Ponomariov Wins Pamplona

The Pamplona International was held from December 23-29 2005 in Pamplona, Spain. It was won by Ruslan Ponomariov with 5/7, followed by Pentala Harikrishna and Ivan Cheparinov half a point behind. Veteran Dutch GM Jan Timman came in an out-of-form seventh. Games and results.

CHESS PIECE: PARAGUA BOWS TO DREEV

[Bobby Ang]

The FIDE World Chess Cup is being staged from 26 November to 18 December 2005, in Khanty-Mansyisk, Russia. This the 128-player event replaces what was known as the "FIDE Knockout World Championship" and serves as a qualifier for the Candidates stage of the world championship. The prize fund is US $1.5 million, with FIDE’s President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov providing $300,000 for organizational costs.
The World Cup consists of 7 rounds of knock-out matches to determine the top 10 who will proceed to the candidates’ matches for the next world championship. 128 players representing their respective continents or zones answered the starting bell for round one, and from that number only 64, Mark Paragua included, proceeded to round two.
In round 2 the games were even more hard fought than previously. Many matches went to speed chess tie breaks and some to the "Armageddon" where a game of blitz is contested with white having more time but Black needing only a draw. In the first round tie-breaks three matches went to the final sudden-death blitz game. Black, with draw odds, moved on in every case. In the current round, white won three out of four armageddon battles.
When the clocks had stopped the 64 player field was reduced to 32. Here they are:
Armenia. GM Levon Aronian 2724
Azerbaijan. GM Teimour Radjabov 2704
Bulgaria. GM Ivan Cheparinov 2618
China. GM Xu Jun 2582
Cuba. GM Lazaro Bruzon 2677
France. GM Etienne Bacrot 2725, GM Joel Lautier 2679
Georgia. GM Baadur Jobava 2601, GM Levan Pantsulaia 2578
India. GM Penteala Harikrishna 2673
Israel. GM Boris Gelfand 2717, GM Ilia Smirin 2673, GM Emil Sutovsky 2654
Netherlands. GM Sergei Tiviakov 2699, GM Ivan Sokolov 2696, GM Loek Van Wely 2648
Norway. GM Magnus Carlsen 2570
Russia. GM Alexander Grischuk 2720, GM Alexey Dreev 2694, GM Evgeny Bareev 2675, GM Evgeniy Najer 2641, GM Vladimir Malakhov 2670, GM Konstantin Sakaev 2668, GM Sergei Rublevsky 2652
Spain. GM Alexei Shirov 2710, GM Francisco Vallejo Pons 2674
Ukraine. GM Ruslan Ponomariov 2704, GM Zahar Efimenko 2637, GM Pavel Eljanov 2663, GM Alexander Areshchenko 2653
USA. GM Gata Kamsky 2690, GM Yuri Shulman 2565
Some statistics:
highest rated: GM Etienne Bacrot FRA 2725
lowest rated: GM Yuri Shulman USA 2565
oldest: GM Xu Jun (43 yrs old). He is also the only one above 40 years of age.
youngest: GM Magnus Carlsen (15 yrs old)
trivia: there was a time when the world was dominated by “B” (Botvinnik, Bronstein, Boleslavsky, Bondarevsky) and then we had the “K” (Karpov, Kasparov, Kramnik, Korchnoi, Kamsky). In fact, Khalifman used to spell his name “Halifman” and only shot into the top echelons of chess after adding the “K” to his name. So what’s going to be the new letter? It is still unclear, but maybe “S”
Only two Asians are left to carry the colors of the East, that is Harikrishna of India and Xu Jun of China.
Mark Paragua entered the round fresh from an upset win over the highly-fancied superGM Sergei Movsesian, the champion of Slovakia. He was given little chance against Alexey Dreev, who last April was rated 2705 (!). But Mark has been making slow but sure progress in his chess development, and what might have seemed impossible before was now only improbable. With black in the first game he surprised Dreev with a Queen’s Gambit Accepted and maintained the balance to simplify into an equal rook and pawn endgame, which he held with ease.
Dreev,A (2694) - Paragua,M (2596) [D20]
WCC Khanty Mansyisk (2.1), 30.11.2005
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 e5 4.Nf3 exd4 5.Bxc4 Bb4+ 6.Nbd2 Nc6 7.0–0 Nf6 8.e5 Nd5 9.Nb3 Nb6 10.Bb5 Qd5 11.Nbxd4 Bd7 12.Bxc6 Bxc6 13.Nxc6 Qxc6 14.Bg5 h6 15.Rc1 Qd5 16.a3 hxg5 17.axb4 g4 18.Ng5 Qxd1 19.Rfxd1 Rh5 20.f4 gxf3 21.Nxf3 Rc8 22.b5 Nd7 23.Re1 Kf8 24.Re4 Rh6 25.Nd4 Rh5 26.Nf3 Rh6 27.Rd1 Ke8 28.Rg4 Rg6 29.e6 Rxe6 30.Rxg7 Rg6 31.Rh7 Nf6 32.Rh8+ Rg8 33.Rxg8+ Nxg8 34.Ra1 Ra8 35.Kf2 Nf6 36.Ke3 Ke7 37.h3 Ne8 38.Kf4 Nd6 39.Nd4 Kf6 40.Re1 a6 41.Ra1 Re8 42.bxa6 bxa6 43.Kf3 Rb8 44.Rxa6 Rxb2 45.g4 Rb4 46.Ke3 Rc4 47.Nf3 Rc3+ 48.Kf4 Rc4+ 49.Kg3 Kg7 50.Ra2 Ne4+ 51.Kg2 c5 52.h4 Rc1 53.Re2 Nf6 54.Ne5 Nd5 55.Rd2 Nf4+ 56.Kg3 Ng6 57.Nxg6 Kxg6 58.Rd6+ Kg7 59.Rc6 c4 60.g5 c3 61.Kg4 c2 62.Kh5 Kf8 63.Rc7 Ke8 64.Kh6 Rh1 65.Rxc2 Rxh4+ 66.Kg7 Rf4 67.Re2+ Kd7 68.g6 fxg6 ½–½
In the second game Mark decided that he wanted to go into the rapid tie-breaks and played a short draw. This might have to do with some financial considerations. Anyone who loses in the second round would receive US $9,000, but if he draws the standard 2-game match then he is entitled to half of the difference between the 2nd and 3rd round purse. This means that even if he now loses the tie-breaks he will be receiving an extra US $2,500 (3rd round losers get $14,000).
Now for the big surprise. The next day was dedicated to tie-breaks, and the two combatants played at an active time control (25 minutes for the whole game with a 10 second increment added after every move). Dreev played well and had the initiative but overreached and the Filipino rushed down the board with rook and pawn to turn the tables and win. The Russian was now against the ropes!

Paragua,Mark (2596) - Dreev,Alexey (2694) [D45]
WCC Khanty Mansyisk (2.3), 02.12.2005

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 a6
The first surprise. Dreev, a former Wch-quarter finalist and arguably the world's greatest authority on the Semi-Slav, has gotten this position hundreds of times in his practice, but always continued here 5...Nbd7.
The position we have on the board was popularized by the Russian-turned-Belgian GM Mikhail Gurevich. His treatment of this system is to play 6...dc4 in response to 6. Bd3, and after 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3 c5 and we have a favorable version of the Queen's Gambit Accepted.

6.a3
The critical continuation is 6.c5 which was what Kasparov used to defeat Fritz in their famous match 2 years ago. 6...Nbd7 7.b4 a5 8.b5 e5 9.Qa4 Qc7 10.Ba3 e4 11.Nd2 Be7 12.b6 Qd8 13.h3 0–0 14.Nb3 Bd6 15.Rb1 Be7 16.Nxa5 Nb8 17.Bb4 Qd7 18.Rb2 Qe6 19.Qd1 with a pawn extra and black suffocating. Kasparov,G (2830)-Comp Fritz X3D/ New York 2003 1–0 (45).

6...Nbd7 7.b4 g6
Now we see Dreev's idea, he puts his bishop on the long diagonal rather than Gurevich's treatment of putting it on d6.

8.Bd3 Bg7 9.0–0 0–0 10.Bb2 b5 11.cxd5 exd5 12.e4 Nb6 13.Ne5 Bb7 14.exd5 Nfxd5 15.Rc1 Nxc3 16.Bxc3 f6 17.Ng4 Qd6 18.h4 Bc8 19.Nh2 Be6 20.Re1 Bc4 21.Bb1 Rfe8 22.Qf3
This move doesn't seem quite so correct, as he is putting the queen on a spot where it can be harassed. Perhaps better is 22.h5 Rxe1+ 23.Qxe1 Bf7 and both sides have chances.

22...Bd5 23.Qh3 Be6 24.Qf3 Bd5 25.Qh3 Bh6 26.Rcd1 Be6
[26...Bb3 27.Ng4!? complicates things too much]

27.Ng4 Bg7 28.h5 Bxg4 29.Qxg4 f5 30.Qf3 Nd5 31.Bb2 Qf4
White's attacking attempts have been parried and Black sets his sights on the isolated d4-pawn.

32.Qxf4 Nxf4 33.hxg6 hxg6 34.g3 Nd5 35.Ba2 Kf8 36.Rxe8+ Rxe8 37.Kf1 Rd8 38.Ke2 Ke7 39.Rc1 Kd6 40.Bxd5 Kxd5 41.Kd3 Rh8 42.Rc5+ Kd6 43.Bc1 Rh1 44.Bf4+ Kd7 45.Bd2 Ra1 46.Bc1 Ra2 47.f3 Bf8 48.Rc2 Ra1?
Black should have agreed to the exchange of rooks. Now his rook is cornered.

49.g4 Bd6 50.gxf5 gxf5 51.d5! cxd5 52.Kd4 Rb1
Sets a trap which white doesn't fall into. Instead, 52...Ke6 53.Rc6 Kd7 54.Rc2 will result in a handshake.
See diagram
caption: position after 52...Rb1

53.Rc3!
Dreev’s idea was that 53.Kxd5? is met by 53...Rb3! (threatening mate via ...Rd3) 54.Kd4 (54.Rd2? Bf4 55.Rd1 Rb1 white's bishop is lost) 54...Rxf3 the f5-pawn becomes a monster.

53...Bg3 54.Kxd5 a5?
This move is good only if Black's bishop were on c7 or d6.

55.bxa5 b4 56.axb4 Rxb4 57.Rd3 Rb5+ 58.Kc4+ Kc6 59.f4 Rc5+ 60.Kb4 Rxc1 61.Rxg3
The endgame is winning for white.

61...Rf1 62.Rc3+ Kb7 63.Rc4 Ka6 64.Rd4 Re1 65.Rd6+ Kb7 66.Kc5 Ra1 67.a6+ Kc7 68.Rc6+ Kd7 69.Rg6 Ra4 70.a7! Kc7
[70...Rxa7 71.Rg7+]

71.Rg8 1–0
Black will be forced to exchange rooks, after which it would be an easy matter for White to go after the f5-pawn and win with his remaining pawn.

Mark needed only to draw the next game to advance to the 3rd round, but he could not contain the sheer strength of Dreev. We had the same opening as in game 1, and a queenless middlegame arose where Dreev outplayed the Filipino. With two knights running roughshod against his rooks Mark cracked under the pressure the blundered on the 39th move.

Dreev,A (2694) - Paragua,M (2596) [D20]
WCC Khanty Mansyisk (2.4), 02.12.2005

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 e5 4.Nf3 exd4 5.Bxc4 Bb4+ 6.Nbd2 Nc6 7.0–0 Nf6 8.e5 Nd5 9.Nb3 Nb6 10.Bb5 Qd5 11.Nbxd4 0–0
In game 1 Mark had played 11..Bd7 to avoid the doubling of his pawns.

12.Bxc6 bxc6 13.Qc2 c5 14.Ne2 c4 15.Nf4 Qb5 16.a3 Be7 17.a4 Qc6 18.Be3 Bb7 19.Nd4 Qe4 20.Qxe4 Bxe4 21.Nb5 Rfc8 22.Nc3 Bc6 23.a5 Nd7 24.Nfd5 Bf8 25.Bd4 Rab8 26.Bxa7 Rxb2 27.Bd4 Nc5 28.a6 Rd2 29.Bxc5 Bxc5 30.Ra5 Bb6 31.Ne7+ Kf8 32.Nxc6 Bxa5 33.Nxa5 Ra8 34.Nb5 Rxa6 35.Nxc4 Rc2 36.Ne3 Rc5 37.Nd4 Rxe5 38.Rb1 g6 39.g3 Rd6? 40.Nc4 1–0
The rest was an anti-climax, as Paragua was clearly dispirited by how close he came to eliminating his famous opponent. In the two blitz tie-breaks (5 minutes for the game plus 10 second increment after every move) that followed Dreev won the first and easily drew the second to advance.

Mark Paragua gave a good account of himself. Despite being outrated in both of his matches he scored 3 draws and a win, which adds up to an additional 9 ELO points. This, together with the points gained from tying for first in the Zonals would definitely put him past the ELO 2600 mark, what we generally call the Super-GMs, the first Filipino ever to achieve that distinction.

We should also mention Mr. Hector Tagaysay of Filway Marketing, who I believe sponsored Mark’s trip from his own pocket.

If you are reading this Mark, text me when you come home to the Philippines. I feel a great need to buy dinner for you and your dad.

Reader comments/suggestions are urgently solicited. Email address is bang@bworldonline.com
"This article first appeared in Bobby Ang's column in Businessworld (Philippines) on 05 Desember 2005"

SEMI-SLAV: PARAGUA vs DREEV

CHESS PIECE: PARAGUA UPSETS MOVSESIAN

[Bobby Ang]

The FIDE World Chess Cup is being staged from 26 November to 18 December 2005, in Khanty-Mansyisk, Russia. This the 128-player event replaces what was known as the "FIDE Knockout World Championship" and serves as a qualifier for the Candidates stage of the world championship. The prize fund is US $1.5 million, with FIDE’s President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov providing $300,000 for organizational costs.
Last Sunday 128 players representing zones and continents from all over the world sat down to play 2-game knock-out matches to qualify 64 of them to the next round. The losing 64 get to go home right away with $6,000 (less 20% FIDE tax) in their pockets.
GM Vladimir Akopian, the Vice-Champion in the 1999 Las Vegas FIDE World Championship, fell ill and had to forfeit both his games to Englishman-turned-Australian IM Gary Lane.
Aside from Akopian the top 20 all won in the 1st round including Vassily Ivanchuk, Etienne Bacrot, Levon Aronian, Alexander Grischuk, Boris Gelfand, Alexei Shirov, Teimour Radjabov, Ruslan Ponomariov, Sergei Tiviakov, Ivan Sokolov, Alexey Dreev, Gata Kamsky, Viorel Bologan, and Joel Lautier.
In fact, we have to look all the way down to board 24 to see the first upset – the Vietnamese GM Cao Sang, now representing Hungary (geez, imagine that, for the first time someone from Southeast Asia is imported to represent an East European chess powerhouse), knocked out Ukraine’s superGM Andrei Volokitin.
At least Volokitin is in good company. His co-finalist in the Young Masters’ tournament held in Lausanne last September, US Champion GM Hikaru Nakamura, was also eliminated, the Indian GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly doing the honors. Nakamura had fought his way to the 4th round of the 2004 Tripoli World Championship and his supporters were hoping that he would advance farther this year, but he was outplayed by Ganguly in both games and went down to a 0-2 defeat.
On board 32 the 15-year old Norwegian sensation Magnus Carlsen upset superGM Zurab Azmaiparashvili. The youngster won the first game but Zurab came back in the second game to tie the match. The first tie-break game (25 minutes each with 10 second increment added after every move) saw another win by Magnus, and he stopped Azmaiparashvili’s attempt to come back again with a nice crush in the second tie-break:
Carlsen,M (2570) - Azmaiparashvili,Z (2658) [B06]
WCC Khanty Mansyisk RUS (1.4), 29.11.2005
1.d4 d6 2.e4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.f4 a6 5.Nf3 b5 6.Bd3 Nd7 7.Be3 c5 8.dxc5 Nxc5 9.Bxc5 dxc5 10.e5 Ra7 11.Qe2 Nh6 12.a4 Qa5 13.0–0 b4 14.Ne4 0–0 15.Qf2 Rc7 16.Nfd2 Be6 17.Nc4 Bxc4 18.Bxc4 Nf5 19.Rfd1 Qb6 20.c3 h5 21.a5 Qc6 22.Qe2 Rb8 23.Bd5 Qb5 24.Bc4 Qc6 25.Bd5 Qe8 26.Bc4 Bh6 27.g3 Rd8 28.Bxa6 Rxd1+ 29.Rxd1 Qa4 30.Bc4 Qxa5 31.e6 fxe6 32.Nf6+ Kh8 33.Rd8+ Kg7 34.Rg8+ 1–0
Of course for us Filipinos the most important match was between GM Mark Paragua (PHI 2596) vs Slovakian champion GM Sergei Movsesian (SVK 2635). As we had written last Friday Movsesian was an extremely tough adversary – he had reached the quarter-finals (last 8 players standing) in the 1999 Las Vegas World Championship and had won a few super-tournaments, including the 2002 Sarajevo category-16 event ahead of Shirov and Sokolov.
Movsesian obviously did not take Paragua seriously and was going for his usual tactic in knock-out tournaments of drawing the two standard games quickly to move over to the tie-breaks at faster time controls. Movsesian has an excellent reputation as a blitz player and did not think he would have much trouble in disposing of the Filipino once they reach the tie-breaks (although even here matters are not so clear – Paragua is also a terrific blitzer).
Their first game was a short draw:
Movsesian,S (2635) - Paragua,M (2596) [B90]
FIDE World Cup, Khanty Mansyisk RUS (1.1), 27.11.2005
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f3 h5 9.f4 exf4 10.Bxf4 Nc6 11.Qd2 d5 12.exd5 Nxd5 13.Nxd5 Qxd5 14.0–0–0 0–0–0 15.Bd3 Bd6 16.Be3 Nb4 17.Kb1 Nxd3 18.cxd3 Kb8 19.Ka1 Rc8 20.h3 f6 21.Rhe1 Bf7 22.Bg1 ½–½
Mark saw his chance. In the second game, with White, he surprised Movsesian by starting off with 1.d4 instead of his usual kingside opening. Then he revealed his deep preparation by going into a line which Movsesian favors and springing a surprise. By this time the Slovakian smelled a fight to the death and tried to create counterplay for himself, but Paragua was in brilliant form and broke through with a sacrificial attack to force resignation.
Paragua,Mark (2596) - Movsesian,Sergei (2635) [D15]
FIDE World Cup, Khanty Mansyisk (1.2), 27.11.2005
1.d4
In his previous stint at the world championships Mark lost to Bologan because he didn't have sufficient knowledge of the queenside openings. It appears that he has been doing a lot of work in the two years since, because now we see Mark opening with 1.d4 and, with black, answering 1.d4 with a Queen's Gambit Accepted instead of his usual King's Indian.
1...Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 a6 5.c5 Nbd7 6.Bf4 Nh5 7.Bd2 Nhf6 8.Bf4 Nh5
This system does not have a good reputation, but some people, including Movsesian, play it regularly with black.
9.e3
The alternative is to preserve the bishop with 7.Bd2.
9...g6 10.h4 Nxf4 11.exf4 Bg7 12.h5 b6 13.cxb6 Qxb6 14.Qd2 Rb8 15.b3 Nf6 16.hxg6 fxg6?!
The text leaves the square e5 open for white to create an outpost for his knight. However, capturing the other way does not equalize either. There could follow 16...hxg6 17.Na4 (17.Rxh8+ Bxh8 18.Rc1 Ne4 19.Nxe4 dxe4 20.Ne5 Bb7 21.Rc5 was agreed drawn in the game between Farago,I (2507)-Seres,L (2497) from Budapest 2004. Probably there were other considerations affecting the players' decision, because White had a plus in the final position and could well be justified in playing for a win) 17...Ne4 18.Nxb6 Nxd2 19.Rxh8+ Bxh8 20.Kxd2 Rxb6 with slightly the better prospects for White.
17.Ne5 Ng4 18.Na4 Qc7
[18...Qb4!? to exchange off the major pieces loses a pawn to 19.Nxc6 Qxd2+ 20.Kxd2 Nxf2 21.Nxb8 Nxh1 22.Bxa6 Bxa6 23.Rxh1 Bb5 24.Nc3]
19.Rc1
So now in addition to the white knight on e5 Black is also saddled with a weak pawn on c6. Movsesian realizes that he is in deep trouble and tries to complicate the position, but if you ask me he is already lost at this point.
19...Nxe5 20.fxe5 0–0 21.Bd3 Qd7 22.Rh4 e6 23.Ke2 Qf7 24.f3 Bd7 25.Rch1
The h-pawn cannot be defended - it has to move.
25...h5 26.R1h3 Be8 27.Qg5 c5 28.Nxc5 Bb5 29.Rg3 Bxd3+ 30.Kxd3 Kh7
See diagram
caption: position after 30...Kh7
31.Nd7!
Heading for f6. The knight is immune to capture because of 31...Qxd7 32.Qxg6+ Kg8 33.Qxh5.
31...Rg8 32.Rgh3
Threatening to take the h5 pawn.
32...Rgd8
Movsesian wanted very much to play 32...Qf5+ but after 33.Qxf5 exf5 34.Nxb8 Rxb8 35.g4 his game is likewise hopeless.
33.Nf6+ Bxf6 34.exf6 Rb7 35.g4 Qe8 36.gxh5
Black should now resign. Instead he goes on a spree of spite checks.
36...Rxb3+ 37.axb3 Qb5+ 38.Ke3 Qxb3+ 39.Kf2 Qc2+ 40.Kg3 Qg2+ 41.Kxg2 1–0
Well done Mark! By winning in the first round he has guaranteed himself a minimum of US $9,000 (well, $7,200 if you take out the 20% which FIDE deducts as some sort of tax).
Paragua will now proceed to the second round where he will face one of the top players of Russia – superGM Alexey Dreev, who sports an ELO rating of 2694, almost 100 pts above Mark. Dreev is one of the world’s greatest experts in the Semi-Slav with Black, the same opening that Movsesian used in his fatal second game above. I am already very excited to see what else Mark has in store against it.
Let us dream a bit – if Mark beats Dreev his guaranteed prize goes up to US $14,000, and if he wins in the third round he becomes a millionaire, because the minimum prize that he will be taking home is US $21,000.
C’mon Mark, you can do it!
Reader comments/suggestions are urgently solicited. Email address is bang@bworldonline.com

"This article first appeared in Bobby Ang's column in Business World (Philippines) on 02 December 2005"

SLAV: PARAGUA vs MOVSESIAN

The Berlin Defense

Chess Piece by Bobby Ang

FIDE World Championship
San Luis, Argentina
28 September - 14 October 2005
Final Standings
1 GM Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria 2788), 10.0/14
2-3 GM Viswanathan Anand (India 2788), GM Peter Svidler (Russia 2738), 8.5/14
4 GM Alexander Morozevich (Russia 2707), 7.0/14
5 GM Peter Leko (Hungary 2763), 6.5/14
6-7 GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov (Uzbekistan 2670), GM Michael Adams (England 2719), 5.5/14
8 GM Judit Polgar (Hungary 2735), 4.5/14
Average elo: 2738 <=> Category: 20

Let's talk about the Berlin Defence today, characterized by the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6.
During the 1998 Torre vs Antonio match Eugene unleashed the Berlin Defence to cool the attacking fervor of his opponent, and he succeeded. Two years later Kramnik used the same weapon vs Garry Kasparov and with it dethroned the seemingly unbeatable world champion.
In an interview shortly after the match Kramnik took some questions on his choice of opening, and his views were pretty interesting. An excerpt:
Question: How did you hit upon the idea of the Berlin Defence as a way to neutralise Kasparov � was it your own idea to play it?
Answer: No! It was just one of the many candidates I looked at with my team. Don�t think for one minute I arrived in London with this as my only defence! Certainly I prepared it for the match � but it certainly wasn�t the only thing I had prepared! But it simply went well, as I suspiciously thought it would.
The Berlin Defence suited my strategy for the match. I had a defensive strategy � Actually, I had in my pocket some other sharper stuff to fall back on � but first I wanted to try the defensive strategy with Black and it worked so well. This was all new to Kasparov � he probably expected me to fight for equality with Black.
Okay, when you start to fight for equality, like Anand did in 1995, you could end up losing game 10, like he did, without putting up any kind of fight. With the Berlin you get a �feel� for the positions. I accepted that the endgame was better for White, but he has to win over the board, not with his legendary home preparation � that�s crucial!
With the Berlin I was able to set up a fortress that he could come near but not breach. When others play against Kasparov they want to keep him distant. I let him in close but I knew where the limit was. I think this surprised him because normally when you fight, you don�t want your opponent to have some advantage, but I gave some advantage from the beginning. Close enough to touch my wall, closer, closer, but not break it. Someone even compared it to Ali�s �rope-a-dope� trick against George Foreman � this was a very good analogy! Okay, I suffered a little, but with some defences Black commits his forces leaving behind openings into his camp. But with the Berlin, I was able to allow him to get near, but not quite near enough, and I knew where to draw the line with the fortresses I had set up.
At some point he seemed to lose all confidence trying to break down the Berlin Wall. He was still fighting as only Kasparov can, but I could see it in his eyes that he knew he wasn�t going to win one of these games. For him it was always a case of �Better, better, better�draw!� This is what broke him down psychologically. It was all very difficult for him as he�s used to winning ever second tournament game. This was my strategy and it worked very well.
Question: Maybe Kasparov should have switched to something else. He can play just about any opening so he should have tried SOMETHING else-anything but playing into your opponents game.
Answer: Well he did just that, opening with 1.c4 in games 5 and 7. That didn't work either so then he went back to the Ruy, after all as points out and the interview indicates he did get a good position in game 3. Still didn't work so in the last game he tried 1.d4 but still to no avail. In a longer match there would have been more room for experiments. Also the strategy of deliberately allowing White a tiny advantage instead of going for equalization and dead draws was interesting in this regard. If Kasparov had gotten nothing out of the opening at all in the first two Berlins he probably wouldn't have returned to it; say if the best he could get was a dead draw like in Leko vs Kramnik, 2004.

Very interesting strategy! And it works. Look at this game, it is not the same opening but the same principle applied:

Nadera,B (2400) - Adianto,U (2610) [E32]
zt 3.2 Yangon MYA (5), 12.12.1998
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.Bg5 c5 6.e3 h6 7.Bh4 cxd4 8.exd4 b6 9.Bd3 Bb7 10.f3 Nc6 11.Nge2 Be7 12.a3 d5 13.cxd5 Nxd5 14.Bf2 Rc8 15.0-0 Na5 16.Rfe1 Bg5 17.Kh1 Qd7 18.Qd1 Nc4 19.Bxc4 Rxc4 20.Qb3 Rfc8 21.Ne4 Ba6 22.Bg3 Be7 23.Rad1 R4c6 24.Nf4 Bc4 25.Qc2 Nxf4 26.Bxf4 Bd5 27.Qd3 Bh4 28.Re3 f5 29.Nc3 Bb3 30.Rd2 Bc4 31.Qb1 Bd5 32.Be5 b5 33.Rd1 Bg5 34.f4 Bh4 35.Rh3 Be7 36.Rg3 Bf8 37.Nxb5 Be4 38.Qa1 Rc2 39.Nc3 R8xc3 40.bxc3 Qd5 41.Rg1 Qc4 42.Qf1 Qc6 43.Qd1 Qc4 44.Qh5 Rxc3 45.Rg6 Rc2 46.h3 Qc6 47.Kh2 Qb7 48.Rg3 Bd5 49.Qxh6 Rc3 50.Rg5 Qf7 51.Rb1 Rc8 52.Rb2 a5 53.a4 Be4 54.Rb3 Rc2 55.Rbg3 1-0
Adianto�s exchange sacrifice on the 39th move was completely unsound and Nadera made him pay for it. One night a few months later over some drinks in Las Vegas I asked the Indonesian legend the reason behind the illogical sacrifice. He told me that he had gotten an advantage in the early middle game and tried very hard to increase it, but Barlo defended excellently. This lack of progress was so frustrating that he forced the sacrifice even though he knew it was dubious.
Another point � does anyone realize that Black has been scoring well in the Berlin these past few years? It has the best statistic of any of the main openings against 1.e4.
Topalov used the Berlin thrice with Black in the just-concluded world championship: he beat Judit Polgar in the 6th round, drew a short game with Anand in the 9th, and drew a fighting game with Kasimdzhanov in the penultimate round.

We gave the Kasim game last Monday, now here is his win vs Polgar.
Polgar,Judit (2735) - Topalov,Veselin (2788) [C67]
WCh-FIDE San Luis ARG (6), 04.10.2005
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5
I have often heard the question why Black can't play 7...Ne4 and so as not to block his own bishop. It makes sense and, if white exchanges queens, it would be an improvement over putting it on f5. However, if White does not exchange queens and plays 8.Qe2 then the knight on e4 is a bit awkward.
8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nc3 Ne7
There are many possible moves here, for example 9..Ke8, 9...Be7, 9...Be6, 9...Bd7. The authorship of the text move, intending to transfer the knight to g6 to pressure e5, is disputed between American GM Alex Sherzer and the Hungarian Zoltan Almasi. It is also the move played if Black does not want a draw.
10.h3 Ng6 11.Ne4 h6 12.b3 c5 13.Be3 b6 14.Rad1+ Bd7 15.Nc3
Black usually develops his rooks through the a- and h- files, so it might make sense for White to block the advance of his opponent's h-pawn by 15.h4 Kc8 (15...h5? 16.Neg5 the pawn on f7 cannot be defended) 16.h5 Ne7 but now there is a problem, how can he defend his h5-pawn? It is awkwardly placed, and perhaps that is why Judit avoids the entire line.
15...Kc8 16.Nd5 Be6 17.c4 Kb7 18.Bc1 a5! 19.a4 Rd8 20.g4?
Judit fails to realize that she has no more advantage and keeps pushing. This new weakness is pounced on immediately by Topalov and by dint of very accurate play he manages to prove that it is sufficient for a win.
20...h5! 21.Ne3 Re8!
Black avoids exchanges - he is going for the win.
22.Rfe1 Nf4 23.Ng5 Be7 24.Nxe6 fxe6 25.gxh5 Nxh3+ 26.Kf1 Rxh5
Black has won a pawn.
27.Ng4 Bg5 28.Bxg5 Rxg5 29.f3 Rf8 30.Kg2 Nf4+ 31.Kg3 Rh5 32.Kf2
[32.Rh1 Rxh1 33.Rxh1 Ne2+ 34.Kf2 Nd4 wins]
32...Ng6 33.Rd7 Rh3 34.Re3 Nh4 35.Rdd3
[35.Rxg7?? Nf5]
35...Kc6 36.Rc3 Rh1 37.Red3 Nf5 38.Ne3 Nd4 39.Nf1 Rh5 40.Re3 Rf4 41.Rcd3 g5 42.Re4 Kb7 43.Kg3 Rxe4
I was watching this game online in the ICC and at this point the computers were screaming that there is an immediate win with 43...Nxf3! 44.Rxf4 (44.Rxf3?? Rxe4) 44...Nxe5 45.Rff3 g4 46.Rfe3 Rh3+ 47.Kg2 Nxd3 48.Rxh3 gxh3+ 49.Kxh3 Kc6 the endgame is winning. Anyway, the method chosen by Topalov also wins and in a less risky manner, so I'd say he was correct.
44.fxe4 Rh4 45.Nd2 Kc8!
With white's forces virtually paralyzed Topalov brings his king across the board to invade from the h-file.
46.Re3 Kd7 47.Re1 Ke7 48.Nf3!
Judit is not lying down and playing dead - she is averting defeat as best she could. Here she reckons that the rook ending will given more drawing chances.
48...Nxf3 49.Kxf3 Kf7
[49...Rh3+ wins the b3-pawn, but then 50.Kg4 Rxb3 51.Rh1 white has counterplay]
50.Rd1 Rf4+ 51.Ke3 Kg7 52.Rd7+ Rf7 53.Rd1 Kg6 54.Rd8 g4 55.Rg8+ Kh5 56.Rh8+ Kg5 57.Rg8+ Kh4 58.Rg6 Rf3+ 59.Ke2

caption: position after 59.Ke2
White seems to be recovering as he now threatens to wipe out black's pawn base, however the following exquisite king maneuver was doubtless planned before Topalov went for this position.
59...Kg3 60.Rxe6 Kf4 61.Re8 Re3+ 62.Kf2
[62.Kf1 Kxe4 63.e6 Kd3! 64.e7 Kc3 65.Kf2 Re4 does not change the result]
62...g3+ 63.Kg2 Kxe4 64.e6 Kd3! 0-1
The Berlin Defence is now a popular opening, and it is sure to be adopted more frequently after Topalov adopted it in the World Championships. What is important for me is that we all remember � Eugene Torre started it all!

Reader comments/suggestions are urgently solicited. Email address is bang@bworldonline.com

This article first appeared in Bobby Ang s column in Businessworld (Philippines) on 21 October 2005

CHESS PIECE: Topalov is World Champion

[Bobby Ang]

FIDE World Championship
San Luis, Argentina
28 September - 14 October 2005
Final Standings
1 GM Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria 2788), 10.0/14
2-3 GM Viswanathan Anand (India 2788), GM Peter Svidler (Russia 2738), 8.5/14
4 GM Alexander Morozevich (Russia 2707), 7.0/14
5 GM Peter Leko (Hungary 2763), 6.5/14
6-7 GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov (Uzbekistan 2670), GM Michael Adams (England 2719), 5.5/14
8 GM Judit Polgar (Hungary 2735), 4.5/14
Average elo: 2738 <=> Category: 20

The fat lady sings! The 30-year old superGM from Bulgaria, Veselin Topalov, drew his last two remaining games to become official World Chess Champion. He scored an unbelievable 6.5/7 in the first cycle and drew out all his games in the second cycle to finish with 10 points our of 14, 1.5 points ahead of his closest pursuer. This is a performance rating of 2886.
By my calculations Topalov�s rating in the January list would be 2801 and he would be only the third player in history to breach the 2800 mark (the other two are Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik). Vishy Anand reached 2797 in the July 2001 rating list, and indeed after this tournament he would gain a few points and bring up his current rating to 2792 � knocking on 2800 door but not quite there yet.
Anand and Svidler tied for 2nd place and split the prize money, but the silver medal and seeding to the semi-finals of the 2005 World Cup went to Anand by virtue of the Indian�s having won more games.

He was born on March 15, 1975 in Ruse, Bulgaria. He was taught the rules of chess when he was eight years old by his father. In 1989 he won the World Under-14 Championship in Aguadilja , Puerto Rico, and in 1990 won the silver medal at the World Under-16 Championship in Singapore.

In 1991 he met IM Silvio Danailov in a tournament and the two of them decided to go to Spain together and try their luck. In the beginning Topalov found it difficult, since he did not speak Spanish, but good results in some small tournaments led to more invitations and pretty soon he was playing continuously � in 1992, the year he got his grandmaster title, he played more than twenty opens and brought up his rating from 2460 to 2670. It was hereabouts that people started talking about him, how his tremendous level of opening preparation and will to win made him a particularly difficult opponent.
1996 was his break-out year; he started out with a 3rd place finish in the super-strong Corus Wijk aan Zee tournament, and then reeled off 6 super-tournament victories: VSB Amsterdam in March (category 18 with Kasparov, Short, Anand, and Kramnik, amongst others), In May it was in Madrid (category 17 with Shirov, Salov, Gelfand, etc) and Dos Hermanas (category 19 with Kasparov, Kramnik, Anand, Gelfand, Ivanchuk, Shirov and Judit Polgar, amongst others).
July 1996 saw victories in two more high-profile events: Leon (category 17 with Polgar, Leko and Illescas) and Novgorod (category 17 with Ivanchuk, Kramnik, Leko, Short and Polgar)
Next month Topalov won the Vienna Millenium Tournament (category 18) with Karpov, Gelfand, Leko, Korchnoi, Shirov, Jussupow, amongst others.

It was in September, during the Yerevan Olympiad, when he was at his most invincible form, that Eugene Torre upset him in the first round.

Topalov,Veselin (2750) - Torre,Eugenio (2535) [C82]
Yerevan ol (Men) Yerevan (5), 1996
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.Nbd2 Nc5 10.c3 Bg4 11.Bc2 Qd7 12.Re1 Rd8 13.b4 Ne6 14.Nf1 Bh5 15.a3 Bg6 16.Ra2 a5 17.Bxg6 hxg6 18.Qe2 Ra8 19.Qxb5 axb4 20.cxb4 Bxb4 21.Rd1 Bc5 22.Qd3 Ncd4 23.Nxd4 Bxd4 24.Kh1 Qa4 25.f4 Bb6 26.Rb2 Bc5 27.Ng3 c6 28.Rf1 Qd4 29.Qc2 0-0 30.Rb3 Qa4 31.Qb1 Qc4 32.Qb2 Bd4 33.Qb1 Bc5 34.Qb2 Bd4 35.Qb1 Bc3 36.Be3 d4 37.Ne4 Nc5 38.Nxc5 Qxc5 39.Bg1 Qc4 40.Rf3 Rfd8 41.Rd3 c5 42.h3 Qa4 43.e6 Qe8 44.exf7+ Qxf7 45.Rb7 Rd7 46.Rxd7 Qxd7 47.Qb3+ Qf7 48.Rxc3 dxc3 49.Qxc3 c4 50.Bd4 Rb8 51.Be5 Rb3 52.Qa5 Rd3 53.Kh2 Kh7 54.Qb4 Qa7 55.Qxc4 Qe3 0-1

After this his most successful year so far Topalov sort of tapered off, still performing at 2700+ level but seemingly incapable of making that one last jump to world championship caliber.
Then, all of a sudden, in 2004 Topalov�s star went into super-nova. First, during the Tripoli World Championship he scored an amazing 9.5/10 in his 2-game mini-matches against Abulhul (2076), Delchev (2602), Movsesian (2647), Zdenko Kozul (2627) and Andrei Kharlov (2593). He was upset in the semi-finals by Rustam Kasimdzhanov who went on to win the title.
This year we saw him tie for 1st with Garry Kasparov in Linares (beating him in their individual game) and finally an outstanding 1st place in Sofia, which included victories over Anand and Kramnik.

And now we come to the San Luis World Chess Championship. Topalov�s 6.5/7 in the first cycle was another incredible energy outburst, and he drew out all his games in the 2nd half to crown himself chess king.
The game which clinched the title was in the penultimate round against the reigning world champion, GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan, the first Muslim chess champion in history. By scoring the draw Topalov preserved his tournament lead of 1.5 pts, which meant that no one can catch him anymore come the final round. Against Kasim he fell into an inferior position from the opening but fought back and at the end it was Kasim who had to force the draw. Here it is.

Kasimdzhanov,Rustam (2670) - Topalov,Veselin (2788) [C67]
FIDE World Championship San Luis (13), 13.10.2005
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nc3 Ne7 10.h3 Ng6 11.Be3
Usually white fianchettoes this bishop on b2, but putting it on e3 also has its points - from there it supports f2-f4.
11...Be7 12.Rad1+ Ke8 13.a3 h5 14.Rfe1 h4 15.Nd4 a6 16.f4 Rh5
In the Berlin it is crucial for Black to maintain the square f5.
17.Ne4 Bd7?!
Some commentators criticized this move as too passive. They prefer ...c5 followed by ...b7-b6.
18.c4 a5
Black can't move his knight. For example 18...Nf8 19.f5! Bxf5 (19...c5 20.f6!) 20.g4!
19.c5 a4
This is a bit of a controversial move, on the one hand he fixes white's queenside, but on the other the a4-pawn becomes weak.
20.Rc1!
This rook will go to c4, followed by Ne4-c3, and he will win the pawn.
20...f5!?
Faced with the prospect of losing his a-pawn Topalov decides to change the "flow" of the game by opening up the center. Since White has more space this should be good for him, but what Topalov is after is counterplay, and this he gets.
21.exf6 Bxf6
If 21...gxf6 22.f5 Ne5 (22...Bxf5? 23.g4!) 23.Nxf6+ Bxf6 24.Bf4 Kf7 25.Bxe5 Bxe5 26.Rxe5 is clearly better for White.
22.f5 Ne7 23.Nxf6+ gxf6 24.Bf4 Kf7 25.Bxc7 Nxf5 26.Rc4 Nxd4 27.Rxd4 Be6 28.Bd6
White will be winning one of his opponent's pawns and will then be able to play for a win at no risk. Topalov finds a resource.
28...Ra5! 29.Rde4
This might be a mistake, forcing the enemy bishop to go to its best square. Probably 29.Re2 is better, the point of which you will see soon.
29...Bd5 30.Re7+ Kg6 31.Rxb7 Rb5 32.Rb6
Of course white gets more winning chances by keeping the rooks on the board.
32...Rg5 33.Re2 Rb3 34.Kh2?!
He should have exchanged rooks.
34...Re3 35.Rd2

caption: position after 35.Rd2
35...Reg3!
You will appreciate how difficult it is to make moves like this with the world championship on the line.
36.Bxg3 hxg3+ 37.Kh1 Rf5 38.Rd1 Rf2
Probably at this point Rustam realized that the planned 39.Rg1 is met with the pawn lunge to f3 39...f5! etc.
39.Rb8 f5 40.Rd8 Bxg2+ 41.Kg1 Bd5
Leads to a clear cut draw, which was all Topalov needed to become world champion. I am sure under different circumstances he would have continued playing for the win with 41...Kg5!? 42.R1d3 Kf4 followed by trying to advance his f-pawn.
42.R8xd5 cxd5 43.Rc1 Rxb2 44.c6 Rb8 45.Kg2 f4 46.Kf3 Kg5 47.h4+ 1/2-1/2
Kasimdzhanov offered a draw which Topalov immediately accepted. The probable continuation will be 47.h4+ Kxh4 48.Kxf4 g2 49.Ke5 Kh3 50.c7 Rc8 51.Kxd5 Kh2 (51...Rxc7? 52.Rxc7 g1Q 53.Rh7+ Kg2 54.Rg7+ Kh2 55.Rxg1 Kxg1 56.Kc5 white wins) 52.Kd6 g1Q 53.Rxg1 Kxg1 54.Kd7 Rh8 55.c8Q Rxc8 56.Kxc8 Kf2 57.Kc7 Ke3 58.Kc6 Kd3 59.Kb5 Kc3 60.Kxa4 Kc4 dead draw. This is a long variation but quite forced, and the result quite clear.
With the draw the chess world got itself a worthy champion, one who deserved the title beyond a shadow of a doubt. He is a maximalist, always striving for the victory, trying to get the last squeeze out of the position. The chess world needs such a champion.
Talking about maximalists, I am reminded of the story about a carnival which had a booth where a really big muscle-bound wrestler would get an orange, squeeze it with all his might, and then offer a special bonus to anyone among the audience who could squeeze one more drop out of it.
A short, bespectacled man came forward and took the challenge. To the surprise of everybody there he not only coaxed a few drops from the totally dried-up orange, but even got enough to fill a small glass.
�This is amazing!� the wrestler said. �Where did you learn to do that?�
The answer? �I am from the Bureau of Internal Revenue.�

Reader comments/suggestions are urgently solicited. Email address is bang@bworldonline.com

CHESS PIECE: Paragua Silences Critics

[Bobby Ang]

Malaysian Zonal
September 2-10, 2005
Final Top Standings
1-2GM Utut Adianto INA 2588, GM Mark Paragua PHI 2596, 7.0/9
3GM Eugenio Torre PHI 2535, 6.5/9
4-7 GM Wong Meng Kong SIN 2460, GM Wu Shaobin SIN 2510, Tu Hoang Thai VIE 2389, FM Tirto INA 2370, 6.0/9
8-11 GM Nguyen Anh Dung VIE 2555, FM Oliver Dimakiling PHI 2329, Oliver Barbosa PHI 2355, CM Ly Hong Nguyen VIE 2281, 5.5/9
12-21 GM Rogelio Antonio Jr PHI 2513, GM Dao Thien Hai VIE 2601, IM Wynn Zaw Htun MYA 2578, IM Ronald Dableo PHI 2440, Darwin Laylo PHI 2344, GM Nelson Mariano PHI 2466, IM Petronio Roca PHI 2414, Pg Mohd Omar Ak Hirawan BRU 2364, GM Bazar Hatanbaatar MGL 2445, FM Dinh Duc Trong VIE 2362, 5.0/9
Total of 44 participants
Time control: The time control shall be 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 15 minutes for the rest of the game with an addition of 30 seconds per move from move one.

Mark Paragua silenced his critics by tying for first in the Southeast Asian Zonal Championship (FIDE Zone 3.3) held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The living chess legend from Indonesia, GM Utut Adianto, was given first place on tie-breaks. I hasten to point out, though, that although Adianto�s opponents finished higher in the tournament standings (the basis for tie-breaks), Mark Paragua faced the stronger opposition. I did the numbers: Mark Paragua has a performance rating of 2718, defeating two grandmasters: top-seed Dao Thien Hai and Indonesian Edhi Handoko. Utut�s performance rating is 2682 � he defeated only 1 GM, Singapore�s Wong Meng Kong in the last round.
Anyway, let�s look at the bright side � because of Mark�s great performance he gained an additional 13 ELO rating points. That means that in the next rating list come October 2005, he would be listed at ELO 2609 � finally the Philippines as a super-GM!

Here is Mark�s best game from the event.

Paragua,Mark (2596) - Nadera,Barlo A (2423) [C06]
Malaysian Zonal Kuala Lumpur (2.2), 04.09.2005

1.e4 e6
Among Filipino top players the most devoted French practitioners is GM Bong Villamayor and IM Barlo Nadera. On the other hand Mark Paragua is a known exclusive 1.e4 player. Both players, therefore, were prepared for the opening that follows.

2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7
If you play this variation then sooner or later a Black player will unleash 4...Ne4 on you. The best way to respond is 5.Nxe4 dxe4 6.Bc4 and now the thematic 6...c5 is met by 7.d5 Qb6?! (7...exd5 8.Qxd5!? Qxd5 9.Bxd5 Nc6 10.Bxe4 Nxe5 11.Bf4 Nc6 12.Nf3; and 7...Nd7 8.dxe6 fxe6 9.Nh3!) 8.c3 Nd7 9.f4! Black now has a difficult decision: either develop another white piece or to remain with weak pawn on e4. In both cases black's position is unpleasant.

5.Bd3 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ne2 cxd4 8.cxd4 f6
Black won't be able to attack the enemy pawn center once White has completed his development, so he has to strike now.

9.Nf4!?
A dangerous move with long, forced variations. The usual line is 9.exf6 Nxf6 10.0-0 Bd6 11.Nf3 after which Black has three good choices: 11...0-0, 11...Qc7 and 11...Qb6.

9...Qe7?
Barlo is out-prepared! This move is given as bad by renowned French expert Lev Psakhis in his book "French Defence 3.Nd2". Correct is 9...Nxd4 10.Qh5+ Ke7 11.exf6+ Nxf6 12.Ng6+ hxg6 13.Qxh8 Kf7 14.Qh4 e5 15.Nf3 Nxf3+ 16.gxf3 Bf5 17.Bxf5 gxf5 18.Bg5 Qa5+ 19.Kf1 d4!? with chances for both sides. Nevostrujev,V (2502)-Kosyrev,V (2562)/ Krasnodar 2002 1-0 (30).

10.Nf3
Stronger than 10.Qh5+ Qf7 11.exf6 Nxf6 12.Qxf7+ Kxf7 White has no edge to speak of.

10...fxe5 11.dxe5! Ndxe5 12.Nxe5 Nxe5 13.Qh5+ Nf7 14.0-0 g6 15.Qe2
Psakhis' comment here is that Black is at a loss for a plan. White has threats of Bb5+ and Bxg6 all over the place. Would you believe that Barlo had already been in this position before and also in a zonal? In Yangon 1999 White was Matsuo, but he played weakly and allowed Black to escape. It is bad judgment to think that Mark cannot do better.

15...Bg7
[15...Qd6 16.Bb5+ Ke7 17.Bd2 Kf6 18.Rad1 d4 19.Rfe1 Bh6 20.Qf3 Kg7 21.Bc4 Re8 22.Nxe6+ Bxe6 23.Bxe6 Re7 24.Bxh6+ Nxh6 25.Bd5 Rae8 26.Rxe7+ Rxe7 27.g3 Nf5 28.Bxb7 Qb4 29.Be4 Nd6 30.Bd5 Qxb2 31.Qd3 Nf5 32.Be4 Nd6 33.Bd5 Nf5 34.Be4 Nd6 35.Bd5 Nf5 1/2 Matsuo,T (2205)-Nadera,B (2400)/ Yangon MYA 1999]

16.Bb5+ Kf8 17.Bd2
Intending to move this bishop to the deadly a3-f8 diagonal.

17...a6?
Precisely what Mark was provoking. Now the dam breaks.
See diagram
caption: position after 17...a6

18.Nxd5!
This knight cannot be taken. If 18...exd5 19.Bb4 wins the queen.

18...Qd8 19.Bb4+ Nd6 20.Nf4 Kf7
[20...axb5 21.Rad1]

21.Rad1 Qf6 22.Rxd6 axb5 23.Nd5
Forces the queen off the f-file. If 23...Qf5 then 24.Rc1

23...Qe5 24.Qc2 Rf8
[24...exd5 25.Re1]

25.Qc7+ Kg8 26.Bc3 exd5 27.Bxe5 Bxe5 28.Rxg6+ hxg6 29.Qxe5 Ra6 30.Qxd5+
Black's position is resignable. His exposed king and weak pawns make the rest easy.

30...Be6 31.Qxb5 Rf7 32.a3 Rc6 33.Re1 Rfc7 34.Qg5 Bf7 35.h4 Rc5 36.Qd8+ Kg7 37.Re7 1-0

TITLES/NORMS AWARDED
Tu Hoang Thai VIE 2389 (not to be confused with his twin brother GM Tu Hoang Thong) was awarded an outright IM title for finishing with 2/3 of the maximum points (6/9). In addition to that he was also given a GM norm for his high performance rating.
FM Tirto INA 2370 was also awarded a GM norm for his good performance here. Under the previous FIDE title regulations he would also have been awarded an IM title outright (he was equal with Tu Hoang Thai with 6/9), but under the new rules only the one with the higher tie-breaks (which is the Vietnamese) would get the title. Anyway with his performance here Tirto has proven himself to be a tough nut to crack, and the title could only be a matter of time.
Oliver Barbosa PHI 2355 was given his FIDE Master (FM) title after the tournament. This is only a consolation prize, since with his rating above 2300 he would have gotten the FM title any time upon application.
Darwin Laylo PHI 2344 got an IM norm for his performance here. The BW reader may recall that Laylo got his first IM norm from the 1999 Asian Junior Championships, where he finished second to India�s Krishnan Sasikiran, now a super-GM. Darwin needs just one more to complete the requirements for the full International Master title.
ADDITIONAL NOTES AND COMMENTS
As an aside, although defending champion IM Ronald Dableo finished outside the prize money at 5/9 and a tie for 12th place, he at least has the consolation of finishing ahead of IM Jayson Gonzales at 4/9. The reason? I am almost ashamed to report this, as it is not a good reflection on the Philippine chess leadership, but here it is in summary:
1. First, GM Torre walked out of the Qualifying Tournament to determine the 5-man chess team to the SEA games. The Federation had suddenly announced that it reserves the option to replace the no. 5 man if it feels that another player would give us better chances of getting the gold in the SEA Games. The players protested, and apparently Torre felt alluded to, so he withdrew. What the heck did he withdraw for anyway? Surely the best way to answer the charges and insinuations was to play and win, right?
2. The tournament was cancelled and then re-started, and the 5 qualifiers were GM Joey Antonio, Oliver Barbosa, FM Oliver Dimakiling, IM Ronald Dableo and IM Jayson Gonzales.
3. The Federation, exercising the controversial �option�, replaced Jayson Gonzales with Eugene Torre, citing national interest.
4. Jayson Gonzales protested � why replace him with someone who withdrew from the qualifier and refused to play? Anyway, the federation then declared that he and Dableo should play-off for the 4th spot. Dableo naturally protested, and the Federation now decided that whoever finishes higher in the Zonal will have the 4th spot.
Unbelievable flip-flopping, right? Did you notice how many times the word �protest� appeared in the above? Welcome to Philippine Chess.

Reader comments/suggestions are urgently solicited. Email address is bang@bworldonline.com
This article first appeared in Bobby Ang s column in Businessworld (Philippines) on 16 September 2005

Typhoon Wang Hao

Incredible!! Fantastic!! Sensational!!

All those words (on the tournament web site) cannot fully describe the stellar performance of China's young star Wang Hao in the 2nd IGB Dato' Arthur Tan Malaysia Open 2005. This kid, who only turned 16 in April this year, won this event two full points ahead of the GM field, with a performance of 2843. Read all about it in Edwin Lam's extensive report.

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=2616

MERALCO vs ASTEC POWER

Seniors vs Juniors

THE YOUNGEST GRANDMASTER

By Rolly J. Sol Cruz

The Kid

Sergey Karjakin of Ukraine was only 12 years old when he became a Grandmaster in 2002, making him the youngest ever in history. Becoming a Grandmaster in chess is like being drafted in the NBA where one must pass through the proverbial eye of the needle. But achieving it as a mere gradeschooler was previously unthinkable in chess and mission impossible in NBA, even for a celebrated top pick like highschool phenom LeBron “King” James.

The Grandmaster Title

Becoming a Grandmaster is no walk in the park. And no flash in the pan, either. As Clint Eastwood said in the spaghetti western trilogy The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, “We’re gonna have to earn it.” A chess player is awarded the title after obtaining three (3) GM norms. In order to obtain a GM norm a player must play at least 3 Grandmasters and have a performance of over 2600 rating in a tournament of at least 9 rounds with players from at least 4 different countries. And to put things in perspective, there are about 800 Grandmasters in the world but only three (3) are Filipinos; Eugene Torre, Joey Antonio and Bong Villamayor.

The Records

Previous holders of this “Youngest Ever” distinction were:

a) David Bronstein of Russia at 26 years old in 1950,

b) Tigran Petrosian of Russia at 24 years old in 1953 and who became the 9^th World Champion in 1963,

c) Boris Spassky of Russia at 18 years old in 1955 and who became the 10th World Champion in 1969,

d) Robert Fischer of USA at 15 years & 6 months in 1958 and who became the 11th World Champion in 1972

e) Judit Polgar of Hungary at 15 years & 4 months in 1991

f) Peter Leko of Hungary at 14 years & 4 months in 1994

g) Etienne Bacrot of France at 14 years & 2 months in 1997

h) Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine at 14 years & 17 days in 1997 and who became the 16^th World Champion in 2002 and

i) Bu Xiangzhi of China at 13 years & 10 months in 1999.

To be so young and be able to play chess this well is unheard of. His goal is to become a World Champion at the age of 16 or by 2006.

The Game

Sergei Karjakin – Alexie Shirov

Benidorm, Spain 2002

Alexie Shirov, originally from Latvia but is now playing for Spain, is ranked No. 5 in the latest FIDE List. In 1998, he earned the right to challenge Kasparov for the PCA Championship when he took Vladimir Kramnik to school with a score of 2 wins and 8 draws. However, lack of sponsors resulted to the cancellation of the match. But in 2000, he returned to the fold of FIDE and qualified for the World Championship Finals against Vishwanatan Anand of India, who gave him a dose of his own medicine with a 3.5 to 0.5 drubbing.

Ukraine is a country in eastern Europe which borders the Black Sea to the south and its currency is Hryvnia. Latvia is in Northeastern Europe bordering the Baltic Sea with Lat as its currency. Spain is a country in the southwest of Europe bounded to the east by Mediterranean Sea and its currency is Spanish Euro. It is the home of Pablo Picasso whose famous work is the “Guarnica”; a painting depicting the aftermath of the aerial bombing practice by the Germans in 1937.

1. e4 c5

The Sicilian Defence, said to be the most dreaded reply to 1.e4.

2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5

The seldom used Lowenthal Variation (Code B32 in Encyclopedia of Chess Openings) that was popularized by Johann Jacob Lowenthal (1810-1876), considered the best opening theorist of his day. However, the 4. … e5 novelty was introduced in match between Alexander McDonnell (1798-1835) of Ireland and Louis Charles Mahe de Labourdonnais (1797-1840) of France; London 1834.

Alternatives are the moves 4…. a6 - Kan, 4…. g6 - Accelerated Dragon, 4. … Qb6 - Godiva and 4…. Qc7 – Flohr Variation. A similar set-up, with a delayed “… e5” move, is the more popular Lasker Defence (4. … Nf6 5. Nc3 e5; also called Pelikan or Sveshnikov).

Shirov has a record of 3 draws, 2 wins and 4 losses with the Sicilian Lowenthal.

5. Nb5

This is an improvement from the original reply of 5. Nc6 in the McDonnell-Labourdonnais game. The moves 5. Nb3 and 5. Nf5 allows black to equalize easily through 5. … Bb4+ and 5. … d5, respectively.

5. … d6

Normally, opening variations are named after its originator; the Torre Gambit in the Ruy Lopez was named after our very own Eugene Torre. Some are named after the place where it was unveiled; the Scheveningen Variation in the Sicilian Defence was unleashed by Euwe in a tournament in that resort town in Holland. Others are named after the player who popularized it like the Lowenthal. However, this particular line is revolutionary, literally and figuratively. It was called Kalashnikov Variation of the Lowenthal; one of the most modern sub-variations of the Sicilian Defence. The line of attack was named after the Soviet submachine gun, the AK-47, on account of its string of quick-fire wins recorded in the 1990’s.

6. N1c3

Shirov lost two (2) games against the move 6. c4 vs. Polgar; Buenos Aires 1994 and vs. Topalov; Monte Carlo 2003. Former World Champion Anand favors the move 6. c4 vs. Radjabov; Dortmund 2003 and vs. Ponomariov; Linares 2002 and Wijk ann Zee 2003.

Spain’s rising star Francisco Vallejo, World Junior Champion in 2000, lost with the wild 6. Bc4 vs Shirov; Spanish Championship; Ayamonte 2002.

A very sharp line is the move 6. Bg5 that is most suited for the coming fiestas for its fireworks.

6. … a6 7. Na3 b5 8. Nd5 Nce7

It is interesting to note that Shirov, on the white side, previously won against this same move vs Annageldyev and vs. Fedorov; Istanbul Olympiad 2000. But he likewise suffered his 3^rd loss, on the black side, with the Kalashnikov with the move 7. … Nf6 vs. Anand; Linares 2002.

9. c4 Nxd5 10. exd5

Personally, it seems that 10. cxd5 gives a solid central pawn formation. But a chess game is like a job, none personal.

10. … bxc4 11. Nxc4 Nf6

Karjakin won against this move vs Kosteniuk; Brissago 2003. In another encounter, Kosteniuk varied with 11…. Be7; Laussane 2003, but with the same favorable result for The Kid.

12. Be3 Rb8 13. Be2 Be7 14. a4

Checks are not honored in this establishment.

14. … O-O

Safety First. Removing the King from the hazardous environment.

15. O-O

Survey says that there is an 83% occurrence of this “same-side castling” theme in Lowenthal games.

15. … Bb7 16. Nb6 Nd7 17. a5 f5 18 .f3 Nxb6 19. Bxb6 Qd7 20. b4 Bd8 21. Be3

A novelty by the youngster. Previously, White obtained a slight advantage with either 21. Bxd8 or 21. Bf2. In another western film, Maverick, Mel Gibson said, “He who fights and runs away can run away another day.”

21… Bf6 22. Rb1 Rbc8 23. b5

Exploiting the minor. Advancing his pawn majority to create a passed pawn.

23. … axb5 24. Rxb5 e4

Trying to bully the kid.

25. fxe4 Rfe8 26. Rb4! Bc3 27. Bb5

No less than Super “Pono” Mariov has described Karjakin as a tactical genius.

27. … Qd8 28. Bxe8 Bxb4 29. Bc6!

Blockade. A chess philosophy of another man from Latvia, Aaron Nimzovich (1886-1935), author of the most instructive chess books of all time; “My System”.

29. … Ba6 30. Rxf5 Bxa5 31. h3 Rb8 32. Kh2 g6?! 33. Bg5

The start of a new day for the bishop, thus a new role – attacking the enemy Queen. A Queen does not deserve such a threat but Clint Eastwood as an ageing bounty hunter in the western movie Unforgiven says, “Deserves got nothing to do with it.”

33. … Qc7 34. Rf3 Rb4 35. Bh6

The bridal entourage arrives.

35. … Rb8 36. Qa1

Ole. The Queen moves, at last.

36. … Be2 37. Rf2 Bd3 38. Qf6

Here comes the bride. The 4^th loss of Shirov with the Kalashnikov Variation of the Sicilian Lowenthal. As Burt Lancaster said in the ultimate western classic Gunfight at the O.K. Coral, “There’s always a man faster on the draw than you are. The more you use a gun, the sooner you’re gonna run into that man.” But for Shirov, that man is just a new kid in town.

Related Games

The Legend; McDonnell – Labourdonnais, Match 4 Round 16 (Game 62) London; 1834

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.Bg5 Be7 8.Qe2 d5 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.Bb3 O-O 11.O-O a5 12.exd5 cxd5 13.Rd1 d4 14.c4 Qb6 15.Bc2 Bb7 16.Nd2 Rae8 17.Ne4 Bd8 18.c5 Qc6 19.f3 Be7 20.Rac1 f5

21.Qc4+ Kh8 22.Ba4 Qh6 23.Bxe8 fxe4 24.c6 exf3 25.Rc2 Qe3+ 26.Kh1 Bc8 27.Bd7 f2 28.Rf1 d3 29.Rc3 Bxd7 30.cxd7 e4 31.Qc8 Bd8 32.Qc4 Qe1 33.Rc1 d2 34.Qc5 Rg8 35.Rd1 e3 36.Qc3 Qxd1 37.Rxd1 e2 0-1

The Manila Edition; Kamsky – Piasetski, Interzonal; Manila 1990

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb5 d6 6. c4 Be7 7. N1c3 Be6 8. Be2 a6 9. Na3 Bg5 10. Nc2 Bxc1 11. Rxc1 Nf6 12. O-O O-O 13. Qd2 Qb6 14. b3 Rfd8 15. Kh1 Rac8 16. Nd5 Bxd5 17. exd5 Ne7 18. f4 Ng6 19. fxe5 Ne4 20. Qe1 Nxe5 21. Rf4 Nc5 22. Qg3 Re8 23. Bh5 Ng6 24. Bxg6 hxg6 25. Rcf1 Ne4 26. Qd3 Nf6 27. Qh3 g5 28. Rf5 g4 29. Qh4 Rc7 30. Rxf6 gxf6 31. Qxg4+ Kf8 32. Nd4 Re5 33. Nf5 Qf2 34. Qg7+ Ke8 35. Qg8+ Kd7 36. Qxf7+ Kc8 37. Qf8+ Kd7 38. Qxd6+ Kc8 39. Qf8+ Kd7 40. Qf7+ Kc8 41. Qg8+ Kd7 42. Qe6+ Kd8 43. Rxf2 1-0

The World Champion; Ponomariov – Zubarev, 3rd Rector Cup; Kharkov 2001

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb5 d6 6. c4 Be7 7. b3 f5 8. exf5 Nf6 9. Bd3 e4 10. Be2 Bxf5 11. O-O a6 12. Nd4 Nxd4 13. Qxd4 O-O 14. Nc3 Qe8 15. Bf4 Rd8 16. Rad1 Kh8 17. f3 Qg6 18. fxe4 Nxe4 19. Nd5 Bh3 20. Bf3 Ng5 21. Qd2 Nxf3+ 22. Rxf3 Bg4 23. Nxe7 Qh5 24. Rdf1 Bxf3 25. Rxf3 Rde8 26. Rh3 Qg4 27. Qd3 h5 28. Ng6+ Kg8 29. Nxf8 1-0

The New Kid in Town; Karjakin – Kosteniuk, Dannemann Match; Brissago 2003

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb5 d6 6. N1c3 a6 7. Na3 b5 8. Nd5 Nce7 9. c4 Nxd5 10. exd5 bxc4 11. Nxc4 Nf6 12. Be3 Rb8 13. Be2 Be7 14. a4 O-O 15. O-O Bb7 16. Nb6 Nd7 17. a5 f5 18. f3 Nxb6 19. Bxb6 Qd7 20. b4 Bd8 21. Be3 Bf6 22. Rb1 Qf7 23. Bc4 Rfc8 24. Qd3 Ra8 25. Rfc1 Qh5 26. Bb3 Bg5 27. Qd2 Bxe3+ 28. Qxe3 Qf7 29. Qb6 Bxd5 30. Qxa6 Rxc1+ 31. Rxc1 Rxa6 32. Rc8+ Qe8 33. Rxe8+ Kf7 34. Ra8 1-0

Sources

Batsford Chess Opening, Bussiness World’s Chess Piece, Chess Master 8000, Encyclopedia of Chess Openings, Chess Today, Chess Express, Chess Game and Chess Base.

For comments/suggestions, please e-mail “rjsolcruz@meralco.com.ph”.J