Chess Around the World
Top Players Compete in Moscow
Hundreds of the world's top players are gathered in Moscow to compete in the Aeroflot Open. The annual tournament is one of the world's most prestigous open swisses, and regularly draws many of the world's top players.
French GM Etienne Bacrot is the top seed, but he is not the only famous name in the field. Other top players include Vassily Ivanchuk, Ruslan Ponomariov, Vladimir Akopian, Viktor Bologan, Loek Van Wely, Alexander Khalifman and Teimour Radjabov. In all, 36 of the world's top 100 players are competing.
The event began on February 14th, and ends on the 24th.
The top American in the field is Gregory Kaidanov, who is seeded 24th. Here is Kaidanov's first round game, where he was upset by Alberto David.
White: Kaidanov, G (2629)
Black: David, A (2573)
Aeroflot Open, Round 1
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. e3 O-O 6. Bd3 c5 7. O-O Nc6 8. a3 Bxc3 9. bxc3 Qc7 10. cxd5 exd5 11. a4 Re8 12. Nd2 Na5 13. Ba3 c4 14. Bc2 Bg4 15. f3 Bh5 16. Re1 b6 17. Re2 Rac8 18. Qe1 Bg6 19. Bxg6 hxg6 20. Nf1 Nb3 21. Raa2 Qc6 22. Ng3 Qxa4 23. Bd6 Qd7 24. Be5 Nh5 25. Nxh5 gxh5 26. e4 f6 27. Bg3 dxe4 28. fxe4 a5 29. e5 fxe5 30. Bxe5 Re6 31. Bxg7 Rxe2 32. Rxe2 Qxg7 33. Re7 Qg6 34. Re6 Qg5 35. Re8+ Rxe8 36. Qxe8+ Kg7 37. Qd7+ Kh6 38. Qd6+ Qg6 39. Qf8+ Kh7 40. Qe7+ Kh6 41. Qf8+ Kh7 42. Qe7+ Kg8 43. Qd8+ Kg7 44. Qe7+ Qf7 45. Qe5+ Kh7 46. h4 Nc1 47. Qe4+ Kg8 48. Qe5 Nd3 49. Qb8+ Kg7 50. Qxb6 Qf2+ 51. Kh2 Qxh4+ 52. Kg1 Qe1+ 53. Kh2 Qh4+ 54. Kg1 Qf2+ 55. Kh2 Qf4+ 56. Kg1 h4 57. Qa7+ Qf7 58. Qxa5 Qf2+ 59. Kh1 Qe1+ 60. Kh2 Qg3+ 61. Kh1 h3 62. Qa7+ Kh6 63. Qb6+ Kh5 0-1
Gelfand and Harikrishna Share First in Bermuda
Pentyala Harikrishna won his final round game to come from behind and tie Boris Gelfand for first at the Bermuda Invitiational. Both players finished with scores of 6.0/10, a full point ahead of their nearest competitors.
The event was a double round-robin tournament featuring a field of six grandmasters. Grandmasters Andrei Volokitin and Lenier Dominguez tied for 3rd, a full point behind the leaders. Giovanni Vescovi finished 5th with 4.5 points, and Bartlomiej Macieja was last with 3.5. Macieja, however, did win the open tournament which followed the invitational with a perfect 5/5 score.
Here is Harikrishna's last round win over Macieja, which gave him a share of the lead:
White: Macieja, B (2618)
Black: Harikrishna, P (2632)
Bermuda Invitational, Round 10
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. b4 Bb6 6. d3 d6 7. O-O O-O 8. a4 a5 9. b5 Ne7 10. Bg5 Ng6 11. Nh4 Nxh4 12. Bxh4 h6 13. Na3 g5 14. Bg3 h5 15. Qd2 Nh7 16. h3 Qf6 17. Kh1 Qg7 18. Ba2 Kh8 19. Nc4 Bc5 20. Rad1 f5 21. exf5 Bxf5 22. d4 exd4 23. cxd4 Bb4 24. Qb2 Nf6 25. Ne3 Bg6 26. f3 c6 27. bxc6 bxc6 28. Bb1 Rae8 29. Nc4 Bxb1 30. Rxb1 Re6 31. Be1 Nd5 32. Nxa5 Rxe1 33. Rfxe1 Bxa5 34. Rec1 g4 35. fxg4 hxg4 36. Qe2 Nc3 37. Qe1 Nxb1 38. Qxa5 Qh7 39. Qe1 gxh3 40. g3 Qd3 0-1
For more coverage, you may visit the official tournament site.
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