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The ScotsmanChess News December 2000 |
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The ScotsmanChess News December 2000 |
to "The Scotsman" chess column
FOLLOWING the sad death earlier this year of the Dean of American Chess, George "Kolty" Koltanowski (1903-2000), the Mechanics Institute chess club in his adopted home town of San Francisco, USA, paid a fitting tribute to one of their former members with the hosting of the first Koltanowski Memorial (14-22 December).
Regarded by many as one of the great entertainers of the chessboard, Kolty became something of a celebrity with his phenomenal blindfold and knight's tour feats that gained him world renown - and in particular a record set as far back as 1937 in Edinburgh that made headline news across the world.
Then, he set a world record - still recognised to this day by the "Guinness Book of Records" - for playing a 34-board blindfold simultaneous, which took nearly 14.5-hours for him to complete (winning 24, 10 draws). Also a prolific writer on the game with many books to his name, for 52-years Kolty wrote a daily chess column in "The San Francisco Chronicle", thus establishing the longest-running daily chess column in history - estimated by his newspaper to be over 19,000 columns!
Fittingly for a player of such swashbuckling qualities as Kolty, he would have been more than pleased by the entertaining and enterprising play on offer in his memorial tournament. After defeating the Estonian top seed Jaan Ehlvest in the final round, the Belarus GM Yuri Shulman took outright first place and the winners cheque of $2,000 with a final tally of 7/9 - half a point clear of Ehlvest, Jesse Kraai (USA) and Mladen Vucic (USA) on 6.5.
Y Shulman - V Mezentsev
Koltanowski Memorial (5), Baltic Defence
1 d4 d5 2 c4 Bf5 3 cxd5 Bxb1 4 Qa4+ c6 5 Rxb1 Qxd5 6 Nf3 Nd7 7 b4 e6 8 e3 Be7 9 Qc2 Ngf6 10 Bd3 0-0 11 0-0 Rfd8 12 e4 Qh5 13 h3 e5 14 dxe5 Nxe5 15 Nxe5 Qxe5 16 Be3 Qe6 17 f4 g6 18 Rf3 b5 19 Bd2 Nd7 20 e5 a5 21 f5 Qxe5 22 fxg6 hxg6 23 Bxg6 Nf6 24 Bc3 Qg5 25 Bd3 axb4 26 Bxb4 Bxb4 27 Rxb4 Rd6 28 Qf2 Qe5 29 Rbf4 Qa1+ 30 Kh2 Qe5 31 Qg3+ Kf8 32 Rxf6 Qxf6 33 Rxf6 Rxf6 34 Qh4 Ke7 35 Bxb5 Rxa2 36 Bxc6 1-0
OVER the years, the chess world has had its fair share of lost talents. Perhaps the most puzzling of all being the sad plight of Mexico's first grandmaster, Carlos Torre (1904-78), whose all but short chess career spanned just three glorious years between 1924-26.
Yet, in that time, he left his mark on the chess world with a string of excellent tournament performances; in the process establishing a plus score (+1, =2) against arguably three of the great world champions of the game: Lasker, Capablanca and Alekhine. Unfortunately, aged just 22, when many were venturing to suggest that he had the potential to become world champion himself, Torre suffered a nervous breakdown, returned to his native Yucatan, took an ill-paid job in a drug store, and never played again till his death.
His tragic plight is expertly chronicled by Gabriel Valasco in an engrossing, recent new book from Russell Enterprises, entitled "The Life and Games of Carlos Torre" - (UK)19.00, available from Chess Suppliers (Scotland) 0141-248-2887. A superb tribute to one of the true enigmas of the chess world, this 298-page book has been more than 20 years in the writing - but well worth the effort.
In memory of Mexico's finest, each December in his home state of Merida, they have established a memorial tournament in his honour; the latest being the XIII Carlos Torre Memorial (15-22 Dec), won by Russia's Valerij Filippov with a winning score of 7/9.
V Filippov - A Miles
Carlos Torre Memorial (7), Chigorin Defence
1 Nf3 d5 2 d4 Nc6 3 c4 Bg4 4 cxd5 Bxf3 5 gxf3 Qxd5 6 e3 e6 7 Nc3 Qh5 8 Bg2 0-0-0 9 f4 Qxd1+ 10 Kxd1 Nce7 11 Ke2 Nf6 12 Bd2 Nf5 13 Rhc1 Kb8 14 b4 h6 15 Nb5 c6 16 Na3 g5 17 Nc4 gxf4 18 b5 fxe3 19 fxe3 Rg8 20 Bf3 cxb5 21 Rab1 Nd5 22 Rxb5 Nd6 23 Nxd6 Bxd6 24 e4 Nc7 25 Rh5 e5 26 dxe5 Ba3 27 Rc2 Ne6 28 Be3 Rc8 29 Rxc8+ Rxc8 30 Rxh6 Bb2 31 Bh5 Rc2+ 32 Kd3 Rxh2 33 Bxf7 Rxh6 34 Bxh6 Nd8 35 e6 Ba3 36 Kc4 Nc6 37 Bf4+ Kc8 38 Be8 Ne7 39 Bd7+ Kd8 40 Be3 Ng6 41 Ba4 a6 42 Bb6+ Kc8 43 Kd5 Kb8 44 Be8 Ne7+ 45 Ke5 Bb2+ 46 Kf4 Bf6 47 Bd7 Bh4 48 Kg4 Bf6 49 Bd8 1-0
ONCE, on a tourist trip to the City of York, I discovered in the local museum that there's still in existence an ancient bylaw that legally allows you to shoot a Scotsman within the confines of the city centre with a bow and arrow on a Sunday afternoon.
In reality, this may have been the only way the competitors might have stood a chance in stopping the run of Jonathan Rowson in the main event of the pre-Christmas York Vikings Chess Festival, held at the Lady Anne Middleton's Hotel.
The lowest rated amongst a top class field that included the reigning British champion Julian Hodgson, the Swedish duo of Jonny Hector and Tiger Hillarp Persson, Uzbekistan's Alexei Barsov and England's Peter Wells, Rowson, the Scottish No.1, returned to top form after his poor Olympiad performance to take outright first place in the double-round category VIII Grandmaster "A" tournament, with an unbeaten score of 7/10.
Top UK chess organiser Adam Raoof yet again excelled with two other lesser international tournaments also taking place during the Festival that ran from December 13-22. IM Mark Heidenfeld, from Ireland, won the Grandmaster "B" tournament with a score of 5.5/9 - a half point ahead of English GMs Aaron Summerscale and Keith Arkell, and IMs Karl Van der Weide (Ned) and Danny Gormally. IM Jeroen Bosch (Ned) and FM Richard Palliser (Eng) jointly won the IM event, with the 19-year-old Englishman achieving an IM norm.
GM "A" - 1 GM J Rowson (Scotland) 7/10; 2 GM J Hodgson (England) 6.5; 3-5 GM J Hector (Sweden), GM A Barsov (Uzbekistan), GM P Wells (England) 4.5; 6 GM T Hillarp Persson (Sweden) 3.
P Wells - J Rowson
2nd York Vikings (10), Nimzo-Indian Defence
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 Nf3 b6 5 Bg5 h6 6 Bh4 Bb7 7 Nd2 Be7 8 e4 Nxe4 9 Bxe7 Nxc3 10 Qf3 Qc8 11 Qxc3 Kxe7 12 d5 Kf8 13 0-0-0 d6 14 Ne4 Nd7 15 f4 Qd8 16 Be2 Nf6 17 Ng3 exd5 18 Bf3 c5 19 Bxd5 Bxd5 20 cxd5 Qd7 21 Rhe1 Re8 22 Kb1 h5 23 Qd3 h4 24 Rxe8+ Kxe8 25 Nf5 Kf8 26 Re1 Rh5 27 Ne7 Ng8 28 Nc6 Qf5 29 Qxf5 Rxf5 30 Nxa7 Rxd5 31 Nc8 Nf6 32 Nxb6 Rd4 33 g3 h3 34 Kc2 Rb4 35 Nc8 Rc4+ 36 Kb3 Rb4+ 37 Kc2 d5 38 Nd6 g6 39 b3 Rb6 40 Nc8 Rc6 41 Ne7 Rc7 0-1
CHRISTMAS came early for Vishy Anand after a third successive win over Alexei Shirov in their Fide World Championship match in Tehran allowed the Indian ace to lift the title on Christmas Eve - three days earlier than scheduled.
Needing a victory to get himself back into the short, six-game match, Shirov gambled all with a do-or-die series of sacrifices, which drastically backfired when he erred by opting to keep the queen's on the board when exchanging would have caused serious problems for Anand.
Having missed two opportunities to win the world title in 1995 and 1998 (against Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov), it proved to be third-time lucky for Anand, who made no mistake this time as he came through, undefeated, to win the month-long gruelling tournament to be crowned the 15th World Champion (not to mention the little matter of the winners cheque of $660,000!). "I don't think it will hit me for a day or two," said an elated Anand after winning the decisive game to take the match 3.5-0.5. "I'm at a loss for words - but it feels fantastic."
The chess world has had two world champions since Kasparov's acrimonious fallout with the world chess federation, Fide, in 1993. Following his win, Anand declined to comment on the mounting speculation in the chess world that both he and Vladimir Kramnik, who beat Kasparov in the Brain Games Network world championship, are set to play a unification match next year.
V Anand - A Shirov
FIDE World Ch Final (4), French Defence
1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 e5 Nfd7 5 Nce2 c5 6 f4 Nc6 7 c3 Qb6 8 Nf3 f6 9 a3 Be7 10 h4 0-0 11 Rh3 a5 12 b3 Qc7 13 Neg1 a4 14 b4 fxe5 15 fxe5 Ndxe5 16 dxe5 Nxe5 17 Nxe5 Qxe5+ 18 Qe2 Bxh4+ 19 Kd1 Qf6? (19 ..Qxe2! 20 Bxe2 Bf2 and Black has good chances) 20 Nf3 Qxc3 21 Bb2 Qb3+ 22 Kc1 e5 23 Rxh4 Bf5 24 Qd1 e4 25 Qxb3 axb3 26 Nd2 e3 27 Nf3 Rae8 28 Kd1! c4 29 Be2 Be4 30 Kc1 Re6 31 Bc3 Rg6 32 Rh2 Bd3 33 Bxd3 cxd3 34 Kb2 d2 35 Kxb3 Rg3 36 Kb2 g5 37 Kc2 Rc8 38 Kd3 g4 39 Be5 Rc1 40 Rh1 Rxg2 41 Nh4 1-0
HOT favourite Vishy Anand moved closer to adding the World Championship title to that of World Blitz and World Cup winner to his name after he defeated Alexei Shirov in the second game of their $1m FIDE showdown in the Iranian capital of Tehran, to go one up with four games to play.
Clearly a player that likes collecting titles with the word "World" in them, it may not be long before the Indian ace gets his chance to add another to the list should he win in Tehran.
Speaking on the eve of the final, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov raised the stakes in the possibility of a reconciliation match when he announced that a "world prestige match" between the winner in Tehran and Garry Kasparov's nemesis, Vladimir Kramnik, was now high on the agenda for FIDE.
In what looks like a "done deal" with Kramnik (and possibly Brain Games), Ilyumzhinov, no stranger himself to big-time chess sponsorship, heavily hinted to the press that FIDE could easily raise the money needed (probably $2-3m) for such a high-profile contest that would further raise the profile of the governing body - even going as far as suggesting July 2001 as the most likely date for such a match.
V Anand - A Shirov
FIDE World Ch. Final (2), Ruy Lopez Archangel
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 Bc5 6 c3 b5 7 Bc2 d5 8 a4 dxe4 9 axb5 Bg4 10 Bxe4 Nxe4 11 bxc6 0-0 12 d4 exd4 13 cxd4 Bb6 14 Nc3 Re8 15 Be3 Qd6 16 d5 Bxe3 17 fxe3 Rad8 18 Rxa6 Nxc3 19 bxc3 Qxd5 20 Qxd5 Rxd5 21 Nd4 g6 22 Rf4 Bf5 23 Ra7 Rxe3 24 c4 Rc5 25 Rxc7 Re4 26 Rxe4 Bxe4 27 Re7 Bf5 28 c7 Kf8 29 Nxf5 gxf5 30 Rd7 Kg7 31 Rd4 Rxc7 32 Kf2 Kf6 33 Ke3 Ke6 34 g3 f6 35 Kd3 Ra7 36 Kc3 Ke5 37 Rh4 Rb7 38 Rf4 Rb1 39 Rf2 Rc1+ 40 Kb4 Ke6 41 Kb5 Kd6 42 Rxf5 Rb1+ 43 Ka4 Rb2 44 Rxf6+ Kc5 45 Rh6 Kxc4 46 Rh4+ Kd5 47 Rxh7 Ke5 48 Ka3 Rb8 49 Rh5+ Kf6 50 Rh4 Kg5 51 Rb4 Rh8 52 h4+ Kh5 53 Rb5+ Kh6 54 g4 Re8 55 Rb4 Kg6 56 Rb6+ Kf7 57 Rb7+ Ke6 58 Rh7 Rb8 59 g5 Kf5 60 Rh6 Ke5 61 h5 Kf5 62 g6 Kf6 63 Rh7 Rg8 64 Kb3 1-0
CHESS is finally coming home as the Mother of all battles got underway yesterday in the Iranian capital of Tehran, with Vishy Anand and Alexei Shirov drawing game one of their $1m, six-game match for the Fide World Knockout Championship - the first major modern chess event to be held in Iran.
The game has had a chequered history in Iran, which - along with China and India - can lay claims to the games origin nearly 2,000 years ago. Historians say there is more textual evidence to back up Iran's claim to have invented chess. Also, perhaps the most famous word in the game, 'checkmate' (literal meaning 'the king is dead'), is believed to be Farsi in origin.
However, despite this promising start, in recent years chess hasn't been all that popular with the strict Islamic traditions imposed by the religious extremists in the country. In 1979, after the Islamic revolution, a fatwa was imposed on the game when it was banned under the reign of Ayatollah Khomeini - on the grounds that it was a form of gambling, and the regal aspect of hunting the king also striking a wrong note.
It was only after the election in 1997 of their more liberal-minded president, Ayatollah Khatami that chess could once again be played in Iran. And, despite some conservative hardliners still imposing the fatwa -It was reported only a few months ago in a local newspaper that public chessboards were removed and ceremonially burned in the city of Kashan - there is a huge new generation of young players in Iran who are embracing the game with enthusiasm; the most notable being Atusapourkashi, the reigning girls' world under-12 champion.
A Shirov - V Anand
Fide World KO Final (1), French Defence
1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 e5 c5 4 c3 Nc6 5 Nf3 Qb6 6 a3 a5 7 Bd3 Bd7 8 0-0 cxd4 9 cxd4 Nxd4 10 Nxd4 Qxd4 11 Nc3 Qb6 12 Qg4 g6 13 Be3 Bc5 14 Na4 Bxa4 15 Qxa4+ Kf8 16 Bxc5+ Qxc5 17 Rac1 Qb6 18 Qd7 Rd8 19 Qc7 Qxc7 20 Rxc7 Rb8 21 Rfc1 Ne7 22 f4 Nc6 23 Rc5 Kg7 24 Rb5 g5 25 g3 h5 26 Rbxb7 Rxb7 27 Rxb7 h4 28 Kg2 hxg3 29 hxg3 gxf4 30 gxf4 Rh4 31 Kg3 Rh1 32 Kg2 Rh4 33 Kg3 Rh1 34 Kg2 Rh4 draw
THE King of the weekend Swiss's, Leicestershire's GM Mark Hebden, has once again regained his crown after winning the (UK)5,000 Terence Chapman Group Grand Prix, the UK-wide league for congress players.
Hebden, whose final tally in the competition was 193.01/200, gained a decisive lead over his rivals when his 2700-rated first prize in the Monarch Assurance Open in the Isle of Man counted a maximum 40/40. Despite a vain effort to close the gap on Hebden, runners-up GMs Julian Hodgson and Aaron Summerscale lost ground by dropping vital points at Leeds, Preston and Nuneaton.
This is Hebden's fifth Grand Prix win, and he now holds the record for the most number of wins in the annual competition that has been running since 1974. He leads the all-time GP list, ahead of Michael Adams and Tony Miles with four, and Keith Arkell, Julian Hodgson, John Nunn, Jim Plaskett, Dave Rumens with two.
More than 10,000 UK congress players compete in the annual Grand Prix circuit - which is administered by the British Chess Federation - and includes almost all British Isles congresses, from grandmaster tournaments to one-day rapidplays. Women and girls, juniors, disabled players, over-60 seniors, congress organisers and amateurs all have their own competitions.
Grand Prix sponsor Terence Chapman Group have also announced a big increasing in prizes for the 2001 season - especially at the grassroots. Awards in the popular Amateur Prix for grading-limited tournaments have been raised by 67% and there is also a new Amateur Prixette for women.
The Terence Chapman Group provides IT consultancy and software solution services to the financial sector. It's chairman, Terence Chapman, 44, is the strongest chessplayer ever to head a UK public company. Next April he'll be playing a four-game match in London against ex-world champion Garry Kasparov, who will give odds of time and two pawns.
Other Grand Prix winners: Prixette, Sarah Hegarty; Junior Prix, IM Simon Williams; Amateur Prix, Stephen Williams; Disabled Prix, Graham Lilley; Senior Prix, FM Michael Franklin.
P Kiriakov - M Hebden
Monarch Assurance Open (6), King's Indian Defence
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 Bg7 4 e4 d6 5 Nf3 0-0 6 Be2 e5 7 0-0 Nc6 8 d5 Ne7 9 Ne1 Nd7 10 Be3 f5 11 f3 f4 12 Bf2 g5 13 a4 Rf6 14 a5 a6 15 Nd3 Rh6 16 Be1 Qe8 17 Nf2 Kh8 18 Na4 Ng8 19 Rc1 Bf8 20 b4 Ndf6 21 b5 Bd7 22 Nb2 Rg6 23 b6 cxb6 24 axb6 Rc8 25 g4 fxg3 26 hxg3 g4 27 fxg4 Nh6 28 Rc3 Nhxg4 29 Nxg4 Nxg4 30 Rcf3 Bg7 31 Rb3 Qe7 32 Bd2 Rg8 33 Qe1 Nf6 34 Bd1 Bh6 35 Bxh6 Rxh6 36 Bf3 Bh3 37 Bg2 Qg7 38 Nd1 Ng4 39 Nf2 Bxg2 40 Nxg4 Qxg4 41 Kxg2 Qh3+ 42 Kf2 Qh2+ 0-1
AS the governing body of world chess Fide strive for the game to be accepted by the International Olympic Committee as a sport, they find themselves looking to comply more and more with IOC guidelines to curry favour.
Now there's speculation that Fide are seriously investigating the possibility of banning female players from competing alongside male players in tournaments they have control of - such as the Olympiad and their world knockout championship - in much the same vein as the IOC prevent females from competing alongside male athletes.
Hungary's Judit Polgar - the strongest of one of three chess-playing sisters - would be the main casualty of such a piece of legislation. The highest-ever rated female player in the game, she proved it was possible for a woman to compete at the very top by never competing in the weaker female game. Playing on board three in the men's team in the recent Olympiad, she was their star performer with a score of 10/13 - the second highest points total of any player in the men's Olympiad.
Running concurrently with the men's world knockout championship in New Delhi, Fide also organised the women's world championship, which again was dominated by China who rule the women's game in the absence of the youngest of the Polgar siblings.
Defending champion Xie Jun retained her title with a 2.5-1.5 victory over compatriot Qin Kanying, who didn't even make it into China's gold-medal-winning women's team at the recent Istanbul Olympiad.
Picking up her fourth women's title since defeating Maia Chiburdandze in 1991, Xie has been at the top of the women's game for nearly a decade now, though she would have little chance if she came up against Judit Polgar. In 1996, Xie lost her title to Judit's sister, Zsuza, but controversially Polgar was stripped of the title following a dispute with Fide over the timing and venue of her defence; a legal action for which is still pending in Lausanne against the governing body.
Xie Jun - Qin Kanying
FIDE Women's KO WCh. (6.1), Open Ruy Lopez
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 Nxe4 6 d4 b5 7 Bb3 d5 8 dxe5 Be6 9 Nbd2 Nc5 10 c3 Be7 11 Bc2 d4 12 Ne4 d3 13 Nxc5 dxc2 14 Qxd8+ Rxd8 15 Nxe6 fxe6 16 Be3 Rd5 17 c4 bxc4 18 Rac1 Bc5 19 Rxc2 Bxe3 20 fxe3 Rc5 21 Ng5 Nd8 22 Rd2 Rd5 23 Rfd1 Rxd2 24 Rxd2 c3 25 bxc3 Ke7 26 Rd4 Nc6 27 Rf4 Nxe5 28 Re4 Kf6 29 Rxe5 Kxe5 30 Nf7+ Kf6 31 Nxh8 g5 32 Kf2 Kg7 33 e4 Kxh8 34 Ke3 Kg7 35 g4 Kf6 36 Kd4 Ke7 37 e5 Kd7 38 Kc5 a5 39 Kb5 a4 40 a3 h6 41 h3 1-0
THE final of the Fide world knockout championship in Tehran looks like being a Christmas cracker with the meeting of Vishy Anand and Alexei Shirov in a $1.5m showdown in Tehran - either of which a credible opponent for Vladimir Kramnik in the event of any possible reconciliation match.
Anand was the first to qualify for the six game final when he easily defeated Michael Adams, the British No.1, 2.5-1.5 in a sombre semi-final in New Delhi that didn't exactly live up to its pre-match expectations.
If the first semi-final turned out to be a damp squib, the second semi-final, between the highly experienced Latvian firebrand Alexei Shirov and the exciting young 17-year-old Russian whiz kid Alexander Grischuk, certainly produced its fair share of fireworks to more than compensate. After equalising the match at 1-1, Grischuk, who went further than any other under-18 in world championship history, could consider himself unlucky not to have gone through instead of Shirov.
After being bamboozled by a typical piece of Shirov magic in game three, Grischuk missed a repetition and went on to lose, and, while in a do-or-die situation in game four, was winning but unfortunately made an error to allow Shirov a repetition to win the match 2.5-1.5.
A Shirov - A Grischuk
FIDE KO WCh. (6.3), Ruy Lopez
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 Be7 6 Re1 b5 7 Bb3 d6 8 c3 0-0 9 h3 Na5 10 Bc2 c5 11 d4 Bb7 12 d5 Nc4 13 a4 Nb6 14 Qe2 Nxa4 15 Bxa4 bxa4 16 c4 Nd7 17 Rxa4 Nb6 18 Ra3 a5 19 Nc3 a4 20 Be3 Bc8 21 b3 axb3 22 Rxb3 Ra6 23 Reb1 f5 24 Bxc5! dxc5 25 Nxe5 Na4 26 Nxa4 Rxa4 27 Nc6 Qc7 28 e5 Ra6 29 Qf3 f4 30 Re1 Bf5 31 Rb5 Bc2 32 Rb2 Bg6 33 Rd2 Be8 34 Nxe7+ Qxe7 35 d6 Qe6 36 Qb7 Bc6 37 Qxa6 Bxg2 38 f3 Bxf3 39 Kh2 Bg4 40 Qb7 Qh6 41 Qd5+ Rf7 42 Kg1 Qxh3 43 Qg2 Qh4 44 Rf2 f3? (44 ..Bh3! 45 Qa8+ Rf8 46 Qd5+ Kh8 47 Qf3 Qg5+ 48 Kh2 Qh4 49 Kg1=) 45 e6 Rf8 46 e7 Re8 47 d7 Bxd7 48 Qxf3 Qg5+ 49 Kf1 1-0
SHETTLESTON Chess Club from the east end of Glasgow continued to reinforce their credentials as the quickest club in the country by again lifting the Scottish Team Lightning title held at Grangemouth Sports Centre last Sunday.
Despite speculation that their hegemony of speed kings could be in jeopardy this year from a determined challenge from the likes of Edinburgh, Wandering Dragons and Cathcart, Shettleston once again rose to the challenge by regaining their title - for a phenomenal seventeenth time in the last twenty-two years.
For the winners, the top boards of IMs Douglas Bryson and Andrew Muir equalled their individual performances of the past two years, both scoring 11.5/13. On board three Graeme Nolan scored 11/13, whilst club stalwart Jim Doyle - who's now played in all seventeen Shettleston victories - scored 10/13 on board four.
For the runners-up, Edinburgh, Graham Morrison had 9/13, Neil Berry 10.5, Graham Kafka 9.5 and Obay Ali, who was the overall top performer in the tournament, scored 12. The annual pre-Christmas tournament, organised by the SCA, was sponsored by Everyman Publishers and Chess Suppliers (Scotland).
Final A: 1 Shettleston A 30; 2 Edinburgh A 26; 3 Wandering Dragons
A 26; 4 Cathcart A 24; 5 Edinburgh West A 19; 6 Phones A 15.5; 7 Shettleston
B 12.5; 8 Glasgow Montrose A 12; 9 Wandering Dragons B 12; 10 Edinburgh B
2.5.
Final B: 1 Edinburgh West B; Final C: 1 Bankton A.
S Mannion - A Muir
Scottish Team Lightning, Sicilian Richter-Rauzer
1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 d6 6 Bg5 e6 7 Qd2 Be7 8 0-0-0 Nxd4 9 Qxd4 0-0 10 f3 a6 11 h4 Qa5 12 Bd2 Qc7 13 h5 b5 14 h6 g6 15 g4 e5 16 Qd3 b4 17 Nd5 Nxd5 18 exd5 a5 19 Kb1 Ba6 20 Qe4 Bxf1 21 Rhxf1 Rfc8 22 f4 Qc4 23 Rde1 Bf6 24 g5 Bh8 25 f5 Qxe4 26 Rxe4 gxf5 27 Rxf5 Rc5 28 c4 bxc3 29 Bxc3 Rxd5 30 Rc4 Rd1+ 31 Kc2 Rg1 32 Rc7 Rf8 33 Bxa5 Rg2+ 34 Kc1 e4 35 Re7 Bxb2+ 36 Kd1 Be5 37 Bc7 Rxa2 38 Rd7 Ra7 39 Ke2 Bd4! 40 Rf4 Bb6 41 Rfxf7 Rxf7 42 Rd8+ Rf8 43 Rxf8+ Kxf8 44 Bxb6 Rf7 45 Ke3 d5 0-1
SPEAKING in New Delhi just before the start of the semi-finals of the Fide World KO Championship, Alexei Shirov's second, GM Jordi Magem, was asked if it was difficult for them to prepare against young Alexander Grischuk?
"Yes, he is very young...he's very strong", replied Magem, who added, "I compare him with Bobby Fischer." Whilst it is statistically true that 17-year-old Grischuk has progressed further in a world title event than any other teenager, in reality, it's unfair to make a comparison with Fischer's youthful feats in the 1959 Candidates Tournament, held in the three cities of Bled, Zagreb and Belgrade that thrust the young American genius onto the world stage.
Then aged just 16, Fischer faced a much more daunting task than Grischuk in his quadruple all-play-all event that decided who would be Mikhail Botvinnik's challenger. Scoring 12.5/28, Fischer came fifth behind titans of the game such as Tal (who went on to beat Botvinnik in 1960 to become world champion), Keres, Petrosian, and Smyslov, and ahead of Gligoric, Olafsson and Benko.
After losing the first of his four game match against Shirov, it was thought that taking on such a strong player would be too much for Grischuk - even Shirov himself speculated beforehand that the match might not last four games. However, Grischuk silenced the critics, and the Shirov team, when he immediately struck back in game two to equalise the score - A result that leaves the door open for the young Muscovite to progress to the final - and an outside chance of laying claims to Garry Kasparov's title of youngest player to become world champion.
Playing the English Attack against the Sicilian Scheveningen, which he has a wonderful record of 10.5/11 with, Grischuk went for the jugular with an assault against Shirov's kingside. In a difficult position, it turned out to be the experienced Shirov who crumbled first with the blunder of 28 ..Rf4??, where instead 28 ..hxg6 29 Qg4 Rf6 30 e5 Rf5 31 Qg6 Rxe5 32 Rg1 Bg5!, Black was better.
In the second semi-final, local hero Vishy Anand, the hot favourite to win the title, moved majestically closer to the finals in Tehran after a comfortable win in game two over England's Michael Adams.
A Grischuk - A Shirov
FIDE KO WCh. (6.2), Sicilian English Attack
1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 f3 Qb6 7 Nb3 Nc6 8 Qe2 e6 9 Be3 Qc7 10 g4 b5 11 0-0-0 Bb7 12 h4 Rc8 13 Kb1 Nd7 14 Rg1 Nce5 15 Qf2 b4 16 Na4 Nxf3 17 Qxf3 Qc6 18 Nac5 Nxc5 19 Bxc5 dxc5 20 Na5 Qc7 21 Nxb7 Qxb7 22 Bc4 Be7 23 Qe2 Qc6 24 g5 0-0 25 h5 Rcd8 26 g6 Rxd1+ 27 Rxd1 fxg6 28 hxg6 Rf4 29 Qh2 1-0
PROPHETIC words indeed, but last year the legendary Russian chess editor of '64-Review', Alexander Roshal, informed your correspondent: "Alexander Grischuk was the one to watch for the future."
Much like Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik before him, he's another Russian who's become the leading player of his generation, with genuine designs on the laurel leafs of the world championship.
This year has proved to be the big breakthrough for the young 17-year-old Muscovite as he moved onto the world stage. After strong showings in the New York Open, Reykjavik Open and North Sea Cup, he went on to big wins at the Lausanne Yong Masters, Chigorin Memorial and the Torshavn International. Not content with that, he more than played his part in Russia winning the recent Chess Olympiad in Istanbul.
Now playing 'down among the big boys' in the Fide KO world championship in New Delhi for the biggest payday the youngster has ever seen (a guaranteed $172,000 - serious pocket-money!), he has the unfortunate task of having to beat his hero Alexei Shirov in a four-game match for a chance of immortality and a place in the final in Tehran.
However, it looks suspiciously as though Grischuk's marvellous run in the tournament could be at an end after Shirov crushed him in the first game. It was a much more cautious affair in the second semi-final when those two old hands, Vishy Anand and Michael Adams, played out a tough draw.
A Shirov - A Grischuk
FIDE KO WCh. (6.1), Ruy Lopez
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 Nf6 4 0-0 Bc5 5 Nxe5 Nxe4 6 Qe2 Nxe5 7 d4 Be7 8 Qxe4 Ng6 9 f4 c6 10 Bd3 d5 11 Qe2 f5 12 Nd2 0-0 13 Nf3 Nh8 14 Bd2 a5 15 c4 Nf7 16 cxd5 cxd5 17 Rac1 Bf6 18 b4 a4 19 b5 Re8 20 Ne5 Nd6 21 Bb4 Ne4 22 Bxe4 dxe4 23 Rfd1 Be6 24 d5 Bd7 25 Nc6 Qc8 26 Ne7+ Bxe7 27 Rxc8 Raxc8 28 Bxe7 Rxe7 29 d6 Rf7 30 Rd5 Rc1+ 31 Kf2 Rf8 32 Re5 Rfc8 33 Re7 R1c2 34 Rxd7 Rxe2+ 35 Kxe2 b6 36 Rb7 Rc2+ 37 Ke3 Rc3+ 38 Kd4 Rd3+ 39 Ke5 e3 40 Ke6 h6 41 Re7 Rd4 42 Kd7 Re4 43 Rxe4 fxe4 44 Ke7 (44 .. e2 45 d7 e1Q 46 d8Q+ Kh7 47 Kf7! mates) 1-0
IT proved to be the ideal 31st birthday present for Vishy Anand as he celebrated in style during the FIDE World Knockout Championships in New Delhi, when, after a close quarterfinal victory over defending champion Alexander Khalifman, the Indian ace won through to the semifinals of the competition in his homeland.
With both normal time control games being drawn, Anand, the No.1 seed, found himself under pressure for the first time in New Delhi when he had to defend accurately in his psychological dual with Khalifman in the playoff games. After a tame draw in the first playoff game, and Khalifman nearly converting an advantage in the second game, Anand won through after outplaying the defending champion in a crucial piece sacrifice line in the Slav Defence.
Anand now meets the British No.1 Michael Adams in the semifinal, after Adams easily overpowered Bulgaria's Veselin Topalov. Now with a guaranteed pay-day of $172,000 in his match against Anand, the mega-bucks Fide competition has become something of a Christmas bonus for the young Cornishman as he reaches his third successive semifinal (Groningen 1997 and Las Vegas 1999).
And, with the Latvian maestro Alexei Shirov coming from behind to defeat Russia's Evgent Bareev, the tournament is now on course for the Fide "dream final" of Anand vs Shirov. In the second semifinal match, a determined 17-year old stands in the way of Shirov reaching the final as he comes face to face with the young Russian whiz kid Alexander Grischuk, who defeated Vladislav Tkachiev to reach the final four.
Quarterfinals:
Anand 3.5-2.5 Khalifman
Adams 1.5-.05 Topalov
Grischuk 2.5-1.5 Tkachiev
Bareev 1.5-2.5 Shirov.
V Anand - A Khalifman
FIDE KO WCh. (5.5), Slav Defence
1 Nf3 Nf6 2 c4 c6 3 Nc3 d5 4 d4 dxc4 5 a4 Bf5 6 Ne5 e6 7 f3 Bb4 8 e4 Bxe4 9 fxe4 Nxe4 10 Bd2 Qxd4 11 Nxe4 Qxe4+ 12 Qe2 Bxd2+ 13 Kxd2 Qd5+ 14 Kc2 Na6 15 Nxc4 0-0 16 Qe5 Rab8 17 a5 f6 18 Qxd5 cxd5 19 Ne3 Rbc8+ 20 Kb1 Nc5 21 Ra3 f5 22 Be2 Ne4 23 Rd1 Rc7 24 Nc2 Kf7 25 Nd4 Nd6 26 a6 b6 27 Re3 Re8 28 Re1 Ne4 29 Nb5 Rd7 30 Rc1 Nc5 31 Nd4 Ra8 32 b4 Ne4 33 Bb5 Rd6 34 Rc7+ Kf6 35 Bc6 Rf8 36 Nb5 Rdd8 37 Rxa7 Nd2+ 38 Kc1 Nc4 39 Re2 Ne5 40 Rc7 Rc8 41 Bb7 1-0
THE organisers of the Fide World Knockout Championship must have had a collective sigh of relief as they witnessed the Israeli No.1, Boris Gelfand, being knocked out of the competition by Alexei Shirov.
With all the action due to move from New Delhi to Tehran for the finals - which start on December 20 - the only stipulation that Iran placed on Fide (who incredulously agreed) was that none of the finalists should hold an Israeli passport; if there was, new funding and a venue would have to be found at short notice as the Iranian government would have cancelled the event. Well, so much for Fide's motto "gens una sumas" (We are one family) - they should never have considered organising a showpiece final with such a ridiculous demand.
With the destination of the final now assured, the players can now get down to business as usual as the competition reaches the lucrative quarterfinal stages - the losers guaranteed $86,000.
One player whose being quietly going about his business in New Delhi with his usual aplomb is the British No.1, Mickey Adams. After defeating Bulgaria's Veselin Topalov in the first game of their quarterfinal match, Adams, who got to the semifinals in 1997 and 1999, now looks set to reach the semifinal stages for the third time.
However, the big shock of the round was Evgeny Bareev comprehensively outplaying one of the favourites for the title, Alexei Shirov. Just as Garry Kasparov tried to catch out Vladimir Kramnik with the Queen's Gambit Accepted, Shirov tried likewise when he adopted the QGA for the first time...against Kramnik's second, Bareev!
Quarterfinals
Anand (India) 0.5-0.5 Khalifman (Russia)
Adams (England) 1-0 Topalov (Bulgaria)
Grischuk (Russia) 0.5-0.5 Tckachiev (France)
Bareev (Russia) 1-0 Shirov (Spain)
E Bareev - A Shirov
FIDE KO WCh. (5.1), Queen's Gambit Accepted
1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 c4 dxc4 4 e3 e6 5 Bxc4 c5 6 0-0 a6 7 dxc5 Qxd1 8 Rxd1 Bxc5 9 Nbd2 b6 10 Be2 Bb7 11 Nc4 Nbd7 12 Nd4 0-0 13 Nb3 Be7 14 f3 a5 15 e4 a4 16 Nd4 Bc5 17 Be3 Rfd8 18 Kf2 Kf8 19 Nb5 Ke7 20 Bxc5+ bxc5 21 Nc3 Ba6 22 Rac1 Bxc4 23 Bxc4 Ne5 24 Be2 Rdb8 25 Rd2 g5 26 g3 c4 27 Ke3 a3 28 Rb1 axb2 29 Rbxb2 Rxb2 30 Rxb2 Ra3 31 Rb7+ Kd6 32 Kd2 Kc5 33 f4 gxf4 34 gxf4 Rxc3 35 Kxc3 Nxe4+ 36 Kb2 Nc6 37 Rxf7 c3+ 38 Kc1 Nb4 39 Rc7+ Kd5 40 a3 Nc6 41 Bf3 1-0
ANOTHER round, and yet again another top seed bits the dust in the $3 million Fide World Knockout Championship in New Delhi, as the remaining contestants battle it out for a lucrative place in the last eight of the competition.
The first player to qualify for the quarterfinals was the tournament hot favourite and local hero, India's Vishy Anand, who finally ended the brave giant-killing run of Poland's Barlomiej Macieja with a comfortable 1.5-0.5 victory.
The stage is now all set for the crunch encounter of the quarterfinal pairings, as Anand will come up against the defending champion Alexander Khalifman, who also made easy work of another big outsider in round four, Brazil's Rafal Leitao.
However, the shock of the round was the early exit of second seed Alexander Morozevich, from Russia, who lost out to the 40-1 outsider Vladislav Tkachiev, who will go forward to meet the winner of the Ehlvest-Grischuk play-off match.
With the Anand, Khalifman and Tkachiev matches being the only three decisive results of the fourth round, the rest of the competitors have to prepare themselves for an extra nerve-wracking round of play-off games.
Macieja 0.5-1.5 Anand
Leitao 0.5-1.5 Khalifman
Svidler 1-1 Adams (Play-off)
Dreev 1-1 Topalov (Play-off)
Morozevich 0.5-1.5 Tkachiev
Ehlvest 1-1 Grischuk (Play-off)
Shirov 1-1 Gelfand (Play-off)
Bareev 1-1 Gulko (Play-off)
V Anand - B Macieja
FIDE KO WCh. (4.2), Caro-Kann Defence
1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 dxe4 4 Nxe4 Nd7 5 Bc4 Ngf6 6 Ng5 e6 7 Qe2 Nb6 8 Bb3 h6 9 N5f3 a5 10 a4 c5 11 Bf4 Bd6 12 Ne5 0-0 13 Ngf3 Nbd5 14 Bg3 Qc7 15 dxc5 Qxc5 16 0-0 b6 17 Rfd1 Ba6 18 c4 Rad8 19 Nd4 Bxe5 20 Bxe5 Nb4 21 Nb5 Bxb5 22 cxb5 Rxd1+ 23 Rxd1 Rc8 24 Bxf6 gxf6 25 Bxe6!! fxe6 26 Qxe6+ Kh8 27 Qxf6+ Kg8 28 Qe6+ Kh8 29 Qxh6+ Kg8 30 Qe6+ Kh8 31 h3 Rf8 32 Qh6+ Kg8 33 Qg6+ Kh8 34 Qg3 Qc2 (Black is helpless: 34 ..Re8 35 Rd6 Qh5 36 Rxb6 Nd5 37 Rb7 Rg8 38 Rb8; 34 ..Qf5 35 Rd4 Rf7 36 Rh4+ Rh7 37 Qb8+ Kg7 38 Rg4+) 35 Rd4 1-0
DUE to the lottery-like conditions of the FIDE Knockout Championship, the event always throws up an unlikely hero - or "tourists" as Garry Kasparov cruelly called them.
Last year it was the relatively unknown Romanian Dieter-Liviu Nisipeanu who came within a whisker of playing in the final. This year in New Delhi, it looks as if the top "tourist" award is going to the even more unknown Bartlomiej Macieja from Poland.
After felling top players Jon Speelman and Michal Krasenkow in rounds one and two, Macieja has struck again in round three with a big play-off win over Alexander Beliavsky. Now guaranteed a big payday with a place in the fourth round, Macieja has got nothing to lose as he faces (a more worried) top seed, India's Vishy Anand.
Revenge must have been sweet for Alexander Khalifman over the number five seed Peter Leko, who routed him in a six-game match earlier in the year 4.5-1.5. Despite being the defending champion, Khalifman, seeded 21st, wasn't fancied to retain his title but now moves on after beating Leko 3-2 after five play-off games.
Round 4 pairings:
Macieja vs Anand
Khalifman vs Leitao
Adams vs Svidler
Dreev vs Topalov
Morozevitch vs Tkachiev
Ehlvest vs Grischuk
Shirov vs Gelfand
Bareev vs Gulko
A Khalifman - P Leko
FIDE KO WCh., (3.8), Petroff's Defence
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 Nxe5 d6 4 Nf3 Nxe4 5 d4 d5 6 Bd3 Bd6 7 0-0 0-0 8 c4 c6 9 cxd5 cxd5 10 Nc3 Nxc3 11 bxc3 Bg4 12 Rb1 Nd7 13 h3 Bh5 14 Rb5 Nb6 15 c4 Bxf3 16 Qxf3 dxc4 17 Bc2 Qd7 18 a4 Rfe8 19 Be3 Rad8 20 Rfb1 Bc7 21 Be4 Nxa4 22 Rd5 Bd6 23 Rh5 g6 24 Rxb7 Bc7 25 Rd5 Qc8 26 Rxd8 Rxd8 27 Bd5 Rd7 28 Qf6 Qd8 29 Qxd8+ Rxd8 30 Bc6 Bb6 31 Bxa4 Bxd4 32 Bxd4 Rxd4 33 Rxa7 c3 34 Bb3 Rb4 35 Ra3 Kg7 36 Kf1 f5 37 Bc2 Rc4 38 Ke2 Kf6 39 Kd3 Rf4 40 f3 Kg5 41 Ke3 Rc4 42 Ra4 f4+ 43 Kf2 Rxa4 44 Bxa4 Kh4 45 Bc2 Kg5 46 g3 fxg3+ 47 Kxg3 Kh5 48 f4 Kh6 49 Kg4 Kg7 50 h4 h6 51 Kf3 Kf7 52 Ke4 Kf6 53 Kd4 g5 54 hxg5+ hxg5 55 f5 g4 56 Ke4 1-0
ROUND by round, the 100-player field at the Fide World Knockout Championship in New Delhi gets whittled down as the contestants battle it out for the $3 million final to be played in Tehran, or perhaps even Russia, depending on the religious persuasion of the finalists.
As the competition reaches the third round, already qualifying with ease to the last sixteen were Vishy Anand, Rafael Leitao, Veselin Topalov, Alexei Dreev, Alexander Morozevich, Alexander Grischuk, Boris Gelfand, Evgeny Bareev and Boris Gulko, who all won through without the aid of the dreaded play-offs. Gambling all in the vagaries of those play-offs include the matches between Beliavsky-Macieja, Khalifman-Leko, Yermolinsky-Adams, Peng-Svidler, Kasimdzhanov-Tkachiev, Ehlvest-Movsesian, Shirov-Gurevich.
Whilst the first two gamers are played under the normal time control of nearly six hours, the play-offs are more of a lottery consisting of two games at 25 minutes each plus 10 seconds per move, followed by two more at 15 minutes plus 10 seconds per move. Then, if still undecided, there are four sudden-death games with White having four minutes on the clock and Black five, plus an additional 10 seconds per move. And if all four of these are drawn then the players finally pass on to one decisive, final game with White having four minutes, Black five, with a draw counting as a Black win.
A Morozevich - E Vladimirov
FIDE KO WCh., (3.1), Petroff's Defence
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 Nxe5 d6 4 Nf3 Nxe4 5 Bd3 Nf6 6 h3 Be7 7 0-0 0-0 8 c3 c5 9 Bc2 Nc6 10 d4 Be6 11 Re1 Qc8 12 Bg5 Nd5 13 Na3 h6 14 Qd3 Bf5 15 Qxf5 Qxf5 16 Bxf5 Bxg5 17 Be4 Nc7 18 Bxc6 bxc6 19 dxc5 dxc5 20 Ne5 Rfd8 21 Nac4 Rd5 22 Nxc6 Kf8 23 a4 h5 24 a5 Nb5 25 Nb6!! axb6 26 axb6 Rxa1 27 Rxa1 Nd6 28 h4 Ke8 29 hxg5 Kd7 30 Na5 Kc8 31 c4 Rxg5 32 Rd1 Rg6 33 Rd5 Nb7 34 Nxb7 Kxb7 35 Rxc5 Rxb6 36 Rxh5 Rxb2 37 Rh7 Kc6 38 Rxg7 Rb7 39 Rg5 Kd6 40 Rd5+ Ke6 41 Rd1 Rb2 42 Rc1 Kd6 43 c5+ Kc6 44 g3 Rb3 45 Kg2 f5 46 Rc4 Rd3 47 Kh3 Rd2 48 Rf4 Rd5 49 Kh4 1-0
IT could be cruelly dubbed the chess equivalent of "Big Brother", but as early as the second round of the FIDE World Knockout Championships in New Delhi, some of the top names in the game entered the fray...and then had the indignity of having to pack their bags for an early exit.
After failing to win under the normal two time control games, some of the top players had to contend with the nerve-racking vagaries of a series of play-off and sudden death games to progress further in the $2 million tournament. The pressure proved too much for some, with half of the seeds between number 6 and 19 being ousted.
Out went big names such as Vassily Ivanchuk and former world championship challenger Nigel Short. Ivanchuk, the number six seed, became the first 2700 Elo rated player to crash out of the tournament after he lost in dramatic style at the hands of Estonia's Jaan Ehlvest, 2.5-1.5.
It was also a case of unlucky for some for England's Nigel Short, seeded 13, who was knocked out 3.5-2.5 by the relatively unknown 22-year-old Frenchman Igor Nataf.
Of the six Indians who started off the tournament with the home advantage, only one remains - top seed Vishy Anand. While some of the other top players had to put in some overtime at the play-offs to reach the last 32, Anand, the hot favourite to win in New Delhi, cruised to victory with an impressive 1.5-0.5 win over Moldavia's Victor Bologan.
V Anand - V Bologan
FIDE KO WCh., (2.2), Spanish Breyer Variation
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 Be7 6 Re1 b5 7 Bb3 d6 8 c3 0-0 9 h3 Nb8 10 d4 Nbd7 11 Nbd2 Bb7 12 Bc2 Re8 13 Nf1 Bf8 14 Ng3 c5 15 d5 c4 16 Bg5 Qc7 17 Nf5 Kh8 18 g4 Ng8 19 Qd2 Nc5 20 Be3 Bc8 21 Ng3 Rb8 22 Kg2 a5 23 a3 Ne7 24 Rh1 Ng6 25 g5 b4 26 axb4 axb4 27 cxb4 Na6 28 Ra4 Nf4+ 29 Bxf4 exf4 30 Nh5 Qb6 31 Qxf4 Nxb4 32 Bb1 Rb7 33 Ra3 Rc7 34 Rd1 Na6 35 Nd4 Qxb2 36 Rg3 c3 37 Nf6 Re5 38 g6 fxg6 39 Nd7 Be7 40 Nxe5 dxe5 41 Qf7 h6 42 Qe8+ 1-0
THE World Chess Federation, Fide, held its General Assembly during the recent Istanbul Olympiad with one proposal dominating the meeting: should Fide hand over all commercial rights to the World Championship for the next 27 years to an organisation, FIDE Commerce, controlled by the FIDE President Kirsan Iljumzhinov?
However, the consequences of handing control to a private company soon became apparent. Iljumzhinov, arguing that the current pace of tournament chess was too slow for commercial exploitation, announced that the time limit for the 2001 World Championship and all its qualifying events would be 40 moves in 40 minutes, followed by 20 minutes to finish the game, and in stark contrast to the world of "classical chess", which enjoys a more sedate time control of up to six hours for a game.
The problem they have here is that chess never has, and never will, have any appeal to television. Whilst you don't need to be an expert in football or snooker to see its television appeal, with chess you do. Chess is, however, an ideal medium for the internet, where the name of the game is to keep computer users online for as long as possible; so therefore the longer the games the better.
Any reconciliation talks between Fide and the new world champion Vladimir Kramnik (one of the biggest exponents of classical chess who abhors speed chess), then it's safe to say that this radical proposal would be conveniently swept under the carpet. If not, then the future looks bright for speed merchants like Vishy Anand, Alexei Shirov, Michael Adams and Alexander Morozevich.
A Morozevich - G Milos
FIDE KO WCh., (2.1), French Defence
1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 c3 e6 4 d4 d5 5 e5 Qb6 6 a3 Nh6 7 b4 cxd4 8 cxd4 Nf5 9 Be3 g6 10 Bd3 Nxe3 11 fxe3 Bh6 12 Qd2 Bd7 13 Nc3 Ne7 14 g4 Bg7 15 0-0 Rc8 16 a4 0-0 17 Nb5 Bxb5 18 axb5 f6 19 exf6 Rxf6 20 Kg2 Rcf8 21 Qc2 Nc8 22 h4 Nd6 23 h5 Rc8 24 Qe2 Qd8 25 hxg6 hxg6 26 Rxa7 Qe7 27 Ne5 Rxf1 28 Qxf1 Bxe5 29 dxe5 Ne4 30 Bxe4 dxe4 31 Qf6 Qxf6 32 exf6 Rc7 33 g5 Kf7 34 Kg3 e5 35 b6 Rd7 36 Kg4 Ke6 37 Ra8 Kd6 38 Rg8 1-0
