Kvika Reykjavik Open R4: Lukasz Jarmula takes sole lead

by Shahid Ahmed - 09/04/2022

GM Lukasz Jarmula (POL) defeated GM Hans Niemann (USA) to take sole lead 4.0/4 at Kvika Reykjavik Open 2022. Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, top seed of the tournament Pouya Idani (IRI), Alexandr Fier (BRA), Hjorvar Steinn Gretarsson (ISL) and Hedinn Steingrimsson (ISL) are trailing by a half point at 3.5/4 each. Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa, Abhijeet Gupta, Tania Sachdev and Vardaan Nagpal scored a win each. Adhiban and Raunak were held to draws by their strong IM opponents. Gukesh will face Fier and Pragg will be up against Steingrimsson in the fifth round. Round 5 starts today at 3 p.m. local time (8:30 p.m. IST). Photo: Thorsteinn Magnusson/Reykjavik Open 2022

Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa in pursuit

Praggnanandhaa contemplating his opponent's king hunt | Photo: Thorsteinn Magnusson/Reykjavik Open 2022

Gukesh - Maze: 1-0

GM Sebastian Maze (FRA, 2524) could have forced a repetition against D Gukesh (2637). Perhaps he did not want to take a draw.

Position after 27.Rfd1

27...Nb2 28.Rb1 Nc4 29.Rbd1 forces a draw. The bishop cannot retreat to b4 due to the threat of a5 which forces it to get trapped. 27...Rxd6 28.Rxd6 Nxd6 29.Rxd6 Rc6 30.Qf3 Rc7 31.Qg4 made the position worse for Black. Black king is vulnerable, the knight can easily exploit it and it would not be easy for Black to thwart them all. Gukesh converted his positional advantage into a win. The extra pawn helped too.

Praggnanandhaa - Pierre: 1-0

GM Praggnanandhaa (2624) made a successful attack on his opponent IM Pierre Laurent-Paoli's (FRA, 2487) king.

Position after 17...Qc6

Black is lagging in development which White not only has completed but also ready to launch an attack on the kingside. 18.Bd3 h6 19.Rd1 Re8 20.Qb1 White awaits Black to make a mistake. Sometimes waiting is hard to do but if done correctly, one can be rewarded handsomely. Black made a mistake 20...Be6 which allowed White to disintegrate Black's position 21.Bxf6 gxf6 22.Be4 Qb5 23.Rg3+ and rest is just matter of time and technique for White to convert it into a win.

Highlights

Here are some interesting finishes of Round 4

GM Praggnanandhaa R - IM Pierre Laurent-Paoli (FRA): 1-0

IM Stephen R Mannion (SCO) - GM Abhijeet Gupta: 0-1

IM Thomas Beerden (NED) - Edmund C Player (ENG): 1-0

Einar Gregersen (FAI) - IM Eric Rosen (USA): 0-1

Replay Round 4 Live commentary by FM Ingvar Thor Johannesson with various guests | Video: Reykjavik Open Chess

A total of 244 players including 22 GMs, 27 IMs, 2 WGMs and a WIM are taking part from 39 different federations across the world. The tournament is organized by Icelandic Chess Federation from 6th to 12th April 2022 in the capital of Iceland, Reykjavik. The nine-round Swiss league tournament has a time control of 90 minutes + 30 seconds for 40 moves, with an addition of 30 minutes + 30 seconds increment.

Replay Round 4 games

Round 4 results

Bo.	No.		Name	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Rtg	No.
1	25	GM	Jarmula Lukasz	2434	3	1 - 0	3	GM	Niemann Hans Moke	2637	3
2	14	IM	Yoo Christopher Woojin	2532	2½	0 - 1	2½	GM	Idani Pouya	2638	1
3	2	GM	Gukesh D	2637	2½	1 - 0	2½	GM	Maze Sebastien	2524	15
4	4	GM	Adhiban B.	2633	2½	½ - ½	2½	IM	Peng Li Min	2517	17
5	19	IM	Stefansson Vignir Vatnar	2501	2½	½ - ½	2½	GM	Sadhwani Raunak	2628	5
6	6	GM	Praggnanandhaa R	2624	2½	1 - 0	2½	IM	Laurent-Paoli Pierre	2487	21
7	8	GM	Warmerdam Max	2599	2½	½ - ½	2½	IM	Clarke Brandon G I	2436	24
8	22	GM	Hjartarson Johann	2465	2½	½ - ½	2½	GM	Andersen Mads	2582	9
9	10	GM	Fier Alexandr	2573	2½	1 - 0	2½	GM	Thorfinnsson Bragi	2419	28
10	23	GM	Williams Simon K	2464	2½	½ - ½	2½	GM	Cornette Matthieu	2569	11

Details

Round 5 pairings

Bo.	No.		Name	Rtg	Pts.	Result	Pts.		Name	Rtg	No.
1	1	GM	Idani Pouya	2638	3½		4	GM	Jarmula Lukasz	2434	25
2	10	GM	Fier Alexandr	2573	3½		3½	GM	Gukesh D	2637	2
3	13	GM	Steingrimsson Hedinn	2538	3½		3½	GM	Praggnanandhaa R	2624	6
4	3	GM	Niemann Hans Moke	2637	3		3½	GM	Gretarsson Hjorvar Steinn	2542	12
5	24	IM	Clarke Brandon G I	2436	3		3	GM	Adhiban B.	2633	4
6	5	GM	Sadhwani Raunak	2628	3		3	GM	Williams Simon K	2464	23
7	7	GM	Gupta Abhijeet	2616	3		3	IM	Sukandar Irine Kharisma	2386	35
8	36	IM	Martin Julian	2385	3		3	GM	Warmerdam Max	2599	8
9	9	GM	Andersen Mads	2582	3		3	IM	Soham Das	2303	51
10	37	IM	Thorfinnsson Bjorn	2381	3		3	GM	Mishra Abhimanyu	2524	16

Details

Links

Official site

Tournament regulations

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