Bilbao Chess Masters Final 14-20 September 2014

The very latest International round up of English news.
Chris Rice
Posts: 3417
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2012 5:17 am

Bilbao Chess Masters Final 14-20 September 2014

Post by Chris Rice » Sun Sep 14, 2014 7:25 am

A new thread, just so we don't get this mixed up with the Club Cup event. This event features four players Anand, Aronian, Ponomariov and Francisco Vallejo Pons in a 6 round all play all.

Live coverage from 2pm (UK time) each day (17th September is a rest day) http://bilbaomastersfinal.com/en/live

Round 1

Francisco Vallejo Pons - Levon Aronian
Viswanathan Anand -Ruslan Ponomariov

Round 2

Levon Aronian - Ruslan Ponomariov
Francisco Vallejo Pons - Viswanathan Anand

Round 3

Viswanathan Anand - Levon Aronian
Ruslan Ponomariov - Francisco Vallejo Pons

Round 4

Ruslan Ponomariov - Levon Aronian
Viswanathan Anand - Francisco Vallejo Pons

Round 5

Levon Aronian - Francisco Vallejo Pons
Ruslan Ponomariov - Viswanathan Anand

Round 6

Levon Aronian - Viswanathan Anand
Francisco Vallejo Pons - Ruslan Ponomariov

Mick Norris
Posts: 10329
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2007 10:12 am
Location: Bolton, Greater Manchester

Re: Bilbao Chess Masters Final 14-20 September 2014

Post by Mick Norris » Sun Sep 14, 2014 2:45 pm

I'm struggling with the live link, so games can be followed at TWIC too

http://www.theweekinchess.com/live
Any postings on here represent my personal views

Chris Rice
Posts: 3417
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2012 5:17 am

Re: Bilbao Chess Masters Final 14-20 September 2014

Post by Chris Rice » Mon Sep 15, 2014 7:30 am

Round 1

Vallejo Pons, Francisco ½-½ Aronian, Levon

Anand, Vishy 1-0 Ponomariov, Ruslan

Anand looking great, Carlsen may be in for a much harder test in Sochi. Game annotated on ChessBase

http://en.chessbase.com/post/bilbao-mas ... tarts-well

Mick Norris
Posts: 10329
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2007 10:12 am
Location: Bolton, Greater Manchester

Re: Bilbao Chess Masters Final 14-20 September 2014

Post by Mick Norris » Mon Sep 15, 2014 5:36 pm

Chris Rice wrote:Round 1

Vallejo Pons, Francisco ½-½ Aronian, Levon

Anand, Vishy 1-0 Ponomariov, Ruslan

Anand looking great, Carlsen may be in for a much harder test in Sochi.
Round 2 Vishy beats Vallejo with black - appears to be in good form, considering he may be hiding his preparation for Carlsen
Any postings on here represent my personal views

Chris Rice
Posts: 3417
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2012 5:17 am

Re: Bilbao Chess Masters Final 14-20 September 2014

Post by Chris Rice » Tue Sep 16, 2014 6:28 am

Seems in Round 2 Aronian did win after Ponomariov missed a perpetual.

http://en.chessbase.com/post/bilbao-mas ... ure-reigns

Mick Norris
Posts: 10329
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2007 10:12 am
Location: Bolton, Greater Manchester

Re: Bilbao Chess Masters Final 14-20 September 2014

Post by Mick Norris » Tue Sep 16, 2014 3:53 pm

Round 3 - Anand - Aronian draw, Pono looks like beating Vallejo
Any postings on here represent my personal views

Chris Rice
Posts: 3417
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2012 5:17 am

Re: Bilbao Chess Masters Final 14-20 September 2014

Post by Chris Rice » Wed Sep 17, 2014 6:52 am

Pono did convert very nicely. Anand's draw puts him in the lead on 7/9 (3 points for a win, 1 for a draw)and a performance rating of 3023 so far, followed by Aronian 5, Ponomariov 3 and Vallejo 1. http://en.chessbase.com/post/bilbao-mas ... hows-class

User avatar
Carl Hibbard
Posts: 6028
Joined: Fri Dec 08, 2006 8:05 pm
Location: Evesham

Re: Bilbao Chess Masters Final 14-20 September 2014

Post by Carl Hibbard » Wed Sep 17, 2014 7:10 am

Do we think Anand has a chance again Carlsen then?
Cheers
Carl Hibbard

Chris Rice
Posts: 3417
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2012 5:17 am

Re: Bilbao Chess Masters Final 14-20 September 2014

Post by Chris Rice » Wed Sep 17, 2014 7:33 am

If he keeps his present form up then he does have a chance. Especially as Carlsen doesn't look to be playing at his peak at the moment averaging 2822 at St Louis so the ratings are indicative that he has a chance although clearly ratings are not a convincing case of anything (before someone jumps down my throat).
Match play seems to depend mostly on whose opening preparation is better and I suspect Anand has done a lot of good work since the last match. A key opening will be the Berlin. Will it be played by Carlsen after Caruana has shown that its not indestructible? Will Carlsen bring something new to the table? I was reading an article in New in Chess (5/2014) where it appeared that Carlsen's opening preparation for the last match included an Alapin idea of 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 Bb4!!!!?????
For me Anand has to attack Carlsen right from the opening if he's to stand any chance at all. That's where his strength is and what he does best. He can't just play equal positions where Carlsen has the opportunity of grinding away for hours which has to be soul destroying for his opponents.

Mick Norris
Posts: 10329
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2007 10:12 am
Location: Bolton, Greater Manchester

Re: Bilbao Chess Masters Final 14-20 September 2014

Post by Mick Norris » Wed Sep 17, 2014 9:16 am

Carl Hibbard wrote:Do we think Anand has a chance again Carlsen then?
Yes, a much better chance than last time as he is in better form and will have learnt from his mistakes - he's also under less pressure, not defending the title or playing at home

Carlsen may not be playing as well, as Chris has indicated, but you would still expect him to find a way to win
Any postings on here represent my personal views

Mick Norris
Posts: 10329
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2007 10:12 am
Location: Bolton, Greater Manchester

Re: Bilbao Chess Masters Final 14-20 September 2014

Post by Mick Norris » Thu Sep 18, 2014 6:43 pm

Vishy has won again to reach 10/12 on the 3-1-0 scoring system

Aronian (now 6 points) drew with Pono (now 4), Vallejo has 1
Any postings on here represent my personal views

User avatar
Christopher Kreuzer
Posts: 8806
Joined: Fri Aug 06, 2010 2:34 am
Location: London

Re: Bilbao Chess Masters Final 14-20 September 2014

Post by Christopher Kreuzer » Thu Sep 18, 2014 6:51 pm

Anand up to number three in the live ratings. Do he and Carlsen have any more events lined up before their match?

Roger de Coverly
Posts: 21301
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 2:51 pm

Re: Bilbao Chess Masters Final 14-20 September 2014

Post by Roger de Coverly » Thu Sep 18, 2014 7:00 pm

Christopher Kreuzer wrote: Do he and Carlsen have any more events lined up before their match?
None in public.

Mick Norris
Posts: 10329
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2007 10:12 am
Location: Bolton, Greater Manchester

Re: Bilbao Chess Masters Final 14-20 September 2014

Post by Mick Norris » Fri Sep 19, 2014 9:29 am

They got the pairings wrong, and Pono prepared for the wrong opponent
http://www.chess.com/news/bilbao-anand- ... urdle-9765

He gets a third white in a row today against Anand, and Aronian finishes with 2 whites Vallejo today and Anand tomorrow
Any postings on here represent my personal views

Mick Norris
Posts: 10329
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2007 10:12 am
Location: Bolton, Greater Manchester

Re: Bilbao Chess Masters Final 14-20 September 2014

Post by Mick Norris » Fri Sep 19, 2014 6:34 pm

2 draws today and Vishy wins with a round to spare - he finishes with black against Aronian tomorrow
Any postings on here represent my personal views

Post Reply