Gibraltar Chess Festival: Win, Lose, or Dance

The Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival is known for being one of the strongest, most unique and most scenic open tournaments in the world.

With the festival located on the Mediterranean coastline, players raved about the stunning ocean views.

https://twitter.com/GibraltarChess/status/693859546163326976

The Winner

Hikaru Nakamura

Although Hikaru Nakamura was the top seed and defending champion, it was hardly a foregone conclusion that he would win. After 7 rounds, Nakamura was 19th in rankings, a full point behind the tournament leader. It was his winning streak in the last three rounds that pulled him into contention and tied him for first place with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. This sent their fates into a head-to-head playoff. After holding even for four rapid games, Nakamura won the blitz Armageddon game, making him a two-time Gibraltar Champion. Best Victory: His double-edged 26 move victory against grandmaster Mariya Muzychuk, where he gave up a knight for a powerful mass of central pawns.

[pgn] [Result "1-0"] [White "Hikaru Nakamura"] [Black "Mariya Muzychuk"] [ECO "D45"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "51"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. g4 h6 8. Rg1 e5 9. Bd2 e4 10. Nh4 g6 11. h3 a6 12. O-O-O b5 13. c5 Bh2 14. Rh1 Bc7 15. f3 a5 16. fxe4 b4 17. Nxd5 cxd5 18. exd5 Bg3 19. Nf3 O-O 20. Rg1 Qc7 21. Bc4 Ba6 22. d6 Bxd6 23. Qxg6+ Kh8 24. Qxh6+ Nh7 25. Ng5 Nf6 26. Rdf1 1-0[/pgn]

The Runner-Up

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave had an excellent performance and was one of the tournament leaders throughout. After tying with Nakamura for first, he held his own in the first four playoff rapid games. In a must-win situation during the blitz Armageddon game, MVL over-pressed, sacrificing an exchange and quickly lost. This was the second major tournament MVL has been on verge of winning in the last two months: At the London Classic, he defeated Giri in a rapid playoff match, but ultimately lost to Carlsen. Best Victory: His final round attacking victory against his fellow countryman, grandmaster Sebastien Maze. Witness Vachier-Lagrave's bold move, 37...Re1!?, breaking into the enemy position with gusto.

[pgn]
[White "Maze, Sebastien"]
[Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2591"]
[BlackElo "2591"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "4r1k1/3b1pp1/r2p3p/p1bP4/1qP5/RP5P/R1Q2BPK/3N4 b - - 0 37"]
[PlyCount "13"]37... Re1 $5 38. Ra4 ({If} 38. Bxe1 Qxe1 39. Nf2 Bxa3 40. Rxa3) 38... Bxa4 39.
Rxa4 Bxf2 40. Rxb4 Bg1+ 41. Kg3 axb4 42. Qd2 Re8 43. Qxb4 Rb6 {White resigns.}
0-1[/pgn]

Biggest Upset

Because open tournaments have such a vast range of players, there is more opportunity for outstanding upsets.

Benjamin Gledura

This year, Benjamin Gledura, an ambitious, young International Master, defeated former World Champion Vishwanathan Anand in an excellently-played king and pawn ending. https://twitter.com/johnchess/status/694274932516192257

Watch as he confidently finds the winning idea in a position many would assume to be drawn:

[pgn][White "Glendura , Benjamin"]
[Black "Anand, Viswanathan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2515"]
[BlackElo "2515"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/1pk2pp1/p7/2K4p/8/1P5P/P4PP1/8 w - - 0 38"]
[PlyCount "21"]38. h4 {White's plan is: 1) Prepare g4, forcing Black to weaken his kingside
in order to prevent White from creating a passed pawn. 2) Use his extra tempi
to gain the opposition and penetrate on either the queen or kingside.} Kd7 ({If
} 38... b6+ 39. Kd5 Kd7 40. f3 a5 41. g3 Kc7 42. g4 hxg4 (42... g6 43. Ke5 Kd7
44. Kf6) 43. fxg4 Kd7 44. a4 Kc7 45. h5 f6 {to prevent White from creating a
passed h-pawn with g5 and h6.} 46. Ke6) 39. Kb6 Kc8 40. b4 Kb8 41. f3 Kc8 42.
g4 hxg4 43. fxg4 Kb8 44. h5 f6 45. a4 Kc8 46. Ka7 Kc7 47. b5 a5 48. Ka8 {Black
resigns.} 1-0[/pgn]

Turbulence in the Top 10

Viswanathan Anand

The Gibraltar Chess Festival was Anand's first open in 23 years, and it did not go well for the five-time World Champion. He lost 22 rating points, sending him out of the world top ten for the first time since 1990. Anand's reflection on his disappointing performance was: "Apparently I've forgotten how to play an open."

Battle of the Sexes

One of the festivities that makes Gibraltar Chess unique is Battle of the Sexes, a tandem chess game played between teams of the top men, including Nakamura and MVL, and top women, including grandmasters Bela Khotenashvili and Valentina Gunina, on a giant chess board. https://twitter.com/GibraltarChess/status/693577580369330178 The women's team won the first game, improving on last year's performance. Then, the men's team won the next two, securing victory in the match. https://twitter.com/GibraltarChess/status/693576521655701504 Here's how Grandmaster Nigel Short, captain of the men's team, celebrated the victory: https://twitter.com/GibraltarChess/status/693575019637641220 https://twitter.com/nigelshortchess/status/693698591852986368

Masterclass Videos

Another unique feature of the festival were the Masterclass instructive videos created by the tournament's top grandmasters. Anand's video features his victory against Evgeny Bareev in Tata Steel in 2004 and a discussion of Bobby Fischer. https://youtu.be/fMp6tBtBmp0   More Masterclass videos and full tournament results can be found on the Tradewise Gibraltar Official Website.