Gibraltar Chess Festival, 28 Jan - 6 Feb 2003
Last Edited:
Friday February 7, 2003 9:25 AM
Stewart Reuben reports on the GIBTELECOM CHESS FESTIVAL.
Official website (no game coverage): http://www.gibraltarchesscongress.com/.
Thanks to Stewart Reuben and Neville Twitchell.
There are only 58 entries for the Masters. This is somewhat surprising,
but many of the Russian-speaking players had difficulties getting visas.
Some players seemed puzzled. "Where in England is Gibraltar", they asked.
In a sense, they were actually correct. Gibraltar is not a separate member
of FIDE. Thus the event has to take place under the administrative umbrella
of the British Chess Federation. Several players arrived at the border
without a Gibraltar visas. In fact, this did not cause a problem. Their
passports are being held until they return.
It is more likely the low entry was caused by the large number of similar
events in Spain. Also the event was not finalised until late in the day
so that there was inadequate publicity.
The Chairman of GibTelecom drew for who would have white on top board.
Nigel Short asked him to select the white pieces. "Are you sure that is
what you want," I asked Nigel Short. "It is nine rounds, isn't it," he
replied. "No, it is ten." With a drink in my hand, I could not remember
the three reasons it is better to start off with white in a tournament
with an odd number of rounds. They are: you are more likely to get an
extra white; it is advantageous in a Swiss to perform well in the last
round; if you start off well, you are more likely to continue to be successful.
As usual the top half was seeded against the second half in round 1.
Thus there were few surprises. Gyimesi, Barsov and Plaskett were all held
to draws. Mel Young, who is rated only 1990, is particularly to be congratulated
on holding Jim Plaskett to a draw. Jim now lives in Spain. He had a lucky
escape the day before the tournament. He, his wife and son were in a car
accident with a large lorry. The vehicle was a total write-off. Fortunately
none of the three members of the family were in any way injured.
The unusual rate, of all the moves in two hours, with 30 seconds added
each move from the first, caused few problems. Some players do ride themselves
into time trouble so that they end up having to play 30 second chess for
the entire endgame. Is it the job of the organisers to act as nannies
and prevent this happening? Anyway, it seems much better than the FIDE
rate of all the moves in 90 minutes, with 30 seconds added each move from
the first. We will have to see whether it is satisfactory.
From Round 2, the pairings use the Dubov System. This seeks to balance
out the average rating of the opponents. All 13 pairings among players
who won in round one involve at least one grandmaster, eight of them are
between two.
Round 10: It is perfectly normal for the last
round to be a solid slog. Thus typically Darryl Johansen could make little
progress against Vasilios Kotronias. However the game came to a halt before
they had succeeded in exchanging any pieces. Nigel Short played with energy
and precision against the Lithuanian Sarunas Sulskis. Vladimir Epishin
tried valiantly to penetrate the defences of Andrew Ledger, but to no
avail. The Ledger brothers seemed to make a welcome return to form after
some years.
Jim Plaskett against John Shaw was basically a tragedy. The fourth Bedford
player (the other three being the brothers Ledger) was two pawns up in
an endgame where the Scot could only hope for a draw. After move 40 Jim
got up from the board in obvious relief at reaching the time control.
He returned to the board having composed himself. He continued to think
until his time run out. I was a helpless spectator. I knew he thought
there was a time control at move 40. Of course I could not alert him to
his mistake. That would have been giving advice. Even after 10 rounds,
he had managed to forget that the time control was all the moves in 2
hours, add on 30 seconds for each move from the first. This means John
Shaw gained his first GM norm in unfortunate circumstances.
Anyway, this provided some measure of explanation for why there are
ten rounds. Nobody succeeded in gaining a norm after nine. The event closed
with a very pleasant buffet dinner at The Caleta Hotel. Each sponsor presented
a number of prizes. It is clear that most players hope to return next
year. The event will take place Tuesday January 27 to Thursday 5 February
2004. The players seemed very happy with the format and the rates of play.
But this is not the whole story. What about the players who did not come
to Gibraltar? Well, the view is that they missed a real treat and their
friends will make this clear.
GIBTELECOM MASTERS PRIZES
1-2 Vasilios Kotronias (Cyprus), Nigel Short (England) 7½/10 (£3,250
each), 3-4 Mladen Palac (Croatia), John Shaw (Scotland) 7 (£1,250
each), 5-9 Vladimir Epishin (Russia), Darryl Johansen (Australia), Andrew
Ledger (England), Sarunas Sulskis (Lithuania), Sergei Tiviakov (Netherlands)
6½ (£200 each)
Best achievement by a player neither a GM nor IM: Dave Ledger (England)
6/10 gaining 2.1 points (£300)
Best achievement by a player 2150-2300: Stephen Ledger (England) 5/10
gaining 1.8 points £300
Best achievement by a player under 2150 Carlos Guerrero (Spain) 4/10 gaining
1.7 points £300
There was a misunderstanding and the Germans thought this just meant the
best score. So an extra £300 was awarded to Peter Straub (Germany)
4½ gaining 0.7 £300
Unrated player Hakon Haugsrud (Norway) 4 £300
Player Aged 14-18 Erik Eliassen, Staale Sending (both Norway) 2½
£100 each
Female Nora Medvegy (Hungary) 5½ £200
Best Game Prize: Luke McShane for his win against Kotronias £500
GIBTELECOM AMATEUR PRIZES For players rated under 2000 or unrated
1. Odin Blikra Vea (Norway) 7½/10 £1000, 2-3 Emil Agdestein
(Norway), Ian White (England) 7 £500 each, 4 Dag Danielsen (Norway)
6½/10 £250, 5 Hakon Haugsrud (Norway) 6 £200, 6-7 Alan
Gravett (Gibraltar), Mann-Kee Li (England) 5½ £125 each
Slow starter 1/3 or less Erik Eliassen 4 £100
Slow starter 2/5 or less Olav Breivik (Norway) 3½ £100
Slow starter 3/7 or less Joseph Mifsud (Gibraltar) 3 £100
This was a considerable triumph for Simen Agdestein's chess school in
Norway. Most of them got good prizes.
Round 10
Bd WHITE Result BLACK
1 JOHANSEN,Darryl 2487 (6) ½ - ½ KOTRONIAS,Vasili 2573 (7)
2 SHORT,Nigel 2690 (6½) 1 - 0 SULSKIS,Sarunas 2567 (6½)
3 EPISHIN,Vladimir 2626 (6) ½ - ½ LEDGER,Andrew 2397 (6)
4 PLASKETT,James 2467 (6) 0 - 1 SHAW,John 2470 (6)
5 BELLIN,Robert 2360 (5½) 0 - 1 PALAC,Mladen 2591 (6)
6 REINDERMAN,Dmitr 2506 (5½) ½ - ½ PAVLOVIC,Milos 2560 (5½)
7 MCSHANE,Luke 2568 (5½) 0 - 1 TIVIAKOV,Sergei 2635 (5½)
8 CHERNIAEV,Alexan 2504 (5½) ½ - ½ LALIC,Bogdan 2547 (5½)
9 KORNEEV,Oleg 2613 (5) ½ - ½ SPEELMAN,Jon 2583 (5½)
10 JONKMAN,Harman 2436 (5) 0 - 1 LEDGER,David 2267 (5)
11 BAUM,Bernd 2252 (5) 0 - 1 BARSOV,Alexei 2525 (5)
12 GYIMESI,Zoltan 2585 (5) ½ - ½ CAMPORA,Daniel 2505 (5)
13 HAMDOUCHI,Hichem 2615 (5) ½ - ½ MEDVEGY,Nora 2376 (5)
14 ZAK,Uriel 2341 (4½) 0 - 1 LUTHER,Thomas 2575 (5)
15 AGDESTEIN,Simen 2578 (4½) 1 - 0 CRAMLING,Pia 2492 (4½)
16 TISSIR,Mohamed 2366 (4½) ½ - ½ MCNAB,Colin 2423 (4½)
17 GULLAKSEN,Eirik 2354 (4½) 1 - 0 THOMPSON,Ian 2256 (4½)
18 BELLON,Juan 2428 (4½) ½ - ½ STRAUB,Peter 2112 (4)
19 LEDGER,Stephen 2172 (4) 1 - 0 GUERRERO,Carlos 2068 (4)
20 RADOVANOVIC,Jovi 2280 (4) 0 - 1 WOHL,Aleksandar 2415 (4)
21 GAYSON,Peter 2257 (3½) 1 - 0 SCHMITZ,Andreas 2131 (3½)
22 SOH,Edmund 2029 (3½) ½ - ½ GIDDINS,Steve 2242 (3½)
23 MALINARSKI,Yehud 2199 (3½) ½ - ½ HAUGSRUD,Hakon (3½)
24 LUND,Frode-Ryan 2103 (3½) ½ - ½ VEGA,Enrique 2248 (3½)
25 WHITE,Kevin 2053 (3½) ½ - ½ SCHMITZ,Manuela 2111 (3)
26 YOUNG,Mel 1990 (3) ½ - ½ SENDING,Staale 2119 (3)
27 VEA,Odin Blikra (2½) 0 - 1 ELIASSEN,Erik (2½)
28 GONZALEZ AMAYA,M (2½) ½ - ½ CARDENAS ROMO,Al (2½)
29 SEDGWICK,David 2082 (0) 1 - 0 MATTO,Manuel (½)
30 BICK,John 2296 (4) 0 - 1 Def.
Round 9: Leaders: Kotronias 7/9, Short, Sulskis
6½, etc. The top two boards were relatively sedate affairs. Thus
Vasilios Kotronias retained his lead going into the last round. Nigel
Short played in a determined manner against Luke McShane and soon had
an advantage despite being Black. He often feels he needs to prove that
he is the number one man over his rivals in England.
Jim Plaskett continued his resurgence with a good win over the German
Champion, Thomas Luther, with the Black pieces. Darryl Johansen also made
it a good day for the Commonwealth players by winning with Black against
Daniel Campora.
Going into the last round three players can still achieve GM norms, but
they all have to win. They are Andrew Ledger, Alexander Cherniaev and
John Shaw. For the first two it would be their final norm, but Andrew
has a long way to go to take his Rating from 2397 to 2500. If Nora Medvegy
wins, she will gain an IM norm.
The Dubov Pairing System threw up an unpleasant result for the last rounds.
Darryl Johansen (6) plays Vasilios Kotronias (7). That's easy. But Nigel
Short (6½) has White against Sarunas Sulskis (6½). This
means the Lithuanian has to have his 6th Black from 10 games. This is
the first time I have encountered this problem in 25 years. Usually players
on high scores occasionally have an extra white and, for some reason,
do not complain. Then score groups can be adjusted on low scores do give
everyone 5 Whites and 5 Blacks. This was not the fault of the Dubov System.
It would have happened by any method.
Round 9
Bd WHITE Result BLACK
1 KOTRONIAS,Vasili 2573 (6½) ½ - ½ EPISHIN,Vladimir 2626 (5½)
2 PALAC,Mladen 2591 (5½) ½ - ½ SULSKIS,Sarunas 2567 (6)
3 MCSHANE,Luke 2568 (5½) 0 - 1 SHORT,Nigel 2690 (5½)
4 LUTHER,Thomas 2575 (5) 0 - 1 PLASKETT,James 2467 (5)
5 TIVIAKOV,Sergei 2635 (5) ½ - ½ CHERNIAEV,Alexan 2504 (5)
6 CAMPORA,Daniel 2505 (5) 0 - 1 JOHANSEN,Darryl 2487 (5)
7 SPEELMAN,Jon 2583 (5) ½ - ½ REINDERMAN,Dmitr 2506 (5)
8 SHAW,John 2470 (5) 1 - 0 HAMDOUCHI,Hichem 2615 (5)
9 LEDGER,Andrew 2397 (5) 1 - 0 KORNEEV,Oleg 2613 (5)
10 LALIC,Bogdan 2547 (4½) 1 - 0 ZAK,Uriel 2341 (4½)
11 PAVLOVIC,Milos 2560 (4½) 1 - 0 AGDESTEIN,Simen 2578 (4½)
12 BAUM,Bernd 2252 (4½) ½ - ½ GYIMESI,Zoltan 2585 (4½)
13 BICK,John 2296 (4) 0 - 1 BELLIN,Robert 2360 (4½)
14 BARSOV,Alexei 2525 (4) 1 - 0 GUERRERO,Carlos 2068 (4)
15 MEDVEGY,Nora 2376 (4) 1 - 0 LEDGER,Stephen 2172 (4)
16 LEDGER,David 2267 (4) 1 - 0 STRAUB,Peter 2112 (4)
17 CRAMLING,Pia 2492 (4) ½ - ½ GULLAKSEN,Eirik 2354 (4)
18 THOMPSON,Ian 2256 (4) ½ - ½ TISSIR,Mohamed 2366 (4)
19 JONKMAN,Harman 2436 (4) 1 - 0 WOHL,Aleksandar 2415 (4)
20 MCNAB,Colin 2423 (3½) 1 - 0 GAYSON,Peter 2257 (3½)
21 GIDDINS,Steve 2242 (3½) 0 - 1 BELLON,Juan 2428 (3½)
22 SCHMITZ,Andreas 2131 (3) ½ - ½ SOH,Edmund 2029 (3)
23 VEGA,Enrique 2248 (3) ½ - ½ HAUGSRUD,Hakon (3)
24 SENDING,Staale 2119 (3) 0 - 1 RADOVANOVIC,Jovi 2280 (3)
25 SCHMITZ,Manuela 2111 (3) 0 - 1 MALINARSKI,Yehud 2199 (2½)
26 CARDENAS ROMO,Al (2½) 0 - 1 WHITE,Kevin 2053 (2½)
27 YOUNG,Mel 1990 (2½) ½ - ½ VEA,Odin Blikra (2)
28 ELIASSEN,Erik (2) ½ - ½ GONZALEZ AMAYA,M (2)
29 MATTO,Manuel (½) 0 - 1 LUND,Frode-Ryan 2103 (2½)
Round 8: This proved to be a much more normal
affair. Several games were wars of attrition that eventually concluded
with games played at the rate of one move every 30 seconds. Of course
this is the fault of the players who do not like this, they should schedule
their games not to use up so much time (a provocative view not shared
by the BCM editor - all correspondence to Mr Reuben, please! - ed).
Clearly all in 120 minutes, add on 30 seconds every move from the first
is better than the FIDE abortion of all in 90 minutes, add on 30 seconds.
But is it good enough? (No - ed) Alexei Barsov is an inveterate
time trouble addict and this saves him some of his worst excesses. However
30 seconds where the move must also be recorded is very little time.
Seven people are still in with a chance of securing a title norm. Most
will fail, as they have to score 2/2 in the last 2 rounds. Still, the
opportunity was there.
Round 8
Bd WHITE Result BLACK
1 KOTRONIAS,Vasilios (5½) 1 - 0 TIVIAKOV,Sergei (5)
2 SULSKIS,Sarunas (5) 1 - 0 MCSHANE,Luke (5½)
3 SHORT,Nigel (4½) 1 - 0 LALIC,Bogdan (4½)
4 EPISHIN,Vladimir (4½) 1 - 0 PAVLOVIC,Milos (4½)
5 HAMDOUCHI,Hichem (4½) ½ - ½ LEDGER,Andrew (4½)
6 REINDERMAN,Dmitri (4½) ½ - ½ KORNEEV,Oleg (4½)
7 AGDESTEIN,Simen (4½) 0 - 1 PALAC,Mladen (4½)
8 CHERNIAEV,Alexander (4½) ½ - ½ SPEELMAN,Jon (4½)
9 GYIMESI,Zoltan (4) ½ - ½ LUTHER,Thomas (4½)
10 JOHANSEN,Darryl (4) 1 - 0 THOMPSON,Ian (4)
11 PLASKETT,James (4) 1 - 0 BICK,John (4)
12 CRAMLING,Pia (4) 0 - 1 SHAW,John (4)
13 TISSIR,Mohamed (4) 0 - 1 CAMPORA,Daniel (4)
14 BELLIN,Robert (3½) 1 - 0 LEDGER,David (4)
15 BELLON,Juan (3½) 0 - 1 BAUM,Bernd (3½)
16 BARSOV,Alexei (3½) ½ - ½ JONKMAN,Harman (3½)
17 ZAK,Uriel (3½) 1 - 0 MCNAB,Colin (3½)
18 LEDGER,Stephen (3½) ½ - ½ GIDDINS,Steve (3)
19 WOHL,Aleksandar (3) 1 - 0 SENDING,Staale (3)
20 GUERRERO,Carlos (3) 1 - 0 SCHMITZ,Manuela (3)
21 STRAUB,Peter (3) 1 - 0 SCHMITZ,Andreas Arnol (3)
22 GULLAKSEN,Eirik (3) 1 - 0 VEGA,Enrique (3)
23 RADOVANOVIC,Jovica (3) 0 - 1 MEDVEGY,Nora (3)
24 HAUGSRUD,Hakon (2½) ½ - ½ SOH,Edmund (2½)
25 GAYSON,Peter (2½) 1 - 0 ELIASSEN,Erik (2)
26 MALINARSKI,Yehuda (2) ½ - ½ YOUNG,Mel (2)
27 WHITE,Kevin (2) ½ - ½ GONZALEZ AMAYA,Millan (1½)
28 LUND,Frode-Ryan (2) ½ - ½ VEA,Odin Blikra (1½)
29 MATTO,Manuel (½) 0 - 1 CARDENAS ROMO,Alejand (1½)
Round 7: Leaders: Kotronias, McShane 5½,
Sulskis, Tiviakov 5, etc. The game of the day had to be the one in which
Luke McShane beat the tournament leader Vasilios Kotronias. They arrived
in a mysterious position where it was impossible to predict the next move,
never mind form an accurate opinion as to who stood better. That is the
chess I like to see. Thus it is unsurprising that Luke enquired how one
entered a game for the £500 Best Game Prize. This is a non-trivial
sum and players have been talking about a £500 move. I never like
to have such prizes for trivial sums. The work to judge the prize is so
great that the hassle is not worth it.
Round 7
Bd WHITE Result BLACK
1 MCSHANE,Luke 2568 (4½) 1 - 0 KOTRONIAS,Vasili 2573 (5½)
2 SPEELMAN,Jon 2583 (4) ½ - ½ SULSKIS,Sarunas 2567 (4½)
3 KORNEEV,Oleg 2613 (4) ½ - ½ CHERNIAEV,Alexan 2504 (4)
4 PALAC,Mladen 2591 (4) ½ - ½ REINDERMAN,Dmitr 2506 (4)
5 TIVIAKOV,Sergei 2635 (4) 1 - 0 JOHANSEN,Darryl 2487 (4)
6 LALIC,Bogdan 2547 (4) ½ - ½ EPISHIN,Vladimir 2626 (4)
7 PAVLOVIC,Milos 2560 (4) ½ - ½ SHORT,Nigel 2690 (4)
8 CAMPORA,Daniel 2505 (3½) ½ - ½ HAMDOUCHI,Hichem 2615 (4)
9 LUTHER,Thomas 2575 (3½) 1 - 0 BELLIN,Robert 2360 (3½)
10 AGDESTEIN,Simen 2578 (3½) 1 - 0 BELLON,Juan 2428 (3½)
11 LEDGER,Andrew 2397 (3½) 1 - 0 BARSOV,Alexei 2525 (3½)
12 THOMPSON,Ian 2256 (3½) ½ - ½ GYIMESI,Zoltan 2585 (3½)
13 BICK,John 2296 (3½) ½ - ½ ZAK,Uriel 2341 (3)
14 SHAW,John 2470 (3) 1 - 0 STRAUB,Peter 2112 (3)
15 MCNAB,Colin 2423 (3) ½ - ½ LEDGER,Stephen 2172 (3)
16 LEDGER,David 2267 (3) 1 - 0 RADOVANOVIC,Jovi 2280 (3)
17 MEDVEGY,Nora 2376 (3) 0 - 1 PLASKETT,James 2467 (3)
18 SCHMITZ,Andreas 2131 (3) 0 - 1 CRAMLING,Pia 2492 (3)
19 GUERRERO,Carlos 2068 (3) 0 - 1 TISSIR,Mohamed 2366 (3)
20 GIDDINS,Steve 2242 (2½) ½ - ½ WOHL,Aleksandar 2415 (2½)
21 SOH,Edmund 2029 (2½) 0 - 1 JONKMAN,Harman 2436 (2½)
22 ELIASSEN,Erik (2) 0 - 1 BAUM,Bernd 2252 (2½)
23 GAYSON,Peter 2257 (2) ½ - ½ HAUGSRUD,Hakon (2)
24 SCHMITZ,Manuela 2111 (2) 1 - 0 LUND,Frode-Ryan 2103 (2)
25 VEGA,Enrique 2248 (2) 1 - 0 MALINARSKI,Yehud 2199 (2)
26 YOUNG,Mel 1990 (2) 0 - 1 GULLAKSEN,Eirik 2354 (2)
27 SENDING,Staale 2119 (2) 1 - 0 Bye
28 VEA,Odin Blikra (1½) 0 - 1 WHITE,Kevin 2053 (1)
29 GONZALEZ AMAYA,M (1) ½ - ½ MATTO,Manuel (0)
30 SEDGWICK,Dave 2081 (0) - Bye
31 CARDENAS ROMO,Al (1½) - Bye
Round 6: The report on this round was delayed
until Monday morning. On Sunday evening there was a reception hosted by
the Gibraltar Tourist Board for the players, their partners, the sponsors
and organisers. This was to have taken place in the unique setting of
St Michael's Caves. However it was too damp there. Although it has not
rained in Gibraltar since the event began, it was very wet the previous
week. Thus, in a certain sense, rain stopped play in a chess event. Nothing
daunted, we had a very pleasant evening in the Rock Hotel. Meanwhile the
weather has been extremely bad in Britain. There has been a great deal
of snow and temperatures dropped well below zero. This gave the Brits
a nice warm glow that we were in Gibraltar where the sun has shone all
day, every day. Vasilios Kotronias of Cyprus must be feeling the same
way about the tournament. He beat Sarunas Sulskis with the Black pieces
and thus moved into the sole lead with 5½/6 a full point ahead
of the pack. Nigel Short did a bit of a Houdini to draw against Mladen
Palac. Interestingly he failed to spot he could force repetition with
just two knights against an army of queen and knight. He drew in more
mundane manner, forcing Black himself to take a perpetual (Later comment
from Stewart... Nigel Short offered a draw at the end of his game in round
6. The position when he did this was actually winning for him! Black did
not have a perpetual check as everybody assumed. He had been defending
for some time, having lost his queen. thus his mindset was to draw. A
win for White would have been against the run of play, so the result was
a fair one. Black could have bailed out for a draw in many ways. This
error of failing to adjust for changing fortunes is a quite common error).
Leaders: Kotronias 5½/6, McShane, Sulskis 4½, etc.
Round 6
Bd WHITE Result BLACK
1 SULSKIS,Sarunas 2567 (4½) 0 - 1 KOTRONIAS,Vasili 2573 (4½)
2 JOHANSEN,Darryl 2487 (3½) ½ - ½ MCSHANE,Luke 2568 (4)
3 SHORT,Nigel 2690 (3½) ½ - ½ PALAC,Mladen 2591 (3½)
4 EPISHIN,Vladimir 2626 (3½) ½ - ½ TIVIAKOV,Sergei 2635 (3½)
5 HAMDOUCHI,Hichem 2615 (3½) ½ - ½ KORNEEV,Oleg 2613 (3½)
6 CHERNIAEV,Alexan 2504 (3) 1 - 0 LEDGER,David 2267 (3)
7 LALIC,Bogdan 2547 (3) 1 - 0 MCNAB,Colin 2423 (3)
8 REINDERMAN,Dmitr 2506 (3) 1 - 0 SHAW,John 2470 (3)
9 BARSOV,Alexei 2525 (3) ½ - ½ CAMPORA,Daniel 2505 (3)
10 ZAK,Uriel 2341 (3) 0 - 1 PAVLOVIC,Milos 2560 (3)
11 GYIMESI,Zoltan 2585 (3) ½ - ½ AGDESTEIN,Simen 2578 (3)
12 BELLON,Juan 2428 (3) ½ - ½ LUTHER,Thomas 2575 (3)
13 PLASKETT,James 2467 (3) 0 - 1 SPEELMAN,Jon 2583 (3)
14 LEDGER,Stephen 2172 (2½) ½ - ½ SCHMITZ,Andreas 2131 (2½)
15 WOHL,Aleksandar 2415 (2½) 0 - 1 THOMPSON,Ian 2256 (2½)
16 BAUM,Bernd 2252 (2½) 0 - 1 BICK,John 2296 (2½)
17 CRAMLING,Pia 2492 (2½) ½ - ½ MEDVEGY,Nora 2376 (2½)
18 JONKMAN,Harman 2436 (2½) 0 - 1 BELLIN,Robert 2360 (2½)
19 GIDDINS,Steve 2242 (2½) 0 - 1 LEDGER,Andrew 2397 (2½)
20 TISSIR,Mohamed 2366 (2) 1 - 0 ELIASSEN,Erik (2)
21 GULLAKSEN,Eirik 2354 (2) 0 - 1 GUERRERO,Carlos 2068 (2)
22 RADOVANOVIC,Jovi 2280 (2) 1 - 0 SEDGWICK,Dave 2081 (0)
23 STRAUB,Peter 2112 (2) 1 - 0 GAYSON,Peter 2257 (2)
24 LUND,Frode-Ryan 2103 (1½) ½ - ½ YOUNG,Mel 1990 (1½)
25 SOH,Edmund 2029 (1½) 1 - 0 CARDENAS ROMO,Al (1½)
26 MALINARSKI,Yehud 2199 (1½) ½ - ½ VEA,Odin Blikra (1)
27 HAUGSRUD,Hakon (1) 1 - 0 GONZALEZ AMAYA,M (1)
28 SENDING,Staale 2119 (1) 1 - 0 WHITE,Kevin 2053 (1)
29 MATTO,Manuel (0) 0 - 1 SCHMITZ,Manuela 2111 (1)
30 VEGA,Enrique 2248 (2) 0 - 1 Bye
Round 5: Quite a number of us went off to Tangiers
for the day. The young Norwegians particularly liked the idea of making
their first visit to Africa. Thus there were a substantial number of half
point byes. Originally these had been restricted to players of lesser
stature, but Simen Agdestein clearly wanted to accompany his charges and
Dutch GMs Jonkman and Reinderman followed suit.
Nigel Short chose a line in the Four Pawns Alekhine's
known to be busted for black. Wriggle as he might, the outcome was seldom
in doubt. Thomas Luther overplayed his hand against Sarunas Sulskis and
duly lost. Hichem Hamdouchi had a fair draw against Vladimir Epishin,
as did Oleg Korneev against Darryl Johansen.
Bogdan Lalic played a stylistically unusually
provocative opening as black against Luke McShane. The young Englishman
played well to secure the full point.
Thus the leading scores are: Kotronias, Sulskis
4½/5 and they must meet in round 6. Luke McShane is lone third
on 4/5 and there are seven in the group on 3½.
Round 5
Bd WHITE Result BLACK
1 KOTRONIAS,Vasili 2573 (3½) 1 - 0 SHORT,Nigel 2690 (3½)
2 LUTHER,Thomas 2575 (3) 0 - 1 SULSKIS,Sarunas 2567 (3½)
3 HAMDOUCHI,Hichem 2615 (3) ½ - ½ EPISHIN,Vladimir 2626 (3)
4 KORNEEV,Oleg 2613 (3) ½ - ½ JOHANSEN,Darryl 2487 (3)
5 MCSHANE,Luke 2568 (3) 1 - 0 LALIC,Bogdan 2547 (3)
6 PALAC,Mladen 2591 (2½) 1 - 0 CHERNIAEV,Alexan 2504 (3)
7 TIVIAKOV,Sergei 2635 (2½) 1 - 0 LEDGER,Stephen 2172 (2½)
8 GYIMESI,Zoltan 2585 (2½) ½ - ½ PLASKETT,James 2467 (2½)
9 SPEELMAN,Jon 2583 (2½) ½ - ½ ZAK,Uriel 2341 (2½)
10 MCNAB,Colin 2423 (2½) ½ - ½ BARSOV,Alexei 2525 (2½)
11 CAMPORA,Daniel 2505 (2½) ½ - ½ BELLON,Juan 2428 (2½)
12 SHAW,John 2470 (2) 1 - 0 GAYSON,Peter 2257 (2)
13 WOHL,Aleksandar 2415 (2) ½ - ½ BICK,John 2296 (2)
14 PAVLOVIC,Milos 2560 (2) 1 - 0 GULLAKSEN,Eirik 2354 (2)
15 LEDGER,David 2267 (2) 1 - 0 TISSIR,Mohamed 2366 (2)
16 LEDGER,Andrew 2397 (2) ½ - ½ MEDVEGY,Nora 2376 (2)
17 BELLIN,Robert 2360 (2) ½ - ½ CRAMLING,Pia 2492 (2)
18 SCHMITZ,Andreas 2131 (2) ½ - ½ GUERRERO,Carlos 2068 (1½)
19 THOMPSON,Ian 2256 (1½) 1 - 0 MALINARSKI,Yehud 2199 (1½)
20 CARDENAS ROMO,Al (1½) 0 - 1 GIDDINS,Steve 2242 (1½)
21 GONZALEZ AMAYA,M (1) 0 - 1 STRAUB,Peter 2112 (1)
22 WHITE,Kevin 2053 (1) 0 - 1 RADOVANOVIC,Jovi 2280 (1)
23 SCHMITZ,Manuela 2111 (½) ½ - ½ SOH,Edmund 2029 (1)
24 VEA,Odin Blikra (0) 1 - 0 MATTO,Manuel (0)
25 AGDESTEIN,Simen 2578 (2½) ½ - ½ Bye
26 REINDERMAN,Dmitr 2506 (2½) ½ - ½ Bye
27 JONKMAN,Harman 2436 (2) ½ - ½ Bye
28 BAUM,Bernd 2252 (2) ½ - ½ Bye
29 SENDING,Staale 2119 (½) ½ - ½ Bye
30 LUND,Frode-Ryan 2103 (1) ½ - ½ Bye
31 HAUGSRUD,Hakon (½) ½ - ½ Bye
32 ELIASSEN,Erik (1½) ½ - ½ Bye
33 YOUNG,Mel 1990 (1) ½ - ½ Bye
34 VEGA,Enrique 2248 (1½) ½ - ½ Bye
Round 4: Leaders - Kotronias, Short and Sulskis
have 3½/4... There were some very dour struggles this round which
led to draws. Don't become confused and think these were non-games, they
were anything but that. The top board game was a fair draw. Thomas Luther
had to hang on with great determination to draw. Tiviakov found it impossible
to do so. Jon Speelman was in trouble early on and his position fell into
terrible disrepair quickly. When the games went into late endgames, the
advantage of the cumulative mode came into its own. Nobody had to flail
around desperately and then lose. However, players such as Barsov, manage
to get into time trouble around move 30 and continue to suffer this way
for 30 moves.
Round 4
Bd WHITE Result BLACK
1 SHORT,Nigel 2690 (3) ½ - ½ HAMDOUCHI,Hichem 2615 (2½)
2 SULSKIS,Sarunas 2567 (2½) 1 - 0 TIVIAKOV,Sergei 2635 (2½)
3 KORNEEV,Oleg 2613 (2½) ½ - ½ LUTHER,Thomas 2575 (2½)
4 KOTRONIAS,Vasili 2573 (2½) 1 - 0 SPEELMAN,Jon 2583 (2½)
5 EPISHIN,Vladimir 2626 (2) 1 - 0 SCHMITZ,Andreas 2131 (2)
6 PLASKETT,James 2467 (2) ½ - ½ PALAC,Mladen 2591 (2)
7 ZAK,Uriel 2341 (2) ½ - ½ GYIMESI,Zoltan 2585 (2)
8 AGDESTEIN,Simen 2578 (2) ½ - ½ BARSOV,Alexei 2525 (2)
9 BAUM,Bernd 2252 (2) 0 - 1 MCSHANE,Luke 2568 (2)
10 CHERNIAEV,Alexan 2504 (2) 1 - 0 PAVLOVIC,Milos 2560 (2)
11 LALIC,Bogdan 2547 (2) 1 - 0 WOHL,Aleksandar 2415 (2)
12 REINDERMAN,Dmitr 2506 (2) ½ - ½ CAMPORA,Daniel 2505 (2)
13 JOHANSEN,Darryl 2487 (2) 1 - 0 SHAW,John 2470 (2)
14 LEDGER,Stephen 2172 (1½) 1 - 0 VEGA,Enrique 2248 (1½)
15 BELLON,Juan 2428 (1½) 1 - 0 THOMPSON,Ian 2256 (1½)
16 MEDVEGY,Nora 2376 (1½) ½ - ½ BELLIN,Robert 2360 (1½)
17 TISSIR,Mohamed 2366 (1½) ½ - ½ CRAMLING,Pia 2492 (1½)
18 GUERRERO,Carlos 2068 (1½) 0 - 1 MCNAB,Colin 2423 (1½)
19 GAYSON,Peter 2257 (1) 1 - 0 YOUNG,Mel 1990 (1)
20 BICK,John 2296 (1) 1 - 0 LUND,Frode-Ryan 2103 (1)
21 ELIASSEN,Erik (1) ½ - ½ GIDDINS,Steve 2242 (1)
22 SOH,Edmund 2029 (1) 0 - 1 GULLAKSEN,Eirik 2354 (1)
23 STRAUB,Peter 2112 (1) 0 - 1 LEDGER,Andrew 2397 (1)
24 RADOVANOVIC,Jovi 2280 (1) 0 - 1 JONKMAN,Harman 2436 (1)
25 SCHMITZ,Manuela 2111 (½) 0 - 1 LEDGER,David 2267 (1)
26 HAUGSRUD,Hakon (½) 0 - 1 CARDENAS ROMO,Al (½)
27 MALINARSKI,Yehud 2199 (½) 1 - 0 SENDING,Staale 2119 (½)
28 WHITE,Kevin 2053 (0) 1 - 0 MATTO,Manuel (0)
29 GONZALEZ AMAYA,M (0) 1 - 0 VEA,Odin Blikra (0)
Round 3: Leaders - Short 3/3, Tiviakov, Korneev,
Luther, Kotronias, Hamdouchi, Speelman Sulskis 2½... This became
a more heavyweight round with players slugging it out into the late endgame.
Thus Nigel Short took the sole lead with 3/3 by beating John Shaw with
the Black pieces in a rook and pawn endgame. The final result was a matter
of technique for a long time, but the advantage of the cumulative mode
became apparent. Had John been able to draw the position, his failure
to do so would not have been due to having no time left on the clock.
Most other top games were drawn. Stephen Ledger was ground down by the
leading African player, Hichem Hamdouchi. On the other hand, the position
Jon Speelman obtained early on against Juan Bellon was not of a type we
expect between two grandmasters. There have been few perfunctory draws
so far and that always warms the heart of a chess organiser.
Round 3
Bd WHITE Result BLACK
1 SHAW,John 2470 (2) 0 - 1 SHORT,Nigel 2690 (2)
2 TIVIAKOV,Sergei 2635 (2) ½ - ½ KORNEEV,Oleg 2613 (2)
3 LUTHER,Thomas 2575 (2) ½ - ½ KOTRONIAS,Vasili 2573 (2)
4 MCSHANE,Luke 2568 (1½) ½ - ½ EPISHIN,Vladimir 2626 (1½)
5 HAMDOUCHI,Hichem 2615 (1½) 1 - 0 LEDGER,Stephen 2172 (1½)
6 PALAC,Mladen 2591 (1½) ½ - ½ JOHANSEN,Darryl 2487 (1½)
7 SPEELMAN,Jon 2583 (1½) 1 - 0 BELLON,Juan 2428 (1½)
8 MCNAB,Colin 2423 (1½) 0 - 1 SULSKIS,Sarunas 2567 (1½)
9 PAVLOVIC,Milos 2560 (1½) ½ - ½ WOHL,Aleksandar 2415 (1½)
10 CAMPORA,Daniel 2505 (1½) ½ - ½ LALIC,Bogdan 2547 (1½)
11 CRAMLING,Pia 2492 (1) ½ - ½ REINDERMAN,Dmitr 2506 (1½)
12 LEDGER,David 2267 (1) 0 - 1 BAUM,Bernd 2252 (1)
13 BARSOV,Alexei 2525 (1) 1 - 0 GAYSON,Peter 2257 (1)
14 SCHMITZ,Andreas 2131 (1) 1 - 0 RADOVANOVIC,Jovi 2280 (1)
15 GIDDINS,Steve 2242 (1) 0 - 1 ZAK,Uriel 2341 (1)
16 MEDVEGY,Nora 2376 (1) ½ - ½ TISSIR,Mohamed 2366 (1)
17 LEDGER,Andrew 2397 (1) 0 - 1 PLASKETT,James 2467 (1)
18 GULLAKSEN,Eirik 2354 (1) 0 - 1 CHERNIAEV,Alexan 2504 (1)
19 JONKMAN,Harman 2436 (1) 0 - 1 AGDESTEIN,Simen 2578 (1)
20 BICK,John 2296 (1) 0 - 1 GYIMESI,Zoltan 2585 (1)
21 THOMPSON,Ian 2256 (½) 1 - 0 HAUGSRUD,Hakon (½)
22 YOUNG,Mel 1990 (½) ½ - ½ SOH,Edmund 2029 (½)
23 SENDING,Staale 2119 (½) 0 - 1 GUERRERO,Carlos 2068 (½)
24 BELLIN,Robert 2360 (½) 1 - 0 SCHMITZ,Manuela 2111 (½)
25 VEGA,Enrique 2248 (½) 1 - 0 WHITE,Kevin 2053 (0)
26 MATTO,Manuel (0) 0 - 1 ELIASSEN,Erik (0)
27 LUND,Frode-Ryan 2103 (0) 1 - 0 AMAYA,Gonzalez (0)
28 VEA,Odin Blikra (0) 0 - 1 STRAUB,Peter 2112 (0)
29 ROMO,Cardenas (0) ½ - ½ MALINARSKI,Yehud 2199 (0)
Round 2: Leaders after Round 2... Short, Tiviakov,
Korneev, Shaw, Luther, Kotronias 2/2
Stewart Reuben commentary... This is a very tough tournament at
the top. Even though it was only round 2, there were a substantial number
of clashes between grandmasters. By comparison, lower down the pairings
there are some extremely inexperienced players. Mark Crowther contacted
me to find out what the FIDE three letter code is for Gibraltar. My reply
was ENG. Gibraltar cannot be a FIDE federation since it is recognised
neither by the UN nor the IOC. This would similarly be true of Scotland,
Wales, Guernsey and Jersey if they were to apply for membership today.
Both Nigel Short and Sergei Tiviakov had fairly smooth wins on the top
two boards today. There was some surprise that Colin McNab managed to
hold on against Vladimir Epishin who stood much better at one time. Jon
Speelman seemed busted at one point, but miraculously escaped unscathed.
Simen Agdestein came seriously unstuck against John Shaw. It surely cannot
be long before the Scot becomes Scotland fourth grandmaster.
Round 2
Bd WHITE Result BLACK
1 SHORT,Nigel 2690 (1) 1 - 0 LEDGER,Andrew 2397 (1)
2 GULLAKSEN,Eirik 2354 (1) 0 - 1 TIVIAKOV,Sergei 2635 (1)
3 EPISHIN,Vladimir 2626 (1) ½ - ½ MCNAB,Colin 2423 (1)
4 WOHL,Aleksandar 2415 (1) ½ - ½ HAMDOUCHI,Hichem 2615 (1)
5 KORNEEV,Oleg 2613 (1) 1 - 0 JONKMAN,Harman 2436 (1)
6 BELLON,Juan 2428 (1) ½ - ½ PALAC,Mladen 2591 (1)
7 JOHANSEN,Darryl 2487 (1) ½ - ½ SPEELMAN,Jon 2583 (1)
8 AGDESTEIN,Simen 2578 (1) 0 - 1 SHAW,John 2470 (1)
9 CHERNIAEV,Alexan 2504 (1) 0 - 1 LUTHER,Thomas 2575 (1)
10 KOTRONIAS,Vasili 2573 (1) 1 - 0 CRAMLING,Pia 2492 (1)
11 REINDERMAN,Dmitr 2506 (1) ½ - ½ MCSHANE,Luke 2568 (1)
12 SULSKIS,Sarunas 2567 (1) ½ - ½ CAMPORA,Daniel 2505 (1)
13 LALIC,Bogdan 2547 (1) ½ - ½ PAVLOVIC,Milos 2560 (1)
14 GYIMESI,Zoltan 2585 (½) ½ - ½ BARSOV,Alexei 2525 (½)
15 PLASKETT,James 2467 (½) ½ - ½ LEDGER,David 2267 (½)
16 LEDGER,Stephen 2172 (½) 1 - 0 YOUNG,Mel 1990 (½)
17 ELIASSEN,Erik (0) 0 - 1 MEDVEGY,Nora 2376 (0)
18 TISSIR,Mohamed 2366 (0) 1 - 0 MATTO,Manuel (0)
19 HAUGSRUD,Hakon (0) ½ - ½ BELLIN,Robert 2360 (0)
20 ZAK,Uriel 2341 (0) 1 - 0 VEA,Odin Blikra (0)
21 AMAYA,Gonzalez (0) 0 - 1 BICK,John 2296 (0)
22 RADOVANOVIC,Jovi 2280 (0) 1 - 0 ROMO,Cardenas (0)
23 GAYSON,Peter 2257 (0) 1 - 0 WHITE,Kevin 2053 (0)
24 GUERRERO,Carlos 2068 (0) ½ - ½ THOMPSON,Ian 2256 (0)
25 BAUM,Bernd 2252 (0) 1 - 0 LUND,Frode-Ryan 2103 (0)
26 SOH,Edmund 2029 (0) ½ - ½ VEGA,Enrique 2248 (0)
27 SCHMITZ,Manuela 2111 (0) ½ - ½ SENDING,Staale 2119 (0)
28 MALINARSKI,Yehud 2199 (0) 0 - 1 SCHMITZ,Andreas 2131 (0)
29 STRAUB,Peter 2112 (0) 0 - 1 GIDDINS,Steve 2242 (0)
Round 1 (2003.01.28)
Medvegy, Nora - Short, Nigel D 0-1 60
Tiviakov, Sergei - Tissir, Mohamed 1-0 44
Bellin, Robert - Epishin, Vladimir 0-1 25
Hamdouchi, Hichem - Zak, Uriel 1-0 34
Bick, John D - Korneev, Oleg 0-1 29
Palac, Mladen - Radovanovic, Jovica 1-0 54
Ledger, David - Gyimesi, Zoltan 1/2 85
Speelman, Jonathan S - Gayson, Peter 1-0 47
Thompson, Ian D - Agdestein, Simen 0-1 33
Luther, Thomas - Baum, Bernd 1-0 36
Vega,Enrique - Kotronias, Vasilios 0-1 31
McShane, Luke J - Schmitz, Manuela 1-0 24
Giddins, Stephen - Sulskis, Sarunas 0-1 42
Pavlovic, Milos - Malinarski, Yehuda 1-0 36
Schmitz, Andreas Arnold - Lalic, Bogdan 0-1 39
Barsov, Alexei - Ledger, Stephen 1/2 56
Sending, Stale - Reinderman, Dimitri 0-1 31
Campora, Daniel H - Straub, Peter 1-0 39
Lund, Frode-Ryan - Cherniaev, Alexander1 0-1 41
Cramling, Pia - Guerrero, Carlos 1-0 25
White, Kevin - Johansen, Darryl K 0-1 25
Shaw, John - Soh, Edmund 1-0 33
Young, Mel - Plaskett, Jim 1/2 20
Jonkman, Harmen - Amaya,Gonzalez 1-0 29
McNab, Colin A - Haugsrud,Hakon 1-0 37
Vea,Odin Blikra - Wohl, Aleksandar H 0-1 31
Ledger, Andrew - Eliassen,Erik 1-0 33
Matto,Manuel - Gullaksen, Eirik 0-1 29
Romo,Cardenas - Bellon Lopez, Juan Manuel 0-1 25
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