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Grand Swiss R4: Harikrishna and Vaishali score a win

by Shahid Ahmed - 31/10/2021

Harikrishna scored his second consecutive win of the event to move to 2.5/4 at the conclusion of the fourth round of FIDE chess.com Grand Swiss 2021. Nihal, Gukesh and Sasikiran drew their respective games against three strong Russians, Ponkratov, Fedoseev and Artemiev. WGM Jiner held Harika to a draw. Padmini missed a completely winning opportunity against Kashlinskaya. Divya escaped a loss against Sophie. Vaishali scored a comfortable victory. Vantika, Raunak and Sethuraman drew with Anna Sargsyan, Maxim Matlakov and Boris Gelfand respectively. Round 5 starts today at 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Mark Livshitz/FIDE

Nihal and Harika in pursuit

Alireza Firouzja (FRA) continues his sole lead 3.5/4 as he drew his game against Yangyi Yu (CHN). Eleven players are at a half point behind him, Nihal Sarin is the only Indian among them. Harikrishna, Sasikiran and Gukesh are at 2.5/4 each. Among the Women, Tingjie Lei has taken sole lead 3.5/4. Ten players are at a half point behind him including Harika 3.0/4. Padmini and Vaishali are at 2.0/4 each.

Harikrishna showed his endgame prowess | Photo: Mark Livshitz/FIDE

FIDE Grand Swiss 2021 official logo | Photo: FIDE

Nihal - Ponkratov: 0.5-0.5

Pavel Ponkratov made a greek gift sacrifice on Nihal's kingside.

Position after 11...Bxh2+

White is forced to accept the sacrifice, as the alternative leads to an instant loss. The game continued 12.Kxh2 Qh4+ 13.Kg1 Rf6 and now 14.f4 prevents any kind of perpetual as 14...Rh6 runs into 15.Nf3 exf3 16.Bxf3 allows king to escape via e2. White decided to allow the perpetual 14.f3 Nf6 15.Qe1 Qh2+ 16.Kf2 Qh4+ and there is no way for White to get out of the checks.

Pavel Ponkratov drew with Nihal Sarin | Photo: Mark Livshitz/FIDE

Fedoseev - Gukesh: 0.5-0.5

Vladimir Fedoseev decided to give up an exchange against Gukesh at the right moment. However, he did not follow through correctly and allowed his opponent to get back in the game.

Position after 25.Nc6

Although the knight is well-placed at c6, it allows Black some counterplay 25...Re1+ 26.Kf2 Rc1 27.Ra7 Rxc2+ 28.Kf3 Rxa2 29.Bb8 Kg8 and eventually White used the d-pawn as a leverage to get a perpetual check. Perhaps 29...h5 would have been a better try instead of bringing the king all the way to the center as Black got into a perpetual because of that and did not get any time to push the passed a-pawn.

When you have piqued Shirov's interest in your game, you know that you have made it | Photo: Anna Shtourman/FIDE

Vladislav Artemiev (RUS) - Krishnan Sasikiran: 0.5-0.5 | Photo: Anna Shtourman/FIDE

Movsesian - Harikrishna: 0-1

Harikrishna scored his second consecutive victory in the event, this time against Sergei Movsesian (ARM).

Position after 33.Rd8

33.Ra6 would have kept White in the game. However, 33.Rd8 is a game losing mistake, find out why.

Raunak Sadhwani had a well-fought draw against Maxim Matlakov (RUS) | Photo: Rupali Mullick

Sethuraman - Boris Gelfand (ISR): 0.5-0.5 | Photo: Mark Livshitz/FIDE

Jiner - Harika: 0.5-0.5

Harika had to sacrifice a pawn to prevent her position from getting worse. Later in the double rook and minor piece endgame, it seemed like Jiner Zhu (CHN) had something. However a careful inspection reveals that there was not much practically.

Position after 32...Rd8

Computer may not like 32...Rd8 for Black, in reality there is nothing White can do to take advantage of it either via 33.Bb6 or Be3. White is unable to create a real threat or a passed pawn on e-file. The game meandered into a draw.

Jiner - Harika: 0.5-0.5 | Photo: Anna Shtourman/FIDE

Padmini - Kashlinskaya: 0-1

IM Padmini Rout got a fantastic opportunity against IM Alina Kashlinskaya (RUS).

Position after 29...Rxf2

Black has made a bluff 29...Rxf2. The best way to refute a sacrifice is to accept it. This case is no different either. 30.Kxf2 Qf7+ 31.Nf5! and now no matter which piece Black captures in any way, White wins the game. Unfortunately, White opted for 30.Nd5 which is a bigger mistake and lost the game in the next few moves.

Anna Sargsyan - Vantika: 0.5-0.5

WGM Vantika Agrawal continues her unbeaten run as she drew with WGM Anna Sargsyan (ARM).

Position after 21.Rh5

21.Rh5 might give Black a slight edge. However, it is not enough to get anything substantial.

Vaishali - Meruert: 1-0

IM Vaishali scored a fine victory against WIM Meruert Kamalidenova (KAZ).

IM Vaishali 2.0/4 | Photo: Mark Livshitz/FIDE

Divya - Sophie: 0.5-0.5

At one point, WGM Divya Deshmukh was completely lost against France no.2 woman, IM Sophie Mililet (FRA).

Position after 36.Qc8

Find out the winning continuation for Black in the above position. Black missed her opportunity and played 36...Rg5 which allowed White to save the game 37.Ra2. The game continued for another 70 moves before a draw happened with only kings left on the board.

Divya survived a scare | Photo: Mark Livshitz/FIDE

Highlights

A few interesting finishes from Round 4

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA) defeated Anton Demchenko (RUS)

Pavel Eljanov (UKR) won against Mikhail Antipov (RUS)

Tingjie Lei (CHN) defeated Valentina Gunina (RUS)
FIDE chess.com Grand Swiss Round 4 recap | Video: ChessBase India

Photo Gallery

Firouzja maintains his sole lead 3.5/4 | Photo: Mark Livshitz/FIDE

Women's top boards | Photo: Mark Livshitz/FIDE

Kirill Alekseenko takes a look at Gukesh's game | Photo: Anna Shtourman/FIDE

Who will have a breakout performance among these four? | Photo: Anna Shtourman/FIDE

Schedule

Everyday game starts at 2 p.m. local time (4:30 p.m. IST) between 27th October and 7th November 2021. Rest day is on Tuesday 2nd November 2021.

Time Control

The time control for each game is: 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 50 minutes for the next 20 moves, followed by 15 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 1.

Qualification

The top two players in the open event will qualify for the FIDE Candidates 2022. The next six players will earn their spots in the FIDE Grand Prix. The Women's Grand Swiss winner will qualify to the Women's Candidates. The following four best players will qualify for the FIDE Women's Grand Prix.

Prizes

The total prize fund in the Open is US$ 425,000 with the first prize being $70,000. For Women's the total prize fund is $125,000, first prize $20,000. Total numbers of prizes are 60, Open - 40 and Women - 20.

Replay Round 4 Open games

Replay Round 4 Women games

Replay the live stream

FIDE chess.com Grand Swiss Round 4 | Live commentary by IM Sagar Shah | Video: ChessBase India

Round 4 results

Rd.Bo.No. NameFEDRtgPts.ResultPts.NameFEDRtg No.
4241
GMNihal SarinIND2652½ - ½GMPonkratov PavelRUS2659
31
4810
GMFedoseev VladimirRUS27042½ - ½2GMGukesh DIND2640
53
41014
GMArtemiev VladislavRUS26992½ - ½2GMSasikiran KrishnanIND2640
54
42140
GMSevian SamuelUSA265421 - 02GMPraggnanandhaa RIND2618
81
42469
GMMovsesian SergeiARM26270 - 1GMHarikrishna PentalaIND2719
7
42828
GMSjugirov SananRUS26631 - 0GMErigaisi ArjunIND2634
60
43818
GMVan Foreest JordenNED269111 - 01GMGanguly Surya ShekharIND2617
82
43922
GMMatlakov MaximRUS26821½ - ½1GMSadhwani RaunakIND2609
84
44079
GMSethuraman S.P.IND26201½ - ½1GMGelfand BorisISR2680
23
44999
GMBjerre Jonas BuhlDEN256911 - 0½GMAdhiban B.IND2672
25
4215
WGMZhu JinerCHN2455½ - ½GMHarika DronavalliIND2511
4
4740
IMPadmini RoutIND238020 - 12IMKashlinskaya AlinaRUS2493
8
41033
WGMSargsyan Anna M.ARM24022½ - ½2WIMVantika AgrawalIND2322
46
41925
WGMVaishali RIND241911 - 01WIMKamalidenova MeruertKAZ2339
44
42347
WIMDivya DeshmukhIND2305½½ - ½½IMMilliet SophieFRA2410
28

Details

Round 5 pairings

Rd.Bo.No. NameFEDRtgPts.ResultPts.NameFEDRtg No.
5689
GMPetrosyan ManuelARM260533GMNihal SarinIND2652
41
5117
GMHarikrishna PentalaIND2719GMSwiercz DariuszUSA2647
46
51454
GMSasikiran KrishnanIND2640GMFedoseev VladimirRUS2704
10
51617
GMNavara DavidCZE2691GMGukesh DIND2640
53
52981
GMPraggnanandhaa RIND261822GMMamedov RaufAZE2673
24
53884
GMSadhwani RaunakIND2609GMRakhmanov AleksandrRUS2657
36
53937
GMCori JorgePER2655GMSethuraman S.P.IND2620
79
54160
GMErigaisi ArjunIND2634GMGoryachkina AleksandraRUS2602
91
55182
GMGanguly Surya ShekharIND261711GMBudisavljevic LukaSRB2508
106
55325
GMAdhiban B.IND2672½½IMRakotomaharo Fy AntenainaMAD2484
107
534
GMHarika DronavalliIND251133WGMPogonina NatalijaRUS2467
13
5746
WIMVantika AgrawalIND2322GMAbdumalik ZhansayaKAZ2507
6
51321
IMMunguntuul BatkhuyagMGL243322IMPadmini RoutIND2380
40
51542
IMMelia SalomeGEO237122WGMVaishali RIND2419
25
52449
Golsta MadaraLAT2003½1WIMDivya DeshmukhIND2305
47

Details

Links

Official site

Chess-results: Open and Women

Tournament Regulations: Open and Women



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