No che peccato! Non riesco a immaginarmi
l' Amber senza Morozevich! Mi dispiace davvero

Amber 1° turno:

6 partite alla cieca e 6 rapid, in evidenza Carlsen-Ivanchuk e Kramnik-Grischuk

14.30 CIECA

Ponomariov-Gelfand
Grischuk-Kramnik
Dominguez-Gashimov

16.00 CIECA

Carlsen-Ivanchuk
Svidler-Smeets
Karjakin-Aronian

17.45 RAPID:

Gelfand-Ponomariov
Kramnik-Grischuk
Gashimov-Dominguez

19.15 RAPID:

Ivanchuk-Carlsen
Smeets-Svidler
Aronian-Karjakin

Dominguez apre 1.d4 per la seconda volta in vita sua (la prima fu al Corus dove vinse la sua unica partita proprio aprendo di Donna).
Giocando alla cieca forse non se ne sara' accorto...?

Ivanchuk vince il finale e infligge un 2-0 al giovane Carlsen. Benvenuto all'Amber !

Ho visto il finale di Dominguez vs Kramnik con l'analisi in contemporanea di Fritz10.
Scopro di certo l'acqua calda ma i programmi di scacchi non capiscono NIENTE di finali.
E' risaputo che il silicio specie nei finali da valutazioni fuorvianti ma alcune di esse sono ridicole anche per me che ne capisco poco.
Secondo Fritz10 Kramnik avrebbe concesso la patta con un vantaggio quasi decisivo...

Amber Classifica dopo 2 turni:

1-2. Ponomariov, Ivanchuk 3
3-4. Kramnik, Svidler 2,5
5-8. Gelfand, Grischuk, Karjakin, Carlsen 2
9-10. Gashimov, Smeets 1,5
11-12. Aronian, Dominguez Perez 1

Amber3° T:

Ivanchuk vince col nero contro Karjakin dopo essere entrato in un finale di torri e alfiere favorevole, ottiene il controllo della seconda traversa avversaria, fissa la debolezza arretrata in h2 e vince facilmente col pedone G libero e tutti i pezzi avversari tagliati fuori.


[White "GMKarjakin"]
[Black "GMIvanchuk"]
[WhiteElo "2725P"]
[BlackElo "2748P"]


1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 Qc7
8. O-O Nf6 9. Qe2 d5 10. b3 Bb7 11. Bb2 Bd6 12. Kh1 Bf4 13. Rae1 O-O 14. g3
Bh6 15. e5 Nd7 16. Nd1 c5 17. f4 Rfd8 18. Kg1 Qc6 19. Nf2 c4 20. bxc4 Nc5 21.
cxd5 Rxd5 22. Ne4 Rad8 23. Nxc5 Rxc5 24. Qe4 Qxe4 25. Bxe4 Bxe4 26. Rxe4 Rxc2
27. Rd4 Rdc8 28. Rfd1 g5 29. Rd8+ Rxd8 30. Rxd8+ Kg7 31. f5 g4 32. Ba3 Be3+
33. Kf1 Rf2+ 34. Ke1 Rxf5 35. Bf8+ Kg6 36. Bd6 h5 37. Ra8 Bg1 38. Rxa6 Bxh2
39. Ra3 h4 40. gxh4 g3 41. Ra8 Kh7 0-1

Intervista a Magnus Carlsen dalla rivista tedesca Der Spiegel e realizzata da Maik Grossekathöfer:

"I am chaotic and lazy"

http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=6187

AMBER Risultati 3° Turno - RAPID:

Carlsen da 2-0 anche a Svidler (ieri idem ad Aronian) mentre l'armeno infligge l'altro 2-0 della giornata all'olandese Smeets.

17.45 Rapid

Gelfand-Grischuk ½-½
Ponomariov-Dominguez ½-½
Kramnik-Gashimov 1-0

19.15 Rapid

Carlsen-Svidler 1-0
Ivanchuk-Karjakin ½-½
Aronian-Smeets 1-0

Domanda da un neofita ,quindi perdonate la banalità, ma come si svolgono le partite alla cieca? I giocatori annotano le mosse o devono memorizzare tutto? A cosa serve la scacchiera vuota che visualizzano? Grazie in antipo a chi vorrà essere così gentile da rispondere.

C'è un errore nei risultati nel testo dell'articolo: Ivanchuk ha battuto Karjakin 1,5-0,5, e non viceversa.

a 19: penso che sia loro disponibile una scacchiera senza pezzi per poter annotare le mosse sul computer!
Durante i primi "amber" veniva appunto puntualizzata la presenza delle scacchiere...vuote!

@Albert: no, non si annota, si ricorda la posizione. Per giocatori di questo livello non e' difficile, adesso non va piu' di moda ma anni fa si facevano anche le simultanee alla cieca.
Penso che il PC venga utilizzato per fare la mossa (immagino cliccando sulla casa di partenza e poi su quella di arrivo) e per visualizzare la mossa fatta dall'avversario.
La scacchiera vuota puo' essere di una qualche utilita' per ricostruire mentalmente la posizione, ma non credo che questi giocatori abbiano bisogno di tale aiuto.
Ciao.

Amber Classifica dopo 4° Turno

Carlsen col terzo 2-0 consecutivo ottenuto in tre giorni raggiunge a quota sei in prima posizione Ivanchuk, con cui aveva perso 2-0 al primo turno.

1. Carlsen 6
Ivanchuk 6
3. Gelfand 5
Grischuk 5
5. Ponomariov 4½
6. Kramnik 4
7. Aronian 3½
Gashimov 3½
Karjakin 3½
Svidler 3½
11. Dominguez 2
12. Smeets 1½


Abbinamenti odierni 5° turno:

Karjakin-Carlsen,
Aronian-Svidler,
Kramnik-Ponomariov,
Gashimov-Grischuk,
Gelfand-Dominguez,
Smeet-Ivanchuck

Amber:

aggiunto in fondo all'articolo i video 2010, l'ultimo dal menù è l'analisi di IVANCHUK nella partita contro ARONIAN.

Amber: partita del 4° turno:

Kramnik,V (2790) - Gelfand,B (2750) [E15]
19th Amber Rapid Nice FRA (4), 16.03.2010

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.b3 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Be7 7.Bg2 c6 8.Bc3 d5 9.Nbd2 Nbd7 10.Qc2 c5 11.dxc5 bxc5 12.0-0 0-0 13.Bb2 Qb6 14.Rfe1 Bb7 15.cxd5 exd5 16.Rad1 Rad8 17.Bh3 Qc6 18.Rc1 Ne4 19.Bg2 f5 20.b4 c4 21.a3 Bf6 22.Nd4 Qb6 23.N2f3 g5 24.e3 g4 25.Nd2 Ne5 26.Re2 Bg7 27.Rd1 Rc8 28.Nf1 Nd3 29.Ba1 Qa6 30.Qa2 Qa4 31.Rc2 Ndxf2 32.Bxe4 fxe4 33.Ne6 Nxd1 34.Bxg7 Rxf1+ and because of 35.Kxf1 Nxe3+ 0-1

Carlsen parla dal blog del 3-4-5 turno ( vedi post n° 20 per i primi due)

Turno 3:

2-0 again today, this time against Peter Svidler. My bad start is now well forgotten! THe blindfold game today started in an amusing way. Since we usually change colors every day I had somehow assumed that I would be white in blindfold game, without checking the pairings properly. As a result, I was really surprised when 1.e4 appeared on the screen, as I had intended to play 1.d4 myself. I then sat there for a couple of minutes, as I had not yet prepared anything with black. An interesting position arose in which both sides had chances. After he missed a key blow, 22...Bxg2, the position certainly turned in my favour. I subsenquently missed a couple of good continuations, but what I did was enough to make him resign after 25 moves, in a position we both thought was dead lost for white. However, as we both realised later, his resignation was clearly premature. In the final position white could have fought on with 26. Nd7, a move both of us missed. Still, black would have been clearly better, but there was still everything to fight for. The rapid game went much smoother. From a Grünfeld Indian I reaced a pleasant position, which improved over time as I put pressure on my opponent, and he made a few inaccuracies. He resigned in a hopeless position at move 34, being a pawn down with few prospects. Ivanchuk took the sole lead today, beating Sergey Karjakin 1.5-0.5. He is half a point ahead of Ponomariov, Kramnik and I. Tomorrow my opponent is Jan Smeets. The Dutchman is the lowest rated player in the tournament, but is not to be underestimated, as witness my game against him in Corus this year, when I had to suffer a lot before finally winning in mutual time-trouble with white. Nevertheless, I naturally hope to continue the positive trend of the last two rounds. Magnus Carlsen, Nice, March 15th 2010

Turno 4:

2-0 again today, and 6 in a row! In the blindfold game today against Jan Smeets, I got an interesting position from the opening after 1. g3 as white, with some advantage. I then failed to find any way to increase my advantage, while he defended quite well. We reached an endgame where I was a pawn up, but I would have had serious problems if he had just stayed put. However, his previous good defending had cost a lot of time, and as he had only one minute left I decided to make a couple of waiting moves, hoping that he would fall into my trap and snatch a pawn. Fortunately for me, he fell right into to trap, and a few moves later he resigned, as mate could only be avoided by giving up a rook. The rapid game was even tougher. After the opening he had a slight advantage in an almost symmetrical position. He then made a few innacuracies, so that I could first equalise, and then even get some winning chances with bishop against knight in the endgame. Short of time, he made the last mistake at move 54, and two moves later he resigned as my h-pawn was queening. Ivanchuk continued his great form, beating Aronian after warding off the Armenian's attack following a piece sac in the rapid game. He now has 6/8 in total, with 3/4 in both blindfold and rapid, exactly the same as the author of these lines. Grischuk and Gelfand share second place with 5/8. In Gelfand's case it should be mentioned that he has scored an excellent 5/6 the last three days, after suffering the same plight as I did the first day. Today he routed Kramnik 2-0, with especially the rapid game being very impressive. This means that the Russian now has a bit of ground to make up, at 50% with 4/8. Tomorrow is a free day. On thursday I will play Sergey Karjakin(20). I won my first classical game against the Russian, who was the youngest ever grandmaster in the world at 12y7m in Corus in January, after a few draws. My games against Karjakin are usually interesting, so I very much look forward to my next two games.

Magnus Carlsen, Nice, M

Ieri Ivanchuk ha festeggiato il suo 41esimo compleanno sconfiggendo l'olandese Smeets e recuperando la vetta solitaria della classifica

Amber Risultati 6° Turno:

14.30 Blind
Ivanchuk-Ponomariov ½-½
Svidler-Grischuk 0-1
Karjakin-Dominguez 1-0

16.00 Blind

Aronian-Gashimov 1-0
Smeets-Kramnik 1-0
Carlsen-Gelfand 1-0

17.45 Rapid

Ponomariov-Ivanchuk ½-½
Grischuk-Svidler ½-½
Dominguez-Karjakin 0-1

19.15 Rapid

Gashimov-Aronian ½-½
Kramnik-Smeets 1-0
Gelfand-Carlsen 0-1

Carlsen sul 6° turno giocato ieri contro Gelfand e vinto 2-0:

Amber blindfold and rapid, round 6

After having lost the rapid game poorly yesterday, it was time to get back on track against Gelfand today. As white in the blindfold game I employed an unusual continuation on move 8, and did not get any advantage from the opening, as my opponent played actively and well. Eventually we reached a position where my prospects didn't look that great due to the passive position of my rooks, that both had to defend my weak pawn on c2. However, I was not that unhappy, as he had some weaknesses as well, and not many squares for his minor pieces. I gradually improved my position, and when I opened the position on the kingside on move 41, black was already in big trouble. Ten move later the game finished with a picturesque checkmate in middle of the board. In the rapid game I employed the kings indian defence, the opening I had used to beat Aronian in good style earlier in the tournament. This time however, the game went less smoothly for me. I got a worse position without much counterplay a mistake on move 14. However, my opponent quickly returned the favour, allowing me to solve my problems, and even get an initiative. He then spent a lot of time and found a great resource, that apparently would force perpetual check and a draw. However, as I had a lot of time left I calculated for a while and found out that it was still possible to pose him some serious problems, though I had to be careful not to fall into mate. For instance, in one variation, my king would have run all across the board to safety at b4. There was still a narrow path to a draw, but short of my opponent could not surprisingly not find it, and in the game I eventually escaped from the checks, and finished the game with a nice little combination that won his queen. Since Ivanchuk only made two draws from superior positions today, I am now leading the tournament with 9/12. Ivanchuk is second with 8.5, while Gelfand, Kramnik and Grischuk are sharing 3rd place at a respectful distance with 7/12. Tomorrow I am playing Vugar Gashimov. The 23-year old Azeri recently broke into the top ten in the world, and is a dangerous opponent for anyone.

Magnus Carlsen, Nice

Amber, risultati del 7° turno: Carlsen perde alla cieca contro Gashimov e viene di nuovo superato da Ivanchuk, che regola 1,5-0,5 Grischuk.

14.30 Blind
Kramnik-Aronian 1-0
Gelfand-Smeets ½-½
Gashimov-Carlsen 1-0

16.00 Blind
Grischuk-Ivanchuk ½-½
Dominguez-Svidler ½-½
Ponomariov-Karjakin 0-1

17.45 Rapid
Aronian-Kramnik 1-0
Smeets-Gelfand 0-1
Carlsen-Gashimov ½-½

19.15 Rapid
Ivanchuk-Grischuk 1-0
Svidler-Dominguez 1-0
Karjakin-Ponomariov 1-0

Classifica generale:

1. Ivanchuk 10
2. Carlsen 9½
3. Gelfand 8½, Karjakin 8½
5. Kramnik 8
6. Grischuk 7½, Svidler 7½
8. Gashimov 7
9. Aronian 6
10. Ponomariov 5½
11. Smeets 3½
12. Dominguez 2½

Carlsen sul suo blog è molto critico con se stesso per la brutta prestazione contro Gashimov:

0.5-1.5 against Gashimov today, a miserable result for the first time since round 1. In the blindfold game I got a good position from the opening in a queenless middlegame, but then I became too ambitious, and grabbed a pawn, which turned out to be a huge mistake after I had missed his strong answer. As a result, I ended up in a fairly hopeless endgame with a passive bishop, and this time my opponent played very accurately and gave me no chances to escape. I was naturally hoping to strike back in the rapid game, and initially everything went very well, as I got excellent compensation for the pawn I had given up. Then, when I could have opbtained a big advantage with precise play, I made a serious inaccuracy, which turned the evaluation to equal. After a further blunder, having missed something as simple as a mate in 2 in one line, I was suddendly trying to find a way not to lose a stranded knight. I managed that by a nice combination, but the rook endgame that we reached was still lost for me. Luckily, my opponent did not play very accurately, and I managed to save the draw with some good defence. Ivanchuk won 1.5-0.5 against Grischuk today, including an impressive win in the second game, where he took considerable risks in order to avoid a draw, and was eventually rewarded. Ivanchuk is now leading with 10/14, followed by me at 9.5 and Karjakin and Gelfand at 8.5. Karjakin has now five a row, including his rapid against me. Well done! Tomorrow I am playing Kramnik, who is probably my main rival in general right. I will certainly need to take my game up a few notches from today to strike back, but I am optimistic as always :)
Magnus Carlsen

Beh, domani c'è un giorno di riposo prima del rush finale

Amber, il programma di oggi:

14.30 Blind
Gashimov-Ivanchuk
Kramnik-Svidler
Gelfand-Karjakin

16.00 Blind
Ponomariov-Aronian
Grischuk-Smeets
Dominguez-Carlsen

17.45 Rapid
Ivanchuk-Gashimov
Svidler-Kramnik
Karjakin-Gelfand

19.15 Rapid
Aronian-Ponomariov
Smeets-Grischuk
Carlsen-Dominguez

1. Ivantchuk : 12,0
2. Carlsen : 11,5
3-4. Kramnik, Grischuk :11,0

Ma perchè avete scritto che carlsen ha un primo posto a pari merito nel 2009, quando invece è arrivato un punto dietro ad aroniana e dietro pure a kramnik e anand?

Ma anche Grischuk è in forma e non si sa mai... domani sarà un match difficile sia per Carlsen che per Ivanchuk...

Ponomariov, di Bianco, passa nella rapid da un p netto in più a perdere il finale con 2 in meno... complimenti comunque a Magnus - per la sua tenacia inesauribile.
Bella vittoria anche di Smeeets (di N) su Dominguez, battuto nettamente.

Amber, risultati 10° turno: Un Carlsen mostruoso batte 2-0 Ponomariov e scavalca Ivanchuk, che pareggia 1-1 con Kramnik. Domani gran finale!

14.30 Blind
Aronian-Grischuk 1-0
Smeets-Dominguez ½-½
Carlsen-Ponomariov 1-0

16.00 Blind
Ivanchuk-Kramnik ½-½
Svidler-Gelfand ½-½
Karjakin-Gashimov ½-½

17.45 Rapid
Grischuk-Aronian ½-½
Dominguez-Smeets 0-1
Ponomariov-Carlsen 0-1

19.15 Rapid
Kramnik-Ivanchuk ½-½
Gelfand-Svidler 0-1
Gashimov-Karjakin ½-½

Classifica:

1. Carlsen 13½
2. Ivanchuk 13
3. Kramnik 12
4. Grischuk 11½
5. Gelfand 11 Karjakin 11
7. Gashimov 10½ Svidler 10½
9. Aronian 9½
10. Ponomariov 7½
11. Smeets 5½
12. Dominguez 4½

Ultimo turno:

12.30 Blind
Gelfand-Ivanchuk
Gashimov-Svidler
Kramnik-Karjakin

14.00 Blind
Dominguez-Aronian
Ponomariov-Smeets
Grischuk-Carlsen

15.45 Rapid
Ivanchuk-Gelfand
Svidler-Gashimov
Karjakin-Kramnik

17.15 Rapid
Aronian-Dominguez
Smeets-Ponomariov
Carlsen-Grischuk

Pazzesca vittoria diIvanchuk su Gelfand.
23Cg5!!
Grande Chuky!
La partita merita il premio di bellezza!

E già, bellissima la mossa di Chuky 23Cg5!! Lascia la Donna in presa per un attacco da matto! E anche la conclusione della partita non è da meno!

Scusate,
qualcuno sa chi ha vinto?
Il sito mette primo Carlsen...

Amber, risultati ultimo turno: Carlsen e Ivanchuk chiudono a pari merito!

12.30 Blind
Gashimov-Svidler ½-½
Dominguez-Aronian 0-1
Ponomariov-Smeets ½-½

14.00 Blind
Gelfand-Ivanchuk ½-½
Kramnik-Karjakin 1-0
Grischuk-Carlsen 1-0

15.45 Rapid
Svidler-Gashimov ½-½
Aronian-Dominguez ½-½
Smeets-Ponomariov 0-1

17.15 Rapid
Ivanchuk-Gelfand 1-0
Karjakin-Kramnik 1-0
Carlsen-Grischuk 1-0

Classifica finale:

1. Carlsen 14½ Ivanchuk 14½
3. Kramnik 13
4. Grischuk 12½
5. Karjakin 12
6. Gashimov 11½ Gelfand 11½ Svidler 11½
9. Aronian 11
10. Ponomariov 9
11. Smeets 6
12. Dominguez 5

Ivanchuk che, tra l'altro, ha finito imbattuto !!!

E menomale che Ivanchuk si voleva ritirare dall'attività agonistica