Tag: shamkirchess2015

Top seed and World Chess champion Magnus Carlsen won the Shamkir Chess 2015 (in memory of Vugar Gashimov) with 7 out of 9 points! The world champion defeated Rauf Mamedov in the last round.

India’s Vishy Anand held Fabiano Caruana to a draw and finished clear 2nd with 6/9 points. Anand had a very good tournament and was the only other player to remain undefeated! (apart from Carlsen)

Points after final round 9:

Carlsen 7

Anand 6

Wesley, Caruana 5

Mamedyarov, Kramnik 4

Adams, Mamedov, Giri, Vachier-Lagrave 3.5

Yet another dramatic day in Shamkir Chess saw 3 decisive games with Anand Kramnik Adams winning their respective games.

Anand played another great game and sacrificed an Exchange to beat Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE) with the White pieces. Thanks to this win, Anand climbed to #2 spot in the world rankings and crossed the 2800 rating barrier again (2803 in live rating list)

Kramnik and Adams scored a morale boosting victory (after yesterday’s losses) over Vachier-Lagrave and Anish Giri respectively.

After round 7, Carlsen continues to lead with 6 points and Anand follows half a point behind. In the last round tomorrow, Carlsen has the advantage of White pieces against lowest seed Mamedov, while Anand faces Caruana with the Black pieces.

Points after round 7

Carlsen 6

Anand 5.5

So, Caruana 5…

Pairings round 8 (final)

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

In what turned out to be good day for Chess fans, the Shamkir Chess tourney saw 3 decisive games with Anand Carlsen & Caruana winning their respective games.

Anand beat Adams

Vishy Anand continued his good run and beat Michael Adams of England. Anand opened with a rare 1.c4 and sacrificed an exchange. Anand nicely maneuvered his pieces to bring home the full point

Carlsen beat Kramnik

World champion Magnus Carlsen handed Vladimir Kramnik his 3rd successive loss, a rare for the former world champion. Magnus uncorked an opening surprise and Kramnik was left to do a lot of thinking over the board. Kramnik made a small tactical mistake after which he had to play most part of the game with his Rook and Bishop against Magnus’ Queen. It wasn’t too difficult for Magnus to win the game thereafter.

Fabiano beat Wesley

Fabiano Caruana beat Wesley So with the Black pieces. Other two games i.e. Mamedyarov vs Mamedov and MVL vs Giri were drawn.

Points after round 7

Magnus 5.5

Anand 4.5

Wesley, Caruana 4

Mamedyarov 3.5…

Round 8 pairings

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

In a rather dull day in Shamkir Chess 2015, only Caruana managed to win. He beat former WC Vladimir Kramnik with the Black pieces.

Kramnik 0-1 Caruana

Mamedov 1/2 Anand

Adams 1/2 Vachier-Lagrave

Wesley 1/2 Mamedyarov

Giri 1/2 Carlsen

Round 7 pairings

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

Round 5 of Shamkir Chess (held in memory of Vugar Gashimov) had 3 decisive games.

Anand beat Wesley

Anand who looked well prepared for his game, got the better of the leader Wesley So with the White pieces. Early in the opening, Anand sacrificed his Knight for a good attack. After all the pieces were exchanged, Anand had a winning advantage in a Queen endgame (with as many as 14 pawns still on board!). The Indian champ easily converted his advantage.

In other decisive games, world champion beat Vachier-Lagrave, while Shakriyar Mamedyarov beat former world champion Vladimir Kramnik.

Results

Anand 1-0 Wesley

Memdov 1/2 Adams

Carlsen 1-0 Vachier-Lagrave

Mamedyarov 1-0 Kramnik

Caruana 1/2 Giri

Pairings round 06 (Thursday)

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

Wednesday is a rest day.

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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