Alekhine Chess R4: Four in Lead

Round 4 games of Alekhine Memorial were played in Paris on April 24. Like in Round 3 four games out of five ended in a draw. The key game of the round was played between Levon Aronian and Peter Svidler. It was hard to predict however that this would be the only effective game of the round. Yet, Aronian’s fighting mood was clearly seen. It seems that he tries to catch up what he missed when he played in Candidates Tournament in London. 

Aronian performed a deep home preparation against Svidler’s hallmark in Grunfeld defense. Russian grandmaster, World Cup winner, couldn’t solve his opening problems and got a bad endgame, where Aronian gained a strategic advantage. Before the first time control was reached the game was consistently won for white. As all other games ended in a draw Levon Aronian joined the tournament leaders – Gelfand, Adams and Vachier-Lagrave.

Boris Gelfand, who was playing black, met some minor opening problems that were created by Nikita Vitiugov, but managed to avoid all the threats and drew the game. French grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played white against World champion Viswanathan Anand. He got a slight advantage, but before the first time control Maxime made a mistake and his opponent capitalized on opponent’s error and drew the game as well. At the press conference after the game Vachier-Lagrave mentioned that the position on the board still remained equal.

The game between Chinese prodigy Ding Liren and former World champion Vladimir Kramnik ended earlier than others. Kramnik showed a precise way to equality. The game between Laurent Fressinet and Michael Adams looked much more dramatic. French grandmaster tried to change the tournament leader, however Adams performed an obstinate defense and saved himself half a point that still keeps him in the leading group of the tournament.

Places after four rounds: 1-4. Adams, Vachier-Lagrave, Gelfand, Aronian – 2.5 points; 5-7. Kramnik, Ding Liren, Fressinet – 2 points; 8-9, Vitiugov, Anand – 1.5 points, 10. Svidler – 1 point.
Round 5 pairings: Gelfand – Aronian, Adams – Vitiugov, Svidler – Vachier-Lagrave, Kramnik – Fressinet, Anand – Ding Liren.

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'Not bothered about Carlsen's Trainers'

by Zainab Raza Undulusi

World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand has said he would try to understand how his next challenger World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen is going to play, but is not bothered about who is going to train Carlsen for the upcoming World Title match even if it is legendary 13th World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov. 

Viswanathan Anand was speaking in a special interview given to Russian news site RIA Novosti's Viktor Ivanov. Anand said, "I believe that my opponent - a strong chess player, his results speak for themselves. I will train very seriously before our meeting with him and will do everything possible to win."

Anand also said, "My match preparation would cover Carlsen's games and I am trying to understand my opponent. After that I will decide how to proceed. Of course, there will be a team that will help me prepare for the match though I cannot yet tell you about my second."

In reference to rumours about 13th World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov training Magnus Carlsen, a confident Anand said, "Both of us will naturally have a team to help us prepare for the match, but I am not paying all that attention to who is in which team."

Regarding the venue being Chennai for the World Chess Championship 2013, Viswanathan Anand said, "I was very happy even last year when there were prospects of Chennai being the venue for my previous (World Chess Championship 2012) match against Boris Gelfand. This time, if Chennai is the venue, I think it will be a powerful incentive for the development of chess in my state and my country. Personally, first of all it is important just to feel comfortable and to be able to fully concentrate on chess."

When asked about what could be the deciding factors in the forthcoming match particularly considering Carlsen has less experience at that level than Anand, the World Chess Champion said, "In theory, such an experience can really help in an important game. Each of us have our advantages. But not enough just to have them, you should be able to use them. I have experience, I've played these games before, but now the problem is different: to apply them correctly and that would help."

Also Read: World Chess 2013: Is it Chennai 100%

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Alekhine Chess R3: Three in Lead

Round 3 games of the Alekhine Chess Memorial were played in Paris on April, 23. Four games out of five ended in a draw. The key game of the round was played between Boris Gelfand and Michael Adams. Adams was playing black. He started the tournament with two victories over Anand and Svidler. As for Gelfand – it was his first game in the tournament played with white pieces. The most significant duel of the round lasted longer than others and continued for approximately seven hours.

After the game Gelfand said he used the opening scheme that was played by Alekhine himself. The Grandmaster from Israel grabbed the initiative and systematically increased his advantage. In the endgame, Gelfand won a pawn and gradually forced his opponent to resign. Having won his first game in the event so far, Boris Gelfand joined the tournament leader.

Vladimir Kramnik had a good chance to join the leaders too, but he missed it. Kramnik won a pawn against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, board number 1 of the French national team. However, Vachier-Lagrave managed to save a difficult endgame and also became one of the tournament leaders

Another French Grandmaster Laurent Fressinet faced young Chinese prodigy Grandmaster Ding Liren. The game turned out to be a sharp one. Black had an initiative but white found a way to save the game and it ended in a draw.

Anand– Aronian game showed that the World Champion couldn’t use the advantage of his white pieces and had to pass to an equal endgame. This game ended first. Soon after that a draw was concluded by two players from Saint-Petersburg – Peter Svidler and Nikita Vitiugov. Their game finished with a perpetual check.

Round3 results: Gelfand – Adams 1-0, Kramnik – Vachier-Lagrave, Ding Liren – Fressinet, Anand – Aronian, Svidler –Vitiugov (all four games ended in a draw).


Standings 

1-3.Adams, Vachier-Lagrave, Gelfand – 2 points; 

4-7. Aronian, Kramnik, Ding Liren, Fressinet – 1,5 points; 

8-10. Svidler, Vitiugov, Anand – 1 point.

Round 4 pairings: Watch Live 5.30 pm onwardsVachier-Lagrave– Anand, Vitiugov – Gelfand, Fressinet – Adams,Ding Liren – Kramnik, Aronian – Svidler.

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