Nakhchivan Chess begins - Korobov, Zhukova Top Seeds

Hello everyone, a traditional chess event, the Nakhchivan Chess Open tournament has begun in Azerbaijan with Anton Korobov and Natalia Zhukova as top seeds in the open and women's section respectively.

The traditional open in Heydar Aliyev's memory started in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan on Sunday. There are six players with 2600+ rating among 54 participants: Korobov (2696), Khismatullin (2682), Mamedov (2660), Safarli (2656), Shimanov (2636), Smirnov (2626), Guseinov (2621), Korneev (2618). Natalia Zhukova is rating favourite in women's section.

The International Chess Festival Nakhchivan Open - 2014 held in memory of leader Heydar Aliyev will take place in Azerbaijan at the Nakchivan Chess Center from May 3 to May 13.

The Tournament will be held as the Swiss system (9 rounds). The rate of play will be 90 minutes for 40 moves plus 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move, starting move one.

The tournament is open to players with an elo of 2250 and above though women player with a rating of 2100 and above are eligible to play.

Prizes:
1 place - 10000 $ 11 place - 600 $ 21 place - 300 $
2 place - 5000 $ 12 place - 500 $ 22 place - 300 $
3 place - 3000 $ 13 place - 400 $ 23 place - 200 $
4 place - 2000 $ 14 place - 400 $ 24 place - 200 $
5 place - 1500 $ 15 place - 400 $ 25 place - 200 $
6 place - 1200 $ 16 place - 350 $ 26 place - 150 $
7 place - 1000 $ 17 place - 350 $ 27 place - 150 $
8 place - 900 $ 18 place - 350 $ 28 place - 150 $
9 place - 800 $ 19 place - 300 $ 29 place - 150 $
10 place - 700 $ 20 place - 300 $ 30 place - 150 $
Prizes for the best 3 (three) players from Azerbaijan:
1 place - 2000 $ 2 place - 1000 $ 3 place - 500 $

Women's prizes:
1 place - 600 $ Valuable prize for the young player (under 18) who show the best result.

Tournament B
This section is for players rated below 2249.
Prizes
1 place - 1000 $ 6 place - 100 $
2 place - 500 $ 7 place - 100 $
3 place - 300 $ 8 place - 100 $
4 place - 150 $ 9 place - 75 $
5 place - 150 $ 10 place - 50 $

Between elo 1750-1999
Between elo 0-1749
200 $ 100 $
150 $ 75 $
100 $ 50 $

Prize for the best senior player :
1 place - 100 $

The best players from Nakhchivan

1 – st place - 300 $ 2 – nd place - 200 $ 3 – rd place - 100 $

Tournament C (children)
Children’s tournament age till 12 years.
Winners are awarded certificates and prizes.

Official website - www.azerichess.az

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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at www.chessqueen.com
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Anton Korobov Wins European Blitz Chess in Warsaw

Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hello everyone,

The latest chess news via FIDE is that Grandmaster Anton Korobov won the European Blitz Chess Championship 2013 that was held on 13th December at The Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, Poland.

A total of 437 players from 28 European federations (FIDE Zones 1.1 to 1.10), including 104 International title holders, competed in the 11 double-round Swiss event with the time control G-3′+2”.

Anton Korobov finished clear first with 18,5/22 points, leaving the nearest followers point and a half behind. The Ukrainian won eight mini-matches, tied two, and lost only against Radosław Wojtaszek.

Final standings:
1. GM Korobov Anton UKR B 2753 – 18.5
2-3. GM Tkachiev Vladislav FRA B 2688 and GM Socko Bartosz POL B 2618 – 17.0
4-7. GM Rapport Richard HUN B 2598, GM Dubov Daniil RUS B 2683, GM Sargissian Gabriel ARM B 2702 and GM Andriasian Zaven ARM B 2679 – 16.5
8-12. GM Wojtaszek Radosław POL 2711, GM Petrosian Tigran L. ARM B 2613, GM Grigoryan Karen H. ARM B 2543, GM Cheparinov Ivan BUL B 2668 and GM Kulaots Kaido EST B 2564 – 16.0 etc

Official website

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Aeroflot Chess Blitz 2013: Congrats to Ian Nepomniachtchi for Clear First; GM Alexandra Kosteniuk Best Among Women

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi Everyone,
  

Winner of the 2008 Aeroflot Chess Open and the 2010 Russian Chess Champion Ian Nepomniachtchi has won the 2013 Aeroflot Blitz Chess event today. Taking home $10,000 as the first prize, the Russian Grandmaster showed a steady performance in a Swiss system of 9 rounds paired. This means each player played nine matches of two games against every opponent of a round. 12th Women's World Chess Champion Chess Queen™ Alexandra Kosteniuk was leading the tournament after four rounds with a perfect score of 8.0 points and Ian Nepomniachtchi was in second place with 7.5 points. The two were paired in the fifth round. That's when the 2010 Russian champion put on speed and went on to win the title. A nice report is available at the Russian Chess Federation website.

The time control was 3 minutes per game plus two seconds per move starting from the first. A total of 270 participants were in attendance at the tournament that began with a different format instead of the traditional open chess tournament. 

Ian Nepomniachtchi scored 15.5 points out of 18. Peter Svidler came in second with 14.5 points and third was Alexander Grischuk with 14 points. 

If the Russian men Grandmasters were sweeping the top slots, the Russian women chess divas were not far behind. 

12th Women's World Chess Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk proved to be the best woman chess player at the event scoring 11.0 points. That gave her the 48th position in the final ranking. GM Kosteniuk earned 31 elo points for her strong performance and her next official blitz chess rating will be 2612!

Second among women was India's GM Dronavalli Harika in 72nd place with 10.5 points. In 92nd place was Russia's GM Tatiana Kosintseva with 10.0 points. GM Kateryna Lahno was one place below in 93rd place also with 10.0 points. GM Natalia Zhukova was in 117th place with 9.5 points.

Top women's standings at Aeroflot Blitz Chess 2013 

Rnk					Pts	Perf
48	GM	Kosteniuk Alexandra	RUS	2581	11.0	2632
72	GM	Harika Dronavalli	IND	2397	10.5	2444
92	GM	Kosintseva Tatiana	RUS	2480	10.0	2458
93	GM	Lahno Kateryna	UKR	2519	10.0	2466
117	GM	Zhukova Natalia	UKR	2531	9.5	2355

Top men's standings at Aeroflot Blitz Chess 2013 

Rnk					Pts	Perf
1	GM	Nepomniachtchi Ian	RUS	2723	15.5	2897
2	GM	Svidler Peter	RUS	2697	14.5	2834
3	GM	Grischuk Alexander	RUS	2860	14.0	2835
4	GM	Korobov Anton	UKR	2700	13.5	2810
5	GM	Karjakin Sergey	RUS	2901	13.5	2759

Full results are now available at Chess-Results. You can read a personal update by GM Alexandra Kosteniuk at www.chessqueen.com as well. A nice report on the Aeroflot Blitz Chess 2013 is also available at Chessdom. (All photos in this Chess Blog post are by Eteri Kublashvili)

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com
Don't miss Chess Queen™
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AICF-AAI Chess: GM Anton Korobov Wins in New Delhi

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

Grandmaster Anton Korobov of Ukraine has won the AICF-AAI Chess Cup defeating top seed Radoslav Wojtaszek of Poland in the tenth and final round in New Delhi, according to a press release. Playing with black, Korobov was in a difficult situation after the opening and suffered a long time but Wojtaszek allowed him to fight back in time scramble and the Ukrainian turned the tables in quick time.

The Ukrainian finished with an impressive 6.5 points out of a possible 10. Evgeny Alekseev of Russia finished second on 5.5 points after settling for a draw with Krishnan Sasikiran while the all Indian affair between Parimarjan Negi and Abhijeet Gupta also ended in a draw in the final round.

Krishnan Sasikiran finished third with five points in all while Abhijeet Gupta was declared fourth with a better tiebreak score than Wojtaszek who finished fifth on 4.5 points. Parimarjan Negi had to be content with a sixth place finish with four points. Playing black against Wojtaszek, Korobov went for the Bogo-Indian defense and found himself in a difficult situation after the opening. Soon white had a dangerous initiative and it looked as though white will cruise through. However, Wojtaszek could not find the best manoeuvres and went astray in time scramble. Korobov finished the game with a simple tactical stroke.

Evgeny Alekseev played out an easy draw as white against Sasikiran. As many as three minor pieces changed hands in quick time and soon the position drifted towards a draw. The heavy pieces were all on board when the players repeated moves.

Abhijeet Gupta held a slightly better position in the middle game arising out of a Symmetrical Berlin as black but he could not force matters against an agile Parimarjan Negi. Sacrificing a pawn, Negi reached a defensible endgame that was drawn without much action.

Results final round: Parimarjan Negi (Ind, 4) drew with Abhijeet Gupta (Ind, 4.5); Evgeny Alekseev (Rus, 5.5) drew with Krishnan Sasikiran (Ind, 5); Radoslav Wojtaszek (Pol, 4.5) lost to Anton Korobov (Ukr, 6.5).

Final standings: 1. Anton Korobov (Ukr, 6.5); 2. Evgeny Alekseev (Rus, 5.5); 3. Krishnan Sasikiran (Ind, 5); 4. Abhijeet Gupta (Ind, 4.5); 5. Radoslav Wojtaszek (Pol, 4.5); 6. Parimarjan Negi (Ind, 4).

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Wojtaszek Top Seed in Delhi Invitational Chess Event

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

 

GM Anton Korobov being welcomed in New Delhi.

The traditional AICF-AAI Chess Invitational - a Category 18 event - begins in New Delhi, India with six players on Friday. Asian Chess Champion Parimarjan Negi will meet Radoslav Wojtaszek of Poland in the first round. Krishnan Sasikiran is paired with Abhijeet Gupta, and former Russian champion Evgeny Alekseev is paired with current Ukrainian champion Anton Korobov in the first round, according to a press release. 

The event is based on the format of double round-robin so that all participants play the others twice over. The time control is Classical with 100 minutes for the first forty moves to be followed by 50 minutes for the next 20 and a 15 minutes sudden death rule to follow thereafter. GM Wojtaszek, World Chess Champion Vishy Anand's second, is the top seed and the favourite in the event with a rating of 2734. Anton Korobov is second seed with a rating of 2702. 

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
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Don't miss Chess Queen™
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Anton Korobov is Ukraine Chess Champion 2012

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,

GM Anton Korobov has become the Ukraine Chess Champion for the second time. The 81st Ukrainian Chess Championship took place from 26th July to 7th August in the President Hotel in Kiev. Twelve players competed in the round robin tournament, according to the latest chess news via Chessdom.

Practically all the top national players, with exception of Vassily Ivanchuk, participated. Top seeded was the defending champion Ruslan Ponomariov. However, GM Anton Korobov, seeded in the lower half of the starting list, convincingly won the Championship with 8 points (5 wins, 6 draws), leaving the nearest followers a full point behind.

GM Andrei Volokitin, who finished on shared 2nd place, was leading in the middle stage of the tournament but a pair of defeats deprived him from claiming the title.

Final standings:

1. GM Korobov Anton 2683 – 8
2-3. GM Areshchenko Alexander 2691 and GM Volokitin Andrei 2704 – 7
4. GM Ponomariov Ruslan 2726 – 6
5-7. GM Fedorchuk Sergey A 2630, GM Efimenko Zahar 2694 and GM Moiseenko Alexander 2706 – 5.5
8. GM Eljanov Pavel 2693 – 5
9-10. GM Miroshnichenko Evgenij 2632 and GM Vovk Yuri 2584 – 4.5
11. GM Zubov Alexander 2621 – 4
12. GM Kuzubov Yuriy 2629 – 3.5

With the average elo of 2666 this was the strongest Championship ever in the history of independent Ukraine.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

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Also see her personal blog at

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Aeroflot Chess R6: Anton Korobov in clear lead

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hi everyone,


Anton Korobov is leading the Aeroflot Chess 2012 with 5.0/6 points. He had earlier beaten the overnight leader Fabiano Caruana in round four who is now back in joint second place.


As you know, the 11th Aeroflot Open is taking place in Moscow from February 7 to 15, 2012, for the first time in the Cosmos Hotel (above), which is one of the largest in Moscow. You can access the official website here. Here is the exciting game from Round 4 between Korobov and Caruana. Enjoy.

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