The 2019 #SpringChessClassic, held from 2-10 March in the STL Chess Club, sees 10 strong grandmasters with an average rating of 2657 fighting for the $6000 first prize.
The total prize fund for group A is $22,000.

Sergey Karjakin wins Cup of the Group of Companies "Region". Almost 100 grandmasters participated in blitz tournament. Photo: Vladimir Barsky

🔸chess.com IoM Masters Douglas ENG 2018
🔸Round 5
⚪️Gormally,Daniel W (2482
⚫️Deac,Bogdan-Daniel (2594)
🔸0-1

12...d6! [Black removes the White bishop from the a1–h8 diagonal and then puts his own bishop on it.]

13.Bg3 [13.c4 Bg4! 14.Nbd2 dxe5 15.cxd5 cxd5 16.Rxe5 Bg7 △B×d4 17.Qe1 Bxf3 18.Nxf3 Bxe5 19.Qxe5 Qd6µ]

13...Bg7 [△c×d4]

14.c3 Bg4 [14...cxd4!? 15.Nxd4 Qb6 16.Ne6 Bxe6 17.Rxe6 Rf5 18.Qe1 a5-/+ △a4]

15.Qd3 Bxf3! [Black ruins White's kingside pawn structure by exchanging his own bishop for opponent's knight.]

16.gxf3 cxd4 17.cxd4 Qb6 18.Re4 Qb5! [Trying to resolve the weakness of c6–pawn.]

19.Qd1 [19.Qxb5 cxb5 △R×f3 20.Nd2 Rac8 21.a4 bxa4 22.bxa4 Bh6 23.f4 Bxf4 24.Nf1 Rc4–+]

19...c5 20.dxc5 Qc6 [20...Qxc5!? 21.Rc4 Qa5 22.Ra4 Qb5 23.Na3 Qb7 24.Rc1 Nc3–+]

21.cxd6 Bxa1 22.Rc4 Qb7 23.dxe7 Nxe7 24.Rc7 Qd5 25.Nd2 Bf6

0–1

⚪️#153 (Strategy-White to Move)
🔸Vitiugov,N (2720)
🔸Saric,Iv (2690)
🔸Caleta ENG 2019

11.h4! [A standard idea. White who has established control in the center, initiates a direct kingside attack by using the h-pawn.]

[11.0–0!? Nc7= intending ...Ne6, with equality.; 11.Qd2!? Nc7 12.Bh6 Bxh6 13.Qxh6 Ne6=]

11...c5 [11...h5 This move would weaken Black's kingside pawn structure and allow White to play the interesting e6 at the right moment.]

12.dxc5 Nxc5 13.d4 Ne4 14.h5 Nxc3 15.bxc3 Qd7 16.Qd2 Qf5±

½–½

⚫️#153 (Endgame-Black to Move)
🔸Tahbaz,Arash (2468)
🔸Gholami,A (2488)
🔸Bushehr IRI 2019

29...Nc4? [29...g6!! 30.Bh3 (30.Bc2 Kd7 31.g3 f3 32.Ke1 Kxd6µ) 30...a5 31.Ke2 b4 32.Kd2 a4 33.Kc2 f5 34.h5 gxh5 35.Bxf5 h4-/+; 29...a5!? 30.g3 fxg3 31.fxg3 g6 32.Bc2 Kd7 33.Ke2 Kxd6 34.Ke3³]

30.Ke2 Nxd6 31.Bd3 Ke7 32.Kf3 Ke6 33.Kxf4=

½–½

⚪️#154 (Strategy-White to Move)
🔸Lysyj,I (2633)
🔸Agmanov,Zhandos (2405)
🔸15th Moscow Open A 2019

Unity Chess Strategy Multiple Choice 154
public poll

B) f3 – 13
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 93%
@mahyarebrahimi1983, عباس, Jonas, Ebi, Gavin, @Omid_kh7225, @A_Wild_Richard, @AryanLeekha, Michael, Hansika, Daniel, Alan, Kasyap

A) b4 – 1
👍 7%
Sahil

C) Bc7
▫️ 0%

👥 14 people voted so far.

⚫️#154 (Endgame-Black to Move)
🔸Darini,P (2475)
🔸Tahbaz,Arash (2468)
🔸Bushehr IRI 2019

Unity Chess Endgame Multiple Choice 154
public poll

A) f5 – 17
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 68%
@batonik107, @mahyarebrahimi1983, عباس, Jonas, Ebi, keshavarz, Jahanbakhsh, Babak, @FrozenBlade, @A_Somewhat_Cool_Guy, Srikar, @AryanLeekha, @Miladdark79, Michael, Hansika, Alan, @Kingbosskasyap

C) Re6 – 5
👍👍 20%
@Pourya_egh, Gavin, رامتین, Mehul, Sahil

B) Nc8 – 3
👍 12%
@fardin71ir, Max, Daniel

👥 25 people voted so far.

Pictured at Schiphol Airport on 26th April, 1962 - on a stop en route to the Candidates Tournament in Curaçao - Soviet grandmasters Paul Keres & Mikhail Tal are pictured with Max Euwe.

@UnityChess

“In chess we have the obligation to move... One of the great challenges of the game is how to make progress when there are no obvious moves, when action is required, not reaction.”

🔸 Garry Kasparov (2007) "How Life Imitates Chess"

@UnityChess