tag: Tromso - Page 2

Kavalek in Huffington: Kramnik triumphs in Norway

9/6/2013 – Torn between playing with his young kids in France and playing chess in Norway, Vladimir Kramnik, 38, made a choice that paid off. The former world champion won the 2013 FIDE Chess World Cup in Tromsø and collected $96,000. He finished the event undefeated, booking five wins in classical and four in rapid chess. Huffington Post columnist GM Lubomir Kavalek annotates two games of the winner.

World Cup Final 4: Kramnik wins Tromsø 2013

9/2/2013 – It was Dmitri Andreikin's last chance, but he chose a somewhat quiet Symmetrical English in a last-ditch attempt to outplay Vladimir Kramnik and stay in the tournament. This plan quickly backfired as every attempt to complicate the issue made Andreikin's position worse. In the end, with Kramnik pressing for a win, Dmitri offered a draw which his opponent accepted. Final report with GM analysis.

World Cup Final 3: Easy draw

9/1/2013 – Andreikin decided to not go for any sort of complications in the third round of the final match  in Tromso. Kramnik saw no reason to force the issue either as he is point ahead of his rival, who is in a must win situation in tomorrow's game. It all boils down to whether Dmitri Andreikin can take down his formidable opponent with his last breath. Game three report with GM analysis.

World Cup Final 2: Risky draw

8/31/2013 – Kramnik barely survived a series of crazy tactics straight out of the opening to achieve an endgame that he was able to hold easily. Andreikin possibly missed some chances early in the game to create further complications and make it harder for the ex-World Champion to defend. This is all wonderfully explained in the analysis of our guest annotator, Indian GM Parimarjan Negi.

World Cup final G1: Kramnik draws first blood

8/30/2013 – Dmitry Andreikin saw his classical game invincibility end as Vladimir Kramnik outclassed him in game one of the finals. It was vintage Kramnik as he first worked up an advantage, but the turning point was when he sacrificed his queen for rook, piece and a thorny passed c-pawn. Andreikin tried to hold on but was ultimately ground down. Rest day and first round report.

World Cup 6.3: MVL, Tomashevsky collapse

8/28/2013 – Vachier-Lagrave collapsed in his game against Kramnik and basically gave away a free point with white in the first rapid game. Kramnik didn't forgive and finished off the match easily. In a bizarre decision Tomashevsky did not trade queens in the second game which allowed a swift attack by Andreikin who will play Kramnik in the finals. Express report and GM Analysis of MVL's debacle.

World Cup 6.2: MVL pulls a miracle

8/27/2013 – Maxime Vachier-Lagrave saw himself against the ropes from the very beginning of his game. Kramnik eventually gained a decisive material advantage in the endgame. However, after a blunder by Kramnik, MVL took his opponent's last pawn and forced a draw. Tomashevsky was unable to secure an advantage and will also go to tie-breaks against Andreikin. Report and analysis.

World Cup 6.1: Draws in 14 and 16 moves

8/26/2013 – All of you who rushed home to see the first games of the semi-finals in Tromsø were treated to many minutes of spell-binding chess. Vachier-Lagrave vs Kramnik was drawn in 16 moves, Andreikin vs Tomashevsky in 14. There is little to say about the round, except maybe that Andreikin has made it to the semi-finals but has actually lost rating points. Find out why in our appropriately short report.

World Cup 5.3: Caruana, Svidler out

8/25/2013 – Or, on a positive note: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Dmitry Andreikin won their games and advanced to the semi-finals. The French GM defeated the top ranked Fabiano Caruana, who played the Dutch Defence and got lost in the resulting Stonewall formation. Andreikin played an off-beat 1.d4-line against Peter Svidler and won the full point in just 30 moves. Report with pictures and analysis.

World Cup 5.2: Tomashevsky, Kramnik advance

8/24/2013 – Evgeny Tomashevsky took advantage of some time pressure mistakes by Gata Kamsky to create a surprising and swift mating attack on his opponent's king. This victory with black seals the pass of Tomashevsky to the semi-finals. Another Russian secured his placement in the top four as Kramnik barely held his game today against Korobov and won the match. Svidler-Andreikin and Vachier-Lagrave-Caruana go to tiebreaks. Report with GM commentary

World Cup 5.1: Kramnik pounces

8/23/2013 – The matches started somewhat quietly as Tomashevsky and Kamsky drew quickly. Svidler obtained a small advantage with Black against Andreikin but soon decided to call it a day. MVL put strong pressure on Caruana but to no avail. Kramnik, however, was able to capitalize on his opponent's mistakes and takes the lead in his mini-match. Grandmaster analysis and report.

The Pacific Coast – and the Pacific Coast Open 2013

8/23/2013 – The 18th Annual Pacific Coast Open was held at the Sheraton Agoura Hills Hotel, Agoura Hills, California. With a number of GMs and titled players participating it was won by Timur Gareev of Uzbekistan. He is not just a very strong player – and a blindfold record setter – but an explorer and adventurer who is in the process of discovering America's West. Here is his pictorial report.

World Cup 4.3: unparalleled drama in Tromsø

8/22/2013 – What a day! Peter Svidler showed exceptional determination when he ground out a win in 135 moves to eliminate Le Quang Liem. Then Evgeny Tomashevsky lost a virtually won position in the first accelerated game against Alexander Morozevich. He fought back and won a mind boggling 169-mover and finally went through in the blitz, calling this the craziest match that he had ever played.

World Cup 4.2: Caruana, Kramnik, Kamsky through

8/21/2013 – But the big news was that Hikaru Nakamura lost his game to Anton Korobov and was eliminated after four rounds. Kramnik and Caruana had no serious problems settling matters, the former with a draw against Vassily Ivanchuk, the latter with a win against Julio Granda Zuniga. Four matches go into the tiebreaks on Thursday. Round four game two report.

World Cup 4.1: Kamsky, Kramnik, Caruana victorious

8/20/2013 – The round of sixteen started with a bang as many games were wild and interesting. Kamsky played a dazzling piece sacrifice that shocked Mamedyarov, who didn't respond in the best way and lost. Ivanchuk cracked under Kramnik's pressure while Julio Granda simply blundered against Caruana. Gelfand and Vachier-Lagrave played a crazy game that ended in a perpetual. Round four day one report.

World Cup 3.3: Grischuk and Giri out

8/19/2013 – The stakes are higher and the pressure is increasing - a fact that is noticeable especially in tiebreak situations. Many blunders decided the fate of today's matches, but at the end most of the favourites passed to the next round. Noticeable exceptions to that were Julio Granda Zuniga knocking out Anish Giri and Le Quang Liem doing the same to Alexander Grischuk. Big tiebreak report.

World Cup 3.2: Aronian out, Grischuk equalises

8/18/2013 – Top seed Levon Aronian missed close to winning chances to eventually draw against Evgeny Tomashevsky and drop out of the World Cup. Vladimir Kramnik missed a number of wins in the endgame to draw Alexander Areshchenko, while Alexander Grischuk turned a drawn position against Le Quang Liem into a win and force a tiebreak. Full report with pictures.

World Cup 3.1: Aronian, Grischuk shocked

8/17/2013 – Top seed Levon Aronian, playing white, was outplayed in a Dutch Defence by Evgeny Tomashevsky, who won the full point in 58 moves; Vietnamese GM Le Quang Liem beat Alexander Grischuk in a K+6 pawns ending. Hikaru Nakamura, Boris Gelfand, Gata Kamsky and Peter Svidler all won their first games of the round. Round three game one report, with results and games.

World Cup 2.3: Dubov, Hammer qualify in tiebreaks

8/16/2013 – 17-year-old Daniil Dubov went all the way against former FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov, with eight draws and then a stunning victory in the Armageddon (Daniil actually played 1.b3??!). The Norwegians cheered as Jon Ludwig took down the much higher rated David Navara. The top seeds all went through in two rapid chess tiebreak games. Tiebreak report with pictures.

World Cup 2.2: fifteen matches still undecided

8/15/2013 – Caruana, Grischuk, Nakamura and Gelfand are through to round three, while Alexei Shirov was sensationally taken out by 14-year-old Chinese GM Wei Yi, as was Peter Leko by the Peruvian GM Julio Granda Zuniga. Gata Kamsky lost a traumatic game against Alexandr Shimanov, who thus equalised the score. Almost half the matches go into the tiebreaks on Friday. Round two game two report.

Tromsø 2.1: World Cup Snapshots

8/15/2013 – There was plenty of high drama in the second round of the FIDE World Cup in Tromso – lots of points were missed and gained. This was pointed out in the Wednesday issue of Chess Today, a subscription-based online publication that is delivered daily to our mailbox. Its editor Alex Baburin provides highlights from four interesting games, and also illuminates the controversy surrounding draw claim.

World Cup 2.1: A great day for White

8/14/2013 – The day came to a close with a fantastic score for the white players, including Dominguez's win over Onischuk and Julio Granda over Peter Leko. White won ten games to black's two, with the other twenty games ending in draws. Notable exceptions today were Ivanchuk's win over Robson and Vachier-Lagraeve's win over Isan Ortiz. Report of a fighting round.

World Cup 1.3: tremendous action in the tiebreaks

8/13/2013 – Gata Kamsky struggled against Lou Yiping, but managed to beat him in one accelerated rapid game; Peter Svidler was given a run for his money by Anna Ushenina, but in the end won both rapid games; Adams and Morozevich went through; Shirov lost his first rapid game but then won three against Hou Yifan; and Ramirez went all the way to the Armageddon before losing to Tomashevsky. Tiebreak report.

World Cup 1.2: Polgar, Nepo out, Ushenina still in

8/12/2013 – The big upsets of this round: Judit Polgar drew her game against Cuban GM Isan Reynaldo Ortiz and was knocked out, while Anna Ushenina beat Peter Svidler to equalise and stay in the World Cup. Ian Nepomniachtchi was knocked out by 14-year-old Wei Yi. Alexander Morozevich fought back against Bator Sambuev and forced the Canadian GM into the tiebreaks. Round one game two report.
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