Gibraltar is probably the most popular open tournament in the world and its 2019 renewal, which ended on Thursday, did not disappoint. The territory of Gibraltar is the principal sponsor and the Rock’s attractions include elite grandmasters, rising talents, a high-class hotel venue and the largest prize fund for women in a mixed event.
A full social programme between rounds is highlighted by the Battle of the Sexes, played on a giant board and won 2-1 by the women’s team.
Elite GMs have won the last four Gibraltars but the final 2019 round produced a series of shocks and two unfamiliar names at the top.
Hikaru Nakamura is the Gibraltar specialist after capturing three £25,000 first prizes in 2015-17 before losing the 2018 play-off to Levon Aronian. America’s No 3 was inconsistent this week, drawing his first two against low-rated opponents then losing to the 20-year-old Russian Vladislav Artemiev after missing a computer-style chance right at the end.
Artemiev, one of a new generation of ambitious Russians in their late teens and early twenties, followed up by outplaying China’s world No 10, Yu Yangyi, in the final round with the black pieces and so took the £25,000 first prize. He has been principally known as a blitz specialist, so Gibraltar is by far his biggest success in classical play and he jumps straight into the world top 20 in the live ratings.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Levon Aronian were the top seeds, whose experience would normally produce a strong last round. But the Frenchman, despite being allowed to play his favourite Najdorf Sicilian, was thoroughly outclassed by the 20-year-old Indian Murali Karthikeyan who finished second outright. Karthikeyan was a GM at 15, is a two-time Indian champion, but started Gibraltar as the No 49 seed and an international unknown.
David Howell scored a notable English success. His start was dismal, a round three novice blunder where he allowed a one-move queening tactic. But then he won four in a row, drew comfortably with Nakamura, and benefited from Aronian’s wild play in the final round. The Armenian was a piece down after 12 moves.
Leading scores were Artemiev 8.5/10, Karthikeyan 8, Nikita Vitiugov (Russia), David Anton (Spain) and Howell 7.5. Tan Zhongyi (China) won the £15,000 women’s first prize with 7.
Vlad Kramnik has retired from competitive chess at age 43, saying that he lacks motivation and wants to switch to education projects. The 14th world champion’s greatest performance was when he won the crown from Garry Kasparov in 2000 without losing a game, using the ultra-solid Berlin Wall as his main weapon. He held the title for seven years, and defended against Peter Leko and Veselin Topalov before ceding to Vishy Anand.
Toiletgate, where Topalov accused him of cheating and Kramnik forfeited a game as a protest, is an incident still debated and after it the pair never talked or shook hands. A plausible explanation is that Kramnik used the bathroom for a smoke, did not like to admit it, and that events got out of hand.
For a decade after his 2008 match loss to Anand, Kramnik still believed he could qualify as challenger and even defeat Magnus Carlsen, but that proved a chimera. In Gibraltar they are already calling Artemiev the new Vlad.
3604 (by Fritz Giegold) 1 Qd8 b6/g5 2 Rd7 b6/g5 3 Rd2! exd2 4 Qxb6 mate.
Levon Aronian v David Howell
1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 exd5 cxd5 4 Bd3 Nc6 5 c3 Qc7 6 h3 g6 7 Qc2? f6 8 Ne2 e5 9 0-0 Nge7 10 dxe5 fxe5 11 c4?? e4 12 Bxe4 dxe4 13 Nbc3 Bg7 14 Nd5 Qd6 15 Bf4 Be5 16 Rad1 Bxf4 17 Ndxf4 Qe5 18 b4 Nxb4 19 Qb3 Nbc6 20 c5 Qxc5 21 Nc3 Qb4 22 Qc2 0-0 23 Ncd5 Nxd5 24 Nxd5 Qa3 25 Rfe1 Bf5 26 Re3 Qa5 27 Qc4 Rf7 28 Nf6+ Kg7 29 Rd5 Be6 0-1
