Kokarev, Ponkratov, Savchenko lead at the 2013 Moscow Open

by ChessBase
2/8/2013 – The International Chess Festival Moscow Open 2013 is being held from 31st January to 11th February 2013 at the Russian State Social University in Moscow. In a strong field of national and international GMs, after seven rounds of play it is not the top seed Ian Nepomniachtchi who is in the lead, but three lesser-known Russian GMs. Illustrated report with endgame analysis.

ChessBase 17 - Mega package - Edition 2024 ChessBase 17 - Mega package - Edition 2024

It is the program of choice for anyone who loves the game and wants to know more about it. Start your personal success story with ChessBase and enjoy the game even more.

More...

>

The festival consists of nine tournaments:

  • Tournament A – Men’s Cup of Russia
  • Tournament B – Women’s Cup of Russia
  • Tournament C – Amateurs’ Cup of MCF
  • Tournament D – Veterans’ Cup of MCF
  • Tournament E – World Cup Chess Composition
  • Tournament F – Students-grandmasters’ Cup of RSSU (men)
  • Tournament G – Students-grandmasters’ Cup of RSSU (women)
  • Tournament H – School Champions’ Cup of MCF

The total prize fund of the Festival is 3.5 million rubles (approximately US $110,000).


The opening ceremony at the Russian State Social University in Moscow


Dance presentation at the opening ceremony


Ladies in interesting costumes


Violin recital, followed by a...


... hula hoop presentation


The start of the seventh round of the 2013 Moscow Open A Group


Top board: GM Ian Nepomniachtchi, 2703, vs GM Pavel Maletin, 2571 (draw)


GM Illya Nyzhnyk, UKR, 16 years old, rated 2637, has scored 4.5/7 so far

There are plenty of very nice pictures on the official site here, but all uncaptioned. You can explore
them if you know plenty of players by face, or just like seeing pictures of people playing chess.


Video report from the Moscow Open 2013

Endgame analysis by GM Karsten Müller

The tragedy of one tempo

When a passed pawn can queen, it is often worth taking a second look, if this can be done in even more favorable circumstances:

[Event "Moscow Open A"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2013.02.06"] [Round "5.5"] [White "Meribanov, Vitaly"] [Black "Svetushkin, Dmitry"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C67"] [WhiteElo "2409"] [BlackElo "2612"] [PlyCount "121"] [EventDate "2013.02.02"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [Source "Chess Today"] [SourceDate "2013.02.06"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. Nc3 Bd7 10. b3 Kc8 11. Bb2 Be7 12. Rad1 b6 13. Rd2 h5 14. Rfd1 Be6 15. Ne2 a5 16. Ned4 Nxd4 17. Nxd4 Bg4 18. f3 Bd7 19. e6 fxe6 20. Nf5 exf5 21. Rxd7 Re8 22. Bxg7 a4 23. Kf1 axb3 24. axb3 Bd6 25. Rf7 Ra2 26. Ra1 Rxa1+ 27. Bxa1 Bxh2 28. Rxf5 Bg3 29. Bc3 h4 30. Rg5 c5 31. Rg4 Re7 32. Re4 Rd7 33. Ke2 Rh7 34. Ke3 Kd7 35. Be5 Bxe5 36. Rxe5 h3 37. gxh3 Rxh3 38. Kf4 c4 39. bxc4 Rh4+ 40. Kg5 Rxc4 41. Re2 Rc3 42. f4 b5 43. f5 b4 44. f6 Rf3 45. Kg6 c5 46. f7 Rg3+ 47. Kh7 Rh3+ 48. Kg7 Rg3+ 49. Kf8 b3 50. Re7+ Kc6 51. Ke8 Rf3 52. cxb3 Rxb3 {The tragedy of one tempo When a passed pawn can queen, it is often worth taking a second look, if this can be done in even more favorable circumstances:} 53. f8=Q $2 {Now Black is always just in time to draw.} (53. Re5 $5 Rb8+ (53... c4 54. f8=Q Rb8+ 55. Kf7 Rxf8+ 56. Kxf8 c3 57. Re3 $18) ( 53... Kd6 54. f8=Q+ Kxe5 55. Qxc5+ Kf6 56. Qd6+ Kg7 57. Qf8+ Kg6 58. Qf7+ $18) (53... Rf3 54. f8=Q Rxf8+ 55. Kxf8 Kd6 56. Rh5 $18) 54. Ke7 Kb5 55. Kf6 {wins the all important tempo in the following fights:} (55. f8=Q $2 {is still too early due to} Rxf8 56. Kxf8 Kc4 57. Ke7 Kd4 58. Kd6 c4 59. Rd5+ Ke3 60. Kc5 c3 61. Kb4 c2 62. Rc5 Kd2 63. Kb3 c1=Q 64. Rxc1 Kxc1 $11) 55... Rf8 56. Re8 Rxf7+ 57. Kxf7 Kc4 (57... c4 58. Ke6 c3 59. Kd5 Kb4 60. Kd4 c2 61. Rc8 Kb3 62. Kd3 $18) 58. Ke6 Kd4 59. Rd8+ Ke4 60. Kd6 c4 61. Kc5 c3 62. Kb4 c2 63. Rc8 Kd3 64. Kb3 $18) (53. Re6+ Kd5 54. Rd6+ Kxd6 55. f8=Q+ Kc6 56. Qf6+ Kb5 57. Kd7 {wins as well, but is more complicated.}) 53... Rb8+ 54. Kf7 Rxf8+ 55. Kxf8 Kd5 $1 { The right way to proceed. Black's king prepares to give White's a bodycheck.} ( 55... c4 $4 {loses due to the deadly cut off} 56. Re5 $18) ({and} 55... Kb5 $2 {runs into} 56. Kf7 Kc4 57. Ke6 Kd4 58. Rd7+ Ke4 59. Rc7 Kd4 60. Kf5 c4 61. Kf4 Kd3 62. Kf3 c3 63. Rd7+ Kc2 64. Ke2 Kb2 65. Rc7 c2 66. Kd2 $18) 56. Rd7+ Ke4 57. Ke7 ({The usual zwischenschach} 57. Re7+ {does not help here due to} Kd3 58. Rd7+ Ke3 59. Rc7 Kd4 60. Ke7 c4 61. Kd6 c3 $11 {Bodycheck!}) 57... c4 58. Kd6 c3 59. Rh7 c2 60. Rh1 Kd3 61. Kd5 1/2-1/2

Passed pawns must be pushed

A dangerous outside passed pawn can compensate a lot of material:

[Event "Moscow Open A"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2013.02.06"] [Round "5.11"] [White "Iturrizaga, Eduardo"] [Black "Predke, Alexandr"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D44"] [WhiteElo "2650"] [BlackElo "2480"] [PlyCount "137"] [EventDate "2013.02.02"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "9"] [EventCountry "RUS"] [Source "Chess Today"] [SourceDate "2013.02.06"] 1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 c6 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. e4 b5 7. e5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Nxg5 hxg5 10. Bxg5 Nbd7 11. g3 Bb7 12. exf6 Qb6 13. Bg2 c5 14. d5 O-O-O 15. O-O b4 16. Rb1 Ne5 17. Qe2 Bd6 18. f4 Nd3 19. dxe6 Bxg2 20. Qxg2 fxe6 21. Qe4 Bc7 22. Ne2 Qa6 23. h4 Rd5 24. h5 Rxh5 25. f7 Qd6 26. Qg6 Rh8 27. Bf6 Rdh5 28. Bxh8 Rxh8 29. Rf3 Kb7 30. Qg8 Qf8 31. Qxf8 Rxf8 32. b3 Rxf7 33. Kg2 cxb3 34. Rxd3 bxa2 35. Ra1 c4 36. Rd4 b3 37. Rxc4 Ba5 38. Ra4 b2 39. R4xa2 bxa1=Q 40. Rxa1 Bb6 41. g4 Kc6 42. Kf3 Rh7 43. g5 Rh2 44. Ng3 Kd7 45. Re1 Rf2+ 46. Kg4 Rg2 47. Kh3 Rg1 48. Re4 Bc7 49. Ne2 Rh1+ 50. Kg4 Bd6 51. g6 Rh8 52. Ra4 Bc5 53. Ra5 Kd6 54. Nc3 Bb6 55. Rh5 Rg8 56. Ne4+ Kc6 57. Rh6 Bd8 58. Ng5 Kd5 59. Rh1 a5 60. Rd1+ Kc6 61. Kh5 Rh8+ 62. Nh7 Bf6 63. Kh6 {Passed pawns must be pushed A dangerous outside passed pawn can compensate a lot of material:} Bb2 $2 {Black does not have time for this.} ({The passed a-pawn must advance immediately with } 63... a4 $1 64. g7 a3 $5 (64... Bxg7+ {draws as well, e.g.} 65. Kxg7 Ra8 66. Ng5 a3 67. Nxe6 a2 68. Ra1 Ra7+ 69. Kg6 Kd5 70. f5 Kc4 71. f6 Kb3 72. f7 Rxf7 73. Kxf7 Kb2 $11) 65. gxh8=Q Bxh8 66. Kg6 (66. Rc1+ Kd5 67. Kg6 (67. Rc2 Bb2 $11) 67... Bb2 68. Rd1+ Kc4 69. Nf6 a2 $11) 66... Bb2 67. Ng5 a2 68. Nxe6 a1=Q 69. Rxa1 Bxa1 $11) 64. Rd2 $1 {The bishop is dominated.} Ba1 ({Now it is too late for} 64... Bf6 65. g7 Bxg7+ (65... a4 66. gxh8=Q Bxh8 67. Kg6 a3 68. Nf6 Kc5 69. Rh2 $18) 66. Kxg7 Ra8 {due to} 67. Ng5 a4 68. Nxe6 a3 69. Ra2 Ra4 ( 69... Kd6 70. Kf6 $18) 70. f5 Kd5 71. Kg6 Ke5 72. Kg5 Ra8 73. Nf4 Kd6 74. f6 Kc5 75. f7 Kb4 76. Nd3+ Kb3 77. Nc1+ Kb4 78. Rf2 $18) 65. Ra2 Bd4 66. Ra4 (66. Rxa5 {wins as well.}) 66... Kd5 (66... Bc3 $6 67. Rc4+ $18) 67. Rxa5+ Ke4 68. Kg5 $1 {White keeps his valuable winning potential.} ({Of course not} 68. g7 $4 Bxg7+ 69. Kxg7 Rb8 (69... Rxh7+ $2 70. Kxh7 Kxf4 {runs into} 71. Ra4+ $1 Kf5 72. Kh6 e5 73. Kh5 e4 74. Kh4 Kf4 75. Kh3 Kf3 76. Ra8 e3 77. Rf8+ Ke2 78. Kg2 $18) 70. Ra4+ Kf5 71. Ng5 e5 72. fxe5 Kxe5 $11) 68... Kf3 69. Ra3+ (69. Ra3+ Ke4 (69... Ke2 70. Nf6 Rh1 (70... Rf8 71. Nh5 Rf5+ 72. Kg4 Rf8 73. Ra6 $18) 71. Rg3 Kf2 72. Rg4 $18) 70. Nf6+ Bxf6+ 71. Kxf6 Kxf4 72. Ra4+ Ke3 73. Kxe6 $18) 1-0

Knight festival

As two knights alone can't force mate great precision is often necessary to convert an advantage and the last pawn is worth its weight in gold:

[Event "Moscow Open B 2013"] [Site "Moscow RUS"] [Date "2013.02.04"] [Round "3.5"] [White "Eryshkanova, Anastasiya"] [Black "Tarasova, Viktoriya"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A47"] [WhiteElo "2143"] [BlackElo "2273"] [PlyCount "140"] [EventDate "2013.02.02"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 b6 4. Bd3 Bb7 5. Nbd2 c5 6. c3 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. Qe2 d6 9. Rd1 Qc7 10. e4 Nc6 11. a3 a5 12. Nf1 Nd7 13. Ng3 g6 14. h4 Bf6 15. Bc4 Ne7 16. Bg5 Bxg5 17. Nxg5 h6 18. Nh3 d5 19. exd5 exd5 20. Bd3 c4 21. Bc2 Rae8 22. Qf3 Kg7 23. Nf4 Nf6 24. Re1 Bc8 25. Nf1 Bg4 26. Qg3 Qd7 27. f3 Bf5 28. Rac1 Bxc2 29. Rxc2 Nf5 30. Qf2 Rxe1 31. Qxe1 Re8 32. Re2 Rxe2 33. Qxe2 Ne7 34. Ng3 Qd6 35. Qe3 b5 36. Kf2 h5 37. Nge2 Nd7 38. Ng3 Nf6 39. Nge2 Nf5 40. Qe5 Qxe5 41. dxe5 Nd7 42. e6 Nb6 43. g4 hxg4 44. fxg4 Nd6 45. exf7 Kxf7 46. Ke3 Na4 47. Kd4 Ne4 48. Nxd5 Nd2 49. Ke3 Nf1+ 50. Kf2 Nd2 51. Nd4 Ne4+ 52. Ke3 Nd6 53. Nf3 Nxb2 54. Kd4 Nd1 55. Ng5+ Kg7 56. Kc5 b4 57. cxb4 axb4 58. axb4 Nb7+ 59. Kxc4 Nb2+ 60. Kb5 Nd6+ 61. Kc6 Ndc4 62. Nf3 Nd3 63. b5 Na5+ 64. Kd6 Nf2 65. Ne5 Kh6 66. b6 g5 67. hxg5+ Kxg5 68. Kc7 Ne4 {Knight festival As two knights alone can't force mate great precision is often necessary to convert an advantage and the last pawn is worth its weight in gold:} 69. Nc6 $2 {This allows Black's knights to force an underpromotion of the pawn.} (69. b7 $2 {is met by} Nxb7 70. Kxb7 Nf2 71. Ne3 Nxg4 $11) ({and} 69. Nb4 $2 {runs into} Nc3 70. Nbc6 (70. b7 Nxb7 71. Kxb7 Ne4 72. Nd5 Nf2 73. Ne3 Nxg4 $11) 70... Nd5+ 71. Kd6 Nxb6 72. Nxa5 Kf4 73. Nac6 Nc4+ 74. Ke6 Ne3 $11) ({There is essentially only one way to win the domination dance:} 69. Ne3 $1 Nc3 (69... Nc5 70. N3c4 Nxc4 71. Nxc4 Kxg4 72. Kc6 Ne6 73. Na5 Kf5 74. Kd6 Nd8 75. Ke7 $18) (69... Kf4 70. N5c4 Nb3 71. Kc6 Nbc5 72. Nd2 Kxe3 73. Nxe4 Nxe4 74. b7 $18) 70. Nc6 Nb3 (70... Nb5+ 71. Kd7 Nb7 72. Nd8 Nc5+ 73. Kc6 $18) 71. Kd6 Ne4+ 72. Ke7 Nbc5 (72... Nec5 73. Nd8 Kf4 74. Ne6+ Kxe3 75. Nxc5 Nxc5 76. g5 $18) 73. Nd4 Nb7 74. Ne6+ Kg6 75. Nc4 Kh6 76. Kd7 Kg6 77. Kc6 Kf6 78. Kxb7 Kxe6 79. Kc6 $18) (69. Nd7 {is playable, but after} Nf2 (69... Nd2 70. Ne3 Nb1 71. Ne5 Nc3 72. Nc6 Nb3 73. Kd6 $18) (69... Kxg4 70. N7f6+ Kf3 71. Nxe4 Kxe4 72. Nb4 Kf5 73. Nc6 Nb3 74. Kd6 Nd2 75. b7 Nc4+ 76. Kc5 Ne5 77. Nxe5 Kxe5 78. b8=Q+ $18) (69... Nd6 70. Kxd6 Nc4+ 71. Ke6 Nxb6 72. Ne5 Na4 73. Kd6 Nb2 74. Ne3 Kf4 75. Kd5 Kxe3 76. g5 $18) 70. Ne5 Ne4 {White must play} 71. Ne3 $18 {anyway.}) 69... Nc4 70. b7 Nc5 ( 70... Nc5 71. b8=N Kxg4 72. Nd4 {should be drawn as given by Baburin in Chess Today 4472, e.g.} Ne5 73. Kd6 Ncd3 74. Na6 Nf3 75. Nb5 Nh4 76. Nb6 Nf5+ 77. Ke6 Kf4 {as three knights against two should usually be defendable. But three knights against one is won for the three knights, if a direct draw can't be forced.}) 1/2-1/2

Top standings after seven rounds

Rk. Title Name
FED
Rtg
Pts.
 TB1 
 TB2 
 TB3 
1 GM Kokarev Dmitry
RUS
2635
6.0
31.5
5
25.0
2 GM Ponkratov Pavel
RUS
2584
6.0
31.0
5
26.0
3 GM Savchenko Boris
RUS
2584
6.0
30.5
5
23.0
4 GM Adhiban B.
IND
2547
5.5
34.0
4
25.0
5 GM Nepomniachtchi Ian
RUS
2703
5.5
34.0
4
23.5
6 GM Mamedov Rauf
AZE
2651
5.5
32.5
4
25.0
7 GM Kovalenko Igor
UKR
2586
5.5
32.0
5
23.0
8 IM Matinian Nikita
RUS
2460
5.5
31.5
4
22.5
9 GM Sandipan Chanda
IND
2590
5.5
31.0
5
23.5
10 GM Ganguly Surya
IND
2626
5.5
30.5
5
22.5
11 GM Maletin Pavel
RUS
2571
5.5
30.0
4
24.0
12 GM Guseinov Gadir
AZE
2623
5.5
29.5
4
22.0
13 GM Khairullin Ildar
RUS
2650
5.5
29.0
4
22.0
14 IM Kovalev Vladislav
BLR
2500
5.5
28.5
5
21.5
15 GM Smirnov Pavel
RUS
2618
5.5
28.0
5
21.5
16 IM Goganov Aleksey
RUS
2550
5.5
26.0
5
22.5
17 GM Gabrielian Artur
RUS
2579
5.5
25.5
5
18.5
18 GM Ibragimov Ildar
USA
2555
5.0
33.5
4
24.0
19 GM Iljushin Alexei
RUS
2508
5.0
31.5
3
21.0
20 GM Iturrizaga Eduardo
VEN
2646
5.0
29.5
4
20.5
21 GM Panarin Mikhail
RUS
2552
5.0
28.5
4
21.0
GM Gabuzyan Hovhannes
ARM
2517
5.0
28.5
4
21.0
23 IM Pavlov Sergey
UKR
2471
5.0
26.5
5
20.0
24 FM Meribanov Vitaly
BLR
2426
5.0
26.5
4
21.0
25 GM Vorobiov Evgeny E.
RUS
2584
5.0
26.5
3
19.5
26 IM Badmatsyrenov Oleg
RUS
2472
5.0
24.0
5
18.0
27 GM Arun Prasad S.
IND
2514
5.0
24.0
3
18.5
28 IM Airapetian Gor
RUS
2462
5.0
23.5
4
19.0

Links

The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.

Copyright ChessBase


Reports about chess: tournaments, championships, portraits, interviews, World Championships, product launches and more.

Discuss

Rules for reader comments

 
 

Not registered yet? Register