Kasparov called him a genius while Anand described him as the world’s most eccentric chess player. Ivanchuk, according to other GM’s, is unpredictable and enigmatic.
Due to his immense talent, many believed that he would be world champion, but Chuky’s play is erratic and he seems to crumble at crucial stages of a tournament or a match. In his 1991 candidates match against veteran Soviet GM Yusupov, he lost 4.5-5.5 despite leading by a point after seven games. In 2002, heavily favored to win the FIDE championship after eliminating Anand in the semifinals, Ivanchuk went on to lose to a countryman, Ruslan Ponomariov.
At the recently held World Cup, Ivanchuk lost to Grischuk in the semis, but finished third by edging Ponomariov. This victory gives Chucky a ticket to the eight-player candidates series that will determine the next challenger to the world crown.
In an interview last February, Ivanchuk said: “I still think I can become world champion, but only on the condition that I look at that championship and the qualifying for it as normal tournaments — nothing special. Then I’ll be able to prepare. I know myself. If a tournament is very important, then that’s it, I can’t prepare for it — neither at the computer nor at the chessboard. When the tension drops a little then the desire to play chess returns and new ideas appear. Why is it like that? I don’t know.”
Says our annotator IM Malcolm Pein: “Ivanchuk is a world title candidate for the first time since 1991. This seems ridiculous as the Ukrainian chess genius has been one of the world’s leading players for more than 20 years. Time and again, Ivanchuk’s nerves have failed him at crucial moments….
Ivanchuk lost to Grischuk in the [World Cup] semifinal playoff but he won the second rapid game with a fine attack.”
Game of the week.
White: V. Ivanchuk (2768)
Black: A. Grischuk (2746)
English Opening
World Cup, Khanty Mansiysk 2011
1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e6 5.g3 Qb6 6.Nc2 Ne5 7.b3 Qc6 8.f3 Nf6 9.Bb2 Qc7 10.Nc3 a6 11.f4 Ng6 (11…Neg4!? 12.Bg2 Qc5!) 12.e4 d6 13.Qf3 b6 14.0-0-0 Bb7 15.Kb1 Be7 16.g4 e5 17.g5 Nd7 18.f5 Nf4 19.Rg1 g6 20.Ne3 Nc5 21.h4 Bc6 22.Rg4 Qb7 23.Rxf4! exf4 24.Ned5 0-0-0 25.b4! Na4 26.Nxa4 Bxa4 27.Rc1 Kb8 (27…Rhe8 28.Bd4 and b6 falls) 28.b5 gxf5 29.Qa3 (and Ivanchuk won a piece) 29…fxe4 30.bxa6 Qxa6 31.Nxe7 Qa7 32.Bxh8 Rxh8 33.Qxd6+ Qc7 34.Qf6 Rd8 35.Nd5 Qd6 36.Qxf4 Qxf4 37.Nxf4 Rd2 38.Be2 Rd4 39.Nd5 Kb7 40.Rf1 Rd2 41.Rxf7+ Ka6 42.a3 1-0.
Puzzler.
White: Ka5, Nb5, Qc1, Bd3, pawn on d4
Black: Kd5, Ne5, pawns on a6 and f3
White to play and mate in three moves.
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