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Biel Chess Tournament 2006: Story so Far ...
by John Lee Shaw
The Swiss city Biel-Bienne plays host to a wonderful chess festival each year, and with
it's wonderful landscape and lake, it is without a doubt one of the
most picturesque tournament settings on the chess calendar. There are
two main tournaments, the Grandmaster Tournament, and the Accentus
Ladies Tournament. Both are played over 10 rounds, Swiss system, and
feature invited players.
 Grandmaster Tournament
The main Grandmaster tournament saw a very competitive field as
always. Shown in the picture, left, the invited players are (rear,
from left to right) Yannick Pelletier (SUI 2583), Alexander Morozevich
(RUS 2731), Lazaro Bruzon (CUB 2667), (front, from left to right)
Teimour Radjabov (AZE 2728), Alexander Volokitin (UKR 2662), Magnus
Carlsen (NOR 2675).
Round 1: The
tournament got off to a fighting start, with all 3 games being
decisive. Magnus Carlsen took advantage of some mistaken pawn-grabbing
by Pelletier, to take the point with the black pieces.
Radjabov-Volokitin was a Sicilian Najdorf 6.Bg5 variation. Radjabov
played a novelty on his move 10 with Bxf6 (previous, 10.a3 had been
played 100%) and Black seemed to do ok out of this to be honest. Then
came White's 13.Nd5!? to which Volokitin probably could have responded
to better than he did, but both sides swapped inaccuracies a couple of
times around this point. Radjabov allowed black to exchange rook for
the return of two pawns and knight, and at this point was sitting quite
pretty. He did, however, allow White back in to the game, and the
decisive mistake was his 37...dxc5? (37...Bd3+ followed by 38...Qxc5
would draw) which left White winning. Alexander Morozevich managed to
swing the balance quite comfortably in his game against Lazaro Bruzon.
This started with white under-estimated black's a4-knight, which hopped
to b2 and then c4. From here, Morozevich demonstrated his technique,
and black was on his way to getting mated in the final position.
Round 1 standings: Morozevich, Radjabov, Carlsen -- 1/1; Pelletier, Bruzon, Volokitin -- 0/1
 Round 2:
Volokitin-Bruzon had hardly gotten out of theory in their game before
they agreed a draw. The King's Indian of Pelletier-Radjabov, saw a
novelty on White's 17th, (Rfd1!? but the apparent best move here, Nd1,
had been the move previously tried, in Oll-Dolmatov, Rostov 1993, drawn
in 31). With the centre being rather immobile, Black wasted no time in
expanding on the Kingside, and soon held some edge, with play on both
wings, and it was this that proved decisive in the end. Another point
for Radjabov. Clash of the round, obviously, was Carlsen v Morozevich,
and it did not disappoint. Playing the White side of a King's Indian,
Carlsen produced 10.b3!? which appears to be new (Ne1 and Ra3 being the
other moves played here). Black was certainly no inferior, however, and
possibly was doing a little better when Carlsen chose to initiate play
on the Queenside with 12.b4!? Perhaps this idea was a little out of
context, and Morozevich seemed to be handling things very well,
with counter play on the kingside. However, the diagram position (left)
shows the situation after White's 20.Na3. Evaluations appear to
indicate that the only move for Black, here, is 20...Bxd2 (as indicated
by the green arrow) with relative equality. However, Morozevich chose
the faulty 20...fxe4? (yellow arrow) and after 21.Nce4, Carlsen seemed
to have a slight pull. To be honest, both sides could have played
better in a few places from here, possibly the pressure of the moment
getting to both. However, it was Morozevich who made the final mistake,
allowing Carlsen to sacrifice the exchange, in return for a mating
attack. In the final position, black would have no choice but to
sacrifice his queen in order to prolong his agony. Carlsen emerged the
victory.
Round 2 standings: Carlsen, Radjabov -- 2/2; Morozevich -- 1/2; Volokitin, Bruzon -- 0.5/2; Pelletier -- 0/2.
Round 3: Lazaro
Bruzon enjoyed another quick draw, this time against Yannick Pelletier.
Most of the game was theory, and they shook hands on move 18. Alexander
Morozevich bounced back from his defeat at the hands of Magnus Carlsen
in his previous round, by besting Alexander Volokitin. Volotikin chose
the Sicilian Najdorf to answer the 1.e4 of Morozevich, and it was
a mammoth 85-move game. Their game followed Schoen-Soltau, (World
Correspondence Championship, 2003), and for a long way
too, Volokitin varying only on his 23rd move, with ...Qc6. This
resulted in nice play for him, and Morozevich will probably have been
most discontented with his opening situation. Volokitin will ave been
most delighted with his achievement, until some mis-play gave
Morozevich a passed a-pawn, and from here Black was playing catch-up.
It was certainly no easy task, with Volokitin doing everything he could
to make life difficult. However, Morozevich stuck to the job, and was
rewarded with the point. Magnus Carlsen took out the Benko/Volga gambit
against Teimour Radjabov. 9.Rb1 appears new, but Carlsen took it in his
stride and was equal at worst. White obtained some advantage in the
endgame, but Radjabov's 39.b4? did him no favours -- 39.Na3 or Ne3
would have served him better. Though White obtained an extra pawn after
exchanges, Carlsen's advanced c-pawn tied up the white knight, and in
the end there was nothing left to do but share the point.
Round 3 standings: Carlsen, Radjabov -- 2.5/3: Morozevich -- 2/3; Bruzon -- 1/3; Volokitin, Pelletier -- 0.5/3.
Round 4: The
decisive game of the round came from Alexander Morozevich, who took
part in another long game, this time against Teimour Radjabov. It is
not often you get a Sicilian Defence in Grandmaster chess that leaves
theory by move ten, but Radjabov's 9...b5!? broke new ground. The
situation was equal, both players playing good, solid moves. When Black
opened up the kingside, White was holding the advantage, and 35.Rg4
wold have left Black with an uphill struggle. However, Morozevich opted
for 35.f4? instead, which turned out to be vastly inferior, and was
nicely answered by 35...Rxd5, 36.Qd8 Rc2 with equality. There was a
scrappy period, out of which White emerged with strong pressure again,
and at move 46, was probably winning. However, his 55.Rd2 was not the
best, and should probably have given way to Qb8 instead, but this did
not do too much damage. When the queens left the board, Morozevich held
two connected passed pawns on the wing, and the right coloured bishop
to keep black's passsed c-pawn under guard, and the end result was not
really in doubt from here. Morozevich patiently wrapped things up in 92.
Bruzon-Carlsen was a Symmetrical English, with the game following
Smyslov-Geller, from the Candidates Quarter Final, 1965, which was
drawn in 79. Carlsen deviated from that game, opting for 16...Qe8
rather than the 16...Ra8 that had been chosen by Geller. White had a
slight edge that usually applies in such positions, but Bruzon's
23.Rc2!? was dubious, and should probably have given way to Qc6.
Carlsen was back in the game, and when Bruzon launched what seems to me
to be an out of context pawn push on the kingside, the balance started
to swing. A tesne situation followed, during which Carlsen missed his
chance by playing 43...Qd3, which seemed to lead to comfortable play
for both. The subtle 43...Qa1! would probably have offered more for
Black, very nicely keeping everything together, while preparing to
mobilise the central pawns. As things were, they shook hands and shared
the point. Volokitin and Pelletier also drew in their game, getting in
to a theoretical discussion in the French Defence. The game left known
territory on the 19th move, with ...Nxd4 (19...Nc4 had previouosly been
tried) and White probably stood slightly better, but it is not
easy to see how to make progress. In the rook and 4 pawn's each
endgame, White had a passed e-pawn, while Black had a passed d-pawn.
White's king was the more active, however, which probably gave him the
better chances. However, after Volokitin's 39.Ra8? (Ra7+ or Rc6 was
better) evaluations were even and although the players played on for
another 28 moves, niether could break the other, and the game was drawn.
Round 4 standings: Carlsen, Morozevich -- 3.0/4; Radjabov -- 2.5/4; Bruzon -- 1.5/4; Pelletier, Volokitin -- 1/4.
 Round 5:
As in round 1, all games were decisive, and Magnus Carlsen will have
been bitterly disappointed to relinquish a point in this round before
the rest day, having had such a fine start. His play in the first two
rounds certainly impressed me. His round 5 game against Alexander
Volokitin was a Symmetrical English, with Carlsen taking a path that
left him with doubled c-pawns, but nice active play. However, castling
on move 14, was probably a little too slow, could have waited for a
move or two. More adventurous was probably 14.c5. As it was, Volokitin
ruled a later c5 out with 14...b6, and here White seems to have
very quickly come to a halt. The diagram to the left, shows the
position after Carlsen's 18.e5, with the arrows showing how Black can
hop his knight in to d5, due to the power of the a6 bishop along the
f1-a6 diagonal. This Volokitin did, and from here, White found things
difficult. After 19.Bxd5 exd5, 20.f5 dxc4 (...dxe5 maybe is better)
21.f6 g6 Black held the best of things, and a few moves later, Carlsen
was in serious trouble. The young Norwegian put up an admirable
defence, but Volokitin took the point very nicely.
Lazaro Bruzon did not get a very good game playing black against
Teimour Radjabov. In the Semi-slav/anti-meran, White had the better
play, and Black seemed to gradually help him increase the edge. White's
19.e4? however, was not the best move in the world, (Ne2/Nd1 (to
unleash the rook along the c-file) or Bxf6 were better alternatives),
and allowed Black right back in to the state of play. Radjabov
initiated some exchanges out of which he emerged somewhat recovered,
but Bruzon's final mistake was his 27...Ba5, which allowed White to win
a pawn. From here, White's point was in very little doubt. Morozevich
resorted to the a6-Slav against Yannick Pelletier, and White's opting
for 14.Nd5? rather than 14.hxg4 was to his detriment. Morozevich
controlled the position well, obtaining advantage. Soon after came the
bishop pair, which dominated the board, and Black was winning.
Conversion of the point was clinical, slowly smothering white's
dessimated structure -- a nice game from Morozevich, and with it he
took sole lead of the tournament at the half way stage.
Round 5 standings: Morozevich -- 4.0/5; Radjabov -- 3.5/5; Carlsen --
3.0/5; Volokitin -- 2.0/5; Bruzon -- 1.5/5; Pelletier -- 1.0/5
they start young these days ...
 Accentus Ladies Tournament
Invited for the Accentus Ladies
tournament, were (pictured rear left to right) Ekaterina Atalik (TUR
2377), Monika Socko (POL 2465), (Front left to right) Almira
Skripchenko (FRA 2421), Yelena Dembo (GRE 2465), Anna Muzychuk (SLO
2456), Pia Cramling (SWE 2521).
Round 1: All
games in the opening round were drawn. Defending Champion, Almria
Skripchenko faced a tough opponent straight away in the form of vastly
experienced Pia Cramling of Sweden. Cramling knows the Taimanov
Sicilian like the back of her hand, (I am a Taimanov player myself and
many of my studied games feature Pia Cramling as Black) so it was no
surprise that she opted for this, although via the Paulsen move order.
Skripchenko enjoyed the usual advantage that one usually gets when
playing White in the Sicilian, but though she managed to create a
passed a-pawn, and advance it to the 6th rank, Cramling seemed to
always have it covered, and was allowed some counter play and a passed
e-pawn of her own. To have tried for more than equal spoils would have
been dangerous for both, and they shook hands on move 35.
Atalik-Muzychuk went somewhat longer in their game, a sideline of the
King's Indian, which left theory quite quickly. The players castled on
opposite wings, and White enjoyed the more space, which was probably
balanced by black holding the two bishops. White's 21.e5!? was probably
a little too much too soon, and a worthy alternative was doing some
probing of Black's king position with 21.h4, looking for h5, etc. Anna
mis-judged things around move 24, playing the faulty ...Rb4, (...Bxe5
or ...Rfe8 were better alternatives) which allowed 25.Nxc5 and led to
some advantage for White. However, Ekaterina almost relinquished
this immediately, with her 28.Nd3? which allowed 28...Rb5! for
Black, with equaliy. Muzychuk missed her chance, however, and opted for
...Rbb8 instead, which maintained a slight edge for White. To be fair,
both players misplayed things slightly from here, but White held a
winning advantage way before winning a piece with 39.Rxg7. Ekaterina
will kick herself for her 40.Nb2?! which allowed Muzychuk to draw with
40...Qe1+ (...Qe4 was also good). The result was that white had 4 pawns
and knight v the 2 pawns and rook of black, but no more chances
appeared for either party. Game drawn in 64. Dembo-Socko saw the Pirc
Defence, Austrian Attack. Dembo's 13.Qe2!? was far too slow, and Black
was allowed to free herself with a very nice standing. Indeed, Black
had the best of the play in the final position, but a draw was agreed
just before the time control, on move 37.
Round 1 standings;
Skripchenko, Cramling, Atalik, Dembo, Socko, Muzychuk -- 0.5/1.
 Round 2:
The decisive game of the round came from Monika Socko, who was soon on
top in her game against Ekaterina Atalik of Turkey. Good strong play
from White, combined with a few questionable decisions from Black soon
had Atalik under pressure and at move 37, facing material loss, she
resigned. A very confident performance from Socko, to take the lead of
the tournament. Elsewhere in the round, Yelena Dembo and Almira
Skripchenko exchanged off pieces rather speedily and agreed a draw on
move 18. Anna Muzychuk played the Dutch Defence against Pia Cramling,
and got a very nice game from it too. However, the young Ukranian
(though she plays for Slovenia) didn't make things quite as difficult
for the veteran as she perhaps could have. In the diagram position,
(right), Anna played 22...Qe5, which although a threat towards the
g3-pawn, appears to be less ambitious than the alternative of ...Bxa4.
Cramling did not respond to this as good as she would have liked to,
however, allowing Black to hang on to a slight advantage, when there
were chances for equality. Black's 26...h5? However, was an inaccuracy,
and after 27.Nb5 White suddenly had the best of things. However, at the
critical moment, Pia erred with 45.Kg1? where Bb6! was vastly superior.
All chances were gone, and a couple of moves later they split the point.
Round 2 standings: Socko -- 1.5/2; Dembo, Skripchenko, Cramling, Muzychuk -- 1.0/2; Atalik -- 0.5/2.
Round 3: Almira
Skripchenko's Budapest Gambit went down in flames against Ekaterina
Atalik, who must have been very happy to get her plus score off and
running. Black was never in the game really, and White steadily
increased her grip on the position, opening up the black king in a
mating attack. A very nice game from Ekaterina. Anna Muzychuk took
Monika Socko back to a game that she had played in the Greek Teams
Championship 2005 for their game. It was a main line French, and
Muzychuk varied (from Macieja-Socko) with 11.Nf3, which seems a little
better than the 11.dxc5 that Socko had faced previously. Black did not
really respond to this deviation very well, the 11..Na5 played by Socko
seems slightly dubious, and White obtained some advantage. However, on
move 28, Muzychuk chose the slow Nc3 instead of the more rewarding Nd6,
and Socko was back in the game after 28...Nc6. From here, play got
somewhat scrappy, with the theme of black making mistakes and not being
punished for them. When it was White's turn to err, with 39.fxe6?
(39.Rb1 being better) Socko pounced with 39...Nf4+ with advantage.
Muzychuk's position deteriorated quickly, and soon Black was winning.
From here, Socko won very tidily. To be quite honest, I am sure that my
hair went grey watching the Sicilian of Dembo-Cramling. I had no idea
what was going on or how to evaluate things at the time, and to be
honest I still have not been able to look at the game as in-depth as I
need in order to get any kind of feel for it. However, both material
and structure became unbalanced, and probably black had the better of
things in the final position. A draw was agreed in 32 moves ... and if
the players bailed, I really don't blame them :-D
Round 3 standings: Socko -- 2.5/3; Dembo, Atalik, Cramling -- 1.5/3; Muzychuk, Skripchenko -- 1.0/3.
Round 4: The
game of Muzychuk-Dembo started off as a Sicilian, but via a very
unusual move order, began to resemble an English-type structure after a
while. The pawn structure became fixed, with niether side seeming to
want to change it, and the draw was agreed on move 31. Pia Cramling got
a nice game playing the black side of the Nimzo-Indian against
Ekaterina Atalik. Her 15...Bb5 was perhaps a little slow, though,
compared to ...Rfd8 for example. Atalik seemed to be playing
confidently, and built up a strong attack, opening up the Black King,
and having excellent prospects. However, a couple of questionable moves
allowed Cramling equality, but Ekaterina's final mistake was choosing
not to exchange queens with 35.Qxg5 and playing 35.Qg3 instead. The
momentum swung dramatically, and victory went quickly to Black. Monika Socko and Almira Skripchenko agreed a rather quick draw, shaking hands on move 13.
Round 4 standings: Socko -- 3.0/4; Cramling -- 2.5/4; Dembo -- 2/4; Skripchenko, Muzychuk, Atalik -- 1.5/4.
Round 5: For the
final round before the rest day, the players came out fighting. Almira
Skripchenko dislodged the King of Anna Muzychuk very quickly, and
without very much effort obtained a strongly favourable position.
However, just when black was about to fall on her sword, Almira erred
with 26.Be4? when Rd1 or f3 were much better alternatives. Upon
26...Re8, the position was level, and White had nothing better than to
exchange off and share the point. When early exchanges took place in
the open Spanish of Dembo-Atalik, things looked to be on their way
towards a draw with things being very equal. However, when Black
weakened things around her king, and with the white kingside pawns
mobile, Dembo was allowed to obtain some initiative. Atalik's 33...Bf5
was a serious mistake, and soon White was dominating. Having to deal
with threats to her king, Atalik let through Dembo's e-pawn, and
nothing could be done but to accept defeat. Cramling-Socko played an
unusual line in the King's Indian, with White taking up a
double-fianchetto structure. When the pawns became locked up, Cramling
got the best of the maneovering, winning a piece and leaving Socko with
no compensation for it. She was forced to resign the point, and with it
the lead.
Round 5 standings: Cramling -- 3.5/5; Dembo, Socko -- 3.0/5; Skripchenko, Muzychuk -- 2.0/5; Atalik -- 1.5/5.
Poland's Monika Socko plays White v Boris Avrukh of Israel
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15.c4
27...Bg4!
Round 9:
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5
Cramling,P (2521) - Skripchenko,A (2421)