Shirov the Artist Wins Merida
Alexei Shirov won his final-round game against Akopian in artistic fashion to win Merida 2000 by a half-point over Judit Polgar, who drew her game.
Hernandez-Polgar was a short draw.
Akopian played the French Winawer, Ba5 line. They castled on opposite wings and Akopian sacked the exchange on f3. But Shirov broke through in the center and chased black's king across the board, then deftly exchanged down to a winning king-and-pawn endgame. Shirov was up 3 pawns to 2 and stopped black's pawns with his king, so Akopian resigned after 47 moves, giving the championship to Shirov.
Round 6 Results:
Shirov 1-0 Akopian
Hernandez ˝-˝ Polgar
Final Standings:
Shirov 4.0
Polgar 3.5
Hernandez 2.5
Akopian 2.0
Polgar Draws Shirov, Both Maintain Lead
Everyone moves forward one-half step. Polgar-Shirov was a French Burn: 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4. They castled on opposite wings, and Shirov sacked his b-pawn for an open file for his rook, but nothing came of it as they drew in 21 moves.
Akopian played the Trompowsky and sacked the exchange for a kingside attack, but Hernandez defended and Akopian was forced to take perpetual check for a draw in 27 moves.
Round 5 Results:
Polgar ˝-˝ Shirov
Akopian ˝-˝ Hernandez
Standings After Round 5:
Shirov 3.0
Polgar 3.0
Akopian 2.0
Hernandez 2.0
Official website: http://www.deportesmerida.gob.mx/magistral2000/torneomagistral.htm
18 June 2000
Polgar Joins Shirov at the Top
Judit Polgar thumped Akopian while Hernandez and Shirov drew, leaving Shirov and Polgar atop the leaderboard with 2.5 points after Round 4 of Merida 2000.
The Queen of Chess chose the Queen's Indian, and gave up a pawn in the opening to keep Akopian from castling. Apparently Akopian played incorrectly on the 19th move, when he should have moved up his king to activate his rook. With his king caught in the center, Akopian chose a dubious piece sack, giving up his knight for two pawns and a few checks. But Polgar got the rooks off and was simply up a bishop, so Akopian resigned after 35 moves.
Shirov played the popular 3...Nf6 in the French, and after 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Be7 6. Bxf6 Bxf6, a central battle ensued. Hernandez won Shirov's e-pawn, leaving "Leonardo" a pawn down for nothing. But Hernandez
didn't care to play it out, and a draw was agreed in 30 moves.
Round 4 Results:
Akopian 0-1 Polgar
Hernandez ˝-˝ Shirov
Standings After Round 4
Shirov 2.5
Polgar 2.5
Akopian 1.5
Hernandez 1.5
16 June 2000
Shirov's Masterpiece Puts Him in the Lead
Shirov played the Qxd5 line in the French Tarrasch, and Akopian chose 10. Qxd4, draining the position of its electricity. But Shirov came ready to fight today, and struggled mightily to find a way to score the full point. It came down to a rook-and-pawn endgame where Akopian had passed b- and c-pawns, while Shirov had passed e-, f-, and g-pawns. The final stroke came on move 81, and the Leonardo da Vinci of chess had painted another masterpiece.
Polgar-Hernandez was a Steinitz French: 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5. Hernandez sacrificed a piece to tear up Polgar's kingside. After the queens were off, he was left with 3 pawns for the piece, with passed d- and e-pawns. But they proved to be no match for Polgar's bishop pair and rook. The pawns were stopped in their tracks while the bishops threatened to pick them off, so Hernandez resigned.
Round 3 Results:
Akopian 0-1 Shirov
Polgar 1-0 Hernandez
Standings After Round 3:
Shirov 2.0
Akopian 1.5
Polgar 1.5
Hernandez 1.0
15 June 2000
Polgar Falls for Shirov
Alexei Shirov outlasted Judit Polgar Wednesday in the second round of Merida 2000. Akopian beat Hernandez to take the tournament lead.
Polgar played a Paulsen Sicilian, and the fireworks exploded early as she played 11...g5, opening up the kingside while erasing Shirov's pawn wedge in the center. After castling queenside, Polgar aimed her queen and rook at Shirov's h2 pawn, but Alexei guarded the threat. Then with pressure up the center, a series of exchanges left Shirov with a rook and two passed kingside pawns while Polgar had 2 knights. Shirov's passed g-pawn couldn't be stopped, and the game was over.
Hernandez played conservatively, responding to Akopian's Scheveningen Sicilian with Be2 and Be3. Akopian's queenside attack arrived before Hernandez could get something started on the kingside. Akopian grabbed a couple pawns and emerged with a menacing passed a-pawn. But the game was decided when Akopian exchanged rooks and flushed Hernandez's king out of his corner with his queen and bishop, forcing Hernandez's resignation.
Round 2 Results:
Shirov 1-0 Polgar
Hernandez 0-1 Akopian
Standings After 2 Rounds:
Akopian 1.5
Shirov 1.0
Hernandez 1.0
Polgar 0.5
14 June 2000
Hernandez Upsets Shirov
Gilberto Hernandez upset favorite Alexei Shirov in the first round of Merida 2000 Tuesday.
Shirov played 2. d3 in response to Hernandez's French. He doubled his rooks on the e-file, then sacked one on e5 for Hernandez's king-bishop. But Hernandez quickly queened a pawn on c1. Meanwhile, Shirov got a pawn to h5, threatening black's king. But it wasn't enough. Hernandez defended and Shirov was simply down a queen and resigned after 36 moves.
A disappointing game to start off the tournament for Shirov.
Polgar-Akopian was a short, 18-move draw from a French defense.
Round 1 Results:
Shirov 0-1 Hernandez
Polgar ˝-˝ Akopian
13 June 2000
Shirov, Polgar, Meet at Merida
The City Chess Tournament of Merida, Mexico, will be held in the Merida Cultural Center, the Olimpo, from June 13 to 19, 2000.
Competing in the Magistrate Tournament are : Alexei Shirov (Spain), Judit Polgar (Hungary), Vladimir Akopian (Armenia), and Gilberto Hernandez (Mexico).
The tournament is a double-elimination round-robin. Total prize fund is $260,000.00 pesos (about $30,000 US).
Game will be live on the Internet (official website and ICC), starting at 2100 GMT (5pm EDT).
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