Two Book Recommendations

Reshevsky's Best Games of Chess - 110 of Reshevsky's best games, chronologically arranged and carefully annotated.

The Art of Positional Play - 61 deeply annotated games, each one illustrating a different positional theme.

In my humble opinion, Reshevsky had the same intuitive mastery of the board as Capablanca, but unlike Capa he was a masterful annotator. Capablanca's notes were always WAY too sparse for the amateur to learn much from reading over the games. Reshevsky on the other hand provides marvelously insightful, as well as entertaining, annotations to his games.



Best Games of Chess

Corus Round 13 (Final) Results

Round 13 Results
I. Sokolov - V. Anand ½-½
P. Leko - J. Polgar ½-½ (22 moves)
P. Svidler - V. Topalov ½-½ (24 moves)
R. Ponomariov - L. Bruzon ½-½
V. Kramnik - A. Morozevich ½-½ (11 moves! Kramnik sucks!)
L. van Wely - N. Short 1-0
M. Adams - A. Grischuk ½-½ (23 moves)

Final Results [you can follow the links to the games on www.chessgames.com website]
1st. Peter Leko 8.5/13 (+4 -0 =9) [Leko was the only participant to finish the tournament undefeated.]
2nd. Viswanathan Anand 8/13 (+4 -1 =8)
3rd. Veselin Topalov 7.5/13 (+4 -2 =7)
4-7. Vladimir Kramnik 7/13 (+2 -1 =10)
4-7. Alexander Grischuk 7/13 (+2 -1 =10)
4-7. Michael Adams 7/13 (+2 -1 =10)
4-7. Judit Polgar 7/13 (+3 -2 =8)
8-10. Ruslan Ponomariov 6.5/13 (+3 -3 =7)
8-10. Loek Van Wely 6.5/13 (+1 -1 =11)
8-10. Lazaro Bruzon 6.5/13 (+3 -3 =7)
11. Peter Svidler 6/13 (+2 -3 =8)
12. Nigel Short 5.5/13 (+2 -4 =7)
13. Alexander Morozevich 4.5/13 (+2 -6 =5)
14. Ivan Sokolov 3.5/13 (+0 -6 =7)

Sokolov-Anand
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3 Bd6 9. Bd2 O-O 10. Ne4 Nxe4 11. Bxe4 Bb7 12. Rc1 Rc8 13. b4 Qe7 14. Qb3 e5 15. dxe5 Nxe5 16. Nxe5 Bxe5 17. Qb1 g6 18. O-O Qd6 19. Bc3 Bxh2+ 20. Kh1 Be5 21. Rfd1 Qe7 22. Bxe5 Qxe5 23. Rd7 Rc7 24. Rd2 Qe7 25. Bf3 Rd8 26. Rxd8+ Qxd8 27. Qb2 Rd7 28. Kg1 Rd2 29. Qc3 Qd6 30. a3 Rd3 31. Qa1 h5 32. a4 a6 33. axb5 axb5 34. Qa7 Qd7 35. Qb8+ Kg7 36.Qe5+ f6 37. Qb8 Rd6 38. Ra1 Qe7 39. Ra7 Rd7 40. g3 Bc8 41. Ra1 Rc7 42. Rc1 Bb7 43. Rc5 Qd6 44. Bd5 Bc8 45. Qb6 Bb7 46. Rxb5 Rd7 47. Rc5 cxd5 48. Qxd6 1/2-1/2

Van Wely - Short
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 6. e3 Bf5 7. Qf3 Bg6 8. Bxf6 Qxf6 9. Qxf6 gxf6 10. Nf3 Nd7 11. Nh4 Be7 12. g3 Nb6 13. f3 a5 14. Kf2 a4 15. Rc1 Nc8 16. Be2 Nd6 17. Rhd1 O-O 18. Bd3 Rfe8 19. g4 Bf8 20. Ne2 Bh6 21. f4 Bxd3 22. Rxd3 Bf8 23. Ng3 Ra5 24. Rc2 Rb5 25. Nhf5 Nc4 26. b3 axb3 27. Rxb3 Rxb3 28. axb3 Na5 29. Nh5 Re6 30. Ra2 b6 31. Ra4 1-0

Next stop: Linares
Garry Kasparov, Viswanathan Anand, Veselin Topalov, Peter Leko, Michael Adams, Francisco Vallejo Pons and Rustam Kasimdzhanov will be the 7 players at this year's event. The event takes place 22nd February - 10th March 2005.

Corus Round 12 Results

Results
V. Anand - M. Adams 1-0
A. Grischuk - L. van Wely ½-½
N. Short - V. Kramnik ½-½
A. Morozevich - R. Ponomariov 0-1
L. Bruzon - P. Svidler ½-½
V. Topalov - P. Leko ½-½
J. Polgar - I. Sokolov 1-0

Leaders
Leko - 8
Anand - 7½
Topalov - 7

Anand-Adams
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Bg2 c6 8. Bc3 d5 9. Ne5 Nfd7 10. Nxd7 Nxd7 11. Nd2 O-O 12.O-O Nf6 13. e4 b5 14. exd5 cxd5 15. c5 b4 16. Bxb4 Bxf1 17. Bxf1 e5 18. Bc3 a5 19. a3 Ne4 20. Nxe4 dxe4 21. b4 axb4 22. axb4 Rxa1 23. Qxa1 Qd5 24. dxe5 Ra8 25. Qc1 Ra2 26. Qe3 Rc2 27. Qd4 Qxd4 28. Bxd4 Kf8 29. h4 Ke8 30. e6 fxe6 31. Bxg7 Rc1 32. Bd4 Kd7 33. Be3 Rc3 34. Bd4 Rc1 35. Kg2 Kc6 36. Be3 Rc2 37. Ba6 Kc7 38. Kh3 Rc3 39. Bd4 Rb3 40. b5 Rd3 41. b6+ Kc6 42. Bb5+ 1-0

Morozevich-Ponomariov
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 Qb6 8. Nb3 Be7 9. O-O-O O-O 10. f3 a6 11. g4 Rd8 12. Bf4 d5 13. e5 Nd7 14. Be3 Qc7 15. f4 b5 16. Qf2 Rb8 17. Nd4 Nxd4 18. Bxd4 Nc5 19. Kb1 b4 20. Ne2 a5 21. Ng3 a4 22. Bd3 b3 23. cxb3 axb3 24. a3 Qa5 25. Nh5 Ne4 26. Bxe4 dxe4 27. Bc3 Qc7 28. f5 Ba6 29. Nf4 Bg5 30. h4 Bxf4 31. Qxf4 Bd3+ 32. Ka1 Ra8 33. Bb4 Rd4 34. Qd2 Qxe5 35. Qc3 Qd5 36. fxe6 fxe6 37. Qc5 Rc4 38. Qe7 Rac8 39. h5 R4c7 40. Qd6 e3 41. Qxd5 exd5 42. Bc3 Be2 43. Rd4 Rc4 44. Rxc4 Bxc4 45. g5 d4 46. Bxd4 e2 47. h6 Rd8 48. g6 Rxd4 0-1

Polgar-Sokolov
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Nb8 10. d4 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12.Bc2 c5 13. d5 g6 14. Nf1 a5 15. a4 b4 16. Bd3 Qc7 17. Ne3 bxc3 18. bxc3 c4 19. Bc2 Ba6 20. Nd2 Rfc8 21. Ba3 Bf8 22. Qf3 Bg7 23. g3 Rab8 24. Kg2 Nb6 25. g4 Nfd7 26. h4 Nc5 27. Bxc5 Qxc5 28. h5 Nd7 29. Rh1 Nf8 30. g5 Rb2 31. Ng4 gxh5 32. Nf6+ Bxf6 33. gxf6 Ng6 34. Kf1 h4 35. Qh5 Kh8 36. Nf3 Rxc2 37. Rh2 Rxf2+ 38. Rxf2 Nf4 39. Qxh4 Rg8 40. Rh2 1-0

Going into the last round

• Leko is playing Polgar (who is at 6½). A win will give him clear first no matter what else happens; a draw will give him at least a share of first or all of it if Anand doesn't win.
• Anand is playing Sokolov (who is at 3 and will finish this tournament dead last even if he wins tomorrow). Anand must play for a win in this game to have a realistic chance of winning the tournament. A draw is good enough only if Leko loses and Topalov doesn't win either.
• Topalov is playing Svidler (who is at 5½). The only way he can win is if he wins, Leko loses and Anand does no better than a draw.

Appalling!

http://www.chesscenter.com/kingpin/Kingpin/confess1.htm

An international master thinks nothing about admitting

• Then, realizing that it was not the one I wished to make, I retracted the move (after first looking round to see that there were no observers) and played another.
• Clearly I had a good attack, but how was I to finish black off? So I went to Paul Durrant (my manager at the time) and asked him to go back to the hotel room and look up the article. Some time later Durrant returned, trailing the slip of paper guiltily in his hand, and tried to give it to me. ‘Go and look it up and find out what happens after 9 Nb5,’ I hissed. ‘That’s all it says,’ he said, ‘just 9 Nb5 with a good attack. The analysis stops there.’ Crestfallen, I returned to the board.
• One of my games was with George Dixon and after about 36 or so moves we were in an ending and the game had to be adjourned. I sealed a move and arranged to resume the game a week later. As the sealer of the move, I kept the scoresheet and on my way home realized that my sealed move, Kf7, was not the best and would quickly lose; Kf6, on the other hand, gave me slight drawing chances. Perhaps if I could steam open the envelope, extract the scoresheet and make the slight alteration, I would have a chance to stay in the game. This I duly did...

It's bad enough that he would even consider doing any of these things. Even worse that he did them, ... but confessing them publicly without the slightest hint of remorse? He doesn't seem even a little sorry; he seems to think it's all very amusing. I'm sure his opponents don't think it funny. Should punishment not be forthcoming?

Corus Round 11 Results

Results
J. Polgar - V. Anand ½-½
I. Sokolov - V. Topalov ½-½
P. Leko - L. Bruzon 1-0
P. Svidler - A. Morozevich ½-½
R. Ponomariov - N. Short ½-½
V. Kramnik - A. Grischuk ½-½
L. van Wely - M. Adams ½-½

Leaders
Leko - 7½
Topalov, Adams, Anand - 6½

Leko-Bruzon
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 cxd4 13. cxd4 Bd7 14. Nf1 Rac8 15. Re2 Nc6 16. a3 exd4 17. Nxd4 Rfe8 18. Ng3 d5 19. Nxc6 Bxc6 20. e5 Ne4 21. Bf4 g5 22. Nf5 gxf4 23. Rxe4 Kh8 24. Re1 Bd7 25. e6 1-0

Notes

• Chessbase has been posting a series of articles on the Wijk aan Zee tournament.
• Leko and Adams are the only two players still undefeated. That can still change, as both of them still have to face tough opponents. Leko has to play Topalov and Polgar, and Adams has to play Anand and Grischuk.
• As the dust clears, Leko now seems to be the favorite to win it all.

Roberto Grau

Roberto Grau (1900-1944), the Argentine master whom I've already mentioned in this blog as the author of the Tratado General de Ajedrez, never reached grandmaster status. However, he was six-time champion of Argentina (1926, 1927, 1928, 1934, 1935, 1938) and managed a few memorable results against some of the leading players of his day:

• win against Max Euwe at Paris 1924
• win against Richard Reti at Buenos Aires 1924
• win against E. Colle at San Remo 1930
• win against Reuben Fine at the Warsaw Olympiad 1935
• draw against Alexander Alekhine at the Warsaw Olympiad 1935
• draws against Paul Keres and Jose Capablanca at the Buenos Aires Olympiad 1939

Keene v Levy

This is not about a chess game, but rather a business deal ...

But you and Don Morris had an entirely different idea. You decided to set up a new company [Braingames Network plc] in which the two of you would have shareholdings but not the rest of us. You decided that to provide the 50,000 pounds needed to set up that company, rather than to use your own money you would use ours - the money in the bank account of Mind Sports Olympiad Ltd. And why not? After all, the bank statements are sent only to your house and no-one else in the company sees them because we all trust you. After you had "borrowed" the company's money you continued to pretend that your efforts to secure sponsorship for the world chess championship were being made on behalf of our business, but all along they were being made on behalf of your business. And all during this time you were being paid 10,000 pounds per month to work for our company.

Keene's defense is solely that he believes his actions were "legal, ethical, covered by board mandate and for the good of MSO." They may be legal, but he doesn't actually dispute any of the facts claimed by Levy and the facts as presented seem sleazy to say the least. So perhaps Keene is not just a crappy author, but a crappy human being too.

Corus Round 10 Results

Results
V. Anand - L. van Wely ½-½
M. Adams - V. Kramnik ½-½
A. Grischuk - R. Ponomariov 1-0
N. Short - P. Svidler ½-½
A. Morozevich - P. Leko ½-½
L. Bruzon - I. Sokolov 1-0
V. Topalov - J. Polgar 0-1

Leaders
Leko - 6½
Topalov, Adams, Anand- 6

Grischuk-Ponomariov
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Ng4 7. Bc1 Nf6 8. f3Qb6 9. g4 Nc6 10. Nb3 e6 11. Qe2 Qc7 12. Be3 b5 13. O-O-O Nd7 14. Qf2 Be7 15.g5 Nce5 16. a3 Rb8 17. Rg1 Nb6 18. f4 Nec4 19. Bxc4 Nxc4 20. Bd4 O-O 21. Bf6Bb7 22. Rd3 Rfc8 23. Rh3 Kf8 24. Rxh7 Ke8 25. Bxg7 Kd7 26. g6 a5 27. gxf7 Bf828. Bxf8 Rxf8 29. Rd1 Bc8 30. f5 e5 31. Nd5 1-0

Bruzon-Sokolov
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 cxd4 12. cxd4 Bb7 13. d5 Rc8 14. Nbd2 Nd7 15.Nf1 Nc4 16. b3 Ncb6 17. Ne3 g6 18. Bd2 Qc7 19. Ba5 Qb8 20. Qd2 Bd8 21. Rec1 Nf622. Qb4 Nbd7 23. Bxd8 Rfxd8 24. Qe1 Rc7 25. b4 Rdc8 26. Bd3 Nb6 27. Nd2 Rc3 28.Rxc3 Rxc3 29. Qe2 Nh5 30. g3 Qd8 31. Kh2 Bc8 32. Nf3 Na4 33. Qd2 Bd7 34. Ne1Qc8 35. h4 Rc7 36. Be2 Ng7 37. N1g2 f5 38. exf5 Bxf5 39. f4 Qe8 40. Rc1 Rxc141. Qxc1 Bd7 42. Qc7 exf4 43. gxf4 Nf5 44. Nxf5 Bxf5 45. Bf3 Qd7 46. Qc6 Nb2 47.Qxa6 Nd3 48. a3 Bh3 49. Qc6 Qf5 50. Qe8+ Kg7 51. Qe7+ Kg8 52. Qe4 Bxg2 53. Qxf5 gxf5 54. Kxg2 Ne1+ 55. Kf2 Nc2 56. Be2 Nxa3 57. Bd3 Kg7 58. Ke3 Kg6 59. Kd4 Kh5 60. Kc3 Kxh4 61. Kb2 Nb1 62. Kxb1 Kg4 63. Bxb5 Kxf4 64. Bf1 Ke5 65. Bg2 Kd4 66. Kb2 1-0

Topalov-Polgar
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Rc1d5 9. cxd5 Nxd5 10. Nxd5 exd5 11. Bg2 Re8 12. Rc2 Bd6 13. Bg5 Bb4+ 14. Kf1 f615. Bf4 Nd7 16. Ne1 c6 17. Nd3 Bxd3 18. Qxd3 Rc8 19. Bh3 g6 20. a3 Bf8 21. e3Qe7 22. Bg4 g5 23. Qf5 gxf4 24. gxf4 Kh8 25. Rg1 Rc7 26. Bf3 Nb8 27. Rg3 Qd628. b4 b5 29. Rc1 a5 30. bxa5 Qxa3 31. Rc5 Rg7 32. Bh5 Rd8 33. Qxf6 Qxa5 34.Rc2 b4 35. Ra2 Qc7 36. Be2 Qe7 37. Qf5 Qe4 38. Qxe4 dxe4 39. Ra8 b3 40. Bc4 b241. Ba2 c5 42. dxc5 b1=Q+ 43. Bxb1 Rd1+ 44. Kg2 Rxb1 45. Ra4 Re7 46. Rg5 Nc647. Ra6 Re6 48. h4 Be7 49. f5 Rf6 50. Rg4 Rb4 51. Ra8+ Rf8 52. Rxf8+ Bxf8 53. f6 Ne5 0-1

Corus Round 9 Results

Results
V. Topalov - V. Anand ½-½
J. Polgar - L. Bruzon ½-½
I. Sokolov - A. Morozevich 0-1
P. Leko - N. Short 1-0
P. Svidler - A. Grischuk 1-0
R. Ponomariov - M. Adams ½-½
V. Kramnik - L. van Wely ½-½

Leaders
Topalov, Leko - 6
Adams, Anand - 5½

Sokolov-Morozevich
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 d4 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Nbd2 Nge7 6. Nb3 Nf5 7. a3 Be7 8. g3 a5 9. Qd3 a4 10. Nbd2 h5 11. Bh3 g6 12. Ne4 h4?! 13. Bf4? [13. g4! Ng7 14. Bd2 Ne6 15. O-O-O] hxg3 14. hxg3 Ng7 [14. ... Nxg3? 15. Bd7 Kd7 16. Rh8 Qh8 17. Ng3] 15. Bg2 Rxh1+ 16. Bxh1 Bf5 17. Nfg5 Na5 18. Qf3 Ne6 19. Nh7 Bxe4 20. Qxe4 c6 21. e3? [21. O-O-O =] Nb3 22. Rd1 Qa5+ 23. Ke2 Nec5 24. Qg2 Qa6 25. Kf1 Qxc4+ 26. Kg1 Qc2 27. Qf3 d3 28. Bg5 Ne4 29. Bxe7 Nxf2 30. Qxf2 Qxd1+ 31. Kg2 Qc2 32. Bd6 O-O-O 33. Kg1 Qxf2+ 34. Kxf2 Rh8 0-1

Leko-Short
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Nb8 10. d4 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12.Bc2 Re8 13. Nf1 Bf8 14. Ng3 g6 15. b3 Bg7 16. d5 Qe7 [16. ... Polgar-Short, Corus 2005 Round 7; 16. ... Nb6, Leko-Beliavsky, Bled 2002] 17. c4 c6 18. Be3! Rec8 19. Rc1 a5 20. Qd2 bxc4 21. bxc4 cxd5 [21. ... Ba6? 22. Ba4!; 21. ... Nc5 22. Bxc5 dxc5 23. Ba4] 22. cxd5 Nc5 23. Bd3! h5?! [23. ... Nfd7 24. Bb5! Ba6 25. Bc6; 23. ... Bd3 24. Rc8! (24. Qd3 Rc1 25. Rc1 Bd5!) Bc8 (24. ... Rc8 25. Qd3) 25. Qd3 Ba6 26. Qa3 Qd8 27. Rb1] 24. Bxc5 dxc5 25. Qg5! Rc7 [25. ... Qc7!? 26. Rc2!; 25. ... Qf8 26. Ne5 Nh7 27. Qf4 Bh6 28. Qf3 Bc1 29. Rc1] 26. Nf1! [26. Qe5? Nd5!; 26. Bc4 Ne8 27. Qg6 fxg6 28. d6 Kf8 29. dxe7 Kxe7 30. Nh4 Kf6!] Rac8 27. N1d2 Ne8 [27. ... c4 28. Rxc4 (28. Nxc4? Nd5!) Qa3 29. Ne5] 28. Qxe7 Rxe7 29. Nc4 Ba6 30. Nfxe5! Bxe5 31. Nxe5 c4 32. Bxc4 Rxe5 33. Bxa6 Rxc1 34. Rxc1 Rxe4 35. f3 Re5? [35. ... Re7] 36. Rc5 h4 37. d6 [37. ... Rc5 38. d7] 1-0

Svidler-Grischuk
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. d3 Bg7 6. h3 Nf6 7. Nc3 Nd7 8. Be3 e5 9. Qd2 h6 10. O-O Qe7 11. Nh2 Nf8 12. f4 exf4 13. Rxf4 Be6 14. Rf2 O-O-O 15. Raf1 Nd7 16. Ne2 f6 17. Qa5 Kb8 18. b4 f5 19. bxc5 fxe4 20. d4 Bc4 21. Qa4 Bxe2 22. Rxe2 Qe6 23. c4 Ka8 24. Rb1 Nb8 25. Rd2 Qf7 26. Ng4 Rd7 27. Qb3 Rhd8 28. Rbd1 g5 29. Nf2 Qf5 30. d5 h5 31. dxc6 Nxc6 32. Rd5 Be5 33. Qb1 g4 34. hxg4 hxg4 35. Qxe4 Qf7 36. Nxg4 Bb8 37. Bg5 Re8 38. Rxd7 Qxd7 39. Rxd7 Rxe4 40. Ne3 a5 41. Kf1 Re8 42. a4 Ka7 43. g4 Rg8 44. Bh6 Rg6 45. Rh7 Be5 46. Kg2 Bd4 47. Kh3 Bxc5 48. Bf4 Re6 49. Nd5 Re4 50. g5 Ne7 51. Kg4 Nxd5 52. cxd5 Rxa4 53. g6 Bd6 54. Rf7 Be5 55. Kg5 Bb2 56. d6 Rd4 57. Be3 1-0

Corus Round 8 Results

Results
V. Anand - V. Kramnik ½-½
L. van Wely - R. Ponomariov ½-½
M. Adams - P. Svidler ½-½
A. Grischuk - P. Leko ½-½
N. Short - I. Sokolov 1-0
A. Morozevich - J. Polgar 1-0
L. Bruzon - V. Topalov 0-1

Leaders
Topalov - 5½
Leko, Adams, Anand - 5

Short-Sokolov
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 h6 10. h3 Bd7 11. Bf4 Kc8 12. Rad1 Bb4 13. Ne4 Be6 14. c3 Be7 15. b3 b6 16. g4 Nh4 17. Nxh4 Bxh4 18. Bg3 Be7 19. f4 h5 20. f5 Bd5 21. Rd4 hxg4 22. hxg4 Ba3 23. Kf2 a5 24. c4 Bxe4 25. Rxe4 a4 26. Kg2 axb3 27. axb3 Bc5 28. Re2 Ra3 29. e6 Re8 30. Rf3 Ra1 31. Bf2 fxe6 32. Bxc5 bxc5 33. fxe6 Rd1 34. Rf7 Rd6 35. Rxg7 Rdxe6 36. Rxe6 Rxe6 37. Rf7 Kd8 38. Kg3 Re1 39. g5 Rg1+ 40. Kh4 Rh1+ 41. Kg4 Rg1+ 42. Kf5 Rg3 43. g6 Rf3+ 44. Ke6 Re3+ 45. Kf6 Rf3+ 46. Kg7 Rxb3 47. Kf8 Re3 48. Rf4 1-0

Morozevich-Polgar
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. g3 c5 4. Bg2 cxd4 5. Nxd4 d5 6. O-O e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Bg5 Nbd7 9. Nc3 h6 10. Bxf6 Nxf6 11. Qd3 Qd7 12. Rad1 d4 13. Ne4 Nxe4 14. Qxe4 Bd6 15. f4 Bxb3 16. axb3 Qe7 17. Qxb7 Qxb7 18. Bxb7 Rd8 19. Bc6+ Ke7 20. fxe5 Bxe5 21. Ra1 Bb8 22. Ra4 h5 23. Rb4 Rc8 24. Be4 Bd6 25. Rc4 Rxc4 26. bxc4 g6 27. Bd5 Rf8 28. Ra1 Bc5 29. Kf1 f5 30. Ra5 Bb6 31. Ra6 f4 32. Ke1 fxg3 33. hxg3 Rf6 34. Kd2 Bc5 35. Ra4 a5 36. Kd3 Bb6 37. c5 Bxc5 38. Rxa5 Bb6 39. Rb5 Bc7 40. Rb7 Kd8 41. Kxd4 Bxg3 42. c4 h4 43. e4 Rf1 44. Rh7 Rb1 45. e5 Rd1+ 46. Kc5 Bxe5 47. b4 Bg3 48. b5 Rb1 49. Kc6 Bf2 50. Rd7+ Ke8 51. Bf7+ Kf8 52. Bxg6 Rb2 53. Rf7+ Kg8 54. Rxf2 Rxf2 55. b6 Kg7 56. b7 Rb2 57. Be4 Kf6 58. c5 Rb4 59. Bh1 1-0

Bruzon-Topalov
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d3 Nc6 4. g3 g6 5. Bg2 Bg7 6. c3 Nge7 7. O-O O-O 8. Re1 e5 9. Na3 d6 10. Be3 b6 11. Qd2 Bg4 12. h3 Bxf3 13. Bxf3 Qd7 14. Bg2 f5 15. exf5 gxf5 16. f4 Rad8 17. Re2 Qe6 18. Qc2 Qg6 19. Kh2 Kh8 20. Qa4 d5 21. fxe5 Bxe5 22. Bf4 Qf6 23. Bxe5 Nxe5 24. d4 N5g6 25. dxc5 bxc5 26. Rf1 f4 27. gxf4 Nf5 28. Qxa7 Qh4 29. Qxc5 Nxf4 30. Rd2 Nxh3 31. Qc7 Rd6 32. Nc2 Qg3+ 33. Kh1 Rh6 0-1

(next round is Tuesday)

Corus Round 7 Results

Results
L. Bruzon - V. Anand 0-1
V. Topalov - A. Morozevich ½-½
J. Polgar - N. Short ½-½
I. Sokolov - A. Grischuk ½-½
P. Leko - M. Adams ½-½
P. Svidler - L. van Wely 1-0
R. Ponomariov - V. Kramnik ½-½

Leaders
Topalov, Leko, Adams, Anand - 4½
Grischuk, Bruzon, Kramnik - 4

Bruzon-Anand
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4 5. Qa4+ c6 6. Qxc4 b5 7. Qc2 Bb7 8. d4 Nbd7 9. a4 c5 10. O-O b4 11. Bg5 Rc8 12. Nbd2 Be7 13. Rfc1 O-O 14. Qd3 h6 15. Bxf6 Bxf6 16. e3 Rc7 17. Qe2 Qc8 18. Qb5 a6 19. Qf1 a5 20. b3 Rd8 21. Qb5 Bc6 22. Qe2 Qb7 23. Nc4 Qa8 24. Ra2 cxd4 25. exd4 Bd5 26. Rac2 Rdc8 27. Qd1 Qa6 28. Nfe5 Bxe5 29. Bxd5 Bxg3 30. hxg3 exd5 31. Ne3 Rxc2 32. Rxc2 Nf6 33. Rc5 Rxc5 34. dxc5 Qc6 35. Qd4 g6 36. Qe5 Nd7 37. Qd6 Qxd6 38. cxd6 Kf8 39. Nxd5 Nc5 40. Kf1 Ke8 41. Nb6 Nxb3 42. Ke2 Nc5 43. f3 h5 44. Ke3 b3 0-1

Svidler - van Wely
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 e5 4. Bc4 Be7 5. d3 d6 6. Nd2 Bg5 7. h4 Bxd2+ 8. Bxd2 Nf6 9. O-O Bg4 10. Qe1 [10. f3, Svidler-Leko, Dortmund 2004] Be6 11. f4 Bxc4 12. dxc4 h5 13. fxe5 dxe5 14. Bg5 Ne7? [14. ... Qd4 15. Kh1 Qxc4 (15. ... Ng4? 16. Nb5 Qd7 17. Rd1) 16. Bxf6 gxf6 17. Rxf6] 15. Rd1 Qb6 16. Qg3 Ng6 17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. Nd5 Qxb2 19. Nxf6+ Kf8 20. Nxh5 1-0

Corus Round 6 Results

Results
V. Anand - R. Ponomariov 1-0
V. Kramnik - P. Svidler 1-0
L. van Wely - P. Leko ½-½
M. Adams - I. Sokolov ½-½
A. Grischuk - J. Polgar ½-½
N. Short - V. Topalov 0-1
A. Morozevich - L. Bruzon 0-1

Leaders
Bruzon, Topalov, Leko, Adams - 4
Grischuk, Kramnik, Anand - 3½

Anand-Ponomariov
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 Qb6 7. Nb3 e6 8. Bf4 Nbd7 9. g4 Be7 10. Qe2 h6 11. h4 Qc7 12. O-O-O b5 13. a3 Rb8 14. Qg2 Nc5 15. g5 Nh5 16. Be3 Na4 17. Rd3 g6 18. Kb1 Bb7 19. Be2 e5 20. Qf2 Bc6 21. gxh6 Nb6 22. f4 Nf6 23. fxe5 dxe5 24. Rf1 O-O 25. Nc5 Bb7 26. Ne6 fxe6 27. Bxb6 Qc6 28. Qg1 Kh7 29. Rdf3 Qe8 30. Bc5 Bxc5 31. Qxc5 Nd7 32. Qe3 Qe7 33. Qg5 Qxg5 34. Rf7+ Rxf7 35. Rxf7+ Kh8 36. hxg5 Bc6 37. b4 Nf8 38. Rf6 Kg8 39. Bg4 Bd7 40. Kb2 Re8 41. Nd1 Re7 42. Nf2 Be8 43. Rf3 Rf7 44. Rxf7 Kxf7 45. Kc3 Nh7 46. Nh3 Bc6 47. Kd3 Ke7 48. Ke3 Kd6 49. Be2 Ke7 50. Bd3 Kd6 51. Kf3 Ke7 52. Kg4 Nf8 53. Ng1 Nh7 54. Nf3 Kd6 55. Kg3 Be8 56. Kf2 Bc6 57. Ke3 Bd7 58. c4 bxc4 59. Bxc4 Bc8 60. a4 Bb7 61. a5 Bc8 62. Bd3 1-0

Kramnik-Svidler
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 Bb4 7. Bd3 Nc6 8. a3 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 d6 10. O-O Ne5 11. f4 Nxd3 12. Qxd3 e5 13. fxe5 dxe5 14. Bg5 h6 15. Bh4 exd4 [15. ... g5? 16.Bg3 exd4 17. Be5] 16. e5 dxc3 [16. ... g5 17. exf6 gxh4 18. cxd4] 17. Qxd8+ Kxd8 18. exf6 g5 19. Bg3 Be6 20. Rac1 Bxc4? [20. ... Kd7] 21. Rfe1! Kd7 [21. ... Be6 22. Rc3 Rc8 23. Rd1 Ke8 24. Rcd3!] 22. Re7+ Kc6 23. Rc7+ Kd5 24. Rd1+ Ke6 25. Rxc4 Rac8 26. Bc7 Kxf6 27. Rxc3 Rhe8 28. Rf3+ 1-0

Short-Topalov
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. c3 Bg5 12.Nc2 O-O 13. g3 Ne7 14. h4 Bh6 15. Bh3 Bxh3 16. Rxh3 a5 17. Kf1 Rc8 18. Nce3 Bxe3 19. Nxe3 Qd7 20. g4 Rfd8 21. h5 Qc6 22. Qf3 d5 23. exd5 Nxd5 24. Nxd5 Rxd5 25. Re1 h6 26. Kg2 Qe6 27. Qf5 Qxf5 28. gxf5 f6 29. Re2 Rc4 30. a3 a4 31. Rhe3 Rf4 32. Rf3 Kf7 33. Kg3 Rc4 34. Rfe3 Rd1 35. Re4 Rg1+ 36. Kh4 Rg5 37. Rxc4 bxc4 38. Re4 Rxf5 39. Rxc4 Rxf2 40. Rxa4 Rxb2 41. Ra7+ Ke6 42. Rxg7 Rh2+ 43. Kg3 Rxh5 44. Rc7 Rh1 45. a4 Ra1 46. Rc6+ Kf5 47. Rc4 h5 48. Kf3 Kg5 49. Ke4 h4 50. Rc8 h3 51. Rg8+ Kh4 52. Kf3 Rf1+ 53. Ke2 Rf4 54. a5 h2 55. a6 Ra4 0-1

Morozevich-Bruzon
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Be7 7. O-O Bf5 8. Re1 Nc6 9. c4 Nb4 10. Bf1 O-O 11. a3 Nc6 12. cxd5 Qxd5 13. Nc3 Nxc3 14. bxc3 Bf6 15. Bf4 Qd7 16. Nd2 Ne7 17. Qf3 c6 18. Nc4 Ng6 19. Bg3 Bg4 20. Qd3 Bf5 21. Qd2 Be6 22. a4 Rfd8 23. Rab1 b6 24. Bd3 Bf5 25. Nd6 Bxd3 26. Qxd3 Be7 27. Nf5 Bf8 28. Re3 Ne7 29. Nxe7+ Bxe7 30. Rbe1 Bf8 31. Be5 Re8 32. h3 Rad8 33. Bg3 Rxe3 34. fxe3 Bd6 35. Bh4 Be7 36. Bf2 f5 37. Bg3 Bf6 38. Rf1 g6 39. e4 fxe4 40. Qxe4 Bg7 41. Re1 Qd5 42. Qe7 Rf8 43. Qxa7 Qc4 44. Qxb6 Qxc3 45. Kh2 Bxd4 46. Qc7 Rf7 47. Re8+ Kg7 48. Re7 Rxe7 49. Qxe7+ Kg8 50. Qd8+ Kf7 51. Qc7+ Ke6 52. a5 h5 53. a6 h4 54. Qd6+ Kf7 55. Qf4+ Kg7 56. Qxh4 Qe3 57. Bf2 Qxf2 58. Qxf2 Bxf2 59. g3 Kf6 60. Kg2 Ba7 61. Kf3 Ke5 62. Ke2 Ke4 63. h4 Bb6 64. g4 Kf4 65. h5 gxh5 66. gxh5 Kg5 67. Kd3 Kxh5 68. Ke4 c5 69. Kd5 Ba7 0-1

Observations

• Morozevich has only managed one draw in six games despite being the 5th seed in a field of 14.
• Bruzon who's bringing up the rear rating-wise is tied for first place.
• Van Lewy (#12) has drawn all six of his games.

Corus Round 5 Results

Results
A. Morozevich - V. Anand 0-1
L. Bruzon - N. Short 1-0
V. Topalov - A. Grischuk ½-½
J. Polgar - M. Adams ½-½
I. Sokolov - L. van Wely ½-½
P. Leko - V. Kramnik ½-½
P. Svidler - R. Ponomariov ½-½

Leaders
Leko, Adams - 3½
Grischuk, Bruzon, Topalov, Ponomariov - 3

Morozevich-Anand
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 c5 4. e3 h6 5. Bh4 cxd4 6. exd4 b6 7. Bxf6 Qxf6 8. g3 Nc6 9. c3 g5 10. Nbd2 Bb7 11. Bg2 O-O-O 12. a4 h5 13. a5 Nxa5 14. b4 Nc6 15. Nc4 b5 16. O-O bxc4 17. b5 Nb8 18. Rxa7 d5 19. Ne5 Rd7 20. Qa4 Qd8 21. Nxc4 dxc4 22. Qxc4+ Qc7 23. Bxb7+ Kd8 24. Qe2 Bd6 25. Rfa1 Qxc3 26. d5 Rxb7 27. dxe6 Rxa7 28. Rxa7 fxe6 29. Qxe6 Qe5 30. Re7 Qa1+ 31. Qe1 Qxe1+ 32. Rxe1 Nd7 33. Kg2 Nc5 34. Rd1 Kd7 35. Rd5 Ne6 36. Kf3 Rf8+ 37. Ke2 Ke7 38. h4 g4 39. Rxh5 Bc5 40. Re5 Rxf2+ 41. Kd3 Kf6 0-1

Bruzon-Short
1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. Qc2 Nc6 9. Rd1 Qa5 10. Be2 dxc4 11. Bxc4 Be7 12. O-O b6 13. Qe2 Bb7 14. e4 Rad8 15. e5 Nd5 16. Nxd5 exd5 17. Bb5 Qb4 18. Be3 d4 19. Bc1 Qc5 20. a3 Rd5 21. Bc4 Rxe5 22. Nxe5 Nxe5 23. Ba6 Bc6 24. Bf4 Ng6 25. Bg3 Qd5 26. f3 Ba4 27. Rc1 b5 28. Qd3 h5 29. f4 Bd6 30. Qf3 Qxf3 31. Rxf3 h4 32. Bf2 Bxf4 33. Rc8 Rxc8 34. Bxc8 b4 35. Bxd4 a5 36. Bb7 Bd1 37. Rf1 Bc2 38. Bd5 bxa3 39. bxa3 a4 40. Rf2 Bd1 41. Rf1 Bc2 42. Rf2 Bd1 43. Bxf7+ Kxf7 44. Be3 Kf6 45. Bxf4 Nxf4 46. Rxf4+ Kg5 47. Rd4 Bb3 48. Kf2 1-0

Link to Corus website

This is the link to the official Corus tournament website, which I used to compile my last few posts on the event. Enjoy!

(No chess today; round 5 is tomorrow.)

Kasparov calls it quits

... from the world championship cycle.

As for unification, I cannot see an avenue to contribute further. For those who saw me as an obstacle, I will be one no longer. I am not giving up on chess. I will compete as well and as long as I am able to play my brand of chess. I will continue to serve chess and those who love our game. I have now held the #1 ranking for 20 years and I will defend my position against any opponent. My only retreat is from the battlefield of chess championship politics.

Corus Round 4 Results

Results
V. Anand - P. Svidler ½-½
R. Ponomariov - P. Leko ½-½
V. Kramnik - I. Sokolov 1-0
L. van Wely - J. Polgar ½-½
M. Adams - V. Topalov 1-0
A. Grischuk - L. Bruzon ½-½
N. Short - A. Morozevich 1-0

Leaders
Leko, Adams - 3
Topalov, Grischuk, Short - 2.5

Kramnik-Sokolov
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 cxd4 12. cxd4 Bb7 13. d5 Rc8 14. Nbd2 Qc7 15. Bd3 Nd7 16. Nf1 Nc5 17. b3 f5 18. exf5 Bf6 19. Be4 Qf7 20. Ng3 Nxe4 21. Nxe4 Qxd5 22. Bd2 Nc6 23. Bg5 Nb4 24. Bxf6 gxf6 25. Nxd6 Qxd1 26. Rexd1 Bxf3 27. gxf3 Rc3 28. a4 Rxb3 29. axb5 axb5 30. Kh2 Kg7 31. Rg1+ Kh6 32. Rg4 Nc6 33. Rag1 Kh5 34. Rg7 h6 35. Ne4 Rxf3 36. R1g4 1-0

Adams-Topalov
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. Be2 Nbd7 8. g4 h6 9. f4 g6 10. f5 Ne5 11. h3 b5 12. a3 Qe7 13. Qd2 Bb7 14. fxe6 fxe6 15. O-O-O Rc8 16. Rhf1 Bg7 17. g5 hxg5 18. Bxg5 Nf7 19. Kb1 Rc5 20. Bxf6 Bxf6 21. Bg4 Bc8 22. Qg2 Ne5 23. Nce2 g5 24. Ng3 Nxg4 25. hxg4 Bb7 26. Nh5 Be5 27. Qe2 Rc4 28. Qe3 Rg8 29. Rf2 Rf8 30. Rxf8+ Kxf8 31. b3 Rxd4 32. Rxd4 Bxd4 33. Qxd4 e5 34. Qf2+ Ke8 35. Nf6+ Kd8 36. Qf5 Bc8 37. Qxg5 Be6 38. Qh6 Kc7 39. g5 Kc6 40. Qh8 Kb7 41. g6 1-0

Short-Morozevich
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Be7 6. Bf4 O-O 7. Be2 Re8 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. O-O Bf8 10. f3 a6 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. Rad1 Be6 13. Na4 a5 14. b3 Qb8 15. c4 d5 16. cxd5 cxd5 17. Bg5 dxe4 18. Bxf6 gxf6 19. fxe4 Qb4 20. Qf4 f5 21. Bd3 Qd4+ 22. Kh1 Bd6 23. Qh4 f4 24. Bb5 Qe5 25. Bxe8 Rxe8 26. Qf2 f5 27. exf5 Qxf5 28. Nb2 Bd5 29. Nc4 f3 30. gxf3 Bc5 31. Qg3+ Kh8 32. Rd2 a4 33. Rg2 Bd4 34. Qg4 Qd3 35. Nd2 Rg8 36. Qh3 Rf8 37. Qh6 Re8 38. Qh5 Re5 39. Qg4 Rf5 40. Re1 Rf8 41. Qf4 Rg8 42. Rxg8+ Bxg8 43. Re5 1-0

Corus Round 3 Results

Results
N. Short - V. Anand ½-½
A. Morozevich - A. Grischuk 0-1
L. Bruzon - M. Adams ½-½
V. Topalov - L. van Wely ½-½
J. Polgar - V. Kramnik ½-½
I. Sokolov - R. Ponomariov 0-1
P. Leko - P. Svidler 1-0

Leaders
Topalov, Leko - 2.5
Grischuk, Adams, Ponomariov - 2

Morozevich-Grischuk
1. e4 c5 2. f4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. d3 Nc6 5. c3 Be7 6. Be2 Nh6 7. Ne5 Nxe5 8. fxe5 Bh4+ 9. g3 Bg5 10. h4 Bxc1 11. Qxc1 O-O 12. Na3 Bd7 13. Qg5 dxe4 14. dxe4 Bc6 15. O-O Bxe4 16. g4 f5 17. exf6 Rxf6 18. Nc4 Bd5 19. Rxf6 Qxf6 20. Ne5 Qxg5 21. hxg5 Nf7 22. Nxf7 Kxf7 23. Bd3 Ke7 24. Re1 g6 25. Re3 Rf8 26. Be2 Bxa2 27. c4 Rf4 28. b3 Kd6 29. Rh3 a5 30. Kg2 b6 31. Kg3 Rf7 32. Bd1 a4 33. bxa4 Bxc4 34. Rh2 Bd5 35. Rb2 Kc6 36. Be2 c4 37. Rb4 c3 38. Rb1 Kc5 39. Rb5+ Kd4 40. Bd1 Rf1 41. Bc2 Rg1+ 42. Kh4 Rg2 0-1

Sokolov-Ponomariov
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 b6 7. Bg5 Bb7 8. e3 d6 9. Ne2 Nbd7 10. Qc2 c5 11. Rd1 Qc7 12. Nc3 a6 13. d5 exd5 14. cxd5 b5 15. Bd3 b4 16. axb4 cxb4 17. Ne2 Qxc2 18. Bxc2 Bxd5 19. O-O Rfc8 20. Nd4 a5 21. Bf5 Rc5 22. Bxd7 Nxd7 23. Be7 Ra6 24. Rfe1 Be4 25. f3 Bg6 26. e4 f6 27. Ne2 Rcc6 28. Nd4 Rcb6 29. Bd8 Rb7 30. Ne6 Bf7 31. Nc7 Raa7 32. Rxd6 Rxc7 33. Bxc7 Rxc7 34. Red1 Be8 35. Ra6 Rc5 36. Ra7 Kf8 37. Rd5 Rxd5 38. exd5 Nb6 39. d6 a4 40. Rb7 Nc4 41. Rxb4 Nxd6 42. Kf2 Ke7 43. Ke3 Ke6 44. Kd4 Nf5+ 45. Kc5 h5 46. Rb6+ Kf7 47. Rb7+ Kg6 48. Rb4 h4 49. g4 Nh6 50. h3 f5 51. Kd4 fxg4 52. fxg4 Nf7 53. Rb8 Bd7 54. Rb7 Be6 55. Rb6 Kf6 56. Ra6 Ng5 57. Rxa4 Nxh3 58. b4 Nf4 59. b5 h3 60. Ke3 h2 61. Rxf4+ Kg6 0-1

Leko-Svidler
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. Be3 Be7 9. Qd2 O-O 10. O-O-O Nbd7 11. g4 Qc7 12. Kb1 b5 13. g5 Nh5 14. Nd5 Bxd5 15. exd5 Nb6 16. Rg1 Rab8 17. Rg4 g6 18. h4 Ng7 19. Bxb6 Qxb6 20. Na5 Rfc8 21. Nc6 Rxc6 22. dxc6 Nf5 23. Re4 Qxc6 24. Bg2 Rd8 25. f4 Qc5 26. Qe1 Rc8 27. c3 b4 28. Rxb4 Ne3 29. Rd2 a5 30. Re4 Nc4 31. Rxc4 Qxc4 32. fxe5 Qe6 33. Re2 d5 34. Qf1 Qa6 35. Rd2 Qc4 36. Rd4 Qxf1+ 37. Bxf1 Rd8 38. b4 axb4 39. cxb4 Bf8 40. Bg2 Re8 41. Bxd5 Rxe5 42. a4 Kg7 43. Bb3 h6 44. gxh6+ Kxh6 45. Bxf7 g5 46. h5 Re7 47. Bg6 Ra7 48. b5 Bc5 49. Rc4 Bf2 50. Kc2 Re7 51. Kb3 Re5 52. Re4 Rc5 53. Kb4 Rc1 54. Ka5 Rg1 55. b6 g4 56. b7 Rb1 57. Re2 1-0

Corus Round 2 Results

Results
V. Anand - P. Leko 0-1
P. Svidler - I. Sokolov ½-½
R. Ponomariov - J. Polgar 1-0
V. Kramnik - V. Topalov 0-1
L. van Wely - L. Bruzon ½-½
M. Adams - A. Morozevich 1-0
A. Grischuk - N. Short ½-½

Leader
Topalov - 2
Leko, Adams - 1.5

Anand-Leko
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. Nd5 f5 11. c3 Bg7 12.exf5 Bxf5 13. Nc2 O-O 14. Nce3 Be6 15. Bd3 f5 16. O-O Ra7 17. a4 Ne7 18. Nxe7+ Rxe7 19. axb5 axb5 20. Bxb5 d5 21. Ra6 f4 22. Nc2 Bc8 23. Ra8 Qd6 24. Nb4 Bb7 25. Ra7 [25. Rf8] d4! 26. Ba6? Bxg2! 27. Bc4+ [27. Re7 Qg6; 27. Qb3 Bd5 28. Nd5 Ra7] Kh8 28. Ra6 Qc5 29. Kxg2 f3+ 30. Kh1 Qxc4 31. Rc6 Qb5 32. Rd6 e4 33. Rxd4 Bxd4 34. Qxd4+ Qe5 35. Qxe5+ Rxe5 36. Nc2 Rb8 37. Ne3 Rc5 38. h3 Rxb2 39. c4 Rg5 40. Kh2 Kg8 41. h4 Rg6 42. Kh3 Kf7 43. Nf5 Rc2 44. Ne3 Rd2 45. c5 Ke6 46. c6 Rg8 47. c7 Rc8 48. Kg3 Rxc7 49. Kf4 Rd4 50. Ra1 Rf7+ 51. Kg3 Rd8 52. Ra6+ Ke5 53. Ng4+ Kd5 54. Nf6+ Rxf6 55. Rxf6 Ke5 56. Rh6 Rg8+ 57. Kh3 e3 0-1

Ponomariov-Polgar
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e5 7. Nb3 Be6 8. f3 Nbd7 9. Qd2 Be7 10. O-O-O Rc8 11. g4 Nb6 12. Kb1 O-O 13. h4 a5 14. g5 Nh5 15. Nxa5 Ra8 16. Nb3 Ng3 17. Bxb6 Qxb6 18. Rh2 Nxf1 19. Rxf1 Qa6 20. Rd1 b5 21. Nc1 Bc4 22. b3 Rfb8 23. Nd5 Bxd5 24. Qxd5 b4 25. Rhd2 Rc8 26. Qd3 Qa3 27. Qb5 Qa7 28. Qe2 Rc6 29. Rd5 g6 30. Rb5 Ra6 31. a4 bxa3 32. Na2 Bd8 33. Qc4 Ra5 34. Nc3 a2+ 35. Ka1 Bb6 36. Rxa5 Bxa5 37. Nd5 Qf2 38. Qc6 Rf8 39. Kxa2 Qxh4 40. Qxd6 Bd8 41. Nf6+ Bxf6 42. gxf6 Ra8+ 43. Kb2 h5 44. Qe7 Qf2 45. Rd8+ Rxd8 46. Qxd8+ Kh7 47. Qe7 Qd4+ 48. Ka2 Kh6 49. Qxf7 Qc5 50. Qg7+ Kg5 51. Qe7 Qxc2+ 52. Ka3 Qc1+ 53. Kb4 Qd2+ 54. Kb5 Qd3+ 55. Ka5 Qc3+ 56. b4 1-0

Kramnik-Topalov
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 e6 7. f3 b5 8. g4 h6 9. Qd2 b4 10. Na4 Nbd7 11. O-O-O Ne5 12.Qxb4 Bd7 13. Nb3 Rb8 14. Qa3 Nxf3 15. h3 Nxe4 16. Be2 Ne5 17. Rhe1 Qc7 18. Bd4 Nc6 19. Bc3 d5 20. Nbc5 Qa7 0-1
Wow! Kramnik spanked in 20 moves!

Adams-Morozevich
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. Re1 Bf5 9. c4 c6 10. Qb3 Qd7 11. Nc3 Nxc3 12. Bxf5 Qxf5 13. bxc3 b6 14. cxd5 cxd5 15. Qb5 Qd7 16. a4 Rd8 17. g3 Bc7 18. Bg5 f6 19. Bd2 Nc6 20. c4 Ne7 21. Rac1 a6 22. Qxd7 Rxd7 23. c5 Kf7 24. Bb4 bxc5 25. Bxc5 Nf5 26. Rb1 Ba5 27. Re2 h5 28. Rb3 g5 29. Nxg5+ fxg5 30. Rf3 Bd8 31. Rxf5+ Bf6 32. h3 a5 33. Rb2 Ra6 34. Rb5 Ke6 35. Rf3 g4 36. hxg4 hxg4 37. Rf4 Rg7 38. Rb2 Rg5 39. Kg2 Rc6 40. Rb7 Rg6 41. Ra7 Bd8 42. Rf8 Bc7 43. Re8+ Kd7 44. Re7+ Kc8 45. Ra8+ Kb7 46. Rxa5 Rgf6 47. Ra7+ Kc8 48. Rg7 Rfe6 49. Rg8+ 1-0

Corus Round 1 Results

General comments
FIDE rated players #2 through #9 are all participating (Kasparov is not there because of the aborted World Championship match with Kasimdzhanov), which makes this year's Wijk aan Zee tournament category 19, weighing in at a 2721 average rating.

Results
A. Grischuk - V. Anand ½-½
N. Short - M. Adams ½-½
A. Morozevich - L. van Wely ½-½
L. Bruzon - V. Kramnik ½-½
V. Topalov - R. Ponomariov 1-0
J. Polgar - P. Svidler 1-0
I. Sokolov - P. Leko ½-½

Leaders
Topalov, Polgar - 1

Topalov-Ponomariov
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. Qd2 Nf6 8. O-O-O Bb4 9. f3 Ne5 10. Nb3 b5 11. Kb1 Nc4 12. Bxc4 bxc4 13. Nc1 Qb7 14. N1e2 O-O 15. Qd4 Rb8 16. Bc1 d6 17. Qxc4 Bd7 18. b3 Rfc8 19. Qd3 a5 20. a3 Bc5 21. a4 Be8 22. Bb2 Bb4 23. Na2 Bc5 24. Bxf6 gxf6 25. Nec3 Bc6 26. Rhe1 Qb6 27. f4 Kh8 28. Re2 Rg8 29. g3 Rbd8 30. Qc4 Rd7 31. Red2 Bb7 32. Qe2 Qc6 33. Qh5 Qb6 34. Qh4 Qd8 35. f5 exf5 36. exf5 Rg5 37. Qf4 Re7 38. Nd5 Re5 39. g4 Bxd5 40. Rxd5 Rxd5 41. Rxd5 Qe7 42. Qf3 Qe1+ 43. Rd1 Qh4 44. h3 h5 45. Nc3 hxg4 46. hxg4 Rxg4 47. Nd5 Kg7 48. Rh1 Rg3 49. Qd1 Qd4 50. Qxd4 Bxd4 51. Kc1 Rg5 52. Rf1 Rg2 53. c3 Be5 54. Rd1 Kf8 55. Rd2 Rg1+ 56. Kc2 Ke8 57. b4 Kd7 58. bxa5 Kc8 59. Nb4 Rg5 60. Rd5 Rxf5 61. Rb5 Rf2+ 62. Kb3 Rf3 63. Nd5 Rd3 64. Kc4 1-0

Polgar-Svidler
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 11. Rxe5 c6 12.g3 Bd6 13. Re1 Qd7 14. d3 Qh3 15. Re4 Nf6 16. Rh4 Qf5 17. Nd2 Re8 18. Ne4 Nxe4 19. Rxe4 Rxe4 20. dxe4 Qxe4 21. Bc2 Qe7 22. Bg5 f6 23. Be3 Be6 24. Qf3 Qd7 25. Rd1 Rd8 26. Be4 Bxa2 27. Bb6 Bb3 28. Rd4 c5 29. Bxc5 Qe6 30. c4 1-0

Wijk aan Zee 1968-2004 / Beverwijk 1938-1967

Wijk aan Zee 1968-2004

2004 (average rating 2702) – 1. Anand (8.5); 2-3. Leko, Adams (8)
2003 (average rating 2701) – 1. Anand (8.5); 2. Polgar (8); 3. Bareev (7.5)
2002 (average rating 2688) – 1. Bareev (9); 2. Grischuk (8.5); 3-4. Adams, Morozevich (8)
2001 (average rating 2709) – 1. Kasparov (9); 2. Anand (8.5); 3-4. Ivanchuk, Kramnik (8)
2000 (average rating 2697) – 1. Kasparov (9.5); 2-4. Anand, Kramnik, Leko (8)
1999 (average rating 2672) – 1. Kasparov (10); 2. Anand (9.5); 3. Kramnik (8)
1998 (average rating 2671) – 1-2. Kramnik, Anand (8.5); 3-5. Shirov, Adams, Timman (7.5)
1997 (average rating 2635) – 1. Salov (8.5); 2-4. Piket, Onischuk, Sokolov (8)
1996 (average rating 2656) – 1. Ivanchuk (9); 2. Anand (8); 3. Topalov (7.5)
1995 – Knockout match format, won by Dreev
1994 (average rating 2599) – 1. Nikolic (7); 2. Tiviakov (5.5); 3-5. Hansen, Leko, Piket (5)
1993 – Knockout match format, won by Karpov
1992 (average rating 2592) – 1-2. Salov, Gelfand (8.5); 3-4. Kortchnoi, Huebner (7.5)
1991 (average rating 2584) – 1. Nunn (8.5); 2-5. Adams, Chernin, Khalifman, Hansen (8)
1990 (average rating 2566) – 1. Nunn (8); 2-3. Portisch, Andersson (7.5)
1989 (average rating 2551) – 1-4. Anand, Nikolic, Ribli, Sax (7.5)
1988 - 1. Karpov
1987 - 1-2. Short, Kortchnoi
1986 - 1. Short
1985 - 1. Timman
1984 - 1-2. Kortchnoi, Beliavsky
1983 - 1. Andersson
1982 - 1-2. Balashov, Nunn
1981 - 1-2. Sosonko, Timman
1980 - 1-2. Browne, Seirawan
1979 - 1. Polugayevsky
1978 - 1. Portisch
1977 - 1-2. Geller, Sosonko
1976 - 1-2. Ljubojevic, Olafsson
1975 - 1. Portisch
1974 - 1. Browne
1973 - 1. Tal
1972 - 1. Portisch
1971 - 1. Kortchnoi
1970 - 1. Taimanov
1969 - 1-2. Botvinnik, Geller
1968 - 1. Kortchnoi

Edited 1/5/2013 to add link to history of Beverwijk 1938-1967 at ChessBase.

OMFG!!!!

In game 1, I resigned a basically even position!

AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Talk about rust! "Nobody ever won a game of chess by resigning." - Savielly Tartakower. He's right. If I had played just one more move, I would surely have seen the right 29th move, which was eluding me. At least I can take consolation in the fact that there are 35 instances of masters resigning won (not even) games.

[See analysis of the game below.]

Updated Tournament Schedule (again)

January 22-23, 2005
2005 Atlanta Winter Congress (5 Round Swiss)
Round 1 Saturday morning at a time limit of G/90, rounds 2-5 at a time limit of 30/90 SD/1.
Atlanta Chess Center, 3155A East Ponce de Leon Avenue, Scottdale, Georgia 30079
After my experience today, I decided I will NOT be playing in this tournament after all.

February 5-6, 2005
2005 Georgian Peach Open (5 Round Swiss)
Rounds 1-2 Saturday at a time limit of G/75, rounds 3-5 at a time limit of G/120.
Holiday Inn, 2265 Kingston Court, Marietta, Georgia 30067
I changed my mind and decided to play in this tournament when I learned that (a) there IS an accelerated option to play Saturday & Sunday only, (b) it is taking place less than 5 minutes from my house, and (c) first prize is $1000!

January 2005 G/45 Championship

General Comments

I did more poorly than I was expecting (2 wins, 2 losses). But much more important than that is the fact that I quite simply did not have any fun. Not even a little bit. I played only children - the oldest of my opponents was no more than 12, the youngest around 6. I HATE playing children. If I win, I feel like Kramer in the Seinfeld karate episode. If I lose, I feel like a complete idiot. I'm not sure which feeling is worse, but I am sure that win, lose or draw - I definitely enjoy myself much better when I play adults. I understand and accept that in my rating class, some games with children are unavoidable ... but four out of four, come on now!

In addition to my personal feelings, playing with kids has the additional disadvantage that they are always mis-rated. They generally play mostly other scholastic players, so that their ratings are skewed and not representative of their actual results. Furthermore, they are generally improving so fast that their ratings are always lagging their current playing strength, sometimes by quite a bit.

An additional consideration that decreased my enjoyment of the tournament was the playing site. Scottdale is a poor location; Anthony's Pizza was closed, so the nearest food was further than a 10 minute drive away. Furthermore, the playing area was too small.

To end my bitch session on a positive note, I will give well-earned kudos to the TD and organizer - all rounds were paired on time and without error, rounds started and ended flawlessly, and the entire event went off without a hitch. A nice plus was that the boards and pieces were provided by the club, which made the start of rounds very easy - all you had to do was set your clock and shake hands.

Without further prelude, here are the four games with some off-the-cuff commentary. Note that the comments below are either superficial ideas that just occurred to me or variations that I analyzed during the game. I will update this post once I get a chance to analyze the games in detail.

Round 1

Ananya Roy (1018) - ALD (1499)
Giuoco Piano [C50]
Lost

1. e4 e5 [I pondered whether to play my usual 1. ... c5, but decided that a kid learning the game now would probably be much more up on all the latest Sicilian theory than I could hope to be, so I decided on 1. ... e5 instead. Of course, this could have backfired if my opponent had taken me down obscure Ruy Lopez variations.] 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 [Boy, did I luck out. I felt like cheering when I saw this.] Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. Bg5 [5. c3, 5. Nc3 and 5. O-O are all more common, but the text move is OK too. However, it turned out to be more successful for White than she had any right to expect simply because I failed to notice that anything unusual had happened and that the line we were in was very different from what you usually see in the Giuoco Piano. Two thoughts: (1) I know I am out of practice and that's why I had problems navigating through this opening correctly, but (2) back in my day a 1000 rated player could not have successfully done so either. The times, they are a-changing.] O-O [This is incorrect and is the cause of Black's future problems. The correct plan is ... d6, ... Be6, and ... Qe7, preserving the option to castle queen side depending on how things develop. Also 5. ... h6 is very playable.] 6. Nc3 [Not just the natural move, but clearly the strongest move in this position, with the strong threat of 7. Nd5.] Bb4 [The best might be 6. ... Be7 relieving the pin (Van der Zande - Beers, 2001). I didn't want to pull the bishop back, but moving it again this way is no good either, especially since White is obviously just going to castle so that the problem of Nd5 is still not solved. Either 6. ... d6 or 6. ... h6 is still very good.] 7. O-O Bxc3 [The bishop has had to move three times to prevent Nd5. A wonderful illustration of Nimzowitsch's chess principle that the threat is stronger than the execution. White never got to play Nd5, yet Black's position is already somewhat inferior.] 8. bxc3 d6 9. d4 [9. Rb1] Bg4 [9. ... h6] 10. Bb5 Bxf3 [Not best; brings the queen to bear on f6.] 11. Qxf3 exd4 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. Bxf6 gxf6 [12. ... Qxf6 is objectively better and I knew that at the time, but I thought that keeping the queens on the board gave me better practical chances. White: 0:12, Black: 0:15] 14. Qg4+ Kh1 15. cxd4 Rg8 [15. ... Qe7] 16. Qf5 Rg5 17. Qf3 Qe7 [17. ... f5] 18. h4 Rg6 19. h5 Rg5 20. Rfe1 c5 21. e5 Rag8 22. exf6 Rxg2+ 23. Kh1 Qd8 24. Re7?? [24. Qxg2 was necessary.] R8g5?? [Missing 24. ... R2g4! The elapsed times at this point were: White: 0:23, Black: 0:32] 25. Rae1 Qg8 26. Re8 Rg1+ 27. Kh2 R8g2+ 28. Kh3 Black resigns???? [DUH! There's 28. ... Rxe1 29. Rxg8 Rxg8 (Not 29....Kxg8??? Qa8+, which was the only thing I had seen.), when because of the disheveled pawn structure the queen might be slightly stronger than the two rooks, but there is still everything for me to play for. If only I had played one more move before resigning, I would surely have seen 29....Rxg8. Ouch! Elapsed times: White: 0:30, Black: 0:40]

Round 2

ALD (1499) - Christopher Roberts (893)
QGD Semi-Slav Defense [D43]
Won

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 e6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bf4 [5. e3, 5. Bg5] Nbd7 6. e3 Qa5 [6. ... Be7] 7. a3 [7. Nd2] c5 [Black's last two moves have not been the most accurate.] 8. Bd3 cxd4 9. exd4 Nb6 10. b4 Qa6 [White: 0:06, Black: 0:07]11. c5 [I thought this won the queen; I overlooked Black's strong (but in hindsight obvious) reply. The rust continues to show.] Nc4 12. Qb3 b5 13. cxb6ep axb6 14. O-O Be7 15. Rfd1 b5 16. Ne5 O-O 17. Be2 Bb7 18. a4 bxa4 [White: 0:22, Black: 0:21]19. Rxa4 Qb6 20. Rxa8 Rxa8 21. Nxc4 dxc4 22. Bxc4 Qc6 23. d5 exd5 24. Bxd5 Nxd5 25. Nxd5 Bf8? [Too timid. Black could have won a piece here. White: 0:31, Black: 0:26] 26. h3 Rd8 27. Ne3 Bxb4? 28. Rxd8 Bf8 29. Qd5 Qb6 30. Qd4 Qe6? [This allows a textbook finish, but due to the material deficit Black is lost in any event.] 31. Rxf8+ Kxf8 32. Qd8+ Qe8 33. Bd6+ Black resigns [White: 0:37, Black: 0:35]

Round 3

Harrison Ling (1116) - ALD (1499)
Sicilian [B33]
Won

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Bd3?? Be7?? [Rust!] 7. O-O?? O-O?? 8. Re1 d6 9. Be3 Bd7 10. Qf3 Rc8 11. Nxc6 Rxc6 12. Bxa7?! [This pawn is poisoned.] b6 13. Bb5 Rc5 14. Bxd7 Nxd7 15. Qe3 Qa8 16. Na4 Ra5 [White: 0:05, Black: 0:10] 17. Nxb6 Qxa7 18. Nc4 Rxa2 19. Rxa2 Qxa2 20. Qc3 Rc8 21. b3 Qa6 22. Ra1 Qb7 23. f3 Bf6 24. Qe1 Bxa1 25. Qxa1 Ra8 26. Qb2 Qa7+ 27. Kf1 Qa1+ 28. Qxa1 Rxa1+ 29. Ke2 Ra2 30. Kd3 Nc5+ 31. Kc3 Nb7 32. Kb4 Kf8 [Not best, but irrelevant.] White resigns [White: 0:14, Black: 0:21]

Going into round 4, I had 2 points and no other player in the Under-1500 category had more than that. So if I could win the last game, I would be assured of at least a portion of the prize (which had been increased from the advertised $50 to $64 because there were more entries than expected).

Round 4

ALD (1499) - Will Lugar (1115)
QGD Slav Defense [D15]
Lost

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 a6 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. e3 e6 7. Bd3 [This was played in Janssen-Ginzburg, 2001. More usual (and better) is 7. cxd5.] Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Qc2 h6 10. Bh4 Re8 11. Rac1 b5 12. c5 Qc7 [White: 0:06, Black: 0:07] 13. Bg3 [This was just dumb. Where is the queen threatening to go? a5! So why just push it along in that direction. Better to just lock up the queen side with 13. b5.] Qa5 14. a3 Qd8 15. b4 a5 16. Ra1 a4 [White: 0:13, Black: 0:15] 17. Rfe1 Bb7 18. e4 dxe4 19. Nxe4 Nd5 20. Bd6 Bf6 21. Nc3 Nxc3 22. Qxc3 Be7 23. Bf4 Nf6 [White has had the advantage all game. At this point, I pretty much thought I had the game strategically won. I was now headed to the hole at d6 with my knight, but the move I selected was absolutely horrible tactically. So it's a clean sweep - all four of my games show clear evidence of rust. Ah, well, what could I expect.] 24. Nd2?? Nd5! 25. Bh7+ [This bishop is less valuable than the other one.] Kxh7 26. Qd3+ Kg8 [White: 0:26, Black: 0:26] 27. Be3 Nxe3 28. fxe3 Bf6 29. Ne4 e5 30. Nd6 Re7 31. Re2?? [The end.] exd4 32. exd4 Rxe2 33. Qxe2 Bxd4+ White resigns [White: 0:35, Black: 0:35. And that was that. No prize for me.]

Additional analysis of all four games is here.

Updated Tournament Schedule

January 8, 2005
January 2005 Atlanta G/45 Championship (4 Round Swiss)
Atlanta Chess Center
3155A East Ponce de Leon Avenue, Scottdale, Georgia 30079

January 22-23, 2005
2005 Atlanta Winter Congress (5 Round Swiss)
Round 1 Saturday morning at a time limit of G/90, rounds 2-5 at a time limit of 30/90 SD/1.
Atlanta Chess Center
3155A East Ponce de Leon Avenue, Scottdale, Georgia 30079

February 5-6, 2005
2005 Georgian Peach Open (5 Round Swiss)
I changed my mind and decided to play in this tournament when I learned that (a) there IS an accelerated option to play Saturday & Sunday only, (b) it is taking place less than 5 minutes from my house, and (c) first prize is $1000!
Rounds 1-2 Saturday at a time limit of G/75, rounds 3-5 at a time limit of G/120.
Holiday Inn, 2265 Kingston Court, Marietta, Georgia 30067

Response to Comment

When was the last time you participated in a tournament?

The last individual event I played in was in March 1995. I did alright at it - 2 wins, a draw with one of the players who tied for 2nd place, and a loss to the winner. I even picked up 8 rating points for my trouble.

After that, the only event I have participated in was the 2000 Amateur South Team Tournament (with JMR and DAS) in February 2000. There I suffered three losses - although I am somewhat consoled by the fact that all three of them were to higher rated players, with ratings of 1965, 1740 and (just barely higher than me) 1557.

The USCF hasnt had a tourney update on you in quite some time.

The information on the USCF website is complete and accurate for the period covered, Nov 91 to Feb 00. Interestingly, the site you mention is brand new (this very month). Before that, all you could get was the rating information but not the event history. I think that's quite a good enhancement.

Is your rating still 1499?

My official rating is still 1499. The tournament I'm playing in tomorrow has a best Under-1500 result prize, so I'm hopeful I can win that.

When I got the 1499 rating (Feb 2000), I hadn't played in a tournament in 5 years. Furthermore, I hadn't played ANY chess at all for 3.5 years between June 1996 and December 1999. So I think it was accurate at the time; it might even have been a slight overstatement.

But, recently, I've been playing a lot of chess (quite a lot actually in the last six months or so), so I think I'm in pretty good shape now. If I had to guess, I'd say my actual playing strength (as opposed to my official rating) is probably a little higher than my official rating, maybe as high as 1590 or so. My only concern is that my opening repertoire is rusty from being exposed to only one opponent.

The GCA has a nifty calendar of events in your area. (You probably knew that.)

I was familiar with the GCA calendar. However, some events (e.g., the Georgian Peach Open) are not listed. I think you have to be affiliated with the GCA to get posted.

MGP4 Released (Kasparov on Fischer)

Garry Kasparov on Fischer: Garry Kasparov on My Great Predecessors, Part 4 is finally out. The first chapter is dedicated to Sammy Reshevsky (I'm definitely looking forward to reading this section), Miguel Najdorf and Bent Larsen; the second chapter (the bulk of the book) discusses Fischer's rise to the world championship.

Amazon has been promising that this book would ship within 1-2 days ever since December 18, which is the day I placed my order. However, my order didn't actually ship till today.

Two Speed Chess Games

RMD-ALD [C55], 1/6/2005

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bc5 5.O-O O-O 6.Nd5? {Loses a pawn for no compensation. Correct is 6.d3=.} Nxe4 7.d3 Nf6 8.Bg5 Be7 9.Bxf6 {9.Nxe7+ Qxe7 10.Re1 (10.Qd2 d6 ...0-1, Cebasek Jaka 1700 - Panic Veljko 1605, Tomo Zupan 1994) d6 ...0-1, Rosebrook G - Hawley T, Ann Arbor 1991} Bxf610.c3 d6 11.d4 exd4 12.Nxd4 Nxd4 13.Nxf6+ Qxf6 14.cxd4 {14.Qxd4 Qxd4 15.cxd4} Re8 15.b3 Bf5 16.f3 Re7 {Tiger recommends (and during the game I looked at) 16...d5 17.Bxd5 Rad8 18.Bc4 Rxd4 but I did not want to solve White's isolani for her.} 17.g4 {At this point it seemed to me that due to the slowly increasing pressure White was having trouble finding good moves. 17.Qd2 is better.} Be6 18.Rc1 {18.Bxe6 (the in-between move) Rxe6 and only then 19.Rc1 prevents what would have been a strong reply from Black (18....d5!).} Bxc4 19.Rxc4 d5 20.Rb4 {Better is 20.Rc2 since the rook is very poorly placed on b4.} c6 21.Qd2? {21.Ra4} Rae8 {21...b5! would really point out the ridiculous situation of the rook.} 22.Qc3 Re2 23.Rxb7? {This allows a mate in three.} {23.f4!} Rxa2? {Allowing White to set matters straight and settle in for a long drawn-out endgame. The move was 23...Qh4!} 24.Rc7? {24.Re1} Qh4! 0-1

ALD-RMD [C54], 1/6/2005

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.O-O {5.d3=} Nxe4 6.d4 exd4 7.cxd4 Bb6 {7...d5!} 8.Re1 Qe7? 9.Ng5? {9.Bxf7+! Qxf7 (9...Kf8 10.Bd5) 10.Rxe4+ Ne7 11.Bg5 O-O 12.Rxe7 winning a piece in all variations.} Nxd4? {9...f5 is the best defense, although Black already stands worse.} 10.Nxe4? {Again missing 10.Bxf7+ Kf8 11.Rxe4} O-O 11.Bg5 {11.Nbc3 continuing my development was stronger.} Qb4 12.Ned2? {12.b3 was the obvious move. Now White goes from a winning position to an inferior position.} Qxb2 13.Bxf7+? {13.Na3 was the best of a lot of bad choices.} Rxf7 14.Re8+? {14.Na3 still} Rf8 15.Qh5? {Wow! Mistake is just following mistake. Although White is lost in any event, better is 15.Rxf8+ Kxf8 16.Na3 Qxa3} d6 16.Be7 Be6 17.Bxf8? {17.Rxf8+ Rxf818.Bxf8 Kxf8 19.h3} Rxe8 18.Qxe8? {This allows a mate in three.} h6? {Black gives back some of her advantage with this move. 18...Qc1+! 19.Nf1 Ne2+ 20.Kh1 Qxf1#} 19.Nb3? {Better is 19.Bxd6+ and I have no idea why I didn't play this, since it's what I had in mind when I played 18.Qxe8. Now Black is in control again.} Nxb3 20.Qxe6+Kxf8 21.Qf5+ Kg8 {This is a subtle mistake, giving White additional chances. In a thicket of almost indistinguishable variations, it is very easy for Black to go astray and allow White to deliver perpetual check. 21...Ke7!} 22.Qh3?? {Not only does this not try for the draw by perpetual check, but it actually allows mate in one. 22.Qe6+! Kf8! (22...Kh7?? 23.Qf5+ g6 (23...Kh8 24.Qf8+ Draw; 23...Kg8 24.Qe6+ Kh7 25.Qe4+ Kh8 (25...g6 26.Qe7+ Draw) 26.Qe8+ Draw) 24.Qf7+ Kh8 (24...Qg7?? loses) 25.Qf8+ Draw) 23.Qf5+ Ke7 24.Qe4+ Kd8 and there are no more checks.} Qxa1? {Missing the obvious 22...Qc1#} 23.Qxb3+ Kh8 0-1

Two games

RMD - ALD, 12/30/2004 [B20]

1. e4 c5 2. Bc4 e6 3. Nf3 Be7 4. e5 [An odd move. Valentin-Murara, 2004, went 3. ... d6 4. e5, and the ancient game Cochrane-Staunton, 1842, went 3. ... Nc6 4. e5. I don't think this move can be considered good. The natural 4. Nc3 is much better.] Nc6 5. Nc3 d6 6. d4?! [6. exd6 Qxd6 7. O-O Nf6 =] cxd4 7. Nxd4 [This loses a pawn with insufficient compensation. The ultra-complicated line 7. exd6 dxc3 8. dxe7 Qxd1+ 9. Kxd1 Ngxe7 10. Re1 cxb2 11. Bxb2 O-O was best, but in any event the advantage has switched to Black.] Nxe5 8. Bb5+ [8. Be2] Bd7 9. Bf4 [9. O-O] Ng3 10. Bg3 [10. Be3] Nf6 11. Qd3 a6 12. Ba4 [12. Bxd7+] b5 13. Bb3 Rc8 14. Nde2 Bc6 [14. ... Qb6] 15. O-O [Finally!] O-O [15. ... b4!] 16. Rad1 [16. Nd4] d5 17. Qd4 [17. Nf4] b4 18. Na4 [The unfortunate 18. Nb1 was best, although I can see why my wife didn't want to play that.] Bxa4 [Prematurely releasing the pressure. Correct was 18. ... Ne4!] 19. Bxa4 a5 20. c3 Rc4 [20. ... Ne4 was still indicated. This move allows White to play 21. Qxc4! dxc4 22. Rxd8 Rxd8 23. Bb5! with a nearly even position.] 21. Qa7 Bc5 22. Qb7 [22. Qa6] bxc3 23. Nxc3 [23. Bb5!?] Rb4 [This move is OK, even if 23. ... Nh5 is a little better. However, I played it too fast and did not properly consider White's reply 24. Qc6.] 24. Qc6 Rc4 25. Qb5 Qb6 [Elapsed times at this point were White 0:14 Black 0:16. I was concerned that we might be playing a bit too fast, but we now got bogged down in complicated positions and ended up needing all the time on our clocks.] 26. Rc1 Qxb5 27. Bxb5 Rb4 28. Nxd5 Rxb5 [Better is 28. ... Nxd5 29. Rxc5 Rxb2.] 29. Nc7 [White is too anxious to recover the piece. Much stronger was 29. Nxf6+ gxf6 30. a4 Rxb2 31. Rxc5.] Bxf2+ [Missing the chance for an extra pawn with 29. ... Rxb2 30. Rxc5 Rxa2.] 30. Rxf2 Rb6 [Too timid; 30. ... Rg5.] 31. Rfc2 Rc8 [31. ... a4] 32. b3 h6 [Despite Black's extra pawn, this position is drawish now.] 33. Rc5 Ne4 34. Rxa5 Nxg3 [34. ... Rb7] 35. hxg3 Rb7 [35. ... Ne7] 36. Rac5 Rd8 37. R1c3 [37. Nb5] Rd2 [37. ... Rd1+, which I considered and discarded, is a little better. 37. ... Rd7, which I also considered, is cleary inferior.] 38. a4 Ne7 [38. ... Rb2] 39. Ne8 [The point of the maneuver on this move and the next is just too obvious to work. Better to go with the straightforward 39. a5.] Nd5 40. Rc8 Kh7 41. Rf3 Rb2 42. Rc4 [42. Nd6] R2xb3 43. Nd6 Rxf3 [White's desire to simplify is understandable, but now White's pawns are no longer doubled and more importantly Black's e pawn is no longer passed; 43. ... Rb1+. - RMD] 44. gxf3 Rb1+ 45. Kh2 [45. Kf2] f6 46. a5 Ra1 47. Nb7 [47. Rc5] Ne3 [Elapsed times at this point were White 0:29 Black 0:35.] 48. Rc6 [48. Re4 doesn't actually win a pawn after 48. ... Ra2+ 49. Kg1 Nf5 50. g4 Nh4, but it was worth considering as well as the move in the game.] Ra2+ 49. Kh3?? [Correct is 49. Kg1. As soon as I saw this, just looking at the White King trapped like a rat on the side of the board, I absolutely knew that my wife had made a terrible move. However, I looked and I looked, and I couldn't find a forced win anywhere. I explored 49. ... Ra1 threatening 50. ... Rh1#, but after 50. g4 there's no forcing continuation. In the post mortem, I found the mating move 49. ... Nf1!! threatening 50. ... Rf2#. 50. g4 no longer works, and 50. Kg4 runs into 50. ... f4+ and 51. ... g4#. Ah, well...] e5? 50. a6? Nc2? [50. ... Nf1! is still there when White's only salvation lies in giving up the rook with 51. Kg4 g6 52. Rc7+ Kg8 53. Rc8+ Kf7 54. Nd6+ Ke7 55. f4 Kxd6.] 51. Nc5 [51. Rb6] Nb4 [51. ... Nd4!] 52. Rb6 Nxa6?! [I'm always a bit too anxious to throw away pieces for passed pawns. I have got to learn to put up a more stubborn defense.] 53. Rxa6 Rxa6 54. Nxa6 Kg6 [54. ... g5] 55. Kg4 [55. Nc5] f5+ 56. Kh4 h5 [I did not have enough time to calculate accurately, so I had to take a guess. It turns out that 56. ... e4 is better, although it probably doesn't make any practical difference.] 57. Nc5 Kh6 58. Nd7 [58. Ne6 was probably the last chance to try for a win.] g5+ 59. Kh3 g4+ 60. Kg2 e4 [60. ... f4] 61. fxe4 [61. f4] fxe4 [Now the position is 100% drawn.] 62. Ne5 [Over the board I thought 62. Nc5 was stronger, but post mortem analysis shows this is not the case.] Kg5 63. Nc4 Kf5 64. Kf2 [Still trying to win, but the position simply won't allow that.] Kg5 65. Nd2 e3+? [Duh! I didn't like 65. ... h4 66. Ne4+, but this move doesn't actually prevent that; it just gives the pawn away for nothing. However, even this blunder can not alter the result.] 66. Kxe3 h4 67. Ne4+ Kh5 68. Nf6+ Kg5 69. Ne4+ Kh5 70. Nf6+ Kg5 71. gxh4+ [Finally acceding to the draw.] Kxh4 72. Nxg4 Kxg4 Draw [Elapsed times were White 0:41 Black 0:42.]

ALD - RMD, 1/2/2005 [D06]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nf3 Ne4 [WTH?] 4. cxd5 Qxd5 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Nc6 [6. ... Bf5] 7. Bf4 Qd7 8. e4 e6 9. Bb5 Bd6 10. Bxd6 [10. Ne5] cxd6? [Loses a piece.] 11. d5! exd5 12. exd5 Qe7+ 13. Kf1 a6 14. a6 [This does not save the piece. I still had 14. Qa4! But alas...] 14. Bxc6+? bxc6 15. dxc6 O-O 16. Nd4 [16. Qd3] Qe5 17. Qd2 Rb8 18. Re1 Qc5 19. Re7 [Overly ambitious. Better to work on "artificial castling" with 19. Kg1.] Qb6 [Missing the much stronger 19. ... Rb1+ 20. Re1 Qc4+ 21. Kg1 Qxa2!!] 20. Qc2 Qb1+ 21. Qxb1 Rxb1+ 22. Re1 Rb2 23. Re2 [23. a4] Rb6 24. f3 Be6 25. Kf2 [I also considered 25. Nxe6, but (correctly) concluded that this was stronger.] Bd5 26. c7 g6 27. Rhe1 Bb7 [27. ... Rc8?? loses to 28. Re8+.] 28. Re8 [Over the last several moves, White has made very strong moves and built up an incredible amount of pressure.] Bc8? [Relatively best was 28. ... Rb2+. This allows White a winning maneuver.] 29. Nb3? [Which I missed. Instantly winning was 29. Rd8! Kg7 30. Ree8.] d5? [Failing to take advantage of the escape opportunity.] 30. R1e7? [Failing to land the winning blow a second time.] Re6 [30. ... Rc6!] 31. Rxf8+ [31. Rxe6 fxe6 32. Rd8!] Kxf8 32. Rxe6 fxe6 33. Ke3 Ke7 34. Nc5 [34. Kf4 Kd6 35. Kg5 was the last chance to play for a win.] Kd6 35. Nd3 Kxc7 36. Kd4 Kc6 37. Ne5+ [37. Ke5] Kb5 38. c4+ dxc4 39. Nxc4 Kb4 40. Nb6 Bb7 41. Ke5 Kc5 [41. ... a5 42. Kxe6 Ka3 is good enough for the draw.] 42. Na4+ [42. Nd7+] Kb4 43. Nb6 Kc5 44. Na4+ Kb4 45. Nb6 Draw by repetition [Elapsed times were White 0:27 Black 0:23.]

My heart simply wasn't in this game. I played too fast, and I didn't really concentrate hard enough to find strong moves in superior positions. It's a good thing this wasn't a tournament game. I need to play much better if I hope to do well on Saturday.

FIDE 2700+ List

1 Kasparov, Garry g RUS 2804
2 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2786
3 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2757
[Topalov replaced Kramnik in the Top Three, to become the first new name there in ten years (since Kramnik bumped Karpov in 1995).]
4 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2754
5 Leko, Peter g HUN 2749
6 Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2741
7 Adams, Michael g ENG 2741
8 Svidler, Peter g RUS 2735
[Judit Polgar is rated 2728 but was not included because she played no games in 2004.]
9 Bacrot, Etienne g FRA 2715
10 Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2713
11 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2711
12 Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2710
13 Bareev, Evgeny g RUS 2709
14 Dreev, Alexey g RUS 2704
15 Ponomariov, Ruslan g UKR 2700

The full top 100 list is available at http://www.fide.com/ratings/topstat.phtml. Some observations:

• Karpov continues his steady decline down the list, down 8 points and 6 slots at #29 (2674).
• After a 1.5-year absence, Kortchnoi returns to the top 100 list (#90) as well as the 2600+ club (2617). Not bad at all. And for a man his age (73), downright remarkable. He displaces Karpov (53) as the oldest man in the top 100. I wonder if on his way up he will pass Karpov (on his way down)?
• The top rated USA player is Alexander Onischuk at #47 (2652). [Kamsky is rated higher but is not on the list because he is inactive.]