ROMGAZ
and the Chess Club Society "Elisabeta Polihroniade” of Bucharest
are staging a double round robin tournament with six of the world's top GMs:
the young Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaidjan, Elo 2756, ranking 5th in the world),
the experienced Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine, Elo 2746, 12th in the world), Alexei
Shirov (Spain, Elo 2745, 13th), Boris Gelfand (Israel, Elo 2733, 15th), Gata
Kamsky (USA, Elo 2720, 24th), as well as the best ever rated Romanian chess
player Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (Elo 2675, 55th in the world), 2005 European Champion.
The competition is taking place from June 14th to 25th 2009 in Bazna, Romania.
Time control: 120 minutes for the first forty moves, 60 minutes for the next
twenty moves and then each player will be allotted 15 minutes after the second
time control and an increment of 30 seconds per move.
The beautiful Transylvanian spa town of Bazna in Romania [Photo Ayon
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The venue and opening ceremony
The hotel property of the energy company Romgaz...
...which is sponsoring the event to celebrate the company's 100th anniversary
It is located on a pitoresque place, surrounded by woods and it's a
Tennis courts are part of the hotel complex
The driving force behind the organization of this tournament is the Romanian
WGM Elisabeta Polihroniade
At the opening ceremony Elisabeta introduced the players, who would come one
by one and then stay in front of the journalists and spectators.
The local hero, the best ever rated Romanian chess player Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu
Boris Gelfand, Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu, Vassily Ivanchuk, Teimour Radjabov
and Gata Kamsky
Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu, Boris Gelfand and Alexander Huzman...
...who has been Gelfand's second for twenty years
All participants pose togetherfor a group photo.
The man with the Romanian sash is the Mayor of Bazna, second from right in
the front row is the General Director of Romgaz, Marcel Piteiu. At the official
ceremony Alexei Shirov was missing, since he came later on due to the tournament
in Poikovsky.
Round one summary
Round 1: Sunday, June 14, 2009 |
Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu |
0-1 |
Vassily Ivanchuk |
Teimour Radjabov |
½-½ |
Boris Gelfand |
Gata Kamsky |
0-1 |
Alexei Shirov |
|
Teimour Radjabov, who drew the round one game against Boris Gelfand
In Radjabov-Gelfand the players repeated until move 22 the
game Leko-Gelfand played in April 2009 in Nalchik and won by the Hungarian GM.
However, Gelfand was confidently repeating the game and it was Radjabov who
was thinking longer in the opening. At the press conference after the game Radjabov
said that he could not remember exactly the game Leko-Gelfand and that’s
why he invested so much time for his opening moves. On his 23rd move White implemented
a new plan, which brought him a better endgame. However, Radjabov was short
on time and didn’t use all his chances to increase the advantage.
Vassily Ivanchuk started with a black pieces win against Liviu Nisipeanu
Nisipeanu and Ivanchuk played the Zaitsev
Variation of the Ruy Lopez. Soon the players reached a very complex strategical
position, where Ivanchuk had recent practical experience from the White side.
Nisipeanu was playing creative, but the Romanian GM invested too much time and
soon found himself in the time trouble. In tactical complications a single bad
move from White led to a quick victory for Ivanchuk.
Gata Kamsky started with a loss to Alexei Shirov
Kamsky-Shirov was a very hard-fought long game. Both sides
had the advantage on different stage of the game. Then on move 26 both players
missed a tactical shot. Being short of time Kamsky made another big mistake
on move 31 and after that the American ended up in a difficult rook endgame,
which he couldn’t save.
Annotated games by GM Dorian Rogozenco to follow...
