World Cup Knockout 2019

[Steven DuCharme]

The next WC will feature 206 combatants

[John McKenna]

becoming clear that Ding will live after all

He has been far from his best so far, and a shadow of the player he was at the last World Cup - still someone will have to find a way to beat him. I would not expect him to go out by drawing with White in an Armageddon!

Ding said in an interview early on that he was tired after the tournaments in Saint Louis.

Also it's pretty certain (absolutely certain?) that he will get into the Candidates on rating, so he is not under huge pressure to perform, and may even be hiding some ideas that he could need for that tournament next year. Today DIng repeated (with a slight adjustment) a double-edged line that had used before, enabling his opponent to do good prep. He got a dodgy position yet still he did not lose... Pretty impressive really.

I do expect MVL to win the tournament, though, unless Aronian gets him again.

Was Alekseenko ever winning against Ding, yesterday?

Play already underway today.

[John McKenna]

And, why do Chessbase keep saying it is round 4??

World Cup: Round 4 Tiebreaks LIVE

by ChessBase

9/22/2019 – It was an action-packed day in Khanty-Mansiysk, as Leinier Dominguez and Jeffery Xiong bounced back from losses; Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Nikita Vitiugov drew to get 1½:½ victories in their matches; and Yu Yangyi managed to win after having drawn game one, thus reaching the quarter-finals. Also noteworthy was Ding Liren's stubborn defence against Kirill Alekseenko — the top seed drew the underdog, thus taking the match to...

https://en.chessbase.com/post/world-cup-round-1-live

[Tim Harding]

Yes it is round 4 tiebreaks and Ding is already winning the first game after 15...Ne5?? 16 Bxf6.

The point was that if 16...Bxf6 17 f4 Bxe2 18 fxe5 Bxf1 19 exf6 Rxe1 20 Qh6 and mates.

[JustinHorton]

I notice that Radge and Madge have thirty-four games on Chessgames, two of which have been decisive. Shak making the running today though.

[John McKenna]

I thought this exchange established the round -

Do you mean quarter finals? It looks like the winners from round 4 advance to the quarter finals.

SNIP

I always thought 2 players in the final, 4 in the semis and 8 in the quarters. Round 4 is the q-finals.

Round 5 is the quarter finals.

Anyway, back to the play -

Yes it is round 4 tiebreaks and Ding is already winning the first game after 15...Ne5?? 16 Bxf6.

The point was that if 16...Bxf6 17 f4 Bxe2 18 fxe5 Bxf1 19 exf6 Rxe1 20 Qh6 and mates.

By the way, I'm not rooting for Lev Aronian or Max Vachier-Lagrave. For me fresh faces would be welcome in the final, here.

[John McKenna]

I notice that Radge and Madge have thirty-four games on Chessgames, two of which have been decisive. Shak making the running today though.

Both Armageddon games?

[JustinHorton]

No, and one of them, though a blitz, was in a round-robin.

[John McKenna]

Thanks, but I was just trying to set the scene.

[JustinHorton]

I was going to write "the prologue usually comes before the action" but seeing there appears to be a temporary glitch in the online coverage, I guess we can take it as rain commentary.

[JustinHorton]

Anyway Madge misses his chance, but Xiong takes his, he and Ding being the only winners.

[John McKenna]

I was going to write "the prologue usually comes before the action" but seeing there appears to be a temporary glitch in the online coverage, I guess we can take it as rain commentary.

That cryptic clue could imply that you don't think Armageddon a suitable epilogue.

Anyway Madge misses his chance, but Xiong takes his, he and Ding being the only winners.

Round 4.3!?

Radjabov,T (2758) 1/2 Mamedyarov,S (2767)
Xiong,J (2707) 1-0 Duda,J (2730)
Dominguez Perez,L (2763) 1/2 Grischuk,A (2759)
Aronian,L (2758):1/2 Le,Q (2708)
Ding,L (2811) 1-0 Alekseenko,K (2671)

[JustinHorton]

Duda has opened 1 a3

[JustinHorton]

Alekseenko down to ten minutes after twelve moves, which is odd because I'm sure this is a normal theoretical line, matter of fact I'm sure I've lost on the Black side of it

[EDIT: perhaps not, quite, looking in Kaufman's Chess Advantage In Black And White. If DIng had played 12...Nh6, which he didn't - and doesn't have to do - you'd have Spraggett v Adams, 2001, with White having played a4 instead of Bb3.]

[Jonathan Rogers]

Aronian in all sorts of trouble in the opening but might survive - will be interesting to see what Le can do in their first really interesting game so far