Gibraltar: Anand starts with a draw

by Johannes Fischer
1/27/2016 – The last time former World Champion Vishy Anand played in an open tournament with classical time control was back in 1986. After this long break he started the Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival with a draw against Szidonia Lazarne Vajda. This was the biggest surprise of the first round in which most of the favorites won. But not all of them.

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Play in the Tradewise Gibraltar Masters starts at 15.00 local time (GMT+1) on Tuesday 26 January 2016, with live commentary from GM Simon Williams and IM Elisabeth Paehtz throughout. There is play every subsequent day at this time until Thursday 4 February 2016, when the tenth final round starts earlier at 11.00 (GMT+1). Live coverage may be found via the official website.

Watch it live on Playchess!

Pictures: John Saunders (Tournament page)

Tradewise Chairman James Humphreys plays the first move
on the first board to open the tournament.

Top seed and defending champion Hikaru Nakamu won without much difficulty against IM Robert Bellin. After quietly improving his pieces in a Stonewall Dutch Nakamura used a tactical opportunity to reach a won position.

 

Vishy Anand before the start of the round (Photo: Sophie Triay)

Not a smooth start for Vishy Anand. He drew against Szidonia Lazarne Vajda

 

Chinese Grandmaster Yu Yangyi also had to content himself with a draw.
He played against IM Alexandre Vuelleumier

FM Matthias Bach (Elo 2301)  from Germany was close to an upset.
He missed a nice tactical shot and let Indian GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly off the hook.

 

Surya Shekhar Ganguly

Results of round 1

Bo. No.   Name Rtg Result   Name Rtg No.
1 1 GM Nakamura Hikaru 2787 1 - 0 IM Bellin Robert 2350 132
2 129 FM Shachar Ehud 2353 0 - 1 GM Vachier-Lagrave Maxime 2785 2
3 3 GM Anand Viswanathan 2784 ½ - ½ IM Lazarne Vajda Szidonia 2359 127
4 134 FM Tate Alan 2345 0 - 1 GM Harikrishna P. 2755 4
5 5 GM Li Chao B 2751 1 - 0 IM Wemmers Xander 2352 130
6 128 IM Vuilleumier Alexandre 2356 ½ - ½ GM Yu Yangyi 2747 6
7 7 GM Jakovenko Dmitry 2732 1 - 0 WGM Vojinovic Jovana 2352 131
8 133 GM Arakhamia-Grant Ketevan 2346 0 - 1 GM Wojtaszek Radoslaw 2727 8
9 9 GM Rapport Richard 2721 1 - 0 IM Gara Anita 2339 135
10 136 IM Foisor Cristina-Adela 2338 0 - 1 GM Fressinet Laurent 2700 10
11 11 GM Bacrot Etienne 2697 1 - 0 WGM Pourkashiyan Atousa 2338 137
12 138 FM Mihajlov Sebastian 2335 0 - 1 GM Ni Hua 2697 12
13 13 GM Naiditsch Arkadij 2696 1 - 0 IM Mannion Stephen R 2334 139
14 140 FM Zwahr Paul 2333 0 - 1 GM Ragger Markus 2689 14
15 15 GM Howell David W L 2685 1 - 0 IM Perez Garcia Rodney Oscar 2332 141
16 142 FM Lombaers Peter 2328 0 - 1 GM Almasi Zoltan 2684 16
17 17 GM Short Nigel D 2684 1 - 0 IM Kharous Ernest 2314 143
18 144 FM De Haan Eric 2313 0 - 1 GM Bruzon Batista Lazaro 2666 18
19 19 GM Kamsky Gata 2665 1 - 0 FM Ripari Marcelo 2310 145
20 146 WGM Papp Petra 2308 0 - 1 GM Duda Jan-Krzysztof 2660 20
21 21 GM Ganguly Surya Shekhar 2660 ½ - ½ FM Bach Matthias 2301 147
22 148 FM Goriatchkin Jouri 2300 ½ - ½ GM Sutovsky Emil 2647 22
23 23 GM Vidit Santosh Gujrathi 2642 1 - 0 FM Bergstrom Rolf 2297 149
24 150 FM Plotkin Victor 2291 ½ - ½ GM Anton Guijarro David 2639 24
25 25 GM Sethuraman S.P. 2639 1 - 0 WIM Pratyusha Bodda 2278 151
26 152 IM Piasetski Leon 2277 ½ - ½ GM Grandelius Nils 2635 26
27 27 GM Salem A.R. Saleh 2627 1 - 0 IM Watson John L 2277 153
28 154 FM Perez Garcia Alejandro 2273 0 - 1 GM Jones Gawain C B 2625 28
29 29 GM Iturrizaga Bonelli Eduardo 2624 1 - 0   Vea Odin Blikra 2271 155
30 156   Henderson De La Fuente Lance 2270 0 - 1 GM Edouard Romain 2617 30
31 31 GM Erdos Viktor 2613 1 - 0 FM Sanchez Jerez Emilio Miguel 2265 157
32 158 FM Nava Pereda Carlos 2262 0 - 1 GM Gupta Abhijeet 2613 32
33 33 GM Lenic Luka 2611 1 - 0 FM Gavilan Diaz Mario 2261 159
34 160 FM Cordes Hans-Joerg Dr. 2257 0 - 1 GM Bachmann Axel 2610 34
35 35 GM Maze Sebastien 2591 ½ - ½   Weisbuch Udi 2254 161
36 162 FM Menna Barreto Felipe Kubiaki 2247 0 - 1 GM Sandipan Chanda 2583 36
37 37 GM Tregubov Pavel V. 2582 1 - 0 IM Mohota Nisha 2245 163
38 164   Hommerson Paul 2240 0 - 1 GM Grigoriants Sergey 2580 38
39 39 GM Perez Ponsa Federico 2577 1 - 0   Heinemann Josefine 2233 165
40 166   Saber Yasser 2230 0 - 1 GM Vazquez Igarza Renier 2572 40
41 41 GM Donchenko Alexander 2570 1 - 0 FM House Glenn L 2226 167
42 168   Fiala Vaclav 2217 0 - 1 GM Oparin Grigoriy 2565 42
43 43 IM Tari Aryan 2556 1 - 0   Midonet Matthieu 2211 169
44 170 WGM Nebolsina Vera 2208 0 - 1 GM Muzychuk Mariya 2554 44
45 45 GM Lalith Babu M R 2553 1 - 0 CM Walton Alan J 2206 171
46 172   Verneuil Pascal 2205 0 - 1 GM Kosteniuk Alexandra 2550 46
47 47 GM Muzychuk Anna 2537 1 - 0   Pinho Paulo 2197 173
48 174   Guthrie David 2187 0 - 1 GM Demuth Adrien 2535 48
49 49 GM Handke Florian Dr. 2533 1 - 0 FM Baert Andy 2184 175
50 176   Semprun Martinez Fernando 2178 0 - 1 GM Al-Sayed Mohammed 2530 50
51 51 GM Gopal G.N. 2525 1 - 0   Byron Alan M 2175 177
52 178   Tscharotschkin Michael 2169 0 - 1 GM Cramling Pia 2523 52
53 53 GM Vishnu Prasanna. V 2518 1 - 0   Hill Alistair 2167 179
54 180   Ajele Rotimi 2163 0 - 1 IM Pichot Alan 2517 54
55 55 GM Libiszewski Fabien 2515 ½ - ½ IM Ranaivoharisoa Alain 2160 181
56 182   Blodig Reinhard 2158 0 - 1 GM Stefanova Antoaneta 2515 56
57 57 IM Gledura Benjamin 2515 1 - 0 CM Campbell Charles 2157 183
58 184 FM Dougherty Michael 2149 0 - 1 GM Harika Dronavalli 2511 58
59 59 GM Sundararajan Kidambi 2508 1 - 0   Vanheirzeele Daniel 2149 185
60 186   Lobersli Henrik Oie 2146 0 - 1 GM Bai Jinshi 2507 60
61 61 GM Zhao Xue 2506 0 - 1   Spence David J 2140 187
62 188   Seyfried Claus 2137 0 - 1 WGM Tan Zhongyi 2504 62
63 63 GM Khotenashvili Bela 2502 1 - 0   Veltkamp Gerben 2135 189
64 190   Kalthoff Peter 2132 0 - 1 WGM Goryachkina Aleksandra 2502 64
65 65 GM Aravindh Chithambaram Vr. 2500 1 - 0 CM Osuna Vega Enrique 2127 191
66 192 WGM Dolzhikova Olga 2126 0 - 1 GM Fodor Tamas Jr. 2500 66
67 67 GM Gunina Valentina 2496 1 - 0 AGM Boado Rodriguez Martin 2121 193
68 194   Feldbacher Harald 2121 0 - 1 GM Blomqvist Erik 2492 68
69 69 GM Zhukova Natalia 2484 1 - 0   Amos Frank 2118 195
70 196   Barrenechea Bahamonde Gustavo 2116 0 - 1 IM Nakar Eylon 2479 70
71 71 GM Tarjan James E 2478 1 - 0   Burrows Martin P 2115 197
72 198 FM Kandic Milan 2109 0 - 1 IM Ly Moulthun 2474 72
73 73 WGM Lei Tingjie 2474 ½ - ½   Omoifo Osemekhian I 2106 199
74 200   Nordquelle Daniel 2102 ½ - ½   Xu Xiangyu 2466 74
75 75 IM Kashlinskaya Alina 2462 ½ - ½ FM Weeramantry Sunil 2099 201
76 202   Pakosta Miroslav 2097 1 - 0 IM Carlstedt Jonathan 2461 76
77 77 IM Prasanna Raghuram Rao 2460 1 - 0   Compton Alistair 2094 203
78 204   Havik Victor 2092 0 - 1 IM Galyas Miklos 2459 78
79 79 GM Krush Irina 2458 1 - 0   Pabalan Rocky 2089 205
80 206 WFM De Rosa Mariagrazia 2088 0 - 1 WGM Pogonina Natalija 2454 80
81 81 IM Tan Justin 2446 + - -   Mohorea Vasile 2087 207
82 208   Hagesather Arne 2086 0 - 1 IM Kelires Andreas 2444 82
83 83 IM Salomon Johan 2444 1 - 0   Carlsten Peter 2074 209
84 211   Biegel Thomas 2069 0 - 1 IM Shytaj Luca 2443 84
85 85 IM Stark Lars 2440 1 - 0   Dasaolu Rotimi 2060 212
86 213   Hamer Martyn 2058 0 - 1   Kollars Dmitrij 2436 86
87 87 GM Akesson Ralf 2435 1 - 0   Myall Ivan J 2049 214
88 215   Vilarnovo Caamano Jose 2043 0 - 1 GM Tischbierek Raj 2433 88
89 89 GM Carlsson Pontus 2430 1 - 0   Berrocal Ruiz Valentin 2040 216
90 217   Suez-Panama Gilles 2032 ½ - ½ IM Almagro Llamas Pablo 2429 90
91 91 IM Padmini Rout 2427 1 - 0   Moradi Kimia 2024 218
92 219   Lindqvist Roland 2018 0 - 1 FM Santos Ruiz Miguel 2427 92
93 93 FM Neef Maximilian 2423 1 - 0   Korning Peter 2015 220
94 221   Odeh Kenneth 2014 0 - 1 IM Nezad Husein Aziz 2422 94
95 95 IM Santiago Yago De Moura 2422 1 - 0   Henrichsen Jens 2012 222
96 223 CM Harding Tim D 2006 0 - 1 IM Esserman Marc 2419 96
97 97 IM Ben Artzi Ido 2418 1 - 0   Burke Mitchell R 2002 224
98 225   Goncalves Jose Antonio Silvei 1984 0 - 1 IM Holm Kristian Stuvik 2417 98
99 99 IM Docx Stefan 2416 1 - 0   Marcos Herrero Francisco 1982 226
100 227   Eagleton Greg T 1981 0 - 1 IM Teran Alvarez Ismael 2416 100
101 101 FM Csonka Balazs 2415 ½ - ½   Darnell Anton 1979 228
102 229   Skutta Bernd Dr. 1966 0 - 1 IM Nagy Gabor 2413 102
103 103 FM Rydl Jiri 2412 1 - 0   Zachariassen John 1958 230
104 231   George Lolomari Erekosima 1937 ½ - ½ IM Satyapragyan Swayangsu 2410 104
105 105 GM Vogt Lothar 2409 1 - 0   Lafortune Emerick 1923 232
106 233   Boron Anthony 1915 0 - 1 IM Martinez Martin David 2407 106
107 107 IM Codenotti Marco 2406 1 - 0   Slinger Tony J 1915 234
108 235   Lochte Szilvia 1913 0 - 1 IM Kohlweyer Bernd 2404 108
109 109 IM Houska Jovanka 2402 1 - 0   Bajer Renato 1890 236
110 237   Gravett Alan D 1884 0 - 1 IM Kuipers Stefan 2399 110
111 111 IM Gaponenko Inna 2393 1 - 0   Wilson Matthew R 1873 238
112 239   Sajjadi Kimiya 1839 0 - 1 IM Khademalsharieh Sarasadat 2392 112
113 113 GM Solomon Kenny 2390 1 - 0   Winter Kevin 1825 240
114 241   Christophe-Hayot Romain 1824 0 - 1 FM Hauge Lars Oskar 2388 114
115 115 IM Anurag Mhamal 2387 1 - 0   Schimmer Michael 1782 242
116 243   Chidi Lovinia Sylvia 1780 0 - 1 WIM Shvayger Yuliya 2381 116
117 117 IM Galinsky Timofey 2379 1 - 0   Mrabti Yahya 1780 244
118 245   Tarr Steve F 1779 0 - 1 FM Gulamali Kazim 2379 118
119 119 GM Bellon Lopez Juan Manuel 2376 1 - 0   Kristinsson Magnus 1776 246
120 247   Magnusdottir Veronika Steinun 1762 0 - 1 IM Christiansen Johan-Sebastian 2374 120
121 121 GM Paehtz Thomas 2372 1 - 0   Savage Neil 1689 248
122 249   Joachim Rodny 1659 0 - 1   Herman Matthew J 2370 122
123 123   Siva Mahadevan 2370 1 - 0   Beadle John R 1560 250
124 251   Ford Clifton P 0 0 - 1 IM Quillan Gary 2369 124
125 125 IM Bitensky Igor 2362 1 - 0   Nasar El Hassan 0 252
126 253   Sedillo Edward R 0 0 - 1 FM Kavutskiy Konstantin 2360 126
127 210   Kozarcanin Sead 2073 ½   not paired    
128 254 CM Reuben Stewart *) 2047 0   not paired

Untitled but number 34 on the Chinese ranking list: Xu Xiangyu (born 1999)

Valentina Gunina

Tim Harding

Lei Tingjie

Fide-Master, chess author, and stepfather of Hikaru Nakamura: Sunil Weeramantry

Weeramantry drew with Black against Alina Kashlinskaya

Number one on the junior list: Richard Rapport from Hungary

Swedish chess legend Pia Cramling

Indian GM Pentala Harikrishna

IM Nisha Mohota from India fighting hard against GM Pavel Tregubov

Indian talent Rout Padmini won with White against Kimia Moradi

Chinese GM Ni Hua

Nigel Short

Natalia Zhukova

Natalia Pogonina

IM Moulthun Ly from Australia

A chat during the game: Michael Dougherty played and lost against Harika Dronavalli

Women's World Champion Mariya Muzychuk

Chinese GM Li Chao

US Woman's Champion Irina Krush

Gata Kamsky

French GM Laurent Fressinet

Antoaneta Stefanova from Bulgaria

Bela Khotenashvili from Georgia

Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine)

Alexandra Kosteniuk from Russia

Number one on the girls ranking list: Aleksandra Goryachkina

IM Tania Sachdev is not playing in the tournament but as anchorwoman of the "Day's Play"
videos she is very active. In video #2 where she takes at a look at the opening ceremony
and talks to Vishy Anand and Hikaru Nakamura.

Top pairings of Round 2

Bo. No.   Name Rtg Pts. Result Pts.   Name Rtg No.
1 66 GM Fodor Tamas Jr. 2500 1   1 GM Nakamura Hikaru 2787 1
2 2 GM Vachier-Lagrave Maxime 2785 1   1 GM Gunina Valentina 2496 67
3 4 GM Harikrishna P. 2755 1   1 GM Zhukova Natalia 2484 69
4 68 GM Blomqvist Erik 2492 1   1 GM Li Chao B 2751 5
5 70 IM Nakar Eylon 2479 1   1 GM Jakovenko Dmitry 2732 7
6 8 GM Wojtaszek Radoslaw 2727 1   1 GM Tarjan James E 2478 71
7 72 IM Ly Moulthun 2474 1   1 GM Rapport Richard 2721 9
8 10 GM Fressinet Laurent 2700 1   1 IM Prasanna Raghuram Rao 2460 77
9 78 IM Galyas Miklos 2459 1   1 GM Bacrot Etienne 2697 11
10 12 GM Ni Hua 2697 1   1 GM Krush Irina 2458 79
11 80 WGM Pogonina Natalija 2454 1   1 GM Naiditsch Arkadij 2696 13
12 14 GM Ragger Markus 2689 1   1 IM Tan Justin 2446 81
13 82 IM Kelires Andreas 2444 1   1 GM Howell David W L 2685 15
14 16 GM Almasi Zoltan 2684 1   1 IM Salomon Johan 2444 83
15 84 IM Shytaj Luca 2443 1   1 GM Short Nigel D 2684 17
16 18 GM Bruzon Batista Lazaro 2666 1   1 IM Stark Lars 2440 85
17 86   Kollars Dmitrij 2436 1   1 GM Kamsky Gata 2665 19
18 20 GM Duda Jan-Krzysztof 2660 1   1 GM Akesson Ralf 2435 87
19 88 GM Tischbierek Raj 2433 1   1 GM Vidit Santosh Gujrathi 2642 23
20 92 FM Santos Ruiz Miguel 2427 1   1 GM Sethuraman S.P. 2639 25
21 94 IM Nezad Husein Aziz 2422 1   1 GM Salem A.R. Saleh 2627 27
22 28 GM Jones Gawain C B 2625 1   1 GM Carlsson Pontus 2430 89
23 96 IM Esserman Marc 2419 1   1 GM Iturrizaga Bonelli Eduardo 2624 29
24 30 GM Edouard Romain 2617 1   1 IM Padmini Rout 2427 91
25 98 IM Holm Kristian Stuvik 2417 1   1 GM Erdos Viktor 2613 31
26 32 GM Gupta Abhijeet 2613 1   1 FM Neef Maximilian 2423 93
27 100 IM Teran Alvarez Ismael 2416 1   1 GM Lenic Luka 2611 33
28 34 GM Bachmann Axel 2610 1   1 IM Santiago Yago De Moura 2422 95
29 36 GM Sandipan Chanda 2583 1   1 IM Ben Artzi Ido 2418 97
30 102 IM Nagy Gabor 2413 1   1 GM Tregubov Pavel V. 2582 37
31 38 GM Grigoriants Sergey 2580 1   1 IM Docx Stefan 2416 99
32 106 IM Martinez Martin David 2407 1   1 GM Perez Ponsa Federico 2577 39
33 40 GM Vazquez Igarza Renier 2572 1   1 FM Rydl Jiri 2412 103
34 108 IM Kohlweyer Bernd 2404 1   1 GM Donchenko Alexander 2570 41
35 42 GM Oparin Grigoriy 2565 1   1 GM Vogt Lothar 2409 105
36 110 IM Kuipers Stefan 2399 1   1 IM Tari Aryan 2556 43
37 44 GM Muzychuk Mariya 2554 1   1 IM Codenotti Marco 2406 107
38 112 IM Khademalsharieh Sarasadat 2392 1   1 GM Lalith Babu M R 2553 45
39 46 GM Kosteniuk Alexandra 2550 1   1 IM Houska Jovanka 2402 109
40 114 FM Hauge Lars Oskar 2388 1   1 GM Muzychuk Anna 2537 47
41 48 GM Demuth Adrien 2535 1   1 IM Gaponenko Inna 2393 111
42 116 WIM Shvayger Yuliya 2381 1   1 GM Handke Florian Dr. 2533 49
43 50 GM Al-Sayed Mohammed 2530 1   1 GM Solomon Kenny 2390 113
44 118 FM Gulamali Kazim 2379 1   1 GM Gopal G.N. 2525 51
45 52 GM Cramling Pia 2523 1   1 IM Anurag Mhamal 2387 115
46 120 IM Christiansen Johan-Sebastian 2374 1   1 GM Vishnu Prasanna. V 2518 53
47 54 IM Pichot Alan 2517 1   1 IM Galinsky Timofey 2379 117
48 56 GM Stefanova Antoaneta 2515 1   1 GM Bellon Lopez Juan Manuel 2376 119
49 122   Herman Matthew J 2370 1   1 IM Gledura Benjamin 2515 57
50 58 GM Harika Dronavalli 2511 1   1 GM Paehtz Thomas 2372 121
51 124 IM Quillan Gary 2369 1   1 GM Sundararajan Kidambi 2508 59
52 60 GM Bai Jinshi 2507 1   1   Siva Mahadevan 2370 123
53 62 WGM Tan Zhongyi 2504 1   1 IM Bitensky Igor 2362 125
54 126 FM Kavutskiy Konstantin 2360 1   1 GM Khotenashvili Bela 2502 63
55 64 WGM Goryachkina Aleksandra 2502 1   1   Pakosta Miroslav 2097 202
56 187   Spence David J 2140 1   1 GM Aravindh Chithambaram Vr. 2500 65
57 147 FM Bach Matthias 2301 ½   ½ GM Anand Viswanathan 2784 3
58 6 GM Yu Yangyi 2747 ½   ½ FM Goriatchkin Jouri 2300 148
59 127 IM Lazarne Vajda Szidonia 2359 ½   ½ GM Ganguly Surya Shekhar 2660 21
60 22 GM Sutovsky Emil 2647 ½   ½ IM Vuilleumier Alexandre 2356 128

...254 players

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Topics: Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival
Johannes Fischer was born in 1963 in Hamburg and studied English and German literature in Frankfurt. He now lives as a writer and translator in Nürnberg. He is a FIDE-Master and regularly writes for KARL, a German chess magazine focusing on the links between culture and chess. On his own blog he regularly publishes notes on "Film, Literature and Chess".
Discussion and Feedback Join the public discussion or submit your feedback to the editors

See also

Aronian all caught up in Gibraltar

2/1/2018 – Or, what Wijk-watchers have been missing. We take a look at the tournament of Levon Aronian who executed a "Swiss-gambit" of sorts, but finally is back in contention for first place. After lurking on the lower boards, Aronian is ready to pounce, and fans are treated to the hotly anticipated last round pairing Aronian vs. Nakamura, which could well decided the tournament. | Photo: Sophie Triay
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Tradewise Gibraltar: Four-way tie

1/31/2018 – The quartet at the Tradwise Masters in Gibraltar became a quartet. Rapport beat Howell and drew with Nakamura after he played only a draw against Wang Hao. Daniil Dubov and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave also score 6.5 points. | Photo: Sophie Triay
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Video

The Botvinnik System in the English opening

The setup for White recommended by Valeri Lilov is solid and easy to play – the thematic moves are almost always the same ones: Nge2, 0-0, Bg5 (or Be3), Nd5, Qd2. Later, according to Black’s setup, things continue with f4 or even Rac1, b4 and play on the queenside. Starting with the classic Botvinnik-Spassky, Leiden 1970, the author describes this universally employable setup in 7 videos (+ intro and conclusion).

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jorgeqb jorgeqb 1/28/2016 09:39
Is that Tim Harding the postal player? :-D
Steven E DuCharm Steven E DuCharm 1/28/2016 01:05
John Watson (the author?) is playing !?
ff2017 ff2017 1/27/2016 04:03
And Kamsky really needs a haircut.
Hawkman Hawkman 1/27/2016 02:51
27 Live Adams 2724.2 −19.8

Who will play worse? Adams or Short in different tourneys.
lajosarpad lajosarpad 1/27/2016 02:17
Congrats to Vajda Szidónia!
1