World Rapid Ch: A tight race

Everything up for grabs

The chess world was stunned on Wednesday when Magnus Carlsen began the World Rapid Championship with two straight losses. After coming back with three wins — some more convincing than others — he started day two with a powerful performance against Ivan Salgado. His momentum was immediately cut off, however, when he lost in the very next round against Alexander Zubov. Two points behind the leaders, another comeback was necessary to stay in contention.

Despite this setback, Magnus kept his composure and again finished with three straight victories to arrive in the last day with 7 points, after not having drawn a single game so far in Saint Petersburg.

For the rest of the players at the top, it was a rollercoaster kind of day, as they went from having a sole leader after round six to finishing the day with no less than seven participants sharing first place.

No one misses a chance to ask for Magnus' autograph | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Andreikin grabs the sole lead

Nepomniachtchi, Firouzja and Andreikin were the co-leaders when the clocks started running on Thursday, but only the latter added a full point to his tally in round six. The current Russian champion overpowered young Alireza Firouzja in a rook endgame:

Power Play 16 - Test Your Rook Endgames

The aim of this DVD is to provide you with the practical skills and knowledge that you will need to play a rook and pawn endgame. Based on his own playing experience, Grandmaster Daniel King reveals what is essential knowledge, saving you time in your studies. The Power Play series is suitable for anyone looking to improve their chess, but also provides ready-made lessons and exercises for a trainer.
Running time: 5 hours

The youngster is a pawn down with White, but the hopes of getting a draw in rook endgames are always present. In the position of the diagram, Alireza should have kept his rook on the second rank and wait for Andreikin to execute a winning plan. However, the Iranian went for 43.Rc7, activating his rook, when after 43...Rb3+ 44.Kf4 Rxb2 when White cannot capture on f7 due to 45...Rf2+ (if the king would have gone to the second rank instead, Black could have given a check from b2 and then protected his pawn with Ke6).

With two extra pawns, Andreikin converted his advantage convincingly and became the sole leader in the standings — so far, he has been the only player to achieve this 'feat' in this event.

Despite a couple of losses on day two, Alireza is still having a great tournament | Photo: Lennart Ootes 

Dmitry drew his next two encounters and suffered a painful loss against Wang Hao in round nine. Nonetheless, he finished the day with a flourish:

Mating Patterns

On this DVD, Grandmaster and worldrenowned commentator Maurice Ashley reviews some of the most interesting patterns with examples meant to educate and entertain.

25...Qxh2+! is the killer blow. Svidler resigned after 26.Kxh2 Rxh4+ 27.Kg3 Rh3+ 28.Kf4 Rf3+ 29.Ke5 Rg6 with mate to follow.

Korobov catches up

Anton Korobov is the sort of explosive player that can have incredible performances in very strong tournaments despite not having an elite-level rating. In round seven, he defeated David Anton from Spain to join Andreikin in the lead. The Ukrainian had been threatening a checkmate on the first rank for a while. On move 52, he managed to convert that threat into a tangible material advantage:

The Sicilian Rossolimo for White

The Rossolimo Variation 3.Bb5 is considered to be one of the strongest replies to 2…Nc6 in the Sicilian Defence. The fact that the move has been played by practically all the top players proves its popularity and strength. But the most interesting aspect of playing 3.Bb5 is that we force sharp, attacking players who love to have the initiative to forget about the Open Sicilian and to adjust themselves to a new world, one full of positional ideas, manoeuvres and nuances.

David took the annoying pawn with 52.Nxf3, but Korobov's 52...Rxf3 effectively ends the struggle, as after 53.Rxf3 Rh1+ 54.Ke2 Rxb1 55.Kxd2 Black's passed pawns on the queenside decide the game.

Korobov could not keep up the pace and is now a half point behind the leaders, mainly due to his loss against Vladislav Artemiev. 

Korobov facing Anton (on the right), while Andreikin takes on Yu Yangyi (left) | Photo: Maria Emelianova 

A great day for Artemiev and Matlakov

Vladislav Artemiev's win over Korobov was the last of four straight victories, which followed his disappointing final two losses from day one. The third seed is now one of five Russians on 7½, joined among others by Maxim Matlakov, who also managed four wins and a draw on Thursday. Matlakov’s last victim of the day was none other than Shakhriyar Mamedyarov:

Beat the Queen's Indian: The modern Fianchetto Line

This DVD is packed full of new, exciting and novel ideas; based on a repertoire starting with the moves 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 with g3! to follow.

Shak was undefeated until this game. Already a pawn down in a difficult position, the Azeri blundered horribly with 32...Qa7?, which allows 33.Qd6 forking both rooks. Naturally, a justified resignation followed immediately.

Artemiev is the third highest rated rapid player in the world | Photo: Maria Emelianova

The silent killers: Dubov, Wang Hao and Yu Yangyi

Besides Ian Nepomniachtchi, who had a great first day and kept control during the second, three other players remain undefeated in Saint Petersburg: Daniil Dubov, Wang Hao and Yu Yangy. Dubov spoke to Maria Emelianova on Wednesday and mentioned the fact that he totally hates rapid chess, as it is hard for him to calibrate how much he should prepare, unlike in classical — when preparation is paramount — and blitz — where preparation is close to useless:

Curiously, the two wins that Wang Hao obtained on day two were with the black pieces. In round eleven, he will have the 'advantage' of moving second against Artemiev, while Dubov will most likely arrive in the playing hall very well prepared, as he will be playing White against a wounded Magnus Carlsen. This game gains a bit of intrigue since Dubov was on 'Team Magnus', helping him prepare for his World Championship match with Fabiano Caruana.

Both Nepo and Wang Hao remain undefeated | Photo: Maria Emelianova 

Standings after Round 10 - Open section (top 25)

All games - Open section

Ju Wenjun is on a roll

With things extremely unclear in the open section, it is refreshing to see the big favourite doing so well in the women's category. Ju Wenjun defeated Anna Muzychuk and Zhao Xue to stay alone at the top of the standings. The Chinese has been showing great control as she got clean wins throughout the event. In round eight, she calculated precisely to force her compatriot's resignation on move 41:

Meet the English Opening

Essentially, the English Opening usually leads to reversed positions in which the first player enjoys the extra tempo. Then why not meet this 1.c4 move with 1…e5 and play the reversed Sicilian? In this 60 Minutes video, you will find a complete repertoire for Black based on the move 1…e5 against White’s most popular approach - the Reversed Dragon setup. Bulgarian GM Dejan Bojkov uses very recent top GM games to highlight the trends in the line and to explain the ideas behind Black’s development.

Ju's 41...Ne4 ended the game — White cannot capture the pawn with 42.Rxf3 Rxf3+ 43.Nxf3 due to 43...Nxc3 44.Kxc3 Rg3, pinning the knight. In round eleven, the leader will face the runner-up of the last World Championship match, Kateryna Lagno — the Russian turned 29 on day two and received a present from the organisers.

Will someone stop the Chinese star? | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Besides a clear leader, the women's section also has a single player in second place. Former World Champion Mariya Muzychuk drew Ju Wenjun and won two games against Zhansaya Abdumalik and Dinara Saduakassova — curiously, both from Kazakhstan — to keep her chances of taking home a gold medal intact. Her first rival on the final day will be her older sister, rating favourite Anna Muzychuk.

A smiling Mariya Muzychuk | Photo: Lennart Ootes

Standings after Round 8 - Women's section (top 25)

All games - Women's section

Links

• Official site
• St. Petersburg: World Rapid Championship 2018 opens
• Day 1: Firouzja stuns while Carlsen suffers