World Cup R2.1: small tragedies, expected victories

by ChessBase
8/31/2011 – Alexei Shirov spoilt a comfortable position against Vladimir Potkin and lost in 28 moves. Francisco Vallejo applied pressure for 60 moves, then imploded and lost five moves later. Sergey Azarov tried the Jaenish Gambit against Vugar Gashimov and went down in 23 moves. Other top players (Ivanchuk, Radjabov, Morozevich) took home full points. Report and pictures.

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The tournament is taking place in the Ugorian Chess Academy in the very heart of Khanty-Mansiysk, which has hosted three previous World Cups: 2005, 2007, and 2009. The 128 participants hail from 46 different countries, and are playing for a total prize fund of US $1.6 million. In addition the first three finisher get tickets to the Candidates tournament in the next World Championship cycle.

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Round two game one – small tragedies of the second round

The first games of the second round were played on Wednesday, August 31, at the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk. Peace agreements were signed very quickly between Rustam Kasimdzhanov (UZB) and Gata Kasmsky (USA), Ni Hua (CHN) and Ruslan Ponomariov (UKR) and between Yuri Drozdovskij (UKR) and Fabiano Caruana (ITA). On the previous day Drozdovskij had played a very long and exhausting tie-break, going all the way to the "Armageddon”. He probably did not have enough time to fully recover. One wonders, however, why neither Kasimdzhanov nor Ni Hua used the advantage of the first move: either they did not guess the choice of the opening of the opponent, or they have built their strategy around the intention of settling things in the rapid chess matches.

Today spectators witnessed several opening catastrophes. Russian Nikita Vitiugov demonstrated his deep preparation in a sharp Anti-Moscow Variation against Anton Korobov (Ukraine). The Belorussian grandmaster Sergey Azarov, playing with Black against Vugar Gashimov (AZE), chose a nowadays very popular Jaenish Gambit. However, he faced a rather rare defence, lost his way quickly and went down to a mating attack.

[Event "FIDE World Cup 2011"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2011.08.31"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Gashimov, Vugar"] [Black "Azarov, Sergei"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C63"] [WhiteElo "2760"] [BlackElo "2648"] [PlyCount "45"] [EventDate "2011.08.28"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 f5 4. d3 fxe4 5. dxe4 Nf6 6. Be3 Bb4+ 7. c3 {0.92/20 } Be7 {0.78/18} 8. Bxc6 {0.46/20} bxc6 {1.04/20} 9. Nxe5 {1.04/19} Ba6 {1.45/19 } 10. Nd2 {1.30/20} Rb8 {1.44/20} 11. Qa4 {1.50/21} Qc8 {1.48/19} 12. O-O-O { 1.40/20} O-O {2.00/19} 13. Bg5 {1.65/18} Kh8 {1.65/17} 14. c4 {1.63/16} c5 {1. 70/16} 15. h4 {1.44/18} Rb6 {1.61/18} 16. h5 {1.16/20} d6 {1.16/19} 17. Ng6+ { 0.88/24} hxg6 {0.78/20} 18. hxg6+ {0.88/23} Kg8 {0.85/20} 19. Qa3 {0.83/20} Qg4 {1.67/20} 20. f4 {1.57/21} Rfb8 {3.04/21} 21. Rh4 {2.97/22} Qe6 {12.68/17} 22. Rdh1 {9.95/22} Kf8 {11.41/21} 23. f5 {11.41/21} 1-0


Alexei Shirov working hard in his game against Vladimir Potkin


Peter Heine Nielsen and Alexander Morozevich kibitzing

Another game finished very quickly – and successfully for Vladimir Potkin (RUS), who defeated Alexey Shirov (ESP). The opening was not the reason for it: Shirov, playing Black, had a comfortable position, but having maneuvered in not the best was, gave up his initiative on the entire chess board and lost in just 28 moves.

[Event "FIDE World Cup 2011"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2011.08.31"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Potkin, Vladimir"] [Black "Shirov, Alexei"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D44"] [WhiteElo "2682"] [BlackElo "2714"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2011.08.28"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. a4 Bb4 7. e4 Qa5 8. Bd2 c5 9. Bxc4 cxd4 10. Nxd4 O-O 11. Nc2 Qc7 12. Qe2 Be7 13. e5 Nfd7 14. f4 Nc6 15. O-O b6 16. Nb5 Qb8 17. Ncd4 Nxd4 18. Nxd4 Bc5 19. Be3 Re8 20. Rad1 a6 21. b4 Bf8 22. f5 Nxe5 23. Bf4 Bd6 24. Nc6 Nxc6 25. Bxd6 Qa7 26. f6 gxf6 27. Rxf6 Ne7 28. Rxf7 1-0

Teimour Radjabov (AZE, above on the right in the striped shirt), Mircea-Emilian Parligras (ROU), Anton Filippov (UZB), Yaroslav Zherebukh (UKR) and Emil Sutovsky (ISR) won the first game playing White.


Vassily Ivanchuk (dark jacket) wanders around, with Fridman, Kamsky, Navara and
Kasimdzhanov still hard at work in their games

A very valuable bid to qualify for the third round was made by the following chess players, who won their games playing Black: Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR), Dmitry Jakovenko, Alexander Morozevich and Evgeny Tomashevsky (all from Russia), Lazaro Bruzon and Leinier Dominguez (both from Cuba), Le Quang Liem (VIE).

Cuban GM Lazaro Bruzon Batista faced Francisco Vallejo Pons from Spain with the black pieces. Vallejo applied lasting pressure until around move 60, when he lost track and then blundered horribly on move 65, allowing his opponent a forced mate.

[Event "FIDE World Cup 2011"] [Site "Khanty-Mansiysk RUS"] [Date "2011.08.31"] [Round "2.1"] [White "Vallejo Pons, Francisco"] [Black "Bruzon Batista, Lazaro"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C45"] [WhiteElo "2724"] [BlackElo "2673"] [PlyCount "131"] [EventDate "2011.08.28"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Nb3 Bb4+ 6. c3 Be7 7. f4 d6 8. Bd3 Nh6 9. N1d2 O-O 10. Nf3 f5 11. O-O Kh8 12. h3 fxe4 13. Bxe4 Nf5 14. Kh2 Bh4 15. Nxh4 Qxh4 16. Qd3 Nfe7 17. Bd2 Bf5 18. Rae1 Bxe4 19. Rxe4 Qf6 20. Rfe1 Ng8 21. Qb5 Rab8 22. Na5 a6 23. Qh5 Nce7 24. Re6 Qf7 25. Qxf7 Rxf7 26. g4 b6 27. Nb3 Nc6 28. Kg3 Nf6 29. c4 Kg8 30. Bc3 Rbf8 31. Nd4 Nd8 32. R6e2 d5 33. cxd5 Nxd5 34. f5 Nxc3 35. bxc3 h6 36. Kf4 Rd7 37. h4 Nb7 38. Re7 Rxe7 39. Rxe7 Nc5 40. Rxc7 Re8 41. g5 hxg5+ 42. hxg5 g6 43. f6 Kf8 44. Rc6 Nd3+ 45. Kg3 Re3+ 46. Kh2 Nf4 47. Rxb6 Rh3+ 48. Kg1 Rxc3 49. Rxa6 Nh3+ 50. Kf1 Nxg5 51. a4 Kf7 52. a5 Ne4 53. Rb6 Nc5 54. Rc6 Na4 55. Rd6 Nc5 56. Ke2 Ra3 57. Nc6 Ne6 58. a6 g5 59. a7 g4 60. Rd7+ Kxf6 61. Rb7 g3 62. Rb3 Ra2+ 63. Kf1 g2+ 64. Kg1 Nf4 65. Kh2 Ra1 66. a8=Q 0-1

The rating favorite of the tournament, Russian GM Sergey Karjakin (above), did not managed to break the resourceful defense of the young Philippine GM Wesley So. Alexander Grischuk (RUS) had a tough position with black against Sebastien Feller (FRA), but he managed to defend it and save half a point.


Judit Polgar drew her game against Sergei Movsesian, who is nominally stronger (by one point)

Results of round two

Name
G1
G2
 R1
 R2
 r3
 r4
 B1
 B2
 SD
Tot
 Karjakin, Sergey (RUS)
½
               
0.5
 So, Wesley (PHI)
½
               
0.5
 
 Alekseev, Evgeny (RUS)
0
               
0.0
 Ivanchuk, Vassily (UKR)
1
               
1.0
 
 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar (AZE)
½
               
0.5
 Fridman, Daniel (GER)
½
               
0.5
 
 Ni, Hua (CHN)
½
               
0.5
 Ponomariov, Ruslan (UKR)
½
               
0.5
 
 Gashimov, Vugar (AZE)
1
               
1.0
 Azarov, Sergei (BLR)
0
               
0.0
 
 Feller, Sebastien (FRA)
½
               
0.5
 Grischuk, Alexander (RUS)
½
               
0.5
 
 Radjabov, Teimour (AZE)
1
               
1.0
 Negi, Parimarjan (IND)
0
               
0.0
 
 Kasimdzhanov, Rustam (UZB)
½
               
0.5
 Kamsky, Gata (USA)
½
               
0.5
 
 Svidler, Peter (RUS)
½
               
0.5
 Nguyen, Ngoc Truong Son (VIE)
½
               
0.5
 
 Harikrishna, P. (IND)
0
               
0.0
 Jakovenko, Dmitry (RUS)
1
               
1.0
 
 Vitiugov, Nikita (RUS)
1
               
1.0
 Korobov, Anton (UKR)
0
               
0.0
 
 Parligras, Mircea-Emilian (ROU)
1
               
1.0
 Almasi, Zoltan (HUN)
0
               
0.0
 
 Vallejo Pons, Francisco (ESP)
0
               
0.0
 Bruzon Batista, Lazaro (CUB)
1
               
1.0
 
 Onischuk, Alexander (USA)
½
               
0.5
 Navara, David (CZE)
½
               
0.5
 
 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime (FRA)
½
               
0.5
 Bu, Xiangzhi (RUS)
½
               
0.5
 
 Bologan, Viktor (MDA)
0
               
0.0
 Dominguez Perez, Leinier (CUB)
1
               
1.0
 
 Ivanov, Alexander (USA)
½
               
0.5
 Lysyj, Igor (RUS)
½
               
0.5
 
 Gupta, Abhijeet (IND)
½
               
0.5
 Shankland, Samuel L (USA)
½
               
0.5
 
 Moiseenko, Alexander (UKR)
½
               
0.5
 Inarkiev, Ernesto (RUS)
½
               
0.5
 
 Grachev, Boris (RUS)
0
               
0.0
 Le, Quang Liem (VIE)
1
               
1.0
 
 Adams, Michael (ENG)
½
               
0.5
 Nielsen, Peter Heine (DEN)
½
               
0.5
 
 Potkin, Vladimir (RUS)
1
               
1.0
 Shirov, Alexei (ESP)
0
               
0.0
 
 Jobava, Baadur (GEO)
½
               
0.5
 Wojtaszek, Radoslaw (POL)
½
               
0.5
 
 Drozdovskij, Yuri (UKR)
½
               
0.5
 Caruana, Fabiano (ITA)
½
               
0.5
 
 Nepomniachtchi, Ian (RUS)
½
               
0.5
 Riazantsev, Alexander (RUS)
½
               
0.5
 
 Filippov, Anton (UZB)
1
               
1.0
 Bacrot, Etienne (FRA)
0
               
0.0
 
 Fier, Alexandr (BRA)
0
               
0.0
 Morozevich, Alexander (RUS)
1
               
1.0
 
 Andreikin, Dmitry (RUS)
0
               
0.0
 Tomashevsky, Evgeny (RUS)
1
               
1.0
 
 Efimenko, Zahar (UKR)
½
               
0.5
 Berkes, Ferenc (HUN)
½
               
0.5
 
 Zherebukh, Yaroslav (UKR)
1
               
1.0
 Felgaer, Ruben (ARG)
0
               
0.0
 
 Sutovsky, Emil (ISR)
1
               
1.0
 Fressinet, Laurent (FRA)
0
               
0.0
 
 Polgar, Judit (HUN)
½
               
0.5
 Movsesian, Sergei (ARM)
½
               
0.5

Results as a bracket table

View the table in full size on a separate page

On Wednesday, August 31, 64 chess players will continue their battles in the 1/32 of the World Cup Final. We should mention such pairings as Kamsky (USA) vs Kasimdzhanov (UZB), Movsesian (ARM) vs Polgar (HUN), Grischuk (RUS) vs Feller (FRA).

The live commentary on Playchess will continue daily at 13:00h CEST (= 15:00h Moscow, 7 a.m. New York), with GM commentary in English and German. At around 19:00h there will be a wrap-up of the day's events.

Remaining schedule of the World Chess Cup 2011

Date Day Time   Rounds
Players
01.09.2011 Thursday 15:00 Round 2, game 2
02.09.2011 Friday 15:00 Tiebreak
03.09.2011 Saturday 15:00 Round 3, game 1
32
04.09.2011 Sunday 15:00 Round 3, game 2
05.09.2011 Monday 15:00 Tiebreak
06.09.2011 Tuesday 15:00 Round 4, game 1
16
07.09.2011 Wednesday 15:00 Round 4, game 2
08.09.2011 Thursday 15:00 Tiebreak
09.09.2011 Friday 15:00 Round 5, game 1
8
10.09.2011 Saturday 15:00 Round 5, game 2
11.09.2011 Sunday 15:00 Tiebreak
12.09.2011 Monday 15:00 Round 6, game 1
4
13.09.2011 Tuesday 15:00 Round 6, game 2
14.09.2011 Wednesday 15:00 Tiebreak
15.09.2011 Thursday   Free Day
16.09.2011 Friday 15:00 Round 7, game 1
2
17.09.2011 Saturday 15:00 Round 7, game 2
18.09.2011 Sunday 15:00 Round 7, game 3
19.09.2011 Monday 15:00 Round 7, game 4
20.09.2011 Tuesday 11:00 Tiebreaks, Closing
21.09.2011 Wednesday   Departure

Links

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 11 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.

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