GM Igor Glek wins 12th Sagaalgan Chess Festival
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2014
Hello everyone,
The 12th Sagaalgan Chess Festival 2014 took place from 28th February to 2nd March at the Buddhist University "Dashi Choynhorlin" in Ivolga Datsan, near Ulan-Ude in the Russian Republic of Buryatia.
The tournament was organized by the Russian Chess Federation, Buddhist University "Dashi Choynhorlin", Republic of Buryatia and the Chess Federation of Buryatia.
The 13-round rapid open tournament is a stage of the Rapid Grand Prix of Russia.
The Festival had a massive turnout of 566 players, exceeding the last year number of 494 participants.
Grandmasters Igor Glek (Germany) and Alexei Shirov (Latvia) shared the first place with 11 points each. Igor Glek took the winner's trophy on better tie-break.
Pavel Maletin, Sergei Yudin, Igor Khenkin, Dmitry Bocharov and Ekaterina Ubiennykh shared the third place with 10,5 points each. (via Russian Chess Federation/FIDE)
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Labels: alexei shirov, igor glek, sagaalgan chess
Battle of Generations Chess Match: Alexei Shirov defeats Daniil Dubov
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
The Moscow-based Center for New Technologies “Digital” hosted the Battle of Generations match between GM Daniil Dubov (2641) and GM Alexei Shirov (2685) on 2-8th December. Shirov was convincing in the classical games, winning four and drawing two for the overall 5-1 victory. The match consisted of six games with the FIDE time control 90 min/40 moves + 30 min + 30 sec (from move one).
According to the regulations, in case of a draw with regular time control, a pair of blitz games 5′+3′ would follow. Of the four blitz games Dubov won two and two were drawn. However, the blitz games are not counted toward the match score.
The match was organized by ChessTV and sponsored by businessman Oleg Skvortsov. Grandmaster Sergey Shipov provided live online commentary.
Labels: alexei shirov, battle of generations chess match, daniil dubov
Russian Team Chess Championships 2013 Begin April 6 with Top Chess Stars
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
The Russian Team Chess Championships will take place from April 6th-14th at the village of Loo in the Krasnodar-Krai region of Russia.
The men’s tournament will be a 7-round Swiss open, while the women’s competition will be a single round-robin with six teams. The time control will be 90 minutes for 40 moves + 30 minutes until the end of the game and 30 seconds increments per move, starting from move one.
Sergey Karjakin will be the highest-rated player in the event
The players cannot agree to a draw before move 40.
The first seven seeded teams have line-ups with 8 GMs. Some of the strongest players in the world will be participating, including Candidates Peter Svidler, Vassily Ivanchuk and Alexander Grischuk.
Other highlights will be the young stars Fabiano Caruana and Sergey Karjakin, the always interesting Alexander Morozevich, crowds pleasers Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Alexei Shirov, among others. Full line-ups below (according to a Chessdom report).
Read more »Labels: Alexander Morozevich, Alexandra Kosteniuk, alexei shirov, peter svidler, russia team chess, sergey karjakin, shakhriyar mamedyarov, valentina gunina
Alexei Shirov wins Magistral Ciudad de Buenos Aires Chess
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012Hi everyone,
GM Alexei Shirov has won the 2012 edition of the Magistral Ciudad de Buenos Aires. He collected 5,5/7 in the single round robin tournament, a full point more than the second GM Ruben Felgaer. GM Damian Lemos and GM Sandro Mareco shared third place. Shirov had recently won two other tournaments - Aivars Gipslis Memorial and the Paul Keres Memorial.
Replay games with analysis /Preview vis Chessdom.
Final standings
1 Shirov, Alexei 2698 5.5 17.75
2 Felgaer, Ruben 2572 4.5 13
3 Lemos, Damian 2538 4 12.75
4 Mareco, Sandro 2583 4 11.25
5 Rodriguez Vila, Andres 2532 3.5 11.5
6 Valerga, Diego 2487 2.5 8
7 Flores, Diego 2604 2.5 6.5
8 Slipak, Sergio 2453 1.5 5.75
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Labels: alexei shirov, magistral ciudad de buenos aires
Magistral Buenos Aires Chess from May 28 With Alexei Shirov as Top Seed
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012Hi everyone,
 |
| GM Alexei Shirov |
The Magistral Ciudad de Buenos Aires chess tournament will take place from May 28 to June 3 and will feature Grandmaster Alexei Shirov and other talented chess players. With the best players of Argentine and Uruguayan champion Andres Rodriguez the tournament has average elo of 2558, reaching Category 13 according to FIDE.
Playing venue: Head of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires, Casa de la Cultura, Avenida de Mayo 575, City of Buenos Aires.
Players:1 GM Alexei Shirov LAT 2698
2 GM Diego Flores ARG 2604
4 GM Sandro Mareco ARG 2583
3 GM Ruben Felgaer ARG 2572
5 GM Damian Lemos ARG 2538
6 GM Andres Rodriguez Vila URU 2532
7 GM Diego Valerga ARG 2487
8 GM Sergio Slipak ARG 2453
You can follow all the chess news updates right here at Chess Blog.
Labels: alexei shirov, chess tournament, magistral ciudad de buenos aires
Congratulations to GM Shirov for winning Aivars Gipslis Chess Memorial in Latvia
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012Hi everyone,The latest tournament chess news via www.chessdom.com is that Grandmaster Alexei Shirov has won the
Aivars Gipslis Memorial Chess Tournament, 2012.
The Latvian Chess Federation in cooperation with Grandmaster Alexei Shirov organized the Aivars Gipslis Memorial on Sunday 12th February at the Technical University in Riga, Latvia. The tournament is organized to commemorate Aivars Gipslis, eight-times Latvian champion and respected Grandmaster.
The competition was held over 9 rounds of Swiss System 9 rounds, with rapid time control of 10 minutes + 3 seconds per player. The prize fund was 360 EUR. Alexei Shirov took a clear first place with 8 points, followed by fellow Latvian GM Normunds Miezis who finished half a point behind. Guest from Spain, GM Manuel Perez Candelario, clinched the third place on better tie-break.
Latvian chess scene was revived in the recent months as several tournaments are organized and GM Alexei Shirov returned from Spain.
Final standings:
1 GM Shirov Alexei LAT 2710 – 8
2 GM Miezis Normunds LAT 2564 – 7.5
3 GM Perez Candelario Manuel ESP 2572 – 7
4 IM Samoļins Vitālijs LAT 2470 – 7
5 GM Svesnikovs Jevgenijs LAT 2530 – 6.5
6 FM Lavendelis Egons LAT 2411 – 6.5
7 WGM Rogule Laura LAT 2353 – 6.5
8 M Daudzvārdis Jānis LAT 2270 – 6
9 FM Kantāns Toms LAT 2452 – 6
10 MK Bernotas Arturs LAT 2313 – 6
11 FM Grasis Jānis LAT 2262 – 6
12 MK Kalnins Kristaps LAT 2266 – 6
13 MK Krilovs Nikolajs LAT 2126 – 6
14 IM Bērziņš Rolands LAT 2499 – 5.5
15 M Mustaps Matīss LAT 2406 – 5.5
16 MK Laizāns Aivars LAT 2112 – 5.5
17 IM Svesnikovs Vladimirs LAT 2405 – 5
18 IM Antoms Guntars LAT 2387 – 5
19 MK Laimins Lauris LAT 2291 – 5
20 MK Stepins Edgars LAT 2241 – 5
21 MK Smilga Ivars LAT 2104 – 5
22 MK Griezne Edvīns LAT 2172 – 5
23 MK Agafonovs Jurijs LAT 2200 – 5
24 I Otikova Elīna LAT 2019 – 5
25 MK Rasa Gints LAT 2100 – 5
26 I Birģelis Jānis LAT 1953 – 5
27 MK Kretainis Kristaps LAT 2312 – 5
28 M Stašāns Aivars LAT 2137 – 5
29 I Viļums Aldis LAT 1964 – 5
30 I Ivbulis Mārtins LAT 1967 – 5
31 MK Skuja Harijs LAT 2030 – 4.5
32 MK Visockis Jānis LAT 2230 – 4.5
33 MK Matvieks Nikolajs LAT 2186 – 4.5
34 I Stabulnieks Klāvs LAT 1949 – 4.5
35 MK Fedorovičs Vladimirs LAT 1938 – 4
36 MK Dzjuba Vsevolods LAT 2319 – 4
37 MK Seļivanovs Anatolijs LAT 2046 – 4
38 I Smišļajevs Oļegs LAT 2000 – 4
39 FM Čehlovs Aleksandrs LAT 2300 – 4
40 I Golubeva Marija LAT 1870 – 4
41 MK Kronlaks Olafs LAT 2037 – 4
42 I Fridmanis Josifs LAT 1962 – 4
43 MK Petrovskis Oļegs LAT 2003 – 4
44 I Petrovs Aleksandrs LAT 1919 – 4
45 I Skolmeistars Uldis LAT 1948 – 4
46 I Djogteva Jekaterina LAT 1936 – 4
47 I Bogorads Daniels LAT 1813 – 4
48 I Mačevskis Edmunds LAT 1935 – 3.5
49 I Kurbānova Dagmāra LAT 1925 – 3.5
50 MK Melderis Uldis LAT 2077 – 3.5
51 I Višņevskis Valdis LAT 1850 – 3.5
52 I Lindermans Pavels LAT 1849 – 3.5
53 I Andrucis Māris LAT 1850 – 3
54 I Lācis Aleksandrs LAT 2023 – 3
55 I Panovs Maksims LAT 1826 – 3
56 I Birjukovs Anatolijs LAT 1912 – 3
57 MK Priedītis Māris LAT 2100 – 3
58 I Pomahs Ziedonis LAT 1859 – 3
59 I Zvans Māris LAT 1899 – 3
60 I Ķēniņš Bruno LAT 1850 – 2.5
61 I Miķelsons Emīls Miķelis LAT 1821 – 2.5
62 I Kovalevskis Artjoms LAT 1744 – 2
63 I Fomins Daniels LAT 1843 – 1
64 I Ivoņins Andis LAT 1935 – 0
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Labels: 2012, Aivars Gipslis Memorial Chess Tournament, alexei shirov
Gibraltar Chess Festival; Sensational performance - Hou Yifan beats Alexei Shirov to take sole lead
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hello everyone,
Women's world chess champion Hou Yifan has downed another grandmaster at the ongoing Gibraltar Chess Festival and gone into sole lead with just one round to go. What a splendid performance by the teenager!
The official press release states: No-one here in Gibraltar at the 2012 Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival can quite believe it. A quiet, polite, 17-year old girl, here with her mother, is a game away from winning the strongest Open chess tournament in history. In her wake, some of the best chess players in the world.
Hou Yifan, from China, has beaten one elite player after another
in the last few days - including Judit Polgar, the highest ranked
female player of all time. At the start of the event Hou Yifan -
the reigning women's world champion - was ranked number 25. But 9 days later, she has beaten four players rated over 2700, and her
tournament performance currently stands at a colossal 2892.
Tomorrow (Thursday 2nd Feb) she faces Shakriyhar Mamedyarov, the cheerful Azeri grandmaster, rated 2747 - number 14 in the world. Hou Yifan has 7,5/9. Her opponent tomorrow has 7 points, as have 4 other players, including top British grandmasters Michael Adams and Nigel Short. The final round begins at 11am (Gibraltar time). All eyes will be on Gibraltar to see if Hou Yifan can claim the first prize of £20,000 - as well as the top female award of £10,000.
You can follow Thursday's games live for the final round at the official website here.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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www.chessqueen.com Labels: alexei shirov, gibraltar chess festival, Hou Yifan
Congratulations to GM Alexei Shirov for winning Paul Keres Chess Memorial 2012
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012Hello everyone,The latest tournament chess news update from the Paul Keres Chess Memorial is that Grandmaster Alexei Shirov has won it for the second time in a row.
The Estonian Sports Association Kalev organized the 21st Paul Keres Memorial on 6-8th January in Tallinn, Estonia. Top four finishers qualified for the Main tournament which was played on Sunday. The Main tournament was 8-player round robin with the time control 15′+10”. Four players from the Preliminary event were joined by four invited players: Alexei Shirov, Jaan Ehlvest, Tomi Nyback and Kaido Kulaots.
Alexei Shirov defended the last year’s title and earned another trophy, but only after edging GM Vladimir Fedosejev on tie-break. Shirov won three games, including the one against Fedosejev, drew four and finished undefeated.
Main tournament final standings:
1-2. GM Shirov Aleksei LAT 2710 and GM Fedosejev Vladimir RUS 2525 – 5.0
3. GM Ehlvest Jaan USA 2594 – 4.0
4-5. GM Halifman Aleksander RUS 2632 and GM Nybäck Tomi FIN 2634 – 3.5
6. GM Volodin Aleksandr EST 2491 – 3.0
7. GM Külaots Kaido EST 2581 – 2.5
8. IM Seeman Tarvo EST 2399 – 1.5
Preliminary tournament final standings:
1 IM Seeman Tarvo EST 2399 – 6
2 GM Fedoseev Vladimir RUS 2525 – 6
3 GM Khalifman Alexander RUS 2632 – 5.5
4 GM Volodin Aleksandr EST 2491 – 5.5
5 GM Shvõrjov Igor EST 2470 – 5.5
6 Gabovits Ilia EST 1882 – 5.5
7 Kovaljov Denis EST 2274 – 5.5
8 Rauk Tõnu EST 2205 – 5.5
9 GM Westerinen Heikki M J FIN 2318 – 5
10 Ryzhkov Vjacheslav RUS 2140 – 5
11 FM Vovk Ilja EST 2233 – 5
12 WGM Daulyte Deimante LTU 2223 – 5
13 IM Agopov Mikael FIN 2448 – 4.5
14 FM Shishkov Andrei EST 2380 – 4.5
15 Valner Uku EST 2197 – 4.5
16 FM Hartikainen Markku FIN 2334 – 4.5
17 Holvason Juri EST 2122 – 4.5
18 FM Paakkonen Timo FIN 2282 – 4.5
19 Remmel Anto EST 2263 – 4.5
20 Tusa Tuukka FIN 2173 – 4.5
21 Viikmaa Karmen EST 0 – 4.5
22 FM Schults Olev EST 2224 – 4.5
23 FM Ozolins Aris LAT 2236 – 4.5
24 Paronen Petteri FIN 2120 – 4
25 WCM Narva Triin EST 1983 – 4
26 Ladva Ottomar EST 2125 – 4
27 FM Ristoja Jan FIN 2285 – 4
28 Narva Mai EST 1651 – 4
29 FM Annenkov Kirill RUS 2256 – 4
30 IM Sepp Olav EST 2488 – 4
31 Vorobjov Pavel EST 2167 – 4
32 Kiili Markus FIN 2198 – 4
33 Garber Vjatseslav EST 2147 – 4
34 Ristoja Samu FIN 2062 – 4
35 Teelem Lauri EST 2066 – 4
36 Kruusiauk Heda EST 1951 – 4
37 Nero Georg EST 0 – 4
38 Abozenko Georg EST 1921 – 3.5
39 Kukk Sander EST 2139 – 3.5
40 Saraikin Sergey EST 2091 – 3.5
41 Makin Kirill EST 1891 – 3.5
42 Lapidus Mark EST 2074 – 3.5
43 Tuul Tarmo EST 2062 – 3.5
44 FM Narva Jaan EST 2300 – 3.5
45 WIM Fomina Tatjana EST 2203 – 3.5
46 Dragun Valentin EST 1977 – 3.5
47 Grinblat Artemiy RUS 1957 – 3.5
48 Kharitonov Sergei RUS 2157 – 3.5
49 Johansson Jukka FIN 2128 – 3.5
50 Vaatainen Timo FIN 2237 – 3.5
51 Teemäe Leo EST 2047 – 3
52 Krupenski Juri EST 2252 – 3
53 Nedostup Daniil RUS 2154 – 3
54 Lammi Jyri FIN 2154 – 3
55 Petrov Aleksandr EST 1950 – 3
56 Petrov Dmitri EST 1755 – 3
57 Järnström Henrik FIN 0 – 3
58 Vetelainen Tomi FIN 2055 – 3
59 WIM Baškite Viktoria EST 2180 – 3
60 Nikitin Pjotr EST 1969 – 3
61 WFM Sagadijeva Anna EST 1921 – 3
62 Rõtova Merike EST 1923 – 3
63 Medar Marti EST 0 – 2.5
64 Feldmanis Uldis EST 0 – 2.5
65 Uurits Karel EST 0 – 2.5
66 Maido Erki EST 0 – 2.5
67 Hanzatjan Elvira EST 1778 – 2.5
68 Chukavin Kirill EST 1922 – 2.5
69 Ivanov Platon-Jaan EST 1717 – 2.5
70 Mannberg Henry FIN 1902 – 2.5
71 Lumiste Rene EST 1807 – 2.5
72 Laigna Marko EST 0 – 2.5
73 Haavamäe Henrik EST 1967 – 2
74 Järvet Jüri EST 0 – 2
75 Domoskanov Ivan EST 0 – 2
76 Skaltsikov Andrei EST 0 – 2
77 Iljitšov Vladimir EST 0 – 2
78 Võsu Aare EST 0 – 2
79 Poom Mati EST 0 – 1.5
80 Timoshin Andrei EST 0 – 1.5
81 Kiiver Vello EST 0 – 1.5
82 Rozenblit David EST 0 – 1.5
83 FM Mogilny Evgeny RUS 2298 – 1
84 Ivanov Gleb EST 0 – 1
85 Panfilov Sergei RUS 0 – 1
86 Rosenvald Helmuth EST 0 – 0
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Labels: alexei shirov, paul keres chess memorial, tournament chess news
Ask your chess questions to GM Alexei Shirov live!
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hi everyone,
We have a nice radio programme coming up from www.chess-news.ru. On December 15, at 21:00 MSK Time, Grandmaster Alexei Shirov will be on air at Chess-News radio channel to take questions from fans. Be there. You can submit your questions in the comments section and have to specify your name. Check the link here.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com Labels: alexei shirov, chess radio programme
Anand beats Shirov to win Leon Chess for eighth time: video+photos+games
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hello everyone,
World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand has beaten Alexei Shirov to win his eighth title in Leon. The score was 4.5 to 1.5 with Anand winning two games the duo drawing all the rest.
The 24th edition of the Magistral Ciudad de León took place in the León Auditorium, from June 3-5 and included 6-game match with 40 minutes per game plus 30 seconds increment after each move. In his press release, press officer Leontxo Garcia wrote that it’s becoming more and more clear that the Indian is one of the best chess players of all time. And indeed, Anand’s play was very convincing and it’s not clear whether his chess is any weaker than, say, ten years ago.
At the press conference afterwards, Anand said, “This success shows that it is sometimes beneficial to have a few weeks off from training and tournaments, as I did after I became a father for the first time. I came to León hungry for chess and I am very satisfied with my play."
Shirov said, “I will need some days to draw clear conclusions, but obviously I need to change something in the preparation and choice of openings, because that’s been my main problem, especially with the white pieces.”
Vishy Anand with tournament organiser Leontxo Garcia and Alexei Shirov
Afterwards Anand did a few more brief interviews and both players signed many autographs. The festival ends on Monday with a simul by Shirov. Shirov also will play his next tournament from Thursday at the Sigeman tournament in Malmö. Anand won’t be playing tournaments over the next few months. You can see all the games in our gameplayer below with the popdown menu. Enjoy.
You can access the official website at this link.
And, a super video from www.chessdom.com.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com Labels: alexei shirov, leon, Viswanathan Anand
Anand-Shirov Leon chess match videos plus Caro Kann novelty by Anand
Leon Match - Anand leads 1.5-0.5 against Shirov
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hello everyone,
The exciting Anand-Shirov six-game match in León, Spain, has begun with rules based on the FIDE Active Chess format.
Vishy Anand, Joaquín Espejo and Alexei Shirov prior to the drawing of lots.
The first two games have been played and the duo drew their first game but Anand won the second with White!
Each player has 45 minutes per game + 30 seconds increment after each move. Two games are played each day, and all six games will be played, even if the match winner has been already decided. In case of a tie, a pair of five-minute games will be played immediately after the sixth regular normal game. If there is still a tie, and Armageddon will decide the winner: White gets five minutes against four minutes for Black, who will be considered the winner if there is a draw.
Schedule
- Thursday, June 2nd Arrival, drawing of lost in Conde Luna Hotel
- Friday, June 3rd Games 1 and 2 (16:30), León auditorium
- Saturday, June 4th Games 3 and 4 (16:30), León auditorium
- Sunday, June 5th Games 5 and 6 (16:30), + Tiebreaks
- Monday, June 6th Closing ceremony, Prizegiving (14:30)
- Simuls (17:30), León University
Here are the nice games. Enjoy. You can access the official website at this link.
Labels: alexei shirov, anand, leon
Are you ready for the Ice versus Fire chess match?
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011 Hello everybody,Are you ready for the Ice and Fire chess match? We're talking of the upcoming Anand vs Shirov in Leon! Plus, this time, there is going to be a secret character too!!!
According to press officer Leontxo Garcia, one of the few exceptions is the Magistral Ciudad de León, always avant-garde. There is a mysterious and unprecedented character in the 24 th edition, The Restless Player, who will appear alongside the world champion, Viswanathan Anand, and his ingenious opponent, Alexei Shirov, any place or time, beginning at the opening on Thursday.  The Restless Player is a creation of The Restless Investor, the sole new sponsor in the 24th edition (all others are an example of faithfulness for many years), which thus provides an innovative element to the tournament one year before its silver jubilee, scheduled for 2012. The mysterious character is also a very incisive and anonymous writer, who has already published juicy stories (www.elinversorinquieto.es).
It looks like Anand started last week journey from his hometown of Chennai (formerly Madras, in southeast India) with mixed feelings: some disappointment due to the separation for a few days of his baby, Akhil (this name has different meanings in Tamil, but Anand prefers “ruler” and “king”) and his wife, Aruna; and, on the other hand, hope for success for the eighth time in Leon. To increase his chances for a new victory, he has been working for a few days at his other home, in Collado Mediano (Madrid), together with his coach, the Danish grandmaster Peter Heine Nielsen.
Shirov will arrive in Leon on Wednesday with his wife, Olga, and his coach, Manuel Perez Candelario. As happens to most top players, his score with the World Champion is very unfavorable for him since Anand defeated him in the World Championship 2000 final in Tehran (Iran). But he has now have an appropriate opportunity to retaliate, as Shirov seems to be in very good shape after winning in Lublin (Poland) with plenty of creativity in his games.
The drawing of lots will be on Thursday, 8 p.m, at the Hotel Conde Luna, with both players and the international arbiter Joaquin Espejo. The games (two each day) will be played on Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the excellent Auditorium, equipped with giant screens and handsets, so that spectators can see the moves and close-ups of the players, and listen to the commentators: Miguel Illescas, eight times Spanish champion and international master Michael Rahal. Following the success of previous editions, Castilla y León television will provide extensive coverage, including live connections. Each player will have 45 minutes per game plus 30 seconds increment after each move.
Parallel activities include simuls by Shirov, a lecture by Illescas on the Kasparov-Deep Blue historic match, another lecture class for the local young talents by the IM Sergio Estremera, a chess cinema week and the traditional Young Talents tournament.
Official webpage: http://www.advancedchessleon.com/ Live games: www.elinversorinquieto.es
Facebook: Torneo Magistral de Ajedrez Ciudad de León
We are all set, are you?
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's www.chessblog.comAlso see her personal blog at
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Spanish Chess Battle - Anand vs Shirov in Leon
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hi everyone,
We've received this news about a special event in Leon. The world champion, Viswanathan Anand, will play six rapid games against Alexei Shírov in Leon.
GM Miguel Illescas, eight times Spanish champion, recalled that the score between Anand and Shirov so far is very favorable to Anand, who is also a very tough opponent, because his play has no weak points, and even less so in rapid games. "However”, Illescas added, "the highly creative style of Shirov always leaves some room to surprise”. He concluded: "In any case, it is very likely that we shall see a duel of great interest, a clash of different styles”.
Anand and Shirov will play six games (Friday to Sunday, two per day) with 60 minutes per side plus ten seconds increment after each move in the magnificent León Auditorium. Illescas and IM Michael Rahal will make the live commentary, and the Castilla and Leon TV has scheduled a special coverage, including live broadcasting of some games.
The Leon organisers, whose director is Marcelino Sion, maintain that social and professional chess should function like communicating doors. The parallel activities include simuls by Shirov, a lecture by Illescas on the Kasparov-Deep Blue historic match, another lecture class for the local young talents by the IM Sergio Estremera, a chess cinema week and the traditional Young Talents tournament. You can find more details at this link.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com Labels: alexei shirov, chess blog, Viswanathan Anand
Rapid Chess Art by Anand and Shirov from June 2-6
Chess blog for latest news and trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hello everyone,
Chess is about creativity so get set for the Anand-Shirov: Rapid Art! The World Champion and his most creative opponent will play a match on June 2-6.
The four-time world champion Vishy Anand amazes by his prodigious speed to see great moves in a fraction of a second. Alexei Shirov, nicknamed the Leonardo da Vinci of chess for the exceptional beauty of many of his games, is one of the fans favorites among the top players. The Indian, 41, and the Spanish, 38, will play (match format) the 24th Ciudad de Leon Masters on June 2-6.
Only five players born before 1973 are among the world’s top 25 list on January 1.
Anand, The Rapid of Madras, has been world champion by three different formats: knockout system (Teheran 2000, he beat Shirov in the final); round robin (Mexico City 2007) and matches (Bonn 2008, against Kramnik; and Sofia 2010, against Topalov). Since 2000, when he lost the final, Shirov (born in Latvia, Spanish since 1996) has remained among the most desired stars for the tournament organizers because it is always a favorite for the public. The collection of his best games annotated, Fire on board, is an essential book for all chess lovers.
Anand and Shirov will play six games (Friday to Sunday, two per day) with 60 minutes per side plus ten seconds increment after each move in the magnificent Leon Auditorium. GM Miguel Illescas (eight times Spanish champion) and IM Michael Rahal will make the live commentary, and the Castilla and Leon TV has scheduled a special coverage, including live broadcasting of some games.
The parallel activities include simuls by Shirov, a lecture by Illescas on the Kasparov-Deep Blue historic match, another lecture class for the local young talents by the IM Sergio Estremera, a chess cinema week and the traditional Young Talents tournament.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com Labels: alexei shirov, chess blog, Viswanathan Anand
Shirov's chess simul in the snow
Chess blog for latest news and trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hi everyone,
 |
| GM Alexei Shirov in Ottawa, Canada |
What does a Grandmaster do in the snow? Play chess! Well yes... and something else too - Go skating 7 km in the snow! How cool is that!
We found this very nice feature on www.chessbase.com about Grandmaster Alexei Shirov. He was in Ottawa to play a simul
Shirov scored +27 =5 -1, which is particularly impressive as he played White and Black on alternate boards. This was an improvement over his +25 =9 -2 score last year, and may have been because he loaded up on fresh air by skating 7km on the Rideau Canal that morning! You can read the full feature here. But before that, here are some highlights from the simul:
- A funny moment early in the simul, when Shirov, as White, forced a draw on move 15 and immediately apologized, saying he’d forgotten his analysis and had to force the draw or get a much worse game. I found this doubly funny. First, because his very well prepared opponent had done the same thing last year by perpetualling Shirov’s Queen on move 15 in a Gruenfeld. Second, his opponent was so well prepared because he was playing a line recommended by Shirov in his Chessbase DVD on the Caro-Kann. (A good advertisement for his DVDs, but will this discourage future Chessbase presenters from being so candid?)B
- eing reminded how even super-GMs have trouble keeping their analysis straight, even in the most important games. Shirov said he spent 30 minutes trying to remember the difference between 13...Qb8 and 13...Qc8 in the second game of his first round match against Robert Gwaze, and still got it “totally wrong”.
- The problems of using computers to prepare: what to do when you don’t like 16.Nxa4 but the computer does... except that the computer also keeps changing its evaluation...?
- Hearing how a couple of good ideas from opponents in the simul will make him go back and rethink parts of his repertoire.
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| Last man sitting - last simul game, Marinkovic-Shirov (draw) |
- Hearing that the Botvinnik Semi-Slav is “dead”. (What! Again?) Not because of 23.f3! (van Wely-Smeets, 2005), but because of... well... I’ll leave the details for Shirov’s next game against it as White. But here’s a little hint: the stem game was played more than ten years ago.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com Labels: alexei shirov, chess blog, chess simul
Shanghai Chess Masters Grand Slam: Shirov leads after five rounds
 Kramnik: Nice win against Aronian
Hello Everyone,
Building on his win after the fourth round, Alexei Shirov of Spain notched up another win in the fifth round at the Shanghai Chess Masters Grand Slam tournament. He has already qualified for the Bilbao section of the Grand Slam event.
In the other game of the fifth round Vladimir Kramnik beat Levon Aronian with Black. That makes the sixth round decisive about which of the two will join Shirov in Bilbao along with Anand and Carlsen in October.
The first part of the 2010 Grand Slam Masters Final takes place 3-8 September in Shanghai, China. The Bilbao section will be held from October 9-15 in Bilbao, Spain.
Here is the nice Hao-Shirov game that you can look at in our pgnplayer or in the flashplayer below. You can also check the official tournament website here.
PGN: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Bg6 7. Be2 Nbd7 8. O-O dxc4 9. Bxc4 b5?! 10. Be2 a6 11. f4! b4 12. Nxg6 hxg6 13. Na4 c5 14. b3 Nd5 15. e4 N5b6 16. Nxb6 Qxb6 17. d5 e5 18. Bg4! +/- Bd6 19. Bxd7+ Kxd7 20. Qg4+ Ke8 21. Kh1 Qd8 22. g3 Qd7 23. f5 Kf8 24. Be3 Rc8 25. Qe2 gxf5 26. Rxf5 Qb5 27. Qg4 Rc7 28. Raf1?! Kg8 29. Rxf7 29... Rxf7 30. Rxf7 Kxf7 31. Qe6+ Kf8 32. Qxd6+ Kg8 33. Qe6+ Kh7 34. Qf5+ Kg8 35. Bg5 Qd3 36. h4 Qb1+ 37. Kg2 Qxa2+ 38. Kh3 Qa1 39. Qc8+ Kh7 40. Qf5+ Kg8 41. Qf3 Qc3 42. Qg4 Qa1 43. Qe2?! Qh1+ 44. Kg4 Kh7 45. Be7 a5 46. Bxc5 Rc8 47. d6?! Qc1! 48. Bb6 Qh6 49. Qd1 a4 50. Qd5 Rc3 51. Qxe5 axb3 52. d7 Qg6+ 53. Kh3 b2 54. h5 Qf7 55. Qe8 Qf1+ 56. Kh4 Qh1+ 57. Kg5 Rxg3+ 58. Kf5 Qf3+ 59. Ke5 b1=Q 0-1
Here is also the Aronian-Kramnik game.
PGN: 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 Nc6 6. Qa4 Bb4+ 7. Bd2 Nd5 8. Bxb4 Ndxb4 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. O-O a5 11. Qd1 O-O 12. e3 a4 13. Qe2 Na5 14. Ne5 Nd5 15. Nxd5 exd5 16. Bxd5 Bh3 17. Qf3 Bxf1 18. Bxf7+ Kh8 19. Rxf1 Nc6 20. Nxc6 bxc6 21. Qh5 Rb8 22. Bxc4 Rxb2 23. Bd3 g6 24. Bxg6 Qe7 25. Bb1 Qf7 26. Qc5 Rxf2 27. Qe5+ Rf6 28. Rf4 Qg7 29. Bf5 Rd6 30. Bc2 Rxf4 31. Qxf4 a3 32. g4 Qe7 33. g5 c5 34. dxc5 Rd2 35. Bb3 Kg7 36. h4 Rd3 37. Kg2 Rxe3 38. Qd4+ Re5 39. Bd5 c6? 40. Kg3! h6 41. gxh6+ Kxh6 42. Qf4+ Kh7 43. Bxc6 Rxc5 44. Qe4+ Qxe4 45. Bxe4+ Kg7 46. Kf4 Kf6 47. Ke3 Ke5 48. Kd3 Rb5 49. Kc4 Rb2 50. Bh7 Rh2 51. h5 Rxh5 52. Bc2 Rh2 53. Kb3 Kd4 54. Bg6 Rh4 55. Kb4 Rh6 56. Bf7 Ra6 57. Bg8 Ra7 58. Be6 Kd3 59. Bb3 Kd2 60. Bg8 Kc2 61. Kc4 Kc1 62. Kc3 Kb1 63. Bb3 Rc7+ 64. Kd3 Kb2 65. Kd2 Rd7+ 66. Ke3 Kc3 67. Bg8 Re7+ 68. Kf2 Kd2 69. Kf3 Kd3 70. Kf2 Re2+ 71. Kf3 Re8 0-1
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's Also see her personal blog at Labels: alexei shirov, levon aronian, shanghai masters, vladimir kramnik, wang hao
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