Altibox Norway 2018

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  • Altibox Norway 2018

    Altibox Norway 2018

    March 4, 2018

    The announcement was made today that "The World's Strongest Chess Tournament" - Altibox Norway, will take place in Stavanger Norway from 27 May to 8 June with these players:

    Vishy Anand
    Levon Aronian
    Sergey Karjakin
    Ding Liren
    Magnus Carlsen
    Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
    Hikaru Nakamura
    Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
    Fabiano Caruana
    Wesley So

    See:

    http://norwaychess.no

  • #2
    Re: Altibox Norway 2018

    Interesting order of names. I thought at first it was alphabetical, but then... nope.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Altibox Norway 2018

      Altibox Norway 2018

      March 4, 2018

      I took the order from the Twitter photo at:

      https://twitter.com/NorwayChess/stat...inchess.com%2F

      I vaguely thought that the order might be by age but it is not that nor height nor rating. Could it be random?

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Altibox Norway 2018

        Altibox Norway 2018

        May 23, 2018

        Schedule

        Saturday May 26 – Wesley So Simul

        Sunday May 27 – Press Conference, Rapid Tournament

        Monday May 28 – Round 1

        Tuesday May 29 – Round 2

        Wednesday May 30 – Round 3

        Thursday May 31 - Rest Day

        Friday June 1 – Round 4

        Saturday June 2 – Round 5

        Sunday June 3 – Round 6

        Monday June 4 – Rest Day

        Tuesday June 5 – Round 7

        Wednesday June 6 – Round 8

        Thursday June 7 – Round 9

        If 2 players share 1stplace by 19:00, there will be playoff with rapid and blitz chess after the games end on Thursday, June 7th. If there are more than 2 players sharing 1stplace, the playoff will take place on Friday, June 8th.

        Friday June 8 – Prize Ceremony and Closing Dinner Party

        The games start each day at 16:30 local or 10:30 AM Toronto/Montreal

        ________

        World Champion Magnus Carlsen's schedule in 2018: Norway Chess: May 27th-Jun 8th, Biel: July 22nd-Aug 1st, European Club Cup (probable): 11th-19th Oct, World Championship vs Caruana 9th to 28th Nov. Not known whether he'll play any part in the Olympiad: 23rd Sept to 6th Oct. Based on info by Tarjei J. Svensen @TarjeiJS.

        From:

        http://theweekinchess.com

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Altibox Norway 2018

          Altibox Norway 2018

          May 27, 2018

          Blitz Tournament

          Results


          Round One

          Carlsen – Karjakin 0.5-0.5
          Ding-So 0-1
          Anand-Mamedyarov 0.5-0.5
          MVL-Caruana 1-0
          Aronian-Nakamura 0-1

          Round Two

          Mamedyarov-Carlsen 0.5-0.5
          Karjakin-Aronian 1-0
          Wesley-Anand 0.5-0.5
          Caruana-Nakamura 0.5-0.5
          MVL-Ding 0.5-0.5

          Round Three

          Carlsen-So 1-0
          Anand-MVL 1-0
          Aronian-Mamedyarov 1-0
          Ding-Caruana 0-1
          Nakamura-Karjakin 1-0

          Round Four

          MVL-Carlsen 0.5-0.5
          Mamedyarov-Nakamura 0.5-0.5
          So-Aronian 0.5-0.5
          Caruana-Karjakin 1-0
          Ding-Anand 0-1

          Round Five

          Carlsen-Ding 0.5-0.5
          Aronian-MVL 0-1
          Nakamura-So 0.5-0.5
          Anand-Caruana 0-1
          Karjakin-Mamedyarov 1-0

          Round Six

          Anand-Carlsen 0.5-0.5
          So-Karjakin 1-0
          MVL-Nakamura 0.5-0.5
          Caruana-Mamedyarov 0-1
          Ding-Aronian 0.5-0.5

          Round Seven

          Carlsen-Caruana 1-0
          Nakamura-Ding 0.5-0.5
          Karjakin-MVL 0.5-0.5
          Aronian-Anand 0-1
          Mamedyarov-So 0-1

          Round Eight

          Carlsen-Aronian 0-1
          MVL-Mamedyarov 0-1
          Ding-Karjakin 1-0
          Caruana-So 0-1
          Anand-Nakamura 0.5-0.5

          Round Nine

          Nakamura-Carlsen 0.5-0.5
          Karjakin-Anand 0.5-0.5
          Mamedyarov-Ding 1-0
          Aronian-Caruana 0-1
          So-MVL 0.5-0.5

          Blitz Standings

          1 So 6
          2-3 Nakamura, Anand 5.5
          4 Carlsen 5
          5-7 Mamedyarov, MVL, Caruana 4.5
          8 Karjakin 3.5
          9-10 Aronian-Ding 3

          _________

          Norway Blitz
          Round 8, May 27, 2018
          Carlsen-Magnus – Aronian, Levon
          C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

          1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bxc6 dxc6 6.Qe2 Qe7 7.Nbd2 Bg4 8.h3 Bh5 9.a3 Nd7 10.b4 Bb6 11.Nc4 a5 12.Rb1 axb4 13.axb4 Ra2 14.O-O O-O 15.Rb2 Rfa8 16.c3 Ra1 17.Rc2 f6 18.Rd1 Nf8 19.Nxb6 cxb6 20.Be3 Ne6 21.Rd2 b5 22.Rxa1 Rxa1+ 23.Rd1 Ra3 24.Qb2 Bxf3 25.gxf3 Ra4 26.Qb3 Kh8 27.d4 exd4 28.cxd4 Rxb4 29.Qd3 Ng5 30.Bxg5 fxg5 31.d5 cxd5 32.Qxd5 h6 33.Qf5 Rc4 34.Rd7 Qf6 35.Qd5 Rc8 36.Kg2 Rf8 37.Qd3 Qc6 38.Rd5 b4 39.Rb5 Qc3 40.Qxc3 bxc3 41.Rc5 b5 42.Rxc3 b4 43.Rb3 Rb8 44.Kf1 Kg8 45.Ke2 Kf7 46.Kd3 Ke6 47.Kc4 Ke5 48.Rxb4 Rxb4+ 49.Kxb4 Kd4 50.Kb3 h5 51.Kc2 g4 52.hxg4 h4 0-1


          In time trouble, Magnus plays 52.hxg4

          Carlsen-Aronian after move 51…g4




          Karjakin a pawn up and then…

          Round 4, May 27
          Caruana, Fabiano – Karjakin, Sergey
          A28 English, Four Knights, Capablanca variation

          1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.d3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nf6 7.Be2 Bc5 8.O-O O-O 9.Be3 Bb6 10.Na4 Bg4 11.Rc1 Bxf3 12.Bxf3 Nd4 13.Nc5 Rb8 14.Rc4 Nxf3+ 15.Qxf3 Nd7 16.b4 Re8 17.Rd1 Bxc5 18.bxc5 Nf8 19.c6 b6 20.d4 exd4 21.Rcxd4 Qe7 22.Qg3 Rbc8 23.Bf4 Qc5 24.Bxc7 Qxc6 25.Be5 Ng6 26.Rd6 Qxe4 27.Bc3 Rxc3 28.Qxc3 Nf4 29.f3 Ne2+ 30.Kf1 Nxc3 31.fxe4 Nxd1 32.Rxd1 g6 33.Rd7 a5 34.Rb7 Rxe4 35.Rxb6 Rb4 36.Rxb4 axb4 37.Ke2 f5 38.Kd3 g5 39.Kc4 Kf7 40.Kxb4 Ke6 41.Kc4 h5 42.Kd4 h4 43.h3 g4 44.a4 Kd6 45.Ke3 Kc5 46.Kf4 gxh3 47.gxh3 Kb4 48.Kxf5 Kxa4 49.Kg5 Kb5 50.Kxh4 Kc6 51.Kg5 Kd7 52.Kf6 Ke8 53.Kg7 1-0

          Position after 35..Rb4




          The top players got to choose their numbers and have an extra white:

          Tournament Pairings

          Round 1, May 28, 2018

          Carlsen-Caruana
          Mamedyarov-MVL
          Nakamura-Ding
          So-Karjakin
          Anand-Aronian

          Round 2, May 29

          Ding-MVL
          Caruana- Mamedyarov
          Karjakin-Carlsen
          Aronian-So
          Nakamura-Anand

          Round 3, May 30

          Anand-Ding
          So-Nakamura
          Carlsen-Aronian
          Mamedyarov-Karjakin
          MVL-Caruana

          Round 4, June 1

          Ding-Caruana
          Karjakin-MVL
          Aronian-Mamedyarov
          Nakamura-Carlsen
          Anand-So

          Round 5, June 2

          So-Ding
          Carlsen-Anand
          Mamedyarov-Nakamura
          MVL-Aronian
          Caruana-Karjakin

          Round 6, June 3

          Ding-Karjakin
          Aronian-Caruana
          Nakamura-MVL
          Anand-Mamedyarov
          So-Carlsen

          Round 7, June 5

          Carlsen-Ding
          Mamedyarov-So
          MVL-Anand
          Caruana-Nakamura
          Karjakin-Aronian

          Round 8, June 6

          Ding-Aronian
          Nakamura-Karjakin
          Anand-Caruana
          So-MVL
          Carlsen-Mamedyarov

          Round 9, June 7

          Mamedyarov-Ding
          MVL-Carlsen
          Caruana-So
          Karjakin-Anand
          Aronian-Nakamura

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Altibox Norway 2018

            Altibox Norway 2018

            May 28, 2018

            Round One

            Jan Gustafsson and Peter Svidler are the commentators.

            Their banter is the best in chess. Now I shall give some examples which will throw that statement into doubt.

            Jan says that he doesn’t know anything about Discworld – a favorite of Peter:

            “Discworld is a comic fantasy book series written by the English author Terry Pratchett (1948–2015), set on the fictional Discworld, a flat disc balanced on the backs of four elephants which in turn stand on the back of a giant turtle.” [Wikipedia]

            Peter says that he introduced his children to the Discworld series at a very young age and they have read almost all of the 41 novels in the series.

            Strangely, the topic came up in a discussion about playing in the Chinese League. Peter said that it is very tiring to take a flight from Moscow to China. There is the time change going east and then little time for preparation and facing Chinese players who are under-rated!

            Peter, after Norway, is going to China to play a rapid and blitz match with Yu Yangyi.

            Lawrence Trent is monitoring the chat and says that both Jan and Peter are flat-earthers. He completely avoids the four elephants and the turtle!

            Mamedyarov has been suffering for two days with a serious toothache and seriously considered withdrawing from the tourney. Were he to do so, there would be no substitute and every player would have one extra rest day.

            This morning, he visited a dentist for the third time and he is playing. In fact, he had an early draw with MVL. One comment on it:

            - A quick but not entirely toothless draw!

            Tarjel Svensen tweets this: An impressive stat that should not be forgotten: Ding Liren has gone an unbelievable 72 games without losing, scoring +20 =50 -0 (performance 2790). His last loss was in August 2017.

            Hikaru had a chance after Ding’s 30…Ng6 but missed it and the game went to a draw.

            The guys talk about the Turk chess-playing automaton, bands and Fabiano’s latest venture.

            The Prodigy Desk by Fabiano is a limited edition height adjustable desk created for chess enthusiasts and developed by Grandmaster Caruana.

            Comment in the chat room: Magnus gets modeling gigs, fabi sells desks

            Speaking of the chat room, there is one contributor who always gets mention – MrDodgy. Peter says that he is integral to the smooth running of the show. All they know about his personal life is that he has a wife and horses.

            Jan mentions another contributor (pramod?) who was asking pointless questions and recommending bad TV shows before MrDodgy came on the scene.

            After five hours, all the games except Carlsen-Caruana have ended in draws. Nakamura had chances in his game but Ding kept his unbeaten streak going.

            The guys speculate on who might have replaced Mamedyarov if he had to withdraw – candidates are Hammer, Giri, Tari, Shankland, Nielsen and Kramnik. All mere speculation, of course.

            The games:

            Norway Chess 2018
            Round 1, May 28, 2018
            Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – MVL
            D94 Grunfeld, Opocensky variation

            1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.e3 O-O 6.Bd2 dxc4 7.Bxc4 Nbd7 8.e4 c5 9.d5 Ne8 10.Qe2 a6 11.a4 Nd6 12.Bd3 Ne5 13.Nxe5 Bxe5 14.O-O e6 15.Be3 exd5 16.Nxd5 Be6 17.Bxc5 Bxd5 18.exd5 Re8 19.Qd2 Rc8 20.Be3 Qf6 21.Bg5 Qg7 22.Bh6 Qf6 23.Bg5 Qg7 24.Bh6 Qf6 25.Bg5 1/2-1/2

            Round 1, May 28
            Nakamura, Hikaru – Ding Liren
            A18 English, Mikenas-Carls variation

            1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4 d5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.e5 Ne4 6.Nf3 Bf5 7.d3 Nxc3 8.bxc3 c5 9.d4 Qa5 10.Bd2 Nc6 11.Be2 Be7 12.O-O O-O 13.a4 Rac8 14.Ra2 a6 15.Rb2 c4 16.Ne1 b5 17.axb5 axb5 18.Bg4 Bxg4 19.Qxg4 h5 20.Qxh5 b4 21.Qg4 Rfe8 22.Nf3 Qa3 23.Rc2 b3 24.Rcc1 Qa2 25.Qf5 Ra8 26.Bg5 Qe2 27.Qd7 Bxg5 28.Nxg5 Ne7 29.e6 f6 30.Nf7 Ng6 31.Nh6+ gxh6 32.Qf7+ Kh8 33.Qxf6+ Kh7 34.Qf7+ Kh8 35.Qf6+ Kh7 36.Qf7+ Kh8 37.Qf6+ 1/2-1/2


            Position after 30…Ng6



            Round 1, May 28
            So, Wesley – Karjakin, Sergey
            E00 Catalan Opening

            1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 6.Bg2 O-O 7.O-O Nbd7 8.b4 c6 9.a4 Bd6 10.Qc2 e5 11.cxd5 cxd5 12.dxe5 Nxe5 13.Bc3 Re8 14.Nbd2 Nxf3+ 15.Bxf3 Bh3 16.Rfc1 Qe7 17.Qb2 Rad8 18.b5 Ne4 19.Nxe4 dxe4 20.Bg2 Bxg2 21.Kxg2 f6 22.Bd4 Qe6 23.Qa2 Bb8 24.Qxe6+ Rxe6 25.e3 Kf7 26.Ra2 b6 27.Rac2 h5 28.h3 Rh8 29.Kf1 Rd8 30.Ke2 Re7 31.Rc6 Re6 32.R6c4 Re7 33.Bc3 Ree8 34.Bb4 Rd7 35.R1c2 f5 36.Rc1 Be5 37.g4 hxg4 38.hxg4 g6 39.Rg1 Red8 40.Rc6 Rc7 41.Rxc7+ Bxc7 42.Rh1 Rd7 43.gxf5 gxf5 44.Rh6 Be5 45.f3 exf3+ 46.Kxf3 Rd3 47.Ke2 Rb3 48.Bd6 Bxd6 49.Rxd6 Rb4 50.Rd7+ Ke6 51.Rxa7 f4 52.Ra6 Kd5 53.exf4 Rxf4 54.Rxb6 Rxa4 55.Ra6 Rxa6 56.bxa6 Kc6 57.a7 Kb7 58.a8=R Kxa8 1/2-1/2

            Round 1, May 28
            Anand, Vishy – Aronian, Levon
            C65 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence

            1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.c3 d5 6.Nbd2 O-O 7.O-O Re8 8.exd5 a6 9.Bxc6 bxc6 10.Ne4 Nxe4 11.dxe4 cxd5 12.Qxd5 Qxd5 13.exd5 e4 14.Nd2 e3 15.fxe3 Bxe3+ 16.Kh1 Bg4 17.Nf3 Bxc1 18.Raxc1 Re2 19.b4 Bxf3 20.Rxf3 Rxa2 21.Kg1 Rd2 22.c4 Rb8 23.b5 axb5 24.cxb5 Rxb5 25.Rxc7 Rb1+ 26.Rf1 Rxf1+ 27.Kxf1 Kf8 28.Rc8+ Ke7 29.Rc7+ Kf8 30.Rc8+ Ke7 31.Rc7+ 1/2-1/2


            Round 1, May 28
            Carlsen, Magnus – Caruana, Fabiano
            C24 Bishop’s Opening, Berlin Defence

            1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.d3 c6 4.Nf3 d5 5.Bb3 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Bxd2+ 7.Nbxd2 a5 8.c3 Nbd7 9.exd5 cxd5 10.O-O O-O 11.Re1 Re8 12.Nf1 b5 13.a4 b4 14.cxb4 axb4 15.Ne3 Bb7 16.d4 e4 17.Ne5 Nxe5 18.dxe5 Rxe5 19.Qd4 Re7 20.Rac1 Rd7 21.Red1 h6 22.Rc5 Ra5 23.Rxa5 Qxa5 24.h3 Kh7 25.Rc1 Rc7 26.Rxc7 Qxc7 27.Qxb4 Qc1+ 28.Bd1 Ba6 29.Qd4 Be2 30.Kh2 Bxd1 31.Nxd1 Qc7+ 32.Kg1 Qc1 33.b4 e3 34.fxe3 Ne4 35.Qxd5 Nd2 36.Qf5+ Kh8 37.Qg4 f5 38.Qe2 Ne4 39.Qe1 Qa1 40.a5 Nd6 41.Qd2 Nc4 42.Qd4 Qc1 43.Kf1 Nxe3+ 44.Qxe3 Qxd1+ 45.Kf2 Qc2+ 46.Kg3 g5 47.Qe5+ Kh7 48.Kh2 f4 49.Qd5 Qa4 50.Qf7+ Kh8 51.Qg6 Qxb4 52.Qxh6+ Kg8 53.Qxg5+ Kh7 54.Qh5+ Kg7 55.Qg5+ Kh7 56.h4 Qd6 57.Qh5+ Kg7 58.Qg5+ Kh7 59.h5 f3+ 60.g3 f2 61.Qg6+ Kh8 62.Qxd6 f1=Q 63.Qh6+ Kg8 64.Qe6+ Kh8 65.Qe3 Qb5 66.Qc3+ Kh7 67.g4 Qd5 68.Qc7+ Kg8 69.Kg3 Qe6 70.Qd8+ Kh7 71.Qd3+ Kh8 72.a6 Qe5+ 73.Kh3 Qa1 74.Qd8+ Kh7 75.Qe7+ Kh6 76.Qe3+ Kh7 77.a7 1-0
            Last edited by Wayne Komer; Tuesday, 29th May, 2018, 01:24 PM.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Altibox Norway 2018

              Its good to see the Shak continuing. Magnus off to good start with an assist from Fab Fabi. ( poor Fabi - its not fun to be ground down)

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Altibox Norway 2018

                Altibox Norway 2018

                May 29, 2018

                Round Two

                (Peter) - Aronian’s 2017 was one of the best chess years ever by a player – even by Kasparov and Carlsen
                - by wins and by quality of play. The Candidates did not work out for him; it was painful to watch him in that tournament.

                Sinochess says that the 2018 Yu Yangyi-Svidler Chess Match. Shenzhen Luohu Grand Master Rapid and Blitz Match will take place June 11-15 in Shenzhen, China.

                Jan and Peter talk about titles in Germany where an academic might be Professor Doctor Muller (for example). Jan says that if you have an academic doctorate, there is a term, which means that you are right and someone who disagrees with you must prove they are right even though they don’t have a doctorate.

                The term in German is called “Beweislastumkehr”, which translates as “the burden of proof”

                Comments in the chat room:

                - Isn’t Aronian called Dr. Levon? What PhD does he have?
                - In Austria sometimes even the wife of a doctor is called Frau doctor
                - In English, a doctor is a physician (like dr. Jekyll)
                - Using the Dr. preface is considered boastful
                - I work at a software company with several PhDs. Each will get very mad if I refer to any of them as “Dr”, so, the “Dr” title is often not used in non-academic professional contexts.
                - In fact, Pepe Cuenca is a Dr or PhD (of Math)

                After two and a half hours, the games are over and are all draws.

                The quiz question to get a coffee mug autographed by Dr Svidler is this:

                5 players get 5 black games and only 4 white games in this tournament. Name them!

                The trick is to remember the order of finish in the blitz, with the top players getting to pick a number that gave them 5 white games!

                Answer at the end

                Round 2, May 29
                Karjakin, Sergey – Carlsen, Magnus
                C78 Ruy Lopez, Moeller Defence

                1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Bc5 6.c3 O-O 7.d4 Ba7 8.dxe5 Nxe4 9.Qd5 Nc5 10.Bc2 Ne7 11.Qd1 d5 12.exd6 Qxd6 13.Qxd6 cxd6 14.Rd1 Bg4 15.Rxd6 Bf5 16.Na3 Ne4 17.Bxe4 Bxe4 18.Rd1 Nf5 19.Nc4 Rfe8 20.Be3 Bxe3 21.Nxe3 Nxe3 22.fxe3 Bxf3 23.gxf3 Rxe3 24.Rd7 Rb8 25.Rad1 Kf8 26.Kf2 Re7 27.Rd8+ Re8 28.Rxb8 Rxb8 29.Rd7 Ke8 30.Rc7 b5 31.Rc6 Ra8 32.c4 Kd7 33.cxb5 axb5 34.Rb6 Rxa2 35.Rxb5 Ra4 36.Kg3 Rd4 37.Rb7+ Ke6 38.Rb6+ Kf5 39.Rb5+ Ke6 40.Rb6+ Kf5 41.Rb5+ Ke6 1/2-1/2

                - Since his loss in the 8th game of the 2016 WC match, Carlsen has gone +3 =7 -0 vs Karjakin. His total score is now +7 =30 -2

                Round 2, May 29
                Caruana, Fabiano – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
                C42 Petrov, Nimzowitsch Attack

                1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Be3 O-O 8.Qd2 b6 9.O-O-O Bb7 10.h4 Nd7 11.Bd3 Re8 12.Kb1 Bf6 13.Rh3 Nc5 14.Bxc5 bxc5 15.g4 c4 16.Bxc4 Re4 17.Qd3 d5 18.Bxd5 Qxd5 19.Qxd5 Bxd5 20.Rxd5 Rxg4 21.Ra5 Rg2 22.a4 Rxf2 23.h5 Rf1+ 24.Ka2 Rf2 25.Kb1 Rf1+ 26.Ka2 Rf2 1/2-1/2

                Round 2, May 29
                Ding Liren – MVL
                E61 King’s Indian

                1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.e3 O-O 5.Be2 d6 6.Nc3 Bf5 7.O-O a5 8.d5 Na6 9.Nd4 Bd7 10.e4 Nc5 11.f3 e5 12.dxe6 fxe6 13.Be3 Nh5 14.g3 e5 15.Ndb5 Bh3 16.Rf2 Rf7 17.Qd2 Qf8 18.Bf1 Bxf1 19.Raxf1 Rd8 20.Ne2 c6 21.Nbc3 Nf6 22.Rd1 Rfd7 23.b3 Qf7 24.Rff1 Bf8 25.Kg2 d5 26.cxd5 cxd5 27.Nxd5 Nxd5 28.exd5 Rxd5 29.Qc2 Rxd1 30.Rxd1 e4 31.fxe4 Rxd1 32.Qxd1 Nxe4 33.Qd3 Nc5 34.Bxc5 Bxc5 35.Nf4 a4 36.h4 axb3 37.axb3 b6 38.h5 gxh5 39.Qd8+ Kg7 40.Qg5+ Kf8 41.Qd8+ Kg7 42.Qg5+ Kf8 43.Qd8+ 1/2-1/2

                Round 2, May 29
                Aronian, Levon – so, Wesley
                E05 Catalan, open, Classical line

                1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 Bd7 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bg5 Bd5 11.Qc2 Be4 12.Qd1 h6 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Nc3 Bxf3 15.Bxf3 Qxd4 16.Bxb7 Ra7 17.Bg2 Nd7 18.Ne4 c5 19.Rb1 Qxd1 20.Rfxd1 Rb8 21.b3 Be7 22.e3 c4 23.bxc4 Rxb1 24.Rxb1 Rc7 25.c5 Nxc5 26.Rc1 f5 27.Nxc5 Rxc5 28.Rb1 Kf7 29.Rb6 a5 30.Bc6 Bd8 31.Ra6 Ke7 32.Kg2 g5 33.h3 Bc7 34.Bb5 Rc3 35.Ra8 Rc2 36.Ra6 h5 37.Rc6 Rxc6 38.Bxc6 h4 39.gxh4 gxh4 40.e4 Kd6 41.Bb7 Ke7 42.Bc6 Kd6 43.Bb7 Ke7 1/2-1/2

                Round 2, May 29
                Nakamura, Hikaru – Anand, Vishy
                D37 QGD

                1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.cxd5 exd5 6.h3 O-O 7.Bf4 c5 8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.e3 Nc6 10.Be2 d4 11.exd4 Bxd4 12.O-O Bxc3 13.bxc3 h6 14.Qb3 Ne4 15.Qc2 Re8 16.Bd3 Nc5 17.Bh7+ Kh8 18.Be3 Qa5 19.Nd2 Na4 20.Nc4 Qxc3 21.Nd6 Re7 22.Qxa4 Kxh7 23.Rac1 Qf6 24.Nxc8 Rxc8 25.Bxa7 Nxa7 26.Rxc8 Nxc8 27.Qc2+ Qg6 28.Qxc8 Re2 29.Qxb7 Rxa2 30.Qb1 Qxb1 31.Rxb1 h5 32.h4 g6 33.g3 Ra3 34.Kg2 Ra2 35.Rb7 Kg7 36.Rc7 Kf6 37.Rb7 Kg7 38.Rc7 Kf6 39.Rb7 Ke5 1/2-1/2

                Standings after Round Two

                1 Carlsen 1.5
                2-9 Karjakin, Ding, MVL, So, Nakamura, Aronian, Anand, Mamedyarov 1
                10 Caruana 0.5

                Answer to the quiz: Caruana, Ding, Aronian, MVL and Karjakin

                Just see who played black in the first round!

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Altibox Norway 2018

                  Altibox Norway 2018

                  May 30, 2018

                  Round Three

                  Simen Agdestein and Knut Skeie Solberg are doing the live coverage on the official site. I switched over from Jan and Peter on chess24 to hear the post-mortem on Mamedyarov-Karjakin. It seemed that it was almost all preparation by Karjakin, which he did for the Candidates. Shakhriyar seemed to be in good humour despite all his recent visits to the dentist.

                  Mamedyarov dental update: "Now I'm ok - I can eat ice-cream & everything!"

                  Round 3, May 30
                  Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Karjakin, Sergey
                  C54 Giuoco Piano

                  1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.O-O h6 7.Re1 O-O 8.h3 a5 9.Nbd2 Be6 10.Bb5 Qb8 11.Nf1 Qa7 12.Re2 a4 13.Ng3 Qa5 14.Bxc6 bxc6 15.Nh4 Rfe8 16.Re1 Kh7 17.Qf3 d5 18.exd5 Bxd5 19.Qf5+ g6 20.Nxg6 fxg6 21.Qxf6 Rf8 22.Qh4 g5 23.Bxg5 Rxf2 24.Qxh6+ Kg8 25.Qg6+ Kh8 26.Qh6+ Kg8 27.Qg6+ Kh8 28.Qh6+ 1/2-1/2

                  Final position



                  Round 3, May 30
                  MVL – Caruana, Fabiano
                  C42 Petrov, Classical Attack

                  1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d4 d5 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.O-O O-O 8.c4 c6 9.Nc3 Nxc3 10.bxc3 dxc4 11.Bxc4 Bf5 12.Ng5 h6 13.Qf3 Bg6 14.Ne4 Bxh2+ 15.Kxh2 Qh4+ 16.Qh3 Qxh3+ 17.gxh3 Bxe4 18.Rg1 Re8 19.Bxh6 g6 20.Rge1 Nd7 21.Bf1 Bf5 22.c4 Nf6 23.a4 Rad8 24.Bg5 Kg7 25.Rxe8 Rxe8 26.a5 Rd8 27.Be3 a6 28.Ra4 Ng8 29.Rb4 Rd7 30.Bg2 Ne7 31.h4 Be6 32.Be4 Nf5 33.d5 cxd5 34.cxd5 Bxd5 35.Bxf5 gxf5 36.Rd4 Bc6 37.Rxd7 Bxd7 38.h5 Kh7 39.Kg3 Be6 40.Kf4 Bd7 1/2-1/2

                  Round 3, May 30
                  Anand, Vishy – Ding Liren
                  C84 Ruy Lopez, Closed

                  1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a3 O-O 9.Nc3 Bg4 10.Be3 Nd4 11.Bxd4 exd4 12.Nd5 c5 13.a4 Be6 14.Nxf6+ Bxf6 15.Bxe6 fxe6 16.Re1 Qc7 17.e5 dxe5 18.Nd2 c4 19.Qg4 Qc6 20.axb5 axb5 21.Ne4 Be7 22.g3 b4 23.Qe2 c3 24.Rxa8 Rxa8 25.b3 Ra2 26.Rc1 Qe8 27.Qg4 Qf7 28.Qd1 g6 29.Kg2 Bf8 30.h3 h5 31.Ra1 Ra3 32.Rb1 Ra2 33.Ra1 Ra3 34.Rb1 Ra2 35.Ra1 Ra3 1/2-1/2

                  The daily quiz question:

                  Only 6 players have led the FIDE rating list since 1984. Name them in chronological order and win a mug signed by Peter Svidler. (answer at the end)

                  Magnus wins a nice game against Aronian. Peter says that it is quite an impressive game because Magnus won effortlessly.

                  Round 3, May 30
                  Carlsen, Magnus – Aronian, Levon
                  C67 Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defence, open variation

                  1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.O-O Nxe4 5.Re1 Nd6 6.Nxe5 Be7 7.Bf1 Nxe5 8.Rxe5 O-O 9.d4 Bf6 10.Re1 Nf5 11.d5 Re8 12.Rxe8+ Qxe8 13.Qd3 d6 14.Nd2 Bg5 15.Nf3 Bxc1 16.Rxc1 Bd7 17.Re1 Qd8 18.Qc4 g6 19.h3 Ng7 20.Re3 a5 21.a4 Ne8 22.Qd4 Ng7 23.g4 c6 24.c4 Ne8 25.Qf4 Kg7 26.Rb3 Rb8 27.Ng5 Nf6 28.Rf3 h6 29.Ne4 Nxe4 30.Qxf7+ Kh8 31.Qxg6 1-0

                  The last game to finish

                  Round 3, May 30
                  So, Wesley – Nakamura, Hikaru
                  D56 QGD, Lasker Defence

                  1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 O-O 7.e3 Ne4 8.Bxe7 Qxe7 9.Rc1 c6 10.g4 Rd8 11.Qc2 Nd7 12.Nxe4 dxe4 13.Qxe4 Qb4+ 14.Ke2 e5 15.Qc2 exd4 16.Nxd4 Ne5 17.h3 c5 18.Nf5 Bxf5 19.gxf5 b5 20.Qc3 Nxc4 21.Qxb4 cxb4 22.b3 Nb6 23.e4 Rac8 24.Rxc8 Rxc8 25.Kd2 a6 26.Bd3 Kf8 27.f4 f6 28.Rc1 Rxc1 29.Kxc1 Ke7 30.Kd2 Kd6 31.Be2 Kc5 32.Kd3 Nc8 33.Bh5 Ne7 34.Be8 Nc8 35.Bd7 Ne7 36.h4 Kd6 37.Be8 Kc5 38.Ke3 Nc8 39.Bd7 Ne7 40.Kd3 Kd6 41.Be6 g6 42.Ke3 a5 43.Kd4 Nc6+ 44.Kd3 Ne7 45.Kd4 Nc6+ 46.Ke3 Ne7 47.Kd4 1/2-1/2

                  Standings

                  1 Carlsen 2.5
                  2-8 Karjakin, Ding, Nakamura, Mamedyarov, MVL, So, Anand 1.5
                  9-10 Caruana, Aronian 1

                  Tomorrow is a rest day. Games resume on Friday, June 1
                  _________

                  Answer to the quiz question:

                  1. Kasparov
                  2. Karpov
                  3. Kramnik
                  4. Topalov
                  5. Anand
                  6. Carlsen

                  The original quiz question asked for five players and then they realized that there were six. A reader comes through with this answer which he insists is correct: Pia Cramling, Susan Polgar, Maia Chiburdanidze, Judith Polgar and Yifan Hou – exactly five.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Altibox Norway 2018

                    Altibox Norway 2018

                    May 31, 2018

                    Rest Day

                    The organizers of the Norway super tournament try to have a team non-chess event on the day off. Last year you’ll remember, it was farming. This from

                    https://forum.chesstalk.com/showthre...ighlight=dairy

                    “The Altibox Norway Chess participants had one of the strangest rest days ever. They were brought to a farm (Felleskjøpet Agri, one of the tournament's sponsors) half an hour away from Stavanger, and then they... turned into farmers. They had to cut trees, drive tractors and milk cows!

                    The uniforms were a green and yellow baseball cap, rubberized green and yellow jacket and long pants with rubber boots and gloves. Safety glasses also were supplied. It is said that when Vassily Ivanchuk sees photos of the baseball cap, he will want to get one! Kramnik and So won the event.”

                    The players today were in a cooking competition. First, they received instruction from a chef, who told them how it was to be scored – flavour, hygiene etc and then they were given chef’s uniforms – white chef’s hat and white coveralls. Videos can be seen at

                    https://twitter.com/NorwayChess?ref_...Ctwgr%5Eauthor

                    There is an amusing photo of Levon and Maxime in the full get-up, looking like two French chefs! (Alphonse and Gaston ?)

                    The teams for the cooking:

                    1- Vachier Lagrave – Lev Aronian
                    2- Shakhriyar Mamedyarov – Hikaru Nakamura
                    3- Ding Liren – Vishy Anand
                    4- Sergey Karyakin – Fabiano Caruana
                    5- Wesley So – Magnus Carlsen

                    Recipes for the cook off competition:

                    Hollandaise Sauce

                    3 egg yolks
                    3 ts reduction
                    300 g melted clarified butter
                    Salt, pepper, lemon juice

                    1. Melt the butter over low heat. Set it aside and let it clarify. Then slowly separate the fat from the milk on the bottom.

                    2. Mix egg yolks together with the reduction, start to whip it heavily over a water bath. When the yolks start to thicken and get fluffy, slowly add the butter. Whip constantly.

                    3. Season the sauce to your taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

                    4. Set it aside in a warm water bath until serving.

                    5. Check on it regularly, the temperature must not be lower than 45 degrees Celsius. (You can add the fish roe to the sauce together with fancy chopped chives or use it as garnish when you finish the plate)

                    Vegetables

                    Peel and cut your vegetables as you like. Using asparagus, cabbage, radishes and turnip.

                    The Fish

                    You can choose the cooking method for your fish. Pan fried, oven baked or steamed. Portion and season our fish, and cook it to your liking. (The fish take about 7-8 minutes to cook)

                    Then there are videos of the players working away at the veggies and clarifying the butter and cutting the fish and finally the judging and the eating. The last has Wesley and Magnus being judged on their preparations.

                    _________

                    The results are in:

                    The winners are: Anand and Ding, who had the best flavour. Credit to the 5x WC, who did most of the job, while Ding cut vegetables like a hero.

                    Carlsen/So second, while MVL and Aronian finished last

                    Here are the final standings of the cook off:

                    1- team 3
                    2- team 5
                    3- team 4
                    4- team 2
                    5- team 1

                    Congratulations to Vishy and Ding Liren!
                    Last edited by Wayne Komer; Thursday, 31st May, 2018, 07:11 PM.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Altibox Norway 2018

                      Altibox Norway 2018

                      May 31, 2018

                      When Mamedyarov had a bad toothache and might have had to withdraw from the tournament, I wondered if this had happened before in modern times. I could not think of such a situation.

                      Now this – late today

                      DING LIREN HOSPITALIZED

                      Unfortunately, Ding Liren had a bicycle accident early Thursday afternoon that has fractured his hip bone and he will be doing surgery Friday morning.

                      Ding Liren will therefore not be able to play Friday June 1st. We will know more after his surgery, whether he can continue to play in the tournament or not. For now, round 4 will be postponed for Ding Liren and Fabiano Caruana till June 4th, until further notice.

                      Ding Liren will spend the night at the Stavanger University Hospital, waiting for his surgery, where he is taken very good care of.


                      http://norwaychess.no/en/2018/05/31/...n-hospitalized

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Altibox Norway 2018

                        Altibox Norway 2018

                        June 1, 2018

                        Round Four

                        From Peter Doggers at chess.com:

                        “He fell off a bicycle before winning a cooking contest with Vishy Anand and then learnt in the hospital that he has a fractured hip. Ding Liren likely won't play more games in the Altibox Norway Chess tournament.

                        It was Ding Liren who arrived last at the Clarion Hotel Air, close to Sola Airport, where the chess players would contest each other in a cook off on Thursday afternoon. It was another original, and splendid idea from the organizers to secure a fun rest day. It was definitely fun, even for the Chinese GM, who entered the hotel limping.

                        Earlier that day, together with his father he went for a bicycle ride, which ended badly. Making a turn at high speed, he fell off the bike and hurt his leg seriously; only later he would find out how bad it was. Showing huge respect to the tournament organizers and also a strong will to participate in the cooking, Ding declined the invitation to be taken to the hospital directly.

                        It was only after the cooking contest that Ding went to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a fractured hip. In a statement on the tournament website it is mentioned that he'll need surgery, and that Friday's game with Fabiano Caruana has been postponed.”

                        https://www.chess.com/news/view/cook...-fractured-hip

                        Jan and Peter give a shout out to Ding. Peter talks about his numerous injuries when participating in chess tournaments.

                        Jan says that the premier game today is Nakamura-Carlsen and Hikaru doesn’t have a hip fracture but is wearing a hip shirt.

                        Hip jokes abound. An announcement comes in later saying that Ding’s surgery went well and he is resting comfortably.

                        Magnus has beaten Hikaru 12 to 1 with 23 draws in classical games to date. But their game today is a draw as is Anand-So:

                        Round 4, June 1
                        Nakamura, Hikaru – Carlsen, Magnus
                        D56 QGD, Neo-orthodox variation

                        1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 O-O 7.e3 Nbd7 8.Be2 dxc4 9.Bxc4 a6 10.a4 c5 11.O-O cxd4 12.Nxd4 Nb6 13.Be2 Nbd5 14.Nxd5 Nxd5 15.Bxe7 Qxe7 16.Qb3 b6 17.Bf3 Bb7 18.Nf5 exf5 19.Bxd5 Bxd5 20.Qxd5 Qf6 21.Qb3 Rad8 22.Rfd1 Rxd1+ 23.Rxd1 Rd8 24.Rxd8+ Qxd8 25.g3 g6 26.h4 h5 27.Qc4 a5 28.b3 Qd1+ 29.Kg2 Qd7 30.Kf1 Qd1+ 31.Kg2 Qd7 32.Kf1 Qd1+ 33.Kg2 Qd7 1/2-1/2

                        Round 4, June 1
                        Anand, Vishy – So, Wesley
                        A29 English, Bremen

                        1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nb6 7.O-O Be7 8.d3 O-O 9.Be3 Be6 10.Rc1 Nd5 11.Nxd5 Bxd5 12.Qc2 Re8 13.a3 a5 14.Qa4 Bd6 15.Ng5 Bxg2 16.Qc4 Qe7 17.Kxg2 Nd4 18.Ne4 Ne6 19.Qd5 f5 20.Nxd6 Qxd6 21.Qxb7 Rab8 22.Qf3 f4 23.Bd2 Nd4 24.Qe4 Rxb2 25.Bxf4 Nxe2 26.Rc6 Nxf4+ 27.gxf4 Qd7 28.Qc4+ Kh8 29.fxe5 Rc2 30.Qxc2 Qg4+ 31.Kh1 Qf3+ 32.Kg1 Rxe5 33.Rc5 Qg4+ 34.Kh1 Qf3+ 35.Kg1 Qg4+ 1/2-1/2

                        Round 4, June 1
                        Ding, Liren – Caruana, Fabiano

                        Game postponed


                        Quiz question – How many moves was the longest chess game played in a World Championship Match and who were the players?

                        The prize is a T-shirt with a chess-playing monkey on it.

                        Answer at end

                        Round 4, June 1
                        Karjakin, Sergey – MVL
                        D86 Grunfeld, Exchange, Classical variation

                        1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 Nc6 9.Be3 O-O 10.O-O b6 11.dxc5 Qc7 12.Nd4 Ne5 13.Nb5 Qb8 14.Be2 bxc5 15.Rb1 a6 16.Na3 Qc7 17.f4 Rd8 18.Qc2 Ng4 19.Bxg4 Bxg4 20.f5 gxf5 21.Nc4 e6 22.h3 Bh5 23.exf5 exf5 24.Bg5 f4 25.Qf2 f3 26.Bxd8 Rxd8 27.Qh4 fxg2 28.Rfe1 Bf3 29.Re3 Bc6 30.Rbe1 Rf8 31.Ne5 Bd5 32.Rg3 f6 33.Nd3 Bxa2 34.c4 Qd6 35.Nf4 Qd4+ 36.Kh2 Bxc4 37.Qh6 f5 38.Nh5 1-0

                        Round 4, June 1
                        Aronian, Levon – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
                        D87 Grunfeld, Exchange, Spassky variation

                        1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 O-O 9.O-O Nc6 10.Be3 Na5 11.Bd3 b6 12.Rc1 e5 13.dxc5 Be6 14.c4 bxc5 15.Bxc5 Bh6 16.Rc3 Re8 17.Qc2 Qc7 18.Ba3 Rab8 19.h3 Red8 20.Bc1 Bf8 21.Bg5 Rd7 22.c5 h6 23.Be3 Nc6 24.Bc4 Nd4 25.Bxd4 exd4 26.Bxe6 dxc3 27.Bxd7 Qxd7 28.Nxc3 Qd4 29.c6 Qc4 30.Rc1 Qxc6 31.Nd5 Qxc2 32.Rxc2 Rb1+ 33.Kh2 Kg7 34.f4 Re1 35.e5 g5 36.g3 Rd1 37.Ne3 Rd3 38.Ng4 Be7 39.f5 Bd8 40.f6+ Kh7 41.e6 fxe6 42.Rf2 Bc7 43.f7 Bxg3+ 44.Kg2 Bd6 45.f8=Q Bxf8 46.Rxf8 Ra3 47.Rf2 Kg6 48.Re2 Kh5 49.Nf6+ Kg6 50.Ne4 e5 51.Rc2 Kf5 52.Ng3+ Ke6 53.Rf2 Kd5 54.Nf5 Ra6 55.Kf3 Ra3+ 56.Kg4 h5+ 57.Kxh5 Rxh3+ 58.Kxg5 e4 59.Kg4 Ra3 60.Re2 Ke5 61.Ng3 Ra4 62.Kh3 Kf4 63.Kg2 e3 64.Rb2 Ra3 65.Ne2+ Ke4 66.Kf1 Kd3 67.Ke1 Ra6 68.Kd1 Rh6 69.Rb3+ Ke4 70.Rb4+ 1-0

                        Standings after Round 4

                        1 Carlsen 3
                        2 Karjakin 2.5
                        3-6 So, Nakamura, Anand, Aronian 2
                        7-9 Ding, Mamedyarov, MVL 1.5
                        10 Caruana 1

                        Answer – 124 moves between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi.

                        [From the New York Times of July 31, 1978 by Robert Byrne

                        Stalemate After 124th Move Ends Fifth Chess Game
                        BAGUIO, The Philippines, July 30—The fifth game of the world‐championship chess match here finally ended in yet another draw today, after two adjourned sessions last week and a completed sixth game yesterday.

                        The challenger, Viktor Korchnoi, dragged the game out to the 124th move, although it had been apparent several moves earlier that a draw was inevitable. Frustrated and angry, he slammed his last move down on the table, creating a draw by stalemate and avoiding the traditional handshake that accompanies a draw by agreement. He and the world champion, Anatoly Karpov of the Soviet Union, immediately left the stage.]

                        Position after White’s move 124.Bg7 in Korchnoi-Karpov, Rd 5, July 27, 1978

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Altibox Norway 2018

                          Altibox Norway 2018

                          June 2, 2018

                          Round Five

                          From the official site today:

                          DING LIREN WITHDRAWS FROM THE TOURNAMENT

                          Ding Liren has to withdraw from the tournament. His surgery went well, but it will take time for him to recover so he is not able to continue to play in the tournament.

                          Regarding the tournament, as he has completed less than 50% of his games, his results will not be counted for standings and tie break. They will only be counted for rating.

                          (cf. FIDE Handbook C- FIDE competition rules – Article 8).

                          We are wishing Ding Liren a speedy recovery.


                          http://norwaychess.no/en/2018/06/02/...ren-withdraws/

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Altibox Norway 2018

                            Altibox Norway 2018

                            June 2, 2018

                            Round Five

                            Ding Liren has withdrawn due to his surgery. Supposedly, this evens out whites and blacks so that each player now has four of each.

                            The guys try to recall when a player has withdrawn from a supertournament. Peter remembers Morozevich retiring from Biel in July, 2012.

                            This statement at the time:

                            Victor Bologan replaces Alexander Morozevich

                            Due to health issues, Alexander Morozevich retired from the Biel Grandmaster Tournament after Round 2. He has been this Wednesday with the organisers of the Festival to a hospital, where a doctor confirmed, with a medical certificate, his inability to go on to play the competition. Alexander Morozevich will travel back to Moscow as soon as possible to recover. The length of his healing process is unknown.

                            After the approval of the players, the organisers could secure a substitute. GM Victor Bologan (Moldova, World No 20, 2732 Elo) takes the place of Alexander Morozevich. He arrived already in Biel. He starts the tournament from Round 3. His game against Magnus Carlsen, scheduled for Wednesday July 25th, will be held on Sunday 29th. Victor Bologan will play his first game on Thursday July 26th against Hikaru Nakamura.

                            The 3 points of the victories of Anish Giri and Etienne Bacrot, achieved against Alexander Morozevich, are kept. Victor Bologan accepted to play with two games less.

                            Biel International Chess Festival Organisation Committee

                            ________

                            Mamedyarov-Nakamura is a quick draw and so there isn’t too much to talk about with two games down.

                            They talk of injuries and Peter says that he invariably got injuries playing football. From football they go to cricket. Galactic then writes in chat, “Would you like to fight a hundred cricket-sized whales or a whale-sized cricket? The discussion progresses and another chat reader writes:

                            “I just came here, what the f* are they talking about?”

                            Another reader says, “I remember Tony Miles playing face down laying on a table after having injured his back in 1985”

                            And another poses the question, “Would you rather play chess against a Tony Miles-sized cricket or a Tony Miles-sized whale?”

                            Round 5, June 2
                            Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar – Nakamura, Hikaru
                            E32 Nimzo-Indian, Classical variation

                            1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 O-O 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 d5 7.Bg5 dxc4 8.Qxc4 b6 9.Rd1 Ba6 10.Qa4 h6 11.Bh4 Qe7 12.Nf3 Rd8 13.e3 Bxf1 14.Rxf1 c5 15.dxc5 Rxd1+ 16.Qxd1 g5 17.Bg3 Qxc5 18.Qd8+ Kg7 19.Be5 Qc1+ 20.Ke2 Qc4+ 21.Ke1 Qc1+ 22.Ke2 Qc4+ 23.Ke1 Qc1+ 24.Ke2 1/2-1/2

                            Round 5, June 2
                            MVL – Aronian, Levon
                            E20 Nimzo-Indian, Romanishin-Kasparov, main line

                            1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Nf3 c5 5.g3 cxd4 6.Nxd4 O-O 7.Bg2 d5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Qb3 Nc6 10.Nxc6 bxc6 11.O-O Rb8 12.Qc2 Ba6 13.Rd1 Bxc3 14.bxc3 Qa5 15.Bb2 Bc4 16.Rd4 Qa6 17.e4 Nb6 18.a4 e5 19.Rd2 Qa5 20.Rd6 c5 21.Bh3 Nc8 22.Rd2 Nb6 23.Rd6 Nc8 24.Rd2 Nb6 25.Rd6 1/2-1/2

                            Round 5, June 2
                            Carlsen, Magnus – Anand, Vishy
                            A33 English, symmetrical variation

                            1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.a3 Be7 7.e4 O-O 8.Nf3 Qa5 9.Bd2 Qh5 10.Be2 d5 11.cxd5 exd5 12.exd5 Nxd5 13.O-O Nf6 14.Nd4 Qc5 15.Nxc6 Qxc6 16.Bf3 Qa6 17.Re1 Be6 18.Qe2 Qxe2 19.Nxe2 Bg4 20.Bxg4 Nxg4 21.h3 Ne5 22.Nf4 Nc6 23.Nd5 Bd6 24.Bc3 f6 25.Rad1 Rad8 26.Rd2 Kf7 27.Red1 Bb8 28.Kf1 Rfe8 29.Nb4 Rxd2 30.Rxd2 Bf4 31.Rd1 Rd8 32.Rxd8 Nxd8 33.Ke2 Bd6 34.Nc2 Nc6 35.Nd4 Nxd4+ 36.Bxd4 a6 37.Kd3 Ke6 38.Be3 Kd5 39.f3 b5 40.Bd2 f5 41.Be1 g6 42.Bd2 Be7 43.Be1 Bd6 44.Bd2 Be7 45.Be1 1/2-1/2

                            Round 5, June 2
                            Caruana, Fabiano – Karjakin, Sergey
                            A28 English, Four Knights, Romanishin variation

                            1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e3 Bb4 5.Qc2 Bxc3 6.Qxc3 Qe7 7.b3 O-O 8.Bb2 Re8 9.a3 a5 10.h3 b6 11.Be2 Bb7 12.O-O d5 13.cxd5 Nxd5 14.Qc2 e4 15.Nh2 Qg5 16.f4 exf3 17.Nxf3 Qg3 18.Rf2 Rad8 19.Bc4 Nf6 20.Bxf6 gxf6 21.Raf1 Rd6 22.b4 axb4 23.axb4 Re7 24.b5 Ne5 25.Nd4 Bc8 26.Kh1 Kg7 27.Be2 Kh8 28.Qc3 Kg7 29.Bd1 Kg8 30.Bc2 Qh4 31.Rf4 Qg3 32.Bf5 Bb7 33.Be4 Bc8 34.Qa3 Kg7 35.Qa8 Bxh3 36.gxh3 Qxh3+ 37.Kg1 Rxd4 38.Bg2 Qg3 39.Rxd4 Ng4 40.Rf3 Qe1+ 41.Bf1 1-0

                            Quiz of the day – to win a mug signed by Peter Svidler!

                            The Bond Movie “From Russia with Love” starts with a chess scene. What is the last move played in that game?

                            (Answer at end)

                            ________

                            Peter says that the best chess movie ever is called Grandmaster (in Russian) and Korchnoi actually acted in it. Jan says that his favorite is called Fresh! (1994)

                            From Edward Winter’s Chess Notes:

                            “7747. Soviet film

                            Gerhard Thoma (Dornbirn, Austria) draws attention to the 1972 Soviet film Гроссмейстер, which can be watched on-line. Many masters appear, including Petrosian, Korchnoi, Tal and Kotov.

                            Our correspondent mentions too the observation by Milan Novković that some of the over-the-board action is based on the spectacular draw between Alatortsev and Kholmov in the 1948 Soviet championship in Moscow.”

                            http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/w...43._A_reminder

                            Standings at the end of Round Five

                            1 Carlsen 3.5
                            2-3 Karjakin, Aronian 2.5
                            4-8 Anand, Nakamura, So, Caruana, Mamedyarov 2
                            9 MVL 1.5
                            10 Ding Liren 0 (withdrew)

                            ________


                            Answer to Quiz – The game is between Kronsteen and MacAdams and the last move is Qe4.

                            [The game is based on Spassky-Bronstein, USSR Champ, Leningrad 1960 – A King’s Gambit Accepted. See:

                            http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1034110]

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Altibox Norway 2018

                              Altibox Norway 2018

                              June 3, 2018

                              Round Six

                              I usually monitor Jan and Peter on chess24. There is also the official live stream with Simen Agdestein and Anna Rudolf and the ChessBrahs with Aman Hambleton and Yasser Seirawan, who is sporting a white goatee.

                              Two early draws:

                              Round 6, June 3
                              Aronian, Levon – Caruana, Fabiano
                              D24 QGA

                              1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.e4 Bb4 6.Bxc4 Nxe4 7.O-O Nf6 8.Qa4+ Nc6 9.Ne5 Rb8 10.d5 exd5 11.Nxd5 Nxd5 12.Nxc6 bxc6 13.Qxc6+ Qd7 14.Bxd5 O-O 15.Qxd7 Bxd7 16.Be3 Bd6 17.b3 a5 18.Rfd1 a4 19.Rac1 axb3 20.axb3 Rfe8 21.h3 Be6 22.Bxe6 Rxe6 23.Bc5 Bxc5 24.Rxc5 g6 25.Rxc7 Rxb3 26.Rcd7 Rb8 27.Rd8+ Rxd8 28.Rxd8+ Kg7 1/2-1/2

                              Round 6, June 3
                              Anand, Vishy – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
                              C60 Ruy Lopez, Fianchetto Defence

                              1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.c3 a6 5.Ba4 Bg7 6.O-O Nge7 7.d4 exd4 8.cxd4 b5 9.Bc2 d5 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Re1+ Be6 12.Bg5 Qd7 13.Nc3 O-O 14.Be4 Rae8 15.Bxd5 Bxd5 16.Ne5 Nxe5 17.dxe5 c6 18.f4 f6 19.Bxf6 Bxf6 20.Nxd5 cxd5 21.exf6 Rxe1+ 22.Qxe1 Rxf6 23.Qd2 d4 24.Rd1 d3 25.Qxd3 Qxd3 26.Rxd3 Rxf4 27.Rd6 Rc4 28.Rxa6 Rc1+ 29.Kf2 Rc2+ 30.Kg1 Rc1+ 31.Kf2 Rc2+ 32.Kg1 Rc1+ 1/2-1/2

                              The guys talk about the American team for the coming Olympiad. If Sam Shankland is on the team as Number 4, what about Leinier Dominguez for the fifth? He lives in Miami.

                              This from chess24 earlier this year:

                              Leinier Dominguez is currently based in Florida while he pursues US residency. Dominguez would be world no. 23 but no longer features on the active rating list at all after not playing a classical game in over a year. He did find the time to work with Fabiano Caruana before the Candidates, though, and if Dominguez switches federation the US would have five 2700 players.

                              https://chess24.com/en/read/news/sha...alfway-in-cuba

                              Quiz of the day – What is the (English) name of the opening 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 d6

                              The prize is a T-shirt with a chess-playing monkey on it.

                              ________

                              Round 6, June 3
                              Nakamura, Hikaru – MVL
                              B23 Sicilian, Closed

                              1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2 g6 6.b3 Bg7 7.Bb2 Nf6 8.O-O-O O-O 9.Kb1 Qa5 10.Nge2 e5 11.f3 Rd8 12.Nd5 Qxd2 13.Nxf6+ Bxf6 14.Rxd2 Bg5 15.Rd1 Be6 16.Nc3 Nd4 17.Bd3 Rac8 18.Rhf1 Nc6 19.a3 Ne7 20.Ne2 Be3 21.h3 g5 22.a4 f6 23.c4 Ng6 24.Bc1 Bxc1 25.Nxc1 h5 26.Rf2 h4 27.Rfd2 Kf7 28.Ne2 Ke7 29.Kb2 Nf4 30.Nc3 a5 31.Bf1 b6 32.Bd3 Rc5 33.Bc2 Rc7 34.Re1 Rc5 35.Nd1 Rc6 36.Ne3 Rc7 37.Red1 Rc6 38.Bd3 Rc7 39.Bc2 Rc6 40.Bd3 Rc7 41.Bc2 Rc6 1/2-1/2




                              Position of So-Carlsen after 25…Be7


                              It appeared that So had a winning line against Carlsen after 25….Be7 with 26. Na5 Qxb4 27. Nxb7 Bd3 28. Rfe1 Bc2 29. c6 Bb3 30. Qd7 Be6 31. Bd6 Bxd6 32. Qxd6 Qxd6 33. Nxd6 Rc7 34. Red1 Rb8 35. Nb7 Kf8 36. e4 f6 37. Kf2 Bb3

                              But the game progresses and finally Wesley wins his first game ever against the World Champion

                              Round 6, June 3
                              So, Wesley – Carlsen, Magnus
                              D10 QGD Slav Defence, Exchange variation

                              1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.cxd5 cxd5 4.Bf4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Nf3 a6 7.Rc1 Bf5 8.e3 Rc8 9.Be2 e6 10.O-O Nd7 11.Na4 Be7 12.h3 O-O 13.a3 Na5 14.Nc5 Nc4 15.b4 Nxc5 16.dxc5 Nxa3 17.Nd4 Be4 18.f3 Bg6 19.Qb3 Nc4 20.Bxc4 dxc4 21.Qxc4 Qe8 22.Bg3 e5 23.Nb3 Bd8 24.Qd5 Qb5 25.Bxe5 Be7 26.Qd2 Rfd8 27.Bd6 Bf6 28.e4 h6 29.Nd4 Bxd4+ 30.Qxd4 Re8 31.Rfe1 Kh7 32.g4 f6 33.f4 Qc6 34.f5 Bf7 35.h4 Ra8 36.Rc2 a5 37.g5 Bh5 38.g6+ Kh8 39.b5 Qxb5 40.Rb2 Qc6 41.Rb6 Qc8 42.Qd5 a4 43.Rxb7 Rg8 44.c6 1-0

                              ___________

                              Standings after Round Six

                              1 Carlsen 3.5
                              2-3 So, Aronian 3
                              4-8 Anand, Nakamura, Karjakin, Caruana, Mamedyarov 2.5
                              9 MVL 2
                              10 Ding 0

                              Tomorrow is a rest day

                              _________

                              Answer to the quiz question: The Blackburne – Hartlaub Gambit. In German it is the Hartlaub Gambit.

                              See:

                              https://www.chess.com/blog/SWJedikni...artlaub-gambit

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