Hasselbacken 07-09: Adhiban joint first

Hasselbacken 07-09: Adhiban joint first

Photos by Lars OA Hedlund

You may have never been to Stockholm, but when you read that the capital of Sweden is an archipelago of fourteen islands connected by fifty-seven bridges, and when you see the pictures of the lovable city, you can only long to be present in this Scandivanian beauty. To be precise geographically, the main Stockholm city is not really an archipelago but a fashionable and trend-setting society. A part of it is inside a time capsule, with historic structures and razor-thin cobblestone streets, while the main city is surrounded by the vast archipelago.

The time control for the tournament — 40 moves/100 minutes, then 20 moves/50 min and then for the rest of the game, 10 minutes plus 30 seconds per move from move one. Added to this, Sofia rule is being used, not allowing draw offers before move 31.

The momentous celebration, as well as the beautiful location and conditions, have drawn in 305 players from 38 nations, including 34 grandmasters, 12 IMs, and 26 FMs.

150 years of the Stockholm Chess Society

The tournament commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Stockholm Chess Society, which is the oldest chess society in existence as well as the third oldest continuously running chess club in the world, running uninterrupted since 1866.

The club was first created on December 29, 1866, at Lagergren Café in the old opera house. The society's first chairman was the famous explorer, Professor Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld.

Nils Adolf Erik Nordenskiold (18 November 1832, Helsinki, Finland – 12 August 1901, Dalbyo, Sodermanland, Sweden) was a Finnish and Swedish baron, geologist, mineralogist and Arctic explorer. He was a member of the prominent Finland-Swedish Nordenskiold family of scientists. He is most remembered for the Vega expedition along the northern coast of Eurasia, which he led in 1878 and 1879. This was the first complete crossing of the Northeast Passage.

At the end of six rounds, three Indians — Sasikiran, Vidit, and Adhiban were in close pursuit of the leaders, while Sethuraman had just lost to Andreikin. It is very interesting to note that in the aftermath of the splendid Asian Nations Cup victory in Abu Dhabi a month back, the trio of Vidit, Adhiban and Sethu have played in Dubai and Stockholm at present. They are also scheduled to appear at the strong Zalakaros Open tournament at the end of May.

Coincidental or not, one would hope that a bit of bonding would only help India's cause at the upcoming Olympiad.

Black, of course, played the deflection tactic beginning with 26... Bxh4 27. Bxh4 Rxh4 28. Rxh4 Rxh4 29. Nxh4, because Nd2+ 30. Kc2 Nxf1, winning a pawn. After some moves, the following ending arose:

If you chose to play 43... g2, then White would slap you hard with 44. Nxg2 Kxg2 45. Kd5 Nf5 46. Ke6, and it is actually a draw! How about 43... Ng6 then? Well, hard luck because 44. Nxg6 g2 45. Nh4! g1=Q 46. Nf3+ is a sad fork.

Honestly, there must be a couple of ways to win here, and Black chose the beautiful 43...Kh1!, with the idea to play 44...Ng6, and now, the fork that was functional in the previous variation, will not work — neat.

Some general impressions from the tournament arena:

The creativity and diligence of the official tournament photographer Lars OA Hedlund deserves utmost praise. His work with the camera produced some delightful pictures which were the chief reason why this tournament was so well celebrated and covered by the press across the globe. Quality photographers are important for chess tournaments.

Final Standings:

View the complete standings here.

Links:

Official Website with all games in PGN in Games section.