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WELCOME TO THE WEEK IN CHESS
News
TWIC Magazine
TWIC #662 zipped downloads


Year in Review
TWIC Theory
TWIC Chess Theory Service monthly format. Issues already published can be bought singly or together from http://www.chesscenter.com/twictheory/
E-Mail for comments and contact: twictheory@chess.co.uk
 

Last update 20:45 BST, 15:45 EDT, Tuesday 17th July 2007.

Send news feedback to Mark Crowther at mdcrowth@btinternet.com

 

MAIN NEWS STORIES

 
June Computer Chess Sale. New TWIC Theory June 2007: Developments in the Mainline Queens Indian by GM Alexander Finkel
New TWIC site design Beta site
XX Ciudad de León. Day 1. Anand 3-1 Ponomariov. Day 2 Topalov 2,5-1.5 Kasimdzhanov. Day 3. Viswanathan Anand won the title by beating Veseling Topalov 3-1 in the final.
Canadian Open. Bu Xiangzhi won with 8/10.
Pivdenny Bank Chess Cup. Ivanchuk edges out Grischuk by half a point.
4th Taiyuan GM
World Open
July FIDE Rating List the corrected version
Maxim Sorokin 1968-2007
Dortmund 2007. Round 7. Kramnik wins the event by a point.
VII Aratovsky Memorial
South African Open
New FIDE World Championship cycle announced
Aerosvit Tournament. Vassily Ivanchuk took clear first with 7.5/11 half a point clear of Sergey Karjakin.
Dutch Championship. Sergei Tiviakov took the title on tie-break.
Bazna. Alexander Khalifman beat Rafael Vaganian in the final round to take clear first place from him, they were tied going into the round.
Gorenje tournament in Valjevo. Roiz edged out Atalik on tie-break after both finished on 6.5/9 a point clear of a returning Karpov.
European Union Tournament
World Championship Candidate Matches.

Candidates Finals. Leko and Gelfand go through to Mexico City after game five. Playoffs. Alexander Grischuk wins with black in games 1 and 3 of the playoffs to book the final place in Mexico City
Playoffs. Comments by Mark Crowther. Flash game notes by IM Malcolm Pein.
New John Watson chess book and software reviews.

Most recent review: 17th July 2007. #80: Historical and Biographical Works, Installment 1 - #81: Historical and Biographical Works, Installment 2

Recent reviews:
#79 - #78 - #77 - #76 - #75 - #74

Past Reviews

John Watson's ambitious work,"Mastering the Openings, Volume 1" is now available, with Volume 2 at the printers. The books aim to explain openings on an instructional and conceptual basis. His "Dangerous Weapons: The French" has just been released. It is available at the London Chess Center, along with his recent co-authored book "How to Succeed in the Queen Pawn Openings". Other of Watson's award-winning books include "Chess Strategy in Action", "Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy", and "Play the French, 3rd Edition". John reports that TWIC is a constant Web companion.
 
 
 
TWIC Theory Service and Promotions





TWIC Theory

TWIC Theory is an electronic monthly magazine with high quality articles delivered in PGN and PDF format on the 25th of every month. You can still get the back issues.


Number 33 June 2007. Developments in the Mainline Queens Indian by GM Alexander Finkel

Details: http://www.chesscenter.com/twictheory/
 
 
New TWIC Beta site

We're working on a new format for the TWIC site. You can view the Beta site at: http://www.twic.co.uk/infoglueDeliverLive/. We will be moving over to the new format very soon.
 
 
XX Ciudad de León


Anand - Ponomariov on day 1. Photo © http://www.advancedchessleon.com

The XX Ciudad de León Chess tournament took place 4th-9th July 2007. The first round is on Friday July 6th 2007. Viswanathan Anand won the title by beating Vesselin Topalov 3-1 in the final.

Games in PGN

Day 1 6th July 2007 Anand 3-1 Ponomariov
Day 2 7th July 2007 Topalov 2,5-1.5 Kasimdzhanov
Day 2 8th July 2007 Anand 3-1 Topalov

Official sites: http://www.advancedchessleon.com - http://www.elajedrezdelfuturo.com
 
 
Canadian Open


Winner Bu Xiangzhi. Photo © http://canchess.ca/

The 2007 Canadian Open Chess Championship took place 7-15 July 2007 in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. 10 rounds 100 minutes/game + 1 minute increment / move. Bu Xiangzhi won with 8/10.

Games in PGN

Leading Final Round 10 Standings:
 1   Xiangzhi Bu             GM 2685  8.0 
 2   Nigel D. Short          GM 2683  7.5 
 3   Kamil Miton             GM 2648  7.5 
 4   Chanda Sandipan         GM 2563  7.5 
 5   Tomas Krnan             IM 2492  7.5 
 6   Bator Sambuev           GM 2482  7.5 
 7   Vadim Milov             GM 2678  7.0 
 8   Sergey Tiviakov         GM 2648  7.0 
 9   Andrey V. Rychagov      GM 2557  7.0 
 10  Mark Bluvshtein         GM 2520  7.0 
 11  Abhijit Kunte           GM 2519  7.0 
 12  Alex Yermolinsky        GM 2517  7.0 
 13  Anton Kovalyov          FM 2510  7.0 
 14  Hoang Thong Tu          GM 2483  7.0 
 15  Frank De La Paz Perdomo GM 2452  7.0 
 16  Thomas Roussel-Roozmon  IM 2414  7.0 
 17  Alexander Reprintsev    IM 2410  7.0 
 18  Leonid Gerzhoy          IM 2409  7.0 
 19  Joe Bradford            FM 2406  7.0 
 20  Daniel Rensch           FM 2400  7.0 
 21  Jonathan Tayar          FM 2271  7.0 
 22  Victor Mikhalevski      GM 2601  6.5 
 23  Suat Atalik             GM 2564  6.5 
 24  Anton Shomoev           GM 2561  6.5 
 25  Valeriy Aveskulov       GM 2539  6.5 
 26  David Howell            GM 2519  6.5 
 27  Tomas Likavsky          GM 2494  6.5 
 28  Tom O'Donnell           IM 2427  6.5 
 29  Shiyam Thavandiran      FM 2337  6.5 
 30  Arkady Vul              GM 2312  6.5 
280 players

Official site: Event website: http://www.canchess.ca - Event blog: http://canchess.blogspot.com/
 
 
Pivdenny Bank Chess Cup


Vassily Ivanchuk's hot streak continues as he won with 7/9 half a point clear of Alexander Grischuk. Photo © http://www.worldcup.pivdenny.com

The Pivdenny Bank Chess Cup took place in Odessa, Ukraine from 4th-6th July 2007. Vassily Ivanchuk edged out Alexander Grischuk by half a point.

Games in PGN

Final Round 9 Standings: 1. Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2729 7.0; 2. Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2717 6.5; 3. Radjabov, Teimour g AZE 2747 5.5; 4. Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2699 5.5; 5. Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2733 5.0; 6. Drozdovskij, Yuri g UKR 2558 4.0; 7. Bacrot, Etienne g FRA 2709 3.5; 8. Korchnoi, Viktor g SUI 2623 3.0; 9. Smirin, Ilia g ISR 2650 2.5; 10. Tukmakov, Vladimir B g UKR 2551 2.5;

Official site: http://www.worldcup.pivdenny.com
 
 
4th Taiyuan GM March

The Taiyuan Tournament Scheveningen tournament saw a foreign team beat a Chinese team 17-15. Vadim Zvjaginsev scored 5.5/8 to top score in the event, Wang Yue made 5/8 to top score for the Chinese team.

Games in PGN

4th GM March Taiyuan CHN (CHN), 4-14 vii 2007
                    -----------  Wang Yue        2696 5.0
                    |  --------  Wang Hao        2624 4.0
                    |  |  -----  Ni Hua          2681 3.0
                    |  |  |  --  Zhang Pengxiang 2649 3.0
                    |  |  |  |  
1 Zvjaginsev,V 2658 ½½ 1½ ½1 ½1 5.5
2 Cheparinov,I 2657 00 1½ ½1 ½½ 4.0
3 Asrian,K     2608 ½½ ½½ ½½ ½½ 4.0
4 Balogh,C     2567 ½½ 00 ½½ ½1 3.5

Official site: http://sports.sina.com.cn/chess/live_gx/index.html
 
 
World Open

The 35th Annual World Open took place June 30th-July 4th 2007 in the Valley Forge Radisson & Convention Plaza, King of Prussia, PA. Varuzhan Akobian won after an armaegeddon speed playoff game against Alex Stripunsky.

Games in PGN

Leading Final Round 9 Standings:1 GM Hikaru Nakamura 2738 6.5 2 GM Sandipan Chanda 2719 6.5 3 GM Leonid G Yudasin 2679 6.5 4 GM Evgeny Najer 2672 6.5 5 GM Alexande Shabalov 2671 6.5 6 GM Alexander Stripunsky 2669 6.5 7 GM Victor Mikhalevski 2663 6.5 8 GM Varuzhan Akobian 2651 6.5 9 GM Julio Becerra 2592 6.5 10 GM Vadim Milov 2731 6 11 GM Borki Predojevic 2709 6 12 GM Jiri Stocek 2692 6 13 GM Abhijit Kunte 2637 6 14 GM Alexander Ivanov 2625 6 15 GM Lars B Hansen 2704 5.5 16 GM Daniel Fridman 2669 5.5 17 GM Yury Shulman 2667 5.5 18 GM Milos Pavlovic 2638 5.5 19 GM David Howell 2611 5.5 20 GM Eugene Perelshteyn 2611 5.5 21 GM Sergey Kudrin 2583 5.5 22 GM Melikset Khachiyan 2553 5.5 23 IM Emory A Tate 2435 5.5

Live coverage: http://www.monroi.com/wdc/tournament.php?tnm_id=360 - Official site: http://www.worldopen.com/ - Results page: http://www.monroi.com/tournamentgate/WorldOpen07/
 
 
July FIDE Rating List

The July 2007 rating list has been released. Viswanathan Anand has extended the lead as world number one he gained in April gaining 4 points from 4 Bundesliga games. Veselin Topalov retains his second position by virtue of games played from Vladimir Kramnik for the second list in succession, both lost three rating points in the period, Kramnik by drawing against Jan Smeets in a single Dutch League game.

FIDE July 2007 Rating List: Top 100 Analysis

Top 20 July 2007
 1 Anand, Viswanathan      g IND  2792  4  1969
 2 Topalov, Veselin        g BUL  2769  10 1975
 3 Kramnik, Vladimir       g RUS  2769  1  1975
 4 Ivanchuk, Vassily       g UKR  2762  22 1969
 5 Morozevich, Alexander   g RUS  2758  18 1977
 6 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar  g AZE  2757  14 1985
 7 Leko, Peter             g HUN  2751  9  1979
 8 Aronian, Levon          g ARM  2750  15 1982
 9 Radjabov, Teimour       g AZE  2746  7  1987
10 Jakovenko, Dmitry       g RUS  2735  29 1983
11 Shirov, Alexei          g ESP  2735  28 1972
12 Svidler, Peter          g RUS  2735  6  1976
13 Gelfand, Boris          g ISR  2733  21 1968
14 Grischuk, Alexander     g RUS  2726  18 1983
15 Adams, Michael          g ENG  2724  18 1971
16 Kamsky, Gata            g USA  2718  28 1974
17 Carlsen, Magnus         g NOR  2710  19 1990
18 Akopian, Vladimir       g ARM  2708  5  1971
19 Polgar, Judit           g HUN  2707  10 1976
20 Ponomariov, Ruslan      g UKR  2706  16 1983
 
 
Maxim Sorokin 1968-2007

GM Maxim Sorokin has died in hospital, a week after a car accident in Kalmykia from which he was initially expected to survive reports Chess Today. There are also condolences from FIDE at: http://www.fide.com/news.asp?id=1398. He most recently seconded Sergey Rublevsky in the Candidates in Elista.
 
 
Dortmund


Kramnik plays Gelfand in round 2. Photo © Martin Bennedik.

The Sparkassen Chess Meeting took place 23rd June - 1st July 2007 in the Dortmund Civic Theatre. Vladimir Kramnik impressed in winning the event by a point.

Games in PGN

Round 7 (July 1, 2007)

Alekseev, Evgeny - Kramnik, Vladimir 1/2 31 C42 Petroff's Defence
Leko, Peter - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 1/2 107 B46 Sicilian Paulsen
Carlsen, Magnus - Anand, Viswanathan 1/2 39 D12 Slav Defence
Naiditsch, Arkadij - Gelfand, Boris 1/2 44 B92 Sicilian Najdorf with 6.Be2

Final Round 7 Standings: 1. Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2772 5.0; 2. Alekseev, Evgeny g RUS 2679 4.0; 3. Leko, Peter g HUN 2738 4.0; 4. Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2786 4.0; 5. Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar g AZE 2757 3.5; 6. Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2693 3.0; 7. Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2733 2.5; 8. Naiditsch, Arkadij g GER 2654 2.0;

Official site: http://www.sparkassen-chess-meeting.de/

http://www.chessvibes.com has a number of films and interviews from the event.
 
 
VII Aratovsky Memorial

The VII Aratovsky Memorial takes place in Saratov (one of the biggest siti on Volga River) 28th June - 7th July 2007. Prize fund of this open tournament is just 1 million rubles (appr. 30 000 Euro or 40 000 USD). The prize fund is third biggest in Russia and the number of GM’s is even more than by “Moscow Open”. Players include 60 GM’s, under them 15 Super GM’s with FIDE-rating 2600+: Krasenkov (POL), Sargissyan (ARM), Motylev, Volkov, Dreev, Smirnov, Najer, Riazantsev, Bocharov, Yakovich (RUS), Shutovsky (ISR), Moiseenko (UKR), Fedorov, Aleksandrov (BLR), Kazhgaleev (KAZ) etc.

1st prize is 250 000 rubles (appr. 7 200 Euro or 9 600 USD), the next prizes (in rubles): 150 000 / 100 000 / 80 000 / 70 000 etc. The tournament is a part of ACP Tour 2006/07 and Russian Cup 2007. The information, results, games, reports, photos and more – on the web-site of the “World League of Chess Tournaments” (WLCT):

Official site: http://www.chess-events.org - http://www.chess-events.org/rus/aratovskii
 
 
South African Open

TheSouth African Open takes place June 29th - 6th July 2007.

Official site: http://saopen.chesscube.com Live games at: http://www.chesscube.com/
 
 
New FIDE World Championship cycle announced

FIDE have announced their new cycle http://www.fide.com/news/download/NewWorldChampCycle.pdf. The format will be a mixed one.

The World Championship itself will be settled by matches after the tournament in Mexico City. In 2008 Vladimir Kramnik will play the winner of Mexico City unless he wins the event himself. Veselin Topalov as the loser of the last match in Elista will play the winner of the World Cup in Khanty Mansiysk which takes place at the end of the year. The winners of those matches will play for the title in 2009. However if Kramnik wins the WCCh tournament in Mexico City 2007, a match between Kramnik and Topalov, the current and the previous world champions, will take place in 2008. In that case, the winner of the Kramnik- Topalov match will play against the winner of the 2007 World Cup.

After that qualification for a world title shot will come from one of two methods. Firstly there will be another World Cup in Khanty Mansiysk in 2009. The winner of that will play the winner of a newly established Grand Prix three events per year (different continents) taking place over the years 2008-9. The winners of the Grand Prix and the World Cup will meet in a match and the winner of that will challenge the world champion in 2010 and on it goes with another match in 2012.

It looks terribly complicated to me but with the World Cups already guaranteed in Khanty Mansiysk for the next two cycles the problem of finding sponsorship for this event is solved. The details of the Grand Prix, who gets invited, scoring and which events are involved is obviously pretty key. We'll have to see how this all works out in practice.

 
 
Aerosvit Tournament


Shirov lost to Ivanchuk in round 10. Photo © Tournament Press Centre.

The Aerosvit tournament in Foros, Ukraine, took place 17th-30th June 2007. Vassily Ivanchuk took clear first with 7.5/11 half a point clear of Sergey Karjakin.

Games in PGN

Round 11 (June 29, 2007)

Ivanchuk, Vassily - Svidler, Peter 1/2 19 D81 Gruenfeld Botvinnik
Onischuk, Alexander - Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter 1-0 58 D20 QGA
Rublevsky, Sergei - Dominguez Perez, Lenier 1/2 20 B87 Sicilian Sozin Attack
Jakovenko, Dmitry - Karjakin, Sergey 1/2 29 C88 Ruy Lopez Closed
Eljanov, Pavel - Shirov, Alexei 1/2 25 D85 Gruenfeld Defence
Sasikiran, Krishnan - Van Wely, Loek 0-1 51 D44 Anti-Meran Gambit

Final Round 11 Standings: 1. Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2729 7.5; 2. Karjakin, Sergey g UKR 2686 7.0; 3. Onischuk, Alexander g USA 2663 6.0; 4. Svidler, Peter g RUS 2736 6.0; 5. Van Wely, Loek g NED 2674 6.0; 6. Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2699 6.0; 7. Dominguez Perez, Lenier g CUB 2678 5.5; 8. Rublevsky, Sergei g RUS 2680 5.0; 9. Jakovenko, Dmitry g RUS 2708 4.5; 10. Eljanov, Pavel g UKR 2686 4.5; 11. Sasikiran, Krishnan g IND 2690 4.0; 12. Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter g ROM 2693 4.0;

Official Site: http://www.ukrchess.org.ua/aerosvit2007/index_e.htm
 
 
Dutch Championship


Dutch Champion Sergei Tiviakov in game two of the playoff against Daniel Stellwagen which he won 1.5-0.5 to take the title. Photo © Fred Lucas http://www.fredlucas.eu

The Dutch Championships took place 16th-28th of June in Hilversum, Holland. Sergei Tiviakov took the title 1.5-0.5 after a rapid playoff with Daniel Stellwagen. Both had finished on 8/11 a point clear of Ivan Sokolov. Peng Zhaoqin took the women's title with a fabulous 8/9.

Games in PGN - Playoff games in PGN - Games in PGN - Women

Final Round 11 Standings: 1. Stellwagen, Daniel g NED 2600 8.0; 2. Tiviakov, Sergei g NED 2663 8.0; 3. Sokolov, Ivan NED g NED 2655 7.0; 4. Nijboer, Friso g NED 2606 7.0; 5. L'Ami, Erwin g NED 2617 7.0; 6. Smeets, Jan g NED 2552 6.5; 7. Van der Wiel, John g NED 2483 5.5; 8. Janssen, Ruud m NED 2489 4.5; 9. Hendriks, Willy m NED 2412 4.0; 10. Spoelman, Wouter m NED 2428 3.0; 11. Bosboom, Manuel m NED 2423 3.0; 12. Dambacher, Martijn m NED 2466 2.5;

Playoff 28th June 2007

Gm1 Tiviakov, Sergei - Stellwagen, Daniel 1-0 54 B07 Pirc Defence
Gm2 Stellwagen, Daniel - Tiviakov, Sergei 1/2 37 B53 Sicilian Hungarian

Official site: http://www.schaakbond.nl/nk2007
 
 
Kings Tournament Bazna

The Kings Tournament Bazna Romania took place 15th-26th June 2007. Alexander Khalifman beat Rafael Vaganian in the final round to take clear first place from him, they were tied going into the round.

Game in PGN

Final Round 11 Standings: 1. Khalifman, Alexander g RUS 2624 7.0; 2. Vaganian, Rafael A g ARM 2590 6.0; 3. Beliavsky, Alexander G g SLO 2648 5.5; 4. Andersson, Ulf g SWE 2528 5.0; 5. Ribli, Zoltan g HUN 2580 5.0; 6. Mecking, Henrique g BRA 2565 5.0; 7. Sokolov, Andrei1 g FRA 2584 4.5; 8. Chiburdanidze, Maia g GEO 2510 4.5; 9. Portisch, Lajos g HUN 2512 4.5; 10. Suba, Mihai g ROM 2537 4.0; 11. Timman, Jan H g NED 2545 4.0;

Official site: http://www.clubulregilor.ro/ - http://www.sahclub.ro/toma/070615live/ was also helpful.

Live: http://www.clubulregilor.ro/live/tfd.htm
 
Gorenje tournament Valjevo


Michael Roiz beat Anatoly Karpov in round 7. Photo © http://www.chessdom.com/

The "Gorenje 2007" tournament in Valjevo took place 13th-21st June 2007. The event was sponsored by the Gorenje Group (http://www.gorenje.com/ and http://www.gorenje.co.uk/) Roiz edged out Atalik on tie-break after both finished on 6.5/9 a point clear of a returning Karpov.

Games in PGN

Final Round 9 Standings: 1. Roiz, Michael g ISR 2605 6.5; 2. Atalik, Suat g TUR 2584 6.5; 3. Karpov, Anatoly g RUS 2668 5.5; 4. Ivanisevic, Ivan g SRB 2614 5.0; 5. Nikolic, Predrag g BIH 2631 5.0; 6. Georgiev, Kiril g BUL 2660 4.5; 7. Damljanovic, Branko g SRB 2585 4.0; 8. Stojanovic, Mihajlo m SRB 2588 3.0; 9. Pavasovic, Dusko g SLO 2567 2.5; 10. Iordachescu, Viorel g MDA 2587 2.5;

Official site: http://www.chessdom.com/
 
 
European Union Championship

The European Union Championship takes place June 15th-24th 2007 in Arvier (Aosta Valley). The tournament is open to the players of the 27 countries of the European Union, plus 4 countries 'host' (Croacia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey).

Leading players: 1 GER GM Luther Thomas GER 2586 2 SRB GM Sedlak Nikola SRB 2575 3 SWE GM Agrest Evgenij SWE 2561 4 ITA GM Godena Michele ITA 2558 5 CRO GM Sulava Nenad CRO 2549 6 IRL GM Baburin Alexander IRL 2545 7 LTU GM Sulskis Sarunas LTU 2533 8 FRA GM Prie Eric FRA 2513 9 ITA IM Caruana Fabiano ITA 2513 10 CRO GM Cebalo Miso CRO 2491

Official site: http://www.scacchivda.com
 
 
World Championship Candidate Matches


Levon Aronian beat Alexei Shirov in the game of round 1. Photo © Casto Abundo [http://www.fide.com]

The World Candidates Matches took place May 26th - June 14th, 2007 in Elista, Kalmykia. Each match consisted of six games, and, when necessary, tie-break rapid games. So the line up for Mexico City is Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand, Peter Svidler and Alexander Morozevich who were already qualified. They are now joined by Peter Leko, Boris Gelfand, Levon Aronian and Alexander Grischuk to make up an eight player field barring any last minute decision to include Topalov.

Candidates Finals

Games in PGN - World Championship Candidates Finals Elista 2007 - Viewer

Comments Finals Games

Playoffs. Comments by Mark Crowther. Flash game notes by IM Malcolm Pein.
Playoffs. Comments by Mark Crowther. Flash game notes by IM Malcolm Pein.
Round 6. Comments by Mark Crowther. Flash game notes by IM Malcolm Pein.
Round 5. Comments by Mark Crowther. Flash game notes by IM Malcolm Pein.
Round 4. Comments by Mark Crowther.
Round 3. Comments by Mark Crowther. Flash game notes by IM Malcolm Pein.
Round 2. Comments by Mark Crowther. Flash game notes by IM Malcolm Pein.
Round 1. Comments by Mark Crowther. Flash game notes by IM Malcolm Pein.

Playoffs (June 13, 2007)

Rublevsky, Sergei - Grischuk, Alexander 0-1 39 C45 Scotch Game
Rublevsky, Sergei - Grischuk, Alexander 1/2 56 B46 Sicilian
Rublevsky, Sergei - Grischuk, Alexander 0-1 38 C45 Scotch Game
WCh Candidates Finals Elista RUS (RUS), 6-13 vi 2007

Aronian, Levon g  ARM 2759   1 = = = = = 3.5  2756
Shirov, Alexei g  ESP 2699   0 = = = = = 2.5  2702

Leko, Peter    g  HUN 2738   1 = 1 = =   3.5  2792
Bareev, Evgeny g  RUS 2643   0 = 0 = =   1.5  2589

Grischuk, A    g  RUS 2717   1 = = 0 = = 1 = 1 5.5  2680
Rublevsky, S   g  RUS 2680   0 = = 1 = = 0 = 0 3.5  2717

Gelfand, Boris g  ISR 2733   = = 1 = 1   3.5  2854
Kamsky, Gata   g  USA 2705   = = 0 = 0   1.5  2584

Deep Fritz vs Deep Junior

"Deep Fritz" and "Deep Junior" played a 6 game match alongside the second round of matches. Deep Junior won 4-2.

Games in PGN

Gm1 DEEP JUNIOR - DEEP FRITZ 1/2 32 D46 Semi-Slav Defence
Gm2 DEEP FRITZ - DEEP JUNIOR 1/2 58 D85 Gruenfeld Defence
Gm3 DEEP JUNIOR - DEEP FRITZ 1-0 85 B97 Sicilian Najdorf
Gm4 DEEP FRITZ - DEEP JUNIOR 0-1 54 D85 Gruenfeld Defence
Gm5 DEEP JUNIOR - DEEP FRITZ 1/2 48 D43 Anti-Meran Gambit
Gm6 DEEP FRITZ - DEEP JUNIOR 1/2 41 A30 English Symmetrical

Candidates Semi-Finals

Games in PGN - World Championship Candidates Semi-Finals Elista 2007 - Viewer

Comments Semi-Final Games

Commented games in PGN

Comments by Mark Crowther. Flash game notes by IM Malcolm Pein.
Playoffs
Round 6
Round 5
Round 4
Round 3
Round 2
Round 1

Standings

WCh Candidates s/f Elista RUS (RUS), 27 v-3 vi 2007

Aronian,Levon  g ARM 2759  1 = 0 1 0 = 1 = = 0 1 1 7.0  2750
Carlsen,Magnus g NOR 2693  0 = 1 0 1 = 0 = = 1 0 1 5.0  2702

Leko, Peter    g HUN 2738  = 1 1 1             3.5  2971
Gurevich, M    g TUR 2635  = 0 0 0             0.5  2416

Rublevsky, S   g RUS 2680  = = 1 = = =         3.5  2774
Ponomariov, R  g UKR 2717  = = 0 = = =         2.5  2623

Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2733  = = = = = = 1 = 1   5.5  2757
Kasimdzhanov,R g UZB 2677  = = = = = = 0 = 0   3.5  2653

Kamsky, Gata   g USA 2705  = 1 1 1             3.5  3045
Bacrot, E      g FRA 2709  = 0 0 0             0.5  2383

Grischuk, A    g RUS 2717  1 = = 1 =           3.5  2828
Malakhov, V    g RUS 2679  0 = = 0 =           1.5  2568

Bareev, Evgeny g RUS 2643  = 1 = 1 0 =         3.5  2784
Polgar, Judit  g HUN 2727  = 0 = 0 1 =         2.5  2586

Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2699  = = = 0 = 1 1 1 =   5.5  2814
Adams, Michael g ENG 2734  = = = 1 = 0 0 0 =   3.5  2619
Playoffs 4 game rapid match time rate 25m+10s, if needed then two blitz games 5m+10s, if still tied, then one armageddon game with 6m vs 5m (no increment), black has draw odds.


Official site: http://globalchess.eu/main.php

Further details: http://www.fide.com
 
 

COMPLETED EVENTS

 
Bosna 2007
MTel Sofia won by Veselin Topalov
Kramnik - Aronian Rapid Match
Leko - Kramnik Rapid Match
Bosna 2007

The traditional 37th Bosna tournament took place May 18th-28th 2007 in Sarajevo. Sergei Movsesian won by a point from Borki Predojevic.

Games in PGN - B Group Games in PGN

Round 10 (May 28, 2007)

Morozevich, Alexander - Predojevic, Borki 1/2 31 B42 Sicilian Paulsen
Short, Nigel D - Movsesian, Sergei 1/2 38 B81 Sicilian Keres Attack
Timofeev, Artyom - Sokolov, Ivan NED 0-1 40 C88 Ruy Lopez Closed

Final Round 10 Standings: 1. Movsesian, Sergei g SVK 2642 6.5; 2. Predojevic, Borki g BIH 2609 5.5; 3. Sokolov, Ivan NED g NED 2655 5.0; 4. Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2762 5.0; 5. Short, Nigel D g ENG 2691 4.5; 6. Timofeev, Artyom g RUS 2658 3.5;

Final Round 9 Standings B Group: 1. Drasko, Milan g MNE 2543 6.0; 2. Stojanovic, Dalibor m BIH 2473 6.0; 3. Atalik, Suat g TUR 2584 6.0; 4. Jakovljevic, Vlado m BIH 2419 5.0; 5. Zugic, Igor m CAN 2481 4.5; 6. Ljubicic, Filip m CRO 2396 4.5; 7. Runic, Zoran m BIH 2414 4.0; 8. Tomic, Bosko f BIH 2393 3.5; 9. Vukic, Milan g BIH 2505 3.5; 10. Trkulja, Goran f BIH 2317 2.0;

Official site: http://www.skbosna.ba
 
 
Mtel Masters


Topalov was held by Kamsky in round 5. Photo © http://www.chessvibes.com/ who have photos, videos and press conferences from Sofia.

The MTel Masters took place in Sofia 9th-20th May 2007. The field for the ten round, double round robin event, was Veselin Topalov, Liviu Dieter Nisipeanu, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Gata Kamsky, Michael Adams and Krishnan Sasikiran. Veselin Topalov recovered from a poor start to win the event alone.

Games in PGN

Malcolm Pein Commentates:

Annotations in PGN

MTel Topalov - Sasikiran (10)
MTel Topalov - Mamedyarov (8)
MTel Mamedyarov - Sasikiran (7)
MTel Kamsky,G - Mamedyarov,S (6)
MTel M Adams - S Mamedyarov (5)
MTel Sasikiran,K - Topalov (4)
MTel Topalov - Adams (2) - Mamedyarov,S - Topalov (3)
MTel Mamedyarov - Kamsky (1). Nigel Short supported by ECF

Round 10 (May 20, 2007)

Topalov, Veselin - Sasikiran, Krishnan 1-0 59 E43 Nimzo Indian Rubinstein
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 1/2 42 B40 Sicilian Classical
Adams, Michael - Kamsky, Gata 1/2 78 C88 Ruy Lopez Closed

Final Round 10 Standings: 1. Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2772 5.5; 2. Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar g AZE 2757 5.0; 3. Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter g ROM 2693 5.0; 4. Kamsky, Gata g USA 2705 5.0; 5. Sasikiran, Krishnan g IND 2690 5.0; 6. Adams, Michael g ENG 2734 4.5;

As a warm up Veselin Topalov played blindfold against Italian Alex Brunetti on May 8th 2007 in Sofia Hall of Grand Hotel Sofia. Alex Brunetii won the prize for "Play like Topalov" that took place during M-Tel Masters. The two players had half an hour each for the game. Topalov won.

Game in PGN

Official site: http://www.mtelmasters.com
 
 
Kramnik - Aronian Rapid Match

World Champion Vladimir Kramnik played World Cup Holder Levon Aronian in a rapid match May 4th-6th, 2007 in Yerevan, Armenia. Two games were played each day. The time control was 25 minutes for the whole game with an increment of 10 seconds per move. The match was organised by the Armenian Chess Federation. Levon Aronian won the match 4-2 after winning both games on the second day.

Games in PGN

Malcolm Pein Commentates

Annotations in PGN
Kramnik - Aronian (5)
Aronian - Kramnik (6)
Aronian - Kramnik (4)
Kramnik - Aronian (1)

Gm1 Kramnik, Vladimir - Aronian, Levon 1-0 45 C89 Ruy Lopez Marshall
Gm2 Aronian, Levon - Kramnik, Vladimir 1-0 76 D17 Slav Defence
Gm3 Kramnik, Vladimir - Aronian, Levon 0-1 77 A30 English Symmetrical
Gm4 Aronian, Levon - Kramnik, Vladimir 1-0 43 D45 Anti-Meran Variations
Gm5 Kramnik, Vladimir - Aronian, Levon 1/2 47 A60 Modern Benoni
Gm6 Aronian, Levon - Kramnik, Vladimir 1/2 55 D12 Slav Defence

Official site: http://www.aroniankramnik2007.am/
 
 
Leko - Kramnik Rapid Match


Game one of the match. Photo © Zsuzsa Veroci

Peter Leko and Vladimir Kramnik played a rapid match April 25th-29th 2007 at the National Theater of Miskolc Hungary. Kramnik won 4.5-3.5.

Chess from Malcolm Pein Chess Saturday April 28th 2007
Chess from Malcolm Pein Chess Monday April 30th 2007

Games in PGN

Gm1 Kramnik, Vladimir - Leko, Peter 1/2 25 A33 English Symmetrical
Gm2 Leko, Peter - Kramnik, Vladimir 1/2 51 C88 Ruy Lopez Closed
Gm3 Kramnik, Vladimir - Leko, Peter 1-0 44 E15 Queens Indian
Gm4 Leko, Peter - Kramnik, Vladimir 1/2 52 C88 Ruy Lopez Closed
Gm5 Kramnik, Vladimir - Leko, Peter 1-0 57 A30 English Symmetrical
Gm6 Leko, Peter - Kramnik, Vladimir 1-0 49 C84 Ruy Lopez Centre Attack
Gm7 Kramnik, Vladimir - Leko, Peter 1/2 30 D43 Anti-Meran Gambit
Gm8 Leko, Peter - Kramnik, Vladimir 1/2 30 C77 Ruy Lopez Anderssen

Official site: http://www.lekokramnyik.hu/
 
 

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