CHESSDOM: KID; CARLSEN - IVANCHUK

Foros Aerosvit 2008
Round 1
Foros

In the very first round two of the favorites are paired - Ivanchuk and Carlsen. The Ukrainian is last year's champion at Foros and is having a great season - +41 rating points. Carlsen showed great progress and went all the distance from a talented teenager to a elite chess player with seeming ease. Both have ample opening repertoires so even the first move is hard to predict, but for sure one can tell that an spectacular fight is likely to be witnessed in this duel.

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 King's Indian Defense is quite rarely seen in Ivanchuk's games as Black. I guess his opening choice is influenced by psychology as Carlsen avoids playing against King's Indian.

4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Nc6 Going for the sharpest lines. (7... Nbd7) (7... Na6) (7... exd4) among other moves as well enjoy some popularity.

8.d5 Ne7 9.b4 The most fashionable line. 9.Ne1 or 9.Nd2 were very popular during the years.

9... Nh5 (9... a5 to undermine White pawn structure on the queen-side is an alternative.)

10.Re1 f5 11.Ng5 Nf6 12.f3 Kh8 Radjabov is one of the principle advocates of this line with many innovative ideas.

13.b5 (13.Be3) was the main line while Kramnik played this variation a decade ago. Nowadays (13.Ne6) is very topical lately. The game continuation is almost never played.The idea behind it is to keep a long-term grip on the queen-side instead of directly attacking the 'd6' pawn with Ne6 and c5. (13.b5 Nh5 intending Nh5-f4 or 14.g3 f4 seems appropriate reaction for Black.)

13... Ne8 After thinking for half an hour, Ivanchuk goes for a plan involving capture on 'e6' - after forcing Ng5-e6 - then c7-c6 to cover the 'd5' square and then Qc8 or Nc7 attacking the white pawn at 'e6'. Such an ambitious plan of course has its risks. Clock readings 1.20 0.56

14.Be3 Bf6 ( In case of 14... f4 15.Bf2 Nxd5 16.Nxd5 Qxg5 17.c5 White has good positional compensation for the sacrificed pawn.)

15.Ne6 Bxe6 16.dxe6 Ng7 Instead of playing f5-f4, the Ukrainian prefers to keep his pawn on 'f5' pressing Carlsen's center.

17.Bh6 Forced move that allows Black an interesting exchange sacrifice after (17.Bh6 Nxe6)

17... Nxe6 18.Bxf8 Qxf8 Exactly the idea I've mentioned. As the Be2 is restricted by White pawns and the dark squares are vulnerable, Magnus has to find a way to activate his pieces or may soon get in an inferior position.

19.c5 Carlsen doesn't like to defend passively but now Ivanchuk will have two pawns for the exchange and the dark squares remain chronically weak.

19... Nxc5 20.Bc4 Bg5 If this Bishop gets to 'd4' or 'c5' that would mean game over so Black goes on with a corresponding plan.

21.Qe2 Qh6 22.Rad1 Rf8 23.a4 Was this move really necessary? This pawn is vulnerable on 'a4' and the 'b3' square may be weak at some moment. 23.g3 is preferable.

23... b6 24.g3 Qh3 25.Qg2 Qh6 26.Qe2 Qh3 27.Kh1 I guess that Ivanchuk repeated the moves in order to get closer to the time control and (27.Qg2 would be answered by 27... Qh5) but Magnus is definitely in a fighting mood and even being a bit worse insists on continuing the battle.

27... Nd7 Time: 0.41 0.36

28.Ra1 Qh6 Prepares Nd7-f6-h5 but that Knight had already a secured outpost on 'c5'.

29.Ra2 Nf6 Both players crave for the win and are not afraid of taking risks.

30.Kg2 Nh5 The idea behind this move is Bg5-h4 but looks a bit artificial.

31.Nd5 Little by little Carlsen managed to coordinate his pieces and cover the dark squares. It's time for the Ukrainian to be careful.

31... Nxd5 32.Bxd5 Bf4 Pressing on 'g3' may let at some moment Black to exchange 'f5' for 'e4' unblocking the 'd' pawn.

33.Qf2 fxe4 (33... Qg5 was possible as well as 34.exf5 is met by 34... Bxg3 35.hxg3 Nf4+)

34.Bxe4 Qg5 35.Rc2 d5 (35... Rd8 36.Bb7 Rd7 37.Bc8 and White comes to an advantage.)

36.Bxd5 Bxg3 37.hxg3 Nf4+ 38.Kf1 Nxd5 39.Rce2 The position changed drastically. With accurate moves Magnus refuted the attacking attempts of the Ukrainian and now has clear edge.

39... Qf6 Now Ivanchuk's position is going to collapse.

40.Rxe5 Qxf3 41.Qxf3 Rxf3+ 42.Ke2 Rf5 43.Rxf5 gxf5 Winning such endgame would be easy even with much worse technique than Magnus's - whose play in some endgames is close to perfect.

44.Kd3 c5 45.Re5 Nb4+ 46.Kd2 Black resigned. Good game by Carlsen, who can't be content with the outcome of the opening after an inspired exchange sacrifice by Ivanchuk, but afterwards played very industriously and manged to outplay his formidable opponent. Vassily overestimated his chances and couldn't switch to defensive play. After the nice looking setup with Bf4 and Nh5 it proved that the Norwegian managed to set his pieces harmoniously and the attacking attempts were refuted, which lead to Magnus's first win.

1-0

CHESSBASE: ORDIX OPEN

Mainz 2008: Ian Nepomniachtchi wins Ordix Open
05.08.2008 – It was a dramatic last round: when other title contenders were playing short draws Ian Nepomniachtchi showed his fighting spirit and beat world-class GM Evgeny Bareev. "Nepo" shared the top place with Pavel Eljanov (but beat him on tiebreak points). A splendid performance was given by Kateryna Lahno, 18, who scored half a point less and ended up in fifth place. Big illustrated report.

Chess Classic Mainz 2008 The 2008 Chess Classic took place from July 28 to August 3 in the Rheingoldhalle of the Congress Centre, Hilton Hotel in Mainz, Germany. The event included tournaments and Opens in traditional and Random Chess, with stars like the current World Champion and world's number one Vishy Anand, Magnus Carlsen of Norway, Russian GM Alexander Morozevich and the strongest female player of all time Judit Polgar.

Chess Classic, Day 6

Ian Nepomniachtchi wins Ordix Open after dramatic last round

Fighting spirit rewared

Ian Nepomniachtchi is the winner of the 15th Ordix Open. After a perfect start with eight wins in a row, the 18-year-old Russian could not keep up the pace and lost in the penultimate round. But he showed his fighting spirit in the last round against Evgeny Bareev. With the courage of a lion he attacked his opponent and set up several cunning traps. In the end his opponent collapsed and lost on time.

The winner of the Ordix Open: 18-year-old GM Ian Nepomniachtchi

Pavel Eljanov and Zoltan Almasi secured 2nd and 3rd place. Best woman was European champion Kateryna Lahno with nine points.

GM Kateryna Lahno, Ukraine, 2515, 9.0 points

tied sensationally for second

Chess and triathlon meet in Mainz

Playing six tough rounds in the strongest rapid chess open tournament in the world is not everybody’s favourite pastime on a peaceful Sunday. And since many chess players don’t like to get up early to play chess at 10.00 a.m. you could see many sleepy grandmasters and amateurs playing quick draws in the first round on Sunday to get some extra rest. But if you think getting up early to play a couple of chess games is tough, what about the triathletes who were competing in the City Triathlon Mainz today? They started their competition at 10.00 a.m. as well: swimming in the Rhine, cycling and running through the city, passing the Rheingoldhalle which was packed with chess players moving pieces of wood on a chessboard.

GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, Russia, 2510, 7.5 points

WGM Viktorija Cmilyte, Lithuania, 2536, 7.5 points

Ordix Open on Sunday-an overview of the events

Ian “Nepo” Nepomniachtchi and Alexandra Kosteniuk were the only players who could add a full point to their perfect 5/5 Saturday score in the 6th round and they played against each other in the 7th round. Kosteniuk used a lot of time and “Nepo”, playing black, parked a knight on d5 and this piece controlled white's bishop. The 18-year-old Russian grandmaster outplayed his opponent and was the only one left with a perfect 7/7 score.

Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Alexandra Kosteniuk in round seven (Black won in 52 moves)

Kosteniuk,A (2510) - Nepomniachtchi,I (2602) [C03]
15th Ordix Open Mainz GER (7), 03.08.2008
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Be7 4.Bd3 c5 5.Ngf3 Nf6 6.dxc5 Nc6 7.0-0 Nb4 8.Bb5+ Bd7 9.Bxd7+ Qxd7 10.e5 Ne4 11.Nxe4 dxe4 12.Qxd7+ Kxd7 13.Rd1+ Ke8 14.Nd4 Bxc5 15.Be3 Bxd4 16.Bxd4 Nxc2 17.Rac1 Nb4 18.Rc4 Nd5 19.b3 Kd7 20.Bb2 Rhc8 21.Rd2 Rc6 22.Rxe4 Rac8 23.Kf1 Ra6 24.a3 Rb6 25.Rd3 Ke8 26.g3 h6 27.Ke1 Kf8 28.Kd1 Rbc6 29.h4 h5 30.Rdd4 b5 31.Rd2 Kg8 32.Red4 Kh7 33.R4d3 Kg6 34.Rd4 Kf5 35.R4d3 a6 36.Rf3+ Kg6 37.Rfd3 a5 38.Rd4 Kf5 39.R4d3 b4 40.axb4 axb4 41.Rf3+ Kg6 42.Rfd3 R8c7 43.Rd4 Kf5 44.R4d3 Kg4 45.Ke2 Kf5 46.Kd1 Rc5 47.Rf3+ Kg6 48.Rd4 Ra5 49.g4 Ra2 50.gxh5+ Kxh5 51.Bc1 Nc3+ 52.Ke1 Ne2 0-1.

Pavel Eljanov and Adam Horvath closely followed the sole leader with 6.5/7, and there were still many players in the Ordix sharktank with 6/7. In the last round before the lunchbreak, that gave the players the opportunity to watch the triathletes who were running and cycling just a few steps away from the Rheingoldhalle, several exciting games were played. On the top-20 boards only two games ended in a draw! And Nepo added another full point to his spectacular score. It was not only the amount of points he scored, but he played with the greatest of ease and blew his opponents from the board. However, there were a few more candidates for the Ordix title: Pavel Eljanov from the Ukraine had 7.5/8 and there was a group of seven players with 7/8, among them Alexandra Kosteniuk and Kateryna Lahno.

Pavel Eljanov vs Ian Nepomniachtchi in round nine (draw in 65 moves)

After the lunch break, Zoltan Almasi and Hikaru Nakamura battled it out in a tactical slugfest. It was certainly not a perfect game, but very entertaining and worth the download. Naka seemed to be winning at one stage (he was a rook up), but Almasi kept his cool and won the game in the end.

Hikaru Nakamura vs Zoltan Almasi in round nine (Almasi won in 72 moves)

Almasi,Z (2668) - Nakamura,H (2697) [B81]
15th Ordix Open Mainz GER (9), 03.08.2008
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e6 7.g4 h6 8.Bg2 g5 9.Qe2 Nbd7 10.0-0-0 Ne5 11.h3 Ng6 12.Rhe1 Qc7 13.Nf5 Bd7 14.Qd2 exf5 15.exf5 Ne5 16.h4 Bc6 17.Bxc6+ Qxc6 18.hxg5 Nfxg4 19.f4 Nf3 20.Bd4+ Nge5 21.Qe3 0-0-0 22.fxe5 Nxe1 23.e6 Ng2 24.Qg3 Rg8 25.g6 fxe6 26.f6 e5 27.Qg4+ Kb8 28.f7 Rxg6 29.Qxg6 exd4 30.Rxd4 Qf3 31.Re4 Qf1+ 32.Nd1 Nf4 33.Qg4 h5 34.Qg5 Rc8 35.Rxf4 Qe2 36.c3 Qe6 37.Qf5 Qe2 38.Qf6 d5 39.Rf2 Qe4 40.Rf4 Qe2 41.Rf2 Qe4 42.Rf4 Qe1 43.Kc2 Qe2+ 44.Kc1 Ka7 45.Qd4+ Bc5 46.Qxc5+ Rxc5 47.f8Q Rc6 48.Qg7 Rc8 49.Qd4+ Ka8 50.Rf2 Qe7 51.Ne3 h4 52.Nxd5 Qg5+ 53.Kc2 Rd8 54.Rd2 Rg8 55.Nb6+ Kb8 56.Nd7+ Ka8 57.Nb6+ Kb8 58.Qd6+ Ka7 59.Nd7 h3 60.Qd4+ Ka8 61.Qe5 Qg6+ 62.Kb3 Rd8 63.Qd4 Qe6+ 64.c4 Rg8 65.Nb6+ Ka7 66.Nd5+ Kb8 67.Qf4+ Ka7 68.Rf2 Rg4 69.Qc7 Rg8 70.Rf7 Qc8 71.Qxc8 Rxc8 72.Rh7 1-0.

This was a very important win for the Hungarian, because most of the other top games ended in a draw. And finally, the leader of the pack did not win his game, Nepo had to be content with a draw against Eljanov.

Rustam Kasimdzhanov vs Kateryna Lahno in round 9 (draw in 65 moves)

Under pressure

“Under pressure”. This song by Queen was played before the start of the penultimate round. This is an appropriate title because now it was really getting serious in the Ordix. Which player could handle the pressure best? Nepomniachtchi had to play Kasimdzhanov with the black pieces and he had a good position. However, Kasim is a very experienced player, and has played several Ordix Open tournaments. He could slowly but steadily free himself and in the end his young opponent collapsed.

Ian Nepomniachtchi vs Rustam Kasimdzhanov in round ten (Kasim beat Nepo in 70)

On the other top board Eljanov won a very good game against Almasi and turned out to be the sole leader with 9/10! We have not reported about Evgeny Bareev yet, but this Russian star plays and wins his games quietly and in this round he won an impressive game against Markowski in only 31 moves. He had 8.5 points, just like Kateryna Lahno, who played an impressive game against Potkin.

Potkin,V (2629) - Lahno,Kateryna (2507) [D76]
15th Ordix Open Mainz GER (10), 03.08.2008
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.g3 0-0 5.Bg2 d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.0-0 Nb6 8.Nc3 Nc6 9.e3 Re8 10.Re1 Bd7 11.d5 Na5 12.e4 c6 13.Nd4 cxd5 14.exd5 Rc8 15.Rb1 h6 16.Bf4 Nac4 17.b3 Nd6 18.Qd2 Nf5 19.Nxf5 Bxf5 20.Rbc1 Rxc3 21.Rxc3 Bxc3 22.Qxc3 Nxd5 23.Qd2 Nxf4 24.Qxf4 Qa5 25.Re2 Qa6 26.Rd2 h5 27.Qb4 b6 28.Bc6 Bh3 29.Rd1 Rf8 30.Qxe7 Qxa2 31.Bd5 Qc2 32.Re1 Qf5 33.Be4 Qe6 34.Qxe6 Bxe6 35.b4 Kg7 36.Ra1 Rd8 37.Bc6 Rd4 38.b5 Bd5 39.Bxd5 Rxd5 40.Rxa7 Rxb5 41.Rb7 Rb1+ 42.Kg2 b5 43.Kf3 b4 44.h4 Kf6 45.Ke3 Rb2 46.f3 Ke6 47.Kf4 b3 48.Rb6+ Kd5 49.Rb7 Ke6 50.Rb6+ Ke7 51.Rb7+ Kf6 52.Rb6+ Kg7 53.Rb7 Rb1 54.Ke3 b2 55.Kf4 Kf8 56.Kg5 Kg7 57.Kf4 Kf6 58.Rb6+ Ke7 59.Rb7+ Ke6 60.Rb6+ Kd5 61.Kg5 Rg1 62.Rxb2 Rxg3+ 63.Kf4 Rh3 64.Rb6 Rxh4+ 65.Kg5 Ra4 66.Rf6 Ra7 67.Kf4 Re7 68.Kg5 Ke5 69.Ra6 Rd7 70.f4+ Ke4 71.Ra4+ Rd4 72.Ra7 Rd5+ 73.Kh4 Rf5 74.Kg3 h4+ 75.Kxh4 Kxf4 76.Ra4+ Ke5 77.Ra6 Rf1 78.Kg3 g5 79.Ra5+ Kf6 80.Kg4 Rf4+ 81.Kg3 Rb4 82.Ra6+ Kf5 83.Ra5+ Kg6 84.Ra6+ f6 85.Rc6 Rb5 86.Kg4 Rb4+ 87.Kg3 Re4 88.Ra6 Kf5 89.Ra5+ Re5 90.Ra6 Re3+ 91.Kf2 Rb3 92.Rc6 g4 93.Rc5+ Kf4 94.Rc4+ Kg5 95.Kg2 f5 96.Ra4 g3 97.Ra8 Kg4 98.Rg8+ Kf4 99.Kh3 Rb1 100.Ra8 Rh1+ 101.Kg2 Rh2+ 102.Kg1 Rb2 103.Kf1 Kf3 104.Ra3+ Kg4 105.Ra8 f4 106.Rc8 Rb1+ 0-1.

The short draw plague

In the final round Eljanov had to play Lahno with the black pieces. It was a difficult decision: shall I play for a win with the black pieces against Lahno, an opponent who seemed to be in great form, to secure first place alone? Or shall I play a quick draw to secure at least a big piece of the prize fund? Lahno offered a draw after only eight moves and Eljanov, a player who is more than 200 Elo points above his opponent, accepted. After the game, Eljanov timidly said: “I knew that only Nepo could outrun me in the last round, but I thought that he would not win his game against Bareev and therefore I accepted the draw offer.” A wrong decision!

Kateryna Lahno vs Pavel Eljanov in round 11 (draw in eight moves)

Lahno,Kateri (2507) - Eljanov,P (2716) [C65]
15th Ordix Open Mainz GER (11), 03.08.2008
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.0-0 d6 6.c3 0-0 7.Ba4 h6 8.Nbd2 ½-½

The other top board (Fressinet-Najer) also ended in a quick draw after ten moves. Although one should not forget that the players had to play ten tough and nerve-breaking rounds, these quick draws are horrible – for the chess fans, for the organizers and for the sponsors. During the Olympiad in Dresden and in other tournaments no draw offers before the 30th move will be accepted anymore, why not introducing this rule in Mainz next year?

Dramatic final round

The people in the Rheingoldhalle wanted to see fighting chess until the very last round and this is what Ian Nepomniachtchi and Evgeny Bareev gave them. Nepo attacked his fellow countryman like a madman, but he seemed to be too optimistic and soon Bareev had a winning position. But the 18-year-old kept pushing and he set up some cunning traps. The experienced Bareev could not handle the pressure and collapsed. In a totally winning position with a piece up, he lost on time...

Nepomniachtchi,I (2602) - Bareev,E (2655) [B12]
15th Ordix Open Mainz GER (11), 03.08.2008
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nc3 h5 5.Bd3 Qc8 6.Nf3 g6 7.Nh4 Bxd3 8.Qxd3 Nh6 9.Bxh6 Bxh6 10.0-0 e6 11.Nxg6 fxg6 12.Qxg6+ Kd8 13.f4 Kc7 14.Qf6 Qe8 15.f5 Be3+ 16.Kh1 Bxd4 17.fxe6 Bxc3 18.Qg7+ Kc8 19.bxc3 Rg8 20.Qh7 Qxe6 21.Rf7 Re8 22.Rxb7 Nd7 23.Rab1 Rd8 24.Qxh5 Qxe5 25.Qg4 Qd6 26.c4 d4 27.h3 Re8 28.c5 Qd5 29.Qg3 Qe5 30.Qg4 Qd5 31.Qg3 Qe5 32.Qg4 Qd5 33.R7b4 Rg8 34.Qe2 Nxc5 35.Qf1 a5 36.Rb6 Ne4 37.Qf4 Nd6 38.Qf2 Kc7 39.c4 dxc3 40.R6b3 Nb5 41.a4 Raf8 42.Qe2 Re8 43.Qf2 Ref8 44.Qe2 c2 45.Qxc2 Nd4 1-0.

This final was as dramatic as the last round in the FiNet Open, in which Arkadij Naiditsch lost his final game in a completely winning position. Just like Eljanov, Nepomniachtchi scored 9.5 points, but he had a better Buchholz score and won the Ordix Open plus an invitation to the Rapid Chess World Championship next year! His fighting spirit was rewarded.

The three winners: Ian Nepomniachtchi, Pavel Eljanov and Zoltan Almasi

CHESSBASE: BIEL

04.08.2008 – A few days ago the 41st Biel Chess Festival ended – with a colossal bang. First there were human fireworks, then the celestial variety, with a violent thunderstorm raging over the city. The next morning saw the prize-giving ceremony, then came a mad dash to deliver Magnus Carlsen to the Chess Classic in Mainz. Now that peace has returned to our lives here's a pictorial retrospect of Biel.

The 41st Biel International Chess Festival took place from July 20th - 31st, 2008. The Grandmaster Tournament is a category 18 event with an average rating of 2686.

Round 10: Thursday, July 31, 2008
Evgeny Alekseev	1-0	Yannick Pelletier
Magnus Carlsen	½-½	Alexander Onischuk
Etienne Bacrot	1-0	Leinier Dominguez
Games – Report

In the nerve-racking tiebreak two 15-minute rapid games were drawn, so two blitz games at 5 minutes plus two seconds increment were played. The first was a draw, the second, a wild struggle, Alekseev was victorious, with 18 seconds left on his clock.

Dominguez Perez,L (2708) - Alekseev,Evgeny (2708) [C65]
41st Festival GM Playoff Biel SUI (4), 31.07.2008
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 0-0 6.0-0 d6 7.Re1 Bb6 8.h3 Ne7 9.Nbd2 c6 10.Ba4 Ng6 11.Nf1 h6 12.Ng3 Re8 13.d4 Qc7 14.Bc2 Be6 15.Be3 Rad8 16.Qc1 Kh7 17.Bd3 c5 18.Nf5 Bxf5 19.exf5 Nf8 20.Bb5 Re7 21.dxe5 dxe5 22.Qc2 e4 23.Nd2 Qe5 24.f3 Qxf5 25.fxe4 Qg6 26.Bf2 Ne6 27.Nf3 Nf4 28.Nh4 Nxh3+ 29.Kf1 Qg4 30.e5+ g6 31.exf6 Rxe1+ 32.Bxe1 c4 33.Qe2 Qf4+ 34.Nf3 Rd3 35.Bd2 Be3

Leinier Dominguez, who had been leading by a full point in the final rounds, is a piece up and can win the event with 36.Be3. Instead he incurs the ultimate tragody of stumbling at the finish line: 36.Bxc4?? Rxd2 37.gxh3 Rxe2 38.Kxe2 Qxc4+ 39.Kxe3 Qe6+ 40.Kf2 Qxf6 41.Re1 Qb6+ 42.Kg3 Qxb2 43.Re7 Kg7 44.Re3 Qxa2. It is hopeless, Alekseev has much more time on the clock. 0-1. [Click to replay or download the tiebreak games]

Final standings

CHESSDOM: Topalov Wins Villarrobledo

Topalov wins Villarrobledo Chess Festival

Mamedyarov takes silver, Ponomariov bronze

Villarrobledo chess festival 2008 saw an exciting finish. Four players had equal points after round 5 at the first day of the competition. Today GM Mamedyarov had a fly start and with a series of victories had 6.5/7 just a few rounds before the end of the competition. At that moment Mamedyarov was alone at the top, as Ponomariov and Topalov finished draw. However, in round 8 the Azeri player finished draw with Shirov and the victory of Topalov against Paunovic put him first on tiebreak. The last round victory of the ex world champion and the draw by Mamedyarov, left Topalov as the sole winner of the competition.

Mamedyarov was clear second, while bronze was for Ponomariov, who had the same score as Palac, Malakhov, Ljubojevic, and Arizmendi, but a better tiebreak.

Villarrobledo Chess Festival results

1 GM Topalov Veselin BUL 2777 8,0 53,0 58,0 41,0

2 GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE 2742 7,5 52,0 56,5 41,0

3 GM Ponomariov Ruslan UKR 2718 7,0 52,0 57,0 37,0
4 GM Palac Mladen CRO 2587 7,0 50,0 53,5 36,0
5 GM Malakhov Vladimir RUS 2689 7,0 49,5 54,0 38,0
6 GM Ljubojevic Ljubomir SRB 2555 7,0 47,5 51,0 36,5
7 GM Arizmendi Martinez Julen Luis ESP 2524 VAL 7,0 47,0 50,0 35,0

8 GM Shirov Alexei ESP 2741 EXT 6,5 52,0 56,5 37,0
9 GM Paunovic Dragan SRB 2539 GAL 6,5 48,5 53,5 36,5
10 GM Sokolov Ivan NED 2658 CAN 6,5 48,0 52,5 34,0
11 GM Van Wely Loek NED 2644 6,5 48,0 52,0 36,0
12 IM Abreu Delgado Aryam CUB 2502 6,5 46,5 49,0 34,5
13 IM Perez Candelario Manuel ESP 2537 EXT 6,5 43,5 47,5 34,0
14 GM Dreev Alexey RUS 2657 6,5 43,5 47,5 32,5
15 GM Guliyev Namig AZE 2510 6,5 42,5 46,0 34,5
16 IM Lafuente Pablo ARG 2505 CAT 6,5 42,0 46,0 32,5
17 IM Minzer Claudio Javier ARG 2457 ARA 6,5 42,0 45,0 31,0

18 GM Milov Vadim SUI 2705 6,0 48,5 53,5 35,0
19 GM Fedorchuk Sergey A UKR 2624 6,0 47,5 51,5 35,5
20 GM Kolev Atanas BUL 2565 CAT 6,0 46,0 50,5 34,5
21 GM Rivas Pastor Manuel ESP 2508 AND 6,0 45,0 49,0 31,0
22 IM Roa Alonso Santiago ESP 2465 MAD 6,0 44,5 47,5 33,5
23 FM Gonzalez Somoza Oliver ESP 2357 MAD 6,0 43,0 46,0 31,0

Total: 163 players

[Event "Villarrobledo International Rapid Open"]
[Site "Villarrobledo ESP"][Date "2008.08.03"][Round "8"]
[White "Dragan Paunovic"]
[Black "Veselin Topalov"]
[ECO "A20-English Opening - King's English Variation"]
[WhiteElo "2539"]
[BlackElo "2777"]
[PlyCount "88"]

1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. O-O
Be7 7. d4 e4 8. Ne5 f5 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. Nd2 O-O 11. Nb3 a5
12. Bd2 a4 13. Na5 Bd7 14. Qxa4 Qe8 15. Qb3 Kh8 16. Nc4 c5
17. Ne3 Nb6 18. dxc5 Bxc5 19. Qc2 Bd6 20. Rfe1 Qf7 21. Nd1
Rxa2 22. Rxa2 Qxa2 23. Nc3 Qf7 24. Bf4 Bxf4 25. gxf4 h6 26. e3
Be6 27. Nb5 Bc4 28. Nd4 c5 29. Nc6 Nd7 30. Qc3 Bd3 31. Ra1 Qe6
32. Ne5 Nxe5 33. fxe5 c4 34. Qd4 Re8 35. Ra5 Kh7 36. h3 Be2
37. Rd5 Qe7 38. Kh2 Qh4 39. f4 Bf3 40. Qd2 Ra8 41. Rd7 Ra6
42. Rd6 Ra2 43. Rd8 Bxg2 44. Kxg2 c3 0-1

Junior SOL CRUZ vs Justin LIM

AGUILA MEMORIAL CUP
MERALCO, Pasig City

1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3
THE IDEAS BEHIND THE CHESS OPENINGS, "Develop the N's before the B's."

3 ... a6 4 Bc4 Bb5 5 d3 Nf6 6 Ng5
CHESS FUNDAMENTALS, "Before development has been completed, no piece should be moved more than once, unless it is essential in order to obtain a material advantage or secure freedom of action."

6 ... d5 7 PxP NxP 8 BxN QxB

9 a3??? BxN 10 PxB QxNP 11 Rf1 QxRP 12 Be3 O-O 13 Kd2 Qh6 14 Rh1 Qd6 15 NxRP Re8 16 Qg1 Re6

17 Bh6??? RxB 18 RxR QxR+ 19 Ng5 f6 20 f4 PxN 21 PxNP Qg6 22 Rf1 Bf5 23 Qh2 QxP+ 24 Kd1 Bg4+ 25 Ke1 Qc1+ 26 Kf2 QxBP+ 27 Kg3 QxQ 28 KxQ Be2 29 Rf2 BxP ... [o-1]

AGUILA Memorial Cup

The Aguila Memorial Cup was held in honor of Coach TEDDY AGUILA who piloted the MERALCO Chess Team to 5 consecutive ESAP championships in the 1990's. He retired many years ago and we just learned that he has passed away in 2006.

The Over-all Champion was newcomer Jonathan SANTIAGO of SCADA who bested Abet Casiano in the win-over-the-other tie breaker. Lilet BERSAMINA, father of 2008 10 & Under National Champion Paulo, was the Best Retiree. Justin LIM won the Best High School Player award while Junior SOL CRUZ of LSGH Chess Team won the Best Grade School Player award.

CHESSBASE: ANAND SIMUL in MAINZ

Anand against 40 breaks his own record

By Johannes Fischer

The Chess Classic Mainz began in style. World Champion Vishy Anand and ten-times winner of the Rapid World Chess Championship in Mainz, opened the event with a simul on 40 boards. This time maybe a bit more than just the usual chess entertainment simuls tend to be. Of course, Anand has his mind on the World Championship match against Vladimir Kramnik, which will be played in October. Doing badly in a simul might not be good for his confidence. But possibly Anand does not even think about defeat and just wants to break another record in Mainz where he already holds so many. Four draws in 40 games is the best result ever achieved in these simultaneous events, which traditionally start the Chess Classic. And this record was set back in 1994, at the first Chess Classic ever – and by no other but Vishy Anand himself.

Anand playing his record-breaking simul in Mainz on Monday

14 years and two World Champion titles later Anand now tries to top himself. In the “Goldsaal” – the “Gold Hall” – of the Hilton in Mainz he quietly moves from board to board to show his opponents what a World Champion can do with the pieces. In the beginning Anand, playing White on all 40 boards, keeps a steady pace, moving in a constant rhythm, which, however, slows down a bit while some of his opponents manage to pose him more seriously problems. But there are not many who are able to do so. The 40 players visibly try their best to outwit the best player they might ever have played against and will ever play against, but to no avail. No matter how hard they think about their moves, how tricky the maneuvers they come up with, the strategies they plan to follow, the World Champion seems to grasp all of them in a moment and to dispel all dreams of victory with quick and smooth play, which forces one after the other of his opponents to resign. And while the simul takes its course more and more boards are dominated by a white Kings on e4, indicating a win by Anand. After three and a half hours of play only about half of the players are still in the game. Only one player managed to achieve the draw.

Even though most of spectators in Mainz are experienced chess enthusiasts, who have seen, played or even gave the one or the other simul, the whole spectacle still amazes. Why does it take the simul player only seconds to find better moves than his opponents? Why is his fairly automatic play, necessary to play on 40 boards at the same time, still superior to the creative efforts of the individual player?

Simultaneous events are chess spectacles. Only few games of them made it to the textbooks and mainly because of some nice tactical trick and unlike the really “serious” events onlookers, fans and journalists are allowed to use their flashlight cameras throughout the simul. Anand seems undisturbed. He quietly and efficiently follows his course, making the moves he thinks best on board after board. And while he quietly and efficiently beats one opponent after the other the fascination of chess and particularly the way Anand plays it slowly unfolds. In the week to come the Chess Classic in Mainz will offer more and faster events than a simul. But the fascination of chess will always be seen.

In the end Anand won 39-1, breaking his own record.

CHESSDOM: RL-BD; CARLSEN vs ALEKSEEV

Magnus Carlsen - Evgeny Alekseev

Biel Chess Festival
Round 7
Biel

28.07.2008

Good day everyone, welcome to the Chessdom live coverage of Biel International. Alekseev won one game against Carlsen back in the 2004 at the junior event, but all of their recent games ended in draws. It is possible that they will continue discussion in the Queen's Indian defence. Enjoy the game!

1.e4!? No QID this time..

1... e5 Nowadays, on the top level e5 is almost more popular than Sicilian defence. The main reason is that White still haven't found clear ways to achieve advantage against Ruy Lopez Marshall attack.

2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6!? Berlin variation, revived by Vladimir Kramnik. It helped him win the World Championship match against Garry Kasparov and other players followed his footprints.

4.d3!? A relatively new approach, adopted from players who hate to play with microscopic advantage in the main line (4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8)

4... Bc5 5.Nc3!? The position now resembles some variations of Four Knights opening, rather than Ruy Lopez. The more flexible solution is to castle and keep the option of playing c3. Carlsen obviously has different intentions. GM Emil Sutovsky liked to play 5. Bxc6 here.

5... O-O It is interesting to point that Alekseev himself played this position with White, last month at the Foros Aerosvit. In the game against Pavel Eljanov, he continued 6. 0-0 and after Nd4 we saw a classical Rubinstein counterattack in the Four Knights. That game finished in quick draw. Mikhail Chigorin played 6. Bg5!?

6.Bxc6!? Carlsen goes another way.

6... dxc6 The pawn structure is similar to the Ruy Lopez exchange variation, but the difference is that Black didn't play a6 and it will be harder for White to prepare d4. On the other hand, Black Knight would be much happier on e7.

7.Nxe5!? Now this is brave! White is picking up the fight before bringing the King into security. Black can play 7...Bxf2+ 8. Kxf2 Qd4+ 9. Be3 Qxe5 or immediate 7...Qd4 8. Be3 Qxe5 9. d4 with dxc5. 7. h3 was safer.

7... Qd4 ( The other capture also looked promising, sample line 7... Bxf2+ 8.Kxf2 Qd4+ 9.Be3 Qxe5 10.h3 Nh5! 11.Qf3 f5 12.d4 Qe8 13.e5 f4 With excellent play for Black.)

8.Be3 Qxe5 9.d4 Qe7 10.dxc5 Nxe4 The last few moves were forced. Now 11. Nxe4 Qxe4 12. 0-0 Be6 causes some problems to White, because Queen has to defend c2 and Black Rooks will quickly grab the open files.

11.Qd4!? Probably better than exchange on e4 because now White could castle long!?

11... Bf5 (11... Nxc3 12.Qxc3 Rd8!? 13.O-O Be6 With idea Rd5-Rad8 would have been equal.)

12.O-O-O Alright! This helps White to protect sensitive c2-pawn and fight better for the d-file (King controlling d1). The drawback is that kingside pawns, that are not protected by the King, might come under attack. Still, White could drop one of them if opening of the files will help in pressuring the Black King.

12... Rad8 13.Qb4 Winning the tempo against b7-pawn. Now if 13...b6, maybe 14. Qa3!? touching on a7? For this reason, 12...Rfd8 might have been more precise.

13... Qe6!? A fine small push that highlights some of the weaknesses in White's camp. The main threat of Nxc3 and Qxa2 forces White to do something about it. 14. Kb1 might not be the best way since White is losing some of the control on the d-file. 14. a3 allows b6 since Queen's desirable square is taken away. Most likely, Carlsen will exchange one or two pairs of pieces to reduce Black's tactical possibilities and continue playing on the structure.

14.Kb1!? Carlsen wants to keep as many pieces on the board as possible. He might not have double Rook's exchange at the disposal, but there are other possibilities. 14...Qg6 is indirectly pressuring on the weak c2. (14.Nxe4!? Bxe4 ( but not 14... Qxe4 15.Qxe4 Bxe4 16.f3 Bd5 17.Bf4! when White is slightly better.) 15.Rxd8 Rxd8 16.Rd1 Rxd1+ 17.Kxd1 with roughly equal ending.)

14... b5 The threat is a7-a5, and after White takes, Black plays Ra8, Nxc3 and takes on a2.

15.b3 This weakening is serious concession. Nc3 might become loose and White will probably trade it soon.

15... Qe5 (15... Qg6!? is posing bigger problems because g2 is also under attack 16.Nxe4 Bxe4 17.Qc3 b4! 18.Qc4 Qxg2 19.Rhg1 Rxd1+)

16.Nxe4 Bxe4 17.Bd4 Qf5 18.Qc3 18. Rd2 was also fine. The position is now completely equal.

18... f6 19.f3 Bd5 20.Rhe1 ( The daring pawn hunt with 20.Qa5!? allows Black to gain nice counterplay 20... Bf7 21.Rhe1 (21.Qxa7? Bg6 and Rd4) 21... Bg6 22.Rd2 Qf4 or Rd7)

20... Rd7 Both players will spend a couple of moves on solidifying the position. Alekseev wants to double the Rook and maybe transfer the Bishop to g6, while Carlsen will play Kb2 and move the (in some positions hanging) Bishop from d4.

21.Bf2 Rfd8 22.Rd4 h5 Taking g4 under control and giving some air to the King. The Bishop will probably move to g6 in the future.

23.h3 Is he insisting on g4? It is possible that Black will face the "how to improve beautiful position" paradox that was so nicely explained in books of GM Suba.

23... Bf7 24.g4 hxg4 25.hxg4 Qg5 Some progress here, Queen was forced away from the ideal diagonal.

26.Kb2 Rxd4 27.Bxd4 Qd5 28.Rd1! Exclamation mark only because White is not afraid to go under the pin. With Bishop on d4, f4-g5 might be a good plan. The alternative was 28. Bf2...

28... b4! Excellent reaction. Trying to drive the Queen from this diagonal and swap b-pawn for very important f3.

29.Qxb4 (29.Qe3!? Re8 30.Qf4)

29... Qxf3 30.Rd2 Idea is 30...Qxg4 31. Bc3!? (30.Rg1 allows Queen's trade after Qe4.)

30... Qxg4 31.Bc3 Qc8 32.Rg2 Bd5 The certain pressure against Black King is compensating for the pawn deficit.

33.Rg1 Qf5 Maybe chance for Qb7?

34.Qb7 Kf7 35.Qxc7+ Another possibility was to take a7-pawn and push the passer sometime in the future. Obviously, Carlsen wanted to have his Queen near the enemy King.

35... Rd7 36.Qc8 Be4 The only move! Allowing Qh8 would have been very dangerous. Now Black will have Qh7.

37.Qh8 Qh7 38.Qc8 Qf5 39.Rf1!? Qe6!? (39... Qxf1 40.Qxd7+ Kf8 looks like a draw (40... Kg8? 41.Qe8+ Kh7 42.Qxe4+))

40.Qh8 Re7 The show goes on...

41.Rd1 Re8 42.Qh2 Bf5 43.Rd2 (43.Rd6 allows 43... Qe2 and Magnus wants those heavy pieces on the board.)

43... Re7 44.Qb8 Rd7 It was about time Alekseev to try exchanging the Rooks and soften c2 defence. But this might not be the best way to do it, since White has 45. Rd6 and then Qe2 is met by Rxd7 (which was not possible in the line given above).

45.Rf2 Bg6 46.Rh2 Qe8 (46... Qe4!?)

47.Qg3 Qe4 This is the best square for the Queen. It protects Bg6 and attacks on c2.

48.Rg2 Re7 49.Rd2 Rb7 Odd-looking move, but it doesn't change the assessment. Still dead equal.

50.Qh2 Re7 51.Qb8 Bf5 52.a4 Finally, a pawn is moved :) It is hard to make any progress though, as long as Alekseev is firmly pressing on c2.

52... Bg6 53.a5 Bf5 54.a6 Bg6 55.Qg3 Bf5 56.Rg2 Bg6 57.Rh2 Bf5 58.Qb8 White is trying to sneak in through the 8th rank, but even simple Kg6 keeps Black intact.

58... Bg6 59.Ka3 Bh7 60.Rd2 Bf5 61.Qh8 Qe3 62.Kb2 Qe4 63.Rf2 Qg4 64.Qh2 Bg6 65.Qd6 Qe6 66.Qxe6+!? Kxe6 67.Ba5 The Queens have left the board, and this is now interesting endgame. White might be planning to check on e2, trade the Rooks and play Bb6.

67... Be4 Covering the possible check and taking c6 under protection.

68.c4 g5 It is too early to speculate who will be faster in this race, but Black pawn have a clear road ahead...

69.Bd2 Rg7 70.Re2 f5 71.b4 g4 72.b5 cxb5 73.cxb5 g3 74.Re1 Hoping to block the promoting square. Immediate 74. b6 was also interesting, White sacrifices Bishop for pawn, but his own pawns are very close to promotion.

74... Kd5 75.Be3 Probably immediate b6 was better.

75... Bd3! Exactly, now Black grabs the advantage.

76.Rd1 Ke4 77.Rxd3 Kxd3 78.Bg1 f4 79.b6 f3 80.b7 Rg8! This is the crucial tempo, White has to push c-pawn, but it's too late...

81.c6 f2 82.c7 fxg1=Q 83.c8=Q Qd4+ 84.Ka2 And Carlsen resigned seeing that 84... Rxc8 and 85...Qc4+ is winning for Black. An odd game, where nothing happened for about 30 moves and then White decided for a sudden pawn race. Black turned to be faster because his pawns had no obstacles on the way. Thank you everyone for following Chessdom live commentary, see you again tomorrow at 14:00 CET.

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PICHAY MEMORIAL CUP: NOLTE

5TH PROSPERO PICHAY SR. MEMORIAL CUP CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP

by: admin

posted on : Mon Jul 28 2008, 08:22PM

2nd seed IM Rolando Nolte lived up to his high billing by ruling the fifth Prospero Pichay Sr. Memorial chess tournament at the Surigao del Sur Polytechnic College here Saturday. Nolte, the highest-rated player here with an ELO of 2522, dumped NM Hamed Nouri in the 8th round and drew with GM Mark Paragua in the 9th and final round to cap his campaign in this four-day tournament organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP).
Nolte actually finished in a four-way tie for first place with GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. NM Reggie Olay and Paragua with similar scores of seven points out of a possible nine.

But the Quezon City-based campaigner clinched the title by virtue of higher tiebreak score over Antonio, Olay and Paragua. The four players , however, split the combined cash prizes for the top four places and pocketed P50,000 each. Antonio halved the point with Olay in the 8ht round and then trounced NM Mirabeau Maga in the 9th round to join the winners’ circle. Olay followed up his draw with Antonio by downing untitled Jay Bulicatin, while Paragua crushed last year’s winner IM Barlo Nadera in the 8th round before drawing with Nolte in the final round.
Nouri and Nadera dropped into another four-way tie for fifth to eighth places with 6.5 points. They each received P9,250.

With Nouri and Nadera were NM Alexander Lupian, who beat Vincent Umayan and NM Rusutm Tolenrino; and Jimmy Dano, who bested Ibaryu Adante and Abdullah Unding. Tied for ninth to 13 th places were Henry Lopez, Ben Polao, Bulicatin, Mga and Santiago Lumancas. They earned P3,800. The tournament was held for the fifth straight year in honor of the late father of NCFP president Prospero “Butch” Pichay.

NCFP: 5TH PICHAY MEMORIAL CUP

2nd seed IM Rolando Nolte lived up to his high billing by ruling the fifth Prospero Pichay Sr. Memorial chess tournament at the Surigao del Sur Polytechnic College here Saturday. Nolte, the highest-rated player here with an ELO of 2522, dumped Nm Hamed Nouri in the eighth round and drew with GM Mark Paragua in th en inth and final round to cap his campaign in this four-day tournament organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP).
Nolte actually finished in a four-way tie for first place with GM Rogelio Antonio Jr. NM Reggie Olay and Paragua with similar scores of seven points out of a possible nine.

But the Quezon City-based campaigner clicnyhed the title by virtue of higher tiebreak score over Antonio, Olay and Paragua. The four players , however, split the combined cash prizes for the top four places and pocketed P50,000 reach. Antonio halved the point with Olay in the eight round and then trounced NM Mirabeau Maga in the ninth round to join the winners’ circle. Olay followed up his draw with Antonio by downing untitled Jay Bulicatin, while Paragua crushed last year’s winner IM Barlo Nadera in the eighth round before drawing with Nolte in the final round.
Nouri and Nadera dropped into another four-ay tie for fifth to eighth places with 6.5 points. They each received P9,250.

With Nouri and Nadera were NM Alexander Lupian, who beat Vincent Umayan and NM Rusutm Tolenrino; and Jimmy Dano, who bested Ibaryu Adante and Abdullah Unding. Tied for ninth to 13 th places were Henry Lopez, Ben Polao, Bulicatin, Mga and Santiago Lumancas. They earned P3,800. The tournament was held for the fifth straight year in honor of the late father of NCFP president Prospero “Butch” Pichay.

CHESSDOM: GASANOV WINS CZECH OPEN

The winner GM Gasanov

GM Eldar Gasanov won the 2008 edition of the strong Czech Open chess festival. He finished with 7,5/9, half a point ahead of GM Stocek, GM Chuprov, GM Korobov, GM Vorobiov, GM Chernyshov, GM Gajewski, IM Dobrowolski, GM Brkic, and GM Teske. A total of 44 GMs and 199 titled players from 35 nations competed in the event. Top seeded was GM Hracek and GM Babula.

The Czech Open was a part of a big chess festival which took 17 days, 101 tournaments (chess and many other games), 5830 players starts from 52 countries, 768 chessboards, 100 organizers, arbitres, volunteers etc. Russia won 24 medals (10 gold, 7 silver, and 7 bronze), Netherlands 20 (10, 4, 6), the Czech Republic 30 (8, 8, 14).

The festival also game many norms to players. Piotr Dobrowolski and Jakov Geller got GM norms, Eugenia Chasovnikova a WGM norm, 24 players got IM norms, and 5 players got WIM norms.

Report and photos by Viktor Novotny

Official website: http://www.czechopen.net/index_cz.php

CHESSDOM: TIVIAKOV WINS POLITIKEN CUP

Sergei Tiviakov Wins Politiken Cup

European Champion clinched the trophy on best tiebreak

Six players have shared the first place at the 2008 Politiken Cup, but the trophy went to Dutch globetrotter Sergei Tiviakov on best additional criteria. He scored a full point with Black pieces in a very difficult game against GM Arthur Kogan. And while GM Vladimir Malakhov caught "easier" opponent in the last round, local hero Peter Heine Nielsen had to work hard and beat GM Bartosz Socko to reach the first place tie. Finally, Swedish GM Jonny Hector, known for his sharp and enterprising play, calculated deeper than GM Evdokimov and deservingly established himself in the top pack.

Winner - GM Sergei Tiviakov

Round 10 results:
GM Michael Roiz - GM Yurij Kuzubov draw
GM Emanuel Berg - GM Boris Savchenko draw
GM Vladimir Malakhov - IM Thomas Engqvist 1-0
GM Peter Heine Nielsen - GM Bartosz Socko 1-0
GM Artur Kogan - GM Sergey Tiviakov 0-1
GM Alexei Iljushin - GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili draw
GM Jonny Hector - GM Alexander A. Evdokimov 1-0
IM Sabino Brunello - GM Pavel Eljanov 0-1
GM Konstantin Landa - GM Sune Berg Hansen 1-0
GM Lars Schandorff - IM Tania Sachdev 1-0
IM Christian Jepson - GM Tiger Hillarp-Persson 1-0

Final standings:
1-6. GM Sergey Tiviakov 2645, GM Vladimir Malakhov 2689, GM Yurij Kuzubov 2578, GM Peter Heine Nielsen 2652, GM Boris Savchenko 2578 and GM Jonny Hector 2537 - 8.0
7-15. GM Michael Roiz 2680, GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili 2604, GM Pavel Eljanov 2716, GM Konstantin Landa 2615, GM Alexei Iljushin 2546, GM Emanuel Berg 2592, IM Oliver Kurmann 2394, IM Christian Jepson 2358 and GM Lars Schandorff 2537 - 7½ etc
(280 players)