Tuesday’s ramblings…
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS
The Andorra International Open finished the 4th round today. Presently there are 3 players with 4 points, myself, Romain Edouard (France) and H.Hamdouchi (France). Tomorrow I am paired against the number one ranked player of the tournament, L.Bruzon (Cuba), with the black pieces. Here are the pairings for the first 30 boards.
Here is a selection of photos from the tournament
My opponent tomorrow: Lazaro Bruzon of Cuba (elo 2670)
Grandmaster Delchev of Bulgaria, ranked number 2. He was defeated in the 2nd round.
Grandmaster Marc Nariso of Catalunya (Spain)
Sophie Lam (France)
I.M. D.Cori (Peru); World under-16 champion
Francesc Rechi (President of the Andorran Chess Federation-FEVA)
Manuel Alberto (Angola)
Tournament room minutes before the start of round 4
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MY 4th ROUND GAME
My young French opponent , Clovis Vernay (2470-France)
Today’s game was a curious affair where the game was more or less balanced after the opening, but with a complex and tricky fight ahead. The opposite coloured Bishops favours White slightly, as practice has shown in this kind of position, because it is easier for White to drum up attacking threats against the Black King.
My opponent made the mistake of castling long and giving me the a-pawn. He should have kept his King in the center (putting his Bishop on c6) and later tried to advance his King-side pawns. As it was, I soon had a strong initiative that my opponent could not stop. I won in 31 moves.
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MY 3rd ROUND GAME
I have recently decided to enlarge my opening repetoire (to avoid my opponents’ pre-game preparation), activating the Alekhine Defence, the Caro, the French and the Modern to supplement an assortment of Sicilians. This seemed to work well for me in the 3rd round as my opponent did not get much out of the opening.
I was pleased that he sacrificed a pawn on the Kingside in an effort to mix things up. I took the pawn and then held on in a tight defence. When I succeeded in exchanging the last Knight it was clear that my opponent did not have enough compensation. The finish of the game is quite pleasing!
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IRINA KRUSH WINS THE 2010 US CHAMPIONSHIP!
Irina proved that she is the best female player in the US! She picked up a cool 16,000 dollars for her efforts.
[blip.tv http://blip.tv/play/g64Gge%2B1dgI%2Em4v]
SPRAGGETT ON CHESS