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TePe Sigeman & Co 2021 R2: Nihal makes a draw with Jorden

by Shahid Ahmed - 25/09/2021

The second round of TePe Sigeman & Co Tournament 2021 had all four games drawn. Nigel Short had a good opportunity to gain substantial advantage against Sweden no.1 Nils Grandelius, but he did not seize it. Jonas Buhl Bjerre for the second consecutive game was in a good position, this time against Vincent Keymer. He loosened his grip and allowed the German to escape. Nihal Sarin had a solid draw with Jorden van Foreest. It would have taken him a computer-like precision to gain the upper hand in the rook, bishop and knight endgame. Short, Grandelius, Jorden and Jones are 1.5/2, the remaining four are at 0.5/2 each respectively. Round 3 starts today at 5:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Lars OA Hedlund/Tepe Sigeman & Co Tournament

Four draws

The second round of the tournament witnessed four fighting draws. At least two of them could have had a decisive result.

Nihal Sarin drew with Jorden van Foreest | Photo: Lars OA Hedlund/Tepe Sigeman & Co Tournament

Short - Grandelius: 0.5-0.5

Nigel Short had an opportunity to stir up trouble for his opponent, Nils Grandelius.

Position after 26...Nf6

26...Nf6 provokes White to take on e5. After 27.Qxe5 Black has no good defense. 27...fxg6 28.Qxe7 Rfe8 29.Qxc5 Qxc5 30.Nxc5 Rxa1 31.Bf1 and White is the one who has the decisive advantage. 27.Qh4 was played which allowed Black to simplify 27...Nxa4 28.Bg5 Rfd8 29.bxa4 Rxa4 and it ended in a draw in few more moves.

Short could have scored another victory | Photo: Lars OA Hedlund/Tepe Sigeman & Co Tournament

Keymer - Jonas: 0.5-0.5

Vincent Keymer got himself in trouble against Jonas Buhl Bjerre.

Position after 23.Bc5

If the position is closely inspected, it will be found that the attack on the d6-knight is phantom. The reason is, Black has a tactical resource for it. Thus computer suggested 23...g6 or Kf7 seems to be fine for Black. White's most of the pieces lack a good square to go to. 23...Nb7 allowed White to wriggle out of this precarious position eventually.

Jonas got himself in a good situation for the second consecutive game | Photo: Lars OA Hedlund/Tepe Sigeman & Co Tournament

Nihal - Jorden: 0.5-0.5

Nihal Sarin had played only once against Jorden van Foreest in a Classical game prior to this event which the former lost at 82nd Tata Steel.

Position after 25...Rxc8

According to computer 26.Nb6 or h5 would have given White a better chance than the text 26.Be4. The game eventually liquidated into a drawn knight ending.

The strong and talented youth - Nihal Sarin and Jorden van Foreest | Photo: Lars OA Hedlund/Tepe Sigeman & Co Tournament

Etienne Bacrot and Gawain Jones had a relatively quiet draw | Photo: Lars OA Hedlund/Tepe Sigeman & Co Tournament

Replay Round 2 games

Time Control

100 minutes for 40 moves + 50 minutes for 20 moves + 15 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move, starting from move 1. The Sofia rule will be applied (no draw offers before Black’s 30th move).

Round 2 results

Nigel Short – Nils Grandelius: 0.5-0.5

Vincent Keymer – Jonas Buhl Bjerre: 0.5-0.5

Nihal Sarin – Jorden van Foreest: 0.5-0.5

Etienne Bacrot – Gawain Jones: 0.5-0.5

Round 3 pairings

Nils Grandelius – Etienne Bacrot

Jorden van Foreest – Nigel Short

Jonas Buhl Bjerre – Nihal Sarin

Gawain Jones – Vincent Keymer

Schedule

23rd - 28th September - 2 p.m. CET (5:30 p.m. IST)

29th September - 12 p.m. CET (3:30 p.m. IST)

Links

Official site

Tournament details