Latvian Railway Open

[Wayne Komer]

Latvian Railway Open

March 28 – 30, 2014

We have not heard from Vassily Ivanchuk for a while. It is reassuring to note that he is in Riga playing in a rapid tournament.

It is taking place at the Latvian Railroad Museum in Riga. Vassily is the third-highest rated player in the Open. The top 10:

1 GM Malakhov Vladimir RUS 2777
2 GM Shirov Alexei LAT 2742
3 GM Ivanchuk Vassily UKR 2722
4 GM Zhigalko Sergei BLR 2704
5 GM Bologan Viktor MDA 2680
6 GM Van Wely Loek NED 2679
7 GM Lysyj Igor RUS 2675
8 GM Kovalenko Igor LAT 2653
9 GM Fridman Daniel GER 2649
10 GM Navara David CZE 2648

I heard that Kevin Spraggett was going to play but he doesn’t appear in the results table.

Tournament A is 14 round Swiss with the time control 15 minutes for each player plus 6 seconds increment for each move. First round on 28th of March 2014 at 17.30 hours, last round on 30th of March at 15.00 hours.

The ChessBomb coverage is as follows:

ChessBomb: Rounds 1-4: Fri, 28 March, starting 17.30 local time (GMT 2h)
ChessBomb: Rounds 5-9: Sat, 29 March, starting 11:00 local time (GMT 2h)
ChessBomb: Rounds 10-14: Sun, 30 March, starting 11:00 local time (GMT 2h)

Live games at: http://tiesraide.rtu.lv/railwaycup/live/live.htm


Latvian Railway Open 2014
Round 1
March 28, 2014
Sveshnikov, Vladimir – Ivanchuk, Vassily
C45 Scotch Game

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Nxc6 Qf6 6. Qf3 bxc6 7. Nc3 Qxf3 8. gxf3 d6 9. Rg1 g6 10. Be3 Bxe3 11. fxe3 f5 12. O-O-O Nf6 13. exf5 Bxf5 14. e4 Be6 15. f4 O-O-O 16. Ba6 Kb8 17. Rd4 Nd7 18. Rb4 Nb6 19. e5 c5 20. Re4 d5 21. Ree1 Rhf8 22. Rgf1 c6 23. Be2 Rf7 24. Rf2 Rdf8 25. Ref1 Bh3 26. Re1 Rxf4 27. Rxf4 Rxf4 28. a4 Kc7 29. a5 Nd7 30. Bd1 Be6 31. b3 Rh4 32. Re2 Rh5 0-1

Latvian Railway Open 2014
Round 2
March 28, 2014
Ivanchuk, Vassily – Miezis, Normunds
A52 Budapest, Adler Variation

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. Nf3 Bc5 5. e3 Nc6 6. Be2 Ncxe5 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Nxe5 Nxe5 9. b3 Re8 10. Bb2 a5 11. O-O Ra6 12. Qd5 Ba7 13. Rad1 Rh6 14. g3 c6 15. Qd2 Qf6 16. Ne4 Nf3 17. Bxf3 Qxf3 18. Qc3 f6 19. Nd2 Qf5 20. Rfe1 d6 21. h4 Rh5 22. Nf1 Qg6 23. Qd3 Bf5 24. Qxd6 Rxh4 25. Qc7 Be4 26. f3 Bxf3 27. Rd8 Rh1 28. Kf2 Bh5 29. Qd7 h6 30. g4 Qc2 31. Re2 Qb1 32. Rxe8 Kh7 33. Qf5 Qxf5 34. gxf5 Bxe8 35. Rd2 Rh5 36. Ng3 Rh2 37. Ke1 Rxd2 38. Kxd2 h5 39. Ne4 Bd7 40. Bxf6 Bxf5 41. Nd6 Bb1 42. Bd8 Bxa2 43. Kc2 a4 44. bxa4 Bxe3 45. Kb2 Bf4 46. c5 Bxd6 47. cxd6 Be6 48. Kc3 Kg6 49. Kd4 Kf5 50. Kc5 Ke5 51. a5 Bd7 52. Be7 Ke6 53. Kb6 Kd5 54. Kxb7 c5 55. a6 c4 56. a7 c3 57. Kb6 Bc6 58. d7 1-0

Latvian Railway Open 2014
Round 3
March 28, 2014
Gleizerov, Evgeny – Ivanchuk, Vassily
E11 Bogo-Indian Defence, Nimzowitsch Variation

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 Bb4 5. Bd2 Qe7 6. Nf3 Bxd2 7. Nbxd2 a5 8. O-O d6 9. Re1 O-O 10. Nf1 Ne4 11. Ne3 f5 12. d5 Nd8 13. Nd4 g6 14. dxe6 Nxe6 15. Nd5 Qg7 16. e3 N6c5 17. Qc2 c6 18. Nc3 Re8 19. b3 Bd7 20. Rac1 Qf6 21. Red1 g5 22. Nde2 Qe5 23. Rd4 Re6 24. Nxe4 Nxe4 25. Nc3 Nc5 26. Rcd1 Be8 27. Qd2 Bh5 28. Rc1 Rf8 29. Rf1 h6 30. h3 Kh7 31. Qc2 Bg6 32. Qd2 Bh5 33. Qc2 Kg7 34. Qd2 Rf7 35. Nd1 Ne4 36. Qc2 Nf6 37. Nc3 Rfe7 38. Qd2 Bg6 39. Rd1 Bh5 40. Rf1 Nd7 41. g4 Bg6 42. Ne2 f4 43. e4 Nf6 44. Nc3 h5 45. f3 hxg4 46. hxg4 Re8 47. Rd1 Rh8 48. Ne2 Qc5 49. Kf1 Rd8 50. Qc3 Qe5 51. R4d3 Qxc3 52. Nxc3 Kf7 53. c5 Ke7 54. Rd4 Ne8 55. Kf2 Re5 56. Na4 Bf7 57. Bf1 d5 58. Nc3 Nc7 59. Bc4 Ne6 60. exd5 Nxd4 61. Rxd4 Bxd5 62. Bxd5 cxd5 63. a3 Ke6 64. b4 Re3 65. Ne4 Ke5 66. Rd2 Rh8 0-1

Latvian Railway Open 2014
Round 4
March 28, 2014
Malakhov, Vladimir – Ivanchuk, Vassily
A30 Reti/English, Symmetrical, Hedgehog

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 b6 4. Bg2 Bb7 5. O-O Be7 6. b3 O-O 7. Bb2 c5 8. Nc3 d6 9. e3 Nbd7 10. Qe2 a6 11. Rfd1 Re8 12. d4 cxd4 13. Rxd4 Qc7 14. Rad1 h6 15. R4d2 Rac8 16. h3 Bf8 17. Nd4 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 Qb7 19. Qf3 d5 20. Kh2 Ne4 21. Nxe4 dxe4 22. Qe2 Ne5 23. Kg2 Nd3 24. Ba1 b5 25. cxb5 axb5 26. Kg1 Rc5 27. Nc2 Rf5 28. Rf1 Rc8 29. Rdd1 h5 30. Ne1 Nc1 31. Qb2 Rfc5 32. h4 b4 33. Qd2 Qa6 34. Ng2 Rc2 35. Qd7 Qxa2 36. Be5 Nd3 37. Ra1 Nxe5 38. Qxc8 Nf3 39. Kh1 Qxa1 40. Qxf8 Kxf8 41. Rxa1 Rxf2 0-1

Standings after Round Four

Ivanchuk 4
Malakhov 3
Van Wely 2
Shirov 2
Zhigalko 1.5

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Latvian Railway Open

Latvian Railway Open

March 28 - 30, 2014

Vassily continues his winning ways:

Latvian Railway Open 2014
Round 5
March 29, 2014
Ivanchuk, Vassily – Navara, David
D85 Grunfeld, Modern Exchange Variation

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Nf3 c5 8. h3 O-O 9. Be2 Nc6 10. Be3 cxd4 11. cxd4 f5 12. Bc4 Kh8 13. O-O f4 14. Bd2 Nxd4 15. Bc3 Be6 16. Bxe6 Nxe6 17. Bxg7 Nxg7 18. Qa4 Qd6 19. Rfd1 Qf6 20. e5 Qe6 21. Rd7 b6 22. Rxa7 Rxa7 23. Qxa7 Nf5 24. Rb1 Qd5 25. Rxb6 Qd1 26. Kh2 Ng3 27. fxg3 fxg3 28. Kxg3 Rxf3 29. Kh2 Rxh3 30. Kxh3 Qh5 31. Kg3 Qxe5 32. Kf3 Qd5 33. Ke3 Qe5 34. Kd3 Qd5 35. Kc3 Qc5 36. Kb3 Qd5 37. Kb4 Qd4 38. Ka5 Qd2 39. Ka6 Qxa2 40. Kb7 Qxg2 41. Rc6 Qe4 42. Qc5 Kg7 43. Kc7 Kf7 44. Qf2 Ke8 45. Rc5 Qa8 46. Qe3 Qa7 47. Kc6 Qa6 48. Kd5 Qd6 49. Ke4 Qe6 50. Kf4 Qf6 51. Kg3 Qd6 52. Re5 h6 53. Qc5 Qd3 54. Re3 Qd7 55. Qe5 Kf7 56. Rf3 Kg8 57. Qb8 1-0

Latvian Railway Open 2014
Round 6
March 29, 2014
Ivanchuk, Vassily – Fridman, Daniel
D44 QGD, Semi-Slav, anti-Meran Gambit

1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 c6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. e4 b5 7. e5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Nxg5 hxg5 10. Bxg5 Be7 11. exf6 Bxf6 12. Bxf6 Qxf6 13. a4 Rh4 14. g4 e5 15. dxe5 Qxe5 16. Qe2 Qxe2 17. Bxe2 Bxg4 18. Rg1 b4 19. Nd1 Bxe2 20. Rg8 Kd7 21. Kxe2 Kc7 22. Ne3 a5 23. Rag1 c3 24. bxc3 b3 25. Rb1 Ra6 26. Rxb3 Nd7 27. Rg7 Rf4 28. Rg4 Rxg4 29. Nxg4 Nc5 30. Ra3 Kd6 31. Ne3 Ke6 32. Ra2 f5 33. Kf3 Ra8 34. Nc4 Ne4 35. Ra3 Ra7 36. h4 Kd5 37. Ne3 Ke5 38. h5 Nd6 39. Ra1 Ne4 40. h6 Rh7 41. Rh1 Nxc3 42. Rh5 Nxa4 43. Rxf5 Ke6 44. Rxa5 Rf7 45. Kg4 Nb2 46. Rh5 Rh7 47. Rc5 Nd3 48. Rxc6 Kd7 49. Ra6 Nxf2 50. Kh5 Rf7 51. Ra7 Ke6 52. h7 Rf3 53. Ng2 Rf5 54. Kg6 Rf3 55. h8=Q Rg3 56. Kh5 Kd5 1-0

Latvian Railway Open 2014
Round 7
March 29, 2014
Van Wely, Loek – Ivanchuk, Vassily
E17 Queen’s Indian, 5.Bg2 Be7

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Re1 Qc8 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. e4 d6 11. Nc3 Nd7 12. Qd2 Be7 13. Rad1 a5 14. b3 Re8 15. h4 Nf6 16. Bh3 Qd8 17. d5 e5 18. Kg2 Bf8 19. Rc1 g6 20. Rc2 h5 21. a3 Ng4 22. Nh2 Bh6 23. Qd3 Nf6 24. Nb5 Ba6 25. b4 axb4 26. axb4 Bxb5 27. cxb5 Ra7 28. Ree2 Qe7 29. Ra2 Rea8 30. Ra6 Qd8 31. Rea2 Qb8 32. Kf3 Kg7 33. Qc2 g5 34. hxg5 Bxg5 35. Qc6 h4 36. Bf5 hxg3 37. Kg2 0-1

Latvian Railway Open 2014
Round 8
March 29, 2014
Ivanchuk, Vassily – Alekseev, Evgeny
D38 QGD Ragozin Variation

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Qa4 Nc6 6. e3 O-O 7. Qc2 Bd6 8. c5 Be7 9. Bb5 Bd7 10. a3 a6 11. Bd3 a5 12. Rb1 b6 13. b4 axb4 14. axb4 bxc5 15. bxc5 Rb8 16. Bb5 Na5 17. Be2 Rxb1 18. Nxb1 Qb8 19. Ne5 Bb5 20. Nc3 Bxe2 21. Kxe2 Qe8 22. f4 Nd7 23. Nf3 Nc4 24. Re1 f5 25. Kf1 Nf6 26. Kg1 Ne4 27. Nxe4 fxe4 28. Nd2 Nxd2 29. Bxd2 g5 30. g3 Qg6 31. Kh1 Qh5 32. Ba5 c6 33. Bc7 Ra8 34. Qe2 Qf3 35. Qxf3 exf3 36. g4 Ra2 1-0

Latvian Railway Open 2014
Round 9
March 29, 2014
Zhigalko, Sergei – Ivanchuk, Vassily
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. c4 c6 12. a3 bxc4 13. Bxc4 Nxe4 14. dxe5 d5 15. Bd3 Ndc5 16. Bc2 f5 17. Nd4 Qb6 18. b4 Ne6 19. Bb2 a5 20. Re2 axb4 21. axb4 Rxa1 22. Bxa1 Bxb4 23. Nxe6 Bxe6 24. Bxe4 fxe4 25. Nc3 Bc5 26. Qe1 Qb3 27. Nd1 Ra8 28. Bb2 Ra2 29. Qd2 Qd3 30. Nc3 Qxd2 31. Rxd2 e3 32. fxe3 Bxe3 33. Kf1 Ra8 34. Rd1 d4 35. Ne4 Bc4 36. Ke1 Rf8 37. Nf6 gxf6 38. Bxd4 Bxd4 39. Rxd4 Bd5 40. Rg4 Kf7 41. exf6 Rg8 42. Rxg8 Kxg8 43. g4 Kf7 44. g5 Kg6 45. h4 0-1

Wow, 9-0 for Chukky!

Standing after Round Nine

Ivanchuk 9
Fridman 6.5
Malakhov 6
Van Wely 6
Shirov 6
Fedorov 6
Kovalenko 6
Kovalev 6
and six others 6

67 players

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Latvian Railway Open

Latvian Railway Open

March 28 – 30, 2014

Latvian Railway Open 2014
Round 10
March 30, 2014
Ivanchuk, Vassily – Lysyj, Igor
E01 Catalan, Closed

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Qc2 c5 7. O-O cxd4 8. Nxd4 Qb6 9. Rd1 Nc6 10. Nxc6 Qxc6 11. Na3 Bxa3 12. bxa3 Qxc4 13. Qxc4 dxc4 14. a4 Nd5 15. Ba3 Re8 16. Rac1 Bd7 17. e4 Nf6 18. Rxc4 Bc6 19. f3 Red8 20. Rcd4 Rxd4 21. Rxd4 e5 22. Rc4 Rd8 23. Bc1 Rd1 24. Kf2 Ne8 25. a5 a6 26. Rc2 f6 27. Bf1 Nc7 28. Be2 Rd7 29. Be3 Kf8 30. Rd2 Rxd2 31. Bxd2 Bb5 32. Bd1 Bc4 33. a4 Ne6 34. f4 Kf7 35. Ke3 Nd4 36. Bc3 Nc6 37. h4 Ke7 38. g4 h6 39. g5 hxg5 40. hxg5 fxg5 41. fxe5 Be6 42. Bh5 Bb3 43. Bg4 Be6 44. Bh5 Bf7 45. Bg4 Be6 0.5-0.5

Latvian Railway Open 2014
Round 11
March 30, 2014
Shirov, Alexei – Ivanchuk, Vassily
C42 Petrov, Nimzowitsch Attack

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Be7 7. Bf4 Nc6 8. Qd2 Be6 9. Ng5 Bf5 10. O-O-O Qd7 11. h3 h6 12. Nf3 O-O-O 13. Nd4 Nxd4 14. Qxd4 c5 15. Qd5 Be6 16. Qf3 Qa4 17. a3 Qxf4 18. Qxf4 Bg5 19. Qd2 0.5-0.5

Latvian Railway Open 2014
Round 12
March 30, 2014
Ivanchuk, Vassily – Fedoseev, Vladimir
B14 Caro-Kann, Panov-Botvinnik Attack

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Qb3 Bg7 7. cxd5 O-O 8. Be2 Na6 9. Bf4 Qb6 10. Qxb6 axb6 11. d6 exd6 12. Rd1 Re8 13. a3 Ne4 14. Nxe4 Rxe4 15. Be3 Bg4 16. Bxg4 Rxg4 17. Ne2 Re8 18. O-O Bh6 19. Nc3 Bxe3 20. fxe3 Rg5 21. Rf6 Nc7 22. Rdf1 Rxe3 23. Rxf7 Ne6 24. Re7 d5 25. Rf6 Re1 26. Kf2 Rh1 27. Rfxe6 Rxh2 28. Rd6 Kf8 29. Rxb7 Rgxg2 30. Kf3 Ke8 31. Nxd5 Rf2 32. Ke3 Re2 33. Kd3 Rd2 34. Kc4 1-0

Latvian Railway Open 2014
Round 13
March 30, 2014
Al-Modiahki, Mohammad – Ivanchuk, Vassily
B23 Neo-Sicilian, Grand Prix Attack

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. f4 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bc4 Nc6 6. O-O e6 7. Qe1 Nge7 8. d3 h6 9. Bb3 a6 10. e5 d5 11. Ne2 Na5 12. Bd2 Nec6 13. c3 Nxb3 14. axb3 b6 15. d4 Bf8 16. Be3 a5 17. Qf2 Ba6 18. Rfd1 c4 19. bxc4 Bxc4 20. Nd2 Ba6 21. Qf3 Rc8 22. Bf2 Be7 23. Nf1 h5 24. Ne3 Qd7 25. Kh1 Kf8 26. Ng1 a4 27. c4 Bxc4 28. Nxc4 dxc4 29. d5 Nb4 30. dxe6 Qxe6 31. Rxa4 Nd3 32. Ra6 Qd5 33. Be3 Rd8 34. Qxd5 Rxd5 35. Rb1 b5 36. Ne2 Rd7 37. Nc3 b4 38. Ne4 Kg7 39. Rc6 Ra8 40. h3 Ra2 41. Rxc4 Rxb2 42. Rxb2 Nxb2 43. Rc2 Nd3 44. Nd2 f6 45. exf6 Bxf6 46. Nb3 Bc3 47. Ra2 Re7 48. Bc5 Nxc5 49. Nxc5 Bd4 50. Nb3 Re1 51. Kh2 Bg1 52. Kg3 Re3 0-1

Latvian Railway Open 2014
Round 14
March 30, 2014
Ivanchuk, Vassily – Kovalenko, Igor
A13 English Opening

1. c4 e6 2. Nf3 b6 3. g3 Bb7 4. Bg2 g6 5. d4 Bg7 6. Nc3 Ne7 7. e4 O-O 8. O-O Na6 9. Bf4 d6 10. Qd2 c5 11. Bh6 Nc7 12. Bxg7 Kxg7 13. Rad1 Ng8 14. Rfe1 Qe7 15. e5 d5 16. cxd5 exd5 17. Nh4 Rad8 18. f4 Ne6 19. f5 Nxd4 20. f6 Nxf6 21. exf6 Qxf6 22. Ne2 Nxe2 23. Rxe2 Rd7 24. Rf1 Qd8 25. Rfe1 d4 26. Bxb7 Rxb7 27. Re5 Rd7 28. Nf3 Qf6 29. Kg2 Qc6 30. R1e4 h6 31. h4 Rd5 32. Re7 Rf5 33. Rf4 Re8 34. Rxe8 Rxf4 35. Qxf4 Qxe8 36. Ne5 Qe6 37. b3 f6 38. Nd3 g5 39. Qf3 Qd7 40. Qe4 f5 41. Qe5 Kg6 42. Kf2 Qf7 43. Qd6 Qf6 44. Ne5 Kg7 45. Qc7 Kg8 46. Qb8 Qf8 47. Qxa7 f4 48. g4 Qe8 49. Qc7 gxh4 50. Qd6 Kg7 51. Qc7 Kf6 52. Qd6 Kg7 53. Qc7 Kf6 54. Qd6 Kg7 55. Qc7 Kg8 56. Qd6 h3 57. Qf6 d3 58. Qxf4 d2 59. Ke2 Qf8 60. Qxf8 Kxf8 61. Nf3 Ke7 62. Kxd2 Kd6 63. Kd3 b5 64. Ke4 Kc6 65. Ke5 b4 66. Kf4 Kd5 67. Kg3 Ke4 68. Nd2 Kd3 69. Nc4 Kc2 70. Kxh3 Kb1 71. Kh4 Kxa2 72. Na5 Ka3 73. Kh5 c4 74. Nxc4 Kxb3 75. Ne3 Ka4 76. Kxh6 b3 77. Nd1 1-0

Final Standing

Ivanchuk 13
Malakhov 10
Fridman 9.5
Bologan 9.0
Shirov 8.5
Van Wely 8.5
Fedorov 8.5
Kovalenko 8.5
Kovalev 8.5
Zhigalko 8.5
Navara 8.5
Alekseev 8.5

Vassily’s effective rating for the tournament is 3059

[Hans Jung]

Re: Latvian Railway Open

and some very lovely Ivanchuk games indeed!

[Jack Maguire]

Re: Latvian Railway Open

Assuming Wayne's 3059 TPR number is correct, that may be some kind of record, eclipsing Garry Kasparov's 3043 TPR in Batumi back in 2001 for his 11/12 ( 10 -0 =2). Kudos to Chucky!

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Latvian Railway Open

Latvian Railway Open

ChessBase and ChessVibes have articles on the tournament this morning:

http://en.chessbase.com/post/ivanchu...amrolls-latvia

http://www.chessvibes.com/3059-perfo...n-railway-open

There are photos of the museum and the contest.

The official site has video from each round

http://tiesraide.rtu.lv/railwaycup/video/R11.htm

and I have been trying to view Ivanchuk’s game with Shirov to see if it was just an agreed draw with the host grandmaster or Ivanchuk was in some difficulties.

But the videos are slow and jerky and the sound comes and goes. After move 19 queens are coming off and there is nothing there, so I can assume a friendly handshake even though I can’t see it on the video replay.

I guess Ivanchuk fans would like to have seen a nearly perfect score but that didn’t mean that much to him.

The outstanding performance garnered Ivanchuk just 1400 Euros or $2125 CND today.

I searched through Latvian newspapers on the Web but found no interviews with Chukky.

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

Re: Latvian Railway Open

The outstanding performance garnered Ivanchuk just 1400 Euros or $2125 CND today.

just


Rapid is good for him. Class is class.

[Laurentiu Grigorescu]

Re: Latvian Railway Open

Good to know Chucky is "safe and sound" with all the turmoil in Ukraine. Moreover, he played a fantastic tournament and generated more buzz than the Candidates. The (top) chessplayers seem immune to what happens around them, as they continue to live in their own world. Botvinnik kept playing and studying chess while other millions of Russians had to fight German army and Stalin at the same time. The Ukrainian - and 25 years ago Romanian - GMs do not seem to notice/care that the world around them is changing - and not for the better. As the saying goes "The country is burning and the granny combs her hair".

[Ken Kurkowski]

Re: Latvian Railway Open

And let's hope it continues to be the 'Latvian' Railway for many years to come.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Latvian Railway Open

From Jaan Ehlvest’s chess blog at:

http://www.chess.com/blog/Malev212/i...n-railway-open

Ivanchuk in a bad mood or how he won the Latvian Railway Open

GM Malev212 | Apr 2, 2014 at 4:48 AM |

The Riga Railway Open in rapid chess took place in the last weekend of March. Many strong GMs were participating, but the result of the winner Ivanchuk made headlines. At the end he managed to get 13 points out of 14. Reminds Fischer in his best days. In the closing ceremony Alexei Shirov mentioned that Ivanchuk instead of playing in candidates tournament which just finished in Khanty Mansisk preferred Riga. Vassily Ivanchuk was one of the World best players in last 25 years, but never won the World champion title. Most likely because of his bad nerves. This time he was not even among the candidates. However he put his anger and revenge onto his opponents in Riga. He won first 9 games and only in last day allowed two draws. Still in his second round encounter things might be different if this time local hero Normunds Miezis could control his nerves in winning position.

Ivanchuk had some problems against Van Wely as well, but still luck was in his side. You may look some of his games on

http://www.theweekinchess.com/chessn...apid-open-2014

especially the game against Malakhov, the other rating favorite, who took the second place. All results you may find on

http://www.chess-results.com/tnr122844.aspx?lan=1

There is World rapid and blitz championship in June in Dubai and most likely Ivanchuk is going to be one of the favorites, last year Karjakin won the event and he was successfull also in Khanty Mansisk where he took second place after Anand. Anyway good luck to Ivanchuk and it is interesting to follow his achievments.

Jaan Ehlvest