Of course, White has an overwhelming position, which could easily tempt you to underestimate Black's counterchances. Straightforward, simple development seems to be the obvious thing to do, so 18.Nh3 or 18.Ne2 suggest themselves, connecting the rooks as we are supposed to do. However, this would allow Black the one tempo he needs to contest the e-file with 18...Kg7 followed by ...Re8. Because of this, Gulko played the more precise text move, using the second rank to nip any counterplay in the bud.
It is not clear to me why Black chose this move instead of the natural 18...Kg7 . He was probably already in despair.
Today the first round of the Masters and Challengers will be played in the traditional Tata Steel Tournament in Wijk aan Zee. The 85th Wijk aan Zee tournament promises to be exciting: In the Masters young talents such as Gukesh, Erigaisi, Maghsoodloo, Abdusattorov, Keymer and Praggnanandhaa meet experienced top players such as Carlsen, Ding, Caruana, Aronian and So, and the Challengers also offers an interesting line-up.
Ding Liren and Nodirbek Abdusattorov were the first winners at the Masters section of the 2023 Tata Steel Chess Tournament. Both players scored with the black pieces, as Ding got the better of Dommaraju Gukesh and Abdusattorov defeated Richard Rapport. In the Challengers, Max Warmerdam and Abhimanyu Mishra collected full points on opening day.
The losing move. 40.Kb3! would be necessary: 40...Rd1 41.d6 Ke5 42.Rg6 with good drawing chances.
40...Rd1+ 41.Kc4 b5+ 42.Kc5 b4 43.Rh8 b3 44.Rf8+ Ke4 45.Re8+ Kd3 46.d6 b2 47.d7 Kc2 White resigned.
Tata Steel Chess 2: Giri’s Double Sacrifice Stuns Gukesh, Carlsen Grinds Down Keymer
GMs Magnus Carlsen and Anish Giri joined GMs Ding Liren and Nodirbek Abdusattorov on 1.5/2 after scoring victories over GMs Gukesh D and Vincent Keymer in the second round of the 2023 Tata Steel Chess Tournament.
The world championship challenger Ding very nearly won his encounter with GM Parham Maghsoodloo but was held to a draw after some sublimed endgame defense, a theme which marked the remainder of the round’s draws.
The world championship challenger Ding very nearly won his encounter with GM Parham Maghsoodloo but was held to a draw after some sublimed endgame defense, a theme which marked the remainder of the round’s draws.