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World Women’s Team Round 1: Ukraine, India stunned

The World Women’s Team Chess Championship was off to a stunning start as top seeds Ukraine were shocked comprehensively by 6th seeds Poland while 5th seeds India suffered an upset at the hands of an inspired 8th-seeded Kazakhstan team. Amongst other results, the giant match-up Georgia vs Russia ended in a 2-2 draw while China and U.S.A comfortably won their matches against Armenia and Egypt respectively.

The Kazakhstan vs India encounter witnessed as many as 3 decisive results, with the lone draw being played out on the top board between WGM Abdumalik Zhansaya and GM Koneru Humpy. On the second board, GM Harika (IND) duly won her game against WGM Saduakassova (KAZ), but WGM Nakhbayeva Guliskhan and WIM Dauletova Gulmira scored 2 stunning points on the last two boards and led Kazakhstan to a surprise 2.5-1.5 win over India.

In the Ukraine vs Poland match, only GM Zhukova (UKR) could manage half a point for her team, while the Polish women dominated their Ukrainian counterparts on the rest of the boards to score an astonishing 3.5-0.5 victory over the top seeds.

The detailed results and full pairings can be checked here: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr170190.aspx?lan=1&art=2&wi=821

Shamkir 03: Anand draws Giri; Carlsen, So win

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

World Amateur Round 6: Paula-Alexandra overtakes Sandhya!

Open Section

Overnight leader Dogan Mire Deniz was caught up by Giordos Vasilios as Soilemetzidis Konstantinos held the former to a draw. In the 7th round, the two leaders are scheduled to battle it out on the top board. Meanwhile, Manjunath Jain of India drew a higher-rated player and continued his good run in this tournament.

The full pairings for Round 7 can be checked here: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr164371.aspx?lan=1&art=2&rd=7&turdet=YES&flag=30&wi=984

Women’s Section

The women’s section saw major changes at the top of the table with Sandhya G of India going down against Chetina Elizaveta of Russia. With Gitu Paula-Alexandra winning her game against Koutsogiannopoulou Theodora, the former overtook Sandhya and now leads the pack with 5/6. However, the two other Indians in the fray – Aparajita Gocchikar and Niti Gupta – won their respective games.

The next round will feature an all-India clash as Sandhya G is scheduled to take on Aparajita Gocchikar.

The full pairings for Round 7 can be checked here: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr164372.aspx?lan=1&art=2&rd=7&turdet=YES&flag=30&wi=984

 

JAPFA GM Round 5: GM Nguyen still on top!

The 5th round of the JAPFA Grandmaster Chess Tournament 2015 witnessed as many as 4 decisive results with both the top seeds – GM Tiviakov and GM Gopal – winning their respective games. In the other decisive games, IM Muhammad Lutfi prevailed over IM Alina L’Ami whereas IM Sophie Milliet registered her first win of the tournament by overcoming WGM Aulia Medina Warda.

Overnight leader GM Nguyen Anh Dung continued to reign supreme as he held GM Antonio Rogelio Jr. to a draw with the black pieces. After 5 rounds, GM Nguyen sits comfortably on the top of the table with 4/5, while 4 others trail him on 3/5. GM G.N. Gopal, the lone Indian hope, is joint 3rd with a 50% score.

The next round promises to be quite interesting with tournament leader GM Nguyen Anh Dung clashing against top-seeded GM Sergei Tiviakov.

The results and pairings can be checked here: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr169744.aspx?lan=1&art=2&wi=821

World Women’s Team Championship 2015 to start-off tomorrow!

The World Women’s Team Chess Championship 2015 will commence tomorrow at Chengdu, China. 10 selected national teams will fight it out in this 9-round all-play-all tournament. Esteemed players like Koneru Humpy, Ju Wenjun, Anna Muzychuk, Mariya Muzychuk (who is the newly crowned Women’s World Champion) and Alexandra Kosteniuk will be the star attractions of the 2015 edition.

The teams participating are:

#

 TEAMS

AVERAGE RATING

1

 Ukraine

2509

2

 Russia

2500

3

 China

2487

4

 Georgia

2482

5

India

2468
6 Poland

2412

7

 Armenia

2374

8

 Kazakhstan

2341

9

 U.S.A

2263

10

 Egypt

2081

India has fielded a formidable team consisting of Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavalli, Padmini Rout, Soumya Swaminathan and Mary Ann Gomes. Meanwhile, Chinese GM Hou Yifan, the Women’s World No. 1, is not a part of the Chinese team.

The first round is scheduled for 3 pm local time (12:30 pm IST). In the opening round, India will take on Kazakhstan while the Georgia-Russia clash is the key match-up.

Official Website: http://chengdu2015.fide.com/

Pairing/Results: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr170190.aspx?lan=1&art=2&wi=821

Shamkir Chess 02: Carlsen wins, others settle for draws

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

 

World Team Chess Championship 2015 to take off tomorrow!

The World Team Chess Championship 2015 will be held at Tsakhkadzor, Armenia from April 19 to April 28. 10 national teams from all over the world will battle it out in this 9 round all-play-all event for the coveted title of  ‘World Team Champion’. Aronian, Grischuk, Gelfand, Karjakin, Ivanchuk, Harikrishna are some of the many top GMs who will make their presence felt at Tsakhkadzor.

The following teams will be competing:

#

Teams

Average Rating

1

 Russia

2755

2

 Ukraine

2712

3

 Armenia

2683

4

 China

2678

5

 Hungary

2677

6

 Israel

2666

7

 India

2645

8

 Cuba

2644

9

 U.S.A.

2641

10

 Egypt

2516

Each team will consist of 4 players, 1 reserve player and 1 captain. Team India is being represented by GM Sethuraman, GM Harikrishna, GM Vidit, GM Sasikiran and GM Sengupta. Meanwhile, Russia has fielded an all-2700+ team spearheaded by World No. 5 GM Alexander Grischuk.

The first round will commence on 19th April at 3 pm local time and 4:30 pm IST.

Official Website : http://tsaghkadzor2015.fide.com/?lang=en

 

 

Shamkir Chess 01: Kramnik, So win; Carlsen holds Anand

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

Bangkok: Wang Hao and Jan Gustafsson lead

Chinese GM Wang Hao and German GM Jan Gustafsson share the lead at the 15th Bangkok Chess Club Open, 2015 with 6.0/7. The leaders will be taking on each other in their penultimate round encounter.

Indians are having a gala time at this tournament with many talented youngsters amassing rating points.

You may have a look at the penultimate round pairings here: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr169298.aspx?lan=1&art=2&rd=8&flag=30&wi=821

World Amateur Chess Round 5: Dogan Mire Deniz on 5/5!

Open Section

The 5th Round of the World Amateur Open Chess Championship produced a sole leader as Dogan Mire Deniz of Turkey overcame his compatriot Onturk Senan Utku with the black pieces. With this win, Dogan Mire Deniz has moved on to a perfect 5/5. Among the Indian participants, Manjunath Jain shocked 2nd seeded Martinez Llamas while Abhishek Thomre drew another higher-rated player.

Full pairings for Round 6 can be checked here: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr164371.aspx?lan=1&art=2&rd=6&turdet=YES&flag=30&wi=984

Women’s Section

Overnight leader Sandhya G. of India was finally put to a stop as Koutsogiannopoulou Theodora of Greece held her to a draw. Among the other Indian results, Aparajita Gocchikar drew Amarjargal Enkhbayar of Mongolia whilst Niti Gupta recorded her first win of the tournament. After 5 rounds, Sandhya solely leads the pack with 4.5/5. K. Theodora and Gitu Paula-Alexandra are closely behind Sandhya with 4 points each.

Full pairings for Round 6 can be checked here: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr164372.aspx?lan=1&art=2&rd=6&fed=COL&turdet=YES&flag=30&wi=984