‘Match-fixing… disrespectful to chess’: Nepomniachtchi, Dubov slammed after Russians indulge in cheeky ‘dance of knights’
Odd things happened on Day 1 of the blitz portion of the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championship in Samarkand. There was an illegal move made in the game between Vladislav Artemiev nor Sanan Sjugirov, which neither player noticed and continued playing on. In another game, things on the board got so intense between Parham Maghsoodloo and Volodar Murzin, that neither noticed that the Iranian had lost on time and continued forging ahead. In a third game, Andrew Hong claimed his clock was malfunctioning during his game with Yu Yangyi, which led to an appeal and a consequent delay in further rounds.
But what made headlines on Friday was the game between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Daniil Dubov. The two Russian grandmasters faced off in round 11 with Dubov playing as white. The game lasted all of...