Tepe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament

Photo by Mikael Svensson

Javokhir Sindarov is the winner!

Here is the final result:
1. Sindarov 4½
2-3. Erdogmus and Grandelius 4
4-5. Rapport and Robson 3½
6-7. l’Ami and Tan 3
8. Ivanchuk 2½

Sindarov-Grandelius

As black in the Italian Defense, Grandelius sacrificed a pawn for activity. At move 17, when he was going to take it back, he probably did it the wrong way. It would have been better to take the d3 pawn with the queen, instead of with the bishop. Grandelius’ position became critical when he played the passive 23….Bh7, but Sindarov did not manage to find the right moves. He should at least been able to win the b-pawn, e.g. by 26.Nc8. Instead, the position was simplified and at move 41, a draw was agreed upon.

Tan-l’Ami

Tan opted for 6.a3 in the Najdorf Sicilian, and l’Ami chose one of the most critical variations, with 6….e5, followed by 7….d5. The position became very complicated, and when the white king ended up on f1, it looked like it was in danger. L’Ami should probably should have avoided the exchanges that followed upon 26….Ne3+, since this lead to a double rook ending where Tan could secure a draw through active play.

Erdogmus-Robson

Once again, Erdogmus chose 3.Bb5 against the Sicilian Defense. Robson seemed to be prepared for that, and equalized without problems. Later on, Robson won a pawn, but considering that all pawns were on the same side of the board, and the bishops were of opposite colors, the winning changes were small. Robson kept playing, but Erdogmus defended well, and after 109 moves, the draw was a fact.

Rapport-Ivanchuk

Already after three moves, Rapport an Ivanchuk had managed to create a position that was not known from any previous games. The character of the position resembled the Philidor Defense. Ivanchuk forced things early on, by taking on d4. Perhaps, it might have been wise to castle before that, and then play e.g. Re8. With 18…g5, Ivanchuk allowed the strong 19.Nc5, which should have been a winning move, but Rapport did not find the most exact continuation (20.Nxc6 bxc6 21.Da7 would have won directly). White also had promising play after 22.Qa8+. After Rapport missed the winning move, most of his advantage was gone, but sadly enough, Ivanchuk ran out of time when he was about to carry out 25….Ke6.

With one round to go in the TePe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament, Javokhir Sindarov has the lead.

Right now, it looks like this:
Sindarov 4, Erdoğmuş 3½, Grandelius, Rapport, Robson and Tan 3, l’Ami 2½, Ivanchuk 2

Last round:
Ivanchuk-Sindarov, l’Ami-Erdoğmuş, Robson-Rapport, Grandelius-Tan

Photo by Lennart Ootes

Rapport-Sindarov

White the white pieces in the Anti-Moscow Gambit, Rapport sacrificed a pawn early on, and soon got a dangerous initiative. However, he did not manage to find any decisive continuation, and after move 40, it was Sindarov, if any, that had a slight advantage. Things just led to a number of exchanges, and when the board was almost cleared, the agreed on a draw.

Ivanchuk-Erdogmus

As white in the English Opening, Ivanchuk got some pressure, but initially, Erdogmus defended himself well. However, as they approached 40 moves, Ivanchuk got the upper hand, and he managed to march his a-pawn forward. Eventually, he ended things with the elegant 44.Rb7!

Robson-Tan

As white in the Italian opening against Tan, Robson played 5.Bg5. His surprise move did not give him much of an advantage and Tan equalized without much effort. The balance was never really disturbed, and after 47 moves, they agreed on a draw in a totally equal rook endgame.

L’Ami-Grandelius

Gradelius made a surprise choice, when he chose the Queen’s Indian Defense against l’Ami. L’Ami in turn played the surprising 5.Qb3, and a couple of moves later, he traded queens on d5. White got some slight pressure that grew a bit and finally, Grandelius was really under pressure. However, he got a chance in time-trouble, when he could have played 31…Nb5, but when he missed this, he ended up in a bad rook endgame that l’Ami did not have any problems winning.