LIVETELESHOWS

Karjakin wins Norway Chess Cup: Anand finishes on 5 points

vkpix — Sun, 19 May 2013 15:24:12 +0000

The last round of the first Norway Chess Tournament finished after more than five hours of chess. Sergey Karjakin finally drew his game against Veselin Topalov to claim overall victory at the event. Magnus Carlsen signed an uneventful draw with Levon Aronian, Viswanathan Anand lost with black against Wang Hao and Hikaru Nakamura got shared second place thanks to his win over Jon Ludvig Hammer.

Sergey Karjakin fulfilled the expectations after his great start and finished the event on sole first place after drawing Veselin Topalov with the white pieces today. This game was the longest one of the round and was not a peaceful GM draw by no means. Topalov finished on -1 after drawing eight games and losing against Anand in the third round.

The game was a Sicilian Najdorf. Topalov chose to leave his king in the center protected by the f6-f7 doubled-pawns formation. With a completely blocked position in the center and kingside, Topalov started looking for chances on the queenside. Karjakin defended correctly and fenced-off the danger. The players made a repetition on move 50 in a position where the Russian is a pawn up.

The two best rated players in the world faced each other today. Magnus Carlsen needed a win over Levon Aronianto get, at least, a chance to catch Karjakin if he drew with Topalov. However, to look for a win with the black pieces against Aronian is not the easiest thing in the world. The Armenian played solidly and exchanged a lot of pieces out of the opening to get a draw on 30 moves.

The overall result of the event for Carlsen can be evaluated as slightly positive. He recovered from a slow start and finished on shared second place. However, the Norwegian always shoots for first, and especially in the first edition of this super-tournament, in his home soil. On the other hand, Levon Aronian finished on +1, which might also not be enough for his ambitions. He comes from winning the Alekhine Memorial and tiredness might be a big factor at this point.

Viswanathan Anand got his fifth decisive result in the event. This time, he lost against Wang Hao with the black pieces. The world champion also arrived with a chance to catch the leader but ended up falling against the creative play of the talented Chinese. Anand finished a point behind the leader on 5/9 and Wang Hao left the bottom side of the table to finish with an even score.

The game was a Symmetrical English where white played fearlessly, going for a line with g4 and e4 included. The dynamic position that arose fit the style of the Chinese, who handled the complications better than his opponent. Anand sacrificed a queen for a rook and bishop and tried to defend an inferior position. However, Wang’s passed pawn on the queenside was the decisive factor that forced the Indian to resign on move 38.

Final Standings:

1	Karjakin, Sergey	RUS	2767	6
2	Carlsen, Magnus	NOR	2868	5½
3	Nakamura, Hikaru	USA	2775	5½
4	Svidler, Peter	RUS	2769	5
5	Aronian, Levon	ARM	2813	5
6	Anand, Viswanathan	IND	2783	5
7	Wang, Hao	CHN	2743	4½
8	Topalov, Veselin	BUL	2793	4
9	Radjabov, Teimour	AZE	2745	3
10	Hammer, Jon Ludvig	NOR	2608	1½

Chennai confirmed as WCC 2013 Venue

vkpix — Mon, 06 May 2013 12:58:09 +0000

The FIDE Presidential Board meeting which is in progress at Baku, Azerbaijan, today confirmed Chennai as the venue for the World Chess Championship match between defending champion Viswanathan Anand and World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, from 06-26 November 2013. The agreement was signed today at Baku by Bharat Singh, Hony Secretary All India Chess Federation and FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.

ALEKHINE MEMORIAL: THREE LEADERS AFTER THREE ROUNDS

vkpix — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:06:08 +0000

Round 3 games of Alekhine Memorial were played in Paris on April, 23. Four games out of five ended in a draw.
Anand – Aronian game showed that the World champion couldn’t use the advantage of his white pieces and had to pass to an equal endgame. This game ended first. Soon after that a draw was concluded by two players from Saint-Petersburg – Peter Svidler and Nikita Vitiugov. Their game finished with a perpetual check.
The key game of the round was played between Boris Gelfand and Michael Adams. Adams was playing black. He started the tournament with two victories over Anand and Svidler. As for Gelfand – it was his first game in the tournament played with white pieces. The most significant duel of the round lasted longer than others and continued for approximately seven hours.
After the game Gelfand told that he used the opening scheme that was played by Alekhine himself. The grandmaster from Israel grabbed the initiative and systematically increased his advantage. In the endgame Gelfand won a pawn and gradually forced his opponent to resign. Having won his first game Boris Gelfand joined the tournament leader.
Vladimir Kramnik had a good chance to join the leaders too, but he missed it. Kramnik won a pawn against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, board number 1 of the French national team. However Vachier-Lagrave managed to save a difficult endgame and also became one of the tournament leaders
Another French grandmaster Laurent Fressinet faced a young Chinese prodigy, grandmaster Ding Liren. The game turned out to be a sharp one. Black had an initiative but white found a way to save the game and it ended in a draw.
Round 3 results. Gelfand – Adams 1-0, Kramnik – Vachier-Lagrave, Ding Liren – Fressinet, Anand – Aronian, Svidler – Vitiugov (all four games ended in a draw).

Places after three rounds. 1-3. Adams, Vachier-Lagrave, Gelfand – 2 points; 4-7. Aronian, Kramnik, Ding Liren, Fressinet – 1,5 points; 8-10. Svidler, Vitiugov, Anand – 1 point.
Round 4 pairings: Vachier-Lagrave – Anand, Vitiugov – Gelfand, Fressinet – Adams, Ding Liren – Kramnik, Aronian – Svidler.

Russian Grandmaster Aleksandr Rakhmanov Wins Dubai Open

vkpix — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:09:32 +0000

Russian Grandmaster Aleksandr Rakhmanov drew with Ukrainian Grandmaster Yuriy Kuzubov to win the title alone with 7½ points out of 9 rounds of the 15^th Dubai Open Chess Championship at the Dubai Chess Club in Dubai, UAE.

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He wins the Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Al Maktoum Cup and the top prize of $10,000. Rakhmanov played carefully against the Slav Defense of Kuzubov. In a symmetrical variation, the two protagonists exchanged pieces and transposed to a Knight and pawn endgame for a draw in 31

moves. Tournament regulations prohibitOthers had to win their last round games to finish on top. Laznicka used the Semi Slav defense to beat GM Salem A. R. Saleh in 37 moves. Sokolov turned

back a sacrificial attack by GM Adhiban of India to win the endgame in 47 moves. International Masters Diptayan Ghosh, 14, and Das Debashis, 20, both of India, earned Grandmaster norms in the tournament as well as $630 each for those finishing with 6½ points apiece. Ten players tied from 10th to 19th places, namely GM Vladimir Akopian of Armenia, Yuriy Kryvoruchko and Mikhailo

Oleksienko, both of Ukraine, Gabriel Sargissian of Armenia, Surya Ganguly, Babu Lalith and Abhijeet Gupta, all of India, and Levan Pantsulaia of Georgia.draw offers before Black’s 30th Move

Rakhmanov beats Ehlvest to grab sole lead after 5 rounds :Dubai Open

vkpix — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 20:59:32 +0000

Russian Grandmaster Aleksandr Rakhmanov beat Estonian GM Jaan Ehlvest to grab solo lead with a perfect 5-point

slate after five rounds of the 15th Dubai Open Chess Championship at the Dubai Chess Club in Dubai, UAE.

Rakhmanov smashed the Pirc Defense of Ehlvest winning a piece in the middle game skirmish. Ehlvest resigned on the

41st move. Five players trail with 4.5 points each, namely top seed GM Vladimir Akopian and Gabriel Sargissian, both of Armania,GM Sergey Volkov of Russia, GM Romain Edouard of France and, surprisingly, WGM Ju Wenjun of China, the only woman in the lead pack.

Akopian needed only 24 moves to beat GM Levan Pantsulaia of Georgia in a Modern Benoni. Edoard likewise played

only 26 moves to crush the Slav defense beat of GM Mihailo Oleksienko of

Ukraine. It was a day of short games at the top. Ju Wenjun got the full point in only 26 moves, outplaying the Slav defense of GM Vladimir Burmakin of Russia. Sargissian and Volkov drew in 51 moves of a Slav Defense.

Twenty players are bunched together at 4 points each in the 9-round Swiss System tournament. At stake is the Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Al Maktoum Cup and a total of $50,000 in cash prizes.

The tournament has a rest day on Friday for blitz. Hostilities resume on Saturday with two games at 10am and 6pm.

FOUR LEADS AT DUBAI OPEN AFTER ROUND 4

vkpix — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 07:32:51 +0000

Four Grandmasters share the lead with perfect scores after four rounds of the 15^th Dubai Open Chess Championship. Russian GMs Sergey Volkov and Aleksandr Rakhmanov, Armenian Gabriel Sargissian and Jaan Ehlvest of the USA are tied at 4 points each in the 9-round Swiss System tournament.

Sargissian essayed the Queen’s Indian defense to beat GM Rinat Jymabayev of Kazakhstan in 66 moves. Volkov, playing Black, turned back the English opening of Mikheil Mchedlishvili of Georgia in 47 moves. Rakhmanov, also with the Black pieces used the Old Indian Defense to penetrate with Queen and Rook and checkmate GM Surya Ganguly of India on the 46th move. Jaan Ehlvest, formerly of Estonia and now playing under the U.S. flag, used the English Opening to beat local hero GM Saleh A. R. Salem of the UAE in 41 moves.

Eleven players follow half a point behind. With 3.5 points each are top seed GM Vladimir Akopian and GM Tigran L.Petrosyan, both of Armenia, Vladimir Burmakin of Rusia, Romain Edouard of France, Levan Pantsulaia of Georgia,Yuriy Kryvoruchko and Mikhailo Oleksienko, both of Ukraine, Ehsan GhaemMaghami of Iran and Pavelo Kotsur of Kazakhstan, IM Diptayan Ghosh of India and WGM Ju Wenjun of China.

In the lead pack, Burmakin and Akopian drew a minor piece endgame in 34 moves. Pantsulaia and Romain exchanged

Queen’s on the 12th move of their English Opening and drew a Rook and Pawn endgame in 64 moves.

In decisive games, Kryvoruchko crushed the Sicilian defense of Mohammed Al-Sayed of Qatar in 42 moves. Petrosian

used the Queen’s Gambit Declined to beat GM Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh in 54 moves. Diptayan Ghosh of India

turned back the English Opening of compatriot Babu Lallith in 39 moves. GM Ehsan Ghaem Maghami of Iran outplayed IM Shardul Gagare of India in 57 moves of a Rook and pawn endgame arising from another English Opening. GM Oleksienko derailed the Sicilian defense of 14-year old giant killer Aravindh Chithambaram

of India in 41 moves. Kotsur used the Sicilian defense to beat Madina Davletbayeva of Kazakhstan.

The tournament is a 9 round Swiss among 190 players from 34 countries. At stake is the Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Al

Maktoum Cup and a total of $50,000 in cash prizes. Friday is a rest day for the regular tournament but there will be a blitz tournamen tat 5 pm in the Dubai Chess Club.The tournament resumes with two rounds on Saturday at 10 am and 6 pm.

ARVINDH CHITHAMBARAM UPSET GM V Iordachescu at Dubai Open

vkpix — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 20:07:35 +0000

In the biggest upset of the round, FM Aravindh Chithambaram of India, 14, beat GM Viorel Iordachescu of Moldova who blundered away a Knight on the 26th move of his Pirc defense.

Aravindh is the current National Junior Champion of India. He earned his FIDE Master title in the

2011 Asian Youth Under-12 Championship in Subic, PhilippinesTop seed Vladimir Akopian of Armenia transposed their game to an English Opening and beat GM Pontus Carlsson of Sweden in 34 moves. Local hero Salem A.R. Saleh of the UAE kept pace by making short work of

the Queen’s Indian defense of WGM Dinara Saduaksassov of Kazakhstan in only 26 moves.

GM Edouard Romain of France use the Saemisch to crush the King’s Indian defense of IM Kore Akshayraj of India in 49 moves.

GM Gabriel Sargissian essayed the Classical variation to smash the King’s Indian defense of GM Sundar Shyam of India in 61 moves. Also with 3 points each are GMs Gabriel Sargissian of Armenia, Mikheil Mchedlishvili and Levan Pantsulaia of Georgia, Surya Ganguly of India, Jaan

Ehlvest of the USA, Vladimir Burmakin, Sergey Volkov and Aleksandr Rakkhmanov

of Russia, Rinat Jumabayev of Kazakhstan and Woman Grandmasgter Ju Wenjun of China.

Ju smashed the Gruenfeld defense of FM Amir Kowsarinia of Iran in 34 moves.

15th Dubai Open 2013; Abhijeet Gupta and Adhiban held to draws

vkpix — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 05:36:05 +0000

The Dubai Chess Open 2013, one of the traditional events in the chess calendar, has started at the Chess and Culture Club in Dubai. A total of 39 GMs and 100 titled players are participating. Among them top seeded are GM Vladimir Akopian, GM Viktor Laznicka, GM Romain Edouard, GM Yuriy Kryvoruchko, GM Gabriel Sargissian, GM Tigran Petrosian, GM Andrei Istratescu, GM Ivan Sokolov, GM Amin Bassem, GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili, GM Yang Wen, GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly, GM Yuriy Kuzubov, GM Jaan Ehlvest, and GM Mircea-Emilian Parligras, all above 2600 ELO.

In the first round there were no major surprises, as all 2600+ players won their games. In the 2500+ field GMs Iordachescu, Gupta, and Adhiban were held to draws.

Chennai’s Srinath Keeps Asian Junior Title

vkpix — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 08:42:21 +0000

International Master Narayanan Srinath retained his Asian Junior title while J Saranya, also of Chennai finished runner-up in the Asian Junior girls’ championship that concluded at Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates on April 6, 2013.

Srinath had won the Asian Junior at Tashkent in June 2012 and made his maiden Grand Master norm. He is also a former World Under-12 champion having won it at Belfort in France in 2005. Winning this title again in back-to-back years gives Srinath another Grand Master norm. He is certain to become a Grand Master.

Srinath finished first and Sahaj Grover of Delhi took second, both remaining undefeated. Top seed Grand Master Salem Saleh of UAE finished third losing to Srinath and to a Vietnamese. Srinath dominated the contest winning seven games and drawing two.

The girls’ event was dominated by the Vietnamese and was more exciting. All the players including the champion suffered atleast one defeat. Vo Thi Kim Phung of Vietnam won this event ahead of top seed and country mate Nguyen Thi Mai Hung on seven points from nine games.

Woman FIDE Master J Saranya of Chennai finished with the silver medal and had the satisfaction of being the only player to defeat the champion. Saranya gains over 10 Elo and had the highest tie-break on 6.5 points among three players. Defending champion Ivana Furtado of Goa slipped to sixth place.

Sharjah which had organised the world junior in 1985 staged the Asian Junior smoothly. In the Asian Junior blitz chess, Anurag Mhamal and Grover tied for first on 8/9 and the former became champion on better tie-break score. Vo Thi Kim Phung (Vie) won the Asian Junior girls blitz championship also.

Final placings:

Boys: 1 N Srinath (Ind) 8/9; 2 Sahaj Grover (Ind) 7; 3-6. Salem A.R. Saleh (UAE), Anurag Mhamal (Ind), Mehdi Hosseinpour (Iri), Tran Tuan Minh (Vie) 6 each; 7 Debashis Das (Ind) 5.5…34 players.

Girls: 1 Vo Thi Kim Phung (Vie) 7/9; 2-4. J Saranya (Ind), Nguyen Thi Mai Hung (Vie), Diana Assaubayeva (Kaz) 6.5 each; 5-6. Sarvinoz Kurbonboeva (Uzb), Ivana Furtado (Ind) 6 each; 7-10. Rucha Pujari, Riya Savant (both Ind), Dorsa Derakhshani (Iri), Farida Khursanova (Uzb) 5.5 each….36 players.

Carlsen Wins Candidates Match : To challenge Anand in 2013 WCC

vkpix — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:49:35 +0000

Magnus Carlsen has won the Candidates tournament 2013 and will be the official challenger of reigning World Champion Viswanathan Anand.

The World Chess Championship 2013 is scheduled for November this year, more information soon onChessdom.com.

Magnus Carlsen won the Candidates after a few dramatic last days. He lost the lead against Ivanchuk, but managed to catch up with Kramnik after a supershow against Radjabov.

In the last round Carlsen lost to Svidler, but so did Kramnik to Ivanchuk.

Carlsen and Kramnik finished with equal points, but Carlsen was declared winner on tiebreak – more wins.

World Champion Viswanathan Anand wrote on Twitter: “Congratulations to Magnus! He always comes through. Vladimir made a huge impression with his play, but what can you do about this tiebreak?”