August 09, 2009 • General
Hello to everyone once again. Unfortunately, because I am a total idiot, I accidentally hit the back button after finishing up my annotations on the first game from the 960 final against GM Aronian. Thus, I ended up erasing 1 hour of hard work…c’est la vie. Therefore, I am simply going to be writing up a blog entry without annotations as it will be too excruciating to redo all of it at this time.
Day 5: “Showdown in Mainz”
Once again, keeping in tandem with my ‘normal’ schedule up to this point, I chose to stay up for most of the evening prior to the looming showdown on the following day. Thus, I enjoyed a scrumptious breakfast at 6:30 AM eventually turning in around 7:30 AM. To avoid any potential nightmare, I set an alarm for 4:30 PM just to be safe. After waking up, I decided to chill out for an hour before I meditated and got ready for the big match. Surprisingly, I was very loose before the actual start. In many ways, my goal was to simply make it to the final, so by making it there and also beating Levon along the way, I felt that even if I lost 4-0, it would have been successful. I cannot reiterate it enough that being relaxed rather than overly tense is always more enjoyable. Of course, more often than not, the pressure is on me to win and not the other way around! This time around though, it definitely helped to not have to prove anything.
In the first game itself, I played the first couple moves quickly and the position should have been relatively balanced. However, Levon after using more time was unable to come up with the right idea and I came out of the opening with a surprisingly big advantage. When coupled with the nice time advantage which I had, I was able to get a winning position. It was at this point that Levon tried to complicate matters by sacrificing a rook. I managed to maintain my cool and was able to convert with any real scare. All I can say is wow! Obviously, I felt that I would have chances in the match, but to start off like this really surprised me and definitely made me believe that I had a legitimate shot at winning.
After winning the first game, my goal was to simply play chess and not do anything overly stupid if possible. Surprisingly enough, I was able to trick Levon with a nifty little pawn manouver in the opening after which I really had no major problems. In the middle game, Levon used nearly all of his time trying to solve the complications which I created. Much like in the first game, he reacted badly and after two quick blunders, I netted a piece and the game. This game had a lot less drama than the first game as the result was very sudden. Right before I won the game, I really started thinking to myself if this was really happening or if it was all a dream. Running into ICC journalist Macauley Peterson outside the playing hall after the second game, I realized that this was actually reality!
The start of the third game brought a sense of tension and urgency on both Levon and my part since we both had something to prove. If I drew or won the game, the match was over while he was in a must win situation with Black. In this third game, Levon chose to play a Philidor type of setup which was, without a doubt, the wrong plan. I got a big advantage after 10 moves while Levon’s time simply kept on ticking away. As the game progressed, I am pretty sure I missed one or two ways to convert the win quicker, but I went for tactics since he was low on time. In the end, my simple attack on the queenside was just too strong and there was no obvious defence at the very least. When Levon resigned the third game, there was a lot of clapping in the Rheingold Halle. To put it simply, I was just elated with the result. However, in some ways I was definitely disappointed since I was expecting more of a challenge. I do think that if I can beat the number five player in the world that easily, then I definitely have a chance at becoming world champion in a few years. I know that Levon attributed it to having a bad day, however, I simply do not believe in this justification as his play the previous day was also very shaky with losses to Bologan and myself. Before I get ahead of myself we did, in fact, play a fourth game in which I completely winged it and somehow miraculously drew from a much worse and probably losing position. This meant that the final score was 3.5-.5.
What conclusions can be drawn from the 960 Fischer Random event? I think that what it showed me is that I am capable of competing with the best players when it becomes “chess” as opposed to simple systems and preparation. Therefore, I am very optimistic about my future chances if I am adequately prepared and maintain my current level in classical chess. As far as my overall view of Fischer Random, I think that what it shows more than anything is pawn structure and middlegame structures more than anything. However, I still do believe that it is not an adequate means of attempting to become a better tactician (I think blitz or bullet online is more productive in this regard).
Day 6: “Sleep”
I know that many people were expecting pictures, but I simply was too entrenched in my routine by this point so I simply was asleep pretty much the whole day as I needed to try to recharge my batteries prior to the Ordix Open which was starting on Saturday.
Day 7: “Ordix Open Day 1”
Having played in the Ordix Open last year, I knew that it would be brutally strong and tough. Overall, playing 11 games over 2 days is tough, but adding 7-8 games against GMs makes it simply an endurance test. Coming off of the 960, I simply was not ready for rapid, and I did not start off well as I blundered terrible and was losing in the first game to a 2100! From there, things really did not improve as I misplayed the English against GM Cvitan and was probably close to losing at a certain point before I swindled him. The one other game of note was in round five when I played GM Shomoev in the final round of the day. We played a hair raising Scandinavian in which it seesawed back and forth. I suspect that at more than 1 juncture, we both missed wins. After all the smoke cleared, we ended up in an endgame where I had R+N+pawn against R+B. However, Caissa must have decided that I had enough luck on the day since Shomoev played well and avoided cracking in the horribly time scramble. The end result was a draw with left me on 4.5/5. Overall, I could not complain with the result due to my horrible chess.
Day 8: “So Close and Yet So Far”
On the second and final day of the Ordix Open, the games started bright and early at 10 AM since we had 6 rounds to play! This definitely did not favor me as I had spent the last week (prior to day 1 of the Ordix Open) going to sleep in the early morning and waking up in the evening. However, I somehow I forced myself to get a few hours of sleep before play resumed in the open. In the sixth round, I had White against GM Andrei Sokolov of France. After playing a slightly offbeat variation in the English, I got an advantage only to play the variation in the wrong order. After this disaster, I was much worse if not outright losing ONCE AGAIN. My saving grace was that I had a big advantage on the clock. After tricking Sokolov in the midst of his bad time pressure, I got a small edge in a rook and pawn ending only for him to flag in a position where there was still a lot of work left. The seventh round worked out a lot better for me since I got Black against GM Gyimesi from Hungary and was able to execute a nice tactical combination in the Kings Indian. This left me on 6.5/7 and one of the clear leaders now. In the eight round, I was White against GM Sasikiran of India. This time around, there would be no repeat of 2.Qh5 like the one time we played in the Sigeman round robin in 2005! After blitzing out the first 15 moves in a Grunfeld, I simply forgot the theory and went astray instantly. At this point, I was clearly losing but I managed to just hang on while forcing my Indian opponent to use up valuable time trying to find a forced win. In the end, I somehow survived the dust but was still worse when he overstepped on time, thus giving me another miracle win. I really wish I could be more positive about the games, but my horrid play continued in the ninth round when I was Black against German GM Arkadij Naiditsch. After playing the opening like an idiot, I was simply losing YET AGAIN! Somehow though, I found a nifty little exchange sacrifice which gave me quite a bit of counterplay. My opponent was unable to find the right defensive plan and I was victorious.
At this point, having amassed a huge score of 8.5/9, I was really not sure what to make of anything. I was tied with GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov heading into the tenth round game. As we were the only two people on 8.5, this game more or less would decide the winner of the Ordix Open if it was decisive. Since I had White in this game, I figured that this was the one time when I really needed to find a way to play a good game of chess as it could give me a miracle victory. Overall, I felt that I played the game very well and always had a small advantage. It was only towards the end as we both headed for the time scramble, that I went horribly astray. The first mistake I made was not simplifying when I could have. The second and much more major mistake was getting cute and winning a piece. Although this was the best choice in the game, from a practical standpoint it made life horribly difficult as I always had to find the right moves in the scramble while Mamedyarov’s moves were all natural and easier to see. In the end, I simply got careless and blundered horribly. This blunder cost me both the game as well as any chance of winning the tournament. In the eleventh round game against GM Gashimov, I simply was unable to focus at all and lost without putting up any sort of fight. This left me on a final score of 8.5/11.
In conclusion, the Ordix Open was really a mixed bag. To play so badly in 9 of the 11 games and yet have a chance to win the tournament proved that even if I have a bad day or two, I will always be contending. Overall, I really could not have expected better than I did considering my lack of sleep and energy and all the ridiculously bad positions I achieved, so I am pleased. I would just like to point out that I had a great time in Mainz and although I doubt I will be back next year, I look forward to defending my Fischer Random 960 title in two years! Anyone who has a free week in the summer and wants to play chess should definitely consider taking a trip to Mainz if they want the real European chess experience. That is all for now since it is 2 AM and I have to pack for my trip to Japan!
August 02, 2009 • General
Alright, this blog is definitely a few days later than I would have originally liked, but due to my incredibly erratic sleep schedule and brutally long days of chess, it somehow slipped my mind. Since the tournaments are now over, I will recap the Mainz Chess Classic in the separate segments since I have much to say about both events which I participated in. I hope everyone enjoys the blog!
Day 1: “Arrival”
Coming off so many trips in a row, it was nice to arrive in Mainz a full two days before playing in the 960 Rapid World Championship. There really is nothing much to recap except that I arrived at the Frankfurt International Airport at around 9 AM after one of the more annoying flights in recent memory. Getting from Frankfurt to Mainz is quite convenient as it only requires a short 45 minute train ride during which one gets a great view of the countryside. After checking in at the Hilton Mainz on the Rhine, I decided to completely crash as I was tired from jetlag and all the recent traveling I have done with no break in between. In retrospect that very well might have been a mistake as I never completely was able to get on the time zone.
Day 2: “I love Sleeping”
Keeping in tune with my schedule from the previous day, I spent much of the evening and early morning awake before falling soundly asleep at around 7 AM. I had looked at the schedule the previous night and thought the press conference was at 3 PM. It was not a particularly enjoyable moment when I got a call at 1:55 PM saying the press conference would, in fact, be starting in five minutes! Therefore, I very quickly attempted to make my hair look respectable and showed up looking a bit groggy and out of it. However, I was able to answer the one important question which was asked and, so I accomplished my mission of not looking like a total fool! After this, I promptly went back to my room and feel back to asleep as quickly as I could.
Day 3: “So it Begins”
Luckily for me, keeping a US time schedule seemed to be ok as the games started at 6:30 PM local time which was pretty good since I woke up around 5 PM. As far as the games themselves went, it was anything but good. In the first round I was White against GM Levon Aronian from Armenia. I was really unsure what to expect as the last time I played a variant of normal chess (s-chess) I played like a complete maniac and ended up in some really wild positions.
The first game of the 960 World Championship seemed to follow this form as well when I decided to sacrifice two rooks for a queen while stopping Levon from being able to castle. However, despite what I felt was ample compensation, Levon played quite well and dodged all of my potential tricks. This led to an endgame in which he had a rook and two knights for my queen. Unfortunately, my kingside pawns never really got going and I lost in a fairly routine manner. In the second round, I had my second consecutive White against GM Sergei Movsesian of Slovakia who I played a few weeks back in San Sebastian. This game, at the very least, got off to a much better start as I had an advantage pretty much from the get go. In fact, it turned into pretty much a decisive advantage.
Nakamura-Movsesian, Position after 12…dxc6.
Here, I chose to play 13.Nxe5? Instead of 13.Bxc5 Bxc5 14.Nxe5 Bd6 15.Nxc6 Kb7 16.a4! a5 17.e5 after which I am up a clear pawn and should simply win. Unfortunately for me, after 13…Nxe4! the best I probably had was a draw. Nevertheless, from a psychological standpoint it is very hard to “give up” on the idea of playing for a win after you’ve let it slip. After my mistakes, Movsesian played extremely accurately and I never really had a chance to get back in the game. It goes without saying that being on 0/2 after all my recent successes was a bit of a shock. However, I was not expecting to win the event and simply wanted to just qualify for the final if possible. At this point, my prospects looked quite bleak, but I was able to rebound nicely with a solid win as Black against Moldovan GM Viorel Bologan. Due to a bit of luck, Levon was able to beat Sergei in a very sharp game of counterattacks which left me in the unique position of being tied for second. I recently had a similar situation last December in Norway when Carlsen>Svidler>Nakamura<Carlsen. The same situation happened here with Bologan>Movsesian>Nakamura>Bologan.
I have to admit that all in all, it was definitely a positive development for me to be in this situation considering how mediocre my overall play was on the first day. For me, I think the first game with Levon, I can chalk up with being too optimistic and simply trying to avoid a return to a normal chess position. In the second game against Sergei, I got a dream position out of the opening but messed it up which was incredibly unfortunate. However, the fact that I completely overlooked 13…Nxe4! was absolutely unacceptable and the outcome is completely fair. In the third game, I simply buckled down immensely since it was a must win game and I performed a lot better. I have to say that of the three of us, I felt that I had the most positive ending to day 1. Viorel had lost two games in a row and Sergei got punished by Levon. Going into day 2, my goal was to try and beat Sergei and Viorel, thereby controlling my destiny and most likely guaranteeing myself a spot in the final.
Day 4: “Where Did That Come From??”
Much to my chagrin, the pairings from the previous day repeated themselves except with colors reversed. This meant that in the fourth game, I got Black against Aronian. Going into this game, I knew I desperately needed to put a score on the board or it would make my task much, much tougher as I’d have two must win games. Unlike the previous day when I played based on intuition more than calculation in the opening, I changed my strategy. Instead of trusting my instincts, I figured that I had to get out of the opening with a decent position or else, my odds of even scoring against Levon would go down dramatically. As it turned out, this decision of being much more careful and precise paid dividends right away as I came out of the opening with a more or less completely equal position.
Aronian-Nakamura, Position after 14…Rxa7
At this point, Levon made a huge blunder with 15.Ba2 after which I am simply up a pawn with 15…Nxb2 16.Kc1 Bxa2 17.Kxb2 Bf7! The rest of the game was simply a matter of technique and I was able to covert without getting into any bad time pressure. What can I say? WOW. Of course, somewhere in the back of my head I knew that it was possible to beat Levon, but I definitely did not go into this game with the mindset. This result was a huge boost to my confidence as it made my job a little bit easier since the other two guys still had to face Levon. In the fifth game, I got Black against Sergei again and we resumed our general pattern of someone obtaining a huge edge out of the opening. In this case, it was Sergei who got the big edge as I misjudged the opening considerably and was significantly worse. I decided to sac a pawn to try and liven up the position, but it did not work out particularly well and I had a lot of work to do just reaching a satisfactory position. Luckily for me, Sergei returned the favor from the previous day and misplayed the middlegame giving me near equality. Slowly, I started building up my advantage and outplayed him. At this point, as he was getting worried, Sergei panicked and sacrificed a piece thinking he had a perpetual check. Although I did not play it completely accurately, Sergei missed the one drawing variation and I duly converted the position up one and then eventually two pieces. With this result my score was 3/5 and with Levon’s absolutely shocking loss to Viorel, everything became wide open. Going into the final round there was a really comical possibility of a four way tie if Levon lost to Sergei and I lost to Viorel since everyone would then end up on 3/6! However, both Levon and I clearly wanted to avoid any such drama and we both came out of our respective openings with a big advantage. Without any real difficulty, we both converted our advantages into wins which set up a dramatic final the following day between Levon and I for the 960 World Rapid Championship.
Either later tonight or tomorrow (It is now approaching midnight) I will add the second and final installment recapping the final day of the 960 World Rapid Championship and my epic showdown with Levon followed by the wild Ordix Open which I will have quite a bit to talk about.
July 30, 2009 • General
Greetings to everyone out there in cyberspace once again! Although I wish I could write a long blog right now, I am pretty tired and it is 2 AM, so I’ll just sum it up that I beat Levon Aronian 3.5-.5 today in the finals of the 960 World Chess Chess Championship here in Mainz, Germany. I’ll add a complete blog recapping the first three days of action and add some pictures along with it.
July 24, 2009 • General
Hello everyone! It just somehow has worked out that I have a few hours of downtime today before I go take care of business in New York City, so I will attempt to recap the past week.
Vancouver: “The Return”
In my last blog, I really wore out my fingers with the blog I wrote as I had to race against the clock and I promptly passed out immediately once I boarded the flight due to massive sleep deprivation. I did wake up a few hours later and had the luxury of sitting next to a couple of cute girls from New Jersey who were headed up to Whistler for some hiking. Immediately, I started giving them many ideas of what to do out there which really reminded me of all the great memories I had from last summer. Once I arrived in Vancouver, I promptly went out and enjoyed the afternoon with my friend Bruce out in the burbs. It involved many games of Seirawan Chess which was highly enjoyable for both of us.
These are the two pieces which can come onto the board much like in crazyhouse, but with different move abilities. The hawk can move like a knight&bishop while the elephant can move like a rook&knight. I find this game to be a fun distraction when I am not playing serious chess as there is a lot of creativity to it. Hopefully in time, it will become popular, but for the meantime it remains a game which is only played in Washington&Vancouver primarily.
After all this fun, I headed downtown to stay at my friend Jack’s place in the West End. When I was living in Vancouver last year, I lived in Yaletown which was on the other end of downtown. Sorry if the image below is not perfect, but it is the best I can do to illustrate. Nevertheless, after having been gone for seven months, it was really nice to be situated right next to Stanley Park which I have explored on many, many different occasions. However, I must admit that after leaving Vancouver on such a sour note at the end of last year, I really enjoyed being back now that I am at peace and happy compared to where I was at the time. On Sunday, I chose to explore the North Shore and Granville Island which were both a lot of fun. The perfect sunny days of summer in the Pacific Northwest cannot be beaten anywhere else in the world.
Having spent both Saturday and Sunday in Vancouver, I caught the ferry from Tsawwassen Terminal. The ferries here serve as to the Gulf Islands and Victoria. Surprisingly, I never had a chance to get out to Victoria last summer, and I was out of town when several of my friends took a trip out to Salt Spring Island. Nevertheless, as an experience Vancouverite in many ways, I would recommend that anyone who comes to British Columbia MUST take the ferry to Victoria or the Gulf Islands at some point. The views of the mountains and islands are spectacular and must be seen during the summer (See pictures at the bottom).
Once I arrived at Schwartz Bay Ferry Terminal in Victoria, I was greeted by Canadian Youth Chess Championship organizer, Brian Raymer. After my arrival, we then went to the Victoria International Airport where we were joined by GM Mark Bluvshtein who was fresh off of his win in the Canadian Open. Mark and I first played way back at the World Youth Chess Championship in Oropesa, Spain in 2001. I won that encounter and we didn’t really speak much after that. But during the Montreal International and Dresden Olympiad, I had the opportunity to hang around Pascal,Mark and Igor a lot, so we all became friends. One thing which I have found about the Canadian chessplayers in general is that many of them have a much more laid back attitude than most of the current top American players.
Victoria: “Heavendom on Earth”
Right after Mark and I arrived in downtown Victoria, we had about one hour before our live exhibition. I checked into the Grand Pacific Hotel (Pictures from my room will be at the bottom) and immediately rushed out to get some quick lunch. I took a nice stroll down Government Street which is the main street with tourist shops and restaurants. Considering what I had heard from one of my friends who lives there about it being boring, I was pleasantly surprised. After eating a quick ham and cheese panini, I headed to the Royal British Columbia Museum for the live exhibition with Mark. For the game itself, we used actual people as pieces to make it a public event in which all the kids could participate as well. However, due to the side view which Mark and I had of the board; for us, it became a blindfold game as we could not really assess the position with all these pieces obstructing our view. As far as the game itself is concerned, Mark got White and I played the Two Knights Tango. Mark made a rather serious error pretty quickly and was losing before long. However, I tried to get cute and simplify it into a winning king and pawn endgame for the audience only to realize to my horror that instead of being up a pawn in the endgame, I had sacked my h7 pawn for the initiative earlier! This led to a king and pawn endgame which was drawn. Despite the heat and sun tan which I got during the game, it was a positive experience for everyone and local media covered the event.
Having finished the live exhibition, I returned to the hotel and comfort of my room so I could cool off before my simul which was scheduled to begin an hour later. Surprisingly, I did not follow my own advice and I instead went out and bought some souvenirs from local shops on Government Street! This left me a bit rushed and I ran back to my hotel and dropped off the gifts before I started my simul. I assumed the simul would be much like others I have played in, but of the 40 players who I faced, very few were simply blown off the board in 15 moves like I was expecting. In fact, in most of the games, it took me 20 moves before people started cracking. By the end of the simul, I had won 37 games, drawn 2 and lost 1. Congrats to the three people who scored points off of me! I can assure you that it won’t happen in a real game, at least not for the next 8 years since they won’t be GMs before then! In the evening, Mark and I went out to a nice Irish Pub/Restaurant where I had a delicious Halibut burger and spent a lot of time reminiscing about the past while drinking pitchers of beer! Overall, it was a great day despite being rather long and hectic for me.
On the second day, Mark and I were present for the official opening ceremony of the Canadian Youth Chess Championship. At the start we both said a few words, although neither of us were particularly brilliant with our choice of words, the general message went over well and off the tournament went! Having completed my obligations for the tournament, I went out and explored the waterfront and contemplated kayaking in the harbour but deciding against it due to the heat of the day. I also walked through more of downtown Victoria including Antique Row, Bastion Square and other notable landmarks. I returned to the Grand Pacific in the early evening to drop in and see how the actual games were going. It was at this point, that I was approached by FM Eric Hansen about playing some time odds blitz. For those who aren’t aware, Eric already has a 2400 Fide rating and two IM norms. Surprisingly, he also hails from Calgary, AB, Canada which is rather surprising considering the general lack of strong talents on the west coast of Canada. Nevertheless, we played 18 games at 3-1 time odds with me winning 11-7. Unfortunately, I seem to have hit a certain point where I can still win, but nowhere near as much as I once could. I strongly suspect this has a lot to do with my very serious approach and attitude towards classical chess these days. After this, Mark,Eric and I went out to a Ric’s Seafood Grill where we enjoyed a few drinks while talking about all the bizarre and wild events which we have seen recently at the various tournaments.
The following morning, I left the hotel quite early and caught the 8:45 AM ferry back to Vancouver as it takes approximately 90 minutes on the ferry and 60 minutes to get from Tsawwassen to downtown Vancouver. By leaving when I did, this also gave me an opportunity to enjoy the HSBC Celebration of Lights which opened that evening with Team Canada fireworks. In the early afternoon, my good friend Jack got off of work and we went out and had a few drinks out on the patio’s while watching English Bay become progressively more and more crowded as the afternoon turned into the evening. It is hard for me to come up with a comparison, but the atmosphere becomes crazier and crazier as 100,000 people come from the suburbs of Vancouver and simply invade all the surrounding beaches (English Bay, Kits Beach, Jericho Beach). For those who are interested in actual video of the fireworks, I have uploaded them to my facebook page. Jack and I went off and ate some excellent sushi at this quaint Japanese restaurant called Yoshi’s on Denman Street near Stanley Park about an hour before the fireworks were supposed to begin (they start at sundown). Finally with all the streets closed off and everyone swarming, the fireworks from Team Canada kicked off the show and it was exciting and enjoyable. Having said that, I would still not compare it to the July 4 celebrations as these firework shows have specific themes and don’t last as long. Once the show ended, it was amusing seeing thousands of people walking the other direction. Thus ended the spectacle which always becomes funnier every year.
On Thursday morning, I finally packed my bags and got ready to leave but not before heading off to my favorite Chapters spot on Robson&Howe for some Starbucks with Jack,Bruce and Michelle. Sadly, it all ended too quickly, but as I am moving to Seattle in September, I will be back to see everyone in the near future! So ends another chapter in my summer, but if every tournament/vacation is this much fun, I am going to want to always be traveling (let’s hope I don’t lose my mind like Ivanchuk) and enjoying life. On that note, I hope everyone enjoyed this posting and I will add a couple more once I am in Mainz for the Chess Tigers Festival which I played in last year having much success. That’s all for now, folks!
P.S. Enjoy the following pictures below!
Some clown trying to look cool with sunglasses and a New Yorker magazine sticking out of his bag!
A spectacular view of the water and mountains!
A view of the Queen of New Westminster. Enough cannot be said about BC Ferries and the great services they provide for British Columbia residents.
I am not sure why, but I just like this view looking back in the opposite direction.
A view of the harbour and downtown Victoria from my room at the Grand Pacific Hotel!
A view of the parliament buildings.
The famous Empress hotel in downtown Victoria.
A view of the Royal British Columbia Museum where Mark and I did our live exhibition.
One last view of the parliament buildings at night time and what a view it is!
July 24, 2009 • General
Greetings to everyone once again. I really wish I had time to write a comprehensive blog about this past week in Victoria and Vancouver, but my schedule is incredibly tight so I will write one up on Sunday once I am in Mainz Germany and have a free day to completely rest up and relax.
Cheers,
Hikaru
