Shakhriyar Mamedyarov leads with 2953 performance

by ChessBase
11/18/2005 – In the first eight rounds this friendly and very professional chess player put every ounce of energy and determination into his games, dropping half a point so far in a stellar 2953 performance. In the girls' section Gu Xiaobing of China and 16-year-old Turkan Mamedjarova (sister of Shak) are in the lead with 6½ points each. Big illustrated report.

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World Junior Championships
Round eight report from Istanbul

By Fide Master Geoffrey D Borg

We touch base once again with the World Junior Championship in Istanbul. Your intrepid reporter GM Nigel Short has requested (yeah sure!) that I help out in doing the reports while he does his simul in Thailand and then shoots off to New Zealand.

Finding me on a weak footing, I agreed, so together with the hard working Turkish organisers, we’ll try and update you with graphical and verbal reports of what’s going on over there. We’ll also have some great photos coming from Frits Agterdenbos over the next couple of reports. I’ll start with some comments about the girl’s top games which as usual were totally uncompromising and definitely do not suffer from drawitis symptoms.


Gu Xiaobing (2330, CHN) vs Natalija Pogonina (2401, RUS)

Well, round eight was eventful as all players jockey to try and get into the top placings. On top board, in the key girl’s game it appears that WGM Pogonina blundered a pawn against the leader WGM Gu Xiaobing from China, with a very basic oversight early in the opening.

Gu Xiaobing (WGM) CHN - Pogonina Natalija (WGM) RUS [B23]
Wolrd Junior Championship Istanbul, 2005
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4 4.Bc4 e6 5.Nge2 a6 6.a4 Nf6 7.d3 d5 8.exd5 exd5 9.Ba2 Nxe2 10.Qxe2+ Be7 11.0-0 0-0?

12.Nxd5 Nxd5 13.Bxd5 simply wins a pawn without compensation. However Natalija showed great fighting spirit and dug in to bring about an endgame with one rook each and bishops of opposite colours. Gu’s extra pawn was eventually shed and the draw was then inevitable. [Click to replay]


Turkan Mamedjarova (2223, AZE) vs Beata Kadziolka (2352, POL)

Another interesting and critical game was provided by the spirited 16-year old WIM (Woman International Master) Turkan Mamedjarova. The youngest of the Azerbaijani chess playing family, she plays fast and sharp chess, keeping established opponents against the ropes. Today she beat WIM Beata Kadziolka from Poland and is well on her way to a WGM norm. The game was a bit scrappy and Turkan took some risks which eventually paid off.

Mamedjarova,Turkan - Kadziolka,Beata [A48]
Wolrd Junior Championship Istanbul, 2005
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.e3 Bg7 4.Bd3 0-0 5.0-0 d6 6.Nbd2 Nc6 7.c4 e5 8.d5 Ne7 9.e4 Nh5 10.Re1 Nf4 11.Bf1 f5 12.b4 fxe4 13.Nxe4 Bg4 14.Kh1 Kh8 15.a4 Bxf3 16.Qxf3 Nfxd5 17.Qh3 Nf6 18.Ng5 Qd7 19.Qxd7 Nxd7 20.Ne6 Rxf2 21.Be3 Rb2 22.Nxc7 Rf8 23.Nb5 Nc8 24.Rab1 Rxb1 25.Rxb1 a6 26.Nc7 Nf6 27.g3 Ng4 28.Bg1 Nf2+ 29.Bxf2 Rxf2 30.Bg2 Rf7 31.Ne6

In the above position Beata played 31…Rd7?! (31…Re7 would have kept the game unclear after 32.Nd8 e4!?) but now after 32.a5 Ne7 33.b5 axb5 34.Rxb5 White had the initiative and in time trouble Beata made another mistake with 34…e4 hoping to liberate the bishop but technically losing. Turkan now joins Gu Xiaobing in pole position. [Click to replay]


Irina Vasilevich (2389, RUS) vs Nana Dzagnidze (2443, GEO)

On board three we had another clash of titans with Russian IM (this time a male international master title which in chess is considered stronger than a WGM title) Irina Vasilievich playing a nice game against another strong IM from Georgia, Nana Dzagnidze. The game started with some decent attempts by both player to forsake theory and play some interesting chess which they managed to achieve.

Vasilevich,Irina - Dzagnidze,Nana [B00]
Wolrd Junior Championship Istanbul, 2005
1.e4 Nc6 2.Nf3 d6 3.Be2 e5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.0-0 Nf6 6.d4 0-0 7.d5 Nb8 8.a4 c6 9.a5 cxd5 10.exd5 Na6 11.Nb5 Nc7 12.Nxc7 Qxc7 13.c4 Nd7 14.b4 f5 15.Bb2 Bf6 16.Qb3 b6 17.Rfd1 Ba6 18.Bf1 Kh8 19.Nd2 Rfb8 20.axb6 axb6 21.Qh3 g6 22.Ra3 Bb7

In the above position Irinia played the nice idea 23.Nb1! My electronic friend Shredder went through a number of ideas before finally also preferring Irina’s choice. In practical terms the move is also very potent since the threat of Nb1-c3-b5 is mightier than the execution and Nana had to react with 23...b5. Irina now played another nice idea with 24.Rxa8 Rxa8 25.c5! dxc5 26.Bxb5 cxb4 27.Qb3 and White had great pressure which she converted eight moves later: 27...Nc5 28.Qxb4 Qb6 29.Nc3 e4 30.Na4 Rxa4 31.Bxf6+ Kg8 32.Qb2 Ra7 33.d6 Qa5 34.Bc4+ Kf8 35.Be7+ Ke8 36.Bb5+ 1-0. [Click to replay]


Pähtz Elisabeth (2408, GER) vs Tania Sachdev (2379, IND)

On fourth board we had another great game with IM Elisabeth Paehtz grouping all her pieces around the king in a very strange formation. All of a sudden these pieces blossomed on the board and her promising Indian opponent was completely mesmerised. In the final position Sachdev could only save her queen with horrendous material loss so she preferred to give up the ghost.

Paehtz,Elisabeth - Sachdev,Tania [B80]
Wolrd Junior Championship Istanbul, 2005
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.g3 Nf6 7.Bg2 Be7 8.0-0 d6 9.Be3 Nc6 10.f4 0-0 11.Kh1 Bd7 12.Nb3 b5 13.a3 Rfd8 14.g4 Bc8 15.g5 Nd7 16.Qh5 g6 17.Qh4 Bb7 18.Rf3 h5 19.Rh3 Bf8 20.Ne2 Ne7 21.Ng3 Bg7 22.c3 Nf8 23.Rg1 Re8 24.Nd4 Nc6 25.Nde2 d5 26.exd5 exd5 27.Bf2

From the position the game continued 27…Bc8 28.f5 Nd7? (28…Bxf5 29.Nxf5 Rxe2 was the best chance here) 29.Nf4! (now black has big problems) 29…Nde5 30.Nxd5 Qd8 31.Bb6 Qd6 32.Ne4 and 1-0. [Click to replay]


Junior world champion (want to bet?) Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2674, AZE)

The boy’s side is currently marked by the domination of the tournament by top GM Mamedyarov.

Alekseev,Evgeny - Mamedyarov,Shakhriyar [A36]
World Junior Championship Istanbul, 2005
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.e4 d6 4.g3 Bg7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.Nge2 c5 7.d3 Nc6 8.0-0 a6 9.h3 Rb8 10.a4 Bd7 11.Be3 Ne8 12.d4 cxd4 13.Nxd4 Nc7 14.Kh2 Ne6 15.Nde2 Na5 16.b3 b5 17.cxb5 axb5 18.b4 Nc4 19.Ba7

In this position Alexeev had just played 19.Be3-a7 and Mamedyarov correctly sacrificed the exchange with 19…bxa4! to get space for his pieces. The game continued with the forced 20.Bxb8 Qxb8 21.Nd5 Re8 22.Ra2 Nd8! IM Goran Antunac from Croatia told me he is truly impressed with the way that Mamedyarov handles his pieces like a true virtuoso, always finding the best squares for them. He has created a position here quite typical to his style with lots of complex play and ahead on the clock of course ! He went on to win the game in 46 moves. [Click to replay]

Off the board, Shaki is extremely friendly and a credit to professional chess players, and on the board he puts every ounce of energy and determination into the position and it pays off. He has only dropped half a point so far against 2606 rated Wojtasek but yesterday he disposed of the number three seed and compatriot Gashimov (2608) and today he beat the number two seed Alexeev (2638) with black. His performance till yesterday was 2914 and today he’s probably around the 3000 mark!

He was followed literally by a dozen players (7 of them GMs) at the start of the round, 1.5 points behind him. Only Daniel Stellwagen could win from the pack meaning that he is probably the only one left now with a chance of catching Mamedyarov. He played a good game against GM Bartel from Poland. Bartel tried a dubious line of the Scandinanvian 3…Qd8 but white just built up a solid advantage early on and after wasting further time with 10..Qa5 the Dutch cavalry broke through.


Geoffrey D Borg is a Fide Master who was quite active a number of years ago, winning a silver medal on Board 1 in the Thessaloniki Olympiad in 1984. He still enjoys playing on the Internet, but today he is more active on the tournament organisation and building initiatives such as the Mediterranean Chess Association of which he is the General Secretary. Geoffrey is also the Campaign Director for the Dutch-Turkish bid for the FIDE Presidency.

Standings after eight rounds

Boys

    Name Rat. Nat Pts Opp Perf
1 GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2674 AZE 2509 2953
2 GM Stellwagen Daniel 2561 NED 6 2407 2600
3 GM Wojtaszek Radoslaw 2606 POL 2486 2627
4 - Li Chao(B) 2305 CHN 2492 2633
5 GM Smeets Jan 2531 NED 2476 2617
6 IM Heberla Bartlomiej 2465 POL 2459 2600
7 GM Gashimov Vugar 2608 AZE 2466 2607
8 IM L'ami Erwin 2541 NED 2458 2599
9 IM Romanov Evgeny 2479 RUS 2439 2580
10 - Wang Hao 2519 CHN 2441 2582
11 GM Nyback Tomi 2563 FIN 2424 2565
12 IM Kharitonov Alexandr 2545 RUS 2420 2561
13 GM Wang Yue 2585 CHN 2416 2557
14 GM Berkes Ferenc 2596 HUN 2405 2546
15 IM Khairullin Ildar 2537 RUS 2382 2425
16 FM Terrieux Kevin 2365 FRA 5 2514 2495
17 GM Alekseev Evgeny 2632 RUS 5 2488 2472
18 GM Predojevic Borki 2558 BIH 5 2449 2544
19 GM Bartel Mateusz 2513 POL 5 2436 2531
20 IM Magalashvili Davit 2448 GEO 5 2414 2509
21 GM Tomashevsky Evgeny 2564 RUS 5 2430 2525
22 - Karakehajov Kalin 2396 BUL 5 2384 2380
23 IM Rau Hannes 2421 GER 5 2334 2429
24 IM Livshits Gaby 2381 ISR 5 2329 2333
25 FM Glud Jacob Vang 2349 DEN 2442 2485
26 IM Sanikidze Tornike 2411 GEO 2426 2469
27 IM Mamedov Nidjat 2517 AZE 2438 2481
28 - Jessel Stephen 2304 IRL 2459 2394
29 - Gopal G N 2327 IND 2402 2445
30 FM Xie George Wendi 2340 AUS 2414 2457
31 IM Esen Baris 2384 TUR 2429 2368
32 IM Poobesh Anand S 2397 IND 2381 2424
33 IM Cornette Matthieu 2418 FRA 2391 2434
34 IM Zhigalko Sergei 2490 BLR 2380 2423
35 IM Zinchenko Yaroslav 2485 UKR 2377 2420
36 - Kvon Andrey 2293 UZB 2386 2326
37 IM Laznicka Viktor 2517 CZE 2366 2409
38 IM Zhigalko Andrey 2537 BLR 2353 2395
39 IM Sengupta Deep 2400 IND 2327 2370
40 - Wen Yang 2374 CHN 2464 2291
41 FM Perdomo Leandro 2373 ARG 2372 2222

Girls

    Name Rat. Nat Pts Opp Perf
1 WGM Gu Xiaobing 2330 CHN 2297 2548
2 WIM Mamedjarova Turkan 2223 AZE 2271 2435
3 IM Paehtz Elisabeth 2408 GER 6 2293 2475
4 WGM Pogonina Natalija 2401 RUS 6 2288 2481
5 IM Vasilevich Irina 2389 RUS 6 2269 2462
6 WFM Motoc Alina 2313 ROM 2308 2449
7 WIM Kadziolka Beata 2352 POL 2288 2429
8 WGM Ushenina Anna 2409 UKR 2300 2441
9 WGM Harika Dronavalli 2392 IND 2242 2383
10 WGM Zawadzka Jolanta 2381 POL 2230 2371
11 WIM Aketaeva Dana 2256 KAZ 5 2294 2389
12 - Liu Pei 2283 CHN 5 2284 2379
13 WGM Tania Sachdev 2379 IND 5 2297 2392
14 IM Dzagnidze Nana 2443 GEO 5 2299 2394
15 WIM Nebolsina Vera 2278 RUS 5 2271 2366
16 WIM Sharevich Anna 2305 BLR 5 2245 2340
17 WIM Karavade Eesha 2348 IND 5 2213 2308
18 - Khotenashvili Bela 2288 GEO 2346 2389
19 - Plazaola Maria 2087 ARG 2248 2291
20 WGM Melia Salome 2318 GEO 2260 2303
21 WIM Nadig Kruttika 2224 IND 2237 2280
22 WIM Andriasian Siranush 2263 ARM 2241 2284
23 WGM Mongontuul Bathuyag 2408 MGL 2267 2310
24 WIM Guseva Marina 2363 RUS 2228 2271
25 WGM Paridar Shadi 2237 IRI 2183 2226
26 IM Purtseladze Maka 2338 GEO 2201 2244
27 WIM Muhren Bianca 2260 NED 2170 2213
28 WIM Zhang Jilin 2334 CHN 2182 2225
29 - Raeva Elitsa 2213 BUL 2130 2173
30 WIM Meshcheriakova Evgenia 2197 RUS 4 2269 2269
31 WIM Pourkashiyan Atousa 2271 IRI 4 2262 2262
32 WIM Bensdorp Marlies 2199 NED 4 2243 2243
33 WGM Zdebskaja Natalia 2390 UKR 4 2208 2208
34 - Hoolt Sarah 2144 GER 4 2190 2190
35 WFM Szczepkowska Karina 2278 POL 4 2188 2188
36 WGM Khukhashvili Sopiko 2362 GEO 4 2178 2174
37 WFM Gutierrez Paloma 2127 ESP 4 2155 2155
38 - Zhang Xiaowen 2153 CHN 4 2149 2149
39 WIM Ortiz Nadya Karolina 2218 COL 4 2134 2134
40 - Djukic Sandra 2140 SCG 4 2091 2091

Links


Picture gallery

By Frits Agterdenbos


The Lion Hotel, which is the playing venue and
(together with the Golden Age Hotel) the players' hotel


The official poster of the World Championship


Andrey Zhigalko vs Hannes Rau in round eight


The playing hall with the lower boards


The higher boards, where the suffering appears to be greater


And climbigh even higher on the ratings and results lists


One of our favourites: WIM Anna Sharevich, 2305, BLR


GM Vugar Gashimov, 2608, AZE


WIM Zhang Jilin, 2334, CHN


WIM Nadig Kruttika, 2224, IND


WGM Zdebskaja Natalia, 2390, UKR


Wang Hao, 2519, CHN


Top seed GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, 2674, AZE, with younger
sister WIM Turkan Mamedyarova, 2223, AZE, in the background


The Dutch GM's are doing well: Stellwagen, Smeets and l'Ami,
with their coach Vladimir Chuchelov


IM Nidjat Mamedov (2517, AZE) and IM Erwin l'Ami (2541, NED) analysing


WIM Bianca Muhren (2260, NED) analysing her game with coach Jop Delemarre


GM Wang Yue, 2585, CHN, and Wang Hao 2519, CHN, analysing their R8 game


Mamedyarov and Alekseev after their game (Shak won, reaching 7.5 out of 8)


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