MTel Masters 2009

 If you have thought you’ve seen all the “big game” of the Chess World the past week on my blog…then you haven’t seen these “Chess Engines” of the Chess World. These guys look very serious and I think they mean it serious when it comes to chess. Shirov is currently playing in Azerbaijan too! Topalov will again have a blindfolded game – like last year. Ivanchuk is last year’s winner, wonder what will happen this year. On the official site you can read more player info by clicking on their images.
Click HERE to read the interview with Topalov about his chess.

Please click HERE for the Official site. On my blog’s side bar (top right) you will find the link to LIVE-games. All images: Ivan A. Grigorov for mtelmasters

Vassily Ivanchuk, is a Ukrainian Grandmaster. His an ELO of 2787 on the FIDE January 2008 list, making him number 9 in the World and Ukraine’s number one. He played board one on the victorious Ukraine team at the 2004 Calvia Olympiad. As of November 2007 he is the World Blitz Chess champion.

World Champion to comment M-Tel Masters
 The World Champion in chess Antoaneta Stefanova will comment the games from the fifth edition of the super chess tournament M-Tel Masters. The competition will start on 12 May. For the title up to 23 May will compete the leader in the world ranking Veselin Topalov, Magnus Carlsen from Norway, the last year’s winner Vassily Ivanchuk from Ukraine, Leinier Dominguez from Cuba, Alexei Shirov from Spain and Yue Wang from China. The average ELO of the participants is 2755, which makes the tournament FIDE 21st category. Only five tournaments in history have been of that rank so far.

Bulgaria’s all time strongest female player won the chess crown at the World Championship in Elista in 2004. She is currently fourth in the ladies’ world ranking with an ELO of 2549.

The commentator’s place of Stefanova will be meters away from glass pavilion where the games from the tournament will be played. Her guests will be Bulgarian GMs and after each game she will be able to analyze the game with the participants.

The comments and analysis of Stefanova will be heard also online in real time on the web site of the tournament  www. mtelmasters.com. The games from the tournament will start every day at 16:00 local time, only the last round’s games will begin at 15:00.

The Venue: A glass pavilion on the square in front of the National Theatre Ivan Vazov – image: Official site

The first move made by the mayor of Sofia. MTel has started.

The Glass house where the tournament is taking place – in front of the National Theatre Ivan Vazov

Topalov played a game blindfolded.

Players ready for round 1

The first move..by the mayor of Sofia.

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

Shirov vs Topalov Round 2 move 7

Shirov vs Topalov Round 2 end position 1/2

Ivanchuk vs Wang round 2 move 7

Ivanchuk vs Wang round 2 end position 0-1

Dominguez vs Carlsen round 2 move 7

Dominguez vs Carlsen round 2 end position 1/2

 Round 3

Magnus Carlsen - Images: MTel

Wang vs Shirov

MTel Chess Round 3 Wang vs Shirov end position 1/2

MTel Chess Round 3 Carlsen vs Ivanchuk move 41

MTel Chess Round 3 Topalov vs Dominguez move 41

Carlsen vs Ivanchuk

Topalov

Pairings Rounds: 4-5-6

 Round 4 – Results: 16th May 2009

Round 4 Carlsen vs Shirov move 7

Round 4 Carlsen vs Shirov end position

Round 4 Dominguez vs Ivanchuk move 7

Round 4 Dominguez vs Ivanchuk end position

Round 4 Topalov vs Wang move 7

Round 4 Topalov vs Wang end position

In both problems white moves and mates in two moves

See the “news”-link on the official site for Kostadinov’s Challenge. You can send your solution to him, his email is on the link too.

Round 5: 17th May 2009

Topalov – round 5

Supporters follow the games outside the glass house

Round 5 Ivanchuk vs Topalov move 7

Round 5 Ivanchuk vs Topalov move 22

Round 5 Ivanchuk vs Topalov move 30

Round 5 Ivanchuk vs Topalov move 44

 

Chess football – results- MTel-United 8!

Players played football on their day of rest. This is the evidence to show chess players are good at football too!

Round 6: Results

Round 6: Dominguez vs Wang 1/2

 

Round 6 Topalov vs Carlsen move 7

Round 6 Topalov vs Carlsen move 21

Round 6 Topalov vs Carlsen end position 1/2

Round 6 Shirov vs Ivanchuk 1-0

Round 6: Shirov and Topalov

Results: Round 7

Topalov vs Shirov – 1/2

Carlsen vs Dominguez – 1-0

Wang vs Ivanchuk – 1/2

Results: Round 8

[Event “5th M-Tel Masters round_8”]
[Site “Sofia BUL”]
[Date “2009.05.21”]
[Round “8.1”]
[White “Shirov, Alexei”]
[Black “Wang, Yue”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ECO “E04”]
[WhiteElo “2745”]
[BlackElo “2738”]
[PlyCount “87”]
[EventDate “2009.05.13”]
[EventType “tourn”]
[EventRounds “10”]
[EventCountry “BUL”]
[EventCategory “21”]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 c5 6. O-O Nc6 7. Qa4 Bd7 8. Qxc4 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Rc8 10. Nc3 Nxd4 11. Qxd4 Bc5 12. Qh4 O-O 13. Bg5 h6 14. Bxf6 Qxf6 15. Qxf6 gxf6 16. Bxb7 Rb8 17. Bf3 Rxb2 18. Rfd1 Be8 19. Ne4 Be7 20. Nd6 Bxd6 21. Rxd6 Bb5 22. Kf1 Rb8 23.a4 Bc4 24. Rc1 Rb1 25. Rd8+ Kg7 26. Rxb8 Rxc1+ 27. Kg2 Rc2 28. Rc8 Bb3 29. Rxc2 Bxc2 30. a5 f5 31. Bh5 Kf6 32. f4 Ke7 33. Kh3 Be4 34. Kh4 Kf6 35. h3 Kg7 36. e3 Bd3 37. Bf3 Bc2 38. g4 fxg4 39. hxg4 f6 40. Bc6 Bd1 41. Bd7 Kf7 42. Bc8 Be2 43. Bd7 Bd1 44. Bc8 1/2-1/2

[Event “5th M-Tel Masters round_8”]
[Site “Sofia BUL”]
[Date “2009.05.21”]
[Round “8.2”]
[White “Ivanchuk, Vassily”]
[Black “Carlsen, Magnus”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ECO “B77”]
[WhiteElo “2746”]
[BlackElo “2770”]
[PlyCount “81”]
[EventDate “2009.05.13”]
[EventType “tourn”]
[EventRounds “10”]
[EventCountry “BUL”]
[EventCategory “21”]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 g6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 O-O 8.
Bb3 d6 9. f3 Bd7 10. Qd2 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 b5 12. h4 a5 13. a4 bxa4 14. Bxa4 h5 15.O-O Rb8 16. Bxd7 Nxd7 17. b3 Bxd4+ 18. Qxd4 Qb6 19. Qxb6 Nxb6 20. Nd1 Rfc8 21.Ne3 Ra8 22. Ra2 a4 23. Rfa1 axb3 24. Rxa8 Nxa8 25. cxb3 Nb6 26. Ra7 Rc3 27. Kf2 e6 28. Rb7 Rxb3 29. Nc4 Rxf3+ 30. gxf3 Nxc4 31. Rb4 d5 32. exd5 exd5 33. Rb8+ Kg7 34. Rd8 Kf6 35. Rxd5 Ke6 36. Rb5 Nd6 37. Ra5 Nf5 38. Ra6+ Ke5 39. Ra5+ Ke6 40. Ra6+ Ke5 41. Ra5+ 1/2-1/2

[Event “5th M-Tel Masters round_8”]
[Site “Sofia BUL”]
[Date “2009.05.??”]
[Round “8.3”]
[White “Dominguez Perez, Leinier”]
[Black “Topalov, Veselin”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ECO “B81”]
[WhiteElo “2721”]
[BlackElo “2812”]
[PlyCount “86”]
[EventDate “2009.05.13”]
[EventType “tourn”]
[EventRounds “10”]
[EventCountry “BUL”]
[EventCategory “21”]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. h3 e6 7. g4 Be7 8. Bg2
Nfd7 9. Be3 Nc6 10. Qd2 Nde5 11. b3 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 O-O 13. O-O-O b5 14. Ne2 Bb7 15. f4 Ng6 16. Rhf1 e5 17. Be3 exf4 18. Nxf4 Ne5 19. Kb1 Rc8 20. Nd5 Bxd5 21.exd5 Bh4 22. g5 Re8 23. Bf3 g6 24. Bg4 Rc7 25. Bb6 Qb8 26. Bxc7 Qxc7 27. Be2 Qd8 28. Rg1 Qb6 29. Qf4 Bf2 30. Rg2 Be3 31. Qe4 Re7 32. Qb4 Rc7 33. h4 Bc5 34.Qe4 Qa5 35. Rg3 Bf2 36. Rh3 h5 37. gxh6 f5 38. Qf4 Rxc2 39. Kxc2 Qxa2+ 40. Kc1 Qa1+ 41. Kc2 Qa2+ 42. Kc1 Qa1+ 43. Kc2 Qa2+ 1/2-1/2

Ivanchuk and Carlsen after round 8

Standings after round 8

Results: Round 9

Round 9 Topalov vs Ivanchuk move 21 – 1-0

Round 9 Carlsen vs Wang end position – 1-0

Round 9 Dominguez vs Shirov – 1/2

Players at MTel round 9

Final round: Ivanchuk vs Dominguez final position 1-0

Final round: Shirov vs Carlsen final position 1-0

Final round: Wang vs Topalov final position 1/2

MTel Masters 2009: Final rankings

Carlsen and Shirov

Shirov, winner of MTel Masters 2009

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Nalchik 2009

Nalchik Live Games 2009

 It’s time for a chess entry! One of my favourite players, Ivanchuk is again playing and how can I miss this man if he’s playing! One other favourite  is Kamsky, although I haven’t played through more than a few games of him. Kamsky is an American player. I like the opening ceremony pics! They look spectacular! On the official site you can see even more. I think the players must have enjoyed all the attention they got from those beautiful girls!  Boris Spassky has been invited to comment the games of these chess masters in this FIDE Grand Prix Tournament. Click on the image-link for live games. All links will open in a new window. Click on images for a larger view.

Please click HERE for the Official site of Nalchik 2009.

Fourth FIDE Grand Prix in Nalchik – The fourth FIDE Grand Prix Series Tournament has started on the 14th April and will continue till the 29th April in the Intour Hotel Sindica in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia. The fourteen participants include Ivanchuk, Aronian, Mamedyarov, Leko, Kamsky, Svidler, Karjakin and Grischuk. Average rating: around 2725 points. The total prize fund is 162,000 Euros.

The fourth FIDE Grand Prix will be the strongest in the series, and one of the strongest tournaments of the world this year. New functions on the FIDE website allow us to see the current rating changes of top-grandmasters. The average rating of the tournament in Nalchik will be around 2725 points based on the April 2009 list to be published soon. Previously the highest average rated tournament was held in the third stage of the series, Elista (2715 points).

The top-rated player of the competition is the World Cup 2005 and Olympiad winner Levon Aronian. Two players have also shown excellent results this year: Alexander Grischuk – the winner of the Linares and Elista super tournaments, and Sergey Karjakin, who won the Corus tournament in January in Wijk aan Zee. The World Cup 2007 winner Gata Kamsky this year has shown also a good performance during the Challenge match against Veselin Topalov. The tournament is so evenly balanced that every one of the 14 participants who comes to Nalchik is in a good position to win the tournament. Resource: Chessbase. All pictures of players in this post are from the official site.

Ivanchuk

Ivanchuk vs Svidler

Kamsky vs Bacrot (from France)

Boris Spassky, an old “friend” of Bobby Fischer.

All the players

Image: Chessbase

The entry hall of Hotel “Sindica”, where the games of the Grand Prix are being played.

Image: Chessbase

The city of Nalchik is situated at an altitude of 550 meters (1,804 ft) in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains. It covers an area of 131 square kilometers (50.6 sq mi). Population: 275,000. The city is named after the Nalchik River, on the shores of which it is located. The word “Nalchik” literally means “small horseshoe” in Kabardian – it is a diminutive of nal, the Turkic and Turkish word for “horseshoe”. Nalchik was chosen the “second cleanest city of Russia” in 2003….Chessbase

Schedule

 

Round 5 results: click on the image for  a clear view

Standings after round 5

Nalchik Round 9 Ivanchuk vs Akopian end position 1/2

Nalchik Round 9 Grischuk vs Kamsky end position 0-1

Nalchik Round 9 Bacrot vs Mamedyarov end position 1-0

Nalchik Round 9 Gelfand vs Aronian end position 1/2

Nalchik Standings after round 9 – click on images for a larger view

Nalchik Pairings round 10 and round 11 – click on images for a clear view

Nalchik Pairings round 12 and round 13

Nalchik Round 13 – Bacrot vs Alekseev – final position

Nalchik Round 13 – Gelfand vs Sergey – final position

Nalchik 2009 : Final standings – click on images for a larger view

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Corus Chess 2009 Live

For the Official site of Corus, please click here. For Live Games, click on the Corus-logo on the side bar of my blog  or click here. If you click on the images, you will get a larger view. All images are from the Official site and all links will open in a new window. At the bottom of this post you can play through the games of some players in Group A.

Corus Schedule: Grand Masters Group A rounds 1 to 6

To see the schedule for the other rounds, please click here for rounds 7-13.
Please click HERE to play through the game of Carlsen vs Radjabov. Carlsen played white in round 1 against Radjabov. The game will open in a new window.

Corus Group A Round 1 results

On the link here, the site of Chess.com, you can play through the games of Aronian,L (2750) vs. Wang Yue (2739); Kamsky,G (2725) vs. Adams,Mi (2712); Van Wely,L (2625) vs. Dominguez Perez,L (2717); Stellwagen,D (2612) vs. Movsesian,S (2751); Carlsen,M (2776) vs. Radjabov,T (2761); Karjakin,Sergey (2706) vs. Morozevich,A (2771) and Ivanchuk,V (2779) vs. Smeets,J (2601). All the games from Round 1, Corus Group A. The link will open in a new window.

Corus Group A Round 2 results

For the games of round 2 please click on this link to play through the games. Please click on the image for a larger view of the results of round 2.

 

Carlsen round 12..end position and move list.

Sergey – Corus round 12 – final position and move list
Play through games on this link played in round 12 and view the standings after round 12 too.

Sergey Karjakin, winner of Corus 2009

Corus Final Results…please click on the image for a larger view – image: chess.com

Sergey Karjakin, round 13 final position and move list

Carlsen Corus Round 13 final position and move list
To play through the games and see more results…click on the next link which will open in a new window.
http://www.chess.com/news/karjakin-wins-corus-flash-report-4516

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Chess, poetry art and music

Image: Chesscentral.com

I believe this is a good combination: chess, poetry, art and music! I’ve started recently reading Dean’s poetry blog and glad that I’ve discovered his blog. This poem in this post, is today’s entry on his blog and I’ve really enjoyed it and thought to share it with you. If you’re a lover of poetry, make sure to visit his blog, if you don’t, you will regret it! If you don’t like poetry, then you still should visit his blog and you will immediately fall in love with his poems! I have a present for you today too, let’s call it an early Christmas present if you like, a composition by Jim Brickman. Finally, for my chess-lovers (and those who think they might become chess-lovers!) I’ve got a few games here (do check back as I have about ten more to blog in this entry!) played a few days ago in the Dresden Olympiad. This post is almost as good as “wine women and song!”:) All links will open in a new window.

Remember me to the world
And all the beautiful girls
I never kissed; if there’s one regret
That is it: that I left any lovelies’
Lips unblessed, her heart repressed

Remember me to the wind, which
Blows wherever it goes; still, or not
Any feeling does not cost, but what you
Do with it: recall I am that
Innocent, awake to only wonder told

Remember me to the sun; the heat,
The blaze, worries public or hidden,
I have had them all, unbidden: most
Of all when you see that woman or girl,
Remember me, my dear, to the blessed world

©Dean J. Baker
To read more wonderful poetry, please click HERE to read on Dean Baker’s blog! Chess=love+poetry+music+art=chess!

Read more about Dean on his biography-link on his blog!

Over 500 poems and prose poems published since 1972 in over 130 literary publications in Canada, the USA, England, Australia, New Zealand, etc., such as Descant, Carleton Literary Review, Poetry WLU, The Prairie Journal, Freelance, Nexus, Bitterroot, Oxalis, Bogg, Aileron, RE:AL, Art Times, Pegasus, Impetus, On The Bus, and many others. More have been published in newspapers, magazines, online and in anthologies, recorded and paper.

Music: Jim Brickman: Dream comes true

Please click HERE to play through the game of Nyback from Finland vs Carlsen played in round 6, Dresden 2008.

Carlsen

Please click HERE to play through the game of Dominguez from Cuba vs Gata Kamsky in round 6, Dresden 2008.

This game of Etienne Bacrot was played in round 7 against Sasikiran from India.

Click HERE to play through the game of Boris Gelfand from Israel vs Elexei Shirov of Spain in round 7.

Please click HERE to play through the game of one of my favourite players, Ivanchuk vs Wang of China.

Ivanchuk

Click HERE to play through Kamsky’s game played in round 7 against Peter Leko.

Play through the game of Michael Adams against Radjabov played in round 7, Dresden.

Please click HERE to play through the game of Yelena Dembo, from Greece,  played in round 7 at the Olympiad.

Yelena Dembo

Please click HERE to play through the game of Cheparinov in round 8, Dresden.

To play through a game of Topalov played in round 8, click on the link!
Please click HERE to play through the game of David Howell from England played in round 9.

image: Greekchess.com..David Navara

Please click here to play through the game of David Navara played in round 9.

To play through the game of NIGEL SHORT, played in round 9, click on the link!

Image: chessbase..Nigel Short

Please click HERE to play through the game of Peter Svidler played in round 9 at the Dresden Olympiad in Germany.

Samuel Bak Chess Art. See my “chess humour”- page for more chess art from Samuel and his link.

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Dresden-Chess Olympiad 2008

Chess Games of Round 8: South African chess players as well as: Magnus Carlsen, Boris Gelfand, Ivan Cheparinov, Topalov, Radjabov, Yelena Dembo and a few more GrandMaster-games to play through on my blogger-blog, please click on the link here and it will open in a new window.

http://chessaleeinlondon.blogspot.com/2008/11/dresden-olympiad-2008.html

Click on the logo and you will be taken to the Official site and the “live” link will take you straight away to the live-games! Both links will open in a new page.

Please click HERE to see more results of games played in round 1 and round 2. The link will open in a new window. Please click HERE to see lots of South African Chess player-pics and to see the results of rounds 3-6. At the bottom of this post you will find a link to play through games of round 5, where South Africa played Luxembourg.

On this link…see their games of round 6 and you can play through their games interactively. Also, the games of Kramnik and Ivanchuk (my favourite) of round 6 can be found on this link. The page will open in a new link.

http://chessaleeinlondon.blogspot.com/2008/11/south-africa-dresden-and-round-6.html

Schedule: Dresden

From L-R: Anzel Solomons, Melissa Greeff, Jenine Ellappin, Carmen de Jager, Monique Sischy

LtoR: Watu Kobese, Kenny Solomon, Henry Steel, Daniel Cawdery, Johannes Mabusela

Dresden Olympiad 2008 Round 7

Ladies team against Guatemala and the mens team against the Faroe Islands

Results: See the chess graphics

Dresden round 7: Anzel Solomons move 14…0-1

Dresden round 7:  Melissa Greeff move 12…1-0

Dresden round 7 Carmen de Jager  move 18..1-0

Dresden round 7 Monique Sischy move 7…0-1

Dresden round 7 Watu Kobese move 11…1-0

Dresden round 7 Kenny Solomon move 18…1-0

Dresden round 7 Daniel Cawdery move 14…1/2

Dresden round 7 Johannes Mabusela move 17…0-1

Round 8: South Africa vs Cyprus: Mens team

Round 8: South Africa vs Bosnia Herzegovina: Ladies team

Dresden round 8 Watu Kobese…1-0

Dresden round 8 Kenny Solomon…0-1

Dresden round 8 Henry Steel…1-0

Dresden round 8 Johannes Mabusela…1/2

Dresden round 8 Anzel Solomons …0-1

Dresden round 8 Melissa Greeff move 19

Dresden round 8 Melissa Greeff…0-1

Dresden round 8 Jenine Ellappen …0-1

Dresden round 8 Monique Sischy…1-0

Results: rounds 5-9 South African ladies’ team…Round 9 was played today, Saturday 22nd November. Click on the image for a clear view.

 

Results: rounds 5-9 South African men’s team. Round 9 was played today, 22nd November. Click on the image for a clear view.

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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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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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Linares Round 8

Official site here….The annual Linares chess tournament, usually played around the end of February, takes its name from the city of Linares in the Jaén province of Andalusia, Spain, in which it is held. It is sometimes described as the Wimbledon of chess. It is one of the strongest annual tournaments held on the chess tour, along with the Corus chess tournament and Dortmund chess tournament.
Read more about LINARES here on Wikipedia…Anand outplays Shirov in Linares chess

LINARES, February 29:   

Viswanathan Anand once again showed excellent technique to outplay Alexei Shirov in the eighth round of the Morelia-Linares chess as the second leg got underway in Linares.Anand’s fourth win in eight rounds took his tally to 5.5 points and extended his lead to a full point. Anand is now one point clear of his nearest rivals Lev Aronian and Magnus Carslen, who have 4.5 points each. Anand also benefited from the win against Shirov as Magnus Carlsen lost a seemingly winning game against Vassily Ivanchuk.In his game against Shirov, whom he beat for the FIDE World title back in 2000, Anand made the Latvian-born Spaniard pay for not being able to get adequate counter play. In Sveshnikov Sicilian, Shirov’s pawn weaknesses ultimately cost him the game. It took Anand 57 moves and some fine technique to bring in the full point.Vaselin Topalov, trying to press too hard for a win, saw the effort backfire as he lost to Aronian. The game was balanced for a long time, but Topalov overpressed and Aronian responded with a defensive exchange sacrifice. That ultimately resulted in a superior endgame for Aronian, who converted it in 65 moves.Ivanchuk squandered a winning chance against Carlsen and made a wrong choice of move on the 20th turn, which ran him into serious time trouble. Carlsen soon won the race between the opposing sides’ passed pawns and grabbed a full point.The game between Teimour Radjabov and Peter Leko was drawn, but it was as exciting as any of the decisive games.Anand finished the first leg in Morelia, Mexico with 4.5 points from seven rounds. The players had four days rest but traveled more than 24 hours and the time difference between Mexico and Spain is seven hours, resulting in considerable jet lag.  
 

Original Report can be read here ….

Read on the US-chess site HERE more about the standings after round 7! There are also games to play through of the Grandmasters participating in this tournament. More chess news…..

Aronyan resumes in Spain from fourth position Morelia/Linares resumed in Spain on Thursday (February 28), with Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronyan (with white) beating Bulgaria’s Veselin Topalov in the opening game.Aronyan finished the Mexican part of the super chess tournament in the fourth position (with 3.5 points in seven games) among eight grandmasters. The 2006 Morelia/Linares winner let Spain’s Alexey Shirov and Bulgaria’s Veselin Topalov (4 points) outstrip him after losing to Norway’s Magnus Carlsen in the last round on Sunday. India’s Vishy Anand, the reigning world champion who is defending his last year’s tournament win, was a clear leader with 4.5 points.On Friday, February 29, Aronyan, with white pieces, was due to play Anand.The Linares part of the tournament is due to end on March 7.Meanwhile, Armenian chess-player Movses Movsisyan, representing the United States, scored 5.5 points out of 7 and took the first prize in the Winter Open held in Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA. Forty chess-players participated in the tournament, according to http://www.armchess.am.And Armenian GM Varuzhan Hakobyan (also from the USA) scored 5.5 points out of 7 and shared the 2nd-6th places in the 3rd Open held in Morelia, Mexico. Hakobyan was behind the winner GM Ramirez (Costa Rica) with only half a point. Ninety-five chess players participated.

The “Magnicificent Eight” lined up in Spain, the players in this chess tournament.

On THIS LINK you can follow some of the results of round 10.

Peter Leko and his wife….

Vishy Anand and his wife…

Levon Aronian

More pictures/images : ….chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=4450
Game…round 1……Topalov against…Aronian……

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