Tepe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament

 

Erigaisi-Grandelius

Erigaisi surprised with the unusual 7.Bb5 in the Scotch game. Grandelius was under pressure until he was allowed to play 15…dxe4, followed by Nf5 and could safely steer the game towards a draw.

Navara-Van Foreest

Navara chose a surprisingly timid line against Van Foreest’s accepted queen’s gambit. Both players tried to create chances, but the balance was never shifted.

Shirov-Adams

Shirov chose 6.d3 in the Ruy Lopez and the typical manoeuvring ensued. 26.Qd3 was somewhat careless and offered black the chance for advantageous complications with 26…Nc2. But Adams discarded the move and it soon ended in a draw by repetition of moves.

Salem-Niemann

Salem played aggressively as white in the NImzo-indian. Niemann defended well and when Salem lost momentum, Niemann managed a beautiful exchange sacrifice with 29…Kf6! With his remaining rook, knight and a handful of pawns he went hunting for white’s king and there was no way out for Salem. Another impressive game by Niemann.

Grandelius-Navara

Navara used the Berlin variation of the Ruy Lopez and Grandelius managed to mount some pressure as white. Careful handling of the endgame on Navara’s part secured the draw.

Salem-Shirov

Salem got a promising position early on in a fianchetto Grünfeld and Shirov’s queen seemed to be in trouble on the queenside. While white launched an ambitious kingside attack with h2-h4-h5, black found counterplay with this own flank pawn advance. Exchanges en masse followed and the endgame was drawn.

Van Foreest-Adams

Van Foreest played the very unusual 11.a4 in the exchange variation of the QGD. At almost exactly the same time in Rumania world no 4 Caruana executed the exact same plan against Firouzia! Only a coincidence? White gained the upper hand in both games but couldn’t find a breakthrough.

Niemann-Erigaisi

Erigaisi was on the verge of equalizing as black in the Slav, when he allowed his pawn structure to be weakened through an exchange of queens on c6. Niemann’s manoeuvring to exploit the weakness was impressive and Erigiasi’s defence crumbled in the end. A very well played game!

Only one win but plenty of action in round 2! Erigiasi is now in the lead with a 100% start to the tournament.

Adams-Grandelius

Grandelius equalised comfortably against Adams’ Najdorf Sicilian. Exchanges resulted in an opposite coloured bishop ending and a subsequent draw.

Navara-Niemann

Niemann’s opening preparation seemed to lack somewhat as Navara quickly gained the upper hand in an Italian game. Navara played very ambitiously and swooped in for a risky pawn grab with 21.Qxb7. A few moves later he followed up with queen sacrifice and the game became very complicated. In the end Niemann forced a draw by perpetual checks.

Shirov-Van Foreest

The game began in the advance variation of the Caro-Kann but soon departed from the more well known theory. Everything looked balanced until Van Foreest managed the interesting piece sacrifice 24…Be6 in white’s time trouble. Under pressure Shirov found the best defence and managed to steer the play into a drawn rook ending.

Erigaisi-Salem

Erigaisi played the Fantansy variation against Salem’s Caro-Kann. 19…c4 by black was probably a mistake and with a closed centre Erigaisi could mount a forceful attack on the kingside. No breakthrough could be found, but instead white simplified into a endgame with a clear advantage that led to the win.