Gausdal Bygger’n Masters 2005
THE LAHLUM ROUND REPORT (PART ONE)
(As the new FIDE-ELOs valid from 01.10 were not available from FIDE before round one to start 19.30 01.10, the organiser had to make the round one pairings based upon July list. This is why the round one seeding system might appear somewhat mysterious seen in retrospect. The new FIDE-ELOs as received after round one of course will have to be used for the rest of the tournament, although many of them are obviously mistaken and will have to be corrected later on.)
First half against second half used to be a hard shave for the lower classes of any GM-Swiss, and Gausdal Bygger’n Masters 2005 became no exception as the first half as a team won overwhelmingly 23-3. Most of the GMs started up with more or less convincing working day wins, the exception being that the first Norwegian hope Magnus Carlsen for some minutes was crawling around two pawns down in deep trouble against Molde’s third hope Tarjei Svensen. The first round sensations were produced by the two youngest players of the field: 11 year old Anders Hobber hit back from a difficult position and elegantly decided by a queen sacrifice against 2200-player Lars Breivik, while 12 year old Frode Urkedal coolly accepted a piece sacrifice and walked ice cold on the hot water into a won endgame against former IM norm candidate Torbjørn Ringdal Hansen.
GM Kaido KULAOTS 2558 – Håkon BENTSEN 2158 1 - 0
Kaido Kulaots’ first white game of this tournament was an open Ruy Lopez leaving white with a pleasant pressure. Although Bentsen succeeded to exchange away some dangers, he had to struggle partly with the more exposed king, and partly with a backward c6 pawn. Having established helpful outposts for his knight at d6 and f6, Kulaots increased his pressure into a decisive attack during his opponent’s time trouble. Bentsen having only seconds left still found the chance to demonstrate his tactical skills by resigning after 37.Nh6+ Kh8, without waiting for 38.QxRf8+ Nxf8 39.Rg8 mate to be demonstrated.
Jan Arne BJØRGVIK 2119 – GM Vladimir BURMAKIN 2508 0 – 1
Burmakin in his first Gausdal game ever had no problems as black in a Caro-Kann Exchange, but Bjørgvik still kept a rough balance well into the middlegame. While white’s try for a kingside attack with h3-g4 gave no real attack black however marched steadily on the queenside, winning a pawn at b2 to establish a decisive passed pawn in the endgame before 40 moves.
GM Vladimir DOBROV 2515 – Christian HARSTAD 2078 1 - 0
Dobrov following travel complications finally arrived just before 23.00, but still reached his hotel room bed in acceptable time following an impressing start on his Gausdal career. White tested out a critical 8.Rb1 line in the Grünfeld, and got a dangerous pressure for the pawn given up at a2. Feeling the pressure from white’s active pieces all the more troublesome black understandably was unwilling to give up both his queenside pawns to play on a pawn down in a wrecked position, but giving up an exchange while exchanging queens turned out to cure his pains only by shortening the game. As Harstad can hardly be praised for his play today, he should instead be honoured for his sporty attitude, as he accepted not only to postpone the game but also to pick up his opponent at Lillehammer with his car. Dobrov was very thankful, but unfortunately only outside the playing local….
Tarjei SVENSEN 2112 – GM Magnus CARLSEN 2570 0 – 1
Svensen’s toothless Trompovsky following an early exchange at f6 gave black no pressure and a pair of bishops from the opening. Black however still had a hard job to open up a heavyweight closed position, and as a tired Magnus according to himself “started to overlook at least two moves from my opponent each move I made”, white for some sensational moments suddenly played two pawns up while black at best had compensation for one of them. Running seriously short of time and still playing against a GM having the more active pieces Svensen however lost touch with the position before move 40, allowing a suddenly woken Magnus to transpose into a winning rook endgame within a few moves after the time control. “very much worse” was Magnus’ answer when asked how much worse he actually was during this turbulent first round game, but having some traumatic memories about earlier first round games at Gausdal he still instructively focused on the positive aspects of winning one.
GM Dejan ANTIC 2519 – Odin Blikra VEA 2090 1 - 0
Attacking madman Odin Blikra Vea for some reason still remains true to his Queen’s Gambit Chigorin, and again came worse as white had a pleasant pressure against the backward c6-pawn. Black’s decision to sacrifice the c6-pawn to get out his pieces might have been the best try, but still he had to play the rook and knight endgame a pawn down without positive compensation. Having lost a second pawn to solid GM-technique, Blikra Vea for once respectfully resigned after 47 moves.
Emil AGDESTEIN 2057 – GM Lars KARLSSON 2501 0 – 1
Karlsson in his Gausdal come-back had no problems as black in this Sicilian, as white’s Grand Prix set up did not give him any real attack on the kingside. Black and his bishops got promising counterplay on the queenside, but white still was in the game after 20 moves. At that stage he however had only five minutes left to reach move 40 with the more exposed king in a difficult queen and minor piece endgame, and respectfully resigned when pawns started to disappear after 27 moves.
GM Stellan BRYNELL 2496 – Kevin WHITE 2069 1 – 0
A stubborn 1.e4 player recently having converted into 1.d4, Brynell got a slight pressure as white in this positional King’s Indian Classical line. White had a slight pressure against black’s backward d6-pawn, but half an hour ahead on the clock black still appeared solid on the board. He however much played too optimistic when realizing a thematic but still not good d5, giving white an extra b-pawn with a winning advantage after 30 moves.
GM Ralf ÅKESSON 2486 – Joar G. PETTERSEN 2050 1 – 0
This was a Tango-like Nimzo with Nc6, in which black early weakened his kingside by g5. Both players kept their kings waiting in the centre for a long while, but while white eventually castled short at move 23 black never found any safe home for his king after giving up the right to castle. Having picked up a sound pawn on the queenside white went on to decide by a kingside attack after 30 moves.
Johannes KVISLA 2123 – GM Arnaud HAUCHARD 2483 0 – 1
Hauchard also playing his first Gausdal game had no problems as black in this Sicilian Najdorf. White’s misunderstood g3 reportedly came about as he chickened out from a very aggressive g4 at the very last moment, after touching the g-pawn. Early in the middle game black came clearly better as he was allowed to place a knight at c4 and had a promising queenside attack rolling. Meanwhile white still needed a map to find any counterattack on the kingside. White over-reacted when sacrificing a piece to give a check before resigning, but his position anyway was lost then.
Thomas THOMASSEN 2077 – GM Heikki WESTERINEN 2410 0 – 1
Westerinen having played well the last months re-introduced to the Gausdal chess crowd his King’s Indian, reaching a Marocky position in which white has more space but no obvious way to make use of it. White still was slightly better until he wasted tempos by his queen instead of advancing his queenside pawns. Westerinen saw his chance to start a kingside attack by a flying h-pawn, and as white running short of time failed to find any defending line, black went on to produce killing threats before 40 moves.
IM Jean-Luc SERET 2391 – Per JOHANSSON 2005 1 – 0
Veteran Johansson gave Seret an unexpectedly hard fight as black today, starting like a slow King’s Indian Advance a la Caro Kann, in which black having a centre advantage with e5 and d5 against d3 and e4 probably was fine. Black might have been wrong to close the centre by playing d4, as white then got some chances for a kingside attack, but white still had only a slight initiative even in the queen and rook endgame. Short of time Johansson however played overambitious just before 40 moves, allowing still alive and kicking Seret to realize g5 with a decisive attack against the black king at move 41.
Askild BRYN 2019 – FM Geir Sune TALLAKSEN 2350 0 - 1
Tallaksen was not too happy about the pairings, but instructively pretended he was: Feeling no pressure from white’s respectful Italian opening, black early realized f5 with a promising kingside attack coming up. Black probably had a winning attack when allowed to park a knight at f4 after 14 moves, and white had every right to throw in the scoresheets after 20 moves as he was then two pawns down with heavy threats coming up against his king. Tallaksen in his last international as a junior looked like an IM-candidate today; eight more rounds to test out whether he actually is one.
FM Øystein HOLE 2336 – Håkon STRAND 1986 1 - 0
Hole’s 1.Nf3 today transposed into a Dutch Leningrad. Black’s idea to win a pawn by taking at d5 and then c3 and then b4 was tricky but still too loose, as black within a few moves had to give up two minor pieces for a rook. As white only had kingside pawns left he still seemed to have a long walk waiting, but as white demonstrated before 25 moves he and his bishops still had a decisive attack. Controlled take-off for Hole too – is he flying for his third IM-norm?
Joachim THOMASSEN 1963 – FM Simon SILSETH 2328 0 - 1
Without demonstrating any kind of respect white in this Dutch Staunton first gambited a pawn, and then returned it to castle long and play for a kingside attack. White got some initiative, but having the pair of bishops black probably was in control all of the time. Having exchanged two sets of minor pieces and still not developed the other ones, white was still struggling to find a kingside attack when black after 25 moves had completed the demonstration of a winning counterattack.
FM Torbjørn R. HANSEN 2323 – Frode O.O. URKEDAL 2141 0 - 1
White held an initiative and a space advantage from this English Hedgehog, but had the usual Hedgehog problem about how to do anything without allowing too much counterplay. His pseudo-sacrifice with Nd5 probably was an over-reaction anyway, but if not then sacrificing a piece into the air at d6 afterwards definitely was. Black having crippled kingside pawns true enough had to play carefully for the next moves not to allow a decisive attack, but 12 year old Urkedal neatly controlled his fingers into an overwhelming endgame with three minor pieces for a rook. Torbjørn’s hopes for a third IM-norm probably was destroyed by this loss, but still no way his mood: Reportedly having analysed until 03.30 before declaring the piece sacrifice unqualified, Torbjørn still answered “yes, of course” when his much too young opponent called much too early the next morning to ask for help with the opening preparations for round two J. Other 12 year old 2100-players having defeated other 26 year old 2300-players might not be recommended the same plan….
Henrik SJØL (1656) – FM Jon Ludvig HAMMER 2278 0 – 1
Sjøl probably over-reacted after the game to declare his position lost from move seven, but winning a pawn at e4 and exchanging the queens black came obviously better following white’s lacking knowledge of the Owen opening. Having had some downs recently Hammer started this tournament in an inspired way, sacrificing an exchange to let his passed pawns and attack against the white king decide after 28 moves.
Stein Arild AARLAND 2278 – Håkon ASTRUP 1943 1 - 0
This was a Caro Kann Panno in which the isolani position first seemed fine from a black point of view. White however demonstrated the better understanding of the position, and clearly came better as he first got the pair of bishops and then could play with hanging pawns instead of the isolani. Although the material was still in balance the following position with queen, rook and knight was extremely unpleasant for black as white had all the active pieces and the safer king. Having exchanged queens white instructively went on to play for a mate with only rook and knight, in the end just before 40 moves hunting the black king to g1.
Kristian AANDAL 1941 – Øystein Bøyum FOSSUM 2247 0 - 1
This was a Queen’s Gambit Tartakower in which white appeared slightly better although he did not test out the critical theory lines with an early Qa4. Black while accepting a number of exchanges played patiently on for a win, and was rewarded as black missed a tactical Ba2 winning a pawn in the endgame swingdoors. Later the endgame with rook and bishop versus rook and knight with an extra a-pawn probably was winning for black, and if not Bøyum Boy convincingly made it look that way.
Sigmund REPPEN 1916 – Sjur FERKINGSTAD 2239 ½ - ½
“The Reppen brother” started his Gausdal career disappointingly by exchanging at d5 in a French, but then played c4 to reach an isolani position offering chances for both players. White unexpectedly demonstrated the better handling of this, as black following numerous exchanges had no compensation for his pawn weakness in the rooks and bishop endgame.
Forcing his way into an equal coloured bishop endgame with an extra pawn and the more active king white seemed close to something. From then on he however lost the thread, allowing an intensively stepping Ferkingstad to reach a draw by exchanging almost all remaining pawns.
WIM Heather RICHARDS 2239 – Maria PITZ JACOBSEN (1362) 1 – 0
White played very patient and closed with 2.Nc3 and 3.g3 in this Sicilian, but suddenly accelerated when realizing e5 followed by a kingside pawn storm. Failing to get counterplay black having exchanged queens found herself a pawn down with several pieces misparked on the queenside, and was anyway lost when she blundered a piece at move 25.
Lars BREIVIK 2237 – Anders HOBBER 1915 0 - 1
This generation battle transposed into some kind of Slav Exchange, in which white’s queen at a4 and bishop at c6 gave him a queenside pressure eventually winning a pawn at a5. Black however played consequently upon counterplay even at the cost of another pawn, and having to watch out for various threats Breivik made the game all the more exciting by running all the more short of time. Having five minutes left for ten moves against less than one for Breivik, still 11 year old Anders proved extremely efficient when given the chance - first directing all his pieces against the white king and then smashing through by a nice queen sacrifice. No doubt who was the successful chess hobbit of this first round, as the youngest player of the tournament defeated the first player above 2200 he was ever allowed to play J.
Jarle NILSEN (1632) – Bertil SVENDSEN 2205 0 - 1
Svendsen’s first Gausdal game in six years became a typical illustration of his recent development, as the young man is about to become an excellent chess marathon runner.
The start was a Benoni remaining awaiting for some four hours, black however having what chances remaining for a kingside attack after exchanging three set of minor pieces. As the position gradually opened black obviously was the one playing for a win, but white still had drawing chances in the queen and bishop endgame. Short of time for the game Nilsen after 50 moves however stumbled into an obviously lost bishop endgame, which Svendsen neatly decided by sacrificing his bishop to promote the a-pawn.
FM Felix NORDSTRÖM 2184 – Ellen Øen CARLSEN 1866 1 - 0
Facing a young Norwegian armed with a Grünfeld,
Rune MYHRVOLD 2164 – Nicolai GETZ 1913 ½ - ½
This was a French Advance in which white played an ambitious Be3-set up, but reached only a closed and nearly symmetrical position with two rooks and two minor pieces on each side. White had a slight initiative and a space advantage, but as young gun Getz defended well white found nothing better than accepting a draw at move 33. The game result of course was a surprise, but still no sensation, as Getz is an obviously underrated player steaming upward while capable Myhrvold obviously is rusty at the moment.
Espen HAUGSTAD (1607) – WFM Jessie GILBERT 2148 0 – 1
Starting as a Modern, this developed into a messy middle game position in which white probably was too optimistic when castling long, as black’s king did remarkably well at e8 while black crashed through with her queenside run just after 25 moves. Having exchanged the queens and not yet castled she went on playing for an attack with one rook and two knights, winning material in tons as a hopefully inspiring start on her Gausdal career.
Terje LIE (1178) – Øyvind BENTSEN 2146 0 – 1
Although formally lasting nearly four hours, this was the first decided game of Bygger’n Masters 2005, as white playing much too fast just after this Sämisch King’s Indian opening blundered a bishop as his positionally natural Bh6 could be refuted by a tactical Qh4+. Still in shock blundering an exchange too, white having spent 15 minutes to come a rook down in an endgame later spent two hours in vain on trying to save it.