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7th Continental Chess Tournament / Mar del Plata 2012Tourney type: Eleven-round swiss open Special: Event is considered a world championship qualifier thus all norms earned are worth double. |
Venezuelan GM Eduardo Iturrizaga has been in great form
The top American is not one of the GMs, it is IM Robert Andrew Hungaski (2451 FIDE)
For anyone hoping to see the lineup of leaders by the end of four rounds, they have been served. Despite a tough playing schedule with no easy games, and a double-rounder on Sunday, none of the players were able to muster the strength for a perfect 4.0/4 and 100% score. Though the games were played to the end, with major efforts by most players to try and edge past the pack, none were able to and seventeen players remain tied with 3.5/4.
Argentine DIego Flores suffered a lapse of his own, losing to Uruguayan IM Roselli
Top Brazilian GM Rafael Leitao was held to a draw by American IM Hungaski. As a
matter of fact he was quite fortunate to save the game.
The very creative Argentine GM Pablo Ricardi faces top seed
Lazaro Bruzon in round five.
Argentine IM Carolina Lujan (2379 FIDE)
If you can't outclass them on the board, you can outfashion them
off it.
Venezuelan IM Rafael Gascon
Brazilian FM Dirceu Viana
was once the chess columnist for
Brazil's largest newspaper "O Globo".
Of note in the fourth round was Brazilian GM Krikor Mekhitarian’s valiant attempts to beat the brilliant Peruvian Julio Granda Zuniga, constantly finding ways to keep the game alive. Worth checking out.
In spite of the strongest players all playing still, this game on board 25 was the one
with the greatest number of spectators. Why? It is because IM Jorge Rosito, playing
white, is from
Mar del Plata, and the locals came to support him.
[Event "VII Continental Americano"]
[Site "Mar del Plata, ARG"]
[Date "2012.10.13"]
[Round "2.9"]
[White "Feliciano Ebert, Vanessa"]
[Black "Felgaer, Ruben"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B07"]
[WhiteElo "2268"]
[BlackElo "2579"]
[Annotator "Sergio Slipak"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "2012.??.??"]
{Today we will see a victory of one of the best Argentine player, four-time
national champion, GM Ruben Felgaer, who just came back from a brilliant
performance at the Istanbul Olympiad in Turkey. The difficulties he faces, in
just the second round, attests to how difficult the tournament is. The young
and talented Brazilian WFM, Vanessa Feliciano Ebert, gives Ruben serious
problems as will be seen.} 1. d4 d6 2. e4 Nf6 3. f3 c5 $5 {Seeking to play
complicated systems from the very first moves, this is usual for strong
players in Swiss Opens, since it is necessary to win with both White and Black.
} 4. d5 e6 5. c4 b5 $5 {Playing in the spirit of the Benko and contuing to
provoke complications.} 6. cxb5 exd5 7. exd5 Be7 8. Ne2 $1 {An excellent plan
by Vanessa, the knight will go to c3, leaving the one on b1 to sustain the
position in a3. This is the best way to coordinate the pieces.} O-O 9. Nec3 Bb7
10. Bc4 a6 11. O-O Nfd7 $1 {Well played, deploying the knight to b6 and
leaving the f6 square for the bishop.} 12. Bf4 Nb6 13. Na3 {Completing the
development and upholding the advanced outpost.} Bf6 $6 {An imprecision which
will be convincingly refuted.} (13... axb5 $1 {was correct. At the moment,
White cannot take with the knight, so this gives Black sufficient counterplay
for the pawn with a complicated position.}) 14. Qd3 $1 {Now the bishop on c4
is sufficiently protected and White has a clear advantage.} axb5 15. Naxb5 Nxc4
16. Qxc4 Ba6 17. a4 {On top of the pawn deficit, Black has problems with his
b8-knight. Ruben bravely sacrifices his pawn on d6. From a technical
perspective this decision is debatable, but from a practical point of view it
is vital to obtain counterplay and the final result of the game will end of
rewarding the risk taken.} Nd7 $5 18. Bxd6 Bd4+ 19. Kh1 Nb6 20. Qb3 Bxc3 21.
Bxf8 $6 {White's first mistake.} ({With} 21. Qxc3 $1 {White would maintain a
significant advantage since} Bxb5 $2 {is refuted with} 22. Bxf8 {which allows
the bishop to be recaptured, since Black must defend against the mate threat
on g7.}) 21... Bb4 $1 {Now Black continues worse, but with a sharp and
complicated game.} 22. Bxg7 Kxg7 23. f4 {White loses the thread of the game.} (
23. Rfd1 {was the correct and logical continuation.}) 23... Qd7 24. f5 Kh8 25.
Qg3 f6 26. Nc7 $4 {An unfortunate blunder that loses the game on the spot.} ({
After} 26. d6 {There would be plenty of play ahead.}) 26... Rg8 {with Bxf1 to
follow.} 0-1
That said, it was nevertheless a day for records, and several. Unless you slept throughout the entire day, there is no way you cannot know of it, and here in Argentina it took place between rounds three and four. You guessed it, I am referring to Felix Baumgartner’s amazing fall from the edge of space, breaking the previous 50-year-old record. Part of what made it such a wonder was that no one was dependent on their local TV channel to carry it, and it was viewed live on YouTube by over eight million viewers. That is not eight million views, that is eight million viewers at the same time. The beginning of a trend.
Over eight million viewers ended up connecting to watch the amazing leap
Baumgartner’s giant leap, sponsored by Red Bull, was more than simply a daredevil stunt to enter the record books, though he certainly did that. He not only trounced the old record of 32 thousand meters by falling from a capsule taken to 39 thousand meters by balloon, but also reached a staggering speed of Mach 1.24, pulverizing the sound of speed, the first man to do so in freefall.
All that is nice and well, but how does this serve mankind? For one thing, this might create the means for astronauts to eject from failing spacecraft without obligatorily being forced to just sacrifice themselves in the name of science. As space development begins to go beyond space stations and enters the commercial era, this resource could easily be the difference between life and death. No doubt further developments will come from this.
The official video, available in full HD. Well worth seeing.
Rk |
Tit |
Name | Fed |
Rtg |
Pts. |
1 |
IM |
Tristan Leonardo | ARG |
2442 |
3.5 |
2 |
GM |
Granda Zuniga Julio E | PER |
2647 |
3.5 |
IM |
Hungaski Robert Andrew | USA |
2451 |
3.5 |
|
4 |
GM |
Mareco Sandro | ARG |
2581 |
3.5 |
GM |
Mekhitarian Krikor Sevag | BRA |
2503 |
3.5 |
|
6 |
GM |
Bruzon Batista Lazaro | CUB |
2717 |
3.5 |
7 |
GM |
Iturrizaga Eduardo | VEN |
2639 |
3.5 |
GM |
Ortiz Suarez Isan Reynaldo | CUB |
2579 |
3.5 |
|
9 |
FM |
Julia Ernesto | ARG |
2370 |
3.5 |
10 |
GM |
Ricardi Pablo | ARG |
2505 |
3.5 |
11 |
GM |
Valerga Diego | ARG |
2485 |
3.5 |
12 |
GM |
Leitao Rafael | BRA |
2617 |
3.5 |
GM |
Bacallao Alonso Yusnel | CUB |
2580 |
3.5 |
|
14 |
IM |
Roselli Mailhe Bernardo | URU |
2430 |
3.5 |
15 |
GM |
Hernandez Guerrero Gilberto | MEX |
2531 |
3.5 |
16 |
GM |
Perez Ponsa Federico | ARG |
2489 |
3.5 |
17 |
IM |
Real De Azua Ernesto | ARG |
2482 |
3.5 |
18 |
FM |
Sabas Jorge | ARG |
2274 |
3.0 |
19 |
GM |
Felgaer Ruben | ARG |
2579 |
3.0 |
IM |
Fusco Leonardo | ARG |
2379 |
3.0 |
|
21 |
IM |
Kanefsck Gustavo | ARG |
2358 |
3.0 |
22 |
IM |
Hansen Eric | CAN |
2527 |
3.0 |
IM |
Diaz Hollemaert Nahuel | ARG |
2408 |
3.0 |
|
24 |
GM |
Matamoros Franco Carlos S. | ECU |
2534 |
3.0 |
The top boards can be followed on Playchess live.
LinksThe 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 a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 11 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs. |
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