Capablanca Memorial 2014

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  • #61
    Re: Capablanca Memorial 2014

    Capablanca Memorial 2014

    Tenth and Final Round
    May 18, 2014

    Kibitzers on ChessBomb talking about the coming action:

    - If Dominguez and So get ill tonight, Bruzon can still win Capablanca Tournament

    - And Chuky can still be 3rd, go Chuky!

    - Tournament is not decided until referees take a look at players’ shoes

    - except for Chuky, ‘cause he plays with sandals

    But there was no drama. Wesley So and Zoltan Almasi had a draw in twelve moves and So is the new champion.

    Capablanca Memorial 2014 Elite
    Round Ten
    May 18, 2014
    So, Wesley – Almasi, Zoltan
    E32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical Variation

    1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3 6. Qxc3 d6 7. Nf3 b6 8. e3 Bb7 9. b3 Nbd7 10. Bb2 Ne4 11. Qc2 f5 12. Be2 0.5-0.5

    and Bruzon and Dominguez soon agree to a draw too.

    Pons and Ivanchuk ends in a perpetual

    Capablanca Memorial 2014 Elite
    Round Ten
    May 18, 2014
    Vallejo Pons, Francisco – Ivanchuk, Vassily
    C10 French, Rubinstein Variation

    1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Nxf6 Nxf6 7. g3 b6 8. Bb5 Bd7 9. Bxd7 Qxd7 10. O-O c5 11. Qe2 Rc8 12. Bg5 c4 13. Ne5 Qxd4 14. Rfe1 Qc5 15. Rad1 Be7 16. Bxf6 Bxf6 17. Nxf7 Kxf7 18. Qxe6 Kg6 19. Rd5 Qc6 20. Qf5 Kf7 21. Rd7 Kg8 22. Rd6 Qxd6 23. Qxc8 Bd8 24. Re8 Kf7 25. Rxh8 Qd1 26. Kg2 Qd5 27. Kg1 Qd1 28. Kg2 0.5-0.5

    Final Standings

    So 6.5
    Bruzon 5.5
    Dominguez 5.0
    Almasi 4.5
    Vallejo 4.5
    Ivanchuk 4.0
    ____________

    An interesting game from an earlier round. The sacrifice of queen for two knights and a bishop. Perhaps it was all from pre-analysis:

    Capablanca Memorial 2014 Elite
    Round Six
    May 14, 2014
    Bruzon, Lazaro – So, Wesley
    A16 English (Grunfeld)

    1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Qa4 Bd7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 Bg7 7. e4 a6 8. e5 Be6 9. exf6 Bxc4 10. fxg7 Rg8 11. Bxc4 Nc6 12. O-O g5 13. Bd5 g4 14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. Ne5 Rxg7 16. d4 Qxd4 17. Re1 Qd6 18. Bf4 f6 19. Ne4 Qd5 20. Nc3 Qd6 21. Ne4 Qd5 22. Nc3 Qd6 0.5-0.5
    ____________

    Capablanca Memorial 2014 Premier
    Round Nine
    May 18, 2014
    Gonzalez Vidal, Yuri (2561) – Sambuev, Bator (2562)
    A13 English Opening, Agincourt Variation

    1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 e6 3. g3 dxc4 4. Qa4 Nd7 5. Bg2 a6 6. Qxc4 b5 7. Qc2 Bb7 8.0-0 Ngf6 9. a4 Be7 10. Nc3 b4 11. Nb1 a5 12. d3 0-0 13. Nbd2 c5 14. e4 Rc8 15. Nc4 Nb8 16. Nfe5 Ne8 17. f4 f6 18. Nf3 Nc6 19. Be3 Nd4 20. Bxd4 cxd4 21. Qe2 Ba6 22. Nfd2 Bc5 23. Bh3 Rc6 24. Rac1 Bb6 25. Ne5 Rd6 26. Nc6 Qd7 27. Nb8 Qb7 1-0

    Bator seemed to have a viable game until the 20th move or so and then it started going downhill.

    Standings Premier Group

    1. Bacallao 6.0/10; 2. Bogner 6.0/10; 3. Cordova 6.0/10; 4. Ortiz 6.0/10; 5. Quesada Yuniesky 5.5/10; 6. Quesada Yasser 5.0/10; 7. Gonzalez 4.0/10; 8. Dvirnyyil 3.0/10; 9. Hevia 2.0/10 and 10. Sambuev 1.5/10.

    Standings Open I

    1. Obregon 8.5/10; 2. Gerzhoy 7.0/10; 3. Leyva 7.0/10; 4. Nogueiras 7.0/10; 5. Aguero 7.0/10; 6. Vera 7.0/10; 7. Garcia Pantoja 7.0/10 and 5 others with 6.5/10.

    I wish I had more Gerzhoy games to give but the last download didn’t give any from Rounds 6-10.

    The tables forgot to update the tournament to the 49th annual (from the 48th) and the dates are for April, 2014. Sadly, poor organization and little access to modern technology is very apparent.
    __________

    Colin Couch has been following So's progress and in his blog today he wrote:

    There was, overall, not all much excitement in the final round at Havana, at least in terms of the games themselves. The really big news though is that 20 year old Wesley So has won in great style – a point ahead of the rest of the field.

    Wesley So, with White, agreed a draw quite early on in the game, no surprise there. Bruzon and Dominguez, the two Cuban players, were paired against each other, and it looked for a while that it was going to be a sharp and interesting game. Indeed, perhaps it was. The two compatriots though presumably did not want to start a long and stressful round against each other, just to decide who was going to be second or third. They would want to save their energies for other battles. One can easily imagine, even without going through the databases, that both players knew much of the opponent's opening in such lines, and were happy to go through established theory, without trying something radically new.

    The one competitive game of real interest was between Vallejo against Ivanchuk. It was a draw by repetition, but it was a battle, with sacrifices on both sides. Vallejo's sacrifice in the early middle game, 17.Nxf7, took place only when all the other games had finished.

    The tournament is now over. Time to think about later events. My thanks though to everyone from the Philippines, who in large numbers read through my blog. If only my colleagues in Britain had given me this much support, my pageview would have been massive for a new blog!

    My supporters were: the USA (700 ), then the Philippines (300 ), t then the UK (150 ), then Canada (just under 70). Then, surprisingly to me, Saudi Arabia, and then other island countries on the outskirts of mainland Asia, such as Singapore, Australia, Indonesia and Japan. Sadly though, nothing to the big island just to the south of the USA, namely Cuba, the host country to the Capablanca Memorial event. I am hoping that the numbers will start to build up.

    To supporters of this blog, and to supporters of Wesley So, I will try to include Wesley's forthcoming games at Las Vegas, a weekender, and at Edmonton, Alberta, which satisfactorily covers the USA, Canada, and the games played by Wesley So himself. The coverage may though end up relatively brief, with some overlap with the massive tournaments coming up in Norway, and in the Tal Memorial. I see that three of the players in Havana, So, Bruzon and Ivanchuk, will be turning up.

    http://crouchnotes.blogspot.co.uk/
    Last edited by Wayne Komer; Monday, 19th May, 2014, 04:28 PM.

    Comment


    • #62
      Re: Capablanca Memorial 2014

      Congratulations to Wesley So! Awesome result!

      Comment


      • #63
        Re: Capablanca Memorial 2014

        I was spot on with my 2 predictions - a.) Wesley So wins the tournament and b.) beats Dominguez as payback for his loss at Tata Steel.. lol :)

        Wesley's goal at the start of the year is to get to 2750 and he's close enough after this victory ( he could get to 2750 easily at the Edmonton Open in June where is is scheduled to play )that now he's thinking of making it to the top 10

        Comment


        • #64
          Re: Capablanca Memorial 2014

          Originally posted by Hans Jung View Post
          Congratulations to Wesley So! Awesome result!
          Leonard Barden features Wesley So rather prominently in his 'Guardian' column today.

          http://www.theguardian.com/sport/201...sh-challengers

          Comment


          • #65
            Re: Capablanca Memorial 2014

            I think its a little early to tout Wesley So as a challenge to Carlsen. He just made it into the top 20 and hasnt "cracked" 2750 yet. Give him at least a couple of years there before choosing him as a contender. Others who have been there longer at Vachier Lagrave and Giri and the one who should receive much more acclaim is Caruana. However Leonard Barden's column does make for good headlines and good press and exposure to whats happening in St Louis.

            Comment


            • #66
              Re: Capablanca Memorial 2014

              There is a photo-essay on the Capablanca tournament at:

              https://chess24.com/en/read/news/cap...-and-much-more

              You get to see Gerzhoy with his award cup but no photos at all of either Ivanchuk or Sambuev.

              Apparently the maids had prepared the hotel rooms for the players by twisting the bed cover in the form of a swan and putting a chess piece beside it.

              There are photos of old Havana, the Cuban beaches and a lobster party at the home of a friend of Paco Vallejo.

              Clearly, the chess and the party atmosphere are what make the Capablanca tournament so attractive.

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