Karpov defeats Sveshnikov in match
7/12/2015 – Two chess legends met in a rapid chess match in Riga, Latvia from July 7 to July 9. Twelfth World Champion Anatoly Karpov faced the renowned chess theoretician Evgeny Sveshnikov in a six-game match that played over three days. The match enjoyed top-notch conditions with a beautiful locale, live video transmission, and GM commentary. Karpov won the match, though not before a minor upset.
It was a welcome return to see Anatoly Karpov, one of the greatest players of all time, whose epic rivalry with Garry Kasparov is unparalleled in chess history, and whose feeling for positional chess can only be compared to Capablanca or present-day Carlsen. In fact the contrast in styles was even directly compared to Capablanca and Alekhine of yesteryear.
Twelfth World Champion Anatoly Karpov
Grandmaster Evgeny Sveshnikov, two-time Latvian champion has permanently left his mark on the Sicilian variation with his name. It was his theoretical investigations, and success against top players that helped forge it into one of the most popular and successful opening lines against 1.e4. He also authored books on the subject, and if that was not enough, he was also a significant contributor to the theory of the Sicilian Alapin 1.e4 c5 2.c3, helping bring it too out of obscurity, and transforming it into one of White’s main weapons to avoid the theory-heavy lines of the Sicilians.
Two legends face off
The match conditions were comfortable and elegant
The event was held in the Tal Residence apartment complex, so-named not just as a tribute to Latvia’s most famous player, but also because, as explained on the project's website: "Architect Ingurds Lazdins has used chess motifs in the facade of the building: geometry of the bay windows represents chess figures of different heights, and the combination of light and dark toned glass – an imaginative chessboard."
The drawing of colors was done the old-fashioned way: "pick a hand"
Live transmission of the games was available throughout, with live video commentary by GM Alexey Shirov, GM Arturs Neiksans, WGM Dana Reizniece-Ozola and IM Nikita Meskovs.
The website provided high-resolution video with GM commentary by Alexei Shirov no less
A look through the lens
In spite of the time off, everyone expected a comfortable win by Karpov, however, he helped keep it suspenseful when he completely botched the opening in the second game of day one and was so badly outplayed that he resigned in almost complete zuzwang. Was this going to be a report on a shock loss by the champion?
It was not the first result chess fans expected
Sveshnikov showed that he was not to be taken lightly, and took full advantage
The next day Karpov came back with a vengeance and won both his games, reasserting his authority, though only leading by a point. The match was still open. On the third day, the first game of the day, and game five of the match, saw a vintage performance by the 12th World Champion. Fighting over a small weakness on the dark squares, he proceeded to work his way towards debilitating and exploiting them in textbook fashion.
With this win, he had already secured match victory, and a draw in the last game finished the match 4-2 in his favor.
A big congratulations to the organizers for also providing the complete videos on YouTube for reference
LinksThe 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 13 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs. |
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Discussion and Feedback
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Hey Shirov! nice to hear about you again! elite chess tournaments really lacks you.
events like this match make you remember the good old days. This game gave me pleasure like no other thing on that planet. Thanks to great players like Karpov and Shirov and many others, I really enjoyed following your games and battles over the board. But every thing comes to an end one day, and we all will be history one day.
events like this match make you remember the good old days. This game gave me pleasure like no other thing on that planet. Thanks to great players like Karpov and Shirov and many others, I really enjoyed following your games and battles over the board. But every thing comes to an end one day, and we all will be history one day.
Sveshnikov writes a new book on the Grand Prix, but doesn't play it against Karpov.
Weak.
Weak.
but where did sveshnikov err in the second game? there is no mention of it in the notes!?
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