exd5!

29.11.2009
– That was the shocker on day two of round three: 16-year-old Wesley So held
Super-GM Gata Kamsky to a draw and eliminated him from the World Cup in Khanty
Mansiysk. Other players knocked out: Sakaev, Motylev, Tomashevsky, Wang Hao, Yu Yangyi.
Ten tiebreaks on Sunday – you can watch them from
11:00 a.m. CET on Playchess. Illustrated
report plus an interview with Gata Kamsky.

:
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 three day two

Appropriate dress for the modern grandmaster playing chess in Siberia

Baadur Jobova and his trainer Alexander Beliavsky are perfectly capable of coping

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow – Shakh Mamedyarov and his manager
Rustam Najafov

Inside the warm and cosy playing hall Peter Svidler and Boris Gelfand working
hard

Polgar,Ju (2680) - Gelfand,B (2758) [C24]
World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (3.2), 28.11.2009
1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 c6 4.Qe2 Be7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Bb3 d6 7.0-0 Nbd7 8.c3
a5 9.a4 b5 10.Bc2 Ba6 11.axb5 cxb5 12.Nbd2 Qc7 13.d4 a4 14.Bd3 Rfb8 15.Nh4 g6

16.f4 exf4 17.Ndf3 Nh5 18.Bd2 Nb6 19.g4 fxg3 20.Ng5

20.Nc4 (20...Bxg5 was almost certainly better) 21.Nf5
(pretty, but why not simply 21.Rxf7?) 21...Bxg5 22.Bxg5 f6 23.Bh4 gxh2+
24.Qxh2 Rf8 25.Be2 gxf5 26.Bxh5 fxe4 27.Qf4

Boris Gelfand has lost the advantage he enjoyed for much of the game. Now he
throws it all away: 27...f5? 28.Kh1! Kh8 29.Rg1 Rf7 30.Bxf7 Qxf7 31.Qh6
Rf8 32.Rg6 and Black will be mated. 1-0.

Boris Gelfand with a surprising setback against...

...this lady, mother of two, who remains a class of her own in the history
of women's chess

After his loss in the first game of this round Sergey Karjakin came back with
a vengeance, demolishing David Navara's French Defence for a win in 40 moves.
The two move into the tiebreak games.

Wesley So about to send another super-GM packing in round three

Gata Kamsky tried the Leningrad System of the Dutch Defence in his must-win
black games against Wesley So, but the young Pinoy grandmaster was never in
serious danger and, with the draw in 42 moves, had erased another famous name
from the World Cup table.

Evgeny Tomashevsky facing Alexei Shirov in game two of round three

Shirov-Tomashevsky was 24 moves of Ruy Lopez Archangelsk theory, with Black
deviating (24...Bxd4N) and just about holding on, until the last move before
the time control.

Shirov,A (2719) - Tomashevsky,E (2708) [C78]
World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (3.2), 28.11.2009
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 b5 6.Bb3 Bb7 7.c3 Nxe4 8.d4
Na5 9.Bc2 exd4 10.b4 Nc4 11.Bxe4 Bxe4 12.Re1 d5 13.Nxd4 c5 14.bxc5 Bxc5 15.f3
0-0 16.fxe4 dxe4 17.Rxe4 Qd5 18.Qf3 Ne5 19.Qf5 Rae8 20.Nd2 g6 21.Qf4 b4 22.Bb2
bxc3 23.Bxc3 Nc6 24.Kh1 Bxd4 25.Rxd4 Nxd4 26.Bxd4 Re2 27.Nf3 f6 28.h3 Re4 29.Qd2
Rd8 30.Rd1 Re6 31.Qc3 Qc6 32.Qb3 Rdd6 33.Rb1 Kg7 34.Qb8 Re7 35.Be3 Rdd7 36.Rb6
Qc3 37.Bf4 a5 38.Kh2 Qc4 39.Bg3 Re6 40.Rb2

This game could easily end in a draw, but not after Black's final move before
the first time control: 40...Re2?? 41.Bd6 Threatening Qf8#,
which Black must give up an exchange to prevent. 1-0.

It's back to Beijing for GM Wang Hao, knocked out by Shakh Mamedyarov

Everything going great, chief! Berik Balgabaev, personal assistant to FIDE
President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov

Interview with Gata Kamsky

Berik interviews Gata Kamsky in a press conference after the American was
knocked out by Wesley So

How come that you became another victim of the new star of the Cup –
So?

Everything is clear: my opponent was better prepared and I was always choosing
the wrong openings. In the first game I played recklessly and got a problematic
position. I thought I could manage to beat this fellow on class. But he turned
out to be very serious chess player. In the second game I had to solve a difficult
problem: it is almost impossible to beat a good player with black. I played
the Dutch Defense, sacrificed a pawn and got some chances. But at one point
I went too far and the advantages for my opponent were clear enough. I offered
a draw so as not to suffer…

Perhaps you underestimated your opponent?

No, it is not the case. So was playing better and he deserved the victory.

Could it be the case that you did not take the Cup seriously. You have
already guaranteed your participation in the Candidates Matches.

This kind of thoughts perhaps did bother me. But it is not the reason of my
elimination.

Why then did not you invite a second to help you? As we remember Emil
Sutovsky was helping you in the last Cup after being knocked out?

Let's say neither me nor Emil had an opportunity to cooperate here. I just
prefer to play without a second lately. There is another reason. A second or
a coach should be paid, and a good coach should be paid well. We were working
with Emil at the match against Veselin Topalov. The American Chess Federation
did not support me in this cooperation. Well, you can develop the idea yourself
now…

After your victory at the World Cup 2007 you have had an ascent of your
career…

And now I am experiencing a descent… Like Kramnik says, it is high time
to draw conclusions. There is only one difference: Kramnik has drawn them, I
have not done so yet…

Interview
by FIDE, photos by Galina Popova courtesy of FIDE

Results of round three

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 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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24.11.2009
– After Bobby Fischer and before Magnus Carlsen, the "Best in the West"
was the Dutch grandmaster Jan Timman. He played many games against Anatoly Karpov
– including two title matches – beating the former world champion
no fewer than eleven times. One remarkable game is the subject of this week's
Playchess lecture by FM Dennis Monokroussos. Be there and watch.

Nigel Davies:
A busy person’s opening system
Players with interests and commitments away from the chess board often find it difficult to compete against those with more study time. Their opponents come to the board armed with the latest theory and can bash out moves well into the middle game. On this DVD Nigel Davies addresses this issue by demonstrating a simple and easy to learn opening system designed for the busy person.
More information...

Playchess training with FM Dennis Monokroussos

Twice a world championship finalist (if only of the FIDE variety during the
split title era), Jan Timman was for many years the most consistently successful
player outside the USSR (and once it fell, the countries that comprised it).
Timman is also a fine author and study composer, but it is his over the board
play we'll examine in our show this week.

Timman played many games against former world champion Anatoly Karpov –
including two title matches – and while Karpov had (much) the better score
overall, Timman got in his licks too, beating Karpov no fewer than eleven times
over the course of their rivalry. Their games were generally very rich in content
(with few short draws), and we will see just such a game in this week's show.
Played in Mar del Plata in 1982 – won by Timman, who was two points ahead
of Karpov! – Timman played a Scheveningen Sicilian, allowing the then-feared
Keres Attack, and gradually outplayed Karpov in a fine game.

This was an exceptional performance on several levels. First, beating Karpov
was extraordinarily difficult in those days, especially with the black pieces.
Second, to do so in one of Karpov's favorite lines was even more impressive,
and to do it by outplaying one of the greatest positional players of all time
(maybe even the greatest) is the icing on the cake. It's an instructive game
too, so I hope you'll join me as we take a closer look this Wednesday night
at 9 p.m. ET (that's 3 a.m. CET for my overseas viewers). To watch, log on to
the Playchess.com server at that hour, go to the Broadcasts room and then find
and select Karpov-Timman under the Games tab.

Watching is easy, the show will be fun, and I hope to see you there.

Dennis Monokroussos'
Radio ChessBase
lectures begin on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. EST, which translates to 02:00h GMT,
03:00 Paris/Berlin, 13:00h Sydney (on Thursday). You can find the times for
different locations in the world at World
Time and Date, with exact times for most larger cities here.
And you can watch older lectures by Dennis Monokroussos offline in
the Chess Media System room of Playchess:

Enter the above archive room and click on "Games" to see the lectures.

Monokroussos in Mexico: World Championship 2007

Dennis Monokroussos is 43, lives in South Bend, IN, where
he teaches chess and has worked as an adjunct professor of philosophy at the
University of Notre Dame and Indiana University-South Bend.

At one time he was one of the strongest juniors in the U.S. and has reached
a peak rating of 2434 USCF, but several long breaks from tournament play have
made him rusty. He is now resuming tournament chess in earnest, hoping to reach
new heights.

Dennis has been working as a chess teacher for ten years now, giving lessons
to adults and kids both in person and on the internet, worked for a number of
years for New York’s Chess In The Schools program, where he was one of
the coaches of the 1997-8 US K-8 championship team from the Bronx, and was very
active in working with many of CITS’s most talented juniors.

When Dennis Monokroussos presents a game, there are usually two main areas
of focus: the opening-to-middlegame transition and the key moments of the middlegame
(or endgame, when applicable). With respect to the latter, he attempts to present
some serious analysis culled from his best sources (both text and database),
which he has checked with his own efforts and then double-checked with his chess
software.

Playchess Training with IM Merijn van Delft

Everyone is invited to join this weekly training hour on Wednesday evening.
Together we will have a look at the most recent grandmaster games. Recurring
themes during our analyses and discussions are the latest opening developments
and how to work on your own chess.

A word about myself: I was born (March 13, 1979) and raised in Apeldoorn, The
Netherlands. In 1995 I won the Dutch U16 Championship and played the European
Championship in Poland and the World Championship in Brasil. In 1998 I moved
to Amsterdam to study psychology and had a great time there. In 2003 I met my
wife Evi Zickelbein and ever since we've been living together in Hamburg, Germany.
In 2004 I made both master titles: one at the university and one in chess. Since
2005 I've been working fulltime in the chess world: training, coaching, writing,
organizing and still actively playing myself. By now I have about fifteen years
of experience as a chess trainer. Together with my dad I wrote a book
about chess training (Schaaktalent Ontwikkelen), of which the Dutch
version is already available and the English
version will follow April 2010.

IM Merijn van Delft's lecture starts at 20:00h Central European Time (Berlin,
Paris, Rome), which translates to 19:00h London. You can find the times for
different locations in the world at World
Time and Date. Exact times for most larger cities are here.
The lecture is in the "Broadcast" room of Playchess. It is free for
Premium Playchess members (50 Ducats for others).

Links The lectures are broadcast live 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!

Chessbase.com

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24.11.2009
– A total of 1324 participants from 90 countries took part in six age groups, for boys and girls, at this World Youth Championship in Turkey. A great success for the host nation was the bronze medal for local talent Kübra Öztürk in the Girls U18 section. A protest has been submitted by the Israeli Chess Federation because no anthem was played for the winner of the Girls U14 section. Results and games.

Nigel Davies:
A busy person’s opening system
Players with interests and commitments away from the chess board often find it difficult to compete against those with more study time. Their opponents come to the board armed with the latest theory and can bash out moves well into the middle game. On this DVD Nigel Davies addresses this issue by demonstrating a simple and easy to learn opening system designed for the busy person.
More information...

The 2009 World Youth Chess Championship was held in Antalya-Kemer between 11-23
November 2009, two years after the previous 2007
World Youth Chess Championship that was also organized at the same site.
This year the competition registered 1324 participants from 90 countries. With
accompanying personnel, parents, coaches, staff etc. this number reached 2380
people.

The event was divided into six age groups, for players born in the years 2001,
1999, 1997, 1995, 1993, 1991. There were separated sections for boy and girls
– actually the former is open and girls could theoretically play there
too. The tournaments were 11 round Swisses, played at the rate of 90 minutes
for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment
of 30 seconds per move for the entire game. Below are the top three scorers
from each section (note that Turkey is especially proud of the Bronze
Medal winner of the Girls Under 18 section).

Kübra Öztürk with her trainer and manager Özgür
Solakoglu

Top results of the World Youth Championships 2009

Of especial interest is the Girls Under 14 group. On the one hand it was won
by an old friend, WFM Marsel Efroimski, whom we encountered in our report on
Israel Schoolmates
and Champions. There was a protest launched when the Israeli National Anthem
was not played at the closing ceremony (see below). The other was a the bronze
medal by Saranya, the under-privileged Indian talent we read about in report
last month. Note too that Peru took two gold medals, thanks to the Cori
siblings Deysi (Girls U16) and Jorge (Under 14).

The winners of the Girls Under 14 section: Aleksandra Lach (Silver) Marsel
Efroimski (Gold) and J Saranya (Bronze), in front of a portrait of Mustafa Kemal
Atatürk, founder of the Republic of Turkey as well as its first President.
On the left Turkish Chess Federation President Ali Nihat Yazici.

The following letter was sent to FIDE, President Kirsan Ilumzhinov and Vice
President Israel Gelfer.

Dear Mr. President,

I write to you with great concern following what seems as a serious incident
that occurred .Today during the closing ceremony of the world junior championships
held in Turkey. Happily our girl junior player, Marcel Efroymsky, has won
the world title and the gold medal. As customed in such events, the delegations
prepared to stand and salute the national anthem of the winner's country.
Astonishingly and without any warning, the organizers decided to cancel the
playing of the winners anthem. The Turkish organization has offered a ridiculous
explanation that they do not have the time to spend on such event.

This excuse is absurd in light of the same venue hosting this event two years
ago where all winner anthems were played! In there actions, the organizers
demonstrated disrespect to the junior winners, their federation and their
countries. As chairman of the Israeli Chess Federation, I herby urge you to
investigate this incident. I must say that this kind of boycott (if such occurred)
strikes as a another example of how politics interferes with chess. I call
you as president of the FIDE, for which the tournament carried your flag,
to investigate this issue and if the information appeared to be accurate,
then to denounce this disrespectful conduct if the information.

My feeling is, that such events hurt chess in general and send the wrong
message the children who dream to become chess champions taking pride in representing
their countries.

Yours truly,

Aviv Bushinsky
Chairman of the Israeli Chess Federation

The TCF officials and organisers were on the road or in the air back to
Ankara or Istanbul, so we were unable to contact them for a statement on this
matter. We assume that it was not a boycott but simply too many national anthems
– twelve – to be played at a closing ceremony in a hall packed with
over a thousand exhausted kids.

Addendum: In the meantime the President of the Turkish
Chess Federation, Ali Nihat Yazici, has returned to his base in Ankara and replied
to our inquiry. Here is his letter:

Dear ChessBase,

2009 World Youth Chess Championships, were organised in Antalya with very
good conditions. We did not get any complaint for the event – on the
contrary we got much positive feedbacks.

Let me explain you that in the 2009 World Youth Chess Championships closing
ceremony, after consultation with FIDE authorities in Antalya in advance,
a long time before the final round, we decided not to play any national anthems.
You should understand that, as you mentioned on your website, twelve anthems
would last at least 50 minutes, and considering the very young players and
many guests it would have been torture to them.

So no anthems were played, not even the national anthem of Turkey, or
the anthem of FIDE.

Today when I read your website, and this scandalous letter of ICF, I was
shocked. This kind of news may get attention, but it does not contribute to
our eminent sport. On the contrary, such as approach can only help to get
politics into chess, which all we are afraid and very far. We had always excellent
relations with Israel Chess Federation without any problem, we do not share
the comment on the official protest of their chairman. We think that also
that scandalous letter does not have any base on the board of Israel Chess
Federation. We will make official explanation to related diplomatic missions.
However, I should say that by listening a parent, and not a good friend, the
chairman of Israel Chess Federation went very far passing all limits. That
is a shame for chess which tries to make world a peaceful place.

Best regards,
Ali Nihat YAZICI
President

Links Official tournament site The games file are available on the official tournament page. Under the menu PGN you will find individual files for each round of each section. That's 12 x 11 = 132 downloads. We wish you pleasant hours retrieving and joining these the PGN files. No, wait, Reinhold Goldau, German Youth Chess Trainer, has done it for us. Here are all available games in one zipped PGN file, 1.31 MB in size. Thanks Reinhold for saving a lot of people a lot of time. To read, replay and analyse the PGN games we adivse you to download the free PGN reader ChessBase Light. This program also gives you immediate access to the chess server Playchess.com.

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23.11.2009
– The big names – Gelfand, Gashimov, Svidler, Morozevich, Radjabov, Ivanchuk, Ponomariov, Grischuk, Jakovenko, Eljanov, Karjakin, Mamedyarov, Shirov – all are through after two rounds of play in Khanty-Mansiysk. Biggest upset so far: Chinese GM Yu Yangyi, 113th seed and rated 2527, knocked out 16th seed Sergei Movsesian, rated 2718. Day two report.

Nigel Davies:
A busy person’s opening system
Players with interests and commitments away from the chess board often find it difficult to compete against those with more study time. Their opponents come to the board armed with the latest theory and can bash out moves well into the middle game. On this DVD Nigel Davies addresses this issue by demonstrating a simple and easy to learn opening system designed for the busy person.
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 one day two report

Metal checks at the entry point of the World Chess Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk

Teimour Radjabov, Alexander Onischuk and Viktor Bologan go through the detector

The big names – Gelfand, Gashimov, Svidler, Morozevich, Radjabov, Ivanchuk,
Ponomariov, Grischuk, Jakovenko, Eljanov, Karjakin, Mamedyarov, Shirov –
all went through after two rounds.

Constantin Lupulescu lost the inner Rumanian duel against Liviu-Dieter
Nisipeanu

Chinese GM Yu Yangyi, who pulled off the biggest upset (so far) in round one

Notable the victory of the relatively unknown Chinese GM Yu Yangyi, 113th seed
and rated 2527, who knocked out 16th seed Sergei Movsesian, rated 2718. The
Slovakian GM had lost the first game and today got only an optical advantage
in a Closed Sicilian. Movsesian is the highest-ranked victim of the first round
(Leinier Dominguez Perez of Cuba is still tied with David Smerdon of Australia).

Fabiano Caruana of Italy beat Lazaro Bruzon Batista of Cuba to proceed to
the next round

Ponomariov vs Essam El Gindi was a déjà vu match: we had seen
it before in Khanty-Mansiysk, at the FIDE
World Cup two years ago. This is how their match went at the time:

14	El Gindy, Essam	EGY	2503	1	0	0	½	-	-	-	1.5
	Ponomariov, Ruslan	UKR	2705	0	1	1	½	-	-	-	2.5

Ponomariov losing to El Gindy in two years ago, but equalised and won the
tiebreak

This time, wearing an anti-flu mask, Ponomariov went through

Yesterday Ponomariov could not win his white game against the Egyptian GM –
and intense 47-move affair in which the Ukrainian had tripple pawns on the f-file
in a rook ending. Today he played a Gruenfeld Russian System and put early pressure
on his opponent, especially the d5 and b2 pawns, and then used his advanced
a-pawn to settle the matter. No dramatic tiebreak games between the two this
time.

Vadim Milov, who had lost his first game to Indian GM Parimarjan Negi, played
a wonderful game which demonstrates what happens when you give up your dark-squared
bishop in a Gruenfeld. Milov took over the b2-h8 diagonal and used it to keep
up the pressure until his young opponent cracked. Tomorrow they start their
tiebreak games at 11:00 a.m. Central European Time.

After losing his game on the first day Ivan Sokolov had to win with the black
pieces today. But his Ukrainian opponent GM Sergey Fedorchuk, 2619, got a good
game and defeated the higher-rated Dutch GM a second time.

Czech GM David Navara before the start of his game

A comeback after losing the first game was achieved by Andreikin, Guseinov,
Inarkiev, Milov, Baklan, Tregubov and Laylo from the Philippines, who beat David
Navara, 155 points above him, to force the top Czech GM into the tiebreaks.
A total of 19 matches go into the tiebreak phase on Monday.

Chinese GM Zhou Weiqi, 2603, who has held Emil Sutovsky, 2666, to two draws

The youngest player, GM Hou Yifan, 15, has also scored two draws against Arkadij
Naiditsch

All photos courtesy of FIDE

Results of round one games one and two

In the following list tied matches are in red. The tiebreaks will be played
on Monday.

GM Dusko Pavasovic, the opponent of Judith Polgar, was not able to make it
to Khanty-Mansiysk in time. Their games (number 32 in the pairings) were not
played, Judit won by forfeit.

Tiebreaks: In the matches that were drawn after two regular
games four tie-break games will be played, with a time control of 25 minutes
for each player with an addition of 10 seconds after each move. If the score
is still tied a match of two games will be played, with a time control of five
minutes plus three seconds increment after each move. In case of a level score,
the same match will be repeated. If still there is no winner after five such
matches (total ten games), a single decisive sudden death game will be played,
according to the following rules: the player who wins the drawing of lots may
choose the color; the player with the white pieces receives five minutes, the
opponent with the black pieces receives four minutes, with both players receiving
an increment of three seconds from move 61. In case of a draw the player with
the black pieces is declared the winner.

Schedule of the World Cup 2009:

Links Official tournament site All games in PGN (some incomplete) 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!

Read Full Post »

19.11.2009
– "I fell ill," the winner of the super-strong 2009 Tal Memorial tournament reveals. "But for some reason I achieved my best results when I had to take tablets to control my temperature." Vladimir Kramnik speaks about his chances in the Candidates tournament, the cooperation Carlsen-Kasparov, and Anand's chances in Sofia. We have added a brief Aronian statement to this Sport Express interview.

Nigel Davies:
A busy person’s opening system
Players with interests and commitments away from the chess board often find it difficult to compete against those with more study time. Their opponents come to the board armed with the latest theory and can bash out moves well into the middle game. On this DVD Nigel Davies addresses this issue by demonstrating a simple and easy to learn opening system designed for the busy person.
More information...

World
Blitz Championship

This event was held on November 16, 17 and 18 in the showroom of the Red Square
mall GUM. Time controls were three minutes for the whole game + two seconds
increment per move. The event was a 22-player double round-robin, i.e. it had
a total of 42 rounds, which were played on three consecutive days. The participants
include the players from the Tal Memorial, plus twelve invitees. The average
rating was 2718 – quite remarkable for an event with so many players.

In the press

This conversation with the 14th world champion took place on the 11th floor
of Moscow’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel, immediately after the end of the IV Tal
Memorial, which Vladimir Kramnik won in brilliant style.

It is especially nice to win in Moscow

Vladimir, first a few words about how the tournament went.

It was both very successful and rather strange. Straight after the first round
game against Carlsen, I fell ill. Usually in such a strong tournament, if you
are playing with a temperature, you cannot expect anything very good. But for
some reason, I played really well, despite the illness. Of course, I had prepared
for the event and felt that I was in quite good form, but it was still a surprise
for me that I achieved such a good result when I was ill and had to take tablets
to control my temperature before the games. That was a revelation.

A result of "plus 3" is fairly typical for the winner of category
21 tournaments. Kasparov won with the same score at Las Palmas 1996 and Topalov
at Bilbao 2008. Are you satisfied with the result, or could you have scored
even more points?

I think this was not only the strongest tournament of this year, but also
one of the strongest ever. Even so, I made my plus three with something to spare.
I could even have won a couple of other games. I was winning against Carlsen,
and also against Gelfand at one time. On the other hand, I had some luck at
some moments too. So I think the result was about right. And I would emphasise
that it is especially nice to win such a tournament in Moscow.

Were you not shocked at how feebly Anand lost to Aronian in the last
round?

I was. Especially because Anand is well-known for his good preparation. I
think it is likely that he has a bit of a complex about Aronian. He plays very
badly against him. Almost every player has his bogey opponents. I said to Levon
“Tell me, how come you manage to get Anand to play against you at the
strength of an Indian candidate master?” Aronian laughed and said: “You
pay me, and I’ll tell you!”. But joking aside, apart from this game,
Anand played very well in Moscow. He was competing for first place until the
last round, and the misfortune against Aronian does not in any way detract from
his high class.

Do you have any bogey opponents yourself?

Fortunately not. At one time it was Alexey Shirov, but I shook off this complex
and now have a plus score against him.

How do you like the rule, used here, that draws can only be agreed with
the permission of the arbiter?

It seems to me that this is an imaginary problem, but if the organisers do
not want players to agree an early draw, then it is better to have stricter,
the so-called Sofia rules. Because, with all due respect to the arbiters, I
do not understand why they allowed a draw to be agreed in the game Leko-Ivanchuk.
The final position was nothing like those envisaged in these rules. As it was
explained to me, while Leko was thinking whether to agree or not, he used up
almost all his time, and when he decided to accept Ivanchuk’s proposal,
the arbiters did not object, out of “humanitarian” reasons, since
he had so little time left. It is all a bit strange. And although such a problem
did not arise for me personally – I played out all my games to the very
end – I think that if you are going to have anti-draw sanctions, then
it is better not to give the players the opportunity to have negotiations at
the board.

How far do you think that the poor play of Svidler and Morozevich was
the result of their having played in the European Team Championships in Serbia?

Undoubtedly! Once you are over 30, it is difficult to play two tournaments
in a row at such a level. You just do not have the energy. Knowing this, I arranged
things so that I would have time to rest and prepare before the Tal Memorial.
But I will certainly play for the Russian team at the Olympiad, which is next
year in Khanty-Mansysk. That will be the main focus of my 2010 schedule, to
arrive there feeling completely fresh. And I hope the other team members will
do likewise, because if we are to win the Olympiad (which we very much want
to do!), then everybody needs to come to the event fully armed.

The work with Kasparov is very important for Carlsen

When you played in Dortmund, it was not know that Carlsen was working
with Kasparov, whereas by Moscow this was public knowledge. Now there is lots
of talk about how Kasparov has given him his database, with 17,000 variations,
and how much this helps the young Norwegian. What do you think?

All the talk about databases is just for the public (laughs). It makes no
difference. The issue is not about variations, but that at Carlsen’s age,
you have a lot of energy, a fresh head, and your system recovers quickly, but
you do not have so much knowledge and experience. Because of this, the older
players can come ahead of you. I remember that when I was 18 or 19, I could
occasionally beat Kasparov, but I still lacked knowledge and experience.

Of course, Kasparov, who played against us all in his time, can tell Magnus
how to play against Anand, Topalov or me, and what openings he should study,
and which ones don’t suit his style. I think their work together will
very much have the character of personal contact, which is very important for
a youngster. If I had had such a person, maybe I would have become world champion
earlier. Even before this relationship between Carlsen and Kasparov, it was
clear that the former had the talent of a champion, but this cooperation with
Kasparov can help him to gain the title more quickly, say not at 27, but 23.

Could Magnus become world champion at 20?

Maybe, maybe not. I cannot guarantee that he will even become world champion.
At the moment, many people say that Magnus is a future champion, as though it
will happen of its own accord. But it is not easy to become world champion.
To my mind, Magnus is still not as strong as some of the “old guys”,
like Anand, me and Topalov. And if there were to be, say, a match Aronian-Carlsen,
then at this moment, I would put my money on Aronian. However, I repeat –
that this youngster has world championship talent has been clear since he was
15.

Can you already feel the hand of Kasparov in Carlsen’s play?

I have not seen the results of any global chess work, although Magnus has
started to play the openings better. But such talent, of course, brings results.

The candidates’ tournament will be very strong

After this event, you have a rating gap of about 30 points over those
players who are competing with you for a place in the Candidates. Do you think
you are now 100% guaranteed a place?

Not yet 100%, but I am 99% there.

The make-up of the tournament could be something like this. Anand or
Topalov, Kamsky, Aronian, Carlsen, you, the World Cup winner (anybody’s
guess!), the Grand Prix runner-up (Gashimov, Radjabov, Wang Yue or Gelfand),
and one nominee of the organisers (Gashimov or Radjabov)...

If the event takes place in Baku…

Do you doubt this?

Yes, it seems to me that much could still change in FIDE’s plans. I am
used to this.

OK, but let’s assume the line-up is as stated above. How would
you rate your chances?

The tournament will be very strong, but no stronger than the one which has
just finished in Moscow. And I have the potential to win such a tournament.
But of course, I know very well that the other players you have named also have
such potential, so why debate it? I will prepare seriously, to win the event
and go through to a world championship match. I am positively inclined, but
there are no guarantees.

The Candidates will be run, I believe, as short matches. Does this format
suit you better than San Luis 2005 and Mexico 2007?

I am not thinking about this at present. In any case, whatever the format,
one must be well prepared and play well.

There is more than a year before the Candidates, so what are your plans
in the short term?

In two and a half weeks, I play the tournament in London, assuming I eventually
get a visa.

Are you having problems with that?

Yes, they are reluctant to give out visas to anyone right now. But I hope to
get it and play in London. Then I play Wijk aan Zee, where I have already signed
the contract. I very much hope to break some bad habits there, and firstly,
not to fall ill in Holland again, and secondly, to win the tournament. I won
it about ten years ago, and ever since, have always played badly. But this time,
I will take it very seriously. Then, as usual, Monaco. After that, it will depend
on the dates for the Candidates tournament. But in any case I will play the
Olympiad, where, I repeat, the Russian team will make every effort to secure
the gold medals.

Anand’s chances in Bulgaria will be sharply reduced

When I spoke to you in Dortmund in July, it was not clear where the Anand-Topalov
match would be held. Now we know it will be in Sofia. How do you rate each
player’s chances?

I would say that Anand is favourite, but Topalov will win. Now that the match
will be held in Bulgaria, the chances of the Indian retaining his title are
sharply reduced. Anand is an adult, and he takes responsibility for his own
affairs, but in his shoes, I would not have agreed to play in Sofia.

In one of his recent interviews, Morozevich said he does not find it
boring to play without Topalov, either in Moscow or anywhere else in the world.
Do you miss Topalov’s play?

I am already used to playing tournaments without Topalov. I am not invited
to tournaments which are under the control, or let us say, of his manager Mr
Danailov, whilst Topalov avoids tournaments where I am playing. But as I have
already said, I am happy to play against him. I have no reason to avoid playing
him.

If the Tal Memorial had been part of the Grand Slam, then as its winner,
you would automatically have been invited to the Masters event in Bilbao,
and there, more than likely, you would have met Topalov. What do you think
of such a prospect?

If the organisers of the Tal Memorial think they need this, then why not join
this system? But it seems to me that in terms of strength, organisation and
finance, the Moscow tournament has already become one of the most prestigious
in the world. One cannot say this of the Bilbao Masters – this year it
was cut down to just four players, and was a parody of a super-tournament. In
addition, all the organisation of the Grand Slam is under Danailov’s influence,
and accordingly, they only invite their chosen few players. There is no objectivity
at all in who plays and who does not play. If they want to be a real grand slam,
then politics and personal preferences should be put to one side and not influence
objective factors. So I have a sceptical view of their Grand Prix.

• Interview
  in Sport Express by Yuri Vasiliev (18.11.2009)
  Translated by Steve Giddins

Levon Aronian: "When you are sick you do not feel like playing chess"

Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian said that the reason for his uneven performance
at the Tal Memorial was illness. The top Armenian player finished on 4th-5th
place, together with World Champion Viswanathan Anand. "After the fourth
round game against Magnus Carlsen," Aronian said, "I felt ill. My
final result, even if I hadn't won my last-round game, would have been quite
satisfactory. It is difficult to play when you have a headache, a sore throat
and a cold. This makes it hard to compete in a sporting event. When you are
sick you do not feel like playing chess.

In the final (ninth) round of the Tal Memorial Aronian defeated the reigning
world champion Viswanathan Anand of India in 25 moves with the black pieces.
"I am very surprised at this victory over Anand. We all have bad days,
and there is nothing we can do about it," said Aronian. – Source:
Regnum (Russian)

Links Official tournament site (Russian) All games in PGN + all results + all ChessBase reports 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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