Baku Olympiad 2016 (Open) – Reposting

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Baku Olympiad 2016 (Open) – Reposting

Baku Olympiad Open 2016 Rounds 7 and 8

September 8, 2016

Continuing with breaking up the last half of the tournament into bite-size chunks…!

Mike Klein at chess.com writes of the sixth round action:

https://www.chess.com/news/olympiad-...n-section-8115

He has two very quotable observations:

Going further down the boards, Canada defeated Belarus in a tense match. GM Eric "Chessbrah" Hansen was the match winner here. That was a far from smooth victory though.

Hansen told Chess.com: "I was dead lost with seconds on my clock at a certain point and about to resign. But in this tournament you gotta keep fighting for your country so that kept me in the game and luckily enough my opponent fell into the one trap I had set in the position. The chemistry on the team is better than normal, and we're all enjoying the experience on the top tables."
_______

Incidentally, it's worth mentioning that Kasparov, born in Baku, never returned to this city since he left in a plane with family members and other ethnic Armenians in 1990. If you are wondering whether he is a persona non grata in Azerbaijan, the following will provide the answer.

Today New in Chess put up a stand in the main hall, with a few photos of different recent magazines. At some point, one of the organizers kindly asked them to remove the one that had Kasparov on the cover...

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Baku Olympiad 2016 (Open) – Reposting

Baku Olympiad 2016 Rounds 7 & 8

September 9, 2016

Round Seven

Other Important Games

Vidit finally loses

India vs USA

Board 3
Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi – So, Wesley
E11 Bogo-Indian Defence

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 O-O 7.O-O c6 8.Qc2 b6 9.Ne5 Bb7 10.Rd1 Nfd7 11.Nd3 Nf6 12.a4 c5 13.dxc5 bxc5 14.Be3 Qc7 15.Bf4 Qc8 16.cxd5 Nxd5 17.Bxb8 Rxb8 18.Nd2 Ba6 19.Nc4 Nb4 20.Nxb4 cxb4 21.b3 Bxc4 22.Qxc4 Qxc4 23.bxc4 Rfc8 24.Rd7 Bf6 25.Rb1 a5 26.Ra7 Bd8 27.Rc1 b3 28.Rb7 b2 29.Rb1 Bf6 30.Rxb8 Rxb8 31.Bc6 Rb3 32.Kg2 Ra3 33.c5 Ra1 34.Be4 Rxa4 35.Bd3 Rb4 36.c6 Rb6 37.Be4 Be5 38.f4 Bc7 39.Bc2 Kf8 40.Kf3 Rb4 41.Ke3 a4 0-1

Sam is not tearing up the board the way he did two years ago. He has a win and three draws until this win.

Board 4
Shankland, Samuel – Sethuraman, S.P.
D11 QGD Slav

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Bg4 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Nc3 e6 7.Qa4+ Nbd7 8.Ne5 a6 9.f3 Bf5 10.g4 Bg6 11.h4 b5 12.Qd1 b4 13.h5 Bxh5 14.Nxd7 Nxd7 15.Rxh5 bxc3 16.bxc3 Qc7 17.Bd2 Bd6 18.Bd3 Nb6 19.Ke2 h6 20.g5 Kd7 21.gxh6 gxh6 22.Rb1 Rag8 23.Bxa6 Rg2+ 24.Kd3 Ra8 25.Bb5+ Kd8 26.Rxh6 Rxa2 27.Rh8+ Ke7 28.Re8+ Kf6 29.Be1 Kg7 30.f4 f5 31.Qb3 Qf7 32.Qd1 Nc4 33.Rd8 Be7 34.Rd7 Rab2 35.Bxc4 dxc4+ 36.Kxc4 Qe8 37.Rxb2 Rxb2 38.Qa1 Rb8 39.Qa7 Kf8 40.Kd3 Ra8 41.Qb7 Rb8 42.Qh1 Qxd7 43.Qh8+ Kf7 44.Qxb8 Qc6 45.Qb2 Qe4+ 46.Kd2 Qg2+ 47.Kc1 Qf1 48.Kd1 Qd3+ 49.Qd2 Qc4 50.Qe2 Qa4+ 51.Qc2 Qc4 52.Kd2 Qf1 53.Qd3 Qh1 54.Qe2 Qe4 55.Qh2 Qb7 56.Ke2 Qb2+ 57.Bd2 Qb5+ 58.Kf2 Kg6 59.Qg2+ Kf7 60.Qf3 Bh4+ 61.Kg2 Qd3 62.Qh5+ Kf8 63.Qd1 Kg7 64.Qg1 Qxd2+ 65.Kh3+ Kf8 66.Kxh4 Qxc3 67.Kh5 Qc6 68.Kh6 Qf3 69.Qg7+ Ke8 70.Qe5 Kd7 71.Kg7 Qg4+ 72.Kf8 Qh4 73.Qg7+ Kd6 74.Ke8 Qh5+ 75.Qf7 Kd5 1-0

Nepo does a Caruana with seven wins in a row. Just too strong for Board 3

Russia vs Czech Republic

Nepomniachtchi, Ian – Hracek, Zbynek
B33 Sicilian, Pelikan, Chelyabinsk Variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c4 b4 12.Nc2 O-O 13.g3 Be6 14.h4 a5 15.Bh3 a4 16.Qd3 b3 17.Nce3 bxa2 18.Rxa2 Qa5+ 19.Kf1 Bxd5 20.Nxd5 Nb4 21.Nxb4 Qxb4 22.Bd7 Bd8 23.Bc6 Ra7 24.Qc2 a3 25.Kg2 Qc5 26.Bd5 g6 27.Rb1 axb2 28.Raxb2 Kh8 29.Rb5 Qc8 30.Rb8 Qd7 31.Qd2 Kg7 32.R8b7 Rxb7 33.Rxb7 Qg4 34.Qa2 Bxh4 35.Qa7 Kh6 36.Rxf7 Rxf7 37.Qxf7 Bg5 38.Qf8+ Kh5 39.Qxd6 Bf4 40.Qf6 Qg5 41.Qf7 1-0

The English team had just as formidable a foe as the Canadians did with Ukraine – the Chinese

This game from Nigel Short

China-England

Board 4
Li, Chao b – Short, Nigel
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.Bd2 d5 8.cxd5 exd5 9.O-O Nbd7 10.Rc1 a6 11.Ne5 Re8 12.f4 Nf8 13.Be1 c5 14.Bh4 c4 15.Bc2 b5 16.g4 Qb6 17.g5 Ne4 18.Nxe4 dxe4 19.Qe2 Bd5 20.Qg2 Qb7 21.f5 Nd7 22.Ng4 Kh8 23.Bg3 Rac8 24.Qh3 f6 25.g6 Nf8 26.Rf2 Rc6 27.Rcf1 a5 28.Rg2 a4 29.Rf4 c3 30.bxc3 Bxc3 31.Bh4 Qb6 32.gxh7 Re7 33.Ne5 fxe5 34.Bxe7 exf4 35.Bxf8 Bxd4 36.Qg4 Rc7 37.Qh5 f3 38.Rg4 Be5 39.Bc5 Qh6 40.Qe8+ Kxh7 41.Qxe5 Rxc5 42.Qe7 f2+ 43.Kg2 Bc4 44.Kxf2 Qxh2+ 0-1

Tweet from Nigel: Nigel Short @nigelshortchess

Tough match v China. Playing @lichaochess with Black. By coincidence, I was born in Leigh :) #bakuchess

Norway vs Turkey

Board 1
Solak, Dragan – Carlsen, Magnus
B06 Robatsch Defence, Two Knights Variation

1.e4 d6 2.d4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.Nf3 a6 5.Be2 Nf6 6.O-O O-O 7.Re1 Nc6 8.d5 Na7 9.h3 b5 10.Bf1 Bb7 11.a4 b4 12.Na2 a5 13.c4 e6 14.Bg5 h6 15.Be3 Re8 16.Bd3 exd5 17.exd5 c6 18.dxc6 Nxc6 19.Nc1 Nd7 20.Qc2 Qf6 21.Rb1 Nce5 22.Nxe5 Nxe5 23.Be2 d5 24.cxd5 Bxd5 25.Nb3 Rac8 26.Nc5 Bf8 27.Rbc1 Bxc5 28.Bxc5 Qg5 29.g3 Nd7 30.h4 Qd8 31.Bb5 Rxe1+ 32.Rxe1 Rxc5 33.Qd2 h5 34.Qd4 Qf6 35.Qe3 Bc6 36.Qe8+ Nf8 37.Qc8 Rc2 38.Bxc6 Qxf2+ 39.Kh1 Qxe1# 0-1

Magnus was walking around in a black hoodie. Fashion statement or is the air conditioning too cold?

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Baku Olympiad 2016 (Open) – Reposting

Baku Olympiad Open 2016 Rounds 7 & 8

September 9, 2016

Round Seven

Round Seven Results

1. India-USA 0.5-3.5
2. Latvia-Netherlands 3-1
3. Russia-Czech Republic 3.5-0.5
4. Croatia-Azerbaijan 0.5-3.5
5. Georgia-Romania 3-1
6. England-China 3-1
7. Ukraine-Canada 2.5-1.5
8. Turkey-Norway 1.5-2.5
9. Iran-Mongolia 3.5-0.5
10. Slovenia-Spain 2.5-1.5
11. Iceland-Greece 1-3
12. Philippines-Italy 1.5-2.5
13. Paraguay-Peru 1.5-2.5
14. Belarus-Germany 2-2
15. Hungary-Switzerland 3-1
16. Australia-Poland 1-3
17. Austria-France 2-2
18. Cuba-Sweden 2.5-1.5
19. Azerbaijan 2-Venezuela 2-2
20. Singapore-Kazakhstan 2.5-1.5
21. Vietnam-Bosnia & Herzegovina 3-1

Rankings after Round Seven

1. USA
2. Russia
3. Georgia
4. Ukraine
5. India
6. England
7. Latvia
8. Azerbaijan 1
9. Iran
10. Greece
11. Slovenia
12. Norway
13. Peru
14. Italy
15. Canada
16. Netherlands
17. China
18. Czech Republic
19. Hungary
20. Vietnam

Round Eight Pairings

1. Russia-USA
2. Georgia-Ukraine
3. England-India
4. Azerbaijan 1-Latvia
5. Italy-Iran
6. Greece-Slovenia
7. Norway-Peru
8. Canada-Vietnam
9. Netherlands-Cuba
10. China-Hungary
11. Czech Republic-Poland
12. Chile-Singapore
13. Turkey-Romania
14. Finland-Azerbaijan 2
15. Belarus-Argentina

Vietnamese Team
1. Le Quang, Liem 2723
2. Nguyen, N.T. Son 2633
3. Nguyen, H.M. Huy 2435
4. Nguyen, Anh Khol 2448
5. Dao, Thien Hai 2486

I joked about getting “Zhigalkoed” against Belarus. There appears to be a danger here of getting “Nguyened”!

Best player by percentage on Board 1

1. Jobava 83.3%, 5 points
2. Karjakin 83.3%, 5 points
3. Zhang Zhong 83.3%, 5 points
4. Ragger 80.0%, 4 points
5. Asadil 78.6, 5.5 points
6. Caruana 75%, 4.5 points
7. Wojtaszek 75%, 4.5 points
8. Beliavsky 75%, 4.5 points
9. Carlsen 75%, 4.5 points
13. Giri 71.4%, 5.0 points

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Baku Olympiad 2016 (Open) – Reposting

Baku Olympiad 2016 Rounds 7 & 8

September 9, 2016

Round Seven

Chess Vibes is saying that Nigel Short refused to have a pat-down (?) during a game and may be forfeited:
@nigelshortchess refused anti-cheating check during game. Penalty is forfeit. Takes guts to turn England's 3-1 win over China into 2-2.
________

From the EC Forum:

2.DURING THE ROUND
: there will be random checks for approximately 30 to 40 players.

The checks will be done by the Anti cheating Arbiters with the use of the non-linear scanners and detectors and will take 5 to 10 seconds for every check

. In the case where there is any indication, a thorough check will follow, according to the art. 11.3.b. of the Laws of Chess (in a private room, in the presence of Sector Arbiter and/or Chief Arbiter and so on). If a player refuses to cooperate with these obligations, the arbiter shall take measures in accordance with Article 12.9 and will forfeit the player). Special attention will be given to the first four (4) Matches of every Section, where during every Round about 20 players from both sections will be checked randomly. The Sector Arbiter responsible for Anti-cheating, in cooperation with the Chief Arbiter, will decide about the players who will be checked in every round

No-one picked up on this before the Olympiad, but I would have thought it totally disruptive to haul a player away during the game because a scanner happened to go ping.

Christopher Kreuzer wrote:

Maybe the ChessVibes tweet can be parsed this way:

"[Nigel Short] refused [an] anti-cheating check during game. Penalty is [and should be] forfeit [but this didn't happen]. Takes guts [which the arbiters didn't have] to turn England's 3-1 win over China into 2-2."

Hopefully that is what happened. Worrying.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Baku Olympiad 2016 (Open) – Reposting

Baku Olympiad 2016 Rounds 7 & 8

September 9, 2016

From the Mike Klein article on chess.com:

GM Nigel Short's win over GM Li Chao was a truly spectacular affair that had quite a story playing out in the background. First the game itself; the complications began at move 33, where both players started to get short on time. A great knight sac by Li wasn't followed up by the winning move, and Short played almost all the right moves in a jungle of variations. Almost.

(Analysis has) shown that Li could have drawn with some incredible moves.

That was a fantastic victory for the English team of course, but the celebrating didn't start just yet. After the game, Short was taken to a special room for post-game anti-cheating checks. Together with team captain IM Malcolm Pein he was cheering in the corridor in celebration of the historic victory over the reigning Olympics champions. However, when leaving, the two were not smiling anymore—quite the contrary.

As it turned out, earlier in the day Short had refused to undergo a check during the game. For this, Klaus Deventer, a member of the Anti-Cheating Committee, wanted to give Short a warning.

"Go ahead, forfeit me!" said a furious Short. Clearly of the opinion that checking a former world championship contender for cheating is plain humiliating, Short added: "I've played chess for thirty years. A World Championship, for God's sake!" He later told Chess.com that he won't allow future checks during games either, risking a forfeit.

The random checks during the round are in the rules mentioned on the official website, and in fact, the penalty for refusing is a forfeit.

(...) "there will be random checks for approximately 30 to 40 players. The checks will be done by Anti Cheating Arbiters with the use of the non-linear scanners and detectors, and will take 5 to 10 seconds for every check. In case of any indication, a thorough check will follow, according to Article 11.3.b of the Laws of Chess (in a private room, in the presence of Sector Arbiter and/or Chief Arbiter, etc. If a player refuses to cooperate under these obligations, the arbiter shall take measures in accordance with Article 12.9 and forfeit the player).

Pein told Chess.com: "They did find something. A credit card! I fully support Nigel here. You can quote me on that."

Asked whether he had given Short an official warning, Deventer said he "couldn't provide that information." The tournament director wasn't available for comment either.

Looking at the pairings for the eighth round, it may be concluded that England's 3-1 win wasn't reversed into a 2-2 tie.

https://www.chess.com/news/cancel-yo...ia-on-tap-4264

There is a photo earlier in the article of Caruana accompanied by Dr. Jana Beilin for a drug test.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Baku Olympiad 2016 (Open) – Reposting

Baku Olympiad 2016 Rounds 7 & 8

September 10, 2016

Round Eight

Canada vs Vietnam

Board 1
Bareev, Evgeny – Le, Quang Liem
D37 QGD, Hastings Variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.e3 Nbd7 7.c5 Ne4 8.Bd3 f5 9.Ne2 c6 10.O-O g5 11.Bg3 Nxg3 12.Nxg3 a5 13.Qa4 b5 14.cxb6 Bb7 15.Rac1 Nxb6 16.Qd1 Nd7 17.Rc3 Bb4 18.Rc2 Bd6 19.Qe2 Qe7 20.Rfc1 Rfc8 21.a3 h6 22.Rc3 c5 23.dxc5 Rxc5 24.Nd4 Rac8 25.Ba6 Rxc3 26.Rxc3 Rxc3 27.bxc3 Nc5 28.Bxb7 Qxb7 29.Qh5 Bf8 30.Qg6+ Qg7 31.Qe8 Qf7 32.Qa8 a4 33.h3 Qb7 34.Qe8 Qe7 35.Qa8 Qb7 36.Qe8 Qd7 37.Qa8 Qb7 1/2-1/2

The Nguyen game was hard-fought, whereas the draws came more easily in the Nguyen and the Nguyen games.

Board 2
Nguyen, Ngoc Truong son – Kovalyov, Anton
E32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical Variation

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 O-O 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 d6 7.Nf3 Nbd7 8.g3 b6 9.Bg2 Bb7 10.O-O c5 11.b4 Rc8 12.Bb2 d5 13.dxc5 bxc5 14.cxd5 cxb4 15.Qe3 Bxd5 16.axb4 Rc4 17.Qa3 Qb6 18.Qxa7 Rxb4 19.Qxb6 Rxb6 20.Bd4 Rb7 21.Rfd1 h6 22.Bf1 Rfb8 23.Ne5 Nxe5 24.Bxe5 Re8 25.Rdb1 Rxb1 26.Rxb1 Nd7 27.Bd4 Rc8 28.Ra1 Nb8 29.f3 Nc6 30.Bc3 Ne7 31.Bb4 Nc6 32.Rc1 Ra8 33.Bc3 f5 34.Bg2 Ra4 35.Bb2 Rc4 36.Rxc4 Bxc4 37.Kf2 Kf7 38.Bc3 Bd5 39.e4 fxe4 40.fxe4 Bc4 41.Bf3 e5 42.Bd1 Kf6 43.Ke3 Nd8 44.Ba4 Ne6 45.Bc6 Ng5 46.Ba5 Ne6 47.Bd5 Bb5 48.Bb6 Bf1 49.Kd2 Ke7 50.Kc3 Bg2 51.h4 Bf1 52.Ba7 Nc7 53.Bc5+ Kf6 54.Bb7 Nb5+ 55.Kb4 Nd4 56.Bb6 Ne6 57.Bd5 Bd3 58.Kc3 Bf1 59.Kb4 Bd3 60.Be3 Nc7 61.Kc5 Nxd5 62.exd5 h5 63.Bg5+ Kf7 64.Kd6 Ke8 65.Kxe5 1/2-1/2

Board 3
Lesiege, Alexandre – Nguyen, Huynh Minh Huy
D10 QGD Slav Defence, Exchange

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.cxd5 cxd5 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Bf4 Nc6 6.e3 Bf5 7.Qb3 Na5 8.Qa4+ Bd7 9.Qc2 e6 10.Nf3 Nh5 11.Be5 f6 12.Bg3 Nc6 13.a3 Be7 14.Bd3 f5 15.Be5 Nf6 16.h3 Rc8 17.g4 Nxe5 18.Nxe5 Ne4 19.gxf5 exf5 20.Qb3 Bc6 21.Bxe4 fxe4 22.Nxe4 O-O 23.f4 Kh8 24.Nc3 Bh4+ 25.Kd2 g5 26.Ne2 Qe8 27.Rac1 a6 28.Rhf1 Qe6 29.Rf3 gxf4 30.Nxf4 Qg8 31.Qd3 Bb5 32.Rxc8 Rxc8 33.Qf5 Be1+ 34.Kd1 Ba4+ 35.Ke2 Rc2+ 36.Kf1 Bb5+ 37.Ned3 Bh4 38.Qe5+ Qg7 39.Qb8+ Qg8 40.Qe5+ Qg7 41.Qb8+ Qg8 42.Qe5+ 1/2-1/2

Board 4
Nguyen, Anh Khoi – Hansen, Eric
D27 QGA, Classical

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.O-O a6 7.dxc5 Qxd1 8.Rxd1 Bxc5 9.Nbd2 Nbd7 10.Nb3 Be7 11.Be2 b6 12.Bd2 Bb7 13.Rac1 O-O 14.Nfd4 Rfc8 15.f3 Kf8 16.Rxc8+ Rxc8 17.Rc1 Rxc1+ 18.Nxc1 Bc5 19.Ndb3 Bd6 20.e4 Nc5 21.Be3 Nfd7 22.Nxc5 Nxc5 23.Nd3 e5 24.Nxc5 Bxc5 25.Bxc5+ bxc5 26.Kf2 Ke7 27.Ke3 Kd6 28.Bc4 f6 29.Kd3 a5 30.Kc3 h6 31.Kb3 Kc7 32.Kc3 1/2-1/2

Georgia vs Ukraine

Board 1
Jobava, Baadur – Ponomariov, Ruslan
A45 Queen’s Pawn Game

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bf4 c5 4.e3 cxd4 5.exd4 a6 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.Nge2 e6 8.Qd2 b5 9.O-O Be7 10.a3 Bd7 11.h3 O-O 12.Rfe1 Na5 13.Rad1 Qb6 14.Ng3 Rfc8 15.Nf5 exf5 16.Rxe7 Be6 17.Bh6 gxh6 18.Qxh6 Rxc3 19.Qg5+ Kf8 20.Qxf6 Rxd3 21.cxd3 1-0

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Baku Olympiad 2016 (Open) – Reposting

Baku Olympiad 2016 Rounds 7 & 8

September 10, 2016

Round Eight Results

1. Russia-USA 2-2
2. Georgia-Ukraine 1-3
3. England-India 1.5-2.5
4. Azerbaijan-Latvia 2.5-1.5
5. Italy-Iran 2-2
6. Greece-Slovenia 2-2
7. Norway-Peru 3-1
8. Canada-Vietnam 2-2
9. Netherlands-Cuba 2.5-1.5
10. China-Hungary 1.5-2.5
11. Czech Republic-Poland 2.5-1.5
12. Chile-Singapore
13. Turkey-Romania 2.5-1.5
14. Finland-Azerbaijan 2 1-3
15. Belarus-Argentina
16. Paraguay-Moldova 0.5-3.5
17. Serbia-Colombia 4-0
18. Spain-Philippines 2.5-1.5

Standings after Round Eight

1. USA
2. India
3. Ukraine
4. Russia
5. Azerbaijan 1
6. Norway
7. England
8. Latvia
9. Netherlands
10. Hungary
11. Iran
12. Czech Republic
13. Georgia
14. Greece
15. Slovenia
16. Chile
17. Italy
18. Canada

Round Nine Pairings

1. Ukraine-India
2. USA-Norway
3. Iran-England
4. Azerbaijan 1-Russia
5. Latvia-Slovenia
6. Netherlands-Czech Republic
7. Hungary-Georgia
8. Italy-Chile
9. Greece-Turkey
10. Canada-Denmark
11. Vietnam-Azerbaijan 2
12. Moldova-Serbia
13. France-Belarus
14. Austria-Spain
15. Portugal-Iceland

Danish Team
1. Hansen, Sune Berg 2595
2. Andersen, Mads 2535
3. Glud, Jakob Vang 2526
4. Rasmussen, Allan 2522
5. Schandorff, Lars 2515
_______

Nepo’s first loss

Russia vs USA

Board 3
Nepomniachtchi, Ian – So, Wesley
C50 Giuoco Piano

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.O-O Nf6 5.d3 O-O 6.a4 d6 7.c3 a6 8.h3 Ba7 9.Re1 Ne7 10.d4 Ng6 11.Bd3 c6 12.Be3 Nh5 13.Nbd2 Nhf4 14.Bf1 exd4 15.Bxd4 Bxd4 16.cxd4 d5 17.e5 f6 18.Ra3 fxe5 19.dxe5 a5 20.Qc1 Qe7 21.Rb3 Bf5 22.Nd4 Ne6 23.Nxf5 Rxf5 24.Bd3 Rf4 25.Bxg6 hxg6 26.Qd1 Raf8 27.Rf3 Qb4 28.Rxf4 Rxf4 29.Nf3 Qxa4 30.Qd3 Rf5 31.Qb1 Qf4 32.Qc2 Kh7 33.Re3 Qc4 34.Qd1 Rf4 35.Rc3 Qb4 36.Qc1 a4 37.h4 Kg8 38.Qb1 Qe4 39.Qd1 Nd4 40.Re3 Nxf3+ 41.gxf3 Qf5 42.e6 Rxh4 43.Re4 Rxe4 44.fxe4 Qxe4 45.Qd2 Qxe6 46.Qa5 Qg4+ 47.Kf1 b5 48.Qc7 g5 49.Qb8+ Kh7 50.Qd6 b4 0-1

Norway vs Peru

Board 1
Carlsen, Magnus – Cordova, Emilio
E18 Queen’s Indian, Old Main Line

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.O-O O-O 7.Nc3 Ne4 8.Bd2 Bf6 9.Rc1 c5 10.d5 exd5 11.cxd5 Nxd2 12.Nxd2 d6 13.Nde4 Be7 14.f4 f5 15.Nf2 Ba6 16.a4 Bf6 17.Re1 Nd7 18.e3 Rb8 19.Qc2 g6 20.Nb5 Bxb5 21.axb5 Bg7 22.Bh3 Kh8 23.e4 g5 24.fxg5 f4 25.Bf5 fxg3 26.Nh3 gxh2+ 27.Kh1 Be5 28.Qe2 Rf7 29.Rc2 Rg7 30.Rf1 Qe8 31.Qd3 Nf8 32.Rg2 Ng6 33.Bxg6 Qxg6 34.Nf4 Bxf4 35.Rxf4 Qh5 36.Qc3 Kg8 37.Qf6 Rf7 38.Qe6 Rf8 39.Rgf2 c4 40.g6 Qd1+ 41.Rf1 1-0

Torre still going strong. He’s 64 years old and has been in 22 Olympiads before Baku.

Philippines vs Spain

Board 2
Torre, Eugenio Salgado Lopez, Ivan
A46 Trompovsky Attack

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 g6 3.Bxf6 exf6 4.e3 Bg7 5.Ne2 f5 6.g3 d5 7.Bg2 c6 8.O-O h5 9.c4 dxc4 10.Na3 h4 11.Nxc4 hxg3 12.hxg3 Be6 13.Qd3 Bd5 14.Rfe1 Na6 15.Rac1 Bxg2 16.Kxg2 Qd5+ 17.f3 O-O 18.Nf4 Qb5 19.a3 c5 20.d5 Qd7 21.d6 b5 22.Na5 Rab8 23.Rcd1 Rfd8 24.e4 fxe4 25.Qxe4 Rb6 26.Nd5 Rxd6 27.Ne7+ Kf8 28.Rxd6 Qxd6 29.Nb7 Qd2+ 30.Re2 Rd4 31.Nxg6+ Kg8 32.Qe8+ Kh7 33.Rxd2 Rxd2+ 34.Kh3 fxg6 35.Qxb5 Rxb2 36.Qxa6 c4 37.Nc5 c3 38.Qxa7 Re2 39.Qc7 c2 40.Nd3 1-0

From 1970 in Siegen in Germany to 2014 in Tromso, Norway, Torre played 252 games in the Olympiads, scoring 155.5/252 (91 wins, 119 draws, and 42 losses). 1974 in Nice, 1980 in Malta, and 1986 in Dubai, Torre won the bronze medal for the third-best individual result on board three.

At Baku, so far, he has 6 wins and two draws.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Baku Olympiad 2016 (Open) – Reposting

Baku Olympiad Open 2016 Rounds 9, 10 and 11

September 11, 2016

Round Nine

Canada vs Denmark

Board 1
Bareev, Evgeny – Hansen, Sune Berg
D37 QGD, Hastings Variation

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.d4 Be7 5.Bf4 O-O 6.Qc2 c5 7.dxc5 Qa5 8.Nd2 Qxc5 9.e3 Bd7 10.a3 Rc8 11.b4 Qb6 12.Be2 Nc6 13.O-O Qd8 14.Rad1 Qf8 15.Bg3 d4 16.Nce4 Nxe4 17.Nxe4 f5 18.Nd2 dxe3 19.fxe3 Be8 20.c5 Rd8 21.Nc4 Rxd1 22.Rxd1 a6 23.Bf3 Qf6 24.Qb3 Rd8 25.Rxd8 Nxd8 26.Be5 Qh6 27.Nd6 Bxd6 28.cxd6 Nc6 29.Qc3 Bd7 30.h3 Kf7 31.Kh2 Qg5 32.Bg3 Qf6 33.Qc5 Qd8 34.a4 b6 35.Qc4 Qc8 36.Qh4 Kg8 37.b5 axb5 38.axb5 Nd8 39.e4 Nf7 40.exf5 exf5 41.Be2 g5 42.Qd4 Be6 43.Qxb6 Qd7 44.Bh5 f4 45.Bxf7+ Kxf7 46.Bf2 Bd5 47.Qc5 Ke6 48.b6 Qxd6 49.Qc8+ Qd7 50.Qh8 Bb7 51.Qg8+ Kf5 52.Qf8+ Kg6 53.Qg8+ Kf5 54.h4 h6 55.hxg5 1/2-1/2

Board 2
Andersen, Mads – Kovalyov, Anton
E06 Catalan Closed

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Nf3 Be7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O c6 7.Qc2 b6 8.Rd1 Nbd7 9.Bf4 Bb7 10.Ne5 Nxe5 11.dxe5 Nd7 12.cxd5 cxd5 13.e4 Rc8 14.Nc3 d4 15.Rxd4 Bc5 16.Rd2 Bc6 17.Qd1 b5 18.a3 a5 19.Qg4 Kh8 20.h4 Qc7 21.Qe2 Qb8 22.Qh5 b4 23.axb4 Bxb4 24.Rad1 a4 25.Rd3 Bxc3 26.bxc3 a3 27.Ra1 Qb2 28.Qd1 Ba4 29.Qc1 Nc5 30.Rd6 Rb8 31.Kh2 a2 32.Bh6 Qxc1 33.Bxc1 Rb1 34.Rxa2 Rxc1 35.Ra3 g6 36.f4 Rb8 37.f5 Rc2 38.f6 h5 39.Kh3 Rbb2 0-1

Board 3
Hansen, Eric – Glud, Jakob Vang
C97 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chagrin 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 Qc7 12.Nbd2 Bd7 13.Nf1 Nc4 14.b3 Nb6 15.Ne3 c4 16.Ba3 Rfe8 17.Qd2 Bf8 18.Rad1 cxb3 19.axb3 a5 20.dxe5 dxe5 21.Bxf8 Kxf8 22.Nd5 Nbxd5 23.exd5 Qd6 24.c4 a4 25.c5 Qxc5 26.Nxe5 axb3 27.Bxb3 Qd6 28.Qd4 Kg8 29.Re3 Rad8 30.g4 h6 31.Rde1 Re7 32.h4 Rde8 33.g5 hxg5 34.hxg5 Nh7 35.g6 Ng5 36.gxf7+ Nxf7 37.Nxf7 Qg6+ 38.Kf1 Bh3+ 39.Ke2 Qxf7 40.Kd1 Rxe3 41.Rxe3 Rxe3 42.fxe3 Qf6 43.d6+ Kh8 44.Qd5 Bg4+ 45.Kc2 Qf2+ 46.Kb1 Kh7 47.Qe4+ Bf5 48.Qxf5+ Qxf5+ 49.Bc2 1-0

Board 4
Schandorff, Lars – Krnan, Tomas
E63 King’s Indian, Fianchetto, Panno System

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 O-O 5.c4 d6 6.O-O Nc6 7.Nc3 a6 8.b3 Rb8 9.d5 Na5 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bd2 c5 12.dxc6 Nxc6 13.Rc1 Be6 14.Ne1 Bd7 15.Nd3 e6 16.c5 Ne5 17.Nxe5 dxe5 18.e4 Bc6 19.Be3 Qa5 20.Qe2 Rbd8 21.f3 Nd7 22.Qc4 Bb5 23.Nxb5 axb5 24.Qc3 b4 25.Qc4 Nb8 26.Rf2 Nc6 27.Bf1 Nd4 28.Kg2 Rc8 29.Bd2 Qxa2 30.Bxb4 Qxb3 31.Qxb3 Nxb3 32.Rc3 Nd4 33.c6 bxc6 34.Bxf8 Bxf8 35.Rb2 Rc7 36.Ba6 Ra7 37.Rb6 Bd6 38.Kf2 Bc7 39.Rb7 Rxa6 40.Rxc7 Ra2+ 41.Ke3 Re2+ 42.Kd3 Rxh2 43.f4 Nb5 44.Rc8+ Kg7 45.Rc5 Rg2 46.Rxe5 Rxg3+ 47.Ke2 Nd4+ 48.Ke1 Re3+ 49.Kd1 Rh3 50.Kc1 f6 0-1

Results of Round Nine

1. Ukraine-India 2.5-1.5
2. USA-Norway 3-1
3. Iran-England 2-2
4. Azerbaijan-Russia 1-3
5. Latvia-Slovenia 2-2
6. Netherlands-Czech Republic 1.5-2.5
7. Hungary-Georgia 1.5-2.5
8. Italy-Chile 2-2
9. Greece-Turkey 2-2
10. Canada-Denmark 3.5-0.5
11. Vietnam-Azerbaijan 2.5-1.5
12. Moldova-Serbia 3-1
13. France-Belarus 2-2
14. Austria-Spain 1.5-2.5
15. Portugal-Iceland 2-2
16. Peru-Israel 2.5-1.5
17. Faroe Isles-China 0-4
16. Poland-Singapore 3-1

Standings after Round Nine

1. USA
2. Ukraine
3. Russia
4. Georgia
5. Czech Republic
6. India
7. Canada
8. Azerbaijan 1
9. Iran
10. England
11. Latvia
12. Moldova
13. Vietnam
14. Greece
15. Slovenia
16. Norway
17. Spain
21. China

Round Ten Pairings

1. Georgia-USA
2. Czech Republic-Ukraine
3. India-Russia
4. England-Azerbaijan 1
5. Latvia-Canada
6. Norway-Iran
7. Moldova-Italy
8. Slovenia-Vietnam
9. Spain-Greece
10. Chile-Peru
11. China-Belarus
12. Hungary-Netherlands

Latvian Team
1. Shirov, Alexei 2673
2. Kovalenko, Igor 2651
3. Neikans, Arthurs 2628
4. Meskovs, Nikita 2476
5. Sveshnikov, Vladimir 2404
__________

Hungary vs Georgia

Board 1
Rapport, Richard – Jobava, Baadur
B00 King’s Pawn Opening

1.e4 d6 2.Nc3 e5 3.f4 exf4 4.Nf3 Ne7 5.d4 Ng6 6.Bd3 Be7 7.O-O Nd7 8.Nd5 Ndf8 9.Qe1 Ne6 10.Nxe7 Qxe7 11.h4 O-O 12.h5 Nh8 13.e5 d5 14.c4 dxc4 15.Bxc4 Rd8 16.Bxe6 Qxe6 17.Qh4 Rd5 18.Bxf4 Qg4 19.Rac1 Qxh4 20.Nxh4 c6 21.Be3 Rb5 22.b3 h6 23.Rc3 Ra5 24.a4 Rd5 25.Nf5 Bxf5 26.Rxf5 Re8 27.g4 Re6 28.Kg2 a6 29.Kg3 g6 30.Rf3 gxh5 31.gxh5 f6 32.Rxf6 Rxf6 33.exf6 Rxh5 34.Kg4 Rd5 35.Bxh6 Rxd4+ 36.Kf3 Kf7 37.Be3 Rd6 38.Bg5 Rd5 39.Kg4 Kg6 40.Bh4 Nf7 41.Kf3 Rh5 42.Bg3 Kxf6 43.Re3 Rd5 44.Ke2 Ne5 45.Re4 Nd3 46.Re3 Nc1+ 47.Kf3 Kf5 48.Bb8 Rd4 49.Rc3 Rd3+ 50.Rxd3 Nxd3 51.Ke3 Nc5 52.Kd4 Nxb3+ 53.Kc4 Nc1 54.a5 Ke4 55.Kc5 Kd3 56.Be5 Nb3+ 57.Kb4 Nd2 58.Kc5 Ne4+ 0-1

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Baku Olympiad 2016 (Open) – Reposting

Baku Olympiad 2016 Open Rounds 9, 10 and 11

September 12, 2016

Round Ten

Canada vs Latvia

Board 1
Shirov, Alexei – Bareev, Evgeny
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance Variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Ne7 6.O-O Nc8 7.Bd3 Bxd3 8.Qxd3 Nb6 9.a4 a5 10.Nc3 Be7 11.Ne2 N6d7 12.h4 c5 13.c3 cxd4 14.cxd4 Bxh4 15.Nxh4 Qxh4 16.Qb5 Ra7 17.Ra3 O-O 18.Rg3 Kh8 19.Bg5 Qe4 20.Nc3 Qf5 21.Qe2 f6 22.Nb5 Ra6 23.exf6 Nxf6 24.Bxf6 Rxf6 25.Rf3 Qg6 26.Qe5 Nd7 27.Rxf6 Nxf6 28.Qb8+ Qe8 29.Qxb7 Rc6 30.Nc7 Qd7 31.Qa8+ Ng8 32.Nb5 Rc2 33.Qxa5 Rxb2 34.Qc3 Re2 35.Re1 Rxe1+ 36.Qxe1 Ne7 37.Qb4 Kg8 38.Qc5 Qd8 39.Nd6 Qa8 40.Qc7 Nf5 1-0

Board 2
Kovalyov, Anton – Kovalenko, Igor
A20 English

1.c4 e5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 c6 4.d4 exd4 5.Qxd4 d5 6.Nf3 Be6 7.cxd5 cxd5 8.O-O Nc6 9.Qd3 h6 10.a3 Be7 11.Nc3 O-O 12.Rd1 Rc8 13.Bf4 Re8 14.Rac1 Qb6 15.Qb5 Na5 16.Qxb6 axb6 17.Nb5 g5 18.Bd6 Rxc1 19.Rxc1 Bd7 20.Bxe7 Rxe7 21.Nc3 Nc4 22.Nd4 Nxb2 23.Nxd5 Nxd5 24.Bxd5 Re5 25.e4 Na4 26.Rc7 Nc5 27.Nb3 Bc6 28.Nxc5 bxc5 29.f4 Bxd5 30.fxe5 Bxe4 31.Kf2 Bc6 32.Rxc6 1-0

Board 3
Neiksans, Arturs – Lesiege, Alexandre
A34 English, Symmetrical, Three Knights System

1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nb4 6.Bb5+ N8c6 7.d4 cxd4 8.a3 dxc3 9.Qxd8+ Kxd8 10.axb4 cxb2 11.Bxb2 e6 12.O-O Bd7 13.Rfd1 Ke8 14.Rd3 a6 15.Rad1 axb5 16.Rxd7 Rd8 17.Rxd8+ Nxd8 18.Bc3 Nc6 19.Ra1 f6 20.Ra8+ Kf7 21.Rc8 Rg8 22.Rc7+ Kg6 23.Nh4+ Kh5 24.g3 Bxb4 25.Bxf6 Bd6 26.Rd7 gxf6 27.Rxd6 b4 28.Nf3 Kg6 29.Rd7 Rg7 30.Rd3 Kf7 31.Kf1 Ke7 32.Nd2 Rg8 33.Nb3 Ra8 34.Ke2 Ra3 35.Nd2 Ne5 36.Rb3 Nc6 37.Rd3 Rc3 38.Nb1 Rc2+ 39.Rd2 b3 40.Kd1 Rc4 41.Rb2 Nd4 42.Kd2 Rc2+ 43.Rxc2 bxc2 44.Na3 Kd6 45.f4 f5 46.exf5 exf5 47.h3 h5 48.Nc4+ Kd5 49.Ne5 Ke4 50.Nd7 Kf3 51.Nf6 b5 52.g4 hxg4 53.hxg4 fxg4 54.f5 g3 55.Nh7 g2 56.Ng5+ 0-1

Board 4
Hansen, Eric – Sveshnikov, Vladimir
B30 Sicilian, Nimzowitsch-Rossolimo Attack

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 d6 4.O-O Bd7 5.Re1 Nf6 6.c3 a6 7.Bf1 Bg4 8.h3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 e6 10.d3 Be7 11.Nd2 O-O 12.Qe2 b5 13.a3 Qc7 14.Nf3 d5 15.e5 Nd7 16.d4 c4 17.h4 a5 18.Ng5 b4 19.Qh5 Bxg5 20.Bxg5 bxc3 21.bxc3 a4 22.Qg4 Kh8 23.Re3 Rg8 24.Qf4 Nf8 25.Rf3 Ra7 26.Be2 h6 27.Qh2 Nh7 28.Bc1 Rb8 29.Bd1 Rab7 30.Qf4 Na5 31.Rg3 f5 32.exf6 Qxf4 33.Bxf4 Rb1 34.Rxb1 Rxb1 35.Kh2 Rxd1 36.f7 Rd3 37.f3 Nf8 38.Be5 Nd7 39.Bxg7+ Kh7 40.h5 Rxc3 41.Be5 1-0

Just a historical note here.

Evgeny Sveshnikov is the father, born in 1950. He is the grandmaster, writer and theoretician.

(Wikipedia) Known as one of the most outspoken and controversial grandmasters on the circuit, Sveshnikov has in recent years been linked with player revolts over the handing in of gamescores. It is accepted practice that players submit copies of their gamescores to tournament organisers and these games later appear on the internet, in books, magazines and in database programs. Whilst the benefits to the development and popularisation of chess are obvious, Sveshnikov insists that it is not in the best interests of chess professionals to allow this to continue.

Most fundamentally, it is very difficult for chess players to earn a living; he speaks of many chess players in Russia and the Baltic States suffering severe depression and in some cases committing suicide. Georgy Ilivitsky, Alvis Vitolins, Karen Grigorian, Lembit Oll and Alexey Vyzmanavin are prominent examples.

He contends that gamescores are the labours and intellectual property of the two players concerned and therefore copyright permissions and royalty fees should apply. It is morally corrupt, he argues, that only authors, editors and owners of Chess Publishing Houses profit from the publication of game scores.

The Sveshnikov Sicilian was formerly known as the Lasker-Pelikan and he transformed a system of dubious merit into and exciting and fully playable opening.

Much about the father, Evgeny Sveshnikov here, Vladimir Sveshnikov is his son!

Results of Round Nine

1. Georgia-USA 1.5-2.5
2. Czech Republic-Ukraine 1-3
3. India-Russia 2-2
4. England-Azerbaijan 2.5-1.5
5. Latvia-Canada 1-3
6. Norway-Iran 3.5-0.5
7. Moldova-Italy 1.5-2.5
8. Slovenia-Vietnam 3-1
9. Spain-Greece 2-2
10. Chile-Peru 1.5-2.5
11. China-Belarus 2-2
12. Hungary-Netherlands not available
13. Turkey-Lithuania 3-1
14. Iceland-Poland 1.5-2.5
15. Australia-France 1-3

Final round pairings when available

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Baku Olympiad 2016 (Open) – Reposting

Baku Olympiad Open 2016

September 12, 2016

Standings after Round Ten

1. USA
2. Ukraine
3. Russia
4. Canada
5. India
6. Norway
7. Slovenia
8. England
9. Peru
10. Italy
11. Georgia
12. Hungary
13. Turkey
14. Czech Republic
15. France
16. Poland
17. Spain
18. Greece
19. Azerbaijan 1
20. China
21. Cuba
22. Moldova
23. Uzbekistan
24. Belarus
25. Latvia

Round Eleven Pairings

1. USA-Canada
2. Ukraine-Slovenia
3. Russia-Italy
4. Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan 1
5. India-Norway
6. Peru-England
7. Turkey-Georgia
8. Greece-Hungary
9. France-Czech Republic
10. Poland-Spain
11. Vietnam-China
12. Cuba-Romania
13. Croatia-Moldova
14. Belarus-Uzbekistan
15. Portugal-Latvia

No need to tell anyone who is on the USA team!

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Baku Olympiad 2016 (Open) – Reposting

Baku Olympiad 2016 Rounds 9, 10 and 11

September 13, 2016

Round Eleven

Board Pairings

1. USA vs Canada

1. Caruana-Bareev
2. Kovalyov-Nakamura
3. So-Lesiege
4. Hansen-Shankland

2. Ukraine vs Slovenia

1. Eljanov-Beliavsky
2. Lenic-Ponomariov
3. Korobov-Borisek
4. Sebenik-Volokitin

3. Russia vs Italy

1. Kramnik-Vocaturo
2. Rombaldoni-Tomashevsky
3. Nepomniachtchi-Brunello
4. Moroni-Grischuk

4. Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan

1. Atabayev, M.-Radjabov
2. Mamedov-Atabayev, Y.
3. Atabayev, S.-Naiditsch
4. Safarli-Odeev

5. India vs Norway

1. Harikrishna-Carlsen
2. Hammer-Adhiban
3. Vidit-Tari
4. Urkedal-Sethuraman

6. Peru vs England

1. Cordova-Adams
2. Howell-Cori
3. Vera Siguenas-Jones
4. Short-Cruz

7. Turkey vs Georgia

1. Solak-Jobava
2. Mchedtishvili-Ipatov
3. Yitmaz-Pantsulaia
4. Gelashvili-Can

8. Greece vs Hungary

1. Papioannou-Berkes
2. Almasi-Mastrovasilis
3. Banikas-Balogh
4. Gledura-Halkias

9. France vs Czech Republic

1. Vachier-Lagrave-Navara
2. Laznicka-Maze
3. Fressinet-Hracek
4. Plat-Bauer

10. Poland vs Spain

1. Wojtaszek-Vallejo Pons
2. Salgado Lopez-Duda
3. Bartel-Guijar
4. Ibarra Jerz-Swiercz

11. Vietnam vs China

1. Le – Wang
2. Ding-Nguyen, N.
3. Nguyen, H.-Yu
4. Wei-Nguyen, A.

It appears that Vidal Capo will play Board 2 for Mexico but Indjic will not be playing Board 4 for Serbia.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Baku Olympiad 2016 (Open) – Reposting

Baku Olympiad 2016 Rounds 9, 10 and 11

September 13, 2016

Round Eleven

USA vs Canada

Board 1
Caruana, Fabiano – Bareev, Evgeny
B12 Caro-Kann, Advance Variation

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Nd7 6.O-O Bg6 7.a4 Ne7 8.a5 a6 9.b4 Nf5 10.c3 f6 11.Bf4 fxe5 12.dxe5 Be7 13.g4 Nh4 14.Nd4 Bf7 15.Bg3 h5 16.gxh5 Qc7 17.Bg4 Rh6 18.f4 c5 19.bxc5 Qxc5 20.Kh1 O-O-O 21.Nd2 Rdh8 22.Qe1 Bxh5 23.Bxe6 Be8 24.f5 Bd8 25.Rf4 g5 26.Rf2 Bc7 27.Qe3 Kb8 28.f6 Nf8 29.Bg4 Nhg6 30.N2b3 Qa7 31.f7 1-0

Board 2
Kovalyov, Anton – Nakamura, Hikaru
A36 English, Symmetrical, Four Knights System

1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.d4 e6 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Bg2 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Nxc3 9.bxc3 Nxd4 10.Qxd4 Qxd4 11.cxd4 Bd6 12.O-O Rb8 13.Bb2 b6 14.Rfc1 Kd7 15.Bc6+ Kd8 16.e4 f6 17.Kg2 Bb7 18.Bxb7 Rxb7 19.f4 Kd7 20.Kf3 b5 21.e5 Be7 22.Rc2 b4 23.Rac1 b3 24.axb3 Rxb3+ 25.Ke2 Rhb8 26.Ba1 Ra3 27.d5 exd5 28.f5 Bd8 29.e6+ Ke8 30.Bd4 Ra4 31.Bf2 g6 32.Rd1 Rb5 33.Rd4 Rc4 34.Rdxc4 dxc4 35.fxg6 hxg6 36.Bxa7 Bb6 37.Bxb6 Rxb6 38.Rxc4 Rxe6+ 1/2-1/2

Board 3
So, Wesley – Lesiege, Alexandre
A30 English, Symmetrical

1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 4.e3 Nf6 5.d4 cxd4 6.exd4 d5 7.Bg5 Be6 8.Bxf6 exf6 9.h3 Bb4 10.c5 O-O 11.Rc1 b6 12.Bb5 Na5 13.a3 Bxc3+ 14.Rxc3 Nc4 15.b4 a5 16.O-O axb4 17.axb4 Qb8 18.Bxc4 dxc4 19.Nd2 bxc5 20.bxc5 Qb4 21.Qf3 Bd5 22.Qxd5 Qxc3 23.Ne4 Qd3 24.Nxf6+ Kh8 25.Nd7 Rfe8 26.Ne5 Qf5 27.Qxc4 Kg7 28.Qc3 Ra2 29.Nd3 Qf6 30.Nb4 Rae2 31.Nd5 Qg5 32.Nc7 R8e3 33.Qc1 h6 34.d5 Qe5 35.fxe3 Qg3 36.Qa1+ 1-0

Board 4
Hansen, Eric – Shankland, Samuel
C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 O-O 6.O-O d6 7.h3 Ne7 8.d4 Bb6 9.Bd3 Ng6 10.Re1 Re8 11.Nbd2 c6 12.Nf1 d5 13.Bg5 dxe4 14.Rxe4 h6 15.Bxf6 Qxf6 16.Re1 Bf5 17.Bxf5 Qxf5 18.Ng3 Qf6 19.Nh5 Qf5 20.Ng3 Qf6 21.Nh5 Qf5 22.g4 Qc8 23.Nxe5 Nxe5 24.dxe5 Qc7 25.Qe2 Rad8 26.Nf4 Rd7 27.Kg2 Kh8 28.Rac1 a6 29.Rc2 Qd8 30.Qf3 Bc7 31.Rce2 Rd2 32.Rxd2 Qxd2 33.Re2 Qd7 34.e6 fxe6 35.Nxe6 Bd6 36.Qf5 Re7 37.f4 Qe8 38.Kf3 Kg8 39.Qd3 Bb8 40.f5 Rd7 41.Qe4 Qe7 42.Nc5 1-0

Final Round Results

1. USA-Canada 2.5-1.5
2. Ukraine-Slovenia 3.5-0.5
3. Russia-Italy 3-1
4. Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan 1-3
5. India-Norway 2-2
6. Peru-England 2-2
7. Turkey-Georgia 2.5-1.5
8. Greece-Hungary 2-2
9. France-Czech Republic 3-1
10. Poland-Spain 3-1
11. Vietnam-China 1-3
12. Cuba-Romania 2-2
13. Croatia-Moldova 2.5-1.5
14. Belarus-Uzbekistan 3-1
15. Portugal-Latvia 0.5-3.5
16. Iran-Chile 3.5-0.5
17. Switzerland-Paraguay 1-3
18. Austria-Brazil 1.5-2.5
19. Serbia-Netherlands 2-2
20. Azerbaijan 2-Bolivia 3-1
21. Philippines-Australia 1.5-2.5
22. Bulgaria-Israel 0.5-3.5
23. Lithuania-Kazakhstan 1.5-2.5
24. Iceland-Argentina 1.5-2.5

Final Rankings

1. USA
2. Ukraine
3. Russia
4. India
5. Norway
6. Turkey
7. Poland
8. France
9. England
10. Peru
11. Canada
12. Azerbaijan 1
13. China
14. Belarus
15. Hungary
16. Iran
17. Latvia
18. Greece
19. Paraguay
20. Slovenia
21. Croatia
22. Italy
23. Brazil
24. Georgia
25. Cuba

Board Prizes

Board 1
1. Jobava
2. Dominguez Perez
3. Caruana

Board 2
1. Kramnik
2. Kovalyov
3. Cori

Board 3
1. So
2. Almasi
3. Torre

Board 4
1. Fressinet
2. Nepomniachtchi
3. Indjic
6. Hansen

Board 5
1. Volokitin
2. Khader
3. Aleksandrov

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Baku Olympiad 2016 (Open) – Reposting

Concerns and Controversies at the Baku Olympiad 2016

September 19, 2016

There is a Wikipedia page with the above title.

See:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concer...Chess_Olympiad

Two quotable sections:

During the game of the seventh round between Nigel Short and Li Chao, the former was returning from the toilet with about 30 minutes to make 20 moves when an anti-cheating arbiter asked him to undergo a spot check with a hand scanner for electronic devices. Short ignored the request, and sat back down to play. After the game, Klaus Deventer (the head of the anti-cheating arbiters) gave Short an unofficial warning. Short discussed the event extensively after the event, indicating that he did not think the cost of annoyance to the player (even when returning from outside the playing area) was comparable to the anti-cheating benefit, though he was not pressed specifically regarding cases where a culprit has in fact been disqualified following mid-game requests for inspection (some for refusal, others for being caught with a device). Initially Short also mentioned the fact he and the arbiter in question (Jamie Kenmure, an Australian who is FIDE delegate for the Solomon Islands) have a political past, and thus Short did not trust that his being selected for the test actually originated from Deventer (as per the regulations). Alternative initial reports dramatized the event to have the arbiters "ask[ing] him to step away from the board and subject himself to a full search" while in time trouble and playing a "do-or-die" position, though these details now seem discredited.

Multiple post-event comments continued to report the annoyance of the anti-cheating measures, noting that a better balance between security and enjoyment could be found by FIDE.

Japanese player forfeited (Round 4)
In the fourth round, a Japanese player (Tang Tang) was forfeited after he was caught with an electronic device in a random check conducted prior to leaving the venue. The game result was reversed from a win for the player to a loss, which also resulted in a change in the match score. Chief Arbiter Faiq Hasanov said that he was approached by an arbiter in the anti-cheating department and informed about the matter. He himself did not bother to check if there was a chess program installed on the device, as possession already violated the rules, leading to an automatic forfeiture. Later information from other arbiters involved indicated there possibly were two devices involved, and their quick check did not indicate a chess program was running. Without sufficient evidence of cheating per se, Hasanov felt that more than game disqualification would be double punishment. The captain of the Japan team (Grandmaster Mihajlo Stojanovic) later addressed some of the related issues in comments on the blog of Macedonian Alex Colovic.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Baku Olympiad 2016 (Open) – Reposting

Sam Shankland at the Baku Olympiad

September 19, 2016

Sam Shankland has a blog of his participation as Board Four at:

https://worldchess.com/2016/09/17/baku-journal/

It’s a good read.

He starts to tell of the last round this way:

It was a pretty forgettable day for me. I chose to play the Berlin Defense against Eric Hansen, but the game was at 11 A.M. and I did not have as much time as normal to prepare. I missed one possibility for White, which was still just equal with correct play, but I had to find two pretty difficult moves. I didn’t manage to do that, and before I knew it I was just down a pawn and in a tough position.

[Wayne Komer]

Re: Baku Olympiad 2016 (Open) – Reposting

Baku Olympiad 2016 (Open) – Reposting

October 24, 2016

Steven Rubenstein in the San Francisco Chronicle gives John Donaldson’s impressions of the Baku Olympiad.

This excerpt:

Unheard of were all the new anticheating rules, which included forcing chess players to pass through metal detectors, to surrender wristwatches and books, to ask for permission to visit the bathroom during a game, and to submit to an electronic pat-down after taking care of that particular call of nature.

The World Chess Federation, Donaldson said, “insisted on implementing a series of ill-conceived rules in a heavy-handed fashion.”

Any player whose urine was found to contain amphetamine, steroids or caffeine could be sent packing. Drinking four cups of coffee or two cans of an energy drink is enough to send a chess player’s pee over the caffeine limit, Donaldson said.

(The) new rules — the ones involving the plastic cups — are in place because the World Chess Federation is seeking to have chess become accepted as an full-fledged Olympic sport. Under Olympic rules, competitors must be drug-free — even though absolutely no one in the chess world believes that drugs can improve chess play.

At the Mechanics’ Institute chess room in downtown San Francisco, where Donaldson has served as director for two decades and where players have gathered for more than a century to play the world’s most popular board game, the anticheating rules are causing a lot of laughter inside a room best known for silence.

“A grown man asking for permission to use the bathroom?” said Kevin Walters of Berkeley. “Drug tests? Outrageous.”

http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/a...d-10107017.php