London Chess Classic Round 6: Adams, Gukesh Both Win, Niemann Suffers 1st Loss

The madness continues in London. Just when GM Jules Moussard was about to crown a brilliant game by defeating leader GM Michael Adams, the Frenchman blundered away the game. GM Gukesh Dommaraju kept his Candidates hopes alive when GM Luke McShane suffered a time-trouble meltdown, while GM Andrei Volokitin won a masterpiece to inflict a first loss of the event on GM Hans Niemann.  

The London Chess Classic continues with round seven on Friday, December 8, at 9:15 a.m. ET/15:15 CET/7:45 p.m. IST.

London Chess Classic Round 6 Results

It seems the rest day in London only gave the players time to regroup for more all-or-nothing battles. Just one game was drawn in round six, and that was an 83-move draw littered with winning chances.

Gukesh 1-0 McShane

It’s unlikely anyone is watching the London Chess Classic more intently than GM Anish Giri, who keeps the FIDE Circuit spot in the 2024 Candidates tournament only if Gukesh fails to take clear first place in London. That meant the Dutchman’s hopes in round six rested on the shoulders of an underdog hero named Luke…

Not looking good, boys. https://t.co/YhIF60i0L8 pic.twitter.com/T1wUV0vD9K

— Anish Giri (@anishgiri) December 7, 2023

McShane seemed to have things under control, everywhere but on the clock. When he took the fateful decision to play 36…Nxf4+? (36…Kf7!) he had just two seconds to spare. Alas, the obvious point of the move fails, since if Black does grab the rook on d1, checkmate follows.

It seemed it was all going wrong for Giri, and his colleagues weren’t helping. 

It’s OK @anishgiri the next episode is always just around the corner pic.twitter.com/cG8ILUsYI3

— Fabiano Caruana (@FabianoCaruana) December 7, 2023

But there was an even bigger twist.

Moussard 0-1 Adams

In round four, Gukesh had completely outplayed Moussard with the white pieces only to blunder and lose. In round six, it was Moussard who would suffer the same fate, just when he was on the verge of winning a third game in a row and taking the sole lead. The dividing line between glory and disaster can sometimes be brutally thin, as the French grandmaster found out when he played a winning sacrifice only to throw it all away on the very next move with 32.Qe6??.  

Giri took some of the credit for a win that ensured Adams kept the sole lead, while GM Wesley So was also happy to maintain the status quo—both he and Giri would be in the Candidates if the clock stopped now.

Anish and I will keep watching this tournament and the one in India, to jinx our rivals 😀

— Wesley So (@GMWesleySo123) December 7, 2023

One player whose chances of first place now look slim is Niemann, who lost to an inspired game by Ukrainian GM Volokitin.

Volokitin 1-0 Niemann

“Hans, come on, man, we not gonna crush those egos when you play the Berlin every day🤣” Giri had tweeted earlier in the event, but that didn’t stop the U.S. star exploying the rock-solid opening for a third time in a row. This time, however, Volokitin was ready, even if his 29-minute think over 13.Ne2, a move already played by GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the 2018 Olympiad, didn’t inspire confidence.

Soon, however, Niemann had lost his way, and Volokitin got to play a tricky exchange sacrifice which GM Rafael Leitao, in his Game of the Day analysis, describes as follows:

This move seemed completely brilliant to me when I first saw the game. The computer, unfortunately, is not so impressed. Objectively I should put a ?! or even ? for this exchange sacrifice, but I refuse to do it. The idea is too beautiful to deserve punishment by this commentator for “simply” being incorrect from a scientific point of view.

If you ever need a man to rub salt in fresh wounds…

I warned against the Berlin, what more could I do.🤷🏻‍♂️ https://t.co/2zReFNdeIx

— Anish Giri (@anishgiri) December 7, 2023

Meanwhile, GM Mateusz Bartel kept up his record as the only player to have a decisive game in every round, but not in the way he would have hoped for. 

Bartel 0-1 Tabatabaei

GM Amin Tabatabaei has now scored 2.5/3 in the last three games, and even if the opening was shaky—and Bartel got in the tournament’s “thematic” move g4—the Iranian grandmaster soon seized control and went on to score a deserved win. He landed some heavy blows.

The last game of the day to finish, meanwhile, was perhaps a case of GM Nikita Vitiugov taking his new job of helping the next generation of English talent a little too seriously.

Vitiugov ½-½ Royal

14-year-old IM Shreyas Royal had lost his last two games in a row, but that didn’t stop him playing the Sicilian against an opponent who outrated him by 266 points. At first it didn’t look as though fortune was going to favor the brave, as Vitiugov swatted away Black’s attack and emerged with an extra pawn and a huge positional advantage. 

Vitiugov is yet to win in London, however, and time and again he missed chances to finish things off, until after 69…Qa3 the last best hopes faded.    

A great performance by a ChessKid ambassador who seems ready to take the leap into top grandmaster company.

The future looks bright!💪 https://t.co/sO8LRNKv3a

— Anish Giri (@anishgiri) December 7, 2023

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 14-year-old IM Shreyas Royal successfully draws an 83-move game against England’s No.1 player, GM Nikita Vitiugov 💪🔥 Congratulations! #LondonChessClassic pic.twitter.com/QgxMKHnZRo

— ChessKid.com 👑 (@ChessKidcom) December 7, 2023

That means Adams has a half-point lead over Gukesh, with time running out if the Indian star wants to take sole first place. In round seven, he has the black pieces against Royal, while Adams is White against Volokitin. Those two players know each other very well, since Volokitin scored a 4.5-3.5 win in the U.K. vs. Ukraine Solidarity Match held earlier this year. 

Standings After Round 6

How to watch the 2023 London Chess Classic