Russian Teams Win At European Club Cup As Carlsen Plays Last OTB Games Before Match chess.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from chess.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Esipenko Enters World s Top 30 At Russian Team Chess Championship
How to watch?
You can find, play through, and download all games of the event on our Events page: Premier League | Women s Championship | Higher League.
Russia is one of many countries that are partially lifting their restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic. This change made it possible to host a much bigger over-the-board event than the Candidates in terms of the number of players: the national team championships.
Standard safety and security regulations were in place as well as a measure that we have seen during the 2020 Biel Chess Festival. Also in Sochi, the players played with plexiglass in the middle of the board to avoid the spread of aerosols.
€29.90
Lagno the strongest among the women
The Russian Team Championships, played in Sochi on May 1-10, saw rating favourites dominate the Premier League and the Women’s Tournament, as both teams finished the event with perfect scores. Moreover, the winners of the open section, the
Mednyi Vsadnik, suffered only one individual loss in the whole tournament (in 48 games). Meanwhile, the
Moscow Chess Team won 21 out of their 36 individual games in the women’s category.
On this DVD you will be taken on a journey through what is arguably the sharpest opening line known to men.
While the team from Saint Petersburg in the open section had its top scorer in Andrey Esipenko, the Muscovite female squad was well-led by top seed Kateryna Lagno (the highest rated Russian woman player, Aleksandra Goryachkina, played in the open section).
And now he takes the pressure off the black centre and refrains from opening up a file on the queenside. White must now somehow try to survive the advance g5-g4 on the kingside.
14.Ne4 15.b4 h5?!
Black goes for it. [Good was 15.Nc3 16.Qb3 Nxe2+ 17.Rxe2 h5! and White can’t play 18.Nxg5? due to 18.Nxd4 etc.]
16.Bb2? Once again, this is too slow.
[After 16.Nxe4 dxe4 17.Nxg5 there might have followed 17.Nxd4 18.Bxh5 Nf3+ 19.Bxf3 Rxd1 20.Bxd1 and White will capture on e4, getting a slight material advantage.]
16.g4 17.Ne5 gxh3 18.Nxe4 Bxe4 19.Bf3 Nxe5 20.dxe5 Rg8 21.g3 h4
The Russian Team Championships are being played on May 1-10 at the Hotel Zhemchuzhina in Sochi. Besides the Premier League, a 9-team round robin, the Women’s League and the Higher League are taking place as Swiss tournaments. Both in the Premier League and the Women’s Tournament, the clear favourites have managed to win all of their matches the Mednyi Vsadnik (Iron Horsemen) led by Nikita Vitiugov and the Moscow Chess Team led by Kateryna Lagno. | Pictured: Aleksandra Goryachkina | Photo: Vladimir Barsky