Montreal Empresa 2007

The 8th Montreal Empresa 2007 is scheduled for 19-28 July. Invited are: Vassily Ivanchuk 2729, Gata Kamsky 2705, Nigel Short 2691, Pavel Eljanov 2686, Sergei Tiviakov 2663, Emil Sutovsky 2658, Kamil Miton 2653, Pentala Harikrishna 2650 and Canadians Mark Bluvshtein 2520 and Pascal Charbonneau 2502.

Quebec Chess Federation

Games in PGN


Round 1, July 19th:
Mark Bluvshtein - Gata Kamsky draw
Kamil Miton - Nigel Short 1-0
Pentala Harikrishna - Emil Sutovsky 1-0
Sergei Tiviakov - Vassily Ivanchuk draw
Pavel Eljanov - Pascal Charbonneau 1-0

Before the start, Ivanchuk and Short refused to use MonRoi devices. The Quebec Chess Federation website is mentioning Ivanchuk "intervention", I hope someone can translate it from French.


Game of the day: Pentala Harikrishna - Emil Sutovsky
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8. Ne2 Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. O-O Na5 11. Bd3 b6 12. Rc1 e5 13. dxc5 Be6 14. c4 bxc5 15. Bxc5 Bh6 16. f4 Re8 17. f5 Qc7 18. Bf2 Bxc4 19. Bxc4 Nxc4 20. Nc3 Nb2 21. Nd5 Qxc1 22. Nf6+ Kg7 23. Nxe8+ Rxe8 24. f6+ Kg8 25. Qxc1 Bxc1 26. Rxc1 Nd3 27. Rc3 Nxf2 28. Kxf2 h5 29. Rc6 Re6 30. Rxe6 fxe6 31. g4 hxg4 32. Kg3 Kf7 33. Kxg4 Kxf6 34. Kh4 a5 35. a4 Ke7 36. Kg5 Kf7 37. Kh6 Kf6 38. h4 Kf7 39. Kh7 Kf6 40. Kg8 1-0

Gata Kamsky

Round 2, July 20:
Pavel Eljanov - Mark Bluvshtein draw
Gata Kamsky - Kamil Miton 1-0
Nigel Short - Pentala Harikrishna 0-1
Emil Sutovsky - Sergei Tiviakov 0-1
Pascal Charbonneau - Vassily Ivanchuk draw

Pentala Harikrishna is in the lead with 2 points, Nigel Short and Emil Sutovsky are on the crosstable bottom without points.


Game of the day: Gata Kamsky - Kamil Miton
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nf3 Bb4 7.Bd3 dxc4 8.Bxc4 O-O 9.O-O a6 10.a4 Nc6 11.Bg5 Be7 12.Re1 Bd7 13.Qe2 Nd5 14.Bxd5 Bxg5 15.Be4 Bf6 16.Rad1 Re8 17.Ne5 Qe7 18.Nxd7 Qxd7 19.d5 Nd4 20.Qg4 g6 21.Bb1 Nf5 22.dxe6 Rxe6 23.Ne4 Bd4 24.Ba2 Re7 25.Ng5 Qxa4 26.Qh3 h6 27.Bxf7 Rxf7 28.Nxf7 Kxf7 29.g4 Nd6 30.Qf3 Kg7 31.Qf4 Bxf2 32.Qxf2 Qxg4 33.Qg3 Qxg3 34.hxg3 Nf5 35.g4 Nh4 36.Re6 Kf7 37.Rb6 Nf3 38.Kg2 Ne5 39.Kg3 Rb8 40.Rd5 Nc6 41.Rd6 Ne7 42.Rd7 h5 43.g5 1-0


Round 3, July 22:
Pentala Harikrishna - Gata Kamsky draw
Sergei Tiviakov - Nigel Short 1-0
Vassily Ivanchuk - Emil Sutovsky 1-0
Mark Bluvshtein - Pascal Charbonneau 1-0
Pavel Eljanov - Kamil Miton draw

3rd consecutive defeat for Short and Sutovsky. Ivanchuk wins first game and Tiviakov joined Harikrishna in the lead.
It wasn't easy to pick the game of the day. We saw Bluvshtein's cold-blooded refutation of Mar del Plata attack in KID, Ivanchuk's crazy looking novelty 4. Bd2!? in Gruenfeld defence and Tiviakov's crushing attack against Short. We vote for the last.


Game of the day: Sergei Tiviakov - Nigel Short
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Qe2 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. c3 d5 9. d3 d4 10. Rd1 Bg4 11. h3 Bxf3 12. Qxf3 Rb8 13. Nd2 g6 14. Qe2 dxc3 15. bxc3 b4 16. Ba4 Na7 17. d4 exd4 18. Nf3 bxc3 19. Rxd4 Qc8 20. e5 Nh5 21. e6 Nb5 22. Rd7 Qe8 23. Bb3 f6 24. Bh6 Ng7 25. Rad1 Nf5 26. Bxf8 Qxf8 27. g4 Ng7 28. Qc2 f5 29. Ne5 fxg4 30. Rxe7 Qxe7 31. Nc6 Qg5 32. h4 1-0

GM Pavel Eljanov

Round 4, July 23:
Pavel Eljanov - Pentala Harikrishna 1-0
Mark Bluvshtein - Kamil Miton draw
Gata Kamsky - Sergei Tiviakov 1-0
Nigel Short - Vassily Ivanchuk 0-1
Pascal Charbonneau - Emil Sutovsky 0-1

Earlier leaders Harikrishna and Tiviakov have both lost and replaced on the top by Eljanov, Ivanchuk and Kamsky. Sutovsky wins first game, Short loses 4th consecutive.


Game of the day: Gata Kamsky - Sergei Tiviakov
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bf4 c5 4. e3 Be7 5. c3 b6 6. h3 Bb7 7. Nbd2 cxd4 8. exd4 d6 9. Bd3 Nbd7 10. O-O O-O 11. Re1 Re8 12. a4 a6 13. Bh2 Qc7 14. c4 a5 15. Nb1 Qd8 16. Nc3 d5 17. b3 Bb4 18. Rc1 Rc8 19. Re3 Nf8 20. Nb5 Ne4 21. Rc2 Re7 22. Qc1 Nd7 23. Na7 Ra8 24. cxd5 exd5 25. Nc6 Bxc6 26. Rxc6 Qf8 27. Re2 Rae8 28. Rec2 h6 29. Bf4 g5 30. Bc7 Nef6 31. Bf5 Qg7 32. Bd6 Bxd6 33. Rxd6 Nf8 34. Rc8 Rxc8 35. Qxc8 Ne8 36. Rxb6 h5 37. Qd8 Re2 38. Bd3 1-0

Sergei Tiviakov

Round 5, July 24:
Sergei Tiviakov - Pavel Eljanov 1-0
Pentala Harikrishna - Mark Bluvshtein 1-0
Vassily Ivanchuk - Gata Kamsky draw
Emil Sutovsky - Nigel Short draw
Kamil Miton - Pascal Charbonneau 1-0

Round 5 standings:
1-4. Sergei Tiviakov (NED 2648), Pentala Harikrishna (IND 2664), Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR 2762) and Gata Kamsky (USA 2718) 3.5; 5-6. Pavel Eljanov (UKR 2701) and Kamil Miton (POL 2648) 3.0; 7. Mark Bluvshtein (CAN 2520) 2.5; 8. Emil Sutovsky (ISR 2656) 1.5; 9-10. Pascal Charbonneau (CAN 2503) and Nigel Short (ENG 2683) 0.5

Tiviakov and Harikrishna win again to catch Ivanchuk and Kamsky in the lead. Eljanov deposed, Short scored first draw.


Game of the day: Kamil Miton - Pascal Charbonneau
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. O-O Rb8 7. Nc3 b5 8. Ne5 Nxe5 9. dxe5 Nd7 10. Bf4 Bb7 11. Bxb7 Rxb7 12. Qc2 Be7 13. Rfd1 c6 14. Ne4 Qc7 15. Rd2 Nxe5 16. Qc3 f6 17. Ng5 b4 18. Qe3 Qb6 19. Qe4 Ng4 20. Nh3 e5 21. Qf5 Nxf2 22. Nxf2 O-O 23. Bh6 gxh6 24. Kg2 c3 25. bxc3 bxc3 26. Rc2 Qe3 27. Rd1 Rd8 28. Rxd8+ Bxd8 29. Qc8 Qb6 30. Rxc3 Qc7 31. Qg4+ Kh8 32. Rd3 Be7 33. Qe6 c5 34. Ng4 Rb6 35. Qf7 Qc6+ 36. Kh3 h5 37. Qxh5 1-0


Round 6, July 25:
Pascal Charbonneau - Nigel Short 1-0
Kamil Miton - Pentala Harikrishna draw
Pavel Eljanov - Vassily Ivanchuk draw
Gata Kamsky - Emil Sutovsky draw
Mark Bluvshtein - Sergei Tiviakov 0-1

Round 6 standings:
1. Sergei Tiviakov (NED 2648) 4.5; 2-4. Gata Kamsky (USA 2718), Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR 2762) and Pentala Harikrishna (IND 2664) 4.0; 5-6. Pavel Eljanov (UKR 2701) and Kamil Miton (POL 2648) 3.5; 7. Mark Bluvshtein (CAN 2520) 2.5; 8. Emil Sutovsky (ISR 2656) 2.0; 9. Pascal Charbonneau (CAN 2503) 1.5; 10. Nigel Short (ENG 2683) 0.5

Tiviakov seceded as sole leader after beating Bluvshtein, while his competitors all drew. In the back part, Charbonneau won against Short.


Game of the day: Mark Bluvshtein - Sergei Tiviakov
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Bb4+ 5. Nd2 O-O 6. Nf3 dxc4 7. Qc2 c5 8. dxc5 Nc6 9. O-O Qe7 10. Nxc4 Bxc5 11. Bf4 Nb4 12. Qb3 a5 13. Be3 b5 14. Na3 Ba6 15. Bxc5 Qxc5 16. Rac1 Qb6 17. Nc2 Nbd5 18. Rfe1 b4 19. Ncd4 a4 20. Qc2 Rfb8 21. e4 b3 22. Qd2 Nb4 23. axb3 Nd3 24. Rc6 Qd8 25. Re3 Nb4 26. Rc1 Ng4 27. Rec3 Na2 28. bxa4 e5 29. Nb3 Rxb3 0-1


Round 7, July 26:
Vassily Ivanchuk - Mark Bluvshtein 1-0
Emil Sutovsky - Pavel Eljanov draw
Pentala Harikrishna - Pascal Charbonneau draw
Nigel Short - Gata Kamsky draw
Sergei Tiviakov - Kamil Miton 1-0

Round 7 standings:
1. Sergei Tiviakov (NED 2648) 5.5; 2. Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR 2762) 5.0; 3-4. Gata Kamsky (USA 2718) and Pentala Harikrishna (IND 2664) 4.5; 5. Pavel Eljanov (UKR 2701) 4.0; 6. Kamil Miton (POL 2648) 3.5; 7-8. Mark Bluvshtein (CAN 2520) and Emil Sutovsky (ISR 2656) 2.5; 9. Pascal Charbonneau (CAN 2503) 2.0; 10. Nigel Short (ENG 2683) 1.0


Game of the day: Sergei Tiviakov - Kamil Miton
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 d6 5. O-O Bd7 6. c3 Nf6 7. Re1 Be7 8. d4 O-O 9. d5 Nb8 10. Bc2 c6 11. Nxe5 dxe5 12. d6 Bg4 13. dxe7 Qxe7 14. Qd3 Nbd7 15. Nd2 Rfd8 16. Nf1 Be6 17. Ng3 Nf8 18. Qf3 Ne8 19. Be3 Qc7 20. Nf5 f6 21. h4 Nd6 22. b3 Kh8 23. c4 c5 24. Rad1 Bg8 25. h5 Ne6 26. h6 Nxf5 27. exf5 Nd4 28. Qe4 Rd6 29. Bb1 Ne2+ 30. Rxe2 Rxd1+ 31. Kh2 Rad8 32. Bc2 R1d7 33. Qh4 Qd6 34. Be4 b6 35. hxg7+ Rxg7 36. Bh6 Rgd7 37. Re3 b5 38. cxb5 axb5 39. Rg3 b4 40. Rg4 Rc7 41. f4 Re7 42. Rg3 Red7 43. Qg4 Qe7 44. fxe5 fxe5 45. Bc6 Qf6 46. Bg5 Qxc6 47. Bxd8 Qh6+ 48. Rh3 Qd6 49. Bg5 Rf7 50. Rh6 Qf8 51. Qh4 Kg7 52. Rg6+ 1-0

Vassily Ivanchuk

Round 8, July 27:
Pavel Eljanov - Nigel Short 0-1
Mark Bluvshtein - Emil Sutovsky 0-1
Kamil Miton - Vassily Ivanchuk 0-1
Pascal Charbonneau - Gata Kamsky draw
Pentala Harikrishna - Sergei Tiviakov 1-0

1. GM Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR 2762) 6.0; 2-3. GM Sergei Tiviakov (NED 2648) and GM Pentala Harikrishna (IND 2664) 5.5; 4. GM Gata Kamsky (USA 2718) 5.0; 5. GM Pavel Eljanov (UKR 2701) 4.0; 6-7. GM Kamil Miton (POL 2648) and GM Emil Sutovsky (ISR 2656) 3.5; 8-9. GM Mark Bluvshtein (CAN 2520) and GM Pascal Charbonneau (CAN 2503) 2.5; 10.GM Nigel Short (ENG 2683) 2.0

Harikrishna did a favor to Ivanchuk by beating the leading Tiviakov. Therefore, Ivanchuk is first heading into the last round, while Tiviakov and Harikrishna are tied second. Nigel Short scored his first win, but still sitting on the last place.


Game of the day: Kamil Miton - Vassily Ivanchuk
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3 Ba6 5. e3 Be7 6. Bd3 d5 7. cxd5 Bxd3 8. Qxd3 exd5 9. O-O O-O 10. Nbd2 Nbd7 11. b3 Bd6 12. Bb2 Qe7 13. Rfc1 Rfe8 14. Rc2 Ne4 15. Rac1 Qe6 16. Rc6 Nb8 17. R6c2 Nd7 18. Rc6 Qf5 19. Qf1 Rad8 20. Nxe4 dxe4 21. Nd2 Re6 22. a4 Nf6 23. Nb1 Nd5 24. Ba3 Ne7 25. R6c3 Bxh2+


26. Kxh2 Qh5+ 27. Kg1 Rh6 28. f3 Nf5 29. Nd2 Qh2+ 30. Kf2 Qh4+ 31. Kg1 Ng3 32. Qd1 exf3 33. Qxf3 Qh2+ 34. Kf2 Rf6 35. Qxf6 gxf6 36. e4 Nh1+ 37. Rxh1 Qxh1 38. Be7 Qh6 39. Rg3+ Kh8 40. Nf3 Re8 0-1


Round 9, July 28:
Nigel Short - Mark Bluvshtein 0-1
Gata Kamsky - Pavel Eljanov 0-1
Emil Sutovsky - Kamil Miton 1-0
Vassily Ivanchuk - Pentala Harikrishna 1-0
Sergei Tiviakov - Pascal Charbonneau draw

1. GM Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR 2762) 7.0; 2 GM Sergei Tiviakov (NED 2648) 6.0; 3. GM Pentala Harikrishna (IND 2664) 5.5; 4-5. GM Gata Kamsky (USA 2718) and GM Pavel Eljanov (UKR 2701) 5.0; 6. GM Emil Sutovsky (ISR 2656) 4.5; 7-8. GM Kamil Miton (POL 2648) and GM Mark Bluvshtein (CAN 2520) 3.5; 9. GM Pascal Charbonneau (CAN 2503) 3.0; 10. GM Nigel Short (ENG 2683) 2.0

Ivanchuk beat Harikrishna and finished clear first with full point ahead of Tiviakov who drew Pascal Charbonneau. Kamsky lost his first game to Eljanov, the two finished tied on 4-5th. Short saced queen for dancing knights but the point went to Bluvhstein. Wonderful tournament with many decided games.


Game of the day: Nigel Short - Mark Bluvshtein
1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 Ne7 4. d4 d5 5. Qe2 Ng6 6. h4 h5 7. Nc3 c6 8. exd5+ Be7 9. Qe4 O-O 10. Bc4 Bd6 11. Kf2 c5 12. Nb5 Re8 13. Qxe8+ Qxe8 14. Nxd6 Qd8 15. dxc5 Nd7 16. Re1 Qa5 17. Re8+ Ndf8 18. Ne4 Qa4 19. Rxf8+ Kxf8 20. b3 Qa5 21. Bd2 Qd8 22. Re1 Bg4 23. Nfg5 Ne5 24. Nd6 Nxc4 25. bxc4 Qd7 26. Ngxf7 Qa4 27. Bxf4 Qxa2 28. Ng5 Qxc2+ 29. Kg1 a5 30. Kh2 a4 31. Nxb7 a3 32. Bd6+ Kg8 33. Re7 Qf2 34. Bg3 Qf6 35. Rf7 a2 36. Rxf6 gxf6 37. Ne4 a1=Q 38. c6 Qf1 39. d6 Ra1 40. Bf2 Qh1+ 41. Kg3 Ra3+ 42. Kf4 Qc1+ 0-1