exd5!

01.12.2009
– Peter Svidler and Shak Mamedyarov drew their games and went through against Alexei Shirov and Viktor Laznicka after yesterday's victories. Sergey Karjakin, who (would you believe it?) at 19 has been a grandmaster for seven years, defeated Nikita Vitiugov with black to join the two in round five. The other boards finished without decisions, so that tomorrow will see five tiebreak pairings.

:
ChessBase Magazine 133
Four highlights and a new number one. That is the summary of the autumn of 2009 in chess. It ran from the Pearl Spring Tournament in Nanjing with the triumphal success of Magnus Carlsen via the European Club and National Championships to the major high point of the year, the Tal Memorial in Moscow, which Vladimir Kramnik was able to take with half a point of a lead. The new (unofficial) number one in the FIDE world ranking list is now Magnus Carlsen, whose second place in Moscow was sufficient for him to push Topalov from the top spot.
More information...

The FIDE World Chess Cup is taking place in Khanty-Mansiysk from November 20th
to December 15th 2009. It is a seven-round knockout event with six rounds of
matches comprising two games per round, with the winners progressing to the
next round. The final seventh round consists of four games. The time control
is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of
the game with an addition of 30 seconds per move from move one. Games start
at 15:00h local time, which is GMT +5 hours = 11:00 a.m. European time = 5 a.m.
New York. The World Chess Cup is an integral part of the World Championship
Cycle 2009-2011.

Round four day two

Fabiano Caruana arrives, accompanied by his father Lou

Caruana,F (2652) - Gashimov,V (2758) [B90]
World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (4.2), 1.12.2009
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 Ng4 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4
g5 9.Bg3 Nc6 10.Be2 Nge5 11.Nxc6 Nxc6 12.Nd5 Bg7 13.c3 Ne5 14.Qb3 0-0 15.Qb6
Qxb6 16.Nxb6 Rb8 17.h4 gxh4 18.Rxh4 Ng6 19.Rh5 Be6 20.f4 f5 21.exf5 Rxf5 22.Rxf5
Bxf5 23.0-0-0 Rd8 24.Bf3 e6 25.Nc4 d5 26.Ne3 Rf8 27.Nxf5 Rxf5 28.Bg4 Rf6 29.Re1
Nf8 30.f5 exf5 31.Bf3 d4 32.cxd4 f4 33.Bf2 b6 34.d5 Rd6 35.Re8 Kf7 36.Bh5+ Kg8
37.Bf3 Kf7 38.Ra8 a5 39.Ra7+ Kg8 40.Ra8 Kf7 41.Ra7+ Kg8

With the time control met Fabiano Caruana has time to decide how he can go
about trying to win this advantageous position. 42.Rb7 (42.Rc7
and 43.Rc6 was an alternative) 42...Nd7 43.Bg4 Nc5 44.Bxc5 bxc5 45.Be6+
Kh7 46.b3 Kg6 47.Ra7 Bc3 48.Kc2 Be1 49.Kd3 Rb6 50.Ke2 Bc3 51.Kf3 Kf6 52.Kxf4.
Okay, he has got the extra pawn, but with the opposite bishops the position
is very hard to win. Especially when you have Gashimov on the other side of
the table. 52...Rb4+ 53.Kf3 Ke5 54.g3 c4 55.bxc4 Rxc4 56.Bf7 Bb4 57.Ra6
Rc3+ 58.Kg4 Bd6 59.Rxa5 Kf6 60.Be6 Rxg3+ 61.Kh5 Rg5+ 62.Kh4 draw. [Click
to replay]

The following games can be written on the back of a postage stamp. Together
with the Lord's Prayer. In capital letters.

Jakovenko,D (2736) - Grischuk,A (2736) [E21]
World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (4.2), 1.12.2009
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 c5 5.g3 b6 6.Bg2 Bb7 7.0-0 cxd4 8.Qxd4
0-0 9.Nb5 Nc6 10.Qd3 d5 11.Bf4 a6 12.Nbd4 draw. [Click
to replay]

Mamedyarov,S (2719) - Laznicka,V (2637) [D27]
World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (4.2), 1.12.2009
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 a6 6.a4 c5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.Nc3
Be7 9.Qe2 cxd4 10.Rd1 e5 11.exd4 exd4 12.Nxd4 Nxd4 13.Qe5 draw. [Click
to replay]

On to round five for one of the top three GMs in Azerbaijan: Skakhriyar
Mamedyrov

Ponomariov,R (2739) - Bacrot,E (2700) [D12]
World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (4.2), 1.12.2009
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Qb3 Qc7 7.Bd2 e6 8.Bb5+
Nc6 9.0-0 Bd6 10.Bb4 0-0 11.Bxc6 bxc6 12.Nbd2 Nd7 13.Rfc1 Rfc8 14.Qa3 Bxb4 15.Qxb4
Bg4 16.Rc2 Rab8 17.Qa3 Qb6 18.b3 Bxf3 19.Nxf3 Qb4 20.Qxa7 Rb7 21.Qa6 c5 22.dxc5
Rxc5 23.Rac1 h6 24.h3 Rbc7 25.a3 Qxb3 26.Rxc5 Rxc5 27.Rxc5 Qb1+ 28.Qf1 Qxf1+
29.Kxf1 Nxc5 30.Ke2 Kf8 31.Ne5 Ke7 32.Nd3 Ne4 33.Kd1 Kd6 34.f3 Nc3+ 35.Kc2 Na4
36.Kb3 Nb6 37.a4 f5 38.Kb4 Nc4 39.e4 fxe4 40.fxe4 g5 41.exd5 Kxd5 42.Kc3 e5
43.Nb4+ Kc5 44.Na6+ Kd5 45.Nc7+ Kc5 46.Kd3 Nb2+ 47.Ke4 Nxa4 48.Kxe5 Nb2 49.Ne6+
Kc4 50.Kf5 Kd5 51.Ng7 Nd3 52.Nh5 Ne1 53.g3 Kd4 54.Kg6 Nd3 55.Kxh6 Nf2 56.h4
gxh4 57.gxh4

After a tough struggle this is what the former FIDE World Champion has achieved:
a theoretically drawn endgame. But Ruslan Ponomariov decides to try a Carlsen
on his opponent. [For the uninitiated: to do a Carlsen = play on in
a technically drawn position, put as much pressure as possible on the opponent
and give him every opportunity to go astray]. 57...Ng4+ 58.Kg7 Ke5 59.Ng3
Nf6 60.Kg6 Nd5 61.Kg7 Nf6 62.Kf7 Ng4 63.Ne2 Nf6 64.Kg6

64...Nd5? Our tablebases suddenly spring to life, announcing
mate in 34. Necessary was 64...Ke6 or 64...Ng4, the only two moves that hold
the draw. 65.h5 Ne7+ 66.Kg7 Nf5+ 67.Kf7 Nh6+ 68.Kg6 Nf5 69.Ng3 Nh4+
70.Kg7 Nf3 71.h6 Ng5 72.Ne2 Ne6+ 73.Kf7 Ng5+ 74.Kg6 Ne6. So far perfectly
played by Ponomariov – Fritz is full of admiration for the human grandmaster.
75.Nc3. The counter goes up to #27 – 75.Ng1 would have
made it #23. 75...Nf8+ 76.Kf7 Nh7 77.Kg7 Ng5 78.Ne2 Ne6+ 79.Kf7 Ng5+
80.Kg6 Ne6 81.Ng1 Nf8+

82.Kf7? With the counter down to #23 Ponomariov errs. As any
amateur (equipped with tablebases) will tell you: White needed to play 82.Kg7!,
the only move that leads to a win. From now on the game is a theoretical draw
again, and Etienne Bacrot does not deviate from the right path. 82...Kf5
83.Nf3 Nh7 84.Kg7 Nf6 85.Nd4+ Kg5 86.Ne6+ Kh5 87.Nc7 Kg5 88.Nd5 Ne8+ 89.Kh7
Nd6 90.Nc3 Nf7 91.Ne4+ Kf4 92.Kg7 Nxh6 93.Kxh6 Kxe4 draw.
[Click to replay]

Ponomariov failed to do a full Carlsen – which entails actually winning
the drawn endgame

Vitiugov,N (2694) - Karjakin,Sergey (2723) [E32]
World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (4.2), 1.12.2009
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 d5 7.e3 b6 8.Nf3
Bb7 9.b3 Nbd7 10.Be2 c5 11.0-0 Rc8 12.a4 dxc4 13.bxc4 Qc7 14.Bb2 Bxf3 15.gxf3
cxd4 16.Qxd4 e5 17.Qh4 Rfe8 18.Kh1 Nf8 19.Qh3 a5 20.Rfd1 Rcd8 21.Qf5 Rxd1+ 22.Rxd1
N8d7 23.c5 Nxc5 24.Bb5 Re6 25.Kg1 g6 26.Qc2 Rd6 27.Rc1 Qe7 28.Ba3 Nfd7 29.Bxd7
Qxd7 30.Bxc5 Rc6 31.Qe4 Qc7 32.f4 Rxc5 33.Rxc5 bxc5 34.fxe5 c4

Black's advanced passed pawn on the c-file is very dangerous, and young Sergey
Karjakin shows us how to play this endgame. 35.e6 fxe6 36.Qxe6+ Kg7
37.Qe4 c3 38.Qd4+ Kg8 39.Qd5+ Kf8 40.Qd4 c2 41.Qh8+ Ke7 42.Qxh7+ Kd8 43.Qg8+
Kd7 44.Qg7+ Kc8 45.Qh8+ Kb7 46.Qb2+ Ka6 47.Qc1 Qc4

It's all over, Black wins (e.g. 48.h4 Qa2 49.Kg2 Qb1). 0-1.

Sergey Karjakin, 19, has
been a grandmaster for seven years now (!)

Wesley So held Vladimir Malakhov to a draw to force tiebreaks on Wednesday

Filipino Wesley So, who just turned sixteen, is the youngest player left in
the tournament

Boris Gelfand played an English Opening against French GM Maxime Vachier Lagrave
(is that PC? Probably okay) but did not get anything that pointed to victory.

Alexei Shirov did not find a way to beat Peter Svidler and equalise after
yesterday's
defeat. The game was drawn in 42 moves, Alexei is out, Peter goes into round
five.

Two happy GMs who qualified for round five: Sergey Karjakin, Peter Svidler

Photos by Galina Popova courtesy of FIDE

Results of round four

Schedule of the World Cup 2009

Links Official tournament site – All ChessBase reports All games in zipped PGN Games in PGN: Round 1 – Round 2 – Round 3 – Round 4 The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download the free PGN reader ChessBase Light, which gives you immediate access. You can also use the program to read, replay and analyse PGN games. New and enhanced: CB Light 2009!

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01.12.2009
– ChessBase Magazine ends the year with a remarkable issue. The strongest and the most spectacular tournament are covered: Kramnik's convincing victory
in Moscow, and Carlsen's triumph in Nanjing. Two EU Championships add over 1800 high-class games, many
annotated by top scorers and winners (Eljanov, Gashimov, Radjabov, Vitiguov, etc.).
Order
CBM 133 now, or read this
preview.

:
ChessBase Magazine 133
Four highlights and a new number one. That is the summary of the autumn of 2009 in chess. It ran from the Pearl Spring Tournament in Nanjing with the triumphal success of Magnus Carlsen via the European Club and National Championships to the major high point of the year, the Tal Memorial in Moscow, which Vladimir Kramnik was able to take with half a point of a lead. The new (unofficial) number one in the FIDE world ranking list is now Magnus Carlsen, whose second place in Moscow was sufficient for him to push Topalov from the top spot.
More information...

Chessbase.com

Read Full Post »

01.12.2009
– The Editor of Chess
Notes reports on a stunning new book about Emanuel Lasker – a 1,079-page hardback whose contributors include Robert Hübner and Victor Korchnoi.
The editors, Richard Forster, Stefan Hansen and Michael Negele, have kindly allowed a selection of rare illustrations to be presented here, and we now whet readers’
appetite for one of the great chess books of all time.

:
ChessBase Magazine 133
Four highlights and a new number one. That is the summary of the autumn of 2009 in chess. It ran from the Pearl Spring Tournament in Nanjing with the triumphal success of Magnus Carlsen via the European Club and National Championships to the major high point of the year, the Tal Memorial in Moscow, which Vladimir Kramnik was able to take with half a point of a lead. The new (unofficial) number one in the FIDE world ranking list is now Magnus Carlsen, whose second place in Moscow was sufficient for him to push Topalov from the top spot.
More information...

Chess Explorations (31)

By Edward Winter

A book which immediately ranks as one of the finest in chess history has just
been published: Emanuel Lasker Denker Weltenbürger Schachweltmeister
edited by Richard Forster, Stefan Hansen and Michael Negele (Berlin, 2009).

A few statistics first. A beautiful hardback, it comprises 1,079 large pages
with 700 games, 1,600 diagrams and over 500 illustrations. The contributors
include Robert Hübner (a chapter of more than 160 pages deeply analysing Lasker’s
early games) and Victor Korchnoi (annotations to three games played in the final
phase of Lasker’s career). Other highlights are excellently-researched
chapters on Lasker’s family and childhood, his writings, his work as a
mathematician and philosopher, his involvement in the games Laska, Go and bridge
and his problems and studies.

The contributions have been skilfully brought together to create a serene,
harmonious entity, complete with a detailed bibliography, indexes and other
requisites of high scholarship. As the reader turns the pages, the surprises
are unending. Page 201 reproduces a letter of condolence from Albert Einstein
to Lasker’s widow, Martha. A discovery presented on pages 1054-1055 is
a 1956 university thesis by George G. Gallagher, Doctor Emanuel Lasker A
Psychobiography:

Emanuel Lasker Denker Weltenbürger Schachweltmeister having only just
been published, we have merely been dipping into it and would not presume to
offer any kind of formal review. Instead, with the generous permission of the
editors, the present article will whet the appetite of potential readers by
offering a selection from the 500 or so illustrations. We begin with a photograph
from page 54, showing Lasker at the board with Max Frankel, a founder member
of the Manhattan Chess Club:

Another rare portrait, dated 1899, is on page 212:

Among the documents which caught our eye, on pages 1007-1013, is a letter written
by Lasker (Berlin, 4 October 1903) to Walter Penn Shipley. The extract below
refers to a possible challenge by Tarrasch to a world championship match, and
Lasker adds that if he wins that match he will ‘probably resign the title
of champion which confers no rights of any sort but only exposes to challenges
unrestrained by any condition’:

A particularly fine shot of Lasker, dated 1926, is on page 676:

The photograph below, from page 1029, shows Lasker with Nimzowitsch during
a tournament in Berlin in spring, 1928:

Another shot featuring Nimzowitsch (as well as Kmoch, Alekhine and Bogoljubow,
during the 1934 world championship match) is on page 291:

Next, Lasker aboard the Westphalia in autumn 1928 (from page 995):

The last photograph chosen for inclusion here comes from page 1040 and is dated
1936:

It is only proper that the full team of contributors to Emanuel Lasker Denker
Weltenbürger Schachweltmeister should be listed here: Wolfgang Angerstein,
Ralf Jürgen Binnewirtz, John W. Donaldson, Jürgen Fleck, Tony Gillam, Jesús
Bayolo Gonzalez, Bernd Gräfrath, Roberto Mayor Gutiérrez, John S. Hilbert, Robert
Hübner, Peter de Jong, Karl Kadletz, Wolfgang Kamm, Victor Korchnoi, Thomas
Lemanczyk, Isaak M. Linder, Vladimir Linder, Tomasz Lissowski, Egbert Meissenburg,
Michael Negele, Susanna Poldauf, Toni Preziuso, Joachim Rosenthal, Raj Tischbierek,
Robert van de Velde and Hans-Christian Wohlfarth. Richard Forster was the editor-in-chief,
supported by Ralf Jürgen Binnewirtz as the technical assistant. The layout (which
includes fine diagrams for Laska and Go) was by Ulrich Dirr.

When browsing through the volume it is impossible not to derive both pleasure
and pride from such a magnificent tribute being produced to one of the greatest
chessplayers of all time. The present, relatively brief, pictorial feature cannot,
even remotely, do justice to a book which will be treasured by anyone with an
interest in our game’s history, including those with no knowledge of German.

Further information about Emanuel Lasker Denker Weltenbürger Schachweltmeister
is available at the webpage of the Emanuel
Lasker Gesellschaft. The book can also be acquired direct from the publisher,
Exzelsior Verlag.

Submit information
or suggestions on chess explorations

All ChessBase articles
by Edward Winter

Edward
Winter is the editor of Chess
Notes, which was founded in January 1982 as "a forum for aficionados
to discuss all matters relating to the Royal Pastime". Since then, nearly 6,400
items have been published, and the series has resulted in four books by Winter:
Chess
Explorations (1996), Kings,
Commoners and Knaves (1999), A
Chess Omnibus (2003) and Chess
Facts and Fables (2006). He is also the author of a monograph
on Capablanca (1989).

Chess Notes is well known for its historical research, and anyone browsing
in its archives
will find a wealth of unknown games, accounts of historical mysteries, quotes
and quips, and other material of every kind imaginable. Correspondents from
around the world contribute items, and they include not only "ordinary readers"
but also some eminent historians – and, indeed, some eminent masters. Chess
Notes is located at the Chess
History Center. Signed copies of Edward Winter's publications are
currently available.

Chessbase.com

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