Bronstein Memorial 2014

**Wayne Komer** · Monday, 17th February, 2014, 03:00 PM

Re: Bronstein Memorial 2014

Bronstein Memorial 2014

Minsk
Round Seven
February 17, 2014

The premier game was supposed to be between the two leaders Jobava and Dubov. Jobava tried out a risky opening, as usual, Dubov stood better. Jobava complicated things, Dubov ran short of time and the higher-rated player won.

David Bronstein Memorial 2014
Round Seven
February 17, 2014
Jobava, Baadur-Dubov, Daniil
A01 Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack, Modern Variation

1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 Nc6 3. e3 g6 4. h4 h5 5. Nf3 Bg7 6. c4 d6 7. d3 Nge7 8. Nbd2 a5 9. a3 O-O 10. Qc2 Rb8 11. Be2 Bg4 12. Ne4 Qd7 13. O-O-O b5 14. cxb5 Rxb5 15. d4 Rb6 16. Nc5 Qf5 17. Bd3 Qc8 18. Na4 Rb8 19. d5 Na7 20. Bc4 c6 21. dxc6 Qxc6 22. e4 Nb5 23. Kb1 Rfc8 24. Ka2 Be6 25. Rc1 Bh6 26. Ng5 Bxc4 27. Qxc4 Qe8 28. Qd3 f6 29. f4 fxg5 30. hxg5 Bf8 31. fxe5 dxe5 32. Bxe5 Rxc1 33. Rxc1 Rc8 34. Nc5 Nc6 35. Nd7 Nxe5 36. Qd5 Qf7 37. Qxf7 1-0

Three of the matchups for the next round are:

Tiviakov (5.5) (2639)-Jobava (6) (2706)

Dubov (5.5) (2614)-Shimanov (5.5) (2658)

Akopian (5) (2682)-Oleksienko (5) (2630)

You may remember Sergei Tiviakov doing the commentary and interviews at the Paris Grand Prix last October and irritating the hell out of all the grandmasters. Will he exude enough confidence to intimidate Jobava in Round Eight tomorrow?

Daniil Dubov was born in Russia in 1996 and recently (December 2013) played an exhibition match with Alexei Shirov.

Of the match, Peter Doggers said:

In an exhibition match held in Moscow, Russia, the Latvian grandmaster Alexei Shirov outclassed the Russian talent Daniil Dubov: 5-1. Shirov won four games while the first and the last were drawn. In what was a very exciting match, Shirov clearly felt more at home in several highly complicated middlegame positions. The match between 41-year-old Alexei Shirov and 17-year-old Daniil Dubov was an idea of and sponsored by Russian businessman Oleg Skvortsov.
. . . .

A fine first day for the match! It was clear that the chess fans were in for a treat, and indeed in the subsequent classical games sharp openings and wild complications came on the board. Somehow Dubov didn't seem fully ready yet for the fire-on-board kind of chess Shirov likes to play, as the Latvian GM won four games in a row. But credits should also go to Dubov for not avoiding these complications; this way the match must have been a very instructive experience.

The other contenders are Aleksandr Shimanov, b. 1992 Russia; Vladimir Akopian b. 1971 Armenia and Mikhailo Oleksienko b. 1986 Ukraine.

**Wayne Komer** · Tuesday, 18th February, 2014, 05:23 PM

Re: Bronstein Memorial 2014

Bronstein Memorial 2014

Minsk
Round Eight
February 18, 2014

Results on the top boards:

Tiviakov (5.5)-Jobava (6) 0.5-0.5
Dubov (5.5) – Shimanov (5.5) 0.5-0.5
Akopian (5)-Oleksienko (5.5) 0.5-0.5
Kovalenko (5)-Sargissian (5) 0.5-0.5
Grachev (5)-Fedorchuk (5) 0-1
Korneev (5)-Zhigalko S. (5) 0.5-0.5

Standings after Round Eight

Jobava 6.5
Dubov 6
Oleksienko 6
Tiviakov 6
Shimanov 6
Fedorchuk 6

Ninth (Final) Round Matchups

Jobava-Shimanov
Fedorchuk-Dubov
Oleksienko-Tiviakov
Fier-Akopian
Sargissian-Zherebukh
Zhigalko S-Ponkratov

First prize is 10,000 USD and perhaps that made Tiviakov and Jobava cautious in their game today. But Jovava is a deep-dyed-coffee-house-type chess player and you would have expected more than this:

David Bronstein Memorial 2013
Round Eight
February 18, 2014
Tiviakov, Sergei-Jobava, Baadur
B17 Caro-Kann, Petrosian-Smyslov Variation

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Ng3 c5 7. dxc5 e6 8. c6 bxc6 9. Be2 Be7 10. Nd2 Qc7 11. Nc4 h5 12. h4 Ba6 13. c3 Rd8 14. Qc2 Bxc4 15. Bxc4 ½-½

There are 148 participants in the nine-round Swiss. Two of them are Georgian WGM Nino Maisuradze, living in France, and her husband, GM Alexander Fier.

She was invited to the Bronstein Memorial.

Before flying to Minsk she asked the organizers how to deal with the visa. They said to get it at the airport. It turned out that at the airport it cost 180 euros instead of the usual 60 euros you pay at the embassy.

The couple was given their choice where to live during the tournament – apartment or in a hotel. They chose the apartment. When they were arrived at night, they were met by a driver who took them to a hotel not on the official list.

The tournament director reimbursed her husband for expenses but not her. Every time she asked, she was told, “Come back tomorrow”. Even though she had an email with her official invitation.

An eventual meeting turned into a shouting match!

The situation was finally saved by the vice president of the Belarus Chess Federation, Vladimir Ginsburg, whom Nino said was the only normal person among the organizers.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

I explained the situation and asked why I was not on the list to receive reimbursement for my expenses as I was promised.

Natalia, the tournament director, replied, “Because you have a low rating!”

Ginsburg quickly checked the email address and confirmed that I was on the guest list, which caused Natalia to say, “How, how could you ask her?”

She still refused to give over the money but Ginsburg made her do it.

The whole story is at http://www.chess-news.ru/node/14724

One reader quoted a saying from the old Soviet Union – Bring us the certificate that you need help, then we will issue you a certificate.

Another said that the organizers were under unusual pressure because the normal load for such a tourney was perhaps 35 people and here there were four times that. “I am personally acquainted with Natalia Kraiko and she is a good person. I am sorry that it happened but glad that the incident was finally resolved and that Nino received her money.”

**Wayne Komer** · Wednesday, 19th February, 2014, 03:09 PM

Re: Bronstein Memorial 2014

Bronstein Memorial 2014

Minsk
Round Nine
February 19, 2014

Results on the top boards:

Jobava-Shimanov 0.5-0.5
Fedorchuk-Dubov 1-0
Oleksienko-Tiviakov 1-0
Fier-Akopian 0.5-0.5
Sargissian-Zherebukh 1-0
Zhigalko,S.-Ponkratov 1-0

Open A final standings:

1 GM Jobava Baadur GEO 2706 – 7
2 GM Fedorchuk Sergey UKR 2641 – 7
3 GM Oleksienko Mikhailo UKR 2630 – 7
4 GM Zhigalko Sergei BLR 2661 – 6.5
5 GM Shimanov Aleksandr RUS 2658 – 6.5
6 GM Safarli Eltaj AZE 2649 – 6.5
7 GM Sargissian Gabriel ARM 2671 – 6.5
8 GM Khairullin Ildar RUS 2651 – 6.5
9 GM Jumabayev Rinat KAZ 2564 – 6.5
10 GM Tiviakov Sergei NED 2639 – 6
11 GM Dubov Daniil RUS 2614 – 6
12 GM Akopian Vladimir ARM 2682 – 6

Baadur Jobava won the David Bronstein Memorial after edging Sergey Fedorchuk and Mikhailo Oleksienko (both of the Ukraine) on tie-break. The three players completed the event with 7/9.

This nice win for Oleksienko:

David Bronstein Memorial 2014
Minsk
Round Nine
February 19, 2014
Oleksienko, Mihkailo-Tiviakov, Sergei
B38 Sicilian, Accelerated Fianchetto, Maroczy Bind

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. c4 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Nc3 d6 8. Be2 O-O 9. O-O Nxd4 10. Bxd4 Bd7 11. Qd2 Bc6 12. f3 a5 13. b3 Nd7 14. Be3 Nc5 15. Rab1 Qb8 16. Kh1 b6 17. a3 Rc8 18. Nd5 Qb7 19. Bg5 Bxd5 20. exd5 a4 21. b4 Nb3 22. Qe3 b5 23. cxb5 Qxd5 24. f4 Qd4 25. f5 Qxe3 26. Bxe3 d5 27. Bf4 Nd4 28. b6 Rcb8 29. Bxb8 Rxb8 30. Bf3 gxf5 31. Bxd5 e6 32. Bf3 Rxb6 33. Rbc1 Rb8 34. Rc5 Nb5 35. Rfc1 Bb2 36. Rc8 Rxc8 37. Rxc8 Kg7 38. Ra8 e5 39. Rxa4 e4 40. Ra5 Nxa3 41. Be2 Nb1 42. Rxf5 Bd4 43. Bc4 f6 44. Rd5 Bf2 45. g3 Nc3 46. Rd7 Kg6 47. Kg2 Be3 48. b5 h5 49. Rd6 Na4 50. Bb3 Nb6 51. Re6 Kf5 52. Re8 Bd4 53. Bc2 Be5 54. Rh8 Nc4 55. Rxh5 Kg6 56. Rxe5 1-0

[56. ... Nxe5 57. Bxe4 f5 58. Bd5 Nd7 59. Kf3 Nb6 60. Bc6 Kf6 61. h4 Ke5 62. h5 Ke6 63. Kf4 Kf6 64. Bf3 Nc8 65. Bd5 Nb6 66. Bc6 Nc8 67. Bd5]

Just to tie things up, Alexander Khalifman ended with 6 points along with Tiviakov, Dubov and Akopian. The Brazilian, Alexandr Fier also had 6 points. You’ll remember I recounted the story of his mate, Nino Maisuradze (France) and the tournament director yesterday. She finished with 4 points.

In chess-news.ru, Jacob Zusmanovich, discusses all the books associated with David Bronstein.

http://www.chess-news.ru/node/14731

He mentions the first book of biographical games of Bronstein, appeared in America – David Bronstein’s Best Chess Games 1944-1949 by Larry Evans. He published two editions – one in 1949 containing 39 games and one in 1950 with 67.

Roman Toran, from Spain, had two editions on Bronstein appear:

Bronstein: el genio del ajedrez modern, Ricardo Aguilera, 1957

David Bronstein: Schoepfergeist der neuesten Schachrichtung, ten Have, 1962

Evidently there was a book published in Italy by Mursia titled “David Bronstein” by Paolo Bagnoli. It is not to be found at the Cleveland or The Hague libraries and collectors have been tearing their hair trying to get a copy. If you have one, someone wants it. I wonder if there is a copy in the late Lothar Schmid’s library?

Zusmanovich finishes off the article talking about four books - “Bronstein” by Marovic, Sahovska Naklada, 1980 and a samizdat edition, 333 games by Bronstein played from 1938-1992 by Valery Ivanov 1993, “David and Goliath” Sergei Voronkov, Ripol Klassik, 1993 and “David Bronstein Fifty Great Short Games Nikolai Minev, 2008.

At the end of the article there is a photo of Bronstein’s grave at the Chizhovsky cemetery near Minsk.

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 20th February, 2014, 12:36 PM

Re: Bronstein Memorial 2014

The chesspro site has an article by Vladimir Barsky on David Bronstein’s World of Ideas:

http://www.chesspro.ru/thesaurus/barskiy_mir_idey

It has a colour photo, taken in 2002, on a stage at the Kremlin, of honoured guests David Bronstein, Andre Lilienthal, Victor Korchnoi and Vasily Smyslov.

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 31st August, 2017, 01:22 PM

Re: Bronstein Memorial 2014

Bronstein Memorial 2014

August 31, 2017

This thread has become the repository for news about David Bronstein.

A book has just been published:

The Rise and Fall of David Bronstein

By Genna Sosonko

With a foreword by Garry Kasparov

271 pages
Ruby Publishing House
www.elkandruby.ru
Translated from the Russian by Ilan Rubin
First published in Russia in 2014

Back cover blurb: Genna Sosonko has written a book about the life and destiny of the great chess player David Bronstein. Bronstein’s career peaked in the 1950s,when he faced Botvinnik in the world championship match and nearly defeated him. But this ‘nearly’ inflicted a wound on David so deep that it would not heal for the rest of his life.

Sosonko knew Bronstein well. Their conversations – many of which have made it into this book – not only portray the thoughts and character of one of history’s most original grandmasters, but also take us back to a time unlike any other in world history. This is not a biography in the traditional sense of the word. Rather, Sosonko’s fascinating book asks eternal questions which don’t have neat and simple answers.
________

A few weeks ago I heard of this book and it was then said that the only place in the world you could buy it was from amazon.com. My thought was that it was an attempt by a Russian publisher to get into the American market.

I have taken, at random, pages from Chapter 12, entitled “The Sorcerer’s Apartment”.

Photos of Fischer were scattered here and there. What was it about that eccentric genius that appealed to Bronstein? His passionate devotion to the game, his fanaticism? Perhaps. But was this not also admiration of the American’s merciless chess? Or had Fischer’s successes, including the destruction of Bronstein’s Soviet colleagues, poured so much ointment on Davy’s soul that he simply enjoyed seeing the American’s face every day?

We reached his bookcase. Bronstein’s large library contained not only chess books but also works of literature, art albums and reference books, atlases and a huge number of dictionaries of exotic and rare languages. An encyclopedia in Spanish bought in Ovedo. A thick maths text book, also in Spanish. Collections of anecdotes acquired in London back in 1947 and nicely preserved over fifty years later.

“Look here – collections of English crosswords. I bought them to solve should I be sent to tournaments abroad. Look please.” He shows me a book by Geller with a dedication to his old friend David Bronstein, with best wishes and gratitude for creative ideas that drew me to the King’s Indian.”

“And look what this Argentinian magazine wrote about me or this Spanish one: ‘Bronstein is the strongest player in the world’. You know, I was the strongest player in the world. Just like Atlas holding up the skies. I have spent my entire life trying to improvise in chess. Where did that get me? I played in the Moscow championships, which all of the strongest grandmasters avoid. I played there to please the fans.”

“Do you know of this player? You haven't even heard of him? Crown was a genius, a real genius! He died when he was very young. I’ve been looking through his games. See how he destroyed Kotov here, look, just take a look. I’m going to write about him. See how Crown comments on the game, suggest variations, and at the end writes ’I don’t think that I would have found all of these variations over the board” Who writes like that nowadays? He was considered a genius in England. He played in Tal’s style before Tal. So much for Tal!”

(Gordon Thomas Crown (1929-1947) was an English chess player who came second in the British championship in 1946. He died in 1947 at the age of 18 on the operating table from appendicitis)
__________

There are no games, just good reading.

Bronstein Memorial 2014

Bronstein Memorial 2014

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