17th Aeroflot Open 2019

The 17th edition of the elite chess tournament - Aeroflot Open for players with elo 2550+ is held in Moscow, Russia from 19 to 27 February 2019. Its a 9 round Swiss tournament.
The event is sponsored by Aeroflot and organised by the Russian Chess Federation in cooperation with the Association of Chess Federations.
Time control: 100 min. for 40 moves, followed by 50 min. for the next 20 moves and 15 min. till the end of the game.

Official site

Schedule in UTC:
Round 1    Feb 20, 2019    12:00
Round 2    Feb 21, 2019    12:00
Round 3    Feb 22, 2019    12:00
Round 4    Feb 23, 2019    06:30    rounds 4 and 5 have time control 90 for 40, + 30 min., with 30''
Round 5    Feb 23, 2019    13:30     increment
Round 6    Feb 24, 2019    12:00
Round 7    Feb 25, 2019    12:00
Round 8    Feb 26, 2019    12:00
Round 9    Feb 27, 2019    12:00

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Watch the games of the Aeroflot Open 2019 with computer analysis LIVE on ChessBomb.

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You can see games from previous issues of the tournament with computer analysis at ChessBomb:
16th Aeroflot Open 2018
15th Aeroflot Open 2017
14th Aeroflot Open 2016
13th Aeroflot Open 2015

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Read the articles of:

Peter Doggers -  Kulaots Surprises, Inspires As Aeroflot Open Winner
Peter Doggers -  Aeroflot Open Round 1 Called Off After Bomb Threat

Bulgarian Chess Championship 2019

The Final of the 83rd Bulgarian Individual Chess Championship is 9 rounds round robin tournamentq held in Kozloduy, Bulgaria from 26th February till 6th March 2019.
10 players take part in it. Alexander Delchev (ChessBomb Plovdiv), Vassil Spasov (Shumen 2005), Emil Mladenov (Slivnitshki geroi, Slivnitsa), Kiril Badev (Maritsa Iztok Radnevo), Krasimir Russev (Abritus Razgrad), Momchil Nikolov (Abritus Razgrad), Nikolay Vassilev (Slavia Sofia), Radoslav Dimitrov (Abritus Razgrad), Spas Kozhuharov (ChessBomb Plovdiv) and Tsvetan Stoyanov (ChessBomb Plovdiv).

Official site

Schedule:

Round 1 2019/02/26 15:00
Round 2 2019/02/27 14:30
Round 3 2019/02/28 10:00
Round 4 2019/03/01 14:30
Round 5 2019/03/02 14:30
Round 6 2019/03/03 14:30
Round 7 2019/03/04 14:30
Round 8 2019/03/05 14:30
Round 9 2019/03/06 09:00

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Watch the games of the 83rd Bulgarian Individual Chess Championship 2019 with computer analysis LIVE on ChessBomb.

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You can see games from previous issues of the tournament with computer analysis at ChessBomb:
82nd Bulgarian Individual Chess Championship 2018
81st Bulgarian Individual Chess Championship 2017

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Champions Showdown 2019

The 2019 edition of the Champions Showdown will feature five unique matchups between top world players, as well as up-and-coming chess stars. Five U.S. players have chosen opponents from around the world and will face-off in a head-to-head format with three days of rapid play and two days of blitz play from February 20 to 24, 2019 at the Saint Louis Chess Club. In the end, $300,000 in prize money will be divided with each winner receiving $36,000 and the opposing player receiving $24,000.

Four players from the silver medal winning chess olympiad team, Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Wesley So, and Sam Shankland, along with new US Chess member Leinier Dominguez have chosen international chess stars to compete against this February. Opponents include former World Champion Veselin Topalov, as well as young rising stars like Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Richard Rapport. The tournament is sure to thrill fans, as well as give a look at the play of the U.S. players just ahead of the U.S. Chess Championships.

Official site

Schedule:
Each round will start at 1 p.m. CST and be broadcast live on uschesschamps.com.

Fans can follow the expert commentary of GM Yasser Seirawan, WGM Jennifer Shahade, and GM Maurice Ashley each day or visit the Saint Louis Chess Club to catch the action in person.

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Watch the games of the Champions Showdown 2019 with computer analysis LIVE on ChessBomb.

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You can see games from previous issues of the tournament with computer analysis at ChessBomb:
Champions Showdown 2018
Champions Showdown 2017
Champions Showdown 2016

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Read the articles of:

Alessandro Parodi -  Blitz Mayhem Ends Champions Showdown 
Saint Louis Chess - 2019 Champions Showdown – Day 5
Saint Louis Chess - 2019 Champions Showdown – Day 4
Alessandro Parodi - Topalov Joins Champions Showdown Leader Board
Saint Louis Chess - 2019 Champions Showdown – Day 3
Alessandro Parodi - Blunders, Fumbles Haunt Champions Showdown
Saint Louis Chess - 2019 Champions Showdown – Day 2
Alessandro Parodi - Rapport On Full Throttle At Champions Showdown Day 1
Saint Louis Chess - 2019 Champions Showdown – Day 1
Saint Louis Chess - Champions Showdown Features Ten Kings of Chess
FM Mike Klein - Grand Chess Tour's Triple Play: Expanded Field, Events, Continents
NM Matt Jensen - Time Controls And The Grand Chess Tour

2019 Champions Showdown – Day 5

With 12 more blitz games left to play, the final day of the Champions Showdown was undoubtedly going to be action packed. The fans were in for a treat as the players came ready to fight - making only 16 draws in 60 games! At the end of the day, five winners were crowned all of whom earned $36,000 for their efforts, with their opponents taking home $24,000. Final results Fabiano Caruana vs Pentala Harikrishna 35.5 - 12.5 This match was more of a formality as Caruana had already clinched the title yesterday. Per FIDE rules, the remaining games after a winner in a match is decided are not rated, thus taking out the incentive to rise up the rating ladder out of the equation. Even so, the duo came ready to fight until the last second on their clock. Harikrishna was finally able to slow Caruana down somewhat, ending the day with a score of 7-5 in favor of the American. One of the most entertaining moments of the day was when Caruana resigned in a winning position because he thought he was getting checkmated and missed his own check with the queen. Caruana had the most dominant performance in the event, winning with a gap of 23 points.  Wesley So vs David Navara 28-20  Wesley needed 3.5 points to win the match, all of which he collected in the first four games. Trouble started in the first game, when Navara opted out for a tactic which clearly didn’t work, leaving him behind in material. Wesley kept the momentum going by winning the next game despite missing a one-move winning idea. Navara had more success in the second half of the day, ending it with a 5.5-6.5 score in favor of his opponent. Navara summed up the match quite nicely himself: “I did not play so poorly. I made many unnecessary mistakes but it was caused by my time management and by Wesley’s strong play.” Hikaru Nakamura vs Jan-Krzysztof Duda 29.5 - 18.5 The match was clinched in the first four rounds, when Nakamura collected the 1.5 points he needed. Once again, the games came down to the wire, with the second game of the day ending in 117 moves! Nakamura scored the crucial win in round three, when each player had a pair of queens on the board - a rare occurrence in tournament play! Duda had good chances and even winning positions in many of the games, but somehow couldn’t withstand the pressure Nakamura put on him with his quick play. Although Duda earned a silver medal in the World Blitz Championship just two months prior to this event, ahead of Nakamura, the American proved that he’s known as one of the best blitz players in the world for a reason!  Veselin Topalov vs Leinier Dominguez 25.5 - 22.5  This match quickly became the most competitive one after Dominguez’ 5.5 score in the first 7 games, bringing the score to 20-23 with 5 games to go. In the very next game, the American played too aggressively and overextended, creating too many weaknesses which his opponent had no trouble capitalizing on. Unfortunately, this stumble meant that the former World Champion only needed one draw in the next four games, which more or less meant a sealed deal for him. Topalov clinched the title in round 10 game of the day, by missing a checkmate and making a draw with perpetual check instead. Funny enough, he also missed mate in one in the final game and actually walked into checkmate in game 7! Richard Rapport vs Sam Shankland 31.5 - 16.5  The win in game one of the day sealed the deal for Rapport, who only needed to score one point in the entire day. The reigning US Champion once again had a difficult time slowing down his opponent who scored 6 points in the first 8 games. Despite what the score indicates, the games were highly competitive and Shankland’s fighting spirit could be seen in all of them. Although Rapport is five years younger than his opponent, he is a former European Rapid Champion, finishing fourth in the European Blitz Championship, and thus is better experienced in these time controls. He scored the highest number of points in the event after Caruana. Photos courtesy of Austin & Crystal Fuller, Lennart Ootes, and Spectrum Studios. Additional images and credits can be found on Flickr.  Watch all the action LIVE at USChessChamps.com

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. Copyright © 2019 Saint Louis Chess Campus, All rights reserved. Update Subscription Preferences | Unsubscribe Watch the games of the Champions Showdown 2019 with computer analysis LIVE  on ChessBomb.

2019 Champions Showdown – Day 4

With the rapid portion of the matches in the books, 12 games of blitz were in store for the players. Today brought everything one would expect from such a hectic day: blunders, flagging and a lot of fireworks across the boards. There were no big shake-ups in the standings, as the leaders either maintained or extended their leads, with Caruana already clinching the win. Even with the matches being one-sided, tomorrow promises to bring a lot more excitement and entertainment for the fans! Standings after Day 4. In the rapid a win is worth 2 points, a draw is 1 point and a loss is 0. In blitz a win is worth 1 point, a draw is .5 and a loss is 0 Fabiano Caruana vs Pentala Harikrishna 28.5-7.5 This has been the most lopsided matchup of the event with the latest World Championship contender clinching the win today. Caruana entered the day with a commanding lead and needed to score 6.5 points in the next 24 games to seal the deal, which he managed to do in 7 games. During his interview, Caruana explained that he hasn’t been getting winning positions out of the openings, but once the games get complicated things tend to favor him.  This is in no way surprising, as handling complex positions is one of his main strengths. He scored a total of 10.5 points today, only stumbling once in game 9 where he blundered a queen in an already hopeless position. They will play out the remainder of the match tomorrow. Wesley So vs David Navara 21.5-14.5 It was a close fight between these two players, and while the Czech ended up with plus one on the day, Wesley’s lead going into the final day is still quite massive. All the games were combative and went down the wire, but the youthful American has overall gotten the better of his more experienced opponent. It is no surprise that Wesley is the superior player in these time controls, having won several editions of the rapid and blitz in the Grand Chess Tour. Navara finished the day with 6.5/12, but it only decreased his opponent’s lead by one point, not making his chances to even out the match much more realistic. The American will only need to score 3 points in the next 12 games to seal the deal. Hikaru Nakamura vs Jan-Krzysztof Duda 23-13 The Grand Chess Tour winner had the second most dominant performance of the day, just behind his olympic teammate Caruana. Entering the day, this was the most competitive matchup, with only a 4 point gap between the players. At the end of the day, Nakamura only needs 1.5 in the next 12 games to win the match. Many of the games were extremely complicated and could have gone either way, but Nakamura’s lightning fast skills during the critical moments couldn’t be matched by his less experienced opponent. The creative player that he is, Duda tried to create some complications in the final game, but seemingly forgot that his knight was pinned and couldn’t join the attack. The score of the match does not reflect how combative the games were, and certainly we can expect more of the same tomorrow. Leinier Dominguez vs Veselin Topalov 14.5-21.5 Compared to the rapid portion, the former World Champion had a somewhat modest showing today, scoring 6.5 points out of 12, which widened his already existing lead by a point. This was one of the most balanced matches of the day, and had the least number of decisive games. The players made a total of 7 draws, only 2 less than the number of draws in the rest of the matches combined! Topalov started the day strong, scoring 3 victories in the first 4 games, thus increasing his lead by 8 points. The two losses that came later did not make much of a dent in the score differential, as he still has a commanding lead going into the final day, only needing three more points to clinch the match. Richard Rapport vs Sam Shankland 23.5-12.5 Today was a good day for the US Champion, who made up for his abysmal start in the rapid games by ending the first blitz day with a plus score.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t nearly enough to make up for his lopsided defeat in the rapid portion, and he’s still far behind Rapport in the match. Shankland stayed technically in contention by scoring in the last game and joked that he is going to win the remaining games and the match without playoffs. He went on to explain on a more serious note that one always needs to keep their head in the game and due an increased number of rapid and blitz events, this is a part of the game that he needs to work on. Going into the final day, the Hungarian superstar only needs one point out of 12 games to win the match. Regardless of how it finishes, we can definitely expect a lot of fighting chess tomorrow from these two! Photos courtesy of Austin & Crystal Fuller, Lennart Ootes, and Spectrum Studios. Additional images and credits can be found on Flickr.  Watch all the action LIVE at USChessChamps.com

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. Copyright © 2019 Saint Louis Chess Campus, All rights reserved. Update Subscription Preferences | Unsubscribe Watch the games of the Champions Showdown 2019 with computer analysis LIVE  on ChessBomb.

2019 Champions Showdown – Day 3

Today was the last day of rapid chess, and the pressure was on for the players to not go drowning into day one of blitz that starts tomorrow. With every game counting double, it was especially important to score today. Shankland was trying to keep afloat against Rapport, but to no avail, and Harikrishna, although he didn't lose the day to Caruana, was unable to put a dent in their score difference. Topalov showed why he is one of the all-time great players of the World in today's rounds against Dominguez, while So's time management keeps Navara in tremendous pressure, which the Czech has so far been unable to withstand. Despite all these amazing matches, it was hard to turn away from today's duels between Duda and Nakamura, who offered absolutely amazing chess! Standings after Day 2. In the rapid a win is worth 2 points, a draw is 1 point and a loss is 0 Fabiano Caruana vs Pentala Harikrishna 18-6 Things started off well for the Indian player, as an unnecessary continuation, as Caruana himself called, landed the American in trouble in the first game and allowed Harikrishna to get his first win! However, Caruana immediately struck back: in an Anti-Berlin structure, Harikrishna sacrificed a piece for many pawns, but the presence of dark squared bishops gave Caruana very strong winning chances. Taking it step by step, Caruana increased his advantage, and despite missing a beautiful checkmate, still took the point home without problems. The day wrapped up with two draws between these titans, with the last game giving both sides chances for an advantage. Caruana keeps a commanding lead, 18-6, and jumps to World #2 in the live Rapid Rating list. Wesley So vs David Navara 16-8 Fans of Navara were hoping that the Czech player could shorten the gap after having a tough day two of rapid chess yesterday against So, but it was not meant to be. In the first game Navara found himself in an uncomfortable endgame which he was unable to hold, and barely survived in game two. The silver lining for him came in game three as he struck back with a fine victory with the white pieces. This did not last, as So, in another endgame, was able to outplay his opponent and finish the day 16-8.  Navara told Maurice Ashley after the game, he is having trouble keeping pace with So, and the American's excellent endgame technique is allowing him to wrap up the games nicely. Hikaru Nakamura vs Jan-Krzysztof Duda 14-10 Duda and Nakamura have certainly stolen the show, currently being the closest match and producing some scintillating chess. The first game had Nakamura on the aggressive side, trying to punish a dubious novelty from the Polish youngster. However, a miscalculation allowed Duda back in the game. After sacrificing an exchange, Nakamura was unable to push the attack through, and Duda made the material count.  Nakamura put pressure on his opponent on game two, only to have Duda defend tenaciously, and just as he was approaching equality, a bad blunder cost the Polish player the game. Today's game three was an absolute spectacle, it had a little of everything! Connected passed pawns, sacrificed pieces, rooks, weak kings, checkmating attacks, blunders, brilliance, just wow! Duda botched up a winning tactic at the end, but the entertainment value of this one was truly something else. Nakamura again with the white pieces was able to dominate the game from the get-go, and after a dubious strategic decision by Duda it was all about the American's activity. Delivering checkmate on the board, Nakamura increases his lead from yesterday. Leinier Dominguez vs Veselin Topalov 9-15 Topalov put a masterclass today against Dominguez, who many expected to be the favorite against the former World Champion. The Bulgarian was on fire, outplaying the newly transferred American grandmaster from basically every position. The last game of the rapid portion between these two players was particularly impressive, as Topalov sacrificed a piece for pawns and was able to march them all the way down the board. Despite entering today on a tied score, Topalov now leads comfortably, and Dominguez will have to prove why he was once able to win the World Blitz championship. . Richard Rapport vs Sam Shankland 18-6 For fans of Sam Shankland, the only good news is that the reigning U.S. Champion scored his first victory of the match! Unfortunately Rapport keep stealing the show, winning all the other games. When prompted about the disparity, Shankland told Chirila that he had worked very hard in being able to compete with the best of the best in classical time controls, and that despite his success in that format against the world's elite, he clearly still wasn't at that level in rapid and blitz chess. The Hungarian star leads by a big margin, and Shankland will need to make a miracle comeback in blitz tomorrow to make it alive to the last day. Photos courtesy of Austin & Crystal Fuller, Lennart Ootes, and Spectrum Studios. Additional images and credits can be found on Flickr.  Watch all the action LIVE at USChessChamps.com

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. Copyright © 2019 Saint Louis Chess Campus, All rights reserved. Update Subscription Preferences | Unsubscribe Watch the games of the Champions Showdown 2019 with computer analysis LIVE  on ChessBomb.