Morozevich

Morozevich finished 4th

27 January 2002
Morozevich finished 4th in Corus Chess with 8 points

The tournament was won by Evgeny Bareev, Russia.

Here is the final standing:

1. Bareev (Russia) 9
2. Grischuk (Russia) 8½
3. Adams (England) 8
4. Morozevich (Russia) 8
5. Khalifman (Russia) 7½
6. Leko (Hungary) 7
7. Dreev (Russia) 6
8. Gelfand (Israel) 6
9. Lautier (France) 6
10. Piket (Nederland) 6
11. Timman (Nederland) 6
12. Gurevich (Belgium) 5½
13. Kasimdzhanov (Uzbekistan) 4½
14. van Wely (Nederland) 3

Rating: 2688

Tkachiev makes Anand sweat

2 December 2001
MOSCOW: Some missed chances by Vishwanathan Anand, a brilliant victory by Grandmaster Peter Svidler of Russia and some games wherein fortunes fluctuated. To sum it up, a very eventful day in the World Chess championships 2001 at the Kremlin.

As I had observed earlier, Tkachiev will did make it a match for Anand! A draw with the black pieces suggests that he already has. Anand will now have to play with black pieces in the next game on Sunday and will probably have a tough day to try and equalise with the unfavourable colour.

The game was on expected course in the Arkhengelsk variation of the Ruy Loopez .

Tkachiev is a master of this opening and Anand too has played it from both sides. The new idea that Anand had cooked was excellent and Tkachiev was soon in deep sea trying to work out a defensive plan in a difficult situation. Tkachiev was the first to enter complications with a piece sacrifice that netted him a rook against the Bishop pair.

The important thing here was Anand’s forces being disunited. There was little harmony and as is often the case in these kind of situations, a piece is not enough!

However, it was a spectacular manoeuvre that Anand came up with, forcing an endgame with only chances for him. But technicalities of the game were far from over as Anand realised soon. Tkachieve put up fine resistance and phew...a draw in 48 moves. Anand was looking upset after the game and we just exchanged a glance while he said that he was not sure about victory. But I am sure he is.

Among other games in the day Grandmaster Vadim Zvjagintsev was superb. He is one of the most creative players. Playing against Michael Adams with white pieces, Vadim went for the kill in an outstanding fashion. By the tenth move itself one could see that Vadim had his heart into it. Pushing pawns on both flanks, centralised king walking on all fours, pawn sacrifice, recovery.. it was all very exciting.

Only that it did not meet the desired result as Adams squeezed out with a draw. Had there been a system for bonus points on the way one plays them, Vadim would certainly have got one! I am sure this kind of game has not been played at the highest level in past many years. Peter Svidler of Russia was excellent too. On his day he can be a tough customer for anyone, especially with white pieces. His openings are a bit obscure but very well worked out. Vadim Milov of Switzerland realised it a bit late.

GM Alexander Morozevich of Russia won a very topsy-turvy game against GM Mikhail Gurevich of Belgium. One more Asian has announced his arrival at the top. GM Ye Ziangchuang, the bespectacled and lanky Chinese crushed Dutch GM Loek Van Wely with black pieces.

Morezevich defeated Gurevich

1 December 2001
MOSCOW: Defending FIDE world champion Viswanathan Anand of India missed good chances to win against France's Vladislav Tkachiev in the first game of the third round of the FIDE world championship.

Second seed Michael Adams of England drew with Black against Russia's Vadim Zvjaginsev. Third seed Alexander Morezevich of Russia defeated Mikhail Gurevich of Russia. And sixth seed Evgeny Bareev was upset with the white pieces by his countryman Konstantin Sakaev.

Tkachiev, playing the black side of the Archangelsk variation of the Ruy Lopez sacrificed a pawn. They followed Anand's game against Dutch grandmaster Jeroen Piket in Dortmund in 2000 until Anand varied on move 14.

Anand's 18th move initiated a series of sharp tactical exchanges. When the smoke cleared a few moves later, Anand had won two bishops for a rook. Tkachiev decided to give back an exchange. This left him with two pawns for a piece, but real drawing chances since the pawns were all on one side of the board and Anand's pawns were split.

But Anand gave up a pawn, and suddenly whatever winning chances he had were gone. The players agreed to a draw on move 48. After the game, both players said that they weren't sure when or whether Anand missed a win.

The tournament is organized as a series of two-game elimination matches, with rapid and blitz playoffs in the case of ties. The finals will be held here in January.

Sixty-four top women players are also competing under the same format for the women's world championship. The world's strongest woman player, Judit Polgar of Hungary, played in the men's championship and was eliminated in the second round.

The only American player left in either tournament, Camilla Baginskaite, lost to Xu Yuhua of China.

The second game of this round, along with the playoffs, will take place here on Sunday.

Chess has had two world champions since 1993, when then-world champion Garry Kasparov broke away from FIDE and formed the Professional Chess Association. He defended his title under the PCA's auspices against Briton Nigel Short in 1993 and against Anand in 1995. The PCA disbanded in 1998.

In 2000, Kasparov lost a match to Vladimir Kramnik, sponsored by Braingames.net, an Internet startup company. Kramnik is scheduled to defend his title next October against the winner of a qualifying event in July. Kasparov and Kramnik are playing a rival exhibition match just a few blocks away from the FIDE tournament that begins on Saturday. They will play 20 games at various time controls for a purse of $500,000.

Kasparov, Kramnik, and Anand are ranked first, second, and third in the world respectively.
( AP )