Wijk R01: Anand and Topalov lose, Carlsen wins

by ChessBase
1/12/2008 – An explosive start to the 2008 edition of Wijk aan Zee: Teimour Radjabov defeated World Champion Vishy Anand, Levon Aronian took the full point from Veselin Topalov. And youngster Magnus Carlsen started off with a black-piece victory over Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. In the C-Group the drawing ratio was zero percent. Express report with games and pictures.

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Results of round one

Group A: Round 1 - Sat. Jan. 12th
Vladimir Kramnik - Loek van Wely
½-½
Teimour Radjabov - Vishy Anand
1-0
Shak. Mamedyarov - Magnus Carlsen
0-1
Pavel Eljanov - Peter Leko
½-½
Michael Adams - Boris Gelfand
½-½
Levon Aronian - Veselin Topalov
1-0
Vassily Ivanchuk - Judit Polgar
½-½
Group B: Round 1 - Sat. Jan. 12th
P. Harikrishna - Nigel Short
½-½
Hou Yifan - Etienne Bacrot
0-1
Daniël Stellwagen - Michal Krasenkow
1-0
Wouter Spoelman - Ivan Cheparinov
0-1
Sergei Movsesian - Gabriel Sargissian
½-½
Jan Smeets - Koneru Humpy
1-0
Ian Nepomniachtchi - Erwin L’Ami
½-½
Group C: Round 1 - Sat. Jan. 12th
Li Shilong - Irina Krush
1-0
Anna Ushenina - John van der Wiel
0-1
Friso Nijboer - Arik Braun
0-1
Parimarjan Negi - Pontus Carlsson
0-1
Peng Zhaoqin - Fabiano Caruana
0-1
Mark van der Werf - Efstratios Grivas
1-0
Dennis Ruijgrok - Dimitri Reinderman
0-1

Express report from Wijk aan Zee

I think I may have mentioned before on this site that after the England team returned from the 1980 European Team Championships in the Swedish town of Skara, GM Michael Stean was asked what the town was like. "Like the moon, only colder", he replied. Along the same lines, Wijk aan Zee could reasonably be described as like Hastings, only windier. The effect is exacerbated by staying in the Hoge Duin ("High Dune") Hotel, so called because it is perched on the highest sand dune in the area, with a spectacular view over the village below. Stepping outside the front door this morning, any problems about how best to get down the hill to the de Moriaan centre, where the tournament is taking place, were soon solved. I lifted one foot off the ground, and the gale-force wind did the rest. I am not sure if it was wind-related, but we also had some power problems in the playing hall during the afternoon, which had the effect of blacking out the monitors showing the games. Fortunately, though, the internet audience was unaffected, and witnessed an interesting afternoon's play.


Windswept Wijk – the beach, which is a North Sea paradise in summer


Of course there are interesting things to do if you know how to handle the wind

Games

Mamedyarov - Carlsen surprisingly started 1.e4. The positions was balanced for a long time, but the former drifted badly between moves 29-35, and then resigned a position where it was not immediately obvious that he was lost.

Mamedyarov,S (2760) - Carlsen,M (2733) [B50]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (1), 12.01.2008
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 4.g3 Bg7 5.Bg2 d6 6.0-0 Bg4 7.h3 Bxf3 8.Qxf3 Nf6 9.d3 0-0 10.Qd1 Nd7 11.f4 c4 12.dxc4 Na5 13.Nd5 Nxc4 14.c3 Ndb6 15.Qe2 Rc8 16.Kh2 e6 17.Nb4 Na4 18.f5 Re8 19.fxe6 fxe6 20.Nd3 Qb6 21.h4 Qa6 22.Rf2 Ne5 23.Nf4 Nc5 24.Qxa6 bxa6 25.Re2 h6 26.Kh1 a5 27.Be3 a4 28.Rd1 Rc6 29.Bd4 g5 30.Nh3 g4 31.Nf4 Rb6 32.Nh5 Bh8 33.Red2 Reb8 34.Bxc5 dxc5 35.Rd8+ Kf7 36.Rxb8 Rxb8 37.Rd2 Nc4 38.Rd7+ Ke8 39.Rxa7 Be5 40.Rxa4 Ne3

0-1.


A great start for the Norwegian wonder-boy

Aronian-Topalov saw Black win the exchange, but things turned against him after 26...Rc2+, and he was eventually ground down.


Veselin Topalov at the start of an ill-fated game

Aronian,L (2739) - Topalov,V (2780) [D71]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (1), 12.01.2008
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.g3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.Bg2 Nb6 7.Nf3 Nc6 8.Bf4 0–0 9.e3 h6 10.h4 Bg4 11.Rc1 e5 12.dxe5 Qe7 13.Nd5 Nxd5 14.Qxd5 Nb4 15.Qc4 Be6

16.Qxc7 Nd3+ 17.Kd2 Qb4+ 18.Qc3 Qxc3+ 19.Rxc3 Nxf2 20.Nd4 Nxh1 21.Bxh1 Rfd8 22.Rc7 Rac8 23.Rxb7 Bxa2 24.Rxa7 Be6 25.Rb7 Bf5 26.Bf3 Rc2+ 27.Ke1 Rc1+ 28.Kf2 Be6 29.g4 Bc8 30.Rb8 Rf8 31.h5 g5 32.Bg3 Ra1 33.Rb6 Re8

34.Be2 Bxe5 35.Bxe5 Rxe5 36.Rxh6 Re4 37.Bf3 Re5 38.Rc6 Be6 39.Nxe6 fxe6 40.Be2 Rb1 41.Rb6 Rd5 42.Bc4 Rd2+ 43.Kf3 Rbxb2 44.Rxe6 Rbc2 45.Rg6+ Kh8 46.Be6 Rc6 47.Ke4 Rd8 48.Kf5 Rc5+ 49.Kf6 Rf8+ 50.Ke7 Rf3 51.Bf5 Re5+ 52.Kf7

Rfxf5+ 53.gxf5 Rxf5+ 54.Ke6 Ra5 55.e4 Kh7 56.e5 Ra1 57.Rxg5 Kh6 58.Rg2 Kxh5 59.Kf6 Rf1+ 60.Ke7 Ra1 61.e6 Kh6 62.Kf7 1–0.

Radjabov-Anand was an ultra-sharp Semi-Slav. White missed a couple of wins in the run-up to the time control, and although he won the exchange, the presence of an extra pair of rooks always meant that it would not be trivial to win. But in the end Teimour Radjabov took the full point.


A shocking defeat for World Champion Vishy Anand

Radjabov,T (2735) - Anand,V (2799) [D43]
Corus A Wijk aan Zee NED (1), 12.01.2008
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 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.Re1 Bf8 15.Bg3 Bg7 16.Bd6 Bf8 17.Bxf8 Rxf8 18.b3 b4 19.Na4 c3 20.a3 a5 21.d5 Qe7 22.d6 Qf6 23.e5 Qf4 24.Bd3 bxa3 25.Qe2 Qd2 26.Rxa3 Qxe2 27.Rxe2 g4 28.Nxc3 Rg8 29.Ne4 Kd8 30.Nd2 c5 31.Bb5 Bd5 32.Nc4 Rg5 33.Rea2 Nxe5 34.Nb6 Rb8 35.Rxa5 Be4 36.Ra7 f6 37.R2a6 Rg8 38.Rc7 Rf8 39.Rxc5 Rf7 40.d7 Nxd7 41.Nxd7 Rxd7 42.Bxd7 Kxd7 43.Rc3 f5 44.Ra7+ Kd6 45.Rh7 Bd5 46.Rxh6 Bxb3 47.h3 gxh3 48.Rhxh3 Bd5 49.Rc2 Ke5 50.f3 Kf6 51.Kf2 Rb4 52.Re2 Kg6 53.Kg3 Ra4 54.Rh4 Ra7 55.Rb2 Kf6 56.Rhb4 Ke5 57.Re2+ Kf6 58.Rd2 Ke5 59.Re2+ Kf6 60.Kf4 Ra3 61.Rd2 Ra5 62.Re2 Ra3 63.Kg3 Ra8 64.Rc2 Ke5 65.Rh4 Rg8+ 66.Kh2 Ra8 67.Re2+ Kf6 68.f4 Ke7 69.Rh7+ Kd6 70.Kg3 Rg8+ 71.Kh3 Rg4 72.g3 Rg8 73.Rd2 Rc8 74.Kh4 Rc3 75.Rg7 Ra3 76.Rc2 Bc6 77.Rc1 Rb3 78.Rg1 Bd5 79.Kg5 Kc5 80.Kf6 Kd4 81.Re1 Rb6 82.Rd7 Rc6 83.Ke7 Ra6 84.Rd6 Ra7+ 85.Kf6 1-0.


The wizz kid from Baku, Teimour Radjabov, started with a victory over Anand

The games Adams-Gelfand, Ivanchuk-Polgar, Kramnik-van Wely and Eljanov-Leko were all balanced struggles, that were drawn without great incident.


Judit Polgar, who drew Vassily Ivanchuk in round one


Loek van Wely held Vladimir Kramnik to a draw with the black pieces


Boris Gelfand, who started with a draw against Michael Adams


Formidable! Etienne Bacrot started the B-Group with a black-pieces win over...


...13-year-old Chinese super-talent Hou Yifan

Report by Steve Giddins, pictures by Jeroen van den Belt


Schedule and results of Grandmaster Group A

Group A: Round 1 - Sat. Jan. 12th
Vladimir Kramnik - Loek van Wely
½-½
Teimour Radjabov - Vishy Anand
1-0
Shak. Mamedyarov - Magnus Carlsen
0-1
Pavel Eljanov - Peter Leko
½-½
Michael Adams - Boris Gelfand
½-½
Levon Aronian - Veselin Topalov
1-0
Vassily Ivanchuk - Judit Polgar
½-½
Group A: Round 2 - Sun. Jan. 13th
Loek van Wely - Judit Polgar  
Veselin Topalov - Vassily Ivanchuk  
Boris Gelfand - Levon Aronian  
Peter Leko - Michael Adams  
Magnus Carlsen - Pavel Eljanov  
Vishy Anand - Shak. Mamedyarov  
Vladimir Kramnik - Teimour Radjabov  
Group A: Round 3 - Mon. Jan. 14th
Teimour Radjabov - Loek van Wely  
Shak. Mamedyarov - Vladimir Kramnik  
Pavel Eljanov - Vishy Anand  
Michael Adams - Magnus Carlsen  
Levon Aronian - Peter Leko  
Vassily Ivanchuk - Boris Gelfand  
Judit Polgar - Veselin Topalov  
Group A: Round 4 - Tues. Jan. 15th
Loek van Wely - Veselin Topalov  
Boris Gelfand - Judit Polgar  
Peter Leko - Vassily Ivanchuk  
Magnus Carlsen - Levon Aronian  
Vishy Anand - Michael Adams  
Vladimir Kramnik - Pavel Eljanov  
Teimour Radjabov - Shak. Mamedyarov  
Wednesday, January 16th – Free day
Group A: Round 5 - Thurs. Jan. 17th
Shak. Mamedyarov - Loek van Wely  
Pavel Eljanov - Teimour Radjabov  
Michael Adams - Vladimir Kramnik  
Levon Aronian - Vishy Anand  
Vassily Ivanchuk - Magnus Carlsen  
Judit Polgar - Peter Leko  
Veselin Topalov - Boris Gelfand  
Group A: Round 6 - Fri. Jan. 18th
Loek van Wely - Boris Gelfand  
Peter Leko - Veselin Topalov  
Magnus Carlsen - Judit Polgar  
Vishy Anand - Vassily Ivanchuk  
Vladimir Kramnik - Levon Aronian  
Teimour Radjabov - Michael Adams  
Shak. Mamedyarov - Pavel Eljanov  
Group A: Round 7 - Sat. Jan. 19st
Pavel Eljanov - Loek van Wely  
Michael Adams - Shak. Mamedyarov  
Levon Aronian - Teimour Radjabov  
Vassily Ivanchuk - Vladimir Kramnik  
Judit Polgar - Vishy Anand  
Veselin Topalov - Magnus Carlsen  
Boris Gelfand - Peter Leko  
Group A: Round 8 - Sun. Jan. 20nd
Loek van Wely - Peter Leko  
Magnus Carlsen - Boris Gelfand  
Vishy Anand - Veselin Topalov  
Vladimir Kramnik - Judit Polgar  
Teimour Radjabov - Vassily Ivanchuk  
Shak. Mamedyarov - Levon Aronian  
Pavel Eljanov - Michael Adams  
Monday, January 21st – Free day
Group A: Round 9 - Tues. Jan. 22th
Michael Adams - Loek van Wely  
Levon Aronian - Pavel Eljanov  
Vassily Ivanchuk - Shak. Mamedyarov  
Judit Polgar - Teimour Radjabov  
Veselin Topalov - Vladimir Kramnik  
Boris Gelfand - Vishy Anand  
Peter Leko - Magnus Carlsen  
Group A: Round 10 - Wed. Jan. 23th
Loek van Wely - Magnus Carlsen  
Vishy Anand - Peter Leko  
Vladimir Kramnik - Boris Gelfand  
Teimour Radjabov - Veselin Topalov  
Shak. Mamedyarov - Judit Polgar  
Pavel Eljanov - Vassily Ivanchuk  
Michael Adams - Levon Aronian  
Thursday, January 24th – Free day
Group A: Round 11 - Fri. Jan. 25th
Levon Aronian - Loek van Wely  
Vassily Ivanchuk - Michael Adams  
Judit Polgar - Pavel Eljanov  
Veselin Topalov - Shak. Mamedyarov  
Boris Gelfand - Teimour Radjabov  
Peter Leko - Vladimir Kramnik  
Magnus Carlsen - Vishy Anand  
Group A: Round 12 - Sat. Jan. 26th
Loek van Wely - Vishy Anand  
Vladimir Kramnik - Magnus Carlsen  
Teimour Radjabov - Peter Leko  
Shak. Mamedyarov - Boris Gelfand  
Pavel Eljanov - Veselin Topalov  
Michael Adams - Judit Polgar  
Levon Aronian - Vassily Ivanchuk  
Group A: Round 13 - Sun. Jan. 27th
Vassily Ivanchuk - Loek van Wely  
Judit Polgar - Levon Aronian  
Veselin Topalov - Michael Adams  
Boris Gelfand - Pavel Eljanov  
Peter Leko - Shak. Mamedyarov  
Magnus Carlsen - Teimour Radjabov  
Vishy Anand - Vladimir Kramnik  
 

Schedule and results of Grandmaster Group B

Group B: Round 1 - Sat. Jan. 12th
P. Harikrishna - Nigel Short
½-½
Hou Yifan - Etienne Bacrot
0-1
Daniël Stellwagen - Michal Krasenkow
1-0
Wouter Spoelman - Ivan Cheparinov
0-1
Sergei Movsesian - Gabriel Sargissian
½-½
Jan Smeets - Koneru Humpy
1-0
Ian Nepomniachtchi - Erwin L’Ami
½-½
Group B: Round 2 - Sun. Jan. 13th
Nigel Short - Erwin L’Ami  
Koneru Humpy - Ian Nepomniachtchi  
Gabriel Sargissian - Jan Smeets  
Ivan Cheparinov - Sergei Movsesian  
Michal Krasenkow - Wouter Spoelman  
Etienne Bacrot - Daniël Stellwagen  
P. Harikrishna - Hou Yifan  
Group B: Round 3 - Mon. Jan. 14th
Hou Yifan - Nigel Short  
Daniël Stellwagen - P. Harikrishna  
Wouter Spoelman - Etienne Bacrot  
Sergei Movsesian - Michal Krasenkow  
Jan Smeets - Ivan Cheparinov  
Ian Nepomniachtchi - Gabriel Sargissian  
Erwin L’Ami - Koneru Humpy  
Group B: Round 4 - Tues. Jan. 15th
Nigel Short - Koneru Humpy  
Gabriel Sargissian - Erwin L’Ami  
Ivan Cheparinov - Ian Nepomniachtchi  
Michal Krasenkow - Jan Smeets  
Etienne Bacrot - Sergei Movsesian  
P. Harikrishna - Wouter Spoelman  
Hou Yifan - Daniël Stellwagen  
Wednesday, January 16th – Free day
Group B: Round 5 - Thurs. Jan. 17th
Daniël Stellwagen - Nigel Short  
Wouter Spoelman - Hou Yifan  
Sergei Movsesian - P. Harikrishna  
Jan Smeets - Etienne Bacrot  
Ian Nepomniachtchi - Michal Krasenkow  
Erwin L’Ami - Ivan Cheparinov  
Koneru Humpy - Gabriel Sargissian  
Group B: Round 6 - Fri. Jan. 18th
Nigel Short - Gabriel Sargissian  
Ivan Cheparinov - Koneru Humpy  
Michal Krasenkow - Erwin L’Ami  
Etienne Bacrot - Ian Nepomniachtchi  
P. Harikrishna - Jan Smeets  
Hou Yifan - Sergei Movsesian  
Daniël Stellwagen - Wouter Spoelman  
Group B: Round 7 - Sat. Jan. 29st
Wouter Spoelman - Nigel Short  
Sergei Movsesian - Daniël Stellwagen  
Jan Smeets - Hou Yifan  
Ian Nepomniachtchi - P. Harikrishna  
Erwin L’Ami - Etienne Bacrot  
Koneru Humpy - Michal Krasenkow  
Gabriel Sargissian - Ivan Cheparinov  
Group B: Round 8 - Sun. Jan. 20nd
Nigel Short - Ivan Cheparinov  
Michal Krasenkow - Gabriel Sargissian  
Etienne Bacrot - Koneru Humpy  
P. Harikrishna - Erwin L’Ami  
Hou Yifan - Ian Nepomniachtchi  
Daniël Stellwagen - Jan Smeets  
Wouter Spoelman - Sergei Movsesian  
Monday, January 21st – Free day
Group B: Round 9 - Tues. Jan. 22th
Sergei Movsesian - Nigel Short  
Jan Smeets - Wouter Spoelman  
Ian Nepomniachtchi - Daniël Stellwagen  
Erwin L’Ami - Hou Yifan  
Koneru Humpy - P. Harikrishna  
Gabriel Sargissian - Etienne Bacrot  
Ivan Cheparinov - Michal Krasenkow  
Group B: Round 10 - Wed. Jan. 23th
Nigel Short - Michal Krasenkow  
Etienne Bacrot - Ivan Cheparinov  
P. Harikrishna - Gabriel Sargissian  
Hou Yifan - Koneru Humpy  
Daniël Stellwagen - Erwin L’Ami  
Wouter Spoelman - Ian Nepomniachtchi  
Sergei Movsesian - Jan Smeets  
Thursday, January 24th – Free day
Group B: Round 11 - Fri. Jan. 25th
Jan Smeets - Nigel Short  
Ian Nepomniachtchi - Sergei Movsesian  
Erwin L’Ami - Wouter Spoelman  
Koneru Humpy - Daniël Stellwagen  
Gabriel Sargissian - Hou Yifan  
Ivan Cheparinov - P. Harikrishna  
Michal Krasenkow - Etienne Bacrot  
Group B: Round 12 - Sat. Jan. 26th
Nigel Short - Etienne Bacrot  
P. Harikrishna - Michal Krasenkow  
Hou Yifan - Ivan Cheparinov  
Daniël Stellwagen - Gabriel Sargissian  
Wouter Spoelman - Koneru Humpy  
Sergei Movsesian - Erwin L’Ami  
Jan Smeets - Ian Nepomniachtchi  
Group B: Round 13 - Sun. Jan. 27th
Ian Nepomniachtchi - Nigel Short  
Erwin L’Ami - Jan Smeets  
Koneru Humpy - Sergei Movsesian  
Gabriel Sargissian - Wouter Spoelman  
Ivan Cheparinov - Daniël Stellwagen  
Michal Krasenkow - Hou Yifan  
Etienne Bacrot - P. Harikrishna  
 

Schedule and results of Grandmaster Group C

Group C: Round 1 - Sat. Jan. 12th
Li Shilong - Irina Krush
1-0
Anna Ushenina - John van der Wiel
0-1
Friso Nijboer - Arik Braun
0-1
Parimarjan Negi - Pontus Carlsson
0-1
Peng Zhaoqin - Fabiano Caruana
0-1
Mark van der Werf - Efstratios Grivas
1-0
Dennis Ruijgrok - Dimitri Reinderman
0-1
Group C: Round 2 - Sun. Jan. 13th
Irina Krush - Dimitri Reinderman  
Efstratios Grivas - Dennis Ruijgrok  
Fabiano Caruana - Mark van der Werf  
Pontus Carlsson - Peng Zhaoqin  
Arik Braun - Parimarjan Negi  
John van der Wiel - Friso Nijboer  
Li Shilong - Anna Ushenina  
Group C: Round 3 - Mon. Jan. 14th
Anna Ushenina - Irina Krush  
Friso Nijboer - Li Shilong  
Parimarjan Negi - John van der Wiel  
Peng Zhaoqin - Arik Braun  
Mark van der Werf - Pontus Carlsson  
Dennis Ruijgrok - Fabiano Caruana  
Dimitri Reinderman - Efstratios Grivas  
Group C: Round 4 - Tues. Jan. 15th
Irina Krush - Efstratios Grivas  
Fabiano Caruana - Dimitri Reinderman  
Pontus Carlsson - Dennis Ruijgrok  
Arik Braun - Mark van der Werf  
John van der Wiel - Peng Zhaoqin  
Li Shilong - Parimarjan Negi  
Anna Ushenina - Friso Nijboer  
Wednesday, January 16th – Free day
Group C: Round 5 - Thurs. Jan. 17th
Friso Nijboer - Irina Krush  
Parimarjan Negi - Anna Ushenina  
Peng Zhaoqin - Li Shilong  
Mark van der Werf - John van der Wiel  
Dennis Ruijgrok - Arik Braun  
Dimitri Reinderman - Pontus Carlsson  
Efstratios Grivas - Fabiano Caruana  
Group C: Round 6 - Fri. Jan. 18th
Irina Krush - Fabiano Caruana  
Pontus Carlsson - Efstratios Grivas  
Arik Braun - Dimitri Reinderman  
John van der Wiel - Dennis Ruijgrok  
Li Shilong - Mark van der Werf  
Anna Ushenina - Peng Zhaoqin  
Friso Nijboer - Parimarjan Negi  
Group C: Round 7 - Sat. Jan. 19st
Parimarjan Negi - Irina Krush  
Peng Zhaoqin - Friso Nijboer  
Mark van der Werf - Anna Ushenina  
Dennis Ruijgrok - Li Shilong  
Dimitri Reinderman - John van der Wiel  
Efstratios Grivas - Arik Braun  
Fabiano Caruana - Pontus Carlsson  
Group C: Round 8 - Sun. Jan. 20nd
Irina Krush - Pontus Carlsson  
Arik Braun - Fabiano Caruana  
John van der Wiel - Efstratios Grivas  
Li Shilong - Dimitri Reinderman  
Anna Ushenina - Dennis Ruijgrok  
Friso Nijboer - Mark van der Werf  
Parimarjan Negi - Peng Zhaoqin  
Monday, January 21st – Free day
Group C: Round 9 - Tues. Jan. 22th
Peng Zhaoqin - Irina Krush  
Mark van der Werf - Parimarjan Negi  
Dennis Ruijgrok - Friso Nijboer  
Dimitri Reinderman - Anna Ushenina  
Efstratios Grivas - Li Shilong  
Fabiano Caruana - John van der Wiel  
Pontus Carlsson - Arik Braun  
Group C: Round 10 - Wed. Jan. 23th
Irina Krush - Arik Braun  
John van der Wiel - Pontus Carlsson  
Li Shilong - Fabiano Caruana  
Anna Ushenina - Efstratios Grivas  
Friso Nijboer - Dimitri Reinderman  
Parimarjan Negi - Dennis Ruijgrok  
Peng Zhaoqin - Mark van der Werf  
Thursday, January 24th – Free day
Group C: Round 11 - Fri. Jan. 25th
Mark van der Werf - Irina Krush  
Dennis Ruijgrok - Peng Zhaoqin  
Dimitri Reinderman - Parimarjan Negi  
Efstratios Grivas - Friso Nijboer  
Fabiano Caruana - Anna Ushenina  
Pontus Carlsson - Li Shilong  
Arik Braun - John van der Wiel  
Group C: Round 12 - Sat. Jan. 26th
Irina Krush - John van der Wiel  
Li Shilong - Arik Braun  
Anna Ushenina - Pontus Carlsson  
Friso Nijboer - Fabiano Caruana  
Parimarjan Negi - Efstratios Grivas  
Peng Zhaoqin - Dimitri Reinderman  
Mark van der Werf - Dennis Ruijgrok  
Group C: Round 13 - Sun. Jan. 27th
Dennis Ruijgrok - Irina Krush  
Dimitri Reinderman - Mark van der Werf  
Efstratios Grivas - Peng Zhaoqin  
Fabiano Caruana - Parimarjan Negi  
Pontus Carlsson - Friso Nijboer  
Arik Braun - Anna Ushenina  
John van der Wiel - Li Shilong  
 

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The first weekend of Wijk is covered on Playchess.com with live audio and video by former FIDE World Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov. Chess fans who have bought Kasimdzhanov's DVDs know how entertaining, eloquent and instructive this Grandmaster's commentary can be.


FIDE World Champion 2004-2005 and ChessBase author Rustam Kasimdzhanov


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Playchess commentator GM Yasser Seirawan


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