His move: How Jan Nepomnyashchy won the Aeroflot Open again

Yan Nepomnyashchy became the winner of the Aeroflot Open – 2025 anniversary Chess Festival. Thanks to this success, the 34-year-old grandmaster will earn 4 million rubles and receive 20 points in the FIDE Circuit 2025. The reigning world blitz champion won five games out of nine, and 14-year-old Ivan Zemlyansky created the most serious problems for the ranking favorite. The youngest grandmaster in the history of Russia performed well, eventually taking 11th place in such a reputable company, adding more than 13 rating points. Richard Rapport and Andrey Esipenko, who was the second last year, also got into the top 3.

Added it to the asset

Yang won the Aeroflot Open for the fourth record time, and the third time in the classic control. He took the lead from the first rounds, starting the tournament with three wins — over Alexey Grachev, Leia Garifullina and Sergey Drygalov. But on the third day of the game, Nepomniachtchy faced a serious test.

— With Ivan Zemlyansky, I got a better result at the exit from the opening, but from a score of "+0.7" in one move in a calm position, I got about "-2", — Nepomnyashchy explained to Izvestia. — It was a yawn. Morning tour (at 11:00 Moscow time. — Ed.). I can't say that I'm a fan of morning tours and the format of two tours a day. And when you play two games of classic two days in a row, it's not the same as two games of rapid. Different training, different responsibilities, different time at the board. You played a relatively short game of rapid chess, rebooted, and continued playing. Here the party goes on for 3-4 hours. Therefore, the game with Zemlyansky took a lot of effort. In the next game with the Iranian Bardia Daneshvar, I had a worse time, then it got a little better, but I couldn't achieve any significant advantage. As a result, two draws in a hard fight.

After five rounds, Nepomniachtchi scored 4 points. Aram Hakobyan and Hans Niemann took the lead, with 4.5 out of 5 each. In the sixth round, the Armenian and American grandmasters faced each other, but could not identify the winner. They were immediately overtaken by Nepomnyashchy, Esipenko, Rapport and Alexey Goganov. A strong grandmaster from the Northern Capital held a solid tournament. If it had not been for the defeat by Niemann in the fourth round, Goganov could well have fought for victory. Nevertheless, five wins and draws with two representatives of 2700+ are worth a lot. Alexey has added more than 35 rating points, but he is still far from reaching his peak of 2650.

A lot was decided in the seventh round, when Nepomniachtchi defeated Hakobyan with black, and in the second game of the day he made an easy draw with Niemann in the Spanish game. Considering that Yan played five games of black out of nine (with the light hand of Vladislav Artemyev, who chose the color for the rating favorite at the opening ceremony), he was satisfied with a draw in the last round. And Jan quickly arranged it in a party with Goganov.

— The tournament went pretty smoothly for me, but I finished it with a score of "+5", - Nepomniachtchy continued. — The last two games were very short. In the eighth round with Niemann, it was the second round of the day. He surprised me in the opening, plus, as I said before, I'm not a big fan of playing games with this chess player. So it turned out to be a quick draw, which more or less suited me from a sporting point of view. It wasn't like any of the competitors would score 2 out of 2. In the final round, I had to play with Alexey Goganov. He has a low rating now, but he is a good chess player who has repeatedly participated in the Superfinals and won the Top League. And in general, it is clear that he is on the rise, he has a fireproof repertoire of whites. I can hardly imagine how, in the Catalan beginning, black went out to fight, avoiding serious risks. Plus, I didn't have to win. In any case, you can add the tournament to your asset.

Outside the top three

It should be noted that one of the traditions of the Aeroflot Open has ended. Previously, in 22 years, the tournament had never been won (without a division) by a grandmaster with a rating of 2700 and a rating favorite of the tournament.

"This year, our tournament has broken several records at once, starting from the prize pool of 20 million rubles and ending with the organization of a Spanish broadcast to Latin American countries," said Andrey Filatov, President of the Russian Chess Federation, in a conversation with Izvestia. — Yan Nepomnyashchy is a great fellow, I wish him to break into the candidates tournament and achieve his cherished goal. Andrey Esipenko demonstrates stability and class, getting into the prizes of this strong competition for the second year. We look forward to the further growth of one of our leading chess players. I am very pleased that the youngest grandmaster of our country, Ivan Zemlyansky, showed a high level, becoming the 11th, and it was not easy for the future winner to fight with him. Traditionally, the tournament attracted the attention of the press, and it was actively covered by the leading Russian media. Thanks to the journalists for their contribution to the popularization of chess. This was partly facilitated by the arrival of the famous American grandmaster Hans Niemann, who himself contacted the organizers and came to the tournament in Russia.

The women's competition was won by Polina Shuvalova, who received a special prize from PJSC Aeroflot. The winner of the Blitz World Cup scored 5.5 points. Leia Garifullina was half a point behind. At the same time, the chess player from Yekaterinburg added more than 10 rating points and played with Nepomnyashchy and Daniil Dubov. The latter, by the way, performed clearly below his capabilities, finishing the tournament with a score of "+3" and becoming only 17th. On the 18th, the reigning Russian champion Vladislav Artemyev, 16-year-old Savva Vetokhin rounded out the top 10, Alexander Grischuk - the top 15. Hans Niemann claimed a place in the top 3, but after four draws in a row, he became only eighth.

It should be noted that in parallel, the Aeroflot Open – Children tournament was held among boys and girls under 13, boys and girls under 15, where winners and prize-winners of international and Russian tournaments played.