Aeroflot Games

BY: BOBBY ANG

(As published in Chess Piece, BusinessWorld, 21 March 2011)

Aeroflot Open "A"
Moscow, Russia
February 7-19, 2011

Top Final Standings
1-3. GM Le Quang Liem VIE 2664, GM Nikita Vitiugov RUS 2709, GM Evgeny Tomashevsky RUS 2695, 6.5/9
4-10. GM Denis Khismatullin RUS 2649, GM Yu Yangyi CHN 2607, GM Gata Kamsky USA 2730, GM Maxim Rodshtein ISR 2625, GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov UZB 2681, GM Rauf Mamedov AZE 2660, GM Ivan Cheparinov BUL 2665, 6.0/9

Total of 86 participants
Time Control: 120 minutes for the first 60 moves, then additional 15 minutes play to finish. 30-second increment given after each move starting move 61

Last Monday we were on the topic of Le Quang Liem, who shocked the Russian chess establishment by winning the strongest open tournament in the world, Aeroflot Open in Moscow, for the second consecutive time.

Let us take a look at some of the other participants now.

Former world women’s champion Alexandra Kosteniuk managed to show that she is not yet washed up.

Kosteniuk, Alexandra (2498) -- Vocaturo, Daniele (2570) [C93]
Aeroflot Open A Moscow RUS (5), 12.02.2011
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Another performance we should note is that of GM Ivan Cheparinov, who defeated Le Quang Liem in the penultimate round and would have tied for first if he had just agreed a quick draw in the last round. Instead, he went for broke against the Russian GM Nikita Vitiugov and lost.

Cheparinov is the main second of former world champion Veselin Topalov, and he is a strong player in his own right. In fact, I think he played the best chess in Aeroflot 2011.

In round 7 the Spanish GM Ivan Salgado Lopez (only 20 yrs old) tried to catch Cheparinov in an unfamiliar position, but it appears that the Bulgarian knew it better!

Cheparinov,Ivan (2665) -- Salgado Lopez,Ivan (2626) [E10]
Aeroflot Open A Moscow RUS (7), 14.02.2011
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The role of the second is often underestimated. There are some who might argue that the Magician from Riga, Mihail Tal, would never have become world champion without Alexander Koblents, his coach/second beginning 1955 up to the late ’70s.

The same can be said of the 9th world champion Boris Spassky. A notoriously lazy personality, his second Igor Bondarevsky would almost literally take him by the throat and force Spassky to study. This had the desired effect -- Spassky broadened his style and emerged a better player because of it. Nowadays when you talk about the "Universal" player, someone who is equally good in all aspects of the game, the name of Spassky comes to mind.

Cheparinov, as Topalov’s main second, was responsible for many of the opening novelties Topalov played during his 2006 World Championship match against Vladimir Kramnik. And, by looking at the games above, I can say that he is also one great chess player.

Reader comments/suggestions are solicited. E-mail address is bangcpa@gmail.com.