European Individual Championship 2016

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 15th May, 2016, 02:23 PM

Re: European Individual Championship 2016

European Individual Championship 2016

May 15, 2016

Round Four

There is an excellent introduction to the championship at:

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/eur...arts-in-kosovo

by Colin McGourty.

“The European Championship is a curious event. Although it has a respectable prize fund (120,000 Euros, with 20,000 going to the winner) the main reason it attracts so many top players is that the first 23 finishers qualify to play in the 2017 World Cup – in that event even the 1st round losers earn $6,000, while of course for ambitious chess players there’s the goal of a place in the Candidates Tournament and a possible shot at the World Championship title.

There are two negative sides to that ulterior motive for playing in the European Championship. The first is that at the end of the tournament players will often defend qualification rather than fight for medal places. The other is that in the past players have complained that organisers take advantage of the players’ desire to qualify for the World Cup by offering the bare minimum conditions in the European Championship itself. As a competition it’s attracted more than its fair share of criticism.

This year again there was trouble at the start, with unfinished renovations meaning a significant number of players couldn’t be accommodated in the hotel where they were supposed to stay.

Since then, the situation seems to have improved.”
________

At: https://twitter.com/ECUonline/status/731840498269364224

there is a photo of a jammer used to prevent cell phones from receiving signals
________

This game from Round 3. One kibitzer on chessbomb said: Navara is the Wittgenstein of chess. What a lovely question for a philosophy exam at university: “Navara is the Wittgenstein of chess. Discuss, with examples.”

European Individual Championship 2016
Kosovo
Round 3, May 14, 2016
Navara, David – Kunin, Vitaly
C10 French, Fort Knox Variation

1.d4 e6 2.e4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bd7 5.Nf3 Bc6 6.Bd3 Nd7 7.O-O Ngf6 8.Ng3 g6 9.b3 Bg7 10.Ba3 Bf8 11.Bb2 Bg7 12.c4 O-O 13.Qe2 Bxf3 14.Qxf3 c6 15.Rfe1 Qa5 16.a3 Rfd8 17.Rad1 Rac8 18.b4 Qc7 19.Bc1 e5 20.Bg5 Re8 21.d5 cxd5 22.cxd5 Qd6 23.Bb5 a6 24.Bxd7 Nxd7 25.Ne4 Qf8 26.Qh3 f5 27.d6 Qf7 28.Be7 h6 29.Nc5 Nxc5 30.bxc5 Rxe7 31.dxe7 Qxe7 32.Rd6 Kh7 33.Qg3 Qf7 34.Qd3 Rxc5 35.Rd7 Qf6 36.Rxb7 e4 37.Qb1 Re5 38.a4 h5 39.Rd1 Re7 40.Rxe7 Qxe7 41.Qb6 f4 42.Qxa6 f3 43.Qb5 fxg2 44.Rd7 Qf6 45.Qb7 1-0

23.Bb5!

ChessTalkers may remember a discussion of the Fort Knox Variation of the French after the game Kasimdzhanov-Jobava, Round 3, Tashkent 2014. It is a variation that Jobava likes to play.

_________

Again from Round 3, Vallejo has a nice finish to his game:

Round 3, May 14, 2016
Vallejo Pons, Francisco – Palac, Miaden
B96 Sicilian, Najdorf

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 h6 8.Bh4 Qb6 9.a3 Be7 10.Bf2 Qc7 11.Bd3 Nbd7 12.Qe2 b5 13.O-O-O Bb7 14.g4 g6 15.f5 e5 16.Nb3 g5 17.h4 Rg8 18.hxg5 hxg5 19.Kb1 Nc5 20.Rh6 O-O-O 21.Nd5 Bxd5 22.exd5 Rh8 23.Nxc5 dxc5 24.d6 Bxd6 25.Rxf6 Qe7 26.Qe4 Qxf6 27.Qc6+ Kb8 28.Be4 1-0

24.d6!!

Chessnews.ru finishes off its commentary with:

“Daniil Dubov tortured Kaido Kulaots a pawn up in a rook and opposite-coloured bishops endgame, while Denis Khismatullin had a bad taste in his mouth after missing a drawing tactic in his rook ending against Ernesto Inarkiev. Two games are of theoretical interest: Nikita Vitiugov’s win against Zbynek Hracek in the Modern Benoni, and Daniele Vocaturo’s victory over Kacper Piorun in the Anti-Grunfeld System.”

Having a weakness for the Benoni, we give that game:

Round 3, May 14, 2016
Vitiugov, Nikita – Hracek, Zbynek
A62 Benoni, Fianchetto Variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 c5 4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.Nc3 g6 7.Bg2 Bg7 8.Nf3 O-O 9.O-O Re8 10.Bf4 Ne4 11.Nxe4 Rxe4 12.Nd2 Rxf4 13.gxf4 Bxb2 14.Rb1 Bg7 15.e4 Bh6 16.Qf3 Qf6 17.e5 Qxf4 18.Qxf4 Bxf4 19.Nc4 dxe5 20.Nd6 Nd7 21.Nxc8 Rxc8 22.Rxb7 Nf6 23.d6 e4 24.d7 Rd8 25.Rxa7 c4 26.Ra4 c3 27.Bxe4 Bd2 28.Ra8 Rxa8 29.Bxa8 Nxd7 30.Be4 Nc5 31.Bc2 Kf8 32.a4 Ke7 33.a5 Kd6 34.Ra1 Na6 35.Rb1 Kc7 36.Rb6 Nc5 37.Rf6 Kb7 38.Kf1 h5 39.Ke2 h4 40.h3 Ka7 41.Rxf7+ Ka6 42.Rc7 Kb5 43.Bd3+ Nxd3 44.Kxd3 Kxa5 45.Rxc3 1-0

________

After Round 3, the Standings are:

Wojtaszek, Matiakov, Andriasian, Jobava, Ipatov, Parligras, Sturua, Dubov, Inarkiev all with 3.

In Round 4, still in progress as we write, there is a Norwegian Derby with
Hammer vs Tari. They travel from Norway to Kosovo, only to meet each other. What do you think the result is?

**Wayne Komer** · Monday, 16th May, 2016, 04:33 PM

Re: European Individual Championship 2016

European Individual Championship 2016

May 16, 2016

Rounds Four and Five

Chess-news.ru is very even-handed in its reporting of chess news. In a recent article on this tournament it said:

This is the first time that the European Chess Championship has been held in a state that is not recognized by some countries. While we don’t know whether there are players who privately refused to participate based on their own political views it is clear that one of the countries that has refused to recognize Kosovo, Azerbaijan, has recommended its citizens not to play chess there. No other country appears to have made such a recommendation, at least among the strong chess playing nations.
_________

At the top Wojtaszek beat Ipatov. I enjoyed the probable line after White’s 74th:

European Individual Championship 2016
Kosovo
Round 4, May 15, 2016
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw – Ipatov, Alexander
A15 English Opening

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 b6 3.d4 Bb7 4.g3 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.d5 O-O 7.Bg2 Na6 8.O-O Nc5 9.Nd4 e5 10.Nc2 a5 11.b3 d6 12.Rb1 Bc8 13.e4 Bg4 14.f3 Bd7 15.Bg5 Qe8 16.Na3 Nh5 17.Nab5 Rc8 18.a3 f5 19.b4 Nb7 20.Bd2 f4 21.g4 Nf6 22.Na7 Ra8 23.Ncb5 Qe7 24.Bc3 Bxb5 25.Nxb5 g5 26.Rf2 h5 27.h3 Qd7 28.Be1 Rf7 29.Bf1 Bf8 30.Rbb2 Rh7 31.Rh2 hxg4 32.hxg4 Rxh2 33.Rxh2 Kg7 34.Bd3 axb4 35.axb4 Nd8 36.Qb1 c5 37.dxc6 Nxc6 38.Bc3 Qc8 39.Qb2 Nd8 40.Rd2 Nf7 41.Be2 Be7 42.Rd1 Ne8 43.Be1 Nc7 44.Bf2 Nxb5 45.cxb5 Qe6 46.Bf1 Bd8 47.Rc1 Qd7 48.Bc4 Rc8 49.Qd2 d5 50.Bxd5 Rxc1+ 51.Qxc1 Qxb5 52.Qc8 Qe8 53.Kg2 Qe7 54.Qc6 Nh8 55.Bxb6 Bxb6 56.Qxb6 Ng6 57.Be6 Qf8 58.Bf5 Nh4+ 59.Kf2 Qe7 60.Qc5 Kf6 61.Qc6+ Kf7 62.Qb6 Kg7 63.Be6 Qf8 64.Bd5 Qc8 65.Bc6 Qg8 66.Qc7+ Qf7 67.Qxe5+ Kh7 68.Bb5 Qa7+ 69.Qc5 Qa3 70.Be2 Ng6 71.e5 Qa1 72.Bd3 Kh6 73.Qd6 Qb2+ 74.Kf1 1-0

(74... Qc1+ 75. Kg2 Qd2+ 76. Kh3 Qxd3 77. Qxd3 Kg7 78. Qd6 Kh7 79. b5 Nh8 80. Qf6 Kg8 81. Qxh8+ Kxh8 82. b6 Kg8 83. b7 Kg7 84. b8=Q Kf7 85. Qc7+ Ke6 86. Qd6+ Kf7 87. Qd7+ Kg6 88. e6 Kh6 89. e7 Kg6 90. e8=Q+ Kh6 91. Qh5#)

Jon Ludvig Hammer vs Aryan Tari went 58 moves to a draw.

The following two games were featured in chess-news.ru with extensive annotations and this preface:

Going into the fourth round of the European Championship in Gjakova, two Georgian GMs were among the competitors yet to lose a game: that country’s undisputed number one Baadur Jobava and the experienced Zurab Sturua, who has been one of the top players on the veterans circuit in recent years. But last night their paths diverged. For how long, though?

Round 4, May 15, 2016
Navara, David – Sturua, Zurab
E49 Nimzo-Indian, 4.a3, Botvinnik System

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Ne2 b6 8.a3 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 c5 10.O-O Ba6 11.f3 Re8 12.Ng3 Bxd3 13.Qxd3 Nc6 14.Bb2 h5 15.e4 h4 16.Nf5 g6 17.Nxh4 dxe4 18.fxe4 Nxe4 19.Rf4 Qe7 20.Nxg6 Qg5 21.Rxe4 Rxe4 22.Qxe4 Qxg6 23.Qe2 Rd8 24.Rf1 cxd4 25.cxd4 Qe6 26.Qf2 Rd5 27.Re1 Qf5 28.Re8+ Kh7 29.Qh4+ Qh5 30.Qf6 Qd1+ 31.Kf2 Qc2+ 32.Ke3 Qb3+ 33.Kf4 Rd8 34.Re3 1-0

15.e4 This is a novelty; 15.Rae1 has been played before.

Round 4, May 15, 2016
Jobava, Baadur – Parligras, Mircea-Emilian
E48 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3 O-O

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Ne2 Re8 8.Bd2 Bd6 9.Rc1 a6 10.O-O Nc6 11.f3 Nb4 12.Bb1 c5 13.Kh1 Nc6 14.Be1 cxd4 15.exd4 Nh5 16.Qd2 Be6 17.g4 Nf6 18.Bh4 Be7 19.Nf4 Nd7 20.Bxe7 Nxe7 21.Rce1 Nf8 22.Nh5 Nc6 23.Ne2 f6 24.Neg3 Rc8 25.h4 Rc7 26.Nf4 Rce7 27.h5 Bf7 28.Rd1 Qa5 29.Nf5 Rd7 30.Qf2 Qc7 31.Nd3 Be6 32.Rfe1 Rdd8 33.Rg1 Kh8 34.Qh4 Qf7 35.Nf4 Bxf5 36.gxf5 h6 37.Rg2 Rd7 38.Rdg1 Nxd4 39.Ng6+ Nxg6 40.hxg6 1-0

38...Nxd4?? A most generous present. He should have played 38...Nh7. After 39.Rxg7 Qxg7 40.Rxg7 Rxg7 41.Ng6+ Kg8 42.a3 with the idea of 43.Ba2 Baadur would still have enjoyed a clear advantage, but one which he would still need to make an effort to convert. Now however, White has a simple discovered attack to capture the knight for free.

http://chess-news.ru/en/node/21458

________

At the end of Round Four, the three leaders were Wojtaszek, Inarkiev and Jobava all with perfect scores of 4. After Round Five, these three were joined by Saric and Navara with the quintet having 4.5 points. Radek Wojtaszek has been tweeting after each round, the other day saying “wish me luck”.

Tomorrow, for Round 6, he plays David Navara, Jobava plays Inarkiev and Saric, Matiakov.

To get into the top 23 and qualify for the World Cup, a final score of 7.5/11 is probably needed.

Round 5, May 16, 2016
Zhigalko, Sergei – Navara, David
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance Variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 c5 6.Be3 cxd4 7.Nxd4 Ne7 8.Nd2 Nbc6 9.N2f3 Be4 10.O-O Bxf3 11.Nxf3 Qc7 12.Bf4 Ng6 13.Bg3 O-O-O 14.c4 h5 15.h4 Kb8 16.cxd5 Rxd5 17.Qa4 Be7 18.Rfd1 Rhd8 19.Rxd5 Rxd5 20.Qe4 Qb6 21.Bc4 Rd8 22.b3 Nd4 23.Rd1 Nf5 24.Rxd8+ Qxd8 25.Be2 Qa5 26.a4 Bc5 27.Kh2 Qb6 28.a5 Qxa5 29.Ng5 Nxg3 30.fxg3 Qa1 31.Nf3 a6 32.Bc4 Ne7 33.Qh7 Nf5 34.Bd3 Nh6 0-1

Round 5, May 16, 2016
Inarkiev, Ernesto – Wojtaszek, Radoslaw
B90 Sicilian, Najdorf, Byrne Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.Qd2 Be7 9.f3 O-O 10.O-O-O Nbd7 11.g4 b5 12.g5 b4 13.Na4 Nh5 14.Qxb4 d5 15.Qa5 Qxa5 16.Nxa5 d4 17.Bd2 Bxa2 18.Nc6 Bd6 19.Nc3 Be6 20.Nd5 Bxd5 21.exd5 Nb6 22.f4 e4 23.Ba5 Nxd5 24.Rxd4 Rfc8 25.Ne5 Nhxf4 26.Nc4 Be7 27.Bd2 Re8 28.Rxe4 Bxg5 29.Nd6 Red8 30.h4 Bf6 31.Bxf4 Nxf4 32.Nxf7 Kxf7 33.Rxf4 a5 34.Bc4+ Kf8 35.c3 Rac8 36.Kc2 Rc5 37.h5 Rd6 38.Bd3 Rdd5 39.h6 Rh5 40.hxg7+ Kxg7 41.Rg4+ Kf7 ½-½

Ranking After Round Five

1. Wojtaszek, Radoslaw 4.5
2. Jobava, Baadur 4.5
3. Inarkiev, Ernesto 4.5
4. Saric, Ivan 4.5
5. Navara, David 4.5
6. Vitiugov, Nikita 4.0
7. Matiakov, Maxim 4.0
8. Berkes, Ferenc 4.0
9. Fressinet, Laurent 4.0
10. Cheparinov, Ivan 4.0
11. Parligras, Mircea-Emilian 4.0
12. Goganov, Aleksey 4.0
13. Kovalenko, Igor 4.0
14. Nabaty, Tamir 4.0
15. Kovalev, Vladislav 3.5 with 41 others!

Sixth Round Pairings

1. Wojtaszek-Navara
2. Jobava-Inarkiev
3. Saric-Matiakov
4. Berkes-Vitiugov
5. Nabaty-Fressinet
6. Cheparinov-Goganov
7. Parligras-Kovalenko
8. Ponomariov-Yimaz
9. Vallejo Pons-Khismatullin
10. Ragger-Ter-Sahakyan

**Wayne Komer** · Tuesday, 17th May, 2016, 01:56 AM

Re: European Individual Championship 2016

European Individual Championship 2016

May 17, 2016

A Fourth Round Controversy

This has just come to light. Since there is no online commentary and no daily news given, we have had to rely on a blog for an account of the events:

https://iulianceausescu.wordpress.co...andu-din-2015/

To: Mrs. Mimoza Kusari – Lila, President of the organizing committee of the European Individual Chess Championships 2016

To: Ms. Gunnar Bjornsson, Chairman of the Appeal Committee of the EICC2016.

We are writing to express our concern regarding what happened today, during the 4th Round of EICC2016, in the game between Polish GM Swiercz Dariusz and Romanian IM Deac Bogdan Daniel.

We were informed by Bogdan Deac Mother and also by GM Lupulescu Constantin, captain of Romanian team, that there were serious mistreatment against our player, consisting in:

1. During the game, the Polish Chief Arbiter Tomasz Delega has interfered in the game, when our player was in time trouble, having only 30 seconds per move, asking Bogdan Deac to wear a mask to cover his mouth, pretending that he is seriously ill.

2. After a while, when our player was obviously uncomfortable wearing it, and instinctively took it off, the Chief Arbiter once again insisted that Bogdan should wear the mask all the time, regardless of the time trouble, position on the board and the inconvenience provided by being forced to play with the mask.

3. Also, during the game, the Chief Arbiter sent an email to ECU President, ECU Deputy President and Kosovo’s Chess Federation, stating:

I’m Chief Arbiter on EICC 2016 Gjakova now and we have one player from Romania Deac Bogdan-Daniel seems seriously be ill. He is coughing during all round. I decided to send him to official tournament doctor after the round and I would like to have doctor agreement for him to continue tournament.

We find difficult to understand why Romanian Chess Federation wasn’t informed as well, considering that we supported all the expenses of participation of Deac Bogdan in EICC2016, but this is not the only aspect that concern us about this email.

One other aspect is that Mr. Tomasz Delega is not only the Chief Arbiter of this Competition, but also the President of opponent chess federation, and in our opinion he should refrain from interfering in this game and risking to influence the result. In addition to that, he shouldn’t spread during the game the possibility of disqualifying our player from competition, which affected mother behavior in her attempt to handle the crisis.

Bogdan Deac is the most talented Romanian chess player ever, he, at his current age of 15 is already 5 times Romanian champion under 20, and he already represented Romania in European Team Competition last year in Reykjavik.

We consider that we all must treat such cases in a much more carefully and thoughtful manner, judging by his very young age and his dedication for this game.

In conclusion, Bogdan lost an equal position today. But this is the slightest loss. He will never be able to forget the humiliation of wearing a mask in front of more than 100 top class chess player, fact without precedent in European Chess Championships history!

15.05.2016

Signatures:

Sorin Avram Iacoban,
President of Romanian Chess Federation,
Vladimir Danilov,
General Secretary of RouCF
Lupulescu Constantin,
Captain of Romanian Chess Team
Mircea Emilian Parligras,
Reigning National Chess Champion.
Deac Maria and Deac Ioan,
Parents.

The official reply:

Short Statement from the Appeal Committee of EICC 2016

This to react on a letter of complaint of the Romanian Chess Federation addressed to the Organization committee and the Appeal committee, although it was not an official protest.

The Appeal committee regrets that not all possible channels of communication were used and believes that in the future proper ways of protest or complaint that are in line with FIDE- and ECU regulation, will be followed.

The Appeal committee examined all relevant information from sides involved and eye-witnesses and came to a conclusion that the conduct of the arbiters and their decisions were appropriate and according to FIDE rules.

The Chief Arbiter acted in a polite and support manner.

16th May 2016

Gunnar Bjornsson,
Chairman of Appeal Committee
Martin Huba
Member of Appeal Committee
Adrian Mykhalchyshyn Member of Appeal Committee

http://eicc2016.com
________

European Individual Championship 2016
Kosovo
Round 5, May 15, 2016
Swiercz, Dariusz (POL) – Deac, Bogdan-Daniel (ROU)
C53 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 a6 6.O-O Ba7 7.Bb3 d6 8.Re1 O-O 9.h3 Ne7 10.Nbd2 Ng6 11.Nf1 b5 12.Ng3 Bb7 13.a4 Bb6 14.Nf5 c5 15.Bg5 h6 16.Bxh6 gxh6 17.Qd2 Nh7 18.Qxh6 Qf6 19.Nh2 Nf4 20.Ng4 Qxh6 21.Ngxh6+ Kh8 22.Nxd6 Nxd3 23.Re3 c4 24.Rxd3 cxd3 25.Nxb7 bxa4 26.Bc4 Ng5 27.Nd6 Bc5 28.Nhxf7+ Nxf7 29.Nxf7+ Rxf7 30.Bxf7 Rf8 31.Bh5 Rxf2 32.Kh2 Rxb2 33.Rxa4 Be3 34.h4 Rc2 35.Rxa6 Rxc3 36.Ra1 Bf2 37.Kh3 d2+ 38.Bf3 Rc1 39.Ra2 Rh1+ 40.Kg4 Rxh4+ 41.Kf5 Be3 42.Kxe5 Rh1 43.Ra3 Rf1 44.Rd3 Kg7 45.Ke6 Re1 46.Kf5 Rf1 47.Ke6 Re1 48.Rd5 Kg6 49.Bh5+ Kg7 50.Bf3 Kg6 51.Bh5+ Kg7 52.Bg4 Kg6 53.Bf3 Bf4 54.Bh5+ Kg7 55.Kf5 Rf1 56.Be2 Rf2 57.Bf3 Be3 58.Rd7+ Kg8 59.e5 Rf1 60.Kg6 Kf8 61.e6 Bc5 62.Rf7+ Kg8 63.e7 1-0

58…Kg8? better is Kf8

59…Rf1 better is Kf8
_______

Is there any precedent to being forced to wear a surgical mask during play? What should have been done by the arbiter?

**Wayne Komer** · Tuesday, 17th May, 2016, 04:47 PM

Re: European Individual Championship 2016

European Individual Championship 2016

May 17, 2016

Round Six

The top two boards were short draws. Tomorrow is a rest day, so why not rest today too and then exert yourself in the last half of the tournament?

European Individual 2016
Gjakova, Kosovo
Round 6, May 17, 2016
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw – Navara, David
D52 QGD, Cambridge Springs Defence

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.e3 Qa5 7.Nd2 Bb4 8.Rc1 Ne4 9.Ncxe4 dxe4 10.Bh4 Qxa2 11.Be2 Qxb2 12.Rc2 Bxd2+ 13.Qxd2 Qa3 14.O-O O-O 15.c5 b5 16.cxb6 axb6 17.Rxc6 Ba6 18.Bxa6 Qxa6 19.Qc2 Qd3 20.Qxd3 exd3 21.Rc3 Rfc8 22.Rxd3 Rc2 23.Rb3 h6 24.h3 1/2-1/2

(Wojtaszek) - Second draw in a row.
David surprised me in the opening and after interesting start we went to equal ending....

Round 6, May 17, 2016
Jobava, Baadur – Inarkiev, Ernesto
C44 Ponziani Opening

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 d5 4.d3 Nf6 5.Nbd2 a5 6.exd5 Nxd5 7.g3 g6 8.Bg2 Bg7 9.O-O O-O 10.a4 Nb6 11.Nb3 Bf5 12.Ne1 Nd5 13.Kh1 b6 14.f4 Qd7 15.fxe5 Nxe5 16.d4 Ng4 17.Qf3 Rae8 18.Qxd5 Nf2+ 19.Kg1 Nh3+ 1/2-1/2

The passivity of his comrades allowed Ivan Saric to slip by into first place:

Round 6, May 17, 2016
Saric, Ivan - Matiakov, Maxim
C89 Ruy Lopez, Marshall Counter-Attack

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6 12.d3 Bd6 13.Re1 Bf5 14.Qf3 Re8 15.Rxe8+ Qxe8 16.Nd2 Qe1+ 17.Nf1 Bg6 18.g3 b4 19.c4 Nf6 20.Qxc6 Rd8 21.Qb6 Rd7 22.Bc2 Ng4 23.Rb1 Qe2 24.Bd2 Ne5 25.Qe3 Qh5 26.Bd1 Qf5 27.Be2 f6 28.b3 Bc5 29.Qf4 Qxf4 30.Bxf4 Nxd3 31.Bxd3 Rxd3 32.Re1 Kf7 33.Be3 Bd6 34.Bb6 Be5 35.Bc5 a5 36.f4 Bd6 37.Bxd6 Rxd6 38.Ne3 Be4 39.c5 Rc6 40.Nc4 Bd5 41.Nd6+ Kg6 42.Rc1 a4 43.Nb5 axb3 44.axb3 Rc8 45.Nd4 Kf7 46.Kf2 Ke7 47.Ke3 Kd7 48.Kd3 1-0
________

There have been no further words on the Round Four Controversy. On the Romanian’s blog page these words are quoted:

“I was harassed by referees over time for various reasons, but soon became wise to the situation and I always let the storm pass. I’ve never had success in a dispute with officials. I’ve got a few warnings, but always stopped when I saw that further argument was useless and I could be expelled from the tournament.”

These are very wise words written by Mihail Ghinda. Our young players can only learn from a man with 40-50 years in high performance chess.
________

Ranking After Round Six

1. Saric 5.5
2. Wojtaszek 5.0
3. Jobava 5.0
4. Navara 5.0
5. Inarkiev 5.0
6. Kovalenko 5.0
7. Vitiugov 4.5
8. Ipatov 4.5
9. Saigado 4.5
10. Cheparinov 4.5

There are 15 players with 4.5

Pairings for Round Seven (May 19)

1. Inarkiev-Saric
2. Navara-Jobava
3. Kovalenko-Wojtaszek
4. Vitiugov-Zubov
5. Ter-Sahakyan-Ponomariov
6. Anton Guijarro-Vallejo Pons
7. Fressinet-Berkes
8. Salgado-Cheparinov
9. Bartel-Nabaty
10. Goganov-Ipatov

**Wayne Komer** · Wednesday, 18th May, 2016, 11:18 PM

Re: European Individual Championship 2016

European Individual Championship 2016

May 18, 2016

Peter Doggers at chess.com finally wrote up the Round Four incident in which Bogdan Deac of Romania, was forced to wear a face mask, while in time-trouble, because of his coughing.

https://www.chess.com/news/saric-lea...-rest-day-5614

In the comments there is a photograph of pedestrians on a city street, most of whom are wearing surgical masks with the caption:

Deac fans arriving at the tournament hall.
_______

I asked for alternatives to using the mask. One viewer wrote:

Let's think about alternatives to the incident that happened:

- The person who is sick can play from his room under arbiter supervision where moves are passed on to the second player who is at the board

- Postpone the game and use the rest day to finish it

Another: I would feel seriously distracted when my opponent was spreading germs over the board. Of course there is a sliding scale of seriousness with situations like this. A bit of sniffing and an occasional sneeze (away from the board): you say "Bless you", and continue playing. Signs of bubonic plague: immediately evacuate the playing hall. Constant coughing and sneezing: that's somewhere in the middle.
Here another rule comes into place, art. 12.2: "The arbiter shall:

[...]
b. act in the best interest of the competition.
c. ensure that a good playing environment is maintained.
d. ensure that the players are not disturbed.
[...]
f. take special measures in the interests of disabled players and those who need medical attention."

The arbiter must find a middle road between 12.2b-d and 12.2f. That is what the arbiter did. I would say that 12.2c also pertains to avoiding a flu epidemic in the playing hall.

About the arbiter being Polish: that's something that is sometimes unavoidable. You can't have one arbiter for every game. In a European championship, you will have to appoint a main arbiter from Andorra or San Marino (if there are any), or to fly in someone from another continent to avoid situations like this. A bit too much trouble.

If you think the arbiter is wrong, you can file a protest. That should be enough.

**Wayne Komer** · Thursday, 19th May, 2016, 04:52 PM

Re: European Individual Championship 2016

European Individual Championship 2016

May 19, 2016

Round Seven

One of the premier games was with Navara and Jobava. It looked quite even but then, as a chessbomb kibitzer said, Navara squeezed water out of a rock.

European Individual Championship 2016
Gjakova, Kosovo
Round 7, May 19, 2016
Navara, David – Jobava, Baadur
B65 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer, Rauzer Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 Be7 8.O-O-O O-O 9.f4 Nxd4 10.Qxd4 Bd7 11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.Qxd6 Bc6 13.Qxd8 Rfxd8 14.Bb5 Bxc3 15.Bxc6 Bxb2+ 16.Kxb2 bxc6 17.Rxd8+ Rxd8 18.Kc3 Kf8 19.Rb1 Ke7 20.e5 h5 21.a4 Rd5 22.Rb7+ Rd7 23.Rb8 Rd8 24.Rb4 Rd5 25.g3 Rc5+ 26.Kb3 Rd5 27.c4 Rd2 28.a5 Kd8 29.Rb8+ Kc7 30.Rf8 Rd7 31.Kb4 a6 32.Kc5 g6 33.Ra8 Kb7 34.Rf8 Kc7 35.h3 Kb7 36.g4 hxg4 37.hxg4 Kc7 38.Ra8 Kb7 39.Rh8 Kc7 40.Rh1 Rd2 41.Rh7 Rd7 42.g5 1-0

(42...Re7 43.Rh3 Rd7 44.Rb3 Rd2 45.Rb6 Rf2 46.Rxa6 Kb8 47.Rxc6)

David Navara is one of the possible winners of the tournament. He was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia on March 27, 1985. His father was a mathematician and university teacher, his mother a dentist.

He started playing chess at six years old from books his grandmother borrowed.

After finishing studies at a grammar-school, he was accepted to four different universities. He chose to study Logic at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University, graduating in 2010. He is single and lives at home with his parents. His hobby is sociology and he likes to watch historical documents on TV. Sport, apart from chess (if chess is a sport), is of no interest to him.

He had many distinguished coaches such as Miloslav Vanka, Josef Pribyl, Ludek Pachman and Vlastimil Jansa. He has also played matches against a host of grandmasters Korchnoi, Shirov, Karpov, Gelfand, Short, Kramnik, Ivanchuk, Judit Polgar, Movsesian, Svidler, Hou Yifan, Nakamura and So.

He is well-known for his sportsmanship.

During his match with Wesley So in June of 2015, his book Muj Sachovy Svet (My Chess World) was launched.

It is a nice fat book, with blushing pink covers filled with photos and annotated games (360 pages, 51 games). Its only negative for me is that it is in Czech! But that is my shortcoming, not David’s.
_______

Round 7, May 19, 2016
Inarkiev, Ernesto – Saric, Ivan
E92 King’s Indian, Gligoric-Taimanov System

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.Be3 Qe8 8.dxe5 Ng4 9.Bg5 Nxe5 10.Nd4 Be6 11.Nxe6 fxe6 12.O-O Nf7 13.Be3 c5 14.f4 Nc6 15.Bd3 a6 16.Kh1 Rb8 17.Rb1 Nb4 18.Be2 Nc6 19.Qd3 Nd4 20.Bg4 b5 21.b4 bxc4 22.Qxc4 Nc2 23.Bc1 Rxb4 24.Rxb4 Nxb4 25.Bd2 Nd8 26.a3 Nc2 27.Ne2 Nxa3 28.Qxa6 h5 29.Bf3 Nb5 30.Rb1 Nd4 31.Nxd4 cxd4 32.Qxd6 Nf7 33.Qb6 Qd7 34.e5 Bh6 35.Bc6 Qc8 36.Qb5 Nxe5 37.Be4 Nc4 38.Rc1 Nxd2 39.Rxc8 Rxc8 40.Bc6 Bxf4 41.g3 Be3 42.Qe5 Rf8 43.Qxe6+ Kg7 44.Qe5+ Kh6 45.h4 Nf1 46.Bb5 Nd2 47.Bd3 Ra8 48.Qf6 Ra1+ 49.Kh2 1-0

Round 7, May 19, 2016
Goganov, Aleksey – Ipatov, Alexander
D80 Grunfeld, Stockholm Variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bg5 Ne4 5.Bh4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 dxc4 7.e3 Be6 8.Be2 Bg7 9.Nh3 Bxh3 10.gxh3 Nd7 11.Bxc4 O-O 12.Qf3 c6 13.O-O Bf6 14.Bg3 Qa5 15.e4 e5 16.Rad1 Kg7 17.Qe3 Rae8 18.f4 exd4 19.cxd4 Nb6 20.Bb3 Qf5 21.Rde1 Qxh3 22.f5 gxf5 23.e5 Kh8 24.Kh1 Nd5 25.Bxd5 cxd5 26.Rf3 Rg8 27.Qf2 Bd8 28.e6 f6 29.Bh4 Qg4 30.Rf4 Qg6 31.Rxf5 h6 32.Rxd5 Rg7 33.Rxd8 Rxd8 34.Bxf6 Rg8 35.e7 Qh5 36.Bxg7+ Kxg7 37.Qg2+ 1-0

Ranking List After Round Seven

1. Inarkiev 6
2. Navara 6
3. Wojtaszek 5.5
4. Saric 5.5
5. Kovalenko 5.5
6. Bartel 5.5
7. Goganov 5.5
8. Ter-Sahakyan 5.5
9. Jobava 5.0
10. Cheparinov 5.0
11. Vallejo Pons 5.0
12. Vitiugov 5.0
13. Zubov 5.0
14. Fressinet 5.0
15. Berkes 5.0, followed by 12 more players with 5.0.

Round Eight Pairings

1. Navara-Inarkiev
2. Wojtaszek-Ter-Sahakyan
3. Bartel-Goganov
4. Saric-Kovalenko
5. Hovhannisyan-Vitiugov
6. Vallejo Pons-Lupulescu
7. Saigado-Fressinet
8. Cheparinov-Anton Guijarro
9. Piorun-Parligras
10. Zubov-Nisipeanu
11. Jobava-Demchenko
12. Dubov-Brkic
13. Berkes-Palac

**Wayne Komer** · Friday, 20th May, 2016, 04:09 PM

Re: European Individual Championship 2016

European Individual Championship

May 20, 2016

Round Eight

In the top match, Inarkiev thinks for 21 minutes and then plays the novelty 11…a6. Navara’s 20. g5 is condemned all around and then he is in meltdown mode. In time trouble near the end, with less than two minutes on his clock, Inarkiev brings off the win.

European Individual Championship 2016
Gjakova, Kosovo
Round 8, May 20, 2016
Navara, David – Inarkiev, Ernesto
E48 Nimzo-Indian

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Ne2 Re8 8.O-O Bf8 9.Bd2 b6 10.Nf4 Bb7 11.Qf3 a6 12.Rad1 Ra7 13.Bc2 c5 14.dxc5 bxc5 15.Qh3 g6 16.Nce2 Bc6 17.Bc3 Nbd7 18.Bb3 Qa8 19.g4 Ne5 20.g5 d4 21.f3 dxc3 22.gxf6 c4 23.Bc2 Nxf3+ 24.Kf2 cxb2 25.Qg3 Qb8 26.Nc3 Ne5 27.h4 Rd7 28.h5 Qd8 29.hxg6 fxg6 30.Rxd7 Qxd7 31.Kg1 Kf7 32.Ne4 Bh6 33.Qh4 Bxe4 34.Bxe4 Qg4+ 35.Qxg4 Nxg4 36.Bd5+ Kxf6 37.Nxg6+ Kg5 0-1

- Inarkiev playing all the right moves in time trouble

- Outstanding performance by Ernesto Inarkiev

- Inarkiev should go to 2725 to 2750 area soon

_______

Jobava’s game is one of the first to finish

Round 8, May 20, 2016
Jobava, Baadur – Demchenko, Angon
A45 Queen’s Pawn Game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bf4 g6 4.Qd2 Bg7 5.Bh6 Bxh6 6.Qxh6 Bf5 7.Qd2 c5 8.e3 cxd4 9.exd4 Nc6 10.f3 h5 11.Bb5 Qd6 12.Nge2 a6 13.Bxc6+ Qxc6 14.O-O h4 15.a4 a5 16.Rfe1 Kf8 17.Nf4 e6 18.Rac1 Ne8 19.Nb5 Nd6 20.Nd3 Bxd3 21.cxd3 Qb6 22.Qf4 Nxb5 23.axb5 Rh5 24.Rc5 Kg8 25.Qf6 Rh8 26.Rec1 Qd8 27.Qxd8+ Rxd8 28.Rc7 Kg7 29.Rxb7 Rb8 30.Rxb8 Rxb8 31.Rc5 Kf6 32.Kf2 a4 33.Ke3 Ra8 34.b6 Rb8 35.Rb5 Ke7 36.Kd2 Kd6 37.Kc3 Kc6 38.Kb4 Kb7 39.Rc5 Ka6 40.Ra5+ Kb7 41.Kb5 Rc8 42.Ra7+ Kb8 43.Rxf7 Rc2 44.Ka6 1-0

Round 8, May 20, 2016
Dubov, Danill – Brkic, Ante
D30 QBD, Vienna Variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Bg5 Bb4+ 5.Nc3 h6 6.Bh4 g5 7.Bg3 Ne4 8.Qc2 h5 9.h3 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 Nxg3 11.fxg3 Nc6 12.e4 dxe4 13.Qxe4 Qd6 14.Kf2 Bd7 15.c5 Qe7 16.Rb1 O-O-O 17.Ne5 f5 18.Qf3 g4 19.Ba6 gxf3 20.Bxb7+ Kb8 21.Bxc6+ Kc8 22.Bb7+ Kb8 23.Bxf3+ Kc8 24.Bb7+ Kb8 25.Bc6+ Kc8 26.Rb2 1-0

Wojtaszek brings home a full point after three straight draws.

Round 8, May 20, 2016
Wojtaszek, Radoslaw – Ter-Sahakyan, Samvel
D11, QGD Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bd3 dxc4 6.Bxc4 Nbd7 7.O-O Bd6 8.Nc3 O-O 9.e4 e5 10.h3 h6 11.Be3 Re8 12.Re1 b5 13.Bb3 a6 14.dxe5 Nxe5 15.Nxe5 Bxe5 16.Qxd8 Rxd8 17.Red1 Be6 18.Bxe6 fxe6 19.f3 Kf7 20.Rac1 Rac8 21.Rxd8 Rxd8 22.Ne2 Rc8 23.b4 Bd6 24.a3 Nd7 25.f4 c5 26.e5 Be7 27.Ng3 c4 28.Ne4 Rc6 29.Rd1 Nb6 30.Bxb6 Rxb6 31.Kf2 Rc6 32.Ke3 Ke8 33.g4 a5 34.Nc3 axb4 35.axb4 Rb6 36.Rb1 Kd7 37.Ke4 Rb8 38.f5 h5 39.fxe6+ Kxe6 40.Nd5 hxg4 41.hxg4 Rc8 42.Nc3 Rb8 43.Ne2 Rb6 44.Ra1 Rb7 45.Nf4+ Kf7 46.e6+ Kf6 47.g5+ Kxg5 48.Rg1+ Kh6 49.Ng6 1-0

Standings after Round Eight

1. Inarkiev 7.0
2. Wojtaszek 6.5
3. Kovalenko 6.5
4. Goganov 6.5
5. Navara 6.0
6. Jobava 6.0
7. Vallejo Pons 6.0
8. Fressinet 6.0
9. Hovhannisyan 6.0
10. Dubov 6.0
11. Piorun 6.0
12. Saric 5.5
13. Cheparinov 5.5
14. Ipatov 5.5
15. Berkes 5.5
followed by 18 more with 5.5

Pairings for Round Nine

1. Kovalenko-Inarkiev
2. Goganov-Wojtaszek
3. Piorun-Navara
4. Jobava-Vallejo Pons
5. Fressinet-Hovhannisyan
6. Nispieanu-Dubov
7. Yilmaz-Cheparinov
8. Anton Guijarro-Najer
9. Pantsulaia-Dreev
10. Ter-Sahakyan-Bartel
11. Palac-Saric
12. Ipatov-Pashikian
13. Zhigalko, Sergei-Zubov
14. Bortnyk-Kobalia
15. Melkumyan-Donchenko

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 22nd May, 2016, 01:01 AM

Re: European Individual Championship 2016

European Individual Championship 2016

May 21, 2016

Round Nine

With his win today, Ernesto Inarkiev is a point ahead of the field with two games to go. His nearest rivals had quick colorless draws. His effective rating today is 2730, which places him as World 27th. Clearly a young man to watch.

His biography was given for the Tashir Tournament of 2014:

Ernesto Inarkiev
(December 9, 1985)

Ernesto Inarkiev was born in southern Kyrgyzstan, in Khaydarkan, Osh region, far from the big centers of chess culture. He began to attend chess classes at the age of 7 after his family moved to the capital Bishkek. His brilliant talent in chess, which is both unique and original, manifested itself rather early in his life: aged 11 Ernesto won a big children’s tournament in Moscow “Hello, summer!” and in the following year he played for his country’s team in the World Chess Olympics in Elista. An extremely gifted, sociable and engaging junior was noticed, and shortly afterwards President of FIDE and of the Republic of Kalmykia Kirsan Ilyumzhinov offered Inarkiev to move to Elista together with his family and to pursue his training in chess under the guidance of prominent Russian coaches. In 1999, Ernesto won the U-16 Asian Youth Championship and the Kyrgyzstan Men’s Championship; in 2000, he again competed in the Olympics as part of Kyrgyzstan’s team, following which he henceforth represented Russia in all international events.

In 2001, Ernesto Inarkiev won the U-16 European Youth Championship in 2001, and in 2002 he won the Russian U-20 championship. The same year he was awarded the title of grandmaster, becoming Kalmykia's first international grandmaster. Inarkiev’s development as a chess grandmaster was greatly influenced by Mark Dvoretsky, merited coach of the USSR, who had been his guide for some 8 years. Ernesto graduated from the Moscow’s Russian State Social University in 2008 with a degree in Banking and Finance.

Ernesto Inarkiev finished third in the 2006 Russian Chess Championship Super Final, won in two Russian Championship Higher Leagues (in 2006 and 2013), and gained bronze at the 2013 international Karpov/Poikovsky tournament. He has scored victories in 5 Russian national championships (2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2012) and in two (2005, 2006) European Club Cups playing for the team Tomsk-400. Winner of the Primorsky Debut 2014 on tie-break and of the International Chess Festival Baku Open 2014.

http://www.tashir-chess.com/en/playe...esto-inarkiev/

European Individual Championship,2016
Gjakova, Kosovo
Round 9, May 21, 2016
Kovalenko, Igor – Inarkiev, Ernesto
E18 Queen’s Indian, Old Main Line

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.O-O O-O 7.Nc3 Ne4 8.Bd2 Bf6 9.Ne5 Nxc3 10.Bxc3 Bxg2 11.Kxg2 c5 12.dxc5 bxc5 13.Qd6 Qb6 14.Rad1 Qxd6 15.Rxd6 Be7 16.Rd2 d6 17.Nd3 a5 18.f4 Nd7 19.Ne5 Nb8 20.Ng4 f5 21.Nf2 Nd7 22.e4 Nb6 23.exf5 Nxc4 24.Re2 Rxf5 25.Rxe6 Bf8 26.Rfe1 Rf7 27.Ne4 d5 28.b3 Na3 29.Ng5 Rfa7 30.Be5 h6 31.Nf3 a4 32.Rb6 Ra6 33.Rb7 R6a7 34.Rb6 Ra6 35.Rxa6 Rxa6 36.Kf2 Rb6 37.Rd1 d4 38.Nd2 Nc2 39.Kf3 Rb7 40.Rb1 Nb4 41.a3 Nd5 42.bxa4 Ra7 43.Rb8 Kf7 44.Ke4 Nc3+ 45.Kd3 Rxa4 46.Nc4 Nd1 47.Rxf8+ Kxf8 48.Bd6+ Kf7 49.Bxc5 Ne3 50.Nb6 Ra5 51.Bb4 Rh5 52.a4 Rxh2 53.a5 Ra2 54.Na8 Ke6 55.Ke4 Ra4 56.Nc7+ Kd7 57.Na6 Kc6 58.Bf8 Rxa5 59.Nb4+ Kb5 60.Nd3 Kc4 61.Bxg7 Nf5 62.Ne5+ Rxe5+ 63.Bxe5 d3 64.Kxf5 d2 65.Kf6 d1=Q 66.f5 Kd5 67.Bf4 Qh5 0-1

Round 9, May 21, 2016
Brkic, Ante – Ragger, Markus
C11 French, Steinitz Variation

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Be7 7.Be3 O-O 8.Qd2 b6 9.Nd1 a5 10.c3 a4 11.Bd3 Ba6 12.Bxa6 Rxa6 13.O-O b5 14.dxc5 Nxc5 15.Nd4 Ne4 16.Qe2 b4 17.cxb4 Bxb4 18.Nf2 Nxf2 19.Rxf2 Qd7 20.Rc1 Ba5 21.Qd3 Bb6 22.Rfc2 h6 23.Rc3 Ra8 24.f5 Bxd4 25.Bxd4 exf5 26.Rc7 Qe6 27.Qb5 f4 28.Qb7 Na6 29.R7c6 Qg4 30.h3 Qe2 31.e6 f3 32.exf7+ Kh7 33.gxf3 Qxf3 34.R6c3 Qf4 35.Rd1 Qxf7 36.Qxf7 Rxf7 37.a3 Re8 38.Rc6 Nc7 39.Rf1 Rd7 40.Bb6 Nb5 41.Bf2 Re2 42.Ra6 Rxb2 43.Rxa4 Ra2 44.Rb4 Nc3 45.Rb3 d4 46.Be1 Ne2+ 47.Kh1 d3 48.Bf2 d2 0-1

Round 9, May 21, 2016
Jones, Gawain – Kozul, Zdenko
E71 King’s Indian, Makagonov, System

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.h3 O-O 6.Be3 c6 7.Nf3 Na6 8.Nd2 e5 9.d5 Nh5 10.g3 Bd7 11.Be2 Nf6 12.g4 cxd5 13.cxd5 Qc7 14.a3 Rfc8 15.g5 Ne8 16.h4 Bf8 17.Nb5 Qb8 18.h5 Ng7 19.hxg6 fxg6 20.Rc1 Rxc1 21.Qxc1 Be7 22.Rg1 Bd8 23.Qc4 Bb6 24.Bxb6 axb6 25.f4 exf4 26.Qd4 Bxb5 27.Bxb5 Qc7 28.Nc4 Qe7 29.Kf2 Nc7 30.a4 Nxb5 31.axb5 Ra4 32.Rg4 Nh5 33.b3 Ra2+ 34.Kf3 Rh2 35.Qxb6 Rh3+ 36.Kf2 Rg3 37.Rxf4 Qxg5 38.Rf3 Rg2+ 39.Kf1 Ra2 40.Ne3 Ng3+ 41.Ke1 Nxe4 42.Kd1 Nf2+ 43.Ke1 Qg1+ 0-1

Standings After Round Nine

1. Inarkiev 8.0
2. Wojtaszek 7.0
3. Goganov 7.0
4. Navara 6.5
5. Jobava 6.5
6. Vallejo Pons 6.5
7. Fressinet 6.5
8. Kovalenko 6.5
9. Hovhannisyan 6.5
10. Anton Guijarro 6.5
11. Dubov 6.5
12. Piorun 6.5
13. Pashikian 6.5
14. Saric 6.0
15. Ponomariov 6.0
16. Cheparinov 6.0
17. Berkes 6.0
18. Khismatullin 6.0
19. Ragger 6.0
20. Vitiugov 6.0 followed by 19 others with 6 points

Round Ten Pairings

1. Inarkiev-Goganov
2. Wojtaszek-Vallejo Pons
3. Dubov-Navara
4. Kovalenko-Fressinet
5. Hovhannisyhan-Piorun
6. Pashikian-Jobava
7. Ragger-Anton Guijarro
8. Pansulaia-Vitiugov
9. Ponomariov-Demchenko
10. Zubov-Cheparinov

**Wayne Komer** · Sunday, 22nd May, 2016, 09:54 PM

Re: European Individual Championship 2016

European Individual Championship, 2016

May 22, 2016

Round Ten

Most players were consolidating their positions so they would be in the top 23 and able to go on to the World Cup.

There were troubles in transmission and chessbomb.com and chess24.com stopped carrying the moves for a while. Surprisingly, they were still on the live games section of

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

Inarkiev has been getting outstanding press. Colin McGourty said: Ernesto Inarkiev leads the 2016 European Championship in Gjakova by a full point with only two rounds to go, after winning a third game in a row in a streak that’s seen the 30-year-old jump 44 rating points in a single month.

ChessBase: In a number of video games, such as classics like Doom 2 and many others, there is a secret cheat code that unlocks "God Mode". Once unlocked and active, this usually makes player-characters invulnerable. Ernesto Inarkiev seems to have stumbled on that code as he won a second straight game with black to grab sole lead, a full point ahead.
________

A selection of games from Round Ten. Most take up almost no room at all!

European Individual Championship
Gjakova, Kosovo
Round 10, May 22, 2016
Inarkiev, Ernesto – Goganov, Aleksey
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 O-O 9.e3 Be6 10.a3 Bxc5 11.Rd1 Nc6 12.Nf3 Rc8 13.Be2 Be7 14.O-O Ne4 15.Nxe4 Bxh4 16.Nxh4 Nd4 17.Qd3 dxe4 18.Qxd4 Qxh4 19.g3 Qf6 20.Qxf6 gxf6 21.Rd2 1/2-1/2

Round 10, May 22, 2016
Wojtaszek, RAdoslaw – Vallejo Pons, Francisco
E15 Queen’s Indian

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 c6 5.Bg2 d5 6.O-O Be7 7.Bf4 O-O 8.Qc2 Bb7 9.Rd1 Nh5 10.Bc1 Nf6 11.Ne5 Qc8 12.Nc3 Nbd7 13.e4 Rd8 14.Bf4 Bb4 15.Nxd7 Nxd7 16.Qb3 Bxc3 17.Qxc3 dxe4 18.Bxe4 c5 19.Bxb7 Qxb7 20.dxc5 1/2-1/2

Round 10, May 22, 2016
Dubov, Daniil – Navara, David
D79 Neo-Grunfeld

1.c4 g6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 c6 5.Bg2 d5 6.cxd5 cxd5 7.O-O O-O 8.Ne5 Ne4 9.Nc3 Nxc3 10.bxc3 Nc6 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Qa4 Qb6 13.Ba3 Qa6 14.Qxa6 Bxa6 15.Rfe1 Rfe8 16.Bf1 e6 17.e3 Bxf1 18.Kxf1 Bf8 19.Bxf8 Kxf8 20.Rab1 Reb8 21.Rb3 Rb6 22.Reb1 Rab8 23.Ke2 Ke7 24.Kd3 Kd6 25.c4 c5 26.cxd5 Kxd5 27.dxc5 Rxb3+ 28.axb3 Rb5 29.b4 a5 30.c6 Kxc6 31.Ke4 1/2-1/2

Round 10, May 22, 2016
Kovalenko, Igor – Fressinet, Laurent
A29 English, Bremen, Reverse Dragon

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nb6 7.O-O Be7 8.Rb1 a5 9.d3 O-O 10.Be3 a4 11.Qd2 Be6 12.Ng5 Bxg5 13.Bxg5 Qd7 14.Rfc1 f6 15.Be3 Nd5 16.Bxd5 Bxd5 17.Nxd5 Qxd5 18.b4 axb3 19.Rxb3 b6 20.Qc2 Na5 21.Rb4 Rf7 22.d4 Nb7 23.a4 c5 24.dxc5 bxc5 25.Rb6 Rc7 26.Rcb1 Rd7 27.h4 Nd8 28.h5 h6 29.Qg6 Qf7 30.Rb8 Rxa4 31.R1b7 Ra1+ 32.Kh2 Qxg6 33.hxg6 Rad1 34.Rxd7 Rxd7 35.Bxc5 1-0

Round 10, May 22, 2016
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter – Khismatullin, Denis
D02 Queen’s Bishop Game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 Nc6 5.Nbd2 cxd4 6.exd4 Qb6 7.Nb3 Bg4 8.h3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 e6 10.c3 Be7 11.Bd3 O-O 12.O-O Qd8 13.Rfe1 Bd6 14.Bg5 h6 15.Bh4 Be7 16.Bxf6 Bxf6 17.Bc2 Qe7 18.Nc5 g6 19.Bb3 Rac8 20.Bxd5 Bxd4 21.Nxe6 Ne5 22.Rxe5 Bxe5 23.Nxf8 Rxf8 24.Re1 Qf6 25.Bxb7 Rb8 26.g3 Kg7 27.Re2 h5 28.Qxf6+ Bxf6 29.Bd5 h4 30.g4 Rb5 31.Bc4 Rc5 32.Bb3 Be5 33.Kg2 Kf6 34.Bxf7 Bxc3 35.Bxg6 1-0

Round 10, May 22, 2016
Saric, Ivan – Tari, Aryan
C96 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Keres Defence

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.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Nd7 12.Nbd2 exd4 13.cxd4 Re8 14.d5 Nf8 15.Rb1 Ng6 16.a3 c4 17.Nd4 Bf6 18.N2f3 Bd7 19.Bd2 Nb7 20.Bc3 Nc5 21.Qd2 Qb6 22.Ba5 Qb8 23.Rbd1 Ne5 24.Nxe5 dxe5 25.Ne2 Nb7 26.Bc3 Be7 27.f4 f6 28.Kh1 Bc5 29.fxe5 fxe5 30.Ng1 Qd6 31.Nf3 a5 32.Qg5 Qf6 33.Qg3 Bd6 34.Rf1 Qg6 35.Qe1 Qh5 36.Nh4 Bc5 37.Nf5 Nd6 38.Ng3 Qg6 39.Kh2 Bb6 40.Rf3 Qg5 41.Ne2 Rf8 42.Qg3 Qxg3+ 43.Nxg3 Rxf3 44.gxf3 Nf7 45.Ne2 Bc5 46.Bd2 Ra6 47.f4 b4 48.fxe5 Nxe5 49.Bf4 Rf6 50.axb4 axb4 51.Ra1 g5 52.Bg3 Kf7 53.Kh1 Bd6 54.Ra6 Ke7 55.Ba4 Bxh3 56.Nd4 Bc5 57.d6+ Bxd6 58.Ra7+ Kf8 59.Rxh7 Bg4 60.Rh8+ Kg7 61.Re8 Nd3 62.e5 Rh6+ 63.Kg2 Bc5 64.e6 Bxd4 65.e7 Bh3+ 66.Kf3 Re6 67.Bd6 Re3# 0-1

Mate in a problem-like setting!

_______

Ranking After Round Ten

1. Inarkiev 8.5
2. Wojtaszek 7.5
3. Kovalenko 7.5
4. Goganov 7.5
5. Navara 7.0
6. Jobava 7.0
7. Vallejo Pons 7.0
8. Hovhannisyan 7.0
9. Nisipeanu 7.0
10. Dreev 7.0
11. Palac 7.0
12. Anton 7.0
13. Donchenko 7.0
14. Ter-Sahakyan 7.0
15. Dubov 7.0
16. Piorun 7.0
17. Tari 7.0
18. Bortnyk 7.0
19. Stupak 7.0
20. Pashikian 7.0
21. Ragger 6.5
22. Fressinet 6.5
23. Ponomariov 6.5
followed by 19 more with 6.5 points

Final Round Pairings

1. Piorun-Inarkiev
2. Goganov-Kovalenko
3. Jobava-Wojtaszek
4. Navara-Pashikian
5. Vallejo Pons-Donchenko
6. Ter-Sahakyan-Nisipeanu
7. Palac-Dreev
8. Bortnyk-Dubov
9. Tari-Hovhannisyan
10. Anton-Stupak
11. Vitiugov-Onischuk
12. Lupulescu-Ponomariov

Tomorrow’s last round starts at 11 a.m. local time, which I take to be 5 a.m. Toronto/Montreal time.

**Wayne Komer** · Monday, 23rd May, 2016, 02:09 PM

Re: European Individual Championship 2016

European Individual Championship 2016

May 23, 2016

Round Eleven, Final Round

It is sort of a rule of thumb that if you score 7.5 points in this competition you are almost sure to be in the top 25. If you have sewed up your place then you can play for a win in the last round, since you have nothing to lose but prize money (!).

Some games from Round Eleven:

European Individual Championship 2016
Gjakova, Kosovo
Round 11, May 23, 2016
Piorun, Kacper – Inarkiev, Ernesto
C45 Scotch Game

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Be3 Qf6 6.c3 Nge7 7.Bc4 Ne5 8.Bb3 Qg6 9.O-O d5 10.Bf4 Bh3 11.Bg3 h5 12.Ba4+ c6 13.exd5 h4 14.dxc6 N5xc6 15.gxh3 hxg3 16.hxg3 Rxh3 17.Kg2 Qh6 18.Bxc6+ bxc6 19.Rh1 Rxh1 20.Qxh1 Qxh1+ 21.Kxh1 Rd8 22.Kg2 Bxd4 23.cxd4 Rxd4 24.Nc3 Rd2 25.Na4 Rc2 26.Re1 Kd7 27.Kf3 1/2-1/2

Round 11, May 23, 2016
Goganov, Aleksey – Kovalenko, Igor
E52 Nimzo-Indian

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 d5 6.Nf3 b6 7.O-O Bb7 8.cxd5 exd5 9.a3 Bd6 10.b4 a6 11.Qb3 Qe7 12.b5 Nbd7 13.Bb2 axb5 14.Nxb5 c5 15.dxc5 bxc5 16.Nxd6 Qxd6 17.Bf5 Rab8 18.Qc3 d4 19.exd4 Bxf3 20.dxc5 Nxc5 21.gxf3 Qd5 22.Bc2 Rfc8 23.Qe5 Qxf3 24.Qf5 Qxf5 25.Bxf5 Re8 26.Bxf6 gxf6 27.Rfe1 Re5 28.Rxe5 fxe5 29.Re1 f6 30.Rc1 Rb5 31.Rd1 Rb7 32.Rd6 Kg7 33.Kf1 h5 34.Kg2 Kf7 35.Rc6 Nb3 36.Bc8 Rb8 37.Rc7+ Kg6 38.Bb7 Nc5 39.Bd5 Rb5 40.Bf7+ Kf5 41.Be8 Ra5 42.Rh7 Nd3 43.Rxh5+ Ke6 44.Rh7 Rxa3 45.h4 Kf5 46.h5 Nf4+ 47.Kh2 Ra2 48.Kg3 Ra3+ 49.Kh2 Ra2 50.Kg3 Ra1 51.h6 Kg5 52.Rg7+ Kxh6 53.Rg4 f5 54.Rxf4 exf4+ 55.Kxf4 Ra5 56.Kg3 Rc5 57.Kf4 Ra5 58.Kg3 Rd5 59.f4 Rd3+ 60.Kf2 Rd8 61.Bf7 Rd6 62.Kg3 Rd3+ 63.Kf2 Rc3 64.Be8 Rc7 65.Kf3 Re7 66.Bb5 Kg6 67.Bd3 Ra7 68.Be2 Ra3+ 69.Kf2 Kf6 70.Bf3 Ke6 71.Ke2 Kd6 72.Kf2 Kc5 73.Bb7 Kd4 74.Bc6 Ra7 75.Ke2 Ra2+ 76.Kf3 Ra6 77.Bb7 Ra7 78.Bc6 Kc5 79.Be8 Ra3+ 80.Kf2 Kd5 0-1

K+R vs K+B endgame

Round 11, May 23, 2016
Jobava, Baadur – Wojtaszek, Radoslaw
A18 English, Mikenas-Carls, Flohr Variation

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4 d5 4.e5 d4 5.exf6 dxc3 6.dxc3 Qxd1+ 7.Kxd1 gxf6 8.g3 Bd7 9.Bg2 Bc6 10.Bf3 Bxf3+ 11.Nxf3 Nc6 12.Ke2 Ne5 13.Nxe5 fxe5 14.f3 h5 15.Be3 c5 16.h3 f6 17.g4 Be7 18.Rag1 Kf7 19.g5 fxg5 20.Bxg5 Rhg8 21.Be3 Rad8 22.a4 a5 23.Bf2 b6 24.Rxg8 Kxg8 25.Rg1+ Kf7 26.Be3 Rd7 27.Bh6 Kf6 28.Rg7 Rc7 29.Rg8 Kf5 30.Be3 Bf6 31.Rf8 Rc6 32.Rf7 Kg6 33.Rd7 Bg5 34.Bf2 Kf5 35.Kd3 h4 36.Be3 Bf4 37.Rd8 Rc7 38.Rf8+ Kg5 39.Bxf4+ exf4 40.Ke4 Rd7 41.Ke5 Rd2 42.Rg8+ Kh6 43.Kf6 Kh7 44.Rg7+ Kh8 45.Rg4 Kh7 46.Rxh4+ Kg8 47.Rg4+ Kh7 48.Rh4+ Kg8 49.Kxe6 Rxb2 50.Rxf4 Rb3 51.Ke7 Rxc3 52.Rg4+ Kh7 53.f4 Rxh3 54.f5 Re3+ 55.Kf8 Kh6 56.f6 Kh5 57.Rg1 1-0

Radoslaw has been in the habit of tweeting his result after each round. His last tweet:

Bad finish at the championships. It was just a terrible game today. Many thanks for all of you for supporting me through the tournament.

Round 11, May 23, 2016
Navara, David – Pashikian, Arman
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O d6 5.c3 Nf6 6.d3 a6 7.a4 h6 8.Re1 O-O 9.Nbd2 Ne7 10.d4 exd4 11.cxd4 Ba7 12.h3 Nc6 13.d5 Nb4 14.Nf1 c6 15.Bd2 Bc5 16.Qb3 cxd5 17.exd5 a5 18.Ng3 Bd7 19.Bc3 Rc8 20.Re2 Ba7 21.Bxb4 axb4 22.Qxb4 Bc5 23.Qb3 Qa5 24.Ne4 Nxe4 25.Rxe4 Qa7 26.Re7 Bxf2+ 27.Kh2 Rfd8 28.Bb5 Qb6 29.Qd3 Bxb5 30.axb5 Rc7 31.Re2 Rcc8 32.Qd2 Bc5 33.b4 Qxb5 34.bxc5 dxc5 35.Re7 c4 36.Qf4 Qxd5 37.Ne5 Rf8 38.Nd7 Rce8 39.Rae1 Rxe7 40.Rxe7 Rd8 41.Qc7 Kh7 42.Qxd8 Qd6+ 43.Re5 1-0

Round 11, May 23, 2016
Vallejo Pons, Francisco – Donchenko, Alexander
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance Variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.h4 h5 5.Bd3 Bxd3 6.Qxd3 e6 7.Bg5 Ne7 8.Nf3 Nd7 9.O-O Qc7 10.Nc3 Rc8 11.Rac1 Qb6 12.b3 Nf5 13.Ne2 Ba3 14.Rcd1 Be7 15.Ng3 g6 16.Nxf5 gxf5 17.c4 Qa6 18.Rc1 Nb6 19.Qc2 Ba3 20.Bf6 Rg8 21.Rb1 dxc4 22.Ng5 cxb3 23.Rxb3 Be7 24.Bxe7 Kxe7 25.Qc5+ Ke8 26.Ra3 Qc4 27.Qxc4 Nxc4 28.Rxa7 Nd2 29.Rc1 Ne4 30.Nxe4 fxe4 31.Rxb7 Kf8 32.Rb6 Kg7 33.Re1 c5 34.dxc5 Rxc5 35.Rxe4 Rc1+ 36.Kh2 Rc2 37.Rf4 Rxa2 38.Rb7 Rf8 39.Rb3 Rg8 40.Rf6 Ra7 41.Rg3+ Kh7 42.Rxg8 Kxg8 43.Rh6 Ra2 44.Kg3 Ra3+ 45.f3 Kg7 46.Rxh5 Ra5 47.Rg5+ Kh6 48.Kg4 Ra2 49.g3 Ra5 50.Rh5+ Kg6 51.Rg5+ Kh7 52.f4 Ra4 53.Rh5+ Kg7 54.Kg5 Ra5 55.Rh6 Ra3 56.g4 Ra1 57.Rf6 Re1 58.h5 Rh1 59.f5 exf5 60.gxf5 Rg1+ 61.Kf4 Rf1+ 62.Ke4 Ra1 63.h6+ Kg8 64.e6 Ra4+ 65.Ke5 Ra5+ 66.Kf4 fxe6 67.fxe6 Ra4+ 68.Kf5 Ra7 69.Rg6+ Kf8 70.Rg7 Ra5+ 71.Ke4 Ra4+ 72.Kd3 Ra3+ 73.Kc4 Ra4+ 74.Kb5 Rh4 75.e7+ Ke8 76.h7 Rh5+ 77.Kc4 1-0

Final Standings

1. Inarkiev, Ernesto 9.0
2. Kovalenko, Igor 8.5
3. Jobava, Baadur 8.0
4. Navara, David 8.0
5. Vallejo Pons, Francisco 8.0
6. Wojtaszek, Radoslaw 7.5
7. Piorun, Kacper 7.5
8. Fressinet, Laurent 7.5
9. Goganov, Aleksey 7.5
10. Dubov, Daniil 7.5
11. Vitiugov, Nikita 7.5
12. Cheparinov, Ivan 7.5
13. Najer, Evgeniy 7.5
14. Hovhannisyan, Robert 7.5
15. Zhigalko, Sergei 7.5
16. Palac, Mladen 7.5
17. Slagado Lopez, Ivan 7.5
18. Dreev, Aleksey 7.5
19. Anton Guijarro, David 7.5
20. Stupak, Kiril 7.5
21. Nisipeanu Liviu-Dieter 7.5
22. Tari, Aryan 7.5
23. Demchenko, Anton 7.5
24. Ter-Sahakyan, Samvel 7.5
25. Lupulescu, Constantin 7.5
26. Bortnyk, Olexandr 7.5

I have given all the 7.5 pointers because it is rumored to be likely that they will all get in to the World Cup because of vacancies at the top.

Right now these players do not appear to have made it: Saric, Duda, Grandelius, Kryvoruchko, Sargissian, Swiercz, Ragger, Ponomariov, Ipatov, Howell, Onischuk, Jones, Antipov, Hammer and Deac.

Ernesto Inarkiev is the first prize winner of 20,000 euros.

Later:

Closing Ceremony

The closing ceremony held yesterday, 23rd May at 8.00 pm, and the winners announced.

1st GM Ernesto Inarkiev - Russia

2nd GM Igor Kovalenko - Latvia

3rd GM Baadur Jobava - Georgia

European Individual Championship 2016

European Individual Championship 2016

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