Michael Adams Chess Simul Video with Kids
Pokerstars Isle of Man International Chess Tournament this October
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2014
Hello everyone,
World class chess players will visit the Isle of Man in October for the 'Pokerstars Isle of Man International Chess Tournament'. The top grandmaster in the UK, Michael Adams, is scheduled to play, guaranteeing the chess world's attention will be fixed
on the event. He said: "It’s good to see the Isle of Man returning to the international chess circuit and I’m looking forward to playing there for the first time."
The tournament takes place at the Villa Marina on October 4 to 12. Chairman of the Isle of Man International Chess Committee, Alan Ormsby said: "We expect to attract a number of grandmasters from around the world, putting the Isle of Man back in the chess spotlight after an absence of seven years. With the backing of PokerStars, we aim to make the tournament an annual event on the international chess calendar." (via IsleofMan)
Labels: michael adams, pokerstars isle of man international chess
Michael Adams Chess Simul in Shropshire March 1
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2014
Hello everyone,
Here's some chess simul news for all fans of British Grandmaster Michael Adams. The Shropshire Chess Association is organising a simul with GM Adams on Saturday, March 1, 2014, in Telford.
Michael Adams is currently the 10th highest ranked chess player in the world and had one of the best results of his career in August when he won the Dortmund tournament.
The Shropshire simul is a joint initiative by Michael Bukojemski of Condover and Church Stretton Chess Club.
Michael Adams has agreed to take on up to 40 players at the Wrekin Housing Trust in Telford and the event will also involve a ‘blitz’ chess event and a brief lecture by Michael Adams who will give an insight into how a super Grandmaster analyses a game, taking the audience through some of his recent encounters.
The Adams simul follows a similar event held two years ago when leading British Grandmaster and former world championship finalist, Nigel Short took on 35 Shropshire players. With a maximum of 40 boards available, local chess players are advised to book early for this unique opportunity to take on Britain’s top player.
VenueThe Wrekin Housing Trust is a high class venue that was used for the Nigel Short event and is the current location for the Shropshire Chess Congress.
The official website of the Shropshire Chess Association has more details.
Labels: chess simul, michael adams, shropshire chess association
London Chess Classic 2013: Boris Gelfand vs Hikaru Nakamura in Final
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
The London Chess Classic 2013 is going to witness the grand final between Boris Gelfand of Israel and Hikaru Nakamura of the USA on Sunday from 17.30 onwards local time at the Olympia Centre in London.
WATCH LIVE FINALS @ LONDON CHESS CLASSIC OFFICIAL WEBSITE
The semi-finals have just finished where Gelfand knocked out a determined Michael Adams and Hikaru Nakamura snatched a win on an endgame-jitters' from Vladimir Kramnik. Gelfand won the first game and drew the second with Adams to cruise to the final. Hikaru drew the first game and was a tad lucky as Kramnik stumbled.
Earlier, on Saturday, in the quarter-finals, interestingly, three of the eight semi-finalists had an average age of about 40!
Kramnik 1½-½ Anand: This pairing got off to a hesitant start which drifted into a a draw. In the second game, however, Anand played defensively in the opening and Kramnik beat him in a Semi-Tarrasch with a vicious attack.
Adams 1-1 (2-0) Svidler: Mickey Adams beat Peter Svidler swapping rooks and converting to an easily winning king and pawn endgame. The second game featured a Réti-ish opening with Svidler winning back. But, in the blitz play-off, Adams won to cruise to the semis.
Caruana 1-1 (0-2) Gelfand: The Israeli Grandmaster and former World Chess Championship Challenger also needed the tiebreaks to go through to the semis. Both main games were drawn, but Gelfand struck to win the tiebreak!
Short ½-1½ Nakamura: The first game was a shocker defeat for Nigel Short and Nakamura held his ground to draw the second and get into the semis.
Labels: Boris gelfand, Hikaru nakamura, london chess classic 2013, michael adams, vladimir kramnik
Unive Chess from October 18: Michael Adams Top Seed
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
Get set for the traditional 17th Unive Chess Tournament to be held from October 18-26 in the town hall of Hoogeveen, Netherlands. The main Crown Group will see two talented juniors competing against two experienced players in a double round robin event. The first round is on 20th October.
The players are Michael Adams (England 2753), Wesley So (Philippines 2706), Loek van Wely (Netherlands 2693) and Robin van Kampen (Netherlands 2607). The 2012 champion at the event was Hikaru Nakamura. The additional events are Unive Open with a strong international field and two Amateur tournaments (morning and afternoon groups). These events will be held over nine rounds of Swiss system. (www.chessdom.com)
Top rated players in the Unive Open are: GM Rodshtein Maxim ISR 2664, GM L’Ami Erwin NED 2645, GM Krasenkow Michael POL 2640, GM Ernst Sipke NED 2573, GM Haslinger Stewart ENG 2543 and GM Moskalenko Viktor ESP 2520.
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Labels: ernst sipke, haslinger stewart, Hikaru nakamura, lami erwin, Loek Van Wely, michael adams, michael krasenkow, moskalenko viktor, Robin van Kampen, todshtein maxim, unive chess, Wesley So
Levon Aronian Wins Bilbao Chess Masters, Regains No. 2 Spot in Ratings
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
Levon Aronian has won the 6th Bilbao Chess Master's Final and thereby regained his No. 2 spot on the ratings list which he lost just a few days back. In Round 5, Aronian beat Michael Adams to set himself up for the title. Adams was second, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov tie for third.
The event included Armenian Olympiad champion Levon Aronian, the Frenchman Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, the Azeri Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, and the Englishman Michael Adams. The tournament was held from October 7-12 on a double round-robin format along with the Sophia Rules and Bilbao Rules which prevent a player from agreeing to a draw without an arbiter's and panel's approval. Also, the scoring is three points for a win, one for a tie and none for a loss.
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Labels: bilbao chess masters final, levon aronian, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, michael adams, shakhriyar mamedyarov
Top Six English Players Register for 5th London Chess Classic
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hi everyone,
Six leading English players, Michael Adams, Luke McShane, Nigel Short, Matthew Sadler, David Howell and Gawain Jones have accepted their invitation to play in the 5th London Chess Classic to be staged at the Olympia Conference Centre in Kensington, running from Saturday 7th December to Sunday 15th December.
Life begins at 41 for the UK No.1, Michael Adams, who was one of the world’s best players in the 1990s. He was a four-time semifinalist (1993, 1997, 1999 and 2000) in World Championship events, and in 2004 he made itto the final. He was ranked No.4 in the world in 2001 and 2002, but by 2009 had dropped to No.50.
Since then, the popular Cornishman has seen a renaissance in his game with a return to elite status; and this summer, he scored the biggest tournament victory of his career by winning the Sparkassen Chess Meeting in Dortmund, Germany, ahead of a field that included Vladimir Kramnik, the former world champion and world No. 3, and Fabiano Caruana of Italy, who is ranked fifth.
Luke McShane, 29, and Matthew Sadler, 39, both follow in that quaint English tradition -- much like C.H.O’D Alexander and Jonathan Penrose, who shocked top Soviet stars such as Botvinnik, Bronstein and Tal -- by being regarded as the world’s top two amateur players, as they hold down very demanding full-time professional jobs. McShane works in finance in the City, and Sadler in IT in The Netherlands - but while chess is now a “hobby” for both, the English No’s. 2 and 4 respectively still play to a very high standard.
Globe-trotting Nigel Short continues to add further successes to his long list of tournament victories, with this summer seeing the English No.3 share first prize in the Sigeman Invitational in Malmo, Sweden, and first on tiebreak in the Canadian Open Championship in Ottawa; and, on both occasions, ahead of talented younger rising stars.
Short, 48, consistently performs at or close to the elite GM 2700 rating level, as he fights off younger rivals by using his wealth of experience from a glittering career whose peaks include victory at the VAS Amsterdam tournament in 1991, ahead of Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov, a Candidates match victory over Karpov in 1992 and a world title challenge in 1993 to Kasparov. Short is also in demand as an online commentator for some of the world’s top tournaments -- but we are always glad to see him play!
David Howell, 22, and Gawain Jones, 25, are, respectively, the English No. 5 and 6, and also the last two winners of the British Championship titles - Howell storming to victory this summer in Torquay, for his second title (which he dedicated to his late father), and Jones, winning last year in North Shields. Both represented England at the very top at junior level, and have now become a regular fixture for their country at Olympiads and European Team Championships.
Adams, McShane, Short, Sadler, Howell and Jones will be cheered on by the patriotic home crowd expected to fill the Kensington Olympia, as they go into battle in the 5th London Chess Classic with the tough elite opposition of World Champion Vishy Anand, World Cup winner Kramnik, Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Boris Gelfand, Peter Svidler and Judit Polgar. The composition of the remainder of the 16-player field will be announced next week.
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Labels: david howell, gawain jones, london chess classic 2013, luke mcshane, Matthew Sadler, michael adams, nigel short
Michael Adams Wins Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting 2013
Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) 2013
Hi everyone,
English Grandmaster Michael Adams played in excellent shape to deservingly win the 41st Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting 2013, which was held from 26th July to 4th August in Dortmund, Germany.
Adams took a clear first place with 7 points from nine games, leaving the most dangerous opponent Vladimir Kramnik half a point behind.
Adams' rating performance was 2925 and he earned 21 elo points. His next challenge will be the FIDE World Cup in Tromso.
Further below, Peter Leko and Arkadij Naiditsch shared the third place with 50% score.
Tournament website
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Labels: dortmund sparkassen chess meet 2013, michael adams
Dortmund Chess Round 5: Both Kramnik, Adams Win; Extend Lead
Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) 2013
Hi everyone,
It was an exciting day in Dortmund. Five very entertaining fights left us with three decisive results. Co-leaders Vladimir Kramnik and Michael Adams defeated Peter Leko and Wang Hao, respectively, to increase their advantage at the top of the standings. Yesterday, Wang Hao was half a point behind them, while today, the Chinese and Georg Meier are trailing by a point and a half.
It seems to be a tradition that positional players get better results at this event. The two more experienced elite players from the field won today using their patient and solid styles. The other decisive result was Dmitry Andreikin’s first win of the tournament; the Russian beat Igor Khenkin with white in a Caro-Kann.
It is no coincidence that Michael Adams was part of the top-10 for a long time some years ago. He keeps showing his class in strong events such as the London Classic and the GRENKE Tournament in Baden-Baden, where he faces the very best players without looking like an outsider. Today, he beat Wang Hao with white and did not allow his direct rival, Vladimir Kramnik, to pull away from the field.
Adams used the English opening instead of his more typical 1.e4. The Englishman started to manoeuvre his pieces while Wang Hao tried to gain the initiative. On move 21, the Chinese sacrificed an exchange for a pawn and the bishop pair. The position seemed rather equalized but very complicated. Suddenly, Wang repeated the story from the first round – he blundered decisively with Bg4, giving his opponent an easy win by move 30.
The 2004 World Championship match contenders battled today in Dortmund. Vladimir Kramnik defeated his long-standing rival Peter Leko with the white pieces. The Hungarian has been showing his reliable style both in Beijing – where he finished undefeated – and in Dortmund, where he had drawn all his games until today. However, he could not stop the former world champion in his favorite event.
A very slow Symmetrical English opening presented itself over the board. Kramnik fianchettoed both bishops looking for a long-term fight. Black seemed to have, at least, equalized the position. On move 22, Kramnik offered a sound piece sacrifice that would have led to complicated waters, but Leko rejected it. The position got simplified and everything seemed to be heading to a draw. The computer points at move 36 as the turning point where Leko made a mistake that eventually cost him a pawn. Kramnik converted his advantage with his usual mastery and took home the full point after 47 moves.
Dmitry Andreikin finally won a game in Dortmund. He defeated the lowest rated player of the field, Igor Khenkin. The experienced German grandmaster had been playing solidly, drawing all his games without getting into trouble against his higher-rated colleagues.
The first Caro-Kann of the tournament was seen on the board. Andreikin chose the Advanced variation and used the usual strategy of going for a kingside attack. Khenkin handled the opening correctly until he blundered decisively on move 18. Interestingly, the German allowed his colleague to show a checkmate, which arrived on move 27. On a separate note, today was Fabiano Caruana’s 21st birthday. The organizers congratulated him on the stage.
Standings after 5 rounds:
1 Kramnik, Vladimir RUS 2784 4
2 Adams, Michael ENG 2740 4
3 Meier, Georg GER 2610 2½
4 Wang, Hao CHN 2752 2½
5 Naiditsch, Arkadij GER 2710 2
6 Khenkin, Igor GER 2605 2
7 Fridman, Daniel GER 2629 2
8 Leko, Peter HUN 2737 2
9 Caruana, Fabiano ITA 2796 1½
10 Andreikin, Dmitry RUS 2727 1½
Official website
Labels: dortmund chess, michael adams, vladimir kramnik
Dortmund Chess: Adams, Wang Hao Score Wins
Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) 2013
Hi everyone,
The second round of the Sparkassen Chess Meeting in Dortmund saw four out of five games starting with 1.e4 e5. Wang Hao and Michael Adams both won their games with white in rather long struggles. After two rounds, four players are sharing first place with 1.5/2. The elite German event is just beginning.
The players chose slow fighting lines today. The Russians went for the Berlin Defense: Vladimir Kramnik held yet another draw with his beloved defensive weapon while his colleague Dmitry Andreikin suffered a loss against experienced GM Michael Adams. Daniel Fridman loss with the Petrov against Wang Hao.
German GM Daniel Fridman has used the Petrov effectively for a long time. This Defense has a reputation of extreme solidity and was the chosen weapon of players such as Boris Gelfand and Vladimir Kramnik for a long time. Today, Wang Hao was able to break the Russian wall in 48 moves thanks to his active accurate play.
The setup with opposite side castling was chosen by white. Even though this spoils the queenside pawn structure, it allows for a kingside attack. Wang Hao advanced his pawns fearlessly and started to handle his initiative carefully. By move 35, black had the pair of bishops, but they were highly uncomfortable sitting on c1 and d1. White’s queen was already close to the opposite king and things seemed pretty unclear. Fridman started to falter under pressure and the Chinese showed his class to get the full point after yesterday’s loss.
Dmitry Andreikin got an invitation to this event very deservedly. He is the current Russian champion and has proved his strength in events like the Tal Memorial. However, he started with the wrong foot in Germany; today was his second loss in a row. Michael Adams demonstrated how patient he can be when he has a small edge in seemingly lifeless positions.
The game started with a Berlin Wall put up by the Russian. The players went into the usual path, exchanging queens, giving black the pair of bishops and creating a long strategical battle. Everything seemed to be heading for a draw when bishops of opposite colors appeared on the board. Adams evaluated the position as slightly better for him and started to maneuver in order to get a win with his kingside pawn majority. The plan worked as Andreikin had to offer his hand in resignation after 64 moves.
The Berlin Wall that made Vladimir Kramnik world champion worked as a charm for the Russian. Arkadij Naiditsch avoided a heavy theoretical battle and decided that a draw was enough against such a strong opponent. The players signed the score-sheets after 38 moves.
Peter Leko and Fabiano Caruana discussed the very fashionable lines of the Spanish with d3. Caruana found a way to force a threefold repetition and get a solid draw with the black pieces. Locals Igor Khenkin and Georg Meier played a Queen’s Gambit Declined that finished peacefully after 45 moves. (www.chessdom.com)
Standings after 2 rounds:
1 Kramnik, Vladimir RUS 2784 1½
2 Meier, Georg GER 2610 1½
3 Caruana, Fabiano ITA 2796 1½
4 Adams, Michael ENG 2740 1½
5 Khenkin, Igor GER 2605 1
6 Leko, Peter HUN 2737 1
7 Wang, Hao CHN 2752 1
8 Fridman, Daniel GER 2629 ½
9 Naiditsch, Arkadij GER 2710 ½
10 Andreikin, Dmitry RUS 2727 0
Official website
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Labels: Dortmund Sparkassen, michael adams, wang hao
Hay-Festival 2013: Michael Adams plays the Telegraph at Chess
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013Hi everyone,
Hay Festival 2013: Michael Adams plays the Telegraph at chess
Former British National Chess Champion Grandmaster Michael Adams takes on the Telegraph at the Telegraph Hay Festival. The Hay Festival 2013 in Hay-on-Wye takes place between Thursday 23 May and Sunday 2 June. For reviews, news and pictures from the event see The Telegraph's Hay Festival page, or follow the latest Hay updates on Twitter @TelegraphBooks
Labels: Chess video, hay festival, michael adams, telegraph
Michael Adams wins Bunratty Chess Masters 2013
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
Super-GM Michael Adams won the Masters Section of the Bunratty Festival 2013. With this edition, the tournament celebrated 20 years of chess. As in every year the tournament was divided into four sections, Minor (for beginners), Major (intermediate), Challengers (advanced) and Masters (for the top national and international players).
To win the Masters, Adams got 5 straight wins and a draw in the last round. GM Nigel Short and IM Richard Bates tied on second place with 5/6; Short took the second place on tie-breaks, according to a Chessdom report.
Parallel to the Masters, the Bunratty Classic tournament took place for the first time. This event had the purpose of helping the Irish players get IM and GM norms.
GM Mark Hebden finished in sole first place after scoring an undefeated score of 7/9.
Read more »Labels: bunratty chess masters 2013, michael adams
Grenke Chess Classic Baden-Baden 2013 pairings
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Grenke Chess Classic Baden-Baden 2013 pairings have been announced. The World Champion will start against Michael Adams, while the top pairings with Fabiano Caruana will happen in round 2 and round 7. Access te official website of the tournament at this link.
Round 1 on 07/02/2013 at 15:00
Naiditsch Arkadij – Fridman Daniel
Adams Michael – Anand Viswanathan
Caruana Fabiano – Meier Georg
Round 2 on 08/02/2013 at 15:00
Fridman Daniel – Meier Georg
Anand Viswanathan – Caruana Fabiano
Naiditsch Arkadij – Adams Michael
Round 3 on 09/02/2013 at 15:00
Adams Michael – Fridman Daniel
Caruana Fabiano – Naiditsch Arkadij
Meier Georg – Anand Viswanathan
Round 4 on 10/02/2013 at 15:00
Fridman Daniel – Anand Viswanathan
Naiditsch Arkadij – Meier Georg
Adams Michael – Caruana Fabiano
Read more »Labels: arkadij naiditsch, daniel fridman, Fabiano Caruana, grenke chess classic baden-baden 2013, meier georg, michael adams, Viswanathan Anand
GRENKE Chess Classic Baden-Baden Category 19 GM Tournament
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hello everyone,
For the first time ever, the Chess Center Baden-Baden (Schachzentrum Baden-Baden) will host a category 19 GM tournament, the GRENKE Chess Classic Baden-Baden, according to a press release.
This event will follow the tradition of great chess tournaments that the well-known southern German Spa town has established over the last two centuries. Baden-Baden is also known as the hometown of OSG Baden-Baden, the most successful German club in the 1990 and 2000s. The main event of the chess festival will be the GRENKE Chess Classic Baden-Baden:
The participants in the double round robin will be:
Viswanathan Anand India World Champion 43 years
Fabiano Caruana Italy No. 5 in the world 20 years
Michael Adams England No. 23 in the world 41 years
Arkadij Naiditsch Germany No. 37 in the world 27 years
Daniel Fridman Germany No. 78 in the world 36 years
Georg Meier Germany No. 108 in the world 25 years
The tournament is scheduled from February 7th to 17th 2013. The venue will be the historical halls of Kulturhaus LA8 (House of Culture) in the center of Baden-Baden. The games will start daily at 3 p.m., in the last round at 1 p.m.
To complement the main event, several side tournaments – each limited to 80 players – will take place:
Chess Classic Elo Open (9 rounds, 9 days, only for players ELO 1800+) 7th–15th Feb 2013
Chess Classic Fasching (6 rounds, 3 days, open to all) 9th–11th Feb 2013
Chess Classic Ferien (6 rounds, 3 days, open to all) 14th–16th Feb 2013
Tournament website (in English)
Labels: arkadij naiditsch, baden-baden chess, daniel fridman, Fabiano Caruana, Georg Meier, grenke chess classic, michael adams, Viswanathan Anand
London Chess Classic 2012 Round 5: Carlsen Holds on to Lead; Kramnik, Anand, Nakamura Win
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
The 2012 London Chess Classic is being held from December 1 - 10. All games were decisive in Round 5 at the London Chess Classic 2012. Vladimir Kramnik played a brilliant game to beat Luke McShane. World chess champion Viswanathan Anand scored his first win of the tournament as Gawain Jones decided to self-destruct in a slightly advantageous position with White. Magnus Carlsen beat Michael Adams to take his live rating to 2860.5. Nakamura held on to beat Judit Polgar in a marathon endgame.
Click on the games to replay the Round 5 games with Chess King.
Labels: gawain jones, Hikaru nakamura, Judit Polgar, levon aronian, london chess classic 2012, luke mcshane, Magnus Carlsen, michael adams, Viswanathan Anand, vladimir kramnik
London Chess Classic 2012 Begins with Exciting Games
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012Hi everyone,
The London Chess Classic 2012 - the fourth edition of the event - began with an explosive set of games. All four games played in the first round on Saturday were decisive. First, former World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik beat Judit Polgar. Soon after, thanks to a blunder, Levon Aronian went down fighting against Hikaru Nakamura. Also, Gawain Jones lost to Michael Adams. In fact, three of the four decisive games were victories by Black.
Replay all the games with Chess King, your partner in super chess training:
Levon Aronian - Hikaru Nakamura 0-1
Luke McShane - Magnus Carlsen 0-1
Gawain Jones - Michael Adams 0-1
Vladimir Kramnik - Judit Polgar
Sunday's pairings of the second round are as follows: (The player with a bye spends the day in the commentary room)
Hikaru Nakamura - Vladimir Kramnik
Judit Polgar - Gawain Jones
Magnus Carlsen - Levon Aronian
Vishy Anand - Luke McShane
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Labels: gawain jones, Hikaru nakamura, Judit Polgar, levon aronian, london chess classic 2012, luke mcshane, Magnus Carlsen, michael adams, vladimir kramnik
London Chess Grand Prix R10: Mamedyarov Leads, But Last Round to Decide Champion!
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012Hi everyone,
The London Chess Grand Prix draws to a close but not without plenty of excitement. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov has a half-point lead over the others after the end of Round 10. Anything can happen in the last round which is being played on Wednesday.
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov took the lead yesterday for the first time and he keeps on leading after the tenth round as five out of sixth games were drawn. In the tenth round the rating number one in the tournament Hikaru Nakamura managed to win against Anish Giri after four defeats in a row! The last tweet of the American player spoke for itself: “While I do my absolute best to commit harakiri, (chess) at least her calming presence from afar puts it all in perspective. So far, Hikaru was losing 26 rating points and was falling down to the 11th place in the World ranking but improved his situation. One round to go Topalov, Gelfand and Grischuk share the 2nd place with six points each, just half-a-point behind the leader.
Wang Hao – Mamedyarov:
Mamedyarov appeared very relaxed when he arrived at Simpson`s with his manager. Shakhriyar decided to play the Caro Kann defence – his opening of choice for this tournament. Wang Hao prepared a surprise for his opponent 5.Nc5 trying to defuse any preparation. “Shak” paused for thought, and then replied 5…e5!? which caught Wang Hao unprepared, as he had not expected Mamedyarov to know this line deeply. The forced line that followed saw a quick exchange of queens which led to the endgame with a slightly better pawn structure for white. “Hao”-ever it was not enough and a draw was the result.
Leko – Gelfand:
The main question is how Gelfand will recover from the Round 9 loss. Boris seemed in a good mood and was smiling before the game. Peter Leko went for a quiet line based on Nc3-Bc4 in close Sicilian. Nothing much happened until move 20 after which some pieces were exchanged. White started to take the initiative by opening the “f” file, and putting a strong bishop on d5. White started to control the black squares, and the knight on e3 defended the whole white pawn centre.
Kasimdzhanov – Grischuk:
Almost all the players of the tournament want to avoid the Marshall Gambit. In this game there was no exception, as Rustam chose the exchange variation of the Spanish opening. White decided to open the centre and found a very interesting plan, putting the queen on “b1” in order to push c3-d4. Sasha took a long time to play the first 15 moves and had just 14 minutes left for 22 moves. The two times World Blitz champion is quite used to time trouble…Taking initiative on the king’s side and centre, Grischuk increased his advantage, pressuring on the f2 pawn.
Kasimdzhanov survived from the attack when Grischuk offered the exchange of queens with 38…Qf3? The rook endgame, which appeared, was finally drawn. A disappointment for Grischuk who could have taken the lead.
Nakamura – Giri:
Giri didn’t change his main weapon against 1.e4 and the Petrov appeared once again on the board. Hikaru exchanged the queens after 5 moves and decided to play a long endgame. White pieces had more space but black pieces found good placing. The bishop on b6 protected by the a5 pawn was controlling the queen side. Hikaru settled his other bishop on a second strong square e6.
The position of Anish was very solid with the bishops on c6 and d6 but Hikaru managed to break through and finally won the game!
Topalov – Adams:
The only chance for Veselin to catch the leader was to win today with the white pieces against Michael Adams. We saw one of the first Queen’s Gambit of the tournament, which looked pretty safe for black. Veselin managed to double black’s pawns on the “b” file and took a small advantage in the endgame but it was not enough to implement it into more.
Dominguez – Ivanchuk:
Vasily was in a good mood before the start of the game, looking at the pictures of Staunton on the wall of the Simpson’s in the Strand. The famous Immortal Game was played in the same building between Adolf Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritzky on 21 June 1851. The Ukrainian player decided today to play a rare line of the Spanish opening (4…d6). Leinier replied with a safe line, putting all his pieces in the centre and obtained a slight advantage, due to the doubled black pawns on c7 and c6.
Labels: alexander grischuk, Anish Giri, Boris gelfand, Hikaru nakamura, london chess grand prix, michael adams, peter leko, Rustam Kasimdzhanov, shakhriyar mamedyarov, veselin topalov, wang hao
London Chess Grand Prix R4: Grischuk, Gelfand Win
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
It was heavy rain in London, but as Ivanchuk said, it's a great weather to play chess! Very fighting games in Round 4 at the London Chess Grand Prix with no short draws and the players were happy slogging it out after three hours of play. One of the leaders of the tournament, Peter Leko, decided to play a closed Spanish opening against Michael Adams, who is well known to be the specialist of the Marshall gambit. Avoiding the main weapon of the English player, Peter went for a peaceful line, very technical and positional. Adams equalized, took the control of the only open file of the position and was already aiming to be better. Not enough however to break down Peter’s defence and the draw was signed.
Read more »Labels: alexander grischuk, Boris gelfand, london chess grand prix, michael adams, peter leko
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