Canadian Olympians in Barcelona

[Ilia Bluvshtein]

Our Olympians, Leonid Gerzhoy and Mark Bluvshtein, are playing in Barcelona, tournament A.
Real fight begins today.

Official website: http://www.cotxeres.org/open/
Live Games: http://www.directefcde.org/Sants2010/tfd.html
Results: http://www.chess-results.com/tnr37045.aspx?lan=2

[Fred McKim]

We'll be following your results. Good luck Mark and Leonid !!

[Bob Armstrong]

A third Canadian is also playing - Antoine Berube ( 2140 ), ranked # 178/359.

Bob

[Bob Armstrong]

For Rd. 4 ( Monday, Aug. 23 ):

1. Mark is on second board ! - he and his opponent each have 3/3 pts.:

2 6 GM Bluvshtein, Mark ( 2583 ) 3 3 IM Khmelniker, Ilya ( Israel - 2483 ) 25

2. Leonid is on Bd. 21 - he and his opponent each have 2 1/2 pts.:

21 92 Kadric, Denis ( Boznia & Herzegovina - 2263 ) 2½ 2½ IM Gerzhoy, Leonid ( 2471 ) 29

3. Antoine is on Bd. 102 - he and his opponent have 1 pt.:

102 178 Berube, Antoine 1 1 Julbe Canet, Josep ( Spain - 2025 ) 262

Live broadcast of a number of the top boards begins at about 10:30 AM EDT.

Bob

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

The Mark's path might be followed at his blog
http://markbluvshtein.wordpress.com

At this moment there are three first commented games.

[Bob Armstrong]

Rd. 4 Results ( Monday, Aug. 23 ):

1. Mark has 3 1/2 /4 pts.:

2 6 GM Bluvshtein, Mark ( 2583 ) 1/2 1/2 IM Khmelniker, Ilya ( Israel - 2483 ) 25

2. Leonid's result is still not posted - one of only 2 still outstanding:

21 92 Kadric, Denis ( Boznia & Herzegovina - 2263 ) 2½ 2½ IM Gerzhoy, Leonid ( 2471 ) 29

3. Antoine has 2/4 pts.:

102 178 Berube, Antoine 1 - 0 Julbe Canet, Josep ( Spain - 2025 ) 262

Bob

[Bob Armstrong]

Leonid drew in Rd. 4, and has 3 pts.

Rd. 5 Pairings ( Tuesday, Aug. 24 ):

1. Mark has 3 1/2 pts, and is on Bd. 5:

5 41 IM Leniart, Arkadiusz ( Poland - 2423 ) 3½ 3½ GM Bluvshtein. Mark ( 2583 ) 6

2. Leonid has 3 pts. and is on Bd. 22:

22 29 IM Gerzhoy, Leonid ( 2471 ) 3 3 FM Thompson, Ian D ( England - 2268 ) 91

3. Antoine has 2 pts. and is on Bd. 102:

102 316 Quero Ortega, Juan ( Spain - 1918 ) 2 2 Berube, Antoine ( 2140 ) 178

Bob

[Bob Armstrong]

In Rd. 5 today, Mark has drawn early ( move 22 ), with the Black pieces, with what I think is a worse position:

5 41 IM Leniart, Arkadiusz ( Poland - 2423 ) ½ ½ GM Bluvshtein, Mark ( 2583 ) 6

Mark now has 4/5 pts. ( 3 wins; 2 draws ). He is initially ranked 6th.

[Bob Armstrong]

Post duplicated in error - deleted

[Bob Armstrong]

Post duplicated in error - deleted

[Bob Armstrong]

In Rd. 5 today, Mark drew, giving him 4 pts.; Leonid won, giving him 4 pts.; and Antoine drew, giving him 2 1/2 pts.

The 2 leaders are:

1 GM Martinez Duany, Lelys Stanley CUB 2510 5,0
2 GM Handke, Florian GER 2494 5,0

Rd. 6 Pairings ( Tomorrow, Wed., Aug. 25 ):

1. Mark has 4 pts., and plays on Bd. 8 ( he is ranked 6th originally ):

8 6 GM Bluvshtein, Mark ( 2583 ) 4 4 FM Gonzalez Perez, Arian ( Cuba - 2403 ) 49

2. Leonid has 4 pts., and plays on Bd. 16 ( he is ranked 29th originally ):

16 56 FM Sowray, Peter J ( England - 2383 ) 4 4 IM Gerzhoy, Leonid ( 2471 ) 29

3. Antoine has 2 1/2 pts., and plays on Bd. 92 ( he is ranked 178 originally ):

92 178 Berube, Antoine ( 2140 ) 2½ 2½ Garcia Acosta, Roger ( Spain - 1857 ) 332


Bob

[Bob Armstrong]

In Rd. 6 today, Mark won relatively early ( move 26 ) - he was up the exchange, but his opponent had 2 P's compensation. But Mark got a devastating attack against the opponent's K-side, along the h-file.

8 6 GM Bluvshtein, Mark ( 2583 ) 1 - 0 FM Gonzalez Perez, Arian ( Cuba - 2403 ) 49

Mark now has 5/6 ( 4 wins; 2 draws ).

Bob

[John Coleman]

Mark won today with white

1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 g6
3. Nc3 Bg7
4. e4 d6
5. h3 0-0
6. Bg5 Na6
7. Nf3 Qe8
8. g4 h5
9. Qd2 hxg4
10. hxg4 Nxg4
11. 0-0-0 f6
12. Be3 Qf7
13. Bh3 Qxc4
14. Nh4 Nb4
15. Kb1 Kf7
16. Bf1 Qe6
17. a3 a5
18. d5 Qd7
19. Bh3 Rh8
20. f3 Rxh4
21. Bxg4 Rxg4
22. fxg4 Na6
23. Rh7 Kg8
24. Qh2 Qd8
25. Rh1 Qf8
26. Rh8

[Bob Armstrong]

Round 6 Results ( today ):

1. Mark won and has 5 pts. ( he is ranked 6th originally ):

8 6 GM Bluvshtein, Mark ( 2583 ) 1 - 0 FM Gonzalez Perez, Arian ( Cuba - 2403 ) 49

2. Leonid won and has 5 pts. ( he is ranked 29th originally ):

16 56 FM Sowray, Peter J ( England - 2383 ) 0 - 1 IM Gerzhoy, Leonid ( 2471 ) 29

3. Antoine won and has 3 1/2 pts. ( he is ranked 178 originally ):

92 178 Berube, Antoine ( 2140 ) 1 - 0 Garcia Acosta, Roger ( Spain - 1857 ) 332

Bob

[Bob Armstrong]

For Rd. 7, Canadians are on first and third boards !!

The current leaders are:

1 GM Martinez Duany, Lelys Stanley CUB 2510 0 5,5
2 GM Handke, Florian GER 2494 0 5,5

Rd. 7 Pairings ( Thurs., Aug. 26 ):

1. Mark has 5/6 pts., is 1/2 pt. out of first, and is on Bd. # 1, playing one of the 2 co-leaders ( Mark is originally ranked 6th ):

1 21 GM Martinez Duany, Lelys Stanley ( Cuba - 2510 ) 5½ 5 GM Bluvshtein, Mark ( 2583 ) 6

2. Leonid has 5/6 pts., is 1/2 pt. out of first, and is on Bd. # 3, playing the top-ranked player ( Leonid is originally ranked 29th ):

3 29 IM Gerzhoy, Leonid ( 2471 ) 5 5 GM Markowski, Tomasz ( Poland - 2628 ) 1

3. Antoine has 3 1/2 / 6 pts. and is on Bd. # 56 ( originally ranked 178 th ):

56 86 cm Lillo Castay, Victor ( Spain - 2284 ) 3½ 3½ Berube, Antoine ( 2140 ) 178

I would expect both Mark's and Leonid's games to be broadcast tomorrow @ 10:30 EDT.

Bob

[Bob Armstrong]

Rd. 7 Results ( Today ):

The current leader is:

1 GM Handke, Florian GER 2494 6,5

1. Mark won on first board against one of the two co-leaders and has 6/7 pts. ( 5 wins and 2 draws ), and is in a 5-way tie for second, 1/2 pt. out of first. It was a long game ( move 89 ), which saw both sides queen, with Mark being then up N vs P. ( Mark is originally ranked 6th ):

1 21 GM Martinez Duany, Lelys Stanley ( Cuba - 2510 ) 0 - 1 GM Bluvshtein, Mark ( 2583 ) 6

2. Leonid drew the top-ranked player on third board, and has 5.5/7 pts.. ( Leonid is originally ranked 29th ):

3 29 IM Gerzhoy, Leonid ( 2471 ) 1/2 - 1/2 GM Markowski, Tomasz ( Poland - 2628 ) 1

3. Antoine lost and has 3 1/2 / 7 pts.. ( originally ranked 178 th ):

56 86 cm Lillo Castay, Victor ( Spain - 2284 ) 1 - 0 Berube, Antoine ( 2140 ) 178

Bob

[Vladimir Birarov]

1 21 GM Martinez Duany, Lelys Stanley ( Cuba - 2510 ) 5½ 5 GM Bluvshtein, Mark ( 2583 ) 6
3 29 IM Gerzhoy, Leonid ( 2471 ) 5 5 GM Markowski, Tomasz ( Poland - 2628 ) 1


Mark won on move 89 after completely crazy game.
Leonid missed some chances, I think, and allowed Polish GM to force perpetual.

[Bob Armstrong]

After 7 rounds:

The current leaders are:

Rk. 0........... Nombre.............FED FIDE Pts.

1 GM Handke, Florian GER 2494 6,5

2 GM Bluvshtein, Mark CAN 2583 6,0
3 GM Rodshtein, Maxim ISR 2609 6,0
4 IM Khmelniker, Ilya ISR 2483 6,0
5 IM Barrientos, Sergio E COL 2477 6,0
6 FM Perez Mitjans, Orelvis ESP 2424 6,0

Rd. 8 Pairings ( Tomorrow, Friday, Aug. 27 ) :

1. Mark has 6/7 pts. ( 5 wins; 2 draws ), is playing on Bd. # 2, and is in a 5-way tie for second, 1/2 pt. out of first ( Mark is originally ranked 6th ):

2 6 GM Bluvshtein, Mark ( 2583 ) 6 6 FM Perez Mitjans, Orelvis ( Spain - 2424 ) 40

2. Leonid has 5.5/7 pts., plays the 8th ranked player, and is on Bd. # 6 ( Leonid is originally ranked 29th ):

6 8 GM Parligras, Mircea ( Roumania - 2574 ) 5½ 5½ IM Gerzhoy, Leonid ( 2471 ) 29

3. Antoine has 3.5 / 7 pts. and is on Bd. # 91 ( originally ranked 178th ):

91 178 Berube, Antoine ( 2140 ) 3½ 3½ Delisau Gil, Oriol ( Spain - 1818 ) 338

I would expect both Mark's and Leonid's games to be broadcast tomorrow @ 10:30 EDT.

Bob

[Bob Armstrong]

Round 8 Results Today:

1. Mark lost and has 6/8 pts. ( 5 wins; 2 draws; 1 loss ). Mark is originally ranked 6th.

2 6 GM Bluvshtein, Mark ( 2583 ) 0 - 1 FM Perez Mitjans, Orelvis ( Spain - 2424 ) 40

2. Leonid drew and has 6/8 pts.( 4 wins; 4 draws ). He is originally ranked 29th.

6 8 GM Parligras, Mircea ( Roumania - 2574 ) ½ ½ IM Gerzhoy, Leonid ( 2471 ) 29

3. Antoine won and has 4.5 / 8 pts. . He is originally ranked 178th.

91 178 Berube, Antoine ( 2140 ) 1 - 0 Delisau Gil, Oriol ( Spain - 1818 ) 338

The current leaders are:

Rk. 0........... Nombre.............FED FIDE Pts.

1/2 GM Rodshtein, Maxim ISR 2609 7,0
1/2 FM Perez Mitjans, Orelvis ESP 2424 7,0
- there is 7-way tie for third at 6.5 pts.

Bob

[Vladimir Birarov]

Round 8 Results Today:
2 6 GM Bluvshtein, Mark ( 2583 ) 0 - 1 FM Perez Mitjans, Orelvis ( Spain - 2424 ) 40
Bob
Very annoying loss for Mark. He was already 3 pawns up, and then he grabbed pretty much "poisoned" piece (although it seems to me, that with 32. Re2 instead of e5 he could parry all the threats) and missed graceful combination of Spanish FM.

[Bob Armstrong]

After 8 rounds, the leaders are:

Rk. 0........... Nombre.............FED FIDE Pts.

1/2 GM Rodshtein, Maxim ISR 2609 7,0
1/2 FM Perez Mitjans, Orelvis ESP 2424 7,0
- there is 7-way tie for third at 6.5 pts.

Round 9 Pairings ( Saturday, Aug. 28 ):

Horror of horrors ! It's a Canadian " same country " pairing !!??

1. Mark ( 5 wins; 2 draws; 1 loss ) and Leonid ( 4 wins; 4 draws ) each have 6/8 pts. and they play each other on Bd. 7! Mark is originally ranked 6th, and Leonid 29th.

7 29 IM Gerzhoy, Leonid ( Canada - 2471 ) 6 6 GM Bluvshtein, Mark ( Canada - 2583 ) 6

2. Antoine has 4.5 / 8 pts. and plays on Bd. 54 . He is originally ranked 178th.

54 95 cm Sanchez Ibern, Marc ( Spain - 2255 ) 4½ 4½ Berube, Antoine ( Canada - 2140 ) 178

Bob

[Bob Armstrong]

In Rd. 9 today:

1. Leonid won a great game against Mark with a double sac attack ( R & B ). Leonid now has 7/9 - undefeated - 5 wins; 4 draws ( originally ranked 29th ), and Mark 6/9 ( originally ranked 6th ):

7 29 IM Gerzhoy, Leonid ( Canada - 2471 ) 1 - 0 GM Bluvshtein, Mark ( Canada - 2583 ) 6

I am not good enough to know if Mark had a defence in 29...Rg8 or 29....Qd7. Have to ask my coach - Fritz. Anyone know?

2. Antoine appears to have won on forfeit. He has 5 1/2 /9 ( originally ranked 178th ):

54 95 cm Sanchez Ibern, Marc ( Spain - 2255 ) 0 - 1 ( F ) Berube, Antoine ( Canada - 2140 ) 178

After 9 rounds, the leaders are:

1. GM Rodshtein, Maxim ISR 2609 8,0
2. IM Barrientos, Sergio E COL 2477 7.5
3. GM Peralta, Fernando ARG 2570 7.5
4. Leonid is in an 8-way tie for fourth at 7 pts.

Bob

[Vladimir Birarov]

In Rd. 9 today:
I am not good enough to know if Mark had a defence in 29...Rg8 or 29....Qd7. Have to ask my coach - Fritz. Anyone know?
Bob
Position after 29. Qg5 looks lost for black:
29. ... Rg8 30. Rf1+ Ke8 31. Qh5+ Kd8 32. Rf8+
29. ... Qd7 30. g8Q+! Rxg8 31. Rf1+

What I don't understand is why Mark didn't capture on f5 on move 23?

[Bob Armstrong]

Round 10 Pairings ( Sunday, Aug. 29 ):

After 9 rounds, the leaders are:

1. GM Rodshtein, Maxim ISR 2609 8,0

2/3. IM Barrientos, Sergio E COL 2477 7.5
2/3. GM Peralta, Fernando ARG 2570 7.5

4. Leonid is in an 8-way tie for fourth at 7 pts.

1. Leonid has 7/9 pts. and plays on Bd. 3 against the 10th ranked player. Leonid is originally ranked 29th.

3 29 IM Gerzhoy, Leonid ( 2471 ) 7 7 GM Fier, Alexandr ( Brazil - 2570 ) 10

2. Mark has 6/9 pts. and plays on Bd. 17. He is originally ranked 6th.

17 6 GM Bluvshtein, Mark ( 2583 ) 6 6 IM Lanzani, Mario ( Italy - 2362 ) 63

3. Antoine has 5.5/9 and plays on Bd. 46. He is originally ranked 178th.

46 113 Uribe Arteaga, Daniel ( Columbia - 2233 ) 5½ 5½ Berube, Antoine ( 2140 ) 178

Bob

[Bob Armstrong]

Round 10 Results ( Sunday, Aug. 29 ):

After the final 10th round, the winners are:

1. GM Rodshtein, Maxim ISR 2609 8,5

2/4. GM Markowski, Tomasz POL 2628 8
2/4. GM Handke, Florian GER 2494 8
2/4. FM Perez Mitjans, Orelvis ESP 2424 8

1. Leonid drew and ended with 7.5/10 pts. ( undefeated - 5 wins; 5 draws ), in a large tie for fifth. Leonid was originally ranked 29th.

3 29 IM Gerzhoy, Leonid ( 2471 ) 1/2 - 1/2 GM Fier, Alexandr ( Brazil - 2570 ) 10

2. Mark won and ended with 7/10 pts.. He was originally ranked 6th.

17 6 GM Bluvshtein, Mark ( 2583 ) 1 - 0 IM Lanzani, Mario ( Italy - 2362 ) 63

3. Antoine lost and ended with 5.5/10. He was originally ranked 178th.

46 113 Uribe Arteaga, Daniel ( Columbia - 2233 ) 1 - 0 Berube, Antoine ( 2140 ) 178

Bob

[Christopher Mallon]

Looks like Leonid *just* missed a GM norm, ignoring Round 1 and raising his Round 2 opponent to 2200, he had a performance rating of 2594. Still, it was a great result and I'm sure the GM title will happen soon!