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Leonard Barden. March 22, 2008
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Monaco's annual Amber tournament offers ?165,000 prize money, so the elite rarely turn it down. Moreover, the format of blindfold and rapid chess does not affect world rankings, so in theory a bad result can be shrugged off.
But it could be different after this week's game, where the world champion, Vishy Anand, sacrifices his queen to mate Vladimir Kramnik, who meets the Indian in a 12-game title match in October. Below Kramnik could have saved himself quite late, by 41 Qa5 Qxf4 42 Re1 d4 43 Be4+ Kf7 44 Bxh7 Rxh7 45 Qd8 when Black draws with Qh2+.
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No talking, just winning
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The grudge match between Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov ended in victory for the Russian in the fifth round of the 17th Amber Rapid and Blindfold Chess at Nice. Kramnik held the draw with black in the Blindfold and then massacred his great rival in the Rapid game given below. The win must have been particularly satisfying for Kramnik as he lost a spectacular game to Topalov at Corus Wijk aan Zee in January.
The pair have perfected the art of ignoring each other. As ever, there no words, no handshakes and scarcely any eye contact. Topalov also appears to ignore Kramnik’s king’s bishop in the following game, 26…Kg8 accelerates White’s main threat.
V Kramnik - V Topalov
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Dgebuadze says it all
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Alexandre Dgebuadze emerged the winner of the Blackpool Congress which attracted one the strongest fields in its history to the Winter Gardens. The Georgian Grandmaster, who plays under the Belgian flag, conceded just one draw in his five games and took home the first prize of ?1000. The total prize fund was ?8650 and the event attracted 463 players.
It’s not often one sees four GMs at a weekend tournament. The sole IM, Nicolai Vesterb Pedersen of Denmark underestimated the danger of relying solely on public transport and never recovered from a first round loss by default.
Dgebuadze had some luck as he managed to avoid his main rivals early on. As previously reported, GM Mark Hebden suffered an early defeat and GM Nigel Davies lost on time in round two in strange circumstances after misinterpreting the readings on the electronic clocks. In the fifth round Dgebuadze faced GM Igor Rausis but, with the advantage of the white pieces and a half point lead he was able to coast home with a quick draw.
Final scores: 1 GM Alexandre Dgebuadze (Belgium) 4.5/5; 2-5 GM Igor Rausis (Czech Republic), Jovica Radovanovic (Serbia), David Eggleston, GM Nigel Davies 4; I Salem – D Foord; Open Blackpool (5); Ruy Lopez Steinitz Deferred.
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Birthday surprise
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Vassily Ivanchuk celebrated his 39th birthday by taking a share of the lead at the 17th Amber Blindfold and Rapidplay being held at Nice. Ivanchuk defeated his compatriot and Ukrainian young pretender Sergei Karjakin with a stunning opening novelty he prepared last week.
Ivanchuk sacrificed his queen for two pawns but created such immense threats to the black king that this was no ‘sub prime’ investment, he regained it with interest.
The world champion Vishy Anand was outplayed by Peter Leko in the Rapid game and suffered a rare defeat. The Hungarian was playing ‘at home’ as the opening was a sharp Perenyi Attack developed by his fellow Hungarian the late Bela Perenyi.
V Ivanchuk – S Karjakin
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Kramnik loses again
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There was another dramatic game at the 17th Amber Blindfold and Rapidplay tournament and Vladimir Kramnik was again the loser. The fourteenth world champion was undone by a Budapest Gambit played by Shakriyaz Mamedyarov.
You have to admire Mamedyarov for playing such an offbeat – one could almost say ‘dodgy’ line against the great Kramnik but perhaps that is the way to unsettle him. Undoubtedly it is preferable to suffering for a long time in an endgame where the 14th champion has a small edge which is what tends to happen in games when Kramnik is white.
Kramnik seemed to have a great attacking position but when his opponent sacrificed the exchange it was clear that there was serious danger on the light squares and the white position collapsed. I suspect Kramnik had calculated a brilliant queen sacrifice but overlooked an intermezzo in one of the tactical lines.
Mamedyarov could have scored a famous double but missed a win in the Blindfold game. Vishy Anand drew twice with Veselin Topalov.
Anand leads the Rapid Chess with 2.5/3 followed by Levon Aronian and Topalov. Kramnik has just 1/3. In the Blindfold Magnus Carlsen shares the lead on 2/3 with Vassily Ivanchuk and Alexander Morozevich. Anand leads overall with 4/6.
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A surprise Easter egg
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The pairings for the 17th Amber Blindfold and Rapidplay tournament pitted the 15th and reigning world champion Vishy Anand against the 14th champion Vladimir Kramnik in the first round. The pair will contest a world title contest in the Autumn so there was quite a lot more riding on the games than just a battle between the two favourites.
After the blindfold game had been drawn it was Anand who struck a psychological blow as he won the Rapid game with black quite brilliantly, see below.
Anand and Levon Aronian were the only players on a perfect score after two Rapid games, no player was able to win both blindfold games. Anand, Aronian and Vassily Ivanchuk lead the combined standings with 3/4.
The drawing of lots was conducted by Mr Van Oosterom’s daughter Crystal, the sister of Melody after whom the tournament was named. The first giant Easter egg to come out of the basket was Anand, who rather fittingly was number one.
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Tied up in triplicate
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The Reykjavik Open coincided with the 65th anniversary of the birth of Bobby Fischer who died this year in the Icelandic capital. To mark the occasion, on March 9th, there was a memorial tournament comprising four of Fischer’s contemporaries; Pal Benko, Lajos Portisch, Vlastimil Hort and Fridrik Olafsson.
The Chief Arbiter was the 10th World Champion Boris Spassky who lost to Fischer in the Match of the Century’ at Reykjavik in 1972. GM William James Lombardy, who was Fischer’s second in 1972 was present as commentator.
The Open ended in a three-way tie for first between the Icelandic GM Hannes Stefansson and two of the leading Chinese players; GM Wang Hao and GM Wang Yue. Wang Hao had to recover from a shock defeat at the hands of tournament organiser Bjorn Thorfinnsson, rated over 300 points lower, in the first round
The early leader was the Italian champion, fifteen year old Fabiano Caruana who finished with 6.5/9. Caruana recently triumphed at Wijk aan Zee where he won Group C.
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Leonard Barden. March 15, 2008
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China's advance towards the international chess peak has entered a new phase. Women grandmasters led the climb as Xie Jun, Zhu Chen and Xu Yuhua all won the world title. Chinese men had good team results but no outstanding individual. Now Xie and Xu are semi-retired mothers; Zhu married a GM from Qatar and emigrated there. Hou Yifan, 14, has become the flag-bearer and promises to rival Hungary's Judit Polgar as the best ever female player.Four of China's elite men are now ranked in the world top 50. In recent months they have won team matches against Russia and Britain and scored highly in Ottawa, Siberia and Gibraltar. Their latest success came this week when Wang Hao and Wang Yue tied first in Reykjavik. China's men are approaching the top; all that is lacking is a mega-talent to lead the advance. With no exceptional male junior in sight, that role, too, looks destined for Hou Yifan.
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For a Fast-Rising 17-Year-Old, Another Powerful Performance
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The Morelia-Linares tournament provided more confirmation, if any was needed, that Magnus Carlsen of Norway has become one of the world’s top players.
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Aggressive Play and Fewer Draws in Mexico
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The first half of the Morelia-Linares tournament, last week in Morelia, Mexico, was an amazing display of creativity and aggressiveness.
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Team of Three Grandmasters and a 5-Year-Old Highlights the Question of Who Is an Amateur
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 A team of three grandmasters and a 5-year-old boy named Stephen Fanning won the annual amateur team championships in style.
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Computers Are Ever Mightier, but Still Flawed
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If a computer played perfectly, could any human hope to achieve a draw?
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In the Land of Fischer, Dismay and Awe
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 The relationship of the late former world chess champion Bobby Fischer to the current Brooklyn Chess Club in Canarsie is complex.
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Two of Yesterday’s Stars, Battling It Out With Gusto
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In chess, as in life, the elders deserve a little respect. The game’s legends may not regularly face the rigors of tournament play, but they can still put on a good show.
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Carlsen’s Top Finish at Corus Signals Changing of the Guard
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At the Corus international tournament in the Netherlands only Viswanathan Anand registered a plus score.
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An Eruption of Bad Feelings Mars an Elite Tournament
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An ugly situation arose at the Corus International tournament when Ivan Cheparinov of Bulgaria refused to shake the hand of Nigel Short of England before their match.
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A Chess Master Returns Older, and Maybe Wiser
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 Even in a chess world accustomed to odd characters like Bobby Fischer, the Brooklynite who became world champion and then an unstable recluse, Gata Kamsky has always been an object of curiosity.
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Fischer’s Roots in City Tangle With His Legacy
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 Before the anti-American and anti-Semitic ravings and his complicated relationship to the cloistered world of chess, Bobby Fischer was just another young New Yorker on the make.
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Computer Is Just Warming Up When Humans Call It a Draw
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A basic rule calls a game a draw when 50 moves are played with neither a capture nor a pawn move. But that was before computers.
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Fischer vs. the World: A Chess Giant’s Endgame
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 As Bobby Fischer’s death reminds us, abstract gifts can exact a terrible price.
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Players Recall Fischer as Inspiring and Difficult
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Chess players and chess journalists from around the world reacted to the death of Bobby Fischer with a mixture of sadness, praise and lingering anger about his behavior in his later years.
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Bobby Fischer, Troubled Genius of Chess, Dies at 64
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Mr. Fischer, one of the greatest chess players the world has ever seen, later lived under self-imposed exile.
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Member of U.S. Chess Federation’s Board Is Asked to Resign in Dispute Over an Election
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Paul Truong faces allegations that he posted messages under other people’s names to Internet bulletin boards to get elected to the board.
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Top line-up for Nice
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The 17th Amber Rapid and Blindfold Chess Tournament starts today and runs until March 28th at the Hotel Palais de la Mediterraneeon the Promenade des Anglais in Nice. As ever the sponsor Mr Joop Van Oosterom, himself a strong player and Correspondence Chess champion has spared no expense.
The twelve invited grandmasters will compete for a prize-fund of 216,000 Euros. The Association Max Euwe who put together Mr van Oosterom’s events have assembled one of the highest rated fields of all time with eleven of the world’s top fourteen players. Only Peter Svidler and Alexander Morozevich are missing. Aside from Wijk aan Zee this may be the only event where we can see Vishy Anand, Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov all play each other.
The line up includes Sergey Karjakin who qualified as the best performer in the NH Experience v Youth tournament at Amsterdam last year. Debutantes usually struggle, particularly in the Blindfold Chess where the moves are displayed on a computer screen and replies are entered via a keyboard which takes a lot of getting used to.
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Adams enters Grand Prix
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The England number one Michael Adams will participate in the FIDE Grand Prix circuit after a quartet of the world’s leading players declined their invitations. Adams had been first reserve. The Grand Prix will be a fine addition to the tournament calendar but has lost some of it’s lustre as the world’s four highest rated players; Vishy Anand, Vladimir Kramnik, Veselin Topalov and Alexander Morozevich decided not to play.
Anand, Kramnik and Topalov are all committed to playing world title matches of one sort or another and their schedule is just too crowded. Morozevich issued a statement in which he pointed out the inconsistencies in Fide’s plans to make the Grand Prix a qualifier towards the world title.
Bessel Kok’s new commercial organisation Global Chess BV must still be congratulated on securing the sponsorship for what should be an excellent series of tournaments running to the end of next year.
The first event will be held at Kasparov’s birthplace of Baku from April 20th - May 6th and Adams will play.
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Topsy-turvy rollercoaster
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The world champion Vishy Anand described the Linares Morelia tournament as ‘a classic’ at the post tournament press conference. Anand described the quality of chess as ‘spectacular’ and highlighted the ‘topsy turvy, rollercoaster’ nature of the event.
‘As a chess fan I enjoyed it’ he said, ‘there many interesting concepts.’ Anand noted that his victory was similar to last year as he won four games and lost one to Levon Aronian and as in 2007, he came off the plane from Mexico on +2, 4.5/7 .
Your correspondent notes that there wasn’t a single Petroff Defence ( 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6) played in the entire event which doubtless contributed, to a degree to the high level of fighting chess.
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Cambridge edge ahead
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The 2008 Varsity Chess Match, the longest running chess fixture in the world was held at it’s now traditional home of the RAC Club in Pall Mall. The 126th edition was again supported by Henry Mutkin of the RAC Chess Circle. IM Bob Wade and David Sedgewick were the arbiters.
The guest of honour Daniel Johnson opened the proceedings by playing the first move for Tom Eckersley-Waites the Oxford board 1.
The teams were fairly evenly matched on paper and the match was closely fought with the score 2-2 at the first time control. In the fifth hour Cambridge edged ahead but honours ended even after Steffen Schaper mated Mykhaulo Tyomkyn.
Cambridge maintained their lead in the series by 56 wins to Oxford's 51, with 19 matches drawn.
Oxford 4-4 Cambridge: Tom Eckersley-Waites 0-1 Li Wu; Alvar Kangur draw Peter Roberson; Benedikt Wagner 0-1 Adam Eckersley-Waites; Robert Heaton 1-0 J Stuart Robertson; Steffen Schaper 1-0 Mykhaulo Tyomkyn; Carl Bicknell draw Martin Rohrmeier; Graham Morris 1-0 Tariq Hassen Oozeerally; Agnese Salputra 0-1 Julie Kourtseva.
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Duo come to a sticky end
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Careful play from the world champion Vishy Anand secured the draw he needed against Veselin Topalov to guarantee first place at Linares. Seventeen year old Magnus Carlsen tried for 69 moves to break down the defences of Teimour Radjabov but eventually acquiesced to the draw and ended in clear second place, half a point behind.
Carlsen’s performance was nevertheless outstanding as it follows his shared first place at Corus when he finished ahead of Anand, Topalov and Vladimir Kramnik and he may rise to as high as number four in the world rankings.
Morelia Linares was one of the most entertaining events in recent memory even if the last round was relatively subdued.
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Leonard Barden. March 8, 2008
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Magnus Carlsen, 17, edged closer to the No1 ranking at Morelia-Linares, which ended last night. The Norwegian began slowly but was soon chasing the world champion, Vishy Anand, who led throughout. With one round left, Anand had 8/13, Carlsen 7.5.
Fide's ratings due on April 1 could put Carlsen as high as No 4 in the world. Bobby Fischer was in a similar spot when he was 17 in 1960 but Carlsen's situation is better, since he is 15-20 years younger than the top pair Vladimir Kramnik and Anand.
Carlsen could head the rankings in a year or so but he may have to wait longer for the world title. He has to qualify via the World Cup, a chancy knock-out, or via Fide's new Grand Prix series, which looks vulnerable to the global recession.
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Blessed by a blunder
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An astonishing blunder by Veselin Topalov enabled the 17 year old prodigy Magnus Carlsen to stay in the hunt at Linares. Topalov stood better for some of the game but just when a draw by perpetual check seemed inevitable he allowed an elementary mating combination. Carlsen scored his fifth win to close the gap on the world champion Vishy Anand to half a point with two to play.
Anand drew for the fourth straight game as Peter Leko comfortably defended the Ruy Lopez. He may feel he needs one more win to secure tournament victory.
In rounds thirteen and fourteen Anand plays black against Ivanchuk and white against Topalov while Carlsen is black against Aronian and then white against Radjabov.
M Carlsen – V Topalov
XXV Morelia/Linares (12)
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