No One REALLY Understands The French || Amin Tabatabaei vs Vasyl Ivanchuk || Reykjavik Open 2026

This video covers a game from round five of the Reikavik Open, featuring Amin Tabatabai against Vasel Ivanchuk. Ivanchuk had a strong history in the tournament, nearly winning in 1991 and placing second last year. However, he faced a formidable opponent in Tabatabai, an Iranian Grandmaster rated 2700, who was undefeated with four wins out of four at that point. The game opened with Tabatabai, playing white, starting with pawn to E4, met by Ivanchuk's pawn to E6, leading into a French Defense. White advanced with pawn to D4, D5, and E5, challenging the French. The players continued with standard moves: pawn to C5, pawn to C3, knight to C6, knight to F3, bishop to D7, and bishop to E2. This sequence is sometimes referred to as the Pollson or Max variation. Black played knight G to E7 and castled king side, followed by knight to F5, a typical square for the knight in the French Defense. White responded with D captures on C5, bishop captures, and pawn to B4, establishing a standard position. The game progressed quickly in the opening, with both players blitzing out moves. Black played bishop to B6, and white developed with bishop to D3, improving the knight's position. While white could have captured on F5, doubling black's pawns, it was deemed not particularly effective, and black would be content with the setup. Instead of castling, white played rook to E1. Black then played pawn to A6, a move that diverged from a previous game played by another Iranian Grandmaster, Sina Moa, who had played rook to C8 in a similar position. Tabatabai, faced with the new move pawn to A6, responded with pawn to A4, indicating a new phase of the game. Ivanchuk's next move, pawn to D4, opened up opportunities for Tabatabai, who immediately capitalized by playing bishop to A3. A key threat for white was B5, which would open an attack on the rook. If black responded with rook to E8, white could play C4, creating a strong position. A pawn to C5 would follow, establishing a permanent outpost on D6 for a knight. This line of play would involve bringing a knight from B2 to C4 and then to D6, which would be difficult for black to counter. Recognizing the danger, Ivanchuk decided to capture on C3. White responded with pawn to A5, rather than the expected pawn to B5. After bishop to C7, white played pawn to B5. If black had played knight to E7, B6 would be a crushing move. Bishop to B8 would follow, and white could capture on F5, leading to a difficult position for black, with the bishop on B8 being difficult to develop. Ivanchuk, facing a dire situation, chose to sacrifice the exchange, playing A captures on B5. White captured on F8 with the bishop, black's king captured, and white's knight captured on C3. At this crucial juncture, Ivanchuk failed to find the best move. The engine suggested either captures on A5 or pawn to B4. Although B4 was a strong move, it was not played. Instead, Ivanchuk played bishop captures on A5, allowing bishop captures on F5. Ivanchuk likely considered capturing on C3, which the engine surprisingly recommended as the best move despite the subsequent complications. If black captured on C3, white would play rook captures on A8, queen captures, and then queen to D6 with check. If black played king to G8, bishop captures on H7 with check would follow, leading to queen D3 check and the capture of the bishop on C3. Even if black could play B4, white would have too many advantages, including a hanging bishop and light square weaknesses. If black played G6, queen H3 and queen H7 would lead to a winning position for white. Therefore, after queen to D6 check, black would have to play king to E8. White would continue with rook to D1, attacking the bishop. If queen to D8, white could play bishop captures on H7, leaving black in a tough position, though with the B pawn still alive. If black tried to trap the bishop with G6, white would capture it, and after F captures, queen D3 would again threaten the bishop. If black insisted on keeping the piece, queen captures on G6, king to F8, and knight G5 would lead to the downfall of black's undefended bishop. Ivanchuk, with only 18 minutes on the clock, played E captures on F5, spending five minutes. White responded with queen to D6 check, black played queen to E7, and white's knight captured on B5, removing the B pawn. Black played rook to D8, and white followed with rook E to D1. Ivanchuk's last hope was bishop to E6, which could lead to a fighting position with the bishop pair. However, he played bishop to B6, which was a losing move. White played queen captures on E7, king captures, and knight to D6, creating a powerful knight that could not be removed. Black played bishop to C7, attempting a trade, but was already down material. White's knight captured on B7, black played rook to B8, and white's knight returned to D6, followed by rook to D8. With little time, Ivanchuk struggled to find solutions. White played rook A to C1, black played bishop to B8, and white advanced with pawn to H4, gaining more space. The finishing blow came with knight captures on F7. Black's king captured, and white's rook captured on C6. Ivanchuk captured on C6, and white's rook captured on D8. At move 30, Ivanchuk resigned. White was up an exchange and a pawn, and black could not maintain the bishop pair. If black played bishop A7, white would attack the bishop, and rook C7 check would lead to its loss. Even if black traded on F3, white would not allow the pawn structure to be ruined. Rook C7 check, king E6, and rook captures on A7 would follow. White would then play F4, securing a winning position with an extra exchange and a pawn, and could easily bring the king up the board for a decisive victory. Amin Tabatabai's performance was described as brilliant, particularly after Ivanchuk's pawn to D4 on move 12, which led to a downhill slide for Ivanchuk. Tabatabai was now on five out of five, with a performance rating of around 3200, solidifying his path to potentially becoming the Reikavik Open champion. The video also briefly mentioned the candidates tournament, with games starting the following day. Round one pairings included Javok facing Andrea Sipenko, Matias Bluebound against Wayi, Pragnarand versus Anishh Giri, and Fabiano Caruana against Hikaro Nakamura, a highly anticipated clash of heavyweights. The host planned to cover every game and round of the event.