Knockout

The Fedoseev vs. Tabatabaei quarterfinals match was a fascinating back-and-forth game to watch. Tabatabaei sacrificed a pawn in the opening to get two powerful central pawns charging down the board. Then he sacrificed a second pawn to gain immense piece activity in the queenless middlegame.

Fedoseev defended well and seized the advantage by sacrificing an exchange to mobilize his queenside pawns and two knights, managing to create two dangerous connected passed pawns.

Tabatabaei put up a formidable defense, getting Tabatabaei down to just two knights, nearly drawing. Fedoseev used Tabatabaei’s last pawn against him, checkmating with two knights against a pawn.

In the Nakamura vs. Grischuk quarterfinals match, Grischuk fell behind on time in a complex position. In Grischuk’s time pressure, Nakamura continuously increased the pressure on the board, making threat after threat until Grischuk missed a mating idea with just seconds on the clock.

In the Aronian vs. So quarterfinals rapid game, Aronian created some pressure in the queenless ending by limiting the development of So’s queenside pieces. The players ultimately traded into a drawn rook and opposite-colored bishop ending.

In their blitz playoff game, Aronian gained a tremendous amount of activity from the black side of a seemingly delayed Marshall Gambit and converted it into an overwhelming material and positional advantage.

The Martinez vs. Dubov quarterfinals rapid game was a fascinating duel revolving around Dubov’s …g4 pawn break. As Naroditsky described Martinez’s defense of the g4-square: “It’s like those movie scenes where you put everything against the door so you can’t break it down.”

In their blitz playoff game, Dubov sacrificed two pawns in the opening to create great pressure on Martinez’s position. However, he overlooked a subtle winning idea in a key position. Can you find the unusual move White can play to gain material?

When Dubov missed his chance, Martinez defended well, neutralizing Dubov’s compensation leaving himself simply two pawns ahead. Dubov tried to fight back in vain and Martinez converted his material advantage into a victory.

The Fedoseev vs. Nakamura semifinals rapid game was a hard-fought battle that eventually traded to a drawn bishop vs. knight ending. 

In their blitz playoff, Nakamura set up a clever mating net with his two rooks and bishop vs. Fedoseev’s queen and many pawns. 

In the Martinez vs. Aronian semifinals game, Aronian outplayed Martinez to gain a significant positional advantage from the opening as Black and soon found a tactical breakthrough to win two pawns.

In the Aronian vs. Nakamura final, Nakamura found a tactical way to hunt down Aronian’s loose pieces on Nakamura’s side of the board, gaining an exchange along with a stronger position. He converted his advantage cleanly by trading into a winning king and pawn ending. 

Nakamura was in sharp form throughout the knockout, seeming to play even better with each match. As Naroditsky described it: “Hikaru is on another level. As the tournament goes on, some players get tired, and they get a little worn down. Hikaru merely increases the pressure that he puts on each subsequent opponent.”

Hikaru merely increases the pressure that he puts on each subsequent opponent.

—GM Daniel Naroditsky

In his interview, Nakamura shared his thoughts on the upcoming Candidates Tournament: “Even if I don’t win the tournament this time, I think just having that chance to try and play good chess and perform better than I did is the most important thing because I really didn’t think I’d ever have that chance after 2016.” He also shared what goes into putting together a team to prepare for the Candidates Tournament:

Standings, Results, Prizes

The winner of the Swiss tournament is Fedoseev, and the winner of the knockout tournament is Nakamura. Below are the full standings and prizes of the knockout:

Sunday Knockout | Final Standings