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15th Monarch Assurance Isle of Man International

23 September - 1 October 2006

 



Last updated: Monday, September 6, 2010 9:42 PM
Home Page • Round 1 • Round 2  • Round 3 • Round 4 • Round 5 • Round 6 • Crosstable • Major/Minor
 
 

Round 1 - 23 September 2006

Elisabeth Paehtz
Quick win for Elisabeth Paehtz

John Saunders reports Welcome to the website of the 15th Monarch Assurance Isle of Man International. It's great to be back here in the Isle of Man for the sixth time, and at the excellent Ocean Castle Hotel for the fourth time. I look forward all year to my trip to the Isle of Man, and this year it has been made even better by some very summery weather. The view from my third floor room at the hotel is absolutely glorious, with views of the bay and Bradda Head.

But you probably didn't arrive at the website to read my (by now) traditional travelogue. You want to hear about the chess. The first thing to say of this open tournament is that it is phenomenally strong. Looking through the list of 84 players, and breaking them up into categories - GM, IM, WGM, FM, WM and untitled: in an open tournament, which of these categories would you expect to be the most numerous? Normally you might expect 'untitled' to predominate, but here in Port Erin, the grandmasters outnumber the other categories. We have 29 grandmasters, 23 international masters (5 of whom are also woman grandmasters), 4 women grandmasters, 1 woman international master, 2 FIDE masters and 25 untitled players. While on this statistical theme, let's have a look at the nationalities: we have 22 nationalities represented in the open event - 24 players from England, 8 each from Russia and Ukraine, 6 from India, 5 from Poland, 3 each from Scotland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Netherlands, Denmark and Germany; 2 each from Lithuania and USA; and 1 each from Armenia, Qatar, France, Canada, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic and Hungary. There is no-one from Wales in the open, although there are John and Sandra Blackburn in the Dennis Hemsley tournament, not to mention arbiter Peter Purland... and of course the webmaster who is writing this. So I guess we can say that there are 23 nationalities hard at work here.

A break-down in terms of chess strength (everyone has a published international rating except for the three Isle of Man players) shows an average rating of 2295, with 11 players rated 2600+, 16 in each of the 2500-2599, 2400-2499 and 2300-2399 categories, 3 in the 2200-2299 band, 8 in 2100-2199, 7 in 2000-2099, and 7 below 2000 (including the three unrated players).

As for round one chess: three Ukrainian players arrived too late to be included in the original draw, which meant that two of them had to play each other and the other received a default win. The round also saw a pairing between the two Subbaraman sisters from India. So that accounted for a couple of quick draw.

The first round of open tournaments was, as usual, something of a massacre but there were one or two instances of the old fisherman's story: "the one that got away". One angler who nearly (but not quite) landed a prize salmon was Scottish amateur player Ian Marks who, despite a rating differential of 450+, had Ukrainian IM Tatjana Vasilievich at his mercy for a long time. Mark Ferguson managed to draw with rook and bishop against Mikhail Kobalia's queen. Generally it was a good round for the Brits; another good result was Alan Walton drawing with GM Vitaly Golod. He seemed to have pretty good winning chances at one point.

Eventually, in the last hour of play, we had our first surprise result: English Chess Federation Director of Home Chess Chris Majer beat German IM Sebastian Siebrecht, overturning a 426 rating point differential. We could have had another more surprises if Fritz is to be believed: Max Devereaux missed a clear winning chance against Russian GM Oleg Korneev, and even top seed Vladimir Akopian seemed to be in distinct trouble for a while.

 

Akopian,V (2713) - Roy Chowdhury,S (2394)
Monarch Assurance Isle of Man Port Erin IOM (1.1), 23.09.2006

24 ..Bb7!? [An enterprising pawn sacrifice to get things going.] 25 axb5 axb5 26 Nxb5 Qf7 27 Nc3 Rde8 28 Nd2 [White is trying to stop the threat of e5-e4 but now something much worse is coming.] 28 ..Nh4! [Both f2 and g2 are horridly weak.] 29 f3 Qg6 30 Re2 [It was either this or 30 g4 when the f3 pawn is in big trouble.] 30 ..Ba6 [Simple chess, winning the exchange.] 31 Kh2 Bxd3 32 cxd3 Nf5 [It is hard to see anything much wrong with 32 ..Qxd3 ] 33 Qe1 Nd4 34 Re4 Rb8 35 Nd5 Qf7 36 Ne3 Rxb2 [It might be smarter to keep the d6 pawn with 36 ..Qe6 but this should be very good for Black as well.] 37 Nec4 Ra2 38 Qb1 Rfa8 [38 ..Qa7! is very powerful, threatening Ra1 and eyeing the g1 square.] 39 Nxd6








39 ..Qg6? [39 ..Nxf3+! 40 Nxf3 Qxf3 maintains a powerful advantage for Black.] 40 N6c4 Nxf3+?? [Too late.] 41 gxf3 Qg5 42 Qe1 Rc8? 43 Rxe5 Sadly, Black has lost the plot. He went on to lose in 62 moves. 1-0

Dworakowska,J (2359) - Shabalov,A (2604) [B33]
Monarch Assurance Isle of Man Port Erin IOM (1.8), 23.09.2006

Joanna DworakowskaAlex Shabalov1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 e5 6 Ndb5 d6 7 Nd5 [An unusual sideline against the Sveshnikov, which is not bad and helps to avoid well-travelled theory.] 7 ..Nxd5 8 exd5 Ne7 9 c3 Nf5 10 a4 g6 11 Be2 Bg7 12 0-0 0-0 13 Qb3 Re8 14 Na3 [14 Qb4 e4 15 Bf4 Be5 was played in Yudasin-Kramnik, Wijk aan Zee 1994, and won by Black.] 14 ..Nh6 15 a5 f5 16 Bb5 Rf8 17 a6 f4 18 axb7 Bxb7 19 Bd3 Rb8 [Black's temporary local difficulty on the queenside is soon repaired, but White's kingside is harder to defend. Fritz only considers this slightly worse for White, but in reality her situation seems far worse.] 20 Qa2 f3 21 g3 e4! 22 Bc4 [Black's last move was designed to lure the bishop off the a6-f1 diagonal. If 22 Bxe4 Qd7 (the obvious plan is Qh3 and Qg2 mate) 23 Bxh6 Bxh6 24 Nc2 Rbe8! (24 ..Qh3 25 Ne1 defends) 25 Rfe1 (If the bishop moves, it is mate, e.g. 25 Bd3 Qh3 and if the knight does to e3 or e1 it can be captured by the rook on e8) 25 ..Bd2! hitting the rook and also ensuring that the c2 knight can be knocked out if it tries to defend against the mate threat. Black is winning the exchange.] 22 ..Qd7 23 Re1 Ng4 24 Nc2








[White could try 24 Rxe4!? but then 24 ..Nxf2! 25 Kxf2 Qh3 26 Bf4 Rbe8! gives Black a big attack.] 24 ..Nxf2! 25 Kxf2 Qh3 26 Nd4 [26 Ne3 Qxh2+ 27 Kf1 Bc8! is hopeless.; 26 Rf1 Qxh2+ 27 Ke1 Qxc2! 28 Rf2 and it looks like the queen has been trapped but 28 ..Bxc3+! 29 bxc3 Qxc3+ 30 Bd2 Qd4 gives Black four pawns and a massive attack for the piece.] 26 ..Qg2+ 27 Ke3 Bh6+ [27 ..Bh6+ 28 Kxe4 f2+ wins.] 0-1

Siebrecht,S (2417) - Majer,C (1991)
Monarch Assurance Isle of Man Port Erin IOM (1.35), 23.09.2006

Sebastian SiebrechtChris Majer[White is better here but the position is a little complex. Ideal hunting territory for a tiger seeking to trap an elephant, in fact. If you don't understand that reference, go out and buy Chess for Tigers (by the late Simon Webb) immediately. One of the best chess books ever written.] 32 Ne3 Bd4 33 Qd2 Qa7 34 Bf1 N8c7 [White has failed to achieve anything over the past few moves. Meanwhile Black has developed pressure on the a7-g1 diagonal and effectively blockaded the c6 pawn.] 35 f4 Nxf4! [Fritz doesn't like this, but I do. White is trying to exchange the dark-squared bishops and then try to exploit the dark-squared weakness on the kingside. Black probably realised this but decided to tough it out. It was a brave decision which paid off.] 36 Ng4 Bxf2+ 37 Nxf2 Nfe6 38 Qxd6+ Kg8 39 Re2 Rd8 40 Qe7 Re8 41 Qh4 Qb6 42 Rd2 Rb8! [Good decision. Taking the pawn with 42 ..Qxc6 allows 43 Ng4 and the knight will be a handful.] 43 Bc4? [The IM starts to lose the thread. 43 Rd7 is better, with a view to targeting the f7 pawn.] 43 ..Qe3 [Perhaps 43 ..Qxc6 was playable now, because of 44 Ne4 Rxb4!! when 45 Nf6+ Kg7! wins. But the text looks very sensible too.] 44 Rd7 Qe1+ 45 Bf1 Rxb4 46 Qf6 Rf4 [Black holds his position together with this move. White has clearly miscalculated his attack. Instead of stepping back with Qb2, he decides to exchange the rooks via a little tactic. I'm not sure this was a good decision.] 47 Rd8+ Nxd8 48 Qxf4 Nde6 49 Qd6 [The psychology of the game has now changed. Black must know by now that he is grave danger of beating a very much higher rated player. Inevitably he starts to play a little tentatively.] 49 ..Qa1 50 g3 Qd4 51 Qe7 a5 52 Bh3 Qc5 53 Qd7 a4 54 Bxe6 Nxe6








55 Kg2?? [Very surprising that White didn't play 55 c7 Qxc7 56 Qxa4 which would surely have made it much harder for the lower-rated player to win the game with the pawns all on one side of the board. Perhaps White still harboured hopes of winning?]] 55 ..a3 56 Ng4 Kg7 57 Qd2 Qxc6+ 58 Kh3 Nf8 [Not sure what the idea of this is. Black was probably just being ultra-cautious or perhaps seeing threats which weren't there.] 59 Qd4+ f6 60 Qb4 Qe6 61 Kg2 [61 Qxa3 h5 wins.] 61 ..a2 62 Qb7+ Qd7 63 Qa6 Qxg4 64 Qxa2 h5 65 h4 Qe6 66 Qa7+ Qd7 67 Qb8 Ne6 68 Kf3 Nd4+ 69 Ke3 Nf5+ 70 Kf2 Qd2+ 71 Kf3 Qd3+ 72 Kg2 Qxg3+ [Once again, Black's play has the virtue of keeping it simple.] 0-1

Marks,I (1944) - Vasilevich,T (2412) [B43]
Monarch Assurance Isle of Man Port Erin IOM (1.38), 23.09.2006

Ian MarksTatjana Vasilevich

1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 a6 3 Nc3 e6 4 d4 cxd4 5 Nxd4 Qc7 6 Bd3 Nf6 7 0-0 d6 8 f4 g6 [Grandmasters have played this but it looks very fishy. It gives White a big target to strike at. Ian Marks wastes no time.] 9 f5! Bg7 10 Be3 [10 Bg5 has been played here before, including by Judit Polgar.] 10 ..Nc6 11 fxe6 fxe6 12 Nxc6 bxc6 13 e5! [Excellent move. White's non-nonsense opening play has made the IM's position look slightly ridiculous.] 13 ..Nd5 [13 ..dxe5 14 Qe2 and White is having all the fun, while Black's position is riddled with weaknesses and blockages.] 14 Nxd5 cxd5 15 Qg4! [A few more direct moves and Black's position is practically hopeless.] 15 ..Bxe5 16 Bxg6+! hxg6 17 Qxg6+ Kd7 18 Rf7+ Kc6 19 Rxc7+ Kxc7








[It is hard to believe that White is the player rated 468 points below Black. However, there is no such as a 'won position' in chess - just a position that can be won with best play.] 20 Bf4 Bd4+ 21 Kh1 Bd7 22 c4 Raf8 23 Bg3 dxc4 24 Rc1? [24 Qc2 is better here, more or less forcing 24 ..c3 when 25 bxc3 Bc5 26 Rd1 keeps the initiative.] 24 ..Rhg8!? [Not the best move by a long stretch, but one which puts pressure on White to find a precise move.] 25 Rxc4+? [White needed to find 25 Qd3! when White's attack picks up a lot of momentum.] 25 ..Kb7 26 Qb1 [Probably best. However, Black now has the initiative, with threats like Rxg3 and Rh8 in the offing. White can still claim an advantage but he has to be very careful.] 26 ..e5 27 Qc1? [White had a very tough decision to make here and flunks it: 27 Rxd4! exd4 28 Kg1! is correct, securing the white king's safety by eliminating the powerful dark-squared bishop and wresting back the initiative for White. If then 28 ..Bb5 29 Qe4+! gets a useful attack going.] 27 ..Bb5! 28 Bh4? [28 Rb4 was the only move when 28 ..Bc5 forces 29 Rxb5+ axb5 though White is still struggling.] 28 ..Bxb2! 29 Qb1 Bxc4 30 Qxb2+ Kc6 [White has at least got rid of the dark-squared bishop but unfortunately the light-squared one is now every bit as lethal.] 31 h3 Bd5 32 Qc2+ Kb7 33 Qb2+ Ka8 34 Bf2 Rxg2 35 Qb6 Rgxf2+ 36 Kg1 Rg2+ 37 Kh1 Rf1+ 0-1 


Monarch Assurance Isle of Man

Round: 1

 Bd White                                Result  Black                                 --No--
  1 Akopian, Vladimir....... 2713        1 - 0   Roy Chowdhury, Saptarshi 2394          1  50
  2 Ferguson, Mark.......... 2389        ½ - ½   Kobalia, Mikhail........ 2647         51   3
  3 Korneev, Oleg........... 2638        ½ - ½   Devereaux, Maxim L...... 2377          5  53
  4 Kononenko, Tatiana...... 2387        0 - 1   Krasenkow, Mikhal....... 2635         52   6
  5 Volkov, Sergey.......... 2628        1 - 0   Peek, Marcel............ 2367          8  55

  6 Zimmerman, Yuri......... 2374        0 - 1   Socko, Bartosz.......... 2621         54   9
  7 Kazhgaleyev, Murtas..... 2606        1 - 0   Sahl, Bjarke............ 2364         10  56
  8 Dworakowska, Joanna..... 2359        0 - 1   Shabalov, Alexander..... 2604         57  11
  9 Iordachescu, Viorel..... 2603        1 - 0   Zozulia, Anna........... 2352         12  59
 10 Mannion, Steve R........ 2346        0 - 1   Malakhatko, Vadim....... 2594         60  13

 11 Postny, Evgeny.......... 2591        1 - 0   Quillan, Gary........... 2344         14  62
 12 Ashton, Adam G.......... 2329        0 - 1   Ikonnikov, Vyacheslav... 2587         63  15
 13 Khenkin, Igor........... 2586        1 - 0   Szieberth, Adam......... 2328         16  64
 14 Mohota, Nisha........... 2313        0 - 1   Landa, Konstantin....... 2584         65  17
 15 Yakovich, Yuri.......... 2583        1 - 0   Eggleston, David J...... 2232         18  67

 16 Walton, Alan J.......... 2222        ½ - ½   Golod, Vitali........... 2576         68  19
 17 Bartel, Mateusz......... 2561        1 - 0   Spence, David J......... 2205         21  69
 18 Grant, Alan G........... 2193        0 - 1   Stocek, Jiri............ 2561         70  22
 19 Neverov, Valeriy........ 2556        1 - 0   Collier, David O........ 2175         23  71
 20 Groffen, Hans........... 2171        ½ - ½   Kiriakov, Petr.......... 2554         72  24

 21 Greenfeld, Alon......... 2551        1 - 0   Sarakauskiene, Zivile... 2158         26  73
 22 Hutchinson, Norman A.... 2107        0 - 1   Bobras, Piotr........... 2535         75  28
 23 Hebden, Mark L.......... 2532        1 - 0   Fox, Anthony............ 2117         29  74
 24 Henrichsen, Jens........ 2106        0 - 1   Gormally, Daniel W...... 2513         76  30
 25 Al Sayed, Mohamad N..... 2492        1 - 0   Savory, Richard J....... 2101         32  77

 26 Sharma, Dinesh K........ 2358        ½ - ½   Wells, Peter K.......... 2480         58  33
 27 Arkell, Keith C......... 2479        1 - 0   Fairbairn, Stephen...... 2088         34  80
 28 Lunn, Timothy........... 2079        0 - 1   Williams, Simon K....... 2473         81  36
 29 Paehtz, Elizabeth....... 2456        1 - 0   Fraser-Mitchell, Jeremy  2077         37  82
 30 Spanton, Tim R.......... 2075        0 - 1   Zatonskih, Anna......... 2432         83  39

 31 Haslinger, Stewart G.... 2423        1 - 0   Werner, Gert............ 2069         40  84
 32 Cafolla, Peter.......... 2062        0 - 1   Hanley, Craig A......... 2419         85  41
 33 Cox, John J............. 2418        1 - 0   Henderikse, Bert........ 2019         42  86
 34 Meenakshi, Subbaraman... 2310        ½ - ½   Vijayalakshmi, Subbarama 2417         66  44
 35 Siebrecht, Sebastian.... 2417        0 - 1   Majer, Chris E.......... 1991         43  87

 36 De Lagontrie, Jean...... 1974        0 - 1   Sarakauskas, Gediminas.. 2414         88  45
 37 Palliser, Richard JD.... 2413        1 - 0   Nicholson, John......... 1945         46  90
 38 Marks, Ian A............ 1944        0 - 1   Vasilevich, Tatiana..... 2412         91  47
 39 Ledger, Andrew J........ 2411        1 - 0   Fabri, Henrik........... 1940         48  78
 40 Minor, Harry............ 1500d       0 - 1   Sriram, Jha............. 2408         93  49

 41 Areshchenko, Alexander...2641        ½ - ½   Kuzubov, Yuri            2554
 42 Default                              0 - 1   Efimenko, Zahar          2632
 43 Ormsby, Alan............ 1939        ½ - ½   Bye.....................              89

Venue:      Ocean Castle Hotel Port Erin
Date:       23 Sep 06 to 01 Oct 06
Timings:    First 40 moves in 120 mins. Next 20 moves in 60 mins. 30 mins to completion.

 

Tournament Director/Organiser:

Dennis Hemsley
3 Links Avenue, Port St Mary, Isle of Man IM9 5EY
tel. 44(0)1624 833742, fax 44(0)1624 833583
email (for all enquiries about the tournament)

Official Website:

www.bcmchess.co.uk/monarch2006

Webmaster: John Saunders
Email:

 

Main Sponsors

Monarch Assurance plc
Head Office:
Manxonia House
Bay View Road
Port St Mary
Isle of Man IM9 5AE
Tel: +44 (0)1624 834903 Fax: +44 (0)1624 834921


As well as Monarch Assurance plc, the Tournament is sponsored by The Isle of Man Department of Tourism, and the Port Erin Commissioners.
 
Home Page: www.bcmchess.co.uk
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Hotel/Venue: Ocean Castle Hotel, Port Erin - email: hotel@oceancastle.co.uk
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