Thessaloniki is said to be named after a half-sister of Alexander the Great. Fidé staged a recent Grand Prix there, with the surprising outcome that it was won by the Cuban grandmaster Lenier Dominguez Perez with 8/11, ahead of such luminaries as Gata Kamsky and Fabiano Caruana on 7½ as well as Hikaru Nakamura, Veselin Topalov, Peter Svidler, Alexander Morozevich and Vasyl Ivanchuk.
Dominguez was given a boost when Ivanchuk failed to convert a winning position in an early round. The blow to Ivanchuk’s morale sent him into a tailspin into last place with just 3½/11.
Ivanchuk-Dominguez Perez; Thessaloniki Grand Prix 2013
With his next move Ivanchuk overlooks 26 Be5! winning at once. The threat is 27 Qxh6+ and 26 … Bxe5 is met by 27 Qxh6+ Kg8 28 Ne7 mate. Ivanchuk is still winning and misses numerous chances in the following play. 26 Qxf7 Rf8 27 Qe6 Kh7 28 Bd6 Rd8 29 Nf6+ Kh8 30 Ne8 Qxc3 31 Bc7 Here 31 Nxg7 is terminal.
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