Johann Hjartarson is back

by André Schulz
6/15/2016 – In the 1980s the Icelandic GM Johann Hjartarson was one of the best players in the world. He played in the candidate matches, where he won against Kortschnoi but then lost against Karpov. Later, however, he played less and less. But now he is back and just won the Icelandic Championships. One of the first to congratulate was Icelandic GM Fridrik Olafsson.
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The Icelandic Championships were played in the beginning of June in Reykjavik. Reykjavik was once the city with the highest number of grandmasters per capita but over the years more and more grandmasters in Reykjavik have become less and less active.

But Reykjavik still has a striving chess life. Chess professionals and chess tourists alike find the Reykjavik Open attractive, and as the place where Fischer and Spassky played their legendary World Championship in 1972 Reykjavik is a firm part of chess history. And for many players Fischer's grave in Iceland has become a kind of pilgrimage site.

This year three grandmasters took part in the National Championships: Hjorvar Steinn Gretarsson, Hedinn Steingrimsson and Johann Hjartarson. In the 1980s Hjatarson played in the Candidate Matches and was one of the world's best players. In 1988 he won his candidate match against Viktor Kortschnoi though he later lost his match against Anatoly Karpov. After 2000 Hjatarson has more and more withdrawn from chess but now he plays again - for instance in the Blitz World Championship 2015 in Berlin. In the Icelandic Championships 2016 he showed that he is still very strong. With six wins, five draws and not a single loss he scored 8.5/11 to become Icelandic Champion 2016. Half a point behind followed Hedinn Steingrimsson with 8.0/11.

Johann Hjatarson

Hjatarson is also still tactically alert as he proved in the following game against GM Hjorvar Steinn Gretarsson.

 
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 0-0 5.Nf3 d6 6.0-0 Nbd7 7.Nc3 e5 8.e4 c6 9.h3 a6 9...Qb6 9...Re8 9...exd4 10.a4 10.Be3 b5 11.cxb5 axb5 12.a3 10...exd4 10...a5 11.Nxd4 Re8 12.Be3 Nc5 13.Qc2 a5 13...Qe7 14.Rfe1 a5 15.Rad1 Nfd7 16.b3 Ra6 17.Na2 h5 18.Nc1 h4 19.g4 Ne5 20.Qd2 f6 21.Nde2 Nf7 22.Nf4 Kh7 23.Nfd3 Nxd3 24.Nxd3 Bh6 25.f4 c5 26.Qf2 g5 27.fxg5 Bxg5 28.Nf4 Bxf4 29.Bxf4 Kg7 30.Qxh4 Rh8 31.Qg3 Be6 32.Rd2 Rd8 33.Rf1 Rf8 34.Rdf2 Raa8 35.Bd2 Ne5 36.g5 Kh8 37.gxf6 Qh7 38.Qg7+ 1-0 (38) Khademalsharieh,S (2235)-Ilincic,Z (2444) Kecskemet 2012 14.Rfd1 Qe7 15.Re1 Nfd7 16.Rad1 h5 17.b3 Na6 18.f4 Ndc5 19.Bf2 Nb4 20.Qb1 g5!? Black maneuvered his knights to good positions on the queenside and now proceeds to play on the kingside. 20...Bd7= 21.e5 White also sharpens the position. 21.fxg5!? Qxg5 22.Nf3 Qe7 23.Bxc5 dxc5 24.Ne2 -- with the idea 24...Qxe4?? 25.Nf4+- 25.Nf4± 21...dxe5 22.fxe5 g4 22...Bxe5?? 23.Nf3+- 23.h4 Bxe5 24.Rxe5 Qxe5 25.Re1
25...Bf5 That was Black's idea. 26.Rxe5 After 26.Nxf5 and the more or less forced sequence Qxc3 27.Rc1 Qd3 28.Bxc5 Re5 29.Ne7+ Kh7 30.Qa1 Rxc5 31.Qf6 Qe3+ 32.Kh2 Rf8 33.Nf5 Rxf5 34.Qxf5+ Kg8 35.Rf1± White regains the pawn and Black's kingside remains rather exposed. 26...Bxb1 27.Rxh5 Better was 27.Rxc5 even though the rook is not real safe on the fifth rank. Bg6 28.Nde2 28.Rg5 Kh7 29.Nde2 f6 30.Rxg6 Kxg6 31.Nf4+ Kh6 32.Ne4= 28...Nd3 29.Rg5 Kh7 30.Bd4= 27...Ne4 28.Bxe4 Bxe4 29.Rg5+ Kh8 30.Rxg4 Bg6 Now White is an exchange down. 31.h5 Bd3 32.Nf3 Nc2 33.Ng5 Re7 34.Bc5 Re1+ 35.Kg2 f6 Cold-blooded defense. 36.Nf7+ Kh7 37.Rf4 Kg7 38.Nd6 Re5 39.Bf2 Rxh5 Black consolidated, regained the pawn and now counterattacks. 40.Nxb7 Rah8 41.Nc5 Bg6 42.Kf3
42...Rxc5! 43.Bxc5 Ne1+ 44.Kg4? 44.Ke3 Ng2+-+ 44.Ke2 Nd3 44...f5+ 44...f5+ 45.Rxf5 Bxf5+ 46.Kxf5 Rh5+-+ 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Gretarsson,H2580Hjartarson,J25470–12016E69Icelandic-ch 20167

 

The crucial encounter between Hedinn Steingrimsson (right, with Black) and
Johann Hjartarson ended with a draw.

 

Final standings

Games

 
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1.c4 e5 2.e3 1:24 Nf6 1:00 3.Nc3 42 Nc6 46 4.a3 1:14 Be7 1:53 5.Nf3 1:34 0-0 24 6.Qc2 1:15 Re8 0 7.b4 2:41 Bf8 2:33 8.Bb2 3:24 d6 5:06 9.d3 8:00 a5 4:53 10.b5 0 Nb8 22 11.Be2 1:17 Nbd7 2:51 12.0-0 3:31 b6 5:58 13.Nd2 6:18 Bb7 0 14.Bf3 6:25 Bxf3 3:14 15.Nxf3 14 g6 3:58 16.d4 3:56 Qc8 6:27 17.Rfd1 7:16 Qb7 4:16 18.Rac1 8:56 Rac8 0 19.dxe5 13:20 dxe5 3:06 20.Nd5 32 Bd6 5:10 21.Ng5 2:29 Nxd5 8:24 22.cxd5 40 Rcd8 5:08 23.Ne4 2:14 f5 0 24.Nxd6 7:54 cxd6 8 25.Qc7 14 Qxc7 2:50 26.Rxc7 13 Nc5 42 27.Rc6 3:50 Rd7 1:58 28.Rc1 1:36 Kf7 0 29.Rc4 43 Rb8 2:01 30.a4 36 Ke7 3:05 31.f3 3:35 Rdb7 46 32.Ba3 1:01 Kd7 1:11 33.Bxc5 1:01 dxc5 0 34.h4 1:45 Rc7 1:03 35.Re6 21 Rcc8 1:23 36.Kf2 3:26 Re8 15 37.Rc6 19 Rec8 3 38.e4 2:03 Rxc6 0 39.dxc6+ 21 Ke6 1:08 40.h5 0 f4 0 41.hxg6 2:09 hxg6 2:59 42.g3 2:34 g5 30:42 43.gxf4 1:23 gxf4 0 44.Rc1 1:48 Rd8 54 45.Rh1 4:40 Kd6 1:14 46.Ke2 11:15 Kc7 4 47.Rh7+ 1:04 Kc8 1 48.Re7 1:33 Rd4 0 49.Rxe5 43 Rxa4 15 50.Re8+ 1:46 Kc7 1 51.Re7+ 40 Kc8 1 52.e5 4:35 Ra3 2:44 53.e6 47 c4 46 54.Kd2 50 Re3 14 55.Kc2 1:18 a4 45 56.Re8+ 2:16 Kc7 1 57.Re7+ 10 Kc8 1 58.Rb7 1:12 Rxe6 0 59.Kc3 48 Re3+ 53 60.Kxc4 5 Rxf3 26 61.Rxb6 16 Rf1 34 62.Ra6 43 Kc7 63.Ra7+ 45 Kb6 14 64.Ra6+ 17 Kc7 1 65.Ra7+ 35 Kb6 0 66.Rb7+ 13 Ka5 2 67.c7 42 Rc1+ 9 68.Kd3 6 a3 1:23 69.Kd2 12 Rc5 21 70.b6 42 a2 29 71.Ra7+ 27 Kxb6 2 72.Rxa2 6 Rxc7 47 73.Ra4 6 ½–½
  • Start an analysis engine:
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Gretarsson,H2580Jensson,E2370½–½2016A20Icelandic-ch 20161
Gunnarsson,J2454Johannsson,O22261–02016C16Icelandic-ch 20161
Hjartarson,J2547Gislason,G22801–02016B47Icelandic-ch 20161
Kjartansson,D2371Thorfinnsson,B23960–12016A56Icelandic-ch 20161
Steingrimsson,H2577Kjartansson,G24501–02016D47Icelandic-ch 20161
Thorfinnsson,B2426Ingvason,J21421–02016A19Icelandic-ch 20161
Gislason,G2280Thorfinnsson,B24260–12016A40Icelandic-ch 20162
Ingvason,J2142Gunnarsson,J24540–12016B43Icelandic-ch 20162
Johannsson,O2226Steingrimsson,H25740–12016B51Icelandic-ch 20162
Kjartansson,D2371Hjartarson,J2547½–½2016E38Icelandic-ch 20162
Kjartansson,G2457Gretarsson,H25801–02016A06Icelandic-ch 20162
Thorfinnsson,B2410Jensson,E23701–02016A20Icelandic-ch 20162
Gretarsson,H2580Johannsson,O2226½–½2016A20Icelandic-ch 20163
Gunnarsson,J2454Gislason,G22801–02016B47Icelandic-ch 20163
Hjartarson,J2547Thorfinnsson,B24101–02016C60Icelandic-ch 20163
Jensson,E2370Kjartansson,G2457½–½2016C18Icelandic-ch 20163
Steingrimsson,H2574Ingvason,J21421–02016A29Icelandic-ch 20163
Thorfinnsson,B2426Kjartansson,D23711–02016E24Icelandic-ch 20163
Gislason,G2280Steingrimsson,H25741–02016B20Icelandic-ch 20164
Hjartarson,J2547Thorfinnsson,B2426½–½2016B84Icelandic-ch 20164
Ingvason,J2142Gretarsson,H25800–12016B90Icelandic-ch 20164
Johannsson,O2226Jensson,E23700–12016B40Icelandic-ch 20164
Kjartansson,D2371Gunnarsson,J24541–02016A57Icelandic-ch 20164
Thorfinnsson,B2410Kjartansson,G24571–02016A20Icelandic-ch 20164
Gretarsson,H2580Gislason,G22800–12016D77Icelandic-ch 20165
Gunnarsson,J2454Hjartarson,J2547½–½2016C55Icelandic-ch 20165
Jensson,E2370Ingvason,J21421–02016D50Icelandic-ch 20165
Kjartansson,G2457Johannsson,O2226½–½2016A20Icelandic-ch 20165
Steingrimsson,H2574Kjartansson,D23711–02016E11Icelandic-ch 20165
Thorfinnsson,B2426Thorfinnsson,B2410½–½2016A06Icelandic-ch 20165
Gislason,G2280Jensson,E23701–02016D78Icelandic-ch 20166
Hjartarson,J2547Steingrimsson,H2574½–½2016B10Icelandic-ch 20166
Ingvason,J2142Kjartansson,G24570–12016B18Icelandic-ch 20166
Kjartansson,D2371Gretarsson,H25801–02016Icelandic-ch 20166
Thorfinnsson,B2410Johannsson,O22260–12016A06Icelandic-ch 20166
Thorfinnsson,B2426Gunnarsson,J2454½–½2016A46Icelandic-ch 20166
Gretarsson,H2580Hjartarson,J25470–12016E69Icelandic-ch 20167
Gunnarsson,J2454Thorfinnsson,B24101–02016C55Icelandic-ch 20167
Jensson,E2370Kjartansson,D23711–02016A10Icelandic-ch 20167
Johannsson,O2226Ingvason,J21420–12016B51Icelandic-ch 20167
Kjartansson,G2457Gislason,G22800–12016E98Icelandic-ch 20167
Steingrimsson,H2574Thorfinnsson,B2426½–½2016D37Icelandic-ch 20167
Gislason,G2280Johannsson,O2226½–½2016A06Icelandic-ch 20168
Gunnarsson,J2454Steingrimsson,H2574½–½2016C50Icelandic-ch 20168
Hjartarson,J2547Jensson,E23701–02016A11Icelandic-ch 20168
Kjartansson,D2371Kjartansson,G24571–02016D45Icelandic-ch 20168
Thorfinnsson,B2410Ingvason,J21421–02016A20Icelandic-ch 20168
Thorfinnsson,B2426Gretarsson,H2580½–½2016E12Icelandic-ch 20168
Gretarsson,H2580Gunnarsson,J2454½–½2016E06Icelandic-ch 20169
Ingvason,J2142Gislason,G22800–12016B49Icelandic-ch 20169
Jensson,E2370Thorfinnsson,B24260–12016A37Icelandic-ch 20169
Johannsson,O2226Kjartansson,D23711–02016C05Icelandic-ch 20169
Kjartansson,G2457Hjartarson,J2547½–½2016A05Icelandic-ch 20169
Steingrimsson,H2574Thorfinnsson,B24101–02016A40Icelandic-ch 20169
Gunnarsson,J2454Jensson,E2370½–½2016C00Icelandic-ch 201610
Hjartarson,J2547Johannsson,O22261–02016C02Icelandic-ch 201610
Kjartansson,D2371Ingvason,J21421–02016E32Icelandic-ch 201610
Steingrimsson,H2574Gretarsson,H25801–02016A40Icelandic-ch 201610
Thorfinnsson,B2410Gislason,G22801–02016E91Icelandic-ch 201610
Thorfinnsson,B2426Kjartansson,G24570–12016A05Icelandic-ch 201610
Gislason,G2280Kjartansson,D2371½–½2016A06Icelandic-ch 201611
Gretarsson,H2580Thorfinnsson,B24100–12016Icelandic-ch 201611
Ingvason,J2142Hjartarson,J25470–12016C55Icelandic-ch 201611
Jensson,E2370Steingrimsson,H2574½–½2016D43Icelandic-ch 201611
Johannsson,O2226Thorfinnsson,B24261–02016B40Icelandic-ch 201611
Kjartansson,G2457Gunnarsson,J24541–02016B90Icelandic-ch 201611

 

Icelandic chess legend Fridrik Olafsson was one of the first to congratulate.

Photos: Tournament page...

 

André Schulz started working for ChessBase in 1991 and is an editor of ChessBase News.

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