Fourth
FIDE Grand Prix
in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria
Press release
The fourth FIDE Grand Prix Series Tournament is being held in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria,
Russia, during 14th -29th April 2009 at the Intour Hotel "Sindica".
The games start at 3 p.m. local time = 15:00h CEST. After five rounds there
is a free day (on Monday, April 20) and another after round nine (on Saturday,
April 25).
Results of today's round
Round 3: Friday, April 17, 2009 |
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar |
½-½ |
Kamsky Gata |
Akopian Vladimir |
0-1 |
Leko Peter |
Karjakin Sergey |
1-0 |
Aronian Levon |
Grischuk Alexander |
1-0 |
Kasimdzhanov Rustam |
Alekseev Evgeny |
1-0 |
Eljanov Pavel |
Ivanchuk Vassily |
½-½ |
Gelfand Boris |
Bacrot Etienne |
½-½ |
Svidler Peter |
|
Round three review
The following game notes were provided by FIDE and are translated (by Misha
Savinov) from the comments of GM Sergey Shipov. On Friday he
celebrated his 43rd birthday – best wishes to you, Sergey, and keep up
the good work! We are grateful for permission to reproduce Shipov's
commentary here. All photos by courtesy of FIDE.
Karjakin-Aronian
Everyone plays as good as the opponent allows to. In this game Levon failed
to impress because Sergey was really impressive. White made a new move in a
modern line of the Ruy Lopez –15.b3! Perhaps Black had to change his plan,
keeping the king on f8. In this case he would have a chance to create some counterplay
with his bishops: 15…Bc5 16.Bb2 Bg4!, which would compensate for the weakness
of the e5-pawn. However, Aronian played in a more standard way, placing the
king on e7, which led to big complications, and eventually lost a pawn. Karjakin
converted his advantage in a refined fashion. One cannot pass by the excellent
24.Nb6!, which transposed the game into a rook ending. Soon Black missed his
last chance to resist: instead of 27…Rb5 he had to counterattack on the
second rank with 27…Rd2!, and then Rb8-e8-e2. In the game White managed
to promote his pawn and defended against the perpetual.

Before the start of hostilities a friendly exchange: Sergey Karjakin, Levon
Aronian
Karjakin,Sergey - Aronian,Levon [C88]
4th FIDE GP Nakchik RUS (3), 17.04.2009
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.a4
b4 9.d4 d6 10.dxe5 dxe5 11.Qxd8 Rxd8 12.Nbd2 Bd6 13.a5 h6 14.Bc4 Kf8 15.b3 Ke7
16.Bd5 Nxd5 17.exd5 Na7 18.Nxe5 Kf8 19.Ndc4 Bxe5 20.Rxe5 Nc6 21.Bg5 hxg5 22.dxc6
f6 23.Rc5 Be6
24.Nb6! Rab8 25.Nd7+ Bxd7 26.cxd7 Rxd7 27.Rc6 Rb5 28.Rxa6 Rd2 29.Ra8+
Kf7 30.g4 Rc5 31.a6 Rcxc2 32.Rc8 c6 33.a7 Rxf2 34.Rh8 1-0.

The mood has changed in the press conference after the game
Grischuk-Kasimdzhanov
I found many unexpected resources in the analysis of this complicated game.
Kasimdzhanov employed a very risky but interesting plan in a well-known variation
of the Queen’s Gambit Accepted. I thought that after 14.Nxb6 Black had
to take with the c7-pawn, keeping the king’s shelter intact. After 14…cxb6
White cannot retreat the knight from e2 because of the d4-pawn weakness, while
15.Ba4 is well met by 15…g5! with strong counterplay for Black. However,
Rustam selected 14…axb6, allowing the opponent to establish deadly-looking
pressure against the c6-knight. The ideas behind this move were clarified by
the extremely tricky maneuver 17…Qc8! – Black sacrificed a pawn
for the initiative.
The subsequent moves did not look forced. For instance, instead of 19…fxe5
Black could play 19…Nc6! Later Kasimdzhanov did not find the most accurate
25…Qa6!, which would allow continuing to play on equal terms. After 25…Qb7?
Grischuk destroyed Black’s defense by the powerful 26.a4! In the time
trouble that followed, the assessment varied from “White wins” to
“Black can hold”. On the 39th move White could win by 39.Qe4! with
the idea 39…Qg5+ 40.Kh1! Qxd2 41.Qa8#. However, Alexander played 39.Ra2,
and Black overstepped the time limit, although he could put up some resistance
by 39…Rd8! Now 40.Qe4? Qg5+! loses for White. Of course, even after 39…Rd8
White still has an edge, but the outcome of the game could well be different.
Grischuk,Alexander - Kasimdzhanov,Rustam [D20]
4th FIDE GP Nakchik RUS (3), 17.04.2009
1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.Bxc4 Nb6 6.Bb3 Nc6 7.Be3 Bf5 8.Ne2
e6 9.Nbc3 Qd7 10.a3 0-0-0 11.0-0 h5 12.Rc1 Kb8 13.Na4 Be7 14.Nxb6 axb6 15.Ba4
h4 16.f3 f6 17.Bb5 Qc8 18.Qb3 Na7 19.Bc4 fxe5 20.dxe5 Bc5 21.Bxc5 bxc5 22.Qe3
b6 23.b4 b5 24.Ba2 c4 25.Nd4
25...Qb7? 26.a4! h3 27.axb5 hxg2 28.Rfd1 Nxb5 29.Nxf5 exf5 30.Bxc4
f4 31.Qxf4 Rdf8 32.Bf7 Qb6+ 33.Rc5 Nc3 34.Rd2 Na4 35.e6 Nxc5 36.bxc5 Qxc5+ 37.Kxg2
Kc8 38.Qg4 Qe7
39.Ra2? 1-0 (time).

What to do, I simply missed it! Kasim and Gris in the press conference
after the game
Akopian-Leko
The Hungarian grandmaster outskilled the Armenian in opening preparation. In
the Meran Variation of the Slav Defense he surprised the opponent with a refined
novelty 17…Qd5! Black created strong pressure. In my opinion White had
to consider sacrificing an exchange in order to seize the initiative. For instance,
it is interesting to look at 21.Bd2! Nb3 22.Rb4 Bxg2! (a fine resource) 23.Bxg2
Nxa1 24.Bc3. Of course, such moves are easier to suggest that actually play
on the board. Akopian decided to give up a pawn, and after a few accurate opponent’s
moves (23…Ba6!, 26…Qc2!) had to accept a difficult endgame without
a pawn, which he failed to hold. Leko’s technique in the final phase of
the game was perfect – a textbook example of converting the advantage!

Akopian,Vladimir - Leko,Peter [D47]
4th FIDE GP Nakchik RUS (3), 17.04.2009
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3
Bb7 9.a3 Bd6 10.0-0 0-0 11.Qc2 Qe7 12.Ng5 h6 13.Nge4 Nxe4 14.Nxe4 c5 15.Nxd6
Qxd6 16.Bxb5 cxd4 17.Rd1 Qd5 18.Bf1 Rac8 19.Qe2 Nc5 20.Rxd4 Qf5
21.Rf4 [21.Bd2 Nb3 22.Rb4 Bxg2! 23.Bxg2 Nxa1 24.Bc3] 21...Qe5
22.Bd2 Qxb2 23.Rd1 Ba6 24.Qe1 Bxf1 25.Qxf1 Rfd8 26.Rb4 Qc2 27.Rc4 Qa2 28.Rdc1
Rxd2 29.Rxc5 Rxc5 30.Rxc5 Qxa3 31.Rc8+ Kh7 32.Qb1+ f5 33.g3 Rb2 34.Qd1 Qb4 35.h4
a5 36.Qf3 a4 37.Kg2 a3 38.Qa8 Qe4+ 39.Qxe4 fxe4 40.Ra8 a2 41.h5 g5 42.hxg6+
Kxg6 43.g4 e5 44.Kg3 Re2 45.Ra5 Kf6 46.Ra6+ Kf7 47.Ra5 Ke6 48.Kh4 Rxf2 49.Kh5
Rg2 50.Kxh6 Rxg4 51.Rxa2 Rg3 52.Kh5 Kf5 53.Kh4 Rxe3 54.Ra8 Rf3 55.Rf8+ Ke6 56.Re8+
Kd5 57.Rd8+ Kc4 58.Kg4 Rf1 59.Rc8+ Kd3 60.Rd8+ Ke2 61.Ra8 Rg1+ 0-1.

Peter Leko and Vladimir Akopian in the press conference
Alekseev-Eljanov
A tragic story! At the early phase of the game it looked like the Russian is
doomed to fall, however, it was the Ukrainian who perished in the end. In a
fashionable line of the Queen’s Gambit Eljanov employed an excellent novelty
12…Qe8! (earlier Black only played 12…b5, allowing the attacking
13.a4!). Alekseev reacted poorly. He couldn’t play 13.Be2 due to 13…Ne4!,
but he had to make a preparatory move for the development – 13.Qc2! The
move he selected – 13.f3?! – left the White’s king in the
center and allowed Black advancing his queenside pawns. Black’s advantage
became absolutely clear by the 20th move. I think the most accurate solution
was 20…Bd7! In this case Black could prepare c4-c3 under the perfect circumstances,
as White’s most natural defense 21.Nb1 Rfc8! 22.Nc3 (otherwise c4-c3)
22…Nxc3 23.Qxc3 Bxg4! loses a pawn. Pavel wasted a tempo, allowing White
to make a useful move – 20...Re8 21.h3, and then started playing on the
queenside, which did not make the desired impact. Evgeny defended well, and
his bluff 26.h4! shook the opponent’s confidence. Pavel started making
mistakes. His 26…Bb5? was a grave error, changing the evaluation dramatically
from “almost equal” to “a huge advantage to White”.
The advantage was duly converted into a victory.
Alekseev,Evgeny - Eljanov,Pavel [D37]
4th FIDE GP Nakchik RUS (3), 17.04.2009
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Nbd7 5.Bg5 Bb4 6.Qb3 c5 7.cxd5 exd5
8.a3 Bxc3+ 9.Qxc3 c4 10.Nd2 0-0 11.e3 h6 12.Bh4 Qe8 13.f3 b5 14.Kf2 a5 15.g4
Qe7 16.Bg3 b4 17.Qc2 b3 18.Qc3 Nb6 19.Re1 Na4 20.Qc1
20...Re8 [20...Bd7! 21.Nb1 Rfc8! 22.Nc3 Nxc3 23.Qxc3 Bxg4!]
21.h3 c3 22.bxc3 b2 23.Qc2 Bd7 24.Nb1 Bc6 25.Bd3 Qb7 26.h4 Bb5 27.Qb3
Bc6 28.Qxb7 Bxb7 29.Bb5 Nb6 30.g5 hxg5 31.hxg5 Nh7 32.Re2 Re6 33.Rxb2 Nxg5 34.Bf4
Nh7 35.Nd2 Ba6 36.Rc1 Nf6 37.Bxa6 Rxa6 38.Rb5 Rc6 39.e4 Ra8 40.c4 Nxc4 41.Nxc4
dxc4 42.d5 Rcc8 43.Ke3 Nd7 44.Kd4 f6 45.Rxc4 Rxc4+ 46.Kxc4 Rc8+ 47.Kd4 g5 48.Bd6
Kf7 49.Rxa5 Rc1 50.Ra7 Ke8 51.a4 Rf1 52.a5 Rxf3 53.Ra8+ Kf7 54.a6 Rf1 55.Rd8
Rd1+ 56.Kc3 Nb6 57.Rb8 1-0.
Bacrot-Svidler
The first impression of a non-conflict game is wrong. There was real tension
in it. In the Chigorin Variation of the Ruy Lopez the players covered the entire
board with solid pawn chains. White had a small loophole on the kingside, but
in order to use it he had to dare sacrificing material. The best opportunity
occurred, in my opinion, on the 30th move. I think White could play 30.Nf5!?
gxf5 31.gxf5, and then slowly increase pressure by g2-g4, doubling the rooks
and maybe even rushing the kingside pawns h3-h4 and g4-g5. Surprisingly, he
could afford playing in such style without a piece and almost at no risk! Black
only could wait behind bars... After the move played in the game – 30.Bh6
– Svidler closed all the doors by 30…g5!, and a draw became inevitable.

Peter Svidler, Russia, Etienne Bacrot, France
Ivanchuk-Gelfand
This game was very interesting, and it seems both players conducted it almost
perfectly. In the Slav Defense White got the bishop pair, and Black obtained
active piece play against the enemy king. I think Ivanchuk incorrectly allowed
the Black’s queen to h3. Instead of the rushy 18.e4 I suggest the prophylactic
18.Kg2! – the king can protect himself! After that White has all the chances
to prevail in the center. After Black organized the scary setup “Qh3 +
Ng4”, White’s advantage evaporated. Gelfand masterfully increased
tension (21…Be3!, 25…f5!), and then forced the move repetition by
daring cavalry ride 28…Nc1!

The "veterans": Vassily Ivanchuk and Boris Gelfand, both forty
years old
Mamedyarov-Kamsky
In the Gruenfeld Defense Black made an interesting novelty, but we did not get
a chance to see the depth of Gata’s preparation. The critical line is
probably 14.dxc6 followed by trading the queens, however, Shakhriyar reacted
in a very tricky fashion. He traded queens in a different way, but failed to
get any real advantage. Soon White’s advanced pawns became targets of
Black’s counterattack. It was followed by exchange of logical and easy-to-calculate
(at the grandmaster level at least) tactical blows that resulted in an equal
rook ending, which ended peacefully.

"Shakh" Mamedyarov, one of the super-GMs from Azerbaijan

Back again at the top of the world: US-American Tatar
Gata Kamsky

Guest of honour, chief commentator in Nalchik: former World Champion Boris
Spassky. But what's with the cane? Is the 72-year-old infirm, does he have problems
walking?

No, it's a pointing device, one that (unlike a laser pointer) requires no batteries!
Click
to replay and download the games on our Javascript board
Standings

The annotator
Sergey Shipov (born 17 April 1966) is a Russian grandmaster,
whose peak FIDE rating of 2662 put him at no. 23 in the world on the January
1999 rating list. He is a well-known and highly regarded trainer, and is well-known
in his native Moscow as an outstanding blitz player. Indeed, for a number of
years, he was a regular practice partner of Garry Kasparov, who described him
as one of the best blitz players in the city. He is the author of two books,
one on the Kasparov-Kramnik match of 2000 (co-authored with the legendary Russian
chess commentator Yakov Damsky), and one on the Hedghog System. An English edition
of the latter is due to be published later this year. In recent years, he has
established a strong reputation amongst Russian-speaking audiences as an online
live commentator over the internet, for the Russian site Crestbook.com.
FIDE Grand Prix Nalchik 2009 – Schedule and results
Round 1: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 |
Leko Peter |
½-½ |
Kamsky Gata |
Mamedyarov Shak. |
0-1 |
Aronian Levon |
Akopian Vladimir |
½-½ |
Kasimdzhanov Rus. |
Karjakin Sergey |
½-½ |
Eljanov Pavel |
Grischuk Alexander |
1-0 |
Gelfand Boris |
Alekseev Evgeny |
½-½ |
Svidler Peter |
Ivanchuk Vassily |
½-½ |
Bacrot Etienne |
|
|
Round 2: Thursday, April 16, 2009 |
Kamsky Gata |
½-½ |
Bacrot Etienne |
Svidler Peter |
1-0 |
Ivanchuk Vassily |
Gelfand Boris |
½-½ |
Alekseev Evgeny |
Eljanov Pavel |
½-½ |
Grischuk Alexander |
Kasimdzhanov Rus. |
½-½ |
Karjakin Sergey |
Aronian Levon |
1-0- |
Akopian Vladimir |
Leko Peter |
½-½ |
Mamedyarov Shak. |
|
|
Round 3: Friday, April 17, 2009 |
Mamedyarov Shak. |
½-½ |
Kamsky Gata |
Akopian Vladimir |
0-1 |
Leko Peter |
Karjakin Sergey |
1-0 |
Aronian Levon |
Grischuk Alexander |
1-0 |
Kasimdzhanov Rus. |
Alekseev Evgeny |
1-0 |
Eljanov Pavel |
Ivanchuk Vassily |
½-½ |
Gelfand Boris |
Bacrot Etienne |
½-½ |
Svidler Peter |
|
|
Round 4: Saturday, April 18, 2009 |
Kamsky Gata |
- |
Svidler Peter |
Gelfand Boris |
- |
Bacrot Etienne |
Eljanov Pavel |
- |
Ivanchuk Vassily |
Kasimdzhanov Rus. |
- |
Alekseev Evgeny |
Aronian Levon |
- |
Grischuk Alexander |
Leko Peter |
- |
Karjakin Sergey |
Mamedyarov Shak. |
- |
Akopian Vladimir |
Games – Report |
|
Round 5: Sunday, April 19, 2009 |
Akopian Vladimir |
- |
Kamsky Gata |
Karjakin Sergey |
- |
Mamedyarov Shak. |
Grischuk Alexander |
- |
Leko Peter |
Alekseev Evgeny |
- |
Aronian Levon |
Ivanchuk Vassily |
- |
Kasimdzhanov Rus. |
Bacrot Etienne |
- |
Eljanov Pavel |
Svidler Peter |
- |
Gelfand Boris |
Games – Report |
|
Round 6: Tuesday, April 21, 2009 |
Kamsky Gata |
- |
Gelfand Boris |
Eljanov Pavel |
- |
Svidler Peter |
Kasimdzhanov Rus. |
- |
Bacrot Etienne |
Aronian Levon |
- |
Ivanchuk Vassily |
Leko Peter |
- |
Alekseev Evgeny |
Mamedyarov Shak. |
- |
Grischuk Alexander |
Akopian Vladimir |
- |
Karjakin Sergey |
Games – Report |
|
Round 7: Wednesday, April 22, 2009 |
Karjakin Sergey |
- |
Kamsky Gata |
Grischuk Alexander |
- |
Akopian Vladimir |
Alekseev Evgeny |
- |
Mamedyarov Shak. |
Ivanchuk Vassily |
- |
Leko Peter |
Bacrot Etienne |
- |
Aronian Levon |
Svidler Peter |
- |
Kasimdzhanov Rus. |
Gelfand Boris |
- |
Eljanov Pavel |
Games – Report |
|
Round 8: Thursday, April 23, 2009 |
Kamsky Gata |
- |
Eljanov Pavel |
Kasimdzhanov Rus. |
- |
Gelfand Boris |
Aronian Levon |
- |
Svidler Peter |
Leko Peter |
- |
Bacrot Etienne |
Mamedyarov Shak. |
- |
Ivanchuk Vassily |
Akopian Vladimir |
- |
Alekseev Evgeny |
Karjakin Sergey |
- |
Grischuk Alexander |
Games – Report |
|
Round 9: Friday, April 24, 2009 |
Grischuk Alexander |
- |
Kamsky Gata |
Alekseev Evgeny |
- |
Karjakin Sergey |
Ivanchuk Vassily |
- |
Akopian Vladimir |
Bacrot Etienne |
- |
Mamedyarov Shak. |
Svidler Peter |
- |
Leko Peter |
Gelfand Boris |
- |
Aronian Levon |
Eljanov Pavel |
- |
Kasimdzhanov Rus. |
Games – Report |
|
Round 10: Sunday, April 26, 2009 |
Kamsky Gata |
- |
Kasimdzhanov Rus. |
Aronian Levon |
- |
Eljanov Pavel |
Leko Peter |
- |
Gelfand Boris |
Mamedyarov Shak. |
- |
Svidler Peter |
Akopian Vladimir |
- |
Bacrot Etienne |
Karjakin Sergey |
- |
Ivanchuk Vassily |
Grischuk Alexander |
- |
Alekseev Evgeny |
Games – Report |
|
Round 11: Monday, April 27, 2009 |
Alekseev Evgeny |
- |
Kamsky Gata |
Ivanchuk Vassily |
- |
Grischuk Alexander |
Bacrot Etienne |
- |
Karjakin Sergey |
Svidler Peter |
- |
Akopian Vladimir |
Gelfand Boris |
- |
Mamedyarov Shak. |
Eljanov Pavel |
- |
Leko Peter |
Kasimdzhanov Rus. |
- |
Aronian Levon |
Games – Report |
|
Round 12: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 |
Kamsky Gata |
- |
Aronian Levon |
Leko Peter |
- |
Kasimdzhanov Rus. |
Mamedyarov Shak. |
- |
Eljanov Pavel |
Akopian Vladimir |
- |
Gelfand Boris |
Karjakin Sergey |
- |
Svidler Peter |
Grischuk Alexander |
- |
Bacrot Etienne |
Alekseev Evgeny |
- |
Ivanchuk Vassily |
Games – Report |
|
Round 13: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 |
Ivanchuk Vassily |
- |
Kamsky Gata |
Bacrot Etienne |
- |
Alekseev Evgeny |
Svidler Peter |
- |
Grischuk Alexander |
Gelfand Boris |
- |
Karjakin Sergey |
Eljanov Pavel |
- |
Akopian Vladimir |
Kasimdzhanov Rus. |
- |
Mamedyarov Shak. |
Aronian Levon |
- |
Leko Peter |
Games – Report |
|
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Departure |
|
Links
The games are bing being broadcast live on the official web site and
on the chess server Playchess.com.
If you are not a member you can download
the free PGN reader ChessBase Light, which gives you immediate access.
You can also use the program to read, replay and analyse the PGN games. |
|