Corus Chess Tournament 2007 -- A-Group Profiles
 Average rating 2718 -- Category 19
 




Name: Veselin Topalov (GM)
Country: Bulgaria
Date of Birth: 15.03.1975
Rating: 2783
World Ranking: 1
Group Seeding: 1

Since jointly winning Corus 2006 with Vishy Anand, the current number 1 in chess has had a mixed 12 months. After a disaterous start to Linares/Morelia, Veselin mounted the recovery of recoveries, and ended up finishing joint second (with Radjabov) to event winner Aronian. After that came the match with top Romanian GM Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu, which saw Topalov winning 3-1. Topping things off was the M-Tel Masters in his homeland of Bulgaria, which saw Topalov take victory with 6.5/10.

The latter part of 2006 will be what is seen as a 'black period', however, with Topalov not only losing his world title to Vladimir Kramnik, but under much controversial circumstances with allegations of cheating from the Topalov camp to their opposition. I am interested how the reception towards the Topalov camp will compare to last year, which saw him greeted with warm enthusiasm. As far as Corus 2007 goes, Topalov had to share the spoils last year, can he go one better this time? Who would bet against him?
 

Name: Viswanathan Anand (GM)
Country: India
Date of Birth: 11.12.1969
Rating: 2779
World Ranking: 2
Group Seeding: 2

As mentioned already, Anand won Corus jointly with Topalov in 2006, and was dubbed 'Mr. Corus' at the closing ceremony, in recognition of his 4th victory in Wijk aan Zee. Since then, he has taken other 1st places at most of the strong rapid tournaments, as well as the Melody Amber, and Mainz. One would have to question Anand's decision to play in last year's Olympiad a mere day after the M-Tel Masters, (3rd place). Obviously suffering some fatigue, he scored only 50% and said goodbye to 20 rating points.

Knowing Anand's fondness and record at Wijk aan Zee, one just might see him kick-start his rating recovery campaign with a focussed charge. He certainly should be pretty well rested and refreshed ... will we see some Anand magic at the board? We eagerly wait and see!


Name: Vladimir Kramnik (GM)
Country: Russia
Date of Birth: 25.06.1975
Rating: 2766
World Ranking: 3
Group Seeding: 3

Vladimir Kramnik withdrew from Corus 2006 after being diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, and taking some time out for treatment. When this came so soon after a lack-lustre performance at the Russian Super finals, it brought some scepticism. Vladimir's return to chess at the 2006 Olympiad saw him score 6.5/9, and when that was coupled with shared victory with Peter Svidler at the Dortmund tournament, (and a rating leap of 21 points), a lot of lips stopped moving about Kramnik being scared to actively participate in world-class tournaments.

Then, in the latter part of the year, there came the re-unification match against Topalov, which saw Vladimir win on tie-breaks to become undisputed World Chess Champion. Unfortunately, after an enthralling start, the match produced as much controversy as it did good chess, for which Kramnik earned much support from the chess community with regard to his handling of the affair. The year finished, with a match against Deep Fritz, which saw the World Champion with his sleeves rolled up. Though he lost the match, the event was not as convincing as the scoreline would suggest in my opinion.

Kramnik certainly seems to be playing very well, with nice preparation, and he also seems to be enjoying his chess again. His games against Topalov, their first time facing each other since the World Championship match, will certainly be watched closely by all quarters.


Name: Levon Aronian (GM)
Country: Armenia
Date of Birth: 06.10.1982
Rating: 2744
World Ranking: 7

Group Seeding: 4

Levon's Corus debut in 2006, coming shortly after his victory in the FIDE World Cup, saw him take a 50% score, which I was a little surprised at myself, as he was showing great form, but possibly poor preparation. 2006 saw him take sole first at Linares/Morelia, above Topalov and Anand, tie for first at the Tal Memorial, and lead his country to gold medal place at the Turin Olympiad. Mainz 2006 saw him defeat Peter Svidler to become Fischer Random Champion -- another title added to a growing list. Can he add Corus also this year? Well, it is certainly possible, as the very pleasent Grandmaster can take any scalp on his day -- however, he can also be inconsistent, as his 2/9 at Dortmund 2006 showed. He would certainly be a popular winner, though, for sure.

Name: Teymour Radjabov (GM)
Country: Azerbaijan
Date of Birth: 12.03.1987
Rating: 2729
World Ranking: 11
Group Seeding: 5

Not many people can boast an even score against Garry Kasparov, but Teymour Radjabov (who hails from Kasparov's birthplace of Baku Azerbaijan also, funnily enough) can. His 2006 was good, seeing him tie for 2nd at Linares/Morelia with Veselin Topalov, joint second (with Carlsen) in Biel behind Morozevich, and he led Anand twice in the Mainz rapid, before losing in the end. However, a pick-me-up was the Cap D'agde rapid, in which he beat Karjakin by a point in the final to take first place.

Radjabov, finds his rating at an all-time high of 2729, and will certainly be looking to improve on his 50% of Corus 2003.


Name: Peter Svidler (GM)
Country: Russia
Date of Birth: 17.06.1976
Rating: 2728
World Ranking: 12
Group Seeding: 6

Corus is not a great venue for Peter Svidler, who has twice finished the event in minus figures, (a rare occurence for a GM of his calibre). He did not compete in Wijk aan Zee last year, and only enjoyed mediocre results in other events. Linares/Morelia saw a not that great performance, resulting in a 6.5/14 finish, he acheived 50% at the M-Tel masters in Sofia, and a mere +1 at the Olympiad. At Dortmund, however, we saw a glimmer of Svidler's capabiities, seeing him finish joint 1st with Kramnik. However, inconsistency seems to be his middle name at the moment, with a 50% score at the Tal Memorial, and his 3 year reign as World Fischer-random Champion being halted by Levon Aronian.

The January ratings saw Svidler dropping out of the top 10 players in the world, not something he will be happy about for sure. Corus 2007 would be a big place to start a recovery!


Name: Ruslan Ponomariov (GM)
Country: Ukraine
Date of Birth: 11.10.1983
Rating: 2723
World Ranking: 14
Group Seeding: 7

Of course, Ruslan Ponomariov is a former FIDE World Champion, but to be fair, the years following have been nothing to write home about. He did recently share first place with Leko and Aronian at the Tal Memorial, however, which has surely given him a boost for Corus 2007.

Ruslan returns to Wijk aan Zee for the third time, and could be a serious contender if he plays as he can.


Name: David Navara (GM)
Country: Czech Republic
Date of Birth: 27.03.1985
Rating: 2719
World Ranking: 15

Group Seeding: 8

Most people in chess will know the likes of Magnus Carlsen, Sergey Karjakin, Teymour Radjabov, and other high profile prodigies. Mention the name David Navara, and the ratio might have gone down a bit. That was until 12 months or so ago, when the young Czech GM burst on to the top GM scene, seemingly out of nowhere. He competed in Corus 2006, taking 5th place in the B-group, and this year replaces Alexander Morozevich in the A-group.

This is not without merit, and the 21-year-old could very well cause a storm by taking a few points not predicted on paper. He certainly can stand up to A-Group GM's, drawing a match with Boris Gelfand in 2006. When joining this with great performances in chess leagues and Olympiads, (first board for the Czech Republic in Turin, defeating Svidler), one would be making a serious mistake in not considering Navara in the top of the table at the end of Corus.


Name: Alexey Shirov (GM)
Country: Spain
Date of Birth: 06.07.1972
Rating: 2715
World Ranking: 17

Group Seeding: 9

It is probably fair to say that Alexey Shirov is experiencing something of a bleak period in his chess career at the moment. 2006 saw his rating drop below the 2700 mark, which is way below his standards, but victory in the Karpov international as well as good results in league competition, has seen him recover. This was despite a poor -2 at the Tal Memorial.

Personally, I think that Shirov might find it tough in Wijk aan Zee this year, and that is not because he is not a great player, far from it. I simply do not think he has re-grouped enough to be comfortable. I will gladly be wrong, though.


Name: Magnus Carlsen (GM)
Country: Norway
Date of Birth: 30.11.1990
Rating: 2690
World Ranking: 24
Group Seeding: 10

I smile remembering my encounter with the Norwegian Grandmaster when he was preparing (I assume) for a match at last year's Corus. There he was sat in the lounge of his hotel, flicking through his trusy laptop, and I thought I'd go up and introduce myself. I mean this in no bad way, but Magnus has one of the most fearsome handshakes I have ever experienced, I thought my shoulder would need medical attention. Seriously, he is an extremeley friendly and approachable young man, which is extremely nice to say when one considers how unpleasent some young stars of today can be.

Where his chess is concerned, I think only he can limit his future. He dominated Corus 2004's C-group, 7/13 in the B-group of 2005, and won it jointly with Alexander Motylev last year with +5. Since then, he took joint second at Biel, and was joint winner of the strong GM Tournament in Sarajevo, and the NH Tournament in Amsterdam. Able to produce sheer brilliance in his games and preparation, he was labelled the 'Mozart of chess' by legendary coach Bruce Pandolfini. As if that was not enough, Kasparov recently said, after spending some time with Magnus, 'everything will be alright with this kid'. If his focus and commitment stay as they are, I feel that is an understatement. A phenominum already, he could just cause a few more eyebrows to lift at Corus 2007!


Name: Loek van Wely (GM)
Country: the Netherlands
Date of Birth: 07.10.1972
Rating: 2683
World Ranking: 26

Group Seeding: 11

Another very approachable and down to earth GM, Loek van Wely had a bad Corus 2006 by his usual standards, finishing on -1. However, I think that the disappointment was doubled when he failed to win the Dutch Championships for a record 7th time. 7/11 was just not enough due to Tiviakov's blistering form. I spoke to Loek on the playchess server and he was very hard on himself about it, feeling that he should have won. Certainly, a point or two more was missed out on.

He is the lowest rated player in the A-Group this year, but while that will not please him, it may just serve some purpose in getting the pressure and eyes off, and allowing Loek to do what he does best, and that is play chess. Certainly, 2006 was no disaster for him, winning the Foxwoods Open in the US with 7/9, and performing well in the Dutch team event and Olympiad. van Wely certainly is not intending to merely make up numbers at this year's tournament.

Name: Sergey Karjakin (GM)
Country: Ukraine
Date of Birth: 12.01.1990
Rating: 2678
World Ranking: 29
Group Seeding: 12

Sergey Karjakin entered the chess record books when he became Grandmaster at the youngest ever age of 12 years and 7 months. Since then, he has not let up in his progress, with a fine debut at Corus 2006 with 7/13. That was followed by third place at the NH Tournament in Amsterdam, and an 8.5/11 score at the Olympiad. At the Cup D'Agde rapid tournament he was just pipped by a point to first place by Teymour Radjabov. There have been a couple of black points, however, namely a 3.5/9 at the Young Masters tournament and an uncharacteristic 4.5/11 at the Aerosvit.

Karjakin will be 17 years old when walking in to play round 1 of Corus (his birthday is the day before actually), and that could just be the time to begin his last sprint to the 2700 line.


Name: Sergey Tiviakov (GM)
Country: the Netherlands
Date of Birth: 14.02.1973
Rating: 2667
World Ranking: 36
Group Seeding: 13

Sergey Tiviakov is Hollands highest rated player. Living in Groningen in the North of the Country, he is the most active player in the A-Group, with 47 ELO games. Among these have been games in various European chess leagues, as well as further a-field. With his trademark Scandinavian Defence, and c3-Sicilians, Sergey is on the way back up to the 2700 mark. The Dutch National Championships at Hilversum saw him finish on 9/11, a full point and a half ahead of nearest rivals, and at the Amsterdam Open he finished on 7/9, joint winner. A black point, I suppose, would be at the Dutch Open Championships at Dieren, when Tiviakov, inexplicably, made an illegal queen move in a game against Friso Nijboer. This would require him to lose his queen. Such are the stakes in chess, even the best feel the heat.

Corus 2007 could be a very good event for Tiviakov, with the support of the home crowd, and settings that he seems to enjoy.


Name: Alexander Motylev (GM)

Country: Russia

Date of Birth: 17.06.1979

Rating: 2647

World Ranking: 58

Group Seeding: 14

Alexander Motylev had a great Corus 2006, jointly winning the B-group, but did not really follow that up with a very active year. Where he did play, though, he did pretty well, with 5/8 in the Russian Team Championship, and 5.5/9 at the Aeroflot Open.

His substantial opening repertoire could make him quite a tricky opponent.