tag: Gibraltar - Page 2

Gibraltar Rd9: Four GM norms!

2/4/2015 – Another day of successes in Gibraltar! Hikaru Nakamura keeps his lead, but shortened to half a point as David Howell beat Daniel Naroditsky on board two. Another half a point behind Howell are Hou Yifan, Nikita Vitiugov, Pentala Harikrishna and Axel Bachmann. Today the Minister of Tourism visited the event, in time to see that an amazing four players achieved their GM norms!

Mueller on Endgames: Lessons from Gibraltar

2/4/2015 – With so many grandmasters playing in Gibraltar, and then masters, you might expect endgame guru Karsten Mueller to choose some mindboggling sequence by a big name for his selection, but enlightenment can come from anywhere as he shows in his first example. See also how lack of endgame knowledge can lead you to fall for that 'last trap'. These and others await your pleasure.

Gibraltar Rd8: One point lead

2/3/2015 – There are only two rounds left in Gibraltar, and today could not have gone better for Hikaru Nakamura. A nice win over Yu Yangyi combined with draws in the following six boards gives him a one point lead over three players and one and a half points over the main pack. A win tomorrow might seal the deal. Oh, and he also catapulted himself to his highest live rating ever.

Gibraltar Rd7: Finally Stopped

2/3/2015 – It came down to the wire, the last seconds of the game. David Howell was defending tenaciously the entire game against Hikaru Nakamura, but a last minute blunder... went unpunished! In a series of mistakes late in the game Howell finally held the draw against the tournament leader. Board two was a crazy duel between Yu Yangyi and Hou Yifan. Nakamura keeps his half point lead.

Gibraltar Rd6: Naka 6-0

2/1/2015 – Streaks are in fashion! Caruana's 7-0 in the Sinquefield, Carlsen's 6-0 in the middle of Wijk, and now Nakamura starts 6-0 in Gibraltar! With this victory he keeps a half point lead over the competition and regains his spot as the #1 American over So. We bring you analysis of his victory over Topalov and a pictorial report of one of the most jovial events in Gibraltar.

Gibraltar Rd5: Brilliant Nakamura

1/31/2015 – Hikaru Nakamura is the only person in Gibratar to keep his perfect score, and he did so with uncompromising and aggressive chess. Baskaran Adhiban simply was not up to the challenge: he got lost in the complications and by move 18 Naka's deadly pawns reached the 3rd rank (!). Tomorrow will be a showdown of monsters, as Nakamura takes on the top player with 4.5: Veselin Topalov.

Gibraltar Rd4: And then there were four

1/31/2015 – Four people are tied for the lead in Gibraltar with a perfect 4.0/4. Hikaru Nakamura, Renier Vazquez, Baskaran Adhiban and the prodigy Wei Yi are all going forward. However their list of pursuers is admirable; Topalov, Svidler, Yu Yangyi, Harikrishna, only to name a few, are all half a point behind. Round four highlights and two impressive Master Classes you don't want to miss.

Gibraltar Rd3: The Chinese advance

1/29/2015 – Three Chinese players have a perfect score in Gibraltar: Ju Wenjun (who upset Richard Rapport), Wei Yi and Hou Yifan. The 15-year old prodigy is the youngest player in history to break 2700. Several people still have 3.0/3, but the matches are becoming tougher and tougher. Today's round was specially graced by the presence of the governor of Gibraltar, Sir James Dutton.

Gibraltar Rd1: Only one surprise

1/28/2015 – As it often happens in open tournaments, the first round of the event produced few surprises. Only one of the top-20 grandmasters lost, though that doesn't mean that there weren't some exciting games. Hou Yifan was slightly lucky at the end of her game, while Nakamura played a crowd pleaser. Round one report as well as impressions from the opening ceremony.

Gibraltar Open starts tomorrow!

1/26/2015 – Several events tried very hard to take away the title of the "strongest open" of the year. Qatar, Millionaire, Reykjavik, to name a few... but they all fall short of Gibraltar: for the first time in history a 2800 player will be participating in an open event, and with 30+ 2600 players the tournament is sure to be a complete slugfest. We bring you a preview of the tournament.

Closing Gala in Gibraltar

2/10/2014 – With the best open of the year coming to an end it was necessary to host a traditional closing gala to celebrate the event. The players were of course eager to receive their prizes and to enjoy some relaxing time together. Mariya Muzychuk won best women's, while Fier and Adams shared best game. Additionally, we bring you commentary of what proved to be the fateful and decisive rapid games.

Cheparinov surprise winner in Gibraltar

2/7/2014 – After Ivanchuk was holding on to his leader position for so many rounds, and with a pack of 2700s usually only half a point behind, it was a mystery that Ivan Cheparinov was able to become the 2014 Gibraltar Tradewise Chess Festival's champion! With a string of victories in the last three rounds and with luck on his side in the playoffs the Bulgarian emerged victorious.

Gibraltar 08: Hurricane Ivanchuk is back

2/6/2014 – With a very important victory over Ganguly, Ivanchuk has regained the sole lead in Gibraltar. He is followed closely by Kamsky and Rapport, the only players to have won their round eight game going into it with 5.5/8. The leader will face US Champ Kamsky in a decisive battle in round nine, while Rapport will face the Frenchman MVL in depth round eight analysis.

Gibraltar 07: Ganguly, Ivanchuk at the top

2/4/2014 – With a fascinating win against Spanish grandmaster Vallejo Pons, the Indian player Surya Shekhar Ganguly was the only vanquisher that had 5.0/6 going into the 7th round. Ivanchuk drew his games against English #1 Adams who leads the pack of hunters with 5.5/7. The festivities continue and chess is becoming sharper and sharper in another edition of Gibraltar.

Gibraltar 06: Ivanchuk leads solo

2/4/2014 – Vassily Ivanchuk continues his rampage in Gibraltar and is now the only player to have 5.5/6 in the Masters section of the tournament. However he is pursued by a huge pack of people with five points including many 2700 players. The blitz pairs, one of the most chaotic events of the festival was played yesterday. Report and standings prior to an instrumental round seven.

Gibraltar 05: Battle of the Sexes

2/2/2014 – The festivities continue in the Gibraltar Chess Congress and two of the more popular events have come to a closing. The first team blitz was won by the teams 50/50 and China Dragon. Also the Battle of the Sexes occurred and despite the significant rating advantage of the men, the women were the clear winners! Lastly, a beautiful romantic game by French Hero MVL.

Gibraltar 04: Anna's tournament

2/1/2014 – With tough fights in the top boards Gibraltar is,looking to be a complete slugfest to the end. Li Chao, Rodshtein and Mareco are the surprise leaders with 4.0/4, none of them above 2700. However the horde of players with 3.5 is very scary and will try to catch them soon. We bring you a special report of a player who has had her first win in Gibraltar on her 12th time there!

Gibraltar 03: Top matches ready!

1/31/2014 – With most of the top players in the tournament already facing above average grandmasters the event has weeded out most players with draws and only a select few remain with a perfect 3.0/3. The top board in round four will feature Movsesian vs. Vachier-Lagrave, but first round three where GM Fier was very close to winning (and to losing!) against top seed Michael Adams.

Gibraltar: Most GMs unscathed

1/29/2014 – The Masters section has been inaugurated in Gibraltar and in spectacular fashion. A lovely gala was held in the famous Saint Michael's cave. Round one went with almost no upsets, but things started to change in round two. A few of the grand masters were held to draws, though most won their games. Eljanov had a close call, however almost losing to Elizabeth Paehtz.
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