Svidler Sweeps Shirov, Favorites Triumph
On day three of the Chess.com Global Chess Championship, GM Peter Svidler triumphed vs. GM Alexei Shirov in their veteran face-off, scoring the only 3-0 sweep of the day. World championship challenger GM Ian Nepomniachtchi and 19-year-old GM Arjun Erigaisi went undefeated, also clinching their matches in three games.
GM Teimour Radjabov knocked out women's world number-one GM Hou Yifan. Finally, GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov defeated GM Vladislav Kovalev.
The round of 64 continues on Saturday, September 17, starting at 4 a.m. PT / 13:00 CEST.
Svidler vs. Shirov kicked off with a thrilling double-edged battle for the initiative.
Nepomniachtchi's first victory vs. GM Mahammad Muradli is our Game of the day.
For positional players and those who like to start the game with the queen's pawn (like myself), watching Nepomniachtchi play the Catalan is a great pleasure. Not since the days of Kramnik has a player imposed himself so convincingly in this opening.
The rest of their match was highly tactical, including a clever "renegade rook" combination.
Nepomniachtchi wins his second game with a beautiful "renegade rook" (🎙️ @GmNaroditsky) tactic!
— ChesscomLive (@ChesscomLive) September 16, 2022
True to his nature, Nepo finished the game having used approximately 2.5 minutes of the allotted 15 ⚡.#ChesscomGlobal pic.twitter.com/nq0UxNnrJi
Facing two wins in a row by Nepomniachtchi, Muradli found himself in a must-win position and nearly began a comeback vs. the world championship challenger. He gained a winning position but overlooked the finishing strike. Can you find it?
Mamedyarov vs. Kovalev began with a closely-fought first game. The world number 14 kept his opponent under constant pressure, eventually capitalizing as Kovalev fell into time trouble.
Mamedyarov takes over in his opponent's time trouble, converting the advantage as energetically as possible.#ChesscomGlobal pic.twitter.com/EqtmeDmuIl
— ChesscomLive (@ChesscomLive) September 16, 2022
Commentator Naroditsky commented on Mamedyarov and Nepomniachtchi's ability to turn close games into victories: "That is what these top players do. They manufacture winning chances out of nowhere."
That is what these top players do. They manufacture winning chances out of nowhere.
―Daniel Naroditsky
After two hard-fought draws vs. Hou, Radjabov pulled ahead, surviving a chaotic blunder-laden time scramble in game three.
Radjabov blunders a piece in time trouble, but then this craziness happens 🤯.#ChesscomGlobal pic.twitter.com/noNhnsSXHW
— ChesscomLive (@ChesscomLive) September 16, 2022
Erigaisi scored 2.5 against Paravyan, beginning with a compelling king attack. The current world number 18 pressed on the kingside for most of the game, draining his opponent's time to mere seconds vs. over five minutes. At a pivotal moment, he found the calm and surprising Kd2!, shaking his opponent's resistance by actively utilizing his king in the middlegame.
Round of 64 Scoreboard
The 2022 Chess.com Global Championship (CGC) is the first Chess.com global championship cycle open to all Chess.com verified players. Players compete in official Chess.com verified events for their share of the $1,100,000 prize fund and the Chess.com Global Champion title.
Chess legends, such as GMs Viswanathan Anand, Vasyl Ivanchuk, Vladimir Kramnik, and Veselin Topalov, compete against today's best (online) players, including GMs Hikaru Nakamura, Ding Liren, Levon Aronian, and Jan-Krzysztof Duda, and more.
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Vanessa West is a National Master, a chess teacher, and a writer for Chess.com. In 2017, they won the Chess Journalist of the Year award.
You can follow them on X: Vanessa__West
