20.10.2009 – It used to be known as the Essent Tournament, but the 13th edition of this
chess festival has a new sponsor, the Dutch insurance
company Univé. There are a number of sections, including a strong
international Open. Of greatest interest is the Crown Group, a four-player
double round robin, with Vassily Ivanchuk, Sergei Tiviakov, Judit Polgar and
15-year-old Anish Giri. Round two report.
The 13th Univé Tournament 2009 is taking place from October 16th to
24th in the town hall in the center of the Dutch town of Hoogeveen. It is played
in a number of sections: the Crown Group with four players, the strong international
Univé Open, two tournaments for amateurs and a youth event. The insurance
company Univé is the new sponsor of the event, which was previously
known as the Essent Tournament. The prize fund for the for the Crown Group is
€10,000, the time control 40 moves in 1½ hours + 30 minutes to finish
the game, with a 30 seconds increment from the start.
Participants of the Crown Group
Player Country
Rating
Vassily Ivanchuk
Ukraine
2746
Sergei Tiviakov
Netherlands
2697
Judit Polgar
Hungary
2693
Anish Giri
Netherlands
2517
Average rating 2663 – Category: 17
Anish Giri, 14, grandmaster and Dutch Champion
All four games of the first two rounds in the Crown Group were drawn, which
was mainly a success for 15-year-old GM Anish Giri, who was playing 161 points
above his nominal 2552 rating. The second round had the more exciting games:
a hard-fought 52-move draw between Giri and Sergei Tiviakov, and an exciting
effort by Judit Polgar, who missed a good chance (46..Qd4!) with the black pieces
against Vassily Ivanchuk, and then tried to eke out a win in a rook and minor
piece ending. The game was drawn in 75 moves.
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!
15.10.2009 – It came as a shock to some: after discussing the matter with his trainer Garry Kasparov, Magnus Carlsen has decided to skip a planned participation in the ETCC, which takes place from Oct. 21-31 in Novi Sad, Serbia. Instead he will concentrate on rest and preparation before the Tal Memorial (Moscow, 5-14 Nov.), where he faces Anand, Aronian, Kramnik and Ivanchuk. Press reports.
The news portal TV2
Nyhetene reports that Magnus himself would not speak to the media on Wednesday,
but his father confirmed to TV2 Nyhetene that his son would withdraw. "The
schedule was too tight," said Henrik Carlsen. "In consultation with
his coach he has chosen rest and preparation before the Tal Memorial in Moscow
in November. He played very energy intensive chess in the Nanjing Pearl Spring
tournament in China. That was a change from earlier."
Henrik Carlsen makes no secret of the fact that it was a difficult decision
to drop the European Team Championships. "Yes, it would be good for him
socially, but too hectic," he said. His son had made the decision fairly
recently – after his return from China.
Magnus' teammate GM Leif Erlend Johannessen said is was a shame that Carlsen
will not be on the team. "He would have been a great inspiration for the
whole team, and I understood that he originally agreed to participate as much
because of the social element of playing on a team with good mates. At the same
time, I accept the decision, which I understand has been taken in consultation
with his coach. It was was not good for us, but I understand the decision. China
was a huge effort. Kasparov probably decided that the wisest thing to do was
to spend time before Tal Memorial to rest. In Moscow Magnus will meet the world's
elite."
Just eight days before the European Team Championships in Serbia, the organisers
received the message that the Norwegian chess star Magnus Carlsen has withdrawn.
This was confirmed to
by the Norwegian Chess Federation. The 18-year-old has just returned from a
super performance in China, where he beat, among others, world's number one
Veselin Topalov.
Nobody knows what will become of the decimated Norwegian team, which consists
of GM Jon Ludvig Hammer, GM Leif Erlend Johannessen, IM Frode Elsness, FM Joachim
Thomassen and coach GM Peter Heine Nielsen (DEN). They were one of the top ten
favourites at the European Team Championship, but now they lack their main man.
They are not allowed to put in a substitute, and probably have to play as round
one with three players, as Johannessen will arrive late in Serbia. "This
is a awkward position. It's unclear if we are able to participate properly,"
said project manager Hans Krogh Harestad at the Norwegian Chess Federation to
Nettavisen. Incidentally, Magnus Carlsen has offered to pay the expenses the
Federation may have incurred due to his late withdrawal.
12.10.2009
– With his 8.0/10 score at the recent Pearl Spring tournament 18-year-old Magnus Carlsen will certainly go into the record books. But how does his result fit among the all-time great performances? Using a new [...]
03.10.2009 – Words fail us: Magnus Carlsen has won again, beating Teimour Radjabov in a ferocious 25-move slugout. At halftime at the Pearl Spring tournament the Norwegian leads by two full points and displays an Elo performance of 3143. The other games were drawn. We have an interesting historical assessment of Carlsen's performance by chess statistician Jeff Sonas in our illustrated report.
Nigel Davies:
1...e6: A Solid Repertoire against 1.d4 and 1.e4 Many players struggle to find solid openings to play as Black, especially if they have relatively little time to study theory. This DVD addresses this problem, presenting a solid and easy to learn Black repertoire against Whites two main opening moves, 1.e4 and 1.d4. Against both of these moves Nigel Davies advocates 1...e6, which leads to a French Defence after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 or 1.d4 e6 2.e4. This can get quite sharp and theoretical if Black follows the main lines but Davies shows how he can avoid the theory of both 3.Nc3 and 3.Nd2 with GM Oleg Romanishins patented line, 3...Be7. Available from 8. October
Second Nanjing Pearl Spring Chess Tournament
This event, organized by the Municipal People’s Government of Nanjing,
is taking place from 27th September to 9th October 2009 in Nanjing, China. Time
controls are 90 minutes for 40 moves and 60 minutes for the rest of the game,
with no increment. The tournament is a six-player double round robin and has
a total prize fund of 250,000 Euros, with the winner taking 80,000 Euros.
Round five
Round 5:
Friday, October 2nd, 2009
Peter Leko
½-½
Dmitry Jakovenko
Magnus Carlsen
1-0
Teimour Radjabov
Veselin Topalov
½-½
Wang Yue
–
Carlsen,M (2772) - Radjabov,T (2757) [B30]
2nd Pearl Spring Nanjing CHN (5), 02.10.2009
Azeri GM Teimour Radjabov preparing to do battle
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6. Radjabov wants to play the Sveshnikov, but Carlsen
prevents that with his next move.
Magnus Carlsen prevents the Sveshnikov
3.Bb5 e6. The main variation is 3...g6. 4.0-0 Nge7. This is
how Radjabov often plays against the Rossolimo System.
11.d3 Rd8. After 11...Ng6 Black has to reckon with 12.h4. 12.a4
Nd5 13.axb5 axb5 14.cxd4 cxd4. Opening up the position is better for White,
who is much better developed. 15.Nbd2 Nf4. 15...Be7 16.Nb3 0-0 would
also be dangerous for Black, since White is ready to attack on the kingside.
17.Bg5!? 16.Qd1.
Even this position has been seen before. Radjabov deviates from the predecessor
game. 16...Nb4?! 16...Nd5 17.Nb3 Be7 18.Bd2 Ndb4 19.Qe2 0-0 20.Ng5 g6
21.Nxh7 Kxh7 22.Qh5+ Kg8 23.Bxg6 fxg6 24.Qxg6+ Kh8 25.Qh6+ Kg8 26.Qg6+ Kh8 27.Qh6+
Kg8 28.Qxe6+ Kh8 29.Qh6+ 1/2-1/2 Pahud,C (2185)-Carron,J (2300)/Lausanne 2003/EXT 17.Nb3
17...Bxe4. This forced exchange in the following weakens the pawn on
b5. 18.dxe4 Nfd3 19.Bg5 Rc8. 19...Rb8 20.Nfxd4 Nxe5 21.Ra5+–. 20.Nfxd4 Nxb2. 20...Nxe5 21.Ra5 Bd6 22.Rxb5 Qc7 23.f4+–. 21.Qe2
Nc4 22.Rfc1 Bc5. 22...Be7 23.Nxb5 Qxb5 24.Bxe7 Kxe7 25.Ra7+ is also hardly
enjoyable for Black. 23.Nxb5
23...0-0? This loses the game for Black, who was already suffering from
a clearly inferior position. After 23...Bxf2+ 24.Qxf2 Qxb5 25.Qe2 (In
case of 25.Qd4 0-0 26.Be7 Nc6 (26...Rfe8? 27.Bxb4 Qxb4 28.Na5 wins a
piece, or Black must give his queen for a knight and rook) 27.Qc5 Qxc5+ (27...Qxb3 28.Bxf8 Nd2 29.Ra3 Qb7 30.Qc2+-) 28.Bxc5 N4xe5 29.Bxf8 Rxf8
the white win is not so clear: 30.Rc5 g6 31.Ra6 Rb8 etc.) 25...0-0 26.Nd4.
24.Nxc5 An unusual and pretty configuration of all four knights, which
deserves a diagram.
24...Nxe5. 24...Rxc5 25.Be7 Qxb5 26.Bxc5 Qxc5 27.Qxc4 Qxc4 28.Rxc4+–. 25.Be7. Perhaps Black had been hoping for 25.Nb3 Rxc1+ 26.Rxc1 (26.Bxc1!+-) 26...Nbd3. 1-0. [Click
to replay]
Arbiter Panagiotis Nikolopoulos and GM Teimour Radjabov watch the start
of this game
A number of readers have sent in questions or speculated on whether this is
the most impressive performance ever seen in the game. Chess statistician Jeff
Sonas sent us some a quick assessment of Magnus Carlsen's performance so far:
"I have always felt that comparing performance ratings between short
and long events is misleading," Jeff writes, "because it is much
easier, for instance, to score 90% in five games than in ten games. So a 90%
score across ten games is much more impressive. If the tournament ended right
now, I would call Carlsen's results not quite one of the 100-best performances
ever (including matches and tournaments). A good comparison would be Ivanchuk's
4.5/5 against Yudasin (a top-ten player) in their 1991 match. If Carlsen maintains
the 90% score to the end (i.e. scoring 9/10) then I would call it the best
performance ever, a little above Karpov Linares 1994 and Fischer's 1971 match
against Larsen. If Carlsen "only" scores 85% out of 10 games, then
I would call it an all-time top-ten performance, roughly comparable to Kasparov
at Linares 1999 or Kramnik in his World Championship match against Kasparov." Here
is a list of the top-100 performances from 1840-2005.
On an unrelated note Jeff reminds us that Magnus Carlsen was born during Kasparov
and Karpov's fifth World Championship Match in 1990, in between Game 14, when
Kasparov introduced the Scotch Opening, and Game 16, when he won his first game
with it. Magnus started this current tournament with a fine Scotch win over
Peter Leko.
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!
18.09.2009 – GM Adrian Mikhalchishin is a well-known chess trainer. He has assisted Romanishin, Beliavsky, Anatoly Karpov, the Polgars, the Polish, Dutch and Turkish national teams. He has captained a team with Karpov, Anand, Kramnik, Beliavsky, Short and Gelfand. He is also a leading expert on the Arkhangelsk Variation, and he provides five hours of video lessons on it on this new training DVD.
World Class Training: Adrian Mikhalchishin
Adrian Bogdanovich Mikhalchishin, 54, is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster now
playing for Slovenia and training the Turkish youth. Don't be put off by his
surname (originally Mihalcisin or Mihalčiin). It is pronounced Me-hahl-chee-sheen
– an hour of practice will make you fluent in it.
Adrian, as we like to call him, started off as a student of the famous chess
trainer Viktor Kart, together with Oleg Romanishin, Aleksandr Beliavsky and
Iossif Dorfman (later Kart trained Vassily Ivanchuk, Andrei Volokitin, the Muzychuk
sisters and other young GMs). The youthful Adrian became USSR Junior Champion
and, in 1984, was fourth in the regular Soviet Championship.
First generation of Lviv grandmasters: Mikhalchishin, Romanishin, Beliavsky
Mikhalchishin was also a member of many winning teams: the Soviet Union, Ukrainia,
Slovenia and Yugoslavian, all of which won team championships with him on board.
His training career began when he was invited by Romanishin to be his second
during the Soviet Championships and Interzonals in the middle of the 70s. After
that he helped Beliavsky, Anatoly Karpov (in his matches against Garry Kasparov)
and the Polgar sisters. It continued with the Polish juniors, Germany's Arkadij
Naiditsch, the Dutch National Women’s Team. Adrian was captain of the
Agrouniverzal Belgrad team, which had as its players Karpov, Anand, Kramnik,
Beliavsky, Short, and Gelfand.
The Ruy Lopez represents one of the oldest and best openings for the first
player, and everyone going for the Spanish game with black faces the question
of how he wants to tackle the white ideas. One of the more aggressive fighting
methods is the move order 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0
b5 6.Bb3 Bb7
This line was developed in the early sixties by players from the north Russian
town of Archangelsk and has carried this name ever since. Later, the variation
was intensively analysed by players from Lvov – among them Mikhalchishin
and Beliavsky – and applied in tournament practice. In the second half
of the seventies it gained great popularity for the first time.
In the Archangelsk Variation (or Archangel Defence), Black defines the position
of this queen’s bishop early on with 6...Bb7 in order to exert pressure
against the opponent’s centre, in particular the point e4. White must
decide whether he protects this pawn solidly with 7.d3 or goes for the unfathomable
complications after 7.c3 Nxe4. Another option is 7.Re1 Bc5 8.c3 d6 9.d4 Bb6,
which is closely related to the Moller System. The experienced trainer and Grandmaster
Adrian Mikhalchishin is an outstanding connoisseur of these variations, the
ideas of which he goes on to explain in nearly five hours video playing time.
System requirements: Windows XP, Windows Vista, DVD drive, mouse, sound
card.
Adrian
