tag: FIDE Grand Prix Zug 2013 - Page 1

Zug GP R11: Topalov wins game, set and event

4/30/2013 – Bulgarian GM Veselin Topalov finished his extraordinary performance (2924!) with a final brilliant game. Although a draw or even a loss would clinch victory in this Grand Prix he went for a complicated, double-edged line against Sergey Karjakin, committed no errors and won the game and the tournament, a point and a half ahead of the field. Full illustrated report.

Zug GP R10: four wins, three with black

4/29/2013 – Veselin Topalov has scored his greatest victory since 2010. He beat his nearest rival, Fabiano Caruana and is now a full point ahead of the rest. Even if he loses the final round the Bulgarian will be the winner of the Grand Prix on tiebreak. His performance so far: close to 2900. Morozevich, Nakamura and Kamsky also won today, the latter two (like Topalov) with black. Full report with GM commentary.

Zug GP R09: three wins, Topalov continues to lead

4/28/2013 – Fabiano Caruana beat Gata Kamsky from the black side of a Closed Ruy Lopez; Hikaru Nakamura profited from a disastrous error committed by a dejected Alexander Morozevich to take the full point; and Teimour Radjabov took a similar opportunity after Ruslan Ponomariov erred badly on move 40. Veselin Topalov drew against Mamadyarov and continues to lead. Round nine report with GM analysis.

Zug GP R08: Topalov wins, leads alone

4/27/2013 – Alexander Morozevich played a Symmetrical English against Veselin Topalov, using a line he had played unsuccessfully against Grischuk earlier this month. In a long, complicated struggle his opponent Veselin Topalov gained an advantage and drove it home for the full point. All other games were drawn, which puts the Bulgarian GM in the sole lead. Full illustrated report with GM analysis.

Zug R07: Kamsky beats Morozevich

4/25/2013 – The Russian GM, true to his style, played a fairly unusual opening. His American opponent used the opportunity to prepare a kingside assault. A few incautious actions around move 24 put Alexander Morozevich on the spot and Gata Kamsky turned the assault into a full-scale attack and took the full point. All other games were drawn. Full report with pictures and commentary.

Zug R06: Nakamura and Ponomariov score

4/24/2013 – Hikaru Nakamura, playing with the black pieces, defeated former FIDE world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov in a wild tactical battle, while Ruslan Ponomariov, also a former FIDE world champion, outplayed Gata Kamskyon the white side of a Nimzo Indian Rubinstein. Four games were drawn. Ponomariov, Morozevich and Topalov nox lead with 4.0/6 points each. Full illustrated report.

Zug R05: five decisive games

4/23/2013 – That's a pleasant change from the "all games drawn", which was our headline for the last two rounds. Morozevich, Topalov, Caruana, Karjakin and Kamsky all won their games, leaving the first two in the lead with 3.5/5 points. Ponomariov, Karjakin and Caruana follow half a point behind. We bring you GM analysis and pictures in our round five report.

Zug R04: all games drawn again

4/21/2013 – Despite the hard fights exhibited by the players, Zug ended in many peaceful results. Nakamura and Radjabov had an extra pawn against Kamsky and Leko but couldn't do anything with it. Morozevich got a great advantage against Karjakin, Kasimdzhanov and Topalov played a wild game, Caruana's king marched to d4 with queens still on the board, and yet all of these games were drawn.

Zug R03: all games drawn

4/20/2013 – The six games of this round were all drawn, most in 45-60 moves in theoretically drawn positions, and with due permission of the chief arbiter, as the Grand Prix rules require. Only one game, Giri-Radjabov, was drawn by repetition in 19 moves in less than an hour. Three players – Morezevich, Ponomariov and Topalov – lead with plus one scores after three rounds of play. Full pictorial report.

Zug R02: three wins, three draws

4/19/2013 – A day of reversals! Kamsky and Leko outplayed their opponents, Kasimdzhanov and Topalov, in aggressive and impressive fashion straight from the opening. However both lost their way and not only relinquished the advantages, but also at the end a full point! Ponomariov played a fine positional game against Caruana while the rest of the games fizzled out into draws. Round two report with GM analysis.

Zug R01: Morozevich and Caruana win

4/18/2013 – Solid yet unorthodox chess marked the start of the Zug Grand Prix. Morozevich used a quick fianchetto setup to confuse Kasimdzhanov, and it worked. Radjabov created too many weaknesses against Caruana who was happy to scoop them up one by one. Nakamura went out for blood against Karjakin's weak opening, but couldn't capitalize. The remaining games were solidly drawn. Round one report.
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