| Kamsky, Gata (USA) | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 2.5 |
| Di Berardino, Diego Rafae (BRA) | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1.5 |
| Cori, Jorge (PER) | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1.5 |
| Vallejo Pons, Francisco (ESP) | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 2.5 |
| Malakhov, Vladimir (RUS) | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1.5 |
| Felgaer, Ruben (ARG) | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 2.5 |
| Vorobiov, Evgeny E. (RUS) | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1.5 |
| Sutovsky, Emil (ISR) | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 2.5 |
| Zherebukh, Yaroslav (UKR) | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 2.5 |
| Eljanov, Pavel (UKR) | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1.5 |
| Morozevich, Alexander (RUS) | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Halkias, Stelios (GRE) | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Kobalia, Mikhail (RUS) | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Lysyj, Igor (RUS) | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Iordachescu, Viorel (MDA) | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1.5 |
| Feller, Sebastien (FRA) | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 2.5 |
| Ragger, Markus (AUT) | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1.5 |
| Alekseev, Evgeny (RUS) | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 2.5 |
| So, Wesley (PHI) | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 2.5 |
| Ding, Liren (CHN) | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1.5 |
| Bezgodov, Alexei (RUS) | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | | | | 2 |
| Vitiugov, Nikita (RUS) | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | | | | 4 |
| Bruzon Batista, Lazaro (CUB) | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | | | | 3.5 |
| Quesada Perez, Yuniesky (CUB) | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | | | | 2.5 |
| Bacrot, Etienne (FRA) | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | | | 4 |
| Robson, Ray (USA) | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | | | | 2 |
| Drozdovskij, Yuri (UKR) | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 5 |
| Motylev, Alexander (RUS) | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 4 |
| Shulman, Yuri (USA) | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | | | | 2.5 |
| Potkin, Vladimir (RUS) | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | | | | 3.5 |
| Nielsen, Peter Heine (DEN) | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | | 5 |
| Postny, Evgeny (ISR) | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | | 3 |
| Bruzon Batista, Lazaro (CUB) | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | | | | 3.5 |
| Quesada Perez, Yuniesky (CUB) | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | | | | 2.5 |
| Khairullin, Ildar (RUS) | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | | | | 2.5 |
| Ni, Hua (CHN) | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | | | | 3.5 |
Every week we present you an endgame study selected by IM Yochanan Afek: player, trainer, endgame study composer and writer. A week later the solution is published. Good luck solving!
–> IM Yochanan Afek's Official Website
Next week the solution.
J. Timman
2010
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In the biggest upset of the first day at the 2011 FIDE World Cup, Peter Leko of Hungary lost to American grandmaster Sam Shankland. Leko, a former World Championship contender, needs to win the second game with Black to stay in the competition.
The 2011 FIDE World Cup is a 128-player knock-out taking place August 27-September 20 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Siberia. The tournament delivers three participants for the next Candidates tournament/matches, as part of the new World Championship cycle. Except for the final, all rounds have 2-game matches at the FIDE time control: 90 minutes for 40 moves followed by 30 minutes to finish the game, with a 30-second increment from the first move. In case of a 1-1 tie, on the third day of the round a tie-break with four rapid games and if necessary blitz games and an Armageddon. More info here.
The new World Cup is a day old and already it seems that this 4th edition in Khanty-Mansiysk is the best so far in terms of organization. The venue is stunning, as we mentioned in our previous report. On Sunday, when the first games were actually played, it became clear that the online chess fans are in for a treat as well. The Russian Chess Federation's superb coverage of their recent top tournaments is adopted in Khanty too, so apart from the games, the players themselves can be seen in high-quality video. On top of that, finally they have added English language commentary during the round.
We can only join other websites who have already acclaimed the organizers for all this excellent stuff. However, having a bit of experience with video, we'll take the opportunity to provide some ideas to improve it even further. For example, there is no director who can switch to relevant camera positions. When the commentators talk about a game, with the small chess board in the down right corner, the video is not showing these players, but simply keeps switching between boards. What's very nice is that at the end of a game, sometimes a player joins the commentators to show the game, and in such cases the chess board should be made bigger. You can still watch the old videos here.
The biggest upset in the first round was Leko losing to Shankland. In a Semi-Slav, Anti-Meran the Hungarian kept a small advantage for a long time, but his opponent was just hanging on. Soon after the first time control all of White's advantage was gone, and Leko started to play inaccurately. Shankland's rook and knight were more active, and he could create a dangerous passed pawn. Perhaps Leko could have saved himself close to the end:
Leko-Shankland
Khanty-Mansiysk 2011
White lost after 63. Rb7+ Ke6 64. g5 Kf5 65. Rb5+ Kg6 66. Be1 b2 0-1, but we can't find a win for Black after 63. Be1!
a) 63… Nxe3+ 64. Kf2 Nxg4+ (64… Nc2 65. Bc3 e3+ 66. Kf3) 65. Kg3 Ra1 66. Bc3 Rg1+ 67. Kf4;
b) 63… Kd7 64. Bc3 Nxe3+ 65. Kg3 Kc6 66. Rb8 Nd1 67. Bg7 $1 b2+ 68. Kf4 e3 69. Kf3.
The official website has Shankland commenting:
Of course I never expected to defeat with Black Peter Leko! I was hoping for a draw but everything could happen. That is why initially I prepared for my game with White a very sharp variation. Obviously I will reconsider my plans for Leko playing Black will surely do his utmost to make complications.
After the opening Leko had got an advantage and his position was better during the whole game. When the game started to be presice we did not manage to avoid mutual blunders but I operated with tactical variations better. We faced the endgame with the position of a good Black Knight against a weak White Bishop. But even here I was ready for a draw until Leko started making several unlucky moves in a row. When my opponent offered a draw he had already a very bad position and I continued playing for I was not risking. Obviously I am very happy that could defeat Leko with Black.
Arguably the most spectacular game was Lima-Svidler. In a Grünfeld, the fresh Russian Champion got an impressive pawn majority on the queenside and started pushing, as Lima's king's attack was just a bit too slow. However, just before the time control Svidler blew it:
Lima-Svidler
Khanty-Mansiysk 2011
Here 36… Qe4 is the strongest, but more moves should be winning. Instead, after 36…b2?? 37. Qxa5 b1Q 38. Rxb1 Rxb1+ 39. Kf2 Black only had a draw: 39… Rb2+ 40. Kg3 Rxh2 41. Kxh2 Qf3 ½-½
We give all the games of the first day below. Please note that there are only 62 and not 64, because Parimarjan Negi (IND) and Alexander Ivanov (USA) went through to the second round without playing. As we reported earlier, their opponents Vladimir Akopian (ARM) and Wang Hao (CHN) had to cancel their participation.
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| Name | G1 | G2 | Tot | Name | G1 | G2 | Tot | |
| Round 1 Match 01 | Round 1 Match 33 | |||||||
| Kaabi, Mejdi (TUN) | 0 | 0 | Corrales Jimenez, Fidel (CUB) | 0 | 0 | |||
| Karjakin, Sergey (RUS) | 1 | 1 | Polgar, Judit (HUN) | 1 | 1 | |||
| Round 1 Match 02 | Round 1 Match 34 | |||||||
| Ivanchuk, Vassily (UKR) | 1 | 1 | Fressinet, Laurent (FRA) | 1 | 1 | |||
| Steel, Henry Robert (RSA) | 0 | 0 | Jumabayev, Rinat (KAZ) | 0 | 0 | |||
| Round 1 Match 03 | Round 1 Match 35 | |||||||
| Ibrahim, Hatim (EGY) | 0 | 0 | Zherebukh, Yaroslav (UKR) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar (AZE) | 1 | 1 | Eljanov, Pavel (UKR) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Round 1 Match 04 | Round 1 Match 36 | |||||||
| Ponomariov, Ruslan (UKR) | 1 | 1 | Berkes, Ferenc (HUN) | 1 | 1 | |||
| Gwaze, Robert (ZIM) | 0 | 0 | Mareco, Sandro (ARG) | 0 | 0 | |||
| Round 1 Match 05 | Round 1 Match 37 | |||||||
| Hansen, Eric (CAN) | 0 | 0 | Kazhgaleyev, Murtas (KAZ) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Gashimov, Vugar (AZE) | 1 | 1 | Andreikin, Dmitry (RUS) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Round 1 Match 06 | Round 1 Match 38 | |||||||
| Grischuk, Alexander (RUS) | 1 | 1 | Morozevich, Alexander (RUS) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Genba, Vladimir (RUS) | 0 | 0 | Halkias, Stelios (GRE) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Round 1 Match 07 | Round 1 Match 39 | |||||||
| De La Paz Perdomo, Frank (CUB) | 0 | 0 | Filippov, Anton (UZB) | 1 | 1 | |||
| Radjabov, Teimour (AZE) | 1 | 1 | Zhigalko, Sergei (BLR) | 0 | 0 | |||
| Round 1 Match 08 | Round 1 Match 40 | |||||||
| Kamsky, Gata (USA) | 1 | 1 | Riazantsev, Alexander (RUS) | 1 | 1 | |||
| Di Berardino, Diego Rafae (BRA) | 0 | 0 | Bluvshtein, Mark (CAN) | 0 | 0 | |||
| Round 1 Match 09 | Round 1 Match 41 | |||||||
| Lima, Darcy (BRA) | ½ | ½ | Drozdovskij, Yuri (UKR) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Svidler, Peter (RUS) | ½ | ½ | Motylev, Alexander (RUS) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Round 1 Match 10 | Round 1 Match 42 | |||||||
| Jakovenko, Dmitry (RUS) | 1 | 1 | Wojtaszek, Radoslaw (POL) | 1 | 1 | |||
| Salem, A.R. Saleh (UAE) | 0 | 0 | Pashikian, Arman (ARM) | 0 | 0 | |||
| Round 1 Match 11 | Round 1 Match 43 | |||||||
| Bezgodov, Alexei (RUS) | ½ | ½ | Shulman, Yuri (USA) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Vitiugov, Nikita (RUS) | ½ | ½ | Potkin, Vladimir (RUS) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Round 1 Match 12 | Round 1 Match 44 | |||||||
| Almasi, Zoltan (HUN) | 1 | 1 | Nielsen, Peter Heine (DEN) | ½ | ½ | |||
| El Gindy, Essam (EGY) | 0 | 0 | Postny, Evgeny (ISR) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Round 1 Match 13 | Round 1 Match 45 | |||||||
| Cori, Jorge (PER) | 0 | 0 | Romanov, Evgeny (RUS) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Vallejo Pons, Francisco (ESP) | 1 | 1 | Grachev, Boris (RUS) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Round 1 Match 14 | Round 1 Match 46 | |||||||
| Navara, David (CZE) | 1 | 1 | Inarkiev, Ernesto (RUS) | 1 | 1 | |||
| Kabanov, Nikolai (RUS) | 0 | 0 | Salgado Lopez, Ivan (ESP) | 0 | 0 | |||
| Round 1 Match 15 | Round 1 Match 47 | |||||||
| Rahman, Ziaur (BAN) | ½ | ½ | Gupta, Abhijeet (IND) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime (FRA) | ½ | ½ | Mamedov, Rauf (AZE) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Round 1 Match 16 | Round 1 Match 48 | |||||||
| Dominguez Perez, Leinier (CUB) | 1 | 1 | Kobalia, Mikhail (RUS) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Moradiabadi, Elshan (IRI) | 0 | 0 | Lysyj, Igor (RUS) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Round 1 Match 17 | Round 1 Match 49 | |||||||
| Ivanov, Alexander (USA) | 1 | 1 | Socko, Bartosz (POL) | 0 | 0 | |||
| Wang, Hao (CHN) | 0 | 0 | Bologan, Viktor (MDA) | 1 | 1 | |||
| Round 1 Match 18 | Round 1 Match 50 | |||||||
| Leko, Peter (HUN) | 0 | 0 | Bu, Xiangzhi (CHN) | 1 | 1 | |||
| Shankland, Samuel L (USA) | 1 | 1 | Adly, Ahmed (EGY) | 0 | 0 | |||
| Round 1 Match 19 | Round 1 Match 51 | |||||||
| Esen, Baris (TUR) | ½ | ½ | Ivanisevic, Ivan (SRB) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Moiseenko, Alexander (UKR) | ½ | ½ | Onischuk, Alexander (USA) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Round 1 Match 20 | Round 1 Match 52 | |||||||
| Le, Quang Liem (VIE) | 1 | 1 | Bruzon Batista, Lazaro (CUB) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Megaranto, Susanto (INA) | 0 | 0 | Quesada Perez, Yuniesky (CUB) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Round 1 Match 21 | Round 1 Match 53 | |||||||
| Paragua, Mark (PHI) | 0 | 0 | Parligras, Mircea-Emilian (ROU) | 1 | 1 | |||
| Adams, Michael (ENG) | 1 | 1 | Yu, Yangyi (CHN) | 0 | 0 | |||
| Round 1 Match 22 | Round 1 Match 54 | |||||||
| Shirov, Alexei (ESP) | 1 | 1 | Korobov, Anton (UKR) | 1 | 1 | |||
| Leon Hoyos, Manuel (MEX) | 0 | 0 | Zhou, Jianchao (CHN) | 0 | 0 | |||
| Round 1 Match 23 | Round 1 Match 55 | |||||||
| Guliyev, Namig (AZE) | 0 | 0 | Rodshtein, Maxim (ISR) | 0 | 0 | |||
| Jobava, Baadur (GEO) | 1 | 1 | Harikrishna, P. (IND) | 1 | 1 | |||
| Round 1 Match 24 | Round 1 Match 56 | |||||||
| Caruana, Fabiano (ITA) | 1 | 1 | Li, Chao b (CHN) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Pridorozhni, Aleksei (RUS) | 0 | 0 | Nguyen, Ngoc Truong Son (VIE) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Round 1 Match 25 | Round 1 Match 57 | |||||||
| Ortiz Suarez, Isan Reynal (CUB) | 0 | 0 | Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter (ROU) | 0 | 0 | |||
| Nepomniachtchi, Ian (RUS) | 1 | 1 | Kasimdzhanov, Rustam (UZB) | 1 | 1 | |||
| Round 1 Match 26 | Round 1 Match 58 | |||||||
| Bacrot, Etienne (FRA) | ½ | ½ | Akopian, Vladimir (ARM) | 0 | 0 | |||
| Robson, Ray (USA) | ½ | ½ | Negi, Parimarjan (IND) | 1 | 1 | |||
| Round 1 Match 27 | Round 1 Match 59 | |||||||
| Fier, Alexandr (BRA) | 1 | 1 | Iordachescu, Viorel (MDA) | 1 | 1 | |||
| Wang, Yue (CHN) | 0 | 0 | Feller, Sebastien (FRA) | 0 | 0 | |||
| Round 1 Match 28 | Round 1 Match 60 | |||||||
| Tomashevsky, Evgeny (RUS) | 1 | 1 | Timofeev, Artyom (RUS) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Zhao, Zong-Yuan (AUS) | 0 | 0 | Azarov, Sergei (BLR) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Round 1 Match 29 | Round 1 Match 61 | |||||||
| Babula, Vlastimil (CZE) | ½ | ½ | Khairullin, Ildar (RUS) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Efimenko, Zahar (UKR) | ½ | ½ | Ni, Hua (CHN) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Round 1 Match 30 | Round 1 Match 62 | |||||||
| Malakhov, Vladimir (RUS) | ½ | ½ | Fridman, Daniel (GER) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Felgaer, Ruben (ARG) | ½ | ½ | Lupulescu, Constantin (ROU) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Round 1 Match 31 | Round 1 Match 63 | |||||||
| Vorobiov, Evgeny E. (RUS) | ½ | ½ | Ragger, Markus (AUT) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Sutovsky, Emil (ISR) | ½ | ½ | Alekseev, Evgeny (RUS) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Round 1 Match 32 | Round 1 Match 64 | |||||||
| Movsesian, Sergei (ARM) | 1 | 1 | So, Wesley (PHI) | ½ | ½ | |||
| Hou, Yifan (CHN) | 0 | 0 | Ding, Liren (CHN) | ½ | ½ |
Photos © Official website
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave won the French Championship on Thursday. The top seed finished clear first with 7/11, half a point ahead of Etienne Bacrot, Laurent Fressinet, Andrei Istratescu and Sebastien Feller. In the final round Vachier-Lagrave held Bacrot to a draw, while co-leader Fressinet lost to Bauer.
The 86th French Championship took place August 14-25 in the University of Caen, a commune in northwestern France, located 15 km inland from the English Channel. This year Laurent Fressinet defended his title against a strong field that included Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Etienne Bacrot. The rate of play was 40 moves in 90 minutes, followed by 30 minutes to finish the game, with 30 seconds increment per move, from move one. Report on the first six rounds here.
This year's French Championship was a very close affair, throughout the tournament. We already know that Istratescu and Vachier-Lagrave were sharing the lead after six rounds, and with many draws in round 7 things remained the same. The next day, reigning champ Laurent Fressinet joined the leaders thanks to a win against Shchekachev. And then, in round 9, Bacrot became co-leader as well, after beating Edouard in a nice attacking game:
Bacrot-Edouard
Caen, 2011
18. Bxh6 gxh6 19. Rd3 Kh8 20. Qd2 Ng8 21. d5 Nc4 22. Bxc4 bxc4 23. Rd4 Bc5 24. dxe6 Bxd4 25. Qxd4 Qf6 26. exd7 Rcd8 27. Re3 Ne7 28. Rf3 Nc6 29. Nxf7+ 1-0
So four leaders, and just two rounds to go. Vachier-Lagrave and Laurent Fressinet got themselves in an excellent position for the final round. The former beat Emmanuel Bricard in a long and tough game, where his opponent might have missed a draw here and there. The latter won against veteran participant Iossif Dorfman, who would eventually finish on a decent eighth place.
The grand finale on Thursday saw the dream pairing Bacrot versus Vachier-Lagrave, while Fressinet had Black against Christian Bauer. The game between the two 2700s didn't disappoint the fans:
Bacrot – Vachier-Lagrave
Caen, 2011
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bd2 Bg7 6. e4 Nb6 7. Be3 O-O 8. Bb5 Be6 9. Nf3 N8d7 10. Be2 c5 11. dxc5 Nc4 12. Bxc4 Bxc4 13. Bd4 e5 14. Be3 Rc8 15. b3 Be6 16. b4 f5 17. Bg5
It seems obvious that Black has to put his knight or bishop on f6 here, but Vachier-Lagrave goes for a queen sac!
17… Qe8!? 18. Nb5
Threatening 19.Nd6 when the black queen has no squares. There's no good way to prevent this, so Vachier-Lagrave must have decided on his next move in advance.
18…fxe4! 19. Nd6 exf3
20. g3
20. Nxe8 fxg2 21. Rg1 Rfxe8 is also highly unclear.
20… e4 21. Nxe8 Rcxe8
and eventually this highly complicated game ended in a draw.
This meant that Fressinet was in the position to keep his title, but he lost to Bauer, who went "all in" from the start in a sharp Modern Defence. And so Vachier-Lagrave, who was the favourite for the title, finished clear first with 7/11.
On Sunday morning the tournament organizers faced an unfortunate surprise, as it became clear that 230 chess clocks had been stolen. For groups B, C and D the round had to be postponed for a day, and so they will only finish tomorrow.
Update: We were informed that this last bit is incorrect. In fact these groups switched rest days; they were supposed to play on the Sunday and have a rest day on the Monday, but after the theft the organizers made Sunday the rest day and Monday a playing day. The reason why the A group started a day earlier was because Bacrot, Feller, Fressinet and Vachier-Lagrave all had to travel to the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk shortly afterwards.
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Michael Adams won the first Metropolitan International in Los Angeles, California. The English grandmaster finished clear first wth 7.5/9, a full point ahead of a group of six players, including GMs Loek van Wely and Dejan Bojkov, who reports for us.
By GM Dejan Bojkov
One of my first tournaments on American soil was the Jimmy Quon Memorial in Los Angeles. It was back then in January when Ankit Gupta invited me for the first Metropolitan International in August. Ankit is a decent chess player himself: a national master, who sometimes takes part in his own events. Invitations for tournaments with conditions are very rare in the U.S.A. and a friend of mine advised me to always accept such offers. Moreover, Ankit had great plans, and I already knew that he keeps his promises. Back in January it was already known that the top-seeded would be Michael Adams and Loek van Wely.
The tournament started on the 17th of August, and the interesting chess began from round one. An additional stimulus for the players were the daily best game prizes: one for every round. Those were various Apple products (iPads, Shuffles, and Nano's) and in order to participate in the contest a player needed to win (draws did not work here as it is hard to imagine an iPad separated carefully in two pieces).
Those prizes would be judged by two famous young GMs – Anish Giri and Fabiano Caruana – but they had to withdraw at the very last moment for the sake of busy schedules. Thus the change in the World Cup dates affected the tournament a bit, as well as another major event on the East Coast that ran in the same period. The U.S.A. was literally 'chess separated' in two parts!
The start of the event did not witness many surprises. The rating favourites met in round four. Adams had the white pieces, and with his usual persistence he tried to convert his minimal advantage. The Dutchman defended well though, and the point was eventually split.
In the fifth round I participated in the brilliancy contest (alas as a spectator only…):
Holt,Conrad (2438) – Bojkov,Dejan (2544)
1st Metropolitan International Los Angeles (5), 19.08.2011
[Annotations by Conrad Holt]
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Conrad Holt is eighteen years old and is one of the promising American juniors. He recently gained his first GM norm, and was very close in reaching a second one in L.A., and it was only some average rating points that prevented him from doing this.
Both leaders scored in the next round, and it seemed that they would keep the same pace till the end. However, round six saw a major upset. The fact that Timur Gareev defeated Van Wely is not that surprising, as the Uzbek Grandmaster is rated over 2600 and number three in the tournament's starting list. But the same had happened in the World Open in Philadelphia, earlier this year! Adams kept the lead by drawing the very same Gareev in the next round.
By that time many of the participants felt fatigue due to the double-round per day scheme as well as the strong field of opposition. I was one of them but the coach in the foyer of the Sheraton gave me strength to get an iPad for my effort against Zhanibek Amanov. The whole game was interesting from a strategical point of view, as IM David Pruess explained at the closing ceremony, and therefore the price. But I will only show the final:
Amanov,Zhanibek (2382) – Bojkov,Dejan (2544)
1st Metropolitan International Los Angeles (8), 20.08.2011
[Annotations by Dejan Bojkov]
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David Pruess, who recently scored his final GM norm, was visited the event to cover the tournament for Chess.com. The American site is probably the fastest progressing chess site at the moment, and the live shows gathered quite a big audience.
Another game which won an iPad brilliancy price was the following one, which I present you with the annotations of the winner:
Kelley,Dereque (2239) – Ravichandran,Siddharth (2383)
1st Metropolitan International Los Angeles (8), 20.08.2011
[Notes by Dereque Kelley]
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In the eighth round I was happy to take half a point from the tournament leader, which gave Gareev a chance to catch up with Adams. He tried hard against GM Amanov, but his efforts were enough for a draw only. Adams thus kept a slim lead going into the final round.
After a couple of hours into the last round, the games of his pursuers on boards two and three had ended peacefully. Now he only needed a draw (with the black pieces) to secure the first prize, and the beautiful Svarovsky trophy. However, he showed a champion's character and after a nice combination won the beauty price for the final round, as well as the tournament by a full point margin:
Hungaski,Robert (2495) – Adams,Michael (2715)
1st Metropolitan International Los Angeles (9), 21.08.2011
[Notes by Dejan Bojkov]
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Hungaski was not very lucky. He needed to beat a player rated over 2450 in the final round to achieve a GM norm, but faced Adams. Thus, the only player who went home with a norm was Michael Lee from Washington – he made an IM norm after scoring 5.5/9, and by keeping his concentration throughout the whole event thanks to his headphones.
For many years, things were quiet in Los Angeles in terms of norm events and open tournaments. For the last ten months Ankit Gupta has organized eleven norm events (both IM and GM), one is in progress at the moment, and he crowned his efforts with this Los Angeles International. He is already working on the next one, and preparing for yet another major event in December. But this is in the future…
Betsy Dynako was the official photographer for the tournament. Christine Hartman and Christian Glawe of IceHat Creative also provided coverage of the event. In this report you find examples of their excellent work.
| # | Name | Rtg | Fed | Pts | # | Name | Rtg | Fed | Pts | |
| 1 | Michael Adams | 2715 | ENG | 7.5 | 16 | Conrad Holt | 2438 | USA | 6.5 | |
| 2 | Loek Van Wely | 2683 | NED | 6.5 | 17 | Darwin Yang | 2434 | USA | 6.0 | |
| 3 | Timur Gareev | 2613 | UZB | 6.5 | 18 | Levon Altounian | 2431 | USA | 5.5 | |
| 4 | Varuzhan Akobian | 2613 | USA | 6.0 | 19 | Raja Panjwani | 2420 | CAN | 3.5 | |
| 5 | Alejandro Ramirez | 2592 | USA | 4.5 | 20 | Mas Hafizulhilmi | 2416 | MAS | 5.0 | |
| 6 | Robert Ruck | 2569 | HUN | 6.5 | 21 | Daniel Rensch | 2410 | USA | 5.5 | |
| 7 | Dejan Bojkov | 2544 | BUL | 6.5 | 22 | Michael Lee | 2395 | USA | 5.5 | |
| 8 | Mesgen Amanov | 2544 | TKM | 6.5 | 23 | Mark Ginsburg | 2387 | USA | 5.5 | |
| 9 | Melikset Khachiyan | 2505 | USA | 2.5 | 24 | Siddharth Ravichandran | 2387 | IND | 5.5 | |
| 10 | Robert Hungaski | 2495 | USA | 5.5 | 25 | Zhanibek Amanov | 2382 | KAZ | 5.5 | |
| 11 | Enrico Sevillano | 2492 | USA | 5.5 | 26 | Jack Peters | 2377 | USA | 4.5 | |
| 12 | Salvijus Bercys | 2487 | USA | 5.5 | 27 | Joel Banawa | 2374 | USA | 5.0 | |
| 13 | Dmitry Gurevich | 2479 | USA | 5.5 | 28 | Philip Xiao Wang | 2371 | USA | 5.0 | |
| 14 | Andranik Matikozyan | 2451 | ARM | 5.5 | 29 | Bence Szabo | 2362 | HUN | 5.0 | |
| 15 | Mackenzie Molner | 2447 | USA | 5.5 | 30 | William Duckworth | 2352 | USA | 5.5 |
The players' dinner at the top of the hotel
Tournament winner Michael Adams...
...here playing against the author of this report
Adams receiving his first prize...
...a stunningly beautiful trophy - rare for a chess tournament!
Unsurprisingly, Ankit Gupta is USCF Organizer of the Year
Photos © Betsy Dynako | Videos © IceHat Creative for the Metropolitan Chess Club
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