Qatar Masters Open 2015

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  • #61
    Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

    I should amend my last post to say "not named Carlsen or Anand". Mamedyarov is currently ranked #14 in the world (but has been as high as #4) and of the 13 currently rated above him only Carlsen and Anand seem to thrive in the typical Mamedyarov mess on the board. Naka has held his own, +5 -5 =5, as have Aronian and Caruana, while MVL has the exact same poor score that Shakh has against Carlsen. Eljanov fares even worse, +2 -8 =5. It would seem that most elite GMs are ill equipped to deal with Shakh's unconventional style (:

    ChessBase has been reporting how Shakh loves to break every known chess rule and is "the most adventurous player in Qatar". It will be interesting to see what they have to say about his game today. Besides refraining from castling yet again, Shakh didn't develop his dark-square Bishop until move 37 and his Queen's Rook until move 43. Not the game you want to show new chess students. (:

    Comment


    • #62
      Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

      Qatar Masters 2015

      December 27, 2015

      Round Seven (Concluded)

      Qatar Masters 2015
      Round 7, Dec. 27, 2015
      Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Ganguly, Surya
      A22 English, Bremen, Reverse Dragon

      1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Bg2 Nb6 6.e3 Nc6 7.Nge2 Qd3 8.f4 f6 9.Be4 Qa6 10.fxe5 fxe5 11.Ng1 Nd7 12.Nd5 Bd6 13.Qh5+ Kd8 14.Nf3 Nc5 15.Qg5+ Ne7 16.Nxe7 Bxe7 17.Qxe5 Rf8 18.Rf1 Qc4 19.Bxh7 Bh3 20.Rf2 Bf6 21.Qf4 Nd3+ 22.Bxd3 Qxd3 23.g4 Qd7 24.Ne5 Qd5 25.Ng6 Qh1+ 26.Ke2 Qg1 27.Nxf8 Bxg4+ 28.Kd3 Ke8 29.Rf1 Rd8+ 30.Kc2 Qg2 31.Nh7 Be2 32.Nxf6+ gxf6 33.b3 Bd3+ 34.Kb2 Bxf1 35.Qxc7 Bd3 36.Ka3 Bf5 37.Bb2 Qxd2 38.Bxf6 Qd6+ 39.Qxd6 Rxd6 40.Bd4 Ra6+ 41.Kb4 Be4 42.a4 Rh6 43.Ra2 a6 44.Rf2 Bd5 45.a5 Kd7 46.Kc3 Rc6+ 47.Kb2 Rh6 48.b4 Rh5 49.Kc3 Rh4 50.Kd3 Ke6 51.Rb2 Rh3 52.Ba7 Rh8 53.Bb6 Rh7 54.Kc3 Rh4 55.Bd8 Rc4+ 56.Kd3 Rc8 57.Bg5 Bc4+ 58.Ke4 Bd5+ 59.Kd4 Rc4+ 60.Kd3 Rg4 61.Bf4 Rg1 62.b5 Rd1+ 63.Kc2 Rg1 64.Rb4 axb5 65.Rxb5 Rg4 66.Kc3 Rh4 67.Rb6+ Kf5 68.Kd4 Bf3 69.Rb2 Rh7 70.Rb5+ Ke6 71.e4 Rd7+ 72.Ke3 Bg2 73.Rb6+ Kf7 74.h4 Re7 75.e5 Re6 76.Rb2 Bd5 77.Rd2 Bc6 78.h5 Re8 79.h6 Ra8 80.Rh2 Kg6 81.h7 Rh8 82.Rh6+ Kg7 83.a6 Bg2 84.a7 b5 85.e6 1-0

      On move 29 White could have played 29.b3 with one continuation being (29...Rd8+ 30.Kc4 Be2+ 31.Rxe2 Bxa1 32.Ba3 Qh1 33.Qf5 Qc6+ 34.Bc5 Rd6 35.d4 Qa6+ 36.Kb4 Qxe2 37.Qc8+ Ke7 38.Qxc7+ Kxf8 39.Bxd6+ Kg8 40.Qc4+ Qxc4+ 41.Kxc4 g6 42.e4). Shakh and both commentators missed it. It was pointed out by the producer looking at the computer lines! When he heard of it, Peter said that if Shakh had made it, he should be checked for electronic devices – meaning that it was a computer not a human move!

      Qatar Masters
      Round 7, Dec. 27, 2015
      Vignesh, N.R. – Ivanchuk, Vassily
      A47 Queen’s Indian, Marienbad System

      1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 b6 3.g3 Bb7 4.Bg2 c5 5.O-O cxd4 6.Nxd4 Bxg2 7.Kxg2 Qc8 8.Kg1 e6 9.b3 Be7 10.Ba3 Bxa3 11.Nxa3 Qc5 12.Nab5 a6 13.b4 Qe5 14.Na3 O-O 15.c4 Nc6 16.Nac2 Rfd8 17.e3 Qc7 18.Rc1 Rac8 19.Nxc6 dxc6 20.Qf3 c5 21.bxc5 Qxc5 22.Nd4 Rc7 23.Nb3 Qa3 24.Rfd1 Rdc8 25.Qf4 h6 26.Rd8+ Rxd8 27.Qxc7 Rd3 28.Rf1 Rc3 29.Qxb6 Qxa2 30.Qd8+ Kh7 31.Nd2 Qc2 32.Nf3 Rxc4 33.Qa8 Ra4 34.Qa7 Qf5 35.Nd4 Qh5 36.Qc7 Ra2 37.Qb7 Qg6 38.Qb3 Ra5 39.Qb6 Ra3 40.Qc5 Ra4 41.Qc6 Ra5 42.Qb6 Ra2 43.Qb3 Rd2 44.Qb7 a5 45.Qb5 Qd3 46.Qxa5 Ng4 47.Qb5 Qe4 48.Qb3 g5 49.Qc3 Nxe3 50.Qxe3 Rxd4 51.Qa3 h5 52.Qe7 Qf5 53.Qa7 e5 54.Rc1 h4 55.Qa3 h3 56.Qe3 Re4 57.Qb3 Re2 58.Rf1 Kg7 59.Qd5 g4 60.Qd8 Rb2 61.Qd6 Qe4 0-1

      Round 7, Dec. 27, 2015
      Vitiugov, Nikita – Sasikiran, Krishnan
      C54 Giuoco Piano

      1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.c3 d6 6.Bb3 a6 7.O-O h6 8.Re1 O-O 9.Nbd2 Be6 10.Nf1 Bxb3 11.Qxb3 Re8 12.Be3 Bxe3 13.Nxe3 Qd7 14.h3 Ne7 15.Nh2 c6 16.Nhg4 Nxg4 17.hxg4 d5 18.Rad1 Rad8 19.d4 exd4 20.Rxd4 c5 21.Rd2 d4 22.cxd4 cxd4 23.Red1 Nc6 24.f3 g6 25.Nd5 Kg7 26.Qb6 Re6 27.Rxd4 Nxd4 28.Qxd4+ f6 29.Nc7 Re7 30.Ne8+ Qxe8 31.Qxd8 Qf7 32.Rd6 g5 33.b3 Re8 34.Qb6 Re7 35.Qd4 Re6 36.Rd7 Re7 37.Rd5 Qe8 38.a4 Qc6 39.Rd6 Qc1+ 40.Kf2 Rf7 41.e5 Qc2+ 42.Kg3 1-0

      (Fabiano Caruana) - 30.Ne8 in Vitiugov-Sasikiran is just so unbelievably sexy

      Rank After Round 7

      1. Mamedyarov 5.5
      2. Carlsen 5.5
      3. Sjugirov 5.5
      4. Giri 5.0
      5. So 5.5
      6. Xu Yinglun 5.0
      7. Kramnik 5.0
      8. Swiercz 5.0
      9. Yu Yangyi
      10. Karjakin 5.0
      11. Harikrishna 5.0
      12. Ponomariov 5.0
      13. Ni Hua 5.0
      14. Grandelius 5.0
      15. Akopian 5.0
      16. Vitiugov 5.0
      17. Nguyen 5.0
      18. Ivanchuk 5.0
      19. Lin Chen 5.0
      20. Li Chao 4.5
      21. Zhang Zhong 4.5
      22. Salem 4.5
      23. Howell 4.5
      24. Ganguly 4.5
      25. Jakovenko 4.5
      53. Wei Yi 4.0
      127. Piasetski 2.0

      Round 8 Pairings

      1. Mamedyarov-Carlsen
      2. Kramnik-Sjugirov
      3. Giri-Ponomariov
      4. So-Lin Chen
      5. Nguyen-Karjakin
      6. Ni Hua-Harkrishna
      7. Grandelius-Yu Yangyi
      8. Swiercz-Vitiugov
      9. Ivanchuk-Akopian
      10. Xu Yinglun-Howell
      11. Li Chao-Vidit
      12. Lenderman-Tomashevsky
      13. Jakovenko-Naroditsky
      14. Zhang Zhong-Bologan
      15. Ganguly-Salem
      16. Wei Yi-Ipatov
      17. Wojtaszek-Bartel
      18. Bok-Korobov
      60. Lorparizangeneh-Piasetski
      _________

      During the breaks, piano lounge music is playing. However, after seven days now, it starts to irritate:

      - this music is worst than missing a 2 move checkmate

      - At least they could change the tune from round to round. This "Make Someone Happy" tune isn't cutting it today.

      - this is the typical music you hear when you go to the dentist

      Other grievances are aired such as Ponomariov’s haircut! Must be Festivus!

      Comment


      • #63
        Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

        Qatar Masters 2015

        December 27, 2015

        Sanan Sjugirov

        Sanan Sjugirov was born 31 January 1993 in Elista. He won the World Under-10 Chess Championship in 2003, the World Under-14 Championship in 2007 and the World University Chess Championship in 2014.

        He played for Russia 4 team on the first board at the 2010 Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk, where he defeated Magnus Carlsen among others. Sjugirov tied for first with Dmitry Andreikin in the World Junior Chess Championship of 2010, but placed second on tiebreak.

        An interview by Ana Matnadze

        http://en.chessbase.com/post/a-talk-...sanan-sjugirov

        Now Sanan Sjugirov has added a brand-new title to his extensive curriculum: he won the famous Magistral Casino Round Robin tournament, held in Barcelona between October 23-31.

        Ana Matnazde – Hello Sanan, welcome to Barcelona and congratulations for winning the tournament! Could you please, describe to us your preparation process for the Magistral Casino? What chess engine do you use?

        Sanan Sjugirov – Thank you so much for your congratulations! My preparation for the tournament wasn't any different from my routine: I studied my opening systems and analyzed my opponents' games. I use Houdini as my chess engine and ChessBase as my database program.

        Who did you expect to be the most difficult opponent? Are you happy with the quality of your games here?

        All the players were strong and I was quite aware of it. However, the most difficult opponent "in situ" for me was Alvar Alonso. The game did not develop well for me and it was only with the help of luck I was able to draw. In all other games I had better positions and I am quite satisfied with my performance and play quality here.

        And which was the best and the worst game, and why?

        I consider my best game here the one against Predrag Nikolic. I managed to play what was quite a new position to me and at quite a good level. My worst game was, as I mentioned above, against Alonso.

        Had you been to Barcelona before? Do you plan any sightseeing now?

        No, this was the first time I visited Barcelona. Unfortunately, I couldn't do much sightseeing, since I was tied up with the tournament, but I did like the city and am really looking forward to visiting it again.

        How were your first steps in chess? Who was your first trainer?

        My father was my first chess teacher when I was just five years old. I liked the game and my parents took me to a chess club where I met my first coach - Aleksey Karikov – with candidate to Master of Sport title.

        Who is your trainer now?

        Now I work under the supervision of the Ukrainian grandmaster Andrei Zontakh. We have been working together for five years now. My co-coach is the Russian grandmaster Yuri Yakovich.

        Tell us about your daily life, how is a normal day?

        My daily schedule is like this – from 8 AM to 2 PM I have university classes, then from 4 PM until 8 PM I work on my chess. Sometimes after 8 PM I do some chess self-research.

        Being a chess pro is tough. You are constantly traveling. What is your secret to deal with jet lag?

        Yes, you are quite right. To be a chess pro is not easy at all. But guess what, I got used to a lot of traveling. I travel with no problem at all because maybe I'm young and simply love it!?

        And your secret as to how to recover from a bitter loss?

        There are no secrets. I just pull myself together and try to put up a good fight in every game no matter what the result of the previous game was.

        What do you think would be necessary to do to make chess more popular? What would be your strategy or ideas to attract more sponsors?

        I think the key to chess popularity is television. What I mean is rapid chess, but I don't think that it would be easy. Yet another, and very important, step to chess popularization is the inclusion of it into the Olympic Games program, but again, it wouldn't be an easy drive either.

        I see... What do you think about the "short draws" phenomenon? What would be the method to avoid them?

        Well, I personally think that ruling of impossibility to offer a draw before the 40th move is very efficient.

        What is your opinion about cheating? It is becoming a very serious problem.

        Yes, cheating is a real problem. Unfortunately, it is not easy to fight against it. I guess in cases where the guilt is proved so to say beyond reasonable doubt, serious sanctions should be enforced, up to a life ban.

        What do you think about World Championship cycle and matches?

        I am in no position to speak about it, partly because it is not part of my schedule, but, I think the present system is fair enough.

        About the time controls, you think that…?

        That's a good one. Personally I think the ideal is one hour and a half plus 30 minutes after the 40th move with an extra 30 seconds per move. I think this time control is best.

        How do you manage to control your nerves? Do you have any "secret" before, after or during the games?

        Oh, no. No secrets at all. I simply try not to pay heed to surroundings and to just concentrate hard.

        What would be your advice to young people (well, younger than yourself, I mean!) who are just starting to play chess and take it seriously?

        Young chess players, in my opinion, should pay more attention to broadening their horizons, read more and play less video games. It is essential to read books of renowned grandmasters. I also advise analyzing one's own games as well.

        Very good advice indeed, and especially from someone as young as your self... By the way, which opponent has impressed you the most both chesswise and in personality matters so far? Do you have any chess hero?

        Among the opponents I played with, the most impressive one for me was Alexander Grischuk. I don't idolize any player, but there are several masters whose manner of playing appeals to me. For instance Magnus Carlsen, Boris Gelfand, Alexander Grischuk. I value grand masters of the past as well, such as Garry Kasparov, Bobby Fischer and Jose Raul Capablanca.

        And now, your plans for the future?

        In my future I would like to enter the world top ten.

        Good luck then! And thank you very much, Sanan, for an extremely interesting interview.
        Last edited by Wayne Komer; Sunday, 27th December, 2015, 10:16 PM.

        Comment


        • #64
          Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

          FM Mike Klein has an excellent report on today's action for chess.com in which Giri expresses the view that it will be tougher to win the Candidates than to beat Carlsen in a World Championship match. Of course he's absolutely correct since he has only about a 1 in 6 chance of winning the Candidates (he's currently at 5/1 odds) whereas I would think he'd have something like a 2 in 5 chance of beating Carlsen in a World Championship match.

          http://www.chess.com/news/carlsen-ca...ny-at-top-7006

          Comment


          • #65
            Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

            Qatar Masters 2015

            December 28, 2015

            Round Eight

            Wow!

            Qatar Masters 2015
            Round 8, Dec. 28, 2015
            Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Carlsen, Magnus
            D38 QGD, Ragozin, Marshall Variation

            1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 O-O 8. Rc1 dxc4 9. Bxc4 c5 10. O-O cxd4 11. Ne4 Qe7 12. exd4 Rd8 13. Qe2 Nc6 14. Rfd1 Ba5 15. Ng3 Bb6 16. Qe4 Bd7 17. h4 Be8 18. a3 Rd6 19. Qg4 Rad8 20. d5 Qf8 21. Qe4 Ne7 22. Bd3 f5 23. Qe5 Nxd5 24. Bxf5 exf5 25. Nxf5 Rc6 0-1

            Carlsen – In an important game, when you have black, Shakh is not the worst person in the world to play.

            - "He can play extremely well but he doesn't deal very well with bad trends in games."

            - A draw tomorrow practically guarantees a share of the title

            - This is Carlsen’s tournament again

            - easy peasy lemon squeezy

            Comment


            • #66
              Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

              Qatar Masters 2015

              December 28, 2015

              NORMS, NORMS, NORMS!

              By Tarjei J. Svensen

              There are few open tournaments where the chances to score GM or IM norms are better than in the Qatar Masters Open. Last year, a total of 13 players scored norms in the event.

              There are certainly good chances that this number will be exceeded this year.

              With an unbelievably strong field and a total of 71 Grandmasters and 36 International Masters, it means there will not be the common problem of facing an insufficient amount of titled opponents or too an average opposition that is too low. In any case, the job still has to be done on the board!

              After seven rounds in this year’s event, we have several players who have already made the impressive achievement of scoring a norm two rounds to go provided they get a strong enough opponent in the final round.

              Let’s take a look at them.

              Impressive Asians

              Looking at the list of candidates, it seems clear that Indians are doing something right. That is perhaps not so surprising, knowing they are the largest group taking part with 28 players in total.

              But one of the most impressive performances of this year’s Qatar Masters Open, comes from China. Xu Yinglun (2470) is currently 6th in the tournament scoring a fantastic 5 points. His average opposition is as high as 2670, exactly 200 points higher than his own rating.

              After beating strong players such as GM Nikita Vitiugov (2724) in round 1, the 19-year-old has now scored an unbelievable 3,26 points higher than expected. That clearly secures him a GM norm, regardless of how he performs in the last two rounds.

              Another relatively unknown player that has caught everyone’s attention in Qatar, is 17-year-old IM N. R. Vignesh (2422). Beating Mateusz Bartel and Wei Yi on the way, the Indian has scored 4 points facing an opposition average of 2666.

              Vignesh may have secured a GM norm already, regardless of his result in the final two rounds, but needs to face a player rated higher than 2450. If not, he would need at least half a point in either of the two rounds.

              Among other strong candidates are 18-year-old Russian IM Daniil Yuffa, who despite losing to World Champion Magnus Carlsen, is very close to score a GM norm and Indian IM Shardul Gagare, who beat Wei Yi in the first round.

              Young and strong teenagers

              While the untitled Xu Yinglun apparently intends to “do a Kramnik” and go directly for the GM title, the list of players chasing the IM title is long. I am not going to go into detail with them all, but what they have in common is that they are all very young.

              Untitled Indian Harshit Raja is 14 years old and has already secured an IM norm beating IM Rasmus Svane and GM Natalia Zhukova on the way.

              Another one is Alireza Firouzja of Iran, 12 years old, who is also guaranteed an IM norm regardless of result in the final two rounds scoring 3,5 points. His most notable result was his 1st round win against GM Pavel Tregubov.

              Roy Prantik is not a teen, but clearly a strong player, also scoring 3,5 points with a rating performance of above 2500 so far. He likely needs at least half a point to be sure to secure a norm.

              15-year-old Zhansaya Abdumalik of Kazakhstan has beaten one Grandmaster and one International Master so far and will be rewarded by an IM norm regardless of her result in the final two rounds. The super-talented girl may even have the chance for a GM norm if she manages to win both her two final games.

              Last, but not the least, this is surely a name that you will need to learn how to spell before it’s too late. Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan, only 11 years old, but already rated 2429 meaning he tops the world’s ranking list of players under 13 years old.

              It is unknown whether the kid has any norms from before, but with 3 points he may be well on his way to get one here provided he scores at least a draw in the last two rounds.

              For the full analysis see:

              http://www.qatarmastersopen.com/en/norms-norms-norms

              Comment


              • #67
                Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

                Qatar Masters 2015

                December 28, 2015

                Round Eight (Concluded)

                Mohamed Al-Modiahki, one of the organizers of the Qatar Masters, comes on to talk to Alejandro Ramirez. With him he brings a hooded falcon named Barzan. The falcon is the national bird of Qatar and falcons are still used in hunting.

                At the end Peter puts a large heavy leather glove on this left hand and the falcon grasps that, much to Peter’s pleasure. One hopes that this doesn’t become one of Peter’s enthusiasms or we shall hear falcon stories without end.

                Round 8, Dec. 28, 2015
                Kramnik, Vladimir – Sjugirov, Sanan
                D02 Queen Bishop’s Game

                1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 Nc6 5.Nbd2 cxd4 6.exd4 Bf5 7.c3 e6 8.Qb3 Qc8 9.Nh4 Bg6 10.Nxg6 hxg6 11.Bd3 Nh5 12.Be3 Bd6 13.O-O-O a6 14.Kb1 b5 15.Qc2 Na5 16.Nf3 Nc4 17.Bc1 Qc7 18.Ng5 Nf4 19.Bf1 O-O-O 20.a4 Qb7 21.axb5 axb5 22.b3 Na5 23.Qa2 Nc6 24.g3 Nh5 25.Bd3 Kb8 26.Qe2 Na7 27.Bd2 Rc8 28.Kb2 Rc6 29.Ra1 Rf8 30.Ra2 Ra6 31.Rxa6 Qxa6 32.Ra1 Qb7 33.b4 Nf6 34.Ra5 Bc7 35.Bf4 Bxf4 36.gxf4 Qc7 37.Bxb5 Qxf4 38.Nf3 Ne4 39.Ne5 Rh8 40.Nc6+ Nxc6 41.Bxc6 Nxc3 42.Kxc3 Rh3+ 43.Kc2 Qxd4 44.Qb5+ Kc7 45.Qb7+ Kd6 46.Qb8+ Ke7 47.Qa7+ Qxa7 48.Rxa7+ Kd6 49.Ba4 Rh4 50.Kb3 Rh3+ 51.Kb2 Rh4 52.Rd7+ Ke5 53.Ka3 Kd4 54.Rxf7 Rxh2 55.b5 Kc5 56.Rc7+ 1-0

                Round 8, Dec. 28, 2015
                Grandelius, Nils – Yu, Yangyi
                E35 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Noa Variation

                1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 c5 8.dxc5 g5 9.Bg3 Ne4 10.Nf3 Qa5 11.Nd2 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Bxc3 13.Rb1 Nc6 14.e3 Bb4 15.h4 gxh4 16.Rxh4 Qxc5 17.Qa4 Ba5 18.Bb5 Bd7 19.Qf4 Qc2 20.Bxc6 Qxd2+ 21.Kf1 Qd3+ 22.Kg1 Qxb1+ 23.Kh2 Bxc6 24.Qe5+ Kd7 25.e4 Rhe8 26.Qf5+ Kd8 27.Qxf7 Bd7 28.Qf6+ Kc8 29.exd5 b6 30.Rc4+ Kb7 31.Rc7+ Ka6 32.Rxd7 Re1 0-1

                Round 8, Dec. 28, 2015
                Ganguly, Surya – Salem A.R. Saleh
                B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Adams Attack

                1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.h3 e6 7.g4 Be7 8.g5 Nfd7 9.h4 b5 10.a3 Bb7 11.Be3 Nc6 12.Rg1 Rc8 13.h5 Nce5 14.f4 Nc4 15.Bxc4 Rxc4 16.Qd2 Nc5 17.b3 Rxc3 18.Qxc3 Nxe4 19.Qb2 Qa5+ 20.b4 Qc7 21.h6 Rg8 22.hxg7 Nc3 23.Ne2 Na4 24.Qd4 e5 25.Qd3 Rxg7 26.f5 f6 27.Ng3 Bf3 28.g6 d5 29.Bd2 e4 30.Qxd5 Nb6 31.Qe6 hxg6 32.Nxe4 Qh2 33.Nxf6+ Kf8 34.Kf1 Qxd2 35.Re1 Qf4 36.Qxb6 Bg4+ 37.Qf2 Qc4+ 38.Kg2 Bxf6 39.Re6 gxf5 40.Rxf6+ Ke7 41.Rh6 Bf3+ 42.Kh3 Rxg1 43.Qxg1 Bg4+ 44.Kh4 1-0

                Rank After Round 8

                1. Carlsen 6.5
                2. Kramnik 6.0
                3. Yu Yangyi 6.0
                4. Giri 5.5
                5. Xu Yinglun 5.5
                6. So 5.5
                7. Mamedyarov 5.5
                8. Swiercz 5.5
                9. Zhang Zhong 5.5
                10. Karjakin 5.5
                11. Ponomariov 5.5
                12. Sjugirov 5.5
                13. Harikrishna 5.5
                14. Ganguly 5.5
                15. Ni Hua 5.5
                16. Akopian 5.5
                17. Vitiugov 5.5
                18. Nguyen 5.5
                19. Lin Chen 5.5
                20. Ivanchuk 5.5

                Round 9 Pairings

                1. Carlsen (6.5) – Kramnik (6)
                2. Yu Yangyi (6) – So (5.5)
                3. Akopian (5.5) – Giri (5.5)
                4. Karjakin (5.5) – Zhang Zhong (5.5)
                5. Sjugirov (5.5) – Mamedyarov (5.5)
                6. Harkrishna (5.5) – Nguyen (5.5)
                7. Vitiugov (5.5) – Ganguly (5.5)
                8. Swiercz (5.5) – Ivanchuk (5.5)
                9. Ponomariov (5.5) Xu Yinglun (5.5)
                10. Lin Chen (5.5) – Ni Hua (5.5)
                11. Khismatullin (5) – Li Chao B (5)
                12. Tomashevsky (5) – Sethuraman (5)
                13. Vidit (5) – Jakovenko (5)
                14. Piorun (5) – Wojtaszek (5)
                15. Howell (5) – Grandelius (5)
                19. Lu Shanglei (4.5) – Wei Yi (4.5)
                64. Piasetski (2) – Konguvel (2)

                The last round starts three hours earlier than the other rounds did. That would make it 4 a.m. in Toronto/Montreal.

                Carlsen – Kramnik should be a great game!

                Comment


                • #68
                  Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

                  And the 2nd game to finish is the 30 move Berlin draw between Carlsen and Kramnik. Boo. ):

                  Comment


                  • #69
                    Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

                    At least Yu Yangyi is playing for a win. Instead of opening with his wont 1.e4, which has resulted in 4 previous draws with Wesley So (2 Sicilians and 2 Berlins), he's sought to 'surprise' Wesley with 1.d4 today. Kudos to Yu for at least playing for a win. (:

                    http://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2015-...ngyi-So_Wesley

                    Comment


                    • #70
                      Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

                      Originally posted by Jack Maguire View Post
                      And the 2nd game to finish is the 30 move Berlin draw between Carlsen and Kramnik. Boo. ):
                      This game was played in a total of 98 seconds expired clock time, 4 minutes and 14 seconds by Kramnik and negative 2 minutes and 36 seconds by Carlsen. I wonder what UAE's best triathlete, Luke Mathews, would have to say about chess now. ):

                      http://gulfnews.com/sport/triathlon/...port-1.1645051

                      Comment


                      • #71
                        Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

                        Yu Yangyi certainly thrives on late round Qatar pressure! He's now 4/4 the past two years in the final two rounds! I'm assuming he heads to a tiebreak with Carlsen now. (:

                        Comment


                        • #72
                          Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

                          While Yu Yangyi must absolutely love Qatar, I doubt Wei Yi shares those sentiments. His 4.5/9 and 2546 TPR cost him some serious ELO and he's now only the number 7 ranked player in China. Still, a rather magnificent seven. (:

                          1. Ding Liren 2766.0
                          2. Li Chao 2750.6
                          3. Yu Yangyi 2747.2
                          4. Bu Xiangzhi 2723.5
                          5. Wang Yue 2717.6
                          6. Wang Hao 2716.9
                          7. Wei Yi 2706.1.

                          Wei Yi has also lost his top Junior ranking as 'my' Richard Rapport reclaims that honour. (:
                          Last edited by Jack Maguire; Tuesday, 29th December, 2015, 05:48 PM.

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                          • #73
                            Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

                            The 2 game 5/3 blitz playoff evidently starts in 10 minutes. If no winner, they play another 5/3 2 game match. If still no winner, they keep playing a 5/3 game until there is a decisive game. There's no Armageddon game on the agenda!
                            Last edited by Jack Maguire; Tuesday, 29th December, 2015, 10:54 AM.

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                            • #74
                              Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

                              Magnus gets White in game 1.

                              http://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2015-...gnus-Yu_Yangyi

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                              • #75
                                Re: Qatar Masters Open 2015

                                Qatar Masters 2015

                                December 29, 2015

                                Final Round

                                The whole story is in the games:

                                Qatar Masters 2015
                                Round 9, Dec. 29, 2015
                                Carlsen, Magnus – Kramnik, Vladimir
                                C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, Open Variation

                                1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5 Be7 7.Bf1 Nxe5 8.Rxe5 O-O 9.d4 Bf6 10.Re1 Re8 11.c3 Rxe1 12.Qxe1 Ne8 13.Bf4 d5 14.Bd3 g6 15.Nd2 Ng7 16.Nf3 Bf5 17.Bxf5 Nxf5 18.Qe2 c6 19.Re1 Ng7 20.Be5 Bxe5 21.Nxe5 Qd6 22.Qf3 f6 23.Nd3 Re8 24.Rxe8+ Nxe8 25.Qe3 Ng7 26.h3 Kf7 27.Qh6 Kg8 28.Qe3 Kf7 29.Qh6 Kg8 30.Qe3 Kf7 1/2-1/2

                                Round 9, Dec. 29, 2015
                                Yu, Yangyi – So, Wesley
                                E20 Nimzo-Indian, Romanishin-Kasparov System

                                1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 c5 5.g3 cxd4 6.Nxd4 O-O 7.Bg2 d5 8.Nc2 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Qc7 10.cxd5 Nxd5 11.Nb4 Nxb4 12.cxb4 Rd8 13.Qb3 Nc6 14.O-O Nd4 15.Qb2 e5 16.Be3 Bg4 17.Rac1 Qd7 18.f3 Bh3 19.Rfd1 Bxg2 20.Kxg2 Qe6 21.Rc7 b6 22.a4 Nf5 23.Rxd8+ Rxd8 24.Bf2 e4 25.Qc2 e3 26.Be1 h5 27.Rxa7 Nd4 28.Qe4 Qc4 29.Qxe3 Nc2 30.Qe7 Nxe1+ 31.Kf2 Qd4+ 32.Kf1 Nc2 33.Qxf7+ Kh8 34.Qxh5+ Kg8 35.Qf7+ Kh8 36.Qh5+ Kg8 37.Qf7+ Kh8 38.Kg2 Ne3+ 39.Kh3 Kh7 40.Qh5+ Kg8 41.Re7 Rf8 42.a5 bxa5 43.bxa5 Nd5 44.Qe5 Qxe5 45.Rxe5 Nb4 46.Re4 Nd5 47.Rc4 Rf6 48.Rc5 Rf5 49.Rc8+ Kf7 50.a6 Ne3 51.g4 Ra5 52.Rc7+ Kf6 53.Rc6+ Kf7 54.Kg3 g5 55.h4 gxh4+ 56.Kxh4 Nd5 57.e4 Ne7 58.Rb6 Ng6+ 59.Kg3 Ra3 60.g5 Ne5 61.Rf6+ Ke7 62.Kg2 Nd3 63.Rh6 Ra5 64.a7 Rxg5+ 65.Kf1 Rg8 66.Ke2 Ne5 67.f4 Nd7 68.Ra6 Ra8 69.Ke3 Nc5 70.Ra1 Nb7 71.e5 Nd8 72.Ra6 Kd7 73.f5 Nc6 74.e6+ Kc7 75.f6 Nb4 76.f7 Kb7 77.Rd6 1-0

                                Final Standing

                                Carlsen 7
                                Yu, Yangyi 7
                                Kramnik 6.5
                                Karjakin 6.5
                                Sjugirov 6.5
                                Ni Hua 6.5
                                Ivanchuk 6.5

                                Playoff

                                Two blitz games of 5 min + 3 sec. to start off with

                                Tiebreaker 1, Dec. 29, 2015
                                Carlsen, Magnus – Yu, Yangyi
                                D02 Queen’s Bishop Game

                                1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 d5 3.e3 e6 4.Nf3 a6 5.Bd3 c5 6.c3 Bd6 7.Bg3 Nc6 8.Nbd2 O-O 9.Ne5 Ne7 10.O-O b6 11.Bh4 Nf5 12.Bg5 h6 13.Bf4 Bb7 14.h3 Be7 15.a4 Nd6 16.f3 Nd7 17.Qe2 Nf6 18.Bh2 Qc8 19.Rac1 a5 20.g4 Qd8 21.Qg2 Nd7 22.f4 Rc8 23.Rce1 cxd4 24.exd4 Ba8 25.g5 hxg5 26.fxg5 Nxe5 27.Bxe5 Nc4 28.Nf3 Nxe5 29.Rxe5 Bd6 30.Re2 g6 31.Qg4 Kg7 32.h4 Rh8 33.Rxe6 fxe6 34.Qxe6 Qe8 35.Qxd6 Rc6 36.Qe5+ Qxe5 37.Nxe5 Rxh4 38.Rf7+ Kg8 39.Ra7 Rc8 40.Bxg6 Bc6 41.Bf7+ Kf8 42.Ng6+ 1-0

                                Tiebreaker 2, Dec. 29, 2015
                                Yu, Yangyi – Carlsen, Magnus
                                E21 Nimzo-Indian, Three Knights

                                1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 b6 5.e3 Bb7 6.Bd3 O-O 7.O-O c5 8.Na4 cxd4 9.exd4 Re8 10.a3 Bf8 11.Bf4 Bxf3 12.Qxf3 Nc6 13.d5 exd5 14.cxd5 Ne5 15.Qd1 Nxd3 16.Qxd3 Re4 0-1

                                Carlsen wins the Qatar Masters
                                Last edited by Wayne Komer; Tuesday, 29th December, 2015, 12:57 PM.

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