The Arctic Securities Chess Stars rapid tournament took place August 28-30 in Kristiansund, Norway. Anand, Carlsen, Polgar and Hammer first played a double round robin on Saturday and Sunday and then on Monday they played the final and bronze final.

The time control was 20 minutes for the whole game with an increment of 10 seconds per move. More info in our previous report.

Day 3

Carlsen today started with a very powerful white game, which, it must be added, was also affected by an early mistake by Anand. The World Champion was very critical of himself at the press conference: “Obsiously it’s a pity, because it would have been nice to play some decent games today, but essentially I threw way the game in one move. 21…a5 loses a pawn on the spot.” It does indeed, but it looks like Carlsen didn’t respond the best way.

Carlsen-Anand
Kristiansund (final, 1st game) 2010

In this position very strong looks 22.cxd5 exd5 23.Rc5, and indeed the pawn on a5 drops, because 23…Qc7 fails to 24.Bxd5. However, Carlsen played 22. Bc3 when 22… b6?! is obviously wrong because of 23. c5 bxc5 24. Bxa5, but in this position the simple 22… Qc7 seems possible. Anand continued 22…dxc4 23. Bxa5 cxb3 24. Rb2 Rdc8 25. Rxb3 and had to fight against annoying pressure along the b-file, and later also in the centre. After Carlsen had opened the centre with e3-e4, the Norwegian could deliver the decisive blow soon.

41. Bxh5! Now 41… gxh5 is answered by 42. Qh7+ and in most lines White will win back a full rook: a) 42… Kf8 43. Qh6+ Kg8 44. Qg5+; b) 42… Ke8 43. Qxh5+; c) 42… Kf6 43. Rg5! Rxg5 44. hxg5+ Kxg5 45. Qg7+ Kf5 46. Qf7+ Kg5 47. Rc5+ +-. In the game Anand tried 41… Rxe5 42. dxe5 Qd5+ 43. Bf3 Qxe5 which turned out to be pretty hopeless too. In the next game he got nothing with White in a Breyer Ruy Lopez and offered a draw at move 28.

The bronze final started with an interesting Scotch Four Knights where Polgar had a slight advantage at some point, but Hammer held his own in the ending. Like the first game of the final, the second game of the bronze final was also decided more or less by a one-move mistake.

Hammer-Polgar
Kristiansund (bronze final, 2nd game) 2010

Here Polgar played 19… c4? and after 20. e4! the loss of a pawn was inevitable, because she had missed that after 20… Rd6 the move 21. exd5! comes with tempo and c4 hangs.
Hammer finished the game showing excellent technique, though Polgar perhaps could have put up a bit more resistance. For example at the very end:

Here she went 54… Kd8 and resigned after 55.c6. The move 54… Ke8 at least forces 55. Bxa2 though White is also winning after 55… Nxa2 56. Kf6.

It seems that this Arctic Securities Chess Stars was to some extent part of the lobby for the possible Tromsø Olympiad in 2014. It was certainly an example of the growing interest in chess in Norway. It should also be mentioned that Arctic Securities is Carlsen’s personal sponsor, so there’s enough reason for the Norwegians to be happy today.

As a nice bonus, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (Norsk Rikskringkasting – NRK) provided live coverage on its website through several video cameras. In our view this could have been done better, as for example there were no good close-ups of the players’ faces. Maybe something for next year?

Games day 3

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Carlsen and Anand in their second game, just moments before Anand will admit defeat

Judit Polgar resigns against Jon Ludvig Hammer in game 2 | Screenhots from Norsk Rikskringkasting

Links

• Kristansund club website
• Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (Norsk Rikskringkasting – NRK) website
• Magnus Carlsen blogging
• Jon Ludvig Hammer’s blog
• Games in PGN: Preliminaries | Final | Bronze final via TWIC

Peter Leko played his 6th rapid match in a row in Miskolc, Hungary. In 2005, he drew 4-4 against Michael Adams in a match where only the last two games ended in a draw. A year later, the Hungarian beat Karpov 4.5-3.5. In 2007 Leko lost 4.5-3.5 to Kramnik and in 2008 Carlsen proved too strong: 5-3. Last year Leko lost to World Champion Anand 5-3.

This year Leko played against Boris Gelfand, who came straight from the NH Tournament where he had performed very well. In general the Israeli has had quite a strong period lately, while the Hungarian hasn’t found his best form yet this year. In Wijk aan Zee and Astrakhan Leko scored 50%, and in Dortmund even worse: minus two.

Again the rapid match took place in the National Theater of Miskolc, Hungary. Eight rapid games were played over four days; on August 25, 26, 28 and 29. The time control was 25 minutes for the whole game with an increment of 10 seconds at each move.

The match was a highly theoretical affair and preparation played an important role. In seven out of eight games the Semi-Slav came on the board; five of them saw the Anti-Moscow variation (all of Gelfand’s white games and Leko’s last white game) and three of them the Moscow variation.

It won’t surprise you that especially the Anti-Moscow games led to interesting games. Let’s have a look at what exactly happened there. After the moves 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 g5 8. Bg3 b5

we start with the last game of the match, where Leko copied Grischuk’s recent piece sacrifice with 9.Ne5 Bb7 10. h4 Bg7 11. hxg5 hxg5 12. Rxh8+ Bxh8 13. Bxc4!? bxc4 14. Nxc4 Kf8

Here Leko deviated from Grischuk’s 15.e5 (played at the Russian Team Championship in April this year) but instead played 15.Bd6. But, Gelfand wouldn’t be Gelfand if he wasn’t prepared for that move as well. He defended accurately and was even clearly better in the final position.

Gelfand himself played 9.Be2 in all his games. After 9…Bb7

he tried the move 10.0-0 once, in the third match game. For a long time the two followed a game Harikrishna-Sandipan played this year in the USA: 10…Nbd7 11. Ne5 Bg7 12. Nxd7 Nxd7 13. Bd6 a6 14. a4 b4 15. Bxb4 Qb6 16. Ba3 Qxd4 17. Qc2 c5 18. Rad1 Qe5 19. Bxc4 Qc7

Here Gelfand played the novelty 20.Ne2 (instead of 20.Bb5) but Leko drew relatively easily.

Three times Gelfand went for 10.h4 and these games were theoretically most important, as after 10… g4 11. Ne5 Rg8 12. Bxg4 Nbd7 13. Nxd7 Qxd7 14. Bf3

Leko had prepared the new move 14…c5!? and he played it all three times. It’s probably OK for Black, but practically speaking it proved dangerous, as Gelfand won this theoretical fight 2.5-0.5. Interestingly, Leko only scored a win in the one 1.e4 game of the match. He managed to beat his opponent in a Petroff.

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The players at the closing ceremony...

...where they received vases especially made for the occasion

Photos © Gabor Veroci, more here

Links

• Official website
• Games in PGN via TWIC

This rapid event takes place August 28-30 in Kristiansund, Norway. Anand, Carlsen, Polgar and Hammer first played a double round robin on Saturday and Sunday; today the final and bronze final start at 14:00 CET. The time control is 20 minutes for the whole game with an increment of 10 seconds per move. More info in our previous report.

We didn’t really have a look at the games of the first day yet, so let’s just see how Anand and Carlsen, naturally the two big favourites, reached the final. In short: Anand reigned supreme and scored 5/6, while Carlsen dropped 2.5 points, but still qualified.

Day 1

On the first day both Carlsen and Anand played the Berlin Defence against Polgar. In the first round the Hungarian went for the main line – the famous ending:

Polgar-Carlsen
Kristiansund 2010

Polgar now seeks adventure with 15. Nb5!? a6 16. Nd6+! cxd6 17. exd6 Nd5 18. c4 Nxf4 19. d7+ Kd8 20. Ne5 Be7 21. axb6 Ne2+ 22. Kf1 Nd4 23. dxc8Q+ Kxc8

24. b4? (24. Re1! and now 24… Nc2 25. Nxf7 Nxe1 26. Rxe1 Re8 27. Nd6+ Bxd6 28. Rxe8+ Kd7 29. Rh8 h6 might be a bit better for White while 25… Rf8 25. Ng6 fxg6! 26. Rxe7 Rf6 would have been unclear. 24… f6 25. Nd3 cxb4 26. c5 Nc6 and Black was just up material.

Anand-Hammer
Kristiansund 2010

Hammer had been doing alright all the time, partly because Anand had played his Giuoco Piano very pianissimo. If Black plays 50…Nf8 here, it’s probably a draw. However, he cracked in the end with 50…f5? 51. exf5 e4 52. Kc6 Ne5+ 53. Kd5 Nd3 54. Bd2 Nf2 55. Bxg5 Nxh3 56. Be3 1-0

Like Carlsen, Anand wanted to play the Berlin Defence against Polgar, but this time she went for the quiet 4.d3 line. After 4…Bc5 5.0-0 Nd4! Black has almost equalized there, and after a few more moves Anand was already better, and then nicely outplayed his opponent, adding threat after threat in an ending. A very instructive game.

You’ve probably already seen what happened in the following game, but we’ll show it for the ones who haven’t. Even for rapid it’s a rare example of mutual chess blindness.

Carlsen-Hammer
Kristiansund 2010

39. Rd2?? Rhxd2?? 40. Bxd2 and White won.

The last two games on Saturday, Hammer-Polgar and Anand-Carlsen, ended in a draw. The latter was a Sicilian Dragon where ‘Black probably always had enough counterplay’, according to the World Champion. Let’s move on to what happened on Sunday.

Day 2

Again, Hammer played a fine game against Anand, but at some point it all became a comedy of errors.

Hammer-Anand
Kristiansund 2010

30. h3?! Good for White is 30. Qh5! and now after 30…Qc6 (30… Qxa2 31. Qe8!) 31. Bb4 Bb7 White can try to win the ending after 32. Re8+ Kh7 33. Qf5+ g6 34. Qxd7+ Qxd7 35. Re7+ Qxe7 36. Bxe7 without running any risk. 30… Bb7!

31. c4?? Here White should probably have taken the draw with 31. Bxg7! 31… Qxa2? 31… Qe6! wins on the spot. 32. Qf5? Qa4?! Again 32… Qe2! would have decided the game instantly, e.g. 33. Qb1 Qf3. 33. Qe6+ Kh7 34. Kh2 Qc2 35. Bc5 Rd2 36. Kg1 Qd3

37. g4? 37. Qe3 Qd7 38. f3! still holds. 37… Rd1! Now Black is winning again. 38. Bb4 Rxe1+ 39. Bxe1 Qxh3 40. Qf5+ Kh8 41. f3 Qxf3 42. Qxf3 Bxf3 0-1

In this fourth round Carlsen drew with Polgar, using the non-theoretical set-up 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. b3 b6 4. Bd3 Bb7 5. O-O Ne7 6. Re1 Ng6 7. Bb2. Now after 7… Nc6

the Norwegian went 8. Na3!? and the point was eventually split at move 108, after Carlsen had taken too much risk trying to win, and then successfully defended a worse position. The next round Anand copied the setup, but went 8. Bf1 and easily beat Polgar with it.

Hammer got a second chance against Carlsen, and this time he didn’t falter:

Hammer-Carlsen
Kristiansund 2010

45… Qd4?? 45… Qg6 46. Bxe5 Nxe5 47. Qxd6 Nf3+ 48. Kg2 Nxg5 49. Rhf1 should end in a draw. 46. Qc2 Oops. 46… Nxg5 47. Qg6+ Bg7 48. Qxg5 Rf7 49. Qg6 Rcc7 50. Kg2 Rxf4 51. Qh7+ Kf7 52. Rxf4+ Qxf4 53. Rf1 Qxf1+ 54. Kxf1 Rc5 55. Ne4 1-0

Round 6 saw two relatively quiet draws in Polgar-Hammer and Carlsen-Anand, and so the final standings of the preliminary fase looks like this.

Games day 2

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Emanuel Berg won the top group of the 6-round open tournament which was held alongside the rapid event, from Thursday the 26th to Sunday the 29th. The Swede edged out Vladimir Georgiev and Evgeny Romanov on tiebreak.

Links

• Kristansund club website
• Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (Norsk Rikskringkasting – NRK) website
• Games in PGN via TWIC

Hammer, Anand, Polgar and Carlsen at the press conference | Photo Roger Hojem

It is a huge event for the chess fans in Kristiansund and Norway which takes place this weekend (including Monday). The first round is played today and the second on Sunday the 29th. Each player will meet twice. The finals will be played on Monday 30th of August. The time control is 20 minutes for the whole game with an increment of 10 seconds per move.

Games start at 14.30 CET on Saturday and Sunday while the final and bronze final will start at 14.00 CET on Monday. Pairings:

Saturday
Opening (13.30)
Round 1 (14.30): Polgar-Carlsen, Anand-Hammer
Round 2 (16.00): Polgar-Anand, Carlsen-Hammer
Round 3 (17.30): Anand-Carlsen, Hammer-Polgar

Sunday
Round 4 (14.30): Carlsen-Polgar, Hammer-Anand
Round 5 (16.00): Anand-Polgar, Hammer-Carlsen
Round 6 (17.30): Carlsen-Anand, Polgar-Hammer

Monday
Finals & bronze finals (14.00)

The official website is the Kristansund club website and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (Norsk Rikskringkasting – NRK) website will provide live coverage through several video cameras. Update: as Jochem remarks, live games here.

NRK consists of three main TV channels, three main radio channels, several niche channels on the radio, the Internet, podcast and mobile phone. NRK is Norway’s largest media company.

It is the first time World Champion Anand visits Norway since he played in the 1980’s World Youth
Championship. For Judit Polgar it’s the first time she’s visiting Norway. Kristiansund is a city and municipality on the western coast of Norway, in the Nordmøre district of Møre og Romsdal county. It is located about 500 km northwest of capital Oslo and about 1300 km southwest of Tromsø.

Storkaia harbour in Kristiansund | Photo Harald Oppedal

Parallel to this high-class rapid tournament there’s a 6-round open tournament with two groups, from Thursday the 26th to Sunday the 29th of August. The first prize is 10,000 NOK (about 1253 Euros). The strongest participants are GMs Emanuel Berg, Evgeny Romanov, Vladimir Georgiev, Tiger Hillarp Persson and Women World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk.

Games day 1

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Gata Kamsky, the unofficial Rapid World Champion 2010 | Photo Christian Bossert

Gata Kamsky is the one and only winner of the Grenke Open! After eleven hard fought rounds, the current United States Champion scored 10 points and remained unbeaten. The man with the cap played fighting chess, never just played for a draw – even with the black pieces – and deservedly won the first Grenke Open Rapid World Championship. Hats off to the man with the cap!

The second day of the Grenke Open started with no less than 12 players with a perfect 5/5 score, but soon that number of 100% scorers was reduced. After eight rounds, only Gata Kamsky was able to keep the pace and he was the only player with a perfect score. He won in great style against Markowski, Aronian and Karjakin in rounds 6, 7 and 8. The 45-minute lunch break was used to get some fresh air and after that, the Kamsky train kept on rolling. The 36-year old United States chess champion played against ex-world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov in the ninth round and was on the brink of losing his first game of the tournament, but he escaped somehow and even won in the end. That’s rapid chess, sometimes you need a little luck.

In the penultimate round he scored a draw against Vugar Gashimov, who also played a great tournament and remained unbeaten as well. In the last round against Grischuk, Kamsky played a Grünfeld variation which he had not played for a long time and had to survive some critical moments, but in the end he got the draw he needed to clinch home the title. With 10 points (+9=2-0) he won the Grenke Open, €6000 and the traditional winner’s jacket. Vugar Gashimov, Levon Aronian and Evgeny Bareev scored 9.5 points.

Obviously the 36-year-old was happy with his result. “I like to play in Mainz and I almost won the Chess960 tournament last year, but I am happy that I won this tournament this time. Hans-Walter Schmitt invited me to Mainz a few years ago and I accepted, mainly because I love Tigers. I asked him after my first tournament in Mainz if I could get one of the tigers they have on stage. Schmitt agreed, and I took one of the big tigers with me to New York. It is placed on a nice spot in my appartment and sometimes I hug my tiger.”

With Kamsky’s win in the Grenke Open, another big “Mainz” title was taken to the USA: last year Hikaru Nakamura won the Chess960 Open and the American chess program Rybka by Vasik Rajlich, won the Chess960 computer world championship. How about a Chess Classic USA?

The next tournament on the Kamsky agenda is the Baku Open, (22-30 August) and after that Kamsky will play the Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk. Next year, as a finalist of the previous cycle, Kamsky has been given direct entry to the 8-player Candidates Tournament to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship 2012. The Candidates Tournament will begin with best-of-four game match format, and Kamsky will most likely face Veselin Topalov in the quarterfinals in Kazan, Russia. And next year, he has to come back to defend his world title. “I hope that I can play a rapid match against Vishy Anand in Mainz next year, which would be a real challenge!”

(Report thanks to press officer Eric van Reem)

Games rounds 6-11

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More than 700 players in one playing hall

The stage during the last round, with Kamsky, Grischuk, Karjakin and Gashimov

Viktor or Viorel Bologan

Sergei Movsesian

Alexander Grischuk

Jan Gustafsson vs Vugar Gashimov

World Champions Alexandra Kosteniuk and Miso Cebalo (left), the latter vs Ulf Andersson

The winner against the best female player in Mainz: Gata Kamsky vs Anna Zatonskih

Two friends, organizer Hans-Walter Schmitt (r.) and World Champion Vishy Anand, who came and watches a few games after his simul on Friday

Gata Kamsky gets the traditional winner's jacket...

...and wears it with style (this time with a special Chess Tigers cap)

Photos © Christian Bossert, Chess Tigers

Links

• Official website
• Games in PGN

The 2010 Mainz Chess Classic takes place August 6-8 in the Rheingoldhalle in Mainz, Germany. The event started on Friday with a press conference attended by, what the organizers happily announced as, “no less than three world champions”: chess world champion Vishy Anand, women chess world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk and unofficial rapid chess world champion Levon Aronian.

About the smaller format, tournament director Hans-Walter Schmitt said: “Due to the financial crisis it has become more difficult to find sponsors for our event this year, and that is the reason why we had to go “back to the roots”. In 1994 we started off the first Chess Classic in Frankfurt with a simul and an open tournament and we chose that “old” format for this years’ event again. Believe me, it is not really important that the tournament is shorter than before, the intensity of the event is decisive and we, the Chess Tigers, are passionate as always.”

Alexandra Kosteniuk, Levon Aronian and Viswanathan Anand at the press conference on Friday

And so luckily with a little less money the annual rapid festival continues to exist, thanks to the support of the Lord Mayor of Mainz, Mr. Jens Beutel and the main sponsor Grenkeleasing AG, one of the biggest IT financing specialists in Germany. Besides this tournament, the company also sponsors the top team in the Bundesliga, Baden-Baden, and chess projects for children.

The players also made some statements. World champ Vishy Anand said that he was glad to be in Mainz again. He won the Chess Classic no less than 11(!) times. On his (real) Twitter account Vishy64theking he wrote: “no play, just chill”.

Vishy Anand in his simul against Chess Tiger Hans Mokry, who celebrated his 76th birthday.

When asked for his favourites for the Open, Anand answered: “It will be difficult to say who is going to win the Grenke Open, there are many strong players competing. Obviously Levon (Aronian) and Sascha (Grischuk) are hot candidates for first place, but I would not put my money on them.” Aronian agreed: “It will be a tough tournament and I think there is no clear favorite. I would not be surprised, if some of the top players will not even be in the top 20 after 11 rounds. Myself included!” He smirked: “Hans-Walter Schmitt is always trying to find challenges for the players: sometimes I have to play a match, now I have to play the Open, and he even convinced me to play a Chess960 simul!”

“Come together” in Mainz

Women chess world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk was upset when she found out that no Chess960 events would be played in Mainz this year. “I am happy that I can play the Chess960 simul and I have to say that I love Chess960! I like to be creative and I really enjoy the Chess960 events in Mainz. For me, Mainz has always been a good starting point: in 2008 I won the Chess960 world championship and after “Mainz” I won the chess world championship and I scored other good results. I hope that the 2010 edition will become a new starting point for a successful chess year again. There are some important events coming up, like the Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk and the women’s world championship in December in Turkey. But Mainz is not only important for me: I know that a lot of professionals just love to come here to meet other players in a relaxed atmosphere. That is what makes “Mainz” special.”

Simultanious exhibitions- the results

World Champ Anand played a simul on 40 boards. As a rule, the player who gives the simul plays with the white pieces, but one exception was made: the oldest member of the Chess Tigers, Hans Mokry celebrated his 76th birthday and was allowed to play with white. Anand agreed with a smile, but won the game anyway. After 4 hours and 23 minutes, Anand finished his simul and his final score was 36-4: +34-2=4. He lost two games: one against Henrik Karlzen from Sweden and one against Bernd Grill from Germany.

Alexandra Kosteniuk played a Chess960 simul on 20 boards. Just 20? Yes, but with 20 different starting positions! Her final score was 18-2: +16=4-0. She needed 3 hours and 13 minutes to complete her simul.

Kosteniuk in her simul against Lord Mayor Jens Beutel.

701 participants in GRENKE OPEN – Twelve players with a 100% score after the first day

This year, the symbolic “700” barrier was cracked: despite the fantastic summer weather in Mainz, 701 chess players came to Mainz to play the Grenke Open. The organizers counted no less than 165 players with an international title in this strong field, in which the top ten has an average ELO of 2727.

As many chess fans said on Saturday, playing chess is not the only reason to come to one of the oldest cities in Germany. Being part of the chess community and having the unique chance to play a world championship with top players in one single tournament is the main reason for their pilgrimage to Mainz. After five rounds in the Grenke Open, twelve players still have a perfect 5/5 score: Aronian, Gashimov, Karjakin, Grischuk, Bologan, Kamsky, Kasimdhzanov, Inarkiev, Bareev and Gustafsson, Kempinski and Markowski.

A record 701 participants in the Grenke Open

In the Grenke Open you do not only meet top players, you also have to chance to play against legends like Vlastimil Hort, Ulf Andersson or Senior World Champion Miso Cebalo, who are happy to sign books or give autographs. In the first few rounds, the top players have a relatively easy job, but it is always dangerous to play against highly motivated lower rated players. In the second round, GM Andrey Sumets lost a spectacular game against the editor of the chess magazine KARL, FM Harry Schaack and in the third round, German top player Arkadij Naiditsch stumbled against WGM Elvira Berend. The German number one ace lost another game in the fifth round: he was grounded in a game against FM Ulrich Schwekendiek, who played a spectacular King’s Gambit. With only 3 points, Naiditsch is out of business, because the winner of the Grenke Open will at least need 9.5 points.

The stage with the typical Chess Tigers between the players

It is fun to stroll through the playing hall, searching for nice combinations, piece sacrifices and blunders. Even world champion Vishy Anand stepped by and watched some of the games. The organizers emphasize that the top 10 boards of the Grenke Open are broadcasted live. Just click on www.chesstigers.de, and go to the CCM10-Live portal to follow the games. The transmitted games can be downloaded. Six more rounds will be played on Sunday and the sixth round starts at a chess-player friendly time: 11.00AM. Loads of pictures and reports can be found in German and English on the official website. Do also follow the tournament via Twitter: http://twitter.com/chessclassic.

(Report thanks to press officer Eric van Reem)

Games rounds 1-5

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The playing hall before the tournament

A last-minute registrant but one of the favourites: Sergey Karjakin

Now his compatriot and another favourite: Alexander Grischuk

Title holder Levon Aronian, having to defend it in yet another format

Photos © Chess Tigers

Links

• Official website
• Games in PGN

Gelfand beat Aronian in the final on Sunday | Photo: Janis Nisii

The 23rd Ciudad de Leon took place June 4-7 in the auditorium of the city of Leon, Spain. Following the system used in recent years, on Friday one semi-final was played, on Saturday the second semi-final and on Sunday the final. Each match consisted of four rapid games with a time control of 20 minutes plus 10 seconds increment, and if necessary two blitz games (5 minutes plus 2 seconds increment) and one sudden-death game (4 minutes for White versus 5 minutes for Black).

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Friday: Gelfand-Vallejo 3.5-2.5

Although he had delighted the fans, Paco Vallejo left the auditorium with a bitter taste, losing to Boris Gelfand in the playoffs. It was a tiring and very even match, in which both touched the win in four games. But all ended in a draw, and the Israeli experience, 41 years old, weighed more than the Spanish momentum (27), in the blitz playoff fast.

“One could say that I played as I never did and lost as I always did. I had prepared thoroughly, and I’ve played pretty well, but without precision in some crucial moments,” summarized Vallejo, who had a good chance of victory in the second game and the first in the tiebreaker, but only ended up losing.

Vallejo vs Gelfand: as close as five draws and just one decisive blitz game

Gelfand also missed chances and praised his opponent: “It was a very hard duel. In fact, Vallejo has talent and potential to be among the top ten in the world, and it lacks little to do. Basically, work every day and build up a little more experience. That has always been my method, I know of no other to be effective.” The Israeli expressed his admiration “for the sheer beauty of the city,” adding: “Leon has charm because of its different architectural styles. Yesterday I had a long walk, and it was very pleasant.”

A fan asked if the rest on Saturday would give him an advantage over the winner of the match Aronian-Dominguez: “Well, sometimes you lose competitive tension when resting, and it is better to play every day.”

Saturday: Aronian-Dominguez 2.5-1.5

It was like one of those grueling matches at Roland Garros, with both players stuck in the back of the court, afraid to go to the net. Levon Aronian was more accurate with the balls and hit in the fourth marathon assault (161 moves in an hour and a half) to beat Leinier Dominguez.

“I’m already used to suffer this way. In fact, I’m not unhappy with how I played this match. But, in such positions, it is very difficult not to make a mistake, sooner or later,” summarized Dominguez.

Concentration on Saturday: Dominguez vs Aronian

In the first game Aronian was forced to make an exchange sacrifice in the opening. Many viewers thought it was a laboratory novelty, but he gave a surprising explanation: “It was a mistake. I was a little out of shape because my last tournament was in March, and I went wrong with 7…d6. So I was forced to that sacrifice to be not clearly worse. ”

But his experience, creativity and persistence prevailed, despite the fierce resistance of the Cuban. As for the prospect of the final against Gelfand, the Armenian said: “Boris is my friend, but I’m sure we’re both going to strive for public enjoyment.”

Aronian also shared his interesting opinion on Chess960. “For me, I could implement it tomorrow. I would be delighted, because it would be a fascinating challenge to my creativity. Now, I understand that for many colleagues it would be unfair because they have a ready arsenal of theoretical developments developed for years, which would no longer be good for anything.”

Sunday: Gelfand-Aronian 4-2

The final was another thrilling duel that confirmed Leon’s status for once more providing chess spectacle. A year ago the auditorium saw the unforgettable final between Magnus Carlsen and Vassily Ivanchuk, who won the first sudden death after seven games in five hours. “I’ll never again see a more exciting final,” was then heard in the corridors. But only a year has passed, Gelfand and Aronian played six games in five hours, improving the value for money of the visitors even more.

A friendly handshake before the final

Aronian was very creative and aggressive with white in the opening game, forcing his opponent to get in the same mood to avoid being swept away. After another draw in game 2, the third was again very exciting: Aronian again played strongly and showed his universal style and ability to achieve virtuosity in all kinds of positions, and achieved a victory that seemed decisive.

But, as Gelfand himself later explained, it is sometimes better to have to force a win: “If you just need a draw, the psychological pressure can be greater than if you need to win.” And indeed the Israeli handled the pressure better in that fourth game, and then also won the next two blitz games (five minutes plus two seconds increment).

Natalia Rodriguez Picallo, Sports councilor of the Municipality of Leon, makes the first move of the final between Levon Aronian and Boris Gelfand

Aronian surprised the fans with this reaction after his defeat: “If you lose against a friend, you’ve actually won, because it helps to make you happy. So I feel very good right now.” Both players praised the organization. Gelfand: “This tournament is a model of how chess should be when it becomes a spectacle. Auditorium, assembly of the stage, commentators, and television webcast live presentations, press conferences… all is exemplary. And I stress that I would say exactly the same if I hadn’t won the final. ” Aronian: “I will return to Leon as soon as possible, for vacation, and would recommend my friends to do the same. I love this city. And, of course, the tournament is excellent.”

A press conference in Leon, always a pleasure to attend

Report largely based on Leontxo Garcia’s round reports

Links

• Official website
• Games in PGN via TWIC

By Leontxo Garcia

Garry Kasparov said in 1998: “Leon is a symbol of the chess avant-garde”. The central strand of this tournament has always been the innovation, in order to make it attractive to the general public: electronic boards, live internet broadcast with high quality commentators (seven times Spanish champion GM Miguel Illescas and IM Michael Rahal) and earphones for the public.

The two main novelties in 2009 were a big success, and therefore will be repeated in 2010: the excellent Auditorium will be the venue, and the Castilla and Leon TV has scheduled a special coverage, including live broadcasting of some games.

Such an elegant stage requires great actors, as the four already engaged for 2010. Levon Aronian, current Grand Prix champion, is one of the Big Five beyond any doubt due to a very universal style, pretty uncomfortable for his opponents, and comes from a country where chess is as popular as football.

Boris Gelfand, current World Cup champion, has demonstrated that, in top chess, being older than 40 doesn’t necessarily imply being on the decline, if you combine outstanding talent with huge homework.

Over the last two years, Leinier Dominguez has made clear he’s ready to stay at thetop of chess for a long time, thanks to his excellent preparation, professionalism and cold blood.

In 2009, Paco Vallejo went over the 2700 Elo points mark, and his bravery and creativity at the recent Linares tournament, where he was praised by all his opponents, indicate his ceiling is still far away.

The tournament rules, written by the renowned arbiter Joaquin Espejo, state the two strongest players (Aronian and Gelfand) can only meet in the final. Their respective opponents became known after the drawing of lots, which took place on Thursday, June 3rd at the Conde Luna hotel.

The semi-finals will be: Vallejo-Gelfand (Friday 16.30 CET)

and Dominguez-Aronian (Saturday, 16.30 CET).

Four games will be played in every match, with 20 minutes per player plus 10 additional seconds after each move. If necessary, blitz tie-breaks (five minute games) will decide.

The Leon organizers, whose director is Marcelino Sion, maintain that social and professional chess should function like communicating doors. Even more now, when the latest scientific studies indicate that the frequent practice of chess improves the delay of brain aging, and therefore could be very useful to prevent Alzheimer’s disease, apart from what we already know since almost a century ago: chess teaches how to think.

The parallel activities are consistent with that idea: a simul by Aronian, a lecture class by Illescas, another lecture on “Chess as a social tool” by journalist Leontxo Garcia, a chess cinema week and a Young Talents tournament. Despite the big economic crisis, everything will be sponsored by a balanced combination of public bodies and private companies: a clear sign of how solid this tournament is.

Link

• Official website

The 4th ACP World Rapid Cup takes place May 27-29 in Odessa, Ukraine. The venue is the Odessa National Academy of Law. It’s a 16-player knockout tournament with 16 participants with two-game matches, except for the final which has four games. Again sponsored by the Pivdenny Bank in Odessa, the prize fund is USD $70,000 (13,000 more than last year) with USD $14,000 for the winner.

The rate of play is 20 minutes per game with an increment of 5 seconds per move. If the initial match is drawn 1-1 there are two blitz games with a time control of 3 minutes with an increment of 2 seconds per move starting from move 1. If this tie-break ends in a draw (1-1) a final decisive Armageddon blitz game with White starting with 5 minutes and Black wth draw odds only 4 minutes.

Day 2

Grischuk and Movsesian started their match with an interesting battle in a Chebanenko Slav, full of positional sacrifices. With a queen and passed pawn against rook, bishop and three pawns, Grischuk decided the game by playing for mate. In his White game, Movsesian couldn’t get through Grischuk’s Petroff and “had to resign to a draw”, a phrase we used experimentally before here.

Gurevich, who knocked out Ivanchuk on the first day, continued strongly. He beat Gashimov with the black pieces after the big blunder 40.Ra7??

(and not even with the move 40…Ne3+). Then, as if he were to say “this opening of yours wasn’t correct when I was a top 10 player”, Gurevich happily allowed Gashimov’s Benoni, but the Azeri GM tried it in a different flavour, with …Bd6. Soon more normal Benoni structures arose, and indeed Gurevich played it strongly, with a well-timed e4-e5-e6, and after many complications he ended up with an extra pawn, and then offered a draw.

Jakovenko held Eljanov to a draw with Black in a closed QGD (5.Bf4, 7.c5) and in the second game, a Caro-Kann Advance, it went wrong for the Ukrainian already in the opening. After 12.h4! Eljanov couldn’t solve the problem of how to safe the bishop on g6.

The longest quarter-final was Karjakin vs Shirov. The first rapid game went to Shirov, who played a lovely Berlin Wall endgame with White. Then Karjakin used the Exchange Ruy Lopez (suddenly very popular again at top level) to level the score in the 5…Bg4 main line.

In the first blitz game, a 12.d5 Zaitsev, again it was Shirov who won a smooth game with White. For the second time Karjakin was in a must-win situation, and the two repeated their Exchange Ruy Lopez. Shirov deviated, but this time he lost even quicker. In the Armageddon game Karjakin had Black, improved upon his Zaitsev and cashed in when Shirov allowed his kingside getting weakened.

Also against Grischuk, in the semi-finals, Karjakin had to make up for a loss in game 1. This time he lost with White – Grischuk played another strong Najdorf – and so he had to win with Black. He did so, amazingly, in an Exchange Slav, from what looked like a horrible position after 20 moves.

20…Rxf4! was the only way to stay in the game. From the moment Karjakin got a passed pawn, Grischuk started to make more and more mistakes.

In the first blitz game, a Sicilian with gxf6, Karjakin’s clear plan of attacking e6 was very instructive, as the pawn eventually dropped. In the next game Grischuk then seemed to be on his way to reaching the Armageddon, winning the bishop pair, pushing a pawn to c7 and ending up with an extra piece, but with 4 against 3 on the kingside he couldn’t convert it into a full point. (Couldn’t Karjakin start that simple plan he showed at the end, putting the king on h8 and the bishop on the long diagonal, already immediately after the queen’s were exchanged, we wonder.)

So today the final is between compatriots Jakovenko and Karjakin. They play four rapid games, instead of two, and it’s already at 12:00 local time (11:00 CET, so in half an hour from now at the moment of writing).

Update: day 3 (final)

All four rapid games and the two blitz games ended in a draw today, and then Karjakin won the Armageddon game to take the cup. He was a pawn up in an ending but the technical task wasn’t easy, until Jakovenko got tricked and lost a piece. Games of the final have been addded to the game viewer.

Results:

1/8		1/4		1/2		Final		Winner
Grischuk, Alexander
2 : 0		Grischuk, Alexander
Motylev, Alexander
		1.5 : 0.5		Grischuk, Alexander
Movsesian, Sergei
1.5 : 0.5		Movsesian, Sergei
Naiditsch, Arkadij
				1.5 : 2.5		Karjakin, Sergey
Shirov, Alexei
3 : 2		Shirov, Alexei
Bacrot, Etienne
		2 : 3		Karjakin, Sergey
Karjakin, Sergey
3 : 1		Karjakin, Sergey
Drozdovskij, Yuri
						4 : 3	Karjakin, Sergey
Eljanov, Pavel
1.5 : 0.5		Eljanov, Pavel
Moiseenko, Alexander
		0.5 : 1.5		Jakovenko, Dmitry
Jakovenko, Dmitry
2 : 0		Jakovenko, Dmitry
Inarkiev, Ernesto
				1.5 : 0.5		Jakovenko, Dmitry
Ivanchuk, Vassily
0.5 : 1.5		Gurevich, Mikhail
Gurevich, Mikhail
		1.5 : 0.5		Gurevich, Mikhail
Gashimov, Vugar
3 : 2		Gashimov, Vugar
Tregubov, Pavel V.

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Sergey Karjakin: verrrry tough to beat

Dmitry Jakovenko, also in the final

Vassily Ivanchuk, eliminated in round 1, grabbing the mic in the commentary room

What is this, the Primera Division, or Formula 1?

Photos © Boris Buchman, more here

Links

• Official website
• Regular updates on Twitter
• Games in PGN via TWIC

The 4th ACP World Rapid Cup takes place May 27-29 in Odessa, Ukraine. The venue is the Odessa National Academy of Law. It’s a 16-player knockout tournament with 16 participants with two-game matches, except for the final which has four games. Again sponsored by the Pivdenny Bank in Odessa, the prize fund is USD $70,000 (13,000 more than last year) with USD $14,000 for the winner.

The rate of play is 20 minutes per game with an increment of 5 seconds per move. If the initial match is drawn 1-1 there are two blitz games with a time control of 3 minutes with an increment of 2 seconds per move starting from move 1. If this tie-break ends in a draw (1-1) a final decisive Armageddon blitz game with White starting with 5 minutes and Black wth draw odds only 4 minutes.

Day 1

On day one Movsesian started with a nice white victory over Naiditsch in his favourite Giuoco Pianissimo. Grabbing the bishop pair, weakening the black kingside and then delivering some heavy blows starting with 23.Bf6!.

With Black the Slovak GM drew by first allowing a Keres Attack and then sacrificing an exchange to hold the ending.

Top seed Grischuk beat Motylev 2-0. With Black he played a very strong Najdorf, using dozens of tiny, tactical ideas, combining attack and defence throughout the game. With White he played 1.e4 which was answered by the Sicilian Dragon – not a bad idea in a must-win situation. But here too Grischuk was the stronger player.

Shirov-Bacrot was decided in the Armageddon game, after two draws in the rapids and a win with White for both players in the blitz. Unfortunately this Armageddon game doesn’t seem to be available.

Karjakin’s White win over Drozdovskij was impressive; check out his 17.Nf5!

(although his 15.Qb5 was perhaps even more impressive – at amauteur level, who would see that offering the exchange of queens is that promising?). Drozdovskij hit back from a quiet Semi-Slav that led to a typical IQP middlegame where suddenly the same move, Nf5, won material for White. In the first blitz game Drozdovskij deviated, but that Rubinstein French just looks good for White. Karjakin then changed to the Queen’s Indian in game 2 and beat his opponent again.

Eljanov must have received many congratulating hands in the playing hall Odessa, arriving fresh from his grand victory in Astrakhan. He started with a win with Black in a Ragozin against compatriot Moiseenko, and then had no trouble drawing with White in a Chigorin Defence.

Two other GP participants played each other: Jakovenko and Inarkiev. The former started strongly, with the devastating 12.Ncb5! in a Ruy Lopez Exchange.

Inarkiev then opted for the Réti Opening to win with White, but right after the opening things went horribly wrong.

The surprise of the day was Ivanchuk’s elimination, by Mikhail Gurevich, who used exemplary endgame technique in both games to win with White and then draw with Black. Od-news has the following bit on the end of this minimatch:

In the final moves of the second game the spectators became witnesses to an unusual episode for games at this level: apart from kings the players had a knight each, but they – both the grandmasters, and the knights – kept manoeuvring for a few more moves, before a draw was
agreed. (…)

- And what happened in the final seconds?

Gurevich – When we were playing with a knight each I looked at him, and he looked at me. He said: “I want to take the knight”. So I put it en prise and let him take it. After which he was satisfied and
resigned the match.

…And Vasily Ivanchuk meanwhile continued, detached, to walk around the Academy of Law, analysing in his head the games from the match that had just finished. He was still back there, playing. And night was approaching – and even in his sleep, if he managed to get to sleep
- he’d still be playing. That’s how it is, chess. And chess players.

The most spectacular match was Gashimov vs Tregubov, which also needed the Armageddon game to decide. The two rapid games ended in a draw (with opposite-coloured bishops in both encounters), and then both players won their blitz game with Black! In the first, Tregubov was winning but then dropped a queen and a rook in what must have been time trouble. What exactly happened in the second blitz game is hard to tell. Gashimov had to win with Black in the Armageddon, and made it look very easy.

First day results and pairings day 2:

1/8		1/4		1/2		Final		Winner
Grischuk, Alexander
2 : 0		Grischuk, Alexander
Motylev, Alexander
Movsesian, Sergei
1.5 : 0.5		Movsesian, Sergei
Naiditsch, Arkadij
Shirov, Alexei
3 : 2		Shirov, Alexei
Bacrot, Etienne
Karjakin, Sergey
3 : 1		Karjakin, Sergey
Drozdovskij, Yuri
Eljanov, Pavel
1.5 : 0.5		Eljanov, Pavel
Moiseenko, Alexander
Jakovenko, Dmitry
2 : 0		Jakovenko, Dmitry
Inarkiev, Ernesto
Ivanchuk, Vassily
0.5 : 1.5		Gurevich, Mikhail
Gurevich, Mikhail
Gashimov, Vugar
3 : 2		Gashimov, Vugar
Tregubov, Pavel V.

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The playing hall

Vassily Ivanchuk, still wearing his red cap like in Astrakhan, but it didn't bring him luck in Odessa either...

...as he was eliminated by veteran Mikhail Gurevich

Top seed at this 4th World Rapid Cup is Alexander Grischuk

Grand Prix winner Eljanov beat compatriot Moiseenko in round 1

Photos © Boris Buchman, more here

Links

• Official website
• Regular updates on Twitter
• Games in PGN via TWIC