Chess: Russian Star And Top Americans Fall In World Cup But Adams Wins 10-game Epic

The ongoing $2m, 206-player World Cup successful Goa, India, has a sadistic format designed to maximise nan chance of daze results. Its knockout matches dwell of nan champion of conscionable 2 classical games, followed by accelerated and blitz tiebreaks astatine progressively accelerated speeds, past a last Armageddon crippled wherever White has much clip but is obliged to win. The awesome inducement too nan prize money is 3 places successful nan 2026 Candidates, nan pathway to nan world title.

The Russia No 1, Ian Nepomniachtchi, who doubly played for nan world crown, nan USA’s world No 8, Wesley So, and Hans Niemann, who has immense ambitions, were nan precocious floor plan casualties successful Thursday’s 2nd information of 128, which was nan first information for nan apical 50 seeds. After losing to nan little-known Indian Diptayan Ghosh, Nepomniachtchi posted a laconic message: “There’s thing to opportunity astir nan chess part. Goa is 1 of those places you don’t consciousness sad astir leaving.”

It was worse for So, who resigned against nan Lithuanian Titas Stremavicius successful a drawn position wherever nan American GM overlooked a hidden stalemate resource. Niemann was outplayed by Italy’s Lorenzo Lodici, truthful will person to postpone his ambition to go nan first US world champion since Bobby Fischer until astatine slightest 2028.

3997: GM Levon Aronian (US) v IM Aronyal Ghosh (India), World Cup, Goa 2025. White to move and win.

In opposition nan British champion, Michael Adams, 53, nan oldest subordinate among nan past 64, precocious to nan adjacent information pinch a 6-4 total, defeating Bulgaria’s Ivan Cheparinov, nan man who refused to shingle Nigel Short’s manus astatine nan commencement of their crippled astatine Wijk aan Zee 2008, was forfeited, but connected entreaty was allowed a replay, which Short won convincingly. The YouTube recording of nan incident has been viewed complete 300,000 times.

Adams had chances to person earlier successful nan match, but nan opportunities slipped past. However, erstwhile it came to nan 2 3+2 blitz games, he was dominant, outclassing his rival pinch subtle strategical play.

England’s different representative, nan erstwhile Russian Nikita Vitiugov, was not truthful lucky, losing 2-4 to India’s Sunilduth Narayanan. The youngest subordinate astatine nan World Cup, Faustino Oro, 12, made a bully impression, defeating nan higher classed Croatian Ante Brkic earlier losing to India’s Vidit Gujrathi. Oro tin now ore connected becoming nan world’s youngest ever grandmaster, wherever he has still 4 months to people 2 GM title norms. India’s Pentala Harikrishna shone pinch a brilliant queen sacrifice against nan coagulated Petroff Defence 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6, though his conception was pre-game preparation.

Adams’s 3rd information lucifer connected Friday greeting against Lodici tin beryllium watched, pinch unrecorded move-by-move machine assessments, on lichess.

The Four Nations Chess League (4NCL), which launched its 2025-26 play past weekend, is an important constituent of nan cloth of British chess. Over a play of 4 divisions and 5 weekends, it offers opportunities for squad players of each strengths to trial themselves against superior opposition, pinch nan anticipation of IM and GM norms for nan astir successful players. Games are played centrally, astatine edifice venues successful nan Midlands.

The Isle of Man’s Manx Liberty are not defending their title, and nan favourites for 2025-26 are Wood Green, runners-up past play and champions successful 2023-24. Wood Green’s formidable squad includes nan seasoned world semi-finalist Jonathan Speelman, Scotland’s apical rated grandmaster Matthew Turner, 2 of England’s champion young players Matthew Wadsworth and Jonah Willow, and nan erstwhile world girls champion Harriet Hunt.

Rival contenders The Sharks and Cheddleton Savills Catering deficiency Wood Green’s spot successful depth, truthful it is nary astonishment that nan North London nine are nan early leaders on pinch CSC/Kingston, an amalgam of nan Surrey nine and nan chess charity.

For CSC/Kingston, Supratit Banerjee’s consequence already stands out. The 11-year-old achieved his first IM norm successful nan British Championship, and has begun good successful his quest for a second, winning his first game past drafting nan difficult ending of rook against rook, f and h pawns against GM Nick Pert.

In Division Two, nan important capacity has been from nan all-female squad of She Plays to Win Lionesses, who were nan bottommost seeds astatine nan commencement but won 5-3 against Alba, a watered down type of nan Scottish nationalist team, and are associated leaders aft 2 rounds.

Alannah Ashton, 14, won pinch an imaginative attack against Stephen Swanson, nan Scottish champion successful 1975, half a period ago. Incidentally, different crippled of Swanson’s was nominated by Garry Kasparov arsenic “the astir breathtaking crippled I ever saw”. The afloat circumstances of this improbable declare are explained here.

There person been all-female 4NCL teams before, but they consisted of established internationals. The Lionesses are led by nan Romanian WGM Andreea Navrotescu and by Bodhana Sivanandan, 10, whose triumph successful nan caller European Women’s Club Cup against nan erstwhile world champion Mariya Muzychuk was one of nan champion games by a 10-year-old successful chess history. Most of nan squad are teenage schoolgirls.

She Plays to Win is an acquisition kindness organised by nan England women’s coach, IM Lorin D’Costa. It provides online and onsite coaching for girls of each levels, arsenic good arsenic supporting apical girls internationally. Its adjacent event, astatine nan University of Warwick connected 15 November, is simply a one-day tourney for sixth formers and girls astatine university. Donations and sponsors are welcome, and needed.

Arsenal and England footballer Eberechi Eze, past year’s victor of chess.com’s Pogchamps tourney for celebrities, precocious paid a sojourn to his aged school successful Greenwich, wherever Eze and D’Costa some gave talks astir nan benefits of chess and its expertise to amended attraction and resilience.

3997: 1 Rg4+! Nxg4 2 Qxg4+ Kh8 3 Qd4+! f6 4 Qd2! Rf7 (else 5 Qxh6 mate) 5 Bxf7 Kg7 6 Qd3! and Black resigned. The bishop is immune because of mate starting pinch 7 Qh7+, and mate by 7 Qg6+ and 8 Qg8 aliases 8 Qxh6 is threatened anyway