Wijk aan Zee begins

Corus 2006 starts with a bang.

• Anand absolutely demolished Karjakin with black pices. Check out the 24th move from Anand (Nc7!!). I could have spend 10 years analyzing this game and I would not have seen this move. What a beauty! The move followed by the double sac from Anand left the young Karjakin with no hope. This was obviously home preparation by Anand, but still spectacular.
  
  
• Gata Kamsky is still quite rusty and he had the misfortune to draw Topalov with the black pieces. This game was pretty average and Gata was penalized severely from choosing an offbeat opening. Topalov would have won this in his sleep.
  
  
• Another player who deserves to be in the WC is Ivanchuk. One of my all time favorites, 'Chuky' defeated Aronian with the black pieces.
  
  
• Another Indian player in the fray is Koneru Humpy. She is playing in Group B and missed a win with the black pieces. Watch out for this incredible talent. Her ELO ratings have climbed quite a bit in the last year.
  

Unfortunately, I am leaving for London for a couple of weeks and would not be able to blog for a while. However, I will try and follow the games whenever I can.

New kid on the block

Parimarjan Negi of India finished 16th at the Hastings chess tournament and achieved a GM norm. The fact that Negi is 12 years old makes it spectacular! Negi had already became the youngest IM ever in 2005 and he looks poised to becoming the youngest GM. Watch out for this kid!