The first leg of this candidates cycle FIDE Grand Prix kicked off on Friday. Today (Sunday) the first tiebreaks begin, but out of 8 mini-matches just 2 return for the tiebreak day. Here’s a short recap of what has happened so far and my initial impressions.
Round 1 – game 1
One big question going into the FIDE Grand Prix and its knockout format was how much would be decided by the rapid and blitz tiebreaks. With just 2 classical games it was not unreasonable to think players would be cagey and not take risks.
The first games seemed to be pointing to that scenario. Hikaru Nakamura who finished is game against Radjabov after just 12 moves joined the broadcast and predicted as much as 80% of the matches would go to tiebreaks.
The rest of the day didn’t quite follow Nakamura’s’ predictions. First Mamedyarov got a good position against Wojtaszek (the Polish player seemed to get his queen stuck on a8 after a bad move 17). Past the time control Mamedyarov had a clear winning position, but the chess goddess is cruel and in 2 really bad moves (move 55 and 56) he was suddenly losing and went on the suffer a biter defeat.
Following up Wojtaszek win, the other Polish player Duda also managed to convert when his opponent blunder. In an uncharacteristic performance, the American So seemingly mixed up his preparation and early had to give up a pawn. Another blunder soon followed and by move 25 he was already lost and resigned.
The day saw a third win as Nepomniachtchi grinded down Aronian. The Russian player thus quickly bounced back after a poor showing in Côte d’Ivoire while the former world #2 continued to struggle.
While the other games ended in draws (especially the game Vitiugov vs Svidler seemed premature) I have to mention the wild game between Giri and Dubov. The Russian wildcard (who will play in 3 of these tournament and have an equal chance to qualify) got what seemed a completely winning position, but the Dutch GM kept on defending and hoping for a miracle. In the end Dubov spoiled his chances and the game ended in a draw.
Round 1 – game 2: Surprisingly bloody
With 3 players needing to come back to tie the match and white players eyeing the chance to finish the game (and earn those bonus points) you’d expect more decisive game in game 2, and we certain got a surprisingly high number of wins (5 out of 8) – who says classical chess is boring draws?
One determined to keep the dry and boring classical chess myth going was Nakamura who again had a quick and uneventful draw against Radjabov. The American is sticking to his game plan and trust his rapid and blitz skills. Of the three players needing to win, only Wesley So managed to get that important victory. I bet Duda regrets his decision to play a very sharp position, the Sicilian dragon. You got to doubt you’ve made the right the decision when the world #2 is baffled by your opening choice
While Wojtaszek was gifted his win of Friday, he played solid and deservingly knocked out world’s # 5 (dropping to #7 after his play in Moscow) with a draw. Another player who failed to make a comeback was Aronian who again burned up his clock and failed to get things going against Nepomniachtchi who went for a sharp game he was very comfortable with.
You’d expect that the other games were less exciting and more players going the Nakamura-route? Wrong, we only get 2 tiebreaks (both the matches involving American players) as the rest ended up winning their games.
Wei Yi got a bit lucky as he was suffering against Jakovenko until the Russian player blundered in time trouble and had to see the Chinese advance to round 2. Vitiugov has to regret his draw offer early on Friday as he ended up losing to Svidler in what seemed to be heading for a draw. Svidler is dangerous in these knockout formats and can easily become a real challenger for the overall standings!
Grischuk is another Russian who advances to round 2 without tiebreaks after defeating Karjakin. Unlike Nepo, Karjakin failed to really make an impression here in Moscow and I can’t really see him earning a spot in the candidates if he can’t turn over a page and get his game and mind going again.
Finally we again come to the Dubov vs Giri match. The Dutch got a bit lucky on Friday, but his luck was definitely over on Saturday as Duboc crashed through in a marvelous game. The bottom seed knocked out the top seed and made it look surprisingly easy in an incredible exciting game. I think the knockout format is something Giri will struggle with.
After the end of the 2 classical games 6 out of 8 spots in round 2 is already taken, with 6 players also getting those extra points for advancing without the need of a tiebreak, for now Nakamura’s prediction of 80% matches going to tiebreak seems way off.
Round 2 – interesting pairings
While the tiebreaks in the remaining two matches begins today (Sunday) at 14:00 with the first rapid game, we already have some very interesting matches to look forward to on Monday;
Svidler – Wojtaszek: Going by rating this is the “soft” part of the tournament. I got to say Svidler is the big favourite to advance. If he wins he goes on to meet the winner of the following match
Wei Yi – Nepomniachtchi: These two both played in the first leg of GCT. Again I’ll pick the Russian as the favourite to advance.
Grischuk – Duda/So: Duda proved to be lethal in blitz during the championship in St. Petersburg, but I still think So is a slight favourite. I think Grischuk will be a small favourite against either player, but his tendency to get in time trouble means that this is probably the most unpredictable match of the round
Dubov – Radjabov/Nakamura: I think Nakamura would easily take out Radjabov. The American seems set to finish of the matches in tiebreak, but I believe his strategy could come back to haunt him. Not only has Dubov proved deadly in the classical games, he is after all the reigning rapid world champion. Objectively Nakamura should advance but I’m hoping Dubov punished the draw-strategy of Nakamura.
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