13th London Chess Classic 2023 R3: Gukesh stuns Volokitin

by Shahid Ahmed - 04/12/2023

GM D Gukesh scored an outstanding victory against GM Andrei Volokitin (UKR) in the third round of 13th London Chess Classic 2023. The teenager's twelfth move g4 followed by Nh3 took his opponent by surprise. Later on, he launched a devastating attack on the kingside and won the game. GM Michael Adams (ENG) defeated GM Mateusz Bartel (POL) to stay in the lead with Gukesh 2.5/3. GM Jules Moussard (FRA) got the better of GM Nikita Vitugov (ENG). England's prodigy IM Shreyas Royal scored a big victory against the Iran no.2 GM M Amin Tabatabaei. Gukesh will face Jules in the next round. Round 4 starts today at 2 p.m. local time, 7:30 p.m. IST. Follow the action live on FM WIM Anna-Maja Kazarian's twitch channel. Photos: Tao Bhokanandh

White wins four out of five

The number of wins scored in each round by the players having white pieces is increasing by one, in AP (Arithmetic Progression). Two in the first round, three in the second and four in third. If this pattern is followed, then the fourth round should have white winning in all five games. However, the reality might turn out to be quite different.

D Gukesh scored a very nice win against Andrei Volokitin (UKR)

Gukesh - Volokitin: 1-0

D Gukesh (2720) played two Classical rated games against GM Andrei Volokitin (UKR, 2659). He lost the first one in 2022 and drew the second one few months ago. Both were team events. This was the first time they were playing a Classical rated game in an individual game. The teenager came prepared to even the score.

Position after 12.g4

12.g4!? is an interesting choice. It surely works as Qxg4 runs into 13.Nf6+ double attack. White takes the b7-bishop for his knight. 12...Ne6 13.Nh3 in English opening, White often develops his knight on h3 to keep the g2-bishop's path open in the long diagonal.

Position after 22.f6

Black's position was already quite difficult to play. 22.f6 was the straw that broke the camel's back moment for Black. 22.gxf6 23.Bxf6 Bxe4 24.Nxg5 Bxf6 25.Rxf6 Rxf6 26.Nxe4 Kh8 27.Nxf6 Qf5 28.Rf1 and White won.

Gukesh's top-notch attacking instincts vs Volokitin | Video: ChessBase India

Try solving various questions asked by IM Sagar Shah from Gukesh-Volokitin's game in an interactive form on ChessRanga.

GM Jules Moussard (FRA) - GM Nikita Vitiugov (ENG): 1-0

GM Michael Adams (ENG) - GM Mateusz Bartel (POL): 1-0

GM Luke McShane (ENG) - GM Hans Niemann (ENG): 0.5-0.5

It goes without saying that the World no.7 - GM Anish Giri (NED) is closely following this event for obvious reasons

IM Shreyas Royal (ENG) scored a big win over the Iran no.2 - GM M Amin Tabatabaei (IRI)

Round 3 in progress

The tournament organizer - IM FST Malcolm Pein (center), flanked by FA NI Agnieszka Milewska (left) and IA Shohreh Bayat, Chief Arbiter

Schedule

There are one round each day starting from 2 p.m. local time, 6:30 p.m. IST. Rest day is on Wednesday 6th December 2023.

13th London Chess Classic will take place 1st to 10th December 2023

Prizes

1st £15000, 2nd £10000, 3rd £7500 and 4th £6000

Replay Round 3 games

Round 3 Results

Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.	PGN
1	2	2720	GM	Gukesh, D	1 - 0	GM	Volokitin, Andrei	2659	10	PGN
2	3	2635	GM	Moussard, Jules	1 - 0	GM	Vitiugov, Nikita	2704	1	PGN
3	4	2661	GM	Adams, Michael	1 - 0	GM	Bartel, Mateusz	2659	9	PGN
4	5	2631	GM	Mcshane, Luke J	½ - ½	GM	Niemann, Hans Moke	2667	8	PGN
5	6	2438	IM	Royal, Shreyas	1 - 0	GM	Tabatabaei, M. Amin	2692	7	PGN

Details

Standings after Round 3

Rk.	SNo		Name	FED	Rtg	TB1
1	2	GM	Gukesh, D	IND	2720	2,5
	4	GM	Adams, Michael	ENG	2661	2,5
3	3	GM	Moussard, Jules	FRA	2635	1,5
	6	IM	Royal, Shreyas	ENG	2438	1,5
	8	GM	Niemann, Hans Moke	USA	2667	1,5
	10	GM	Volokitin, Andrei	UKR	2659	1,5
7	1	GM	Vitiugov, Nikita	ENG	2704	1
	5	GM	Mcshane, Luke J	ENG	2631	1
	7	GM	Tabatabaei, M. Amin	IRI	2692	1
	9	GM	Bartel, Mateusz	POL	2659	1

Details

Round 4 pairings

Bo.	No.	Rtg		Name	Result		Name	Rtg	No.	PGN
1	10	2659	GM	Volokitin, Andrei		GM	Tabatabaei, M. Amin	2692	7
2	8	2667	GM	Niemann, Hans Moke		IM	Royal, Shreyas	2438	6
3	9	2659	GM	Bartel, Mateusz		GM	Mcshane, Luke J	2631	5
4	1	2704	GM	Vitiugov, Nikita		GM	Adams, Michael	2661	4
5	2	2720	GM	Gukesh, D		GM	Moussard, Jules	2635	3

Details

Links

Official site

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