 "Chess (#1171)")
The European Team Championships in Mother Teresa’s birthplace, Skopje, is an outstanding event. As always, it is well supported by sundry oligarchs for the medals are worth bragging rights in the constituent republics of the former Soviet Union. Most of the big guns are turning out.
There are 50 open teams and 12 women’s teams. It’s a seven-round-Swiss (six boards in the open and four in the women’s). There are all GM teams with average ratings of 2750-plus and there are also teams with very few titled players. Upsets are guaranteed since the big guns are under continuous pressure to generate wins.
So far, there have been several draws in games with a rating differential of 200-300 points. Both Hikaru Nakamura and Anish Giri have suffered losses to players rated more than 200 points lower. As a result, Nakamura has dropped to #4 on the live ranking list, while Viswanathan Anand (who isn't playing) has moved back to #2.
Giri could have greater problems, however. As things stand, the Dutch GM is on the cusp of qualifying for the Candidates on the basis of possessing the best averaged rating for the calendar year 2015. However, a rating slide by Giri in Skopje could mean that Vladimir Kramnik, or Alexander Grischuk catch up and surpass him.
Defending champions, SOCAR (State Oil Company, Azerbaijan Republic), have an average rating of 2771 with a line up that includes Veselin Topalov, Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Michael Adams, Teimour Radjabov, Rauf Mamedov and Eltaj Safarli. Second-seeded Siberia (Russian team champion) is represented by Vladimir Kramnik, Levon Aronian, Alexander Grischuk, Li Chao, Wang Yue, Anton Korobov, Dmitry Bocharov and Dmitry Kokarev. Siberia beat SOCAR in a key round 5 match, which could decide the fate of the trophy.
In other news, Hou Yifan won the Monaco Grand Prix by a massive margin. Hou scored 9 from 11 games, outdistancing Koneru Humpy and Mariya Muzychuk (both 7). Hou lost one game, to Humpy, but she swept the rest of the field. Hou will challenge Mariya Muzychuk for the world title in a match in March 2016.
The DIAGRAM, White to play (White: Kramnik Vs Black:Topalov , Euro teams Skopje 2015) is from top-board in the round 5 match. Opposite bishops add a deadly edge to white’s initiative. He breaks in by 29.Rxd5! exd5 30.e6 !? The engines say 30. Rxd5 was even stronger. If 30.— R3c6 31. Rd3 will win.
Play continued 30.— R3c7 31.Rxd5 Qxe6 32.Qg5+ Kf8 33.Rxf5 Rf7 34.Qh6+ Ke8 35.Re5 Rc6 36.Qxh5! (1-0). White's B+Q will outgun black’s rooks. A deceptively smooth win.
There are 50 open teams and 12 women’s teams. It’s a seven-round-Swiss (six boards in the open and four in the women’s). There are all GM teams with average ratings of 2750-plus and there are also teams with very few titled players. Upsets are guaranteed since the big guns are under continuous pressure to generate wins.
So far, there have been several draws in games with a rating differential of 200-300 points. Both Hikaru Nakamura and Anish Giri have suffered losses to players rated more than 200 points lower. As a result, Nakamura has dropped to #4 on the live ranking list, while Viswanathan Anand (who isn't playing) has moved back to #2.
Giri could have greater problems, however. As things stand, the Dutch GM is on the cusp of qualifying for the Candidates on the basis of possessing the best averaged rating for the calendar year 2015. However, a rating slide by Giri in Skopje could mean that Vladimir Kramnik, or Alexander Grischuk catch up and surpass him.
Defending champions, SOCAR (State Oil Company, Azerbaijan Republic), have an average rating of 2771 with a line up that includes Veselin Topalov, Fabiano Caruana, Anish Giri, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Michael Adams, Teimour Radjabov, Rauf Mamedov and Eltaj Safarli. Second-seeded Siberia (Russian team champion) is represented by Vladimir Kramnik, Levon Aronian, Alexander Grischuk, Li Chao, Wang Yue, Anton Korobov, Dmitry Bocharov and Dmitry Kokarev. Siberia beat SOCAR in a key round 5 match, which could decide the fate of the trophy.
In other news, Hou Yifan won the Monaco Grand Prix by a massive margin. Hou scored 9 from 11 games, outdistancing Koneru Humpy and Mariya Muzychuk (both 7). Hou lost one game, to Humpy, but she swept the rest of the field. Hou will challenge Mariya Muzychuk for the world title in a match in March 2016.
The DIAGRAM, White to play (White: Kramnik Vs Black:Topalov , Euro teams Skopje 2015) is from top-board in the round 5 match. Opposite bishops add a deadly edge to white’s initiative. He breaks in by 29.Rxd5! exd5 30.e6 !? The engines say 30. Rxd5 was even stronger. If 30.— R3c6 31. Rd3 will win.
Play continued 30.— R3c7 31.Rxd5 Qxe6 32.Qg5+ Kf8 33.Rxf5 Rf7 34.Qh6+ Ke8 35.Re5 Rc6 36.Qxh5! (1-0). White's B+Q will outgun black’s rooks. A deceptively smooth win.
Devangshu Datta is an internationally rated chess and correspondence chess player