Anton Kovalyov wins Trois Rivieres
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
The traditional Trois-Rivieres tournament (COM) was held on the weekend of March 18,19 and 20. Always a successfully run tournament, this year was quite strong with the presence of many masters, including Montreal-based GMs Kovalyov ,Sambuev and R.Roozmon.
Kovalyov taking no chances against Sambuev
The decisive encounter took place in the 4th round between Kovalyov and Sambuev. Sambuev played a bit fast and loose in the opening and he soon sacrificed a pawn trying to avoid trouble. He managed to make a fight of it by doubling on the open e-file, but Kovalyov’s calm and patient handling of the defence soon neutralized all of Sambuev’s play and the young Kovalyov (the highest FIDE rated player resident in Canada) had little problem scoring the point. Black could have resigned a lot sooner than he did…
POSITION AFTER WHITE’S 25th MOVE (25.b4!)
GM Sambuev
GM Kovalyov
Black is hard pressed to justify his pawn sacrifice
POSITION AFTER 12 MOVES
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
Black is hard pressed to justify his pawn sacrifice
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GM Bator Sambuev is an unknown player to me, but apparently he has chosen to play for Canada and currently resides in Montreal. His style of play (judging from the games that I saw in this tournament) seems a good fit for short weekend tournaments and fast time controls. He handles the initiative well, and seems quite good at beating weaker players. The game below is a nice example of him crushing his opponent’s weak opening play.
POSITION AFTER 12 MOVES
Kraiouchkine
GM Sambuev
White played the sharp 13.f4!, cracking open the position
White played the sharp 13.f4!, cracking open the position
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