Mamedyarov withdraws from Aeroflot
Top seed Mamedyarov withdrew from the Aeroflot Chess tournament after accusing his opponent Igor Kurnosov of cheating. Mamedyarov was leading the tournament with +3 at the end of the fifth round and slid back while Kurnosov is in the lead after 6 rounds.
What rattled Mamedyarov is probably a combination of things. Imagine a 2602 player refusing an early draw from a 2724 giant! Kurnosov did exactly that. The arbiters though, did not agree. They felt that the moves could be found by a strong GM.
Some facts related to this story.
-- Some witnesses claim that Kurnosov never went to the bathroom. He was mostly in the smoking area.
-- Mamedyarov has slid down to number 21 in the live ratings. He used to be in the top 10 in the recent past
-- Kurnosov has been in top form in the last few months, winning Hastings in December comprehensively with 7.5/9
-- Mamedyarov had resigned in an apparently equal game against Magnus Carlsen at Corus 2008, which created a buzz at the time on different forums. Later, it was argued that accurate defense was possible only by a top engine.
Mamedyarov's letter to the Organizers:
To: The organizer of the AEROFLOT-OPEN tournament
Alexander Grigorievich Bakh
From: GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Explanation of my protest
Dear Alexander Grigorievich,
On 22.09.2009 the game between myself and Igor Kurnosov was played.
During the game my opponent went out of the playing hall after each move, took his coat and withdrew himself on the toilet. After suspicion of unfair play on move 14 I offered a draw, he refused. We quickly played 11 moves, on the 12th move I played a move which confused my opponent. The next moves from him were given as first choice by Rybka, which quickly allowed him to win the game.
Due to this series of suspicions, having to do with the unusual behaviour of my opponent, Igor Kurnosov, I hereby lodge a protest and refuse to continue participation in the tournament.
I hope that this kind of situation will not occur in the future.
Sincerely,
GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
A bit more about Igor Kurnosov from www.chessgames.com
Igor Kurnosov from Russia was born on May 30th, 1985 in the large industrial city of South Ural Chelyabinsk. His daddy taught him chess when he was only 4 years old. He started to study chess regularly at age 8 and when he was 9 he started tournament play. He achieved the International Master title when he was 15 years old, and became a Grand Master (GM) when he was 18.
Kurnosov has finished the South Ural State University education specializing in "Economy and management". Now he is taking a postgraduate course and participation in chess tournaments abroad and in Russia. At leisure he likes to communicate with friends, read books, play football and swim.
In 2003 he became the Champion of Russia under 18. In 2004 as a member of the Russian team he became World Champion among students. Among his many tournament victories are Groningen 2003, Bad Wiessee Open 2004, Politiken Cup 2005, Inautomarket 2006 in Minsk, 4 stages Cup of Russia 2006, New Delhi Open 2008 and Moscow Open 2008. He was a finalist at the Russian Cup 2006, and took a strong 7.5 out of 11 at the European Championship 2007.
Kurnosov has a sharp attacking style playing 1.e4 as white and using defences like the Sicilian, Marshall, the Kings Indian and the Grünfeld with black.
Here's a link to another cheating controversy a few years back, although I doubt the current one belongs to such a category.
What rattled Mamedyarov is probably a combination of things. Imagine a 2602 player refusing an early draw from a 2724 giant! Kurnosov did exactly that. The arbiters though, did not agree. They felt that the moves could be found by a strong GM.
Some facts related to this story.
-- Some witnesses claim that Kurnosov never went to the bathroom. He was mostly in the smoking area.
-- Mamedyarov has slid down to number 21 in the live ratings. He used to be in the top 10 in the recent past
-- Kurnosov has been in top form in the last few months, winning Hastings in December comprehensively with 7.5/9
-- Mamedyarov had resigned in an apparently equal game against Magnus Carlsen at Corus 2008, which created a buzz at the time on different forums. Later, it was argued that accurate defense was possible only by a top engine.
Mamedyarov's letter to the Organizers:
To: The organizer of the AEROFLOT-OPEN tournament
Alexander Grigorievich Bakh
From: GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Explanation of my protest
Dear Alexander Grigorievich,
On 22.09.2009 the game between myself and Igor Kurnosov was played.
During the game my opponent went out of the playing hall after each move, took his coat and withdrew himself on the toilet. After suspicion of unfair play on move 14 I offered a draw, he refused. We quickly played 11 moves, on the 12th move I played a move which confused my opponent. The next moves from him were given as first choice by Rybka, which quickly allowed him to win the game.
Due to this series of suspicions, having to do with the unusual behaviour of my opponent, Igor Kurnosov, I hereby lodge a protest and refuse to continue participation in the tournament.
I hope that this kind of situation will not occur in the future.
Sincerely,
GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
A bit more about Igor Kurnosov from www.chessgames.com
Igor Kurnosov from Russia was born on May 30th, 1985 in the large industrial city of South Ural Chelyabinsk. His daddy taught him chess when he was only 4 years old. He started to study chess regularly at age 8 and when he was 9 he started tournament play. He achieved the International Master title when he was 15 years old, and became a Grand Master (GM) when he was 18.
Kurnosov has finished the South Ural State University education specializing in "Economy and management". Now he is taking a postgraduate course and participation in chess tournaments abroad and in Russia. At leisure he likes to communicate with friends, read books, play football and swim.
In 2003 he became the Champion of Russia under 18. In 2004 as a member of the Russian team he became World Champion among students. Among his many tournament victories are Groningen 2003, Bad Wiessee Open 2004, Politiken Cup 2005, Inautomarket 2006 in Minsk, 4 stages Cup of Russia 2006, New Delhi Open 2008 and Moscow Open 2008. He was a finalist at the Russian Cup 2006, and took a strong 7.5 out of 11 at the European Championship 2007.
Kurnosov has a sharp attacking style playing 1.e4 as white and using defences like the Sicilian, Marshall, the Kings Indian and the Grünfeld with black.
Here's a link to another cheating controversy a few years back, although I doubt the current one belongs to such a category.
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