13th Monarch Assurance

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13th Monarch Assurance Isle of Man International
25 Sept - 3 Oct 2004

Last updated: Monday, August 21, 2017 5:49 PM

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Round 7 - 1 October 2004 - "Calf of Man"

Korchnoi's scoresheet against Rowson John Saunders reports: I was telling you yesterday how my tournament colleagues abandoned me at the Ocean Castle Hotel to kick my heels while they swanned off round the island on their nice coach. I managed to find a few useful things to do (besides plot my revenge).

Firstly I had a nice chat about the chess world with Serbian GM Milos Pavlovic, who was helping me to input his game against Sergey Volkov. Rather rudely, I told him that this was my nightmare pairing, which I had seen coming some days before. Neither of them has legible handwriting and they weren't going to let me off with a nice quick draw, oh no. They played on until there were just two kings left on the board. Two pages of undecipherable squiggles each. Actually it was amusing to find that Milos couldn't read his own handwriting either, but he has a typically impressive grandmaster memory and remembered most of the moves immediately.

There are still two more nightmare pairings left to come: either of the players I have already mentioned against Korchnoi. Would you like to see one of Korchnoi's scoresheets? I don't have a scanner here but I've taken a picture of one of Viktor's scores (left). Do you reckon you could figure it out? No, neither do I. There is something in the laws of chess about handing in a legible score. That gave me a bright idea - why, when Korchnoi hands in his score, don't the arbiters point out to him that his scoresheets are illegible? I suggested this to one of the Monarch arbiters. He didn't say anything, but he started to look rather pale.

Time for a Walk

It was very pleasant talking to Milos, but eventually I needed some exercise. Instead of the usual stroll up to Bradda Head and the Milner Tower (which seems to be getting steeper year by year - or is it the extra weight I'm carrying?), I decided to walk round the other side of the bay and take a look at the Calf of Man. This is a small uninhabited island just off one of the headlands of Port Erin, and which is used as a nature reserve. There is a lighthouse there where Dennis Hemsley used to work. Maybe that is where the idea for the chess tournament came from. So I was keen to see the birthplace of the Monarch Assurance chess tournament.

The Calf of Man, beyond the headland, looking West towards Ireland

The Calf of Man is clearly visible from Bradda Head, but not from Port Erin itself. Viewed from Bradda, the walk from Port Erin to the Calf of Man looks like an amiable stroll around the headland. But I should have known better than that. Uphill walking always takes longer than you think. It is actually a good hour's walk, up and down hill, and quite strenuous if you have a sedentary lifestyle like me (my father would phrase that more succinctly - the words "bone idle" would have appeared somewhere in the sentence).

But my sheer determination to get to the end of the headland eventually overcame my lack of fitness. It is a beautiful view across to the little island, and you can make out the outline of the Mountains of Mourne across the sea in Ireland.

Anyway, the picture above is better to look at than Viktor's scoresheet, isn't it? Incidentally, this morning I discovered why the island is called the Calf of Man - both calves of this particular man are aching today after the 2½ walk there and back. But it was well worth it.

Round 7, top board: Nakamura vs Chandler

As for the leaders: Korchnoi drew an even game with Baklan. Chandler tried very hard against Nakamura but was just held at bay by some clever defence. So the same three players are the leaders going into the penultimate round. Ten further players are half a point behind them.

Nakamura,H (2601) - Chandler,M (2531)
Monarch Assurance Isle of Man Port Erin IOM (7.1), 01.10.2004

(With his king cut off on the h-file, Black has great difficulty finding a way to make progress. He hit on the idea of giving up the knight to win the two remaining white pawns: 58 ..Ne1+ 59 Ke2 Bg4+!? 60 Kxe1 Kg3 61 f5 (Absolutely forced, otherwise White's rook is lost) 61 ..exf5 [61 ..gxf5 62 Rg7 Kf4 63 Rxf7 Kxe5 is not quite so good] 62 e6 fxe6 63 Rxg6 f4?! [63 ..e5!? may well be better] 64 Rg5! f3 65 Rg8! (Suddenly it is very difficult) 65 ..e5 [65 ..f2+ 66 Kf1 e5 (66 ..Kf3 67 Rf8+ Bf5 68 Rxf5+ exf5 stalemate) 67 Rg7! e4 68 Rxg4+ is a draw] 66 Rf8 Kg2 [66 ..e4 67 Kd2 Kf2 68 Re8 Bf5 69 Re5 and Black cannot make progress] 67 Kd2! f2 [67 ..e4 68 Ke3 and it is clear that Black can make no more progress] 68 Ke3 f1Q 69 Rxf1 Kxf1 70 Ke4 1/2-1/2

Petr Kiriakov Vadim Milov

Both the top seeds had disastrous games and dropped out of contention. In a perfectly reasonable position Milov tried a combination which had a glaring flaw and lost trivially.

Kiriakov,P (2555) - Milov,V (2683) [A43]
Monarch Assurance Isle of Man Port Erin IOM (7.5), 01.10.2004

A very tricky position for White, with his king in obvious danger on e1. He has to exchange rooks...) 24 Rxf8+ Kxf8?? [An astonishing blunder. After 24 ..Nxf8 the position is approximately equal.] 25 Qxh7 (Both players appeared admirably calm in this position, and Petr Kiriakov removed the knight in a normal way. Milov must surely have realised his error by now but it was impossible to see it on his face) 25 ..Re7 [You have to believe that Black was planning 25 ..Nf3+ with the idea of Qxe2 mate to follow - but the problem is that White plays 26 Rxf3+ and it is CHECK to the black king which is now on f8.] 26 Ne3 (Slamming the door shut on any play down the e-file. Black can of course resign with a clear conscience, but he was probably in shock) 26 ..Rf7 27 Qe4 Qa2 28 Nf5 Qxa5+ 29 Kd1 d5 30 Qc2 [Even the 'blunder' 30 Qxd5 would win: 30 ..Rd7 31 Qxd7 Nxd7 32 Rxg7 etc.] 30 ..Qb6 31 Rxg7 Rxg7 32 Bxh6 1-0

Smirin played unaccountably badly and lost to Handke. But the German played bravely and there were handshakes all round from his fellow countrymen after the game.

Smirin,I (2671) - Handke,F (2461) [B47]
Monarch Assurance Isle of Man Port Erin IOM (7.6), 01.10.2004

1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nc6 5 Nc3 Qc7 6 g3 a6 7 Bg2 d6 8 0-0 Be7 9 Nxc6 bxc6 10 Na4 Rb8 [10 ..Bb7 and 10...Nf6 have been played here] 11 Re1 c5 12 e5 d5 13 c4 d4 14 b3 h5

15 b4?! (Can anyone explain this move to me? Yes, I know I should be trying to explain the moves to you, but I just don't get this one. It looks much too brash) 15 ..cxb4 16 Bb2 Bb7 17 Bxb7 Qxb7 18 c5 (It appears that White has given up a pawn in order to give his opponent an attack) 18 ..Qc6 19 a3 h4 20 Bxd4 Nh6 21 axb4 Rxb4 22 f3 (Nf5 was a big threat) 22 ..hxg3 23 hxg3 Nf5 24 Bf2 g5 25 Ra3 g4 26 Rb3 (Utter desperation, perhaps hoping that he can do something with the advanced c-pawn) 26 ..Qxa4 27 Rxb4 Qxb4 28 c6 Bc5! (Black is not afraid of the queen checks) 29 Qd7+ Kf8 30 Qd8+ Kg7 31 Qg5+ Kf8 (To gain time on the clock) 32 Qd8+ Kg7 33 Qg5+ Kh7 34 Kg2 [34 Qh5+ Nh6 ends the sequence of checks. Now it is Black's turn to check, and his checks are more powerful.] 34 ..gxf3+ 35 Kxf3 Qb3+ 36 Kf4 [36 Kg2 Qd5+ 37 Kg1 Bxf2+ 38 Kxf2 Rb8 39 Qh5+ Nh6 is a simple win. Fritz finds quicker but more complicated ones.] 36 ..Qc4+ 37 Kf3 Qb3+ 38 Kf4 Qc4+ 39 Kf3 Qd5+ 40 Ke2 Qe4+ 0-1

Harmen Jonkman went astray in an endgame against Irish player Anthony Fox.

Jonkman,H (2425) - Fox,A (2123)
Monarch Assurance Isle of Man Port Erin IOM (7.30), 01.10.2004

Anthony Fox

A very hard endgame to evaluate for both players. Inevitably mistakes will be made. 37 Kd3? [37 Kf3 is safer. After this White loses a pawn.] 37 ..Ne8! (Black goes after the g4 pawn) 38 Nc3 Nf6 39 Kc4? [Moving away from the kingside at this stage is fatal. 39 c6!? is promising: 39 ..Nxg4 40 d5+ Ke7 41 Nb5 Ne5+ 42 Kd4 and it is still very complicated but at least White has not wasted time with his king.] 39 ..f3 40 Kd3 Nxg4 41 c6 Kd6 42 d5 Ne5+ 43 Ke3 Nxc6! (By eliminating White's last two pawns, Black makes sure of at least a draw with a grandmaster. Then he can have an anxiety-free go at beating him) 44 dxc6 g4 45 Nd1 [45 Ne4+ Kxc6 46 Nf6 a4 and White doesn't have enough time to take the g4 pawn: 47 Nxg4 a3 48 Ne5+ and now there is only one good king move - 48 ..Kc7! - but it is pretty obvious.] 45 ..Kxc6 46 Kf2 a4 47 Ne3 Kb5! [Not falling for the blunder 47 ..a3?? 48 Nc2 a2 49 Nb4+ etc.] 48 Nxg4 a3 49 Ne3 a2 50 Nc2 Kc4 51 Kxf3 (White's king is one file too far away) 51 ..Kc3 52 Na1 Kb2 53 Ke2 Kxa1 0-1

A nice finish from Frank Holzke...

Howell,D (2334) - Holzke,F (2492)
Monarch Assurance Isle of Man Port Erin IOM (7.16), 01.10.2004

Frank Holzke

A neat finish by the German player: 32 ..b4! 33 Kd2 [33 axb4 a3 is hopeless] 33 ..bxa3! 0-1 [34 Kxc3 and now 34 ..d4+! deflects the white king away from the defence of the key b2 square.]

... and an unlucky finish for Karl McPhillips, who is nevertheless having an impressive tournament...

Sarakauskas,G (2442) - McPhillips,K (2172)
Monarch Assurance Isle of Man Port Erin IOM (7.19), 01.10.2004

34 ..Bf5?! [34 ..Ke7!? 35 Rxh7 Rg8+ 36 Ng3 Bc1 37 Ng1 Bf5 and Black's two bishops give him some play for the pawn] 35 Ng3 Bg6?? [A big blunder, though 35 ..Be4 36 Nxe4 dxe4 37 Ng1 Ke7 38 Ne2 Rg8+ 39 Kf1 Bd2 40 Rxh7 is good for White] 36 Ne2 1-0 (The f4 bishop has no escape or defence)

Round  7

Bd  WHITE                      Result  BLACK
  1 NAKAMURA,Hikaru  2601 (5)   ½ - ½  CHANDLER,Murray  2531 (5)
  2 KORCHNOI,Viktor  2568 (5)   ½ - ½  BAKLAN,Vladimir  2595 (4½)
  3 VOLKOV,Sergey    2625 (4½)  ½ - ½  GHAEM MAGHAMI,Eh 2552 (4½)
  4 CONQUEST,Stuart  2488 (4½)  ½ - ½  PAVLOVIC,Milos   2498 (4½)
  5 KIRIAKOV,Petr    2555 (4)   1 - 0  MILOV,Vadim      2683 (4)
  6 SMIRIN,Ilya      2671 (4)   0 - 1  HANDKE,Florian   2461 (4)
  7 MOISEENKO,Alexan 2640 (4)   1 - 0  MCNAB,Colin      2427 (4)
  8 WELLS,Peter      2494 (4)   0 - 1  KOTRONIAS,Vassil 2608 (4)
  9 ZHONG,Zhang      2603 (4)   1 - 0  BANNINK,Bernard  2280 (4)
 10 SPRENGER,Jan Mic 2477 (4)   ½ - ½  AGREST,Evgenij   2602 (4)

 11 SCHNEIDER,Dmitry 2454 (4)   ½ - ½  ROGERS,Ian       2588 (4)
 12 BOSBOOM-LANCHAVA 2370 (4)   ½ - ½  ROWSON,Jonathan  2558 (4)
 13 KULAOTS,Kaido    2593 (3½)  ½ - ½  PERT,Richard     2407 (3½)
 14 WILLIAMS,Simon K 2427 (3½)  ½ - ½  SPEELMAN,Jon     2555 (3½)
 15 COX,John         2314 (3½)  0 - 1  GALLAGHER,Joseph 2541 (3½)
 16 HOWELL,David W   2334 (3½)  0 - 1  HOLZKE,Frank     2492 (3½)
 17 GREET,Andrew N   2310 (3½)  ½ - ½  RAMESH,Ramachadr 2484 (3½)
 18 HUTCHINSON,Paul  2216 (3½)  ½ - ½  ARAKHAMIA-GRANT, 2446 (3½)
 19 SARAKAUSKAS,Gedi 2442 (3½)  1 - 0  MCPHILLIPS,Karl  2172 (3½)
 20 AFEK,Yochanan    2325 (3)   ½ - ½  GRAFL,Florian    2411 (3½)

 21 RAMASWAMY,Aarthi 2299 (3)   0 - 1  IORDACHESCU,Vior 2633 (3)
 22 RENDLE,Thomas    2258 (3)   1 - 0  BERZINSH,Roland  2455 (3)
 23 SKRIPCHENKO,Almi 2453 (3)   ½ - ½  ZAWADZKA,Jolanta 2272 (3)
 24 PEEK,Marcel      2406 (3)   1 - 0  MURTAGH,Dermot   1889 (3)
 25 ASHTON,Adam      2270 (3)   ½ - ½  GOTTSCHLICH,Cars 2382 (3)
 26 SPENCE,David     2236 (3)   ½ - ½  HOUSKA,Jovanka   2375 (3)
 27 GRANT,Alan       2193 (3)   0 - 1  ARMBRUSTER,Alexa 2351 (3)
 28 GORDON,Stephen   2338 (3)   1 - 0  HAGESAETHER,Arne 2101 (3)
 29 MANNION,Steve R. 2333 (3)   1 - 0  TWITCHELL,Nevill 2003 (3)
 30 JONKMAN,Harmen   2425 (2½)  0 - 1  FOX,Anthony      2123 (2½)

 31 RUOFAN,Li        2414 (2½)  1 - 0  PLANT,Paul R     2107 (2½)
 32 ADAMS,Phil       2124 (2½)  0 - 1  KOLBUS,Dietmar   2303 (2½)
 33 BIGG,Andrew J    2275 (2½)  1 - 0  HORTON,Justin    2091 (2½)
 34 GROFFEN,Hans     2244 (2½)  1 - 0  NICHOLSON,John   1834 (2½)
 35 FRASER-MITCHELL, 2082 (2½)  1 - 0  ALLEN,Keith      2241 (2½)
 36 WALTON,Alan J    2208 (2½)  1 - 0  MILLIGAN,Helen   2077 (2½)
 37 CANNON,Richard   2060 (2½)  1 - 0  SMITH,Andrew P   2205 (2½)
 38 SPANTON,Tim      2004 (2½)  ½ - ½  DUNN,Andrew      2192 (2½)
 39 GOODGER,Martyn   2136 (2½)  ½ - ½  VAN KEMENADE,Rud 2107 (2)
 40 HUTCHINSON,Norma 2176 (2)   ½ - ½  NOORDHOEK,Henk   2095 (2)

 41 COLLIER,David O. 2168 (2)   0 - 1  HENRICHSEN,Jens  2084 (2)
 42 WERNER,Gert      2085 (2)   0 - 1  ALMOND,Richard J 2158 (2)
 43 WAUGH,Jonathan C 1885 (2)   0 - 1  LUTTON,J Ezra    2134 (2)
 44 PIMMINGSTORFER,C 2116 (2)   0 - 1  BENNION,David A. 2052 (2)
 45 TRUMAN,Richard G 2023 (1½)  0 - 1  PYM,Thomas W     2059 (1½)
 46 FAIRBAIRN,Steve  2057 (1½)  ½ - ½  GORKA,Carl       1882 (1½)
 47 DOSSETT,Christop 1886 (1½)  ½ - ½  WEBSTER,Richard  2008 (1½)
 48 DE LAGONTRIE,Jea 1968 (½)   0 - 1  MARKS,Ian        1910 (1)

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