Games from Recent Events

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  • Re: Games from Recent Events

    Games from Recent Events

    August 22, 2016

    The “recent” in the title today does not refer to the date of the game but to the imminent appearance of a book on Paul Felix Schmidt.
    It is the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth (20-08-1916 Narva, Estonia – 11-08-1984 in Allentown, Pennsylvania). A biography and game collection is scheduled to appear this year. It is entitled Paul Felix Schmidt – A Chemist Who Played Chess by Anthony Gilliam and Michael Negele.

    Schmidt drew a match with Keres. In 1949 he published the book Schachmeister denken. It was translated into English by Eric Tangborn as How Chessmasters Think (Chess Enterprises, 1988)

    Below is one of his two immortal games!

    Cracow/Warsaw, Poland
    1941
    Schmidt, Paul Felix – Nowarra, Heinz
    C11 French, Burn Variation

    1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Be7 6.Bxf6 Bxf6 7.Nf3 Nd7 8.Qd2 Be7 9.O-O-O c6 10.Bd3 Qc7 11.Rhe1 b6 12.Kb1 Bb7 13.Neg5 h6 14.Nxf7 Kxf7 15.Rxe6 Kxe6 16.Bc4+ Kf6 17.Re1 Nf8 18.Qc3 Kg6 19.Qd3+ Kf6 20.Ne5 Bc8 21.Qf3+ Bf5 22.g4 Qc8 23.gxf5 h5 24.Ng6 Bb4 25.Re6+ Nxe6 26.fxe6+ Kxg6 27.Bd3+ 1-0

    - Fantastic attack! Schmidt sacrifices both rooks on the e6 square plus both Knights to mate with his remaining 2 pieces.

    - It's actually a forced mate in 6:

    27. ...Kg5 28. a4+ Kh6 29. Qf4+ g5 30. Qxg5 mate

    See:

    http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1273082

    Reposted September 22, 2016

    Comment


    • Re: Games from Recent Events

      Games from Recent Events

      September 2, 2016

      Leonard Barden in The Guardian of Sept. 2, 2016

      You do not expect a 12-move Muzio Gambit in a game between elite GMs, but this miniature occurred in the chess.com online blitz knockout where eight players compete at a variety of fast time limits from five minutes plus two seconds per move increment down to one minute plus one second. Hikaru Nakamura already had the match won by the time they reached this bullet game, so was off guard.

      Here 7 Qxf3 is normal, and White’s 7 Bxf7+ is just a bluff which works when Black missed the strong counter 8...Qg5!. Instead of 9...Nxd4?? Black could keep an edge by Kg7, but Nakamura, reckoned the world’s best bullet player, gets mated.

      Chess.com Semifinal Blitz
      Round 29, Aug. 24, 2016
      Maxime Vachier-Lagrave v Hikaru Nakamura
      C25 Vienna, Hamppe-Muzio Gambit

      1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 exf4 4.Nf3 g5 5.Bc4 g4 6.O-O gxf3 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qxf3 Bh6 9.d4 Nxd4 10.Qh5+ Kg7 11.Bxf4 d6 12.Be5+ 1-0

      Reposted on September 22, 2016

      Comment


      • Re: Games from Recent Events

        Games from Recent Events

        September 19, 2016

        The game Jan-Krzysztof Duda- Grzegorz Gajewski was voted the best game of last season’s Bundesliga (from 960 games!). In that league Duda plays on board one for the team of the Hamburger SK and finished the season with 4.0/7 (four wins, three losses, no draws). This game was played in Round 14, during the match Hamburg vs Dresden:

        Bundesliga 1516 USV TU Dresden
        Rd 14, April 23, 2016
        Duda, Jan-Krzysztof-Gajewski, Grzegorz
        B50 Sicilian, Kopec System

        1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.c3 Nf6 4.Bd3 Bg4 5.Bc2 Nc6 6.d3 e6 7.Nbd2 Be7 8.h3 Bh5 9.Qe2 Qc7 10.g4 Bg6 11.Nh4 Nd7 12.Ndf3 Nde5 13.Nxe5 dxe5 14.g5 O-O-O 15.Bd2 Kb8 16.O-O-O Ka8 17.Kb1 b5 18.Qf3 Qd7 19.Nxg6 hxg6 20.Qxf7 Rdf8 21.Qxg6 Bd6 22.Bb3 c4 23.dxc4 Ne7 24.Qxg7 Rhg8 25.Qh6 Rh8 26.Qg7 Rhg8 27.Qh6 Rh8 28.g6 Rxh6 29.Bxh6 Rc8 30.c5 Rxc5 31.Bf8 Nxg6 32.Bxd6 Rc8 33.h4 a5 34.h5 Nf4 35.Bxe5 Qh7 36.Bc2 Nxh5 37.Rd6 Qf7 38.Ra6+ Kb7 39.Rxa5 Kb6 40.b4 Rd8 41.a4 Qf3 42.Rxb5+ Ka6 43.Rc1 Nf4 44.Bxf4 Qxf4 45.Rc5 Qxf2 46.Rc6+ Kb7 47.Rxe6 Qf7 48.Bb3 Qf3 49.Bd5+ Kb8 50.Rb6+ Kc7 51.Rb7+ Kc8 52.Rf7 Qe2 53.Rc2 Qd1+ 54.Kb2 Rh8 55.Rcf2 Qxa4 56.Rf8+ Rxf8 57.Rxf8+ Kc7 58.Bb3 Qb5 59.Rf7+ Kd6 60.Rf5 Qe2+ 61.Bc2 Kc6 62.Rc5+ Kb6 63.Rd5 Kc6 64.Kb3 Kb6 65.c4 Qf3+ 66.Rd3 Qf7 67.Kb2 Qe6 68.Rc3 Qf6 69.Bd3 Qf2+ 70.Kb3 Qf7 71.Ka3 Kc6 72.c5 Qf6 73.Kb3 Qf7+ 74.Bc4 Qf2 75.Bd5+ Kb5 76.c6 Qe1 77.Rc5+ Kb6 78.c7 1-0

        See: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1824739

        - Incredible queen sac 28.g6!! I admit, I hadn't yet seen this game but this goes right into my best games of 2016 collection

        - Black knew he was offering "too much" to possibly trap the Q, and White accepted that risk, too. See who sees deeper. It must have been excruciating torture for Black to try to save it, and that's probably worth a pawn by itself.

        Reposted on September 22, 2016

        Comment


        • Re: Games from Recent Events

          Games from Recent Events

          October 19, 2016

          Jobava Simul

          Lars Grahn is a Swede (b. 1948) and a former editor of two chess magazines. His highest ELO was 2100.

          He was recently playing against Baadur Jobava in a simul in Malmo. The position below was reached in their game:

          Baadur Jobava – Lars Grahn
          Simul, Malmo
          October 17, 2016



          fen: 2R5/r1r3k1/1Rp1p1p1/2Pp1pPp/q2P1P1P/4P3/4QK2/8 w - - 0 1


          Jobava studied the position, smiled and played

          42. Qa6!?

          and said, “It is not the best move but I have to play it.” Grahn was shocked at the move and almost fell off the chair. He replied

          42… Rxc8?

          42...Rxc8? (42...Qc2+ =) 43.Rb7+ Kg8 44.Rxa7 Qc2+ 45.Kg3 Rb8 46.Rg7+ Kxg7 47.Qa7+ Kg8 48.Qxb8+ and White won.

          (48…Kh7 49.Qc7+ Kg8 50.Qd8+ Kh7 51.Qe7+ Kh8 52.Qf8+ Kh7 53.Qh6+ Kg8 54.Qxg6+ Kf8 55.Qf6+ resigns)

          Really, sometimes Jobava is so much like Mikhail Tahl that it is amazing.

          Photos of the simul, discussion and Grahn’s blog at:

          http://larsgrahn.blogspot.ca
          Last edited by Wayne Komer; Sunday, 19th March, 2017, 01:04 AM.

          Comment


          • Re: Games from Recent Events

            Games from Recent Events

            October 23, 2016

            Sunday Mornings Then and Now

            Do you remember when you were a kid and after breakfast you read the colour comics from the Sunday newspaper? When you were in university, you would get the New York Times on a Sunday and read your way through the six-inch thickness of the pile of sections?

            I was thinking of that this morning when, while still abed, I went in to chessbomb on my iPhone to see how the game Grischuk-Svidler was going at the Russian Superfinals in Novosibirsk. It was a draw.

            Two of the chessbomb kibitzers were talking about an amazing game from the Danish tournament and about how Jonny Hector hates draws.

            It was a small matter to dial up this game and not out of bed yet:

            OBRO Chessclub 80 Years Tournament
            Copenhagen
            Round 9, Oct. 23, 2016
            Bromann, Thorbjorn – Jonny Hector
            D00 Levitsky Attack (Queen’s Bishop Attack)

            1.d4 d5 2.Bg5 f6 3.Bh4 Nh6 4.e3 Nf5 5.Bg3 h5 6.Be2 h4 7.Bh5+ Kd7 8.Bf4 g5 9.e4 dxe4 10.d5 gxf4 11.Bg4 Ke8 12.Bh5+ Kd7 13.Bg4 e6 14.dxe6+ Kxe6 15.Qxd8 Bb4+ 16.Qd2 Bxd2+ 17.Nxd2 e3 18.fxe3 Kf7 19.Bxf5 fxe3 20.Bxc8 exd2+ 21.Kxd2 Rxc8 22.Nf3 h3 23.gxh3 Rh8 24.h4 Nc6 25.Rae1 Rad8+ 26.Kc1 Nd4 27.Rhf1 Nxf3 28.Rxf3 Rxh4 29.Ref1 Rh6 30.h3 Rd5 31.Rd1 Rhh5 32.Rdf1 f5 33.b3 Kf6 34.c4 Rd4 35.Re1 Rdh4 36.Ree3 Rh7 37.Kd2 Rg7 38.Re8 Rhh7 39.Kc3 a5 40.Rb8 c5 41.Rc8 Rc7 42.Rd8 Rcd7 43.Rc8 Rc7 44.Rd8 Rhd7 45.Rf8+ Rf7 46.Rd8 Rce7 47.Rd5 Re5 48.Rd8 Ke6 49.Re8+ Kf6 50.Rd8 b6 51.a3 Re4 52.Rd5 Ke6 53.Kd3 Re1 54.Kd2 Re5 55.Rd8 f4 56.Rb8 Kf5 57.Rxb6 Rd7+ 58.Rd3 Rxd3+ 59.Kxd3 Re3+ 60.Kd2 Rxh3 61.Rc6 Rxb3 62.Rxc5+ Ke4 63.Rxa5 Rb2+ 64.Kc3 Rb8 65.Ra7 Re8 66.Rf7 f3 67.c5 Ra8 68.Kb4 Rb8+ 69.Ka5 Ra8+ 70.Kb4 Rb8+ 1/2-1/2

            http://www.liveskak.dk/2016/oebro-jubilaeum/

            An entertaining game on a Sunday morning!
            Last edited by Wayne Komer; Sunday, 23rd October, 2016, 10:40 PM.

            Comment


            • Re: Games from Recent Events

              Games from Recent Events

              November 16, 2016

              A friend wrote me to look at the opening in the TCEC Superfinal today. I assume he was talking about a King’s Gambit.

              I have not kept up with the event because it stretches through so many games.

              The status according to chessdom.com

              World Chess Championship 2016 and TCEC Superfinal – two different worlds

              At this moment two of the top individual chess championships are going on – Carlsen vs Karjakin World Chess Championship and Stockfish vs Houdini TCEC Superfinal. Both are multiple games head to head matches, both boast a record high ELO in history, and both have attracted huge audience.

              But here is where similarities end. The dynamics and development of the story in each of the matches have gone in diametrically opposite directions. Nor Karjakin nor Carlsen (despite having chances in game 3) has managed to score so far in the match, leaving the chess fans waiting for a decisive game with 1/4 of the match gone. The World Champion and his Challenger have opted for safe positions, understanding that a minimal mistake can have high cost in such a short 12 games match. At this point it seems a blunder rather than a brilliancy will decide the outcome. On the other hand, in the TCEC Superfinal the chess fans are viewing an onslaught. The new version of Stockfish 8 is steamrolling the new Houdini 5, the score being 10,0-6,0 after 16 games.

              Stockfish is having a ball with white, extracting the maximum advantage from every given position and bringing up the game of chess to a whole new level. And all this coming as a surprise after Houdini’s development version won the qualifications and the rapid just a few weeks ago, convincingly ahead of Stockfish. 84 games are left in TCEC, but Stockfish is now the clear hot favorite for this year’s title.

              http://www.chessdom.com/world-chess-...ferent-worlds/

              TCEC Season Superfinal
              Round 21, Nov. 16, 2016
              Stockfish 8 (3228) – Houdini 5 (3182)
              C33 King’s Gambit Accepted, Bishops Gambit

              1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 Qh4+ 4.Kf1 d6 5.Nc3 Ne7 6.d4 Be6 7.Bb3 a6 8.Nf3 Qf6 9.h4 Nd7 10.Ne2 Bxb3 11.axb3 Qe6 12.Qd3 Nf6 13.Ng5 Qd7 14.Nxf4 h6 15.Nf3 g6 16.Bd2 Bg7 17.g3 O-O 18.Kg2 Ng4 19.b4 c6 20.Rae1 h5 21.Re2 b6 22.Ra1 Qb7 23.Qb3 Rab8 24.c3 Rbe8 25.Rae1 Kh7 26.Nh3 Kh8 27.Bf4 Qd7 28.Qa4 b5 29.Qc2 Kg8 30.Nh2 Nh6 31.Qd2 Kh7 32.Nf3 Ng4 33.Ra1 Ra8 34.Nh2 Nh6 35.Qd3 f6 36.Nf2 Rfe8 37.Kh1 Nf7 38.g4 Rh8 39.Qh3 hxg4 40.Nfxg4 Rad8 41.Nf3 Qc8 42.Rg2 Kg8 43.Qg3 Rh5 44.Kg1 Kh8 45.Re1 Qb7 46.Nf2 Rh7 47.Nd3 Qd7 48.Bd2 Rg8 49.Kf2 Qc8 50.Re2 Qd7 51.Ke1 Ra8 52.Nf4 Rh6 53.d5 Ne5 54.dxc6 N7xc6 55.Nxe5 Nxe5 56.Nd5 g5 57.Nb6 Qa7 58.Nxa8 Rxh4 59.Rh2 Rxh2 60.Rxh2+ Kg8 61.Qh3 Qxa8 62.Qe6+ Kf8 63.Re2 Qb7 64.Kd1 Qe7 65.Qc8+ Kf7 66.Qxa6 Qd7 67.Qa8 Bh6 68.Qd5+ Kg6 69.Be3 Bg7 70.Kc2 Qg4 71.Re1 Nf3 72.Ra1 Ne5 73.Kb3 Qg2 74.Re1 Qg4 75.Bd4 Nf3 76.Rd1 Qd7 77.Bc5 Bf8 78.Kc2 Kg7 79.Be3 Qg4 80.Ra1 Ne5 81.Bd4 Qe2+ 82.Kb3 Qc4+ 83.Qxc4 Nxc4 84.Ra5 Nd2+ 85.Kc2 Nxe4 86.Kd3 Ng3 87.Rxb5 Kf7 88.Ra5 d5 89.b5 Bd6 90.b6 Ke6 1-0

              Round 22, Nov. 16, 2016
              Houdini 5 – Stockfish 8
              C33 King’s Gambit Accepted, Bishop’s Gambit

              1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 Qh4+ 4.Kf1 Nf6 5.Nf3 Qh6 6.Nc3 d6 7.d4 Be7 8.Kg1 c6 9.g3 Nh5 10.Ne1 Qg6 11.Be2 Nf6 12.Bxf4 Nxe4 13.Nxe4 Qxe4 14.Nf3 Bf5 15.Bd3 Qe6 16.d5 Qd7 17.Bxf5 Qxf5 18.Kg2 O-O 19.Re1 Qd7 20.Qd3 cxd5 21.Rad1 Nc6 22.Qxd5 Rad8 23.c4 Qc8 24.b3 h6 25.h4 Rfe8 26.Rd2 Nb4 27.Qh5 Bf8 28.Rxe8 Rxe8 29.Nd4 Re1 30.Qf3 Qe8 31.Nf5 Ra1 32.Kh2 Qe1 33.h5 a6 34.a4 Nc6 35.Kh3 Qe6 36.g4 Qe1 37.Rd3 Qg1 38.Bh2 Qb1 39.Bg3 Nd8 40.Nd4 f6 41.Bf4 Nf7 42.Nf5 Ra2 43.Qd1 Qxd1 44.Rxd1 Rb2 45.Rd3 a5 46.Be3 Ne5 47.Rc3 Kf7 48.Bb6 Nc6 49.Kg3 Rb1 50.Kf4 Ne5 51.Kg3 Rh1 52.Kg2 Rd1 53.Ne3 Rd2+ 54.Kg3 Nc6 55.Kf4 Rf2+ 56.Ke4 1/2-1/2

              I was looking at the end of an earlier game, which resulted in a draw but the final position looked like a clear win for White. But it’s not, table base says it is a draw after 66..Kf6



              fen: 8/1K3p2/4k3/8/8/6p1/3R4/8 b - - 0 66

              Round 16, Nov. 15, 2016
              Houdini 5 – Stockfish 8
              A30 English, Symmetrical, Hedgehog System

              1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 b6 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.O-O c5 6.Nc3 Be7 7.Re1 d6 8.e4 a6 9.d4 cxd4 10.Nxd4 Qc7 11.Be3 O-O 12.Rc1 Nbd7 13.f4 Rac8 14.g4 Nc5 15.Bf2 g6 16.b4 Ncd7 17.b5 e5 18.Nc6 Bxc6 19.bxc6 Qxc6 20.h4 h5 21.g5 Ng4 22.Nd5 Bd8 23.f5 Qb7 24.Rc2 b5 25.Bh3 Nb6 26.Bxg4 Nxd5 27.Qxd5 Qxd5 28.exd5 hxg4 29.f6 Ba5 30.Rec1 Bb4 31.cxb5 Rxc2 32.Rxc2 axb5 33.Kh2 Ra8 34.Kg3 Ra3+ 35.Kxg4 Bc3 36.Kf3 b4 37.Ke4 Ra5 38.Be3 Kh7 39.Bc1 Rc5 40.Bb2 Rc4+ 41.Ke3 Rxh4 42.Bxc3 bxc3 43.Kd3 Rd4+ 44.Kxc3 Rxd5 45.a4 e4 46.Rh2+ Kg8 47.Re2 Rxg5 48.Rxe4 Kh7 49.Kb4 d5 50.Re1 Rf5 51.a5 Rxf6 52.Kb5 Rd6 53.a6 Rd8 54.a7 g5 55.Ra1 Ra8 56.Rh1+ Kg6 57.Kb6 d4 58.Kb7 Rd8 59.a8=Q Rxa8 60.Kxa8 Kf5 61.Ra1 Ke6 62.Kb7 d3 63.Rd1 g4 64.Rg1 d2 65.Rd1 g3 66.Rxd2 1/2-1/2
              Last edited by Wayne Komer; Sunday, 19th March, 2017, 01:14 AM.

              Comment


              • Re: Games from Recent Events

                Games from Recent Events

                December 5, 2016

                There is a variant of chess competition called basque.

                Wikipedia says: A chess competition in which the players simultaneously play each other two games on two boards, each playing White on one and Black on the other. There is a clock at both boards. It removes the bonus in mini-matches of playing White first. Basque chess was first played in the 2012 Donostia Chess Festival in the Basque Country, Spain

                Basque chess was played at the IMSA Elite Mind Games in China, in March of 2016

                http://www.chessdom.com/imsa-elite-m...ess-2016-live/

                But why stop at two boards?

                David Navara and Sergey Movsesyan spent last weekend in Prague setting a new world record in simultaneous chess: they played 12 games against each other - at the same time. Navara won 8.5-3.5. The event took place in the "Luziny" shopping mall in Prague and many people stopped to see the grandmasters in action. 12 games - that's a new world record. Both players are probably happy to set this world record but David Navara is probably a bit happier - he won the match 8.5-3.5.

                http://en.chessbase.com/post/navara-movsesian-simul-e

                From the official site:

                On the first December Sunday, an extraordinary chess event will take place in the shopping centre Lužiny. The best Czech chess player David Navara will fight against a member of the World Chess Championship and Olympics Team Sergey Movsesyan. The match will be held on 12 chess boards simultaneously.

                A similar match took place in 1982 in Tbilisi, Georgia, between the former World Champion Michail Tal and the legendary David Bronstein, using 8 chess boards. Therefore, the GMs David Navara and Sergey Movsesyan are about to create a new world record.

                The match will start on Sunday 4 December at 3 PM; the speed will be 90 minutes for 40 moves plus 30 minutes until the end of the game with 30s extra for every move. The match will take place in the central part of the 2nd floor of the shopping centre and it will be streamed in the restaurant of the local mini brewery (on the 3rd brewery), where you can meet interesting guests, have a beer and kibitz the game. The commentators of the match will be the legendary GM Vlastimil Hort and the young master Tadeáš Kriebel.

                If you arrive in the shopping centre in the morning already, you can play against the GMs David Navara and Sergey Movsesyan in an alternative simul at 11 AM. The participation in the simul is for free, so first come, first checkmate!

                http://praguechess.cz/index.php?modu...=ano&langue=en

                Simul Match Navara vs Movsesyan
                Prague, Dec. 4, 2016
                Movsesyan, Sergey (2673) – Navara, David (2742)
                A30 English, Symmetrical

                1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.O-O Nh6 6.e4 d6 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Nxd4 9.Bxh6 Bxh6 10.Qxd4 O-O 11.Nc3 Bg7 12.Qd3 Be6 13.b3 Qa5 14.Rac1 Rfc8 15.a4 Rab8 16.Rc2 a6 17.Rfc1 b5 18.axb5 Bxc3 19.Qxc3 Qxc3 20.Rxc3 axb5 21.Bf1 b4 22.Re3 Ra8 23.f4 Ra2 24.Re2 Rca8 25.Rce1 Bg4 26.Rxa2 Rxa2 27.e5 Rb2 28.exd6 exd6 29.Re3 Bd1 30.c5 dxc5 31.Bc4 Kf8 32.h4 Rc2 33.Kf1 Rc3 34.Kf2 Rxe3 35.Kxe3 Bg4 36.Bd3 Ke7 37.Bc2 Kd6 38.Bd3 Bf5 39.Be2 Be6 40.Bd1 c4 41.bxc4 Kc5 42.Ke4 f6 43.g4 Bxg4 44.Bxg4 0-1

                If 44. Bxg4 f5+.

                Comment


                • Re: Games from Recent Events

                  Games from Recent Events

                  December 19, 2016

                  The London Chess Classic has just concluded. Along with the Grand Chess Tour, there was also the FIDE Open, The British Knockout and the Super Rapidly.

                  Wesley So won the GCT, Bacrot and Maze tied for first in the Open, Nigel Short won the KO and Gunina, the Super Rapidly.

                  The initial list of the Rapidplay has 475 players. The favorites were Hrat Melkumyan (2736), Luke McShane (2709), Etienne Bacrot (2700) Laurent Fressinet (2676) and David Howell (2671). If you were to look way down the list you would see the 33rd seed, Valentina Gunina at 2491.

                  There were 10 rounds. Gunina went through unbeaten, ending with 9 points out of the 10. Eltaj Safarii was second with 8.5 and then came Bacrot, Fressinet, Howell, Istratescu, Jones etc. with 8.0

                  The story from chess24.com:

                  Valentina Gunina, who started with 32 male grandmasters rated above her, but still took £5,000 for clear first place with a phenomenal 9/10. Her victims included Nunn, Smirin, Iturrizaga, Howell and McShane, while she conceded only two draws, to Frenchmen Bacrot and Fressinet. Gunina is a former Women’s World Blitz Champion and known as a phenomenally fast calculator, and it was the speed of play that bamboozled her opponents, even when things didn’t go entirely to plan – as in the roller-coaster final game against Luke McShane.

                  https://chess24.com/en/read/news/7-c...-chess-classic
                  _______

                  (Wikipedia) - Valentina Evgenyevna Gunina born February 4, 1989 in Murmansk is a Russian chess grandmaster. She has won twice the Women's European Individual Chess Championship (2012, 2014) and three times the Russian Women's Championship (2011, 2013, 2014). She was a member of the gold medal-winning Russian team at the Women's Chess Olympiads of 2010, 2012, 2014 and at the Women's European Team Chess Championships of 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2015.

                  Some of her wins from the tourney:

                  London Super Rapidplay 2016
                  Round 5, Dec. 17, 2016
                  Gunina, Valentina – Nunn, John
                  E91 King’s Indian

                  1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 Nbd7 7.O-O e5 8.Qc2 c6 9.d5 a5 10.Be3 Qe7 11.Rad1 c5 12.Ne1 Ne8 13.Nd3 f5 14.f4 exf4 15.Nxf4 Ne5 16.Ne6 Bxe6 17.dxe6 Qxe6 18.exf5 Rxf5 19.Rxf5 gxf5 20.Nd5 Ng4 21.Bf4 Bd4+ 22.Kf1 Nef6 23.Qxf5 Re8 24.Qxe6+ Rxe6 25.Nxf6+ Rxf6 26.Bxg4 Rxf4+ 27.Bf3 Kf8 28.b3 Be5 29.Ke2 b6 30.g3 Rf6 31.Rf1 Ke7 32.Kd3 d5 33.cxd5 b5 34.Ke2 Kd6 35.Be4 Rh6 36.Rf2 c4 37.bxc4 bxc4 38.Ke3 Kc5 39.Rf5 Bb2 40.h4 Bc1+ 41.Kf3 Kd4 42.Rf7 c3 43.a4 Bd2 44.Re7 Rf6+ 45.Kg4 h6 46.Re6 Rxe6 47.dxe6 Kxe4 48.e7 c2 49.e8=Q+ Kd3 50.Qb5+ Ke3 51.Qb3+ 1-0

                  Round 6, Dec. 18, 2016
                  Smirin, Ilia – Gunina, Valentina
                  B10 Caro-Kann (Breyer) Variation

                  1.e4 c6 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 e5 4.Ngf3 Bd6 5.d4 exd4 6.exd5 Nf6 7.dxc6 Nxc6 8.Be2 O-O 9.O-O Bg4 10.Nb3 Qc7 11.h3 Bxf3 12.Bxf3 Rad8 13.Bg5 Bh2+ 14.Kh1 Be5 15.Nc5 h6 16.Bh4 Ne7 17.Nd3 Ng6 18.Bxf6 Bxf6 19.Re1 Rfe8 20.Be4 Ne5 21.Nf4 Nc4 22.Nh5 Bg5 23.h4 Bxh4 24.Qg4 Bg5 25.f4 Ne3 26.Rxe3 dxe3 27.fxg5 hxg5 28.Rf1 Qe5 29.Ng3 Rd4 30.Qf3 Re7 31.Qxe3 g6 32.c3 Ra4 33.a3 Qh8+ 34.Kg1 Qh4 35.b4 Ra6 36.Qd3 Kg7 37.Bd5 g4 38.Ne4 f6 39.g3 Qh5 40.Bxb7 Rxa3 41.Bd5 Qe5 42.Rxf6 Rd7 43.Rxg6+ Kxg6 44.Nc5+ Kh6 45.Nxd7 Ra1+ 46.Kh2 Qh5+ 47.Kg2 Qh1+ 48.Kf2 Qe1+ 0-1

                  Round 7, Dec. 18, 2016
                  Gunina, Valentina – Iturrizaga Bonelli, Eduardo
                  A50 Queen’s Indian Accelerated

                  1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 b6 3.Nc3 Bb7 4.Qc2 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 e5 8.dxe5 Nd7 9.Nf3 Qe7 10.Bb5 O-O-O 11.O-O Nxe5 12.Nd4 g6 13.a4 c5 14.a5 Qc7 15.axb6 axb6 16.Ne2 Ng4 17.Bf4 Bd6 18.g3 Kb8 19.Ra4 Ne5 20.Rfa1 Nc6 21.Bxd6 Qxd6 22.Qa2 Qe6 23.Qb1 Na5 24.Nf4 Qb3 25.Qf1 Qxc3 26.Ba6 Bc6 27.Nd5 Rxd5 28.R4a3 Qd2 29.exd5 Qxd5 30.f3 Nb3 31.R1a2 Nd2 32.Qe2 Qd4+ 33.Kg2 Nxf3 34.Rxf3 Re8 35.Qf2 Re3 36.Be2 g5 37.Kf1 Bxf3 38.Bxf3 f5 39.Kg2 f4 40.Ra8+ Kc7 41.Qa2 Re7 42.Qa7+ Kd6 43.Rd8+ Ke6 44.Qxb6+ 1-0

                  Round 9, Dec. 18, 2016
                  Howell, David – Gunina, Valentina
                  A11 English, Caro-Kann Defensive System

                  1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 c6 4.c4 dxc4 5.O-O Nbd7 6.Na3 Nb6 7.Qc2 Be6 8.Ng5 Qc8 9.b3 cxb3 10.axb3 Bf5 11.d3 e6 12.Nc4 Nxc4 13.bxc4 Be7 14.Ba3 Bxa3 15.Rxa3 O-O 16.Rfa1 a6 17.Nf3 Qc7 18.Qb2 Rab8 19.Qe5 Qe7 20.Nd4 Bg6 21.Rb3 Rbd8 22.h3 Nd7 23.Qe3 Nc5 24.Rb6 e5 25.Nb3 Nxb3 26.Rxb3 f5 27.f4 e4 28.dxe4 fxe4 29.c5 Rd5 30.Rab1 Qxc5 31.Qxc5 Rxc5 32.Rxb7 Rb5 33.g4 Rxf4 34.e3 Rf7 35.Rb8+ Rf8 36.Rxf8+ Kxf8 37.Rc1 c5 38.h4 Ke7 39.h5 Bf7 40.Bxe4 Rb4 41.Bxh7 Rxg4+ 42.Kf2 Rg5 43.Bg6 Bxg6 44.hxg6 a5 45.Ke2 Kd6 46.Kd3 Rxg6 47.Ra1 Rg5 48.e4 Rg3+ 49.Kc4 Re3 50.Rg1 Rxe4+ 51.Kc3 Re7 52.Kc4 a4 53.Rg6+ Ke5 54.Kxc5 Kf5 55.Rg1 g5 56.Rf1+ Kg6 57.Rg1 Re4 58.Kd5 Rb4 59.Ke5 a3 60.Ra1 Ra4 61.Ra2 g4 0-1

                  Round 10, Dec. 18, 2016
                  Gunina, Valentina – McShane, Luke
                  E91 King’s Indian

                  1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 c5 7.O-O Re8 8.Bg5 cxd4 9.Nxd4 Nc6 10.Nc2 b6 11.Qd2 Bb7 12.f3 Rc8 13.Rac1 Ne5 14.b3 Ned7 15.Rfd1 a6 16.Nd4 Qc7 17.Bf1 Qb8 18.Bh6 Bh8 19.Nd5 e6 20.Nc3 Rcd8 21.Qg5 d5 22.cxd5 exd5 23.exd5 Re5 24.Qg3 Nxd5 25.Ne4 b5 26.Nc6 Bxc6 27.Rxc6 Ne7 28.Rxa6 Nf5 29.Qh3 Nc5 30.Rxd8+ Qxd8 31.Rc6 Nxe4 32.fxe4 Rxe4 33.Qd3 Rd4 34.Qc2 Rd1 35.Qxd1 Bd4+ 36.Kh1 Nxh6 37.Bxb5 Qh4 38.Rc8+ Kg7 39.Bd7 Be5 40.Qg1 f5 41.Rc4 Ng4 42.g3 Qe7 43.Bc6 Bf6 44.Bf3 Ne5 45.Rc3 Qd6 46.Qd1 Qb6 47.Qc1 g5 48.Rc7+ Kg6 49.Bc6 Qf2 50.Qd1 Ng4 51.Be8+ Kh6 52.Rc2 Bd4 53.h3 Qxg3 54.hxg4 Bf2 55.Rxf2 Qxf2 56.Qd6+ Kg7 57.Qe7+ Kg8 58.Qf7+ Kh8 59.Qf8# 1-0

                  34….Rd1? better is Rd5

                  I thought she might do well against the men in the upcoming world’s but then realized that there would be a men’s and a women’s tournament. These are the top ten women participating:

                  1. Ju, Wenjun (2580)
                  2. Muzychuk, Anna (2561)
                  3. Koneru, Humpy (2557)
                  4. Kostenkiuk, Alexandra (2555)
                  5. Harika, Dronavalli (2543)
                  6. Lagno, Kateryna (2530)
                  7. Gunina, Valentina (2525)
                  8. Stefanova, Antoaneta (2512)
                  9. Zhao, Xue (2508)
                  10. Dzagnidze, Nana (2507)

                  Gunina’s performance rating at London was 2831!

                  That tournament starts in Qatar December 26

                  http://qatarchess2016.com/DohaChess2016/index.php

                  Comment


                  • Re: Games from Recent Events

                    Games from Recent Events

                    January 1, 2017

                    Best Games/Moves of 2016

                    There is a review in chess.com of the best moves of the past year. None appear to have been given in this thread before and so appear at the end.

                    https://www.chess.com/news/view/2016...in-review-8558

                    From the article:

                    Top 12 Moves Of The Year

                    1: Aronian vs. Giri, Tal Memorial, 30.Qf4
                    2: Jobava vs. Ponomariov, Olympiad, 17.Bh6
                    3: Aronian vs. Rapport, European Club Cup, 27.Rh1+
                    4: So vs. Akobian, U.S. Championship, 20. Nxf7
                    5: Wen Yang vs. Artemiev, Aeroflot Open, 13.Rxf7
                    6: Ragger vs. Maze, Olympiad, 37.Rc5
                    7: Caruana vs. Radjabov, Gashimov Memorial, 34.e6
                    8: Carlsen vs. Karjakin, World Championship, 50.Qh6+
                    9: Giri vs. Vachier-Lagrave, Norway Chess, 24...Nxf2
                    10: Dominguez vs. Adhiban, Spanish Championship, 24.Qh6
                    11: Grischuk vs. Volokitin, Olympiad, 13...dxc4
                    12: Kramnik vs. Buhmann, Dortmund, 26.Qxf8+

                    The games:

                    1) Aronian vs. Giri, Tal Memorial, 30.Qf4
                    Tal Memorial 2016
                    Moscow
                    Round 6, Oct. 2, 2016
                    Aronian, Levon – Giri, Anish
                    A20 English, Modern Nimzowitsch

                    1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.O-O Nb6 7.d3 Be7 8.Be3 O-O 9.Nbd2 Be6 10.Rc1 Qd7 11.a3 Bh3 12.Bxh3 Qxh3 13.b4 Bd6 14.Qb3 Ne7 15.d4 exd4 16.Bxd4 Nc6 17.Ne4 Nxd4 18.Nxd4 Qd7 19.Rfd1 Be5 20.Nc6 Qe8 21.Na5 Rb8 22.Nc5 Qc8 23.Qf3 c6 24.b5 Bb2 25.bxc6 Bxc1 26.Rxc1 Qc7 27.cxb7 Na4 28.Ncb3 Qe7 29.Nd4 Qg5 30.Qf4 Qxa5 31.Qxb8 Rxb8 32.Rc8+ Qd8 33.Rxd8+ Rxd8 34.Nc6 1-0

                    2) Jobava vs. Ponomariov, Olympiad, 17.Bh6
                    Chess Olympiad 2016
                    Baku
                    Round 8, Sept. 10, 2016
                    Jobava, Baadur – Ponomariov, Ruslan
                    A45 Queen’s Pawn game

                    1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 cxd4 5.exd4 a6 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.Nge2 e6 8.Qd2 b5 9.O-O Be7 10.a3 Bd7 11.h3 O-O 12.Rfe1 Na5 13.Rad1 Qb6 14.Ng3 Rfc8 15.Nf5 exf5 16.Rxe7 Be6 17.Bh6 gxh6 18.Qxh6 Rxc3 19.Qg5+ Kf8 20.Qxf6 Rxd3 21.cxd3 1-0

                    3) Aronian vs. Rapport, European Club Cup, 27.Rh1+
                    European Club Cup
                    Novi Sad
                    Round 3, Nov. 8, 2016
                    Aronian, Levon – Rapport, Richard
                    D07 QGD, Chigorin Defence

                    1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Nf3 e5 6.dxe5 Bb4 7.Bd2 Nxc3 8.bxc3 Ba5 9.e3 O-O 10.Qa4 Bb6 11.Qf4 Qe7 12.h4 f6 13.exf6 Rxf6 14.Qc4+ Kh8 15.Bd3 Bf5 16.Bxf5 Rxf5 17.Ng5 Ne5 18.Qe4 Qd7 19.O-O Re8 20.Qc2 h6 21.Ne4 Rh5 22.Ng3 Rxh4 23.Rad1 Rf8 24.Bc1 Qg4 25.Rd5 Qg5 26.Qe2 c6 27.Rd4 Rh1+ 28.Kxh1 Bxd4 29.f3 Bb6 30.Ne4 Qh5+ 31.Kg1 Bc7 32.Kf2 Qh2 33.Ke1 Rd8 34.Bd2 Nd3+ 35.Kd1 Qe5 36.g4 Qb5 37.Qg2 Nb2+ 38.Kc2 Nc4 39.Bc1 Rd5 40.g5 Na5 41.Bd2 Qd3+ 0-1

                    4) So vs. Akobian, U.S. Championship, 20. Nxf7
                    U.S. Championship 2016
                    St. Louis
                    Round 5, Apr. 18, 2016
                    So, Wesley – Akobian, Varuzhan
                    C10 French, Rubinstein variation

                    1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Nxf6+ Nxf6 7.c3 c5 8.Be3 cxd4 9.Bxd4 Be7 10.Bd3 O-O 11.Qc2 h6 12.O-O-O Qa5 13.Kb1 Rd8 14.Ne5 Bd7 15.Qe2 Bc6 16.Rhe1 Bd5 17.c4 Bxg2 18.Bc3 Qb6 19.Rg1 Bc6 20.Nxf7 Kxf7 21.Rxg7+ Kxg7 22.Qxe6 Qxf2 23.Qxe7+ Kg8 24.Bh7+ 1-0

                    5) Wen Yang vs. Artemiev, Aeroflot Open, 13.Rxf7
                    Aeroflot Open 2016
                    Moscow
                    Round 2, Mar. 2, 2016
                    Wen Yang – Artemiev, Vladislav
                    B23 Sicilian, Closed

                    1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 a6 3.g3 b5 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.d3 e6 6.Nh3 d6 7.O-O Nf6 8.f4 Nc6 9.Be3 Be7 10.e5 dxe5 11.fxe5 Nd7 12.Qg4 g6 13.Rxf7 Kxf7 14.Rf1+ Ke8 15.Qxe6 Ndxe5 16.Ne4 Qc7 17.Nf4 Bc8 18.Nf6+ Kd8 19.Qd5+ Qd6 20.Bxc5 1-0

                    6) Ragger vs. Maze, Olympiad, 37.Rc5
                    Chess Olympiad 2016
                    Baku
                    Round 7, Sept. 9, 2016
                    Ragger, Markus – Maze, Sebastien
                    E99 King’s Indian, Orthodox, Aronin-Taimanov

                    1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Nd3 f5 11.f3 f4 12.Bd2 g5 13.Rc1 Ng6 14.c5 Nf6 15.Nb5 Rf7 16.Ba5 b6 17.cxd6 cxd6 18.Be1 g4 19.fxg4 Nxe4 20.Nb4 a6 21.Bf3 Ng3 22.Nc6 Qf8 23.Nxd6 Nxf1 24.Nxf7 Ne3 25.Qb3 Kxf7 26.h4 e4 27.Bxe4 Qe8 28.d6+ Be6 29.Qxb6 Rc8 30.h5 Nf8 31.g5 Nd7 32.Qb4 Kf8 33.h6 Bh8 34.Bc3 Bxc3 35.Qxc3 Qf7 36.Qd4 Qg8 37.Rc5 Nxc5 38.d7 Qxg5 39.Qh8+ Kf7 40.Qxh7+ Kf8 41.Qh8+ Kf7 42.Bg6+ Kxg6 43.Qg7+ Kh5 44.Qxg5+ Kxg5 45.dxc8=Q Bxc8 46.h7 Bb7 47.Nd4 Bxg2 48.h8=Q Ne4 49.Qe5+ 1-0

                    7) Caruana vs. Radjabov, Gashimov Memorial, 34.e6
                    Gashimov Memorial
                    Shamkir
                    Round 5, May. 30, 2016
                    Caruana, Fabiano – Radjabov, Teimour
                    B31 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

                    1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d3 Bg7 6.h3 Nf6 7.Nc3 O-O 8.Bf4 b6 9.Qd2 Re8 10.O-O-O a5 11.Ne5 b5 12.Qe3 Qb6 13.Bh6 Bh8 14.f4 a4 15.Rhf1 e6 16.g4 a3 17.b4 Nd7 18.Nxd7 Bxd7 19.e5 f5 20.Ne2 Bg7 21.Bxg7 Kxg7 22.h4 fxg4 23.h5 gxh5 24.Ng3 Kh8 25.Nxh5 Re7 26.Nf6 Be8 27.f5 exf5 28.Rxf5 Qc7 29.Rg5 Rg7 30.Rh1 Bg6 31.Rxg4 Qf7 32.Kb1 cxb4 33.Qd4 Bf5 34.e6 Rxg4 35.exf7 Rxd4 36.Ne8 1-0

                    8) Carlsen vs. Karjakin, World Championship, 50.Qh6+
                    World Championship 2016
                    New York City
                    Round 13, Nov. 30, 2016
                    Carlsen, Magnus – Karjakin Sergey
                    B55 Sicilian, Prins variation

                    1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.f3 e5 6.Nb3 Be7 7.c4 a5 8.Be3 a4 9.Nc1 O-O 10.Nc3 Qa5 11.Qd2 Na6 12.Be2 Nc5 13.O-O Bd7 14.Rb1 Rfc8 15.b4 axb3 16.axb3 Qd8 17.Nd3 Ne6 18.Nb4 Bc6 19.Rfd1 h5 20.Bf1 h4 21.Qf2 Nd7 22.g3 Ra3 23.Bh3 Rca8 24.Nc2 R3a6 25.Nb4 Ra5 26.Nc2 b6 27.Rd2 Qc7 28.Rbd1 Bf8 29.gxh4 Nf4 30.Bxf4 exf4 31.Bxd7 Qxd7 32.Nb4 Ra3 33.Nxc6 Qxc6 34.Nb5 Rxb3 35.Nd4 Qxc4 36.Nxb3 Qxb3 37.Qe2 Be7 38.Kg2 Qe6 39.h5 Ra3 40.Rd3 Ra2 41.R3d2 Ra3 42.Rd3 Ra7 43.Rd5 Rc7 44.Qd2 Qf6 45.Rf5 Qh4 46.Rc1 Ra7 47.Qxf4 Ra2+ 48.Kh1 Qf2 49.Rc8+ Kh7 50.Qh6+ 1-0

                    9) Giri vs. Vachier-Lagrave, Norway Chess, 24...Nxf2
                    Norway Chess 2016
                    Stavanger
                    Round 2, Apr. 20, 2016
                    Giri, Anish – Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime
                    B96 Sicilian, Najdorf

                    1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 h6 8.Bh4 Qb6 9.a3 Be7 10.Bf2 Qc7 11.Qf3 Nbd7 12.O-O-O b5 13.g4 g5 14.h4 gxf4 15.Be2 Rg8 16.Rdg1 d5 17.exd5 Ne5 18.Qh3 exd5 19.Re1 Kf8 20.Nf5 Bxf5 21.gxf5 Bc5 22.Qf1 d4 23.Nb1 Ne4 24.Bf3 Nxf2 25.Bxa8 Ned3+ 26.Kd2 Nxe1 27.Qxf2 d3 28.Qxe1 Be3+ 0-1

                    10) Dominguez vs. Adhiban, Spanish Championship, 26.Qh6
                    Spanish Championship Division Honor 2016
                    Sept. 28, 2016
                    Dominguez Perez, Leinier – Adhiban, Baskaran
                    C78 Ruy Lopez, Moeller Defence

                    1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Bc5 6.Bxc6 dxc6 7.d3 Nd7 8.Nbd2 O-O 9.Nc4 Re8 10.Kh1 Bf8 11.Bd2 c5 12.b3 b6 13.Bc3 Bd6 14.a4 Bb7 15.Nfd2 Nf8 16.Qg4 Ng6 17.Ne3 Bf8 18.Nf5 Bc8 19.g3 f6 20.f4 Kh8 21.Nf3 exf4 22.gxf4 Bxf5 23.Qxf5 Bd6 24.Rg1 Qc8 25.Qh5 Nxf4 26.Qh6 Ne6 27.Bxf6 Bf8 28.Rxg7 Bxg7 29.Ng5 Kg8 30.Qxh7+ Kf8 31.Rf1 Re7 32.Nxe6+ Rxe6 33.Bxg7+ Ke7 34.Be5+ Ke8 35.Qf7+ Kd8 36.Bf6+ Rxf6 37.Qxf6+ Kd7 38.Qf7+ Kd8 39.Rg1 1-0

                    11) Grischuk vs. Volokitin, Olympiad, 13...dxc4
                    Chess Olympiad 2016
                    Baku
                    Round 4, Sept. 5, 2016
                    Grischuk, Alexander – Volokitin, Andrei
                    D78 Neo-Grunfeld

                    1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.c4 c6 5.b3 Ne4 6.d4 d5 7.O-O O-O 8.Bb2 Bf5 9.Nbd2 Qa5 10.e3 Nd7 11.Qe2 Rfe8 12.Nxe4 Bxe4 13.Bh3 dxc4 14.Bxd7 Qh5 15.g4 Qh3 16.Ne1 Bd3 17.Nxd3 cxd3 18.Qxd3 Rad8 19.Bxc6 bxc6 20.Qe4 c5 21.Rad1 h5 22.gxh5 Qxh5 23.f4 Qe2 24.Ba1 cxd4 25.Rde1 Qg4+ 26.Qg2 Qxg2+ 27.Kxg2 dxe3 28.Re2 Bxa1 29.Rxa1 e5 30.fxe5 Rxe5 31.Rae1 Kg7 32.Kg3 Rde8 33.h3 f5 34.Kf3 Rh8 35.Kg3 g5 36.Rh2 f4+ 37.Kf3 Kf6 38.Rc1 Kf5 0-1

                    12) Kramnik vs. Buhmann, Dortmund, 26.Qxf8+
                    Dortmund 2016
                    Dortmund
                    Round 3, Jul. 12, 2016
                    Kramnik, Vladimir – Buhmann, Rainer
                    C11 French, Steinitz variation

                    1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Be7 7.Be3 b6 8.Qd2 O-O 9.h4 Nc6 10.Bb5 Qc7 11.O-O-O a6 12.Bd3 f5 13.g4 c4 14.gxf5 cxd3 15.fxe6 Ndb8 16.Nxd5 Qd8 17.Nxe7+ Nxe7 18.Ng5 h6 19.Qxd3 hxg5 20.hxg5 Bxe6 21.Qh7+ Kf7 22.d5 Bf5 23.e6+ Ke8 24.Qxg7 Qc7 25.Rh2 Nxd5 26.Qxf8+ Kxf8 27.Rxd5 Bh7 28.b3 Ke8 29.g6 Bxg6 30.Rh8+ Ke7 31.f5 Bxf5 32.Rxf5 Qc3 33.Bg5+ Kxe6 34.Rf6+ Qxf6 35.Bxf6 Kxf6 36.Rh6+ Ke5 37.Rxb6 Kd5 38.Kb2 Nc6 39.a3 Kc5 40.Rb7 Rg8 41.Rh7 Rg2 42.Rh5+ Kd6 43.Kc3 Rg3+ 44.Kb2 Rg2 45.Kc3 Rg3+ 46.Kb2 Rg2 1/2-1/2
                    Last edited by Wayne Komer; Monday, 2nd January, 2017, 02:26 AM.

                    Comment


                    • Re: Games from Recent Events

                      Games from Recent Events

                      March 5, 2017

                      Michael Adams

                      There has been some discussion on the EC Forum about the best game of Michael Adams, the perennial English No. 1.

                      The two candidates are Adams-Kramnik 2000 and Ivanchuk-Adams 1991

                      SuperGM 2000
                      Dortmund, Germany
                      Round 4, July 10, 2000
                      Adams, Michael – Kramnik, Vladimir
                      B31 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

                      1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d3 Bg7 6.h3 Nf6 7.Nc3 Nd7 8.O-O e5 9.Be3 O-O 10.Qd2 Re8 11.Nh2 Qe7 12.Bh6 Bh8 13.Ng4 Nf8 14.Bg5 f6 15.Nh6+ Kg7 16.Be3 Ne6 17.Ne2 Ng5 18.Ng4 h5 19.Nh2 Rd8 20.Qc3 Ne6 21.f4 Nd4 22.Rae1 Kh7 23.Nf3 Be6 24.fxe5 fxe5 25.Ng5+ Kg8 26.Nxe6 Nxe6 27.Qb3 Kh7 28.Rf2 Rf8 29.Ref1 Bg7 30.Kh2 b6 31.Ng1 Nd4 32.Qa4 b5 33.Qa3 a5 34.Qc3 a4 35.Nf3 Ne6 36.b3 Kg8 37.Qd2 axb3 38.cxb3 Rad8 39.Qc3 g5 40.g3 Rd7 41.h4 gxh4 42.Nxh4 Rxf2+ 43.Rxf2 Qd6 44.Rd2 Nd4 45.Qc1 Bf6 46.Bxd4 Bxh4 47.Bxc5 Qh6 48.gxh4 Qf4+ 49.Kh1 Rg7 50.Qd1 1-0

                      Comments from chessgames.com

                      - This was Kramnik's first loss in 82 games covering 18 months. Unlike other such long unbeaten runs, by Tal and Capablanca for instance, I think that Kramnik's run was entirely against GMs.

                      - Played in round 4 at Dortmund; Kramnik and Anand tied for first with 6-3 each with one loss a point ahead of Adams, Akopian and Leko. 13 Ng4 was a new move; 13 Kh1 had been played previously. White would have maintained a small edge after 33..Nxc2 34 Bxc5..Qd7 35 Qc3..Rxf2 36 Rxf2..Nd4. Adams did not consider 36 Ng5..Nxg5 37 Bxc5..Rxf2 38 Bxe7..Nf3+ 39 Kg3..Rxf1 40 gxf which he described as "good for White but a bit messy" (36 b4 was another promising alternative). Adams was critical of 37..axb?! (creating a passed pawn for White) recommending 37..Nd4 or 37..Rf7 instead. After the weakening 39..g5? Black may already be lost; preferable was 39..Qd6 40 Ne1.

                      Adams on 46..Bxh4?: "I couldn't tell if this was a miscalculation or a desperate gamble but the move does lose a piece."
                      Had Kramnik instead played 46..exd Adams still considered the position to be close to winning after 47 Nf5..Qe5 48 Rc2..c4 49 bxc..h4 50 cxb..hxg+ 51 Kg2..Rh7 52 bxc.

                      http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1292637

                      _________

                      Michael himself has said that this was his best game:

                      Terrassa 52/346
                      Terrassa, Spain
                      Round 6, June 1991
                      Vassily, Ivanchuk – Adams, Michael
                      C89 Ruy Lopez, Marshall, main line

                      1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6 12.d4 Bd6 13.Re1 Qh4 14.g3 Qh3 15.Be3 Bg4 16.Qd3 Rae8 17.Nd2 Qh5 18.Nf1 Re6 19.Bd1 f5 20.Bxg4 Qxg4 21.Bd2 Rg6 22.Kg2 f4 23.f3 Qh5 24.g4 Qh4 25.Re2 Rxg4+ 26.fxg4 f3+ 27.Kh1 fxe2 28.Qxe2 Kh8 29.Kg1 h6 30.Qg2 Bf4 31.Be1 Qg5 32.h3 Qg6 33.Rd1 Bb8 34.Rd2 Qb1 35.Bf2 Kg8 36.b3 Bf4 37.Re2 Nxc3 38.Re6 Qxa2 39.Rxc6 Qxb3 40.Rxa6 Ne2+ 41.Kh1 Bb8 42.Be1 Qd1 0-1

                      - GM Michael Adams was quoted in the book Chess in the Fast Lane, "Like most players I would shy away from naming any one game as my best, but this excellent win with black against a very strong opponent would have a good claim. It was particularly nice to achieve virtual zugzwang with so much material remaining on the board."

                      - Apparently a slip of the hand which confused Chucky and one of the moves which won the game - 17...Qh5!?. Mickey's comment was, " I was trying to play the Spassky system (which would have been achieved by 17...Re6 18. a4 Qh5) but accidentally inverted the order of moves. I only realised this when I made my move because Vassily raised his eyebrows and sunk into thought.

                      Strangely, after I played this move all the lights in the tournament hall went out! They were repaired fifteen minutes later but 'Chukky' continued thinking for about another fifty minutes before playing 18. Nf1. Mickey's comment : 32. h3?! Both players were running a little short of time at this point and in particular the pace of Vassily's moves had increased. 32. Rd1 had to be played. 32...Qg6! the Queen controls the light squares.

                      35...Kg8! much stronger than 35... Qxa2 36. Bg3
                      36. b3? this loses by force, but the more solid 36. a3 is well answered by 36... Kh8, and if 37. a4 Kg8 etc.

                      http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1014135

                      Comment


                      • Re: Games from Recent Events

                        Games from Recent Events

                        March 19, 2017

                        Oh dear, another game from the remote past! My only excuse is that it has recently been shown with its 1955 annotations in Chess Notes (CN 10387):

                        http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/i...sky_v_Korchnoi

                        XXII USSR Championship 1955
                        Moscow
                        Round 18, March 12, 1955
                        Spassky, Boris – Korchnoi, Viktor
                        D87 Gruenfeld Defense, Exchange, Seville Variation

                        1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 c5 7.Bc4 Bg7 8.Ne2 cxd4 9.cxd4 Nc6 10.Be3 O-O 11.O-O Bg4 12.f3 Na5 13.Bxf7+ Rxf7 14.fxg4 Rxf1+ 15.Kxf1 Qd7 16.h3 Qe6 17.Qd3 Qc4 18.Qd2 Qa6 19.Qc2 Nc4 20.Qb3 Kh8 21.Kg1 Nd2 22.Bxd2 Qxe2 23.Be3 Rf8 24.e5 b5 25.Rc1 a5 26.Bg5 h6 27.Bxe7 a4 28.Qd1 Qe3+ 29.Kh1 Rf2 30.Qg1 Qf4 31.a3 Kh7 32.Bc5 h5 33.gxh5 Bh6 34.hxg6+ Kg7 35.Re1 Qg3 36.Bb4 Be3 37.Qh2 Qg5 38.e6 Bf4 39.Qg1 Qh4 40.e7 Rf3 41.Qh2 1-0

                        To move: black - Last move: 41. Qh2




                        8/4P1k1/6P1/1p6/pB1P1b1q/P4r1P/6PQ/4R2K b - - 2 41

                        Such a typically breathtaking Spassky ending, offering his Queen to a Bishop to gain a single tempo!

                        See also:

                        http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1081034

                        I have used the move order in the Chess Notes article rather than the chessgames score.

                        Comment


                        • Re: Games from Recent Events

                          You're entertaining us (the readers) Wayne, and that's much appreciated.

                          Comment


                          • Re: Games from Recent Events

                            Games from Recent Events

                            July 8, 2017

                            Wesley So is in the Leon Masters 2017.

                            This from chess24.com by Colin McGourty:

                            Wesley So is on course to play a 4-game rapid match against Vishy Anand on Sunday in the final of the 2017 León Masters, but it wasn’t easy! In the first game of his semi-final against Jan-Krzysztof Duda he inexplicably blundered his queen on move 17 and had no choice but to resign. He got nothing in the next game but then levelled the score in an endgame grind in Game 3. The final game was going the young Polish player’s way, but when his attack stalled Wesley took over and ensured no tiebreaks were required.

                            https://chess24.com/en/read/news/so-...mazing-blunder

                            The article attempts to explain the blunder. Here is the game and the position

                            20th Leon Masters 2017
                            Rapid, Semi-final
                            Round 1, July 8, 2017
                            So, Wesley – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof
                            D11 QGD Slav, 4.e3

                            1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.b3 c5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Bb2 cxd4 8.Nxd4 e5 9.Nf3 Nc6 10.Bc4 Bb4+ 11.Nbd2 Nb6 12.Bb5 Qd5 13.Bxc6+ bxc6 14.Bxe5 Bg4 15.Bc7 O-O 16.a3 Bxf3 17.axb4 Bxd1 0-1

                            White (Wesley So) to make his 17th move:

                            Comment


                            • Re: Games from Recent Events

                              Games from Recent Events

                              July 12, 2017

                              The Wei Yi show in Danzhou

                              Wei Yi is the sole leader after three rounds of the Danzhou Super-GM tournament on 2.5/3. He beat Lu Shanglei fast on the black side of the Sicilian and then won a spectacular encounter with Ruslan Ponomariov where he sacrificed pawn after pawn to allow a rook to maraud around the board.

                              8th Danzhou Super GM 2017
                              Round 3, July 11, 2017
                              Wei, Yi – Ponomariov, Ruslan
                              A13 English, Neo-Catalan

                              1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 dxc4 5.O-O Nbd7 6.Qc2 Nb6 7.a4 a5 8.Na3 Bxa3 9.Rxa3 O-O 10.e4 e5 11.Nxe5 Qd4 12.Qc3 Qxc3 13.Rxc3 Be6 14.d4 Nxa4 15.Ra3 b5 16.f4 Nb6 17.g4 Nxg4 18.f5 Nxe5 19.dxe5 Bd7 20.Rg3 Bc6 21.Bh6 g6 22.Rg5 c3 23.bxc3 Nc4 24.fxg6 fxg6 25.Bxf8 Rxf8 26.e6 Be8 27.Rd1 Rf6 28.Rd8 Kf8 29.Rxb5 Ke7 30.Rbb8 Bc6 31.Rdc8 Rxe6 32.Rxc7+ Kd6 33.Rxh7 a4 34.Ra7 Kc5 35.e5 Bxg2 36.Kxg2 a3 37.Rc7+ Rc6 38.Rxc6+ Kxc6 39.Rc8+ Kd5 40.e6 1-0

                              https://chess24.com/en/read/news/

                              Comment


                              • Re: Games from Recent Events

                                You want sparkling tactics and incredilbe technique checkout Wei Yi - Yu Yangyi (and for that matter also Pono - Ding Liren) Awesome stuff!

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