Abdusattorov overwhelms rivals at Arsenal but England hit back in style

The Uzbek shone at London Classic and a 3,000+ tournament performance reaffirmed his place among world’s best

This week’s XTX London Classic at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium took place in an elegant arena with a full view of the football pitch. The English players suffered for most of the event, but hit back in style on Thursday when all four won their eighth-round games.

Scores after eight of the nine rounds were Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) 7, Alireza Firouzja (France) 5, Nikita Vitiugov (England) 4.5, Luke McShane and Michael Adams (both England) 4, Nikolas Theodorou (Greece) and Pavel Eljanov (Ukraine) 3.5, Abhimanyu Mishra (USA) and Gawain Maroroa Jones (England) 3, Sam Shankland (USA) 2.5. The four English victories in Thursday night’s eighth round transformed what had been a difficult event into a demonstration of sustained national strength at the board. Continue reading...