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Re: European Chess Club Cup Skopje 2015
European Club Cup 2015
October 25, 2015
Colin McGourty in chess24.com talks about the shaky position of Siberia in the final round:
“So, Kramnik’s Siberia went into the final round clash with Italian team Obiettivo knowing a draw would give them the European Club Cup title, while a loss would leave things at the mercy of tiebreak coefficients.
Vladimir Kramnik tried another innocuous looking opening against Peter Leko …but this time the trick didn’t work. He got a comfortable but very slight advantage, and the long game that followed was more about keeping his colleagues company at the board than gaining serious winning chances.
The drama took place elsewhere, with Siberia soon rocked when Li Chao chose to play a line that was universally condemned when Shakhriyar Mamedyarov tried it against Magnus Carlsen in Shamkir Chess earlier this year. IM David Martínez noted back then that 8…a5?! was a deviation from what he called “The Great Wall of China” after 8…a6. It’s unlikely Li Chao simply mixed up his moves, but in the end Maxime Vachier-Lagrave went on to win as smooth a game as Magnus had earlier this year.
Siberia were in trouble, since they weren’t better on any board, and all hell was breaking lose in Grischuk-Nakamura after 22…e5!
By this point Grischuk was down to around three minutes to reach the time control. Of course with an increment you might consider that his comfort zone, but it was still very clear that absolutely anything could happen, especially as Nakamura soon got down to just as little time as his opponent.
The evaluation swung from side to side in the moves that followed, and rather than attempt an analysis it’s perhaps better just to admire the way both players 1) made the time control, and 2) survived.”
The draw in this game and the clinch win for Wang Yue sealed tournament victory for Siberia.
Round 7, Oct. 24, 2015
Grischuk, Alexander – Nakamura, Hikaru
D02 Queen’s Bishop Game
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4 e6 4.e3 Bd6 5.Bg3 c5 6.Nbd2 Nc6 7.c3 O-O 8.Bd3 b6 9.e4 Be7 10.e5 Nh5 11.a3 a5 12.Qe2 Ra7 13.O-O c4 14.Bc2 b5 15.h4 g6 16.Bh2 Bxh4 17.g4 Ng7 18.Nxh4 Qxh4 19.Kg2 f5 20.exf6 Qxf6 21.Bd6 Rff7 22.f4 e5 23.dxe5 Qh4 24.f5 gxf5 25.Rh1 Qd8 26.Qe3 d4 27.cxd4 Ne8 28.Rh6 Rg7 29.Rg1 Rad7 30.d5 Ne7 31.Bxe7 Rdxe7 32.Qd4 Bb7 33.Kf2 Qxd5 34.Qxd5+ Bxd5 35.Bxf5 Rxe5 36.Re1 Rxe1 37.Kxe1 b4 38.axb4 axb4 39.Be6+ Bxe6 40.Rxe6 Nc7 1/2-1/2
27…Ne8?, better is Nxd4
_______
A look at the games of Aleksandrov
Aleksej won all of his games in this contest. Just mistake-free play? Higher rating against lower rated players? He has a couple of hundred ELO points on each of his opponents. You decide. The Round 6 contest is given again for completeness.
European Club Cup 2015
Round 1, Oct. 18, 2015
Xheladini, Mahmut (2219) – Aleksandrov, Aleksej
C91 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Bogolyubov Variation
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.d4 Bg4 10.Be3 Bh5 11.Nbd2 exd4 12.cxd4 Nb4 13.Qe2 c5 14.a3 Nc6 15.Rac1 Rc8 16.Ba2 cxd4 17.Bf4 Re8 18.Qd3 Qb6 19.Rc2 Nd7 20.Rec1 Nc5 21.Qf1 a5 22.Bd5 d3 23.Bxc6 Qxc6 24.Rc3 Bxf3 25.gxf3 Qb7 26.b4 axb4 27.axb4 Ne6 28.Be3 Rxc3 29.Rxc3 d5 30.Rxd3 Rd8 31.exd5 Rxd5 32.Rxd5 Qxd5 33.Qb1 f5 34.Nf1 f4 35.Ba7 Ng5 36.Nd2 Qxd2 37.Qb3+ Kf8 38.h4 Nf7 39.Qe6 Bxb4 40.Qf5 Qe1+ 41.Kg2 Qe7 42.Bb8 Qxh4 43.Bxf4 Kg8 44.Be3 Qc4 0-1
Round 2, Oct. 19, 2015
Aleksandrov, Aleksej (2606) – Hammes, Michael (2336)
E41 Nimzo-Indian, Huebner Variation (e3)
1.d4 e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 c5 5.Bd3 Nc6 6.Nf3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 d6 8.h3 e5 9.e4 h6 10.O-O O-O 11.Be3 b6 12.Re1 Re8 13.d5 Ne7 14.a4 a5 15.Rb1 Ng6 16.Kh2 Rf8 17.Rb2 Rb8 18.Qc2 Bd7 19.g3 Qe8 20.Qb1 Qd8 21.Bc2 Ne7 22.Ng1 g5 23.f4 Nh7 24.fxe5 dxe5 25.Qd1 Nf6 26.Nf3 Ng6 27.Nxg5 Ng4+ 28.hxg4 hxg5 29.Qd2 f6 30.Reb1 Qe7 31.Rxb6 Rxb6 32.Rxb6 Bxg4 33.Kg1 Bf3 34.Bxg5 Qd8 35.Rc6 Rf7 36.Qe3 Bh5 37.Qxc5 Qd7 38.Rxf6 Qg4 39.Qe3 Nf4 40.Rxf7 Nh3+ 41.Kf1 Nxg5 42.Rf5 Qh3+ 43.Ke1 Qh1+ 44.Rf1 1-0
Round 4, Oct. 21, 2015
Aleksandrov, Aleksej (2606) – Kvisvik, Brede (2318)
D20 QGA, 3.e3
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e3 e5 4.Bxc4 exd4 5.exd4 Bd6 6.Nf3 Nf6 7.Qe2+ Qe7 8.Qxe7+ Bxe7 9.O-O Nbd7 10.Re1 Nb6 11.Bb3 Nfd5 12.Nc3 c6 13.Bd2 Be6 14.Ne4 h6 15.Nc5 Bxc5 16.dxc5 Nd7 17.Bxd5 cxd5 18.Rac1 O-O 19.Nd4 Rfc8 20.b4 Nf8 21.b5 Bd7 22.c6 bxc6 23.bxc6 Be8 24.Nf5 Ng6 25.Nd6 Bxc6 26.Nxc8 Rxc8 27.f4 Kh7 28.g3 a6 29.Kf2 Bd7 30.Rxc8 Bxc8 31.Re8 Bf5 32.Ke3 Bb1 33.a4 Ba2 34.a5 f6 35.Kd4 h5 36.h4 Nh8 37.Rf8 Ng6 38.Ra8 Bc4 39.Bb4 Nh8 40.Rf8 Ng6 41.Rd8 Nh8 42.Rd7 Kg8 43.Rxd5 Bxd5 44.Kxd5 Kf7 45.Kc6 Ke6 46.Kb6 Kd7 47.Kxa6 Kc6 48.Ka7 Nf7 49.a6 Kc7 50.Ba5+ Kc8 51.Kb6 Kb8 52.Bb4 Nh6 53.Bc5 Nf5 54.Bf2 Nd6 55.Kc6 Ne4 56.Be1 Ka7 57.Kd5 f5 58.Ke6 1-0
Round 5, Oct. 22, 2015
Mertanen, Janne (2253) – Aleksandrov, Aleksej (2606)
D38 QGD, Ragozin Variation
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 d5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 c5 8.dxc5 Nc6 9.e3 g5 10.Bg3 Ne4 11.Rc1 O-O 12.Be2 Re8 13.O-O Nxc3 14.bxc3 Bxc5 15.Nd4 Ne5 16.Qb3 Nc4 17.Rfd1 Qe7 18.Bxc4 dxc4 19.Qxc4 Bg4 20.Re1 Rac8 21.Qb3 b6 22.h3 Bd7 23.Rcd1 Qe4 24.Qb1 Qxb1 25.Rxb1 Bf8 26.Nb5 Bxb5 27.Rxb5 Rxc3 28.a4 Bc5 29.Reb1 Ra3 30.a5 Rxa5 31.Rxa5 bxa5 32.Rb5 Bb6 33.Be5 a4 34.Bb2 Rc8 35.h4 gxh4 36.Rb4 Rc2 37.Rg4+ Kf8 38.Bg7+ Ke7 39.Rxa4 h5 40.Bd4 Bc7 41.Kf1 a5 42.Bg7 f6 43.Bh6 Kf7 44.Rxh4 Bd6 45.Rxh5 a4 46.Bf4 Bc5 0-1
Round 6, Oct. 23, 2015
Haag, Gregor (2236) – Aleksandrov, Aleksej (2606)
A13 English Opening, Agincourt Variation
1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 e6 3.d4 Nf6 4.e3 a6 5.Nc3 dxc4 6.Bxc4 b5 7.Bd3 Bb7 8.Qe2 Nbd7 9.e4 c5 10.d5 c4 11.Bc2 e5 12.O-O Rc8 13.Nd1 Bd6 14.a4 O-O 15.axb5 axb5 16.b3 cxb3 17.Bxb3 Nc5 18.Bc2 b4 19.Bb2 Ba6 20.Rxa6 Nxa6 21.Nxe5 Bxe5 22.Bxe5 Re8 23.f4 Qb6+ 24.Kh1 b3 25.Bb1 Rc1 26.Qb2 Rec8 27.d6 Nd7 28.Bxg7 Qxd6 29.Bd4 Rxb1 30.Qxb1 Qxd4 31.Qxb3 Qxe4 32.Qg3+ Kh8 33.Re1 Qd4 34.Nc3 Nf6 35.Nb5 Qb6 36.Qh4 Nc5 37.h3 Nce4 38.Na3 Rg8 39.Nc4 Qe6 40.Ne5 Qd5 41.Kh2 Qa2 42.Rg1 Rg3 43.Qh6 Kg8 44.Nc6 Qe6 0-1
European Club Cup 2015
October 25, 2015
Colin McGourty in chess24.com talks about the shaky position of Siberia in the final round:
“So, Kramnik’s Siberia went into the final round clash with Italian team Obiettivo knowing a draw would give them the European Club Cup title, while a loss would leave things at the mercy of tiebreak coefficients.
Vladimir Kramnik tried another innocuous looking opening against Peter Leko …but this time the trick didn’t work. He got a comfortable but very slight advantage, and the long game that followed was more about keeping his colleagues company at the board than gaining serious winning chances.
The drama took place elsewhere, with Siberia soon rocked when Li Chao chose to play a line that was universally condemned when Shakhriyar Mamedyarov tried it against Magnus Carlsen in Shamkir Chess earlier this year. IM David Martínez noted back then that 8…a5?! was a deviation from what he called “The Great Wall of China” after 8…a6. It’s unlikely Li Chao simply mixed up his moves, but in the end Maxime Vachier-Lagrave went on to win as smooth a game as Magnus had earlier this year.
Siberia were in trouble, since they weren’t better on any board, and all hell was breaking lose in Grischuk-Nakamura after 22…e5!
By this point Grischuk was down to around three minutes to reach the time control. Of course with an increment you might consider that his comfort zone, but it was still very clear that absolutely anything could happen, especially as Nakamura soon got down to just as little time as his opponent.
The evaluation swung from side to side in the moves that followed, and rather than attempt an analysis it’s perhaps better just to admire the way both players 1) made the time control, and 2) survived.”
The draw in this game and the clinch win for Wang Yue sealed tournament victory for Siberia.
Round 7, Oct. 24, 2015
Grischuk, Alexander – Nakamura, Hikaru
D02 Queen’s Bishop Game
1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4 e6 4.e3 Bd6 5.Bg3 c5 6.Nbd2 Nc6 7.c3 O-O 8.Bd3 b6 9.e4 Be7 10.e5 Nh5 11.a3 a5 12.Qe2 Ra7 13.O-O c4 14.Bc2 b5 15.h4 g6 16.Bh2 Bxh4 17.g4 Ng7 18.Nxh4 Qxh4 19.Kg2 f5 20.exf6 Qxf6 21.Bd6 Rff7 22.f4 e5 23.dxe5 Qh4 24.f5 gxf5 25.Rh1 Qd8 26.Qe3 d4 27.cxd4 Ne8 28.Rh6 Rg7 29.Rg1 Rad7 30.d5 Ne7 31.Bxe7 Rdxe7 32.Qd4 Bb7 33.Kf2 Qxd5 34.Qxd5+ Bxd5 35.Bxf5 Rxe5 36.Re1 Rxe1 37.Kxe1 b4 38.axb4 axb4 39.Be6+ Bxe6 40.Rxe6 Nc7 1/2-1/2
27…Ne8?, better is Nxd4
_______
A look at the games of Aleksandrov
Aleksej won all of his games in this contest. Just mistake-free play? Higher rating against lower rated players? He has a couple of hundred ELO points on each of his opponents. You decide. The Round 6 contest is given again for completeness.
European Club Cup 2015
Round 1, Oct. 18, 2015
Xheladini, Mahmut (2219) – Aleksandrov, Aleksej
C91 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Bogolyubov Variation
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.d4 Bg4 10.Be3 Bh5 11.Nbd2 exd4 12.cxd4 Nb4 13.Qe2 c5 14.a3 Nc6 15.Rac1 Rc8 16.Ba2 cxd4 17.Bf4 Re8 18.Qd3 Qb6 19.Rc2 Nd7 20.Rec1 Nc5 21.Qf1 a5 22.Bd5 d3 23.Bxc6 Qxc6 24.Rc3 Bxf3 25.gxf3 Qb7 26.b4 axb4 27.axb4 Ne6 28.Be3 Rxc3 29.Rxc3 d5 30.Rxd3 Rd8 31.exd5 Rxd5 32.Rxd5 Qxd5 33.Qb1 f5 34.Nf1 f4 35.Ba7 Ng5 36.Nd2 Qxd2 37.Qb3+ Kf8 38.h4 Nf7 39.Qe6 Bxb4 40.Qf5 Qe1+ 41.Kg2 Qe7 42.Bb8 Qxh4 43.Bxf4 Kg8 44.Be3 Qc4 0-1
Round 2, Oct. 19, 2015
Aleksandrov, Aleksej (2606) – Hammes, Michael (2336)
E41 Nimzo-Indian, Huebner Variation (e3)
1.d4 e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 c5 5.Bd3 Nc6 6.Nf3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 d6 8.h3 e5 9.e4 h6 10.O-O O-O 11.Be3 b6 12.Re1 Re8 13.d5 Ne7 14.a4 a5 15.Rb1 Ng6 16.Kh2 Rf8 17.Rb2 Rb8 18.Qc2 Bd7 19.g3 Qe8 20.Qb1 Qd8 21.Bc2 Ne7 22.Ng1 g5 23.f4 Nh7 24.fxe5 dxe5 25.Qd1 Nf6 26.Nf3 Ng6 27.Nxg5 Ng4+ 28.hxg4 hxg5 29.Qd2 f6 30.Reb1 Qe7 31.Rxb6 Rxb6 32.Rxb6 Bxg4 33.Kg1 Bf3 34.Bxg5 Qd8 35.Rc6 Rf7 36.Qe3 Bh5 37.Qxc5 Qd7 38.Rxf6 Qg4 39.Qe3 Nf4 40.Rxf7 Nh3+ 41.Kf1 Nxg5 42.Rf5 Qh3+ 43.Ke1 Qh1+ 44.Rf1 1-0
Round 4, Oct. 21, 2015
Aleksandrov, Aleksej (2606) – Kvisvik, Brede (2318)
D20 QGA, 3.e3
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e3 e5 4.Bxc4 exd4 5.exd4 Bd6 6.Nf3 Nf6 7.Qe2+ Qe7 8.Qxe7+ Bxe7 9.O-O Nbd7 10.Re1 Nb6 11.Bb3 Nfd5 12.Nc3 c6 13.Bd2 Be6 14.Ne4 h6 15.Nc5 Bxc5 16.dxc5 Nd7 17.Bxd5 cxd5 18.Rac1 O-O 19.Nd4 Rfc8 20.b4 Nf8 21.b5 Bd7 22.c6 bxc6 23.bxc6 Be8 24.Nf5 Ng6 25.Nd6 Bxc6 26.Nxc8 Rxc8 27.f4 Kh7 28.g3 a6 29.Kf2 Bd7 30.Rxc8 Bxc8 31.Re8 Bf5 32.Ke3 Bb1 33.a4 Ba2 34.a5 f6 35.Kd4 h5 36.h4 Nh8 37.Rf8 Ng6 38.Ra8 Bc4 39.Bb4 Nh8 40.Rf8 Ng6 41.Rd8 Nh8 42.Rd7 Kg8 43.Rxd5 Bxd5 44.Kxd5 Kf7 45.Kc6 Ke6 46.Kb6 Kd7 47.Kxa6 Kc6 48.Ka7 Nf7 49.a6 Kc7 50.Ba5+ Kc8 51.Kb6 Kb8 52.Bb4 Nh6 53.Bc5 Nf5 54.Bf2 Nd6 55.Kc6 Ne4 56.Be1 Ka7 57.Kd5 f5 58.Ke6 1-0
Round 5, Oct. 22, 2015
Mertanen, Janne (2253) – Aleksandrov, Aleksej (2606)
D38 QGD, Ragozin Variation
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 d5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 c5 8.dxc5 Nc6 9.e3 g5 10.Bg3 Ne4 11.Rc1 O-O 12.Be2 Re8 13.O-O Nxc3 14.bxc3 Bxc5 15.Nd4 Ne5 16.Qb3 Nc4 17.Rfd1 Qe7 18.Bxc4 dxc4 19.Qxc4 Bg4 20.Re1 Rac8 21.Qb3 b6 22.h3 Bd7 23.Rcd1 Qe4 24.Qb1 Qxb1 25.Rxb1 Bf8 26.Nb5 Bxb5 27.Rxb5 Rxc3 28.a4 Bc5 29.Reb1 Ra3 30.a5 Rxa5 31.Rxa5 bxa5 32.Rb5 Bb6 33.Be5 a4 34.Bb2 Rc8 35.h4 gxh4 36.Rb4 Rc2 37.Rg4+ Kf8 38.Bg7+ Ke7 39.Rxa4 h5 40.Bd4 Bc7 41.Kf1 a5 42.Bg7 f6 43.Bh6 Kf7 44.Rxh4 Bd6 45.Rxh5 a4 46.Bf4 Bc5 0-1
Round 6, Oct. 23, 2015
Haag, Gregor (2236) – Aleksandrov, Aleksej (2606)
A13 English Opening, Agincourt Variation
1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 e6 3.d4 Nf6 4.e3 a6 5.Nc3 dxc4 6.Bxc4 b5 7.Bd3 Bb7 8.Qe2 Nbd7 9.e4 c5 10.d5 c4 11.Bc2 e5 12.O-O Rc8 13.Nd1 Bd6 14.a4 O-O 15.axb5 axb5 16.b3 cxb3 17.Bxb3 Nc5 18.Bc2 b4 19.Bb2 Ba6 20.Rxa6 Nxa6 21.Nxe5 Bxe5 22.Bxe5 Re8 23.f4 Qb6+ 24.Kh1 b3 25.Bb1 Rc1 26.Qb2 Rec8 27.d6 Nd7 28.Bxg7 Qxd6 29.Bd4 Rxb1 30.Qxb1 Qxd4 31.Qxb3 Qxe4 32.Qg3+ Kh8 33.Re1 Qd4 34.Nc3 Nf6 35.Nb5 Qb6 36.Qh4 Nc5 37.h3 Nce4 38.Na3 Rg8 39.Nc4 Qe6 40.Ne5 Qd5 41.Kh2 Qa2 42.Rg1 Rg3 43.Qh6 Kg8 44.Nc6 Qe6 0-1
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