England’s No1, Michael Adams, survived Armageddon on Wednesday as the Cornishman, 43, battled to reach the third round of the 128-player, $160,000 World Chess Cup in Baku. Adams slugged it out to 4-4 over eight games in three days against the Czech No2 Viktor Laznicka before winning the mandatory Armageddon game where White has five minutes on the clock, Black four but a draw counts as a win for Black.
Adams’ third-round match with Cuba’s Leinier Domínguez is tied 1-1 and they go into speed tie-breaks on Saturday morning (11am BST start).
Adams had won impressively in one of their two classical games but had been under pressure in the six speed tie-breaks, especially against Laznicka’s 1 e4 d5 Scandinavian Defence. Experience saw him through in the Armageddon as he unleashed a big improvement on his previous play which Laznicka could not handle. Adams soon had a winning position, and went through 5-4 to round three.
The World Cup reaches its quarter-finals this weekend and has lived up to expectations of fierce fights and plenty of upsets. Three former winners of world knock-outs were eliminated in the very first round. Israel’s Boris Gelfand, who challenged for the world title as recently as 2012, fell in the tie-breaks to a little-known 19-year-old Chilean, Cristobal Villagra.
There was a major casualty in round two as Levon Aronian, recent winner at St Louis and one of the favourites, was eliminated by the Ukrainian Alex Areshchenko. In this round the ex-world champion and 2014 World Cup winner Vlad Kramnik scored with rook and bishop against rook, and revealed that it was the first time he had ever won this ending-a contrast with England’s European senior champion Keith Arkell, whose score in R+B v R is 18-0.
The classiest second-round games were won by the young Chinese, as Ding Liren found the decisive tactic in this week’s puzzle while Wei Yi, 16, scored by attack. Wei Yi’s status as the rising star of world chess was still dented, as Ukraine’s Yuri Vovk fought back and had chances to take their match before losing 3.5-4.5.
Eight Russians reached the last 32, as did four from China, and three each from the United States, Ukraine and the host nation Azerbaijan. Round three reaches its tie-breaks on Saturday, with the round of 16 beginning on Sunday. Games start at 11am BST and can be followed free and live online with computer and grandmaster commentaries.
Though Adams only scraped through to round three, the Cornishman won an impressive and instructive attack below. White’s 14 Na4! with 16 e5! and 19 c4! is a new plan designed to close the centre before a decisive assault on Black’s king. If Black tries 23…Bb7 instead of the weakening g7-g6, White will regroup by Re2, Bc2 and Qg3-d3. As played, Adams’s 25 Kf2! and Rh1 reinforced his h file attack, and Laznicka’s defences collapsed.
Michael Adams v Viktor Laznicka
1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nc6 5 Nc3 a6 6 Nxc6 bxc6 7 Bd3 d5 8 O-O Nf6 9 Qf3 Be7 10 Qg3 O-O 11 Bh6 Ne8 12 Bf4 Bh4 13 Qf3 Be7 14 Na4! Nf6 15 b3 Qa5 16 e5! Nd7 17 Qg3 Re8 18 h4 c5 19 c4! d4 20 h5 Qc7 21 Rae1 Bf8 22 Bg5 g6?! 23 f4 Bg7 24 Qh4 Bb7 25 Kf2! Rf8 26 Rh1 f5 27 hxg6 hxg6 28 Qh7+ Kf7 29 Rh6 1-0
Wei Yi used a new idea against Vovk’s French Defence to build his attack here. 16 Ng3 is a move from the world No5 Fabiano Caruana, who has also tried 16 Nd4. Black’s 23...g6 is weakening, with the complex Nc5 24 hxg7 Ne4 a better try. As played Wei Yi’s pieces combined to storm the black king, and he showed his class by preferring a subtle finish to the obvious 33 Bg7+.
Wei Yi v Yuri Vovk
1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 e5 Nfd7 5 f4 c5 6 Nf3 Nc6 7 Be3 cxd4 8 Nxd4 Bc5 9 Qd2 O-O 10 O-O-O a6 11 Qf2 Bxd4 12 Bxd4 b5 13 Be3 Qa5 14 Kb1 b4 15 Ne2 Qc7 16 Ng3 a5 17 Nh5 f6 18 Qg3 Rf7 19 Bb5 fxe5 20 fxe5 Ba6 21 Bxc6 Qxc6 22 Bh6 Rc8 23 Rc1 g6? 24 Nf4 Kh8 25 h4 Nc5 26 h5 Ne4 27 Qh4 gxh5 28 Qxh5 Qe8 29 Rh4 Rb7 30 Qg4 Qg8 31 Qh3 Qf7 32 Nxe6 Rg8 33 Nd4! Qf2 34 Rg4 Re8 35 Be3 Qf7 36 e6 Qf6 37 Nf3 1-0
3408 1 Bc2! Qxc2 2 Nd3! Kg8 (if Qxd3 3 Rxd3 wins on material) 3 Qxh7+ Kf7 4 Ne5+and 5 Qxc2 wins. If Black tries 1 Bc2 Qxd4+ 2 Kh1 Kg8 then 3 Ne6!
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