Zug 2013 FIDE Grand Prix Underway

The third Grand Prix of the 2012/13 series got underway today in Zug, Switzerland, with wins for Fabiano Caruana and Alexander Morozevich.  

Fabiano Caruana defeated Teimour Radjabov, who tried the Schliemann variation of the Ruy Lopez. Caruana got a comfortable edge out of the opening, and gradually improved his position, taking advantage of Radjabov's ugly tripled c-pawns!

Fabiano Caruana at the start of his game

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Alexander Morozevich's win came at the expense of Rustam Kasimdzhanov in a positional game. Morozevich avoided mainline theory by opening with a kingside fianchetto, and crept up on his opponent bit by bit, using his better co-ordinated pieces to bring home the victory.

Alexander Morozevich (right) defeated Rustam Kasimdzhanov

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All the other games ended drawn, with the longest being a hard-fought battle between Sergey Karjakin and Hikaru Nakamura that lasted over 100 moves. Nakamura obtained an advantage out of the opening using the French defence, but Karjakin defended with great skill to save the draw.

Sergey Karjakin and Hikaru Nakamura battled each other for 107 moves

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Anish Giri (left) and Veselin Topalov

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The Zug Grand Prix runs from 17 April - 1 May, and the overall winner and runner-up of the 2012/13 Grand Prix series will qualify for the next Candidates Tournament, expected to be held in March 2014.  The current standings are here.

Each tournament is a single round-robin featuring 12 out of the 18 players in the Grand Prix, and each player competes in four of the six events. The best 3 scores of each player count towards their overall score. The official regulations for the 2012/13 FIDE Grand Prix can be found here.

Photos by Anastasiya Karlovich and games from the official website.