Aeroflot Open 2016

**Jack Maguire** · Tuesday, 1st March, 2016, 12:59 AM

Re: Aeroflot Open 2016

Betting lines are being offered on 14 of the R1 matches.

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

**Jack Maguire** · Tuesday, 1st March, 2016, 09:11 AM

Re: Aeroflot Open 2016

The Vladimir Potkin - Wei Yi game features a sharp opening. (:

http://www.chessbomb.com/arena/2016-...ladimir-Wei_Yi

**Wayne Komer** · Tuesday, 1st March, 2016, 03:25 PM

Re: Aeroflot Open 2016

Aeroflot Open 2016

March 1, 2016

Round One

Rank after Round One

Inarkiev 1
Dubov 1
Khismatullin 1
Bluebaum 1
Dragun 1
Korobov 1
Vallejo Pons
Artemiev 1
Moiseenko 1
Swiercz 1
Najer 1
Zvjaginsev 1
Rakhmanov 1 and 14 others at 1 point
_____

Aeroflot Open 2016, Moscow
Round 1, March 1, 2016
Potkin, Vladimir – Wei Yi
A10 English, Adorjan Defence

1.c4 g6 2.e4 e5 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nf3 exd4 5.e5 Ne4 6.Qxd4 Bb4+ 7.Kd1 f5 8.exf6 Nxf6 9.Qh4 d5 10.Bg5 Be7 11.cxd5 Nxd5 12.Bc4 Nc6 13.Bxd5 Be6 14.Bxe7 Nxe7 15.Re1 Bxd5 16.Kc2 Qd7 17.Nc3 Qf5+ 18.Kc1 O-O-O 19.Rxe7 Bxf3 20.gxf3 Qxf3 21.Qg3 Qc6 22.Kc2 Rd6 23.Rae1 Rhd8 24.R1e2 a5 25.Qe5 1-0

- Has Wei Yi run into some deep and deadly preparation by Vladimir Potkin?

- Wei is thinking for long then makes a weak move

- Potkin too, thought for over an 1 hour for 13. bxd5. Russian old fox simply was not impressed and played better moves

Round 1, March 1, 2016
Goganov, Aleksey – Jobava, Baadur
E11 Bogo-Indian Defence, Grunfeld Variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Nbd2 O-O 5.a3 Be7 6.e4 d6 7.Be2 a5 8.b3 e5 9.dxe5 dxe5 10.Bb2 Nfd7 11.Nxe5 Nxe5 12.Bxe5 Nc6 13.Bc3 Bd6 14.O-O Qh4 15.g3 Qe7 16.Qc1 f5 17.Re1 f4 18.e5 fxg3 19.hxg3 Bxe5 20.Bf3 Qf6 21.Bd5+ Kh8 22.Ne4 Qg6 23.Ng5 Bd6 24.Ne6 Bxe6 25.Rxe6 Qg4 26.Qe3 Rf5 27.Be4 Rxf2 28.Rg6 Qh3 29.Bxg7+ Kg8 30.Bd5+ Rf7 31.Rg5 Be7 32.Bxf7+ Kxf7 33.Rf1+ 1-0

Everyone was talking about how Khalifman walked into stalemate versus the young Russian

Round 1, March 1, 2016
Khalifman, Alexander – Yuffa, Daniil
E97 King’s Indian, Orthodox, Aronin-Taimanov

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.Nc3 O-O 5.e4 d6 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.b4 Nh5 10.g3 f5 11.Ng5 Nf6 12.Bf3 c6 13.Be3 h6 14.Ne6 Bxe6 15.dxe6 fxe4 16.Nxe4 Nxe4 17.Bxe4 d5 18.cxd5 cxd5 19.Bg2 b6 20.Qb3 Qd6 21.Rad1 Rad8 22.Bxd5 Nxd5 23.e7 Qxe7 24.Rxd5 Rxd5 25.Qxd5+ Qf7 26.Rd1 Qxd5 27.Rxd5 Rf7 28.Rd8+ Kh7 29.a4 Bf6 30.Re8 Kg7 31.a5 Bg5 32.Bxg5 hxg5 33.axb6 axb6 34.Rxe5 Kh6 35.Re6 b5 36.Re5 Rb7 37.h3 Rb8 38.Kf1 Rb7 39.Ke2 Rb8 40.Ke3 Rb7 41.g4 Rc7 42.Rxb5 Rb7 43.Rxb7 1/2-1/2

- LOL Win game is draw!

- Khalifman blew it. He did a great job of setting up a winning game & didn't notice the stalemate trap that Yuffa set up. That prevented Khalifman from taking the R. The 19 year old Russian is clever!
______

Alexander Khalifman is a Russian grandmaster born in 1966.

Khalifman gained the Grandmaster title in 1990 with one particularly good early result being his first place in the 1990 New York Open ahead of a host of strong players. His most notable achievement was winning the FIDE World Chess Championship in 1999, a title he held until the following year. He was rated 44th in the world at the time, while "Classical" World Champion Garry Kasparov was rated No. 1.
Khalifman has been coaching the Azerbaijani national team since 2013 and is its captain. [Wikipedia]
_______

Round Two Pairings

1. Khismatullin – Korobov
2. Inarkiev – Lu Shanglei
3. Savchenko – Vallejo Pons
4. Wen Yang – Artemiev
5. Petrosian – Moiseenko
6. Bluebaum – Swiercz
7. Eliseev – Najer
8. Bocharov – Zvjaginsev
9. Dragun – Rakhmanov
10. Potkin – Grachev
11. Goganov – Hovhannisyan
12. Dubov – Shyam
13. Gelfand – Martirosyan
14. Wagner – Bu Xiangzhi
15. Nepomniachtchi – Timofeev
16. Socko – Matiakov
17. Kamsky – Demchenko
18. Sjugirov – Lalith
31. Wei Yi – Lorparizangeneh
32. Jobava – Xu Yingiun

**Hans Jung** · Wednesday, 2nd March, 2016, 01:26 PM

Re: Aeroflot Open 2016

In round 1 top section of Aeroflot I noticed that white over black was leading 14 to 1 at one point. At the end (of the boards shown on chessbomb) White had outscored Black 20 wins to 5 wins. You dont see that much anymore.

**Wayne Komer** · Wednesday, 2nd March, 2016, 05:22 PM

Re: Aeroflot Open 2016

Aeroflot Open 2016

March 2, 2016

Round Two

The only live commentary I could find on the Open was by David Martinez, IM, on chess24.com. It is in Spanish but you can usually figure out what is going on even if you don’t know the language.

The game Wen Yang – Artemiev is a show-stopper:

Aeroflot Open A 2016, Moscow
Round 2, March 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

- Interesting position in Wen-Artemiev. White is down a rook for a pawn but is completely winning

- Didn't realize Qxd5 Bb6 is mate

- ...and this from a closed Sicilian!?

- 13.Rxf7!! What a shot!

It looked like Wei Yi had a lost game at one point but then managed to draw

Round 2, March 2, 2016
Wei Yi – Lorparizangeneh, Shahin
A16 English

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Qc2 Nc6 6.Qb3 Ndb4 7.a3 Be6 8.Qd1 Nd5 9.e4 Nxc3 10.bxc3 Bg7 11.d4 Na5 12.Rb1 O-O 13.h4 Bg4 14.Rb5 b6 15.Rg5 Qc8 16.h5 h6 17.Rxg4 Qxg4 18.Rh4 Qe6 19.d5 Bxc3+ 20.Bd2 Qf6 21.e5 Bxd2+ 22.Qxd2 Qg7 23.hxg6 fxg6 24.Bd3 g5 25.Rg4 Rxf3 26.gxf3 Qxe5+ 27.Kf1 Nb3 28.Qc2 Nc5 29.Bc4 Kg7 30.f4 Qd4 31.Qe2 Qe4 32.Qxe4 Nxe4 33.fxg5 Nd2+ 34.Ke2 Nxc4 35.gxh6+ Kxh6 36.Rxc4 Rc8 37.Ke3 Kg6 38.Ke4 Kf6 39.Rc6+ Kf7 40.Ke5 a5 41.a4 b5 42.axb5 Rb8 43.Rxc7 Rxb5 44.Ra7 Ke8 45.f4 Kd8 46.Ra8+ Kd7 47.Ra6 Rb1 48.Ra7+ Ke8 49.Rxa5 Re1+ 50.Kf5 Kd7 51.Kg6 Kd6 52.f5 Re5 53.f6 exf6 54.Kxf6 Rxd5 55.Rxd5+ Kxd5 1/2-1/2

- Yi is betting everything for a 2400 to somewhere blunder.

- Wei Yi down two pawns

- Looks like Wei Yi managed to save the game. Draw.

- Wei needs to master the fundamentals before playing aggressive. Otherwise he is just another Mamedyarov or Ding

Round 2, March 2, 2016
Savchenko, Boris – Vallejo Pons, Francisco
C50 Giuoco Pianissimo, Canal Variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bc4 Bc5 5.d3 d6 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 Be6 8.Bb5 g5 9.Bg3 O-O 10.Na4 Bb6 11.c3 Kg7 12.h4 g4 13.Nd2 Nh5 14.Nf1 Nf4 15.Bxf4 exf4 16.d4 Bd7 17.Qd2 f5 18.Nxb6 axb6 19.Bxc6 bxc6 20.Qxf4 fxe4 21.Qg3 Be6 22.Ne3 h5 23.a3 Kh7 24.O-O b5 25.Rfe1 Bb3 26.Rac1 d5 27.Nf1 Bc4 28.Qe5 Kg6 29.g3 Bxf1 30.Kxf1 Rf5 31.Qe6+ Rf6 32.Qe5 Rf5 33.Qe6+ Qf6 34.Qxf6+ Kxf6 35.Re3 Ke6 36.Rce1 Kd6 37.R1e2 c5 38.dxc5+ Kxc5 39.Rd2 c6 40.Ke1 Ra4 41.Kd1 Kd6 42.Ke1 Ke5 43.Rd1 Ra8 44.Re2 Rf3 45.Rd4 Rf7 46.Rd3 Raf8 47.Rd4 c5 48.Rd1 d4 49.cxd4+ cxd4 50.Red2 d3 51.Rc1 Kd4 52.Rc6 Rf6 53.Rc7 R6f7 54.Rc6 Rf5 55.b4 Rd8 56.Re6 Rf3 57.Kd1 Rdf8 58.Ke1 Rd8 59.Kd1 e3 60.fxe3+ Rxe3 61.Rh6 Rxg3 0-1
______

There is not much movement from some of the top ranked players – Gelfand, Bu Xiangzhi, Wei Yi, Jobava and Kamsky.

Rank After Round 2

1. Vallejo Pons 2
2. Najer 2
3. Wen Yang 2
4. Petrosian 2
5. Goganov 2

20 players with 1.5

Round Three Pairings

1. Vallejo Pons – Wen Yang
2. Najer – Petrosian
3. Korobov – Goganov
4. Matiakov – Khismatullin
5. Salem – Inarkiev
6. Lu Shanglei – Sjugirov
7. Swiercz – Cordova
8. Zvjaginsev – Bachmann
9. Rakhmanov – Jumabayev
10. Grachev – Bluebaum
11. Sasikiran – Bocharov
12. Martirosyan – Dubov
13. Kobalia – Dragun
14. Shyam – Bartel
15. Bu Xiangzhi – Potkin
16. Demchenko – Gelfand
17. Kovalev – Nepomniachtchi
18. Artemiev – Wagner
19. Bindrich – Kamsky
20. Moiseenko – Antipov
31. Goryachkina – Wei Yi
32. Gasanov - Jobava

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 3rd March, 2016, 03:33 PM

Re: Aeroflot Open 2016

Aeroflot Open, 2016

March 3, 2016

Round Three

It looks like the top seeds are playing up to their strength now.

Evgeny Nager has won all his games. You’ll recall that in 2015, though seeded 37th, he won the European Individual Championship in Jerusalem.

He is a 38-year old Russian.

Third Round Results

1. Vallejo Pons – Wen Yang 0.5-0.5
2. Najer – Petrosian 1-0
3. Korobov – Goganov 0.5-0.5
4. Matlakov – Khismatullin 1-0
5. Salem – Inarkiev 0.5-0.5
6. Lu Shanglei – Sjugirov 0.5-0.5
7. Swiercz – Cordova 0.5-0.5
8. Zvjaginsev – Bachmann 0.5-0.5
9. Rakhmanov – Jumabayev 0.5-0.5
10. Grachev – Bluebaum 0.5-0.5
16. Demchenko – Gelfand 0-1
17. Kovalev-Nepomniachtchi 0-1
19. Bindrich – Kamsky 0-1
31. Goryachkina – Wei Yi 0-1
32. Gasanov – Jobava 0-1

Aeroflot Open A 2016
Moscow, 2016
Round 3, March 3, 2016
Najer. Evgeny – Petrosian, Tigran L.
B06 Pirc-Robatsch

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Be3 Bg7 5.Qd2 O-O 6.O-O-O c6 7.f3 b5 8.g4 b4 9.Nce2 Qa5 10.Kb1 c5 11.Bh6 Nc6 12.Bxg7 Kxg7 13.g5 Nd7 14.d5 Nce5 15.Nc1 Nb6 16.h4 Ba6 17.f4 Nec4 18.Bxc4 Nxc4 19.Qf2 Rab8 20.Nb3 Qa4 21.h5 Nxb2 22.Kxb2 c4 23.Nf3 Qa3+ 24.Ka1 cxb3 25.cxb3 Rbc8 26.Nd4 Rc3 27.hxg6 fxg6 28.f5 Rfc8 29.Rb1 Rc1 30.f6+ exf6 31.Qxf6+ Kg8 32.Ne6 Rxb1+ 33.Rxb1 1-0

Round 3, March 3, 2016
Demchenko, Anton – Gelfand, Boris
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.Qd2 Rc8 13.Rh3 b4 14.axb4 Nxb4 15.Nce2 a5 16.c3 Nc6 17.Nb5 Nc5 18.Bxc5 dxc5 19.Rd3 Qb6 20.Nd6+ Bxd6 21.Rxd6 O-O 22.f4 Rcd8 23.Rxd8 Rxd8 24.Qc2 c4 25.Rd1 Rxd1+ 26.Qxd1 Qxb2 27.Qd7 Kf8 28.Qc7 a4 29.f5 exf5 30.exf5 a3 31.Qd6+ Ke8 32.Bg2 Qb1+ 33.Kf2 Qxf5+ 34.Ke1 Qb1+ 35.Kf2 Qb6+ 36.Nd4 a2 37.Bxc6+ Bxc6 38.Qa3 Qc7 39.Nxc6 Qf4+ 40.Ke2 Qe4+ 41.Kf2 Qxh4+ 42.Kf3 Qh1+ 43.Kf4 Qxc6 44.Qxa2 h6 45.gxh6 Qxh6+ 46.Ke4 Qe6+ 47.Kd4 g5 0-1

Round 3, March 3, 2016
Goryachkina, Aleksandra – Wei Yi
B30 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.O-O Nge7 5.c3 a6 6.Ba4 b5 7.Bc2 Bb7 8.Qe2 Qb6 9.a4 b4 10.d3 a5 11.Nbd2 Ba6 12.Nc4 Qc7 13.Re1 Ng6 14.g3 Be7 15.h4 h5 16.Bb3 Rb8 17.Rb1 Bf6 18.Bd2 d6 19.Rec1 Kf8 20.Ne3 Qb6 21.Nc4 Qd8 22.Ne3 Nge7 23.Bc4 Bb7 24.Ng2 Ng6 25.Nf4 Nxf4 26.Bxf4 Rc8 27.Be3 Ne7 28.Bb5 g6 29.Bg5 Bxg5 30.Nxg5 Kg7 31.d4 cxd4 32.cxd4 Qb6 33.Qd2 Rhf8 34.b3 Ng8 35.Kg2 Nh6 36.Be2 Rfe8 37.Bf3 e5 38.d5 Ba6 39.Rxc8 Rxc8 40.Rc1 Rxc1 41.Qxc1 Ng8 42.g4 hxg4 43.Bxg4 Nf6 44.Bf3 Qc5 45.Qh1 Bd3 46.h5 gxh5 47.Qe1 Qd4 48.Kg3 Qc3 49.Qg1 Qd2 50.Kh3 Ng4 0-1

Round 3, March 3, 2016
Gasanov, Eldar - Jobava, Baadur
E34 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Noa Variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.cxd5 Qxd5 6.Nf3 Qf5 7.Qxf5 exf5 8.Bd2 c6 9.a3 Bd6 10.Bg5 Nbd7 11.e3 h6 12.Bh4 f4 13.exf4 Bxf4 14.Bc4 O-O 15.O-O Nb6 16.Bb3 Nfd5 17.Nxd5 cxd5 18.Bc2 Bg4 19.Bg3 Rfc8 20.Bd3 Bxf3 21.gxf3 Bg5 22.Rfe1 Nc4 23.Re2 Nd2 24.Kg2 Nb3 25.Rd1 Rc1 26.Ree1 Rxd1 27.Rxd1 Nxd4 28.Bb1 Bf6 29.Ba2 Rd8 30.b4 b6 31.a4 h5 32.b5 Kf8 33.Rd3 Ke7 34.h4 g6 35.Kh3 Rd7 36.Kg2 Kf8 37.Kh3 Kg7 38.Kg2 Nc2 39.Rxd5 Re7 40.Rd8 Re2 41.Rd7 Ne1+ 42.Kf1 Rxa2 43.Kxe1 Rxa4 44.Bb8 Ra5 45.Bxa7 Rxb5 46.Rd6 Rb1+ 47.Ke2 b5 48.Bd4 Bxd4 49.Rxd4 Rc1 50.Rd5 b4 51.Rb5 Rc4 52.Ke3 Rc3+ 53.Kf4 b3 54.Rb6 Kf8 55.Rb7 Ke8 56.Kg3 f6 57.Kf4 Kd8 58.Rb5 Kc7 59.Ke4 Kc6 60.Rb8 Kc5 61.f4 Rc4+ 0-1

Rank After Round Three

1. Najer, Evjeny 3
2. Bartel, Mateusz 2.5
3. Dubov, Daniil 2.5
4. Goganov, Aleksey 2.5
5. Wen Yang 2.5
6. Vallejo Pons, Francisco 2.5
7. Maklakov, Maxim 2.5
8. Antipov, Mikhail 2 with 26 others on 2.

Round Four Pairings

1. Matlakov-Najer
2. Bartel-Vallejo Pons
3. Dubov-Goganov
4. Nepomniachtchi-Wen Yang
5. Gelfand-Lu Shanglei
6. Bu Xiangzhi-Salem
7. Cordova-Korobov
8. Inarkiev-Bok
9. Kamsky-Savchenko
10. Sjugirov-Petrosian
18. Wei Yi-Wagner
19. Jobava-Lalith

**Wayne Komer** · Friday, 4th March, 2016, 05:49 PM

Re: Aeroflot Open 2016

Aeroflot Open 2016

March 4, 2016

Round Four

(Wikipedia) Tigran L. Petrosian was born on 17 September 1984. His first name was deliberately chosen by his father to match the name of Tigran V. Petrosian, first Armenian who became the World Champion. When the late Tigran won the world title, Tigran's father dreamt that if he ever had a son he would call him Tigran. The ex-world champ died a month before Tigran L. Petrosian was born.

(Wikipedia) Sanan Sjugirov, born 31 January 1993 (in Elista) is a Russian chess grandmaster. 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.

Aeroflot Open A
Moscow 2016
Round 4, March 4, 2016
Sjugirov, Sanan - Petrosian, Tigran L.
B76 Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 O-O 9.O-O-O Nxd4 10.Bxd4 Be6 11.Kb1 Qc7 12.h4 Rfc8 13.h5 Qa5 14.hxg6 hxg6 15.a3 Rab8 16.Bd3 b5 17.Qg5 Qc7 18.e5 dxe5 19.Bxe5 Qc5 20.f4 Rb7 21.Bxg6 fxg6 22.Qxg6 Bf5 23.Qxf5 b4 24.Qe6+ Kf8 25.Bxf6 exf6 26.Rh5 Qc7 27.axb4 Rxb4 28.Rd7 Rxb2+ 29.Ka1 1-0

Round 4, March 4, 2016
Fedoseev, Vladimir - Bocharov, Dmitry
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.O-O O-O 9.Be3 Nbd7 10.a4 b6 11.Bc4 Bb7 12.Nd2 Qc7 13.Qe2 Nc5 14.Rfd1 Rfd8 15.Bxc5 Qxc5 16.Nf1 b5 17.Bb3 bxa4 18.Rxa4 Bc6 19.Rc4 Qb6 20.Ne3 a5 21.g4 Qb7 22.g5 Nd7 23.Rxc6 Qxc6 24.Nf5 Bf8 25.Qf3 Kh8 26.Nh4 Nc5 27.Bxf7 Qd7 28.Ng6+ hxg6 29.Bxg6 1-0

Round 4, March 4, 2016
Bluebaum, Matthias - Rakhmanov, Aleksandr
A53 Old Indian Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nf3 g6 4.Nc3 Bf5 5.Nh4 Bd7 6.e4 e5 7.Nf3 exd4 8.Nxd4 Bg7 9.Be2 O-O 10.Be3 Nc6 11.O-O Re8 12.f3 Nh5 13.Nc2 Be5 14.Nd5 Ne7 15.Bg5 f6 16.Be3 Nxd5 17.Qxd5+ Be6 18.Qd2 f5 19.f4 Bxb2 20.Rab1 Bg7 21.Bxh5 gxh5 22.Bd4 b6 23.Rb3 h4 24.Ne3 Bxd4 25.Qxd4 c5 26.Qd2 Qf6 27.Rd3 fxe4 28.Rxd6 Rad8 29.f5 Qg5 30.Re1 Bf7 31.Rd7 h6 32.Qd6 Rxd7 33.Qxd7 Rd8 34.Qxa7 Qf4 35.Nd5 Rxd5 36.cxd5 e3 37.Kh1 Bxd5 38.Rg1 h3 39.Qxb6 hxg2+ 40.Rxg2+ Bxg2+ 41.Kxg2 Qg4+ 0-1

A kibitzer in chessbomb.com wrote this for the game today:

Herr von Bluebaum von Bluebaum im Russenland, eine Hangematte in seinem Garten hing und sein Blick gen Nationalmannschaft ging.

This roughly translates to: Mr. Blue Tree Blue Tree in Russia, hung a hammock in his garden and directed his gaze toward the national team.

It was a long time ago that I studied German but I think Theodor Fontane once told the tale of Lord von Ribbeck of Ribbeck in Havelland and the pear tree in his garden.*

Oh, where is Jan Gustafsson when I need him?

Rank After Round Four

1. Najer 3.5
2. Wen Yang 3.0
3. Goganov 3.0
4. Vallejo Pons 3.0
5. Zvjaginsev 3.0
6. Rakhmanov 3.0
7. Grachev 3.0
8. Sjugirov 3.0
9. Gelfand 3.0
10. Fedoseev 3.0
11. Bartel 3.0
12. Dubov 3.0
13. Matlakov 3.0 and
twenty players with 2.5

Round Five Pairings

1. Najer-Gelfand
2. Rakhmanov-Matlakov
3. Vallejo Pons-Dubov
4. Wen Yang-Sjugirov
5. Goganov-Fedoseev
6. Zvjaginsev-Bartel
7. Grachev-Inarkiev
8. Kobalia-Bu Xiangzhi
9. Korobov-Bachmann
10. Salem-Nepomniachtchi
11. Artemiev-Cordova
12. Bok-Kamsky
17. Esipenko-Wei Yi
18. Demchenko-Jobava
25. Martirosyan-Bluebaum

____________
* Herr von Ribbeck auf Ribbeck im Havelland,
Ein Birnbaum in seinem Garten stand

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 6th March, 2016, 01:39 AM

Re: Aeroflot Open 2016

Aeroflot Open 2016

March 5, 2016

Round Five

There is an excellent pictorial essay on the first four rounds by Sagar Shan at

http://en.chessbase.com/post/aeroflo...-twelve-follow

I was impressed with the views of the 1777-room Hotel Cosmos where the tournament is being played and Gata Kamsky’s new look.
There are some generous words about the 20-year-old Russian Grandmaster Vladimir Fedoseev, whose game against Bocharov was given yesterday.

The top eight boards all drew – Najer-Gelfand in 16 moves and Rakhmanov-Matlakov in only 8.

Aeroflot Open A 2016 Moscow
Round 5, March 5, 2016
Rakhmanov, Aleksandr – Matlakov, Maxim
D04 Queen’s Pawn Game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 Bf5 4.Bd3 Bg6 5.b3 e6 6.Bb2 Nbd7 7.Nbd2 Bd6 8.Ne5 1/2-1/2

Round 5, March 5, 2016
Esipenko, Andrey – Wei Yi
A04 Reti Opening

1.Nf3 g6 2.g3 Bg7 3.d4 c5 4.c3 Nf6 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O Qb6 7.a4 d6 8.a5 Qc7 9.Bg5 Nbd7 10.Qc1 Re8 11.Bh6 Bh8 12.Re1 b5 13.axb6 Nxb6 14.e4 Bb7 15.e5 Ng4 16.e6 f5 17.h3 Nxh6 18.Qxh6 Bg7 19.Qh4 Bxf3 20.Bxf3 d5 21.Na3 Bf6 22.Qh6 cxd4 23.Nb5 Qc4 24.Nxd4 Bxd4 25.cxd4 Qxd4 26.b3 Rac8 27.Rad1 Qg7 28.Qxg7+ Kxg7 29.Bxd5 Rc3 30.Bg2 Rec8 31.g4 Rxb3 32.gxf5 gxf5 33.Rd4 Rbc3 34.Bf1 Rc1 35.Re3 Kf6 36.Rg3 R8c4 37.Rd8 Rc8 38.Rd4 Re1 39.Kg2 Ke5 40.Rh4 Nd5 41.Ba6 Rc2 42.Rf3 Rcc1 43.Ra3 Nf4+ 44.Kg3 Rg1+ 45.Kf3 Nxe6 46.Ra5+ Kf6 47.Bd3 Ng5+ 48.Kf4 e5+ 49.Rxe5 Nxh3+ 50.Rxh3 Rg4+ 51.Ke3 Re1+ 52.Be2 Kxe5 53.Kd2 Rgg1 54.Rxh7 Ra1 0-1

Round 5, March 5, 2016
Demchenko, Anton – Jobava, Baadur
B92 Sicilian, Najdorf, Opocensky Variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 g6 7.O-O Bg7 8.Re1 O-O 9.Bf1 Nc6 10.Nb3 Nd7 11.Bg5 b5 12.Qc1 Bxc3 13.bxc3 Nb6 14.f4 Be6 15.Nd4 Nxd4 16.cxd4 Bc4 17.Bd3 Rc8 18.Qd2 Qd7 19.f5 Rfe8 20.f6 exf6 21.Bxf6 Re6 22.Rf1 Qa7 23.Qf2 d5 24.e5 Nd7 25.Bg5 Nf8 26.Bh6 Bxd3 27.cxd3 Rec6 28.Bxf8 Kxf8 29.Rae1 Kg8 30.Re3 Rc1 31.Qf4 Rxf1+ 32.Kxf1 b4 33.h4 Qd7 34.h5 Rc1+ 35.Kf2 Rc2+ 36.Kf3 Qf5 37.Qxf5 gxf5 38.e6 Kf8 39.Re5 fxe6 40.Rxe6 Rxa2 41.Rb6 a5 42.Rb7 Rd2 43.Kf4 Rxd3 44.Kxf5 Rxd4 45.g4 a4 46.Rxh7 Rd1 47.h6 a3 48.Ra7 b3 49.h7 Rh1 50.Rxa3 Rxh7 1/2-1/2

Rank After Round Five

1. Najer 4.0
2. Gelfand 3.5
3. Bachmann 3.5
4. Sjugirov 3.5
5. Bartel 3.5
6. Fedoseev 3.5
7. Dubov 3.5
8. Wen Yang 3.5
9. Goganov 3.5
10. Matlakov 3.5 and six others with 3.5

Round Six Pairings

1. Vallejo-Najer
2. Gelfand-Grachev
3. Matlakov-Hovhannisyan
4. Bartel-Artemiev
5. Sjugirov-Goganov
6. Fedoseev-Wen Yang
7. Dubov-Zvjaginsev
8. Bachmann-Rakhmanov
9. Dragun-Bu Xiangzhi
10. Wei Yi-Kobalia
11. Nepomniachtchi-Bok
12. Inarkiev-Savchenko
13. Kamsky-Salem

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 6th March, 2016, 04:33 PM

Re: Aeroflot Open 2016

Aeroflot Open 2016

March 6, 2016

Round Six

Matlakov and Bartel join Najer at the top of the table. Gelfand is playing a marathon game and Wei Yi has gone down to defeat. This has prompted a number of sarcastic comments from the online kibitzers:

- move 19, wei yi down to 17 minutes

- wei yi always wasting time, even using much time making silly moves – no tactics

- Go Bluebaum!

- Wei doesn’t win this

- interesting position in jobava-alekseenko

- Gelfand will win this. Nice game by Mariya today

- Wei yi has become weak

- Wei needs to retire, he’s getting too old. Past his prime obviously.

- Gelfand may win this but it is real damn hard. Wei needs to retire..LOL

- Wei yi performs well in elite tournaments but gets thrashed in open tournaments

- I expect wei yi to be 2750+ at the end of the year

- Over 100 moves and still not clear if it is a win for Gelfand

- Grachev running on increments

- Black should simply resign here – there is no way you can make Gelfand blunder here

- the reason Grachev doesn’t resign is the hope for a perpetual or a stalemate

- enough is enough

- White can mate in eight moves!

- O.K., Gelfand won. At last Grachev resigned.

The games mentioned above – the long Gelfand endgame, Wei Yi’s loss, Jobava’s creativity:

Aeroflot Open 2016 Moscow
Round Six, March 6, 2016
Wei Yi – Kobalia, Mikhail
A11 English

1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 c6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.b3 Bd6 6.Bb2 O-O 7.Be2 Re8 8.Qc2 e5 9.cxd5 cxd5 10.Nb5 Nc6 11.Nxd6 Qxd6 12.d4 Nb4 13.Qd2 e4 14.Ne5 Nd7 15.O-O f6 16.a3 Na6 17.f4 exf3 18.Nxf3 Nf8 19.Bd3 Bd7 20.Rae1 Qb6 21.Bc2 Rac8 22.Rf2 Bc6 23.a4 Qb4 24.Bc3 Qd6 25.Bd3 Bd7 26.h3 Qb6 27.Rb1 Qc7 28.Ba5 Qg3 29.Kh1 Nb8 30.Bb4 Nc6 31.Bxf8 Rxf8 32.Rbf1 Rfe8 33.Re2 a5 34.e4 Nb4 35.Bb1 dxe4 36.Rxe4 Rxe4 37.Bxe4 Re8 38.Re1 f5 39.Bxb7 Rxe1+ 40.Qxe1 Qxe1+ 41.Nxe1 Be6 42.d5 Nxd5 43.Nc2 Kf7 44.Kg1 Kf6 45.Ba6 Nc7 46.Bc4 Bxc4 47.bxc4 Ne6 48.Kf2 Ke5 0-1

Round Six, March 6, 2016
Jobava, Baadur – Alekseenko, Kirill
B23 Sicilian, Chameleon Variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nge2 Nf6 4.g3 d5 5.exd5 Nd4 6.Nxd4 cxd4 7.Nb5 e5 8.Bg2 Bc5 9.O-O Bg4 10.Qe1 O-O 11.d3 Qd7 12.a4 a6 13.Na3 Bh3 14.Qxe5 Bxg2 15.Kxg2 Rfe8 16.Qf4 Qxa4 17.c4 b5 18.Qd2 bxc4 19.dxc4 Rab8 20.Qd3 Ng4 21.Nc2 Qd7 22.Nxd4 Ne5 23.Qc3 Qg4 24.Nf3 Nxf3 25.Qxf3 Qxc4 26.Bf4 Rxb2 27.d6 Bxf2 28.d7 Bb6+ 29.Kh1 Rd8 30.Rae1 h6 31.Re8+ Kh7 32.Be5 Bf2 33.Rd1 Rd2 34.Kg2 Re2 35.Kh3 Bb6 36.Qf5+ g6 37.Qf6 Rxh2+ 38.Kxh2 Qe2+ 39.Kh3 Qh5+ 40.Kg2 Qe2+ 41.Kh3 Qh5+ 1/2-1/2

Round Six, March 6, 2016
Gelfand, Boris – Grachev, Boris
D30 Queen’s Gambit Declined

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.Bf4 dxc4 6.e3 b5 7.Nxb5 Bb4+ 8.Nd2 Nd5 9.Bg3 N7b6 10.Qc2 O-O 11.Be2 Ba6 12.Nc3 c5 13.dxc5 Bxc5 14.Nxd5 Nxd5 15.Bxc4 Bxc4 16.Nxc4 Rc8 17.Qb3 Bb4+ 18.Ke2 Qg5 19.Rhc1 h5 20.Ne5 Rxc1 21.Rxc1 Bd6 22.h4 Qd8 23.e4 Bxe5 24.Bxe5 Ne7 25.Rc5 Ng6 26.Bg3 Qd4 27.Rc4 Qd7 28.Rc7 Qd4 29.Qc2 Rd8 30.Rc8 Rxc8 31.Qxc8+ Kh7 32.Qc2 e5 33.Kf1 Qd8 34.Qe2 Kg8 35.Kg1 Nxh4 36.Bxe5 Qa5 37.Bg3 Ng6 38.a3 h4 39.Bd6 Qb6 40.Qd2 Qb3 41.Kh2 h3 42.gxh3 Nh4 43.Qe3 Qd1 44.Bb4 f6 45.Qg3 Nf3+ 46.Kg2 Ng5 47.Qe3 Qc2 48.h4 Nxe4 49.Qxa7 Qc8 50.Qe3 Qg4+ 51.Kf1 Qxh4 52.Be1 Ng5 53.Ke2 Qg4+ 54.Kd3 Qf5+ 55.Kc4 Qc2+ 56.Bc3 Qa4+ 57.Bb4 Qa6+ 58.Kb3 Ne6 59.Qe4 Qb6 60.Qd5 Qa6 61.a4 Qe2 62.a5 Kh8 63.Bc3 Nf4 64.Qc4 Qd1+ 65.Kb4 Qd6+ 66.Ka4 Nd5 67.Bd4 Nc7 68.Bb6 Qd1+ 69.Ka3 Qa1+ 70.Kb3 Qd1+ 71.Ka2 Na6 72.b3 Qd2+ 73.Ka3 Qd6+ 74.b4 Qd2 75.b5 Qd6+ 76.Kb3 Qd1+ 77.Qc2 Qd5+ 78.Ka4 Qd7 79.f4 f5 80.Qh2+ Kg8 81.Qe2 Kh8 82.Kb3 Qd5+ 83.Ka4 Qd7 84.Qh2+ Kg8 85.Qa2+ Kh7 86.Qb3 Kh8 87.Be3 Nc7 88.Bc5 Na6 89.Bb6 Kh7 90.Qc2 Kh8 91.Qe2 Kh7 92.Kb3 Qd5+ 93.Kc3 Nc5 94.Bxc5 Qxc5+ 95.Kb3 Qd5+ 96.Kb4 Qd6+ 97.Kc4 Qc7+ 98.Kb3 Qxa5 99.Qh5+ Kg8 100.Qxf5 Qe1 101.Qe5 Qd1+ 102.Kb4 Qd2+ 103.Kc5 Qc1+ 104.Kb6 Kh8 105.Kb7 Qh1+ 106.Kb8 Qb1 107.Qc5 Qe4 108.Qh5+ Kg8 109.Qe5 Qb4 110.Kb7 Kh7 111.b6 g6 112.Kc7 Qc4+ 113.Kd8 Qd3+ 114.Kc8 Qh3+ 115.Kb8 Qd3 116.b7 g5 117.Kc7 Qc4+ 118.Kd8 Qd3+ 119.Ke8 1-0

A new catch phrase has emerged with this game – when someone has finally given in against an opponent who rarely blunders, “At last, Grachev has resigned!”
_______

Rank After Round Six

1. Najer 4.5
2. Gelfand 4.5
3. Bartel 4.5
4. Matlakov 4.5
5. Wen Yang 4.0 and fourteen others with 4.0

Round Seven Pairings

1. Gelfand-Matlakov
2. Najer-Bartel
3. Zvjaginsev-Nepomniachtchi
4. Sasikiran-Inarkiev
5. Goganov-Vallejo Pons
6. Wen Yang-Kamsky
7. Kobalia-Sjugirov
8. Bachmann-Fedoseev
9. Rakhmanov-Dubov
10. Bu Xiangzhi-Lu Shanglei
19. Potkin-Jobava
20. Alekseenko-Wei Yi
21. Khalifman-Bluebaum
______

Elvis has left the building

At last, Grachev has resigned

**Wayne Komer** · Monday, 7th March, 2016, 03:23 PM

Re: Aeroflot Open 2016

Aeroflot Open 2016

March 7, 2016

Round Seven

Kirill Alekseenko had a position full of promise against Wei Yi. He should have played 24.Bh6 but instead went with 24.Rb5. Later, he played 31.Kh2 instead of 31.e4 (best by test) and handed Wei Yi the point.

Aeroflot Open 2016 Moscow
Round 7, March 7, 2016
Alekseenko, Kirill – Wei Yi
D93 Grunfeld with Bf4 e3

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bf4 Bg7 5.e3 O-O 6.Nf3 c5 7.dxc5 Ne4 8.Rc1 Nd7 9.cxd5 Qa5 10.Be2 Nxc3 11.bxc3 Bxc3+ 12.Kf1 Nxc5 13.h4 Bd7 14.Kg1 Rac8 15.h5 Ne4 16.hxg6 fxg6 17.Bd3 Nf6 18.Ng5 Bd2 19.Rb1 Qc3 20.Qe2 Bg4 21.Qf1 Nxd5 22.Ne4 Qa5 23.Bc4 Be6 24.Rb5 Qa4 25.Bxd5 Bxd5 26.Rxd5 Rc1 27.Nxd2 Rxf1+ 28.Nxf1 Rc8 29.Rd2 Rc1 30.Rd8+ Kg7 31.Kh2 Qa5 32.Rd7 Qh5+ 33.Kg1 Rxf1+ 34.Kxf1 Qb5+ 35.Ke1 Qxd7 36.Be5+ Kg8 37.Rh4 Qd5 38.Bc3 Qxg2 39.a4 h5 40.Be5 g5 0-1

- if Kirill wanted to give the boy a free point, he should've done it much earlier and not keep us in suspense

- it's hard to lose like this

- Kirill will get over it, he is one of those youngsters who won some tournaments last year

- I’ll bet there's heavy drinking after this game

Two older players – Gelfand and Kamsky take early draws, the former in 19 moves and the latter, in 9.

Round 7, March 7, 2016
Bachmann, Axel – Fedoseev, Vladimir
E17 Queen’s Indian

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 b6 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.d4 Be7 6.O-O O-O 7.Bf4 d6 8.Nc3 Ne4 9.Rc1 Qc8 10.Bh3 Nxc3 11.Rxc3 Qe8 12.Bg2 a5 13.Re1 Na6 14.e4 e5 15.Bd2 Rb8 16.Rce3 Bf6 17.Bc3 g6 18.Bh3 Bg7 19.a3 Rd8 20.b3 Qe7 21.Qa1 Bh6 22.R3e2 f5 23.dxe5 fxe4 24.Nd4 Nc5 25.b4 dxe5 26.bxc5 exd4 27.Bxd4 bxc5 28.Be3 Bxe3 29.Rxe3 Rd4 30.Bg2 Qf6 31.Qb2 Bc6 32.Qc2 Re8 33.Bxe4 Rexe4 34.Rxe4 Rxe4 35.Rxe4 Qf3 0-1

33.Bxe4? and disaster ensued.

Round 7, March 7, 2016
Korobov, Anton – Jumabayev, Rinat
E60 King’s Indian Defence

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.h4 c5 4.d5 b5 5.cxb5 a6 6.bxa6 Bg7 7.Nc3 O-O 8.e4 e6 9.dxe6 fxe6 10.Bg5 Qa5 11.Qd2 Nc6 12.Nf3 Rb8 13.Rc1 Bxa6 14.Bxf6 Rxf6 15.Rh3 Nd4 16.Bxa6 Qxa6 17.Nxd4 cxd4 18.Nd1 d5 19.Rb3 Rbf8 20.Ra3 Qd6 21.exd5 Qh2 22.Rf3 Rxf3 23.gxf3 0-1

- Korobov inventing the wheel in Aeroflot Open! 3. h4!

- Looks like a house of cards falling apart (21..Qh2!)

Round 7, March 7, 2016
Salem, Saleh – Azarov, Sergei
C77 Ruy Lopez, Anderssen Variation

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.c3 g6 7.O-O Bg7 8.Re1 O-O 9.Nbd2 b5 10.Bc2 Bb7 11.a4 Re8 12.b4 Qd7 13.Nb3 Rab8 14.h3 Nd8 15.Be3 Ne6 16.axb5 axb5 17.Ra7 Nd8 18.Na5 Ba8 19.Bb3 Nc6 20.Nxc6 Bxc6 21.Qc2 h6 22.Qd2 Kh7 23.Rea1 d5 24.R1a6 Bb7 25.Ra5 Qc6 26.Rxb5 Qxb5 27.Ba4 Qxa4 28.Rxa4 dxe4 29.dxe4 Bc6 30.Ra7 Nxe4 31.Qa2 Re7 32.Qc4 1-0

Now let’s see, where can I put my bishop so that White won’t take it…?

Round 7, March 7, 2016
Savchenko, Boris – Van Foreest, Jorden
B22 Sicilian-Alekhine-Alapin

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.d4 cxd4 6.cxd4 d6 7.Bc4 Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.Qe2 b6 10.Rd1 Bb7 11.Bxd5 exd5 12.Nc3 Na6 13.Nb5 Nc7 14.Nxc7 Qxc7 15.Bg5 Rfe8 16.Rac1 Qd7 17.Bxe7 Qxe7 18.Rc3 Bc8 19.h3 Bf5 20.Rdc1 dxe5 21.dxe5 h6 22.Nd4 Qxe5 23.Qxe5 Rxe5 24.f4 1-

- btw, what a horrible blunder by our new Dutch GM

- He took the poisoned pawn, I can relate to that lol
________

Rank After Round 7

1. Bartel 5.0
2. Fedoseev 5.0
3. Najer 5.0
4. Matlakov 5.0
5. Gelfand 5.0
6. Inarkiev 4.5
7. Nepomniachtchi 4.5
8. Kamsky 4.5
9. Sjugirov 4.5
10. Dubov 4.5
11. Jumabayev 4.5 with 9 others with 4.5
27. Wei Yi 4.0
43. Jobava 3.5

Two rounds to go

Round Eight Pairings

1. Bartel-Gelfand
2. Fedoseev-Najer
3. Matlakov-Bu Xiangzhi
4. Nepomniachtchi-Rakhmanov
5. Inarkiev-Kobalia
6. Jumabayev-Vallejo Pons
7. Kamsky-Goganov
8. Dubov-Moiseenko
9. Sjugirov-Sasikiran
10. Wen Yang-Zvjaginsev
11. Wei Yi-Bachmann
12. Artemiev-Petrosian
13. Swiercz-Eliseev
14. Safarli-Potkin
15. Motylev-Bocharov
16. Dragun-Grachev

**Wayne Komer** · Tuesday, 8th March, 2016, 05:56 PM

Re: Aeroflot Open 2016

Aeroflot Open 2016

March 8, 2016

Round Eight

Boris Gelfand has a long tiring game with an endgame of B, R and e-pawn against N and R. There are also time troubles.

Aeroflot Open A 2016, Moscow
Round 8, March 8, 2016
Bartel, Mateusz – Gelfand, Boris
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Nb3 Nc6 7.Be3 e6 8.g4 b5 9.Bg2 Bb7 10.g5 Nd7 11.f4 Nb6 12.Qe2 Nc4 13.O-O-O Nxe3 14.Qxe3 Na5 15.f5 Nc4 16.Qg3 b4 17.Na4 e5 18.Nac5 Bc6 19.Bf1 Nb6 20.Nxa6 Be7 21.f6 gxf6 22.Nxb4 Bxe4 23.Bg2 Bg6 24.Bxa8 Qxa8 25.Qf2 Nd7 26.Nd5 Qxa2 27.gxf6 Bf8 28.Qd2 h5 29.Nc3 Qa6 30.Qf2 Bh6+ 31.Kb1 O-O 32.Qe2 Qxe2 33.Nxe2 Nxf6 34.Rxd6 Ng4 35.Nc3 Ne3 36.Rg1 Kh7 37.Rgxg6 fxg6 38.Nd2 Bf4 39.h3 g5 40.Nde4 Kg7 41.b4 g4 42.hxg4 Nxg4 43.b5 h4 44.Rd3 Ne3 45.Nf2 Rb8 46.Kb2 Kg6 47.Kb3 Kf5 48.Rd7 Ke6 49.Rh7 Nf5 50.Nfe4 Nh6 51.Ne2 Be3 52.Kc4 h3 53.Kd3 h2 54.N2g3 Bf4 55.c4 Rd8+ 56.Ke2 Rd4 57.Kf3 Rxc4 58.b6 Rb4 59.b7 Kd5 60.Kg2 Rb2+ 61.Kh1 Ng4 62.Rg7 Rb1+ 63.Kg2 h1=Q+ 64.Nxh1 Kxe4 65.Rxg4 Rb2+ 66.Nf2+ Ke3 67.b8=Q Rxb8 68.Rh4 Ke2 69.Rg4 Rb2 70.Rh4 Rc2 71.Rh3 Rc8 72.Rh4 Be3 73.Re4 Rg8+ 74.Ng4 Kd2 75.Kh3 Bf4 76.Nxe5 Bxe5 77.Rxe5 1/2-1/2

Everybody is talking about Kamsky’s game:

- just by the way, to anyone who missed Kamsky's game, I recommend to check it = at least couple finishing touches, crowned by totally cynical 0-0 (last move, 1:0...he won by castling on move 30!!)

- who would've thought Fischer was still alive playing?

Round 8, March 8, 2016
Kamsky, Gata – Goganov, Aleksey
D02 Queen’s Bishop Game

1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 Nf6 3.e3 c5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Nbd2 e6 6.c3 Bd6 7.Bg3 O-O 8.Bd3 b6 9.Qe2 Bb7 10.Rd1 Re8 11.e4 Be7 12.e5 Nh5 13.a3 c4 14.Bb1 g6 15.Nf1 b5 16.Ne3 a5 17.Ng4 b4 18.Qe3 bxc3 19.bxc3 Rb8 20.Bf4 Bc8 21.Bg5 Rb3 22.h4 Qb6 23.Bc2 Rxa3 24.Bxe7 Nxe7 25.Qh6 Nf5 26.Bxf5 exf5 27.Ng5 Nf6 28.Ne3 f4 29.Nxd5 Qd8 30.O-O 1-0

(30.O-O Re6 31.Nxe6 fxe6 32.Nxf6+ Qxf6 33.exf6 Kf7 34.Qg7+ Ke8 35.Qe7#)
______

Najer leads the pack again with a win over Fedoseev:

Round 8, March 8, 2016
Fedoseev, Vladimir – Najer, Evgeniy
B10 Caro-Kann Defence

1.e4 c6 2.Be2 d5 3.e5 c5 4.f4 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.O-O e6 7.d3 Nh6 8.Be3 Nf5 9.Bf2 Be7 10.Nbd2 h5 11.c3 g6 12.c4 Qd7 13.Rc1 b6 14.cxd5 exd5 15.d4 c4 16.b3 b5 17.bxc4 bxc4 18.Nxc4 dxc4 19.Rxc4 Nb4 20.Qb3 Nd5 21.Rc5 Nc7 22.e6 fxe6 23.Ne5 Nxd4 24.Qb2 Nxe2+ 25.Kh1 Bf6 26.Nxd7 Bxb2 27.Rxc7 Rd8 28.Rb7 Bc3 29.Nb8 Rc8 30.Nd7 Rd8 31.Nb8 Rf8 32.h3 Rxf4 33.Nc6 Rd6 34.Re7+ Kf8 35.Rc7 Bf5 36.Kh2 Rc4 37.Rc8+ Kg7 38.Rc7+ Kf6 0-1

Round 8, March 8, 2016
Dubov, Daniil – Moiseenko, Alexander
B30 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.O-O Nge7 5.Nc3 Nd4 6.Nxd4 cxd4 7.Ne2 a6 8.Ba4 b5 9.Bb3 Nc6 10.d3 g6 11.Bf4 Bg7 12.Bd6 Na5 13.Qd2 Nb7 14.Bf4 h5 15.c3 e5 16.Bg5 f6 17.f4 dxc3 18.Nxc3 fxg5 19.fxe5 Bxe5 20.Nd5 Bd4+ 21.Kh1 Nc5 22.Nc7+ Qxc7 23.Bf7+ Kf8 24.Qxg5 Qe5 25.Bxg6+ Kg8 26.Bf7+ 1-0

- Wow! Dubov plays a fantastic game! (move 22)

- What a game by DD

- Moiseenko outplayed in the opening
_____

Vallejo Pons is beaten after a long string of draws

Round 8, March 8, 2016
Jumabayev, Rinat – Vallejo Pons, Francisco
D12 QGD Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nh4 Be4 7.f3 Bg6 8.Qb3 Qc7 9.Bd2 Be7 10.Rc1 Nbd7 11.g3 Nb6 12.cxd5 exd5 13.Kf2 Qd7 14.Ng2 Bd6 15.Nf4 O-O 16.h4 Nh5 17.Nxh5 Bxh5 18.g4 Bxg4 19.fxg4 Qxg4 20.Ne2 Nc4 21.Rxc4 dxc4 22.Qxc4 Be7 23.Ke1 Bxh4+ 24.Kd1 Rae8 25.Qd3 h6 26.Kc2 Bg5 27.Nc3 b5 28.Be2 Qe6 29.Bf3 a5 30.d5 cxd5 31.Bxd5 Qb6 32.Ne4 Be7 33.Bc3 Qg6 34.Nf6+ Qxf6 35.Bxf6 Bxf6 36.Rf1 Bg5 37.e4 Rc8+ 38.Kb1 Kh8 39.Qxb5 f5 40.e5 f4 41.a3 1-0
______

Rank After Round Eight

1. Najer 6.0
2. Kobalia 5.5
3. Gelfand 5.5
4. Bartel 5.5
5. Zvjaginsev 5.5
6. Dubov 5.5
7. Kamsky 5.5
8. Jumabayev 5.5
9. Matlakov 5.5
Nine players with 5.0
35. Wei Yi 4.0
46. Jobava 4.0

Final (Ninth) Round Pairings

1. Najer (6)-Kamsky (5.5)
2. Gelfand (5.5)-Jumabayev (5.5)
3. Zvjaginsev (5.5)-Matlakov (5.5)
4. Kobalia (5.5)-Dubov (5.5)
5. Rakhmanov (5)-Bartel (5.5)
6. Bu Xiangzhi-Predke
7. Sasikiran-Nepomniachtchi
8. Salem-Sjugirov
9. Eliseev-Fedoseev
10. Petrosian-Wei Yi
11. Bocharov-Inarkiev
12. Vallejo Pons-Bluebaum

**Wayne Komer** · Wednesday, 9th March, 2016, 05:49 PM

Re: Aeroflot Open 2016

Aeroflot Open 2016

March 9, 2016

Round Nine

Final Ranking After Nine Rounds

1. Najer, Evgeniy 6.5
2. Gelfand, Boris 6.5
3. Bartel, Mateusz 6.0
4. Sjugirov, Sanan 6.0
5. Dubov, Daniil 6.0
6. Kamsky, Gata 6.0
7. Fedoseev, Vladimir 6.0
8. Matakov, Maxim 6.0
9. Kobalia, Mikhail 6.0
10. Zvjaginsev, Vadim 6.0
24. Jobava, Baadur 5.0
25. Wei Yi 5.0

Both Najer and Gelfand finished with the same score 6.5/9. With the exception of Gelfand-Jumabayev, all the top boards were draws.

Aeroflot Open 2016 A, Moscow
Round 9, March 9, 2016
Gelfand, Boris – Jumabayev, Rinat
D78 Neo-Grunfeld

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 c6 4.Bg2 d5 5.Nf3 Bg7 6.O-O O-O 7.Nbd2 Na6 8.b3 c5 9.Bb2 b6 10.dxc5 Nxc5 11.b4 Ne6 12.cxd5 Nxd5 13.Bxg7 Kxg7 14.Qb3 Bb7 15.Rfd1 Nf6 16.Nc4 Qc7 17.Rac1 Rac8 18.Qb2 Qb8 19.Bh3 b5 20.Bxe6 fxe6 21.Nce5 Rxc1 22.Rxc1 Qd6 23.Qd4 Bd5 24.a3 a5 25.Ne1 axb4 26.axb4 Bc4 27.Qb2 Qd5 28.Ng2 Rc8 29.Nf4 Qe4 30.f3 Qe3+ 31.Kg2 Kg8 32.Nfd3 g5 33.Nf2 Rd8 34.Nxc4 bxc4 35.Rxc4 Kf7 36.b5 h5 37.Rc3 Rd2 38.Rc2 Rd8 39.Nd3 g4 40.Ne5+ Kg7 41.Nc4 Qc5 42.Qa3 Qxa3 43.Nxa3 Ra8 44.Rc3 Nd5 45.Rb3 gxf3+ 46.exf3 Nb6 47.Kh3 Rc8 48.Nb1 Rd8 49.Re3 Kf7 50.f4 Nc4 51.Re4 Rc8 52.Re2 Nd6 53.Rb2 Rb8 54.Nc3 Nc4 55.Rb4 Nb6 56.Ne4 Nd5 57.Ng5+ Kf6 58.Re4 Nc7 59.Rc4 Nxb5 60.Rb4 e5 61.Ne4+ Kf5 62.Nc3 Nxc3 63.Rxb8 exf4 64.Rf8+ Kg6 65.Rxf4 Nd5 66.Ra4 Ne3 67.Re4 Nf5 68.Kg2 Kf6 69.Kf3 Nd6 70.Rf4+ Kg5 71.Ra4 Kf5 72.Rd4 Ne8 73.Rf4+ Kg6 74.Ke4 Nf6+ 75.Ke5 Kf7 76.h3 Kg6 77.Ke6 Kg5 78.h4+ Kg6 79.Kxe7 1-0

Round 9, March 9, 2016
Najer, Evgeniy – Kamsky, Gata
B04 Alekhine’s Defence, Modern, Fianchetto Variation

1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 g6 5.Bc4 c6 6.O-O Bg7 7.exd6 Qxd6 8.h3 O-O 9.Nbd2 a5 10.a4 b6 11.Re1 Ba6 12.Ne4 Qc7 13.Bxa6 Nxa6 14.Bg5 h6 15.Bh4 Rad8 16.Qe2 Qb7 17.Bg3 Nac7 18.Be5 Ne6 19.Bxg7 Kxg7 20.g3 Nf6 21.c3 c5 22.dxc5 bxc5 23.Rab1 Rd5 24.Ned2 Rf5 25.Qb5 Qa8 26.Re3 Rd8 27.Qe2 Rh5 28.h4 Rf5 29.Re1 Ng4 30.Re4 h5 31.Nc4 Qd5 1/2-1/2

Jobava’s experiments in the openings usually make the news. Here is an example of his endgame technique: with R+N vs R:

Round 9, March 9, 2016
Bindrich, Falko – Jobava, Baadur
D10 QGD, Slav

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 d5 4.e3 g6 5.Nf3 Bg7 6.Be2 O-O 7.O-O b6 8.a4 Ba6 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.e4 Nb4 11.Be3 Qc8 12.a5 Qb7 13.Ra4 Bxe2 14.Qxe2 N8a6 15.axb6 axb6 16.h4 b5 17.Raa1 Nc7 18.Rad1 Na2 19.Qc2 Nxc3 20.Qxc3 Rfc8 21.Qb3 Ne8 22.Rc1 Qd7 23.Ne5 Bxe5 24.dxe5 Qg4 25.Bg5 Qxe4 26.Rfe1 Qg4 27.Bxe7 Ng7 28.Qb4 Qxb4 29.Bxb4 Ne6 30.Bd6 c5 31.Red1 Ra2 32.Rd2 Ra4 33.Be7 Rc7 34.Bd6 Rd7 35.g3 f6 36.Rdd1 Kf7 37.Kg2 f5 38.Rd5 Rg4 39.Kf1 f4 40.Rc3 b4 41.Rf3 c4 42.gxf4 Ke8 43.Ra5 Nd4 44.Re3 Rxf4 45.Ra8+ Rd8 46.Rxd8+ Kxd8 47.Bxb4 Kd7 48.Ra3 Rxh4 49.Ra7+ Ke6 50.Rc7 Nf5 51.Bc3 Ne7 52.Kg2 Nd5 53.Rc5 h5 54.f3 g5 55.Rc6+ Kf5 56.Rc5 Nf4+ 57.Kg1 Rh3 58.e6+ Kxe6 59.Rxg5 Rxf3 60.Rc5 Rg3+ 61.Kf1 Rf3+ 62.Kg1 h4 63.Rxc4 h3 64.Be1 Kf5 65.Rc8 Rd3 66.Kh2 Rd1 67.Re8 Kg4 68.Re3 Rc1 69.Rg3+ Kf5 70.Re3 Rc2+ 71.Kh1 Ng2 72.Re8 Rc1 73.Kh2 Nxe1 74.Kxh3 Nd3 75.Kg3 Ne5 76.Ra8 Ke4 77.Ra4+ Ke3 78.Ra3+ Nd3 79.Kg4 Rf1 80.Kg5 Rf8 81.b4 Ke4 82.Ra1 Rf5+ 83.Kg6 Ne5+ 84.Kg7 Rf7+ 85.Kg8 Rb7 86.Rf1 Ng4 87.Kf8 Ne5 88.Kg8 Ng6 89.b5 Ke5 90.Re1+ Kf6 91.Rf1+ Ke6 92.b6 Ne7+ 93.Kf8 Rb8+ 94.Kg7 Nf5+ 95.Kg6 Rg8+ 96.Kh7 Rg7+ 97.Kh8 Rb7 98.Rc1 Rxb6 99.Ra1 Kf7 100.Ra7+ Kg6 101.Ra8 Rf6 102.Rb8 Ne7 103.Rd8 Kh6 104.Rb8 Rf7 0-1
______

Gelfand went ahead of his rivals by winning in a seven-hour game while they all drew. The standings appear to have made with the best tie-break scores

1. Evgeniy Najer
2. Boris Gelfand
3. Bartel Mateusz

The traditional bonus of the Aeroflot winner is a place in Dortmund in July.

As for the others – from ChessBase:

Among the final results of note that should not be overlooked was 20-year-old Alexandr Predke, untitled though rated a hefty 2508 FIDE, who drew Chinese GM Bu Xiangzhi, thus finishing with 5.5/9, an easy GM norm, and a 2726 performance.

Hailing from Paraguay, possibly the player who travelled the furthest to participate in the event, was GM Axel Bachmann, whom readers may recall played a superb game against Korobov in round five, and who also finished on 5.5/9 with an excellent 2702 performance.

The best female was 18-year-old WGM Lei Tingjie from China, rated 2495, who scored 4.0/9 with a 2565 performance. She faced nine grandmasters in nine games, the lowest rated being 2572, and though she lost three, she also added two scalps to her collection.

Finally, 13-year-old FM Alexey Esipenko, concluded the event with a grandmaster norm, beating GM Kulaots in the last round. The young talent from Russia ended on 50%, with three wins and three losses, only splitting the point on three occasions.

http://en.chessbase.com/post/najer-w...fand-is-silver

**Jack Maguire** · Thursday, 10th March, 2016, 11:22 PM

Re: Aeroflot Open 2016

Ding Liren won the Aeroflot Blitz with the amazing score of 15/18. He picked up 187.2 rating points for his performance and his new 2875.2 live rating puts him right there with Carlsen and Nakamura as the top blitz player in the world.

http://www.2700chess.com/blitz

Aeroflot Open 2016

Aeroflot Open 2016

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