Bazna Kings Update

Submitted by SonofPearl on Thu, 06/17/2010 at 2:36pm.

After four rounds of the 4th Bazna Kings Tournament, Magnus Carlsen and Teimour Radjabov (pictured) are joint leaders.

Romanian #1 Nisipeanu gave the local fans something to cheer by getting off to a great start in round one by beating Radjabov, but a loss to Ponomariov in round four brought him back to a level score.

Gelfand also won in the opening round against Wang Yue, but similarly returned to a level score after a loss in round 4 to Radjabov.

The other decisive games so far came from Radjabov in round three, where the Azeri GM defeated Ponomariov for the only black win so far, and in round four Carlsen finally opened his account by using the King's Gambit against Wang Yue!

The current standings:

Radjabov, Teimour	AZE	2740	2½
Carlsen, Magnus	NOR	2813	2½
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter	ROU	2672	2
Ponomariov, Ruslan	UKR	2733	2
Gelfand, Boris	ISR	2741	2
Wang Yue	CHN	2752	1

All the decisive games from the first four rounds are below. The official site for this double round-robin event can be found here.

» more Chess event coverage

| 4253 reads | 31 comments |

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Comments:

by pdela - 19 months ago
Asturias Spain

Member Since: Dec 2009
Member Points: 8124

ha!

by pawn44680 - 19 months ago
Saint Albans England

Member Since: Jun 2010
Member Points: 27

Mr Gelfand.

It took a lot of doing but you exploited Mr Wang Yue's 5... b5 (which I think is dodgy) very well.

by pawn44680 - 19 months ago
Saint Albans England

Member Since: Jun 2010
Member Points: 27

[COMMENT DELETED]

by Kasabiian - 19 months ago
International

Member Since: Dec 2009
Member Points: 111

valentin: no gm has ever played 9..g5

by _valentin_ - 19 months ago
Seattle, WA International

Member Since: Apr 2008
Member Points: 6457

Kasabiian: 9...g5 in the King's Gambit game is, actually, chess theory, as far as I know. Nothing wrong with it; I suspect that Wang Yue just didn't want to take that very sharp route against someone like Carlsen, who might have had a home preparation in that line.

by starswarm - 19 months ago
Indiana United States

Member Since: Sep 2009
Member Points: 84

The Gelfand game was amazing... I'm glad everyone else here commented on it or I wouldn't have taken the time to look at it

by uhavebeenserved - 19 months ago
las vegas United States

Member Since: Aug 2008
Member Points: 244

24 Rc2 is not good for Yue, the d pawn is too fast without the rook to aid the queen in controlling it. Magnus would have played d5-d6-d7 and the back rank weakness combined with the passer would have decided the game, imho. Yue did not play bad, Magnus with the KG, gotta love the determination and talent of the "kid"

by Weirdgus - 19 months ago
Bucharest Romania

Member Since: Aug 2009
Member Points: 148

I really enjoyed Nisipeanu's win in round 1, he played wonderful in that game!

by pdela - 19 months ago
Asturias Spain

Member Since: Dec 2009
Member Points: 8124

They are all pretty nice games!

by pdela - 19 months ago
Asturias Spain

Member Since: Dec 2009
Member Points: 8124

Gelfand game is insane!

by Webhead - 19 months ago
Mississippi United States

Member Since: Oct 2008
Member Points: 507

I must agree with _valentin_! Gelfand's win against Yue is amazing and instructive on a very high level. The tactics are quite ingenious and then the end game play is just beautiful precision. Gelfand is still a fantastic player.

by ArchBadger - 19 months ago
United States

Member Since: Oct 2008
Member Points: 1004

haha nice to see KG right after chess.comU chose that for it's first course

by Kasabiian - 19 months ago
International

Member Since: Dec 2009
Member Points: 111

wang and beliavsky both went for pawn sac.. 9..0-0 10.Bxf4 .......wats the problem with 9..g5 im curious to know???????????????????????????

by Vyomo - 19 months ago
Mumbai Great Britain

Member Since: Dec 2008
Member Points: 1406

Can I ask a question?

On the 24'th move why didn't Wang Yue play Rc2! Snapping off the pawns and opening a gap which was crucial?

Please answer

by Cadaz - 19 months ago
Finland

Member Since: May 2010
Member Points: 237

That first game is excellent.

by Cadaz - 19 months ago
Finland

Member Since: May 2010
Member Points: 237

Kings gambit isn't playable at master level right? ;)

by imsplori - 19 months ago
Marosva'sa'rhely, Erdélyorsza'g Hungary

Member Since: Oct 2008
Member Points: 36

Nice tournament and a great opportunity to meet the grandmasters…. check out my photos....

Radjabov is ill?!? It looked like he has the flu…probably from the air conditioner

by _valentin_ - 19 months ago
Seattle, WA International

Member Since: Apr 2008
Member Points: 6457

While everyone is utterly fascinated about the King's Gambit and Magnus's win, I would personally be proud of a win like Gelfand's over Wang Yue (first diagram).

If you haven't seen it yet, you won't regret the time to look at that game -- it's quite memorable in the ideas presented by Gelfand in the second part of the game! It took a lot of imagination to see how to break through the black wall of pawns and light pieces, and especially fascinating I found the ideas between moves 41-58, when white managed to pull a series of inventive tactics.