Javier

Only 2 games for this round. (as you know, morozevich withdrew and the game Bologan-Carlsen will be played on Sunday, the rest day) The 2 games are quite interesting. Nakamura played a Polugayevsky variation of the Sicilian, and at one point things looked rather promising for him... Giri played a great game on the white side of a King´s Indian. [pgn][Event "45th Biel GM"] [site "Biel SUI"] [Date "2012.07.25"] [Round "3"] [White "Wang Hao"] [black "Nakamura, Hi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B96"] [WhiteElo "2739"] [blackElo "2778"] [Annotator "I.M. Javier Gil"] [PlyCount "93"] [EventDate "2012.07.23"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 b5 { Polugayevsky's variation, not a regular guest at this level!} 8. e5 dxe5 9. fxe5 Qc7 10. exf6 Qe5+ 11. Be2 Qxg5 12. O-O $1 Ra7 13. Qd3 Rd7 14. Ne4 Qe5 15. Nf3 Qc7 (15... Qxb2 16. Qe3 {This is thought to be rather dangerous for black.} ) 16. Qe3 Bb7 17. Nfg5 (17. c4 {This is normally played here. I have my doubts about Wang's move...}) 17... h6 18. Qh3 $146 (18. Nxe6 $2 fxe6 19. Bh5+ Kd8 $19 {Pegoraro,N (2085)-Guliyev, N (2555) Villa San Giovanni 2005}) (18. fxg7 Bxg7 19. Nxf7 Bd4 20. Nf6+ Ke7 $1 21. Qxd4 Rxd4 22. Nxh8 Qxc2 $17) 18... g6 19. Bd3 Nc6 20. Kh1 Ne5 21. Rae1 Bb4 22. Re3 Bd5 23. Be2 Nc4 24. Rd3 Qe5 25. a3 Ba5 26. Bg4 Nd6 $2 {After this white gets a most powerful attack. Although black's position looked dangeorus, I don't think white had enougha fter 26...Nxb2!} ( 26... Nxb2 $1 27. Rxd5 Rxd5 28. Bxe6 fxe6 $19) 27. Rxd5 $3 Qxd5 28. Bxe6 $1 fxe6 29. f7+ Kd8 (29... Nxf7 $4 30. Nf6+ $18) (29... Rxf7 30. Nxd6+ Qxd6 31. Nxf7 O-O $8 32. Qf3 $16) 30. Nxe6+ Kc8 31. f8=Q+ Rxf8 32. Rxf8+ Bd8 33. Nxd6+ Kb8 $1 (33... Qxd6 34. Rxd8+ Rxd8 35. Nxd8+ Kxd8 36. Qd3 $18) 34. Rf1 Rxd6 35. Nxd8 Qc4 36. Rg1 Rxd8 37. Qg3+ Kb7 38. Qxg6 $18 Rd2 39. Qxh6 Rxc2 40. Qg7+ Kb6 41. b4 Qd3 42. Re1 Qe3 43. Qf6+ Kc7 44. Qf1 Rf2 45. Qg1 Qf4 46. h3 Qg3 47. Qh2 1-0 [Event "45th Biel GM"] [site "Biel SUI"] [Date "2012.07.25"] [Round "3"] [White "Giri, A."] [black "Bacrot, E."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E97"] [WhiteElo "2696"] [blackElo "2713"] [Annotator "I.M. Javier Gil"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2012.07.23"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. b4 Nh5 10. g3 f5 11. Ng5 Nf6 12. f3 f4 13. b5 fxg3 14. hxg3 h6 15. Ne6 Bxe6 16. dxe6 Qc8 17. Nd5 Qxe6 18. Nxc7 Qh3 19. Rf2 Rac8 20. Rh2 {All book so far.} (20. Bf1 $6 Qxg3+ 21. Rg2 Qh3 22. b6 (22. Rxg6 $4 Qd7) 22... axb6 23. Nb5 Nh5 (23... Rcd8 24. Rxg6 Qh5 25. Rg2 Nxe4 $17) 24. Rxg6 Qh4 25. Rg4 Qf6 26. Bg2 Kh7 27. Qxd6 Rxc4 28. Ba3 Ng6 29. Qd5 Rfc8 30. Nd6 Rd4 31. Qxb7 Rd8 32. Nf5 R4d7 33. Qa6 Nhf4 34. Rb1 Rd1+ 35. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 36. Bf1 Nh3+ 37. Kh2 Ng5 38. Bg2 Nf4 39. Be7 Qg6 40. Bxg5 hxg5 41. Qb7 Rd2 42. Qe7 Rxa2 43. Kg1 b5 44. Bf1 Qb6+ 45. Kh1 Ra7 46. Qxg5 Qf2 47. Rh4+ Kg8 48. Nh6+ Kh7 49. Ng4+ {1-0 Kowsarinia,A (2233)-Arat,U (2068)/Kocaeli TUR 2011/The Week in Chess 886}) 20... Qxg3+ ( 20... Qd7 21. b6 Nh5 22. c5 axb6 23. cxd6 Rxc7 24. dxc7 Qxc7 25. Rg2 {1-0 Sadzikowski,D (2380)-Gaehwiler,G (2244)/Caldas Novas BRA 2011/The Week in Chess 889}) 21. Rg2 Qh3 22. Qxd6 Rf7 23. c5 Nf5 {A new move.} (23... Bf8 24. Ne6 Nxe4 25. Qxe5 Nc3 26. Bc4 $18 Qh4 27. Qxc3 {1-0 Van Wely,L (2646)-Golubev, M (2527)/Sovata 2000/EXT 2001}) (23... Nxe4 $5 {Perhaps this.} 24. fxe4 Qc3 25. Rb1 Qe1+ 26. Kh2 Qh4+ 27. Kg1 {And now black can take a draw or even play for a win with 27...Qxd4.}) 24. exf5 Rfxc7 25. Be3 (25. Qe6+ Kh8 26. Bxh6 Qxf5 27. Qxf5 gxf5 $11) (25. Bc4+ $2 Kh8 26. Bxh6 Qxh6 27. Rh2 Qxh2+ 28. Kxh2 Rd7 29. Qe6 Re8 $17 {And white's Q is trapped.}) 25... Qxf5 26. Rf1 Bf8 27. Bd3 e4 ( 27... Bxd6 28. Bxf5 $16) 28. fxe4 Qxf1+ 29. Bxf1 Bxd6 30. cxd6 Rc3 31. Bd4 Rf3 32. e5 Rf4 (32... Rc1 33. Rxg6+ Kh7 34. Rxf6 Rcxf1+ 35. Kh2 $1 $18 (35. Kg2)) 33. Bb2 Nh7 34. e6 Ng5 35. Rxg5 (35. d7 Rcf8 36. e7 Nf3+ 37. Kf2 Nh2+ 38. Ke1 $1 Re4+ (38... Rxf1+ 39. Ke2 $18) 39. Re2 $18) 35... hxg5 36. d7 Rg4+ 37. Bg2 1-0 [/pgn] bielannotatedR3.pgn

As you probably know by now, GM Morozevich has withdrawn from the Biel Chess Festival. Here's the organising committee. Due to health issues, Alexander Morozevich retired from the Biel Grandmaster Tournament after Round 2. He has been this Wednesday with the organisers of the Festival to a hospital, where a doctor confirmed, with a medical certificate, his inability to go on to play the competition. Alexander Morozevich will travel back to Moscow as soon as possible to recover. The length of his healing process is unknown. After the approval of the players, the organisers could secure a substitute. GM Victor Bologan (Moldova, World No 20, 2732 Elo) takes the place of Alexander Morozevich. He arrived already in Biel. He starts the tournament from Round 3. His game against Magnus Carlsen, scheduled for Wednesday July 25th, will be held on Sunday 29th. Victor Bologan will play his first game on Thursday July 26th against Hikaru Nakamura. The 3 points of the victories of Anish Giri and Etienne Bacrot, achieved against Alexander Morozevich, are kept. Victor Bologan accepted to play with two games less. Biel International Chess Festival Organisation Committee As you can probably imagine, there has been much speculation about the coincidence of this withdrawal and the 2-game losing streak of Morozevich in the first 2 rounds (His game against Bacrot, in quite dramatic circumstances, see the analysis of the game in the forum). Although it is easy to label Morozevic as a "softie" I would like to point out 3 things: - A quote from Kasparov: "Chess is the world's toughest sport, much tougher than boxing ..." - The presumption of innocence in countries with a rule of law could be translated here as the "presumption that the reason to withdraw is genuine." - Would it not be reasonable to argue that the 2 losses and the circumstances in which he lost have left him psychologically wounded? It hurts to lose at chess, you and I know how much. Why shouldn't the damage to our psychological state be a reasonable justification? psychological wounds can often be worse than physical ones... True, at a professional level, this incident is not exactly something one would feel proud of. But do not forget that when Morozevic made that decision, he's aware of the consequences... and fortunately it seems that arranging a replacement (Bologan) was done in a quick and efficient manner.

Here are the 3 games from the second round of the Biel tournament with my full annotations. Bacrot's miniature against Morozevic was outstanding! Nice victory Carlsen victory also. Don't forget to choose the game from the menu above the board. Just click on it and choose it. [pgn][Event "45th Biel GM"] [site "Biel SUI"] [Date "2012.07.24"] [Round "2"] [White "Bacrot, E."] [black "Morozevich, A."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D31"] [WhiteElo "2713"] [blackElo "2770"] [Annotator "I.M. Javier Gil"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "2012.07.23"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c6 4. e4 {You don't see this gambit line very often at this level!} dxe4 5. Nxe4 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Qxd4 7. Bxb4 Qxe4+ 8. Be2 {So, white has not only the a3-f8 diagonal, but his dark squared B is dangerous even without that diagonal. Hundreds of games have been played in this variation.} Na6 9. Bd6 (9. Bc3 {This is another main line.}) 9... Qxg2 (9... e5 10. Nf3 Bg4 11. O-O O-O-O 12. b4 Nf6 13. c5 Ne8 14. Bd3 $1 (14. Rc1 Nxd6 15. cxd6 Kb8 16. Rc4 Qf5 17. Qc1 Bxf3 18. Bxf3 Qe6 19. a4 Qxd6 20. b5 cxb5 21. axb5 Nc7 22. b6 Qxb6 23. Qg5 Qf6 24. Qe3 Nd5 25. Qe4 Qe7 26. Rfc1 g6 27. Qc2 Nb6 28. Rc7 Rd7 29. Rc5 Re8 30. h3 f5 31. Be2 Red8 32. Qc3 e4 33. g4 f4 34. Qb4 f3 35. Bf1 Rd5 36. Qb5 e3 {0-1 Kornev,A (2544)-Galkin,A (2606)/ Dagomys 2008/CBM 124}) 14... Qxb4 15. Rb1 Qa3 $2 (15... Qf4 16. Bxe5 Rxd3 17. Qxd3 Qf5 18. Qxf5+ Bxf5 19. Rbc1 $16) 16. Nxe5 $1 $18 {Javier: And white had a big advantage.} Be6 (16... Bxd1 17. Bf5+ Rd7 18. Bxd7+ Kd8 19. Rxb7 Nec7 20. Rxd1 $18) 17. Nxc6 Nxd6 18. Nxd8 Rxd8 19. Bxa6 Qxa6 20. cxd6 $18 {1-0 Doric,D (2456) - Ribli,Z (2587) Maribor SLO 2011}) 10. Qd2 e5 (10... Qxh1 $2 {Taking the R is suicidal.} 11. O-O-O {With the idea of Bf3} Qe4 12. Be7 $3 {With a winning attack for white.}) (10... Nf6) 11. Bxe5 $146 {A new move.} (11. O-O-O Bf5 12. Bxe5 Ne7 $2 (12... Qe4 13. Bd3 Qxd3 14. Qxd3 Bxd3 15. Bxg7 Nb4 $13) 13. Nf3 f6 14. Rhg1 Qh3 15. Rxg7 $18 fxe5 16. Rxe7+ $1 Kxe7 17. Qd6+ {1-0 Steneskog,P-Eriksson,M (2225)/ Linkoping 1996/ EXT 2000}) (11. Bf3 Qg6 12. Bxe5 Be6 13. O-O-O Nf6 14. Ne2 Qf5 $1 15. Qc3 Nb4 $1 16. Qxb4 Qxe5 17. Rhe1 Qc7 18. Nd4 O-O-O $17 {Salas,C (2126) - Sengupta,D (2562) Seville ESP 2012}) 11... Bf5 (11... Qxh1 12. O-O-O f6 13. Qd8+ Kf7 14. Bd6 $40 {+/-}) 12. Bf3 Qg6 13. O-O-O Nc5 14. Qe3 Bb1 $3 {It takes guts to ignore a discovered attack like the one in this position! Black threatens both ...Qc2# and ...Bxa2.} 15. Rd2 (15. Bxg7+ $2 Ne7 $1 $19) 15... Bxa2 16. Bd6+ Ne6 17. Be4 Qh6 18. f4 Nf6 (18... Bxc4 $5) 19. Nf3 Bxc4 20. Re1 { I must concede that it takes great talent to sense that white's attack is still good enough and worth 3 (!) PP.} O-O-O (20... Bd5 $1 21. Bf5 Rd8 (21... O-O-O $2 22. Ng5 $1 $13) 22. Ba3 Nh5 23. Ng5 Qf6 24. Nxf7 $5 (24. Nxe6 fxe6 25. Bxe6 Bxe6 26. Qxe6+ Qxe6 27. Rxe6+ Kf7 28. Re7+ Kf6 29. Rxb7 Rxd2 30. Kxd2 Nxf4 31. Rxa7 Re8 $17) 24... Kxf7 25. Rxd5 $1 Nhxf4 $1 26. Re5 Rhe8 $17) (20... Nxe4 $2 21. Qxe4 Bd5 22. Rxd5 $1 cxd5 23. Qa4+ Kd8 24. Qa5+ $1 b6 (24... Kd7 $2 25. Ne5+ $1 $18) 25. Qxd5 Rc8+ 26. Kb1 $18) 21. Bxc6 $3 {Beautiful play by Bacrot, although Morozevich now has a draw if he wants it...} Ba6 $2 (21... bxc6 $1 22. Qxa7 Rxd6 23. Qa8+ (23. Rxd6 $2 Qxf4+ 24. Rd2 Nc7 25. Ne5 Re8 $19) 23... Kc7 ( 23... Kd7 $4 24. Qb7+ Nc7 25. Ne5+ $18) 24. Qa7+ (24. Qxh8 $2 Nxf4 25. Re7+ Rd7 26. Rexd7+ Nxd7 $19) 24... Kc8 25. Qa8+ Kc7 26. Qa7+ $11 {Draw by perpetual check.}) (21... Rxd6 $2 22. Rxd6 Kc7 (22... bxc6 $2 23. Rxc6+ Kb7 24. Rxc4 $16) 23. Ne5 $1 Qxf4 24. Qxf4 Nxf4 25. Nxc4 $18) 22. Ng5 $1 {After this I don't think black can hold the position.} Nxg5 $2 {This leads to mate, but what was there to do?} (22... Rxd6 23. Rxd6 Rd8 24. Nxf7 $18) (22... bxc6 23. Qxa7 Rxd6 24. Qxa6+ $18) 23. Bd7+ $3 Kxd7 (23... Rxd7 24. Qc5+ Kd8 25. Be7+ Ke8 26. Qc8+ Rd8 27. Qxd8#) 24. Qe7+ Kc6 25. Qc7+ {A brilliant miniature by France's most talented GM ever.} (25. Qc7+ Kb5 26. Qc5+ Ka4 27. Qb4#) 1-0 [Event "45th Biel GM"] [site "Biel SUI"] [Date "2012.07.24"] [Round "2"] [White "Carlsen, M."] [black "Wang Hao"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E32"] [WhiteElo "2837"] [blackElo "2739"] [Annotator "I.M. Javier Gil"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2012.07.23"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 O-O 5. Nf3 b6 6. e4 c5 {Both 6...Bb7 and 6...d5 are more common here.} 7. e5 (7. d5 {This doesn't look too good, although I'm going to suggest a crazy idea.} exd5 8. exd5 $1 (8. cxd5 $2 Nxe4 ( 8... Qe7 {Even this is better for black}) 9. Bd3 Nf6) 8... Re8+ 9. Be3 $5 { This is my idea, based on a some classical games.} (9. Be2 Ba6 $1 10. O-O $2 Bxc3 11. bxc3 Nxd5 $1 $17) 9... Ng4 10. Bd3 {Completely ignoring the threat against e3. Development is everything!} Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 (11. Qxc3 $5 Nxe3 12. fxe3 Rxe3+ 13. Kf2 Re8 14. Rae1 Rxe1 15. Rxe1 d6 16. Ng5 h6 17. Bh7+ Kf8 18. Ne4 {With the idea of Qg3.}) 11... Nxe3 12. fxe3 h6 (12... Rxe3+ 13. Kf2 {And both the black R and the P on h7 are on.}) 13. O-O Rxe3 14. Qf2 Re8 15. Nh4 $18 {Admitedly, not very forcing, but it goes to show you one thing: Study the classics!}) 7... Ne8 (7... cxd4 $5 8. Nxd4 (8. Ng5 $6 h6 9. exf6 hxg5 10. fxg7 Kxg7 11. a3 Be7 $15) (8. a3 $5 {This is the main line here.}) 8... Ne8 9. Qe4 Nc6 10. Nxc6 dxc6 11. Qxc6 Qd4 $1) 8. d5 {Hard to believe, but this is actually a novelty. Both 8.Bd3 and 8.Bg5 had been tried here before.} exd5 9. cxd5 d6 10. Bg5 (10. Ng5 g6 11. Nge4 dxe5 12. Bh6 Ng7 (12... f5 $5 13. Bxf8 Kxf8 14. a3 Ba5 15. Ng3 Bxc3+ (15... Qxd5 $4 16. b4 cxb4 17. Nxd5 b3+ 18. Qc3 $18) 16. Qxc3 Qxd5 17. Rd1 $16) 13. O-O-O $44) 10... f6 11. exf6 Nxf6 12. O-O-O Bxc3 13. bxc3 (13. Qxc3 Ne4 14. Bxd8 Nxc3 15. bxc3 Rxd8 16. Ng5 $5) 13... Bg4 14. Re1 {A classy move!} Bxf3 (14... Nbd7) 15. gxf3 {I think black's position is actually quite difficult to defend. White has the 2 BB and a very annoying g file...} Nbd7 16. Bd3 $14 h6 17. Bf4 (17. Bxh6 $2 {A premature attack.} gxh6 18. Rhg1+ Kh8 19. Qd2 Rf7 20. Qxh6+ Nh7 21. Qxd6 Qf6) 17... c4 (17... Qc7 18. Rhg1 Kh8 (18... Ne5) 19. Re7 Rg8 20. Qd2 $1 $18 {White has too many pieces pointing at black's K.}) 18. Bf5 Nc5 19. Rhg1 Kh8 20. Rg6 Rf7 21. Reg1 $1 (21. Bxh6 gxh6 22. Rxh6+ Nh7 (22... Kg7 $2 23. Rg1+ $1 $18) 23. Rxh7+ Rxh7 24. Bxh7 $16) 21... Qf8 22. Be3 Nxd5 $6 (22... Nfd7 23. Be6 Nd3+ 24. Kb1 Re7 25. Bxd7 Rxd7 26. f4 Re8 27. Bd4 Ree7 28. Rxh6+ Kg8 29. Bf6 Rf7 30. Qe2 $18) 23. Bd4 $1 (23. Bxc5 {This leads to a better position for white, but Carlsen's move is stronger.} bxc5 24. Be6 Nf4 25. Bxf7 Nd3+ 26. Kb1 Rb8+ 27. Ka1 Qxf7 28. Rxg7 ( 28. Rxd6) 28... Qxf3 29. Qd2 $16) 23... Nf6 24. Qd2 $1 Re8 $2 (24... Nd3+ 25. Bxd3 cxd3 26. Qf4 $16 {With a mighty attack. White's d4 B is a monster!}) 25. Rxg7 $1 Qxg7 (25... Rxg7 26. Qxh6+ Kg8 27. Bh7+ $1 $18) 26. Rxg7 Kxg7 27. Qf4 Nd3+ 28. Bxd3 cxd3 29. Kd2 $1 {White's B is still a monster!} Kg6 30. Kxd3 $16 Re6 31. h4 Rfe7 $2 32. h5+ $1 $18 Kf7 (32... Kxh5 33. Qf5+ Kh4 34. Bxf6+ $18) 33. Qf5 Re5 34. Qg6+ Ke6 35. f4 {A fine attacking game by Carlsen.} (35. f4 Rf5 36. Bxf6 Rxf6 37. f5+ Ke5 38. f4+ $18) 1-0 [Event "45th Biel GM"] [site "Biel SUI"] [Date "2012.07.24"] [Round "2"] [White "Nakamura, Hi"] [black "Giri, A."] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "2778"] [blackElo "2696"] [Annotator "I.M. Javier Gil"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2012.07.23"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. g3 {Nakamura: parles català? (Do you speak Catalan?)} Bb4+ {Giri: no, gràcies! (No, thanks!)} 5. Bd2 Bxd2+ 6. Nbxd2 O-O 7. Bg2 b6 8. O-O Bb7 9. cxd5 Bxd5 $5 (9... exd5 {This is far more common here.}) 10. Re1 (10. Qc2 Nbd7 11. e4 Bb7 12. b4 $5 {Perhaps this was a better try for an opening advantage.}) 10... Nbd7 11. e4 Bb7 12. e5 {I'm not sure about this, seems a bit premature.} (12. Rc1 c5 13. e5 Nd5 14. Nc4) 12... Nd5 13. Ne4 h6 { Strictly speaking, a new move, but hardly a relevant one. I could only track down one previous game from the position after 13.Ne4, but it's not a very good game, as black blundered fairly quickly.} (13... Rc8 14. Rc1 Re8 15. Nfg5 h6 16. Qh5 Qe7 (16... f6 $4 17. exf6 N7xf6 18. Qf7+ Kh8 19. Nxf6 Qxf6 20. Qxf6 gxf6 21. Nxe6 $16 {1-0 Hauck,B-Schenderowitsch,M/Koblenz 1994/EXT 2001 (60)}) 17. Nf3 Nb4 18. Rc3 Nxa2 19. Ra3 Bd5 20. Rxa7 Qb4) 14. Rc1 Qe7 15. a3 a5 16. Nfd2 Rad8 17. Nc4 Nb8 18. Ne3 Nxe3 (18... Rd7 19. Ng4 Rfd8 $2 20. Nef6+ $1 gxf6 21. Bxd5 $16 {This might have been Nakamura's hope.}) 19. fxe3 (19. Rxe3 c5 20. Nd6 Bxg2 21. Kxg2 Nd7 $11) 19... c5 20. Qg4 Bxe4 {Getting rid of white's most dangerous pieces.} 21. Bxe4 Rc8 22. Rcd1 (22. Bd3 {Perhaps this, intending Qe4. }) 22... Nd7 23. Bb1 b5 24. Qe4 f5 25. Qb7 {Annoying the black pawns on the queenside.} (25. exf6 Nxf6 26. Qg6 c4) 25... Rb8 26. Qa7 (26. Qa6 a4 27. Ba2 c4 ) 26... Ra8 27. Qb7 Rab8 28. Qa7 Ra8 29. Qc7 c4 30. Rf1 (30. d5 Rfc8 31. Qd6 $1 Qxd6 32. exd6 $16) 30... Rfc8 31. Qd6 Qxd6 32. exd6 Nf6 33. g4 $1 {A resourceful move by Nakamura. In fact, I think that's one of his strengths, finding this kind of moves...} (33. d5 exd5 (33... Nxd5 34. Bxf5 $16) 34. d7 ( 34. Bxf5 Re8) 34... Rd8 35. Bxf5 Rab8 36. Rd4 $11) 33... g6 (33... Nxg4 34. d5 e5 (34... Nxe3 $2 35. dxe6) 35. Bxf5 Nxe3 36. Be6+ Kh7 37. Bf5+ Kh8 38. Bxc8 Rxc8 39. Kf2 Nxf1 40. Rxf1 Rf8+ 41. Ke2 Kg8 42. Rc1 Rf6 (42... a4 43. Ke3 Rf6 44. Ke4) 43. Ke3 Kf7 44. a4 Ke8 45. axb5 Kd7 46. Rxc4 Kxd6 47. Ra4 Kxd5 48. Rxa5 $11) 34. gxf5 exf5 35. e4 $1 {White needs to open up some lines for his RR.} Nxe4 36. Bxe4 fxe4 37. Rf6 Kg7 38. Re6 Rf8 (38... Re8 39. Re5 b4) 39. Rxe4 Rad8 40. Re7+ Rf7 41. Rf1 (41. Rf1 Rxe7 42. dxe7 Re8 43. Re1 Kf6 44. Re5 Rxe7 45. Rxb5 Re2 $11) 1/2-1/2 [/pgn] Here's the pgn file if you wish to download it (but you need to be registered. Registration is FREE!) bielannotatedR2.pgn

I've annotated the first 3 games from the Biel tournament. Interesting stuff. Both Giri and Morozevic missed a Queen Sacrifice (time trouble, no doubt). Hao's victory was quite impressive. Anyone can view the games on-line, but if you wish to download the pgn file, please register: it's free! By the way, make sure you click on the board header to change the game you wish to view! [pgn][Event "45th Biel GM"] [site "Biel SUI"] [Date "2012.07.23"] [Round "1"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [black "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B53"] [WhiteElo "2837"] [blackElo "2778"] [Annotator "I.M. Javier Gil"] [PlyCount "78"] [EventDate "2012.07.23"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Qxd4 {Carlsen had tried this in a recent blitz game of his, but I didn't think he'd have the guts to play it in a STC game!} a6 (4... Nc6 5. Bb5 Bd7 6. Bxc6 Bxc6 {And here I think Magnus would have chosen the c4 variation.}) 5. c4 Nc6 6. Qd1 Bg4 7. Be2 Nf6 8. Nc3 Bxf3 $6 {I'm trying hard to understand this move, without success. Surely 8...g6 is correct.} (8... g6) 9. Bxf3 {White has the 2 BB now, and he hasn't had to sweat much to get them.} g6 10. O-O Bg7 11. Be3 O-O 12. Rc1 Nd7 13. Be2 Nc5 14. f3 Rc8 15. Kh1 e5 $1 {Black's eyeing the d4 square. ...Ne6 is going to be next. } 16. Nd5 Ne6 17. Qd2 (17. Rf2 Ncd4 18. Bd3 f5 19. exf5 gxf5 20. Rd2) 17... Ncd4 18. Bd3 Nc7 19. Bg5 $6 (19. Nb6 Rb8 20. Rfd1 Nce6 21. Nd5 Nc7 {Yes, black repeats his strategy, but compared to the game, white's like two tempi up.}) 19... f6 20. Be3 Nxd5 21. cxd5 $14 {White still has a small advantage, but it should fade away soon.} Qb6 22. Rc3 {Black can't take on c3 because of bxc. However, lots of pieces are coming off the board.} Rc5 23. Bxd4 {I couldn't believe this move when I saw it, but on closer look, it really is much better that I thought. White really doesn't have very much anymore.} (23. Rfc1 {The "normal" move.} Rfc8 24. b4 Rxc3 (24... Qxb4 $4 25. Rxc5 $18) 25. Rxc3 Qd8 $1 26. a4 (26. Qc1 Rxc3 27. Qxc3 f5 $1 {And the c file is useless.}) 26... Rxc3 ( 26... f5 $6 27. Bxd4 exd4 28. Rxc8 Qxc8 29. exf5 gxf5 30. Qe1 $5) 27. Qxc3 { Without an entry point along the c-file, white's control of the c-file is not particularly useful.} f5 {Equality.} 28. exf5 Nxf5 29. Bxf5 gxf5 $11) 23... exd4 24. Rcc1 Rxc1 (24... Rfc8 25. Rcd1 $5 {And with c2 covered, d4 will need protection and ...f5 seems out of the question for black.}) 25. Rxc1 Rf7 26. Rc8+ Rf8 27. Rc4 Rf7 28. Qc1 Bf8 $1 29. g3 Be7 $1 30. Kg2 (30. Rc7 Bd8 31. Rxf7 Kxf7 $11) 30... Bd8 $1 {Completing the B's defensive maneuver.} 31. Rc8 Kg7 { ...Rc7 is the "threat".} 32. Qd2 Bc7 {"Trapping" the R. ...Rf8 is next.} 33. h4 Rf8 34. Rxf8 Kxf8 35. h5 Kg7 36. h6+ Kf7 37. f4 Bd8 38. Qf2 Qc5 39. Qe2 Qc1 { Well defended by Nakamura!} 1/2-1/2 [Event "45th Biel GM"] [site "Biel SUI"] [Date "2012.07.23"] [Round "1"] [White "Wang, Hao"] [black "Bacrot, Etienne"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "E97"] [WhiteElo "2739"] [blackElo "2713"] [Annotator "I.M. Javier Gil"] [PlyCount "71"] [EventDate "2012.07.23"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. b4 Nh5 10. g3 f5 11. Ng5 Nf6 12. Bf3 c6 13. Ba3 cxd5 14. exd5 e4 15. Be2 {All book so far.} h6 {A novelty.} (15... Ne8 {This is the move that Giri chose in his game against Kramnik (the world's strongest player on the white side of a King's Indian!) last year.} 16. Rc1 h6 17. Ne6 Bxe6 18. dxe6 Nc7 19. b5 Be5 20. Qb3 Kg7 21. Rfd1 Nxe6 22. c5 $1 Nd4 23. Rxd4 $1 Bxd4 24. cxd6 Ng8 25. Nd5 {And white had a powerful attack.} Kh8 26. Rc7 Be5 27. Bb2 Qxd6 28. Rxb7 g5 29. b6 a5 30. Bh5 Rab8 31. Ra7 Bxb2 32. Qxb2+ Nf6 33. Bf7 Kg7 34. Rd7 Qc6 35. Be6+ {1-0 Kramnik,V (2791)-Giri,A (2722)/Hoogeveen NED 2011/The Week in Chess 884}) (15... Nfxd5 $2 {This is a mistake. Black's toying with the idea of the discovered attack against c3 and the unprotected N on g5, but it backfires.} 16. Nxd5 $1 Bxa1 17. Nxe7+ Qxe7 18. Qd5+ Kg7 19. Rxa1 Qxg5 20. Bb2+ Kh6 21. Qxd6 {White's clearly better. The f8 R is on, Bc1 is possibly a threat, black's K is in trouble... for example, if now} Rd8 $2 22. Qe5 $1 $18) 16. Ne6 Bxe6 17. dxe6 f4 $5 {This was probably what Bacrot had prepared in this variation.} 18. Qd2 (18. Re1 $6 {Planning Bf1 is black goes ...f3.} e3 $1 19. fxe3 fxg3 20. hxg3 Nh5 $1) (18. gxf4 d5 $5 (18... Nf5 $5)) 18... f3 19. Bd1 { The B can get back into play via b3 later.} Qc8 (19... d5 20. cxd5 Nfxd5 21. Nxd5 Bxa1 22. Bb3 $1 {Looks very good for white. The B is on, b5 is coming.}) 20. Re1 Qxc4 (20... Qxe6 21. Bxf3 Qxc4 22. Bd1 $13) 21. Bb3 Qa6 22. Bb2 Rad8 23. Nxe4 Nxe4 24. Rxe4 Bxb2 25. Qxb2 $16 {The resulting position seems to favour white. That P on a6 is very powerful, the Q's diagonal, the B b3, black's weakened Kside...} d5 26. Re3 Rd6 27. Rae1 Qb6 28. Bd1 a5 29. b5 Nf5 30. e7 $1 (30. Rxf3 Rxe6) 30... Re8 31. Re5 Qc7 (31... Nd4 32. R1e3 $16) 32. Bxf3 Rxe7 33. Rxe7 Nxe7 34. Qe5 $1 Kf8 (34... Nf5 35. Bxd5+) 35. Qh8+ Ng8 $2 ( 35... Kf7 36. Qh7+ Kf6 37. Qxh6 $18) 36. Re8+ $3 {A very nice game by Wang. Personally, I think Bacrot's home preparation was rather poor for a 2700+ player.} (36. Re8+ Kxe8 37. Qxg8+ Ke7 38. Qg7+ Kd8 39. Qf8+ Kd7 40. Bg4+ Re6 41. Qf7+ $18) 1-0 [Event "45th Biel GM"] [site "Biel SUI"] [Date "2012.07.23"] [Round "1"] [White "Morozevich, Alexander"] [black "Giri, Anish"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D97"] [WhiteElo "2770"] [blackElo "2696"] [Annotator "I.M. Javier Gil"] [PlyCount "100"] [EventDate "2012.07.23"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 O-O 7. e4 Be6 $5 { This rather unusual and provocative move is the pet line of Turkmen GM Handszar Odeev. The idea is to entice white to play d5, then retreat the B back to c8 and attack white's center by means of ...c6.} 8. Qb5 {A new move, at least on my database. I'm sure Morozevic considered 8.d5 of course, but he wanted to avoid Giri's preparation.} (8. d5 Bc8 9. Bg5 c6 10. Rd1 b5 11. Qb3 Qa5 12. Nd2 a6 13. Be2 cxd5 14. exd5 Nbd7 15. a3 Bb7 {Lima,D (2475)-Odeev,H (2405) Moscow 1994. Odeev ended up winning that game.}) 8... Bd7 9. Qc5 {White thinks ...b6 will create weaknesses in black's position.} b6 10. Qg5 {Nice swing to the other flank. Qh4 and Bh6 is the main idea.} c5 $1 11. dxc5 Bc6 $1 {Black's playing very agressively.} 12. Qh4 bxc5 13. Be2 (13. Bc4 $5 Nbd7 14. O-O) 13... e6 14. Bg5 {Faced with the threat of e5, black's next move is forced.} h6 15. Bxh6 Nxe4 16. Qf4 {A classy move.} (16. Bxg7 Qxh4 17. Nxh4 Kxg7 $11) 16... Nxc3 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 (17... Nxe2 $4 18. Qh6) 18. bxc3 Qf6 {The game is about even now.} 19. Qe3 Nd7 20. O-O Rab8 21. Rfd1 Rfd8 22. h3 Bd5 23. a4 a5 24. Rab1 Bb3 25. Rd6 Bxa4 26. Ra1 Qe7 27. Ra6 Bb5 28. Bxb5 Rxb5 29. Ra7 $5 (29. R6xa5 Rxa5 30. Rxa5 $14) 29... Rdb8 30. Ne5 R8b7 31. Rxb7 Rxb7 32. Rxa5 { Morozevich has played very well to keep the game alive, maintaining some winning chances. What follows now is rather dramatic!} Qd6 $4 {An incredible oversight. At this point, both players were probably in time trouble.} (32... Rb1+ $1 33. Kh2 Qd6 34. f4 {Transposing into the game, was the correct move order for black.}) 33. f4 $4 (33. Qh6+ $1 Kg8 34. Qh8+ Kxh8 35. Nxf7+ Kg7 36. Nxd6 {And black's a P down in the endgame.}) 33... Rb1+ 34. Kh2 Nxe5 35. fxe5 { I think Morozevic was still playing under the inertia of the middlegame. Perhaps this move is still Ok, but from a practical standpoint, considering the time trouble, it was much better to simplify the position and settle for a draw, as defending against black's attack seems rather difficult now...} (35. Qxe5+ Qxe5 36. fxe5 c4 37. Rc5 Re1 38. Rxc4 Rxe5 $11) 35... Qd1 36. Qf2 (36. Rxc5 Qh1+ 37. Kg3 Re1 38. Qf3 Rf1 39. Qe4 {And black's attack seems under control.}) 36... Qh1+ 37. Kg3 Rf1 38. Qxc5 Rd1 39. Qe3 $2 (39. Qf2 $1 {Not only "trapping" the black Q, but also threatening Qf6.} Rd3+ 40. Kh4 g5+ 41. Kxg5 Qc1+ 42. Kg4 {And white still retains all the chances.}) 39... Qf1 $1 { Threatening ...Rd3. Things get nasty for white now.} 40. Kh2 Re1 41. Qd2 $1 { Only move.} (41. Qd4 Qh1+ 42. Kg3 Re2 $19) 41... Qg1+ 42. Kg3 Re3+ 43. Kf4 g5+ 44. Kg4 $2 (44. Kxg5 $1 Rxh3 $1 (44... Rg3+ $2 45. Kh5 $1 {Threatening Qh6+.} Rg6 46. Ra4 $1 {The R gets back into play. Rg4 is next.} Qc5 47. Rg4 Qxe5+ 48. Rg5 $1 $16) 45. Kg4 $8 Rh6 46. Kf3 {And white should be able to hold the position. Black will probably win back one of his PP, but it's not like if white's going to get mated.}) 44... Kh6 $1 45. Ra4 $2 (45. Ra8 $1 Re4+ 46. Kf3 (46. Kg3 Rxe5 (46... Qc5 47. Rh8+ Kg7 48. Qxg5+ $1 Kxh8 49. Qh5+ Kg8 50. Qg5+ $11) 47. Rh8+ Kg7 48. Rd8 Re3+ 49. Kg4 $11)) 45... Rxe5 {It looks pretty bad now...} 46. h4 f6 $2 (46... f5+ $1 47. Kf3 Qf1+ 48. Kg3 f4+ 49. Kg4 Qb5 $3 $19 {Black has a winning attack. The threats, apart from ...Qxa4, are ...Re3 and Rg3, or ....Re2.}) 47. Kf3 Qh2 48. hxg5+ fxg5 49. Re4 $2 (49. Rg4 $1 { Apparently, white could still hold with this move.}) 49... Rf5+ 50. Ke3 Qg3+ { Black resigned.} 0-1 [/pgn] bielannotatedR1.pgn

A cup system for a blitz tournament is as ridiculous as a Tennis Tournament where a player gets knocked out in a 2 games match, but I guess the organisers wanted a bit of publicity... Here's what happened: Biel Exhibition Blitz 2012 Final ----- Bacrot,Etienne 0.5 Nakamura,Hikaru 1.5 Semi-final ---------- Bacrot,Etienne 1.5 Kosteniuk,Alexandra 0.5 Morozevich,Alexander 0.0 Nakamura,Hikaru 2.0 Quarter-final ------------- Bacrot,Etienne 2.0 Carlsen,Magnus 1.0 Kosteniuk,Alexandra 1.5 Wang,Hao 0.5 Morozevich,Alexander 2.0 Pelletier,Yannick 1.0 Harikrishna,Pentala 0.5 Nakamura,Hikaru 1.5 And here's Nakamura's win in the final against Bacrot: [pgn][Event "Biel Exhibition Blitz"] [site "Biel SUI"] [Date "2012.07.22"] [Round "3.2"] [White "Nakamura, Hikaru"] [black "Bacrot, Etienne"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A23"] [WhiteElo "2778"] [blackElo "2713"] [PlyCount "53"] [EventDate "2012.07.22"] 1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 c6 4. Nf3 e4 5. Nd4 d5 6. cxd5 Qb6 7. Nb3 a5 {A risky move. White will try to destroy the black center, but what exactly is black's goal? you tell me!} (7... cxd5 8. Bg2 {With the idea of d3, is the main line.}) 8. d3 a4 9. Nd2 exd3 10. Bg2 Bb4 $2 (10... cxd5 {This looks much better in this position.} 11. O-O (11. exd3 Bg4) 11... d4 $1 12. Nce4 (12. Nxa4 $2 Qb5 $1 $19) 12... Nxe4 13. Nxe4 dxe2 14. Qxe2 Be7 {And white still has to prove that he has enough compensation.}) 11. O-O O-O 12. Nc4 Qd8 (12... Qc5 13. Qxd3 Bxc3 14. Be3 $1 Qb5 15. Qxc3 Nxd5 $2 16. Bxd5 $1 cxd5 (16... Qxd5 17. Nb6) 17. Nb6 $18) 13. dxc6 dxe2 14. Qxe2 Nxc6 15. Rd1 {White has a comfortable advantage.} Qe7 16. Qxe7 Bxe7 17. Nb6 Ra6 (17... Bg4 18. Nxa8 Bxd1 19. Nb6 Bc2 20. Nbxa4 $16) 18. Nxc8 (18. Ncxa4 $5) 18... Rxc8 19. a3 $16 Kf8 20. Be3 Rb8 21. Bf1 Raa8 22. Bb5 Na5 23. Bxa4 Nc4 24. Bc1 Rc8 25. Bb3 Nxa3 26. Bd2 Rd8 ( 26... Bb4 27. Na4 $1 $18) 27. bxa3 1-0 [/pgn]

The 45th edition of the Biel Tournament begins today in Switzerland. 6 Gms are taking part: Magnus Carlsen (Norway, Elo 2837) Hiraku Nakamura (USA, Elo 2778) Alexander Morozevic (Russia, Elo 2770) Wang Hao (PRC, Elo 2739) Etienne Bracto (France, Elo 2713) Anish Giri (Holland, Elo 2696) The tournament is a double round robin, as it should be!. Giri has just won the Dutch Championship and a few people are expecting him to do well here as well, but how well? His rating is actually a little higher (2710 at present) but FIDE only publishes chess ratings on a monthly basis. By the way, Switzerland would be an awesome country to defect to for Wang Hao, although I can't think of any Chinese Elite player who has "migrated" in recent times. But give them time... Official website: http://www.bielchess...val.ch/en/home/

The ACP (Association of Chess Professionals, website: http://www.chess-players.org ), in collaboration with Science Park Amsterdam Chess, is proud to announce the "ACP Golden Classic" that will take place in Amsterdam from 14 to 22 July, in the same venue and at the same time as the Dutch Championships and the SPA Open. Seven great players from seven different countries will be battling for the ACP Golden Classic title in an unprecedented way in the computer era: they shall be competing under the same time control as was used in the World Championship matches in the Golden Era of chess: 2,5 hours/40 moves + adjournment! This should provide an occasion for producing highly spectacular and imaginative chess, by giving the seven gladiators the most important ingredient needed for exploiting their skills and fantasy: time to think. The players who will be fighting for the overall prize-fund of 35000 USD make up for a Category XIX tournament. They are: Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR, 2764) Gata Kamsky (USA, 2741) Baadur Jobava (GEO, 2721) Krishnan Sasikiran (IND, 2720) Le Quang Liem (VIE, 2703) Emil Sutovsky (ISR, 2687) Anna Muzychuk (SLO, 2598) Tournament Director and ACP Board Member Jeroen van den Berg underlined: "I am honoured that the ACP chose the Netherlands as host country for this unique event. The players, renowned for their fighting spirit, are very diverse in style, generation, country and even gender. I do expect them to battle out every game to the last inch." ACP Board Director Yuri Garrett adds: "Hopefully the formula of the event should finally present chess lovers worldwide with a selection of high-level endgames and not only with opening duels, something which the ACP thinks could be very beneficial to chess." In a nutshell, the ACP is wondering whether the future of chess lies in its past. Follow the "ACP Golden Classic" on http://www.amsterdamchess.com/ to give your personal answer to this ever intriguing question!

As you probably know, the unofficial World Rapid and the World Blitz Championship are currently being played in Astana (Kaz). Magnus Carlsen started the first event quite well. First and second day were pretty good, as he was 1.5 ahead of his opponents before the third day, without having lost a single game. But then he started losing some games, and you know it goes when you start losing... he lost 2 in a row against Grischuk and Ivanchuck and ended up second behind Karjakin. Ok, 10.5/15 and second place is not so bad. Granted. However, the way he was playing in some games was a little disconcerting. I guess when you're 2800+ you've gotta watch out what openings you play, but some of the decisions that he made in a few of the games were not those that one is to epect from the highest rated player on the planet! Apart from his game against Dreev, I've also added notes to his 2 games games against Ivanchuck, the rapid and the blitz. Reminder: Please use the menu located over the board to choose the game you want to see. [pgn][Event "World Rapid Final"] [site "Astana KAZ"] [Date "2012.07.07"] [Round "6"] [White "(E) Carlsen, Magnus"] [black "Dreev, Aleksey"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B11"] [WhiteElo "2837"] [blackElo "2677"] [Annotator "I.M. Javier Gil"] [PlyCount "96"] [EventDate "2012.07.01"] 1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 e6 6. d4 dxe4 7. Qxe4 Nf6 8. Qh4 Qa5 9. Bd3 (9. Bd2 {This is possible also.}) 9... Na6 {Intending ...Nb4 and then exchanging on d3. I was watching this game live on the internet, and I was thinking something along the lines of "If Magnus doesn't do anything to prevent Dreev's plan, he'll have absolutely nothing out of the opening". We're talking about a 15 minutes game, that's plenty of time to come up with something original, some idea that gives your opponent some problems. The move that I thought Magnus would play was a3!? (see below for comments)} 10. O-O $6 {Very disappointing!} (10. a3 $5 {After this, I think black really must play .. .Nb4 or else his a6 N will be doing very little, even if black relocates it to c7 later.} Nb4 {I think this is forced.} 11. axb4 Qxa1 12. O-O {Whilst it is true that the black Q has no squares to go to, white doesn't really have any direct threats, apart from the Bg5 or Bh6 tactical ideas. However, black doesn't have many useful moves. I think Dreev would have been hard pressed to find a good way out of his problems here, and that white's sacrifice is fully justified here. Here are some lines:} O-O-O (12... Bxb4 $2 13. Bh6 Qxb2 14. Nd1 $1 $18 {And black loses material.}) 13. b5 $1 {Here I'm thinking that if black lets white exchange on c6, then he'll have plenty of compensation as black's King will be dangerously exposed.} (13. Bd2 Qxb2 14. Rb1 Qa3 15. Rb3 Qa1+ 16. Rb1 Qa3 $11) 13... cxb5 (13... c5 $2 14. dxc5 Bxc5 15. Be3 Qxb2 16. Qc4 $16) 14. Nxb5 Qa5 15. Bf4 Rd7 16. Bg3 $44 {And the g3-b8 diagonal looks rather frightening. Black's K is exposed. I'd rather be white here.}) 10... Nb4 { Dreev had no problems whatsoever for the rest of the game. In fact, he was a little better for most of the remaining moves.} 11. Rd1 Be7 12. Bg5 O-O-O 13. a3 Nxd3 14. Rxd3 h6 15. Bd2 Qf5 16. Re1 Bd6 17. Ne4 Nxe4 18. Rxe4 Be7 19. Qg4 Qxg4 20. hxg4 Bf6 21. b4 Rd7 22. f4 g6 23. c3 h5 24. g5 Bg7 25. Kf2 b6 26. Ke2 Rhd8 27. Ree3 Kb7 28. Rh3 Bf8 29. Be1 a5 30. Bd2 axb4 31. axb4 Ra8 32. Rh1 Ra2 33. Ke3 Rd8 34. Ke4 Rb2 35. g3 Ra2 36. Be3 Ra3 37. Bf2 Ra2 38. Be3 Ra3 39. Rb1 Ra4 40. Rdd1 b5 41. Rh1 Ra2 42. g4 hxg4 43. Rh7 Rd7 44. Rh8 Bd6 45. Rg1 Ra3 46. Bd2 Ra2 47. Be3 Ra3 48. Bd2 Ra2 {Magnus actually repeated this variation against Ivanchuck in the Blitz, but Ivanchuck chose 8...Be7 rather than 8... Qa5. Do you know why? I think it's because they both found a3!? in that position. } 1/2-1/2 [Event "World Rapid Final"] [site "Astana KAZ"] [Date "2012.07.08"] [Round "12"] [White "Carlsen, Magnus"] [black "Ivanchuk, Vassily"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E21"] [WhiteElo "2837"] [blackElo "2769"] [Annotator "I.M. Javier Gil"] [PlyCount "88"] [EventDate "2012.07.01"] {Some of Magnus' games are a little hard to watch, as he seems to be struggling from very early on. For example, the 2 games that he has played against Ivanchuck are a good example. If we didn't know their ratings, it would be very difficult to guess that white is 2836.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 Ne4 5. Qc2 f5 6. g3 b6 7. Bg2 Bb7 8. Nd2 Bxc3 9. bxc3 Nd6 10. d5 ( 10. Bxb7 Nxb7 {Fianchetto de caballo!}) 10... Na6 11. O-O O-O 12. Ba3 Qf6 13. e4 f4 $1 {At this point I thought Carlsen was going to lose for sure, mainly because he doesn't play that well in closed positions where he has one or more weaknesses.} 14. Rab1 Rae8 15. Qd3 e5 16. Nb3 Nb8 17. Bxd6 (17. c5 Ba6) 17... Qxd6 18. c5 Qf6 (18... bxc5 19. Nxc5 $1) 19. c4 d6 20. c6 Bc8 21. c5 { Sacrificing a P to open up some lines for his pieces.} (21. f3 fxg3 22. hxg3 Qg5 $17) 21... f3 (21... bxc5 22. Nd2 $44) (21... dxc5 $5) 22. Bh1 Ba6 23. Qe3 Bxf1 24. Rxf1 bxc5 25. Nd2 Na6 26. Qa3 (26. Bxf3 Nb4 {Planning not only ... Nxa2 but also ...Nc2 and then ...Nd4.}) 26... Nb4 27. Qb3 $1 {Planning a3, and black's Knight will be completely out of play on a6.} Rb8 28. Qc4 Qg5 $1 29. Nxf3 Rxf3 $3 {Black's N is going to be incredibly stronger than white's B.} 30. Bxf3 Qd2 31. a3 Nd3 $1 (31... Nc2 32. Qa6 $1 {And it's black who's in trouble here because of his Queenside weaknesses.} (32. Rd1 $2 Nxa3 $1)) 32. Bg4 Rf8 $1 (32... Rb2 $4 {This looks strong, but runs into...} 33. Qa6 $1 {And it's black who's lost!} Nxf2 34. Qc8+ Kf7 35. Qd7+ Kf8 36. Be6 $18) 33. f3 g6 $1 34. Qb5 c4 35. Qb7 Qa5 36. Kg2 Kg7 37. h4 h5 38. Be6 Kh6 39. Kh3 Qd2 (39... Rxf3 $1 40. Rxf3 Qe1 $19) 40. Qxc7 Qe2 41. Qe7 Qxf1+ 42. Kh2 Qf2+ 43. Kh3 Nf4+ 44. gxf4 Qxf3+ 0-1 [Event "World Blitz Final"] [site "Astana KAZ"] [Date "2012.07.09"] [Round "5"] [White "Carlsen, M."] [black "Ivanchuk, V."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B11"] [WhiteElo "2837"] [blackElo "2769"] [Annotator "I.M. Javier Gil"] [PlyCount "105"] [EventDate "2012.07.01"] {Yes, I'm aware that a blitz game is a bit of a lottery, but even so, some of these games are so poor!} 1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 e6 6. d4 dxe4 7. Qxe4 Nf6 8. Qh4 Be7 {8...Qa5!? is the move Dreev tried, as we saw earlier on.} 9. Bd3 Nbd7 10. O-O O-O 11. Bg5 g6 12. Bh6 Re8 13. Ne2 e5 14. Bc4 exd4 15. Nxd4 $4 {Blunder. White's losing material.} (15. Qxd4 $142) 15... Nh5 $1 {White's Queen is now kind of trapped. If Qg4 Ne5! en black can't defend his Q, d4 N and c4 B at the same time.} 16. Qe4 (16. Qg4 Ne5) 16... Bf8 {Now white can't defend his h6 B, so he's forced to sacrifice on f7.} 17. Bxf7+ Kxf7 18. Qf3+ Kg8 19. Qb3+ Kh8 20. Be3 Nc5 {Black's a whole piece up.} 21. Qc3 Ne4 22. Qb3 Qb6 23. Qf7 Re7 24. Qf3 Qa5 25. Rfe1 Rae8 26. Nb3 Qf5 $2 { Inaccurate. Now white will take on a7 and he has 2 PP for the piece.} ({ Perhaps this, as the P on a7 can't be taken.} 26... Qc7) 27. Qxf5 gxf5 28. Bxa7 Nf4 29. f3 Ng3 30. Rxe7 Rxe7 31. Bc5 $2 {Another mistake by Carlsen.} (31. Kh2) 31... Re2 $1 {Threatens mate with Rg2.} 32. Bf2 Rxc2 $19 33. Nd4 Rxb2 {Chess engines give black a 4 points advantage at this point.} 34. Rd1 Bc5 35. Kh2 Ngh5 $4 (35... Bd6 $1) (35... Rd2 $5 36. Rxd2 Nf1+ 37. Kg1 Nxd2 $19 38. Nxf5 $2 Ne2+ $19) 36. Nxf5 $1 {Threatening mate on d8. Ivanchuck has lost most of his advantage. The rest of the game can only be eplained by the little time left that both players must have had on the clock.} Kg8 37. Bxc5 Rxg2+ 38. Kh1 Rg5 39. Rd8+ Kf7 40. Rf8+ Ke6 41. Nd4+ Kd5 42. Ba7 c5 43. Nb5 Ng3+ 44. Kh2 Nf1+ 45. Kh1 Ne2 $1 {Threatening mate on g1.} 46. Nc3+ Nxc3 47. f4 Rg7 48. Rf5+ Ke4 49. Rxc5 Nd5 50. Rc4+ Kf3 51. Bd4 Ng3+ (51... Rg2 $1 {Threatening mate with ... Ng3#.}) 52. Kh2 Ne4 $4 53. Bxg7 1-0 [/pgn]

That's the 4 pawns attack against black's Alekhine defence. Personally, I wouldn't recommend it for white, no. A large centre is not necessarily a strong centre. In fact, in this line, white´s centre is very hard to maintain. I would only recommend this line to +2200 rated players who know the theory very well...

Becoming a better player takes study and practice. You should play some competitions, perhaps play a bit of on-line chess and read a couple of books and maybe one day get a coach . But that's not essential if you are making progress on your own.

Exploiting a space advantage is not always easy. The main advantage of having more space is that you will be able to maneuver your pieces a lot quicker than your opponent, that's where your advantage really is. Thus, a common way to exploit a space advantage is to attack on one side of the board, forcing your opponent to shift his pieces there, and then quickly maneuver your pieces to hit on the other side.

Gata Kamsky is turning the screws on Nakamura - whom at the time of writing (after 99 moves!) was desperately trying to get something out of an equal position in his game against Lenderman- with a spectacular victory over Seirawan. Kamsky took advantage of his preparation for his participation in the Candidates Tournament in Kazan in 2011. A good indication of how well prepared Kamsky was is the fact that after 23 moves, Kamsky still had 1 hour and 35 minutes left on his clock, whereas Seirawan only had 9... If Nakamura fails to win, Kamsky would be the leader of the tournament with just 2 rounds remaining (and they still have to play each other!). [Event "ch-USA 2012"] [site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2012.05.17"] [Round "9"] [White "Kamsky, Gata"] [black "Seirawan, Yasser"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B19"] [Annotator "I.M. Javier Gil"] [PlyCount "69"] [EventDate "2012.??.??"] [pgn] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. h5 Bh7 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Bd2 Ngf6 12. O-O-O Be7 (12... Qc7 {There is no reason to avoid the classical line with this move and then 0-0-0. Yes, 12... Be7 is more popular nowadays, but that is probably just a trend.}) 13. Ne4 {This Knight no longer has a future on g3.} Nxe4 14. Qxe4 Nf6 15. Qd3 {This cunning move, instead of the usual 15.Qe2, is a good antidote against black s common idea of ...Qd5 and ...Qe4.} O-O (15... Qd5 16. c4 Qe4 17. Qb3 {This is the key move which is not available when white plays 15.Qe2. A good example of how difficult the position is for black is the following.} O-O-O 18. Rhe1 Qh7 19. Qa4 Kb8 20. Ne5 Rhf8 21. Bf4 Bd6 22. Re3 Ka8 (22... Nxh5 23. Nxc6+ bxc6 24. Rb3+ {Winning.}) 23. Nxc6 {With a winning attack for white.} a6 24. Nxd8 Bxf4 25. Nxb7 Qe4 26. Nc5 Bxe3+ 27.fxe3 Qxe3+ 28. Kb1 {And black resigned in Jovanovic,Z (2525)-Braun,A (2564). Rogaska Slatina 2009.}) 16. Kb1 c5 17. g4 {A common idea in these positions. With the Kings castled on opposite wings, white wastes no time preparing g4} Nxg4 18. Qe2 {A cold blooded move. White defends f2 and will use the g file next.} Kh8 19. Rhg1 Nf6 20. dxc5 { White has threats along the d file also.} Qc7 21. Ne5 Bxc5 {Seirawan s intuition is not at its best and he makes a mistake in a difficult position.} (21... Rad8 {This move was necessary. }) 22. Bxh6 gxh6 23. Rd7 { Impressive.} Qxd7 {There isnt much else...} (23... Nxd7 24. Qd2 Kh7 25. Ng4) (23... Qb6 24. Qf3 Nxd7 25. Qg4) 24. Nxd7 Nxd7 25. Qd2 Kh7 26. b4 (26. Qxd7 {This looks simple enough.} Bxf2 27. Qd3+ Kh8 28. Qc3+ f6 29. Rg6) 26... Rad8 27. bxc5 Nf6 28. Qf4 Ne8 (28... Nd5 29. Qe4+ f5 (29... Kh8 30. Qd4+ f6 31. Qd2) 30. Qxe6 {Winning.}) 29. Qe4+ Kh8 30. Qxb7 Ng7 31. Qxa7 Rc8 32. Rd1 Nf5 33. Rd7 Kg7 34. a4 Kf6 35. a5 1-0[/pgn]

I know that a few days ago I said that if Anand wanted to win this match, he was going to have to play 1.e4. And e4 he did play in the fifth game but... Alas, this is not exactly what I had in mind when I said that! Gelfand had the easiest game so far in the match, an effortless draw in 27 moves. Is getting a draw against Anand as simple as Gelfand is making it look like? it can't be! Anand,Viswanathan (2791) - Gelfand,Boris (2727) [b33] World Chess Championship Match Moscow (5), 17.05.2012 [pgn]1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c4 b4 12.Nc2 0-0 13.g3 a5 14.Bg2 Bg5 15.0-0 Be6 16.Qd3 Bxd5 17.cxd5 Nb8 18.a3 Na6 19.axb4 Nxb4 20.Nxb4 axb4 21.h4 Bh6 22.Bh3 Qb6 23.Bd7 b3 24.Bc6 Ra2 25.Rxa2 bxa2 26.Qa3 Rb8 27.Qxa2 ½-½[/pgn]

Yesterday's 8th round of the USA Championship was very interesting. Kamsky had won his game earlier, and that meant hat he was virtually 1 point ahead of Nakamura in the standings, until his game was over, of course. At one point of the game, I thought Nakamura was going to lose. Fascinating struggle! ch-USA 2012 Saint Louis USA 2012 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 Nakamura,Hi 2775 +1 -½ +1 -½ +1 -½ +½ -1 6.0/8 10 12 7 3 8 4 5 11 2 Kamsky,G 2741 +1 -½ +1 -0 +1 -½ +1 -1 6.0/8 12 7 3 8 4 5 11 6 3 Onischuk,Al 2660 -1 +½ -0 +½ -1 +½ -½ -½ 4.5/8 11 6 2 1 10 12 7 9 4 Akobian,V 2625 +1 +½ -0 +½ -0 +½ -1 +1 4.5/8 9 5 11 6 2 1 10 12 5 Shulman,Y 2571 +½ -½ +1 +½ -½ +½ -½ +½ 4.5/8 8 4 9 11 6 2 1 10 6 Lenderman,A 2587 +1 -½ +½ -½ +½ -½ +½ +0 4.0/8 7 3 8 4 5 11 9 2 7 Robson,R 2614 -0 +½ -0 +1 -1 -0 +½ -½ 3.5/8 6 2 1 10 12 9 3 8 8 Kaidanov,G 2594 -½ +1 -½ +1 -0 +0 -0 +½ 3.5/8 5 11 6 2 1 10 12 7 9 Seirawan,Y 2643 -0 +0 -0 +1 -0 +1 -½ +½ 3.0/8 4 10 5 12 11 7 6 3 10 Hess,Ro 2635 -0 -1 +½ -0 +0 -1 +0 -½ 3.0/8 1 9 12 7 3 8 4 5 11 Stripunsky,A 2562 +0 -0 +1 -½ +1 +½ -0 +0 3.0/8 3 8 4 5 9 6 2 1 12 Ramirez,Alej 2593 -0 +½ -½ -0 +0 -½ +1 -0 2.5/8 2 1 10 9 7 3 8 4 [Event "ch-USA 2012"] [site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2012.05.16"] [Round "8"] [White "Stripunsky, A."] [black "Nakamura, Hi"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C04"] [WhiteElo "2562"] [blackElo "2775"] [Annotator "I.M. Javier Gil"] [PlyCount "142"] [EventDate "2012.05.08"] [pgn] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nc6 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. e5 Nd7 6. Nb3 a5 7. a4 Be7 8. Bb5 Na7 9. Bd3 b6 10. Bd2 c5 11. dxc5 Nxc5 12. Nxc5 bxc5 13. b3 O-O 14. Qe2 Nc6 15. Bb5 Qb6 16. O-O Ba6 17. c4 Bb7 18. Rad1 Nb4 19. Ng5 h6 20. Nh3 d4 21. Nf4 Kh7 22. Rfe1 Rg8 23. Nd3 Raf8 24. Nxb4 axb4 25. Qd3+ g6 26. Bf4 Kg7 27. Qh3 g5 28. Bg3 Kh7 29. Qg4 Rg6 30. h3 Kg7 31. Qh5 Rg8 32. Rd3 Qa7 33. f3 (33. Rf3 { Inviting black to take and possibly planning Rf6.} Qa8 (33... Bxf3 34. Qxf3 { Planning Bc6-e4.}) 34. Rf6 Bxf6 35. exf6+ Rxf6 36. f3 (36. Be5 {Unfortunately this doesnt quite work.} Bxg2 37. Bxf6+ Kxf6 38. f3 Bxf3 39. Rf1 g4) 36... Rf5 {And black is doing fine.}) 33... Bd8 34. Kf2 Kf8 {I find it hard to believe that black can many any progress here if white decides to keep still. The game seems equal. But with a Bishop on c7, f7-f5 becomes possible and black seems to have some chances on the kingside.} 35. Ke2 Bc7 36. Kd1 Qa8 37. Kc1 f5 38. Bh2 Ke7 39. Rd2 f4 40. Bg1 Qf8 41. Bxd4 {Not a bad sacrifice. Black was probably threatening Qf5, although Im not sure if thats a significant threat, as Bxe5 can be met by Rde2.} (41. Rxd4 cxd4 42. Bxd4 Qf5) (41. Bf2 Qf5) 41... cxd4 42. Rxd4 Bc8 {Covering d7.} 43. c5 Qg7 44. Rd6 {White will be a Rook down, but the black pieces can hardly move.} Bxd6 45. cxd6+ Kd8 {From g7, the black Queen can go to e7, grabbing the a7-g1 diagonal.} 46. Bd3 Bb7 {Heading for d5.} 47. Qxg6 Qxg6 48. Bxg6 Rxg6 49. Rd1 {Planning Rd4.} Bd5 50. Rd4 Kd7 (50... Bxb3 51. Rxb4 Bd5 52. Rb8+ Kd7 53. Rh8 Rg7 54. Rxh6 Kc6 {Seems a little better for black.}) 51. Rxb4 Rg8 52. Kd2 Rf8 53. a5 h5 54. Rb6 Ra8 55. b4 g4 56. hxg4 hxg4 57. fxg4 Bxg2 58. a6 Bd5 59. Rb5 f3 (59... Rxa6 {Not a good move.} 60. Ra5 Rb6 (60... Rxa5 61. bxa5 {This would even win for white, as the 3 white pawns cannot be stopped now.}) 61. b5 {And the black pieces have become passive. White threatens to advance his g pawn combined with a possible check on a7.}) 60. Ke3 Rf8 61. Kf2 Rh8 62. Rxd5 {A mistake in a really hard fought game.} (62. Rc5 {This was the correct idea, activating the Rook. The black f pawn is probably not as dangerous as it looks.} Rh2+ 63. Ke1 {And now perhaps black has nothing better than a draw, as I dont think f2 works.} (63. Ke3 Re2+ 64. Kd4 Re4+ 65. Kc3 Rxe5) 63... f2+ (63... Rh1+ 64. Kf2 Rh2+) 64. Kf1 Be4 65. Rc7+ Kd8 66. Rc3 {It is now black who is fighting for a draw.}) 62... exd5 63. b5 ( 63. Kxf3 Ke6 64. b5 Kxe5) 63... Rb8 64. g5 (64. a7 Ra8 65. b6 Kc6 66. e6 Kxb6 { And the white pawns are too slow.}) 64... Rxb5 65. g6 Rb8 66. a7 (66. Kxf3 Ke6) 66... Ra8 67. g7 Ke6 68. Kxf3 Kxe5 69. d7 Kd6 70. Kf4 Kxd7 71. Ke5 Kc6 0-1[/pgn] Both Nakamura and Kamsky are now on 6 points, 1.5 ahead of the rest of the field, and they still have to play each other... can't wait for that one.

Whilst GM Stripunky's 11 moves first round loss against Onischuck is still fresh in our minds, today it was GM Kaidanov´s turn to blunder in a very favourable endgame. Here's the position after white's 49th move: [site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2012.05.15"] [Round "7"] [White "Ramirez, Alej"] [black "Kaidanov, G."] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D43"] [WhiteElo "2593"] [blackElo "2594"] [Annotator "I.M. Javier Gil"] [EventDate "2012.05.08"] 49...Re3 (49... Ke5 {This looks more logical.} 50. a5 Rb7 51. Bc4 Ke4 52. a6 Rg7 {Javier: And white has to worry about not losing his g pawn but also about d3. He's lost.}) 50. Bc4 Ke5 51. a5 Ke4? (51... Rc3 52. a6 Rc2+ 53. Kf3 Rb2 54. g4 d3 55. g5 Kd4 56. g6 d2 57. Be2 Rxb3+ 58. Kf4 Rb8 59. g7 Rg8 60. a7 c4 {White's pawns look dangerous, but so are black's ones!} 61. Bf3 c3 62. a8=Q Rxa8 63. Bxa8 d1=Q 64. g8=Q) (51... Kf4 52. a6 Re7 53. g3+ Ke4 54. Ke2 Rg7 55. Kd2 Rxg3 56. a7 Rg2+ 57. Be2 Rg8 58. Bb5! {And black has nothing better than Rg2+, with a draw.}) (51... Kd6!?) 52. a6 52... Rc3?? (52... d3 {This was mandatory, but white's got the better chances now.} 53. Bd5+ Kd4 54. a7 d2 55. a8=Q d1=Q 56. Qa4+ Kc3 (56... Kd3 $4 57. Bc4+ Kd2 58. Qd7+) (56... Kxd5 $4 57. Qd7+) 57. Kxe3 Qd3+ 58. Kf4 Qxd5) 53.a7 {White's winning now.} 53... Rc2+ 54. Be2 Ra2 55. a8=Q+! Rxa8 56. Bf3+ Kd3 57.Bxa8 Kc2 58. g4 Kxb3 59. g5 c4 60. g6 d3 61. g7 d2 62. Bf3 c3 63. g8=Q+ Kb2 64.Bd1 1-0

The game that we saw yesterday was probably an optical illusion, as the game that we saw today was as boring as you can get! Same variation as game 2, and same result for white: nothing out of the opening. Is this the best Gelfand's seconds can come up with? because it isn't much! Gelfand,Boris (2727) - Anand,Viswanathan (2791) [D45] World Chess Championship Match Moscow (4), 15.05.2012 [pgn]1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Nf3 a6 6.b3 Bb4 7.Bd2 Nbd7 8.Bd3 0-0 9.0-0 Bd6 10.Qc2 e5 11.cxd5 cxd5 12.e4 exd4 13.Nxd5 Nxd5 14.exd5 Nf6 15.h3 Bd7 16.Rad1 Re8 17.Nxd4 Rc8 18.Qb1 h6 19.Nf5 Bxf5 20.Bxf5 Rc5 21.Rfe1 Rxd5 22.Bc3 Rxe1+ 23.Rxe1 Bc5 24.Qc2 Bd4 25.Bxd4 Rxd4 26.Qc8 g6 27.Bg4 h5 28.Qxd8+ Rxd8 29.Bf3 b6 30.Rc1 Rd6 31.Kf1 a5 32.Ke2 Nd5 33.g3 Ne7 34.Be4 Kg7 ½-½[/pgn]

Third round, third draw. To be honest, though, this game was hard fought, both players showing a will to win. One gets the feeling that Anand could have got a little bit more out of the position... Gelfand now gets 3 games with the white pieces out of the next 4, things could get interesting... [Event "World Chess Championship Match"] [site "Moscow"] [Date "2012.05.14"] [Round "3"] [White "Anand, Viswanathan"] [black "Gelfand, Boris"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D70"] [WhiteElo "2791"] [blackElo "2727"] [Annotator "Robot 4"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [TimeControl "40/7200+30:20/3600+30:900+30"] [pgn] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nb6 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. Be3 O-O 8. Qd2 e5 9. d5 c6 10. h4 {An ambitious move from Anand. It has been played before and white has scored quite well.} cxd5 11. exd5 N8d7 12. h5 Nf6 13. hxg6 fxg6 14. O-O-O Bd7 15. Kb1 Rc8 16. Ka1 e4 {A strong move, opening up the diagonal for the Bishop on g7.} 17. Bd4 (17. fxe4 {This would have been rather risky.} Na4 18. Nge2 Nxe4 19. Nxe4 Nxb2) 17... Na4 18. Nge2 Qa5 19. Nxe4 Qxd2 20. Nxf6+ Rxf6 21. Rxd2 Rf5 22. Bxg7 Kxg7 23. d6 Rfc5 24. Rd1 a5 25. Rh4 Rc2 26. b3 Nb2 27. Rb1 Nd3 {With the idea of Nb4} 28. Nd4 Rd2 (28... Nb4 29. Nxc2 Rxc2 30. Rxb4 axb4 31. Rd1) 29. Bxd3 Rxd3 30. Re1 Rd2 31. Kb1 Bf5+ 32. Nxf5+ gxf5 33. Re7+ Kg6 34. Rc7 {Probably not the strongest.} (34. d7 Rcc2 35. Rc4 Rxc4 36. bxc4) 34... Re8 35. Rh1 {This makes it easy for Gelfand to draw now.} (35. Re7 Rc8 {Again, Rc7 and then d7.} 36. Rc4 Rxc4 37. bxc4 Rxd6 38. Rxb7 Rd1+ 39. Kc2 Rg1) (35. Rhxh7 Re1+ 36. Rc1 Ree2) 35... Ree2 36. d7 Rb2+ 37. Kc1 Rxa2 {Draw.} 1/2-1/2[/pgn]

The following position is taken from the game Verner - Riazantseve, Moscow 1998. What follows is a "hypothetical blunder" (it didn't actually happen) White now played 14.exf5, with 2 ideas in mind: a) 14...gxf5 15.Bh5 looks strong. 14...Bxf5 15.Nde4, gaining control over the e4 square. However, one of these 2 ideas contains a big "hole". Which one? you tell me! (please use the spoiler)

It's only been two rounds so far, but I'm missing the Topalov - Kramnik match already! (that match started with two victories for Kramnik, and then there were the "Toilet gate" accusations by Topalov's team, which got a fair bit of media attention...). I don't know, I just don't think in today's fast internet world 2 men World Championships are that attractive anymore, and less so when the players play 20 moves draws. Look at the US Championship for example, today there were 5 decisive games out of the 6 that were played... Anyway, here's the second round game: [Event "WCh 2012"] [site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2012.05.12"] [Round "2"] [White "Gelfand, Boris"] [black "Anand, Viswanathan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D45"] [WhiteElo "2727"] [blackElo "2791"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "2012.05.11"] [pgn]1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Nf3 a6 {I guess a wild Semi-Slav with 5...Nbd7 was not on the cards.} 6. b3 Bb4 7. Bd2 {Now the white bishop is less active on d2.} (7. Bb2 {This would be a blunder} Ne4 8. Qc2 Qa5 9. Rc1 Qxa2) 7... Nbd7 8. Bd3 O-O 9. O-O Bd6 10. Rc1 e5 11. cxd5 cxd5 12. e4 (12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Nxe5 Bxe5 {Black has an isolated pawn here, but the black pieces are becoming increasingly active and white needs to defend his Kingside.}) 12... dxe4 13. Nxe4 Nxe4 14. Bxe4 Nf6 15. dxe5 Nxe4 16. exd6 Qxd6 {The symmetrical pawn structure and the pressence of bishops of opposite colour makes the position rather drawish.} 17. Be3 Bf5 18. Qxd6 Nxd6 19. Nd4 Rfe8 20. Nxf5 (20. Bf4 Re4) 20... Nxf5 21. Bc5 h5 22. Rfd1 Rac8 23. Kf1 f6 24. Bb4 Kh7 25. Rc5 { A draw was agreed.} 1/2-1/2[/pgn]

WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH FIDE World Chess Championship Match MOSCOW, STATE TRETYAKOV GALLERY, MAY 10 — MAY 31, 2012 The first game is over. A very disappointing dull draw in 24 moves. Few expected Anand to play 1.d4 (mainly because he's far more dangerous as a King Pawn player). Gelfand had no trouble whatsoever getting equality out of the opening. White: Anand Black: Gelfand [pgn]1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 c5 8. Bb5+ Nc6 9. d5 Qa5 10. Rb1 a6 11. Bxc6+ bxc6 12. O-O Qxa2 13. Rb2 Qa5 14. d6 Ra7 15. Bg5 exd6 16. Qxd6 Rd7 17. Qxc6 Qc7 18. Qxc7 Rxc7 19. Bf4 Rb7 20. Rc2 O-O 21. Bd6 Re8 22. Nd2 f5 23. f3 fxe4 24. Nxe4 Bf5 [/pgn] If Anand hopes to win this match, he's gonna have to play 1.e4, trust me.

42 year old GM Alexander Stripunsky has, like most other GMs, made some blunders in his professional career. Unfortunately, one the ones he'll be remembered best for is the one he made a few days ago in the first round of the US Championship (Saint Louis) when he was playing against Onischuk. The game was over in just 11 moves. [Event "ch-USA 2012"] [site "Saint Louis USA"] [Date "2012.05.08"] [Round "1"] [White "Stripunsky, A."] [black "Onischuk, Al"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B11"] [WhiteElo "2562"] [blackElo "2660"] [PlyCount "21"] [EventDate "2012.05.08"] [pgn]1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 Bg4 (3... dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 {A well known mistake.} 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Ne5 Bh7 8. Qh5 g6 9. Qf3 Nf6 10. Qb3 {And white wins material.}) 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 {Javier: White gets the 2 Bishops, but black has a very solid position.} e6 6. g3 Nd7 7. Qe2 d4 8. Nb1 {Javier: This Knight has a better future here than if it goes to d1.} h5 9. h4 g5 10. hxg5 Qxg5 {GM Stripunsky has never made as bad a move as the one that he will make next...} 11. d3 {Javier: And he resigned without waiting for Qxc1.} 0-1[/pgn] Then he went on to lose his second round game against GM Kaidanov also. Most people would be absolutely knocked out after that. Not Alexander though. He has won his third round game against GM Akobian. You wanted fighting chess, didn't you? you got it at Saint Luis alright! More disconcerting is Yasser Seirawan's horrible start: 0/3. Let's hope that he comes back from that too...

Hi. Locmai doesn't really install anything on your computer. It's a self executable program. All it does is copy the .exe file in the chess directory. I've seen Windows Vista causing some prolems sometimes, but they're easy to solve: right click on the locmai icon (within your file structure) and then choose "properties" and then change things like "compatibility", "previous versions" or if that fails, in the advanced options tab, choose "run as admin". The program should then work just fine! Regards.

That's right!

And what happens if fxg?