CEZ Trophy: Ivanchuk goes into the lead

ČEZ CHESS TROPHY 2009
Navara vs Ivanchuk

The eight-game match in rapid chess, with the best Czech player David Navara playing against grandmaster Vassily Ivanchuk, who belongs to the absolute world chess top, is taking place between 27th to 31st May 2009 at the Best Western Kampa hotel in Prague.

Forty-year-old Vassily Ivanchuk has been among the world's top players for the last twenty years. In the January 1st 2009 ratings he was third in the world.

The match of grandmasters Navara vs Ivanchuk is the main attraction of the chess festival ČEZ CHESS TROPHY 2009, which is held by a civic association Prague Chess Society. All games will be commented on for the audience by the Czech-American grandmaster Lubomír Kaválek. All games will be shown on-line. The match will be complemented by a chess simul and by lectures by grandmasters Lubomír Kaválek, Vlastimil Hort and Ján Plachetka.

The chess festival ČEZ CHESS TROPHY 2009 is being held in a partnership with the capital city Prague.

Day one: Ivanchuk leads 1.5:0.5

Vassily Ivanchuk and David Navarra before the start of the match

An aviary dance display at the opening ceremony

GM commentators Lubos Kavalek and Vlastimil Hort try their hand at it – not enough midriff, guys!

David Navara gets white in the first game (right organiser Pavel Matocha)

The first game ended

Ivanchuk,V (2746) - Navara,D (2654) [D97]
Cez Trophy Rapid Prague CZE (2), 27.05.2009
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 0-0 7.e4 c6 8.Be2 b5 9.Qd3 Qa5 10.Nd2 b4 11.Nc4 Qd8 12.Na4 Ba6 13.Nc5 Bb5 14.Be3 Nbd7 15.Qc2 Nxc5 16.dxc5 Qc8 17.f3 Qa6 18.a4

18...Nd5 19.exd5 cxd5 20.Nb6 Bxe2 21.Nxa8 Bc4 22.Nc7 Qa5 23.Nxd5 b3+ 24.Qd2 Qxd2+ 25.Bxd2 Bxd5 26.0-0-0 Rc8 27.Be3 e6 28.Kb1 Rc6 29.Rd3 Ra6 30.Rc1 Be5 31.c6 Bxc6 32.Rxb3 Kg7 33.h3 Bxa4 34.Ra3 Bd6 35.Bd4+ e5 36.Bc5 Bb8

37.Rc4. White could have used the bishop pin to win material: 37.Bf8+ Kxf8 (37...Kf6 38.Rc8) 38.Rc8+ Kg7 39.Rxb8 h5 40.Rb4. The bishop is trapped and the game is over. However, Ivanchuk's move is also enough to get the full point. 37...Bb5 38.Rb4 Rxa3 39.Rxb5 Rd3 40.Rxb8 Rd2 41.g4 Rd3 42.g5 h6 43.Bf8+ Kh7 44.Be7 1-0.

• Click to replay both games

Brief impression of the start of the match – don't be afraid, the video is just 30 seconds long

Schedule

Wednesday 27th May
4p.m. – “Richard Réti, the Best Czech Chessplayer of the 20th Century” – lecture by GM Ján Plachetka
5 p.m. – 1st game of the match
7 p.m. – 2nd game of the match

Thursday 28th May
4 p.m. – “Chess And Chessplayers During War Times” – lecture by GM Vlastimil Hort
5 p.m. – 3rd game of the match
7 p.m. – 4th game of the match

Friday 29th May
5 p.m. – simul by GM Lubomír Kaválek

Saturday 30th May
4 p.m. – “About the Beauty of Chess, Beautiful Games and the Price of the Beauty” – lecture by Lubomír Kaválek.
5 p.m. – 5th game of the match
7 p.m. – 6th game of the match

Sunday 31st May
4 p.m. – Chess history quiz hold by GM Vlastimil Hort
5 p.m. – 7th game of the match
7 p.m. - 8th game of the match 

Links Official tournament site All games in PGN If you are not a member of the chess server Playchess.com 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.