The struggle for leadership in the 2018 Men’s and Women’s Cup of Russia tournaments is serious that of course provides fans with pleasure. However, the observer of our traditional section is a little bit dull. The games of the players of the leading group are notable for their fighting spirit but they are far from the ideals of beauty. The game of the sixth round between Egor Bykov and Nikita Matinian will return us back to the times when chess players liked to attack but categorically refused to defend.
In a good tradition of the XVIII century, the black offered a gambit sacrifice of a pawn on the fourth move, and then they lost a knight, keeping the king in the center. The position remained unclear, but the white literally lost it in two moves. The style of Italian masters was kept to the full – they didn’t know how to defend!