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Superbet R&B 2022 Day 4: Vishy Anand continues his great momentum

by Shahid Ahmed - 23/05/2022

Vishy Anand continues his fantastic form in the Blitz event of Superbet Rapid and Blitz 2022. He started the day with a defiant win over Jan-Krzysztof Duda, scored 5.0/9 to take his score to 19.0/27. Duda is trailing by 1.5 points at second place 17.5/27. He is followed by Fabiano Caruana and Levon Aronian at 17.0/27 each. Caruana scored a massive 8.0/9 to reduce the gap between him and Anand. The only two draws were against Duda and Aronian. The only two-time FIDE World Cup winner in history, also remained undefeated in the Blitz event so far. Round 10 starts today at 2 p.m. local time (5:30 p.m. IST). Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Fabiano Caruana scores 8.0/9

Vishy Anand is playing fantastic at Superbet Rapid and Blitz 2022. There is no doubt about that. However, one cannot overlook Caruana's fantastic 8.0/9 performance on the first day of Blitz. Duda, Caruana and Aronian are poised to make an interesting finish.

Vishy Anand increases his lead to 1.5 points | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Round 1: Anand - Duda: 1-0

Vishy Anand started the day with a great display of attack against Jan-Krzysztof Duda.

Position after 30...Kh8

30...Kh8 invited trouble 31.hxg5 hxg5 32.Rh2 Rxh2 33.Kxh2 Qb7 and now 34.Nxf6! crashes through Black's kingside.

Anand-Duda was an exciting encounter | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Round 3: Anand - Gavrilescu: 0-1

Anand suffered his first loss of the day against Romanian teenager, IM David Gavrilescu (2367).

Position after 25.Qd4

25.Qd4 is a mistake. Find out why.

IM David Gavrilescu (ROU) scored a big win over Vishy Anand in Round 3 | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Round 4: Shevchenko - Anand: 0-1

19-year-old Kirill Shevchenko (UKR, 2624) is a very strong player. He arrived at a junction where a critical decision needed to be made.

Position after 21...Nxe4

Should White exchange the knights here or not? The game continued 22.Nf3 R5e7 23.Rhg1 Nd6 allowing Black to rearrange his pieces and neutralize any possibility of attack on the kingside.

Kirill Shevchenko had a tough day | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Round 6: Anand - So: 1-0

Anand defeated Wesley So (USA) again. This time in a Blitz game.

Position after 35...Ra3

Black could have fought a bit longer if the rook was placed correctly. Try to find out why 35...Ra3 is a mistake.

Wesley So scored 5.0/9 on the first day of Blitz | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Round 7: Caruana - Anand: 1-0

Fabiano Caruana (USA) had a complex and exciting endgame against Anand.

Position after 34.a5

It goes without saying that it is certainly not easy to determine the best continuation, especially when it's a blitz game. 34...Nc3 35.Rb6+ Kd5 36.c6 Kc4 37.Rd7 Nd5 38.Rbb7 Re8 39.c7 g4 40.Be1? now Black needed to play 40...Bxc7 to get back in the game. Instead, 40...Nc3?? was played and the fleeting opportunity was gone. White went on to win the game.

Caruana-Anand was a back and forth battle | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Round 8: Anand - Rapport: 0.5-0.5

At one point, Vishy Anand was completely winning in the endgame against Hungary no.1 and current world no.8, Richard Rapport.

Position after 42...Kb6

Find out the correct plan for White after 42...Kb6.

Vishy Anand's lightning tactics at the Superbet Blitz 2022 Day 1 | Video: ChessBase India

Anand has not forgotten Rapport ending his unbeaten streak in the Rapid | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Photo Gallery

FIDE Vice President Lukasz Turlej making the first move on Anand-Duda's board | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

First move is being made on Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Wesley So's board | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

The spectators following the Blitz action live in person at Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, Poland | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Richard Rapport and Levon Aronian sharing a light moment | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Radoslaw Wojtaszek scored 4.0/9 | Photo: Lennart Ootes/Grand Chess Tour

Replay the live stream

Replay the Live Commentary of Superbet Rapid & Blitz 2022 Blitz Round 1-9 by IM Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal | Video: ChessBase India

Prize

The total prize fund is US$ 175000 with the first prize being US$ 40000.

Scoring

Rapid: Win - 2 points, Draw - 1 point and Loss - 0.

Blitz: Win - 1 point, Draw - 0.5 point and Loss - 0.

Replay Blitz Round 1-9 games

Standings after Blitz Round 9

Vishy Anand is still at the top 19.0/27 | Photo: Grand Chess Tour

Links

Official site

Tour Regulations

Event Regulations

Tie-break Regulations