Gelfand - Anand game 6 LIVE!

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Gelfand-Anand g6 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 a6 6. Qc2

6... c5 7. cxd5 exd5 8. Be2 Be6 9. O-O Nc6 They're cranking out moves at lightning speed.

10. Rd1 cxd4 11. Nxd4 Nxd4 12. Rxd4 Bc5 13. Rd1 Qe7 They played 13 moves in 9 min! Both are well prepared. Gelfand deviated on move 6.Qc2.

Anand is sacrificing the d5 pawn with excellent compensation as the white Bishop on c1 is not develop and will have a hard time getting out.

14. Bf3 0-0 White can take the d5 pawn. But he'll have a hard time getting the Bishop on c1 in play. I don't see Anand in danger at all.

14...0-0 is a change from the usual 14...Rd8 to defend the d5 pawn. Facing a novelty, Gelfand is thinking. I think he must take with 15.Nxd5.

Here is one sample line: 15. Nxd5 Bxd5 16. Bxd5 Nxd5 17. Rxd5 Rac8 18. Qd1 Rfd8 = to +=

Well, they actually played it 15. Nxd5 Bxd5 16. Bxd5 Nxd5 17. Rxd5 Rac8 But now Gelfand is thinking about where to put his Queen.

Oh well, Gelfand is giving back the pawn. Now they will have symmetrical pawns structure and soon a draw :) 18. Bd2 Bxe3 19. Bc3 Bb6

We basically have a drawn game after 30 min of play. It'll be a long nearly 2 day off :) Gelfand will play on due to better piece placement.

All kidding aside, White still have a very small edge thanks to his B on c3 and R on d5. But Anand will have little problem holding.

Perhaps they can agree to a draw soon and go have an early dinner with Kasparov who is in town (probably to protest against Putin) :)

20. Qf5 Gelfand of course is playing for 2 results as he has no risk of losing. Perhaps they'll play a little longer and join Kasparov for desert :)

We can joke about these quick draws but both players are so well prepared. They equalize with Black fairly easily. Hard to make a dent.

This is a huge credit to both team of seconds, as well as Houdini, Stockfish, Rybka, etc. I vote for 12 games of Fischer Random if tied 6-6.

20...Qe6 If white trades, it is an easy draw. So 21. Qf3 keeping the game alive a little longer.

Black played the most logical 21...f6 to neutralize the Bishop on c3. Gelfand opted for 22. h4 instead of doubling his rooks.

"Vishy - He lost motivation." - Kasparov.

"Vishy - He's sliding downhill" - Kasparov

Is Kasparov right about his brutal assessment of Anand? Is it fair for him to make those comments while match is still in progress?

22...Qc6 The idea is to try to trade down. More pieces off the board = easier draw.

Gelfand is marching ahead with 23. h5. Now one of the Rooks will go to d8 to simplify the position.

Possible line 23. h5 Rcd8 24. Rad1 Rxd5 25. Rxd5 Rd8 26. Rxd8+ Bxd8 27. Qxc6 bxc6 =

23.. Rfd8 24. Rxd8+ Rxd8 25. Qxc6 bxc6 =

When Gelfand brings his rook to the e file, Anand can simply play Kf7 to stop the rook from getting to the 7th rank. Draw to come soon.

I expect the players to shake hands soon. Perhaps one of them should have hired Kasparov to be his second? :)

Critical endgame challenge

White to move. Is this a win, draw or loss for White? How should White proceed?

Prokesh 1939, presented by Andreas

8/8/8/7K/2k5/3pp3/8/5R2 w - - 0 1

Kamsky in Clear First; Zatonskih, Krush Still Even at U.S. Champs

For more information, please contact:
Mike Wilmering
Communications Specialist
Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis

For Immediate Release:

Kamsky in Clear First; Zatonskih, Krush Still Even at U.S. Champs

By Mike Klein

SAINT LOUIS, May 18, 2012 -- GMs Hikaru Nakamura and Gata Kamsky entered round nine of the 2012 U.S. Championship tied with six points apiece. They could not have had more different days.

Kamsky won largely without any over-the-board effort, defeating GM Yasser Seirawan in a little more than two hours by using a spectacular combination. He had most of the moves worked out well in advance.

Nakamura labored for nearly six hours and 121 moves but could not break through against the stubborn defense of GM Alex Lenderman. He reluctantly agreed to a draw. His matchup with Kamsky tomorrow will mean he is playing from behind for the first time in the tournament. Kamsky now has seven points, while Nakamura is at 6.5.

Kamsky played the first 25 moves effectively in negative time, as the 30-second increment for every move offered him five more minutes than he began. His sacrifice 22. Bxh6 was played automatically, and a stunned Seirawan ran low on time contemplating the combination. The superior preparation netted the defending champion Kamsky a pain-free win.

“I knew yesterday he would play the Caro-Kann,” Kamsky said. He reviewed the opening again this morning, and Seirawan walked right into some preparation that Kamsky had saved from several years ago. “There are so many lines to prepare for, the chance that you will go into this one is terribly small,” Kamsky said.

Seirawan guessed that he may have actually seen the trap before, but failed to remember the intricacies. Unbeknownst to him, all moves up until 24...Nxd7 had occurred over Kamsky's practice board before. If Seirawan had not sacrifice his queen, then after 23...Nxd7 24. Qd2 Kh7 25. Ng4 is incontrovertible proof of the soundness of the attack.

Meanwhile, Kamsky's rival Nakamura had his hands full trying to inject life into his game with the much lower-rated Lenderman. The night before, Lenderman lost his first game of the tournament to Kamsky, and remarked that he needed more practice playing against 2700s. He got copious amounts of board time with another 2700 today.

After Nakamura reverted back to his usual 1. d4, a Nimzo-Indian led to both kings castling on the queenside. The board soon locked up, and Nakamura spent 40 moves shuffling his pieces around the back ranks searching for the right time to break through. His king traveled east as far as it could, and finally a c-file breakthrough was attempted. Just when it seemed the newfound pressure would be too much to bear, Lenderman deftly sacrificed a few pawns to engineer an endgame blockade. Two pawns to the good, Nakamura admitted he was out of ideas and whispered, “Draw?” to his opponent. After playing the sixth-longest game in U.S. Championship history, mostly idling or on defense, Lenderman agreed without hesitation.

Fellow competitors GM Robert Hess and GM Alejandro Ramirez came up to ask Lenderman why he did not play on, as they deemed his position better. “I didn't expect I could possibly have winning chances,” Lenderman said.

Kamsky will take white versus Nakamura tomorrow. If Kamsky is able to win, he will clinch his third consecutive national championship.

GM Alex Onischuk, the third seed, maintained exactly that place by sacrificing the exchange against GM Gregory Kaidanov. His multiple passed pawns were too much to handle in the endgame. Onischuk, whose performance rating is more than 2700, is the only other player who is mathematically alive for the title, though his chances are extremely slim.

In the 2012 U.S. Women's Championship, both leaders won to keep pace with each other, though IMs Irina Krush and Anna Zatonskih were both worse in their respective games today.

“I did get what I wanted from the opening, but I played a really bad move – Rb1,” Krush said. “I played this game like a patzer.”

Hess said that if Krush's opponent, the lowest-ranked player in the field WFM Alena Kats, played 19...Ba4 instead of 19...Bc4, then Krush's rook would either be lost, or would move away and allow the advance of Kats's dangerous d-pawn. “My openings are terrible,” Kats said. “I'm going to study more. My junior year in high school was so busy.”

Zatonskih also had a worse position according to pundits. Her opponent, IM Rusudan Goletiani, had a healthy space advantage and the only bishop on the board. Zatonskih cleared out the long diagonal, then began focusing on Goletiani's errant knight on h4. Goletiani had to retreat to rescue her steed, and Zatonskih's pieces overwhelmed the position. Goletiani tried the same desperate strategy as yesterday, pushing all of her pawns at her opponent's king, but without queens on the board, there was not enough counterplay.

Goletiani dropped into a three-way tie for third with WGM Sabina Foisor and WGM Tatev Abrahamyan. Foisor drew miraculously today when her opponent, WIM Viktorija Ni, played beautifully but inexplicably botched a king-and-pawn ending. Instead of 67. f3, which resulted in a draw, the direct 67. Kxh6 wins, as Foisor would then have to chase down Ni's pawns even farther.

The title will go to either Krush or Zatonskih. If one woman manages to win in round nine and the other does not, a clear winner will emerge. If not, a playoff Sunday will ensue. The women get an off day tomorrow while the U.S. Championship resumes Friday for round 10.

Exciting or disappointing?

After 5 games, do you feel that the Anand - Gelfand World Championship match is
	Super exciting
	Super disappointing
	Exciting
	Disappointing
	Just as expected

Match Yifan – Cmilyte in Corsica

Match Yifan – Cmilyte in Corsica

The Corsican Chess League has a very active calendar for 2012 with a number of important international competitions.

The richest event in the terms of money prizes will be the 16th Corsican Circuit from 27th to 31st October in Bastia and Aiacciu. Finale du Grand Prix FFE is 60,000 EUR worth.

But certainly the highlight of the year will be the visit of the Women’s World Champion Hou Yifan from China. The Match Of The Champions between Hou Yifan and 2011 European Women Champion Viktorija Cmilyte will be held on 21st and 22nd May in Porti Vechju.

The calendar also introduced the new 1st Open International d’Aiacciu which was held from 24th to 28th April in Aiacciu.

Asian Nations Chess Cup 2012 – Complete Lineups

Asian Nations Chess Cup 2012 – Complete Lineups

Only few days after the Asian Continental Individual Championships concluded in Vietnam, all top players moved to Zao Zhuang, Shandong Province, China, to compete in the 2012 Asian Nations Chess Cup (Open and Women’s).

The competitions are taking place from 15th to 27th May over nine rounds of Swiss in Open Group and over nine rounds all-play-all in Women’s. All FIDE Affiliated Chess Federations in Asia are eligible to participate.

China is top seeded in both groups, but India, with the Asian champion Parimarjan Negi in the roster, is also very ambitious.

The Asian Women Champion Irine Kharisma Sukandar is heading the Indonesian side.

The winning teams will represent the continent of Asia in the 2013 World (Women’s) Team Championship.

More about the Regulations

Team Lineups (Open):

1. China 1

1 GM Wang Hao 2738 CHN
2 GM Wang Yue 2690 CHN
3 GM Li Chao b 2703 CHN
4 GM Ding Liren 2679 CHN
5 GM Yu Yangyi 2626 CHN

2. India

1 GM Sasikiran Krishnan 2720 IND
2 GM Pentala Hari Krishna 2693 IND
3 GM Negi Parimarjan 2640 IND
4 GM Gupta Abhijeet 2644 IND
5 GM Narayanan Gopal Geetha 2562 IND

3. Vietnam

1 GM Le Quang Liem 2703 VIE
2 GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son 2656 VIE
3 IM Nguyen Duc Hoa 2496 VIE
4 IM Nguyen Van Huy 2502 VIE
5 GM Dao Thien Hai 2514 VIE

4. China 2

1 GM Zhou Weiqi 2624 CHN
2 GM Zhou Jianchao 2609 CHN
3 GM Zhao Jun 2577 CHN
4 GM Wen Yang 2550 CHN
5 IM Lou Yiping 2428 CHN

5. Kazakhstan

1 GM Jumabayev Rinat 2556 KAZ
2 GM Kazhgaleyev Murtas 2595 KAZ
3 GM Ismagambetov Anuar 2478 KAZ
4 GM Khusnutdinov Rustam 2509 KAZ
5 IM Kuderinov Kirill 2493 KAZ

6. Iran

1 GM Ghaem Maghami Ehsan 2578 IRI
2 IM Seyedjavad Alavimoghaddam 2441 IRI
3 IM Porya Dereni 2491 IRI
4 GM Golizadeh Asghar 2482 IRI
5 GM Mahjoob Morteza 2424 IRI

One game for everything

Zatonskih and Krush are tied going into the final round. Zatonskih will have white against Abrahamyan while Krush will have black against Baginskaite. It is one game for all the marbles.

Standings with 1 game to go

Rk	Name	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Score
1	IM Zatonskih, Anna	2510	x	½	½	1		½	½	1	1	1	6.0
2	IM Krush, Irina	2457	½	x	1	½	1	1	½	½		1	6.0
3	WGM Foisor, Sabina-Francesca	2364	½	0	x	1	0	½	1		½	1	4.5
4	IM Goletiani, Rusudan	2333	0	½	0	x	1	0	1	1	1		4.5
5	WGM Abrahamyan, Tatev	2329		0	1	0	x	½	1	0	1	1	4.5
6	WIM Ni, Viktorija	2228	½	0	½	1	½	x		0	½	1	4.0
7	FM Melekhina, Alisa	2242	½	½	0	0	0		x	½	1	1	3.5
8	WIM Zenyuk, Iryna	2224	0	½		0	1	1	½	x	0	½	3.5
9	WGM Baginskaite, Camilla	2358	0		½	0	0	½	0	1	x	0	2.0
10	WFM Kats, Alena	2137	0	0	0		0	0	0	½	1	x	1.5

The intriguing endgame: Kamsky leads by 1/2 with 2 to go

This is getting very interesting. Kamsky is leading by 1/2 point with 2 games to go. He will have white against Nakamura next round. However, Kamsky will have black against a very dangerous Hess with black in the final round while Nakamura will have white against Seirawan, who does not have a good tournament at all. It will come down to the final 2 games.

Standings after 9 rounds

Rk	Name	Rating	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Score
1	GM Kamsky, Gata	2741	x		1	½	1	½	1		0	1	1	1	7.0
2	GM Nakamura, Hikaru	2775		x	½	½	½	1	½	1	1		½	1	6.5
3	GM Onischuk, Alexander	2660	0	½	x			½	½	1	1	½	½	1	5.5
4	GM Shulman, Yuri	2571	½	½		x	½		½	½	½	1	½	½	5.0
5	GM Akobian, Varuzhan	2625	0	½		½	x	0	½	1		1	1	0	4.5
6	GM Robson, Ray	2614	½	0	½		1	x	0	1	½	0	1		4.5
7	GM Lenderman, Aleksandr	2587	0	½	½	½	½	1	x		½	½		½	4.5
8	GM Hess, Robert L	2635		0	0	½	0	0		x	1	1	½	1	4.0
9	GM Kaidanov, Gregory S	2594	1	0	0	½		½	½	0	x		0	1	3.5
10	GM Seirawan, Yasser	2643	0		½	0	0	1	½	0		x	1	0	3.0
11	GM Ramirez, Alejandro	2593	0	½	½	½	0	0		½	1	0	x		3.0
12	GM Stripunsky, Alexander	2562	0	0	0	½	1		½	0	0	1		x	3.0

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Interesting WC game 5 video

How does Sveshnikov feel about Gelfand employing his opening? See for yourself. Video provided by our friends at Europe Echecs.