The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

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  • The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

    The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

    July 3, 2017

    The Geneva Grand Prix - July 6 to July 15, 2017

    The tournament, a nine round Swiss contest, is the third of four Grand Prix in 2017 and follows the Sharjah Grand Prix in February and the Moscow Grand Prix in May.

    The Geneva Grand Prix is sponsored by Kaspersky Lab and EG Capital Advisors.

    Each round starts at 2PM (GMT +3).

    The Prize Fund is 130,000 euro

    The Players

    Alexander Grischuk
    Alexander Riazantsev
    Anish Giri
    Boris Gelfand
    Dmitry Jakovenko
    Ernesto Inarkiev
    Hou Yifan
    Ian Nepomniachtchi
    Levon Aronian
    Li Chao
    Michael Adams
    Pavel Eljanov
    Pentala Harikrishna
    Peter Svidler
    Richard Rapport
    Salem A.R. Saleh
    Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
    Timor Radjabov

    https://worldchess.com/events/europe...va-grand-prix/

  • #2
    Re: The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

    The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

    July 5, 2017

    Schedule

    Thursday 6 Round 1 — 14:00
    Friday 7 Round 2 — 14:00
    Saturday 8 Round 3 — 14:00
    Sunday 9 Round 4 — 14:00
    Monday 10 Round 5 — 14:00
    Tuesday 11 Rest Day
    Wednesday 12 Round 6 — 14:00
    Thursday 13 Round 7 — 14:00
    Friday 14 Round 8 — 14:00
    Saturday 15 Round 9 — 14:00

    First Round Pairings

    Levon Aronian – Li Chao
    Boris Gelfand – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
    Ernesto Inarkiev – Alexander Grischuk
    Peter Svidler – Dmitry Jakovenko
    Richard Rapport – Ian Nepomniachtchi
    Pavel Eljanov – Hou Yifan
    Alexander Riazantsev – Pentala Harikrishna
    Michael Adams – Salem A.R. Saleh

    14:00 Geneva time is 8:00 a.m. Toronto/Montreal time

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

      The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

      July 6, 2017

      Round One

      From the official website: The tournament is being held in Hotel Le Richemond, set on the banks of Lake Geneva, by the famous Jet d’Eau. The Grand Prix will use its finest contemporary spaces - Paul Klee Salon & Galerie Rachmaninof, a private walkway beneath a dramatic glass ceiling.

      In the first round Teimour Rajabov of Azerbaijan rejected a draw offer and proceeded to defeat Anish Giri with black pieces. Rajabov’s optimism was based on the fact that Giri spent a lot of time in the opening, and was in time trouble. Rajabov tried to make the game more complicated.

      The strategy worked as white made several errors and Azeri Grandmaster was able to launch a strong attack through the open e-file.

      In a replay of the first round of Sharjah Grand Prix, Michael Adams was able to defeat Salem A.R. Saleh. White was enjoying a slight advantage until black strayed with his rook and then erred badly with 28…d5. Adams duly converted the material into full point.

      Pavel Eljanov played the Italian opening for the first time, but the only woman in the Grand Prix series, Hou Yifan from China, held the ground with black pieces.

      In the later stage of the game, however, she made a very bad decision by playing 35…f3. White simply besieged the pawn and then collected it after the time control. The resulting ending was an easy win for white.

      In the longest game of the day, Pentala Harikrishna won against Alexander Riazantsev with black pieces. After the long maneuvering in the middlegame, black appeared to be slightly better, but white established some kind of fortress.

      With one hasty pawn-break, white ruined the status-quo and black obtained a strong attack. The Indian Grandmaster converted the advantage in the minor-pieces endgame.

      The remaining five games were drawn.

      https://worldchess.com/2017/07/06/fo...prix/#comments
      _________

      The lone commentator is Alexander Morozevich. Agon should realize that with two commentators you don’t have to have an endurance contest. Also, with two, there is back-and-forth play and it is more interesting.

      Alexander has a slight stutter like Sergei Karjakin but almost loses it when he is discussing the technical part of the game. He is a very pleasant personality and it is good to see him in this role. Two other pleasant players are here too – Teimour Radjabov and Peter Svidler.

      Peter was asked about the result at the World Teams in Khanty-Mansiysk. He said that the Chinese team was very slightly better and they got the gold.

      He was also asked about the progress of his second, Maxim Matlakov (b. 1991). Peter thought that the question should be directed at Maxim but he thought that soon Maxim would be the principal and Peter, the coach.

      Teimour was very kind to Anish Giri, whom he had just beaten. He cited the heavy game schedule that Anish had had, whereas Teimour was fresh. He said that Anish is not the drawing master in spite of the 14-game drawing run he had. Teimour had had one of eleven games recently. It might have been the Gashimov Memorial and the Moscow Grand Prix. Giri had his 14 consecutive draws in the 2016 Moscow Candidates, of course.

      The Harikrishna – Riazantsev game went on forever. Alexander commented that there was a game in 1995, Khalifman-Salov that seemed to go on forever too. There would be 49 piece moves and then a pawn would move and so on for another 49 moves sort of making fun of the 50-move rule. It was in the last round of Amsterdam 1995. Since the game is only 75 moves long, Alexander is exaggerating. You can play over this game at:

      http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1074437

      Morozevich was asked about cities he liked to visit while playing classical chess and he replied that he recently is playing go tournaments. About Kasparov’s chances in August in St. Louis, he answered that he expected a decent result.

      The picture quality of the broadcast in outstanding but the organizers still fail to identify interviewers and, as I said, one commentator is insufficient for a seven-hour stretch.

      The decisive games of Round One:

      Geneva Grand Prix 2017
      Round 1, July 6, 2017
      Giri, Anish – Radjabov, Teimour
      D37 QGD, Hastings variation

      1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.c5 Nh5 8.Bd3 Nxf4 9.exf4 c6 10.Qc2 h6 11.O-O Qc7 12.Ne5 Nxe5 13.fxe5 Bd7 14.a3 b6 15.b4 bxc5 16.bxc5 f6 17.f4 Rab8 18.g3 Qa5 19.Ne2 Be8 20.Bg6 Bxg6 21.Qxg6 Qd2 22.Rf2 Qe3 23.Qg4 Kh7 24.Qxe6 Rbe8 25.a4 fxe5 26.Qxe5 Qd3 27.Qh5 Bf6 28.Raf1 g6 29.Qg4 h5 30.Qd7+ Re7 31.Qd6 Kg7 32.Nc1 Qf5 33.Rd1 Rfe8 34.Qxc6 Re1+ 35.Rf1 Bxd4+ 36.Rxd4 Rxf1+ 37.Kxf1 Qh3+ 38.Kf2 Qxh2+ 39.Kf1 Qh1+ 40.Kf2 Re1 0-1

      Round 1, July 6, 2017
      Eljanov, Pavel – Hou, Yifan
      C50 Giuoco Piano

      1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 O-O 6.h3 d6 7.c3 Ne7 8.Nbd2 Ng6 9.Re1 Bb6 10.Bb3 c6 11.Bc2 Re8 12.d4 Bc7 13.dxe5 dxe5 14.Nc4 Be6 15.Qe2 h6 16.Qf1 Nh7 17.Ne3 Nf4 18.Nf5 Bxf5 19.exf5 Nf6 20.Bxf4 exf4 21.Rad1 Qc8 22.Qc4 Rxe1+ 23.Rxe1 Qf8 24.Bb3 Re8 25.Rxe8 Qxe8 26.Qb4 b5 27.Qd4 Bb8 28.a4 Qe7 29.Qd3 a6 30.Kf1 Qd7 31.Qxd7 Nxd7 32.Nd4 Ne5 33.axb5 axb5 34.Bc2 Ba7 35.b4 f3 36.g4 Bxd4 37.cxd4 Nc4 38.Ke1 Nb6 39.Be4 Nd5 40.Bxd5 cxd5 41.Kd2 Kf8 42.Ke3 Ke7 43.Kxf3 Kd7 44.Kg3 Ke7 45.Kh4 g6 46.g5 h5 47.f4 Kf8 48.fxg6 fxg6 49.f5 1-0

      Round 1, July 6, 2017
      Riazantsev, Alexander – Harikrishna, Pentala
      E34 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Noa variation

      1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.cxd5 Qxd5 6.e3 c5 7.Bd2 Bxc3 8.bxc3 O-O 9.Nf3 Nc6 10.c4 Qd6 11.Bc3 cxd4 12.exd4 b6 13.Be2 Bb7 14.O-O Rac8 15.Rfd1 Ne7 16.Qb3 Rfd8 17.Ne5 Ng6 18.Bb2 Nd7 19.Nxg6 hxg6 20.a4 Nf6 21.a5 Qc7 22.axb6 axb6 23.Rab1 Ne4 24.Rbc1 Qf4 25.f3 Nf6 26.Rc2 Qc7 27.Bc1 b5 28.c5 Bd5 29.Qb4 Bc6 30.Bg5 Nd5 31.Qb2 Re8 32.Ra1 Ra8 33.Rcc1 Qb7 34.Bd2 Rxa1 35.Rxa1 Ra8 36.Ra5 Rxa5 37.Bxa5 b4 38.Bc4 Ne3 39.Be2 b3 40.Bd2 Nf5 41.Bc3 Bd5 42.Qc1 Ne7 43.Bb2 Nc6 44.Qc3 Kf8 45.Kf2 Ke7 46.Qd2 Qb8 47.h3 Kf8 48.Bd3 Kg8 49.Qe1 Qf4 50.Qe3 Qh4+ 51.Kg1 Qd8 52.Kf2 Qa5 53.Qe1 Nb4 54.Bb1 Qb5 55.Qc3 Qa4 56.Kg1 Kf8 57.Kf2 Nc6 58.Kg1 Ke8 59.Kf2 Kd7 60.Qd2 Kc8 61.Qc3 Na5 62.Bd3 Bc4 63.Bb1 Nc6 64.d5 Bxd5 65.Qxg7 Qh4+ 66.g3 Qxh3 67.Qf8+ Nd8 68.Qh8 Qxh8 69.Bxh8 Nb7 70.Ke3 Kd7 71.f4 Nxc5 72.g4 f5 73.gxf5 exf5 74.Bd3 Kc6 75.Be2 Na4 76.Bd1 Kc5 77.Bd4+ Kb4 78.Bg7 Be4 79.Bf8+ Kc4 80.Be2+ Kd5 81.Bd1 b2 82.Bb3+ Kc6 83.Bxa4+ Kb7 0-1

      Round 1, July 6, 2017
      Adams, Michael – 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.Bc1 Nc6 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.Bc4 e5 11.b3 Be7 12.Bb2 O-O 13.Qe2 Qb6 14.O-O Nf6 15.Kh1 a5 16.Na4 Qc7 17.Rae1 Nd7 18.Qd3 Bb7 19.Qg3 Bg5 20.Rd1 Nf6 21.f3 Rfe8 22.Rfe1 Rad8 23.Bf1 Nh5 24.Qf2 Re6 25.g3 Ree8 26.Qb6 Qb8 27.Bc3 Rc8 28.Bh3 d5 29.Nc5 Ba8 30.Qxb8 Rxb8 31.exd5 cxd5 32.Bxe5 d4 33.Bxb8 Rxb8 34.Rxd4 Bxf3+ 35.Bg2 Bxg2+ 36.Kxg2 Rc8 37.Rc4 Rd8 38.Nd3 1-0

      Round Two Pairings

      1. Radjabov (1) – Eljanov (1)
      2. Harikrishna (1) – Adams (1)
      3. Jakovenko (0.5) – Aronian (0.5)
      4. Mamedyarov (0.5) – Inarkiev (0.5)
      5. Grischuk (0.5) – Rapport (0.5)
      6. Li Chao B (0.5) – Svidler (0.5)
      7. Nepomniachtchi (0.5) – Gelfand (0.5)
      8. Salem (0) – Giri (0)
      9. Hou Yifan (0) – Riazantsev (0)
      Last edited by Wayne Komer; Saturday, 15th July, 2017, 03:49 PM.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

        Hi,

        Following live commentary in official site (Round 2). Interesting to see live analyzes / commentary by Alexander Morozevich. Had never heard or expected him to do something like this but it's quite instructive.

        Alex F.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

          The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

          July 7, 2017

          Round Two

          It happens that the broadcasting of this tournament is more interesting than the play today. Let me back up that statement with a couple of quotes.

          First, from Peter Doggers at chess.com:

          Unfortunately, it seems the further we go into this Grand Prix Series, the worse it gets. Before we look at yesterday's games, larger GP issues need to be discussed first.

          Agon, the company that owns the right to organise events in the world championship cycle, managed to find three sponsors for their events. Nonetheless, as reported earlier, they couldn't pay an amount of $500,000 in time to FIDE, which was due for late 2016. And, at least until a week ago, FIDE was still waiting for its share of the Moscow Grand Prix prize money (€26,000 / $29,700).

          Because of that, the World Chess Federation couldn't pay the prize money to the players. This week, most (but not all) Moscow participants have finally received their money, 1.5 months after the tournament.

          Many would argue that Agon is not only treating the world's best players with less respect than they deserve. The chess fans are also suffering.

          The user experience for following the Candidates', the world championship match and now these Grand Prix tournaments is simply worse that at other major tournaments. An important reason is Agon's position towards the live transmission of games.

          By trying (and, thus far, failing) to limit the live transmission to the WorldChess website, Agon has alienated a number of well-established chess websites. One of the major Russian sites, ChessPro, hasn't covered Agon's events since the Candidates' Tournament last year. Chess24, who have been involved in lawsuits with Agon, decided to boycott the Moscow Grand Prix altogether and also did not cover yesterday's first round of the Geneva GP.

          Starting from the Candidates' Tournament in 2016, chess fans have had to pay to see games in the world championship cycle on a website that is simply below today's standards. The issues range from diagrams that aren't working properly, basic functionalities that aren't there, and bugs that are still present up to this day.
          Whether it's because of financial trouble or not, Agon seems to have lowered its budget for these GP tournaments. The first, in February in Sharjah, saw three commentators. The one in Moscow, in May, only had one. The Geneva GP also has only one commentator, and he's not even on site.

          Speaking from a studio in Moscow, GM Alexander Morozevich was commenting on round one. (After round five GM Evgeny Miroshnichenko will take over.) It's a big name, but the live show still had just roughly 150 simultaneous viewers throughout the day—who only had access to one webcam with an overview shot of the playing hall, all day long.

          All in all, it seems regardless of their statements, things are tough for Agon right now, but even harder on those interested in follow these tournaments.

          https://www.chess.com/news/view/agon...in-geneva-4196

          _________

          I have become somewhat of a tournament junkie. My “to see” list has 18 major events on it. I have bought a $25 membership with World Chess for the convenience and because I am curious as to whether everything will work out for a company who wants to sell a “first class” tournament experience.

          I like Alexander Morozevich and Evgeny Miroshnichenko; let us call them Moro and Miro. It takes a lot of endurance to commentate for six or seven hours. There are better formats and I have some quotes from the online chat room to show what other viewers think.

          Comments

          - Agon’s contract runs through the year 2020..so buckle up!

          - So, Agon agonizes and oozes conflict... nomen est omen.

          Let us hope that this negative turn of events is a symptom of its demise.

          - Two commentators are better than one. No exceptions. Three or more become a crowd if done poorly.

          - Who would you bring in as a second – someone rated between 2600 and 2720?

          - You have the tactician, bring in positional players, like Tomashevsky, Leko, and so on.

          - Good job Moro!

          - Nigel Short I enjoy as a commentator. He breaks down positions very well.

          - I hope they get Moro’s cold sorted out!

          - I suppose Agon doesn’t have a budget for two commentators. According to the report of round 1 on chess.com, they still haven’t paid the players all the prize money they owe for Moscow.

          - I am sure that chess24 doesn’t pay Svidler and Jan peanuts for their commentating roles.

          - I think the chess24 situation is unique. Jan is definitely a part owner of chess24, so he has a financial stake in it. I would be surprised if Svidler hadn’t a stake too.

          - I really hope Kasparov wins the GCT Rapid and Blitz event in St. Louis. If he does, he might come out of retirement properly. Carlsen vs Kasparov WCH match would be my dream. If it doesn’t happen, I think the chess world will have been robbed of a classic match. Same as Fischer-Karpov 1974.

          - Garry is too old to compete against Carlsen.

          - The commentator is a top GM with a bad cold

          - Moro is an excellent commentator and a very brilliant player

          - Moro is commentating on 9 games on his own and keeping us well informed

          - He’s dull and disappointing

          - Just imagine Ivanchuk doing the talking. Every one would jump out of the window.

          - Still I prefer to listen to Grischuk than Nakamura! Sasha is always very funny. It’s the personality that matters more than the way they speak English.

          - Anyway, this commentary has no soul for sure..and please, someone give Moro a handkerchief.

          - We have to admit that the quality of Moro’s comments is excellent, but a TV show needs much more, like attractiveness. That is more cams, so we can see the players at different angles.

          - We are paying – they should give us some service

          - If I lived in NYC, I would drive to the Marshall Chess Club just to listen to GMs analyze. Having a world-class player analyze games in real time is very valuable.

          - I like Moro, but he needs more support. Too much dead time and useless camera angles

          - Moro looks knackered
          ________

          So that is the broadcast situation. I shall give the standings and games in my next post.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

            The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

            July 7, 2017

            Round Two (continued)

            The results of today’s action:

            Radjabov-Eljanov 1-0
            Harikrishna-Adams 0.5-0.5
            Jakovenko-Aronian 0-1
            Mamedyarov-Inarkiev 1-0
            Grischuk-Rapport 1-0
            Li Chao B-Svidler 0.5-0.5
            Nepomniachtchi-Gelfand 0.5-0.5
            Salem-Giri 0-1
            Hou Yifan-Riazantsev 0.5-0.5

            Standings after Round Two

            1 Radjabov 2.0
            2-6 Aronian, Mamedyarov, Grischuk, Harikrishna, Adams 1.5
            7-12 Giri, Svidler, Nepo, Eljanov, Li Chao, Gelfand 1.0
            13-17 Inarkiev, Jakovenko, Rapport, Hou Yifan, Riazantsev 0.5
            18 Salem 0

            Round Three Pairings

            1. Aronian-Radjabov
            2. Harikrishna-Mamedyarov
            3. Adams-Grischuk
            4. Giri-Li Chao
            5. Svidler-Gelfand
            6. Eljanov-Hou Yifan
            7. Inarkiev-Jakovenko
            8. Riazantsev-Salem

            Decisive Games of Round Two:

            Geneva Grand Prix 2017
            Round 2, July 7, 2017
            Radjabov, Teimour – Eljanov, Pavel
            E16 Queen’s Indian, Riumin variation

            1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Be7 7.Nc3 c6 8.e4 d5 9.exd5 cxd5 10.Ne5 O-O 11.O-O Nc6 12.Bf4 Na5 13.Rc1 dxc4 14.Bxb7 Nxb7 15.Nxc4 Bb4 16.Bg5 Nd6 17.Nxd6 Bxd6 18.d5 exd5 19.Nxd5 Be5 20.Bxf6 Bxf6 21.b4 Qd6 22.Qf3 Rac8 23.Rcd1 Rfe8 24.b5 Be7 25.Rd4 Bf8 26.Rfd1 Rc5 27.a4 Qe6 28.Rg4 Kh8 29.Rf4 Kg8 30.h4 Rc2 31.Kg2 h6 32.h5 Rcc8 33.Rdd4 Bc5 34.Rde4 Qd7 35.Rg4 Kf8 36.Ref4 Bd6 37.Rd4 Qb7 38.Rxg7 Be5 39.Rg8+ Kxg8 40.Nf6+ Bxf6 41.Rg4+ 1-0

            Round 2, July 7, 2017
            Jakovenko, Dmitry – Aronian, Levon
            C50 Giuoco Piano

            1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 O-O 6.c3 a6 7.a4 Ba7 8.Re1 d6 9.h3 b5 10.Bb3 b4 11.a5 Rb8 12.Nbd2 Be6 13.Bxe6 fxe6 14.Nc4 Qe8 15.Be3 Bxe3 16.Rxe3 Qg6 17.Ncd2 Nh5 18.Qf1 Rb5 19.Kh2 Qh6 20.Kg1 Qg6 21.Kh2 Qh6 22.Kg1 Kh8 23.d4 Nf4 24.h4 g5 25.hxg5 Qh5 26.Qc4 exd4 27.cxd4 Nxa5 28.Qf1 h6 29.e5 d5 30.Rc1 c6 31.Ne1 hxg5 32.Nd3 g4 33.Nxf4 Rxf4 34.Rd3 g3 35.Rxg3 Rh4 36.f4 Rh1+ 37.Kf2 Rxf1+ 38.Rxf1 Nc4 39.Nb3 Qh4 40.Kf3 a5 41.Ra1 Qh5+ 42.Kf2 Nxb2 43.Rh3 Qxh3 44.gxh3 a4 45.Nc5 b3 46.f5 exf5 47.e6 Nc4 48.e7 Nd6 49.Nxa4 Kg7 50.Nc3 Rb8 51.Ra6 Kf7 0-1

            Round 2, July 7, 2017
            Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Inarkiev, Ernesto
            D30 QGD, Vienna variation

            1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.Bg5 Bb4+ 5.Nbd2 dxc4 6.e3 b5 7.a4 c6 8.Be2 Nbd7 9.O-O Qb6 10.Qc2 Bb7 11.b3 c3 12.Nb1 c5 13.Nxc3 cxd4 14.Nxb5 Rc8 15.Qb2 a6 16.a5 Qc5 17.exd4 Qf5 18.Bd2 Be7 19.Nc3 O-O 20.Nh4 1-0

            Round 2, July 7, 2017
            Grischuk, Alexander – Rapport, Richard
            C96 Ruy Lopez, Closed

            1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Qc7 12.d5 Nc4 13.b3 Nb6 14.a4 Bd7 15.a5 Nc8 16.c4 b4 17.Nbd2 Bd8 18.Nf1 Kh8 19.Ra2 Qb8 20.Be3 Ne7 21.Ng3 Qc8 22.Nh4 Neg8 23.Rf1 Ne8 24.Nf3 Bf6 25.Nh2 Ne7 26.Nh5 Ng6 27.Bb1 Qd8 28.Qc1 Kg8 29.Kh1 Bh4 30.f4 exf4 31.Nxf4 Ne5 32.Nd3 Nxd3 33.Bxd3 Nf6 34.Bf4 Nh5 35.Bxd6 Ng3+ 36.Bxg3 Bxg3 37.Nf3 Qc7 38.Re2 f6 39.e5 Bxe5 40.Qc2 h6 41.Bh7+ Kh8 42.Bf5 Be8 43.Nxe5 fxe5 44.Rfe1 Qxa5 45.Rxe5 Qc7 46.Qd2 Qd6 47.Re6 Qg3 48.Rxh6+ Kg8 49.Bh7+ Kh8 50.Bf5+ Kg8 51.Bh7+ Kh8 52.Be4+ Kg8 53.d6 Ra7 54.Re6 Raf7 55.Kg1 Rf2 56.Qd1 Bf7 57.Bd5 g6 58.R6e3 Qg5 59.Bf3 Ra2 60.d7 Rd8 61.Re8+ Kg7 62.Rxd8 Qxd8 63.Qd6 1-0

            Round 2, July 7, 2017
            Saleh, Salem – Giri, Anish
            C54 Giuoco Piano, d3 variation

            1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 a6 8.a4 Ba7 9.Nbd2 Qe7 10.b4 Bd7 11.Rb1 g5 12.Bg3 Nh5 13.b5 axb5 14.axb5 Na5 15.Bd5 Nxg3 16.hxg3 Qf6 17.Qe2 O-O 18.Nh2 c6 19.bxc6 bxc6 20.Ba2 Kg7 21.Ndf1 Rfb8 22.Ne3 Bxe3 23.Qxe3 Be6 24.Qe2 Bxa2 25.Rxb8 Rxb8 26.Qxa2 Qe6 27.Qa1 Nb3 28.Qd1 Nc5 29.O-O Rb3 30.Qc2 Ra3 31.Rb1 Qa2 32.Qxa2 Rxa2 33.Ng4 Rd2 34.Ne3 Rxd3 35.Nf5+ Kf6 36.f3 g4 37.Kf2 gxf3 38.gxf3 d5 39.Rb6 dxe4 40.Ne3 Rd2+ 41.Ke1 Rd6 42.fxe4 Nxe4 43.g4 Kg5 0-1

            _______

            - I’ll definitely download the aronian-jakovenko game for later analysis

            - Inarkiev got his queen trapped in 20 moves, so Mamedyarov is the early leader

            - must be psychologically upsetting to castle short naturally and realize your queen on the middle of the board, has no single square to land on

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

              The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

              July 8, 2017

              Round Three

              There are big beautiful boards on the official web page. But, as I write, there are three games finished (as per Moro and chessbomb) but the boards don’t tell the result. Harikrishna is winning against Mamedyarov but the “thermometer” on the left-hand side of each board shows 50% for each player in each contest.

              Later: I found that by clicking on the boards I got the correct thermometer evaluation and the 10 last moves. That is rather cool.

              Alex Yermolinsky writing at chessbase has this to say today:

              “The chess internet is abuzz with anti-AGON sentiment, and, I suppose, the readers expect me to weigh in on this. Sorry to disappoint you, but no further hint of criticism directed at AGON will come from the author of these words. You are free to think AGON has paid me a million dollars to keep mum.”

              http://en.chessbase.com/post/fide-gr...a-flying-start

              Mickey Adams and Alexander Grischuk have an interview with Goran Urosevic. Grischuk says that yesterday he had the longest game and today, the shortest, so that is OK. He was asked about the World Team result for Russia at Khanty-Mansiysk and says it was close and they almost won the gold ahead of China. 4-0 against the U.S.A. was an excellent result even though they didn’t have So, Nakamura or Caruana on the team. With Shankland, Onischuk, Robson, Akobian and Xiong, they weren’t chopped liver either!

              Asked how the youngsters on the team did. Sasha gave the nod to Fedoseev and Matlakov, saying that Matlakov is 26, not quite young and up and coming.

              Peter Svidler and Boris Gelfand also interviewed with Goran. Peter said his prep gave him a good game until about move 15 and when he had to start thinking on his own, he made a weaker move and his prep was all gone. Boris said that he had four seconds/analysts working around the clock on his preparation for six months for his world championship match against Anand in 2012. He is still using some of the lines they found.

              He is working on another book but he is playing so much chess this year that he is putting off the publication by a year. Peter is playing a lot of chess too and he prefers making videos to writing a book. He heartily recommends Boris’s books, which he is reading at the moment.

              Moro says that he does teaching on Sundays in chess and in Go. 3 hours for chess, 2 for elementary Go. When he first started, the first numbers were nobody for chess and seven people for Go!

              One of his suggestions for changing chess is to have blindfold tournaments. How many ChessTalk members would like to play in one, I wonder?

              He is not working on a book of his best games yet. He doesn’t know what the market for one would be. As for other people’s books, he likes Gelfand’s books and the series by Kasparov.

              The last game to finish is Rapport vs Jakovenko. It was R+B vs R+N+p and in his opponent’s time pressure Jakovenko found a way to win it.

              Three games:

              The Geneva Grand Prix 2017
              Round 3, July 8, 2017
              Harikrishna, P. – Mamedyarov, S.
              C53 Giuoco Piano

              1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 a6 6.O-O d6 7.a4 Ba7 8.Re1 O-O 9.h3 b5 10.Ba2 b4 11.Bg5 Rb8 12.Nbd2 h6 13.Bh4 Be6 14.Bc4 g5 15.Bg3 Na5 16.Bxe6 fxe6 17.d4 bxc3 18.bxc3 Nh5 19.Bh2 exd4 20.cxd4 Nc6 21.Rc1 Qd7 22.Re3 Rb7 23.Nb3 e5 24.Nxe5 dxe5 25.Qxh5 Kh7 26.Rec3 Nxd4 27.Bxe5 Rxf2 28.Kh2 Ne6 29.Rd1 Qe7 30.Qg4 Qf7 31.Rc6 h5 32.Qg3 Rf1 33.Qd3 Rxd1 34.Qxd1 1/2-1/2

              Round 3, July 8, 2017
              Eljanov, Pavel – Nepomniachtchi, Ian
              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.Be3 Be6 9.Nd5 Nbd7 10.Qd3 O-O 11.a4 Bxd5 12.exd5 Nc5 13.Nxc5 dxc5 14.c4 Qc7 15.Qc2 Rae8 16.g4 e4 17.O-O-O Bd6 18.g5 Nd7 19.Kb1 Ne5 20.h4 Nf3 21.Rh3 Qd7 22.Rhh1 Qe7 23.Bxf3 exf3 24.h5 b5 25.cxb5 axb5 26.axb5 Qd7 27.Qd3 Rb8 28.h6 g6 29.Bd2 Rxb5 30.Bc3 Rb3 31.Rhe1 Qg4 32.Re4 Qxg5 33.Qxf3 Be5 34.Rxe5 Qxe5 35.d6 f6 36.d7 Rxc3 37.Qxc3 Qe7 38.Qb3+ Kh8 39.Qd5 Rd8 40.Rd3 1-0

              Round 3, July 8, 2017
              Rapport, Richard – Jakovenko, Dmitry
              E20 Nimzo-Indian, Romanishin-Kasparov System

              1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.g3 O-O 5.Bg2 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.a3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 Ne4 9.c4 c6 10.cxd5 cxd5 11.e3 Bd7 12.Ne2 Bb5 13.O-O Re8 14.Re1 Nc6 15.f3 Nf6 16.g4 Bxe2 17.Rxe2 Rc8 18.Qd3 h6 19.Bd2 a6 20.Kh1 Na5 21.Rg1 Nc4 22.Bc1 Rc6 23.h3 b5 24.e4 dxe4 25.fxe4 Rd6 26.Rd1 Rd7 27.g5 Nh5 28.Qf3 g6 29.gxh6 Rxd4 30.Rf1 Ne5 31.Qf2 Rd1 32.Bb2 Rxf1+ 33.Bxf1 Qg5 34.h7+ Kxh7 35.Bxe5 Qxe5 36.Qxf7+ Kh6 37.Rg2 Qe6 38.Qxe6 Rxe6 39.a4 bxa4 40.Kh2 Rxe4 41.Ra2 a5 42.Bb5 Nf4 43.Ra3 Kg5 44.Bxa4 Kh4 45.Bb5 g5 46.Rxa5 Re5 47.Kh1 Rd5 48.Kh2 Rd2+ 49.Kh1 Kxh3 50.Bf1+ Kh4 51.Ra4 Kg3 52.Ra3+ Kf2 53.Bc4 Rd4 54.Ra2+ Kg3 55.Ra3+ Kh4 56.Bf1 g4 57.Kg1 g3 58.Ra1 Kg4 59.Re1 Rd2 60.Ra1 Rb2 61.Kh1 Nd5 62.Bg2 Nf4 63.Bf1 Kf3 64.Kg1 Nd5 65.Bh3 Ne3 66.Re1 Rc2 67.Ra1 Re2 68.Bf1 Rb2 69.Bh3 Rc2 70.Re1 g2 71.Be6 Rc3 72.Bh3 Kg3 73.Be6 Kf3 74.Bh3 Rc2 75.Be6 Rc6 76.Bh3 Rc3 77.Bd7 Nd5 78.Bh3 Nf4 79.Bxg2+ Nxg2 80.Rf1+ Kg3 81.Rf8 Rc1+ 82.Rf1 Rc6 83.Ra1 Ne3 84.Rb1 Rc2 85.Re1 Ng2 86.Rd1 Nh4 0-1


              Position after 79…Nxg2. 80. Re7 draws for white and 80.Rf1+, which white played in time pressure, loses




              Later: On the EC Forum, readers fastened on to this ending too:

              Nicholas Faulks: Rapport found a way to lose a drawn R v R+N. Quite extraordinary

              to which Leonard Barden replied:

              Not so very extraordinary in practice. Inter alia, this ending has been won by Kasparov against Polgar at Dos Hermanos 1996, with Polgar's WK trapped at h8 and Black playing Ne8!, the same idea as just quoted by Ian Thompson.

              It has also been won by Carlsen against Erwin L'Ami at Tata Steel 2011. The latter example was sneaky as the loser's king was not in the corner.

              I gave it once as an Evening Standard puzzle: WK e5, WR g1, WN f5; BK g4, BR a2. The black king is in check; what is the only move to lose?

              http://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic....202474#p202474
              Last edited by Wayne Komer; Saturday, 8th July, 2017, 09:55 PM.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

                The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

                July 8, 2017

                Round Three (continued)

                Results

                1. Aronian-Radjabov 0.5-0.5
                2. Harikrishna-Mamedyarov 0.5-0.5
                3. Adams-Grischuk 0.5-0.5
                4. Giri-Li Chao B 0.5-0.5
                5. Svidler-Gelfand 0.5-0.5
                6. Eljanov-Nepomniachtchi 1-0
                7. Inarkiev-Hou Yifan 0.5-0.5
                8. Rapport-Jakovenko 0-1
                9. Riazantsev-Salem 0.5-0.5

                Standings after Round Three

                1 Radjabov 2.5
                2-7 Aronian, Mamedyarov, Grischuk, Eljanov, Harikrishna, Adams 2.0
                8-12 Giri, Svidler, Li Chao, Gelfand, Jakovenko 1.5
                13-16 Nepomniachtchi Inarkiev, Hou Yifan, Riazantsev 1.0
                17-18 Rapport, Salem 0.5

                Round Four Pairings

                1. Radjabov-Harikrishna
                2. Grischuk-Aronian
                3. Mamedyarov-Eljanov
                4. Svidler-Adams
                5. Gelfand-Giri
                6. Li Chao-Jakovenko
                7. Nepo-Hou Yifan
                8. Riazantsev-Inarkiev
                9. Salem-Rapport
                _________

                There is a discussion by Peter Doggers of an ending which could have occurred in Eljanov-Nepomniachtchi:

                With white to move, is it a win for white or just a draw?



                See:

                https://www.chess.com/news/view/elja...g-winning-1085

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

                  The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

                  July 9, 2017

                  Round Four

                  The commentators are Alexander Volzhin and Evgeny Miroschnichenko.

                  Alexander was born in 1971, learned to play chess at the age of 5 years and got his GM title in 1997.

                  Wikipedia: In addition to being an active player, Volzhin has been a coach of a number of outstanding players, including Evgeny Bareev, Almira Skripchenko, Ekaterina Kovalevskaya, and Iweta Rajlich. Also, Volzhin has been a coach of Russian national women team during Chess Olympiads in Elista in 1998 (under the Head Coach Naum Rashkovsky, silver medal) and in Istanbul in 2000 (under the Head Coach Yuri Yakovich, bronze medal).

                  Alexander Volzhin has been an outspoken fighter for integrity of professional chess. His article in the 64 Chess Magazine was one of the first on the issue of computer cheating when a player gets illegal help from computer engines. He also exposed a number of players involved in game fixing and pumping up their ratings.

                  After retirement from international chess in early 2000s, Volzhin pursued career in business. Since 2007, he has worked for Barclays in London rising through the ranks to the position of a vice-president at Barclays Capital, the securities division of Barclays plc. (public limited company).
                  _________

                  Alexander comments for about four hours and then Evgenyi is left on his own. Miro explains what happened:

                  “If I look sleepy and miss some lines, it is because I had to fly in this morning and was a couple of hours late. That also explains my outfit”

                  At least he is not still in his pajamas, which would be a chess broadcasting first!

                  The chat room seems to be more interested in the commentators than the games at the moment. Caroline Robson says: It’s a bit difficult to compete with Svidler and Jan. Grischuk was brilliant when he popped into the commentary room at the end of the London Classic one year. I relented and paid to watch the Grand Prix yesterday. I don’t really want to support Agon. But having paid I thought that Morozevich was great! Guess Evgenij isn’t too bad either!

                  Alexander Grischuk and Levon Aronian have a brief interview. Alexander describes the game as being “perfect”. It ended in a draw. Levon said that they have played a similar perfect game, at Mexico City in 2007 – a Ruy Lopez ending in a draw.

                  See:

                  http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1472981

                  I could not recall this tournament – probably because it was in the era when the title was in confusion. The World Chess Championship 2007 was held in Mexico City, from 12 September 2007 to 30 September 2007 to decide the world championship. It was an eight-player, double round robin tournament.

                  Viswanathan Anand won the tournament and the title of World Chess Champion. His winning score was 9 points out of 14, with a total of four wins and 10 draws, and Anand was the only undefeated player in the tournament.

                  The participants were Kramnik, Anand, Svidler, Morozevich, Leko, Gelfand, Aronian and Grischuk.

                  After this, decided by a tourney, the Championship was always by means of a match.
                  _______

                  Three brief interviews. I had to laugh at Salem’s predicament this morning. He finished lunch late, and then it started to rain. He had to decide whether to walk or take a cab but he couldn’t find a cab that was unoccupied and arrived just in time but still won his first game. There will be celebrating in Sharjah tonight.

                  Peter Svidler won, because he said, Michael Adams made a couple of unfortunate decisions during their game. Both he and Nepo seemed to say that they tricked their opponents sometime during the game. Tongue-in-cheek and understatement and you don’t know what you can believe. Must look at Nepo-Hou Yifan and Svidler-Adams more closely.

                  I looked in at the English Chess Forum and Tim Harding is posting on the tournament with this:

                  “Riazantsev has an extra outside passed pawn against Inarkiev at move 41, with, maybe some winning chances. Two rooks and a knight each.

                  Apropos of nothing, Moeen Ali has just taken his tenth wicket in the Test Match and could make it 11 in the match. (Now he cannot: Dawson took the last wicket.)”

                  Peter Svidler, Lawrence Trent and Simon Williams all seem to be interested in concurrent cricket during their chess commentary. I never could understand the game myself. See also Chess and Cricket:

                  http://forum.chesstalk.com/showthrea...cket#post89239
                  _______

                  Miro simply cannot see why Riazantsev and Inarkiev play on in a drawn position. Will it end with bare kings on the board? Miro sounds like a man who has not had his breakfast or lunch.

                  Is there bad blood between the players so that neither wants to propose a draw?

                  Is Black afraid of White’s connected passed pawns?

                  It is quite fascinating to watch the Miro’s agony, hungry?, tired? trying to analyze...

                  A lady in the chat room writes:

                  He’s so beautifully puzzled as to why they’re still playing. This is so amusing.
                  ______

                  The lights are out in most of the tournament hall and, as I write, the game has been going on for almost six hours and has reached 60 moves. Miro is taking a quick break, hoping the game will be over when he returns and then, of course, he won’t have to return because the transmission will be over.

                  After two interviews with Anna Burtasova, Miro is back with, “Welcome back to this everlasting game”

                  But finally it ends. Miro apologizes for the windbreaker and T-shirt and says tune in tomorrow for Round Five.
                  ______

                  The games:

                  Round 4, July 9, 2017
                  Grischuk, Alexander – Aronian, Levon
                  C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed

                  1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a4 Bd7 9.c3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Qb8 12.Bg5 h6 13.Bh4 Be6 14.Nbd2 O-O 15.Re1 cxd4 16.cxd4 Rc8 17.h3 Nc6 18.axb5 axb5 19.Rxa8 Qxa8 20.Bxf6 Bxf6 21.d5 Nb4 22.dxe6 Nxc2 23.exf7+ Kxf7 24.Rf1 Qa2 25.Nb1 Nd4 26.Nxd4 exd4 27.Qh5+ Kg8 28.Qxb5 Rc2 29.Na3 Rxb2 30.Qc4+ Kh7 1/2-1/2

                  Round 4, July 9, 2017
                  Svidler, Peter – Adams, Michael
                  D37 QGD, Hastings variation

                  1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nf3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.Qc2 c5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 exd5 10.Bd3 Qa5+ 11.Qc3 Qb6 12.a3 cxd4 13.Qxd4 Nc5 14.Bc2 Qb5 15.Be5 f6 16.Bg3 Qc4 17.Rc1 Qxd4 18.Nxd4 a5 19.Nb5 Rd8 20.Nc7 Ra7 21.Rd1 Kf7 22.Nxd5 b5 23.O-O Bf8 24.Bxh7 g5 25.h4 Be6 26.e4 gxh4 27.Bxh4 Bxd5 28.Rxd5 Rxd5 29.exd5 Na4 30.Rc1 Rd7 31.Rc6 Rxd5 32.Rxf6+ Kg7 33.Bc2 Nxb2 34.Rg6+ Kf7 35.Rf6+ Kg7 36.Rb6 Bc5 37.Rb7+ Kf8 38.Bg6 Bd4 39.Be7+ Kg8 40.Bf6 1-0

                  Round 4, July 9, 2017
                  Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Yifan, Hou
                  C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

                  1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Nbd2 O-O 7.Qe2 Re8 8.Nc4 Nd7 9.Bd2 Nb6 10.Na5 Qe7 11.a3 Bd6 12.h4 Na4 13.h5 Qf8 14.Nc4 b5 15.Nxd6 cxd6 16.b3 Nc5 17.Nh4 Ne6 18.Nf5 c5 19.O-O Nf4 20.Qf3 g6 21.g3 Bxf5 22.gxf4 Bd7 23.Kh2 f6 24.Rg1 Kf7 25.Rg3 Qe7 26.Rag1 Rg8 27.R1g2 Rh8 28.Kg1 Rag8 29.b4 c4 30.Be3 Bc6 31.Rh2 a6 32.Kf1 Qe8 33.Rh4 Qe7 34.fxe5 dxe5 35.d4 exd4 36.Bg5 Rf8 37.Rf4 Ke6 38.Qg4+ Kd6 39.e5+ Kc7 40.Bxf6 Rxf6 41.exf6 Qf7 42.Rxd4 Qxf6 43.Qf4+ Qxf4 44.Rxf4 gxh5 45.Rg7+ Kb6 46.Rf6 h4 47.Rh6 Rd8 48.Rf7 h3 49.Rff6 1-0

                  Round 4, July 9, 2017
                  Saleh, Salem – Rapport, Richard
                  B28 Sicilian, O’Kelly variation

                  1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 a6 3.c4 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 e5 6.Nf5 d6 7.Nc3 g6 8.Ne3 Bh6 9.g3 Nf6 10.Bg2 O-O 11.O-O b5 12.f4 exf4 13.gxf4 Bb7 14.e5 dxe5 15.fxe5 Nd7 16.Ng4 Bxc1 17.Rxc1 Ncxe5 18.Nxe5 Bxg2 19.Nxd7 Bxf1 20.Kxf1 Qh4 21.Nxf8 Qxh2 22.Nd7 Qh3+ 23.Kf2 Qh2+ 24.Ke3 Re8+ 25.Kd3 Rd8 26.Nd5 Rxd7 27.Kc3 Rd6 28.b3 a5 29.Rc2 Qg3+ 30.Qd3 Qe1+ 31.Kb2 bxc4 32.bxc4 Re6 33.Qc3 Qf1 34.Qxa5 Re1 35.Ka3 h5 36.Qc3 Re6 37.Rb2 Ra6+ 38.Kb4 h4 39.Kc5 Qg1+ 40.Qe3 Ra5+ 1-0

                  Round 4, July 9, 2017
                  Riazantsev, Alexander – Inarkiev, Ernesto
                  C32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical variation

                  1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 O-O 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 d5 7.Bg5 c5 8.dxc5 d4 9.Qf3 Nbd7 10.e3 h6 11.Bxf6 Nxf6 12.O-O-O e5 13.Ne2 Bg4 14.Qg3 d3 15.f3 Be6 16.Nc3 Qc7 17.Bxd3 Qxc5 18.Kb1 Rfe8 19.Qf2 Bxc4 20.Bxc4 Qxc4 21.e4 Rec8 22.Rd6 b5 23.Rc1 a5 24.Qf1 Qxf1 25.Rxf1 b4 26.axb4 axb4 27.Na2 b3 28.Nc1 Rab8 29.Rfd1 Nh5 30.g3 Kh7 31.R6d3 Rb4 32.Nxb3 Rcb8 33.Kc2 g5 34.Rb1 g4 35.Nc5 Nf6 36.Rc3 R8b5 37.Nd3 Rd4 38.Nf2 Kg7 39.Re1 gxf3 40.Rxf3 Rbb4 41.Rfe3 Rbc4+ 42.Rc3 Nxe4 43.Nxe4 Rxe4 44.Rxc4 Rxc4+ 45.Kd3 Rd4+ 46.Kc3 Kf6 47.b4 Ke6 48.b5 Kd5 49.Rf1 Rc4+ 50.Kb3 Kc5 51.Rxf7 Rb4+ 52.Kc3 Rxb5 53.Rf6 Rb6 54.Rxb6 Kxb6 55.Kd3 Kc5 56.Ke4 Kd6 57.g4 Ke6 58.h4 Kf6 59.Kd5 h5 60.g5+ Kf5 61.Kc4 Ke6 62.Kd3 Kd6 63.Kc4 Ke6 64.Kc5 e4 65.Kd4 Kf5 66.Ke3 Ke5 67.Kd2 Ke6 68.Ke2 Kd5 69.Kf2 Ke6 70.Ke3 Ke5 71.Kd2 Ke6 72.Kc2 Ke5 73.Kc3 Kd5 74.Kb3 Ke6 75.Kc4 Ke5 76.Kc3 Kd5 1/2-1/2

                  To me this will always be Miro’s everlasting-ending game.

                  I am sorry to have discussed commentators, cricket, perfect games, Mexico City and cabs in the rain. I am sure you would all rather hear my thoughts on Donald Trump. Oh, I wish there was a Trump forum on this forum for that!

                  Results, Standings and Round Five Pairings given in next post.
                  Last edited by Wayne Komer; Sunday, 9th July, 2017, 06:07 PM.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

                    The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

                    July 9, 2017

                    Round Four concluded

                    Results of Round Four

                    Radjabov-Harikrishna 0.5-0.5
                    Grischuk-Aronian 0.5-0.5
                    Mamedyarov-Eljanov 0.5-0.5
                    Svidler-Adams 1-0
                    Gelfand-Giri 0.5-0.5
                    Li Chao-Jakovenko 0.5-0.5
                    Nepomniachtchi-Hou Yifan 1-0
                    Riazantsev-Inarkiev 0.5-0.5
                    Salem-Rapport 1-0

                    Ranking after Round Four

                    1 Radjabov 3.0
                    2-7 Aronian, Mamedyarov, Grischuk, Svidler, Eljanov, Harikrishna 2.5
                    8-13 Giri, Nepo, Adams, Li Chao, Gelfand, Jakovenko 2.0
                    14-16 Inarkiev, Riazantsev, Salem 1.5
                    17 Hou Yifan 1.0
                    18 Rapport 0.5

                    Round Five Pairings

                    1. Mamedyarov-Radjabov
                    2. Aronian-Svidler
                    3. Eljanov-Grischuk
                    4. Harikrishna-Nepomniachtchi
                    5. Adams-Li Chao B
                    6. Jakovenko-Gelfand
                    7. Giri-Riazantsev
                    8. Inarkiev-Salem
                    9. Hou Yifan-Rapport
                    _______

                    Anna Burtasova conducted the last two interviews of the day. Anna, born in 1987, is a Russian lawyer, chess journalist and a Women’s Grandmaster since 2009.

                    Erwin L’Ami, Netherlands b. 1985, accompanies Anish Giri to tournaments. He has had that job for two years. He works on opening prep but, of course, cannot use the ideas himself when he plays. And his play is down drastically since his alliance with Anish.

                    Markus Ragger, the Austrian GM, b. 1988, has been a second to Pentala Harikrishna for about one and a half years. They communicate well. He is a nice guy. Even with his work, Markus still plays 80 to 100 games a year.

                    On a typical day, working with Pentala, he prepares until 3 or 4 in the morning and then grabs a few hours sleep, has breakfast, then preps Pentala for the game coming up. There is nothing he can do when the game starts and so he tries to sleep although he is very tense.
                    Last edited by Wayne Komer; Saturday, 15th July, 2017, 03:48 PM.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

                      The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

                      July 10, 2017

                      Round Five

                      Round Five Results

                      Mamedyarov-Radjabov 0.5-0.5
                      Aronian-Svidler 0.5-0.5
                      Eljanov-Grischuk 0-1
                      Harikrishna-Nepomniachtchi 0.5-0.5
                      Adams-Li Chao 0.5-0.5
                      Jakovenko-Gelfand 0.5-0.5
                      Gir-Riazantsev 0.5-0.5
                      Inarkiev-Salem 1-0
                      Hou Yifan-Rapport 0-1

                      Standing after Round Five

                      1-2 Grischuk, Radjabov 3.5
                      3-6 Aronian, Mamedyarov, Svidler, Harikrishna 3.0
                      7-14 Giri, Nepo, Eljanov, Adams, Li Chao, Gelfand, Inarkiev, Jakovenko 2.5
                      15 Riazantsev 2.0
                      16-17 Rapport, Salem 1.5
                      18 Hou Yifan 1.0

                      Round Six Pairings
                      (Note: July 12)

                      1. Grischuk-Radjabov
                      2. Aronian-Harikrishna
                      3. Svidler-Mamedyarov
                      4. Jakovenko-Giri
                      5. Nepo-Inarkiev
                      6. Li Chao-Eljanov
                      7. Gelfand-Adams
                      8. Rapport-Riazantsev
                      9. Salem-Hou Yifan

                      Decisive Games of Round Five

                      Round Five, July 10, 2017
                      Eljanov, Pavel – Grischuk, Alexander
                      A29 English, Bremen

                      1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Bc5 7.O-O O-O 8.d3 Bb6 9.Na4 Re8 10.Bg5 Qd6 11.Nd2 Qg6 12.Ne4 Bg4 13.h3 Be6 14.Bd2 Rad8 15.Kh2 Kh8 16.a3 f5 17.Nec5 Bc8 18.b4 e4 19.e3 Bxc5 20.Nxc5 b6 21.Nb3 Ba6 22.Nc1 Ne5 23.Qa4 Bxd3 24.Nxd3 Nxd3 25.b5 h5 26.Qc2 Qd6 27.h4 Qe5 28.Kg1 Re6 29.a4 Kh7 30.Ra3 Rdd6 31.a5 c5 32.bxc6 Rxc6 33.Qd1 Nf6 34.axb6 axb6 35.Qb1 Red6 36.Rb3 Ng4 37.Bb4 Rd5 38.Be1 Rc1 0-1

                      Round Five, July 10, 2017
                      Inarkiev, Ernesto – Saleh, Salem
                      B90 Sicilian, Najdorf

                      1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.f3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.Be3 h5 9.Qd2 Nbd7 10.Nd5 Nxd5 11.exd5 Bf5 12.Be2 Rc8 13.c4 Qh4+ 14.g3 Qf6 15.Na5 Rc7 16.O-O-O Be7 17.Rhf1 Qg6 18.b3 O-O 19.h4 Qxg3 20.Rg1 Qxh4 21.Rh1 Qf6 22.Rxh5 Bg6 23.Rh2 Qf5 24.Kb2 Nf6 25.Rdh1 Nh7 26.Bd1 Bf6 27.Bc2 e4+ 28.Ka3 Qxf3 29.Bd1 Qg3 30.Rh3 Qe5 31.Bf4 Qf5 32.Qh2 Rd8 33.Bh5 b6 34.Bxg6 fxg6 35.Rxh7 Kf7 36.Bh6 Rg8 37.Qg2 bxa5 38.Rf1 Qe5 39.Bg5 Qf5 40.Bxf6 Kxf6 41.Rhh1 Re7 42.Rhg1 Ke5 43.Qg3+ 1-0

                      Round Five, July 10, 2017
                      Yifan, Hou – Rapport, Richard
                      C55 Two Knights Defence (Modern Bishop’s Opening)

                      1.e4 Nc6 2.Nf3 e5 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 h6 5.O-O d6 6.c3 g6 7.Re1 Bg7 8.h3 O-O 9.d4 Nd7 10.Na3 Nb6 11.Bb5 Bd7 12.Be3 Kh7 13.dxe5 dxe5 14.Nc4 Qe7 15.a4 Rad8 16.Qe2 Nxc4 17.Qxc4 Qf6 18.Bxc6 Qxc6 19.Qxc6 Bxc6 20.Bxa7 Rg8 21.a5 f5 22.exf5 gxf5 23.Red1 Ra8 24.Be3 f4 25.Bd2 Bf6 26.Ne1 Rg7 27.c4 Rag8 28.Kf1 Bxg2+ 29.Nxg2 f3 30.Be3 e4 31.Ra3 Be5 32.Rb3 c6 33.Bd4 fxg2+ 34.Kg1 Rd8 35.Rbd3 Rgd7 36.Bxe5 Rxd3 37.Re1 Rg8 38.h4 Rh3 39.Bh2 Rxh4 40.Rd1 Rg7 41.b4 e3 42.fxe3 Rxc4 43.Be5 Rgg4 44.Bd6 h5 0-1

                      ________

                      A good interview of Grischuk by Anna Burtasova. Did he play a reverse Dragon?

                      Eljanov and Jakovenko are going swimming in the lake tomorrow (free day) – will Sasha go too?

                      Alexander – I can swim but it reminds me of one year at Wijk aan Zee. The water is always very cold there. I was walking towards the ocean and Vishy Anand came out and said, “Sasha, you too?” What he meant was Ponomariov had gone in and he thought I was going to as well.

                      Anna explains that January 19 is the day when the faithful Christians in Russia celebrate Epiphany. This spiritual festival is dedicated to the great biblical event, the Baptism of Jesus Christ in the waters of the Jordan River. These days in Russia are famous for a wonderful tradition - Epiphany bathing. According to the Bible any water on this day is considered to be healing and miraculous. The best way to get healthier in body and spirit is to bathe in the baptismal rite font immediately after the festive worship service. It must be mentioned that Epiphany bathing today is very popular among Russians, despite the icy water in the freezing cold!

                      Sasha is asked what he thinks about Kasparov becoming an active player again. He says that he will watch the contest with interest but he will be sad too because he tells many young players today that they won’t truly know the game because they never played Kasparov but soon they will get a chance to and he can’t say that any more.

                      I just checked and Grischuk played Kasparov 11 times and the score was Kasparov 8.5 Grischuk 2.5
                      Last edited by Wayne Komer; Wednesday, 12th July, 2017, 11:21 PM.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

                        The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

                        July 12, 2017

                        Round Six

                        Interview with the joint leaders – Radjabov and Grischuk by Anna Burtasova.

                        AB – Now you are sharing first place with three rounds to go – Harikrishna won too. Do you feel you need to play solidly in the remaining games or will you have to score one more win?

                        AG – You just have to fight. Chess is quite a senseless activity in itself. You have to justify what you do by giving it all you can and by fighting to the end and then there is some sense in what you are doing.

                        AB – Does the sense come from the joy you give the spectators?

                        AG – It comes from the feelings of self; that you are trying to achieve the most you can and fighting to the end. No, not for the spectators.

                        TR – It is part of the qualification cycle – that is the reward. In the Amber tournaments you could sacrifice five pieces in a game because there was no consequence, but not here.

                        AG – Here there are no spectators and I cannot think about things that don’t exist.

                        AB - But there are spectators on-line and people play over your games afterwards and learn things from them.

                        Decisive Games (in the main!)

                        Round 6, July 12, 2017
                        Grischuk, Alexander – Radjabov, Teimour
                        B31 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

                        1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6 bxc6 5.O-O Bg7 6.Re1 Nh6 7.c3 O-O 8.h3 f5 9.e5 Nf7 10.d3 d6 11.Bf4 Ba6 12.Nbd2 Qb8 13.exd6 exd6 14.Qc2 Qd8 15.h4 Qd7 16.Nc4 Rfe8 17.Rad1 Bxc4 18.dxc4 Rxe1+ 19.Rxe1 Re8 20.Rd1 Re4 21.g3 Qe6 22.Qa4 Qd7 23.Qc2 Qe6 24.Qa4 Qd7 25.Kg2 Bf8 26.Nd2 Re2 27.Qc2 Bh6 28.Qd3 Qe7 29.Kf1 Re6 30.Bxh6 Nxh6 31.Nf3 Nf7 32.b4 Kg7 33.a4 Qf6 34.Kg2 f4 35.g4 h6 36.b5 cxb5 37.cxb5 Re7 38.c4 Qe6 39.Nh2 Qf6 40.Nf3 Qe6 41.Nh2 Qf6 1/2-1/2

                        Round 6, July 12, 2017
                        Aronian, Levon – Harikrishna, Pentala
                        A29 English, Bremen

                        1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nb6 7.O-O Be7 8.d3 O-O 9.Be3 Be6 10.Rc1 f5 11.a3 Kh8 12.b4 a6 13.Re1 Qe8 14.Qd2 Bd6 15.Bxb6 cxb6 16.d4 exd4 17.Nxd4 Rd8 18.Nxe6 Qxe6 19.Qa2 Qh6 20.f4 a5 21.b5 Bc5+ 22.e3 Ne5 23.Rcd1 Ng4 24.h3 Nxe3 25.Rxd8 Rxd8 26.Kh2 g5 27.fxg5 Qxg5 28.Qe6 f4 29.Ne4 Qg7 30.g4 Nc2 31.Rf1 Nd4 32.Qf6 Qxf6 33.Nxf6 Bxa3 34.Bxb7 Bd6 35.h4 a4 36.g5 a3 37.Kh3 Be5 38.Kg4 Nc2 0-1

                        Round 6, July 12, 2017
                        Svidler, Peter – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
                        A14 English, Neo-Catalan declined

                        1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.b3 b6 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.d4 Bb7 9.Re1 c5 10.e4 Nf6 11.Nc3 Nc6 12.d5 exd5 13.e5 Ne8 14.Nxd5 Nc7 15.Nxe7+ Qxe7 16.Nh4 Qe6 17.Bg5 h6 18.Bf6 gxf6 19.Qh5 fxe5 20.Nf5 Qg6 21.Qxg6+ fxg6 22.Bxc6 gxf5 23.Bxb7 Rae8 24.Rad1 Kg7 25.Bc6 Re7 26.h3 Kf6 27.Rd6+ Re6 28.Red1 e4 29.a4 Rf7 30.f4 exf3 31.Bxf3 Re7 32.Kf2 Rxd6 33.Rxd6+ Kg7 34.Be2 Ne6 35.h4 f4 36.g4 Nd4 37.Bc4 Re3 38.Rd7+ Kg6 39.Rd6+ Kg7 40.Rd7+ Kg6 41.Rd6+ 1/2-1/2

                        Round 6, July 12, 2017
                        Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Inarkiev, Ernesto
                        C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed

                        1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 d6 7.c3 O-O 8.h3 Re8 9.Re1 Bf8 10.Nbd2 b5 11.Bc2 h6 12.a4 b4 13.a5 Rb8 14.Nc4 g6 15.Bd2 bxc3 16.bxc3 Bg7 17.d4 exd4 18.cxd4 Nb4 19.Bb1 d5 20.Nce5 Re6 21.exd5 Nfxd5 22.Qc1 Qf8 23.Be4 Rb5 24.Rb1 c6 25.Qc4 Qd6 26.Rb3 Bf8 27.h4 c5 28.h5 g5 29.Bf5 Ne7 30.dxc5 Rxc5 31.Bxb4 Nxf5 32.Bxc5 Qxc5 33.Qxc5 Bxc5 34.Rc3 1-0

                        Round 6, July 12, 2017
                        Chao, Li – Eljanov, Pavel
                        E12 Queen’s Indian Accelerated, Petrofina System

                        1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3 Bb7 5.Nc3 d5 6.Qc2 dxc4 7.e4 c5 8.Bf4 a6 9.Bxc4 b5 10.Bb3 cxd4 11.Rd1 Qb6 12.Nxd4 Bc5 13.Nf3 Nbd7 14.O-O Rc8 15.Qe2 Qc6 16.Bd5 Qb6 17.Bxb7 Qxb7 18.e5 Ng4 19.Ne4 Be7 20.Nd6+ Bxd6 21.Rxd6 Nc5 22.Nd2 h5 23.b4 Na4 24.Ne4 O-O 25.h3 Rc4 26.Re1 f5 27.exf6 Nxf6 28.Nxf6+ Rxf6 29.Rd8+ Rf8 30.Qxe6+ Qf7 31.Rxf8+ Kxf8 32.Qd6+ Kg8 33.g3 Nc3 34.Re7 Qf5 35.Be5 1-0

                        Round 6, July 12, 2017
                        Rapport, Richard – Riazantsev, Alexander
                        A01 Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack, Modern Variation

                        1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Bb5 Bd6 5.Ne2 a6 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.d3 Qe7 8.Nd2 Be6 9.a4 O-O-O 10.a5 h5 11.Ra4 h4 12.h3 Nd7 13.Qa1 Nc5 14.Ra2 Rh5 15.Bc3 Rg5 16.Rg1 f6 17.Rb2 Qf7 18.b4 Nd7 19.Ne4 Rg6 20.Qa3 Qf8 21.Nc5 Nxc5 22.bxc5 Bxc5 23.Bb4 Bxb4+ 24.Rxb4 c5 25.Rxh4 f5 26.Rh5 Kb8 27.g4 fxg4 28.Rxe5 Qf6 29.Qxc5 gxh3 30.Rxg6 Qxg6 31.Qe7 Re8 32.Qh4 Bc8 33.Qh5 Qxh5 34.Rxh5 g6 35.Rg5 h2 36.Ng3 Rh8 37.Nh1 Rh5 38.Rg2 Rxa5 39.Kd2 Rh5 40.Rxg6 a5 41.Kc1 Rh4 42.f3 Rh3 43.Rf6 c5 44.Kb2 Kc7 45.e4 Bd7 46.Rf7 Kd8 47.f4 c4 48.d4 c3+ 49.Ka3 b5 50.f5 Re3 51.Rh7 Rxe4 52.Rxh2 b4+ 53.Kb3 Rxd4 54.Ng3 Bc6 55.Ne2 a4+ 56.Ka2 Bd5+ 57.Kb1 Rd1+ 58.Nc1 a3 0-1

                        Round 6, July 12, 2017
                        Saleh, Salem – Yifan, Hou
                        C53 Giuoco Piano

                        1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 O-O 6.Bg5 Be7 7.a4 d6 8.Nbd2 h6 9.Bxf6 Bxf6 10.Nf1 Ne7 11.Ne3 c6 12.Qb3 Rb8 13.Qa2 Ng6 14.Rd1 Bg5 15.O-O Bxe3 16.fxe3 Qe7 17.d4 Kh8 18.Qa3 Bg4 19.Ba2 Rbd8 20.h3 Bxf3 21.Rxf3 f5 22.dxe5 Qxe5 23.Qb4 f4 24.Qd4 Qg5 25.exf4 Nxf4 26.Qd2 Rf6 27.Kh2 Rdf8 28.Rg3 Qe5 29.Qd4 Qh5 30.Qd2 Ne2 31.Rf3 Rxf3 0-1

                        Round Six Results

                        Grischuk-Radjabov 0.5-0.5
                        Aronian-Harikrishna 0-1
                        Svidler-Mamedyarov 0.5-0.5
                        Jakovenko-Giri 0.5-0.5
                        Nepo-Inarkiev 1-0
                        Li Chao-Eljanov 1-0
                        Gelfand-Adams 0.5-0.5
                        Rapport-Riazantsev 0-1
                        Salem-Hou Yifan 0-1

                        Standing after Round Six

                        1-3 Grischuk, Harikrishna, Radjabov 4.0
                        4-7 Mamedyarov, Svidler, Nepo, Li Chao 3.5
                        8-13 Aronian, Giri, Adams, Gelfand, Jakovenko, Riazantsev 3.0
                        14-15 Eljanov, Inarkiev 2.5
                        16 Hou Yifan 2.0
                        17-18 Rapport, Salem 1.5

                        Round Seven Pairings

                        1. Harikrishna-Grischuk
                        2. Radjabov-Svidler
                        3. Mamedyarov-Nepomniachtchi
                        4. Riazantsev-Li Chao
                        5. Giri-Aronian
                        6. Adams-Jakovenko
                        7. Hou Yifan-Gelfand
                        8. Eljanov-Salem
                        9. Inarkiev-Rapport
                        Last edited by Wayne Komer; Wednesday, 12th July, 2017, 11:22 PM.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

                          Hou Yifan finally won a game. Nice.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

                            The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

                            July 13, 2017

                            Round Seven

                            You can be sure that the last game to end will have Alexander Riazantsev as one of the players.

                            Who is he?

                            Peter Doggers in an article on the Russian Superfinal, Oct. 2016 wrote:

                            GMs Alexander Riazantsev and Alexandra Kosteniuk are the winners of this year's Russian Championship Superfinal. Kosteniuk claimed the women's title with a round to spare; Riazantsev decided matters today. Both won a Renault Kaptur.

                            Riazantsev scored the best performance of his career with his final-round victory in Novosibirsk. The 31-year-old grandmaster won the World U12 Championship back in 1997 and the Moscow Championship in 2006. As a player in the SHSM-64 team from Moscow, he won the Russian Team Championship twice.

                            He is one of the national coaches in Russia, and as a result, he finds little time to play serious chess himself.

                            https://www.chess.com/news/view/riaz...and-a-car-8379

                            An interview after winning the Superfinal:

                            Riazantsev is one of the pupils of the late and great Mark Dvoretsky. Here's his first interview after winning the championship, taken by Sport-Express.

                            How do you feel now?

                            I'll be honest: I wanted a good performance, but I didn't expect to win the tournament. Of course I'm glad: it's the greatest success of my career.

                            You've been playing very little lately, even though you used to be 2726 - that's a supergrandmaster rating.

                            In 2010, I was asked to help the Russia-2 women's team at the Khanty-Mansiysk Olympiad. That's how my coaching career began. I like this job. I've worked with many famous players. For instance, at the last Tal Memorial, I was Vladimir Kramnik's second.

                            When was your last round-robin tournament?

                            Can't remember. Probably Poikovsky, six years ago.

                            Sounds scary.

                            Yes. I decided to play in the Higher League, qualified for the Superfinal, and now I've won gold. You wouldn't believe, but I've been playing only rapid and blitz for a year before that.

                            One of the Superfinal's prizes is a Renault car from the Russian Chess Federation's sponsor, Renault Russia. Do you already know what are you going to do with this prize?

                            On Friday, in the Central Chess Club on Gogolevsky blvd. 14 in Moscow, I'll get the keys. After that, I'll decide what I'm going to do. And now, please let me go to the award presentation.
                            _________

                            Teimour Radjabov beat Peter Svidler in a game in which he always had the upper hand. He is now the sole leader.

                            He analyzed his games, trying to improve his time management. This was at the World Rapid and Blitz in Qatar (December 2016). He started to notice improvement in the last half of Shamkir (Gashimov Memorial). He had a good showing in the Moscow Grand Prix and now he is leading at Geneva. He said, “In chess you don’t get rewarded for good moves, you get rewarded for winning”.

                            Today’s game ends with a nice rook move, which wins.

                            Games from Round Seven

                            The Geneva Grand Prix 2017
                            Round 7, July 13, 2017
                            Radjabov, Teimour – Svidler, Peter
                            A34 English, symmetrical, Three Knights System

                            1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Qxd1+ 7.Kxd1 Bf5 8.Nd2 Nc6 9.e4 Be6 10.Kc2 g6 11.Bc4 Bd7 12.Nb3 b6 13.a4 Ne5 14.Bb5 a6 15.Bxd7+ Nxd7 16.Be3 e6 17.Rhd1 O-O-O 18.Nd2 Be7 19.Nc4 Kb7 20.a5 Rhf8 21.axb6 Nxb6 22.Na5+ Kc7 23.Bf4+ Bd6 24.Bh6 Rfe8 25.Nb3 Ra8 26.Be3 Nd7 27.Ra5 Kc6 28.Rda1 Kb6 29.R5a4 Rec8 30.Na5 Be7 31.Rb4+ 1-0

                            Round 7, July 13, 2017
                            Eljanov, Pavel – Salem, Saleh
                            A78 Benoni, Classical

                            1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 c5 4.d5 d6 5.Nc3 exd5 6.cxd5 g6 7.Nd2 Bg7 8.e4 O-O 9.Be2 Re8 10.O-O Na6 11.Kh1 Nc7 12.f3 Nd7 13.a4 b6 14.Nc4 Ne5 15.Bf4 Nxc4 16.Bxc4 a6 17.Qe1 h5 18.h4 Rb8 19.Qg3 Bf8 20.Rfe1 b5 21.e5 dxe5 22.Rxe5 Rb6 23.Rg5 bxc4 24.Bxc7 Qf6 25.Ne4 Rxe4 26.fxe4 Rb3 27.Be5 Rxg3 28.Bxf6 Re3 29.Re5 Bd7 30.d6 Rd3 31.Rd5 Rxd5 32.exd5 Bxd6 33.a5 Kf8 34.Rc1 Bb5 35.Re1 Ba4 36.Kg1 Bd7 37.Kf2 Bc8 38.Be5 Ke7 39.Bxd6+ Kxd6 40.Re8 Bb7 41.Ke3 Kd7 42.Rf8 Bxd5 43.g3 c3 44.bxc3 Bc4 45.Rb8 Kd6 46.Ke4 1-0

                            Round 7, July 13, 2017
                            Riazantsev, Alexander – Chao, Li
                            D94 Grunfeld, main line

                            1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 d5 4.e3 g6 5.Nf3 Bg7 6.Be2 O-O 7.O-O dxc4 8.Bxc4 Bg4 9.h3 Bxf3 10.Qxf3 Nbd7 11.Rd1 e5 12.d5 e4 13.Nxe4 Nxe4 14.Qxe4 Nb6 15.Rb1 Qd6 16.Bb3 cxd5 17.Qd3 a5 18.a3 Qe6 19.Bd2 Rfc8 20.Be1 Rc5 21.Ba2 Nc4 22.b4 axb4 23.Bxb4 Rcc8 24.Bb3 b5 25.Qxd5 Qxd5 26.Rxd5 Nxa3 27.Bxa3 Rxa3 28.Rd7 Rf8 29.Rb7 Bc3 30.g4 b4 31.h4 h6 32.g5 hxg5 33.hxg5 Ra5 34.f4 Bd2 35.Kf2 Rc5 36.Rd1 Rc3 37.Bxf7+ Rxf7 38.Rb8+ Kg7 39.Rxd2 Re7 40.Re2 b3 41.Rb4 Rd7 42.Kf3 Re7 43.Re1 Rd7 44.Re2 Re7 45.Rb6 Kf7 46.Kf2 Kg7 47.e4 Rf7 48.Re3 Rxf4+ 49.Kg3 Rxe3+ 50.Kxf4 Rc3 51.Rb7+ Kg8 52.Rb5 Kf7 53.Ke5 Ke7 54.Rb7+ Kd8 55.Kd6 Kc8 56.Rb4 Rd3+ 57.Ke6 Kc7 58.e5 Rf3 59.Ke7 Kc6 60.e6 Kd5 61.Kd7 Rd3 62.Rb7 Ke5+ 63.Ke7 Kd5 64.Rd7+ Ke4 65.Rxd3 Kxd3 66.Kf6 b2 67.e7 b1=Q 68.e8=Q Kd4 69.Qxg6 Qb8 70.Qg7 Ke4 71.Qh7+ Kf3 72.Qf5+ Kg2 73.Qd5+ Kh3 74.g6 Qf8+ 75.Kg5 Qe7+ 76.Kh6 Qe3+ 77.Kh7 Qe7+ 78.g7 Qh4+ 79.Kg6 Qg3+ 80.Kf6 Qh4+ 81.Kf7 Qf4+ 82.Ke7 Qh4+ 83.Ke8 Qe1+ 84.Kd7 1-0

                            Round Seven Results

                            Harikrishna-Grischuk 0.5-0.5
                            Radjabov-Svidler 1-0
                            Mamedyarov-Nepo 0.5-0.5
                            Riazantsev-Li Chao 1-0
                            Giri-Aronian 0.5-0.5
                            Adams-Jakovenko 0.5-0.5
                            Hou Yifan-Gelfand 0.5-0.5
                            Eljanov-Salem 1-0
                            Inarkiev-Rapport 0.5-0.5

                            Standing after Round Seven

                            1 Radjabov 5.0
                            2-3 Grischuk, Harikrishna 4.5
                            4-6 Mamedyarov, Nepo, Riaantsev 4.0
                            7-14 Aronian, Giri, Svidler, Eljanov, Adams, Li Chao, Gelfand, Jakovenko 3.5
                            15 Inarkiev 3.0
                            16 Hou Yifan 2.5
                            17 Rapport 2.0
                            18 Salem 1.5

                            Round Eight Pairings

                            1. Radjabov-Riazantsev
                            2. Grischuk-Mamedyarov
                            3. Li Chao-Harikrishna
                            4. Nepo-Aronian
                            5. Gelfand-Eljanov
                            6. Jakovenko-Inarkiev
                            7. Hou Yifan-Giri
                            8. Rapport-Adams
                            9. Salem-Svidler

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

                              The Geneva Grand Prix 2017

                              July 14, 2017

                              Daniil Dubov joins Miro as commentator today. As a fresh voice, he adds to the quality of the commentating.

                              Nepo won against Levon Aronian. Levon was clearly playing for a win with black to keep his standing in the Grand Prix series. It was Nepo’s birthday and he was in a peaceful mood but Aronian pressed.

                              On move 24 Levon should have taken the bishop on g2 but went for the rook on f1 and soon Nepo harvested the point.
                              He said that he always seems to be playing chess on his birthday. He has gone from the World Teams to Leuven to Geneva – a month of continuous chess, so he will go back to Moscow after tomorrow and celebrate his birthday there and then. He just turned 27.

                              Mickey Adams had a game with Richard Rapport where he was said to play like Rapport. If Richard was playing like Mickey Adams and Adams won, then we appear to be in the middle of a logical fallacy.

                              Anish Giri always had the better game against Hou Yifan and against stubborn resistance he finally got the point.

                              Salem had an advantage over Svidler, a piece for three pawns, but could not win.

                              Today’s games:

                              Geneva Grand Prix 2017
                              Round Eight, July 14, 2017
                              Grischuk, Alexander – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
                              C95 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Breyer, Borisenko variation

                              1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.h3 Nb8 10.d4 Nbd7 11.Nbd2 Bb7 12.Bc2 Re8 13.Nf1 Bf8 14.Ng3 g6 15.a4 c6 16.Bg5 h6 17.Be3 Qc7 18.Bd3 Bg7 19.Qc1 Kh7 20.b4 Rac8 21.Qd2 exd4 22.cxd4 Nb6 23.axb5 cxb5 24.d5 Nfd7 25.Bd4 Ne5 26.Nxe5 dxe5 27.Rac1 Qd6 28.Bc5 Qf6 29.Nf1 Nd7 30.Rc2 Rc7 31.Qe3 Rec8 32.Nd2 Qf4 33.d6 Nxc5 34.dxc7 Qxe3 35.Rxe3 Ne6 36.Nb3 Bf8 37.Be2 Bxb4 38.Bg4 Rxc7 39.Rxc7 Nxc7 40.Rd3 Ne8 41.Rd7 Nd6 42.f4 Bc8 43.Rc7 Bxg4 44.hxg4 Kg8 45.fxe5 Nxe4 46.Rc8+ Kg7 47.Ra8 Bc3 48.Kf1 Bxe5 49.Ke2 Kf6 50.Rxa6+ Kg5 51.Kf3 Nf6 52.Ra7 Nxg4 53.Rxf7 Bc3 54.Rb7 Ne5+ 55.Ke4 b4 56.Nd4 Nc4 57.Kd3 Ne5+ 58.Ke4 Nc4 59.Kd3 1/2-1/2

                              Round 8, July 14, 2017
                              Chao, Li – Harikrishna, Pentala
                              D30 QGD, Vienna variation

                              1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Bg5 Bb4+ 5.Nc3 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.e3 O-O 8.Qb3 c5 9.cxd5 exd5 10.dxc5 Bxc3+ 11.Qxc3 Qxc3+ 12.bxc3 Nd7 13.Rd1 Nxc5 14.Rxd5 b6 15.Rd4 Ne6 16.Rd6 Bb7 17.Nd4 Nxd4 18.Rxd4 Rac8 19.Kd2 Rc5 20.Rg1 Rfc8 21.Bd3 Kf8 22.Rd7 Bd5 23.Rxa7 Rxc3 24.e4 Be6 25.Rb1 R3c7 26.Rxc7 Rxc7 27.a4 Bd7 28.Bc2 Rc6 29.f4 Ke7 30.Rb4 h5 31.g3 Kd8 32.Bb3 f6 33.h4 Kc7 34.Kd3 f5 35.e5 Rg6 36.Kd4 Rxg3 37.e6 Be8 38.Ke5 Rc3 39.Kxf5 Rc5+ 40.Ke4 Bc6+ 41.Kd3 Rc1 42.Bc2 g6 43.Kd2 Rg1 44.e7 Be8 45.Re4 Rg2+ 46.Kc3 Rg3+ 47.Bd3 Kd6 48.Kd4 Bxa4 49.e8=Q Bxe8 50.Rxe8 Rg4 51.Ke3 Rg3+ 52.Ke2 Kd5 53.Rg8 Rg4 54.Kf3 Rxh4 55.Be4+ Kd4 56.Rd8+ Kc3 57.Bxg6 Rh1 58.f5 Rf1+ 59.Ke2 Rf4 60.Rd3+ 1-0

                              Round 8, July 14, 2017
                              Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Aronian, Levon
                              A29 English, Bremen

                              1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nb6 7.O-O Be7 8.a3 a5 9.d3 O-O 10.Be3 Be6 11.Rc1 a4 12.Nd2 f5 13.Bxb6 cxb6 14.Nxa4 Bg5 15.Nc3 e4 16.Rb1 Ne5 17.Nb3 Ng4 18.Qc2 Be3 19.dxe4 Qg5 20.fxe3 Qxe3+ 21.Kh1 Qh6 22.h3 Ne3 23.Qd2 f4 24.gxf4 Nxf1 25.Rxf1 Bxb3 26.e5 Rae8 27.Ne4 Kh8 28.Kh2 Bg8 29.e3 Re6 30.Nd6 Qh4 31.Qd4 Rg6 32.Rf3 Qe1 33.f5 Rg5 34.h4 Rh5 35.Rg3 Be6 36.fxe6 1-0

                              Round 8, July 14, 2017
                              Yifan, Hou – Giri, Anish
                              B84 Sicilian, Scheveningen

                              1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e6 7.O-O Be7 8.f4 O-O 9.Kh1 Qc7 10.Qe1 Nc6 11.Be3 Nxd4 12.Bxd4 b5 13.Qg3 Bb7 14.a3 Rad8 15.Rae1 Bc6 16.Bd3 Qd7 17.Rf3 e5 18.fxe5 Nh5 19.Qh3 Qxh3 20.Rxh3 Nf4 21.Rf3 Nxd3 22.cxd3 dxe5 23.Bxe5 b4 24.axb4 Bxb4 25.Rc1 Rc8 26.h3 f6 27.Bg3 Rfd8 28.Bf2 Bb7 29.Kh2 f5 30.Ra1 fxe4 31.dxe4 Rd2 32.Nd5 Bf8 33.b4 h6 34.Bc5 Bxc5 35.bxc5 Rxc5 36.Rb3 Bxd5 37.exd5 a5 38.d6 Rxd6 39.Rb8+ Kf7 40.Ra8 Rdd5 41.Ra7+ Kg6 42.Ra3 Rh5 43.Ra4 Rb5 44.h4 Rb4 45.R4xa5 Rhxh4+ 46.Kg3 Kh7 47.Ra3 h5 48.Rf7 Rh1 49.Re3 h4+ 50.Kf2 Rbb1 51.Ree7 Rhf1+ 52.Ke2 Rbe1+ 53.Kd3 Rxf7 54.Rxf7 Kh6 55.Kd2 Re6 56.Rf4 Kh5 57.Rf7 Rg6 58.Rf2 Kg4 59.Ke1 Re6+ 60.Kf1 Rf6 61.Rxf6 gxf6 62.Kf2 Kf4 63.Kg1 Kg3 64.Kf1 h3 65.Kg1 Kg4 66.gxh3+ Kxh3 67.Kf2 Kg4 68.Kg2 Kf4 0-1

                              Round 8, July 14, 2017
                              Rapport, Richard – Adams, Michael
                              A07 Reti, King’s Indian Attack

                              1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 e6 4.O-O Be7 5.d3 O-O 6.Nbd2 a5 7.e4 a4 8.c3 Nc6 9.e5 Nd7 10.d4 f6 11.exf6 Bxf6 12.Ne1 Nb6 13.f4 a3 14.Ndf3 axb2 15.Bxb2 Na5 16.Nd3 Nac4 17.Bc1 Na4 18.Qc2 Bd7 19.Rb1 b5 20.h4 Be8 21.Bh3 Qd7 22.Re1 Ra6 23.f5 exf5 24.Nb4 Rd6 25.Qd3 g6 26.Bf4 Rb6 27.Bh6 Bg7 28.Bxg7 Kxg7 29.Ne5 Qd8 30.Bg2 Rd6 31.Re2 f4 32.Rf1 c6 33.h5 Qg5 34.gxf4 Qxh5 35.Ref2 Rdf6 36.Qg3 Nd6 37.Bf3 Nf5 38.Qg5 Qh4 39.Rh2 Qg3+ 40.Rg2 Qxg5 41.fxg5 Re6 42.Rc1 Nh4 43.Bg4 Rxe5 44.dxe5 Nxg2 45.Kxg2 Rf4 46.Bc8 Re4 47.e6 Nb6 48.Bb7 Rxe6 49.Kf2 Na4 50.Re1 Rxe1 51.Kxe1 Nxc3 52.Nxc6 Nxa2 53.Kd2 b4 0-1

                              Round 8, July 14, 2017
                              Saleh, Salem – Svidler, Peter
                              C40 QGD, Semi-Tarrasch, symmetrical variation

                              1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.e3 e6 5.d4 d5 6.a3 cxd4 7.exd4 Be7 8.Bd3 dxc4 9.Bxc4 O-O 10.O-O Nd5 11.Re1 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Bf6 13.Bd3 Bd7 14.Rb1 b6 15.Rb5 g6 16.Bh6 Re8 17.Qd2 Ne7 18.Rbe5 Bc6 19.Bg5 Bg7 20.R5e3 h6 21.Bh4 Bxf3 22.Rxf3 Qd6 23.Bg3 Qxa3 24.Be5 Nd5 25.Bxg7 Kxg7 26.c4 Qb4 27.Qe2 Rad8 28.cxd5 Rxd5 29.Rc1 Qd6 30.g3 Rxd4 31.Rc3 Re7 32.Qc2 Qd5 33.Re3 Rd7 34.Be4 Qb5 35.Bd3 Qd5 36.Qe2 a5 37.h4 h5 38.Be4 Qd6 39.Kg2 Rc7 40.Rxc7 Qxc7 41.Qb2 Qc5 42.Bf3 1/2-1/2

                              Round Eight Results

                              Radjabov-Riazantsev 0.5-0.5
                              Grischuk-Mamedyarov 0.5-0.5
                              Li Chao-Harikrishna 1-0
                              Nepo-Aronian 1-0
                              Gelfand-Eljanov 0.5-0.5
                              Jakovenko-Inarkiev 0.5-0.5
                              Hou Yifan-Giri 0-1
                              Rapport-Adams 0-1
                              Salem-Svidler 0.5-0.5

                              Standings after Round Eight

                              1 Radjabov 5.5
                              2-3 Grischuk, Nepo 5.0
                              4-9 Mamedyarov, Giri, Harikrishna, Adams, Li Chao, Riazantsev 4.5
                              10-13 Svidler, Eljanov, Gelfand, Jakovenko 4.0
                              14-15 Aronian, Inarkiev 3.5
                              16 Hou Yifan 2.5
                              17-18 Rapport, Salem 2.0

                              Final Round Pairings

                              1. Nepomniachtchi-Radjabov
                              2. Giri-Grischuk
                              3. Mamedyarov-Li Chao
                              4. Riazantsev-Adams
                              5. Harikrishna-Jakovenko
                              6. Inarkiev-Gelfand
                              7. Svidler-Hou Yifan
                              8. Eljanov-Rapport
                              9. Aronian-Salem

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