Pawn Sacrifice, the story of Bobby Fisher
Posted by 365Chess.com on March 16, 2010 in Chess news
David Fincher will direct Tobey Maguire (Spiderman) as Chess Wizard Bobby Fischer in Sony/Columbia Pictures’ “Pawn Sacrifice”, according to Deadline Hollywood Daily.
Fischer, who died in 2008, was the eleventh World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time.
The film will tell the life story of American chess icon Bobby Fischer leading up to his historic world championship match against Boris Spassky.
The flick, which Maguire will also produce, is slated to film this Fall.
11th European Individual Championship
Posted by 365Chess.com on March 8, 2010 in Chess news
From March 6th to 18th 2010 is taking place in the croatian city of Rijeka the 11th European Individual Championships. Very well known names we found among the participants: players include Almasi, Bacrot, Movsesian, Navara, Vallejo, Motylev, Adams, Tomashevsky, Alekseev, Baadur, Naiditsch, Akopian, Volokitin, Bologan and Caruana.
The championship is an eleven round Swiss tournament with a playing rate of 90 minutes for 40 moves, 30 minutes for the rest of the game, and an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move one. Games start at 3:30 p.m. EST. Saturday, March 13 is a rest day.
Topalov was the winner at Linares 2010
Posted by 365Chess.com on March 2, 2010 in Chess news
Bulgaria’s top chess player has won the title at the prestigious chess tournament in Linares, Spain, also known as the “Wimbledon of Chess.”
In the last round of the tournament, Topalov beat Boris Gelfand from Israel after a five-hour game.
Thus, Topalov got 6,5 points out of 10 possible winning for the first time in his career the Linares Chess Tournament.
In 2005, Topalov came close to winning when he beat legendary Russian chess player Garry Kasparov in the last round, and equalized his score. However, Kasparov was declared the winner thanks to his better performance in additional criteria.
The Linares Tournament was the last competition for former world champion Topalov before he pays for the World Chess Title with India’s Viswanathan Anand in the Bulgarian capital Sofia from April 21 until May 12, 2010
Magnus Carlsen, the prince of chess turned king
Posted by 365Chess.com on February 22, 2010 in Chess news
He recently completed high school without huge success, but 19-year-old Magnus Carlsen is now already at the top of the chess world, following the footsteps of his mentor, legendary chess champion Garry Kasparov.
On New Year’s Day, the mop-haired, sulky-looking Norwegian teen became the youngest player to ever top the rankings of best players published by the International Chess Federation (FIDE).
Now he is setting his sights on the title of world champion.
“It’s been one of my goals for many years to become the number one player and that’s about as far as you can reach in chess without winning the world championship. Obviously it’s a big thing,” Carlsen said.
“The downside, of course, is that you have to answer questions like this a lot,” he added, matter-of-factly.
Initiated into chess early on by his father, as a boy Magnus nevertheless preferred other pastimes which he explored on his own.
Aged two, he could recite all car brands; as a five-year-old, he built monumental creations out of lego; then he moved on to memorising the world’s countries, their flags, capitals, and areas…
But he was soon brought back to chess by the desire to beat his older sister at the game.
He played in his first tournament at the age of eight and burst onto the chess scene when in 2004, at 13, he beat former world champion Anatoli Karpov, pushed Kasparov to a draw and became a chess grandmaster.
“The Mozart of Chess” was born, as the Washington Post put it.
The teen quickly became a regular of the chess circuit, where he could be seen with his shirt untucked and at times yawning and stretching during games.
Despite his sluggish appearance, he climbed the chess hierarchy at dazzling speed.
So much so that only a month after his nineteenth birthday, he wowed the chess universe as the youngest player to ever top the world rankings.
Kasparov, who has coached Carlsen since 2009, was 20 years and nine months old when he made it to that milestone.
“Before he is done, Carlsen will have changed our ancient game considerably,” Kasparov told Time magazine in January.
The Russian player has helped the young Norwegian add a good measure of calculation and a broader repertory of openings to the extraordinary intuition that guides his quick and exact moves.
But Carlsen also seeks to be a regular teen, spending his free time chatting on the Internet and playing football, squash and tennis.
School, on the other hand, is definitely not his cup of tea.
“I’ve focussed on chess for many years, so I didn’t care too much in the last few years,” he said when asked about his final exam results.
“Magnus has normally been excellent at whatever he is interested in and if he’s not interested, then the results are not necessarily excellent,” his father Henrik intervened, explaining “there were probably not enough subjects (in school) in the last few years that he was definitely interested in.”
The benevolent figure has accompanied his son throughout his chess career, and is quick to admit he hasn’t beat Magnus at the game for nine years.
“If I can understand what he’s doing when he is playing, then I’m happy,” he added.
For Magnus, the only title left to conquer is that of world champion, which he can only aspire to obtain in 2011 or 2012, because of the unpredictability of FIDE’s system.
The chess prodigy admits he thinks about the title, but without obsessing over it.
“A lot of players have got lost waiting for world championship matches… And for me, it’s much easier to think that the World Championship is far in the future and I won’t focus on it too much,” he said.
“As for now, I’m focussing more on playing in tournaments and on winning them and staying at the number one rank,” he added.
Chinese chess player finishes fourth in “Moscow Open 2010″
Posted by 365Chess.com on February 8, 2010 in Chess news
China’s chess player Zhao Xue finished in fourth place in the women’s event of the International Chess Festival “Moscow Open 2010″ that ended here on Sunday.
Zhao Xue, who was leading in the tournament for female players with seven points before the final round, was likely to be crowned as long as she drew her rival in Sunday’s game.
However, Zhao lost to Georgian player Salome Melia and ranked fourth with six wins, two draws and one loss.
Georgia’s Melia and Nazi Paikidze shared the victory by scoring 7.5 points each. Baira Kovanova from Russia won the bronze.
The International Chess Festival, hosted by Russian State Social University for the sixth consecutive year, presented a prize totalling five million rubles (164,635 US dollars).
Some 1,226 players from 30 countries, including 100 masters, participated in the festival that kicked off on Jan. 30.
The “Moscow Open 2010″ consists of six tournaments, which are devoted to the Victory in the Great Patriotic War in 1945.
Anand was lucky to beat Shirov in Corus Chess tourney
Posted by 365Chess.com on January 29, 2010 in Chess news
World champion Viswanathan Anand ended his long chain of draws with a lucky victory over Spaniard Alexei Shirov in the tenth round of the ‘A’ group of the Corus chess tournament.
Having drawn the first nine games, Anand yet again tried hard to be back on his winning ways but missed a simple tactic which might have seen him on the receiving end.
However, Shirov missed the opportunity at the fag end of the first time control and instead landed in a lost position which the Indian ace converted without much ado.
Ahead of the third and final rest day, this welcome break for Anand saw him jump to joint fourth spot with just three rounds remaining in this category-19 event.
Russian Vladimir Kramnik emerged as the new sole leader on seven points after Shirov’s disastrous loss. The Russian played drew with Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine on a day that also saw Magnus Carlsen uncork the French defense and winning a fine game against defending champion Sergey Karjakin.
Carlsen and Shirov are joint second with 6.5 points each while Anand shares the next position along with Hikaru Nakamura of United States, Leinier Dominguez of Cuba, Vassily ivanchuk of Ukraine and Karjakin who all have 5.5 points each.
In the ‘B’ group, P Harikrishna suffered a shocking loss against Dmitri Reinderman of Holland, while Parimarjan Negi played out a draw with Ni Hua of China.
Harikrishna was outdone in an English opening by Reinderman who stuck form. Harikrishna lost a couple of Queen side pawns in the middle game and his counter play bid did not really materialise as Reinderman won in 58 moves.
Parimarjan Negi yet again held a higher ranked opponent to an easy draw. Playing the black side of a Queen’s gambit declined, Parimarjan had no difficulties in equalizing out of the opening and timely exchanges forced the game in a level ending. The peace was signed in 51 moves.
Anish Giri of Holland remained at the top of the tables in this section after taking a draw with top seed German Arkadij Naiditsch. The 15-year old now has seven points and Erwin l’Ami of Holland and Ni Hua are still on his toes a half point behind. Parimarjan is joint fifth on 5.5 points while Hari slipped to joint seventh spot on 5 points.
Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta suffered his second reversal in as many days in the ‘C’ group as the Indian could not find an adequate method to combat Norwegian Lie Kjetil and sacrificed a pawn early in the opening. Kjetil played the ensuing middle game quite well to romp home in 53 moves.
World junior girls’ champion Soumya Swaminathan scored her first victory in the event at the expense of Swede Nils Grandelius. The Pune-based got an attacking position early in the opening and she was a treat to watch in tactical complications. Grandelius resigned in 36 moves.
Chinese Li Chao increased his lead to a whopping 1.5 points after beating Robin Swinkles and took his tally to 7.5 points in all and a group of four follow him with six points each. Abhijeet with 5.5 points is joint fifth here while Soumya stands 13th in the 14-players competition.
A chess revival in Iran
Posted by 365Chess.com on January 22, 2010 in Chess news
Iranian chess grandmaster Morteza Mahjoob, who holds the world record for the most number of simultaneous matches, is bent on reviving old Persia’s passion for the ancient game.
Chess was outlawed for nearly a decade after the 1979 Islamic revolution that overthrew the Shah, sidelining Iran from the international chess map.
The 29-year-old Mahjoob, one of seven Iranian international grandmasters — five men and two women, has worked to reverse this and “promote this sport nationwide,” he told AFP.
This fueled his bid to break the record for simultaneous games when he played 500 opponents in Tehran’s Enghelab sports complex last August in a feat monitored by FIDE, the World Chess Federation.
“I had less than five seconds for each move, while each competitor had 20 minutes for his or hers… And I had to walk more than 500 metres (yards) for each round.
“It actually took 18 hours, from 10 am … until 4 am the next day, and given the high temperatures that month it was quite a challenge,” he said.
Though Mahjoob was “really worried”, he won 397 games and “broke the record recorded in the Guinness Book of records,” confirmed Dave Jarrett of FIDE in an email. This sidelined Bulgarian grandmaster Kiril Georgiev who set the world record only six months months earlier playing 360 opponents.
Now Filipino international grandmaster Rogelio Antonio will try to break Mahjoob’s score in April by playing 600 simultaneous matches at Ninoy Aquino stadium in Manila, according to organisers.
The attempt was to have taken place this weekend but organisers said it had been postponed.
But Mahjoob is undaunted. “I always knew that this record would some day be broken, but did not expect it would be this fast.” If sidelined by Antonio, he said he is already “working to regain the world record again during the coming summer.”
“I don’t know how many more (players) but hopefully one hundred more,” he said — meaning 700 simultaneous games.
Mahjoob trained for more than a year for last August’s event, including an exhaustive physical fitness regime. “In this kind of competition as well as having a trained mind, one has to be in good physical shape.
But his real start came as a youngster when he saw his first game.
Chess was outlawed in 1981 because it was thought to encourage betting, which is forbidden in Islam. But in 1988 the Islamic republic’s founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or Islamic religious decree, permitting chess as long as no gambling was involved.
The game, driven underground, made a vigorous comeback.
“One day I went to a park near my home to get a notebook from my friend and … saw two grown-ups playing chess on a bench,” Mahjoob told AFP.
“To kill time I gazed at them moving their pieces around the board and it was there and then that I learnt chess. I asked one of them if I could play … I told him I had just learnt it by watching him! But the man let me play and I beat him in my first game.
“I was 13 then and it made me realise that I had potential in chess,” he recalled.
Mahjoob won grandmaster status in 2007 and today ranks 668 in FIDE’s list of active world players and 60 among active Asian players. He runs two chess schools with a dozen coaches and 800 trainees.
Both his website and that of the Iranian Chess Federation feature a picture of Khomeini’s hand-written fatwa. “It paved the way for Iran’s progress in the world of chess,” Mahjoob said.
The country, which had no grandmasters and only three international masters prior to the revolution, now ranks 49 on FIDE’s list of the 139 top chess countries and has some 200,000 residents playing competitively, according to national chess officials.
Budding champions and chess classes abound, both privately and in city hall-run cultural centres. Competitions are held on every level from national down to local schools, and state-run television broadcasts key games, also showing women players in Islamic dress.
Mahjoob, father of a three-year-old girl and married to a chess coach, has been wooed by neighbouring United Arab Emirates to train their national team — even more so since his world record — but says he’s not interested.
“Like any athlete, I love to reach the summit,” said Mahjoob, who cites legendary Russian grandmaster Garry Kasparov as a role model.
“I would love to become the world chess champion.”
Wesley So looks for first Corus win
Posted by 365Chess.com on January 21, 2010 in Chess news
A well rested Filipino GM Wesley Barbasa So is looking for his first win in the 72nd Corus international chess championship group B as he battles Indian GM Pentala Harikrishna in the 5th round at the De Moriaan Community Centre in Wijk Aan Zee, Netherlands.
The 16-year-old So, 2009 Corus C group champion, drew his first four round assignment against top seed GM Arkadij Naiditsch of Germany, GM Erwin l’Ami of the Netherlands, GM Varuzhan Akobian of the United States and GM Parimarjan Negi of India.
So gets his much needed rest on Wednesday before tackling Harikrishna.
Over-all, So tallied a total of 2 points and joins the 6th placers in the company of Negi, Naiditsch, former World Championships finalist Romanian GM Liviu- Dieter Nisipeanu and Finnish GM Tomi Nyback.
“Crucial game ni Wesley (So) sa fifth round, hope manalo siya,” said National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) president Prospero “Butch” Pichay Jr., who bankrolled the local and international chess campaign of So together with Filway Marketing Inc. CEO Hector “Chito” Tagaysay.
Dutch GM Anish Giri and Chinese GM Ni Hua, both leading in the 13 round-robin tournament with 3 points will each try to maintain their lead. Giri will go up against Israeli GM Emil Sutovsky while Ni will face England’s GM David Howell.
Individual Standings after round 4, Group B:
3 points— GM Anish Giri (Netherlands), GM Ni Hua (China)
2.5 points— GM Erwin L’Ami (Netherlands), GM David Howell (England),GM Pentala Harikrishna (India),
2 points— GM Wesley So (Philippines), GM Arkadij Naiditsch (Germany), GM Liviu- Dieter Nisipeanu (Romania), GM Tomi Nyback (Finland), GM Parimarjan Negi (India),
1.5 points— GM Emil Sutovsky (Israel), WGM Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine)
1 point— GM Varuzhan Akobian (USA),
0.5 point—GM Dimitri Reinderman (Netherlands)
Kamsky catches Almasi and wins Reggio Emilia 2010
Posted by 365Chess.com on January 12, 2010 in Chess news
Before the final round of this prestigious Italian tournament seven-time Hungarian champion Zoltan Almasi was a full point ahead. But he had to face his main rival, Gata Kamsky, with the black pieces. The US grandmaster played a dashing exchange sacrifice on move 17 to take the game and the overall tournament victory. Second was Almasi, third Fabiano Caruana.
World Cup R5: Boris Gelfand and Ruslan Ponomariov got into the semifinals
Posted by 365Chess.com on December 6, 2009 in Chess news
The round five had a quick decision. It took only three games for Boris Gelfand and Ruslan Ponomariov to win over Dmitry Jakovenko and Vugar Gashimov respectively.
World Cup R3: So beats Kamsky with black
Posted by 365Chess.com on November 28, 2009 in Chess news
The current FIDE World Chess Cup is taking place in Khanty-Mansiysk from November 20th to December 15th 2009.
In this opportunity, this event is a seven-round knockout tournamet with six rounds of matches and two games per round. The winner qualifies to the next round. The final round, the seventh, consists of four games.
In round two, Wesley So knocked out Vassily Ivancuk. In the first game of the third round he beated Kamsky with the black pieces. Gelfand beat Polgar and Navara beat Karjakin.
Wesley So just turned 16 and is a grandmaster with a superb international projection.
Kamsky, G. (2695) - So, W. (2640) [C11]
World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (3.1), 2009-11-27
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 Qb6 8. a3 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Bc5 10. Na4 Qa5+ 11. c3 Bxd4 12. Bxd4 Nxd4 13. Qxd4 b6 14. Be2 Ba6 15. Bd1 Qb5 16. b4 Rc8 17. Nb2 Qc6 18. Rc1 O-O 19. a4 Bc4 20. Bg4 Bb3 21. O-O Bxa4 22. f5 Bb5 23. Rfe1 Rfe8 24. Re3 f6 25. fxe6 Nxe5 26. Bf5 g6 27. Bh3 Qd6 28. Rd1 Rcd8 29. Rd2 Qe7 30. Rf2 Nc6 31. Qd2 d4 32. Re4 dxc3 33. Qxc3 Rf8 34. g4 Rd6 35. Bg2 Ne5 36. g5 Rxe6 37. gxf6 Rfxf6 38. Rxf6 Qxf6 39. Re3 Bc6 40. Nd1 Qg5 41. Rg3 Qf4 42. Nf2 Bxg2 43. Kxg2 Nc4 44. Qd3 Ne3+ 45. Kg1 Nf5 46. Qd5 Qc1+ 47. Nd1 Kf7 48. Rc3 Qg5+ 49. Kf2 Qf4+ 50. Kg2 Qg4+ 51. Kf2 Qe2+ 52. Kg1 Qe1+ 53. Kg2 Kg7 0 - 1 (view game)
Gelfand, B. (2758) - Polgar, Ju (2680) [E15]
World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (3.1), 2009-11-27
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. Qa4 Bb7 6. Bg2 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. O-O O-O 9. Nc3 Be7 10. Rd1 Ne4 11. Nxe4 Bxe4 12. Bf4 Qc8 13. Rac1 Rd8 14. Bd6 Bxd6 15. Rxd6 Qc5 16. Qd1 Bd5 17. Rxd5 exd5 18. Ng5 Rf8 19. Bxd5 Nc6 20. Qd3 g6 21. Ne4 Qd4 22. Qxd4 Nxd4 23. Rd1 Nc6 24. Nf6+ Kg7 25. Nxd7 Rfc8 26. Rb1 Rc7 27. Ne5 Nxe5 28. Bxa8 Rxc4 29. Bd5 Rc2 30. Kf1 g5 31. Bb3 Rd2 32. Ke1 Rd7 33. h3 h6 34. f4 Ng6 35. e3 Nf8 36. Rd1 Re7 37. Kf2 Nd7 38. Kf3 Nc5 39. Bc2 Rc7 40. Rd2 Nd7 41. e4 Nf8 42. e5 Nd7 43. Kg4 b5 44. h4 gxf4 45. gxf4 a5 46. Kh5 a4 47. Rg2+ Kf8 48. Kxh6 Rc4 49. Kg5 Nc5 50. Bf5 Rc1 51. h5 Ke7 52. h6 Rh1 53. h7 Ne6+ 54. Kg4 Nf8 55. Rc2 Nxh7 56. Rc7+ Ke8 57. Rb7 Nf8 58. Rb8+ Ke7 59. Rb7+ Ke8 60. Rxb5 Rg1+ 61. Kf3 Rf1+ 62. Ke4 1 - 0 (view game)
Navara, D. (2707) - Karjakin, Sergey (2723) [C88]
World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (3.1), 2009-11-27
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. a3 Kh8 9. h3 d6 10. c3 Be6 11. d4 Bxb3 12. Qxb3 Nd7 13. Qc2 Nb6 14. b3 Qd7 15. Be3 exd4 16. cxd4 d5 17. Nbd2 dxe4 18. Nxe4 Nd5 19. Rac1 Nd8 20. Ne5 Qf5 21. Nc3 Qxc2 22. Rxc2 Nxc3 23. Rxc3 Bd6 24. Bd2 Ne6 25. Nc6 Nf4 26. Rf3 Nd5 27. Rf5 Nf6 28. Bg5 Rae8 29. Ne5 Kg8 30. Bxf6 gxf6 31. Rxf6 Kg7 32. Rf4 f5 33. Re3 c5 34. Rg3+ Kh8 35. Re3 Kg7 36. Rh4 f4 37. Rg4+ Kf6 38. Rxf4+ Kg5 39. Rg4+ Kf5 40. Nd7 Rxe3 41. fxe3 Rc8 42. dxc5 Bxc5 43. Rf4+ Ke6 44. Nxc5+ Rxc5 45. Rh4 h5 46. Kf2 Kd7 47. a4 a5 48. axb5 Rxb5 49. Kf3 Ke6 50. Re4+ Kf6 51. Rc4 Ke6 52. Rc6+ Kd7 53. Rh6 Kc7 54. h4 Rf5+ 55. Ke4 Rb5 56. Kf4 Rxb3 57. Rxh5 a4 58. e4 Kb6 59. Rd5 Rb1 60. g4 a3 61. Rd2 Kc5 62. h5 Rb2 63. Rd8 a2 64. Ra8 Kd4 65. h6 Rf2+ 66. Kg5 Kxe4 67. h7 Rh2 68. Kg6 Kf4 69. Ra4+ Kg3 70. g5 1 - 0 (view game)
Tal Memorial Round 6
Posted by 365Chess.com on November 12, 2009 in Chess news
From November 4th to 19th, is taking place the Tal Memorial. This tournament is the strongest of the year classified as Category XXI (average Elo 2764).
These were the results of the 6th round: Kramink won with white pieces against Ponomariov. The same result obtained Ivanchuk against Morozevich with black and Gelfand against Aronian with white. Leko drawn against Svidler and the same happened with Carlsen and Anand.
After 6 rounds Kramink is the sole leader with 4.5 pts, followed by Anand with 4.0 pts and Gelfand and Ivanchuck with 3.5 pts.
Kramnik,V (2772) - Ponomariov,R (2739) [D38]
Tal Memorial Moscow RUS (6), 2009-11-11
1. d4 e6 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. cxd5 exd5 7. e3 c5 8. dxc5 Qa5 9. Rc1 Ne4 10. Qxd5 Nxc3 11. bxc3 Bxc3+ 12. Kd1 O-O 13. Bc4 Nf6 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Ke2 b5 16. c6 Ba6 17. Qf5 Qa3 18. Bd3 Rfd8 19. c7 Qxa2+ 20. Nd2 Rxd3 21. Qxd3 b4 22. Kf3 Bb7+ 23. Kg3 h5 24. h3 Qa5 25. f4 Rc8 26. Nc4 Qa6 27. Ne5 Qxd3 28. Nxd3 Bc3 29. Rhd1 a5 30. Nc5 Rxc7 31. Na4 Be4 32. Rd6 Kh7 33. Ra6 h4+ 34. Kh2 Rd7 35. Nc5 Re7 36. Rxa5 Bd2 37. Rc4 f5 38. Nxe4 fxe4 39. Rh5+ Kg6 40. Rg5+ Kf6 41. Rc6+ Kf7 42. Rf5+ Kg8 43. g4 Re8 44. Re5 Rb8 45. g5 Kh7 46. Re7 Bxe3 47. Rh6+ Kg8 48. Rg6 Bd4 49. Rge6 Kh7 50. f5 Bc5 51. Re8 Rxe8 52. Rxe8 b3 53. Kg2 Be3 54. Rxe4 Bxg5 55. Rb4 g6 56. Rb7+ Kh6 57. fxg6 Kxg6 58. Kf3 Bd2 59. Kg4 Be1 60. Rxb3 Bg3 61. Rf3 Be1 62. Re3 Bf2 63. Re6+ Kf7 64. Kf5 Bg3 65. Re4 Bf2 66. Kg5 Bg3 67. Re2 Kg7 68. Re7+ Kf8 69. Kf6 Bf2 70. Re6 Bg3 71. Kg6 Bh2 72. Re4 Bg3 73. Kf6 Bf2 74. Kg6 Bg3 75. Re2 Bd6 76. Kg5 Bg3 77. Kf6 Bf4 78. Re4 Bd6 79. Rd4 Bc7 80. Kg6 Bg3 81. Re4 1 - 0 (view game)
Gelfand,B (2758) - Aronian,L (2786) [D47]
Tal Memorial Moscow RUS (6), 2009-11-11
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3 Bb7 9. e4 b4 10. Na4 c5 11. e5 Nd5 12. dxc5 Nxc5 13. Nxc5 Bxc5 14. O-O h6 15. Nd2 O-O 16. Ne4 Bd4 17. Nd6 Bc6 18. Bh7+ Kxh7 19. Qxd4 f6 20. Bd2 fxe5 21. Qe4+ Kg8 22. Qxe5 Qd7 23. Rac1 Rad8 24. Nc4 Rf5 25. Qg3 Nf6 26. Bxh6 Ne4 27. Qg4 Nf6 28. Qg6 Qe7 29. Bg5 Be8 30. Bxf6 Qxf6 31. Qxf6 gxf6 32. Rfd1 Rxd1+ 33. Rxd1 Rc5 34. b3 Bb5 35. Ne3 f5 36. f4 Kf7 37. Kf2 a5 38. Rd8 Rc1 39. Rb8 Bd3 40. Rb7+ Kf6 41. Ra7 Rb1 42. g4 fxg4 43. Nxg4+ Kf5 44. Ne5 Ke4 45. Nxd3 Kxd3 46. Rxa5 Ke4 47. Re5+ Kxf4 48. Rxe6 Rh1 49. Kg2 Rc1 50. Re2 Rc3 51. Kf2 Rc1 52. Rd2 Ke4 53. Kg3 Rc8 54. h4 Ke5 55. Re2+ Kf5 56. Rf2+ Kg6 57. Rf4 Rc2 58. Rxb4 Rxa2 59. Rb5 Rd2 60. h5+ Kf6 61. h6 Rd7 62. Rh5 Rh7 63. Kf4 Kg6 64. Rh3 Kf6 65. Ke4 Ke6 66. Kd4 1 - 0 (view game)
Morozevich,A (2750) - Ivanchuk,V (2739) [E60]
Tal Memorial Moscow RUS (6), 2009-11-11
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 c5 4. d5 Bg7 5. e4 d6 6. Nc3 O-O 7. Nge2 e6 8. Ng3 Na6 9. Be2 exd5 10. cxd5 Nc7 11. a4 a6 12. Bg5 Bd7 13. h4 b5 14. h5 h6 15. Be3 b4 16. Nb1 g5 17. Bf2 Nfe8 18. Ra2 f5 19. b3 fxe4 20. Nxe4 Bf5 21. Ng3 Kh8 22. Bc4 Bh7 23. O-O Nf6 24. Re2 Qd7 25. Rfe1 Rae8 26. Rxe8 Rxe8 27. Rxe8+ Qxe8 28. Nd2 Nfxd5 29. Nde4 Qc6 30. Bd3 Nf4 31. Bc2 Nce6 32. Nd2 Nd3 33. Nge4 Nef4 34. g3 Nh3+ 35. Kg2 Nhxf2 36. Nxf2 Nxf2 37. Kxf2 Bg8 38. Qe2 d5 39. Qe7 Bd4+ 40. Kf1 Qe6 41. Qf8 Qh3+ 42. Ke2 Qg2+ 43. Kd1 Qg1+ 44. Ke2 Qf2+ 45. Kd1 Bg7 46. Qd6 a5 47. Qb6 Qg1+ 48. Ke2 Qg2+ 49. Kd1 c4 0 - 1 (view game)
Azerbaijan leads at Novi Sad
Posted by 365Chess.com on October 28, 2009 in Chess news
Since October 21st is taking place, in Novi Sad, Serbia, the 17th European Team Championship.
In the fifth round Azerbaijan, led by Teimour Radjabov, beated Georgia and took the lead. The surpising French team won over Armenia with a win of Bacrot over Aronian.
In the sixth round two of the strongest teams met: Azerbaijan vs Russia. With all games drawn the encouter was decided. Ukraine vs Georgia and Netherlands vs France were also drawn. And the big surprise was the defeat of Bulgaria by Czech Republic. Topalov drew his game and Ivan Cheparinov lost a decisive game against Laznicka.
The current stands are: Azerbaijan 5/1/0, Russia 3/3/0 and Armenia 4/1/1.
Bacrot,E (2709) - Aronian,L (2773) [D43]
17th TCh-Eur Novi Sad SRB (5), 2009-10-26
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 g5 8. Bg3 b5 9. Be2 Bb7 10. O-O Nbd7 11. Ne5 Bg7 12. Nxd7 Nxd7 13. Bd6 a6 14. a4 e5 15. Bg4 exd4 16. e5 c5 17. f4 dxc3 18. bxc3 Bf8 19. Qe2 Bxd6 20. exd6+ Kf8 21. fxg5 hxg5 22. Be6 Rh7 23. Qc2 Kg8 24. Rxf7 Rxf7 25. Rf1 Nf8 26. Qf5 Nxe6 27. Qxf7+ Kh8 28. Rf6 Qxf6 29. Qxf6+ Ng7 30. d7 b4 31. cxb4 cxb4 32. d8=Q+ Rxd8 33. Qxd8+ Kh7 34. Qb6 Be4 35. Qxb4 Bd3 36. Qa5 1 - 0 (view game)
Radjabov,T (2757) - Svidler,P (2741) [D97]
17th TCh-Eur Novi Sad SRB (6), 2009-10-27
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 O-O 7. e4 a6 8. Qa4 Nc6 9. d5 Na7 10. Be3 c6 11. Rd1 cxd5 12. e5 Ng4 13. Nxd5 Nxe3 14. Nxe3 Qb6 15. b3 Qc5 16. Nd5 Be6 17. b4 Qxd5 18. Rxd5 Bxd5 19. Be2 Nc6 20. O-O e6 21. a3 Nxe5 ½ - ½ (view game)
Cheparinov,I (2667) - Laznicka,V (2634) [B46]
17th TCh-Eur Novi Sad SRB (6), 2009-10-27
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. e5 Qc7 8. Bf4 f5 9. g4 Nh6 10. gxf5 Nxf5 11. Qf3 Bb4 12. Bd3 O-O 13. Rg1 Bb7 14. O-O-O Bxc3 15. bxc3 c5 16. Qg4 Rf7 17. Bxf5 exf5 18. Qh5 Qc6 19. Rd3 Qa4 20. Qh6 Qc6 21. Rd6 Qe4 22. e6 dxe6 23. Rxe6 Qc4 24. Be5 Bg2 25. Bxg7 Rxg7 26. Re7 Qxc3 27. Rxg2 Qa1+ 28. Kd2 Rd8+ 0 - 1 (view game)
Sergei Tiviakov wins the 13th Univé Hoogoveen
Posted by 365Chess.com on October 26, 2009 in Chess news
In the Dutch town of Hoogeveen took place from from October 16th to 24th the 13th Univé Tournament. The Crown Group, formed by Sergei Tiviakov, Judith Polgar, Vassily Ivanchuk and Anish Giri, was the main attraction of this tournament previously known as Essent.
All tournament games were drawn but one. With a single win with white pieces against Judith Polgar, Tivikov won the tournament.
Stewart Haslinger from England won the Unive Open with a 2707 pts performance.
Tiviakov,S (2670) - Polgar,Ju (2687) [B46]
Unive Crown Hoogeveen NED (4), 2009-10-22
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. g3 d6 7. Bg2 Bd7 8. O-O Nf6 9. Nxc6 Bxc6 10. a4 Be7 11. Be3 O-O 12. a5 Nd7 13. Qd2 Qc7 14. Rfe1 Rac8 15. Bd4 Ne5 16. b3 Be8 17. Re3 Nd7 18. Re2 Bf6 19. Bxf6 Nxf6 20. Na2 Bd7 21. c4 Rfd8 22. Nb4 e5 23. Kh1 Ra8 24. f4 Re8 25. Re3 b5 26. axb6 Qxb6 27. Rae1 a5 28. fxe5 Rxe5 29. Nd3 Qd4 30. R3e2 Rb8 31. Nxe5 Qxe5 32. Qd3 h5 33. Rd2 Rb6 34. Qd4 Rxb3 35. Qxd6 Qxd6 36. Rxd6 Be6 37. c5 Ng4 38. c6 Rc3 39. e5 a4 40. Kg1 a3 41. Rd8+ Kh7 42. Rd3 Rc5 43. Rxa3 Nxe5 44. Ra6 g6 45. c7 Bc8 46. Rd6 Ng4 47. Rc6 Ra5 48. h3 Ne5 49. Rd6 Rc5 50. Rd5 Rxd5 1 - 0 (view game)
Nanjin: Carlsen’s in the lead
Posted by 365Chess.com on October 7, 2009 in Chess news
From September 27th to October 9th, is taking place the second edition of the Nanjing Pearl Spring Chess Tournament.
At round 8 Veselin Topalov, with the black pieces, beat Peter Leko, and Magnus Carlsen won his game against Wang Yue. Jakovenko beat Radjabov in 72 moves.
Jakovenko,D (2742) - Radjabov,T (2757) [B78]
2nd Pearl Spring Nanjing CHN (8), 2009-09-28
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 O-O 9. Bc4 Bd7 10. O-O-O Rc8 11. Bb3 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 b5 13. h4 e6 14. a3a5 15. h5 Qe7 16. hxg6 hxg6 17. g4 b4 18. axb4 axb4 19. Na2 Ra8 20. g5 Nh521. Bxg7 Kxg7 22. Qxd6 Qxd6 23. Rxd6 Ba4 24. Bc4 Rfc8 25. b3 Bb5 26. Bxb5Rxa2 27. Rh2 Rc5 28. Kb1 Ra5 29. Bc4 Rxg5 30. Rb6 Nf4 31. Rxb4 Rg3 32. Rf2Rh5 33. Rb7 Kf6 34. Kb2 g5 35. b4 Rh8 36. b5 Ke5 37. b6 Kd4 38. Rc7 Rb8 39.b7 Rxb7+ 40. Rxb7 Kxc4 41. Rxf7 Kd4 42. Ra7 Ke3 43. Rf1 Ng6 44. e5 Kf4 45.Ra4+ Kf5 46. c4 Nxe5 47. c5 Rh3 48. Rd4 Kf6 49. Rc1 Rh7 50. Rc3 Rc7 51. Kb3Nc6 52. Rd6 Ke7 53. Re3 Nd8 54. Kb4 Rc8 55. Ra6 Nc6+ 56. Kb5 Nd4+ 57. Kc4Nc6 58. Rb6 Kf6 59. Rc3 Ke5 60. Kb5 Nd4+ 61. Ka6 Kf4 62. Kb7 Rf8 63. c6 e564. c7 Nxf3 65. c8=Q Rxc8 66. Rxc8 g4 67. Rf8+ Kg3 68. Re6 Kg2 69. Rg8 Kh370. Kb6 Nd2 71. Rh6+ Kg3 72. Kc5 1 - 0 (view game)
Leko,P (2762) - Topalov,V (2813) [D72]
2nd Pearl Spring Nanjing CHN (8), 2009-09-28
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nb6 7. Ne2 c5 8.d5 e6 9. O-O O-O 10. Nbc3 Na6 11. Nf4 e5 12. Nd3 c4 13. Ne1 Bd7 14. Qe2 Nc515. Be3 Rc8 16. Nf3 Qe8 17. Nd2 f5 18. exf5 gxf5 19. Nxc4 Nxc4 20. Qxc4 Ne421. Qb4 Nxc3 22. bxc3 f4 23. Bc5 f3 24. Bxf8 Bxf8 25. Qxb7 fxg2 26. Kxg2Qf7 27. Rab1 e4 28. f4 Rxc3 29. Rb3 Rd3 30. f5 Rd2+ 31. Rf2 Rxf2+ 32. Kxf2Qxf5+ 33. Ke1 Bc5 34. Qb8+ Kf7 35. Qf4 Qxf4 36. gxf4 Ke7 37. Rg3 Kd6 38.Rg7 h5 39. Rg5 e3 40. Ke2 Bb5+ 0 - 1 (view game)
Carlsen,M (2772) - Wang Yue (2736) [D17]
2nd Pearl Spring Nanjing CHN (8), 2009-09-28
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. Ne5 Nbd7 7. Nxc4 Qc78. g3 e5 9. dxe5 Nxe5 10. Bf4 Nfd7 11. Bg2 g5 12. Ne3 gxf4 13. Nxf5 O-O-O14. Qc2 Ng6 15. O-O Kb8 16. Rfc1 a5 17. b4 axb4 18. Nb5 Qe5 19. Nbd4 Bc520. Nb3 h5 21. Rab1 Ba7 22. Bxc6 fxg3 23. hxg3 Rc8 24. Qd3 bxc6 25. Qxd7Rc7 26. Qd3 h4 27. Nbd4 hxg3 28. Rxb4+ Ka8 29. Nxg3 Rd8 30. e3 Nh4 31. Kf1Qa5 32. Rcb1 Nf3 33. Nb3 Qd5 34. Qxd5 cxd5 35. Rd1 Rc2 36. Rf4 Ne5 37. Nd4Rc4 38. Nde2 Rxf4 39. Nxf4 d4 40. Nge2 Nc6 41. e4 Rb8 42. Nd5 Rb2 43. Nef4Kb7 44. Nd3 Rb3 45. Ke2 Ra3 46. f4 Rxa4 47. Rb1+ Kc8 48. Rc1 Kb7 49. e5 Ra350. Rh1 Ra5 51. Nf6 Bb8 52. Rb1+ Kc8 53. Rc1 Kb7 54. Ne4 Ra3 55. Rh1 Bxe556. fxe5 Nxe5 57. Nd6+ Ka6 58. Nb4+ Kb6 59. Rc1 Re3+ 60. Kd1 Rb3 61. Nd5+Ka7 62. Ra1+ Kb8 63. Kc2 Rh3 64. Rb1+ Ka7 65. Rb7+ Ka6 66. Rb6+ Ka5 67.Rb5+ Ka4 68. Nb6+ Ka3 69. Rxe5 1 - 0 (view game)
Kasparov 2 - 0 over Karpov
Posted by 365Chess.com on September 23, 2009 in Chess news
The match that commemorates the 25th anniversary of the first Karpov vs Kasparov World Championship match in 1984-85 has started.
Garry Kasparov started with two quick wins against eternal rival Anatoly Karpov. Karpov lost the first game in 24 moves, when he ran out of time; and the second ended in 28 moves after a fierce kingside attack by Kasparov.
Karpov, Ana. (2619) - Kasparov, G. (2812) [D72]
Match Valencia ESP (1), 2009.09.22
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nb6 7. Ne2 c5 8. d5 O-O 9. O-O e6 10. Nbc3 Na6 11. h3 exd5 12. exd5 Nc4 13. b3 Nd6 14. Bf4 b6 15. Qd2 Bb7 16. Rad1 Nc7 17. g4 Qd7 18. a4 f5 19. g5 Rad8 20. Bg3 f4 21. Nxf4 Nf5 22. Nb5 Nxb5 23. axb5 Nd4 24. Ne6 0 - 1 (view game)
Kasparov, G. (2812) - Karpov, Ana. (2619) [D31]
Match Valencia ESP (2), 2009.09.22
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 c6 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. Bxd6 Qxd6 8. e3 Ne7 9. Bd3 Nd7 10. Nge2 h6 11. O-O O-O 12. a3 a5 13. Rad1 b6 14. e4 dxe4 15. Nxe4 Qb8 16. N2c3 Ba6 17. Bxa6 Rxa6 18. d5 Nxd5 19. Nxd5 cxd5 20. Rxd5 Ra7 21. Qd2 Nc5 22. Nf6+ gxf6 23. Qxh6 f5 24. Qg5+ Kh8 25. Qf6+ Kg8 26. Rxf5 Ne4 27. Qh4 Re8 28. Rh5 f5 1 - 0 (view game)
Kasparov and Carlsen met the press in Oslo
Posted by 365Chess.com on September 18, 2009 in Chess news
Last september the 7th, the world knew one of the most shocking new of the year. The 18-years-old chess star, and ranked 4th in the world, Magnus Carlsen, has the living chess legend Garry Kasparov as his personal trainer.
The objective is as simple as audacious: make Magnus the world’s number one in the course of the coming year.
Now a scheduled training session between Garry Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen was the perfect ocassion to meet the press.
There is no doubt that Carlsen is on the way.
Aronian won Bilbao Masters
Posted by 365Chess.com on September 14, 2009 in Chess news
The II Grand Slam Final Chess Masters 2009 took place in Bilbao from September 6th to September 12th. The particularity of this tournament is that the games are played in a glass cube placed in the central square of Bilbao (Plaza Nueva).
Four players were competing: Sergey Karjakin (first place at Wijk ann Zee), Alexander Grischuk (first place at Ciudad de Linares), Alexei Shirov (first place at Sofia) and Levon Aronian (second-place at Nanking).
The games were played at a rate of 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, 60 minutes to finish the game, with 10 extra seconds per move from move number 41.
Levon Aronian drawn the two games of the last round, and with a 2919 performance, is the winner of this tournament. The final standings are: L. Aronian 13 pts., A. Grischuk 8 pts., S. Karjakin 7 pts. and A. Shirov 3 pts.
Karpov-Kasparov will meet again
Posted by 365Chess.com on August 31, 2009 in Chess news
It has recently been announced that Kasparov and Karpov will meet each other again in Spain. To commemorate the 25th annyversary of their first world championship match in 1984, now they will play a 12-game match – four rapid and eight blitz games.
The competition will take place from 21 to 24 September, 2009, in Valencia, Spain.
Jermuk R6: four players lead this tournament
Posted by 365Chess.com on August 17, 2009 in Chess news
This tournament is a memorial to former world champion Tigran Petrosian, who held the title from 1963–1969. This event is taking place from August 8th-24th August 2009. It is a Category 19 tournament, with eleven of the 14 players rated over 2700.
Four players lead the tournament. Current standings: L. Aronian, V. Ivanchuk, R. Kasimidzhanov and P. Leko with 4pts, followed by D. Jakovenko, S. Karjakin, P. Eljanov, B. Gelfand and E. Alekseev with 3 pts.