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Berlin Wall falls to Adams
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The England number one Michael Adams is through to the last sixteen of the $1,600,000 Fide World Cup being held at Khanty Mansysk in Siberia. Adams overcame Zhou Jianchao of China 1.5-0.5, winning with white and drawing comfortably with black.
Adams’s victory came in the Berlin Wall endgame that seemed un-breachable when it was reintroduced by Vladimir Kramnik against Garry Kasparov in 2000. Adams played patiently and nurtured a slight advantage in a position with rooks and opposite coloured bishops. Zhou’s inferior pawn structure led to the loss of a pawn and Adams made progress very methodically, see below.
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Californian Takes World Title at Children’s Event in Turkey
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Children who play chess almost certainly learn practical skills. Some of the better players compete abroad, visit exotic places, make new friends, maybe become a world champion.
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Leonard Barden. December 1, 2007
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Speed chess, which is the norm if you play on the internet, now also has a higher over-the-board status due to Fide's World Blitz Cup in Moscow last month. Vasily Ivanchuk beat the world champion, Vishy Anand, in the final round to take the title with 25.5/38. In the first game below Anand fell into an opening trap (10...Bd6!) while in the other Black finds his queen trapped.
This weekend it is back to the serious stuff with the World Cup, a 128-player knock-out, under way in Siberia. Nigel Short was eliminated in the first round, while Michael Adams is in action today, live on the internet, in round three. He will need all his pedigree as a former finalist to reach the later stages. The World Cup winner and Bulgaria's Veselin Topalov are scheduled to play a match to decide the next title challenger to Anand or Kramnik.
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Bishops and blunders
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Michael Adams faces Zhou Jianchao in the last thirty two of the Fide World Cup being held at Khanty Mansysk in Siberia. The Chinese GM overcame Alexander Volokitin of Ukraine in the ‘Armageddon Game’, a blitz match in which White has six minutes to Black’s five but has to win.
The prodigy Magnus Carlsen is through after defeating Arkady Naiditsch in both Rapid Chess tie breakers but the former FIDE champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov was eliminated by Kiril Georgiev of Bulgaria also in Armageddon. This match was settled by a blunder – see below.
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Howell's hits and miss
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David Howell narrowly missed out on a medal at the World Youth Championships organised by the Turkish Chess Federation at Antalya. Howell started badly but a spurt of four straight wins in rounds seven to ten brought him into contention.
In the last round Howell faced gold medal winner Ivan Popov of Russia and went all out for the win with the black pieces but at the cost of weakening his own position and he lost in 38 moves.
As expected none of the other English players were in sight of glory but none were disgraced and all made respectable scores around 50%. Yang-Fang Zhou deserves a special mention for his 7/11 score. The full squad was
Matthew Wadsworth (Under 8), Adam Taylor (U10), Daniel Hunt (U12), Yang-Fang Zhou (U14), Ankush Khandelwal (U16), Callum Kilpatrick (U16), David Howell (U18), Anna Wang (U8), Maria Wang (U12), Radha Jain (U12), Abigail Pritchard (U14), Jessica Thilaganathan (U16) and Amisha Parmar (U16).
The squad were supported by GM Tony Kosten, GM Neil McDonald, WGM Jovanka Houska and IM Thomas Rendle.
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Taking the Mickey
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Mickey Adams crushed Mickey Gurevich in the second game of their second round match at the FIDE World Cup taking place in the Siberian city of Khanty Mansiysk Gurevich chose to play a line of the French Defence which is a speciality of the England number one, a risky strategy which led to disaster in the game below.
Adams will play the winner of the match between Ukrainian GM Andrei Volokitin and Zhou, Jianchao of China in the third round. Thirty two players remain in the battle for $1,600,000 in prize money and the right to a world title final eliminator against Veselin Topalov.
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Short shortcircuits
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Nigel Short crashed out of the World Championship at the first hurdle as he lost a speed chess tie breaker to the German David Baramidze at the Fide World Cup taking place in the Siberian city of Khanty Masisyk.
As reported yesterday Michael Adams is safely through to the second round where he will play Mikhail Gurevich, an ex Russian now playing for Turkey and a very tough customer. The top seed Vasily Ivanchuk will play Mateusz Bartel of Poland.
One hundred and twenty eight players are competing for $1,600,000 in prize money and the right to a world title final eliminator against Veselin Topalov. There were few surprises in round one. In one or two cases the stronger player lost game one but won the return and the tie breaker.
Michael Adams was one of the few players who managed to beat Vasily Ivanchuk the winner of the World Blitz Championship. This was an excellent game.
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Short shows nerves
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Michael Adams is safely through to the second round of the World Cup but Nigel Short must play a speed chess tie-breaker as the first round was characterised by nervous play, typical for a knockout tournament with matches over two games. Adams was worse with the white pieces against the Canadian Igor Zugic but managed to escape with a draw before winning with black.
Short, who had major problems getting a Russian visa, drew twice with David Baramidze of Germany. One hundred and twentyeight players are competing for $1.6 million. The winner will receive $120,000 and has the right to a world title final eliminator against Veselin Topalov.
Another miniature from the World Blitz Championship, where games were played with five minutes on the clock and a two-second increment per move. The switchback Be2-h5-f3 is a manoeuvre easily overlooked and ends the game abruptly. White’s pawn sacrifice certainly yielded a good attack.
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Another cunning plan
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One-hundred-and-twenty-eight players are assembled at Khanty Masiysk in Siberia for the Fide World Cup. England’s Michael Adams and Nigel Short are in the field, composed of players who qualified in regional events such as the European and Pan American Championships, or by rating.
The event was planned as a knockout tournament to determine a challenger for the world title held by Vishy Anand. However, following the “Toiletgate” shenanigans at last year’s title contest between Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov, which Topalov lost, his manager contrived to convince the Fide top brass that his man should be in the next cycle.
The current plan – and it changes constantly – is that the winner of the World Cup will play Topalov. The winner of that match will then presumably play the winner of next year’s match, still to be confirmed, between Vishy Anand and Kramnik, who reportedly still regards himself as champion until he loses in a match as opposed to a tournament. Kramnik’s reign ended last month, when he was second to Anand at the World Championship tournament in Mexico City.
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Gender Gap Might Be Wide, but Women Have Their Days
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A possible reason women lag behind men is that not enough women play competitive chess, so the talent pool is not as deep. But there is no obvious reason why.
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Garry Kasparov jailed after opposition rally
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The former chess champion Garry Kasparov was sentenced to five days in jail yesterday after taking part in an anti-Kremlin protest rally in Moscow.
Mr Kasparov, the leader of the opposition Other Russia coalition, was charged with organising an unsanctioned protest "of at least 1,500 people directed against President Vladimir Putin", chanting anti-government slogans and resisting arrest.
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A gruesome knight fork
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Vasily Ivanchuk the world number two won the 2007 World Blitz Championship after a dramatic last round victory over world champion and number one ranked Vishy Anand at Moscow. Going into the 38th and final round the pair were joint leaders on 24.5 points and in a crowd-pleasing coincidence met in the final game that saw the Indian reach a winning position but miss his chance and lose shortly thereafter to a gruesome knight fork.
Many of the participants including Michael Adams now move on to the Siberian city of Khanty Mansiysk for the World Cup knockout tournament which is the first stage of the next World Championship cycle.
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Smoothing wrinkles
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Peter Wells was back in form at the British Rapidplay held at Halifax over the weekend. The England team captain won with a convincing 9.5/11. Mark Hebden was second with 9/11 and Stewart Haslinger third with 8.5/11. Wells secured tournament victory with a crushing victory in one of his favourite lines in the game given below.
Since Wells has been one of the world’s leading experts in the Rb1 Gruenfeld for many years Black’s opening choice can hardly be called inspired. Indeed 12.Ng5 was an interesting and relatively new wrinkle. Black should have played h6 at some point to remove the annoying knight. After f5! Black suddenly realised that Qh3 was coming and was forced into retracting his previous move but of course by then his position was hopeless.
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Is China the One to Beat Now? Don't Tell This Russian Team
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The former Soviet Union and then Russia used to dominate team events, but in recent years the Russians have struggled. They’re back.
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Big names begin Blitz
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Michael Adams has qualified for the final of the World Blitz Championship. The England number one travelled to Moscow and finished equal second in a qualifying event in which he was the top seed. Adams scored 14.5/22 with former Fide champion Rustam Kazimdzhanov first on 15/22. Adams’ recent slide down the world rankings to 13 meant he was not seeded.
The king of Blitz Chess, Vladeslav Tkachiev, did not make it. The top eight joined twelve seeded players in the final which has virtually every major name bar Veselin Topalov who does not appear to feel comfortable playing in Russia. Anatoly Karpov has been given a wild card.
The field includes world champion Vishy Anand, world number two Vasily Ivanchuk and former champion Vladimir Kramnik as well as Candidates; Alexander Morozevich, Alexei Shirov, Boris Gelfand, Alexander Grischuk - the defending champion, Magnus Carlsen and Gata Kamsky.
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Vladimir the impaler
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All the games were drawn in the ninth round of the Tal Memorial leaving Vladimir Kramnik with an impressive margin of victory of 1.5 points. Kramnik’s final opponent Vasily Ivanchuk was in no mood for a quick draw but he never had even the remotest chance of winning as Kramnik’s Petroff Defence was solid once more.
Alexey Shirov was the only other player to make a positive score which he thoroughly deserved as he played attacking and uncompromising chess throughout. His victory over Magnus Carlsen was very much in the style of Tal, his fellow Latvian and former mentor.
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Defence at breaking point
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‘Win with white, draw with black’ is the secret to success most of the time in an all play tournaments and Vladimir Kramnik is giving something of an exhibition at the Tal Memorial as he won for the fourth time with the advantage of the first move and extended his lead to 1.5 points.
The former world champion was the only winner in the eighth and penultimate round and wrapped up tournament victory with a round to spare. The world number seven Shakriyaz Mamedyarov was outplayed after trying a sharp line of the Modern Defence to avoid Kramnik’s Catalan Opening.
In a complicated struggle both sides had to play with their king in the centre but Kramnik ensured that he was able to later ‘castle by hand’ while the black monarch was forced to suffer the attentions of the white queen and knight throughout.
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Champion is class act
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Vladimir Kramnik increased his lead in the sixth round of the Tal Memorial taking place at Moscow. The fourteenth world champion dismissed the Russian champion Evgeny Alekseev in a powerful display to reach 4.5/6 a point clear.
The message was: ‘ you might have won the Russian championship, but that’s because I wasn’t playing’.
Alexey Shirov played in the style of his former mentor Mikhail Tal and despatched Magnus Carlsen with a couple of sacrifices. Gata Kamsky also sacrificed soundly but eventually lost.
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Topalov Pulls Off Yet Another of His Last-Minute Victories
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Veselin Topalov has made a point of rallying after falling behind. He did it again last week at the Chess Champions League tournament in Vitoria Gasteiz, Spain.
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Leonard Barden. November 17, 2007
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UK problem solvers are dominating top competitions in an Indian summer which recalls our over-the-board successes in the 1970s and 1980s. The British team took gold for the third year in a row at the recent world problem championship in Rhodes, relegating the Russians to silver.
Grandmaster John Nunn won his second world individual title with 89/90 and the dropped point was due to a clerical error. GM Jonathan Mestel and FM David Friedgood were also in the winning team of former over-the-board internationals, who proved stronger than problem specialists from rival countries.
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Topalov on top form
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Veselin Topalov was back to his best as he won the League of Champions event at Vitoria in Spain, a tournament held in aid of a charity that is building a hospital in Congo. The chess took place alongside fashion shows and charity auctions and the field also included Anatoly Karpov and Judit Polgar.
Topalov lost to Polgar early on but gained his revenge in the final round to secure tournament victory as Polgar, half a point behind at start of play, overplayed her hand in an attempt to win the tournament. Topalov’s margin of victory was 1.5 points.
Karpov had a very hard time and failed to win a game. A lack of detailed preparation in the opening gave him some problems although he was well prepared in the game below.
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A taste of Cat
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The Catalan Opening did it again for Vladimir Kramnik as he took the lead of the Tal Memorial at Moscow. Kramnik defeated Alexey Shirov after securing just a small advantage in the opening, exchanging pieces and gradually improving his position in a double knight endgame where Shirov’s queenside pawns were slightly weak. Kramnik is the only player on 3.5/5.
Vasily Ivanchuk suffered more misfortune as he failed to convert a winning endgame against Magnus Carlsen after allowing the 16 year old prodigy to force perpetual check in a position of queen v queen and two pawns.
Peter Leko also missed his chances against Dmitry Jakovenko and Gata Kamsky could make nothing of a slight edge against Evgeny Alekseev. Five players remain unbeaten
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Defending to the end
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The placings remained unchanged after five draws in the fourth round of the Tal Memorial at Moscow. The players of the black pieces all needed to defend actively to neutralise the advantage of the first move but all managed to do so. Vasily Ivanchuk even managed to secure a slight advantage against Alexey Shirov but could make no progress in the endgame.
Peter Leko and Gata Kamsky sacrificed pawns against Evgeny Alekseev and Vladimir Kramnik and did not seem to have full compensation when the draws were agreed so it was slightly disappointing not to see these games continue.
Round four: Kamsky draw Kramnik; Leko draw Alekseev; Gelfand draw Yakovenko; Carlsen draw Mamedyarov; Shirov; draw Ivanchuk.
Scores: Kramnik, Carlsen, Mamedyarov 2.5/4; Leko, Shirov, Alekseev, Gelfand 2; Yakovenko, Ivanchuk, Kamsky 1.5.
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Teen trounces champion
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The 16 year old prodigy Magnus Carlsen is one of the leaders after one of the most eventful rounds of top flight chess this year at the Tal Memorial in Moscow. The Norwegian was one of four winners after outplaying the former Russian Champion Dimitry Yakovenko with black.
Vladimir Kramnik demonstrated that knowing he is going to play the Catalan is not enough as he reached 2/3 by defeating Peter Leko. Leko suffered a second time; he lost with black to Kramnik in a Catalan at Mexico City. Kramnik again obtained nagging pressure that he converted prettily in the endgame
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Leko leaps ahead
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There was plenty of fighting play but no decisive results in the second round of the Tal Memorial being played at Moscow. Peter Leko, who has started with two games with the white pieces is the only player on 1.5/2. Leko was easily held to a draw by the American Gata Kamsky in the second round. Kamsky played the Pirc-Modern Defence, rarely seen at the top level and was never in any difficulty.
Vladimir Kramnik and Boris Gelfand had another hugely complicated game during which Kramnik had to sacrifice a piece to extricate his queen but the material had to be returned by force and accurate play led to a draw on move 31.
The game between Shakriyaz Mamedyarov and Alexey Shirov was played in the style of Mikhail Tal. Shirov, white sacrificed a pawn and his opponent offered a piece but Shirov declined for reasons I cannot fully fathom and instead forced Mamedyarov to give up his queen for two rooks. In a position where neither king was safe the players repeated moves.
Gelfand draw Kramnik, Slav Defence, 31 moves; Carlsen draw Alekseev, QGD, 45; Shirov draw Mamedyarov, Ruy Lopez, 45; Leko draw Kamsky, Modern Defence, 38; Ivanchuk draw Yakovenko, Ruy Lopez, 31.
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Tal's kind of fireworks
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A wild 40 move draw between Vladimir Kramnik and the 16 year old Norwegian prodigy Magnus Carlsen was the highlight of the first round of the Tal Memorial at Moscow. Carlsen varied from his bad loss to Kramnik at Dortmund in July and held his own in the resulting complications. Tal would have appreciated the many sacrificial ideas in the game.
Alexei Shirov, a fellow Latvian and in many ways the modern Mikhail Tal was the only loser of the round as his sacrifice proved unsound and left Peter Leko an easy task. The game between the Russian champion Evgeny Alekseev and the world number two Vasily Ivanchuk ended prematurely in a draw after 32 moves with lots of play left in the position.
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Is China the One to Beat Now? Don’t Tell This Russian Team
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The former Soviet Union and then Russia used to dominate team events, but in recent years the Russians have struggled. They’re back.
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Leonard Barden. November 10, 2007
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Russia outclassed the field in this week's European team championship in Crete, where its team secured the gold medals with a round to spare and its top pair, Peter Svidler and Alex Morozevich, had the best individual performances.
England were seeded 16th and finished in that position, but the only real blemish on a good result was a 0.5-3.5 disaster against Poland. Michael Adams scored an unbeaten 5.5/8 and a 2800 rating performance on top board.
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Let the fight begin
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The 2008 Tal Memorial starts today in Moscow with a superb field that should produce fighting chess worthy of the memory of the ‘Magician from Riga’. The ten player all play all is comprised of players ranked in the world’s top twenty and includes the 14th and recently deposed world champion Vladimir Kramnik.
Kramnik caused a stir, not least in India with recent comments in an interview with Izvestia. Kramnik stated that he felt he had only loaned the world title to Vishy Anand who outscored him at the WCC tournament in Mexico in September and that he was looking forward to the head to head match later in the year.
Anand denied Kramnik’s claim that the match would take place in Germany this September. Undoubtedly he must be hoping sponsorship can be found in India.
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Russia takes Euro glory
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Russia made a clean sweep of the European Team Championships at Crete as their women’s team also took gold. The star performer was GM Alexandra Kosteniuk who was in good form in her first serious competitive event since the birth of her first child. Kosteniuk scored 5.5/8 on board one and only a last round defeat by Katerina Lahno of Ukraine took her tournament rating performance below the 2600 mark.
England’s performance was indifferent with only Ingrid Lauterbach performing above her rating. If England could field their top four players, Harriet Hunt and Susan Lalic were unavailable, they would challenge for a medal.
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