Ivanchuk wins World Blitz Championship, Anand second

What a game!!!!!!! Real Thanks giving party was held at Mascow. If you are enjoying the thanks giving party without seeing the World Blitz championship games... then you missed a great oppurtunity...... Anand and Ivanchuk fought like a worriers in the final of world blitz chamiponship match. But atlast its IVANCHUK, who lift the CUP.

The first half of the Blitz Final had seen Vassily Ivanchuk in the lead, with Vishy Anand trailing two points behind in fifth place. The reigning World Champion, who said he had had a "bad day", came to the second half with new spirits, winning his first four games (against Carlsen, Morozevich, Shirov and Leko – the last as a revenge for a first-round loss). By round 29 Anand had caught Ivanchuk, and one round before the end both were still leading the field, each with 24.5 points, a point and a half adhead of the others. Everything was to be decided on the final game, in which the world's highest ranked player had white, against the world's second highest player (how much more exciting can it get?). Here is what transpired:

Anand,V (2801) - Ivanchuk,V (2787) [B42]
World Blitz Moscow RUS (38), 22.11.2007
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Bc5 6.Nb3 Ba7 7.Qe2 Nc6 8.Be3 d6 9.N1d2 Nf6 10.f4 0-0 11.Bxa7 Rxa7 12.g4 b5 13.0-0-0 Rc7 14.Rhg1 Qe7 15.Kb1 Nd7 16.g5 Bb7 17.Rg3 Nb4 18.Rh3 g6 19.Qg4 Rfc8 20.Qh4 Nf8 21.a3 Nxd3 22.cxd3 h5 23.gxh6 Qxh4 24.Rxh4 Nh7 25.Nd4 Nf6 26.N2f3 Re8 27.Ng5 e5 28.fxe5 dxe5

Anand was at this point sensationally winning the world blitz championship. He was two pawns up and only needed to push the h-pawn to clinch it. Unfortunately he played: 29.Ndf3? Nh5 30.Rg1 Kh8 31.Nh3 Bc8 32.Nf2 Nf4 33.Nxe5 Ne2 34.Re1 Nd4

35.Neg4?? This is going to haunt Anand's dreams for a while.35...Nf3 36.Nf6 Rd8 37.Nd5 Rb7 0-1.

The Real game was went betwen Ivanchuk and Peter Leko, which lost 217 moves. Can you imagine 217 moves with in 8 min.(4 min Each)....The suprising point thing is the game went to draw!!!!!!!

Importnat Games

Carlsen,M vs. Anand,V

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Ne5 Bd6 7. f4 O-O 8.
Bd3 c5 9. O-O cxd4 10. exd4 dxc4 11. Bxc4 Nb6 12. Bb3 Bd7 13. Qf3 Rc8 14.
f5 exf5 15. Nxd7 Qxd7 16. Qxf5 Bb4 17. Qxd7 Nbxd7 18. Ne2 Nb6 19. Ng3 Nfd5
20. a3 Be7 21. Ne4 Rfd8 22. Bd2 Nc4 23. Rac1 Nxd2 24. Rxc8 Nxb3 25. Rxd8+
Bxd8 26. Rf5 Nc7 27. d5 Nd4 28. Rf1 Nxd5 29. Rd1 Bb6 30. Kh1 Ne3 31. Rc1 h6
32. Nd6 Ng4 33. g3 f5 34. Nxb7 g5 35. b4 Kf7 36. a4 Ne6 37. a5 Be3 38. Nd6+
Kf6 39. Rc6 f4 40. gxf4 gxf4 41. Nb5 Ke5 42. h3 Nf2+ 43. Kg2 Ne4 44. h4 Nd2
45. Rc1 f3+ 46. Kg3 Ne4+ 47. Kxf3 Bxc1 48. Nxa7 Nd4+ 49. Kg4 Nf6+ 50. Kh3
Bd2 51. a6 Bxb4 52. Nc8 Ne6 53. a7 Nc7 54. Nb6 Kf5 55. a8=Q Nxa8 56. Nxa8
Ba5 57. Kg3 h5 0-1

Kramnik,V vs. Gelfand,B

1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 c5 3. e3 Nc6 4. Nf3 Bg4 5. c3 e6 6. Qb3 Qc8 7. Nbd2 Nf6 8.
Ne5 Be7 9. Nxg4 Nxg4 10. Be2 Nf6 11. O-O O-O 12. dxc5 Bxc5 13. Bg5 Nd7 14.
Rac1 Qc7 15. Rfd1 Bd6 16. Nf3 Nde5 17. Nd4 Na5 18. Qc2 a6 19. e4 Ng6 20. g3
Be7 21. Bxe7 Nxe7 22. exd5 Nxd5 23. c4 Nb4 24. Qa4 Nac6 25. Nf3 Qa5 1-0

Shortest Game of the Tournament
Kasimdzhanov,R vs. Shirov,A

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. b3 f6 6. d3 e5 7. O-O 0-1


Bacrot,E vs. Ivanchuk,V

1. d4 c6 2. e4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Nbd7 6. Nf3 h6 7. Nxf6+
exf6 8. Bh4 c5 9. Bc4 cxd4 10. O-O Bc5 1-0


Morozevich,A vs. Rublevsky,S

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Bg4 3. Bg2 Nd7 4. d3 c6 5. h3 Bh5 6. g4 Bg6 7. Nh4 e6 8.
Nxg6 hxg6 9. e3 Bd6 10. Qe2 Ne7 11. Nd2 g5 12. Nf3 Ng6 13. Bd2 Nde5 14.
O-O-O Qf6 15. Bc3 Nxf3 16. Bxf6 1-0


Carlsen,M vs. Bacrot,E

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Be7 6. g3 d5 7. e5 Ng4 8.
Bg2 c6 9. f4 Nh6 10. O-O Qc7 11. f5 Qxe5 12. Bxh6 O-O 13. Bf4 Qf6 14. g4
Bc5 15. Nce2 Nd7 16. Kh1 h6 17. c3 Ne5 18. Ng3 Nc4 19. b3 Nb6 20. Nh5 Qh4
21. Bg3 Qg5 22. h4 Qd8 23. Qd2 Bd6 24. Bxd6 Qxd6 25. f6 Bxg4 26. fxg7 Bxh5
27. Nf5 1-0



Carlsen,M vs. Karpov,Ana

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Nd7 7. Bf4
Be7 8. Qd2 O-O 9. O-O-O Nc5 10. h4 Re8 11. Bc4 Be6 12. Bxe6 Nxe6 13. Be3 c6
14. c4 a6 15. Ng5 b5 16. Qd3 Nf8 17. Qf5 f6 18. Ne6 Qc8 19. Nd4 bxc4 20.
Qf3 d5 21. Nf5 Rb8 22. h5 Qb7 23. Bd4 Ne6 24. Qg4 Bf8 25. Bxf6 c5 26. Rhe1
d4 27. b3 Qd7 28. Bxg7 Bxg7 29. h6 Rb7 30. hxg7 Nxg7 31. Qxg7+ Qxg7 32.
Rxe8+ Qf8 33. Rxf8+ Kxf8 34. bxc4 Rf7 35. g4 h5 36. Rh1 1-0


Rublevsky,S vs. Anand,V

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. f3 Nc6 6. c4 e6 7. Nc3 Be7 8.
Be3 O-O 9. Be2 d5 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Nxc6 bxc6 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. Nxd5 cxd5
14. O-O Bf6 15. Bd4 Rb8 16. b3 Be6 17. Qd2 Bxd4+ 18. Qxd4 a5 19. Rfd1 Rb4
20. Qc5 Qb6 21. Qxb6 Rxb6 22. Rac1 Ra8 23. Rd4 Rb4 24. Rcd1 Kf8 25. Kf2
Rxd4 26. Rxd4 Ke7 27. Ra4 Bd7 28. Rd4 Kd6 29. Ke3 Kc5 30. a3 Re8+ 0-1


Adams,Mi vs. Kamsky,G

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. Qe2 Be7 6. O-O b5 7. Bb3 d6 8.
c3 Bg4 9. d3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. Nbd2 Nd7 12. h3 Bh5 13. Rd1 O-O 14. Nf1
Bxf3 15. Qxf3 Bg5 16. Ne3 g6 17. Bd2 Kh8 18. a4 b4 19. Re1 bxc3 20. Bxc3
Nc6 21. Bb3 Rb8 22. Bc4 a5 23. Qg3 Nd4 24. Rad1 Bf4 25. Qg4 h5 26. Qxf4
exf4 27. Nd5 f3 28. g3 Ne5 0-1


Kasimdzhanov,R vs. Rublevsky,S

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Bd3 Nf6 7. Qe2 Bd6
8. Ndb5 axb5 9. Nxb5 Qa5+ 10. Bd2 Bb4 11. Bxb4 Qxb4+ 12. c3 Qc5 13. e5 Nd5
14. Nd6+ Kf8 15. Qh5 g6 16. Qh6+ Kg8 17. h4 Nc6 18. h5 Nxe5 0-1

Carlsen,M vs. Shirov,A

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. c3 d6 8.
d3 O-O 9. Bg5 h6 10. Bh4 g5 11. Bg3 Bg4 12. Nbd2 Nh5 13. Re1 Nxg3 14. hxg3
Ne7 15. Nf1 Ng6 16. d4 Bb6 17. Ne3 Bxf3 18. gxf3 exd4 19. cxd4 Qf6 20. Ng4
Qg7 21. e5 Kh8 22. Kg2 dxe5 23. Rh1 Bxd4 24. Rxh6+ Kg8 25. Qd3 e4 26. Qxe4
1-0

The REAL BIG GAME OF THE TOURNAMENT
Ivanchuk,V vs. Leko,P

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Bg2 c6 8.
Bc3 d5 9. Ne5 Nfd7 10. Nxd7 Nxd7 11. Nd2 O-O 12. O-O Rc8 13. e4 c5 14. exd5
exd5 15. dxc5 dxc4 16. cxb6 Nxb6 17. Re1 cxb3 18. Qxb3 Nd7 19. Nf3 Bc4 20.
Qb2 Nc5 21. Bxg7 Nd3 22. Bxf8 Nxb2 23. Bxe7 Qb6 24. Ne5 Be6 25. Re2 Nc4 26.
Rae1 Nxe5 27. Rxe5 h6 28. R5e2 Qd4 29. h4 Rc4 30. Ba3 Qd3 31. Bb2 Rc2 32.
Bf1 Rxe2 33. Rxe2 Qb1 34. Bc3 Qc1 35. Bb4 Bc4 36. Re1 Qb2 37. Re8+ Kh7 38.
Bxc4 Qxb4 39. Bd3+ Kg7 40. Re4 Qb6 41. Bc2 Qc6 42. Rg4+ Kf8 43. Bb3 a5 44.
Rf4 f6 45. Rc4 Qb7 46. Kh2 Kg7 47. Rg4+ Kh7 48. Rd4 Qc7 49. Rf4 Qe5 50. Kg2
Kg7 51. Rg4+ Kf8 52. Rf4 Kg7 53. Kf3 Kf8 54. Re4 Qf5+ 55. Ke3 Qc5+ 56. Kf3
Qf5+ 57. Rf4 Qe5 58. Kg2 Kg7 59. Ra4 Qc5 60. Rg4+ Kf8 61. Rg6 Qf5 62. Rg8+
Ke7 63. Rg7+ Kf8 64. Rf7+ Ke8 65. Rc7 Qe4+ 66. Kh2 Qf5 67. Rc2 Kf8 68. Re2
Qf3 69. Rd2 Kg7 70. Bd5 Qc3 71. Re2 Qc5 72. Bb3 Qb4 73. Rc2 Qd4 74. Bc4 Qe4
75. Bb3 a4 76. Rc7+ Kf8 77. Rc4 Qe2 78. Rxa4 Qxf2+ 79. Kh3 h5 80. Rf4 Qg1
81. Bd5 Kg7 82. Bg2 Qc5 83. a4 Qa5 84. Rd4 Kg6 85. Rf4 Kg7 86. Bf1 Kg6 87.
Kh2 Qd2+ 88. Bg2 Kg7 89. Rf5 Kg6 90. Rd5 Qa2 91. a5 Kg7 92. Kh3 Kg6 93. Rc5
Kh6 94. Rb5 Qe6+ 95. Kh2 Qa2 96. Rd5 Kg6 97. Kh3 Kh6 98. Rc5 Qe6+ 99. Kh2
Qa2 100. Rc6 Qxa5 101. Rxf6+ Kg7 102. Rf4 Qe5 103. Bf3 Kg6 104. Kh3 Qe6+
105. Kg2 Qa2+ 106. Kg1 Qb1+ 107. Kh2 Qc2+ 108. Kh3 Qc8+ 109. Kh2 Qc2+ 110.
Bg2 Qd2 111. Kg1 Qe1+ 112. Kh2 Qd2 113. Rf3 Qb2 114. Kg1 Qc1+ 115. Bf1 Qa1
116. Kg2 Qb2+ 117. Rf2 Qb7+ 118. Kh2 Qd5 119. Bh3 Qd4 120. Rf4 Qb2+ 121.
Bg2 Qd2 122. Rc4 Qf2 123. Rc6+ Kg7 124. Ra6 Qd2 125. Rb6 Qe2 126. Rd6 Qf2
127. Rd5 Kg6 128. Rg5+ Kh6 129. Kh3 Qf6 130. Rd5 Qe6+ 131. Kh2 Qe2 132. Rd4
Kg6 133. Rf4 Qd2 134. Rf3 Qb2 135. Kg1 Qc1+ 136. Bf1 Qd2 137. Bd3+ Kg7 138.
Kf1 Qb2 139. Be2 Qd2 140. Rf5 Qe3 141. Rg5+ Kf6 142. Bxh5 Qc1+ 143. Kg2
Qd2+ 144. Kh3 Qd3 145. Rg6+ Ke7 146. Rg7+ Ke6 147. Rf7 Qd5 148. Bg6 Qh1+
149. Kg4 Qd1+ 150. Rf3 Qd4+ 151. Kh3 Qg7 152. Bh5 Qh6 153. Bg4+ Ke7 154.
Rf4 Qc6 155. Bf3 Qe6+ 156. Rg4 Kf6 157. Be4 Qd7 158. Bf3 Qf5 159. Kh2 Qc2+
160. Bg2 Qe2 161. Rf4+ Kg7 162. Rf3 Qe5 163. Kh3 Qe6+ 164. g4 Qd7 165. h5
Qe7 166. Rf5 Qe3+ 167. Bf3 Qe6 168. Kh4 Qe1+ 169. Kh3 Qf1+ 170. Bg2 Qd3+
171. Kh4 Qd2 172. Bd5 Qe1+ 173. Kh3 Qe3+ 174. Rf3 Qd4 175. Bc6 Qc5 176. Bb7
Qe5 177. Rf5 Qe3+ 178. Bf3 Kh6 179. Rf6+ Kg7 180. Rf5 Kh6 181. Kg2 Qd2+
182. Kg3 Qe1+ 183. Kh3 Qf1+ 184. Bg2 Qd3+ 185. Kh4 Qd4 186. Bd5 Kg7 187.
Rg5+ Kh6 188. Rg6+ Kh7 189. Bg8+ Kh8 190. Be6 Qf2+ 191. Kg5 Qe3+ 192. Kf6
Qd4+ 193. Kf7 Qa7+ 194. Ke8 Qb8+ 195. Ke7 Qc7+ 196. Bd7 Qe5+ 197. Re6 Qg5+
198. Kd6 Kh7 199. Re4 Qf6+ 200. Be6 Qg5 201. Bf5+ Kg7 202. Re7+ Kh8 203.
Re6 Qd2+ 204. Ke7 Qg5+ 205. Ke8 Qg8+ 206. Kd7 Qg5 207. h6 Qd2+ 208. Ke8 Qa5
209. Kf7 Qd5 210. Kf6 Qd4+ 211. Kg6 Qd8 212. Kh5 Qd7 213. g5 Qd1+ 214. Kg6
Qd7 215. Re4 Qf7+ 1/2-1/2


Anand,V vs. Gelfand,B

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. g3 dxc4 5. Bg2 a6 6. O-O Nc6 7. Nc3 Rb8 8.
e3 b5 9. Qe2 Be7 10. Rd1 Nd5 11. e4 Nxc3 12. bxc3 O-O 13. h4 Qe8 14. Bf4
Bd8 15. h5 f6 16. h6 e5 17. hxg7 Kxg7 18. Be3 Bg4 19. a4 Ne7 20. axb5 axb5
21. Ra6 Ng6 22. Qd2 Kh8 23. Rda1 exd4 24. Bxd4 Ne5 25. Qf4 Bxf3 26. Bxf3
Nxf3+ 27. Qxf3 c6 28. e5 Rc8 29. exf6 Rf7 30. Ra8 Qe6 31. R1a7 Rxa8 32.
Rxa8 Qd7 33. Qxc6 Kg8 34. Qxd7 Rxd7 35. Bb6 1-0

Final Standings (38 rounds)

Place	SNo.	Name	Fed.	FIDE	Total	S.B.	Wins
1	16	Ivanchuk, Vassily	UKR	2787	25.5	480	19
2	4	Anand, Viswanathan	IND	2801	24.5	437	18
3	3	Grischuk, Alexander	RUS	2715	23.5	430.5	14
4	7	Kamsky, Gata	USA	2714	23.5	429	16
5	8	Kramnik, Vladimir	RUS	2785	21.5	393.75	13
6	1	Leko, Peter	HUN	2755	21.5	392.5	13
7	9	Rublevsky, Sergei	RUS	2676	21.5	385.75	16
8	18	Morozevich, Alexander	RUS	2755	21	378.5	16
9	17	Carlsen, Magnus	NOR	2714	20.5	352	15
10	13	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar	AZE	2752	18.5	344.75	13
11	20	Adams, Michael	ENG	2729	18.5	337.25	13
12	11	Ponomariov, Ruslan	UKR	2705	18	339.5	15
13	5	Kasimdzhanov, Rustam	UZB	2690	17.5	319.75	11
14	2	Dreev, Alexey	RUS	2607	17	313.5	12
15	14	Gelfand, Boris	ISR	2736	17	310.75	10
16	6	Savchenko, Boris	RUS	2583	17	291.5	13
17	19	Shirov, Alexei	ESP	2739	16	298.75	11
18	12	Karpov, Anatoly	RUS	2670	14	252	8
19	10	Bacrot, Etienne	FRA	2695	12	235	9
20	15	Korotylev, Alexey	RUS	2600	11.5	205.25	7

Ivanchuk leads in World Blitz Championship, Grischuk second

The amazing Vassily Ivanchuk is doing it again: on the first day of the World Blitz in Moscow the Ukrainian veteran scored 13.5 points out of the 19 games, beating the likes of Kamsky, Kramnik, Karpov, Gelfand, Adams, Carlsen, Shirov and Grischuk. Half a point behind is Alexander Grischuk, who scored wins over Anand, Kasimdzhanov, Kramnik, Gelfand and Carlsen. Report with pictures and videos.

The final tournament is a double round robin with 20 participants playing each other with white and black pieces (the original number was 18, but the organisers decided to increase this to include the finalists of the 2006 World Blitz Championship in Israel, Alexander Grischuk Peter Svidler). The finals will be held on November 21 and 22, the venue is the GUM department store, Red Square 2.

The rate of play is 4 minutes per game for each player, plus 2 seconds per move starting from move one. The prizes are US $25,000 for the winner, $15,000 for the runner up, $10,000 for third place and further prizes ranging from $7,250 for fourth to $2,500 each for 11th-14th places and $1,500 each for 15th-18th places. If there are ties in the final standing order, then all respective prizes, excepting the first one, are equally shared between the players who tied. The players who are the first, second and third in the final standing order will be awarded, respectively, with gold, silver and bronze medals.

First day

The first half of the World Blitz Championship ended in a triumph for Vassily Ivanchuk, who scored 13.5 points out of the 19 games played. Ivanchuk beat amongst others Kamsky, Kramnik, Karpov, Gelfand, Adams, Carlsen, Shirov and Grischuk. In second place we find Alexander Grischuk, who scored wins over Anand, Kasimdzhanov, Kramnik, Gelfand and Carlsen.

Vishy Anand vs Alexander Morozevich in round two (Anand won)

Vassily Ivanchuk vs Vladimir Kramnik in round four (Ivanchuk won)

Games

Anand,V vs. Carlsen,M



1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 dxe5 5. Nxe5 c6 6. Be2 Bf5 7. g4 Be6 8.
c4 Nc7 9. Rg1 Nd7 10. Nf3 g6 11. Nc3 Bg7 12. Be3 O-O 13. Qd2 b5 14. cxb5
cxb5 15. Nxb5 Nxb5 16. Bxb5 Bd5 17. Be2 Rc8 18. b3 Nf6 19. Ne5 Ne4 20. Qb2
e6 21. g5 Qd6 22. h4 Nc3 23. Rg3 Nxe2 24. Kxe2 Rc7 25. Rc1 Qa6+ 26. Ke1
Rfc8 27. Rxc7 Rxc7 28. Bf4 Bf8 29. Ng4 Bb4+ 30. Bd2 Bd6 31. Rc3 Bg2 32. Ne3
Bf3 33. Nc4 Bd5 34. Nxd6 Qxd6 35. Rxc7 Qxc7 36. Qa3 Qh2 37. Be3 Qh1+ 38.
Kd2 Qb1 39. Qxa7 Qb2+ 40. Kd3 Qb1+ 41. Kc3 Qe1+ 42. Kb2 Qe2+ 43. Ka3 Kg7
44. Bf4 Qb5 45. Be5+ Kf8 46. Qc5+ 1-0

Kramnik,V vs. Mamedyarov,S


1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. e4 d6 4. Nc3 e5 5. Nge2 exd4 6. Nxd4 Nc6 7. Be3 Nge7
8. Qd2 f5 9. exf5 Nxf5 10. Nxf5 Bxf5 11. Be2 O-O 12. O-O Qh4 13. Nd5 Rf7
14. g3 Qd8 15. Rad1 Qf8 16. f4 Re8 17. Bf3 Be4 18. Bxe4 Rxe4 19. b3 Qe8 20.
Rfe1 g5 21. Bf2 gxf4 22. Nxc7 Qe5 23. Rxe4 Qxe4 24. Re1 Qf5 25. Re8+ Bf8
26. Ne6 Ne5 27. Nd4 Qb1+ 28. Qe1 Qg6 29. Rxe5 dxe5 30. Qxe5 fxg3 31. hxg3
h5 32. Kg2 Bg7 33. Qd5 Kh7 34. Nf3 Rf5 35. Qe4 Qg4 36. Qd3 Qg6 37. Kg1 Ra5
38. Qe2 Qg4 39. a4 Rf5 40. Kg2 h4 41. Be1 h3+ 42. Kf2 h2 43. Kg2 Qxf3+ 44.
Qxf3 Rxf3 0-1

Leko,P vs. Adams,Mi


1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8.
a4 b4 9. d3 d6 10. Nbd2 Na5 11. Ba2 c5 12. h3 Rb8 13. Nc4 Be6 14. Nxa5 Qxa5
15. Bxe6 fxe6 16. Ng5 h6 17. Nxe6 Rf7 18. f4 exf4 19. Bxf4 Re8 20. Bg3 Qb6
21. Kh2 Qc6 22. Rf1 Qd7 23. Nf4 Bf8 24. Qd2 d5 25. exd5 Nxd5 26. Ng6 Bd6
27. Rxf7 Bxg3+ 28. Kxg3 Qxf7 29. Nh4 Re3+ 0-1


Bacrot,E vs. Ponomariov,R

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. e3 a6 5. b3 c5 6. Be2 Nc6 7. O-O cxd4 8.
exd4 dxc4 9. bxc4 Be7 10. Bb2 O-O 11. Nc3 Qa5 12. Qb3 Rd8 13. Rfd1 Qb4 14.
Qc2 Bd7 15. a3 Qb6 16. Rab1 Rac8 17. d5 Na5 18. Ne5 exd5 19. Nxd5 Nxd5 20.
Rxd5 Be6 21. Bc3 Qa7 22. Rxa5 b6 23. Ra4 Bc5 24. Bf3 Rd6 25. h3 a5 26. Be4
h6 27. Nd3 Qc7 28. Rb5 Bd7 29. Rxc5 bxc5 30. Rxa5 Qb6 31. Qb2 Qxb2 32. Nxb2
Be6 33. Rb5 Re8 34. Bf3 Bd7 35. Rxc5 Ra6 36. a4 Bxa4 37. Nxa4 Rxa4 38. Bc6
Rc8 39. Bxa4 Rxc5 40. Bb5 1-0


Morozevich,A vs. Anand,V


1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 O-O 5. Bg2 c6 6. d4 d5 7. Qb3 dxc4 8.
Qxc4 Bf5 9. O-O Nbd7 10. e3 Ne4 11. Rd1 Rc8 12. Qe2 Nxc3 13. bxc3 Be4 14.
Bh3 c5 15. Bb2 e6 16. Nd2 Bc6 17. Nb3 Re8 18. Ba3 cxd4 19. cxd4 Nb6 20.
Rac1 Qd5 21. Rxc6 Qxc6 22. Bg2 Qc2 23. Rd2 Qb1+ 24. Rd1 Rc2 25. Rxb1 Rxe2
26. Bxb7 Rxa2 27. Bc5 Rb8 28. Nc1 Ra5 29. Nb3 Ra2 30. Nc1 Ra4 31. Bc6 Rc4
32. Nd3 Rc3 33. Nf4 Nd7 34. Rxb8+ Nxb8 35. Bb5 a5 36. Bd6 Rb3 37. Ba4 Rb1+
38. Kg2 Bf8 39. Bc7 Na6 40. Bd8 Ra1 41. Bb5 Nb4 42. e4 a4 43. d5 exd5 44.
exd5 a3 45. Bf6 Rd1 46. Be2 Rb1 0-1

Karpov,Ana vs. Bacrot,E


1. d4 d6 2. c4 e5 3. Nc3 Nd7 4. Nf3 Ngf6 5. e4 Be7 6. Be2 O-O 7. O-O c6 8.
Re1 exd4 9. Nxd4 Nc5 10. Bf1 Re8 11. f3 a5 12. Be3 a4 13. b4 axb3 14. axb3
Bf8 15. b4 Ncd7 16. b5 Rxa1 17. Qxa1 Qc7 18. Qa7 Qd8 19. Rd1 Re6 20. Nf5
Re8 21. Bb6 Ne5 1-0

Kamsky,G vs. Ivanchuk,V

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Bf4 c5 4. e3 Nc6 5. c3 Qb6 6. Qb3 c4 7. Qc2 Bf5 8.
Qc1 e6 9. h3 h6 10. Nbd2 Qd8 11. Be2 b5 12. a3 Be7 13. O-O O-O 14. Re1 Qd7
15. Bd1 Rfe8 16. Bc2 Rad8 17. e4 dxe4 18. Nxe4 Nxe4 19. Bxe4 Bxe4 20. Rxe4
Qd5 21. Qe3 Qf5 22. Re1 Rd5 23. g4 Qg6 24. Kh2 Bf8 25. Rg1 a6 26. Nh4 Qh7
27. Bg3 h5 28. Kg2 Be7 29. Nf3 Qg6 30. Kf1 Bd8 31. Ne5 Nxe5 32. Bxe5 f6 33.
Bh2 Qf7 34. Kg2 hxg4 35. hxg4 f5 36. gxf5 Rxf5 37. Bg3 Qd7 38. Re1 Qd5 39.
Kg1 Kf7 40. Qe2 Bf6 41. Qg4 Rh8 42. Kf1 Rh1+ 43. Ke2 Rfh5 44. Kd2 Rxe1 45.
Rxe1 Rg5 46. Qf4 Rf5 47. Qc7+ Kg6 48. Qc8 Bg5+ 49. Kc2 Rxf2+ 50. Kb1 Rf6
51. Qe8+ Kh7 52. Be5 Rh6 53. Qf7 Bf6 54. Bxf6 Rxf6 55. Rh1+ Qxh1+ 0-1


Ivanchuk,V vs. Kramnik,V

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. O-O Be7
8. Nbd2 Nxd2 9. Bxd2 Bg4 10. c3 O-O 11. Bf4 Bd6 12. Bxd6 Qxd6 13. Re1 g6
14. h3 Rae8 15. Bc2 Nb8 16. Re3 Rxe3 17. fxe3 c6 18. e4 dxe4 1-0


Grischuk,A vs. Anand,V


1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. Nc3 Ne4 7. Bd2 f5 8.
d5 Bf6 9. Qc2 Qe7 10. Nxe4 fxe4 11. Qxe4 Bxb2 12. Rd1 Na6 13. O-O exd5 14.
Qxe7+ Kxe7 15. cxd5 Nc5 16. Bf4 d6 17. Nd4 Ba6 18. Bf3 Rhe8 19. Be3 Kf7 20.
Rd2 Bc3 21. Rc2 Bxd4 22. Bxd4 Re7 23. Rd1 Rae8 24. e3 Bd3 25. Rc3 Bg6 26.
Be2 Kg8 27. f3 Rf8 28. e4 Bh5 29. g4 Be8 30. h4 a5 31. h5 Bd7 32. Kg2 Rfe8
33. Bf1 Rf8 34. Rdc1 Ref7 35. Re3 Re7 36. Be2 Rfe8 37. Kg3 h6 38. Rcc3 Kf8
39. Bf1 Kg8 40. Bg2 Kf8 41. Rc1 Kg8 42. Rce1 c6 43. dxc6 Bxc6 44. Rb1 Rb7
45. Rc3 Bd7 46. Bxc5 dxc5 47. Rxc5 a4 48. a3 bxc5 49. Rxb7 Be6 50. Rc7 Rb8
51. Rxc5 Rb3 52. Rc6 Kf7 53. Bf1 Rxa3 54. Bc4 Bxc4 55. Rxc4 Ra1 56. Kf4 a3
57. Ra4 a2 58. e5 Ke6 59. Ra6+ Kf7 60. Kf5 Rf1 61. Ra7+ Kf8 62. Rxa2 Rxf3+
63. Ke6 Kg8 64. Ra4 Rb3 65. Rd4 Rb6+ 66. Ke7 Rb7+ 67. Ke6 Rb6+ 68. Kf5 Kf7
69. Rd7+ Kf8 70. Rc7 Ra6 71. Rd7 Rb6 72. Rd6 Rb4 73. Ra6 Kf7 74. e6+ Kf8
75. Ra8+ Ke7 76. Ra7+ Kf8 77. Rf7+ Kg8 78. Rd7 Kf8 79. Rd5 Ke7 80. g5 Rb7
81. gxh6 gxh6 82. Rc5 Ra7 83. Rb5 Rc7 84. Rd5 Ra7 85. Rb5 Rc7 86. Ra5 Rb7
87. Ra6 Rb5+ 88. Kg6 Rg5+ 89. Kxh6 Rg1 90. Kh7 Kf6 91. h6 Rg2 92. Kh8 Rg1
93. h7 Rg2 94. Rb6 Rg1 95. Rb8 Kxe6 96. Rg8 Rh1 97. Kg7 Rg1+ 98. Kf8 Rf1+
99. Ke8 Ra1 100. Rg6+ Kf5 101. Rf6+ Kg5 102. Rf8 1-0


Morozevich,A vs. Kramnik,V


1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c6 3. Bg2 Bg4 4. d3 Nd7 5. Nbd2 Ngf6 6. h3 Bh5 7. g4 Bg6 8.
Nh4 e6 9. e3 Bd6 10. Qe2 Qc7 11. O-O O-O-O 12. f4 h6 13. Nxg6 fxg6 14. Nf3
e5 15. Nh4 exf4 16. exf4 Rhe8 17. Qf2 Bc5 18. d4 Bb6 19. b4 Ne4 20. Bxe4
Rxe4 21. c3 Rde8 22. Nxg6 c5 23. bxc5 Nxc5 24. Qf3 Na4 25. Bd2 Nxc3 26.
Bxc3 Re3 27. Qxd5 Rxc3 28. Rae1 Rd8 29. Qf5+ Kb8 30. Kh2 Bxd4 31. Re2 a6
32. Rfe1 Ka7 33. Qe4 Bb6 34. Ne5 Rd4 35. Qf5 g5 36. fxg5 Rdd3 37. Kg2 Rg3+
38. Kf1 Rg1+ 0-1

Bacrot,E vs. Carlsen,M

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 b5 6. cxb5 Bxb5 7. Bg2 d5 8.
O-O Nbd7 9. Nc3 Ba6 10. a3 Bd6 11. b4 O-O 12. Re1 Bb7 13. Na4 a5 14. Nc5
Bc6 15. Rb1 axb4 16. axb4 Bb5 17. Bf4 Bxf4 18. gxf4 Ra2 19. Ne5 Nxe5 20.
dxe5 Nd7 21. Nb3 Qh4 22. Nc1 Ra3 23. Qd2 g5 24. fxg5 Nxe5 25. Rb3 Rfa8 26.
Qe3 Rxb3 27. Nxb3 Qxb4 28. Rc1 Nc4 29. Qg3 Ra3 30. Rc3 Ba4 31. Qxc7 Rxb3
32. Qd8+ Qf8 0-1


Karpov,Ana vs. Carlsen,M

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. d4 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 b5 6. cxb5 Bxb5 7. Bg2 d5 8.
Nc3 Ba6 9. O-O Nbd7 10. Ne5 Bd6 11. Bf4 O-O 12. Rc1 Bxe5 13. dxe5 Ng4 14.
Nxd5 exd5 15. Qxd5 Nb6 16. Qa5 Bxe2 17. Rfe1 Bd3 18. Red1 Qd4 19. Rd2 Rad8
20. h3 Nxf2 21. Rxf2 Be4 22. Qxa7 Bxg2 23. Kxg2 Qe4+ 24. Kh2 Nd5 25. Rc4
Qb1 26. Rd4 h5 27. Bg5 Rd7 28. Qc5 Qe1 29. Rg2 Qxe5 30. Bf4 Qe6 31. Rgd2
Nxf4 32. gxf4 Rxd4 33. Qxd4 Re8 34. b4 Qf5 35. Rf2 h4 36. a4 Re4 37. Qd8+
Kh7 38. Qxh4+ Kg8 39. Qg5 Qd7 40. a5 Rxb4 41. Rg2 Qd4 42. a6 Ra4 43. Qg4
Qf6 44. Qg5 Rxa6 45. Qxf6 Rxf6 46. Rc2 c6 47. Kg3 Kf8 48. Kf3 Ke7 49. Ke4
g6 50. h4 Kd6 51. Ra2 Rf5 52. Ra7 c5 53. Ra8 Rh5 54. Ra6+ Ke7 55. Ra7+ Kf6
56. Ra6+ Kg7 57. Rc6 Rf5 58. Rc8 Rh5 59. Rc6 Kf8 60. Rc7 Ke8 61. Kf3 Rf5
62. Ke4 Kd8 63. Ra7 Ke8 64. Rc7 Kf8 65. Ra7 Rh5 66. Rc7 f6 67. Kf3 Ke8 68.
Rg7 Kf8 69. Rxg6 Kf7 70. Rg1 Rxh4 71. Ra1 Ke6 72. Ra5 Kd5 73. Ra6 Rh6 74.
Ra8 Kd4 75. Rd8+ Kc3 76. Ke4 c4 77. Rc8 Rh5 78. Rc6 Rh6 79. Kf5 Kd3 80.
Rd6+ Kc2 81. Rc6 c3 82. Rc8 Kd2 83. Rd8+ Kc1 84. Rc8 c2 85. Rc7 Rh4 86. Rc8
Kd2 87. Rd8+ Ke3 88. Re8+ Kf3 89. Rc8 Rxf4+ 90. Kg6 Rg4+ 91. Kxf6 Rg2 92.
Ke5 Rd2 0-1


Anand,V vs. Kamsky,G

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 Bc5 6. Nb3 Ba7 7. Nc3 Nc6
8. Qe2 Nge7 9. Be3 b5 10. Bxa7 Rxa7 11. a4 b4 12. Nd1 d5 13. O-O dxe4 14.
Bxe4 Nd4 15. Qc4 Nxb3 16. cxb3 a5 17. Qb5+ Bd7 18. Qc5 Qc7 19. Rc1 Qxc5 20.
Rxc5 Nc8 21. Ne3 Nd6 22. Bf3 Ke7 23. Re1 Rc8 24. Rh5 h6 25. Nd5+ Kd8 26.
Ne3 f6 27. Rh4 Rac7 28. Rd4 Rc1 29. Kf1 Rxe1+ 30. Kxe1 Ke7 31. Kd2 g5 32.
h4 f5 33. hxg5 hxg5 34. g3 Rc5 35. Bg2 g4 36. Bh1 Be8 37. Bg2 Bf7 38. Nc4
Nxc4+ 39. Rxc4 Kd6 40. Rxc5 Kxc5 41. Bb7 Kd4 42. Bc8 Bg8 43. Bd7 Ke4 44.
Bc6+ Ke5 45. Bd7 Kd6 46. Bc8 Kd5 47. Ke3 Ke5 48. Ba6 Bf7 49. Bb5 Bg6 50.
Bc4 Be8 51. Bb5 Bf7 52. Bc4 Kd6 53. Kf4 Be8 54. Ke3 Bc6 55. Kd4 e5+ 56. Ke3
Be4 57. Bf7 Bd5 58. Bg6 Ke6 59. Bh7 Kf6 0-1


Grischuk,A VS Kramnik,V

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bh4 O-O 7. e3 b6 8.
Be2 Bb7 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. cxd5 exd5 11. b4 c6 12. O-O Re8 13. Qb3 Qd6 14. a4
Nd7 15. a5 b5 16. Ne1 Bd8 17. Nd3 Bc7 18. g3 Bc8 19. Rac1 a6 20. Bf3 Qg6
21. Nxd5 Bxg3 22. fxg3 cxd5 23. Bxd5 Nf6 24. Nf4 1-0


Kramnik,V vs. Anand,V

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. d4 Nc6 6. Bf4 a6 7. Rc1 Bf5
8. e3 Rc8 9. Be2 e6 10. O-O Be7 11. Qb3 Na5 12. Qa4+ Nc6 13. Bxa6 Ra8 14.
Bxb7 Rxa4 15. Bxc6+ Kf8 16. Nxa4 Ne4 17. Bb7 Nd6 18. Bxd6 Qxd6 19. Rc6 Qd7
20. Rc8+ Bd8 21. Ne5 1-0


Ivanchuk,V vs. Carlsen,M

1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. c4 Nb6 5. exd6 exd6 6. Nc3 Be7 7. Bd3 Nc6
8. Nge2 Bf6 9. Be3 O-O 10. b3 Re8 11. O-O Bg4 12. Qd2 d5 13. c5 Bxe2 14.
Bxe2 Nc8 15. Rfe1 N8e7 16. Bg4 g6 17. Re2 Bg7 18. Rae1 Nf5 19. Bxf5 gxf5
20. Bh6 Rxe2 21. Nxe2 Qf6 22. Bxg7 Qxg7 23. Rd1 Re8 24. f3 Ne7 25. Ng3 Qf6
26. Re1 Kf8 27. Re5 c6 28. Nh5 Qg6 29. Nf4 Qf6 30. Qe3 h6 31. g3 Rc8 32.
Kf2 b6 33. h4 Rd8 34. Nh5 Qg6 35. Rxe7 Qxh5 36. Rxa7 Re8 37. Qxe8+ Kxe8 38.
cxb6 f4 39. b7 fxg3+ 40. Kg2 1-0



Karpov,Ana vs. Anand,V

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. h3 O-O 6. Be3 e5 7. d5 Qe8 8. g4
a5 9. Nge2 Na6 10. Ng3 c6 11. g5 Nd7 12. dxc6 bxc6 13. Qxd6 f5 14. gxf6
Rxf6 15. Qd2 Nf8 16. Na4 Ne6 17. Nb6 Rb8 18. Qxa5 Nd4 19. O-O-O c5 20. Nd5
Rf7 21. Ne2 Nb4 22. Nec3 Nbc6 23. Qa3 Ra7 24. Qxc5 Rxa2 25. Bxd4 Nxd4 26.
Rxd4 Ra1+ 27. Nb1 exd4 28. Bd3 Be6 29. f4 Kh8 30. e5 Rd8 0-1


Ivanchuk,V vs. Shirov,A

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bf4 Bg7 4. e3 d6 5. h3 c5 6. c3 Qb6 7. Qc1 cxd4 8.
exd4 Nd5 9. Bh2 Bh6 10. Qxh6 Qxb2 11. Bc4 Qxa1 12. O-O Be6 13. Qd2 b5 14.
Bxb5+ Nd7 15. c4 Rb8 16. cxd5 Rxb5 17. Nc3 1-0


Gelfand,B vs. Anand,V

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 a6 5. Nc3 b5 6. c5 Bg4 7. h3 Bxf3 8.
gxf3 Nbd7 9. f4 g6 10. Bd3 e6 11. Bd2 Be7 12. b4 O-O 13. a4 Nh5 14. Qe2 a5
15. axb5 axb4 16. Na4 Bxc5 17. dxc5 Nxc5 18. Bxb4 Nxa4 19. Bxf8 Qxf8 20.
bxc6 Nc3 21. Qb2 Rxa1+ 22. Qxa1 Qc5 23. Qa8+ Kg7 24. O-O d4 25. Qb7 dxe3
26. c7 exf2+ 27. Kh1 Qe3 28. Qg2 Qxd3 29. Rxf2 Qc4 30. Qb7 Nd1 31. c8=Q
Nxf2+ 32. Kg2 Qd4 33. Qcc7 Nxf4+ 34. Kf1 N2xh3 35. Qxf7+ Kh6 36. Qxh7+ Kg5
37. Qbe7+ Kf5 38. Qef7+ Ke5 0-1



Grischuk,A vs. Ivanchuk,V

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 c5 3. c4 dxc4 4. d5 e6 5. Nc3 exd5 6. Qxd5 Qxd5 7. Nxd5 Bd6
8. Nd2 Nc6 9. Nxc4 Bb8 10. Be3 Be6 11. O-O-O Nge7 12. Nxe7 Nxe7 13. b3 b6
14. g3 Bc7 15. Bg2 Rc8 16. Bf4 Nf5 17. e3 Ke7 18. g4 Bxf4 19. gxf5 Bxc4 20.
exf4 Bb5 21. Rhe1+ Kf8 22. a4 Be8 23. Bb7 Rb8 24. Ba6 h5 25. Rd6 h4 26. Re5
h3 27. Kd2 Rh4 28. Ke3 Rg4 29. Bf1 Rg1 30. Bxh3 f6 31. Red5 Rb1 32. Rd3 Bf7
33. Rd7 a5 34. Bg2 Bxb3 35. Bd5 Bxd5 36. R3xd5 Rb3+ 37. Kd2 Rf3 38. Rc7
Rxf4 39. Rdd7 Rg4 40. h3 Rg1 41. Ke3 Re8+ 42. Kf3 Kg8 43. Rb7 Re5 44. Rxb6
Rxf5+ 45. Ke2 Rg2 46. Rb5 Rgxf2+ 47. Ke3 c4 48. Rdd5 R2f3+ 49. Ke2 Rxd5 50.
Rxd5 Rxh3 51. Rxa5 Ra3 52. Kd2 g5 53. Ra7 g4 54. a5 g3 55. Ke2 f5 56. Rc7
f4 57. Rxc4 f3+ 58. Kd2 g2 59. Rg4+ Kh7 60. a6 Rxa6 61. Ke3 Ra1 62. Kf2
Rf1+ 63. Ke3 g1=Q+ 0-1


Standings after after 19 of 38 rounds

1.	Ivanchuk, Vassily	UKR	2787	13.5	2864
2.	Grischuk, Alexander	RUS	2715	13.0	2843
3.	Kamsky, Gata	USA	2714	12.5	2827
4.	Lékó, Peter	HUN	2755	12.0	2803
5.	Anand, Viswanathan	IND	2801	11.5	2785
6.	Kramnik, Vladimir	RUS	2785	10.5	2742
7.	Morozevich, Alexander	RUS	2755	10.5	2744
8.	Rublevsky, Sergei	RUS	2676	10.5	2748
9.	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar	AZE	2752	10.0	2729
10.	Carlsen, Magnus	NOR	2714	9.5	2710
11.	Adams, Michael	ENG	2729	9.0	2688
12.	Gelfand, Boris	ISR	2736	9.0	2688
13.	Shirov, Alexei	ESP	2739	8.5	2672
14.	Kasimdzhanov, Rustam	UZB	2690	8.5	2675
15.	Savchenko, Boris	RUS	2583	8.0	2660
16.	Ponomariov, Ruslan	UKR	2705	7.5	2630
17.	Bacrot, Etienne	FRA	2695	7.5	2631
18.	Korotylev, Alexey	RUS	2600	6.5	2599
19.	Dreev, Alexey	RUS	2607	6.5	2598
20.	Karpov, Anatoly	RUS	2670	5.5	2554

Cross table (after 19 rounds)

Vladimir Kramnik: “Winning the match against Anand

Interview with Yuriy Vasiliev
Chess Observer, "Sport-Express Daily" (Moscow)

This interview with the winner of the Tal Memorial, Vladimir Kramnik, took place immediately after his game with Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine. This game turned out to be the longest in this final round of draws…

Vladimir, the tournament in Moscow was dedicated to the memory of the eighth world champion, Mikhail Tal. What do you think of him? Did you ever meet him across the board?

We played two rapid games. It was in 1991, the year before he died. Of course, at that time, Mikhail Nekhemyevich was not the man he had once been, but such was his unique charm that I fell under his spell even in such a short acquaintance. Tal was an exceptionally well-rounded chessplayer. The usual picture of him, as constantly playing adventurously, always sacrificing pieces, does not do justice to the real genius of the man. A few years ago, I looked through a collection of his best games, and realised that he played a great many games in really excellent positional style. In his youth, yes, he used to create these combinational tornados on the board, but in his later years, he simply outplayed his opponents by virtue of his deeper understanding. It is wonderful that the Russian Chess Federation is running a tournament in his honour. Tal is probably the most colourful of all the world champions.

You managed to score plus-four in this tournament in his honour, a tournament of category 20. Surely now nobody can say that you are “only a match player”…

This year I have won several tournaments. Only in Mexico did things not go right – although, even there I did not play any worse. I simply did not have enough luck. Here, fate was on my side.

In two of your games, against Leko and Shirov, everyone was astonished at the fantastic technique you showed, in converting a microscopic advantage. Some people are saying that your technique is better even than that of the legendary Capablanca

I would not compare myself with Capablanca, that’s going too far... But nobody can argue with the fact that I perhaps have the best technique of any player around today [smiles].

But your game against Mamedyarov in the penultimate round, you played in quite a different style – very sharply and riskily. This game reminded me of the days of the tournaments in Novgorod [in the mid-1990s]. Don’t you think so?

A lot depends on who you are playing. Mamedyarov is a very principled player – he plays sharply, comes at you, and tries to win. I have never avoided sharp play, but it does not usually arise, because my opponents play with a greater measure of safety. Therefore, in the game with Mamedyarov, and also that with Alekseev, I showed that I can also play a different style of chess from that in the games with Leko and Shirov.

Maybe the time will come when you can relegate to the past your well-known match strategy: win with white and draw with black?

Some problems remain. For greater success in tournaments, my repertoire is still a little too dry with the black pieces. In this tournament, it did not matter, because I won nearly all my white games, but in some other tournaments, it prevents me achieving better results. But, as you may have noticed in Mexico, I am trying to play in a more universal style.

In this tournament in Moscow, you were assisted by Dutch GM, Loek van Wely, although in Russia in general, and Moscow in particular, I know that you have many friends amongst the grandmaster ranks. What made you decide to work with the Dutch grandmaster?

As far as my friends and colleagues in Russia are concerned, they are all busy at the moment, but notwithstanding this fact, I would have taken van Wely with me anyway. I like him as a person, he is a very cheerful young man. And he also suits me as a specialist, as he has many interesting ideas. We started working together prior to Mexico, and I will be pleased to work with him in the future.

Van Wely will be one of the players in the January tournament in Wijk aan Zee, and will therefore not be able to help you then. What are your hopes for this tournament?

Yes, Loek will play in the main tournament, so I will have another second. In the past, for some reason unknown to me, I have not played so well in Holland. But this time, I am very determined. It will be a very important tournament, with an extremely strong field. I very much want to win the tournament, both to strengthen my number one position in the world ratings, and also to prove something to myself. I have more than one month to prepare, which is good, and I will prepare very seriously for Wijk-aan-Zee.

One of the biggest statistical specialists in the chess world, Edward Dubov, who calculates the current ratings of all the top players, told me that after your success in Mexico, you will go top of the January rating list. Does this mean a lot to you?

Several people have already told me this. Of course, it is nice to go to number one in the rating list. Not so many people have ever done this. But I cannot say that I attach huge importance to it. Firstly, because I have already been number one once before. It was quite some time ago – in 1996. Now I have become number one again. I don’t know how long I will maintain this position, but I will try to hang onto it for as long as possible. But for me, winning the forthcoming world championship match against Anand is much more important.

Is everything going OK as regards the match?

I can say that there are no problems on my side. I have signed the contract and sent it off. I know that Anand is having discussions with FIDE, but I do not know the details. On this subject, you should ask the FIDE leadership and Anand himself.

What do you think about the match with Anand?

He is a very serious opponent. Chances are about equal. Everything will depend on the details. Who prepares better. Who puts together the best team. Lots of little things, which in reality are not little things at all. I never try to guess the future, I just do everything that I can do. And if this proves enough for victory, I will be very pleased.

The match will take place in the autumn of next year. Where do you plan to play before then?

After Wijk aan Zee, I will play in Monaco, and in the summer in Dortmund. I hope to play somewhere else as well, before the match.

Will you play in Linares?

No, I am skipping Linares. That would be a bit too much work.

On the day this interview appears in “Sport-Express”, the world blitz championship will take place in the exhibition hall of GUM [a major shopping arcade in Central Moscow, opposite the Kremlin]. You have by no means a bad previous record in this form of chess. One only has to recall your drawn blitz marathon against Kasparov, played in the Cosmos Hotel, or when you won one of the strongest Moscow blitz tournaments with an almost 100% score. What are your hopes this time round?

The results you mention were a long time ago (smiles). Nowadays I only play blitz very rarely, and look on it as just a relaxation, which of course is what it is. In blitz, it is very important to be what they call “a practiced hand”. I will try of course, and will do a little bit of training beforehand, and try to remember my past triumphs. But playing the younger generation will not be easy. I know that they spend days and nights on various websites, playing blitz. This is interesting, but I do not think it is very useful. I do not do it myself. But anyway, I hope I don’t do too badly. I am not setting myself any particular targets. I will just try to enjoy myself.

And what do you think about the so-called “advanced chess” match with Anand, where you can use the computer’s help?

This is purely a show. In this form of play, the computer’s role is 80% and yours only 20%. But this 20% is decisive. You have to know how to use the computer well, when to turn it on and when to switch it off. I hope I manage to do so.

Will your wife Marie-Laure be supporting you during the tournament?

She supports me very strongly, Every round, she phoned me before and after the game, and she reacts very emotionally to my victories. Each time, she treats it like something unusual, historical (smiles). I am always surprised by this, and each time, I try to explain to her that it is normal, and that sometimes I do actually win (smiles). But she is always delighted, like a child. It is nice for me to be able to give this pleasure to her, and to my parents and brother. And to all of my supporters. In Moscow, I felt very strongly that almost everyone was behind me, and this helped to give me additional energy.

Marie-Laure and Vladimir Kramnik

World Chess Cup

The World Chess Cup takes place in Khanty-Mansiysk. Arrival 22nd, Opening Ceremony 23rd and Round 1 24th November, departure after 7 knockout rounds on 18th December 2007.

Official site: http://www.ugra-chess.ru/eng/main.html - Details of the first round draw http://www.fide.com/news.asp?id=1491.

World Chess Cup Round 1 24th-26th November 2007
N	Name	Country	elo		Name	Country	elo
1	Ivanchuk, Vassily (1)	UKR	2787	-	Aderito, Pedro (128)	ANG	2352
2	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar (2)	AZE	2752	-	Abdel Razik, Khaled (127)	EGY	2389
3	Radjabov, Teimour (3)	AZE	2742	-	Genba, Vladimir (126)	RUS	2413
4	Aronian, Levon (4)	ARM	2741	-	Hobaica, Juan Pablo (125)	ARG	2427
5	Shirov, Alexei (5)	ESP	2739	-	Gwaze, Robert (124)	ZIM	2429
6	Svidler, Peter (6)	RUS	2732	-	Iturrizaga, Eduardo (123)	VEN	2435
7	Adams, Michael (7)	ENG	2729	-	Zugic, Igor (122)	CAN	2477
8	Alekseev, Evgeny (8)	RUS	2716	-	Ismagambetov, Anuar (121)	KAZ	2480
9	Grischuk, Alexander (9)	RUS	2715	-	Lima, Darcy (120)	BRA	2487
10	Carlsen, Magnus (10)	NOR	2714	-	Zhao, Zong-Yuan (119)	AUS	2491
11	Kamsky, Gata (11)	USA	2714	-	Adly, Ahmed (118)	EGY	2494
12	Akopian, Vladimir (12)	ARM	2713	-	Filippov, Anton (117)	UZB	2496
13	Jakovenko, Dmitry (13)	RUS	2710	-	Rahman, Ziaur (116)	BAN	2497
14	Ponomariov, Ruslan (14)	UKR	2705	-	El Gindy, Essam (115)	EGY	2503
15	Wang, Yue (15)	CHN	2703	-	Pridorozhni, Aleksei (114)	RUS	2506
16	Bacrot, Etienne (16)	FRA	2695	-	Laylo, Darwin (113)	PHI	2508
17	Karjakin, Sergey (17)	UKR	2694	-	Matsuura, Everaldo (112)	BRA	2511
18	Bu, Xiangzhi (18)	CHN	2692	-	Kabanov, Nikolai (111)	RUS	2512
19	Eljanov, Pavel (19)	UKR	2691	-	Hossain Enamul (110)	BAN	2514
20	Almasi, Zoltan (20)	HUN	2691	-	Wen Yang (109)	CHN	2515
21	Malakhov, Vladimir (21)	RUS	2690	-	Xu, Yuhua (108)	CHN	2517
22	Kasimdzhanov, Rustam (22)	UZB	2690	-	Gopal, G.N. (107)	IND	2520
23	Dominguez Perez, Lenier (23)	CUB	2683	-	Iljushin, Alexei (106)	RUS	2528
24	Van Wely, Loek (24)	NED	2679	-	Nguyen, Ngoc Truong Son (105)	VIE	2530
25	Landa, Konstantin (25)	RUS	2678	-	Nevednichy, Vladislav (104)	ROU	2531
26	Volokitin, Andrei (26)	UKR	2678	-	Le, Quang Liem (103)	VIE	2534
27	Rublevsky, Sergei (27)	RUS	2676	-	Hera, Imre Jr. (102)	HUN	2544
28	Onischuk, Alexander (28)	USA	2674	-	Andriasian, Zaven (101)	ARM	2546
29	Inarkiev, Ernesto (29)	RUS	2674	-	Peralta, Fernando (100)	ARG	2546
30	Zvjaginsev, Vadim (30)	RUS	2674	-	Kunte, Abhijit (99)	IND	2547
31	Cheparinov, Ivan (31)	BUL	2670	-	Gonzalez Zamora, Juan Carlos (98)	MEX	2552
32	Harikrishna, P. (32)	IND	2668	-	Zhao, Jun (97)	CHN	2552
33	Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter (33)	ROU	2668	-	Amin, Bassem (96)	EGY	2561
34	Tkachiev, Vladislav (34)	FRA	2661	-	Balogh, Csaba (95)	HUN	2561
35	Sasikiran, Krishnan (35)	IND	2661	-	Zhigalko, Sergei (94)	BLR	2562
36	Vallejo Pons, Francisco (36)	ESP	2660	-	Kudrin, Sergey (93)	USA	2563
37	Nikolic, Predrag (37)	BIH	2657	-	Iljin, Artem (92)	RUS	2565
38	Navara, David (38)	CZE	2656	-	Ivanov, Alexander (91)	USA	2565
39	Sutovsky, Emil (39)	ISR	2655	-	Zhou, Jianchao (90)	CHN	2566
40	Fressinet, Laurent (40)	FRA	2654	-	Flores, Diego (89)	ARG	2566
41	Bareev, Evgeny (41)	RUS	2653	-	Becerra Rivero, Julio (88)	USA	2568
42	Short, Nigel D (42)	ENG	2649	-	Baramidze, David (87)	GER	2569
43	Georgiev, Kiril (43)	BUL	2649	-	Megaranto, Susanto (86)	INA	2569
44	Volkov, Sergey (44)	RUS	2648	-	Gajewski, Grzegorz (85)	POL	2573
45	Socko, Bartosz (45)	POL	2646	-	Georgiev, Vladimir (84)	MKD	2576
46	Tomashevsky, Evgeny (46)	RUS	2646	-	Mamedov, Rauf (83)	AZE	2582
47	Motylev, Alexander (47)	RUS	2645	-	Savchenko, Boris (82)	RUS	2583
48	Zhang, Pengxiang (48)	CHN	2644	-	Gagunashvili, Merab (81)	GEO	2584
49	Roiz, Michael (49)	ISR	2644	-	Akobian, Varuzhan (80)	USA	2585
50	Tiviakov, Sergei (50)	NED	2643	-	Ganguly, Surya Shekhar (79)	IND	2585
51	Wang, Hao (51)	CHN	2643	-	Markus, Robert (78)	SRB	2586
52	Khalifman, Alexander (52)	RUS	2643	-	Belov, Vladimir (77)	RUS	2587
53	Izoria, Zviad (53)	GEO	2643	-	Ghaem Maghami, Ehsan (76)	IRI	2591
54	Avrukh, Boris (54)	ISR	2641	-	Milos, Gilberto (75)	BRA	2592
55	Naiditsch, Arkadij (55)	GER	2639	-	Granda Zuniga, Julio E (74)	PER	2592
56	Najer, Evgeniy (56)	RUS	2635	-	Berg, Emanuel (73)	SWE	2593
57	Sakaev, Konstantin (57)	RUS	2634	-	Vitiugov, Nikita (72)	RUS	2594
58	Gurevich, Mikhail (58)	TUR	2627	-	Kaidanov, Gregory S (71)	USA	2597
59	Shabalov, Alexander (59)	USA	2626	-	Pavasovic, Dusko (70)	SLO	2597
60	Shulman, Yuri (60)	USA	2616	-	Leitao, Rafael (69)	BRA	2601
61	Rodshtein, Maxim (61)	ISR	2615	-	Gustafsson, Jan (68)	GER	2606
62	Laznicka, Viktor (62)	CZE	2610	-	Macieja, Bartlomiej (67)	POL	2606
63	Kozul, Zdenko (63)	CRO	2609	-	Bruzon Batista, Lazaro (66)	CUB	2607
64	Bartel, Mateusz (64)	POL	2608	-	Galkin, Alexander (65)	RUS	2608

World Chess Cup

The World Chess Cup takes place in Khanty-Mansiysk. Arrival 22nd, Opening Ceremony 23rd and Round 1 24th November, departure after 7 knockout rounds on 18th December 2007.

Official site: http://www.ugra-chess.ru/eng/main.html - Details of the first round draw http://www.fide.com/news.asp?id=1491.

World Chess Cup Round 1 24th-26th November 2007
N	Name	Country	elo		Name	Country	elo
1	Ivanchuk, Vassily (1)	UKR	2787	-	Aderito, Pedro (128)	ANG	2352
2	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar (2)	AZE	2752	-	Abdel Razik, Khaled (127)	EGY	2389
3	Radjabov, Teimour (3)	AZE	2742	-	Genba, Vladimir (126)	RUS	2413
4	Aronian, Levon (4)	ARM	2741	-	Hobaica, Juan Pablo (125)	ARG	2427
5	Shirov, Alexei (5)	ESP	2739	-	Gwaze, Robert (124)	ZIM	2429
6	Svidler, Peter (6)	RUS	2732	-	Iturrizaga, Eduardo (123)	VEN	2435
7	Adams, Michael (7)	ENG	2729	-	Zugic, Igor (122)	CAN	2477
8	Alekseev, Evgeny (8)	RUS	2716	-	Ismagambetov, Anuar (121)	KAZ	2480
9	Grischuk, Alexander (9)	RUS	2715	-	Lima, Darcy (120)	BRA	2487
10	Carlsen, Magnus (10)	NOR	2714	-	Zhao, Zong-Yuan (119)	AUS	2491
11	Kamsky, Gata (11)	USA	2714	-	Adly, Ahmed (118)	EGY	2494
12	Akopian, Vladimir (12)	ARM	2713	-	Filippov, Anton (117)	UZB	2496
13	Jakovenko, Dmitry (13)	RUS	2710	-	Rahman, Ziaur (116)	BAN	2497
14	Ponomariov, Ruslan (14)	UKR	2705	-	El Gindy, Essam (115)	EGY	2503
15	Wang, Yue (15)	CHN	2703	-	Pridorozhni, Aleksei (114)	RUS	2506
16	Bacrot, Etienne (16)	FRA	2695	-	Laylo, Darwin (113)	PHI	2508
17	Karjakin, Sergey (17)	UKR	2694	-	Matsuura, Everaldo (112)	BRA	2511
18	Bu, Xiangzhi (18)	CHN	2692	-	Kabanov, Nikolai (111)	RUS	2512
19	Eljanov, Pavel (19)	UKR	2691	-	Hossain Enamul (110)	BAN	2514
20	Almasi, Zoltan (20)	HUN	2691	-	Wen Yang (109)	CHN	2515
21	Malakhov, Vladimir (21)	RUS	2690	-	Xu, Yuhua (108)	CHN	2517
22	Kasimdzhanov, Rustam (22)	UZB	2690	-	Gopal, G.N. (107)	IND	2520
23	Dominguez Perez, Lenier (23)	CUB	2683	-	Iljushin, Alexei (106)	RUS	2528
24	Van Wely, Loek (24)	NED	2679	-	Nguyen, Ngoc Truong Son (105)	VIE	2530
25	Landa, Konstantin (25)	RUS	2678	-	Nevednichy, Vladislav (104)	ROU	2531
26	Volokitin, Andrei (26)	UKR	2678	-	Le, Quang Liem (103)	VIE	2534
27	Rublevsky, Sergei (27)	RUS	2676	-	Hera, Imre Jr. (102)	HUN	2544
28	Onischuk, Alexander (28)	USA	2674	-	Andriasian, Zaven (101)	ARM	2546
29	Inarkiev, Ernesto (29)	RUS	2674	-	Peralta, Fernando (100)	ARG	2546
30	Zvjaginsev, Vadim (30)	RUS	2674	-	Kunte, Abhijit (99)	IND	2547
31	Cheparinov, Ivan (31)	BUL	2670	-	Gonzalez Zamora, Juan Carlos (98)	MEX	2552
32	Harikrishna, P. (32)	IND	2668	-	Zhao, Jun (97)	CHN	2552
33	Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter (33)	ROU	2668	-	Amin, Bassem (96)	EGY	2561
34	Tkachiev, Vladislav (34)	FRA	2661	-	Balogh, Csaba (95)	HUN	2561
35	Sasikiran, Krishnan (35)	IND	2661	-	Zhigalko, Sergei (94)	BLR	2562
36	Vallejo Pons, Francisco (36)	ESP	2660	-	Kudrin, Sergey (93)	USA	2563
37	Nikolic, Predrag (37)	BIH	2657	-	Iljin, Artem (92)	RUS	2565
38	Navara, David (38)	CZE	2656	-	Ivanov, Alexander (91)	USA	2565
39	Sutovsky, Emil (39)	ISR	2655	-	Zhou, Jianchao (90)	CHN	2566
40	Fressinet, Laurent (40)	FRA	2654	-	Flores, Diego (89)	ARG	2566
41	Bareev, Evgeny (41)	RUS	2653	-	Becerra Rivero, Julio (88)	USA	2568
42	Short, Nigel D (42)	ENG	2649	-	Baramidze, David (87)	GER	2569
43	Georgiev, Kiril (43)	BUL	2649	-	Megaranto, Susanto (86)	INA	2569
44	Volkov, Sergey (44)	RUS	2648	-	Gajewski, Grzegorz (85)	POL	2573
45	Socko, Bartosz (45)	POL	2646	-	Georgiev, Vladimir (84)	MKD	2576
46	Tomashevsky, Evgeny (46)	RUS	2646	-	Mamedov, Rauf (83)	AZE	2582
47	Motylev, Alexander (47)	RUS	2645	-	Savchenko, Boris (82)	RUS	2583
48	Zhang, Pengxiang (48)	CHN	2644	-	Gagunashvili, Merab (81)	GEO	2584
49	Roiz, Michael (49)	ISR	2644	-	Akobian, Varuzhan (80)	USA	2585
50	Tiviakov, Sergei (50)	NED	2643	-	Ganguly, Surya Shekhar (79)	IND	2585
51	Wang, Hao (51)	CHN	2643	-	Markus, Robert (78)	SRB	2586
52	Khalifman, Alexander (52)	RUS	2643	-	Belov, Vladimir (77)	RUS	2587
53	Izoria, Zviad (53)	GEO	2643	-	Ghaem Maghami, Ehsan (76)	IRI	2591
54	Avrukh, Boris (54)	ISR	2641	-	Milos, Gilberto (75)	BRA	2592
55	Naiditsch, Arkadij (55)	GER	2639	-	Granda Zuniga, Julio E (74)	PER	2592
56	Najer, Evgeniy (56)	RUS	2635	-	Berg, Emanuel (73)	SWE	2593
57	Sakaev, Konstantin (57)	RUS	2634	-	Vitiugov, Nikita (72)	RUS	2594
58	Gurevich, Mikhail (58)	TUR	2627	-	Kaidanov, Gregory S (71)	USA	2597
59	Shabalov, Alexander (59)	USA	2626	-	Pavasovic, Dusko (70)	SLO	2597
60	Shulman, Yuri (60)	USA	2616	-	Leitao, Rafael (69)	BRA	2601
61	Rodshtein, Maxim (61)	ISR	2615	-	Gustafsson, Jan (68)	GER	2606
62	Laznicka, Viktor (62)	CZE	2610	-	Macieja, Bartlomiej (67)	POL	2606
63	Kozul, Zdenko (63)	CRO	2609	-	Bruzon Batista, Lazaro (66)	CUB	2607
64	Bartel, Mateusz (64)	POL	2608	-	Galkin, Alexander (65)	RUS	2608

World Blitz Cup

The Preliminaries for the FIDE World Cup Blitz took place 19th-20th November 2007 with a strong 64 player field. The field will be 8 from the Tal Memorial (Alekseev and Jakovenko not playing), Grischuk and Morozevich (Svidler withdraws ill at the last moment) Anand and Karpov plus 8 qualifiers. Time control: 4min+2sec from move 1.

Official site: http://www.russiachess.org/

World Blitz Moscow 20 player field
No	Name	t	NAT	oc07
1	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2801
2	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2787
3	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2785
5	Leko, Peter	g	HUN	2755
6	Morozevich, Alexander	g	RUS	2755
7	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyaz	g	AZE	2752
10	Shirov, Alexei	g	ESP	2739
11	Gelfand, Boris	g	ISR	2736
13	Adams, Michael	g	ENG	2729
15	Grischuk, Alexander	g	RUS	2715
16	Carlsen, Magnus	g	NOR	2714
17	Kamsky, Gata	g	USA	2714
21	Ponomariov, Ruslan	g	UKR	2705
23	Bacrot, Etienne	g	FRA	2695
29	Kasimdzhanov, Rustam	g	UZB	2690
35	Rublevsky, Sergei	g	RUS	2676
43	Karpov, Anatoly	g	RUS	2670
	Dreev, Alexey	g	RUS	2607
	Korotylev, Alexey	g	RUS	2600
	Savchenko, Boris	g	RUS	2583

Blitz Qualifier Moscow RUS 19-20 xi 2007 Final Round 11 Standings
Place	SNo.	Title	Name	Fed.	FIDE	Total	MBch.
1	7	GM	Kasimdzhanov, Rustam	UZB	2690	15	119
2	5	GM	Bacrot, Etienne	FRA	2695	14.5	114
3	1	GM	Adams, Michael	ENG	2729	14.5	114
4	44	GM	Savchenko, Boris	RUS	2583	14.5	107.5
5	3	GM	Ponomariov, Ruslan	UKR	2705	14	113.5
6	36	GM	Dreev, Alexey	RUS	2607	14	112.5
7	11	GM	Rublevsky, Sergei	RUS	2676	14	112
8	38	GM	Korotylev, Alexey	RUS	2600	14	108
9	21	GM	Fressinet, Laurent	FRA	2654	13.5	105.5
10	18	GM	Tkachiev, Vladislav	FRA	2661	13	123
11	31	GM	Fedorov, Alexei	BLR	2612	13	101.5
12	17	GM	Sasikiran, Krishnan	IND	2661	13	101
13	19	GM	Vallejo Pons, Francisco	ESP	2660	13	91
14	14	GM	Movsesian, Sergei	SVK	2670	12.5	109
15	24	GM	Volkov, Sergey	RUS	2648	12.5	104.5
16	28	GM	Amonatov, Farrukh	TJK	2637	12.5	96.5
17	33	GM	Nepomniachtchi, Ian	RUS	2611	12	116
18	8	GM	Malakhov, Vladimir	RUS	2690	12	112
19	9	GM	Van Wely, Loek	NED	2679	12	110.5
20	25	GM	Moiseenko, Alexander	UKR	2646	12	106
21	13	GM	Zvjaginsev, Vadim	RUS	2674	12	104.5
22	4	GM	Wang, Yue	CHN	2703	12	104
23	23	GM	Georgiev, Kiril	BUL	2649	12	103
24	57	GM	Dlugy, Maxim	USA	2518	12	100.5

Most consecutive tournament wins

15 Kasparov - USSR ch. Frunze 1981 shared with Psakhis, Bugojno 1982, Moscow Interzonal 1982, Niksic 1983, Brussels 1986, Brussels SWIFT 1987 shared with Ljubojevic, Amsterdam 1988, Belfort World Cup 1988, USSR ch. Moscow 1988 shared with Karpov, Reykjavik World Cup 1988, Barcelona World Cup 1989 shared with Ljubojevic, Skellfetea World Cup 1989 shared with Karpov, Tilburg 1989, Belgrade 1989, Linares 1990

9 Karpov - Tilburg 1977, Bugojno 1978 (Cat.14) shared with Spassky, Montreal 1979 (Cat.15) shared with Tal, Waddinxveen 1979, Tilburg 1979 (Cat.15), Bad Kissingen 1980 (Cat.15), Bugojno 1980 (Cat.15), IBM Amsterdam 1980 (Cat.14), Tilburg 1980 (Cat.15)

8 Fischer - U.S. ch. 1966-7, Monte Carlo MON Mar.-Apr. 1967 1st ahead of Smyslov Geller and Larsen, Skopje-Krusevo CZE Aug. 1967 1st ahead of Geller and Matulovic, Netanya ISR June-July 1968, Vinkovci Sep. 1968, Rovinj Zagreb Apr.-May 1970 ahead of Smyslov Korchnoi and Petrosian, Buenos Aires 1970, Palma de Mallorca IZ Nov.-Dec. 1970

8 Larsen - Capablanca Memorial, Havana Aug.-Sep. 1967 ahead of Taimanov and Smyslov, Winnipeg Oct. 1967 =1st with Darga ahead of Keres and Spassky, Palma de Mallorca Nov.-Dec. 1967 ahead of Botvinnik and Smyslov, Sousse Interzonal Oct.-Nov.1967 ahead of Korchnoi, Geller and Gligoric, Monaco Apr.1968 ahead of Botvinnik and Smyslov, US Open 1968, Canadian Open 1968, Merrimac Grand Prix 1968

7 Alekhine - Kecskemet 1927, Bradley Beach 1929, San Remo 1930, Bled 1931, London 1932, Berne 1932, Pasadena 1932

7 Kasparov - Wijk aan Zee 1999, Linares 1999, Sarajevo 1999, Frankfurt 1999, Wijk aan Zee 2000, Linares 2000, Sarajevo 2000

7 Botvinnik - Absolute championship, Leningrad/Moscow 1941, Sverdlovsk 1943, USSR championship Moscow 1944, USSR ch. Moscow 1945, Groningen 1946, Chigorin Memorial Moscow 1947, World ch. The Hague/Moscow 1948

6 Tal - Dubna 1973(shared), Hastings 1973/4(shared with Timman, Szabo and Kuzmin), Lublin 1974, Halle 1974, Novi Sad 1974, USSR ch. Leningrad 1974(shared)

6 Karpov - Hannover 1983, Tilburg 1983, Oslo 1984, Philips & Drew London 1984, OHRA Amsterdam 1985

5 Spassky - Moscow Zonal 1964 (Cat. 15) 1st ahead of Korchnoi and Geller, Amsterdam Interzonal May-June 1964 =1st with Tal Larsen and Smyslov, Belgrade Sep.-Oct. 1964 1st ahead of Korchnoi Ivkov and Larsen, Sochi Aug.-Sep. 1965 =1st with Unzicker, Hastings Dec. 1965-Jan. 1966 =1st with Uhlmann

Longest unbeaten run of games

Apparently this record belongs to USCF player Bill Martz who went 104 games without losing, but I have found this hard to verify.

Better documented is Mikhail Tal's run of 93 games. He lost to Petrosian in round 15 of the USSR ch. in Oct. 1973 and then went until Oct. 1974 without a loss. Kirov stopped his streak in the 4th round of Novi Sad.

Tal had a similar run a little more than a year before. He went unbeaten in 86 games from July 1972 when he lost to Uusi in the tenth round at Viljandi until he lost to Balashov on board 3 at the USSR Team ch. Moscow, round 2 in April 1973 +47=39

Kramnik 82 games from Jan. 12 1999 Euro club ch. Belgrade until he lost 4th round to Adams at Dortmund 2000

Tal 80 games 1980-1

Capablanca 63 games February 10, 1916 New York loss to Chajes to March 21, 1924 New York loss to Reti +40=23

Most overwhelming match victories against strong masters

The loser in each case was among the top ten players in the world at the time of the match.

1876 Match, London Steinitz-Blackburne +7 =0 -0 100%

1971 July, Candidates semifinal, Dallas, Fischer-Larsen +6 100%

1971 May-June, Candidates quarterfinal, Vancouver, Fischer-Taimanov +6 100%

1910 Nov.-Dec. World ch. Berlin, Lasker-Janowsky +8 =3 86.4%

1852 London, Harrwitz-Williams +7=3

1909 Match Paris, Lasker-Janowsky +7 =2 -1 80%

1995 Feb. FIDE World ch. semifinal Kamsky-Salov +4 =3 78.6%

1907 Jan.-Apr. World ch. New York, Philadelphia, Memphis, Chicago and Baltimore, Lasker-Marshall +8 =7 76.7%

1851 London, Staunton-Jaenisch +7=1-2 75%

1896-7 Nov.-Jan. World ch. Moscow, Lasker-Steinitz +10 =5 -2 73.5%

For women, 1962 Sep.-Oct. World ch. Moscow, Gaprindashvili-Bykova +7=4 81.8%

Longest winning run

William Steinitz won 25 games in a row between 1873 and 1882. He won his last 14 at Vienna 1873, 2 against Henry Blackburne in the playoff, 7 against Blackburne in a match in London in 1876 and then his first two games at Vienna 1882. Mackenzie brought an end to the streak when Steinitz two pawns up allowed Mackenzie to escape to a draw by perpetual check.

The second longest run is Bobby Fischer's 20 game streak in 1970-1. He won his last 7 at Palma de Mallorca Interzonal 1970, won six straight in his quarterfinal candidates match against Mark Taimanov at Vancouver 1971, another six straight in the semifinal against Bent Larsen in Dallas, and then the 1st game of the Candidates final against Petrosian in Buenos Aires. Petrosian won the second game when Fischer came unglued in an extremely double-edged line of the Gruenfeld defence.

Highest Sonas Performance Ratings

Men

*Karpov 2899 - Linares 1994, 11/14 84.6%
Fischer 2887 - Candidates Semi-final vs. Larsen, Dallas 1971 +6 100%
Lasker 2882 - World ch. vs. Steinitz, Moscow 1896 12.5/17 73.5%
Kasparov 2881 - Tilburg 1989 12/14 85.7%
Lasker 2878 - London 1899 21.5/26 82.7%
Lasker 2876 - World ch. vs. Marshall, USA 1907 11.5/15 76.7%
Kramnik 2874 - BGN World ch. vs. Kasparov, London 2000 8.5/15 56.7%
Karpov 2873 - World ch. vs Kasparov, Moscow 1984-5, 25/48 52.1%
Fischer 2870 - Candidates Quarter-final vs. Taimanov, Vancouver 1971 +6 100%
Tal 2869 - Candidates, Bled/Zagreb/Belgrade 1959 20/28 71.4%
(*Recently Grischuk brak this record in Europian CHamiopnships 2007)


Women

Judit Polgar 2778 - Madrid 1994
Judit Polgar 2760 - Wijk aan Zee 2003
Judit Polgar 2746 - Polgar-Piket match, Aruba 1995
Judit Polgar 2739 - Linares 1997
Sofia Polgar 2735 - Rome 1989
Judit Polgar 2733 - Sicilian, Buenos Aires 1994
Judit Polgar 2728 - Dos Hermanas 1993
Judit Polgar 2719 - Donner Memorial 1995
Judit Polgar 2717 - Hastings 1992
Judit Polgar 2715 - Dos Hermanas 1995

Susan Polgar and Maia Chiburdanidze are the next two to appear on the list somewhat further down. Both achieved ratings of 2677 at Aruba 1992 and Banja Luka 1985 respectively. (Source : Jeff Sonas's Chessmetrics Site May 2005).
For comparison, here are some of the highest Elo performance ratings for FIDE sponsored events since 1970.

1971 Candidates semi-final, Dallas, Fischer-Larsen +6 3060
1971 Candidates 1/4-final, Vancouver, Fischer-Taimanov +6 3020
2001 Europe v. Asia Rapid, Batumi, Kasparov 3017
1994 Linares, Karpov 11/13 84.6% 2942
2000 Rapid Frankfurt, Anand 2941
2002 Bled Olympiad, Kasparov 2933
1989 Tilburg, Kasparov 2913
1989 Belgrade, Kasparov 2907
2002 Essen, Zvjaginsev 2905
1998 Pamplona, Morozevich 2904
1997 Linares, Kasparov 2884
2000 Sarajevo, Kasparov 2881

Largest chess tournaments

The British Land UK Chess Challenge has around 70 000 British school kids playing across England in recent years.

The Supernationals III in Nashville 2005 had 5270 juniors competing.

The largest adult event would probably be the World Open in Philadelphia 1986 with 1506 players. Nick de Firmian came in first ahead of Yasser Seirawan, Jozsef Pinter, Gyula Sax, Margeir Petursson, and Ivan Farago, as well as the young Anand. In 2003, the World Open had a lot of players as well: 1462. The HB Global Chess Challange, Minneapolis, May 2005 had 1358 players (43 GMs). By comparison, there were 1135 players at Calvia Olympiad 2004, and Bled Olympiad 2002 only had 806 players.

The largest round robin tournament was probably New York 1869. There were 48 competitors who were supposed to face each other twice each. Not surprisingly not all of the games were finished. The winner was George H. Mackenzie. Another fairly large round robin was Carlsbad 1911 with 26 players.

The event with the most grandmasters would probably be one of the Olympiads. Calvia Olympiad 2004 had 250 grandmasters. Bled Olympiad 2002 only had 183 grandmasters. The European Club Cup in Rethymonon Greeece 2003 had 150 grandmasters. Aeroflot swiss, Moscow 2004 had 140 grandmasters.