FIDE World Cup R3.3: Giri, Mamedyarov Out; MVL Survives In Armageddon

GM Anish Giri and GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov did not survive the tiebreaks of the FIDE World Cup's third round. The two top grandmasters lost to GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Haik Martirosyan, respectively.

Other big names that were sent home on Tuesday were GM Evgeny Tomashevsky and GM Anna Ushenina. GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave beat GM David Paravyan in the armageddon game to reach round four. Wednesday is the first rest day of the tournament.

Caissa was ruthless in the third round of the FIDE World Cup, sending no fewer than three top-10 players home. After GM Fabiano Caruana, Giri and Mamedyarov can now pack their bags as well. It goes to show that two classical games followed by tiebreaks are always a bit random, but at the same time, it's clear that this tournament is jam-packed with young talent.

As a result, GM Magnus Carlsen and GM Alexander Grischuk are the only top-10 players left in the field. They are in the same half of the bracket and can potentially meet in the semifinals. In the other half of the bracket, besides MVL the strongest players are GM Sergey Karjakin and GM Peter Svidler, both former winners.

Mamedyarov had already felt the pressure when he lost his first classical game to Martirosyan, who went on to prove in the tiebreak that his win wasn't just a coincidence. He confidently held a draw with the white pieces after winning the first rapid game deep in the endgame:

Like Mamedyarov, Giri was gradually outplayed in an endgame, despite having the white pieces. Unlike his Azerbaijani colleague, the Dutchman had serious chances to level the score in his black game.

However, having spent too much time earlier on the clock, Giri lacked the time to find the best moves when it mattered. GM Viswanathan Anand suggested more active alternatives for Giri several times in the Chess.com live broadcast, the most obvious one on move 23.

Taking that 0.6 rating point home. 💪🤦🏻‍♂️#FIDEWorldCup

— Anish Giri (@anishgiri) July 20, 2021

Vachier-Lagrave seemed to be sailing smoothly when he won the first rapid game, but Paravyan, who had beaten FIDE Candidate GM Wang Hao in the tiebreak to win the 2020 Gibraltar Masters, managed to win on demand in game two.

Four draws followed in the 10+10 and 5+3 time controls but not without some drama in the second 5+3 game. In a completely winning position for Vachier-Lagrave, Paravyan erroneously claimed a three-fold repetition.

The conclusion afterward was that there had been the same position three times on the board, but with different colors to move. However, it looks like when Paravyan claimed the repetition, the position had appeared just two times (indeed with different colors to move). After the players resumed, MVL got confused and spoiled the win:

Joining the Chess.com broadcast afterward, Vachier-Lagrave said that there was a bug in the chessboard software, which claimed the draw was correct. "I had to go to the arbiter's computer, check the position, and prove it myself, basically," he said.

The match went to armageddon and MVL, who won the drawing of lots, chose to play with the white pieces.

"I was happy at least that I picked the right to choose in the armageddon. I was confident taking White," said MVL about his choice. "Basically, David was always on the edge in terms of time, the time he spent for his moves. I thought I should take advantage of that. Clearly, this is what happened."

"Of course, I'm happy," said Vachier-Lagrave. "I'm also a little bit embarrassed because I should definitely have closed it before that, in the blitz games at least, but credits to David. He put up a great fight and found some critical defensive resources at some unexpected times with a few seconds on the clock."

The French GM's best achievement in FIDE World Cups is the semifinals, where he lost to GM Levon Aronian in the armageddon in 2017. Asked what he has learned from earlier experiences, MVL said: "Basically I wanted to avoid stressful days like this one today because it takes a lot of energy, and basically at the end of the event you're begging for the energy, so hopefully this doesn't cost me."

MVL joined the Chess.com broadcast at 6:35:10.

In another dramatic tiebreak match, GM Vidit Gujrathi eliminated his compatriot and good friend GM Baskaran Adhiban. The players started with two draws in the rapid, when Vidit seemed to be taking a big first step towards qualification as he won the first 10+10 game as Black due to a big blunder from his opponent:

Adhiban showed that he is an incredible fighter in the next game:

What a match! Such intensity. Amazing fight by both players @viditchess @adhibanchess pic.twitter.com/c66LrsogyG

— Surya Sekhar Ganguly (@suryachess64) July 20, 2021

Also in the first 5+3 game, Vidit was winning at one point, but Adhiban again avoided elimination by holding the game to a draw. This match seemed to be heading to armageddon as well, but Vidit ended up winning the second 5+3 as Black as Adhiban lost on time in a lost queen endgame:

Vidit will be facing GM Jeffery Xiong, who held the second rapid game to a draw after winning the first:

The Iranian grandmaster GM Pouya Idani scored an upset victory over Tomashevsky by winning the second rapid game. It looks like the Russian GM blundered in the opening:

The great match of different generations between GM Praggnanandhaa R. and GM Michal Krasenkow ended in favor of the 15-year-old, who won both rapid games. The first looked very powerful:

GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek eliminated GM Maxim Matlakov, who was about to level the score after losing the first rapid game when one major oversight meant the end of his tournament:

Wojtaszek is playing Carlsen next. The other round-four matches are Dubov-Esipenko, Ponkratov-Bacrot, Piorun-Sindarov, Grischuk-Korobov, Idani-Duda, Vidit-Xiong, Durarbayli-Abdusattorov, Kovalev-Fedoseev, Ivic-Andreikin, Harikrishna-Tabatabaei, Brkic-Martirosyan, MVL-Praggnanandhaa, Artemiev-Karjakin, Vitiugov-Svidler, and Shankland-Jumabayev.

Results round 3 tiebreaks

The women's tournament saw four tiebreak matches. In three of them, the rating favorites went through and as a result, six out of seven players from the women's top 10 made it to the next round.

The all-Ukrainian matchup GM Mariya Muzychuk vs GM Anna Ushenina was a clash between two former women's world champions. They had drawn their two classical games but in the tiebreak, White won five times in a row in the 25+10, 10+10, and 5+3 games! Muzychuk was leading 3-2 at that point and then won the match by finally holding her black game.

The 17-year-old IM Bibisara Assaubayeva continues to knock out higher-rated opponents. In the previous round she sent GM Zhansaya Abdumalik home, and this time GM Bela Khotenashvili was the victim. Assaubayeva won both 10+10 games; here's the first:

The 16-year-old WGM Leya Garifullina had a great run but is out after blundering a queen vs. IM Polina Shuvalova:

The matchups for the round of 16 are Goryachkina-Stefanova, Kashlinskaya-Saduakassova, Dzagnidze-Shuvalova, Paehtz-A. Muzychuk, M. Muzychuk-Kosteniuk, Batsiashvili-Gunina, Tan-Khademalsharieh, and Assaubayeva-Lagno.

Results round 3 tiebreaks

got pics with the super cool @anishgiri and @GMShanky today! #InternationalChessDay #FIDEWorldCup pic.twitter.com/jZOtrH3uz3

— Carissa Yip (@CarissaChess) July 20, 2021

The FIDE World Cup takes place in the Galaxy Leisure Complex in Sochi, Russia, until August 6, 2021. Each round consists of two classical games and, if necessary, a rapid/blitz tiebreak on the third day. The Open section began round two with 128 players and the women's section, 64.

Previous reports:

• FIDE World Cup: Caruana Knocked Out
• FIDE World Cup R3: Dzagnidze, Mamedyarov, Yu In Trouble
• FIDE World Cup: Dominguez, Firouzja Out On Wild Armageddon Day
• FIDE World Cup: Nihal, Praggnanandhaa Among Qualifiers For Round 3
• Covid-19 Hits FIDE World Cup; Aronian Withdraws
• 14-Year-Old Murzin Reaches Round 2 FIDE World Cup
• FIDE World Cup: 28 Matches Go To Tiebreaks
• FIDE World Cup Begins With Chilean Brilliance