Category Archives: Basel

Basel Rapid 2013-Hansen,E(CAN)

GM Hansen,E(CAN) wins again sharing first with GM Bartel,Mateusz(POL).

From German Newspaper basellandschaftlichezeitung
‘Schach verbindet. Robin van Kampen aus Holland und der Kanadier Eric Hansen haben sich bei Turnieren kennengelernt. Dabei geniesst Schach in ihren Herkunftsländern einen völlig unterschiedlichen Stellenwert. von Olivier Winistörfer

Eric Hansen(l) and Robin van Kampen(r)

Am Basler Schachfestival nähert man sich der Entscheidung. Mit im Rennen um den begehrten ersten Platz ist auch der 18-jährige Niederländer Robin van Kampen. Dabei kam der junge Grossmeister erst durch seinen guten Freund Eric Hansen aus Kanada zum Turnier in Basel. «Eric war vorher in Holland und meinte, dass er am Turnier teilnehmen würde. Als ich dann hörte, dass ein eingeladener Spieler nicht teilnehmen könne und somit ein Platz frei wurde, habe ich mich gemeldet.» 
So verbrachten die beiden Silvester nicht in Kanada oder in den Niederlanden sondern am Rheinknie. «Wir kennen beide die Schweiz nicht sehr gut. Aber was wir hier in Basel sehen konnten, hat uns wirklich gefallen», meint Hansen zu der wenigen Zeit, die sie in der Schweiz Zeit hatten neben dem Turnier.(more)’
From tournament site Schachfestivalbasel Rapid-basel


GM Bartel,Mateusz
Great Interview

Mateusz Bartel could have been forgiven for taking life easy after winning the Aeroflot Open and a coveted place in the Dortmund super-tournament. Instead he went on to win the Polish Championship for the third year in a row. Leszek Kropisz interviewed a player whose star is in the ascendancy.

For a number of years Bartel appeared to have reached a rating ceiling at a little over 2600, with much of his time devoted to launching and editing the excellent Mat chess magazine (from which I’ve translated a number of articles for Chess in Translation). It was his friend Radosław Wojtaszek who was the first Polish player after Michal Krasenkow to break through the 2700 barrier, but now Bartel is close to matching that feat, with 2700chess.com recently quoting his live rating as 2691.8.

It now seems less of an anomaly, therefore, that Bartel has performed so well at the Polish Championship. He first won in 2006, and has now completed a hat-trick in 2010, 2011 and 2012, despite the higher-rated Wojtaszek having competed in each of the last three events.(more)..’
Rank Teilnehmer Title TWZ Land Win Draw Loss Pts
1 Hansen,Eric IM 2568 CAN 7 1 1 7.5
2 Bartel,Mateusz GM 2629 POL 7 1 1 7.5
3 Turov,Maxim GM 2630 RUS 6 2 1 7
4 Edouard,Romain GM 2686 FRA 6 2 1 7
5 Melkumyan,Hrant GM 2656 ARM 7 0 2 7
6 Grachev,Boris GM 2688 RUS 5 3 1 6.5
7 Ghaem Maghami,Ehs GM 2572 IRI 5 3 1 6.5
8 Vachier-Lagrave,M GM 2711 FRA 4 5 0 6.5
9 Fier,Alexandr GM 2573 BRA 4 4 1 6
10 Van Kampen,Robin GM 2581 NED 4 4 1 6
11 Vajda,Levente GM 2603 ROU 5 2 2 6
12 Istratescu,Andrej GM 2654 FRA 6 0 3 6
13 Djuric,Stefan GM 2471 SRB 6 0 3 6
14 Gavrilov,Alexei GM 2501 RUS 6 0 3 6
15 Lekic,Dusan IM 2385 MNE 5 2 2 6
16 Schwierskott,Marc 2232 GER 6 0 3 6
17 Pelletier,Yannick GM 2604 SUI 4 3 2 5.5
18 Züger,Beat IM 2403 SUI 4 3 2 5.5
19 Filipovic,Branko IM 2369 CRO 4 3 2 5.5
20 Maisuradze,Nino WGM 2306 FRA 5 1 3 5.5
21 Karabalis,Harilos 2245 GER 5 1 3 5.5
22 Seitz,Benjamin 2177 SUI 5 1 3 5.5
23 Vulevic,Vjekoslav FM 2299 MNE 5 1 3 5.5
24 Schacht,Holger FM 2224 GER 5 1 3 5.5

Basel 2013 Rd7 Standings, GM Hansen,E(CAN)

Standings Schachfestivalbasel

GM Boris Grachev


‘Four players tied for first in the main group, with 5.5/7 points, with Boris Grachev (above) winning on tiebreak points. The Russian GM won his first four games and was then able to take tournament victory with draws in the last three. Top seed Maxime Vachier-Lagrave conceded too many draws and landed on place five with 5.0/7 points- Photo and report from Chessbase Basel 2013

There’s a 4-way tie for first with 5.5/7 between Grachev, Vajda, Van Kampen and Istratescu. GM Hansen,E(CAN) lost a tough game against Istratescu in rd7 which allowed him Istratescu to leap up in the standings to grab a share of first.

GM Istratescu,Andrej
Andrei Istrăţescu (born 3 December 1975 in Romania) is a chess grandmaster (1993) representing France. For the national Romanian team he took part in six Chess Olympiads (1992–1998, 2002, 2006).

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Rang Name Title FIDE M/F Fed Pts
1 Grachev,Boris GM 2688 M RUS 5.5
2 Vajda,Levente GM 2603 M ROU 5.5
3 Van Kampen,Robin GM 2581 M NED 5.5
4 Istratescu,Andrej GM 2654 M FRA 5.5
5 Vachier-Lagrave,M GM 2711 M FRA 5
6 Fier,Alexandr GM 2573 M BRA 5
7 Melkumyan,Hrant GM 2656 M ARM 5
8 Edouard,Romain GM 2686 M FRA 5
9 Ghaem Maghami,Ehs GM 2572 M IRI 5
10 Pelletier,Yannick GM 2604 M SUI 5
11 Vorotnikov,Vladis GM 2464 M RUS 5
12 Bartel,Mateusz GM 2629 M POL 5
13 Turov,Maxim GM 2630 M RUS 4.5
14 Mladenov,Svetlin 2407 M BUL 4.5
15 Hansen,Eric IM 2568 M CAN 4.5
16 Heimann,Andreas IM 2489 M GER 4.5
17 Milosevic,Goran IM 2328 M SUI 4.5
18 Lekic,Dusan IM 2411 M MNE 4.5
19 Georgiadis,Nico FM 2369 M SUI 4.5
20 Toth,Bela IM 2352 M ITA 4.5
21 Maier,Christian IM 2354 M GER 4.5
22 Dann,Matthias FM 2432 M GER 4.5
23 Maisuradze,Nino WGM 2306 W FRA 4.5
24 Faibisovich,Vadim IM 2349 M RUS 4.5

Basel 2013 Rd6, GM Hansen,E(CAN)

Here is Hansen’s rd6 game.

Hansen,Eric (2568) – Mladenov,Svetlin (2407)
King’s Indian Classical h3 [E90]
Hilton Open 2013 Basel (6.6), 04.01.2013

Position 1
Black has just planted a knight in the center with 23…Nd4. How should white respond?

White to Play

23…Nd4


Basel 2013 Rd7,.GM Hansen,E(CAN)

Here is Hansen’s rd7 game.

Istratescu,Andrei(2654)-Hansen,Eric(2568)
Old Indian [A53]
Hilton Open 2013 Basel(7.4), 05.01.2013

Position 1

White to Play

13…a6



Position 2
The position is complicated. Both sides are trying to make progress with flank attacks. How should black continue?

Black to Play

27.Rc2


Basel 2013 Rd4, GM Hansen E(CAN)

Here is Hansen’s Rd 4 game

Bogdanovich,Grigory (2343) – Hansen,Eric (2568)

King’s Indian [E60]
Hilton Open 2013 Basel (4.11), 03.01.2013

Position 1
Black has more space but what is the correct plan for black now?

Black to Play


22.Bf1


Basel 2013 Rd5,.GM Hansen,E(CAN)

Here is Hansen’s Rd5 game.

Hansen,Eric (2568)-Kvetny,Mark(2201)
Sicilian Najdorf 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be6 8.h3!?[B90]
Hilton Open 2013 Basel (5.10), 04.01.2013

Position 1
Black has just advanced in the center with the natural looking 10…d5 novelty. How should white respond?

White to Play

10…d5



Position 2
White has just attacked Nb4 in a tense unbalanced position. How should white respond?

Black to Play

29.Ka3


Position 3
White’s queen is passive and Ka3 looks awkwardly placed. What should white do now?


White to Play

35…Bg6


Basel 2013 Rd3, GM Hansen,E(CAN)

Here is Hansen’s tough rd3 game.

Hansen,Eric(2568)-Loetscher,Roland(2395)
Sicilian Bind[B36]
Hilton Open 2013 Basel (3.5), 02.01.2013

Position 1
(After 27…Rb8)
White is pressing but how to continue?

White to Play
(Sorry but I cannnot upload images to Blogger at the moment-Hopefully this is temporary)

Basel 2012 Rd4 Standings

Rd4 Standings
GM Grachev,Boris(RUS) is in the sole lead with 4/4. GM Hansen,E(CAN) is at 2.5/4.

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Rank Name Title FIDE At Fed Pts
1 Grachev,Boris GM 2688 M RUS 4
2 Vachier-Lagrave,M GM 2711 M FRA 3.5
3 Istratescu,Andrej GM 2654 M FRA 3.5
4 Van Kampen,Robin GM 2581 M NED 3.5
5 Turov,Maxim GM 2630 M RUS 3.5
6 Melkumyan,Hrant GM 2656 M ARM 3.5
7 Vajda,Levente GM 2603 M ROU 3
8 Lötscher,Roland FM 2395 M SUI 3
9 Fier,Alexandr GM 2573 M BRA 3
10 Mladenov,Svetlin 2407 M BUL 3
11 Lekic,Dusan IM 2411 M MNE 3
12 Bartel,Mateusz GM 2629 M POL 3
13 Toth,Bela IM 2352 M ITA 3
14 Edouard,Romain GM 2686 M FRA 3
15 Filipovic,Branko IM 2369 M CRO 3
16 Ghaem Maghami,Ehs GM 2572 M IRI 3
17 Giesler,Julius 2089 M GER 3
18 Vorotnikov,Vladis GM 2464 M RUS 2.5
19 Kurmann,Oliver IM 2456 M SUI 2.5
20 Hansen,Eric IM 2568 M CAN 2.5
21 Heimann,Andreas IM 2489 M GER 2.5
22 Gavrilov,Alexei GM 2501 M RUS 2.5
23 Aguera Naredo,Jav FM 2417 M ESP 2.5
23 Milosevic,Goran IM 2328 M SUI 2.5
25 Flückiger,Christi FM 2344 M SUI 2.5
26 Pelletier,Yannick GM 2604 M SUI 2.5
27 Schmidt-Schäffer, 2356 M GER 2.5
28 Bogdanovich,Grigo IM 2343 M RUS 2.5
28 Grandadam,Nicolas FM 2322 M SUI 2.5
30 Faibisovich,Vadim IM 2349 M RUS 2.5
31 Vulevic,Vjekoslav FM 2299 M MNE 2.5
32 Dann,Matthias FM 2432 M GER 2.5
33 Georgiadis,Nico FM 2369 M SUI 2.5
34 Guo,Emma WIM 2006 W AUS 2.5
35 Faraone,Ettore 2003 M SUI 2.5
36 Kvetny,Mark 2201 M GER 2.5

GM Hansen,E(CAN) 2012-13 Coming Events

The Hansen watch has begun.

From Hansen,E on Chesstalk Message Board(CAN):
‘I leave for Amsterdam on the 13th and will be living with a strong Dutch GM for a week. I may play a game in the Dutch League Div #1 but its yet to be confirmed. Groningen I hope to win this event and thus qualify for Tata Steel C. And then I will participate in a strong Swiss open(Basel) against top GM’s. If I dont qualify for Wijk An Zee then expect to see me play in Gibraltar.’

Groningen Dec 21-30 2012 See Schaakstad Groningen NL; SchaakstadGroningen (English)
Chess Festival Groningen 2012-From december 21 up to and including december 30 2012

Open A (2000+)
Prize fund: € 6000,-
Entry fee: € 60,-
Players FIDE 2400+ and I(G)M don’t have to pay the entry fee.
The winner receives an invitation to the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2013, Grandmaster Group C.

Open B (1700-2100)
Prize fund: € 1500,-
Entry fee: € 60,-

Open C (Under 1800)
Prize fund: € 750,-
Entry fee: € 60,-

Basel January 1-5 2013 See Schach Festival Basel  
Pre-registed already are, where Hansen,E(CAN) is the #14 seed.  

Umudova,Nargiz(WIM-AZE)

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No. Teilnehmer Title Rating Verein/Ort Fed
1 Vachier-Lagrave,Maxi GM 2711 FRA
2 Grachev,Boris GM 2688 Moskau RUS
3 Edouard,Romain GM 2686 Avanton FRA
4 Istratescu,Andrej GM 2654 Belfort FRA
5 Melkumyan,Hrant GM 2649 Jerewan ARM
6 Turov,Maxim GM 2630 RUS
7 Bartel,Mateusz GM 2629 Warschau POL
8 Zherebukh,Yaroslav GM 2623 UKR
9 Pelletier,Yannick GM 2604 Montpellier SUI
10 Vajda,Levente GM 2603 ROU
11 Volkov,Sergey GM 2590 RUS
12 Gagunashvili,Merab GM 2587 GEO
13 Fier,Alexandr GM 2567 BRA
14 Hansen,Eric IM 2539 CAN
15 Heimann,Andreas IM 2490 Grenzach-Whylen GER
16 Vorotnikov,Vladislav GM 2464 Moskau RUS
17 Kurmann,Oliver IM 2456 Luzern SUI
18 Dann,Matthias FM 2432 TSV Schott Mainz GER
19 Hendriks,Willy IM 2428 Zutphen NED
20 Aguera Naredo,Javier FM 2417 Gjion ESP
21 Mladenov,Svetlin 2407 SV Wattenscheid 1930 BUL
22 Filipovic,Branko IM 2374 Basel CRO
23 Rindlisbacher,Lars FM 2370 Worb SUI
24 Georgiadis,Nico FM 2369 Schindellegi SUI
25 Schmidt-Schäffer,Seb 2356 Berlin GER
26 Maier,Christian IM 2354 Staufen GER
27 Lutz,Bernhard FM 2353 Weil a.Rhein GER
28 Toth,Bela IM 2352 Basel ITA
29 Faibisovich,Vadim Z IM 2349 St.Petersburg RUS
30 Grandadam,Nicolas FM 2327 Huningue SUI
31 Vatter,Hans-Joachim FM 2318 Karlsruher SF 1853 GER
32 Maisuradze,Nino WGM 2315 FRA
33 Vulevic,Vjekoslav FM 2299 Davos-Platz MNE
34 Mäurer,Christoph,Dr. FM 2291 Stuttgarter SF 1879 GER
35 Hess,Christian FM 2269 Koenigsspr.SC.1984 e GER
36 Kelecevic,Nedeljko IM 2267 Winterthur SUI
37 Misiano,Franco FM 2263 Milano ITA
38 Nuri,Kambez FM 2241 Richterswil SUI
39 Curien,Nicolas 2239 Bern SUI
40 Düssel,Udo 2228 Rheinfelden GER
41 Umudova,Nargiz WIM 2220 Baku AZE
42 Stankovic,Zeljko 2212 Basel SUI
43 Aerni,Andreas 2206 Muttenz SUI
44 Seitz,Benjamin 2177 Reinach BL SUI
45 Michaelis,Nico 2165 Kandern GER
46 Wirz,Heinz 2161 Birsfelden SUI
47 Eidinger,Helmut 2137 Wettingen SUI
48 Ernst,Rolf FM 2131 Lausen GER
49 Bräunlin,Klaus-Rober 2131 Zimmern ob Rottweil GER
50 Wehrle,Uwe 2117 Kandern GER
51 Pommerehne,Michael 2110 Lörrach-Brombach GER
52 Seidler,Lukas 2108 SK Bingen GER
53 Heinis,Vincent 2101 Toulouse FRA
54 Kaspereit,Holger 2094 SK Ebringen GER
55 Klamp,Christoph 2088 SV Griesheim(DA) GER
56 Staechelin,Ruedi 2078 Basel SUI
57 Klumpp,Jochen 2070 SG Caissa Rochade Ku GER
58 Paul,Mathias 2060 Weil am Rhein GER
59 Sommerhalder,Eric 2054 Pfeffingen SUI
60 Toth,Ilona WFM 2053 Basel HUN
61 Bender,Dirk 2047 SG Turm Idstein GER
62 Spiess,Thomas 2028 Hannover GER
63 Faraone,Ettore 2003 Ettingen SUI
64 Guo,Emma WIM 2000 Canberra AUS
65 Tillmann,Marc 1999 Schönbühl SUI
66 Lehnert,Michael 1993 FC Bayern München e. GER
67 Müllhaupt,Philippe 1977 Genève SUI
68 Sand,Rolf,Dr. 1950 SV Tübingen 1870 e.V GER