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Labels: dmitry andreikin, vladimir kramnik, world chess cup 2013

Saturday, August 24, 2013

World Chess Cup Round 5, Game 1: Kramnik Beats Korobov, Others Draw

Hi everyone,

The hall at the World Chess Cup in Tromso is virtually empty if you compare with the fact that 128 players had battled for luck a few days back. Only eight of those players are still "standing".

Results of Round 5, Game 1Andreikin Dmitry 2727 – Svidler Peter 2746 ½-½
Kramnik Vladimir 2784 – Korobov Anton 2720 1-0
Tomashevsky Evgeny 2709 – Kamsky Gata 2763 ½-½
Vachier-Lagrave Maxime 2719 – Caruana Fabiano 2796 ½-½

Playing with White Vladimir Kramnik defeated Anton Korobov and took the lead in their match. The other games finished in draws.

Tomashevsky and Kamsky left the playing hall quite quickly as their game finished after 16 moves. Peter Svidler drew with Black against Dmitry Andreikin, while Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who had the white pieces against Fabiano Caruana, didn’t manage to convert his material advantage into a full point.

Vladimir Kramnik came to the playing hall less than 3 minutes before the game. Photo: Anastasiya Karlovich (Replay the Kramnik - Korobov game with Chess King)

The Russian player got a very promising position because Korobov “chose the wrong strategy in the opening”. “The plan with 16...f6 and 17...Bf7was clearly unsuccessful“, Vladimir Kramnik pointed out. Nevertheless, the former World Champion was unhappy with his play as he didn’t play precisely and gave his opponent chances. White let all of his advantage slip by playing 29.Rb7 but in time trouble the Ukrainian player didn’t take the pawn on c6 and weakened his kingside by playing 32…g6. The game lasted for another 20 moves but Anton couldn't change the evaluation or the outcome. “It was torture today”, said the Ukrainian player.

Evgeny Tomashevsky didn’t get anything with White against the Slav Defence chosen by Gata Kamsky and after 16 moves the players signed a peace agreement. After the “craziest match” in his career against Alexander Morozevich, Tomashevsky definitely wasn't in a mood to fight to bare kings today.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave managed to put some pressure on his opponent and Fabiano Caruana preferred to give up a pawn and develop his pieces. The French player traded a few pieces in the hope of exploiting his material advantage but Black was in time to get enough activity to hold the balance.

Dmitry Andreikin chose the same variation as in the rapid game against Sergey Karjakin but Peter Svidler was prepared and didn’t allow his opponent to achieve anything in the opening. The spectators were worried about Black’s pawn structure but it seems Peter Svidler was never in danger. On the contrary, he could have tried to play for more in the final position due to the activity of his pieces, but the game finished in a draw by repetition.

The 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: tromso chess, world chess cup 2013

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

World Chess Cup 2013 – Round 4, Game 2: Nakamura, Zuniga, Ivanchuk, Mamedyarov Knocked Out

Hi everyone,

The classical games of the fourth round at the World Chess Cup 2013 witnessed four players going straight into the next round without playing the tiebreaks on Thursday. Vladimir Kramnik knocked out Vassily Ivanchuk, Gata Kamsky knocked out Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Fabiano Caruana knocked out Julio Granda Zuniga and Anton Korobov stunned Hikaru Nakamura.

The all-Russian matches Morozevich Alexander – Tomashevsky Evgeny and Andreikin Dmitry – Karjakin Sergey, as well as Le Quang Liem – Svidler Peter and Vachier-Lagrave Maxime – Gelfand Boris will be decided in the rapid/blitz tie-breaks on Thursday. You can watch all the games of the World Chess Cup live at the official website.

It wasn't that any of the losers were not in form. It's just like it in the World Cup. One minor error and you get going, and that's the excitement and pressure both. Stay tuned for more exciting chess as the field narrows down to the last eight on Thursday.

Round 4 game 2 results:
Andreikin Dmitry – Karjakin Sergey ½-½
Caruana Fabiano – Granda Zuniga Julio 1-0
Ivanchuk Vassily – Kramnik Vladimir 0-1
Kamsky Gata – Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 1-0
Le Quang Liem – Svidler Peter ½-½
Morozevich Alexander – Tomashevsky Evgeny ½-½
Nakamura Hikaru – Korobov Anton ½-½
Vachier-Lagrave Maxime – Gelfand Boris ½-½

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Tuesday, August 20, 2013

World Chess Cup 2013 Round 4 Parings for Aug 20: Watch Live

Hi everyone,

Tiebreaks Round 3 at World Cup 2013

The World Chess Cup 2013 is down to the last 16. The excitement continues. Three of the oldest players in the tournament are still standings and only one Asian has made it thus far. Peru's Julio Granda Zuniga is the lowest rated and came so far with the maximum upsets. Let's continue with the action. Russia's still got the most men in which means two boards will witness an all-Russian battle. Defending champion Peter Svidler is right there in the last-16 as well. Don't forget to watch the World Cup Live at the official website.

Round 4 Match 1
Morozevich Alexander RUS 2739 – Tomashevsky Evgeny RUS 2706

Round 4 Match 2
Caruana Fabiano ITA 2796 – Granda Zuniga Julio E PER 2664

Round 4 Match 3
Ivanchuk Vassily UKR 2731 – Kramnik Vladimir RUS 2784

Round 4 Match 4
Le Quang Liem VIE 2702 – Svidler Peter RUS 2746

Round 4 Match 5
Andreikin Dmitry RUS 2716 – Karjakin Sergey RUS 2772

Round 4 Match 6
Nakamura Hikaru USA 2772 – Korobov Anton UKR 2720

Round 4 Match 7
Vachier-Lagrave Maxime FRA 2719 – Gelfand Boris ISR 2764

Round 4 Match 8
Kamsky Gata USA 2741 – Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE 2775

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Labels: round 4 pairings, world chess cup 2013

Thursday, August 15, 2013

World Chess Cup 2013 Round 2, Game 1: 12 Decisive Games

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

Hi everyone,

In the first game of the second round there were a few blunders and unexpected results. The biggest upset of the round was Peruvian veteran Julio Granda Zuniga who defeated Peter Leko as White.

Fourteen-year-old Chinese star Wei Yi (2551) upset Alexei Shirov (2696) with a comfortable draw as Black, while Isan Ortiz Suarez from Cuba suddenly lost to French GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in a position with a huge advantage.

Alexander Morozevich blundered in a winning position but his opponent Rafael Leitao didn't see the winning shot and instead lost. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov didn’t convert a huge advantage against Maxim Matlakov, while Wang Hao got a three-time repetition in a lost position.

Local hero Jon Ludvig Hammer, who defeated Sergey Movsesian in the previous round, drew with David Navara in a game where he had a better position, although it wasn't winning as he'd thought after the game.

Some players preferred not to take any risks in the first game and didn’t mind a short draw. Peace agreements were signed relatively quickly in the games Dubov-Ponomariov, Bacrot-Moiseenko, Jakovenko-Eljanov, and Lysyj-Aronian. The others fought for many hours but the positions remained balanced in the Kobalia-Kramnik and Svidler-Bologan games.

In the 12 decisive games the victories for White outnumbered Black by 10 to 2. Only Vassily Ivanchuk and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave won with the black pieces.

Isan Ortiz Suarez had a winning position but didn’t make the proper defensive moves and let the pawns of his opponent Maxime Vachier-Lagrave advance too far. The Cuban may have missed 43...g4!

Indian GM B. Adhiban (2567), who won the first match against Russian GM Evgeny Alekseev (2710), drew Alexander Fier (2595) from Brazil, who had defeated another 2700+ player, Radoslaw Wojtaszek. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov had a winning position but lost his advantage in one move. "Seems I’m getting old if I cannot win such positions," Mamedyarov wrote on his Facebook page. Argentinian Ruben Felgaer (2586), who beat Alexander Riazantsev (2700) in the first match, drew with Black against Ukrainian Alexander Areshchenko.

Julio Granda Zuniga

Julio Granda Zuniga of Peru has shown great play and results so far. He knocked out Hrant Melkumyan in the first match, and defeated Peter Leko. Alexander Morozevich won his game but could simply have lost by force on move 35. His opponent, Rafael Leitao from Brazil, who outplayed Ernesto Inarkiev the previous day, missed a winning variation starting with 35…Ng3. He played Ng3 five moves later but it turned out to be an unfortunate decision as his position became lost. (Anastasia Karlovich/official website)

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Tuesday, August 13, 2013

World Chess Cup 2013 Round 1 Game 2: Polgar, Volokitin, Nepomniachtchi Knocked Out

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

Hi everyone,

All the players are checked before they enter the playing hall.

Just as on day one there were plenty of fireworks on the second day of the FIDE World Cup in Tromsø. Thirteen players won their matches with a 2-0 score (not counting Alexander Moiseenko, whose opponent could not come to Tromsø).

While some victories with impressive results could be expected from top players such as Aronian, Kramnik, Grischuk, Nakamura and Dominguez, there were also a few 2-0 results produced by players with ratings lower than their opponents.

Russian GM Daniil Dubov managed to outplay experienced and higher rated Ukrainian GM Sergey Fedorchuk. American GM Ray Robson didn’t leave any chances for Ukrainian GM Andrei Volokitin by winning 2-0. One of the most surprising results for those who compare the ratings of opponents happened in the Nepomniachtchi-Wei match. The youngest participant of the event, Chinese GM Yi Wei (a nominee of FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov), defeated Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi 1.5-0.5.

The participants of the upcoming Women’s World Championship match Hou Yifan and Anna Ushenina are doing well so far. Anna Ushenina defeated Peter Svidler in his favorite Gruenfeld and Hou Yifan drew the second game against Alexei Shirov. The reigning and former Women’s World Champions will proceed to the playoff stage on Tuesday.

Judit Polgar, the strongest female player in the history of chess, lost out on a number of winning chances, drew against Cuban GM Isan Reynaldo Ortiz and lost the match. A total of 28 matches were undecided after two games at the classical time control and 56 players will continue to fight at 3 p.m. local time on August 13.
Russian GM Alexander Morozevich lost his first game, but managed to equalize.

Rising star from Russia GM Daniil Dubov defeated GM Sergey Fedorchuk 2-0 as well. GM Michael Adams made a second draw against Wan Yunguo of China. The strongest Chinese GM Wang Hao outplayed his compatriot Liu Qingnan. An unexpectedly quick elimination for Ukrainian GM Andrei Volokitin. Ukrainian GM Vassily Ivanchuk outplayed Polish IM Jan-Krzysztof Duda, who upset him with a draw the day before.

The FIDE World Cup is a knockout which starts with 128 players and runs from August 10 to September 3rd. The top two players will qualify for the next FIDE Candidates Tournament which will take place in March 2014 and determine the challenger for the World Championship match in 2014.

The 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: Andrei Volokitin, ian nepomniachtichi, Judit Polgar, world chess cup 2013

Monday, August 12, 2013

World Chess Cup 2013 Round 1: Top Seeds Win; Some 'Surprises' Otherwise

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

Hi everyone,

The first games of the World Chess Cup 2013 opening round started in Tromso after Commissioner for Business, Culture and Sports of Tromso Municipality, Mr. Jonas Stein, made the first symbolic move in the Aronian-Markov game.

The first day was marked by strong security measures, interesting games with a few surprises, and a minute of silence for GM Kurnosov. The favorites in the higher half of the draw met significantly lower rated opponents. The top seeds won their games relatively easily, but there were also a few surprises like the loss by Super GM Alexander Morozevich against Canadian GM Bator Sambuev. The American player GM Ray Robson won a beautiful game against the higher rated opponent GM Andrey Volokitin. GM Gata Kamsky and GM Michael Adams drew against Chinese players Lou Yiping and Wan Yunguo respectively, while the Chinese derby between Wang Hao and Liu Qingnan also finished in a draw. Playing with Black former Women’s World Champion Hou Yifan drew against GM Alexey Shirov.

Current European Champion GM Alexander Moiseenko had a rest day as his opponent GM Adly Ahmed from Egypt had to enlist for obligatory service in the Egyptian Army and could not make it to the tournament. Sofia Rules are not in force at the tournament so it’s up to the players to decide when they want to offer a draw. The first game to finish was Zvjagintsev-Swiercz, 12 moves.

Four women are taking part in the FIDE World Cup in Tromso: Judit Polgar, Hou Yifan, Anna Ushenina and Deysi Cori. Former Women’s World Champion Hou Yifan managed to make a draw against GM Alexei Shirov, while the others lost their games. (www.chessdom.com)

World Chess Cup 2013 round 1 results
1 Aronian, Levon ARM 2813 1 – 0 Markov, Mikhail KGZ 2304
2 G., Akash IND 2340 0 – 1 Caruana, Fabiano ITA 2796
3 Kramnik, Vladimir RUS 2784 1 – 0 Bwalya, Gillan ZAM 2341
4 Bjelobrk, Igor AUS 2341 0 – 1 Grischuk, Alexander RUS 2785
5 Karjakin, Sergey RUS 2772 1 – 0 Ali, Sebbar MAR 2371
6 Cori T., Deysi PER 2434 0 – 1 Nakamura, Hikaru USA 2772
7 Gelfand, Boris ISR 2764 1 – 0 Rahman, Ziaur BAN 2470
8 Lou, Yiping CHN 2484 1/2 – 1/2 Kamsky, Gata USA 2741
9 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar AZE 2775 1 – 0 Shoker, Samy EGY 2489
10 El Gindy, Essam EGY 2487 0 – 1 Dominguez Perez, Leinier CUB 2757
11 Ponomariov, Ruslan UKR 2756 1 – 0 Hansen, Torbjorn Ringdal NOR 2492
12 Liu, Qingnan CHN 2500 1/2 – 1/2 Wang, Hao CHN 2747
13 Svidler, Peter RUS 2746 1 – 0 Ushenina, Anna UKR 2500
14 Wan, Yunguo CHN 2512 1/2 – 1/2 Adams, Michael ENG 2740
15 Leko, Peter HUN 2744 1 – 0 Johannessen, Leif Erlend NOR 2519
16 Sambuev, Bator CAN 2524 1 – 0 Morozevich, Alexander RUS 2739
17 Vitiugov, Nikita RUS 2719 1 – 0 Holt, Conrad USA 2539
18 Salem, A.R. Saleh UAE 2556 0 – 1 Giri, Anish NED 2737
19 Ivanchuk, Vassily UKR 2731 1/2 – 1/2 Duda, Jan-Krzysztof POL 2534
20 Cori, Jorge PER 2569 1/2 – 1/2 Radjabov, Teimour AZE 2733
21 Andreikin, Dmitry RUS 2716 1/2 – 1/2 Darini, Pouria IRI 2535
22 Durarbayli, Vasif AZE 2567 1/2 – 1/2 Korobov, Anton UKR 2720
23 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime FRA 2719 1 – 0 Shabalov, Alexander USA 2546
24 Wei, Yi CHN 2551 1/2 – 1/2 Nepomniachtchi, Ian RUS 2723
25 Navara, David CZE 2715 1 – 0 Mareco, Sandro ARG 2561
26 Agdestein, Simen NOR 2567 0 – 1 Bacrot, Etienne FRA 2714
27 Alekseev, Evgeny RUS 2710 1/2 – 1/2 Adhiban, B. IND 2567
28 Paragua, Mark PHI 2565 0 – 1 Jakovenko, Dmitry RUS 2724
29 Le, Quang Liem VIE 2702 1 – 0 Barbosa, Oliver PHI 2571
30 Kaidanov, Gregory S USA 2574 0 – 1 Areshchenko, Alexander UKR 2709
31 Malakhov, Vladimir RUS 2707 1 – 0 Hansen, Eric CAN 2584
32 Ramirez, Alejandro USA 2588 1/2 – 1/2 Tomashevsky, Evgeny RUS 2706
33 So, Wesley PHI 2710 1 – 0 Ipatov, Alexander TUR 2584
34 Christiansen, Larry M USA 2584 0 – 1 Fressinet, Laurent FRA 2708
35 Riazantsev, Alexander RUS 2700 1/2 – 1/2 Felgaer, Ruben ARG 2586
36 Flores, Diego ARG 2578 0 – 1 Vallejo Pons, Francisco ESP 2706
37 Eljanov, Pavel UKR 2702 1/2 – 1/2 Brunello, Sabino ITA 2607
38 Fier, Alexandr BRA 2595 1/2 – 1/2 Wojtaszek, Radoslaw POL 2701
39 Moiseenko, Alexander UKR 2699 1 – 0 w/o Adly, Ahmed EGY 2594
40 Hammer, Jon Ludvig NOR 2605 1/2 – 1/2 Movsesian, Sergei ARM 2699
41 Shirov, Alexei LAT 2696 1/2 – 1/2 Hou, Yifan CHN 2609
42 Ortiz Suarez, Isan Reynaldo CUB 2609 1 – 0 Polgar, Judit HUN 2696
43 Jobava, Baadur GEO 2696 1 – 0 Kravtsiv, Martyn UKR 2607
44 Nguyen, Ngoc Truong Son VIE 2625 1 – 0 Akopian, Vladimir ARM 2691
45 Bruzon Batista, Lazaro CUB 2698 1/2 – 1/2 Najer, Evgeniy RUS 2626
46 Robson, Ray USA 2623 1 – 0 Volokitin, Andrei UKR 2688
47 Li, Chao b CHN 2693 1/2 – 1/2 Postny, Evgeny ISR 2628
48 Popov, Ivan RUS 2644 1 – 0 Ragger, Markus AUT 2680
49 Inarkiev, Ernesto RUS 2693 1/2 – 1/2 Leitao, Rafael BRA 2632
50 Melkumyan, Hrant ARM 2632 1/2 – 1/2 Granda Zuniga, Julio E PER 2664
51 Kryvoruchko, Yuriy UKR 2678 0 – 1 Negi, Parimarjan IND 2643
52 Hracek, Zbynek CZE 2635 1/2 – 1/2 Bologan, Viktor MDA 2672
53 Dreev, Aleksey RUS 2668 1/2 – 1/2 Azarov, Sergei BLR 2636
54 Dubov, Daniil RUS 2624 1 – 0 Fedorchuk, Sergey A. UKR 2669
55 Onischuk, Alexander USA 2667 1 – 0 Iturrizaga, Eduardo VEN 2660
56 Smeets, Jan NED 2623 1/2 – 1/2 Matlakov, Maxim RUS 2676
57 Shimanov, Aleksandr RUS 2655 1/2 – 1/2 Jones, Gawain C B ENG 2645
58 Filippov, Anton UZB 2630 1/2 – 1/2 Romanov, Evgeny RUS 2651
59 Safarli, Eltaj AZE 2660 0 – 1 Amin, Bassem EGY 2652
60 Lupulescu, Constantin ROU 2634 1/2 – 1/2 Sasikiran, Krishnan IND 2660
61 Zvjaginsev, Vadim RUS 2659 1/2 – 1/2 Swiercz, Dariusz POL 2654
62 Kobalia, Mikhail RUS 2651 1/2 – 1/2 Khismatullin, Denis RUS 2653
63 Yu, Yangyi CHN 2662 1/2 – 1/2 Beliavsky, Alexander G SLO 2651
64 Istratescu, Andrei FRA 2646 0 – 1 Lysyj, Igor RUS 2648

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Labels: world chess cup 2013

Saturday, August 10, 2013

World Chess Cup 2013 Aug 10-Sept 3 : Official Video and Officials

Hi everyone,

The time has come for some great chess once again. It's the FIDE World Chess Cup 2013. Here is the official video for the event followed by the list of officials for this tournament.

The chief arbiter is IA Ignatius Leong from Singapore. He is FIDE Secretary-General and has been one of Asia's leading organizers for more than 20 years. At 23, he became one of the world’s youngest International Arbiters.

Arbiters:
Chief Arbiter: IA Ignatius Leong – Singapore
Deputy Chief Arbiter: IA Karl-Johan Rist - Norway

Arbiters:
Rounds 1-5:
IA Faik Gasanov - Azerbaijan
IA Husan Turdialiev - Uzbekistan
IA Sava Stoisavlijevic - Serbia
IA Ashot Vardapetian – Armenia

Arbiters, Rounds 1-2:
IA Anatoliy Byhovsky - Russia
IA Eduard Duchovny - USA
IA Amiram Kaplan - Israel
IA Jesus Mena - Spain
IA Sainbayar Tserendorj - Mongolia

Appeals Committee:
Deputy President of FIDE, Mr. Georgios Makropoulos – Greece
Vice president of FIDE, Mr. Ali Nihat Yazici - Turkey
Vice president of FIDE, Mr. Boris Kutin - Slovenia

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