Tradewise Gibraltar 2016

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Tradewise Gibraltar 2016

Tradewise Gibraltar 2016

February 1, 2016

Round Seven

Rank After Round Seven

1 Ragger, Markus 5.5
2 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime 5.5
3 Bacrot, Etienne 5.5
4 Harikrishna, P. 5.5
5 Gupta, Abhijeet 5.5
6 Bruzon, Batista Lazaro 5.5
7 Rapport, Richard 5.0
8 Yu Yangyi 5.0
9 Gledura, Benjamin 5.0
10 Anton, Guijarro David 5.0
11 Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi 5.0
12 Grigoriants, Sergey 5.0
13 Lenic, Luka 4.5
14 Jakovenko, Dmitry 4.5
15 Nakamura, Hikaru 4.5
16 Sethuraman, S.P. 4.5
17 Wojtaszek, Radoslaw 4.5
18 Gopal, G.N. 4.5
19 Ni Hua 4.5
20 Almasi, Zoltan 4.5
21 Vazquez, Igarza Renier 4.5
22 Tari, Aryan 4.5
23 Grandelius, Nils 4.5
24 Maze, Sebastien 4.5
25 Li Chao B 4.5
47 Muzychuk, Anna 4.0
48 Kamsky, Gata 4.0
53 Short, Nigel 4.0
59 Anand, Vishy 4.0
89 Piasetski, Leon 3.5
133 Plotkin, Victor 3.0
182 Dougherty, Michael 2.5
238 Harding, Tim 1.5
244 Boron, Anthony 1.0

Round Eight Pairings

1. Anton – Li Chao B
2. MVL – Bruzon
3. Harikrishna – Vidit
4. Yu Yangyi – Sethuraman
5. Wojtaszek - Grandelius
6. Bacrot – Tari
7. Gupta – Ni Hua
8. Maze – Ragger
9. Grigoriants – Nakamura
10. Muzychuk, M. – Rapport
11. Lalith – Short
12. Libiszeweski – Kamsky
13. Krush – Jones
14. Lenic – Padmini
15. Sandipan – Gledura
16. Stefanova – Jakovenko
17. Fressinet – Tan
18. Ly – Howell
19. Almasi – Harika
20. Duda – Zhukova
36. Esserman – Anand
55. Fodor - Plotkin
61. Kollars – Piasetski
79. Czonka – Dougherty
121. Savage - Boron

[Jack Maguire]

Re: Tradewise Gibraltar 2016

Anand has declined Marc Esserman's Morra Gambit. ):

Marc, of course, is the author of 'Mayhem in the Morra!'. (:

http://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2016-...nd_Viswanathan

[Jack Maguire]

Re: Tradewise Gibraltar 2016

Anand's 4.5/8 and concomitant 2465 TPR has cost him 24.5 ELO. Not only has he lost his Top 10 status, currently #13, but he's only 1.3 points ahead of #14, Pendyala Harikrishna. Anand is thus now in danger of losing his status as #1 in India. Tomorrow, Harikrishna will be on board #2 while Anand plays on board #36.

http://chess-results.com/tnr202897.a...=2&rd=9&wi=821

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Tradewise Gibraltar 2016

Tradewise Gibraltar 2016

February 2, 2016

Round Eight

The co-hosts again are Simon Williams and Elisabeth Paehtz. Lis is married to Italian IM Luca Shytaj, who is playing at Gib too.

A tweet asks Simon which tactics book he read to improve when he was young and he mentions two – Chess for Tigers (by Simon Webb) and Blunders and Brilliancies by Ian Mullen and Moe Moss. The blurb for the latter says:

In this original and entertaining look at the ever popular subject of the chess combination, the authors - an Atlantic Alliance of Canadian and Scot - seek to redress the balance. With a lively collection of episodes from a century of chess around the world, they document the great opportunities, both seized and overlooked, and give special consideration to the unwarranted resignation - a phenomenon with a ghoulish fascination for all players. Through hundreds of graded exercises, both beginner and master are offered a wealth of instruction and the opportunity to assess their own aptitudes for brilliancy - and blunder!

In the game Esserman-Anand, a Smith-Morra Gambit is played. I remember the chess publisher Ken Smith pioneering the resurgence of the gambit in the 60s. Ken was a flamboyant chess and poker player from Dallas (d. 1999). Marc Esserman is an American master, who is the author of the book Mayhem in the Morra!

Grandmaster Gregory Serper has an article online entitled “Who’s Afraid of the Smith-Morra Gambit?”

https://www.chess.com/article/view/w...h-morra-gambit

Speaking of openings, Simon says that he has conceived of a Hell, where you are forced to play in an eternal Berlin Defence theme tournament!

The camera shows the neat, precise writing on Vishy’s scoresheet. Simon says that the most illegible scoresheets ever are from Viktor Korchnoi. Chris Bird (the chess arbiter from Boston) tweets, “You should have the camera folks look at IM Esserman's scoresheet. That one is usually completely illegible too”.

The Morra transposes to an Alapin

Round 8, Feb. 2, 2016
Esserman, Marc – Anand, Vishy
B22 Sicilian-Alekhine-Alapin

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.Nf3 e6 6.cxd4 d6 7.Bc4 Nc6 8.O-O Be7 9.Qe2 O-O 10.Nc3 dxe5 11.dxe5 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Qc7 13.Qe4 Rd8 14.Re1 g6 15.Bg5 Bxg5 16.Nxg5 h6 17.Nf3 Qe7 18.h4 Na5 19.Bd3 Bd7 20.Nd4 Nc6 21.Nf3 Na5 22.Nd4 Nc6 23.Nf3 ½-1/2

- A painless 23-move draw for Vishy, though his rating loss has mounted to 24 points!

Round 8, Feb. 2, 2016
Bacrot, Etienne – Tari, Aryan
B10 Caro-Kann, Two Knights Variation

1.e4 c6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e5 Ne4 5.Ne2 Qb6 6.d4 e6 7.Nfg1 f6 8.f3 Ng5 9.exf6 gxf6 10.f4 Ne4 11.Ng3 c5 12.Bd3 f5 13.Qh5+ Kd8 14.Nf3 Nd7 15.Bxe4 dxe4 16.Ng5 Kc7 17.Be3 Kb8 18.O-O-O Nf6 19.Qf7 Nd5 20.dxc5 Bxc5 21.Bxc5 Qxc5 22.Nxe6 Qe3+ 23.Rd2 Qb6 24.Rxd5 Bxe6 25.Qg7 Rc8 26.Qe5+ Qc7 27.Qxc7+ Kxc7 28.Re5 Re8 29.Nxf5 Bd7 30.Rxe8 1-0

They talk about support for grandmasters. Simon says that in England, you get nothing when you earn the title. In Iceland, you get an annual wage of 20,000 pounds, provided that you play in the Olympiad every four years and the National Championship. Simon believes that there is similar support in Armenia. He us starting to grow a Viking beard in case he decides to relocate to Iceland.

Hikaru beats his opponent, who has been behind in time for most of the game.

Round 8, Feb. 2, 2016
Grigoriants, Sergey – Nakamura, Hikaru
A30 English, Symmetrical

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.e3 Nf6 5.Be2 d5 6.d4 exd4 7.exd4 Be6 8.dxc5 dxc4 9.Qa4 Bxc5 10.Ng5 Qb6 11.O-O Bd7 12.Qxc4 Ne5 13.Qf4 Ng6 14.Qd2 Bc6 15.Qc2 O-O 16.Na4 Bxa4 17.Qxa4 Rae8 18.Qb5 h6 19.Nf3 Qc7 20.Bd2 a6 21.Qd3 Ne4 22.b4 Nxd2 23.Qxd2 Bxb4 24.Qxb4 Rxe2 25.Rac1 Qe7 26.Qxe7 Rxe7 27.a4 Re4 28.Rc7 Rb8 29.Ra1 Nf4 30.a5 Ne6 31.Rd7 Nc5 32.Rd5 Rc4 33.h4 Rc8 34.Rb1 Ra4 35.Ne5 Rxa5 36.Rc1 Rc7 37.Rc4 b6 38.h5 Ne6 39.Rxc7 Rxd5 40.Rc8+ Rd8 41.Rc6 Rd1+ 42.Kh2 Rd5 43.Rc8+ Kh7 44.Nxf7 Rxh5+ 45.Kg3 Rd5 46.Rc6 Ng5 47.Nxh6 gxh6 48.Rxb6 Rd6 0-1

MVL wins to join Harikrishna, Bacrot & Anton in the lead on 6.5/8!

Round 8, Feb. 2, 2016
Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime – Bruzon Batista, Lazaro
C87 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, Open Variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.d4 Nd6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.dxe5 Nf5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.h3 h6 10.Rd1+ Ke8 11.Nc3 Ne7 12.Bf4 Ng6 13.Bg3 Be7 14.Nd4 Nf8 15.Rd3 h5 16.Rad1 h4 17.Bh2 Ne6 18.Nce2 c5 19.Nf5 b6 20.Nxe7 Kxe7 21.Nf4 g5 22.Nd5+ Kf8 23.f4 gxf4 24.Nxf4 Kg7 25.Rf3 Nxf4 26.Bxf4 Rh5 27.g4 hxg3 28.Rxg3+ Kh7 29.Rd8 Bb7 30.Rd7 Rf5 31.Bg5 Rg8 32.h4 Bc8 33.Rxc7 Be6 34.Rxa7 Rxe5 35.Kf2 Rf5+ 36.Ke1 b5 37.a3 Re8 38.Re3 Kg6 39.Ra6 Kh5 40.Rb6 c4 41.Kd2 Rc8 42.Kc3 Rcc5 43.Rg3 Rc8 44.Kb4 Ra8 45.Be7 c3 46.b3 Rf2 47.Rxb5+ f5 48.Rg5+ Kh6 49.Rb6 1-0

Rapport rushed Maria Muzychuk through the game but she was able to hold the draw.

Round 8, Feb. 2, 2016
Muzychuk, Mariya – Rapport, Richard
B67 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer, Rauzer Attack

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 d6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8. O-O-O Bd7 9. f4 b5 10. Bxf6 gxf6 11. Nxc6 Bxc6 12. f5 Qb6 13. Bd3 b4 14. Ne2 h5 15. fxe6 fxe6 16. Qe1 Bh6+ 17. Kb1 Ke7 18. Bc4 Qc5 19. b3 Bb5 20. Rd4 Rhg8 21. Qh4 Qe5 22. Rhd1 Rxg2 23. Ng3 Rc8 24. Qh3 Rf2 25. Rxd6 Rxc4 26. bxc4 Ba4 27. Rxe6+ Qxe6 28. Nf5+ Kf8 29. Rd8+ Be8 30. Qg3 Rf1+ 31. Kb2 Bc1+ 32. Kb3 Bg5 33. a3 Qe5 34. Qxe5 fxe5 35. Ra8 Be7 36. Nxe7 Kxe7 37. axb4 Rf6 38. Ra7+ Kf8 39. Ra8 Kf7 40. Ra7+ Kg6 41. Re7 Bf7 42. Rxe5 h4 43. Kc3 Rf3+ 44. Kd4 Rf2 45. b5 axb5 46. cxb5 Rxc2 47. b6 Rb2 48. Kc5 Kf6 49. Rf5+ Ke7 50. Rf4 h3 51. Rh4 Be6 52. Rh7+ Kf6 ½-½

Round 8, Feb. 2, 2016
Lalith, Babu – Short, Nigel
A33 English, Symmetrical Variation

1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 c5 3.c4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.g3 Bc5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.Bg2 b6 9.O-O a6 10.e4 Ra7 11.Be3 d6 12.Nd4 Na5 13.Rc1 Bb7 14.Na4 Nd7 15.Qe2 O-O 16.Rfd1 Qb8 17.b4 Nc6 18.Nb3 Bc8 19.c5 dxc5 20.bxc5 b5 21.Nb6 Rd8 22.e5 Rc7 23.Bxc6 Rxc6 24.Na5 Rc7 25.Rc2 Re8 26.Nxd7 Rxd7 27.Nc6 Qc7 28.Nxe7+ Rexe7 29.Rd6 Re8 30.Bf4 h6 31.c6 Rde7 32.h4 b4 33.Qc4 a5 34.Qb5 f5 35.Be3 Rf7 36.Rcd2 Rff8 37.f4 Qf7 38.Bc5 Qh5 39.R6d3 Rf7 40.Rd8 Rxd8 41.Rxd8+ Kh7 42.Rxc8 g5 43.hxg5 hxg5 44.c7 gxf4 45.Rh8+ Kxh8 46.c8=Q+ Kh7 47.Bf2 fxg3 48.Bxg3 Qf3 49.Qcc6 Qxg3+ 50.Qg2 Qe3+ 51.Kh2 Qf4+ 52.Kh1 Rc7 53.Qh2+ Qxh2+ 54.Kxh2 Rc2+ 55.Kg3 Rxa2 56.Qd7+ 1-0

Standing After Round Eight

1. Vachier-Lagrave 6.5
2. Bacrot 6.5
3. Harikrishna 6.5
4. Anton 6.5
5. Ragger 6.0
6. Lenic 6.0
7. Nakamura 6.0
8. Sethuraman 6.0
9. Wojtaszek 6.0
10. Gupta 6.0
11. Maze 6.0
12. Yu Yangyi 6.0
13. Ni Hua 6.0
14. Grandelius 6.0
15. Li Chao B 6.0
16. Lalith 6.0
17. Gledura 5.5
18. Bruzon 5.5
19. Jakovenko 5.5
20. Tari 5.5 and 19 others at 5.5
119. Plotkin 4.0
152. Piasetski 3.5
190. Dougherty 3.0
247. Boron 1.5

Round Nine Pairings

1. Vachier-Lagrave-Bacrot
2. Anton-Harikrishna
3. Nakamura-Gupta
4. Li Chao B-Lenic
5. Grandelius-Yu Yangyi
6. Sethuraman-Wojtaszek
7. Ni Hua-Maze
8. Ragger-Lalith
9. Jakovenko-Sandipan
10. Rapport-Tregubov
11. Perez-Almasi
12. Bruzon-Vazquez
13. Kamsky-Muzychuk, M.
14. Tari-Duda
15. Kosteniuk-Sutovsky
36. Anand-Kollars
64. Plotkin-Holm
87. Piasetski-Omolfo
97. Dougherty-Carlsten
121. Boron-Winter

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Tradewise Gibraltar 2016

Tradewise Tata Steel 2016

February 3, 2016

Round Nine

Elisabeth has a bad cold today and sneezes on-line several times. One viewer writes:

Jeez! Give Liz' a grog & a blanket, or even a hot chocolate! She's dying live on (the broadcast) it's heartbreaking!

Simon believes that drinking wine would have staved off her cold and one viewer wonders which is more effective – red or white?

They run through the games in progress. Simon hopes that there is a multiple tie for first place so that there will be playoffs tomorrow.

In Kosteniuk-Sutovsky, Simon remarks that Sutovsky is an attacking player like Shirov. He is very unpredictable in his play. Anand has said that his favorite game of all time is from Gibraltar, Gormally-Sutovsky, 2005.

Emil Sutovsky was born in Baku (1977) and represents Israel now.

Rather unusually, Emil is playing a French Defence.

Maria Muzychuk is against Gata Kamsky. The last big tournament I saw him in, he had short hair and wore a white suit. He has let his hair grow shoulder-length. A viewer comments:

Kamsky must be the first guy that Muzychuk has played this week who has longer hair than she does

Hikaru Nakamura has been sick through most of the tournament. He is playing the Indian Abhijeet Gupta. Hikaru keeps looking heavenward. Viewers remark that maybe there are moves written on the ceiling tiles or “Nakamura looks like he's trying to remember whether he turned the gas off before he came out”. Another:

Gupta is now in the 40-minute+ think tank. Playing Hikaru in rapid chess down an exchange might not be a good idea.

In any case, whether he is looking for inspiration, or analyzing or draining his sinuses, he wins.

Tradewise Gibraltar
Round 9, Feb. 3, 2016
Nakamura, Hikaru – Gupta, Abhijeet
D70 Neo-Grunfeld Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.f3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nb6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.Nc3 O-O 8.Qd2 e5 9.d5 c6 10.h4 cxd5 11.exd5 N8d7 12.h5 Nf6 13.hxg6 fxg6 14.O-O-O Qd6 15.Kb1 Bf5+ 16.Ka1 Rac8 17.g4 Rxc3 18.Qxc3 Rc8 19.Qe1 Bc2 20.Rc1 e4 21.Bd4 Qxd5 22.Bc3 Bd3 23.Nh3 Na4 24.Nf4 Qd6 25.Nxd3 exd3 26.Bxd3 Qb6 27.Bc2 1-0

Vachier-Lagrave-Bacrot and Anton-Harikrishna are draws and Anand wins his game:

Round 9, Feb. 3, 2016
Anand, Viswanathan – Kollars, Dmitrij
E11 Bogo-Indian Defence, Nimzowitsch Variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Qe7 5.g3 Nc6 6.e3 O-O 7.Bg2 Bxd2+ 8.Qxd2 d6 9.Nc3 e5 10.O-O e4 11.Ne1 Bf5 12.Nc2 a5 13.a3 a4 14.Nb4 Qd7 15.Qc2 Nxb4 16.axb4 Qc6 17.c5 b5 18.cxb6 Qxb6 19.Rxa4 d5 20.Rfa1 Rxa4 21.Qxa4 Rb8 22.b5 Bd7 23.Bf1 h6 24.Qb4 Be6 25.Ra6 Qb7 26.Qa5 Ne8 27.Ra7 Qc8 28.Qa6 Qd7 29.b6 1-0

The two long-hairs play to a draw:

Round 9, Feb. 3, 2016
Kamsky, Gata – Muzychuk, Mariya
D02 Queen's Bishop Game

1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 Nf6 3.e3 c5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Nbd2 e6 6.c3 Bd6 7.Bg3 O-O 8.Bd3 b6 9.e4 Be7 10.e5 Nh5 11.O-O Bd7 12.Re1 Nxg3 13.hxg3 a5 14.a3 a4 15.Nf1 b5 16.Ne3 b4 17.cxb4 cxb4 18.axb4 Nxb4 19.Bb1 Bb5 20.g4 h6 21.g3 g6 22.Kg2 Kg7 23.Rh1 Qb6 24.Ra3 Rh8 25.Rc3 Nc6 26.Bd3 Na5 27.Bxb5 Qxb5 28.Qc2 Nb3 29.g5 Bxg5 30.Ng4 Bd8 31.Nf6 Bb6 32.Rh4 Ba5 33.Rc6 Na1 34.Qc1 Nb3 35.Qc2 Na1 36.Qc1 Nb3 1/2-1/2

(Tarjei J. Svensen) - 16 y/o Ariyan Tari scored his 3rd GM norm with two rounds to go, even if he didn't need it. GM title to be official in April.

Round 9, Feb. 3, 2016
Tari, Aryan – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
B94 Sicilian, Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 Nbd7 7.Qe2 e6 8.f4 Qc7 9.O-O-O Be7 10.g4 b5 11.a3 Bb7 12.Bg2 Rc8 13.Bh4 Nb6 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.f5 e5 16.Nb3 h5 17.h3 Bf8 18.Kb1 Bh6 19.Na5 Ba8 20.Rd3 Ke7 21.Rhd1 Rhd8 22.b4 Nc4 23.Nxc4 Qxc4 24.Qf2 Qc7 25.Bf1 Rb8 26.Nd5+ Bxd5 27.Rxd5 a5 28.Bxb5 axb4 29.a4 hxg4 30.hxg4 Bf4 1/2-1/2

There is a £1000 prize for the Best Game. Viewers are invited to tweet in their choices. Elisabeth gives three candidates for the prize: Blomqvist-Li Chao, Short-Harika and Nakamura-Muzychuk, M.

In the sixth hour, two games still go on – Rapport-Tregubov and Kostenuik-Sutovsky.

The results so far are 1-8, all with 7, Nakamura, MVL, Harikrishna, Li Chao, Bacrot, Anton, Sethuraman and Maze. There will be a tie-break among the first four.

For the women’s prize M. Muzychuk is the probable with Kosteniuk as second.

The last round will start early – 11 a.m. local, 5 a.m. Toronto/Montreal time.

Rank after Round 9

1. Vachier-Lagrave 7.0
2. Bacrot 7.0
3. Sethuraman 7.0
4. Nakamura 7.0
5. Harikrishna 7.0
6. Maze 7.0
7. Anton 7.0
8. Li Chao 7.0
9. Ragger 6.5
10. Jakovenko 6.5
11. Yu Yangyi 6.5
12. Grandelius 6.5
13. Jones 6.5
14. Lalith 6.5
15. Vidit 6.5
16. Bachman 6.5
17. Sutovsky 6.5
26. Muzychuk, M. 6.0
47. Shvayger 6.0
48. Stefanova 5.5
49. Pogonina 5.5
50. Gunina 5.5
53. Kosteniuk 5.5
54. Goryachkina 5.5
56. Krush 5.5
59. Anand 5.5
124. Plotkin 4.5
128. Piasetski 4.5
210. Dougherty 3.0
244. Boron 2.0

Round 10 Pairings

1. Nakamura-Anton
2. Maze-Vachier-Lagrave
3. Harikrishna-Li Chao
4. Bacrot-Sethuraman
5. Yu Yangyi-Jones
6. Jakovenko-Vidit
7. Grandelius-Ragger
8. Sutovsky-Bachman
9. Lalith-Rapport
10. Wojtaszek-Tari
11. Tregubov-Fressinet
16. Muzychuk, M.-Bruzon
17. Shvayger-Kamsky
18. Duda-Tan
19. Muzychuk, A.-Salem
24. Blomqvist-Anand
25. Sandipan-Gunina
27. Pogonina-Kosteniuk
32. Stefanova-Prasanna
35. Goryachkina-Khotenashvili
60. Esserman-Plotkin
61. Holm-Piasetski
106. Burke-Dougherty
118. Biegel-Boron

Any thoughts on who will be the Masters winner, the Women’s winner and who played the best game?

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Tradewise Gibraltar 2016

Tradewise Tata Steel 2016

February 4, 2016

Playoff

First place in the tournament came down to a playoff between the two top-seed players, Hikaru Nakamura and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.

The schedule was two rapid games at 10+5 and then, if needed, two blitz at 3+2, and, if needed, Armageddon White 4+2 and Black 3+2 with Black getting draw odds.

The first four games were drawn and then Hikaru drew the Armageddon and so took first place, winning 20,000 pounds and Maxime took runner up 16,000 pounds.
_______

Play-off Game One, Rapid, Feb. 4, 2016
Nakamura, Hikaru - MVL
B22 Sicilian, Alapin's Variation

1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. e5 Nd5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bc4 Nb6 6. Bb3 d5 7. exd6 c4 8. Bc2 Qxd6 9. O-O Bg4 10. h3 Bh5 11. Re1 e6 12. b3 Be7 13. Qe2 cxb3 14. axb3 O-O 15. d4 Rfd8 16. Bxh7+ Kxh7 17. Ng5+ Bxg5 18. Qxh5+ Bh6 19. Bxh6 gxh6 20. Qxf7+ Kh8 21. Qf6+ Kh7 22. Qf7+ Kh8 23. Rxe6 Rf8 24. Rxd6 Rxf7 25. d5 Rd8 26. Rxd8+ Nxd8 27. c4 a6 28. Nc3 Re7 29. c5 Nd7 30. c6 bxc6 31. Rxa6 Nb8 32. Rb6 Rb7 33. Rxb7 Nxb7 34. dxc6 Nxc6 35. Nd5 Kg7 36. b4 Nd6 37. g4 Kf7 38. Kg2 Ke6 39. Nc7+ Kd7 40. Na6 Ke6 41. f4 Kd5 42. f5 Ke5 43. Kg3 h5 44. Nc5 Nxf5+ 1/2-1/2

Play-off Game Two, Rapid, Feb. 4, 2016
MVL - Nakamura, Hikaru
C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, Open Variation

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 11. Bf4 Be7 12. Rad1 Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 14. g3 Bxg5 15. Bxg5 Rg6 16. h4 f6 17. exf6 gxf6 18. Bf4 Rc8 19. Kh2 Kf7 20. Ne4 b6 21. Rfe1 Rgg8 22. b3 Rge8 23. f3 c5 24. c3 a5 25. Kg2 Re7 26. Rd2 Bd7 27. Kf2 Bc6 28. Rde2 Rce8 29. Nd2 Rc8 30. Nc4 Rxe2+ 31. Rxe2 Bb5 32. Rd2 Bc6 33. a4 Ne7 34. Rd3 Ng6 35. Bc1 Ke6 36. Re3+ Kf7 37. Rd3 1/2-1/2

Play-off Game Three, Blitz, Feb. 4, 2016
MVL - Nakamura, Hikaru
C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, Open Variation

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nf5 8. Nf3 O-O 9. d4 d5 10. g3 Re8 11. Nc3 Be6 12. Ne2 Bf6 13. c3 Nd6 14. Nf4 Bg4 15. Rxe8+ Nxe8 16. Bd3 Qd7 17. Ng2 h6 18. Ne3 Be6 19. Bd2 Nd6 20. Qc2 Re8 21. Re1 g6 22. b3 Bg7 23. Bc1 a6 24. a4 b5 25. axb5 axb5 26. b4 Nc4 27. Nxc4 bxc4 28. Bf1 Bg4 29. Rxe8+ Qxe8 30. Bg2 Bf5 31. Qa4 Bd7 32. Qd1 Na7 33. Ne5 Be6 34. Be3 Nb5 35. Qc1 f6 36. Nf3 g5 37. h4 c6 38. Bd2 Bf5 39. Qa1 Be4 40. hxg5 hxg5 41. Ne1 Bxg2 42. Nxg2 Nd6 43. Ne3 Ne4 44. Qa2 Qh5 45. Be1 g4 46. Qa8+ Kh7 47. Qxc6 Ng5 48. Kf1 Qh1+ 49. Ke2 Qf3+ 50. Kf1 Qh1+ 51. Ke2 Qf3+ 1/2-1/2

- In the first blitz game, Nakamura missed 48... Nf3 49. Ng2 Qh1+ 50. Ke2 Qxg2 winning a piece

Play-off Game Four, Blitz, Feb. 4, 2016
Nakamura, Hikaru - MVL
B92 Sicilian, Najdorf, Opocensky Variation

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. Qd3 Be6 9. Be3 Nc6 10. a3 d5 11. exd5 Nxd5 12. Nxd5 Qxd5 13. Qxd5 Bxd5 14. O-O O-O 15. Rad1 Be4 16. Nc5 Bxc2 17. Rd2 Bf5 18. Nxb7 Nd4 19. Bxd4 exd4 20. Rxd4 Bf6 21. Rb4 a5 22. Rb5 Bd7 23. Rb6 Rab8 24. Bf3 Rfc8 25. Rd1 Be6 26. h3 a4 27. Rb4 Bb3 28. Rb1 Rc2 29. Nc5 Rxb4 30. axb4 Rxb2 31. Rxb2 Bxb2 32. Nxb3 axb3 33. Bd1 Bc3 1/2-1/2

(Nigel Short) - Armadillo here we come!!

Play-off Game Five, Armageddon, Feb. 4, 2016
MVL - Nakamura, Hikaru
C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, Open Variation

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. Re1 Nd6 6. Nxe5 Be7 7. Bf1 Nxe5 8. Rxe5 O-O 9. Nc3 Ne8 10. Nd5 Bd6 11. Re1 c6 12. Ne3 Be7 13. c4 Bf6 14. d4 d5 15. cxd5 cxd5 16. g3 Be6 17. Bg2 Nc7 18. b3 Qd7 19. Ba3 Rfe8 20. Rc1 Nb5 21. Bb2 Rac8 22. Qd3 Nc7 23. Re2 g6 24. Rce1 Bg7 25. h4 h5 26. Bf3 Red8 27. Ng2 Bf5 28. Qd2 Re8 29. Rxe8+ Nxe8 30. Ne3 Be4 31. Bxe4 dxe4 32. d5 Bxb2 33. Qxb2 Nd6 34. Qf6 Qd8 35. Qf4 Kg7 36. g4 Qf6 37. Qg3 hxg4 38. Nxg4 Qc3 39. Qxd6 Qxe1+ 40. Kg2 Qc3 41. Ne5 Qc7 0-1

39.Qxd6?, better is 39.Qe3

Simon got so excited commentating the play-off that one viewer posted this:

Hope there's a doctor in the house. Not for the players. For the announcer

Another:

Please finish the play-off, so I can do something productive today. Please!
________

Hikaru came in for a post-mortem and was generous to Maxime, saying that if he had won the coin-toss for the Armageddon, he probably would have won the game and the match. He said that only Magnus and Maxime could have taken him to sudden death.

His next tournament is Zurich, which starts February 12.

(For Round 10, see following post)

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Tradewise Gibraltar 2016

Tradewise Gibraltar 2016

February 4, 2016

Round Ten and Play-off

This round began as a tournament director’s dream scenario, with eight possible players who could finish with 8 points. In the event of a tie for first place, a tiebreaking playoff will be held to determine the winner of the first prize. A maximum of 4 players can be qualified for this play-off.

The qualifiers will be determined by the best performance ratings of the tied players.

Each match will take place as follows: 2 rapid games of 10 min + 5 seconds added, and if the score is tied after the two rapid games, then 2 games of blitz at 3 min + 2 seconds, and, if the score is still tied, a sudden death game, with the obligation to win for White with a time control of 4+2 for White and 3+2 for Black. Lots will be drawn before this final game and the winner will choose his colour.
______

The premier game is Nakamura against Anton, who is a sportsman and plays the Dutch. Hikaru beats him to become a finalist:

Gibraltar Masters
Round 10, Feb. 4, 2016
Nakamura, Hikaru – Anton, David
A85 Dutch

1.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 d6 4.Bg5 Nbd7 5.Qc2 g6 6.h4 Bg7 7.O-O-O c6 8.Nh3 Nf8 9.e3 Qa5 10.Kb1 Ne6 11.Be2 Bd7 12.Bxf6 Bxf6 13.g4 O-O-O 14.gxf5 gxf5 15.Bd3 Kb8 16.Ne2 Bxh4 17.Bxf5 Bf6 18.e4 c5 19.d5 Nc7 20.Bxd7 Rxd7 21.f4 Rhd8 22.Nf2 b5 23.Ng4 Bh8 24.Rxh7 Qb4 25.Ne3 a6 26.a3 Qa5 27.Nf5 Re8 28.e5 bxc4 29.Rdh1 Nb5 30.a4 1-0

and MVL dispatches his opponent:

Round 10, Feb. 4, 2016
Maze, Sebastien – Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime
B51 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nd7 4.d4 cxd4 5.Qxd4 a6 6.Bxd7+ Bxd7 7.O-O Nf6 8.Nc3 e5 9.Qd3 h6 10.Nd2 b5 11.a3 Be7 12.Rd1 Bg4 13.f3 Qb6+ 14.Kh1 Be6 15.Nf1 O-O 16.Ne3 Rac8 17.Qe2 Rc5 18.Bd2 Rfc8 19.Be1 Qb7 20.Rd2 a5 21.Bf2 b4 22.Na4 R5c6 23.Nd5 Bd8 24.b3 bxa3 25.Qd1 Ra6 26.Rxa3 Nxd5 27.exd5 Bf5 28.c4 Bg5 29.Rda2 e4 30.fxe4 Bxe4 31.Nc3 Bf5 32.Nb5 Bd7 33.Nc3 Re8 34.h3 Qb4 35.Qc2 Be3 36.Nd1 Bc5 37.Kh2 Re1 38.Ra4 Bxa4 39.Rxa4 Bxf2 40.Rxb4 Bg1+ 41.Kg3 axb4 42.Qd2 Re8 43.Qxb4 Rb6 0-1

One would expect that England and Spain would have the most players in the tourney. But India (17), France (15) and China (7) have respectable delegations. The powers that be in those countries must think this is an ideal training ground for young players.

Harikrishna and Bacrot can only draw and so do not join the elite for the playoff at the top.

If you have written an opening book and want to publicize it, the best thing you can do is use it against a 2700 player in a tournament like this. We saw in Round 8, Marc Esserman playing a Morra Gambit against Vishy Anand. He had a Morra book. Here, Gawain Jones played the Dragon against Yu Yangyi and won. Sales of Jones’ book, The Dragon (Volume I, Quality), should sky-rocket. To be fair, Yu Yangyi made a mistake in a drawn endgame..

Round 10, Feb. 4, 2016
Yu Yangyi – Jones, Gawain
B78 Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 O-O 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.Bb3 Rc8 11.O-O-O Nxd4 12.Bxd4 b5 13.e5 dxe5 14.Bxe5 Bc6 15.Qxd8 Rfxd8 16.Ne2 Bh6+ 17.Kb1 Nd7 18.Bd4 a5 19.a3 b4 20.axb4 axb4 21.Rhe1 e5 22.Bf2 Nf6 23.Bg3 Bd2 24.Rg1 e4 25.Be5 exf3 26.gxf3 Bxf3 27.Bxf6 Bxe2 28.Bxd8 Rxd8 29.c3 Bxd1 30.Rxd1 Rb8 31.Kc2 Bf4 32.Rd7 Rf8 33.h3 bxc3 34.bxc3 Kg7 35.Bd5 g5 36.c4 Kg6 37.c5 h5 38.c6 f5 39.c7 Rc8 40.Kd3 g4 41.hxg4 hxg4 42.Bb7 Rxc7 43.Rxc7 Bxc7 44.Ke3 Kg5 45.Bc8 f4+ 46.Ke4 Kh4 47.Kf5 g3 0-1

Vishy Anand won his final game. One viewer commented: A bit early in the morning to have a bishop on h6 (11.Bh6).

Round 10, Feb. 4, 2016
Blomqvist, Erik – Anand, Vishy
B87 Sicilian, Sozin

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 b5 8.O-O Be7 9.Qf3 Qc7 10.Qg3 O-O 11.Bh6 Ne8 12.Rad1 Bd7 13.f4 Nc6 14.Nce2 Kh8 15.Bg5 Nf6 16.Qh4 Rae8 17.f5 exf5 18.Nxf5 Bxf5 19.exf5 Bd8 20.Ng3 Ne5 21.Qd4 Qb7 22.Kh1 Neg4 23.Bxf6 Nxf6 24.c3 Bb6 25.Qh4 Bc5 26.Rf4 Be3 27.Rf3 h6 28.Rxd6 Bg5 29.Qb4 Re1+ 30.Rf1 Rxf1+ 31.Nxf1 Re8 32.Bc4 Re1 33.Bd3 Ne4 34.f6 Bxf6 0-1

Anna Muzychuk won her final round game, making her the women's champion! She will win £15,000.

Round 10, Feb. 4, 2016
Muzychuk, Anna – Salem Saleh
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Byrne Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 Ng4 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Bg3 Bg7 10.h3 Ne5 11.Nf5 Bxf5 12.exf5 Nbd7 13.Be2 Rc8 14.Nd5 Nc4 15.Bxc4 Rxc4 16.O-O Ne5 17.c3 Rc5 18.f4 gxf4 19.Bxf4 h5 20.Be3 Rc6 21.Bg5 Bf6 22.Bxf6 exf6 23.Qb3 b5 24.a4 Rc5 25.Qd1 Kf8 26.b4 Rc4 27.axb5 axb5 28.Ra5 h4 29.Rxb5 Rg8 30.Qh5 Kg7 31.Ra5 Rh8 32.Qe2 Qb8 33.Nxf6 Rxc3 34.Nd5 Rcc8 35.f6+ Kf8 36.Rfa1 Re8 37.Qa6 Rh5 38.Rb5 Qd8 39.Qb7 Rg5 40.Rba5 Qd7 41.Qxd7 Nxd7 42.Nc7 Rxa5 43.bxa5 Rc8 44.a6 Rxc7 45.a7 Rxa7 46.Rxa7 Nxf6 47.Ra4 Ke7 48.Rxh4 Ke6 49.Kf2 Ke5 50.Kf3 d5 51.Rh8 d4 52.Rd8 Nh5 53.Re8+ Kd5 54.Re7 f5 55.g4 Kd6 56.Re1 fxg4+ 57.hxg4 Ng7 58.Ke4 Ne6 59.Rd1 1-0

Final Standing

1. Vachier-Lagrave 8.0
2. Nakamura 8.0
3. Bacrot 7.5
4. Sethuraman 7.5
5. Harikrishna 7.5
6. Jones 7.5
7. Li Chao B 7.5
8. Sutovsky 7.5
9. Ragger 7.0
10. Gupta 7.0
11. Maze 7.0
12. Jakovenko 7.0
13. Anton 7.0
14. Bruzon 7.0
15. Grandelius 7.0 and
8 others with 7
41. Anand 6.5
151. Plotkin 4.5
154. Piasetski 4.5
186. Dougherty 4.0
248. Boron 2.0

And MVL and Nakamura go through to a play-off.

(See the earlier posting)

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Tradewise Gibraltar 2016

Tradewise Gibraltar 2016

February 7, 2016

The prize lists for Gibraltar have now been published:

http://www.gibraltarchesscongress.co...nners_2016.htm

They are quite detailed. Many events are not very transparent in their prize disclosures.

Masters

1. Nakamura £20,000
2. MVL £16,000
3. Bacrot £7,500
4. Sethuraman £7,500
5. Harikrishna £7,500
6. Jones £7,500
7. Li Chao £7,500
8. Sutovsky £7,500
9. Ragger £678.60 and 13 others

Women

1. Muzychuk, A. £15,000
2. Stefanova £6,166.70
3. Tan £6,166.70
4. Khademalsharieh £6,166.70
5. Harika £1,428.60 and 6 others

Best Game Prize

This was for £1,000 and went to Dromavalli Harika.

The game is not specified but it is undoubtedly the one against Nigel Short in Round 3.

FIDE Title Norms

There were 9 IM norms and 5GM ones. The names of the players are:

Tari, Aryan NOR
Gledura, Benjamin HUN
Tan Zhongyi CHN
Ly, Moulthun AUS
Pogonina, Natalija RUS

Noted without comment – A pairs blitz team called the Multiple Scorgasms.
_______

Tradewise Gibraltar Masters 2016
Round 3, Jan. 28, 2016
Short, Nigel – Harika, Dronavalli
C03 French, Tarrasch

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Be7 4.e5 c5 5.Qg4 Kf8 6.dxc5 h5 7.Qe2 Bxc5 8.Nb3 b6 9.Nh3 Qc7 10.Bf4 Ne7 11.O-O-O Ng6 12.Kb1 Nc6 13.Re1 a5 14.Nxc5 bxc5 15.Qe3 c4 16.Qc5+ Kg8 17.Bc1 a4 18.f4 Nge7 19.Ng5 Nf5 20.Rd1 Ra5 21.Qf2 Rb5 22.c3 Qa5 23.Qc2 Rb8 24.Ka1 Ba6 25.Nf3 Qb5 26.g3 a3 27.bxa3 Qa5 28.Bh3 Bb5 29.Rxd5 Ba4 30.Qd2 Qxd5 31.Qxd5 Bc2 0-1