Weekend Edition - 17-18 March
Shirov, Leko and Topalov show early muscle
Monte Carlo, Monaco - Here are the latest results as they come in from the famed Melody Amber novelty event in Monte Carlo. Each match is a pair of games, first rapid (R), then blindfold (B) with colors reversed.
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Melody Amber Rapid
& Blindfold,
Monte
Carlo - March 2001
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| |
R |
B |
R |
B |
R |
B |
R |
B |
R |
B |
R |
B |
R |
B |
R |
B |
R |
B |
R |
B |
R |
B |
R |
B |
Total |
| Kramnik |
K |
K |
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½ |
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1 |
½ |
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2 |
| Anand |
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A |
A |
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½ |
1 |
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1 |
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2½ |
| Shirov |
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S |
S |
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0 |
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1 |
1 |
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2 |
| Leko |
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L |
L |
1 |
1 |
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1 |
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3 |
| Ivanchuk |
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0 |
0 |
I |
I |
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½ |
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½ |
| Topalov |
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1 |
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T |
T |
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1 |
1 |
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3 |
| Gelfand |
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½ |
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G |
G |
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1 |
0 |
1½ |
| Karpov |
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½ |
0 |
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0 |
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K |
K |
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½ |
| Van Wely |
½ |
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0 |
0 |
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W |
W |
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½ |
| Piket |
0 |
½ |
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P |
P |
0 |
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½ |
| Almasi |
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0 |
0 |
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1 |
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A |
A |
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|
1 |
| Ljubojevic |
0 |
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0 |
1 |
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L |
L |
1 |
*****
Ulf unchained
Buenos Aires, Argentina - Swedish super-GM Ulf Andersson made it four in a row as he continues to punish innocent bystanders for his silly loss in round six. After frittering away an advantage to a zero against Garcia Palermo the normally ultra-solid Andersson has punched up Rodi, Larsen, Giardelli and Szmetan in succession.
Former frontrunner Alejandro Hoffman broke out of a spell of peaceful hibernation to win again at last, but it might be too late to catch up with the inspired Swede.
Round 10 results:
Rodi - Panno 0-1
Andersson - Szmetan 1-0
Hoffman - Van Riemsdijk 1-0
Larsen - Giardelli 1-0
Garcia Palermo - Ricardi½-½
Hobaica - Roselli ½-½
Leaders: 1 Andersson, 7½/10, 2 Hoffman 7, 3 Panno 6½, 4-6 Garcia Palermo, Larsen, Ricardi 6.
*****
Fast and Blindfold
Monte Carlo, Monaco - The traditional Melody Amber tournament of rapid and blindfold chess begins today. The event has been weakened somewhat by FIDE's unfortunate (and unnecessary) decision to set up their Rapid Chess World Cup in conflict.
Nevertheless Zoltan Almasi (Hungary), Viswanathan Anand (India), Boris Gelfand (Israel), Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine), Anatoly Karpov (Russia), Vladimir Kramnik (Russia), Peter Leko (Hungary), Ljubomir Ljubojevic (Yugoslavia), Jeroen Piket (The Netherlands), Alexei Shirov (Spain), Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria), Loek van Wely (The Netherlands) have agreed to play, so the event is not greatly affected.
As ever, the event is generously sponsored by J.J. van Oosterom, and there is a total prize fund of US$ 192,500. The games are not being broadcast live on the Internet but results and scores are posted extremely quickly. Here is the highlight of the first rapid (one-hour games) heat of day one, hot off the virtual press:
B. Gelfand - L. Ljubojevic
Amber 2001 Monaco (1)
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.0-0 a6 7.Bd3 Nc6 8.Nc3 b6 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.a3 Bb7 11.b4 Be7 12.Bb2 0-0 13.Rc1 h6 14.Qe2 b5 15.Rfd1 Qb6 16.Ne4 Nxe4 17.Bxe4 Rfd8 18.Nd4 Rac8 [See DIAGRAM] 19.Nxe6!! - A neat and alert tactical execution. 19...fxe6 20.Qg4 e5 21.Qe6+ Kh8 22.Qg6 Kg8 23.Bxe5! Taking advantage of the pin on the Nc6 to bring decisive reinforcement to the attack. 1-0 in view of 23...Bf8 24.Qe6+ Kh8 25.Qxh6+ Kg8 26.Qh5 mating.
Round 1 rapid results:
Almasi - Topalov 0-1
Kramnik - Piket 1-0
Shirov - Van Wely 1-0
Gelfand - Ljubojevic 1-0
Karpov - Anand ½-½
Ivanchuk - Leko 0-1
*****
Weekend action
Live Internet coverage of the closing rounds of the Swedish top division for teams can be seen via the link above. The matches feature several top GMs. Sunday's final round features the clash of the two leading teams SK Rockaden and Sollentuna SK.
*****
USA's top team topped
Seattle, USA - The USA fielded its top line-up for the first time in the event. The result was their first defeat, and a resounding one that could put match victory in China's hands. The Americans will have the rest day to mull over how to pull back from an overall deficit of 14-16 with one match left to play.
The games were very odd indeed and several of them featured massive sacrifices of material followed by no compensation, or blunders that cost dearly. There were very few closely fought games that ended in a decision.
The USA went in front after terribly lopsided wins by Kaidanov and Christiansen. However Schneider was unable to justify a series of sacrifices and Gulko dropped a piece as pressure mounted on his position. After some nimble work from ladies Xie Jun, who got revenge by taking Alex Ivanov apart in time pressure, and Wang Lei, the match had turned violently.
And violence usually brings Alex Shabalov to mind - he overpressed in a frantic attempt to reduce the gap and made it a three-point loss when he went too far.
Wang Lei (2473) - I. Krush (2380)
USA-China Chess Summit Seattle
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Bf4 e6 7.e3 Be7 8.Bd3 b5 9.0-0 Bb7 10.a4 b4 11.Nb1 Nc6 12.Nbd2 Rc8 13.Qe2 Qb6 14.Nb3 Na5 15.Nxa5 Qxa5 16.Nd2 0-0 17.Nb3 Qb6 18.a5 Qa7 19.Rfc1 Rxc1+ 20.Rxc1 Rc8 21.Rc7 Rxc7 22.Bxc7 Nd7 23.h4 Qa8 24.h5 Qc8 25.Qc2 h6 26.f3 f5 27.Be5 [see DIAGRAM] White offers an exchange of queens and also to surrender the bishop pair. Black's exposed queenside pawns give white long-term pressure. 27...Qxc2 28.Bxc2 Nxe5 29.dxe5 White's access to d4 will prove very handy. 29...Kf7 30.Bd3 Ke8 31.Kf2 Kd7 32.f4 Kc7 33.Nd4 Kd7 34.Be2 Bc5 35.g4 fxg4 36.Bxg4 Bxd4 37.exd4 Bc8 38.Ke3 Kc6 39.Be2 Kb7 40.Kd2 Off to attack b4 - black will not be able to protect all of her weaknesses. 40...Bd7 41.Kc1 Be8 42.Kb1 Bd7 43.Ka2 Ba4 44.Bg4 Kc6 45.Bxe6 Bd1 46.Bf7 Kb5 47.e6 1-0 A fine technical performance from Wang Lei, and the most refined game of the day.
Round 3 details: (Player in bold had white)
| USA-China Summit Match, Seattle |
| Bd |
 USA |
 China |
| 1 |
Boris Gulko |
0-1 |
Ye Jiangchuan |
| 2 |
Yasser Seirawan |
½-½ |
Xu Jun |
| 3 |
Gregory Kaidanov |
1-0 |
Peng Xiaomin |
| 4 |
Alexander Shabalov |
0-1 |
Zhang Zhong |
| 5 |
Alexander Ivanov |
0-1 |
Xie Jun |
| 6 |
Larry Christiansen |
1-0 |
Zhu Chen |
| W1 |
Irina Krush |
0-1 |
Wang Lei |
| W2 |
Camilla Baginskaite |
½-½ |
Qin Kanying |
| J1 |
Vinay Bhat |
½-½ |
Wang Yue |
| J2 |
Dmitry Schneider |
0-1 |
Ni Hua |
| Rd 3 |
USA |
3½-6½ |
China |
*****
Ulf on a rampage
Buenos Aires, Argentina - Swedish super-GM Ulf Andersson seems to have gotten a booster shot from his painful round six loss and made it three wins in a row as he stormed to clear first place. His round nine performance was vintage Andersson, the kind of terrifying endgame technique that used to bring dread to opponents as they waited for him to conjure pressure from thin air. Giardelli got a nostalgic tour of Ulf's torture chamber, and probably won't want to go back any time soon.
Round 9 results:
Giardelli - Andersson 0-1
Larsen - Rodi ½-½
Szmetan - Garcia Palermo ½-½
Ricardi - Hobaica 1-0
Roselli - Hoffman ½-½
Van Riemsdijk - Panno ½-½
Leaders: 1 Andersson, 6½/9, 2 Hoffman 6, 3-5 Panno, Ricardi, Garcia Palermo 5½, 6-7 Larsen, Szmetan 5.
S. Giardelli (2438) - U. Andersson (2640)
Pinamar (9)
1.c4 c5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.Nc3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.d4 cxd4 7.Nxd4 0-0 8.0-0 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 d6 10.Qd2 Be6 11.Bxb7 Rb8 12.Bg2 Bxc4 13.b3 Be6 14.Bb2 Qa5 15.Rfd1 Rfc8 16.Nd5 Qxd2 17.Nxf6+ Bxf6 18.Rxd2 Bxb2 19.Rxb2 a5 20.Rd2 Rb4 21.Bd5 Bxd5 22.Rxd5 a4 23.Rd3 Rc2 24.Kf1 Re4 25.e3 Rb4 26.h4 Rb2 27.bxa4 Rxa4 28.a3 [see DIAGRAM - watch the master at work.] 28...Rc4 29.Kg2 Rcc2 30.Rf1 Ra2 31.Kf3 Rc5 32.g4 h5 33.Rg1 Kg7 34.gxh5 Rxh5 35.Rg4 Rf5+ 36.Rf4 Ra5 37.Re4 Kf6 38.Rf4+ Ke6 39.Rdd4 R2xa3 40.Rde4+ Re5 41.Rxe5+ dxe5 42.Rb4 f6 43.Rb7 Ra4 44.Kg3 f5 45.Rb6+ Kf7 46.Kh3 Rg4 47.f3 Rc4 48.Rb3 e4 49.fxe4 Rxe4 50.Ra3 Kg7 0-1 Black will simply absorb the h-pawn.
*****
News from 16 March
USA split with China in round two
Seattle, USA - Another tense battle and again a surprisingly difficult day for the Chinese who were a bit fortunate not to lose by more as they were in trouble on several boards - Shabalov, Christiansen and Benjamin all missed chances to come closer to a win, if not more.
This was even more surprising as team captain GM Nick DeFirmian elected to send in all of his reserves, though it has to be said that this was a questionable decision if the result means all. The USA's two losses came from their women's and junior reserves, though both fought ferociously - and surely experience is just as much a benefit from this event as victory.
Again Shabalov produced an amazing amount of entertainment per move, and his opponent Zhang Zhong seems perfectly suited, quite happy to trade blows and not shrink from a fight. Again one felt that Shabalov might have gotten less from the game than he deserved, but the credit for that should go to his opponent.
While Kaidanov's point looked fairly certain, the match eventually hinged on lower board drama. Groberman nearly escaped from a desperate position and the juniors played some dramatic chess. Bhat won impressively after a cool performance in a time scramble with his illustrious opponent.
The final game, Nakamura - Ni Hua was typical junior chess. Reams of hair-raisingly complex theory (the game is all known until at least black's 25th move) rattled off at top speed and white emerging from the complications with what appeared to be a winning position.
Round 2 details: (Player in bold had white)
| USA-China Summit Match, Seattle |
| Bd |
USA |
China |
| 1 |
Boris Gulko |
½-½ |
Ye Jiangchuan |
| 2 |
Yasser Seirawan |
½-½ |
Xu Jun |
| 3 |
Gregory Kaidanov |
1-0 |
Peng Xiaomin |
| 4 |
Alexander Shabalov |
½-½ |
Zhang Zhong |
| 5 |
Joel Benjamin |
½-½ |
Xie Jun |
| 6 |
Larry Christiansen |
½-½ |
Zhu Chen |
| W1 |
Irina Krush |
½-½ |
Xu Yuhua |
| W2 |
Elina Groberman |
0-1 |
Qin Kanying |
| J1 |
Vinay Bhat |
1-0 |
Bu Xiangzhi |
| J2 |
Hikaru Nakamura |
0-1 |
Ni Hua |
| Rd 2 |
USA |
5-5 |
China |
*****
Quiet finish
Badalona, Spain - The hard-fought Badalana International ended with a whimper after a violent course, with all games drawn in the final round. This left favorite Kolev alone in first place, where he had been most of the event.
Manuel Granados clinched his IM title with a point and a half to spare and it is worth noting that he was the lowest rated player in the event. A loss to bottom marker Gual Pascal was all that separated Granados from even greater glory.
18-year-old Fluvià Poyatos also exceeded the IM-norm of 4½ points for the third time and should receive the title.
Round 9 results:
J. Fluvià Poyatos - GM A. Kogan ½-½
GM V. Moskalenko - GM A. Kolev ½-½
IM A. Vidarte - A. Gual Pascual ½-½
IM M. Narciso Dublan - FM M. Granados ½-½
FM R. José - IM J.M. López Martinez½-½
Final standings: 1. GM Atanas Kolev (BUL) 6½/9, 2-3 Manuel Granados (ESP), GM Artur Kogan (ISR) 6, 4-6 IM Marc Narciso Dublan, IM Josep Manuel López Martinez, Joan Fluvià Poyatos (all ESP) 5, 7 GM Viktor Moskalenko (UKR) 4½, 8 Ramon José 3, 9-10 A. Gual Pascual, IM A. Vidarte 2 (all ESP).
*****
Hoffman caught by wounded Ulf
|
| Ulf vs. Bent
|
| Photo: Marina Vignau |
Buenos Aires, Argentina - Since a painful loss to Garcia Palermo from a promising position in round six, Swedish super-GM Ulf Andersson has shown teeth and temper, winning both of his games. In round eight it was adopted hero Bent Larsen's turn to be mauled at the hands of the angry beast.
GM Garcia Palermos continues his strong comeback, extending Giardelli's slide away from former heights.
Round 8 results:
Hoffman - Ricardi ½-½
Andersson - Larsen 1-0
Rodi - Van Riemsdijk 0-1
Panno - Roselli ½-½
Hobaica - Szmetan 0-1
Garcia Palermo - Giardelli 1-0
Leaders: 1-2 Hoffman Andersson, 5½/8 3-4 Panno, Garcia Palermo 5, 5-8 Larsen, Giardelli, Ricardi, Szmetan 4½.
*****
|
| Chess gear? Really? |
| Photo: Feshina
|
Fashion statement
FIDE's Rapid Chess World Cup, including even renegade Kasparov alongside specialists like Michael Adams and Judit Polgar, is scheduled for Cannes on 22-25 March. What is not so well known is that the event will also feature the unveiling of FIDE's official chess uniform.
Dress is a fairly esoteric subject for chessplayers, but the idea is to keep the game evolving along the lines of other Olympic sports if one is to become an Olympic sport.
News on this special occasion can be seen at FIDE's site, where there is a rather flashy picture of 16-year-old Russian WGM Alexandra Kosteniuk, who will be playing an exhibition match against major 15-year-old French talent Marie Sebag. FIDE COMMERCE seems set on getting chess into the mainstream news, and haute couture and cleavage seem to be among the first weapons in this campaign. The young ladies will play their match in a custom made uniform designed by Olga Feshina.
There is also talk of "more extravagant variants of the Chess uniform" to be presented at a show in London. A possible preview of what could be in store may be seen at Feshina's site, representing the design house of Olga Feshina, and our featured photo is a rather conservative choice from the selection.
*****
News from 15 March
USA vs. China Summit Match starts
Seattle, USA - The USA scored a close but surprising victory in the first of their four friendly matches against China. As mentioned before, and confirmed by US team captain GM Nick DeFirmian, the unexpected ingredient of the home team's success was a 50-50 split on the women's and junior boards, where they are greatly outgunned on rating.
So great is the depth and power of Chinese women's chess that their top two female stars, Xie Jun and Zhu Chen, can be found on the "overall" boards above.
The first day's play featured great aggression and entertainment with the star performance being Joel Benjamin's brilliant win over highly ranked Xu Jun. Benjamin went right in on second board as reserve for Yasser Seirawan - otherwise both teams were at full rating strength.
J. Benjamin (2581) - Xu Jun (2655)
USA-China Chess Summit Seattle WA (1)
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.a4 g6 7.Be2 Bg7 8.0-0 0-0 9.f4 Nc6 10.Be3 Qb6?! 11.a5 Qc7 12.Nb3 Be6 13.Nd5 Bxd5 14.exd5 Nb8 15.c4 Nbd7 16.Nd4 Rfe8 17.f5 Ne5 18.b3 Rac8 19.Kh1 Qd8 20.g4 Nfd7 21.g5 b6 22.Qd2 bxa5 23.Rxa5 Nc5 24.b4 Ncd7 25.fxg6 hxg6 26.Rxa6 Nxc4 27.Bxc4 Rxc4 28.Qf2 Rf8 29.Nc6 Qe8 [See DIAGRAM] 30.Ra8!! A very deeply calculated sacrifice. 30...Qxa8 31.Nxe7+ Kh7 32.Qg3 Simply threatening a lethal check on the h-file. 32...Nf6 33.Rxf6! [33.gxf6?? Bxf6! 34.Rxf6 Qa1+] 33...Qa1+ 34.Bg1! Qd1 [34...Qc3 35.Rf3 Qxb4 36.Bf2! and with control of h4 white is winning.] 35.Rf3! Bh6! 36.gxh6! [36.Qh3?? Rh4!] 36...Qb1 37.Nf5! Rxb4 38.Nxd6 Qd1 39.Rd3 Qe2 40.Re3 Qh5 41.Qf3 Qxf3+ Time control is reached and some technical problems remain, but Benjamin solves them energetically. 42.Rxf3 f5 43.Bc5 Rb1+ 44.Kg2 Rd1 45.Ne4! Ra8 46.Nf6+ Kxh6 47.Be7 Kg7 48.d6 Kf7 49.Nh7! Ra2+ 50.Rf2 Raa1 51.Ng5+ Ke8 52.Nf3 Ra4 53.h3 Re4 54.Ra2 Kd7 55.Ra7+ Kc6 56.Rc7+ Kb6 57.Rc2 Kb5 58.Kf2 Rd5 59.Rd2 Rxd2+ 60.Nxd2 Rd4 61.Nf31-0 Ne5 will usher the d-pawn in.
A few of the first day highlights can be seen below. Other key points were Baginskaite's incredible win from a completely gruesome position, though she must get full credit for tough resistance that eventually unsettled her higher rated adversary. Shabalov turned down a drawish position after some incredible fireworks in order to gamble for more.
Creative, ambitious and sacrificial players don't always work out in team situations, and Shabalov has always been a bit of a loose cannon in this respect.
Jiangchuan Ye (2671) - B. Gulko (2622)
USA-China Chess Summit Seattle WA (1)
Things look grim for white, but Ye caps a long uphill struggle with a fine resource: [DIAGRAM] 51.g4!! fxg4 52.Nd2 Kc7 53.Ne4 Ne7 54.Kc5 Suddenly white's pieces are perfectly placed and black's pawns halted. 54...Nf5 55.Kd5 g3 56.Nxg5 g2 57.Nh3 ½-½
Xiangzhi Bu (2558) - V. Bhat (2415)
USA-China Chess Summit Seattle WA (1)
Some blunders are not spectacular. Here black has played a classical Queen's Gambit Declined perfectly and has reached a safe and slightly superior position. But using classical tools to get an advantage against inexperienced youth doesn't always help if the tools are wielded by an impetuous youngster... [DIAGRAM] 24...Nc3?? [24...Rd8 keeps black slightly better.] 25.Re7 This rook's activity is worth far more than a pawn. 25...b6 26.Ne5 Ne2+ 27.Kf2 Nxd4 28.Nd7 h5 29.Nf6+ Kf8 30.Rh7 Rd8 31.Rxa7 and white eventually converted his great advantage in activity to a win. (1-0 in 55)
Round 1 details: (Player in bold had white)
| USA-China Summit Match, Seattle |
| Bd |
USA |
China |
| 1 |
Boris Gulko |
½-½ |
Ye Jiangchuan |
| 2 |
Joel Benjamin |
1-0 |
Xu Jun |
| 3 |
Gregory Kaidanov |
½-½ |
Peng Xiaomin |
| 4 |
Alexander Shabalov |
0-1 |
Zhang Zhong |
| 5 |
Alexander Ivanov |
1-0 |
Xie Jun |
| 6 |
Larry Christiansen |
½-½ |
Zhu Chen |
| W1 |
Irina Krush |
½-½ |
Xu Yuhua |
| W2 |
Camilla Baginskaite |
1-0 |
Qin Kanying |
| J1 |
Vinay Bhat |
0-1 |
Bu Xiangzhi |
| J2 |
Dmitry Schneider |
½-½ |
Ni Hua |
| Rd 1 |
USA |
5½-4½ |
China |
*****
Kolev leads, Granados chasing
|
| GM Atanas Kolev
|
Badalona, Spain - Favorite Atanas Kolev steamrolls forward, but just cannot get out of the shadow of the tournament discovery Manuel Granados. Granados kept pace with the Bulgarian GM by beating troubled International Master Vidarte, who is having a nightmare event.
The official site confirms that both Granados and 18-year-old Fluvià Poyatos made IM results with two rounds to spare yesterday, and these are in fact their third and final norms - a gratifying harvest for the first Badalona international!
If Granados can keep up this breakneck pace, he can achieve a grandmaster norm if he can beat highly rated IM Narciso Dublan in the final round. Taking the combative nature of this event so far, this will be an exciting possibility.
Round 8 results:
GM A. Kogan - FM R. José 1-0
IM J.M. López Martinez - IM M. Narciso Dublan 0-1
FM M. Granados - IM A. Vidarte 1-0
A. Gual Pascual - GM V. Moskalenko ½-½
GM A. Kolev - J. Fluvià Poyatos 1-0
Leaders: Kolev 6/8, 2-3 Granados, Kogan 5½, 4-6 López Martinez, Narciso Dublan, Fluvià Poyatos 4½ , 7 Moskalenko 4
*****
Hoffman keeps lead, Ulf bites back
Buenos Aires, Argentina - Top seed Ulf Andersson reacted to a highly unnecessary loss in the previous round with a determined victory in the seventh. Sergio Giardelli also shrugged off disappointment and bounced back with win to get back into the thick of the race for first place.
Roselli continues to show inspiration. After starting with four losses, his sparkling upset win over Ricardi triggered a winning streak that has now reached three in a row.
Round 7 results:
Roselli - Van Riemsdijk1-0
Andersson - Rodi 1-0
Szmetan - Hoffman ½-½
Giardelli - Hobaica 1-0
Ricardi - Panno ½-½
Larsen - García Palermo ½-½
Leaders: 1. Hoffman 5/7, 2-5 Andersson, Panno, Larsen, Giardelli 4½, 6-7 , Garcia Palermos, Ricardi 4.
*****
News from 14 March
Hoffman left standing
Buenos Aires, Argentina - Round six of the Pinamar International was a take no survivors kind of day, with all six games leaving a victim behind. Local GM Alejandro Hoffman cleared some space at the top by dispatching (ex-) co-leader Sergio Giardelli while GM Carlos Garcia Palermo continued his renaissance by defeating the normally indestructible Swede Ulf Andersson.
C. Garcia Palermo (2470) - U. Andersson (2640)
Pinamar (6)
1.e4 c5 2.b3 e6 3.Nf3 d6 4.Bb2 Nf6 5.Bb5+ Bd7 6.Qe2 Bxb5 7.Qxb5+ Qd7 8.Nc3 Nc6 9.0-0-0 e5 10.h4 Be7 11.Rh3 Nd4 12.Qd3 Ne6 13.Qf1 0-0 14.Nh2 Rab8 15.g4 b5 16.g5 Nh5 17.Nd5 Nef4 18.Nxf4 Nxf4 [Black has the more harmonious position.] 19.Rg3 f5 [To give the Nh2 less to do by loosening white's grip on the d5 and f5 squares.] 20.exf5 Rxf5 21.Ng4 Qc6 22.Kb1 Rbf8 23.Qe1 Ng6 24.h5 Nf4 25.d4 cxd4 26.Bxd4 Nxh5 27.Rc3 Qb7 28.Be3 a6 29.Rcd3 Qe4 30.Qg1 Rc8 31.g6 [see DIAGRAM] Kh8 [31...hxg6 32.Nh6+ gxh6 33.Qxg6+ Ng7 34.Bxh6 Bf8 35.Bxg7 and Qe6+.] 32.gxh7 Qc6 33.Nh6 Qxc2+?! [This bluff looks like it should be called. After 33...gxh6 A) 34.Qg6 Qxc2+ 35.Ka1 Rxf2!! (35...Rcf8 looks good enough as well) 36.Bxf2 Nf4 black should win. B) 34.Qg4 Qxc2+ 35.Ka1 Rcf8 and again the attack is not obvious - presumably this was a time scramble.] 34.Ka1 Rff8 35.Ng8 Bf6 36.Nxf6 Nxf6 37.Qg6 d5 38.Rg1 Qc7 39.Bc5! Rfe8 40.Rdg3 Qd7 41.Be3 [Now white's pressure on the g-file is very dangerous.] 41...Rc7? [41...Rc6 or 41...Re6 were better. 41...Re7!? is risky, but interesting.] 42.Bh6! Re6 43.Bxg7+ Qxg7 44.Qxg7+ 1-0
While all this drama was going on, the veteran GMs Bent Larsen and Oscar Panno moved closer to the top and Roselli clambered out of the cellar with his second consecutive win as black. Ricardi took out his manhandling by Roselli in round five on Van Riemsdijk today:
H. Van Riemsdijk (2376) - P. Ricardi (2554)
Pinamar (6)
22...Bxa2+! 23.Kxa2 Rxd4! 24.Bd3 [24.Rxd4 Qxc2 and the dual threats of ...Qxb2 mate and ...Nc3+ cannot be parried.] 24...Nc3+ 0-1 [After 25.bxc3 Qa5+ 26.Kb1 bxc3 disaster arrives on the b-file.]
Round 6 results:
Rodi - Roselli 0-1
García Palermo - Andersson 1-0
Van Riemsdijk - Ricardi 0-1
Hobaica - Larsen 0-1
Hoffman - Giardelli 1-0
Panno - Szmetan 1-0
Leaders: 1. Hoffman 4½/6, 2-3 Panno, Larsen 4, 4-7 Giardelli, Andersson, Garcia Palermos, Ricardi 3½.
*****
Kolev leads, matadors impress
Badalona, Spain - Top seeded Bulgarian GM Atanas Kolev continues to lead alone at the Badalona international with 5/7 after a draw with his most dangerous competitor, Israeli GM Artur Kogan in round seven. Much more impressive was the continuing fighting quality of the event, with all other games ending violently and very successfully for the Spanish title hopes.
Manuel Granados is the sensation of the tournament and appears to have clinched an IM result with two rounds to spare after defeating Ukrainian GM Viktor Moskalenko with the black pieces. This gives Granados a plus score against the grandmasters and his only loss in the event was to Antonio Gual Pascual - who has a total of one point!
Joan Fluvia Poyatos also notched up an IM-norm by winning in round seven. He has been more "business-like", drawing all games so far and winning against the two bottom markers.
Round 7 results:
GM A. Kolev - GM A. Kogan ½-½
GM V. Moskalenko - FM M. Granados 0-1
J. Fluvià Poyatos - A. Gual Pascual 1-0
IM M. Narciso Dublan - FM R. José 1-0
IM A. Vidarte - IM J.M. López Martinez 0-1
Leaders: Kolev 5, 2-5 Granados, López Martinez, Kogan, Fluvià Poyatos 4½, 6-7 Moskalenko, Narciso Dublan 3½.
*****
USA vs. China Summit Match starts
Seattle, USA - Live coverage of this extremely interesting event begins today at 1330 local time, 2130 GMT. Both teams appear to be fielding their top line-ups (see below) for the opening round. An overview of the games and coverage at the site can be found here.
*****
News from 13 March
USA vs. China Summit Match
The Seattle Chess Foundation, a charitable organization with the goal of popularizing chess in the USA as an educational tool, is hosting a friendly challenge match between the USA and China. The matches will take place on March 14, 15, 16 and 18. The two squads will play four matches over ten boards, each team will feature six "overall" players, two women and two juniors. There is one reserve in each category.
The Chinese team is the rating favorite thanks to their powerful women and junior line-ups - the USA will be happy to keep the damage here to a minimum. What is more surprising is that the "overall" boards show the Chinese players higher ranked at the top.
It will be interesting to see if these numbers hold up as the top American players have much greater experience. If the USA are to make a match of it, they will almost certainly need impressive performances from their mature men.
| USA-China Summit Match, Seattle |
| Bd |
USA |
China |
| 1 |
Boris Gulko |
2622 |
Ye Jiangchuan |
2671 |
| 2 |
Yasser Seirawan |
2640 |
Xu Jun |
2655 |
| 3 |
Gregory Kaidanov |
2607 |
Peng Xiaomin |
2648 |
| 4 |
Alexander Shabalov |
2609 |
Zhang Zhong |
2607 |
| 5 |
Alexander Ivanov |
2582 |
Xie Jun |
2557 |
| 6 |
Larry Christiansen |
2566 |
Zhu Chen |
2538 |
| 7 |
Joel Benjamin |
2581 |
Yin Hao |
2576 |
| W1 |
Irina Krush |
2380 |
Xu Yuhua |
2500 |
| W2 |
Camilla Baginskaite |
2306 |
Qin Kanying |
2489 |
| W3 |
Elina Groberman |
2106 |
Wang Lei |
2473 |
| J1 |
Vinay Bhat |
2415 |
Bu Xiangzhi |
2558 |
| J2 |
Dmitry Schneider |
2404 |
Ni Hua |
2534 |
| J3 |
Hikaru Nakamura |
2364 |
Wang Yue |
2439 |
*****
Andersson joins Giardelli and Hoffman in lead
Buenos Aires, Argentina - Swedish GM Ulf Andersson joined frontrunners Hoffman and Giardelli on 3½/5 with a patented endgame grind over Hobaica. The so-far more peacefully inclined Panno, Larsen and Szmetan follow the top group with a score of 3/5.
In round five action Roselli ended his personal nightmare of four opening losses and shocked second seed Pablo Ricardi with a brutal mating attack. In the only other decisive game, GM Garcia Palermo shrugged off a couple of painful losses and reopened his winning account by roughing up Rodi.
Round 5
García Palermo- Rodi 1-0
Andersson - Hobaica 1-0
Larsen - Hoffman ½-½
Giardelli - Panno ½-½
Szmetan - Van Riemsdijk ½-½
Ricardi - Roselli 0-1
P. Ricardi (2554) - B. Roselli (2400)
Pinamar (5)
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 Ne8 10.c5 f5 11.Ba3 Nf6 12.Nd2 Bh6 13.Bf3 Bxd2 14.Qxd2 f4 15.Rac1 g5 16.Be2 g4 17.g3 Ng6 18.Qc2 Ne8 19.Bb5 Ng7 20.Bd3 [See diagram] Nh4! A fairly standard attacking idea, though here it looks at first sight like white has plenty of defensive resources. 21.gxh4 f3! Preventing f3 by white. 22.Kh1 Qxh4 23.Rg1 [23.Rcd1 Rf6 24.Bc1 Nh5 and the threats of ...Nf4 and ...g3 spell trouble.] 23...Rf6 24.Rg3 Rh6 25.h3 Nh5 26.Bf1 [26.Rcg1 Nf4! is a mating attack.] 26...Nxg3+ 27.fxg3 Qxg3 28.Qd2 [28.Qh2 Qh4 wins.] 28...f2! [Threatening mate on g1 and h3.] 29.Qg5+ Kf7 0-1
*****
Kolev in front, Kogan comes back
Badalona, Spain - Bulgarian GM Atanas Kolev is looking every inch the favorite as he knocked off Spanish International Master Narciso Dublan to stay ahead of the pack. Israeli colleague Artur Kogan has fully awoken from his groggy start and has sprinted up to clear second.
Granados and Fluvia Poyatos are both doing well and seem to need only one point from the final three rounds to notch an International Master result. They inched closer to this goal with a draw against each other.
Round 6
GM A. Kogan - IM M. Narciso Dublan 1-0
FM R. José - IM A. Vidarte ½-½
IM J.M. López Martinez - GM V. Moskalenko ½-½
FM M. Granados - J. Fluvià Poyatos ½-½
A. Gual Pascual - GM A. Kolev 0-1
Standings after six of nine rounds: 1. Kolev 4½, 2. Kogan 4, 3-6 Moskalenko, Lopez Martinez, Granados, Fluvia Poyatos 3½, 7-8 Narciso Dublan, José 2½, 9 Vidarte 1½, 10 Gual Pascual 1.
*****
News from 12 March
UPDATE: Akopian, Zhang share first in National Open
Las Vegas, USA - Highly rated Armenian GM Vladimir Akopian finally split a point, drawing with Ildar Ibragimov in the sixth and final round. Only one of his nearest rivals, Chinese GM Zhang Zhong, could win in the final round, beating Russian IM Vladimir Kosyrev to share top honors with 5½/6. This score was worth a tidy US $6000 each.
Sharing 3-11th places and taking home $705 and a bit of change each were: Jiangchuan Ye, Alexander Baburin, Ildar Ibragimov, Alexander Ivanov, Alex Yermolinsky, Dmitry Gurevich, Hao Yin, Alexander Stripunsky and Hua Ni. This list of well-known GMs (plus the surprising duo of Yin and Ni) gives a good indication of the strength of the event.
*****
Akopian takes lead in National Open
Las Vegas, USA - Former FIDE KO world champion finalist Vladimir Akopian has a perfect score after five rounds, and this is enough to put some space between him and the rest of the 256-player field (including over 30 GMs).
Akopian beat Yuri Shulman, fresh from his victory in the Linklater Memorial in San Francisco, in round five while the other four leaders drew. In the sixth and final round, Shulman will face Ildar Ibragimov.
Of the pack of seven players on 4½/5, three are not GMs: Hao Yin and Hua Ni of China and Russian IM Vladimir Kosyrev, who has super-GM Alexander Beliavsky's scalp to his credit.
*****
Giardelli and Hoffman lead in Pinamar
Buenos Aires, Argentina - International Master Sergio Giardelli defeated colleague Herman van Riemsdijk to catch up with leader Alejandro Hoffman with 3/4 in the first Pinamar International. GMs Larsen, Andersson and Panno had quiet draws to stay on 2½ and were joined by Ricardi and Szmetan who won their first games of the event.
GM Garcia Palermo went crashing to his second loss of the event after trying too hard to dazzle against Pablo Hobaica, who is ranked 11th in the 12-man field.
P. Hobaica (2306) - C. Garcia Palermo (2470)
Pinamar (4)
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 Nbd7 5.Bg2 dxc4 6.0-0 a6 7.Nbd2 b5 8.Ne5 Nxe5 9.Bxa8 Qxd4 10.Ne4 Qxd1 [10...Qa7 11.Nxf6+ gxf6 12.Bg2 Bc5 13.b3 h5 14.Bb2 Ng4 15.e3 cxb3 16.axb3 Bb7 17.Bxb7 Qxb7 18.Bd4 ½-½ M. Stean-V. Raicevic Hastings 1979.] 11.Nxf6+ gxf6 12.Rxd1 Bc5 13.Bf4 Ke7 14.Bxe5 fxe5 15.Bc6 Bd4 16.Rab1 b4 17.e3 c3 18.Be4 c5 19.exd4 exd4 20.bxc3 dxc3 21.a3 a5 22.axb4 axb4 23.Ra1 f5 24.Bc2 Bb7 25.Ra7 Rb8 26.Bb3 Kf6 27.Rd6 Bd5 28.Bxd5 Ke5 29.Rad7 [see diagram] 29...Rb6!? 30.Rxb6 exd5 31.Rbd6 d4 32.Rc6 b3 33.Rxc5+ Ke4 34.Rb7 b2 35.Rxb2! 1-0
*****
No games, but changes
Badalona, Spain - The weekend was a luxurious two-day rest for the combatants in Badalona, but there some changes at the top of the table. The explanation is that the fifth round results were put up on site a bit late, and there was a correction to the crosstable for earlier games.
The outcome of all this is that tournament favorite Atanas Kolev is leading alone with 3½/5 and that the success of FIDE Master Manuel Granados is not quite as hot as was first thought as he only drew with GM Kogan instead of winning. This means that Kogan isn't shell-shocked and in fact is moving along into a large tie for second.
Granados is still doing extremely well however, as in the fifth round he drew with Kolev. This makes Granados a decent bet to score an IM norm. The last round was fairly peaceful on the whole, a sign that the earlier brawling may have taken its toll.
Round 5 results:
A. Gual Pascal - GM A. Kogan 0-1
GM A. Kolev - FM M. Granados ½-½
J. Fluvià - IM J.M. López Martinez ½-½
GM V. Moskalenko - FM R. José ½-½
IM A. Vidarte - IM M. Narciso Dublan ½-½
This means that the leaders are now: Kolev 3½/5, Granados, Lopez Martinez, Kogan, Moskalenko, Fluvia Poyatos all 3.
*****
Lübecker near Bundesliga title
The world's toughest chess league had its crunch weekend with leaders Lübecker meeting perennial powerhouse Köln Porz. Lübecker went a long way toward clinching the title with a narrow 4½-3½ win over their rivals. The only Porz win came from French GM Etienne Bacrot while Englishmen Julian Hodgson and Jonathan Speelman won for Lübecker.
As one might guess, the hired gun syndrome is rampant in the Bundesliga and Lübecker SV may spark new debate on this point as the team has repeatedly failed to field a single German on its squad.
| German Bundesliga, Top Division |
| 1. |
Lübecker SV |
11 |
59½:28½ |
22-0 |
| 2. |
SG Köln Porz |
11 |
59½:28½ |
19- 3 |
| 3. |
Solinger SG |
11 |
59½:28½ |
15- 7 |
| 4. |
SV Werder Bremen |
11 |
47½:40½ |
15- 7 |
| 5. |
TV Tegernsee |
11 |
49½:38½ |
14- 8 |
| 6. |
Godesberger SK |
11 |
47½:40½ |
13- 9 |
| 7. |
Hamburger SK |
11 |
47½:40½ |
12-10 |
| 8. |
USC Magdeburg |
11 |
44½:43½ |
12-10 |
| 9. |
SFR Neukölln |
11 |
43:45 |
11-11 |
| 10. |
SV Wattenscheid |
11 |
42½:45½ |
11-11 |
| 11. |
SK König Plauen |
11 |
45:43 |
10-12 |
| 12. |
Castrop Rauxel |
11 |
41:47 |
9-13 |
| 13. |
Schott Mainz |
11 |
30:58 |
5-17 |
| 14. |
Baiertal Schatt |
11 |
36½:51½ |
4-18 |
| 15. |
König Tegel |
11 |
26½:61½ |
3-19 |
| 16. |
Gelsenkirchen |
11 |
24½:63½ |
1-21 |
*****
|
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