This year’s Reykjavik Open attracted a record turnout of more than 400 players. The Icelanders’ affinity for chess is well established, and the Harpa Conference Centre is a beautiful playing hall looking over the waterfront. At the top of the seedings was Ukrainian luminary Vasyl Ivanchuk, but first place went to the affable Swedish grandmaster Nils Grandelius. He took the lead in the penultimate round.
Abhijeet Gupta-Nils Grandelius
Reykjavik Open, April 2023
53…Kf4 is tempting, but 54 Nb7 e4 55 Nc5 Bf5 56 Nxe4! secures a draw as the bishop can never force White’s king out from the a1-corner. In what follows, the sacrifice of knight for e-pawn is carefully avoided. 53…Bd5! 54 Nb5 Kf5 55 Nc7 Bb7 56 Nb5 Kf4 57 Kb3 e4 58 Nc3 e3 59 Ka4 Ke5 60 Kxa5 Bf3 61 Kb4 Kd4 The a-pawn has proved to be a useful decoy. 62 Nb5+ Kd3 63 Nc3 Bc6 64 Kb3 Bd7 65 Kb2 Be6 Zugzwang! Moving the knight allows the pawn to advance, so White resigns
A brilliancy by English grandmaster Simon Williams, known to his fans as the ‘Ginger GM’.
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