Tata Steel Chess 2012 - En passant - Magnus Carlsen round 11
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 27, 2012 11:51 PM
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 27, 2012 11:51 PM

by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 27, 2012 10:17 PM
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 27, 2012 10:15 PM

Standings after round 11 - Group A
| 1. | Aronian, L. | 7½ |
| 2. | Carlsen, M. Radjabov, T. | 7 |
| 4. | Caruana, F. Ivanchuk, V. | 6½ |
| 6. | Nakamura, H. | 6 |
| 7. | Kamsky, G. Karjakin, S. | 5½ |
| 9. | Gelfand, B. Van Wely, L. | 5 |
| 11. | Gashimov, V. Giri, A. Topalov, V. | 4 |
| 14. | Navara, D. | 3½ |
| 1. | Harikrishna, P. | 8 |
| 2. | L'Ami, E. Motylev, A. | 7½ |
| 4. | Bruzon, L. | 6½ |
| 5. | Reinderman, D. Tiviakov, S. | 6 |
| 7. | Nyzhnik, I. | 5½ |
| 8. | Ernst, S. Potkin, V. Timman, J. | 5 |
| 11. | Lahno, K. Vocaturo, D. | 4 |
| 13. | Cmilyte, V. Harika, D. | 3½ |
| 1. | Tikkanen, H. Turov, M. | 8½ |
| 3. | Adhiban, B. | 7½ |
| 4. | Brandenburg, D. Sadler, M. | 6½ |
| 6. | Grover, S. | 6 |
| 7. | Paehtz, E. Tania, S. | 5½ |
| 9. | Goudriaan, E. | 5 |
| 10. | Schut, L. | 4 |
| 11. | Danielian, E. Hopman, P. Ootes, L. | 3½ |
| 14. | Haast, A. | 3 |
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 27, 2012 09:49 PM
| Round 11 - Friday the 27th - Group A | |
| Carlsen, M. - Topalov, V. | 1-0 |
| Kamsky, G. - Nakamura, H. | ½-½ |
| Van Wely, L. - Karjakin, S. | 0-1 |
| Gashimov, V. - Radjabov, T. | 0-1 |
| Ivanchuk, V. - Gelfand, B. | 0-1 |
| Aronian, L. - Navara, D. | 0-1 |
| Caruana, F. - Giri, A. | 1-0 |
| L'Ami, E. - Motylev, A. | ½-½ |
| Timman, J. - Cmilyte, V. | 1-0 |
| Potkin, V. - Harika, D. | 1-0 |
| Tiviakov, S. - Lahno, K. | 1-0 |
| Nyzhnik, I. - Bruzon, L. | 1-0 |
| Vocaturo, D. - Reinderman, D. | 0-1 |
| Ernst, S. - Harikrishna, P. | 1-0 |
| Goudriaan, E. - Hopman, P. | ½-½ |
| Danielian, E. - Adhiban, B. | |
| Turov, M. - Brandenburg, D. | ½-½ |
| Schut, L. - Paehtz, E. | |
| Haast, A. - Tania, S. | 0-1 |
| Ootes, L. - Sadler, M. | |
| Tikkanen, H. - Grover, S. | 1-0 |
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 27, 2012 06:10 PM

But now that retired investor and free-market evangelist Rex Sinquefield has given another giant campaign check to his bid to rewrite the state tax code, the real estate agents are selling a "David versus Goliath" narrative.
On Thursday, Sinquefield deposited $1.2 million into his "Let Voters Decide" political committee, whose latest push is rescinding the state's income tax and replacing it with higher sales taxes.
The group has already spent much of an earlier $1.3 million check from Sinquefield on lawyers, campaign consultants and a professional petition drive firm charged with making sure the tax proposal has enough signatures to get on the ballot.
(For a man who made his fortune as a pioneer of the index fund, some of the expenditures by his political committe are head scratchers. Other than the $1.3 million donated by Sinquefield and a $10,000 check from an admirer in the financial world, Let Voters Decide raised only $1,465 from other donors, all in small increments, in the last quarter. However, during that same period, the committe paid $16,000 to a St. Louis fundraising firm.)
Realtors don't like the "fair tax" proposal because it would potentially mean a higher tax on sales transactions — including the purchase of a home.
Before Sinquefield's latest donation even became public, a spokesman for the Realtor's group, Missourians for Fair Taxation, blasted the opposition's wealthy benefactor.
"It’s clear that Let Voters Decide’s answer is to throw more and more money behind its awful proposal, but they cannot sell it to working class Missourians," said the Realtor's spokesman, Scott Charton. "They have a billionaire benefactor with an agenda, but even a billionaire gets just one vote."
However, the last election cycle, Charton was far from critical of the tactics of Sinquefield, who has never said he is a billionaire.
In 2010, Charton's Columbia, Mo. public relations firm was paid more than $60,000 by Sinquefield's committee, which at the time was working on a measure effecting local earning taxes.
Read more: http://www.stltoday.comby noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 27, 2012 06:00 PM

Grandmaster Georg Meier (2671 - GER) vs Grandmaster Wesley So (2653 - PHI)
You can watch GM Georg Meier, who led the Germany national team to the European Team Championships take on the top player from the Philippines, the young phenom GM Wesley So. They will collide in a 4 game classical match followed by a 4 game rapid match.
Classical match time control: 40/90 SD/30 + 30/sec increments
Rapid match time control: Game-20 + 10/sec increments
Classical Match time: 10am each day Sunday - Wednesday
Rapid Match time: 10am, 11am, 1pm, 2pm
Grandmaster Group A
Our Grandmaster Group A section will feature a 6-player Double Round Robin (10 rounds). 3 Grandmasters and 3 International Masters will lock horns twice each day. To earn a Grandmaster norm, the International Masters must score 6.5/10 points.
Our confirmed participants include:
Time control: Game-90 + 30/sec increment
Round times: 10am and 3pm Chicago time Sunday through Thursday
Grandmaster Group B
Our Grandmaster Group B section will feature a 10-player Single Round Robin (9 rounds). 3 Grandmasters and 7 International Masters will lock horns twice each day. To earn a Grandmaster norm, the International Masters must score 6.5/9 points.
Our confirmed participants include:
Time control: Game-90 + 30/sec increment
Round times: 10am and 3pm Chicago time Sunday through Wednesday, and 10am only on Thursday
Official website: http://www.nachess.org
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 27, 2012 01:56 PM
The Gibraltar Chess Festival 2012 will be live daily on Chessdom.com with analysis by the Houdini 2.0 engine. Games start at 14:00 CET.
All news about Gibraltar Chess Festival here
Full participants list at this link
Live chess broadcast powered by ChessBomb and Chessdom
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 27, 2012 01:30 PM

Armenia is making chess compulsory in schools, but could mandatory study of a board game really help children's academic performance and behaviour?
Every child aged six or over in Armenia is now destined to learn chess. The authorities there believe compulsory lessons will "foster schoolchildren's intellectual development" and improve critical thinking skills.
The country has plenty of reasons to believe in chess. It treats grandmasters like sports stars, championships are displayed on giant boards in cities and victories celebrated with the kind of frenzy most countries reserve for football.
Chess is nothing less than a national obsession.
It may only have a population of 3.2 million, but Armenia regularly beats powerhouses such as Russia, China and the US and its national team won gold at the International Chess Olympiad in 2006 and 2008.
Added to that, the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has just been re-elected as chair of the Armenian Chess Federation.
Creative
Now the chess-mad country is investing nearly $1.5m (£920,000) to teach all of its children. But for other countries constantly strategising about how to boost child development and education, is making study of the Sicilian and the Queen's Gambit a good idea?
Proponents of chess in schools do claim some evidence. A two-year study conducted in the US by Dr Stuart Marguilies found that learning chess improved reading test scores and reading performance in elementary schools.
Another study by Professor Peter Dauvergne, who is also a chess master, concluded playing chess could raise IQ scores, strengthen problem solving skills, enhance memory and foster creative thinking.
Malcolm Pein, chief executive of Chess in Schools and Communities, a programme that puts chess into UK schools, says there are lots of reasons why chess has a positive impact on primary school children.
"Not only does it give children good thinking skills and improve concentration, memory and calculation, but it teaches children to take responsibility for their actions.
"There are also behavioural attitudes and social attributes to the game too. Children shake hands at the start, and although it's not deathly silent in classes, it's reasonably quiet and disciplined."
Far from it just being the case that more academically-minded people are more likely to play chess, he says the game is a very universal and inclusive activity that can be played at all standards.
More here.
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 27, 2012 01:20 PM

2012 TRADEWISE GIBRALTAR CHESS FESTIVAL
Monday 23 January - Thursday 2 February 2012
PRESS RELEASE 14 27, January 2012
Thursday 26 January 2012 report by Stewart Reuben on Round 3 of the Masters
Participation of female players in this congress is very important to the whole ethos of this congress. Our webmaster, Steve Connor, reminded me I intended to comment on the passing of Elaine Pritchard, who died very recently and whose career spanned a major period in women’s chess. In a way, it is fortuitous that the Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival can be regarded as a memorial to her. She was a child prodigy in the late 1930s (which must have been very unusual for a girl in that period). She remembered sitting on Vera Menchik’s knee. Vera was the first-ever Women’s World Champion and won the World Girls title the same year. Elaine won the World Girls in 1936 at the age of 10 and again in 1937. She was British Ladies Champion in 1939, 1946, 1955 and 1965. Her last FIDE Rating was 2150. In her period, women mainly played separately from men. For more details, see:
http://www.englishchess.org.uk/?p=16227.
Nigel Short ENG v Shakhriyar Mamedyarov AZE
Nigel won a very nice, easy game. It was predicted he would reach the Commentary Room by 6.15pm, but he made it by 6.01pm.
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 Nb8 10.d3 Nbd7 11.Nbd2 Bb7 12.Nf1 Nc5 13.Bc2 Re8 14.Ng3 Bf8 15.b4 Ne6
(15 Ncd7 is more common)
16.d4 g6 17.Bd2 Nd7 18.Bb3 Qf6 19.d5 Nf4
(Although Black has a nicely placed knight, Nigel felt the rest of his pieces were just in a tangle. The pressure on the c file was unbearable for Black.)
20.c4 Nb6 21.Rc1 bxc4 22.Bxc4 Nxc4 23.Rxc4 Rac8 24.Qc2
24...Be7 (24...Nxh6ch seems attractive. But there follows 25 gxh6 Qxf6 26 Bg5 trapping the queen.) 25.Bxf4 exf4 26.Ne2 Bd8 27.Ned4 Rb8 28.Qa4 Kf8 29.Nc6 Bxc6 30.Rxc6 Qb2 31.a3 f5 32.e5 1–0
In the final position, Black’s queen is all dressed up with nowhere to go.
Michael Adams ENG v Daniel Fridman GER
It is heart-warming to see the two leading English players on the top two boards in the Masters. Even better, they both won. What could be more appropriate in this extremely patriotic setting? Michael sacrificed a pawn in return for weakening Black’s kingside, a very long-term plan indeed. His handling of the delicate endgame put Black under so much pressure that he eventually won. 53 move games don’t usually win the £1000 Best Game Prize, but this could be the exception.
Hou Yifan CHN v Zoltan Almasi HUN
Another elegant game played by Hou Yifan, the 17 year old Women’s World Chess Champion. The Berlin Wall is regarded as virtually impregnable, but she chipped away at its foundations.
Le Quang Liem VIE v Mircea-Emilian Parligras ROU
Basically they shuffled around until the music stopped. But doing nothing extremely well is a characteristic of very strong players.
Alexei Shirov LAT v Mariya Muzychuk UKR
Alexei again came to the Commentary Room as did Emanuel Berg. Thus we got three master classes that afternoon. He was very surprised by 24…Kf8. It was a nice positional crush.
Peter Svidler RUS v Anna Muzychuk SLO
She took the fight to the Russian, sacking a pawn early on. This was returned and it then came down to a drawn endgame.
David Howell ENG v Judit Polgar HUN
Black seemed better initially, but not after the mutual time scramble. The fortunes of the game ebbed and waned and it concluded after 82 moves with only kings on the board.
Gabriel Sargissian ARM v Sabino Brunello ITA
100 rated points difference isn’t all that much, so Black’s win was not a shocking surprise. The Armenian went wrong with 38 bxa6 and after this was unable to recover.
BLITZ TEAMS OF FOUR CHAMPIONSHIP
This traditional event attracted 20 teams of 4 players in 6 rounds. They played at the rate of 4 minutes per game plus 4 seconds cumulatively for each move. That works out at about 8 minutes for the whole game for each player, or an average of 8 seconds per move. This is considered quite leisurely for such an event.
The team USSR Mixed Team were red hot favourites. It consisted of Peter Svidler 2749 RUS, Viktor Bologan 2680 Moldova, Nadezhda Kosintseva woman 2537 RUS, Natalia Zhukova 2426 UKR.
USSR Mixed 20½ game points, 12 match points
Arabic Dragon 15½ game points, 8 match points
Linares Team 15 game points, 9 match points
In addition to the 3 hours of this event some people also played 4 hours in the morning and 5 hours in the evening.
PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL PHOTOGRAPHS ARE ON OUR WEBSITE
www.gibraltarchesscongress.com
Please do not hesitate to contact me at gibchesspress@gmail.com
Alice Mascarenhas
Tradewise Chess Press Officer
Press Office
2012 Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 27, 2012 11:57 AM

| Round 11 - Friday the 27th - Group A | |
| Carlsen, M. - Topalov, V. | |
| Kamsky, G. - Nakamura, H. | |
| Van Wely, L. - Karjakin, S. | |
| Gashimov, V. - Radjabov, T. | |
| Ivanchuk, V. - Gelfand, B. | |
| Aronian, L. - Navara, D. | |
| Caruana, F. - Giri, A. | |
| L'Ami, E. - Motylev, A. | |
| Timman, J. - Cmilyte, V. | |
| Potkin, V. - Harika, D. | |
| Tiviakov, S. - Lahno, K. | |
| Nyzhnik, I. - Bruzon, L. | |
| Vocaturo, D. - Reinderman, D. | |
| Ernst, S. - Harikrishna, P. |
| Goudriaan, E. - Hopman, P. | |
| Danielian, E. - Adhiban, B. | |
| Turov, M. - Brandenburg, D. | |
| Schut, L. - Paehtz, E. | |
| Haast, A. - Tania, S. | |
| Ootes, L. - Sadler, M. | |
| Tikkanen, H. - Grover, S. |
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 27, 2012 08:30 AM

Gibraltar Masters Round 3
The 3rd round of the 2012 Gibraltar Chess Masters was very successful for the players commanding the white pieces. On the top three boards white, namely Women World Champion Hou Yifan and England’s Nigel Short and Michael Adams, snatched victories to continue with perfect records.
Sabino Brunelo and Ruben Felgaer defeated the higher rated opposition to join the leading pack. World Cup winner Peter Svidler signed another draw, this time against the always-progressing Anna Muzychuk. Full round 3 results bellow.
Replay the games with computer analysis. Round 4 live broadcast starts at 15:00 CET.
Top round 4 pairings are GM Hou Yifan 2605 (3 points) – GM Adams Michael 2724 (3), GM Brunello Sabino 2581 (3) – GM Short Nigel 2677 (3), GM Le Quang Liem 2714 (2½) – GM Felgaer Ruben 2571 (3), and the big derby GM Polgar Judit 2710 (2½) – GM Koneru Humpy 2589 (2½).
The social side to the tournament plays a major part and players meet and analyse games in the comfort of the hotel lobby, in the reception area, or wherever they can place a chess board after the competition is over for the day. Every evening there is a social event and on Wednesday night GM David Howell showed his first and second round wins over Gislason and Javakhishvili.
Macauley Peterson recorded the lecture and you can view it here (Runtime 56:20).
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 27, 2012 07:41 AM

| Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | No. | ||
| 1 | 25 | GM | Hou Yifan | 2605 | 3 | 3 | GM | Adams Michael | 2724 | 3 | |
| 2 | 30 | GM | Brunello Sabino | 2581 | 3 | 3 | GM | Short Nigel D | 2677 | 15 | |
| 3 | 5 | GM | Le Quang Liem | 2714 | 2½ | 3 | GM | Felgaer Ruben | 2571 | 33 | |
| 4 | 6 | GM | Polgar Judit | 2710 | 2½ | 2½ | GM | Koneru Humpy | 2589 | 29 | |
| 5 | 28 | GM | David Alberto | 2598 | 2½ | 2½ | GM | Shirov Alexei | 2710 | 7 | |
| 6 | 8 | GM | Laznicka Viktor | 2704 | 2½ | 2½ | GM | Kulaots Kaido | 2581 | 31 | |
| 7 | 10 | GM | Movsesian Sergei | 2700 | 2½ | 2½ | GM | Jussupow Artur | 2569 | 34 | |
| 8 | 32 | IM | Muzychuk Anna | 2580 | 2½ | 2½ | GM | Sasikiran Krishnan | 2700 | 11 | |
| 9 | 18 | GM | Parligras Mircea-Emilian | 2650 | 2½ | 2½ | GM | Gopal G N | 2566 | 35 | |
| 10 | 39 | GM | Rapport Richard | 2543 | 2½ | 2½ | GM | Gustafsson Jan | 2643 | 21 | |
| 11 | 26 | GM | Fier Alexandr | 2603 | 2½ | 2½ | GM | Dzagnidze Nana | 2535 | 41 | |
| 12 | 47 | IM | Huschenbeth Niclas | 2518 | 2½ | 2½ | GM | Howell David W L | 2603 | 27 | |
| 13 | 2 | GM | Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2747 | 2 | 2½ | IM | Zatonskih Anna | 2506 | 49 | |
| 14 | 61 | IM | Hunt Adam C | 2462 | 2 | 2 | GM | Svidler Peter | 2749 | 1 | |
| 15 | 4 | GM | Almasi Zoltan | 2717 | 2 | 2 | GM | Cramling Pia | 2491 | 56 | |
| 16 | 63 | IM | Javakhishvili Lela | 2454 | 2 | 2 | GM | Sutovsky Emil | 2703 | 9 | |
| 17 | 12 | GM | Vachier-Lagrave Maxime | 2699 | 2 | 2 | IM | Arnold Marc T | 2482 | 58 | |
| 18 | 65 | IM | Khurtsidze Nino | 2444 | 2 | 2 | GM | Sargissian Gabriel | 2683 | 13 | |
| 19 | 14 | GM | Bologan Viktor | 2680 | 2 | 2 | IM | Krush Irina | 2467 | 60 | |
| 20 | 16 | GM | Fridman Daniel | 2660 | 2 | 2 | IM | Molner Mackenzie | 2449 | 64 |
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 27, 2012 06:09 AM

Metropolitan Chess, Inc. is hosting an International Master norm round robin tournament from January 25th to 29th of 2012.
This tournament is the 15th in its series and is being held in Suite C1002 of the California Market Center on 110 East 9th Street, Los Angeles 90079. The tournament is organized by Ankit Gupta.
The participants include: IM Zhanibek Amanov (KAZ), IM Andranik Matikozyan (ARM), IM Enrico Sevillano (USA), FM Mark Duckworth (USA), FM Konstantin Kavutskiy (USA), Vadim Kudryavtsev (RUS), Craig Clawitter (USA), Garush Manukyan (ARM), and FM Harutyan Akopyan (USA).
The tournament will be a 10 player round-robin (all play all), with rounds scheduled as follows – 25th: 7:00 PM, 26th: 11:00 AM & 5:00 PM, 27th: 11:00 AM & 5:00 PM, 28th: 11:00 AM & 5:00 PM, 29th: 10:00 AM & 4:00 PM.
Spectators are welcome and encouraged to come to watch the games in person at the tournament site.
The tournament is sponsored by California Market Center, Fashion Business, Inc, Chess.com, MonRoi, LawyerFy, and Betty Bottom Showroom.
The standings can be found on the Metropolitan Chess, Inc. website at: http://metrochessla.com/schedule.php
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 27, 2012 04:40 AM
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 26, 2012 06:49 PM
2nd Ferdowsi International Chess Open Tournament
The 2nd Ferdowsi International Chess Open Tournament is set to take place from 9th to 20th February in Mashhad, Iran.
The Chess Association of “Khorasan–Razavi” province on behalf of I.R.Iran Chess Federation has the honor to invite all players from national federations to participate in the tournament. Each National Chess Federation has right to nominate and send one player.
Organizing Committee will provide free participation, domestic transfer (from Tehran to Mashhad and return) and full board accommodation (with 3 meals per day) in 4 stars Samen Hotel, for official nominated players as well as GM title holders and 2500+ rated chess players.
The tournament will be played over 11 rounds of Swiss system. The prize fund of 25.000 US$ will be distributed for the top ten finishers. The winner gets 5000 USD. Note: 20% tax will be deducted from the winnings.
The 1st Ferdowsi International was held on 8-15th June 2010. Grandmasters Vladimir Malaniuk UKR, Ehsan Ghaem Maghami IRI and Azer Mirzoev AZE shared the first place.
Mashhad is the capital of “Khorasan–Razavi” province in northeastern of I.R.Iran and it has an International airport directly connected by different airlines to many major destinations like: Istanbul, Dubai, Bahrain, Doha, Bangkok, Bishkek, Dushanbe, Kuwait, Baghdad, Najaf, Almaty, and also more than 15 daily flights from Tehran.
For more information about flights see: http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashhad_International_Airport, http://www.mahan.aero/home.asp?lang=en-us.
Mashhad is the second largest city in Iran and one of the holiest cities in the Shia Muslim world.
It is located 850 kilometers (530 mi) east of Tehran, close to the borders of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Its population was 2,427,316 at the 2006 population census.
The city benefits from the proximity of the mountains, having cool winters, pleasant springs, mild summers, and beautiful autumns. It is only about 250 km (156 miles) from Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
In 2011 Mashhad hosted the 19th Fajr International Chess Open Tournament and 10th Asian Continental Individual Championships.
Contacts of the Organizing Committee:
Khorasan Chess Association
www.razavichess.com
Email: shima_haghani2003(at)yahoo.com
Tel: +98 511 2463055
Fax: +98 5112463626
Mobile: +98 915 307 6081
Email: federation(at)ircf.ir
Email: wfajr2012(at)ircf.ir
Tel: +98 21 88971040
Fax: +98 21 88951514
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 26, 2012 06:04 PM
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 26, 2012 06:02 PM

by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 26, 2012 01:47 PM
The Gibraltar Chess Festival 2012 will be live daily on Chessdom.com with analysis by the Houdini 2.0 engine. Games start at 14:00 CET.
All news about Gibraltar Chess Festival here
Full participants list at this link
Live chess broadcast powered by ChessBomb and Chessdom
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 26, 2012 01:00 PM

The 14th NordWest-Cup will be played from 26th to 29th January in the “Wandelhalle” Bad Zwischenahns. The 7-round Swiss event is organized by the SK Union Oldenburg and SC Schwarzer Springer Bad Zwischenahn.
Currently 310 players are registered for the Main and U1800 Groups. Among them are 10 Grandmasters with GM Yuri Solodovnichenko being the top seeded.
The prize fund is 5000 EUR with 1000 EUR dedicated to the winner.
Last year Grandmasters Henrik Teske and Vladimir Epishin and IM Tobias Jugelt shared the first place with 6 points each.
Alfons Gudat, Ernst Heinemann and Tobias Jugelt took part in all previous 13 editions of the NordWest-Cup.
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 26, 2012 12:07 PM

Armenian GM Levon Aronian seemed well on his way to win the 10,000-euro first prize in Grandmaster Group A of the 74th annual Tata Steel Tournament at Wijk-aan-Zee on Wednesday. With just three more rounds to go in this, the world’s strongest chess event, he defeated Dutch champion Anish Giri with black to remain on top of the standings, one point ahead of the competition. Of the runners-up sharing second place at the outset of the tenth round, only Vassili Ivanchuk of the Ukraine managed to keep up the pace, winning his game with black against David Navara of the Czech Republic. Azerbaijan’s Teymour Radjabov and Norway’s Magnus Carlsen were both held to a draw and fell back to the third spot.
“It was a very complicated game,” Aronian said about his victory over Giri, which came after 43 moves from a rare line of the Queen’s Gambit and in which preparation played a crucial part. The Armenian knew the line quite well. “Actually, I was the first person to try 7.Be2 dxc4 8.0-0 with white myself and, with black, I now played the new 8…Nb6, which may not have been the best move, but white must know how to play. Anish didn’t quite grasp the position. After 13.Bf3 Rxf3, maybe it was unclear but it was easy for black to play. I had a clear plan and, somehow, Anish began to play very badly. Maybe he was upset it wasn’t what he had prepared for. He committed some inaccuracies and after that it was more or less easy for me.”
Asked whether he felt he was going win the tournament, Aronian smiled and said: “We’ll have to wait and see, don’t we? Anyway, I hope I’ll be able to play the next few games as well as I did today.” Giri, who felt he “was a little bit unlucky, getting these coffee-house positions against coffee-house players” had different hopes for the remainder of the tournament. “Maybe, after three defeats in a row, it is time for a new approach: not to try anything and just play better.”
The ‘Piet Zwart Prize’ – 500 euros set aside for the best game of the day by the municipalities of Velsen and Beverwijk – went to Ivanchuk. GM Ivan Sokolov was impressed by the way ‘Chukie’ handled the modern Ben Oni line, in which black delays castling, changing pieces and freeing his game. “The most interesting aspect was that after move #27, the black knight on g7 turns out to be much stronger than the white bishop on d3, as he demonstrated convincingly,” Sokolov said.
Ivanchuk himself felt that he “was in good shape the last few days” and said that Navara had giving him a helping hand, allowing the devastating 30.Bxf5 Re2. “Before that, I believe the position was maybe about equal.”
Carlsen, the world highest ranked player but still smarting from his defeat at the hands of Russia’s Sergei Karjakin in the previous round, settled for a quiet draw after just 21 moves with black from a semi-Slav Defense against Hikaru Nakamura of the U.S., who said “the opening came as a surprise” for him. “Anyway, I haven’t been feeling too well these last few days, and so,” accepting the peace offer “seemed the practical thing to do. After all, the onus wasn’t on me here. I mean, he’s the stronger player,” Nakamura said.
Radjabov splitting the point with Holland’s Loek van Wely was a comedy of errors caused by the fact that both players were in time trouble. Their game, from a Dutch Defense with the Azeri playing white, was entirely balanced until Radjabov reached the time control with 40.Qf3?? and proposed a draw. With only seconds left on his clock, Van Wely went for the half point – a serious blunder, as 40…Ra2! would at least have earned him a piece.
“It seemed a very reasonable peace offer to me,” said Van Wely, for whom it was his tenth consecutive draw. “Of course, if I’d had a little more time to consider his proposal …”
The draw between World Championship Challenger Boris Gelfand of Israel and Azerbaijan’s Vugar Gashimov, in 25 moves from a Queen’s Indian, was less spectacular with neither player getting any chances or making any serious mistakes.
There were mistakes galore, however, in Karjakin’s Ruy Lopez with white against U.S. champion Gata Kamsky. Karjakin, still in a winning mood after his victory over Carlsen, was too aggressive, Kamsky felt. “It was a very strange game,” he said, in which “I messed up the opening. But then when I played 18…Qc7, he forgot that I had the retreat 19.Qg3 Bd8 after which I equalized because he couldn’t get the two bishops any longer. 22.Nf5 was a mistake, because after 22…Bxf5 23.exf5, he gets no attacking chances and I can just push my pawn and position my rooks.” Karjakin resigned after the time control in a hopeless position.
The final Group-A game of the day also ended in a victory for black, with Italy’s Fabiano Caruano beating Bulgaria’s Veselin Topalov in 39 moves from rare line of the Sicilian Defense.
Official website: http://www.tatasteelchess.com
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 26, 2012 08:40 AM
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 26, 2012 07:40 AM

| Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | No. | ||
| 1 | 15 | GM | Short Nigel D | 2677 | 2 | 2 | GM | Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2747 | 2 | |
| 2 | 3 | GM | Adams Michael | 2724 | 2 | 2 | GM | Fridman Daniel | 2660 | 16 | |
| 3 | 25 | GM | Hou Yifan | 2605 | 2 | 2 | GM | Almasi Zoltan | 2717 | 4 | |
| 4 | 5 | GM | Le Quang Liem | 2714 | 2 | 2 | GM | Parligras Mircea-Emilian | 2650 | 18 | |
| 5 | 27 | GM | Howell David W L | 2603 | 2 | 2 | GM | Polgar Judit | 2710 | 6 | |
| 6 | 29 | GM | Koneru Humpy | 2589 | 2 | 2 | GM | Laznicka Viktor | 2704 | 8 | |
| 7 | 31 | GM | Kulaots Kaido | 2581 | 2 | 2 | GM | Movsesian Sergei | 2700 | 10 | |
| 8 | 11 | GM | Sasikiran Krishnan | 2700 | 2 | 2 | GM | David Alberto | 2598 | 28 | |
| 9 | 13 | GM | Sargissian Gabriel | 2683 | 2 | 2 | GM | Brunello Sabino | 2581 | 30 | |
| 10 | 33 | GM | Felgaer Ruben | 2571 | 2 | 2 | GM | Bologan Viktor | 2680 | 14 | |
| 11 | 1 | GM | Svidler Peter | 2749 | 1½ | 2 | GM | Muzychuk Anna | 2580 | 32 | |
| 12 | 7 | GM | Shirov Alexei | 2710 | 1½ | 1½ | IM | Muzychuk Mariya | 2483 | 57 | |
| 13 | 55 | IM | Dvirnyy Daniyyl | 2492 | 1½ | 1½ | GM | Vachier-Lagrave Maxime | 2699 | 12 | |
| 14 | 56 | GM | Cramling Pia | 2491 | 1½ | 1½ | GM | Lupulescu Constantin | 2648 | 20 | |
| 15 | 21 | GM | Gustafsson Jan | 2643 | 1½ | 1½ | GM | Zhu Chen | 2472 | 59 | |
| 16 | 58 | IM | Arnold Marc T | 2482 | 1½ | 1½ | GM | Negi Parimarjan | 2641 | 22 | |
| 17 | 23 | GM | Erdos Viktor | 2634 | 1½ | 1½ | IM | Khurtsidze Nino | 2444 | 65 | |
| 18 | 60 | IM | Krush Irina | 2467 | 1½ | 1½ | GM | Akobian Varuzhan | 2617 | 24 | |
| 19 | 148 | Adler Bo | 2167 | 2 | 1½ | GM | Fier Alexandr | 2603 | 26 | ||
| 20 | 34 | GM | Jussupow Artur | 2569 | 1½ | 2 | Samu Sorin-Mihai | 2156 | 153 |
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 26, 2012 06:49 AM
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 26, 2012 06:45 AM

by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 26, 2012 06:38 AM

| 1. | Aronian, L. | 7½ |
| 2. | Ivanchuk, V. | 6½ |
| 3. | Carlsen, M. Radjabov, T. | 6 |
| 5. | Caruana, F. Nakamura, H. | 5½ |
| 7. | Kamsky, G. Van Wely, L. | 5 |
| 9. | Karjakin, S. | 4½ |
| 10. | Gashimov, V. Gelfand, B. Giri, A. Topalov, V. | 4 |
| 14. | Navara, D. | 2½ |
| 1. | Harikrishna, P. | 8 |
| 2. | L'Ami, E. Motylev, A. | 7 |
| 4. | Bruzon, L. | 6½ |
| 5. | Reinderman, D. Tiviakov, S. | 5 |
| 7. | Nyzhnik, I. | 4½ |
| 8. | Ernst, S. Lahno, K. Potkin, V. Timman, J. Vocaturo, D. | 4 |
| 13. | Cmilyte, V. Harika, D. | 3½ |
| 1. | Turov, M. | 8 |
| 2. | Tikkanen, H. | 7½ |
| 3. | Adhiban, B. | 7 |
| 4. | Brandenburg, D. Grover, S. Sadler, M. | 6 |
| 7. | Goudriaan, E. Paehtz, E. Tania, S. | 4½ |
| 10. | Schut, L. | 4 |
| 11. | Danielian, E. Haast, A. Hopman, P. Ootes, L. | 3 |
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 26, 2012 06:10 AM

by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 25, 2012 10:35 PM

by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 25, 2012 08:21 PM

by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 25, 2012 07:48 PM

| Round 10 - Wednesday the 25th | |
| Topalov, V. - Caruana, F. | 0-1 |
| Giri, A. - Aronian, L. | 0-1 |
| Navara, D. - Ivanchuk, V. | 0-1 |
| Gelfand, B. - Gashimov, V. | ½-½ |
| Radjabov, T. - Van Wely, L. | ½-½ |
| Karjakin, S. - Kamsky, G. | 0-1 |
| Nakamura, H. - Carlsen, M. | ½-½ |
| Motylev, A. - Ernst, S. | 1-0 |
| Harikrishna, P. - Vocaturo, D. | 1-0 |
| Reinderman, D. - Nyzhnik, I. | 1-0 |
| Bruzon, L. - Tiviakov, S. | ½-½ |
| Lahno, K. - Potkin, V. | ½-½ |
| Harika, D. - Timman, J. | ½-½ |
| Cmilyte, V. - L'Ami, E. |
| Hopman, P. - Tikkanen, H. | 1-0 | |
| Grover, S. - Ootes, L. | 1-0 | |
| Sadler, M. - Haast, A. | 1-0 | |
| Tania, S. - Schut, L. | 1-0 | |
| Paehtz, E. - Turov, M. | ½-½ | |
| Brandenburg, D. - Danielian, E. | 1-0 | |
| Adhiban, B. - Goudriaan, E. |
|
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 25, 2012 05:03 PM
The Gibraltar Chess Festival 2012 will be live daily on Chessdom.com with analysis by the Houdini 2.0 engine. Games start at 14:00 CET.
All news about Gibraltar Chess Festival here
Full participants list at this link
Live chess broadcast powered by ChessBomb and Chessdom
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 25, 2012 02:00 PM

| Bo. | No. | Name | Rtg | Pts. | Result | Pts. | Name | Rtg | No. | ||
| 1 | 34 | GM | Jussupow Artur | 2569 | 1 | 1 | GM | Svidler Peter | 2749 | 1 | |
| 2 | 2 | GM | Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2747 | 1 | 1 | GM | Nabaty Tamir | 2563 | 36 | |
| 3 | 38 | GM | Berg Emanuel | 2550 | 1 | 1 | GM | Adams Michael | 2724 | 3 | |
| 4 | 4 | GM | Almasi Zoltan | 2717 | 1 | 1 | GM | Korchnoi Viktor | 2558 | 37 | |
| 5 | 42 | GM | Del Rio De Angelis Salvador G | 2531 | 1 | 1 | GM | Le Quang Liem | 2714 | 5 | |
| 6 | 6 | GM | Polgar Judit | 2710 | 1 | 1 | GM | Ikonnikov Vyacheslav | 2531 | 43 | |
| 7 | 8 | GM | Laznicka Viktor | 2704 | 1 | 1 | GM | Pavlovic Milos | 2531 | 44 | |
| 8 | 10 | GM | Movsesian Sergei | 2700 | 1 | 1 | GM | Al-Sayed Mohammed | 2524 | 45 | |
| 9 | 46 | GM | Stefanova Antoaneta | 2523 | 1 | 1 | GM | Sasikiran Krishnan | 2700 | 11 | |
| 10 | 12 | GM | Vachier-Lagrave Maxime | 2699 | 1 | 1 | IM | Zatonskih Anna | 2506 | 49 | |
| 11 | 50 | GM | Gallagher Joseph G | 2505 | 1 | 1 | GM | Sargissian Gabriel | 2683 | 13 | |
| 12 | 14 | GM | Bologan Viktor | 2680 | 1 | 1 | GM | Salem A R Saleh | 2505 | 51 | |
| 13 | 53 | GM | Baron Tal | 2498 | 1 | 1 | GM | Short Nigel D | 2677 | 15 | |
| 14 | 16 | GM | Fridman Daniel | 2660 | 1 | 1 | GM | Cabrera Alexis | 2504 | 52 | |
| 15 | 18 | GM | Parligras Mircea-Emilian | 2650 | 1 | 1 | GM | El Debs Felipe De Cresce | 2497 | 54 | |
| 16 | 20 | GM | Lupulescu Constantin | 2648 | 1 | 1 | IM | Dvirnyy Daniyyl | 2492 | 55 | |
| 17 | 57 | IM | Muzychuk Mariya | 2483 | 1 | 1 | GM | Gustafsson Jan | 2643 | 21 | |
| 18 | 22 | GM | Negi Parimarjan | 2641 | 1 | 1 | GM | Cramling Pia | 2491 | 56 | |
| 19 | 59 | GM | Zhu Chen | 2472 | 1 | 1 | GM | Erdos Viktor | 2634 | 23 | |
| 20 | 24 | GM | Akobian Varuzhan | 2617 | 1 | 1 | IM | Arnold Marc T | 2482 | 58 | |
| 21 | 61 | IM | Hunt Adam C | 2462 | 1 | 1 | GM | Hou Yifan | 2605 | 25 | |
| 22 | 26 | GM | Fier Alexandr | 2603 | 1 | 1 | IM | Krush Irina | 2467 | 60 | |
| 23 | 63 | IM | Javakhishvili Lela | 2454 | 1 | 1 | GM | Howell David W L | 2603 | 27 | |
| 24 | 28 | GM | David Alberto | 2598 | 1 | 1 | IM | Raznikov Danny | 2436 | 67 | |
| 25 | 72 | IM | Hanley Craig A | 2421 | 1 | 1 | GM | Koneru Humpy | 2589 | 29 | |
| 26 | 30 | GM | Brunello Sabino | 2581 | 1 | 1 | FM | Kuipers Stefan | 2391 | 84 | |
| 27 | 89 | FM | Fenollar Jorda Manuel | 2360 | 1 | 1 | GM | Kulaots Kaido | 2581 | 31 | |
| 28 | 32 | IM | Muzychuk Anna | 2580 | 1 | 1 | Valgmae Toomas | 2208 | 133 | ||
| 29 | 135 | Zygouris Hristos | 2205 | 1 | 1 | GM | Felgaer Ruben | 2571 | 33 |
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 25, 2012 08:09 AM
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 25, 2012 07:55 AM

The New Zealand Chess Federation organized the 2012 Queenstown Chess Classic on 15th-23rd January 2012, at the ballroom of the Millennium Hotel, Queenstown.
The tournament was a nine round Swiss event, staged over nine days. The $50,000 sponsorship was provided by New Zealand Chess Grandmaster Murray Chandler.
Australian Grandmaster Darryl K Johansen defeated the Commonwealth champion Gawain Jones in the final round to catch China’s duo Li Chao B – Zhao Jun on the shared first place. Johansen is declared winner on best tie-break score.
Seeded only 14th at the beginning of the tournament, Johansen continues the string of fantastic results as he already won the 2012 Australian Chess Championship two weeks ago. He improved his elo by 40 points from these two events.
The 119th New Zealand National Championship was also incorporated within the Queenstown Chess Classic. This event has a famous history, being the oldest continuously staged national championship in the world.
FM Michael Steadman from Auckland wins the national title by collecting 6.5 points, half a point better than nearest followers. Full standings bellow.
Previous Queenstown events have also attracted numerous international players, including Grandmasters and Masters. For further information visit the tournament website.
Final standings (top 25):
1 GM Johansen Darryl K AUS 2403 – 7.5
2 GM Li Chao B CHN 2693 – 7.5
3 GM Zhao Jun CHN 2569 – 7.5
4 IM Akshat Khamparia IND 2414 – 7
5 GM Rozentalis Eduardas LTU 2592 – 7
6 Tao Trevor AUS 2422 – 7
7 GM Hansen Sune Berg DEN 2572 – 7
8 GM Ganguly Surya Shekhar IND 2639 – 7
9 GM Bojkov Dejan BUL 2553 – 6.5
10 FM Ikeda Junta AUS 2349 – 6.5
11 Bird Andrew AUS 2216 – 6.5
12 FM Steadman Michael NZL 2258 – 6.5
13 WGM Sukandar Irine Kharisma INA 2325 – 6.5
14 Dragicevic Domagoj AUS 2277 – 6.5
15 FM Illingworth Max AUS 2388 – 6.5
16 FM Cheng Bobby AUS 2375 – 6
17 FM Smith Robert W NZL 2273 – 6
18 Zelesco Karl AUS 1990 – 6
19 FM Stojic Dusan AUS 2294 – 6
20 GM Bischoff Klaus GER 2537 – 6
21 IM Dive Russell John NZL 2345 – 6
22 IM Morris James AUS 2354 – 6
23 GM Zhao Xue CHN 2551 – 6
24 GM Jones Gawain C B ENG 2653 – 6
25 IM Solomon Stephen J AUS 2375 – 6
26 IM Ly Moulthun AUS 2376 – 6
27 IM West Guy AUS 2323 – 6
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 25, 2012 07:35 AM

Following the conclusion of the 2012 Armenian Chess Championships, the national federation has announced the lineups for the World Chess Olympiad, which will be held in August in Istanbul, Turkey.
Men’s Team: Levon Aronian, Sergei Movsesian, Vladimir Akopian, Gabriel Sargissian, Tigran L. Petrosian. Coach – Arshak Petrosian.
Women’s Team: Elina Danielian, Lilit Mkrtchian, Lilit Galojan, Maria Kursova, Anna Hairapetian. Coach – Artur Chibukchian.
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 25, 2012 07:11 AM

The 34th Bulgarian Open Chess Championship 2012 – Georgi Tringov Memorial is organized by the Bulgarian Chess Federation, the Chess Club Lokomotiv Plovdiv and Plovdiv Municipality from 29th January to 5th February in Novotel Hotel, Plovdiv.
The tournament will be played over 9 rounds of Swiss system and is valid for FIDE elo and GM/IM norms. Total prize fund is 10000 EUR, with 2000 EUR reserved for the winner.
147 players registered until today with GM Ivan Cheparinov as the top seed.
Participants (top seeds):
1. GM Cheparinov Ivan BUL 2659
2. GM Spasov Vasil BUL 2570
3. GM Radulski Julian BUL 2570
4. GM Nikolov Momchil BUL 2560
5. GM Georgiev Vladimir MKD 2533
6. GM Petkov Vladimir BUL 2519
7. IM Benidze Davit GEO 2516
8. GM Antic Dejan SRB 2504
9. GM Drenchev Petar BUL 2493
10. GM Grigorov Grigor BUL 2491
11. IM Miljkovic Miroslav D SRB 2491
12. IM Smith Bryan G USA 2460
13. IM Bozic Milan SRB 2443
14. IM Arsovic Zoran SRB 2441
15. IM Bruno Fabio ITA 2439
16. IM Dimitrov Radoslav BUL 2437
17. IM Milchev Nikolay BUL 2434
18. IM Enchev Ivajlo BUL 2430
19. GM Ristic Nenad SRB 2427
20. GM Georgiev Krum BUL 2424
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 25, 2012 07:03 AM

Standings after round 9 - Group A
| 1. | Aronian, L. | 6½ |
| 2. | Carlsen, M. Ivanchuk, V. Radjabov, T. | 5½ |
| 5. | Nakamura, H. | 5 |
| 6. | Caruana, F. Karjakin, S. Van Wely, L. | 4½ |
| 9. | Giri, A. Kamsky, G. Topalov, V. | 4 |
| 12. | Gashimov, V. Gelfand, B. | 3½ |
| 14. | Navara, D. | 2½ |
| 1. | Harikrishna, P. | 7 |
| 2. | Bruzon, L. L'Ami, E. Motylev, A. | 6 |
| 5. | Nyzhnik, I. Tiviakov, S. | 4½ |
| 7. | Ernst, S. Reinderman, D. Vocaturo, D. | 4 |
| 10. | Cmilyte, V. Lahno, K. Potkin, V. Timman, J. | 3½ |
| 14. | Harika, D. | 3 |
| 1. | Tikkanen, H. Turov, M. | 7½ |
| 3. | Adhiban, B. | 6½ |
| 4. | Brandenburg, D. Grover, S. Sadler, M. | 5 |
| 7. | Goudriaan, E. Paehtz, E. Schut, L. | 4 |
| 10. | Tania, S. | 3½ |
| 11. | Danielian, E. Haast, A. Ootes, L. | 3 |
| 14. | Hopman, P. | 2 |
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 25, 2012 06:16 AM

by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 25, 2012 06:00 AM

by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 24, 2012 09:20 PM

| Round 9 - Tuesday the 24th | |
| Nakamura, H. - Topalov, V. | ½-½ |
| Carlsen, M. - Karjakin, S. | 0-1 |
| Kamsky, G. - Radjabov, T. | ½-½ |
| Van Wely, L. - Gelfand, B. | ½-½ |
| Gashimov, V. - Navara, D. | ½-½ |
| Ivanchuk, V. - Giri, A. | 1-0 |
| Aronian, L. - Caruana, F. | 1-0 |
| Cmilyte, V. - Motylev, A. | ½-½ |
| L'Ami, E. - Harika, D. | 1-0 |
| Timman, J. - Lahno, K. | ½-½ |
| Potkin, V. - Bruzon, L. | 0-1 |
| Tiviakov, S. - Reinderman, D. | 1-0 |
| Nyzhnik, I. - Harikrishna, P. | 0-1 |
| Vocaturo, D. - Ernst, S. | 1-0 |
| Adhiban, B. - Hopman, P. | 1-0 |
| Goudriaan, E. - Brandenburg, D. | ½-½ |
| Danielian, E. - Paehtz, E. | ½-½ |
| Turov, M. - Tania, S. | 1-0 |
| Schut, L. - Sadler, M. | ½-½ |
| Haast, A. - Grover, S. | 1-0 |
| Ootes, L. - Tikkanen, H. | 0-1 |
by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 24, 2012 08:29 PM

by noreply@blogger.com (Blogger) at January 24, 2012 07:06 PM