Wesley So is the first Fischer Random World Champion

Photo by Maria Emelianova.

America’s third-ranked player wins the first official world championship for this variant over classical world champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway.
— Read on www.fide.com/

Wesley So inflicts 3rd loss in a row on Carlsen | chess24.com

Magnus Carlsen shaking hands with Wesley So (photo: Lennart Ootes)

Magnus losing two games in a row to the same opponent has happened as recently as the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis (in the tiebreaks against Ding Liren), but losing three in a row may be unique. It wasn’t just the losses but the way it happened, with Wesley completely dominant.
— Read on chess24.com/en/read/news/wesley-so-inflicts-3rd-loss-in-a-row-on-magnus-carlsen

Chess: Carlsen and Caruana set for $430,000 Isle of Man showdown | Magnus Carlsen | The Guardian

Chess: Carlsen and Caruana set for $430,000 Isle of Man showdown | Magnus Carlsen | The Guardian

“After Friday’s eighth round Carlsen’s unbeaten streak reached 98 games, surpassing Mikhail Tal’s 95 in 1973-74 and closing in on Ding Liren’s record of 100 against high-level opponents. The record could fall in the 11th and final Isle of Man round on Monday if he continues to avoid defeat.”

— Read on www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/sport/2019/oct/18/chess-magnus-carlsen-among-nine-closely-bunched-leaders-at-isle-of-man

An American in Tromso

Sam Shankland is sensational in his Chess Olympiad debut.

 

After eight rounds against a difficult international field, Grandmaster Sam Shankland of the United States remains undefeated in Tromso, Norway. Those of us from the United States and especially California couldn’t be prouder of our representative at the 41^st Chess Olympiad. Below is my personal favorite from Sam’s play and I invite you to enjoy the game while raising a glass to the United States of America’s newest international chess star.

 

Sam Shankland has a lot to smile about these days. (photo from: http://www.fpawn.blogspot.com)

 

[Event “41’st Chess Olympiad”]

[Site “Tromso, Norway”]

[Date “2014.8.8”]

[Round “6”]

[White “Guillermo Vazquez”]

[Black “Samuel Shankland”]

[Result “0-1”]

[Eco “B12”]

[Annotator “Chris Torres”]

 

{[ CARO-KANN,B12]} 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.h4 {Guillermo Vazquez chooses a very aggressive line as white. The idea is to add to his control on the kingside while creating threats against Shankland’s Bishop on f5. Many amateur players have allowed white to trap their bishop with pawn advances to g4, h5, and f3.}

The position after 4. h4

 

h5 {Of course, there is nothing amateur about GM Sam Shankland’s chess and he chooses the best line to avoid white’s plans.}

5.Bg5 {This early bishop move gives black a nice target on “b7.” Nc3 is a fine alternative here and can be seen in the game below:}

( 5.Nc3 e6 6.Bd3 Bxd3 7.Qxd3 Qb6 8.Bg5 Qa6 9.Qd2 c5 10.Nf3 cxd4

11.Ne2 Nd7 12.O-O Ne7 13.Nexd4 Nc6 14.a4 Nxd4 15.Nxd4 Qb6 16.a5

Qa6 17.c4 Qxc4 18.Rfc1 Qb4 19.Qc2 Nc5 20.a6 Nxa6 21.Rxa6 Qxd4

22.Qc7 Bb4 23.Rxe6+ fxe6 24.Qxg7 Rf8 {…1-0, Zelcic Robert (CRO) 2564  – Bartels Hans A (NED) 2297 , Caorle 1993 It (open)})

Qb6 {Sam Shankland develops with a threat and grabs the initiative. So much for trying to play a peaceful Caro-Kann.}

6.Bd3 {!?} {Guillermo Vazquez is willing to pay the price of a pawn on “b2” or “d4” in order to gain a strong attack. In a sense, he is allowing Sam Shankland to pick his own poison.}

The position after 6. Bd3

 

Qxd4 {Sam chooses the pesto rather than the hemlock.}

( 6…Bxd3 {was Alexei Shirov’s choice in a nice victory over Anand.}

7.Qxd3 Qa6 8.Qf3 e6 9.Ne2 c5 10.c3 Nc6 11.Nd2 Nge7 12.Nb3 cxd4

13.cxd4 Nf5 14.O-O Be7 15.Bxe7 Ncxe7 16.g3 b6 17.Nf4 g6 18.Nh3

O-O 19.Qf4 Qe2 20.Rfd1 Rac8 21.Rd2 Qg4 22.Qxg4 hxg4 23.Ng5 a5

24.f3 Rc4 25.Kf2 Rfc8 26.fxg4 {…0-1, Shirov Alexei (ESP) 2713  – Anand Viswanathan (IND) 2817 , Leon  6/ 5/2011 Match “Leon Masters”}) ( 6…Qxb2 7.Bxf5 Qxa1 8.e6 {Is probably what Guillermo Vazquez was hoping for.})

7.Nf3 {Vazquez develops with a threat and is still hoping Shankland plays Qxb2.}

Qg4 {Sam Shankland avoids his opponent’s plans while simultaneously placing the queen in a very dangerous position for white.}

( 7…Qxb2 8.Bxf5 Qxa1 9.e6 Nh6 10.exf7+ Kxf7 11.Bc8 Na6 12.Bh3

e5 13.O-O Bd6 14.Nfd2 Ng4 15.Bxg4 hxg4 16.Qxg4 Nc5 17.Nb3 Qxa2

18.Qf5+ Kg8 19.Nc3 Qa6 20.Nxc5 Bxc5 21.Qe6+ Kh7 22.h5 Qc4 23.h6

Rhg8 24.Qf5+ Kh8 25.Qh3 g6 26.Bf6+ Kh7 27.Qd7+ {…1-0, Kislinsky Alexey (UKR) 2495  – Krutul Piotr (POL) 1854 , Warsaw 12/16/2006 Ch Europe (active)})

The position after 7… Qg4

 

 

8.O-O {White’s best move is to castle into danger. Below is fine example of strong play for black had white chosen to play Nc3 instead.}

( 8.Nc3 e6 9.O-O Nd7 10.Bxf5 Qxf5 11.Re1 Be7 12.Nd4 Qg4 13.Qd2

Bc5 14.Nb3 Be7 15.Nd4 Bxg5 16.hxg5 h4 17.f3 Qh5 18.Rad1 Ne7 19.Ne4

O-O 20.Nf2 a6 21.b4 Qh7 22.Ng4 Nf5 23.c4 Rfd8 24.c5 a5 25.bxa5

Nxd4 26.Qxd4 Rxa5 27.Re2 Rxc5 {…0-1, Malykh Yuriy A (RUS) 2140  – Airapetian Gor (RUS) 2451 , Lipetsk  3/28/2010 Ch Region})

Bxd3 {Sam decides to exchange the bishop which lacks scope for his opponent’s most active piece.}

( 8…e6 9.Be2 Qb4 10.c4 Ne7 11.Nc3 dxc4 12.Nd2 b5 13.a4 Nd7 14.axb5 cxb5 15.Nxb5 Nd5 16.Nxc4 Be7 17.Nbd6+ {1-0, Robson Ray (USA) 2466 – Rowley Robert (USA) 2234, Tulsa (USA) 2008.03.30})

9.Qxd3 {Vazquez recaptures while developing rather than attempting to restablish a pawn on “d4” by playing cxd3.}

e6 {Sam Shankland creates a standard Caro-Kann pawn structure in route to playing Be7.}

10.Nbd2 {The knight is better placed here rather than on “c3” because white will want to have the ability to move his c-pawn soon.}

Be7 {Shankland is a solid pawn up but will have to defend accurately in order to achieve victory against Vazquez’s dynamic style.}

11.c4 {Guillermo Vazquez is a very bold chess player.}

The position after 11. c4

 

11… Bxg5

12.Nxg5 Ne7

13.Qb3 {The real reason behind “11. c4.”}

b6 {Shankland is playing very accurately when it counts the most.}

The position after 13… b6

 

14.cxd5 cxd5

15.Rac1 Nbc6 {Sam’s defensive skills are exceptional.}

16.f4 {Vazquez is striking furiously on all sides of the board.}

The position after 16. f4

 

Rc8 {Shankland is performing perfectly under heavy fire.}

17.Qd3 Nf5

18.Ndf3 O-O {Sam Shankland has survived unscathed! Unfortunately for Guillermo Vazquez, his brute-force attacking style has left plenty of holes in his position.}

The position after 18… 0-0

 

19.Nh2 Qg3 {At this point, trading queens is no longer an option for white.}

20.Qd1

 

The position after 20. Qd1

 

20… Nxe5 {!} {Now it is Shankland’s turn to attack.}

21.Rxc8 {if} ( 21.fxe5 {then} Qe3+ 22.Rf2 Rxc1 {!} )

Rxc8 22.fxe5 {There are alternatives for white but they would just elongate the misery.}

Qe3+ {!} {Now Vazquez can either drop a queen, get checkmated or resign. He chooses the latter.}

0-1

 

 

Now that you have seen his play, I strongly suggest watching GM Susan Polgar’s excellent interview with GM Sam Shankland.

 

 

 

World Chess Championship 2013: Preview 3 of the Anand-Carlsen Match

In our third preview game of the 2013 World Chess Championship Match between Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen, we are going to examine a stunning defeat of Anand at the hands of the cunning Russian chess player, Alexander Morozevich. In my humble opinion, this game clearly illustrates what is perhaps the best strategy for Magnus Carlsen in his upcoming match with Anand. Put simply, Magnus Carlsen needs to control his nerves and play dynamic attacking chess as much as possible. Below, Alexander Morozevich shows us how this is done:

Move 24: How did Morozevich(white) destroy Anand’s king safety?

 

[Event “It ‘Kremlin Stars'”]

[Site “Moscow (Russia)”]

[Date “1995”]

[Round “2”]

[White “Morozevich, Alexander (RUS)”]

[Black “Anand, Viswanathan (IND)”]

[Result “1-0”]

[Eco “C33”]

[Annotator “Chris Torres”]

 

1.e4 e5

2.f4 exf4

3.Bc4 Nf6 ( 3…Qh4+ 4.Kf1 d6 5.Nf3 Qh5 6.d4

g5 7.h4 Bg4 8.Nc3 Nc6 {Is how a more aggressive player might handle the black pieces.}

)

4.Nc3 c6 {This move takes a lot of the key squares away from white’s developed pieces and prepares a pawn thrust to “d5.”}

5.Bb3 d5

6.exd5 cxd5

7.d4 Bb4 {

At this point, objectively, black looks a little better. Both sides have one

center pawn and two developed pieces. Black does have an extra pawn and is

ready to castle. However, things can change very quickly in the King’s Gambit.}

8.Nf3 O-O

9.O-O Bxc3 {

A smart maneuver for Anand. His bishop was pinning white’s knight to just “air”

while exchanging creates a pawn weakness which can easily be attacked.}

10.bxc3 Qc7 {

Anand is still a little better than Morozevich. Both sides have two pieces

developed and a pawn in the center. Black momentarily has an extra pawn.}

11.Qe1 {I believe this is game represents the first time this idea has been tried.}

( 11.Qd3 b6 12.Ne5 Ba6 13.c4 dxc4 14.Bxc4 Bxc4 15.Nxc4 Nd5 16.Ne5

Nc6 17.Nxc6 Qxc6 18.Bxf4 Rac8 19.Qa3 Rfe8 20.Qf3 Nb4 21.Qxc6

Rxc6 22.Rae1 Rxe1 23.Rxe1 f6 24.Re8+ Kf7 25.Ra8 a5 26.Ra7+ Kg6

27.Rc7 Rxc2 28.Rxc2 Nxc2 29.Bc7 b5 30.d5 Kf7 {…0-1, Eberth Zoltan (HUN) 2198  – Vujosevic Vladimir (MNE) 2430 , Gyor 1997 It (open) “Nyar”}

) Nc6

12.Qh4 {Morozevich just wants to get Anand’s king. But isn’t that the real objective in chess?}

( 12.Ne5 Nxe5 13.Bxf4 Qc6 14.Bxe5 Ne4 15.Rf4 Be6 16.c4 dxc4 17.Qxe4

Qxe4 18.Rxe4 cxb3 19.axb3 Bf5 20.Re2 Rfe8 21.Rf2 Bg6 22.c4 a6

23.Bc7 Re3 24.d5 Rae8 25.Raf1 f6 26.Rf3 Kf7 27.Bb6 Rxf3 28.Rxf3

Ke7 29.Kf2 Kd7 30.Rg3 Rg8 31.Ke3 Re8+ {…1-0, Charbonneau Pascal (CAN) 2490  – Roussel-Roozmon Thomas (CAN) 2425 , Montreal  8/??/2004 It (cat.12)}

) Ne7

13.Bxf4 {Morozevich takes “f4” but will give Anand “c3.” Now who do you think is better? I would rather play with the white pieces.}

Qxc3

14.Bd2 {!?} {

Is this move brilliant or a mistake? Morozevich could have also played the more

natural looking “Bg5” or the “Qe1” retreat. However, Morozevich is not in the

mood to retreat and has a reputation for playing slightly outlandish moves.}

Qc7 {Anand retreats his queen to the most useful square he can find.}

15.Ne5 {Morozevich’s knight wastes no time finding its outpost.}

Nf5

16.Qf4 {The best choice for Morozevich but now his knight is pinned to an unattractive exchange of the queens.}

Be6 {Anand places his bishop on a bad square in order to unify his rooks.}

17.Bb4 {Forcing the rook from “f8” becomes important much later in the game.}

Rfc8

18.g4 {!} {It is now or never for Morozevich.}

Nd6

19.Rae1

{Morozevich has, more or less, all his pieces involved in the attack.}

Nfe4

20.c4 {!} {This move will eliminate the outpost for the black knight on “e4” as well as create more action for Morozevich’s light bishop.}

dxc4

21.Bc2 Nf6

22.g5 {!} {

When all your pieces are involved in the attack, sometimes it is up to the

pawns to create the final weaknesses in your enemy’s camp.}

Nh5{?} {Morozevich again proves that the best way to deal with Anand is to attack.

Viswanathan Anand should have played something like this:}

( 22…Nd5 23.Bxh7+ Kxh7 24.Qh4+ Kg8 25.Bxd6 Qxd6 26.g6 fxg6

27.Nxg6 Bf5 28.Qh8+ Kf7 29.Rxf5+ Nf6 30.Qh5 Qxd4+ )

23.Qf3 {!}

{Severe punishment is in store for Anand’s crime.}

g6

24.Nxg6{!} hxg6

25.Bxg6 {!} fxg6

26.Rxe6 Qf7

27.Qd5 {!} Nf5

28.Rxf5{!} {There is no defense for Anand now and he appropriately resigns.} 1-0

World Chess Championship 2013: Why I think Anand will win.

The majority of chess commentators seem to be figuring that Magnus Carlsen will defeat Viswanathan Anand and win the World Championship in his first attempt. This is likely do to the fact that, lately, Carlsen has been playing better chess than the current World Champion.  Certainly, the challenger has proven that he is capable of playing chess at the level of a world chess champion and Magnus is the current “number one.” However, the smart money will be placed on Viswanathan Anand to retain his title. Here’s why:

Viswanathan Anand will likely celebrate another World Championship with his beautiful wife Aruna.

Home Field Advantage

The match will take place in Chennai, India. When FIDE announced that the match would be in Anand’s home country, I felt this gave the current World Champion a decisive advantage. In fact, FIDE could not have selected a more advantageous location for Anand than his home town.  The young Norwegian will be more distracted in India and his team will need to work hard to keep him comfortable in such an exotic location. Magnus Carlsen is used to performing under pressure but being completely surrounded by Anand’s fans will certainly make even the toughest competitor feel uneasy.

Ratings

Too much is being made of Magnus Carlsen being rated number one in the world. Magnus’ rating proves that he is the future of chess but he has acquired his number one ranking through tournament play. Anand has played very poorly in tounaments since becoming World Champion for reasons that are easy to explain. Tournaments to Anand are a necessary distraction from competing in world championship matches. Anand’s priority number one is retaining his world title.  Viswanathan rarely plays any of his critical innovations when it does not help him win a World Championship. Because he employs a weaker version of himself during the vast majority of his rated games, Anand’s rating does not accurately reflect his true strength

Youthfulness

Many see this match as the chance for chess to move completely into the twenty-first century. Indeed, if the “Mozart of Chess” manages to dethrone the old champion he will be the king of chess.  While no one will dispute that being young is incredibly advantageous in chess, it is also common knowledge that young chess players also perform more inconsistently. If Magnus plays his best chess, he has a reasonable chance of winning the match. However, we can be sure that Viswanathan Anand will be in top form and will bring the consistency of a seasoned pro to every game. I believe Anand’s experience and wisdom will more than make up for Magnus Carlsen’s youthful energy.

Match Play

As stated above, Anand is unbelievably good at match play. Magnus Carlsen has limited experience in matches and has never felt the pressure of playing for a world championship. Coupled with the aforementioned home field advantage, this should be enough for Anand to take an early lead in the match and then close it out before Magnus ever gets comfortable.

Anand’s Legacy

This represents the first time that Anand has had a chance to play a World Championship for “his people.” Anand is a national hero in India and I believe nothing is more important to the future of Indian chess than Anand retaining the World Championship title in Chennai.  A failure on his part will be a seen as a failure for Indian chess. FIDE’s gift to India is the chance for their greatest player to establish his name as one of the greatest chess champions ever while playing in his hometown. I believe Anand is acutely aware of what is at stake and will rise to the occasion.

As for Magnus, perhaps failing in his first attempt at winning the World Championship will be the best thing for his chess future. A defeat on chess highest stage will make the “Mozart of Chess” work even harder to ensure it doesn’t happen the second time around. The next time Magnus plays for the World Championship, one can only hope that FIDE chooses a site that is fair for both competitors.

Magnus Carlsen will likely benefit from defeat in his first attempt at the world chess championship.

The official site for the 2013 FIDE World Chess Championship.

World Youth Chess Championship 2011

This November the world’s most talented players who are eighteen years and younger will converge upon Caldas Novas, Brazil in order to compete in the 2011 World Youth Chess Championship. These extraordinary chess talents will do battle for nine rounds in hopes of placing in the top three for their age group. Those fortunate enough to accomplish this task will be rewarded with bronze, silver and gold medals in an olympic style ceremony. Round one of the 2011 World Youth Chess Championship will begin on Friday the eighteenth of November. The official website for this event is http://www.wycc2011.com/. Those interested in the 2011 World Youth Chess Championship should also keep visiting this blog for regular updates on California’s participants as well as the insider details from my student Ben Rood.

FIDE Top 100

Below is the FIDE top 100 list for November(source http://www.chess.co.uk/twic/).  Vugar Gashimov broke into the top 10 for the first time in his career. Born in 1986,  Mr. Gashimov  hails from Azerbaijan and is known for his extreme skill in one minute chess. Below is a recent example of his Brilliant play against American grandmaster Gata Kamsky:

[Event "Baku Grand Prix"]
[Site "Baku AZE"]
[Date "2008.04.28"]
[EventDate "2008.04.21"]
[Round "7"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Vugar Gashimov"]
[Black "Gata Kamsky"]
[ECO "C84"]
[WhiteElo "2679"]
[BlackElo "2726"]
[PlyCount "103"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5
7. Bb3 O-O 8. h3 Bb7 9. d3 d6 10. a3 Qd7 11. Nbd2 Rfe8 12. Nf1
Nd8 13. Ng3 Ne6 14. Ba2 c5 15. Bd2 Bf8 16. b4 h6 17. c4 Nf4
18. Re3 bxc4 19. dxc4 Ne6 20. Bb1 g6 21. Re1 Qc7 22. Bd3 Bg7
23. Rb1 Nd7 24. Ne2 Nd4 25. Nc3 Rec8 26. Rc1 Qd8 27. Nd5 Bc6
28. Bf1 Nf8 29. Nxd4 exd4 30. f4 Nd7 31. Qf3 Rcb8 32. Qg3 cxb4
33. axb4 a5 34. b5 Bxd5 35. cxd5 Nc5 36. e5 a4 37. Bb4 a3
38. Bxa3 d3 39. Bxc5 d2 40. Bxd6 Rb7 41. Red1 dxc1=Q 42. Rxc1
Rba7 43. Qb3 Ra1 44. Bc7 Qh4 45. Rxa1 Rxa1 46. Qf3 Qe1 47. b6
Qb4 48. d6 Qd4+ 49. Kh2 Rb1 50. b7 Rxb7 51. Qxb7 Qxf4+ 52. g3
1-0

FIDE Rating List November 2009 Top 100
Rk	Se09	Name	Title	NAT	YroB	ap08	ju08	oc08	ja09	ap09	ju09	se09	Rating	Gms
1	1	Topalov, Veselin	g	BUL	1975	2767	2777	2791	2796	2812	2813	2813	2810	10
2	4	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	1990	2765	2775	2786	2776	2770	2772	2772	2801	10
3	2	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	1969	2803	2798	2783	2791	2783	2788	2788	2788	0
4	3	Aronian, Levon	g	ARM	1982	2763	2737	2757	2750	2754	2768	2773	2786	13
5	5	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	1975	2788	2788	2772	2759	2759	2759	2772	2772	0
6	14	Gashimov, Vugar	g	AZE	1986	2679	2717	2703	2723	2730	2740	2740	2758	11
7	9	Gelfand, Boris	g	ISR	1968	2723	2720	2719	2733	2733	2755	2756	2758	11
8	12	Svidler, Peter	g	RUS	1976	2746	2738	2727	2723	2726	2739	2741	2754	17
9	6	Leko, Peter	g	HUN	1979	2741	2741	2747	2751	2751	2756	2762	2752	10
10	10	Morozevich, Alexander	g	RUS	1977	2774	2788	2787	2771	2751	2751	2750	2750	0
11	7	Radjabov, Teimour	g	AZE	1987	2751	2744	2751	2761	2756	2756	2757	2748	10
12	8	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	1969	2740	2781	2786	2779	2746	2703	2756	2739	13
13	13	Ponomariov, Ruslan	g	UKR	1983	2719	2718	2719	2726	2726	2727	2741	2739	5
14	17	Grischuk, Alexander	g	RUS	1983	2716	2728	2719	2733	2748	2733	2733	2736	13
15	11	Jakovenko, Dmitry	g	RUS	1983	2711	2709	2737	2760	2753	2760	2742	2736	10
16	15	Wang, Yue	g	CHN	1987	2689	2704	2736	2739	2738	2736	2736	2734	27
17	24	Eljanov, Pavel	g	UKR	1983	2687	2716	2720	2693	2693	2716	2717	2729	15
18	20	Karjakin, Sergey	g	UKR	1990	2732	2727	2730	2706	2721	2717	2722	2723	12
19	21	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar	g	AZE	1985	2752	2742	2731	2724	2725	2717	2721	2719	25
20	18	Shirov, Alexei	g	ESP	1972	2740	2741	2726	2745	2745	2732	2730	2719	18
21	22	Dominguez Perez, Leinier	g	CUB	1983	2695	2708	2719	2717	2721	2716	2719	2719	0
22	26	Movsesian, Sergei	g	SVK	1978	2695	2723	2732	2751	2747	2716	2711	2718	16
23	23	Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime	g	FRA	1990	2632	2681	2716	2696	2684	2703	2718	2718	0
24	16	Nakamura, Hikaru	g	USA	1987	2686	2697	2704	2699	2701	2710	2735	2715	17
25	19	Alekseev, Evgeny	g	RUS	1985	2711	2708	2715	2718	2716	2714	2725	2715	7
26	36	Vallejo Pons, Francisco	g	ESP	1982	2684	2650	2664	2702	2688	2693	2696	2711	20
27	44	Tomashevsky, Evgeny	g	RUS	1987	2658	2646	2646	2664	2684	2689	2688	2708	21
28	42	Wang, Hao	g	CHN	1989	2689	2704	2736	2739	2696	2690	2690	2708	13
29	29	Short, Nigel D	g	ENG	1965	2660	2655	2642	2663	2674	2684	2706	2707	16
30	39	Navara, David	g	CZE	1985	2672	2646	2633	2638	2654	2687	2692	2707	9
31	25	Malakhov, Vladimir	g	RUS	1980	2689	2689	2675	2692	2709	2707	2715	2706	26
32	31	Kasimdzhanov, Rustam	g	UZB	1979	2681	2679	2672	2687	2695	2672	2702	2705	5
33	48	Almasi, Zoltan	g	HUN	1976	2674	2668	2663	2680	2685	2684	2685	2704	15
34	28	Bacrot, Etienne	g	FRA	1983	2705	2691	2705	2722	2728	2721	2709	2700	27
35	34	Akopian, Vladimir	g	ARM	1971	2673	2673	2679	2700	2696	2712	2698	2700	7
36	50	Adams, Michael	g	ENG	1971	2729	2735	2734	2712	2703	2699	2682	2698	12
37	30	Rublevsky, Sergei	g	RUS	1974	2695	2699	2702	2702	2702	2703	2703	2697	17
38	45	Nielsen, Peter Heine	g	DEN	1973	2629	2652	2662	2660	2668	2680	2687	2697	10
39	35	Jobava, Baadur	g	GEO	1983	2658	2665	2664	2669	2687	2684	2696	2696	0
40	27	Motylev, Alexander	g	RUS	1979	2666	2674	2672	2676	2677	2710	2710	2695	23
41	38	Kamsky, Gata	g	USA	1974	2726	2723	2729	2725	2720	2717	2692	2695	16
42	53	Vitiugov, Nikita	g	RUS	1987	2617	2616	2638	2687	2688	2681	2681	2694	24
43	43	Bologan, Viktor	g	MDA	1971	2665	2686	2682	2687	2690	2689	2688	2692	24
44	52	Volokitin, Andrei	g	UKR	1986	2684	2672	2659	2671	2671	2678	2681	2691	16
45	47	Naiditsch, Arkadij	g	GER	1985	2623	2665	2678	2693	2700	2697	2685	2689	26
46	41	Miroshnichenko, Evgenij	g	UKR	1978	2642	2593	2632	2667	2680	2696	2690	2686	26
47	32	Bu, Xiangzhi	g	CHN	1985	2708	2710	2714	2702	2704	2702	2702	2682	22
48	46	Polgar, Judit	g	HUN	1976	2709	2711	2711	2693	2693	2687	2687	2680	6
49	37	Moiseenko, Alexander	g	UKR	1980	2650	2632	2678	2676	2690	2682	2694	2677	17
50	67	Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter	g	ROU	1976	2684	2692	2684	2675	2675	2675	2664	2677	14
51	54	Sargissian, Gabriel	g	ARM	1983	2643	2660	2642	2678	2660	2667	2678	2676	16
52	33	Onischuk, Alexander	g	USA	1975	2664	2670	2644	2659	2684	2699	2699	2672	18
53	56	Harikrishna, P.	g	IND	1986	2679	2668	2659	2673	2686	2679	2673	2672	16
54	68	Georgiev, Kiril	g	BUL	1965	2665	2671	2645	2634	2637	2645	2663	2672	13
55	62	Cheparinov, Ivan	g	BUL	1986	2695	2687	2696	2679	2678	2678	2667	2671	5
56	83	Efimenko, Zahar	g	UKR	1985	2660	2670	2680	2688	2682	2654	2654	2668	24
57	55	Sutovsky, Emil	g	ISR	1977	2630	2654	2651	2660	2660	2675	2676	2666	26
58	59	Kurnosov, Igor	g	RUS	1985	2593	2617	2606	2602	2658	2669	2669	2666	20
59	51	Najer, Evgeniy	g	RUS	1977	2627	2670	2682	2669	2669	2663	2681	2666	17
60	40	Ni, Hua	g	CHN	1983	2703	2705	2710	2709	2724	2701	2692	2665	35
61	57	Tiviakov, Sergei	g	NED	1973	2634	2645	2686	2684	2697	2674	2670	2664	34
62	63	Areshchenko, Alexander	g	UKR	1986	2650	2664	2664	2673	2657	2651	2667	2664	16
63	81	Landa, Konstantin	g	RUS	1972	2633	2615	2613	2626	2627	2655	2655	2664	16
64	74	Sasikiran, Krishnan	g	IND	1981	2679	2684	2694	2711	2682	2669	2661	2664	9
65	88	Smirin, Ilia	g	ISR	1968	2630	2637	2649	2647	2641	2650	2648	2662	16
66	69	Berkes, Ferenc	g	HUN	1985	2618	2645	2645	2651	2638	2647	2663	2661	21
67	93	Riazantsev, Alexander	g	RUS	1985	2638	2617	2656	2634	2635	2647	2646	2661	16
68	78	Roiz, Michael	g	ISR	1983	2659	2680	2677	2647	2635	2658	2658	2659	3
69	85	Krasenkow, Michal	g	POL	1963	2624	2639	2624	2620	2622	2631	2651	2656	19
70	90	Lastin, Alexander	g	RUS	1976	2622	2639	2651	2643	2650	2648	2648	2656	11
71	70	Pashikian, Arman	g	ARM	1987	2537	2564	2611	2621	2655	2650	2663	2656	11
72	71	Dreev, Alexey	g	RUS	1969	2657	2657	2670	2688	2668	2660	2662	2655	44
73	92	Baklan, Vladimir	g	UKR	1978	2647	2631	2625	2627	2618	2639	2646	2655	32
74	60	Avrukh, Boris	g	ISR	1978	2632	2656	2657	2645	2647	2641	2668	2655	7
75	—	Ganguly, Surya Shekhar	g	IND	1983	2614	2631	2603	2614	2625	2637	2634	2654	25
76	95	Fier, Alexandr	g	BRA	1988	2527	2558	2581	2590	2595	2604	2644	2653	28
77	100	Kazhgaleyev, Murtas	g	KAZ	1973	2617	2641	2640	2630	2626	2639	2643	2653	15
78	77	Fressinet, Laurent	g	FRA	1981	2656	2673	2676	2666	2664	2667	2658	2653	14
79	65	Meier, Georg	g	GER	1987	2560	2556	2558	2608	2641	2658	2664	2653	10
80	49	Grachev, Boris	g	RUS	1986	2610	2640	2653	2655	2652	2669	2684	2652	23
81	72	Caruana, Fabiano	g	ITA	1992	2620	2630	2640	2646	2649	2670	2662	2652	21
82	82	Predojevic, Borki	g	BIH	1987	2651	2634	2615	2650	2652	2644	2654	2652	17
83	86	Van Wely, Loek	g	NED	1972	2676	2644	2618	2625	2622	2655	2650	2652	15
84	79	Sokolov, Ivan	g	BIH	1968	2690	2658	2650	2657	2669	2655	2657	2652	11
85	76	Milov, Vadim	g	SUI	1972	2690	2705	2681	2669	2659	2659	2659	2652	5
86	61	Timofeev, Artyom	g	RUS	1985	2664	2650	2670	2671	2677	2681	2668	2651	22
87	84	Postny, Evgeny	g	ISR	1981	2649	2661	2674	2652	2648	2647	2651	2650	26
88	—	Smeets, Jan	g	NED	1985	2578	2593	2604	2601	2626	2632	2642	2650	17
89	73	Fridman, Daniel	g	GER	1976	2640	2637	2630	2650	2646	2665	2661	2649	15
90	94	Seirawan, Yasser	g	USA	1960	2630	2634	2634	2634	2634	2646	2646	2649	1
91	—	Vescovi, Giovanni	g	BRA	1978	2617	2631	2635	2635	2631	2631	2636	2648	19
92	80	Beliavsky, Alexander G	g	SLO	1953	2641	2606	2619	2646	2640	2662	2656	2648	17
93	91	Zhigalko, Sergei	g	BLR	1989	2568	2583	2592	2587	2622	2621	2646	2646	0
94	66	Inarkiev, Ernesto	g	RUS	1985	2684	2675	2669	2656	2676	2675	2664	2645	21
95	—	Savchenko, Boris	g	RUS	1986	2569	2578	2648	2654	2655	2650	2638	2644	29
96	—	Khismatullin, Denis	g	RUS	1984	2584	2613	2606	2601	2601	2604	2614	2643	16
97	—	Socko, Bartosz	g	POL	1978	2644	2627	2631	2631	2637	2656	2637	2643	15
98	89	Kobalia, Mikhail	g	RUS	1978	2627	2618	2630	2634	2645	2645	2648	2643	9
99	—	Korobov, Anton	g	UKR	1985	2590	2590	2605	2613	2616	2623	2633	2642	14
100	58	Tkachiev, Vladislav	g	FRA	1973	2657	2664	2664	2657	2657	2650	2669	2642	14

Kramnik vs. Anand

Just ten days until the Anand vs. Kramnik World Chess Championship match of 2008!

Tonight I present another preview game for the upcoming World Chess Championship match between Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik. The game I chose is a recent example of the two contenders going head to head in a major event.  My analysis is above the game that was played at the Corus tournament in 2007.  Enjoy!

Kramnik vs. Anand (source:chessbase.com)

10…Ra7 Anand starts to mix it up early. 10… Be4 is a lot more natural and common in the Catalan.

16. a3 Kramnik’s invention. This move serves to limit Anand’s bishop on the queen-side.

22…Nc4 Perhaps Anand should have tried 22… Bc4 23. Nxc4 Nxc4 and Anand has a knight to harass Kramnik with.

25…c6 Anand’s pawn had been under attack at c7. However, moving forward allows Kramnik to control the d8 square with his Bishop.

26. Rd1 is real trouble for Anand due to the fact that Kramnik’s Bishop forces Anand to place a rook on d7 rather than d8.

28. Rd1 Now Kramnik controls the d file.

30. f4 Is a very interesting move by Kramnik. 30. Qd4 forms a nice battery on the d file and is what most strong players would play. However, Kramnik must feel he wants his queen leading the charge on the d file.

30… Re6 Anand attempts to punish Kramnik’s last move by forcing his rook to retreat. Even with the retreat, Kramnik will still control the open file.  

32. Qd4 Kramnik reveals his intentions of having the queen lead down the d file.

36. e5 Kramnik unleashes his bishop on g2. Another way of activating the bishop would have been moving it to h3.

43. a4 Kramnik delivers a knock-out blow to Anand with his a pawn.  

 

[Event “Corus A”]
[Site “Wijk aan Zee NED”]
[Date “2007.??.??”]
[White “Kramnik,V”]
[Black “Anand,V”]
[Round “6”]
[Result “1-0”]
[WhiteElo “2766”]
[BlackElo “2779”]
[ECO “E06”]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3
O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. Qxc4 b5 9. Qc2
Bb7 10. Bd2 Ra7 11. Rc1 Be4 12. Qb3 Nc6 13. e3
Qa8 14. Qd1 Nb8 15. Ba5 Rc8 16. a3 Bd6 17. Nbd2
Bd5 18. Qf1 Nbd7 19. b4 e5 20. dxe5 Bxe5 21. Nxe5
Nxe5 22. f3 Nc4 23. Nxc4 Bxc4 24. Qf2 Re8 25. e4
c6 26. Rd1 Rd7 27. Rxd7 Nxd7 28. Rd1 Qb7 29. Rd6
f6 30. f4 Re6 31. Rd2 Re7 32. Qd4 Nf8 33. Qd8
Rd7 34. Rxd7 Qxd7 35. Qxd7 Nxd7 36. e5 fxe5 37. Bxc6
Nf6 38. Bb7 exf4 39. gxf4 Nd5 40. Kf2 Nxf4 41. Ke3
g5 42. Bxa6 Kf7 43. a4 Ke7 44. Bxb5 Bxb5 45. axb5
Kd7 46. Ke4 Ne2 47. Bb6 g4 48. Bf2 Nc3+ 49. Kf5
Nxb5 50. Kxg4 Ke6 51. Kg5 Kf7 52. Kf5 Ke7 53. Bc5+
 1-0