David Antón takes sole lead at 'Legends & Prodigies'

At the Luzhniki night, the old bird understands that landing is also a way of flying – but at the 'Legends & Prodigies' tournament, David Antón Guijarro, 29 years old, is not ready to land yet. In the fourth round of the invitational event held in London, the Spanish grandmaster scored a convincing win against home player Michael Adams, thereby taking the sole lead with 3.5/4 points. This is a dream start for Antón, who is rediscovering top form after a period of fluctuation. The 'Legends & Prodigies' tournament is an annual invitational that brings together veteran players and young talents. This year, besides Antón, there are legends such as Vladimir Kramnik, Judit Polgar, and prodigies like Alireza Firouzja and Vincent Keymer. The format is a round-robin, one game per day, classical time control (90 minutes for first 40 moves, then 30 minutes plus 30 seconds increment). With an average Elo of 2720, this event is considered one of the most exciting of the year. Antón made a strong impression from the first round, when he successfully drew against Kramnik with Black. The victory over Adams was a tactical masterpiece: Antón chose a line against the London System – a sideline that many players often underestimate. By developing quickly and applying pressure on the d-file, Antón forced Adams into a mistake on move 27. The position was later assessed by the engine as +1.2 for White, but Antón knew how to exploit the advantage fully to score a full point. In-depth analysis shows that Antón used a very specific plan for Black against 1.d4 systems without 2.c4. This is an area of growing interest in coaching circles, as many amateur and even professional players struggle when opponents 'avoid' main lines. Antón demonstrated that understanding the opponent's strategic intent is far more important than memorizing deep variations. In the third round, he also defeated Keymer after choosing the Slav Defense – one of the most solid defenses. However, not everything was perfect. In the second round, Antón narrowly avoided losing against Firouzja thanks to a brilliant save in the endgame. This shows Antón's ability to handle pressure is high, but there are still weaknesses to improve. Based on my experience following matches over 49 years, I notice Antón tends to play too passively when facing aggressive systems. The blind spot in collective memory is often underestimating sideline systems. Many believe that the London, Colle, Trompowsky are merely 'secondary' and not dangerous. But in reality, with good preparation, they can become powerful weapons. Antón has proven the opposite: he not only survived but dominated the position. This is a valuable lesson for those aiming for the top. Looking ahead, Antón has a great chance to qualify for the Candidates. With this form, reaching 2700+ rating is entirely possible. But as I often say: 'Stadium without ball – memory still scores'. In chess, even when no move is made, the memory of those positions remains forever.