Naiditsch - Anand 0-1 in the final round allowed the World Champion to take clear first

World Champion Vishy Anand won the Baden-Baden GRENKE Chess Classic this Sunday with a +3 score of 6.5/10, defeating German GM Arkadij Naiditsch in the final round.

Round 7-10 Results:

7th round on 14 February 2013 at 15:00
Meier Georg	2640	1-0	Fridman Daniel	2667
Caruana Fabiano	2757	½-½	Anand Vishy	2780
Adams Michael	2725	½-½	Naiditsch Arkadij	2716
8th round on 15 February 2013 at 15:00
Fridman Daniel	2667	½-½	Adams Michael	2725
Naiditsch Arkadij	2716	0-1	Caruana Fabiano	2757
Anand Vishy	2780	½-½	Meier Georg	2640
9th round on 16 February 2013 at 15:00
Anand Vishy	2780	1-0	Fridman Daniel	2667
Meier Georg	2640	1-0	Naiditsch Arkadij	2716
Caruana Fabiano	2757	0-1	Adams Michael	2725
10th round on 17 February 2013 at 13:00
Fridman Daniel	2667	½-½	Caruana Fabiano	2757
Adams Michael	2725	½-½	Meier Georg	2640
Naiditsch Arkadij	2716	0-1	Anand Vishy	2780

Final Standings after Round 10:
1. Anand 6.5 (+3)
2. Caruana 6.0 (+2)
3-4. Adams, Meier 5.0 (=)
5. Naiditsch 4.0 (-2)
6. Fridman 3.5 (-3)

Number of Decisive Games (out of 10):
Naiditsch - 8
Caruana, Meier - 4
Anand, Fridman - 3
Adams - 2

Final Tournament Performance Ratings:
1. Anand 2808
2. Caruana 2776
3. Meier 2729
4. Adams 2712
5. Naiditsch 2644
6. Fridman 2617

Live Ratings (2700+ players only):
#6 Anand 2784.2
#11 Caruana 2760
#25 Adams 2724.4
#31 Naiditsch 2713.1

GRENKE Round 6

Round 6 Results:

Fridman - Naiditsch 0-1 in a brilliant game

Anand - Adams 1/2

Meier - Caruana

My Prediction Record from Rounds 4-6: 5/9 (55.6%)

Standings after Round 6:
1. Caruana 4.0/6 (+2)
2-3. Anand, Naiditsch 3.5/6 (+1)
4-5. Fridman, Adams 2.5/6 (-1)
6. Meier 2.0/6 (-2)

Current Decisive Games after 6 Rounds:
Naiditsch - 5
Caruana, Meier - 2
Anand, Adams, Fridman - 1

Tournament Draw Percentage: 12/18 (66.7%)

Live Ratings after Round 6 (2700+ players only):
#6 Anand 2778.8 (-1.2, no ranking change from yesterday)
#11 Caruana 2761.9 (+4.9, no ranking change from yesterday)
#23 Naiditsch 2727.5 (+4.2 from Baden-Baden, +1 ranking spot from yesterday (passes Dmitry Andreiken))
#28 Adams 2721.1 (-5.1 from Baden-Baden, +1 ranking spot from yesterday passes Alexander Areschenko))

Round 7 Pairings:
Meier - Fridman
Caruana - Anand
Adams - Naiditsch

Round 8-10 Pairings:

8th round on 15 February 2013 at 15:00
Fridman Daniel	2667		Adams Michael	2725
Naiditsch Arkadij	2716		Caruana Fabiano	2757
Anand Vishy	2780		Meier Georg	2640
9th round on 16 February 2013 at 15:00
Anand Vishy	2780		Fridman Daniel	2667
Meier Georg	2640		Naiditsch Arkadij	2716
Caruana Fabiano	2757		Adams Michael	2725
10th round on 17 February 2013 at 13:00
Fridman Daniel	2667		Caruana Fabiano	2757
Adams Michael	2725		Meier Georg	2640
Naiditsch Arkadij	2716		Anand Vishy	2780

Baden-Baden Round 5 Report

At the halfway point, Italian-American prodigy Fabiano Caruana leads the GRENKE Chess Classic in Germany with a +2 score.  Scoring his first win of the tournament, World Champion Vishy Anand is in clear second and is on +1.  Arkadij Naiditsch was the recipient of this loss, and has chalked up his fourth decisive game out of five to be on an even 2.5/5, where he is joined by his countryman Daniel Fridman.  Mickey Adams and Webster University student George Meier round out the tournament at 1.5 and 1.0 points, respectively.

Round 5 (halfway point) Results:

Anand - Naiditsch 1-0

Caruana - Fridman 1/2

Meier - Adams 1/2

My Prediction Record from Rounds 4-5: 4/6 (66.7%)

Standings after Round 5:
1. Caruana 3.5/5 (+2)
2. Anand 3.0/5 (+1)
3-4. Fridman, Naiditsch 2.5/5 (=)
5. Adams 2.0/5 (-1)
6. Meier 1.5/5 (-2)

Current Tournament Performance Ratings:
1. Caruana 2852
2. Anand 2772
3. Fridman 2723
4. Naiditsch 2714
5. Adams 2642
6. Meier 2582

Number of Decisive Games after 5 Rounds:
Naiditsch - 4
Caruana, Meier - 2
Anand, Adams - 1
Fridman - 0

Tournament Draw Percentage: 10/15 (66.7%)

Live Ratings after Round 5 (2700+ players only):
#6 Anand 2779.6 (-0.4, no ranking changes from yesterday)
#11 Caruana 2763.5 (+6.5, -1 ranking spot from yesterday (passed by Alexander Grischuk))
#24 Naiditsch 2723.2 (-0.1 from Baden-Baden, -1 ranking spot from yesterday (passed by Dmitry Andreiken))
#28 Adams 2720.3 (-5.9 from Baden-Baden, -1 ranking spot from yesterday (passed by Alexander Areschenko))

Round 6 (Wednesday, February 13) Pairings:
Fridman - Naiditsch
Anand - Adams
Meier - Caruana

My Round 6 (February 13) Predictions:
Fridman - Naiditsch 1/2
Anand - Adams 1/2
Meier - Caruana 0-1

Round 7-10 Pairings:

7th round on 14 February 2013 at 15:00
Meier Georg	2640		Fridman Daniel	2667
Caruana Fabiano	2757		Anand Vishy	2780
Adams Michael	2725		Naiditsch Arkadij	2716
8th round on 15 February 2013 at 15:00
Fridman Daniel	2667		Adams Michael	2725
Naiditsch Arkadij	2716		Caruana Fabiano	2757
Anand Vishy	2780		Meier Georg	2640
9th round on 16 February 2013 at 15:00
Anand Vishy	2780		Fridman Daniel	2667
Meier Georg	2640		Naiditsch Arkadij	2716
Caruana Fabiano	2757		Adams Michael	2725
10th round on 17 February 2013 at 13:00
Fridman Daniel	2667		Caruana Fabiano	2757
Adams Michael	2725		Meier Georg	2640
Naiditsch Arkadij	2716		Anand Vishy	2780

GRENKE Round 4 Results

Baden-Baden Round 4 Results:

Battle of the Germans: Naiditsch - Meier, 1-0

Fridman - Anand 1/2

Adams - Caruana 1/2

My Prediction Record from Round 4: 2/3 (66.7%)

Standings after Round 4:
1. Caruana 3.0/4 (+2)
2. Naiditsch 2.5/4 (+1)
3-4. Fridman, Anand 2.0/4 (=)
5. Adams 1.5/4 (-1)
6. Meier 1.0/4 (-2)

Live Ratings after Round 4 (2700+ players only):
#6 Anand 2775.5 (-4.5, no ranking changes from yesterday)
#10 Caruana 2764.7 (+7.7, no ranking changes from yesterday)
#23 Naiditsch 2727.3 (+4.0 from Baden-Baden, +1 ranking spot from yesterday (passes Andreiken))
#28 Adams 2721.5 (-4.7 from Baden-Baden, no ranking changes from yesterday)

Round 5 (tomorrow, February 11) Pairings:
Caruana - Fridman
Meier - Adams
Anand - Naiditsch

My Round 5 (February 11) Predictions:
Caruana - Fridman 1/2
Meier - Adams 1/2
Anand - Naiditsch 1/2

Rounds 6-10 Pairings:

6th round on 13 February 2013 at 15:00
Fridman Daniel	2667		Naiditsch Arkadij	2716
Anand Vishy	2780		Adams Michael	2725
Meier Georg	2640		Caruana Fabiano	2757
7th round on 14 February 2013 at 15:00
Meier Georg	2640		Fridman Daniel	2667
Caruana Fabiano	2757		Anand Vishy	2780
Adams Michael	2725		Naiditsch Arkadij	2716
8th round on 15 February 2013 at 15:00
Fridman Daniel	2667		Adams Michael	2725
Naiditsch Arkadij	2716		Caruana Fabiano	2757
Anand Vishy	2780		Meier Georg	2640
9th round on 16 February 2013 at 15:00
Anand Vishy	2780		Fridman Daniel	2667
Meier Georg	2640		Naiditsch Arkadij	2716
Caruana Fabiano	2757		Adams Michael	2725
10th round on 17 February 2013 at 13:00
Fridman Daniel	2667		Caruana Fabiano	2757
Adams Michael	2725		Meier Georg	2640
Naiditsch Arkadij	2716		Anand Vishy	2780

This Week in Birthdays: Sveshnikov, Gus Hansen

This week in chess and poker birthdays.  Happy birthday to all!

February 10 - 16

Sunday, February 10:

• Giorgi Kacheishvili (Age 37, Georgian GM)
• Manuel Leon Hoyos (Age 24, Mexican GM, Webster University Chess Team, 2582)

Monday, February 11:

Evgeny Sveshnikov, of Sicilian Sveshnikov fame, turns 63 tomorrow

• Evgeny Sveshnikov (Age 63, Latvian GM, Namesake of the Sicilian Sveshnikov, 2530)

Gus Hansen, the Great Dane, turns 39 on Wednesday

Wednesday, February 13:

• Artur Yusupov (Age 53, German GM, 2002 & 2008 World Open =1st, 2611)
• Gus Hansen (Age 39, Danish Poker Pro, #13 on the All Time Money List, #1 on Denmark All Time Money List)

Thursday, February 14:

• Sergei Tiviakov (Age 40, Dutch GM, 2-time Dutch Champion, 2650)

Friday, February 15:

• Daniel Fridman (Age 37, German GM, Currently playing in the GRENKE Chess Classic, 2667)
• Tuan Le (Age 35, Vietnamese-American Poker Pro, #4 on the 2005 All Time Money List)

Blog Return; Baden-Baden Predictions

The GRENKE Chess Classic is taking place in Baden-Baden, Germany.  It is a Double-Round Robin, Category XIX tournament with an average rating of 2714.2.

World Champ Anand headlines the GRENKE Chess Classic

The 6 Participants:
World #6 Vishy Anand, India, 2780 (World Champion)
World #13 Fabiano Caruana, Italy, 2757 (#1 World Junior)
World #23 Michael Adams, England, 2725 (#1 England)
World #37 Arkadij Naiditsch, Germany, 2716 (2013 Wijk aan Zee Group B Champion)
World #78 Daniel Fridman, Germany, 2667 (Husband of 4-time US Woman's Champion Anna Zatonskih)
World #108 Georg Meier, Germany, 2640 (Co-captain of Webster University chess team)

Round 1-3 Results:

Round 1, February 7
Naiditsch - Fridman 1/2
Adams - Anand 1/2
Caruana - Meier 1-0

Naiditsch, the sole winner in Round 2 in Baden-Baden

Round 2, February 8
Fridman - Meier 1/2
Anand - Caruana 1/2
Naiditsch - Adams 1-0

Caruana - Naiditsch, 1-0, the sole decisive game of Round 3

Round 3, February 9
Adams - Fridman 1/2
Caruana - Naiditsch 1-0
Meier - Anand 1/2

Caruana leads GRENKE by a full point after 3 rounds

Standings after Round 3:
1. Caruana 2.5/3
2-4. Naiditsch, Fridman, Anand 1.5/3
5-6. Adams, Meier 1.0/3

Live Ratings after Round 3 (2700+ players only):
#6 Anand 2777 (-3 points, no ranking changes)
#10 Caruana 2765.1 (+8.1 points, +3 ranking spots, passes Ivanchuk, Morozevich, Grischuk)
#24 Naiditsch (no change from Baden-Baden, +5 ranking spots (from Bundesliga), passes Dominguez, Giri, Tomashevsky, Adams, Areschenko)
#28 Adams 2721.1 (-5.1 points from Baden-Baden, -5 rankings spots, passed by Vachier-Lagrave, Dominguez, Giri, Tomashevsky, Naiditsch)

My Round 4 (February 10) Predictions:
Fridman - Anand 1/2
Naiditsch - Meier 0-1
Adams - Caruana 1/2

Round 4-10 Pairings:

4th round on 10 February 2013 at 15:00
Fridman Daniel	2667		Anand Vishy	2780
Naiditsch Arkadij	2716		Meier Georg	2640
Adams Michael	2725		Caruana Fabiano	2757
5th round on 11 February 2013 at 15:00
Caruana Fabiano	2757		Fridman Daniel	2667
Meier Georg	2640		Adams Michael	2725
Anand Vishy	2780		Naiditsch Arkadij	2716
6th round on 13 February 2013 at 15:00
Fridman Daniel	2667		Naiditsch Arkadij	2716
Anand Vishy	2780		Adams Michael	2725
Meier Georg	2640		Caruana Fabiano	2757
7th round on 14 February 2013 at 15:00
Meier Georg	2640		Fridman Daniel	2667
Caruana Fabiano	2757		Anand Vishy	2780
Adams Michael	2725		Naiditsch Arkadij	2716
8th round on 15 February 2013 at 15:00
Fridman Daniel	2667		Adams Michael	2725
Naiditsch Arkadij	2716		Caruana Fabiano	2757
Anand Vishy	2780		Meier Georg	2640
9th round on 16 February 2013 at 15:00
Anand Vishy	2780		Fridman Daniel	2667
Meier Georg	2640		Naiditsch Arkadij	2716
Caruana Fabiano	2757		Adams Michael	2725
10th round on 17 February 2013 at 13:00
Fridman Daniel	2667		Caruana Fabiano	2757
Adams Michael	2725		Meier Georg	2640
Naiditsch Arkadij	2716		Anand Vishy	2780