Alekhine Chess Memorial 2013: Levon Aronian Wins Title; Boris Gelfand Second, Vishy Anand Third

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

Hi everyone, 

 

The games of the last round of the Alekhine Memorial were played on May 1st in St. Petersburg. Levon Aronian and Boris Gelfand shared the first place with 5.5 points out of 9. The Armenian Grandmaster had a better tie-break score and was awarded the first prize. The Israeli Grandmaster took the second place. The reigning World Champion Vishy Anand finished third with 5 points.

In the last round, Boris Gelfand had White against Vishy Anand. Last year these players competed for the chess crown in a World Chess Championship match in Moscow. Their game was quiet and ended in a draw on the 40th move.

Levon Aronian played a very aggressive opening against the recent leader Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. The French Grandmaster ended up in severe time trouble and soon committed the decisive error. Thanks to this victory, Levon Aronian, who considers Alexander Alekhine his favorite player, won the Alekhine Memorial.

At the closing ceremony Aronian thanked the sponsors of the event, its organisers and spectators, who showed genuine interest to the tournament and inspired its participants to demonstrate their creative talent.

The longest game of the round was Adams-Kramnik. The Russian Grandmaster managed to score his second victory, and finished at 50%. The main prizes and special prizes were awarded during the closing ceremony. 

The prize for a game in Alekhine's style was given to Laurent Fressinet who defeated Vladimir Kramnik in Paris. The best combination prize went to Ding Liren for his victory against the eventual tournament winner. Boris Gelfand received the best technique prize and Nikita Vitiugov got the last special prize for the best play during the St. Petersburg half of the tournament.

Resuts of Round 9: Aronian – Vachier-Lagrave 1-0, Adams – Kramnik 0-1, Gelfand – Anand, Vitiugov – Ding Liren, Svidler – Fressinet draws.

Final standings: 1-2. Aronian and Gelfand – both 5.5; 3. Anand – 5; 4-8. Adams, Vitiugov, Fressinet, Kramnik, and Vachier-Lagrave – all 4.5; 9. Ding Liren – 3.5; 10. Svidler – 3.

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Alekhine Chess Memorial 2013 Round 8: Boris Gelfand in Lead with One Round to Go

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

Hi everyone, 

 

The penultimate, 8th round of the Alekhine Memorial was played in St. Petersburg on April 30th. The young St. Petersburg Grandmaster Nikita Vitiugov celebrated his first victory. With Black pieces he outplayed the French Grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who was undefeated and shared the first place before the start of the round. St. Petersburg spectators applauded the local player after the game.

Another St. Petersburg Grandmaster, the World Cup winner Peter Svidler made a relatively easy draw as Black against the World Chess Champion Vishy Anand. Soon after that another draw occurred in Fressinet-Aronian. Ding Liren from China and Michael Adams from England played a very complicated and hard-fought game, which ended peacefully.

The longest game of the round was played between Vladimir Kramnik and Boris Gelfand. It was also very important for the tournament situation. Kramnik demonstrated a strong novelty and obtained a big advantage. Gelfand defended very tenaciously, as drawing the game would make him a sole leader of the tournament. After seven hours of play, following the series of mutual errors, the game was finally drawn. The last round of the Alekhine Memorial is played on May, 1st.

Results of the round 8: Vachier-Lagrave – Vitiugov 0-1, Kramnik – Gelfand, Fressinet – Aronian, Dong Liren – Adams, Anand – Svidler – all draws.


The standings after eight rounds: 1. Gelfand – 5; 2-5. Adams, Anand, Aronian, Vachier-Lagrave – all 4.5; 6-7. Vitiugov, and Fressinet – both 4; 8. Kramnik – 3.5; 9. Ding Liren – 3; 10. Svidler – 2.5.


The 9th round games: Gelfand – Anand, Aronian – Vachier-Lagrave, Adams – Kramnik, Vitiugov – Ding Liren, Svidler – Fressinet.

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Alekhine Chess Memorial Round 6: All Games Drawn, Vachier-Lagrave in Lead

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

Hi everyone, 

The second half of the Alekhine Memorial began in St. Petersburg on Sunday with the sixth round. The official opening of the Russian half of the competition took place on April 26th in the Mikhailovsky Castle of the Russian Museum. Participants and guests of the tournament were welcomed by Vladimir Gusev, director of the Russian museum, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Russian Chess Federation Chairman Ilya Levitov, and the sponsors of the event Gennady Timchenko and Andrey Filatov.

April 27th was the only day off at the tournament. The participants of the Alekhine Memorial, representing seven countries, enjoyed an excursion in the Russian Museum. Junior chess events and many excursions were organized in the Mikhailovsky Castle. On the next day the St. George Hall of the Mikhailovsky Castle hosted games of the Round 6.

Like in Paris, the hall was tightly packed with chess enthusiasts. The games were quite entertaining but all ended in draws, so the tournament situation remained the same – the French Grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is in the lead. He had White against Boris Gelfand, but their game was quite equal all the way.

Michael Adams, who had Black against Levon Aronian, missed a real chance to catch up with the leader. The Armenian Grandmaster fought very hard for a win, even sacrificed a piece, but the sacrifice turned unsound, and Aronian was on the verge of defeat. However, his English opponent returned the favour, missing a win in mutual time trouble, and allowed Aronian to save the game. Both players are just half a point behind the leader and have decent chances of winning the tournament.

With three more rounds to go, a good half of the participants have chances to succeed. The winner of the Alekhine Memorial 2013 will be determined on May 1st.

Round 6 results: Vachier-Lagrave – Gelfand, Aronian – Adams, Fressinet – Vitiugov, Kramnik – Anand, Ding Liren – Svidler – all draws.

The standings after six rounds: 1. Vachier-Lagrave – 4; 2-5. Adams, Aronian, Fressinet, and Gelfand – all 3.5; 6. Anand – 3; 7-9. Kramnik, Vitiugov, and Ding Liren – all 2.5; 10. Svidler – 1.5.

The 7th round pairing: Adams – Vachier-Lagrave, Anand – Fressinet, Gelfand – Ding Liren, Vitiugov – Aronian, Svidler – Kramnik.

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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.

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Alekhine Chess Memorial Round 3: Adams, Vachier-Lagrave, Gelfand in Joint Lead

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

Hi everyone, 

Round 3 games of the Alekhine Chess Memorial were played in Paris on April, 23. Four games out of five ended in a draw. 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 said 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 in the event so far, 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 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.

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.

Round 3 results: Gelfand – Adams 1-0, Kramnik – Vachier-Lagrave, Ding Liren – Fressinet, Anand – Aronian, Svidler –Vitiugov (all four games ended in a draw).


Standings 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: Watch Live at official website

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

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Alekhine Chess Memorial R2: Michael Adams in Sole Lead

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

Hi everyone, 

Round 2 games of Alekhine Chess Memorial were played on April, 22 in Paris. Three games out of five finished in a draw, like in Round 1. Despite the fact that it was a week-day the chess pavilion in the Tuileries Garden (the Louvre Museum) was again full of spectators.

Fressinet – Gelfand and Vitiugov – Anand games finished earlier than others. Fressinet kept a slight pressure on his opponent after the opening was over, however the grandmaster from Israel found a way to neutralize the threat. World champion Viswanathan Anand, who lost his game in Round 1, found himself in an unpleasant position again, but Nikita Vitiugov from Russia wasn’t able to get all the chances he could out of his position.

The champion of France, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave made his fans very happy as he scored a good victory against Ding Liren from China. After this success Maxime is currently second with 1.5 points out of 2.

Michael Adams is the tournament leader at the moment. He outplayed World Cup winner Peter Svidler in his favorite style and got another point with white.

The game between two top rated players Levon Aronian and Vladimir Kramnik was thrilling. World’s second highest-rated player did better in the opening and didn’t let his opponent equalize the position in the middle game. Soon the game turned into a winning endgame for white, which Aronian played very precisely. After round 2 both rating favorites have 1 point out of 2 and still need a lot to reach the leader.

Results after round 2: 1. Adams – 2 points; 2. Vachier-Lagrave – 1,5 points; 3-7. Aronian,Kramnik, Ding Liren, Fressinet, Gelfand – 1 point; 8-10. Svidler, Vitiugov, Anand – 0,5 point.

Round 3 pairings: Ding Liren – L. Fressinet, V. Kramnik – M. Vachier-Lagrave, V. Anand — L. Aronian, P. Svidler — N. Vitiugov, B. Gelfand — M. Adams.

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Alekhine Chess Memorial Round 1 Begins with Exciting Chess in Paris

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

Hi everyone, 

The Alekhine Chess Memorial began with great fireworks on the chessboard in Paris on Sunday. The chess pavilion which had been built specially for the Memorial on the premises of the Tuileries Garden (the Louvre Museum) was overcrowded. The Grandmasters didn’t disappoint their spectators – every game was a true and interesting fight and three of them were decisive.

Vachier-Lagrave – Fressinet and Svidler – Gelfand games finished earlier than others. Both of them ended in a draw: black managed to equalise the game after the opening. Ding Liren created a sensation by defeating Levon Aronian. The newcomer of the super tournament performed a wonderful attack against his opponent’s king. Former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, who looks upon Alekhine Memorial as his “home” tournament (Kramnik has been living in Paris for a long time), scored a decisive victory over Nikita Vitiugov. Vladimir analysed his game in details in the press centre and showed the way he used his opponent’s inaccurate moves.

The game between Adams and Anand was very challenging. Anand, who was playing white, had to face a deep strategic idea put into effect by Adams, a multiple British champion. Adams won the game in his favorite manner and joined the leaders.

The venue was the Tuelerie Garden (the Louvre). This is the first major tournament in classical chess held in France in the past 30 years. The round began amid the overflowing presence of journalists and chess enthusiasts: The 300-seat hall was fully packed and spectators still waited outside. All games are broadcast live with commentary in three languages - Russian, English and French.

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