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The 15th Anniversary edition of the Karpov-Poikovsky international tournament is underway and is being played at Nefteyugansk in the district of Ugra, Russia. It is a ten-player round robin competition played at 100 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 50 minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30-second increment as of move one.
The playing hall of the XV Edition
If you have been following the latest super GM tournaments with a bit of disappointment at the mostly innocuous opening play, with Berlins galore, and oddball openings that lead to nothing much, then the recently started Karpov Poikhovsky tournament is for you. The lineup alone virtually guaranteed dynamic firebrand chess it is worth mentioning.
| Morozevich, Alexander | g | RUS | 2722 |
| Saric, Ivan | g | CRO | 2665 |
| Jakovenko, Dmitry | g | RUS | 2726 |
| Shirov, Alexei | g | LAT | 2702 |
| Eljanov, Pavel | g | UKR | 2732 |
| Bacrot, Etienne | g | FRA | 2722 |
| Sutovsky, Emil | g | ISR | 2642 |
| Nepomniachtchi, Ian | g | RUS | 2732 |
| Motylev, Alexander | g | RUS | 2685 |
| Bologan, Viktor | g | MDA | 2649 |
The list of players is quite intriguing, and promises exciting chess, needless to say. Many of the participants are repeat offenders, and three of them have won the event twice (no one has yet won it three times), including Victor Bologan, who won it in the two inaugural years, 2000 and 2001, Etienne Bacrot (2005, 2011), Dmitry Jakovenko (2007, 2012), while others have already stood on the top of the podium, such as Alexey Shirov (2006), reigning European Champion Alexander Motylev (2009), and the title-holder Pavel Eljanov (2013 obviously).
Pavel Eljanov won it in 2013 and will seek to defend his title. He is in great form,
having won the Gashimov Memorial B just two weeks ago.
Dmitry Jakovenko won the tournament twice
Add to them Ivan Saric, the 2014 Croatian champion, Emil Sutovsky, Ian Nepomniachtchi, and the much admired maverick Alexander Morozevich.
If there is one quality one can count on for Morozevich, it is his unpredictability
So what kind of openings have they played in the first two rounds? Two Sicilian Najdorfs, two King's Indian Classical, two Ruy Lopez Center Attacks, and an Anti-Meran Gambit to boot. In round one, only one player was able to score a win, despite the exciting battles, and that was Alexander Morozeich after a very sharp game against Viktor Bologan that could have gone wrong. He never compromised though, and with an advantage in the endgame, milked it for all its worth with great technique and tenacity.
In round two, Ivan Saric showed he was not to be trifled with, despite his more modest rating compared to several others, and defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi in a powerful attack.
Ivan Saric showed he was not cannon fodder in round two as he demolished Nepomniachtchi
Saric was not the only victor in round two, as Morozevich scored his second straight win, at the expense of Alexander Motylev, to take the early lead with 2.0/2. Dmitry Jakovenko also won his game against Bologan.
Motylev (left) was unable to contain Morozevich in round two. That said, he started
badly in Gashimov too and came back to take clear second.
Photos by Evgeny Vashenyaka
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 a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs. |
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