Short and Sokolov lead Sigeman & Co.

by ChessBase
5/27/2013 – The Sigeman tournament is now in the second half with five rounds played, and the podium is being disputed hard by the players. The leadership has changed hands a few times among the group, especially after round five when Nigel Short beat Loek van Wely in a hard fight, and Richard Rapport was punished for his brash opening play by Hans Tikannen. Report and analysis.

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Tourney structure: seven-round round robin
Time control: 100 minutes/50 moves + 15 minutes + 30 seconds/move starting with the first move
Duration: May 22 to May 28
Game start: daily 14:00 (server time), last round 12:00

Short and Sokolov lead Sigeman & Co.

The headquarters of the sponsors PWC and Sigeman & Co.

Johan Sigeman, a respectable 2100+ player, founded the lawfirm Sigeman and Co. in
1991, and a year later began the traditional grandmaster event now in its 21st edition.

The Sigeman tournament is now in the second half with five rounds played, and the podium is being disputed hard by the players. The leadership has changed hands a few times among the group, especially after Nigel Short beat Loek van Wely in a hard fight, and Richard Rapport was punished for his brash opening play by Hans Tikannen.

Live commentary can be viewed at the site

Usually the commentators study the computer screen, but here the two
grandmasters use a board which allows for a more dynamic experience.

The young Hungarian, playing black, decided to catch his opponent off guard by playing a highly provocative 1.c4 e5 2.g3 h5?! The stratagem backfired and Tikkanen responded very well with vigorous play and suddenly Black was the one trying to get his bearings.

[Event "21st Sigeman & Co"] [Site "Malmo SWE"] [Date "2013.05.26"] [Round "5.3"] [White "Tikkanen, Hans"] [Black "Rapport, Richard"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A20"] [WhiteElo "2537"] [BlackElo "2674"] [PlyCount "77"] [EventDate "2013.05.22"] 1. c4 e5 2. g3 h5 {This strange move has been played by grandmasters before, in case you wondered, but it is almost always against players rated considerably lower. Although Tikannen does have a 140 Elo less than Rapport, he is nevertheless a grandmaster.} 3. Nc3 h4 4. g4 Bb4 {The 'novelty'.} (4... h3 5. Bxh3 Qh4 6. d4 d6 7. Nd5 Na6 8. b4 Qd8 9. a3 Ne7 10. Bg5 f6 11. Be3 Be6 12. Nxe7 Bxe7 13. Bg2 Qc8 14. h3 Bxc4 15. Rc1 Bf7 16. Nf3 c6 17. b5 Nb8 18. bxc6 bxc6 19. dxe5 dxe5 20. O-O Qa6 21. Rc3 Bd5 22. Qc2 Nd7 23. Qg6+ Kf8 24. Ng5 e4 {1-0 (35) Dzindzichashvili,R (2565)-Shirazi,K (2450) Durango 1992}) 5. h3 Ne7 6. Bg2 Nbc6 7. Qa4 a5 8. Nd5 Nxd5 9. cxd5 Ne7 10. a3 Bd6 11. d4 $1 { White plays vigorously against Black's provocative opening play.} c6 $6 {Now White has the psychological edge and Black begins to lose his way.} 12. dxe5 Bxe5 13. Nf3 Bb8 14. Qd4 ({Also possible was} 14. d6 Bxd6 (14... Ng6 15. Bg5 f6 16. Qe4+ Kf7 17. Qc4+ Kf8 18. Be3 {and Black's disjointed position may already be lost. Ex:} Bxd6 19. Qd3 {wins a piece.}) 15. Qd4 Qc7 16. Qxg7 Rg8 17. Qh7 { the h4 pawn falls, and Black still must solve his development issues.}) 14... Nxd5 15. Qxg7 Qf6 16. Qxf6 Nxf6 17. Nxh4 $1 d5 ({Black cannot take back since} 17... Rxh4 {is met with} 18. Bg5 $18) 18. Nf3 Ne4 {Black is finally starting to coordinate, but is a pawn down.} 19. Be3 f5 {This looks like a very dubious idea as it allows White to create not one, but two passed pawns.} 20. g5 c5 21. Rd1 Be6 22. h4 Rh5 {If Black needs to use a rook to blockade a pawn things are truly dire.} 23. Nd2 b6 24. Bf3 Rh8 25. h5 Ra7 26. h6 {White is winning here.} Bf7 27. Nxe4 dxe4 28. Bh5 Bxh5 29. Rxh5 Kf7 30. Rh1 Kg6 31. Rd5 Re8 32. Kd1 Ree7 33. Kc2 Red7 34. Rhd1 Rxd5 35. Rxd5 Re7 36. Bd2 Be5 37. a4 Re6 38. Rd7 f4 $2 39. Bxf4 $1 (39. Bxf4 Bxf4 40. Rg7+ Kf5 41. h7 {and the pawn queens.}) 1-0

The playing hall looks like a palace

Ivan Sokolov is interviewed by ChessTV.eu

Both GM Stellan Brynell and GM Ulf Andersson gave a simul at the Malmö station

The great Ulf Andersson had no trouble against...

... the battle-seasoned warriors who faced him.

GM Stellan Brynell also gave an excellent showing and it was a big success

Current standings after five rounds:

Pictures from official site


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