tag: Dortmund 2010 - Page 1

Dortmund 2010: Ponomariov wins, Le Quang takes sole second.

7/26/2010 – The last round of Dortmund could easily have been an anticlimatic affair, but the players continued their combative to the end, with two decisive games, and near last round miss by Le Quang who drummed up serious winning chances against the leader Ponomariov. In the end, the leader prevailed. We bring the report with pictures and analysis. Addendum: caption suggestions by our readers.

Dortmund 2010: Ponomariov keeps lead going into final round

7/25/2010 – The game between tournament leader Ponomariov and second-place Mamedyarov was clearly critical for the final standings, and the Azerbaijan was ready to try it all as he unleashed an absolutely astonishing 5.g4 in a QGD. Kramnik on the other hand played a speculative attack against Naiditsch that went south, while Le Quang and Leko played a long nervy draw. Report and analysis.

Dortmund 2010: Ponomariov outpaces the opposition

7/24/2010 – In the eighth round, Ukrainian Ruslan Ponomariov came within two rounds of completing what has been a virtuoso performance. While his opponents were unable to gain any momentum out of the starting blocks, he cemented his lead by beating top German Arkadij Naiditsch in a strong game which he concluded with flawless technique. Report and pictures.

Dortmund 2010: Shak attack

7/23/2010 – After suffering a defeat for wanting more in the fifth round, and then getting hit by the sort of chess blindness every player experiences at least once, after conducting a beautiful game in the sixth round. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov bounces back with a powerful game against Peter Leko, tying him for second and placing him in contention once more. Round seven report.

Dortmund 2010: Round six, a moment of madness.

7/22/2010 – In the sixth round, the players came back rested, but the games all went quietly, ending in draws except for one: Mamedyarov's powerful attack against Naiditsch. After a missed opportunity to go down in glory, the unthinkable happened. During the rest day, however, fans were given a chance to obtain autographs from their heroes. Don't miss the report and beautiful photos.

Dortmund 2010: Three decisive games, Ponomariov leads

7/20/2010 – The fifth round finally lived up to the fighting spirit demonstrated by the players until now, with decisive results in all. Kramnik outsmarted his opponent by locking his rook away for good, while Leko's attempts to force a win ended up backfiring, and blowing up in his face. The two leaders Ponomariov and Mamedyarov met, and the leader's mantle traded hands once more. Games and analysis.

Dortmund 2010: Le Quang Liem beats Ponomariov

7/18/2010 – 19-year-old Le Quang Liem earned a place in this tournament by winning the Aeroflot tournament in Moscow, earlier this year. The Vietnamese GM has had a string of very strong events, jumping from practically nowhere into the top 50 in the world. That was no fluke, as he demonstrated today with a fine victory over tournament leader Ruslan Ponomariov. Round four report.

Dortmund 2010: Mamedyarov beats Le, leads with Ponomariov

7/17/2010 – The third round brought more fighting chess, though again only one decisive result in spite of the players’ best efforts. In an Open Catalan against Leko Kramnik was unable to achieve anything – in fact he came close to losing. Mamedyarov won a complicated and exciting game against young Le Quang Liem. Naiditsch came close to defeating the leading Ponomariov. Round three report.

Dortmund 2010: Ponomariov beats Kramnik

7/16/2010 – The organizers of Dortmund have to be extra pleased this year. Their roster may be lacking a few of the absolute top Elos, which is usually the best way to keep the general public’s attention, but the players are clearly all in prime fighting mood. In round two all three games had the potential for full point scores, in the end it was only Ruslan Ponomariov who beat top seed Vladimir Kramnik. Report.

Dortmund 2010: Mamedyarov and Ponomariov score

7/16/2010 – Akadij Naiditsch displayed courage when he played a well-known Najdorf line that Nigel Short had refuted 14 years ago. Had the German GM found something new and effective? Obviously not, as his opponent Shakh Mamedyarov proved. The "technicians" Ponomariov and Leko played an exciting game which the former won. Rookie Le Quang Liem drew with the top seed Kramnik. Round one report.

Dortmund 2010: category 20 tournament begins today

7/15/2010 – The Sparkassen Chess-Meeting, one of the most important traditional chess tournaments in Germany, is a favourite of former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, who has won it a record nine times. This year the average rating is 2734 – the six players are Kramnik, Mamedyarov, Ponomariov, Leko, Naiditsch and Le Quang Liem. Games begin at 15:00h, with audio commentary on Playchess.
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