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The all-Indian Team MGD1 and Indian Yogis prevailed over the Levitov Chess Wizards and Blitz, respectively, in contrasting styles in the last two Quarterfinals to move into the Semifinals of the 2023 Pro Chess League.

Though leading by a score of 7-5 at the end of the third round, the all-GM Team MGD1 was dramatically defeated 1-3 in the final round by the Wizards to set up an exciting tiebreak clash. The match went to the wire and was decided in favor of MGD1 only in the final game of the tiebreak as they won with a slim score of 2.5-1.5 to win the quarterfinals with a combined score of 10.5-9.5.

In contrast, Indian Yogis dominated their match against Blitz and won with a final score of 9.5-6.5. Though none of the players could escape defeat, young GM M Pranesh was the top scorer for the team with three points from four games, including a win over heavyweight GM Etienne Bacrot.

The Semifinals are scheduled on Saturday, May 13, starting with the India Yogis vs. Shanghai Tigers at 6:30 a.m. PT / 15:30 CEST, followed by the Gotham Knights vs. Team MGD1 at 9:00 a.m. PT/18:00 CEST.

With almost all the boards looking evenly matched on paper, this match was expected to be an even fight and the first two rounds seemed to confirm the judgment.

GM Arjun Erigaisi looked in form from the beginning and he briskly started with a win over GM Alexandra Kosteniuk with a creatively played middlegame from the black side of a messy French Defense. His kingside knight danced all around across g8-h6-f7-d8-c6-a5-b3 in the middlegame, and Arjun's victory is our Game of the Day, annotated by GM Rafael Leitao below.

Two more games of the round were decided in dramatic fashion:

The Wizards struck back in the very next round. After GM Baskaran Adhiban vs. Kosteniuk ended in a draw, GM David Paravyan held a huge advantage against GM Dronavalli Harika and was expected to win. Erigaisi once again scored a facile win taking advantage of a tactical point:

In the crucial game of the round, GM Diptayan Ghosh committed hara-kiri while playing with the final seconds on his clock:

Ghosh allowed the mate in one move, sending the commentators into a tizzy; though Sachdev kept her balance, Canty almost didn't!

The third round was the most pivotal of the match, with Team MGD1 scoring a decisive 3-1 result to take a crucial 7-5 lead. Ghosh finished his game beautifully, checkmating Kosteniuk's king in a dramatic fashion:

The final round proved to be the most dramatic of all, when the "Wizards literally came back from the dead," as Sachdev remarked. It went all the way to the wire, and the Wizards showed that extra gumption to score a 3-1 victory to level the scores at 8-8 and force a tiebreak.

It proved to be the Waterloo for both Erigaisi and Adhiban, as they both played uncharacteristically passively and were soundly defeated by Sarana and Paravyan respectively in two heavyweight clashes.

Paravyan had a surprisingly smooth win over Adhiban in the final round from the word go. After Adhiban's weakening of the kingside in the early middlegame, Paravyan conducted a simple kingside attack and it looked like Adhiban crumbled under the pressure of competition after trying an unsound exchange sacrifice for which he never achieved complete compensation:

This well-conducted game prompted Canty to dub Sarana as "Sarana the Piranha" who played too powerfully.

Even though Dronavalli defeated Kosteniuk, the Wizards equalized the match score thanks to the following dramatic endgame full of twists and turns:

Thus, the match reached the tiebreak games, when the teams played again with the same pairings of the fourth round with swapped colors in a 3+2 time control.

Erigaisi scored a win in a topsy-turvy game where the balance shifted on either side. With Adhiban-Paravyan ending in a draw and Kosteniuk defeating Dronavalli, the final game to end was GM Denis Lazavik-Ghosh, which was a well-played game by the latter:

All games | Quarterfinal 3

Results | Quarterfinal 3

Blitz certainly seemed to miss the services of their star GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, as they had a tough time against another all-Indian young team, the Indian Yogis. Comparatively, the Yogis never seemed to be tested enough by the Blitz, and their path to the Semifinals was a smooth affair.

Yogis defeated Blitz with a score of 3.5-1.5 and 3-1 in the first two rounds, thus starting off with a formidable 5.5-2.5 lead.

Joining the commentary team on the first day of the quarterfinals, GM Magnus Carlsen was asked by Rensch, "Of all the boards, people you saw performing in the PCL, who impressed you the most this year?" Carlsen answered, "Pragg's sister Vaishali. She did pretty well in a few matches."

From the beginning of the match, IM R Vaishali (sister of GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu) lived up to the praise from Carlsen, scoring a dramatic win over Bacrot in the first round itself. Though he looked in control, Bacrot erred in the middlegame and came under pressure himself during Vaishali's time pressure, allowing the youngster to make her most in an advantageous endgame:

GM Vidit Gujrathi proclaimed that "this is Vidit 2.0," and it was certainly refreshing to watch him play sharp chess in almost all the games:

By the end of the third round, Yogis had widened their lead to 7.5-4.5 and they coasted to a win in the match as expected.

GM Nihal Sarin was a solid performer for the Yogis, his win over GM Alexander Grischuk being a significant fight between two of the best-ever blitz players in the world. It was a gutsy fight between two blitz specialists, and Grischuk even held the upper hand for most of the game:

The Yogis wrapped up the match with a 2-2 tie in the fourth and final round. Terming the team a "Powerhouse," Rensch reminded the audience of Carlsen's prediction about the team's potential:

Both the Levitov Chess Wizards and Blitz are awarded $7,500 for reaching the Quarterfinals.

All Games | Quarterfinal 4

Results | Quarterfinal 4

Playoffs Bracket

The Pro Chess League (PCL) is the number-one online global chess league for teams from all over the world. The Playoffs feature eight teams playing rapid games for their piece of the $150,000 prize fund.

Eight teams compete in a single-elimination knockout. The time control is 10+2. The first team to score 8.5 points wins the match.

Previous coverage:

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Dramatic Tiebreak Win For Team MGD1 Over Levitov Chess ... - Chess.com

The 2023 FIDE World Chess Championship in April was a thrilling back-and-forth match, but it didnt determine the worlds best player. Did it even crown the worlds second-best player?

Ding Liren of China and Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia were tied after 14 games of classical chess before Ding prevailed in the tiebreaker. Sports betting sites had the match as nearly 50-50 before the first game was played, with Nepomniachtchi listed as a slight moneyline favorite.

Those pre-match betting odds turned out to be spot on, as either player could have won.

Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, the undisputed best chess player in the world, had been the world champion since 2013 but decided in 2022 to vacate his title. Carlsen cited a lack of motivation. Carlsen convincingly beat Nepomniachtchi in the 2021 World Chess Championship, and Nepomniachtchi qualified again for the 2023 match. Carlsen wasnt in the mood to play the same opponent in back-to-back world championships.

In case youre wondering: The alleged cheating scandal involving American Hans Niemann in the fall of 2022 didnt have anything to do with Carlsen walking away from the most coveted title in chess.

Ding beat Nepomniachtchi, so you might be wondering why he isnt the undisputed No. 2 player in the world. The reason is that the Elo rating system complicates things.

Just a handful of days after the world championship, Ding and Nepomniachtchi joined other top grandmasters in a tournament in Bucharest, Romaniaand through eight over-the-board games, theyve lost a bunch of rating points. Iranian Alireza Firouzja beat them in classical games, leapfrogging Ding and Nepomniachtchi in rating, according to 2700chess.com, which updates player ratings after every contest.

Firoujza was No. 2 globally in rating through the first four months of 2022, but he performed worse than expected in the candidates tournament last summer and didnt qualify for the world championship. Carlsen said he would have defended his title if Firoujza qualified.

In late 2021, Firoujza became the youngest player in history to crack the spectacular 2,800-rating mark. Only 15 players in history have been rated above 2,800, with Carlsen holding the highest ever.

Also in the conversation is American Fabiano Caruana, who had been a perennial No. 2 or No. 3 player in the world before a lackluster 2022 that saw him slide as low as No. 9. Caruana has rebounded over the past several months and is currently No. 6 in the world. Caruana famously took Carlsen to tiebreaks in the 2018 World Chess Championship. At peak form, he could be the worlds second-best.

Hikaru Nakamura, also of the United States, is currently No. 5 globally based on rating. However, he hasnt been No. 2 in the world since 2015, and it would be hard to argue that hes No. 2 right now in classical chess. Nakamura has never played in a world championship match.

The same applies to American Wesley So, currently No. 8 in the world, with a peak of No. 2 in 2015. Like Nakamura, So hasnt played for a world title in classical chess.

A case can be made for Ding, Nepomniachtchi, Firoujza, and Caruana as the worlds second-best. For the sake of competition, we could argue that itd be good news if the 19-year-old Firoujza separated himself from the pack and emerged as the clear-cut No. 2 before the next candidates tournament. If he can become a formidable No. 2, perhaps Carlsen, who has not retired from chess, would look to reclaim his world title.

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Who Is The Best Chess Player In The World After Magnus Carlsen? - Forbes

Meet the coach champ! Dave Bishop hide caption

Meet the coach champ!

Queen's Gambit? More like Bishop's Gambit! (That joke will make sense when you learn his name is Dave Bishop.)

Who is he? A generally cool dude, and lifelong chess lover.

What's the big deal? Aside from the fact that we're witnessing a Netflix original series manifesting itself in real time?

The scene is set at the National Elementary Championships in Baltimore, Md. Dave Bishop hide caption

The scene is set at the National Elementary Championships in Baltimore, Md.

Want more on people making a difference in kids' lives? Listen to Consider This talk to Dolly Parton about her new book that tackles bullying.

Here's what Dave and Avery had to say.

On what drew Dave into coaching chess:

Well, it's the next step to being competitive. You're going from just a recreational or intramural club to actually being a competitive team. It's a very unique sport. There's a wide range of strength of players, so you're able to match up each player a lot better versus, say, basketball, when you just got one school against another school.

Avery on Bishop as a teacher:

He coaches us without even getting paid, so I think it's really amazing.

He motivates lots of kids to join and have a chance to become a state champion.

Bishop on teaching:

What I like about coaching the kids is seeing them go from, say, the K-2 level to where Avery is right now. Avery, for instance, has grown so much that his rating strength is higher than any player over at the middle school. He has a passion for it, and that just proves my theory: If you really like something and stick with it, you're going to get better. And he's really taken it to the next level. He studies at night when he comes home. I see him as, like, a 1500 player by his sophomore year.

And on what he hopes his students take away from him:

There's a lot of metaphors with the sport of chess. It's that hard work really does pay off. If you study like Avery and you love what you do, you get a lot better, and you stick with it.

So, what now?

Learn more:

Continued here:
Meet the school custodian who has coached the chess team to the ... - NPR

GM Alireza Firouzja gained his very first classical victory vs. a world champion in round five of the Superbet Classic Romania 2023. The youngest player to break 2800 defeated GM Ding Liren in a back-and-forth duel for the initiative, scoring his second win in a row.

The 19-year-old grandmaster joins GM Richard Rapport and GM Wesley So in a tie for second place. GM Fabiano Caruana continues to lead by half a point after a comfortable draw as Black vs. GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda.

GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave has begun to turn around a rocky start with his first tournament win. He defeated GM Ian Nepomniachtchiby turning a challenging defensive position into a tactical delight.

After the rest day on Thursday, the first leg of the Grand Chess Tour continues with round six on Friday, May 12, starting at 5:00 a.m. Pacific/14:00 CEST.

See what happened

With just four draws between them, their first-ever decisive classical game gaveFirouzja the honor of dealing Ding his first loss as the reigning world champion.

In a d3 Ruy Lopez, Firouzja opted for an enterprising sacrifice of his e4-pawn to instigate a combative middlegame. When he followed it up inaccurately, Ding wrestled the initiative from the 19-year-old's hands by launching his passed center pawn up the board. Both players brought all hands on deck to focus on the raging battle in the center. When Ding chose to leap the wrong knight to e4, Firouzja traded into an advantageous queen vs. rook and bishop ending.

Though Ding had chances to set up a fortress, he instead chose to bring his rook to his opponent's second rank to try to create counterplay. The Chinese grandmaster's scattered forces left his kingside too weak, and Firouzja stormed his connected passers up towards promotion to seal the victory.

The 2022 Grand Chess Tour champion was elated after the game: "I feel really happy. For sure, it's an easier world champion than Magnus. Of course, Ding is really strong. I'm happy to get this victory because now I move to plus one. It's really important."

This pivotal victory is our Game of the Day, analyzed by GM Dejan Bojkov.

With this victory, Firouzja returns to number two in the world in live rankings, leapfrogging the world champion and his recent challenger, Nepomniachtchi, who also experienced a disappointing turn of events today.

Vachier-Lagrave delivered Nepomniachtchi his second loss in a row today. In a queenless middlegame arising from an Alapin Sicilian, the challenger pressed a comfortable edge with the white pieces. But in his ambitions to play for the win, Nepomniachtchi allowed the French grandmaster to create powerful counterplay with his doubled rooks on the h-file. Inspired by the fresh life in his position, Vachier-Lagrave started a tactical onslaught against Nepomniachtchi's king, leading to a decisive win of material.

The French grandmaster was relieved to be back on an even score for the tournament. Before Nepomniachtchi let him back into the game, Vachier-Lagrave's own assessment of his middlegame position was quite bleak: "My position was s*****. There's no other word."

This was another matchup with a short history: 2-1 in Caruana's favor, with just four draws. The tournament leader managed to neutralize Duda's first move advantage in the opening. With White's rook awkwardly placed on e3 and his queenside undeveloped, Caruana centralized one of his knights on c5 and then planted the other on the appealing f4 post, offering him influence on the queenside, center, and kingside.

Tactic alert: On move 23, Caruana allowed Duda to capture his center pawn on e5. What idea did he have ready to keep the balance?

This comfortable result for Caruana with the black pieces keeps his lead heading into the rest day.

Shockingly, Rapport has never defeated Giri in a classical game. Contrastingly, Giri has four victories out of their nine games. The Romanian number one had chances today, gaining a substantial edge with Black as the queens were traded. Between his hopping knights, centralized rooks, and advanced e4-pawn, Rapport had full control of the center while every single one of Giri's pieces watched from the back rank. However, Black went astray with 31...f5, allowing the elusive Dutch grandmaster to create an advanced passer on the queenside and generate enough counterplay for equality.

With pawns left on only the d- to h-files, So gained a compelling space edge, a potent knight on f5, and a target in Black's backward d6-pawn. Though the American grandmaster maneuvered with the hopes of increasing his advantage, GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac defended with vigor, bringing his rook to White's second rank, creating a pin on his opponent's eager knight, and breaking in the center with 44...f5. His energetic play gained him full equality in the arising ending.

Results - Round 5

Standings - Round 5

Round six will feature a key matchup: Coming off back-to-back wins, Firouzja will get his shot at the tournament leader, Caruana.

Pairings - Round 6

Previous Coverage:

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Firouzja Defeats A World Champion For 1st Time - Chess.com

There are 20 possible first moves in chess: each of the eight pawns can move one or two squares forward, and each of the two knights has two squares it can go to.

But not everything that is equally legal is equally advisable as a course of action. In this article: every opening move, tiered and ranked.

Check out this great video by WGM Keti Tstsalashvili:

There's an old Far Side cartoon where a guy has parked his bike at a missile silo and is staring right down an open hatch. The caption: "Never, never do this." These first moves are the chess equivalent.

It's a good move... if you're trying to explain Fool's Mate to someone.

As perThe Princess Bride, play this and you've fallen for one of the classic blunders. In this case, the blunder is immediately trying to develop your rook.

Mirror, mirror, on the wall... what happens if I try it on the other side? Why, the same thing, of course.

Why would you play this move? Are you trying to keep a piece off of g4, even though none can get there yet?

Planning ahead is admirable but there's nothing to be afraid of here. Imagine if Paul Morphy began the most famous game with h3 instead, just to stop Black's bishop from coming to g4.

The good news here is you've developed a piece. The bad news is you've played the knight to the edge of the board where it doesn't do very much.

They call this one the Sodium Attack because the "Na" from the notation is also the chemical symbol of sodium (the Latin word was "natrium"). And, as happens with consuming sodium, your blood pressure will go up if you play this move too much.

The "Nh" in this move, on the other hand, does not have chemical significance, unless you're under the influence of chemicals when you play it.

Do you ever have the white pieces but really want to play as Black? Then there is a move for you!

It's hard to explain why this move is better than #17. So I won't. Just know that the player for whom it's named, Adolf Anderssen, beat Morphy with it once.

Playing these pawns two squares forward on move one is very common. Playing them a single square? Less so.

Type 1.c3 into Google and I'm pretty sure it will ask, "Did you mean c4?" I haven't tested this hypothesis.

I suppose it's good that the hardest opening to pronounce is an obscure one. Imagine having to regularly say the name "Van't Kruijs" in chess conversation.

Objectively not much worse than starting with g3 or Nf3, it's just less immediately obvious that you've played chess before when you start with d3.

Unless you know what you're doing, these moves are inadvisable. Even if youdo know what you're doing, do you really know what you're doing when you're doing this?

Also, definitely don't play these in a row.

Named for Henri Grob, not because the move is Grob-awful, although it is that too. The thing about this move is it can be tricky for Black to handle, but objectively, it belongs even lower on this list.

Called the Bird Opening even though it's not even a middle pawn, White can win with this opening, but Stockfish won't be happy at first.

Your opponent may be slightly confused after these moves, but unless you play them regularly and know all the ins and outs (and what-have-yous), you might also quickly get confused yourself.

Whether you call it the van Geet or the Dunst, it's fun to say. Plus it's not as bad as it looks. Still, you'll find better moves.

Another move with a fun name: the Orangutan! But you can also call it the Polish Opening if you need to appease people with last names like Wojtaszek or Stapczynski.

The Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack, named after two great Danesnot to be confused with two Great Danes. (Nimzowitsch was Latvian but lived in Denmark after the First War of the Worlds World War.)

Good for bullet because the dark-squared bishop will soon aim at the kingside. Far less good for classical because of games like this:

Now we're getting somewhere.

Immediately starting the kingside fianchetto now is perfectly good. It's a lot harder to get instantly owned with this than with the mirror b3 move.

England fancies itself sophisticated (or at least has that reputation... might we offer you spot of tea?), and few opening moves are as sophisticated as the English Opening, c4.

The English attacks d5 and plans to develop the knight behind the pawn. That may seem innocuous, but it's an excellent early-game strategy, at least for intermediate players or higher.

By far the best opening knight move, because it begins kingside development while centralizing the knight. White has all sorts of legitimate follow-ups regardless of how Black responds, making this the most flexible opening move. Flexiblethat's a word chess players like almost as much as gymnasts do.

And now we get to these famous step-siblings, although they indicate somewhat more intelligence and poise than some other step-siblings do. But which move is better?

Yep, time for a cop-out. The age-old e4-or-d4 question is truly a matter of preference. If you like games that quickly flame out into boring draws, then e4 is the opening move for you. If you like tense positional struggles that can explode into tactics at any moment, then d4 is the move to play.

Okay, you can tell which one I prefer, but really, the choice is yours. And e4 is easier for beginners to grok. But no matter your level, you truly cannot go wrong in any way by starting the game with either e4 or d4.

What is your favorite opening move? Do you have a move you like that isn't in our top five? Let us know in the comments!

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Every First Move Ranked (From Worst To Best) - Chess.com