Three Advance to Third Round in World Cup

Leinier Dominguez, Wesley So, and Jeffery Xiong are through to the third round of the 2019 FIDE World Cup. There So meets India’s Santosh Gujrathi Vidit, while Dominguez is paired with China’s Wang Hao, and Xiong takes on Anish Giri of the Netherlands. Hikaru Nakamura and Sam Sevian are both out after losing their second round mini-matches. Nakamura lost to Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu 1.5-0.5, while Sevian was defeated by Sergey Karjakin 2-0. The score flattered Nakamura a bit, as he was dead lost when the draw was offered after the necessary 30 moves.

[pgn] [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.14"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Black "Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C42"] [WhiteElo "2745"] [BlackElo "2656"] [Annotator "Hartmann,John"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Be3 O-O 8. Qd2 c5 {Rather uncommon.} (8... Nd7) (8... Nc6) 9. O-O-O Be6 10. a3 (10. c4 b5 11. Bg5 f6 12. Bf4 bxc4 13. Bxd6 Bxd6 14. Qxd6 Qb6 15. c3 Bf7 16. Qf4 Nc6 17. Bxc4 Na5 18. Bxf7+ Rxf7 19. Rhe1 Rb8 20. Rd2 Qb5 21. Rc2 Rd8 22. Rd2 Rb8 23. Rc2 Rd8 24. Rd2 {1/2-1/2 (24) Mannion,S (2285)-Gormally,D (2509) Newcastle 2019}) 10... d5 11. h4 f6 12. h5 Nc6 13. Nh4 Qd7 14. f3 Rad8 $1 {Nisipeanu only needs a draw, but already he has taken the initiative here. The ...d4 break looks problematic for Nakamura.} 15. g4 d4 16. Bf4 Ne5 17. Qe1 (17. Nf5 Nxf3 18. Qg2 Ne5 $13) 17... Qd5 $1 {...Qa2 is a crushing threat.} 18. b3 $6 ( 18. c4 Nxc4 19. b3 Nxa3 20. c4 $1) 18... c4 $1 19. Rxd4 Qa5 $1 20. Bxc4 Bxc4 21. bxc4 $2 ({It looks like White had to try} 21. Rxc4 Nxc4 (21... Qxa3+ 22. Kb1 Nxc4 23. Qe6+ Rf7 24. Qxc4 Qc5) 22. Qe6+ Rf7 23. Qxc4 Bxa3+ 24. Kb1 $19) 21... Bxa3+ 22. Kd1 Bb4 (22... Rfe8 $1 {and Black wins, i.e.} 23. Bxe5 Rxe5 24. Qd2 Rde8 {and ...Bb2! is lights out}) 23. Rxd8 (23. cxb4 $2 Rxd4+ 24. Ke2 Qa2 $19) 23... Rxd8+ 24. Ke2 Bxc3 (24... Qa2 $1) 25. Qb1 Bd2 26. Bg3 Bg5 (26... Nxc4) 27. Be1 Qc5 28. Qb3 Bxh4 29. Bxh4 Nxc4 30. Re1 Re8+ {and the game was drawn in light of the match situation.} 1/2-1/2 [/pgn]

Only So was able to advance during ‘regulation play,’ or without need for the tiebreak round. His win over Demchenko in the second leg of their mini-match was a positional tour-de-force.

[pgn] [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.14"] [Round "2.2"] [White "So, Wesley"] [Black "Demchenko, Anton"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D31"] [WhiteElo "2767"] [BlackElo "2655"] [Annotator "Hartmann,John"] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 a6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nf3 Nf6 6. Bg5 Be6 7. e3 Nbd7 8. Bd3 c6 (8... Bd6 9. O-O O-O 10. Rc1 c6 11. Bf4 Bxf4 12. exf4 Bg4 13. Be2 Bxf3 14. Bxf3 {1-0 (122) Nakamura,H (2769)-Caruana,F (2816) Paris 2018}) 9. Qb3 $5 Qb6 10. Qxb6 Nxb6 11. Bxf6 gxf6 {White gives up the bishop pair but disfigures Black's pawns.} 12. Nh4 a5 (12... Nc4 13. b3 Nd6 14. Ne2) 13. O-O-O Bb4 14. Ne2 Nc4 15. Nf4 Bd6 16. Nh5 Be7 17. Nf5 Bxf5 {Perhaps too accomodating, as this gives White a grip on f5.} (17... a4 18. Nxe7 Kxe7 19. Nf4) 18. Bxf5 Nd6 19. Bd3 Rg8 20. Rhg1 f5 21. Ng3 Bh4 22. Rdf1 (22. Nxf5 $5 Nxf5 23. g3 Nd6 24. gxh4 Ke7 $16) 22... Bxg3 (22... f4 $5 {may improve:} 23. exf4 Kd7 24. Bxh7 (24. Nh5 h6 25. g3 Bd8) (24. Nf5 Nxf5 25. Bxf5+ Kd6) 24... Rh8 25. Bd3 Bf6) 23. hxg3 { Now the h-pawn becomes a target.} h6 $6 (23... Rg5 24. Rh1 h5 25. Be2 c5 $1 { with counterplay}) (23... h5 24. Rh1 Rg5) 24. Rh1 Rg6 25. Rh5 Rf6 26. Rfh1 Ke7 27. Rxh6 Rxh6 28. Rxh6 $16 Rg8 29. Kd2 Kd7 30. Ke2 Ke7 31. Kf3 b6 32. Kf4 Rg4+ 33. Ke5 f6+ (33... Rg6 34. Rxg6 fxg6 35. g4 fxg4 36. Kf4 $18) 34. Rxf6 Nf7+ { So finds a nice way to wrap things up.} 35. Rxf7+ $1 Kxf7 36. Bxf5 Rg7 37. g4 Ke7 38. f4 Rg8 39. g5 Re8 40. Be6 1-0 [/pgn]

In most rounds, So’s stellar play would have earned him the “star player of the day” award. But the young Iranian phenom Alireza Firouzja shone brightest with this absolute gem of a game against Danil Dubov. Short on time, he repeated the position twice to gain time for calculation, and then uncorked this brilliant shot on his 37th move. Dubov later told the best game jury in Khanty-Mansiysk that this was “his most spectactular loss ever.”

[pgn] [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.14"] [Round "2.2"] [White "Firouzja, Alireza"] [Black "Dubov, Daniil"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B31"] [WhiteElo "2702"] [BlackElo "2699"] [Annotator "Hartmann,John"] [PlyCount "136"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] [EventType "k.o."] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O (4. Bxc6 {is slightly more popular, but perhaps Firouzja didn't want to test Dubov's knowledge of that line. (Dubov assisted Carlsen in the Caruana match, where this variation figured prominently.)}) 4... Bg7 5. c3 Nf6 6. Re1 O-O 7. h3 Qb6 8. a4 (8. Na3 d5 9. e5 Ne8 10. d4 cxd4 11. cxd4 Nc7 12. Ba4 Bf5 {1/2-1/2 (53) Vachier Lagrave,M (2788) -Caruana,F (2795) chess.com INT 2016}) 8... a6 9. Bxc6 bxc6 10. e5 Nd5 11. a5 Qd8 12. d3 (12. d4 cxd4 13. cxd4 (13. Qxd4 $5) 13... d6 $11) 12... d6 13. Qa4 dxe5 $5 {True to his nature, Dubov goes for complications.} (13... Qc7 { looks like fairly dull equality.}) 14. Nxe5 (14. Qxc6 Bf5 15. Nxe5 Qd6 16. Qxd6 exd6 17. Nc4 Rfe8 18. Rd1 Bf8 {and Black has some compensation for the pawn}) 14... Bxe5 (14... Qd6 $5 {is an interesting alternative:} 15. Nc4 (15. Qxc6 $6 {is met with} Bxe5 $1 16. Qxa8 Bxh3 $1 17. Qb7 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 Rb8 $1 $40) (15. Nxc6 $2 Bd7 $19) 15... Qc7 16. Bg5 (16. Nbd2 Nf4 $14) 16... Bf5 $14) 15. Rxe5 Qd6 16. Re1 Bf5 17. Na3 {Beginning to work on the constellation of weaknesses in Black's position.} Rfe8 18. Nc4 Qc7 19. Be3 Nxe3 (19... Bxd3 20. Bxc5 Bxc4 21. Qxc4 e5 $5 {and White has a good advantage}) 20. Rxe3 (20. Nxe3 $2 Bxd3 { and Black is fully equal with the coming ...c4}) 20... Rad8 21. Ne5 {White holds all the cards here.} f6 {Dubov decides to try and eject the well-placed knight, also potentially weakening d3.} (21... Rb8 22. Rae1 Rxb2 23. Qh4 { (threatening Nxf7 followed by Qxh7)} f6 24. Qc4+ e6 25. Nf3 {and g2-g4 is a problem, so} g5 26. Qxc5 {and Black is hanging on:} Bg6 27. Rxe6 (27. c4 $5) 27... Rxe6 28. Rxe6 Rb5 29. Qd4 $16) (21... Qb7 22. Rae1 Qxb2 23. Qh4 Be6 24. Nf3 Rd5 25. Ng5 Rxg5 26. Qxg5 Qxc3 $16) 22. Qxc6 (22. Qc4+ Rd5 23. Nf3 Qb7 { (protecting a7)} 24. Rae1 $16) 22... Qd6 23. Qxd6 exd6 24. Ng4 Rxe3 25. fxe3 Rb8 (25... Bxd3 $5 26. Nxf6+ Kg7 27. Nd5 Be4 28. Nb6 Kf7 $16) 26. Nxf6+ Kg7 27. Nd5 Rxb2 28. e4 Bd7 29. Rf1 Be6 30. Nc7 Bd7 31. Nxa6 $6 {Inaccurate.} (31. c4 $5 Ra2 32. Nd5 {and Black can't play} Rxa5 $2 {due to} 33. Rf6 $1) 31... Rb7 32. c4 Be8 33. e5 $5 Ra7 (33... dxe5 $4 34. Nxc5) 34. Nb8 Rb7 35. Na6 Ra7 36. Nb8 Rb7 {[#]} 37. exd6 $1 {A brilliant idea to play for the win.} Rxb8 38. Re1 Kf8 $2 (38... Kf6 $1 39. Re7 Bc6 $1 {gives Black enough counterplay to hold the draw.}) (38... Bc6 39. Re7+ Kf6) 39. Re7 Rd8 40. a6 $1 Rxd6 41. a7 Rd8 42. Rb7 Bc6 $2 (42... Ra8 43. Kf2 h6 44. h4 Bc6 45. Rc7 Ba4 {and it appears to be a positional draw} 46. Ke3 (46. Rh7 Be8 47. Rb7 (47. Rxh6 $4 Kg7) 47... Bc6) 46... Ke8 47. Rh7 Kd8 48. Rxh6 (48. Kf4 h5 49. Kg5 Bd7) 48... Rxa7 49. Rxg6 Rh7 50. g3 Rh5 $11) 43. Rc7 Be8 (43... Ba8 44. Rxh7 Kg8 (44... Rxd3 $2 45. Rh8+) 45. Rc7 $18) 44. Kf2 g5 45. Ke3 h6 46. g3 (46. Rxc5) 46... Bg6 47. Rb7 $1 Rxd3+ 48. Kf2 Ra3 49. Rb8+ Kg7 50. a8=Q Rxa8 51. Rxa8 $18 Bd3 52. Ra4 Kf6 53. Ke3 Bf1 54. h4 gxh4 55. gxh4 Ke5 56. Ra6 Bxc4 57. Rxh6 Be6 58. Rg6 Bf5 59. Rg1 Kf6 60. h5 Bh7 61. h6 Bg6 62. Kd2 Kf7 63. Kc3 Kf6 64. Kc4 Bf7+ 65. Kxc5 Bg6 66. Kd6 Kf7 67. Ke5 Bd3 68. Rg7+ Kf8 1-0 [/pgn]

Leiner Dominguez and Jeffery Xiong both scored 2-0 in the rapid portion of the playoffs to advance to the third round. But Dominguez nearly tripped himself up in the first playoff game against Nijat Abasov, playing for an attack that was deeply flawed.

[pgn] [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.15"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Black "Abasov, Nijat"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B30"] [WhiteElo "2763"] [BlackElo "2632"] [Annotator "Hartmann,John"] [PlyCount "59"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. d3 g6 6. h3 Nh5 7. Be3 b6 8. a4 a5 9. O-O Bg7 10. e5 f5 11. exf6 Nxf6 12. Qc1 Nd5 13. Bh6 O-O 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15. Nbd2 Nf4 16. Re1 Be6 17. b3 Bd5 18. Qb2+ Kg8 19. Re3 Qd7 20. c4 Be6 21. Rae1 Rae8 22. Ne5 Qc8 23. Ne4 Bf5 24. Ng5 h6 25. Ng4 $2 {A miscalculation, although Dominguez gets away with it.} (25. Ngf3 {keeps the initiative and the advantage.}) 25... Bxg4 26. Rxe7 Rxe7 27. Rxe7 {and now the threat is Qg7#. But Black has an intermezzo that ruins everything, if he can find it!} Nh5 $2 { One way to stop mate... but it gives back the material, and White's attack continues.} (27... Ne2+ $1 28. Kf1 Nd4 {and Black wins. There's no mate!}) 28. hxg4 Qxg4 29. Ne6 $6 {Giving Black a last chance to draw.} (29. Ne4 $18) (29. Nh7 $18) 29... Rf6 $2 (29... Qd1+ $1 30. Kh2 Nf6 $11) 30. Qe5 $1 (30. Qe5 Rxe6 (30... Qxe6 31. Rxe6 Rxe6 32. Qxe6+) 31. Qb8#) 1-0 [/pgn]

Abasov went for broke in the second leg of the rapid match, but Dominguez handled things well and took the full point.

[pgn] [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.15"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Abasov, Nijat"] [Black "Dominguez Perez, Leinier"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A45"] [WhiteElo "2632"] [BlackElo "2763"] [Annotator "Hartmann,John"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 d5 3. e3 e6 4. Nf3 Bd6 5. Bg3 O-O 6. Nbd2 c5 7. c3 Qc7 8. Bd3 Nbd7 9. Qe2 $6 (9. Qc2 e5 10. dxe5 Nxe5 11. Nxe5 Bxe5 12. Nf3 Bxg3 13. hxg3 h6 {1/2-1/2 (36) Vachier Lagrave,M (2779)-Dominguez Perez,L (2739) chess.com INT 2018}) 9... e5 $1 {Black is already at least equal.} 10. dxe5 Nxe5 11. Nxe5 Bxe5 12. Bh4 Bg4 13. Nf3 Ne4 (13... d4 $5 14. cxd4 cxd4 15. exd4 Bxd4 16. O-O Rfe8) 14. h3 Be6 15. Nxe5 Qxe5 16. f4 Qc7 17. g4 {Abasov goes for it, needing a win to stay alive.} f6 18. Rg1 Bf7 19. Bxe4 dxe4 20. g5 f5 21. g6 hxg6 22. Rd1 a5 23. Kf2 Ra6 24. Rd2 Bxa2 25. Rgd1 Be6 26. Kg3 Qf7 27. Rd8 Ra8 28. Rxf8+ Rxf8 29. Rd6 Bc4 30. Qd1 Bd3 31. Qa4 $2 {[#]} g5 32. fxg5 f4+ 33. Kh2 Qh5 0-1 [/pgn]

Jeffery Xiong’s match win over M.amin Tabatabaei was less eventful, with Xiong outplaying Tabatabaei in both games.

[pgn] [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.15"] [Round "2.3"] [White "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Black "Tabatabaei, M.amin"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D37"] [WhiteElo "2707"] [BlackElo "2642"] [PlyCount "113"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. a3 Nbd7 7. Nb5 Ne8 8. e3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 Nd6 10. Nxd6 Bxd6 11. Bxd6 cxd6 12. O-O b6 13. Rc1 Bb7 14. d5 e5 15. Bb5 Nf6 16. Bc6 Qe7 17. Nxe5 dxe5 18. d6 Qe6 19. Bxb7 Rad8 20. Qa4 a5 21. Rfd1 Rxd6 22. Rc6 Rxc6 23. Qxc6 Qb3 24. Rd2 h5 25. h3 h4 26. Ba6 Qa2 27. Qxb6 Qb1+ 28. Kh2 Qe1 29. Re2 Qd1 30. Qxa5 Ne4 31. Qb4 Ng5 32. Qxh4 Ra8 33. Bc4 Ra4 34. b4 Ne6 35. Ra2 Qd6 36. Qe4 Ng5 37. Qd5 Qc7 38. Ra1 g6 39. Bb3 Ra6 40. Qc4 Rc6 41. Qg4 e4+ 42. Qg3 Qe7 43. Bd5 Rc2 44. h4 Nh7 45. Qxg6+ Kh8 46. Qxe4 Qc7+ 47. Qf4 Qe7 48. Rd1 Rc8 49. Bxf7 Rf8 50. Qd4+ Nf6 51. Bg6 Qg7 52. h5 Rc8 53. Kg1 Rf8 54. b5 Qe7 55. a4 Kg7 56. b6 Qb7 57. Rc1 1-0 [/pgn]

[pgn] [Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2019.09.15"] [Round "2.4"] [White "Tabatabaei, M.amin"] [Black "Xiong, Jeffery"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D20"] [WhiteElo "2642"] [BlackElo "2707"] [PlyCount "54"] [EventDate "2019.09.10"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 e5 4. Nf3 exd4 5. Bxc4 Bb4+ 6. Nbd2 Nc6 7. O-O Nf6 8. e5 Nd5 9. Nb3 Nb6 10. Bb5 Bd7 11. Bg5 Be7 12. Bxc6 Bxc6 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. Nfxd4 Bd5 15. Qg4 h5 16. Qxg7 O-O-O 17. Nf5 Qd7 18. Qf6 Bxg2 19. Nc5 Qb5 20. Rfc1 Rhg8 21. Ng3 Bd5 22. a4 Qb4 23. Qf5+ Nd7 24. a5 h4 25. Ra4 Qd2 26. Qf4 Qxf4 27. Rxf4 Nxe5 0-1 [/pgn]

Monday’s third round pairings: Firouzja Alireza (IRI) — Ding Liren (CHN) Giri Anish (NED) — Xiong Jeffery (USA) Jakovenko Dmitry (RUS) — Vachier-Lagrave Maxime (FRA) So Wesley (USA) — Vidit Santosh Gujrathi (IND) Tomashevsky Evgeny (RUS)  — Nepomniachtchi Ian (RUS) Aronian Levon (ARM) — Matlakov Maxim (RUS) Safarli Eltaj (AZE) — Mamedyarov Shakhriyar (AZE) Dominguez Perez Leinier (USA) — Wang Hao (CHN) Xu Xiangyu (CHN) — Grischuk Alexander (RUS) Radjabov Teimour (AZE) —  Yuffa Daniil (RUS) Le Quang Liem (VIE) — Artemiev Vladislav (RUS) Yu Yangyi (CHN) — Wei Yi (CHN) Vitiugov Nikita (RUS) — Karjakin Sergey (RUS) Nisipeanu Liviu-Dieter (DEU) — Svidler Peter (RUS) Duda Jan-Krzysztof (POL) — Andreikin Dmitry (RUS) Alekseenko Kirill (RUS) — Harikrishna Pentala (IND)   The third round starts Monday at 6am EDT. Live commentary is available on the FIDE YouTube channel in English, Russian, and Spanish.

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