Special game analysis

There were many fighting and exciting games is the Round 3 of the World Cup. Sergey Shipov annotates the most interesting fragments.

The main sensation occurred at the first table. Despite all the achievements of Judit Polgar, people still tend to underestimate her. Which, of course, benefits her at the board...

J. Polgar — S. Karjakin

If the Black’s bishop arrives to b7, White’s hopes are gone, so she needs to hurry.

20.e6! Bxe6 21.Bxc7

The White’s bishop breaks to the queenside pawns. In order to defend Black need to solve a tricky study. Sergey did not succeed.

21...f6?

Insufficient is 21...Bd7 22.Bb8 Bc6 23.Nc3 (23.Re1 Kd8 24.Bxa7 Kc7) 23...Bxf3 24.gxf3 a6 25.Nd5 Bd8 26.Bc7!

The only solution is to bring the h8-rook to the 6^th rank: 21...Rh6! 22.Bb8 a6 23.Ba7 Bd8 24.Nc3 Bd7 25.Nd5 Re6 with equality.

22.Bb8 a6 23.Ba7

I did not understand why the opponents ignored the following simple line: 23.Bc7!? b5 24.Nxc5! with the idea 24…Bxc5? 25.Rd8+, and Black loses an exchange.

23...Bd8 24.Nc3!

Here Karjakin began to think again, but it was already too late.

24...Kf7

Black probably miscalculated the following line: 24...Ne7 25.Na4 Nc8, missing an unexpected blow 26.Bxb6! Nxb6 27.Nxb6 Bxb6 28.Rd6 with a healthy extra pawn for White.

25.Na4 b5 26.Nxc5 Bc8

The magic of the bishop pair could create an impression that Black survives even without a pawn, but Polgar can cast the anti-spell.

27.cxb5 axb5 28.a4!

Simple and strong.

28...bxa4 29.bxa4 Re8 30.Rb1 g5?!

The last inaccuracy. More stubborn is 30...Re2!, and White cannot win by straightforward means: 31.Rb8 Nd6 32.Bb6 (32.Nxh4?! Re1+ 33.Kh2 Bc7!) 32...Bxb6 33.Rxb6 Ne4 34.Nxe4 Rxe4 35.a5 Ra4 — the a5-pawn is stopped.

31.Bb6! Be7 32.a5 Bxc5 33.Bxc5

The opposite-colored bishops don’t affect the evaluation here because of the passed pawn.

33...Re6 34.Rb6 Ng7

Or 34...Rxb6 35.Bxb6 Ke6 36.Bd8!

35.Be3 Nf5 36.Rb8 Re8

Here is a nice line: 36...Nxe3 37.Rxc8 Nd5 38.Rc5 Nf4 39.Rxg5! fxg5 40.Nxg5+ Ke7 41.Nxe6 Nxe6 42.a6 Nc7 43.a7 Kd7 44.g4, and White wins.

37.Ra8 Bb7

Black probably loses after 37...Bd7 38.Rxe8 (38.Ra7!?) 38...Kxe8 39.a6 Nxe3 40.fxe3 as well.

38.Ra7 Re7 39.Bc5 Rd7 40.a6 Bc6 41.Rxd7+ Bxd7

Black easily survives, if we remove the knights from the board, but it is not going to happen.

42.Nd2! Ke6 43.Nc4 Bc6 44.Nb6 Nd6 45.Bxd6 Kxd6 46.a7 Kc7 47.a8Q Bxa8 48.Nxa8+ Kb7 49.f4!

And the king collects Black’s pawns. Black resigns.

More analysis here.

TTU President Guy Bailey congratulates Andre Diamant

October 5, 2010
Mr. Andre Diamant
c/o SPICE
Texas Tech University
Campus Mail: MS 5080

Dear Andre:

It is a pleasure to congratulate you on your excellent performance at the World Chess Olympiad held recently in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. Your outstanding play and placement at the Olympiad are a testament to your astute knowledge of chess and the game's strategy of anticipating the moves of your competitors.

I enjoyed hearing that you wore your Knight Raider/SPICE shirts during the games. We are proud of you for the recognition your competition has brought to you and to Texas Tech. You are an excellent Ambassador for SPICE and for Texas Tech.

Congratulations again and best wishes to you and the Knight Raiders in your competition at the upcoming Texas State Championship and the PanAm Intercollegiate Chess Championship in December.

Sincerely,
Guy Bailey
President

GB / lel

xc: Susan Polgar

TTU Freshman Diamant Shines at Chess Olympiad

Texas Tech Freshman Andre Diamant Shines at World Chess Olympiad
Knight Raider earns second-best individual score in the chess world's largest event.
Written by Cory Chandler
October 5, 2010

Texas Tech University freshman Andre Diamant recorded five wins and three draws representing his home country of Brazil in the 2010 Khanty-Mansiysk World Chess Olympiad in West Siberia, Russia.

The 81.3 percent winning percentage was enough to give Diamant, a Texas Tech Knight Raiders chess team member, the second best individual score in the Olympiad. His rating performance of 2644 was the sixth best overall of the event that drew approximately 1,500 players, coaches and captains from 150 countries.

Diamant, a grandmaster, played on the fifth board for Brazil. He qualified for his first Olympiad appearance in 2008 in Dresden, Germany at the age of 17.

Chess is a part of the IOC (International Olympic Committee). There have been various discussions in recent years to include chess as part of the Summer or Winter Olympics. For now the Chess Olympiad enjoys the second position behind the Summer Olympics with approximately 150 countries battling every two years.

• 2008 Summer Olympics (Beijing, China): 204 nations.
• 2008 Chess Olympiad (Dresden, Germany): 152 nations.
• 2006 Winter Olympics (Turin, Italy): 86 nations.

Next Andre and his teammates will represent Texas Tech at the SPICE Cup later in October at the Texas Tech Student Union Building, Texas State Championship in November in Corpus Christi, and the PanAm Intercollegiate Chess Championship in December in Milwaukee, Wisc.

“We are so proud of what Andre achieved on the world stage in Khanty-Mansiysk where tens of millions of chess enthusiasts followed the live action over a two-week period on the internet”, said Susan Polgar, director of the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) and head coach of the Knight Raiders. “This speaks volumes for the kind of international talent we attract to Texas Tech through SPICE.”

Diamant’s round-by-round results follow (1 = win, ½ = draw):

1 CM Kassis Antoine 2236 Libya 5,0 w 1
2 GM Zhou Jianchao 2660 China 5,5 s ½
3 FM Gameel Mohamed 2216 Yemen 4,5 s 1
4 CM Samhouri Bilal 2269 Jodan 6,0 w ½
6 IM Norri Joose 2330 Finland 2,5 w 1
8 Samakov Nurdin 2356 Kazakhstan 6,5 w 1
10 GM Palac Mladen 2561 Croatia 7,0 s ½
11 IM Sebenik Matej 2516 Slovenia 4,0 w 1

Visit http://ugra-chess.com/boardprizes.php for more information about Diamant’s performance and rakings.

Find Texas Tech news, experts and story ideas at www.media.ttu.edu.

About SPICE:

The Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) joined the Division of Institutional Diversity & Community Engagement in June 2010. SPICE works with Texas Tech students, faculty, LISD, and other communities to enhance chess, education, technology, research, and creative scholarship. College Chess is a critical bridge between Scholastic and Adult Chess. The successful promotion of College Chess to youth helps with the development of critical thinking, team and individual play, and leadership. SPICE not only works with youth across the Lubbock region but extends to many countries through the work of Susan Polgar. During the summer, SPICE held several camps on campus designed to introduce, challenge, and train students on the skills needed for chess and pursuing a higher education.

Texas Tech Olympiad Success

Texas Tech University Freshman Andre Diamant (Brazil) had fantastic results at the 2010 Khanty-Mansiysk Chess Olympiad. He scored 5 wins and 3 draws (0 loss) for a percentage of 81.3% and rating performance of 2644. Here are his round by round results:

1	420	CM	Kassis Antoine	2236	LIB	5,0	w 1
2	57	GM	Zhou Jianchao	2660	CHN	5,5	s ½
3	442	FM	Gameel Mohamed	2216	YEM	4,5	s 1
4	400	CM	Samhouri Bilal	2269	JOR	6,0	w ½
6	358	IM	Norri Joose	2330	FIN	2,5	w 1
8	710		Samakov Nurdin	2356	KGZ	6,5	w 1
10	151	GM	Palac Mladen	2561	CRO	7,0	s ½
11	191	IM	Sebenik Matej	2516	SLO	4,0	w 1

Congratulations to Andre!

Greetings from Russia!

Chess champ attending 2010 Chess Olympiad in Russia
Posted: September 25, 2010 - 11:02pm

Greetings from Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia!

I arrived at the 2010 Chess Olympiad on Wednesday after traveling for two days. The trip was relatively smooth, just a lot of connecting flights. My route was Lubbock to Dallas to New York to Helsinki to Moscow to Khanty-Mansiysk! I will write more about this event and how it will affect SPICE in future columns.

The question of the week is can I explain a little more about the Chess Olympiad. Is it a part of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and how big is it?

The 2010 Chess Olympiad has just begun. It is currently taking place in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia (close to the West Siberian Plain).

Nearly 1,500 players, coaches, and captains of 262 men’s and women’s teams from nearly 150 countries are here for two weeks to battle for the individual and team gold, silver and bronze medals. Just to give you an idea how large the Chess Olympiad is, here are the statistics for this international competition:

• 2008 Summer Olympics (Beijing, China): 204 nations.
•2008 Chess Olympiad (Dresden, Germany): 152 nations.
•2006 Winter Olympics (Turin, Italy): 86 nations.

Yes, chess is a part of the IOC. There have been various discussions in recent years to include chess as part of the Summer or Winter Olympics. Nothing has materialized yet. For now the Chess Olympiad enjoys the second position behind the Summer Olympics with approximately 150 countries battling every two years.

You can follow LIVE games and all updated information about the 2010 Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk at www.ChessDailyNews.com.

Source: Avalanche Journal

Texas Tech Freshman to Compete in 2010 Chess Olympiad

September 20, 2010
Texas Tech Freshman to Compete in 2010 Chess Olympiad
Grandmaster will join nearly 1,500 players representing many of the World Chess Federation's 171 national federations.
Written by Cory Chandler

A 19-year-old member of the Texas Tech University Knight Raiders chess team will compete against some of the world’s best players at the 2010 Chess Olympiad that begins today and continues through Oct. 4 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

Freshman Grandmaster Andre Diamant, the 2008-09 Brazilian national chess champion, will join nearly 1,500 players representing many of the World Chess Federation’s 171 national federations.

Diamant, who competed in Texas Tech’s 2009 SPICE Cup International Invitational Tournament before attending the university as a student, is the first Knight Raider to compete in an olympiad.

“I think that Andre’s inclusion in the Olympiad speaks volumes about the type of world-class talent we have been able to attract to Texas Tech and Lubbock,” said Susan Polgar, coach of the Knight Raiders and director of the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE).

Polgar will join Diamant in Khanty-Mansiysk to promote Texas Tech, SPICE and to recruit additional top talent. She also is the co-chair of FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess and ambassador for Tromso, Norway 2014 Chess Olympiad bid.

Find Texas Tech news, experts and story ideas at www.media.ttu.edu.

CONTACT: Paul Truong, director of marketing, SPICE, Texas Tech University, (806) 742-7742, or paul.truong@ttu.edu

Knight Raider team member heading to the 2010 Chess Olympiad

Knight Raider team member heading to the 2010 Chess Olympiad
September 18, 2010 - 11:01pm

Nineteen-year-old Texas Tech freshman Grandmaster Andre Diamant, 2008-09 Brazilian National Chess champion, is heading to the 2010 Chess Olympiad to compete against some of the world’s best players. The Chess Olympiad will take place in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, Monday-Oct. 4. He is the first Knight Raider to qualify for this prestigious event. It speaks volumes for Tech and Lubbock to be able to attract this kind of world-class talent.

Nearly 1,500 of the best chess players from all over the world are projected to compete in this year’s Chess Olympiad and Women’s Chess Olympiad. More countries are expected to be represented in the Chess Olympiad than the summer or winter Olympics. FIDE (World Chess Federation) has 171 national federations. It is the second-largest sports organization in the world, behind only soccer.

According to CBS and other sources, there are approximately 45 million people in the United States who play chess and more than 700 million worldwide. There are also more children who play chess in this country than major sports such as football, baseball, basketball, soccer, tennis, etc.

I will join Andre in Khanty-Mansiysk to promote Texas Tech, SPICE and to recruit additional top talent. I am also the co-chair of FIDE Commission for Women’s Chess and Ambassador for Troms, Norway 2014 Chess Olympiad bid.

Source: Avalanche Journal