World Cup Semis, Day 3: Grischuk wins thriller
On a day of high emotion Alexander Grischuk beat Vassily Ivanchuk to qualify both for the World Cup final and the next Candidates Tournament. Grischuk will now play his friend Peter Svidler, while Ivanchuk takes on Ruslan Ponomariov in a repeat of their World Championship match from a decade ago.
World Cup Semis, Day 2: Svidler!
Russian Champion Peter Svidler has reached the World Cup final after beating Ruslan Ponomariov with the black pieces. Although Svidler was scathing about his opening play his handling of the rest of the game was bold and almost flawless.
Leko explains his break from chess
One of the stories of the recent World Team Championship in China was the return of Peter Leko after a long absence from competitive chess. He played as though he’d never been away, posting an unbeaten 2800+ performance. In an interview he revealed what was behind his decision.
Svidler: “The circus is travelling to Khanty”
After Peter Svidler won the 2011 Russian Championship he gave a long interview to Vladimir Barsky for the Russian Chess Federation website. Barsky had been with Svidler at the World Team Championship in Ningbo, China, so had witnessed the dramatic change of fortune between the two events first-hand.
Morozevich demonstrates his win against Svidler
A little of the shine was taken off Peter Svidler’s victory at the Russian Championship Superfinal when he lost in the final round. The mercurial Alexander Morozevich later showed an audience how he used a rare opening line to beat Svidler and snatch clear second place in the tournament.
Svidler demonstrates his win against Timofeev
One of the great virtues of grandmasters demonstrating their games straight after they’re over, as they did at the Russian Championship Superfinal, is that we get to see what they actually thought before switching on a computer. Peter Svidler’s commentary on his win in round 5 is a case in point.
Morozevich and Grischuk demonstrate their wins
All games were decisive in round 4 of the Russian Championship Superfinal, and afterwards Alexander Morozevich and Alexander Grischuk demonstrated their wins for the local audience and those watching the video broadcast. Vladimir Barsky transcribed their comments for the official website, and I’ve translated them below.
Evgeny Bareev: “A lot of people live in China”
The World Team Championship in Ningbo, China is shaping up to be a fantastic event. Russia is again the team to beat, though with Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Armenia and hosts China breathing down their necks, it won’t be easy. It might, however, be easier than the team’s journey, which was described by Bareev.
Karjakin reflects on moving up in the world
Sergey Karjakin recently finished joint top with Magnus Carlsen at the Kings Tournament in Bazna, and moved up to fourth on the July 2011 FIDE rating list. In an interview with Yury Vasiliev he talked about his ambitions, his rivalry with Carlsen, the Candidates Matches and the future of classical chess.
Morozevich: “The Higher League wasn’t in my plans”
Alexander Morozevich’s victory in the Russian Higher League was a rare treat for his legion of fans, and all the more remarkable as in an interview afterwards he revealed it was a last-minute decision to take part. The enigmatic grandmaster talked about whether this marked a return to chess.
