[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"
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