Berlin GP R1: Aronian beats Vidit, Harikrishna draws

by Shahid Ahmed - 05/02/2022

Vidit Gujrathi got outplayed by Levon Aronian in the endgame. Pentala Harikrishna drew with Alexey Shirov in Round 1 of FIDE Berlin GP 2022. Vladimir Fedoseev and Radoslaw Wojtaszek are the remaining two victors of the round. They defeated Grigoriy Oparin and Richard Rapport respectively. Hikaru Nakamura opted for Berlin in his first Classical game since November 2019. Alexander Grischuk had a good chance against Andrey Esipenko. Pool stage still has five more rounds to go as it is played in double round-robin format. Round 2 of Pool stage starts today at 7:30 p.m. IST. Photo: World Chess

Three decisive games

The first round of FIDE Berlin GP 2022 witnessed three decisive games, including both from Pool B and one from Pool C. White won in all of them.

Harikrishna drew with Shirov | Photo: World Chess

Pool A: Esipenko - Grischuk: 0.5-0.5

Alexander Grischuk got himself a very good position in the endgame against Andrey Esipenko. The latter's mistake created a good opportunity for the three-time world blitz champion.

Position after 28.Qb1

The position was quite difficult for White. 28.Kg2 Ne3+ 29.Kh3 is suggested as the best defense by the computer. Both 28.Qb1 and Rb1 lands white in deep trouble because of and Nc3 and Rc3 respectively.

Esipenko survived against Grischuk | Photo: World Chess

Nakamura opted for Berlin at Berlin in his first Classical game since Hamburg GP in November 2019 | Photo: World Chess

Pool B: Fedoseev - Oparin: 1-0

Vladimir Fedoseev consolidated his position quite well when his opponent, Grigoriy Oparin made a positional error in the endgame.

Position after 25...h3

25...hxg3 and Qb5 were better choices for Black. Find out why 25...h3 was not good for Black.

Fedoseev seized his opportunity | Photo: World Chess

Wojtaszek - Rapport: 1-0

Richard Rapport went wrong in the knight endgame, which cost him dearly against Radoslaw Wojtaszek.

Position after 41...Nc4

Black was already down by a pawn and 41...Nc4 only made things worse for Black. The game continued 42.Nd3, however there was a better continuation. What was it?

Wojtaszek scored a nice victory | Photo: World Chess

Pool C: Aronian - Vidit: 1-0

The rook, bishop and many pawns endgame was quite difficult. However, Vidit overlooked a possible breakthrough on the kingside, probably due to time trouble which gave Aronian a decisive advantage.

Position after 35.gxf4

White's threat is to play 36.f5. Black needed to play 36...f5 himself to prevent it. However, he opted for 36...Rc7 and 37.f5 completely turned things in White's favor. Vidit fought till the end but there was not enough to save the game.

Aronian outplayed Vidit in the endgame | Photo: World Chess

Vincent Keymer and Daniil Dubov had a hard-fought draw | Photo: World Chess

The All-American derby was drawn | Photo: World Chess

Shirov-Harikrishna was also a draw | Photo: World Chess

Players before the start of Round 1 | Photo: World Chess

A bird's eye view of the playing arena | Photo: World Chess

FIDE Grand Prix 2022 Berlin GP Round 1 Live Commentary by IM Sagar Shah | Video: ChessBase India

Replay Round 1 games

Round 1 results

Both games ended decisively in Pool B and one in Pool C | Photo: FIDE

Time control

The time control for each standard game in pools and play-off is: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move 1. In case if a player arrives at the chessboard with a delay of up to 15 minutes from the actual start of the game, he/she should be charged of five hundred (500) euros deducted from his/her prize money. In case of delay of more than 15 minutes, the player loses the game (without financial penalty).

Draw

The players cannot draw any game by mutual agreement before black’s 30th move. A claim for a draw before black’s 30th move is permitted only in the case of a draw by repetition.