GM Joel’s Chess Week Recap - Episode 130

Opening: B33, B20, D93, B90, D02, D76, B30:

Player(s): Dominguez, Carlsen, Mamedyarov, Caruana, Yu Yangyi, Vachier-Lagrave, Nepomniachtchi, Dreev, Artemiev, Tomashevsky, Jakovenko

Magnus Carlsen had a bad experience at the 4th leg of the Grand Chess tour in St. Louis, playing Rapid and Blitz. The World Champion found himself in deep and agitated waters when his play didn't allow him to show the usual superiority. The Russian Championship is missing the best players, such as Nepomniachtchi, Svidler, Grischuk, Karjakin and, of course, the now-retired Kramnik. So it's a mix of veteran second-tier stars like Tomashevsky, Vitiugov, and Jakovenko, and up and coming players like Sarana, Predke, and Alekseenko. A lot of eyes are on Vlad Artemiev, who has risen meteorically this year. After a good start, he lost three in a row and found himself near the bottom of the field. GM Joel shows us some of the most interesting games form these two events.