ChessBomb Blog: 2018-04

2018-04-30

Latvian Chess Championships 2018

The Latvian Championships 2018 are held in 2 Perses street, Riga, Latvia between April 30 and May 6th. 24 ladies and 34 gentlemen fight for the title of Latvian champion.

Latvian Women's Championship 2018

Time control: 90 min.+ 30 sek.

After a year's break, the NWA Champion WGM Laura Rogule (2358) is fighting for the title, whose trophy last year is unlikely to be returned to WFM Linda Krumina (2109). The third issue of the start-up is Agnija Zemzare (1989), followed by WFM Elizabeth Limanowski (1945), WFM League Ungure (1891) and Nellia Maklakova (1880).

Schedule:
Round 1 2018/04/30 17:00
Round 2 2018/05/01 17:00
Round 3 2018/05/02 18:00
Round 4 2018/05/03 18:00
Round 5 2018/05/04 17:00
Round 6 2018/05/05 17:00
Round 7 2018/05/06 11:00

Elizabete Limanovska won the Latvian Women's Championship 2018! Congratulations!

Watch the games of the Latvian Women's Championship 2018 with computer analysis LIVE on ChessBomb.

Latvian Championship 2018

Among men the last year's champion FM Arturs Bernotas (2431), who has the fourth star rating, and all three top masters ranked above him - Arturs Neikšāns (2574), Ņikita Meškovs (2513) and Ilmārs Starostīts (2441). In the championship take part also Latvian chess stars like the 2017 champion, Grandmaster Tom Kantan and the international champion Vitaliy Samolin (2402), who won gold medal in 2012 .

Time control: 90 min.+ 30 sek.

Schedule:
Round 1 2018/04/30 17:00
Round 2 2018/05/01 11:00
Round 3 2018/05/01 17:00
Round 4 2018/05/02 18:00
Round 5 2018/05/03 18:00
Round 6 2018/05/04 11:00
Round 7 2018/05/04 17:00
Round 8 2018/05/05 17:00
Round 9 2018/05/06 11:00

Nikita Meshkovs won the Latvian Championship 2018! Congratulations!

Watch the games of the Latvian Championship 2018 with computer analysis LIVE on ChessBomb.

Official site

2018 U.S. Championships - Round 11 Recap

The final round of the 2018 U.S. Chess Championships was as explosive and exciting as one could have imagined. There were four players battling for glory going into today’s games: Sam Shankland, Fabiano Caruana, Annie Wang, and Nazi Paikidze. The outcome couldn’t be more dramatic!

U.S. Championship – The Shankland / Caruana affair

Shankland went into today’s round as the leader, half a point ahead of Caruana. Most scenarios were surely favoring the Californian, but he could not fall asleep at the wheel. Caruana played white against Onischuk, and it was clear that the new challenger would do everything in his power to break through the experienced Grandmaster and try to catch up with the leader.

Read the full recap here >

Caruana had no other option, he had to go for broke. Being in Shankland’s shoes, the strategy was much more difficult. He was playing the white pieces against the young super talent Awonder Liang, who has had a solid event up to this point. Shankland’s options were: 1. Play it safe, hope that Caruana doesn’t win or 2. Play for a victory, take risks, if a win comes your way you’re the new U.S. Champion.

For obvious reasons the choice was not easy. Shankland chose a combination of the two, he played a rather strategic and simplified line of the exchange Caro-Kann. Luckily for him, it was the young and effervescent Awonder that made his decision for him by playing the ultra-sharp 7…e5!? for which Shankland was thoroughly prepared! Shankland blasted off a precise series of moves that obviously placed Liang under tremendous pressure.

On the other side of the fence, Caruana was playing a masterpiece of his own. Outplaying Onischuk in a Ruy Lopez, which was the perfect opening for the tournament position he was in. The young challenger was playing precise, poised chess, and it looked clear that Onischuk would have a very rough day at the office. The tournament was in the air, nobody knew what would happen next. Would Caruana manage to win; would Shankland win his game as well?

Shankland understood that the situation had changed, and he now needed to win in order to secure the title. As he continued pounding on his opponent’s king with all his might, Liang remained restricted and had to watch his position crumble.

Without any counter play, Liang slowly but surely had to accept the hard truth: defeat was unavoidable. Despite Fabiano’s quick victory, Shankland kept his composure and converted his own advantage with confidence.

Shankland was now the U.S. Chess Champion!

U.S. Women’s Championship – Wang breaks at the buzzer.

The show goes on in the ladies’ division, as the unexpected happened!

Annie Wang started off blazing hot, and her position against Foisor looked completely dominant. On the other side, Paikidze was playing a sharp but rather messy game against the experienced Goletiani.

At this juncture in the round things were looking great for Wang, who looked primed to win her first U.S. Women’s Championship title and become one of the youngest victors this tournament has seen.

Then, the inexplicable happened. Wang began to play disastrous moves, and quickly found herself in a sea of trouble when Foisor’s rooks found their preferred avenue on the “G” file. Wang collapsed quickly and allowed her opponent to exchange her two rooks for the queen, as well as preserve a decisive attack on her now exposed king. Foisor closed the show with confidence, as she never allowed Wang to come back into the game.

As soon as the game finished, Paikidze offered a timely draw and Goletiani accepted.

We are now headed for the playoffs, may the best woman win!

Saint Louis Chess Club | Building Champions

4657 Maryland Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63108 | (314) 361.CHESS (2437)

The Saint Louis Chess Club acknowledges Dr. Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield, whose generous support makes our tournaments possible.

The STLCC and WCHOF admit students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.

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Stockholm Chess Challenge 2018

The Stockholm Chess Challenge 2018 is a 9-round Swiss tournament taking place from 30 April to 5 May 2018 in Stockholm, Sweden. Players receive 90 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes to the end of the game, plus a 30-second increment starting from move one.

Official site

Schedule: (UTC)

Round 1 Apr 30, 2018 15:00
Round 2 May 1, 2018 08:00
Round 3 May 1, 2018 15:00
Round 4 May 2, 2018 15:00
Round 5 May 3, 2018 08:00
Round 6 May 3, 2018 15:00
Round 7 May 4, 2018 15:00
Round 8 May 5, 2018 07:00
Round 9 May 5, 2018 14:00

Watch the games of the Stockholm Chess Challenge 2018 with computer analysis LIVE on ChessBomb.

2018-04-29

2018 U.S. Championships - Round 10 Recap

The championship rounds are always the most promising. The tension, the suspense revolving around the result, all of these and more are what makes us love chess. With only one round to go, the stakes are at their peak, and the players will battle tooth and nail for the top spot in both divisions. But first let’s look at how we got here and get right into the recap!

U.S. Championship

Onischuk vs Shankland

The two most important actors in this year’s championship play are undoubtedly Shankland and Caruana. These two have been racing against each other for the whole tournament, and the dazzling pace at which they are competing has kept others at bay.

Read the full recap here >

Onischuk started the game in a promising way, but the middle game was once again only Shankland. Starting with his fierce 12…g5! Shankland took control of the game, revolving around the powerful knight on e4 and the overall control of the light squares. Onischuk was unable to tame Black’s initiative and lost a difficult R+N vs R+B endgame. Shankland’s piece activity coupled with the structural weaknesses that plagued white throughout the game allowed the leader to capitalize and take yet another step toward the title.

Zherebukh vs Caruana

And what better runner up to keep you on your toes than the world championship challenger, Fabiano Caruana. The young titan has been having the year of his life, with three tournament wins out of his last four, and a secured bid for the world chess crown. It appears he is not stopping anytime soon. The black pieces have been deadly in the hands of Caruana, who once again proved it with a smooth victory against Zherebukh, the player that made history last year when he defeated Caruana in a positional masterpiece.

That was not the case in this year’s edition, as Caruana swiftly outplayed Zherebukh in a closed Sicilian. Just like in the game of Shankland, another explosive …g5! move made its way, and after its inclusion on the board it was all over for White. The control of the important e5 square, and the drowning pressure forced Zherebukh to resign at move 31. Caruana is half a point behind Shankland going into the decisive final round.

Three players score first victories

This was also the round of first victories for three of the players. Nakamura drew first blood after completely dismantling Akobian’s position in a tactical masterpiece.

The two youngsters, Liang and Xiong, also had their best days at this year’s championship as they outfoxed their respective opponents in hotly contested battles. While Xiong’s victory was smooth and precise, Liang’s path to victory was slightly more treacherous, as he had to defend a worse position against Izoria before swindling him and taking the full point home.

U.S. Women’s Championship

Wang vs Zatonskih

The big clash of the round was obviously the one between the leader Wang and one of the players from the chasing pack, Zatonskih. Wang took an inspired decision when she chose to check her opponent’s theoretical knowledge in a well-known line of the Queen’s Gambit Declined.

It felt very strange to see Zatonskih entering the main line without knowing the nuances, as she burned through almost all her time before Wang was even out of her preparation. With more than an hour advantage on her clock plus a favorable position, it looked as if the young prodigy would close the show right then and there and claim the title. But it was not meant to be, as she played a few conservative moves that didn’t help her attack, allowing Zatonskih to get back and equalize the game. Wang could not be terribly upset with the result, as she remains the favorite to win it all in the last round!

Abrahamyan vs Paikidze

Paikidze was the only player within striking distance of the leader. Being one point behind, she knew her only chance at bridging the gap was to go all out against the always forefront Abrahamyan. Paikidze’s new opening gamble was a flop as she fell under serious strategical pressure.

The pressure soon turned into a decisive material advantage for Abrahamyan. And then Caissa decided to give Paikidze the wink, as Abrahamyan horrendously misplayed the last moves of the game allowing Paikidze to force resignation right before the time control. With this victory, Paikidze narrows the gap between her and Wang to half a point, relaunching the tournament and delaying the crowning of a new champion until the last moment.

The other games in the ladies’ section were drawn without much controversy, as the whole tournament seems to be currently focusing on the draconian battle between Wang and the tenacious Paikidze, who simply wouldn’t give up until the last moment.

It all comes down to the last round, where the new U.S. Chess Championships victors will be crowned!

Saint Louis Chess Club | Building Champions

4657 Maryland Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63108 | (314) 361.CHESS (2437)

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Magnus Carlsen is the the winner of Shamkir Chess 2018!

Congratulations to Magnus Carlsen the winner of The 5th ediditon of the Shamkir Chess 2018!
The World Champion is also the winner of the 2014 and 2015 editions of the Shamkir Chess Super Tournament.

The decisive battle in the last round of Shamkir Chess 2018 in Baku was played between Norwegian world champion Magnus Carlsen and Chinese Ding Liren. The match ended in a draw in the 28th move. Carlsen, who scored 6 points from 9 games, became three-time winner of Shamkir Chess. The Chinese grandmaster took the second place with 5.5 points.
The total prize fund of the fifth edition of Shamkir Chess tournament was €100,000, with €25,000 for first place.
The third place took Sergey Karjakin (Russia) and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan) became 4th. Radosław Wojtaszek took the 5th place.

Cogratulations!

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Dutch Youth Chess Championship 2018

The Dutch Youth Chess Championship in the A, B and C age groups (up to and including 20, 16 and 14 years) 2018 will take place from Sunday 29 April to Saturday 5 May 2018 in Van der Valk Hotel Assen. It is organized for the second time by Stichting Jeugd Schaak Noord.

Official site

Schedule:
Round 1 29/04/16 11.00 – 16.00 - all groups
Round 2 30/04/18 11.00 – 16.00 - all groups

Round 3 01/05/18 07.00 – 11.00 - u14 boys
Round 3 01/05/18 11.00 – 16.00 - all groups
Round 4 01/05/18 12.00 – 16.00 - u14 boys

Round 5 02/05/18 07.00 – 11.00 - u14 boys
Round 4 02/05/18 11.00 – 16.00 - all groups
Round 6 02/05/18 12.00 – 16.00 - u14 boys

Round 5 03/05/18 11.00 – 16.00 - all groups
Round 7 03/05/18 11.00 – 16.00 - u14 boys

Round 6 04/05/18 11.00 – 16.00 - all groups
Round 8 04/05/18 11.00 – 16.00 - u14 boys

Round 7 04/05/18 08.30 – 13.30 - all groups
Round 9 04/05/18 11.00 – 16.00 - u14 boys

Watch the games of the Dutch Youth Chess Championship 2018 with computer analysis LIVE on ChessBomb.

Polish Youth Championship 2018

The Polish Youth Championships 2018 - U12 and U12 Girls and U14 and U14 Girls are a 9-round Swiss tournaments taking place from 29 April to 5 May 2018 in Sypniewo, Poland.

Time control: the players receive 90 minutes for the entire game, plus a 30-second increment starting from move one.

Official site

The tournaments share same schedule: (UTC)
Round 1 Apr 29, 2018 07:30
Round 2 Apr 30, 2018 07:30
Round 3 Apr 30, 2018 13:30
Round 4 May 1, 2018 07:30
Round 5 May 2, 2018 07:30
Round 6 May 3, 2018 07:30
Round 7 May 3, 2018 13:30
Round 8 May 4, 2018 07:30
Round 9 May 5, 2018 07:30

Watch the games of the Polish Youth Championship 2018 with computer analysis LIVE on ChessBomb.

2018-04-28

Czech Championship 2018

The Czech Championship is a 9-round Swiss tournament taking place from 28 April to 6 May, 2018 in Ostrava. Players receive 90 minutes for 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, plus a 30-second increment starting from move one.

Official site

Schedule: (UTC)

Round 1 Apr 28, 2018 14:00
Round 2 Apr 29, 2018 14:00
Round 3 Apr 30, 2018 14:00
Round 4 May 1, 2018 14:00
Round 5 May 2, 2018 14:00
Round 6 May 3, 2018 14:00
Round 7 May 4, 2018 14:00
Round 8 May 5, 2018 14:00
Round 9 May 6, 2018 08:00

Svatopluk Svoboda won the Czech Championship 2018. Plát Vojtěch is second! Congratulations!

Watch the games of the Czech Championship 2018 with computer analysis LIVE on ChessBomb.

Selangor Tournaments 2018

The oldest chess tournament in Malaysia, the 45th Selangor Challenger and Open tournaments are held between 27th of April and 2nd of May 2018 in Grand Ballroom, 5th floor, Cititel Mid Valley Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Time Control: 90 minutes plus 30 seconds increment from move 1

Official site

The tournaments share same schedule: (UTC)
1 2018/04/27 07:30
2 2018/04/28 01:00
3 2018/04/28 07:30
4 2018/04/29 01:00
5 2018/04/29 07:30
6 2018/04/30 01:00
7 2018/04/30 07:30
8 2018/05/01 01:00
9 2018/05/01 06:00

Watch the games of the Selangor Challenger 2018 and Selangor Challenger 2018 with computer analysis LIVE on ChessBomb.

2018 U.S. Championships - Round 8 Recap

Another exciting round in Saint Louis, as the favorites to win the event have once again showed their good form and continued their respective streaks. The most important change after today is at the top of the open championship table, where Shankland is now the sole-leader. Let’s get right into the recap and see what happened in today’s critical round!

U.S. Championship

Caruana vs Nakamura

A dramatic game ensued between these two titans of the chess world. Nakamura came extremely well prepared, and his theoretical knowledge allowed him to gain a serious advantage on the clock, as well as a more pleasant position on the board.

Read the full recap here >

Caruana was on the back foot the entire game and could have been severely punished if Nakamura would have played the piece sacrifice he intended to. Instead, Nakamura hesitated to deliver the blow and Caruana was able to harmonize his defensive forces. The game ended in a draw when Caruana found a nice repetition.

Akobian vs So

This was not the most exciting game of the round. Akobian was obviously not in the mood to take any unnecessary risks after losing three games in a row. His cautious play determined the outcome of the game, with Wesley not looking to destabilize the position in dramatic fashion. The players agreed to a draw at move 35.

Lenderman vs Robson

This was a much more interesting draw. Lenderman showed impeccable opening preparation and was looking like he might be able to pull yet another victory, which would have been his third in a row. Robson defended tenaciously, but even so, Lenderman should have capitalized on his magnificent advantage with the move 21.Qa4! which would have secured the victory.

After missing the easy tactic, Robson was able to regroup his pieces, finish his development, and fully equalize the game. It ended in a draw at move 71.

U.S. Women’s Championship

Paikidze vs Wang

The game that held the most weight this round was the clash between the leader, Wang, and the runner up, Paikidze.

Despite playing a rather sharp opening, Paikidze’s opposite castling did not intimidate Wang, who immediately activated her pieces and started creating problems for the former champ. The tension could be felt, as none of the players were willing to take unnecessary risks. Wang had everything to lose, while Paikidze feels like she could catch up with the youngster in the remaining games. A draw was agreed via repetition at move 30.

Krush vs Abrahamyan

A very good performance by the 7-time U.S. Champion, Irina Krush. The experienced Grandmaster stirred the game into the direction she wanted, an easy to press position with a stable, long-term advantage.

Krush dented into her opponent’s structure, created the isolated pawn, and used her great technique to secure an important victory.

Gorti vs Feng

This combative game between the two youngsters was the last game to finish. The players entered an equal endgame, but Feng immediately erred with the overly ambitious 30…e4? This allowed white to corral the advanced pawn and secure the victory with ease after obtaining the material advantage. Feng played all the way until checkmate but could have resigned much earlier.

Sharevich vs Goletiani

Goletiani seems to have found a new wave of enthusiasm and motivation after being interviewed by Maurice. While Sharevich might not have played her most precise game, it is important to give praise to Goletiani’s spotless game. Black checked all the important points: she equalized, created a weakness in her opponent’s camp, and capitalized on it with great precision. Sharevich was forced to concede when her opponent’s forces invaded her camp.

Saint Louis Chess Club | Building Champions

4657 Maryland Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63108 | (314) 361.CHESS (2437)

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