FIDE Grand Prix in Riga, Round 2 pairings:

🇷🇺 Karjakin - So 🇺🇸
🇵🇱 Duda - Mamedyarov 🇦🇿
🇷🇺 Grischuk - Yu 🇨🇳
🇧🇬 Topalov - Vachier-Lagrave 🇫🇷

Tune in at 3pm local time (GMT+3) on July 15!

⚪️#257 (Strategy-White to Move)
🔸Guliev,Sarh (2354)
🔸Suleymanli,Aydin (2313)
🔸Baku Open 2018

16.Ra3! [Guliev correctly transfers the rook to the kingside, which is where all the action is taking place.]

[16.f5 Na6 17.Qf3 c4 18.Ra3+–; 16.Qf3 Qe7 17.Kh1 Rc8 (17...c4) 18.Nb1 Re8 19.N1c3 Na6 20.f5±]

16...Na6 17.Raf3 [17.Rh3! Nc7 18.Nc3 Nd7 (18...f5 19.exf5 gxf5 20.Qh5 Qd7 21.Qxh7+ Kf8 22.Nf3 Bd4+ 23.Nxd4 Qxh7 24.Ne6+ Nxe6 25.Rxh7 Nd4 26.Rxb7 Rab8 27.Rh7 Nc4 28.Nb5 Nxb5 29.axb5 Rxb5 30.Rh5 Nxb2 31.Rxf5+±) 19.Nc4 Ra6 20.Qf3+–]

17...c4 18.b3+/=

1–0

⚫️#257 (Endgame-Black to Move)
🔸Guseinov,G (2664)
🔸Asadli,Vugar (2471)
🔸Baku Open 2018

38...Rc3+! [38...Ke6 39.Ke4 Rc2 40.Ra1 Rc7 41.a6 Ra7 42.Ra5 Kd6 43.b4 g6 44.f4 exf4 45.Kxf4 Ke6 46.Kg5 Kf7 47.Ra1 Kg7 48.g3 Kf7 49.Rf1+ Kg7 50.Rf6 Re7 51.Rxg6+ Kf7 52.Rb6+–; 38...Rc7 39.b4 Ke6 40.a6 Ra7 41.Ra1 h4 42.Ke4 Kd6 43.Ra3 Ke6 44.Ra5 Kd6 45.Kf5 Rf7+ 46.Kg4 Ra7 47.Kxh4+–]

39.Rd3= [39.Kd2 Rxb3 40.Ra1 e4 41.a6 Rd3+ 42.Ke2 Rd8 43.fxe4+ Kxe4 44.Rb1 Rb8 45.a7 Ra8 46.Rb4+ Kd5 47.Rxb5+ Kc6 48.Ra5 Kb6 49.Rxh5 Rxa7=]

½–½

⚪️#258 (Strategy-White to Move)
🔸Aliyev,Ravan (2351)
🔸Gasimov,Parviz (2303)
🔸Baku Open 2018

Unity Chess Strategy Multiple Choice 258
public poll

B) g4 – 7
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 70%
@soodeh728, Jonas, Nikhil, @Steve1234567890qwerty, اوین, @MerissaWongso, @Kasyapat1

A) f4 – 2
👍👍 20%
@SophiaCat_does_Chess, Arianna

C) Nf4 – 1
👍 10%
@mahyarebrahimi1983

👥 10 people voted so far.

⚪️#258 (Endgame-White to Move)
🔸Mamedjarova,Z (2338)
🔸Popov,Iv RUS (2590)
🔸Baku Open 2018

Unity Chess Endgame Multiple Choice 258
public poll

C) Rcc7 – 9
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍 75%
@mahyarebrahimi1983, @soodeh728, Jonas, S.f, Nikhil, @Steve1234567890qwerty, اوین, @Kasyapat1, Arianna

B) f3 – 2
👍👍 17%
@afshintab, @SophiaCat_does_Chess

A) a5 – 1
👍 8%
@MerissaWongso

👥 12 people voted so far.

Savielly Tartakower in Paris, circa 1932.

@UnityChess

"When two fiercely aggressive masters clash, the struggle is usually short and violent."

🔸 Irving Chernev

@UnityChess

Riga, of course, has a long and rich chess history.
40 years ago this September, Mikhail Tal scored one of the greatest results of his later career, winning the FIDE chess Interzonal tournament in his home city.
Cross-table from '64' (No. 40, 1979).

@UnityChess

Jan Timman (Netherlands) and Ljubomir Ljubojević (Yugoslavia), at the IBM tournament in Amsterdam, July 1978.

@UnityChess