European Individual Ch: Moiseenko on perfect start

by ChessBase
5/9/2013 – The European Individual championship is now deep in swing and after four rounds, only one player has managed to keep a perfect score: Alexander Moiseenko (2698) with 4.0/4. To celebrate the opening of the tournament, a sumptuous outdoor show was given with costumes and quality rarely seen in chess. Illustrated report and GM annotations.

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Prize fund: The prize fund is 100,000 EUR:
Main prizes: 90,950 EUR + Special (Performance minus Rating) 
9,050 EUR: 1st - 14,000, 2nd - 11,000, 3rd - 9,000 etc.
Tourney mode: 11-round Swiss System
Time control: 90 minutes/40 moves + 30 minutes + 30 seconds/move starting with the first move
Game start: daily 15:00 (server time), last round 16th May at 13:00
Rest day: 12th May

XIV European Individual Championship

This year the European Individual Championship is being held in Legnica, Poland, a quaint little city in the west of the country.


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Rounds two to four

The European Individual championship is now deep in swing and after four rounds, only one player has managed to keep a Perfect score: Alexander Moiseenko (2698) with 4.0/4. It goes without saying that while commendable, it is more a factoid at this point in time, with seven rounds to go, than an important stat. After all, right after him are twelve players on 3.5/4, and a further 47 with 3.0/4. One result does stand out: that of Austrian IM Robert Kreisl (2380) who has played four grandmasters rated 2600 and up, and beat three of them, including Ivan Cheparinov (2700). He is certainly the dark horse this far.

Grandmaster Sergei Movsesian

Grandmaster Karsten Mueller has shared his analysis of two of the endgames from the tournament, and we bring also Moiseenko’s stylish win over Volkov in round four, which gave him the honor of being the sole leader.

Annotations by GM Karsten Mueller:

[Event "XIV European-ch 2013"] [Site "Legnica"] [Date "2013.05.08"] [Round "4"] [White "Moiseenko, Alexander"] [Black "Volkov, Sergey"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D15"] [WhiteElo "2698"] [BlackElo "2610"] [Annotator ""] [PlyCount "79"] [EventDate "2013.??.??"] [EventCountry "POL"] [TimeControl "40/5400+30:1800+30"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 a6 5. c5 Nbd7 6. Bf4 Nh5 7. Bd2 Nhf6 8. Qc2 g6 9. g3 Bg7 10. Bg2 O-O 11. O-O Re8 12. Rad1 Nf8 13. Qb3 a5 14. Ne5 Ne6 15. Bc1 Nd7 16. f4 f5 17. g4 Nf6 18. gxf5 gxf5 19. Kh1 Nf8 20. Rg1 Qc7 21. Bf3 e6 22. Be3 Bd7 23. Bf2 Re7 24. Bh4 Kh8 25. Rg2 Be8 26. Rdg1 Bg6 27. Na4 Ree8 28. Nb6 Ra6 29. Bxf6 Bxf6 30. Bh5 Bxe5 (30... Bxh5 31. Rg8#) 31. fxe5 a4 32. Qh3 Kg7 33. Rg5 Qf7 34. e3 Ra5 35. Qg2 Kh6 {It is very likely that Volkov saw the next move, but had to try something.} 36. Nd7 $1 {Not only does it attack one of the pieces protecting g6, but the only two pieces that can take it are precsiely the ones protecting g6. It all falls down now.} Rb5 37. Nxf8 Rxb2 38. Bxg6 $3 {White plays with laser precision and finishes in style.} (38. Qxb2 { wouldn't really change anything.}) 38... Rxg2 39. Rh5+ Kg7 40. Rxh7+ 1-0 [Event "14th Euro Indiv 2013"] [Site "Legnica POL"] [Date "2013.05.06"] [Round "2.60"] [White "Berkes, F."] [Black "Can, E."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E94"] [WhiteElo "2688"] [BlackElo "2471"] [Annotator "GM Karsten Mueller"] [PlyCount "201"] [EventDate "2013.05.05"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "POL"] [SourceDate "2013.05.06"] 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nbd7 8. Qc2 Nh5 9. Bg5 f6 10. Be3 Nf4 11. Bxf4 exf4 12. h3 f5 13. exf5 Rxf5 14. Rfe1 Nf8 15. Rad1 Rf7 16. c5 Be6 17. Bd3 d5 18. c6 bxc6 19. Na4 Qd6 20. Rd2 Re7 21. Rde2 Rae8 22. Nc5 Bf7 23. Rxe7 Rxe7 24. Rxe7 Qxe7 25. Qa4 g5 26. Qxc6 h5 27. Bf5 Qe2 28. Qxc7 Bxd4 29. Nxd4 Qd1+ 30. Kh2 Qxd4 31. Qe7 Qg7 32. Nd3 d4 33. b3 h4 34. Ne5 Bxb3 35. Qd6 Bxa2 36. Ng4 Kh8 37. Nf6 Bf7 38. Qd8 a5 39. Nh7 Kg8 40. Nf6+ Kh8 41. Nh7 Kg8 42. Nxf8 Qxf8 43. Qxg5+ Qg7 44. Qd8+ Qf8 45. Qg5+ Qg7 46. Qd8+ Qf8 47. Qxd4 Qh6 48. Qd8+ Kg7 49. Qxa5 Qd6 50. Qc3+ Qf6 51. Qc5 Qb2 52. Be4 Qf6 53. Qc7 Kf8 54. Qc8+ Kg7 55. Qg4+ Kh6 56. Qd7 Kg5 57. Qc8 Kh6 58. Qf8+ Kg5 59. Qc5+ Kh6 60. Qc8 Kg7 61. Qc7 Kh6 62. Qd7 Kg5 63. Qd2 Kh5 64. Bd5 Bxd5 65. Qxd5+ Kh6 66. Qd1 Qe5 67. Kg1 Qf6 68. Qa4 Qe5 69. Kf1 Kg5 70. Qd1 Kh6 71. Qg4 Qb5+ 72. Kg1 Qg5 73. Qe6+ Qg6 74. Qe5 Qg5 75. Qb8 Qf6 76. Qa8 Qe5 77. Qa6+ Kg5 78. Kf1 Qd4 79. Qb5+ Kh6 80. Qb3 Kg7 81. Qc2 Kh6 82. Qb3 Kg7 83. Qf3 Qa1+ 84. Ke2 Qe5+ 85. Kd3 Kh6 86. Kc4 Qd6 87. Qe4 Kg5 {Berkes' King In queen endings it is often difficult to calculate, if the defending queen runs out of checks or not: } 88. f3 $1 {White must stay in the queen endgame and prepare the pawn formation for the exchange of queens later.} ({The pawn endgame is only drawn after} 88. Qd5+ $2 Qxd5+ 89. Kxd5 {due to} f3 90. gxf3 Kf4 91. Ke6 Kxf3 92. Kf5 Kxf2 93. Kg4 Ke3 94. Kxh4 Kf4 $11) 88... Qa6+ 89. Kc5 Qa5+ $6 (89... Qa3+ $1 { is more tenacious, but White should be winning in the long run, e.g.} 90. Kd5 Qa8+ 91. Kd6 Qd8+ 92. Kc5 Qc7+ 93. Qc6 Qe7+ 94. Kd5 Kf5 95. Qc8+ Kf6 96. Qh8+ Kg6 97. Qe5 Qb7+ 98. Kc5 Qa7+ 99. Kb4 Qf7 (99... Qe3 $2 100. Qxe3 fxe3 101. Kc3 Kf5 102. Kd3 Kf4 103. Ke2 Kg3 104. Kxe3 Kxg2 105. f4 Kxh3 106. f5 $18) (99... Qb6+ 100. Kc3 Qc6+ 101. Kd3 Qa6+ 102. Ke4 Qe2+ 103. Kxf4 $16) 100. Kc3 Qa2 101. Qxf4 Qa3+ 102. Kd2 Qb2+ 103. Ke1 Qa1+ 104. Kf2 Qb2+ 105. Kg1 Qb6+ 106. Kh2 $16) 90. Kc6 Qa6+ 91. Kd7 Qa7+ 92. Kd6 Qb8+ 93. Ke7 Qc7+ 94. Ke6 Qb6+ 95. Kf7 Qf6+ ( 95... Qb3+ $6 96. Qe6 $18) (95... Qc7+ $6 96. Qe7+ $18) 96. Ke8 {Berkes king has reached his aim and Can's queen will run out of checks quickly.} Kh6 (96... Qb6 97. Qd5+ Kg6 98. Qf7+ Kg5 99. Qg7+ Kf5 100. Qg4+ Ke5 101. Qg5+ Kd4 102. Qxf4+ $18) (96... Qh8+ 97. Kd7 Qg7+ 98. Qe7+ $18) 97. Kd7 Kg5 (97... Qg7+ 98. Qe7 Qb2 (98... Qd4+ 99. Qd6+ $18) (98... Qxg2 99. Qxh4+ Kg6 100. Qg4+ $18) 99. Qxh4+ Kg7 100. Qg5+ Kh7 101. Qxf4 $18) 98. Qe7 Kh5 $5 {Can tries the last trick.} (98... Qxe7+ 99. Kxe7 Kf5 100. Kf7 Ke5 101. Kg6 Kd4 102. Kf5 Ke3 103. Kg4 $18) 99. Qc5+ ({Of course not} 99. Qxf6 $4 {stalemate}) ({But} 99. g4+ $18 {is playable directly.}) 99... Kh6 100. Qd6 Kh5 101. g4+ $3 (101. g4+ Kg5 ( 101... fxg3 102. Qxf6 $18) 102. Qxf6+ Kxf6 103. Kd6 Kg6 104. Ke5 Kg5 105. Ke4 $18) 1-0 [Event "14th Euro Indiv 2013"] [Site "Legnica POL"] [Date "2013.05.06"] [Round "2.41"] [White "Dragun, K."] [Black "Saric, Iv"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C68"] [WhiteElo "2520"] [BlackElo "2622"] [Annotator "GM Karsten Mueller"] [PlyCount "142"] [EventDate "2013.05.05"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "POL"] [SourceDate "2013.05.06"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O Be6 6. c3 Qd3 7. Re1 f6 8. Re3 Qd7 9. d4 O-O-O 10. Rd3 g5 11. Be3 g4 12. Ne1 Bd6 13. Nd2 Qf7 14. Nb3 Ne7 15. dxe5 fxe5 16. Nc5 Bxc5 17. Bxc5 Ng6 18. Be3 h5 19. Qa4 Bc4 20. Rxd8+ Rxd8 21. b3 Be6 22. Qa5 Qe7 23. c4 Kb8 24. a4 Bc8 25. Bc5 Qd7 26. Be3 Qd6 27. Rb1 Nf4 28. Qc5 Qxc5 29. Bxc5 Ne2+ 30. Kf1 Nc3 31. Rb2 Nxe4 32. Be3 Be6 33. a5 Kc8 34. Rc2 Rd1 35. f3 gxf3 36. gxf3 Nd6 37. Rc1 Rxc1 38. Bxc1 b6 39. Bd2 c5 40. Kf2 Bf5 41. Bc3 Bb1 42. Kg3 Nf5+ 43. Kf2 e4 44. b4 cxb4 45. Bxb4 Kd7 46. Ng2 exf3 47. Nf4 Nd6 48. Nxh5 Nxc4 49. Nf6+ Kc6 50. Kxf3 Nxa5 51. h4 Nc4 52. h5 a5 53. Bf8 Ne5+ 54. Ke3 Nd7 55. Bg7 Nxf6 56. Bxf6 Kb5 57. Kd2 c5 58. Bd8 Kc6 59. h6 a4 60. Kc1 Bh7 61. Kb2 b5 62. Ka3 Kd5 63. Bf6 Kc4 64. Bg7 Bg8 65. Bf8 Kd5 66. Be7 Bh7 67. Bf8 Kc6 {The blockade Pure opposite colored bishop endings have a large drawish tendency:} 68. Be7 $2 {Now White can not maintain his blockade.} (68. Bg7 $1 Kd5 (68... Kb6 69. Bc3 $11) 69. Bc3 {stops the advance b4, e.g.} Kc4 (69... b4+ 70. Bxb4 cxb4+ 71. Kxb4 Bc2 72. h7 ({Even} 72. Kc3 Bh7 73. Kb2 {is playable.}) 72... Bxh7 73. Kxa4 $11) 70. Bg7 (70. Be1 $4 b4+ 71. Kxa4 Bc2+ 72. Ka5 b3 $19) 70... Bc2 71. Kb2 Bh7 72. Ka3 b4+ 73. Kxa4 Bc2+ 74. Ka5 b3 75. h7 Bxh7 76. Ka4 $11) 68... Kb6 69. Bd8+ Ka6 70. Bf6 b4+ $3 {This advance breaks the blockade.} 71. Kb2 (71. Kxa4 Bc2# {is Black's beautiful point.}) 71... Kb5 (71... Kb5 72. Bg7 a3+ 73. Ka2 Ka4 74. Bf6 c4 75. Be5 c3 76. Ka1 c2 77. Bf4 b3 78. Bc1 Bg6 79. h7 b2+ 80. Bxb2 axb2+ 81. Kxb2 Bxh7 $19) 0-1

The opening ceremony of the grand event was a spectacular affair with an outside show to take your breath away. For those who think we are inclined to hyperbole, see for yourselves some of the pictures.

The outdoor show brought beautiful costumes...

...with a choreographed show throughout.

One can only guess what it is supposed to represent.

An attack on the king takes on a much more dire meaning

The queen and her cats

A battle between a giant Satyr and a fellow armed him with ping pong paddles

The cat women await their orders

Rank after Round 4

Rk Tit Name FED Rtg Pts Perf
1 GM MOISEENKO Alexander UKR 2698 4.0 3125
2 GM SHENGELIA David AUT 2546 3.5 2881
3 GM ARESHCHENKO Alexander UKR 2709 3.5 2922
4 GM KHALIFMAN Alexander RUS 2614 3.5 2885
5 GM ALMASI Zoltan HUN 2695 3.5 2910
6 GM KHAIRULLIN Ildar RUS 2657 3.5 2896
7 GM ALEKSEEV Evgeny RUS 2700 3.5 2906
8 GM TKACHIEV Vladislav FRA 2632 3.5 2858
9 GM SHIMANOV Aleksandr RUS 2639 3.5 2874
10 GM DREEV Aleksey RUS 2654 3.5 2874
11 GM MAMEDOV Rauf AZE 2649 3.5 2861
12 GM ROMANOV Evgeny RUS 2640 3.5 2847
13 GM NYBACK Tomi FIN 2593 3.5 2787
14 GM IPATOV Alexander TUR 2588 3.0 2782
15 GM TRATAR Marko SLO 2498 3.0 2782
16 GM BRKIC Ante CRO 2575 3.0 2762
17 GM ARIZMENDI MARTINEZ Julen Luis ESP 2571 3.0 2757
18 GM GRIGORIANTS Sergey RUS 2579 3.0 2754
19 IM KREISL Robert AUT 2380 3.0 2833
20 GM LENIC Luka SLO 2621 3.0 2763
21 GM GAGUNASHVILI Merab GEO 2592 3.0 2737
22 GM ROIZ Michael ISR 2617 3.0 2753
23 GM ELJANOV Pavel UKR 2702 3.0 2777
24 GM KOROBOV Anton UKR 2705 3.0 2775
25 GM VOLKOV Sergey RUS 2610 3.0 2740
26 GM GRACHEV Boris RUS 2687 3.0 2764
27 GM RAGGER Markus AUT 2666 3.0 2754
28 GM ZHIGALKO Sergei BLR 2660 3.0 2751
29 GM RAKHMANOV Aleksandr RUS 2616 3.0 2729
30 GM VALLEJO PONS Francisco ESP 2695 3.0 2755

The top boards are all broadcast live on the official site as well as Playchess, and make for oodles of mouth-watering chess. Don’t miss it.


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