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The GM-group unfortunately first lost some participants during the registration.
Then the first round Sunday evening was a bit reduced due to delayed participants. Third seeded GM Eduardas Rozentalis (2615) of Lithuania,
arriving directly from the Belgian League, very understandably had requested a walk over draw.
Sixth seeded GM Yuri Solodovnichenko (2566) of Ukraine and thirteenth seeded IM Aryan Tari (2456) of Norway both had their first round game postponed
due to a weekend tournament in Sweden. Still 20 games of a remarkably strong Swiss remained. Although three players from top fifteen was not present when
the clocks were started Sunday afternoon, a FIDE-ELO of 2318 was needed to qualify for the top half of this round one pairing.
Almost half of the participants already have a GM or IM title, as a field of only 44 players includes eight GMs and twelve IMs.
On the first board, 38 year old French GM Andrei Istratescu (2653) made a convincing start as white against Norwegian FM Lars Hjelmås (2302).
Black probably was fine after 13 moves in a complex French Winawer Armenian line. If so 14.--- Qc4?! however was a misunderstood plan, as white after exchanging queens
and castling long soon opened up the kingside by a straightforward f4-f5 attack. Playing a pawn up with the better structure and the more active pieces, top seeded Istratescu had no problems winning the endgame.
Second seeded GM Evgeny Romanov (2647) of Russia arrived 15 minutes delayed for his black game against Norwegian IM Petter Haugli (2277). Still Romanov came one hour ahead
from the opening with an active Tarrasch isolani pawn position. White’s position seemed critical as black at move 15 realized the powerful d5-d4-break.
Romanov however became too eager when exchanging his bishop at f3 in the next move, and the following complications were in dynamic balance.
Haugli returned the favor by exchanging his bishop at f6, allowing black to win a pawn. Due to the different colored bishops, white still had
fair drawing chances in the following rook and bishop endgame. As white had weakened his kingside by h3 (and as white ran short of time),
black however proved able to increase hid advantage by a brave king march on the kingside. Haugli still had one second left on the clock when making his move 40,
but as black’s king had reached h2 (!) white’s position was then lost.
Playing his first game in Norway, 22 year old Hungarian GM Peter Prohaszka (2588) also had to play a long game against 15 year old FM Sebastian Mihajlov (2257).
Mihajlov afterwards was frustrated having wasted his drawing chances in the endgame. Although black might have had a draw within reach in the fifth hour,
white playing with bishop, knight and two pawns versus rook and two pawns was better all the time. Black anyway was lost when he blundered with 60… Rh3?,
allowing white to decide neatly with 61.Kg2! Rxe3 62.h7 – as black’s own pawn at e4 prevented his rook from catching the white h-pawn.
If Romanov and Prohaszka had a long walk to their wins today, fifth seeded GM Maxim Turov (2586) had a long and shaky mountain walk. Playing black in a Sicilian
opening against WIM Nagarjan Raghavi (2253) of India, Turov was probably lost during tactical complications around move 30 – and still a pawn down with an
inferior positon afterwards. Black however always had some compensation, and was rewarded as white just before 40 moves went for a dubious exchange sacrifice.
Turov in turn was right to sacrifice back the exchange. But because he chose the wrong bishop maneuver afterwards, a loaded struggle with queen, rook, bishop
and three pawns on each side followed in the fifth and sixth hour. Around 23.00 in the evening Raghavi lost the thread with the passive 56.Be1?, and black
within a few moves cashed in the a-pawn. Playing with queen, bishop and three versus queen, bishop and two, white still had some drawing hopes due to the different
colored bishops. With both players having less than five minutes left for the game Turov however demonstrated the much better acceleration, and landed safely in a
won bishop endgame after 76 moves.
Turov’s humble description of himself as a “lucky dog” was relevant today, but still it is remarkable how often the GM in the end wins this kind of games against 2200-opponents...
Meanwhile fifth board substitute, GM Gabor Papp (2559) of Hungary, apparently did not have much of an advantage as white in a Najdorf Sicilian against the unpredictable Norwegian Ludy Sousa (2228).
Papp however demonstrated the better understanding with an interesting exchange sacrifice, and his active pieces soon gave a decisive attack as Sousa failed to find the best defence plans.
GM Jan Werle (2523) also made a promising start on the Norwegian chess scene, getting the advantage from the Dutch(!) opening as black against Gunnar Berg Hanssen (2204).
Hanssen however fought on well under pressure, and stayed in the game until he at move 30 made a tactical blunder in the rooks and minor piece endgame.
In short, the six present GMs despite some nervous moments still made a “Fischer-score” with 6-0 in the end. The young GM-candidates from abroad also did well:
17 year old German IM Rasmus Svane (2506) soon established pressure as white in a King’s Indian duel, and anyway was totally won when his opponent lost on time at move 39.
(Note: His opponent was not the famous Australian IM John Paul Wallace, as reported on some webpages, but the distinguished Irish 2200-player Dr Paul Wallace.)
19 year old Danish IM Mads Andersen (2470) took a somewhat more positional approach as white in an English fianchetto, but still reached a won endgame before 30 moves
as white against the 15 year old talent Vijan Pranav (2197).
15 year old IM Benjamin Gledura (2414) of Hungary also won without too many exciting moments tonight. Playing black against the even younger Norwegian Sondre Merkesvik (2179),
young Gledura won a pawn after the opening and efficiently demonstrated the better attack after Merkesvik tried to complicate with a loose bishops sacrifice.
In the end black first returned the bishop and then gave up an extra rook on h1 to mate after 31 moves.
The somewhat older Norwegian GM-candidates did not do that well. IM Frode Elsness (2465), playing black against the underrated and unpredictable 14 year old Johannes Haug (2194),
true enough looked fine after exchanging queens in a Ruy Lopez exchange line. Black however failed to come up with anything in a rather dry middle game,
and white was not worse in the rook and bishop endgame when a draw was agreed by repetition of moves after 37 moves.
Elsness still made a better start than his team mate from Norway’s successful second team in the Tromso Olympics, IM Torbjørn Ringdal Hansen (2476). Having made his fourth GM-norm without
losing a game for ten rounds in the Olympics, Hansen was efficiently brought down to earth as black against Frode Lillevold (2199) today. This Nimzo-Indian duel after 19 moves looked about
in balance. Without showing any respect, white following the way too careless 20.--- Rab8?? from black hit in with a powerful and instructive knight sacrifice on f6.
Afterwards 23.exf6! instead of 23.Qxh6?! would have been the shortest cut, but white still won a queen for rook and bishop – and had no problems completing the win later on.
This game was a true nightmare start for Ringdal Hansen, as he after this loss again slipped more than 30 ELO-points away from his GM-title. Still opponent Frode Lillevold has
done well this year, and was a sensation man in the first rounds of Fagernes International as well. It remains to see whether he this time can fulfill his promising start.
Meanwhile Benjamin Gledura’s second, IM Myklos Galyas (2421), won with some more difficulties as white against WFM Hanne Goossens (2187) of Belgium.
After a tactical queen exchange, black might have been fine after 10 moves in this refused Blumenfeld gambit. If so black however played too slowly and carelessly when allowing 13.Ne5!,
as she soon had to give up a pawn on f7 with a shipwreck endgame to follow. Although Goossens fought on bravely and gave up one more pawn to get some counterattack with her pieces,
Galyas was in reasonable control later on.
The senior duel between IM Fabrizio Bellia (2408)and FM Richard Bjerke (2172) was exciting in the middle game, as white had a strong pair of bishops and black some chances for a
kingside attack. Still it was all over well before four hours as black failed to come up with anything more on the kingside, and white had all the better pieces after forcing an exchange of queens.
IM Goran Djurovic (2408) of Croatia on the other hand won confidently in the end, despite some starting problems as black versus unpredictable
Alf Roger Andersen (2160) in a Sicilian with 4.Qxd4. Black was reported in danger as he played first with a loose pawn on e4, and then a pawn down for some moves.
Probably his position was never that bad, as black’s dominating bishop on d5 compensated a lot. Anyway, under combined pressure from the opponent’s pieces
and his own clock, Andersen collapsed just before 40 moves.
IM Anita Gara (2322) of Hungary meanwhile took her time, but increased the queenside pressure until winning both black queenside pawns in a sound positional win against Norwegian Francisco Gonzalez (2130).
The foreign IMs following this made seven out of eight in the first round. The exception and the disappointment was Romanian IM Alexandru Manea (2368),
losing as white against the 46 year old Norwegian Svetoslav Mihajlov (2154). Papa Mihajlov however again showed himself as a tough and tactically gifted
attacking player playing without any respect. As Manea played too careful in an Anti-Meran Semi-Slav line, black did not hesitate taking over the initiative with e5-e4.
When white tried to complicate by tactics black made the better calculations, winning a pawn with an obvious advantage.
Maybe white still had some drawing chances in the double rook endgame, but Mihajlov won very well deserved and had every reason to be satisfied after exchanging
one rook and then sacrificing the other one to trick in a new queen at a1.
On the lower boards FM Lars Oskar Hauge (2322) got a tactical position he enjoyed, and demonstrated a winning attack before 30 moves against the Norwegian Junior Champion Eivind Djurhuus (2105).
Hauge warmed up to this tournament by making his third IM-norm in the European Club Championship, but (keeping aside the ELO) he still needs one more norm as his norm last week was only seven games.
FM Joachim B. Nilsen (2363) had to work nearly four hours longer, but in the last game of the first evening he still won a tight six hours duel as black against the
Swedish representative FM Johnny Wieweg (2140). 45 years older and 223 points lower rated than his opponent, Wieweg for a long while kept his play up well.
Nilsen however played patiently on for a win. The Bergen junior was rewarded as he after 70 moves could sacrifice his own rook on the white a-pawn –
after which white’s misplaced king and rook were unable to stop black’s connected passed pawns on e3 and f3.
While the Norwegian GM norm candidates made a slow start, The Norwegian IM norm candidates overall had a long but good round – as FM Benjamin Arvola (2318)
squeezed a win out of on apparently drawish endgame against Jens Hjort Kjølberg (2058).
Although hardly an IM-norm candidate, still underrated Kenneth Einarsen (2106) made a promising debut in the GM group by drawing a hard fought game against 17 year old FM Pier Luigi Basso (2322) of Italy.
Young Basso’s position looked very promising as he first had a pair of bishops and then also an extra pawn. When white had about twelve moves left for one minute black however lost his mind –
trying to play fast himself, while looking more upon his opponent’s clock than upon the board… After which white suddenly was a pawn up when a draw was agreed after 36 moves.
When GM Yuri Solovnichenko (2566) and IM Aryan Tari (2456) finally arrived Monday morning, it turned out they had finished first and second in Sweden without playing each other.
Their delayed meeting in Oslo made a dramatic start, as Solodovnichenko having made the better preparation for this Ruy Lopez duel blitzed out a piece sacrifice before ten moves.
Tari accepted a clearly inferior position as returned the piece, leaving white with a free initiative instead of a dangerous attack. Black however defended well,
and as Solodvnichenko accepted too many exchanges the endgame with queen, knight and six pawns on each side was only very slightly better for white. That is - until Solodovnichenko
about to run short of time overstretched, and trapped his own knight at g8. Tari and his passed d-pawn in the fifth hour looked close to winning, playing with queen,
knight and three pawns versus queen and five pawns. As Solodovnichenko still fought on well while Tari became too afraid to lose, the game (fair enough) ended with a
draw due to repetition of checks just before 60 moves.
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