Tigran Petrosian Internet Chess Memorial – Round 1

Chess Academy of Armenia
Yerevan, Armenia
Contact: Aram Hajian
Tel: (3741) 52-02-46
Fax: (3741) 52-02-46
E-mail: aramhajian@arlex.am
Web: www.petrosian2004.com

Round 1 Report
by Aram Hajian

The first round of the Petrosian Internet Memorial was
a hard-fought success.  Each team enjoyed one victory,
endured one defeat, and came out of the day with two
out of four points.  Winners in the Armenia-Russia
match were GM Sargissian over GM Khalifman on board 3,
and GM Zvjaginsev over GM Minasian on board 4, each
converting for the full point with the white pieces.
On board 1, the event's top rated player GM Svidler
enjoyed a significant advantage with the black pieces
over GM Aronian, who pulled a rabbit out of his hat in
holding the position despite being down to one minute
for nearly twenty moves.  A draw was the fortunate
outcome.  Meanwhile on board 2, Lputian played a
strong novelty to equalize with black against GM
Dreev, and a draw was the just outcome.
In the China-France match, GM Ni ground down GM
Fressinet in a tortuous endgame with the black pieces
on board 2, while GM Nataf dispatched his board 4
opponent GM Wang with a strong king-side attack on the
white side of a Sicilian defense.  The struggles on
boards 1 and 3 saw GMs Bu and Lautier share the point,
and GMs Zhang and Bauer agree to the peace as well.
Round two sees France take on Armenia, and Russia
facing off against China.  Technically, the games went
well, without any disconnections, distractions, or
internet problems in any of the four locales.  Visit
www.petrosian2004.com for news, information,
interviews, and games from the event, which runs from
December 18-23.

Standings after 1 round:
1st place with 2 points: Armenia, China, France,
Russia