82nd Brazilian Ch: Mekhitarian leads bloodbath
1/14/2016 – It would be precipitous to say that Leitão’s chances for a record eighth title are jeopardized, but it will most certainly be a small mountain to climb. After five rounds, Mekhitarian and Choma shared first with 4.0/5, but a dramatic win over Leitão, left Krikor in sole first with 5.0/6. The tournament has been a bloodbath with almost 80% wins. Report, photos, and games.
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Report and photos by Albert Silver
If the tournament were to be described as a battle, then the depiction would be that of a battlefield with bodies strewn left and right, and smoking craters. After six rounds of uncompromising action, just over 22% of the games ended in draws, while the sixth round saw no peaceful results.
After five rounds, the two leaders were GM Krikor Mekhitarian and FM Ernani Choma with 4.0/5
Seven-time champion Rafael Leitão had a slowish start but a key win in round five over
IM Eduardo Limp (left) kept him in contention with 3.5/5
It all came down to a key showdown between the two grandmasters. The game was relatively
balanced, but hard fought, and neither player really seemed happy with a draw...
... especially GM Krikor Mekhitarian who refused a repetion, despite a lightly worse position,
to keep on fighting.
GM Krikor Mekhitarian - GM Rafael Leitão
A vital victory for the young grandmaster who is now the clear leader.
Right behind him however is IM Evandro Barbosa, who has had an excellent event thus far,
and already played both grandmasters in the first two rounds.
The win-rate has been extraordinary, and one can only congratulate all the players for their
exemplary fighting spirit
IM Yago Santiago, who had had a tough 0.0/3 start, is now at 2.0/6 and is clawing his way
back to salvage what he can of this year's championship
Current standings after six rounds
ITT CXG Marcel Duchamp Memorial
Running parallel to the main event competition is the Marcel Duchamp Memorial. This is spearheaded by the Brazilian Chess Federation in collaboration with the Marcel Duchamp Foundation, whose president is Argentine Eduardo Moccero. The Marcel Duchamp Foundation is a close friend of female chess, and has helped sponsor many events in support of female chess development.
The competition is designed to create chances for WGM norms for four players seeking them, though the challenge will be considerable and exciting. Instead of having just enough to allow a norm, four grandmasters and one international master form the opponents, meaning that should any of the ladies be successful enough, even more can be achieved.
The Memorial is held late in the afternoon, and since some rounds overlap, the room can
look like this, with action in every direction
Among the Brazilian Women International Masters are Juliana Terão...
...and WIM Vanessa Feliciano.
From Argentina there is WIM Ayelen Martinez...
... and Marisa Zuriel.
Marisa Zuriel drew GM Carlos Garcia Palermo in round one. Above, Eduardo Moccero
follows the post-mortem.
Argentine GM Alonso Salvador is the top seed in the competition...
... followed by American GM Robert Hungaski
GM Carlos Garcia Palermo is the thrid grandmaster in the group...
... and Portuguese grandmaster Luis Galego is the fourth.
Rounding off the group of titled players is IM Bernardo Roselli, the organizer of the Continental
Championship held in Montevideo, Uruguay in early 2015
Finally there is local player Luiz Manzi who is the tenth player
A special acknowledgement to Sabrina de San Vicente, in charge of the DGT boards, which
make it possible to follow the games live
Current standings after four rounds
The live games - Partidas ao vivo
Live Commentary in Portuguese
Also of special note in this year’s edition is the second straight year of live GM commentary of all the rounds, in Portuguese, by GM Darcy Lima. This year the Brazilian Federation is partnering with ChessBase so that the live commentary is broadcast via Playchess but open to all visitors, even guest accounts! This video commentary is done together with ChessBase News editor, Albert Silver, and can be viewed in the web version of Playchess as well.
Rafael Leitão joins Darcy Lima in the post-game conference
The commentary could be seen not only in the desktop software, but also the web version of Playchess
To view it live, and free, just enter PlayChess, go to Live Games and Listen to Radio
With a range of players and ratings from an untitled 2159 FIDE to a 2633 FIDE grandmaster, there is room for wild games, unpredictable results, and overall highly entertaining rounds, and the first three rounds have lived up to that.
For Brazilian viewers - Para leitores Brasileiros
Este vídeo em Português deve esclarecer como acessar a Playchess para acompanhar os
comentarios ao vivo e de graça. (Trans: this video in Portuguese should help explain how
to access Playchess in order to enjoy the free live commentary)
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 13 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs. |
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