Radjabov Wins 2019 FIDE World Cup

After 22 days of action, and 432 games played, the 2019 FIDE World Cup has come to an end with today’s dramatic final tiebreak round. Teimour Radjabov defeated Ding Liren twice in the blitz tiebreak to win the World Cup Final by a score of 6-4. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave finishes in third place after winning his tiebreak against Yu Yangyi.

Ding appeared to be in the driver’s seat after his Round 2 Finals victory, but Radjabov roared back to life with an unlikely win in Round 3. After allowing Ding to play the Marshall Gambit, one of the most professional ways for Black to play for the drawn, Radjabov introduced a new idea on move 21 with 21.Qxf5 Bxf5 22.Ne4. Objectively the novelty is nothing special, as Radjabov explained after the game, but it does require knowledge (22…c5 holds) and precision from Black. Ding underestimated White’s chances after 26.Ne6, and 29…Rxc8 (instead of 29…Nc2) was perhaps the key error. Radjabov won in 46 moves.

[pgn] [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Date "2019.10.02"] [Round "7.3"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C89"] [WhiteElo "2758"] [BlackElo "2811"] [Annotator "Hartmann,John"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12. d3 Bd6 13. Re1 Bf5 14. Qf3 Qh4 15. g3 Qh3 16. Be3 Bxd3 17. Nd2 Qf5 18. Bd4 Rfd8 19. a4 h6 20. h4 Rac8 (20... Bf8 21. axb5 axb5 22. Rxa8 Rxa8 23. g4 Qxf3 24. Nxf3 f6 25. Re6 Kh7 {1/2-1/2 (38) Perry,D (2492)-Schakel,C (2409) ICCF 2018}) 21. Qxf5 (21. axb5 axb5 22. Bxd5 cxd5 23. Ra5 Qxf3 24. Nxf3 Re8 {1/2-1/2 (35) Karjakin,S (2750)-Ding,L (2805) Saint Louis 2019}) 21... Bxf5 22. Ne4 Bf8 (22... c5 23. Nxd6 Rxd6 24. Be5 Rdd8) 23. Nc5 Nb4 24. Re5 g6 25. axb5 cxb5 26. Ne6 Bxe6 27. Rxe6 fxe6 28. Bxe6+ Kh7 29. Bxc8 Rxc8 (29... Nc2 30. Rc1 Nxd4 31. cxd4 a5) 30. cxb4 Rc4 31. Bf6 Bg7 32. Be7 Rc6 33. Ra2 Kg8 34. Bc5 Kf7 35. Kg2 Ke6 36. b3 h5 37. Kf3 Kf5 38. Rd2 Be5 39. Rd5 Ke6 40. Ke4 Bf6 41. f4 Bc3 42. f5+ Kf7 43. Rd7+ Kg8 44. Bd6 gxf5+ 45. Kxf5 Bg7 46. Kg5 1-0 [/pgn]

With both players weary after so many games, it is perhaps understandable that Thursday’s Round 4 was drawn without much struggle. Ding chose the rare 7.Nxe5 against the trendy 6…Bc5 in the Reversed Dragon, but the resulting positions (analyzed by Avrukh and others) are dry and prospectless for White despite his being a pawn up.

[pgn] [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Date "2019.10.03"] [Round "7.4"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A29"] [WhiteElo "2811"] [BlackElo "2758"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Bc5 7. Nxe5 Nxc3 8. Bxc6+ bxc6 9. bxc3 Qd5 10. Nf3 Bh3 11. Qb3 Bg2 12. Qxd5 cxd5 13. Rg1 Bxf3 14. exf3 d4 15. Rb1 O-O-O 16. Rb5 Rhe8+ 17. Kd1 Bb6 18. cxd4 Bxd4 19. Rf1 Re6 20. Bb2 Ra6 21. Bxd4 Rxd4 22. Rb2 Rda4 23. Re1 Kd7 24. Rb8 Rxa2 25. Ree8 Ra1+ 26. Ke2 Re6+ 27. Rxe6 Kxe6 28. Re8+ Kf6 29. Rc8 Rc1 30. Ra8 Ra1 31. Rc8 1/2-1/2 [/pgn]

The first four games – two rapid (G/25), two ‘quick’ (G/10) – of today’s tiebreaks between Ding and Radjabov were drawn, with both players defending solidly with Black. Radjabov broke through in the first blitz tiebreak game after Ding’s king went on an ill-fated jaunt across the board. IM John Watson analyzes this critical game.

[pgn] [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Date "2019.10.04"] [Round "7.9"] [White "Ding, Liren"] [Black "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E05"] [WhiteElo "2811"] [BlackElo "2758"] [Annotator "John Watson"] [PlyCount "152"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] {The match had reached the 5-minute portion, and sheer nervous exhaustion was as likely to decide things as brilliant insight.} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Be7 5. d4 O-O 6. c4 {The Catalan was featured throughout the World Cup and appeared in several of the most important games.} dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 (8. Qxc4 {has been the main line for many decades, but recently 8 a4 has shared the limelight.}) 8... Bd7 9. Qxc4 Bc6 10. Bf4 (10. Bg5 {was seen twice in the Grischuk-Dominguez match.}) 10... Bd6 11. Qc1 Nbd7 (11... a5 {with the idea ...Nc6-b4 is an alternative defensive setup.}) 12. Re1 (12. Nc3 {is the usual order, which sometimes transposes to the game after} Qe7 13. Re1 ({here} 13. a5 {is the main alternative})) 12... Qe7 13. Nc3 Bxf3 14. Bxf3 Bxf4 (14... c6 {is a solid alternative, as in the World Cup game} 15. a5 Rad8 16. Bg2 Bxf4 17. gxf4 Kh8 18. e3 Rg8 19. Qc2 g5 $5 20. f5 g4 {Duran Vega,S (2387)-So,W (2767) Khanty-Mansiysk RUS 2019}) 15. Qxf4 c6 16. a5 {If Black gets ...a5 in his queenside is ultra-solid.} Rad8 (16... e5 {has been played in several games. In Ding,L (2777)-Leko,P (2691) Riadh 2017, Ding tried to maintain the tension by} 17. Qe3 {, leading to} Rfe8 18. d5 $5 (18. Red1 e4 19. Bg2) 18... e4 $1 19. dxc6 exf3 20. cxd7 Qxe3 21. fxe3 Rxe3 22. exf3 Rxe1+ 23. Rxe1 Nxd7 { with equality.}) 17. Red1 e5 18. Qe3 ({The duller simplification} 18. dxe5 Nxe5 19. h3 Rfe8 $11 {was seen in Salzmann,S (2336)-Stepanov,V (2255) ICCF 2018}) 18... Rfe8 19. d5 e4 $1 (19... cxd5 20. Bxd5 $1 {is slightly awkward. The bishop is strong on the long diagonal, but} Nxd5 21. Nxd5 Qd6 22. Qb3 {gives White a powerful central knight.}) 20. Bg2 cxd5 21. Nxd5 Nxd5 22. Rxd5 Nf6 23. Rxd8 Rxd8 24. h3 Qb4 25. b3 $5 (25. Qc3 $11) 25... h5 26. Kh2 Rd5 {This leads to the exchange of pawns.} 27. Qf4 Rxa5 28. Rxa5 Qxa5 29. Qb8+ Kh7 30. Qxb7 Qf5 31. Kg1 e3 $5 {Disturbing White's pawns.} (31... Qe6 {was also fine.}) 32. fxe3 (32. f4 h4 $1) 32... Qe6 33. Kf2 Qf5+ 34. Qf3 (34. Kg1 Qe6 35. Kf2 $11) 34... Qe6 ({Or} 34... Qb1 35. e4 Qb2) 35. e4 (35. b4 $1 g6 36. Qf4 {is a better setup.}) 35... g6 36. Kg1 Nd7 37. Qc3 Ne5 38. b4 $5 {This innocent-looking move is actually slightly risky, because if Black can win the b-pawn, his outside passed pawn can cause some problems.} Qd6 39. Kf2 Nc6 40. Qc5 Qd4+ $1 41. Qxd4 $5 (41. Kf3 Qf6+ 42. Ke3 $11 {is safer.}) 41... Nxd4 42. e5 Nc2 43. Bd5 Kg7 {Now the b-pawn falls.} 44. e6 (44. b5 $1 axb5 {brings the pawn closer to the kingside; compare the game.}) 44... fxe6 45. Bxe6 Nxb4 46. Ke3 Kf6 47. Bd7 Ke5 48. Be8 Nd5+ 49. Kd3 Ne7 50. Kc4 a5 51. Kc5 Kf6 52. Kb5 $2 {Missing a tactical trick. There are two ways to hold:} (52. Bd7 {should draw, e.g.,} Nf5 53. g4 hxg4 54. hxg4 Ne3 55. Kb5 Kg5 56. Kxa5 Nxg4 57. Be8 {and Bxg6}) (52. Kb6 {is also okay, avoiding the fork. Then} Nf5 53. g4 $1 {is possible, and} Nd6 54. Bxg6 h4 55. Bc2 $1 Kg5 56. Kxa5 Kf4 57. g5 $1 Kxg5 58. Ba4 Kf4 59. Bd7 { defends.}) 52... Nf5 $1 53. Kxa5 (53. g4 $4 Nd6+ {picks up the bishop.}) 53... Nxg3 {White's king is way out of play and Black's potential outside passed pawn is extremely difficult to handle.} 54. Bb5 $2 (54. e3 $1 {is the best try, when} Ne4 55. Kb4 Nf2 (55... h4 $5) 56. Bd7 Kg5 57. Kc5 Kh4 58. Kd5 $1 Nxh3 59. e4 Nf4+ 60. Kd6 g5 61. e5 g4 62. e6 Nxe6 63. Kxe6 Kg3 64. Kf5 {will hold.}) 54... g5 $6 (54... Ke5 $1 55. Kb4 Kd4 {is much better, shutting out the opposing king. Then} 56. Kb3 g5 57. Kc2 Ke3 58. Kd1 Kf2 59. Kd2 h4 60. Kd1 Ne4 {has the multiple ideas} 61. Bd3 ({or} 61. Bc6 Nc3+ 62. Kd2 Nxe2) 61... Nd6 $1 {and ...g4 follows, queening the h-pawn.}) 55. Kb4 Ke5 (55... Ne4 {looks more accurate, with lines like} 56. Bc6 (56. e3 Ke5 57. Bf1 Nf2 58. Kc3 Ke4 59. Kd2 Nxh3 $1) 56... Nf2 57. Bg2 Ke5 58. e3 Nxh3 $1 59. Bxh3 Ke4 60. Kc3 g4 {and wins.}) 56. Kc3 Kf4 57. Kd2 $2 (57. Kd4 $1 {should hold, as later analysis showed. The knight is a tricky piece, and it's very hard to see all of its threats when you have mere seconds per move.}) 57... Ne4+ 58. Ke1 Kg3 59. Bd7 h4 {Now h3 falls and with it, the game.} 60. e3 Nf2 61. Kf1 Nxh3 62. e4 Nf4 63. e5 h3 64. Bc6 (64. e6 h2 65. Bc6 Nxe6) 64... h2 65. Bb7 g4 66. Bc6 Kh3 67. Bb7 g3 68. Bc8+ Kh4 69. Bb7 Kg5 70. Be4 Kg4 71. e6 Nxe6 72. Kg2 Nf4+ 73. Kh1 Nh3 74. Bf3+ Kf4 75. Kg2 Nf2 76. Kf1 Kxf3 0-1 [/pgn]

He followed this up with a second blitz win after Ding burned bridges in an effort to tie the match.

[pgn] [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Date "2019.10.04"] [Round "7.10"] [White "Radjabov, Teimour"] [Black "Ding, Liren"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B59"] [WhiteElo "2758"] [BlackElo "2811"] [Annotator "John Watson"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2019.??.??"] 1. e4 c5 {Needing a win at all costs, Ding chooses the Sicilian Defence.} 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Be2 {The safest move.} e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Bg5 O-O 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. Nd5 Bg5 {Clearing the way for a potential ... f5, supported by ...g6.} 11. Bg4 {If White can exchange his bad light-squared bishop, he can be left with a strong knight on d5 versus Black's remaining bad dark-squared bishop.} (11. O-O Be6 12. c3 {is a normal continuation, but for drawing purposes, 11 Bg4 is ideal because Black's response is practically forced.}) 11... Be6 {Positionally consistent. Now the exchange of this bishop will now mean that a pawn on e6 prevents occupation of d5.} 12. O-O g6 13. Bxe6 {White gives up his outpost, but renders Black's pawns rather static, so it will be hard to make an effective break in any sector of the board.} fxe6 14. Nc3 Qe7 15. Qd3 Rad8 16. Rad1 a6 17. a3 Kg7 18. Qg3 h5 {Black stands well ebough but needs a plan. He decides to probe a little on the kingside, hopefully using the f-file to attack.} 19. Ne2 {A somewhat odd move, allowing Black to advance in the center. On the other hand, such an advance can be weakening.} d5 $5 20. Qc3 Rf6 (20... Kh6 {gets off the c3-h8 diagonal.}) 21. Qc5 Qf7 22. c3 $2 {So far, so good, but now White commits a grave oversight: he cuts off his own queen retreat.} h4 $6 {Probably playing a prepared move to save time. If it weren't a Blitz game, Black would find} (22... Qc7 $1 { , threatening to trap the queen by ...b6, when the atttempt to create a retreat along the diagonal by} 23. exd5 exd5 24. f3 ({what else?} 24. Rxd5 $4 b6) {weakens the dark squares badly, e.g.,} 24... h4 25. Qf2 Ne7 $1 {, threatening ...Nf5 and putting a piece on e3.}) 23. h3 $2 (23. Qb6 $1) 23... Rd7 $2 ({Again,} 23... Qc7 $1 {. This was Ding's only real opportunity in this game.}) 24. Qb6 $1 Re7 $6 (24... Qe7 25. Nc5 Rc7 {, but White already stands clearly better. For the rest of the game, Black is in the awkward position of having to make quick decisions when there's little positive that can be done.}) 25. Nc5 Kh7 26. b4 $1 ({Resisting} 26. Nxb7 $6 Rxb7 27. Qxc6 Rxb2 28. Qxa6 { . This looks okay for a moment, but allows the brilliant} Rxf2 $1 29. Rxf2 Be3 30. Rdf1 dxe4 {, when White's pieces are completely tied down, while} 31. a4 Rd2 $1 32. a5 Bxf2+ 33. Kh1 (33. Rxf2 $4 Rd1+) 33... e3 {is very promising for Black.}) 26... d4 {A bad move to have to make, but Black hasn't good alternatives and prefers not to sit around.} 27. Nd3 $6 {Not a terrible mistake, but there are two decisive alterrnatives:} ({The engine suggests} 27. c4 $1 {with the idea Nd3, when Black can hardly move, and the direct}) (27. cxd4 $1 exd4 28. e5 $1 {is also very strong:} Nxe5 29. Ne4 Rf5 30. Nxd4 {, etc. }) 27... Rd7 $6 (27... dxc3 28. Nxc3 Qg7 {is a better try.}) 28. Qc5 (28. c4 $1 $18) (28. cxd4 exd4 29. f4 $18) 28... dxc3 29. Qxc3 Bh6 30. a4 Nd4 (30... Qe7 31. Nxe5 Nxe5 32. Qxe5 Rf7 $16) 31. Nxd4 exd4 32. Qc4 Qe7 33. Ne5 $1 {White dominates the key squares and there's little Black can do.} Rc7 34. Qxd4 Bf4 35. Ng4 Rf7 36. e5 $1 Rf5 37. b5 axb5 38. axb5 g5 39. b6 Rc6 40. Qe4 $1 Rxb6 $4 {But the position is completely lost anyway.} 41. Rd7 $1 Qxd7 42. Nf6+ Kg7 43. Nxd7 Rb5 44. Qc4 Rd5 45. Nc5 Rfxe5 46. Nxe6+ 1-0 [/pgn]

The win earns Radjabov $110,000, while Ding takes home $80,000 for second place and the Brilliancy Prize for his win against Radjabov. Both players will be nominated to the 2020 Candidates Tournament, currently scheduled for Yekaterinburg in the spring.

While it appears that Maxime Vachier-Lagrave will be on the outside of the Candidates looking in after his loss to Radjabov in the Semi-Finals, he walks away from Khanty-Mansiysk with $60,000 for his third place finish. MVL defeated Yu Yangyi in both legs of today’s rapid playoff, wrapping things up with a flourish in the final game.

[pgn] [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"] [Date "2019.10.04"] [Round "7.6"] [White "Yu, Yangyi"] [Black "Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D85"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2774"] [Annotator "Hartmann,John"] [SetUp "1"] [FEN "r3r1k1/1p4bp/6p1/3p2B1/bp4n1/5N2/P3BPPP/2R2K1R b - - 0 22"] [PlyCount "5"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 22... Rxe2 23. Kxe2 Bb5+ 24. Ke1 Bc3+ (24... Bc3+ 25. Rxc3 bxc3 $19) 0-1 [/pgn]

Yu finished in fourth place with a prize of $50,000.

---

FIDE World Cup Quick links 2019 World Cup Official Webpage Pairings and Results YouTube Coverage