Impressions from round one
Photo report from Wijk aan Zee by Jeroen van den Belt

The focus of attention: Magnus Carlsen, second seed of the A Group

Chess is tough, but sometimes you find a diamond: Karjakin in his game against
Morozevich
Name: Sergei Karjakin
Date of birth: 12-01-1990
Country: Ukraine
World ranking: 27
Rating: 2706
The Ukrainian prodigy is another player who is making a return to Corus
after a break (skipped last year’s event). Still the holder of ‘youngest
ever to achieve the GM title’, Karjakin is another Corus A player
to have crossed the magical 2700 milestone this year. Looking at his Elo
rating graph never ceases to amaze: from year 2000 till now there is an
exponential rise of well more than 500 rating points! Unfortunately for
him, he finished the year on a weak note with poor performances at the European
club championships and the Spanish league, which will take a small bite
from his near-peak high.
Sergey’s name became known when in 2002, before he was twelve years
old, and before he made his GM title, when Ponomariov appointed him as
his second for the FIDE world championships match with Ivanchuk. His biggest
‘big league’ success was making it all the way to the semi-finals
of the 2007 World Cup, where Shirov eliminated him. Among his most noted
result for 2008 was tying for third in Aerosvit (6/11). He also took part
at both the FIDE Grand Prix events, scoring +1 in one, and –1 in
the other. |

Suffering is part of the game: India's second strongest GM Krishnan Sasikiran
Name: Krishnan Sasikiran
Date of birth: 07-01-1981
Country: India
Rating: 2711
Top seed in the ultra-strong GM B group is India’s second highest
ranked player. A Grandmaster since 2000, Krishnan is a former Asian champion,
who climbed through the ranks by placing high in strong events all over
the world around the start of the Millennium. Recently the Grandmaster
from Chennai played on board one for his country – substituting
for his city-mate world champion Anand – and scoring a very respectable
6/10. ‘Sasi’ is a very solid player, and is well prepared
in the openings. He learned how to play chess at the relatively late age
of 9, and was initially coached by his dad. His quick progress brought
him wins at the under age 18 championships of both India and the British
Commonwealth. In 2002 he beat Anand at the World cup, in a strong showing.
His most noted results this year were first place at the top group of
the Mazovian tournament in Poland with 6.5/9, a tie for first at the strong
Kolkata open with 8.5/10. Sasikiran is making his first appearance in
Wijk aan Zee, and is surely one of the favorites to win his group. |

Loek van Wely (left) missed good winning chances against Leinier Dominguez

Specators in the De Moriaan playing hall in Wijk aan Zee

Fabiano Caruana from Italy/US/Hungary, 2646, vs Andrei Volokitin, Ukraine,
2671

The friend: GM Erwin l'Ami, Dutchman with a French name
Name: Erwin l'Ami
Date of birth: 05-04-1985
Country: the Netherlands
Rating: 2603
Erwin’s ‘connection to chess’ started
at age five, with the encouragement of his father. He took to the game
pretty quickly, and became a part of a talented group of youngsters who
took part at national, and later world events. His first significant breakthrough
was in 2004 when he achieved the IM title, following it quickly in 2005
when he fulfilled the requirements for Grandmaster. L’Ami’s
rating rise was very impressive, climbing from the 2200’s to cross
the 2600 mark in just a few years. The Dutchman is a very active player,
averaging 30 rated ELO games per rating period. He mostly plays in Western
European open and closed events, and in several leagues as well. In 2008
some of his noted results were a solid performance on board four for his
national team at the Olympiad, scoring 6/9, and a tie for second place
with a fantastic 8/11 finish at the European championships in Plovdiv.
Erwin also scored a very respectable 7/11 in the next such event in Liverpool,
and aside from a few mediocre results his only poor showing was 2.5/8
at the Bundesliga. At the M-Tel tournament earlier this year, L’Ami
had his first experience as a second (to Bulgarian GM Cheparinov), a experience
that was demanding and tiring, but also enriching and ‘inspiring’
for him. A regular at Corus, Erwi scored –1 in last year’s
Corus B. |

IM Manuel Bosboom, NED, shocked England by beating super-talent David Howell,
2622

Harika! The Junior
World Champion (girls's section) from India, rated 2473, beat...

Junior World Champion (open section) GM Abhijeet Gupta, India, 2569

FM Anish Giri, of Nepalese origin, Russian nationality, living in Holland

The board as seen by 14-year-old Hou Yifan, China, 2571
All pictures by Jeroen van den Belt, biographies from the
official web site
Video by Europe Echecs
GM Robert Fontaine wraps up round one for the French Chess magazine and portal
Europe Echecs
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