2006
George Xie wins Masters
Peter Parr (26/12/06)
FIDE Master George Xie aged 21 of Sydney has won the Australian Masters in Melbourne scoring six out of six against Australian opponents,four draws against overseas players and one win on forfeit. This result should increase his world rating just above 2400 which will give Xie the International Master Title. Xie beat GM Johansen and drew with GM Antic in the event.
Australia will now have two Grandmasters (Rogers and Johansen) and 17 International Masters.
C.Gorka(ENG) v V.Smirnov(RUS) 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 e5 3. dxe5 Nxe5 4. Qd4 Nc6 5.
Qe3 Bb4+ 6. Nc3 Nf6 7. Bd2 O-O 8. O-O-O Re8 9. Qg3 Rxe4 10. a3 Rg4 11. Qh3
Bxc3 12. Bxc3 d5 13. f3 Rd4 14. g4 Rxd1+ 15. Kxd1 d4 16. Bd2 Qd5 17. Qg2 Be6 18. g5 Nd7 19. h4 Nde5 20. h5 d3 21.g6 dxc2+ 22. Kc1 Bf5 23. gxh7+ Kxh7 24.
Qg5 Nd4 0-1
Final scores (12 players,11 rounds)FM G.Xie(AUS 2375) 9,GM D.Johansen(AUS
2458) 8,FM J.Sales(PHI 2347)7.5,GM D.Antic(SCG 2437),V.Smirnov(RUS 2281),FM I.Goldenberg(AUS 2358) all 7,D.Stojic(AUS 2204) 6,FM C.Depasquale (AUS 2283) 4.5,FM E.Levi (AUS 2236) 4,C.Gorka(ENG 2194) 3,D.Hacche(AUS 2173) 2,M.Dizdarevic (BIH 2110) 1/7. The Masters was the main event in the Dandenong International Chess Festival in Melbourne. The Masters reserves was won by Domagoj Dragicevic on 7/9
FIDE Master George Xie (NSW) won the Myer Tan Australian Chess Grand Prix 2006,Grandmaster Ian Rogers(NSW) was second with IM David Smerdon(VIC) and FM Igor Goldenberg(VIC) third to fourth equal. Johny Bolens(NSW) was fifth.
Winners in the other divisions were - Women IWM Laura Moylan(NSW),Junior Dusan Stojic(VIC),Girls Jessica Kinder (QLD),Under 2000 Neil Wright(NSW) Under 1600 Andrew Brown(ACT),Unrated Ahmed Faris(NSW). There are 58 tournaments in the 2007 Grand Prix - 5 ACT,17 NSW,15 QLD,3 SA,5 TAS,8 VIC,5 WA
The Australian Open Championship(11 rounds) and supporting events at the Southern Cross Club,Tuggeranong,Canberra will be held from 28th December
2006 to 9th January 2007.
Matthew Koutnik of Newcastle has won the NSW Country Junior Championship,defeating two former winners,David Behne-Smith of Newcastle and Michal Tokarz of Wollongong. James Brodnik of Wollongong won the Under 12 title ahead of Jonathon Ginn of Newcastle. The championships were conducted in three preliminary divisions - in the north,west and south of the state - followed by finals in Sydney.
The NSW Junior Chess League will be holding three tournaments over the summer school holidays - a New Year Tournament (Wednesday to Friday 3-5 January,Summer One-Day Tournament(Wednesday 17 January)and Summer Two-Day Tournament (Wednesday - Thursday 24-25 January). For details see www.nswjcl.org.au or contact Richard Gastineau-Hills phone 9412 4579.
The European Rapid Championship held in Warsaw,Poland 16-17 December attracted 475 players including 108 titled(64 rated over 2400). The top sixteen players after eight rounds qualified for the finals. The event was won by GM Yuri Drozdovskij(UKR 2561) who defeated GM Vadim Malakhatko (UKR
2617) by 1.5 - 0.5 in the title match.
Kramnik-Topalov Rematch ?
David Bronstein 1924-2006
Peter Parr
Grandmaster David Bronstein has died at the age of 82. He was Ukraine champion in 1939, USSR champion in 1948 and 1949, winner of the first interzonal in 1948 and won the world championship candidates in 1950 beating Isaac Boleslavsky in the final. Bronstein is survived by his wife Tatiana who is Boleslavsky's daughter.
Bronstein played a 24 game match for the world title against Mikhail Botvinnik in Moscow 1951. The score stood at 10½-10½ after 21 games. Bronstein won the following vital 22nd game in fine style.
D.Bronstein v M.Botvinnik A91 1. d4 e6 2. c4 f5 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nc3 O-O 6. e3 d5 7. Nge2 c6 8. b3 Ne4 9. O-O Nd7 10. Bb2 Ndf6 11. Qd3 g5 12. cxd5 exd5 13. f3 Nxc3 14. Bxc3 g4 15. fxg4 Nxg4 16. Bh3 Nh6 17. Nf4 Bd6 18. b4 a6 19. a4 Qe7 20. Rab1 b5 21. Bg2 Ng4 22. Bd2 Nf6 23. Rb2 Bd7 24. Ra1 Ne4 25. Be1 Rfe8 26. Qb3 Kh8 27. Rba2 Qf8 28. Nd3! Rab8 29. axb5 axb5 30. Ra7 Re7 31. Ne5 Be8 32. g4! fxg4 33. Bxe4 dxe4 34. Bh4 Rxe5 35. dxe5 Bxe5 36. Rf1 Qg8 37. Bg3! Bg7 38. Qxg8+ 1-0 Botvinnik won game 23 and game 24 was drawn. Final score 12-12 and Botvinnik retained his title.
D.Bronstein v E.Geller E27 Russian Champ 1961 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 O-O 6. f3 d5 7. cxd5 exd5 8. e3 Bf5 9. Ne2 Nbd7 10. Nf4 c5 11. Bd3 Bxd3 12. Qxd3 Re8 13. O-O Rc8 14. Rb1 Qa5 15. Rxb7 Nb6 16. g4 h6 17. h4 cxd4 18. g5 dxe3 19. gxf6 Rxc3 20. Qg6! 1-0
World Champion Vladimir Kramnik(Russia) lost 2-4 to Deep Fritz in his six game match in Bonn,Germany.
Dmitry Jakovenko rated 2671 leads the Russian Championship Super-Final(12 players,average 2622)with 4.5/6 in Moscow.
14-year-old Fabiano Caruana(IM 2474)tied for first place(rating perf 2590) with GM Michele Godena in the 66th Italian Championship,but lost the play-off match 1.5-2.5
FIDE Master Jonathan Humphrey(2256) of Queensland has scored one win and four draws after five rounds of the First Saturday International Master Tournament in Budapest,Hungary. He needs to score 9/12 for an IM result.
FIDE Master Ian Thompson ENG 2322 won the 35 player Vikings weekender in Canberra scoring 5.5/6 half a point ahead of Junta Ikeda on 5. The Australian Schools Teams Championship is taking place in Canberra today and tomorrow. The four teams representing NSW are: Secondary Open-Knox Grammar School,Girls-North Sydney Girls HS,Primary Open and Girls-Summer Hill PS.
The Australian Open Championship and supporting events will be held in Canberra from 28th December 2006 to 9th January 2007. The Australian Junior in four divisions (Under 18 Open,Under 18 Girls,Under 12 Open and Under 12 Girls) 14-26 January 2007 in Canberra has already attracted a record entry of 175 players with more to come.
Results of the NSW country teams championship held in Gosford - Gosford B 12/15, Gosford A 10.5, Ettalong A, Mingara 7.5, Dubbo 5.5, Ettalong 2. FIDE Master John Curtis scored 3.5/5 on top board of the winning team and NSW country champion Paul Broekhuyse scored 5/5 on board 2.
World Champion Blunders
Peter Parr (SMH 04/12/06)
World Champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia made the worst blunder ever by any world champion when he missed a one-move checkmate in an equal position with plenty of time left. Deep Fritz 10 v V.Kramnik game 2 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 b5 4. a4 c6 5. Nc3 b4 6. Na2 Nf6 7. e5 Nd5 8. Bxc4 e6 9. Nf3 a5 10. Bg5 Qb6 11. Nc1 Ba6 12. Qe2 h6 13. Be3 Bxc4 14. Qxc4 Nd7 15. Nb3 Be7 16. Rc1 O-O 17. O-O Rfc8 18. Qe2 c5 19. Nfd2 Qc6 20. Qh5 Qxa4 21. Nxc5 Nxc5 22. dxc5 Nxe3 23. fxe3 Bxc5 24. Qxf7+ Kh8 25. Qf3 Rf8 26. Qe4 Qd7 27. Nb3 Bb6 28. Rfd1 Qf7 29. Rf1 Qa7 30. Rxf8+ Rxf8 31. Nd4 a4 32. Nxe6 Bxe3+ 33. Kh1 Bxc1 34. Nxf8 Qe3 ???(34... Kg8 35. Ng6 Bxb2 36. Qd5+ Kh7 37. Nf8+ Kh8 38. Ng6+ is equal) 35. Qh7 mate 1-0. Games 1,3 and 4 were drawn so Kramnik needs to win the last two games to win the six game match in Bonn,Germany..
Vassily Ivanchuk UKR 2741 won the Capablanca(World Champion Capa was never checkmated in his life in a tournament game) Memorial in Havana,Cuba half a point ahead of E.Bareev RUS 2683.
GM Nigel Short ENG 2677 retained his title of Commonwealth Champion by winning this year's event in Mumbai,India scoring 9 out of 10. GM C.Sandipan IND 2550 and IM M.Venkatesh IND 2466 tied for second place on 8 points. FIDE Master Lee Jones of Sydney 2139 representing Australia seeded 91st finished in 125th place scoring 4 points (performance rating 2030) in the 168 player field.
Grandmaster Ian Rogers of Sydney tied for third place scoring 5.5/8(including a third round win over former NSWCA President Malcolm Tredinnick -score 4.5) half a point behind the joint winners in the American Open in Los Angeles,USA.
The ACF has rated 233 tournaments (16724 games) in the last three months. Leading players December 2006 (29 of the top 60 are from NSW) GM I.Rogers NSW 2624 +11,IM Z.Zhao NSW 2498 +37,IM A.Wohl NSW 2479 +21,IM D.Smerdon VIC 2469 +27,GM D.Johansen VIC 2467 +12,IM G.Lane NSW 2442 +26,IM S.Solomon QLD 2428 +31,FM I.Bjelobrk NSW 2417 +51,IM P.Froelich QLD 2397 +25,FM I.Goldenberg VIC 2382 +37. Women - WM A.Caoili QLD 2196,IM I.Berezina-Feldman NSW 2192,WM N.Koshnitsky NSW 2114,I.Eriksson NSW 2110,WM L.Moylan NSW 2079,WM B.Dekic NSW 2075 Under 20-IM Z.Zhao NSW 2498,S.Chow VIC 2282,T.Rej NSW 2267. Under 18,16,14,12 - R.Song NSW 2253 also U18,U16-J.Obst SA 2185. U14-M.Illingworth NSW 2096. U12-J.Morris VIC 1927 U10-A.Stahnke QLD 1467 Girls U20-WM A.Caoili QLD 2196 Over 60-FM A.Flatow NSW 2223,S.Zaric SA 2192,FM M.Fuller NSW 2168,M.Wettstein NSW 2048. Over 70-H.Jens NSW 1995.Over 80-L.Fell NSW 1753. Most active J.Bolens NSW 57! M.Illingworth NSW 47 games.
Leading final scores in the NSW Lightning Championship (23 players, 11 rounds) FM G.Xie 9: J.Chan 8.5: J.Hu and V.Smirnov 8: M.Illingworth 7.The executive of the NSWCA was elected at the AGM last week. President - W.Gletsos, Vice-President- J.Hu, Secretary-T.Accola, Treasurer-N.Greenwood. St George defeated North Sydney 18.5 - 8.5 in the big board match last Tuesday. St George outrated their opponents on each of the 27 boards by an average of 165 rating points per board.
The popular annual 7 round St. George Leagues Club Summer Open tournament starts tomorrow evening.
Chess Anand wins lightning Peter Parr
Former World Champion Vishy Anand won the Tal Memorial five minute blitz tournament in Moscow a full two points ahead of second place. Eighteen players rated 2650 and above including 11 rated above 2700 took part in the double round robin event of 34 games. Anand did not lose a single mini-match against any of his 17 opponents.
Leading final scores: V.Anand (IND 2779) 23: L.Aronian (ARM 2741) 21, T.Radjabov (AZE 2729) & P.Svidler (RUS 2750) 20.5: R.Ponomariov (URK 2703) 19.5: A.Morozevich (RUS 2747), A.Grischuk (RUS 2710) and B.Gelfand (ISR 2733) 18: M.Carlsen (NOR 2698), A.Karpov (RUS 2668) 17.5.
Mikhail Tal,World Champion 1960-1961 was the most brilliant attacking player of all time. Here is one of his memorable games M.Tal(RUS) v GM G.Tringov(BUL) Amsterdam IZ 1964 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. Nf3 c6 5. Bg5 Qb6 6. Qd2 Qxb2 7. Rb1 Qa3 8. Bc4 Qa5 9. O-O e6 10. Rfe1 a6 11. Bf4 e5 12. dxe5 dxe5 13. Qd6 Qxc3 14. Red1 Nd7 15. Bxf7+ Kxf7 16. Ng5+ Ke8 17. Qe6+ 1-0
The Commonwealth Championship is in progress in the 120 foot Glass Pyramid in Borivali,a suburb of Mumbai, India. The defending champion,top seed, and President of the Commonwealth Chess Association GM Nigel Short ENG 2677 is in the joint lead with IM M.Venkatesh IND 2466 on 5.5/6. There are 148 players from India and 20 players from 11 other countries with a total of 13 GM and 8 WGM. Australia's representative FIDE Master Lee Jones of Sydney rated 2139 is seeded 91st and has recovered from 0/2 to 3/6.
World Champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia drew a quiet first game in 47 moves in his six game match against a chess computer program in Bonn,Germany. The computer which examines over eight million positions per second will have the white pieces in the second game tonight.Kramnik is paid AUS $ 660,000 appearance money and a further AUS $ 660,000 if he wins the match.
Top seed Igor Bjelobrk won the Ralph Seberry Memorial Grand Prix Weekender at Norths defeating seeds 2, 3, 4 & 5 and drawing only with junior Max Illingworth. Johny Bolens drew with George Xie in the last round to share second place.
Leading final scores (40 players, 7 rounds) FM I.Bjelobrk 2366 6.5, FM G.Xie 2315 and J.Bolens 2031 5.5, A.Ayvazyan 2214, A.Mendes Da Costa 1940 and R.Morales 1579 5.
The 26th annual Fisher's Ghost Open at Campbelltown Catholic Club was won by FM George Xie 2315 scoring 7/7 followed by Johny Bolens 2031 on 5.5 and Jamie Boyce 1720 on 4.5.
Emeritus Prof Bernard Y Mills of Sydney will be presented with the Grote Reber Medal this afternoon at the University of Sydney,School of Physics,for his pioneering and lifetime contributions to radio astronomy including the "Mills Cross" in 1953. Mills,now aged 86,was one of Australia's best chess players in the 1950's and his grandfather Daniel Y Mills was 8 times Chess Champion of Scotland between 1885 and 1900.
Arianne Caoili,ranked first on the ACF female rating list,has reached the Grand Final of "Dancing with the Stars" on Channel 7 on Tuesday evening.
The NSW Country Teams Championship will be played at Central Coast Leagues Club, Gosford 2-3 December.
CHESS TRIPLE TIE IN MOSCOW
Peter Parr
The Mikhail Tal Memorial in Moscow resulted in a triple tie for first place between Peter Leko,Ruslan Ponomariov and Levon Aronian. There were only 14 decisive and 31 drawn games in the event. The 5 games in the final round were drawn in 19,14,16,17 and 26 moves but most of the draws in earlier rounds were hard fought.
P.Svidler (2750) v A.Grischuk (2710)Rd 6 B 90 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be3 Ng4 7. Bc1 Nf6 8. f3 Qb6 9. g4 Nc6 10. Nb3 e6 11. Bf4 Qc7 12. Qd2 Ne5! 13. Be2 Be7 14. Bg3 b5 15. g5 Nfd7 16. h4 Nb6 17. Qd4 O-O 18. O-O-O Rd8 19. a3 Nec4 20. Bxc4 bxc4! 21. Nd2 e5 22. Qe3 Be6 23. Kb1 Rab8 24. Ka1 Qc6 25. Rb1 Na4 26. Rhd1 Rd7! 27. f4 exf4 28. Bxf4 Rdb7 29. Nxa4 Qxa4 30. Qc3 g6 31. h5 gxh5 32. Rh1 Bf8 33. Rxh5 Bg7 34. e5 d5 35. Be3 Bf5 36. Bd4 Bxc2 37. e6 Bxb1 38. Nxb1 fxe6 0-1 Final scores (10 players av 2727,9 rounds) P.Leko HUN 2741,R.Ponomariov UKR 2703,L.Aronian ARM 2741 5.5,B.Gelfand ISR 2733 5,S.Mamedyarov AZE 2728,A.Grischuk RUS 2710,P.Svidler RUS 2750 4.5,A.Shirov ESP 2720,M.Carlsen NOR 2698 3.5,A.Morozevich RUS 2747 3
International Arbiter Jason Lyons of Sydney has arrived in Doha, Qatar as Presentation Manager for Chess in the 15th Asian Games.Two black and white knights decorate one of Doha sky-scrapers in front of the playing venue. Former World Womens Champion Zhu Chen of Qatar and former World Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan are among the competitors in the Rapid Individual and National Team tournaments lasting 16 days. Qualification started on Saturday and the main events are held 1-15 December. Chess was recognised by the International Olympic Committee in June 1999 giving chess official status as a sport and is making its Asian Games (with Olympic Medals) debut in Qatar. The Opening Ceremony budget is higher than Sydney's $70 million with the largest LED screen in history(5 times bigger than the one used by U2). 45 countries will be competing in 40 sports.
FIDE Master George Xie increased his lead in the Myer Tan Australian Grand Prix(Xie 117.83,GM I.Rogers 100.75) by winning the Coffs Harbour Open weekender conceding only half a point in the final round. Grandmaster Dejan Antic,the top seed lost to Xie,and juniors Max Illingworth (draw with Antic,loss to Xie) and Benjamin Harris both had excellent results.
Leading final scores (42 players,7 rounds) G.Xie 2315 6.5,M.Illingworth 1929,D.Antic 2478,B.Harris 1669 all 5.5
Dr Vladimir Smirnov won the Ford Memorial at Norths finishing well clear of the 51 player field scoring 8 wins and 1 draw in the 9 round event.
A Fundraising Dinner will be held at Parramatta RSL Club on Friday evening 24th November. Proceeds will go towards the Sydney International Open and Parramatta Chess Festival 10-14 April 2007. The NSW State Lightning Championship will be held at Ryde-Eastwood Leagues Club on Sunday 26th November starting at 11am and will be followed by the Annual General Meeting of the NSWCA at 2.30pm
Leading final scores in the Victorian State Championship(11 players,10 games) Dusan Stojic and FM Igor Goldenberg 8,IM Leonid Sandler 7,Malcolm Pike 6.
Arianne Caoili,the favorite,has reached the last 3 in the Channel 7 "Dancing with the Stars" program on Tuesday evenings. Arianne is ranked number 1 on the Australian Chess Federation female rating list and has two Womens Grandmaster Results - one more needed for the Grandmaster Title.
Ponomariov leads in Moscow
Peter Parr
Former World Champion Ruslan Ponomariov has taken the lead with four rounds to play in the Mikhail Tal Memorial Super-Grandmaster tournament in Moscow. The event is held in memory of Mikhail Tal 1936-1992 the greatest attacking player in history. Tal became the youngest World Champion(at that time) aged 23 by defeating Mikhail Botvinnik in 1960. Tal lost the return match in 1961 suffering from kidney problems and remained in poor health for the rest of his life. The ten players are all ranked in the top 21 in the world with an average rating of 2727 and the prize fund is AUS $ 134,000.
M.Carlsen(age 15) v B.Gelfand 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. Nh4 Bg4 7. h3 Bh5 8. g4 Bg6 9. Nxg6 hxg6 10. e3 e6 11. Bxc4 Bb4 12. Bf1(N) Qd5 13. f3 Qa5 14. Bg2 c5 15. dxc5 Nc6 16. O-O O-O 17. f4 Qxc5 18. g5 Rfd8 19. Qe2 Bxc3 20. bxc3 Nd5 21. Qb5 Qxc3 22. Rb1 Ndb4 23. Qe2 Rac8 24. Be4 Na5 25. Bb2 Qc4 26. Qg2 Nb3 27. Bxb7 Rd2 28. Qf3 Rcd8 29. Be5 Nc5 30. Rbc1 Nc2 31. Bc6 a6 32. Rf2 Nb3 33. Rcf1 Nb4 34. Qe4 Qxc6 35. Qxb4 Rxf2 36. Rxf2 Qc1+ 37. Kg2 Qxe3 38. Qb7 Nd2 0-1
Progress scores after round 5 - R.Ponomariov UKR 2703 3.5,P.Svidler RUS 2750,P.Leko HUN 2741,L.Aronian ARM 2741 all 3,S.Mamedyarov AZE 2728,B.Gelfand ISR 2733 2.5,A.Shirov ESP 2720,M.Carlsen NOR 2698,A.Morozevich RUS 2747 2,A.Grischuk RUS 2710 1.5
The rapid chess festival on the French Island of Corsica with a prize fund of AUS $ 167,000 attracted 468 players. Sixteen leading grandmasters took part in the main event with two former World Champions meeting in the final when Rustam Kasimdzhanov UZB 2672 defeated the top seed Viswanathan Anand IND 2779 by 1.5-0.5
D.Stojic and I.Goldenberg share the lead on 7/9 with one round to play in the Victorian State Championship.
The Elwood,Melbourne 61 player Grand Prix weekender was won by 13-year-old Zhigen Wilson Lin(1881) who scored 6/7 with a performance rating over 2560. He played 3 International Masters beating Mirko Rujevic,Guy West and drawing with Stephen Solomon. Four players tied for second place - IM S.Solomon 2397,GM D.Johansen 2455,FM I.Goldenberg 2346 and IM G.West 2322 all on 5.5 points.
Thirty players from Picton, Bathurst, Canberra, Coffs Harbour, Newcastle and Sydney competed in the Gosford Open and NSW Country Championship weekend tournament. Johny Bolens of Sydney (seeded 2nd) was the overall winner scoring 6.5 points from 7 games. Paul Broekhuyse, the top seed, and 1982 Australian Junior Champion become the NSW Country Champion finishing outright second losing to Bolens in round 4 but winning the other six games. Zach Berry-Porter was third on 5.5 points with five wins a draw with Bolens and a loss to Broekhuyse.He won the Lloyd Fell Shield and the Junior Shield was won by Jonathan Ren.
The Ralph Seberry Memorial Grand Prix weekender organised by the NSW Chess Association will be held at Norths, Cammeray on 18th and 19th November. The seven round event has a prize fund of $2330 based on 64 players with a wide range of rating division and junior prizes in addition to the three main prizes. Details contact Brett Tindall on 8756 5974.
Radjabov wins Rapid
Peter Parr (SMH 06/11/06)
Teimour Radjabov(aged 19) of Azerbaijan beat Sergey Karjakin (aged 16) of Ukraine 1.5 -0.5 in the final(1st prize AUS $ 27000) of the seventh biennial Cap D'Agde Rapid Tournament in France. Semi-final results - S.Karjakin(UKR 2672) 1.5-0.5 M.Carlsen(NOR 2698),T.Radjabov(AZE 2729) 2 A.Volokitin (UKR 2645) 0. Former World Champion (1975-1985) Anatoly Karpov(RUS 2668) was knocked out in a preliminary group losing three times to chinese girl Zhao Xue(2467)and once to Indian girl Humpy Koneru(2545).
The following exciting game was played in round 6 T.Radjabov (2729) - A.Stefanova (2489) D10 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 dxc4 4. e3 b5 5. a4 b4 6. Ne4 Qd5 7. Ng3 e5 8. Nf3 exd4 9. e4 Qa5 10. Bxc4 Ba6 11. Qxd4 Nf6 12. O-O Qc5 13. Bxa6 Nxa6 14. Qd3 Qa5 15. Qc4 Nc5 16. Be3 Qa6 17. Qc2 Ne6 18. h3 g6 19. Nd4 c5 20. Nxe6 Qxe6 21. f4 h5 22. f5 gxf5 23. Nxf5 Qxe4 24. Qd2 Qd5 25. Qe2 Qe6 26. Rad1 Nd7 27. Qf3 Rc8 28. Rd6 Qe5 29. Rd5 Qxb2 30. Bd4 cxd4 31. Ng7+ Kd8 32. Rxd7+ Kxd7 33. Qd5+ 1-0
IM Aleks Wohl(NSW 2427)lost to FM R.Salvador(PHI 2455)in the last round costing him a tie for first in the 108 player Arco Open in Italy.
The Mikhail Tal Memorial Super Grandmaster Tournament starts tonight in Moscow (cat 20,average rating 2727,10 players,9 rounds). The players are Aronian,Svidler,Leko,Shirov,Gelfand,Mamedyarov,Carlsen,Morozevich,Grischuk and Ponomariov.
FIDE Master Greg Canfell won his fifth NSW State Championship drawing with junior Max Illingworth in the last round. Ilija Ilic defeated Andrew Bird, the defending champion, to finish outright second and Patrick Halpin beat Simon Quick to tie for third.
Leading final scores (10 players,9 rounds) FM G.Canfell 8, I.Ilic 6.5, M.Illingworth (undefeated) and P.Halpin 6, A.Bird 4½.
The Laurieton Grand Prix weekender was won on count-back by Mike Canfell the father of NSW Champion Greg. Leading final scores(28 players,7 rounds) M.Canfell,J.Bolens and D.Castor 5.5. Leading scores in the Myer Tan Australian Grand Prix - FM G.Xie(NSW) 104.5,GM I.Rogers(NSW) 100.75,D.Stojic(VIC) 76.75,IM D.Smerdon(VIC) 58.0
Dr Vladimir Smirnov leads the Ford Memorial at Norths with 7.5/8 and one round to play. The following tactical win was played in round 7 Adrian Chek - V.Smirnov 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 e5 3. d5 Nce7 4. d6 cxd6 5. c4 d5 6. cxd5 Ng6 7. Be3 Bb4+ 8. Nc3 Nf6 9. Bd3 O-O 10. Nge2 d6 11. O-O Ng4 12. Bd2 Bc5 13. h3 Nxf2 14. Rxf2 f5 15. Be1 f4 16. Kh2 Bxf2 17. Bxf2 f3 18. gxf3 Rxf3 19. Bg3 Qg5 20. Qa4 Bxh3 21. Kxh3 Nf4+ 22. Kh2 Qh5+ 23. Kg1 Qh3 24. Nxf4 Rxg3+ 25. Kf2 Rf8 26. Nce2 Rxd3 27. Rg1 exf4 28. Qc4 Qh4+ 0-1
The Metropolitan NSW Interleagues Premiership presentation night will be held on Wednesday evening at Ryde-Eastwood Leagues Club.The joint winners were A.Flatow,A.Rose and E.Puzon - club winner was Canterbury.
The third annual Grand Prix Weekender at Coffs Harbour Catholic Club will be held on 11th and 12th November.Grandmaster Dejan Antic(SCG 2437) has entered. Prizes will be awarded to the top five players, rating divisions, senior, junior and cadet. Details contact former NSWCA President John Maddix Tel (02) 6653 5113
TOPALOV THIRD IN ESSENT
Peter Parr
Veselin Topalov,ranked World number 1,finished a distant third in the Crown Group in Essent,Hoogeveen,Netherlands. The four player event was won jointly by Shakhriyar Mamedyarov AZE 2728 and Judith Polgar HUN 2710 on 4.5/6 ahead of Veselin Topalov BUL 2813 on 2.5 and Ivan Sokolov NED 2670 on 0.5. The winners both performed above 2900 rating level. Polgar,the best female player ever,beat Topalov in both games. Topalov lost his World Title Match 6-6 and 1.5-2.5 rapid play-off against Vladimir Kramnik(Russia) just over two weeks ago.
Four Australians competed in the Essent Open event. Australian Champion GM Ian Rogers(2526)seeded 12th finished 10th scoring 6/9(pr 2539),IM David Smerdon (2473)scored 5/9(pr 2358). Queensland Junior Moulthun Ly (2274) scored his second International Master result scoring 5/9 (performance rating 2462) and FM Manuel Weeks (2247)3.5 (pr 2153).
Moulthun Ly won the Australian Junior under 18 title in Jan 2005 at the age of 13 yrs and 2 months. He scored his first IM result(2450 pr needed) in the World Open in Philadelphia,USA in July 2006 with a 2497 pr. Ly needs one more similar result and a 2400 rating to gain the IM title.
IM Aleks Wohl of Wilsons Creek NSW seeded seventh in the 108 player Arco Open in Italy is in joint second place with one round to play. IM J.Aagaard SCO 2464 has 6.5/8,IM A.Wohl AUS 2427,GM D.Blagojevic SCG 2534,GM H.Teske GER 2514,FM R.Salvador PHI 2455 etc
Final scores of the sixteen Australian juniors competing in the World Youth Championship(794 players from 56 countries including 83 titled players) in Batumi Georgia- total score 78 points out of 176 games(44%). Each event was 11 rounds. U18 L.Wilson 4.5 U16 J.Obst 5 U14 A.Brown 5.5 U12 R.Song 7 U10 J.Lau 4.5 L.Matheson 4.5 A.Grossmann 4.5 O.Wang 3.5 U8 C.Koh 6.5 Girls U18 A.Jule 4.5 U16 J.Kinder 4 U14 WFM A.Song 4.5 U12 S.Yu 6.5 U10 M.Setiabudi 5 A.Byrne 4 C.Koh 4. The City of Sydney Mens Champion Raymond Song who has recently moved to Shanghai had the best result of the Australian players scoring 7/11 finishing fifteenth in the Under 12 division. India won 5 gold,2silver,3 bronze ahead of Georgia 2nd with two gold,silver and bronze.
Canberra junior Junta Ikeda finished equal first in the 30th Japan Open earlier this month defeating Ryosuke Nanjo (who played board 1 for Japan in the last Olympiad) in round 7. Lenier Dominguez CUB 2655 won the category 14 GM event in Barcelona scoring 8/9 (pr over 2900)well ahead of GM Vassily Ivanchuk UKR 2741 on 6.5 points in second place.
FIDE Master Greg Canfell has won the NSW Championship Title for the fifth time - a record in the modern era.
IM Lajos Steiner won the title a record nine times between 1940 and 1958.Canfell won his first seven games in this year's event and agreed to a quick draw with Ilia Ilic in round 8 and is a full two points ahead of the field with only one game to play. The other leading results were M.Illingworth 0.5 A.Safarian 0.5, R.Kolln 0 P.Halpin 1.Leading scores (10 players, 9 rounds) G.Canfell 7.5/8, I.Ilic, M.Illingworth 5.5, P.Halpin 5.
The Gosford Open Grand Prix Weekend tournament will be held at Central Leagues Club, Gosford on 4th-5th November. Open prizes and under 1800, 1600, 1400 and 1200 rating prizes will be awarded in the seven round event as well as the title of NSW Country Champion.
Juniors in Batumi
Peter Parr
There are sixteen Australian Juniors competing in eleven of the twelve divisions of the World Youth Championship in Batumi,Georgia.Russia have sent no players. The Australian delegation including trainers and parents were held up for a number of hours with visa problems crossing the border by bus from Turkey to Georgia finally arriving at 5am. Australian players scores after round 3 (total 17.5/48) U18 L.Wilson 0.5,U16 J.Obst 1,U14 A.Brown 1,U12 R.Song 2,U10 J.Lau 2,L.Matheson 1,O.Wang 0.5,A.Grossmann 0 U 8 C.Koh 1 Girls U18 A.Jule 2(rating performance so far 2361),U16 J.Kinder 1,U14 WFM A.Song 1,U12 S.Yu 1.5,U10 A.Byrne 1.5,M.Setiabudi 1.5,C.Koh 0.
Raymond Song seeded 2nd in the under 12 tied for first in the World Under 10 in 2004 and became the City of Sydney(adult) Champion in April 2006 before moving to Shanghai,China with his family in June 2006.
Four Australians are competing in the Essent Open,Netherlands. Australian Champion GM Ian Rogers and Australian number 2 IM David Smerdon have each scored one out of two and FM Manuel Weeks 0.5. Moulthun Ly(2274) of Queensland beat Russian GM Vyacheslav Ikonnikov(2587)and drew with J.Willemze(NED 2423) in the first two rounds.
Moulthun Ly became the youngest ever Australian under 18 Junior Champion in January 2005 at the age of 13 yrs and 2 months. He scored his first International Master result with a remarkable 2497 rating performance in July 2006 in the World Open in Philadelphia,USA.
Seventeen-year-old Zaven Andriasian of Armenia has won the World Junior Championship(U 20) held in Tigran Petrosian Chess House in his home city of Yerevan.He defeated his main rival in the following game in round 12 Vitiugov,N (2596) - Andriasian,Z (2463) [D46] 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Bd3 Nbd7 6.00 dxc4 7.Bxc4 Bd6 8.Nc3 00 9.e4 e5 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bh4 Qe7 12.Re1 Re8 13.Bf1 exd4 14.Nxd4 Nf8 15.Nf3 Bg4 16.h3 Bxf3 17.Qxf3 Be5 18.a3 Ng6 19.Bxf6 Bxf6 20.Rad1 Rad8 21.Qe3 Be5 22.g3 Qf6 23.Kg2 Bd4 24.Qf3 Qg5 25.Kh1 Qc5 26.Rc1 Bxf2 27.Nd5 Qd4 28.Rcd1 Qxb2 29.Re2 Qe5 30.Rxf2 cxd5 31.exd5 Re7 32.Bg2 Qd6 33.Rc1 Rde8 34.Qc3 Nf8 35.Rcf1 Nd7 36.Rf4 Nf6 37.Qb4 Rd8 38.Rd1 Re3 39.Qxd6 Rxd6 40.Rf3 Rxd5 41.Rxe3 Rxd1+ 42.Kh2 b6 43.g4 Kf8 44.a4 Rd4 45.Bc6 Rxg4 01
Leading final scores (83 players including 11 GM and 22 IM) IM Z.Andriasian (ARM 2463) 9.5/13,IM N.Vitiugov(RUS 2596),GM L.Kryvoruchko(UKR 2581),GM L.Pantsulaia(GEO 2596) 9. Tomek Rej(AUS,Sydney 2257)seeded 67th was 63rd scoring 5.5(pr 2267) and Nick Chernih(AUS,Sydney 2062) seeded 81st was 79th scoring 4.5(pr 2026). Girls (57 players including 10 WGM,11 WIM) in count-back order WGM Y.Shen(CHN 2468),WFM Y.Hou(CHN 2481),WGM S.Melia(Geo 2395),WGM B.Mongontuul(MGL 2383) all 9/13. Twelve-year-old Yifan Hou is a great talent who also scored 11/13 pr 2596 in the recent Chess Olympiad in Turin.
WFM Shannon Oliver (AUS,Canberra 1918)seeded 53rd was 44th scoring 6/13 (pr 1974)
NSW Championship leading results round 7 - G.Canfell 1 G.Charles 0,P.Halpin 0 M.Illingworth 1,A.Safarian 0 I.Ilic 1. Leading scores (10 players,9 rounds) Canfell 7/7,Illingworth and Ilic 5,Halpin and Bird 4. Canfell plays Ilic and Illingworth in the last two rounds.
The next Grand Prix Weekender will be the Laurieton Spring Open 28- 29th October.
KRAMNIK IS WORLD CHAMPION
Peter Parr
Thirty-one year old Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) is the new undisputed World Champion. He defeated FIDE Champion Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) 2.5 -1.5 in the rapid tie-break after the 12 game unification match resulted 6-6 in Elista,Kalmykia,Russia.
Game 12 V.Kramnik 2743 - V.Topalov 2813 1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 e3 Bf5 5 Nc3 e6 6 Nh4 Bg6 7 Nxg6 hxg6 8 g3 Nbd7 9 Bd2 Bb4 10 Qb3 Bxc3 11 Bxc3 Ne4 12 Bg2 Nxc3 13 Qxc3 f5 A Stonewall set up but white stands slightly better with active play on the queenside.14 0-0 Qe7 15 cxd5 exd5 16 b4 Nf6 17 Rfc1 Ne4 18 Qb2 0-0 19 b5 Rac8 20 bxc6 bxc6 21 Qe2 g5 22 Rab1 Qd7 23 Rc2 Rf6 24 Rbc1 g4 25 Rb2 Rh6 26 Qa6 Rc7 27 Rb8+ Kh7 28 Qa3 Rb7 29 Qf8 Rxb8 30 Qxb8 Qf7 31 Qc8 Qh5 32 Kf1 Nd2+ 33 Ke1 Nc4 34 Bf1 Rf6 35 Bxc4 dxc4 36 Rxc4 Qxh2 37 Ke2 Qh1 38 Rc5 Qb1 39 Qa6 Qb2+ 40 Kf1 Qb1+ 41 Ke2 Qb2+ 42 Kf1 Rh6 43 Qd3 g6 44 Qb3 Rh1+ 45 Kg2 Rh2+ 46 Kxh2 Qxf2+ 47 Kh1 Qf1+ 0.5 - 0.5
Kramnik was born in Moscow on June 25th 1975,learned the moves at the age of 4 and was taught by Botvinnik and Kasparov at age 11. He won the World Under 18 title in 1991. He defeated Garry Kasparov (Russia) for the Classical World Title in November 2000 in London scoring 8.5-6.5(2 wins,13 draws,no losses)
Kramnik was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2005 requiring intense medical treatment and no tournaments for six months. He returned in much better health at the Turin Olympiad in May 2006 with the best performance rating of the 1307 players.
Three Russian teams - Tomsk 400(Morozevich 2747 scored 5/6 pr 2916),Ladya Kazan and Ural Sverdlovskaya(4 players over 2700) took the gold,silver and bronze medals in the European Club Cup in Fuegen,Austria(56 teams,406 players including 124 Grandmasters from 46 countries).
International Master Aleks Wohl of Wilsons Creek,NSW has spent the last month teaching children chess in Africa - Johannesburg,Soweto and Pretoria.
The World Junior Under 20 Championships are in progress in Yerevan,Armenia. Scores after round 11 - Boys (83 players,13 rounds) IM N.Vitiugov ( RUS 2596) 8.5,IM Z.Andriasian (ARM 2463) 8. Tomek Rej of Sydney rated 2257 and seeded 67th is in 59th place perf rating 2281 has scored 5, Nick Chernih of Sydney rated 2062 and seeded 81st is in 80th place perf rating 1972 has scored 3.5. Girls ( 57 players,13 rounds) WGM S.Melia (GEO 2395) 8/11. WFM Shannon Oliver of Canberra rated 1918 and seeded 53rd is in 49th place perf rating 1974 has scored 4.5
Australia has entered sixteen players(there are 12 divisions under 8,10,12,14,16,18 boys and girls) in the World Youth Championships from 18th -29th October in Batumi,Georgia.
FIDE Master Greg Canfell,four times NSW State Champion,has taken a full two point lead with three games to play in this year's title event.Leading results round 6 - M.Nanavati 0 G.Canfell 1, I.Ilic 1 P.Halpin 0, M.Illingworth ½ R.Kolln ½. Leading scores (10 players, 9 rounds) G.Canfell 6, I.Ilic, M.Illingworth and P.Halpin 4.
The Berger Cup starts tonight at The Hakoah Club,Bondi and the Canterbury Open (contact Paul Sike 9533 1759) starts next Monday evening 23rd October.
Thirteen-year-old Max Illingworth has won the 2006 City of Sydney Junior Under 18 Championship. He was undefeated but conceded three draws in the eight round tournament,finishing a full point ahead of William Xu and Joshua Levin who shared second place. Adrian Chau achieved a similar result in the Under 15 Championship - but the Under 12's resulted in a tie between Pasan Perera and Cedric Koh. A play-off will be held for the Under 12 Title. Leading scores were - Under 18(14 players,8 rounds) M. Illingworth 6.5,W. Xu,J.Levin 5.5. Under 15 (31 players,8 rounds) A.Chau 6.5,A.Jung,D.Shi,B.Cheung,D.Shurapey,S.Kumar 5.5 each. Under 12(47 players,11 rounds) P.Perera,C.Koh 8.5,A.Pan,J.Qiao,E.Tsui 8 . THE NSW Junior League's Spring One-Day event attracted 245 players and was won by 16-year-old Anish Kumar with 7.5/8 ahead of C.Peng,J.Tse,J.Yuen,J.Nguyen and B.Encel 7
Kramnik 5.5 - Topalov 5.5
Peter Parr
The eleventh game of the World Championship Match between Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) and Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) was a fighting 66 move draw in Elista, Kalmykia, Russia.
The final twelfth game starts tonight at 9.00pm Sydney time with the score at 5.5 - 5.5.
If the game is drawn the tie break will be played on Friday. This consists of four rapid-play games and if tied 2-2 two lightning games will follow.
If the score is still level the title of World Champion will be decided in a single decisive sudden death lightning game.
V.Kramnik
- V.TopalovGame
10 - E081. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O c6 8. Bf4
Nbd7 9. Qc2 a5!? (9 b6 is more common here.) 10. Rd1 Nh5 11. Bc1!? (A strange looking retreat but probably the best square for the bishop) 11...b5 12. cxd5 cxd5 13. e4! (A good move that opens up the position and takes advantage of black's lack of development) 13...dxe4 (Otherwise white continues with e5) 14. Qxe4 Rb8 15. Qe2 Nhf6 (Not 15 Bb7 because of 16.Ne5!) 16. Bf4 Rb6 17. Ne5 Nd5 18. Bxd5! exd5 19. Nc3 Nf6 20. Nxb5 Ba6 21. a4 Ne4 22. Rdc1 Qe8 23. Rc7 Bd8 24. Ra7 f6? (It was much better to head for an inferior ending with 24 Bxb5!? Topalov's blunder loses immediately) 25. Nd7 Rf7 26. Nxb6 Rxa7 27. Nxd5 Rd7 28. Ndc3 Rxd4 29. Re1 (The simple 29.f3!? was even better) 29...f5 30. Qc2 Rb4 31. Nd5 Rxb5 32. axb5 Qxb5 33. Nc7 Qc4 34. Qd1 Bxc7 35. Qd7 h6 36. Qxc7 Qb4 37. Qb8+ Qxb8 38. Bxb8 Nd2 39. Ra1 g5 40. f4 Nb3 41. Ra3 Bc4 42. Bc7 g4 43. Bxa5 1-0V.Topalov - V.Kramnik
Game 11 - D12
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Bg6 7. Nxg6 hxg6 8. Rb1(N) (A new move, the idea is for a quick queenside advance) 8...Nbd7 9. c5 a5 (This way black gets an open file once white plays a3-b4) 10. a3 e5! (The traditional way to respond to a flank attack, strike in the centre!) 11. b4 axb4 12. axb4 Qc7 13. f4 exf4 (13 Nh5!? led to some interesting complications eg. 14.fxe5 Ng3 15.Rg1 Rxh2 16.Qf3 Be7 17.Bd3 Bh4 18.Kd1 and things are far from clear. Kramnik prefers a more solid approach and avoids the possibility that Topalov might have prepared these lines at home) 14. exf4 Be7 15. Be2 Nf8 (Better to regroup the knight before castling. Black's king for the time being is safer in the centre with both his rooks on open files) 16. O-O Ne6 17. g3 Qd7 18. Qd3 Ne4! (A good decision. The resulting ending is equal even with white having the bishop pair) 19. Nxe4 dxe4 20. Qxe4 Qxd4+ 21. Qxd4 Nxd4 22. Bc4 O-O 23. Kg2 Ra4 24. Rd1 Rd8 25. Be3 Bf6 26. g4 Kf8 27. Bf2 Ne6 28. Rxd8+ Bxd8 29. f5 (A risky move which attacks but leaves white with weaker pawns) 29...gxf5 30. gxf5 Nf4+ 31. Kf3 Nh5 32. Rb3 Bc7 33. h4 Nf6 34. Bd3 Nd7 35. Be4 Ne5+ 36. Kg2 Ra2 37. Bb1 Rd2 (White has over pressed and now probably stands slightly worse) 38. Kf1 Ng4 39. Bg1 Bh2 40. Ke1 Rd5 41. Bf2 Ke7 42. h5 Nxf2 43. Kxf2 Kf6 44. Kf3 Rd4 45. b5 Rc4 46. bxc6 bxc6 47. Rb6 Rxc5 48. Be4 Kg5 (Black will win a pawn but the presence of opposite colour bishops makes winning unlikely) 49. Rxc6 Ra5 (Exchanging rooks would make white's task easy) 50. Rb6 Ra3+ 51. Kg2 Bc7 52. Rb7 Rc3 53. Kf2 Kxh5 54. Bd5 f6 55. Ke2 Kg4 56. Be4 Kf4 57. Bd3 Rc5 58. Rb4+ Kg3 59. Rc4 Re5+ 60. Re4 Ra5 61. Re3+ Kg2 62. Be4+ Kh2 63. Rb3 Ra2+ 64. Kd3 Bf4 65. Kc4 Re2 66. Kd5 1/2-1/2 (Black can make no progress)
Topalov 5 Kramnik 5
Peter Parr
Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) after losing the eighth and ninth games to Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) fought back to win the tenth game in the World Championship Match in Elista, Kalmykia, Russia.
V.
Kramnik - V.TopalovGame 8 - D47
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 (Topalov normally plays the a6 Slav) 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Be2 (More common here is 8.Bd3 but Kramnik prefers a more solid continuation) 8...Bb7 9. O-O b4 10. Na4 c5 11. dxc5 Nxc5 12. Bb5+ Ncd7 13. Ne5 Qc7 14. Qd4 Rd8 15. Bd2 Qa5!? (A new move) 16. Bc6 Be7 17. Rfc1 Bxc6 18. Nxc6 Qxa4 19. Nxd8 Bxd8 20. Qxb4 Qxb4 21. Bxb4 Nd5 22. Bd6 f5 23. Rc8 N5b6 24. Rc6 Be7 25. Rd1 Kf7 26. Rc7 Ra8 27. Rb7 Ke8 28. Bxe7 Kxe7 29. Rc1 a5 30. Rc6 Nd5 31. h4?! (This move allows black to open up a file later for his rook) 31...h6 32. a4 g5 33. hxg5 hxg5 34. Kf1 g4 35. Ke2 N5f6 36. b3 Ne8 37. f3 g3! (A good move that fixes the pawn structure. Now black can improve the position of his knights and then bring his rook in via the h-file. White is getting in real trouble now) 38. Rc1 Nef6 39. f4 (It's hard to know what white's best is here but the text creating holes that will be filled by the black's cavalry does not look very appealing) 39 .Kd6 40. Kf3 Nd5 41. Kxg3? (A big mistake giving black active play with his rook. Better was 41.Rb5!? Although black still stands much better) 41... Nc5 42. Rg7 Rb8 43. Ra7 Rg8+ 44. Kf3 Ne4 (White now has to not only worry about losing his pawns but also mate threats) 45. Ra6+ Ke7 46. Rxa5 Rg3+ 47. Ke2 Rxe3+ 48. Kf1 Rxb3 49. Ra7+ Kf6 50. Ra8 Nxf4 51. Ra1 Rb2 52. a5 Rf2+ (Checkmate follows in a few moves) 0-1
V.Topalov - V.Kramnik
Game 9 - D12
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nh4 Bg6 7. Nxg6 hxg6 8. a3!? (This move has been rarely seen, more usual is 8.Bd2 or 8.g3) 8...Nbd7 9. g3 Be7 10. f4 (Setting up a Stonewall type structure) 10...dxc4 (Surrendering the centre but Kramnik probably was concerned about 11.c5 and getting smothered. But 10 a5!? was possible as now 11.c5 can be answered with 11...b6!) 11. Bxc4 O-O 12. e4 b5 13. Be2 b4 14. axb4 Bxb4 15.Bf3 Qb6 (15...c5!? was probably better) 16. O-O e5 (Kramnik was relying on this move for counter play but white is still much better) 17. Be3 Rad8 (At first sight it looks like white's centre might collapse but after white's next move the pin is released and combined with the bishop pair white stands much better) 18. Na4 Qb8 (It's not clear where the best square for the queen is but 18 Qb5!? might have been better) 19. Qc2 exf4 20. Bxf4 Qb7 21. Rad1 Rfe8 22. Bg5 Be7 23. Kh1 Nh7 (23 Qb4!? deserved attention) 24. Be3 Bg5 25. Bg1 Nhf8 26. h4 Be7 27. e5 Nb8 28. Nc3 Bb4 29. Qg2 Qc8 30. Rc1 Bxc3? (Black is now in serious trouble. White's centre is very strong suppported by the bishop pair.) 31. bxc3 Ne6 32. Bg4 Qc7 33. Rcd1 Nd7 34. Qa2 Nb6 35. Rf3 Nf8 36. Rdf1 Re7 37. Be3 Nh7 (37 Rd5 would have stopped white's next move but after 38.Bg5 black is still lost) 38. Rxf7! Nd5 39. R7f3 (39.Be6 was even better) 1-0
The match started with two wins to Kramnik followed by two draws.
Kramnik lost on forfeit in game 5 resulting in a bitter dispute lasting three days.
Games 6 and 7 were drawn leaving Kramnik still ahead 4-3. Topalov won the above two games and lost the tenth making the score 5-5.
If the 12 game match is tied 6-6 the winner will be decided by tie-break games on Friday.
Topalov 5 Kramnik 4
The 2006 NSW Girls Championship has been won by thirteen-year-old Joanne Tan, who won the NSW Girls Under 12 title two years ago. This year's Girls Under 12 champion is Charmian Zhang. Both winners were undefeated, though each conceded two draws.
Leading final scores: Under 18 (10 players, 5 rounds): Joanne Tan 4, Shan-Shan Qiao 3.5, Penelope Hoey, Samantha Frerer, Karishma Kumar, Amy Cao each 3; Under 12 (22 players, 9 rounds): Charmian Zhang 8, Mirakla Mithran 6.5, Caroline Shan, Clarise Koh, Emily Washer, Aishwarya Venkatesan each 6.
The NSW Junior Chess League's Spring Two-Day Tournament, held concurrently with the NSW Girls Championships, attracted 211 players and produced a three-way tie for first place. The joint winners were Jeffrey Tse, Joseph Nguyen and Jonathan Yuen who each scored 8.5 out of 10.
The NSWJCL's Spring One-Day Tournament is being held today and the City of Sydney Junior Championships (in three divisions, Under 18, 15 and 12) will be held on Wednesday to Friday. Enquiries www.nswjcl.org.au or Margaret Cuckson, phone 9388 7940.
Kramnik 4 Topalov 3
Peter Parr
The seventh game of the World Championship Match between Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) and Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) resulted in a hard fought draw in 60 moves in Elista, Kalmykia, Russia.
Topalov playing white (with the advantage of the first move) was once again unable to gain any advantage from the opening.
V.
Topalov (2813) - V.Kramnik (2743)Game 7 - QGA D27
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bd3 dxc4 6. Bxc4 c5 (by transposition we now have a Queen's Gambit Accepted) 7. O-O a6 8. Bb3 cxd4 9. exd4 Nc6 10. Nc3 Be7 11. Re1 O-O 12. a4!? (More usual is 12.a3 or 12.Bg5 here) 12...Bd7 13. Ne5 Be8!? (Now white can't develop his bishop to the best square [g5] as he must defend his d-pawn) 14. Be3 Rc8 15. Rc1 Nb4 16. Qf3 Bc6 17. Qh3 Bd5 18. Nxd5 Nbxd5 19. Rcd1 Rc7! (Most commentators were expecting 19 Qb6 or 19 Bb4 here but Kramnik has a much deeper understanding of the position) 20. Bg5 Qc8 21. Qf3 Rd8 22. h4 h6 23. Bc1 Bb4 24. Rf1 Bd6 25. g3 (Most people including Kramnik were expecting Topalov to play 25.g4!? here with some attacking chances) 26...b6 26. Qe2 Ne7 27. Rfe1 Bxe5 28. dxe5 Rxd1 29. Qxd1 Nfd5 30. Bd2 (Normally the bishop pair would be strong on an open board but here black has anchored his knights in the centre and also controls the c-file. The position is about equal) 30...Rc5 31. Qg4 Nf5 32. Qe4 b5 33. h5 bxa4 34. Qxa4 Rb5 35. Rc1 Qb7 36. Bc2 Nb6 37. Qg4 (Topalov has sacrificed his b-pawn for the hope of some attacking chances but Kramnik's accurate play puts a stop to this and soon white is the one fighting for a draw) 37 Rxb2 38. Be4 Qd7 39. Be1 Nd5 40. Bd3 Nb4 41. Bf1 Nd3 42. Qd1 Nxe5 43. Qxd7 Nxd7 44. Rc8+ Kh7 (44 Nf8 is no better as after 45.Bxa6 the resulting 4 v 3 pawns is an easy draw) 45. Rc7 (Winning back one pawn. White's active rook combined with the bishop are just enough compensation for his missing pawn) 45...Rb1 46. Rxd7 Rxe1 47. Rxf7 a5 48. Kg2 Kg8 49. Ra7 Re5 50. g4 Nd6 51. Bd3 Kf8 52. Bg6 Rd5 53. f3 e5 54. Kf2 Rd2+ 55. Ke1 Rd5 56. Ke2 Rb5 57. Rd7 Rd5 58. Ra7 Rb5 59. Bd3 Rd5 60. Bg6 1/2-1/2 (Black can make no progress)
Kramnik has scorced two wins and four draws from the six games actually played. Kramnik has had the black pieces four times and white twice.
Topalov was awarded a point on forfeit in the highly controversial unplayed fifth game.
Kramnik continued playing under protest and still intends to take legal action against the World Chess Federation.
Fifteen minutes before the start of the seventh game Silvio Danailov the manager of Topalov once again accused Kramnik of using a computer program during his games. Danailov concluded that 78% of Kramnik's moves in the first half of the match were the first choice of a computer program.
The timing just before game 7 was again made to upset Kramnik just before the game and to influence the mass media.
After the seventh game Kramnik's manager Carsten Hensel sent a letter to the organisers expressing concern that a member of Topalov's team might try to place an electronic device in Kramnik's restroom or toilet to try and incriminate him.
He accuses Topalov's team of constant insults and unethical behaviour.
Before the match started both players were highly regarded by chess enthusiasts around the world.
Topalov has severely damaged his reputation in the last two weeks.
Kramnik 3.5 Topalov 2.5
Peter Parr
Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) leads 3.5-2.5 against Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) at the half way stage of the World Championship Match in Elista, Kalmykia, Russia.
Kramnik led 3-1 after game 4.
Topalov made accusations against Kramnik and threatened to withdraw. The appeals committee decision angered Kramnik and three days of discussion took place.
Ilyumzhinov, President of Kalmykia and the World Chess Federation, agreed with two of Kramnik's three demands. A permanent restroom will be assigned to each player for the whole duration of the match and the rooms would be checked regularly. The members of the Match Appeals Committee, in helping find a solution to the conflict with Kramnik, all resigned . A new Committee will be appointed. Kramnik was very annoyed that Topalov had implied he was cheating by far too many visits to the toilet during his games. Kramnik had forfeited the fifth game claiming the game was invalid and the clocks should not have been started as the appeals committee had been incompetent and biased against him.
Kramnik insisted the score was 3-1 in his favour and Topalov insisted it was 3-2 to Kramnik after winning game 5 on forfeit. The deadlock lasted many meetings over three days. Finally a ruling on the deadlock was made by Ilyumzhinov after consulting Lawyers of the International Olympic Committee. Firstly the Chief Arbiter started the clock in game 5 - it was in progress. Kramnik was present but refused to play until his regular toilet was opened (he did not agree to use the alternate toilet as decided by the Appeals Committee). After one hour the Chief Arbiter awarded the game to Topalov. Kramnik did not submit an appeal concerning the result of the fifth game within the two hours of the end of the game, as required under the rules of the event. The match was to be resumed with the score 3-2 to Kramnik. Half an hour before the re-scheduled game 6 Kramnik said he will play under protest but conditional on a later clarification of the status of game 5. "I had to assess between personal interests and that of the entire chess world" he said.
The players shook hands before the sixth game.
V.Topalov (GM 2813) - V.Kramnik (GM 2743)
Game 6 - D17
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. Ne5 e6 7. f3 c5 (The most popular reply here is 7...Bb4 8.e4 Bxe4 which leads to sharp complications. The text is less ambitious but leads to a solid position for black) 8. e4 Bg6 (More popular here is 8 cxd4!? with sharp play. The text is a another solid move which leads to a slightly worse endgame) 9. Be3 cxd4 10. Qxd4 Qxd4 11. Bxd4 Nfd7 12. Nxd7 Nxd7 13. Bxc4 a6 14. Ke2 Rg8!? (At first sight a rather odd looking move but the rook on g8 protects g7 and allows black to complete his development. Kramnik had used very little time reaching this position, this would indicate that it was most likley prepared at home) 15. Rhd1 Rc8 16. b3 Bc5 17. a5 (17.Nb5!? is interesting if black takes the knight but the simple 17 Ke7 is just equal) 17...Ke7 18. Na4 Bb4 19. Nb6 Nxb6 20. Bxb6 f6 21. Rd3 Rc6 22. h4 Rgc8 23. g4 Bc5 24. Rad1 Bxb6 (Not the passive 24 .Be8?! as then 25.Bd8+ gives white some advantage) 25. Rd7+ Kf8 26. axb6 Rxb6 27. R1d6 Rxd6 28. Rxd6 Rc6 29. Rxc6 bxc6 30. b4 e5 31. Bxa6 1/2-1/2
Topalov will play with the white pieces (colours reversed for second half) in game 7 this evening (Wednesday).
World Title Stalemate
KRAMNIK 3 TOPALOV 1
Peter Parr
The third and fourth games of the World Championship Match between Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) and Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) in Elista, Kalmykia, Russia have been drawn. Kramnik had taken the early lead winning the first two games. Topalov, the highest rated player in the World had tried too hard to win the first game and lost.
He missed a winning two-move tactic in game 2 and lost.
Kramnik held the initiative in game 3 below but when Topalov equalised he forced a draw by perpetual check.
Game 3
V. Kramnik - V. Topalov
Catalan Opening E02
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 Nc6
(In the first game Topalov played 5 Bb4) 6. Qa4 Bd7 7. Qxc4 Na5 8. Qd3 c5 9. O-O Bc6 10. Nc3 cxd4 11. Nxd4 Bc5 12. Rd1 Bxg2 13. Qb5+ (forcing the knight to the awkward d7 square) 13...Nd7 14. Kxg2 a6 15. Qd3 Rc8 (15 Be7 was played in Tkachiev-Solozhenkin, France 2000. The text is a novelty.) 16. Bg5! Be7 (If 16 .Qxg5 17.Nxe6! is very strong) 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. Rac1 Nc4 19. Na4 b5 20. b3 O-O 21. bxc4 bxa4 22. Nc6 Rxc6 23. Qxd7 Qc5 24. Rc3 g6 25. Rb1 h5 26. Rb7 e5 27. e4 Rf6 28. Rc2 Qa3 29. Qd1 Rd6 30. Rd2 Rfd8 31. Rd5 Rxd5 32. cxd5 (32.exd5!? was risky but might have been better but Kramnik was getting short of time and instead heads for a draw consolidating his 2 point lead) 32...Qxa2 33. Qf3 Rf8 34.Qd3 a3 35. Rb3 f5! 36. Qxa6 Qxb3 37. Qxg6+ Kh8 38. Qh6+ Kg8 1/2-1/2Game 4
V.Topalov - V.Kramnik
Slav Defence D97
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3
Bb7 9. a3!? (The main lines here are 9.0-0 and 9.e4) 9 b4 10. Ne4 Nxe4 11. Bxe4 bxa3 12. O-O Bd6 (In a rapid game against Ivanchuk, New York 1994 Kramnik accepted the pawn with 12 axb2, although the game was drawn Kramnik decides on a more solid continuation.) 13. b3 Nf6 14. Nd2!? (A new move. 14.Bd3 was played in Vayser - Branding Corro 2004) 14...Qc7 15. Bf3 (Up to here Topalov had only used a few minutes which would indicate this was all home preparation) 15...Bxh2+ 16. Kh1 Bd6 17. Nc4 Be7 18. Bxa3 O-O 19. Bxe7 Qxe7 (Black is a pawn up but white's good central control combined with black's weak spots gives Topalov full compensation) 20. Ra5 Rfd8 21. Kg1!? c5! (Kramnik knows that waiting for white to build up his forces is not a good idea and immediately gives the pawn back for activity) 22. Rxc5 Ne4 23. Bxe4 Bxe4 24. Qg4 Bd3 25. Ra1 Rac8 26. Raa5 Rb8 27. Qd1 Be4 28. Qa1 Rb7 29. Nd2 Bg6 30. Qc3 h6 31. Ra6 Kh7 32. Nc4 Be4 33. f3 Bd5 34. Nd2 Rdb8 35. Qd3+ f5 36. Rc3 Qh4 37. Ra1 Qg3 38. Qc2 Rf7 39. Rf1 Qg6 40. Qd3 Qg3 41. Rfc1 Rfb7 42. Qc2 Qg5 43. Ra1 Qf6 44. Qd3 Rd7 45. Ra4 Rbd8 46. Rc5 Kg8 47. Nc4 Bxc4 48. Raxc4 f4! (A good move leading to exchanges and a draw) 49. Rc6 fxe3 50. Qxe3 Rxd4 51. Rxe6 Qh4 52. Rxd4 Qxd4 53. Re8+ Kh7 54. Qxd4 1/2-1/2Topalov stood better for most of this game but Kramnik's accurate defence held.
Kramnik leads 3-1 with 8 games to play.
Topalov has settled down with two draws after an unfortunate start.
The match has a long way to go and he needs to continue in an aggressive manner.
Kramnik rarely loses and he my may try to draw his way to victory in the remaining games.
Kramnik 2 Topalov 0
Peter Parr
Vladimir Kramnik has taken a 2-0 lead in his twelve game World Championship Match against World Number One Veselin Topalov in Elista, Kalmykia, Russia.
Topalov had a better position in game one but tried too hard to win making a serious mistake after six hours play and lost. Topalov came out fighting in the second game below. Topalov launched a strong attack on the kingside with Kramnik gaining counter-play on the "C" file. Neither player saw the forced two move win missed by Topalov on move 32. Kramnik was fortunate that white missed his last chance on move 55 (Kd7 draws) in the N+P v R+P ending.
The two games played so far have been very exciting. Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan (USA), a match commentator said he was completely exhausted and drained at the end of the six hour marathon game. "I cannot take much more excitement and shock. One shudders to think how the players are feeling".
V.Topalov (Bul 2813) v V.Kramnik (RUS 2743) - Game 2 Slav Defence D19
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.e3 e6 7.Bxc4 Bb4 8.00 Nbd7 9.Qe2 Bg6 (This opening has been played before by both players) 10.e4 00 11.Bd3 Bh5 12.e5 Nd5 13.Nxd5 cxd5 14.Qe3 Bg6 15.Ng5 (Petrosian played 15.Bxg6 against Smyslov, Bar 1980) 15...Re8 16.f4 Bxd3 (new move) 17.Qxd3 f5!? (A solid move trying to block the position) 18.Be3 Nf8 19.Kh1 Rc8 20.g4! (A good move opening up the kingside, Topalov is after the black king) 20...Qd7 21.Rg1 Be7 22.Nf3 Rc4 23.Rg2 fxg4 24.Rxg4 Rxa4 (24 Rec8 seems stronger) 25.Rag1 g6 26.h4 Rb4 27.h5 Qb5 28.Qc2! Rxb2 29.hxg6!! h5 (The only move, taking the queen loses instantly to 30.fxh7+ with mate to follow.) 30.g7 hxg4 (Once again taking the queen leads to mate) 31.gxf8Q+ Bxf8? (Forced was 31...Kxf8) 32.Qg6+? (After 32.Rxg4+ Bg7 33.Qc7! Black would resign) 32...Bg7 33.f5 Re7 (Accurate defence by Kramnik) 34.f6 Qe2 35.Qxg4 Rf7 36.Rc1 (36.Qh5!? was better) 36..Rc2 37.Rxc2 Qd1+ 38.Kg2 Qxc2+ 39.Kg3 Qe4 40.Bf4 Qf5 41.Qxf5 exf5 42.Bg5 (42.fxg7 Rxg7+ leaves black with two outside connected passers, white's best chance now is to try and make something of his advanced pawns) 42...a5 43.Kf4 a4 44.Kxf5 a3 45.Bc1 Bf8 46.e6 Rc7 47.Bxa3 Bxa3 48.Ke5 Rc1 49.Ng5 Rf1 50.e7 Re1+ 51.Kxd5 Bxe7 52.fxe7 Rxe7 53.Kd6 Re1 (The only winning move was 53...Re3 according to GM Nunn and the computer tablebases) 54.d5 Kf8 55.Ne6+ (55.Kd7 is the only drawing move) 55...Ke8 56.Nc7+ Kd8 57.Ne6+ Kc8 58.Ke7 Rh1 59.Ng5 b5 60.d6 Rd1 61.Ne6 b4 62.Nc5 Re1+ 63.Kf6 Re3 01
After two games in the "Match of the Century" in 1972 Boris Spassky, the defending World Champion, had a 2-0 lead over Bobby Fischer but Bobby recovered scoring 7-3 in the next 10 games for an overall lead of 7-5. Topalov has the same fighting style of play. This match will be very interesting.
Kramnik Wins First Game
Peter Parr
Vladimir Kramnik has taken the early lead by winning the first game against World Number 1 Veselin Topalov in the twelve game World Championship match in Elista,Kalmykia,Russia. Kramnik had a slight opening advantage but Topalov played accurately to reach an interesting position at the first time control at move 40. Kramnik was a pawn ahead but Topalov had active play and he rejected a draw by repetition. Black was clearly better but Topalov tried too hard to win and lost by a very bad mistake on move 57.
V.Kramnik(RUS 2743) - V.Topalov(BUL 2813)1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 d5 4 g3 dxc4 5 Bg2 Bb4+ 6 Bd2 a5 7 Qc2 Bxd2+ 8 Qxd2 c6 9 a4 b5 10 axb5 cxb5 11 Qg5 0-0 12 Qxb5 (Grischuk 2719-Moiseenko 2662 1-0 Sochi 2006)Ba6 (Novelty)13 Qa4 Qb6 14 0-0 Qxb2 15 Nbd2 Bb5 16 Nxc4 Bxa4 17 Nxb2 Bb5 18 Ne5 Ra7! 19 Bf3 Nbd7 20 Nec4 Rb8 21 Rfb1 g5 22 e3 g4 23 Bd1 Bc6 24 Rc1 Be4 25 Na4 Rb4 26 Nd6 Bf3 27 Bxf3 gxf3 28 Nc8 Ra8 29 Ne7+ Kg7 30 Nc6 Rb3 31 Nc5 Rb5 32 h3 Nxc5 33 Rxc5 Rb2 34 Rg5+ Kh6 35 Rgxa5 Rxa5 36 Nxa5 Ne4 37 Rf1 Nd2 38 Rc1 Ne4 39 Rf1 f6 40 Nc6 Nd2 41 Rd1 Ne4 42 Rf1 Kg6 43 Nd8 Rb6 44 Rc1 h5! 45 Ra1 h4?! 46 gxh4 Kh5 47 Ra2 Kxh4 48 Kh2 Kh5 49 Rc2 Kh6 50 Ra2 Kg6 51 Rc2 Kf5 52 Ra2 Rb5 53 Nc6 Rb7 54 Ra5+ Kg6 55 Ra2 Kh5 56 d5 e5 57 Ra4 f5?? 58 Nxe5 Rb2 59 Nd3 Rb7 60 Rd4 white has a winning advantage Rb6 61 d6 Nxd6 62 Kg3 Ne4+ 63 Kxf3 Kg5 64 h4+ Kf6 65 Rd5 Nc3 66 Rd8 Rb1 67 Rf8+ Ke6 68 Nf4+ Ke5 69 Re8+ Kf6 70 Nh5+ Kg6 71 Ng3 Rb2 72 h5+ Kf7 73 Re5 Nd1 74 Ne2 Kf6 75 Rd5 1-0
I will be publishing regular extra columns in the SMH covering the World Championship Match.
Leading final scores in the World Seniors(over 60)Championship in Arvier,Italy(124 players,11 rounds) - GM V.Korchnoi(SWI) 9,GM V.Jansa(CZE)8.5. Former World Title Challenger Viktor Korchnoi aged 75,the top seed and favorite, started with 7.5/8 and coasted to victory with three draws in the last three rounds. Scores of the five Australians Phillip Viner(NSW 2140) and Srboljub Zaric(SA 2241) 6,Slobodan Krstic(VIC 2062) 5.5,Frank Hutchings(NSW 2054) 5,Glen Gibbs(TAS 1800*) 4.5. WGM Ludmila Saunina(RUS) won the World Seniors Womens Title scoring 8.5/11.
International Master David Smerdon(AUS 2472 World no 948) playing on board 1 for Utrecht(NED) against Groningen(NED) drew with Grandmaster Vassily Ivanchuk(UKR 2734 World no 8) on Saturday. Smerdon had R and 3 pawns v B,N and 2 pawns in the final position when a draw was agreed.
Leading results in the first round of the Auckland International Tournament - IM S.Solomon(QLD 2409)1 IM P.Froehlich(GER 2365) 0,FM R.Smith(NZL 2254)0 IM G.West(VIC 2359) 1,FM T.Reilly (NSW 2293) 1 M.Steadman(NZL 2262)0
Nineteen-year-old Womens International Master Arianne Caoili,the highest rated female player on the Australian Rating List,appears on Channel Seven's "Dancing with the Stars" tomorrow evening.
Leading final scores in the Hakoah Club Open at Bondi - J.Bolens 9/9,Dr V.Zeldovich 7,B.Strous 6.5(lightning tonight).
The category 3 Grand Prix Ryde-Eastwood Open long weekend tournament organised by The NSWCA will be held on 30th September(3 rounds),1st and 2nd October(2 rounds each day). Australian Champion Grandmaster Ian Rogers will be the top seed. Details Brett Tindall tel 8756 5974
World Title Match
Peter Parr
The twelve game world championship match between
Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) and Vladimir Kramnik
(Russia) will be held in Elista, Kalmykia, Russia
from 23rd September to 13th October. The winner (
a very close match is expected) is the player
who first scores 6.5 points. If the score is 6-6
four rapid games will be played and if the score is
still equal, two blitz games will follow, and after
that a sudden death blitz game. The one million US
dollar (1,333,000 AUS dollars) prize found will be
equally
divided no matter what the result.
The players and each of their ten member delegations
arrived on Saturday evening by charter flight from
Moscow and were met by The President of Kalmykia
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov who is also President of the
World Chess Federation.
A.Kornev (GM 2568) v E.Inarkiev(GM 2625) 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 Nc6 4. Nf3 Bc5 5. c3 a6 6. Bb3 d6 7. O-O Ba7 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. h3 Ne7 10. Re1 Ng6 11. Nf1 Re8 12. Ng3 b5 13. a4 Bb7 14. d4 h6 15. Bc2 Bb6 16. Bd3 d5 17. exd5 Qxd5 18. axb5 axb5 19. Rxa8 Bxa8 20. Ne4 Nd7 21. Ned2 Kf8 22. c4 bxc4 23. Bxc4 Qd6 24. Qb3 Re7 25. Qa2 Bb7 26. Ne4 Bxe4 27. Rxe4 Nf6 28. dxe5 Bxf2+ 29. Kh2 Bg3+ 0-1
IM S.Gordon(ENG 2443) v GM D.GormallyENG 2513 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bg5 Ne4 5. Bh4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. e3 c5 8. cxd5 cxd4 9. cxd4 Qxd5 10. Nf3 Nc6 11. Qa4 Bd7 12. Qb5 Qd6 13. Bg3 Qa3 14. Qd3 Qb2 15. Rb1 Qxa2 16. Rxb7 Qa5+ 17. Nd2 Rc8 18. Qa6 ? Nxd4 !19. Bc7 Qc3 20. exd4 Rxc7 21. Bc4 Rxb7 22. Qxb7 O-O 23. Qxd7 Qc1+ 0-1
Leading scores after round 6 in the World Senior (over 60) Championship in Arvier,Italy - GM V.Korchnoi(SUI 2600,aged 75) 5.5,GM E.Vasiukov(RUS 2505) and IM A.Donchenko(GER 2405) 5. Scores of the five Australians are S.Zaric(SA 2241) 3.5 (draw with IM V.Bukal CRO 2414), P.Viner(NSW 2140) 3 (Win v IM E.Piankov UKR 2324 and draw with IM A.Donchenko GER 2405), F.Hutchings(NSW 2054) 3, S.Krstic(VIC 2062) 2.5, G.Gibbs(TAS 1800*) 1.5. There are 5 rounds to play in the 124 player event.
NSW Championship results round 4: S.Quick 0 G.Canfell 1, A.Bird 1 A.Safarian 0, M.Nanavati 0 P.Halpin 1, G.Charles 0 R.Kolln 1, I.Ilic 0.5 M.Illingworth 0.5. Leading scores(10 players,9 rounds) - G.Canfell 4/4, P.Halpin 3, M.Illingworth, M.Nanavati, S.Quick 2.5, I.Ilic, A.Bird (defending champion) 2. There are 5 rounds left to play.
Canfell sacrifices queen
Peter Parr
Greg Canfell,the top seed and 4 times NSW Champion,sacrificed his queen in the following game and won to take the sole lead in the NSW State Championship at Ryde-Eastwood Leagues Club. A.Safarian v G. Canfell Rd 3 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 0-0 6.Be3 c5 7.Qd2 Nc6 8.Nge2 a6 9.Rd1 Qa5 10.a3 Rd8 11.Nd5 Nxd5 12.Qxa5 Nxe3 13.Qb6 Nxd1 14.d5 Nxb2 15.dxc6 Be6 16.cxb7 Rab8 17.Qc7 Be5 18.f4 Nd3+ 19.Kd2 Nxf4 20.Nc3 Bd7 21.Nd5 Ne6 22.Qb6 Kf8 23.Qxa6 Nd4 24.Bd3 Bc6 25.Rb1 Rd7 26.a4 Rdxb7 27.Rxb7 Rxb7 28.a5 Rb2+ 29.Ke3 Bb7 30.Qb6 Rxb6 31.Nxb6 Nc6 0-1
Canfell obtained compensation for his sacrifice with active play as did the brilliant 1960 World Champion Mikhail Tal in the following game with a very similar queen sacrifice in Varna,Bulgaria 1958 Students Olympiad. M.Bobotsov(GM BUL) v M.Tal(RUS) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Nge2 c5 7. Be3 Nbd7 8. Qd2 a6 9. O-O-O Qa5 10. Kb1 b5 11. Nd5 Nxd5 12. Qxa5 Nxe3 13. Rc1 Nxc4 14. Rxc4 bxc4 15. Nc1 Rb8 16. Bxc4 Nb6 17. Bb3 Bxd4 18. Qd2 Bg7 19. Ne2 c4 20. Bc2 c3 21. Qd3 cxb2 22. Nd4 Bd7 23. Rd1 Rfc8 24. Bb3 Na4 25. Bxa4 Bxa4 26. Nb3 Rc3 27. Qxa6 Bxb3 28. axb3 Rbc8 29. Qa3 Rc1+ 30. Rxc1 Rxc1+ 0-1
The NSWCA Grade Match Presentation of prizes will be held at Ryde-Eastwood Leagues Club on Wednesday evening.
Leading scores in The 59th Russian Championship First League in Tomsk (58 players including 35 Grandmasters,9 rounds) - V.Malakhov(GM 2690),E.Tomashevsky(GM 2594),E.Inarkiev(GM 2625) and N.Vitiugov(IM 2555) all 5/7 with 9 players on 4.5 points. Entry was by qualifying events or a minimum rating of 2575. The top seven will compete in the Russian Championship Super-Final with Russia's highest rated grandmasters.
Canfell and Quick lead
Peter Parr (SMH 04/09/06)
Greg Canfell and Simon Quick the top two seeds share the
lead with two points after two rounds of the NSW State
Championship at Ryde-Eastwood Leagues Club.
Canfell, a four time NSW Champion, defeated former
Sydney Champion Patrick Halpin in the following game in
round 2.
G.Canfell v P.Halpin
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nbd7 4.Nf3 e5
5.Bc4 h6 6.Qe2 Be7 7.00 c6 8.a4 g5 9.Ba2 Rg8 10.Rd1 Qc7
11.a5 Nf8 12.Qc4 Rg7 13.a6 Ne6 14.dxe5 dxe5 15.axb7 Bxb7
16.b4 Nh5 17.Bb2 g4 18.Ne1 Nhf4 19.Nd3 Nxd3 20.Rxd3 Rd8
21.Rxd8+ Bxd8 22.Ne2 Bc8 23.Ng3 Ng5 24.Nh5 Rg6 25.Qd3
Qe7 26.b5 Bb6 27.Ba3 c5 28.Bd5 Ne6 29.Rd1 Nf4 30.Nxf4
exf4 31.Qc3 Qg5 32.Bxc5 g3 33.Bc6+ Rxc6 34.Qh8+ 1-0
The other second round results were S.Quick 1 A.Safarian
0, A.Bird 1 R.Koelln 0, M.Nanavati 0.5 M.Illingworth
0.5, G.Charles 0F I.Ilic 1F.Leading scores Canfell,
Quick 2, Illingworth, Nanavati 1.5
Adrian Rose won the NSW
Metropolitan Inter-Leagues Rapid-Play scoring 7.5/9 half
a point ahead of N.Radev on 7 followed by
J.Chan,L.Benson,H.Jens and E.Puzon 6.5 points.
St
George was the winning club one point ahead of
Canterbury.
FIDE Master Haydn Barber has won his 14th WA Championship. Barber was also ACT Champion in 1978 and 1979 and NSW Champion in 1987.
The Malaysian Open (85 players, 11 rounds) resulted in a five way (85 players, 11 rounds) tie for first place between GM Dao Thien Hai (ViE 2549). IM O.Dimakiling (PHI 2463), GM Z.Rahman (BAN 2534), IM L.Darwin (PHI 2428) and IM Wynn Zaw Htun (MYA 2572) on 8 points.
FM Jonathan Humphrey (QLD 2246) finished 25th on 6.5 points after drawing with GM Rogers in the last round. GM Ian Rogers (NSW 2548) seeded 4th scored 6 points, Christopher Wallis (VIC 2149) scored 4.5 and FM Brian Jones (NSW 2110) 4 points.
Carlsen,M (2675,age 15) - Nunn,J (2617,age 51) [B90] Rd 7 Amsterdam Rising stars -experience team 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nf3 Be7 8.Bc4 00 9.00 Be6 10.Bb3 Nc6 11.Qe2 Na5 12.Rfd1 Nxb3 13.cxb3 Qe8 14.Ne1 h6 15.Nc2 Qd7 16.Nb4 Rfc8 17.f3 Bd8 18.Rd3 a5 19.Nbd5 Nxd5 20.Nxd5 a4 21.bxa4 Rxa4 22.b3 Ra6 23.Rad1 Ra5 24.Nb6 Bxb6 25.Bxb6 Ra6 26.Rxd6 Qe7 27.Qb2 Qg5 28.a4 h5 29.a5 h4 30.b4 Raa8 31.Qd2 Qxd2 32.R1xd2 Rc4 33.Bc5 Rc8 34.Rb6 Rc7 35.Kf2 Kh7 36.Bd6 Rd7 37.Ke3 f6 38.Bxe5 fxe5 39.Rxe6 Rxd2 40.Kxd2 Rxb4 41.Rxe5 Rb2+ 42.Kc3 Rxg2 43.Rh5+ Kg6 44.Rxh4 Ra2 45.Kb4 10
Peter Leko(HUN) leads 3.5-2.5 against ex World Champion Anatoly Karpov (Russia) in an 8 game rapid match in Miskolc,Hungary.
IM David Smerdon(AUS 2472) from
Melbourne has scored 4.5
/8(performance 2440) in
the nine round BDO Premier in Haarlem(near Amsterdam)Netherlands.
Kasparov and Karpov Tie
Peter Parr
Garry
Kasparov,World number 1 from 1985 - 2005,and Anatoly
Karpov,World number 1 from 1975-1985,tied for first
place in the chess legends blitz tournament in Zurich,
Switzerland. The two games between them were both drawn.
Final scores (4 players, 6 rounds) G.Kasparov (RUS 2812)
and A.Karpov (RUS 2668) 4.5,
J.Polgar (Hun 2710) 2.5,
V.Korchnoi (SWI 2600) 0.5.
Karpov
beat Korchnoi 12.5-11.5 in 1974,16.5-15.5 in 1978 and
11-7 in 1981. Kasparov played five World Title Matches
against Karpov from 1984 - 1990 for an overall very
narrow winning score of 73-71
The
fourth Staunton Memorial was the strongest all play all
GM tournament to have been held in London since 1986.
I.Sokolov
(NED 2652) - D. Howell
(ENG 2479) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3.
Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Qa4+ Qd7
8. Qb3 O-O 9. Nf3 b6 10. Be3 Bb7 11. Bd3 c5 12. O-O Nc6
13. Rad1 Na5 14. Qb1 cxd4 15. cxd4 e6 16. h4 f5 17. Bb5
Qd6 18. d5 exd5 19. e5 Bxe5 20. Nxe5 Qxe5 21. Bd4 Qe4
22. Qc1 Qxh4 23. Qc7 Rf7 24. Qe5 Re7 25. Qh8+ Kf7 26.
Qg7+ Ke6 27. Rfe1+ Kd6 28. Be5+ Kc5 29. Bd4+ Kd6 30.
Rxe7 Qxe7 31. Qh6 Bc6 32. Bc3 Kc7 33. Bb4 Qd7 34. Ba6
Bb5 35. Bxb5 Qxb5 36. Bxa5 Qxa5 37. Qxh7+ Kc6 38. Rc1+
Kb5 39. Qb7 Rh8 40. Rb1+ Kc4 41. Qc6+ Kd3 42. Rd1+ Ke4
43. Qe6+ Kf4 44. Rd4+ 1-0
Leading final scores (12 players,11 rounds)
I.Sokolov(NED 2652) 9,J.Timman(NED 2594) and M.Adams(ENG
2732) 8.5,( all undefeated) J.Werle (NED 2531) 7
Final scores of the 8 game rapid play matches in Mainz,
Germany. Anand
5 - Radjabov 3,
Aronian 5-Svidler
3. Leading final
scores in the 13th Ordix
Open rapid in Mainz (632 players included 58
grandmasters).
Former world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov (UZB 2673) and
World Junior Champion Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE 2722)
9.5/11. WIM Arianne Caoili of Australia scored 6 points
finishing 233rd.
GM
Nguyen Anh Dung(VIE 2539) and IM O.Dimakiling(PHI 2463)
share the lead with 7.5/10 in the 85 player Malaysian
Open in Kuala Lumpur. FM Jonathan Humphrey (2246) of
Queensland seeded 43rd is in 27th place with a score of
6 points. GM Ian Rogers (2548) of NSW seeded 4th is in
28th place on 5.5 points and plays Humphrey in the final
round. Rogers started with 3.5/4 but lost to IM
O.Dimakiling(2463),FM W.So(2330) and IM R.Bitoon(2433)
all from The Philippines. Christopher Wallis (2149) of
Victoria seeded 57th is in 52nd place with 4.5 points
and FM Brian Jones(2110) of NSW seeded 63rd is in 83rd
place on 3/10.
IM David Smerdon (AUS 2472) of Melbourne tied for first
place (rating performance 2562) with GM O.Korneev (RUS
2638), GM N.Miezis (LAT 2527) IM S.Ernst (NED 2504) and
IM M.Senff (GER 2464) in the Tilburg,
Netherlands weekender each scoring 5/6 in the 103 player
event.
The NSW State Championship and supporting tournaments
started last week at Ryde-Eastwood Leagues Club with a
total of 47 players.
The top seed and firm favorite in the title event
(10 players, 9 rounds) is FIDE Master Greg Canfell (four
time winner ACF rating 2276).
None of the other top 20 NSW players entered in
the event last year or this year.
Canfell and Bird are the only two to compete in 2005 and
2006. The Australian
Under 12 Champion of 2004 Max Illingworth (1880)
seeded last defeated Andrew Bird (2099) the defending
champion in the first round.
Greg Canfell sacrificed his queen and won after
chasing Rasmus Koelln's king across the board. Koelln is
from Germany and does not yet have an ACF rating.
The other results were Gareth Charles (2062) 0 Simon
Quick (2122) 1, Ilija Ilic (2065) 0 Minir Nanavati
(2084) 1, Patrick Halpin (2059) postponed Alek Safarian
(1941).
The popular (69 players last year) annual 9 round Ford
Memorial FIDE rated open starts tomorrow evening 29th
August at Norths (formerly North Sydney Leagues Club),
Cammeray.
Kasparov Plays Tomorrow
Peter Parr
Kasparov,Karpov,Korchnoi and Polgar are playing a blitz tournament on Tuesday followed by simultaneous exhibitions. Credit Suisse has brought the four chess legends to Zurich,Switzerland to mark the bank's 150th anniversary. Garry Kasparov born 1963 in Azerbaijan was ranked World number 1 for 20 years from 1985 until his retirement in March 2005. Anatoly Karpov born 1951 in Russia was World Champion from 1975 to 1985. Viktor Korchnoi born 1931 in Russia played two World title matches with Karpov and at the age of 75 continues to take part in tournaments at the highest level representing Switzerland. Kasparov was only 19 when he first played Korchnoi then aged 51 at the Lucerne ,Switzerland, Olympiad in 1982. Kasparov is now a retiree while Korchnoi is still playing teenagers. Judith Polgar born 1976 in Hungary became a Grandmaster at the age of 15 and has been by far the strongest female player in the World since January 1990.
Scotland's third Grandmaster Jonathan Rowson aged 29 has won his third consecutive British Championship. This was the 93rd annual event with over 700 players in all divisions held this year at University of Wales,Swansea . The time control in the title event was 40 moves in two hours,followed by 20 moves in 1 hour then 30 minutes each to finish. Many tournaments around the world are played at a much quicker rate which of course lowers the standard of play.
Gordon,S
(2443) - Williams,Si (2473) [A85]
Rd 6 1.d4 e6 2.c4 f5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Qc2
Bb4 5.e3 00 6.Bd3 d6 7.Nge2 Nc6 8.00 Bxc3 9.Qxc3 e5
10.d5 Ne7 11.f4 Ng6 12.b3 Qe7 13.Ng3 Ng4 14.h3 Nxe3
15.Bxe3 exf4 16.Bxf4 Nxf4 17.Bxf5 Rxf5 18.Nxf5 Ne2+
19.Kh2 Bxf5 20.Rae1 Bg6 21.g4 Re8 01
Pert,R (2445) - Knott,S (2387) [D87]
Rd 9 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5
Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 00 9.00 Nc6
10.Be3 Qc7 11.Rc1 Rd8 12.Bf4 Qd7 13.dxc5 Qe8 14.Bd5 Bd7
15.Qd3 e6 16.Bb3 Na5 17.Bd6 Bb5 18.c4 Bc6 19.Qe3 e5
20.Nc3 Rac8 21.Rfd1 f5 22.exf5 gxf5 23.Nd5 Bxd5 24.cxd5
b6 25.Qg5 Qg6 26.Qxg6 hxg6 27.Be7 Nxb3 28.axb3 Rd7 29.c6
Rxe7 30.d6 Bf6 31.dxe7 Bxe7 32.Rd7 Kf8 33.Rxa7 Bc5
34.Kf1 e4 35.Rh7 Ke8 36.Ke2 Be7 37.Rc2 Rc7 38.Ra2 Rc8
39.Ra7 Bf8 40.Rab7 f4 41.c7 10
Leading final scores (62 players,11 rounds) - GM J.Rowson(SCO 2579) 8.5(first prize AUS $ 25,000),IM K.Arakhamia-Grant(GEO 2427) 8,GM D.Gormally(ENG 2513),GM M.Hebden(ENG 2532),IM G.Jones(ENG 2416),GM J.Parker(ENG 2509) 7.5. Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant(winner of the 1991 Doeberl Cup in Canberra) will be one of the coaches of the Australian players in the World Youth Championships in Batumi,Georgia in October.
Russian GM Evgeny Gleizerov(2562) won the Predeal Open in Romania with a score of 6.5/9. Nur Yachou(2014) of Melbourne started with 3/4 but was heavily ourated in the last 5 rounds finishing with 3.5/9 in the 174 player event.
The 13th Ordix Open rapid-play in Mainz,Germany has started with 632 players including 177 FIDE title-holders of wich 58 are grandmasters. The 8 game rapid matches between Anand-Radjabov and Aronian-Svidler both stand at 3-3 after 6 games.
The NSWCA Teams
Challenge 2 rapid play was won by Max's Sac Hackers -
Neil Wright,Andrew Bird,Max Illingworth(7/7) and Minir
Nanavati scoring 24.5/28 half a point ahead of Sydney
University 1 on 24,followed by Sydney University 2 on 18
points.
Kramnik wins in Dortmund
Vladimir Kramnik started the Super-Grandmaster Dortmund,Germany,Tournament with five draws but won against Jobava and Leko in the final two rounds to take the trophy on count -back from four- time former Russian Champion Peter Svidler. Kramnik will play a World Title match against Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria next month in Elista, Kalmykia, Russia.
Six of the top ten players in the world competed in the Dortmund event. Levon Aronian the top seed started with four draws but lost his last three games.
Aronian,L (2761) - Svidler,P (2742) [D80] (R6) 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bg5 Ne4 5.Bh4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 dxc4 7.e3 Be6 8.Qb1 Qd5 9.Nf3 Nd7 10.Be2 Bf5 11.Qb2 Bg7 12.00 e5 13.Qb4 c5 14.Qxc4 Qxc4 15.Bxc4 Rc8 16.Bd5 Bd3 17.Rfd1 Ba6 18.Rab1 b6 19.Bg3 cxd4 20.exd4 Nf6 21.Bb3 Ne4 22.Re1 Nxc3 23.Rb2 e4 24.Ng5 Bc4 25.Nxe4 Nxe4 26.Rxe4+ Kd8 27.Bf4 Bxb3 28.Rxb3 Re8 29.Rxe8+ Kxe8 30.d5 Rc4 31.g3 Ra4 32.Re3+ Kd7 33.Re2 Bf8 34.Kf1 Bd6 35.Be3 Bc5 36.Bf4 Rd4 37.Rc2 Rxd5 38.Ke2 b5 39.g4 Kc6 40.Be3 Kb6 41.Rd2 Rxd2+ 42.Bxd2 b4 43.f3 Kb5 44.Kd3 Bd6 45.h3 Be5 46.Be3 a5 47.Bd2 a4 01
Kramnik,V (2743) - Leko,P (2738) [E32] (R7) 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 00 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 b6 7.Bg5 Bb7 8.f3 h6 9.Bh4 d5 10.e3 Nbd7 11.cxd5 Nxd5 12.Bxd8 Nxc3 13.Bh4 Nd5 14.Bf2 c5 15.e4 Ne7 16.Ne2 Rac8 17.Nc3 cxd4 18.Bxd4 Nc5 19.Rd1 Rfd8 20.Be3 Rxd1+ 21.Kxd1 e5 22.b4 Ne6 23.Kc2 Nc6 24.Kb2 Kf8 25.Bc4 Ncd4 26.Bxe6 Nxe6 27.Nb5 Ra8 28.a4 Ba6 29.Na3 Rc8 30.b5 Bb7 31.Rc1 Rxc1 32.Kxc1 Ke7 33.a5 bxa5 34.Bxa7 f5 35.exf5 Nf4 36.g3 Nh3 37.Nc4 Ng5 38.Nxa5 Bd5 39.b6 Nxf3 40.h3 Ng5 41.b7 Bxb7 42.Nxb7 Nxh3 43.Bb6 Kd7 44.Be3 Ke7 45.Nc5 g6 46.fxg6 Kf6 47.Bxh6 Kxg6 48.Be3 10
Final scores:- (cat 19, av 2720, 8 players, 7 rounds) V.Kramnik (RUS 2743) and P.Svidler (RUS 2742) 4.5, M.Adams (ENG 2732), P.Leko (HUN 2738) and B.Gelfand (ISR 2729) 4, A.Naiditsch (GER 2664) 3.5, L.Aronian (ARM 2761) 2, B.Jobava (GEO 2651) 1.5
A computer program won two international tournaments in Argentina last week scoring 20/23 (17 wins, 6 draws) performance rating 2735.
Leading final scores in the World Youth Under 16 Olympiad in Agri, Turkey - (24 teams,40 games)Ukraine 31,Georgia 29,China A 26,Hungary,Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan 25. Australia scored 50% finishing 9th with 20 points from 40 games. We played a strong field losing 0-4 to Georgia,Hungary and Ukraine and India 1-3,drawing 2-2 with Syria and defeating Turkmenistan(A) and Republic of South Africa 3-1,Switzerland and Tunisia 3.5-0.5 and Turkmenistan (B) 4-0
Results of the Australian team in board order was Zhigen Wilson Lin 6.5/10, Rukman Vijayakumar 4.5/9(plus 1/1 forfeit), Ben Harris 3.5/8(plus 0/2 forfeit), Derek Yu 4.5/10. All four Australians performed above their ratings.
Leading final scores in the 26 player, 7 round Coal City Open at Cardiff Panthers Club - James Morris (VIC, age 15) rated 1748 the fourth seed 6: J.Bolens, M.Illingworth 5.5, D.Behne-Smith 5, J.Escribano 4.5
The NSW Championship, major (Under 2000 rated) and minor (under 1600 rated) will be held over nine Sunday afternoons commencing at 2pm on 20th August at Ryde-Eastwood Leagues Club.The championship division will be rated by the World Chess Federation.For further information contact Brett Tindall by telephone on 8756 5974
Morozevich,A (2731) - Carlsen,M (2675) [B30] Rd 7 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d3 Nd7 6.Bf4 g6 7.Qc1 Bg7 8.Bh6 Qa5+ 9.c3 Ne5 10.Nxe5 Bxe5 11.Nd2 Qa6 12.Qc2 Be6 13.f4 Bc7 14.00 f6 15.c4 000 16.a4 Rd7 17.a5 Rhd8 18.Ra3 Bxa5 19.f5 Bf7 20.fxg6 hxg6 21.e5 Be6 22.exf6 exf6 23.Nb3 Rxd3 24.Nxc5 Bb6 25.Rxa6 Bxc5+ 26.Kh1 bxa6 27.Bg7 Bg4 28.b4 Be3 29.h3 Rd1 30.Rxd1 Rxd1+ 31.Kh2 Bf4+ 32.g3 Rd2+ 33.Qxd2 Bxd2 34.hxg4 Bxb4 35.Bxf6 a5 36.Kg2 Kd7 37.Kf3 Bd6 38.Ke4 Bxg3 39.Kd3 Ke6 40.Bd4 a6 41.Kc2 a4 42.Kb1 Be5 43.Bf2 Kd6 44.Ka2 Bc3 45.Ka3 Ke5 46.Kxa4 Kf4 47.Bb6 Kxg4 48.Ba5 Bxa5 49.Kxa5 Kf4 50.Kb6 a5 01
Morozevich,A (2731) - Pelletier,Y (2583) [C10]Rd 9 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Bd3 Ngf6 6.Nxf6+ Nxf6 7.Bg5 c5 8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.Nf3 h6 10.Bh4 00 11.Qd2 b6 12.000 Bb7 13.Rhe1 Be7 14.Ne5 Nd5 15.Bxe7 Qxe7 16.a3 Rad8 17.f4 Nf6 18.c4 Qc7 19.b4 Nd7 20.Kb2 Nxe5 21.fxe5 Kh8 22.Qe3 Rd7 23.g4 Rfd8 24.g5 hxg5 25.Qh3+ Kg8 26.Qh7+ Kf8 27.Re3 g4 28.Qh8+ Ke7 29.Qxg7 Bf3 30.Bg6 Rf8 31.Rxd7+ Qxd7 32.Rd3 Qc8 33.Qf6+ Ke8 34.Rd6 10
Leading final scores(6 players,10 rounds,cat 17,av 2674) A.Morovevich(RUS 2731) 7.5,M.Carlsen(NOR 2675) and T.Radjabov(AZE 2728) 6,A.Volokitin(UKR 2662) and Y.Pelletier (SUI 2583) 4,L.Bruzon(CUB 2667) 2.5. Pia Cramling of Sweden won the Womens event. IM Aleks Wohl of Wilsons Creek,NSW seeded 29th finished 26th in the main Biel supporting event scoring 6.5/11 - losses to GM Arizmendi(ESP 2542),GM Atalik(TUR 2619) and GM Novikov(RUS 2546).
Grandmaster Ian Rogers won the NSWCA July weekender at Parramatta RSL by winning his first six games and playing a hard fought draw in 77 moves against FIDE Master George Xie in the last round. Leading final scores (51 players, 7 rounds) GM I.Rogers