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 tis 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