20.06.2010 – ... but a whole piece White had already invested into his attack in this game. How would you assess the position after the greedy capture 24...Rxb2?
A) Black wins;
B) White checkmates;
C) there is dynamic equilibrium.
The solution is
but first ponder over it with a larger version of the diagram.
Advertisement
Karsten Mueller: Chess Endgames 5 The first 4 DVDs in the series on the endgame cast some light on theoretical endgames and were systematically organised according to the distribution of material, starting with pawn endings and going on to deal with subjects such as the bishop pair and double rook endings. Now it is the turn of the underlying Endgame principles, which in this fifth DVD consist of activity, the initiative, mate and making the correct exchanges.
20.06.2010 – The Master Group of the Ruy Lopez International Chess Festival 2010 was an eight-player Category 14 event (average Elo 2599), with mainly young and ambitious chess talents participating. It was won with a stunning 6.0/7 score by Ivan Cheparinov, known for seconding and assisting former FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov. Report with beautiful pictures by Jorge Armestar Marroquin.
Advertisement
Karsten Mueller: Chess Endgames 5 The first 4 DVDs in the series on the endgame cast some light on theoretical endgames and were systematically organised according to the distribution of material, starting with pawn endings and going on to deal with subjects such as the bishop pair and double rook endings. Now it is the turn of the underlying Endgame principles, which in this fifth DVD consist of activity, the initiative, mate and making the correct exchanges.
The Ruy Lopez International Chess Festival 2010 took place from June 11th to
19th 2010 in Villafranca de los Barros, Spain. It was marked by the stunning
performance of one player, Ivan Cheparinov, who finished a point and a half
ahead of his nearest rivals. The Bulgarian grandmaster, who is best known for
being the second and assistant to the former FIDE World Champion Veselin Topalov,
produced five wins and two draws for a 6.0/7 final score, with a 2904 performance.
Final standings
The playing venue in Villafranca de los Barros, Spain
The winner: GM Ivan Cheparinov, Bulgaria, 2640, with a 2904 performance
20.06.2010 – It's not easy being the hot favourite in a Category 20 tournament anything but clear victory would be considered a sensation. Well, top seed Magnus Carlsen has set to work. After three draws he has won two games in a row and leads the field ahead of Radjabov and Gelfand. On the free day there was a soccer match. Pictures and GM commentary of round five.
Advertisement
Karsten Mueller: Chess Endgames 5 The first 4 DVDs in the series on the endgame cast some light on theoretical endgames and were systematically organised according to the distribution of material, starting with pawn endings and going on to deal with subjects such as the bishop pair and double rook endings. Now it is the turn of the underlying Endgame principles, which in this fifth DVD consist of activity, the initiative, mate and making the correct exchanges.
ROMGAZ
and the Chess Club Society "Elisabeta Polihroniade” of Bucharest
are staging a double round robin tournament with six top GMs: the world's highest
ranked player, Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who at the age of 19 has an Elo rating
of 2813. Ukrainian GM Ruslan Ponomariov is a former FIDE knockout world champion;
Boris Gelfand of Israel, winner of the FIDE World Cup in 2009; the top Chinese
player Wang Yue; Teimour Radjabov, the second highest ranked player of Azerbaijan,
and Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu, the best Romanian player. The competition is taking
place from June 14th to 25th 2010 in Medias, Romania.
Round five summary
By GM Dorian Rogozenco
The most entertaining game of round five was Carlsen’s win with the black
pieces against Dieter Nisipeanu. The Norwegian played the Sicilian Dragon and
surprised his opponent with a rare line. Nisipeanu got somewhat overoptimistic
about his position and when the Romanian Grandmaster realized that he evaluated
it wrongly, it was already too late. Carlsen developed the initiative and finished
the game on move 31 in his favour.
Ponomariov played the Ragozin Variation against Gelfand, but the ex-FIDE World
Champion mixed up something and ended up quickly in a worse endgame. Then the
Ukrainian immediately blundered a pawn and after less than just 20 moves the
game was practically over.
Wang Yue-Radjabov saw the Fianchetto Variation of the Gruenfeld Indian. The
Chinese player managed to get a plus, but he rushed things a bit and allowed
Radjabov to use the tactics in order to simplify the position. The resulting
endgame was equal and the players repeated moves, agreeing to a draw on move
41.
Thus after the first half of the tournament Carlsen is leading with 3.5 points
out of 5, followed by Radjabov and Gelfand, both with 3 points.
This is one of the most critical positions of the Sicilian Dragon. White hopes
that after possible simplifications a better control in the center will secure
him an edge. 10.Kb1 Rb8. Black prepares himself for an eventual
exchange on c6, which would open the b-file and will leave the rook ideally
placed on b8. The main line goes 10...Nxd4 11.e5! which happened for
instance in the game Nisipeanu-Radjabov, Kings Tournament 2009. 11.Ndb5. It is very likely that after the present game the White players will look
for advantage in other lines, perhaps after moves like 11.Be2; or 11.h4
h5 12.Be2. 11...a6 12.Na7. The knight on a7 looks somewhat misplaced,
but all this is theory and up to the present game it was considered that White's
prospects are slightly preferable. 12...e6 13.g4. The alternative is
13.exd5 but it seems that both 13...exd5 and 13...Nxd5 offer Black a reasonable
game.
13...Re8! Just like on move ten, Black makes another "mysterious
rook move". This continuation came unexpected for Nisipeanu, who started
to use lots of time. Black's idea is to place ideally his pieces for the opening
of the position. And indeed it is far from easy for White to find a good plan.
The usual continuation is 13...Qc7. 14.g5 Nh5. Strictly speaking,
only this move is new, but already 13...Re8 is almost unexplored. In
a blitz game between two GMs Black played once the very weak 14...Nd7 and after
15.exd5 exd5 16.Nxd5 Nde5 17.Bb6 Qd7 18.f4 Nf3 19.Qf2 Nfd4 20.Bc4 Black could
already resign in Balogh,C (2616)-Fier,A (2581)/Beijing (blitz) 2008.
The first critical moment. 15.Bf2. This apparently logical continuation
removing the bishop from the e-file has a serious drawback – it leaves
the problem of the knight on a7. Since his main concern should be the
stuck knight, White had to consider 15.Nxc8 d4 (weaker is 15...Rxc8
16.exd5 exd5 17.Nxd5) 16.Bf2 Rxc8 17.Ne2 and although Black solved all opening
problems, White has a normal position. 15...Bd7! 16.exd5 exd5
The second critical moment and practically the decisive moment of the game.
Unfortunately for Nisipeanu, he was still thinking that White is better
and didn't realize the danger of the position. 17.Qxd5? Necessary was
17.Nxd5 Be6 18.c4 and at least White is not falling apart: (not 18.Nxc6
bxc6 19.Nb6 Bd5!) 18...Bf5+ 19.Ka1 (Again the alternative 19.Bd3 is bad, because of the simple 19...Bxd3+ 20.Qxd3 Qxg5) 19...Ra8 20.Nxc6
bxc6 21.Nc3 even if after for instance 21...Qa5 Black has a more pleasant play. 17...Ne5 18.Qb3. Losing the g5-pawn is fatal for White. More
stubborn was 18.h4 Be6 19.Qc5 Nd7 20.Qb4. 18...Qxg5
The material became equal, but White remained with the knight on a7. Besides,
his kingside pawn structure is horrible. So basically the game is over. 19.Ne4
Qf4 20.Be2 Be6 21.Qa3 Nc4 22.Bxc4 Bxc4 23.Nd6 Bf8 24.Rd4 Qe5. 24...Qg5
with the idea 25.Rxc4 Qg2! was also strong. 25.Rxc4 Bxd6. Even quicker
was 25...Qe2 26.Qc3 (or 26.Qd3 Qxf2 27.Nxe8 Rxe8 28.Rd4 Nf4 29.Qd2
Ne2) 26...Bxd6 27.Bd4 Bxh2. 26.Qd3 Bf8! On top of all, Nisipeanu
was in severe time trouble. 27.a4 Rbd8 28.Qb3 Qd5 29.Rc3 Qd2 30.Be3.
The last chance for a longer resistance was 30.Rc7. 30...Qe2 31.Bb6 Rd1+
White resigned in view of 31...Rd1+ 32.Rxd1 Qxd1+ 33.Ka2 Re1 34.Qc4
Qa1+ 35.Kb3 Rb1. 0-1. [Click
to replay]
9.Be2. This quiet move caught Ponomariov by surprise. More often White
plays 9.Rc1 or 9.Bb5+. 9...cxd4. Already this might be inaccurate.
9...Nc6 leaves Black with better chances to equalize. 10.Qxd4 Qxd4.
After the game Ponomariov suggested 10...Bxc3+ 11.bxc3 Nc6 12.Qxf6 gxf6 as a
possible improvement for Black. White is slightly better, but it is hard for
him to use Black's pawn weaknesses. 11.Nxd4 Bxc3+ 12.bxc3 Ke7 13.Bf3 Rd8
14.Rb1!
White has an advantage, as it is more difficult for Black to complete development
as it may seem at the beginning. Notice that White already threatens to win
a pawn with 15.Rb5. Probably Black should play here 14...Na6, which was actually
met in one game before, although after 15.Ke2 Black still must struggle for
a draw. 14...b6? An unfortunate novelty. 15.c4! Bb7 16.Rd1 Kf8 17.cxd5
Nd7. Loses a piece after 17...Bxd5 18.Nf5 (most other moves of the knight
also win a piece). 18.e4 Rac8 19.Be2 Nc5 20.f3
White is a pawn up – and what a pawn: the passer on d5! The rest is
a matter of pure technique, especially for such a high-class player like Gelfand. 20...Na4 21.Kf2 Nc3 22.Rd2 Nxe2 23.Kxe2 Rc4 24.Ke3 g6 25.Rb1 Rdc8 26.Nb5
Ra4 27.Rbb2 Ke7 28.Rdc2 Ra5 29.Nd4 Kd6 30.Kf4 Rxc2 31.Rxc2 f5 32.h4 fxe4 33.fxe4
a6 34.h5 Ra4 35.Rd2 gxh5 36.Nf5+ Kd7 37.Ke5 b5 38.Nd6 1-0. [Click
to replay]
You still got a thing or two to learn, kiddo – Ponomariov and Gelfand
after their game
12...Bd7. Another way to fight for equality is 12...Ne4. 13.Bd6
Re8 14.e3 Bf8 15.Bxf8 Rxf8 16.Ne5 Rc8 17.Qe2 Qe7
White is slightly better because of two factors: his knight is active on e5
and the black bishop is passive on d7. A big virtuoso to play such positions
was Anatoly Karpov, but objectively speaking it is more difficult for White
here to win than for Black to make a draw. 18.f4 h5 19.h3 Kg7 20.Bf3 Rh8
21.Kg2 a6 22.Rh1 Rh7 23.Qd2 Rhh8. Since there is no much Black can do, Radjabov
wisely decided to wait for the moment. 24.g4. This suddenly allows Black
to simplify the position. Radjabov would have had to solve bigger problems
after 24.Qf2 Rh7 25.g4 hxg4 26.hxg4 Rxh1 27.Rxh1 Rh8 28.Rxh8 Kxh8 29.g5 Ne8
30.e4 dxe4 31.Nxe4. 24...hxg4 25.hxg4
20.06.2010 – Anish Giri, the reigning champion, and Jan Smeets led the 2010 Dutch Championship from the start. They were joint leaders until the penultimate round, when young Anish lost to veteran Loek van Wely. In the final round Smeets secured the title with a three-move draw against the tail ender. In the women's section Peng Zhaoqin won her twelfth title. Final report.
Advertisement
Karsten Mueller: Chess Endgames 5 The first 4 DVDs in the series on the endgame cast some light on theoretical endgames and were systematically organised according to the distribution of material, starting with pawn endings and going on to deal with subjects such as the bishop pair and double rook endings. Now it is the turn of the underlying Endgame principles, which in this fifth DVD consist of activity, the initiative, mate and making the correct exchanges.
Until round seven reigning Dutch Champion Anish Giri and GM Jan Smeets led
the tournament together. But then in round eight young Anish suffered his only
defeat, against Loek van Wely, who has won the Dutch Championship six times
(from 2000 to 2005 in an uninterrupted series). Smeets beat Erwin L'Ami in that
round and thus led by a full point.
Key game in round eight: Anish Giri loses to Loek van Wely
In the final round Giri served GM Dimitri Rinderman a crushing defeat, while
Smeets produced the following unremarkable effort against tail-ender Robin van
Kampen:
Van Kampen,R (2481) - Smeets,J (2659) [C65]
ch-NED Eindhoven NED (9), 20.06.2010
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 draw.
This secured 25-year-old Jan Smeets, who has just returned from seconding Veselin
Topalov in his World Championship bid against Vishy Anand, the title, ahead
of 15-year-old Anish Giri, who did a brief working session with Vishy Anand
before the Sofia match.
Final standings
Dutch Champion 2010 Jan Smeets, who led the event from round two
The 2009 Champion Anish Giri, who was stopped in round seven by Loek van
Wely
Third place went to Sipke Ernst, 31, who has studied psychology in Holland
Women's Championship
The winner, with 8.0/10: top Dutch female player Peng Zhaoqin
Peng Zhaoqin was born in Guangzhou, China but has resided in the Netherlands
since 1996. She has the full FIDE title of International Grandmaster, which
was awarded in October 2004. She has won the Dutch Women's Championship for,
would you believe it, the twelfth time. She first took it in 1997, then in uninterrupted
sequence from 2000–2010.
Peng facing her main rival, Bianca Muhren, who finished in second place
With her third place and 5.5/10 score Anne Haast secured her WIM title
Photos by Frans Peeters
Links
+
The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the
chess server .
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!
19.06.2010 – 19-year-old GM Ian Nepomniachtchi started with four draws before losing to Ivanchuk in round five. Since then the tide has changed: first he defeated Alekseev in a 66-mover in round six; then he took Bruzon's Berlin Defence apart; and finally Ian had a bit of luck against Nigel Short. Now, with two rounds to go, Ian is just half a point behind the leader, Vassily Ivanchuk. Round eight report.
Advertisement
Karsten Mueller: Chess Endgames 5 The first 4 DVDs in the series on the endgame cast some light on theoretical endgames and were systematically organised according to the distribution of material, starting with pawn endings and going on to deal with subjects such as the bishop pair and double rook endings. Now it is the turn of the underlying Endgame principles, which in this fifth DVD consist of activity, the initiative, mate and making the correct exchanges.
XLV Edición del Torneo Capablanca in Memoriam 2010
The Capablanca Memorial, a tournament commemorating José Raúl
Capablanca y Graupera (1888–1942), who was World Champion from 1921 to
1927, is taking place in Havana, Cuba, from June 9th to 22nd, 2010. There are
three groups: the Elite, Premier and Open. The Elite Group, a category 18 event
with an average rating of 2700, is a double-round robin with Vassily Ivanchuk,
who won the event three times in a row from 2005 to 2007, followed by Evgeny
Alekseev, 19-year-old Ian Nepomniachtchi, the reigning European champion, World
Championship finalist Nigel Short, and top Cuban players, Leinier Dominguez,
who won it in 2008 and 2009) and Lazaro Bruzon.
The first half of the event was dominated by Ivanchuk, who started by beating
Nigel Short in round one. The latter bounced back with two consecutive wins
(over Alekseev and Cuban Bruzon), and drew Ivanchuk in their return round game.
Short was in second place, but was stopped in his tracks by 19-year-old Russian
GM Ian Nepomniachtchi, who is doing remarkable things at this Memorial tournament.
European Champion Ian Nepomniachtchi, who turns 20 in July
Nepomniachtchi had started the event with four draws before losing to Ivanchuk
in round five. But since then the tide has changed dramatically. First he defeated
Evgeny Alekseev in a 66-mover in round six; then he took Cuban GM Lazaro Bruzon's
Berlin Defence apart; and finally had a bit of luck against Nigel Short in round
eight:
The two have fought a raging battle in this Sicilian Dragon, but now Nigel
Short blunders the sure draw away with the careless 25.Rg1?
Nepomniachtchi punishes this move with ruthless efficiency: 25...Nxg2!
26.Rgxg2 Rxa2 27.Rxa2 Qxa2 28.Bf1 [28.Qxa2 Re1+ 29.Bf1 Rxf1#] 28...Bxg2+
0-1.
Current standings
In the Premier event, a category 13 event with an average rating of 2574, Cuban
GM Yuniesky Quesada Perez is still leading with 4.5/7, ahead of three other
players half a point behind him.
The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the
chess server .
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!
