8 March 2020

Nutcracker Generation Tournament: Balance Maintained after First Rapid Day

The total score is 24-24.


The first rapid part of the Nutcracker Generation Tournament was played in the Central Chess Club on March 8. 

In the first round, Andrey Esipenko outplayed Alexei Shirov in a dynamic struggle having converted an extra pawn. Evgeniy Najer secured a confident victory as White in the Najdorf Variation against Alexey Sarana. Evgeny Tomashevsky demonstrated the strength of four pawns over a piece in his winning game against Daniil Yuffa. The game Lomasov - Gelfand was drawn.  

In the next round, Andrey Esipenko won another game in a row - this time versus Evgeniy Najer. However, Princes lost once again with a minimal score. Evgeny Tomashevsky crushed Semyon Lomasov's resistance, while Boris Gelfand bested Alexey Sarana. ЕDaniil Yuffa and Alexei Shirov made a draw. 

Then Princes rehabilitated themselves having won 3-1. Alexey Sarana crushed Evgeny Tomashevsky's defence as White. Alexei Shirov, who was playing against Semyon Lomasov, lost on time. The games Najer - Yuffa and Gelfand - Esipenko were drawn. 

The fourth round ended 2-2. Alexei Sarana defeated Alexei Shirov with the white pieces, while Boris Gelfand beat Daniil Yuffa. The games Lomasov - Najer and Esipenko - Tomashevsky were drawn. 




The score is rapid is 8-8; the total score is 24-24.  

GM Sergey Shipov commentates on the games in Russian, while GM Evgeny Miroshnichenko is working for the English-speaking audience.

The organizers are Chess Federation of Russia and the Ladya Foundation for supporting social, educational, innovative and sports projects.  

Tournament page

Photos by Eteri Kublashvili