Kenilworth Kibitzer

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Svidler-Anand: Round 12

In round 12, Anand was in the position of being able to guarantee at least a tie for first with three straight draws. Only Gelfand could catch him and that would require three consecutive wins or an Anand loss. But Gelfand came up with a sparkling win with the Black pieces, meaning there was still all to play for.

Svidler had a cricket match he really wanted to watch

Anand 8.0

Gelfand 7.0

Kramnik 6.5

Leko 5.5

Aronian 5.5

Morozevich 5.5

Grischuk 5.0

Svidler 5.0

posted by Ian  # 9:55 AM 0 Comments

Friday, October 29, 2010

Anand-Morozevich: Round 11

A point ahead of his nearest competitors with 4 rounds to go, Anand could have tried to cruise in with draws but....was facing Morozevich, who probablydoesn't know the meaning of Grandmaster draw.

Vishy does not back down from a fight

With the rest of the field drawing, Vishy had a commanding 1.5 point lead with just three rounds to go. But a bloody round 12 was in store...

Anand 7.5

Gelfand 6.0

Kramnik 5.5

Leko 5.5

Aronian 5.5

Grischuk 5.0

Morozevich 4.5

Svidler 4.5

posted by Ian  # 6:05 PM 0 Comments

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Kramnik-Anand: Round 10

Going into round 10, Kramnik needed a win against Anand to give himself a shot at winning. With 5 rounds left, he and Gelfand trailed by 1.5 points, and Anand was going to have to meet each of them with the Black pieces. A final exam for a potential champion!

When an irresistible force meets an immovable object...

4 rounds remained, and Gelfand had a matchup with Anand scheduled for the 12th round...a Gelfand win there would throw things into chaos, so Anand looked for something special in round 11....

Anand 6.5

Gelfand 5.5

Kramnik 5.0

Leko 5.0

Aronian 5.0

Grischuk 4.5

Morozevich 4.5

Svidler 4.0

posted by Ian  # 6:01 PM 0 Comments

Friday, October 22, 2010

Gelfand-Anand and Anand-Aronian: Rounds 8 and 9

Leading the tournament by half a point over Gelfand going into the second half of the tournament, Anand faced a crucial matchup against the second-placed Gelfand in a game with big implications for deciding the winner:

After this painless draw Anand may have had dangerous ambitions against Aronian in the next round, where another Marshall Attack was in store...

The recording cut out, but the finish was 16...Qd7 17. Bxd5 cxd5 18. Nd2 Bd3 19. Re3 Bg6 20. Nf1 a5 21. a3?! and the game was agreed drawn.

Black was slightly for choice in this position with the bishop pair and typically better piece activity in the MarshallAttack, though still down a pawn. However, the draw suited Anand who remained the leader and perhaps Aronian who was already effectively out of the race and may have been battling illness.

After two quick but interesting draws, Anand benefited greatly from Morozevich upsetting Kramnik in round 9 and Grischuk bouncing back with a win over Gelfand, giving Anand a commanding lead over the field. Meanw

hile, the key game for the tournament was shaping up for round 10, where Kramnik was to have the white pieces against Anand in a must-wingame.

Anand 6.0

Gelfand 5.0

Kramnik 4.5

Grischuk 4.5

Leko 4.5

Aronian 4.0

Morozevich 4.0

Svidler 3.5

Contemplating 1. d4?! against Anand

posted by Ian  # 4:28 PM 0 Comments

Friday, October 15, 2010

Anand-Grischuk: Round 7

Anand proves more than happy to play both sides of the Ruy Lopez, coming up with another positional gem against an interesting opening idea from Grischuk.

Anand ponders 1. f4....but waits for move 29.

All other games were drawn in this round, reestablishing Anand as the sole leader at the halfway mark at +3.

Anand 5.0

Gelfand 4.5

Kramnik 4.0

Grischuk 3.5

Aronian 3.0

Leko 3.0

Morozevich 2.5

Svidler 2.5

posted by Ian  # 2:12 PM 0 Comments

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Leko-Anand: Round 6

In round 6 Anand played the Black side of the Ruy Lopez, not fearing to use an opening he had just disgraced with the White pieces...

1. e4! Then...offer a draw

Meanwhile Gelfand won an interesting battle against Morozevich, moving him into a tie with Anand for the lead.

Anand 4.0

Gelfand 4.0

Kramnik 3.5

Grischuk 3.5

Aronian 2.5

Leko 2.5

Morozevich 2.0

Svidler 2.0

posted by Ian  # 5:07 PM 0 Comments

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Karpovs top Summit

In their season opener for the GSCL, the Karpovs pulled out a tight away match against their Route 22 rivals, Summit. With league MVP Steve Stoyko suffering his first loss in well over a year after a surprise mistake, the pressure was on the lower boards. Max 'the young executioner' Sherer let his man off the hook on board 3 after being two pawns up in an opposite color bishop endgame, so with the match tied at 1.5 each, everything rode on Joe 'The Closer' Demetrick on board 4, with time pressure looming. And then...

As they said, take a bow, son, take a bow.

Fun fact #1: Black scored 3.5/4 in the match

Fun fact #2: Two queens were simultaneously hanging for two moves each on board 2. Caliente!

posted by Ian  # 9:37 AM 0 Comments

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Anand-Svidler: Round 5

Not one to dwell on disappointment, Anand made the most of round 5 by pouring cold water over Svidler's Marshall Attack....

Round 5 was bloody, with 3 out of 4 games being decisive, and one leader emerging:

Anand 3.5

Kramnik 3.0

Gelfand 3.0

Grischuk 3.0

Aronian 2.0

Morozevich 2.0

Leko 2.0

Svidler 1.5

posted by Ian  # 8:08 PM 0 Comments

National Chess Day - October 9th

Michael Atkins from the USCF website writes:

National Chess Day has been around as a concept since 1976. President Ford issued a letter in support of National Chess Day but it slowly faded away over the years. It became a half-remembered celebration because it wasn't official. It became "more official" on September 29, 2010 when the US Senate, in S Res #672, proclaimed Oct 9, 2010 as National Chess Day...

Check out the rest of the article to see how chess made its way to Senator Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia. And as the weekend nears, think about introducing chess to someone new!


Additional Info:
S.Res 672 - A resolution designating October 9, 2010, as "National Chess Day" to enhance awareness and encourage students and adults to engage in a game known to enhance critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Labels: National Chess Day, Senator Rockefeller

posted by DACarrelli  # 12:30 AM 0 Comments

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Morozevich-Anand: Round 4

In round 4, Anand faced the tournament's resident loose cannon, and interesting play developed....

...should I ask the TD how the horse moves again?

After this near miss, Anand still had the lead, after Kramnik squandered a likewise beautiful position against Grischuk. Aronian bounced back by thrashing Leko.

Anand 2.5

Kramnik 2.5

Aronian 2.0

Gelfand 2.0

Grischuk 2.0

Morozevich 2.0

Leko 1.5

Svidler 1.5

posted by Ian  # 4:28 PM 0 Comments

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