Don’t look now, but one of the hottest players on the international circuit is a grizzled veteran who first earned his grandmaster spurs in the second Reagan administration.
Ukrainian GM Vasyl Ivanchuk, 56, has shot up the rating ladder on the strength of a string of sparkling tournament performances in Iceland and Spain in recent weeks. A player of legendary talent, imagination — and eccentricity, Ivanchuk rose as high as No. 2 in the world ratings lists behind Garry Kasparov in the 1990s and as recently as 2016 took home the world rapid championship title.
His rating had tailed off in recent years, the product of advancing age and the strain of top-level competition, and Ivanchuk in November fell out of the FIDE world top 100 rankings for the first time since the 1980s.
But he’s back in the top 100 following a remarkable burst of activity this month, as Chess.com reported, raising his rating a startling 35 points just since the beginning of April to his current 2644. His best result came in the third of a trio of grueling, back-to-back classical events, when he took clear first in last week’s strong Menorca Open in Spain over a field that included some 45 grandmasters.
The Ukrainian great clinched the win in a final-round seesaw battle with 18-year-old GM Pranesh Munirethinam, one of the rising generation of Indian stars who have emerged in recent years. Ivanchuk led the tournament by a half-point and needed only a draw with Black to guarantee at least a share of first place, but instead took an aggressive and characteristically original approach in an offbeat Kan Sicilian line.
With 9. Bf4 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Qxc3+ 11. Kf1 Nc6 12. Bd6, Black has snatched a pawn but at a serious cost to his development. But some unorthodox defense — Black’s rook gets into the game via h6 and his king’s knight doesn’t even stir until Move 27 — keeps the position alive, and after 28. Rhc1 Nxd5, the material balance is restored and a new battle breaks out between Pranesh’s rook pair and Ivanchuk’s active knight and menacing pawns on both wings.
A trade of a pair of rooks allows Ivanchuk to slowly gain the upper hand, only to fumble away his advantage just before time control: 38. Kb3 Nc3 39. Kc4 g4? (White has largely been temporizing as he tries to hold back the Black pawns, but this move gives Pranesh’s rook new life along the h-file; Black remains better in lines such as 39…Nxa4 40. Ra1 Nb2+ 41. Kb3 Nd3 42. Rxa5 f4 43. gxf4 gxf4 44. Rxh5 Nxf2 45. Kxb4 f3 and wins) 40. Rh1! Nd5 41. h3 Nb6+ 42. Kb3 gxh3 43. Rxh3 Kd5 44. Rxh5 Kxd4 45. Rh6 Kd5 45. Rf6, and now White’s marauding rook and the loss of Black’s f-pawn leave Pranesh on the verge of victory.
But knights and rooks are notoriously tricky adversaries, and Ivanchuk outfoxes his young opponent in the critical final stage: 49. g5 c4+ (see diagram; one king retreat wins and one loses, and White unfortunately takes the wrong path) 50. Kc2? (it’s hard to see with so much riding on the position, but 50. Kb2! looks to be winning for White; e.g. 50…Kd4 51. Rf8! Nd3+ 52. Kb1 b3 [c3 52. Rb8 Nxf2 54. g6 Kc4 55. g7 Kb3 56. g8=Q+] 53. Rd8+ Ke5 54. Rc8 Kd5 55. g6, and the Black pawns are immobilized as the White passer races for the end zone) Kd4 51. Rf6 b3+, and the tempo won with this check proves decisive for Black.
White’s king lands in a mating net with a classic “Chukky” touch at the end: 53. Ka3 (Kb1 c3 54. Rc6 c2+ 55. Rxc2 bxc2+ 56. Kxc2 Nxf2 57. g6 Ng4 58. g7 Nf6, arriving just in time) Kc3 54. Rh6 b2 55. Rh1 Nc1!, and White resigns facing the cute 56. Rh3+ Kc2 57. g6 b1=N mate.
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With a roster that included 10 players with ratings over 2700, Duesseldorf SK took home the pennant with a round to spare after the final weekend of play in Germany’s powerful Bundesliga, annually among the strongest team competitions in the world.
Duesseldorf top board GM Arjun Erigaisi contributed to a convincing 6½-1½ win over SG Solingen, taking down Dutch GM Max Warmerdam with a positionally impressive win from the White side of a Reti Opening. The Indian star, now ranked No. 4 in the world, holds back his center in the early play, and benefits from a time-wasting maneuver by his opponent to build his advantage after 14. Rad1 Ne5?! (White avoids a trade and this knight will be forced into a hasty retreat; better were both 14…a6 and 14…e5) 15. Nd2! Qb7 16. f4 Nc6 17. a3 Nb8. With 19. e4! (again sidestepping trades that ease Black’s plight) e6 20. e5 Bxf3?! (Ne8 21. Rde1 Qd7 22. Re3 a6 puts up a tougher defense) 21. Nxf3 Ne8 22. Ne4 — White’s e-pawn cramps Black’s defense and Warmerdam already has several weak squares in his back ranks that need attention.
Black misses one last defensive resource and Erigaisi cashes in his positional chips for a quick win: 26. Qf1?! (perhaps the only blemish on White’s play, leaving the fianchettoed bishop on b2 momentarily unprotected; 26. Qg2! would have short-circuited any tactical tricks) a6 27. Kh1 Ne7? (Black could have altered the game’s trajectory with 27…Nd6! 28. Nxd6 Rxd6! 29. exd6 Bxb2 30. Qg2 Bg7, with a powerful fianchettoed bishop as compensation for the lost exchange) 28. h4 b5 (this attempted diversion is too little too late) 29. h6 Qb6 30. Bc3 Nc6, and the floodgates open with the classic line-opening thrust 31. hxg6 hxg6 32. f5!.
The attack is just getting going and already resistance is futile: 32…bxc4 (exf5 33. gxf5 gxf5 34. Nf6+ Nxf6 [Bxf6 35. exf6 Nd4 36. Rxe8+! Rxe8 37. Qg2+ Kf8 38. Qg7 mate] 35. exf6 Bh8 36. Qg2+ Kf8 27. Qh3 Bxf6 38. Qh6+ Kg8 39. Rg1+ and mate next) 33. f6, and Warmerdam resigned. White’s pieces just flood the zone in lines such as 33…Bf8 (Bh8 34. Qh3 Rd4 35. Nfg5 a5 36. Qh7+ Kf8 37. Qxh8 mate) 34. Nfg5 Rxd3 35. Rxd3 cxd3 36. Qh3, and checkmate is in the offing.
(Click on the image above for a larger view of the chessboard.)
Pranesh-Ivanchuk, IV Menorca Open 2025, Menorca, Spain, April 2025
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 a6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Qc7 6. Bd3 Bc5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Qg4 Bf6 9. Bf4 Bxc3+ 10. bxc3 Qxc3+ 11. Kf1 Nc6 12. Bd6 h5 13. Qg5 Qf6 14. Qc5 e5 15. Nd2 b6 16. Qa3 Rh6 17. Nc4 b5 18. Nb6 Qxd6 19. Qxd6 Rxd6 20. Nxa8 Nb4 21. Nc7+ Kd8 22. Nd5 Nxd3 23. cxd3 Bb7 24. a4 Bxd5 25. exd5 b4 26. d4 e4 27. Ke2 Ne7 28. Rhc1 Nxd5 29. Rc5 Nc3+ 30. Ke3 Rc6 31. Rxc6 dxc6 32. Kd2 a5 33. Kc2 Kd7 34. Kb3 Kd6 35. Kc4 f5 36. g3 g5 37. Re1 Nd5 38. Kb3 Nc3 39. Kc4 g4 40. Rh1 Nd5 41. h3 Nb6+ 42. Kb3 gxh3 43. Rxh3 Kd5 44. Rxh5 Kxd4 45. Rh6 Kd5 46. Rf6 Nc4 47. Rxf5+ Ne5 48. g4 c5 49. g5 c4+ 50. Kc2 Kd4 51. Rf6 b3+ 52. Kb2 Nd3+ 53. Ka3 Kc3 54. Rh6 b2 55. Rh1 Nc1 White resigns.
Erigaisi-Warmerdam, Bundesliga 2024-2025, April 2025
1. Nf3 d5 2. b3 c5 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bb2 g6 5. Bb5+ Bd7 6. Be2 Bg7 7. c4 dxc4 8. bxc4 O-O 9. O-O Nc6 10. d3 Qc7 11. Nc3 Rfd8 12. Qc2 Rac8 13. h3 b6 14. Rad1 Ne5 15. Nd2 Qb7 16. f4 Nc6 17. a3 Nb8 18. Bf3 Bc6 19. e4 e6 20. e5 Bxf3 21. Nxf3 Ne8 22. Ne4 Nc6 23. Qf2 Qe7 24. Rfe1 Rd7 25. g4 Qd8 26. Qf1 a6 27. Kh1 Ne7 28. h4 b5 29. h5 Qb6 30. Bc3 Nc6 31. hxg6 hxg6 32. f5 bxc4 33. f6 Black resigns.
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