The 2009 Russian champ now faces Gelfand who bested the American champ Kamsky in the blitz round to earn a slot in the finals. Their six-game match began yesterday and, in case of a tie, will be decided through rapids and blitzes. The winner will face world champ Anand next year in a 12-game title match.
Says Canadian GM Kevin Spraggett:
“Of course the rules have been criticized by everyone: too few serious games (just 4), too much emphasis on ‘casino’ fun, etc, etc. But that is the world we live in these days, take it or leave it. Or better still, why not just give the wheel one last spin just to see if your lucky number comes up…
“In truth, the players did their best to cope and adapt. Perhaps the chess is not the chess of Bobby Fischer, and perhaps the ultimate winner will only be the ‘first among equals,’ but everyone knew what they were getting into before it started. Unless you are a strong willed individual like Magnus Carlsen — who refused to take part under this format — and are willing to forgo some ‘easy’ money, you take part and do your best to survive.
“It is no surprise to me that both Grischuk and Gelfand are to meet in the finals…. In fact, I predicted it last week…! Gelfand has an angel sitting on his shoulder (reference to his World Cup Qualification), while Grischuk is using his poker experience to his advantage: if he doesn’t like his position (hand) after a few moves (rounds of betting), he just throws in the cards and waits for the dealer to shuffle — that is, he makes short and boring draws!
“Congrats to both losers, Kramnik and Kamsky. They played equally well, but were not favored by the gods. Who will win the finals? Grischuk, of course. (Unless Gelfand is dealt a pair of Aces in every hand!)”
Game of the week. The 46th Capablanca Memorial in Havana, Cuba started on May 10 and will end on the 21st. This year’s event is a six-player double round robin featuring Ukraine’s Vassily Ivanchuk, Cuba’s Leinier Dominguez Perez, Czech Republic’s David Navara, Cuba’s Lazaro Bruzon, Russia’s Dmitry Andreikin and Vietnam’s Le Quang Liem.
As I write this, 21-year-old Andreikin, the 2010 world junior champ, and 20-year-old Le are in the lead with four more rounds to go. Here’s one of the games so far as annotated by IM Malcolm Pein.
White: D. Navara (2702)
Black: L.B. Bruzon (2693)
Slav Defense
Havana 2011
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Qc2 dxc4 5.Qxc4 Bf5 6.g3 e6 7.Bg2 Be7 8.0-0 Nbd7 9.e3 0-0 10.Rd1 Qc7 11.Nc3 e5 12.e4 Bg4 13.Be3 exd4 14.Bxd4 Bxf3 15.Bxf3 Ne5 16.Qe2 Nxf3+ 17.Qxf3 Rad8 18.Rac1 Qa5 19.a3 Rfe8 20.Kg2 (White’s central pawn and strong bishop give him an edge here) 20…h6 21.h4 a6 22.Rc2 Nh7 (Heading for e6 to challenge the bishop, if 22…c5 23.Bxf6 Bxf6 24.Nd5) 23.e5 Nf8 24.Ne4 Ne6 25.Bc3 Qa4 26.Rcd2 Rxd2 27.Rxd2 c5 28.b3! Qxb3 29.Rb2 Qxa3 30.Rxb7 (Threat: Nd6) 30…Nd4 31.Qg4 Qa4 (31…Ne6!) 32.Rxe7! (Not 32.Nf6+ Bxf6 33.exf6 Qc6+) 32…Rxe7 33.Nf6+ and 1-0. After 33…Re8 34.Qxc5+ wins. A fine example of how to use your king in the endgame. Black made a couple of errors but Kf3-e6 puts him under pressure.
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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