Tuesday September 28th 14.00 CET
Nigel Short – Vincent Keymer
Nils Grandelius – Gawain Jones
J Van Foreest – Jonas Buhl Bjerre
Etienne Bacrot – Nihal Sarin
Round 4 report
Van Foreest is still in the lead, with legend Nigel Short now leading the chasing pack.
Short-Bjerre
The Grand Prix attack in the Sicilian. Short played aggressively but Bjerre gave as good as he got until 26…Rd8, which allowed white to put the king to safety with h2-h3. White gained an edge that Short steered towards the win in a rook ending.
Grandelius-Van Foreest
A long theory variation in the Catalan gave an equal rook ending and a draw.
Bacrot-Keymer
Black tried an unusual set up in the Reti with h6-g5. Just after 20 moves a draw was agreed through repetition of moves.
Sarin-Jones
In a balanced position in the Spanish opening, Jones surprisingly sacrificed a pawn. The compensation was never enough and Sarin played very well in a long endgame to claim the full point.
Pairings round 5
Monday September 27th 14.00 CET
J Van Foreest – Etienne Bacrot
Jonas Buhl Bjerre – Nils Grandelius
Gawain Jones – Nigel Short
Vincent Keymer – Nihal Sarin
Round 3 report
Jordan Van Foreest is in the lead after three rounds, closely followed by the also undefeated Gawain Jones.
Grandelius-Bacrot
A balanced exchange slav until Grandelius made an uncharacteristic blunder with 26.a4. It cost a piece and soon after the game.
Van Foreest-Short
Van Foreest surprised with the unusual 11.f4 in a Scotch game. Short replied with the subpar 11.-g6 and Van Foreest soon had a promising attack. Despite black’s inventive defence there was no stopping white’s win.
Bjerre-Sarin
Long theoretical line in the Sveshnikov. The game was never unbalanced and after several exchanges a draw was agreed.
Jones-Keymer
Keymer chose the Caro-Kann defence and equalised comfortably. Both players tried to gain the initiative, but an opposite coloured bishop ending resulted in a draw.