Qatar Masters Open 2015

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

Qatar Masters 2015

December 21, 2015

Round 2 (Concluded)

Giri beats Sweden’s Grandelius. There is a beautiful mate possible and Grandelius allows Giri to offer his queen sacrifice to mate in two. There actually is a mate in 9 if White plays 41.Qa7 but that is beside the point.

Qatar Masters 2015
Round 2, Dec. 21, 2015
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Adams Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.h3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.f4 Be7 9.f5 Bd7 10.Be3 b5 11.Qf3 b4 12.Nd5 Nxd5 13.exd5 Bg5 14.Bxg5 Qxg5 15.Bd3 Bb5 16.h4 Qd8 17.g4 Nd7 18.g5 h6 19.Rg1 hxg5 20.hxg5 Bxd3 21.Qxd3 Rh5 22.Qg3 Qc7 23.O-O-O Rc8 24.Rd2 a5 25.Kb1 a4 26.Nc1 Qc4 27.Qf3 Rh4 28.f6 g6 29.Rh1 Nc5 30.Rdh2 Ne4 31.Qd1 Rxh2 32.Rxh2 Kd7 33.Qg1 Qxd5 34.Qa7+ Ke6 35.Qg1 Kd7 36.Qa7+ Ke6 37.Qg1 Qc4 38.Re2 b3 39.axb3 axb3 40.cxb3 Qxe2 0-1

Peter says that in the Russian Superfinal (2015) Denis Khismatullin had a beautiful mate forthcoming and Peter let him play it rather than resigning.

Russian Superfinals, Chita 2015
Round 4, Aug. 12, 2015
Svidler, Peter – Khismatullin, Denis
B23 Sicilian, Closed

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 a6 3.Nge2 d6 4.g3 g6 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Bg7 7.Bg2 Nf6 8.b3 O-O 9.Bb2 Bd7 10.Qd2 Nc6 11.Nde2 b5 12.O-O-O Ng4 13.Rdf1 Qa5 14.h3 Nf6 15.Kb1 b4 16.Nd1 Qc7 17.Ne3 a5 18.f4 a4 19.e5 dxe5 20.fxe5 Nxe5 21.Bxa8 Rxa8 22.Rf4 axb3 23.axb3 Qa7 24.Nd4 Nh5 25.Nd5 Bc6 26.Nxc6 Qa2+ 27.Kc1 Qa1+ 28.Bxa1 Rxa1+ 29.Kb2 Nc4# 0-1

Anish and Peter joke around and then Anish asks Peter why he isn’t playing in the Open? Peter gives a bit of a confused answer, which I took to mean that he wanted to try out commentating, that the strain of tournament after tournament was very wearing on older competitors and that he wanted time to prepare for the Candidates. That being said, he remarked that commentating was an even greater strain than playing.

Peter’s son is in the chess news.

From chess24.com:

Peter isn’t the only talented Svidler in action this Christmas, though! His son Daniil gave a piano recital at the opening ceremony of the now traditional Nutcracker Battle of the Generations tournament in Moscow. You can watch that from about 13:20 onwards (Matvey Glukhovsky plays first):

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/car...vich-in-moscow

I think that Alejandro Ramirez is keeping up well with Peter in the commentating but some viewers are not used to him and are inclined to be critical.
_______

Further results come in – draws for Kramnik, Karjakin, Mamedyarov (16 moves!), Tomashevsky, Rambaldi, Ponomariov, Duda, Dubov and Shankland.

Wins for So, Wojtaszek, Howell, Harikrishna, Jakovenko and Wei Yi.

Qatar Masters 2015
Round 2, Dec. 21, 2015
So, Wesley – Naroditsky, Daniel
E00 Catalan Opening

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Bd6 6.Bg2 c6 7.O-O Nbd7 8.b3 Ne4 9.Bc1 O-O 10.Qc2 f5 11.Ba3 Bxa3 12.Nxa3 Qe7 13.Qb2 b6 14.e3 Bb7 15.Rac1 Rfc8 16.cxd5 cxd5 17.Rxc8+ Rxc8 18.Rc1 Qf8 19.Nb5 a6 20.Nc3 Qd6 21.Bf1 b5 22.a3 Rc6 23.Na2 Rxc1 24.Nxc1 Qc7 25.Nd3 Bc8 26.Nfe5 Nxe5 27.Nxe5 Kf8 28.f3 Qc3 29.Qxc3 Nxc3 30.Bd3 Ke7 31.Kf2 Kd6 32.g4 a5 33.h4 b4 34.axb4 axb4 35.Bc2 Ba6 36.gxf5 exf5 37.Bxf5 Nd1+ 38.Ke1 Nxe3 39.Bxh7 Ng2+ 40.Kf2 Nf4 41.Ke3 Ng2+ 42.Kf2 Nf4 43.Bc2 Bb5 44.Ke3 Ng2+ 45.Kf2 Nf4 46.Ng4 Ke6 47.Bd1 Nd3+ 48.Ke3 Ne1 49.Kf4 Ng2+ 50.Kg3 Ne1 51.Ne3 g6 52.f4 Ba6 53.Bg4+ Kd6 54.f5 gxf5 55.Nxf5+ Ke6 56.Ne3+ Kf7 57.Nxd5 Nc2 58.Nc7 Bd3 59.Ne6 Ne3 60.Nc5 Bc2 61.Kf4 Ng2+ 62.Kg5 Ne3 63.Kf4 Ng2+ 64.Kg5 Ne3 65.Be6+ Ke7 66.h5 Bh7 67.h6 Nc2 68.Bf5 Bxf5 69.Kxf5 Nxd4+ 70.Ke4 1-0

Round 2, Dec. 21, 2015
Howell, David – Stefanova, Antoaneta
A40 Modern Defence

1.c4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.e4 e6 4.Nf3 Ne7 5.h4 d5 6.e5 c5 7.dxc5 Nbc6 8.Bf4 Qa5+ 9.Nc3 O-O 10.Qa4 Qxc5 11.Rd1 Qb6 12.Qb5 Qc7 13.Qc5 Rd8 14.Be2 b6 15.Qa3 a6 16.O-O Bb7 17.cxd5 exd5 18.Rfe1 d4 19.Ne4 Nd5 20.Bg3 Nxe5 21.Rc1 Nxf3+ 22.Bxf3 Qd7 23.Qb3 d3 24.Red1 Qe6 25.Rxd3 h6 26.Rcd1 Bc6 27.Nc3 Bxc3 28.bxc3 Qe8 29.Bxd5 Ba4 30.Bxf7+ 1-0

Round 2, Dec. 21, 2015
Wei Yi – Basso, Pier Luigi
B19 Caro-Kann, Classical (7…Nd7)

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nf3 e6 8.Ne5 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 Nd7 11.f4 c5 12.Be3 Nxe5 13.fxe5 cxd4 14.O-O-O Qd5 15.Bxd4 Ne7 16.Ne2 Nf5 17.Nc3 Qd7 18.Bf2 Qxd3 19.Rxd3 a6 20.Ne4 h5 21.Rhd1 Be7 22.g3 O-O 23.Bb6 Rfc8 24.Rd7 Rc4 25.Nd6 Bxd6 26.exd6 Rc6 27.Bf2 b5 28.b4 a5 29.Bc5 Rac8 30.a3 axb4 31.axb4 Nxg3 32.Rb7 Nf5 33.d7 Rd8 34.Bb6 Rxb6 35.Rxb6 Kf8 36.Rxb5 Ke7 37.Rc5 g5 38.b5 gxh4 39.b6 Nd6 40.Rc7 h3 41.b7 h2 42.Rh1 f5 43.Rxh2 f4 44.Rxh5 Kf6 45.c4 1-0

Comments

- Giri world second now in live ratings! Fantastic result. Congratz!
- Peter is brilliant. He is the voice of chess. World class player and best commentator in the world.
- Svidler hogs all he air time, Ramirez needs to step his game up, be more assertive
- The only thing saving Naroditsky now is if So makes illegal notes
- Hey, looks like Karjakin is saving his game. Has he got lucky ?
- There’s a saying: "Kramnik's pawns always queen"
- Kacper Piorun held Vladimir Kramnik to a draw!
- Only NINE players still perfect after two rounds. About forty guys on plus-one. Large group on 50%.
(Lawrence Trent) - Brilliant stuff from not only two of my favourite commentators, but two of my favourite people
(Nazi Paikidze-Barnes) – So exciting to see so many Sicilian games at Qatar instead of Berlin Defenses
(Tarjei Svendsen) – 16-year-old Aravindh in time trouble with a close to lost position with white vs the World Champion – on move 15

Round Three Pairings

1. Giri-Wojtaszek
2. Howell-So
3. Sethuraman-Li Chao B
4. Yu Yangyi-Swiercz
5. Carlsen-Yuffa
6. Vocaturo-Kramnik
7. Karjakin-Sasikiran
8. Mamedyarov-Lenderman
9. Piorun-Tomashevsky
10. Harikrishna-Salem
11. Bluebaum-Jakovenko
12. Korobov-Zhang Zhong
13. Xu Jun-Ivanchuk
14. Ponomariov-Hamdouchi
15. Dronavalli-Ni Hua
16. Matiakov-Rambaldi
17. Gagare-Hou Yifan
....
66. Piasetski-Rohan

Ranking After Round Two

1. So, Wesley 2
2. Giri, Anish 2
3. Yu Yangyi 2
4. Wojtaszek, Radoslaw 2
5. Yuffa, Daniil 2
6. Li Chao B 2
7. Howell, David 2
8. Swiercz, Daviusz 2
9. Sethuraman, S.P. 2
10. Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 1.5
11. Korobov, Anton 1.5
12. Ponomariov, Ruslan 1.5

and 40 others with 1.5

It looks like Daniil Yuffa will get his chance to play the very strongest, when he meets Carlsen tomorrow.

[Dan Scoones]

Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

Leon Piasetski is the lowest-rated player in the tournament. If he finishes anywhere other than last, it will be an achievement!

[Jack Maguire]

Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

Leon Piasetski is the lowest-rated player in the tournament. If he finishes anywhere other than last, it will be an achievement!

Not quite. Leon is the #130 seed of 132. WGM Marta Bartel (2271) is seed #131 and WIM Bodda Pratyusha (2260) #132. Both the ladies have 0.5 and are a 1/2 point ahead of the 16 players with 0/2, including 4 GMs.

The 110th seed, 2 times a girls WYCC champion, 15-year-old, WGM Zhansaya Abdumalik (2390), is having a very nice start to her tournament with 1.5/2 and plays her 3rd GM tomorrow, which happens to be 2 more GMs than Carlsen has been paired to date (:

http://www.qatarmastersopen.com/round-3-pairings/

[Jack Maguire]

Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

I rather like the 17/10 draws odds on the Karjakin vs Sasikiran game tomorrow. They've drawn all 4 of their previous classical encounters (:

https://www.marathonbet.com/en/betting/Chess/

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

Qatar Masters 2015

December 22, 2015

Parimarjan Negi, the Indian grandmaster, who is at Stanford University with Daniel Naroditsky, does a nice analytical roundup of Round Two at the new website worldchess.com:

http://worldchess.com/2015/12/21/a-f...rs-in-round-2/

[Jack Maguire]

Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

Here's an amusing post at ChessBomb where Carlsen has spotted Daniil Yuffa a 53 minute time advantage ):

kan: is carlsen being trained by grishuk in time management now?

http://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2015-...s-Yuffa_Daniil

[Jack Maguire]

Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

Gotta love those Shakh attacks (:

http://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2015-...rman_Aleksandr

[Jack Maguire]

Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

I rather like the 17/10 draws odds on the Karjakin vs Sasikiran game tomorrow. They've drawn all 4 of their previous classical encounters (:

https://www.marathonbet.com/en/betting/Chess/

And with a Berlin Defence this was almost like printing money (:

http://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2015-...kiran_Krishnan

[Jack Maguire]

Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

Not quite. Leon is the #130 seed of 132. WGM Marta Bartel (2271) is seed #131 and WIM Bodda Pratyusha (2260) #132. Both the ladies have 0.5 and are a 1/2 point ahead of the 16 players with 0/2, including 4 GMs.

The 110th seed, 2 times a girls WYCC champion, 15-year-old, WGM Zhansaya Abdumalik (2390), is having a very nice start to her tournament with 1.5/2 and plays her 3rd GM tomorrow, which happens to be 2 more GMs than Carlsen has been paired to date (:

http://www.qatarmastersopen.com/round-3-pairings/

The lowest seed, WIM Bodda Pratyusha (2260), won her R3 game today and is now sitting on a very impressive 1.5/3 (:

[Jack Maguire]

Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

Giri has now matched his 2802.8 live rating achieved last February 15, 2015 and is a full 10 points ahead of Kramnik (who saved a dead lost position).

http://www.2700chess.com/

Giri will obviously be paired with Li Chao (2758.5) tomorrow since they're the only 2 players with 3/3.

[Jack Maguire]

Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

R4 pairings are already posted:

http://chess-results.com/tnr199261.a...flag=30&wi=821

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

Qatar Masters 2015

December 22, 2015

Round Three

Peter starts off with the sad announcement that Luis Rentero died this morning at the age of 83.
He created the international chess tournament at Linares in 1978. It was known as the “chess Wimbledon” and for the quality of play there until its demise in 2010.
_______

Xavier "Xavi" Hernández Creus is a Spanish professional footballer, who plays as a central midfielder for Qatari club Al Sadd SC. He played the ceremonial first move in Giri-Wojtaszek and, with a lack of energy, or knowledge of chess, played 1.e3. Anish pushed it a little farther so that it became e4.

A player, not to well-known, is Li Chao. He is 26 years old. After his victory over Sethuraman, he comes to talk to Alejandro and his English is good. He said in an interview three years ago, “With English I have a lot of problems. I still don’t know many words. My mother is an English teacher and it was she who taught me. But now I do not get lessons from her as I am always busy at tournaments overseas.”

Peter and Alejandro discussed 22…f5 as the move that broke everything open.

Qatar Masters 2015
Round 3, Dec. 22, 2015
Sethuraman, S.P. – Li, Chao B
D20 QGA, 3.e3

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e3 e5 4.Bxc4 Nc6 5.d5 Na5 6.Be2 c6 7.Nc3 Nf6 8.e4 Bb4 9.Bg5 O-O 10.Nf3 cxd5 11.Bxf6 Qxf6 12.Qxd5 Bg4 13.O-O Bxc3 14.bxc3 b6 15.Rac1 Rac8 16.Rfd1 Rc5 17.Qd3 Be6 18.Qd2 h6 19.Ba6 Qg6 20.Qe2 Bg4 21.Kh1 Qc6 22.Qd3 f5 23.exf5 b5 24.f6 Rxf6 25.Qd8+ Kh7 26.Qxa5 Bxf3 0-1

A picture comes up on the screen of Stephen Fry playing chess against Hugh Laurie at Cambridge in 1980.

Both are favorites of Peter and he just beams talking about them. Fry and Laurie had their own comedy series and the one that got over here on PBS was Jeeves and Wooster (1990-1993), in which they portrayed Bertie Wooster (Laurie) and his butler/valet/confidant Jeeves (Fry).
______

Carlsen gives Yuffa all kinds of trouble and gets a smooth win:

Round 3, Dec. 22, 2015
Carlsen, Magnus - Yuffa, Daniil
E62 King’s Indian, Fianchetto, Lesser Simagin Variation

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 O-O 5.O-O d6 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.d4 Bf5 8.Bg5 Ne4 9.Nxe4 Bxe4 10.d5 Bxf3 11.exf3 Nd4 12.Re1 Re8 13.Re4 c5 14.dxc6 Nxc6 15.h4 Qb6 16.Rb1 a5 17.Be3 Qc7 18.h5 e5 19.Qd2 Nd4 20.h6 f5 21.Rxd4 exd4 22.Bxd4 Bf8 23.Bc3 Qxc4 24.f4 Re4 25.b3 Qc5 26.Ba1 d5 27.Rc1 1-0

Leon Piasetski goes down to Rohan. I wish I could feel sorry for someone who is in the midst of all that chess action in warm weather and luxurious surroundings!

Round 3, Dec. 22, 2015
Piasetski, Leon – Rohan, Anuja
A16 English

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Qa4+ Bd7 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 a6 7.g3 b5 8.Qf4 c5 9.Ne5 Nc6 10.Nxd7 Qxd7 11.Bg2 Rc8 12.d3 Nd4 13.Qd2 Bg7 14.Qd1 O-O 15.Bg5 Rfd8 16.O-O Qe6 17.Bxf6 exf6 18.e3 Nc6 19.Qe2 f5 20.Rfd1 Rd6 21.Rac1 Rcd8 22.Nb1 Nb4 23.d4 cxd4 24.a3 Na2 25.Rc7 dxe3 26.Re1 Rd3 27.Kf1 f4 28.gxf4 Qd6 29.Rc6 Qxf4 30.Qf3 Qxh2 31.fxe3 R3d6 32.Rxd6 Rxd6 33.Qa8+ Bf8 34.Ke2 Qe5 35.b4 Qb2+ 36.Kf1 Nc1 0-1

After being under a lot of pressure, Kramnik draws with Vocaturo. Karjakin-Sasikiran is a draw as is Howell-So.

Mamedyarov beats Lenderman and one of the last games to finish is Giri-Wojtaszek, which ends in a victory for Anish. At the same time, Giri’s wife is playing against someone who will not resign. Here are both games:

Round 3, Dec. 22, 2015
Giri, Anish – Wojtaszek, Radoslaw
B91 Sicilian, Najdorf, Zagreb Variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.g3 e5 7.Nde2 Be7 8.Bg2 b5 9.Nd5 Nbd7 10.Nec3 Nb6 11.Nxe7 Qxe7 12.Bg5 h6 13.Bxf6 Qxf6 14.a4 bxa4 15.Nxa4 Nxa4 16.Rxa4 O-O 17.O-O Bd7 18.Ra5 Rfb8 19.b3 Rb5 20.Qd2 Rxa5 21.Qxa5 Qd8 22.Qxd8+ Rxd8 23.Rd1 Bc6 24.Ra1 Ra8 25.Ra5 Bb7 26.f3 Rc8 27.Ra2 Rc5 28.Kf2 a5 29.Bf1 Kf8 30.Ke3 d5 31.exd5 Bxd5 32.c4 Be6 33.Kd2 Ke7 34.Bd3 f5 35.h4 g5 36.hxg5 hxg5 37.Kc3 Kf6 38.Ra1 Bc8 39.Rh1 Kg7 40.Rh5 Kg6 41.Rh8 Kg7 42.Rd8 Kf6 43.Rd6+ Be6 44.Ra6 Ke7 45.Rb6 Kf7 46.Ra6 Ke7 47.Be2 Kf7 48.g4 Ke7 49.Rb6 Kf7 50.Rd6 Ke7 51.Ra6 fxg4 52.fxg4 Kf7 53.Ra7+ Kf6 54.Bf3 Bf7 55.Ra6+ Ke7 56.Bc6 Be6 57.Bb5 Bxg4 58.Rxa5 Bf3 59.Ra7+ Kf6 60.Bd7 1-0

Round 3, Dec. 22, 2015
Guramishvili, Sopiko – Vogel, Roven
A22 English, Carls’ Bremen System

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.g3 Nc6 4.Bg2 g6 5.e3 Bg7 6.Nge2 O-O 7.O-O d6 8.b3 Bf5 9.h3 Qd7 10.Kh2 Bd3 11.f4 h5 12.Rf2 e4 13.Ba3 a5 14.Nc1 Nb4 15.Bxb4 axb4 16.Nxd3 bxc3 17.Nb4 c5 18.Nc2 d5 19.dxc3 dxc4 20.Qxd7 Nxd7 21.Bxe4 Bxc3 22.Rb1 Rxa2 23.bxc4 Re8 24.Bxb7 Rxe3 25.Nxe3 Rxf2+ 26.Bg2 Bd4 27.Nd5 Rc2 28.Rb7 Nf8 29.Ne7+ Kg7 30.Nc8 Rxc4 31.Bd5 Rc2+ 32.Kh1 Rc1+ 33.Kg2 Kh8 34.Nd6 Rc2+ 35.Kf1 Bg7 36.Nxf7+ Kh7 37.Ng5+ Kh8 38.Nf7+ Kh7 39.Ng5+ Kh8 40.Rb8 Rd2 41.Bf7 Rd6 42.Ba2 Ra6 43.Bd5 Rf6 44.h4 Bh6 45.Bc4 Kg7 46.Rb7+ Kh8 47.Nf7+ Kh7 48.Ke2 Bxf4 49.gxf4 Rxf4 50.Ne5+ Kh6 51.Nf7+ Kg7 52.Ng5+ Kh6 53.Nf7+ Kg7 54.Nd6+ Kf6 55.Ke3 Rxh4 56.Ne4+ Kf5 57.Rf7+ Ke5 58.Re7+ Kf5 59.Rf7+ Ke5 60.Re7+ Kf5 61.Re8 Rh3+ 62.Kf2 Rh2+ 63.Kg3 Rb2 64.Kf3 Nd7 65.Be6+ Ke5 66.Bxd7+ Kd4 67.Be6 h4 68.Kf4 g5+ 69.Nxg5 Rf2+ 70.Nf3+ Kc3 71.Rc8 Kb4 72.Ke3 Rf1 73.Rb8+ Ka4 74.Bd7+ Ka3 75.Ra8+ Kb4 76.Ra4+ Kc3 77.Rxh4 Rb1 78.Be6 Rb4 79.Rh2 Rb6 80.Bd5 Rb8 81.Ne5 Re8 82.Ke4 Re7 83.Rh3+ Kc2 84.Bb3+ Kd2 85.Kd5 Ke2 86.Bc4+ Kf2 87.Rf3+ Kg2 88.Rf6 Kg3 89.Ke4 Rg7 90.Rf3+ Kg2 91.Rf5 Kg3 92.Bf1 c4 93.Ke3 c3 94.Rf3+ Kh4 95.Rh3+ Kg5 96.Bd3 Re7 97.Kd4 c2 98.Bxc2 Rc7 99.Rg3+ Kh4 100.Rg4+ Kh5 101.Bg6+ Kh6 102.Ke4 Rc1 103.Be8 Rf1 104.Nf3 Kh7 105.Kf4 Rc1 106.Bf7 Rf1 107.Bd5 Ra1 108.Kf5 Ra5 109.Ke5 Kh6 110.Nd4 Kh5 111.Rg1 Kh6 112.Kf6 Kh5 113.Bf7+ Kh4 114.Nf3+ Kh3 115.Be6+ Rf5+ 116.Bxf5# 1-0

Rank after Round Three

1. Giri 3
2. Li Chao 3
3. So 2.5
4. Howell 2.5
5. Mamedyarov 2.5
6. Kostenkuk 3.5
7. Yu Yangyi 2.5
8. Swiercz 2.5
9. Matiakov 2.5
10. Carlsen 2.5

and 6 others with 2.5

Round Four Pairings

1. Li Chao B-Giri
2. Duda-Carlsen
3. So-Akopian
4. Dubov-Mamedyarov
5. Ganguly-Yu Yangyi
6. Ni Hua-Sjugirov
7. Swiercz-Howell
8. Kosteniuk-Matiakov
9. Kramnik-Naroditsky
10. Piorun-Karjakin
11. Tomashevsky-Salem
12. Grandelius-Harikrishna
13. Jakovenko-Ipatov
14. Wojtaszek-Vocaturo
15. Hamdouchi-Korobov
16. Ivanchuk-Bluebaum
26. Wei Yi-Vignesh
66. Vaishall-Piasetski

Comments

- Kramnik in trouble against his 2600 opponent. Just shows regular players can also beat world champs!
- imagine kramnik and svidler doing commentary together...who would stop to let the other speak?
(Nigel Short) - Great entertainment at Qatar. Wish I was there!
(Tania Sachdev) - Endgame master class by Anish. Improving pieces, slight pressure and small threats until the opponent cracks. Very Instructive!
- 2802.8 live rating of Anish
- considering that a higher rated player than Sopiko missed mate in 1 just now, why shouldn’t he play on?
- fantastic mate ..sopiko lived on her increment for many many moves
- In shock when I saw such a legendary football player as Xavi walking around in the playing venue watching our games!
(Pavel Eljanov) - Wow, Xavi is there!!! So pity I'm not in Doha right now.
(Teymour Rajabov) - Luis Rentero passed away, RIP... One of the greatest organizers in chess, great man and chess advocate.

[Jack Maguire]

Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

The top 3 seeds are on the top 3 boards tomorrow.

http://chess-results.com/tnr199261.a...flag=30&wi=821

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

Qatar Masters 2015

December 23, 2015

Round Four

Peter and Alejandro talk about the large number of players from India and China at the tournament. In fact the statistics show these as the top nine:

India 28 players, Russia 19, China 14, Iran 7, Germany 6, Poland 6, Turkey 5, USA 5, and Ukraine 5

The format is ideal for training young players and one wonders if some countries have given financial support, coaches and travelling expenses just to school their players in international chess.

Magnus Carlsen seems to have little trouble with his game and comes in to talk to Peter. He is almost cocky. In answer to Peter’s questions he says he prefers to play opponents whom he has played before and whose play he knows. He is looking forward to the next rounds to perhaps playing Anish and Vladimir. There is nothing like coming against a 2500 player as he did in the first round and being in danger of losing. The first two rounds seemed to set him straight and he looks like a force again.

Qatar Masters 2015
Round 4, Dec. 23, 2015
Duda, Jan-Krzysztof – Carlsen, Magnus
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.Bg5 Nc6 9.Qd3 Nb4 10.Qd2 h6 11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.Nd5 Nxd5 13.Qxd5 Qc7 14.O-O-O Be7 15.Kb1 Be6 16.Qd3 O-O 17.f4 exf4 18.Nd4 Bd7 19.Rhf1 Bf6 20.Rxf4 Be5 21.Rff1 Rac8 22.c3 b5 23.Nf3 Be6 24.Nd4 Bc4 25.Qf3 b4 26.cxb4 Qb6 27.Bxc4 Rxc4 28.Nc2 Rfc8 29.Rd2 Qc6 30.Qxf7+ Kh8 31.Qf2 a5 32.a3 axb4 33.Nxb4 Qxe4+ 34.Ka2 Rxb4 35.axb4 Ra8+ 36.Kb3 Rb8 37.Ka2 Qxb4 38.Rc1 Qa4+ 39.Kb1 Qe4+ 40.Rcc2 Bxb2 41.Qf3 Qe1+ 42.Rd1 Bd4+ 0-1

Svidler does do more talking than Carlsen but in his next interview he locks horns with the formidable Vladimir Kramnik. Vlad grabs the mouse in the first minute and goes on a joyful analysis that almost silences Peter for a while. Two super Russian grandmasters talking in English!

Vlad, like Magnus, also prefers to play older opponents he has met before. The young play without fear or without prejudice and are dangerous (Carlsen)

Round 4, Dec. 23, 2015
Kramnik, Vladimir – Naroditsky, Daniel
D77 Neo-Grunfeld, 6.O-O

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.d4 Nf6 5.O-O O-O 6.c4 dxc4 7.Na3 c3 8.bxc3 c5 9.Ne5 Nc6 10.Nac4 Nd5 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Bd2 Ba6 13.Ne5 Qd6 14.Re1 cxd4 15.cxd4 Bxe5 16.dxe5 Qxe5 17.Rc1 Rfd8 18.Qc2 Rac8 19.Qc5 Qd6 20.Qa5 c5 21.Bh3 e6 22.Bg5 Re8 23.Rcd1 Qe5 24.Bd2 Qh5 25.Bf1 Bb7 26.Qxa7 Rc7 27.Qa4 Ra8 28.Qc4 Nb6 29.Qc1 c4 30.Bg5 Qg4 31.Bd8 Rc6 32.h3 Qh5 33.Bg5 Rc5 34.Bf6 Qf5 35.Bd4 Rb5 36.e4 Qf3 37.Bg2 Qa3 38.Qxa3 Rxa3 39.Rb1 Rxb1 40.Rxb1 c3 41.Bxb6 1-0

After Vlad has left, Peter tells Alejandro that Kramnik is probably the biggest trend-setter in the openings. What he plays, everyone takes up. The Berlin and the Petroff are good examples.

There is a big blunder by Tomashevsky in his game against Salem. In time-trouble, he moves 34.Qg4 and the rest is history.
Salem is 22 years old from the United Arab Emirates. In two World Cups he has been unlucky to meet Giri in the first round and lose (2013) and Wei Yi in the first round of 2015. Clearly a talented player, chessgames.com says of him, “This period from early 2006 until late 2008 was a very productive development period for the budding grandmaster and saw his rating rise by nearly 500 points to close to 2500 in October 2008, soon after which he gained his GM title.”

Round 4, Dec. 23, 2015
Tomashevsky, Evgeny – Salem, Saleh
A34 English, Symmetrical, Three Knights System

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e3 e6 6.Bc4 Be7 7.O-O O-O 8.d4 cxd4 9.exd4 Nxc3 10.bxc3 Qc7 11.Qe2 Nd7 12.Bd3 Qxc3 13.Rb1 Nf6 14.Rb3 Qc7 15.Ne5 Rd8 16.g4 g6 17.g5 Nd5 18.Bd2 Bd6 19.Ng4 e5 20.Nh6+ Kg7 21.Be4 Nf4 22.Qf3 Qe7 23.h4 Ne6 24.Bxb7 Rb8 25.Bxc8 Rdxc8 26.dxe5 Bxe5 27.Rxb8 Rxb8 28.Re1 Bd4 29.Re4 Rd8 30.Kg2 Qb7 31.Bc3 Kf8 32.Bb4+ Bc5 33.Nxf7 Rd3 34.Qg4 Rd4 35.Qxe6 Qxe4+ 36.Qxe4 Rxe4 37.Bxc5+ Kxf7 38.h5 a6 39.Kf3 Re5 0-1

In the top game, Li and Giri draw and drop back a little to join a group with Carlsen, So and Matlakov at 3.5

Round 4, Dec. 23, 2015
Li, Chao B – Giri, Anish
D90 Grunfeld, Three Knights Variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.g3 Nxc3 7.bxc3 c5 8.Bg2 Nc6 9.Be3 cxd4 10.Nxd4 O-O 11.O-O Na5 12.Qd3 a6 13.c4 Qc7 14.Rac1 Bd7 15.Qa3 Nxc4 16.Qxe7 Rae8 17.Qb4 b5 18.Bf4 Be5 19.Bxe5 Qxe5 20.Rfd1 a5 21.Qc3 Rc8 22.Nb3 Qe7 23.Bb7 Rb8 24.Bd5 Rfc8 25.Bxc4 Rxc4 26.Qxa5 Bh3 27.Qd2 Rbc8 28.Qe3 Qxe3 29.fxe3 Be6 30.Kf2 Ra8 31.Nd4 Rxc1 32.Rxc1 Bc4 33.Rc2 Kg7 34.Rb2 Kf6 35.g4 Ra3 36.h4 h6 37.Kf3 Bd5+ 38.Kf2 Bc4 39.Nxb5 Bxb5 40.Rxb5 Rxa2 41.Rb6+ Kg7 42.e4 Ra3 43.Rb5 Rh3 44.h5 gxh5 45.gxh5 Kf6 46.e3 Rh1 47.Kf3 Rh4 48.Ra5 Rh1 49.Ra6+ Kg7 50.Ra5 Kf6 51.e5+ Kf5 52.Kg2 Re1 53.Kf3 Rh1 1/2-1/2

Peter has spoken fondly of Maxim Matlakov. He is a Russian grandmaster, born in 1991 and one of Peter Svidler’s seconds in the 2013 and 2014 Candidates.

The production staff tell Peter and Alejandro of an unusual ending in Christiansen-Bromberger, where Black was going to sacrifice one of his two queens!

Round 4, Dec. 23, 2015
Christiansen, Johan-Sebastian – Bromberger, Stefan
A09 Reti, Advance Variation

1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 d4 3.b4 g5 4.Bb2 Bg7 5.Nxg5 e5 6.Ne4 f5 7.Ng3 Nf6 8.d3 h5 9.h4 Ng4 10.Nd2 e4 11.dxe4 f4 12.Nf5 Bxf5 13.exf5 Nc6 14.b5 Nce5 15.Qc2 c6 16.bxc6 bxc6 17.Nb3 c5 18.Ba3 O-O 19.Bxc5 Rc8 20.Bxf8 Rxc4 21.Qd2 Bxf8 22.e3 d3 23.a3 fxe3 24.fxe3 Rc2 25.Qd1 Nxe3 26.Qxh5 d2+ 27.Kf2 d1=Q+ 28.Be2 N3g4+ 29.Kg3 Q8d3+ 0-1

Wei Yi is not having a good tournament – losing to Gargare of India in the first round and then today playing 67.Qxc4 and not being able to stop one of the black pawns from queening in the ensuing ending. Vignesh is another talented Indian GM, whose rating of 2422 belies his real strength.

Round 4, Dec. 23. 2015
Wei Yi - Vignesh, N.R.
C72 Ruy Lopez, Modern Steinitz Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.O-O Bd7 6.d4 Nf6 7.dxe5 Nxe5 8.Bxd7+ Qxd7 9.Nc3 Be7 10.Nd4 O-O 11.Nf5 Rfe8 12.Bg5 Bd8 13.f4 Ng6 14.Qd3 Qc6 15.Qd4 Nf8 16.Bxf6 Ne6 17.Qd3 Bxf6 18.Nd5 Bd8 19.Rae1 Qd7 20.Qh3 c6 21.Nde3 Bb6 22.Kh1 Bxe3 23.Rxe3 Rad8 24.Qh4 Nf8 25.Nxg7 Kxg7 26.f5 Ng6 27.f6+ Kh8 28.Qh6 Rg8 29.Rg3 Qe8 30.Rf5 Qf8 31.Qh3 h6 32.Rh5 Kh7 33.Rgg5 Rh8 34.Qg4 Re8 35.Rxg6 Rg8 36.Rxg8 Qxg8 37.Qf4 Qg6 38.Rf5 Rg8 39.Qf1 Qg4 40.Rf4 Qe6 41.b3 Rg5 42.h3 Re5 43.Qd3 Kg8 44.Qf3 Kf8 45.Qg3 Rg5 46.Qf2 Qe5 47.h4 Rg6 48.g3 Ke8 49.Kh2 Kd7 50.Qb6 Kc8 51.Qf2 Kd7 52.Qf3 Ke6 53.Rf5 Qb2 54.Kh3 Rxf6 55.c3 Rxf5 56.Qxf5+ Ke7 57.e5 dxe5 58.Qxe5+ Kf8 59.Qh8+ Ke7 60.Qe5+ Kf8 61.Qh8+ Ke7 62.Qxh6 Qxc3 63.Qf4 Kf8 64.h5 b5 65.b4 Kg7 66.Kg4 Qc4 67.Qxc4 bxc4 68.Kf4 f5 0-1

Rank After Round Four

1. Giri 3.5
2. Li Chao B 3.5
3. So 3.5
4. Carlsen 3.5
5. Matiakov 3.5
6. Xu Yingiun 3
7. Salem 3
8. Vignesh 3
9. Howell 3
10. Mamedyarov 3
11. Karjakin 3
12. Wojtaszek 3
13. Yu Yangyi 3
14. Kramnik 3
15. Korobov 3
with 9 others on 3
41. Ivanchuk 2.5
106. Wei Yi 1.5
132. Piasetski 0

Pairings for Round Five

1. Carlsen-Li Chao
2. Giri-So
3. Matiakov-Kramnik
4. Karjakin-Dubov
5. Mamedyarov-Khismatullin
6. Yu Yangyi-Xu Yinglun
7. Bologan-Wojtaszek
8. Korobov-Swiercz
9. Salem-Ni Hua
10. Howell-Ganguly
11. Sjugirov-Hou Yifan
12. Vignesh-Fedoseev
13. Harikrishna-Ipatov
14. Bromberger-Jakovenko
15. Vitiugov-Zhang Zhong
16. Gagare-Ivanchuk
43. Vogel-Wei Yi
66. Derakhshani-Piasetski

Wei Yi is playing Roven Vogel, the 15-year-old German that Sopiko chased all over the board to mate yesterday.

[Jack Maguire]

Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

Xu Yinglun (2470), the untitled 19-year-old from China, has a 2856 TPR through 4 rounds!

http://chess-results.com/tnr199261.a...&wi=821&snr=79

The betting public does not seem convinced that he can continue to channel Alan Trefler, the #115 seed, rated only 2075, who won the 1975 World Open (along with GM Pal Benko), and who also went on to become a billionaire through his Pegasystems. Xu Yinglun is still the decided dog tomorrow in his game with Yu Yangyi. You can get 7/2 draw odds and 10/1 win odds (:

https://www.marathonbet.com/en/betting/Chess/