14th Monarch Assurance Isle of Man International

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14th Monarch Assurance Isle of Man International
22 Sept - 2 Oct 2005

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Round 4 - 27 September 2005 - "And Then There were Six..."

Sergei Tiviakov Oleg Korneev
The two Round 2 leaders, Tiviakov and Korneev, awarded themselves the day off...
They have been joined in the lead by four other players ...

... Alexander Shabalov and Mikhail Kobalia, and ...

... Vyacheslav Ikonnikov and Evgeny Postny

The six players shown above are some of the most experienced grandmasters on the circuit. It is interesting to consider their age range. The oldest is Vyacheslav Ikonnikov (39), Korneev, Shabalov and Tiviakov are in their thirties, while Mikhail Kobalia is 27 and Israeli grandmaster Evgeny Postny, 24. I guess that represents the prime age range for modern grandmasters. But we have some highly talented teenagers in this field. Most British readers, and also some fans abroad, will be familiar with David Howell and his exploits as a prodigy for the last few years. David is knocking on the door of his final grandmaster norm as he approaches his 15th birthday in November. But Ukraine is represented by two teenagers who are already holders of that title. They were in the thick of the fourth round action.

Yuri Kuzubov looks a little older than he is, which is 15 years 8 months. He is yet another high quality product from the assembly line of A.V. Momot Chess Club in Kramatorsk which has already produced Ruslan Ponomariov, Sergei Karyakin and Kateryna Lahno. He started making a big impression last year at the Ukrainian Championship. He is less well known than some of the names mentioned, but I have a feeling that could change quite soon. In round four he was given a stern test by tournament third seed Mikhail Kobalia. The opening was very similar to that played in Palliser-Malakhatko in round two, but Kobalia played it more solidly. A long manoeuvring game ensued with Kobalia giving up the exchange for a pawn to break out of a bind set up by his youthful opponent. Kuzubov may have had a an edge some time after the first time control but he could never seem to make progress against Kobalia's resolute play.

Yuri Kuzubov (left) versus Mikhail Kobalia

Kuzubov,Y (2535) - Kobalia,M (2614)
Monarch Assurance Port Erin IOM (4.2), 27.09.2005

[The position is tense but probably about equal here.] 52 Kf2?! [This puts White in the firing line of a rapid attack.] 52...f5! 53 Rc3 f4 54 Bxf4 Nxf4 55 Rxf4 Rxf4 56 gxf4 Qh4+ 57 Ke3? [In time trouble White further weakens his position. 57 Kg2 was better.] 57...Qe1+ 58 Ne2 Nxf3 59 Rd3 Nh4 60 Kd4? [This at least avoids the threatened mate in one (Nf5) but on the last move before the time control, White should have jettisoned his rook with 60 Rxd5!? cxd5 61 Qd3 and he still has chances.] 60...Qb4+! [Time control reached, and now Kobalia could work out the finish at his leisure.] 61 Ke5 [If White goes the other way, he gets mated in two: 61 Ke3 Ng2+ 62 Kf2 Qe1#] 61...Ng6+ 62 Kd6 Qa5! 63 Kd7 Nf8+ 64 Kc8 [64 Kd6 Qd8+ 65 Ke5 Qf6#] 64...Ne6! 65 Kb8 Nxc50-1 [66 Rxd5 cxd5 67 Qf5 Qd8+ 68 Ka7 b5 69 Qe5 b4 wins]

Alexander Areshchenko Alexander Areschenko (pictured left) is 19 years 3 months old, and is also a product of the A. V. Momot Club. Despite his youth he is the tournament's second rating favourite after Sergei Tiviakov. After a steady start to the tournament, with draws against two sub-2400 rated playeds, he now seems to be revving up his engine. Today, after an inauspicious opening, he produced a vicious finish to sink the young Russian GM Vitaly Kunin.

Areshchenko,A (2625) - Kunin,V (2448) [B07]
Monarch Assurance Port Erin IOM (4.8), 27.09.2005

1 e4 d6 2 d4 Nf6 3 Nc3 e5 4 dxe5 dxe5 5 Qxd8+ Kxd8 6 Bc4 Ke8 7 Nf3 Bd6 8 h3 a6 9 a4 Nbd7 [After this rather tame beginning, one was beginning to suspect that the players were going to adjourn to the hotel lounge fairly soon, some of their older confreres had already done.] 10 Be3 b6 11 Ke2 Bb7 12 Nd2 h6 13 f3 Bc5 14 Nf1 Ke7 15 h4 g6 16 g4 c6 [After this, you might have expected b6-b5 to follow, but Black never does this.] 17 h5 Bxe3 18 Nxe3 Nc5 19 b4 Ne6 20 Bxe6 Kxe6 21 hxg6 fxg6 22 Nc4 Rad8 [Very strange. Perhaps Black did not like the look of 22...b5 23 Na5 and then having to do something about the attacked bishop, but it looks better than simply gifting the b-pawn.] 23 Nxb6 h5 24 gxh5 Nxh5 25 Ke3 Rd4 [Now we are getting a glimmer of an idea why Black gave up his b-pawn; he is trying to cut off the b6 knight's retreat and attack the b4 pawn. But Areshchenko finds a way to exploit a flaw in this idea.] 26 Rag1 Kf7 27 Ne2! Rxb4 28 Nd7! [Black may not have known it yet, but he is a dead man walking. The e-pawn and g-pawn are doomed.] 28...Ke6

29 Nxe5!! [I saw this move played. For a moment Black looked like he had been dazzled by the headlights of a big truck about to run him over.] 29...Rxa4 [29...Kxe5 30 Rxg6 and Black has to give up at least two pieces to prevent the threat of Rxh5+ followed by f4 mate.; The best Fritz can come up with is 29...Rh6 but then 30 Nxg6 and the h5 knight will soon be lost.] 30 Rxg6+ Ke7 31 Rg5 1-0 [The knight must fall, and the ridiculous bishop on b7 may as well be back in the box.]

Joanna Dworakowska I may be a bit old-fashioned, but I think the following sort of thing should not happen to a lady...

Galkin,A (2598) - Dworakowska,J (2401) [B92]
Monarch Assurance Port Erin IOM (4.10), 27.09.2005

1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 Be2 e5 7 Nb3 Be7 8 0-0 0-0 9 Kh1 b5 10 a4 b4 11 Nd5 Nxd5 [This is a rather dubious line. 11...Bb7 is probably better.] 12 Qxd5 Ra7 13 Be3 Be6 14 Qd2 Rb7 15 f4 [15 a5 was played by Joanna Dworakowska herself against Mahini Salman at the Istanbul 2004. It makes it the more surprising that she should have played this line with Black.] 15...Qc7? [15...f6 and 15...exf4 have been played here previously. They are both vastly superior to the text.] 16 f5 Bd7

17 f6! Bxf6 18 Rxf6! gxf6 19 Bh6 [It is surprisingly difficult to find a defence to this direct and obvious attacking plan.] 19...Re8 20 Bxa6! Nxa6 [The patron saint of chess lost causes, St Fritz, suggests 20...Bg4 but it has very little confidence in it after 21 Qf2 f5 22 Bxb7 Qxb7 23 h3 , etc.] 21 Qf2 Bf5 22 Qxf5 Qd7 23 Qf3! 1-0 ["Why not 23 Qxf6?", I asked, rather unwisely, after the game. With a laugh, Joanna indicated the reply 23...Qg4! with a likely draw. That little trick was the only reason she was playing on.]

Boards one and three both finished within 15 minutes of the round starting at 1.30pm. Leaders after round 4: Korneev, Tiviakov, Kobalia, Shabalov, Ikonnikov and Postny all have 3½/4. Note that the score of Ulibin-Shabalov has been corrected (5...a6 was played, not 5...d6 - the rest of the score is correct - my thanks to Alex Shabalov for pointing this out).

Round  4

Bd  WHITE                      Result  BLACK                          PIN
  1 KORNEEV,Oleg     2594 (3)   ½ - ½  TIVIAKOV,Sergei  2678 (3)     8   1
  2 KUZUBOV,Yuri     2535 (2½)  0 - 1  KOBALIA,Mikhail  2614 (2½)   22   3
  3 BRODSKY,Michail  2554 (2½)  ½ - ½  EPISHIN,Vladimir 2600 (2½)   19   5
  4 ULYBIN,Mikhail   2529 (2½)  0 - 1  SHABALOV,Alexand 2593 (2½)   23   9
  5 KIDAMBI,Sundarar 2484 (2½)  0 - 1  IKONNIKOV,Vyache 2560 (2½)   28  14
  6 PALLISER,Richard 2389 (2½)  0 - 1  POSTNY,Evgeny    2559 (2½)   43  16
  7 GORMALLY,Daniel  2557 (2)   1 - 0  GOLETIANI,Rusuda 2332 (2½)   17  53
  8 ARESHCHENKO,Alex 2625 (2)   1 - 0  KUNIN,Vitaly     2448 (2)     2  32
  9 GHAEM MAGHAMI,Eh 2603 (2)   ½ - ½  ZATONSKIH,Anna   2435 (2)     4  36
 10 GALKIN,Alexander 2598 (2)   1 - 0  DWORAKOWSKA,Joan 2401 (2)     6  40

 11 LALIC,Bogdan     2491 (2)   ½ - ½  ERENBURG,Sergey  2595 (2)    27   7
 12 HOWELL,David W   2471 (2)   1 - 0  KOGAN,Artur      2580 (2)    29  10
 13 DAVID,Alberto    2579 (2)   1 - 0  SAREEN,Vishal    2385 (2)    11  44
 14 NEELOTPAL,Das    2467 (2)   0 - 1  MIKHALEVSKI,Vict 2572 (2)    31  12
 15 FRIDMAN,Daniel   2566 (2)   ½ - ½  GUPTA,Abhijeet   2380 (2)    13  46
 16 KOLBUS,Dietmar   2416 (2)   0 - 1  MALAKHATKO,Vadim 2556 (2)    39  18
 17 AAGAARD,Jacob    2442 (2)   0 - 1  KRITZ,Leonid     2544 (2)    33  20
 18 SULSKIS,Sarunas  2535 (2)   1 - 0  ALLEN,Keith      2210 (2)    21  62
 19 COX,John         2385 (2)   1 - 0  WELLS,Peter      2529 (2)    45  24
 20 FAIRBAIRN,Steve  2065 (2)   0 - 1  BOBRAS,Piotr     2525 (2)    82  25

 21 YAKOVICH,Yuri    2560 (1½)  1 - 0  ZOZULIA,Anna     2314 (1½)   15  55
 22 VITOUX,Colomban  2264 (1½)  0 - 1  ADLY,Ahmed       2503 (1½)   58  26
 23 ASHTON,Adam      2294 (1½)  0 - 1  KONONENKO,Tatian 2442 (1½)   56  34
 24 GLADYSZEV,Oleg   2436 (1½)  1 - 0  HUGHES,Howard R  2194 (1½)   35  67
 25 GREET,Andrew N   2425 (1½)  ½ - ½  MIRZOEVA,Elmira  2223 (1½)   37  60
 26 KLENBURG,Mikhail 2400 (1½)  ½ - ½  GRANT,Alan       2152 (1½)   41  71
 27 KIRSCHBAUM,Gunna 2204 (1½)  0 - 1  ROEDER,Mathias   2393 (1½)   65  42
 28 NEGI,Parimarjan  2376 (1½)  1 - 0  ADAMS,Phil       2138 (1½)   47  73
 29 MANNION,Steve R. 2331 (1½)  1 - 0  DUHAYON,Yves     2230 (1)    54  59
 30 WADEMARK,Helge   2182 (1)   0 - 1  NEUBAUER,Martin  2468 (1)    68  30

 31 LOHOU,Stephane   2144 (1)   0 - 1  ZUDE,Erik        2424 (1)    72  38
 32 RUSTON,Mark      2116 (1)   0 - 1  ZIMMERMAN,Yuri   2375 (1)    75  48
 33 PEEK,Marcel      2373 (1)   1 - 0  SMITH,Andrew P   2204 (1)    49  64
 34 HANLEY,Craig     2367 (1)   1 - 0  DUNN,Andrew      2197 (1)    50  66
 35 BENNION,David A. 2074 (1)   0 - 1  BOSBOOM-LANCHAVA 2363 (1)    81  51
 36 RADOVANOVIC,Jovi 2357 (1)   1 - 0  WALTHER,Cliff    2175 (1)    52  69
 37 HEYL,Thomas      2101 (1)   0 - 1  PERIC,Slavisa    2280 (1)    77  57
 38 SPENCE,David     2218 (1)   1 - 0  HENRICHSEN,Jens  2075 (1)    61  80
 39 GROFFEN,Hans     2210 (1)   ½ - ½  MARTIN,Katie     1953 (1)    63  89
 40 GOODGER,Martyn   2162 (½)   1 - 0  YOUNG,Mel        1971 (½)    70  88

 41 FOX,Anthony      2118 (½)   0 - 1  FOX,Pierre       1815 (½)    74  91
 42 WERNER,Gert      2047 (½)   ½ - ½  HICKMAN,John     2115 (½)    83  76
 43 DE LAGONTRIE,Jea 1988 (½)   1 - 0  FRASER-MITCHELL, 2098 (½)    87  78
 44 HENDERIKSE,Bert  2028 (0)   0 - 1  SPANTON,Tim      2032 (½)    85  84
 45 HUTCHINSON,Norma 2097 (0)   ½ - ½  MARKS,Ian A      1889 (0)    79  90
 46 MCKENZIE,Mark    1249 (0)   0 - 1  NICHOLSON,John   2000 (0)    92  86

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