Riga World Cup 2023 fragments

Below a number of interesting fragments of the games in Riga can be found.

Jitse Slump - Ivan Surov 2-0 (2023)

After 2-7? Slump won using an elementary combination: 20.34-30 24x35 21.33-29 23x34 22.27-22 18x27 23.32x21 16x27 24.28-23 19x28 25.38-32 27x38 26.42x2

Guntis Bringulis - Emre Hageman 0-2 (2023)

After 48.36-31? 17-21! Hageman won the game with the combination 49.31-26 22-27! 50.26x17 14-19 51.32x21 18-22 52.17x28 23x45. A narrow draw for white was still possible after ≡ 48.40-34 17-21 49.34-30 14-19 50.30-25 22-27 51.35-30 24x35 and now the unexpected defense 52.39-34! 19-24 53.33-28! 13-19 54.28-22! and black can't win.

Kirils Gavlass - Gunars Zalitis 0-2 (2023)

Instead of 3-8? Zalitis could have won beautifully using ≡ 24-29! 42.33x13 22x44 43.32-27 21x43 44.48x50 15-20! Now 45.45-40? loses due to 2-8 46.13x2 20-24 47.2x30 25x45 with a threefold opposition. And ≡ 45.50-44 doesn't help either, since black plays 20-24! and the necessary move 46.44-39? is prevented using the same combination 2-8 47.13x2 17-22 48.2x30 25x43 B+

Bohdan Panchenkov - Aleksandrs Tabunovs 0-2 (2023)

After 27.38-33? Tabunovs won the game using the well known combination 16-21 28.27x16 14-20! 29.25x23 18x40 30.35x44 22-27 31.31x22 17x50

Arvo Krebe - Raimonds Millers 0-2 (2023)

After 45.36-31? Millers won very convincingly using 13-18! 46.31-27

Here, ≡ 46.38-32 17-22! would not make any difference: 47.43-38 8-12 48.31-27 22x31 49.26x37 18-22 50.37-31 16-21 etc.

≡ 17-22! 47.38-32 22x31 48.26x37 18-22 49.37-31 16-21! Now after 50.43-38 8-12 51.31-26 12-17 the game is over. Therefore the white player sacrificed a piece with ≡ 50.31-27, but that didn't help to save the game.

Wouter Sipma - Anastase Leclerc 2-0 (2023)

In this classical position, the black position is overdeveloped. It is very instructive how the Dutch grandmaster Sipma takes advantage of that. 35.40-34! 24-29

After ≡ 20-25 36.48-43 15-20? white can win using 37.47-41 17-22 38.28x17 12x21 39.33-28 24-29 40.28-22 29x40 41.45x34 8-12 42.22-17! 20-24 43.17x8 13x2 44.38-33 2-7 45.41-36 7-12 46.37-31 26x28 47.33x13 19x8 48.36-31 21x32 49.34-30 25x34 50.39x37

≡ 36.33x24 20x40 37.45x34 17-22 38.28x17 12x21 39.38-33 19-24?

This is the decisive mistake. The normal continuation ≡ 8-12 40.33-28 12-17 41.39-33 17-22 42.28x17 21x12 43.33-28 15-20 44.48-43 20-24 looks extremely dangerous for black. However, white cannot win. For example 45.47-41 24-29 46.41-36 29x40 47.35x44 23-29! 48.28-23 19x28 49.32x34 12-17 50.43-38 17-22! 51.37-32 22x31 52.36x27 13-19! and black survives.

≡ 40.48-43! 15-20 41.47-41! 13-19 42.37-31 26x46 43.34-30 46x28 44.33x2 21x32 45.2-13!!

With this beautiful move Sipma secures the win.

19x8 46.30x37 16-21 47.39-33

Iurii Anikeev - Gunars Zalitis 2-0 (2023)

After 24-30? Anikeev ended the game using the effective combination 39.48-43! 30x48 40.29-23! 48x22 41.28x19 18x29 42.33x15

Vsevolods Mitrevics - Rostyslav Lieshchynskyi 0-2 (2023)

White is in trouble, and in the game white lost after 44.48-42? 24-29! 45.33x24 23-29 46.24x33 14-20 47.25x23 18x47. But with ≡ 44.31-26 11-17 45.48-43! 24-29 46.33x24 23-29 47.24x33 14-20 48.25x23 18x49 49.28-22 17x37 50.30-24 49x21 51.26x19 he could have saved the game.

Renards Helfrekts - Aleksej Domchev 0-2 (2023)

After 34.34-29? Domchev emptied the board using 18-23! 35.29x7 24-29 36.33x24 19x30 37.35x24 8-12 38.7x18 13x35

Victors Mateiko - Martinas Masanauskas 1-1 (2023)

With 10-14? Masanauskas became the victim of a well known opening trap: 8.27-22! 18x27 9.36-31! 27x36 10.32-27 21x32 11.37x10 9-14 12.10x19 13x24 13.30x19 4-10 14.40-34?

But this move is inaccurate. White should have defended the outpost on 19 using ≡ 14.44-39 3-9 15.35-30! and black can't play 20-24? due to 16.19-14! 24x33 17.14x5 W+

Aleksandr Ivanov - Guntis Bringulis 1-1 (2023)

After 11-17? Ivanov could have gained a big advantage using a well known scheme: 40.27-21! 16x27 41.31x11 6x17 42.36-31 14-19 43.31-27 19-23 44.28x19 13x24 46.33-28 However, the computer shows that black can survive this precarious situation using 8-13 47.38-33 4-10! 48.43-39 10-15! 49.28-22 17x28 50.33x22 13-19 51.22x13 19x8 52.39-33 8-13 53.33-28 12-18 54.28-22 13-19 55.22x13 19x8 56.27-22 15-20! (not ≡ 8-12? 57.32-27 3-8 58.37-32 8-13 59.32-28 12-18 60.22-17 W+) ≡ 57.32-27 20-25! 58.37-32 25-30 59.34x25 24-29 etc.

Kees Thijssen - Yurii Bobkov 0-2 (2023)

In this tricky endgame Thijssen played 55.12-7? This allowed Bobkov to grab both points using 41-46! 56.7-2 46-14! 57.2-8 33-38!

Now the white king can't go anywhere. After 58.8-26? black has 16-21 59.26x42 47x2.

≡ 58.35-30 47-36

Leonids Bickovskis - Karlis Kalejs 0-2 (2023)

Instead of 5-10? Kalejs could have decided the game elegantly using ≡ 8-13! 40.39-34 13-19! 41.43-39 27-31! and white is the victim of a terrible case of `zugzwang`.

Maigonis Juhnjevichs - Arvo Krebe 1-1 (2023)

Krebe started correctly with 24-30! 32.35x24 20x40 33.45x34 But instead of 12-17? he should have played ≡ 15-20! Then 34.49-44? is not possible due to the combination 23-29! 35.33x15 14-20 36.25x23 18x49 B+. And since ≡ 35.33-29? is also impossible due to 19-24 36.28x17 24x11, white will lose the game.

Martin de Jong - Bohdan Panchenkov 0-2 (2023)

When white played 41.36-31? Panchenkov decided the game using elementary means: 20-25! 42.29x20 15x24 Now both 43.45-40? and ≡ 43.43-39? are prevented due to 18-23. The game continued with ≡ 43.38-32 8-12 44.31-26 Or ≡ 44.31-27? 3-8 45.43-38 10-15 B+ ≡ 3-8 45.32-27 17-22 46.28x17 12x32 and white resigned.

Iurii Anikeev - Jitse Slump 1-1 (2023)

After the inaccurate 5-10? Anikeev got a great opportunity to close the gap with the leaders. 44.37-32! 10-14

Most likely Slump had missed the combination ≡ 17-21? 46.36-31! 26x19 47.29-24 20x29 48.34x5 in his calculations.

≡ 45.32-27!

Now white has a decisive advantage.

3-8 46.30-24 8-13 47.42-38 17-22 48.38-33?

But this allows black to escape miraculously. The right move was ≡ 48.40-35! 22x31 49.36x27 20-25 (since ≡ 12-17? 50.23x21 26x17 loses due to 51.34-30! ≡ 51.34-30 13-18 52.30-25 17-22 53.27-21 22-28 54.38-33! 28x39 55.29-23 W+) ≡ 50.27-22 18x27 51.23-19 14x23 52.29x7 W+

≡ 22x31 49.36x27 12-17! 50.23x21 26x17 51.40-35

Here ≡ 51.33-28? leads to a draw after 14-19 52.34-30 17-22 53.27x9 20-25 54.24x13 25x32.

≡ 13-18 52.33-28 20-25 53.27-21 17x26 54.28-23 25-30

Victors Mateiko - Gunars Zalitis 0-2 (2023)

10.37-32?

This move is hardly ever played, and rightfully so.

21-27! 11.32x21 22-28 12.33x22 18x16 13.29x18 20x29?

But here black should have played ≡ 12x23! 14.39-33 20x29 15.33x24 14-20! 16.43-39 (since ≡ 16.34-29? 23x34 17.40x29 simply loses a piece after 10-14 18.44-40 14-19 19.40-35 19x30 20.35x24 9-14 21.45-40 14-19 22.40-35 19x30 23.35x24 4-9 etc.) ≡ 20x29 17.39-33 10-14 18.33x24 14-20 19.34-29 (here ≡ 19.44-39 20x29 20.39-33 9-14 21.33x24 14-20 makes no difference) ≡ 23x34 20.40x29 9-14 21.44-40 14-19 22.40-35 19x30 23.35x24 3-9 24.49-44 9-14 25.44-40 14-19 26.40-35 19x30 27.35x24 4-9 28.45-40 9-14 and this position looks practically lost for white. It turns out that Frerik Andriessen already played like this in the world championship cadets 2007:

Mariusz Slezak - Frerik Andriessen 0-2 (28-6-2007)

≡ 1.33-29 17-22 2.39-33 11-17 3.44-39 6-11 4.50-44 1-6 5.31-26 16-21 6.32-28 19-23 7.28x19 14x23 8.35-30 10-14 9.30-24 5-10 10.37-32 21-27 11.32x21 22-28 12.33x22 18x16 13.29x18 12x23 14.39-33 20x29 15.33x24 14-20 16.43-39 20x29 17.39-33 10-14 18.33x24 14-20 19.44-39 20x29 20.39-33 9-14 21.33x24 14-20 22.34-29 23x34 23.40x29 3-9 24.49-44 9-14 25.45-40 4-10(?) (better ≡ 14-19) ≡ 26.44-39 20-25 27.38-33 14-19 28.40-35 19x30 29.35x24 13-18 30.24-19 25-30 31.48-43 7-12 32.42-38 30-35 33.39-34 8-13 34.19x8 12x3 35.43-39 18-23 36.29x18 17-21 37.26x17 11x13 38.41-37 10-14 39.37-32 13-19 40.36-31 19-24 41.32-28 14-20 42.31-27 24-29 43.34x23 35-40 44.28-22 40-45 45.23-19 6-11 46.33-28 11-17 47.22x11 16x7 48.46-41 7-12 49.27-22 12-18 50.22x13 45-50 51.38-33 50-45 52.47-42 45-12 53.28-22 12-8

Nicholas Ramsundar - Oleksandr Honhalskyi 1-1 (2023)

3-8? Honhalskyi missed the unexpected combination ≡ 19-24!! 28.28x8 (the other two captures lose more easily) 14-19 29.25x23 18x49. Even though white has a material advantage, the situation is hopeless now. For example 30.39-34 49-35! and the threat 24-30 is decisive.

Martin de Jong - Artemijs Bogdanovs 1-1 (2023)

43.48-43? 21-26

On Toernooibase it was noted by Jan Koerselman that black could have won the game using the combination ≡ 17-22! 44.28x26 23-28 45.32x12 13-18 46.12x23 19x48 47.30x10 48x47.

≡ 44.43-39 17-21 45.50-45?

And Hendrik Veenstra showed that white could have forced a win using exact the same combination: ≡ 45.39-34 3-8 46.34-29! 23x25 47.28-23 19x39 48.38-33 39x28 49.32x3 21x41 50.3x4.

Rostyslav Lieshchynskyi - Micha van Tol 2-0 (2023)

After 6-11? Lieschchynskyi missed a nice forcing: 42.27-22! 11-16 43.49-43! 7-11 44.33-29 24x44 45.43-39 44x33 46.38x9 14x3 47.25x23 W+

Ricards Ositis - Gunars Zalitis 2-0 (2023)

Ositis showed that the tempting move 25-30? was poisoned due to 33.33-28! 22x44 34.40x49 30x28 35.38-32 and black resigned.

Martinas Masanauskas - Nikita Bakulins 1-1 (2023)

60.10-5? White could have won the game using ≡ 60.10-28! and now either 31-36 61.32-27 12-18 62.28-6 W+ or ≡ 12-18 61.28-6 31-36 62.32-27 etc.

Hein Meijer - Iurii Anikeev 0-2 (2023)

In this interesting position Meijer made a big mistake with 27.28-22?, which gave Anikeev the opportunity to immediately decide the game with the combination 11-17! 28.22x11 16x7 29.27x16 18-23 and white resigned. This is a pity, since the position has many interesting possibilities. After the logical ≡ 27.42-38(?) black can play 12-17! This looks problematic for white, but with 28.36-31! 17-22 29.28x17 11x22 30.48-43! white can keep the game going. Another plan for white is ≡ 27.44-40 9-14 28.37-31! 26x37 29.42x31, and now for example 4-10 30.28-23 12-17 31.23x12 17x8 32.47-42 21-26 33.32-28 26x37 34.42x31. Even ≡ 27.47-41! is a serious move, since the situation after 26-31 28.37x19 18-23 29.29x18 20x47 30.18-12! is far from clear.