I didn't post anything about the chess-marathon/slugfest over in Budapest yesterday because... well, I was busy; and also, none of the games were overly interesting. #1612279 #1612294

In today's round (reminder: #1610239 the players play 2x fast classicals, i.e., 45min + 30 seconds, against each other player in their group; only the group winner advances), Magnus faced off with Abhimanyu Mishra, once (and still?) the youngest GM ever... and naaaarrowly escaped! Fr Levy's recap:

The thing about being the best endgame player of all time is that you are either going to win all the endgames you play, or just not lose all of them

He was TOTALLY busted against 17yo Abhimanyu Mishra... and somehow managed to hold the draw in a bishop endgame DOWN TWO BLOODY PAWNS. Magnus and Magnesian things... (#1612583)

"This man just witchcrafts his way into a draw" -- Levy

Vaishali Rameshbabu-Hans Niemann, Round 3

In the pre-tournament blitz, Vaishali -- the lowest-rated (or second-lowest?) player in the field -- resoundingly beat Hans and it was totally crazy (#1612279).

My browser computer says +1.6... but my god, pawns flying down the board: I'm not feeling so good.

The winning line, with ~+3 advantage, goes Queen into g7 and COMPLETELY JUST TAKE THE ASSAULT, because by the time this scary b pawn has killed your horse on c3 and blown open the castle door...

...you eat both the bishops on the 7th row, and that golden knight on d7 holds the position together.

Instead, that doesn't happen: Vaishali chickens out, moves the knight back and suddenly her queen is offside and this is now drawish... with stupidly annoying pressure:

and here, with 30 sec on the clock, she goes completely wrong. What would be more natural than offering a queen trade?

CAN THE CHESS-SCHTACKERS FIND THE WINNING LINE?!

...

pssst... my Predyx market is getting real stupid now (with all the players doing well shoved into "Others")