Vladimir Kramnik Chess School in Russia Soon!
Hello chess blog friends, a chess school named after former world chess champion Vladimir Kramnik will start in Russia in about six months. Vladimir Kramnik was quoted by the Russian Chess Federation website:
"This is a very ambitious project. I speak again with the governor of the Krasnodar Territory, Alexander Tkachev. Done in school are children from all over the region, who want to learn to play chess, especially - professionally. There are plans to open six branches. In general, the structure has been created, but, of course, there is still a lot of organizational work."
The former World Chess Champion said the chess school is likely to be functional in about six months. The former world champion mentioned that the school would be possible by support and collective effort of a strong and committed team which was already working hard. Kramnik also said, not just chess coaches from the region, but those from outside would also be invited as guest lecturers at the chess school.
So, do we have more Russian world champions coming now soon from the Krasnodar region? Best wishes to GM Vladimir Kramnik with his chess school project.
Labels: chess school, vladimir kramnik, world chess champion
Tashir Chess: Alexander Grischuk wins Title, Joins 2800 Club
Hello chess blog friends, top-rated Russian chess talent GM Alexander Grischuk has won the International Tashir Chess Memorial organised in honour of the legendaryTigran Petrosian. The final round was played at the Novotel Moscow City Hotel last evening.
GM Alexander Grischuk, who had led the tournament for some rounds, drew with former World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik to win the title. Grischuk took the title with a score of 5.5 in 7 rounds. The “+4” score permitted Alexander to join the “2800+ elite club” in the FIDE ratings.
Vladimir Kramnik finished second with 4.5 points to his credit.
The third place went to Boris Gelfand, who defeated Peter Leko with White in the final round and scored 4 points. Players had exchanged most of their pieces early in the game, and the main struggle took place in the pawn endgame, in which White gradually outplayed his opponent.
Levon Aronian, who scored the same number of points as Boris Gelfand, took the fourth place as his tiebreak indicators were worse. Black developed an attack en masse against the enemy king and, after the attack itself had ended, obtained a better endgame. In the bishop endgame the Armenian grandmaster outplayed his Russian vis-à-vis.
Alexander Morozevich obtained a promising position as White against Ding Liren but committed an inaccuracy after which all his advantage gradually vanished. The Russian player had sacrificed a pawn, but that was enough only for forcing a draw by perpetual check.
Results of round 7: A. Grischuk – V. Kramnik 1/2, E. Inarkiev – L. Aronian 0-1, B. Gelfand – P. Leko 1-0, A. Morozevich – Ding Liren 1/2
Final standings: 1. A. Grischuk – 5.5, 2. V. Kramnik (both from Russia) – 4.5, 3. B. Gelfand (Israel), 4. L. Aronian (Armenia) – 4. 5. Ding Liren (People’s Republic of China) – 3.5, 6. P. Leko (Hungary) – 2.5, 7-8. A. Morozevich, E. Inarkiev (both from Russia) – 2.
On the same night the closing ceremony of the International TASHIR Chess Tournament in Memory of Tigran Petrosian took place. The attendees were: the President of the ROC Alexander Zhukov, Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Igor Levitin, the President of the TASHIR group of companies Samvel Carapetian, the FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, the President of the RCF Andrey Filatov, 12th chess world champion Anatoly Karpov, the President of CCIFR Emmanuel Quidet, Director General of CCIFR, Vice-President of the RCF Pavel Shinsky and many others.
After the official part was over, a memorial Tigran Petrosian evening was held where a film about the 9th champion of the world was demonstrated. After that the 12th world champion Anatoly Karpov, a well-known chessplayer and the Armenian National Coach Arshak B. Petrosian, one of the participants of the International TASHIR Chess Tournament in Memory of Tigran Petrosian Levon Aronian and a well-known chess journalist Stanislav Zhelezny shared their memories of Tigran Vartanovich. (FIDE)
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Labels: alexander grischuk, tashir chess, vladimir kramnik
Funny Chess Video: Ivanchuk vs Kramnik!
World Chess Match 2014 gives Vishy the Initiative: Vladimir Kramnik
Hello chess friends looking for updates on the Anand - Carlsen World Chess Championship 2014: Russian chess legend Vladimir Kramnik has said Anand would have a psychological edge over Carlsen in the upcoming event.
In an interview to Chesspro, Russian GM Vladimir Kramnik has expressed the opinion that we will see Anand push Carlsen all the way when the two players clash for the world title later this year.
"Firstly Vishy that we saw in Fall and Vishy who won the Candidates' are two different players. He has definitely overcome the drowsiness that messed up his play for the last several years. Secondly, despite a quite rough loss, he gained the experience he needed before the match in Chennai. It was clear that Anand was afraid to play, he was afraid of making mistakes and he was constantly rechecking himself," Kramnik was quoted as saying in the www.chess-news.ru translation.
In another interview, to Firstpost, after he won the Candidates, Anand had said that he doesn't think there is a difference between a champion and a challenge. "I don’t really think there is a difference between a challenger and a champion. In the sense, both need to play a match and they have both earned the right to be there. On that day, they are even. Whoever plays better chess; strategises better, keeps calm and focused will win – the title ceases to mean anything once you are at the board. It’s only chess that counts.."
But Kramnik disagrees because as a challenger you have nothing to lose. "Logically the challenger has to be nervous while playing the match, but in this case he was the one anxious. Now he just has nothing to lose, so Vishy will have a psychological initiative. This might help him to play better," said Kramnik.
Incidentally, in several interviews, former World Chess Champion Viswanathan has said it was Vladimir Kramnik who motivated him to play the Candidates 2014.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
Labels: chess candidates, Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand, vladimir kramnik, world chess championship 2014
Kramnik Chess Trivia: What has the Russian Won, Where, When?
Hello everyone,
World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen has confessed that he has been influenced by Russian GM Vladimir Kramnik's games. Kramnik has a very special place in chess history. Can you say, in the photograph, what has he won, where and when?
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
Labels: chess trivia photo, vladimir kramnik
Anand one of the Greatest Chess Players of Modern Times: Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2014
The candidates tournament in Khanty-Mansiysk has completed with former World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand making a huge comeback by winning the tournament. FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and the new World Chess Championship challenger Vishy Anand met journalists at the press-center:
– Kirsan Nikolaevich, did you expect the result of the tournament? Did you follow the course of the event?
K. I.: – On behalf of the FIDE Presidential Board I would like to congratulate the winner of the candidates tournament Vishy Anand with such a convincing victory. Also I want to thank all the players for their active play and fighting spirit. The tournament brought a lot of attention, millions of people from 211 countries followed the event. I want to thank the journalists for a high quality coverage of the competition. In my opinion, Vishy Anand’s victory is deserved and very convincing. He once again proved that he is one of the strongest and greatest players of modern times.
– Vishy, what are your impressions from the tournament and its organization?V. A.: – I want to thank the organizing committee for perfect organization of this tournament. I am grateful to the Ugra Governor and the city of Khanty-Mansiysk for their warm reception. I am obviously happy with my result, and also surprised how well everything worked out for me.
– Vishy, you have never been to Khanty-Mansiysk before. Did you have a chance to see the city?V. A.: – No, I only walked near the Chess Academy, the weather did not allow me to do more. Peter Svidler told me that Khanty-Mansiysk is very beautiful in summer.
– Kirsan Nikolaevich, Khanty-Mansiysk hosted chess events of all levels except the World Championship match. Is there a chance to see it in the capital of Ugra?K. I.: – As you know, FIDE announced the bidding for the next World Chess Championship match. Today the Presidential Board decided to extend the deadline until the end of April. Unofficially we have two bids so far. Khanty-Mansiysk is a real chess Mecca, FIDE leadership and the players love coming here, the atmosphere here is very special. The region does a lot for promoting chess, both at professional and junior level. I think if Khanty-Mansiysk submits an official bid, its chances to have the World Championship would be quite high.
– Ugra pays much attention to junior chess. Does it guarantee a World Champion coming from Ugra in future?
V. A.: – When I prepared for my games, I was very surprised to see how many key games were played in Khanty-Mansiysk. Of course it is very important for children to have direct access to high level chess.
K. I.: – Quantity sooner or later results in quality. When we are hosting major international tournaments, they influence chess development in the region, popularize the game. The “Chess at Schools” project is underway here. Recently they started another project, “Let’s remove blank spots from Ugra chess map”. Of course it increases Ugra chances to raise a true champion in future.
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Labels: sergey karjakin, Viswanathan Anand, vladimir kramnik, world chess candidates 2014
Chess Candidates 2014 R11: All games drawn, Anand still with 1 point lead
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2014
Hello everyone,
A determined Viswanathan Anand holds on to his one-point lead after 11 rounds at the Khanty Mansiysk World Chess Candidates 2014. Only three more rounds are to be played. Photo: FIDE
All four games of the 11th round of the FIDE World Candidates Tournament ended in draws.
The first to split the point were former World Champions Vladimir Kramnik and Viswanathan Anand. Peter Svidler and Levon Aronian, Dmitry Andreikin and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, followed the suit around the first time control.
Sergey Karjakin was pressing for a victory against Veselin Topalov, but the Bulgarian was alert to parry all the threats.
Round 11 standings: 1. Anand 7; 2. Aronian 6; 3-5. Svidler, Mamedyarov and Karjakin 5,5; 6-7. Kramnik and Andreikin 5; 8. Topalov 4,5.
Possibly the toughest challenge for Viswanathan Anand in the last four rounds was the game with black against Vladimir Kramnik.
It wasn’t a great surprise that Kramnik opened with the Catalan, which brought him so much success in the past.
The line with 7.Ne5 is considered innocuous, but Kramnik wanted to play something that he is familiar with. In an over-the-board inspiration he decided to go for the rare 11.Na3, which he analysed some years ago.
Anand continued in the regular manner, by quickly advancing the c-pawn to clear the files and achieve counterplay with heavy pieces.
A temporary pawn sacrifice helped black to clear the queenside and reach an easy draw.
Replay all the games of Round 11 with Chess King.
The game between Peter Svidler and Levon Aronian started as a Reti but soon the pawns were arranged in the shape of Slav Exchange variation.
Black solved the problem of the light-squared bishop and this helped him achieve good play on the queenside.
The structure was symmetrical but there were still plenty of resources for either player.
Svidler marked 22.b4 as a mistake after which black succeeded in trading the heavy pieces on the c-file. Both players agreed that 22.Rc2 was a better try, when black would probably start preparing a break with e5.
After the queens went off, draw was signed on move 33.
Dmitry Andreikin and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov also explored the Catalan opening. White inadvertently followed in the footsteps of former World Championship Challenger Boris Gelfand, but already by move 20 he was down to less than half an hour on the clock.
Andreikin admitted that he was surprised in the opening and had to spend lots of time to find the best moves.
White made a break by advancing c4-c5, but black exchanged all the pawns on the queenside. On a positive note, white obtained a pair of bishops.
The resulting endgame 2B vs B+N and four pawns on the same flank should be equal, but still some precision was required from black.
Mamedyarov recollected that Kramnik and Gelfand held similar endgames, but he didn’t feel entirely at ease in today’s game. Nevertheless, he managed to trade more pawns and draw was finally agreed on move 46.
Veselin Topalov and Sergey Karjakin played the Double Fianchetto Hedgehog, following for a while their earlier game from 2012 World Rapid Championship.
Topalov was the first to deviate by advancing his pawn to g5. In the battle for the long a8-h1 diagonal both players maneuvered their queens to the corners of the board.
The queens and three pairs of minor pieces were soon exchanged. Black tried to create an outside passed pawn on the h-file, while white concentrated his efforts on breaking through on the queenside.
While white was throwing his pawns forward, black seized the opportunity to trade a rook for the bishop and doubled passed pawns on the a-file.
Despite being an exchange up, white remained passive because black always threatened to advance the passers.
Eventually white stopped both pawns with his king and rook and black couldn’t find a way to activate his own king to make a decisive impact on the final outcome. Draw in 57 moves. (Official website)
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Labels: khanty mansiysk chess candidates 2014, Viswanathan Anand, vladimir kramnik
Funny Chess Moments Video: Kramnik vs Ivanchuk -- Just Watch!
Khanty-Mansiysk Chess Candidates 2014: Aronian, Kramnik Favourites to Win, says World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013 Hello everyone,
The World Chess Championship Candidates to be held in March, in Khanty Mansiysk, will decide the Challenger for reigning World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen.
In an exclusive interview to ArmenPress, Magnus Carlsen has said the favourites to win the Chess Candidates 2014 are the Armenian GM Levon Aronian and the Russian GM Vladimir Kramnik.
"The favorites of the Candidates Tournament are probably Aronian and Kramnik, but It's difficult to predict. For me the most important thing is to try to improve as a player. It's for the others to fight to become the most serious competitor," Carlsen said.
To the question how the new world chess champion feels to be the youngest title holder, Carlsen answered frankly and directly: It felt good, and I'm of course very happy to have become World Chess Champion."
We saw several times chess players, after becoming the World Champions, reduce participation in international tournaments. Notwithstanding, Magnus Carlsen does not share their standpoint. In particular, Magnus Carlsen underscored: "I plan to continue to play tournaments as I think that's both fun and important to maintain my strength."
Candidates Tournament will be held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia from 11 March (arrivals) to 1 April 2014. The participants are: Vishy Anand (IND, former world chess champion), Vladimir Kramnik (RUS, world cup 2013 winner), Dmitry Andreikin (RUS, world cup 2013 finalist), Veselin Topalov (BUL, grand-prix 2012-13 winner), Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE, grand-prix 2012-13 runner-up), Levon Aronian (ARM, rating list 2012-13), Sergey Karjakin (RUS, rating list 2012-13), Peter Svidler (RUS, host nominee).
In case Viswanathan Anand does not play, the slot would go to Fabiano Caruana.
Labels: candidates 2014, khanty mansiysk chess, levon aronian, Magnus Carlsen, vladimir kramnik
Zurich Chess Challenge 2014 with Anand, Carlsen, Aronian, Nakamura, Caruana, Gelfand from Jan 29
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
The Zurich Chess Challenge 2014 will be the first encounter between the newly-crowned World Chess Champion, Norway’s Magnus Carlsen, and the former title holder, India’s Viswanathan Anand after their recent match in Chennai.
Zurich Chess 2013 Opening Ceremony: Boris Gelfand, Viswanathan Anand, Vladimir Kramnik and Fabiano Caruana (left to right)
From Wednesday, 29 January to Tuesday, 4 February 2014, they will compete in the 3rd Zurich Chess Challenge along with four other great chess stars Levon Aronian (Arm), Hikaru Nakamura (USA), Fabiano Caruana (It) and Boris Gelfand (Isr). With an average of 2794 Elo points (according to the September 13 rating list) this is going to be the strongest tournament in chess history.
The main sponsor is Oleg Skvortsov of the International Gemological Laboratories, Moscow, with the Zurich Chess Club acting as organizer.
The owner of IGC International Gemological Laboratories, Mr. Oleg Skvortsov, is the creator of this chess event. He not only loves chess, but also plays chess and supports chess events. Furthermore, Mr. Skvortsov knows many of the greatest chess players in the world personally and has played a lot of games with them.
The first Zurich Chess Challenge in 2012 was a match between Kramnik and Aronian. The second event in 2013 was a double-round robin with Kramnik, Anand, Caruana and Gelfand.
For the 2014 edition, a blitz tournament will determine the color distribution. A round-robin tournament of five rounds with a classical time control is then followed by a rapid tournament with colors reversed on the last day of play. A won game in the classical tournament counts 2 points, a draw 1 point. Wins in the rapid tournament count 1 point and draws half a point.
All games will be commented by Yannick Pelletier and Werner Hug and broadcast live via Internet.
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Labels: Boris gelfand, Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru nakamura, levon aronian, Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand, vladimir kramnik, zurich chess challenge 2014
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
Antalya World Chess Team 2013: Russia wins Title, Board 4 Gold for Nepomniachtchi, Board 2 Silver for Karjakin, Reserve Board Bronze for Vitiugov
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
Russia has won the World Chess Team Championship 2013 in Antalya, Turkey. Ukraine had lead the chess championship team standings from the first, but they ran into the Russian brick wall in the eighth round. Russia beat Ukraine, took the lead and won the title by beating Egypt in the last round. (Photos: Anastasiya Karlovich/official website)
On top of the world: The Russians
The team of Russia – Vladimir Kramnik, Alexander Grischuk, Sergey Karjakin, Ian Nepomniachtchi, and Nikita Vitiugov – scored 15 match points (7 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss) and took the gold medal. The other medals were divided on first tiebreak of game points, as China and Ukraine both finished with 14 match points (7 wins, 0 draws, 2 losses). Silver went to China with 23 match points and bronze to Ukraine with 22 match points.
This is the fourth World Team Championship title for Russia. Besides the one in 2013, they have won the gold in 1997, 2005, and 2010. This is the first time Kramnik, Karjakin, and Nepomniachtchi are part of the winning team. For Vitiugov, this is a second title, while it is the third title for Grischuk.
The winning captains: Xu Yun (China), Yury Dokhoian (Russia) and Olexandr Sulypa (Ukraine)
Board Medals were as follows:
Board One 1. Levon Aronian 2. Hikaru Nakamura 3. Vassily Ivanchuk with TTCF Vice President Askin Keles
Board Two 1. Anton Korobov 2. Sergey Karjakin 3. Ding Liren
Board three 1. Daniel Fridman 2. Alexander Onischuk 3. Yue Wang
Member of Appeals Committee Petr Pisk presented the awards
to successful players on Board 4 1. Ian Nepomniachtchi 2. Xiangzhi Bu 3. Yuriy Kryvoruchko
Chief Arbiter Anastasia Sorokina presented the awards to successful players on reserve board 1. Varuzhan Akobian 2. Yu Yangyi 3. Nikita Vitiugov
Final standings (teams)
1 Russia 15
2 China 14
3 Ukraine 14
4 USA 10
5 Armenia 10
6 Netherlands 9
7 Germany 8
8 Azerbaijan 7
9 Turkey 3
10 Egypt 0
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
Labels: alexander grischuk, ian nepomniachtchi, Nikita Vitiugov, sergey karjakin, turkey chess, vladimir kramnik, world chess team championship 2013
FIDE Chess Ratings December 1 Announced: Carlsen, Judit Stay No. 1; Kramnik, Kosteniuk Russia No. 1
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
The latest FIDE chess ratings list has been announced. World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen remains the highest-rated human on the planet with 2782 - a record he had set in April 2013. Carlsen earned two rating points for beating Viswanathan Anand at the Chennai World Chess Championship 2013 recently.
Levon Aronian is the only player, besides Magnus, rated over 2800 elo though, the Armenian is still about 79 points behind. Vladimir Kramnik is third with 2793. Hikaru Nakamura of the US is at fourth place with 2786.
World Chess Ratings Top-20
1 Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2872 10 1990
2 Aronian, Levon g ARM 2803 9 1982
3 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2793 0 1975
4 Nakamura, Hikaru g USA 2786 0 1987
5 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2785 7 1975
6 Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2783 8 1983
7 Caruana, Fabiano g ITA 2782 9 1992
8 Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2777 0 1968
9 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2773 10 1969
10 Svidler, Peter g RUS 2758 11 1976
11 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar g AZE 2757 8 1985
12 Karjakin, Sergey g RUS 2756 0 1990
13 Adams, Michael g ENG 2754 8 1971
14 Dominguez Perez, Leinier g CUB 2754 0 1983
15 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime g FRA 2745 11 1990
16 Vitiugov, Nikita g RUS 2741 0 1987
17 Bacrot, Etienne g FRA 2740 10 1983
18 Naiditsch, Arkadij g GER 2737 9 1985
19 Wang, Hao g CHN 2735 3 1989
20 Giri, Anish g NED 2734 10 1994
In the women's list, Judit Polgar retains her number 1 spot with 2693. In second place is Women's World Chess Champion Hou Yifan with 2629. India's Humpy Koneru is third with 2607. Chessqueen™ Alexandra Kosteniuk is back in the top-10 with a fantastic two months of hard work! Read all about it in her post at ChessQueen. She is now the #1 woman chess player in Russia and tied for world number 8 with a rating of 2527 along with Bela Khotenashvili. Vladimir Kramnik remains top Russian player in the men's group.
World Women's Chess Ratings Top-20
1 Polgar, Judit g HUN 2693 8 1976
2 Hou, Yifan g CHN 2629 0 1994
3 Koneru, Humpy g IND 2607 3 1987
4 Zhao, Xue g CHN 2568 3 1985
5 Muzychuk, Anna g SLO 2566 0 1990
6 Dzagnidze, Nana g GEO 2557 9 1987
7 Lagno, Kateryna g UKR 2543 9 1989
8 Khotenashvili, Bela m GEO 2527 9 1988
9 Kosteniuk, Alexandra g RUS 2527 8 1984
10 Cramling, Pia g SWE 2525 3 1963
11 Cmilyte, Viktorija g LTU 2514 9 1983
12 Ju, Wenjun wg CHN 2514 3 1991
13 Kosintseva, Nadezhda g RUS 2513 9 1985
14 Gunina, Valentina g RUS 2509 10 1989
15 Hoang, Thanh Trang g HUN 2507 10 1980
16 Muzychuk, Mariya m UKR 2503 8 1992
17 Sebag, Marie g FRA 2501 9 1986
18 Ushenina, Anna g UKR 2501 8 1985
19 Krush, Irina m USA 2499 12 1983
20 Kosintseva, Tatiana g RUS 2496 0 1986
For a full list of all ratings read this FIDE page. For a list of the progress chart, read this FIDE chess ratings list.
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
Labels: alexander grischuk, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Anna Muzychuk, fide chess ratings december 2013, Hikaru nakamura, Hou Yifan, Judit Polgar, koneru humpy, levon aronian, Magnus Carlsen, vladimir kramnik
World Team Chess Round 1: Russia - Armenia Draw
Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013
Hello everyone,
The World Team Chess Championship 2013 has begun in Antalya, Turkey. The most important pairing of the first round was Russia versus Armenia, but it ended in a hard-fought draw!
The top game of the day, Vladimir Kramnik versus Levon Aronian was a very sharp struggle in a Botvinnik Slav. The exchange sacrifice by Kramnik resulted in an queen+bishop vs. queen+rook ending, where Kramnik had two pawns for the exchange. The position was in dynamic equilibrium and although Kramnik tried a bit to play for a win, but Aronian didn't let him get anything.
On the second board Movsesian, achieved a nice advantage and wanted to torture Karjakin which didn't materialise in the end as Karjakin managed to exchange pieces to relieve the pressure and save the game. Also on the fourth board Armenia seemed to have the advantage but when Sargissian missed the double attack 39...Qa7 he had to concede the draw to his resourceful opponent Nepomniatchi.
The last game was Grischuk-Akopian in which the Russians hoped that Akopian would falter under the pressure of Grischuk in a rook endgame up a pawn but the game was drawn.
The other big fight was the Ukraine versus USA match. Nakamura wanted to employ the impenetrable Berlin Wall (possibly inspired by the recent Anand - Carlsen World Chess Championship), but Ivanchuk preferred not to bother dealing with it and chose instead the old Two Knights System. As he didn't manage to create something out of this well-studied line, the game ended in a draw. Moiseenko-Onischuk was also a quiet affair in which neither side could imbalance the game.
On the remaining two boards Akobian couldn't convert his nice positional edge into a full point due to the dynamic defense of Kryvorouchko and thus when Korobov punished Kamsky's over-optimistic pawn sacrifice in a long endgame it was time to cheer for Ukrainians.
USA will for sure try to make a comeback in the race for the world team champion title.
Actually the first match to finish in the first round was Netherlands-China. On first board after a Caro Kann opening Anish Giri decided to force a repetition in a balanced position pretty quickly whereas second and fourth boards saw two longer draws in which Dutch players showed strong and solid play, giving their Chinese opponents no chance to take advantage of white pieces.
The only decisive result of the match came from the Tiviakov-Bu Xiangzhi game. Bu had obviously prepared thoroughly for Tiviakov's pet line Alapin Sicilian and even being perhaps the most formidable expert of the variation Tiviakov couldn't achieve any advantage with white.
To make things worse for Netherlands he soon lost control of position under time pressure and collapsed giving China the chance to score an important match victory.
One of the most exciting games of the round was played on the fourth board of Germany-Egypt match between Bassem Amin and David Baramidze. Feeling perhaps the need to win as the leading player of Egypt, Amin didn't allow a threefold repetition and instead moved his king to h4 in a complicated middlegame with queens on the board! It was a very risky decision which was at the end efficiently punished by Baramidze. What was perhaps unfortunate for the representative of Africa was the fact that although in the first three boards they were definitely the underdogs they managed to held their ground and their cause of defeat came from the most unexpected board. But such is chess!
Finally, in the first round the hosts had a tough challenge against the Azerbaijani team but they were obviously hoping to get a good start to the championship. The positions of Turkish players were looking mostly fine at one point however Azeris didn't give them a chance to score a win in the end and the defeat of Yilmaz at the hands of Nidjat Mamedov meant a disappointing loss for the Turkish team.
In the second round pairings include USA-Russia! Also don't forget to follow the live commentary by GM Oleksienko and IM Arduman.
Labels: Ivanchuk, levon aronian, movsesian, nakamura, sergey karjakin, vladimir kramnik, world team chess
World Chess Cup Winner Vladimir Kramnik to Play in 5th London Chess Classic
Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) 2013Hi everyone,
Chess in Schools and Communities is delighted to announce today that GM Vladimir Kramnik, the recent Fide World Cup winner in Tromsø, Norway, has accepted his 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.
London has become a happy hunting ground for Kramnik. Not only has the former World Champion been a regular at the London Chess Classic, winning the 2011 edition, and runner-up twice (behind Magnus Carlsen, the World No.1, on both occasions), in 2009 and 2012, but in 2000, London was also the venue for his historic world title win over Garry Kasparov.
Earlier this week in Tromsø, Kramnik showed he’s still a major force in the game with his easy victory in the four-game Fide World Cup final over the current Russian champion, Dmitry Andreikin; that will see both qualify for next year’s Candidates’ tournament. And Kramnik’s overall performance in the World Cup, also saw the former World Champion once again reclaiming the World No. 3 spot in the September Fide rating list published this week.
Kramnik now joins World Champion Vishy Anand and the US No.1, Hikaru Nakamura as the the third player to have confirmed they will play in the 5th London Chess Classic. The rest of the 16-player Rapid field will be announced in the coming week.
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Labels: london chess classic 2013, vladimir kramnik
Vladimir Kramnik wins Chess World Cup 2013 in Tromso, Norway
Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) 2013
Hi everyone,
Former World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia has won the Fide Chess World Cup in Tromso after beating Russian Dmitry Andreikin 2,5-1,5 in the final match today in Tromso, Norway. Kramnik earns $120 000 USD for the hard work. Both Andreikin and Kramnik have already qualified for the Candidates Matches 2014.
Kramnik entered the World Cup by rating, having average of 2798 ELO. In round 1 he had scored a perfect 2-0 against Gillan Bwalya (ZAM). In rounds 2 he defeated his compatriot Mikhail Kobalia after rapid tiebreaks.
In Round 3 Kramnik went through tiebreaks again, and defeated Alexander Areshchenko 3-1 after the rapid games. Another set of Ukranians expected Kramnik in round 4 and round 5. The legendary Vassily Ivanchuk lost the classical match 1,5-0,5, same was the fate of Anton Korobov in the quarter finals.
In the semi final Kramnik met fierce resistance from Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and prevailed only after rapid tiebreaks.
The final against Andreikin started the best possible way for Kramnik – with a victory in game 1. From that point on Kramnik started playing stable chess without risks. Drawing games 2 and 3 put Andreikin in a difficult situation. Andreikin was obliged to look for a win in the final game, but he blundered and after a friendly shake of hands for draw, Kramnik won the Chess World Cup 2013. (with inputs from www.chessdom.com)
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Labels: candidates 2014, chess world cup 2013, dmitry andreikin, vladimir kramnik
World Chess Cup 2013 Final: Kramnik Leads Andreikin 2-1 in Tromso
Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) 2013
Hi everyone,
Former World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik leads against Dmitry Andreikin in the Chess World Cup Final match 2-1 in Tromso. In the final game, Andreikin is in a must-win situation to be able to force a tiebreak. Both the Russians have already qualified for the Candidates 2014.
The second game of the final match witnessed a cautious Andreikin trying to break Vladimir Kramnik's defences. Andreikin failed to capitalise on a risky continuation by Kramnik and the game ended in a draw. The third game of the final match was another draw on Sunday. Andreikin did not go for any complications and played safe enough to steer the game to an easy draw. Kramnik on his part had no reason to try and win as he is already leading in the match.
The FIDE World Cup is a knockout, starting with 128 players, with two games (90 min for 40 moves + 30 min for the rest, with 30 seconds increment) between pairs of players. The tiebreaks consist of two rapid games (25 min + 10 sec), then two accelerated games (10 min + 10 sec), and finally an Armageddon.
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Labels: dmitry andreikin, vladimir kramnik, world chess cup 2013
Chess World Cup 2013 All-Russian Final: Vladimir Kramnik vs Dmitry Andreikin
Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) 2013Hi everyone,
Nigel Short with Vladimir Kramnik at the press conference.
After a month of very strong chess, the Chess World Cup has its finalists - both Russians at that: Vladimir Kramnik and Dmitry Andreikin. In the tiebreaks on Wednesday, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave lost the first game with White against Vladimir Kramnik and the former World Champion held his ground to draw the second game. Dmitry Andreikin and Evgeny Tomashevsky drew their first rapid game but the reigning Russian Chess Champion defeated his opponent in the second.
According to the regulations Vladimir Kramnik qualifies for the 2014 Candidates Tournament as one of the finalists of the FIDE World Cup. His victory today helped his compatriot Sergey Karjakin, who had the highest average rating after Kramnik and Aronian, to qualify for the Candidates Tournament as well. “I’m waiting for a present from “Alpari” [the sponsors of Sergey Karjakin] - I think I deserve it,” said Vladimir Kramnik with a smile.
Speaking about his opponent in the final match the former World Champion siad: “I’ve played two games against Andreikin this year and lost both of them. One game I lost by an awful blunder. But that doesn’t make me afraid of him. I still believe I’m a slight favorite in this match. It would be an interesting point to try and take revenge.”
Evgeny Tomashevsky had to end his great run at the World Cup this year with a final fall in the semis. He was unable to exploit the advantage of the white pieces in the first game and it seemed as though the second game would also end in a draw. But, Dmitry Andreikin played precisely to win the match.
“I didn’t expect Evgeny and I would meet in a match. Even one round before when I played against Svidler and he played against Kamsky the chances of us meeting in the next stage seemed so small. I’m very glad to qualify for the Candidates Tournament even though I’m not really sure how I’m going to prepare for the event and how I'll play there…” said Dmitry Andreikin after the match.
Answering a question about his chances in the final Dmitry Andreikin pointed out: “Yes, it’s true that I have 2:0 against Kramnik but I must say I haven't played very well in classical chess in this event so far. At one moment I had to use the famous tactic where you're satisfied with two draws in classical and then try to win in rapid. That wasn't my goal from the beginning but it happened as I couldn't get anything with White. I decided to save my energy for rapid. I believe at this level it’s easier to make a draw with Black than to win with White. In any case, I’m sure Kramnik will try to press in classical chess. I’m very happy we have a free day tomorrow as I had only one free day before. It was a long time ago, after the second round when I accidentally won a classical game. The tournament hasn't finished yet - the final is ahead”.
After the rest day Vladimir Kramnik will play with the white pieces against Dmitry Andreikin on the 30th of August.
Time controls and rulesThe time control for each two-game match is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move one. If the score is equal there are two rapid chess tiebreak games, played at a rate of 25 minutes for each player with an increment of 10 seconds per move. If the score is still equal then two accelerated games will be played, with a time control of 10 min + 10 sec. If the score is still equal two more games will be played at 5 min + 3 sec. If the winner is still not determined then a final Armageddon game with 5 minutes for White and 4 minutes for Black, with a 3 sec increment after move 60, will be played. In this game Black has draw odds (i.e. he wins if the game is drawn).
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Labels: chess world cup, nigel short, vladimir kramnik
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 Round 4: Kramnik and Adams Lead
Alexandra Kosteniuk's Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) 2013
Hi everyone,
Four rounds have already been played in Dortmund and we have two leaders. Michael Adams and Vladmir Kramnik stand on top with 3/4 points. Wang Hao recovered from his first round blunder and won two out of three games to be the only player half a point behind the leaders. After breaking the 2800-barrier with his first win, defending champion Fabiano Caruana lost twice and needs to recover quickly if he wants to get a shot for the title.
Today’s round saw three decisive games. Vladimir Kramnik beat Georg Meier with black, Arkadij Naiditsch got his first win over out-of-form Dmitry Andreikin and Wang Hao used the white pieces to defeat Fabiano Caruana. The games were very tactical and entertaining for the spectators.
Today’s win by Vladimir Kramnik over Georg Meier showed both the deep preparation and great tactical ability of the former world champion. After the gift he received in the first round, where Wang Hao blundered terribly, the Russian drew two German players. The victory obtained today puts him back in the fight to get his eleventh title at this prestigious tournament.
Meier used one of Kramnik’s weapons, the Catalan. The Russian is known for his great knowledge of this opening with both colors, and proved it today. The fight began on the queenside, where black eventually won a pawn. Meier reacted going for a counterattack against the f7 square, but Kramnik used his queen as an effective defender. When black won a second pawn and closed the possibility of falling against a direct attack, the German decided to give up hopes.
Two strong young players battled today. Wang Hao defeated Fabiano Caruana with white in a 39-moves game. This was Wang’s second win of the event and Caruana’s second loss. With the German players showing that they will not be easy targets, it will be hard for the Italian to recover, but it would be naive to rule him out completely.
The Chinese opened with a Barcza system, and got the pair of bishops by move 13. Caruana activated his knights in the center but had to face his opponent’s counterplay on the kingside. The final blow came over the open h-file, where white put both his queen and rook in line. Caruana did not react correctly and gave up on move 30, when it is unavoidable to lose an important amount of material.
Dmitry Andreikin is not having a good tournament. Today, he lost his third game against Germany’s number 1 Arkadij Naiditsch. The Russian did not show his class at the Universiade event in Kazan and continues his bad run at this strong invitational.
The players went for the Ruy Lopez and the fight for the initiative began from the very first move. Andreikin played a quick g5, leaving his king rather weak, although he already had the advantage of the pair of bishops in exchange. Naiditsch activated his knights in the center and started to pick up black’s loose pawns. The result was an endgame where white has no less than five pawns for black’s bishop. Andreikin resigned on move 49. (www.chessdom.com)
Standings after 4 rounds:
1 Kramnik, Vladimir RUS 2784 3
2 Adams, Michael ENG 2740 3
3 Wang, Hao CHN 2752 2½
4 Khenkin, Igor GER 2605 2
5 Leko, Peter HUN 2737 2
6 Meier, Georg GER 2610 2
7 Naiditsch, Arkadij GER 2710 2
8 Fridman, Daniel GER 2629 1½
9 Caruana, Fabiano ITA 2796 1½
10 Andreikin, Dmitry RUS 2727 ½
Official website
From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Labels: dortmund chess, Georg Meier, vladimir kramnik
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