2021 FIDE World Cup (Sochi, Russia)

My cat Velvet enjoying @ChessbaseIndia ??
coverage! @sagarchess1 @thechessdrum #FIDEWorldCup2021 https://t.co/EY1ANDhgwz pic.twitter.com/rRen4LopwW

— Daaim Shabazz (@thechessdrum) July 12, 2021

Impressions from Round 1, Day 1 of the FIDE World Cup 2021. #FIDEWorldCup
More photos: https://t.co/8MSIu93DXd
?: Anastasiia Korolkova & @IM_Rosen pic.twitter.com/LKLU02oRNW

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) July 12, 2021

A couple of upsets today in the FIDE World Cup. The Egyptian derby between Ahmed Adly and Abdelrahman Hesham was hard-fought with tiebreaks beginning with the “underdog” pressing in the first tiebreak. Adly has a very unique style of play. Not necessarily a theoretician, he plays lines that are not well-analyzed and gets positions where tricks opponents into uncomfortable positions. He has a tendency to catch opponents off balance with his style and Hesham was well aware.

The first tiebreak was a Bogo-Indian where white developed a massive space advantage. Adly was never able to completely equalize and after 26.Ndxc4 white was clearly on top. Fortunately, Adly was able to get out of his bind with only a pawn deficit… on the same side of the board. Nevertheless, Hesham was completely winning before he blundered with 58.f6?? and after 58…Re1+ 59.Kf5 gxf6 60.Nf7+ Kg7 and black had survived the worst. In a few moves, black had gotten a drawn position. Here was Hesham’s reaction…

That feeling when you let them get away. pic.twitter.com/cdJuCUu6zi

— Olimpiu G. Urcan (@olimpiuurcan) July 14, 2021

Adly would not be so fortunate in the second tiebreak. Adly played another strange concoction and again got into trouble. He sacrificed the exchange, but had little compensation. After 29.Ra3, Hesham opted for 29…Rf8 instead of 29…Rh4. It turns out that his plan of Ra8-f8-f6-h6 was farsighted. They say that solving a combination is not the hard part… it is getting the position that is the hard part. After 35.Qc4, black had some choices that were analyzed. GMs Nigel Short and Evgeny Miroshnichenko were covering the match and here is their commentary. Both went “What’s that???” Initially astonished, but began to see the combination and were generous in their praise. A wonderful way to end the match! Watch the reaction below!

After the first game on the 12th, Short beamed at England’s Ravi Haria win over the experienced Russian, Vadim Zvjaginsev. A 22-year old International Master with two GM norms, Haria lost the second game and would go to tiebreaks. Would experience prevail over youth? It wasn’t close. Youth prevailed this time.

In the first game, Haria simply squeezed the Russian to death until his position fell apart. In the second game, Zvjaginsev essayed 1.e4 e6 2.f4!? It transposed into a normal French, and the game was equal until they entered a rook ending. Having to play for a win, Zvjaginsev took his pawn advantage into the ending. In the end, he had to give up a draw and the match. He gave his impressions in a short interview.

Among the other African challengers playing a tiebreak, we have Chitumbo Mwali who upset the young Armenian in the second game of classical. They repeated the same line as in the game Mwali won, but Haik Martirosyan made some improvements. First, he went for 13…g5 to put immediate pressure on the Zambian. This strategy seemed to work because Mwali took on a defensive posture.

With black’s attack raging, white had no defense against the g-file battery. The second game was a Modern Benoni that went wrong quickly and Mwali ended the game without much resistance. This game showed the difference in the levels of preparation. Nevertheless, Mwali beat a very strong player and despite his loss, he gained a lot from the experience. FIDE recognized this.

Yesterday IM Chitumbo Mwali from Zambia delivered the biggest surprise of the day. Rated only 2281, he defeated Armenian GM Haik Martirosyan (2632) and forced today's tiebreak.

In rapid Martirosyan was merciless but Chitumbo Mwali anyway returns home a hero! #FIDEWorldCup pic.twitter.com/WHtzbMLlxW

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) July 14, 2021

He also gave his impressions of the match…

GM Bilel Bellahcene of Algeria had a tough round of tiebreaks. In the first game with the black piece, engines had him as high as -5.71, but the trick in these high-level events is maintaining your form over extended periods. After getting the winning position, it appeared he would wrap up the point. Unfortunately, he blundered with 35…Qe6?? after which the simple 36.Rd8+ forces the bishop skewer off the diagonal.

Both of the Cori siblings (Jorge and Deysi) moved onto the next round. It seems like they have been representing Peru for ages. Deysi once won an honor for being the youngest participant in the 2004 Chess Olympiad.

Flashback: At the 2004 Olympiad in Calvia, Spain, 11-year old Deysi Estela Cori Tello of Peru collects prize for the youngest participant. She scored a respectable 5-2 in a reserve role. Photo by Daaim Shabazz.

On the women’s side, there were no big upsets. Sabrina Letreche of Algeria was unable to break through after her instructive, “on-demand” win yesterday. Shahenda Wafa of Egypt played four tiebreak games trading wins in the rapid and losing both in the 10-minute blitz. The 2018 African women’s champion will return with a wealth of experience.

Africans at World Chess Cup July 12th-August 6th, 2021 (Sochi, Russia)
Round #1, TIEBREAKS (Open)
1	IM Daniel Barrish		RSA	0-2	GM Aryan Tari		NOR
2	GM Adham Fawzy		EGY	1½-2½	GM Evgeny Alekseev		RUS
3	GM Hovhannes Gabuzyan		ARM	3-1	GM Bilel Bellahcene		ALG
4	FM Sergio Miguel		ANG	0-2	GM Ivan Saric		CRO
5	CM Chiletso Chipanga		MAW	0-2	GM Adhiban Baskiran		IND
6	GM Vladislav Kovalev		FID	2-0	IM Rodwell Makoto		ZIM
7	IM Olanrewaju Ajibola		NGR	0-2	GM Alexey Sarana		RUS
8	IM Arthur Ssegwangyi		UGA	½-1½	GM Nihal Sarin		IND
9	GM Ahmed Adly		EGY	1½-2½	GM Abdelrahman Hesham		EGY
10	GM Haik Martirosyan		ARM	3-1	IM Chitumbo Mwali		ZAM
11	GM David Paravyan		RUS	2-0	IM Mohamed Tissir		MAR
12	GM Alexander Motylev		RUS	2-0	FM Abobker Mohamed Elarabi		LBA
Round #1, TIEBREAKS (Women)
1	IM Nataliya Buksa		UKR	2½-1½	WIM Sabrina Latreche		ALG
2	GM Valentina Guinina		RUS	2-0	WIM Jesse February		RSA
3	IM Almira Skripchenko		FRA	4-2	WGM Shahenda Wafa		EGY
4	WGM Shrook Wafa		EGY	0-2	IM Laura Unuk		CRO
5	WGM Amina Mezioud		ALG	½-1½	IM Iulija Omonova		UZB
Pairings Tree

Critical Links: official site, YouTube, Twitter #FIDEWorldCup2021, Results

With the news still buzzing over the COVID scares, the second game of the second round commenced. With the withdrawal of Levon Aronian and the forfeiture of Indonesian players, it will be interesting to see if additional measures will be in place going forward. It appears that masks will remain optional.

In today’s matches, there was were very interesting encounters. Magnus Carlsen won impressively from an equal ending squeezing out a win against Sasa Martinovic. There was a marvel on how the World Champion managed to squeeze a win out of this. At the main website, they cited 53…Bh6? (53…Kd7 giving up the pawn is a draw even a pawn down), and 54…axb5? as the losing moves. “The computer holds the endgame with 54…Kd7 but it’s not easy at all for a human player,” it stated.” Even other players were amazed.

When @MagnusCarlsen's game is more interesting than your own game #FIDEWorldCup pic.twitter.com/Nyd3vykFTD

— Eric Rosen (@IM_Rosen) July 16, 2021

Truly a symbol of resourceful and resilience by the World Champion!

Bassem Amin closed out his match against Hovhannes Gabuzyan becoming the first African player to advance to round 3. In fact, he has a favorable bracket and will face the winner of Etienne Bacrot (France) and Ravi Haria (England). Haria had a major upset against Vadim Zvjaginsev. The other Egyptian Abdelrahman Hesham was in a must-win situation, but his 15.Rg5?! started a descent into trouble. The Romanian took everything and won in only 31 moves. It was a good run for Hesham

One of the best games of the round was the game of the round saw Poland’s Michal Krasenkow scintillating win over Russia’s Kirill Alekseenko.

Russia will field nine of the last 32 players in the women’s field led by top-seed Aleksandra Goraychkina. Ukraine and Georgia have three apiece.Alexandra Kosteniuk talked about advancing with a win over Peru’s Deysi Cori, online vs. OTB and the COVID situation.

Video by FIDE Chess

Critical Links: official site, YouTube, Twitter #FIDEWorldCup2021, Results

There were some very exciting tiebreak matches including one that went the distance. After the COVID crisis, there was news of floods pouring through western Germany and causing tremendous destruction. In fact, there were two Germans trying to get through to the next round and must’ve affected them, at least slightly.

Ivan Cheparinov outlasted Germany’s Rasmus Svane in a match that went the distance. Cheparinov had to win on-demand twice before winning the final Armageddon game. Samuel Sevian also has to win on-demand and later won both 10-minute blitz games after drawing the rapids. Good result for the young American.

Svane and Cheparinov blitzing in Armageddon battle!
Photo by Anastasia Korolkova

GM Samuel Sevian (USA)
Photo by Anastasia Korolkova

In a Latin American matchup, Jorge Cori of Peru also had a wild match with Sandro Mareco of Argentina. Five out of the six games played were decisive and brutally-contested. The only draw was the last. Lets take a look at the deciding encounter.

GM Jorge Cori (Peru)
Photo by Eric Rosen

Danill Dubov got a tough fight from Dommoraju Gukesh, but the 15-year old Indian prodigy could not hold the match to equality. ChessBase India had been following the match closely and was hopeful when Gukesh held Dubov twice in classical. Dubov showed his class in the first rapid and then ended with a draw.

The changing face of chess… Alireza Firouzja vs. Javokhir Sindarov
Photo by Anastasia Korolkova

Many believe that Iranian-born Alireza Firouzja is a world championship contender. Most recently, he obtained French citizenship and this was his first tournament under the French flag. It did not end well. Some fans believe that France may not have been the best federation to develop his talent, but he will have opportunities since there is a strong environment in Europe.

Firouzja was expected to go deep into the tournament, so this upset at the hands of the young Uzbekistani star Javokhir Sindarov will sting for awhile. Here is the decisive game where Sindarov just took all the pawns.

GM Javokhir Sindarov (Uzbekistan)
Photo by Eric Rosen

Cuba’s Leinier Dominiguez also switched federations and is now representing the U.S. Perhaps things have not gone as expected with a devastating loss against Uzbek Jakhongir Vakhidov. Losing both games in the tiebreak rapid, Dominguez is still poised to represent the U.S. at the next Olympiad and compete in U.S. Championship, but of course, there is a tremendously talented Jeffery Xiong who is still improving.

Another example of the “youth movement” saw India’s Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa beat Gabriel Sarggissian in both classical games. Nihal Sarin, also of India, eliminated Sanan Sjugirov with the decisive game being an impressive attack.

In another set of tiebreaks going the distance, Georgian-born Spanish player Ana Matnadze lost a gripping battle with Belarussian player Olga Badelka. The emotions spilled out at the conclusion with Matnadze losing on time. Here are some photos to capture the final moments. Wow!

?????????? – ???????????? ????? ?????? ?? ?????????? ????. ?? ????? ??? ????? ????????? ? ????????? #FIDEWorldCup pic.twitter.com/g65yAbbYYV

— Chess-News.ru ??????? ??? ??????? (@Chess__News) July 17, 2021

Ana Matnadze (Spain) in the last seconds of Armageddon
against Olga Badelka (Belarus)

Matnadze get some consolation from
International Arbiter Stephen Kisuze (Uganda)
Photos by Eric Rosen

Interview with Ana Matnadze
(In Spanish)

Video by FIDE Chess

In other long tiebreakers, Pia Cramling beat Monika Socko 3½-2½, while Germany’s Elisabeth Paehtz had to go to blitz to beat Nurgyul Salimova of Hungary 4½-3½.

Critical Links: official site, YouTube, Twitter #FIDEWorldCup2021, Results

There were some viewers who were clamoring for Bassem Amin’s game. While it may go unnoticed to most, Amin is an iconic figure in African and Egyptian chess. The only player from the continent having surpassed the 2700 mark, he is in the top 100 in the world. However, his games are hardly shown in the broadcasts. Perhaps as he advances more attention will be given to his games. His battle with Etienne Bacrot started off without fireworks, but fizzled into an equal ending. Tomorrow he will try to press with the white pieces.

One would think that as we advanced in the tournament, there would be more drawn games, but 19 of the 32 matches started with decisive games. Fifteen-year old Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa beat Michal Krasenkow and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov was upset by 21-year old Armenian Haik Martirosyan as we continue the theme of the “youth movement.”

GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan)
Photo by IM Eric Rosen

Speaking of the youth movement, it has been noted that Uzbekistan will be a definite force in the future with a young core Javokhir Sindarov (15), Nodirbek Abdusattorov (16), Shamsiddin Vokhidov (19), and Jahongir Vakhidov (26). Only Vokhidov has been eliminated. Uzbekistan certainly received motivation from the legacy of FIDE champion, Rustam Kasindzhanov and trainer, Rashid Ziatdinov. The future is bright.

Vakhidov totally crushed his Russian opponent Pavel Ponkratov when resignation could’ve happened 20 moves earlier.

There was an instructive name featuring yet another young Indian star, Nihal Sarin. He was playing the dangerous Dmitri Andreikin and got a lesson in how to play positional chess after starting with 1.b3 b6 2.e4 Bb7 3.Nc3. The rarely seen Owens Defense produced a very interesting result. In the final position, you will see the classic good/bad bishop battle.

The story of the round may be Carissa Yip’s performance. In her seven games thus far she has won six games! She continued her good form beating the rating favorite Nana Dzagnidze in a highly complicated game. Take a look.

Carissa Yip (USA)
Photo by IM Eric Rosen

Alexandra Kosteniuk is playing a game against Pia Cramling. It is always interesting to see the clash against the generations. Sweden’s Cramling has been on the professional scene for decades and is still playing at a high level. In their game the Kosteniuk was able to saddle Cramling with a cramped position and this advantage the entire game. In the final position, Cramling had no moves. Regardless of the outcome of the match, Cramling continues to inspire.

GM Pia Cramling (Sweden)
Photo by Anastasia Korolkova

Critical Links: official site, YouTube, Twitter #FIDEWorldCup2021, Results

Fabiano Caruana (2820), Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2770), Anish Giri (2780), Evgeny Tomashevsky (2706), Yangyi Yu (2705), Bassem Amin (2703) and Jorden Van Foreest (2701) were bounced out of the World Cup in Round 3. The random nature of the World Cup and unpredictability is what makes it exciting to follow. Out of the 13 tiebreaks, only one went to Armageddon.

Bassem Amin of Egypt was the lone African representative left in the field and he would face a seasoned veteran. Etienne Bacrot was once deemed a French child prodigy and one who was pegged to challenge Garry Kasparov’s reign. While he entered the 2700 ranks in 2004 and got to as high as 7th in the world, he never contested for the World Championship. He remains an active member of the national team.

Bassem Amin in gripping battle against Etienne Bacrot
Photo by IM Eric Rosen

In the first game after 1.e4 c5, Amin trotted out with 3.g3!? and essayed his King’s Indian Attack setup. Some commentators noted Amin’s style and remarked that it is a bit too predictable. Bacrot sacrificed the exchange to secure the light squares around the white king, but it didn’t appear to be enough compensation.

After 33.Bc5 (threatening Bf8!), white was completely winning. After 33…Kh8, Amin could still play Bf8, but opted for a less concrete route. However, Bacrot started drumming up counterplay, and Amin was forced to return the exchange and the game petered out after the Egyptian missed his winning chances.

Amin realizing that the win slipped away.
Photo by IM Eric Rosen

In the second game, Amin had the black pieces and played a Grunfeld with the bishop on f5. This is curious because the latest Benko Gambit theory also has the bishop going to f5 instead of Bxa6. Black fianchetto systems are always evolving. Amin sacrificed the e7-pawn to establish counterplay.

At first glance, black’s piece play was impressive. However, in the complications, Amin attempted piece sacrifice in exchange for two connected pawns on the queenside. White ended up with N+N+B against R+B and there was simply no match… the knights trampled black’s position and the king ended up being in a mating net.

So the last African player would be eliminated, but the new format certainly gave the continent a great opportunity to play strong competition. The experience and the scene at Sochi will inspire for years to come. Bassem Amin is Africa’s top player and his advancement to the third round is a historic building block for African players. There is no way to know where the next generational talent may come from, but it could very well be Africa!

The tournament ended in disappointment, but he inspired an entire continent.
Photo by Anastasiia Korolkova

Some of the big names who were sent home after the tiebreaks were Anish Giri who lost both rapid games to Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Giri was totally outclassed in both of the games and it makes one wonder when the young stars from Central Asia will take the place of some of the players at the top.

The current professional circuit essentially has the same players playing each other in the tournament after tournament and it does not provide for practice against up and coming players. Fortunately, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave went through against the promising talent David Paravyan, but it took an Armageddon game to clinch the match. Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa won both rapid games against Michal Krasenkow. Both Vidit Santosh and Adhiban Baskaran of India faced off in the tiebreaks in a thrilling match. Instead of trying to describe it, Vidit gives his impressions.

One player who has begun to catch the eye of fans is Iran’s Pouya Idani. He has beaten two strong Grandmasters and will face Jan-Krzysztof Duda. He toppled Evgeny Tomashevsky who blundered a pawn on move 12. Some of the commentators mentioned fatigue as being a factor. There will be 16 matches starting tomorrow and there will be some very interesting matchups.

Video by FIDE Chess

There were only four tie-break games in the women’s section and half of the players were under 20. Carissa Yip was unable to find her rhythm in the rapid and her more experienced opponent, Nana Dzagnidze. In the first rapid she played a rather dubious opening with 6.f4 (against the Caro-Kann) and later missed a tactical shot with 16…Bxc2! White’s pieces seemed misplaced and there were simply too many weaknesses. Yip dropped another pawn and then another. She resigned before being mated.

In the second game, she tried an ambitious pawn storm, but that effort was thwarted. To avoid a three-fold repetition, she had to sacrifice the exchange, but there was no hope in this game. She was already two pawns down when she lost a piece. Dzagnidze returned the piece to simplify and started pushing her passed pawns to glory. There were no drawing tricks and the 14-year old American ended her run in Sochi with a hard-fought match. Dzagnidze was gracious in the interview comparing Yip’s style to Valentina Guinina.

The longest tiebreak match was between the two Ukrainians Mariya Muzychuk and Anna Ushenina, two former world champions. Ushenina blundered in a drawn rook ending in the first but won the second game convincingly with checkmate on the board.

Ushenina won the first 10+10 game to be countered by Muzychuk win in a wild game. In the first 5+5 game, Muzychuk took advantage of Ushenina’s poor handling of the Sicilian and was completely winning after 20 moves. In the last blitz game, Muzychuk equalized despite Ushenina’s attempt to complicate the game. Both Muzychuks (Anna & Mariya) will advance to the round of 16. They are also in different brackets, so it is possible for them to meet in the final!

Critical Links: official site, YouTube, Twitter #FIDEWorldCup2021, Results

2021 World Chess Cup July 12th-August 6th, 2021 (Sochi, Russia) MATCH PAIRINGS (ROUND 4)
Bracket 1
1	Carlsen, Magnus		NOR	1-1	Wojtaszek, Radoslaw		POL
2	Dubov, Daniil		RUS	1-1	Esipenko, Andrey		RUS
3	Ponkratov, Pavel		RUS	1-1	Bacrot, Etienne		FRA
4	Piorun, Kacper		CHN	1½-½	Sindarov, Javokhir		USA
Bracket 2
5	Grischuk, Alexander		RUS	1-1	Korobov, Anton		UKR
6	Idani, Pouya		IRI	½-1½	Duda, Jan-Krzysztof		CHN
7	Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi		IND	2-0	Xiong, Jeffery		IND
8	Durarbayli, Vasif		AZE	1-1	Abdusattorov, Nodirbek		UZB
Bracket 3
9	Kovalev, Vladislav		FID	0-2	Fedoseev, Vladimir		RUS
10	Ivic, Velimir		RUS	1-1	Andreikin, Dmitry		RUS
11	Harikrishna, Pentala		IND	½-1½	Tabatabaei, Amin		IRI
12	Brkic, Ante		CRO	½-1½	Martirosyan, Haik		ARM
Bracket 4
13	Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime		AZE	1½-½	Praggnanandhaa, Rameshbabu		AZE
14	Artemiev, Vladislav		RUS	1-1	Karjakin, Sergey		RUS
15	Vitiugov, Nikita		RUS	1-1	Svidler, Peter		RUS
16	Shankland, Sam		USA	1½-½	Jumabayev, Rinat		KAZ
Official Brackets

The run of Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa has ended, but at only 15 years old, he will certainly be a force in the future. Photo by IM Eric Rosen

While many of the top seeds have already been sent home, others have advanced. Magnus Carlsen is not yet in that number. The World Champion had a strong attack and it seemed that he was ready to punch his ticket for the next round. However, he lost the thread, botched the attack and had to cede a draw.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (MVL) outclassed Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa in a short battle where the young phenom completely mishandled the Sicilian. After 24…Nd5 Pragg went for counterplay, but may have overlooked MVL sacrificing the queen. It was an amazing piece of ingenuity that only the very top players would envision. After the young Indian tried some desperate probes with the queen, the powerful d-pawn marched up the board to glory. Praggnanandhaa would have to resign the game and the match.

One surprise of the round would be Amin Tabatabaei’s vanquishing Pentala Harikrishna. On ChessBase India, there was a hope that Harikrishna would be able to convert the extra pawn in the ending, but it would not come to pass. This left only one Indian remaining after Vidit Santosh won again against American hopeful Jeffery Xiong. The American tried to break in on the queenside, but white was able to break through first with a snappy 43.Rxe5+!

2021 World Chess Cup July 12th-August 6th, 2021 (Sochi, Russia) MATCH PAIRINGS (ROUND 4)
Bracket 1
1	Goryachkina, Aleksandra		RUS	1-1	Stefanova, Antoaneta		BUL
2	Kashlinskaya, Alina		RUS	1-1	Saduakassova, Dinara		KAZ
3	Dzagnidze, Nana		GEO	1-1	Shuvalova, Polina		RUS
4	Paehtz, Elisabeth		GER	½-1½	Muzychuk, Anna		UKR
Bracket 2
5	Muzychuk, Mariya		UKR	½-1½	Kosteniuk, Alexandra		RUS
6	Batsiashvili, Nino		GEO	½-1½	Gunina, Valentina		RUS
7	Tan, Zhongyi		CHN	1½-½	Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat		IRI
8	Assaubayeva, Bibisara		KAZ	1-1	Lagno, Kateryna		RUS
Official Brackets

??Goryachkina leads her match against ??Stefanova after her win in the first game of the tiebreaks. #FIDEWorldCup pic.twitter.com/FsMO8gFvdH

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) July 24, 2021

In the women’s competition, Aleksandra Goryachkina leveled the score with a convincing win and moved into the tiebreaks. There are four tiebreaks (below) including a couple of unheralded players such as 17-year old Bibisara Assaubayeva. Her compatriot Dinara Saduakassova is also in the tiebreaks. No one is surprised that Alexandra Kosteniuk, Anna Muzychuk, Valentina Guinina, and Tan Zhongyi already advanced to the fifth round.

Open:
??Wojtaszek 2687 – ??Carlsen 2847
??Dubov 2714 – ??Esipenko 2716
??Ponkratov 2627 – ??Bacrot 2678
??Grischuk 2776 -??Korobov 2683
??Abdusattorov 2634 – ??Durarbayli 2606
??Andreikin 2724 – ??Ivic 2581
??Artemiev 2704 – ??Karjakin 2757
??Svidler 2714 – ??Vitiugov 2724

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) July 23, 2021

Critical Links: official site, YouTube, Twitter #FIDEWorldCup2021, Results

2021 World Chess Cup July 12th-August 6th, 2021 (Sochi, Russia) MATCH PAIRINGS (ROUND 5)
Bracket 1
1	Carlsen, Magnus		NOR	½-½	Esipenko, Andrey		RUS
2	Bacrot, Etienne		FRA	½-½	Piorun, Kacper		POL
Bracket 2
3	Grischuk, Alexander		RUS	½-½	Duda, Jan-Krzysztof		POL
4	Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi		IND	½-½	Durarbayli, Vasif		AZE
Bracket 3
5	Fedoseev, Vladimir		RUS	½-½	Ivic, Velimir		RUS
6	Tabatabaei, Amin		IRI	0-1	Martirosyan, Haik		ARM
Bracket 4
7	Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime		AZE	½-½	Karjakin, Sergey		RUS
8	Svidler, Peter		RUS	½-½	Shankland, Sam		USA
Official Brackets

As players get to the latter rounds, there is more caution and as a result, an increase in draws. There was only one decisive game in each section with Armenia’s Haik Martirosyan winning over Amin Tabatabaei and Alexandra Kosteniuk’s win over top-seed Aleksandra Gorayachkina.

Kosteniuk, Martirosyan Only Winners On Peaceful Day At FIDE World Cup

Only two decisive games at the #FIDEWorldCup on Sunday:
Haik Martirosyan defeated Amin Tabatabaei and @chessqueen beat Valentina Gunina. The tension is growing!https://t.co/E0lNRZEUkh

— ChesscomNews (@ChesscomNews) July 26, 2021

Tension is building in Sochi!
GM Samuel Shankland (USA)
Photo by IM Eric Rosen

2021 World Chess Cup July 12th-August 6th, 2021 (Sochi, Russia) MATCH PAIRINGS (ROUND 5)
Bracket 1
1	Goryachkina, Aleksandra		RUS	½-½	Saduakassova, Dinara		KAZ
2	Dzagnidze, Nana		GEO	½-½	Muzychuk, Anna		UKR
Bracket 2
3	Kosteniuk, Alexandra		RUS	1-0	Gunina, Valentina		RUS
4	Tan, Zhongyi		CHN	½-½	Lagno, Kateryna		RUS
Official Brackets

GM Alexandra Kosteniuk (Russia)
Photo by Anastasiia Korolkova

Critical Links: official site, YouTube, Twitter #FIDEWorldCup2021, Results

2021 World Chess Cup July 12th-August 6th, 2021 (Sochi, Russia) MATCH PAIRINGS (ROUND 5)
Bracket 1
1	Carlsen, Magnus		NOR	5-3	Esipenko, Andrey		RUS
2	Bacrot, Etienne		FRA	4-2	Piorun, Kacper		POL
Bracket 2
3	Grischuk, Alexander		RUS	1½-2½	Duda, Jan-Krzysztof		POL
4	Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi		IND	1½-½	Durarbayli, Vasif		AZE
Bracket 3
5	Fedoseev, Vladimir		RUS	3-1	Ivic, Velimir		RUS
6	Tabatabaei, Amin		IRI	2½-1½	Martirosyan, Haik		ARM
Bracket 4
7	Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime		AZE	2½-3½	Karjakin, Sergey		RUS
8	Svidler, Peter		RUS	½-1½	Shankland, Sam		USA
Official Brackets

These are the Quarterfinal Matches:
??Carlsen – ??Bacrot
??Duda – ??Vidit
??Fedoseev – ??Tabatabaei
??Karjakin – ??Shankland#FIDEWorldCup pic.twitter.com/LygVWLcE8U

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) July 27, 2021

There were six tiebreakers in the open section with thrilling plots. Magnus Carlsen was in a gripping battle with 18-year old Andrey Esipenko who received praise for battling the World Champion in both classical, rapid and 10+10 blitz. Some touted the young Russian as a future contender, but the same has been said about Dmitri Andreikin and Vladislav Artemiev. It took the best effort for Carlsen to advance, but he will face Etienne Bacrot tomorrow.

Bacrot outclassed Poland’s Kacper Piorun, trading wins in the rapid and winning both blitz encounters. Bacrot staved off elimination winning with the Modern Defense, a rare occurrence at Grandmaster level. Piorun actually tried the Modern Defense in an attempt to equalize in the blitz portion. Canadian Grandmaster Duncan Suttles would be proud!

Alexander Grischuk bowed out of the World Cup after a loss to Jan-Krzysztof Duda of Poland. This reduces the number of Russians left to two after three were eliminated (Grischuk, Esipenko and Peter Svidler) this round. In the decisive game, Duda slowly aimed his white pieces at the opposing king.

It appeared that black was solid and after 41.g5?! black could have seized the initiative. Time pressure became a factor. Grischuk blundered after 59…Ke6?? (59…Kf8! holds) when 60.f7 Ke7 61.e6 followed by the king invasion. Such a wild game! Duda talks about the nervous nature of the game.

2021 World Chess Cup July 12th-August 6th, 2021 (Sochi, Russia) MATCH PAIRINGS (ROUND 5)
Bracket 1
1	Goryachkina, Aleksandra		RUS	1½-½	Saduakassova, Dinara		KAZ
2	Dzagnidze, Nana		GEO	1-3	Muzychuk, Anna		UKR
Bracket 2
3	Kosteniuk, Alexandra		RUS	2-0	Gunina, Valentina		RUS
4	Tan, Zhongyi		CHN	1½-½	Lagno, Kateryna		RUS
Official Brackets

In the only tiebreak for the women, Anna Muzychuk is still on track to join her sister as the FIDE World Cup champion after ousting Nana Dzagnidze. In the final game, the game transformed from a Najdorf and then to a “Dragdorf” with 7…g6. The Georgian was mixing systems to trick the opponent but may have succeeded only in tricking herself. Muzychuk got a blistering attack. After nearly botching the attack, she finished the game with a sharp tactic. The second game saw Dzagnidze improvising in order to equalize, but she simply had no chances to push the match any longer. Muzychuk gave her thoughts on the match.

Critical Links: official site, YouTube, Twitter #FIDEWorldCup2021, Results

2021 World Chess Cup July 12th-August 6th, 2021 (Sochi, Russia) MATCH PAIRINGS (ROUND 6)
1	Carlsen, Magnus		NOR	2-0	Bacrot, Etienne		FRA
2	Duda, Jan-Krzysztof		POL	1½-½	Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi		IND
3	Fedoseev, Vladimir		RUS	1½-½	Tabatabaei, Amin		IRI
4	Karjakin, Sergey		RUS	1-1	Shankland, Sam		USA
Official Brackets

Sergey Karjakin may be known as the “Minister of Defense,” but with his back against the wall, he lashed out against Sam Shankland to even the score. The must-win situation featured a thrilling end leading to mate on the board. The game started as a French Defence with Karjakin opting for the King’s Indian Attack. This game typically features white building up a slow attack on the kingside and black blasting through on the queenside. The idea for black is to undermine the center by attacking on the wings. This game followed that script.

Karjakin made his intentions known after 16.g4 leading to a bit of apprehension for Shankland after 16…Qd8?! After playing more defensive moves, Karjakin belted out 22.g5! and the attack was already strong. Black not realizing the danger played 26…a3 and Karjakin played the scintillating. 27.Rxg7+! GM Nigel Short and IM Almira Skripchenko had analyzed this possibility beforehand and Karjakin obliged. After 27…Kxg7 28.Ng4! f5 29.exf6+ Qxf6 30.Nxf6 axb2, the game ended sportingly with 31.Qg5+ Kf7 32.h6! Ng6 and the final blow 33.Nh4. Mate on the board followed after 33…bxa1(Q) 34.Qxg6+ Ke7 35.Qg7+ Kd6 36.Qd7 mate. Great comeback win for the Russian.

Magnus Carlsen wrapped up his match with a smooth win over Etienne Bacrot, who ended a nice run. The other two games were very interesting with Duda-Vidit being a tactical slugfest. Vidit began a sequence from move 16-24 giving up a piece for three pawns. Duda ended up sacrificing his knight for one of the pawns in order to advance his. The race was on, and while both players got a new queen. Duda had the first chance to deliver the crushing blow and ended up delivering mate before Vidit could use his new queen.

One of the most thrilling games was Fedoseev-Tatatabaei. The game appeared headed for a draw when the Iranian fell for a tactic losing a piece. After 77…Rb3+ 78.Be5+! a very animated expression occurred.

Tabatabaei’s rook capture on move 77 was a serious mistake, giving Fedoseev the ticket to the Semifinals of the #FIDEWorldCup. Their reactions at the critical moment: pic.twitter.com/BydC8LHPKw

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) July 29, 2021

So what happened? After 78.Be5+! 78…Kc6 79.Ra6+ black resigned in lieu of 79…Kd7 80.Rxe6 winning. If 80…Kxe6 81.f5+ winning the rook and netting a piece.

2021 World Chess Cup July 12th-August 6th, 2021 (Sochi, Russia) MATCH PAIRINGS (ROUND 6)
1	Goryachkina, Aleksandra		RUS	½-½	Muzychuk, Anna		UKR
2	Kosteniuk, Alexandra		RUS	½-½	Tan, Zhongyi		CHN
Official Brackets

FIDE Women's World Cup 2021 SF1: Goryachkina escapes the grasp of Anna Muzychuk

Goryachkina was in grave danger, but it was not easy for her opponent to convert

SF1 results
Anna Muzychuk – Goryachkina: 0.5-0.5
Zhongyi – Kosteniuk: 0.5-0.5

?Eric Rosen and Anastasiia Korolkova pic.twitter.com/uyBKMTaOJH

— ChessBase India (@ChessbaseIndia) July 29, 2021

Critical Links: official site, YouTube, Twitter #FIDEWorldCup2021, Results

2021 World Chess Cup July 12th-August 6th, 2021 (Sochi, Russia) MATCH PAIRINGS (ROUND 6)
1	Carlsen, Magnus		NOR	1-0	Bacrot, Etienne		FRA
2	Duda, Jan-Krzysztof		POL	½-½	Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi		IND
3	Fedoseev, Vladimir		RUS	½-½	Tabatabaei, Amin		IRI
4	Karjakin, Sergey		RUS	0-1	Shankland, Sam		USA
Official Brackets

The story of the round was Samuel Shankland’s dismantling of the former championship candidate Sergey Karjakin. The Russian recently had his record broken for youngest Grandmaster in history and now is on the precipice of being eliminated from the FIDE World Cup. The loss he received at the hands of the American makes one wonder if his time has passed. The “Minister of Defense” had no such success in today’s battle against Shankland.

Sam Shankland won the first game of his match against Sergey Karjakin. Sergey’s 38…f5 gave Sam a protected passed pawn and a stable positional advantage, which Sam converted energetically to a winning pawn ending.#FIDEWorldCup pic.twitter.com/stdOGJfdTM

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) July 28, 2021

This tournament is turning out to be a career performance for the 29-year old American. For those who may not be aware of his story, in analyzing the U.S. gold medal team, I wrote this about Shankland:

Back in 2010, he threatened to quit chess due to the poor opportunities for GM norms in the U.S. After some soul-searching he came back and in 2011, he created a stir by defeating Peter Leko in the first round of the 2011 World Cup. He won the Samford Fellowship in 2013 and continued measured improvement. At the 2014 Chess Olympiad in Tromso, Norway, he scored 9/10 and earned a gold medal on board four.

He also recently said that he is a “2700 with no talent.” If he has no talent, then it is quite an inspiration to hordes of untalented players out there. Seriously… when has an untalented player made such a deep run into the World Cup. In fact, if sheer hard work has been his recipe for success, then his effort was not wasted. He gives his thoughts!

While Shankland had an instructive game, Magnus Carlsen dished out his own lesson. In a Ruy Lopez the game had tension until Etienne Bacrot belted out the risky 24.f4. His king would not find safety thereafter. As mentioned, the uncorked a queen sacrifice to beat Bacrot in their first game.

Magnus Carlsen seized the initiative after the opening with a standard pawn sacrifice, increased the pressure and capped it with a nice positional queen sacrifice, leaving Bacrot unable to cope with the active black pieces and passed pawns. #FIDEWorldCup pic.twitter.com/FekdJnzpJF

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) July 28, 2021

Instead of clumsily explaining further, here is Carlsen during the press conference.

Both Vidit-Duda and Tabatabaei-Fedoseev were drawn. The only drama was this moment in post-mortem.

Sometimes the game is easier to understand than the post-mortem. pic.twitter.com/WDNJCDMBQW

— Olimpiu G. Urcan (@olimpiuurcan) July 28, 2021

2021 World Chess Cup July 12th-August 6th, 2021 (Sochi, Russia) MATCH PAIRINGS (ROUND 6)
1	Goryachkina, Aleksandra		RUS	–	Muzychuk, Anna		UKR
2	Kosteniuk, Alexandra		RUS	–	Tan, Zhongyi		CHN
Official Brackets

Critical Links: official site, YouTube, Twitter #FIDEWorldCup2021, Results

2021 World Chess Cup July 12th-August 6th, 2021 (Sochi, Russia) MATCH PAIRINGS (SEMIFINALS)
1	Carlsen, Magnus		NOR	½-½	Duda, Jan-Krzysztof		POL
2	Fedoseev, Vladimir		RUS	½-½	Karjakin, Sergey		RUS
Official Brackets

Magnus Carlsen is looking to get to the final despite having no need to claim a Candidates spot. Jan-Krzysztof Duda is seeking a breakthrough result and has played inspired chess thus far. The first game was a bit tense, but neither side ever got enough pull on the position before the ensuing rook ending was drawn.

The other semifinal game was a Russian derby with Vladimir Fedoseev playing white against Sergey Karjakin. This game was almost perfectly played with the evaluation showing equality throughout the 69 moves. It doesn’t mean the game was dull as there were many twists and turns in the rook ending. In fact, Fedoseev thought that these endings can sometimes be won.

2021 World Chess Cup July 12th-August 6th, 2021 (Sochi, Russia) MATCH PAIRINGS (SEMIFINALS)
1	Goryachkina, Aleksandra		RUS	0-1	Kosteniuk, Alexandra		RUS
Official Brackets

Modern digital cameras are simply amazing. With anything above 24mpx, you get an astonishing level of detail. ? #FIDEWorldCup #nikond850 #Fullframe pic.twitter.com/r0S2qIUG3p

— David Llada ? (@davidllada) August 1, 2021

An intergenerational battle occurred today when top-seed Aleksandra Goryachkina faced former world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk in the finals of the Women’s World Cup. The game ended in a textbook fashion but began in the ever-popular Catalan with Goryachkin’s white pieces getting an early advantage in space. Kosteniuk sacrificed a pawn in the middlegame for the two bishops and a passed c-pawn.

A skirmish ensued when Goryachkina sacrificed a pawn for a kingside attack. Kosteniuk remained unflappable as she allowed a discovered attack on her king realizing that her king was adequately sheltered after 40…Kg6. When the smoke cleared, it was white whose king was dangerously exposed. However, black was unable to find the most accurate moves and the game went into a tricky ending.

With the game heading for a draw, Goryachkina found herself on the bad side of a rook versus bishop ending. The ending is drawn in many positions, but the white king was already in a bad position. Battling nerves and fatigue, Kosteniuk was able to find the winning formation. She gave her impressions of the game.

In the third-place battle, Tan Zhongyi and Anna Muzychuk played a complicated game, but ended with a perpetual check. Interestingly enough, the game mirrored the Fedoseev-Karjakin game for the first 12 moves when Tan Zhongyi opted for 13.Bxf6 instead of Fedoseev’s 13.Nb5. Tan’s attempt seemed to release to the tension too early.

Critical Links: official site, YouTube, Twitter #FIDEWorldCup2021, Results

2021 World Chess Cup July 12th-August 6th, 2021 (Sochi, Russia) MATCH PAIRINGS (SEMIFINALS)
1	Carlsen, Magnus		NOR	1-1	Duda, Jan-Krzysztof		POL
2	Fedoseev, Vladimir		RUS	½-1½	Karjakin, Sergey		RUS
Official Brackets

Alexandra Kosteniuk is the winner of the Women's #FIDEWorldCup! pic.twitter.com/7cKK3HGEoU

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) August 2, 2021

This was a great day for host Russia as Alexandra Kosteniuk won the World Cup after defeating compatriot Aleksandra Goryachkina in an inspiring way. Kosteniuk won the world championship in 2008 and will advance to the Candidates tournament for the right to play Ju Wenjun, the current world champion. Sergey Karjakin stated in the post-match interview that he wanted the right to play Magnus Carlsen, either in the World Cup final or in a World Championship rematch. To two faced each other in 2017 with Carlsen winning in tiebreaks.

They went into the Zaitsev variation and Karjakin mentioned that he played a game in a similar line during a blitz game when he was 11. The opponent… Gata Kamsky. He mentioned that he won the game quickly. This wasn’t a quick when, but impressive. Karjakin’s 24.e6! was bone in the throat of Fedoseev as the e5-square would allow both the knight (f3) and bishop (f4) access to the dark squares. Karjakin plonked the knight on e5 and then g6. Feeling the position slip away, Fedoseev tried the speculative 27…Nxf2!? The reason was to upset the flow of white’s attack. It didn’t work and soon white had steamrolling pawns going up the board. Black had seen enough.

It's over and Sergey Karjakin is in the #FIDEWorldCup final, where he'll play either Magnus Carlsen or Jan-Krzysztof Duda! https://t.co/dsk4MveLXd #c24live pic.twitter.com/ptGp6F1xmh

— chess24.com (@chess24com) August 2, 2021

2021 World Chess Cup July 12th-August 6th, 2021 (Sochi, Russia) MATCH PAIRINGS (ROUND 6)
1	Goryachkina, Aleksandra		RUS	½-1½	Kosteniuk, Alexandra		RUS
Official Brackets

Kosteniuk wins the World Cup! Now 37 years old, Alexandra Kosteniuk is taking another shot at the world crown. It’s been twelve years since she became the world champion and many thought players such as Aleksandra Goryachkina, Valentina Guinina and Olga Girya where the new challengers. Kateryna Lagno immigrated from Ukraine to Russia to add more competition. Nevertheless, she outlasted them all and qualified for the Candidates tournament. She lost a championship match to Zhu Chen 20 years ago and now is a possible challenger to Ju Wenjun.

In the second game of the match, Goryachkina trotted out the French Defense which is a sign that she wanted an unbalanced game. After 11…gxf6, the strategy seemed to be a poor winning attempt as Goryachkina offered trading several pieces and even a queen trade. In her desperation, the younger Aleksandra ended up with a losing position, but Alexandra gracefully offered a draw.

In the third-place battle, Tan Zhongyi and Anna Muzychuk played a Petroff, with white playing 10.Nh4!? Commentators were saying that this was a novelty. There was a lot of probing with the white minor pieces, but it seemed like a waste of time and black ended up with the upper hand. Tan missed her chance with 39…cxb4! creating an entry route for the black king to invade the queenside. After 39…c4 the position was closed and white had fewer weaknesses to deal with. The game petered to a draw.

Critical Links: official site, YouTube, Twitter #FIDEWorldCup2021, Results

2021 World Chess Cup July 12th-August 6th, 2021 (Sochi, Russia) MATCH PAIRINGS (SEMIFINALS)
1	Carlsen, Magnus		NOR	1½-2½	Duda, Jan-Krzysztof		POL
2	Fedoseev, Vladimir		RUS	½-1½	Karjakin, Sergey		RUS
Official Brackets

Magnus Carlsen came into this tournament looking for his first World Cup victory. he will have to wait a little longer. It is clear from this World Cup that the new generation has made a statement. The World Champion had this to say…

Unforgiving indeed. Huge congrats to @GM_JKDuda and @SergeyKaryakin for making the finals and candidates! Losing today certainly hurts, but I am nevertheless happy with my progress in the tournament, and also getting great practice for later this year https://t.co/MnMB9b58Ej

— Magnus Carlsen (@MagnusCarlsen) August 3, 2021

Maybe everyone was expecting Carlsen to waltz through the field. Even during the commentary, bias crept in when there was talk about him holding a completely lost position. There just had to be a way, right? Unfortunately, Carlsen faltered badly in this game. The situation was worsened by time pressure. Both players can be seen with less than half a minute on the clock.

This position is instructive. White has just played 62.Bc1?? when 62.Bd4 was still equal. After Carlsen’s blunder, Duda used zugzwang maneuvers as the white bishop was tied to the defense of his own pawns. Finally, Duda had to deploy his king into the battle. Carlsen could no longer defend both the kingside pawns, nor stop the black king from invading. While commentators were unsure, the position was already -6. Duda was on his way, and Carlsen would crash out.

This has to be the biggest win of Duda’s career, breaking Carlsen’s 125-game winning streak. A qualification to the Candidate’s tournament and a chance to play on the biggest stage. This win will also carry psychological weight, knowing that he can defeat the world champion in a match.

Marcus Carlsen saw his tournament come to an end.
Photos by David Llada

It certainly is a game-changer with the rise of a new generation of players seen during this tournament. In the following interview, he talks about his win, but there was no talk about the impact of this win on his career and his ideas about the Candidates tournament. Certainly, it is an exciting time for the Polish player, and he will go on to face an experienced match player in Karjakin.

Congratulations to the medalists of the Women's #FIDEWorldCup! From left to right: Aleksandra Goryachkina (runner-up), Alexandra Kosteniuk (winner) and Tan Zhongyi (3rd place). pic.twitter.com/KojdXx2ky8

— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) August 3, 2021

For the third-place bronze medal, Tan Zhongyi took advantage of erratic play by Anna Muzychuk, who seemed to be completely out of sorts in the tiebreaks. Her play was exceedingly reckless in the first game. She tried a very crude attack on the black king, sacrificing several pawns but getting zero compensation. The black king was well-protected behind three passed pawns and Muzychuk had to resign.

In the second game, Muzychuk played the Albin Countergambit with 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5!? 3.dxe5 Ne7?! but almost immediately made a mistake. Her 6…b5 was a serious positional mistake, and Tan later exploited it with the snappy 12.Qxa7! With black completely winning and only needing a draw to clinch the match, the Chinese player allowed a three-fold repetition.

Critical Links: official site, YouTube, Twitter #FIDEWorldCup2021, Results