World Cup assembles best
The 2017 World Chess Cup, which begins today at the Biltmore Hotel in Tblisi, Georgia, has the strongest field ever assembled since its inception in 2005. The top 10 participants (according to seedings): 1. Magnus Carlsen (Norway), world champion 2. Wesley So (USA) 3. Fabiano Caruana (USA) 4. Vladimir Kramnik (Russia), former world champion 5. Levon Aronian (Armenia) 6. Shakriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan) 7. Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 8. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France) 9. Alexander Grischuk (Russia) 10. Viswanathan Anand (India), former world champion
Also included in the 128-player list were the last WCC cycle challenger, semifinalists of the 2015 World Cup, world top rated players, and zonal and continental champions.
Format will be two knockout matches and tiebreakers from rounds 1-6, and a fourgame match play in the finals. The finalists will earn automatic berths in next year’s Candidates tournament.
Unbelievably in this exceptional game, Black strangled White’s pieces in highly respectable manner. Chinese Chess League 2017 Solution to last week’s puzzle: White to move and win. Ph7white=Kg2, Rd1, Bd8, Nf5, Pf2, Pg4,
black=Ke6, Ra2, Be5, Pa7, Pb2, Pd6, Pf7 1. Rxd6ch!! Bxd6 2. h8Q b1Q 3. Qf6ch Kd5 4. Qxd6ch Kc4 4...Ke4 5. Qd4 mate. 5. Ne3ch 1:0 If 5...Kb5/Kb3 6. Qb8ch, or 5...Kc3 6. Bf6ch Kb3 7. Qb8ch.