Grand Prix to end in May

Position No. 6094: Black to play and win. From the game Stephen J. Horrocks-Giustino Mancini, Gibraltar 2010.

Solution to Position No. 6093: White wins a Rook by 1 d6! Qxd6 2 e5. Tougher is 1 . . . Qa5 2 dxe7 Bd7, but White wins anyway with 3 0-0 Qc7 4 g3! Rxf3 (or 4 . . . Rg4 5 Qh6) 5 Bc4+ Rf7 6 Rf3 Be8 7 Rxf7 Bxf7 8 e8Q+.

The World Chess Federation (FIDE) has announced that the final Grand Prix tournament will begin May 5 in Astrakhan, Russia. The six-tournament series was supposed to conclude in 2009, but three of the six cities that promised to host tournaments backed out. FIDE deserves credit for finding replacements, despite the delay in the schedule.

The Grand Prix offers a total of 300,000 Euros (about $410,000) to the top 10 cumulative scorers. Levon Aronian of Armenia, who won two tournaments and tied for second in another, has already clinched the first prize of 75,000 Euros (about $102,000). More than half of the 14 players in Astrakhan retain a mathematical chance for the 50,000 Euros (about $68,000) second prize and a berth in the Candidates matches that will select the challenger in the 2011 world championship.

First portion for web only begins here.

New Yorkers GM Gata Kamsky and IM Alex Lenderman scored 7 1/2 -2 1/2 and tied for first place with seven others in the Gibtelecom Masters tournament in Gibraltar. The tournament, in its eighth year, has become one of the most lucrative opens in the world, awarding 112,500 pounds (about $176,000) in prizes, plus expense money for titled players. There were 34 GMs in the field of 224 players.

Club news

The Dr. Richard Lewis Memorial at the Pasadena Chess Club set a club record with 61 entrants. Fei Yue Yang, age 13, won with a score of 5-0, and Dave Matson was second at 4 1/2 - 1/2 . Other prizes went to Rolando Tenoso, Christopher Hung, Kevin Qian, Ron Woolsey, Huangsheng Xue, Larry Hu, Alexander Hung and Thomas Garcia.

The club, which traces its ancestry to 1928, will begin its annual six-round championship at 7 p.m. Friday in the Boys and Girls Club, 3230 E. Del Mar Blvd. in Pasadena. Call Neil Hultgren at (818) 243-3809 for more information.

The Ventura County Chess Club has a new champion. Expert Robert Radford defeated Tony Miller, champion for the last 10 years, in the 2010 club championship match. The match began with four wins, all by Black, before Radford won two 20-minute tiebreakers. Charles Scolieri and Sean Russell won other club events.

The club runs tournaments continuously Tuesdays and some Mondays in the Church of the Foothills, 6279 Foothill Road in Ventura. See vcchess.com.

Sergey Yurenok and newcomer Iosif Khanukayev tied for first place in the HCA Sunday #1 at Hanley Chess Academy in Huntington Beach. The club will run another four-round tournament of one-hour games Feb. 28. For more about the club, see hanleychessacademy.org.

Dave Matson, Manuel Pascal and Christian Jaime led their sections in the Exposition Park Chess Club’s tournament last Sunday, while Luis Brioso, Felipe Rodriguez and Edgar Sacramento shared top honors in another section. The club meets at 1 p.m. Sundays in the public library, 3900 S. Western Ave.in Los Angeles.

Today’s games

GM Viswanathan Anand ( India)-GM Vladimir Kramnik (Russia), Corus A, Wijk aan Zee 2010: 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nf6 The Petroff Defense, a signal that Kramnik was content to draw. He led the tournament by a half-point before this penultimate-round game. 3 Nxe5 d6 4 Nf3 Nxe4 5 d4 d5 6 Bd3 Nc6 7 0-0 Be7 8 c4 White has nearly abandoned the old main line, 8 Re1 Bg4 9 c3 f5. Nb4 9 Be2 0-0 10 Nc3 Bf5 11 a3 Nxc3 12 bxc3 Nc6 13 Re1 Re8 14 cxd5 Qxd5 15 Bf4 A popular position with a drawish reputation. Rac8 After 15 . . . Bd6 16 c4 Qe4 17 Be3, White may gain time with c4-c5. 16 h3 Discouraging 16 . . . Bf6, as 17 Nh2 Qa5 18 Bd2 Rcd8 19 Bf3 h6 20 Ng4 Bxg4 21 hxg4 gave White an edge in Kramnik - Anand, Wijk aan Zee 2003. Be4 17 Qc1 New. A round earlier, Kramnik had drawn as Black against Shirov after 17 Nd2!? Bxg2 18 Bg4 Bh1 19 f3 Bh4 20 Re4!? f5 21 Kxh1 fxg4 22 hxg4 Qf7. In 2008, Kramnik drew as Black against Ivanchuk after 17 Be3 Na5 18 Nd2 Bf5 19 c4 Qd7 20 Nf3 Bf6 21 Rc1 c5. Na5 18 Qe3 Bf8?! Losing ground in the center. Black would have few worries after 18 . . . Bf5 19 Ne5 c5. 19 c4! Qd8 As 19 . . . Nxc4?? drops a piece to 20 Bxc4 Qxc4 21 Nd2 Qd5 22 Nxe4 f5 23 Nc3. 20 Ne5 Bf5 21 Qc3 b6 22 Rad1 Qf6?! Black’s position deteriorates after this second slip. Instead, 22 . . . f6 23 Ng4 Bd6 limits White to a minimal advantage. 23 Qg3 Nc6 Possibly 23 . . . c5 24 d5 Bd6 improves, although the computer likes White after 25 Bh5 g6 26 Re3. 24 Ng4 Qg6 25 d5 Na5 26 Bxc7! A powerful exchange sacrifice. White gets nothing from 26 Ne3 Qxg3 27 Bxg3 Bd7. Bc2 27 Rc1 Nb3 28 Rxc2 Qxc2 29 Nh6+ Kh8 30 Nxf7+ Kg8 31 Nh6+ Kh8 32 Nf7+ A first for Anand, the legendarily quick calculator who claimed he had never repeated moves to gain time on the clock. Kg8 33 Nh6+ Kh8 34 Be5! White’s swarming pieces will overwhelm Black. For example, White refutes 34 . . . Qd2 by 35 Nf7+ Kg8 36 Bc3 Qc2 37 Ne5, followed by the Bishop’s entry at g4 or h5. Qg6 35 Bg4 Rxc4? Dropping material. Black’s last hope is 35 . . . Rcd8 36 Nf5 Nc5. 36 Qxb3 Rxe5 If 36 . . . Re4, then 37 Rxe4 Qxe4 38 Nf7+ Kg8 39 d6 sets up a fatal discovery. 37 Rxe5 Rc1+ 38 Kh2 Bd6 Black cannot solve his back-rank problem after either 38 . . . Qxh6 39 Re8 Qf6 40 Qf3 or 38 . . . gxh6 39 Re6! Qg7 40 Re8. 39 f4 Bxe5 No better is 39 . . . gxh6 40 Qb2! Bxe5 41 Qxe5+ Qg7, when the game might conclude 42 d6 Rc5 43 Qe8+ Qg8 44 d7 Rd5 45 Be6. 40 fxe5 gxh6 Or 40 . . . Qxh6 41 Qf3! g6 42 d6. 41 Qe3 White’s pawns are unstoppable. He can overcome the flimsy blockade 41 . . . Rc5 42 d6 h5 43 Bf3 Qe6 by 44 Qd4 Rc8 45 Bd5, or 44 . . . Rc4 45 Qd5. Qb1 42 d6 Rh1+ 43 Kg3 Re1 44 Qf4 Rf1 45 Bf3, Black Resigns.

Soumya Swaminathan (India)-IM Nils Grandelius (Sweden), Corus C, Wijk aan Zee 2010: 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6The Najdorf Sicilian, still highly regarded in spite of White’s many recent victories. 6 Be3 e6 A solid alternative to 6 . . . e5 and 6 . . . Ng4. 7 f3 b5 8 Qd2 The English Attack. Nbd7 9 g4 Nb6 10 a4!? Nc4 Black spends a lot of time to eliminate White’s harmless Bishop. However, both 10 . . . bxa4 11 Nxa4 and 10 . . . b4 11 Na2 a5 12 c3 give White an uncontested initiative. 11 Bxc4 bxc4 12 a5 Bb7 13 Na4 d5?! Too bold. More sensible is 13 . . . Nd7 14 0-0-0 Qc7 or 13 . . . Rc8 14 Qc3 Bxe4!? 15 fxe4 Nxe4 16 Qb4 Qh4+, as played by Anand. 14 g5 Nd7 15 0-0-0! Much more ambitious than 15 exd5 Bxd5 16 0-0, which settles for a small advantage. dxe4 16 fxe4 Inviting 16 . . . Bxe4, as White will use the e-file. For example, 17 Rhe1 Be7 18 Bf4 Bb7 (or 18 . . . Bd5 19 Nf5!) 19 Qe3 sets up 20 Nxe6. Rb8?! This new attempt will not justify 13 . . . d5. Only 16 . . . Nc5 17 Nb6 Nxe4 18 Qe2 Qc7, welcoming 19 Nxa8 Bxa8, fights for the initiative. However, White should decline the exchange sacrifice and attack by 19 g6! hxg6 20 Nxe6 fxe6 21 Qg4, with at least even chances. 17 Rhe1 Ba8 Now 17. . . Bxe4? 18 Bf4 Rb4 loses to 19 Nb6 Nxb6 20 Rxe4 Nd5 21 Nc6 or 20 . . . Na4 21 Nxe6! Qxd2+ 22 Bxd2 fxe6 23 Bxb4 Bxb4 24 Rxc4. 18 Nf5! The first of three sacrifices that will exploit Black’s uncastled King. Bc6 Not 18 . . . exf5 19 exf5 Be7, as 20 f6 gxf6 21 gxf6 Nxf6 22 Qc3 Qc7 23 Bh6! Rg8 24 Qxf6 recovers the piece and keeps attacking. Or, if 18 . . . Bxe4, White wins with 19 Nd6+ Bxd6 20 Qxd6 Bf3 21 Rd4 or, more forcingly, 19 Bf4 Bxf5 20 Bxb8 Be7 21 Bf4 Bg4 22 Nb6 Bxd1 23 Rxd1 Nxb6 24 axb6. 19 Qc3! Bxa4 20 Rxd7! Qxd7 White’s main point is that 20 . . . Bxd7 21 Nxg7+ Bxg7 22 Qxg7 Rf8 loses to 23 Bc5. Nor will 22 . . . Qxa5 23 Qxh8+ Ke7 24 Qf6+ Ke8 25 Rf1 save Black. Finally, 20 . . . Kxd7 drops too much material after 21 Rd1+ Ke8 22 Rxd8+ Rxd8 23 Nxg7+ Kd7 24 Nxe6 fxe6 25 Qxh8. 21 Nxg7+ Bxg7 Black returns the Rook but cannot quite stop White’s threats. Murkier is 21 . . . Kd8 22 Rd1 Bd6 23 e5, although both 23 . . . Bc7 24 Rxd7+ Bxd7 25 Qxc4 and 23 . . . Kc8 24 Rxd6 Qb5 25 Bb6 (threatening 26 b3 and 26 Rd4) appear winning for White. 22 Qxg7 Qe7 23 Qxh8+ Qf8 24 Qe5 Correctly preferring a middlegame to an opposite-Bishops endgame. Qb4 25 Bd2 Qb5 26 Qh8+ Kd7 White refutes 26 . . . Ke7 most incisively by 27 Qf6+ Ke8 28 Rf1 Rb7 29 g6! hxg6 30 Bg5. 27 Qd4+ Kc8 28 Bf4 Rb7 29 Rd1 As 29. . . Rd7 30 Qh8+ leads to mate. Qd7 30 Qxc4+ Qc6 31 Rd4! No endgame! Bb5 32 Qb4 Qe8 33 Qc5+ Good enough, but the snappiest finish is 33 g6! hxg6 34 Qc5+ Qc6 35 Qf8+ Qe8 36 Rc4+! Kd8 37 Qd6+ Qd7 38 Bg5+ Ke8 39 Qe5. Qc6 34 Qf8+ Qe8 35 Rc4+ Kd7? A blunder, but 35. . . Kd8 36 Qb4 would only prolong the agony. 36 Qd6 mate.