Three out of four games end decisively
The 29th edition of the TePe Sigeman & Co. Tournament kicked off on Saturday at the Elite Plaza Hotel in Malmö, Sweden. The event features eight players from eight different countries, with a trio of youngsters heading the lineup: Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan, aged 19), Arjun Erigaisi (India, 20) and Vincent Keymer (Germany, 19).
In the first round of the single round-robin, two out of the three aforementioned stars — the only three players with a 2700+ rating in the field — obtained victories over their lower-rated opponents: Arjun got the better of women’s world champion Ju Wenjun and Keymer defeated the current junior world champion, Marc’Andria Maurizzi. Abdusattorov, on his part, was defeated by Anton Korobov, the ever-creative, 38-year-old Ukrainian grandmaster who has been in and out of the 2700-club over the last 12 years.
Arjun saw Ju going for a double-edged opening and failing to play precisely enough in the ensuing middlegame, while Keymer, similarly, got an early advantage after Maurizzi overplayed his hand with 15.g4 out of a sharp variation of the Semi-Slav.
The Korobov v. Abdusattorov game was a case of the higher-rated opponent looking for winning chances when it was time to keep the balance in a rather symmetrical setup.
In round 2, Abdusattorov will play white against Arjun in the marquee matchup of the day.
Results – Round 1
The playing hall in Malmö | Photo: Mikael Svensson, tepesigemanchess.com
Maurizzi 0 – 1 Keymer
Analysis by Klaus Besenthal
Middlegame Secrets Vol.1 + Vol.2
Let us learn together how to find the best spot for the queen in the early middlegame, how to navigate this piece around the board, how to time the queen attack, how to decide whether to exchange it or not, and much more!
Vincent Keymer | Photo: Mikael Svensson, tepesigemanchess.com
