13th London Chess Classic 2023 R3: Gukesh stuns Volokitin
GM D Gukesh scored an outstanding victory against GM Andrei Volokitin (UKR) in the third round of 13th London Chess Classic 2023. The teenager's twelfth move g4 followed by Nh3 took his opponent by surprise. Later on, he launched a devastating attack on the kingside and won the game. GM Michael Adams (ENG) defeated GM Mateusz Bartel (POL) to stay in the lead with Gukesh 2.5/3. GM Jules Moussard (FRA) got the better of GM Nikita Vitugov (ENG). England's prodigy IM Shreyas Royal scored a big victory against the Iran no.2 GM M Amin Tabatabaei. Gukesh will face Jules in the next round. Round 4 starts today at 2 p.m. local time, 7:30 p.m. IST. Follow the action live on FM WIM Anna-Maja Kazarian's twitch channel. Photos: Tao Bhokanandh
White wins four out of five
The number of wins scored in each round by the players having white pieces is increasing by one, in AP (Arithmetic Progression). Two in the first round, three in the second and four in third. If this pattern is followed, then the fourth round should have white winning in all five games. However, the reality might turn out to be quite different.
Gukesh - Volokitin: 1-0
D Gukesh (2720) played two Classical rated games against GM Andrei Volokitin (UKR, 2659). He lost the first one in 2022 and drew the second one few months ago. Both were team events. This was the first time they were playing a Classical rated game in an individual game. The teenager came prepared to even the score.
12.g4!? is an interesting choice. It surely works as Qxg4 runs into 13.Nf6+ double attack. White takes the b7-bishop for his knight. 12...Ne6 13.Nh3 in English opening, White often develops his knight on h3 to keep the g2-bishop's path open in the long diagonal.
Black's position was already quite difficult to play. 22.f6 was the straw that broke the camel's back moment for Black. 22.gxf6 23.Bxf6 Bxe4 24.Nxg5 Bxf6 25.Rxf6 Rxf6 26.Nxe4 Kh8 27.Nxf6 Qf5 28.Rf1 and White won.
Try solving various questions asked by IM Sagar Shah from Gukesh-Volokitin's game in an interactive form on ChessRanga.
It goes without saying that the World no.7 - GM Anish Giri (NED) is closely following this event for obvious reasons
Schedule
There are one round each day starting from 2 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. Rest day is on Wednesday 6th December 2023.
Prizes
1st £15000, 2nd £10000, 3rd £7500 and 4th £6000
Replay Round 3 games
Round 3 Results
Bo. | No. | Rtg | Name | Result | Name | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 2720 | GM | Gukesh, D | 1 - 0 | GM | Volokitin, Andrei | 2659 | 10 | PGN | ||
2 | 3 | 2635 | GM | Moussard, Jules | 1 - 0 | GM | Vitiugov, Nikita | 2704 | 1 | PGN | ||
3 | 4 | 2661 | GM | Adams, Michael | 1 - 0 | GM | Bartel, Mateusz | 2659 | 9 | PGN | ||
4 | 5 | 2631 | GM | Mcshane, Luke J | ½ - ½ | GM | Niemann, Hans Moke | 2667 | 8 | PGN | ||
5 | 6 | 2438 | IM | Royal, Shreyas | 1 - 0 | GM | Tabatabaei, M. Amin | 2692 | 7 | PGN |
Standings after Round 3
Rk. | SNo | Name | FED | Rtg | TB1 | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | GM | Gukesh, D | IND | 2720 | 2,5 | |
4 | GM | Adams, Michael | ENG | 2661 | 2,5 | ||
3 | 3 | GM | Moussard, Jules | FRA | 2635 | 1,5 | |
6 | IM | Royal, Shreyas | ENG | 2438 | 1,5 | ||
8 | GM | Niemann, Hans Moke | USA | 2667 | 1,5 | ||
10 | GM | Volokitin, Andrei | UKR | 2659 | 1,5 | ||
7 | 1 | GM | Vitiugov, Nikita | ENG | 2704 | 1 | |
5 | GM | Mcshane, Luke J | ENG | 2631 | 1 | ||
7 | GM | Tabatabaei, M. Amin | IRI | 2692 | 1 | ||
9 | GM | Bartel, Mateusz | POL | 2659 | 1 |
Round 4 pairings
Bo. | No. | Rtg | Name | Result | Name | Rtg | No. | PGN | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 10 | 2659 | GM | Volokitin, Andrei | GM | Tabatabaei, M. Amin | 2692 | 7 | ||||
2 | 8 | 2667 | GM | Niemann, Hans Moke | IM | Royal, Shreyas | 2438 | 6 | ||||
3 | 9 | 2659 | GM | Bartel, Mateusz | GM | Mcshane, Luke J | 2631 | 5 | ||||
4 | 1 | 2704 | GM | Vitiugov, Nikita | GM | Adams, Michael | 2661 | 4 | ||||
5 | 2 | 2720 | GM | Gukesh, D | GM | Moussard, Jules | 2635 | 3 |