GM Joel's Chess Week Recap

This week we will catch up with one of the more colorful characters in the chess community at the Russian Team Rapid Championship, check out an American abroad, and take our first look at the European Club Cup, just underway in Antalya, Turkey. Alexander Morozevich was once one of the highest rated players in the world. He's lost his enthusiasm for classical chess and is virtually retired, outside of the occasional rapid and blitz event. Moro was in action in Sochi playing for the Moscow team "Fighters for the Idea." GM Joels shows us two games, with Morozevich going from the sublime to the ridiculous. Mid-level European open tournaments offer opportunities for American players to make their mark. Norway is always a pleasant country to visit, and IM John Bartholomew nearly pulled off a big result in the Oslo Open before dropping the final two games. He was in the lead with 5.5/6 including a victory over GM Frode Urkedal, and 6.5/8. But he missed a big chance to take command in round seven when he could have knocked off the eventual tournament winner, Andriy Vovk. The first round of the European Club Cup produced a lot of mismatches, but every now and then a result does not go according to form. Ding Liren, fresh off going all the way to the finals of the World Cup, found the going rough in the first round of this Cup, against 17-year-old Italian IM Lorenzo Lodici. Lodici played a spirited game with Black, and Ding was actually rather lucky to come out with a draw. Another great episode of "GM Joel's Chess Week Recap!".

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