The Candidates Chess 2013

Kramnik overtakes Carlsen in the
 lead after dramatic 12th round FIDE Candidates. Follow the link to read the complete report on round 12.

Round 13

Round 13
Round 14
Round 14
Round 14 – Final moves

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Mtel Chess Rounds 7, 8, 9 and round 10

 

Ivanchuk…the winner!

Ivanchuk’s last game…played in round 10…against Cheparinov…as by Kingscrusher of Chess World.

Image:chessdom

Image: discover-bulgaria.com…the building where the tournament is being held.

Ivanchuk the winner of Mtel…Final results…

Ivanchuk…image:chessdom

Ivanchuk Vassily 2740 UKR 8
Topalov Veselin 2767 BUL 6,5
Radjabov Teimour 2751 AZE 5,5
Cheparinov Ivan 2695 BUL 4
Bu Xiangzhi 2708 CHN 3
Aronian Levon 2763 ARM 3 

Please click HERE to play through the games of round 10 — the final round.

Results  round 10…the final round…
Topalov, V vs Radjabov, T….1/2
Cheparinov, I vs Ivanchuk, V….0-1
Aronian, L vs Xiangzhi, Bu….1/2

Please click this link: to access the MTel 2008 games on site of Chessgames.

Round 10 (final)…Aronian vs Xiangzhi…end position

Round 10 — Cheparinov vs Ivanchuk…end position… 0-1

Round 10 — Topalov vs Radjabov…end position…1/2

Cheparinov…image:Chessdom

Aronian and Xiangzhi

 

Topalov

Standings after round 9:

Ivanchuk Vassily 2740 UKR 7
Topalov Veselin 2767 BUL 6
Radjabov Teimour 2751 AZE 5
Cheparinov Ivan 2695 BUL 4
Bu Xiangzhi 2708 CHN 2,5
Aronian Levon 2763 ARM 2,5
Please click HERE to play through the games of round 9.
Round 9: Results… in blue…with the images… Xiangzhi beats Topalov!!

Round 9 Radjabov vs Cheparinov…after move 11

Round 9: End position – Radjabov vs Cheparinov… 1/2

Round 9: Xiangzhi vs Topalov…after move…13

Round 9: Xiangzhi vs Topalov…move 33

Round 9: End position….Xiangzhi vs Topalov….1-0!

Round 9: Ivanchuk vs Aronian ….. move…11

Round 9: Ivanchuk vs Aronian …end position….1/2
Results round 8

Topalov, V vs Cheparinov, I = 1-0
Aronian, L vs Radjabov, T = 0-1
Xiangzhi, Bu vs Ivanchuk, V = 1/2

Images:Europe-echecs

The amazing Veselin Topalov (artist’s impression pictured!) convincingly won his 8th round game against his countryman and friend, Ivan Cheparinov to close the gap to former runaway leader Vassily Ivanchuk to just half a point. 

Ivanchuk was definitely second best in his game but hung on to draw against Bu Xiangzhi.  Since his 5/5 start, Ivanchuk has now drawn his last three games.

Please click HERE to play through the games played in round 8.

Pairings round 9:

Xiangzhi, Bu vs Topalov, V
Ivanchuk, V vs Aronian, L
Radjabov, T vs Cheparinov, I

Round 7: Xiangzhi vs Radjabov…end position


Round 7: Topalov vs Ivanchuck…end position

Round 7: Aronian vs Cheparinov … end position

***This post will be updated as the tournament goes… so everyday’s results – till round 10 – will be added in this post. Click on images for a larger view.
Please click on THIS LINK to see the results of rounds 1-5…also, to read about Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria where this Master’s tournament is taking place!
On this link HERE you can play through games played in earlier rounds and see the results of round 6 and see two video annotations about Ivanchuk’s games in rounds 4 and 5.
On THIS LINK you can follow the video reports after each round….and HERE you will find the games from all the rounds being played. On my blog’s side bar  you will find a LIVE “MTel”- link to the current games of the day they’re busy playing.

Results round 7:

Ivanchuk vs Topalov 1/2
Radjabov vs Xiangzhi 1-0
Cheparinov vs Aronian 1/2

Standings after round 7:

1. Ivanchuk Vassily 2740 UKR 6
2. Topalov Veselin 2767 BUL 5
3. Cheparinov Ivan 2695 BUL 3,5
3. Radjabov Teimour 2751 AZE 3,5
4. Aronian Levon 2763 ARM 2
5. Bu Xiangzhi 2708 CHN 1

Schedule ….for the rest of the tournament…

Round 8: May 16, 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC)
Round 9: May 17, 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC)
Round 10: May 18, 14.00 EEST (11.00 UTC)

Tie breaks: 19.00 EEST (16.00 UTC)
Closing ceremony: 20.00 EEST (17.00 UTC)
Cocktail party: 21.00 EEST (18.00 UTC)

 

Images:MTelmasters.com… the official site

 

 Sofia, 15 May 2008- Author’s copy of the ancient Bulgarian icon “St. Trinity” will be the special prize of the winner in the super chess tournament M-Tel Masters 2008. The author of the icon is the famous Bulgarian painter Katya Bajlekova the size if the icon is 62 x 46 cm and the image is aged by a special technology.

The special prize will be handed to the winner in M-Tel Masters 2008 at the official closing ceremony of the tournament on May 18.

Traditionally, for a fourth year in a row the winner of the Sofia super chess tournament receives as a special prize a copy of an ancient Bulgarian icon. As a three-time winner of M-Tel Masters Veselin Topalov already has in his collection a copy of the icons “Entering Jerusalem”, “St. George the Winner” and “Four Saints – Warriors” by the same painter.
Source: Mtelmasters.com
This video is about the final round…round 10

This video is about round 6….Ivanchuck against Radjabov

This next video is about Topalov playing round 8 against Cheparinov by Chess World.

 
MTel-video about round 8

MTel-video round 9!

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M-Tel Masters Chess 2008

Results round 5: Please click HERE to play through the games of round 5….and it seems to me that…Ivanchuk is on his way to fame!
The results in round 5:

Veselin Topalov 1-0 Bu Xiangzhi
Levon Aronian 0-1 Vassily Ivanchuk
Ivan Cheparinov ½-½ Teimour Radjabov
Click on THIS LINK to play through a few games from the first 3 rounds and also, see 2 videos of Ivanchuck’s games in rounds 4 and 5….

 Results of rounds 2-4

Please click HERE to play through the games of round 2 and to see the standings after round 2! The games take a few seconds to load.
If you click HERE you can view the games of round 3 and the standings after round 3…the games take a few seconds to load…

Results of round 4:
On THIS LINK you can play through the games of round 4 and see the results.

The positions after round 4:
Ivanchuk, Vassily UKR 2740 4
Topalov, Veselin BUL 2767 2½
Radjabov, Teimour AZE 2751 1½
Aronian, Levon ARM 2763 1½
Cheparinov, Ivan BUL 2696 1½
Bu Xiangzhi CHN 2708 1

 
Please click HERE for the MTEL site and live games…on the side bar of my blog you will find the MTEL-link to live links too.
The M-Tel Masters tournament will take place between the 8th and the 18th May in Sofia, Bulgaria. The competitors in this ultra-strong double round-robin tournament are:

Veselin Topalov Bulgaria ELO 2767
Vassily Ivanchuk Ukraine ELO 2740
Levon Aronian Armenia ELO 2763
Teimour Radjabov Azerbaijan ELO 2751
Ivan Cheparinov Bulgaria ELO 2695
Bu Xiangzhi China ELO 2708

This event forms part of the ‘Grand Slam’ circuit which also includes the tournaments at Wijk Aan Zee, Moreila/Linares and Mexico City. The four winners of these tournaments will play against one another in a final tournament in Bilbao in September. Info…chess.com

Schedule

Blindfold: Topalov vs Juett (winner in the game Play like Topalov 2007): May 06, 19.00 EEST (16.00 UTC))
Press conference: May 07, 12.00 EEST (09.00 UTC)
Official opening: May 07, 18.00 EEST (15.00 UTC)
Cocktail party: May 07, 19.00 EEST (16.00 UTC)

Round 1: May 08, 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC)
Round 2: May 09, 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC)
Round 3: May 10, 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC)
Round 4: May 11, 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) 
Round 5: May 12, 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC)

Rest Day: May 13
Football: FC Levski vs Chess United
May 13, 12.00 EEST (09.00 UTC)

Round 6: May 14, 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) 
Round 7: May 15, 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) 
Round 8: May 16, 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) 
Round 9: May 17, 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC) 
Round 10: May 18, 15.00 EEST (12.00 UTC)

Tie breaks: 19.00 EEST (16.00 UTC)
Closing ceremony: 20.00 EEST (17.00 UTC)
Cocktail party: 21.00 EEST (18.00 UTC)

 

Image:chessbase

 

 

Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria

Five things to see in Sofia

Bulgaria joined the EU in January and Sofia, its capital, is ready for visitors. It may not be as glamorous as those favorite eastern European capitals, Prague and Budapest, but this city of just over a million, surrounded by snow-covered peaks, is a pleasant surprise.

Start at the statue
Almost everything is in the center of town and can be visited on foot. Start a tour at the statue of St. Sofia, the city’s patron whose golden statue was erected atop a tall pedestal five years ago. The citizens of Sofia are said to love the statue but the church condemns it, contending that it is not a religious rendition of a saint. They may have a point: The golden saint, wearing a form-fitting gown with a plunging neckline, looks more like a Greek goddess.

Roman remains by the rotunda
Head over to the Sheraton hotel, which was built in front of the oldest and best preserved building in Sofia, the 4th-century St. George Rotunda. This ancient church is surrounded by ruins of the Roman town of Serdica. Within the structure, three layers of frescoes were discovered, the oldest dating to the 10th century.
Battenburg Square
Walk through Alexander Battenburg Square, named after the man who became the country’s first prince in 1879 when the country was liberated from 400 years of occupation by the Turks. Pass the National Art Gallery, a yellow building which was the former royal palace, and continue down Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard past the Russian Church of St. Nicholas. This is Sofia’s prettiest church with a bright yellow-tiled exterior, gilded domes, and an emerald green spire, all sparkling in the sun-a delightful jewel in the midst of the busy city. It was built in 1913 in the traditional Moscow decorative style as the project of a Russian architect.

St. Alexander Nevski
The golden dome of St. Alexander Nevski Cathedral, the city’s largest place of worship, dominates the skyline. Built between 1908 and 1912, it commemorates the 200,000 Russian soldiers who perished in the Bulgarian War of Liberation.

The majority of Bulgarians are Christian Orthodox and their churches are lavishly decorated with frescoes, icons, chandeliers-and candles. Some are dark and mysterious places with just the flickering of candles casting a soft glow on the silver that covers many of the icons. Thanks to large clear windows, St. Alexander Nevski is brighter than most orthodox churches.

Markets
There’s a lively and colorful street market near the church. Everything from Russian fur hats and lacquered boxes to icons, embroidery, and flea market bric-a-brac is for sale. And on Vitosha Boulevard, the city’s main shopping thoroughfare, pedestrians saunter down the middle of the street, which is closed to all traffic except trams, and is as busy as the city’s covered market. In the middle of the market hall, surrounded by shops-bakeries, butchers, vegetable stands, and souvenir boutiques-are a fountain and two popular restaurant/bar complexes.

Source: Internationalliving.com

 

Sofia is the capital of Bulgaria. The city was founded around 7 000 years ago in a close proximity to the Vitosha Mountain and has now turned into a real cosmopolitan city. As it is with other capitals, Sofia is the centre of the political, cultural and business life in Bulgaria. The city offers many international events, as well as theatres, operas, concert halls, museums and galleries. The place is also suitable for congresses, symposia, meetings and conferences because its business centre and hotels are very near the centre of the city. For the comfort-lovers there are many luxurious five, four and three-stars hotels. And for those who want comfort, rest and tranquility, there are many small private hotels in Sofia’s surroundings.

Read more: bulgaria-trips.info/Sofia/sofia.html

image:bghouses.com

The Mtel Chess Masters Round 2- Images: Mtel Official site

 

Shirov vs Topalov Round 2 move 7

Ivanchuk vs Wang round 2 move 7

Dominguez vs Carlsen round 2 move 7

Dominguez vs Carlsen round 2 end position 1/2

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Baku Chess rounds 12 and 13

Today…round 13 – the final round! – was played in Baku, Azerbainjan. The first images in this post is about round 13, please slide down for round 12-results. More images of round 13 can bee seen on the official Baku2008.fide.com-site.

Tadaa! and here are the results of round 13…
Karjakin, Sergey 1/2 Kamsky, Gata 1/2
Svidler, Peter 1 Inarkiev,Ernesto 0
Navara, David 1 Cheparinov, Ivan 0
Adams, Michael 1/2 Gashimov, Vugar 1/2
Grischuk, Alexander 1/2 Radjabov, Teimour 1/2
Carlsen, Magnus 1 Bacrot,Etienne 0
Wang, Yue 1/2 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 1/2
Kamsky, Gata 1/2 Kerjakin, Sergey 1/2

Final ranking…
1 Gashimov Vugar 2679 AZE 8
2 Wang Yue 2689 CHN 8
3 Carlsen Magnus 2765 NOR 8
4 Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2752 AZE 71/2
5 Grischuk Alexander 2716 RUS 7½
6 Adams Michael 2729 ENG 6½
7 Svidler Peter 2746 RUS 6½
8 Radjabov Teimour 2751 AZE 6
9 Kamsky Gata 2726 USA 6
10 Karjakin Sergey 2732 UKR 6
11 Cheparinov Ivan 2695 BUL 5½
12 Navara David 2672 CZE 5½
13 Bacrot Etienne 2705 FRA 5
14 Inarkiev Ernesto 2684 RUS 5

Game between Wang and Mamedyrov…move 29….round 13

This image is from the game between Bacrot and Carlsen…after move 34

Wang against Mamedyarov move…47

End position…Navara and Cheparinov

End position: Grischuk and Radjabov

Results …round 12 played yesterday:

Radjabov 0 Navara 1   
Gashimov 1 Grischuk 0
Kamsky 0 Svidler 1
Carlsen 1 Adams 0
Cheparinov 1/2 Karjakin 1/2
Inarkiev 1/2 Wang 1/2
Mamedyarov 1 Bacrot 0

 

On this image you can see what the game board looked like between Carlsen and Adams in round 12. Click on images for a larger view.

Inarkiev playing white against Wang.

Kamsky playing against Svidler

Final position of the game between Kamsky and Svidler

 
Gashimov against Grischuk…move 17

Gashimov against Grischuk…final position on the board

Radjabov against Navara…move 19

Final position of the board between Radjabov and Navara

Mamedyarov against Bacrot move 49

All images from players: Baku2008-Fide  Official site

…wow…I can’t make up my mind with all of these men…why do  they all look so the same today!

….I was sure there was a fairy…just there!

Gata… I told you he didn’t touch that pawn…it was the pawn on H2…

…but sir…he touched it again! where are you now!….

…if you’re in the top position, this is how you pick up a piece…just watch..and you’ll win!

…..wow…they are sooooooo beautiful!

 

…eeny meeny miny moe!…..

Standings…after round 12
 
Wang Yue 2689 CHN 7½
Gashimov Vugar 2679 AZE 7½
Grischuk Alexander 2716 RUS 7
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2752 AZE 7
Carlsen Magnus 2765 NOR 7
Adams Michael 2729 ENG 6
Radjabov Teimour 2751 AZE 5½
Karjakin Sergey 2732 UKR 5½
Svidler Peter 2746 RUS 5½
Kamsky Gata 2726 USA 5½
Bacrot Etienne 2705 FRA 5
Cheparinov Ivan 2695 BUL 5
Inarkiev Ernesto 2684 RUS 5
Navara David 2672 CZE 4½

 

Pairings for round 13, the final round.
 

Round 13 on 05/05/08 at 14:00
Karjakin Sergey – Kamsky Gata
Navara David – Cheparinov Ivan
Grischuk Alexander – Radjabov Teimour
Adams Michael – Gashimov Vugar
Bacrot Etienne – Carlsen Magnus
Yue Wang – Mamedyarov Shakhriyar
Svidler Peter – Inarkiev Ernesto

Enjoy the video about round 13, the final round.

ENJOY! this movie about round 12…also to be seen on the Baku2008-Fide site.

On this image you can see the three winners in this tournament.

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Baku Chess round 10

In Baku, Azerbaijan, it was a rainy day today….In this image you can see Radjabov sharing his umbrella. In Round 10, Carlsen and Navara drew their game and Grischuck and Mamedyarov.  Ivan Cheparinov-(Bulgaria)  won his game against Teimour Radjabov (Azerbaijan).
Follow THIS LINK to watch some press conferences about different players.
Other results:
Gata Kamsky 1/2 Wang Yue 1/2
Gashimov Vugar 1/2 Karjakin Sergey 1/2
Inarkiev Ernesto 1/2 Michael Adams 1/2
Svidler Peter 1/2 Bacrot Etienne 1/2

Follow the “live” link on the side bar of my blog to follow the games live.
Please follow THIS LINK to see more photos taken today in round 10.

…..is that an expression of a blunder?

 

Round 11 on 03/05/08 at 15:00
Cheparinov Ivan – Kamsky Gata
Karjakin Sergey – Radjabov Teimour
Navara David – Gashimov Vugar
Grischuk Alexander – Carlsen Magnus
Adams Michael – Mamedyarov Shakhriyar
Bacrot Etienne – Inarkiev Ernesto
Yue Wang – Svidler Peter

This video is from the Official website of Fide-Baku-2008

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Baku Chess round 9

Enjoy these images from the Baku-fide official site… round 9 was played today…
Please click HERE to play through some of the games of the Grandmasters played in round 9.

 

….ahw….isn’t he mummy’s sweet little boy!

….yeah, yeah, yeah….let’s do it…before they call it  a
2move-checkmate-game!

 

…er….where is that rule again…the handshake rule… um…oh yeah…here…

…. that’s my boy! let’s shake it!

…oh dear!…who taught you to start with  that pawn!!

….come on Magnus…I’ve been waiting for this day! ….you’re taking too long now!

 Is everything alright, my boy? “Daddy” will keep an eye on you…ok…?

 

….and one more smile for mummy!..ahw…so sweet….

 

…er….I did say I’m sorry….so could we start  playing now….you are playing white…ain’t you?

On the side bar of the blog you will find a link to “live games” to see what the players cooked up for us today in round 9.

Standings after round 9!

1 Grischuk Alexander 2716 RUS 6
2 Gashimov Vugar 2679 AZE 5½
Wang Yue 2689 CHN 5½
4 Radjabov Teimour 2751 AZE 5
5 Carlsen Magnus 2765 NOR 5
6 Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2752 AZE 5
7 Adams Michael 2729 ENG 5
8 Bacrot Etienne 2705 FRA 4½
9 Kamsky Gata 2726 USA 4½
10 Svidler Peter 2746 RUS 4
11 Karjakin Sergey 2732 UKR 4
12 Cheparinov Ivan 2695 BUL 3½
13 Inarkiev Ernesto 2684 RUS 3
14 Navara David

Pairings for rounds 10-13. Tomorrow, the 1st May…is a free day.

Round 10 on 02/05/08 at 15:00
Kamsky Gata – Yue Wang
Svidler Peter – Bacrot Etienne
Inarkiev Ernesto – Adams Michael
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar – Grischuk Alexander
Carlsen Magnus – Navara David
Gashimov Vugar – Karjakin Sergey
Radjabov Teimour – Cheparinov Ivan
Round 11 on 03/05/08 at 15:00
Cheparinov Ivan – Kamsky Gata
Karjakin Sergey – Radjabov Teimour
Navara David – Gashimov Vugar
Grischuk Alexander – Carlsen Magnus
Adams Michael – Mamedyarov Shakhriyar
Bacrot Etienne – Inarkiev Ernesto
Yue Wang – Svidler Peter
Round 12 on 04/05/08 at 15:00
Kamsky Gata – Svidler Peter
Inarkiev Ernesto – Yue Wang
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar – Bacrot Etienne
Carlsen Magnus – Adams Michael
Gashimov Vugar – Grischuk Alexander
Radjabov Teimour – Navara David
Cheparinov Ivan – Karjakin Sergey
Round 13 on 05/05/08 at 14:00
Karjakin Sergey – Kamsky Gata
Navara David – Cheparinov Ivan
Grischuk Alexander – Radjabov Teimour
Adams Michael – Gashimov Vugar
Bacrot Etienne – Carlsen Magnus
Yue Wang – Mamedyarov Shakhriyar
Svidler Peter – Inarkiev Ernesto

Enjoy the video from the FideBaku2008 website.
 

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Baku Chess round 4

Click on the images to see a larger view. These are results from round 4, the Chess Grand Prix tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan. If you click HERE you will find a games-link and you can play through the games played in the previous rounds…on the side bar of my blog, you will find a link to the current round’s games.

All images from the Official Fide-Baku-Chess-site.

 

Pairings for round 5

 

Baku…city…wall

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Linares round 13

Please click HERE to play through games from Linares round 13 as well as other rounds…

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Linares 2008 round 12

Image: Chessvibes

Click here to see the game of Carlsen and Topalov on Susan Polgar’s site.
If you click on THIS LINK you can play through the games of the players of rounds played so far. Click on the name on the top-menu to see the rounds of a particular player.

Click HERE to read about Shirov/Aronian’s game. 
Please click HERE to read more about Radjabov/Ivanchuk’s game…
and on THIS LINK about Anand/Leko’s game.

Wednesday is a day of rest…no games and the schedule for the rest of the week:

Round 13 6th March 2008
Ivanchuk, Vassily	vs.	Anand, Viswanathan
Radjabov, Teimour	vs.	Shirov, Alexei
Aronian, Levon	vs.	Carlsen, Magnus
Topalov, Veselin	vs.	Leko, Peter
Round 14 7th March 2008
Anand, Viswanathan	vs.	Topalov, Veselin
Leko, Peter	vs.	Aronian, Levon
Carlsen, Magnus	vs.	Radjabov, Teimour
Shirov, Alexei	vs.	Ivanchuk, Vassily

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