Karen Asrian Memorial – Yerevan 2008

The "Chess Giants Yerevan 2008" rapid chess tournament was originally
scheduled to be held in Yerevan, Armenia, from June 9th to 15th, 2008. Due to
the sudden and
tragic death of top Armenian GM Karen Asrian on June 9th, 2008, at the age
of 28, the Armenian Chess Federation decided to interrupt the event for a few
days, and then rename it to the "Karen Asrian Memorial". This will
be the name it will bear in the future. In addition, the rapid open scheduled
to have been played in parallel to the main tournament from June 12-15, was
cancelled.
Final report
Before the last two rounds of mini-matches on the final day Peter Leko was
leading with 7.5/12 points, with Levon Aronian half a point behind. In the first
game of the day Leko, with the white pieces, fell victim to an unusual Sicilian
and a vicious attack on his king, which was castled queenside. In the meantime
Levon Aronian played the following miniature against England's top GM Michael
Adams:
Aronian,L (2763) - Adams,Mi (2729) [E17]
Karen Asrian Mem Yerevan ARM (13), 15.06.2008
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Re1 Na6 8.Ne5
d5 9.cxd5 exd5 10.Nc3 c5 11.dxc5 Nxc5 12.Be3 Re8 13.Nd3 Ne6 14.Rc1 Ne4 15.Qa4
Bf6 16.Nxe4 dxe4 17.Red1
17...exd3? 18.Bxb7 Nd4. Adams was certainly not eager to get
tied down with 18...Rb8 19.Rxd3 Qe7 20.Rd7 Qf8 (yes, the queen has no other
squares) 21.Qxa7. 19.Bxd4 dxe2 20.Re1 1-0.

The winner of the Karen Asrian Memorial 2008: Levon Aronian
In the final games Leko conceded a 27-move draw with black against Morozevich,
while Aronian got his with black against Adams in 23 moves. The Armenian champ
was the overall winner, followed by Leko and then, half a point behind, Morozevich
and Gelfand.

Caught in the penultimate round: Peter Leko from Hungary
Final standings (after 14 rounds)

The drawing average in this event was 65%. White won 21% of the games, Black
14%.
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
the free PGN reader ChessBase Light, which gives you immediate access.
You can also use the program to read, replay and analyse the PGN games. |
|