Fabiano Caruana leads 20th Sigeman & Co tournament after three rounds
Fabiano Caruana started with 2.5/3 at the Sigeman & Co tournament in Malmö, Sweden. The Italian grandmaster is in sole first place after beating Anish Giri and Hans TIkkanen with the white pieces and then drawing against Peter Leko with Black. The tournament will last four more rounds and today is a rest day.
Fabiano Caruana, in the lead in Malmö | Photos © Fanny Roos & Calle Erlandsson
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Three rounds have been played at this year's Sigeman & Co tournament in Malmö, Sweden. The tournament celebrates its 20-year jubilee edition. It's an 8-player, single round roubin (so 7 rounds) and thanks to additional sponsorship the line-up is stronger than ever before:
- GM Fabiano Caruana (ITA, 2770)
- GM Peter Leko (HUN, 2723)
- GM Li Chao (CHI, 2703)
- GM Anish Giri (NED, 2693)
- GM Emanuel Berg (SWE, 2587)
- GM Hans Tikkanen (SWE, 2566)
- GM Jonny Hector (SWE, 2560)
- GM Nils Grandelius (SWE, 2556)
The tournament started with a clash between top players on the FIDE Juniors rating list. The #1 beat the #2:
[Event "20th Sigeman & Co"]
[Site "Malmo SWE"]
[Date "2012.05.09"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Caruana, F."]
[Black "Giri, A."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2770"]
[BlackElo "2693"]
[Annotator "Doe,John"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2012.05.09"]
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O d6 7. h3 Ne7 8. d4
Bb6 9. Re1 (9. Nbd2 Ng6 10. Re1 c6 11. Bd3 Re8 12. Nf1 d5 13. Bg5 dxe4 14. Rxe4
Bf5 15. Re1 Bxd3 16. Qxd3 h6 17. Bxf6 Qxf6 18. Ng3 Nf4 19. Qf5 {Efimenko,Z
(2706)-Ponomariov,R (2764)/Khanty-Mansiysk 2011}) 9... c6 10. Bd3 $146 (10.
dxe5 dxe5 11. Qxd8 Rxd8 12. Bc4 Ng6 13. Nbd2 Bc7 14. a4 Nh5 15. Ng5 Rd7 16. Nf1
h6 17. Nf3 b6 18. Be3 Bb7 19. Red1 Rxd1 20. Rxd1 Rd8 {1/2-1/2 (20) Houtman,J
(2206)-Bosman,M (2330)/Netherlands 2010}) 10... Ng6 11. Be3 Re8 12. Nbd2 h6 13.
Qc2 Bd7 14. Rad1 Bc7 15. dxe5 Nxe5 16. Nxe5 dxe5 17. Bf1 Qe7 18. b4 Red8 19. a4
Be6 20. a5 Nd7 21. Ra1 b6 22. a6 Nf8 23. Nf3 Ng6 24. g3 Bd6 25. Red1 Rac8 26.
Rd2 Bc7 27. Rad1 Rxd2 28. Rxd2 Rd8 29. h4 Nf8 30. Rxd8 Qxd8 31. Nd2 Qc8 32. Qa4
Bd6 (32... Bd8 $5) 33. Nc4 Bxc4 (33... b5 34. Nxd6 bxa4 35. Nxc8 Bxc8 36. Bxa7
a3 37. Bc4 Bxa6 38. Ba2) 34. Bxc4 b5 35. Qd1 Be7 (35... bxc4 36. Qxd6) 36. Bb3
Ne6 (36... Qxa6 37. Qh5) 37. Qg4 Kf8 38. Qf5 Bf6 39. g4 Ke8 40. g5 hxg5 41.
hxg5 (41. hxg5 Be7 42. g6) 1-0
Jonny Hector beat Hans Tikkanen with a nice (and relatively simple) attack.
[Event "20th Sigeman & Co"]
[Site "Malmo SWE"]
[Date "2012.05.09"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Tikkanen, H."]
[Black "Hector, J."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A09"]
[WhiteElo "2566"]
[BlackElo "2560"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "r1q3k1/3b1ppn/2p2r1p/p1BpQ3/3Pp3/1P2P2P/P4PP1/RR3BK1 b - - 0 25"]
[PlyCount "29"]
[EventDate "2012.05.09"]
25... Bxh3 $1 26. b4 (26. gxh3 Ng5) 26... Ng5 27. bxa5 Rg6 28. Kh2 Qg4 29. Rb8+
Rxb8 30. Qxb8+ Kh7 31. Qg3 Qh5 32. gxh3 Nf3+ 33. Kg2 Rxg3+ 34. fxg3 Ng5 35. Kh2
Qf3 36. Bg2 Qf2 37. Bd6 Nf3+ 38. Kh1 Ne1 39. a6 Qxg2# 0-1
The draw between Peter Leko and Nils Grandelius, which started as a Sicilian Dragon, was very interesting as well:
[Event "20th Sigeman & Co"]
[Site "Malmo SWE"]
[Date "2012.05.09"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Leko, P."]
[Black "Grandelius, N."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B78"]
[WhiteElo "2723"]
[BlackElo "2556"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "2012.05.09"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 Nc6 8. Qd2
O-O 9. Bc4 Bd7 10. O-O-O Rc8 11. Bb3 Nxd4 12. Bxd4 b5 13. Nd5 Nxd5 14. Bxg7
Kxg7 15. exd5 a5 16. a3 Kg8 17. Rhe1 Rc5 18. Re3 Qa8 19. Rxe7 Bf5 20. g4 a4 21.
Bxa4 Qxa4 22. gxf5 Rfc8 23. c3 b4 24. axb4 Qa1+ 25. Kc2 Qa4+ 26. Kc1 Qa1+ 27.
Kc2 Qa4+ 28. Kb1 Rxc3 29. Ra7 Qxb4 30. f6 Qb3 31. Ra3 Qc2+ 32. Qxc2 Rxc2 33. h4
R2c4 34. Ra6 Rxh4 35. Rxd6 Rf4 36. Rd3 h5 37. Rc6 Rd8 38. b3 Rf5 39. d6 Rxf6
40. Kc2 h4 41. Rc4 Rdxd6 42. Rxd6 Rxd6 43. Rxh4 Kg7 44. Rc4 g5 45. b4 Kg6 46.
b5 Kh5 47. Rb4 Rb6 48. Kd3 f5 49. Ke2 g4 50. Kf2 gxf3 51. Kxf3 1/2-1/2
Emanuel Berg was always slightly better against Li Chao, but this game also ended in a draw eventually.
In the second round Fabiano Caruana won his second white game, against Tikkanen. Where he had started with 1.e4 against Giri, this time the young Italian opened with 1.d4. At an early stage, Tikkanen had his queen's bishop trapped.
[Event "20th Sigeman & Co"]
[Site "Malmo SWE"]
[Date "2012.05.10"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Caruana, F."]
[Black "Tikkanen, H."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D71"]
[WhiteElo "2770"]
[BlackElo "2566"]
[PlyCount "65"]
[EventDate "2012.05.09"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Nf3 Nb6 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. e3
O-O 9. O-O Re8 10. Re1 a5 11. Qc2 a4 12. Rd1 Bf5 13. Qe2 Ra5 14. Bd2 Be6 15.
Ne4 Bc4 16. Qe1 Rb5 17. Bc3 Nd5 18. Nc5 a3 19. Nd2 axb2 20. Bxb2 Na5 21. Ba3 c6
22. Rdc1 Qa8 23. Rxc4 Nxc4 24. Nxc4 Nb6 25. Nxb6 Rxb6 26. Bb4 e5 27. dxe5 Bxe5
28. Bc3 Rb5 29. Nd7 Bxc3 30. Qxc3 Re6 31. Nf6+ Kf8 32. Nd5 Qa5 33. Qh8# 1-0
Grandelius beat Berg, whose knights just couldn't find good squares after the opening.
[Event "20th Sigeman & Co"]
[Site "Malmo SWE"]
[Date "2012.05.10"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Grandelius, N."]
[Black "Berg, E."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E62"]
[WhiteElo "2556"]
[BlackElo "2587"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "2012.05.09"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. Nc3 d6 5. g3 O-O 6. Bg2 c6 7. O-O Qb6 8. Qc2
Na6 9. e4 Bg4 10. Be3 Qa5 11. h3 Bxf3 12. Bxf3 e5 13. d5 cxd5 14. cxd5 Nd7 15.
Bg4 Nb6 16. Be2 Rfc8 17. a3 Nd7 18. Qb1 Qd8 19. Nb5 Ndc5 20. b4 Na4 21. Qb3 Nb6
22. a4 f5 23. a5 f4 24. Bd2 Nd7 25. Nxd6 Ndc5 26. bxc5 Nxc5 27. Qa3 Qxd6 28.
Bb4 Bf8 29. Bg4 fxg3 30. fxg3 Rc7 31. Rac1 Be7 32. Be6+ Kh8 33. Rf7 Rf8 34.
Rxe7 Qxe7 35. Bxc5 Qg5 36. Qe3 Qxe3+ 37. Bxe3 Rxc1+ 38. Bxc1 Kg7 39. Bg5 Rf3
40. Kg2 Rd3 41. Be7 1-0
The next day, Berg bounced back with a good win over his compatriot Hector.
[Event "20th Sigeman & Co"]
[Site "Malmo SWE"]
[Date "2012.05.11"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Berg, E."]
[Black "Hector, J."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D17"]
[WhiteElo "2587"]
[BlackElo "2560"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2012.05.09"]
1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. Ne5 Nbd7 7. Nxc4 Qc7 8.
g3 e5 9. dxe5 Nxe5 10. Bf4 Nfd7 11. Bg2 Be7 12. Rc1 f6 13. O-O Qb8 14. a5 a6
15. Na4 Qc7 16. Nab6 Rd8 17. Nd5 cxd5 18. Ne3 Qxa5 19. Nxf5 g6 20. Nxe7 Kxe7
21. Qd4 Nc6 22. Qe3+ Kf7 23. Rfd1 Nde5 24. b4 Qb5 25. Rc5 Qxb4 26. Bxd5+ Rxd5
27. Rcxd5 Re8 28. Bxe5 Nxe5 29. Qh6 Kg8 30. Rxe5 fxe5 31. Rd7 Re7 32. Rd8+ Kf7
33. Qxh7+ Kf6 34. Qh8+ Kg5 35. h4+ Kf5 36. Qf8+ Ke6 37. Qg8+ Kf5 38. Qf8+ Ke6
39. Qg8+ Kf5 40. Rf8+ Ke4 41. Qxg6+ Kd5 42. Rd8+ Kc5 43. Rd1 a5 44. Qd6+ Kb5
45. Qd3+ Qc4 46. Rb1+ Kc5 47. Qa3+ 1-0
Like Berg, Giri is back on 50% thanks to a win against Tikkanen. The Swedish GM started with three losses...
[Event "20th Sigeman & Co"]
[Site "Malmo SWE"]
[Date "2012.05.11"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Tikkanen, H."]
[Black "Giri, A."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A15"]
[WhiteElo "2566"]
[BlackElo "2693"]
[PlyCount "88"]
[EventDate "2012.05.09"]
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. g3 Bg7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O Nxc3 8.
bxc3 c5 9. Rb1 Nc6 10. Qa4 Qc7 11. d4 Bf5 12. Bf4 Qa5 13. Qxa5 Nxa5 14. Rb5 b6
15. dxc5 Bd7 16. Rxa5 bxa5 17. Ne5 Bxe5 18. Bxe5 Rac8 19. Bd4 Bc6 20. Bxc6 Rxc6
21. Rb1 f6 22. f4 Kf7 23. Rb7 Ra8 24. Kf2 Rcc8 25. Rb5 Ke6 26. Rxa5 a6 27. Ke3
Kd5 28. Kd3 Rcb8 29. Ra3 Kc6 30. Rb3 Rxb3 31. axb3 a5 32. c4 Rb8 33. Kc3 Re8
34. Kd3 Rb8 35. Kc3 h5 36. e4 Rd8 37. e5 fxe5 38. fxe5 e6 39. Be3 Rd1 40. h4
Rf1 41. Kb2 Rf3 42. Bf4 a4 43. bxa4 Kxc5 44. a5 Kxc4 0-1
Saturday is the first and only rest day in Malmö.
At the opening ceremony we see Johan Sigeman shaking hands with Ulf Andersson and on the right there's Anish Giri
Some of the guests in Malmö are representatives of the Tata Steel tournament
A glamourous dinner at the start of the 20th jubilee event
GM Nils Grandelius at the buffet
Swedish GM Emanuel Berg, with an ever-attractive playing style
Fabiano Caruana, one of the most active super GMs around
Li Chao from China, not the only player with this name, but the strongest!
Anish Giri returned to Malmö for the second time
Nils Grandelius at the start of his win against Berg
Jonny Hector, a regular guest in this tournament!
Former World Championship finalist Peter Leko - after this tournament he'll travel to Moscow and do commentary
Hans Tikkanen started badly in Malmö
Sigeman & Co 2012 | Results
Sigeman & Co 2012 | Round 3 Standings
Peter Doggers joined a chess club a month before turning 15 and still plays for it. He used to be an active tournament player and holds two IM norms. Peter has a Master of Arts degree in Dutch Language & Literature. He briefly worked at New in Chess, then as a Dutch teacher and then in a project for improving safety and security in Amsterdam schools. Between 2007 and 2013 Peter was running ChessVibes, a major source for chess news and videos acquired by Chess.com in October 2013. As our Director News & Events, Peter writes many of our news reports. In the summer of 2022, The Guardian’s Leonard Barden described him as “widely regarded as the world’s best chess journalist.”
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