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Introduction
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Four players tie for first at Karpov Poikovsky tournament
1 days 4 hours ago
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The event, named to honour its patron Anatoly Karpov, saw firebrand Alexei Shirov take the sole lead after seven rounds, only to lose fairly traumatically to Vugar Gashimov, a soon-to-be 22-year-old grandmaster from Azerbaijan. All other games were drawn, as were all five games of the final round. In the end Rublevsky, Jakovenko, Gashimov and Shirov shared first.
The 9th Karpov tournament took place from July 8th to 17th 2008 in Poikovsky. The average rating of the participants was 2691, making it a category 18 event.
After seven rounds of play Alexei Shirov was in the sole lead, with 5.0 points, followed half a point behind by two grandmasters, Dmitrij Jakovenko and Sergei Rublevsky (who had led the tournament before that). In round eight all games were drawn, except one: Alexei Shirov lost rather traumatically to Vugar Gashimov. That pushed the Latvian-Spanish GM into a cluster of four players, with Gashimov ascending to the same group.
In the final round all games were drawn (two in less than 20 moves), leaving everything as it was on the previous day. The finals standings for the tournament were as follows:
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Never of the Topmost Rank, Yet Vastly Influential in Theory
2 days 19 hours ago
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Aron Nimzowitsch never played for the title, but is remembered for his book “My System,” which is considered required reading by many serious players.
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Leonard Barden. July 19, 2008
4 days 14 hours ago
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The silicon age has taught that brute calculation can reveal amazing resources to save seemingly hopeless situations. The impact on human grandmaster play is that more encounters are random dogfights, each side scrapping for initiative and trying to avoid passive defence without counter-chances.
This game is typical of the uneven, messy battles which can emerge from the new philosophy. The former Russian champion Sergei Rublevsky declined his opponent's 9 e4 gambit (Nxe4 10 d5), fearing home preparation, but the young Chinese GM Wang Hao still went for a quick attack down the f file.
Rublevsky's 16...Qd5 (Bd5) hoped for too much from the counter-threat to g2, and 18 Nxf7! (18 fxe6 is also possible) launched dangerous threats. After Rublevsky erred again by 20...Re8 (d3) Wang Hao could have got on top by 22 Qf2 or R1f5 when Black has to return his extra piece by Qxg2+. And at move 27 any novice would play 27 e8Q+ and draw by perpetual check, but Wang Hao instead promoted to a knight and was rapidly forced into a lost endgame. Online chess
Wang Hao v S Rublevsky
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Nab him, jab him, tab him
6 days 16 hours ago
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When faced with his favourite weapon, the Sicilian Najdorf, Bobby Fischer countered with Bc4. Garry Kasparov also used the move and it has had a renaissance recently. On c4 the bishop is immensely powerful as it attacks f7 and if Black castles kingside the bishop’s influence extends all the way to the king on g8. Black typically plays the move e7-e6 to limit the bishop but often has to reckon with a White sacrifice on e6 that gains two pawns and access to the black king.
This year we have seen many games where Black has failed to exchange the bishop after its customary retreat to b3 and suffered the consequences. The games Naiditsch – Van Wely from Dortmund and Nisipiean-Grischuk from Aerosvit come readily to mind and there was another at the 9th Karpov Poikovsky tournament in Siberia where Alexei Shirov leads with two play.
If I was defending this kind of position I would hasten to exchange the bishop. In this ‘Wacky Race’ to deliver checkmate the lesson has to be, as the song ‘Catch the Pigeon’ from the wonderful 1970s cartoon series goes (almost) ‘Nab him, jab him, tab him, grab him, stop that bishop now!
V Gashimov - A Volokitin
9th Karpov Poikovsky (6)
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Great Scot! A Dragon...
8 days 15 hours ago
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Alan Tate of Wandering Dragons Chess Club is the Scottish Champion after winning on tie break from defending champion IM Andrew Muir in a keenly contested competition held at Glasgow Academy. This was the 115th edition of the championship, first held in 1884. The tournament is usually invitation only but the SCA changed the format to an international Open with a pounds 2000 first prize as part of the centenary celebrations of the Glasgow Chess League.
GM Jan Markos of Slovakia and Tautvydas Vedrickas of Lithuania shared first place in the Open on 7.5/9. For Markos, a visiting student at Glasgow University this was the latest in a string of first prizes in Scottish tournaments. The change in format and increase in prize money rather surprisingly did not attract any of Scotland’s leading players. Online chess
S Brunello – A Tate
115th Scottish Ch Glasgow
Gruenfeld Defence g3
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A Top-10 Player Whose Style Lacks Flash, but Wins Games
9 days 23 hours ago
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Peter Leko of Hungary is as close to a metronome as there is in chess. He is not an exciting player, but he is steady.
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Leonard Barden. July 12, 2008
11 days 16 hours ago
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Nigel Short made a brave move last weekend when he visited Kiev for a 10-game rapid match against Sergey Karjakin. Ukraine are Olympiad champions and 18-year-old Karjakin is the young star. He is behind his Norwegian contemporary Magnus Carlsen but still ranks No15 in the world while Short, the 1993 world title challenger, is now aged 43 and has dropped to No 68 in the rankings. Moreover, the match was rapid chess, at the now established international time rate for such events of 25 minutes on the clock for each player, plus a 10-second increment for each move made. Karjakin is one of the best fast players, both over the board and on the internet.
Short had fears of a whitewash and it looked bad when he went 3-0 down at the start. Game four, below, ensured he would at least have a moment to savour. Karjakin, who at 12 became the youngest ever grandmaster, knows all the hot lines of the Sicilian 1 e4 c5, so Short chose an offbeat yet stable formation. Black still got an edge for the opening, and 12...fxe4 13 fxe4 would take the initiative, as would 19...f7-f5. Instead Karjakin's 22...Qxa2? (still f5!) grabbed a hot pawn and Short's direct 25 Qd2! aimed at the black king. Karjakin tried an exchange sac but the England No2 preferred to offer his own rook by 28 Rxg6+! which was quickly fatal. If hxg6 29 Qxg6+ Kh8 30 Qh6+ Kg8 31 Rg1+ is curtains. The Ukrainian king tried to stagger to the Q-side but after heavy material loss Karjakin had to resign. It all shows again that successful defence becomes harder at a fast time rate.
N Short v S Karjakin
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Negi shows potential
12 days 14 hours ago
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The Indian prodigy Parimargan Negi,15, was one of the winning quartet of GMs at the big money World Open just concluded at the Sheraton Hotel in Philadelphia. Negi warmed up by winning a smaller event in Philadelphia and continued his good run to score 7/9 and share first with Evgeny Najer of Russia, Ljubomir Ftacnik of Slovakia and Alexander Moiseenko of Ukraine. In the absence of Gata Kamsky and Hikaru Nakamura the American challenge was eclipsed. Najer won a blitz tie break against Negi to win the title but the $55,000 for first to fourth place was shared. Overall, event organiser Bill Goichberg handed out $320,000 in prize money among the many graded sections.
A great game played at 5 minutes for White and 6 for Black with Black having draw odds. Negi had one chance but once he misses it he succumbs to blow after blow.
E Najer - P Negi
World Open Armageddon Play off
Sicilian Najdorf
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