Arjun, Xiangzhi, or Yangyi - who will win Shenzhen Masters?

Arjun Erigaisi drew his sixth round game against Vladislav Artemiev at 5th Shenzhen Masters 2024. The remaining two leaders - Xiangzhi Bu (CHN) and Yangyi Yu (CHN) drew their game against each other. Xiangyu Xu (CHN) scored his first win of the event against Daniil Dubov. This was the first time former World Rapid champion suffered a loss at this event. Arjun must beat Dubov in the final round to have a chance of a first place finish. Xiangzhi and Yangyi have better tie-breaks which means Arjun's win may not prove to be enough as he needs two more results to go in his way. Round 7 starts tomorrow at 2 p.m. local time, 11:30 a.m. IST. Photos: Organizer/Liang Ziming

SOLUTION TO PREVIOUS WEEK’S PROBLEM

Hannes Baumann, Schweizerische Schachzeitung, 2017

As we mentioned in the last column, the above problem is what we may call a pseudo-three-mover, implying that had it been Black's turn to play in the given position, White would achieve mate in three moves as follows: 1...Kg1 2.Ne2+ Kh1 3.Nf2#. However, since there is no waiting move to retain the favourable position, White has to carry out a longer manoeuvre to mate Black. The trick lies in finding the right way to engage the c1 knight in the action. Here is how it is done:

A counter-intuitive move! The point is we want to be able to place the knight on g3 when Black plays Kh1-g1, forcing h2-h1 in the next move, which would then be met with Ng3-e2 mate. Obviously, 3.Ne2?? (intending Ng3) stalemates Black; hence, the knight has to cavort to its destination (g3) in a roundabout way via the edge of the board!

We have met our goal! Black’s only legal option here is to push h2-h1, and regardless of what Black promotes on h1, White mates with 7.Ne2.

LATEST NEWS OF THE WEEK

Prague Masters 2024 R7: Gukesh escapes against Praggnanandhaa

D Gukesh made a great escape against R Praggnanandhaa in the seventh round of Prague International Chess Festival 2024 Masters. Praggnanandhaa had a decisive advantage in the queen and rook endgame. However, he misplayed and Gukesh managed to seize his opportunity and escape with a draw. It was not easy for him as he had to show correct defensive technique in the rook and two split passed pawns' endgame. Nodirbek Abdusattorov (UZB) bounced back with a victory over Vincent Keymer (UZB). Once again he is back at World no.5 in the live ratings. Czech Republic no.2 Thai Dai Van Nguyen scored his second win in-a-row against Richard Rapport (ROU). Round 8 for Masters, Challengers and Futures start today at 3 p.m. local time, 7:30 p.m. IST. Photo: Petr Vrabec/Prague International Chess Festival

National Rapid 2024 R5-8: Diptayan and Raja Rithvik are the coleaders

GM Diptayan Ghosh (RSPB) and GM Raja Rithvik R (TEL) are the coleaders after the eighth round of National Rapid Championship 2024. Both of them conceded two draws. They will inevitably face each other in the ninth round. Eight players are trailing by a half point at 6.5/8 each. FM Suyog Wagh (MAH) is the sole non IM/GM among them. Despite starting the day with a loss, he won the next three games in-a-row, including wins over GM Karthik Venkataraman (AP) and WGM Priyanka Nutakki (AP). Priyanka is the highest scorer among women at 5.5/8. Who will become the new National Rapid champion? Round 9 starts today at 11 a.m. IST. Photos: Aditya Sur Roy

FIDE Candidates 2024: Pairings announced

FIDE Candidates and Women's Candidates 2024 is exactly a month away. The draw of lots for both Open and Women's event was held at a famous Toronto chess pub - Madison Avenue. As per the rule of Round-Robin events in World Championship cycle, same country players must face each other first. It means the first three rounds will witness Indian players clashing against each other in the Open, same for USA players in the first round. For Women, Indians and players representing FIDE must face each other in the first round. Check out the entire footage of the draw of lots captured by Asim Khan. Photo: FIDE

Bharath Subramaniyam H clinches 37th Cannes Open 2024 with a 2661 performance

GM Bharath Subramaniyam H won 37th Cannes Chess Open A (>2100) 2024 with an unbeaten 7.5/9. He finished a half point ahead of the rest to become a clear champion. Four players - IM Kazybek Nogerbek (KAZ), GM Di Li (CHN), IM Savva Vetokhin and IM Ilamparthi A R scored 7/9 each. They were placed second to fifth respectively according to tie-breaks. The total prize fund for Open A was €6000. The top three prizes were €1800, €1200 and €700 along with a trophy each. This is the second rating tournament Bharath played in 2024 and he won it. Earlier, in February, he won a Rapid Rating tournament. GM K Sasikiran is the only other Indian to make a top ten finish. He scored 6/9 to be placed tenth. Photo: GM ShyamSundar M

For this week, here is a two-mover from one of the doyens of chess composition: Vincent Lanius Eaton.

Send your solutions to chessbaseindiasocial@gmail.com. Please state your name and mention “Position of the Week” in the subject of the mail. We will publish the complete solution in next week’s Newsletter with the names of all successful solvers. You may also tag/DM us on Instagram @chessbaseindia with your solutions—we will share them in our stories!

We may consider felicitating and awarding prizes to the best and most consistent solvers based on the number of solutions we receive each week. So be sure to participate and strive to be thorough with your analysis. The scoring will depend on it!