Author: Banjan

It was another relatively quiet affair at the Vugar Gashimov Memorial Tournament. Wesley So was the sole winner of the day, beating the last seed of the tournament Rauf Mamedov is a fairly effortless manner with the white pieces. With this win, So walks into pole position in the tournament with 3.5/4 as hos co-leader overnight World Champion Magnus Carlsen could only draw with GM Michael Adams.

Vishy Anand played the black side of a Slav defense against Vladimir Kramnik. The battle between two former world champions petered out into a draw with opposite coloured bishops on the board.

Round five promises to be a cracker with Vishy taking on the leader GM Wesley So with the white pieces.

Resutlts for Round 4:

GM Giri, Anish (1) 2790	½-½	GM Mamedyarov (1) 2754
GM Kramnik, V. (2) 2783	½-½	GM Anand, V. (1½) 2791
GM Adams, M. (½) 2746	½-½	GM Carlsen, M. (2½) 2863
GM So, Wesley (2½) 2788	1-0	GM Mamedov, Rauf (1½) 2651
GM Vachier-Lagr. (1½) 2762	½-½	GM Caruana, F. (1) 2802

Pairings for Round 5:

GM Mamedov, Rauf (1½) 2651	—	GM Adams, M. (1) 2746
GM Anand, V. (2) 2791	—	GM So, Wesley (3½) 2788
GM Mamedyarov (1½) 2754	—	GM Kramnik, V. (2½) 2783
GM Caruana, F. (1½) 2802	—	GM Giri, Anish (1½) 2790
GM Carlsen, M. (3) 2863	—	GM Vachier-Lagr. (2) 2762

 

Vishy Anand played out a complex game where he was pressing most of the time after an exchange sacrifice in the Advance variation of the Caro-Kann defense. However, it was apparent that nerves played a huge role in the game. He could not convert the sacrifice into a point as Giri caught a perpetual.

Meanwhile, Carlsen won his second consecutive game, outplaying Fabiano Caruana from the black side of a Dutch defense. Wesley So too registered his second win of the tournament managing to outlast English GM Michael Adams in a long maneuvering struggle. All other games ended in draws.

Results for Round 3:

Name	Rtg	Result	Name	Rtg
So	2788	1-0	Adams	2746
Mamedov	2651	½-½	Kramnik	2783
Anand	2791	½-½	Giri	2790
Mamedyarov	2754	½-½	Maxime	2762
Caruana	2802	0-1	Carlsen	2863

Pairings for Round 4:

Name	Rtg	Result	Name	Rtg
Adams	2746	–	Carlsen	2863
Maxime	2762	–	Caruana	2802
Giri	2790	–	Mamedyarov	2754
Kramnik	2783	–	Anand	2791
So	2788	–	Mamedov	2651

The second round of the Vugar Gashimov Memorial tournament at Shamkir Chess was a relatively quiet affair with only the World Champion Magnus Carlsen winning his duel with Azerbaijani number one Sharkhriyar  Mamedyarov.

Vishy Anand did not have any problems in holding off French GM Maxime Vachier Lagrave (2762) with the black pieces.

Results for Round 2:

Adams	2746	½-½	Caruana	2802
Carlsen	2863	1-0	Mamedyarov	2754
Vachier-Lagrave	2762	½-½	Anand	2791
Giri	2790	½-½	Mamedov	2651
Kramnik	2783	½-½	So	2788

Pairings for Round 3:

So	2788	–	Adams	2746
Mamedov	2651	–	Kramnik	2783
Anand	2791	–	Giri	2790
Mamedyarov	2754	–	Vachier-Lagrave	2762
Caruana	2802	–	Carlsen	2863

 

The Vugar Gashimov Memorial was off to a rollicking start with former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik (2783) and GM Wesly So (2788) registering convincing victories over GM Micael Adams (2746) and GM Anish Giri (2790) respectively. Kramnik was his usual technical self, slowly building up his advantage to a winning a rook endgame. So on the other hand simply wiped Anish Giri off the board.

Indian ace Vishwanathan Anand landed in an advantageous position versus his arch-nemesis, the current World Champion Magnus Calrsen. Carlsen managed to set up a fortress like position with his queen-side black pawn pinning down white’s b pawn. Anand tried to break thorough and while he did have an advantage, he could not make progress resulting in a draw – an arguably lucky escape for the Norwegian.

Results:

Name                                           Result             Name
Kramnik Vladimir 2783             1-0      Adams Michael 2746
So Wesley 2788                            1-0      Giri Anish 2790
Mamedov Rauf 2651                  ½-½     Vachier-Lagrave Maxime 2762
Anand Viswanathan 2791         ½-½     Carlsen Magnus 2863
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2754 ½-½    Caruana Fabiano 2802

Round  pairings:

Name                                                      Name
Adams Michael 2746 –                   Caruana Fabiano 2802
Carlsen Magnus 2863 –                  Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2754
Vachier-Lagrave Maxime 2762 – Anand Viswanathan 2791
Giri Anish 2790 –                             Mamedov Rauf 2651
Kramnik Vladimir 2783 –              So Wesley 2788

The Shamkir Chess tournament (in memory of Vugar Gashimov) kicks-off today at Shamkir, Azerbaijan. The super tournament is expected to be a grand affair with both the World Champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway and vice World Champion Vishy Anand of India battling it out.

As per the draws, Vishy will play Carlsen with the white pieces in the very first round. The tournament is a nine round all-play-all which will be played from today to 26th April, 2015.

The pairings for Round 1 are as follows:

White                                             Black
1 GM Kramnik, V. (0) 2783           GM Adams, M. (0) 2746
2 GM So, Wesley (0) 2788             GM Giri, Anish (0) 2790
3 GM Mamedov, Rauf (0) 2651    GM Vachier-Lagr. (0) 2762
4 GM Anand, V. (0) 2791               GM Carlsen, M. (0) 2863
5 GM Mamedyarov (0) 2754        GM Caruana, F. (0) 2802

Official website: https://www.shamkirchess.az/en

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