|
|
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
Corus, Wijk aan Zee 2006 The Corus tournament in Wijk aan Zee is a category 19 event which, as usual has an interesting a varied field whilst maintaining a high category. The ELO favourite is Veselin Topalov whose last performance was his tremendous performance in San Luis to take the FIDE World Championship title. Topalov finished 3rd in last year's event playing some of the most impressive chess but getting demolished in two games where he played quite a bit weaker. He followed that with 2nd place at Linares but level on points with the winner Kasparov then a big home win in the Mtel Masters before his FIDE triumph. He is in my view the clear favourite with the only question being his motivation and form after winning the title. Second favourite is Viswanathan Anand. His major events last year coincided exactly with those of Topalov and he was second best to the Bulgarian every time. Slow starts especially at last year's Wijk aan Zee and San Luis events were the main cause so it will be interesting to see if Anand comes up with a solution to this problem. 23 years old Levon Aronian is 68 points stronger than he was this time last year. Wins in the Stepanakert tournament in October and the FIDE World Cup in Khanty Mansyisk were the highlights of his year. His invitation is a big chance for him to confirm his top 10 status. Last year's winner Peter Leko didn't have such a good time for the rest of the year, 50% at Linares, a -1 score at Dortmund and the same at the FIDE Championship in San Luis made it eventually a year to forget. Nevertheless Leko is a very strong and professional player who will be looking to do well. Vassily Ivanchuk has had an up and down year, much like his entire career. One of the most gifted players of his generation, his temperament has let him down over the years. He should add very much to the interest of the event. Boris Gelfand is one of the most reliable professionals but doesn't get the invitations his ability suggests he should. He finished 1st= in Bermuda in January and Biel in July. It will be interesting to see where he finishes. 22 year old Etienne Bacrot seems to have been around for ever (2nd at the category 4 Enghien les Bains tournament 10 years ago) but is only now starting to get the really top invites. Although he is only two points stronger than last year he had some good results notably 1st= at the Karpov tournament in Poikovsky, 2nd= at the Dortmund tournament and 3rd in the FIDE World Cup. 20 year old and twice World Junior Champion Shakhriyar Mamedyarov looked like qualifying for the event as of right by winning the B event last year. Two losses in the final three rounds relegated him to a share of 2nd place. He was invited as a last minute replacement for Vladimir Kramnik. He won the Lausanne Young Masters and his second World Juniors. He has just got over 2700 for the first time. Michael Adams had a pretty bad year in 2005 including a terrible thumping by the computer programme Hydra. Last year he gained a handful of rating points in Wijk aan Zee and he will hope to get at least a similar result this year. Ivan Sokolov is the top local representative and a very enterprising player. His rating hasn't changed much since last year, his best result was 1st= in the Sarajevo tournament in May. Should very much add to the fighting nature of the tournament. Gata Kamsky returns to the highest level after a long gap. He has finished his training as a lawyer and played a number of events in the US this year. He returned to chess with a number of participations in the New York Masters a series of rapid events held in 2004 followed by the US Championships. He beat Magnus Carlsen to finish 9th in the recent FIDE World Cup. A real wild card, he will fight hard, his final result is unpredictable. Again an interesting choice by the organisers. Sergei Tiviakov is 42 points up on the year and has earned his invitation to the Netherland's premier event. Formerly from Russia he's had a Dutch designation since 2000. It will be interesting to see how he does. 15 year old Sergey Karjakin is one of a band of very young players tipped for the very top. 61 points up on the year he is in the event as of right having won the B event last year. He won the Young Stars of the World tournament in Kirishi in May. At 15, like Magnus Carlsen, progress could be very quick, if he's the real deal. Finally Loek Van Wely who is the reigning Dutch Champion but lost 32 points over the year. The good news for him is that his performances at last year's Wijk aan Zee and the Dortmund tournament were his best in the strongest events he played. Expect him to be superbly prepared and difficult to beat. The B tournament should also be very entertaining. 20 year olds David Navara and last minute Arkadij Naiditsch (winner of this year's Dortmund tournament) are the ELO favourites but 15 year old Magnus Carlsen is on a rapid improvement curve gaining 70+ points this year. Ivan Chaparinov is Veselin Topalov's second, very strong in the opening and at 19 years old someone to look out for. He plays entertaining and enterprising chess too.
Players
Group A
No WR Name YOB t NAT Ja06
1 (2) Topalov, Veselin 1975 g BUL 2801
2 (3) Anand, Viswanathan 1969 g IND 2792
3 (5) Aronian, Levon 1982 g ARM 2752
4 (7) Leko, Peter 1979 g HUN 2740
5 (8) Ivanchuk, Vassily 1969 g UKR 2729
6 (9) Gelfand, Boris 1968 g ISR 2723
7 (13) Bacrot, Etienne 1983 g FRA 2717
8 (15) Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 1985 g AZE 2709
9 (17) Adams, Michael 1971 g ENG 2707
10 (24) Sokolov, Ivan 1968 g NED 2689
11 (25) Kamsky, Gata 1974 g USA 2686
12 (33) Tiviakov, Sergei 1973 g NED 2669
13 (42) Karjakin, Sergey 1990 g UKR 2660
14 (59) Van Wely, Loek 1972 g NED 2647
Average: 2716. Category 19.
Group B
No WR Name YOB t NAT Ja06
1 (42) Navara, David 1985 g CZE 2660
2 (46) Naiditsch, Arkadij 1985 g GER 2657
3 (60) Almasi, Zoltan 1976 g HUN 2646
4 (69) Motylev, Alexander 1979 g RUS 2638
5 (77) Vescovi, Giovanni 1978 g BRA 2633
6 (89) Beliavsky, Alexander G 1953 g SLO 2626
7 (90) Carlsen, Magnus 1990 g NOR 2625
8 (90) Cheparinov, Ivan 1986 g BUL 2625
9 (108) Jobava, Baadur 1983 g GEO 2614
10 (211) Stellwagen, Daniel 1987 g NED 2573
11 (301) L'Ami, Erwin 1985 g NED 2550
12 (301) Smeets, Jan 1985 g NED 2550
13 (363) Koneru, Humpy 1987 g IND 2537
14 (653) Lahno, Kateryna 1989 m UKR 2500
Average 2602. Category 15.
Group C
Name t NAT Ja06
1 (101) Suat Atalik g TUR 2618
2 (250) Klaus Bischoff g GER 2560
3 (322) Li Shilong g CHN 2543
4 (528) Jan Werle m NED 2514
5 (606) John van der Wiel g NED 2505
6 (806) Yge Visser m NED 2485
7 (907) Ahmed Adly g EGY 2473
8 (939) Harmen Jonkman g NED 2470
9 (988) Karel van der Weide g NED 2466
10 (1303) Cyril Marcelin g FRA 2441
11 (2210) Kateryna Atalik wg TUR 2399
12 (3013) Yochanan Afek m ISR 2370
13 (4323) Pieter Hopman NED 2332
14 (10826) Marlies Bensdorp wm NED 2230
Average rating 2458. Category 9 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Kasparov Books |
|
|
 Giant Chess Sets |
|
|
 Chess Computers |
|
|
 Chess Assistant |
|
|
 Books 2000/1/2/3 |
