CHESS#1233

Almost every strong player in world had a crack at the World Rapids and World Blitz championships

Almost every strong player in the world had a crack at the World Rapids and World Blitz championships. 

Both tournaments were played out as long Swiss systems. The rapids consisted of 15 rounds played over three days, at 15 minutes/ game and 10 second increment/move. The blitz was played as a 21 rounder, at 3 minutes with 2 seconds increment. 

Any Swiss has inherent "upset factors" due to variables like unknown pairings which makes specific preparation hard, and sheer luck of the draw. Short time controls also mean more errors.  A long Swiss irons out some randomness but also induces tiredness. By the end, the veterans are exhausted. 

But the 47-year-old Ukrainian genius, Vassily Ivanchuk transcended all the rational reasons for being outplayed by youngsters. “Chukky” won the rapid, scoring 11/15. He tied with Magnus Carlsen and Alexander Grischuk (both 11). But Ivanchuk had the best tiebreak. He had played higher-rated players (including a win against Carlsen). The key moment for him was a bit of luck in the 14th round when Viswanathan Anand blundered into a knight fork as Ivanchuk was struggling to hold a lost position. 

The Indian contingent did not do very well. But they had their moments. Surya Sekhar Ganguly missed a sensational chance to checkmate Carlsen in the first round. Vidit Gujrathi (9.5) was best-placed, tied for 8th place, and he gains an amazing 75 Elo. Anand (9) placed 15th — if he had beaten Ivanchuk, he could have been a medal contender, which is a pointer to the level of Swiss randomness.

The blitz was a two-horse race.  Sergey Karjakin and Carlsen outpaced the field. Carlsen led, going into the last round. But Peter Leko forced a draw against the world champion while Karjakin beat Baadur Jobava. They tied with 16.5/ 21. Karjakin had played stronger averaged opposition (2740 to Carlsen's 2735) and also beaten Carlsen in their individual game. Incidentally, Ivanchuk also beat Carlsen in the blitz, making it 2/2 for the Ukrainian versus the champ.  

Young Daniil Dubov took blitz bronze, on better tiebreak from Hikaru Nakamura, Grischuk (all 14.5). Anand (13) tied for 7th-12th, after losses to Dubov, Morozevich, Ivanchuk and Carlsen. The tiebreak criteria (average opponent ratings) is a handicap for the highly-rated Carlsen, since he can't play himself!  in the women's event, Anna Muzychuk won both titles, which is a huge achievement. 

The DIAGRAM, BLACK TO PLAY, (White: Carlsen Vs Black: Ganguly, World Rapid  Chps, 2016) will haunt Surya.  Black is totally winning. But he played 36.— Rxa4?? 37. h5 Qc4?? 38. Rd8+! Bxd8 39. Qe8+ Kh7 40. Qg6+ (1/2-1/2).  Instead, 36. — Rg4+!  37. Kxg4 Qg2+  38. Kh5 Qf3# and later, 37. — Qe4!  38. Qe8 Kh7 39. g6+ Kh6 also wins. 
 

Devangshu Datta is an internationally rated chess and correspondence chess player