An exciting first round. Looks like we are in for an action packed week at the 2022 instalment of the TePe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament!
Erigaisi-Shirov
A sharp semi-Slav where Erigaisi surprised everyone with the unusual 12.Be2. Shirov used a lot of time trying to find his way through Erigaisi’s prepared opening. After 24 (!) moves it seemed like white finally reached unknown territory, but he had already led Shirov into deep waters. After the strong 32.Qd1 black’s position came crashing down.
Grandelius-Van Foreest
The Panov variation of the Caro-Kann took the players into a interesting middlegame with Grandelius’ bishop pair compensating for Van Foreest’s passed pawn on c3. Status quo was never challenged and the players agreed to a draw in an opposite coloured bishop endgame.
Salem-Navarra
Salem surprised his opponent with both 1.e4 and 3.Bc4 against the Sicilian. The uncharacteristic opening moves would prove fruitful as Salem quickly gained an advantage. Navarra sacrificed a piece for some pawns and counterplay, but it wasn’t enough as white found an effective plan and made the extra material count.
Niemann-Adams
The exchange variation in the Queen’s gambit. The position seemed to favour Niemann when he managed the thematic e4-break, but Adams defended well and managed to hold the draw with ease despite being a pawn down in the endgame.