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Two teams represented the autonomous community of Valencia at the Spanish Team Championship this year, and they finished one-two in the round-robin event. The representatives from Silla and Paterna, hailing from the comarcas Horta Sud and Horta Oest respectively, grabbed first and second place in Linares.
Silla Bosch Serinsys, led by Anton Korobov and Alexei Shirov, finished undefeated with 11 points after winning four and drawing three matches. The same six-player lineup was used in all seven rounds, with none of the players scoring less than fifty percent individually. Shirov and Nijat Abasov were the leading scorers for Silla, each getting three wins and no losses throughout.
Andreu Paterna was leading the tournament after three rounds, but a loss against Beniaján Duochess and a draw against Magic Extremadura meant they needed to end the event with back-to-back wins to get the silver. They had their top scorers on bottom boards, with Julen Arizmendi and Marta García getting 4½/6 and 4½/7 respectively.
Magic Extremadura was one point behind Silla after five rounds, but a loss by the smallest of margins against Andreu Paterna left them out of contention for tournament victory. Nevertheless, the squad led by Ivan Cheparinov and Igor Kovalenko managed to reach the podium. Manuel Pérez Candelario, on board 4, and Emilio Moreno, on board 6, were the strongest individually for the team from Badajoz.
And Action! - How to crown positional play by tactics
There are few names which, like that of Alexei Shirov, can be associated with fantastically imaginative and tactically influenced play. Now the Latvian grandmaster is presenting a DVD on precisely that element of the game of chess. And one that is completely based on his own games.
Anton Korobov and Alexei Shirov (Silla Bosch Serinsys)
The eventual winners took matters in their own hands and secured first place by beating Gros Xake Taldea. Korobov lost against Etienne Bacrot on top board, but Shirov and Abasov came to the rescue with wins over Arkadij Naiditsch and Elisabeth Paehtz.
Not surprisingly, Shirov and Naiditsch entered a complex position from the get go. Naiditsch was the first one to leave theory, with his pawn already on g4 and his king in the centre:
Shirov himself had this position with black six years ago, and went for 11...0-0-0 against Francisco Vallejo. Naiditsch opted for the more direct 11...c4 instead. After 12.dxc4 dxe4 13.Nb3 Rc8 14.Bg5 Nd7 Shirov took control over the d-file with 15.Rd5 Rg8 16.Rad1:
How to crack the Berlin Wall with 5.Re1
Alexei Shirov shows on this DVD how White can develop pressure and seize the initiative with 5.Re1 against the Berlin Wall.
A tactical sequence in which the queens left the board created an interesting material imbalance — 16...Nce5 17.Nd4 Qa6 18.Bf4 Qxc4 19.Rxe5 Qxe2 20.Nxe2 Nxe5 21.Bxe5 Rg5 22.Bf4 Ra5:
White had two pieces for a rook and a pawn, with the engines giving him a small edge in the unorthodox position. Shirov slowly upped the pressure in the technical phase until Naiditsch lost the crucial f-pawn on move 40. Resignation came twelve moves later.
Gros Xake Taldea v Silla Bosch Serinsys
The silver medallists obtained a convincing victory over Solvay, with wins for Jorden van Foreest, Arizmendi and García. Arizmendi’s king played an active role in his game against Monika Socko:
The Fashionable Caro-Kann Vol.1 and 2
The Caro Kann is a very tricky opening. Black’s play is based on controlling and fighting for key light squares. It is a line which was very fashionable in late 90s and early 2000s due to the successes of greats like Karpov, Anand, Dreev etc. Recently due to strong engines lot of key developments have been made and some new lines have been introduced, while others have been refuted altogether. I have analyzed the new trends carefully and found some new ideas for Black.
With the queens off the board, Arizmendi decided to use his monarch to attack Black’s pawn weaknesses in the centre, transferring it to e4 in the following moves.
Once the position was further simplified, the white king continued to play a key role:
The game continued 34.Kd5 Rxd3 35.Rxd3 Rb3 36.Kc4 Rxd3 37.Kxd3 Kf8 38.Kc4 and White went on to win the endgame with his superior king.
Andreu Paterna
The lowest-rated team in Linares, Collado Villalba, had a tough time in Linares. Against Magic Extremadura in round 7, their top board Renier Vázquez beat Cheparinov, but losses on boards 2, 3 and 6 gave Magic overall victory.
Jaime Santos defeated Jesús Martín in a theoretical line in which White allows his opponent to give up a piece for activity as early as move 7:
The Budapest Gambit is an exciting and fun way to play against 1.d4 and 2.c4 - replying with 1...Nf6 and 2...e5. In this video you will learn how to pose problems for White with this fascinating opening.
After 7...Nxe4 8.fxe4 Qh4+ 9.Kd2 Santos, playing black, handled the initiative well and finished the tournament with a nice 21-move victory.
Magic Extremadura
Rating favourites Beniaján Duochess, the only team to field four 2600+ rated players, finished fourth after losing their round-7 match against Jaime Casas. The team led by David Navara had good performers in Ferenc Berkes (4½/6) and Nils Grandelius (5/7), but lacked strength on bottom boards.
Meanwhile, Jaime Casas lost key games throughout the event and finished in sixth place despite scoring more board points than Beniaján and Gros Xake Taldea (placed fourth and fifth respectively). Their top board, Ukrainian GM Yuriy Kryvoruchko, had a stellar 5/7 performance, with wins over Bacrot, Vázquez and Navara.
Yuriy Kryvoruchko and Yuriy Kuzubov led Jaime Casas to victory against Beniaján Duochess
| # | Team | MP | BP | City |
| 1 | C.A. SILLA - BOSCH SERINSYS | 11 | 26 | Silla (Valencia) |
| 2 | C.A. ANDREU PATERNA | 10 | 24.5 | Paterna (Valencia) |
| 3 | C.A. MAGIC EXTREMADURA | 9 | 23.5 | Mérida (Badajoz) |
| 4 | C.A.C. BENIAJÁN - DUOCHESS | 7 | 22 | Beniaján (Murcia) |
| 5 | GROS XAKE TALDEA | 7 | 20 | San Sebastián (Guipúzcoa) |
| 6 | C.A. JAIME CASAS | 6 | 22.5 | Monzón (Huesca) |
| 7 | C.A. SOLVAY | 6 | 21 | Torrelavega (Cantabria) |
| 8 | C.A. COLLADO VILLALBA | 0 | 8.5 | Collado Villalba (Madrid) |
