Looking back at the Isle of Man (2/2)

by Alina l'Ami
10/25/2016 – Observing the top players, our intrepid photographer/report/player Alina L'Ami began to ponder how it was they managed to deal with the stress of performing at the highest level and manage the great stress this can put on the players. After all, it is a constant fight to play as well as possible and bring home the bacon. How do they do it? These were some of the questions asked and speculated upon in this photographic essay with games and positions.

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I've seen all these strong GMs up close in several tournaments but somehow until this edition of the IOM it didn't really occur to me that I can actually learn something. Or at least observe. The most striking part was to realize how much:

“into the game” they are.

They don't just relax their eyes and brain when not sitting at the board, but really dig and think about chess whenever an interesting opportunity arises, be it a dazzling game in close vicinity or a puzzle told over breakfast.

So that's how you keep your friends close...

For a long time I was envious. Envious of how tireless they always seemed; but mostly of how well they keep their nerves stretched to bearable levels, to the point of emanating relaxation behind the board.

Or...is there something in the tea?!

The players seem to enjoy their lives

But where's the pressure?!

It is right there, in all the players' hearts and heads, no matter the strength. The major difference is that some perform better with lots of pressure (money at stake, the team depending on your result etc.) and others with less pressure, for example in nothing-to-lose-situations when the tournament is already won with a round to spare. There's no such thing as a zero pressure category, unless one expects to win a game just by showing up. And we all know the great results such an attitude brings.

Tried that – didn't work. (photo by Harry Gielen)

Obviously pressure is subjective, but the embarrassment of not getting the results you wanted is universal. Nobody wants to feel that. How come the top GMs succeed in being mentally sharp during both stressful and 'boring' games? That's subjective too. We can't all be Einsteins but we can let ourselves be inspired.

Naiditsch wrapped things up in style, with a win and third place (photo by Harry Gielen)

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This is my last game in the tournament, of which I shouldn't be as embarrased as I felt over there. Once back in the room, I turned on the laptop, the engine, put the game in and to my horror, I saw how 'easily' I was winning... not once, but twice, with the exact same idea. 31...Qc5 is what I played, thinking that I should have some Qc3+, just in case my king suddenly gets exposed. The cool engine suggests the simple 31...gxh4 where things like 32.Nc6 Rb7 33.g5 fxg5 34.e5 simply don't work due to h3 but not 34...dxe5? in view of 35.d6+ Kg7 36.Nxe5 35.e6 brings nothing Bxc6 36.dxc6 Qxc6 37.e7+ Kg7 32.Nc6 Rb6 33.Kb1 White also refuses to take on g5, for the same obscure reasons as Black. h6 missing the 2nd moment of taking on h4 and inviting White to take on g5, after Which Black's hopes vanished and the game soon ended in a draw. 33...gxh4 was again possible 34.Rh1 Qf2 and Black infiltrates on the Black squares, enjoying the big advantage the 2 extra pawns bring too. 34.hxg5 hxg5 35.Rc1 Qe3 36.Qxe3 fxe3 37.Nd4 etc. I prefer this "etc" instead of the moves I played which were a desperate attempt to keep the game going. Luckily I didn't go too far and a draw was agreed. Now I look back at it in a less emotional way and I can finally forgive myself for not seeing such easy moves. It was not an obvious way, no matter how bull's eye it does look to you (and me) at the moment. Somehow the battle was taking place in the middle of the board, during the game I also had to pay attention to the safety of my king, so psychologically, opening it up with moves like gxh4 was out of my radar. This is just an illustration on a smaller scale on how a human mind works, so we shouldn't be shocked by the 'unacceptable' errors which happen on a higher level and that are pointed out by the computers. If we sit down and think, winning is never easy. ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Vardan,N2117L'Ami,A2322½–½2016IOM Masters9
Rodshtein,M2687Naiditsch,A26840–12016E90IOM Masters9.3

However, the strong line-up is not the only reason for the popularity of the Isle of Man tournament. The Open encourages the participation of ambitious players, and with the rather long time control, the emphasis is set on quality as well.

11 years old, IM and 2442 FIDE, Praggnanandhaa has already made the headlines. We will surely hear more from him.

The love for chess starts early and it never ends

But to me, a female player, the high prizes in this category is another attraction, just like the general conditions for the invited participants. You just want to be there!

The crucial chess debate in the women section

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The Women's race for a high place in the final standings and for the 3500 pounds ladies' prize was a fierce battle. Probably the crucial encounter was the one of R7, where Harika brought home the point in pretty fashion: 40.e5+ Ke6 41.c5! I don't see everyday a self-fork with...pawns!:) f5 42.exd6 Rd7 43.Re1+ Kf6 44.Rde5 Rc8 45.Re6+ 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
Harika,D2528Hou Yifan26491–02016A10IoM Masters7.13

Harika's trademarks: determination, positivism, topped with a great smile. First place in the women's final standings.

In shared first place with Harika: her compatriot, the camera magnet, Tania Sachdev

The shared first place for women. Probably Alan Ormsby, the tournament director, is happy that he can finally go to rest. (or because he had a successful tournament)

The only challenge the organizers could be facing in the future is the tournament hall which accommodates only a limited amount of players. But rumour has it that for the next year, expansion plans will be set in place. If that means an even stronger line-up, a larger venue or both, we will find out in 2017.

Until then, here is a 'small' calculation exercise for you:

Sargissian – Shirov

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An interesting moment went missing from all the reports I've seen, which could be used for a future endgame study, Yochanan?! 59...c5 was not the clean way for a draw Instead, 59...Rxh7 60.Rxh7 Kxh7 61.Nxc6 Kg6 62.Kf3 Bc3= secures Black a draw, as there is no way White can penetrate Black's wall of pawns. 60.Nd7 c4 61.dxc4
If you can find the the right defense I will declare you a genius! Black to play and draw.
  • 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
Sargissian,G2670Shirov,A2679½–½2016A07IoM Masters9.4

Many chess 'distractions' but the island's beauty...

… was there to comfort all of us.


Links

You can use ChessBase 13 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs to replay the games in PGN. You can also download our free Playchess client, which will in addition give you immediate access to the chess server Playchess.com.

Alina is an International Master and a very enthusiastic person in everything she does. She loves travelling to the world's most remote places in order to play chess tournaments and report about them here on ChessBase! As chance would have it Alina is also an excellent photographer.

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