to the rapid and blitz playoffs.
Bacrot was up against the ropes against Yu, but the Chinese GM first lost his edge and then blundered into a nice tactical shot.
26.Rxf6 is the way to go here, while 26.Bxf6 runs into 26...Rxf6 27.Rxf6 Qe2, threatening mate on g2 and attacking the rook on e1.
Yu went for 28.Rxe6+ Qxe6, with two connected passers on the queenside against Black’s extra bishop. After the queens left the board, Bacrot needed to show good technique to convert his extra piece into a 67-move win.
Let us learn together how to find the best spot for the queen in the early middlegame, how to navigate this piece around the board, how to time the queen attack, how to decide whether to exchange it or not, and much more!
Etienne Bacrot | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage
Vasyl Ivanchuk knocked out Wei Yi | Photo: chess.com / Maria Emelianova
Radjabov errs in an endgame, Giri loses on time
The two highest-rated players to be left out of contention on Monday were Anish Giri (5th seed) and Teimour Radjabov (7th seed).
Giri traded wins with white in the 25-minute games, then drew both 10-minute games before losing the match in the third pair of tiebreakers against Nijat Abasov. The first 5-minute game was drawn, and Abasov got an edge out of the opening with black in the rematch. Giri lost on time in the following position.
In this Videocourse we deal with different aspects of the middlegame which are important to study and improve your general understanding of chess structures.
The Dutchman could not decide whether to exchange queens or not quickly enough. Playing 32.Qxc5 was, in fact, the best alternative, but the elite GM was probably aware of the fact that he would be in trouble after the swap. He tried to move the queen to d3 with one second on his clock, but dropped the piece and failed to make it in time.
Jules Moussard and Anish Giri were eliminated on Monday, while Ian Nepomniachtchi made it through by beating Rauf Mamedov | Photo: chess.com / Maria Emelianova
On his part, Radjabov faltered in the first rapid game of tiebreaks against Jaime Santos. Giving an ‘automatic’ check in an endgame with queens and rooks was the decisive mistake.
The defensive 33.Qf3 or 33.Re8 were necessary here, while Radjabov’s 33.Qc2+ g6 33.Rf8 was followed by resignation — 33...Rc4 and 34...Qc7 are coming, as Black’s major pieces are perfectly coordinated. Santos, who recently won the Leon Masters, will face Nils Grandelius in the next round.
Jaime Santos | Photo: chess.com / Maria Emelianova
The most shocking result in round-3’s tiebreaks of the women’s tournament was Teodora Injac knocking out 2021 World Cup winner Alexandra Kosteniuk. The Serbian IM won both rapid, 25-minute games to advance to the next round, where she is set to face Russian IM Polina Shuvalova. (Find IM Robert Ris’ analysis of Injac’s victory below).
Only 16 players remain in contention in the women’s event, since the field is half the size compared to the open. The pairings for round 4, starting on Wednesday:
In a total of 6 chapters, we look at the following aspects: the right decision based on tactical factors, decisions in exchanges and moves, complex and psychological decisions in longer games and in defence.
Ju Wenjun vs. Elisabeth Paehtz
Anna Muzychuk vs. Mariya Muzychuk
Teodora Injac vs. Alexandra Kosteniuk
Nurgyul Salimova vs. Medina Aulia
Humpy Koneru vs. Bella Khotenashvili
Zhu Jiner vs. Tan Zhongyi
Eline Roebers vs. Harika Dronavalli
Nino Batsiashvili vs. Aleksandra Goryachkina
Teodora Injac | Photo: chess.com / Maria Emelianova
Harika Dronavalli defeated Lela Javakhishvili in a tension-filled, 10-game match | Photo: FIDE / Stev Bonhage
Besides covering all the critical lines after 1.d4 & 2.c4, popular systems such as the Trompovsky, London/Jobava System, Torre Attack, Colle System and Veresov are dealt with as well.
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.
Opening videos: Sipke Ernst brings the Ulvestad Variation up to date + Part II of ‘Mikhalchishin's Miniatures’. Special: Jan Werle shows highlights from the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 in the video. ‘Lucky bag’ with 40 analyses by Ganguly, Illingworth et al.
In this video course, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov explores the fascinating world of King’s Indian and Pirc structures with colours reversed, often arising from the French or Sicilian.
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