XTX Markets London Chess Classic 2024 R1-2: Vidit Gujrathi wins a messy endgame against Andrew Hong
Vidit Gujrathi started his XTX Markets London Chess Classic 2024 with an unbeaten 1.5/2. He drew the first round game against World Rapid 2013 champion, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE). In round 2, he defeated Andrew Hong (USA). Vidit described his game as - "A cagey fight, super messy endgame & a little fortune to win the game!" in a tweet. The reason behind describing it as messy is, he could have finished in the endgame much earlier. Nikita Vitiugov (ENG) is the only other player at 1.5/2. Vidit will face Gawain Jones (ENG) in Round 3. He is the sole player who have won both of his games. The tournament is taking place at Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal FC. Round 3 starts today at 4 p.m. local time, 9:30 p.m. IST. Photo: London Chess Classic
Vidit makes a good start
Round 2: Vidit - Hong: 1-0
This was the first time, Vidit Gujrathi (2739) faced Andrew Hong (USA, 2572) in a Classical rated game. He got himself a pleasant position out of the English opening. In the middlegame he managed to get full control by finding a nice tactic 25.Qe5!
25.Qe5! is a nice tactic. It forces Black to trade queens and end up in an inferior endgame. 25...Qxe5 26.Nd7+ Kg7 27.Rxe5 Nc6 28.Rxd5 White is not only ahead by two pawns but also has complete control of the position.
White could have finished things much earlier if he spotted the right continuation after 38...Kg6. Find out what White missed when he played 39.Rbe1 prolonging the inevitable by another 19 moves.
Vidit tweeted on his second round victory
Replay live stream
Replay Round 1-2 games
Round 2 Results
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 2563 | GM | Ju Wenjun | ½ - ½ | GM | Adams Michael | 2662 | 5 | PGN | ||
| 2 | 6 | 2520 | GM | Royal Shreyas | 0 - 1 | GM | Jones Gawain C B | 2639 | 4 | PGN | ||
| 3 | 7 | 2739 | GM | Vidit Santosh Gujrathi | 1 - 0 | GM | Hong Andrew | 2572 | 3 | PGN | ||
| 4 | 1 | 2668 | GM | Vitiugov Nikita | ½ - ½ | GM | Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2738 | 2 | PGN |
Standings after Round 2
| Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 | K | rtg+/- | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | GM | Jones Gawain C B | ENG | 2639 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1,00 | 10 | 8,7 | |
| 2 | 7 | GM | Vidit Santosh Gujrathi | IND | 2739 | 1,5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1,00 | 10 | 2,8 | |
| 3 | 1 | GM | Vitiugov Nikita | ENG | 2668 | 1,5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1,00 | 10 | 4,6 | |
| 4 | 2 | GM | Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | AZE | 2738 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1,50 | 10 | -1 | |
| 5 | 5 | GM | Adams Michael | ENG | 2662 | 0,5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0,25 | 10 | -6,7 | |
| 6 | 3 | GM | Hong Andrew | USA | 2572 | 0,5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0,25 | 10 | -3,5 | |
| 6 | GM | Royal Shreyas | ENG | 2520 | 0,5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0,25 | 10 | -2,7 | ||
| 8 | GM | Ju Wenjun | CHN | 2563 | 0,5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0,25 | 10 | -2,2 |
Round 3 pairings
| Bo. | No. | Rtg | White | Result | Black | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 2738 | GM | Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | GM | Ju Wenjun | 2563 | 8 | ||||
| 2 | 3 | 2572 | GM | Hong Andrew | GM | Vitiugov Nikita | 2668 | 1 | ||||
| 3 | 4 | 2639 | GM | Jones Gawain C B | GM | Vidit Santosh Gujrathi | 2739 | 7 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 2662 | GM | Adams Michael | GM | Royal Shreyas | 2520 | 6 |
Links
|
Raunak Sadhwani and Ilya Smirin share first place at XTX Markets London Chess Classic 2024 Masters
@ 10/12/2024 by Shahid Ahmed (en) |
|
XTX Markets London Chess Classic 2024 R3-5: Vidit misses against Adams and Shreyas, Jones stays ahead
@ 04/12/2024 by Shahid Ahmed (en) |