
This
massive event, with 38 men's and 28 women's teams, four boards per round each
– is taking place in the famous chess city of Novi Sad in Serbia (formerly
Yugoslavia). We bring you results, games, photos and video reports by Europe
Echecs.
Round four
The surprises in the men's section of round four were England's heavy loss
against France and Russia's draw against Netherlands. In the latter Jan Smeets
beat Alexander Morozevich with the black pieces. It is a dauntingly complex
game which will bear many hours of analysis, but we can safely assume that Morozevich
once again pressed a little too hard.
Veselin Topalov, appearing for the Bulgarian side for a second time in this
team championship, drew against GM Vladimir Georgiev from the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia (MKD). If the official notation is correct this is what
transpired:
Georgiev,Vl (2537) - Topalov,V (2813) [E70]
17th TCh-Eur Novi Sad SRB (4), 25.10.2009
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Bd3 0-0 6.Nge2 c5 7.d5 e6 8.0-0
Ng4 9.Bc2 Ne5 10.b3 exd5 11.cxd5 b5 12.Rb1 b4 13.Na4 Ba6 14.f4 Ned7 15.a3 bxa3
16.Bxa3 Nb6 17.Bd3 Re8 18.Nb2 Bxd3 19.Qxd3 a5 20.Nc4 Nxc4 21.bxc4 Na6 22.Qf3
Nb4 23.f5 Qh4 24.fxg6 fxg6 25.Nf4 Be5 26.g3 Qf6 27.Kg2 Nc2 28.Rb7 Nxa3 29.Qxa3
Rf8 30.Qa4 g5 31.Qd7 Qh6 32.Ne6 Rxf1 33.Kxf1 Qh5 34.Kg2 Qe2+ 35.Kh3 Qh5+ 36.Kg2
36...Bf6?? Topalov spurns the draw by repetition, but his
effort to win lands him in big trouble. 37.Nf4 Qh6 38.Qe6+ Kh8 39.Nh5
Rf8
Now all Georgiev has to play is 40.Qxd6! But on his final move before the time
control he lets his famous opponent, 276 points higher than himself on the rating
scale, off the hook: 40.Rf7? Bg7 41.Rxg7 Qxh5 42.Rg8+ draw.

Round four, with MKD vs BUL and Georgiev vs Tolapov under way
In the women's section Ukraine beat France, with the two GMs on board one settling
scores: Kateryna Lahno, rated 2483 defeated her old rival Marie Sebag, 2519,
in 42 moves. Poland beat Serbia and Russia beat Hungary.
In both the Open and Women's sections Georgia scored convincing victories,
so that both teams took pole position – in the men's section together
with Azerbaijan with eight match points each; and in the women's section alone
with four wins and 8.0 match points, one point ahead of Azerbaijan and Ukraine,
followed by Poland, Russia and Armenia a point behind them.
Round five
Georgia lost to Azerbaijan, who thus took sole lead (with 5.0/5 match points)
in the tournament. France held Armenia with a stunning win by Etienne Bacrot
over Levon Aronian.
Bacrot,E (2709) - Aronian,L (2773) [D43]
17th TCh-Eur Novi Sad SRB (5), 26.10.2009
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dxc4 7.e4 g5 8.Bg3
b5 9.Be2 Bb7 10.0-0 Nbd7 11.Ne5 Bg7 12.Nxd7 Nxd7 13.Bd6 a6 14.a4 e5 15.Bg4 exd4
16.e5 c5 17.f4 dxc3 18.bxc3 Bf8 19.Qe2 Bxd6 20.exd6+ Kf8 21.fxg5 hxg5 22.Be6
Rh7 23.Qc2
Bacrot's attack is ferocious, and Aronian should defend by moving his rook
to g7. Instead he blunders: 23...Kg8?? 24.Rxf7. Bacrot is only
too pleased to oblige. 24...Rxf7 25.Rf1 Nf8 26.Qf5 Nxe6 27.Qxf7+ Kh8
28.Rf6 Qxf6 29.Qxf6+ Ng7 30.d7 b4 31.cxb4 cxb4 32.d8Q+ Rxd8 33.Qxd8+ Kh7 34.Qb6
Be4 35.Qxb4 Bd3 36.Qa5 1-0.

The French in round five: Etienne Bacrot, Laurent Fressinet

The Armenians with Vladimir Akopian and Levon Aronian
In the Women's section Georgia and Ukraine drew all their games, while Russia
beat Poland. This left Georgia in the lead with nine match points, ahead of
Azerbaijan, Russia and Ukraine with eight match points each. In the Open section
Azerbaijan had 10.0/10 possible match points and was in the lead. Russia and
Georgia followed two match points behind.
Round six

The top encounter, Azerbaijan vs Russia (above with Radjabov vs Svidler), brought
three short draws – 21, 21 and 26 moves – with Tomashevsky and Mamedyarov
battling it out for 55 moves. Ukraine vs Georgia and Netherlands vs France were
also drawn. Bulgaria lost 1.5:2.5 to the Czech Republic, with Topalov drawing
his third game in a row, and Ivan Cheparinov losing the decisive battle against
Viktor Laznicka. Topalov's trusted second Cheparinov has so far won and lost
three games, drawing none.

The Russians: Alexandra Kosteniuk, Tatiana and Nadezhda Kosintseva, Valentina
Gunina

The Ukrainians: Kateryna Lahno, Natalia Zhukova, Anna Ushenina, Nataila Zdebskaja
(r.-l.)
In the Women's section Georgia was held by Azerbaijan, while Russia defeated
Ukrain 3:1, while other key encounters were draw. this allowed the Russians
to catch up with the Georgians, both now having ten match points, followed by
Azerbaijan with nine match points. In the men's section Azerbaijan has maintained
their two-point lead over Russia, Armenia and Georgia.
Standings after round six – Men
Rk. |
SNo |
Team |
Team |
+ |
= |
– |
TB1 |
TB2 |
TB3 |
1 |
2 |
Azerbaijan |
AZE |
5 |
1 |
0 |
11 |
15.0 |
78.0 |
2 |
1 |
Russia |
RUS |
3 |
3 |
0 |
9 |
15.5 |
73.5 |
3 |
3 |
Armenia |
ARM |
4 |
1 |
1 |
9 |
15.0 |
78.5 |
4 |
11 |
Georgia |
GEO |
4 |
1 |
1 |
9 |
14.0 |
83.0 |
5 |
10 |
Hungary |
HUN |
3 |
2 |
1 |
8 |
15.5 |
74.5 |
6 |
9 |
France |
FRA |
3 |
2 |
1 |
8 |
14.5 |
79.0 |
7 |
15 |
Netherlands |
NED |
2 |
4 |
0 |
8 |
14.5 |
76.0 |
8 |
12 |
Poland |
POL |
3 |
2 |
1 |
8 |
14.5 |
72.0 |
9 |
5 |
Ukraine |
UKR |
3 |
2 |
1 |
8 |
14.5 |
70.5 |
10 |
17 |
Serbia 1 |
SRB 1 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
8 |
14.0 |
78.0 |
11 |
6 |
Israel |
ISR |
4 |
0 |
2 |
8 |
12.5 |
84.0 |
12 |
13 |
Czech Republic |
CZE |
3 |
2 |
1 |
8 |
12.5 |
80.5 |
13 |
8 |
Spain |
ESP |
3 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
13.5 |
76.5 |
14 |
25 |
Switzerland |
SUI |
3 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
12.5 |
76.5 |
15 |
18 |
England |
ENG |
3 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
12.5 |
71.0 |
16 |
19 |
Greece |
GRE |
3 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
12.0 |
77.5 |
Standings after round six – Women
Rk. |
SNo |
Team |
Team |
+ |
= |
– |
TB1 |
TB2 |
TB3 |
1 |
1 |
Russia |
RUS |
5 |
0 |
1 |
10 |
16.5 |
76.5 |
2 |
2 |
Georgia |
GEO |
4 |
2 |
0 |
10 |
15.5 |
85.0 |
3 |
20 |
Azerbaijan |
AZE |
3 |
3 |
0 |
9 |
15.5 |
80.5 |
4 |
13 |
Romania |
ROU |
3 |
2 |
1 |
8 |
14.5 |
76.5 |
5 |
6 |
France |
FRA |
3 |
2 |
1 |
8 |
14.5 |
75.0 |
6 |
5 |
Armenia |
ARM |
3 |
2 |
1 |
8 |
14.0 |
87.0 |
7 |
16 |
Czech Republic |
CZE |
3 |
2 |
1 |
8 |
14.0 |
80.0 |
8 |
3 |
Ukraine |
UKR |
3 |
2 |
1 |
8 |
13.5 |
87.5 |
9 |
17 |
Israel |
ISR |
4 |
0 |
2 |
8 |
12.5 |
77.0 |
10 |
12 |
Slovenia |
SLO |
3 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
15.0 |
67.0 |
11 |
14 |
Greece |
GRE |
2 |
3 |
1 |
7 |
14.0 |
70.0 |
12 |
10 |
Hungary |
HUN |
3 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
13.5 |
75.5 |
13 |
15 |
Spain |
ESP |
3 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
12.0 |
74.5 |
14 |
4 |
Poland |
POL |
3 |
0 |
3 |
6 |
15.0 |
75.0 |
15 |
18 |
Croatia |
CRO |
3 |
0 |
3 |
6 |
11.5 |
68.0 |
16 |
8 |
Bulgaria |
BUL |
3 |
0 |
3 |
6 |
10.5 |
72.5 |
Performance
The best performance so far is by Norwegian GM Jon Ludvig Hammer, 19, who has
scored 5.0/6 points on board one for his team and is playing as if he had a
2873 rating. In second place is another youngster: Fabiano Caruana, who is performing
like a 2848 player. The older and more famous grandmasters are to be found lower
on the list.
The best Open Section players after six rounds
No. |
Ti. |
Name |
Rtg |
Team |
Rp |
Pts. |
Gms |
% |
Bo. |
1 |
GM |
Hammer Jon Ludvig |
2585 |
Norway |
2873 |
5.0 |
6 |
83.3 |
1 |
2 |
GM |
Caruana Fabiano |
2662 |
Italy |
2848 |
4.0 |
5 |
80.0 |
1 |
3 |
GM |
Gashimov Vugar |
2740 |
Azerbaijan |
2835 |
4.5 |
6 |
75.0 |
2 |
4 |
GM |
L'Ami Erwin |
2606 |
Netherlands |
2821 |
5.0 |
6 |
83.3 |
2 |
5 |
GM |
Bacrot Etienne |
2709 |
France |
2821 |
3.5 |
5 |
70.0 |
1 |
6 |
GM |
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar |
2721 |
Azerbaijan |
2805 |
4.5 |
6 |
75.0 |
3 |
7 |
GM |
Svidler Peter |
2741 |
Russia |
2800 |
3.5 |
5 |
70.0 |
1 |
8 |
GM |
Feller Sebastien |
2570 |
France |
2791 |
5.0 |
6 |
83.3 |
4 |
9 |
GM |
Navara David |
2692 |
Czech Rep. |
2790 |
4.0 |
6 |
66.7 |
1 |
10 |
GM |
Almasi Zoltan |
2685 |
Hungary |
2775 |
3.5 |
5 |
70.0 |
1 |
11 |
GM |
Tomashevsky Evgeny |
2688 |
Russia |
2770 |
4.5 |
6 |
75.0 |
4 |
12 |
GM |
Petrosian Tigran L |
2602 |
Armenia |
2769 |
4.0 |
5 |
80.0 |
4 |
13 |
GM |
Eljanov Pavel |
2717 |
Ukraine |
2755 |
3.5 |
5 |
70.0 |
1 |
14 |
GM |
Laznicka Viktor |
2634 |
Czech Rep. |
2741 |
3.5 |
5 |
70.0 |
2 |
15 |
GM |
Jobava Baadur |
2696 |
Georgia |
2740 |
3.5 |
6 |
58.3 |
1 |
16 |
GM |
Conquest Stuart C |
2563 |
England |
2735 |
4.5 |
6 |
75.0 |
2 |
17 |
GM |
Fridman Daniel |
2661 |
Germany |
2728 |
3.5 |
5 |
70.0 |
2 |
18 |
GM |
Alekseev Evgeny |
2725 |
Russia |
2726 |
3.5 |
5 |
70.0 |
3 |
19 |
GM |
Miladinovic Igor |
2547 |
Serbia 2 |
2724 |
3.0 |
5 |
60.0 |
1 |
20 |
GM |
Aronian Levon |
2773 |
Armenia |
2717 |
3.0 |
5 |
60.0 |
1 |
21 |
GM |
Topalov Veselin |
2813 |
Bulgaria |
2710 |
2.5 |
4 |
62.5 |
1 |
22 |
GM |
Postny Evgeny |
2651 |
Israel |
2709 |
3.0 |
5 |
60.0 |
3 |
23 |
GM |
Berkes Ferenc |
2663 |
Hungary |
2705 |
4.0 |
6 |
66.7 |
1 |
24 |
GM |
Gallagher Joseph G |
2464 |
Switzerland |
2705 |
3.0 |
4 |
75.0 |
4 |
25 |
GM |
Akopian Vladimir |
2698 |
Armenia |
2705 |
3.0 |
5 |
60.0 |
1 |
26 |
GM |
Bartel Mateusz |
2609 |
Poland |
2703 |
4.5 |
6 |
75.0 |
3 |
27 |
GM |
Shirov Alexei |
2730 |
Spain |
2701 |
3.5 |
6 |
58.3 |
1 |
The best Women's Section players after six rounds
No. |
Ti. |
Name |
Rtg |
Team |
Rp |
Pts. |
Gms |
% |
Bo. |
1 |
WGM |
Mamedjarova Zeinab |
2285 |
Azerbaijan |
2822 |
4.5 |
5 |
90.0 |
1 |
2 |
WGM |
Majdan Joanna |
2361 |
Poland |
2658 |
4.5 |
5 |
90.0 |
4 |
3 |
IM |
Javakhishvili Lela |
2472 |
Georgia |
2632 |
4.0 |
5 |
80.0 |
1 |
4 |
IM |
Milliet Sophie |
2407 |
France |
2616 |
4.0 |
5 |
80.0 |
2 |
5 |
IM |
Kosintseva Nadezhda |
2493 |
Russia |
2602 |
5.0 |
6 |
83.3 |
2 |
6 |
GM |
Kosteniuk Alexandra |
2516 |
Russia |
2600 |
3.5 |
5 |
70.0 |
1 |
7 |
GM |
Lahno Kateryna |
2483 |
Ukraine |
2581 |
4.0 |
6 |
66.7 |
1 |
8 |
IM |
Khukhashvili Sopiko |
2451 |
Georgia |
2579 |
3.0 |
4 |
75.0 |
2 |
9 |
IM |
Jackova Jana |
2393 |
Czech Rep. |
2572 |
4.0 |
6 |
66.7 |
1 |
10 |
IM |
Mkrtchian Lilit |
2469 |
Armenia |
2560 |
4.5 |
6 |
75.0 |
2 |
11 |
GM |
Stefanova Antoaneta |
2527 |
Bulgaria |
2547 |
3.5 |
5 |
70.0 |
1 |
12 |
WGM |
Michna Marta |
2366 |
Germany |
2533 |
4.0 |
5 |
80.0 |
2 |
13 |
IM |
Gaponenko Inna |
2438 |
Ukraine |
2523 |
3.0 |
4 |
75.0 |
3 |
14 |
IM |
Paehtz Elisabeth |
2482 |
Germany |
2508 |
3.5 |
6 |
58.3 |
1 |
15 |
IM |
Sedina Elena |
2335 |
Italy |
2501 |
3.0 |
5 |
60.0 |
1 |
Video reports by Europe Echecs
Videos and pictures in this report by GM Robert Fontaine for Europe
Echecs
Links
The 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 the free PGN reader ChessBase
Light, which gives you immediate access. You can also use the program
to read, replay and analyse PGN games. New and enhanced: CB Light 2009! |
|