Eight Tie for First in Reykjavik

It was a bit of a dog-pile at yesterday’s conclusion of the 2019 Reykjavik Open. Eight players – GMs Alireza Firouzja, Nils Grandelius, Abhijeet Gupta, Gawain Jones, Constantin Lupulescu, Mircea-Emilian Parligras, Tigran L. Petrosian, and Aryan Tari – finished in a tie for first place at 7/9, with Lupulescu having the best tiebreaks. Another nine players, including American GM Andrew Tang, finished a half-point back at 6.5/9. Lupulescu appeared to be running away with the event after the seventh round, when he won this sparkling game against the Iranian phenom Firouzja.

[pgn] [Event "Reykjavik Open"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.04.14"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Lupulescu, Constantin"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "2669"] [BlackElo "2634"] [Annotator "Hartmann,John"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] {Notes based on Lupulescu's post-game interview and a survey of the variation in NIC 129.} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Qd2 O-O 9. dxc5 Qa5 $5 {Lupulescu described this as a "tricky" move, waiting for White to castle before playing ...b6.} 10. O-O-O b6 11. Bb5 (11. cxb6 axb6 {gives Black serious compensation.}) 11... Nb4 (11... Bb7 12. Kb1 Kh8 13. cxb6 {is another idea discussed in NIC 129. Black can continue with} axb6 $5 (13... Nxb6 14. Qe2 (14. f5 $5)) (13... Bb4 14. Bxc6 Bxc6 15. bxa7)) 12. a3 bxc5 13. Bxd7 (13. Kb1 {was preferable, when Black plays} a6 ({or} 13... Rb8)) (13. f5 Na2+ 14. Nxa2 Qxb5 {0-1 (46) Ponkratov,P (2622)-Volkov,S (2580) Yaroslavl 2018}) 13... Bxd7 14. axb4 cxb4 15. Nb1 Rfc8 16. Nd4 (16. f5 { fails to} Ba4 $1 17. Nd4 Rxc2+ 18. Nxc2 Rc8) (16. Rhf1) (16. Qf2) 16... Qa2 { Still in book!} (16... Qa1 $5) (16... Rc7) 17. f5 (17. Qd3 a5 18. Kd2 (18. b3 Rc3 $1 19. Nxc3 bxc3 20. Qxc3 Bb4 $1) (18. f5 a4 $1 {0-1 (27) Wang,J (2354) -Santiago,Y (2473) Hanoi 2018}) 18... Qxb2 19. Ke2 a4 20. Nd2 Rc3 {and now White has the amusing} 21. Rb1 Qa3 22. Ra1 $11) 17... exf5 (17... Ba4 18. Qd3 { and Lupulescu had trouble assessing the position. Stockfish gives Black a serious advantage.}) (17... Bc5) 18. Rhf1 (18. Qf2 a5 $1 (18... g6 $2 19. g4 $1 {1-0 (32) Mamedov,N (2596)-Tratar,M (2456) Antalya 2017})) 18... a5 $1 19. Nxf5 ({Worse is} 19. Qf2 a4 20. Nxf5 Bxf5 21. Qxf5 a3 22. Bd4 Qc4 (22... b3 $1) 23. Rf2 a2 24. Qxf7+ Kh8 25. Qxe7 a1=Q $2 (25... b3 $1) 26. e6 Rg8 27. Bxg7+ Rxg7 28. Rf8+ $11 {1/2-1/2 (33) Kryvoruchko,Y (2714)-Sychev,K (2459) Minsk 2017}) 19... Bxf5 (19... Bf8) 20. Rxf5 a4 21. Bd4 (21. Qxd5 Rxc2+ $1 22. Kxc2 Rc8+ 23. Bc5 (23. Nc3 Rxc3+ $1) 23... Rxc5+ 24. Qxc5 Bxc5 25. e6 Qb3+ 26. Kc1 Be3+ $19) 21... a3 22. e6 f6 (22... fxe6 23. Qe3 $13 (23. Rg5 $2 Rxc2+ $1)) 23. Qd3 b3 24. Rf2 (24. c3 $2 Qxb2#) 24... Ra4 (24... Qa1 $2 25. bxa3 Bxa3+ 26. Kd2 Rxc2+ 27. Ke1 $1 {and White defends.}) 25. c3 Rxd4 (25... Qa1 $2 26. bxa3) 26. Qxd4 Bc5 (26... Qa1 $2 27. bxa3) 27. Qd2 (27. Qxd5 Be3+ 28. Rdd2 axb2+ 29. Kd1 Qxb1+ 30. Ke2 h6 $1 {key move} 31. Kxe3 Qe1+ $19) 27... Bxf2 $6 (27... axb2+ $1 { wins on the spot with} 28. Qxb2 Bxf2) 28. Qxf2 Qa1 {with the idea of ...Rxc3 threats} 29. e7 $2 (29. Rxd5 $1 a2 30. Qf5 g6 {(to nudge the queen)} (30... Re8 $5) 31. Qd3 Re8 $13) 29... a2 $1 30. e8=Q+ (30. Qf5 Rxc3+ $1 31. bxc3 axb1=Q+ 32. Qxb1 Qxc3+ 33. Qc2 Qxc2#) 30... Rxe8 31. Qf5 d4 0-1 [/pgn]

But he was brought back down to earth in round eight, losing a fascinating game to England’s Gawain Jones. Jones will remember Reykjavik for more than his shared first place finish, as he broke the 2700 rating plateau for the first time with his performance.

[pgn] [Event "Reykjavik Open"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.04.15"] [White "Lupulescu, Constantin"] [Black "Jones, Gawain C B"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D85"] [WhiteElo "2634"] [BlackElo "2698"] [Annotator "Hartmann,John"] [PlyCount "168"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Nf3 c5 8. h3 O-O 9. Be3 Qa5 10. Bd2 e6 11. Be2 Qc7 12. Rc1 b6 13. h4 Bb7 14. e5 Nc6 15. h5 Rfd8 16. hxg6 hxg6 17. Rc2 cxd4 18. cxd4 Qe7 19. Bg5 Qb4+ 20. Kf1 Nxd4 $1 21. Bxd8 Nxc2 22. Bf6 Bxf3 23. gxf3 Qc3 24. Qc1 Bxf6 25. exf6 Qa1 26. Qxa1 Nxa1 $15 27. Rh4 Rc8 28. Rd4 Nc2 29. Rd7 Nb4 30. Rxa7 Nd5 31. Ke1 Nxf6 32. Ba6 Rc3 33. Bb7 Rc7 34. Ra8+ Kg7 35. Ba6 Nd5 36. Rb8 Rc1+ 37. Kd2 Rc3 38. Bb7 Rxf3 39. Ke1 Rf5 40. Bxd5 Re5+ {Presumably to get to time control. Else it makes little difference!} 41. Kf1 Rxd5 42. Rxb6 Ra5 $19 {It would be useful to play this out against a friend or weakish engine for training purposes. Black is absolutely winning, but it's not a piece of cake!} 43. Rb2 g5 44. Ke2 Ra3 45. Kd2 g4 46. Kc1 f5 47. Re2 Kf6 48. Kb2 Rh3 {A neat idea.} 49. a4 Rh2 50. Rc2 f4 51. a5 g3 52. a6 gxf2 53. a7 f1=Q 54. a8=Q Qb5+ 55. Ka1 Qe5+ 56. Kb1 Qe1+ 57. Kb2 Qb4+ 58. Kc1 Rxc2+ 59. Kxc2 Qc5+ 60. Kb2 Kf5 61. Qb7 Qe5+ 62. Kc1 Qe1+ 63. Kb2 Qd2+ 64. Kb1 Qd1+ 65. Kb2 Qe2+ 66. Kc1 Kg4 67. Qg7+ Kf3 68. Qh6 Qc4+ 69. Kd2 Qd5+ 70. Ke1 Qe5+ 71. Kd2 Kg2 72. Qg6+ Kf2 73. Qh6 f3 74. Qh4+ Qg3 75. Qd4+ Kg2 76. Qe4 Qg5+ 77. Kc3 Qf5 78. Qb7 Qe5+ 79. Kc2 Kg3 80. Qb3 Qe4+ 81. Kb2 Kg2 82. Qc3 f2 83. Qg7+ Kf3 84. Qf7+ Ke3 0-1 [/pgn]

While Lupulescu-Jones was being fought out on board one, a truly stupendous battle was unfolding on board two. Words can hardly describe the game between Abhijeet Gupta and Nils Grandelius, so without further ado, I present the game below. It's worth the price of admission.

[pgn] [Event "Reykjavik Open"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.04.15"] [White "Gupta, Abhijeet"] [Black "Grandelius, Nils"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D31"] [WhiteElo "2602"] [BlackElo "2687"] [Annotator "Hartmann,John"] [PlyCount "129"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 a6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nf3 h6 6. Qb3 Nf6 7. Bf4 Bd6 8. Bg3 Nc6 9. e3 Bf5 10. Be2 O-O 11. O-O Bxg3 12. hxg3 Qd6 13. Rac1 Rfe8 14. Na4 b6 15. Qa3 Nb4 16. Ne5 a5 17. Nc3 c5 18. g4 Bh7 19. Qa4 {[#]} {Now Grandelius kicks off some spectacular tactical fireworks.} Rxe5 $5 20. dxe5 Qxe5 {with the idea of ...Bd3} 21. Qb5 $2 (21. Rfd1 $1 c4 22. Rd4 {seems to shut down Black's fun.}) 21... Bd3 22. Bxd3 Nxg4 23. Rfe1 Qh2+ 24. Kf1 Qh1+ $2 (24... Qh4 $1 25. g3 (25. Nd1 Ne5 $1) 25... Qh2 26. Nd1 Ne5 $1 27. Bb1 c4 $1) 25. Ke2 Qxg2 26. Rf1 Ne5 27. Bb1 {White is hanging on, and as he's up a rook...} Qf3+ 28. Ke1 Qg4 {Black threatens ...Nf3 and also ...d5-d4, opening the center and hunting the king.} 29. f4 (29. Ne2 d4 30. Nxd4 cxd4 31. Qxe5 d3 32. f3 Qg2 33. Rf2 Qg1+ 34. Rf1 Qg2 35. Rf2 Qg1+ $11) 29... Qg3+ 30. Ke2 Qg4+ 31. Ke1 Qg3+ 32. Ke2 Ng4 (32... Qg4+ $11) 33. Rce1 c4 $6 (33... Qg2+ 34. Kd1 Qxb2 35. Qe2 Qxc3 36. Qxg4 {and I suspect White might be edging towards an advantage. Play might continue} d4 (36... Nd3 $5 37. Qf5 $1 (37. Bxd3 Qxd3+ 38. Kc1 Qc3+ $11) 37... Qc1+ 38. Ke2 Qb2+ 39. Kf3 Nxe1+ 40. Rxe1 Rd8 41. Qh7+ Kf8 42. Rg1) 37. Qf5 (37. Ke2 d3+ 38. Kf3 Rd8 (38... Re8 $6 39. Qd7 Re6 40. Rd1 {and White may be getting the better side of things?})) 37... g6 38. Qe4 Rd8 39. Ke2) (33... Nxe3 34. Rf3 Qh2+ 35. Rf2 (35. Kxe3 $4 d4+ $19) 35... Qg3 36. Rf3 Qg2+ $11) 34. Nd1 (34. Kd2 $1 {tries to run to safety on the queenside. Black has to bail out with} Nh2 (34... Rd8 $2 35. Kc1) 35. Nd1 Nxf1+ 36. Rxf1 Qh3 37. Re1) 34... Qg2+ (34... d4 35. Qxc4 Qg2+ 36. Nf2 Nxe3 {and White has to find} 37. Qb5 $8 Nxf1 38. Rxf1 Rd8 39. Kd2 {when everything's a mess!}) 35. Rf2 $2 (35. Nf2 Nd3 36. Bxd3 cxd3+ 37. Qxd3 Re8 $13) 35... Nxf2 36. Nxf2 d4 37. exd4 Nd5 $2 {Moving to the wrong square!} (37... Nc6 $1 {wins:} 38. Be4 (38. Qxc4 Re8+ $19) 38... Nxd4+ 39. Ke3 Qg3+ 40. Kxd4 Qxf2+ 41. Re3 Qd2+ $19) 38. Be4 Nxf4+ 39. Kd1 Qxf2 40. Bxa8 Qxd4+ 41. Kc2 Qf2+ 42. Kd1 Qd4+ 43. Kc1 Nd3+ 44. Kb1 Nxe1 45. Qe8+ Kh7 46. Be4+ g6 47. Qxf7+ Qg7 $6 (47... Kh8 48. Qe8+ Kg7 49. Qxg6+ Kf8 $11) 48. Qxc4 {Down two pawns, White is actually better because the knight is effectively trapped.} Qe7 49. Qc6 Qf7 50. Qc3 $2 (50. a4 {makes luft and keeps the knight penned in.}) 50... Qf1 {Now the discoveries force White to head for the draw.} 51. Qc7+ Kh8 52. Qe5+ Kh7 53. Qe7+ Kh8 54. Qe8+ Kg7 55. Qxg6+ Kf8 56. Qd6+ Kf7 57. Bd5+ Kg7 58. Qe5+ Kg6 59. Be4+ Kf7 60. Qc7+ Ke6 61. Qc6+ Ke7 62. Qc7+ Ke6 63. Qc6+ Ke7 64. Qb7+ Kf6 65. Qc6+ 1/2-1/2 [/pgn]

Three players – Jones, Lupulescu, and Mircea-Emilian Parligras – entered the final round with 6.5 points, while another 14 (!) trailed by just a half-point. Fellow countrymen Lupulescu and Parligras played a bloodless draw on the top board, opening the door for Jones to claim the event outright with a final-round win. His opponent, GM Erwin L’ami, had other ideas, and Jones had to fight tooth and nail just to hold the draw.

Jones-L'ami (photo Steil-Antoni)

[pgn] [Event "Reykjavik Open"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.04.16"] [White "Jones, Gawain C B"] [Black "L'Ami, Erwin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C54"] [WhiteElo "2698"] [BlackElo "2647"] [PlyCount "148"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O h6 6. c3 d6 7. Re1 O-O 8. Nbd2 a5 9. Nf1 Be6 10. Bb5 Bb6 11. Ng3 Ne7 12. d4 Ng6 13. h3 c6 14. Bd3 Re8 15. Be3 Qc7 16. Qc2 Rad8 17. Rad1 a4 18. c4 Ra8 19. Rc1 exd4 20. Nxd4 Bc5 21. Ngf5 Bxf5 22. Nxf5 Ne7 23. Bxc5 dxc5 24. Nh4 Nd7 25. Be2 g5 26. Nf5 Nxf5 27. exf5 Nf6 28. Bf1 Re5 29. Rcd1 Kg7 30. g3 a3 31. bxa3 Rxa3 32. Bg2 Qe7 33. Qb1 Rxe1+ 34. Rxe1 Qc7 35. Re2 Qd7 36. Kh2 Qd3 37. Qb2 Qxc4 38. Rc2 Qb4 39. Qe5 Qd4 40. Qe7 b6 41. Re2 Rd3 42. Qc7 Rd2 43. Re7 Qc4 44. Qxc6 Rxf2 45. Qe6 Qxe6 46. fxe6 Re2 47. Rxf7+ Kg6 48. Rb7 Rxe6 49. g4 Rd6 50. a4 Nd7 51. Bf1 Kf6 52. Bb5 Nf8 53. Kg3 Ke5 54. h4 gxh4+ 55. Kxh4 Ng6+ 56. Kh5 Nf4+ 57. Kh4 Kd4 58. a5 bxa5 59. Ra7 Rd5 60. Bc6 Ng6+ 61. Kh3 Rg5 62. Rxa5 Ne5 63. Bb5 c4 64. Ba4 c3 65. Bc2 Ke3 66. Rd5 Kf2 67. Rc5 h5 68. Bd1 hxg4+ 69. Bxg4 Rg8 70. Rxe5 Rh8+ 71. Bh5 Rxh5+ 72. Rxh5 Ke2 73. Rc5 Kd2 74. Rxc3 Kxc3 1/2-1/2 [/pgn]

The Reykjavik Open is in recent years a popular destination for American players, with excellent playing conditions and cheap flights from New York being primary draws. 19 Americans made the trip in 2019, including three of our most promising juniors.

Internet legend GM Andrew Tang and award-winning problemist IM Christopher Yoo entered round nine with 5.5 points each, and found themselves paired with each other. In this case experience won out over precocity, and Tang took the full point to join the pack at 6.5.

[pgn] [Event "Reykjavik Open"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.04.16"] [White "Tang, Andrew"] [Black "Yoo, Christopher Woojin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A48"] [WhiteElo "2501"] [BlackElo "2414"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Nbd2 c5 4. dxc5 Qa5 5. a3 Qxc5 6. b4 Qc7 7. Bb2 Bg7 8. c4 d6 9. g3 b6 10. Bg2 Bb7 11. O-O O-O 12. Rc1 Nbd7 13. Qb3 Rac8 14. Rfd1 a6 15. Nf1 Qb8 16. Ne3 b5 17. Bh3 bxc4 18. Nxc4 Rc7 19. Na5 Rxc1 20. Rxc1 Bh6 21. Rd1 Be4 22. Nd2 Bd5 23. Qd3 Nc5 24. Qc2 Nce4 25. Nxe4 Bxe4 26. Qc4 Qa8 27. Bxf6 exf6 28. Rxd6 f5 29. Qxa6 Qe8 30. Bg2 Bxg2 31. Kxg2 Qe4+ 32. f3 Qe5 33. Qd3 Qb2 34. Nc4 Qa2 35. Rd8 Rxd8 36. Qxd8+ Bf8 37. Qd3 Qa1 38. f4 h5 39. Ne5 h4 40. Qd5 h3+ 41. Kf2 1-0 [/pgn]

12-year-old Kirk Ghazarian started his Reykjavik adventure with a jolt, drawing eventual co-winner Gupta in the first round. While a draw against a 2600+ GM is a great result for anyone, Ghazarian will certainly have mixed feelings about the game, as he had a win in the final position.

[pgn] [Event "Reykjavik Open"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.04.08"] [White "Ghazarian, Kirk"] [Black "Gupta, Abhijeet"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E10"] [WhiteElo "2209"] [BlackElo "2602"] [Annotator "Hartmann,John"] [PlyCount "113"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nf3 e6 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Bxd2+ 6. Qxd2 Qe7 7. Nc3 d5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bg2 O-O 10. O-O Bf5 11. e3 Rad8 12. Ne1 Ne4 13. Nxe4 dxe4 14. Rc1 Nb4 15. a3 Nd5 16. Nc2 h5 17. Nb4 h4 18. Rc5 c6 19. Nxd5 cxd5 20. Rfc1 b6 21. Rc7 Rd7 22. R7c2 Bg4 23. Qb4 Qf6 24. Rc8 Rxc8 25. Rxc8+ Kh7 26. Qf8 Kg6 27. Bf1 Rd6 28. Rc7 Rd8 29. Qb4 a5 30. Qb5 Rd6 31. Be2 Bxe2 32. Qxe2 Qf5 33. g4 Qg5 34. h3 f5 35. Kg2 Kh7 36. Rf7 Rf6 37. Rxf6 Qxf6 38. f4 exf3+ 39. Qxf3 fxg4 40. Qxd5 Qg6 41. hxg4 Qxg4+ 42. Kf2 Qg3+ 43. Ke2 Kh6 44. Qf3 Qc7 45. Qf5 Qg3 46. Qf3 Qd6 47. Qf5 g5 48. d5 Qh2+ 49. Qf2 Qc7 50. Qf6+ Kh5 51. d6 Qc4+ $2 (51... Qc2+ 52. Kf3 Qc4 53. Qe5 Qg4+ 54. Kf2 h3 55. Qe8+ Kh6 56. Qh8+ Kg6 57. Qg8+ Kf6 58. Qf8+ Kg6 59. Qg8+ $11) 52. Kd2 Qd5+ 53. Qd4 Qg2+ 54. Kd3 Qf1+ 55. Kd2 Qg2+ 56. Kd3 Qf1+ 57. Kd2 (57. Kc3 $1 Qe1+ 58. Kb3 a4+ (58... Qb1 59. d7 a4+ 60. Kxa4 Qc2+ 61. Kb4) 59. Ka2 $1 {and the pawn can't be stopped.}) 1/2-1/2 [/pgn]

Both Ghazarian and Yoo finished the tournament with 5.5/9. Tang wasn’t the only American legend in Reykjavik. Dan Smith, “the best [poker] player in the world without a WSOP bracelet” according to Daniel Negreanu, made the journey and ended up with 5/9 points. Only a few of his games are available, as not all the lower boards were broadcast, but the finale to his round five loss to IM Zan Tomazini is worth a diagram.

[pgn] [Event "Reykjavik Open"] [Site "?"] [Date "2019.04.11"] [White "Smith, Daniel"] [Black "Tomazini, Zan"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B06"] [WhiteElo "2047"] [BlackElo "2390"] [Annotator "Hartmann,John"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "4kr2/1pp1p2p/p2rB1p1/5P2/6Pb/2P1Q3/Pq3PK1/1N2R3 b - - 0 27"] [PlyCount "5"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] 27... Rxe6 $1 28. Qxe6 (28. Qd2 Qxd2 29. Nxd2 Rxe1) 28... Qxf2+ 29. Kh3 ( 29. Kh1 Qf3+ 30. Kh2 Bg3+ 31. Kh3 Bf4+ 32. Kh4 Qg3#) 29... Qg3# 0-1 [/pgn]

Results for all American players: