GM Wesley So joined the leaders by handing GM Dariusz Swiercz his second loss with the white pieces. The rest of the games were drawn, as the contestants are gathering their strength. GMs Fabiano Caruana, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Leinier Dominguez, and So are leading with 1.5/2.How to watch?
The games of the 2021 Sinquefield cup can be found here as part of our live events platform.
Sinquefield Cup | Day 2 Standings
So didn’t win yesterday, but he made up for it today by defeating Swiercz on the black side of the Berlin Defense. I admire the opening choice because a draw would have cost Wesley three rating points, yet he played what he likes and knows best. A long time ago the great champion Alexander Alekhine said that a true master is never afraid of simplifications because he believes in his ability to win. Case in point to follow:Swiercz, Dariusz (2649) vs. So, Wesley (2774)0-1 Grand Chess Tour Sinquefield Cup 2021 Chess.com 18 Aug 2021 Round: 2 ECO: C6787654321abcdefgh1. e4e52. f3c63. b5f64. O-Oxe45. d4d66. xc6dxc67. dxe5f58. xd8+xd89. h3d710. d1e711. g4h412. xh4xh413. d2c814. f3e715. g5c516. d3e617. e3xe318. xe3d719. d4This line of the Berlin is one of the most direct ones. White initiates a bunch of trades, aiming to exploit his kingside pawn majority in a simpler endgame. Most of the time, he comes a move or two short of reaching his goals.19… ad8Wesley gives the d-file the highest priority.19… h5was seen in Vachier Lagrave-Grischuk, Grand Chess Tour Croatia Blitz, 2021. Those two players have had many memorable battles in the Berlin, and the latest one went in Maxime’s favor. There followed:20. d1e721. f5+f822. ed3e823. d8g624. e3hxg425. hxg4g7Perhaps,25… g5was the most reliable, as White cannot yet bring his king up:26. g2 ??d5+26. xe8xe827. f4c8Again,27… g5 !?was interesting. In such situations Black must act fast before the white king arrives to support the advanced pawns.28. f5xa229. e6fxe630. b3exf531. xf5+f632. g3xb333. cxb3e334. f2xb3White shouldn’t lose this, but his winning chances are practically nil.28. f2f629. exf6+xf630. f3This move signified some progress accomplished by White, whose king is now able to support the pawns. It was still a long way to go, but MVL was up for the job.20. f4 ?!Ignoring the d-file will lead White into trouble.Better was20. d3e721. ad1g622. xe6xd323. xd3xe624. g2keeping things under control.20… e721. xe6fxe6 !I have a feeling So was already playing for a win.22. f1h523. f5hxg424. hxg4h425. f6+f726. e4d2White just can’t cover all the bases. What he needed was a trade of a pair of rooks, and he didn’t get it. Dariusz started drifting into time trouble.27. fxg7+xg728. f2xf2The tricky28… h1+probably wouldn’t have made a whole lot of difference, but after29. g2h2+30. xh2xf2+31. g3the White king ends up one step farther away from the queenside, compared with the game continuation.29. xf2h2+30. f3xc231. d4 !The activity of the rook is the key to survival in rook endgames.31… xb232. d7+g633. xc7c534. e7b635. c7a6 !36. xc5c6 !So is very good in setting up riddles for his opponents.37. a5 ??With just the increment seconds on his clock, Swiercz didn’t have enough time to calculate the pawn ending. The biggest problem with his decision was that the rook endgame is totally lost.It was actually pretty hard to see it all the way through, but considering the lack of alternatives, he should have gone for it.37. xc6bxc638. a4 !Always advance the pawn that has a chance of queening.38… a538… g539. a5and the king will head out to b6.39. e3g540. d4xg441. c5f5and here White needs to find one last good move42. b6 !Not wasting time on the useless c-pawn:42. xc6 ?as the resulting pawnless queen ending is lost:42… xe543. b5d444. xa5c545. a6e546. b7e447. a5e348. a6e249. a7e1=50. a8=e7+51. a6d6+52. b7d7+53. b853. a6b5+54. a7b6#53… b6just as we learned a long time ago.42… xe543. xa5c544. b5d445. a5c446. a6c347. a7c248. a8=c1=Now White gets to give checks first, and near everything draws, for example49. a7+e550. g7+f551. f7+37… c3+38. e4c4+39. d3Swiercz had to abandon his g-pawn, but his rook remained poorly placed.39. f3g539… xg440. c5f541. c341. c7b542. a7a441… b542. b3c4 !This version of the pawn endgame is an elementary win for Black.43. xc4bxc4+44. xc4xe545. a4f4
One could not have foreseen a more disastrous script written for Swiercz’s maiden appearance in elite tournaments. Two losses with White, both caused by unnecessary drifting into time trouble. A total lack of confidence is to blame. Like many of his GM colleagues, Dariusz has been kept away from the chessboard, as the wave of cancellations swept over the chess world. The top guys have had their chances to stay sharp during the pandemic, but the second-tier players—not so much.
When a young player, such as Swiercz, spends his time demonstrating computer moves on a Smart TV chessboard instead of playing and studying, he is not doing his chess any favors. There is enough time for Dariusz to right his ship, he just needs a draw or two to stop the bleeding.
Is GM Richard Rapport playing it smart? Today he played a tight, controlled game with Vachier-Lagrave—a game that never entered the realm of tactics.Rapport, Richard (2763) vs. Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime (2751)1/2-1/2 Grand Chess Tour Sinquefield Cup 2021 Chess.com 18 Aug 2021 Round: 2 ECO: E6087654321abcdefgh1. f3c52. c4f63. g3g64. g2g75. d4cxd46. xd4O-O7. c3c7 !This idea, introduced about a quarter of century ago, changed the evaluation of one of the oldest lines of the English Opening.Modern theory no longer focuses on7… c68. O-Oxd49. xd4d610. d3where White had a lot of success over the years.8. d38. b3d5Was, and still is, the main point of the queen move. White usually reacts with9. db5a510. d2dxc411. bxc4counting on the activity of his pieces to offset a minor pawn structure deficiency. MVL defended this position well as Black against Radoslaw Wojtaszek in Basque 2014.8… c69. O-O !?9. f4d610. xc6bxc611. O-Oseen in Jobava-Grischuk, European Teams Championship 2015, transposes to the game continuation.9… d69… e510. e3 !xc411. xe7clearly favors White.10. xc6More interesting is10. b3 !?inviting a lively tactical melee:10… xd411. xd4e412. d5 !?first seen in Kramnik-Caruana, Norway Chess 2014.12. xe4is also possible, because after12… xc313. b1f5White has14. f3xb115. xc3f516. h6winning back the exchange.12… xd413. xc7xa114. e3f615. xa8c316. xa7xa217. c7gave White some advantage, which the former world champion was able to convert into a win.10… bxc611. f4h512. g5b813. b3h614. d2f6This position is probably better for White, but only by a small margin. Its defining feature is that neither side can do much!15. ac1a516. h3d817. e4d718. fd1c519. e2e5MVL decided to change the pawn structure, planning to bring his knight to d4.20. h2h721. f1h522. g5e823. e1e624. d2a825. e3h426. a4hxg3+27. fxg3c5I’m not sure I’m supportive of this move. The thing is, Black already had the d4-square, even without this pawn push, but now White gets access to d5.I wonder what Maxime disliked about27… d428. c5dxc529. xc5h6It looks like a decent position to me.28. d228. c3d429. d5d830. d2e631. f1xd532. cxd5is roughly balanced.28… d429. f1e630. f2eb831. h4d732. cf1a733. d1The players found themselves completely stuck. They saw nothing better than repeating moves.33. c3would allow33… a434. xa4xc4and the attempt to prepare the knight move with33. d3could be answered by33… b433… g434. d2e635. d1g436. d2e6
I think the experience Richard had last week in the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz made him a bit more careful with his approach to handling the white pieces. Rapport is the master of counterattack, so it makes sense for him to wait for his chances. Vachier-Lagrave is an experienced tournament warrior, and he knows better than to take too much risk early.
I have had a long day today, so I figure I will leave the longest game, GM Sam Shankland versus GM Jeffery Xiong, for GM Dejan Bojkov to analyze. I actually had some high hopes for this game, when Sam surprisingly castled queenside in the Maroczy Bind, but soon the queens were traded and I switched my attention over to other games.
Shankland, Sam (2709) vs. Xiong, Jeffery (2710)1/2-1/2 Grand Chess Tour Sinquefield Cup 2021 St. Louis 18 Aug 2021 Round: 2 ECO: B3887654321abcdefgh1. e4c52. f3c63. d4cxd44. xd4g6The Accelerated Dragon is regaining popularity nowadays.5. c4f66. c3d67. f3g78. e3O-O9. e2h5Another GM game saw9… d710. O-Oa511. d2fc812. fd1d813. ac1e514. b3h515. h3c616. f4f817. f3with pressure for White in Cheparinov,I (2686)-Sevian,S (2660) Chess.com 2020The other idea is to trade a pair of knights at once with9… xd4Then after10. xd4e611. c1a512. d2fc813. b3a614. e3b515. d5Things have developed more or less normally with White enjoying his usual slight space advantage until Black came up with the spectacular15… xd5 !16. xa5xe317. f2d4and White could not prove an advantage in Negi,P (2633)-Istratescu,A (2671) Graz 201410. g3f6 NOnce that the kingside was somewhat weakened, the knight may return, bringing a novelty with it.An earlier game was this fine effort by So:10… xd411. xd4e612. f4f613. O-Oc814. b3a5Instead14… h315. f2and only then15… a5is somewhat better for White, but playable for the second player.Normally Black wants to trade the dark-squared bishop but here the straightforward attempt simply loses:14… d7 ??15. f515. f5d7The pawn is poisoned:15… gxf5 ?16. exf5xf517. b4xb418. xf5wins a piece for White.16. a3e6For example16… e517. b4c718. e3with a huge hole on d5.And if16… b517. b4c717… d818. xb518. xf6 !xf619. d5d820. xf6+exf621. cxb5will clear edge for White.17. b4d8In case of17… c7White can continue in a similar way as in the game:18. fxe6fxe619. e5dxe520. c5f721. d6with advantage.18. fxg6fxg6White is also much better after18… hxg619. e5dxe520. xe519. e5and White won an instructive game in So,W (2788)-Mamedov,R (2658) Shamkir 201511. d2d712. O-O-O !A rare, but strong approach. White rarely, if ever, castles long in the Maroczy bind, but Shankland already used this move to win a crucial game against Svidler at the World Cup, just a few days ago.More standard would have been12. O-Oxd413. xd4c6with a slight edge for White.12… a5One of the ways to search for counter-chances on the queenside.The other one was even sharper:12… h513. h3a614. g4b513. g4a414. xc6In order to stabilize the center.However, even stronger seems the blockading idea14. db5 !when Black has difficulties in building counterplay, for example14… a314… e515. g5e816. f4is plain bad for Black.If14… e615. b1e516. g5h517. d5and White is ready to resume his kingside expansion.15. b3a516. b1when White’s chances are higher.14… xc6More or less a needed move.As otherwise the standard Dragon idea will work for White in the line14… bxc615. e5 !dxe5True, the computer claims that Black is not doing that bad after15… e816. exd6a317. b3exd6but that is hard to believe.16. g5 !15. h4The immediate15. d4 !?would have likely transposed to the game after15… a516. h415… a5The queen is out just in time to prevent the further advance of the white kingside pawns.16. d4For16. h5 ?a317. b3xg4 !loses for White.And if Shankland tries to block the a-pawn with16. a3d7 !?the b3-square would be weakened and the black knight may soon reach it.16… fc817. h5As before17. a3d7allowing Black enough play and he is ready to block the opponent’s attack with18. xg7xg719. h5g5 !17… a318. b3b5It is getting super hot now.19. hxg6The natural desire is to open the h-file at once.The greedy19. cxb5would have been a bad idea due to19… xe4 !20. fxe4xe421. e1xc3and Black crushes through.However, there was a strong argument for19. b1 !ab820. a1moving the king out of the dangerous files, when White should be better.19… hxg620. b1bxc421. xc4b7 !!A very subtle move, which coordinates the black pieces just in time.In the case of the straightforward21… ab822. g5Black falls under tremendous attack:22… h7in particular loses by force afterWhereas22… h523. xh5 !xd424. xd4gxh525. g6 !e526. gxf7+h727. d2leads to an extremely unpleasant position for the second player.23. xh7 !xh724. h2+g825. xg7xg726. h6+g827. xg6+and mate.22. g5h5 !Now he can.23. xg7As23. xh5is strongly met with23… xc4 !24. xg7gxh525. bxc4xg7when Black even seems better.23… xg724. d5The kingside attacking possibilities are more or less exhausted, therefore White searches for an endgame.24. d4+makes no sense after24… e525. d2a624… xd225. xd2ab8Also the immediate25… xd526. xd5f427. d2ab8would have worked well for Black.26. c1The knight cannot avoid the trade as26. e3c5hits the vulnerable pawn on g5.26… xd527. xd5f4Once that this piece enters the battle, it should be good for Xiong. But he still needs to be careful as the rook and bishop pair, coupled with a strong outside passer might become huge.28. a5a8And Black is not careful enough!Strong was28… c5 !29. xc5dxc530. d1There is no effective way to attack the c5-pawn:30. f1 ?e6 !30… h8occupying an open file of his own with equal game.29. b4 !Very strong! This might have been missed by Black.29. xa8xa8is equal instead.29… f6 !The best chance! Black needs to find play on his own. Ironically, the sides have switched the flanks on which they are playing now.After29… xa5 ?30. bxa5a831. a6the pawn is practically unstoppable.30. xa8xa831. c2In order to slow down the opponent a bit.After31. gxf6+xf632. c2e533. b3d4Black has enough play.31… fxg532. b3Next Shankland tries to advance his passer as much as he can, whereas Xiong centralizes his king.32… f633. b5e534. b4g4 !Trading more and more pawns.35. fxg4xe436. e1+d437. xe7c8 !Once that the bishop is removed from its comfortable spot the black knight can demonstrate what it is capable of.38. f7After38. b3d3+White cannot touch the a3-pawn:39. xa3 ??Whereas39. a5a8+39… c1 !?is OK for Black too.40. b6b8+is equal.39… a8+40. a4c538… d3+39. xa3a8+40. b3c5+41. b2d3+42. b3c5+43. c2The last winning attempt.43… d544. b1a4Black has calculated that he has enough time to pick up both white pawns.Also good enough for the draw was to deal with White’s most dangerous pawn at once with44… a545. xg6xb5+45. c1c346. b6xa2+47. d2Or47. b2b448. b7d3+49. b1b850. e8c551. xg6d6with a draw.47… b848. b7b449. e6c550. c8c651. g7g552. e3a553. d3It is almost a study-like position where Black will win the opponent’s b7-pawn sooner or later. The question, however, is how exactly should he do it?53… d6 !The correct move.The immediate rush53… c6 ??would have lost due to54. d4 !xb7Nothing changes54… d655. g6+c756. c5 !55. xb7+xb756. xb7xb757. xd5when White wins the g-pawn and the game.54. d7+Now54. d4does not work due to54… c6+55. d3e754… c655. d4xb7This time the pawn is edible, as the white rook hangs. The rest of the game confirmed the inevitability of the draw:56. xb7xc857. g7d658. g6+e759. xg5f660. xd5e861. g5+g662. e5xe563. xe5xg5
The one to watch closely was between two of the leaders, the American GMs Dominguez and Caruana. The latter uncorked another one of his novelties, blowing up the center against Leinier’s solid Giocco Piano. The outcome was a bit less than expected, as Fabiano had to fight for a draw in a pawn-down middlegame.
Dominguez Perez, Leinier (2786) vs. Caruana, Fabiano (2758)1/2-1/2 Grand Chess Tour Sinquefield Cup 2021 Chess.com 18 Aug 2021 Round: 2 ECO: C5487654321abcdefgh1. e4e52. f3c63. c4f64. d3c55. c3d66. O-Oh67. e1O-O8. h3b69. bd2e710. a4c611. d4g612. f1e813. c2d5 !?A novelty is what we expect from Fabi in every game.13… c714. b4e615. b2a516. b5b617. a3c718. ab1was Esipenko-Carlsen, World Cup (5.6), the game the young Russian managed to win to equalize the score in their dramatic match.14. exd5exd415. xe8+xe816. a5 !c716… dxc317. axb6cxd218. xd2xd519. bxa7is pretty scary for Black, because he cannot be sure of his ability to eliminate the a7-pawn.17. dxc6dxc318. cxb7xb719. xc3Caruana spent some time getting to this position, so I’m not exactly sure where his preparation ended. Black has some compensation for the pawn, but it’s hard to see him generating any winning chances.19… d5On19… c8White has20. c420. c5 !An excellent choice of a square for the queen. Now the black rook cannot develop in fear of losing the a7-pawn.20… gf421. c4 ?Perhaps, White should have tried to keep his queen in the center.21. d4 !would serve that purpose.21… e6 !22. a3d823. d2df424. a6a825. a5xa526. xa5d727. e1 ?!One of the White pieces has to guard the knight on a5, and such jobs should not be relegated to the strongest piece.both27. e3and even27. b4were better ideas.27… d528. e3f529. b7There was hardly a better use for that knight at the edge of the board rather than block the powerful black bishop. The problem was, it cost Dominguez his extra pawn.29… d130. e1xe131. xe1e432. f3xb733. axb7xb734. g3h535. c4e436. xe6More liquidation is coming, and the game peters out to a draw.Retaining the bishop with36. d3xd337. xd3looked more logical, but it’s hard to see Caruana losing such an endgame.36… fxe637. d2d438. f3d539. h2a540. g4f641. xf6+gxf642. e7e543. b3h544. h4e1+45. g2e546. h2f547. e8+g748. e7+g649. e8+g750. e7+g651. e8+g7
Dominguez has to regret missing clear chances to make Caruana’s life more difficult. Yet, both players retained their position among the leaders.
After losing yesterday GM Peter Svidler was expected to make a push against GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, but the game took a different turn early, as Peter’s opening preparation had a glitch.Svidler, Peter (2714) vs. Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar (2782)1/2-1/2 Grand Chess Tour Sinquefield Cup 2021 Chess.com 18 Aug 2021 Round: 2 ECO: C5487654321abcdefgh1. e4e52. f3c63. c4c54. c3f65. d3O-O6. b4e7 !?The traditional thought for many years was that White isn’t getting much after6… b67. a4a6but there have been some recent developments. For example, Van Foreest-Georgiev, European Championship 2019, saw8. g5d69. bd2e710. O-Od811. h4e612. b3f413. c4a714. e3and here the experienced Georgiev made a small concession14… xe3which may not have been the best decision. All in all, White is playing to build up a spatial advantage on the queenside, and he is no hurry to do things elsewhere on the board.7. O-Od5 !It wasn’t hard to guess what Mamedyarov would do. Shakh always goes forward!8. exd5xd59. e1The possibility of9. b5was explored some years ago. The conclusion was that Black gets plenty of play after the loses a pawn:9… a510. xd5or10. xe5xc411. dxc4b6Nabaty-Atalik, Belgrade 2012.10… xd511. c4d7 !12. d2e413. xa5exf314. xf3a615. bxa6xa616. c3b5Yudin-Vallejo Pons, World Rapid 20149… f610. a3 ?!I find Svidler’s choice rather peculiar. He exposed his position to all sorts of dangers, without having anything new prepared.10. g5xg511. xg5xg512. xd5e713. f3g614. d2is known to be a reliable continuation, albeit White doesn’t have much of an advantage.10… e811. bd2xc3I like11… b5 !?even better.12. b3e613. xe6xe614. b5d415. xd4exd416. xe6fxe617. xe6+h8As often happens in middlegame play, once the tactics are played out the bishop placed on a3 (or a6) becomes a liability more than an asset. Here it’s no match for the powerful Nc3 or the purposeful Bf6.18. e1 !Peter immediately addressed this important issue.18… xb519. e7 !xe720. xe7xe721. xe7b622. e4c523. f1c3It’s hard to find anything else. With the white pieces perfectly placed Black cannot yet bring his king into the game.24. xc3dxc325. e2h6It was next to impossible to discern the difference, but25… g8 !was much better than the text. Only when we follow the line26. d1b527. c7f828. f3f529. xa7b4we can see the point of bringing the king closer to the rooks:30. d7 ?30. c7offers better defensive chances.30… f7 !31. d8+f832. d5a8and the black rook gets around to capture on a2. No disrespect directed at Mamedyarov, but can anyone but King Magnus find endgame wins like this?26. d1b527. c7f828. f3f529. xa7e5Now29… b430. d7h731. d4leads a draw.30. a3e331. b7xd3+The pawns get annihilated and the game ends peacefully.32. c2d2+33. xc3xg234. xb5xh235. xc5f236. f5g637. f4g738. d3g539. e3a240. a4h541. a7+g642. a6+f543. a5+g644. a6+f545. a5+g646. a6+
Despite a bad opening, Svidler’s professional handling of a pawn-down endgame deserves a lot of praise. Part of being a super-GM is the technical ability and the steady nerve required to save draws in games such as this.
There will be better days at the Sinquefield Cup than today’s rather low-key second round. We just need to be patient, and so do the players.
All Games Day 2Dominguez Perez, Leinier (2758) vs. Caruana, Fabiano (2806)1/2-1/2 Grand Chess Tour Sinquefield Cup 2021 18 Aug 2021 Round: 0287654321abcdefgh1. e4e52. f3c63. c4f64. d3c55. c3d66. O-Oh67. e1O-O8. h3b69. bd2e710. a4c611. d4g612. f1e813. c2d514. exd5exd415. xe8+xe816. a5c717. dxc6dxc318. cxb7xb719. xc3d520. c5gf421. c4e622. a3d823. d2df424. a6a825. a5xa526. xa5d727. e1d528. e3f529. b7d130. e1xe131. xe1e432. f3xb733. axb7xb734. g3h535. c4e436. xe6fxe637. d2d438. f3d539. h2a540. g4f641. xf6+gxf642. e7e543. b3h544. h4e1+45. g2e4+46. h2f547. e8+g748. e7+g649. e8+g750. e7+g651. e8+g7WHITEBLACKRESULTROUNDYEARDominguez Perez, Leinier(2758)Caruana, Fabiano(2806)1/2-1/2022021Shankland, Sam(2709)Xiong, Jeffery(2710)1/2-1/2022021Swiercz, Dariusz(2655)So, Wesley(2772)0-1022021Rapport, Richard(2763)Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime(2751)1/2-1/2022021Svidler, Peter(2714)Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar(2782)1/2-1/2022021
The 2021 Sinquefield Cup tournament is the last stop of the 2021 Grand Chess Tour. Games started on August 17 with 10 of the best chess players in the world competing for a piece of the $325,000 prize fund.
