AeroSvit 2000 category 18 in Foros/Yalta

The Aerosvit International GM tournament is taking place in from June 16 to 29, 2006, in Foros/Yalta, the southern-most part of the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine.

It is a category 18 event with 12 GMs rated 2600 or higher. Time controls are 120 minutes for the entire game, with an increment of 30 sec. per move. In case of a tie the final places are determined by the result of the direct encounter; then Sonneborn-Berger; and finally the number of won games.

Foros is the name of a well-known Crimean sanatorium which located in the territory of historical park with landscape gardening art of the 19th century, including more than 100 kinds of rare trees and plants.

Foros is also famous for its pure air and its ecologically pure water, taken from an artesian chink more than 150 meters deep.

FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov at the opening of the tournament

Participants

Round report by GM Mikhail Golubev

• Nisipeanu – Harikrishna: It was a Ruy Lopez with 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0–0 9.d4. On move 16 White deviated from the drawish line 16.Raxd1 Bxf3 (Khalifman-Azarov, Aeroflot open 2006), but hardly got anything special in the endgame. 0.5-0.5.

• Volokitin – Ponomariov: Quite a principled choice by both players: the Marshall Attack! On move 16 White has several important options. In Linares 2002 Ponomariov as White played 16.Qe2 against Adams and Anand, while Anand tried 16.Qe1 against Bacrot in Sofia 2006. But Volokitin opted for 16.Qf1. Ponomariov answered with 16...Qxf1+ (instead of the more usual 16...Qh5). On 20th move Ponomariov deviated from the game Volokitin-Sargissian, Bundesliga 2006 (where Black played 20…g4). But after 20…Bh3+N 21.Kg1 Bg4 22.Ne5 f6 23.Nd3 Bf5 24.Rd1 Bg4 (24...Re2 25.c4 or 25.a4) 25.Rd2 Black had not enough for the pawn. Black was forced to fight for a draw. Ponomariov did not manage to save half a point and lost on the 63rd move. 1-0.

  
  Start of the game Andrei Volokitin vs Ruslan Ponomariov

• Bologan – Karjakin: A long theoretical line of the Queen’s Indian. On move 14 Black has several options: 14...dxc4 or 14...bxc4 (as in Bologan-Kramnik, Dortmund 2004). Karjakin’s choice was 14…dxe4 15.Nxe4 bxc4. After 16.Qe2! and later 19.b4! White was somewhat better. An interesting option for White was 23.Rxe6!? (instead of 23.Qd4), with the idea 23...fxe6? (23…Rb3! is critical) 24.Qxe6+ Rf7 25.Bd5 Bf8 26.Qf6 +-. Bologan agreed to simplifications but preserved a certain initiative, because his a-pawn was dangerous. Black’s gross mistake 23…c3?? decided the game. 1-0.

Bologan,V (2666) - Karjakin,Sergey (2661) [E15]
Aerosvit GM Foros UKR (1), 17.06.2006

32...c3?? 33.Rxc3 1-0.

• Rublevsky - Mamedyarov: Mamedyarov was extremely well prepared to meet Rublevsky’s Four Knights. Using a rare move 6…d5 (instead of the more common 6…d6) and later 8…Bc5 Black obtained a virtually winning position after the opening! 0-1.

• Shirov – Grischuk: A quiet Anti-Marshall. The line occurred in Shirov’s and Grischuk’ games previously. On 17th move Shirov played 17.b4 (deviating from 17.a4 Ba5 18.axb5 axb5 19.Qb3 Bxd5 20.Nxd5 Nxd5 21.Qxd5 Ne7 22.Qb3 Sutovsky-Grischuk, Turin Olympiad 2006) and possibly obtained a slight edge. Nevertheless, the game has ended in a draw. 0.5-0.5.

• Areshchenko - Ivanchuk: As Black, Ivanchuk played an interesting edition of the Kan Variation. The position after Black's 10th (10…Nbd7) is not well researched. Instead of Areshchenko’s 11.Qf3 White also can play 11.Qe1 (or Qe2). A novelty 12.f5 (more cautious is 12.Bd2) allowed Black to organise a good counterplay by the typical 12...e5 13.Nde2 h5!. After 16…d5 White could not win the d-pawn because of …e5-e4. Still, Areshchenko managed to consolidate, and he was at least not worse when the draw was agreed. 0.5-0.5.

  Notes from the official web site

• Official web site: this is functionally well designed and has live games (with a special viewer that has to be installed), comments, partially captioned photos and other useful services.

Schedule and results