Offerspill news - week 17

A little belated weekly report this time, but it is worth the wait.

Jesper Thybo has played, and won, an international tournament recently and we are delighted to bring you his own analysis of a couple of the games that brought him the success. Also, we take a closer look at the new challenger for the World Championship title and give you an update on the April season of the Offerspill Online League.

"Opening of the week" will return in our next report.

Enjoy!

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Jesper on tour

We have already covered a couple of Jesper Thybo's tournaments in Montenegro and Serbia. Recently he concluded his three tournament tour with a magnificent win in Belgrade. The tournament was held from the 11th-19th of April with three grandmasters in the lineup, including Jesper.

Let's hear from the man himself after seven wins and a score of 8/9 with a 2737 performance to boot.


Of course to reach such a result, luck had to be on my side, but for this tournament I was in a very good fighting mood, and I hope to continue that in the next one - Jesper Thybo
This was the last tournament of my March/April tour, where I played 1 tournament in Montenegro and 2 tournaments in Serbia, and hopefully I will soon be back playing over the board again - Jesper Thybo

For the record, Jesper is one of our top players and a part of the club talent program "TalentOffer".

Let's have a look at one of Jesper's favourite wins from the tournament. Notice how he always keeps his focus on the next move and on realizing small advantages without panicking.

Abramovic - Thybo (0-1)

You can find other games and results from the tournament here.

Season update: Online League

Another season has gone by, and it is time to draw some conclusions. First, the number of tournaments played seems to play a  big role in deciding the prize winners in all sections. Even though this might seems obvious, it does provide the playe with more chances of claiming experience points from a number of achievements. Remember, the achievements is a huge source of experience points, so make sure to check them out before the start of the new season.

You can find updated standings, achievements and results here.

Overall

As usual, the online league season turned out to be extremely close in all sections, but papadosor emerged as the winner having played the most tournaments among the top players. Blitz expert Gvein took 2nd place while new member RetiLangweiler clinched 3rd.

U2200

Have we ever sen a closer finish than this season's U2200 section? Congratulations to Astralex, Puddingsjakk and Flugg for securing spots on the podium.

U

RetiLangweiler - Astralex (0-1)

U1700

Another very close section with the number of tournaments played being a large factor in deciding the top three.

Congratulations to MagnusFalkenberg, joafug76 and Allix.

Nepo wins Candidates

As mentioned in our previous report, Ian Nepomniachtchi at the recently resumed Candidates tournament.

Now all results are in, and come November he will play Magnus Carlsen for the World Championship.

Ian Nepomniachtchi, the next challenger for the World Championship.

This success is a huge milestone in my career. Perhaps in my life also. Indeed, I am extremely tired because I don't think I would ever like to play a tounament again, which lasts like more than one year - Nepomniachtchi

Also, the press conference from the penultimate round, when Nepomniachtchi  secured the tournament win, is worth a watch.

Former challenger Fabiano Caruana fell short this time.

Chessbase and Chess24 have excellent written reports.

Wang Hao retires from professional chess

Shortly after the last round of the Candidates tournament Chinese top player Wang Hao declared that he will retire from professional chess, citing health issues as reason. He is currently #17 in the world with a rating of 2744.

Watch the official interview here and read Chessbase's report here.