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"This is the rescue maneuver of the decade" | Keymer unlucky, Rapport expands his lead

On day two of the GRENKE Chess Classic in Karlsruhe the spectatores saw top-class games again. In rounds three and four, we saw brilliant attacking moves, forced exchange sacrifices, tricky queen endgames and, last but not least, "the rescue maneuver of the decade". 

The English-language commentary alongside the German national coach Jan Gustafsson was taken over by IM Lawrence Trent, who stood in for the ill Peter Leko. Gustafsson and Trent are a well-rehearsed team from their time together at chess24.   

Here are the short reports about the individual games:

round 3

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs. Daniel Fridman 0:1

Fridman managed an important and, with Black, unexpected victory against the number three in the rapid world rankings. In this position, he found ... Rb3!, which is the right move. After the provoked exchange of rooks, White can no longer stop the b-pawn. 

 

Magnus Carlsen vs. Ding Liren 0,5 : 0,5

GRENKE CEO Sebastian Hirsch symbolically opened the "Battle of the Kings" (Rapid World Champion vs. World Champion in classical chess) with the move 1.d4. Carlsen simply left the pawn and pressed the clock. Both players neutralized each other. Ding Liren was forced to give up the exchange at first, but forced Carlsen to return it later. The game ended in a draw.  

Richard Rapport vs. Vincent Keymer 0,5 : 0,5

Queen endgames often end in perpetual check, and so it was in this game. The German number 1 did not allow any danger with the black colors. Leader Rapport will have been satisfied with half a point after the balanced course of the game. 

round 4

Richard Rapport vs. Daniel Fridman 1:0

With this victory, Rapport consolidated his lead in the standings. Fridman's move 20...Rc1 looks dangerous at first glance, but in retrospect it turns out to be overambitious. After 21.Qd2 Nc6 22.Ra3! the black rook and the black knight are not sufficiently anchored in the opponent's fortress. 

Magnus Carlsen vs. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 0,5 : 0,5

Britta Wirtz, CEO of the host Messe Karlsruhe, had the honour of making the first move in this game:

A short time later, Carlsen convinced with the move Nc7!! After... Nxc7, Rxd6 with the threats Rxh6# and e5 comes to board. However, Carlsen later lost his advantage, allowing Vachier-Lagrave to score a draw. 

Ding Liren vs. Vincent Keymer 0,5 : 0,5

"Keymer's unfinished masterpiece," chess24 wrote about the game. In a complete winning position, the young German with Black finds himself in a situation where the natural-looking move ... Ke4 suddenly leads to a draw. The black king prevents the queen, which emerges from the black f-pawn, from giving checks on the long diagonal. In addition, White's pawn on a4 prevents Black from using Qb5+ to force the white king in front of his pawn.

GM Ilja Zaragatski, commentator in the German-speaking Chess.com stream, could hardly believe that this position did not result in a win, and described Ding's lucky draw as the "rescue maneuver of the decade". And world-class player Anish Giri tweeted: "Next time they tell you luck doesn't exist in chess show them this."

  

 

Table and outlook:  

After two days, Richard Rapport leads the standings by a full point, followed by three players with two points each: Ding Liren, Keymer and Carlsen. They are closely followed by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Daniel Fridman. 

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Tomorrow the big GRENKE Chess Open starts, with 2,774 players currently registered. The stars from the GRENKE Chess Classic will start their games at the same time as the players from the Open. The schedule is 6:30 p.m. as the starting time, but delays cannot be ruled out due to the enormous number of participants. The organizers around tournament director Sven Noppes are looking forward to all participants and welcome them warmly. The Schwarzwaldhalle in Karlsruhe has already been prepared for the large number of chess fans: 

 

 

Link to the games of the day: GRENKE Chess Classic and Open 2024 - Chess.com

GRENKE Chess Social Media Links: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube

Screenshots: chess24 / chess.com 

 

Online Check-In

Once again we will have an online check in for the GRENKE Chess Open. This wednesday evening we will send out emails explaining the process to all participants who have already paid their starting fee. If you have received an email about the online check-in, please participate in the process. If you have participated in the online check in, do not use the in-person check-in at the venue. This will save us work, and will allow you to only arrive at the venue for the start of the first round.

Should anything about your participation change after you have checked in, please answer the email we will send out about the online check-in with all relevant information.

Carlsen with loss and win on day 1 of GRENKE Chess Classic

Five years after the last edition, the GRENKE Chess Festival is finally taking place again. From 26 March to 1 April, six world stars compete in a special rapid chess format at the GRENKE Chess Classic

In the first two rounds, the spectators got to see high-quality chess games. After a win against Carlsen and a draw against Ding Liren, Richard Rapport leads the table with 1.5 points. Magnus Carlsen, Vincent Keymer, Ding Liren and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave follow in second place with 1 point each. Daniel Fridman is currently in last place with 0.5 points. 

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