Monday 7th December 2009
London Chess Classic: Press conference and drawing of lots
Today was the day when the much-anticipated London Chess Classic tournament opened its doors to the press. The conference kicked off with an upbeat address from organiser Malcolm Pein. Most of us were already pretty impressed by the line-up and playing arrangements at the Olympia Conference centre – but Malcolm tells us that this year’s tournament – the biggest London has seen for 25 years – is just for starters. He has even bigger and better plans on the horizon, working towards a possible World Chess Championship match in 2012 (the World Chess Federation has already given London its option for the title match, in London’s Olympic year). He also stressed the importance of the charity that is to emerge from the event: Chess in Schools and Communities has been set up to get youngsters interested in the game and its first activity would be to bring lots of schoolchildren to Olympia to soak up the palpable excitement of a really big chess tournament.
The eight grandmasters themselves played their part in some PR activities staged around the landmarks of England’s capital city. Nigel Short and Luke McShane went off to the London Eye to play blindfold chess while Magnus Carlsen stayed at the plush Hilton Hotel to play a game with Guardian journalist Stephen Moss. Despite the small matter of 1,100 rating points that separate Magnus and Stephen, the Guardian man gave the Norwegian wunderkind quite a good pre-tournament work-out. We’ll return to this in due course.
Back at the press conference: next on the agenda was the drawing of lots. For this the organisers had provided a beautiful giant wooden chessboard. Underneath each of the eight white pawns was a hidden number. Each player was asked to step forward, choose a pawn and hold it up for all to see. The honour of being the first player to uncover his pairing number went to the man with the highest rating – at 2801, this was 19-year-old Magnus Carlsen. Magnus didn’t hesitate – he went straight to the c2 pawn, picked it up and – yes, it was the number one. The audience laughed but the serene look on Magnus’ face seemed to say “of course!”. Vladimir Kramnik shook his head and exclaimed “exactly the same as in Moscow!”. He then stepped forward to choose a pawn – it was the number eight. Knowledgeable members of the audience knew immediately that it meant he would Black in round one against Magnus Carlsen.
After the players had all drawn their lots, and arbiter Albert Vasse had read out the first-round pairings for Tuesday, they proceeded to the photo-call. As the players lined up in front of their images on the wall, some paparazzi were perplexed at the large difference in height between the very tall Kramnik and players flanking him. One even dared suggested Vlad stoop or kneel so that his head was in line with some of his colleagues. But Vlad is not for bending and he politely demurred. This recalled to mind a similar occasion in London more than nine years before, when the newspaper snappers wanted Vlad to smile. “Russian grandmasters do not smile!,” exclaimed the then world title challenger. Then, after a pause: “well, perhaps after I win the title!” Which he did, of course – he is still the only chessplayer in history to win the world championship title in London (though we must not forget that Kasparov made a couple of successful defences here).
Once the photographers had their fill of pictures, the players returned for an open question session. Malcolm Pein pointed out that Vladimir Kramnik’s recent “double happy event” (birth of a child and victory in Moscow) bucked the trend. Usually, said Malcolm, paternity led to an inevitable loss of rating points. Nigel Short felt that evidence that consisted of nothing more than one newly-born child and one tournament success didn’t really add up to much. The look he gave Vlad seemed to say “wait till you have two children!”. Magnus Carlsen, not much older than Nigel Short’s eldest child, looked off into space whilst this fatherly badinage was being exchanged but, when called upon to answer a few questions which came his way, he did so poise and confidence.
For the record, the draw was as follows: 1 Carlsen, 2 McShane, 3 David Howell, 4 Hikaru Nakamura, 5 Ni Hua, 6 Michael Adams, 7 Nigel Short, 8 Vladimir Kramnik. The first four named get an extra white, of course; quite an advantage in such a short tournament. Magnus Carlsen, as number one, starts with two whites, which means that if he exploits his first-move advantage twice he has already taken a big step towards winning the tournament. But Vladimir Kramnik is a very large obstacle. One of the photographers had earlier tried to get Vlad to move to one side when composing his shot because “you are blocking your own picture”. Vlad retorted: “wherever I go, I will be blocking!”. And, he might have added, this is especially true in London, as Garry Kasparov will know only too well.
John Saunders
Chess Press Chief, London Chess Classic
WEBSITE
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Monday, November 23, 2009
Fide World Cup 2009
The World Cup takes place in Khanty-Mansiysk 20th November - 15th December 2009. The event is part of the next world championship cycle. 7 rounds of knockout chess produce the winner.
Round 1 rapid and blitz playoffs. Start time is around 10am UK time but the eaerly rounds have started later than that, or at least coverage has.
Sergei Movsesian is the top seed to drop out. David Navara and Leinier Dominguez Perez are the leading seeds who will have to win a playoff.
All the rounds but the final take place over three days. There is just one rest day, directly prior to the final.
Website
Round 1 rapid and blitz playoffs. Start time is around 10am UK time but the eaerly rounds have started later than that, or at least coverage has.
Sergei Movsesian is the top seed to drop out. David Navara and Leinier Dominguez Perez are the leading seeds who will have to win a playoff.
All the rounds but the final take place over three days. There is just one rest day, directly prior to the final.
Website
Friday, November 13, 2009
Carlsen Finally Wins One/Tal Memorial Round 8 2009
[Event "Tal Memorial 2009"]
[Site "Moscow/Russia"]
[Date "2009.11.13"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Carlsen, Magnus"]
[Black "Ponomariov, Ruslan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B80"]
[Annotator "Robot 3"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2009.??.??"]
[TimeControl "40/7200:20/3600:900+30"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. f3 b5 8. Qd2
Nbd7 9. g4 h6 10. O-O-O Ne5 11. Qe1 Qc7 12. h4 b4 13. Nce2 Nc4 14. Nf4 Nxe3 15.
Qxe3 Qb6 16. Bc4 Qc5 17. Qb3 d5 18. exd5 Bd6 19. Nfxe6 fxe6 20. dxe6 Be7 21.
Qd3 O-O 22. Bb3 Rd8 23. g5 Nh7 24. gxh6 Qh5 25. Qe4 Qxh6+ 26. Kb1 Ra7 27. Nf5
Rxd1+ 28. Rxd1 Qf6 29. Rd7 Bxd7 30. exd7+ Kf8 31. Qd5 1-0
http://www.caissa.com/cgbin/animate_ch
Friday, November 6, 2009
Tal Memorial 2009
The annual Tal Memorial starts on Thursday, November 5th and ends on November 14th. At category 21 (average Elo 2764) it is one of the strongest of all time and includes Anand, Carlsen, Kramnik and Aronian. After this the World Blitz Championship will be he held also.
Website
Website
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
Carlsen On A Rampage
Words fail us: Magnus Carlsen has won again, beating Teimour Radjabov in a ferocious 25-move slugout. At halftime at the Pearl Spring tournament the Norwegian leads by two full points and displays an Elo performance of 3143. The other games were drawn.
Official Site
Official Site
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Karpov vs Kasparov (Valencia) 2009
Time September 21 st 2009
Lugar: Centro Cultural Bancaja (Access through Tetuan Square, 23)
Hora:12:00
Anatoli Karpov and Garry Kasparov are going to offer a press conference to the media next Monday at Fundación Bancaja at 12:00 h. , which will give the start to the revenge match and to the historic and cultural acts organized by the association ‘Valencia, cuna del ajedrez moderno’
At 13:30, the Russian chess players, together with the members of the organization, are going to be officially welcomed at the Valencian city council by the mayoress, Rita Barberá
Karpov vs Kasprov
Lugar: Centro Cultural Bancaja (Access through Tetuan Square, 23)
Hora:12:00
Anatoli Karpov and Garry Kasparov are going to offer a press conference to the media next Monday at Fundación Bancaja at 12:00 h. , which will give the start to the revenge match and to the historic and cultural acts organized by the association ‘Valencia, cuna del ajedrez moderno’
At 13:30, the Russian chess players, together with the members of the organization, are going to be officially welcomed at the Valencian city council by the mayoress, Rita Barberá
Karpov vs Kasprov
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Carlsen And Kasparov Join Forces
In complete secrecy chess star Magnus Carlsen, 18, has engaged the history's greatest chess player, Garry Kasparov, as a personal trainer. The goal is to make the Norwegian, who currently ranks as the fourth-best chess player in the world, the world's best during the course of the coming year. In addition, Magnus Carlsen of Lommedalen will be built up to become the strongest brand in international chess.
"You will not find a bigger name than Kasparov," says former Carlsen mentor GM Simen Agdestein, "nor a more competent coach." When Kasparov retired in 2005 he had been an undisputed world number one from 1985 to 2000.
The collaboration, which until now has been kept secret, has been under way for six months, confirms Magnus Carlsen himself. He will not reveal what the training program costs, but confirms that it is expensive.
Now the former director of the Hjemmet Mortensen, Espen Agdestein, is working full time to find sponsors for Carlsen. "This is the king training his crown prince," said Espen Agdestein. "While Kasparov is a living legend, Carlsen is the biggest attraction that exists in the chess world today. This is the Dream Team."
Cooperation with Kasparov is initially intended to last throughout the coming year, with a possibility of extension. On September 15 Kasparov will be coming to Norway for another training session with Carlsen, who has been twice to Moscow visiting Kasparov. This summer Carlsen spent 14 days at Kasparov summer residence in Croatia.
"With so many victories coming relatively easily to his immense talent and fighting spirit, the final crucial ingredient of relentless work will guarantee his place in history," Garry Kasparov told VG. He believes that Carlsen is already very close to being number one, despite his young age. "In six months of working with Magnus I have seen in him many of the qualities of the great champions," Kasparov adds.
It is estimated that Kasparov earned over 30 million US$ or 23 million Euros during his chess career, and has a staff of twenty people working for him, including chauffeurs, bodyguards and cooks. After retiring, he has written several books on chess and become involved in politics. But it is not money that runs Kasparov. "He is training just one person in the world, and it is Carlsen, because he believes Carlsen is the player with the most talent out there," says Espen Agdestein, who helped find the first sponsor for 13-year-old Carlsen. "My job now is to make Magnus a very attractive object for the market and pick the right sponsors, who can build a brand," says Agdestein.
Magnus Carlsen said that he looks forward to working with Kasparov. "He has an extreme capacity for work, extreme determination to win and extreme perfectionism," said Carlsen. "Now I hope to be get more of these properties for myself. The goal is to become number one in the world."
"You will not find a bigger name than Kasparov," says former Carlsen mentor GM Simen Agdestein, "nor a more competent coach." When Kasparov retired in 2005 he had been an undisputed world number one from 1985 to 2000.
The collaboration, which until now has been kept secret, has been under way for six months, confirms Magnus Carlsen himself. He will not reveal what the training program costs, but confirms that it is expensive.
Now the former director of the Hjemmet Mortensen, Espen Agdestein, is working full time to find sponsors for Carlsen. "This is the king training his crown prince," said Espen Agdestein. "While Kasparov is a living legend, Carlsen is the biggest attraction that exists in the chess world today. This is the Dream Team."
Cooperation with Kasparov is initially intended to last throughout the coming year, with a possibility of extension. On September 15 Kasparov will be coming to Norway for another training session with Carlsen, who has been twice to Moscow visiting Kasparov. This summer Carlsen spent 14 days at Kasparov summer residence in Croatia.
"With so many victories coming relatively easily to his immense talent and fighting spirit, the final crucial ingredient of relentless work will guarantee his place in history," Garry Kasparov told VG. He believes that Carlsen is already very close to being number one, despite his young age. "In six months of working with Magnus I have seen in him many of the qualities of the great champions," Kasparov adds.
It is estimated that Kasparov earned over 30 million US$ or 23 million Euros during his chess career, and has a staff of twenty people working for him, including chauffeurs, bodyguards and cooks. After retiring, he has written several books on chess and become involved in politics. But it is not money that runs Kasparov. "He is training just one person in the world, and it is Carlsen, because he believes Carlsen is the player with the most talent out there," says Espen Agdestein, who helped find the first sponsor for 13-year-old Carlsen. "My job now is to make Magnus a very attractive object for the market and pick the right sponsors, who can build a brand," says Agdestein.
Magnus Carlsen said that he looks forward to working with Kasparov. "He has an extreme capacity for work, extreme determination to win and extreme perfectionism," said Carlsen. "Now I hope to be get more of these properties for myself. The goal is to become number one in the world."
Friday, June 19, 2009
Cuban GM Leinier Domínguez Wins Capablanca Chess Memorial
Boosted by a crowd of supporters, Cuban Grand Master (GM) Leinier Domínguez (ELO 2721) won over German GM Geor Meier (2641) on Wednesday to take the title in the Elite Group at the Capablanca Memorial Chess Tournament ongoing in Havana.
Domínguez had to win the game, his last of the tournament, to assure first place, as his rival still has one game left to play.
With the win, Leinier finished the tournament with 6.5 of a possible 10 points and will gain slightly in his ELO rating.
Leinier Domínguez will not take a much-deserved vacation and may not see action again until the Pan-American Team Championships to be held August 8 to 13 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rounding out the Cuban team in Rio will be GMs Lázaro Bruzón (2617), Yuniesky Quesada (2596), Fidel Corrales (2574), Holden Hernández (2573) and Neuris Delgado (2572). The Capablanca tournament finishes on Thursday with matches that will determine the group leader in the Open category.
Elite Grup (9th Round)
Leinier-Meier (1-0) Bruzón-Timofeev (draw) Khenkin-Savchenko (draw)
Elite Standings (after 9 rounds):
1.- Leinier Domínguez (6.5 of 10) 2.- Georg Meier (4.5) 3.- Boris Savchenko (4.5) 4.- Lázaro Bruzón (4.5 de 10) 5.- Artyom Timofeev (4) 6.- Igor Khenkin (4)
Premier Grup (9th Round)
Neuris-Yuniesky (draw) Fidelito-Córdova (draw) Holden-Potkin (1-0)
Premier Standings (alter 8 rounds):
1.- Neuris Delgado (6.5 of 10) 2.- Vladimir Potkin (5.5) 3.- Emilio Córdova (5.5) 4.- Yuniesky Quesada (4) 5.- Holden Hernández (3.5) 6.- Fidel Corrales (3)
(Juventud Rebelde)
WEBSITE
Free Counter
Domínguez had to win the game, his last of the tournament, to assure first place, as his rival still has one game left to play.
With the win, Leinier finished the tournament with 6.5 of a possible 10 points and will gain slightly in his ELO rating.
Leinier Domínguez will not take a much-deserved vacation and may not see action again until the Pan-American Team Championships to be held August 8 to 13 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rounding out the Cuban team in Rio will be GMs Lázaro Bruzón (2617), Yuniesky Quesada (2596), Fidel Corrales (2574), Holden Hernández (2573) and Neuris Delgado (2572). The Capablanca tournament finishes on Thursday with matches that will determine the group leader in the Open category.
Elite Grup (9th Round)
Leinier-Meier (1-0) Bruzón-Timofeev (draw) Khenkin-Savchenko (draw)
Elite Standings (after 9 rounds):
1.- Leinier Domínguez (6.5 of 10) 2.- Georg Meier (4.5) 3.- Boris Savchenko (4.5) 4.- Lázaro Bruzón (4.5 de 10) 5.- Artyom Timofeev (4) 6.- Igor Khenkin (4)
Premier Grup (9th Round)
Neuris-Yuniesky (draw) Fidelito-Córdova (draw) Holden-Potkin (1-0)
Premier Standings (alter 8 rounds):
1.- Neuris Delgado (6.5 of 10) 2.- Vladimir Potkin (5.5) 3.- Emilio Córdova (5.5) 4.- Yuniesky Quesada (4) 5.- Holden Hernández (3.5) 6.- Fidel Corrales (3)
(Juventud Rebelde)
WEBSITE
Free Counter
Bazna R5: Gelfand and Ivanchuk win RD5
At half-time in this double round robin the two oldest players are leading: Boris Gelfand, who defeated Alexei Shirov, when the latter blundered a pawn; and Vassily Ivanchuk, who profited from an error by his opponent Gata Kamsky. Ivanchuk and Shirov are leading at half-way time and have 3.5/5 points. Friday is a free day
Official tournament site
Official tournament site
Saturday, May 16, 2009
MY Opinion US Championship 2009
I am inclined to write about the performance of Robert Hess at the USA Championship .As I write round 8 has finished and Hess stands at 6 points along with Nakamura.Hess has turned in quite a performance so far,in fact he has the highest performance rating at 2817!There really is no doubt that he has achieved a GM norm or will get one.My thoughts are these,will Hess turn out to be an American sensation?Will he take on footsteps in the shade of the late Bobby?I think his performance is remarkable as he is not yet in the elite and maybe not yet at the VERY top of this game.Look out chess world? Chess is My Life But My Life Is Not Only Chess
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Azerbaijan vs The World Rapid Match
Azerbaijan will play a world team in Baku as part of the "President's Cup 7th-9th May 2009. The players will have 25 minutes per game.
The Scheveningen event will see the Azerbaijan team of : Teimour Radjabov (5), Vugar Gashimov (16), Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (20), Gadir Guseinov (65) take on The World: Vishwanathan Anand (India, 2), Vladimir Kramnik (Russia, 4), Alexey Shirov (Spain, 13) and Sergey Karjakin (Ukraine, 23).
Azerbaijan's team is currently ranked 5th in the world behind Russia, China, Ukraine and Israel in terms of the average rating of its top ten players.
Games in PGN
Official site:
The Scheveningen event will see the Azerbaijan team of : Teimour Radjabov (5), Vugar Gashimov (16), Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (20), Gadir Guseinov (65) take on The World: Vishwanathan Anand (India, 2), Vladimir Kramnik (Russia, 4), Alexey Shirov (Spain, 13) and Sergey Karjakin (Ukraine, 23).
Azerbaijan's team is currently ranked 5th in the world behind Russia, China, Ukraine and Israel in terms of the average rating of its top ten players.
Games in PGN
Official site:
Monday, May 4, 2009
St. Louis prepares for US Chess Championship
The best and brightest in American chess head to St. Louis this week for the 2009 U.S. Chess Championship. 24 players will take part in the event, which is being held at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.
The club's Executive Director Tony Rich says a bid was put forward and the U.S. Chess Federation chose the Chess Club as the host.
"The U.S. Chess Federation awards the U.S. championship to an organization, based upon a bidding process," said Rich. "And the Chess Club was lucky enough to be awarded this within our first year of operation, actually."
The event will be held over nine days, from Thursday, May 7th through Sunday, May 17th. There are 24 players competing, with the winner chosen on a total points basis as it is not a single-elimination tournament.
"All 24 competitors will play every day of the tournament," said Rich. "And at the end the person with the best score is declared to be the U.S. champion."
Quite a bit of prize money is up for grabs with a purse of more than $130,000 in prize money. In addition, there is the Fischer Memorial Prize of $64,000 to be awarded to a player who wins all nine rounds of the Championship without tasting defeat. The Memorial Prize honors chess legend Bobby Fischer, who gained worldwide attention when he defeated Soviet grandmaster Boris Spassky for the World Championship in 1972. Fischer was the winner of the U.S. Championship in 1964, going undefeated.
Tickets are free to members, with monthly membership available for $12 for adults and $5 for full-time students. Information is available through the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis or by calling 314-361-CHESS.
The club's Executive Director Tony Rich says a bid was put forward and the U.S. Chess Federation chose the Chess Club as the host.
"The U.S. Chess Federation awards the U.S. championship to an organization, based upon a bidding process," said Rich. "And the Chess Club was lucky enough to be awarded this within our first year of operation, actually."
The event will be held over nine days, from Thursday, May 7th through Sunday, May 17th. There are 24 players competing, with the winner chosen on a total points basis as it is not a single-elimination tournament.
"All 24 competitors will play every day of the tournament," said Rich. "And at the end the person with the best score is declared to be the U.S. champion."
Quite a bit of prize money is up for grabs with a purse of more than $130,000 in prize money. In addition, there is the Fischer Memorial Prize of $64,000 to be awarded to a player who wins all nine rounds of the Championship without tasting defeat. The Memorial Prize honors chess legend Bobby Fischer, who gained worldwide attention when he defeated Soviet grandmaster Boris Spassky for the World Championship in 1972. Fischer was the winner of the U.S. Championship in 1964, going undefeated.
Tickets are free to members, with monthly membership available for $12 for adults and $5 for full-time students. Information is available through the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis or by calling 314-361-CHESS.
ARONIAN WINS GRAND PRIX
With Aronian and Leko both leading by a full point cynics were predicting a quick GM draw. But it turned into a merciless battle with Levon Aronian dominating and eventually crushing Peter Leko after an exchange sacrifice. The Armenian took sole first by a full point and with a 2833 performance. Bacrot, Gelfand and Akopian also won their games. We bring you pictures from the closing ceremony.
FIDE Grand Prix Nalchik 2009 – Schedule and results
Round 1: Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Leko Peter ½-½ Kamsky Gata
Mamedyarov Shak. 0-1 Aronian Levon
Akopian Vladimir ½-½ Kasimdzhanov Rus.
Karjakin Sergey ½-½ Eljanov Pavel
Grischuk Alexander 1-0 Gelfand Boris
Alekseev Evgeny ½-½ Svidler Peter
Ivanchuk Vassily ½-½ Bacrot Etienne
Round 2: Thursday, April 16, 2009
Kamsky Gata ½-½ Bacrot Etienne
Svidler Peter 1-0 Ivanchuk Vassily
Gelfand Boris ½-½ Alekseev Evgeny
Eljanov Pavel ½-½ Grischuk Alexander
Kasimdzhanov Rus. ½-½ Karjakin Sergey
Aronian Levon 1-0- Akopian Vladimir
Leko Peter ½-½ Mamedyarov Shak.
Round 3: Friday, April 17, 2009
Mamedyarov Shak. ½-½ Kamsky Gata
Akopian Vladimir 0-1 Leko Peter
Karjakin Sergey 1-0 Aronian Levon
Grischuk Alexander 1-0 Kasimdzhanov Rus.
Alekseev Evgeny 1-0 Eljanov Pavel
Ivanchuk Vassily ½-½ Gelfand Boris
Bacrot Etienne ½-½ Svidler Peter
Round 4: Saturday, April 18, 2009
Kamsky Gata 1-0 Svidler Peter
Gelfand Boris ½-½ Bacrot Etienne
Eljanov Pavel ½-½ Ivanchuk Vassily
Kasimdzhanov Rus. ½-½ Alekseev Evgeny
Aronian Levon ½-½ Grischuk Alexander
Leko Peter ½-½ Karjakin Sergey
Mamedyarov Shak. ½-½ Akopian Vladimir
Round 5: Sunday, April 19, 2009
Akopian Vladimir 1-0 Kamsky Gata
Karjakin Sergey ½-½ Mamedyarov Shak.
Grischuk Alexander ½-½ Leko Peter
Alekseev Evgeny ½-½ Aronian Levon
Ivanchuk Vassily 0-1 Kasimdzhanov Rus.
Bacrot Etienne ½-½ Eljanov Pavel
Svidler Peter ½-½ Gelfand Boris
Round 6: Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Kamsky Gata ½-½ Gelfand Boris
Eljanov Pavel 0-1 Svidler Peter
Kasimdzhanov Rus. ½-½ Bacrot Etienne
Aronian Levon 1-0 Ivanchuk Vassily
Leko Peter ½-½ Alekseev Evgeny
Mamedyarov Shak. 1-0 Grischuk Alexander
Akopian Vladimir 1-0 Karjakin Sergey
Round 7: Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Karjakin Sergey 1-0 Kamsky Gata
Grischuk Alexander ½-½ Akopian Vladimir
Alekseev Evgeny ½-½ Mamedyarov Shak.
Ivanchuk Vassily ½-½ Leko Peter
Bacrot Etienne ½-½ Aronian Levon
Svidler Peter ½-½ Kasimdzhanov Rus.
Gelfand Boris 0-1 Eljanov Pavel
Round 8: Thursday, April 23, 2009
Kamsky Gata 0-1 Eljanov Pavel
Kasimdzhanov Rus. 0-1 Gelfand Boris
Aronian Levon ½-½ Svidler Peter
Leko Peter ½-½ Bacrot Etienne
Mamedyarov Shak. ½-½ Ivanchuk Vassily
Akopian Vladimir ½-½ Alekseev Evgeny
Karjakin Sergey ½-½ Grischuk Alexander
Round 9: Friday, April 24, 2009
Grischuk Alexander 0-1 Kamsky Gata
Alekseev Evgeny 1-0 Karjakin Sergey
Ivanchuk Vassily ½-½ Akopian Vladimir
Bacrot Etienne 1-0 Mamedyarov Shak.
Svidler Peter ½-½ Leko Peter
Gelfand Boris ½-½ Aronian Levon
Eljanov Pavel ½-½ Kasimdzhanov Rus.
Round 10: Sunday, April 26, 2009
Kamsky Gata ½-½ Kasimdzhanov Rus.
Aronian Levon 1-0 Eljanov Pavel
Leko Peter 1-0 Gelfand Boris
Mamedyarov Shak. 1-0 Svidler Peter
Akopian Vladimir 1-0 Bacrot Etienne
Karjakin Sergey ½-½ Ivanchuk Vassily
Grischuk Alexander 1-0 Alekseev Evgeny
Round 11: Monday, April 27, 2009
Alekseev Evgeny ½-½ Kamsky Gata
Ivanchuk Vassily 1-0 Grischuk Alexander
Bacrot Etienne 1-0 Karjakin Sergey
Svidler Peter ½-½ Akopian Vladimir
Gelfand Boris 1-0 Mamedyarov Shak.
Eljanov Pavel ½-½ Leko Peter
Kasimdzhanov Rus. ½-½ Aronian Levon
Round 12: Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Kamsky Gata ½-½ Aronian Levon
Leko Peter 1-0 Kasimdzhanov Rus.
Mamedyarov Shak. ½-½ Eljanov Pavel
Akopian Vladimir ½-½ Gelfand Boris
Karjakin Sergey 1-0 Svidler Peter
Grischuk Alexander 1-0 Bacrot Etienne
Alekseev Evgeny ½-½ Ivanchuk Vassily
Round 13: Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Ivanchuk Vassily ½-½ Kamsky Gata
Bacrot Etienne 1-0 Alekseev Evgeny
Svidler Peter ½-½ Grischuk Alexander
Gelfand Boris 1-0 Karjakin Sergey
Eljanov Pavel 0-1 Akopian Vladimir
Kasimdzhanov Rus. ½-½ Mamedyarov Shak.
Aronian Levon 1-0 Leko Peter
FIDE Grand Prix Nalchik 2009 – Schedule and results
Round 1: Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Leko Peter ½-½ Kamsky Gata
Mamedyarov Shak. 0-1 Aronian Levon
Akopian Vladimir ½-½ Kasimdzhanov Rus.
Karjakin Sergey ½-½ Eljanov Pavel
Grischuk Alexander 1-0 Gelfand Boris
Alekseev Evgeny ½-½ Svidler Peter
Ivanchuk Vassily ½-½ Bacrot Etienne
Round 2: Thursday, April 16, 2009
Kamsky Gata ½-½ Bacrot Etienne
Svidler Peter 1-0 Ivanchuk Vassily
Gelfand Boris ½-½ Alekseev Evgeny
Eljanov Pavel ½-½ Grischuk Alexander
Kasimdzhanov Rus. ½-½ Karjakin Sergey
Aronian Levon 1-0- Akopian Vladimir
Leko Peter ½-½ Mamedyarov Shak.
Round 3: Friday, April 17, 2009
Mamedyarov Shak. ½-½ Kamsky Gata
Akopian Vladimir 0-1 Leko Peter
Karjakin Sergey 1-0 Aronian Levon
Grischuk Alexander 1-0 Kasimdzhanov Rus.
Alekseev Evgeny 1-0 Eljanov Pavel
Ivanchuk Vassily ½-½ Gelfand Boris
Bacrot Etienne ½-½ Svidler Peter
Round 4: Saturday, April 18, 2009
Kamsky Gata 1-0 Svidler Peter
Gelfand Boris ½-½ Bacrot Etienne
Eljanov Pavel ½-½ Ivanchuk Vassily
Kasimdzhanov Rus. ½-½ Alekseev Evgeny
Aronian Levon ½-½ Grischuk Alexander
Leko Peter ½-½ Karjakin Sergey
Mamedyarov Shak. ½-½ Akopian Vladimir
Round 5: Sunday, April 19, 2009
Akopian Vladimir 1-0 Kamsky Gata
Karjakin Sergey ½-½ Mamedyarov Shak.
Grischuk Alexander ½-½ Leko Peter
Alekseev Evgeny ½-½ Aronian Levon
Ivanchuk Vassily 0-1 Kasimdzhanov Rus.
Bacrot Etienne ½-½ Eljanov Pavel
Svidler Peter ½-½ Gelfand Boris
Round 6: Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Kamsky Gata ½-½ Gelfand Boris
Eljanov Pavel 0-1 Svidler Peter
Kasimdzhanov Rus. ½-½ Bacrot Etienne
Aronian Levon 1-0 Ivanchuk Vassily
Leko Peter ½-½ Alekseev Evgeny
Mamedyarov Shak. 1-0 Grischuk Alexander
Akopian Vladimir 1-0 Karjakin Sergey
Round 7: Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Karjakin Sergey 1-0 Kamsky Gata
Grischuk Alexander ½-½ Akopian Vladimir
Alekseev Evgeny ½-½ Mamedyarov Shak.
Ivanchuk Vassily ½-½ Leko Peter
Bacrot Etienne ½-½ Aronian Levon
Svidler Peter ½-½ Kasimdzhanov Rus.
Gelfand Boris 0-1 Eljanov Pavel
Round 8: Thursday, April 23, 2009
Kamsky Gata 0-1 Eljanov Pavel
Kasimdzhanov Rus. 0-1 Gelfand Boris
Aronian Levon ½-½ Svidler Peter
Leko Peter ½-½ Bacrot Etienne
Mamedyarov Shak. ½-½ Ivanchuk Vassily
Akopian Vladimir ½-½ Alekseev Evgeny
Karjakin Sergey ½-½ Grischuk Alexander
Round 9: Friday, April 24, 2009
Grischuk Alexander 0-1 Kamsky Gata
Alekseev Evgeny 1-0 Karjakin Sergey
Ivanchuk Vassily ½-½ Akopian Vladimir
Bacrot Etienne 1-0 Mamedyarov Shak.
Svidler Peter ½-½ Leko Peter
Gelfand Boris ½-½ Aronian Levon
Eljanov Pavel ½-½ Kasimdzhanov Rus.
Round 10: Sunday, April 26, 2009
Kamsky Gata ½-½ Kasimdzhanov Rus.
Aronian Levon 1-0 Eljanov Pavel
Leko Peter 1-0 Gelfand Boris
Mamedyarov Shak. 1-0 Svidler Peter
Akopian Vladimir 1-0 Bacrot Etienne
Karjakin Sergey ½-½ Ivanchuk Vassily
Grischuk Alexander 1-0 Alekseev Evgeny
Round 11: Monday, April 27, 2009
Alekseev Evgeny ½-½ Kamsky Gata
Ivanchuk Vassily 1-0 Grischuk Alexander
Bacrot Etienne 1-0 Karjakin Sergey
Svidler Peter ½-½ Akopian Vladimir
Gelfand Boris 1-0 Mamedyarov Shak.
Eljanov Pavel ½-½ Leko Peter
Kasimdzhanov Rus. ½-½ Aronian Levon
Round 12: Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Kamsky Gata ½-½ Aronian Levon
Leko Peter 1-0 Kasimdzhanov Rus.
Mamedyarov Shak. ½-½ Eljanov Pavel
Akopian Vladimir ½-½ Gelfand Boris
Karjakin Sergey 1-0 Svidler Peter
Grischuk Alexander 1-0 Bacrot Etienne
Alekseev Evgeny ½-½ Ivanchuk Vassily
Round 13: Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Ivanchuk Vassily ½-½ Kamsky Gata
Bacrot Etienne 1-0 Alekseev Evgeny
Svidler Peter ½-½ Grischuk Alexander
Gelfand Boris 1-0 Karjakin Sergey
Eljanov Pavel 0-1 Akopian Vladimir
Kasimdzhanov Rus. ½-½ Mamedyarov Shak.
Aronian Levon 1-0 Leko Peter
Friday, February 20, 2009
Linares R1: Anand defeats Radjabov in 61-move struggle
XXVI Linares 2009
This year the Linares 2009 tournament is being staged only in Spain – in the previous three years the first half was in Morelia, Mexico, and next year the first half will probably be in the Arab Emirates. The 2009 event goes from February 1th to March 7th, with three rest days. The prize fund is 314,000 Euros, with the winner getting 100,000 Euros, followed by 75,000 and 50,000 Euros for second and third place. There are no appearance fees for the players, so the motivation to fight for points may be unusually high. The venue is el Teatro Cervantes de Linares, the starting time of the games is 16:00h (4 p.m.) Spanish/European time. The participants are:
Player Nation rating w-rank
Viswanathan Anand India 2791 2
Vassily Ivanchuk Ukraine 2779 3
Magnus Carlsen Norway 2776 4
Teimour Radjabov Azerbaijan 2761 6
Levon Aronian Armenia 2750 11
Wang Yue China 2739 13
Alexander Grischuk Russia 2733 14
Leinier Dominguez Cuba 2717 23
Average rating: 2755 – Category 21
Round one report
Round 1: Thursday, 19 February 2009
Vishy Anand 1-0 Teimour Radjabov
Levon Aronian ½-½ Magnus Carlsen
Lenier Domínguez ½-½ Alexander Grischuk
Yue Wang ½-½ Vassily Ivanchuk
Games - Report
Official tournament site
This year the Linares 2009 tournament is being staged only in Spain – in the previous three years the first half was in Morelia, Mexico, and next year the first half will probably be in the Arab Emirates. The 2009 event goes from February 1th to March 7th, with three rest days. The prize fund is 314,000 Euros, with the winner getting 100,000 Euros, followed by 75,000 and 50,000 Euros for second and third place. There are no appearance fees for the players, so the motivation to fight for points may be unusually high. The venue is el Teatro Cervantes de Linares, the starting time of the games is 16:00h (4 p.m.) Spanish/European time. The participants are:
Player Nation rating w-rank
Viswanathan Anand India 2791 2
Vassily Ivanchuk Ukraine 2779 3
Magnus Carlsen Norway 2776 4
Teimour Radjabov Azerbaijan 2761 6
Levon Aronian Armenia 2750 11
Wang Yue China 2739 13
Alexander Grischuk Russia 2733 14
Leinier Dominguez Cuba 2717 23
Average rating: 2755 – Category 21
Round one report
Round 1: Thursday, 19 February 2009
Vishy Anand 1-0 Teimour Radjabov
Levon Aronian ½-½ Magnus Carlsen
Lenier Domínguez ½-½ Alexander Grischuk
Yue Wang ½-½ Vassily Ivanchuk
Games - Report
Official tournament site
Sofia R2: Topalov draws first blood, wins with black
18.02.2009 – In a Ruy Lopez Berlin Defence Veselin Topalov surprised his opponent on move five – at least it set Gata Kamsky, USA, thinking for a protracted period of time. Starting around move 15 the Bulgarian took over the initiative and tore into the opponent's defences with super-accurate moves. Thursday is a free day. We bring you game two with annotations by GM Mihail Marin
The Kamsky-Topalov FIDE World Championship Qualifier is taking place from February 16th to 28th in the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Bulgaria. The Match consists of eight games and if necessary tie-breaks. It has a prize find of US $250,000 which will be shared equally by the players. The winner qualifies for a World Championship Match against Viswanathan Anand, scheduled for later this year.
Round two report
Kamsky,G (2725) - Topalov,V (2796) [C65]
World Chess Challenge Sofia BUL (2), 18.02.2009 [Mihail Marin]
1.e4 e5. Experience may have taught Topalov that his peak of form usually arises in the second part of important matches and tournaments. During his unlucky match against Kramnik, he did not seem to take this detail into account and went for sharp and uncompromising fight from the very first game. As a result, he suffered two defeats instead of what could otherwise have become two of his best games ever. His opening choice in the second game against Kamsky looks more cautious. Instead of his beloved Sicilian, he chose the solid Ruy Lopez. Will it be a boring Berlin Variation?! 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Bc5!?
A big surprise on the 4th move already! Topalov had developed the bishop to c5 before, but only as an answer to 4.d3. 5.Nxe5. Kamsky decides to set up forced play from an early stage of the game, instead of the strategically more constructive 5.c3 followed by d4. 5...Nxe4 6.Qe2 Nxe5 7.d4 Qe7. The previous sequence of moves looks completely chaotic, but has been played before. White will retrieve the temporarily sacrificed piece, but he aims to do it in the best form. 8.dxc5. 8.Qxe4 allows Black maintain the material equality with 8...Nc6. 8...Nxc5 9.Nc3
White has excellent compensation for the sacrificed pawn. He is far ahead in development and has an active pair of bishops. The only thing that will not be compensated in any way is the slowness with which Kamsky effectuated his moves and which inevitably led him to a hopeless time-trouble. Until this moment, Topalov had spent only a minute, but after White's last move he started thinking longer. 9...Ng6 10.Qh5 c6 11.Bg5 f6 12.Rae1 Ne6 13.Bd3 0-0 14.Bd2
Over the past few moves, White has considerable activated his pieces. Black mainly relies on his lack of weaknesses, which offers him chances to resist. 14...d5! This is the only move that keeps Black in the game. Since his main problem is the delay in development, he needs to open the h3-c8 immediately. In case of 14...Qf7, aiming to meet f2-f4 with f6-f5, White would consolidate his lead in development with 15.Ne4 when the occupation of the d6-square would leave Black paralyzed after, for instance 15...Ne5 (The exchange of queens with 15...Ngf4 16.Qxf7+ Rxf7 would not bring the desired relief after 17.Bxf4 Nxf4 18.Nd6 Nxd3 19.cxd3 Rf8 20.Re7 and Black is in trouble.) 16.Qh3 Nxd3 17.Nd6! An important intermediate move. 17...Nef4 18.Bxf4 Nxf4 19.Qg4 followed by Qxf4 with a clear advantage for White. 15.f4 Qc5+! This move repells White's attack and leads to the simplification of the position. At this height of the game, Kamsky had about eight minutes left on his clock. Quite a difficult situation... 16.Kh1?! After this over-cautious move White will find himself struggling. 16.Be3 was necessary, taking the d4-square under control, for instance 16...d4 17.Bxg6 hxg6 (Black should go for the opposite coloured bishops. In case of 17...Qxh5 18.Bxh5 dxe3 19.Rxe3 White retains a small edge.) 18.Qxc5 Nxc5 19.Bxd4 Ne6 . Black should not have problems completing his development and gradually equalizing. 16...d4 17.Bf5
With little time on his clock, Kamsky may have overrated the effects of this move, which threatens to win the queen with Bxe6. 17...Rf7?! This move deserves being criticized only because there was an even better one: 17...Nexf4! 18.Rxf4 (18.Bxf4 allows 18...Qxf5) 18...dxc3 Black will emerge a pawn up, because 19.Be6+? does not work in view of 19...Bxe6 20.Qxc5 cxd2 with a decisive material advantage. 18.Ne4 Qd5 19.Bxg6 hxg6 20.Qxd5 cxd5 21.Nd6
It may seem that White is on the top again. After the "obvious" 21...Re7, defending the knight, White maintains strong initiative with 22.Bb4. 21...Rc7!! A fantastic move, starting a powerful counterplay. 22.c4? This is premature panicking with less than 3 minutes left. He should have accepted the sacrifice with 22.Nxc8 Raxc8 23.Rxe6 , although after 23...Rxc2 Black has sufficient material compensation and strong initiative for the bishop. Another important aspect is that the black king is safer than his colleague. White's position looks dangerous, but he would have remained in the game. 22...dxc3 23.Bxc3 d4
Everything is over now. Kamsky is a clear pawn down and had practically no time left on his clock. 24.Bb4 Bd7 25.Rf2 a5 26.Ba3 b5 27.b3 b4 28.Bb2 Ra6 29.Ne4 Rac6 30.Kg1 Rc2 31.g3 d3 32.Rd1 f5. A tragic game for Kamsky, but quite interesting to follow from the spectators' point of view. 0-1. [Click to replay]
Standings
Nat. Rtng. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Tot.
Kamsky, Gata USA 2725 ½ 0 0.5
Topalov, Veselin BUL 2796 ½ 1 1.5
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Schedule
Monday February 16: 18:00h Opening
Tuesday February 17: 15:00h Game 1 Topalov-Kamsky ½-½
Wednesday February 18: 15:00h Game 2 Kamsky-Topalov 0-1
Thursday February 19 Rest day
Friday February 20: 15:00h Game 3
Saturday February 21: 15:00h Game 4
Sunday February 22 Rest day
Monday
February 23: 15:00h Game 5
Tuesday February 24: 15:00h Game 6
Wednesday February 25 Rest day
Thursday February 26: 15:00h Game 7
Friday February 27: 15:00h Game 8
Saturday February 28 Tiebreaks
Official tournament site
The Kamsky-Topalov FIDE World Championship Qualifier is taking place from February 16th to 28th in the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Bulgaria. The Match consists of eight games and if necessary tie-breaks. It has a prize find of US $250,000 which will be shared equally by the players. The winner qualifies for a World Championship Match against Viswanathan Anand, scheduled for later this year.
Round two report
Kamsky,G (2725) - Topalov,V (2796) [C65]
World Chess Challenge Sofia BUL (2), 18.02.2009 [Mihail Marin]
1.e4 e5. Experience may have taught Topalov that his peak of form usually arises in the second part of important matches and tournaments. During his unlucky match against Kramnik, he did not seem to take this detail into account and went for sharp and uncompromising fight from the very first game. As a result, he suffered two defeats instead of what could otherwise have become two of his best games ever. His opening choice in the second game against Kamsky looks more cautious. Instead of his beloved Sicilian, he chose the solid Ruy Lopez. Will it be a boring Berlin Variation?! 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Bc5!?
A big surprise on the 4th move already! Topalov had developed the bishop to c5 before, but only as an answer to 4.d3. 5.Nxe5. Kamsky decides to set up forced play from an early stage of the game, instead of the strategically more constructive 5.c3 followed by d4. 5...Nxe4 6.Qe2 Nxe5 7.d4 Qe7. The previous sequence of moves looks completely chaotic, but has been played before. White will retrieve the temporarily sacrificed piece, but he aims to do it in the best form. 8.dxc5. 8.Qxe4 allows Black maintain the material equality with 8...Nc6. 8...Nxc5 9.Nc3
White has excellent compensation for the sacrificed pawn. He is far ahead in development and has an active pair of bishops. The only thing that will not be compensated in any way is the slowness with which Kamsky effectuated his moves and which inevitably led him to a hopeless time-trouble. Until this moment, Topalov had spent only a minute, but after White's last move he started thinking longer. 9...Ng6 10.Qh5 c6 11.Bg5 f6 12.Rae1 Ne6 13.Bd3 0-0 14.Bd2
Over the past few moves, White has considerable activated his pieces. Black mainly relies on his lack of weaknesses, which offers him chances to resist. 14...d5! This is the only move that keeps Black in the game. Since his main problem is the delay in development, he needs to open the h3-c8 immediately. In case of 14...Qf7, aiming to meet f2-f4 with f6-f5, White would consolidate his lead in development with 15.Ne4 when the occupation of the d6-square would leave Black paralyzed after, for instance 15...Ne5 (The exchange of queens with 15...Ngf4 16.Qxf7+ Rxf7 would not bring the desired relief after 17.Bxf4 Nxf4 18.Nd6 Nxd3 19.cxd3 Rf8 20.Re7 and Black is in trouble.) 16.Qh3 Nxd3 17.Nd6! An important intermediate move. 17...Nef4 18.Bxf4 Nxf4 19.Qg4 followed by Qxf4 with a clear advantage for White. 15.f4 Qc5+! This move repells White's attack and leads to the simplification of the position. At this height of the game, Kamsky had about eight minutes left on his clock. Quite a difficult situation... 16.Kh1?! After this over-cautious move White will find himself struggling. 16.Be3 was necessary, taking the d4-square under control, for instance 16...d4 17.Bxg6 hxg6 (Black should go for the opposite coloured bishops. In case of 17...Qxh5 18.Bxh5 dxe3 19.Rxe3 White retains a small edge.) 18.Qxc5 Nxc5 19.Bxd4 Ne6 . Black should not have problems completing his development and gradually equalizing. 16...d4 17.Bf5
With little time on his clock, Kamsky may have overrated the effects of this move, which threatens to win the queen with Bxe6. 17...Rf7?! This move deserves being criticized only because there was an even better one: 17...Nexf4! 18.Rxf4 (18.Bxf4 allows 18...Qxf5) 18...dxc3 Black will emerge a pawn up, because 19.Be6+? does not work in view of 19...Bxe6 20.Qxc5 cxd2 with a decisive material advantage. 18.Ne4 Qd5 19.Bxg6 hxg6 20.Qxd5 cxd5 21.Nd6
It may seem that White is on the top again. After the "obvious" 21...Re7, defending the knight, White maintains strong initiative with 22.Bb4. 21...Rc7!! A fantastic move, starting a powerful counterplay. 22.c4? This is premature panicking with less than 3 minutes left. He should have accepted the sacrifice with 22.Nxc8 Raxc8 23.Rxe6 , although after 23...Rxc2 Black has sufficient material compensation and strong initiative for the bishop. Another important aspect is that the black king is safer than his colleague. White's position looks dangerous, but he would have remained in the game. 22...dxc3 23.Bxc3 d4
Everything is over now. Kamsky is a clear pawn down and had practically no time left on his clock. 24.Bb4 Bd7 25.Rf2 a5 26.Ba3 b5 27.b3 b4 28.Bb2 Ra6 29.Ne4 Rac6 30.Kg1 Rc2 31.g3 d3 32.Rd1 f5. A tragic game for Kamsky, but quite interesting to follow from the spectators' point of view. 0-1. [Click to replay]
Standings
Nat. Rtng. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Tot.
Kamsky, Gata USA 2725 ½ 0 0.5
Topalov, Veselin BUL 2796 ½ 1 1.5
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Schedule
Monday February 16: 18:00h Opening
Tuesday February 17: 15:00h Game 1 Topalov-Kamsky ½-½
Wednesday February 18: 15:00h Game 2 Kamsky-Topalov 0-1
Thursday February 19 Rest day
Friday February 20: 15:00h Game 3
Saturday February 21: 15:00h Game 4
Sunday February 22 Rest day
Monday
February 23: 15:00h Game 5
Tuesday February 24: 15:00h Game 6
Wednesday February 25 Rest day
Thursday February 26: 15:00h Game 7
Friday February 27: 15:00h Game 8
Saturday February 28 Tiebreaks
Official tournament site
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Wijk R01: Top seeds Ivanchuk, Morozevich falter
17.01.2009 – Vassily Ivanchuk will be howling at the moon tonight. In an essentially drawn position, one move before the time control, the top seed in the A-Group overstepped and handed the point over to a pleasantly surprised Jan Smeets. Third seed Alexander Morozevich was taken to the cleaners by the former boy prodigy Sergey Karjakin. We bring you pictures, games and comments.
Results of round one
Group A: Round 1 - Sat. Jan. 17th
Daniël Stellwagen - Sergei Movsesian
1/2
Magnus Carlsen - Teymour Radjabov
1/2
Levon Aronian - Wang Yue
1/2
Vassily Ivanchuk - Jan Smeets
0-1
Sergei Karjakin - Alexender Morozevich
1-0
Loek van Wely - Leinier Dominguez
1/2
Gata Kamsky - Michael Adams
1/2
Group B: Round 1 - Sat. Jan. 17th
Hou Yifan - Rustam Kasimdzhanov
0-1
Krishnan Sasikiran - Erwin l'Ami
1/2
Dimitri Reinderman - Francisco Vallejo
0-1
Nigel Short - Jan Werle
1/2
Andrei Volokitin - Fabiano Caruana
1/2
Henrique Mecking - Zahar Efimenko
0-1
Alexander Motylev - David Navara
0-1
Group C: Round 1 - Sat. Jan. 17th
T. Hillarp Persson - Roeland Pruijssers
1/2
David Howell - Manuel Bosboom
0-1
Friso Nijboer - Wesley So
0-1
Oleg Romanishin - Ali Bitalzadeh
1-0
Anish Giri - Frank Holzke
1/2
Abhijeet Gupta - Dronavalli Harika
0-1
Eduardo Iturrizaga - M. Leon Hoyos
1-0
Official web site
Results of round one
Group A: Round 1 - Sat. Jan. 17th
Daniël Stellwagen - Sergei Movsesian
1/2
Magnus Carlsen - Teymour Radjabov
1/2
Levon Aronian - Wang Yue
1/2
Vassily Ivanchuk - Jan Smeets
0-1
Sergei Karjakin - Alexender Morozevich
1-0
Loek van Wely - Leinier Dominguez
1/2
Gata Kamsky - Michael Adams
1/2
Group B: Round 1 - Sat. Jan. 17th
Hou Yifan - Rustam Kasimdzhanov
0-1
Krishnan Sasikiran - Erwin l'Ami
1/2
Dimitri Reinderman - Francisco Vallejo
0-1
Nigel Short - Jan Werle
1/2
Andrei Volokitin - Fabiano Caruana
1/2
Henrique Mecking - Zahar Efimenko
0-1
Alexander Motylev - David Navara
0-1
Group C: Round 1 - Sat. Jan. 17th
T. Hillarp Persson - Roeland Pruijssers
1/2
David Howell - Manuel Bosboom
0-1
Friso Nijboer - Wesley So
0-1
Oleg Romanishin - Ali Bitalzadeh
1-0
Anish Giri - Frank Holzke
1/2
Abhijeet Gupta - Dronavalli Harika
0-1
Eduardo Iturrizaga - M. Leon Hoyos
1-0
Official web site
Monday, January 5, 2009
GM Antonio posts 8th US win
Filipino grandmaster Rogelio “Joey” Antonio posted his eighth victory in the US chess circuit as he emerged as the overall champion in the recently concluded 2008 Los Angeles Chess Club Open Chess Championships at the Santa Monica Boulevard.
According to BilliardPhilippines.com, Antonio scored a total of 4.5 points in five outings in the event organized by US Chess Federation Life Senior Master and Chess Instructor Mick Bighamian.
Antonio bested competitors Ronald Morris, International Master Emory Tate, William Pennucci and RP and US Chess Master Almario Marlon Bernardino Jr., who is also a sportswriter for BilliardPhilippines.com.
Tate settled for second place (4 points) while Berandino scored third place (3 points).
The win served as Antonio’s “rebound” after he suffered a setback at the 2008 North American Open Chess Championships last December 29 at the Bally’s Casino Resort and Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Antonio failed to convert the winning position against his match to fellow GM Yury Shulman in the penultimate round.
According to BilliardPhilippines.com, Antonio scored a total of 4.5 points in five outings in the event organized by US Chess Federation Life Senior Master and Chess Instructor Mick Bighamian.
Antonio bested competitors Ronald Morris, International Master Emory Tate, William Pennucci and RP and US Chess Master Almario Marlon Bernardino Jr., who is also a sportswriter for BilliardPhilippines.com.
Tate settled for second place (4 points) while Berandino scored third place (3 points).
The win served as Antonio’s “rebound” after he suffered a setback at the 2008 North American Open Chess Championships last December 29 at the Bally’s Casino Resort and Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Antonio failed to convert the winning position against his match to fellow GM Yury Shulman in the penultimate round.
Carlsen and Svidler qualify for final in Gjøvik
Chess Festival in Gjøvik, Norway
The Aker Chess Challenge is being played in the main auditorium of Gjøvik cinema, under the same roof as Thon Hotel, where Simen Agdestein in 1991 played a 2-2 drawn match with classic time controls against the long reigning world champion Anatolij Karpov.
The event consists of a double-round robin tournament, followed by a bronze final and a final. That is a total of eight rounds, plus if necessary sudden death blitz games. Time controls are 25 minutes per game, with 5 seconds increment per move. The games have a running commentary for spectators in an adjoining auditorium, and are also being transmitted live on Playchess and by the official web site (link below).
Results of rounds 5 + 6 (and tiebreaks)
Round 5: Sunday, January 4th 2009, 14:20h
Magnus Carlsen 1-0 Peter Svidler
Kjetil Lie 0-1 Hikaru Nakamura
Round 6: Sunday, January 4th 2009, 15:40h
Peter Svidler 1-0 Kjetil Lie
Hikaru Nakamura ½-½ Magnus Carlsen
The GM Swiss Tournament in Gjøvik
A strong and challenging tournament with many grandmasters, at least six above 2600, is taking place as part of the Chess Festival in Gjøvik. It offers good opportunities for title norms of all types. The tournament was open for players with GM-, IM-, WGM-, WIM-, FM- or WFM-titles, and anyone else with an official FIDE rating of at least 2100 at registration. A limited number of players with rating below 2100 were included. The tournament is being played at the Thon Hotel Gjøvik.
The event is a nine round Swiss, one round a day except at the free day Saturday January 3rd, when it was possible to participate in the Open Norwegian Rapid-chess Championship. Time limits: 40 moves in two hours, then 20 moves in one hour, and finally 30 minutes for the rest of the game (total seven hours). Money prizes: numbers 1-15 get Euro 2000, 1500, 1000, 800, 600, 400, 300, 250, 200, 175, 150, 140, 130, 120, 100, plus 250 Euro to the best female player, to the best player with rating 2200-2299 and the best player with rating under 2200. In total 8615 Euro.
Standings after six rounds
# Player rating points seed performance
1 GM Sergei Tiviakov 2686 4.5 1 2625 (-3.30)
2 GM Vadim Malakhatko 2633 4.5 3 2642 (+1.40)
3 GM Oleg Korneev 2623 4.5 4 2500 (-6.70)
4 GM Geetha.N. Gopal 2548 4.5 8 2642 (+8.40)
5 GM Nick E De Firmian 2545 4.5 9 2635 (+8.30)
6 FM Kjetil Stokke 2334 4.5 22 2423 (+10.95)
7 GM Boris Savchenko 2648 4.0 2 2694 (+3.20)
8 GM Mateusz Bartel 2602 4.0 6 2553 (-2.00)
9 GM Kaido Kulaots 2556 4.0 7 2643 (+6.30)
10 GM Aloyzas Kveinys 2533 4.0 10 2614 (+6.30)
11 IM Jon Ludvig Hammer 2522 4.0 11 2532 (+3.00)
12 IM Anna Zozulia 2380 4.0 17 2334 (-3.60)
13 Nijat Azad Abasov 2363 4.0 18 2419 (+6.45)
14 WGM Zeinab Mamedjarova 2351 4.0 19 2379 (+4.50)
15 WIM Katarzyna Toma 2230 4.0 28 2220 (-1.05)
16 GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili 2615 3.5 5 2512 (-4.90)
17 IM Frode Elsness 2440 3.5 12 2427 (+0.60)
18 IM Sasha Kaplan 2425 3.5 13 2338 (-5.40)
19 IM Maxim L Devereaux 2415 3.5 14 2410 (+0.50)
20 IM Israel Caspi 2408 3.5 15 2350 (-2.30)
21 IM Eirik Gullaksen 2400 3.5 16 2376 (-1.05)
22 Daniel Jakobsen Kovachev 2227 3.5 29 2284 (+7.35)
23 Lasse Østebø Løvik 2167 3.5 41 2320 (+17.85)
24 Jon Kristian Haarr 2057 3.5 58 2325 (+30.75)
Official tournament site
The Aker Chess Challenge is being played in the main auditorium of Gjøvik cinema, under the same roof as Thon Hotel, where Simen Agdestein in 1991 played a 2-2 drawn match with classic time controls against the long reigning world champion Anatolij Karpov.
The event consists of a double-round robin tournament, followed by a bronze final and a final. That is a total of eight rounds, plus if necessary sudden death blitz games. Time controls are 25 minutes per game, with 5 seconds increment per move. The games have a running commentary for spectators in an adjoining auditorium, and are also being transmitted live on Playchess and by the official web site (link below).
Results of rounds 5 + 6 (and tiebreaks)
Round 5: Sunday, January 4th 2009, 14:20h
Magnus Carlsen 1-0 Peter Svidler
Kjetil Lie 0-1 Hikaru Nakamura
Round 6: Sunday, January 4th 2009, 15:40h
Peter Svidler 1-0 Kjetil Lie
Hikaru Nakamura ½-½ Magnus Carlsen
The GM Swiss Tournament in Gjøvik
A strong and challenging tournament with many grandmasters, at least six above 2600, is taking place as part of the Chess Festival in Gjøvik. It offers good opportunities for title norms of all types. The tournament was open for players with GM-, IM-, WGM-, WIM-, FM- or WFM-titles, and anyone else with an official FIDE rating of at least 2100 at registration. A limited number of players with rating below 2100 were included. The tournament is being played at the Thon Hotel Gjøvik.
The event is a nine round Swiss, one round a day except at the free day Saturday January 3rd, when it was possible to participate in the Open Norwegian Rapid-chess Championship. Time limits: 40 moves in two hours, then 20 moves in one hour, and finally 30 minutes for the rest of the game (total seven hours). Money prizes: numbers 1-15 get Euro 2000, 1500, 1000, 800, 600, 400, 300, 250, 200, 175, 150, 140, 130, 120, 100, plus 250 Euro to the best female player, to the best player with rating 2200-2299 and the best player with rating under 2200. In total 8615 Euro.
Standings after six rounds
# Player rating points seed performance
1 GM Sergei Tiviakov 2686 4.5 1 2625 (-3.30)
2 GM Vadim Malakhatko 2633 4.5 3 2642 (+1.40)
3 GM Oleg Korneev 2623 4.5 4 2500 (-6.70)
4 GM Geetha.N. Gopal 2548 4.5 8 2642 (+8.40)
5 GM Nick E De Firmian 2545 4.5 9 2635 (+8.30)
6 FM Kjetil Stokke 2334 4.5 22 2423 (+10.95)
7 GM Boris Savchenko 2648 4.0 2 2694 (+3.20)
8 GM Mateusz Bartel 2602 4.0 6 2553 (-2.00)
9 GM Kaido Kulaots 2556 4.0 7 2643 (+6.30)
10 GM Aloyzas Kveinys 2533 4.0 10 2614 (+6.30)
11 IM Jon Ludvig Hammer 2522 4.0 11 2532 (+3.00)
12 IM Anna Zozulia 2380 4.0 17 2334 (-3.60)
13 Nijat Azad Abasov 2363 4.0 18 2419 (+6.45)
14 WGM Zeinab Mamedjarova 2351 4.0 19 2379 (+4.50)
15 WIM Katarzyna Toma 2230 4.0 28 2220 (-1.05)
16 GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili 2615 3.5 5 2512 (-4.90)
17 IM Frode Elsness 2440 3.5 12 2427 (+0.60)
18 IM Sasha Kaplan 2425 3.5 13 2338 (-5.40)
19 IM Maxim L Devereaux 2415 3.5 14 2410 (+0.50)
20 IM Israel Caspi 2408 3.5 15 2350 (-2.30)
21 IM Eirik Gullaksen 2400 3.5 16 2376 (-1.05)
22 Daniel Jakobsen Kovachev 2227 3.5 29 2284 (+7.35)
23 Lasse Østebø Løvik 2167 3.5 41 2320 (+17.85)
24 Jon Kristian Haarr 2057 3.5 58 2325 (+30.75)
Official tournament site
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