ECC: SOCAR still perfect; Amazing KID Fight Svidler-Nakamura
On Thursday top favorite SOCAR maintained a perfect score at the European Club Cup in Rhodes, Greece. Thanks to victories by Veselin Topalov and Wang Hao, the team sponsored by the Azerbaijani state oil company defeated Ugra of Russia. On board one of the match St Petersburg - Padova, Hikaru Nakamura won a spectacular King's Indian with Black against Peter Svidler. In the women's section Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo also beat CS Politechnica-Antibiotice Iasi and is now three points ahead of the rest.
Photos © Goran Urosevic & Anastasiya Karlovich courtesy of the ECC
The defending champions are well on their way to clinch their second European cup in a row, although two more tough rounds will follow. On Thursday the strong Russians of Ugra were defeated 4-2. Topalov ground down Korobov after no less than 96 moves:
The other full point was scored by Wang Hao, who won against Alexey Dreev:
SOCAR vs Ugra
G-Team Novy Bor moved to second place, thanks to a 4.5-1.5 over SK 47 Eynatten, and will face SOCAR tomorrow.
St Petersburg vs Padova was quite a tough battle where Hikaru Nakamura won an amazing game against Peter Svidler, using the King's Indian. After many losses (and some draws), the American GM finally beat Svidler at the Thessaloniki GP earlier this year and, again in Greece, he did it again:
Svidler-Nakamura
It was the kind of game Garry Kasparov liked to play (before he gave up on the KID) and so it was nice to see the 13th World Champion, who briefly coached Nakamura, reacting on the game via Twitter:
King's Indian is a great opening for players with preparation, calculation & determination! Bullets fear the brave. @chess_stats @GMHikaru
— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) October 24, 2013
Great win by Nakamura in the King's Indian today. ..Nh7, ..a6, the queen to e8 then back to d8, typical Hikaru, very nice game!
— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) October 24, 2013
In the same match Padova's Daniele Vocaturo also won his game, but the former European champions struck back (Dominguez, Vitiugov and Movsesian) and finally won the match 3.5-2.5.
European Club Cup 2013 | Round 5 standings
| Rk. | SNo | FED | Team | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 |
| 1 | 1 | AZE | SOCAR | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 114,5 | 23,5 | 83,5 | 83,5 |
| 2 | 5 | CZE | G-Team Novy Bor | 4 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 119 | 20,5 | 95,5 | 83,5 |
| 3 | 8 | AZE | Odlar Yurdu | 3 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 119,5 | 22 | 90 | 68,75 |
| 4 | 4 | RUS | Ugra | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 108 | 21 | 92,5 | 69 |
| 5 | 3 | RUS | Saint-Petersburg | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 101 | 22,5 | 77 | 56 |
| 6 | 2 | RUS | Malachite | 3 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 99 | 24 | 72,5 | 51,25 |
| 7 | 10 | BLR | Minsk | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 96,5 | 22,5 | 70,5 | 53 |
| 8 | 6 | RUS | PGMB-Rostov | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 94,5 | 22,5 | 73,5 | 53 |
| 9 | 15 | BEL | S.F. Wirtzfeld | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 77 | 19 | 80 | 59,5 |
| 10 | 9 | FRA | Clichy Echecs 92 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 101 | 18,5 | 92,5 | 58 |
| 11 | 13 | AUT | Schachclub MPO Maria Saal | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 50 | 16 | 77 | 48,5 |
| 12 | 7 | ITA | O.R. Padova | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 86 | 16,5 | 98 | 52 |
| 13 | 12 | BEL | Amay Chess Club | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 81 | 17 | 89,5 | 45 |
| 14 | 21 | NED | En Passant | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 78 | 16,5 | 85 | 41,5 |
| 15 | 11 | GRE | Peristeri | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 73 | 17,5 | 85 | 46 |
| 16 | 25 | NOR | Asker | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 71 | 21 | 64,5 | 29,5 |
| 17 | 17 | SUI | Reichenstein SSB | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 64,5 | 18,5 | 63 | 31 |
| 18 | 14 | BEL | SK 47 Eynatten | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 57,5 | 17 | 64 | 34,5 |
| 19 | 18 | ISR | Kfar Saba Chess Club | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 57 | 16 | 81 | 43,5 |
| 20 | 20 | TUR | Besiktas JK | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 52 | 19,5 | 55,5 | 29,5 |
| 21 | 35 | AUT | SK Advisory Invest Baden | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 47,5 | 15 | 68 | 35,5 |
| 22 | 34 | FRA | Sautron | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 37 | 14,5 | 77,5 | 39 |
| 23 | 36 | ENG | White Rose | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 34,5 | 14 | 73,5 | 34 |
| 24 | 27 | NOR | Oslo Schakselskap | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 60 | 14 | 83 | 34,25 |
| 25 | 24 | SWE | Limhamns SK | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 55 | 13,5 | 86 | 35,5 |
| 26 | 19 | ITA | A.S.I. Bologna | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 51 | 14 | 74,5 | 28,75 |
| 27 | 16 | HUN | Haladas VSE, Szombathely | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 50 | 17 | 60,5 | 27,75 |
| 28 | 38 | LUX | The Smashing Pawns Belvaux | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 46 | 17 | 54,5 | 21,75 |
| 29 | 22 | SUI | Club d'Echecs de Geneve | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 45 | 12,5 | 82,5 | 34 |
| 30 | 32 | NED | Accres Apeldoorn | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 37 | 12,5 | 91 | 39 |
| 31 | 39 | LUX | CE De Sprenger Echternach | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 46,5 | 13 | 66,5 | 23,5 |
| 32 | 33 | GER | Schachgesellschaft Solingen | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 45,5 | 16,5 | 63 | 19,5 |
| 33 | 23 | DEN | Jetsmark | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 41 | 15,5 | 56,5 | 17 |
| 34 | 43 | SCO | Edinburgh Chess Club | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 40 | 12,5 | 73 | 23,5 |
| 35 | 41 | MNC | Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 39 | 12 | 78 | 27 |
| 36 | 28 | ENG | Jutes of Kent | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 38,5 | 11 | 93,5 | 32,5 |
| 37 | 37 | ECX | Expik Kosova | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 36,5 | 14 | 61,5 | 19,5 |
| 38 | 30 | ISL | Viking Chess Club | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 14 | 66,5 | 21 |
| 39 | 29 | ENG | Barbican 4NCL | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 9,5 | 97 | 33,5 |
| 40 | 48 | IRL | Adare | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 32,5 | 13 | 62 | 24,5 |
| 41 | 26 | FIN | Tammer-Shakki | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 26,5 | 10 | 92 | 26 |
| 42 | 31 | FIN | Chess Club Velhot | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 44,5 | 13 | 71 | 16 |
| 43 | 47 | ECX | Istogu Chess Club | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 34 | 9,5 | 79 | 20,5 |
| 44 | 51 | ALB | Klubi Sportiv Butrinti | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 21 | 9,5 | 62 | 8,5 |
| 45 | 52 | WLS | Cardigan | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 21 | 9 | 57 | 9 |
| 46 | 40 | DEN | Nordea Skanderborg | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 40 | 9 | 92 | 17 |
| 47 | 45 | SCO | Edinburgh West Chess Club | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 29,5 | 9,5 | 70 | 10 |
| 48 | 44 | NED | SV Voerendaal / KNSB | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 29 | 11,5 | 63,5 | 8 |
| 49 | 42 | GER | Chess Club Eppingen | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 26 | 12 | 61,5 | 8,5 |
| 50 | 46 | IRL | Gonzaga | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 20 | 10 | 71,5 | 9 |
| 51 | 53 | GRE | Ippotis Rodou | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 33 | 9 | 46 | 0 |
| 52 | 50 | WLS | White Knights Chess Club | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 25,5 | 8,5 | 49 | 0 |
| 53 | 49 | GER | SV Muelheim Nord 1931 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 18,5 | 8 | 58 | 0 |
Cercle d’Echecs de Monte-Carlo is getting closer to another trophy in the women's section after beating CS Politechnica-Antibiotice Iasi 2.5-1.5. Three games ended in draws, but Anna Muzychuk won the decisive game against Irina Bulmaga.
Anna Muzychuk
European Club Cup 2013 | Women | Round 5 standings
| Rk. | SNo | FED | Team | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 |
| 1 | 1 | MNC | Cercle d'Echecs de Monte-Carlo | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 73 | 15,5 | 55,5 | 55,5 |
| 2 | 5 | RUS | Ugra | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 45 | 11,5 | 59,5 | 37,5 |
| 3 | 4 | ROU | CS Politechnica-Antibiotice Iasi | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 51,5 | 14 | 50,5 | 23,5 |
| 4 | 3 | ARM | Mika Chess Club | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 50 | 10,5 | 55,5 | 28,5 |
| 5 | 2 | RUS | SHSM Nashe Nasledie | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 49 | 13 | 50,5 | 24,25 |
| 6 | 8 | LTU | MRU - Vilniaus Fortas | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 28,5 | 12 | 34 | 17 |
| 7 | 7 | SRB | Jelica PEP | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 32 | 10 | 41 | 10 |
| 8 | 6 | SRB | Chess Club BAS | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 27 | 6,5 | 51 | 12 |
| 9 | 9 | ITA | Fischer Chieti | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 7 | 42,5 | 3,5 |
| 10 | 10 | BIH | Rudar Prijedor | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 6,5 | 41 | 3,5 |
| 11 | 11 | AUT | ASVOE Pamhagen | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 14,5 | 3,5 | 35,5 | 0 |
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