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 two: Ivanchuk wins again, leads 3.0:1.0
After a nice fighting game three that ended in a draw after 38 moves. In the
second game the Ukrainian world class GM struck for a second time.
The two opponents in front of one of the most beautiful cities in Europe
David Navara and Vassily Ivanchuk on the stage for game three
The audience in the beautiful domed venue
Vassily Ivanchuk at the start of game four
Ivanchuk,V (2746) - Navara,D (2654) [D30]
Cez Trophy Rapid Prague CZE (4), 28.05.2009
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.Qb3 dxc4 8.Qxc4
Nd7 9.Rd1 g6 10.g3 Bg7 11.Bg2 0-0 12.Qb3 Qe7 13.0-0 b6 14.e3 Bb7 15.Nd2 Nf6
16.Rc1 Rfd8 17.Rfd1 Rac8 18.Nc4 c5 19.Bxb7 Qxb7 20.dxc5 Rxd1+ 21.Qxd1 Rxc5 22.b3
Qc6 23.Qd6 Nd5 24.Qxc6 Rxc6 25.Ne2 b5 26.Nd2 Ra6 27.Rc8+ Kh7 28.Nc1 Nc3 29.Kf1
Nxa2 30.Nxa2 Rxa2 31.Ne4 a5 32.Rc7 Rb2 33.Rxf7 Rxb3 34.Ra7 a4?
What a pity: David Navara was doing fine, pinning his hopes on his two passed
pawns, which pose a long-term danger for Vassily Ivanchuk. But the Czech GM
has underestimated the lethal danger to his king and the pinned bishop: 35.Nf6+
Kh8 36.Ra8+ Bf8 37.Nd7 a3 38.Nxf8 b4 39.Nxe6+ Kh7 40.Nd4 Rb2 41.h4 a2 42.Kg2
Rd2 43.Nb3 Rb2
After 44.Nc1 Rc2 45.Rxa2 Rxc1 46.Rb2 it is all over for Black. 1-0.
Ivanchuk in Prague
With his friend and second, Mexican GM Manuel Leon Hoyos (in the background
St Nicolas Church)
Two Czech GMs (Vlastimil Hort lives in Germany) in front of their picturesque
city
Czech GM Jan Plachetka does a lecture on the famous Richard Reti, who was an
ethnic Jewish Austrian-Hungarian but later became Czechoslovakian and died in
1929 in Prague (of scarlet fever, at the age of 40). Note that Plachetka is
using the "Dossier" function of ChessBase with Mega Database –
Ctrl-F2, "Reti", "Dossier".
GM David Navara in the audience listening to his older colleague
GM Lubos Kaválek, originally from Czechoslovakia but now living in the
USA, comments for an audience that includes Czech Prime Minister Jan
Fischer (second from right)
The Prime Minister chats with David Navara's father and main organiser Pavel
Matocha
Pavel the Colorful with commentator Vlastimil Hort
Vlastimil was one of the world's strongest players during the 1960s and
1970s
and reached the Candidates stage for the world chess championship.
Further schedule
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
