Thursday, August 09, 2007

Staunton Memorial: First Round Impressions

A grubby homeless guy haunts a tube entrance, a limousine lumbers by. A sleek courier glides through the growls of snarled traffic. Pizza chains blithely squat beneath the unabashed grandeur of ancient mansions, now part of the same tourist circuit. The windows of a bank you've heard of advertise the usual stuff; the one opposite which you haven't offers you-don't-understand-what. Somewhere a wallet is being stolen. Somewhere a fortune being made. Somewhere a heart is broken by text message in a foreign language. A camera flashes from the top of a bus. Every third shop sells coffee and sandwiches.

The usual London just outside my office, in other words. Except not this week, at least not for me. Tuesday afternoon, half one. A five minute walk from my office and I push my way through the old, heavy, creaky wooden doors of Simpson's-in-the-Strand, and enter another world. I've not been here for just over a year, when I watched the last Staunton Memorial. But not much has changed. And not much will. There's still the display case of slightly random chess memorabilia in the hallway. And still that remarkable 19th century chess set in a case of its own, bearing a plaque with the names of those whose hands lifted its pieces. The first three are: Howard Staunton, Paul Morphy, Wilhelm Steinitz. You can't but feel a tingle every time you read it. That close. That far away.

Through the double doors is the Grand Divan. The famous old booths lining its side like railway carriages. The silver-domed carver trolleys, ready to wheel out to your table. Do the chandeliers date from 1828, the year Simpson's opened? Maybe. The snows of an ended empire seem never to have reached this unchanging room of Imperial style, where grand old men can still cradle their last moments, like the light they cradle in their brandy glass. But I am not here to wine or dine in this antique environment. Upstairs is the chess tournament.

It's twenty minutes until the round starts. Ray Keene is wondering where the programmes are, explaining to someone that they're priced £2 not in order to actually sell them, but so that those people who snaffle lots of them will feel guilty. Arbiter Eric Schiller - who looks dressed for a Californian beach, albeit the hot-dog rather than surfer end - goes chirpily about setting the clocks. They're electronic this year. A first for this tournament, a first for Simpson's no doubt too. It's the same room as last year, with its subdued splendour: the ceiling not miles away, the lights gentle rather than blinding, the carpet comfortable rather than lush, the columns intricate rather than brutal, the wall paintings more background than eye-catching. A few improvements: the playing tables are better angled for the spectators, and water is provided for us too this time.

Two o'clock and Keene gives a little speech, thanking those to be thanked, going over the particulars, and recounting the story of how the Immortal Game was played here. Immediately after it finished, he says, spectators sprinted off down the Strand to telegraph Adolf Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritzky's moves around the world, or what they thought were the moves. Is that true? I can't be the only one to wonder, but it doesn't matter. The story fits the nostalgic mood somehow.

He announces another improvement on last year: all of the moves will be broadcast live. This sounds good, I think. Last year none were broadcast live at all, not even one. Well, Keene says, broadcast on a rotating basis: two of the games will be broadcast live, then a little while later, another two, then the final two, and so on rotating through out the afternoon. Broadcast, that is, via a video feed of the display boards - not PGN, not MonRoi. And .... broadcast where to? To the aptly-named Knight's Bar in Simpson's itself, just across the hall and around the corner, where Bob Wade will lead the conversation about what's happening on the boards. And that's it. The rest of the world is not amused, but it's hard to know if this is genuinely lackadaisical, or deliberately acommercial, or passively-aggressively out-of-date - or more just a throwback to a more stately pace of life, a more intimate organisational ethos.

Ray says he's confident the system will work. But then points out, the system also requires the display boards in the playing room to be right. And then the fellow whose job this is interrupts Ray - saying he agrees, and how he remembers the comments from last year. It's obvious Ray suddenly remembers too: The display boards were more or less a shambles throughout the tournament last time around. Ray starts to repeat, more than once, how important it is they're right this time. Really important, because of the video relay. Vitally important. Big job, Alexander. As it turns out, today Adams's display-board king will stay on g1 for several moves more than it actually did, but apart from that I didn't spot another error in the half hour I was able to stay in the early afternoon. A big improvement on last year, trust me, when captured pieces stayed on the board whilst others fell off arbitrarily, and so on.

The Orange Dream Team, as the Dutch team are called, waft in collectively first - this by accident rather than design, with the British drifting in soon after. Gawain Jones is one of the last; but at nineteen, is a brand new GM. Strapping is the only word, and still growing too one presumes: his trousers are two inches too short. (He will do well to hang on to draw in the first round, after his opening looked to go really quite wrong against Jan Smeets.) Amongst the others, there's the usual chess player mishmash of clothing styles, from jeans and hoodies to suits and ties. Surprisingly Jon Speelman is one of the smartest: not only wearing a suit, but this year also not bringing his belongings with him in a supermarket carrier bag.

A sign of more circumspect things to come than 2006's over-the-board disappointments? Fast forward to the end of the first round: He and Jan Timman certainly produced one of the most intriguing games, an original encounter I don't pretend to fully understand - nor why Timman who beat Speelman last year agreed a draw at the end. The best game of round one however would stem from the most surprising result: Colin McNab's victory over Ivan Sokolov, a piece of hypermodernism that wouldn't have looked out of place in a Reti game from the 1920s. An especially fine achievement given the rating difference, and that Sokolov ran away with the tournament last year without losing a single game. Meanwhile the opening in the game between Erwin l'Ami and Peter Wells looked entirely violent and with various bits hanging as if anything could happen. But it suddenly petered out to a flat draw - like an amusing balloon parping fleetingly around a party, only to collapse and crumple quickly in the corner. Jovanka Houska seemed to lose the plot in a double rook endgame against Jan Werle, but perhaps there was more to it than that.

Newly-married Michael Adams was content with a short draw against Loek van Wely - 15.h3 is perhaps the definition of limp - which probably indicates something of his tournament strategy: draw against anyone who might have a chance of beating him, try to win against the rest. van Wely won't mind presumably such a gentle first round draw with black, and against the only player in the tournament rated higher than him as well. Here are the best two games from the round:

McNab-Sokolov: 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Bg4 3. Bg2 Nd7 4. d3 e6 5. Nbd2 Bd6 6. h3 Bh5 7. e4 c6 8. O-O Ne7 9. b3 O-O 10. Bb2 a5 11. a3 f6 12. Qe1 e5 13. d4 Qc7 14. c4 Bxf3 15. Bxf3 exd4 16. exd5 c5 17. Qe6+ Kh8 18. Ne4 Nc8 19. Bg2 Ra6 20. Nxd6 Nxd6 21. Qe2 a4 22. b4 b6 23. Bxd4 Raa8 24. bxc5 Nxc5 25. Rae1 Nb3 26. Bc3 Rae8 27. Qh5 Qxc4 28. Bb4 Nc5 29. Rc1 Qb5 30. Rfe1 f5 31. Rxe8 Rxe8 32. Bf1 Qd7 33. Bxc5 bxc5 34. Rxc5 Ne4 35. Bb5 Qd8 36. Qxe8+ Qxe8 37. Bxe8 Nxc5 38. d6 Kg8 39. Bxa4 Kf7 40. d7 Ke7 41. Bb5 f4 42. gxf4 Ne6 43. a4, and black resigned.

Speelman-Timman: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Nc3 Bb7 5. Bg5 Bb4 6. Nd2 h6 7. Bh4 Nc6 8. e3 Ne7 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. Qb3 c5 11. O-O-O Nc6 12. Nde4 Na5 13. Qc2 cxd4 14. Rxd4 f5 15. Nd6+ Bxd6 16. Rxd6 Rc8 17. Qd2 Qe7 18. Be2 Nxc4 19. Bxc4 Rxc4 20. Rd1 Bd5 21. Rxd5 exd5 22. Qxd5 Rc6 23. Qxf5 Qe6 24. Qd3 O-O 25. Qxd7 b5 26. Qb7 a6 27. Rd4 Rc4 28. Rxc4 Qxc4 29. Qxa6 Qf1+ 30. Kc2 Qxf2+ 31. Kb3 Qxg2 32. Qxh6 b4 33. Na4 Re8, draw agreed.

Rewind in time, and back to my office after half an hour and the opening moves I go.

But after work I return again, and on this visit a few programmes lie around the tables. So what else to do? I pick one up and start reading it. No-one asks me for money, no-one notices; it's mine now. Flimsy, in parts ineptly written, cheaply produced, with a terrifying image of Staunton on the cover - he looks completely demented - and I start to wonder if even free is too much. But gratitude becomes me, and a closer read later locates in it the odd intrigue. As an off-hand example, here's two quotes from the programme's biographies that might act as circumstantial answers for some of the questions here: "Jan [Smeets] became a grandmaster in 2004 and dabbled for a while at being a full-time professional, but cited the unexciting periods between chess events as a reason to become a full-time student in economics at Rotterdam University." Similarly, GM Jan Werle, the programme reports, "tried going professional for a year but did not care for the lifestyle and is now a law student in his home town of Groningen."

A tap on the shoulder: an old friend. We gesture to go outside to have a chat, and as we do so a phone goes off somewhere in the room. A few heads shoot up sharply, but then all turn to smiles. Jan Mol's phone. Jan Mol, generous sponsor and more or less host. Jan Mol, darting out looking only a touch sheepish. He can make whatever noise he wants, we suppose - but we can't, and our chat leads us out to the nearest pub; the price of drinks in Simpson's itself are firmly not rooted in the past.

It's almost seven when I return to check on the games - and, nothing. The arbiters and officials are all departed; a few chess players casually analyse in the bar, where the scent of the first of the evening meals deliciously circulate through the luxurious chattering air. The lights are out in the playing area, but I push through the doors anyway, to have a poke around, one last look for today. The final positions are up, and I raise my eyebrows at more than one. Jones drew? Sokolov lost! Timman and Speelman agreed a draw there? It's strange to wander through the chairs and the boards and the clocks alone, as invisible as a ghost.

No-one has stopped me coming here, asked me what I'm doing or where I'm going. But no-one ever checks anything like that in Simpson's. If only the grubby homeless guy knew how easy it was, I think stupidly to myself, to find oneself amongst this rich and refined corner of quiet and comfort. But he'd never get through the revolving doors.

Not confident they'll appear on the website, I decide to jot down the final positions from the display boards. Black, gold lettering, triangular - one of the Simpson's pencils left by one of the boards looks rather dapper. Feeling entitled I start to write with it: and accidentally jab my finger. Blood and a sharp prick of pain come quick. Underneath such a casually charming appearance, it turns out to be as sharp as hell.

4 comments:

Tom Chivers said...

Here are all the games (round 1 & 2) so far. Round 2 was a lot more violent!

[Event "Staunton Memorial 5th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2007.08.07"]
[Round "1"]
[White "McNab, Colin"]
[Black "Sokolov, Ivan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A07"]
[WhiteElo "2416"]
[BlackElo "2666"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2007.08.07"]
[SourceDate "2007.08.07"]

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Bg4 3. Bg2 Nd7 4. d3 e6 5. Nbd2 Bd6 6. h3 Bh5 7. e4 c6 8. O-O
Ne7 9. b3 O-O 10. Bb2 a5 11. a3 f6 12. Qe1 e5 13. d4 Qc7 14. c4 Bxf3 15. Bxf3
exd4 16. exd5 c5 17. Qe6+ Kh8 18. Ne4 Nc8 19. Bg2 Ra6 20. Nxd6 Nxd6 21. Qe2 a4
22. b4 b6 23. Bxd4 Raa8 24. bxc5 Nxc5 25. Rae1 Nb3 26. Bc3 Rae8 27. Qh5 Qxc4
28. Bb4 Nc5 29. Rc1 Qb5 30. Rfe1 f5 31. Rxe8 Rxe8 32. Bf1 Qd7 33. Bxc5 bxc5 34.
Rxc5 Ne4 35. Bb5 Qd8 36. Qxe8+ Qxe8 37. Bxe8 Nxc5 38. d6 Kg8 39. Bxa4 Kf7 40.
d7 Ke7 41. Bb5 f4 42. gxf4 Ne6 43. a4 1-0

[Event "Staunton Memorial 5th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2007.08.07"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Adams, Michael"]
[Black "Van Wely, Loek"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B85"]
[WhiteElo "2724"]
[BlackElo "2679"]
[PlyCount "42"]
[EventDate "2007.08.07"]
[SourceDate "2007.08.07"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e6 7. O-O Be7 8. a4
Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. f4 Qc7 11. Kh1 Re8 12. Bf3 Bf8 13. Qd2 Rb8 14. Qf2 Nd7 15.
h3 b6 16. Nxc6 Qxc6 17. e5 Qc7 18. exd6 Bxd6 19. Rad1 Nf6 20. Ne4 Nxe4 21. Bxe4
Bc5 1/2-1/2

[Event "Staunton Memorial 5th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2007.08.07"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Speelman, Jonathan"]
[Black "Timman, Jan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "E13"]
[WhiteElo "2511"]
[BlackElo "2560"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "2007.08.07"]
[SourceDate "2007.08.07"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Nc3 Bb7 5. Bg5 Bb4 6. Nd2 h6 7. Bh4 Nc6 8. e3
Ne7 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. Qb3 c5 11. O-O-O Nc6 12. Nde4 Na5 13. Qc2 cxd4 14. Rxd4 f5
15. Nd6+ Bxd6 16. Rxd6 Rc8 17. Qd2 Qe7 18. Be2 Nxc4 19. Bxc4 Rxc4 20. Rd1 Bd5
21. Rxd5 exd5 22. Qxd5 Rc6 23. Qxf5 Qe6 24. Qd3 O-O 25. Qxd7 b5 26. Qb7 a6 27.
Rd4 Rc4 28. Rxc4 Qxc4 29. Qxa6 Qf1+ 30. Kc2 Qxf2+ 31. Kb3 Qxg2 32. Qxh6 b4 33.
Na4 Re8 1/2-1/2

[Event "Staunton Memorial 5th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2007.08.07"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Jones, Gawain"]
[Black "Smeets, Jan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "B10"]
[WhiteElo "2526"]
[BlackElo "2538"]
[PlyCount "90"]
[EventDate "2007.08.07"]
[SourceDate "2007.08.07"]

1. e4 c6 2. c4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. cxd5 Nf6 5. Qa4+ Nbd7 6. Nc3 g6 7. Bc4 Bg7 8.
d3 O-O 9. Nf3 a6 10. Qa3 Nb6 11. Qb3 e6 12. dxe6 Nxc4 13. dxc4 Bxe6 14. O-O b5
15. Rd1 Qa5 16. Nd5 bxc4 17. Qc3 Qxc3 18. Nxc3 Rab8 19. Nd4 Nd5 20. Nde2 Nb4
21. Bf4 Rb7 22. Bd6 Re8 23. Rd2 Bf5 24. Bxb4 Rxb4 25. Rad1 Kf8 26. Nf4 Bh6 27.
g3 Bg4 28. f3 Bxf3 29. Rf1 Bg4 30. Ncd5 Rd8 31. Rc2 Ra4 32. Nb6 Rxa2 33. Nxc4
Rc8 34. Rcc1 Bg7 35. h3 Bd7 36. Rfd1 Bb5 37. b3 Bh6 38. Nd6 Rxc1 39. Rxc1 Bd7
40. Rc7 Ke7 41. Nxf7 Bxf4 42. gxf4 Kxf7 43. Rxd7+ Kg8 44. h4 Rb2 45. Rb7 a5
1/2-1/2

[Event "Staunton Memorial 5th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2007.08.07"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Houska, Jovanka"]
[Black "Werle, Jan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B46"]
[WhiteElo "2401"]
[BlackElo "2552"]
[PlyCount "92"]
[EventDate "2007.08.07"]
[SourceDate "2007.08.07"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Bd3 d5 8.
O-O Nf6 9. Qf3 Be7 10. Bg5 O-O 11. Rfe1 d4 12. e5 dxc3 13. exf6 Bxf6 14. Bxf6
Qxf6 15. Qxf6 gxf6 16. bxc3 e5 17. f4 exf4 18. Rf1 Be6 19. Rxf4 Kg7 20. Raf1
Rfb8 21. Rxf6 Rb2 22. a4 Ra2 23. R6f4 a5 24. h3 Ra3 25. Rb1 Ra7 26. Rb6 c5 27.
Bf5 Bxf5 28. Rxf5 c4 29. Rbb5 Rxa4 30. Rfc5 Ra1+ 31. Kh2 a4 32. Rxc4 a3 33.
Rbb4 Re1 34. Rg4+ Kf8 35. Rb8+ Ke7 36. Rgg8 Kf6 37. Rb6+ Re6 38. Rb1 a2 39.
Rf1+ Ke7 40. Rg7 Kf8 41. Rxh7 a1=Q 42. Rhxf7+ Rxf7 43. Rxa1 Rf2 44. Ra8+ Kf7
45. Ra7+ Kf6 46. Ra4 Rxc2 0-1

[Event "Staunton Memorial 5th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2007.08.07"]
[Round "1"]
[White "L'Ami, Erwin"]
[Black "Wells, Peter"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D39"]
[WhiteElo "2598"]
[BlackElo "2517"]
[PlyCount "36"]
[EventDate "2007.08.07"]
[SourceDate "2007.08.07"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. e4 Bb4 6. Bg5 c5 7. Bxc4 cxd4 8.
Nxd4 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Qa5 10. Nb5 Nxe4 11. Bf4 O-O 12. O-O Nc6 13. Qf3 e5 14. Qxe4
exf4 15. Qxf4 Be6 16. Nd6 Bxc4 17. Qxc4 Qc7 18. Rad1 Rad8 1/2-1/2

[Event "Staunton Memorial 5th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2007.08.08"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Werle, Jan"]
[Black "Sokolov, Ivan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D10"]
[WhiteElo "2552"]
[BlackElo "2666"]
[PlyCount "70"]
[EventDate "2007.08.07"]
[SourceDate "2007.08.07"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 d5 4. e3 a6 5. Bd3 dxc4 6. Bxc4 b5 7. Be2 e6 8. Nf3
c5 9. e4 cxd4 10. Qxd4 Qxd4 11. Nxd4 b4 12. Na4 Nxe4 13. Nb6 Bc5 14. Nxc8 Nd7
15. Be3 Rxc8 16. Bxa6 Rb8 17. Ke2 e5 18. Nf5 g6 19. Ng3 Bxe3 20. Kxe3 Nec5 21.
Bc4 f5 22. f4 Nb6 23. Rac1 exf4+ 24. Kxf4 Nxc4 25. Rxc4 Nd3+ 26. Kg5 h6+ 27.
Kxg6 Ne5+ 28. Kg7 Ke7 29. Nxf5+ Ke6 30. Nd4+ Kd5 31. Rxb4 Rbg8+ 32. Kf6 Rg6+
33. Ke7 Rh7+ 34. Kf8 Rf7+ 35. Ke8 Rg8# 0-1

[Event "Staunton Memorial 5th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2007.08.08"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Van Wely, Loek"]
[Black "McNab, Colin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E94"]
[WhiteElo "2679"]
[BlackElo "2416"]
[PlyCount "61"]
[EventDate "2007.08.07"]
[SourceDate "2007.08.07"]

1. d4 d6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 Nd7 5. e4 e5 6. Be2 Ngf6 7. O-O O-O 8. Qc2
c6 9. d5 Qc7 10. Be3 Ng4 11. Bd2 f5 12. exf5 gxf5 13. Ng5 Ndf6 14. h3 Nh6 15.
Rad1 Kh8 16. Bc1 cxd5 17. Nxd5 Nxd5 18. Rxd5 Rg8 19. Rfd1 Bf8 20. c5 f4 21. h4
Nf5 22. Qe4 dxc5 23. Rxe5 h6 24. Rxf5 hxg5 25. Rxg5 Rxg5 26. hxg5 Qe7 27. Bf3
Qxe4 28. Bxe4 Bg4 29. f3 Be6 30. Bxf4 Bxa2 31. Be5+ 1-0

[Event "Staunton Memorial 5th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2007.08.08"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Timman, Jan"]
[Black "Adams, Michael"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E19"]
[WhiteElo "2560"]
[BlackElo "2724"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2007.08.07"]
[SourceDate "2007.08.07"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Nc3 Ne4 8. Qc2
Nxc3 9. Qxc3 c5 10. Rd1 d6 11. b3 Bf6 12. Bb2 Qe7 13. Qc2 Nc6 14. e4 e5 15. d5
Nd4 16. Bxd4 exd4 17. Rab1 Rae8 18. Ne1 g5 19. Nd3 Bc8 20. Rf1 Bg7 21. Rbe1 g4
22. Qd2 Qf6 23. Re2 Re7 24. b4 Rfe8 25. Rfe1 {(=)} Qg6 26. Nf4 Qg5 27. bxc5
bxc5 28. Qc2 Be5 29. h4 gxh3 30. Nxh3 Qh5 31. Nf4 Bxf4 32. gxf4 f6 33. Rd2 Rg7
34. Rd3 Qg4 35. Rg3 Qxf4 36. Qa4 Rf8 37. Rxg7+ Kxg7 38. Qxa7+ Kh8 39. Qa3 Rg8
40. Kf1 Bg4 41. Qb3 Qd2 42. Qg3 Be2+ 0-1

[Event "Staunton Memorial 5th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2007.08.08"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Smeets, Jan"]
[Black "Speelman, Jonathan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C10"]
[WhiteElo "2538"]
[BlackElo "2511"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "2007.08.07"]
[SourceDate "2007.08.07"]

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Nbd7 6. Nf3 h6 7. Nxf6+ Nxf6
8. Be3 g6 9. Bd3 Bg7 10. Qe2 Nd5 11. Bd2 c5 12. Bb5+ Kf8 13. c4 a6 14. Ba4 b5
15. cxb5 cxd4 16. O-O Kg8 17. Ne5 Nb6 18. Bb3 axb5 19. Rfe1 Bxe5 20. Qxe5 Nc4
21. Bxc4 bxc4 22. Re4 Qd5 23. Qxd4 Bb7 24. Bc3 Rh7 25. Rg4 Qxd4 26. Bxd4 h5 27.
Rg5 f5 28. Rxg6+ Kf7 29. Rf6+ Ke7 30. Re1 Bd5 31. Rxf5 Kd6 32. Rg5 Rxa2 33. h4
Kc6 34. Ree5 Rf7 35. Re1 Rf4 36. Bc3 Rxh4 37. f3 Rf4 38. Rxh5 Rf8 39. Kf2 Ra7
40. Bd4 Raa8 41. Rh7 Kb5 42. Be5 Rg8 43. Rh6 Kb4 44. g4 Raf8 45. Bd6+ Kb3 46.
Re3+ Kxb2 47. Be5+ Kc2 48. Rh2 Rxf3+ 49. Rxf3 Bxf3 50. Ke3+ Kb3 51. Rb2+ 1-0

[Event "Staunton Memorial 5th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2007.08.08"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Wells, Peter"]
[Black "Jones, Gawain"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E92"]
[WhiteElo "2517"]
[BlackElo "2526"]
[PlyCount "53"]
[EventDate "2007.08.07"]
[SourceDate "2007.08.07"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 O-O 5. e4 d6 6. Be2 e5 7. Be3 exd4 8. Nxd4
Re8 9. f3 Nc6 10. Qd2 Nh5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. g4 Nf6 13. O-O-O Qe7 14. h4 a5 15.
h5 Bxg4 16. hxg6 fxg6 17. e5 Qxe5 18. Bd4 Qe6 19. fxg4 Ne4 20. Nxe4 Bxd4 21.
Qxd4 Qxe4 22. Rh2 Qxd4 23. Rxd4 Re5 24. Bf3 c5 25. Rxd6 cxd6 26. Bxa8 Kg7 27.
Kd2 1-0

[Event "Staunton Memorial 5th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2007.08.08"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Houska, Jovanka"]
[Black "L'Ami, Erwin"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C86"]
[WhiteElo "2401"]
[BlackElo "2598"]
[PlyCount "114"]
[EventDate "2007.08.07"]
[SourceDate "2007.08.07"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. Qe2 a6 5. Ba4 b5 6. Bb3 Be7 7. c3 O-O 8. O-O
d5 9. d3 Bb7 10. Nbd2 Re8 11. a3 Bf8 12. exd5 Na5 13. Ba2 Bxd5 14. b4 Bxa2 15.
Rxa2 Nb7 16. Ne4 h6 17. Nxf6+ Qxf6 18. Be3 Rad8 19. a4 Qc6 20. axb5 axb5 21.
Ra7 Nd6 22. Rc1 Nf5 23. h3 Bd6 24. Ra5 Ra8 25. Rxa8 Qxa8 26. Bc5 f6 27. Bxd6
Nxd6 28. Nd2 Qa2 29. Qd1 Kh8 30. Ne4 Nxe4 31. dxe4 Qc4 32. Qd7 Ra8 33. Rd1 c6
34. Qd3 Qxd3 35. Rxd3 Ra1+ 36. Kh2 Rc1 37. Kg3 Kg8 38. h4 h5 39. f4 Kf7 40.
fxe5 fxe5 41. Kf2 Rc2+ 42. Kf3 Ke6 43. g3 Ra2 44. Ke3 g6 45. Rd2 Ra8 46. Rd3
Ra2 47. Rd2 Ra1 48. Rd3 Re1+ 49. Kf3 Ke7 50. Rd2 Rc1 51. Rd3 Rc2 52. Ke3 Kf7
53. Rd7+ Kf8 54. Rd8+ Kg7 55. Rd7+ Kh6 56. Rd3 Kh7 57. Rd7+ Kh6 1/2-1/2

Martin Deane (aka Juicy Plums) said...

Hi Tom,

Nice reports and thanks for posting the games here and at chessworld.

Thanks also for linking to my blog post, I have responded to your comment.

There does seem to be something amiss with the coverage. If you look at the original chessbase article which highlighted the Stanton and the UK vs China tournaments they impplied they would have full coverage.

2 rounds down and no news whatsoever on chessbase!!!

I spoke to Xmas who relays a lot of games on the playchess server and he said they 'couldn't' relay, not that they 'wouldn't'.

Tom Chivers said...

Ray said there'd be coverage next year, apparently. I wonder if he'll do it via chessgames.com - since he hangs out there a lot and is presumably on good terms with whomever runs it.

There were more interesting games today.

Gawain Jones mated Jovanka Houska in their endgame, where he was a piece for two (connected, passed) pawns up. Jonathan Speelman lost to Peter Wells, although I missed what happened because the display board was behind the stand for the video relayer. Michael Adams was grinding down Jan Smeets in an += endgame, but Smeets decided instead to go out with a bang and sacrificed a rook unsoundly. Colin McNab lost a nasty one to Jan Timman, who seemed to detonate the squares around the white king out of nowhere. Ivan Sokolov drew with Loek Van Wely; the end of their game saw a flourish of tactics and changes that confused me no end. Erwin L'Ami-Jan Werle was the only disappointing game; the agreed a draw in a position that looked to have a lot of play left in it: opposite side castling, a lot of material left...

Tom Chivers said...

Round 3 games. More excitement, including another mate appearing on the board itself!

[Event "Staunton Memorial 5th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2007.08.09"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Jones, Gawain"]
[Black "Houska, Jovanka"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "2526"]
[BlackElo "2401"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[EventDate "2007.08.07"]
[SourceDate "2007.08.07"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. a3 Nd7 6. Bd3 Bxd3 7. Qxd3 c5 8. c3
Ne7 9. h4 h5 10. Nbd2 cxd4 11. cxd4 Nf5 12. Nf1 Be7 13. Bg5 Qa5+ 14. Bd2 Qa6
15. Qc2 Nb6 16. b3 Rc8 17. Qb1 Nd7 18. Ne3 g6 19. a4 O-O 20. Rg1 Nxd4 21. Nxd4
Nxe5 22. Nb5 Bxh4 23. Ke2 d4 24. Nc4 d3+ 25. Kf1 Nxc4 26. bxc4 Bf6 27. g4 h4
28. Ra2 Rxc4 29. g5 Bg7 30. Qxd3 Rxa4 31. Rxa4 Qxa4 32. Nc3 Qa3 33. Ke2 Rc8 34.
Ne4 Qxd3+ 35. Kxd3 Rd8+ 36. Ke2 Rd4 37. f3 Rc4 38. Rg4 b5 39. Rxh4 Kf8 40. Be3
a5 41. Bc5+ Kg8 42. Be7 Be5 43. Rh1 Rc2+ 44. Kd3 Rh2 45. Rc1 a4 46. Rc8+ Kg7
47. Bf6+ Bxf6 48. gxf6+ Kh7 49. Ng5+ Kh6 50. Nxf7+ 1-0

[Event "Staunton Memorial 5th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2007.08.09"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Adams, Michael"]
[Black "Smeets, Jan"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "2724"]
[BlackElo "2538"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "2007.08.07"]
[SourceDate "2007.08.07"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5
Be6 9. Nbd2 Nc5 10. c3 Be7 11. Bc2 d4 12. Nb3 d3 13. Nxc5 dxc2 14. Qxd8+ Rxd8
15. Nxe6 fxe6 16. Be3 Rd5 17. Rfc1 Nxe5 18. Nxe5 Rxe5 19. Bd4 Rg5 20. Rxc2 Kf7
21. Be3 Rg4 22. b3 Rd8 23. g3 e5 24. Kg2 Rg6 25. c4 Rc6 26. Rac1 b4 27. c5 Rf6
28. Rc4 a5 29. Re4 Rd5 30. a3 bxa3 31. Ra4 Rd3 32. Rxa3 a4 33. Rxa4 Rxb3 34. h4
Rd3 35. Ra7 Rc6 36. Kf3 Ke6 37. Ke4 Rb3 38. Rc4 Rb5 39. Ra1 h5 40. Ra2 Bf6 41.
Ra8 Kf7 42. Rca4 Ke6 43. Rh8 g6 44. Rh6 Kf7 45. Kd5 Rcxc5+ 46. Bxc5 Kg7 47. Ra6
1-0

[Event "Staunton Memorial 5th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2007.08.09"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Speelman, Jonathan"]
[Black "Wells, Peter"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "2511"]
[BlackElo "2517"]
[PlyCount "68"]
[EventDate "2007.08.07"]
[SourceDate "2007.08.07"]

1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. e4 c5 4. e5 Ng8 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. d4 cxd4 7. Nxd4 Nxe5 8.
Ndb5 f6 9. Be3 a6 10. Nd6+ Bxd6 11. Qxd6 Ne7 12. Bb6 Nf5 13. Qc5 d6 14. Qa5 Qd7
15. f4 Nc6 16. Qa3 Nce7 17. O-O-O Qc6 18. c5 d5 19. Bd3 Ne3 20. Rd2 O-O 21. Re1
d4 22. Nd1 N7d5 23. Be4 Nc4 24. Qd3 Ncxb6 25. Bxh7+ Kh8 26. Qh3 Nxf4 27. Qh4
Qxc5+ 28. Bc2+ Kg8 29. Qxf4 e5 30. Qe4 Be6 31. Nf2 Rac8 32. Qh7+ Kf7 33. Ne4
Qb4 34. a3 Rxc2+ 0-1

[Event "Staunton Memorial 5th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2007.08.09"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Sokolov, Ivan"]
[Black "Van Wely, Loek"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "2666"]
[BlackElo "2679"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "2007.08.07"]
[SourceDate "2007.08.07"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3
Bb7 9. O-O a6 10. a4 b4 11. Ne4 c5 12. Nxf6+ Qxf6 13. Re1 h6 14. Bc2 Rd8 15. a5
Bd6 16. h3 g5 17. Ba4 O-O 18. e4 Qg7 19. Bxd7 Rxd7 20. Qa4 Rfd8 21. Be3 g4 22.
hxg4 Qxg4 23. dxc5 Bxe4 24. Qxb4 Be5 25. Bxh6 Bd4 26. Rxe4 Qxe4 27. Be3 e5 28.
Bxd4 exd4 29. Re1 Qc2 30. Ne5 Re7 31. Nc6 Rxe1+ 32. Qxe1 d3 33. Nxd8 Qe2 34.
Qf1 Qc2 35. Qe1 Qe2 36. Qf1 Qc2 1/2-1/2

[Event "Staunton Memorial 5th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2007.08.09"]
[Round "3"]
[White "L'Ami, Erwin"]
[Black "Werle, Jan"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "2598"]
[BlackElo "2552"]
[PlyCount "37"]
[EventDate "2007.08.07"]
[SourceDate "2007.08.07"]

1. d4 f5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bg5 d5 4. Bxf6 exf6 5. e3 Be6 6. Qf3 Nc6 7. Bb5 Qd7 8.
Nge2 O-O-O 9. Nf4 Bf7 10. Nd3 g6 11. a3 Qe6 12. O-O Kb8 13. b4 a6 14. Ba4 Na7
15. Rfb1 c6 16. Bb3 Qc8 17. a4 Bd6 18. Nc5 Rhe8 19. Kh1 1/2-1/2

[Event "Staunton Memorial 5th"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "2007.08.09"]
[Round "3"]
[White "McNab, Colin"]
[Black "Timman, Jan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A00"]
[WhiteElo "2416"]
[BlackElo "2560"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "2007.08.07"]
[SourceDate "2007.08.07"]

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. a3 g6 5. g3 Bg7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O d6 8. d3
Nh5 9. e4 f5 10. exf5 Bxf5 11. h3 Bd7 12. Nd5 Nf6 13. Bg5 Qc8 14. Kh2 Kh8 15.
Rc1 Ng8 16. b4 h6 17. Be3 Nce7 18. d4 Nf5 19. dxe5 dxe5 20. Bd2 c6 21. Nc3 Nd4
22. Nxd4 exd4 23. Ne4 Qc7 24. c5 Ne7 25. Nd6 Nc8 26. Nc4 Be6 27. f4 Bxc4 28.
Rxc4 Ne7 29. Re1 Nf5 30. Qf3 h5 31. Qd3 Rad8 32. Re4 h4 33. g4 Ng3 34. Re6 Rxf4
35. Rd6 Rf2 36. Rcxd4 Rdf8 37. Be1 Re2 38. Bxg3 hxg3+ 39. Kxg3 Be5+ 40. Kh4
Qe7+ 41. g5 Qh7+ 42. Kg4 Qh5# 0-1