Friday, December 23, 2005

Two wins by Black

RMD-ALD, 12/23/2005 [B53]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Qxd4 Bd7 6.Qc4 {6.Bxc6 (B53 / 5-7) is the only move played with any regularity here.} a6 {6...Rc8, Uhlarova-Havlickova, Zilina 1997; 6...Nf6, Fisher-Croft, USA 1992} 7.Bxc6 {7.Ng5, Marabaoglu-Steinmann, Altenholz 1994} Bxc6 8.Nc3 Nf6 9.O-O g6 10.Ng5 e6 11.f4 Qb6+ 12.Kh1 Ng4 13.Qe2 h5 14.f5 gxf5 15.Nxe6? {I don't see the point.} fxe6 16.exf5 e5 -+ 17.a3 O-O-O 18.f6 Bh6 19.b4 Bxc1 20.Raxc1 Ne3 21.Rf2 Rdg8 22.Rg1 Nxg2 23.Rfxg2 Bxg2+ {23...Rxg2!} 24.Rxg2 Qc6 25.Ne4 Rxg2 26.Kxg2 d5 27.Ng5 Qxf6 28.h4 Qf4 29.Qe1Rg8 30.Qg3 Qxg3+ 31.Kxg3 e4 32.Kf4 Kd7 33.Ke5 Rxg5+! {It's all over.} 34.hxg5 e3 35.g6 e2 36.g7 e1Q+ 37.Kf6 Qc3+ 38.Kg6 Qxg7+ 39.Kxg7 h4 0-1

ALD-RMD, 12/23/2005 [D06]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6 3.cxd5 Nxd5 4.e4 Nf6 5.Nc3 h5 {Pointless; 5...e5 is relatively best.} 6.Bc4 Bd7 7.Nf3 e6 8.Bf4 {Creating a very classical looking center, but probably not best; 8.e5 seems better.} Bb4! 9.O-O {9.Bg5 keeps more of White's advantage.} Bxc3 10.bxc3 Nxe4 11.Qd3 Bc6 12.Ne5= {12.Rfe1! Nd6 13.Rxe6+ fxe6 14.Qg6+ Nf7 15.Qxe6+ Qe7 16.Qc8+ Qd8 17.Bxf7+Kxf7 18.Ne5+ Ke8 19.Qxd8+ Kxd8 20.Nf7+ Ke7 21.Nxh8 +/-} Nd6 13.Nxc6 Nxc6 14.Rab1 Qf6 15.Bxd6 cxd6 16.Rxb7 O-O 17.Bb3 d5 18.Bc2 g6 19.Rfb1 Na5 20.R7b5 Nc4 21.Bb3? Na3! -/+ 22.Bc2 Nxb5 23.Rxb5 a6 24.Rb6 a5 25.Qb5 Qe7 26.Qb1 a4 27.Bxg6!? Qg5 {27...fxg6 28.Qxg6+ Qg7 29.Qxe6+ Qf7 held no dangers for Black, but my wife refused my attempt to complicate matters.} 28.Bc2 h4 29.h3 Kg7 30.Qe1 a3 31.c4 {Risky.} Rfb8 32.Rxb8 Rxb8 33.cxd5 Qxd5 34.Qe5+? {Trading queens leaves White with absolutely no hope.} Qxe5 35.dxe5 Kh6 36.f4 Rb2 37.Bb3 Kg6 0-1 {38.Bc4 Kf5 39.Kf1 Kxf4 40.Kg1 Kxe5}

Saturday, December 17, 2005

Two games

I haven't posted any of the games between my and my wife in a while. Here's a couple of recent ones.

RMD-ALD, 10/23/2005 [C50]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.Nc3 O-O 6.O-O d6 7.a3 Bg4 8.Be3 Bxe3 9.fxe3 Qd7 10.Qe1 {10.Qd2, Mazziotti Irigoyen Gabriel 2139 - Martinez Daniel 2193, Buenos Aires 2001} Ne7 11.Nd5 Nexd5 12.exd5 e4 13.Nd4 exd3 14.Bxd3? Rae8? {14...Nxd5} 15.Bb5! Qe7 16.Bxe8 Rxe8 17.c4 Qxe3+ 18.Qxe3 Rxe3 19.Nb5 Rb3 {I don't know why I left the c7 pawn undisturbed for so many moves. - ALD} 20.Rf2 Ne4 21.Rf4 Nf6 22.Rb1 a6 23.Nc3 {23.Nxc7 +/-} Bh5 24.Rf2 Ng4 25.Rd2 Ne5 26.Rd4 {26.Re1!} Bg6 27.Ne4?{27.Rc1} Re3! -/+ {Black handles the remainder of the game very well. - ALD} 28.Nf6+ gxf6 29.Rf1 Kg7 30.Rf2 Re1+ 31.Rf1 Rxf1+ 32.Kxf1 Bd3+ 33.Kf2 Bxc4 34.g3 Bd3 35.b3 Bf5 36.Kg2 Kf8 37.h3 Ke7 38.g4 Bc8 39.Kg3 c6 40.Kf4 Ng6+ 41.Kg3 cxd5 42.Rxd5 Be6 43.Rd3 Ne5 44.Rc3 Kd7 45.b4 b5 0-1 {My wife doesn't usually resign until the win is obvious, but in this case she decided she did not want to play on in this hopeless position. - ALD}

RMD-ALD, 12/11/2005 [C50]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.Ng5 O-O 6.Qf3 d6 7.Nc3 Nd4 {7...Re8, Egold-Dietzel, Verden 2002; 7...Bg4, Mueller-Friess, Hassloch 1997; 7...Bb4, Strasser-Brehm, Bad Duerkheim 1993} 8.Qd1 {8.Qg3, Thomas-Thomas, Sebnitz 1998} Bg4 9.Nf3 Nxf3+ 10.gxf3 Bh5 11.Be3 Bb4 12.Qd2 Bxf3 13.Rg1 Ng4 14.h3 Nxe3 15.fxe3 Qh4+ 16.Qf2 Bxc3+ 17.bxc3 Qxh3 18.Kd2 Bg4 19.d4 exd4 20.cxd4 Rae8 21.Kd3 c6 22.Rg3 Qh4 23.Qf4 Be2+? 24.Kxe2 Qxf4 25.exf4 Rxe4+ 26.Kd3 Rxf4 27.d5 c5 28.Re3 a6 29.Re7? b5! 30.Bb3 {forced} c4+ 31.Kc3 cxb3 32.axb3 Ra8 33.Rd7 Rf6 34.Rc7 g6 35.Kb4 Rf5 36.c4 bxc4 37.bxc4 Rf2 38.Rc6 a5+ 39.Kb5 Rb2+ 40.Ka4 Rb4+ 41.Ka3 Kf8 42.Re1 Re8 43.Rc1 Re3+ 44.Ka2 a4 {44...Ke7} 45.Rxd6 a3 46.Rc2 Reb3 47.Rd8+ Ke7 48.Rc8 Rb6?= {This turns a game with very good winning chances into a dead draw; 48...Rd3! -/+. - ALD} 49.c5 R6b5 50.Rc7+ Kd8 51.d6 Rb2+ 52.Rxb2 axb2 53.Kb1 h5 54.c6 Rb8? {And this turns a dead draw into a lost endgame; 54...Rb6=. - ALD} 55.Rxf7 Ke8 56.Rb7 Rd8 57.Re7+ Kf8 58.Rd7 {58.Re6!} Rc8 {58...Ke8} 59.Rc7 Ra8 60.Rb7 61.d7+ Kd8 62.Kxb2 h4 63.Kc3? {63.c7+! +-} g5 64.Kd4 h3 65.Ke5 h2? {65...Ke7 with (slim) drawing chances. - ALD} 66.Kd6! 1-0 {66...Rc8 67.Rb8 h1Q 68.dxc8Q#}

Ludek Pachman

GM Ludek Pachman, who passed away in March 2003, is in my opinion THE best chess writer ever ... hands down, bar none! Unfortunately, many of his books either were never published in English or are long out of print. Among my favorite Pachman books are ...

Modern Chess Strategy
A one-volume condensed version of the earlier (and long out-of-print) three-volume Complete Chess Strategy.

Tactica Moderna en Ajedrez (Modern Chess Tactics)
A two-volume follow-up to Modern Chess Strategy covering tactics. Lots and lots of examples, followed by lots of exercises and several illustrative full games, on each topic.

Teoria Moderna en Ajedrez (Modern Chess Theory)
A 4-volume opening treatise (Open Games, Semi-Open Games, Queen's Pawn Games, Closed Games). It doesn't cover quite the same amount of ground as ECO in terms of raw number of lines, but it still manages to cover an impressively immense amount of material while also including lots of textual discussion of the theory and strategy behind each opening and its major lines.

Decisive Games in Chess History
Pachman analysis 65 pivotal games from 1870 to 1972, looking not just at the actual chess moves on the board but also the competitive and psychological aspects of the situation.

FIDE World Cup Round 7 (Final)

All the games of the World Cup are available in PGN format.

The first ten places, who move on to the next phase of the FIDE World Championship. All five 2700-rated players among the sweet 16 ended up at the top of the list:
1. Aronian, Levon (ARM, 2724) - in tiebreak
2. Ponomariov, Ruslan (UKR, 2704)
3. Bacrot, Etienne (FRA, 2725) - in tiebreak
4. Grischuk, Alexander (RUS, 2720)
5. Bareev, Evgeny (RUS, 2717) - in tiebreak
6. Gelfand, Boris (ISR)
7. Rublevsky, Sergei (RUS) - 1.5 to 0.5
8. Gurevich, Mikhail (BEL)
9. Kamsky, Gata (USA) - in tiebreak
10. Carlsen, Magnus (NOR) - the lowest rated (2570) and of course youngest of the sweet 16

The remaining players are:
11. Malakhov, Vladimir (RUS) - 1.5 to 0.5
12. Vallejo Pons, Francisco (ESP)
13. Dreev, Alexey (RUS) - in tiebreak
14. Van Wely, Loek (NED)
15. Lautier, Joel (FRA) - final score was tied, but Lautier had Black in the drawn seventh Sudden Death game
16. Sakaev, Konstantin (RUS)

If Kasparov and Kramnik decline to play in the 2006 Candidate Matches as is widely expected, then Shirov (based on his rating) and Malakhov (based on his #11 place finish) would take their places, as explained extremely well by ChessBase.

Ivanchuk (UKR, 2748) lost out because (a) he was not rated one point higher on either the July 2004 or January 2005 rating lists as that would have been enough to move him ahead of Bacrot on the rating list and (b) he lost in the second round to Cheparinov of the World Cup tournament.

The two other 2700-players were Shirov (ESP, 2710) and Radjabov (AZE, 2704) who both lost in round 3, to M. Gurevich and L. van Wely, respectively.

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

FIDE World Cup Round 6

For 1-4 places
Grischuk, Alexander (RUS) over Ponomariov, Ruslan (UKR) in tiebreak
Aronian, Levon (ARM) over Bacrot, Etienne (FRA), 1.5-0.5

For 5-8 places
Bareev, Evgeny (RUS) over Rublevsky, Sergei (RUS) in tiebreak
Gelfand, Boris (ISR) over Gurevich, Mikhail (BEL), 2-0

For 9-12 places
Carlsen, Magnus (NOR) over Malakhov, Vladimir (RUS) in tiebreak
Kamsky, Gata (USA) over Vallejo Pons, Francisco (ESP) in tiebreak

For 13-16 places
Van Wely, Loek (NED) over Lautier, Joel (FRA) in tiebreak
Dreev, Alexey (RUS) over Sakaev, Konstantin (RUS), 1.5-0.5

Sunday, December 11, 2005

FIDE World Cup Round 5

To determine Places 1-8
Ponomariov, Ruslan (UKR) over Bareev, Evgeny (RUS), 1.5-0.5
Bacrot, Etienne (FRA) over Rublevsky, Sergei (RUS), 1.5-0.5
Aronian, Levon (ARM) over Gurevich, Mikhail (BEL), 1.5-0.5
Grischuk, Alexander (RUS) over Gelfand, Boris (ISR) in tiebreak

To determine Places 9-16
Carlsen, Magnus (NOR) over Lautier, Joel (FRA), 1.5-0.5
Kamsky, Gata (USA) over Sakaev, Konstantin (RUS), 1.5-0.5
Malakhov, Vladimir (RUS) over Dreev, Alexey (RUS), 1.5-0.5
Vallejo Pons, Francisco (ESP) over Van Wely, Loek (NED) in tiebreak

Thursday, December 08, 2005

FIDE World Cup Round 4

Grischuk, Alexander (RUS) over Kamsky, Gata (USA), 1.5-0.5
Rublevsky, Sergei (RUS) over Sakaev, Konstantin (RUS), 1.5-0.5
Ponomariov, Ruslan (UKR) over Van Wely, Loek (NED), 2-0

The following matches ended in 1-1 ties, with the blitz tiebreak winner indicated in bold:
Bareev, Evgeny (RUS) - Carlsen, Magnus (NOR)
Bacrot, Etienne (FRA) - Lautier, Joel (FRA)
Vallejo Pons, Francisco (ESP) - Aronian, Levon (ARM)
Dreev, Alexey (RUS) - Gelfand, Boris (ISR)
Gurevich, Mikhail (BEL)
- Malakhov, Vladimir (RUS)

Note that for the remaining rounds, nobody is eliminated. They simply keep playing in winners and losers brackets until places 1-16 are decided. Places 1-10 continue to the next stage of the FIDE Championship cycle. So Aronian, Bacrot, Bareev, Gelfand, Grischuk, Gurevich, Ponomariov and Rublevsky have qualified for the 2006 Candidate matches (but of course, the little matter of the winner of the $100K first prize still needs to be determined). The other eight players are still fighting for the last two qualification slots.

Monday, December 05, 2005

FIDE World Cup Round 3

The following matches were decisive:
Aronian, Levon (ARM) over Areshchenko, Alexander (UKR), 1.5-0.5
Gurevich, Mikhail (BEL) over Shirov, Alexei (ESP), 1.5-0.5
Ponomariov, Ruslan (UKR) over Xu, Jun (CHN), 2-0
Sakaev, Konstantin (RUS) over Tiviakov, Sergei (NED), 2-0
Malakhov, Vladimir (RUS) over Sokolov, Ivan (NED), 1.5-0.5

The following matches went to tiebreaks:
Bacrot, Etienne (FRA) over Sutovsky, Emil (ISR)
Carlsen, Magnus (NOR) over Cheparinov, Ivan (BUL)
Grischuk, Alexander (RUS) over Shulman, Yuri (USA)
Gelfand, Boris (ISR) over Pantsulaia, Levan (GEO)
Rublevsky, Sergei (RUS) over Jobava, Baadur (GEO)
Van Wely, Loek (NED) over Radjabov, Teimur (AZE)
Dreev, Alexey (RUS) over Harikrishna, Pentala (IND)
Kamsky, Gata (USA) over Smirin, Ilia (ISR)
Vallejo Pons, Francisco (ESP) over Efimenko, Zahar (UKR)
Lautier, Joel (FRA) over Najer, Evgeniy (RUS)
Bareev, Evgeny (RUS) over Bruzon, Lazaro (CUB)

Friday, December 02, 2005

FIDE World Cup Round 2

Ivanchuk (#1) upset by Cheparinov (#64)!

The following matches had decisive results:
Ivanchuk, Vassily (UKR) - Cheparinov, Ivan (BUL): 0.5-1.5
Bacrot, Etienne (FRA) - Kempinski, Robert (POL): 1.5-0.5
Aronian, Levon (ARM) - Sadvakasov, Darmen (KAZ): 2-0
Grischuk, Alexander (RUS) - Istratescu, Andrei (ROM): 2-0
Shirov, Alexei (ESP) - Kotronias, Vasilios (GRE): 2-0
Lane, Gary (AUS) - Jobava, Baadur (GEO): 0.5-1.5
Sokolov, Ivan (NED) - Zhang, Zhong (CHN): 2-0
Bologan, Viorel (MDA) - Efimenko, Zahar (UKR): 0-2
Lautier, Joel (FRA) - Ivanov, Alexander (USA): 1.5-0.5
Bareev, Evgeny (RUS) - Naiditsch, Arkadij (GER): 1.5-0.5
Vallejo Pons, Francisco (ESP) - Leitao, Rafael (BRA): 1.5-0.5
Malakhov, Vladimir (RUS) - Nikolic, Predrag (BIH): 2-0
Cao, Sang (HUN) - Xu, Jun (CHN): 0.5-1.5
Balogh, Csaba (HUN) - Areshchenko, Alexander (UKR): 0.5-1.5
Carlsen, Magnus (NOR) - Ammonatov, Farrukh (TJK): 1.5-0.5

The following matches ended in 1-1 ties and were decided in blitz tiebreaks:
Gelfand, Boris (ISR) over Felgaer, Ruben (ARG)
Radjabov, Teimur (AZE) over Kazhgaleyev, Murtas (KAZ)
Ponomariov, Ruslan (UKR) over Motylev, Alexander (RUS)
Tiviakov, Sergei (NED) over Korneev, Oleg (RUS)
Dreev, Alexey (RUS) over Paragua, Mark (PHI)
Kamsky, Gata (USA) over Bocharov, Dmitry (RUS)
Bruzon, Lazaro (CUB) over Onischuk, Alexander (USA)
Najer, Evgeniy (RUS) over Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar (AZE)
Smirin, Ilia (ISR) over Wang, Yue (CHN)
Harikrishna, Pentala (IND) over Vescovi, Giovanni (BRA)
Sakaev, Konstantin (RUS) over Erenburg, Sergey (ISR)
Van Wely, Loek (NED) over Moiseenko, Alexander (UKR)
Rublevsky, Sergei (RUS) over Sasikiran, Krishnan (IND)
Gurevich, Mikhail (BEL) over Eljanov, Pavel (UKR)
Pantsulaia, Levan (GEO) over Ganguly, Surya Sekar (IND)
Sutovsky, Emil (ISR) over Timofeev, Artyom (RUS)

Shulman - Khalifman ended in a 3-3 tie, and the sudden death seventh game also ended in a draw so Shulman who had the Black pieces advanced to the third round.