World number-one Magnus Carlsen escaped with just two minor pieces against Danish GM Jonas Bjerre‘s queen to help struggling Norway to a second win in a row, while top-seed Azerbaijan is in freefall, symbolized by GM Teimour Radjabov losing in 19 moves.

The leaders with two rounds of the 2023 European Team Chess Championship to go are Germany, England, and now Serbia, while in the Women’s section Bulgaria has beaten and overtaken France and Azerbaijan.  

Round eight starts on Sunday, November 19, at 9:15 a.m. ET/15:15 CET/7:45 p.m. IST.

Open: Keymer Into Top 15 As Title Battle Rages

Germany went into round six of the European Team Championship as the sole leader, and Keymer, who celebrated his 19th birthday by climbing to world number-17, continued that climb by grinding out an 85-move win against GM Richard Rapport—the first game Romania had lost in Budva.

The win took Keymer up to world number-14, but it could have been much shorter, and sweeter, if he’d found the stunning knockout blow 22.Nd4!!. “You see one move and you finish the game immediately!” he said wistfully the next day. 

That wasn’t enough for team victory, however, since GM Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu, who for the previous four European Team Championships had led the German team, levelled the score for Romania by beating GM Dmitrij Kollars. The 47-year-old talked about how new-found sponsorship was set to make Romania a chess powerhouse, though he had some regrets that it had come too late for his career. His comments sparked some debate online.

I was just reflecting on this point today. Chess invitationals are very arbitrary and it is so easy to favour one over the other and create inequality.

Between players rated 2650-2700, I think this has made a considerable difference in careers over the years because many of… https://t.co/flVCs996dq

— Srinath Narayanan (@srinathchess) November 18, 2023

That team draw for Germany allowed England to catch them in the lead with a 3.5-0.5 demolition of the Netherlands. GM Nikita Vitiugov led the way with a King’s Indian that went like a dream when he got to break through with 19…f4! against GM Jorden van Foreest.

GMs David Howell and Luke McShane ground out wins to complete the rout. 

That meant Germany and England met in round seven, but when they played out four tense draws, it gave a team a chance to catch them. Serbia, whose new recruits GMs Alexandr Predke and Alexey Sarana have both performed above 2800, seized the opportunity, with Sarana scoring the only win, over GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac. Once again Sarana is demonstrating that he’s one of the world’s best players precisely when he has the white pieces.

France, Armenia, and Greece all won in round seven to move to within a single point with two rounds to go.   

Round 7 Standings (Top 9)

Two teams who should be on that list, according to seedings, are Norway and, above all, Azerbaijan.

Carlsen Pulls Off Great Escape; Radjabov Stunned

Azerbaijan, with Radjabov and GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov on the top boards, were the clear favorites to win the 2023 title, but have failed to pull out of the death spiral that began when they lost to Denmark in round one. A loss to Croatia followed, with Radjabov beaten by GM Ivan Saric, but that was nothing compared to what followed in round six, when Radjabov found himself resigning against 23-year-old Greek GM Nikolas Theodorou on move 19—while Theodorou still had one hour and 28 minutes on his clock.  

That shocker is our first Game of the Day, with analysis by GM Rafael Leitao.

Once again that loss was maximally painful for Azerbaijan, since the remaining games were drawn. A 3-1 defeat at the hands of Moldova in the next round and it’s hard to imagine the favorites for such an event ever having played as badly. 

8th-seed Norway has also underperformed, on paper, but their pre-tournament seeding was very much based on having the world number-one on top board. It’s hard to carry a team, and Carlsen’s 5.5/7 has not been smooth-sailing. 

GM Valentin Dragnev was a move or two away from creating a sensation, while Carlsen’s game against 19-year-old Bjerre was a wild ride. At first everything went the former world champion’s way, with a sacrifice of the exchange (a rook for a knight on c3), as strong as it was natural.

Magnus sacs the exchange and is taking over! https://t.co/Al4JDg7RYJ #ETCC2023 pic.twitter.com/F5Fy3N0kMF

— chess24.com (@chess24com) November 18, 2023

Carlsen confessed, however, that he briefly went on to lose the plot: “I just had one incredibly weak phase there where somehow I didn’t trust my instincts. I had so many good choices and I was just over-thinking.”

That wobble was combined with some inspired play by Bjerre, who found the brilliant 33.Nf5!!.

Vladimir Fedoseev says Magnus not seeing 33.Nf5!! by Bjerre may have been a “huge miss”! #ETCC2023 pic.twitter.com/SPMdGhKYcH

— chess24.com (@chess24com) November 18, 2023

The huge threat is Qc3+, hitting the rook on b2 and the king on f6, and there are no happy solutions for Black. Carlsen confirmed GM Vladimir Fedoseev‘s hunch when he joined GM Alojzije Jankovic on the live broadcast: “I thought at least I can give the queen, and I should be fine, but I’d missed Nf5 completely. Now I’m probably… not probably, now I think I’m lost!”

Carlsen found himself with just two minor pieces for a queen, but he felt his opponent made a “conceptual” mistake just before the time control, and soon the world number-one had found a path to safety. That game is our second Game of the Day. 

Asked if it had been a tough day, Carlsen replied: “No, we’ve won two matches in a row now, so that’s good. Obviously for me it was not a great game, but at least I saved it and it won us the match, so still good!” A win for 21-year-old IM Tor Fredrik Kaasen on the bottom board gave Norway a 2.5-1.5 win over Denmark and now, for the first time in 18 classical games, Carlsen may finally play an opponent rated 2700 again. Unless either player is rested, he’s set to take on his world championship second, Dutch GM Jorden van Foreest in round eight.

Women’s Section: Bulgaria Leapfrogs France And Azerbaijan

The women’s competition had looked like a two-horse race, until Bulgaria beat both horses, defeating Azerbaijan 2.5-1.5 in round six, then France 3-1 in round seven. On both occasions 20-year-old 2023 Women’s World Cup runner-up IM Nurgyul Salimova notched up a point, as part of a three-game winning streak. 

That left Bulgaria a point clear of France and Azerbaijan, while Poland (who beat Germany) and Greece are only another point off the pace. 

Round 7 Women’s Standings (Top 9)

Rk.	Seed	FED	Team	Games	+	=	–	Match Points	TB1	TB2
1	5		Bulgaria	7	5	2	0	12	141.5	18
2	6		France	7	5	1	1	11	144	19.5
3	2		Azerbaijan	7	5	1	1	11	134	17
4	19		Greece	7	4	2	1	10	111.5	16.5
5	8		Poland	7	5	0	2	10	99.5	15.5
6	3		Germany	7	4	1	2	9	109	16
7	15		Serbia	7	4	1	2	9	106.5	15
8	7		Armenia	7	4	1	2	9	105.5	16.5
9	1		Georgia	7	4	1	2	9	105.5	16

19th-seed Greece continues to dazzle, with 23-year-old IM Stavroula Tsolakidou leading the way. 

Tsolakidou in fact seems to have met the requirements for a seven-game grandmaster norm—three of those, plus a 2500-rating, are required to gain the grandmaster title. It’s not just the results, but the games that have been hugely impressive, with the win over GM Hoang Thanh Trang a perfect punishment of one inaccuracy by her opponent. 

The podium is within touching distance for Greece, but we have two intense rounds to go in both sections, with no runaway leaders and everything to play for. 

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The 2023 European Team Chess Championship is a nine-round team tournament taking place in Budva, Montenegro, during November 11-20. All the European chess federations can field a team in the Open and Women’s sections; matches are played on four boards. The time control is classical, with 90 minutes for 40 moves, 30 minutes to the end of the game, and a 30-second increment from move one. 

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