Chess Festival in Basel – three GMs lead with perfect scores

by ChessBase
1/3/2013 – The seven-round Swiss Master tournament has a lot of high-rated grandmasters in a field of 89 players, with second seed Boris Grachev leading together with two other players after three rounds (all with 3-0 scores). We bring you games, results and portrait pictures – but in addition, as a special new service, a selection of tactical highlights for you to enjoy.
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The Basel Chess Festival is taking place from January 1st to 5th as a seven-round Swiss tournament, with top seeds Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Boris Grachev, Edouard Romain and a host of strong GMs in a field totalling 89 players (197 in all groups).


The playing hall in Basel


The top four games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on Playchess

Standing after three rounds

# Player
Titel
Rtng
Nat.
+
=
–
Pts
1. Grachev,Boris
GM
2688
RUS
3
0
0
3.0
2. Vajda,Levente
GM
2603
ROU
3
0
0
3.0
3. Lötscher,Roland
FM
2395
SUI
3
0
0
3.0
4. Fier,Alexandr
GM
2573
BRA
2
1
0
2.5
5. Vorotnikov,Vladis
GM
2464
RUS
2
1
0
2.5
6. Kurmann,Oliver
IM
2456
SUI
2
1
0
2.5
7. Vachier-Lagrave,M
GM
2711
FRA
2
1
0
2.5
8. Istratescu,Andrej
GM
2654
FRA
2
1
0
2.5
8. Gavrilov,Alexei
GM
2501
RUS
2
1
0
2.5
10. Turov,Maxim
GM
2630
RUS
2
1
0
2.5
10. Van Kampen,Robin
GM
2581
NED
2
1
0
2.5
12. Aguera Naredo,Jav
FM
2417
ESP
2
1
0
2.5
12. Milosevic,Goran
IM
2328
SUI
2
1
0
2.5
14. Melkumyan,Hrant
GM
2656
ARM
2
1
0
2.5
15. Edouard,Romain
GM
2686
FRA
2
1
0
2.5

Here are some interesting top games from the first three rounds to play through:

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1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 dxc4 5.Qa4+ Nbd7 6.Qxc4 c5 7.d3 a6 8.Qb3 Ra7 9.a4 b6 10.0-0 Bb7 11.Na3 Be7 12.e4 0-0 13.Nc4 Bc6 14.Rd1 Qa8 15.Nfe5 Nxe5 16.Nxe5 Nd7 17.Nxc6 Qxc6 18.d4 cxd4 19.Rxd4 Nc5 20.Qc2 a5 21.Be3 Rd7 22.Rc4 Rfd8 23.b4 axb4 24.Rxb4 Rc7 25.e5 Qd7 26.Rxb6 Nd3 27.Qe2 Qc8 28.Be4 Rc2 29.Qf1 Rc3 30.a5 Nxe5 31.a6 Nc4 32.a7 Nxe3 33.fxe3 Qc5 34.a8Q Qxb6 35.Qb7 Qxe3+ 36.Kh1 Rb3 37.Re1 Qxe1 38.Qxe1 Rxb7 39.Bxb7 h5 40.Be4 Bf6 41.Qb1 Rd2 42.Qc1 Rd4 43.Qc2 Rd8 44.Kg2 Rd4 45.Kf3 Rd8 46.h3 Rd4 47.Ke2 Rd8 48.Ke3 Bg5+ 49.Kf3 Bf6 50.Kf4 Rd4 51.g4 hxg4 52.hxg4 g5+ 53.Ke3 Rd8 54.Qh2 Kg7 55.Qh7+ Kf8 56.Ke2 Rb8 57.Kd3 Rb4 58.Qh6+ Ke7 59.Qh1 Rd4+ 60.Kc2 Rd8 61.Qf3 Rc8+ 62.Bc6 Kf8 63.Kb3 Kg7 64.Kc4 Rd8 65.Kb5 Rd4 66.Be4 Rd8 67.Kc6 Rc8+ 68.Kb7 Rh8 69.Bd3 Rh2 70.Qe4 Rh8 71.Bb5 Rd8 72.Bd3 Rh8 73.Kc6 Rc8+ 74.Kd7 Rd8+ 75.Kc7 Rh8 76.Bb5 Rd8 77.Bd7 Rh8 78.Qe2 Bd8+ 79.Kb7 Bf6 80.Qb5 Rd8 81.Kc7 Rh8 82.Be8 Rf8 83.Kd7 Kg8 84.Qc6 Kg7 85.Kd6 Rh8 86.Qd7 Rf8 87.Qc8 Kg8 88.Bxf7+ Kxf7 89.Qd7+ Kg6 90.Kxe6 Bd8 91.Qd3+ Kg7 92.Qd4+ Bf6 93.Qd7+ Kg6 94.Qb5 Kg7 95.Qd7+ ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Pelletier,Y2604Toth,B2352½–½2013A13Hilton Master Open 20132.6
Georgiadis,N2369Vachier-Lagrave,M27110–12013B91Hilton Master Open 20132.1
Grachev,B2688Filipovic,B23691–02013A50Hilton Master Open 20132.2
Heimann,A2489Grachev,B26880–12013A07Hilton Master Open 20133.2
Hansen,E2568Loetscher,R23950–12013B36Hilton Master Open 20133.5
Vajda,L2603Lekic,D24111–02013C50Hilton Master Open 20133.3

And here are some fun tactical shots from the tournament. Click on the diagram in the notation to jump to the critical position. Note that you can download the PGN file our Javascript player is showing and load it with Fritz (or Rybka, or Houdini) and analyse the positions marked as diagrams. It is quite a lot of fun, really, and we urge you to try it.

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1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Bb7 10.d4 Re8 11.Nbd2 Bf8 12.a3 Na5 13.Bc2 c5 14.b4 exd4 15.cxd4 cxb4 16.axb4 Nc4 17.Nxc4 bxc4 18.d5 g6 19.Bb2 Bg7 20.Qd2 Rc8 21.Ra3 Nd7 22.Bxg7 Kxg7 23.Ba4 Re7 24.Bxd7 Rxd7 25.Nd4 Kg8 26.f4 Qb6 27.Kh2 Rdc7 28.Rc3 Qxb4 29.f5 f6 30.Ne6 Re7 31.fxg6 hxg6 32.Rf1 Rxe6 33.dxe6 Bxe4 34.Qd4 d5 35.Rg3 Rf8 36.Rxf6 Rxf6 37.Qxf6 Qf8 38.Qe5 Qe7
39.Ra3 Qxa3 40.e7 1–0
  • Start an analysis engine:
  • Try maximizing the board:
  • Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
  • Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
  • Drag the split bars between window panes.
  • Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
  • Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
  • Create an account to access the games cloud.
WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Vachier-Lagrave,M2711Duessel,U22281–02013C92Hilton Master Open 20131.1
Melkumjanc,N2256Bartel,M26290–12013B06Hilton Master Open 20131.6
Aerni,A2206Fier,A25730–12013B22Hilton Master Open 20131.12
Heimann,A2489Eidinger,H21371–02013B63Hilton Master Open 20131.17
Grachev,B2688Filipovic,B23691–02013A50Hilton Master Open 20132.2
Fier,A2573Faibisovich,V23491–02013B35Hilton Master Open 20132.9
Maeurer,C2291Heimann,A24890–12013A09Hilton Master Open 20132.12
Vorotnikov,V2464Grandadam,N23221–02013D00Hilton Master Open 20132.13
Dimitrov,A2346Bhend,E22481–02013D07Hilton Master Open 20132.24
Klumpp,J2070Winterberg,L22121–02013A15Hilton Master Open 20132.32
Kvetny,M2201Stoeri,L20531–02013E32Hilton Master Open 20132.34
Giesler,J2089Maeurer,C22911–02013C11Hilton Master Open 20133.25
Sand,R1949Tschann,S22240–12013D11Hilton Master Open 20133.30
Winterberg,L2212Prill,G20561–02013E15Hilton Master Open 20133.38

Player portraits

1. Grachev,Boris
GM
2688
RUS
+3
=0
–0
3.0

2. Vajda,Levente
GM
2603
ROU
+3
=0
–0
3.0

5. Vorotnikov,Vladis
GM
2464
RUS
+2
=1
–0
2.5

7. Vachier-Lagrave,M
GM
2711
FRA
2
1
0
2.5

8. Gavrilov,Alexei
GM
2501
RUS
+2
=1
–0
2.5

10. Van Kampen,R.
GM
2581
NED
+2
=1
–0
2.5

14. Melkumyan,Hrant
GM
2656
ARM
+2
=1
–0
2.5

15. Edouard,Romain
GM
2686
FRA
+2
=1
–0
2.5

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 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.

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