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The first game to finish in the GM-group today was the first board meeting between GM Gabor Papp (2559) and Jan Werle (2523). The opening was a Sicilian Alapin line,
leading to a balanced isolani position, which turned very symmetric and equal as white exchanged his white-squared bishop for a knight at d5.
The game had some exciting minutes as white let his knight in at c7 without any given retreat squares. The result however became only some tactical exchanges – and draw in a balanced position after 20 moves.
Second board GM Andrei Istratescu (2653) - GM Maxim Turov (2586) lasted two hours more, but in the end had the same outcome. Via 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 play transposed into a
positional Grunfeld Indian Exchange line, in which white played e3 and held a very slight plus from his center advantage. Defending by sound means, Turov after 26 moves
had equalized completely by exchanging all the minor pieces. A bayonet h-pawn attack was a last try giving white an initiative for some moves. Turov however is a true
chess elephant very hard to push out of the board, and Istratescu in the end found nothing but further exchanges – leading to a drawn queen endgame after 39 moves.
IM Benjamin Gledura (2414) and GM Eduardas Rozentalis (2615) played all the way to 55 moves, as Rozentalis having the better pawn structure and the more active king tried
to win an endgame with rook, bishop and six pawns versus rook, bishop and six pawns. As the bishops were different colored, as white had no really weak pawns and as black
had no inroad for his king, young Gledura still had the draw under reasonable control. White looked slightly better from this Catalan opening, but having weakened
his pawn structure he instead came slightly worse as his piece initiative petered out in the middlegame. Gledura is doing well above expected so far, but still might need 2.0/2 to make a GM-norm.
Another young GM-candidate had an even better evening tonight, as German IM Rasmus Svane (2506) after five and a half hour defeated second seeded GM Evgeny Romanov (2647).
Both players started thinking early in this unusual Modern opening line, but after black castled long white soon got a promising initiative. 19.--- Bd4? was some kind of
tactical miss from Romanov, as white could hit back and open the black king's shelter with 22.Nb5+!. Ten moves later white played with queen, bishop and five pawns versus
two rooks, knight and three pawns. White’s position after this was a technical win, as he had pawn majorities on both sides plus the more safe king.
Although white took his time and made some inaccuracies, his position probably was winning all the remaining moves. Romanov finally resigned a hopeless position after 59 moves,
and following this second game loss is out of the fight for the top three prizes. Svane on the other hand still has not lost any game, and can make a GM-norm if winning one and drawing one more now...
Today’s Hungarian meeting was played on fifth board, between GM Peter Prohaszka (2588) and IM Miklos Galyas (2421). Odds for a draw remained low throughout the first four hours.
Although white had a slight edge from this King’s Indian Fianchetto opening, he found nothing but exchanges in the middle game – leading to a materially balanced and very drawish endgame.
Still having little to risk, white played on with rook, b-pawn and h-pawn versus rook, e-pawn and h-pawn in the fifth hour. Prohaszka was rewarded after 55 moves, as Galyas for some unknown
reason decided to advance his e-pawn straight into the hands of the white king. White took the pawn and demonstrated the remaining two versus one endgame to be an easy win, as
white’s king could now escort in his passed b-pawn.
The sixth board with GM Yuri Solodovnichenko (2566) and IM Torbjørn Ringdal Hansen (2476) was a closed Ruy Lopez, in which white by directing his knight around to f5 opened the position
with some initiative. Although black had a weak pawn at d6, he would have been well inside the ring if he had played 25.--- Nc4!. Instead he blundered with 25.--- Bf8?? – not realizing
in time that this well known bishop maneuver in this particular position took a very important square from black’s king... Solodovnichenko immediately punished Hansen and his king with
26.Nxe5! dxe5 27.Bxf7+! – after which black resigned as 27.--- Kxf7?! 28.Qb3+ Ke7 29.Rxe5+ was not too hard to see. An unusual tactical trick worth remembering for young talents –
and a point which might be very useful for hard hitting Solodovnichenko.
Three draws and three wins for white on the top six boards today means GM Jan Werle at 5.5/7 keeps his tiny lead, now ahead of GM Istratescu, GM Prohaszka, GM Papp, GM Solodovnichenko and
IM Svane all at 5.0/7. Six players within half a point (five of them by the way still undefeated) means we can expect a very tense round eight and nine. Pairings for the second to last round
will be Werle-Prohaszka, Papp-Istratescu and Svane-Solodovnichenko.
Curiously, Jan Werle was the last GM to confirm for this tournament, as he was still available for very reasonable costs when the organizer for various reasons wanted one more GM two weeks
in advance. As Werle is the lowest rated among the eight GMs, his very well deserved lead after seven rounds qualifies as a surprise. It remains now to test out whether the still flying Dutchman
can defend his lead through the final ports too. Probably 7.0/9 will be needed for an unshared first prize this year.
Alexandru Manea (2368) and IM Fabrizio Bellia (2408) started up with a positional Queen’s Gambit Exchange line, in which white put his kingside knight on e2
instead of f3, but without playing in the center with f3 and e4 afterwards. Instead white went for a traditional queenside minority attack with b4-a4-b5.
Under the current circumstances this did not give white much: Black after one exchange at b5 allowed white to exchange pawns at c6, and then realized c5 with a balanced
isolani position. White regrouped his knight from e2 to f3 and the offered a draw, which was accepted in a balanced position after 29 moves. Manea has been doing very well
following his first round loss, but at 4.0/7 still has too low average for any norm chances. Bellia on the other hand had a good start, and with an average around 2470 so far
he will probably reach a GM-norm if able to win both the remaining rounds.
IM Mads Andersen (2470) apparently had succeeded reinstalling himself in a confident position mood after yesterday’s tactical blunder, and controlling the d-file he came
better from a positional King’s Indian opening as white against FM Joachim B. Nilsen (2363). As black failed to come up with anything frightening on the kingside, white
got a promising queenside pressure without much of a risk. Having stabilized his position with a bishop on e5 and a knight on the d4-outpost, black still had fair chances
until he at move 28 overlooked a tactical b4-break. Andersen immediately saw his chance and the rest was transportation, as white within a few moves had two extra queenside
pawns. Different colored bishop gave black a small hope for the endgame, but white’s king soon intervened with decisive effect. Both players are behind the norm schedule as
Nilsen now needs 2.0/2 for his first IM-norm, while Andersen might need 2.5/2 for his final GM-norm...
Although 17 year old FM Pier Luigi Basso (2322) and 15 year old IM Aryan Tari (2456) both are very interesting players, their game today was not. Basso in a positional
mood went for an English fianchetto, ending in a balanced middle game position as black’s isolani at d5 was about as weak as white’s on c3. Draw agreed in a static
position after 25 moves means Tari is just above expected score and far from any GM-norm, while Basso can make an IM-norm with 1.5/2 in the end.
14 year old Sondre Merkesvik (2179) will not make any IM-norm this year, but has passed 2200 for the first time with a tournament performance well above 2300 so far.
Playing white against Goran Djurovic (2408) this round he did not come up with much as white in a Catalan, but playing sound moves all the way the Bergen junior still
kept his balance against the IM. The draw offer from Djurovic after 26 moves came a little bit unexpected, as he had the better pawn structure and could play on without
much of a risk. But true enough the Croatian representative does not have much to play for at this stage of the tournament, and it was very difficult to do something for
black in a static position with one queen, two rooks, one bishop and six pawns on each side. The different colored bishops also voted heavily for a draw in this position.
It is almost fascinating to see how much Merkesvik has improved his play compared to last year’s tournament, and it will not be surprising if his first IM-norm comes within the next twelve months.
Last time IM Frode Elsness (2465) played white against the 26 year younger FM Sebastian Mihajlov (2257), he luckily scraped a draw in a lost endgame after underestimating
the dangers of a tactical Slav line. This time Elsness took a more modest and positional approach with an Anti-Meran Semi-Slav. It worked out much better, as an apparently
loose d5-pawn gave white a strong initiative in the middle game. Under pressure black after 25 moves too easily gave up his pawn at c4, after which the passed pawn at d6
combined with a kingside attack soon decided. No norm chances and no great tournament for any of the players; but Elsness' will to win almost every game still is remarkable.
The game between FMs Lars Oskar Hauge (2322) and Lars Hjelmås (2302) was a tense French Tarrasch duel in which black first seemed to have promising counterplay on the kingside.
If his decision to sacrifice at pawn at e4 was correct, sacrificing an exchange afterwards still looked too loose. White cashed in the material without looking too nervous,
and efficiently decided the game by making the better tactical calculations just before 40 moves.
Hauge following this win is fully in the run for an IM-norm again, but might need 1.5/2 to make his final norm this week.
The junior duel between FM Benjamin Arvola (2318) and Eivind X. Djurhuus (2105) was a long and tense Sicilian Maroczy duel, in which white playing with pawns at
d5 and e4 got a space advantage from the opening. As white had no chances for a kingside attack after exchanging queens, white’s remaining center pawn at d5
however was no strength, and black looked closer to winning chances before it all dried out with a drawn rook endgame after 54 moves. Arvola definitely has
lost speed following his promising start, while Djurhuus has recovered from 0/2 and steadily improves his ELO.
IM Anita Gara (2322) also improves her ELO, and is back at 50% after she today defeated Johannes Haug (2194) in a confident style. The game was a French Tarrasch with
3.--- Be7, leading to a position in which white had a pleasant pressure against black’s hanging center pawns at d5 and e6. Haug’s decision of sacrificing his b6-pawn to
realize the e5-break was understandable, but still dubious, as white’s extra pawn soon was a very disturbing passed pawn. And sacrificing a piece to realize e4 afterwards
was consistent, but even more dubious, as white had the more dangerous attack after taking the piece.
WIM Raghavi Nagarjan (2253) jumped up the boards again as she won a nice 27 moves game as white against FM Richard Bjerke (2172). White had a pressure from this open
Ruy Lopez position, and her position became more or less winning as black after 15 moves allowed a powerful e5-break. Still playing a materially balanced position with
queen, rook, bishop and five pawns on each side, Bjerke gently resigned after 27.Be8! – realizing he could not save his king for many more moves. The eternal optimist
Nagarjan still was in an accelerated mood three hours after this game, but seeing the pairings for round eight she reluctantly accepted it was still impossible for her to get a WGM-norm in this tournament.
Gunnar Berg Hanssen (2204) versus FM Johnny Wieweg (2140) was a Leningrad duel transposing into a Dutch nightmare from a Swedish point of view – as white after establishing a
center advantage with d5 somehow came better on the queenside and kingside simultaneously. Playing two pawns up with a dominating pair of bishops, white anyway was
totally winning when black after 33 moves realized he had blundered a queen instead of exchanging a bishop. Berg Hanssen following a slow start now also is in a very
good mood, and jokingly asked whether the tournament could be extended with about nine rounds to improve his norm chances...
Svetoslav Mihajlov (2154) versus Vijay Pranav (2197) was a Caro Kann duel, reaching a dynamically balanced middlegame. Although black had got a space advantage and
the more active pieces, white having sound pieces and a solid pawn structure had fair chances until he suddenly blundered a piece with 28.Nf4?? – overlooking a far
from invisible 28.--- Nxf4 29.Bxf4 Bxd4. Pranav following this win heads for a plus result, while Mihajlov senior is still falling after his very strong start.
Jens Hjort Kjølberg (2058) and IM Petter Haugli (2277) started up with some kind of symmetric Slav exchange position. White had slightly the better structure as black
after a queen exchange at b6 played with two b-pawns. Black’s active pieces and a-file however compensated, and he definitely came better after white first found no
plan and then found a plan to disrupt his own pawn structure. Having intervened on c2 and picked up a pawn, black anyway was winning when white after 33 moves blundered
another pawn and resigned. Junior Kjølberg can be well satisfied with the tournament, but not with this game. IM Haugli on the other hand can no way be satisfied with his
tournament, but still was well satisfied with this game. (“By far my best game this tournament – as I now remembered each move to check whether my opponent was threatening some check or capture”.)
Playing black against Frode Lillevold (2199), Alf Roger Andersen (2170) gave his true Dutch another try – and aggressively started a kingside pawnstorm after 1.d4 f5 2.Bg5 h6 3.Lh4 g5.
Lillevold challenged it with 4.e4!?, but spent enormous amounts of time after the opening. White definitely lost the thread after 17 moves, as his critical Rh1-move was based upon way
too loose calculations. Andersen efficiently demonstrated that white’s king on c1 was much more in the danger zone than black’s king at f7, and within a few moves had an extra piece
AND a winning attack. This game prolonged a strange study in chess collapse for usually solid Lillevold, falling back all the way from 1.5/2 until 1.5/7.
Andersen according to himself decided to start a new tournament after losing the first four games, and so far he has made 2.5/3 in the new one.
Ludy Sousa (2228) and Paul Wallace (2200) cooperated in entering a Ruy Lopez Jänisch-gambit with 3.--- f5?!. Although queens were exchanged a messy middle game followed,
as white was a pawn up while black had the more active pieces. Obviously in a creative mood today, Wallace sacrificed an exchange at d4 to get a passed d-pawn and increase
his piece activity further. Again failing to find the best defence, Sousa lost a piece and after 40 moves just played on in a hopeless endgame. Wallace has nearly saved his Elo
following this inspired win, while gifted but uneven Sousa still has problems acclimatizing to this level.
Colorful WFM Hanne Gossens (2187) today came slightly better as white in a Caro-Kann opening against Kenneth Einarsen (2106). White later claimed the position was about equal
after 22 moves, while black claimed it was somewhat better for white. Anyway black still had fair chances before he went for a tactical 23.--- c5? 24.dxc5 Nxc3?? – too clever
by half, as white after the intermediate check 25.Nd6+! won two exchanges instead of losing one pawn. Goossen kept her mood and humor remarkably well despite a depressing 0.5/5
in the first half of the tournament, and has been rewarded by won games in round six and seven. She still has a plus result within reach, but due to too many untitled opponents
she cannot any more hope for a WIM-norm. Einarsen, at his best a creative tactical attacker, still has a hard time keeping up his play all the way through the games in this group.
Finally, Francisco Gonzalez (2130) won a very messy and complicated four hours game as black against Christian Harstad (2002). Unfortunately, as we still have some problems
understanding the consequently messy and complicated scoresheets, I guess I should not try to say anything more for sure about this game.
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