Anderssen started the sacrificial style, Morphy and Gruenfeld the pure attacking style, Steinitz the positional style, Tarrasch the scientific style, Lasker the style of styles, Capablanca the mechanical style, Alekhine a style as brilliant as sunlight. But it is a generally known fact that originality and modernism were introduced by me as my own personal inventions and enthusiastically imitated (without being fully understood) by the whole world of chess. Before my time, chess was so naive and undistinguished! One or two brutal opening moves, each one involving a vulgar, obvious threat, a common, banal sacrifice, a painfully elementary, bestially raw checkmate such, more or less, was the course of chess games before my heyday set in. Then I appeared on the scene and the chess world paid heed. The hegemony of matter was shattered at a stroke and the era of the spiritual began. Under my creative guidance, the chessmen, hitherto nothing but highwaymen, pirates and butcher boys, became sensitive artists and subtle instruments of immeasurable profundity. But why waste words? Accompany me, dear reader to the dizzy heights of the following game.
French Defense, Copenhagen, 1927
1 e4 e6 2 h4!
My very oldest and latest thought in this opening. To the chess addict nurtured on spineless convention, this move comes like a slap in the face--but calm down, dear reader; after all, you cannot be expected to understand such moves. (Forgive me - it is not your fault, until now no one has opened your eyes and ears.) Wait just a little while, and there will pass before you a miracle of overprotection of more than earthly beauty. (I assume that I rightly surmise that you are quite familiar with my great theory of overprotection.)
2...d5
Black of course has no suspicion of what is coming and continues serenely in classical style.
3 e5!
A move of elemental delicacy. (We detest, as a matter of principle, such words as "power" and "strength"; in the first place, such banal expressions make us uncomfortable; and, in the second place, we like even less the brutalizing tendency which such words imply.) Wherein lies the beauty of 3 e5? Why is this move so strong? The answer is as simple as it is astonishing. The move is strong because it is weak! Weak, that is, only in the traditional sense! In reality, that is to say, it is not the move but the Pawn on K5 that is weak--a tremendous difference! In former times, it is true, it was customary to reject any move which created a weakness. Today, thanks to me, this view is obsolete. For, look, my dear reader, the fact that the Pawn on e5 is weak obliges White to protect the Pawn more and more until at last the state of overprotection arises as it were of itself. But, as we have seen (cf. My System), overprotection is practically equivalent to victory. Hence it follows automatically that the "weak" move, 3 e5, is a certain road to triumph. The rest is more or less a matter of technique.
3...c5
All according to a famous precedent.
4 d4
Here it is quite clear that it is more profitable for White first to provoke c5 and then play d4, rather than the other way round, which is the customary course. For, if White first plays d4, there follows c5 and White's d-pawn is under attack. But my clever transposition of moves changes the situation completely. For now Black's c-pawn is suddenly attacked by White's d-pawn!
4...cxd4
What else can Black do?
5 h5!
All very clever, original and decisive! Of course the ordinary run of people who envy my every spark of genius but cannot follow my line of reasoning for even three paces, outdo themselves in sneering at me with the poison-dripping epithet, "bizarre." The text move creates confusion in the whole Black army and prepares for the annihilating invasion by the Queen 18 moves later.
5...Qb6
Naturally not 5...Nc6 6 Bb5! etc. Why should Black play the French Defense only to allow the Ruy Lopez Bishop move after all?!
6 h6!
An avaricious dullard would never hit on this deeply conceived Pawn sacrifice.
6...Nxh6
After 6...gxh6, White has an even more comfortable game.
7 Qh5!!
The reason for this becomes clear after next move.
7...g6
Black threatens to begin a successful siege of the weakling at e5 with Bg7. But White forestalls this.
8 Qh2!!
To every fair-minded observer, this move must come as a revelation! All the previous maneuvers now become clear! White has completed his development brilliantly and proceeds to overprotect e5. Against this, Black is helpless.
8...Nf5 9 Bd3
Note the splendid cooperation of White's forces: while the e-pawn and the King Bishop completely blockade Black's position, the development of the overprotective forces takes place behind the broad backs of these sturdy blockaders.
9...Nc6 10 Nf3
As a rule this is a routine move. But here it is strikingly original and as such occupies a place in the treasury of my intellectual property.
10...h5
Old stuff!
11 b4!
A deep trap, as will soon become apparent!
11...Bg7
How Black must have rejoiced when he anticipated his formidable opponent in the occupation of the long diagonal. But...
12 Bf4!!
...how bitterly disappointed he must have been to realize that 11 b4 had only been a trap. The position of Black's Bishop at g7 is now quite pointless. 11...Be7 would have been relatively better.
12...Bd7 13 Nbd2 Rc8
Black no longer has any good moves!
14 Ke2!!
Again, an extraordinarily deep move. White sees through Black's plans, and in addition he prepares a particularly powerful continuation of his strategy of overprotection.
14...Nxb4
Just what White was waiting for.
15 Ne1!!
This was the point of his previous move! Black is now forced to exchange off the attacking Bishop at d3. But, with that, even White's King Knight enters the fray with fearful effect at d3, while the square f3 becomes available to the Queen Knight. Surely a grandiose piece of strategy. The fact is that I'm a marvelous player, even if the whole chess world bursts with envy.
15...Nxd3 16 Nxd3!
Naturally not 16 cxd3? which would have been quite inconsistent. The Pawn on c2 is unimportant, and Black only wastes precious time by capturing it.
16...Rxc2 17 Rae1!!
White continues his overprotection without much ado.
17...a5
This counterattack has no punch. Black would naturally like to get a passed Pawn plus a Rook on the seventh, but it is too late for that.
18 Kd1!
Now the menaced Rook must scurry back, for capture on R7 would be much too dangerous.
18...Rc6!!
At last, Black gets the right idea: overprotecting his Pawn at e6. But it is already too late.
19 Re2 Ke7
Introduced into tournament play by myself. See note to White's 14th move. The King overprotects e6.
20 Rhe1 Re8! 21 Nf3!
Completing the overprotection of e5 and thus deciding the fate of the game. Black has no defense. Note the esthetic effect created by White's position.
21...Bf8
Now Black threatens to complete the overprotection of e6 by playing Ng7. But White has prepared a brilliant combination.
22 g4!
Much stronger than the obvious Bg5+ etc.
22...hxg4 23 Qh7!!
Now one clearly realizes the masterly understanding of position which went into White's eighth move (Qh2!!).
23...gxf3
Had Black continued overprotecting by 23...Ng7 there would have followed 24 Bg5+ f6 25 Bxf6+ Kf7 26 Ng5#. Black's basic error was that he started overprotecting much too late.
24 Bg5#
One of my best games! I am proud of it if only because Systemsson is one of the strongest Scandinavian players. The game made an overwhelming impression on the players and spectators as well as on my opponent. The game has become famous in Denmark as "the immortal game of overprotection."
(Published by Hans Kmoch in the February, 1928, issue of Wiener Schachzeitung)
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Martin-Tlingel, 1981
Another chess game from a work of fiction. This one is from "Unicorn Variations", a short story by Roger Zelazny published in 1981. (The story background does not provide a year for the story.)
Martin (Human) - Tlingel (Unicorn)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. o-o Nxe4 5. d4! Nd6 6. dxe5 Nxb5 7. a4 d6 8. e6 fxe6 9. axb5 Ne7 10. Nc3 Ng6 11. Ng5 Be7 12. Qh5 Bxg5 13. Bxg5 Qd7 14. b6 cxb6 15. Nd5 exd5 16. Rfe1 Kf8 17. Ra3 Ne5 18. Rxe5 dxe5 19. Rf3 Kg8 20. Bh6 Qe7 21. Bxg7 Kxg7 22. Rg3 Kf8 23. Rf3 Kg7 24. Rg3 Kf8 25. Rf3 Draw
(Alexander Halprin - Harry Nelson Pillsbury, Munich 1900 or 1901)
Martin (Human) - Tlingel (Unicorn)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. o-o Nxe4 5. d4! Nd6 6. dxe5 Nxb5 7. a4 d6 8. e6 fxe6 9. axb5 Ne7 10. Nc3 Ng6 11. Ng5 Be7 12. Qh5 Bxg5 13. Bxg5 Qd7 14. b6 cxb6 15. Nd5 exd5 16. Rfe1 Kf8 17. Ra3 Ne5 18. Rxe5 dxe5 19. Rf3 Kg8 20. Bh6 Qe7 21. Bxg7 Kxg7 22. Rg3 Kf8 23. Rf3 Kg7 24. Rg3 Kf8 25. Rf3 Draw
(Alexander Halprin - Harry Nelson Pillsbury, Munich 1900 or 1901)
Monday, March 13, 2006
MGP5 Released
The last volume of MGP, My Great Predecessors Part 5: Kasparov on Karpov, is out.
One beef: Korchnoi, as much as I admire his play, should not be pictured on the cover or named on the spine of the book. He was never world champion. Reshevsky et al, who were the subject of chapter 1 of volume 4, did not receive this honor.
One beef: Korchnoi, as much as I admire his play, should not be pictured on the cover or named on the spine of the book. He was never world champion. Reshevsky et al, who were the subject of chapter 1 of volume 4, did not receive this honor.
A Final Act in the Farce
that was the 2006 US Championship.
Due to an error in an Excel spreadsheet formula used to calculate the prize fund distribution, the itemized prizes added up to around $20,000 more than the prize fund of $253,600. So, they cut all prizes other than the top four by 11% to make up the shortfall.
And people wonder why professional chess is in trouble?
Due to an error in an Excel spreadsheet formula used to calculate the prize fund distribution, the itemized prizes added up to around $20,000 more than the prize fund of $253,600. So, they cut all prizes other than the top four by 11% to make up the shortfall.
And people wonder why professional chess is in trouble?
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Some Observations on the U.S. Championship
1. It is absurd that because of the provision that a certain number of slots go to women, a player with a rating of 1660 got to play in the U.S. Championship. She scored 0/9. What is the point of that?
2. The number of foreign players was oddly high. Of course, the former USSR was the most heavily represented foreign country, but the 30 players from there far outnumbered players from the US (only 21 of the players were US-born). Three more players were from Cuba, and ten other countries were also represented.
2. The number of foreign players was oddly high. Of course, the former USSR was the most heavily represented foreign country, but the 30 players from there far outnumbered players from the US (only 21 of the players were US-born). Three more players were from Cuba, and ten other countries were also represented.
U.S. Championship Rapid Match Finals
I cannot believe that the final of the U.S. Championship is decided by rapid chess games, but it is, so here are the results...
Onischuk defeated Shulman 1.5-0.5 to become U.S. Champion, and Zatonskih defeated Goletiani by the same margin for the women's title.
Onischuk defeated Shulman 1.5-0.5 to become U.S. Champion, and Zatonskih defeated Goletiani by the same margin for the women's title.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
U.S. Championship Results
Men: GM Alexander Onischuk won group A with a score of 7/9 (+5 =4) and GM Yury Shulman narrowly won group B with a score of 6.5/9 (+5 =3 -1) on tiebreak over GM Gata Kamsky and GM Larry Christiansen.
Women: WGM Rusudan Goletiani and WGM Anna Zatonskih were the highest scoring women in groups A and B, respectively, both with scores of 5/9 (+3 =4 -2).
They will face off tomorrow for the title.
Women: WGM Rusudan Goletiani and WGM Anna Zatonskih were the highest scoring women in groups A and B, respectively, both with scores of 5/9 (+3 =4 -2).
They will face off tomorrow for the title.
Linares Round 14
Aronian wins by beating Leko with Black.
Leko-Aronian
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.a4 b4 9.d3 d6 10.a5 Be6 11.Nbd2 Qc8 12.Nc4 Rb8 13.Bg5 Kh8 14.h3 Ng8 15.c3 bxc3 16.bxc3 f5 17.Ba4 fxe4 18.Bxc6 exf3 19.Bxe7 Nxe7 20.Bxf3 Ng6 21.Bg4 Nf4 22.Ra2 Qb7 23.Bf3 Qb3 24.Rc2 Nxd3 25.Qxd3 Qxc4 26.Qxc4 Bxc4 27.Bc6 Rb3 28.g3 g5 29.Re3 Ra3 30.Be4 Rxa5 31.g4 Bd5 32.f3 Bxe4 33.fxe4 Ra1+ 34.Kg2 Rff1 35.Ree2 Rg1+ 36.Kh2 Rh1+ 37.Kg3 Rag1+ 38.Rg2 Re1 39.Rgf2 Re3+ 40.Kg2 Rexh3 0-1
Svidler-Ivanchuk
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.a4 Bb7 9.d3 d6 10.Nbd2 Na5 11.Ba2 c5 12.Nf1 b4 13.c3 bxc3 14.bxc3 c4 15.Ng3 cxd3 16.Qxd3 Bc8 17.Ba3 Qc7 18.Red1 Nb7 19.Qc4 Qxc4 20.Bxc4 Re8 21.Rab1 Ra7 22.Rb6 Na5 23.Bf1 Nd7 24.Rbb1 Nc5 25.Bxc5 dxc5 26.Nxe5 g6 27.f4 Be6 28.f5 Bb3 29.Rxb3 Nxb3 30.Bc4 Bg5 31.Nxf7 Be3+ 32.Kh1 Nd2 33.Nd6+ Nxc4 34.Nxe8 Kf7 35.Nd6+ Nxd6 36.Rxd6 Rb7 37.fxg6+ hxg6 38.h4 Bf4 39.Rd3 Ke6 40.Kh2 Rb3 41.Kh3 c4 42.Rf3 Ke5 43.Nf1 a5 44.Kg4 Bh6 45.h5 gxh5+ 46.Kxh5 Bc1 47.Rf5+ Kxe4 48.Ng3+ Kd3 49.Rf3+ Kc2 50.Ne2 Bd2 51.Nd4+ Kb2 52.Nb5 Bxc3 53.Rf2+ Kb1 54.Rf4 Bb4 55.Rxc4 1/2-1/2
VallejoPons-Topalov and Bacrot-Radjabov were drawn in 30 and 20 moves, respectively.
Leko-Aronian
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.a4 b4 9.d3 d6 10.a5 Be6 11.Nbd2 Qc8 12.Nc4 Rb8 13.Bg5 Kh8 14.h3 Ng8 15.c3 bxc3 16.bxc3 f5 17.Ba4 fxe4 18.Bxc6 exf3 19.Bxe7 Nxe7 20.Bxf3 Ng6 21.Bg4 Nf4 22.Ra2 Qb7 23.Bf3 Qb3 24.Rc2 Nxd3 25.Qxd3 Qxc4 26.Qxc4 Bxc4 27.Bc6 Rb3 28.g3 g5 29.Re3 Ra3 30.Be4 Rxa5 31.g4 Bd5 32.f3 Bxe4 33.fxe4 Ra1+ 34.Kg2 Rff1 35.Ree2 Rg1+ 36.Kh2 Rh1+ 37.Kg3 Rag1+ 38.Rg2 Re1 39.Rgf2 Re3+ 40.Kg2 Rexh3 0-1
Svidler-Ivanchuk
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.a4 Bb7 9.d3 d6 10.Nbd2 Na5 11.Ba2 c5 12.Nf1 b4 13.c3 bxc3 14.bxc3 c4 15.Ng3 cxd3 16.Qxd3 Bc8 17.Ba3 Qc7 18.Red1 Nb7 19.Qc4 Qxc4 20.Bxc4 Re8 21.Rab1 Ra7 22.Rb6 Na5 23.Bf1 Nd7 24.Rbb1 Nc5 25.Bxc5 dxc5 26.Nxe5 g6 27.f4 Be6 28.f5 Bb3 29.Rxb3 Nxb3 30.Bc4 Bg5 31.Nxf7 Be3+ 32.Kh1 Nd2 33.Nd6+ Nxc4 34.Nxe8 Kf7 35.Nd6+ Nxd6 36.Rxd6 Rb7 37.fxg6+ hxg6 38.h4 Bf4 39.Rd3 Ke6 40.Kh2 Rb3 41.Kh3 c4 42.Rf3 Ke5 43.Nf1 a5 44.Kg4 Bh6 45.h5 gxh5+ 46.Kxh5 Bc1 47.Rf5+ Kxe4 48.Ng3+ Kd3 49.Rf3+ Kc2 50.Ne2 Bd2 51.Nd4+ Kb2 52.Nb5 Bxc3 53.Rf2+ Kb1 54.Rf4 Bb4 55.Rxc4 1/2-1/2
VallejoPons-Topalov and Bacrot-Radjabov were drawn in 30 and 20 moves, respectively.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Linares Round 13
Topalov has had an amazing run on the Linares leg of the tournament. From being at the bottom (with Bacrot) at the end of round 6, he has scored 5 points in the last six rounds and is now at the top (with Leko, Radjabov and Aronian). Since they are 1.5 points ahead of Ivanchuk and Svidler, one of these four player will be the winner after the last round tomorrow.
Topalov-Leko
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 b6 7.Bg5 Bb7 8.Nf3 d6 9.Nd2 Nbd7 10.f3 d5 11.cxd5 exd5 12.e3 Re8 13.Be2 Rc8 14.0-0 Qe7 15.Bb5 c6 16.Ba4 h6 17.Bxf6 Nxf6 18.Rfe1 b5 19.Bc2 c5 20.Bf5 Rc7 21.dxc5 Rxc5 22.Qd4 a6 23.a4 bxa4 24.Rxa4 Rc6 25.b4 Qe5 26.Qxe5 Rxe5 27.Bd3 Rb6 28.Kf2 Bc8 29.Rb1 Bf5 30.Bxf5 Rxf5 31.Ra5 g6 32.Ke2 h5 33.g3 Kg7 34.h3 Nd7 35.g4 hxg4 36.hxg4 Re5 37.Kf2 Rc6 38.Rb3 Rb6 39.f4 Ree6 40.g5 Red6 41.e4 Rb5 42.Rxb5 axb5 43.Rd3 Nb6 44.Nb1 Rc6 45.exd5 Rc4 46.Kf3 Rxb4 47.Nd2 f6 48.Ne4 fxg5 49.Nxg5 Kf6 50.Kg4 Nc4 51.Ne4+ Ke7 52.d6+ Kd8 53.Kg5 Nb2 54.Re3 Rd4 55.Nf6 Rxd6 56.Re8+ Kc7 57.Re2 Rd1 58.Rxb2 Rg1+ 59.Kh6 Kc6 60.Ne4 Kd5 61.Rb4 Kc6 62.Rd4 Rg4 63.Nf2 Kc5 64.Rd1 Rg2 65.Nd3+ Kc4 66.Ne5+ Kc3 67.Rc1+ Kb2 68.Rc6 Kb3 69.Rxg6 Rf2 70.Rg3+ Kc2 71.Nd3 1-0
Radjabov-Svidler
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.a4 e6 6.e3 c5 7.Bxc4 Nc6 8.0-0 cxd4 9.exd4 Be7 10.Bg5 0-0 11.Re1 h6 12.Bf4 Nb4 13.Qd2 Bd7 14.Bxh6 Rc8 15.Bb3 gxh6 16.Qxh6 Nh7 17.Re5 f5 18.Rxe6 Bxe6 19.Bxe6+ Kh8 20.Bxc8 Rf6 21.Qh5 Qxc8 22.Re1 Bf8 23.Ne5 Kg8 24.Qd1 Ng5 25.Qb3+ Kg7 26.h4 Nf7 27.Ne2 Nxe5 28.dxe5 Rc6 29.Nf4 Be7 30.Qg3+ Kh7 31.Qf3 Qe8 32.g3 Qf7 33.e6 Qf6 34.Qh5+ Kg8 35.Qe8+ Qf8 36.Qg6+ Qg7 37.Qxf5 Rc5 38.Qe4 Nc6 39.Nd5 Qxb2 40.Qf5 Rc1 41.Nxe7+ 1-0
Ivanchuk-VallejoPons
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 b5 7.a4 c6 8.e5 h6 9.exf6 hxg5 10.fxg7 Rg8 11.g3 Bb7 12.Bg2 c5 13.0-0 g4 14.Nh4 Bxg2 15.Nxg2 Rxg7 16.axb5 cxd4 17.Ne4 f5 18.Nf4 Kf7 19.Rc1 fxe4 20.Rxc4 Bc5 21.Rxc5 Nd7 22.Rh5 Nf6 23.Re5 Qd6 24.Rxe6 1-0
Aronian-Bacrot was drawn.
Standings:
Topalov, Leko, Radjabov, Aronian - 7.5
Ivanchuk, Svidler - 6
Bacrot - 5.5
VallejoPons - 4.5
Topalov-Leko
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 b6 7.Bg5 Bb7 8.Nf3 d6 9.Nd2 Nbd7 10.f3 d5 11.cxd5 exd5 12.e3 Re8 13.Be2 Rc8 14.0-0 Qe7 15.Bb5 c6 16.Ba4 h6 17.Bxf6 Nxf6 18.Rfe1 b5 19.Bc2 c5 20.Bf5 Rc7 21.dxc5 Rxc5 22.Qd4 a6 23.a4 bxa4 24.Rxa4 Rc6 25.b4 Qe5 26.Qxe5 Rxe5 27.Bd3 Rb6 28.Kf2 Bc8 29.Rb1 Bf5 30.Bxf5 Rxf5 31.Ra5 g6 32.Ke2 h5 33.g3 Kg7 34.h3 Nd7 35.g4 hxg4 36.hxg4 Re5 37.Kf2 Rc6 38.Rb3 Rb6 39.f4 Ree6 40.g5 Red6 41.e4 Rb5 42.Rxb5 axb5 43.Rd3 Nb6 44.Nb1 Rc6 45.exd5 Rc4 46.Kf3 Rxb4 47.Nd2 f6 48.Ne4 fxg5 49.Nxg5 Kf6 50.Kg4 Nc4 51.Ne4+ Ke7 52.d6+ Kd8 53.Kg5 Nb2 54.Re3 Rd4 55.Nf6 Rxd6 56.Re8+ Kc7 57.Re2 Rd1 58.Rxb2 Rg1+ 59.Kh6 Kc6 60.Ne4 Kd5 61.Rb4 Kc6 62.Rd4 Rg4 63.Nf2 Kc5 64.Rd1 Rg2 65.Nd3+ Kc4 66.Ne5+ Kc3 67.Rc1+ Kb2 68.Rc6 Kb3 69.Rxg6 Rf2 70.Rg3+ Kc2 71.Nd3 1-0
Radjabov-Svidler
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.a4 e6 6.e3 c5 7.Bxc4 Nc6 8.0-0 cxd4 9.exd4 Be7 10.Bg5 0-0 11.Re1 h6 12.Bf4 Nb4 13.Qd2 Bd7 14.Bxh6 Rc8 15.Bb3 gxh6 16.Qxh6 Nh7 17.Re5 f5 18.Rxe6 Bxe6 19.Bxe6+ Kh8 20.Bxc8 Rf6 21.Qh5 Qxc8 22.Re1 Bf8 23.Ne5 Kg8 24.Qd1 Ng5 25.Qb3+ Kg7 26.h4 Nf7 27.Ne2 Nxe5 28.dxe5 Rc6 29.Nf4 Be7 30.Qg3+ Kh7 31.Qf3 Qe8 32.g3 Qf7 33.e6 Qf6 34.Qh5+ Kg8 35.Qe8+ Qf8 36.Qg6+ Qg7 37.Qxf5 Rc5 38.Qe4 Nc6 39.Nd5 Qxb2 40.Qf5 Rc1 41.Nxe7+ 1-0
Ivanchuk-VallejoPons
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 dxc4 6.e4 b5 7.a4 c6 8.e5 h6 9.exf6 hxg5 10.fxg7 Rg8 11.g3 Bb7 12.Bg2 c5 13.0-0 g4 14.Nh4 Bxg2 15.Nxg2 Rxg7 16.axb5 cxd4 17.Ne4 f5 18.Nf4 Kf7 19.Rc1 fxe4 20.Rxc4 Bc5 21.Rxc5 Nd7 22.Rh5 Nf6 23.Re5 Qd6 24.Rxe6 1-0
Aronian-Bacrot was drawn.
Standings:
Topalov, Leko, Radjabov, Aronian - 7.5
Ivanchuk, Svidler - 6
Bacrot - 5.5
VallejoPons - 4.5
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Linares Round 12
All four games were drawn this round
VallejoPons-Radjabov
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Bc4 Be7 5.d3 Nf6 6.Nd5 d6 7.Nxf6+ Bxf6 8.c3 0-0 9.0-0 Rb8 10.a4 b6 11.Re1 Be6 12.Bxe6 fxe6 13.b4 Qd7 14.Bd2 Kh8 15.h3 Rf7 16.a5 b5 17.a6 cxb4 18.cxb4 Bd8 19.Qe2 Bb6 20.Rab1 Rbf8 21.Be3 Qd8 22.Rec1 Bxe3 23.fxe3 Qb6 24.Ng5 Rf6 25.Rf1 Qd8 26.Qg4 Rxf1+ 27.Rxf1 Rxf1+ 28.Kxf1 Qf6+ 29.Ke2 Nd8 30.Qh5 Qg6 31.hxg6 32.d4 exd4 33.exd4 d5 34.Kd3 Kg8 35.h4 Kf8 36.exd5 exd5 37.Kc3 Ke7 38.Nf3 Kf6 39.Ne5 g5 40.h5 Kf5 41.Kd3 Kf4 42.Ng6+ Kg3 43.Ne7 Kxg2 44.Nxd5 Kf3 45.Ne7 g4 1/2-1/2
Leko-Bacrot
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.c4 Nb4 9.Be2 0-0 10.a3 Nc6 11.cxd5 Qxd5 12.Nc3 Nxc3 13.bxc3 Bf5 14.Re1 Rfe8 15.Bf4 Rac8 16.Bd3 Qd7 17.Rb1 Bxd3 18.Qxd3 b6 19.d5 Bf6 20.c4 h6 21.h3 Ne7 22.Ne5 Bxe5 23.Bxe5 Nf5 24.Bb2 f6 25.Bc3 Nd6 26.Bd2 Rxe1+ 27.Rxe1 Re8 28.Rc1 Qf5 29.Qxf5 Nxf5 30.Bf4 Re7 31.g4 Nd4 32.Kf1 Kf7 33.Be3 Nb3 34.Rc3 Na5 35.c5 Rd7 36.Bf4 b5 37.Rd3 Nc6 38.Bxc7 Rxc7 39.dxc6 Rxc6 40.Rd7+ Kg6 41.Rxa7 1/2-1/2
Topalov-Ivanchuk was drawn in 37 moves, and Svidler-Aronian was a 20-move grandmaster draw.
Commentary on the games by GM Mihail Marin can be found on Chessbase's website.
Standings:
Leko - 7.5
Aronian - 7
Topalov, Radjabov - 6.5
Svidler - 6
Ivanchuk, Bacrot - 5
VallejoPons - 4.5
VallejoPons-Radjabov
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Bc4 Be7 5.d3 Nf6 6.Nd5 d6 7.Nxf6+ Bxf6 8.c3 0-0 9.0-0 Rb8 10.a4 b6 11.Re1 Be6 12.Bxe6 fxe6 13.b4 Qd7 14.Bd2 Kh8 15.h3 Rf7 16.a5 b5 17.a6 cxb4 18.cxb4 Bd8 19.Qe2 Bb6 20.Rab1 Rbf8 21.Be3 Qd8 22.Rec1 Bxe3 23.fxe3 Qb6 24.Ng5 Rf6 25.Rf1 Qd8 26.Qg4 Rxf1+ 27.Rxf1 Rxf1+ 28.Kxf1 Qf6+ 29.Ke2 Nd8 30.Qh5 Qg6 31.hxg6 32.d4 exd4 33.exd4 d5 34.Kd3 Kg8 35.h4 Kf8 36.exd5 exd5 37.Kc3 Ke7 38.Nf3 Kf6 39.Ne5 g5 40.h5 Kf5 41.Kd3 Kf4 42.Ng6+ Kg3 43.Ne7 Kxg2 44.Nxd5 Kf3 45.Ne7 g4 1/2-1/2
Leko-Bacrot
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.c4 Nb4 9.Be2 0-0 10.a3 Nc6 11.cxd5 Qxd5 12.Nc3 Nxc3 13.bxc3 Bf5 14.Re1 Rfe8 15.Bf4 Rac8 16.Bd3 Qd7 17.Rb1 Bxd3 18.Qxd3 b6 19.d5 Bf6 20.c4 h6 21.h3 Ne7 22.Ne5 Bxe5 23.Bxe5 Nf5 24.Bb2 f6 25.Bc3 Nd6 26.Bd2 Rxe1+ 27.Rxe1 Re8 28.Rc1 Qf5 29.Qxf5 Nxf5 30.Bf4 Re7 31.g4 Nd4 32.Kf1 Kf7 33.Be3 Nb3 34.Rc3 Na5 35.c5 Rd7 36.Bf4 b5 37.Rd3 Nc6 38.Bxc7 Rxc7 39.dxc6 Rxc6 40.Rd7+ Kg6 41.Rxa7 1/2-1/2
Topalov-Ivanchuk was drawn in 37 moves, and Svidler-Aronian was a 20-move grandmaster draw.
Commentary on the games by GM Mihail Marin can be found on Chessbase's website.
Standings:
Leko - 7.5
Aronian - 7
Topalov, Radjabov - 6.5
Svidler - 6
Ivanchuk, Bacrot - 5
VallejoPons - 4.5
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Linares Round 11
Annotations taken from the ChessBase website. I urge you to check out their website where much more detailed commentary can be found.
Aronian-VallejoPons
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.e4 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Qxd4 7.Bxb4 Qxe4+ 8.Be2 Na6 (The most logical continuation.) 9.Bd6 e5!? (Theory holds 9...b6 as the main line. For the sake of rapid development, Vallejo's choice looks more appropriate, although it will most likely cause him to lose his extra pawn back.) 10.Nf3 Bg4 11.0-0 (11.Nxe5 is not likely to offer White any advantage.) 0-0-0 12.Bd3 Qf4 13.Bxe5 Qxe5 14.Nxe5 Bxd1 15.Bf5+ (Removes the bishop from its exposed position in order to prepare the following tactical sequence. In case of 15.Raxd1 Nh6 White would have little chance to prove the superiority of the bishop over the knight.) Kc7 16.Nxf7!? Bh5 N (16...Ne7 17.Bxh7! Bg4 18.Nxh8 Rxh8 19.Rfe1 was better for White in Tal-Dorfman, Tbilisi 1978; 16...Nh6 17.Nxh6 Bh5 18.Bg4 Bxg4 19.Nxg4 Rd2 and Black's activity was sufficient for a draw in Bacrot-Tregubov, Corsica 2005.) 17.Nxd8! (The best way of maintaining the initiative.) Kxd8 18.g4 Nh6 (Best.) 19.Rad1+ Kc7 20.Rd7+ Kb6 21.Rxg7 Nxf5 22.gxf5 Rf8 23.Re1 Nc5? (The decisive mistake. It was essential to eliminate the f5-pawn at once with 23...Rxf5 in order to ensure stability to the bishop on g6 after 24.Ree7 Bg6. Play could become very sharp after 25.Rxb7+ Kc5 26.b3 Nb4 27.Rxa7 Kd4. At the cost of considerable material losses, Black would finally get all his pieces together, which would put the enemy king in a slightly uncomfortable situation.) 24.b4! Nd3 25.Ree7 Nxb4 (Forced.) 26.Rxb7+ Kc5 27.Rg5!! (Vallejo must have overlooked or underestimated this move.) Bf3 (27...Be2 28.f6+ Kxc4 29.f7 and the pawn would be unstoppable; 27...Bf7 28.f6+ Kxc4 29.Rg4+.) 28.f6+ Kxc4 29.Rf5! (The fight is over.) Bd5 (29...Rg8+ 30.Rg7) 30.Rf4+ Kc3 31.Rbxb4 Bxa2 32.Ra4 Bf7 33.Rxa7 c5 34.f3 c4 35.Kf2 Kb3 36.Rb7+ 36.Rb7+ 1-0
Bacrot-Svidler
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 a6 5.Nc3 Bf5!? (The main line is 5...b5.) 6.Bd3 Bxd3 7.Qxd3 e6 8.0-0 Be7 9.e4 0-0 10.Be3 dxe4 11.Nxe4 Nxe4 12.Qxe4 Nd7 13.Rad1 (White has obtained a stable advantage of space.) Qa5 14.a3 Rad8 15.Rfe1 Rfe8 16.h3 Nf8 17.Qc2 Ng6 18.Bd2 Qh5 (Double edged decision, but correct.) 19.Bc3 Rd7 20.Qe4 Red8 21.Rd3 Bf6 22.g4 Qh6 23.Bd2 Qxh3 (White has no simple way of getting an advantage.) 24.Ng5 (24.g5?! Bxd4 25.Nxd4 Qh5 followed by ...c5, and Black recuperates the sacrificed material with a splendid position; even worse would be 24.Ne5? Qxd3 followed by ...Rxd4, with more than sufficient compensation for the queen; White's most consistent way to maintain the tension consisted of 24.Ree3.) 24...Qxd3!? (24...Qh4 leads to a repetition of moves.) 25.Qxd3 Rxd4 26.Qh3 Rxd2 27.Qxh7+ Kf8 28.Nxe6+ fxe6 29.Qxg6 Bd4 (Black's activity ensures him reasonable compensation for the queen.) 30.Rf1 Ke7 31.Qg5+ Bf6 32.Qc5+ Kf7 33.g5 Bxb2 34.Rb1 R8d3 35.Qb6 Bd4 36.Qxb7+ Kg6 37.Rf1 Rg3+ 38.Kh2 Rxg5 39.Qxc6 Kf6 40.Kh3 Rh5+ 41.Kg4 Rg5+ 42.Kh3 Rh5+ 1/2-1/2
Ivanchuk-Leko
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.Nbd2 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Ne5 Be7 8.Qa4+ c6 9.Bg2 Bb7 10.0-0 0-0 11.Rd1 Re8 12.Ndf3 h6 13.Bf4 Bf8 14.Rac1 c5 15.h4 Na6 16.Bh3 Bd6 17.e3 Qe7 18.Ng4 Ne4 19.Bxd6 Qxd6 (After the exchange of the bishops Black gets almost perfect stability on dark squares.) 20.Bg2 Nc7 21.Nge5 Qf6 22.Qc2 Ne6 23.b3? Rac8? (Leko missed an unexpected tactical resource, 23...cxd4 24.exd4 Nxd4!! 25.Rxd4 Rac8 26.Qb2 Rxc1+ 27.Qxc1 Rxe5 winning a pawn.) 24.Qb2 cxd4?! (24...a5!) 25.exd4 Rxc1 26.Rxc1 Rc8 27.Rxc8+ Bxc8 28.Ng4 Qe7 29.Ne3 (White's position is more pleasant and Leko had to struggle for 35 more moves, although he never got into concrete danger of losing.) Bb7 30.Bh3 Nc7 31.Nf5 Qd8 32.Ne5 Nb5 33.a4 Nbd6 34.Qc2 a5 35.Ne3 Nf6 36.f3 Nde8 37.Kf2 Qc7 38.Bf5 Qxc2+ 39.Bxc2 Nd6 40.g4 g5 41.Nf5 Nxf5 42.Bxf5 gxh4 43.Nd3 Ba6 44.Nf4 b5 45.axb5 Bxb5 46.Ng2 a4 47.bxa4 Bxa4 48.Nxh4 Ne8 49.Ke3 Kf8 50.Kf4 Ke7 51.Bd3 Ng7 52.Ke5 Bc6 53.Bh7 f6+ 54.Kf4 h5 55.Nf5+ Nxf5 56.gxf5 Be8 57.Bg8 Bf7 58.Bxf7 Kxf7 59.Kg3 Kg7 60.Kh4 Kh6 61.f4 Kh7 62.Kxh5 Kg7 63.Kh4 Kh6 64.Kg4 Kg7 1/2-1/2
Radjabov-Topalov was drawn in 26 moves.
Standings:
Leko - 7
Aronian - 6.5
Topalov, Radjabov - 6
Svidler - 5.5
Ivanchuk, Bacrot - 4.5
VallejoPons - 4
Aronian-VallejoPons
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.e4 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Qxd4 7.Bxb4 Qxe4+ 8.Be2 Na6 (The most logical continuation.) 9.Bd6 e5!? (Theory holds 9...b6 as the main line. For the sake of rapid development, Vallejo's choice looks more appropriate, although it will most likely cause him to lose his extra pawn back.) 10.Nf3 Bg4 11.0-0 (11.Nxe5 is not likely to offer White any advantage.) 0-0-0 12.Bd3 Qf4 13.Bxe5 Qxe5 14.Nxe5 Bxd1 15.Bf5+ (Removes the bishop from its exposed position in order to prepare the following tactical sequence. In case of 15.Raxd1 Nh6 White would have little chance to prove the superiority of the bishop over the knight.) Kc7 16.Nxf7!? Bh5 N (16...Ne7 17.Bxh7! Bg4 18.Nxh8 Rxh8 19.Rfe1 was better for White in Tal-Dorfman, Tbilisi 1978; 16...Nh6 17.Nxh6 Bh5 18.Bg4 Bxg4 19.Nxg4 Rd2 and Black's activity was sufficient for a draw in Bacrot-Tregubov, Corsica 2005.) 17.Nxd8! (The best way of maintaining the initiative.) Kxd8 18.g4 Nh6 (Best.) 19.Rad1+ Kc7 20.Rd7+ Kb6 21.Rxg7 Nxf5 22.gxf5 Rf8 23.Re1 Nc5? (The decisive mistake. It was essential to eliminate the f5-pawn at once with 23...Rxf5 in order to ensure stability to the bishop on g6 after 24.Ree7 Bg6. Play could become very sharp after 25.Rxb7+ Kc5 26.b3 Nb4 27.Rxa7 Kd4. At the cost of considerable material losses, Black would finally get all his pieces together, which would put the enemy king in a slightly uncomfortable situation.) 24.b4! Nd3 25.Ree7 Nxb4 (Forced.) 26.Rxb7+ Kc5 27.Rg5!! (Vallejo must have overlooked or underestimated this move.) Bf3 (27...Be2 28.f6+ Kxc4 29.f7 and the pawn would be unstoppable; 27...Bf7 28.f6+ Kxc4 29.Rg4+.) 28.f6+ Kxc4 29.Rf5! (The fight is over.) Bd5 (29...Rg8+ 30.Rg7) 30.Rf4+ Kc3 31.Rbxb4 Bxa2 32.Ra4 Bf7 33.Rxa7 c5 34.f3 c4 35.Kf2 Kb3 36.Rb7+ 36.Rb7+ 1-0
Bacrot-Svidler
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 a6 5.Nc3 Bf5!? (The main line is 5...b5.) 6.Bd3 Bxd3 7.Qxd3 e6 8.0-0 Be7 9.e4 0-0 10.Be3 dxe4 11.Nxe4 Nxe4 12.Qxe4 Nd7 13.Rad1 (White has obtained a stable advantage of space.) Qa5 14.a3 Rad8 15.Rfe1 Rfe8 16.h3 Nf8 17.Qc2 Ng6 18.Bd2 Qh5 (Double edged decision, but correct.) 19.Bc3 Rd7 20.Qe4 Red8 21.Rd3 Bf6 22.g4 Qh6 23.Bd2 Qxh3 (White has no simple way of getting an advantage.) 24.Ng5 (24.g5?! Bxd4 25.Nxd4 Qh5 followed by ...c5, and Black recuperates the sacrificed material with a splendid position; even worse would be 24.Ne5? Qxd3 followed by ...Rxd4, with more than sufficient compensation for the queen; White's most consistent way to maintain the tension consisted of 24.Ree3.) 24...Qxd3!? (24...Qh4 leads to a repetition of moves.) 25.Qxd3 Rxd4 26.Qh3 Rxd2 27.Qxh7+ Kf8 28.Nxe6+ fxe6 29.Qxg6 Bd4 (Black's activity ensures him reasonable compensation for the queen.) 30.Rf1 Ke7 31.Qg5+ Bf6 32.Qc5+ Kf7 33.g5 Bxb2 34.Rb1 R8d3 35.Qb6 Bd4 36.Qxb7+ Kg6 37.Rf1 Rg3+ 38.Kh2 Rxg5 39.Qxc6 Kf6 40.Kh3 Rh5+ 41.Kg4 Rg5+ 42.Kh3 Rh5+ 1/2-1/2
Ivanchuk-Leko
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.Nbd2 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Ne5 Be7 8.Qa4+ c6 9.Bg2 Bb7 10.0-0 0-0 11.Rd1 Re8 12.Ndf3 h6 13.Bf4 Bf8 14.Rac1 c5 15.h4 Na6 16.Bh3 Bd6 17.e3 Qe7 18.Ng4 Ne4 19.Bxd6 Qxd6 (After the exchange of the bishops Black gets almost perfect stability on dark squares.) 20.Bg2 Nc7 21.Nge5 Qf6 22.Qc2 Ne6 23.b3? Rac8? (Leko missed an unexpected tactical resource, 23...cxd4 24.exd4 Nxd4!! 25.Rxd4 Rac8 26.Qb2 Rxc1+ 27.Qxc1 Rxe5 winning a pawn.) 24.Qb2 cxd4?! (24...a5!) 25.exd4 Rxc1 26.Rxc1 Rc8 27.Rxc8+ Bxc8 28.Ng4 Qe7 29.Ne3 (White's position is more pleasant and Leko had to struggle for 35 more moves, although he never got into concrete danger of losing.) Bb7 30.Bh3 Nc7 31.Nf5 Qd8 32.Ne5 Nb5 33.a4 Nbd6 34.Qc2 a5 35.Ne3 Nf6 36.f3 Nde8 37.Kf2 Qc7 38.Bf5 Qxc2+ 39.Bxc2 Nd6 40.g4 g5 41.Nf5 Nxf5 42.Bxf5 gxh4 43.Nd3 Ba6 44.Nf4 b5 45.axb5 Bxb5 46.Ng2 a4 47.bxa4 Bxa4 48.Nxh4 Ne8 49.Ke3 Kf8 50.Kf4 Ke7 51.Bd3 Ng7 52.Ke5 Bc6 53.Bh7 f6+ 54.Kf4 h5 55.Nf5+ Nxf5 56.gxf5 Be8 57.Bg8 Bf7 58.Bxf7 Kxf7 59.Kg3 Kg7 60.Kh4 Kh6 61.f4 Kh7 62.Kxh5 Kg7 63.Kh4 Kh6 64.Kg4 Kg7 1/2-1/2
Radjabov-Topalov was drawn in 26 moves.
Standings:
Leko - 7
Aronian - 6.5
Topalov, Radjabov - 6
Svidler - 5.5
Ivanchuk, Bacrot - 4.5
VallejoPons - 4
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Linares Round 10
Topalov-Aronian (Topalov is 3/3 in the Linares leg of the tournament)
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 c5 5.g3 cxd4 6.Nxd4 0-0 7.Bg2 d5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Qb3 Qb6 10.Bxd5 exd5 11.Be3 Bh3 12.Rc1 Nc6 13.Nxc6 Qxc6 14.f3 Qc4 15.Kf2 Be6 16.Qxc4 dxc4 17.Rhd1 Bxc3 18.bxc3 b6 19.Rd4 Rfd8 20.g4 Rd5 21.g5 Rad8 22.h4 Kf8 23.Rb1 Ke7 24.Rb2 R8d6 25.Rxd5 Rxd5 26.Bd4 f6 27.e4 Ra5 28.f4 Bd7 29.Ke3 Rb5 30.Rg2 Kf7 31.h5 fxg5 32.fxg5 g6 33.Rf2+ Ke8 34.hxg6 hxg6 35.Bf6 Rb1 36.Kd4 Rd1+ 37.Kxc4 Be6+ 38.Kb5 Ra1 39.Rh2 Rxa2 40.Rh7 Bd7+ 41.Kc4 Rd2 42.Bd4 Be6+ 43.Kb5 Bd7+ 44.Ka6 Bc6 45.Kxa7 Bxe4 46.Kxb6 Rb2+ 47.Kc5 Rb7 48.Rh4 Rc7+ 49.Kb4 Rb7+ 50.Kc4 Bf5 51.Kc5 Rc7+ 52.Kd6 Rd7+ 53.Kc6 Re7 54.Bf6 Re4 55.Rh8+ Kf7 56.Rh7+ Kg8 57.Rg7+ Kf8 58.Kb5 Re8 59.c4 Rb8+ 60.Ka5 Ra8+ 61.Kb4 Rb8+ 62.Kc3 Rc8 63.Ra7 Be6 64.Be7+ Kg8 65.c5 Bd5 66.Kd4 Bg2 67.Ke5 Ra8 68.Rc7 Ra1 69.Kf6 Be4 70.Rc8+ Kh7 71.Rd8 Ra6+ 72.Kf7 Bf5 73.Rd4 Be6+ 74.Kf8 Ra8+ 75.Bd8 Bg4 76.c6 1-0
VallejoPons-Bacrot
1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 dxc4 4.Nc3 a6 5.e4 b5 6.e5 Nd5 7.a4 e6 8.axb5 Nb6 9.Ng5 h6 10.Nge4 axb5 11.Rxa8 Nxa8 12.Nxb5 Nb6 13.Be3 Nc6 14.Be2 Bb4+ 15.Nbc3 0-0 16.g4 Bb7 17.0-0 Ne7 18.Nd2 Bxc3 19.bxc3 Ned5 20.Qc1 Nxe3 21.fxe3 Qg5 22.Rf4 Nd5 23.Re4 Ne7 24.Rf4 Ng6 25.Rf2 Qxe3 26.Nb3 Qxc1+ 27.Nxc1 c5 28.Bxc4 cxd4 29.Rb2 Bf3 30.cxd4 Rc8 31.Rc2 Be4 32.Nd3 Nf4 33.Rd2 Nh3+ 0-1
Ivanchuk-Radjabov
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.Be3 exd4 8.Nxd4 c6 9.f3 Re8 10.Bf2 d5 11.exd5 cxd5 12.0-0 Nc6 13.c5 Nh5 14.Qd2 Be5 15.g3 Ng7 16.Rfd1 Be6 17.Bb5 Qd7 18.Rac1 a6 19.Ba4 Rad8 20.b4 Bh3 21.Qh6 Be6 22.a3 Qc8 23.Qg5 Qc7 24.Qd2 Rf8 25.Bc2 Bc8 26.Bb3 Ne6 27.Nde2 d4 28.Nd5 Qb8 29.f4 Bg7 30.Qd3 Nc7 31.Nb6 Bf5 32.Qd2 d3 33.Nc3 Nd4 34.Bxd4 Bxd4+ 35.Kg2 Rfe8 36.Re1 Bxc3 37.Qxc3 Be4+ 38.Kf2 d2 39.Rxe4 Rxe4 40.Rd1 Red4 41.Bc4 Ne8 42.Qe3 Kf8 43.Qe5 Qxe5 44.fxe5 Nc7 0-1
Leko-Svidler was drawn in 30 moves.
Standings:
Leko - 6.5
Topalov, Aronian, Radjabov - 5.5
Svidler - 5
VallejoPons, Ivanchuk, Bacrot - 4
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 c5 5.g3 cxd4 6.Nxd4 0-0 7.Bg2 d5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Qb3 Qb6 10.Bxd5 exd5 11.Be3 Bh3 12.Rc1 Nc6 13.Nxc6 Qxc6 14.f3 Qc4 15.Kf2 Be6 16.Qxc4 dxc4 17.Rhd1 Bxc3 18.bxc3 b6 19.Rd4 Rfd8 20.g4 Rd5 21.g5 Rad8 22.h4 Kf8 23.Rb1 Ke7 24.Rb2 R8d6 25.Rxd5 Rxd5 26.Bd4 f6 27.e4 Ra5 28.f4 Bd7 29.Ke3 Rb5 30.Rg2 Kf7 31.h5 fxg5 32.fxg5 g6 33.Rf2+ Ke8 34.hxg6 hxg6 35.Bf6 Rb1 36.Kd4 Rd1+ 37.Kxc4 Be6+ 38.Kb5 Ra1 39.Rh2 Rxa2 40.Rh7 Bd7+ 41.Kc4 Rd2 42.Bd4 Be6+ 43.Kb5 Bd7+ 44.Ka6 Bc6 45.Kxa7 Bxe4 46.Kxb6 Rb2+ 47.Kc5 Rb7 48.Rh4 Rc7+ 49.Kb4 Rb7+ 50.Kc4 Bf5 51.Kc5 Rc7+ 52.Kd6 Rd7+ 53.Kc6 Re7 54.Bf6 Re4 55.Rh8+ Kf7 56.Rh7+ Kg8 57.Rg7+ Kf8 58.Kb5 Re8 59.c4 Rb8+ 60.Ka5 Ra8+ 61.Kb4 Rb8+ 62.Kc3 Rc8 63.Ra7 Be6 64.Be7+ Kg8 65.c5 Bd5 66.Kd4 Bg2 67.Ke5 Ra8 68.Rc7 Ra1 69.Kf6 Be4 70.Rc8+ Kh7 71.Rd8 Ra6+ 72.Kf7 Bf5 73.Rd4 Be6+ 74.Kf8 Ra8+ 75.Bd8 Bg4 76.c6 1-0
VallejoPons-Bacrot
1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 dxc4 4.Nc3 a6 5.e4 b5 6.e5 Nd5 7.a4 e6 8.axb5 Nb6 9.Ng5 h6 10.Nge4 axb5 11.Rxa8 Nxa8 12.Nxb5 Nb6 13.Be3 Nc6 14.Be2 Bb4+ 15.Nbc3 0-0 16.g4 Bb7 17.0-0 Ne7 18.Nd2 Bxc3 19.bxc3 Ned5 20.Qc1 Nxe3 21.fxe3 Qg5 22.Rf4 Nd5 23.Re4 Ne7 24.Rf4 Ng6 25.Rf2 Qxe3 26.Nb3 Qxc1+ 27.Nxc1 c5 28.Bxc4 cxd4 29.Rb2 Bf3 30.cxd4 Rc8 31.Rc2 Be4 32.Nd3 Nf4 33.Rd2 Nh3+ 0-1
Ivanchuk-Radjabov
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.Be3 exd4 8.Nxd4 c6 9.f3 Re8 10.Bf2 d5 11.exd5 cxd5 12.0-0 Nc6 13.c5 Nh5 14.Qd2 Be5 15.g3 Ng7 16.Rfd1 Be6 17.Bb5 Qd7 18.Rac1 a6 19.Ba4 Rad8 20.b4 Bh3 21.Qh6 Be6 22.a3 Qc8 23.Qg5 Qc7 24.Qd2 Rf8 25.Bc2 Bc8 26.Bb3 Ne6 27.Nde2 d4 28.Nd5 Qb8 29.f4 Bg7 30.Qd3 Nc7 31.Nb6 Bf5 32.Qd2 d3 33.Nc3 Nd4 34.Bxd4 Bxd4+ 35.Kg2 Rfe8 36.Re1 Bxc3 37.Qxc3 Be4+ 38.Kf2 d2 39.Rxe4 Rxe4 40.Rd1 Red4 41.Bc4 Ne8 42.Qe3 Kf8 43.Qe5 Qxe5 44.fxe5 Nc7 0-1
Leko-Svidler was drawn in 30 moves.
Standings:
Leko - 6.5
Topalov, Aronian, Radjabov - 5.5
Svidler - 5
VallejoPons, Ivanchuk, Bacrot - 4
A bit of Reshevsky & Fine trivia
Samuel Reshevsky played every world champion from Lasker through Karpov, a combined total of 112 games. Against Lasker and Euwe, he had plus results of +1 and +6 -2 =6, respectively. Against Capablanca and Karpov, he had even results of +1 -1 =4 and =1, respectively. Against the other champions he was less successful.
Reuben Fine of course had a much shorter career, but it was overwhelmingly successful on the international arena. He never played Smyslov, Tal, Petrosian, Spassky or Karpov. However, in the 27 games he played against world champions, he achieved plus scores against Lasker (+1), Alekhine (+3 =4 -2) and Botvinnik (+1 =2 -0), and an even score against Capablanca (=5) and Euwe (+2 =3 -2). Only against Fischer did he have a minus score (they never met in official games, but Fischer beat Fine twice in Manhattan Chess Club games in 1963).
Reuben Fine of course had a much shorter career, but it was overwhelmingly successful on the international arena. He never played Smyslov, Tal, Petrosian, Spassky or Karpov. However, in the 27 games he played against world champions, he achieved plus scores against Lasker (+1), Alekhine (+3 =4 -2) and Botvinnik (+1 =2 -0), and an even score against Capablanca (=5) and Euwe (+2 =3 -2). Only against Fischer did he have a minus score (they never met in official games, but Fischer beat Fine twice in Manhattan Chess Club games in 1963).
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Linares Round 9
Bacrot-Topalov
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 a6 5.Bd3 Bg4 6.Nbd2 e6 7.0-0 Nbd7 8.b3 c5 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Bb2 Be7 11.Qb1 cxd4 12.Bxd4 Bf6 13.Rc1 Bh5 14.Rc4 Qe7 15.h3 Rd8 16.Be4 Bxd4 17.Nxd4 N7f6 18.Bxd5 Nxd5 19.Qb2 0-0 20.Rac1 Bg6 21.N4f3 f6 22.g3 e5 23.a3 Qe6 24.e4 Ne7 25.Rc7 Rd7 26.h4 Rfd8 27.b4 h6 28.Rxd7 Rxd7 29.b5 axb5 30.Qxb5 Nc6 31.Kg2 Kh7 32.Qc4 Qxc4 33.Rxc4 Rd3 34.a4 Ra3 35.Nb1 Ra2 36.Nc3 Rc2 37.Rc5 Nb4 38.Ne1 Rc1 0-1
Radjabov-Leko
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 0-0 12.0-0 Rc8 13.e4 c5 14.exd5 exd5 15.dxc5 dxc4 16.cxb6 Nxb6 17.Re1 Bf6 18.Bxf6 Qxf6 19.Ne4 Qg6 20.Qd6 Qxd6 21.Nxd6 Rcd8 22.Nf5 g6 23.Ne3 Rfe8 24.Bf1 Re5 25.bxc4 Rc5 26.Rec1 Rdc8 27.Rc2 Kg7 28.Rac1 R8c7 29.Rc3 Bc8 30.Nc2 Na4 31.Ra3 Bd7 32.Nd4 Re5 33.Rd1 Nb2 34.Rb1 Re4 35.Rxb2 Rxd4 36.f3 Be6 37.Kf2 Rd6 38.Rc3 Rdc6 39.Rbc2 Bf5 40.Rc1 Rc5 41.h4 h5 42.Ra3 Rd7 43.Be2 Rdc7 44.Rcc3 Be6 45.Rc2 Bf5 46.Rb2 Be6 47.Rc3 Kf6 48.Bd3 Bf5 49.Bf1 Ra5 50.Be2 Be6 51.Bd3 Bf5 52.Bf1 Be6 53.a3 Bf5 54.Be2 Rac5 55.Ke3 Re5+ 56.Kf2 Rec5 57.Rd2 Be6 58.Bd3 Bf5 59.Ke3 Bxd3 60.Kxd3 g5 61.Rh2 Rd7+ 62.Kc2 Rd4 63.hxg5+ Kxg5 64.Kb3 a5 65.Rh1 f6 66.Rh2 Rd1 67.Ka4 Rd4 68.Kb3 Rd1 69.Re2 Rg1 70.Ree3 Kf5 71.f4 Rh1 72.Re8 h4 73.gxh4 Rxh4 74.Rb8 Rxf4 75.Rb5 Rxb5+ 76.cxb5 a4+ 77.Kc2 Rd4 78.b6 Rd8 79.Rf3+ Ke6 80.Re3+ Kd6 1/2-1/2
Aronian-Ivancuk and Svidler-VallejoPons were drawn in 35 and 31 moves, respectively.
Standings:
Leko - 6
Aronian - 5.5
Radjabov, Topalov, Svidler - 4.5
Ivanchuk, VallejoPons - 4
Bacrot - 3
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 a6 5.Bd3 Bg4 6.Nbd2 e6 7.0-0 Nbd7 8.b3 c5 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Bb2 Be7 11.Qb1 cxd4 12.Bxd4 Bf6 13.Rc1 Bh5 14.Rc4 Qe7 15.h3 Rd8 16.Be4 Bxd4 17.Nxd4 N7f6 18.Bxd5 Nxd5 19.Qb2 0-0 20.Rac1 Bg6 21.N4f3 f6 22.g3 e5 23.a3 Qe6 24.e4 Ne7 25.Rc7 Rd7 26.h4 Rfd8 27.b4 h6 28.Rxd7 Rxd7 29.b5 axb5 30.Qxb5 Nc6 31.Kg2 Kh7 32.Qc4 Qxc4 33.Rxc4 Rd3 34.a4 Ra3 35.Nb1 Ra2 36.Nc3 Rc2 37.Rc5 Nb4 38.Ne1 Rc1 0-1
Radjabov-Leko
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 0-0 12.0-0 Rc8 13.e4 c5 14.exd5 exd5 15.dxc5 dxc4 16.cxb6 Nxb6 17.Re1 Bf6 18.Bxf6 Qxf6 19.Ne4 Qg6 20.Qd6 Qxd6 21.Nxd6 Rcd8 22.Nf5 g6 23.Ne3 Rfe8 24.Bf1 Re5 25.bxc4 Rc5 26.Rec1 Rdc8 27.Rc2 Kg7 28.Rac1 R8c7 29.Rc3 Bc8 30.Nc2 Na4 31.Ra3 Bd7 32.Nd4 Re5 33.Rd1 Nb2 34.Rb1 Re4 35.Rxb2 Rxd4 36.f3 Be6 37.Kf2 Rd6 38.Rc3 Rdc6 39.Rbc2 Bf5 40.Rc1 Rc5 41.h4 h5 42.Ra3 Rd7 43.Be2 Rdc7 44.Rcc3 Be6 45.Rc2 Bf5 46.Rb2 Be6 47.Rc3 Kf6 48.Bd3 Bf5 49.Bf1 Ra5 50.Be2 Be6 51.Bd3 Bf5 52.Bf1 Be6 53.a3 Bf5 54.Be2 Rac5 55.Ke3 Re5+ 56.Kf2 Rec5 57.Rd2 Be6 58.Bd3 Bf5 59.Ke3 Bxd3 60.Kxd3 g5 61.Rh2 Rd7+ 62.Kc2 Rd4 63.hxg5+ Kxg5 64.Kb3 a5 65.Rh1 f6 66.Rh2 Rd1 67.Ka4 Rd4 68.Kb3 Rd1 69.Re2 Rg1 70.Ree3 Kf5 71.f4 Rh1 72.Re8 h4 73.gxh4 Rxh4 74.Rb8 Rxf4 75.Rb5 Rxb5+ 76.cxb5 a4+ 77.Kc2 Rd4 78.b6 Rd8 79.Rf3+ Ke6 80.Re3+ Kd6 1/2-1/2
Aronian-Ivancuk and Svidler-VallejoPons were drawn in 35 and 31 moves, respectively.
Standings:
Leko - 6
Aronian - 5.5
Radjabov, Topalov, Svidler - 4.5
Ivanchuk, VallejoPons - 4
Bacrot - 3
Friday, March 03, 2006
Linares Round 8
Ivanchuk-Bacrot
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.g3 Nd7 8.Bg2 dxc4 9.0-0 Be7 10.Qc2 0-0 11.Rfd1 e5 12.d5 Nc5 13.Nd2 Bf5 14.Qc1 Rad8 15.dxc6 bxc6 16.Nxc4 Qe6 17.Ne3 Bg6 18.b4 Na6 19.Rxd8 Rxd8 20.a3 Nc7 21.Na4 e4 22.Nc5 Qe5 23.Nb7 Rd7 24.Na5 Bf6 25.Bh3 Ne6 26.Ra2 Rc7 27.Bxe6 Qxe6 28.Rc2 Bh5 29.Ng2 Bg5 30.Nf4 Qd6 31.Kg2 Qd7 32.h4 Bxf4 33.Qxf4 Rc8 34.Rd2 Qe6 35.Nb7 Re8 36.Nc5 Qc4 37.g4 Bg6 38.h5 Bh7 39.e3 a5 0-1
Topalov-Svidler
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 Nc6 9.Be3 0-0 10.0-0 Na5 11.Bd3 b6 12.Rc1 e5 13.dxc5 Be6 14.c4 bxc5 15.Bxc5 Re8 16.Be3 Re7 17.Qc2 Rd7 18.Rfd1 Nc6 19.a3 Qa5 20.Nc3 Qxa3 21.Nd5 Rc8 22.Ra1 Qf8 23.Ra6 Nb4 24.Nxb4 Qxb4 25.Rb1 Qf8 26.c5 Bh6 27.Bxh6 Qxh6 28.c6 Rdc7 29.Rb5 Rd8 30.Rb7 Rxd3 31.Qxd3 Qc1+ 32.Qf1 Rxc6 33.Ra1 Qf4 34.Qe1 Rc4 35.Rb4 Rc2 36.Rbb1 Bg4 37.h3 Be2 38.Ra3 a6 39.Re3 Bb5 40.Rc1 Ra2 41.Rc8+ Kg7 42.Rc7 Be8 43.Rf3 Qg5 44.Qc3 1-0
Radjabov-Aronian and Leko-VallejoPons were drawn in 29 and 2 moves, respectively.
Standings:
Leko - 5.5
Aronian - 5
Svidler, Radabov - 4
Topalov, Ivanchuk, VallejoPons - 3.5
Bacrot - 3
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.g3 Nd7 8.Bg2 dxc4 9.0-0 Be7 10.Qc2 0-0 11.Rfd1 e5 12.d5 Nc5 13.Nd2 Bf5 14.Qc1 Rad8 15.dxc6 bxc6 16.Nxc4 Qe6 17.Ne3 Bg6 18.b4 Na6 19.Rxd8 Rxd8 20.a3 Nc7 21.Na4 e4 22.Nc5 Qe5 23.Nb7 Rd7 24.Na5 Bf6 25.Bh3 Ne6 26.Ra2 Rc7 27.Bxe6 Qxe6 28.Rc2 Bh5 29.Ng2 Bg5 30.Nf4 Qd6 31.Kg2 Qd7 32.h4 Bxf4 33.Qxf4 Rc8 34.Rd2 Qe6 35.Nb7 Re8 36.Nc5 Qc4 37.g4 Bg6 38.h5 Bh7 39.e3 a5 0-1
Topalov-Svidler
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 Nc6 9.Be3 0-0 10.0-0 Na5 11.Bd3 b6 12.Rc1 e5 13.dxc5 Be6 14.c4 bxc5 15.Bxc5 Re8 16.Be3 Re7 17.Qc2 Rd7 18.Rfd1 Nc6 19.a3 Qa5 20.Nc3 Qxa3 21.Nd5 Rc8 22.Ra1 Qf8 23.Ra6 Nb4 24.Nxb4 Qxb4 25.Rb1 Qf8 26.c5 Bh6 27.Bxh6 Qxh6 28.c6 Rdc7 29.Rb5 Rd8 30.Rb7 Rxd3 31.Qxd3 Qc1+ 32.Qf1 Rxc6 33.Ra1 Qf4 34.Qe1 Rc4 35.Rb4 Rc2 36.Rbb1 Bg4 37.h3 Be2 38.Ra3 a6 39.Re3 Bb5 40.Rc1 Ra2 41.Rc8+ Kg7 42.Rc7 Be8 43.Rf3 Qg5 44.Qc3 1-0
Radjabov-Aronian and Leko-VallejoPons were drawn in 29 and 2 moves, respectively.
Standings:
Leko - 5.5
Aronian - 5
Svidler, Radabov - 4
Topalov, Ivanchuk, VallejoPons - 3.5
Bacrot - 3
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
U.S. Championship starts today
This year, the 64 players have been sorted into two 32 player groups (lists available here). The top male and top female in each group after nine rounds will have each other in two games of rapid chess to determine the winner.
That's the dumbest format I've ever heard, even dumber than the FIDE knockout format!
That's the dumbest format I've ever heard, even dumber than the FIDE knockout format!
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