The 9th European Rapid Championship took place December 19 & 20 in Warsaw, Poland. It was open to all players representing one of the ECU federations (FIDE Zones 1.1 to 1.9).

It was sponsored by Amplico Life S.A. and organized by the Polish Chess Federation, the Torwar Sports Centre and the Polonia Warsaw Chess Club under the patronage of the City Office of Warsaw, the Marshal Office of the Mazovian Voivodeship and the Central District of Warsaw.

Venue was the Torwar Show Hall, which is primarily used for music concerts, ice hockey and other indoor sports. It is the home of the hockey team UHKS Mazowsze. Some of the biggest popstars including Placebo, Pearl Jam, Iron Maiden, Depeche Mode, R.E.M., Simply Red, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, KoRn, The Cure, Rihanna, Mark Knopfler and Alicia Keys have performed here as well.

The venue also hosted the 2007 European Figure Skating Championships | Photo Beax, Wikipedia

The tournament was a 13-round Swiss. The rate of play was 15 minutes plus 10 seconds increment per move. Eight rounds were played on Saturday; five on Sunday. The first prize of € 4,000 went to Vladimir Malakhov who scored an amazing 11.5 out of 13. He won all of his games on Saturday which included important victories with Black against Ivanchuk in round 7 and with White against Gashimov in round 8. On Sunday Malakhov drew with Dreev, Bartel, Movsesian and he defeated Krasenkow and Shirov (in the last round, with Black) to become the deserved winner in Warsaw.

The silver medal went to Vassily Ivanchuk, who only lost to Malakhov. Radoslaw Wojtaszek took bronze after tiebreaks, finishing on 10.5/13 together with Alexei Dreev, Daniel Fridman and Sergei Movsesian. Update: Below you’ll find all games of the winner; the complete game file (PGN) can be downloaded below.

All 13 games of Malakhov

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The playing hall of the European Rapid Championship...

...and another one but now with a fisheye lens

A tournament for young & old

L-R Anna Muzychuk - best woman; Vladimir Malakhov, Vassily Ivanchuk, Radoslaw Wojtaszek - medal winners; Lukasz Kalinowski - president of Amplico Life (main sponsor)

Vladimir Malakhov clinches gold in Warsaw

Photos by Piotr Gilarski

Link

• Official website
• Games in PGN

The European Rapid Championship 2009 will take place on the 19th and 20th of December in Warsaw, Poland. It will be clearly the strongest championship ever. 769 participants have already registered. The average rating of the top 10 participants is 2700.

Participants (top 30)

Interview with the highest rated participant of the European Rapid Championship 2009, Vugar Gashimov

“It would not surprise anybody, if Ivanchuk won the European Rapid Championship 2009. But I also wish to win the tournament and it means it will be interesting!”

Bartlomiej Macieja: How many times have you been to Poland?

Vugar Gashimov: Let me count. I played tournaments in Swidnica 1999 and in Bydgoszcz 2001, as well as the European Rapid Championship 2005 in Warsaw. So now it will be my 4th time.

BM: Were you satisfied with your result in the European Rapid Championship 2005?

VG: In principle, I don’t take rapid tournaments so seriously. At the same time I try to win each tournament in which I participate, thus I find my previous result disapointing and I will try to succeed this year.

BM: Does it mean that you will consider every place other than the first one as a failure?

VG: In principle yes, but it would not upset me much, as this year has been very successful for me. Obviously, a victory in Warsaw would not harm.

BM: Who do you consider to be your main rival?

VG: My main opponents are obviously Ivanchuk and Shirov, but one can’t forget about Movsesian, Malakhov and Bologan. However, the most important is how I will play. If I play well, it will not matter who will be sitting on the other side of a board. If I play badly, the same rule will apply.

BM: After a defeat in the recent World Cup, Vassily Ivanchuk said he was very disappointed with his performance and most probably he would find a tournament before a New Year Eve in order “to win at least somewhere”. It looks like Vassily is motivated stronger than anybody else to win the European Rapid Championship. Do you think you can prevent his plan or you will be satisfied also with the second place?

VG: In principle, everybody knows that Ivanchuk is a very strong player, who is able to win any tournament. So it would not surprise anybody, if he won the European Rapid Championship 2009. But I also wish to win the tournament and it means it will be interesting!

BM: How do you evaluate chances of Polish players? The current title holder is Radoslaw Wojtaszek.

VG: In principle, Polish players have a slight advantage, as they participate in this tournament every year. As for Wojtaszek, he is undoubtly a strong chess player, but I think it will be difficult for him to defend his title, as this year the tournament will be much stronger than last year. Possibly, it will be the strongest European Rapid Championship ever.

BM: This year already 769 participants have registered. How many times have you played in such big tournaments?

VG: So far I have played 4 massive tournaments: 3 times in Cappelle la Grande and the European Rapid Championship 2005 in Warsaw.

BM: How do you prepare for rapid events? How does your preparation differ from a preparation for tournaments with longer time controls?

VG: The difference is that I basically don’t prepare for rapid events, because there is no sufficient time between rounds.

BM: What about a psychological or a physical preparation? Maybe you rest?

VG: My typical preparation I do every day irrespective of if I play in a classical or a rapid tournament or if I don’t play at all. As for a psychological preparation, I do it myself. Let’s say I am a psychologist for myself and I don’t have problems with it.
I don’t always manage to do a physical preparation, but if only I can I surely do it. Mainly I play football. Sport is also a way to rest for me.

BM: How do you evaluate your performance in the World Cup 2009?

VG: I was in a bad shape, but nevertheless I managed to qualify to a quarter-final. I think for the first time (it was my first World Cup) my result can be considered acceptable.

BM: Many spectators were surprised when you offered a draw with white to Ponomariov on move 15.

VG: As I have already said, I was in a bad shape, and the position in which I offered a draw was equal. In principle, I should have won in a rapid tie-break. In the first game I didn’t win with an extra piece. If I had won that game, everything would have been different. But it is already past, now I think about the tournaments which are waiting for me, not about those that have already past.

BM: A very successful for you personally and for the whole Azerbaijan team was the European Team Championship in Novi Sad. What are your impressions?

VG: Impressions are obviously remarkable. Everybody expected the Azeri national team to win somewhere, as we were getting stronger and stronger every year. Starting from 2001, every year the average rating of the team was increasing. The appearance of Zurab Azmaiparashvili in the team helped us to play as a real team, what immediately led to the result.
The tournament was successful for me personally too. I performed well and additionally I won to Stellwagen one of the most important games in my career.

BM: It was a very long and tensed game, but it looked like Stellwagen could have escaped for a draw. What were your thoughts in the end of that game, when you stayed alone at the battlefield?

VG: More or less at the moment when I stayed alone, Russia finished their match 2-2. It became clear for me that my victory would bring gold medals for the national team of Azerbaijan. It is very difficult to play in such moments due to the pressure of responsibility. But I played very well until some point and I got a winning position. Then I made a mistake. Since that moment Stellwagen defended very well, he played all best moves, but it seems he got tired from suffering, as I was creating him problems with every move. I was waiting for a mistake, it happened in the end and I used it. I think everything was quite logical, the national team of Azerbaijan played against almost all strong opponents and was leading from the first round.

BM: End of the game, end of the round, end of the championship, and a huge happiness inside the team, but I think in the whole Azerbaijan as well. Is chess popular in your country?

VG: Chess in undoubtly very popular in Azerbaijan. Indeed, we have huge chess traditions, Kasparov was born and became the world champion in Baku. The victory in the European Team Championship has made chess even more popular.

BM: In such a case, the government surely helps top players of the country?

VG: I can say only on behalf of myself – I pay all my expenses and I don’t have any support.

BM: It is very strange, you are currently the strongest chess player of the country. Have you, at least, received any special prize for the European Team Championship title?

VG: It is strange, but this is reality. We got only what we were promised for the first place before the tournament.

BM: You are already 6th in the world in the current FIDE list, your rating continuously grows and there seems to be no limit. What do you think, when will you become the number 1?

VG: It simply requires a lot of work and a good play. Under such conditions I think in 1-2 years I can become even the number 1.

BM: And that is what I wish you! Thank you very much for the interview!

VG: Thank you. You are always welcome!

The FIDE World Chess Cup takes place November 20th-December 15th inn Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. It’s a seven-round knockout with six rounds of matches comprising two games per round. The final seventh round consists of four games.

The time control is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an addition of 30 seconds per move from move one. Games start at 15:00h local time (11:00 CET).

Tiebreaks round 4

The biggest surprise perhaps on this last day of round 4 was the elimination of Alexander Grischuk by his compatriot Dmitry Jakovenko. The reason is that this elimination took place in a (dramatic!) blitz phase, where Grischuk, as an ex-World Blitz Champion, should be considered the favourite. (Last month he finished shared 5th at the World Blitz together with Svidler and Ponomariov, who are still in the race in Khanty-Mansiysk.)

After their two very quick draws in the classical games, the four rapid games all were fairly equal as well. But then the fireworks began In the first blitz game, Grischuk was clearly less concentrated than Jakovenko, probably missing both the Nd7-b6-d5 manoeuvre and the Qd3+Rb1 idea. Although he missed a mate in three on move 42, Jakovenko had no trouble winning the ending two pawns up.

Dmitry Jakovenko is through

However, in the second game Grischuk came close to levelling the score. 55.Re3? was a big mistake that allowed 55…Bd3!, locking up the rook.

58…Kf2 is curtains here, but instead Grischuk collapsed and created a self-mate a problem composer would be proud of. An unfortunate anti-climax of this match between two very strong Russian players.

Not in best blitz shape today: Alexander Grischuk

Of the other tiebreak matches, only Gelfand-Vachier-Lagrave reached the blitz games too, and these were no less dramatic. It’s hard to say why the young French grandmaster refrained from the obvious 55.c6 in the first one, which would have given excellent winning chances. Instead, Gelfand grabbed his chance to activate his king and save the game. In the second blitz game Vachier-Lagrave simply got crushed.

The third rapid game between Vachier-Lagrave and Gelfand

Caruana started strongly against his Gashimov; his bishop sacrifice was entirely correct.

However, here he missed the strong follow-up 21.Qf5+! Rf6 22.Qd3! after which 22….Re6 is forced. White can win the piece back with a drawn position or continue attacking with 23.Rd1 Be7 24.Qxh7. In the game the Black king just walked away; 25…Qe8! was nice though 25…Qg8 is the same. In game 2 Caruana was outplayed while in game 3 Gashimov drew a pawn ending, showing his knowledge of the theory of corresponding squares.

Vugar Gashimov sends Fabiano Caruana home

To our surprise, Wesley So lost all three rapid games against Malakhov, and so the three youngest players left the World Cup today. The first was simply a very strong game by Malakhov, but in the second So got a promising position out of the opening. Perhaps 13.e6 was a bit too much however, and far in the endgame the Philippine avoided move repetition to even lose a drawn position. Winning with Black against Malakhov’s ultra-solid 1.d4 game was too much to ask.

The story is over for Wesley So; Vladimir Malakhov is through

After some missed chances yesterday, Ponomariov did knock out Bacrot today. The match was decided in the 4th rapid game, which started fine for the French GM. Black is at least equal after 30…axb4, and 39…h5? was unnecessary. 43.Ke3! would have won quicker but when Bacrot missed 45…Ra5 it was over anyway.

Ruslan Ponomariov eliminates Etienne Bacrot

The pairings for tomorrow’s 6th round are Karjakin-Mamedyarov, Gelfand-Jakovenko, Ponomariov-Gashimov and Svidler-Malakhov. These quarter-finals, as well as the semis, will still be played over two classical games only. The final will consist of four.

All photos by Galina Popova | courtesy of FIDE

Tiebreak games round 4

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Links

• Official website
• Games in PGN

The FIDE World Chess Cup takes place November 20th-December 15th inn Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. It’s a seven-round knockout with six rounds of matches comprising two games per round. The final seventh round consists of four games.

The time control is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an addition of 30 seconds per move from move one. Games start at 15:00h local time (11:00 CET).

Tiebreaks round 3

Now the proof is there: lighting a cigarette can be really bad for your chess. Having a smoke in between games, Li Chao and Wang Yue arrived too late at their board in yesterday’s tiebreaks and so they lost their second rapid game by forfeit. The following is from a brief press conference yesterday:

- How happened that you missed the start of the game?
- I don’t know what happened, – replies disappointed Wang Yue. – We were smoking with Li Chao and some fellow told us: “Guys, I think you are late for your game”. Of course we rushed into the playing hall . But it was already too late .

- What did you feel at that moment?
- I did not understand what happened, – says Wang Yue. But he also added: – Ok, these are the rules, I cannot break them. I was shocked . It seemed that the world has stopped .

- Did you try to speak with the Arbiter?
- Sure, we spoke with the Chief Arbiter, – again Wang Yue. – He said: “These are the regulations, we should follow them. The decision is final and nothing can be changed. You should take it, go and prepare for the next game. I think it was a wise advice.”

- Was the decision fair to your mind?
Yes, the decision was correct, according to the rules. The only decision that could be taken. But to my mind not fair. We cannot do anything . We just need to accept it . In China at all chess tournaments a big screen with the information about the tournament is used. A player can go to the toilet, to smoke or to do something else. But thanks to this screen he always knows how much time he has before the start of the game. Here there is no screen. But we hope that they will use it in future. Most of all I feel pity for Li Chao: he started smoking here, in Khanty to join my smoking company. (…)

The two Chinese players had started with a draw in the first rapid game, and so both of them were 1.5-0.5 down after this incident. Probably not in their best shape by then, both of them went down with Black in a Petroff ending; Wang Yue lost to Bacrot and Li Chao to Gashimov.

Judit Polgar continued in aggressive style and sacrificed an exchange against Gelfand in game 1, but this time the Israeli grandmaster immediately returned the material, and eventually emerged two pawns up. After a draw in the second game, Gelfand again won with the black pieces, again in a Petroff, in game 3 to reach the next round.

Svidler was on the verge of elimination against his Bundesliga team mate Naiditsch, when he lost the third rapid game with White and then got a lost position with Black in the last one. In a must-win situation Svidler had opted for 1…g6 against Naiditsch’ 1.e4, but soon he faced an absolute horror scenario, with a White knight reaching e6.

The simple 16.Nxg7+ and 17.Bxh6 must be winning for White, but instead Naiditsch tried to mate his opponent. Svidler found a series of only moves to stay in the game, and eventually won after Naiditsch first missed 37.Rh4 (winning on the spot: 37…Qc5 38.Rf4+!) and then blundered a rook. A shocking experience for the German grandmaster, who couldn’t keep up with his level and lost without a fight in the blitz.

Jakovenko started with a nice queen sac against Areshchenko, then drew twice and finished off with a Black victory. Grischuk and Jobava also reached the blitz stage, where the Russian won both games, the second one in a Petroff where the white queen was caught on move 16.

Viktor Laznicka is having an excellent World Cup; after eliminating Cheparinov he yesterday knocked out Bologan. In game 2 the thematic …d5 push in a Hedgehog position was killing and in the last game Bologan should probably have preferred 52…Nd7 or 52…Kg5 because in the game the study-like 54.h4!! held at least draw for White, and eventually he did win.

A small upset in this round was Malakhov eliminating Eljanov, although it’s not such a big surprise when you realize that Malakhov has been a 2600-high grandmaster for many years already. But his 3-0 in the rapids yesterday was quite impressive! 20…b3! and 21…Nf2! were nice in game 1, followed by a good, technical win in game 2 and a strong piece sacrifice in game 3.

Karjakin also scored a 3-0, against Navara, and in the last match Caruana defeated Alekseev. We haven’t yet written much about the Italian American living in Budapest, but he’s performing quite well in Khanty-Mansiysk. So far he has opened all his White games with 1.d4, and with it he defeated Bruzon’s Bogo-Indian, drew three times against Dominguez’ Grünfeld and beat Alekseev’s Benoni once.

Today’s 4th round, which has already started at the time of writing, sees the following matches: Vachier-Lagrave vs Gelfand, Gashimov vs Caruana, Shirov vs Svidler, Laznicka vs Mamedyarov, Karjakinvs vs Vitiugov, So vs Malakhov, Bacrot vs Ponomariov and Grischuk vs Jakovenko.

All photos by Galina Popova | courtesy of FIDE

Tiebreak games round 3

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Links

• Official website
• Games in PGN

The FIDE World Chess Cup takes place November 20th-December 15th inn Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. It’s a seven-round knockout with six rounds of matches comprising two games per round. The final seventh round consists of four games.

The time control is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an addition of 30 seconds per move from move one. Games start at 15:00h local time (11:00 CET).

Round 1.3

For a while it was unclear whether the tiebreaks would consist of two or four rapid games, since the results page was showing only ‘R1′ and ‘R2′ after the ‘G1′ and ‘G2′, followed by ‘B1′, ‘B2′ et cetera. But the regulations stipulate four and in the course of the day it became clear that the players indeed had to play four rapid games.

David Smerdon from Australia again showed good chess against 2700-GM Dominguez from Cuba; only after three more draws Dominguez managed to decide the match. When Smerdon had shown world-class Dragon preparation in his first game with black, the Cuban was more successful in a sideline in game 4.

Smerdon proved a tough opponent for Dominguez

GMs Navara (Czech Republic) and Laylo (Philippines) also started with two draws, but then the Czech won two games in a row. Bacrot defeated Nijboer in the first two rapid games and then decided matters by drawing a rook ending with a pawn down in the third.

Bacrot in round 2, Nijboer out

Naiditsch opened the score in his minimatch against Hou Yifan, but the Chinese countered immediately. In the third game it was the German’s turn again, the third win for Black, when Hou Yifan blundered an exchange right after the opening. With a draw in the fourth game Naiditsch reached the 2nd round,

After Movsesian yesterday, Sargissian was the second player to be eliminated by one of the many strong young Chinese grandmasters. After both winning two and then drawing two, Li Chao turned out to be the strongest blitz player. It was slightly surprising that Sargissian went for the same Scotch ending (you know, the one Radjabov likes to play with White) with Black in a must-win situation. Sutovsky suffered the same fate against Zhou Weiqi: a draw in the first game was followed by two wins for the Chinese.

Emil Sutovsky is also out

Cheparinov went through thanks to just one rapid victory against Kryvoruchko, but his friend and colleague in Topalov’s team of seconds, l’Ami, was eliminated by Sasikiran. Tiviakov lost 2.5-1.5 in the rapids against Iturrizaga (check the move 25…Nf3! in their last game) and so all Dutch speaking grandmasters had to say goodbye to the World Cup already after one round.

Sergei Tiviakov was eliminated by Eduardo Iturrizaga from Venezuela

Shabalov lost the first rapid game against Baklan, “falling for” a standard trick in the Sicilian and resigning on move 12 being two pawns down for nothing. But the Latvian-born American GM came back, allowed the same trick in the next White game because he has thought up an improvement and won eventually in the second blitz game.

Alex Shabalov (USA), another qualifier for round 2.

Negi lost to Milov and Timofeev sent Leitao home (another match where all wins were scored by the Black player). One rapid victory was enough for Khalifman to defeat Fier and after six draws; Bartel beat Grachev 2-0 in the blitz.

The match Fier-Khalifman

For Gustafsson the adventure is also over after the first round; he blew two promising positions against Inarkiev and then had to win with Black, but the Russian forced a perpetual at some point. Savchenko-Shulman was another match that was decided in the blitz; interestingly, here too Black won all rapid games. But then Savchenko won with White in the first blitz game (which was not preserved correctly, unfortunately) and drew the second. Tkachiev first drew with Black against Le Quang Liem and then beat the Vietnamese GM in two endings.

Vladislav Tkachiev knocks out Vietnamese grandmaster Le Quang Liem

So was too strong for Guseinov in quickplay; the Philippine rising star won three rapid games in a row. Nyback did the same as Shabalov: losing the first rapid game but eventually winning the match in the blitz. The by far longest match of the first round was Akobian-Tregubov, an absolute thriller. Eventually the American grandmaster won the marathon in the 10th (!) blitz game. Just look at it!

Akobian, Varuzhan USA 1 0 ½ ½ 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 9
Tregubov, Pavel V. RUS 0 1 ½ ½ 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 7

Tiebreak games round 1

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Cheparinov and L'Ami before the start of the tiebreak...

...Cheparinov having reason to smile afterwards as well...

...but L'Ami went down against Sasikiran

All photos by G.Popova | courtesy of FIDE

Links

• Official website
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Photo Leo Battesti, Corsican Circuit

As part of the Corsican Circuit 2009, Anand and Karpov started with 32-board simuls on Saturday, October 31st. Reigning World Champion Anand won all his games, 12th World Champion Anatoly Karpov conceded one draw to 15-year-old Francis Xavier Vincenti.

Then the two played a four-game rapid match with a time control of 15 minutes per game plus 3 seconds increment per move. The first two games were played on Sunday in Bastia; the second part of the match took place in Corsica’s capital Ajaccio.

Like in his match against Kasparov in September in Valencia, Karpov was not a shadow of the player he used to be. Only in the second game he managed to draw but Anand won the other three games relatively easily. We agree with Mark Crowther that Karpov “really does have to do at least some remedial work on his game if he is to play any more of these exhibitions.”

Speaking of which. One of those exhibitions, the second rapid match against Kasparov, scheduled for December 11-13 in Paris, was cancelled today. Well, cancelled, as we understood this match was never officially confirmed. Anyway, apparently one of the main sponsors pleaded to couple this event with the year of Russia in France, beginning in March 2010. So hopefully it’s a postponement which will give Karpov some extra time to warm up.

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• Games in PGN: Anand-Karpov | Corsica Masters | Simuls

Before the third game started, a very lucid lecture on the Valencian origin of modern chess was given by none less than chess legend Yuri Averbakh. The reknown endgame expert and chess history enthusiast was the first to suggest, back in 1985, that Lucena borrowed many if not all problems of his 1497 book from the now lost Valencian chess book by Francesch Vicent. Afterwards, the 87-year old veteran was more than willing to pose for photographs with fans from the audience and indeed with some journalists as well.

After that, it was Karpov-time. In a very interesting and complex g3-Grünfeld, the 12th World Champion improved on the first match game with 10.Nec3, resulting in a rich position with chances for both sides. True to his style, Kasparov sacced an exchange for activity, and afterwards he indicated that he thought he got out of the complications fine, but in mutual time trouble he started played for tricks rather than a draw and was confronted with his first official loss in almost five years. Kasparov blamed his opportunism on lack of practice; Karpov thought he had simply played a good game.

Everyone expected Karpov to try and level the match in the fourth game, but again he opted for the solid-but-difficult-to-win-with Queen’s Gambit Declined, a choice that took Kasparov by surprise. Karpov deviated from the second match game by playing 9…g6 while in our previous report we mentioned that Kasparov himself has indicated in his latest book on their matches 9…b6 is the way to go for Black.

Again, Kasparov got a pleasant edge from the opening, and he managed to expand his advantage slowly, gaining time on the clock in the process. Karpov couldn’t avoid his clock ticking away and got into bad time trouble once again. With his opponent’s clock about to fall, Kasparov lost concentration and spoiled his advantage, leaving him with just a small plus in the final position where Karpov yet again overstepped the time limit.

Both players gave short press conferences after the fourth game had finished, but interestingly, they preferred to do this separately instead of together, like they had done on the opening day. Since during the game all press had been banned to the last rows of the packed auditorium, many journalists unfortunately arrived too late for the first question of Karpov’s press conference.

When Karpov had left the stage, there again was some confusion as to whether Kasparov would attend at all, but in the end he did. We asked him if he, being the passionate chess player he still is, was disappointed that time played such an important role in the match. “Yes, I would have preferred playing these positions to their logical conclusion, but time is simply part of the game.” He then reminded everyone how he had started his match with Short in ‘93: in a very dubious position he won on time.

In conclusion, we think both players can be satisfied in their own way with the result of the four rapid games. Apart from the obvious time aspect, Karpov played some good chess and he managed to taunt Kasparov by winning arguably the best encounter. Kasparov won the rapid part of the match, as probably everyone including himself expected.

In the end though, he didn’t crush Karpov so horribly that future sponsors won’t be interested in another match celebrating the 25th anniversary of their first World Championship clash.

Games 3 & 4

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Before saying anything about the actual match, let’s not forget what’s being celebrated here this week: the birth of modern chess in the 15^th century in Valencia. To commemorate this event, five lectures were being held today as part of the festivities.

The presentations, however, were sometimes quite difficult to follow for the spectactors. This was partly due to the high technical level of some of the lectures, which could hardly be followed by the live translator (who’s doing an excellent job, by the way), let alone by the mostly uninitiated audience, but also by the amateurish setup of some of the presentations.

In our view, the most interesting lecture was given by dr. Ulrich Schaedler from Switzerland, who explained various aspects of the Book of Games manuscript of Alphonse X – a manuscript, it should be noted, that has nothing to do with Valencia at all. We’ll return to the lectures in a separate post.

After these lectures, the utterly packed auditorium of the Palau de les Arts was finally ready for the first game between Karpov and Kasparov. As it turned out at the last moment, it was necessary to reserve seats beforehand, which resulted in virtually all press being banned to the last rows of the aula after the first five minutes of the game. Also, the press room was rather far from the playing hall, which prevented an easy live transmission of the games.

After Sulaiman Al-Fahim had briefly announced the players, the first move was finally played with arbiter Geurt Gijssen watching the proceedings from close range. Karpov being white, his first move wasn’t too difficult to predict: 1.d4. Kasparov, not too surprisingly either, opted for his beloved Grünfeld Defence, instantly reminding us all of the many classic games the two K’s played in this opening. 

An interesting positional middle game position appeared on the board, where Karpov tried to treat the position by small means while Kasparov was looking for activity. The complications sent Karpov into thinking - too much thinking, as it turned out, because just when things started to heat up, he… overstepped the time limit as early as move 24, in an unclear position (which Kasparov evaluated as practically more promising for Black.) This was a huge letdown for everyone, including Karpov, who seemed surprised himself as well about what had just happened.

The second game was rather more interesting. In a Queen’s Gambit Declined, an opening which also occurred numerous times during their matches, Kasparov’s choice of 6.Qc2 was interesting for readers of his latest book on their 1986 and 1987. In his comments to move 6 of game 7 of the London/Leningrad match, in which it was Karpov playing white and Kasparov with black, he writes after the text move 6…g6:

Nowadays the best is deemed to be 6…Bd6! (the source game: Beliavsky-Geller, Moscow Interzonal 1982). I remember that Geller played this after a long think, stood up from the board, and, sorrowfully shaking his head, whispered: ‘I seem to have blundered a pawn…’  Of course, this was a joke – in fact 7.Nxd5?! Bxf4 8.Qe4+ Ne7 9.Nxf4 Qa5+ 10.Kd1 Bf5 favours Black. Beliavsky chose 7.Bxd6 Qxd6 8.e3 Nf6 9.Bd3 and won the game, after which 6…Bd6 almost went out of use. But later the idea of 8…Ne7 9.Bd3 b6! and …Ba6 was found, with a comfortable game for Black (…). In the end 6.Qc2 lost its attraction because of 6…Bd6!

Karpov actually played 6…Bd6 and 8…Ne7, but after 9.Bd3 he went for 9…Nd7 which gave him a slightly passive position. At the press conference, Kasparov indicated that 15…Qb8 was probably “too passive”, after which Black has a very difficult position. After 21.Qd2! Black position seems very difficult to hold already, and in time trouble Kasparov had no difficult finding the win Rybka had spotted immediately. 

When we asked him whether Karpov’s choice of variation had surprised him, Kasparov replied that Karpov probably wanted to play a solid game but he didn’t refer to their game played in London in 1986. The interpretor couldn’t keep up with Kasparov’s stream of variations, which inspired Kasprov to remark that ‘the chess moves aren’t important anyway’. In any case, the win gave Kasparov a very comfortable 2-0 lead in their rapid games, and we seriously wonder if Karpov will be able to overcome this painful match.

After the game, Karpov was apparently too devastated to attend the press conference. If anything, this indicates that despite all the media attention, the need for sponsors, business opportunities and the wish the promote chess both in Valencia and the rest of the world, Kasparov and Karpov are still chess players when it comes down to it. They still hate losing and still take chess seriously, even though they claim to see this match mostly as entertainment. 

Perhaps this is why Kasparov, too, said he had mixed feelings after this first day. Who knows, it should give us hope for tomorrow and the day after: Karpov surely wants to avoid a total humiliation, and Kasparov can hardly boast about any kind of victory, let alone promote further exhibition matches, if Karpov turns out to be no match for him at all. Can Karpov return the way Muhammad Ali returned against George Foreman? Or are such comparisons preposterous and out of context? Tomorrow, we’ll know for sure.

A video of the first day and the press conference will be added as soon as possible.

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The venue is a big auditorium inside the Palau de les Arts

Kasparov, with full determination facing his old rival

Karpov, having trouble handling the clock

Kasparov at the press conference after the first two games

Simuls Monday night

City of the Arts and the Sciences

The whole event takes place at the stunning Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias - the City of the Arts and the Sciences - this one was taken with an iPhone from the 19th floor of a building at the other side of the street

Map of the Ciudad de las Artes y las Sciencias (click for bigger version)

The Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, where the lectures take place and the games are being played

The Umbracle

The Palau and the Hemisfèric

The promenade between the Umbracle and the Hemisfèric and Museo

A beautiful bridge between the first section and the Ágora

The Museo de las Ciencias Príncipe Felipe, where the simuls took place

The Hemisfèric and the Museo

By night the photos got even better: again the Museo de las Ciencias Príncipe Felipe

Hemisfèric and Palau...

Hemisfèric and Palau from the other side

The Umbracle again...

...and one more of the Museo, the bridge/Agora and the promenade

Links

• Official website
• Games in PGN

Last year Nigel Short played a 12-game rapid match against Sergei Karjakin and this year he takes on Zahar Efimenko in a classical format match of 6 games. The location is the West-Ukrainian town of Mukachevo; the rate of play is 90 minutes for 40 moves plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting with the first move. Besides the main event, an Open tournament with 30 participants started on Saturday in the Mukachevo Chess Club. The rating favourite of the Open is Yaroslav Zherebukh, a young grandmaster from Lviv.

The organization is in the hands of Universal Event Promotions, who were responsible for the Anand-Kramnik World Championship match in Bonn last year. The same organisation made a bid for the 2010 Candidates event but later withdrew, failing to reach an agreement with FIDE. Back then UEP President Joseph Resch promised to continue organizing chess events, and after the Ivanchuk-Leko rapid match in January this year we already have a new match this week.

The UEP press release goes like this:

The 44-year-old Nigel Short belongs to the greatest of his craft. He caused a stir with numerous successes in his early years and was considered a prodigy. In the World Junior Championship 1980 he won the silver medal behind Garry Kasparov and very soon he became a chess grandmaster at the age of 19, the youngest in the world at that time.

After winning several tournaments and his victory against Jan Timman in the Candidates final 1993 he got the opportunity to fight for the highest chess crown. In the match against Garry Kasparov, which took place detached from the World Chess Federation under the aegis of the Professional Chess Association (PCA) and can be considered as the climax in his career, he lost against the mighty Russian 12,5 – 7,5.

Although Short temporarily disappeared from the scene after this defeat he still plays at the highest level to this day and is always a most welcome guest especially because of his dynamic and aggressive play. His current Elo is 2706 whereby he captures the 29th rank in the world.

The 24-year-old Zahar Efimenko belongs to a group of young and talented Ukrainian players. As a youngster, his biggest success was a victory in the World Junior Chess Championship U-14 in Oropesa del Mar. In spite of some strong rivals he plays in the national team and won the Ukrainian championship in 2006. In Germany he is known for his engagement with the Bundesliga team of Werder Bremen. The young Ukrainian, like Short, is known for his constant search for the initiative and for the fact that he has no fear of big names. He is supported by the president of the Universal Event Promotion, JosefResch, and lives in Mukachevo. His current Elo is 2654 whereby he captures the 83rd rank in the world.

The match between Short and Efimenko promises six high class and exciting games with a totally open result. You can follow the games at the official website of Universal Event Promotion. Will experience prevail against youth in this case? All the games will be covered live and commented on by the experienced Grandmasters Mikhail Golubev and
Klaus Bischoff.

Yesterday the opening ceremony was held in the Transcarpathian Regional State Theatre of Russian Drama in Mukachevo. The ceremony was led by the President of the Universal Event Promotion, Josef Resch and the Mayor of Mukachevo, Zoltan Lengyel. A singer from Moldova, Liliya Sholomey performed at the ceremony, as well as the local instrumental duo, Viktoria Almasi & Sergei Dobos.

The result of the drawing of lots was that Short will play with White in games 1, 3 and 5 and Efimenko will play with White in games 2, 4 and 6. Efimenko’s trainer at the match is the experienced grandmaster Alexander Beliavsky. Nigel Short does not have an assistant in Mukachevo. The Arbiter of the match is Oleg Tovchyga.

Schedule

20.09.2009 Game 1 (Short-Efimenko) from 15:30 CET

21.09.2009 Game 2 (Efimenko-Short) from 16:30 CET

22.09.2009 Game 3 (Short-Efimenko) from 16:30 CET

23.09.2009 Free day

24.09.2009 Game 4 (Efimenko-Short) from 16:30 CET

25.09.2009 Game 5 (Short-Efimenko) from 16:30 CET

26.09.2009 Game 6 (Efimenko-Short) from 16:30 CET

The drawing of lots last night

Arbiter Oleg Tovchyga, Nigel Short and Joseph Resch

Nigel Short and Joseph Resch watching Zahar Efimenko drawing his lot

The mayor of Mukachevo, Zoltan Lengyel, in the audience

A singer from Moldova performing: Liliya Sholomey

Special stamps created for this match

Mikhail Golubev gives Nigel Short a small 'globe of Ukraine', which has become an unofficial national souvenir

Links

• Coverage at the Mukachevo Chess Club website
• Live transmission

By Christian Rohrer

Thousands of curious spectators in Zurich Main Station and countless Internet users around the world were riveted to jubilee events that marked the 200-year anniversary of the Schachgesellschaft Zürich. No fewer than eleven chess champions participated in the events on 22 and 23 August 2009. Vladimir Kramnik won the champions’ rapid tournament ahead of the reigning World Champion Anand. The world’s oldest chess club takes great satisfaction in having staged a first-class event, whose principal sponsor was Credit Suisse.

In the champions’ simultaneous exhibition on Saturday, 22 August, 2009, 200 amateur chess players battled against eight chess grandmasters: Viswanathan Anand, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov, Viktor Kortchnoi, Vladimir Kramnik, Boris Spassky, Ruslan Ponomariov and Veselin Topalov showed brilliant skill in their games.

Of the 200 games played, the champions conceded only four wins to their tough challengers; 35 other games ended in a draw. The simultaneous event was expected to run through around 6 pm, but Kasparov und Karpov and their opponents duelled through 9 pm. Even that late — seven hours after the start — both champions were still surrounded by many chess enthusiasts. At the beginning of the event thousands of curious onlookers were watching the champions’ moves.

At the Champions Rapid on Sunday, 23 August, 2009, Viswanathan Anand, Werner Hug, Anatoly Karpov, Alexander Khalifman, Vladimir Kramnik, Judit Polgar, Ruslan Ponomariov und Veselin Topalov took on one another. After seven rounds and some seven hours, the former World Champion Kramnik pulled ahead of Anand. Topalov and Ponomariov shared the third place.

Local hero Werner Hug of the Schachgesellschaft Zürich (World Junior Chess Champion in 1971 and Switzerland’s leading player in the 1970s) showed his skills and tied Karpov and Polgar as seventh. Countless chess enthusiasts followed the games’ transmission and live stream pictures on the Internet, while in the packed event venue, the upbeat mood culminated in the final prize ceremony, where the public roared with applause for the champions.

On the heels of the Jubilee-Open 9-15 August, 2009, the festivities this weekend brought the 200-year anniversary of the Schachgesellschaft Zürich to an impressive and first-class finish. According to many spectators and to the champions themselves, the events staged in Zurich Main Station will go down in the annals of chess history.

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Reigning World Champion Vishy Anand...

...playing while keeping his drink with him

The previous World Champ: Vladimir Kramnik

Almost World Champ in '78, and still playing at 78: Viktor Kortchnoi

Boris Spassky, World Champion from 1969 till 1972

Ruslan Ponomariov, FIDE World Champion in 2002 but unfortunately a match with Kasparov never came about

Anatoly Karpov, World Champion between 1975 and 1985

Veselin Topalov, FIDE World Champion 2005-2006

Garry Kasparov, undisputed World Champion 1985-1993, but for many until 2000, when he was defeated by Vladimir Kramnik...

...but for almost anybody: the best player ever

Karpov and Ponomariov at the rapid tournament

Hug vs Khalifman

Judit Polgar (undisputedly the best chess playing woman ever)

Polgar vs Kramnik

Ponomariov at the rapid event

Alexander Khalifman, FIDE World Champion 1999-2000

Anatoly Karpov

Veselin Topalov

And the winner on Sunday: Vladimir Kramnik

Photos simuls by Amit Bhave, rapid by Christian Rohrer

Videos by Europe-Echecs:

Links

• Official website
• Games in PGN