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Candidates Matches and Computer Challenge to begin in Elista
25.05.2007 – Sunday's the big day. In Elista, Kalmykia, the Candidates Matches begin, with 16 players vying for four places available in the September World Championship in Mexico. During the final phase of the Candidates there will also be a Computer Challenge match between the top programs Deep Junior and Deep Fritz. GM Yasser Seirawan will provide live commentary. |
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Elista R01: Aronian, Grischuk draw first blood
27.05.2007 – A great start for Armenian star and top seed Levon Aronian, who was able to take a full point from Norway's Magnus Carlsen with the black pieces. Alexander Grischuk won the other decided game, against compatriot Vladimir Malakhov. Judit Polgar was close to a traumatic first-round loss with white against Evgeny Bareev, but managed to save the day. Illustrated report. |
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Who are the favourites for the Candidates in Elista?
27.05.2007 – There are 16 participants in the first round of play at the Candidates Matches.
They range from 16-year-old Magnus Carlsen to 48-year-old Mikhail Gurevich.
Who has the best chances, who are the hot favourites? We asked Yasser Seirawan,
who will be doing live commentary on the Playchess
server. Read his take on the participants, visit his lectures and if necessary
make him eat his words. |
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Candidates Matches – the adventure of arriving in Elista
27.05.2007 – The participants of the qualifying event for the World Championship arrived in Elista on Friday, to take part in an openings ceremony, where white and black sheep determined the colours of the first game. It was a fairly adventurous trip involving a mad rush between airports in Moscow, and a minor bus accident in Elista which left the players shaken but not stirred. Big picture report. |
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Elista R03: Leko, Kamsky, Carlsen and Rublevsky score
29.05.2007 – Peter Leko beat Mikhail Gurevich in a second consecutive game, Gata Kamsky did the same to France's Etienne Bacrot. Rublevsky beat Ponomarionv with black, Magnus Carlsen struck back against Levon Aronian to equalise their score with a fine white-game win. Judit Polgar failed to win a promising position. Leko and Kamsky have a comfortable lead at the half-way mark. Full report. |
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Elista R02: Leko, Kamsky win with black, Bareev beats Polgar
29.05.2007 – Peter Leko and Gata Kamsky both scored important points with the black pieces, while Evgeny Bareev ground out a long win with the white pieces against Judit Polgar. Malakhov came close to taking revenge for his round one defeat by Grischuk, but missed the win. That and the four other games were drawn, three of them after long, tough fights, on a hard day's work in Elista. |
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Elista R04: Kamsky and Leko through to the finals
31.05.2007 – Peter Leko won his third straight game to defeat Mikhail Gurevich, whilst Gata Kamsky did the same to Etienne Bacrot. Both are now at 3˝:˝ and in the next round. Wins for Grischuk and Bareev put them on the brink of match victory, whilst Aronian regained the lead against Carlsen. Adams moved ahead of Shirov after the latter blundered. Six decisive results, on a black day in Elista. |
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Elista R05: Carlsen strikes back, Grischuk advances
01.06.2007 – After his loss against Levon Aronian 16-year-old Magnus Carlsen bounced back to win today's game and equal the score. Judit Polgar, fighting with her back to the wall, staved off defeat by mating Evgeny Bareev. A solid draw saw Alexander Grischuk through to the second round at the expense of Alexander Malakhov, whilst draws in the other games leave everything to play for tomorrow. |
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Elista R06: Bareev, Rublevsky advance, Polgar and Ponomariov out
02.06.2007 – Three players faced “must-win” games to stay alive in the event – only one of them managed it. Shirov beat Adams, to force the match into a playoff, but draws for Rublevsky and Bareev see them through to the second round, at the expense of Ponomariov and Polgar respectively. Magnus Carlsen pulled off a fine trick to hold Levon Aronian and force a playoff. Last chance saloon in Elista. |
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Elista Tiebreaks: Shirov, Gelfand, Aronian qualify
03.06.2007 – Alexei Shirov won two games in succession and drew the third against Michael Adams to move into the finals. Boris Gelfand beat Rustam Kasimdzhanov by the same score. Levon Aronian had a much tougher time against the bravest and most exciting player in the field: Magnus the Magnificent Carlsen, whom it took all the skill Lev could muster to beat. Full report with pictures and commentary. |
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Elista F01: Junior-Fritz drawn, Grischuk, Aronian, Leko win
06.06.2007 – President Ilyumzhinov's "Ultimate Computer Challenge" began with a grandmasterly draw between Deep Junior and Deep Fritz. In the afternoon the humans were fighting it out in the Candidates Finals, with Grischuk, Aronian and Leko winning their games, against Rublevsky, Shirov and Bareev respectively. Report with games, notes and pictures. |
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Elista Finals round one: GM Mihail Marin comments
07.06.2007 – Great news: the Candidates Finals in Elista will be annotated by Romanian grandmaster Mihail Marin, whose simple and instructive commentary turns the games into a wonderful training session for the ambitious player. Marin will provide express commentary on the day after each round, while the next ChessBase Magazine will carry comprehensive analysis. Look, enjoy and learn. |
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Elista F3: Leko and Gelfand win, Junior beats Fritz
08.06.2007 – At halftime in the Candidates Finals in Elista Peter Leko scored another win against Evgeny Bareev, while Boris Gelfand did the same, but with the black pieces, against Gata Kamsky. Levon Aronian came very close to victory over Alexei Shirov but threw it away with a blunder in the end. Junior beat Fritz in a theoretically very interesting game in the computer match. Big pictorial report. |
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Elista Finals round two: GM Mihail Marin comments
08.06.2007 – Four draws may seem like a boring day at the Candidates Final in Elista. But there was plenty of excitement and two very insteresting and instructive games. GM Mihail Marin shows us how Boris Gelfand piled on the pressure, while Gata Kamsky coolly defended; and how Alexei Shirov set the board on fire against Levon Aronian. There is a lot to be learnt from these games and the GM commentary. |
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Elista Finals round two: All games drawn
08.06.2007 – In the morning, at 10:00 a.m. local time, the computer programs Fritz and Junior, both in their "deep" versions, played a complicated and tactical draw. At 3:00 p.m. the eight human Candidates took the stage and also played more or less interesting draws. Full analysis will follow later, for now we bring you an express report, having arrived in Mockba, on our journey to Elista. |
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Elista Finals round three: GM Mihail Marin comments
09.06.2007 – It was an exciting day, with hard-fought games, with Leko and Gelfand taking full points, and Aronian coming very close to doing the same. So plenty of material for our GM commentator to analyse. Mihail Marin does it in his usual intructive style, giving chess amateurs and tournament players alike an insight into grandmaster thought and plans. Another analytical essay you will not want to miss. |
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Elista F4: Rublevsky beats Grischuk to equalise
10.06.2007 – Sergei Rublevsky took the full point from Alexander Grischuk to level their match. Peter Leko came close to beating Evgeny Bareev and closing their encounter, but the Russian GM survived and is still in the match. Gelfand drew with Kamsky who will try to equalise tomorrow with white. Shirov let Aronian escape with a draw. Express report with pictures. |
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President's Computer Challenge: Junior leads Fritz 3:1
10.06.2007 – Round four saw a second win for the Israeli program Deep Junior, which is running on the latest 16-processor Intel server at twice the speed of its opponent Deep Fritz. The event is spectacular for a different reason: the moves on the official match board are executed by young Kalmyk players in national costumes, and the commentary is provided by a 14-year-old IM.Utterly charming. |
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Elista Finals round four: GM Mihail Marin comments
11.06.2007 – Another day of dramatic, exciting chess in Elista. Sergei Rublevsky defeated Alexander Grischuk to equalise in this match, while the other three games were tough, hard-fought draws. Our GM commentator's commentary is less extensive, since he is himself preparing for a strong tournament. But you will get it in full in ChessBase Magazine. For now here are the highlights of round four. |
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Elista F6: Aronian qualifies, Grischuk and Rublevsky in tiebreak
12.06.2007 – Alexander Grischuk introduced a new move and went on the attack against Sergei Rublevsky, but when it came down to a daring sacrifice his nerves failed him and, after half an hour of thought, he went for a perpetual check and the safe draw. Alexei Shirov tried to trick Levon Aronian with a Spanish deviation, but the Armenian equalised and drew. Full pictorial report with GM analysis. |
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Elista F5: Leko and Gelfand qualify
12.06.2007 – Peter Leko was the first to qualify, with a draw against an apparently dejected Evgeny Bareev. Boris Gelfand pulled off a black pieces win against Gata Kamsky to also qualify for the world championship in Mexico. Aronian and Shirov drew, so that the latter must win tomorrow to stay in the race, while Grischuk and Rublevsky are tied at 2.5:2.5. Full report with pictures and commentary. |
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Elista Tiebreak: Grischuk beats Rublevsky to qualify
13.06.2007 – Alexander Grischuk beat Sergey Rublevsky in two games and drew one to qualify for the world championship in Mexico. The tiebreak was over four rapid chess games (25 minutes plus five seconds increment per move). Grischuk won the first and third, each time with the black pieces. We bring you a full report with pictures and instructive commentary by GM Mihail Marin. |
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Closing the Candidates – a festive evening in Elista
14.06.2007 – After the final tiebreak game had ended in the tournament theatre the players and participants moved back into the City Chess Center, where all stayed and where the closing ceremony was to be held. It featured speeches, awards, music and costumes. A special guest was even given an entire house in Elista for his outstanding contribution to chess. Big pictorial report. |
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The Chess City the Kalmykian steppe
14.06.2007 – The Candidates Finals have ended, most of the players are alreay on their journey home. We are spending a last day in this chess capital of the world, where an entire chess city has been stamped out of the steppes of the lower Volga region. It is unusually quiet and there are no games scheduled for the afternoon. A good opportunity to present you part two of our narrative: a journey to Elista. |
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The Rock Star and the Šajin Lama
20.06.2007 – Boris Grebenshchikov is a cult figure in the Russian rock scene, revered by millions (including a super-GM friend from Saint Petersburg). Telo Tulku Rinpoche is a Philadelphia-born Buddhist Lama, the highest religious authority in Kalmykia. On the final day of the FIDE Candidates Finals the former gave a concert and the latter a gala dinner. Big pictorial report. |
