FIDE Moscow GP: Grischuk is the first to advance to the finals

by Dylan Loeb McClain - 25/05/2019

Alexander Grischuk of Russia beat Hikaru Nakamura of the United States on Friday to earn a place in the final of the Moscow Grand Prix. He will have to wait until Saturday to find out who his opponent is in the final as the other semi-final – between Radoslaw Wojtaszek of Poland and Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia – ended in a tie after both regulation games were drawn. Wojtaszek and Nepomniachtchi will have to play tie-breakers on saturday. Both semifinals started with draws, so a win on Friday could clinch either match. Grischuk, who had White, was able to take advantage. Photo: World Chess.

Grischuk through to Finals of Moscow Grand Prix; Awaits Opponent

The opening was a Catalan, which has been very heavily analyzed.

Alexander Grischuk is the first one through to the semi-finals | Photo: World Chess

Nakamura chose an aggressive continuation and Grischuk sacrificed a pawn, giving him a lasting initiative.

Grischuk - Nakamura, Round 3.2

Grischuk offered the d4 pawn up for grabs with 10.Nxc4

Though chances were objectively equal, the position was much easier to play as White. The players repeated moves a couple of times, but Grischuk chose not to repeat the position, which would have led to a draw.

Grischuk declined a threefold repetition by playing 22.Kg2

The position became increasingly complicated, but Grischuk navigated the situation a little better than Nakamura, who found himself under greater and greater pressure. Grischuk finally restored material equality on Move 29 by winning a pawn, but his position remained better and easier to play.

Grischuk restored material imbalance with 26.Nbxa5

Nakamura erred with 31…Bf6, and then cracked with 35…Nb6. Grischuk pounced with 36 Ne5 and then 37 Nc6! After a forced sequence of moves, Grischuk had won a pawn and had a significant edge in an endgame.

It's the end of the road for Nakamura at Moscow GP | Photo: World Chess

Grischuk eventually won a second pawn, which was decisive. Nakamura resigned after 54 moves, allowing Grischuk to advance.

In an interview after, Grischuk said he sort of expected the variation that Nakamura played, but that he believed it is a very difficult line for Black to defend. Still, he said it was not easy, mentioning that at one point he calculated 15 moves deep (!), but found a resource for Black.

For his part, Nakamura pointed to 25… Kh8 as a crucial mistake because he overlooked 26 Bd3.

Grischuk analyzes the game in a post-match interview | Video: World Chess

Radoslaw Wojtaszek will have to play tie-breakers with Nepomniachtchi | Photo: World Chess

In the other semifinal game, Wojtaszek had White and played a relatively passive opening against Nepomiachtchi’s King Indian formation. White’s set up did not pose any particular problems for Nepomniachtchi and he managed to equalize without trouble. The players agreed to a draw after only 22 moves, sending their match into overtime.

Wojtaszek and Nepomniachtchi share their thoughts about their game | Video: World Chess

The tie-breaker begins on Saturday at 3 p.m. local time, 5.30 p.m. IST. The broadcast can be viewed free and live at worldchess.com.

Live games begin at 5.30 p.m. IST

The principal sponsors of the series are PhosAgro, a giant Russian fertilizer company, and Kaspersky Lab, a worldwide leader in data security. The series is being organized and broadcast by Worldchess on its Web site under the auspices of FIDE.