Alekhine Chess Memorial 2013 Round 4: Adams, Vachier-Lagrave, Gelfand, Aronian in Joint Lead

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hi everyone, 

Round 4 games of Alekhine Memorial were played in Paris on April, 24. Like in Round 3 four games out of five ended in a draw. The key game of the round was played between Levon Aronian and Peter Svidler. It was hard to predict however that this would be the only effective game of the round. Yet, Aronian’s fighting mood was clearly seen. It seems that he tries to catch up what he missed when he played in Candidates Tournament in London. 

Aronian performed a deep home preparation against Svidler’s hallmark in Grunfeld defense. Russian grandmaster, World Cup winner, couldn’t solve his opening problems and got a bad endgame, where Aronian gained a strategic advantage. Before the first time control was reached the game was consistently won for white. As all other games ended in a draw Levon Aronian joined the tournament leaders – Gelfand, Adams and Vachier-Lagrave.

Boris Gelfand, who was playing black, met some minor opening problems that were created by Nikita Vitiugov, but managed to avoid all the threats and drew the game. French grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played white against World champion Viswanathan Anand. He got a slight advantage, but before the first time control Maxime made a mistake and his opponent capitalized on opponent’s error and drew the game as well. At the press conference after the game Vachier-Lagrave mentioned that the position on the board still remained equal.

The game between Chinese prodigy Ding Liren and former World champion Vladimir Kramnik ended earlier than others. Kramnik showed a precise way to equality. The game between Laurent Fressinet and Michael Adams looked much more dramatic. French grandmaster tried to change the tournament leader, however Adams performed an obstinate defense and saved himself half a point that still keeps him in the leading group of the tournament.

Places after four rounds: 1-4. Adams, Vachier-Lagrave, Gelfand, Aronian – 2.5 points; 5-7. Kramnik, Ding Liren, Fressinet – 2 points; 8-9, Vitiugov, Anand – 1.5 points, 10. Svidler – 1 point.

Round 5 pairings: Gelfand – Aronian, Adams – Vitiugov, Svidler – Vachier-Lagrave, Kramnik – Fressinet, Anand – Ding Liren.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
Don't miss Chess Queen™
YouTube Channel

'Hottest' London winter ever - Chess Classic 2011 with Carlsen, Anand, Kramnik, Aronian, Nakamura, Adams, Short, McShane, Howell

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011


Hi everyone,

Four 2800+ chess players 

to feature in 

London Chess Classic 2011

It is surely going to be the best-ever line-up of chess players at a major British tournament with the London Chess Classic 2011. There will be four of the six highest-rated players of all time at the event. 

Running from 3rd-12th December, the third annual Classic will be the strongest tournament in the history of British chess, with the world’s best chess players competing in 36 high-profile matches.

For the first time ever in the game, four Grandmasters have simultaneously passed the 2,800 mark in the World Chess Federation (FIDE) rating system and this year’s event will make history as all four players will take part in the tournament.

Leading the field will be world number one Magnus Carlsen, who returns to London’s Olympia Conference Centre to defend the title he won in 2010. Joining Carlsen as part of the star-studded line-up will be World Chess Champion, Viswanathan Anand from India, his immediate predecessor as World Champion, Vladimir Kramnik from Russia, and Armenian Levon Aronian, ranked world number three and the reigning World Blitz Chess Champion.

Also taking part in the elite Classic tournament will be American star Hikaru Nakamura. Check out the full line-up at the official website.

Apart from the elite Classic tournament, other professionals from around the world will be chasing a £2,500 first prize for the nine-round world-rated Open. Separately, a host of events and prizes are available to chess players of all ages and standards.

The tournament is once again being brought to the UK’s capital by the charity ‘Chess in Schools and Communities’. CSC, a registered charity which promotes the playing and teaching of chess in schools, will also host a ‘chess festival’ at the event which will feature five days of free school activities and tournaments, to which over 1000 children are expected to attend.

Children under 16 are admitted free to the London Chess Classic, with adult tickets just £15 per day (£20 at weekends) and £100 for access to all ten days of the tournament. Adult and Junior ticket holders receive admission to the tournament, plus a guaranteed seat in the auditorium and access to the Commentary Room where some of the UK's leading Grandmasters will give insights into the play and answer questions.

All proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the CSC charity. To buy tickets and for more information on the CSC initiative, please visit: www.londonchessclassic.com and www.chessinschools.co.uk.

In case you missed our earlier posts on the CSC events, check them out now.

'My big match with the chess-champion politician'

That chess date with Gary Kasparov in London!

Tweet

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Also see her personal blog at

www.chessqueen.com

You too can play at the London Chess Classic 2010

Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess News & Trivia (c) 2010

Hi Everybody,

You've heard about the London Chess Classic 2010.... Right? It's supposed to be the strongest-ever tournament to be held in Britain. Eight of the world's best players will be competing in the London Chess Classic from December 8-15 December 2010 at the Olympia Conference Centre. You can pick up tickets here!

And, that's the best part. You can get tickets not just to be a fan watching the greats but also play in a wide range of subsidiary events.

Of course, for the main event, Magnus Carlsen is going to be the defending champion. You can read our earlier blog entry here about the details of the London Chess Classic 2010.

The average rating of the 2010 London Chess Classic is 2729 – an unprecedented figure for a tournament held in Britain and also making it one of the strongest tournaments held anywhere in the world this year.

The 400-seater auditorium at the Olympia Conference Centre is very nice. As games end, spectators have the chance to hear the players’ immediate post-game comments as they are interviewed live in the commentary room.

There are all sorts of events and prizes for all chess standards and tastes, from the humblest beginner, and tournaments which last days at a time, or over the weekend – or for just part of a day (e.g. evening blitz events lasting no longer than 2½ hours).

Entry forms are available for download NOW from the tournament website at www.londonchessclassic.com. Apart from the eight-player elite tournament, there is a nine-round world-rated open which attracts professional grandmasters from around the world, chasing the £2,500 first prize. As in 2009, one of the legendary figures of the game, Viktor Korchnoi, will be playing simultaneous displays, where amateur players can experience what it is like to face the player who contested world championship matches with Anatoly Karpov in the 1970s and 1980s.

Tournament Line-Up

Name Title Country Rating (1/9/2010) World Ranking (1/5/2010) D.O.B. (dd/mm/yy)

Carlsen, Magnus grandmaster NOR 2826 1 30.11.1990

Anand, Viswanathan world champion IND 2800 3 11.12.1969

Kramnik, Vladimir ex-world champion RUS 2780 5 25.06.1975

Nakamura, Hikaru grandmaster USA 2733 15 09.12.1987

Adams, Michael grandmaster ENG 2728 18 17.11.1971

Short, Nigel grandmaster ENG 2690 48 01.06.1965

McShane, Luke grandmaster ENG 2657 85 07.01.1984

Howell, David grandmaster ENG 2616 167 14.11.1990

Last Year’s Tournament (n.b. win = 3pts, draw = 1pt)

Final Placings: 1 Magnus Carlsen (NOR) 13/21, 2 Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) 12, 3 David Howell (ENG) 9, 4 Michael Adams (ENG) 9, 5 Luke McShane (ENG) 7, 6 Ni Hua (CHN) 6, 7 Hikaru Nakamura (USA) 6, 8 Nigel Short (ENG) 5.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Also see her personal blog at

www.chessqueen.com