CHESS

OVER 200 players took part in the Gonzaga Charity Classic last weekend. James Carolan came first in the Challengers’ section, Eric Bennett, Luke Scott and Marius Antohi shared victory in the Championship group, while GM Matthew Turner won the Masters’ tournament.

Internationally, Magnus Carlsen won the Tata Steel tournament, while Anish Giri was second. Former world champion Vladimir Kramnik finished last — and immediately announced his retirement from competitive chess.

GM Vladislav Artemiev won the Gibraltar Masters, which is the strongest open tournament in the world. The following game was played in that event by a French GM, well-known to Irish chess fans:

Maze – Gutierrez Olivares 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 a6 3.Nge2 d6 4.g3 b5?! Black follows his plans of expansion on the queenside, but falls behind in development. 5.Bg2 Bb7 6.d4 cxd4 7.Nxd4 Nf6 8.0–0 e6 9.Re1 Qc7 Alas, it isn’t easy for Black to complete development as 9... Be7?? loses after 10.e5!. 10.a4? b4 (D)

This position is well-known in opening theory. White obtains a strong attack with a typical sacrifice: 11.Nd5! exd5 12.exd5+ Kd8 13.Bg5 Be7 Black should have opted for 13...Nbd7, even though after 14.Nc6+ Bxc6 15.dxc6 Nc5 16.Bxf6+ gxf6 17.Qh5 his position would be unenviable. 14.Nf5! Re8 15.Nxg7 Rg8 16.Qd4 Nbd7 17.Rxe7! Kxe7 18.Nf5+ Kf8 19.Bxf6 Rg6 20.Bg7+ Ke8 21.Re1+ Ne5 22.Nxd6+ 1–0