Wijk aan Zee 2021

[JustinHorton]

(Just for accuracy's sake, it's Antón. Guijarro is his second surname or apellido.)

[Matt Mackenzie]

Carlsen has a very Carlsenish position

But fails to make the most of it, again. He got bogged down with draws at last year's event as well.

[David Sedgwick]

(Just for accuracy's sake, it's Antón. Guijarro is his second surname or apellido.)

My fellow club member Luis Ortiz Sanchez (305122F) has been resident in London for a decade or so and is usually known as Luiz Sanchez here. When I asked him why, he said that he had found it so difficult to get British organisations to handle his name correctly that he had given up trying, to the dismay of his father (and possibly the private delight of his mother).

[JustinHorton]

It happens the orher way round of course: it's assumed here that if you have only three names, the second of these is a surname.

[Eric Gardiner]

In Anton-Tari it's remarkable that a zugzwang that wins for Black appears to have been missed in an endgame White was trying hard to win: 54...Bb5. Presumably the idea which I've checked for a few seconds with an engine running is:

55.a4, Ba6; 56.a5, Bb5; 57.h5, Kg7 and Black stops the kingside pawns and just waits for White to run out of moves by moving his bishop along the a6-f1 diagonal.

[Matthew Turner]

I completely missed it too. Whilst White can play pretty much anything to draw I was expecting the line Anton chose and Tari's response.

[JustinHorton]

Antón's position today (he's just played his 21st) is looking a bit how-to-play-the-López-with-White

[JustinHorton]

Tari taking what the online computer might consider a slightly premature draw against MVL

[JustinHorton]

In Duda-Carlsen White seems to have taken a decision to play a double-rook-and-single-piece ending in hich he appeared to be a pawn up rather than an alternative ending that looked drawish. This may not have been wise.

[Matthew Turner]

In Duda-Carlsen White seems to have taken a decision to play a double-rook-and-single-piece ending in hich he appeared to be a pawn up rather than an alternative ending that looked drawish. This may not have been wise.

At least Duda has plenty of time to sort it out

[JustinHorton]

By the way I am struck by the quite large gap in assessments between these two

[JustinHorton]

Most entertaining clash of the afternoon so far has been Donchenko-Firouzja and there's still some scope for adding more red moves to the Chessbomb score

[Matt Mackenzie]

Carlsen actually agreed to split the point today, rather than playing on until there was a legally drawn position.

[Paul Cooksey]

Most entertaining clash of the afternoon so far has been Donchenko-Firouzja and there's still some scope for adding more red moves to the Chessbomb score

I had no idea you could get from a Ragozin to a Noteboom. Donchenko in danger of becoming a target, although nice to see Firouzja being so combative at this level. Often players start to become more cautious when facing elite opposition, but seems not to be happening to him.

[JustinHorton]

Van Foreest 3...a6 4. Ba4 Bc5, has something been happening in López theory I don't know about