
Vladimir Potkin on chess coaching and cheating
In an interview given after becoming European Individual Champion, Vladimir Potkin talks about how he won, what it means for his “day job” of coaching Ian Nepomniachtchi, and gives his view on the cheating scandal that was the talk of the town in Aix-les-Bains.

Shipov’s final letter from Aix-les-Bains
For his last report from the European Individual Chess Championship, Sergey Shipov focussed on the role of coaches, which was particularly apt given that a coach, Russian GM Vladimir Potkin, won the title! Shipov also summed up his impressions of the event as a whole.

Birth of a Supernova: Vasiliev reports from Wijk aan Zee
Hikaru Nakamura’s tournament victory was described as “the birth of a supernova” by Yury Vasiliev in two final reports from the Tata Steel 2011 Tournament. The Russian journalist was on the ground in Wijk aan Zee to provide photo reports and comments from players and observers throughout the event.

Shipov’s live commentary on Tata Steel Chess 2011, Rd 11
After Nakamura’s impressive win against Nepomniachtchi, he was quoted by the official site as saying: “People may say I’m an aggressive player but it was clear ‘Nepo’ was the one out for a kill today”. Sergey Shipov agreed, even mentioning a “grenade launcher”, an item perhaps rare in the annals of chess commentary.

Shipov’s live commentary on Tata Steel Chess 2011, Rd 10
Quick tip for anyone playing White against Ian Nepomniachtchi: when down on time in an equal position don’t even dream of refusing a draw by repetition! Wang Hao tried it, then Anish Giri (remember Gandalf?) and today Magnus Carlsen was the latest victim. Sergey Shipov described a wonderful game.

Shipov’s live commentary on Tata Steel Chess 2011, Rd 6
After the debacle on the black side of the Grunfeld in Round 4, Ian Nepomniachtchi bounced back today in style against Anish Giri. Sergey Shipov memorably described the opening phase, where Giri bravely refused to take a draw, with reference to Gandalf combatting a ferocious monster.

Shipov’s live commentary on Tata Steel Chess 2011, Rd 4
In a game that was over almost before it began, Ian Nepomniachtchi, the newly-crowned Russian Champion, suffered an opening disaster against Levon Aronian, and was instantly lost on move 10. He struggled on to move 26 – his erstwhile trainer Sergey Shipov could barely watch – but the outcome was never in doubt.

Sergey Shipov commentating live on Tata Steel Chess 2011
Grandmaster Sergey Shipov is providing live commentary at Crestbook on the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk-aan-Zee, and I’ll once again be taking on the foolhardy task of trying to translate his words almost immediately into English, here at Chess in Translation.

Nepomniachtchi back in the race
With his win on tie-breaks in the Russian Championship, Ian Nepomniachtchi, born in the same year as Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin and now 2732.8 on the live rating list, confirmed he’s back in contention for the highest honours in chess.
Shipov’s live commentary on Tata Steel Chess 2011, Rd 13
By mishanp on January 30, 2011
When Hikaru Nakamura took a draw against Wang Hao all eyes turned to Nepomniachtchi-Anand – could the World Champion find a win to snatch tournament victory? Despite the computer evaluations in his favour the answer turned out to be no, but Sergey Shipov’s live commentary captured the tension perfectly.
Posted in Live commentary, Russian | Tagged Anand, Crestbook, Nepomniachtchi, Shipov, Tata Steel 2011 | Leave a response