 | WORLD CHESS NEWS: |  |
| What Bobby Fischer lost -- 15-Jun-08 Bobby Fischer wrested the title of World Chess Champion from Boris Spassky in 1972 at age 29, but his refusal to defend it against Anatoly Karpov in 1975 was disastrous. Most fans expected him to win and wondered if he was crazy for spurning millions to play Karpov in a chess match. Everyone was disappointed. His chess colleagues were bitter because he did nothing to promote chess during his self-imposed exile in the California sun. A mathematician claimed that his demands against Karpov — 10 wins but he keeps the title on a 9-9 tie — gave his challenger a better break. A French playwright called our hero "a persecuted poet defending human dignity." And a psychiatrist ... |
| Carlsen's carve-up -- 13-Jun-08 The Norwegian chess wunderkind Magnus Carlsen is carving up another world class field at the Aerosvit chess tournament being staged in the Crimean resort of Foros. Carlsen took the lead in round three with a victory over Loek van Wely and maintained it in the fourth round by defeating Pavel Eljanov with black. Carlsen’s tournament rating performance climbed over 3000 and if he maintains this remarkable pace he may take the world number one spot. One of Carlsen’s most impressive results last year was holding Kramnik with black in the former world chess champion’s favourite Catalan Opening. Against Eljanov Carlsen equalised then outplayed the Ukrainian in an endgame with ... |
| Death mars opening -- 11-Jun-08 The opening of the Armenian Chess Giants at Yerevan was overshadowed by news of the tragic death of Karen Asrian, one the country's top chess Grandmasters, at the age of 28. The news was announced to the audience at the Yerevan Opera House by his teammate Smbat Lputian and a minute's silence was observed. Asrian was chess champion of Armenia three times, their number four ranked chess player and number 92 in the world rankings. Asrian was a member of the gold medal winning Armenian chess team at the 2006 Chess Olympiad in Turin. When play started there were wins for Alexander Morozevich over Boris Gelfand who hung his queen in ... |
| Carlsen bags a lion -- 10-Jun-08 When the 17 year old Norwegian chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen rose to fifth in the world rankings and shared first at Wijk aan Zee in January some speculated he might even claim the world number one spot in 2008. Carlsen is playing more chess than anyone else and is gaining rating points at nearly every chess event he plays. Hot foot from his victory over Peter Leko at Rapid Chess, Carlsen took first blood at the Aerosvit chess tournament at Foros in the Crimea by defeating the great Vasily Ivanchuk in round one. M Carlsen – V Ivanchuk; Aerosvit (1) Foros; King’s Indian Classical. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0–0 6.Be2 e5 7.0–0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.b4 (White's plan is to force ... |
| Adams in the fast lane -- 09-Jun-08 Michael Adams is in action at an elite Rapid Chess tournament, the Yerevan Chess Giants taking place in the Armenian capital. The England number one is in an eight player field that includes three of the world’s top 10 including the Armenian number one Levon Aronian and world number three Alexander Morozevich. The line up is: Alexander Morozevich, Russia, 2774; Levon Aronian, Armenia, 2763; Leko, Peter Hungary 2741; Michael Adams, England, 2729; Boris Gelfand, Israel, 2723; Bu Xiangzhi, China, 2708; Vladimir Akopian, Armenia, 2673; Gabriel Sargissian, Armenia, 2643. Another elite chess event is underway at the Ukrainian resort of Forose. The Aerosvit chess tournament, sponsored by ... |
| Rowson races back -- 08-Jun-08 Jonathan Rowson returned to form with a convincing victory at the Capo d’ Orso Open held at the Sardinian resort of Porto Mannu. Rowson scored an unbeaten 7.5/9 a full point clear of the field that included ten other chess Grandmasters. Rowson finished ahead of the Russian Oleg Korneev an Open tournament specialist who has won scores of such chess events and he crushed the Pan American champion Julio Granda Zuniga of Peru in their individual game given below. Rowson’s most difficult game was against Korneev with black but he chose to defend a slightly inferior position and the Russian could not break through. GM Stewart Haslinger was in the group on ... |
| Barden on chess -- 07-Jun-08 Nigel Short made a shrewd decision last week. The England No2 spurned the chance to return to Sarajevo, where he finished next to last in 2007, and instead opted for Bazna, Romania, and a chess tournament of grandmaster old-timers. Short, 43, was the second youngest in the chess event and the former world title challenger won first prize with 7/10. If he had gone to Sarajevo he would have come up against the world No3, Alex Morozevich, in unstoppable form. This week's polished game must have especially pleased Short. Back in 1980 as a 15-year-old he finished runner-up in the world junior (under-20) championship in Dortmund. The winner was Garry Kasparov, so ... |
| Short crowned king -- 06-Jun-08 Nigel Short was a convincing winner of the Tournament of Kings held at Bazna in Romania. The eleven player chess event comprised nine former world chess championship Candidates and two Romanian players. Some of the players could be regarded as veterans but all remain active in tournament play. Short was the highest rated chess player but more than justified his billing as he won four games, drew six and had won the tournament with a round to spare. We have already seen Short’s fine over Ulf Andersson but his best game by far was this victory over Andrei Sokolov which was reminiscent of Short at his best in the 1990s when no Sicilian player was ... |
| Sarajevo superman -- 05-Jun-08 Alexander Morozevich was a class apart at Sarajevo and has secured the first prize with a round to spare. The Russian GM who is ranked third in the chess world conceded just five draws on his was to 7.5/10 and gained nine rating points and closer to Vladimir Kramnik, ranked two. Only the Cuban Lenier Dominguez avoided defeat at Morozevich’s hands and the winner must have been doubly delighted as last year he played indifferently at Sarajevo, losing three games, one to Nigel Short, and scored just 50%. This time roles were reversed as Sergei Movsesian, the winner in 2007 had to be content with 5/10. L Dominguez - A Morozevich; Sarajevo (4); Sicilian Taimanov; 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 ... |
| Carlsen at the double -- 04-Jun-08 The 17 year old chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen ranked fifth in the world defeated former world title finalist Peter Leko 5-3 in a closely contested Rapid Chess match at Miskolc in Hungary. Carlsen won twice, once with white and once with black and six games were drawn although Leko came very close to winning a couple of games. Here is Carlsen’s first win. Black’s position is very solid but after Carlsen opens the g file Black becomes tied to the defence of g6 and when the play switches to the e file his forces lack the coordination to repel borders. M Carlsen – P Leko; Rapid Chess Match (4) Miskolc; Caro Kann; 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Ne5 (A rare move which limits Black bishop on ... |
| Sweet 16 for Ivanchuk -- 03-Jun-08 Vasily Ivanchuk’s wonderful form continued as he defeated the world chess champion Vishy Anand in just sixteenth moves in the fourth and decisive game of the final of the City of Leon Rapidplay chess tournament in Spain. Both chess players won with black, Ivanchuk in game one and Anand in game two. After many vicissitudes game three was drawn before Ivanchuk secured victory as follows Anand appears to either ignore or forget the theoretical continuation. Ivanchuk’s recent triumphs include: Carlos Torre Memorial Yucatan Mexico 2007; World Blitz Chess Moscow 2007; Montreal 2007; Pivdeny Bank Odessa 2007; Foros 2007; Capablanca Memorial Havana ... |
| The reign in Spain... -- 02-Jun-08 Vishy Anand needed a tie break to get past the Spanish GM Francisco Vallejo at the Leon Rapidplay chess challenge in Spain. After two draws the world chess champion won game three but was crushed in the game below as Vallejo levelled the score. Anand won the first tie break game with white and agreed a draw in a won position in game six. Anand will face Vasily Ivanchuk who overpowered Alexei Shirov by winning the first two games, both sharp Sicilian Defences. Games 3 and 4 were drawn. F Vallejo – V Anand; XXI Magistral Rapid SF (3) Leon; Caro Kann Advance Short Variation; 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 (This is Short’s idea, White concentrates on holding the centre and ... |
| Dragon with a twist -- 01-Jun-08 Peer Leko and Magnus Carlsen drew the first two games of their Rapid Chess match at Miskolc in Hungary. In the first of the eight games Carlsen employed the Sicilian Dragon but applied a modern twist with an unusual twelfth move. Typically for him, Leko avoided the sharpest line but will doubtless scrutinize it overnight. Game two was a non-game, just 18 moves, here is game one. P Leko – M Carlsen; Rapid Chess Match (1) Miskolc; Sicilian Dragon Yugoslav Attack 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 ... |
| Barden on chess -- 31-May-08 Nearly a decade after Gawain Jones and David Howell - now the UK's two youngest chess grandmasters - emerged, England has a new trio of schoolboy talents with real promise. This column has already reported on Yang-Fan Zhou. The Whitgift 13-year-old recently won the Coulsdon Premier with 8.5/9, gaining nearly 100 world rating points which will make him England's highest ranked under-18 after Howell in the July Fide list. Dulwich College's Samuel Franklin, 13, drew with a Russian GM at Cappelle, defeated GM Alex Cherniaev in the Surrey Open and won the imaginative game below against an IM in the UK league. White's Mikhail Tal-style 17 Nd5?! (17 Be3) is dubious but ... |
| Don't mention yogurt... -- 30-May-08 The Cold War chess rivals Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi face each other over the board again at the 4th Pivdenny Bank Chess Cup which begins tomorrow at National Academy of Law in Odessa, Ukraine. The tournament will be Rapid Chess and the veterans are in a tough field which includes two of the highest rated chess players in the world today. Karpov and Korchnoi contested three matches for the world title. The first, in 1974, was in effect a title contest as Fischer soon abdicated. The second two took place after Korchnoi defected from the USSR in 1977 and had become a non-person, scarcely ever mentioned or even referred to in the official media in the USSR. The chess match at Baguio City in 1978 became ... |
| Going for Spanish gold -- 29-May-08 The 21st edition of the "Magistral Ciudad de Leon" starts today in the Spanish city which has a magnificent chess tradition. The Rapid Chess tournament will see the world champion Vishy Anand taking on the man of the moment Vasily Ivanchuk plus Spain’s two leading chess players Alexei Shirov and Francisco Vallejo Pons. At the recent Dos Hermanas chess tournament which was also a rapid Chess knockout, Vallejo eliminated Shirov before losing to Veselin Topalov. An eight game match between former world title finalist Peter Leko and chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen is already underway at the Hungarian resort of Miskolc which stages a match for the Hungarian ... |
| Coming out fighting -- 28-May-08 Alexander Morozevich is top seed at this year’s Bosna Sarajevo chess tournament and is living up to his billing with his usual brand of creative and fighting chess. After four of the ten rounds Morozevich leads with 3/4. Here is one of his chess victories. The game soon reaches positions similar to those from the Tarrasch Variation 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ndf3 followed by Ne2 and Morozevich makes every effort to dismantle White’s centre and avoids committing his king. When he finally castles White is already lost. B Predojevic – A Morozevich; Bosna Sarajevo; French Defence Classical ... |
| Van Wely gets inventive -- 27-May-08 The 95th British Chess Championships will be dedicated to the contribution made by Mike O'Hara to British chess administration. The championships will be staged in the magnificent St George's Hall in the centre of Liverpool as part of the 2008 Liverpool European Capital of Culture celebrations. The competition runs from Sunday 27 July to Saturday 9 August and 900 players are expected to enter the chess tournament. [...] Loek van Wely is an expert in this line of the King’s Indian and introduces a strange looking chess novelty the subtlety of which his opponent fails to appreciate. L Van Wely – S Dyachkov; Russian Team Ch Dagomys; King’s Indian Classical ... |
| Historic success for Vassily Ivanchuk at M-Tel Masters -- 25-May-08 Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine overwhelmed a stellar field to win the fourth M-Tel Masters in Sofia, Bulgaria. Ivanchuk's undefeated score of 8-2 ranks as the highlight of his chess career and one of the best performances in history. He played at a level of 2977, about 200 points above his usual strength. The hometown favorite, Veselin Topalov, finished second at 6 1/2 -3 1/2 , an excellent 2841 performance. He matched his winning score in the 2005 and 2006 chess tournaments and improved on his 2007 result, when he won with 5 1/2 -4 1/2 . However, he had little chance of overtaking Ivanchuk, who coasted after winning his first five games. Teimour Radjabov of Azerbaijan, who complained of ... |
| Barden on chess -- 24-May-08 Sofia's double-round M-Tel Masters manages to be one of the strongest chess events of the year despite a virtual boycott by the top Russians since Vladimir Kramnik was accused by the Bulgarians of cheating in the 2006 world title match. In the latest M-Tel, which ended this week, the hometown favourite Veselin Topalov was eclipsed by Ukraine's Vasily Ivanchuk, who began with 5/5 and won easing up. Earlier Topalov scored this crushing win. Bu's rare 9...Ne4 reflects recent white successes with the normal Bg6 10 Nh4, but after 10 Ne5!? Black ducked the untested gambit Nxc3 11 Bxc3 Bxc3 12 Ra3 Bb4 12 e4 Bxa3 13 Bxa3 Bg6 14 Bxf8 Kxf8. His actual choice gave White an easy edge, though ... |
| Shulman wins US chess title -- 24-May-08 He came up just short the last two years, but Chicago GM Yury Shulman wouldn't be denied this time. With a dominating midtournament stretch, the Belarus-born Shulman won his first U.S. national title, winning the Frank K. Berry U.S. Championship chess tournament outright with an undefeated 7-2 score, a half-point ahead of GM Alexander Onischuk. Shulman finished second in 2006 to Onischuk and third in the 2007 event, won by Alex Shabalov. This year, he put the field in his rear-view mirror with five wins and a draw in six games starting in Round 2. His victims in the streak included four chess grandmasters — Boris Gulko, Gregory Kaidanov, Sergey Kudrin and Julio Becerra Rivero. ... |
| Defeat with a smile -- 23-May-08 Vladimir Kramnik defeated Czech number one David Navara 5.5-2.5 in a Rapid Chess match to capture the CEZ trophy at Prague last week. The fourteenth world champion is mainly playing Rapid Chess prior to his title contest against defending chess champion Vishy Anand in October although he is expected to play the Classical Chess tournament at Dortmund. Navara was pummeled on the first day but after that he got a few winning positions and eventually, in the final game on day four he converted one. Navara expertly converts the advantages of a queenside pawn majority and control of the open file. He advances his pawns supported by his king and once he makes a passed ... |
| Pawn, punch, pawn... -- 22-May-08 Britain has its first Chess Boxing club which has opened in North London. Chess Boxing started in Germany and consists of up to eleven alternating rounds of boxing and chess. A match starts with a three-minute chess round followed by three minutes of boxing and between rounds there is a 1 minute pause. In the chess rounds the contestants start with nine minutes on the clock each so time will run out if the contest goes the distance as six chess rounds will have elapsed. The winning methods are knockout, checkmate, a judge's decision or a win on time. A Chess Boxing tournament is planned for the summer and the North London club has classes on Saturday mornings. For more ... |
| Goalkeeper on the attack -- 20-May-08 The MTel Masters ended in triumph for Vasily Ivanchuk who scored his sixth victory in the final round to reach an unbeaten 8/10 and dash the lingering hopes of Veselin Topalov who finished 1.5 point behind. Topalov's analytical assistant Ivan Cheparinov went for the win with the white pieces against Ivanchuk in the last round but was well beaten. Nigel Short once famously said that he never bothered preparing for Ivanchuk because: 'he can play anything' and so it proved. The Ukrainian chess genius chose the Sicilian Paulsen and when confronted with a dangerous looking chess novelty he reflected briefly and then refuted it. The Cheparinov’s queenside was soon full of holes and his king ... |
| Bu... there's a surprise -- 19-May-08 Veselin Topalov can still make it four first prizes in a row at the MTel Masters but after a shock defeat at the hands of Bu Xianhgzhi in the penultimate round he must defeat Teimour Radjabov and hope that his analytical assistant and fellow Bulgarian Ivan Cheparinov can inflict a first defeat on Vasily Ivanchuk. Topalov has won every MTel chess event in his home city of Sofia since its inception. In recent years he has made many magnificent comebacks. However, after winning for the fifth time in round eight he went astray against Bu who had yet to win a game but took the chances he was offered. Vasily Ivanchuk started with five straight wins but has looked increasingly tentative and ... |
| Bu bashed again -- 17-May-08 Vasily Ivanchuk managed to keep Veselin Topalov at bay and maintain a one point lead with three to play at the MTel Masters being held at the Central Military Club in Sofia. Scores: 1 Ivanchuk (Ukraine) 6/7; 2 Topalov (Bulgaria) 5; 3-4 Cheparinov (Bulgaria), Radjabov (Azerbaijan) 3.5; 5 Aronian (Armenia) 2; 6 Bu (China) 1. The game of the day, indeed one of the games of the year was played by Teimour Radjabov who reduced Bu Xiangzhi to 1/7. T Radjabov - Bu Xiangzhi; 4th M-Tel Masters (7) Sofia; Slav a6; 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 a6 5.Nf3 b5 6.c5 g6 7.Ne5 Bg7 8.Be2 0–0 9.0–0 Nfd7 (Black wants to free himself with e7-e5 so White rules it out with his next move) ... |
| Nearly topped by Topalov -- 16-May-08 Vasily Ivanchuk conceded his first half point in the sixth round of the MTel Masters in Sofia. Ivanchuk was held to a draw by Teimour Radjabov and saw his lead cut to one point as Veselin Topalov defeated an out of sorts Levon Aronian. Ivanchuk’s performance has been remarkable but Topalov, who has won all three M-Tel chess tournaments staged in his home city is also in fine form and his chess tournament rating performance so far is over 2900. Ivanchuk’s is over 3100. to put that in context, Vishy Anand, the world number one is rated 2803. Garry Kasparov’s highest ever chess rating achieved in 2000 was 2849. Bu Xiangzhi lost again, he and Aronian are now well ... |
| Boohoo for Bu -- 14-May-08 Another stirring victory for Vasily Ivanchuk gave him a clean sweep over his five opponents at the MTel Masters in Sofia. The Ukrainian chess genius is heading for for the record books as his run of wins over such highly rated opposition is reminiscent of Bobby Fischer or Garry Kasparov at their best. Ivanchuk's fifth victim was Levon Aronian whose form this year has been imperious with victories at Corus Wijk aan Zee and Amber. Ivanchuk's victory was his third with the black pieces and he now faces the same five opponents again in the second half of the chess tournament emboldened by the prospect of three more games with white and two with black. Ivanchuk's lack of what he calls ... |
| Ivanchuk at the double -- 13-May-08 Vasily Ivanchuk did the double over the Bulgarians and sent his tournament rating performance to stratospheric heights with a fourth straight win at the M-Tel Masters at Sofia. Ivanchuk defeated Ivan Cheparinov with clever defensive play, enticing his opponent forward but somehow managing to keep his own king safe. There were chances for both sides but in a very complicated position Cheparinov erred. Cheparinov has scored many brilliant wins with the King’s Indian Defence but despite launching an attack with nearly all his pieces he could not break through and when queens were exchanged material loss was unavoidable. Ivanchuk is now 1.5 points ahead of Veselin Topalov as ... |
| Ivanchuk's demolition -- 12-May-08 Vasily Ivanchuk is spoiling the party at Sofia as he raced to 3/3 with some sparkling play. Ivanchuk defeated local chess hero Veselin Topalov with black in the second round and had reduced the position of the Chinese GM Bu Xiangzhi to ruins after only nine moves in Saturday's third game. The chess tournament is a six player double round all play all and is part of a new Grand Slam which involves Wijk aan Zee and a new chess event to be held in Bilbao. There are also plans to hold a new event in Seattle with a $750,000 prize fund. V Ivanchuk - Bu Xiangzhi; 4th M-Tel Masters (3) Sofia; English Opening v Slav; 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 d5 4.e3 (This is a canny move order which I have used myself. By delaying d2-d4 White avoids ... |
| Barden on chess -- 11-May-08 Last week's European chess championships in Plovdiv were qualifiers for the remunerative World Cup and women's world chess championship, so grandmasters turned out in force. Gawain Jones and Peter Wells, who represented England in the men's chess event, are two of our strongest GMs yet both were seeded outside the top 150 and had to work hard to score about 50%. The Netherlands' Soviet-born Sergei Tiviakov won the title. The women's chess championship was a better story. Jovanka Houska, England's only female professional, played a bold and positive tournament and narrowly failed to qualify; her game below shows how to use a space advantage to create a winning attack on the king. A significant UK international success may come in September when the EEC chess championship is ... |
| Great bungle, Bulgaria -- 10-May-08 The Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov officially opened the fourth edition of the international M-Tel Masters at Sofia’s Central Military Club. For the first time there are two Bulgarians playing as Veselin Topalov’s trainer Ivan Cheparinov is also in the six man field and to celebrate this, Bulgarian Corporate Commercial Bank announced a 40,000 pound bonus for either of them should they capture first prize. The lure of an extra 1000,000 Bulgarian Lev certainly seemed to spur the pair on although they are two of the most uncompromising chess players in the world today. Topalov defeated Levon Aronian of Armenia with black to avenge a few recent reverses while Cheparinov outplayed Bu Xiangzhi of China. Vassily Ivanchuk played an outstanding chess game, sacrificing the exchange in ... |
| Young guns stampede -- 08-May-08 A deep exchange sacrifice secured the seventeen year old Norwegian chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen a share of first prize at the first Fide Grand Prix chess tournament just concluded in Baku. Carlsen overcame Etienne Bacrot with skilful play to reach 8/13, level with two more improving chess players from the younger generation, Vugar Gashimov of Azerbaijan and Wang Yue of China. At world number five, Carlsen is already an established chess player but the leading trio finished ahead of seven of the world’s top twenty players. Carlsen vs. Bacrot; Position after 28.Bf2 28…Rxd3! 29.Qxd3 Nd5 30.Re1 Qa4 (The point, c4 falls and the bishop on a6 becomes very powerful. All the play is on the queenside where the knights dominate and White's rooks are not doing very much) ... |
| An elegant finish -- 07-May-08 Battle intensified in the penultimate round of the Fide Chess Grand Prix in Baku with five decisive game and two very hard fought draws. There was another defeat for Michael Adams at the hands of the 17 year old Magnus Carlsen ranked world number 5. It was a most impressive game by Carlsen who calmly gave up rook for bishop in a queenless middlegame, won back the chess material and then exploited the advantage of the bishop pair in the endgame. Going into the final round the relatively unknown Azerbaijani Vugar Gashimov shares the lead with Wang Yue of China. Gashimov defeated Alexander Grischuk, nicknamed ‘The Gambler’ for his prowess at Poker and his risky style of chess play. Choosing this dangerous line against the Ruy Lopez was one risk too many. V Gashimov – A Grischuk FIDE GP (12) Baku ... |
| Blunders in Baku -- 06-May-08 There were two terrible blunders in the twelth round of the Fide Grand Prix in Baku as Etienne Bacrot hung his queen and Shakriyar Mamedyarov and Michael Adams had a moment of mutual chess blindness. Mamedyarov vs. Adams; Position after 34.Rh8; The game had been meandering to a draw even if it was Adams who had to be more accurate when Mamedyarov, in the position above blundered. 34…f4?? (34...h3 35.gxh3 gxh3 36.Rxh3 Ke4 37.Rh7 f4 and with his king supporting the passed pawn Black is fine) 35.Rh5+?? (I am sure readers must be wondering why not 34.Rxh4 and if 34…f3 36.gxf3 gxf3 37.Rh5+ Ke4 38.Rxd5 Kxd5 it seems both chess players overlooked Kd3 wins for White) 35...Ke4 (No everything is back on track) 36.Rxh4 Rg5 37.Kd2 g3 38.Ke2 ... |
| Tiviakov reigns supreme -- 05-May-08 Sergey Tiviakov emerged from the pack with a last round victory and took the title of European Individual Chess Champion at the expense of former chess champion Emil Sutovsky in Plovdiv Bulgaria. Sutovsky had played out five peaceful draws in succession but came up against an opponent who was in supreme form with the white pieces. Tiviakov employed his favourite 2.c3 against the Sicilian Defence, won a pawn and steadily converted his advantage to finish ahead of the field on 8.5/11. The winner scored 5.5/6 with white and took the 15,000 Euro (£12,000) first prize. The final day at Plovdiv sees speed chess tie breakers for the players on 7.5 to decide who gains entry to next year’s World Cup knockout. Peter Wells and Gawain Jones finished on 5.5 and 6 respectively. Here ... |
| Telegraph chess: Wells digs deep -- 04-May-08 The lure of qualifying places in the lucrative 2009 World Cup only served to encourage the leaders to protect their scores at the European Individual Chess Championship taking place in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Emil Sutovsky of Israel and Pavel Tregubov of Russia who are both former winners of the chess event drew with each other in round 8 and share the lead on 7/9 with five other chess players. Peter Wells and Gawain Jones both have 5/9 and excellent rating performances as they have faced strong opposition. Wells defeated GM Alexander Huzman of Israel in the game below but then spoilt a good position against Tomas Markowski of Poland in the ninth round and lost. A Huzman – P Wells; IX EICC (8) Plovdiv; Queen’s Gambit; 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e4 Bb4 6.Bg5 c5 (The sharp Vienna Variation, a Wells speciality) ... |
| Barden on chess -- 03-May-08 Fide's Grand Prix circuit, six chess tournaments spread over 19 months, is a new project to encourage more host nations. Russia's Alex Grischuk led after nine rounds of the launch event at Baku, which is live on the internet today. Shak Mamedyarov is a top ten chess grandmaster and playing in his home city. The Azeri came up with a home-brewed plan (7 Re1! then 12 Nd3! with ideas of Nf4-h5 in some lines) so Black was always on the defensive. The pressure told with 28...Qb6? (Be7 is only slightly worse) and then Magnus Carlsen missed the tactic 31 Bxa5! At the end White wins nicely after Kh7 38 Qxa8 Rxa8 39 Rf7 Rd8 40 Rxd7 Rxd7 41 Nxf8+. S Mamedyarov v M Carlsen 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 b6 4 g3 Bb7 ... |
| Telegraph chess: Queen's Indian pickle -- 01-May-08 Former chess champion Emil Sutovsky of Israel leads the European Individual Chess Championship on tie break after seven rounds. Sutovsky has 6/7 level with Pavel Tregubov of Russia and Sergei Movsesian of Slovakia the winner of the Wijk aan Zee B Group. Gawain Jones has 4/7 and five of his opponents have been rated around 2600. Peter Wells also has 4/7. The chess players have the same high rating but Black’s eccentric interpretation of the Queen’s Indian lands him trouble very quickly. 14…Bf8 was necessary. M Roiz (2659) – B Savchenko (2569); IX EICC (7) Plovdiv; Queen’s Indian ... |
| Telegraph chess: Still in the balance -- 30-Apr-08 There was only one decisive game in the fifth round of the FIDE/Global Chess Grand Prix at Baku as Wang Yue outplayed the former chess prodigy Sergei Karjakin from a completely level endgame. I suspect the game would have ended much earlier in a draw were it not for the rule forbidding draw offers that is in force. Wang shares the lead with Alexander Grischuk who drew with Michael Adams. Adams held the draw with black quite comfortably and after many exchanges there was no play left and the chess players were allowed to conclude. In the Queen's Indian the battle often revolves around the e4 square. Black seeks to prevent White from advancing a third pawn in the centre before playing either c7-c5, d7-d5 or Nf6-e4 and f7-f5. Mamedyarov avoids the normal move ... |
| Telegraph chess: Zero tolerance on greed -- 28-Apr-08 Emil Sutovsky, a former winner of the chess event was one of only three chess players on maximum points after four rounds of the 2008 European Individual Chess Championship being contested at Plovdiv. Sutovsky won a fine game in round one which we saw on Friday where his opponent had the temerity to grab four pawns in the opening. Here is his round three effort where Black is similarly punished for his greed. E Sutovsky (2630) – I Miladinovic (2579); IX EICC Plovdiv (3); Caro Kann Advance. 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.c4 (Black's first three moves get him no nearer to castling kingside so Sutovsky opens up the game) 5...Bg4 (If 5...cxd4 6.Nxd4 Nxe5 7.cxd5 Qxd5 8.Nc3 Qa5 9.Bf4 and with Ndb5 or Bb5+ and 0–0 to follow White has a dangerous lead in development) ... |
| Telegraph chess: Adams looks ahead -- 26-Apr-08 Michael Adams scored his second win at the Grand Prix chess tournament in Baku, defeating the Czech GM David Navara to reach 2.5/4. The opening went wrong for Adams but a far sighted pawn sacrifice enabled the England number one to create decisive threats with two rooks and a knight against two rooks and a bishop. M Adams – D Navara; FIDE GP Baku (4); French Tarrasch. [...] Peter Wells has drawn with three highly rated chess GMs rated around 2600 after winning his first round game the European Individual Chess Championship at Plovdiv in Bulgaria. Gawain Jones is on 50%. Francisco Vallejo scored a fine match victory over Alexey Shirov at Dos Hermanas, defeating him in two tactical battles. White’s strategy in this line of the Advance Caro Kann is a swift pawn advance on ... |
| Telegraph chess: Bring on the pawns -- 25-Apr-08 Long technical endgames were the order of the day in the third round of the Grand Prix chess tournament at Baku as three players successfully exploited the advantage of an extra pawn. When all the remaining pawns are on the same side of the board the game will often be drawn but it was not the case this time. Michael Adams lost a queen and pawn endgame against Sergey Karjakin. Alexander Grischuk took the lead, reaching 2.5/3 by overcoming David Navara with rook, knight and three pawns against rook, bishop and two pawns. English GMs Gawain Jones and Peter Wells both won their first round games and then drew with highly rated opponents in the second round of the European Individual Chess Championship underway at Plovdiv in Bulgaria. The 322 chess player field includes ... |
| Telegraph chess: English master stroke -- 24-Apr-08 Michael Adams has made a great start to the Grand Prix chess tournament at Baku. In round one Adams drew solidly as Black against Teimour Radjabov whose Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation achieved no advantage. Adams even got the edge but had to accede to perpetual check in a queen and pawn endgame. In round two Adams defeated Ivan Cheparinov, the Grandmaster whose disgraceful behaviour led him to be defaulted in his game at Wijk aan Zee against Nigel Short when he refused to shake hands. The game was replayed and Short won, Adams made it an English double over the Bulgarian. Adams shares the lead with Gata Kamsky who finished this round one game nicely. Kamsky vs. Inarkiev. Position after 42...Kh6 43.Rb6? (A blunder, presumably White missed Black’s lovely ... |
| Telegraph chess: Big guns out in Baku -- 23-Apr-08 The new FIDE/Global Chess Grad Prix is underway with England number one Michael Adams participating at the first event, a 14 player all play all in Baku. The Norwegian chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen is the top seed. The full line up is 1. Magnus Carlsen, Norway, 2765; 2. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Azerbaijan, 2752; 3. Teimour Radjabov, Azerbaijan, 2751; 4. Peter Svidler, Russia, 2746; 5. Sergey Karjakin, Ukraine, 2732; 6. Michael Adams, England, 2729; 7. Gata Kamsky, USA, 2726; 8. Alexander Grischu, Russia, 2716; 9. Etienne Bacrot, France, 2705; 10. Ivan Cheparinov, Bulgaria, 2696; 11. Wang Yue, China, 2689; 12. Ernesto Inarkiev, Russia, 2684; 13. Vugar Gashimov, Azerbaijan, 2679; 14. David Navara, Czech Republic, 2672. Grand Prix chess tournaments run to the end of 2009 and ... |
| Telegraph chess: Champions of child's play -- 22-Apr-08 More kids are coming. Last week there were three notable successes for young chess players around the world. In Dubai, 14-year-old Wesley So of the Philippines won a very strong Open chess tournament. So is one of the youngest chess players ever to be a GM and scored 7/9 to finish level with GMs Merab Gagunashvili of Georgia, Ehsan Ghaem Maghami of Iran and Li Chao of China but the youngster had the superior tie break and was awarded the Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Al Maktoum Cup. Salem Abdulrahman Saleh of the UAE, the Asian under-14 champion who has yet to qualify for the IM title looks like he may not need to as he secured his first GM norm with a round to spare. Twenty nine GMs and twenty one IMs competed. In Ukraine 11 year old Ilya Nyzhnyk, won ... |
| Telegraph chess: When disaster strikes -- 21-Apr-08 The field for the 2008 Staunton Memorial has been announced and will be the strongest yet with eleven of the twelve chess players being holders of the Grandmaster title. The twelfth player, IM Bob Wade may well be setting a world record. At the age of 87 he is thought to be the oldest chess player ever to be pitted against an all Grandmaster field. Wade has recently competed with success in both senior and Open chess events. He was for many years a researcher for Bobby Fischer and assisted the American in his preparation for the ‘Match of the Century’ against Boris Spassky in 1972. Wade is hugely out-rated but will take heart from the performance of Glenn Flear at the GLC tournament in 1986 when as the lowest rated chess player in a world class field Flear pulled off ... |
| Speelman on Chess -- 20-Apr-08 I reported last week on the Russian team chess championship in Dagomys near Sochi where the top seeds Ural Ekaterinburg were in the driving seat. Ural, the only chess team which averaged over 2700(!), duly confirmed their victory last weekend, guaranteeing the win with a round to spare with the help of that blast from the past, the chess match in which all six games end in draws early on. These 'package deals' used to be very common in the latter stages of Olympiads and other international team events and certainly kept the team captains happy and busy. I'm not entirely sure of their formal status nowadays but nobody was going to object and indeed, following the three-all draw with Vassily Ivanchuk's team TPS Saransk on Saturday, they repeated this against ... |
| Chess by Larry Evans -- 18-Apr-08 Chess was popular in Italy by the 16th century, and Italian chess players were regarded as the best in the world. But Ruy Lopez, a Spanish priest, defeated them on his visit to Rome on ecclesiastical business connected with the election of Pope Pius IV in 1560. A year later, his book, Libro de la invencion liberal y arte del juego del Axedrez, consisted of 95 instructive chapters. He made the first great contribution to chess ethics by advising us to place the board with the sun shining in our opponent's eyes. The opening, named after Ruy Lopez, (1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5) is today a dreaded weapon in White's arsenal. Last year, a long-lost manuscript with chess diagrams possibly drawn by Leonardo da Vinci was discovered among thousands of volumes in a private ... |
| Telegraph chess: Pole is poles apart -- 18-Apr-08 The former world chess champion Piotr Murdzia of Poland outperformed the finest line up of British solvers ever assembled at the Final of the 2007-2008 Winton Capital British Chess Solving Championship held at Oakham School on 16th February. Murdzia led throughout and won by a big margin. Thirty three solvers took part, including for the first time, all six titled British solvers. The British title was expected to be a duel between the defending champion and reigning World Champion John Nunn and Jonathan Mestel, himself a former World Chess Champion. Nunn had a disastrous second round, dropping 6 of the 10 points on the mates in 3, which left him in 7th place overall, 6 points behind Mestel. A determined fight back fell just short and Mestel took the title by half ... |
| [ more... ] |
