Anand vs Carlsen at Zurich Chess Jan 29-Strongest Tournament in History

Zurich Chess Challenge 2014 – The strongest tournament in chess history to date

On Wednesday, 29 of January 2014, the «Zurich Chess Challenge 2014» will commence at the Hotel Savoy. With six participants it is the first tournament in the history of chess to reach category 23 with an amazing average rating of 2801!

The star of the «Zurich Chess Challenge 2014» will be the newly crowned world-championMagnus Carlsen. During his first tournament appearance since winning the world title last November, the 23-year old Norwegian will compete against his predecessor and former world-champion, Viswanathan Anand of India (number 9 in the world-ranking), the Armenian Levon Aronian (2), the American Hikura Nakamura (3), the US-Italian Fabiano Caruana (6), as well as the Israeli Boris Gelfand (8).

This brilliant event, which will take place in the extraordinary familial environment of the ballroom of the Hotel Savoy, has already caught the attention and led to the registration of many journalists and top-players from throughout the world, including Peter Leko,Jan Timman and Gennadi Sosonko. Further, the Chinese women's world-championHou Yifan will attend this unique occasion and will be playing a simultaneous exhibition with clocks against 6 top Swiss juniors on 1 February at 1 p.m. at the Zurich «Zunfthaus zur Saffran».

For the «Zurich Chess Challenge 2014», a blitz tournament will determine the color distribution on the first day. Five rounds of classical chess will then be played from Thursday to Monday (30 January to 3 February), followed by a rapid tournament with reversed colors on the last day (4 February). A won game in the classical tournament counts two points, draws one point. Wins in the rapid tournament count one point and draws half a point. All games will be commented live by GM Yannick Pelletier and IM Werner Hug and broadcast world-wide live via Internet on www.zurich-cc.com. Admission to the classical and rapid games of this formidable event is free and no previous registration of spectators is required!

The «Zurich Chess Club» was founded in 1809 and is the oldest active chess club of the world. With the «Zurich Chess Challenge 2014» it will continue its long-standing tradition of hosting top-level tournaments, which have included such memorable events as the «Candidate's Tournament 1953», the simul and rapid tournament of all living world-champions at at the Zurich main train station 2009, the «Zurich Chess Challenge 2012» with Levon Aronian and Vladimir Kramnik as well as the «Zurich Chess Challenge 2013» with the four grand masters Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand, Fabiano Caruana and Boris Gelfand.

The «Zurich Chess Club» is very proud to be the organizer and host of this unique event. Further, it would like to thank the main tournament sponsor and chess-enthusiast Oleg Skvortsov from the «International Gemological Laboratories» of Moscow, Russia, whose generous contribution has allowed for this extraordinary happening! We look forward to welcoming all our friends from throughout the chess world either at the Hotel Savoy or live via the Internet!

Participants (Elo rating according to FRL of January 2014)

Magnus Carlsen (Norway, Elo 2872, Nr 1)
Levon Aronian (Armenia, Elo 2812, Nr 2)
Hikaru Nakamura (USA, Elo 2789, Nr 3)
Fabiano Caruana (Italy, Elo 2782, Nr 6)
Boris Gelfand (Israel, Elo 2777, Nr 8)
Vishwanathan Anand (India, Elo 2773, Nr 9)

Schedule

Daily from 30 January to 4 February 2014.
The rounds start at 15.00 local time (CET), except for the last round, which begins at 13.00 CET.
Spectators are welcome, entrance free.

Main sponsor

«IGC International Gemological Laboratories» is a Russian institute providing gemological services, such as diamond grading reports, enhanced diamonds identification, man-made/synthetic diamonds and imitation detection, as well as certification of diamonds, gemstones and jewelry in the Russian Federation. IGC is the Russian branch of «GCI» a group of gemological laboratories located worldwide.

Co-sponsors

Aspeco, SurJewel, Savoy Chess Corner, Zurich Chess Club (founded in 1809, the oldest chess club of the world)

Partners

Hotels Savoy Baur en Ville, Rössli and Seehof in Zurich

Organization

Zurich Chess Club

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London Chess Classic 2013 Quarters: Kramnik Knocks out Anand

London: Former World Chess champion Viswanathan Anand bowed out of the London Chess Classic 2013 after losing the quarter-finals to Vladimir Kramnik of Russia 0.5-1.5 here at the Olympia.

Anand, who had shown fine form coming in to the quarters, ran out of steam in the second game with white pieces and found himself in a lost position in almost no time in the 1,50,000 Euro prize money tournament.

Watch Live at the London Chess Classic 2013 official website.

Michael Adams of England kept the local hopes alive by defeating Russian Peter Svidler in the tiebreaker while Boris Gelfand of Israel stole the limelight ousting Fabiano Caruana of Italy. In the other quarter-final, Hikaru Nakamura of United States defeated Nigel Short to cement his place in the semis.

 

Photo: Ray Morris-Hill

It turned out to be a disappointing second game for Anand from the white side of a queen pawn opening. Kramnik opted for the age-old Tarrasch defense and Anand avoided routine theory that allowed the Russian to equalise without batting an eye.

Anand made a positional error on the 15th turn that gave Kramnik the initiative to look for more and the latter came up with some sterling manoeuvres to seize the advantage. Anand was already fighting a lost position after 20 moves and a final blunder cost him a piece and the game soon after.

While the second game was almost a no-show by Anand, the first game was a clear indication of his good form displayed thus far. Playing black Anand went for the Semi-Slav defense and looked a little worse out of the opening when Kramnik moved his queen over to the sixth rank.

However, Anand's response - a brilliant retreat ? left the spectators in no doubt that they were in for a spectacular treat in the mental boxing between two modern greats. The game ended in a draw in the ensuing endgame and it was a rather abrupt end to the contest when Anand failed to find his rhythm in the return game.

Nakamura, like Kramnik, cruised in to the semifinal defeating Short 1.5-0.5. The American won the first game with black and then drew with white making things look easy.

Michael Adams' early lead against Peter Svidler was squared off by the Russian in the return game but in the tiebreaker the English was spot on and won both his games in the ten-minute chess.

Boris Gelfand had a similar tale to tell in the tiebreaker against fancied Fabiano Caruana after both games under rapid time control ended in draws. In the open section, former world junior champion and Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta put it across Jahongir Vakhidov of Uzbekistan to emerge in a three-way lead.

With one round still to come, the Indian shares the top honours on 6.5 points out of a possible eight along with Jon Ludvig Hammer of England and Vladislav Nevednichy of Romania. -- PTI

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Gelfand Wins Tal Chess 2013

World champion Viswanathan Anand ended his campaign with an easy draw against Sergey Karjaikin of Russia in the ninth and final round of Tal Memorial Chess tournament that concluded here.

Boris Gelfand of Israel, who had lost to Anand in the last World championship match, deservingly won the tournament after signing peace with Vladimir Kramnik of Russia in the final round.

Gelfand finished with six points in all and remained a half point ahead of World number one Magnus Carlsen of Norway who ended on 5.5 points following a last round draw against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan.

Mamedyarov and Dmitry Andreikin of Russia and Fabiano Caruana of Italy finished tied third on five points, a half point ahead of Hikaru Nakamura of United States who succumbed to his third straight loss in the tournament after losing the final game against Alexander Morozevich of Russia.

Karjakin finished seventh on four points while Anand and Morozevich are tied for the eighth spot on 3.5 points each. Kramnik ended a disappointing last on just three points.

The last round was devoid of much excitement for obvious reasons. Kramnik just wanted to finish the tournament and did not do much with white against Gelfand who secured an easy draw.

With black, Anand too did not have to sweat much against Karjakin out of a Sicilian Najdorf that was drawn early.

Carlsen wanted to catch up with Gelfand at the top but he was lucky in fact to come out unscathed against Mamedyarov who played an enterprising game with white. Carlsen had to solve some tactical problems in the middle game and technical problems in the endgame to split the point.

Nakamura had beaten Anand in the sixth round but his luck apparently deserted him thereafter. In the seventh round he had lost to Gelfand, in the eighth Carlsen had proved stronger while in the final round Alexander Morozevich scored his first victory in the tournament at the expense of the American.

For Anand the bad showing here is going to reflect on his rating. With 2774 points after the outing here, Anand finds himself on seventh spot in world rankings.

For the records, Anand lost three games, won one and drew the remaining five. Kramnik was in similar shoes and lost three and drew six.

Caruana seems to be drawing closer to the 2800 rating mark with every tournament. The Italian is the new world number three in live ratings behind Carlsen and Levon Aronian of Armenia. (PTI)

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Zurich Chess Challenge 2013 Super Videos by Vijay Kumar: Vishy Anand, Vladimir Kramnik, Fabiano Caruana, Boris Gelfand

Videos by the renowned producer Vijay Kumar for Chessdom.com, including the start of the games of round 1, press conference with Gelfand, Caruana, and Kramnik, and interview with World Champion Viswanathan Anand. (As the players walk in, don't miss that short shot of India's most endearing chess couple!)

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World Chess Champion Viswanathan Wins Grenke Chess Classic 2013

World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand has won his first classical tournament in almost five years after an enthralling final day’s play in Baden-Baden. It started fast with Anand and Naiditsch blitzing out a rook ending that might have been drawn but ended in the German’s resignation on move 49. That left Caruana needing to beat Fridman to force a play-off, but he missed a gilt-edged chance in what fittingly became the longest game of the tournament.

Final rounds are sometimes dull, but there was every reason to hope for action at the GRENKE Chess Classic. No round had yet finished in three draws, and that was largely due to Arkadij Naiditsch’s seven decisive games in only nine rounds. He had the white pieces against Anand, and the players didn’t disappoint. Anand went for the Sicilian and followed the 1999 Kasparov vs. the World internet game, where the World played the novelty 10…Qe6. Anand said he’d looked at the line and that particular game just before this tournament. Naiditsch deviated from Kasparov’s line with 14.Nc3, and after 14…Rxa8 15.Bg5 e6 16.Re1 Anand played 16…Nd5:

Anand: “16...Nd5 is a pretty ugly move to make, but I simply didn’t want to keep calculating with the queens on the board”. After exchanging with 17.Nxd5 Qxd5 18.Qxd5 exd5 19.Rad1 h6 20.Bc1 d4 Black had doubled pawns, but they control the position, with the d4-pawn taking the c3- and e3-squares away from the white rooks and preventing the bishop dropping back to e3. Vishy thought his position was very good, but heaped condemnation on his later 24…a5?!, calling it a “terrible”, “horrible”, “embarrassing” and even “insane” move.

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Grenke Chess Classic 2013 Round 1: Fabiano Caruana Starts with Win, Adams-Anand Draw

When Baden-Baden hosted arguably the world’s first super-tournament back in 1870 it began in mid-July. 143 years later February snow was falling on the German spa town as tournament director Sven Noppes welcomed the players onto the stage. Things soon warmed up, however – Adams and Anand threw caution to the wind, Naiditsch and Fridman engaged in a fierce struggle, but it was Caruana who claimed the day’s only win. The Italian trapped Georg Meier’s king in the centre before ruthlessly applying the finishing touches.

Chess players have a reputation for iron logic, but in their press conference after a dazzling game both World Champion Viswanathan Anand and England’s no. 1 Michael Adams revealed that logic only takes you so far. When commentator IM Lawrence Trent started by asking the players how they were feeling Adams replied, “Good… confused by the game”. The confusion started on move 16:

Adams explained his first thought was, “16.Nd2 is a draw, but such is life – move on”. He’d dismissed 16.f4, but then thought, “Black has so many options that one of them must be good, but which one? Let’s see what happens!” Suddenly Vishy was also faced with a dilemma – all kinds of exchange sacs on e4 are possible and the rook can also simply retreat to e8, but the World Champion claimed his decision was also impulsive: “For some reason I started to like the idea of 16…Rh5, so I decided it was worth a punt”. The rest of the game was perhaps best summed up by Adams: “I was very suspicious of Rh5 – I was completely unable to refute it in any way, but it looked a very funny move.” After 17.e5 Nd7 18.Qe2 Rh4 19.e6 things looked dicey for Anand, but19…Nc5! showed he had the situation under control, even if he still felt Black needed to be very accurate in the play that followed.

Both players were in good spirits afterwards. In the position following 27…Qd7 Adams regretted playing a3:

They discussed alternatives, but Vishy brought the discussion to a close by joking, “it would have been a reasonable bluff just to play Rad1 and see if I have the guts to take on a2!”
 

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Magnus Carlsen Wins Sao Paulo-Bilbao Chess Masters; Vallejo-Pons Announces Retirement

The world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen has won tonight in Sao-Paulo Bilbao Chess Masters Final on Saturday night. The first section was played in the last week of September in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo. The Norwegian Grandmaster's victory comes after a thrilling tiebreak played against Italian Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana. 

The direct duel between the top two players after 10 rounds was scheduled after both Carlsen and Caruana drew their games with Levon Aronian and Francisco Vallejo respectively. Carlsen went into the tiebreaks as a clear favourite. Carlsen confirmed his superiority in the Alhondiga Bilbao by winning both the games of the tiebreak.


Final standings:
• Magnus Carlsen: 17 points (champion)
• Fabiano Caruana: 17 points.
• Levon Aronian: 11 points.
• Sergei Karjakin: 10 points
• Viswanathan Anand: 9 points.
• Francisco Vallejo: 6 points.

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Magnus Carlsen Wins 7th Mikhail Tal Chess Memorial 2012

It seems chess goddess Caissa is particularly kind to world chess #1 Norway's Magnus Carlsen as not only did the talented genius pull off a crucial last-round victory, but the overnight leader Italy's Fabiano Caruana lost as well giving Magnus Carlsen the 7th Mikhail Tal Memorial Chess Tournament title late in Moscow on Monday. A fantastic victory for the Mozart of Chess - in all probability the would-be world chess champion one day - Magnus Carlsen!

7th Mikhail Tal Chess Memorial 2012 winners
(from left) Teimour Radjabov, third;
Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana, second.

Fabiano Caruana got taken in by Levon Aronian's home prep. Carlsen left nothing to chance by convincingly beating Luke McShane for a clear first. Teimour Radjabov drew against Hikaru Nakamura and had to settle for third behind Fabiano Caruana on tiebreak. Caruana actually needed only a draw to manage shared first at least.

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Tal Chess Memorial Round 8: Fabiano Caruana Takes Lead

Italy's Fabiano Caruana shot into the lead with a nice win over Russia's Vladimir Kramnik in the eight round at the Tal Chess Memorial on Sunday. Kramnik not only lost a pawn, but in self-destruct mode, committed an endgame blunder as well. What has been amazing at the tournament is that leader from the beginning, Alexander Morozevich has suddenly lost three games in a row. Vladimir Kramnik, who joined Morozevich in the lead, has lost two games in a row.

This is how they cheer chess players in Moscow...

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Tal Chess Memorial Round 2 - Radjabov Leads; Caruana, Nakamura play 107-move Draw in Seven Hours!

Beautiful Pashkov House in Moscow

The Tal Chess Memorial second round saw fighting games all around even though there were three draws and only two decisive games. Teimour Radjabov pulled off his second victory in as many rounds by beating Luke McShane with the Black pieces. Former World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik also beat Alexander Grischuk. World Chess No. 1 Magnus Carlsen survived against Alexander Morozevich and managed to draw. Two other games that ended in tough draws included Evgeny Tomashevsky-Levon Aronian and Fabiano Caruana-Hikaru Nakamura. In fact, Caruana and Nakamura played for a full seven hours flat for a 107 moves squeezing out the last bit of chess to a fulfilling draw.

Results of Round 2

Kramnik – Grischuk 1-0
McShane – Radjabov 0-1
Caruana – Nakamura draw
Morozevich – Carlsen draw
Tomashevsky – Aronian draw

Standings after Round 2

1. Radjabov 2; 

2-4. Morozevich, Kramnik, Aronian 1,5; 

5-6. Carlsen, Grischuk 1; 

7-9. Nakamura, Tomashevsky, Caruana 0,5; 

10. McShane 0.

Round 3 pairings: 

Carlsen – Caruana, 

Grischuk – Morozevich, 

Radjabov – Kramnik, 

Aronian – McShane 

Nakamura – Tomashevsky.

The 7th Tal Chess Memorial is a 10-player round robin chess tournament that is taking place at the beautiful Pashkov House in Moscow from June 8 to 18. The prize fund is 100,000 euros. There will be two rest days on June 11 and 15. The time control offers 100 minutes for 40 moves, 50 minutes for extra 20 moves, and 15 minutes for finishing the game. There is a 30-second increment for every move from the starting of the game. Games start at India time 4.30 pm and you can watch them on the official website. Photos/text by Eteri Kublashvili (Tal Chess Memorial Official Website)

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Tal Chess Memorial With Carlsen, Aronian, Nakamura, Kramnik Begins in Moscow June 7

Misha - Mikhai Tal

It's time to play strong chess in Moscow all over again from June 7 at the Mikhail Tal Chess Memorial beginning with - hold your breath - Magnus Carlsen,  Hikaru Nakamura,  Vladimir Kramnik, Levon Aronian, Teimour Radjabov, Alexander Morozevich,  Fabiano Caruana,  Alexander Grischuk, Evgeny Tomashevsky and Luke McShane. 

The opening ceremony will be held on 7th June, at 18.00, in the playing venue at Pashkov House, st. Vozdvizhenka 3/5.

The Tal Chess Memorial is the first super chess event of the year after the recently concluded Anand-Gelfand World Chess Championship. It is also a major tournament before the upcoming Candidates Chess Tournament that would decide the next challenger for the reigning World Chess Champion Vishy Anand.

The organisers are going to try a unique plan to decide the drawing of lots. All the players will take part in a blitz chess tournament - with a separate prize fund - for deciding the starting seeding for the main tournament based on the blitz chess results. 

Magnus Carlsen and Levon Aronian were the joint winners of the 2011 Tal Chess Memorial. Both had earned 5.5/9 points, but Magnus Carlsen had won the chess trophy on better tiebreak. 

Mikhail Tal was a Russian-Latvian chess grandmaster and the Mikhail Tal playing style was all about creativity, attacking, and daring combination play. Mikhail Tal - often known as Misha - was the eighth world chess champion.

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