exd5!

06.10.2009
– GM Nana Dzagnidze was dragged back down to earth, by local player WGM Shen Yang, who beat her with the black pieces. That brought the Georgian's performance down to 2576. Meanwhile French GM Marie Sebag beat Betul Yildiz, also with the black pieces, to catch Dzagnidze at the top of the table. Two Chinese GMs follow half a point behind. Big illustrated report and commentary.

Round seven report

By FM Geoffrey Borg

Dzagnidze, Nana	0-1	Shen Yang
Munguntuul, Batkhuyag	½-½	Mkrtchian, Lilit
Ju Wenjun	0-1	Xu Yuhua
Zhu Chen	1-0	Kovanova, Baira
Fierro Baquero, Martha	0-1	Zhao Xue
Yildiz, Betul Cemre	0-1	Sebag, Marie

I'll start with a correction requested by the Chief Arbiter Ignatius Leong
regarding a previous round report. He advised that the GM norm and IM norms
are subject to performance ratings of 2600+ and 2450+ and not to the old system
of categories.

This means that some players are within striking distance of norms. GM Dzagnidze's
performance has now gone down to 2576 following her loss with white against
WGM Shen Yang, who is proudly representing her home city Nanjing. Shen Yang
had previously played the Slav and after White got nothing in the opening, Black
had a comfortable game.

Round seven of the Women's Grand Prix under way

Dzagnidze,N (2535) - Shen Yang (2453) [D16]
FIDE GP w Nanjing CHN (7), 05.10.2009
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 e6 6.g3 c5 7.Bg2 Nc6 8.dxc5
Qxd1+ 9.Nxd1 Bxc5 10.Be3 Bb4+ 11.Bd2 Nd5 12.Bxb4 Ndxb4 13.0-0 Na5 14.Ne3 Bd7
15.Nd2 Rc8 16.Rfc1 Ke7 17.Nexc4 Nxc4 18.Nxc4 b6 19.a5 b5 20.Na3 a6 21.Rc3 Bc6
22.Rb3 Nd5

Here White played 23.Bxd5? and the endgame she was eventually
outplayed. 23...Bxd5 24.Rb4 f5 25.f3 e5 26.Kf2 Rc5 27.Rd1 Ke6 28.Nb1
Rhc8 29.Nc3 Bb7 30.f4 Rc4 31.Rxc4 Rxc4 32.fxe5 b4 33.Na4 Bc6 34.Nb6 Rc2 35.Ke3
Kxe5

36.Rd4? Rxe2+ 37.Kd3 Rd2+ 38.Kxd2 Kxd4 39.Nc8 Bb5 40.Nd6 Bd7 41.Nf7
h6 42.Nd8 Kc4 43.Kc2 b3+ 44.Kd2 Kd4 45.Ke2 Bb5+ 46.Kd2 g5 47.Nf7 Bd7 48.Nxh6
Be6 49.h3 Ke5 50.Kd3 Kf6 51.Kd4 Kg6 52.Nxf5 Kxf5 53.h4 gxh4 54.gxh4 Kg4 55.Kc5
Kxh4 56.Kb6 Bc4 57.Kc5 Be2 0-1.

Stopped the leader in round seven: WGM Shen Yang

Sometime coffee helps – and sometimes not: Nana Dzagnidze

Ask her, the thoroughly traumatised Betul Cemre Yildiz

GM Sebag took the opportunity to play catch up and she squeezed out a win
against WIM Betul Cemre Yildiz of Turkey, who is having a somewhat unfortunate
tournament. Again, Betul had a playable game, but unfortunately towards the
time control made a number of errors resulting in another loss.

GM Xu Yuhua bounced back from yesterday's game with a nice win in a Catalan
against Ju Wenjun. Black got some pressure out of the opening and started to
turn the screws. White blundered horribly on move 25.

Ju Wenjun (2443) - Xu Yuhua (2485) [A14]
FIDE GP w Nanjing CHN (7), 05.10.2009
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 e6 3.Bg2 d5 4.0-0 Be7 5.c4 0-0 6.Qc2 c5 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nxd4
Nc6 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.b3 Ba6 11.Nd2 Rc8 12.Bb2 Nd7 13.Rfd1 Qb6 14.Rac1 Rfd8 15.e3
h6 16.Qb1 Nf6 17.Qa1 c5 18.cxd5 exd5 19.Nf3 Qe6 20.Ne5 Ne4 21.Qb1 Ng5 22.Rc2
Nh3+ 23.Kh1 d4 24.exd4 cxd4

25.Rxc8? 25.Rxd4 would have held it. 25...Nxf2+ 26.Kg1
Rxc8 27.Kxf2 Qxe5 28.Kg1 Qe3+ 29.Kh1 Bf6 30.Re1 Qf2 31.Be4 Be2 32.Bg2 d3 33.Bxf6
d2 0-1.

The top seed GM Zhao Xue also joined the pack at the top but had to struglle
against IM Marta Fierro. White could have secured equality at several times
in the game and even near the end of the game, a study like manouevre could
have saved her.

Fierro Baquero,M (2386) - Zhao Xue (2542) [C90]
FIDE GP w Nanjing CHN (7), 05.10.2009
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3
0-0 9.Re1 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.Nbd2 Nc6 12.Nf1 h6 13.h3 Be6 14.Ng3 Rc8 15.a3 Re8
16.d4 cxd4 17.cxd4 exd4 18.Ne2 Bf8 19.Nexd4 Bd7 20.Bf4 Ne5 21.Bg3 Qc7 22.Rc1
Qb7 23.Nxe5 dxe5 24.Nf3 Bc6 25.Nxe5 Bxe4 26.Bxe4 Nxe4 27.Rxc8 Rxc8 28.Qf3 Nd6
29.Qxb7 Nxb7 30.Nd7 Bd6 31.Bxd6 Nxd6 32.Re2 a5 33.Rd2 Rc6 34.Ne5 Ra6 35.Rc2
f6 36.Nc6 a4 37.Nd4 Ra7 38.Rc6 Rd7 39.Rb6 Nc4 40.Rb8+ Kf7 41.Nxb5 Nxb2 42.Nc3
Rd3 43.Ne4 Nd1 44.Rb7+ Kg6 45.g4 h5 46.gxh5+ Kh6 47.Ng3 Rxa3 48.Nf5+ Kg5 49.Ng3
Kh6 50.Nf5+ Kxh5 51.Rxg7 Rf3 52.Ng3+ Kh6 53.Rd7 Nc3 54.Kg2 Rf4 55.Ra7 Rb4 56.Nf5+
Kg5 57.Ne3 Kg6 58.Ra6 Kf7 59.Kg3 Rb3 60.Ng4 Nd5+ 61.f3 a3 62.h4 Nb4

White played 63.Rxf6+? and lost as the rook could not get
back in time. However, 63.Ra7+ Kg6 64.h5+ Kxh5 65.Nxf6+ and white will probably
draw. Full analysis can be found in the games link below. 63... Ke7
64.Rf5 a2 65.Ra5 Rb1 66.Ra7+ Ke6 67.h5 a1Q 0-1.

GM Zhu Chen made the win look easier than it was against an in-form WGM Baira
Kovanoval. Black defended well but her passive position eventually spelled dividends
for white. The white pawn structure (g2-c6) from the 22nd move till the end
of the game is quite special.

Former World Women's Champion Zhu Chen

Zhu Chen (2488) - Kovanova,B (2408) [E32]
FIDE GP w Nanjing CHN (7), 05.10.2009
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 d6 7.f3 Nh5 8.Nh3
f5 9.Nf2 Nc6 10.b3 e5 11.d5 Ne7 12.e3 Kh8 13.Bb2 f4 14.e4 b6 15.b4 a5 16.c5
Ng6 17.Rc1 axb4 18.axb4 bxc5 19.bxc5 Bd7 20.Ba3 Qg5 21.Rg1 Nh4 22.c6

One wonders if any reader can identify any game where there was a more extended
pawn structure with g2-b7!? 22...Bc8 23.Rb1 h6 24.Bc1 Qe7 25.Ra1 Rb8
26.Ra7 Rb6 27.Kd1 Ng6 28.Bd2 Kh7 29.Kc2 Nf6 30.Bc4 Ne8 31.Be1 Rb8 32.Nd1 Qg5
33.Bf2 h5 34.Ra1 Ne7 35.Qa5 Qf6 36.Ra4 g5 37.Qa7 1-0.

Last but not least, we had another long draw between WGM Mungutuul and IM
Lilit Mkrtchian. The Armenian player equalised early out of the opening but
there were very little opportunities to create much in the game and a draw was
a fair result.

• Here are the games
  of round seven with comments by FM Geoffrey Borg

Results and standings after round seven

Links Official tournament site All games in PGN 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!

Chessbase.com

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04.10.2009
– Are you a Caro-Kann player or toying with the idea of building it
into your repertoire? Then you should not miss this 2688 ELO rated GM
revealing his own Caro-Kann repertoire. In over four hours of video lessons Viktor
Bologan explains the lines in easy to grasp terms that makes the DVD extremely valuable for players of every level.
Buy his Caro-Kann DVD now or read this review with sampler.

Viktor Bologan: The Caro-Kann

Review by Michael Jeffreys

The Caro-Kann was the first defence to 1.e4 I ever learned. However in actual practice, as a beginner, I could not do much with it and found myself drawing and losing with it in tournaments more often than I liked and eventually gave it up. Perhaps if I had had GM Viktor Bologan’s new Chessbase DVD at the time, my results would have drastically improved.

This is the first video I have seen by the Moldavian GM Bologan and there’s a lot to like. First, as he explains in the introduction, he is giving you his own personal recommendations, i.e., what he plays. This is no small thing, as many of you know who have read my reviews, one of my pet peeves are those who put out loads of videos where it becomes clear they have not actually played the opening over the board. This is definitely not the case here, as Bologan has many nice wins with the Caro-Kann, including a victory over GM Peter Leko in the 2003 Dortmund Super GM tournament when Peter was rated 2745!

Click here for replay
a video sample on the "Fantasy variation" (3.f3)

I also like how Viktor looks right into the camera and tells you what he thinks about each key move, sans hype. His presentation of the material is very systematic and logical. Additionally, he takes you through all the main lines, as well as several important side lines

So, after 1.e4 c6, we get the Caro-Kann.

Intro Video to The Caro-Kann Defense

Viktor’s coverage is as follows:

• Intro Video
• 2.d3 d5 (A passive, if solid side line for White)
• 2.Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 Bg4 (Fischer’s two knights var.)
• 2.d4 d5 3.f3 (The Fantasy Var.)
• 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 (Exchange Var.)
• 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 (Panov Attack)
• 2.c4 d5 3.cxd5 cxd5 4.exd5 (Where White holds back d4)
• 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 (Advanced Variation)
• 4.c3, 4.Be3/4.Nd2, 4.h4, 4.Nc3, 4.Nf3 (4th move sidelines – 6 videos)
• 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3/d2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 (Classical System – 7 videos)

At the conclusion of each video, Bologan gives the viewer a nice little wrap up/review of the main ideas covered in that segment. A nice touch that really helps to reinforce the material. While this DVD will certainly prove useful to those who play 1.e4 and have to face the Caro, Bologan (and rightfully so I might add) suggests ideas and moves mostly from Black’s perspective.

I like this and think you will find, as I did, that flipping the board around and seeing the moves made from Black’s side will help you absorb the material better (obviously if you are interested in learning how to play against the Caro, you will want to view the board from White’s side).

In this reviewer’s opinion, this is the best DVD ever put out on the Caro-Kann Defense and one I wish I had had when I was just starting out!

Chessbase.com

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04.10.2009
– French GM Marie Sebag stopped the winning streak of GM Nana Dzagnidze with a fine black win. As expected, in the last round before a free day the players came out fighting, and again there were four wins and two draws. This brings the total results so far to 19 wins out of 30 games and 11 draws, a 63% wins ratio which is extraordinary.

Big report with pictures and annotated games.

Round five report

By FM Geoffrey Borg

Coincidentially, the men's tournament has also got 11 draws but with a slightly
lower number of wins (just three, all by Magnus Carlsen). Maybe trying to get
the players to be more combative, the organisers have also been selecting the
best game from each round, both for the men's and women's tournament. In the
Women's GP, the best game at the end of the tournament, selected by a panel
composed of GMs Nona Gaprindashvili, Ye Jianchuan and Zurab Azmajparashvili,
will net each player 800 euros. They have also offered a prize for the best
novelty of the tournament.

The big game in round five was between two of the top seeds and the fireworks
which are currently a daily routine all over China to celebrate their 60th Anniversary,
were also not lacking in this game.

GM Sebag followed a recent line in the Meran and GM Nana Dzagnidze innovated
on move 16 with Bg5. This was not so good unfortunately and Black took the initiative
to reach the following position on move 30.

GM Marie Sebag put an end to Nana Dzagnidze's winning streak

Dzagnidze,N (2535) - Sebag,M (2519) [D47]
FIDE GP w Nanjing CHN (5), 02.10.2009
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3
Bd6 9.0-0 0-0 10.Qc2 Bb7 11.a3 a6 12.b4 a5 13.Rb1 axb4 14.axb4 Qe7 15.e4 e5
16.Bg5 Rfe8 17.Ne2 h6 18.Bh4 Ra3 19.Ng3 g6 20.Ne2 Rea8 21.dxe5 Bxe5 22.Nxe5
Nxe5 23.Nc3 g5 24.Bg3 Nxd3 25.Qxd3 c5 26.bxc5 Bxe4 27.Qe3 Qe6 28.Rxb5 Qc4 29.Be5
Bc6 30.Rb6?

Here, White has just played the natural move 30.Rb6, and Black could have wrapped
up the game with 30...Ng4! 31.Qd4 Nxe5 winning a piece in all variations. But:
30...Nd5 31.Qe4 Qxe4 32.Nxe4 Nxb6 33.Nf6+ Kf8 34.cxb6 Rb3 and
the game should be a draw. However the French grandmaster fights on with grim
determination. 35.Bd4 Rd8 36.Be3 Kg7 37.Nh5+ Kg6 38.Ng3 f5 39.Bc5 Rd5
40.Rc1

40...Rxc5. On her last move before the time control Marie
Sebag comes up with an interesting attacking plan. 40...Rbd3 was a strong alternative.
41.Rxc5 Rb1+ 42.Nf1 Bb5 43.h4 Bxf1 44.hxg5 Kxg5 45.f3 Bd3+ 46.Kf2 Rxb6.
White is a full piece down and completly lost. 47.Ke3 Rb3 48.Rc7 f4+
49.Kd2 Bf1 50.Rg7+ Kf6 51.Rg4 Kf5 52.Ke1

52...Bxg2 53.Rxg2 Rb1+ 54.Kf2 Rb2+ 55.Kf1 Rxg2 56.Kxg2 Ke5 57.Kh3 Kd4
0-1.

This is the first game in the event that Nana Dzagnidze (picture above) did
not win. Nevertheless, it left her in the lead as another surprise was taking
place on the second board.

Former World Champion Xu Yuhua sacrificed a piece in a French Classical, with
black, against WGM Munugutuul Batkhuyag of Mongolia. When black failed to follow
up with 19...Ba4!, white emerged from the position with a piece for a pawn and
eventually converted the point.

WGM Munugutuul Batkhuyag of Mongolia scored a surprise win

Missed chance by former World Champion Xu Yuhua

Another former World Champion has been fighting in every game and round five
was no exception. Her opponent Betul Cemre Yildiz from Turkey played extremely
well and reached the position shown below.

Yildiz,B (2224) - Zhu Chen (2488) [B00]
FIDE GP w Nanjing CHN (5), 02.10.2009
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.f3 Nbd7 4.c4 e5 5.Be3 Be7 6.Bd3 Nh5 7.Ne2 Bg5 8.Qd2
Bxe3 9.Qxe3 exd4 10.Qxd4 Ne5 11.0-0 Be6 12.c5 0-0 13.cxd6 cxd6 14.Rd1 Qg5 15.Kh1
Nc6 16.Qf2 Qc5 17.Qh4 g6 18.Nbc3 Rad8 19.Rac1 Qe3 20.Bb1 Bc4 21.Re1 Bxe2 22.Nxe2
Qb6 23.Nc3 Qxb2 24.Rc2 Qa3 25.Nd5 Nb4 26.Rc3 Qa5 27.Ne7+ Kh8 28.a3 Nc6 29.Nd5
f5 30.g4 Ng7 31.gxf5 gxf5 32.Rg1 Rf7 33.Nf6 Ne6 34.Rcc1 Qxa3 35.Rcf1 Rdf8 36.exf5
Ned4?

Black has just blundered and White could tie up the game with 37.Qg4 Ne7 38.Nxh7
as the on d4 is hanging with check and mate is looming. Unfortunately, White
had been playing her last few moves within the 30 second increment and could
not calculate this correctly. Instead she played 37.Nd5 and
then just before the time control made another mistake and Zhu Chen took the
point. 37...Nxf5 38.Bxf5 Rxf5 39.Qg4 Qb2 40.Rg2 Qd4 41.f4 Rxd5 42.Rfg1
Ne7 43.Qe6 Ng6 44.Rxg6 hxg6 45.Qxg6 Qf6 46.Qg4 Qh6 0-1.

So close to a first win (or first non-loss): Betul Cemre Yildiz

Fighting spirit: former World Champion Zhu Chen

The top seeds fared badly in this round and despite a very good opening, Zhao
Xue found herself on the wrong side of the result of a Nimzo Indian. After uncorking
17...Nd4! she took the initiative but then a miscalculation gave White a nice
win.

Mkrtchian,L (2468) - Zhao Xue (2542) [E46]
FIDE GP w Nanjing CHN (5), 02.10.2009
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0-0 5.Nge2 d5 6.a3 Be7 7.cxd5 Nxd5
8.g3 c5 9.Bg2 Nxc3 10.bxc3 Nc6 11.0-0 Qc7 12.Rb1 Rd8 13.Nf4 b6 14.Qe2 cxd4 15.cxd4
Bb7 16.d5 exd5

17.Nxd5 Nd4 18.Qh5 Ne2+ 19.Kh1 Rxd5 20.Bxd5 Nc3 21.Qxf7+ Kh8 22.e4
Rf8 23.Qe6

23...Nxd5? 24.exd5 Qc4 25.Kg1 Bc5 26.Be3 Bxd5 27.Qe5 Bxe3 28.Qxe3
Bf3 29.Rb4 Qc8 30.Rf4 Bc6 31.Rc1 Re8 32.Re4 1-0.

IM Lilit Mkrtchian took a full point in round five from...

...top seed GM Zhao Xue of China, rated 2542

IM Martha Fierro of Ecuador, rated 2386

WGM Shen Yang of China, rated 2453

The other two games ended in draws of 61 moves and 59 moves. Martha Fierro
and Shen Yang battled it out in a theoretical Spanish and the initiative shifted
from one side to the other but there was very little real chances for anyone
to try and win.

Tough draw in 59 moves: Ju Wenjun, 2443, vs WGM Baira Kovanova, 2408

Ju Wenjun at work in round five

• Here are the games
  of round five with comments by FM Geoffrey Borg

Results and standings after round five

It is interesting to note that with her round five loss Nana Dzagnidze's
performance has dropped from 3191 (exaggerted by the "to nil" score)
to a more earthly 2657.

Links Official tournament site All games in PGN 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!

Chessbase.com

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02.10.2009
– Magnus Carlsen is not the only stratospheric player in Nanjing. In the Women's Grand Prix GM Nana Dzagnidze of Georgia, rated 2535, is blazing a trail through her opponents. With four wins in her first four games she has displayed a 3191 performance. Former Women's World Champion GM Xu Yuhua remains half a point behind. Big report with portrait pictures and annotated games.

Round four report

by FM Geoffrey Borg

Round four brought hard fought games – the Grand Prix tournaments have
become synonymous with fighting chess, as draw offers are not allowed in the
regulations both for men and women.

We had a number of interesting games, although the first two games to finish
after around three hours play. Shen Yang-Mrktchian followed a line of the Nimzo
Indian which resulted in a sterile position with bishops of opposite colours.
When the rooks came off, there was nothing left to play for.

Zhu Chen and Ju Wenjun treated each other with great respect and repeated positions
in a dynamic situation with lots of play left.

Former World Champion from China, now married and living in Qatar: GM Zhu
Chen

Untitled newcomer with great potential: Ju Wenjun, rated 2443

What can we say about GM Nana Dzagnidze? Superb will to win and a fighter till
the end. In a slightly worse position, she refused to repeat moves and constantly
probed the position until her opponent, WGM Baira Kovanova from Elista, Russia,
made a fatal error. With four out of four the Georgian grandmaster has now achieved
a performance of 3191!

Kovanova,B (2408) - Dzagnidze,N (2535) [B47]
FIDE GP w Nanjing CHN (4), 01.10.2009

This game was a positional Sicilian Taimanov with WGM Kovanova keeping control
of the game up to the time control, when Black got a slight initiative.

Position after 67...Nc5-e4

The game is a dead draw, but now Kosanova blunders: 68.Kb6??
68.Be1 was required – after 68.Bb4 or Ba4 68...Nf2 wins. 68...Nxc3
69.bxc3 Kxe5 70.Kc5 Kf4 71.Kxc4 e5 72.Kd3 Kf3 73.Kd2 e4 74.Ke1 Ke3 0-1.

4.0/4 with an incredible 3191 performance: GM Nana Dzagnidze of
Georgia

The current performance table looks as follows in the Najing leg of the WGP:

So this leads us to another player who is having a great tournament. Former
World Champion Xu Yuhua has been playing some very good games, and round four
was no exception.

Xu Yuhua (2485) - Fierro Baquero,M (2386) [B07]
FIDE GP w Nanjing CHN (4), 01.10.2009
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nge2 Be7 5.g3 c6 6.Bg2 b5 7.a3 a5 8.0-0
Ba6 9.b4 axb4 10.axb4 0-0 11.h3 Nbd7 12.g4 Nb6 13.Ng3 c5 14.g5 Nfd7 15.dxc5
dxc5 16.Nd5 Nxd5 17.exd5 Bd6 18.Nf5 Qc7 19.Be4 Rfe8 20.Qg4 Nf8 21.Nxd6 Qxd6
22.bxc5 Qxc5 23.Ba3 Qc3 24.Bb4 Qc4

Xu Yuhua chose 25.Bxf8, followed by d6 whereas d6 immediately
would have given her a winning advantage. But she eventually won a pawn and
the d-pawn proved the critical factor to win the game. 25...Rxf8 26.d6
Ra7 27.Qf5 g6 28.Qxe5 Qc8 29.Rfd1 Re8 30.Qd4 Rd7 31.Bf3 Bb7 32.Bxb7 Qxb7 33.Rab1
Re4 34.Qc5 b4 35.Re1 Rd8 36.Rxe4 Qxe4 37.Rxb4 Qe6 38.Rd4 Qxh3 39.d7 Qe6 40.c4
h6 41.Qd5 Qe1+ 42.Kg2 h5 43.c5 1-0.

GM Marie Sebag has been on a bit of a roller coaster. She
started off the tournament losing to Shen Yang but following yesterday's victory
is now back on 50%. Marie played well against the Petroff and kept a nagging
advantage until Batkhuyag lost her a-pawn. After some hard work white managed
to convert the point.

Sebag,M (2519) - Munguntuul,B (2418) [C42]
FIDE GP w Nanjing CHN (4), 01.10.2009
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 Bg4 6.Bd3 Nf6 7.0-0 Be7
8.Nbd2 0-0 9.Re1 Re8 10.Nf1 Bf8 11.Rxe8 Qxe8 12.h3 Bh5 13.Ng3 Bg6 14.Bg5 Nbd7
15.Bxg6 hxg6 16.Qd3 Qe6 17.c4 d5 18.c5 b6 19.b4 bxc5 20.bxc5 Qc6 21.Rb1 a6 22.Bf4
Ne4 23.Nf1 Qa4 24.Rb2 Nexc5 25.dxc5 Qxf4 26.Qxd5 Rb8 27.Rxb8 Nxb8 28.Ne5 c6
29.Nxc6 Nxc6 30.Qxc6 Qc4 31.Qc8 Qxc5 32.Qxa6 Kh7 33.Qe2 Bd6 34.g3 f5 35.Qd2
Bc7 36.Qe3 Qc4 37.Qb3 Qd4 38.Kg2 Qe4+ 39.Qf3 Qc4 40.Qb3 Qe4+ 41.Kg1 Qd4 42.Nh2
Bb6 43.Qc2 Qd5 44.Qe2 Bd8 45.Nf3 Bf6 46.h4 Kg8 47.Kg2 Kh7 48.a4 Bc3 49.Qb5 Qa8
50.h5 Qe4 51.hxg6+ Kxg6 52.a5 Bd4 53.a6 Kf6 54.Qd7 Bc5

55.a7 Qa8 56.Qc7 Bxa7 57.Qe5+ Kf7 58.Qxf5+ Kg8 59.Qe6+ Kh8 60.Qa6 Kh7
61.Qd3+ Kh8 62.Qf5 Kg8 63.Kf1 Qf8 64.Qd5+ Kh8 65.Kg2 Bb6 66.Qe6 Qf6 67.Qe8+
Kh7 68.Qb5 Kh8 69.g4 Qf4 70.Qh5+ Kg8 71.Qg6 Ba7 72.Qe6+ Qf7 73.Qe4 Qf8 74.g5
Qc5 75.Qe8+ Kh7 76.Qe4+ Kg8 77.Qh4 Qf5 78.Qg3 Kh7 79.Nh4 Qe4+ 80.Nf3 Qf5 81.Qh4+
Kg8 82.Qa4 Qc5 83.Qa2+ Kh7 84.Qe2 Qf5 85.Qc4 Kh8 86.Qc6 Qc5 87.Qa8+ Kh7 88.Qe4+
Kg8 89.Qe6+ Kh8 90.Qh3+ Kg8 91.Qg3 Qf5 92.g6 Qf6 93.Ne5 Qe6 94.Qd3 Bb6 95.Qf3
Bd8 96.Qa8 Qe8 1-0.

WGM Batkhuyag Munguntuul of Mongolia, rated 2418

Another player who has been recovering from her slow start is GM Zhao Xue,
the number one seed. In an English Opening/Reversed Accelerated Dragon, she
played solidly until she reached the position below.

Zhao Xue (2542) - Yildiz,B (2224) [A29]
FIDE GP w Nanjing CHN (4), 01.10.2009
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nb6 7.0-0 Be7
8.a3 a5 9.d3 0-0 10.Be3 Be6 11.Bxb6 cxb6 12.Rc1 f6 13.Nd2 Rc8 14.Nc4 Rf7 15.Re1
Bf8 16.Qb3 Bc5 17.Nb5 f5 18.e3 Qf6 19.Qc3 Rd8 20.Nxe5 Bb4 21.axb4 axb4 22.Nxf7
bxc3 23.Nxd8 cxb2 24.Rb1 Qxd8 25.Red1 Qf6 26.Rd2 Nb4 27.Nd4 Bd5 28.Rdxb2 Bxg2
29.Rxb4 Bd5 30.Rb5

Black is already losing, but speeds things up tremendously with 30...Qd6??
31.Nxf5 and because of 31...Qd7 32.Rxd5 Qxd5 33.Ne7+ 1-0.

• Here are the games
  of round four with comments by FM Geoffrey Borg

Results and standings after round four

Player portraits

Ju Wenjun, China, 2443, 2.5/4, performance 2542

GM Zhu Chen, Qatar, 2488, 2.0/4, performance 2446

WGM Shen Yang, China, 2453, 1.5/4, performance 2417

IM Martha Fierro Baquero, ECU, 2386 1.5/4, performance 2388

GM Zhao Xue, China, 2542, 2.5/4, performance 2496

WGM Baira Kovanova, Kalmykia (Russia), 2408, 1.5/4, perf. 2365

WIM Betul Cemre Yildiz, Turkey, 2224, 0.0/4, performance 1685

Links Official tournament site All games in PGN 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!

Chessbase.com

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23.09.2009
– Four and a half years ago, at the 2004 Dubai Open, GM Evgeny Vladimirov suffered
a stunning defeat against a 13-year-old. The former Kasparov trainer was so
impressed that he predicted that young Magnus Carlsen would one day be the number
one in chess. In his Wednesday night Playchess
lecture Dennis Monokroussos looks at this astonishing game. Nine p.m. ET on the server.

Dennis Monokroussos writes:

With the recent
news that Magnus Carlsen is working with Garry Kasparov, it seems like only
a matter of time before he reaches the very top of the chess world. Of course,
that has been a common opinion for some years anyway, and it's games like the
one we'll look at this week that have encouraged such speculation.

Played when he was just 13, his victory over the experienced and strong GM
Evgeny Vladimirov was both important and remarkable. Important, because it jump-started
him in the 2004
Dubai Open on the way to his final grandmaster norm and the title; remarkable,
because afterwards Vladimirov – one of Kasparov's former trainers, declared
that Carlsen's future in chess was as the number one player!

13-year-old GM Magnus Carlsen at the Tripoli World Championship

We've all had some time now to appreciate Carlsen and to see Vladimirov's prediction
come closer and closer to fruition, but it's worth having a look at this game
in particular, to see what so impressed Carlsen's opponent. Those of you who
want to see the game in advance can undoubtedly do so, but for those who want
to enjoy the surprises with fresh eyes, I'll keep any possible spoilers out
of this blurb.

What I will tell you is that you can watch the show tomorrow night –
Wednesday night – on the Playchess server, at 9 p.m. ET. (That's 3 a.m.
CET on Thursday, for my European insomniac and early-rising viewers.) To watch,
simply log on, go to the Broadcasts Room, find Carlsen-Vladimirov under the
Games tab, double-click and you're good to go. See you then!

You can find the exact times for different locations in the world at World
Time and Date. Exact times for most larger cities are 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.
The lectures, which can go for an hour or more, will cost you between one and
two ducats.
That is the equivalent of 10-20 Euro cents (14-28 US cents).

Monokroussos in Mexico: World Championship 2007

Dennis Monokroussos is 41, lives in South Bend, IN, where
he teaches chess and occasionally works 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.

Chessbase.com

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