Those players who refuse to resign in lost positions can take heart from this game. A rook and two pieces down with a passed pawn on the sixth rank? No problem! White may have had some better alternatives to the moves played but you can’t fault Black for the sheer pluck and doggedness of his counter attack.
White: Mark Towlson (101) Black: Reg Pidduck (107)
Mick Croft Cup v Woodnesborough
“You lookin’ at me?”
The much-anticipated World Chess Championship between Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin has finally started in New York. Fortunately, the dispute between the official organisers and the various chess websites around the world, the former threatening to sue the latter for any unauthorised coverage of the match, has been resolved and fans can now follow the games in a variety of ways. The official site offers, for a reasonable sum, ‘live 360 degree coverage’ of the games for which, apparently, special glasses are required.
With such anticipation, it was almost inevitable that the first couple of games would be something of an anti-climax and so it proved. This was not what spectators expected, Carlsen having announced at the press conference that, “I’ll punch him until he finally knocks over.” If this was a new tactical variation on the popular sport of chess boxing it was not demonstrated in either of the first two games. Nigel Short tweeted that, “It is at moments like this when watching a game that I am grateful that I have plenty of wine in the house”. Still, as Garry Kasparov pointed out, “Often one of the best indicators that a chess game is interesting is that amateurs think it isn’t!” Nevertheless, it may be that the build up was, indeed, more interesting than the chess.
Let’s start with the venue. The Fulton Market Building has attracted some criticism and, while it was packed for the press conference, the main reason was that not only had those with tickets turned up but so also had those with complimentary tickets for Game One. Consequently, there were not enough seats and it was very much standing room only. The press conference was entertaining on a number of levels. FIDE Vice President Israel Gelfer – taking charge in place of the President, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, who was refused a visa to travel to the US (!), commented that this was the youngest World Chess Championship in history. He contrasted Botvinnik’s defence of his title to Tal when the former was fifty years old with the current match where both players’ ages combined only came to 52, each player 26 years old. (Carlsen then interrupted to say that he would not be 26 until November 30!). After initially mis-hearing one journalist’s question as to who he thought was the best chess player in the world (“I’m sorry, what was the question?”), Carlsen replied both tactfully and honestly, “I think that’s going to be decided in the next couple of weeks… Right now, if I may be so bold, I would say myself.”
After the main press conference there was a second for the Russian press which, presumably, Carlsen did not attend. When asked then about his chances, Karjakin replied: “I dream of returning the crown to Russia.” The President of the Russian Chess Federation, Andrey Filatov, said that during the recent Olympiad many ‘chess experts’ had told him that Karjakin’s chances were about the same as Donald Trump becoming U.S. President…..However, before Karjakin’s supporters break out in a chorus of ‘We shall overcomb’ (sic), it is worth noting that while this may be a term lost in translation – the official website for the Russian Chess Federation in its report on the press conference, twice referred to Karjakin as the ‘runner up’ when, presumably, they meant ‘challenger’. We shall see.
GM Alexander Riazantsev
The 69th Russian Chess Championship has just concluded in Novosibirsk with a victory for Alexander Riazantsev. If this name is new to many people, this is not surprising. His ELO grade of 2651 made him only the eighth seed of the twelve in the tournament so while his victory does not quite sit alongside Foinavon winning the Grand National or Leicester City winning the Premier League, it was still a surprise. For the uninitiated, Riazantsev was born on September 12 1985 in Moscow and has been an international grandmaster since 2001. While he remained undefeated throughout the eleven rounds, his score of 7/11 included eight draws so it is fair to say that he can attribute his success to the fact that he achieved more wins (3) than any other player. However, just as the saying goes that the loser in chess is the one who makes the last mistake, the reverse is also true – that if you are going to win any game in a tournament, make it the last. Here is Riazantsev’s crucial last-round victory.
White: Dmitry Jakovenko (2714) Black: Alexander Riazantsev (2651)
Russian Chess Championship 2016
GM Alexandra Kosteniuk
If the men’s result was unexpected, the same cannot be said for the women’s championship where Alexandra Kosteniuk won her second title with a score of 8½/11. Her total included seven wins with only one defeat and victory in this, her penultimate game, gave her the title with a round to spare. It is worth noting that after White’s 59th move, the computer says that ‘Black is much better’ but after Black’s reply 59…a4? it has the position as ‘equal’, by 62…Qb3 ‘White is much better’ and after 64…Qa4? ‘White is winning’.
White: Alexandra Kosteniuk (2537) Black: Evgenija Ovod (2362)
Russian Women’s Chess Championship 2016
Nigel Short has beaten Hou Yifan 3½-2½ in their special six-game challenge match as part of the 20th Hoogeveen Chess Tournament in the Netherlands. With three wins and three draws in the match, there was some entertaining chess for spectators following live and online. Hou Yifan’s only win came in the last game with the result decided and, while entertaining and worth checking out, it is only fair, especially as we featured one of Hou’s wins in the last post, to show the decisive fourth game that gave Short a 3-1 lead. For details of all the games, go to http://www.chessgames.com. Conscious, perhaps, of his once-controversial views on women’s chess, there was no gloating from our Nige, who tweeted after his win: ‘Delighted to have secured victory against the Women’s World Champion, with one game remaining.’
White: Hou Yifan (2639) Black: Nigel Short (2673)
Hoogeveen Chess Tournament 2016
Regular visitors to this site will know that we take a keen interest in upcoming Chinese grandmasters, especially Wei Yi and Hou Yifan. Well, the highlight of the 20th Hoogeveen Chess Tournament running from 15-22 October in Hoogeveen Town Hall in the Netherlands is a 6-game classical match between Hou Yifan and Nigel Short. Before the match Short confirmed that he had once stated that ‘men on average play better than women’ but clarified it by adding ‘Hou Yifan is not average’! The first game took place this afternoon (Sunday) and Short appeared to have the edge as the game entered its closing stages. Hou Yifan dug in, however, and held on for a draw. She will be hoping for the sort of form that seemed to elude her at the recent Isle of Man International except for this gem in round one.
White: Hou Yifan (2658) Black: James Jackson (2311)
Isle of Man International 2016