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Black days at Essent
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The Armenian GM Zaven Andriasian is having a baptism of fire at the 11th Essent tournament and if his dreams are being shattered, it is due to more to a lack of opening preparation than the frequency his pieces, made of glass, are going into the box.
Andriasian was also very unlucky. Greatly out-rated by his three rivals he must have hoped for a couple of early games with the white pieces but, horror of horrors, he was the only player to get two successive blacks in the first two rounds. We saw his defeat by former Fide champion Ruslan Ponomariov on Monday and he fared no better against Shakriyaz Mamedyarov. If you concede the two bishops and space to a world class player, he will take advantage.
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Defeat at the double
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The winning run of the Egyptian GM Ahmed Adly came to an end at the World Junior in Yerevan when he was defeated by Wang Hao of China in the ninth round. After seven straight wins Adly’s loss led to another as so often happens when momentum is lost.
GM Ivan Popov of Russia led by half a point on 8.5/11 with Adly, Georg Meier of Germany and Wang Hao half a point behind, but Adly won again to join Popov on 9/12 with a game to play. The English challenge started well but faltered, however both Gawain Jones, who is on 7.5/12 and David Howell, on 7/12, have played some fine, aggressive chess.
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A Team Led by an American Wins the European Club Title
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A team led by Gata Kamsky of the United States won the European Club Championships by eking out narrow victories in all but one match.
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A touch of glass
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The Dutch town of Hoogeven is known for its glass manufacturing and in the 11th Essent tournament the players traditionally use glass pieces. The Crown group, once again is a four player double round all play all tournament.
In the first round 'white was right' as Shakriyaz Mamedyarov defeated Loek van Wely while Ruslan Ponomariov had little difficulty overcoming Zaven Andrasian a former world U-20 champion who is hugely out-rated by the other three.
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Gruesome slaughter
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In the mid 1960s the Yugoslav grandmaster Dragoljbub Velimirovic developed a system that was to terrorise a generation of Sicilian Scheveningen adherents. The Scheveningen Variation was popularised at a tournament in a Dutch town of the same name in 1923 and involves Black playing with pawns on e6 and d6. In Velimirovic’s plan White plays Bc4, Qe2, castles queenside and launches a quick attack with g2-g4-g5.
Velimirovic and others found numerous sacrificial ideas involving the sacrifice of the bishop on e6 or the sacrifice of knights on d5 or f5 to destroy Black’s defensive line. Over the years antidotes were found and the Velimirovic Attack became something of a rarity in comparison to the plan of Be3 and Qd2 which we see so often nowadays. So I was curious to see the line repeated at the recent European Club Cup by Sergei Azarov, particularly as he followed one of the inventor’s original ideas first seen in 1965.
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Jonathan Speelman
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The 23rd European Club Cup for Men and 12th European Club Cup for Women took place in the Turkish holiday village of Kemer near Antalya from 2-10 October.
The world's premier international club competition, this brings together the winners of all the various European leagues and since these vary wildly in strength so do the teams, ranging from purely amateur outfits, via clubs with one or two professionals and some good amateurs, up finally to a hard core of about a dozen-and-a-half fully professional teams with some absolute monsters at the pinnacle.
Of those monsters the greatest behemoth of all was OSC Baden Baden, led by none other than the new world champion Viswanathan Anand. Chess is a hectic business nowadays and just a few day after the end of Mexico, the players and their erstwhile seconds began to trickle back into circulation. The seconds were mostly first and Anand's, Peter Heine Nielsen, turned out for Baden Baden from the start, making a respectable 4/6. But Alexander Grischuk, no doubt steaming after his bottom place in Mexico also began from the beginning and played every game to make 5/7.
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Leonard Barden. October 13, 2007
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The annual world junior championship has an impressive history of producing winners who go on to capture the senior world crown. Boris Spassky, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov and Vishy Anand all took that route.
In recent years the junior title has become rather devalued as most of the elite teens have stayed away. One reason is that the U20 champion's automatic grandmaster title award is not much of an incentive if you have already been a GM for some years.
It is still a strong event, though. The current contest in Yerevan, Armenia, includes 15 GMs, among them England's bright young duo Gawain Jones, 19, and David Howell, 16. There were hopes that one of them might emulate the late Tony Miles, whose 1974 victory is still our only world junior gold medal.
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A whiff of controversy
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The field for the Tal Memorial at Moscow has been announced with all ten players ranked in the world’s top 20. The World Blitz Championship will follow the elite tournament which runs from November 9th -19th. Fixture congestion looks likely as the first stage of the World Chess Championship, the World Cup, starts in Siberia just three days afterwards.
The whiff of scandal blows over the Blitz event as the title holder Alexander Grischuk has reportedly been denied automatic qualification for the final and will have to play the qualifier. Grischuk won the 2006 World Blitz at Rishon le Zion in Israel after an epic last round battle with Peter Svidler.
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A shock from Spain
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The Spanish team Linex Magic Merida lead the European Club Cup at Kemer in Turkey with one to play after upsetting the holders Tomsk-400 in the sixth round. Despite the loss of Michael Adams to Sergei Karjakin on board two Merida won 3.5-2.5. Gata Kamsky drew with Alexander Morozevich.
Ural Sverdlosk were held to a 3-3 draw by Clichy, a fine result for the Parisians. Alberto David from Luxembourg scored the key win over Alexander Malakhov, one of three WCC Candidates on the Russian team.
Bundesliga champions Baden Baden are pretty much out of the running after they could only draw with Ashdod of Israel for whom Ukrainian mercenary Pavel Eljanov held world champion Vishy Anand to a draw on top board.
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Business as usual
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The pretenders were put in their place at the European Club Cup as the favourites all scored big wins in the fifth round. England number one Michael Adams won for his Spanish team Merida against Kiril Georgiev of Alkaloid Skopje as Merida joined the two leading Russian teams in the lead.
Ural Sverdlosk and Tomsk-400 both won easily with the latter particularly severe on their Czech opponents, beating them 6-0. Nigel Short’s Bosna Sarajevo team won their local derby against Zeleznicar Sarajevo. Short drew his game.
The world champion Vishy Anand entered the fray for his German team Baden Baden but was probably worse when he agreed a draw with Murtaz Kazhgalyev of Cannes.
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Watch out for Skopje!
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Alkaloid of Skopje were the surprise leaders of the European Club Cup after four rounds. The Croatians, with the Azeri Shakriyaz Mamedyarov on top board defeated Keystone of the Ukraine to remain the only team with four match wins. Mamedyarov drew solidly with black in the Ruy Lopez against former Fide champion Ruslan Ponomariov. The leading Russian teams Ural Sverdlosk and Tomsk-400 played out six draws in their match.
Bosna Sarajevo drew with the Bundesliga champions Baden Baden who brought in Peter Svidler who had a little time off to recover from his exertions and jet lag after the WCC at Mexico City. Svidler held Vasily Ivanchuk to a draw and Sarajevo suffered two defeats before Short saved a 3-3 draw by defeating Pentyla Harekrishna of India.
Hilsmark Kingfisher have scored two match wins while Nidum Liberals and Cwmbran have to get off the mark but have scored 5.5 and 3 game points respectively.
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Chess Group Officials Accused of Using Internet to Hurt Rivals
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Two officers of the nation’s leading chess organization have been accused of posting inflammatory remarks on the Internet under false names to win election to the group’s board....
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Anand, the New Champion, Dominates in Mexico City
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Viswanathan Anand of India, the world’s top-ranked player, dominated the 14-round World Chess Championship that ended Saturday.
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At Miami Open, Nakamura Lives Up to High Expectations
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A highlight of the first Miami Open was the play of Hikaru Nakamura, who had not stood out since winning the National Open in June and tying for first in the World Open in July....
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Big catch for Kingfisher
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Big catch for Kingfisher
By Malcolm Pein
Last Updated: 12:01am BST 08/10/2007
Hilsmark Kingfisher scored a second round victory over the Finnish team Espoo in the second round of the European Club Cup 2007 at Kemer in Turkey. There were wins for Andrew Greet, Jovanka Houska and Chris Briscoe, who also held Nigel Short to a draw in the first round.
Only Ural Sverdlosk won all twelve games while Bundesliga champions Baden-Baden and Alkaloid Skopje were on 11/12 with Nigel Short’s Sarajevo on 10. Michael Adams is playing for Linex Magic of Merida in Spain who struggled against Ashdod of Israel before Adams defeated Ilya Smirin to save a 3-3 draw.
The holders Tomsk 400 were unlucky to face another top flight team Saratov of Russia in the second round and conceded three draws to reach 9.5/12.
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Leonard Barden. October 6, 2007
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Vishy Anand became world champion in Mexico City last weekend after a nervous penultimate round where he wriggled a draw a pawn down. The 37-year-old, once voted India's sporting hero behind only Sachin Tendulkar, is the first non-Slav to win the title since Bobby Fischer in 1972, and the only one of the eight finalists whose chess education came outside eastern Europe.
Final scores were Anand 9/14, Gelfand 8, Kramnik 7.5, Leko 7, Aronian 6.5, Grischuk, Morozevich and Svidler 6. Many still regard a crown from a tournament as inferior to a one-to-one match so Anand's planned series against Kramnik next year will be a definitive test, with no clear favourite.
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A fond farewell to Morrish
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Peter Morrish, one of the prime movers behind the Engish Chess Explosion of the 1970s and 80s has died at the age of 85. Peter was never a serious player but he was involved in the organisation of countless tournaments including some of the major international events such as the Evening Standard Congress and Lloyds Bank Masters. He also ran the London Junior Congress for many years.
A craft teacher, he became involved in chess at Ashmole School in London but when the game experienced an upsurge in popularity following the match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky in 1972, he gave up teaching and started to import chess sets. He founded what became a thriving business and used his craft skills in the design of such items as pairing boards and plastic pieces.
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Correction: For the Record
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In the Major League of Chess, Next Year Comes So Soon
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Viswanathan Anand, an Indian grandmaster and the first Asian to win the World Chess Championship, will not have a lot of time to rest on his laurels....
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Britons outclassed
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The European Club Cup 2007 is underway at Kemer in Turkey with the holders Tomsk 400 facing a tough challenge from their compatriots Ural and the Bundesliga Champions Baden-Baden. Many of the world’s top players are on the teams including Vasily Ivanchuk, Alexander Morozevich and three former FIDE Champions; Veselin Topalov, Rustam Kasimdzhanov and Ruslan Ponomariov.
In comparison the British teams are minnows and in the first round Hilsmark Kingfisher found themselves up against the might of Bosna Sarajevo, former winners of the competition who had no less than Nigel Short on the fifth board.
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Third time lucky?
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Jeff Horner made a remarkable return to international chess by scoring his third International Master result at the 16th Monarch Assurance tournament just completed at Port Erin on the Isle of Man. Horner becomes an International Master elect and will receive the title if he can increase his rating to 2400. His last comparable success was twenty four years ago.
At the age of 58 Horner is quite possibly the oldest person to qualify for the IM title by scoring his third International Master norm. His first was at the Benedictine tournament held at Manchester in 1981 and the second was achieved at the British Championships at Southport in 1983.
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Isle of Man blues for Brits
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Yet another Eastern European carve-up marked the end of the 16th Monarch Assurance tournament at Port Erin on the Isle of Man. Although this event is to be the last one supported by the original sponsor there will be a different form of chess event on the island next year. British chess is indebted to Patrick Taylor of Monarch Assurance and Dennis Hemsley the original organiser of the tournament.
Final scores: Yuri Yakovich, Mikhail Kobalia (Russia), Vitali Golod, Michael Roiz (Israel), Zahar Efimenko (Ukraine), Mateusz Bartel (Poland) 6?/9
British players have done badly at the Isle of Man but I cannot remember a Monarch tournament where there was no Briton in the top 25 finishers as happened this time. The top British score was 5/9 as a slaughter took place in the last round. Only Peter Wells emerged with any credit, he faced a very tough field.
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64 Squares
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 Paul Hoffman recounts why he abandoned chess, and why he hopes to return “without compromising my humanity.”
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New Chess Champion Dominates in Mexico
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Viswanathan Anand of India, the world’s top-ranked player, dominated the 14-round World Chess Championship that ended Saturday....
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Anand takes world title
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Vishy Anand is the 15th World Chess Champion. The 37 year old from Madras agreed a quick draw with Peter Leko in the fourteenth and final round at Mexico City to win the eight-player title contest with 9/14. Anand, the only unbeaten player, becomes the first non-Russian since Bobby Fischer in 1972 to win the undisputed world title and will play the former champion Vladimir Kramnik in a match next year.
Kramnik finished equal second with Boris Gelfand as only the three oldest players finished on positive scores. Anand was in serious difficulties just once, in the penultimate round but Alexander Grischuk, who finished last, missed a win in a rook and pawn endgame.
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Garry Kasparov in Russian presidency bid
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The former world chess champion Garry Kasparov was last night selected to be the candidate for Russia's beleaguered opposition coalition.
Mr Kasparov has been a driving force behind the Other Russia coalition, which has united liberals, Leftists and nationalists in opposition to President Vladimir Putin.
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Jonathan Speelman. September 30, 2007
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find myself today in the position of a sports writer who has to file two minutes before the final whistle. The lead is enormous and surely nothing can go wrong: but if it does then he will look exceedingly foolish.
In any case, let us begin by hailing the new World Champion Viswanathan Anand, who completed victory at the Sheraton Centro Historico Hotel in Mexico City last night by a margin of, oh, say, 1.5 points.
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Leonard Barden. September 29, 2007
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Vishy Anand will be crowned world champion this weekend barring a last-minute disaster. The Indian has led all the way in Mexico City and with only two rounds left, he had scored an unbeaten 8/12, a point ahead of his nearest rival, Israel's Boris Gelfand. In contrast the holder Vlad Kramnik has given a subdued performance with two wins, one loss and a large bunch of draws.
Kramnik probably had an ambivalent attitude to the tournament, lacking the motivation to chase really hard. The rules now guarantee him a one-to-one series against the new champion in 2008, which means a lucrative match against Anand.
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Defeating Napoleon
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The Fide World Championship tournament is still alive as world number one Vishy Anand drew easily with black against Peter Svidler and moved to 8/12, a point ahead with just two to play. Boris Gelfand kept it interesting by defeating Levon Aronian while Vladimir Kramnik employed the Catalan to win another wonderful game against Peter Leko.
Realistically, Gelfand must defeat Kramnik with white to give himself a chance of catching Anand. This was only the second round with three decisive games as the players chased the 1.3 million dollar prize fund hard.
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Kramnik surrenders
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The world champion Vladimir Kramnik effectively threw in the towel yesterday with a tame 13 move draw playing black against Alexander Grischuk in the eleventh round of the Fide World Championship tournament at Mexico City. Vishy Anand continued his march to the world title with victory over Alexander Morozevich who defended with only the second Sicilian Defence of the event so far.
Anand increased his lead over Boris Gelfand who remains in second place 1.5 points behind and only these two are on more than 50%. Just three games remain, so barring a complete collapse Anand will become the 15th undisputed world champion.
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