Giri, MVL and Vidit get eliminated
Vidit Gujrathi scored an unbeaten 3.0/5 on the third day of the Prelims. However it was not enough to advance to the knockout stage. Leinier secured the final position to advance to the next stage who had a half point more than Vidit.
Round 11: So - Artemiev: 1-0
So blundered in a relatively equal rook and opposite bishop color endgame, probably due to time scramble.
White had to play 31.f6+ and things would have been fine. However, 31.fxg6 costs White material and the game. Find out how.
Vidit - Mamedyarov: 0.5-0.5
Vidit started with an interesting draw against Mamedyarov.
Liem - Leinier: 0-1
Liem could have saved the game in the final moments against Leinier.
White can still make a draw here with precise play. The game continued 57.Kg4 h2 58.Bxg2 Kxa3 and Black won the game in another four moves.
Round 12: Artemiev - Vidit: 0.5-0.5
Vidit had a well-fought draw with Artemiev.
Round 13: Jorden - Duda: 0-1
One of the most interesting game of the day was between two of the sharpest players in the event, Jorden van Foreest and Jan-Krzysztof Duda.
Which is correct - accept or decline the sacrifice? Black chose the incorrect one, still went on to win the game.
Round 14: Duda - Vachier-Lagrave: 1-0
Duda beat Vachier-Lagrave in just 21 moves after the latter made a tactical miscalculation.
Liang - Vidit: 0.5-0.5
Vidit missed a few winning opportunities against Liang.
Both sides are going to promote, yet Black has a choice of pushing the white king towards a particular pawn. Which pawn should Black try to promote and sacrifice the other?
There is a similar position like this in Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual. Instead of rooks, there are queens here. The core of the position remains the same - opposition. This was perhaps the closest Black was to the win. Find out the only winning continuation in the above diagram. Black played 108...Kf5 and Liang found the beautiful defense 109.Kh1.
Round 15: Carlsen - Duda: 0.5-0.5
Duda made an incredible save after losing an exchange due to tactical error.
White is completely winning due to a beautiful geometry by the queen. How? The game continued 62.Kxg2 Qxa7 and Black eventually managed to escape with a draw.
Vidit - Aronian: 1-0
Vidit beat Aronian after the latter went wrong in the endgame.
Find out why 28...a5 is a big mistake and what Black could have done instead.
Highlights
Here are a few interesting finishes from Round 11-15.
Replay Round 11-15 games
Replay the live stream
Standings after Round 15
Knockout brackets
Schedule
All games will start from 8:30 p.m. IST between 28th August and 5th September 2021.
Links
Champions Chess Tour official site
