First
FIDE Grand Prix in Baku
The first FIDE Grand Prix tournament is taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan, from
April 20th to May 6th, 2008. There are thirteen rounds and two rest days (April
26 and May 1st). The event, organised by Global Chess, is part of a
series of six tournaments to be held over two years (2008-2009). 21 top world
players are selected to compete in these tournaments, with each player contracting
to participate in exactly four of these tournaments. The winner of the Grand
Prix series at the end of 2009 will play the winner of the World Cup held in
2009 in an eight game match to become the challenger to the World Champion in
a match to be held in the third quarter of 2010.
Round four report
Round 4: Thursday, April 24 |
Gata Kamsky |
½-½ |
Alex. Grischuk |
Michael Adams |
1-0 |
David Navara |
Etienne Bacrot |
½-½ |
Sergey Karjakin |
Wang Yue |
1-0 |
Ivan Cheparinov |
Peter Svidler |
½-½ |
Teimour Radjabov |
Ernesto Inarkiev |
½-½ |
Vugar Gashimov |
Shak. Mamedyarov |
1-0 |
Magnus Carlsen |
|
The fourth round saw three decisive games – we register a relatively
low drawing average of 53% in this high-category tournament so far. Remarkably
five games have ended in black victories (eight were won by White).
Video overview of round four in Baku
Kamsky-Grischuk saw the tournament leader Alexander Grischuk
draw without any difficulty with black with a Slav. Kamsky went for a perpetual
on move 21, which according to the special anti-draw rules is the only way for
players to finish without decision at this early stage of the game.
Adams-Navara brought a second victory to the British GM and
a second loss for David Navara. Adams was worse after the opening stage. His
assessment: "I didn't play the opening very well, my 15.Bg5 was a bit vague
and at some point my position was just bad. I was quite lucky today."

Adams,Mi (2729) - Navara,D (2672) [C05]
FIDE GP Baku AZE (4), 24.04.2008
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.c3 c5 6.Bd3 Nc6 7.Ngf3 g6 8.h4
Qb6 9.dxc5 Qc7! (an excellent novelty) 10.Nb3 Ndxe5 11.Nxe5
Nxe5 12.0-0 Nxd3 13.Qxd3 Bg7 14.h5 0-0 15.Bg5 b6 16.h6 Bh8 17.cxb6 axb6 18.Rfe1
Bb7 19.Nd4 e5 20.Nb5 Qc6 21.a4 f6 22.Bd2 f5 23.f4 d4 24.Qf1 dxc3 25.Bxc3 exf4
26.Bxh8 Kxh8 27.Rac1 Qf6 28.Qxf4 Qxb2 29.Qe5+ Qxe5 30.Rxe5 Rxa4 31.Nd6 Rd4 32.Rc7
Bd5 33.Rd7
The Czech grandmaster has been better for much of the game and is now fighting
for a draw. The next move spoils this chance: 33...Kg8?? 34.Re8.
An even more direct approach was 34.Ne8, threatening 35.Nf6 and mate to follow.
34...Rxe8 35.Nxe8 Rd1+ 36.Kh2 Bb3 37.Nf6+ Kf8 38.Nxh7+ Ke8 39.Nf6+ Kf8
40.h7 and White gets a new queen. 1-0. [Click
to replay]
Bacrot-Karjakin saw the Frenchman playing a novelty, 14.Re1,
in the Chebanenko Variation of the Slav. His Ukrainian opponent was able to
exchange down to an equal ending and draw the rook ending in 33 moves.

Wang Yue-Cheparinov brought yet another loss, the fourth
in succession, for the young Bulgarian GM. Match commentator Sergey Shipov likened
Ivan Cheparinov to "a boxer who just goes forward, ignoring his opponent
and getting beaten up more and more." Cheparinov said he had no clue on
what is going on – just like the rest of the chess world. "It is
my fault that I lose all those games, but I don't know why. I talk a lot with
Silvio [Danialov, who is not in Baku], but it doesn't help."
Press conference with Wang Yue and Ivan Cheparinov
Inarkiev-Gashimov was the longest and most difficult game
of the round. The Russian GM played well in the opening and got a big advantage,
but blundered ("as usual," he said in the press conference) a full
exchange on move 33.

Inarkiev,E (2684) - Gashimov,V (2679) [A61]
FIDE GP Baku AZE (4), 24.04.2008
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.d5 d6 5.Nc3 exd5 6.cxd5 g6 7.Bf4 Bg7 8.Qa4+
Bd7 9.Qb3 Qc7 10.e4 0-0 11.Nd2 Nh5 12.Be3 f5 13.exf5 gxf5 14.Be2 Be8 15.0-0
a6 16.Qd1 Nf6 17.Nf3 b5 18.Ng5 Bf7 19.Bd3 Qc8 20.Qf3 Bg6 21.Ne6 Nbd7 22.Bf4
b4 23.Nd1 Ne5 24.Bxe5 dxe5 25.Bc4 Ne4 26.Qe2 Re8 27.Rc1 Nd6 28.Bb3 f4 29.Rxc5
Qb8 30.Rc6 Ra7 31.Re1 a5 32.Ba4 Ree7
33.Qd2?? "It wasn't even a combination, just one move,
Be8," said Inarkiev in the press conference. Still, there was a lot of
play and a lot of tension before the draw was reached. 33...Be8 34.Nc5
Kh8 35.b3 Nf5 36.Nb2 Nd4 37.Nc4 Bxc6 38.dxc6 Qc7 39.Ne4 Nxc6 40.Qd5 Nd4 41.Ned6
Ra6 42.h3 h6 43.Kh1 Re6 44.Ne8 Qe7 45.Bd7 Qh4 46.Nxe5 Qxf2 47.Nf7+ Kh7 48.Rxe6
Rxe6 49.Bxe6 Qe1+ 50.Kh2 Qg3+ 51.Kh1 Qe1+ 52.Kh2 Qg3+ 53.Kh1 ½-½.
[Click to replay]
Press conference with Ernesto Inarkiev and Vugar Gashimov
Mamedyarov-Carlsen saw the Norwegian GM and top seed struggling
after Mamedyarov's skillful openings play in a Queen's Indian.

Mamedyarov,S (2752) - Carlsen,M (2765) [E17]
FIDE GP Baku AZE (4), 24.04.2008
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Re1 Na6 8.Ne5
Bxg2 9.Kxg2 c6 10.e4 Qc7 11.Nc3 Qb7 12.Nd3 d5 13.e5 Nd7 14.cxd5 cxd5 15.h4 Nb4
16.Bg5 Nxd3 17.Qxd3 Bb4 18.Rec1 a6 19.Ne2 Rfc8 20.h5 h6 21.a3 Bf8 22.Bd2 Rxc1
23.Rxc1 Rc8 24.Rf1 b5 25.f4 Qc6 26.Rc1 Qb7 27.Rf1 Qc6 28.Qf3 Qb6 29.f5 exf5
30.Bc3 a5?
31.Bxa5! In the press conference after the game Magnus admitted
that he missed this move. 31...Qxa5 32.Qxf5 Qd2 33.Qxf7+ Kh8 34.Rf2
Rd8? 34...Nxe5 was probably better: 35.dxe5 Bc5. 35.Qxd5 Qa5
36.Nf4 Qa8 37.Ng6+ 1-0. Carlsen was very appreciative of his opponent:
"He just found the best moves and won in very good style."
[Click to replay]
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Magnus Carlsen in the press conference

Spectators at the Grand Prix in Baku

Things spruce up when the Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan,
Artur Rasizade, visits the Grand Prix tournament hall. A video
report is provided on the official web site.

The Prime Minister and the Azeri chess hero Teimour Radjabov

Rasizade even attends a post-game lecture with Peter Svidler and Teimour
Radjabov
Standings after four rounds

Schedule and results
Round 1: Monday, April 21st |
Ernesto Inarkiev |
0-1 |
Gata Kamsky |
Shak. Mamedyarov |
½-½ |
Peter Svidler |
Magnus Carlsen |
½-½ |
Wang Yue |
Vugar Gashimov |
½-½ |
Etienne Bacrot |
Teimour Radjabov |
½-½ |
Michael Adams |
Ivan Cheparinov |
0-1 |
Alex. Grischuk |
Sergey Karjakin |
½-½ |
David Navara |
|
|
Round 2: Tuesday, April 22nd |
Gata Kamsky |
½-½ |
David Navara |
Alex. Grischuk |
½-½ |
Sergey Karjakin |
Michael Adams |
1-0 |
Ivan Cheparinov |
Etienne Bacrot |
0-1 |
Teimour Radjabov |
Wang Yue |
½-½ |
Vugar Gashimov |
Peter Svidler |
½-½ |
Magnus Carlsen |
Ernesto Inarkiev |
1-0 |
Shak. Mamedyarov |
|
|
Round 3: Wednesday, April 23rd |
Shak. Mamedyarov |
½-½ |
Gata Kamsky |
Magnus Carlsen |
1-0 |
Ernesto Inarkiev |
Vugar Gashimov |
1-0 |
Peter Svidler |
Teimour Radjabov |
½-½ |
Wang Yue |
Ivan Cheparinov |
0-1 |
Etienne Bacrot |
Sergey Karjakin |
1-0 |
Michael Adams |
David Navara |
0-1 |
Alex. Grischuk |
|
|
Round 4: Thursday, April 24 |
Gata Kamsky |
½-½ |
Alex. Grischuk |
Michael Adams |
1-0 |
David Navara |
Etienne Bacrot |
½-½ |
Sergey Karjakin |
Wang Yue |
1-0 |
Ivan Cheparinov |
Peter Svidler |
½-½ |
Teimour Radjabov |
Ernesto Inarkiev |
½-½ |
Vugar Gashimov |
Shak. Mamedyarov |
1-0 |
Magnus Carlsen |
|
|
Round 5: Friday, April 25th |
Magnus Carlsen |
- |
Gata Kamsky |
Vugar Gashimov |
- |
Shak. Mamedyarov |
Teimour Radjabov |
- |
Ernesto Inarkiev |
Ivan Cheparinov |
- |
Peter Svidler |
Sergey Karjakin |
- |
Wang Yue |
David Navara |
- |
Etienne Bacrot |
Alex. Grischuk |
- |
Michael Adams |
Games – Report |
|
Round 6: Sunday, April 27th |
Gata Kamsky |
- |
Michael Adams |
Etienne Bacrot |
- |
Alex. Grischuk |
Wang Yue |
- |
David Navara |
Peter Svidler |
- |
Sergey Karjakin |
Ernesto Inarkiev |
- |
Ivan Cheparinov |
Shak. Mamedyarov |
- |
Teimour Radjabov |
Magnus Carlsen |
- |
Vugar Gashimov |
Games – Report |
|
Round 7: Monday, April 28th |
Vugar Gashimov |
- |
Gata Kamsky |
Teimour Radjabov |
- |
Magnus Carlsen |
Ivan Cheparinov |
- |
Shak. Mamedyarov |
Sergey Karjakin |
- |
Ernesto Inarkiev |
David Navara |
- |
Peter Svidler |
Alex. Grischuk |
- |
Wang Yue |
Michael Adams |
- |
Etienne Bacrot |
Games – Report |
|
Round 8: Tuesday, April 29th |
Etienne Bacrot |
- |
Gata Kamsky |
Wang Yue |
- |
Michael Adams |
Peter Svidler |
- |
Alex. Grischuk |
Ernesto Inarkiev |
- |
David Navara |
Shak. Mamedyarov |
- |
Sergey Karjakin |
Magnus Carlsen |
- |
Ivan Cheparinov |
Vugar Gashimov |
- |
Teimour Radjabov |
Games – Report |
|
Round 9: Wednesday, April 30th |
Teimour Radjabov |
- |
Gata Kamsky |
Ivan Cheparinov |
- |
Vugar Gashimov |
Sergey Karjakin |
- |
Magnus Carlsen |
David Navara |
- |
Shak. Mamedyarov |
Alex. Grischuk |
- |
Ernesto Inarkiev |
Michael Adams |
- |
Peter Svidler |
Etienne Bacrot |
- |
Wang Yue |
Games – Report |
|
Round 10: Friday, May 2nd |
Gata Kamsky |
- |
Wang Yue |
Peter Svidler |
- |
Etienne Bacrot |
Ernesto Inarkiev |
- |
Michael Adams |
Shak. Mamedyarov |
- |
Alex. Grischuk |
Magnus Carlsen |
- |
David Navara |
Vugar Gashimov |
- |
Sergey Karjakin |
Teimour Radjabov |
- |
Ivan Cheparinov |
Games – Report |
|
Round 11: Saturday, May 3rd |
Ivan Cheparinov |
- |
Gata Kamsky |
Sergey Karjakin |
- |
Teimour Radjabov |
David Navara |
- |
Vugar Gashimov |
Alex. Grischuk |
- |
Magnus Carlsen |
Michael Adams |
- |
Shak. Mamedyarov |
Etienne Bacrot |
- |
Ernesto Inarkiev |
Wang Yue |
- |
Peter Svidler |
Games – Report |
|
Round 12: Sunday, May 4th |
Gata Kamsky |
- |
Peter Svidler |
Ernesto Inarkiev |
- |
Wang Yue |
Shak. Mamedyarov |
- |
Etienne Bacrot |
Magnus Carlsen |
- |
Michael Adams |
Vugar Gashimov |
- |
Alex. Grischuk |
Teimour Radjabov |
- |
David Navara |
Ivan Cheparinov |
- |
Sergey Karjakin |
Games – Report |
|
Round 13: Monday, May 5th |
Sergey Karjakin |
- |
Gata Kamsky |
David Navara |
- |
Ivan Cheparinov |
Alex. Grischuk |
- |
Teimour Radjabov |
Michael Adams |
- |
Vugar Gashimov |
Etienne Bacrot |
- |
Magnus Carlsen |
Wang Yue |
- |
Shak. Mamedyarov |
Peter Svidler |
- |
Ernesto Inarkiev |
Games – Report |
|
Tuesday, May 6th
Departure |
|
Links
The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the
chess server Playchess.com.
If you are not a member you can download ChessBase Light, which gives
you immediate access. You can also use it to read, replay and analyse
the PGN games.
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