Links

This form does not yet contain any fields.
    1948 World Chess Championship 1959 Candidates 1962 Candidates 2.c3 Sicilian 2.f4 Sicilian 2011 European Team Championship 2011 Russian Championship 2012 Capablanca Memorial 2012 Chess Olympiad 2012 European Women's Championship 2012 London Chess Classic 2012 U.S. Junior Championship 2012 U.S. Women's Championship 2012 US Championship 2012 Women's World Chess Championship 2012 World Rapid and Blitz Championships 2013 Alekhine Memorial 2013 Beijing Grand Prix 2013 European Club Cup 2013 European Team Championship 2013 FIDE World Cup 2013 Kings Tournament 2013 London Chess Classic 2013 Russian Championship 2013 Tal Memorial 2013 U.S. Championship 2013 Women's World Championship 2013 World Blitz Championship 2013 World Championship 2013 World Rapid Championship 2013 World Team Championship 2014 Capablanca Memorial 2014 Chess Olympiad 2014 London Chess Classic 2014 Petrosian Memorial 2014 Rapid & Blitz World Championship 2014 Russian Team Championship 2014 Sinquefield Cup 2014 Tigran Petrosian Memorial 2014 U.S. Championship 2014 U.S. Open 2014 Women's World Championship 2014 World Blitz Championship 2014 World Championship 2014 World Junior Championships 2014 World Rapid Championship 2015 Capablanca Memorial 2015 Chinese Championship 2015 European Club Cup 2015 European Team Championship 2015 London Chess Classic 2015 Millionaire Open 2015 Poikovsky 2015 Russian Team Championship 2015 Sinquefield Cup 2015 U.S. Championship 2015 Women's World Championship KO 2015 World Blitz Championship 2015 World Cup 2015 World Junior Championship 2015 World Open 2015 World Rapid & Blitz Championship 2015 World Team Championships 2016 2016 Candidates 2016 Capablanca Memorial 2016 Champions Showdown 2016 Chess Olympiad 2016 Chinese Championship 2016 European Club Cup 2016 Isle of Man 2016 London Chess Classic 2016 Russian Championship 2016 Sinquefield Cup 2016 Tal Memorial 2016 U.S. Championship 2016 U.S. Junior Championship 2016 U.S. Women's Championship 2016 Women's World Championship 2016 World Blitz Championship 2016 World Championship 2016 World Junior Championship 2016 World Open 2016 World Rapid Championship 2017 British Championship 2017 British Knockout Championship 2017 Champions Showdown 2017 Chinese Championship 2017 Elite Mind Games 2017 European Team Championship 2017 Geneva Grand Prix 2017 Grand Prix 2017 Isle of Man 2017 London Chess Classic 2017 PRO Chess League 2017 Russian Championship 2017 Sharjah Masters 2017 Sinquefield Cup 2017 Speed Chess Championship 2017 U..S. Championshp 2017 U.S. Junior Championship 2017 Women's World Championship 2017 World Cup 2017 World Junior Championship 2017 World Rapid & Blitz Championships 2017 World Team Championship 2018 British Championship 2018 Candidates 2018 Chess Olympiad 2018 Dortmund 2018 European Championship 2018 European Club Cup 2018 Gashimov Memorial 2018 Gibraltar 2018 Grand Chess Tour 2018 Grenke Chess Classic 2018 Grenke Chess Open 2018 Isle of Man 2018 Leuven 2018 London Chess Classic 2018 Norway Chess 2018 Paris 2018 Poikovsky 2018 Pro Chess League 2018 Shenzhen Masters 2018 Sinquefield Cup 2018 Speed Chess Championship 2018 St. Louis Rapid & Blitz 2018 Tal Memorial 2018 Tata Steel Rapid & Blitz 2018 U.S. Championship 2018 Wijk aan Zee 2018 Women's World Championship 2018 World Championship 2018 World Rapid & Blitz Championship 2019 Abidjan 2019 Aeroflot Open 2019 Biel 2019 Capablanca Memorial 2019 Champions Showdown 2019 Dortmund 2019 Du Te Cup 2019 European Championship 2019 Gashimov Memorial 2019 GCT Paris 2019 GCT Zagreb 2019 Gibraltar 2019 Grand Chess Tour 2019 Grand Prix 2019 Grenke Chess Classic 2019 Karpov Poikovsky 2019 Lindores Abbey 2019 Moscow Grand Prix 2019 Norway Chess 2019 Norway Chess blitz 2019 Pro Chess League 2019 Riga Grand Prix 2019 Russian Team Championship 2019 Sinquefield Cup 2019 St. Louis Rapid & Blitz 2019 U.S. Championship 2019 Wijk aan Zee 2019 Women's Candidates 2019 World Rapid & Blitz Championships 2019 World Team Championship 2020 Banter Blitz Series Final 2020 Candidates 2020 Champions Chess Tour 2020 Chess Olympics 2020 Chess.com Speed Chess Championship 2020 Clutch Chess 2020 FIDE Online Nations Cup 2020 Grand Chess Tour 2020 Magnus Carlsen Invitational 2020 Norway Chess 2020 Russian Championship 2020 Skilling Open 2020 St. Louis Rapid & Blitz 2020 U.S. Championship 2021 Aimchess U.S. Rapid 2021 Champions Showdown 2021 Chess.com Speed Chess Championship 2021 Chessable Masters 2021 Croatia Grand Prix 2021 Croatia Rapid and Blitz 2021 European Team Championship 2021 FIDE Grand Swiss 2021 FTX Crypto Cup 2021 Goldmoney Asian Rapid 2021 Grand Chess Tour 2021 Leon 2021 Magnus Carlsen Invitational 2021 Meltwater Tour Finals 2021 New in Chess Classic 2021 Norway Chess 2021 Opera Euro Rapid 2021 Paris Rapid & Blitz 2021 San Fermin Masters 2021 Sinquefield Cup 2021 St. Louis Rapid & Blitz 2021 Superbet Chess Classic 2021 Tal Memorial Blitz 2021 U.S. Championship 2021 Wijk aan Zee 2021 World Chess Championship 2021 World Cup 2021 World Rapid & Blitz Championships 2022 American Cup 2022 Candidates 2022 Chess Olympics 2022 Chessable Masters 2022 FIDE Grand Prix 2022 Grand Chess Tour 2022 Meltwater Tour 2022 Norway Chess 2022 Superbet Chess Classic 2022 Superbet Rapid & Blitz 2022 Wijk aan Zee 2022 World Chess Championship 2024 Chess Olympics 22014 Sinquefield Cup 22014 U.S. Championship 22016 Chess Olympiad 22019 GCT Zagreb 22019 Wijk aan Zee 2Mind Games 2016 2Wijk aan Zee 2017 60 Minutes A. Muzychuk A. Sokolov aattacking chess Abby Marshall Abhijeet Gupta Abhimanyu Mishra Accelerated Dragon achieving excellence ACP Golden Classic Adams Aeroflot 2010 Aeroflot 2011 Aeroflot 2012 Aeroflot 2013 Aeroflot 2015 Aeroflot 2016 Aeroflot 2017 AGON Agrest Airthings Masters Akiba Rubinstein Akiva Rubinstein Akobian Akshat Chandra Alejandro Ramirez Alekhine Alekhine Defense Aleksander Lenderman Aleksandra Goryachkina Alekseev Alena Kats Alex Markgraf Alexander Alekhine Alexander Beliavsky Alexander Grischuk Alexander Ipatov Alexander Khalifman Alexander Moiseenko Alexander Morozevich Alexander Niktin Alexander Onischuk Alexander Panchenko Alexander Stripunsky Alexander Tolush Alexandra Kosteniuk Alexei Dreev Alexei Shirov Alexey Bezgodov Alireza Firouzja Almasi AlphaZero Alvin Plantinga Amber 2010 Amber 2011 American Chess Magazine Amos Burn Anand Anand-Carlsen 2013 Anand-Gelfand 2012 Anand-Gelfand World Championship Match Anand-Topalov 2010 Anastasia Bodnaruk Anatoly Karpov Anders Ericsson Andrei Volokitin Andrew Martin Andrew Paulson Andrey Esipenko Android apps Anish Giri Anna Muzychuk Anna Ushenina Anna Zatonskih Anti-Marshall Lines Anti-Moscow Gambit Anti-Sicilians Antoaneta Stefanova Anton Korobov Anton Kovalyov apps April Fool's Jokes Archangelsk Variation Arianne Caoili Arjun Erigaisi Arkadij Naiditsch Arkady Dvorkovich Arne Moll Aron Nimzowitsch Aronian Aronian-Kramnik 2012 Arthur Bisguier Arthur van de Oudeweetering Artur Yusupov Arturo Pomar Ashland University football Astrakhan Grand Prix 2010 attack attacking chess Austrian Attack Averbakh Awonder Liang Baadur Jobava Bacrot Baku Grand Prix 2014 Baltic Defense Bangkok Chess Club Open Baskaran Adhiban Bazna 2011 Becerra beginner's books Beliavsky Ben Feingold Benko Gambit Bent Larsen Berlin Defense Biel 2012 Biel 2014 Biel 2015 Biel 2017 Bilbao 2010 Bilbao 2012 Bilbao 2013 Bilbao 2015 Bilbao 2016 Bilbao Chess 2014 bishop endings Bishop vs. Knight Blackburne Blaise Pascal blindfold chess blitz blitz chess Blumenfeld Gambit blunders Bob Hope Bobby Fischer Bogo-Indian Bohatirchuk Bologan Book Reviews books Boris Gelfand Boris Ivkov Boris Spassky Borislav Ivanov Borki Predojevic Boruchovsky Botvinnik Botvinnik Memorial Branimiir Maksimovic Breyer Variation brilliancy British Championship British Chess Magazine Bronstein Bronznik Brooklyn Castle Browne Brunello Bu Xiangzhi Budapest bullet chess Bundesliga California Chess Reporter Camilla Baginskaite Campomanes Candidates 2011 Candidates 2011 Candidates 2012 Candidates 2013 Candidates 2014 Capablanca Carlsen Caro-Kann cartoons Caruana Catalan Cebalo Charles Krauthammer Charlie Rose cheating Cheparinov chess and drugs chess and education chess and marketing chess books chess cartoons chess documentaries chess engines chess history chess in fiction chess in film chess in schools Chess Informant chess lessons chess openings chess politics chess psychology chess ratings chess strategy chess variants Chess24 Chess960 ChessBase DVDs ChessBase Shows ChessLecture Presentations ChessLecture Videos ChessLecture.com ChessUSA ChessUSA blog ChessVibes ChessVideos Presentations Chigorin Variation Chinese Chess Championship Chithambaram Aravindh Christian faith Christiansen Christmas Colin Crouch Colle combinations Commentary computer chess computers correspondence chess Corsica COVID-19 Cristobal Henriquez Villagra Cyrus Lakdawala Dan Parmet Danailov Daniel Parmet Daniil Dubov Danny Kopec Danzhou Danzhou 2016 Danzhou 2017 Dave MacEnulty Dave Vigorito David Anton David Bronstein David Howell David MacEnulty David Navara Davies Deep Blue Deeper Blue defense Dejan Antic Delchev Denis Khismatullin DGT errors Ding Liren Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam Dmitry Andreikin Dmitry Gurevich Dmitry Jakovenko Dmitry Svetushkin Dominic Lawson Donald Trump Dortmund 2010 Dortmund 2011 Dortmund 2012 Dortmund 2012 Dortmund 2013 Dortmund 2014 Dortmund 2015 Dortmund 2016 Dortmund 2017 Doug Hyatt Dragoljub Velimirovic draws dreams Dreev Dunning-Kruger Effect Dutch Defense DVD Reviews DVDs Dvoirys Dvoretsky Easter Edouard Efimenko Efstratios Grivas Eltaj Safarli Emanuel Lasker Emory Tate en passant endgame studies endgames Endgames English Opening Ernesto Inarkiev Erwin L'Ami Esserman Etienne Bacrot European Championship 2015 European Club Cup 2012 European Club Cup 2014 European Individual Championship 2012 Evgeni Vasiukov Evgeny Bareev Evgeny Najer Evgeny Sveshnikov Evgeny Tomashevsky Exchange Ruy expertise Fabiano Caruana Falko Bindrich farce FIDE FIDE Grand Prix FIDE politics FIDE Presidential Election FIDE ratings Fier fighting for the initiative Finegold Fischer Fischer-Spassky 1972 football Francisco Vallejo Pons Fred Reinfeld French Defense Fritz 15 Ftacnik Gadir Guseinov Gajewski Gaprindashvili Garry Kasparov Gashimov Gashimov Memorial 2017 Gata Kamsky Gawain Jones Gelfand Gelfand-Svidler Rapid Match Geller Geneva Masters Genna Sosonko Georg Meier Georgios Makropolous GGarry Kasparov Gibraltar 2011 Gibraltar 2012 Gibraltar 2013 Gibraltar 2014 Gibraltar 2015 Gibraltar 2016 Gibraltar 2017 Giorgios Makropoulos Giri Go Grand Chess Tour Grand Chess Tour 2017 Grand Chess Tour Paris 2017 Grand Prix 2014-2015 Grand Prix Attack Greek Gift sacrifice Grenke Chess Classic 2013 Grenke Chess Classic 2015 Grenke Chess Classic 2017 Grigoriy Oprain Grinfeld Grischuk Grob Groucho Marx Gruenfeld Defense Grünfeld Defense Gukesh Dommaraju Gulko Gunina Guseinov Gustafsson Gyula Sax Hannes Langrock Hans Berliner Hans Niemann Hans Ree Harika Dronavalli Hastings Hawaii International Festival Haworth Hedgehog helpmates Hennig-Schara Gambit Henrique Mecking HHou Yifan highway robbery Hikaru Nakamura Hilton Hjorvar Gretarsson Hort Horwitz Bishops Hou Yifan Houdini Houdini 1.5a Howard Staunton humor Humpy Koneru Ian Nepomniachtchi Icelandic Gambit Ignatius Leong Igor Kovalenko Igor Kurnosov Igor Lysyj Igors Rausis Iljumzhinov Ilya Makoveev Ilya Nyzhnyk Imre Hera Informant Informant 113 Informant 114 Informant 115 Informant 116 Informant 117 Informant 118 Informant 119 Informant 120 Informant 121 Informant 122 Informant 124 Informant 125 Informant 126 Informant 127 Informant 128 Informant 129 Informant 130 Informant 131 Informant 132 Informant 133 Informant 134 Informant 135 insanity Inside Chess Magazine IOC Ippolito IQP Irina Bulmaga Irina Krush Irving Chernev Isaac Kashdan Ivan Bukavshin Ivan Sokolov Ivanchuk J. Polgar Jacek Oskulski Jacob Aagaard Jaenisch Jaideep Unudurti Jakovenko James Tarjan Jan Gustafsson Jan Timman Jan-Krzysztof Duda Jay Whitehead Jeffery Xiong Jennifer Yu Jeremy Silman Jim Slater Jimmy Quon Joe Benjamin Joel Benjamin John Burke John Cole John Grefe John Watson Jon Lenchner Jon Ludwig Hammer Jonathan Hawkins Jonathan Penrose Jonathan Speelman Joop van Oosterom Jorden Van Foreest Jose Diaz Jose Raul Capablanca Ju Wenjun Judit Polgar Julio Granda Zuniga junk openings Kaidanov Kaido Kulaots Kalashnikov Sicilian Kamsky Karen Sumbatyan Karjakin Karpov Karsten Mueller Kasimdzhanov Kasparov Kateryna Lagno Kavalek Keanu Reeves Ken Regan Keres KGB Khalifman Khanty-Mansiysk Grand Prix Kim Commons king and pawn endings King's Gambit King's Indian King's Tournament 2010 Kings Tournament 2012 Kirsan Ilyumzhinov KKing's Gambit KKing's Indian Klovans Komodo Komodo 11 Komodo 12 Komodo Dragon Korchnoi Kramnik Krishnan Sasikiran Kunin Kurt Stein Lajos Portisch Larry Christiansen Larry Evans Larry Kaufman Larry Parr Lasker Lasker-Pelikan Latvian Gambit Laurent Fressinet Laznicka Lc0 Le Quang Liem LeBron James Leinier Dominguez Leko Leon 2017 Leonid Kritz lessons Leuven Rapid & Blitz Leuven Rapid & Blitz 2017 Lev Psakhis Levon Aronian Lilienthal Linares 2010 Linder Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu Loek van Wely Lombardy London 2009 London 2010 London 2011 London Grand Prix London System Lothar Schmid Lu Shanglei Lubosh Kavalek Luke McShane Macieja Magnus Carlsen Maia Main Line Ruy Malakhov Malcolm Gladwell Malcolm Pein Mamedyarov Marc Arnold Marc Lang Marin Mariya Muzychuk Mark Crowther Mark Dvoretsky Mark Glickman Mark Taimanov Markus Ragger Marshall Marshall Gambit Masters of the Chessboard Mateusz Bartel Matthew Sadler Maurice Ashley Max Euwe Max Judd Maxim Matlakov Maxim Rodshtein Maxime Vachier-Lagrave McShane Mega 2012 mental malfunction Mesgen Amanov Michael Adams Miguel Najdorf Mikhail Antipov Mikhail Botvinnik Mikhail Golubev Mikhail Osipov Mikhail Tal Mikhail Zinar Mikhalchishin Miles Mind Games 2016 Minev miniatures Miron Sher Miso Cebalo MModern Benoni Modern Modern Benoni Moiseenko Morozevich Morphy Movsesian Müller Murali Karthikeyan music Nadareishvili Naiditsch Najdorf Sicilian Nakamura Nana Dzagnidze Nanjing 2010 Natalia Pogonina Navara NDame football Negi Neo-Archangelsk Nepomniachtchi New In Chess Yearbook 104 New York Times NH Tournament 2010 Nigel Short Nihal Sarin Nikita Vitiugov Nikolai Rezvov Nils Grandelius Nimzo-Indian Nino Khurtsidze NNotre Dame football Nodirbek Abdusattarov Nona Gaprindashvili Norway Chess 2013 Norway Chess 2014 Norway Chess 2015 Norway Chess 2016 Norway Chess 2017 Notre Dame basketball Notre Dame football Notre Dame Football Notre Dame hockey Nov. 2009 News Nyback Nyzhnyk Oleg Pervakov Oleg Skvortsov Olympics 2010 Open Ruy opening advice opening novelties Openings openings Or Cohen P.H. Nielsen Pal Benko Palma Grand Prix 2017 Parham Maghsoodloo Parimarjan Negi Paris Grand Prix Paris Rapid & Blitz passed pawns Paul Keres Paul Morphy Paul Rudd Pavel Eljanov pawn endings pawn play Pawn Sacrifice pawn structures Pentala Harikrishna Pesotskyi Peter Heine Nielsen Peter Leko Peter Svidler Petroff Philadelphia Open Philidor's Defense philosophy Phiona Mutesi Pirc Piterenka Rapid/Blitz Polgar Polgar sisters Polugaevsky Ponomariov Ponziani Potkin poultry Powerbook 2011 Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu Prague Chess Train problems progressive chess prophylaxis Puzzle Rush Qatar Masters 2015 QGD Tartakower QQueen's Gambit Accepted queen sacrifices Queen's Gambit Accepted Queen's Gambit Declined Queen's Indian Defense Rabat blitz 2015 Radjabov Radoslaw Wojtaszek Ragger rapid chess Rapport Rashid Nezhmetdinov Rathnakaran Kantholi rating inflation ratings Ray Robson Raymond Smullyan Regan Reggio Emilia 2010 Reggio Emilia 2011 Reshevsky Reti Reuben Fine Rex Sinquefield Reykjavik Open 2012 Reykjavik Open 2017 Richard Rapport Richard Reti Robert Byrne robot chess Robson Roman Ovetchkin rook endings RReggio Emilia 2011 rrook endings RRuy Lopez RRuy Lopez sidelines Rubinstein Rubinstein French Rudolf Loman Rudolf Spielmann rules Ruslan Ponomariov Russian Team Championship Russia-Ukraine war Rustam Kasimdzhanov Ruy Lopez Ruy Lopez sidelines Rybka Rybka 4 S. Kasparov S.L. Narayanan sacrifices Sadler Saemisch Sakaev Sam Collins Sam Sevian Sam Shankland Samuel Reshevsky Sanan Sjugirov Sao Paulo/Bilbao 2011 Sao Paulo/Bilbao 2012 satire Savchenko Savielly Tartakower Schliemann Scotch Four Knights Searching for Bobby Fischer Seirawan self-destruction Sergei Tiiviakov Sergei Tkachenko Sergey Erenburg Sergey Fedorchuk Sergey Karjakin Sergey Kasparov Sergey Shipov Sevan Muradian Shakhriyar Mamedyarov Shamkir 2015 Shamkir 2016 Shamkir 2017 Shankland Sharjah Grand Prix 2017 Shenzhen 2017 Shipov Shirov Short Shreyas Royal Sicilian Sinquefield Cup sitzfleisch Slav Smith-Morra Gambit Smyslov So-Navara Spassky spectacular moves Speelman sportsmanship Spraggett St. Louis Chess Club St. Louis Invitational St. Louis Rapid and Blitz 2017 stalemate Staunton Steph Curry Stephen Hawking Stockfish Stockfish 4 Stonewall Dutch stupidity Suat Atalik Super Bowl XLIV Susan Polgar Sutovsky Sveshnikov Sveshnikov Sicilian Svetozar Gligoric Svidler Svidler-Shankland match sweeper sealer twist Swiercz tactics Tactics Taimanov Tal Tal Memorial 2009 Tal Memorial 2010 Tal Memorial 2011 Tal Memorial 2012 Tal Memorial 2012 Tani Adewumi Tanitoluwa Adewumi Tarjan Tarrasch Tarrasch Defense Tashkent Tashkent Grand Prix Tbilisi Grand Prix 2015 TCEC TCEC Season 10 TCEC Season 11 TCEC Season 12 TCEC Season 13 TCEC Season 14 TCEC Season 15 TCEC Season 19 TCEC Season 20 TCEC Season 21 TCEC Season 22 TCEC Season 8 TCEC Season 9 TED talks Teimour Radjabov Terekhin The Chess Players (book) The Simpsons The Week in Chess Thessaloniki Grand Prix Three knights Tibor Karolyi Tigran Gorgiev Tigran Petrosian Tim Krabbé time controls time trouble Timman Timur Gareev Timur Gareyev Tomashevsky Tony Miles Topalov traps Tromso Olympics 2014 TTCEC Season 14 TWIC Tyler Cowen types of chess players Ufuk Tuncer Ultimate Blitz Challenge underpromotion Unive 2012 University of Notre Dame upsets US Championship 2010 US Championship 2011 US Chess League USCF ratings USCL V. Onischuk Vachier-Lagrave Valentina Gunina Vallejo value of chess van der Heijden Van Perlo van Wely Varuzhan Akobian Vasik Rajlich Vasily Smyslov Vassilios Kotronias Vassily Ivanchuk Vassily Smyslov Velimirovic Attack Vera Menchik Veresov Veselin Topalov video videos Vidit Gujrathi Vienna 1922 Viktor Bologan Viktor Korchnoi Viktor Moskalenko Vincent Keymer Viswanathan Anand Vitaly Tseshkovsky Vitiugov Vladimir Fedoseev Vladimir Kramnik Vladimir Tukmakov Vladislav Artemiev Vladislav Kovalev Vladislav Tkachiev Vlastimil Hort Vlastimil Jansa Vugar Gashimov Vugar Gashimov Memorial Walter Browne Wang Hao Wang Yue Watson Wei Yi Welcome Wesley So Wijk aan Zee 1999 Wijk aan Zee 2010 Wijk aan Zee 2011 Wijk aan Zee 2012 Wijk aan Zee 2013 Wijk aan Zee 2014 Wijk aan Zee 2015 Wijk aan Zee 2016 Wijk aan Zee 2017 Wil E. Coyote Wilhelm Steinitz William Golding William Lombardy William Vallicella Willy Hendriks Winawer French Wojtkiewicz Wolfgang Uhlmann women in chess Women's Grand Prix Women's World Championship World Champion DVDs World Championship World Cup World Cup 2009 World Cup 2011 World Cup 2011 World Junior Championship World Senior Championship WWesley So WWijk aan Zee 2012 Xie Jun Yasser Seirawan Yates Yermolinsky Yevseev Yoshiharu Habu Yu Yangyi Yuri Averbakh Yuri Dokhoian Yuri Razuvaev Yuri Vovk Yuri Yeliseyev Yuriy Kuzubov Zaitsev Variation Zaven Andriasyan Zhao Xue Zhongyi Tan Zug 2013 Zukertort System Zurab Azmaiparashvili Zurich 1953 Zurich 2013 Zurich 2014 Zurich 2015 Zurich 2016 Zurich 2017

    Entries in Dortmund 2014 (8)

    Sunday
    Jul202014

    The Daily Roundup: Caruana Wins Dortmund; So Wins Bergamo; Gelfand-Svidler Underway

    Two of the major ongoing tournaments ended today, but in both cases the identity of the winner had been known well in advance. In Dortmund, Fabiano Caruana had already clinched clear first the day before, and for him today was a mere formality. He drew comfortably with Peter Leko, and his final score of 5.5/7 added up to victory by a point and a half, a TPR of 2934 and a soon-to-be-official rating of 2801. That puts him into third place on the rating list, and makes him the 7th player in chess history to (officially) go over 2800. (The others: Kasparov, Kramnik, Topalov, Anand, Carlsen and Aronian.) Come on home!

    While the last round may have been a coronation ceremony for Caruana, the other games were played with something at stake, and all finished with winners and losers. Georg Meier won in the first round, against Vladimir Kramnik, and he got his second victory in the last round, over Arkadij Naiditsch. That was a strange and very hard-fought game, with the evaluation regularly fluctuating between a significant advantage for Meier and equality. The last fluctuation was hard to understand, but at the end of a tournament fatigue is common, and with it errors often follow close behind. With the obvious 50...c3+ Naiditsch would eliminate Meier's passed a-pawn, and then a draw would be a foregone conclusion. Instead he must have thought that he could do more damage by keeping his c-pawn alive, and using it and his e-pawn to overtax White's resources. Instead, it was White's a- and g-pawns that proved overwhelming, and Meier caught Leko in a tie for second. (Had the game been drawn Naiditsch would have been the one tying for second.)

    Like Meier, Kramnik also bookended the tournament - but with losses rather than wins. He came out of the opening and early middlegame with at least equality and sometimes even an edge against Ponomariov in a 5.Re1 Berlin, but got outplayed little by little and eventually lost. The tournament was about as bad for Kramnik as it was good for Caruana. Kramnik came in next to last and lost 17 rating points, barely staying in the world's top ten. After a great 2013, Kramnik is having a disastrously bad 2014. Meanwhile, Ponomariov leapfrogged Kramnik in the tournament standings, with 3 points to Kramnik's 2.5.

    Kramnik avoided clear last only because of David Baramidze, who lost his third game in the tournament, this one to Michael Adams. Adams tied for 3rd-4th with Naiditsch on 50%.

    Next, the ACP Golden Classic in Bergamo, which finished with a clear victory for Wesley So. His 4.5/6 (and a 2844 TPR) gave him first place by a full point over Baadur Jobava, and in the process he gained 11 rating points to reach #12 on the rating list - up four places from the tournament's beginning. (So has been going to college in the U.S., so wouldn't it be nice if he decided to represent the U.S., and likewise for Caruana? Put them on a team together with Hikaru Nakamura and Gata Kamsky, and we'd have real chances to compete for Olympic gold! Waking from my dream now....)

    Finally, while two of the three big ongoing events have finished (Biel is on a rest day), a new one has sprung up to take its place. A rapid match between Boris Gelfand and Peter Svidler started today (Sunday), and the first two games were exciting draws. Gelfand was very close to a win in the first game, while the second saw both players having chances (though not as big as Gelfand's in the first game).

    Saturday
    Jul192014

    The Daily Roundup: Dortmund (Caruana Clinches First), Biel

    1. Dortmund: With one round to go, Fabiano Caruana (come home!!) clinched clear first with a white win in a Berlin ending over Michael Adams. His brilliant score of 5/6 gives him a 2972 TPR and a 2801.7 rating on the Live List. Unless he loses against Peter Leko in the last round, he will finally achieve an official 2800 rating, making him the 7th player in history to reach that remarkable plateau. Leko, who drew with Vladimir Kramnik, is a point and a half behind, as is Arkadij Naiditsch, who won an impressive attacking game against Ruslan Ponomariov.

    2. Biel: The second cycle got underway with three draws, and so Maxime Vachier-Lagrave maintains his full point lead over Pentala Harikrishna, Radoslaw Wojtaszek and Hou Yifan.

    Friday
    Jul182014

    The Daily Roundup: Dortmund, Biel, and Most of Bergamo

    1. Dortmund: Peter Leko beat Arkadij Naiditsch, while the other three games were drawn. Michael Adams pressed with Black against Georg Meier and won material, but was unable to convert. In the battle of the top dogs (by rating), first Fabiano Caruana (with Black) had some advantage and then Vladimir Kramnik did, but it never got out of control for either player and the draw was agreed after 48 moves. Caruana leads with 4/5, a point clear of Leko.

    2. Biel: After losing his first two games, a resurgent Anish Giri won the next two and faced top seed and tournament leader Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the final game of the first cycle. With a win Giri would have put himself in clear first; instead, Vachier-Lagrave won a nice game to extend his lead and relegate Giri into a tie for last. (The other two games were drawn.) Vachier-Lagrave has 3.5/5, three players have 2.5, including Hou Yifan, and Giri and one other player have 2.

    3. Bergamo: The game between Zoltan Almasi and Sabino Brunello has been adjourned, but in the game that was most critical for the leading standings Wesley So beat Baadur Jobava - convincingly - and has 4/5 with one game to play. There are a number of players who could theoretically catch him, depending on the remaining games and adjournments, but it seems unlikely. Emil Sutovsky is in nominal second with 3/5 and a game to play, Brunello has just one and a half points, but with two adjournments and a game with So yet to be played he's still theoretically alive in the race for first.

    Thursday
    Jul172014

    The Daily Roundup: Dortmund, Biel and Bergamo

    Dortmund: This is the Fabiano Caruana show. He was the only winner in today's round, defeating Georg Meier on the white side of a Steinitz French. Meier was under serious pressure, but the trouble only came near the end. First, his 34...gxf6 gave Caruana the upper hand, and only his last move, 37...Rcc8, gave up the game; 37...Rg6 instead would have allowed him to put up plenty of resistance. Caruana has 3.5/4, good for a full point lead over Arkadij Naiditsch and more over everyone else. Caruana has now jumped into third on the Live Rating List, and is closing in on 2800 once again. (In two previous tournaments he reached 2800 while the tournament was underway, but has yet to finish an event at or over 2800.)

    Biel: All three games were decisive today, and all three of the round's losers started the day tied for first! They were leapfrogged by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who is in clear first with two out of three.

    Bergamo: Wesley So continues to lead after an easy draw with Zoltan Almasi. He has 3/4 and leads Baadur Jobava (who won in this round) by half a point.

    Tuesday
    Jul152014

    The Daily Update: Dull Draws in Dortmund, Giri Gets a Root Canal in Biel

    Two of the three elite tournaments saw action today, though some might deem that verb a stretch when applied to the chess in Dortmund. Two Berlins achieved their aim, and Georg Meier's exquisitely dull French was equally effective in securing a draw. (I'm not objecting to the procedure; it's just not a lot of fun for the spectators.)

    Vladimir Kramnik's game against Baramidze was genuinely exciting, however, but for the third time in three rounds something went drastically wrong for the ex-champ. In round 1 he played a disastrous opening against Meier and got crushed, in round 2 he was winning against Michael Adams but let him escape, and the same thing happened today. Kramnik had a big advantage through much of the middlegame, and after squandering it he was given a one-move opportunity to win with 28.fxg7+ Kg8 29.Qf4, winning the exchange (see here). At a certain moment he even stood worse, but he held tight and saved the draw.

    Two of the three games in Biel were also drawn, but the exception was notable. Anish Giri lost his second straight game, to Pentala Harikrishna in the rare Canal Variation of the Giuoco Piano (hence the pun in the title). The opening was not to blame, except to the extent that it helped get Giri into time trouble. Giri's position after Harikrishna's 37.Qf3 was still very playable, but challenging, and 37...Rg8 was an error. (37...Ba5! was best, forcing the rook to abandon the protection of the first rank.) Worse still, it was preparation for a blunder on the next move, after which it was all but over, and Giri resigned on his 41st move. As an old friend used to tell me, they can't all be jewels!

    Tuesday
    Jul152014

    Brilliancies Everywhere

    Three high-level tournaments are underway, in Dortmund (Caruana leads with a 2-0 score), Bergamo (the ACP Golden Classic; So leads with 2.5/3) and in Biel (Wojtaszek and Hou Yifan were first-day winners). More importantly, the chess has been good and entertaining, so rather than offering tournament summaries I'll present some of the games that have caught my eye, with my brief comments - here.

    Saturday
    Jul122014

    Day 1 of Dortmund and the ACP Classic

    Dortmund I already mentioned, but another strong event also began today - the ACP Golden Classic in Bergamo, Italy. What makes it a "classic"? It's not the tournament's age, but (I think) their choice to bring back to the good old days - or maybe it's the bad old days - and have adjournments. It's a round-robin with seven players, meaning someone always has a day off from playing. From playing, yes, but not working; the recipient of the bye must help with the live commentary. (This idea has been used elsewhere, like the London Chess Classic. It's a nice idea for the fans.)

    Like Dortmund, the tournament is well-stocked with 2700s, though they are more from the lower-tier than the upper crust of that elite level, and so they may be a hungrier bunch than the top stars playing in Germany. Nevertheless, all three of today's games were drawn: Zoltan Almasi - Ian Nepomniachtchi, Wesley So - Emil Sutovsky and Baadur Jobava - Sabino Brunello, with the last one reaching an adjournment before the players decided to split the point without resuming. The seventh player is Daniele Vocaturo, who will join the action tomorrow.

    As for Dortmund, there was not only action but blood on a day when Black was very much OK. Arkadij Naiditsch - Michael Adams and Peter Leko - Ruslan Ponomariov were both drawn, but in both cases White was down a pawn and had to sweat to save the game. The other two games featured superstars (Vladimir Kramnik and Fabiano Caruana) against local players rated in the low 2600s (Georg Meier and David Baramidze, respectively), but neither player had an easy time of it.

    Caruana won (with Black) in a long game, winning a great four bishop ending. After 29 moves both players had both of their bishops plus seven pawns apiece, but White had a problem with the d5 pawn. Afraid it might get cut off by ...e4, Baramidze played 30.f3 and 32.e4 to remedy the problem, but then 32...f4 highlighted the weakness of White's h-pawn. Slowly (very slowly) but surely Caruana made progress, exchanging one advantage for another, and after 75 moves White gave up.

    As for Kramnik - Meier, it was an unmitigated disaster for the former world champion. Kramnik chose a very passive approach in the English, perhaps just wanting to play a game rather than engaging in a theoretical battle, but the decision didn't work out very well at all. His position was clearly worse after ten moves(!) and pretty much lost soon thereafter. Meier kept accumulating advantages, and the series from moves 32 to 38 is pretty funny. Material is initially equal, but White loses four - count 'em, four - pawns without so much as a receipt to show for it. In the final position Kramnik can regain a pawn or two, but with Black about to make a second queen there was no delaying White's already tardy resignation.

    Saturday
    Jul122014

    Dortmund Starts Today (Saturday)

    Vladimir Kramnik's favorite annual super-tournament, the Sparkassen Chess Meeting in Dortmund, Germany, kicks off today. The eight player round-robin headlines Kramnik and Fabiano Caruana, and begins at 3 p.m. local time with the following pairings:

    • David Baramidze - Fabiano Caruana
    • Arkadij Naiditsch - Michael Adams
    • Vladimir Kramnik - Georg Meier
    • Peter Leko - Ruslan Ponomariov

    The tournament is maybe a little weaker and smaller than it used to be, but with two players from the top ten and six players over 2700 it's still a strong and interesting event.