David Lariño and Ivan Cheparinov win at the start of Ruy Lopez
Photos and report from the opening ceremony by Chessdom.com
The Ruy Lopez 2009 chess tournament started with surprising results. Last year’s winner and favorite for the title this year, GM Michael Adams, was defeated by the Spanish talent David Lariño. In the battle of the youngsters, GM Fabiano Caruana lost to GM Ivan Cheparinov. In the other games Manuel Perez Candelarion and Julio Granada, and the women battle between Pia Cramling and Humpy Koneru, finished draw.
David Lariño chose the Exchange variation of the Ruy Lopez, an opening favorite to Bobby Fisher. The line is considered very pacific nowadays, but White managed to find a strong break in the center. The pieces of Adams were not developed, and the lack of activity let the young Spaniard walk away with the victory.
Cheparinov and Caruana had a very interesting theoretical battle after the Italian transposed the game to a Grunfeld. The control on the “c” file and a spectacular queen sacrifice gave Cheparinov strong attack and control of the 7th rank. The mating threats made Caruana return material and the victory was for Cheparinov.
Pia Cramling and Humpy Koneru played the most peaceful game of the day. Without excessive risks both headed to a draw. Manuel Perez Candelario and Julia Granada went for a positional fight. In a very complicated position both were looking for advantage. Most of the options were for Calendario, while Granada was waiting for a counter attack. In the end both had to split the point.
Pairings round 2:
Adams – Caruana
Koneru – Pérez Candelario
Granda – Cheparinov
Lariño – Pia Cramling
Official site: ruylopez.juntaextremadura.net
More pictures and info here.
What happened in round 2?