Archive for July 19th, 2009

The coverage of the Canadian Open Chess Championship at ChessBase rivals that seen at the recently completed U.S. Championship, complete with photos, video, and annotated games:

• Canadian Open: Friendly Faces Congregate in Edmonton
• Canadian Open: Canadians take it all
• Americans in Canada from USCF
• Canadian Open: Nine players lead after penultimate round
• Canadian Open: Four players with 6.0/7
• Canadian Open: Five players lead with 4.0/4
• Canadian Open Chess Championship

I especially appreciate the excellent notes and commentary from GM Alexander Shabalov, whose comments on games from Round 1, Rounds 2-3, Rounds 4-6 and Round 7 can be played through online. I recommend the “master vs amateur” lessons from the early rounds, which illustrate what Shabalov at one point calls “professionalism at its best.” The final round starts at noon today, and I will likely post an update after it concludes.

Just a round ago it was four players, now a total of nine share the lead with 6.5/8 points. Shirov and Adams drew their round eight games, while Ganguly beat Zhe Quan and Perlshteyn beat Kovalyov to join them. IM Irina Krush, US, won her last three games to take a place in the top berth. Congratulations! Pictorial report with round seven commentary by GM Alexander Shabalov.