Corus 02: Shocker in Wijk – top seeds in trouble

by ChessBase
1/16/2005 – GM Teimour Radjabov, watching the games on the Playchess.com server, speculated that the massive sunspots might be responsible. Both favourites in Group A in Wijk aan Zee lost their games, Kramnik to Topalov, who now leads (picture), and Anand to Leko. Judit Polgar lost to Ponomariov, and Morozevich to Adams. Full report.

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Corus Chess Tournament
Wijk aan Zee 14 – 30 January 2005

Official web site Live coverage – ChessBase reports

The event is being held from January 14 to 30 (first and last rounds) at the De Moriaan Community Centre in Wijk aan Zee, Holland. There are three main tournaments, all 14-player round robins, starting at 13.30 Central European Time. The rest days are on Jan. 19, 24 and 27. The rate of play is 40/2, 20/1 and 30 minutes to finish the game (group C 40/2 plus 1 hour for the rest). The games can be watched on the official live coverage site or watched and discussed with other chess fans on the Playchess.com server.

Round two

The young Azerbaijani GM Teimour Radjabov, watching the games in some disbelief, speculated that it must have something to do with the massive storms that are currently raging on the surface of the sun. How could both Vishy Anand (top seed, number two in the world) and Vladimir Kramnik (number four) get into such a lot of trouble, especially when they had the white pieces? Maybe it was the sunspot activity, but more likely the fact that they were facing number five and number three in the world, respectively.

The first to go was Vladimir Kramnik, who was faced with a Sicilian Najdorf and a novelty on move 11 against Veselin Topalov.


Vladimir Kramnik, classical chess world champion

Kramnik,V (2754) - Topalov,V (2757) [B90]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (2), 16.01.2005
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e6 7.f3 b5 8.g4 h6 9.Qd2 b4 10.Na4 Nbd7 11.0-0-0 Ne5

Most experts believed that Topalov's pawn offer should not have been accepted and that Kramnik's 12.Qxb4 was a fatal mistake. But the game really went downhill after 12...Bd7 13.Nb3 and a disheartened Kramnik resigned after 13...Rb8 14.Qa3 Nxf3 15.h3 Nxe4 16.Be2 Ne5 17.Rhe1 Qc7 18.Bd4 Nc6 19.Bc3 d5 20.Nbc5 Qa7 0-1. The last time something like this happened, as far as we know, was when an 18-year-old Kramnik lost rapid chess game with white against Elizbar Ubilava (Anand's second) 1992 in Oviedo.


Veselin Topalov showing his 20-move win in the press room after the game

The next to bite the cold sand of Wijk aan Zee was Vishy Anand, who was confronted with a novelty by Peter Leko on move 21.


Vishy Anand, Indian GM and world's number two player

Anand,V (2786) - Leko,P (2749) [B33]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (2), 16.01.2005
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.Nd5 f5 11.c3 Bg7 12.exf5 Bxf5 13.Nc2 0-0 14.Nce3 Be6 15.Bd3 f5 16.0-0 Ra7 17.a4 Ne7 18.Nxe7+ Rxe7 19.axb5 axb5 20.Bxb5 d5 21.Ra6 f4

Instead of sacrificing the exchange with 22.Rxe6 (22...Rxe6 23.Qxd5 Qxd5 24.Nxd5), Anand played passively: 22.Nc2 Bc8 23.Ra8 Qd6 24.Nb4 Bb7 25.Ra7 d4 26.Ba6? This is where the real problems begin. 26...Bxg2. Could Anand have overlooked this move? 27.Bc4+ Kh8 28.Ra6 Qc5 29.Kxg2 f3+ and from there on it was all downhill. Although Anand hung on for another 28 moves the game ended in a dejected resignation after move 57.


Peter Leko, who scored a very important win against the top seed

Alexander Grischuk vs Nigel Short was a well-fought game. The former British chess prodigy, now pushing 40 and the oldest player in the field, had a definite advantage with the black pieces, but his youthful Russian opponent was able to save the game to a 34-move draw.


Nigel Short, fighting back at 39

The game Michael Adams vs Alexander Morozevich saw the mercurial GM from Moscow go down after losing a pawn on move 28.

Adams,Mi (2741) - Morozevich,A (2741) [C42]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (2), 16.01.2005

Morozevich has just played 28...g7-g5, possibly overlooking White's petite combinaison. After 29.Nxg5+ fxg5 30.Rf3 Black cannot defend the pinned knight on f5, since the second rook can be brought into play on e5. Michael Adams did not let the chance pass and ground his opponent down with ruthless efficiency to win in 49 moves.

Judit Polgar, flushed from her comeback victory in round one, was doing fine with the black pieces against Ruslan Ponomariov until around move 37. Then the strongest women player in the world played some hyper-aggressive moves to ruin her position.

Ponomariov,R (2700) - Polgar,Ju (2728) [B90]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (2), 16.01.2005

Black has just played 39...Qf2xPh4. White's reply 40.Qxd6 threatens 41.Ne7+ and 42.Qf6 mate, so 40...Bd8 is forced. 41.Nf6+ Bxf6 42.gxf6 Ra8+ 43.Kb2. The threat of course is 44.Qd8+ and 45.Rxd8 mate. 43...h5 44.Qe7 Qf2 45.Rd8+ Rxd8 46.Qxd8+ Kh7 After this the ex knockout world champion from Ukraine had no problems converting the position to a full point. 47.Qe7 Qd4+ 48.Ka2 Kh6 49.Qxf7 Qc5 50.Qg7+ Kg5 51.Qe7 Qxc2+ 52.Ka3 Qc1+ 53.Kb4 Qd2+ 54.Kb5 Qd3+ 55.Ka5 Qc3+ 56.b4. The perpetual she is seeking is not there, so the end is: 1-0.


An action picture from Wijk, showing the game after White's 43rd move. Ponomariov, standing on the left, knows he is winning, Judit Polgar looks for the proverbial last resort.

Round two – Sun. 16.01.2005
Viswanathan Anand
0-1 Peter Leko B33 Sicilian Sveshnikov
Peter Svidler
½-½ Ivan Sokolov C80 Open Ruy Lopez
Ruslan Ponomariov
1-0 Judit Polgar B90 Sicilian Najdorf
Vladimir Kramnik
0-1 Veselin Topalov B90 Sicilian Najdorf
Loek van Wely
½-½ Lazaro Bruzon D63 Queens Gambit
Michael Adams
1-0 Alexander Morozevich C42 Petroff Defence
Alexander Grischuk
½-½ Nigel Short C91 Ruy Lopez

Groups B and C

In Group B 14-year-old Magnus Carlsen struck out with a convincing victory over European Women's Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk, while colleague Sergey Karjakin, who had won in round one, drew with the black pieces against the reigning Women's World Champion Antoaneta Stefanova. Both Shakriyar Mamedyarov and Daniel Stellwagen won for a second time to take the lead in the Group.


Antoaneta Stefanova and Sergey Karjakin analyse their game; Nigel Short and Grischuk (watched by Nigel's second Suat Atalik) are in the background.


Daniel Stellwagen and Sipke Ernst at a very tense moment in their game (Vishy Anand in the background is trying to see what is going on).

Stellwagen,D (2524) - Ernst,S (2509) [C80]
Corus B Wijk aan Zee NED (2), 16.01.2005

Black has just played 23...Ke7xPf6. Now, as Garry Kasparov spotted during the game, White has an instant win: 24.Bg7+ Kxg7 25.Rg3+ Kf6 26.Rg6+ Kf7 27.Rg5+ Ke7 28.Rxd5. But young Daniel played 24.Re5 Qxe5 25.Bg7+ Kxg7. This is the position in the picture above. Fortunately for the Dutch talent his continuation was still enough to win, which he did with 26.Qxe5+ Kf7 27.Rh3 Nf5 28.g4 Rg8 29.Rh7+ Ng7 30.h4 Kg6 31.Rxg7+ Rxg7 32.Qe4+ Kf7 33.Qxa8 Rxg4+ 34.Kf1 1-0.

Group B Round two – Sun. 16.01.2005
Ivan Cheparinov
1-0 Friso Nijboer
Alexander Onischuk
½-½ Peter .H. Nielsen
Magnus Carlsen
1-0 Alexandra Kosteniuk
Antoaneta Stefanova
½-½ Sergey Karjakin
Daniel Stellwagen
1-0 Sipke Ernst
S. Mamedyarov
1-0 Alejandro Ramirez
Predrag Nikolic
½-½ Jan Smeets
Group C Round two – Sun. 16.01.2005
Parimarjan Negi
1-0 Tea Lanchava
Alexey Korotylev
½-½ Harmen Jonkman
Wouter Spoelman
1-0 Joost Wempe
Zeinab Mamedjarova
0-1 Natalia Zhukova
Bianca Muhren
½-½ Vladimir Georgiev
Manuel Bosboom
½-½ Evgeny Alekseev
Leon Pliester
½-½ Erwin L’Ami

Pictures by Olena Boytsun, Jeroen van den Belt and Fred Lucas


All results and schedule

Round one – Sat. 15.01.2005
Alexander Grischuk
½-½ Viswanathan Anand
Nigel Short
½-½ Michael Adams
Alexander Morozevich
½-½ Loek van Wely
Lazaro Bruzon
½-½ Vladimir Kramnik
Veselin Topalov
1-0 Ruslan Ponomariov
Judit Polgar
1-0 Peter Svidler
Ivan Sokolov
½-½ Peter Leko
Games
Report
Round two – Sun. 16.01.2005
Viswanathan Anand
0-1 Peter Leko
Peter Svidler
½-½ Ivan Sokolov
Ruslan Ponomariov
1-0 Judit Polgar
Vladimir Kramnik
0-1 Veselin Topalov
Loek van Wely
½-½ Lazaro Bruzon
Michael Adams
1-0 Alexander Morozevich
Alexander Grischuk
½-½ Nigel Short
Games
Report
Round three – Mon. 17.01.2005
Nigel Short
Viswanathan Anand
Alexander Morozevich
Alexander Grischuk
Lazaro Bruzon
Michael Adams
Veselin Topalov
Loek van Wely
Judit Polgar
Vladimir Kramnik
Ivan Sokolov
Ruslan Ponomariov
Peter Leko
Peter Svidler
Games
Report
Round four – Tues. 18.01.2005
Viswanathan Anand
Peter Svidler
Ruslan Ponomariov
Peter Leko
Vladimir Kramnik
Ivan Sokolov
Loek van Wely
Judit Polgar
Michael Adams
Veselin Topalov
Alexander Grischuk
Lazaro Bruzon
Nigel Short
Alexander Morozevich
Games
Report
Round five – Thurs. 20.01.2005
Alexander Morozevich
Viswanathan Anand
Lazaro Bruzon
Nigel Short
Veselin Topalov
Alexander Grischuk
Judit Polgar
Michael Adams
Ivan Sokolov
Loek van Wely
Peter Leko
Vladimir Kramnik
Peter Svidler
Ruslan Ponomariov
Games
Report
Round six – Fri. 21.01.2005
Viswanathan Anand
Ruslan Ponomariov
Vladimir Kramnik
Peter Svidler
Loek van Wely
Peter Leko
Michael Adams
Ivan Sokolov
Alexander Grischuk
Judit Polgar
Nigel Short
Veselin Topalov
Alexander Morozevich
Lazaro Bruzon
Games
Report
Round seven – Sat. 22.01.2005
Lazaro Bruzon
Viswanathan Anand
Veselin Topalov
Alexander Morozevich
Judit Polgar
Nigel Short
Ivan Sokolov
Alexander Grischuk
Peter Leko
Michael Adams
Peter Svidler
Loek van Wely
Ruslan Ponomariov
Vladimir Kramnik
Games
Report
Round eight – Sun. 23.01.2005
Viswanathan Anand
Vladimir Kramnik
Loek van Wely
Ruslan Ponomariov
Michael Adams
Peter Svidler
Alexander Grischuk
Peter Leko
Nigel Short
Ivan Sokolov
Alexander Morozevich
Judit Polgar
Lazaro Bruzon
Veselin Topalov
Games
Report
Round nine – Tues. 25.01.2005
Veselin Topalov
Viswanathan Anand
Judit Polgar
Lazaro Bruzon
Ivan Sokolov
Alexander Morozevich
Peter Leko
Nigel Short
Peter Svidler
Alexander Grischuk
Ruslan Ponomariov
Michael Adams
Vladimir Kramnik
Loek van Wely
Games
Report
Round ten – Wed 26.01.2005
Viswanathan Anand
Loek van Wely
Michael Adams
Vladimir Kramnik
Alexander Grischuk
Ruslan Ponomariov
Nigel Short
Peter Svidler
Alexander Morozevich
Peter Leko
Lazaro Bruzon
Ivan Sokolov
Veselin Topalov
Judit Polgar
Games
Report
Round eleven – Fri. 28.01.2005
Judit Polgar
Viswanathan Anand
Ivan Sokolov
Veselin Topalov
Peter Leko
Lazaro Bruzon
Peter Svidler
Alexander Morozevich
Ruslan Ponomariov
Nigel Short
Vladimir Kramnik
Alexander Grischuk
Loek van Wely
Michael Adams
Games
Report
Round twelve – Sat. 29.01.2005
Viswanathan Anand
Michael Adams
Alexander Grischuk
Loek van Wely
Nigel Short
Vladimir Kramnik
Alexander Morozevich
Ruslan Ponomariov
Lazaro Bruzon
Peter Svidler
Veselin Topalov
Peter Leko
Judit Polgar
Ivan Sokolov
Games
Report
Round thirteen – Sun. 30.01.2005
Ivan Sokolov
Viswanathan Anand
Peter Leko
Judit Polgar
Peter Svidler
Veselin Topalov
Ruslan Ponomariov
Lazaro Bruzon
Vladimir Kramnik
Alexander Morozevich
Loek van Wely
Nigel Short
Michael Adams
Alexander Grischuk
Games
Report

Groups B + C

Group B Round one – Sat. 15.01.2005
Predrag Nikolic
0-1 Daniel Stellwagen
Jan Smeets
½-½ Ivan Cheparinov
Friso Nijboer
0-1 S. Mamedyarov
Alejandro Ramirez
½-½ Magnus Carlsen
Alexandra Kosteniuk
1-0 Alexander Onischuk
Peter .H. Nielsen
½-½ Antoaneta Stefanova
Sergey Karjakin
1-0 Sipke Ernst
Group C Round one – Sat. 15.01.2005
Wouter Spoelman
½-½ Leon Pliester
Joost Wempe
0-1 Alexey Korotylev
Harmen Jonkman
½-½ Zeinab Mamedjarova
Natalia Zhukova
1-0 Bianca Muhren
Vladimir Georgiev
1-0 Manuel Bosboom
Evgeny Alekseev
1-0 Parimarjan Negi
Tea Lanchava
0-1 Erwin L’Ami
Group B Round two – Sun. 16.01.2005
Ivan Cheparinov
1-0 Friso Nijboer
Alexander Onischuk
½-½ Peter .H. Nielsen
Magnus Carlsen
1-0 Alexandra Kosteniuk
Antoaneta Stefanova
½-½ Sergey Karjakin
Daniel Stellwagen
1-0 Sipke Ernst
S. Mamedyarov
1-0 Alejandro Ramirez
Predrag Nikolic
½-½ Jan Smeets
Group C Round two – Sun. 16.01.2005
Parimarjan Negi
1-0 Tea Lanchava
Alexey Korotylev
½-½ Harmen Jonkman
Wouter Spoelman
1-0 Joost Wempe
Zeinab Mamedjarova
0-1 Natalia Zhukova
Bianca Muhren
½-½ Vladimir Georgiev
Manuel Bosboom
½-½ Evgeny Alekseev
Leon Pliester
½-½ Erwin L’Ami

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