17 hours ago
Ian Nepomniachtchi, who won 2 Candidates tournaments but past mislaid world title matches to Magnus Carlsen and Ding Liren, and Hans Niemann, whose arguable 2022 crippled pinch Carlsen is nan taxable of nan Netflix documentary Untold: Chess Mates, tied an eight-game bid successful Belgrade this week pinch a triumph apiece and six draws.
Nepo won nan first crippled and Niemann nan eighth, aft nan Russian missed an easy opportunity to triumph crippled seven. They played 2 games a time astatine a brisk clip power of 1 hr per subordinate positive a 30 seconds per move increment which Fide calls “Fast Classical”. The arena was opened by Serbia’s curate of sport, Zoran Gajic, and nan seasoned grandmaster Ljubomir Ljubojevic made a ceremonial opening move.
This was arguably nan astir important individual lucifer betwixt Russian and American players since Anatoly Karpov v Gata Kamsky successful 1996, aliases moreover since nan legendary Bobby Fischer v Boris Spassky lucifer successful 1972.There was nary proviso for a tie-break, though Niemann astatine nan extremity of nan eighth crippled projected an other Armageddon game, which Nepo declined.
Relations betwixt nan players were frosty moreover earlier they sat down. Nepo respective times wanted a post-mortem astatine nan end, but Niemann refused. It seems that nan American still blamed his force for nan 2024 Gashimov Memorial successful Azerbaijan, erstwhile Niemann had his invitation revoked erstwhile Nepo allegedly joined guidance from nan different players.
At nan end, Niemann praised his opponent. He wrote: “Nepo is debased rated by his standards correct now, but we should not hide that he almost became world champion. He’s a two-time Candidates winner, two-time challenger, and has won galore tournaments.
“My showing astatine this level is simply a awesome sign. I near a batch connected nan table, particularly successful nan achromatic games. This was not an easy match. This was not personification you could expect to farm. It was a awesome challenge, and being challenged successful this measurement was a awesome learning experience.
“As a person, it’s a spot difficult. Because erstwhile personification tries to harm your chess career, you person to stay focused and unemotional.”
The people of nan lucifer was astir apt influenced by game one, wherever Nepo sewage an separator against Niemann’s Ruy Lopez Berlin Wall, and yet converted. After that, Nepo seemed reluctant to property successful his achromatic games, while Niemann took nan inaugural successful his ain whites, each 4 of which featured nan Rossolimo Sicilian 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5, and which led to a triumph successful nan eighth and last game.
The large missed opportunity came successful crippled seven, which opened conventionally pinch a Ruy Lopez Anti-Marshall: 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 Be7 6 Re1 b5 7 Bb3 0-0 8 h3 Bb7 9 d3 d5 10 exd5 Nxd5 11 Nbd2 Nd4 12 Nxd4 exd4 13 Qf3 c5?? and now White tin triumph material, nan game, and nan lucifer by either 14 Rxe7! or, still better, 14 Re5! Neither of them noticed till excessively late, and Nepo chose 14 a4??
Norway Chess successful Oslo starts its last information astatine 4pm BST connected Friday pinch nan world No 1, Magnus Carlsen, already definite to astatine slightest adjacent his worst ever tourney result, 4 defeats, astatine nan aforesaid arena successful 2015. Carlsen lost a 2nd game to Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu aft nan Indian sewage nan amended of a 3 e5 French Defence wherever Carlsen again mishandled his timepiece time.
Norway’s scoring strategy is 3 points for a classical win, 1 for a classical draw, 0 for a classical loss, 0.5 for an Armageddon triumph and 0 for an Armageddon loss.
Open standings: Wesley So (US) 15.5, Praggnanandhaa 15, Alireza Firouzja (France) 14.5, Vincent Keymer (Germany) 11, Carlsen (Norway) 10, Gukesh Dommaraju (India) 8.
Norway Women, which has adjacent prize money to nan unfastened event, is turning into a important nonaccomplishment for China’s reigning women’s world champion, Ju Wenjun. Ju, who has held nan world crown for astir a decade has been a acold little floor plan characteristic than her predecessors. Judit Polgar ne'er played for nan women’s title, but held her ain against nan very apical men, while Hou Yifan, nan all-time No 2, besides competed successful galore unfastened events.
Ju is intelligibly among nan all-time women’s apical six, but she has been retired of shape successful Oslo, scoring only 50% successful her classical games and losing six Armageddon tie-breaks. She has to take sides her world title against nan 2026 Candidates winner, India’s Vaishali Rameshbabu, successful nan adjacent fewer months. If she survives that challenge, past Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubayeva, who was nan Candidates runner-up and has conscionable won successful Oslo pinch a information to spare, will beryllium nan favourite to triumph nan 2028 Candidates and conclusion Ju successful nan title match.
Ju is 35, while her 2 rivals are each successful their early aliases mediate 20s, arsenic is Zhu Jiner, who defeated Ju successful information 8 successful Oslo, truthful it seems probable that a changing of nan defender will hap successful women’s chess earlier 2030.
Women’s standings: Assaubayeva 16.5, Zhu 13, Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine) 12, Ju 10.5, Divya Deshmukh (India) 10, Humpy Koneru (India) 9.
You tin watch nan last information from Oslo unrecorded on YouTube.
The European Senior Championships person conscionable begun successful Acqui Terme, Piedmont, Italy, pinch England’s GM Danny Gormally seeded sixth successful nan 50+ while GM Keith Arkell, who raised complete £2,800 to support his information via a crowdfunding appeal, is seeded 3rd successful nan 65+.
Both scored pinch speedy miniatures successful nan opening 2 rounds. Arkell checkmated his opponent successful 21 moves, while Gormally’s 17 d5! won decisive worldly and sparked resignation.
4027: 1 Qf4! and if 1…Qxf4 2 Re8+! Rxe8 3 Nd7 mate. If 1…Rd6 aliases 1…Qc8 2 Ne6+ wins decisive material.
