Home Puzzle Dubov Wins Halloween Blitz For 2nd 12 months In A Row

Dubov Wins Halloween Blitz For 2nd 12 months In A Row

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Dubov Wins Halloween Blitz For 2nd 12 months In A Row

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“It is nonetheless my favourite match of the yr!” mentioned super-GM Daniil Dubov, after conceding only one attract eight video games to win the 2023 Halloween Thriller Banter Blitz. Dubov, sporting a Scream masks, had overcome GM Oleksandr Bortnyk (in a Vampire masks) 3.5-0.5 within the closing, with GMs David Howell (Cranium masks), Laurent Fressinet (WhiteWalker), Arturs Neiksans (JokerZombie), S P Sethuraman (Chucky), and IMs Polina Shuvalova (CrazyZombie) and Irine Kharisma Sukandar (Lifeless) becoming a member of the masked mayhem.   

watch?
All of the video games from the 2023 Halloween Thriller Banter Blitz will be seen on our occasions web page. The match was additionally broadcast reside on YouTube.com/Chess.

The reside broadcast was hosted by MrDodgy and GM Peter Svidler.

October thirty first was a relaxation day for the 2023 FIDE Grand Swiss on the Isle of Man, but it surely was additionally, in fact, Halloween!

An axe within the enjoying corridor!? Picture: Anish Giri’s Twitter/X.

That meant the return of a $5,000, eight-player blitz match with one enormous twist—all of the gamers can be masked till their match was over. In reality, even the commentators can be masked, although few efforts have been made to hide their identities.

The burning query, “why, Peter, why?” acquired the next reply:

“I’m not enjoying within the match, so it’s much less required for me to cover who I’m, and I assumed I’d go for a conceptual masks deconstructing the entire Halloween style. And I can see I’m solely profitable with that, as a result of individuals clearly perceive what I’m going for right here!”

I assumed I’d go for a conceptual masks deconstructing the entire Halloween style.

—Peter Svidler

The format was best-of-three for the quarterfinals and semifinals, then best-of-five for the ultimate. Armageddon might have come into play if matches have been tied (as if Halloween wasn’t scary sufficient), however ultimately all of the matches have been determined earlier than we acquired that far. This is the trail of our Halloween characters to the ultimate (later within the report we have added the bracket with actual names).


Let’s check out the motion.

Quarterfinals

Just one quarterfinal match was gained in simply two video games, and that was the primary.

Scream (Dubov) 2-0 Lifeless (Sukandar)

Scream, who we’d later be taught was defending champion Dubov, meant enterprise, enjoying video games with 98 and 97.8% accuracy, in keeping with the Chess.com Recreation Review, to clinch victory. As Svidler put it, Scream was out for blood, although he was unlikely to get it from a lifeless individual.

“Lifeless,” who had been teased with the trace, “gained a chess recreation in entrance of 1 million reside viewers,” was unveiled as two-time Asian Ladies’s Chess Champion Sukandar.

She revealed the masks had been successful even earlier than the occasion started.

“I didn’t have any involvement in selecting the masks, however once I acquired it a couple of days in the past I actually favored the masks. I even had a great scare to my sister simply now earlier than the match. She was simply actually shocked, so it’s good!”

Cranium (Howell) 2-1 Chucky (Sethuraman)

“I performed dreadfully, but it surely was enjoyable!” mentioned Sethuraman of his two video games with the black items, the place he was primarily misplaced in 12 and eight strikes, although the Indian GM did extend the match with a win with the white items. Are you able to see the important thing trick right here to win a chunk and the sport?

White to play and win!

However, it was Cranium who emerged triumphant, together with his bopping whereas enjoying main inquiring minds to marvel if it was Dubov or, maybe, GM Baadur Jobava. 

Vampire (Bortnyk) 2.5-0.5 CrazyZombie (Shuvalova)

The trace for the identification of CrazyZombie was “not a GM,” which on the floor did not slender issues down a lot, however in truth Shuvalova not too long ago gained the I am Not A GM Velocity Chess Championship.

As befits a loopy zombie, she by no means mentioned die, and the battle was a lot nearer than the ultimate consequence. The second recreation was a 108-move marathon the place Shuvalova had all the possibilities earlier than a draw, whereas the primary was a minor masterpiece by a participant she described as “very artistic and really sensible.” She mentioned of her opponent’s self-trapping of his queen within the first recreation, “It seemed unusual for me. Perhaps I simply don’t perceive chess, and it was only a mating assault.” It was actually impressed.

Within the closing recreation Vampire sacrificed his queen to push a handed h-pawn to victory.

JokerZombie (Neiksans) 2-1 WhiteWalker (Fressinet)

This was the closest match of the quarterfinals, starting with two tense attracts.

Within the third, nevertheless, JokerZombie managed to infiltrate together with his queen and clinch victory. However, Fressinet had finished the Rooster Chess Membership proud, commenting of his video games, “It was very simple to recognise my fashion, my passive fashion.” 

The French grandmaster revealed he’d given his opponent a handicap in the beginning, because it took two video games earlier than he found out allow premoves on the brand new account he was enjoying from.

That left simply 4 gamers to go ahead to the semifinals.

Semifinals

As soon as once more Dubov was the one participant to win in simply two video games.

Scream (Dubov) 2-0 Cranium (Howell)

After the sport, Howell, who was enjoying from the mattress of “the smallest resort room you will ever see” on the Isle of Man, confessed, “I acquired destroyed!” and puzzled if his opponent had been three-time World Blitz Champion GM Alexander Grischuk.

Why not Dubov?

“My first thought was Dubov, however he performed a bit slower than Dubov usually does. There was no theatrics, dramatics. I used to be attempting to take inspiration from final yr, the place he crushed me as properly.”

It turned out Dubov, who had danced his approach by the earlier yr’s occasion, managed to trick everybody this yr kind of accidentally, since he had bother together with his masks. 

“The masks was mainly killing me! I had so many points. One in all them was really humorous. To begin with, I couldn’t actually breathe. I had a sense I can solely play three video games in a row, so discovering out this closing was best-of-five was form of robust. However secondly, what’s even funnier, I might barely see a factor! This board on Chess.com, you possibly can see it, particularly with the sunshine on, however in one of many matches my downside was actually I couldn’t play a transfer as a result of I couldn’t discover the mouse on the display.”

I might barely see a factor!

—Daniil Dubov

Dubov defined that was the explanation he spent 32 seconds within the following place to play the one transfer, 12.Bxb2.   

No hurt was finished, nevertheless, as Dubov gained an trade and went on to win that recreation, earlier than clinching the match 2-0 when Howell blundered in what had been a great place within the second.

Vampire (Bortnyk) 2:1 JokerZombie (Neiksans)

Maybe essentially the most invested participant on this yr’s match was Neiksans, who revealed afterwards he’d even rehearsed his mannerisms. 

“This was my foremost occasion of this week, clearly. I used to be a lot ready for it, and I acquired this lovely masks, and I used to be really training fairly a bit my gimmicks that I used to be producing. I attempted to entertain individuals and I beloved the format!”

I attempted to entertain individuals and I beloved the format.

—Arturs Neiksans

The arduous work paid off as JokerZombie, reacting to any unusual transfer by his opponent and seemingly having fun with a continuous one-man get together, was the star of the present, whereas issues got here near figuring out on the chessboard as properly. Neiksans thought 28.Ng4? was a successful blow from his opponent, however in truth he did not must retreat his queen as he did with 28…Qe7?.

28…Qxd4! was successful for Black.

Vampire a.ok.a. Bortnyk went on to win that recreation, and though Neiksans hit again, he then misplaced a thriller on time within the subsequent recreation and the match was over.

We had the ultimate that on-line blitz rankings would have predicted: Dubov-Bortnyk. 

Closing: Scream (Dubov) 3.5-0.5 Vampire (Bortnyk)

Dubov misplaced his probability at an ideal match when he let a fleeting probability to win a chunk slip within the first recreation of the ultimate.

He’d been held to a draw, which meant his worst fears a few five-game match in an uncomfortable masks gave the impression to be coming true. It was only a blip, nevertheless, as Dubov went on to win the subsequent three video games and clinch match victory and the $2,000 prime prize. He might additionally take off the masks.

Dubov acquired again on monitor within the second recreation when he noticed 28…c6!, luring the bishop to c6 in order that when the rook captured on c3 it hit that bishop, giving Black sufficient time to determine a pawn on f3. Dubov’s pawns have been quickly unstoppable.  

“The King’s Indian recreation I loved so much,” mentioned Dubov of the third recreation, which was a case of enjoying together with his meals, as he selected essentially the most ugly option to win. The ultimate place is an apt abstract of the sport. 

The ultimate recreation was a thriller, as simply when Bortnyk thought he had Dubov the place he needed him, the black king managed to string a approach out of all of the mating threats. A becoming end to a brief, however extremely entertaining occasion!

The ultimate bracket, with actual names, seems to be as follows.

Afterward Dubov revealed that the second of biggest hazard he confronted had been earlier than the occasion, when he entered a constructing and placed on the masks to shock a pal, solely to come across 5 males within the elevator: “And I realised, if they do not get scared, I am mainly killed throughout the subsequent 20 seconds!”

Dubov just isn’t enjoying the FIDE Grand Swiss after failing to get a visa in time, however he did give a prediction: “If I needed to choose one individual to qualify [for the Candidates Tournament], which implies prime two, I believe I’d undoubtedly go together with Hikaru, who mainly has this excellent capability to not lose his thoughts.”

The Grand Swiss continues Wednesday, however for the Halloween Thriller Banter Blitz we’ve to attend one other yr—loads of time for brand new monsters to emerge.

2023 Halloween Thriller Banter Blitz: All The Video games



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