FIDE World Cup Round Five Begins
Only two games finished other than draws.
On Sunday, July 25, round five of FIDE World Open and Women’s Cups (Finals 8 and 4, respectively) began in Sochi.
A famous figure skater Evgenia Medvedeva was the guest of honor of the round. Two-time Olympic silver medalist, two-time world and European champion made the symbolic first move for world champion Magnus Carlsen (Norway), who faced the Russian player Andrey Esipenko.
This game finished in a draw. Esipenko characterized the game as very tranquil: “I don't think I had any particular problems, and White did. There came a moment when he had to calculate. All in all, the game was OK, but it could have been even better.”
The only decisive game in the open event was Tabatabaei – Martirosyan. An unconventionally treated opening followed by White sacrificing a pawn for the initiative, but compensation was sufficient only to maintain balance. The Iranian GM seemingly overestimated his chances and instead of repeating moves opted for an endgame, where his pressure was gradually annihilated with Black retaining some extra material. Martirosyan's triumph came on move 61.
One of the pivotal round matches began with a draw: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave – Sergey Karjakin. The Russian demonstrated excellent home preparation and confidently defended as Black, spending almost no time over his moves.
Grischuk - Duda followed an interesting trajectory as White sacrificed a pawn in the opening, getting long-term compensation and creating kingside pressure. Black defended precisely and, not finding ways to improve his attack, Grischuk sacrificed his rook to force a draw with a perpetual check.
Santosh Vidit and Vasif Durarbayli delivered the sharpest of clashes all over the board, but Black had the advantage throughout most of the game. Nevertheless, White stood his ground and achieved a draw.
The games Bacrot - Piorun, Fedoseev - Ivic, and Svidler - Shankland also ended in a draw.
In the Russian women’s derby, Valentina Gunina, playing black, sacrificed a pawn in the opening and energetically developed an offensive against her opponent’s king. In a position with opposite-colored bishops Black systematically undermined her opponent's defenses, but in time trouble Gunina did not find the strongest continuation, and Kosteniuk engineered the defensive lines with the only moves. Not willing to put up with a draw, Gunina persisted and eventually crossed the line of reasonable risk. White grabbed the far advanced pawns, forced the exchange of queens and won the opposite-colored bishop ending.
In Goryachkina – Saduakassova White retained the opening initiative for a long time, but Black neutralized the threats with precise play and managed to equalize. Dzagnidze – A. Muzychuk and Tan Zhongyi – Lagno also parted peacefully.
The return games are scheduled on Monday, July 26. Further draws will lead to tie-breaks.
