FIDE WORLD CUP QUARTER FINALS

It was a historic moment for Indian chess since 4 out of 8 participants were Indians!

GUKESH-CARLSEN    0-1

Gukesh started with the London system where Carlsen opted for a rare 2..b6.White decided to sacrifice the pawn on move 7 which Carlsen duly refused to accept it and instead played  the more logical Bb4 to pin the knight.This was the critical moment where Gukesh spent some time and took a concrete decision.But that turned out to be a crucial one since Carlsen managed to get a good position.Soon afterwards,there were few more exchanges and Carlsen got his trademark position where he can squeeze blood out of a stone.Gukesh defended tenaciously for a long time in the Rook endgame. Decisive mistake came around move 34-35 where active defense would have given him more chances for a draw.However he had miscalculated in time scramble and Magnus won the game with some precision in the end.

Gukesh now faces a tough task in a must win situation with the Black pieces. However,match is not over since Carlsen is known for his fighting spirits irrespective of the situation and Gukesh will surely give his best to even the score to take the game to the Tie breaks.

Vidit-Abasov     Draw

In the longest game of the day that lasted for almost 5 hours,Vidit got an symbolic edge around move 25 in the Rossolimo variation.Interestingly there were no pawn moves for nearly 30 moves since both the players tried to improve their position by moving the Rook and Bishop.Critical moment came around move 78 where Vidit could have posed more problems had he played Bf4.He was about to play that and changed his mind when he felt he found an promising alternative where he wins a pawn after the Bishop exchange.However Rook endgames can become tricky despite the extra pawn! Vidit kept pushing for a long time,but Abasov defended very well and even managed to get a slight better position.Here Vidit was alert and decided to not overpush and wisely decided to settle for the draw. Vidit plays Black in the next game.

Praggnanandhaa-Arjun Erigaisi    0-1

In an all Indian clash where one of them is guaranteed a semi final spot,Prag started with 1.Nf3 and the game transposed to Fianchetto Grunfeld.White got an slight edge around move 15.But nothing was evident since Arjun managed to create counterplay in the ‘a’ file. Arjun managed to stir complications by sacrificing the knight on move 35.White had to find the only moves that are prophylactic and a bit computerish to save the game.In the time trouble,he could not find them and Arjun played brilliantly to score a full point.

Prag now in a must in situation with the Black pieces.

Dominguez-Caruana    Draw

In an All American clash,White played the Italian variation where he got the typical edge out of the opening. Caruana played confidently and executed nice manoeuvre to equalize the game. Critical moment came around move 27 when Black decided to capture the pawn which proved fatal since after few more moves White got a winning position after latter’s inaccuracy. White’s position was winning for a long time,but there was no forced win on sight.Black managed to pose some practical problems and make it harder for Dominguez to convert.Critical move came around move 54 where computer claims there was only one way to play for the win which was not easy to understand from a practical point of view.Then on Caruana played very well and managed to draw the game.

Now he will have white pieces in the next game.