Ladies of Tucson- do not miss a spectacular 9 Queens Academy this Sunday, March 21 from 2-4 pm at Bookmans on Grant and Campbell. National Master Leo Martinez will be teaching a tantalizing lesson on winning tempo in the opening, while expert Amanda Mateer will show you how to make the most out of exchanging pieces (especially the Queen). This workshop is free and open to female chess players of all ages and abilities. Many thanks to Bookmans for their continued sponsorship of our 9 Queens Academy Series. If you haven’t seen it, check out this great video from Bookmans featuring 9 Queens at the Tucson Festival of Books. So much fun!

On his 41st birthday Vasily Ivanchuk defeated Jan Smeets 1.5-0.5 at the Amber tournament in Nice. Because Magnus Carlsen won one and lost one against Sergey Karjakin, Ivanchuk is now half a point ahead of Carlsen and Gelfand, who beat Aronian 2-0.

The 19th Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tournament takes place at the Palais de la Mediterranée in Nice, France, from March 12 to 25, 2010. The event is organized by the Association Max Euwe of chess maecenas Joop van Oosterom, which is based in Monaco. The total prize-fund is € 216,000.

The following twelve grandmasters take part: Magnus Carlsen (Norway, 2813), Vladimir Kramnik (Russia, 2790), Levon Aronian (Armenia, 2782), Alexander Grischuk (Russia, 2756), Boris Gelfand (Israel, 2750), Peter Svidler (Russia, 2750), Vasily Ivanchuk (Ukraine, 2748), Vugar Gashimov (Azerbaijan, 2740), Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukraine, 2737), Sergey Karjakin (Russia, 2725), Leinier Dominguez (Cuba, 2713) and Jan Smeets (The Netherlands, 2651).

Games round 5

Game viewer by ChessTempo

Round 5 report

Vasily Ivanchuk grabs lead on 41st birthday
In round 5 of the Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tournament, Vasily Ivanchuk, who celebrated his 41st birthday today, grabbed the sole lead in the overall standings with a 1½-½ win over Jan Smeets. Magnus Carlsen saw a winning streak of seven consecutive wins interrupted by Sergey Karjakin. The Norwegian top-seed is now in second place together with Boris Gelfand, who defeated Leinier Dominguez 2-0 (scoring his fourth consecutive win in the process).

Yesterday the participants of the Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tournament enjoyed a free day. Some of them stayed at the hotel to recharge their batteries, others joined an excursion to Gourdon, an age-old mountain village perched on a rock 780 meters above sea-level with a splendid view of the surrounding natural scenery and of Nice at a distance of some 10 kilometres (the ride there was obviously longer and lasted about an hour). The excursion included a visit to the local museum and a relaxed lunch on the outside terrace of Le Nid d’Aigle.

At the end of the afternoon the players who took part in the excursion returned to the Palais de la Méditerranée, where in the evening they were joined by their colleagues at a Quiz evening. The theme of the evening was Movies (with questions about chess interspersed) and we can reveal that Ruslan Ponomariov, who was on the winning team, astounded all and sundry with his passionate rendition of We Are the Champions. And then today, at 14.30 it was back to chess again with the games of the fifth round.

After he had won the blindfold game against Leinier Dominguez, Boris Gelfand was full of praise for his opponent’s opening play. Without going into any detail (he preferred the telling stock phrase ‘future games will have to shed more light on this variation’) Gelfand explained that the complications had been big and that he was suffering a pawn down at the ‘end’ of the opening. But Dominguez’ problem was to find a way to convert his material and this proved not so easy. And searching for a plan he got confused by the sudden advance of Black’s e-pawn that started marching down the board. Things were still fine for White, but the Cuban panicked and before he knew it he was lost.
The opening in the rapid game again was highly complicated and although in various instances the computer prefers Black, Gelfand had full confidence in the white side. To his mind his opponent went astray with 24…Rd8, where he could have stayed in the game with the ‘beautiful idea’ (Gelfand’s words) 24…Rd3 25.Nf2 Rxf3 26.gxf3 f5. Now things went rapidly downhill for Black and after 30.Qa4 Gelfand believed that he was close to winning. The game lasted another 36 moves, but indeed the result was never in any doubt and Gelfand scored his fourth consecutive win.

Vugar Gashimov and Alexander Grischuk conducted a tense battle in the Poisoned Pawn Variation of the Najdorf, with White going for the less usual 8.Qd3. White seemed to have a promising initiative and Gashimov’s hopes were rising, when Grischuk found the beautiful defending move 28…Kh7, that essentially saved the draw.
In the rapid game they also repeated the opening they had played in Linares last month and with Gashimov behind the black pieces it’s no big surprise that we saw another Benoni. The novelty came on move 12, when instead of 12…Nh5, the Azeri grandmaster now played 12…b5, an improvement he was most pleased with. Black got a fine game, but White remained ambitious and in the end it was the Russian’s wish to keep on playing on that did him in. After he had repeated moves several times (in different positions) Grischuk finally fell for the trap that Gashimov had spied many moves ago and when White proceeded 43.Bb5, Black’s answer 43…Rxc7 came very quickly.

Vladimir Kramnik scored a convincing win against Ruslan Ponomariov in their blindfold game, although he wasn’t too impressed by his achievement. To his mind Ponomariov had simply forgotten to play 6…d6 (as Ponomariov was happy to explain he had already played this exact variation without …d6, way back in 1997 against Volkov amongst others; ‘it used to be one of my specialties at the time’), which gave White a considerable space advantage. He also was critical of Black’s 10…dxe5 and believed that Black’s best chance on move 15 was 15…Bxc3+ 16.Qxc3 Qxb5, as after 15…Kg7? 16.0-0 he felt that White was almost winning. What Black probably missed was that 16…Nf6 would have been answered by 17.Bh6+ Kxh6 18.Qe3+. The remainder of the game Kramnik played with a steady hand and Ponomariov never got a chance to turn the tide again.
After the blindfold game Ponomariov mused that he should not have played so adventurously and that it was wiser to strive for a healthy position, solidly developing your pieces and all that. But once he sat down for the rapid game he had already forgotten about most of this wisdom and went for wild adventures again with 12.Be5 and 13.Bd3. Further on 20.Qa1 was not fortunate choice and 21.Rb1 was a blunder that practically immediately cost him the game.

Perhaps the question most people were asking themselves at the start of the blindfold game between Sergey Karjakin and Magnus Carlsen was whether the Norwegian would continue his winning streak or that the Ukrainian would slow him down. And indeed, despite the fact that he had the black pieces Carlsen managed to win his seventh consecutive game. In a first reaction he called it ‘a good game’ and it was certainly impressive how he first solved his opening problems and next started to look for more. By the time he had played 23…Nxe3 followed by 24…Bf2, he felt he got a grip on the position. He was even more pleased when Karjakin let himself be tempted to play 34.Bxg6, as he had sharply calculated the consequences of his move. Still, it wasn’t clear if Black’s advantage was winning, but with Karjakin in severe time-trouble and the pressure building up on him he faced an arduous task. Carlsen wasn’t entirely sure if he had played the queen endgame perfectly, but the way he played it was enough to score another point.
Carlsen’s winning streak ended in the rapid game. Dithering opening play didn’t bring him anything and when Karjakin stepped up his counterplay, dark clouds gathered over the white position. Carlsen tried his best to muddy the waters but in fact his fate was sealed well before the end of the game.

Levon Aronian and Peter Svidler played a blindfold game that the latter called ‘wildly exciting’ and who would argue with that? In a sharp anti-Grünfeld system Black was reluctant to go for the endgame that would have arisen after 11…Qxd1+ even if a brief look afterwards convinced him that there was nothing wrong with it for him. When he played 11…Qe7+ he had missed White’s 12.Bb5+ and wild (indeed) complications began. Initially Black’s position looked under threat but with 21…Qe4 Black took over the initiative. But White crawled back into the game and a manoeuvring phase ended in a drawish position. At this point, however, Aronian had little time left and lost control. First he spurned a repetition of moves and next he put his queen en prise.
After he’d also won the rapid game, Svidler suppressed his happiness with the words ‘Today Levon had one of those days that I normally have’. Aronian’s opening turned out badly when he played 12…Re8, where moves like 12…Be6 or 12…Bd7 were called for, and was punished by 13.Nb5. Still, Svidler didn’t continue in the most powerful manner. To his mind, if he had gone 15.Qd2 Bf5 16.Rfe1, the game ‘wouldn’t have lasted twenty moves’. Now Aronian could fight back and with 18…Be4 19.Rf2 Rxf2 20.Kxf2 Qh4+ 21.Kg1 Qg4 22.Qg3 Qxg3 he would have had the worst behind him. Now White was soon in the driver’s seat again and hauled in the point without too many problems.

Jan Smeets and Vasily Ivanchuk went down a long line of Caro-Kann theory in their blindfold game. Today was Ivanchuk’s birthday (he turned 41), but Smeets had obviously no wish to present any gifts and although Black was slightly better in the endgame that appeared on the board, the Dutchman confidently secured the draw. At the very end of the game he even came close to a win on time when Ivanchuk had lost track of his bishop, but after a series of tentative mouse clicks the Ukrainian managed to trace it (if the players made an ‘impossible’ move the note ‘illegal move’ appears on their screen; there are no sanctions, however, so they can keep searching for a piece or pawn as long as you want, provided you have enough time).
In the rapid game, a Four Knights’ Opening, Smeets at first didn’t have any real problems either. But an ill-advised queen excursion on the queenside, while White was advancing menacingly on the kingside cost him dearly. His kingside proved much more vulnerable than it had appeared at first sight and within a few moves he had to resign.

Report & photos © official website, more here

Videos

Links

• Official website
• Games in PGN: Blindfold | Rapid, via TWIC

• 5T: Carlsen-Karjakin 1-1,Kramnik-Ponomariov2-0,Gashimov-Grischuk 0,5-1,5
• VIDEO: Analisi di Ivanchuk-Aronian, in fondo all'articolo
• 4T:Ivanchuk-Aronian1,5-0,5,Gelfand-Kramnik 2-0
• 3T:Karjakin-Ivanchuk 0,5-1,5 , Carlsen-Svidler 2-0 , Grischuk-Gelfand.1-1

Aronian-Carlsen 0-2 !  foto da www. chessbase.com

Sabato 13  14.30 hrs - Round 1
Domenica 14  14.30 hrs - Round 2
Lunedi 15 14.30 hrs - Round 3
Martedi 16 14.30 hrs - Round 4

Mercoledi  17  Riposo

Giovedì 18 14.30 hrs - Round 5
Venerdì 19 14.30 hrs - Round 6
Sabato 20 14.30 hrs - Round 7
Domenica 21 14.30 hrs - Round 8

Lunedì 22  Riposo

Martedi 23 14.30 hrs - Round 9
Mercoledì 24 14.30 hrs - Round 10
Giovedì 25 12.30 hrs - Round 11

1.  Aronian    14    
2.  Anand      13½
    Kramnik    13½
4.  Carlsen    13    
5.  Morozevich 11    
6.  Karjakin   10½
    Topalov    10½
8.  Kamsky     10    
    Leko       10    
10. Ivanchuk   9½
11. Radjabov   9    
12. Wang Yue   7½

1.  Aronian    7    
    Carlsen    7    
    Kramnik    7    
4.  Anand      6½
    Morozevich 6½
6.  Leko       5½
    Topalov    5½
8.  Ivanchuk   5    
    Radjabov   5    
10. Karjakin   4½
11. Wang Yue   3½
12. Kamsky     3

1.  Anand      7    
    Aronian    7    
    Kamsky     7    
4.  Kramnik    6½
5.  Carlsen    6    
    Karjakin   6    
7.  Topalov    5    
8.  Ivanchuk   4½
    Leko       4½
    Morozevich 4½
11. Radjabov   4    
    Wang Yue   4

RISULTATI e ABBINAMENTI

QUI  

  PARTITE IN DIRETTA QUI

Perhaps it was because I’m currently reading The Age of Empathy – Nature’s Lessons for a Kinder Society, Frans de Waal’s latest book on how and why humans (and other primates) are capable of showing empathy and solving moral problems – that I found myself shocked by the recent Europe Echecs interview with Topalov’s manager Silvio Danailov. Topalov’s match against Anand hasn’t even started yet, but the first provocations are already in the air again.

Photo: Europe-Echecs

Frans de Waal is one of the world’s leading primatologists and has written an impressive body of work about the similarities between apes and humans. In his latest work, he hands us a toolkit on how to improve our society by looking at (human) nature. Empathy and morality are not only human affairs, but also play an very important role in other species, such as chimpansees and dolphins. De Waal argues that the election of president Obama is a clear sign that the ‘nightmare’ days of Reagan and Thatcher are over and that perhaps it is time to transform society into a more empathic place. Well, I think it’s time to end the ‘nightmare’ of Toiletgate and start a new era where chess professionals actually show some empathy and respect for each other instead of constantly trying to provoke the opponent.

In the video of the interview, Danailov talks about whether the ‘Sofia rules’ apply in the upcoming Topalov-Anand match, to be held in Sofia next month. They will not be applied – at least not officially. But that’s no problem for Danailov:

If one player doesn’t offer or accept draws they will apply. Vishy [Anand] doesn’t agree but he will be forced, because Topalov will not offer him a draw and he will not speak to him. So, what to do? He will be forced. This is the best. This is the best, otherwise… I don’t know, there’s people who are absolutely conservative, they are against these rules, but this is the future of chess. This is for sure. Everybody now understands this. Of course, I understand there are some players, old players, who don’t want to work… they like short draws and whatever. They like to offer them, but this is finished. Chess … we need a professional sport, and in professional sport, we cannot do this.

It’s a remarkable statement: Anand – forced against his will to comply to rules that are not official; this is the future of chess, no matter what ‘old’ chess players say – their opinion clearly is unimportant and shouldn’t be respected. But the most remarkable is that Danailov says that Topalov will not only refuse to offer any draws but also will ignore his opponent altogether: “He will not speak to him.” In other words, he will drop all courtesy and normal etiquette and create a ‘non-speaking terms’ atmosphere in a match in his home country, against one of the most relaxed and friendly chess players in the professional chess scene.

And why? Because of ‘professionalism’, that vacuous word all too often misused by people who refuse to acknowledge that most if not all work requires empathy and social skills – in other words, people who haven’t the slightest idea what ‘professionalism’ really means. (Here’s how one competency library actually defines ‘professionalism’: “Thinking carefully about the likely effects on others of one’s words, actions, appearance, and mode of behavior.”) To exclude all social elements from a profession is in fact the ultimate un-professional thing imaginable.

It’s a fallacy Frans de Waal convincingly demolishes in his book, showing how cooperation and social interaction are absolutely crucial to succeed in any job and society, and are in fact measures by which we judge people and choose them as colleagues, friends or mates. Not so for the Bulgarians, who’ve created their own rules and apparently don’t mind to be social isolates in the chess world, as long as the results speak for themselves. What an utterly unprofessional attitude!

In a similar vein, we’ve argued before on this site that shaking hands before and after a game shouldn’t actually be incorporated in the rules of chess, but instead should be respected even though they’re not in the rules – because, as De Waal shows, that’s how empathy and social skills work: intuitively, without explicit rules, automatically. And that’s why apes and other animals are capable of displaying them, too, without being able to read lawbooks or guides on ethical behaviour. It’s a thing of nature. It’s in our genes.

The sad thing is that we’ve seen this all before, four years ago in Elista. There, the Bulgarian team made themselves ridiculous in the eyes of world by accusing Vladimir Kramnik – without a shred of hard evidence – of cheating. They even published a childish book on it – still lacking any solid evidence – to prove their point, which I reviewed back in 2007. Perhaps it’s worth recalling how Topalov accused Kramnik of unfairly using his ‘home advantage’ up till the Kremlin in order to “keep the title at any cost” and that he (Kramnik) “will not balk at violating ethical principles.”

In his book, Topalov wrote that it was naive of him to agree to the match against Kramnik being played on Russian (well, kind of) ground, because such a match obviously couldn’t be fair. Well, it’s four years later and look who’s playing on home ground this time. Will Topalov and Danailov return the compliment and agree if Anand claimed a match in Bulgaria couldn’t ever be fair because of some kind of home advantage? Frans de Waal devotes an entire chapter on the ‘walking in other man’s ’shoes’ concept, but looking at the interview of Europe Echecs, I have my doubts if Danailov has read it. Note how he laughs during the entire interview, routinely dismissing dissenting views and announcing how the reigning World Champion will be ‘forced’ to do this and that. Does that sound like someone showing any kind of empathy or ‘ethical principles’ at all?

Silvio Danailov has recently announced his candidacy for president of the European Chess Union. Heaven forbid someone who doesn’t understand the first thing about ‘professionalism’, baselessly accuses some world class players of unethical behaviour and laughingly tells others what to do, ever gets to play such an important role in European chess, even if he did show some good initiatives like the exciting M-Tel tournament and his passion for more fighting chess. This kind of destructive madness really can’t be tolerated in our beautiful chess world. Frans de Waal ends his book The Age of Empathy (I am quoting from the Dutch version) with the following words:

We must rely on our intellect to figure out how to balance individual and collective interests. One instrument we have and which enriches our thinking enormously, has been selected over ages, meaning its survival value has been proven time and again. It is our capacity to show a sense of oneness with others, to understand them, and to place ourselves in their situation.

We can only hope this message will reach the Bulgarian team before the Topalov-Anand match starts.

After winning 2-0 one more time, today against Smeets, Carlsen joined Vasily Ivanchuk in the lead in Nice. The Ukrainian on his turn defeated Aronian 1.5-0.5, while Kramnik went down 2-0 against Gelfand.

The 19th Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tournament takes place at the Palais de la Mediterranée in Nice, France, from March 12 to 25, 2010. The event is organized by the Association Max Euwe of chess maecenas Joop van Oosterom, which is based in Monaco. The total prize-fund is € 216,000.

The following twelve grandmasters take part: Magnus Carlsen (Norway, 2813), Vladimir Kramnik (Russia, 2790), Levon Aronian (Armenia, 2782), Alexander Grischuk (Russia, 2756), Boris Gelfand (Israel, 2750), Peter Svidler (Russia, 2750), Vasily Ivanchuk (Ukraine, 2748), Vugar Gashimov (Azerbaijan, 2740), Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukraine, 2737), Sergey Karjakin (Russia, 2725), Leinier Dominguez (Cuba, 2713) and Jan Smeets (The Netherlands, 2651).

Games round 4

Game viewer by ChessTempo

Round 4 report

Magnus Carlsen catches up with Vasily Ivanchuk after third 2-0 wipe-out
After four rounds of the Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tournament, Magnus Carlsen and Vasily Ivanchuk are tied for first in the overall standings with 6 points from 8 games. The Ukrainian grandmaster defeated last year’s winner Levon Aronian 1½-½. Magnus Carlsen continued his remarkable comeback after he lost 2-0 to Ivanchuk in Round 1. The world’s number one defeated Jan Smeets 2-0, raising his number of consecutive wins to six. Manifold Amber winner Vladimir Kramnik suffered a highly atypical 2-0 defeat at the hands of Boris Gelfand. Perhaps typical for the fighting spirit of the round was the fact that 5 out the 6 rapid games were won by black.
Tomorrow, March 17, is a rest day. Play is resumed Thursday March 18 with Round 5.

Magnus Carlsen was understandably ambitious to continue his winning streak in his blindfold game against bottom-seed Jan Smeets. Despite a modest opening set-up (that started with 1.g3) he indeed got an edge, but there was no reason for Black to despair yet. Afterwards Carlsen commented that had Smeets just stayed put, instead of becoming active with 31…Rc3, he didn’t see how he could have made progress. Smeets’ action was based on a miscalculation. After 32…Rxc4 the only reply he had counted on was 33.Rd6+, but instead Carlsen dealt a killer blow with 33.Bg5. Three moves later Black resigned, raising Carlsen’s winning streak to five.
In the rapid game the Norwegian also scored his sixth consecutive win, but this time he really had to squeeze water from a stone. After the opening he was slightly worse, but he kept looking for his chances, collecting one minimal asset after the other. On move 33 there was a minuscule victory when he exchanged his knight for a bishop and with 38…g5 he made a brave winning attempt, as he let the white c-pawn on the board. Objectively speaking all his tries would have been in vain had Smeets kept his cool, but low and time and feeling the pressure the Dutchman finally succumbed. As late as move 54 he still could have made a draw with 54.Nh2 as this saves an essential tempo compared to the move he played, 54.Nf2.

The blindfold game between tournament leader Vasily Ivanchuk and defending champion Levon Aronian suddenly ended when the board was still full of pawns and pieces when on move 25 White offered a draw. In a slightly unorthodox Ruy Lopez it seemed that Black had obtained a good game, but Aronian wasn’t so sure. When he was asked why he had accepted the draw, he simply replied: ‘Because I am worse.’ And he elaborated that his pieces might look nice and active, but that White can slowly continue h3, Rd1 and c4, and on top of that he didn’t like the g5-h4 pawn-structure on the kingside either.
In the rapid game Ivanchuk maintained the (shared) lead with a fine win with the black pieces. A speculative piece sacrifice by Aronian (19.Nxe6) for three pawns and the initiative failed to impress and although the game remained complicated Ivanchuk hauled in the point with determined and precise play.

In the blindfold game between Peter Svidler and Sergey Karjakin a tense Sicilian with chances for both sides saw an untimely and unfortunate end when on move 42, White put a knight en prise. Following his resignation yesterday against Carlsen when there was still everything to play for, this was a new blow for the Russian grandmaster.
Svidler found some consolation in a well-played rapid game that finally brought him a win again. In his beloved Grünfeld Defence he believed that his 12…Rd8 was a safe road to equality, but it required accurate play. Instead of 17…g5 he could also have played 17…c4, but he felt more attracted to the push of the g-pawn. Karjakin felt optimistic about his chances when he won a pawn, but in fact this materialistic decision spelled disaster, as very soon the black pieces assembled for a strong attack. One nice line that didn’t appear on the board was 24.Bf2 (in the game 24.Bd7 was played) 24…Nxf3 25.Bg3 Qxg3! 26.hxg3 Rh6+ 27.Kg2 Rh2 mate. The end of the game was less drastic, but nevertheless there was no escaping for White.

Boris Gelfand didn’t hide his contentment after he had won his blindfold game against Vladimir Kramnik. ‘It’s always nice to win against such a great player’, he almost humbly commented. The Israeli grandmaster more or less blamed Black’s defeat on the opening system he had chosen, the Bg4-system that is mainly popular among some Azeri players. One of the ideas of the black approach is the exchange sacrifice on e3 that also happened in this game. Gelfand wasn’t convinced of its correctness and suggested Black should have looked for something else at that point. He pointed out the sad offside position of the black knight on c7 in particular and quoted Tarrasch who said that if one piece doesn’t take part in the play there’s something wrong with the entire position. Gelfand was satisfied with his plan Bd1 and Ne2 which allowed him to cement his advantage and slowly but surely win the game.
In the rapid game Kramnik was perhaps too cautious in his approach, certainly if he had clear plans to level the score, and this seriously backfired. Playing actively Gelfand freely advanced his pawns and directed his pieces to active positions. Objectively speaking, White was not yet in trouble, but Black’s position was much more pleasant and easy to play. Gradually the black pressure built up and following a blunder, 31.Rc2, Kramnik soon had to throw in the towel. An impressive achievement by Gelfand.

Ruslan Ponomariov seemed determined to blow up Vugar Gashimov’s Benoni Defence in their blindfold game and judging by the comments of the kibitzing grandmasters in the hospitality lounge he was soon on his way to realize that objective. But then the Benoni is a resilient customer and although his position looked highly suspect, Gashimov seemed to have no wish to surrender without a fight. He stayed afoot in the complications and he could have even taken over the initiative if instead of 31…Rh8+ he had gone 31…Rxf4 32.Rxf4 Qh6+. But soon he was in the driver’s seat anyway when White first missed the winning continuations 32.Kg2 and next 32.Kg1. Instead the players ended up in a rook ending with one pawn (white) against two. This they played on for many more moves until on move 68 the computer indicated a threefold repetition and the game was drawn.
The rapid game was a protracted battle in which the balance was not really disturbed for a long time. Nevertheless, Gashimov managed to upset the equilibrium in the endgame and score his second win in the tournament.

Alexander Grischuk was clearly satisfied after his blindfold win against Leinier Dominguez and he had every reason to. In a Sicilian Najdorf that his opponent had clearly prepared (Dominguez blitzed out his first 18 moves), the Russian champion was in a creative mood and managed to create attacking chances with pointed play. Probably the key moment of the game was the point where White played 23.Qh5, a move that Black had missed and that netted White the important f7 pawn. Grischuk kept playing strong and incisive chess and after 63 moves he had earned a well-deserved point.
The rapid game also saw a Najdorf, but (not surprisingly) a different line. Dominguez’ troubles started when early on in the opening he played his knight to d5 and shortly afterwards had to withdraw it to c3 again, losing two precious tempi. Grischuk obtained a comfortable game and it was impressive to see how he gradually exploited his advantage to score his second win of the day.

Report & photos © official website, more here

Videos

Links

• Official website
• Games in PGN: Blindfold | Rapid, via TWIC

Rijeka,Croazia - Anatoly Karpov, il 12? Campione del Mondo, si è candidato per la prossima Presidenza Fide, elezioni che si terranno a Settembre? durante le 39esime Olimpiadi in Khanty-Mansiysk.

Il russo ha infatti intenzioni di ristabilire l'ordine nel mondo degli scacchi, con particolare riferimento a:

1) il ciclo mondiale

2) il calendario dei principali eventi

3) impedire in futuro che si cambino in corsa i regolamenti delle manifestazioni

Il tutto per restituire al Campione del Mondo il prestigio di cui godeva un tempo

[Darkstorm ? 16-03]

Eric Jovana WFM 2183 ( a destra)

Vincitrice del 42? torneo di Belgrado

[Darkstorm ? 16-03]

Silvio Danailov, Candidato alla Presidenza ECU

[Darkstorm ? 16-03]

Richard Rapport, GM a 13 anni



Gotth'Art Cup, Richard Rapport - Lajosh Portisch , foto by www.chessdom.com



WGM Anna Rudolf , 2? norma MI

CLASSIFICA FINALE? (GM event):

1. GM Beliavsky Alexander SLO 2657 - 6.5
2. GM Portisch Lajos HUN 2519 - 6.0
3. IM Rapport Richard HUN 2444 - 6.0
4. IM Banusz Tamas HUN 2517 - 5.0
5. GM Prohaszka Peter HUN 2501 - 4.5
6. GM Vajda Levente ROU 2519 - 4.5
7. GM Ftacnik Lubomir SVK 2546 - 3.5
8. IM Bokros Albert HUN 2479 - 3.5
9. IM Neubauer Martin AUT 2465 - 3.5
10. IM Fodor Tamas Jr HUN 2417 - 2.0

CLASSIFICA FINALE? (IM event):
1. WGM Rudolf Anna HUN 2283 - 6.5
2. FM Gergacz Attila HUN 2421 - 6.0
3. FM Lorand Norbert HUN 2346 - 5.5
4. Nagy Gabor HUN 2278 - 5.5
5. IM Paschall William M USA 2398 - 5.0
6. Szabo Bence HUN 2261 - 4.5
7. FM Baratosi Daniel ROU 2396 - 4.0
8. IM Biro Sandor ROU 2298 - 4.0
9. Feher Adam HUN 2260 - 2.0
10. IM Banas Jan SVK 2341 - 2.0

INTERVISTA COMPLETA by Rudolf , per Chessdom, QUI


[Darkstorm ? 16-03]

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Les péchés capitaux se sont dévoilés du 8 au 13 mars 2010 : retour aux plaisirs grâce au 8 by Suchard qui revisitait les coulisses du Scopitone  ! Après les 7 Péchés Capitaux  , Suchard a mis en scène Le 8 . Le « 8e » Péché Capital by Suchard dans une ambiance feutrée et intimiste, où plaisirs et gourmandises sont de rigueur. Pour toutes les personnes lasses des interdits, de la bienséance, et des protocoles, Suchard proposait un moment d’évasion et initie les gourmands aux plaisirs épicuriens.

Envie, Gourmandise, Paresse, Orgueil, Colère, Avarice et Luxure ont été interprétés par des artistes (Dj’s et groupes) pour une ambiance « péchés capitaux » sur le dance-floor… et mis en scène dans les salles cachées du Scopitone, ouvertes exceptionnellement pour cette occasion, laissant place à des expériences uniques. Un espace éphémère qu'il ne fallait pas rater !

Un programme osé toute la semaine du 8 mars !

Le 8 by Suchard a accueilli le public de 17h à 2h du matin pour une ambiance « paresse et détente », et à partir de 20h pour une soirée exaltante autours de divers DJ’s qui ont livré leurs versions musicales des péchés capitaux. (Jeudi 11 et vendredi 12 mars, vous avez pu succomber aux plaisirs 8 by Suchard jusqu’à 6h !)

Deux soirées d’exception ont marqué le début et la fin de cette semaine exceptionnelle :

- La soirée d’inauguration follement suchardesque, le lundi 8 mars. Elle a été animée le temps d’un set par Frédéric Beigbeder, maître du défoulement d’un dance floor survolté !

- La soirée privée de clôture du 8 by Suchard, le 13 mars, « l’Illicit Party » où tous les péchés ont été permis de 21h à 6h du matin.
Un clip sur un air de ragtime avec la participation d’Hélèna Noguerra et de Marc Collin… 

Le 8 by Suchard
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La notizia della discesa in campo di Anatoly Karpov come candidato alla Presidenza FIDE non è passata inosservata. Stamane il quotidiano La Repubblica, fondato da Eugenio Scalfari e diretto da Ezio Mauro, ha pubblicato un articolo in prima pagina il cui titolo, un po’ sensazionalistico , è questo: “ La rivolta degli scacchi, anche Karpov contro Putin.” Sopra il titolo c’è scritto: “Dopo Kasparov un altro mito scende in campo per sfidare lo zar (n.d.r. Putin)“.

L’autore dell’articolo è il corrispondente da Mosca Nicola Lombardozzi. e comincia così: ” Il Re Bianco e il Re Nero giocheranno insieme, o comunque contro gli stessi rivali. Anatoly Karpov, il più sovietico (sic! N.d.r.) dei campioni del mondo di scacchi ha annunciato a sorpresa la sua mossa.“

Purtroppo il giornalista è legato a un filone un po’ provinciale della stampa italiana che identifica Karpov con il sistema sovietico e Kasparov come l’avversario, come se quest’ultimo, a differenza dello stesso Karpov, non provenisse direttamente dalla scuola del patriarca dello scacchismo sovietico Mikhail Botvinnik . Purtroppo certi pregiudizi sono duri a morire, ma a parte questo o altre inesattezza del giornalista che ha confuso la nazionalità del protempore Presidente FIDE il filippino Florencio Campomanes con il fantomatico sovietico Kampomanes (sic!), l’articolo è interessante perché racconta in sintesi la storia dell’attuale Presidente FIDE nonché Presidente della Repubblica autonoma della Calmucchia il discutibile Kirsan Iljumzinhov.

Iljumzinhov è un amico di Putin, oltre a ricoprire la carica di Presidente della FIDE è anche un politico alquanto spregiudicato, che si è arricchito grazie al periodo eltsiniano, che ha fatto campagna elettorale promettendo a tutti i pastori della Calmucchia un cellulare in cambio del voto (promessa non mantenuta) e che si circonda di personaggi discutibili. Il paradosso di questa vicenda è che Putin lo appoggia incondizionatamente, per questo motivo a tutti è sembrato che la candidatura di Karpov possa rompere le uova nel paniere al duo russo-calmucco. E’ evidente che uno come Karpov , la cui carriera scacchistica è a dir poco straordinaria, potrebbe avere l’effetto di rilanciare la FIDE stessa portandola ai fasti della gloriosa gestione fatta tra gli anni 60 e 70, guarda caso da un altro ex campione del mondo come  l’olandese Max Euwe. Troppo personaggi di minore spessore scacchistico hanno incrinato l’autorevolezza della FIDE ed hanno utilizzato la carica per fini esclusivamente politici a danno del nobil giuoco. Purtroppo non è la prima volta che la politica entra a gamba tesa sulle vicende del nobil giuoco e temo che i risvolti di questa battaglia si vedranno nei prossimi mesi.

il libro di Kotov dedicato all' "Uomo volante degli Urali"

A proposito di Karpov, voglio rendere omaggio a questo grande giocatore pubblicando una partita per tutti gli amanti del nostro immortale gioco. Alla faccia di chi dice che le sue partite sono aride e noiose!

After beating Sergey Karjakin 1.5-0.5, Vasily Ivanchuk leads the combined standings of the Amber tournament with a score of 4.5/6. Magnus Carlsen again won 2-0, this time against Peter Svidler, who resigned in a probably drawn position in the blindfold game.

The 19th Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tournament takes place at the Palais de la Mediterranée in Nice, France, from March 12 to 25, 2010. The event is organized by the Association Max Euwe of chess maecenas Joop van Oosterom, which is based in Monaco. The total prize-fund is € 216,000.

The following twelve grandmasters take part: Magnus Carlsen (Norway, 2813), Vladimir Kramnik (Russia, 2790), Levon Aronian (Armenia, 2782), Alexander Grischuk (Russia, 2756), Boris Gelfand (Israel, 2750), Peter Svidler (Russia, 2750), Vasily Ivanchuk (Ukraine, 2748), Vugar Gashimov (Azerbaijan, 2740), Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukraine, 2737), Sergey Karjakin (Russia, 2725), Leinier Dominguez (Cuba, 2713) and Jan Smeets (The Netherlands, 2651).

Games round 3

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Round 3 report

Vasily Ivanchuk in sole lead
Magnus Carlsen back in business with two more wins
After three rounds of the Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tournament, Vasily Ivanchuk is in the sole lead in the overall standings with 4½ points from 6 games. The Ukrainian grandmaster, the only GM to play in all 19 Amber tournaments, defeated Sergey Karjakin 1½-½. Defending champion Levon Aronian scored his first full points at the cost of Jan Smeets. Magnus Carlsen also won 2-0, the victim being Peter Svidler. Despite his dramatic start, the Norwegian is now only half a point behind the leading Ivanchuk. And he optimistically faces the future: ‘I am hoping for two more tomorrow.’

Vasily Ivanchuk immersed in thought at the start of his blindfold game against Sergey Karjakin. Following a 1½-½ win over his former compatriot the Ukrainian grandmaster is in the sole lead.

Alexander Grischuk and Boris Gelfand played a blindfold game that at first sight may have looked lively and entertaining for the spectators. However, they were following a theoretical line and after the game Grischuk summed up his assessment of what had happened as ‘very boring’. White had a small advantage in the ending that appeared on the board, but it never took on serious proportions and the games petered out to a draw. For Gelfand the line evoked old memories: ‘The last time I played this line was in 1988 in Vilnius. Against Goldin at the Soviet Young Masters.’ Certainly an interesting footnote to this game.
The rapid game was anything but boring. Playing adventurously Gelfand sacrificed two pawns to develop an attack against the black king and was awarded for his courage with a winning position. But just when everyone expected Grischuk to resign soon, Gelfand faltered and failed to deal the final blow. With 32.Bh7+ he let Black back into the game, where he could have decided the issue with 32.axb5 cxb5 33.Nd5 exd6 34.Bxd5+. In raging time-trouble for both, Gelfand again got a winning position, and might just as well have lost if Black had found 42…Kh6 instead of 42…Kg6, but in the end it was a draw and that was a result that definitely felt deeply unsatisfactory for Gelfand.

When Leinier Dominguez arrived at the board for his blindfold game against Ruslan Ponomariov, the Ukrainian grandmaster already sat waiting impatiently. As he laughingly told the arbiter: ‘I am nervous, let’s start!’ Once he was allowed to start the game, Ponomariov went for 4…g6 against the Ruy Lopez, a set-up that is sometimes considered slightly suspect, but mostly leads to satisfactory play for Black. Dominguez certainly obtained an edge, but with precise and active play Ponomariov comfortably equalized and once they reached a rook endgame with three pawns on each side, there were few reasons left not to draw the game.
The blindfold game presented Ponomariov with a problem that every grandmaster faces from time to time: he had to play against an opening variation that he also has played himself. A tense struggle developed in which both sides were fighting for their chances, and although those of White looked slightly more promising in the middlegame, the game ended in a draw when most pieces and pawns had left the board on move 47.

The blindfold game between Vugar Gashimov and Vladimir Kramnik saw the Russian grandmaster play another Pirc. However, this time it didn’t bring him much pleasure, as his mix of set-ups landed him in a risky position. Things looked threatening for Kramnik, especially when on move 26 Gashimov got a golden opportunity. With 26.Rxd6 he could have been a healthy pawn up, as 26…Ne8 is answered by 27.Rxh6, but instead of all this the Azeri grandmaster played 26.Nxd6 and a few moves later he agreed on a draw.
In the rapid game Kramnik emphatically wanted to be at the wheel from the word go. With gritty play he put his opponent under pressure and obtained a sizable advantage. But Gashimov had no wish to knuckle under and fought back with determination and his 37…Bg5 came as a rude awaking for Kramnik. Now suddenly the win was far off, objectively speaking no longer there, and a messy phase followed in which White kept looking for a win. And found it, because Gashimov didn’t grab his chances. The final mistake came on move 51, when the Azeri grandmaster played the right idea in the wrong order. Had he gone 51…Qf1+ 52.Kh2 Ne1, White would have had to resign himself to a draw. When he played 51…Ne1 immediately, Kramnik had 52.Qb5 and now 52…Nf3 doesn’t work because of 53.Qf8 mate.

The blindfold game between Peter Svidler and Magnus Carlsen started with a comic prologue when, once they were seated behind their laptops, the Norwegian discovered much to his dismay that he wasn’t White is this game, as he had believed, but Black. The comedy of errors was continued in the game and even after the Russian had resigned, when the spectators in the hospitality lounge switched on some engines. In the game Carlsen invited Svidler to play a full-fledged Dragon, but instead White opted for a more quiet approach. For some time there was nothing new under the sun until White played a new move, 19.Qf4 (19.Qe2 had been seen). The comedy of errors came back to life on move 20, when Svidler suddenly had second thoughts about the intended 20.Rxd7 because of 20…Qc6 21.Rxb7 Rxf4 22.Bd5 and now 22…Qf6 wins for Black. However, both players had missed 22.Rb6 with an edge for White. On move, 22 Svidler refrained from 22.Qh3 because he didn’t like 22…Nf4, but after the move he played, 22.Qe1, he was unpleasantly surprised by 22…Bxg2. Now Black developed a raging attack, but was it was deadly as Svidler acknowledged when, after 25…Nd4, he resigned? Indeed it would have been if Black had played 24…Nh4+ (instead of 24…Nf4+). But now things were different, as in the final position the engines immediately showed the amazing 26.Nd7!, attacking the rook on f8, and there is no immediate win and the position looks drawish.
At that point the players had already left for their rooms, Carlsen happily laughing off the fact that he had prepared for the wrong colour: ‘In any case it seems to be clear that in the blindfold I do better when I play the black pieces.’ Yes, but this time he needed a helping hand from his opponent. In his room he obviously also found 26.Nd7, but to his mind Black could nevertheless have kept on playing for a win with 26…Nh3+ 27.Kg2 Qc6+ 28.Bd5 Qxd7 29.Rxd4 e6.
The rapid game saw a rare sideline of the Qb3 Grünfeld, which, according to Carlsen, both players were not too familiar with. He himself seemed to suffer the least from this relative ignorance as he obtained a pleasant position. ‘And then it just got better and better’, he summed up the game. One moment he pointed out to illustrate the strength of his position was the moment when he played 22.Nd3, planning g5, pushing away the knight on d5 with e4, and then playing Nf4 threatening Nxg6 mate. To prevent such plans Svidler played 22…g5 himself, but his troubles remained and after 34 moves he had had enough and resigned.

When Sergey Karjakin, who is now playing for Russia, sat down to play his former compatriot Vasily Ivanchuk there was little doubt that a fierce clash would follow. In the blindfold game Ivanchuk gradually managed to took over the initiative and when he pushed 19…c4! it was clear that Karjakin faced a difficult defence. The final mistake White made on move 32, when playing his bishop to a3, he allowed Black to invade his position and force his surrender.
In the blindfold game Ivanchuk got promising play and tried various ways to improve the position of his pieces. But Karjakin defended tenaciously and when his opponent failed to make any headway a draw was the result after 44 moves.

Jan Smeets was happy with the outcome of the opening of his blindfold game against Levon Aronian. After all he was allowed to play the improvement he had suggested after his game against Karjakin in Round 2, 17.Be4 instead of 17.Ne4. White got an edge, but failed to exploit it. His first inaccuracy was 24.Rac1 where 24.a4 was called for, but the real mistake was 26.Bxd8?, an exchange that was prompted by his fear that Black’s knight would come to e6 and White’s bishop on f6 would end up out of play. Now Smeets suddenly found himself in an unpleasant rook endgame, which Aronian first converted in a winning pawn endgame and then into a winning queen endgame.
The rapid game was a tumultuous affair that started out with an opening that was popular at the start of the 20th century (the rather unusual 4…Nc6 followed by 5.e4). Aronian was pleased with his position but commented afterwards that he should have played 13.Qa4+ instead of 13.Bxf4, as he had underestimated 15…Qd7. Further on he had planned the imaginative 19.Kf1 until he saw 19…0-0 20.Rd6 Bc4!. Black’s troubles started with 24…Qh1, where he could have secured a level position with 24…Qxf2+ 25.Kf2 Ne4+ 26.Kg2 Nxd6 27.Bxa7. His final mistake was 25…Qh5, when he should have gone 25…Qxh6 26.Nd5 Qh4. Now his king was too vulnerable and as Smeets was also in time-trouble it didn’t come as a surprise that Aronian quickly hauled in the point.

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Photo: Adolivio Capece

12th World Chess Champion Anatoly Karpov and Silvio Danailov, executive director of the Grand Slam Chess Association and manager of Veselin Topalov and Ivan Cheparinov, at a reception in Rijeka, Croatia. Karpov has announced his candidacy for the upcoming FIDE Presidential elections; Danailov is running for President of the European Chess Union.

“I feel like I can make some changes, and chess needs changes.” Yesterday Anatoly Karpov officially announced his FIDE President candidacy in Rijeka, where the European Championship is currently taking place. Europe-Echecs published a video interview with the 12th World Champion and shared it with us.

Video Europe-Echecs

Magnus Carlsen today recovered completely from his bad start in Nice. The Norwegian defeated Levon Aronian, the winner in 2008 and 2009, in both the blindfold and the rapid game. Ukrainians Ivanchuk and Ponomariov lead the combined standings after two rounds.

The 19th Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tournament takes place at the Palais de la Mediterranée in Nice, France, from March 12 to 25, 2010. The event is organized by the Association Max Euwe of chess maecenas Joop van Oosterom, which is based in Monaco. The total prize-fund is € 216,000.

The following twelve grandmasters take part: Magnus Carlsen (Norway, 2813), Vladimir Kramnik (Russia, 2790), Levon Aronian (Armenia, 2782), Alexander Grischuk (Russia, 2756), Boris Gelfand (Israel, 2750), Peter Svidler (Russia, 2750), Vasily Ivanchuk (Ukraine, 2748), Vugar Gashimov (Azerbaijan, 2740), Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukraine, 2737), Sergey Karjakin (Russia, 2725), Leinier Dominguez (Cuba, 2713) and Jan Smeets (The Netherlands, 2651).

Games round 2

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Round 2 report

Carlsen bounces back with 2-0 win over defending champion Aronian
After two rounds of the Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tournament, Vasily Ivanchuk and Ruslan Ponomariov are in the lead in the overall standings with 3 points from 4 games, followed at half a point’s distance by Vladimir Kramnik and Peter Svidler. Top-seed Magnus Carlsen recovered from his poor start with a 2-0 win over defending Amber champion Levon Aronian. The Norwegian admitted that he had been upset about his 2-0 loss on the first day (particularly the rapid game, where he believed he was in no danger of losing), but said that he certainly had not despaired: ‘With twenty rounds to go there is always time to recover.’ The first two of those twenty rounds were certainly encouraging for him.

Magnus Carlsen fared excellently in Round 2 with two wins over Levon Aronian. After the round the Norwegian was happy to comment on his blindfold game for the tournament website.

Just like last year the second round of the Amber tournament clashed with the final stage of Paris-Nice, the 8-stage cycling race that started in Paris (you had guessed that much) a week ago. For many hours the Promenade des Anglais was crowded with people waiting for the denouement of the 68th edition of this legendary race and we can tell you that quite a number of chess fans mingled among these spectators. But after, early in the afternoon, Alberto Contador had won his second Paris-Nice, three years after his first victory, they could concentrate on chess again. Right they were. After the drama in Round 1 there was every reason to look forward to the developments in Round 2.

The final stage of the cycling course Paris-Nice finished today, about two hundred metres from the venue and about two minutes after the second round started | Photo Nadja Wittmann

Alberto Contador after winning the final stage of Paris-Nice | Photo Nadja Wittmann

Magnus Carlsen was obviously eager to fight back after yesterday’s dramatic 2-0 loss, but with Levon Aronian as opponent this was easier said than done. Moreover the Norwegian had the black pieces in the blindfold game and one would think that his first concern should be not to lose again. Already before the tournament Carlsen had prepared the King’s Indian and his ambition to steer for a highly complicated struggle worked out beyond expectation. To begin with he got the chance to implement an idea he had seen in a game Eljanov-Radjabov; a quick counter-push on the queenside to undermine White’s centre followed by a piece sacrifice (20…Nxd5) to break up that same centre. The tactical complications that ensued demanded a lot from both players and it was soon clear that Carlsen felt more at ease. Aronian missed the push 22…e4, a seemingly contradictory move that seems to contribute little to Black’s wish to open up lines and files, but which in fact is the right move to keep his initiative going. White could still have put up some resistance with 25.Bg5 (instead of 25.Nxf2), but Aronian had also missed 25…Qh4, which in case of 26.Be1 is followed by the deadly 26…Be5. Three moves later Aronian threw the towel. Carlsen found it easy to smile again when a couple of minutes later he spoke to the press.
Aronian’s worries were compounded when he also lost the rapid game. And perhaps this loss hurt even more as it was completely unnecessary. From a Four Knights’ Defence the players ended up in a totally drawish rook endgame. Probably the main factor that kept the game going was that neither of the players were willing to offer a draw. And as they plodded on Aronian got himself into trouble. A first moment where he was inaccurate was when he played 42…Ra2, when he could have thwarted all White’s further tries with 42…g5. He further pleased Carlsen with 50…h5 when he should have played 50…Kh7. Now his position became very unpleasant, and when he missed a last chance to stir up complications with 59…d5 he was inexorably counted out.

Blindfold: Carlsen beats Aronian with Black in a spectacular King's Indian

Jan Smeets had no trouble acknowledging that he had been completely lost in his blindfold game against Sergey Karjakin, as he was happy enough with the half point that he had saved miraculously. In a Ruy Lopez with 3…Nge7 and 4…g6, White drifted into trouble when he played his knight to e4 on move 17 (better 17.Be4) and followed this up with 20.Nf6+. Things quickly went from bad to worse and with 35…Kf8 Black could have forced his resignation. But even the pawn ending that Karjakin allowed his opponent, was lost for Black if only he had found 46…h5. Now the Dutch grandmaster could save the draw, even if, as usually, he was very short of time for the greater part of the game.
The blindfold game was another eventful affair and again the surprising outcome was a draw. In a Ruy Lopez Smeets lost his c-pawn after a heavy manoeuvring phase. Things looked bleak, but it wasn’t too easy for White to make further progress and when Karjakin made the move Smeets had been waiting and hoping for (58.h4), the vulnerability of his king suddenly became a source of sorrow. In fact, White would have been totally lost had Smeets played 59…Qg1. But being short of time (just like Karjakin) he failed to see this opportunity and the game ended in a repetition of moves. Ironically, Smeets could still play Qg1 in the final position, but he didn’t complain that the threefold repetition had ‘only’ brought him a draw.

Dutchman Jan Smeets managed to draw twice with Sergey Karjakin

The blindfold game between Vasily Ivanchuk and Peter Svidler not surprisingly saw a Grünfeld Defence, an opening in which the Russian is one of today’s greatest specialists. Afterwards he called the opening phase of ‘mild theoretical importance’, as Ivanchuk deviated on move 11 from an earlier game Gelfand-Svidler. In that game White played 11.Be2, Ivanchuk preferred to first play 11.Nf3. Almost forced the players ended up in an ending that Svidler had (of course) looked at before and although Black’s play is not entirely carefree he felt that it should be a draw objectively speaking. As a possible improvement for White he indicated 21.Bc6, the way it went now the point was quickly shared.
In the blindfold game Svidler felt he had missed a good chance when he played 13.Qd2 instead of 13.Qc1. ‘The idea is essentially the same, but it would have saved me a tempo in almost any variation’, as he explained afterwards. He even got into slight problems when Black played 22…Qe7, effectively stopping Ng5, the move White had hoped to make. In the final phase of the game the Russian had to be careful not to lose any material, but when he managed this task the game was drawn.

Boris Gelfand recovered from his poor performance in the first round with a win in the blindfold game against Vugar Gashimov. Nevertheless he called it ‘a stupid game’, as he had spoiled an excellent opening position to end up in a problematic situation. The last trick he wanted to try in order to extricate himself from this situation was 20.Nxd5. Now he was lucky as Gashimov could have played 22…Qb4 and White might as well resign. After 22…Qc7, White’s problems were not over yet, but when Black blundered with 23…Qxc4?, he suddenly was presented with a winning position. For the rest of the game Gelfand kept his eyes on the ball and converted his advantage without further problems.
The blindfold game started slowly. White got a slight edge but nothing for Black to get worried about. The game turned around when Gelfand opened the position and Gashimov snatched a pawn, that his opponent called ‘poisoned’. Soon White was totally lost, but the game was far from over yet. Gelfand spoiled his advantage and in the end he had to win an opposite-coloured bishop ending in a study-like manner (although the Israeli grandmaster was the first to say that he was not sure if this win was waterproof). Gelfand was certainly pleased with his two wins, but he didn’t forget how he obtained them: ‘Two points with bad play’.

The blindfold game between Vladimir Kramnik and Leinier Dominguez was a fascinating fight. Obviously Kramnik emphatically played for a win, but Dominguez fought back in his customary razor-sharp style. The game was decided when in a highly complicated position the Cuban grandmaster continued 36…Kh7 where his only chance was 36…Bf8. With the text-move he invited a forced mate and a couple of moves before this mate would become reality, Dominguez resigned.
In the blindfold game Kramnik played the Pirc Defence, the opening with which he surprised (and beat) Smeets in the recent Corus tournament. Again it looked as if this rather offbeat opening would give him easy and pleasant play, particularly after he bagged a point. But White had compensation for his material deficit and although Kramnik remained better for the rest of the game, Dominguez hung in tenaciously and was rewarded with a draw after 88 moves.

Deep concentration: Leinier Dominguez and Vladimir Kramnik

The blindfold game between Ruslan Ponomariov and Alexander Grischuk saw a Catalan Opening, similar to a game Ponomariov had played with colours reversed against Gelfand in the final of the recent World Cup. Instead of 10…Bb7, as Ponomariov had played, Grischuk went 10…Ba6. White obtained the bishop pair, but with a symmetrical pawn-structure it was difficult to exploit that slight advantage. Both players invested a lot of time as there were always tactics to be considered with opposing rooks on the c-file, but when Grischuk offered the opportunity to repeat moves and agree to a draw, Ponomariov saw no good reason to play on.
At the end of the rapid game Ponomariov walked into the hospitality lounge and wondered what people had thought of his rapid game. He himself wasn’t too happy as he had hoped to play something active, but somehow his Grünfeld ended up in a static position in which he had to suffer for a draw. When on move 32 the queens left the board, Grischuk offered that draw and Ponomariov didn’t have to think long before he accepted.

Report & photos © official website, more here

Videos

Links

• Official website
• Games in PGN: Blindfold | Rapid, via TWIC

“I feel like I can make some changes, and chess needs changes.” Yesterday Anatoly Karpov officially announced his FIDE President candidacy in Rijeka, where the European Championship is currently taking place. Europe-Echecs published a video interview with the 12th World Champion and shared it with us.

Video Europe-Echecs

“The 40-year old Ukrainian has a reputation of being an unpredictable genius, capable of producing absolutely brlliant games, as well as amateur-like losses from time to time,” Magnus Carlsen wrote on his blog yesterday. Today, at the Amber tournament in Nice, he met with a Chuky in excellent shape, and lost 2-0.

The 19th Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tournament takes place at the Palais de la Mediterranée in Nice, France, from March 12 to 25, 2010. The event is organized by the Association Max Euwe of chess maecenas Joop van Oosterom, which is based in Monaco. The total prize-fund is € 216,000.

The following twelve grandmasters take part: Magnus Carlsen (Norway, 2813), Vladimir Kramnik (Russia, 2790), Levon Aronian (Armenia, 2782), Alexander Grischuk (Russia, 2756), Boris Gelfand (Israel, 2750), Peter Svidler (Russia, 2750), Vasily Ivanchuk (Ukraine, 2748), Vugar Gashimov (Azerbaijan, 2740), Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukraine, 2737), Sergey Karjakin (Russia, 2725), Leinier Dominguez (Cuba, 2713) and Jan Smeets (The Netherlands, 2651).

Games round 1

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Round 1 report

First day sensation: top-seed Carlsen loses 2-0 to ‘Mr Amber’
Last night the opening ceremony of the 19th Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tournament took place at the Chateau de Cremat, a stylish wine chateau perched on a hill overlooking Nice at a half and hour’s drive from the Palais de la Mediterranée, the five-star luxury hotel on the Promenade des Anglais where the grandmasters are staying and playing. The evening started with a degustation of various wines of the house and then the guests of the Van Oosterom family and the players sat down for a delicious dinner. In the opening speech there was special attention for the totally unique place that the Amber tournament occupies in chess history. There have been chess benefactors who sponsored one tournament, two or even three. But no one ever came even close to the astounding 19th edition that the Amber tournament reaches this year.

There were also references to Steely Dan’s Hey Nineteen, Joe Jackson’s Nineteen Forever and Chanel 19 (by some strange coincidence Coco Chanel was presented the famous Chanel logo – two C’s elegantly locked together – by the owner of the Chateau de Cremat about a century ago!) and of course the twelve grandmasters were welcomed, with a special mention for Vasily Ivanchuk, ‘Mr Amber’, who participated in all 19 tournaments. Once the drawing of lots had taken place, we could start to think about the pairings for the first round and the overall chances of the participants. Who is the top-favourite for first place? Vladimir Kramnik, who won a record of six Amber tournaments? Levon Aronian, who won the last two editions? Or Magnus Carlsen, the world’s number one, who very appropriately celebrated his 19th birthday a couple of months ago? In any case the opening round didn’t go as they may have hoped. Not at all.

Today at 14.30 the first round started of a blindfold and rapid spectacle that will keep us entertained for the coming fortnight (the 11th and last round is on March 25). As always the players started with two blindfold sessions (in each of which six GMs played) followed by two rapid sessions and immediately there were some intriguing pairings.

When Ruslan Ponomariov saw at the drawing of lots that he had to play Boris Gelfand in the first round, he wondered aloud if he had to play Gelfand for the rest of his life. What he meant to say was that this was his first official competition since the dramatic final Gelfand and he played in the World Cup last December, a lengthy final that was only decided in the blitz games. Ponomariov’s second remark was that he wanted to have his revenge for that lost final. The only problem was that the first game was a blindfold game and his experience in that discipline was almost zero. In fact he had asked to play a training game on the day of his arrival in Nice. To avoid any complications he decided to play fast and to remain fully concentrated, not even considering the option of going to the toilet if needed. The approach worked well, as with the help of Gelfand his opening was a great success and after 15.Ng5 he felt that he was spoiled for choice when looking for a way to exploit his advantage. The game was practically decided when Ponomariov captured Black’s h-pawn. The rest was simple and he converted without any problems. After the game he was greatly relieved that this game for which he had been so nervous had gone so well. ‘Perhaps it turns out that I am not so bad at blindfold chess.’ He also shared his impression of playing chess on a screen that only shows an empty chess board: ‘It’s just like a computer game!’
Ponomariov completed his ‘revenge’ (to avoid any misunderstanding, he was the first to point out that, of course, these two games cannot be compared to the World Cup final) in the rapid game. Spoiling for a fight he came up with an interesting plan in the Grünfeld, sacrificing an exchange for promising play. He indeed got wonderful compensation when Gelfand played 14.f3? where he should have tried 14.Qe3. Suddenly it was a delight to sit behind the black pieces and Ponomariov fully enjoyed the next phase. White still managed to get into an ending with opposite-coloured bishops, but the two extra black pawns quickly carried the day.

Russian champion Alexander Grischuk had his work cut out for him when he immediately had to play Vladimir Kramnik. There could be no misunderstanding about Kramnik’s intentions as he played almost all his moves instantly. ‘He wanted to trick me’, smiled Grischuk after the game. Playing with white he had to leave the initiative to Black, but to his mind Kramnik went too far in his winning attempt. But even if Black ended up in a difficult position, the situation was still far from lost and things only got hopeless when he reverted to the desperate 38…Nxg4, where it seemed that Black could have stayed in the game with 38…Nf3. Now things were easy for Grischuk and the handful of seconds he still had on the clock proved enough to win an important scalp.
Kramnik struck back in the rapid game. After a strongly played opening he obtained a clear advantage and looking back he concluded that Black’s position was difficult after 34.Rd4. But Kramnik praised his opponent for his inventive defence in the next phase and expressed his doubts whether the position was really winning for White (‘That has to be checked with the computer’). However, Grischuk was once again low on time and after 40…Nc3 (he should have played 40…Nb6) Black certainly was lost. The rest wasn’t difficult anymore and Kramnik wrapped up fairly effortlessly.

The encounter between debutants Dominguez and Gashimov took a relatively quiet course, although the grandmaster from Azerbaijan offered to play a sharp Benoni, an invitation that was quietly turned down with Rodriguez. They ended up in a rook endgame that was slightly better for Black, but it was his lavish use of time that did Dominguez in. With more than ten minutes less on the clock he committed a few inaccuracies and when Gashimov stormed down the board with two passed pawns it was clear that the fight was over. After the game Gashimov was congratulated on his blindfold debut and confessed that he had not especially prepared for this unusual type of chess. ‘I played one training game two days ago against Ruslan (Ponomariov), this was my second game.’
The rapid game was a variation of the Italian Game ‘in which many games have been played’, as the database experts call it these days. The key question was if the knight that Gashimov managed to post on e7, was an asset or a weakness. Frantically he calculated variations, considering sacrifices here and there, but there was nothing that worked. In the meantime, Dominguez just stayed put and maintained his position. After some further manoeuvring it was clear that this balance was not going to be upset and a draw was agreed.

Magnus Carlsen openend his blindfold game against Vasily Ivanchuk with 1.a3, aiming for an open battle, unburdened by theory and steering clear of any possible preparation of his opponent. The plan wasn’t a success, even if he managed to win a pawn, but Black got such good compensation that the Norwegian top-seed must have regretted his unorthodox approach. He kept looking for his chances, but Ivanchuk remained fully concentrated and his advantage was such that at some point the white position should collapse. An oversight on move 31 sped up the end of the game and floored another top-favourite.
In the rapid game Carlsen tried to fight back with the Poisoned Pawn of the Najdorf Defence. Afterwards Ivanchuk felt that he again had had sufficient compensation for the sacrificed pawn, but was reluctant to give a concrete assessment of the game as it had been so ‘very complicated’. One move he criticized was 25…Kf7, which allowed him to increase the pressure. They ended up in a rook endgame of three pawns versus two, which Black failed to defend, leading to a sensational 2-0 defeat of the top-seed.

‘It’s been a while, clearly’, Peter Svidler commented after he had beaten Jan Smeets in his first Amber blindfold game in three years. Svidler had an edge from the opening, but Smeets should have been able to hold a draw. Things got funny when Svidler, played his 39th move thinking Black’s bishop was on e6 (it was on d7). That it was not, he found out when Black played 39…Ne6+ and picked up the pawn on g5. This was not a problem in itself as now White can go 40.Nd5+ and pick up the b6 pawn, but not knowing where the black bishop was, Svidler now reasoned that it was on c6, which ‘prevented’ this knight jump. Smeets on his part got confused by White’s 44.Bxg6 and panicked with 45…Be6 when 45…Kg5 was still a draw. Well, in fact he would have even won, as (still thinking the black bishop was on c6) Svidler had planned to answer 45…Kg5 with 46.Be4 Kxh6 47.Bc6, thinking he would capture a bishop but in fact giving one away. After this comedy of errors had ended, Smeets was left with a lost position and had to resign soon.
The rapid game ended in a draw. In a classical Ruy Lopez Black got good play and when he started piling up on White’s a pawn, Smeets decided that instead of defending a pawn that will drop off anyway at some point, he better hand it over immediately for some activity. This turned out to be an excellent exchange and at a certain point his compensation even seemed to turn into more. But his advantage got never concrete and both players could live with the draw that materialized.

Sergey Karjakin obtained a winning position in the blindfold game when in a sharp opening tussle Levon Aronian committed a serious error. Instead of 19…Bg5?, the Armenian grandmaster should have played 19…Bh4 or 19…Rb4. Things looked bleak for Aronian, but then he didn’t win himself a reputation for ‘slow-motion’ swindling for nothing last year. And this time, too, he almost escaped when Karjakin allowed a repetition of moves. But Aronian was going for the whole hog and thinking he was winning he didn’t repeat moves, but played 36…Nxc3, which turned out to be a losing move.
In the rapid game Levon Aronian showed a different face and put his opponent under pressure right from the opening. Perhaps this permanent pressure also explained the mistake Karjakin made at the end of the game. Instead of hanging on in a dubious ending he blundered and even got mated.

Report & photos © official website, more here

Videos

Links

• Official website
• Games in PGN: Blindfold | Rapid, via TWIC

The first round was on Saturday. The Official site seems very well put together with live games, video and commentaries. However on day one they did have problems coping with the level of traffic, but there has been a steady improvement since then. It marks a trend this year which seems to indicate traffic to official sites has been increasing.

Play starts at 2:30pm UK time. All the live games and their results are now up along with previous rounds complete. chess-results.com has the full official results and standings and the latest pairings.

Over the last 2 years I have been producing and directing a documentary about scholastic chess with my company Rescued Media.  Chess Movie (working title) goes inside one of the best junior high chess program in the nation, Intermediate School 318 in Brooklyn, New York. Many students at 318 come from difficult circumstances and 60% are from low-income families, but being part of a winning chess team gives them a unique opportunity to experience success at a young age. Justus, Patrick, Alexis, Pobo & Rochelle are 5 of 50 team members that are learning on the chessboard the skills they need to face challenges of adolescence and their working class circumstances.

In April 2009 we embarked on our first trip with the team to Nashville, Tennessee, to the USCF Super Nationals. Once we witnessed how big the scholastic chess world was, we were hooked. Over the next year we embedded ourselves with the team-- at home, at school and away at tournaments -- and slowly, the kids' individual stories began to take shape.  Please view our five minute teaser for an idea of where the film is now headed. It’s our ultimate goal to secure a national television broadcast for Chess Movie and maybe even a small theatrical release. We also plan to build a strong community outreach campaign in the hopes the film will build support for scholastic chess programs in under served communities as we have witnessed firsthand the profound effect the I.S. 318 chess program has had on its students.

Right now we have a fundraising campaign underway at Kickstarter.com. Kickstarter is an online funding platform for artists to engage with their audiences and build support for their projects. Our Kickstarter campaign has been pretty successful so far, reaching our initial goal of $4,000 in just a few short weeks. But we still have 50 days to go and we need more than 4k to finish this film. When you log onto Kickstarter you will see that we are offering some really cool rewards and incentives for backers. For example a $10 donation gets you exclusive access to video updates and deleted scenes and a $55 donation secures you a "Special Thanks" credit in our film. We also offer chess-centric rewards like free memberships to WORLD CHESS LIVE and CHESS.COM but at the end of the day I hope you are most inspired to give because you love chess and are moved by the kids and their stories. We believe this film has the potential to breakdown false stereotypes about chess and present a new and fresh perspective to one of the world's oldest and most beloved games.

• Beginner's Repertoire at Chessgames.com
  The link presents a game collection from Chessgames.com with great classic games showing you how to crush people with the Moeller and other Giuoco lines.  It's essentially a complete repertoire in games -- just click your way through them and you get the basic theoretical ideas and tactics.
• "Don't Shoot the Piano Player!" by Leviathan at Chessgames.com
  Another great games collection that serves as an excellent introduction to Giuoco Piano themes and ideas.
• Exeter Chess Club's The Italian Game for Beginners by Dr. Dave (e-book in PDF)
  Tricks, traps and tactical ideas in the Italian lines, including the Evans, Moeller Attack, and others.  This little e-book makes a great beginner's introduction to Giuoco Piano themes.
• Swansong of the Giuoco Piano, Part 1 (Kibitzer #64 at ChessCafe) by Tim Harding
• The Giuoco Piano, Part 2: The Case for the Defence (Kibitzer #65 at ChessCafe) by Tim Harding
• The Giuoco Piano on Trial, Part 3: The Summing Up (Kibitzer #69 at ChessCafe) by Tim Harding
• The Giuoco Piano on Trial: White Wins the Case (Kibitzer #70 at ChessCafe) by Tim Harding
• The Giuoco Piano Revisited (Kibitzer #118 at ChessCafe) by Tim Harding
  This five part series of articles on the Giuoco Piano lines with c3 and d4 for White -- mostly focused on the Moeller Attack and Rossolimo's Bd2 line with only some discussion of others -- gives a great overview to the Giuoco Piano theory and is remarkably pro-White in the final analysis.  In the last article, Harding returns to the Giuoco by way of reviewing Pinski's book, focusing on the critical lines vs the Moeller Attack and the Rossolimo Variation.

• The Lolli Attack by Michael Goeller 
• The Lolli Attack at Chess Teaching and Lessons 
• Back to Basics (Opening Lanes #121 at ChessCafe, January 2009) by Gary Lane
  Covers the Lolli and Fried Liver attacks.
• Giuoco Piano, Two Knights, Fried Liver (C57) by Richard Westbrook (Farragut Chess Club 2006) -- see also Paul Morphy Fried Liver Attack.
  A useful article on how to win the Fried Liver Attack.
• Fried Liver Attack, Pratt-Wolford 1976 by John Pratt
  A useful introduction to the Fried Liver for beginners.
• The Fegatello Attack (Unorthodox Openings Newsletter #2) by Paul Valle
  Available in the archive or download the issue of UON.  Offers some deep analysis showing how Black might survive the traditional Fried Liver with 6.Nxf7.
• The Fried Liver Attack, Part One by Boris Alterman (June 1, 2008)
• The Fried Liver Attack, Part Two by Boris Alterman (June 6, 2008)
• The Fried Liver Attack, Part Three by Boris Alterman (June 13, 2008)
• The Fried Liver Attack, Part Four by Boris Alterman (June 16, 2008)
• The Fried Liver Attack, Part Five by Boris Alterman (June 19, 2008)
• The Fried Liver Attack, Part Six by Boris Alterman (June 29, 2008)
  A useful presentation for amateur players focused mostly on the 6.Nxf7 lines, culminating in the annotated game Morphy - NN, New Orleans simul 1858 which features the Lolli Attack.

• The Fritz and Ulvestad Variations by Steven Craig Miller for the Renaissance Knights Club
  A very useful quick-start guide on these critical lines.
• Open Games Revisited: The Two Knights (November 2005, Kibitzer #114) by Tim Harding
  Covers both the Fritz/Ulvestadt and main lines after Ng5.
  
• Charbonneau - Schneider, USCL 2009 without notes -- I hope to find some material on the web analyzing this game.
• Death of the Main-Line Ulvestad by Mark Ginsburg
  A very pro-White analysis refuting the Ulvestad.  See also his comments on Zierk - Friedel, embedded.
• Vallejo-Pons vs Naiditsch, European Teams 2007
• New Investigations in the Two Knights Defense (September 2008, Kibitzer #148) by Tim Harding
• Friedel's Fritz-Ulvestad Wins Again by Michael Goeller 
• GM Josh Friedel Plays the Ulvestad by Michael Goeller
• Two Knights Defense, Fritz-Ulvestad Variation by Michael Goeller
• Two Knights, Ulvestad by Katar at Chessvideos  
• Two Knights Fritz Notes by Pete Tamburro (forum only requires free registration to access).

Tomorrow the first round of the 2010 Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tournament will be played, and we have a second preview video to get you warmed up. The world’s number one, Magnus Carlsen, is there. Vladimir Kramnik, who won many times, is there. Levon Aronian, who won the last two editions, is there. Who do you think will win?

The 19th Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tournament takes place at the Palais de la Mediterranée in Nice, France, from March 12 to 25, 2010. The event is organized by the Association Max Euwe of chess maecenas Joop van Oosterom, which is based in Monaco. The total prize-fund is € 216,000.

Preview video by Macauley Peterson

The world’s number one player, Magnus Carlsen, is the top-seed in Nice. Also present are Levon Aronian, the winner of the past two Amber tournaments, and Vladimir Kramnik, who won the Amber tournament a record six times. These three players are clearly the big favourites, but what about Alexander Grischuk, who replaced Alexander Morozevich less than a week ago? Or the ever unpredictable Vasily Ivanchuk? Or Ruslan Ponomariov, who is back among the world’s elite?

The following twelve grandmasters will take part (between brackets their country and their rating in the March 1, 2010 world rankings): Magnus Carlsen (Norway, 2813), Vladimir Kramnik (Russia, 2790), Levon Aronian (Armenia, 2782), Alexander Grischuk (Russia, 2756), Boris Gelfand (Israel, 2750), Peter Svidler (Russia, 2750), Vasily Ivanchuk (Ukraine, 2748), Vugar Gashimov (Azerbaijan, 2740), Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukraine, 2737), Sergey Karjakin (Russia, 2725), Leinier Dominguez (Cuba, 2713) and Jan Smeets (The Netherlands, 2651).

Every day four sessions will be played, two blindfold sessions and two rapid sessions. The first session starts at 14.30 CET. The fourth session finishes around 20.00 CET. The final round on March 25 starts at 12.30 CET. March 17 and 22 are rest days. The rate of play is 25 minutes per game per player. With every move made in the blindfold games 20 seconds is added to the clock, with every move made in the rapid games 10 seconds is added.

Like in previous years, many more will be posted on the official website during the tournament. Besides, you can expect something new this year: live chess with audio commentary, streaming footage from the playing hall and live commentary sessions with the top GMs!

Link

• Official website

Second article du Nouvel Obs ce matin sous la plume de Louis Morice. La défense de Sacha Rhoul, extradé du Maroc vers la France, conteste la légitimité de la procédure. L'avocat du père de Gilles Andruet, explique pourquoi, selon lui, elle était justifiée.

D'après le Nouvel Obs, deux documents prouvent que Sacha Rhoul, condamné par contumace en France à quinze ans de prison pour avoir participé au meurtre de Gilles Andruet (photo des archives de l'AFP ci-contre), est bien marocain et n'aurait donc pas dû être extradé vers Paris.

... provenant de parties célèbres sélectionnées par le site chessvideo.tv est désormais incorporé dans ce blog. Rien de tel qu'un petit entrainement supplémentaire pour garder la forme ! Il suffira de rechercher le lien "chess puzzle of the day" dans la liste des liens, en bas à droite, pour retourner à ce message. La position proposée changera tous les jours ! Pour la résoudre, cliquer sur l'image... Le niveau est assez simple et les combinaisons sont jolies, à base de sacrifices de pièces lourdes, en général. A consommer sans modération...

C'est une information que RTL nous révélait dès samedi : le Franco-Marocain Sacha Rhoul était dans un avion entre le Maroc et la France. Il a été écroué à Fleury-Merogis (Essonne) et sera rejugé en fin d'année.

Rappelons que Gilles Andruet (ci-dessus, photo des archives de l'AFP), ancien champion de France d'échecs 1988 et joueur de casino invétéré, avait été roué de coups dans la nuit du 21 au 22 août 1995 à l'âge de 37 ans. Son corps avait été retrouvé quelques jours plus tard au bord d'une rivière de l'Essonne. Le père de la victime, Jean-Claude Andruet, ancien champion de France de rallye, avait demandé le 16 février l'extradition du meurtrier de son fils, Sacha Rhoul, qui selon lui, se trouvait à Marrakech...

Alexander Morozevich has withdrawn from the Amber tournament, which starts in six days from now in Nice, France. The Russian is replaced by his compatriot Alexander Grischuk. To get you a bit in the mood already, today we present a video with footage from 2008 and 2009.

The 19th Amber Blindfold and Rapid Tournament takes place at the Palais de la Mediterranée in Nice, France, from March 12 to 25, 2010. The event is organized by the Association Max Euwe of chess maecenas Joop van Oosterom, which is based in Monaco. The total prize-fund is € 216,000.

The world’s number one player, Magnus Carlsen, is the top-seed in Nice. Also present are Levon Aronian, the winner of the past two Amber tournaments, and Vladimir Kramnik, who won the Amber tournament a record six times.

The following twelve grandmasters will take part (between brackets their country and their rating in the March 1, 2010 world rankings): Magnus Carlsen (Norway, 2813), Vladimir Kramnik (Russia, 2790), Levon Aronian (Armenia, 2782), Alexander Grischuk (Russia, 2756), Boris Gelfand (Israel, 2750), Peter Svidler (Russia, 2750), Vasily Ivanchuk (Ukraine, 2748), Vugar Gashimov (Azerbaijan, 2740), Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukraine, 2737), Sergey Karjakin (Russia, 2725), Leinier Dominguez (Cuba, 2713) and Jan Smeets (The Netherlands, 2651).

Every day four sessions will be played, two blindfold sessions and two rapid sessions. The first session starts at 14.30 CET. The fourth session finishes around 20.00 CET. The final round on March 25 starts at 12.30 CET. March 17 and 22 are rest days. The rate of play is 25 minutes per game per player. With every move made in the blindfold games 20 seconds is added to the clock, with every move made in the rapid games 10 seconds is added.

Below you’ll find an appetizer video. Like in previous years, many more will be posted on the official website during the tournament. Besides, you can expect something new this year: live chess with audio commentary, streaming footage from the playing hall and live commentary sessions with the top GMs!

Video

Link

• Official website

Si vous avez raté le reportage dimanche 7 mars sur TF1, pas de panique !

L’émission hebdomadaire Sept à Huit présentée par Harry Roselmack est proposée en Replay sur le Net. Révélations people de Bachar Kouatly, passage des échecs au black-jack...

A voir ce soir sur TF1 à partir de 18h50, l’émission hebdo Sept à Huit présenté par Harry Roselmack (photo ci-contre) avec un reportage sur l'Affaire Andruet.

Rappelons que Gilles Andruet, ancien champion de France d'échecs 1988 et joueur de casino invétéré, avait été retrouvé mort dans le département de l'Essonne le 22 août 1995, après avoir été battu à mort et drogué, sur fond de dettes dans un casino. Le père de la victime, Jean-Claude Andruet, ancien champion de France de rallye, avait demandé le 16 février l'extradition du meurtrier de son fils, Sacha Rhoul, qui selon lui, se trouvait à Marrakech. Sacha Rhoul était hier soir dans un avion entre le Maroc et la France.

Suite à l'arrestation récente d'un ressortissant français au Maroc, Sacha Rhoul, accusé du meurtre en France de Gilles Andruet en 1995 et condamné par contumace en 2009 à quinze ans de réclusion criminelle, TF1 diffusera un nouveau reportage le dimanche 7 mars 2010, dans l’émission Sept à Huit.

Nous vous proposons ce matin, un extrait du JT du 17 février 2010 de la chaîne de télévision TF1 © TF1

In what was probably the strongest Bundesliga match ever, OSC Baden-Baden Saturday lost for the first time in more than three years, against their biggest rival Werder Bremen. The two teams are leading the standings, together with SG Solingen, with 20 points out of 11 matches. Games, photos and a video.

In the 10th round of the Schachbundesliga, Werder Bremen won 5-3 against Baden-Baden. It was the first loss in more than three years for the German champion. The match took place last Saturday at the Kongresshaus of the Stadthalle in Heidelberg, and match winners were Alexander Areshchenko and Michael Roiz who defeated Michael Adams and Arkadij Naiditsch respectively. All other matches ended in a draw.

ICC Chess.FM’s Macauley Peterson was in Heidelberg too this weekend and made the following video on the victory for the ‘Green Shirts’.

On Sunday Baden-Baden recovered and easily defeated Hamburger SK with 1.5-6.5. On board 1 Anand beat Kempinski with a nice combination. Shirov, Movsesian, Naiditsch and Heine Nielsen also scored full points. Werder Bremen did even better by crushing host club Heidelberg-Handschuhsheim 7.5-0.5. Winning 2.5-5.5 against SK Turm Emsdetten, SG Solingen managed to reach a shared first place together with Baden-Baden and Werder Bremen.

Selection of games played last weekend

Game viewer by ChessTempo

The venue, with Baden-Baden against Werder 'Green Shirts' Bremen

The World Champion, scoring 1.5/2 this weekend...

...including an easy draw with Black against Vugar Gashimov using fine, Archangelsk Ruy Lopez preparation

Peter Svidler, another Baden-Baden top gun...

...but it was Bremen's Michael Roiz, together with...

...Alexander Areshchenko who decided the important match

Photos by Christian Bossert & Georgios Souleidis

Links

• Official website
• Games in PGNvia TWIC

Eric Warolus a écrit:
Ce que tu indiques correspond à la ligne du menu " Chess Media System ".
cette commande ouvre un fichier.WMF sur le dvd chessBase ou sur un autre support.

La ligne qui m'interpelle quelque part, c'est " Media Encoder ".

Yannick Pelletier (en photo ci-contre) pourra-t-il rentrer un jour dans le sacro-saint groupe des joueurs à plus de 2700 points Elo ?

Pour le savoir, suivez le Maître International Etienne Mensch qui réalise quotidiennement les interviews vidéo des joueurs du Festival de Nancy. Au programme du jour, Yannick Pelletier détaille sur son parcours dans le tournoi majeur.

Flash Info: Dans le tournoi B des Maîtres, Xavier Bedouin s'impose brillamment en 23 coups face au leader Dmitry Stets et décroche une norme de MI. Dans le A, Nikolai Ninov bat le leader Yannick Pelletier et s'adjuge une norme de GMI.

Côté compétition, incertitude totale pour la victoire finale puisque Yannick Pelletier, Evgeny Postny et Julio Granda Zuniga occupent la tête du classement avec 5 points sur 8. Autre enjeu tout aussi capital, Nicolas Brunner et Nikolai Ninov doivent absolument gagner pour remporter une norme de GMI.

Sophie Milliet       2404 0-1 Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501
Nikolai Ninov        2511 1-0 Yannick Pelletier      2602
Evgeny Postny        2648 1-0 Anthony Wirig          2497
Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578 1/2 Julio Granda Zuniga    2640
Nicolas Brunner      2420 0-1 Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458

Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458 1/2 Sophie Milliet       2404
Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501 1/2 Nikolai Ninov        2511
Yannick Pelletier      2602 1/2 Evgeny Postny        2648
Anthony Wirig          2497 1-0 Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578
Julio Granda Zuniga    2640 1/2 Nicolas Brunner      2420

Nikolai Ninov        2511 1/2 Sophie Milliet         2404
Julio Granda Zuniga  2640 1-0 Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458
Evgeny Postny        2648 1/2 Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501
Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578 1-0 Yannick Pelletier      2602
Nicolas Brunner      2420 1/2 Anthony Wirig          2497 

Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458 1/2 Nikolai Ninov        2511
Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501 1/2 Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578
Nicolas Brunner        2420 1/2 Yannick Pelletier    2602
Sophie Milliet         2404 1/2 Evgeny Postny        2648
Anthony Wirig          2497 0-1 Julio Granda Zuniga  2640

Anthony Wirig        2497 1/2 Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458
Julio Granda Zuniga  2640 0-1 Yannick Pelletier      2602
Evgeny Postny        2648 1/2 Nikolai Ninov          2511
Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578 1/2 Sophie Milliet         2404
Nicolas Brunner      2420 1/2 Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501

Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458 0-1 Evgeny Postny        2648
Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501 0-1 Julio Granda Zuniga  2640
Yannick Pelletier      2602 1-0 Anthony Wirig        2497
Sophie Milliet         2404 0-1 Nicolas Brunner      2420
Nikolai Ninov          2511 1/2 Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578

Yannick Pelletier    2602 1-0 Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458
Anthony Wirig        2497 1/2 Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501  
Julio Granda Zuniga  2640 1-0 Sophie Milliet         2404  
Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578 0-1 Evgeny Postny          2648
Nicolas Brunner      2420 1/2 Nikolai Ninov          2511

Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458 0-1 Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578
Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501 1/2 Yannick Pelletier    2602
Sophie Milliet         2404 0-1 Anthony Wirig        2497
Nikolai Ninov          2511 1-0 Julio Granda Zuniga  2640
Evgeny Postny          2648 1/2 Nicolas Brunner      2420

Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501 1-0 Jean-Baptiste Mullon 2458
Yannick Pelletier      2602 1/2 Sophie Milliet       2404
Anthony Wirig          2497 1/2 Nikolai Ninov        2511 
Julio Granda Zuniga    2640 1/2 Evgeny Postny        2648
Nicolas Brunner        2420 1/2 Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578

2007-2010 © Chess & Strategy - tous droits réservés

Sophie Milliet (en photo ci-contre) avec les Noirs aurait-elle pu battre hier Nikolai Ninov sur une Petroff hybride ?

Pour le savoir, suivez le Maître International Etienne Mensch qui réalise quotidiennement les interviews vidéo des joueurs du Festival de Nancy. Au programme du jour, Sophie revient sur son parcours dans le tournoi majeur. A voir également dans le tournoi de Maîtres, Xavier Bedouin, François Brethes, Joachim Iglesias et enfin l'arbitre le plus discret du circuit, Nadir Bounzou.

Côté compétition, Yannick Pelletier, Evgeny Postny et Julio Granda Zuniga sont en tête du classement tous à 5 points sur 8. Le duel franco-français entre l'intrépide MI Jean-Baptiste Mullon et Sophie Milliet s'est soldé par le partage des points.

Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458 1/2 Sophie Milliet       2404
Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501 1/2 Nikolai Ninov        2511
Yannick Pelletier      2602 1/2 Evgeny Postny        2648
Anthony Wirig          2497 1-0 Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578
Julio Granda Zuniga    2640 1/2 Nicolas Brunner      2420

Nikolai Ninov        2511 1/2 Sophie Milliet         2404
Julio Granda Zuniga  2640 1-0 Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458
Evgeny Postny        2648 1/2 Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501
Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578 1-0 Yannick Pelletier      2602
Nicolas Brunner      2420 1/2 Anthony Wirig          2497 

Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458 1/2 Nikolai Ninov        2511
Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501 1/2 Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578
Nicolas Brunner        2420 1/2 Yannick Pelletier    2602
Sophie Milliet         2404 1/2 Evgeny Postny        2648
Anthony Wirig          2497 0-1 Julio Granda Zuniga  2640

Anthony Wirig        2497 1/2 Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458
Julio Granda Zuniga  2640 0-1 Yannick Pelletier      2602
Evgeny Postny        2648 1/2 Nikolai Ninov          2511
Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578 1/2 Sophie Milliet         2404
Nicolas Brunner      2420 1/2 Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501

Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458 0-1 Evgeny Postny        2648
Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501 0-1 Julio Granda Zuniga  2640
Yannick Pelletier      2602 1-0 Anthony Wirig        2497
Sophie Milliet         2404 0-1 Nicolas Brunner      2420
Nikolai Ninov          2511 1/2 Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578

Yannick Pelletier    2602 1-0 Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458
Anthony Wirig        2497 1/2 Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501  
Julio Granda Zuniga  2640 1-0 Sophie Milliet         2404  
Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578 0-1 Evgeny Postny          2648
Nicolas Brunner      2420 1/2 Nikolai Ninov          2511

Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458 0-1 Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578
Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501 1/2 Yannick Pelletier    2602
Sophie Milliet         2404 0-1 Anthony Wirig        2497
Nikolai Ninov          2511 1-0 Julio Granda Zuniga  2640
Evgeny Postny          2648 1/2 Nicolas Brunner      2420

Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501 1-0 Jean-Baptiste Mullon 2458
Yannick Pelletier      2602 1/2 Sophie Milliet       2404
Anthony Wirig          2497 1/2 Nikolai Ninov        2511 
Julio Granda Zuniga    2640 1/2 Evgeny Postny        2648
Nicolas Brunner        2420 1/2 Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578

2007-2010 © Chess & Strategy - tous droits réservés

 Si vous en avez assez que les joueuses d'échecs ne vous remarquent pas, découvrez le nouveau déodorant Axe Twist.

Plus qu'un nouveau déodorant, il agit durant plusieurs heures et change progressivement de parfum. C'est bien connu, les filles se lassent rapidement et quand bien même vous avez réussi à les séduire, il est bien plus compliqué de conserver leur attirance pour vous sur le long terme!

A l'occasion du lancement de son nouveau produit, Axe organise un concours dont l'égérie n'est autre que Clara Morgane, la femme favorite des jeunes français (sondage IFOP2).

Via le site dédié, participez à un concours original: le but du jeu est de garder Clara sous votre charme, le plus longtemps possible. Du style intello au rockeur en passant par le look bling bling, AXE met à disposition une application photo élaborée qui rassemble tous les accessoires rêvés pour garder les filles sous son charme plus longtemps. A la clef, de nombreux lots (iPods, écrans etc), mais surtout, une séance de shooting photo avec la star, et qui sera ensuite affichée dans votre ville! Un bon moyen d'augmenter votre karma charme,non?!

Doublez vos chances d'être l'heureux élu qui posera aux côtés de la star, en témoignant de vos expériences: les filles qui se lassent, vous connaissiez mainenant c'est fini ?!  N'hésitez pas à  laisser votre commentaire sur le sujet, ici même… vous avez une heure pour gagner un shooting photo avec Clara. Bonne chance à tous !

2007-2010 © Chess & Strategy - tous droits réservés

Solodovnichenko serait-il un joueur d'échecs plutôt tricky ?

Pour le savoir, suivez le Maître International Etienne Mensch qui réalise quotidiennement les interviews vidéo des joueurs du Festival de Nancy. Au programme du jour, Jean-Baptiste Mullon décode son parcours dans le tournoi de GMI. Entretien suivi de révélations de son adversaire du jour Julio Granda Zuniga, devenu une légende du noble jeu sans ordinateur. On croit rêver !

Côté compétition, Yannick Pelletier -vaincu par Solodovnichenko - est rejoint en tête par Evgeny Postny et Julio Granda Zuniga, tous à 4,5 points sur 7. Le duel entre l'intrépide MI Jean-Baptiste Mullon face et le "GMI Offline" Julio Granda Zuniga tourne court en faveur du Péruvien. Sophie Milliet (en photo) annule opportunément avec les Noirs face à Nikolai Ninov.

Nikolai Ninov        2511 1/2 Sophie Milliet         2404
Julio Granda Zuniga  2640 1-0 Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458
Evgeny Postny        2648 1/2 Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501
Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578 1-0 Yannick Pelletier      2602
Nicolas Brunner      2420 1/2 Anthony Wirig          2497 

Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458 1/2 Nikolai Ninov        2511
Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501 1/2 Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578
Nicolas Brunner        2420 1/2 Yannick Pelletier    2602
Sophie Milliet         2404 1/2 Evgeny Postny        2648
Anthony Wirig          2497 0-1 Julio Granda Zuniga  2640

Anthony Wirig        2497 1/2 Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458
Julio Granda Zuniga  2640 0-1 Yannick Pelletier      2602
Evgeny Postny        2648 1/2 Nikolai Ninov          2511
Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578 1/2 Sophie Milliet         2404
Nicolas Brunner      2420 1/2 Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501

Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458 0-1 Evgeny Postny        2648
Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501 0-1 Julio Granda Zuniga  2640
Yannick Pelletier      2602 1-0 Anthony Wirig        2497
Sophie Milliet         2404 0-1 Nicolas Brunner      2420
Nikolai Ninov          2511 1/2 Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578

Yannick Pelletier    2602 1-0 Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458
Anthony Wirig        2497 1/2 Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501  
Julio Granda Zuniga  2640 1-0 Sophie Milliet         2404  
Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578 0-1 Evgeny Postny          2648
Nicolas Brunner      2420 1/2 Nikolai Ninov          2511

Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458 0-1 Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578
Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501 1/2 Yannick Pelletier    2602
Sophie Milliet         2404 0-1 Anthony Wirig        2497
Nikolai Ninov          2511 1-0 Julio Granda Zuniga  2640
Evgeny Postny          2648 1/2 Nicolas Brunner      2420

Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501 1-0 Jean-Baptiste Mullon 2458
Yannick Pelletier      2602 1/2 Sophie Milliet       2404
Anthony Wirig          2497 1/2 Nikolai Ninov        2511 
Julio Granda Zuniga    2640 1/2 Evgeny Postny        2648
Nicolas Brunner        2420 1/2 Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578

2007-2010 © Chess & Strategy - tous droits réservés

In our last video from Linares we speak with Veselin Topalov, just after he won his first Linares. He talks about the game against Gelfand and several other topics, and it includes a brief comment by Grischuk as well as footage from the closing ceremony. Below we give many photos from the closing.

The closing ceremony started with music from the Andrés Segovia Choir

Host was Leontxo Garcia

The players in front row enjoying the ceremony

Organizer Paco Albalate, during the rest of the year French teacher

Arbiters Juan Vargas and Faik Gasanov with Paco Albalate

A speech by the President of the Spanish Chess Federation, Javier Ochoa de Echagüen

Paco Vallejo receives last prize from the mayor of Linares himself, Juan Fernández

Boris Gelfand with Javier Ochoa de Echagüen

Vugar Gashimov with Antonia Olivares, a Province delegate occupied with turism

A speech by the secretary general of sports of the Andalucía region, Manuel Jimenez

Levon Aronian and Vugar Gashimov

Topalov and Aronian just received the prize (excellent olive oil) for 'most beautiful game'

All players together on stage during one of the speeches

The mayor of Linares gives Topalov the trophy

The trophy (1st prize): a mine shaft - Linares was a mining city until 1991

Proud winner of Linares 2010: Veselin Topalov

Some final words by the mayor...

...and a final group photo with all players and authorities.

Le Festival d'échecs de Nancy se déroule du 22 au 28 février au conseil général de Meurthe et Moselle.

Pour notre plus grand plaisir, le Maître International d'échecs Etienne Mensch (en photo ci-contre) réalise quotidiennement les interviews vidéo des joueurs du Festival de Nancy, les agrémentant de musique country.

Côté compétition, Yannick Pelletier vire en tête dans le tournoi majeur avec 4,5 points sur 6. A l'autre extrémité du classement, on retrouve l'intrépide Jean-Baptiste Mullon alias JB 0000, qui a néanmoins sauvé l'honneur en marquant ce matin un premier demi point face à Anthony Wirig puis un second face à Nikolai Ninov.

Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458 1/2 Nikolai Ninov        2511
Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501 1/2 Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578
Nicolas Brunner        2420 1/2 Yannick Pelletier    2602
Sophie Milliet         2404 1/2 Evgeny Postny        2648
Anthony Wirig          2497 0-1 Julio Granda Zuniga  2640

Anthony Wirig        2497 1/2 Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458
Julio Granda Zuniga  2640 0-1 Yannick Pelletier      2602
Evgeny Postny        2648 1/2 Nikolai Ninov          2511
Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578 1/2 Sophie Milliet         2404
Nicolas Brunner      2420 1/2 Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501

Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458 0-1 Evgeny Postny        2648
Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501 0-1 Julio Granda Zuniga  2640
Yannick Pelletier      2602 1-0 Anthony Wirig        2497
Sophie Milliet         2404 0-1 Nicolas Brunner      2420
Nikolai Ninov          2511 1/2 Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578

Yannick Pelletier    2602 1-0 Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458
Anthony Wirig        2497 1/2 Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501  
Julio Granda Zuniga  2640 1-0 Sophie Milliet         2404  
Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578 0-1 Evgeny Postny          2648
Nicolas Brunner      2420 1/2 Nikolai Ninov          2511

Jean-Baptiste Mullon   2458 0-1 Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578
Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501 1/2 Yannick Pelletier    2602
Sophie Milliet         2404 0-1 Anthony Wirig        2497
Nikolai Ninov          2511 1-0 Julio Granda Zuniga  2640
Evgeny Postny          2648 1/2 Nicolas Brunner      2420

Aliaksei Charnushevich 2501 1-0 Jean-Baptiste Mullon 2458
Yannick Pelletier      2602 1/2 Sophie Milliet       2404
Anthony Wirig          2497 1/2 Nikolai Ninov        2511 
Julio Granda Zuniga    2640 1/2 Evgeny Postny        2648
Nicolas Brunner        2420 1/2 Yuri Solodovnichenko 2578

2007-2010 © Chess & Strategy - tous droits réservés

In our second video from Linares we give the mic to Alexander Grischuk, who gave his view on his victory over Topalov. “I didn’t understand why people thought I had no chance against him.”

This year the Linares tournament has seen a lot of draws, despite the newly introduced rule that draws are in principle not allowed under move 40. Yesterday we spoke with Gashimov, Vallejo, Gelfand and Aronian about their draws and this rule. Video!

Alexander Grischuk defeated Veselin Topalov in round 9 of the Linares super-tournament. The two are leading with just one round to go. Gashimov-Vallejo and Gelfand-Aronian were both drawn. Big pictorial report.

The 27th Torneo Internacional de Ajedrez “Ciudad de Linares” takes place February 12-25 in Linares, Andalucia, Spain.

A six players, double round-robin, with Veselin Topalov (2805), Levon Aronian (2781), Boris Gelfand (2761), Vugar Gashimov (2759), Alexander Grischuk (2736) and Francisco Vallejo Pons (2705).

Rounds start at 16:00 CET, with rest days on the 17th and the 22nd. The rate of play is 2 hours for 40 moves, then 1 hour for 20, then 20 minutes for the rest of the game, with 30 seconds increment starting from move 61. The Sofia rules for offering a draw apply in Linares for the first time.

Round 9

Just two rounds ago Veselin Topalov seemed sure of his first tournament victory in Linares, but two days later this picture has changed dramatically. Alexander Grischuk defeated the tournament leader with the white pieces in round 9 and should now be considered favourite for victory, since this year the first tiebreak rule is the individual enounters. Update: Here I forgot that Grischuk lost to Topalov in the first stage. The tiebreak rules are:

1. Individual result.
2. Highest number of victories.
3. Highest sum of points against players who scored 50% or more.
4. Remove the points scored against the player/group of players at the bottom of the standings. If still equal, do the same for the player/group of players above.
5. If still equal, blitz games will be played (but only to decide the 1st place).

Grischuk was ‘pretty much happy’ with his play, as he said after the game. And he had all the reason, since he had simply played a good game, and certainly better than Topalov. Slightly under pressure, the Bulgarian continued to play quickly, to try to create complications; a strategy we also saw for example during his match against Kamsky a year ago. This time his opponent kept his calm and didn’t give away the advantage. During the last phase Topalov didn’t defend optimally and so Grischuk won the ending with RBN vs Q easily, where it should have been more difficult.

Gashimov-Vallejo was drawn, and way before move 40, before which officially one is not allowed to agree to a draw. However, an exception is made in clearly drawn positions, and this was one of them.

Later Gelfand and Aronian also split the point and for the Armenian this was the 9th consecutive draw. His comment after the game: “A personal record! I once had eight, but never nine!”

Tomorrow we’ll have a video with Grischuk’s reaction after the game as well as a video on ‘the draw’, with comments by Gashimov, Vallejo, Aronian and Gelfand. Unfortunately the Hotel Anibal’s internet speed is too slow to upload.

Games round 9

Game viewer by ChessTempo

Calle Cervantes (Cervantes Street)...

...where Teatro Cervantes, the venue, is located

Only three boards fill the stage this year...

...and just 10-20 spectators showed up on Tuesday

But the press room is crowded as always...

...with, amongst others, Ljubojevic and Topalov's two Dutch seconds, Erwin l'Ami and Jan Smeets

As always, the games shop across the street of Hotel Anibal is dedicated to chess again...

...with the flags of all the participants...

...and all kinds of chess sets....

...creating a beautiful picture

The January issue of the Spanish chess magazine Jaque

Does that cover photo look familiar? Sharp vision! It’s by yours truly, also published over here; the report on the London Chess Classic for Jaque was done by me.

Links

• Official website
• Games in PGN via TWIC

Coup de théâtre à Linarès. A une ronde de la fin, Topalov s'est fait rattraper au classement par le Russe Alexander Grischuk.

Comment le Bulgare va-t-il digérer sa défaite d'hier et terminer le tournoi. Le duel à distance entre ces deux champions d'échecs constituera indéniablement la clé du tournoi.

Flash Info : Dans une finale de tours et pions égale, Topalov fait craquer Gelfand et s'adjuge le tournoi de Linarès !

Veselin Topalov   2805 1-0 Boris Gelfand      2761
Levon Aronian     2781 1-0 Vugar Gashimov     2759 
Francisco Vallejo 2705 1/2 Alexander Grischuk 2736

Alexander Grischuk 2736 1-0 Veselin Topalov   2805
Vugar Gashimov     2759 1/2 Francisco Vallejo 2705
Boris Gelfand      2761 1/2 Levon Aronian     2781

Veselin Topalov    2805 1/2 Levon Aronian     2781
Francisco Vallejo  2705 1/2 Boris Gelfand     2761
Alexander Grischuk 2736 1-0 Vugar Gashimov    2759

Vugar Gashimov    2759 1/2 Veselin Topalov    2805
Boris Gelfand     2761 1/2 Alexander Grischuk 2736
Levon Aronian     2781 1/2 Francisco Vallejo  2705

Veselin Topalov    2805 1-0 Francisco Vallejo 2705
Alexander Grischuk 2736 1/2 Levon Aronian     2781
Vugar Gashimov     2759 1/2 Boris Gelfand     2761

Veselin Topalov   2805 1-0 Alexander Grischuk 2736
Francisco Vallejo 2705 0-1 Vugar Gashimov     2759
Levon Aronian     2781 1/2 Boris Gelfand      2761

Boris Gelfand      2761 1/2 Veselin Topalov   2805
Alexander Grischuk 2736 1/2 Francisco Vallejo 2705
Vugar Gashimov     2759 1/2 Levon Aronian     2781

Levon Aronian     2781 1/2 Veselin Topalov    2805  
Boris Gelfand     2761 1/2 Francisco Vallejo  2705  
Vugar Gashimov    2759 1/2 Alexander Grischuk 2736  

Veselin Topalov    2805 1-0 Vugar Gashimov   2759
Alexander Grischuk 2736 1-0 Boris Gelfand    2761
Francisco Vallejo  2705 1/2 Levon Aronian    2781  

Levon Aronian      2781 1/2 Alexander Grischuk 2736
Boris Gelfand      2761 1/2 Vugar Gashimov     2759
Francisco Vallejo  2705 1/2 Veselin Topalov    2805

2007-2010 © Chess & Strategy - tous droits réservés

Six super GMI s'affrontent en double ronde du 13 au 24 février en Espagne : Veselin Topalov, Levon Aronian, Alexander Grischuk, Francisco Vallejo Pons, Boris Gelfand et Vugar Gashimov.

A deux rondes de la fin, Topalov maintient son leadership au classement, devançant d'un point le Russe Alexander Grischuk. Le duel du jour entre ces deux champions d'échecs constituera indéniablement la clé du tournoi. Mais "Topi" serait-il en période de doute ? Après sa nulle samedi face à Gashimov en fort zeitnot, l'attaquant bulgare rate le gain dimanche face à Aronian. Rendez-vous à 16h !

Alexander Grischuk 2736 - Veselin Topalov   2805
Vugar Gashimov     2759 - Francisco Vallejo 2705
Boris Gelfand      2761 - Levon Aronian     2781

Veselin Topalov    2805 1/2 Levon Aronian     2781
Francisco Vallejo  2705 1/2 Boris Gelfand     2761
Alexander Grischuk 2736 1-0 Vugar Gashimov    2759

Vugar Gashimov    2759 1/2 Veselin Topalov    2805
Boris Gelfand     2761 1/2 Alexander Grischuk 2736
Levon Aronian     2781 1/2 Francisco Vallejo  2705

Veselin Topalov    2805 1-0 Francisco Vallejo 2705
Alexander Grischuk 2736 1/2 Levon Aronian     2781
Vugar Gashimov     2759 1/2 Boris Gelfand     2761

Veselin Topalov   2805 1-0 Alexander Grischuk 2736
Francisco Vallejo 2705 0-1 Vugar Gashimov     2759
Levon Aronian     2781 1/2 Boris Gelfand      2761

Boris Gelfand      2761 1/2 Veselin Topalov   2805
Alexander Grischuk 2736 1/2 Francisco Vallejo 2705
Vugar Gashimov     2759 1/2 Levon Aronian     2781

Levon Aronian     2781 1/2 Veselin Topalov    2805  
Boris Gelfand     2761 1/2 Francisco Vallejo  2705  
Vugar Gashimov    2759 1/2 Alexander Grischuk 2736  

Veselin Topalov    2805 1-0 Vugar Gashimov   2759
Alexander Grischuk 2736 1-0 Boris Gelfand    2761
Francisco Vallejo  2705 1/2 Levon Aronian    2781  

Levon Aronian      2781 1/2 Alexander Grischuk 2736
Boris Gelfand      2761 1/2 Vugar Gashimov     2759
Francisco Vallejo  2705 1/2 Veselin Topalov    2805

2007-2010 © Chess & Strategy - tous droits réservés

On the day the Dutch cabinet of ministers resigned over an issue about sending new troups to Afghanistan, three chess events were being held in Amsterdam, capital of The Netherlands. One was the second round of the annual Batavia Max Euwe Challenge tournament, another was the opening of art exhibition Number Twelve, featuring a ‘chess piano’. Pictorial report.

The Max Euwe Challenger tournament is being held in the picturesque Cafe Batavia 1920, right at the corner of Central Station. It is a modest, round robin tournament for ten local heroes and promising young talent, where spectators can spend a typical Amsterdam afternoon at the bar, ordering special Dutch beer or enjoying a typical Dutch meal. The tournament lasts until February 28, and the games can be watched live from 14.00 CET here.

The tall 'Gebouw Batavia 1920' cafe

The Batavia 1920 cafe is located in the oldest part of Amsterdam, close to the infamous red-light district. While the area is currently heavily under construction due to a new subway network, it hasn’t lost all of its Golden Age splendour.

A view from the backside of the cafe: the 13th century Old Church, the oldest building in Amsterdam

Highest rated player this year is semi-retired IM Li Riemersma (2431), who is one of four participants living in the Dutch capital. Other notable chess figures are Israelian IM Yochanan Afek and Rumanian WGM Alina Motoc, the girlfriend of Dutch GM Erwin L’Ami. Dutch youngsters like FM Christov Klein and WIM Lisa Schut will no doubt try to achieve some norm here. Two Indians are also playing: Gurpreet Pal Singh and 13-year old Khosla Shiven.

Dutch talent Christov Klein

Lisa Schut taking a moment to herself

Koshla Shiven's board happens to be opposite ... a typically Dutch 'coffeeshop'

The opening round was a bad day for the ladies as both Lisa Schut and Alina Motoc lost their first round games against FM Arno Bezemer and IM Xander Wemmers respectively. Christov Klein, on the other hand, was succesful against Afek while young Shiven drew Henk Vedder, who is a well-known figure in the Dutch chess scene.

In the second round, things heated up as Lisa Schut crushed rating favourite Riemersma in a nice attacking game, young Shiven beat Bezemer and Wemmers won his second game in a row, defeating Afek. Wemmers, who confessed that he hadn’t prepared for his game against the well-known endgame composer and subsequently managed to convert a worse middlegame into a win, is now in the clear lead.

Xander Wemmers - Yochanan Afek: 1-0

Gurpreet Pal Singh - Alina Motoc: 1/2-1/2

At the bar, the games are closely watched by visiting GM Dimitri Reinderman and friends

Meanwhile, a rather more unique chess activity could be witnessed in another famous Amsterdam area called De Pijp. There, in art gallery Juliètte Jongma, an exposition was opened by Dutch artist Guido van der Werve. Van der Werve, who acquired international fame with his incredible short movie Number Eight, also known as The Icebreaker, now showed his latest movie Number Twelve, a film about a game of chess being played at the New York Marshall Chess Club between Van der Werve and GM Leonid Yudasin, played on a chess piano, designed and constructed by Van der Werve himself.

The chess piano

The chess piano produces a note (or two notes) whenever a move is played on the board. The eight files of the chess board represent the scales of the notes on an octave, while from queenside to kingside the key changes from minor to major. This fantastic object inspired Van der Werve to a musical composition which can be played and read both as a piece of music and a real game of chess. (In fact, a King’s Gambit accepted.) The Number Twelve movie is a recording, at the Marshall Chess Club, of that musical game between the artist and Yudasin, accompanied by a real orchestra. It also features scenes from Mount St. Helens and the San Andreas fault line.

At the current exposition in Amsterdam, which can be seen until April 4, photographs by Van der Werve are also on display. These were all inspired by moments from Van der Werve’s game against Yudasin.

One of the chess-music inspired photographs by Guido van der Werve

There was also a small blitz tournament, all games being played on the chess piano, in which yours truly participated as well. It was an extraordinary experience, not only because one has to actually press the squares while moving, just like pressing a key on a piano – making castling a particularly interesting and enjoyable event – but mainly since many moves strangely produce real musical harmony and sometimes the first hint of a melody can even be heard. A small video will be added as soon as possible.

The blitz tournament was enjoyed by the (mostly non-chess playing) audience as much for the music the players produced as for their speed of play (Henk-Jan Visser vs. Frenk van Harreveld)

Van der Werve is a musician himself and it’s clear that his chess piano is really an ode to formidably made chess boards (with beautifully made, wooden, heavy pieces) as well as ultra high-quality musical instruments.

Oh, and finally, this weekend the Chess Championship of Amsterdam also started in yet another historical area, De Watergraafsmeer. Politicians often say their work is a lot like chess. After this weekend’s resignation of the Dutch government, one can only hope some of its ministers will visit Amsterdam a bit more often to see the real thing.

Veselin Topalov defeated co-leader Alexander Grischuk in round 5 of the Linares super-tournament. The Bulgarian now leads by a full point at half time. Vugar Gashimov beat Francisco Vallejo with Black, and while being a pawn up, Levon Aronian had to be satisfied with a draw against Boris Gelfand.

The 27th Torneo Internacional de Ajedrez “Ciudad de Linares” takes place February 12-25 in Linares, Andalucia, Spain. As a result of the financial crisis, the event went back to the (nowadays almost universal) formula of six players, double round-robin.

This year Veselin Topalov (2805), Levon Aronian (2781), Boris Gelfand (2761), Vugar Gashimov (2759), Alexander Grischuk (2736) and Francisco Vallejo Pons (2705) play. The rounds start at 16:00 CET; rest days are on the 17th and the 22nd. The rate of play is 2 hours for 40 moves, then 1 hour for 20, then 20 minutes for the rest of the game, wit 30 seconds increment starting from move 61. The Sofia rules for offering a draw apply in Linares for the first time.

Round 5 report

Some of you have already discussed the tournament website, and the fact that the contents is only in Spanish. That’s disappointing indeed, but even worse was the ‘Fotogaleria’ page which contained only a Marca announcement video for the first few days. However, today we suddenly noticed two video playlists with some videos, not of the highest quality yet, but it’s better than nothing. Below that, indeed a photo gallery has now been added. Just to let you know.

The game of the day was of course the encounter between the two tournament leaders, Topalov and Grischuk. It certainly provided excellent entertainment for the chess fans, but the number of mistakes was above average, at this level of play. Again it seemed that Topalov was avoiding the most theoretical lines, this time against Grischuk’s Najdorf Sicilian. Just when his opponent was about to consolidate a slight positional advantage, the Bulgarian came up with a dangerous but highly creative concept: avoiding the exchange of queens with 20.Qb2 and sacrificing a knight (21.Nf5) to bring Bg2 to life.

Grischuk replied with a strong defensive set-up (…a5 + …Ra6) and was suddenly winning after the slow (or ‘lazy’, as The Doctor used to call it) 26.Kb1. 27…Kh7, avoiding the Ne5 pin, would have won material. Topalov then missed the winning 29.Qc1 but it must be said that the ideas behind that one are very computeresque. It was Grischuk’s turn to miss the very promising 31…Qg3 after which an equal (but slightly more comfortable for White) ending was reached. Around move 52 Grischuk suddenly collapsed.

Against Vallejo, Gashimov was confident enough to go for the Benoni again, and it’s really amazing how the grandmaster from Azerbaijan keeps on surviving, and even winning these positions that are actually just better for White. He just knows them very well and has a great sense of timing and counterchances, like his compatriot Radjabov in the King’s Indian. Moves like 19.Nb6 or 20.Ncd2 should be better for White, and 26.Qxc8 was a clear misjudgement of Black’s play on the queenside.

Less entertaining was Aronian-Gelfand, except for the fact that White’s novelty was deviating from a 1929 game. In a middlegame with opposite-coloured bishops Gelfand sacrificed a pawn and confidently held it to a draw, helped by the unsafe white king.

Photos © María José Sánchez Rivera

Games round 5 with brief annotations

Game viewer by ChessTempo

Links

• Official website