John Saunders reports: Today (27 October) saw a quieter round in the FIDE Grand Swiss at the Villa Marina, Douglas, with just one decisive game on the top 12 boards. By contrast, the FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss was a bloodthirsty affair, with eight decisive games amongst the top 12 boards. After the day’s battles ended, no fewer than ten players share the lead in the Grand Swiss with 2½/3, while two players, Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine) and Tan Zhongyi (China), head the field in the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix with a maximum 3/3.
Erwin L’Ami chats with fellow countryman Jeroen van der Berg before the game
Down to business, and a handshake with formidable adversary Fabiano Caruana
Erwin L’Ami ’s reward for scoring upset victories against higher rated players in the first two rounds was a pairing with top seed Fabiano Caruana. He didn’t seem too fazed about it, chatting with Tata Steel Wijk aan Zee organiser Jeroen van den Berg in the minutes before the round started. The game set the tone for most of the high boards, with some cagey play, much hoovering off of material followed by a peace treaty just after the 30 move mark.
It wasn’t the first game to finish, that honour going to Esipenko-Predke which ended with a repetition on move 25.
Andrey Esipenko vs Alexandr Predke didn’t last long.
Erigaisi-Sarana had more life in it, as the young Indian pressed for more than 60 moves, a pawn up in a double rook ending but the win proved elusive.
Arjun Erigaisi (White) was a pawn up but it proved too difficult to win against Alexey Sarana
Similarly, Firouzja- Zhalmakhanov featured some more fight from the white player, also a pawn up in a double rook ending but it too proved unwinnable.
Ramazan Zhalmakhanov is proving a tough opponent in the Grand Swiss: Alireza Firouzja couldn’t break him down
Anish Giri didn’t have an extra pawn against Etienne Bacrot but he did have a very advanced and dangerous d-pawn. However, the French player blockaded it successfully and found a safe way to hold.
Another new name and face to remember: Kazakh GM Javokhir Sindarov is talented, exuberant and ambitious
Board seven was where the point was undivided, with the young and scarcely known Kazakh player Javokhir Sindarov defeating the more mature and hugely famous Levon Aronian. I wrote “scarcely known” though conscious that Sindarov achieved a degree of fame in 2018 when he became the (then) second youngest GM in history aged only 12 years, 10 months and 5 days. He has since moved down to fourth place in this particular list, having been overtaken by two younger players, Abhimanyu Mishra and Gukesh D, who also happen to be playing in this event. As a GM of some five years standing and a career record which includes the elimination of Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the 2021 World Cup and Alireza Firouzja in this year’s World Cup, I’m half-tempted to brand Sindarov a “veteran” despite his not having reached the age of 18 yet. Joking apart, this teenage terror played a fine game against Aronian, and also entertained us in the commentary room with his exuberant personality. Turning to the game, Aronian defended a Berlin Ruy Lopez but was outmanoeuvred in the middlegame and found it necessary to surrender a pawn. All was far from lost, however, and the game turned inexorably into the day’s speciality – a double rook endgame, but one in which the younger player’s extra pawn was backward and the prospect of winning remote. Just before the time control, Black let one clear drawing chance go by but was still in sight of a draw when a misstep on move 47 turned the position into a loss and Sindarov’s technique did the rest.
Alexei Shirov huffed and he puffed – for 115 moves – but he couldn’t blow Nodirbek Abdusattorov’s house down
Alexei Shirov established a won position (if there is such a thing) in the middlegame against Nodirbek Abdusattorov which eventually liquidated to queen and two pawns versus queen. Which may be won – the tablebase tells us unequivocally that it is so – but it remains damnably difficult to achieve in practice. One of the pawns dropped off but the other was just one move from promotion. Still officially “won” according to silicon. But even the genius that is Shirov couldn’t make it happen and, around move 85, the win morphed into a draw. Shirov continued to test Abdusattorov’s defensive technique for a further 30 moves but it proved flawless. Endgame technique used to be regarded as one facet of the game in which old GMs could outfox young ones but these days teenage GMs seem to come ready-programmed with centuries of endgame lore, rather like Athena being born fully grown and armed from the head of her father Zeus.
Manx IM Dietmar Kolbus took on GM Baskaran ‘The Beast’ Adhiban and emerged unscathed, with a draw
I’m pleased to report that both the Isle of Man competitors are now on the scoreboard despite the wide rating differential between them and their adversaries. Yesterday Li Wu got off the mark with a draw against 2619-rated Nikolas Theodorou of Greece, and in round three Dietmar Kolbus held 2551-rated Baskaran Adhiban of India to a draw. Talking before the game, Dietmar Kolbus told me he was “thrilled” simply to being playing in such exalted company, so I expect he will be doubly thrilled to have “tamed the Beast”.
As regards the English contingent, Nikita Vitiugov drew with S L Narayanan to take him to 2/3, while Shreyas Royal drew with Mateusz Bartel to put him on an eminently respectable 1½/3.
New English GM Nikita Vitiugov has made a good start with 2/3
English IM Shreyas Royal drew with Polish GM Mateusz Bartel to maintain his splendid start to the event
The lower boards made up for the spate of draws higher up with some crowd-pleasing tactical wizardry. The most stunning of these was the way Radoslaw Wojtaszek beat Denis Lazavik. You couldn’t call it a cheapo as it has the hallmark of unusual quality: a jewel of the purest jet-black evil, quite brilliant, and one for the anthologies.
Denis Lazavik played a little tactic designed to win a pawn – which was countered by a monster tactic that blew him away
Another was the finish to Bluebaum-Sanal: this featured the more traditional ‘crime and punishment’ theme of many tactics. A player puts temptation in the opponent’s way: the ‘crime’ lies in its acceptance and the ‘punishment’ duly follows. When a 2600+ rated player offers you a pawn, think hard before taking it. This becomes particularly embarrassing if you happen to be a 2600+ rated player yourself…
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FIDE Women’s Grand Prix: Round 3 Report
In the battle between former women’s world champions, Antoaneta Stefanova found herself under strong pressure in a Queen’s Gambit Declined against Tan Zhongyi and attempted to relieve it by giving up the exchange for a pawn. This gave her chances of a reprieve but a disastrous 28…Be7 left her open to a mate threat that could only be defended by giving up a piece, after which attempts to complicate were unsuccessful.
Tan Zhongyi continued her perfect start, at the expense of Antoaneta Stefanova
The game between Irina Bulmaga and Anna Muzychuk looked like it might have been heading for a draw by repetition around move 15 but it was the Romanian player who diverged from the sequence. Unfortunately for her, the way she chose to do this cost her a pawn when an intended intermezzo sequence proved to favour her opponent. Nevertheless Bulmaga fought back to near equality but made a fatal error just before the time control.
Irina Bulmaga had a chance of an early repetition but the way she chose to avoid it proved problematic
Elisabeth Paehtz established a strong advantage against Meruet Kamalidenova in an English with b3. Around move 23 there was a mutual oversight, with Black having a momentary opportunity to level things but exchanged the wrong knight and made her plight worse. Thereafter it became a straightforward technical exercise for Paehtz to win.
Elisabeth Paehtz has made a strong start to reach 2½/3
The game between Pauline Guichard and Mariya Muzychuk saw some fireworks towards the end when the French player drove her opponent’s king up the board but failed to find the coup de grâce in the run-up to the time control. This was quite a let-off for Mariya Muzychuk.
Pauline Guichard came close to defeating former women’s world champion Mariya Muzychuk
Bibisara Assauybayeva joined Elisabeth Paetz on 2½/3 by beating Gunay Mammadzada. Black’s opening was a little passive and the Kazakh player launched a timely h-pawn advance which disrupted Black’s kingside. Black’s queenside counter proved insufficient to distract White and once Assaubayeva had doubled rooks on the d-file, the end was in sight.
A well-timed attack secured a win for Bibisara Assaubayeva against Gunay Mammadzada
A third player on 2½/3 is Rameshbabu Vaishali who defeated Leya Garifullina in only 25 moves. It followed a line of the Grand Prix Attack against the Sicilian which Vaishali had played herself two years ago in the 1st FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss against Bibisara Assaubayeva, now sitting next to Vaishali and no doubt an interested spectator to see what the Indian player had in mind this time. On that occasion the game had ended in a draw but this time Black diverged first on move 14. However, it wasn’t an improvement and White’s soon had a raging attack which could not be resisted. The way Vaishali handled this game was quite thematic, and reminiscent of the way this most aggressive of anti-Sicilian systems used to reap a rich harvest of wins decades ago in British weekenders. To see it played here, in the Women’s Grand Swiss, in 2023, some fifty years on, was quite nostalgic for me.
Rameshbabu Vaishali played the super-aggressive Grand Prix Attack against Leya Garifullina’s Sicilian – and won in style
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Governor’s Visit
The tournament was honoured to be visited during round three by His Excellency, Sir John Lorimer, Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man, who represents His Majesty King Charles III on the island (the British monarch being styled ‘Lord of Mann’ here). Greeted by Alan Ormsby and Emil Sutovsky, he was shown around the tournament hall and the commentary room and clearly enjoyed his visit.
Isle of Man Governor Sir John Lorimer visiting the playing hall during round three.
Round four will be played at 1430 on Saturday 28 October – follow the action at iomchess.com
