Thursday, May 31, 2007

Candidates Semi-Final Matches Round 4

Leko and Kamsky are through to the finals (over Gurevich 3.5-0.5 and Bacrot 3.5-0.5, respectively)
Grischuk ahead of Malakhov, 3-1
Bareev ahead of Polgar, 3-1

Rublevsky ahead of Ponomariov, 2.5-1.5
Adams ahead of Shirov, 2.5-1.5

Aronian ahead of Carlsen again, 2.5-1.5
Kasimdzhanov-Gelfand, 2-2


Bacrot,E (2709) - Kamsky,G (2705) [E08]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (4), 31.05.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Be7 5.Bg2 d5 6.Nf3 0-0 7.0-0 c6 8.Bf4 Nbd7 9.Qc2 a5 10.Rd1 Ne4 11.Nc3 f5 12.Ne5 Nxe5 13.Bxe5 Nd6 14.Bxd6 Bxd6 15.e3 Rb8 16.c5 Bc7 17.f4 Bd7 18.a3 Be8 19.b4 b5 20.cxb6 Bxb6 21.Na4 axb4 22.axb4 Rf7 23.Qc3 Rfb7 24.Bf1 g5 25.Ba6 Rg7 26.Rd2 h5 27.Rg2 Bc7 28.Nc5 Qf6 29.Bf1 Bd6 30.fxg5 Rxg5 31.Ra7 e5 32.dxe5 Bxe5 33.Qb3 h4 34.gxh4 Rxg2+ 35.Bxg2 Qxh4 36.Nd3 Bxh2+ 37.Kf1 Qc4 38.Qa3 Bg6 39.Bf3 f4 0-1

Gurevich,M (2635) - Leko,P (2738) [E32]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (4), 31.05.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 b6 7.Bg5 Bb7 8.f3 h6 9.Bh4 d5 10.e3 Nbd7 11.cxd5 Nxd5 12.Bxd8 Nxc3 13.Bh4 Nd5 14.Bf2 c5 15.e4 Ne7 16.Ne2 f5 17.Ng3 fxe4 18.fxe4 cxd4 19.Bxd4 Rac8 20.Rd1 Rfd8 21.Bc3 Ng6 22.Bb5 Nc5 23.0-0 Ba6 24.Bxa6 Nxa6 25.Rxd8+ Rxd8 26.b4 Nc7 27.a4 b5 28.a5 Ne8 29.Ne2 e5 30.Rc1 Nf6 31.Ng3 h5 32.h3 a6 33.Kh2 Rc8 34.Bd2 Rxc1 35.Bxc1 h4 36.Nf5 Nxe4 37.g3 hxg3+ 38.Nxg3 Nxg3 39.Kxg3 Kf7 40.Kg4 Ne7 0-1

Malakhov,V (2679) - Grischuk,A (2717) [D43]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (4), 31.05.2007
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.d4 dxc4 5.Qa4+ c6 6.Qxc4 b5 7.Qd3 Nbd7 8.e4 b4 9.Na4 Qa5 10.b3 c5 11.Be2 Bb7 12.e5 Ne4 13.Be3 Rd8 14.0-0 a6 15.Rac1 Be7 16.Qc2 0-0 17.Bd3 cxd4 18.Bxe4 Rc8 19.Bxh7+ Kh8 20.Qd3 Rxc1 21.Bxc1 Bxf3 22.Qxf3 Kxh7 23.Re1 Kg8 24.Qg3 f6 25.exf6 Rxf6 26.Qd3 Qd5 27.Qe4 Qxe4 28.Rxe4 e5 29.Nb2 Rc6 30.Nc4 Nb6 31.Rxe5 Bf6 32.Ra5 Nxc4 33.bxc4 Rxc4 34.Bf4 d3 35.g3 Rc2 36.Rd5 Rxa2 37.Rxd3 Ra3 0-1

Bareev,E (2643) - Polgar,Ju (2727) [E19]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (4), 31.05.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Nc3 Ne4 8.Qc2 Nxc3 9.Qxc3 c5 10.Rd1 d6 11.b3 Nd7 12.Bb2 Nf6 13.d5 exd5 14.cxd5 Re8 15.e4 Bf8 16.Nd2 b5 17.a4 b4 18.Qc2 g6 19.a5 Ba6 20.Bf1 Bxf1 21.Rxf1 Bh6 22.f4 Bg7 23.Rfe1 Qd7 24.Nc4 Nh5 25.Rad1 Bxb2 26.Qxb2 Ng7 27.Qg2 Rad8 28.g4 f6 29.h3 g5 30.fxg5 fxg5 31.e5 dxe5 32.d6 Qf7 33.Qd5 e4 34.Qxg5 Qf3 35.Qd5+ Re6 36.Re3 Rdxd6 37.Rxf3 Rxd5 38.Rxd5 exf3 39.Kf2 Re2+ 40.Kxf3 Rc2 41.Rd8+ Kf7 42.Rd7+ Kg6 43.Rxa7 Ne6 44.Ke4 Nd4 45.h4 Rh2 46.a6 Nxb3 47.Kd5 Kf6 48.Rxh7 Ra2 49.a7 Nc1 50.Ne5 Rd2+ 51.Kxc5 Ra2 52.Nd7+ Kg6 53.Nf8+ Kf6 54.Kxb4 1-0

Aronian,L (2759) - Carlsen,M (2693) [E14]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (4), 31.05.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 Bb4+ 4.Nbd2 b6 5.a3 Bxd2+ 6.Qxd2 Bb7 7.e3 0-0 8.b4 d5 9.Bb2 Nbd7 10.Bd3 dxc4 11.Bxc4 c5 12.0-0 Rc8 13.Qe2 Qe7 14.Rfc1 cxd4 15.Nxd4 h6 16.Ba6 Bxa6 17.Qxa6 Rxc1+ 18.Rxc1 Nb8 19.Qc4 Rd8 20.h3 Ne8 21.b5 Rd5 22.Qe2 Rc5 23.Rd1 Rc8 24.Qf3 Rd8 25.Rc1 Nd6 26.a4 e5 27.Nf5 Nxf5 28.Qxf5 f6 29.Qe4 Qf7 30.Ba3 Kh8 31.Kh2 Kg8 32.Bd6 Qd7 33.Bc7 Rf8 34.Rc2 Re8 35.Rc4 Qf7 36.Bd6 Rd8 37.Rc7 Nd7 38.Qc6 Qe6 39.Rxa7 Kf7 40.Qxb6 1-0

Shirov,A (2699) - Adams,Mi (2734) [E17]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (4), 31.05.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.d5 exd5 8.Nh4 c6 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Nf5 Nc7 11.e4 d5 12.Nc3 Bf6 13.exd5 Nxd5 14.Nxd5 cxd5 15.Bf4 Nd7 16.Nd6 Ba6 17.Qxd5 Bxf1 18.Kxf1 Rb8 19.Rd1 Nc5 20.Nxf7 Rxf7 21.b4 Qxd5 22.Bxd5 Rd8 23.bxc5 bxc5 24.Be3? Kh8 25.Bxf7 Rxd1+ 26.Ke2 Rd7 27.Bb3 Bd4 28.Bf4 Re7+ 29.Kf1 g6 30.Bh6 Rc7 31.Bf4 Rc6 32.Bd5 Rb6 33.Bb3 Rc6 34.Bd5 Rb6 35.Bb3 c4 36.Bxc4 Rb2 37.h4 Rxf2+ 38.Ke1 Rc2 39.Bb3 Rh2 40.a4 Kg7 0-1

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Candidates Semi-Final Matches Round 3

Leko ahead of Gurevich, 2.5-0.5
Kamsky ahead of Bacrot, 2.5-0.5
Grischuk ahead of Malakhov, 2-1
Rublevsky ahead of Ponomariov, 2-1
Bareev ahead of Polgar, 2-1
Carlsen pulls even with Aronian, 1.5-1.5
Kasimdzhanov-Gelfand, 1.5-1.5
Shirov-Adams, 1.5-1.5


Leko,P (2738) - Gurevich,M (2635) [C11]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (3), 29.05.2007
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 a6 8.Qd2 b5 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.Ne2 Qb6 11.Bxc5 Nxc5 12.Ned4 Ne4 13.Qe3 b4 14.Bd3 Bb7 15.0-0 0-0 16.Rae1 Nxd4 17.Qxd4 Qxd4+ 18.Nxd4 g6 19.Ra1 a5 20.a3 Nc5 21.axb4 axb4 22.Kf2 Rfc8 23.g4 b3 24.Ke3 bxc2 25.Rxa8 Rxa8 26.Bxc2 Kf8 27.Rc1 Rc8 28.Ra1 Ra8 29.Rxa8+ Bxa8 30.b4 Na6 31.b5 Nc5 32.Nb3 Nd7 33.Kd4 Ke7 34.Nc5 Nb6 35.h4 Kd8 36.Bd3 Ke7 37.Be2 Kd8 38.Bf1 Ke7 39.Bd3 Kd8 40.Bc2 Ke7 41.Bd1 Kd8 42.Be2 Ke7 43.g5 Kd8 44.h5 Ke7 45.h6 Kd8 46.Bd3 Ke7 47.Bc2 Kf8 48.Nd3 Nd7 49.Nf2 Ke7 50.Ng4 1-0

Kamsky,G (2705) - Bacrot,E (2709) [C88]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (3), 29.05.2007
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.h3 Bb7 9.c3 d5 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.d3 Qd6 12.Nbd2 Rad8 13.Ne4 Qd7 14.a4 Kh8 15.axb5 axb5 16.d4 exd4 17.cxd4 f6 18.Nc3 Ncb4 19.Qe2 Bd6 20.Qxb5 Nxc3 21.Qxd7 Rxd7 22.bxc3 Nd3 23.Rd1 Nxc1 24.Raxc1 Bxf3 25.gxf3 Bf4 26.Ra1 Rd6 27.c4 Rb6 28.Rd3 g6 29.c5 Rb5 30.Bc4 Rb4 31.Be6 Rd8 32.d5 Kg7 33.d6 cxd6 34.c6 d5 35.Ra7+ Kh6 36.c7 1-0

Carlsen,M (2693) - Aronian,L (2759) [A30]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (3), 29.05.2007
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 b6 3.g3 c5 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.0-0 e6 6.Nc3 Be7 7.Re1 d5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.d4 Nxc3 10.bxc3 Be4 11.Ne5 Bxg2 12.Kxg2 0-0 13.e4 Qc8 14.Qg4 Bf6 15.Nf3 Kh8 16.h4 Nc6 17.Bg5 cxd4 18.Bxf6 gxf6 19.cxd4 e5 20.Qxc8 Raxc8 21.d5 Na5 22.h5 Nc4 23.Nh4 Nd6 24.h6 Rc3 25.Rac1 Rfc8 26.Rxc3 Rxc3 27.Nf5 Nxf5 28.exf5 Kg8 29.Re4 Kf8 30.Rg4 Rc7 31.Rg7 b5 32.Rxh7 Kg8 33.Rg7+ Kh8 34.d6 Rd7 35.Kf3 b4 36.Ke4 Rxd6 37.Rxf7 Ra6 38.g4 Kg8 39.h7+ Kh8 40.g5 fxg5 41.f6 1-0

Ponomariov,R (2717) - Rublevsky,S (2680) [B46]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (3), 29.05.2007
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 d5 8.0-0 Nf6 9.Qe2 Be7 10.Na4 0-0 11.c4 Bb7 12.e5 Nd7 13.Bf4 Nb6 14.cxd5 cxd5 15.Nc3 Nd7 16.Rad1 Nc5 17.Bb1 a5 18.Rfe1 g6 19.Be3 Ba6 20.Qd2 Rb8 21.Bd4 Rb4 22.Qe3 Nd7 23.a3 Rb7 24.f4 Bc4 25.Rd2 Nb8 26.Bd3 Bxd3 27.Qxd3 Nd7 28.Na4 Qb8 29.Rc1 Rc8 30.Rdc2 Rbc7 31.Rxc7 Rxc7 32.Rxc7 Qxc7 33.Qc3 Qb7 34.Kf2 Qb5 35.Qc2 Nb8 36.Nc3 Qb7 37.Ne2 Nc6 38.Bc5 Qb5 39.Bxe7 Nxe7 40.Qc3 h5 41.Nd4 Qb6 42.Ke2 Nf5 43.Nxf5 gxf5 44.b4 axb4 45.axb4 Qa6+ 46.Ke3 Qa7+ 47.Qd4 Qa3+ 48.Kf2 h4 49.Qb6 Qb2+ 50.Ke1 Qc1+ 51.Ke2 Qc4+ 52.Kd1 Qf1+ 53.Kc2 Qc4+ 54.Kd1 Qf1+ 55.Kc2 Qxf4 56.Qd8+ Kh7 57.Qe7 Qxe5 58.Qxf7+ Kh6 59.b5 Qe2+ 60.Kc3 Qc4+ 61.Kd2 d4 62.Qf8+ Kg6 63.Qg8+ Kh5 64.Qe8+ Kg5 65.Qd8+ Kg4 66.b6 Qc3+ 67.Kd1 Qd3+ 68.Kc1 Qf1+ 69.Kb2 Qxg2+ 70.Kb3 Qf3+ 71.Kc4 Qc3+ 72.Kb5 Qb3+ 73.Ka6 Qa3+ 74.Kb5 Qb2+ 75.Ka6 Qa2+ 76.Kb5 Qe2+ 77.Kc5 Qc2+ 78.Kd6 d3 79.b7 d2 80.Kxe6 Qe4+ 81.Kf6 Qc6+ 82.Ke5 Qxb7 83.h3+ Kxh3 84.Qd3+ Kh2 85.Qxd2+ Qg2 86.Qd1 Qf2 87.Kf6 f4 88.Kf5 f3 89.Kg4 Qg3+ 90.Kh5 f2 91.Qf1 Qf3+ 92.Kh6 Qg2 0-1

Monday, May 28, 2007

Candidates Semi-Final Matches Round 2

Aronian ahead of Carlsen, 1.5-0.5
Grischuk ahead of Malakhov, 1.5-0.5
Leko ahead of Gurevich, 1.5-0.5
Bareev ahead of Polgar, 1.5-0.5
Kamsky ahead of Bacrot, 1.5-0.5

Kasimdzhanov-Gelfand, 1-1
Shirov-Adams, 1-1
Rublevsky-Ponomariov, 1-1

Gurevich,M (2635) - Leko,P (2738) [E32]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (2), 28.05.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 b6 7.Bg5 Bb7 8.f3 h6 9.Bh4 d5 10.e3 Nbd7 11.cxd5 Nxd5 12.Bxd8 Nxc3 13.Bh4 Nd5 14.Bf2 c5 15.e4 Ne7 16.0-0-0 Rac8 17.Kb1 c4 18.Ne2 f5 19.exf5 Nxf5 20.Nc3 Nf6 21.Be2 Nd5 22.Nxd5 Bxd5 23.h4 b5 24.Rhf1 Rf7 25.Rc1 a5 26.Kc2 Ra7 27.Ra1 Rd7 28.Rfd1 Ne7 29.Be1 Nf5 30.Bf2 Rdc7 31.Kd2 Ne7 32.Re1 Kf7 33.Bd1 b4 34.axb4 axb4 35.Be2 c3+ 36.bxc3 bxc3+ 37.Kc2 Bb3+ 38.Kc1 Nd5 39.Ra3 Rb7 40.Bd3 Nb4 41.Be4 Bd5 42.Re3 c2 43.Rec3 Rxc3 44.Rxc3 Na2+ 45.Kxc2 Nxc3 46.Kxc3 Rb3+ 47.Kc2 Bc4 48.Bg3 Re3 49.Be5 Re2+ 50.Kc3 Bd5 51.Bxd5 exd5 52.g3 Re3+ 53.Kb4 g6 0-1

Bareev,E (2643) - Polgar,Ju (2727) [E15]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (2), 28.05.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.Qc2 c5 6.d5 exd5 7.cxd5 Bb7 8.Bg2 Nxd5 9.0-0 Be7 10.Rd1 Nc6 11.Qf5 Nf6 12.e4 d6 13.e5 Qd7 14.Qxd7+ Nxd7 15.exd6 Bf6 16.Re1+ Kf8 17.Nc3 Nb4 18.Bg5 Bxf3 19.Bxf3 Rd8 20.Bxf6 Nxf6 21.Re7 Nc2 22.Rd1 Nd4 23.Kg2 g6 24.Rxa7 Rxd6 25.Be2 Kg7 26.Bc4 Rd7 27.Rxd7 Nxd7 28.Re1 Kf8 29.a4 h5 30.Nd5 h4 31.g4 g5 32.Nc7 Nf6 33.h3 Kg7 34.Re5 Kh6 35.f4 Nh7 36.f5 Nc6 37.Rd5 Kg7 38.f6+ Kh6 39.Bb5 Nb4 40.Rd6 Rb8 41.Na6 Nxa6 42.Bxa6 Nf8 43.Bc4 Rb7 44.Kf3 Nd7 45.Ke4 Kg6 46.Bd3 c4 47.Bxc4 Nxf6+ 48.Kd4 Kg7 49.Bb5 Re7 50.Rxb6 Re4+ 51.Kd3 Rb4 52.Kc2 Nxg4 53.Kc3 Re4 54.hxg4 h3 55.Rd6 h2 56.Rd1 Rxg4 57.Rh1 Rg3+ 58.Kb4 Rg2 59.Kb3 g4 60.a5 g3 61.Bc6 Re2 62.a6 Re7 63.Ra1 Ra7 64.Bg2 1-0

Bacrot,E (2709) - Kamsky,G (2705) [A81]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (2), 28.05.2007
1.d4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.b4 c6 6.c4 d5 7.Nbd2 Ne4 8.Bb2 a5 9.bxa5 Qxa5 10.0-0 0-0 11.a4 Be6 12.cxd5 cxd5 13.Nb3 Qa6 14.Ne5 b6 15.Qd3 Nd7 16.a5 Rfc8 17.Qe3 bxa5 18.f3 Nef6 19.Nxa5 Qb6 20.Nd3 Bf7 21.Qd2 e5 22.Qb4 e4 23.Qxb6 Nxb6 24.Nc5 Nfd7 25.Nab3 Nxc5 26.Nxc5 Nc4 27.Bc3 Rxa1 28.Bxa1 Bf8 29.fxe4 dxe4 30.Bc3 Ne3 31.Ra1 Nc2 32.Rc1 Bxc5 33.dxc5 Bb3 34.e3 Rxc5 35.Bb2 Kf7 36.Kf2 Ke6 37.Bf1 Bd5 38.Be2 Rc6 39.Bd1 Nb4 0-1

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Candidates Semi-Final Matches Round 1

Aronian ahead of Carlsen, 1-0
Grischuk ahead of Malakhov, 1-0
Other matches even 1/2-1/2

Carlsen,M (2693) - Aronian,L (2759) [C84]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (1), 27.05.2007
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a4 Rb8 9.axb5 axb5 10.Nc3 0-0 11.h3 Nb4 12.Ne2 c5 13.Ng3 Be6 14.Bxe6 fxe6 15.c3 Nc6 16.Re1 Qd7 17.d4 exd4 18.cxd4 c4 19.Bg5 h6 20.d5 exd5 21.Bxf6 Bxf6 22.Qxd5+ Rf7 23.Qd2 Ne5 24.Nxe5 Bxe5 25.Ne2 Rbf8 26.Rf1 Rf3! 27.Ra3 (27.Qd5+ Kh8 28.Rad1) Rxa3 28.bxa3 Qc6 29.Nd4 Bxd4 30.Qxd4 Ra8 31.Ra1 c3 32.Qb4 Qc5 33.Qb3+ Kh8 34.Ra2 Ra4 35.Re2 Rxa3 36.Qd1 Ra8 0-1

Grischuk,A (2717) - Malakhov,V (2679) [B61]
WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (1), 27.05.2007
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 Bd7 7.Qd2 Nxd4 8.Qxd4 h6 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.Bb5 Bc6 11.0-0 Bg7 12.Rad1 Kf8 13.Qd3 Qa5 14.Bxc6 bxc6 15.Ne2 f5 16.exf5 Qxa2 17.b3 Qa5 18.Qf3 Rc8 19.Ng3 Be5 20.c4 Bxg3 21.fxg3 Qe5 22.f6 exf6 23.Rde1 Qg5 24.h4 Qg6 25.Re4 h5 26.Rf4 Rh6 27.Kh2 c5 28.Qc3 Qg7 29.Qd2 Rd8 30.Qa5 Rd7 31.Qb5 Rd8 32.Qa5 Rd7 33.Qa4 Rd8 34.Qxa7 Qh8 35.Re1 Kg7 36.Qc7 Qf8 37.Re7 Ra8 38.Qxd6 Ra7 39.Rfe4 Rb7 40.Re3 Rxe7 41.Rxe7 Rg6 42.Qxc5 1-0

Friday, May 25, 2007

U.S. Championship

GM Alex Shabalov - New US Champion

2nd: GM Alex Onischuk

3rd place shared by GM Greg Kaidanov, GM Yury Shulman and GM Julio Becerra

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Sofia Round 10

Topalov wins - He's three for three winning the M-Tel Masters in 2005, 2006 and 2007!

Here's the key game (the other two games were drawn):
Topalov,V (2772) - Sasikiran,K (2690) [E43]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 b6 5.Bd3 Bb7 6.Nf3 0-0 7.0-0 d5 8.a3 Bd6 9.cxd5 exd5 10.b4 Nbd7 11.b5 Ne4 12.Bb2 Re8 13.a4 Re6 14.Ne2 a5 15.Ba3 Rc8 16.Bxd6 cxd6 17.Rc1 Ndf6 18.h3 Re7 19.Qb3 h6 20.Rxc8 Qxc8 21.Rc1 Rc7 22.Rxc7 Qxc7 23.Qc2 Qe7 24.Qc1 g6 25.Nh2 Kg7 26.h4 Ne8 27.f3 N4f6 28.Nf1 h5 29.Nf4 Nd7 30.Qe1 Nf8 31.Qg3 Kh6 32.Nxh5 gxh5 33.Qg8 f5 34.Ng3 Ng7 35.Bxf5 Ng6 36.Bxg6 Kxg6 37.Nxh5 Qxe3+ 38.Kh2 Qe7?? (38...Qxd4) 39.Nf4+ Kf6 40.g4 Qf7 41.Qd8+ Qe7 42.Qg8 Qf7 43.Qd8+ Qe7 44.Qxe7+ Kxe7 45.Kg3 Ne6 46.Nxe6 Kxe6 47.f4 Bc8 48.f5+ Kf7 49.h5 Bd7 50.h6 Kg8 51.Kf4 Be8 52.Kg5 Kf7 53.h7 Kg7 54.h8Q+ Kxh8 55.Kf6 Bxb5 56.Ke7 Bd3 57.f6 Bg6 58.f7 Bxf7 59.Kxf7 1-0

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Sofia Round 9

All games drawn; Sasikiran maintains 0.5 point lead.

Sasikiran - 4.5
Kamsky, Nisipeanu, Topalov, Mamedyarov - 4
Adams - 3.5

Friday, May 18, 2007

Sofia Round 8

Sasikiran,K (2690) - Kamsky,G (2705) [D15]
MTel Sofia BUL (8), 18.05.2007
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 a6 5.e3 b5 6.c5 g6 7.Bd3 Bg7 8.h3 Bf5 9.Bxf5 gxf5 10.Qc2 Qc8 11.Ne5 Ne4 12.Nd3 Nd7 13.Ne2 Bf6 14.Bd2 Rg8 15.g3 e6 16.0-0-0 h5 17.Rdg1 Qc7 18.Nef4 Nxd2 19.Qxd2 h4 20.g4 e5 21.Ne2 e4 22.Ndf4 fxg4 23.hxg4 Bg5 24.Nh3 f6 25.Nef4 Nf8 26.f3 exf3 27.Rf1 0-0-0 28.Rxf3 Re8 29.a4 Bh6 30.Nf2 Nh7 31.Ng2 Re6 32.Rxh4 Bg5 33.Rhh3 Rge8 34.Kb1 Nf8 35.Nf4 Bxf4 36.Rxf4 Nh7 37.axb5 axb5 38.Rf5 Ng5 39.Rh1 Rxe3 40.Rxf6 Nf3 41.Rxf3 Rxf3 42.Nd3 Ref8 43.Qe2 Qf7 44.Rh6 Rf1+ 45.Kc2 Rf6 46.Rxf6 Qxf6 47.g5 Qg6 48.Kc3 Qe4 49.Qxe4 dxe4 50.Ne5 Kc7 51.Kd2 Rf2+ 52.Ke3 Rxb2 53.Kxe4 Rg2 54.d5 cxd5+ 55.Kxd5 Rxg5 56.Kd4 Rh5 57.Nd3 Rh4+ 58.Kc3 Kc6 59.Kb3 Kd5 60.Kc2 Kc4 0-1

Nisipeanu,LD (2693) - Adams,Mi (2734) [C96]
MTel Sofia BUL (8), 18.05.2007
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7 12.Kh1 Re8 13.d5 Nb6 14.b3 Bd7 15.Be3 Qc7 16.g4 c4 17.b4 Nb7 18.Nbd2 a5 19.a3 Ra6 20.Nf1 Rea8 21.Bc1 Nd8 22.Ne3 axb4 23.cxb4 f6 24.Nf5 Bc8 25.Rg1 Nf7 26.h4 Bd8 27.Rg3 Kh8 28.g5 g6 29.Ne3 fxg5 30.hxg5 Kg8 31.Kg2 Na4 32.Qe1 Bd7 33.Qh1 Qc8 34.Qh2 Nc3 35.Kf1 Be7 36.Bb2 Na4 37.Bc1 Bf8 38.Qh4 Be7 39.Qh2 Bf8 40.Qh4 Be7 41.Nf5 Qf8 42.Nh2 h6 43.Ng4 hxg5 44.Bxg5 Nxg5 45.Ngh6+ Kh7 46.Nf7+ Kg8 47.N7h6+ Kh7 48.Nf7+ Kg8 49.Nxg5 Bxg5 50.Rxg5 Be8 51.Kg2 R8a7 52.Rh1 Qf6 53.Nh6+ 1-0

It's anybody's tournament:
Sasikiran - 4.5
Kamsky, Nisipeanu, Topalov, Mamedyarov - 4
Adams - 3.5

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Sofia Round 7

Mamedyarov,S (2757) - Sasikiran,K (2690) [A20]
MTel Sofia BUL (7), 17.05.2007
1.c4 e5 2.g3 d6 3.Bg2 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.d3 f5 6.e4 Nf6 7.Nge2 a5 8.exf5 gxf5 9.d4 0-0 10.Bg5 Qe8 11.0-0 h6 12.Bxf6 Bxf6 13.c5 Nc6 14.Nb5 Qe7 15.Nec3 Qg7 16.cxd6 cxd6 17.d5 Nd4 18.Nxd4 exd4 19.Nb5 f4 20.Nxd6 Bg4 21.Qd3 Be7 22.Nb5 f3 23.Bh1 Bc5 24.d6 Kh8 25.Rad1 Rad8 26.a3 Bb6 27.Rfe1 Bf5 28.Qd2 Qf6 29.Re7 Bd7 30.Rde1 Qg5 31.Qd3 Qf5 32.Qd2 Qg5 33.Qc2 Qf5 34.Qxf5 Rxf5 35.Nc7 d3 36.Rd1 Rc5 37.Bxf3 Rc2 38.Rf1 Bh3 39.Ne6 Bxf2+ 40.Kh1 Bxf1 41.d7 Rg8 0-1

Sasikiran in lead by a full point.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Sofia Round 6

Sasikiran,K (2690) - Adams,Mi (2734) [E15]
MTel Sofia BUL (6), 15.05.2007
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 b5 14.Re1 dxe4 15.Nxe4 bxc4 16.Qe2 Rb8 17.Bf1 Nf6 18.Nc5 Nd5 19.Nxa6 Nxc3 20.Qxc4 Nb5 21.Nxb8 Qxb8 22.a4 Nd6 23.Qxc6 Nf5 24.Rad1 Bf6 25.Qe4 Qxb3 26.d5 Nd6 27.Qe3 Qxe3 28.Rxe3 e5 29.Rc3 Bd8 30.Rc6 Nf5 31.d6 Bb6 32.d7 Rd8 33.Rc8 Kf8 34.Rd6 1-0

Kamsky,G (2705) - Mamedyarov,S (2757) [B08]
MTel Sofia BUL (6), 15.05.2007
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.h3 0-0 6.Be3 c6 7.Qd2 b5 8.Bd3 Nbd7 9.0-0 Qc7 10.Ne2 c5 11.c3 e5 12.Ng3 c4 13.Bc2 Re8 14.a4 bxa4 15.Bxa4 exd4 16.Nxd4 a6 17.Bh6 Bh8 18.Ndf5 Re6 19.Rfd1 Nc5 20.Nxd6 Bb7 21.Nxb7 Qxb7 22.f3 Nd3 23.b3 Bg7 24.Bxg7 Kxg7 25.bxc4 Nb2 26.Rdb1 Qa7+ 27.Kh1 Nxc4 28.Qg5 Rc8 29.Nf5+ Kh8 30.Nd4 Rb6 31.Rxb6 Qxb6 32.Bb3 Rc5 33.Qh6 Kg8 34.Re1 Rh5 35.Qf4 Rc5 36.e5 Nh5 37.Qh4 Nxe5 38.f4 Rxc3 39.fxe5 Rxb3 40.e6 fxe6 41.Nxb3 Qxb3 42.Qd8+ Kg7 43.Qe7+ Kh6 44.Qf8+ 1-0

Nisipeanu,LD (2693) - Topalov,V (2772) [B90]
MTel Sofia BUL (6), 15.05.2007
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nde2 Be6 8.f4 g6 9.h3 h5 10.fxe5 dxe5 11.Qxd8+ Kxd8 12.0-0-0+ Nbd7 13.Ng1 Rc8 14.Bd3 Bh6 15.Bxh6 Rxh6 16.Nf3 Ke7 17.Ng5 h4 18.Be2 Rc5 19.Rhf1 Rh8 20.Rd3 Rhc8 21.Kd2 b5 22.a3 a5 23.b4 axb4 24.axb4 R5c6 25.Rdf3 Bc4 26.Bxc4 Rxc4 27.Ra1 Rxb4 28.Nd5+ Nxd5 29.Rxf7+ Kd6 30.exd5 Rd4+ 31.Kc1 Nc5 32.Raa7 e4 33.Ne6 Rc4 34.Nxc5 R8xc5 35.Rad7+ Ke5 36.Rf2 b4 37.Re7+ Kd6 38.Rb7 Kxd5 39.Kb2 e3 40.Re2 Re4 41.Kb3 Ke5 42.Rf7 g5 43.Rf8 Rd5 44.c4 Rd7 45.Re1 Rd2 46.Kxb4 Rxg2 47.Kc3 Rg3 48.Re8+ Kf5 49.Rf1+ Kg6 50.Rxe4 e2+ 51.Rf3 Rxf3+ 52.Kd2 Rxh3 53.c5 Ra3 54.c6 Ra2+ 0-1

Mamedyarov and Sasikiran in lead.

Monday, May 14, 2007

Sofia Round 5

All games drawn, Mamedyarov leads at the halfway stage by 0.5 point.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Sofia Round 4

Sasikiran,K (2690) - Topalov,V (2772) [E92]
MTel Sofia BUL (4), 13.05.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.Nc3 0–0 5.e4 d6 6.Be2 e5 7.Be3 Ng4 8.Bg5 f6 9.Bh4 g5 10.Bg3 Nh6 11.d5 Nd7 12.h3 f5 13.exf5 Nc5 14.Nd2 Bxf5 15.0–0 e4 16.Nb3 b6 17.Nd4 Qf6 18.Nc6 a5 19.f4 Bd7 20.Nb5 Bxc6 21.dxc6 Qxb2 22.Rb1 Qxa2 23.Nxc7 Nf5 24.Bf2 e3 25.Be1 Nd4 26.Nxa8 Nxe2+ 27.Kh2 Nxf4 28.Rxf4 gxf4 29.Rxb6 f3 30.Qd5+ Ne6 31.Qxe6+ Kh8 32.Qg4 Be5+ 33.Kh1 f2 0-1

Mamedyarov in the lead by a half point.

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Sofia Round 3 - Three Decisive Games

Mamedyarov in sole lead; Topalov and Kamsky bringing up the rear

Mamedyarov,S (2757) - Topalov,V (2772) [D43]
MTel Sofia BUL (3), 12.05.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.Qb3 Nd7 8.e4 dxe4 9.Nxe4 Qf4 10.Bd3 e5 11.0–0 exd4 (11…Be7 Euwe-Fine, AVRO 1938) 12.Nxd4 Nc5 13.Nxc5 Bxc5 14.Rae1+ Kf8 15.Re4 Qf6 16.Qc3 a5 17.Rfe1 Bd7 18.R1e3 Bb4 19.Qc2 Qd6 20.Rf3 h5 21.c5 Bxc5 22.Bc4 f6 23.Ne6+ Bxe6 24.Rxe6 Qd7 25.Qf5 Qd4 26.Re4 Qd1+ 27.Bf1 Bd6 28.Rd3 Bxh2+ 29.Kxh2 Qxf1 30.Rd7 1–0

Adams,Mi (2734) - Nisipeanu,LD (2693) [C07]
MTel Sofia BUL (3), 12.05.2007
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.Ngf3 cxd4 6.Bc4 Qd6 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Nb3 Nc6 9.Nbxd4 Nxd4 10.Nxd4 a6 11.Re1 Bd7 12.Bg5 Qc5 13.Bxe6 fxe6 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.Nxe6 Bxe6 16.Rxe6+ Be7 17.b4 Qc3 18.Re3 Qc7 19.Qh5+ Kf8 20.Rae1 Re8 21.Qh6+ Kf7 22.Qh5+ Kf8 23.Qh6+ Kf7 24.c3 Rhg8 25.Qxh7+ Rg7 26.Qh5+ Kf8 27.g3 Qd7 28.Re6 Rg5 29.Qh8+ Kf7 30.Qh7+ Rg7 31.Qh5+ Rg6 32.c4 Kg7 33.Qd5 Qc7 34.Qe4 Kf7 35.c5 Qd7 36.Qf5 Kg7 37.Qe4 Kf7 38.Qf5 Kg7 39.Qh5 1-0

Kamsky,G (2705) - Sasikiran,K (2690) [D27]
MTel Sofia BUL (3), 12.05.2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 dxc4 4.e3 a6 5.Bxc4 e6 6.0-0 c5 7.dxc5 Qxd1 8.Rxd1 Bxc5 9.b3 Nbd7 10.Bb2 b6 11.Nc3 Bb7 12.Rac1 Be7 13.Ne2 Rc8 14.Nf4 b5 15.Be2 0-0 16.Nd4 Nc5 17.Bf3 Nce4 18.Nd3 Bd6 19.Ne2 Rfd8 20.Ne5 Bb8 21.Rxc8 Rxc8 22.Ng3 Bd5 23.Nd3 a5 24.b4 a4 25.a3 Nc3 26.Rc1 Bxf3 27.gxf3 Bxg3 28.Rxc3 Rxc3 29.Bxc3 Nd5 30.Bd4 Bd6 31.f4 f6 32.Kg2 Kf7 33.Kf3 h6 34.e4 Nxf4 35.Nxf4 e5 36.Ne2 exd4 37.Nxd4 Bxh2 38.Nxb5 Be5 39.Ke3 g5 40.Nd4 h5 41.Nf5 h4 42.Ke2 Ke6 43.Ne3 h3 44.Kf1 Bd4 45.Kg1 Bxe3 46.fxe3 g4 0-1

Friday, May 11, 2007

Sofia Round 2

All games drawn, Mamedyarov and Nisipeanu keep lead.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Sofia Round 1

Mamedyarov beats Kamsky, and Nisipeanu beats Topalov. Adams-Sasikiran was drawn.

Mamedyarov,S (2757) - Kamsky,G (2705) [D10]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.f3 Be6 6.Nge2 dxc4 7.Nf4 Qc8 8.e4 g6 9.g4 Bg7 10.h4 h6 11.b3 cxb3 12.axb3 Nbd7 13.Nxe6 fxe6 14.e5 Qc7 15.exf6 Qg3+ 16.Ke2 Nxf6 17.Qd3 0-0-0 18.Rxa7 Kb8 19.Ra4 Rhf8 20.Rh3 Qc7 21.Be3 e5 22.Qc4 Nd5 23.Nxd5 Rxd5 24.Qd3 exd4 25.Bd2 Rf6 26.Kd1 Re6 27.f4 Qb6 28.Bg2 Rc5 29.Rc4 Rb5 30.f5 gxf5 31.gxf5 Rd6 32.Kc2 Qa7 33.Kb2 Re5 34.Ra4 Qb6 35.Bf4 Re2+ 36.Kb1 Rxg2 37.Rg3 Rxg3 38.Qxg3 1-0.

Topalov,V (2772) - Nisipeanu,LD (2693) [B01]
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6 4.g3 Nf6 5.Bg2 c6 6.d4 g6 7.Bf4 Qb4 8.Nge2 Bg7 9.Qc1 0–0 10.0–0 Bg4 11.a3 Qa5 12.h3 Bxe2 13.Nxe2 Nbd7 14.c4 e5 15.b4 Qc7 16.dxe5 Nxe5 17.Qc2 a5 18.Rae1 axb4 19.axb4 Rfe8 20.c5 Nd5 21.Bd2 Nd7 22.Qc4 N7f6 23.g4 h5 24.Ng3 hxg4 25.hxg4 Qd7 26.g5 Rxe1 27.Rxe1 Ne8 28.Bf3 Nec7 29.Bg4 Qd8 30.Kg2 Nb5 31.Rd1 Ra1 32.Rxa1 Bxa1 33.Bf3 Be5 34.Ne2 Ndc7 35.Be3 Ne6 36.Bg4 Nbc7 37.Qe4 Bg7 38.f4 Qd1 39.Kf2 Bc3 40.b5 Qe1+ 41.Kg2 Nd5 42.bxc6 bxc6 43.Qd3?? Bd4! 44.Bxe6 Nxe3+ 45.Kh2 Qf2+ 46.Kh3 Qf3+ 47.Ng3 Qg2+ 0–1.

Tuesday, May 01, 2007