Pentala Harikrishna succeeds on Isle of Man

by Alina l'Ami
10/15/2015 – Pentala Harikrishna is the winner of the PokerStars Isle Of Man tournament 2015. In the last round Nigel Short tried hard to beat the Indian Grandmaster but finally had to content himself with a draw. The tournament had a strong field and a superb organisation. And the island itself made Alina l'Ami ask some fundamental questions. Report, pictures, analyses...

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I have always wondered what final aim chess players are pursuing in their errant lives? Is it the best move, the most fantastic game or the highest rating ever? But while reading "El paraiso en la otra esquina" (which appeared under the title The Way to Paradise in English but translates roughly as “The happiness in the other corner”), a book of my favourite author Mario Vargas Llosa, I started to think that maybe this “happiness in the other corner” is precisely what we chess players, are looking for!

Not an easy quest: there are many corners to check and they always change. A coincidence of the kind I like and welcome had it that I finished the last chapters of Vargas Llosa’s book while traveling to the Isle of Man, a small island which never looks the same; the shades of its light change from one minute to another and it would take a lifetime to capture its whole beauty and greatness...

So I wondered if the Isle of Man, where I wanted to play the famous PokerStars international chess tournament, was one of those corners?

The Isle of Man is a paradise for nature lovers, photographers, and chess players.

Objective analysis shows that this could be true. The field in this year’s tournament was extremely strong. At the top, in the middle, and even at the end of the seeding list. You had to show good form or you were at risk to go badly astray. But the time control was most generous and one game could last up to nine hours!

The people on the Isle of Man drive on the left and the clocks also work...
the other way around! It took me some time to find out what time it is exactly.

My games frequently were the last to finish last but despite the inevitable exhaustion caused by that I didn't mind at all, not only because I am a "long thinker", but mainly because I believe that the quality and beauty of chess benefit from a slow rhythm of play.

Always an elegant presence: Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant

Nigel and Erwin talking about...chess?!

Coca Cola vs. water. For the long IoM games you might need them both.

You will hear more from the Italian...

...GM Francesco Rambaldi who collected 6.0/10 points in the tournament and gained 10 Elo-points.

 
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It is known that the PokerStars Isle of Man tournament is a very tough one for everybody, including for the top seeds. However, in R5 the number one rated player in the event won with a typical trick in the Scandinavian against a talented young boy, who still almost repeated his performance from last year: GM norm back then and an IM one this time. Just that this game went wrong from the very beginning and if you like this opening for Black, keep an eye for: 8.Nb5! Qb6 Obviously 8...Qd8 allows mate in one 9.Nd6# 9.Nd6+ Kd8 10.Nxf5 and the rest was trivial for the renown English GM. 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Adams,M2742Merry,A23351–02015B01PokerStars IoM Masters5.12
 
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I must say it took me some time to decide whether I should introduce this game or not, as it brings back less pleasant memories from my last round, when I missed a great chance to win a rather substantial ladies prize, rating and a beautiful game. I lost it all but there was one moment which (even for me, during the game!) brought a smile on my face. Can you find the continuation for Black? 31...Qa5! A blow out of nowhere!! After all, it was about time for Alan to prove the power of the queen on a5, which didn't work against Adams but did a pretty good job against me:) 32.Rad1 What else? There is no way to prevent material loss or the 1st rank mate. For example 32.Rg1 runs into the same idea Qxd2 Or 32.Rdd1 Qxa1 32...Qxd2! Oups! Great geometric eye and intuition, since Alan admitted he saw Qa5 only in the very last moment, with less than 10 seconds on the clock! 33.Qxd2 Nf2+ 34.Qxf2 Rxf2 The remaining moves are of no relevance but the tactic can go straight into the books. Pitty I had to be the one to witness it up close:) 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
L'Ami,A2369Merry,A23350–12015A90PokerStars IoM Masters9.30

The playing hall and general conditions are simply superb, as the main sponsors PokerStars and the Scheinberg family, together with Alan Ormsby's organizing team, which tend to grow into a true family, do not spare any effort to make the players' life as good as possible. On top, all the invited players of 2015 are on the list for next year, and Alan promised in his closing speech to adjust the dates in such a way that the tournament won't clash with the 2016 Olympiad.

What distinguishes a good tournament organiser? A passion for chess!

In deep thought: the players at the top boards.

Clash of titans: Tarjan (with White) vs Timman. The last game they played against each other was in 1983!

 
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If you are an avid chess fan, following everything that appears in social media, then you might remember this incredible resource that Black had! And if you are not in the know, try to find the way to victory - Black to move. 40...Rc6 was played, which is indeed a sensible move, particularly in time trouble, but the Peruvian GM missed an amazing continuation. 40...Rc7‼ at first glance 41.a7 looks not only scary but just wining for White; or...? Nc6 42.Re8+ Kxe8 43.a8Q+ Ndb8‼ followed by Ra7 and the lady has no refuge. 41.a7 Ra6 42.Rb8 Rxa7 43.Rxb4 Now White is in the driver's seat but Black defended ferociously...two players that refuse to use the "draw" word in their vocabulary, going all in whenever they can. Rc7 44.Ke1 Rc6 45.a5 Ra6 46.Rb5 Kd8 47.Kd2 Kc7 48.Kc3 Nb8 49.Nc1 Rc6+ 50.Kb2 Rc4 51.Nb3 Nc6 52.a6 Rb4 53.Rxb4 Nxb4 54.Nc5 Kb6 55.g4 Nxa6 56.Nd7+ Kc7 57.Nf6 Kd8 58.Kb3 Nc7 59.Kb4 Ne8 60.Ng8 h5 61.f3 Ng7 62.Nf6 Ke7 63.Kc3 Kf8 64.Kd3 From those moments when humans overpower the computers, yes!! Defending a difficult position is not a piece of cake and being precise in the critical moments is of vital importance: can you find a way out for Black? Ne8! I don't know if you have the same but I get a great feeling when the engines are hopeless in certain positions:) This is one of them, although, I have to admit, if you leave them run for just a bit longer, they will switch to the right evaluation - the pawn endgame is draw! 65.Nxe8 Kxe8 66.Ke3 Ke7 67.Kf4 Optically, it looks completely winning for White but Black squeezed a draw with perfect play. hxg4 68.fxg4 f6 69.exf6+ Kxf6 70.g5+ Kf7 71.Kg4 e5! 72.dxe5 d4 73.Kf3 Ke6 74.Ke4 d3 75.Kxd3 Kxe5 Pawn up but the position is a theoretical draw (the funny thing is that I had the same drawing mechanism, in the same tournament!). 76.Ke3 Kf5 77.Kf3 Ke6 78.Kf4 Kf7 79.Kf3 Ke7 80.Ke3 Kd7 81.Kd3 Ke6 82.Ke4 Kd6 83.Kf3 Ke7 84.Kg4 Kf7 85.Kg3 Ke7 86.Kf4 Correspondence squares - there is no way in for the White king due to the opposition. Ke6 87.Kg4 Kf7 88.h5 gxh5+ 89.Kxh5 Kg7 90.g6 Kg8 91.Kh6 Kh8 92.g7+ Kg8 93.Kg6 ½–½
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Naiditsch,A2682Granda Zuniga,J2667½–½2015B10PokerStars IoM Masters5.3
 
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The game was very interesting up to this point, as it is quite difficult to master these type of unbalanced positions, in this case: two rooks + bishop vs queen and a bunch of rolling pawns... But the question is: how to continue with Black? 51...h2! 52.Rxf3 exf3 53.Rh5 f2 I liked this sequence of pawn moves, when the little soldiers show their strength, metamorphosing into valuable queens. 54.Rxh2 f1Q Black is better but didn't succeed to break White's defence. 55.Rh7 Qg2+ 56.Bd2 Qe4+ 57.Kc3 Ke6 58.Rxb7 c5 59.d5+ Qxd5 60.Rh7 Qd4+ 61.Kc2 c4 62.Rh3 Kd5 63.bxc4+ Qxc4+ 64.Rc3 Qa4+ 65.Kb2 Qd1 66.Bc1 a5 67.Rc2 Qd4+ 68.Ka2 Qa4 69.Rh2 Kc4 70.Kb1 Qb3+ 71.Ka1 a4 72.Ra2 Qd1 73.Kb1 Kc3 74.Rb2 Qd3+ 75.Ka1 Qd1 76.Kb1 Kd3 77.Ra2 Qb3+ 78.Rb2 Qd1 79.Ra2 Qb3+ I believe the 30 moves draw rule or Sofia rules or any kind of against-draw-rule is unnecessary in this event: all the games were hard fought, on the top boards and beyond that. ½–½
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Brunello,S2553Hamitevici,V2439½–½2015E48PokerStars IoM Masters6.17

But it still takes a minor miracle for a "happy other corner". In our case this could be the effort to combine two completely different games: chess and poker! To my shame, I must admit that I don't even know the rules of poker, but I believe to grasp a bit of its spirit and understand why it is similar to the ancient royal game – despite all differences. In chess and in poker we all tend to consider ourselves geniuses, believing that we can have sensational performances if not for bad luck... But even more important, despite its scientific character chess still retains aspects of gambling. It doesn't really matter which cards you get, but the way you are playing them! The more you practice and the smarter you are, the luckier you become.

Armenian GM Hrant Melkumyan

A true natural of the game: Julio Granda Zuniga

Tournament winner Pentala Harikrishna

Harika Dronavalli (playing with black against Michael Adams)
deserved more from her event but continues to smile and promises to work even harder next time!

 
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Harika played a great tournament, although she may perceive it differently due to the unfortunate eighth round. However, having to play each and single game for 7 hours (or more!) and against top GMs is not a picnic. This is the reason why me, as a spectator, I remarked her fighting spirit and how she defended very tough positions and even turned them around, just like this one: Black didn't find the study-like-winning-mechanism, so are you ready for the challenge?:) White to play 66.Bd6+ was chosen, which let the win slip. 66.Rg6‼ The main idea is blunt: deliver mate! Rf2 is the most stubborn defence but I believe it is just not enough to hold a draw. 66...a1Q is not working 67.Bd6+ Ke8 68.Rxf6 Black can still move but oups! - no way he can prevent mate on f8. 66...Ne8 is another attempt to keep the game going but fails to 67.Bh6+ Ng7+ 68.Bxg7+ 68.Rxg7 is also possible but why hand your opponent hopes? Rh2 69.Rf7+ Kg8 70.Rf1 Rxh6+ 68...Kg8 69.Bf6+ Kh7 70.Kf7! a1Q 71.Rg8 Similar to the other mate (on f8), when Black has a lot of useless material and a final check will follow on h8. Perhaps something to use, Yochanan Afek, in the next year's study? 67.Rxf6+ Kg7 68.Bh6+ Kh7 69.Rxf2 a1Q 70.Rf6 Great coordination and the d5-pawn will fall soon. 66...Ke8 67.Kxf6 A mistake never comes alone...the endgame was very difficult and you may find a lot of pleasure analyzing it, so go ahead and check the entire game if you feel like. From love to hate, from winning to losing, it is just a tiny little step... Better was 67.Rf1 Nh7 68.Ra1 Ng5+ 69.Kxd5 Kd7 70.Bf4 Ne6 Where I am not sure how to asses it; looking at the board I would take White, as I would think the rooks are stalemating each other. But the knight is a very interesting creature on the chess board...maybe the outcome would have been a draw? 67...Rb1 68.Rg8+ Kd7 69.Ra8 a1Q 70.Rxa1 Rxa1 71.Bf4 Ra8 72.Ke5 Kc6 73.Kf5 Rg8 74.Kf6 Re8 75.Be5 Kd7 76.Bf4 Re4 77.Kf5 Kc6 78.Kg4 Kb5 79.Kf3 Kc4 80.Bg5 White was thinking he reached a fortress already so he needs to sit still. Unfortunately, it was not the case. I don't see how Black could break White's fortress if 80.Kg4 Kd3 81.Kf5 But not easy to defend such games, I think in practical play more than 50% would be won with Black, since he can move around forever or until White will collapse. 80...Kd3 The black king is in and his white opponent will soon find himself in zugzwang, as Harika will show further. 81.Bf4 Re7 82.Be5 Rf7+ 83.Bf4 Rf8 84.Kg4 Ke4 85.Kg5 Rf7 86.Kg4 Rg7+ 87.Kh4 Rg1 88.Kh3 Re1 One of those games when she finished last in the tournament hall:) 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Greet,A2455Harika,D25160–12015D11PokerStars IoM Masters2.26

Yochanan Afek, who is a grandmaster in study composition,
created a special study for the IoM tournament. He also had a great tournament.

Study by Yochanan Afek. Solution at the end of the article

 
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Speaking about study-like ideas, as it was the case in Naiditsch vs Granda or Greet vs Dronavalli, there is one person you could ask about insights in this special and beautiful world: IM Yochanan Afek and GM in composing! And just in between, enjoy this miniature he played on the island! 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 0-0 9.0-0-0 Nxd4 10.Bxd4 Be6 11.h4 Qa5 12.Kb1 Rfc8 13.g4 Rxc3 14.Qxc3 Qxa2+ 15.Kc1 Bxg4 16.Qe3 e5 17.fxg4 exd4 18.Qa3 Qxa3 19.bxa3 Nxg4 20.Re1 Rc8 21.Bh3 d3 22.Bxg4 Rxc2+ 23.Kb1 Rb2+ 24.Ka1 Rg2+ 25.Kb1 Rxg4 26.h5 Rg2 Yochanan played a very good tournament, especially if we consider that he had to face not less than seven GMs in a row, followed by a WGM and then another GM in the last round! I think composing keeps you sharp, so go ahead and try to solve his special study, dedicated to the PokerStars IoM tournament. 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Jedynak,R2427Afek,Y22520–12015B76PokerStars IoM Masters4.33

Once in a while in interviews the question comes up why on earth are we not giving up the spiny chess career? I usually give vague answers, such as that chess is addictive, that it allows me to travel a lot, and I also like to quote Aronian who once said that all chess players are masochists, except those at the top who are sadists... But now I believe that chess is a bit like poker: you cannot retire when you are losing but even less so when winning!

Returning to the concrete world, I find it is a good idea to have the poker tournament the day before the chess event starts. This way chess players can clear their minds and get rid of the pressure, and some might even have hit the big pot already!

The flag of the Isle of Man with its famous triskelion symbol.

Yuri Garrett does a quick scan for electronic devices before the last round - both players came out clean!

When not busy with anti-cheating duties Yuri Garrett is a passionate photographer.

They say that history repeats itself and this could have been the case in the 2015 Isle of Man tournament. Last year Nigel Short won the tournament with a last round win against David Howell. This time, his love for the game transpired again and again, particularly in his game against Alon Greenfeld, in which he played an unusual self-fork. This game was published in a previous CB-report, so I am sure you are all aware of its beauty.

And just like last year, in the final round Nigel was pressing in the endgame against the leader Harikrishna, but the Indian grandmaster defended well and hold tight to his 1st place; and even though Sargissian and Fressinet caught up with him by winning against Rambaldi and Naiditsch respectively, the Indian had the best tie-break and won the tournament.

History did not repeat itself this time: Nigel had pressure but Harikrishna hold the draw.

Laurent Fressinet finished the tournament on a good note:
he won against Arkadij Naiditsch which made him first place
with Sargissian and Harikrishna.

 
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Something went wrong for White, as Black would have a preferable position after taking back on a5. But Fressinet found an immediate kill! Ready for some calculation? 26...Nh4! 27.Nb3 27.gxh4 doesn't work in view of the immediate mate or massive material loss after Bf3 27...Be2! 28.Bxe2 Qh3 What else to do but resign? Unhappy moments for Naiditsch but his fighting games will pay off next time. As for Fressinet, this game brought him on a7/9, sharing 1st place with Sargissian and Harikrishna. 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Naiditsch,A2682Fressinet,L27020–12015C67PokerStars IoM Masters9.2

The crucial encounter between Naiditsch and Harikrishna in round seven

 
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Arkadij Naiditsch played on the top board the entire tournament. The Azeri grandmaster is renowned -and loved- for his fighting spirit but in Isle of Man it just wansn't to be. In this game, as he knew it before the game ended, Arkadij was winning, had he played something else than 33.Nd7 33.Kb3! was the way forward, where the a-pawn will become unstoppable. Rxg2 34.a5 Ra8 35.Ra1 Rxh2 36.Rb7 just to have a way out from any check on h3 and supporting the pawn further. Black cannot hold for long. 33...Be7 34.Rb7 Ra8 Suddenly White lost its coordination and the position deteriorated from winning into muddy, complicated waters to finally end up in a 0-1... chess is cruel, what can I say? 35.Nb6 Ra6 36.Rd3 Bd6 37.Rg3+ Kh8 38.Kb3 Rc7 39.Rb8+ Kh7 40.Rgg8 Bxf4 41.Rh8+ Kg7 42.Rhg8+ Kf6 43.Rgd8 Rca7 44.Re8 Bxh2 45.Ka3 Bg1 46.Ra8 Bxd4 47.Nd7+ Kg5 48.Rxa7 Rxa7 49.Nb8 Ra8 50.b4 Ba7 51.a5 Rxb8 52.Rxb8 Bxb8 53.b5 Bc7 54.b6 Bd8 55.Kb4 d4 56.Kc4 e5 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Naiditsch,A2682Harikrishna,P27370–12015C11PokerStars IoM Masters7.1

Shared first with 7.0/9: Gabriel Sargissian who won against Francesco Rambaldi in the final round.

 
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To finish a tough tournament with a win is never easy, as one has to be very precise at every single step. But Gabriel Sargissian did just that, finding the cleanest way to score the point and share the 1st place with Fressinet and Harikrishna. 42.Rg3! but what about Nf2 ? The mate on h1 only looks scary, since White anihilated very fast all Black's hopes to hold. 43.Bd6+ Ke8 44.Re3+ A small example but it shows the strength of the top players, not allowing any kind of "bad luck" to appear on the board. As for the young and talented Italian player, I am sure we will hear more from him! 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Sargissian,G2679Rambaldi,F25471–02015A33PokerStars IoM Masters9.3

And the winner is: Pentala Harikrishna!

The winner of the ladies' prize: IM Jovanka Houska

Final Standings

Rg. Snr   Name Land Elo Pkt.
1 2 GM Harikrishna P. IND 2737 7,0
2 4 GM Fressinet Laurent FRA 2702 7,0
  6 GM Sargissian Gabriel ARM 2679 7,0
4 3 GM Howell David W L ENG 2705 6,5
  7 GM Short Nigel D ENG 2678 6,5
6 1 GM Adams Michael ENG 2742 6,0
  5 GM Naiditsch Arkadij AZE 2682 6,0
  8 GM Granda Zuniga Julio E PER 2667 6,0
  9 GM Movsesian Sergei ARM 2658 6,0
  15 GM L'ami Erwin NED 2619 6,0
  18 GM Donchenko Alexander GER 2577 6,0
  20 GM Brunello Sabino ITA 2553 6,0
  21 IM Van Foreest Jorden NED 2548 6,0
  22 GM Rambaldi Francesco ITA 2547 6,0
  23 GM Hillarp Persson Tiger SWE 2546 6,0
  43 IM Swayams Mishra IND 2444 6,0
17 11 GM Grandelius Nils SWE 2647 5,5
  12 GM Kuzubov Yuriy UKR 2641 5,5
  13 GM Jones Gawain C B ENG 2623 5,5
  14 GM Melkumyan Hrant ARM 2622 5,5
  16 GM Tiviakov Sergei NED 2612 5,5
  17 GM Sengupta Deep IND 2580 5,5
  24 GM Boruchovsky Avital ISR 2536 5,5
  25 GM Greenfeld Alon ISR 2534 5,5
  29 GM Arkell Keith C ENG 2505 5,5
  31 GM Gormally Daniel W ENG 2500 5,5
  32 GM Sundararajan Kidambi IND 2497 5,5
  36 IM Nakar Eylon ISR 2463 5,5
  50 IM Zumsande Martin GER 2422 5,5
  56 IM Houska Jovanka ENG 2372 5,5
31 10 GM Fridman Daniel GER 2649 5,0
  19 GM Timman Jan H NED 2562 5,0
  26 IM Illingworth Max AUS 2517 5,0
  28 GM Vaisser Anatoly FRA 2515 5,0
  30 GM Vishnu Prasanna. V IND 2503 5,0
  34 GM Tarjan James E USA 2479 5,0
  37 IM Lampert Jonas GER 2461 5,0
  38 GM Cherniaev Alexander RUS 2458 5,0
  40 IM Pert Richard G ENG 2450 5,0
  41 IM Paehtz Elisabeth GER 2447 5,0
  45 GM Williams Simon K ENG 2429 5,0

...

The winner takes it all but two cups?

Visibly happy and relieved: Pentala Harikrishna during the winner's speech.

The winners in great spirits. The tournament organizer Alan Ormsby congratulates.
Between Ormsby and Harikrishna is Mr. Scheinberg, who will generously sponsor next
year's edition of the tournament as well.

The winners of the Ladies' prizes.

Alan Ormsby congratulates Jovanka Houska

Pentala Harikrishna and Harika Dronavalli are very good friends; to me it seems fair that Harika has the bigger cup!

I read that winners are not those who never fail but rather those who never quit! Since I cannot be satisfied with my final result, I feel like coming back to the Isle of Man corner forever in a permanent search for happiness and better moves...

Mysterious, yet warm and friendly, the kind of combination
that makes you want to come back again and again.

Solution to Yochanan Afek's study: 1. f7 Qh5+ 2. Bg5 Qxf7 3. Re1+ Kg2 4. Rb2+ f2 5. Rxf2 Kxf2 6. Bh4+ Rxh4
7. Nd3+ Kg3 8. Re3+ Kg2 9. Re2+ 1/2

Photos: Alina l'Ami

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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 a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 13 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.
 

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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