Kenny Solomon - Springbok chess champion, South Africa
BUDAPEST (FST, ROUND 8): THE STING OF DEFEAT
by MAXWELL SOLOMON
In round 8 IM Kenny Solomon’s (2383) unbeaten streak came to an end (and with it his lead of the tournament) when he lost to the highest rated player in the tournament, GM Reynaldo Vera Gonzalez-Quevedo (2513) of Cuba.
Playing black, Kenny flashed out the Kings-Indian Defence, which he very rarely plays. In the [...]
IM KENNY SOLOMON SEIZES THE LEAD WITH A BEAUTIFUL WIN (BUDAPEST, RND 7)
by MAXWELL SOLOMON
“A thing of beauty is a joy forever”
John Keats, Endymion,1818
In round 7 in the Grandmaster Section of the First Saturday Tournament in Budapest, Hungary, IM Kenny Solomon won an exquisitely beautiful game against the leader of the tournament GM Zlatko Ilincic (2455) of Serbia. With that win Kenny wrested the leadership [...]
BUDAPEST (RND 6): CLASH OF THE LEADING MASTERS
by MAXWELL SOLOMON
IM Kenny Solomon’s round 6 opponent was the highly rated IM Gyula Pap (2508) of Hungary. Going into their match-up, both Kenny and IM Pap went through the tournament without a single defeat. Thus it was with some anticipation to see with whom of the two the momentum would ensue. Clearly, judging [...]
IM KENNY SOLOMON SHARES THE LEAD IN BUDAPEST
by MAXWELL SOLOMON
After five rounds in the Grandmaster Section of the First Saturday Tournament in Budapest, Hungary, IM Kenny Solomon remains unbeaten. His rock-solid performances have secured him a share of the lead in Budapest.
In round 4 he played actively for a win but his opponent was equal to the task thus splitting the [...]
IM KENNY SOLOMON RESUMES HIS QUEST IN BUDAPEST, HUNGARY
by MAXWELL SOLOMON
After his excellent performance in the Grandmaster Section of the First Saturday Tournament in Budapest, Hungary, two months ago, IM Kenny Solomon has returned to Budapest to resume his quest to achieve the grandmaster title. In round 1 he displayed a mix of determination and style to secure the victory. In [...]
Budapest First Saturday
Budapest First Saturday
Round 6
It was a difficult game against Szalanczy. Playing black I went for the Sveshnikov Variation to which my opponent always plays the side-line: Be3. After gaining a clear advantage in the opening I squandered a large chunk of my advantage by playing b4 instead of the more accurate move order: [...]
Budapest First Saturday
Budapest First Saturday
Round7
I obtained a promising position out of the opening against Varga due to successful home preparation. My opponent played the most unexpected continuation, conceding the bishop pair. I failed to capitalize and allowed my opponent to equalize. Shortly thereafter a draw was agreed.
Round8
Playing black against Kovalev I decided to play sharply and [...]
Budapest First Saturday
Budapest First Saturday
Round 2
This game was played later which I won very easily.
My opponent wasn’t able to recover from his loss to Szalancy in the previous round.
Round 3
In this tense game I played black against Czebe which was a kind of reverse Philidor position. I was surprised by Czebe’s choice of opening but managed [...]
Budapest First Sat Rnd1
Budapest First Saturday Round 1
The 1st round I played black against Wittman and won very easily with the Philidor Defence. After surprising my opponent with a6 and b6, Wittman spent too much time devising a strategic set-up and eventually found himself in serious time-trouble. With his time ticking away, and with a promising position, my [...]
Dubai Open:Rounds 7, 8, 9
Dubai Open
Round7
Playing black against GM Arizmendi I played the wrong move order in the opening and immediately found myself in a difficult situation where black appears to lose a piece. Unfortunately I was unable to spot the move f6, (which my opponent pointed out after the game) saving the piece at the cost of a [...]