Corus 2003 at Wijk aan Zee, Round 5

by Aviv Friedman

Corus chess tournament round 5:

Chess tournament or a fashion show?

In what became another small tradition, members on ICC who comment/message me about these reports often ask me to write a little about the players dress code (or lack thereof J) Of course this changes from day to day, for example to some games Loek van Wely comes well suited, looking like a sharp professional and to others he comes dressed casually with slacks and a sweater. Judit Polgar, the surprise leader was seen in jeans and colorful wool sweaters. Topalov and Kramnik are always in a 3-piece suit, although at times Kramnik rids himself of the tie for a 'smart casual' kind of look. Bareev, Timman and Radjabov usually sport a dark shirt with a blazer. Krasenkov, Karpov and Ivanchuk wear suits also, but…. I vote for a wardrobe 'overhaul'! These are not the Russian 50's and 60's horrible suits but not much much nicer! (I can't believe I am being a fashion critic when I have this fear that if I stood outside with a coffee cup, people might put change into it J ) So on we go, who do we have left? Anand is dressing quite casually for the event so far, although it will be hardly a surprise to see him 'upgrade' when he feels like it. Shirov is quite versatile, suits, smart casual, the occasional sweater and casual slacks, depending on the mood (Or the opponent perhaps?) Last but not least, Grischuk after a few tournament with dreadlocks he now boasts a crew cut and a teenager's attire (like totally!) It must be said that the organizers' attitude is so relaxed and easy going, that players could come wearing a garbage bag and clown shoes and it would be acceptable! It is true that for many this is 'business' and there is good money at stake (along with prestige, ELO points etc) but it is fair to say that the organization's 'chess for fun's sakes' trickles down to everyone, players, coaches, journalists. arbiters and fans alike.

Da games!

Shirov - Kramnik:

GM Shirov vs GM Kramnik

Kramnik's choice of a Sveshinkov is not a surprise, perhaps trying to remind Shirov's of his awful loss to Kasparov in last year's Linares. Unlike previously, here Vlady decided to keep his b5 pawn with 19…Qb7, in place of 19…Ng6. Now Alexey sunk into the think tank for quite a while, eventually responding with the logical 20.f3 hitting black at the base of his structure. Since white really looked good, now it was all about black's ability to generate counter play and activity. Positionally his structure is not a pretty picture, not to say strategically unsound. In serious time trouble the Russian couldn't solve all the problems his 'Bette noir' opponent was posing to him. The often notorious kingside light square weakness that black gets in this line did him in, along with the passed c pawn. It is amazing how much of a hard time Shirov is giving Kramnik over the years!   Analysis by GM Alterman (PGN format).

Grischuk - Ponomariov: So Pono decided to be Kramnik for the day! Adopting the resilient Berlin defense of the Ruy Lopez, black is willing to suffer a bit in a slightly worse position to prove he can maintain the balance to make a draw. Funnily, it was Ponomariov who passed on a 3-fold repetition to keep playing. One must criticize white maneuver of 19.Ng3 as a waste of time. Somehow soon after white had to give a pawn but with black's useless double pawns on the queenside and white's activity that advantage did not last long. With pawns disappearing quickly a draw was in the horizon and was agreed upon shortly thereafter.

Anand - Karpov:

GM Anand vs GM Karpov

What a crazy game that was! Vishy picked the most aggressive advanced line against Karpov's Caro Kann defense. Going straight to the jugular, white sent his kingside pawns forward after black's light squared Bishop while black struck at the center with the unusual 7…c5. To quell white's ambitions, Karpov has decided to sacrifice a piece for an impressive looking pawn wedge in the center and much better King's safety. More practice is needed to really assess this position and as per Vishy the evaluation changes from move to move. Anand said he liked 22…Rf7 forcing the Q back to c2 or else e5-e4, and also 23…Rc7 but 24…Na4(?) was certainly poor, losing a pawn. Even after that he felt that black might have had chances to hold the ending but without specifics (more of an intuition than concrete analysis) As it were at the end a nice little pin ended the affair, marking Karpov's second loss in a row and a very hapy Vishy at the top!

Radjabov - Timman: A positional affair from the Nimzo Queen's Indian. This was a full-bodied game with few exchanges in the early stages. Eventually in what turned into a hedgehog like set up, Timman pressured his opponent's center mercilessly. When white overextended, the black pieces penetrated strongly, to the delight of Timman's seconds in the pressroom. Unfortunately for them and for Jan, he had a brain freeze and played the horrid 35…Nxb4?? Perhaps he thought that after 36.Rxb4 Rd1+ he was regaining a piece forgetting about the simple 37.Ng1. Quite incredible considering 35…Rxe4 was playable and likely winning!

Krasenkov - Bareev: A sideline in the Slav, where Bareev played a la Morozevich with a quick center hit with 6…c5. I thought white got an advantage right away,

GM Ivanchuk vs GM Polgar

having qa slightly better development and the bishop pair along with direct pressure on black's center. It looked as if at the critical point of the game white might have missed a chance to go all out with 20.Bh5+! and after the forced g6 21.Bg5! leaving black in a mess. Instead white kept an extra pawn but black was well compensated for it with his better structure and space. After the double exchange of the rooks, black had a more active Q and a better minor piece, Krasenkov did manage to trade queens but offered a draw immediately.

Polgar - Ivanchuk: A small surprise in the open Sicilian with the rare 2… a6 transposed into a hedgehog type of structure with white having as usual, more space and black a flexible if a bit cramped position. I am sad to report absolutely nothing exciting before a peace treaty was signed on move 18. I supposed Chuky was being careful with Judit being on fire in this event, and Polgar was agreeable to keeping her undefeated + 2 climb up.

Topalov - van Wely:

GM Van Wely

GM Topalov vs GM Van Wely

Topalov politely declined the invitation to a Sveshnikov of which Loek has been one of the leading practitioners (and after all the two worked together on that line also!) choosing instead 3.Nc3 and 4.Bc4. Obviously nowadays even that is known theory and has been seen even at the top. Black gets a weak d pawn to white's weak one on e4 and at least part of the battle is to find out which is more vulnerable. 13…Qb6 was criticized by Loek after the game, saying he should have preferred 13…Bg6 or insert 13…a6 14.a4 when the inclusion of these moves is in black's favor cause in lines with the e5 push and a Bg6xc2 the b3 pawn would also hang. So white obtained an advantage, after 30.Qd5 black said he felt his position was almost critical. 31.Nb5 would have kept the grip, but white went on a pawn hunt that gave black some weaseling chances, which he maximized! 36.Qxb6? was terribly naïve and got punished accordingly. At the end after the double rook trade Qf7+ is leading to mate, and so poor Topalov had to throw in the towel. Certainly an unnecessary way to lose.

Stellwagen vs Naiditsch

Andersson on ICC

Van der Wiel vs De Vreugt

Photos by Jan van de Mortel, courtesy Corus Tournament Organization.

ICC Coverage of Corus 2003 Copyright © Internet Chess Club 2003