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Carlsen scores against Grandelius
No one could have predicted before the tournament that the top game of round 9 would be the clash between the two youngest players in the field, Alireza Firouzja and Andrey Esipenko. With Firouzja in the sole lead and Esipenko coming from beating Magnus Carlsen in the previous round to join the chasing pack, the encounter that faced a 17-year-old against an 18-year-old was the main event of the day.
Firouzja had the white pieces and played a quiet novelty on move 9. A strategical battle ensued, with both players taking their time to find accurate manoeuvres. The point was split after 41 moves. Nigel Short was following the game, and took the chance to quip on Twitter:
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Press release
Pentala Harikrishna will replace Shakhryar Mamedyarov at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament. Mamedyarov has informed the tournament organization that he is unable to attend the 83rd edition of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in January. Harikrishna (34) is number 22 on the world ranking, with a rating of 2732. The last time Harikrishna participated in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament was in 2017, finishing 9th. The Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021 will take place in De Moriaan in Wijk aan Zee on 15–31 January.
Tournament director Jeroen van den Berg declared:
Harikrishna is a solid chess player. I am very happy that he will participate in our tournament. Pentala has repeatedly shown that he can take on the world’s very best chess players. His highest ranking on the world list was 10th place. I expect him to be a strong competitor in Wijk aan Zee.
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Speed Chess Championship 2020
Each duel in the Speed Chess Championship consists of 90 minutes of 5+1 blitz games, 60 minutes of 3+1 blitz games and 30 minutes of 1+1 bullet games.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave emerged from the 5+1 blitz section with a +1 lead. This was the game that allowed him to go into the remaining sections up on the scoreboard:
These DVDs are about Understanding Middlegame Strategies. In the first DVD dynamic decisions involving pawns are discussed. The second DVD deals with decision making process concerning practical play.
In the 3+1 blitz section, seven games favoured the player who had the white pieces, which were followed by a single draw in which Carlsen had white! Vachier-Lagrave was thus able to extend his lead.
The Spanish Chess Federation organized a training match in which five of the strongest players from the Iberian country faced an international squad over ten days in La Palma, one of the Canary Islands. The double-round Scheveningen tournament came to an end on Wednesday, with the international team getting a 27:23 victory. | Pictured: Ivan Cheparinov facing Jaime Santos | Photos: Spanish Chess Federation (FEDA)