Chess - Blog
Posted in ChessBase on Сен 4, 2009
04.09.2009
– This week Nigel Short, aged 44, crossed the elite 2700 barrier once again, regaining the England number one spot he had lost for years. It was yet another twist in the remarkable career of [...]
Posted in ChessBase on Сен 2, 2009
02.09.2009
– This International Open chess tournament is like no other held not in a small, touristy town but in the heart of the "City of Light" and is billed as the Paris Championship. The [...]
Posted in ChessBase on Сен 2, 2009
02.09.2009
– The lineup of the traditional Moscow Blitz Championship was, as usual, extremely strong. The usual suspects Alexander Grischuk and Alexander Morozevich were joined by the newcoming Muscovite Sergey Karjakin. The sky-high rated Dmitry Jakovenko [...]
Posted in ChessBase on Авг 30, 2009
30.08.2009 – 29-year-old Iranian GM Morteza Mahjoob spent months preparing for the record attempt, which until then stood at 360 simultaneous games, set earlier this year by Bulgarian GM Kiril Georgiev. Mahjoob broke it by taking on 500 opponents and scoring 397 wins, 90 draws, 13 loses (= 88.4%). The effort lasted over 18 hours and was closely followed by the Iranian TV. Big illustrated report with videos.
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Adrian Mikhalchishin: Arkhangelsk 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 5.00 b5 6.Bb3 Bb7, which was developed in the early sixties by players from the north Russian town of Archangelsk and has carried this name ever since. |
The Guinness World Record for the largest number of simultaneous games played
in a single session was initially set in 1996 Swedish Grandmaster Ulf Anderson,
who took on 310 opponents. This record was broken in 2004 by British IM Andrew
Martin, author of many of our openings
training DVDs. Martin played against 321 opponents, scoring 294 wins, 26
draws and 1 loss for a winning percentage of 95.64%. In August 2005 GM Susan
Polgar played
against 350 players simultaneously at the Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens,
Florida. Finally, in February this year, Bulgarian GM Kiril Georgiev played
a simultaneous
exhibition against 360 opponents.
The latest record attempt by Iranian GM Morteza Mahjoob
Recently Iranian GM Morteza Mahjoob, 29, took it on himself to break this record
– actually smash it to little pieces. He planned a simultaneous exhibition
against 500 players, which entailed walking for about 40 kilometers and staying
awake and sharp for up to 24 hours.
The training phase: Morteza Mahjoob preparing for his physical ordeal
The GM had to be ready to walk 40 kilometers and stay awake and fit for 24 hours
The name of the world record attempt was Rokh-dar-rokh 500 (rook vs
rook 500). The opening ceremony began on August 13th at 9:00 a.m., with nearly
700 participants (500 players and 200 reserve players) present. In addition
there were nearly a thousand spectators at the playing venue "Yadegar-e-Emam",
a multi-purpose sport saloon in the "Engelab Sport Complex" in Tehran.
A crowd has collected at 9:00 a.m. in front of the Engelab Sport Complex
in Tehran
Dignitaries: Kiomars Hashemi, Vice President of the Iranian National Sports
Organization; FIDE Vice President Nizar Elhaj (middle), President of
the Iranian Chess Federation Dr. Mohammad Ebarahim Maddahi (right)
The President of the Iranian Chess Federation Dr. Mohammad Ebarahim Maddahi
Iranian soccer star and manager Peyrovani is interviewed at the site
Iranian Taekwondo champion Behzad Khodadad (watch him in action )
The President of the Iranian National Olympic committee, Mohammad Ali Abadi,
who is also the Iranian vice President, some of his deputies were also at the
location: FIDE Vice President Nizar Elhaj, who came as the official observer
for FIDE, the President of the Iranian Chess Federation Dr. Mohammad Ebarahim
Maddahi and many well-known Iranian sportsmen such as Hadi Saei, three times
Olympic medal winner and recent Olympic Champion in Taekwondo, who is a member
of the Tehran Council. Finally a number of famous actors and movie stars participated
in the ceremony.
Preparing the venue for the mammoth event
Everything is in place, the simultaneous master and his opponents can start
playing
Iranian TV talks to GM Morteza Mahjoob before the start of his record attempt
The GM and Hadi Saei, Olympic medalist in Taekwondo, are interviewed
The games officially started at 10:00 o'clock. The 500 players all were present
at the time on their boards. GM Morteza Mahjoob executed his first five moves
in two hours. The first (and only) break, for lunch, was after the ninth move
at 14:30 to 15:00. After the break all players came back to their boards and
games continued.
GM Morteza Mahjoob starts his simul on board one of five hundred at 10:00
a.m.
An Iranian lady helps her grandson to prepare for his game against the grandmaster
The master moves from board to board, making his first moves in this exhibition
1.Nf3 was one of the opening moves the grandmaster used
The jacket is off for the second round of moves
Just after midnight there were 130 players left. Many of them had no chance
of winning, but they insisted on
playing on. There were some kids and semi-professional teenage players who resisted
for more than 15 hours.
Their parents helped them by massaging them. Some of the players who hung on
for 15 hours needed medical attention. One of Morteza Mahjoob's chess students,
who is six years old, won his game against his teacher. This kid was amongst
the last ten players in the simul.
A very youthful opponent, a student of the Master, won his game in the simul
At 23:30 Morteza had succeeded in achieving 88.42% over 364 boards. The remaining
games continued and finally at 04:12 on August 14, 2009 he finished the last
game.
The final result over 500 boards was: 397 wins, 90 draws, 13 loses, with total
score of 442/500 points and score percentage of 88.4%.
The long cycle time between moves was not just tiring for the master
Even the older players felt the strain
Women's chess is definitely on the rise in Iran
The main sponsor of this event was ,
an Italian producer of home appliances. The sponsor covered all organizing expenses
as well as cash prizes for every winner and everybody who could make draw. There
were also some prizes from their products, drawn by lottery, for spectators.
The organizer of the event was the Iran Chess Federation. Chief organizer and
technical director was IO Hadi Karimi, Chief Arbiter was IA Hosseingholi Saloor,
first deputy of chief arbiter was IA Hamid Reza Pourshahmari. Three other Deputy
Arbiters were: IA N. Kananazar, IA F. Eskandary, IA. H. Kazemiashtiyani. Two
FIDE Aribiters and 48 National Arbiters refereed in this event. Near 30 people
helped in the organizing team.
The arbiters and organisers pose for a group photot
The oldest and youngest players were 81 and 4 years old. Many international
and national rated players participated and showed stiff competition. Also three
strong blind Iranian chess players competed all the way until the final hours.
A blind Iranian chess player amongst Mahjoob's simultaneous opponents
Many TV channels and other Media covered the event from beginning to end. The
games had live coverage by IRIB3 (Iranian National broadcasting) for near two
hours in three different segments. All daily newspapers as well as all news
agencies put the event on the front page.
Flowers for the record-breaking GM from football manager Farhad Kazemi
The simultaneous master at the end of his 18-hour ordeal
All photos provided by Mehdi Mahjoob
Part one
Part two
Part three
Posted in ChessBase on Авг 28, 2009
28.08.2009 – This event is not just about the hundred or so players who compete for the $30,000 prize money. It gives the participants an opportunity to get a feel for the Arabian culture, to meet the people and see their way of life. Fortunately we have a diligent reporter with a good camera and a great eye for visuals, who sent us this massive pictorial report. Impressions by Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh.
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Adrian Mikhalchishin: Arkhangelsk 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 5.00 b5 6.Bb3 Bb7, which was developed in the early sixties by players from the north Russian town of Archangelsk and has carried this name ever since. |
Nineteen GMs headed the field of some one hundred players in the Swiss System
Open section of the Abu Dhabi Chess Festival, which ran from August 12 to 21,
2009. This is the 18th year of its existence, and the event offered a total
of $22,000 in cash prizes in the Open, Junior age groups, Scheveningen and Blitz
tournaments. More prize funds awaited them in the Armed Forces Club Sportsfest
Rapid Chess Championship, also in Abu Dhabi, which followed immediately after,
offering a total of $30,000 in cash prizes. The festival was held under the
patronage of H.E. Sheikh Hazaa bin Zayed Al Nahyan,chairman of Abu dhabi Sports
Council.
Football star of UAE and Asia Ismail Matar is checkmated (poster)
Ismail challenges the best UAE student (poster)
Tournament venue - the modern Aljazeera Sport Club
A fisheye view of the tournament hall
| Rk. | Ti. | Name | FED | Rtg |
Pts.
|
TB2 | TB3 |
| 1 | GM | Aleksandrov Aleksej | BLR | 2616 |
7.5
|
40.5 | 41.25 |
| 2 | GM | Rakhmanov Aleksandr | RUS | 2559 |
7.0
|
44.0 | 37.00 |
| 3 | GM | Anastasian Ashot | ARM | 2566 |
7.0
|
42.5 | 39.75 |
| 4 | GM | Andriasian Zaven | ARM | 2585 |
7.0
|
42.0 | 41.25 |
| 5 | GM | Savchenko Stanislav | UKR | 2526 |
7.0
|
40.5 | 34.25 |
| 6 | GM | Melkumyan Hrant | ARM | 2530 |
7.0
|
39.5 | 38.00 |
| 7 | GM | Amin Bassem | EGY | 2551 |
6.5
|
41.5 | 36.75 |
| 8 | IM | Laxman R R | IND | 2501 |
6.5
|
41.0 | 32.00 |
| 9 | GM | Ghaem Maghami Ehsan | IRI | 2589 |
6.5
|
40.5 | 35.50 |
| 10 | GM | Kengis Edvins | LAT | 2543 |
6.5
|
40.0 | 36.00 |
| 11 | GM | El Gindy Essam | EGY | 2501 |
6.5
|
39.0 | 28.25 |
| 12 | FM | Saeed Ishaq | UAE | 2188 |
6.5
|
39.0 | 26.50 |
| 13 | GM | Drozdovskij Yuri | UKR | 2620 |
6.5
|
38.5 | 34.00 |
| 14 | GM | Filippov Anton | UZB | 2583 |
6.0
|
41.0 | 34.50 |
| 15 | GM | Bocharov Dmitry | RUS | 2613 |
6.0
|
40.5 | 33.50 |
| 16 | GM | Ovetchkin Roman | RUS | 2548 |
6.0
|
40.5 | 32.25 |
| 17 | GM | Simonian Hrair | ARM | 2520 |
6.0
|
39.0 | 33.00 |
| 18 | Antonio Viani D'Cunha | IND | 2107 |
6.0
|
39.0 | 27.75 | |
| 19 | GM | Sturua Zurab | GEO | 2513 |
6.0
|
38.5 | 27.00 |
| 20 | WGM | Zdebskaja Natalia | UKR | 2412 |
6.0
|
38.0 | 30.75 |
| 21 | CM | Sanal Vahap | TUR | 1976 |
6.0
|
37.5 | 30.00 |
| 22 | Nirmal E P | IND | 2268 |
6.0
|
37.5 | 29.00 | |
| 23 | WGM | Galojan Lilit | ARM | 2338 |
6.0
|
36.5 | 30.75 |
| 24 | IM | Adu Oladapo | NGR | 2276 |
6.0
|
36.0 | 21.50 |
| 25 | WGM | Pourkashiyan Atousa | IRI | 2304 |
6.0
|
35.5 | 28.25 |
| 26 | IM | Illijin Neboisa | ROU | 2246 |
6.0
|
33.5 | 23.50 |
| 27 | Dargan Paul A G | ENG | 2141 |
6.0
|
31.0 | 22.00 |
Asian Chess Federation president Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifah Al Nahyan was the
guest of honor at the closing ceremony.
Awarding the cup and medal to the tournament winner: from left, Mohammad
Al Mahmood, General Secretary of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Sheikh Sultan bin
Khalifah Al Nehayan President of the Asian Chess Federation, Ibrahim Al Bannai,
President of the Arab Chess Federation, champion GM Aleksey Alexandrov, Saif
Nasser Al Suwaidi Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Chess Club and Ismail Khoury Tournament
Director
It was a double victory for GM Aleksey Aleksandrov of Belarus as he won the
Open Championship and the Blitz tournament as well in the Abu Dhabi International
Chess Festival last week in the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
Aleksandrov got off to a quick start with three points in the first three rounds,
beating local hero GM Saleh Salem of the UAE. His winning streak was stopped
by GM Zaven Andriasian of Armenia but Aleksandrov recovered with a string of
wins over two FMs and IM R. Laxman of India.
Going into the last round, GM Aleksandr Rakhmanov of Russia led the field alone
with seven points and was paired with second-running Aleksandrov who was tied
at 6.5 points with GM Ashot Anastasian of Armenia. Aleksandrov beat Rakhmanov
for the trophy while Anastasian was held to a draw by GM Yuri Drozdovskij of
Ukraine.
Second: GM Aleksandr Rakhmanov of Russia, 2616, 7.0/9 points
Third: GM Ashot Anastasian of Armenia, 2566, 7.0/9 points
Fourth: GM Zaven Andriasian of Armenia, 2585, 7.0/9 points
Fifth: GM Stanislav Savchenko , Ukraine, 2526, 7.0/9
Sixth: GM Hrant Melkumyan of Armenia, 2530, 7.0/9 points
Trailing with 6.5 points each were GMs Amin Bassem and Essam El Gindy of Egypt,
Ehsan Ghaem Maghami of Iran, Edvins Kengis of Latvia and Yuri Drozdovskij of
Ukraine, IM R Laxman of India and FM Saeed Ishaq of the UAE.
In the junior event, 64 players from 11 countries took part together in a nine-round
Swiss for four age groups, Under-9, 11, 13 and 15. Doting parents and coaches
accompanied their wards and children.
18th: Antonio Viani D'Cunha of India, 2107, 6.0/9 managed to pick up a first
IM norm
21st: the very talented CM Sanal Vahap of Turkey, 1976 6.0/9 points
In the Under-9 age group, Moza Al Mansouri of the UAE topped the event with
five points, winning the tie over compatriot Mohammed Marshool. Three players
tied with six points each in the Under-11. Al Dhaheri Shaikha of the UAE won
by tie break over R. Niranjan of India and Hamdan Marshool of the UAE. M. Vigram
of India topped the Under-13 age group with 8 points followed by Mostafa Abdulwahab
and sultan Marshool of the UAE. John Axel Valerio of the Philippines won the
Under-15 age group with 8 points followed by Ahmed Al Zarouni of the UAE with
7 and Khalil Bukhalaf with 6.5 points.
Instead of the regular tournament round on a Friday, organizers held a blitz
tournament which was also won by Aleksandrov, who tied with 9 points out of
11 rounds, but prevailed in the Buchholz tie break over Rakhmanov.
Analyzing a game in the Arabian tent, which was set up...
... inside the tournament hall, to make some of the locals feel at home
IM Vasilij Gagarin of Russia scored highest in the Scheveningen match with
7.5 points out of nine games. Four players followed with 7.0 points each: FM
Khouri Ibrahim Mohamed of the UAE placed second followed by FM Djakhangir Agaragimov
of Azerbaijan, WGM Maria Manakova of Serbia and IM Akaki Shalamberidze of Georgia.
There are many sponsor for the Abu Dhabi Chess Club but the newest is the Etisalat
Company that is one of the largest Communication companies in the world and
has offered sponsorship of Abu Dhabi Chess Club players!
Zuhair Ahmed Technical Secretary , Ibrahim Al Marzooqi Marketing Manager
and Hussein Khoury Finance Director of Abu Dhabi Chess Club
Abu Dhabi Chess Club Finance Director Hussein Khoury oversaw the organization
with the able assistance of Tournament Director Ismail Khoury and Club Technical
Manager Zuhair Hussein Ahmad and Chief Arbiter Tariq Khouri. Asian Chess Federation
Deputy President Casto Abundo was Technical Adviser while Mehrdad Pahlavenzadeh
ably managed the live broadcast.
Tournament manager Hussein Khoury speaks with a journalist from Al Kaas
TV of Qatar
WGM Maria Manakova (the more faithful of our readers are sure to remember
her)
is a Russian player with Serbian FIDE ID, who played in the Scheveningen match
Eisa Khoulod, champion of UAE U16, also played in the Scheveningen match
WGM Zdebskaja Natalia (best woman in the Festival) shared top three
in the Blitz
The children were also given simultaneous exhibitions by GM Salem A. R. Saleh
of the UAE and former Womens World Champion Maya Chiburdanidze of Georgia,
and a puzzle contest organised by Mehrdad Pahlavenzadeh of Iran.
National hero of UAE GM Salem Abdulrhaman giving a simul – in the picture
he is
looking at his position against Muze Mansoori, the Arab U10 Champion
Test your power of calculation! How many short ways of four moves are there
for the knight to go from c3 e5? It's not easy at all! Maybe impossible blindfold!
Only three players could solve this, after hours of thinking (a problem for
the chess youth by Mehrdad Pahlevanzadeh).
Local arbiter for the juniors Hend Mohamad with players Saeed Khoury
and Heba Alali
The players were also treated to tours of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque with its
24-carat gold lining and $3 million silk carpet. Non-muslim women visiting the
Mosque, such as WGM Natalia Zdebskaya, were lent the Arabic black robes and
scarf to wear inside.
The Sheikh Zayed
Mosque, built in 2007, is the sixth largest mosque in the world
The Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi is the largest mosque in the United Arab
Emirates and the sixth largest mosque in the world. It is named after Sheikh
Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder and the first President of the United
Arab Emirates, who is also entombed there.
Top seed GM Yuri Drozdovskij with his newly wed wife Natalia, who like the
other
ladies had to wear an Islamic black robe to enter in the Mosque
The world's biggest carpet in the Sheikh Zayed Mosque
The Sheikh Zayed Mosque holds a number of world records: The carpet laid out
on the vast expanse is the world's largest carpet, made by Iran's Carpet Company
and designed by Iranian artist Ali Khaliqi. This carpet measures 5,627 m2 (60,570
sq ft), and was made by around 1,200 weavers, 20 technicians, and 30 workers.
The weight of this carpet is 47 tons 35 tons of wool, and 12 tons of cotton.
There are 2,268,000 knots in the carpet.
There are 1096 Columns in the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, all marble with golden
tops
One of the 84 beautiful domes of the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, from the inside
This mosque also holds the largest chandelier. There are seven imported chandeliers
from Germany made of copper and gold-plated. The largest chandelier has a 10
m (33 ft) diameter and a 15 m (49 ft) height.
Players were also taken on a tour of the plush Hotel Emirates Palace which
according to the New York Times, is reputed to be the most expensive hotel ever
built. You can scroll the following picture horizontally to get a full impression
of the size of the hotel.
The costs of building the Emirates Palace was three billion USD. The hotel
occupies 850,000m² of floor space. Underground parking allows housing for
2,500 vehicles. There are two swimming pools and spas. The hotel has its own
marina and helipad.
Looking up: the beautiful geometrical ornamentation of the central dome
Players on tour of the Emirates Palace
Overall, the hotel has 302 rooms and 92 suites, with 16 "Palace Suites"
on the sixth and seventh floors. 22 three-bedroom suites are reserved for hosting
many heads of state and their guests. The cost of staying begins at $400 per
night for the Coral Room (floor space of 592 square feet). The Palace Grand
Suite (7,319 square feet) is the most expensive, at $11,500 per night.
LinksThe games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the |
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