"The Better Player is Always Better" || Vasyl Ivanchuk vs Christophe Sochacki || Reykjavik Open 2026

This video analyzes a game from round four of this year's Reykjavik Open between Vassily Ivanchuk and French Grandmaster Krzysztof Sohatsky. Both players were on two and a half points out of three coming into this match. Ivanchuk has a long history with the Reykjavik Open, having never won it despite multiple attempts and close calls, including tying for first with Anatoly Karpov in 1991 and placing second in 2023 after a tiebreak. He consistently participates in the tournament, aiming for a win. The game begins with the Exchange French opening: 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5. The narrator notes that this opening, while straightforward and allowing for flexible development, offers the same advantages to both sides. Play continues with 4. Bd3 Nf6 5. Ne2. This is described as the third most popular, yet main-theory, way to develop for white. Black responds with the natural 5...c5, immediately threatening to trap the bishop with c4. Vassily defends with 6. c3, freeing the c2 square for his bishop. The game progresses with 6...Nc6 7. O-O Bd6 8. Bf4. At this point, black plays 8...cxd4, leading to a completely new game state by move eight. Vassily responds with 9. Bxd6 Qxd6 10. Nxd4. Black then plays 10...Nxd4, trying to trick Vassily. If Vassily had played 11. Re1, black could have retreated the knight. However, Vassily simply recaptures with 11. Qxd4 and black castles kingside with 11...O-O. The game continues with 12. Nc3 Be6. The narrator pauses to discuss the nature of the position, referencing Garry Kasparov's observation that in certain positions, the "better player has the advantage." This implies a nuanced equality where the outcome depends on the players' skill in navigating complex, open lines with many attacking possibilities. The narrator believes this game's current state is one such position. Vassily takes significant time to consider his next move, using nearly ten minutes before playing 13. Qd2, while Krzysztof is already down to 30 minutes on the clock. The game proceeds with 13...Rac8 14. Rfe1 Rfd8. Vassily, instead of a rook lift, opts for the slow-play approach with 15. f3. Black then plays 15...Qb4, putting pressure on b2 and d4. Vassily defends with 16. Qf2. Black continues with 16...Nh5, and Vassily finds a tricky move: 17. Kh1. The idea is to respond to black's potential g6 or h6 with a queen move. After 17...h6 (g6 might have been safer), Vassily plays 18. Qd2, threatening bishop to h7 check if black captures on d4, which would blunder the queen. Krzysztof mirrors Vassily's king move with 18...Kf8. The game continues with 19. Bb1 Rc4 20. Red1 Qd6 21. Rfe1. By this point, Krzysztof is down to five minutes on the clock. Black offers a queen trade with 22...Qf4, but Vassily declines, playing 23. Qf2, not wanting to ease the pressure given Krzysztof's low time. Black retreats with 23...Nf6. Vassily plays 24. a3, and black responds with 24...Ng4, attacking the undefended queen on f2 if the pawn captures. Vassily moves his queen to 25. Qg1, also guarding against checkmate, and black retreats with 25...Nf6. Vassily then plays 26. Re5. Black attacks the rook with 26...Nd7. Krzysztof, short on time, struggles to find a good move. Vassily finds 27. Nxd5. The narrator suggests that black should have simply captured the knight, admitted the pawn blunder, and continued, as the position would still be roughly equal. However, Krzysztof plays 27...Qh4, possibly missing Vassily's idea or still hoping for an attack. Vassily continues with 28. Re4, attacking the queen. Black moves 28...Qg5. Vassily plays 29. Ne3, attacking the rook on c4. Black brings the rook back to 29...Rcc8. Vassily plays 30. d5, seemingly trapping the bishop. Black responds with 30...Nf6. The narrator points out that 30...Nc5 would have been a more problematic move for white, although white would still be better. In that line, white would need to play precisely to avoid a draw, for example by playing 31. Re1, and then after the bishop moves, the game continues. In the actual game, after 30...Nf6, Krzysztof was likely hoping for Vassily to capture on e6, leading to complications where black could gain an advantage. However, Vassily plays 31. f4. The narrator explains that if 31...dxe6, white would respond with 32. Rxd1, and after knight captures, knight captures on e4, and bishop captures, black would get queen to d2 with the rook coming to c1, making it very hard for white to hold a draw. Instead, after 31. f4, black plays 31...Qh5, eyeing the rook on d1. Vassily plays 32. Re5, again attacking the queen. The queen is now in danger of being trapped. Black plays 32...g5. Vassily captures 33. dxe6. Black plays 33...Rxd1. Instead of recapturing, Vassily plays 34. e7+, a pawn promotion attempt. Black plays 34...Kg7. Vassily captures 35. Nxd1. Black plays 35...Rc1. The narrator mentions that Vassily could have promoted to a knight, leading to a completely winning position for white. However, Vassily plays 36. Re1. Black plays 36...Qh4. The narrator explains that capturing the bishop would lead to queen d4, with the knight defended and no defense against e8=Q, leading to resignation. Vassily plays 37. Bd3. Black plays 37...g4. Vassily plays 38. g3. Black plays 38...Qh5. Vassily plays 39. Qd4. In this position, on move 39, Krzysztof Sohatsky resigned the game. Vassily's impressive win puts him at three and a half out of four. The narrator concludes by praising Vassily's play and noting the exciting chess events planned for April, including the Candidates Tournament, Grenke Chess Classic, and matches between top players. He thanks his contributors and encourages viewers to check out his previous videos.