Duda
Nepo
R14 LIVE
Liren
Nakamura
R14 LIVE
Caruana
Firouzja
R14 LIVE
Rapport
Radjabov
R14 LIVE
Radjabov
Caruana
R13 LIVE
Firouzja
Liren
R13 LIVE
Nakamura
Duda
R13 LIVE
Nepo
Rapport
R13 LIVE
Nepo
Nakamura
R12 LIVE
Duda
Firouzja
R12 LIVE
Liren
Radjabov
R12 LIVE
Rapport
Caruana
R12 LIVE
Caruana
Liren
R11 LIVE
Radjabov
Duda
R11 LIVE
Firouzja
Nepo
R11 LIVE
Nakamura
Rapport
R11 LIVE
Nakamura
Firouzja
R10 LIVE
Nepo
Radjabov
R10 LIVE
Duda
Caruana
R10 LIVE
Rapport
Liren
R10 LIVE
Liren
Duda
R9 LIVE
Caruana
Nepo
R9 LIVE
Radjabov
Nakamura
R9 LIVE
Firouzja
Rapport
R9 LIVE
Firouzja
Radjabov
R8 LIVE
Nakamura
Caruana
R8 LIVE
Nepo
Liren
R8 LIVE
Rapport
Duda
R8 LIVE
Caruana
Radjabov
R7 LIVE
Liren
Firouzja
R7 LIVE
Duda
Nakamura
R7 LIVE
Rapport
Nepo
R7 LIVE
Nepo
Duda
R6 LIVE
Nakamura
Liren
R6 LIVE
Firouzja
Caruana
R6 LIVE
Radjabov
Rapport
R6 LIVE
Nakamura
Nepo
R5 LIVE
Firouzja
Duda
R5 LIVE
Radjabov
Liren
R5 LIVE
Caruana
Rapport
R5 LIVE
Liren
Caruana
R4 LIVE
Duda
Radjabov
R4 LIVE
Nepo
Firouzja
R4 LIVE
Rapport
Nakamura
R4 LIVE
Firouzja
Nakamura
R3 LIVE
Radjabov
Nepo
R3 LIVE
Caruana
Duda
R3 LIVE
Liren
Rapport
R3 LIVE
Duda
Liren
R2 LIVE
Nepo
Caruana
R2 LIVE
Nakamura
Radjabov
R2 LIVE
Rapport
Firouzja
R2 LIVE
Radjabov
Firouzja
R1 LIVE
Caruana
Nakamura
R1 LIVE
Liren
Nepo
R1 LIVE
Duda
Rapport
R1 LIVE
Aronian
MVL
0
1
TB 1.3
MVL
So
1
0
TB 1.2
So
Aronian
1
0
TB1.1
Dominguez
So
1/2
1/2
R9
Firouzja
MVL
0
1
R9
Deac
Caruana
1/2
1/2
R9
Rapport
Nepo
1/2
1/2
R9
Aronian
Mamedyarov
1/2
1/2
R9
Nepo
Aronian
1/2
1/2
R8
Caruana
Rapport
1/2
1/2
R8
MVL
Deac
1/2
1/2
R8
So
Firouzja
1/2
1/2
R8
Mamedyarov
Dominguez
1/2
1/2
R8
Firouzja
Dominguez
1
0
R7
Deac
So
1/2
1/2
R7
Rapport
MVL
0
1
R7
Aronian
Caruana
1/2
1/2
R7
Nepo
Mamedyarov
0
1
R7
Caruana
Nepo
1/2
1/2
R6
MVL
Aronian
0
1
R6
So
Rapport
1/2
1/2
R6
Dominguez
Deac
1
0
R6
Mamedyarov
Firouzja
1/2
1/2
R6
Deac
Firouzja
1/2
1/2
R5
Rapport
Dominguez
1/2
1/2
R5
Aronian
So
1/2
1/2
R5
Nepo
MVL
1/2
1/2
R5
Caruana
Mamedyarov
1
0
R5
MVL
Caruana
1
0
R4
So
Nepo
1
0
R4
Dominguez
Aronian
0
1
R4
Firouzja
Rapport
1/2
1/2
R4
Mamedyarov
Deac
1/2
1/2
R4
Rapport
Deac
0
1
R3
Aronian
Firouzja
1/2
1/2
R3
Nepo
Dominguez
1/2
1/2
R3
Caruana
So
1/2
1/2
R3
MVL
Mamedyarov
1/2
1/2
R3
So
MVL
1/2
1/2
R2
Dominguez
Caruana
1/2
1/2
R2
Firouzja
Nepo
0
1
R2
Deac
Aronian
1/2
1/2
R2
Mamedyarov
Rapport
1/2
1/2
R2
Aronian
Rapport
1/2
1/2
R1
Nepo
Deac
1/2
1/2
R1
Caruana
Firouzja
1/2
1/2
R1
MVL
Dominguez
1/2
1/2
R1
So
Mamedyarov
1
0
R1
Radjabov
Firouzja
R1 LIVE
Caruana
Nakamura
R1 LIVE
Liren
Nepo
R1 LIVE
Duda
Rapport
R1 LIVE
Wesley
Predke
1/2
1/2
Mamedyarov
Dubov
1/2
1/2
Nakamura
Esipenko
1/2
1/2
Aronian
Oparin
1/2
1/2
Aronian
Nakamura
1
0
Esipenko
Oparin
1/2
1/2
Keymer
Mamedyarov
1/2
1/2
Dubov
Dominguez
0
1
Predke
MVL
1
0
Shankland
Wesley
1/2
1/2
Giri
Yangyi
1/2
1/2
Vitiugov
Tabatabaei
1
0
Salgado
Fedoseev
0
2
Final result
Alekseenko
Krasenkow
0.5
1.5
Final result
Artemiev
Studer
1.5
0.5
Final result
Predke
Nasuta
1.5
0.5
Final result
Afanasiev
Inarkiev
3
1
Final result
Donchenko
Indjic
0.5
1.5
Final result
Braun
Rakhmanov
1.5
0.5
Final result
Rakhmanov
Braun
0
1
R3.1 Result
Indjic
Donchenko
1/2
1/2
R3.1 Result
Inarkiev
Afanasiev
1/2
1/2
R3.1 Result
Nasuta
Predke
1/2
1/2
R3.1 Result
Studer
Artemiev
1/2
1/2
R3.1 Result
Krasenkow
Alekseenko
1/2
1/2
R3.1 Result
Fedoseev
Salgado
1
0
R3.1 Result
Hracek
Artemiev
0
2
Final result
Urkedal
Esipenko
0.5
1.5
Final result
Nikolov
Alekseenko
0.5
1.5
Final result
Ibarra
Navara
1
3
Final result
Perunovic
Predke
0
2
Final result
Rosell
Matlakov
0.5
1.5
Final result
Fedoseev
Pantzar
2
0
Final result
Krasenkow
Yuffa
2
0
Final result
Artemiev
Hracev
1
0
R2.1 Result
Esipenko
Urkedal
1
0
R2.1 Result
Alekseenko
Nikolov
1
0
R2.1 Result
Navara
Ibarra
1/2
1/2
R2.1 Result
Predke
Perunovic
1
0
R2.1 Result
Matlakov
Rosell
1
0
R2.1 Result
Pantzar
Fedoseev
0
1
R2.1 Result
Yuffa
Krasenkow
0
1
R2.1 Result
Notkevich
Laznicka
1
3
Final result
Ayats
Movsesian
1.5
2.5
Final result
Gines
Paravyan
0.5
1.5
Final result
Petriashvili
Saric
0.5
1.5
Final result
Williams
Sahakyan
0.5
1.5
Final result
Damljanovic
Kuzubov
0.5
1.5
Final result
Dias
Motylev
0.5
1.5
Final result
Finek
Lagarde
0.5
1.5
Final result
Laznicka
Notkevich
0
1
Round 1.1
Movsesian
Llobera Ayats
1/2
1/2
Round 1.1
Paravyan
Gines Esteo
1
0
Round 1.1
Saric
Petriashvili
1
0
Round 1.1
Sahakyan
Williams
1/2
1/2
Round 1.1
Kuzubov
Damljanovic
1/2
1/2
Round 1.1
Motylev
Dias
1/2
1/2
Round 1.1
Lagarde
Finek
1
0
Round 1.1
MVL
Wang
1
0
Ding
Nepo
1
0
Giri
Alekseenko
0
1
Caruana
Grischuk
1/2
1/2
Grischuk
Giri
1
0
Ding
Alekseenko
1
0
MVL
Nepo
1/2
1/2
Caruana
Wang
1
0
Nepo
Wang
0
1
MVL
Alekseenko
1
0
Ding
Grischuk
1
Caruana
Giri
0
1
Ding
Giri
0
1
MVL
Grischuk
0
1
Wang
Alekseenko
1/2
1/2
Caruana
Nepo
1/2
1/2
ALekseenko
Nepo
0
1
Grischuk
Wang
1/2
1/2
Giri
MVL
1/2
1/2
Ding
Caruana
1/2
1/2
MVL
Ding Liren
1/2
1/2
Wang
Giri
0
1
Nepo
Grischuk
1/2
1/2
Caruana
Alekseenko
1/2
1/2
Grischuk
Alekseenko
0
1
Giri
Nepo
1/2
1/2
Ding
Wang
1/2
1/2
MVL
Caruana
0
1
Grischuk
Giri
1/2
1/2
Alekseenko
Ding
1/2
1/2
Nepo
MVL
0
1
Wang
Caruana
1/2
1/2
Caruana
MVL
1/2
1/2
The second leg of the Grand Chess Tour, Superbet Rapid and Blitz in Poland, kicked off yesterday, May 18th in the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, Poland. The opening ceremony was kicked-off with a solo violin performance followed by a drawing of lots, where each player picked up his starting numbers ( one for Rapid and the other for Blitz) by choosing two large demo pawns with either color. The day ended with an enthusiastic simultaneous exhibition in a relaxing environment where each player played the moves in tandem.
The event commenced with Round 1 at 14:00 CEST, with three rounds on the schedule. Vishy Anand scored perfect 6 points defeating five-time Polish Chess Champion Radoslaw Wojtaszek, three-time US Chess Champion Wesley So, and four-time Ukrainian Champion Anton Korobov.
The players at the Opening Ceremony of the Superbet Rapid and Blitz Poland | Photo courtesy of Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes
Round 1
The day couldn’t begin any better with four out of five games ending decisively. The first two decisive games came shortly one after the other with GM Levon Aronian beating GM Fabiano Caruana in a heavyweight fight where Caruana’s opening plan went awry after he didn’t manage to put a dent into White’s well-structured center. Although the engines gave Black good enough chances the game was practically too hard to play and Caruana soon stumbled into a tactical error. The Romanian wildcard GM David Gavrilescu seemed to be off to a good start against the local hero GM Jan-Krzystof Duda. In a relatively uncommon line in the French defense, the Romanian underdog achieved a good position but the position was difficult from a practical standpoint and its complexity proved too much to handle after Gavrilescu blundered an exchange a few moves after the existing theory of this line ended. The game quickly came to an end with Duda’s accurate play. French defense proved to work well for Candidate-participant GM Richard Rapport. After a risky line in advanced French the Ukrainian young talent, GM Kirill Shevchenko, essayed a sound piece sacrifice for the initiative. However, somewhere along the line Shevchenko overestimated his chances and did not redeem the sacrificed material, after which Rapport had no problem converting his advantage. Replay all the games here
It was a great treat for the chess fans to see GM Vishy Anand back at the Grand Chess Tour. The legendary five-time World Champion outplayed and got better of GM Radek Wojtaszek, a long-time member of Anand’s World Championship preparation team, in a complex Ruy Lopez. After the players went down some well-known opening labyrinths, Anand controlled the e-file before his opponent. The Polish champion had his chances in the ensuing battle but the practical difficulty proved too much to handle in time pressure and Anand emerged victorious by winning a piece. Replay the game here
The round concluded with a draw between GM Wesley So and GM Anton Korobov where the latter showed great tenacity after ending up in a much worse position out of the opening. While low on time, Korobov found an intuitive exchange sacrifice that brought his a-pawn on the verge of promotion. Wesley So couldn’t improve his position despite material advantage and the game ended in a draw where White had to give perpetual checks. Replay the game here
Jan-Krzystof Duda feels the weight of responsibility on his shoulders. For now, the Polish man is in a tie for second place. Photo Courtesy of Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes
Round 2
The game between So and Anand was the defining point of this round and the entire day. Wesley So once again employed the same aggressive setup he had used twice in the past two events against GM Sam Sevian in The American Cup and the Superbet Classic of Grand Chess Tour against GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in Romania. Although Anand later said that he couldn’t exactly remember his preparation, he was prepared to face this setup. Wesley’s choice to castle queen-side proved dubious after Annad launched an attack immediately with simple sensible moves. After entering a much worse position, the current U.S. Chess Champion provided some resistance with a number of good defensive moves. However, the difficulty caused by having a weak king wasn’t going away and So finally succumbed to a blunder. The result moved Anand into a sole lead, as early as Round 2. Replay the games here
Shevchenko’s Benko Gambit may be dubious in the eyes of the chess engines or hardly recommendable for a classical game but proved good for his game against Wojtaszek. While neither side had a substantial advantage at any point Wojtaszek ended up defending a Rook vs Rook and knight ending.
The draw between GM’s Rapport and Aronian, however, had a completely different ending. Rapport responded with a non-theoretical slow play to Aronian’s Sicilian. The Hungarian’s pawn moves on the king-side were weakening but Aronian did not take advantage of them immediately. Once the center opened up, the game entered a topsy-turvy mode where Aronian blundered into a losing position. However, this turned out not to be the last blunder in the game as Rapport’s blunder a few moves later evened things out and players ended up exchanging their pieces into a position where neither side had sufficient material to play, and the game dully ended in a draw. Replay the game here
Korobov didn’t gain much out of his opening against Gavrilescu, however, in the ensuing endgame, Korobov managed to outplay his young opponent and eventually won the double-rook ending when his opponent didn’t use his chances due to the time pressure.
Caruana and Duda played an Exchange variation of Queen’s Gambit Declined, where Black gets the Bishop pair but concedes permanent damage to his pawn structure. Caruana’s positional play put Duda in a difficult spot and he subsequently sacrificed a piece for a couple of pawns and piece activity. Duda’s play was subpar and Caruana neutralized Black’s play but then it was Caruana’s turn to make inaccuracies under severe time pressure in the endgame. Once it began to feel that Duda had the worst behind him a couple of inaccuracies turned the table on Caruana’s table and this time the American did not let go of his advantage and converted comfortably.
Age is just a number! Five-time World Champion Vishy Anand is in the lead with three victories, Photo Courtesy of Grand Chess Tour, Lennart Ootes
Round 3
In a between-round interview, Korobov mentioned that ‘at times Anand tries to secure his points and may not play that aggressive’. This prophecy proved wrong instantly after Anand demonstrated his phenomenal technique against the very same Korobov to win against French Defense, Advanced Variation. Anand’s superb play with his knight created another classic in the history of good knight vs bad bishop positions, similar to his wins against Bareev in 1994 and 1995! After this delightful performance, Anand is the sole lead with two points ahead of second place.
If Harry Houdini were to come back to life, Levon Aronian could become his mentor! The American went astray right out of the opening and found himself in a completely losing position against Radek Wojtaszek. The Polish hero dominated the center and secured an extra pawn. However, spending too much time proved a decisive factor as Wojtaszek found it hard to respond to Aronian’s quick play with little time on his clock. The clock’s pressure made Wojtaszek let go of his advantage and Aronian’s resistance finally paid off and he managed to save another losing position to secure a tie for second place.
Caruana took a substantial risk against the out of luck Gavrilescu. The Romanian Youngster began soundly and addressed the weaknesses in Caruana’s Sicilian. However, once again, time proved to be a critical factor. Gavrilescu spent a lot of time and when the position became critical he did not have enough time to calculate in a complex position. Once in the driving seat, Caruana didn’t give much of a chance to his opponent and secured a second win in a row to tie for second place.
Rapport surprised Duda with his choice of King’s Indian defense. In the Orthodox variation of the Classical system, Rapport did not respond well to Duda’s 16.Kh1 , 17.g3 idea. White grabbed a lot of space on the queenside and Rapport’s attack on the kingside proved inefficient. Rapport tried for a long time and the position was long lost. Duda’s win secured a tie for second with Aronian and Caruana.
Wesley So employed his usual Berlin Defense but Shevchenko decided to sacrifice a pawn ( third consecutive sacrifice) in the opening in exchange for active play. However, this proved to be too ambitious and the young Ukrainian found himself in a losing position. Wesley So won the game with high accuracy and now is back to fifty percent of the points. Replay the game here
GM Aronian showed what it means to ‘pull a Houdini’ in chess. Photo courtesy of Grand Chess Tour, Brian Adams
Standings Day 1 Superbet Rapid and Blitz Poland
Day two features another three Rapid Rounds and starts from 14:00 CEST. Pairings & Timetable can be found here and LIVE games can be followed here
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