FIDE World Chess Championship 2004
Encyclopedia
The FIDE World Chess Championship, 2004 was held at the Almahary Hotel in Tripoli
, Libya
, from June 18 to July 13.
It was won by Rustam Kasimdzhanov
, who beat Michael Adams in the final by a score of 4½-3½. He won prize money of around US$100,000 (US$80,000 after organiser FIDE
had taken its cut), and the title of FIDE World Chess Champion.
The intention was that the tournament winner played world number one Garry Kasparov
in a step towards the reunification of the World Chess Championship
. However that match never took place.
and Nigel Short
broke away from chess governing body FIDE to play their world championship match under the auspices of the newly-formed Professional Chess Association
, there had been two chess world championships: one organised by FIDE (which used the knock-out format from 1998 to 2004) and one by a variety of other bodies (in the form of a long match between champion and challenger). The 2004 FIDE Championship was a part of what was, at the time, the most serious attempt yet to reunify the title, the so-called Prague Agreement.
The plan under this agreement when it was drawn up in 2002 was that reigning FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov
and world number one on the FIDE Elo rating list Garry Kasparov
played a match, and that the so-called "classical" world champion Vladimir Kramnik
and winner of the 2002 Dortmund tournament (which turned out to be Péter Lékó
) played each other. The winners of these two matches would then play one another to produce a unified champion.
The match between Ponomariov and Kasparov, however, fell through after FIDE refused to alter various things in the contract on Ponomariov's request, and he refused to sign. FIDE announced that instead the winner of the next FIDE knock-out championship played against Kasparov in a match to be held not later than July 2005 (Kramnik and Lékó played their match in September–October 2004). Therefore, as well as the championship determining who was to be the next FIDE world champion, it would also determine who played Kasparov in what was effectively a semifinal match for the unified championship.
announced ahead of this time that the match had been awarded to the United Arab Emirates
.
The plan did not come to fruition: the promised funding for the match never arrived, and plans to hold the match instead in Turkey also came to nothing. The whole question of how and when the Kasparov-Kasimdzhanov match would take place, or what would occur in its stead, was made irrelevant by Kasparov's announcement in March 2005 that he was retiring from serious chess.
Kasimdzhanov's victory did, however, earn him (and runner-up Michael Adams) an invitation to the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005
. Kasimdzhanov also gained automatic entry to the Candidates Tournament
for the FIDE World Chess Championship 2007.
The world championship was eventually reunified in 2006, when classical champion Kramnik defeated the winner of the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005
, Veselin Topalov
.
Another criticism centered on the knockout format of the tournament. Although knockout matches had been used prior to the introduction of this tournament format, the brevity of these matches (Best of 2 elimination matches with a Best of 6 Championship Match, as opposed to the Best of 10 elimination matches and Best of 24 Championship Match seen in earlier cycles) led many to consider them to be of little value in determining the better player.
as venue. Claims of human rights
abuses, and state sponsored terrorism have caused some consternation, but on a more practical level the country's history of not allowing entry to citizens of Israel
has been of some concern, as three Israeli players (Boris Gelfand
, Emil Sutovsky
and Ilia Smirin) had either qualified for the championships or were high on the list of reserves (in the event of qualifiers choosing not to play). Additionally, a number of players have joint Israeli and American citizenship, and so were also expected to be disallowed entry.
With this in mind, FIDE originally announced that a parallel event in Malta
would be held alongside the one in Tripoli to ensure that Israeli players could take part—Sutovsky sent his entry form back on the condition he played in Malta. This parallel event was cancelled, however, following a press release from the Libyan authorities that "The Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya will pleasantly provide entry visas to all the qualified participants of this great Championship", which was taken by most (including FIDE) to mean that all players, including Israelis, would be welcome to take part. This appeared to be contradicated by a statement from Mohammed Qadhafi, chairman of the Libyan Olympic Committee (FIDE is affiliated with the IOC
) and son of Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi
, that "We [the Libyans] did not and will not invite the Zionist enemy to this championship."
Several prominent figures have criticized FIDE over this matter, with both Grandmaster Boris Gulko, a Jew with joint American and Israeli citizenship, and Beatriz Marinello
, president of the United States Chess Federation
writing open letters to FIDE criticizing their handling of the issue.
On May 13, the Anti-Defamation League
wrote to FIDE, saying it was "troubling" that Libya should be hosting the championships, and urging FIDE to ensure that Israeli players were treated equally. The letter raises concerns over the Libyans not allowing the coaches and families of Israeli players into the country. Similar concerns were expressed in an Association of Chess Professionals
(ACP) open letter of May 26 (the ACP have also criticized several other aspects of the tournament's organization).
FIDE has maintained throughout that Israeli players would have been issued with visas upon their arrival in Libya. This assurance was never put to the test, however: none of the qualified players took part in the championship and Boris Gulko, who has joint American and Israeli citizenship, withdrew from the event after initially indicating he played (fellow Americans Alexander Shabalov
and Alexander Onischuk
also withdrew in sympathy with the concerns of Gulko and others ). The only player in the final list of participants with an Israeli passport—Vadim Milov, representing Switzerland—never travelled to Libya: he complained that his official invitation to the event had arrived so late (on the day of the opening ceremony, one day before the first game) that it was physically impossible for him to get to Libya with it in time. Milov claims that this constituted a deliberate attempt by FIDE to exclude him. In response, FIDE said that the delay in sending Milov's invitation was due to Milov not sending them his passport details until a deadline had passed, and that even with this delay, Milov could still have arrived in Tripoli in time for his first game, which they had offered to postpone if necessary. Milov took his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport
(Tribunal Arbitral de Sport) in Lausanne which found that FIDE "undertook extraordinary efforts to make sure that Claimant [Milov] could participate in the WCC 2004 although such efforts could and should have been made earlier" and ultimately cleared FIDE of any ill-intentioned effort to exclude Milov, concluding "there is no ground for Claimant to claim damages from Respondent.". Milov later responded to this decision in an open letter.
It was also reported (on June 17) that the Israeli chess federation was considering suing FIDE "for compensation for the damages incurred by our exclusion from this tournament".
, and number six Peter Svidler
- declined. In addition, Kasparov, Kramnik and Lékó did not take part owing to them being involved at a later stage of the reunification process. This combination this led to a somewhat weaker lineup than previous championships, with only three of the world's top ten accepting the invitation to play, and only two of those actually turning up to the event. This weakness has itself been a cause of controversy, with claims that any tournament with so many top players missing should not be considered a World Championship at all.
The following are the 128 players included in this list in order of seeding (from highest ranked to lowest), with the country they represent and their FIDE Elo rating on the April 2004 list:
It should be noted that four of these players — Morozevich, Milov, Shulman and Hjartarson — did not appear for their first round matches and were defaulted.
If the score at the end of the matches is tied, tie-break games will be played. First, two games will be played at a time control of 25 minutes for the whole game plus 10 seconds increment per move. If the score is still tied after these, then two games will be played at the time control of 5 minutes with a 10 second increment per move. If the score is still tied after these, then a single game will be played where White has 6 minutes and Black has 5, with no increment: White must win the game to progress to the next round; a win for Black or a draw will see Black progress.
All standard time control games begin at 2:30pm local time. Tie breaks begin at 8:30pm on the day of the last standard game, apart from tie-breaks for the semifinals which will be 2:30pm the day after the last standard game, and the final which will be at 12:30pm the day after the last standard game.
The Chief Arbiter for the tournament is to be Panagiotis Nikolopoulos.
Four of the sixty-four scheduled round one matches games did not take place at all: Morozevich, Milov, Shulman and Hjartarson all failed to appear for their first game: their opponents (Elarbi, Neelotpal, Tkachiev and Kudrin respectively) progressed into round two by default. Top seed Topalov had problems with his flight into Libya, and the start of his first game was postponed to 5pm.
The seeding system in operation, whereby the top seed plays the bottom seed, the number two seed plays number 127, number 3 plays number 126 and so on, meant that serious round one upsets were unlikely, and indeed there were few surprises. Several of the top players, among them Ye (seeded 12), Azmaiparashvili (seeded 14) and Rublevsky (seeded 17) required the first pair of tie-break games to advance, and Vallejo-Pons (seeded 21) only went through after the two five-minute games, but in the end, all progressed as expected. The biggest first-round upset in terms of rating difference was Kritz (rated 2534 and seeded 105) knocking out Sasikiran (rated 2659 and seeded 24) by winning both the standard games. Apart from the defaults, he and Hamdouchi (who beat Motylev) were the only players to overcome a rating difference of more than 100 points to advance to round two.
Round two saw one major upset, and a number of smaller ones. The big surprise was number six seed Nigel Short being knocked out by Michał Krasenkow. In game one, Short (who had white) had the advantage of rook for knight and pawn, and was trying to squeeze a win out of it when, after around five hours of play, the position to the right arose. Short played the horrific 121.Re6?? Nxe6 (see algebraic notation
), and resigned a move later. He obtained a slight advantage in game two, but it wasn't enough to win, and the draw knocked him out of the competition.
Other upsets included Sokolov losing out to Kharlov, Malakhov being knocked out by Dominguez in the last tie-breaker and Azmaiparashvili losing to Lastin. Most of the top players had little difficulty, however: Topalov, Adams, Grischuk, Nisipeanu, Dreev and Akopian all progressed after the first two games. Ivanchuk required tie-breakers, but also proceeded to round three as expected.
The surprise of round three was Ivanchuk, seeded five, being knocked out by Kasimdzhanov. The two standard time control games had been fairly quiet affairs and were both drawn (the second, with Kasimdzhanov white, after just 16 moves) and the first rapid game was also drawn. In the second, Ivanchuk, despite having white, did little to press for a win, and the fairly level position shown arose. 21.Bxb7 Qxb7 appears to be equal, but Ivanchuk instead played 21.Rc1?, which simply lost a pawn to 21...Qxa3. Ivanchuk resigned six moves later, in a position which was certainly worse but from which many players would have continued to play. Ivanchuk has something of a reputation for being let down by his nerves, and this may have been another instance of that.
Elsewhere, there were minor surprises when Krasenkow followed up on his victory over Short to eliminate Zvjaginsev, 16-year old Nakamura (the youngest player remaining in the tournament) dispatched with Lastin, and Grischuk required the blitz tie-breakers to see off Filippov. Kozul's win over Rublevsky took his score for the event to 5½/6 with an Elo performance rating of over 3000. Top seeds Topalov and Adams advanced with little difficulty, winning their games with white and drawing with black.
In game one of round five, every game ended in a win for white. Top seeds Topalov (who had won every game apart from one draw going into this round) and Adams won as expected, but the other two wins were slight upsets.
Radjabov lost to Dominguez after a complicated opening after which white emerged with three connected passed pawns for a bishop, and number four seed Grischuk lost to Kasimdzhanov in an Exchange Ruy Lopez
. In the position shown to the right, which appears to be better for Black, Grischuk slipped up with 46...Bc2? allowing 47.Ne6+. This fork
s the king and bishop on c5, so 47...Rxe6 is forced, but this deflects the rook from defence of d7, allowing 48.R3d7+ Kb6 49.Rb8+, a skewer
which picks up the rook on b2. Grischuk fought on the exchange down before resigning on move 73.
The first game of Kasimdzhanov-Topalov was a Queen's Gambit
which was drawn after just fifteen moves in a position that has occurred in Grandmaster play several times before. Kasimdzhanov did not press for a win despite having the advantage of the white pieces; he followed a similar strategy in his match against Ivanchuk, possibly in the belief that if he could draw the standard time control games he would have better chances in rapid and blitz.
Radjabov-Adams was more eventful. Radjabov went for the Catalan Opening
, and Adams introduced a new idea in the position shown with 9...Nb6 10. Qe2 Na5 to hold onto his extra c-pawn (in the past, 9...Nxc3 10.bxc3 b5 had been played). Radjabov was unable to do much with any compensation he may have had, and eventually Adams was left a clean pawn up. He successfully converted this into a win to go 1-0 up.
In game two, Adams played the Rossolimo to Radjabov's Sicilian Defence
(1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5). Neither player obtained a significant advantage, and a draw was agreed
after White's 17th move. Topalov-Kasimdzhanov looked for a while like it would be more interesting: Kasimdzhanov played the Kan Sicilian (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6), and Topalov opted for a Maróczy Bind
-type structure with 5.c4. In response, Kasimdzhanov set up a hedgehog (with pawns on a6, b6, d6 and e6) and pushed his h-pawn to h3 to soften up Topalov's king side. In an unclear position, moves were repeated, and a draw was agreed after move 25.
Game three of Kasimdzhanov-Topalov was harder-fought. From a Sicilian Defence, Topalov gained control of the open c-file and invaded the White position, while Kasimdzhanov obtained some king-side pressure. Topalov's position appeared preferable, but he was unable to turn his advantage into anything solid, and, with both players becoming short of time, Kasimdzhanov won a pawn. Topalov appeared to have everything under control, however, and by using his king actively ensured that White could make no progress. A draw was agreed on move 63.
Radjabov-Adams game three was a Scotch Opening in which Radjabov appeared to build up a powerful attack. He may have missed a good chance to win with 26.Rf7. Instead, a draw was agreed on move 27.
This left Radjabov needing a win in game four to take the match to tie-breaks, a difficult feat when playing black against a 2700+ rated player: from the beginning of 2002 to this game, Adams had lost only one game with white in a normal time control game (against Alexei Shirov
at Reykjavik, 2003). Faced with such a tough task, Radjabov played an extremely unusual opening: the Gundaram Defence, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Qe7?! Adams played solidly, however, and never had a worse position. The game was drawn in 44 moves, putting Adams into the final.
Topalov-Kasimdzhanov was a Bogo Indian. Neither side seemed to have much of an advantage for most of the game, and when things simplified to a queen and knight endgame, it seemed a draw would result. Topalov played on, however, and managed to win a couple of pawns. Kasimdzhznov held the draw, however, with a perpetual check
.
This meant rapid tie-breaks were required to decide whether Topalov or Kasimdzhanov would progress. To the surprise of most, Kasimdzhanov won both games, and went through to the final.
in 2002. All three games had been drawn, though in Chessbase Magazine, Kasimdzhanov claimed he had a winning position at Wijk aan Zee.
The final was played on July 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12, with a rest day on July 9 and tie-breaks on July 13.
Game one, in which Adams had white, saw the Kan variation of the Sicilian Defence
(1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6). Kasimdzhanov equalised quite early, and a quick draw was agreed.
In game two, Adams played the Petroff Defence. His knight ended up somewhat out of the game on a5, and his e5 square was weak, allowing Kasimdzhanov to plant a knight there and obtain a significant positional advantage. Both players blundered on the last move of the time control (after which they each got an extra 15 minutes): in the position shown, Kasimdzhanov played 40.Kf2? which Adams should have answered with 40...Nxb5! which is at least equal; instead, he returned the favour with 40...Rc8?, and White was still significantly better.
Following 41.Rb1 g5 42.b6 axb6 43.axb6 gxf4 44.gxf4 Bd5 45.Bd3, a similar thing happened when Adams blundered with 45...Rf8? This pin
s the f4 pawn to the king and so seems to leave the e5 knight undefended, and it was probably for this reason that Kasimdzhanov played 46.Ke3? However, he could have won immediately with 46.Rxc5! when 46...Rxe5 does not work because of 47.Rc7+ when Black must either break the pin with 47...Kf6 or 47...Rf7 48.Rxf7 Kxf7 thus allowing fxe5; or else be mated with 47...Kg8 48.Rg1+ Kh8 49.Rxh7# or 47...Kh8 48.Rxh7+ Kg8 49.Rg1+ Rg5 50.Rxg5#. 46...Ne6 is also no good after 47.Rxd5 Nxf4 48.Rd7 Rxd7 49.Nxd7 Nxd3+ 50.Ke3.
In the event, Adams did not take advantage of White's mistake, and continued with 46...Nc6? (46...Ne6 was a much better try). The game ended 47.Rxc5 Nxe5 48.fxe5 Bb7 49.Be4 Rff7 50.Bxb7 Rxb7 51.Ke4 Rfd7 52.Rc6 Kf8 53.e6 Rd2 54.Rf1+ Ke8 55.Rc8+ and Adams resigned.
Game three was another Kan Sicilian, but Adams varied from game one early with 5.Nc3 instead of 5.Bd3. His 10.Qd2 in reply to 9...Bc5 was a new move (previously, 10.e5, which Adams had himself played in his win against Topalov at Tilburg in 1998, was normal): this may be planning 11.Qg5 which would prompt a weakening ...g6; if black defends with 10...f6, for example, then White can play 11.b4!? when 11...Bxb4 (11...Bd6 may be better) 12.Nxb5 leaves White with a strong position. Kasimdzhanov instead retreated with 10...Be7, losing a tempo
, and he never managed to equalise. Adams' pieces ended up being much more active than their black counterparts, and he eventually planted a strong knight on b5 and a rook on the seventh rank. Adams won a pawn, but turning that into a win did not seem straightforward until Kasimdzhanov played 30...Rd6?! in the position shown. This allowed Adams to make simplifying exchanges with 31.Rxb4 axb4 32.Ne7+ Qxe7 33.Qxd6. Now exchanging queens leaves a fairly trivially won rook endgame, so Kasimdzhanov instead played 33...Qe2, but this lost another pawn after 34.Rd4 h5 35.Qxb4, and White had a won position. Kasimdzhanov resigned on move 47, making the match level at 1.5-1.5.
After losing with the Petroff in game two, Adams instead played his usual 2...Nc6. Kasimdzhanov played the exchange variation of the Ruy Lopez
, as he had against Grischuk in round five, and they followed theory until Adams' novelty 12...f5. White exchanged pieces and played against Black's weakened queenside, a typical plan in this variation. Adams came under considerable pressure, but it seemed he may be able to hold White off until, in the diagrammed position, he apparently tired of passive defence, and lashed out with 30...Rxa5? (30...Ke7 is probably better), which after 31.bax5 Rxa5 32.f4! Bxf4 33.Rg6 Kf7 34.Rxe6 Kxe6 35.Bxf4 left him with just two weak pawns for a bishop. Adams resigned on move 40.
A pawn down, Adams was happy to take the draw with 42...Bxf2 43.Kxf2 Qc2+, when White has no way to escape the perpetual check
. In fact, though, Adams could have won with 42...Qe4! when there is no satisfactory way to escape the mate threat 43...Be5+ 44.f4 Qxf4+ 45.Kg2 Qg3+ 46.Kf1 Qf3+ 47.Kg1 Bd4+ 48.Kh2 Qf2+ 49.Kh1 Qg1# If White gives his king a flight square on f2 with 43...f3, then he gets mated by 43...Qe1+ 44.Kg4 Qg1+ 45.Kf4 e5+ 46.Ke4 Qe3+ 47.Kd5 Qxf3#; 43.Qxh7+ also leaves White doomed after 43...Kf8: for example, 44.Qh6+ Bg7 45.Qh4 Be5+ 46.f4 Qe1+ 47.Kg4 Qe2+ 48.Kg3 Bc3, and white has no defence to ...Be1; or 44.Qd7 Be5+ 45.f4 Bxf4+ (more simply, something like 45...Qxf4+ 46.Kg2 Qxg5+ 47.Kf2 Qg3+ 48.Ke2 Qg2+ 49.Kd1 Qxa2 also wins) 46.Kf2 Be3+ 47.Kf1 Qf3+ 48.Ke1 Qf2+ 49.Kd1 Qf1+ 50.Kc2 Qc1+ 51.Kb3 Qc4+ 52.Kb2 Bd4+ 53.Kb1 Qd3+ 54.Kc1 Be3+, and White loses his queen (with mate soon to follow).
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
, Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, from June 18 to July 13.
It was won by Rustam Kasimdzhanov
Rustam Kasimdzhanov
Rustam Kasimdzhanov is an Uzbekistani chess Grandmaster, best known for winning the FIDE World Chess Championship 2004. He was born in Tashkent, in the former Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic...
, who beat Michael Adams in the final by a score of 4½-3½. He won prize money of around US$100,000 (US$80,000 after organiser FIDE
Fédération Internationale des Échecs
The Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national chess federations around the world and acts as the governing body of international chess competition. It is usually referred to as FIDE , its French acronym.FIDE...
had taken its cut), and the title of FIDE World Chess Champion.
The intention was that the tournament winner played world number one Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
in a step towards the reunification of the World Chess Championship
World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....
. However that match never took place.
Pre-Tournament
Ever since 1993, when Garry KasparovGarry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
and Nigel Short
Nigel Short
Nigel David Short MBE is an English chess grandmaster earning the title at the age of 19. Short is often regarded as the strongest English player of the 20th century as he was ranked third in the world, from January 1988 – July 1989 and in 1993, he challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess...
broke away from chess governing body FIDE to play their world championship match under the auspices of the newly-formed Professional Chess Association
Professional Chess Association
The Professional Chess Association , which existed between 1993 and 1996, was a rival organisation to FIDE, the international chess organization...
, there had been two chess world championships: one organised by FIDE (which used the knock-out format from 1998 to 2004) and one by a variety of other bodies (in the form of a long match between champion and challenger). The 2004 FIDE Championship was a part of what was, at the time, the most serious attempt yet to reunify the title, the so-called Prague Agreement.
The plan under this agreement when it was drawn up in 2002 was that reigning FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov
Ruslan Ponomariov
Ruslan Olegovich Ponomariov is a Ukrainian chess player and former FIDE World Champion.-Early career:Ponomariov was born in Horlivka in Ukraine. In 1994 he placed third in the World Under-12 Championship at the age of ten. In 1996 he won the European Under-18 Championship at the age of just...
and world number one on the FIDE Elo rating list Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
played a match, and that the so-called "classical" world champion Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the undisputed World Chess Champion from 2006 to 2007...
and winner of the 2002 Dortmund tournament (which turned out to be Péter Lékó
Péter Lékó
On the way to winning the prestigious Corus chess tournament in 2005, Lékó defeated Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand with the black pieces. The moves were:...
) played each other. The winners of these two matches would then play one another to produce a unified champion.
The match between Ponomariov and Kasparov, however, fell through after FIDE refused to alter various things in the contract on Ponomariov's request, and he refused to sign. FIDE announced that instead the winner of the next FIDE knock-out championship played against Kasparov in a match to be held not later than July 2005 (Kramnik and Lékó played their match in September–October 2004). Therefore, as well as the championship determining who was to be the next FIDE world champion, it would also determine who played Kasparov in what was effectively a semifinal match for the unified championship.
Post-Tournament
After Kasimdzhanov's victory, FIDE opened the bidding for the Kasimdzhanov-Kasparov match in August 2004, bids to be received by September 15. This deadline was later extended to September 25. The organiser was to be chosen at the FIDE Presidential Board meeting in October 2004, but in fact, FIDE President Kirsan IlyumzhinovKirsan Ilyumzhinov
Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov is a Kalmyk multi-millionaire businessman and politician. He was the President of the Republic of Kalmykia in the Russian Federation from 1993 to 2010, and he has been the President of FIDE , the world's pre-eminent international chess organization, since 1995...
announced ahead of this time that the match had been awarded to the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
.
The plan did not come to fruition: the promised funding for the match never arrived, and plans to hold the match instead in Turkey also came to nothing. The whole question of how and when the Kasparov-Kasimdzhanov match would take place, or what would occur in its stead, was made irrelevant by Kasparov's announcement in March 2005 that he was retiring from serious chess.
Kasimdzhanov's victory did, however, earn him (and runner-up Michael Adams) an invitation to the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005
FIDE World Chess Championship 2005
The FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 took place in Potrero de los Funes, San Luis Province in Argentina from September 27 to October 16, 2005. It was won by Veselin Topalov.-Background:...
. Kasimdzhanov also gained automatic entry to the Candidates Tournament
Candidates Tournament
The Candidates Tournament is a chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship...
for the FIDE World Chess Championship 2007.
The world championship was eventually reunified in 2006, when classical champion Kramnik defeated the winner of the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005
FIDE World Chess Championship 2005
The FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 took place in Potrero de los Funes, San Luis Province in Argentina from September 27 to October 16, 2005. It was won by Veselin Topalov.-Background:...
, Veselin Topalov
Veselin Topalov
Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster. He currently has the sixth highest rating in the world, and was the challenger facing world champion Viswanathan Anand in the World Chess Championship 2010, losing the match 6½–5½....
.
Format
One source of criticism, in common with when it has been used for previous FIDE championships, has been the event's format. In particular, the relatively quick time controls have been controversial. (90 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 15 minutes till the end of the game and an incremental time of 30 seconds per move from move one.) Zhang Zhong, for example, was quoted as saying "the time limit is too fast for such a world championship. We should call it a World Cup … a world championship needs more classic time controls" and Nigel Short claimed that "If you took the top 100 players and survey their opinion you would probably find around 75% are against this time control".Another criticism centered on the knockout format of the tournament. Although knockout matches had been used prior to the introduction of this tournament format, the brevity of these matches (Best of 2 elimination matches with a Best of 6 Championship Match, as opposed to the Best of 10 elimination matches and Best of 24 Championship Match seen in earlier cycles) led many to consider them to be of little value in determining the better player.
Location
Perhaps the greatest criticism has concerned the choice of LibyaLibya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
as venue. Claims of human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
abuses, and state sponsored terrorism have caused some consternation, but on a more practical level the country's history of not allowing entry to citizens of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
has been of some concern, as three Israeli players (Boris Gelfand
Boris Gelfand
Boris Abramovich Gelfand is a Belarus-born Israeli chess Grandmaster. He won the 2011 Candidates Tournament and will challenge Viswanathan Anand for the World Chess Championship 2012.-Biography:...
, Emil Sutovsky
Emil Sutovsky
Emil Sutovsky is an Israeli chess Grandmaster. He is one of the several top chess grandmasters who were born in Baku, Azerbaijan .-Successes:...
and Ilia Smirin) had either qualified for the championships or were high on the list of reserves (in the event of qualifiers choosing not to play). Additionally, a number of players have joint Israeli and American citizenship, and so were also expected to be disallowed entry.
With this in mind, FIDE originally announced that a parallel event in Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
would be held alongside the one in Tripoli to ensure that Israeli players could take part—Sutovsky sent his entry form back on the condition he played in Malta. This parallel event was cancelled, however, following a press release from the Libyan authorities that "The Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya will pleasantly provide entry visas to all the qualified participants of this great Championship", which was taken by most (including FIDE) to mean that all players, including Israelis, would be welcome to take part. This appeared to be contradicated by a statement from Mohammed Qadhafi, chairman of the Libyan Olympic Committee (FIDE is affiliated with the IOC
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
) and son of Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
, that "We [the Libyans] did not and will not invite the Zionist enemy to this championship."
Several prominent figures have criticized FIDE over this matter, with both Grandmaster Boris Gulko, a Jew with joint American and Israeli citizenship, and Beatriz Marinello
Beatriz Marinello
Beatriz Marinello is a Woman International Master chess player from the United States. She was president of the United States Chess Federation from 2003 to 2005 and a member of the executive board from 2003 to 2007.-Life:...
, president of the United States Chess Federation
United States Chess Federation
The United States Chess Federation is a non-profit organization, the governing chess organization within the United States, and one of the federations of the FIDE. The USCF was founded in 1939 from the merger of two regional chess organizations, and grew gradually until 1972, when membership...
writing open letters to FIDE criticizing their handling of the issue.
On May 13, the Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
wrote to FIDE, saying it was "troubling" that Libya should be hosting the championships, and urging FIDE to ensure that Israeli players were treated equally. The letter raises concerns over the Libyans not allowing the coaches and families of Israeli players into the country. Similar concerns were expressed in an Association of Chess Professionals
Association of Chess Professionals
The Association of Chess Professionals is a not-for-profit organisation, the closest thing in existence to a trade union for professional chess players. According to Article 2 of its terms:-History:...
(ACP) open letter of May 26 (the ACP have also criticized several other aspects of the tournament's organization).
FIDE has maintained throughout that Israeli players would have been issued with visas upon their arrival in Libya. This assurance was never put to the test, however: none of the qualified players took part in the championship and Boris Gulko, who has joint American and Israeli citizenship, withdrew from the event after initially indicating he played (fellow Americans Alexander Shabalov
Alexander Shabalov
Alexander Shabalov is an American chess grandmaster, the multiple winner of the U.S. Chess Championships; he was the 2007 US Champion. He was born in Latvia, and like his fellow Latvians Alexei Shirov and Mikhail Tal he is known for courting complications even at the cost of objective soundness...
and Alexander Onischuk
Alexander Onischuk
Alexander Onischuk is an American chess grandmaster. Originally from Ukraine, he immigrated to the US in 2001 and currently lives in Northern Virginia. He was the 2006 U.S. Chess Champion...
also withdrew in sympathy with the concerns of Gulko and others ). The only player in the final list of participants with an Israeli passport—Vadim Milov, representing Switzerland—never travelled to Libya: he complained that his official invitation to the event had arrived so late (on the day of the opening ceremony, one day before the first game) that it was physically impossible for him to get to Libya with it in time. Milov claims that this constituted a deliberate attempt by FIDE to exclude him. In response, FIDE said that the delay in sending Milov's invitation was due to Milov not sending them his passport details until a deadline had passed, and that even with this delay, Milov could still have arrived in Tripoli in time for his first game, which they had offered to postpone if necessary. Milov took his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport
Court of Arbitration for Sport
The Court of Arbitration for Sport is an international arbitration body set up to settle disputes related to sport. Its headquarters are in Lausanne and its courts are located in New York, Sydney and Lausanne, Switzerland...
(Tribunal Arbitral de Sport) in Lausanne which found that FIDE "undertook extraordinary efforts to make sure that Claimant [Milov] could participate in the WCC 2004 although such efforts could and should have been made earlier" and ultimately cleared FIDE of any ill-intentioned effort to exclude Milov, concluding "there is no ground for Claimant to claim damages from Respondent.". Milov later responded to this decision in an open letter.
It was also reported (on June 17) that the Israeli chess federation was considering suing FIDE "for compensation for the damages incurred by our exclusion from this tournament".
Strength
As a result of these and other factors, many of the players who were invited to take part in the tournament - including world number two Viswanathan AnandViswanathan Anand
V. Anand or Anand Viswanathan, usually referred as Viswanathan Anand, is an Indian chess Grandmaster, the current World Chess Champion, and currently second highest rated player in the world....
, and number six Peter Svidler
Peter Svidler
Peter Veniaminovich Svidler is a Russian chess grandmaster.He is six-time Russian champion ....
- declined. In addition, Kasparov, Kramnik and Lékó did not take part owing to them being involved at a later stage of the reunification process. This combination this led to a somewhat weaker lineup than previous championships, with only three of the world's top ten accepting the invitation to play, and only two of those actually turning up to the event. This weakness has itself been a cause of controversy, with claims that any tournament with so many top players missing should not be considered a World Championship at all.
List of participants
On May 28, FIDE published a list of participants in the championship which was billed as "final". However, changes were made following the withdrawal of Gulko, Shabalov and Onischuk. A later "final" list included players of a range of skills from Veselin Topalov (rated 2737 and number five in the world on the FIDE Elo rating list) down to Tarik Abulhul (rated just 2076). It included only three of the world's top ten.The following are the 128 players included in this list in order of seeding (from highest ranked to lowest), with the country they represent and their FIDE Elo rating on the April 2004 list:
- Veselin TopalovVeselin TopalovVeselin Aleksandrov Topalov is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster. He currently has the sixth highest rating in the world, and was the challenger facing world champion Viswanathan Anand in the World Chess Championship 2010, losing the match 6½–5½....
, Bulgaria, 2737 - Alexander MorozevichAlexander MorozevichAlexander Morozevich is a Russian chess Grandmaster. In the November 2011 FIDE list, he had an Elo rating of 2762, making him the 9th-highest rated player in the world, although he has previously ranked as high as second, in the July 2008 list....
, Russia, 2732 - Michael Adams, England, 2731
- Alexander GrischukAlexander GrischukAlexander Igorevich Grischuk is a Russian chess grandmaster and Russian Champion in 2009.-Chess career:In the FIDE World Chess Championship 2000, Grischuk he made it to the semifinals, losing to Alexei Shirov....
, Russia, 2719 - Vasily Ivanchuk, Ukraine, 2716
- Nigel ShortNigel ShortNigel David Short MBE is an English chess grandmaster earning the title at the age of 19. Short is often regarded as the strongest English player of the 20th century as he was ranked third in the world, from January 1988 – July 1989 and in 1993, he challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess...
, England, 2712 - Vladimir Malakhov, Russia, 2695
- Liviu-Dieter NisipeanuLiviu-Dieter NisipeanuLiviu-Dieter Nisipeanu is a Romanian chess grandmaster. His peak FIDE rating was 2707 in October 2005, when he was ranked fifteenth in the world, and the highest ranked Romanian player ever...
, Romania, 2692 - Ivan SokolovIvan SokolovIvan Sokolov is a chess grandmaster born in Jajce, SFR Yugoslavia, who currently resides in the Netherlands. Sokolov won the 1988 Yugoslav Championship....
, Netherlands, 2690 - Alexey DreevAlexey DreevAlexey Dreev is a chess grandmaster from Russia. His career peak Elo rating was 2705, attained in October 2003 and again in April 2005.He qualified for the Candidates Tournament in 1991, but lost his Quarter Final match to Viswanathan Anand in Madras .Then in the FIDE World Championship...
, Russia, 2689 - Vladimir Akopian, Armenia, 2689
- Ye JiangchuanYe JiangchuanYe Jiangchuan is a veteran Chinese chess player and has been one of China's leading players in modern history.In 1993, Ye became China's third Grandmaster, after Ye Rongguang and Xie Jun. On 1 January 2000, he became the first ever Chinese player to cross the 2600 elo rating mark...
, China, 2681 - Vadim MilovVadim MilovVadim Milov is a Russian–born Israeli–Swiss Grandmaster of chess.Following the collapse of the USSR he moved to Israel, before finally settling in Switzerland in 1996....
, Switzerland, 2680 - Zurab AzmaiparashviliZurab AzmaiparashviliZurab Azmaiparashvili is a chess Grandmaster from Georgia. In the September 2010 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2637, making him 114th in the world and Georgia's number two.-Career:He became a Grandmaster in 1988...
, Georgia, 2679 - Étienne BacrotÉtienne BacrotÉtienne Bacrot is a French chess grandmaster and currently ranked number one in France.He started playing at 4; by 10 young Bacrot was already winning junior competitions and in 1996, at 13 years of age, he won against Vasily Smyslov...
, France, 2675 - Mikhail GurevichMikhail Gurevich (chess player)Mikhail Naumovich Gurevich is a Soviet chess player. He lived in Belgium from 1991 to 2005 and since then resides in Turkey....
, Belgium, 2672 - Sergei RublevskySergei RublevskySergei Rublevsky is a Russian chess grandmaster . He won the prestigious Aeroflot Open in 2004, and became the 58th Russian chess champion after winning the Russian Superfinal in Moscow , one point clear from Dmitry Jakovenko and Alexander Morozevich.He finished in the top 10 in the 2005 FIDE...
, Russia, 2671 - Teimour RadjabovTeimour RadjabovRadjabov's knight sacrifice, 21. ... Ngxe5, was praised by several strong players for its bravery, including English grandmaster Nigel Short. Said Short of the move, "Radjabov plays very imaginatively... he just won't give up, he is extremely tenacious and will always find a way to muddy the...
, Azerbaijan, 2670 - Aleksej AleksandrovAleksej AleksandrovAleksej Aleksandrov is a chess grandmaster .-Selected tournament results:* 1991: Victory at the USSR Junior Chess Championship* 1992: Victory at the European Junior Chess Championship...
, Belarus, 2668 - Alexander BeliavskyAlexander Beliavsky-External links:...
, Slovenia, 2667 - Francisco Vallejo PonsFrancisco Vallejo PonsFrancisco Vallejo Pons is a chess Grandmaster from Spain. He was a chess prodigy, achieving the grandmaster title at the age of 16 years and 9 months, which makes him the 20th youngest player to ever become a grandmaster...
, Spain, 2666 - Viktor Bologan, Moldova, 2665
- Konstantin SakaevKonstantin SakaevKonstantin Sakaev is a Russian chess Grandmaster , from St Petersburg and Russian Champion in 1999. He is also a chess writer. Sakaev is on the staff of the Grandmaster Chess School in St...
, Russia, 2665 - Krishnan SasikiranKrishnan SasikiranKrishnan Sasikiran is an Indian chess Grandmaster. Among Indians, he is second, after Viswanathan Anand, No. 6 in Asia & ranked 56th in the world in FIDE rating as on September 2011....
, India, 2659 - Shakhriyar MamedyarovShakhriyar MamedyarovShakhriyar Hamid oglu Mammadyarov , also known for his Shah nickname, is a chess Grandmaster. On the September 2010 FIDE rating list he was ranked number nine in the world with an Elo rating of 2756....
, Azerbaijan, 2657 - Alexander GrafAlexander GrafAlexander Graf is an Uzbekistani-German chess grandmaster. In 2000 he moved to Germany and took his father's name. He took bronze in the 2003 European Individual Chess Championship. In 2004 he won the German Chess Championship.-External links:*...
, Germany, 2656 - Vadim ZvjaginsevVadim ZvjaginsevCifuentes-Parada-Zvjaginsev, Wijk aan Zee Open 1995 1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 Nf6 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 b6 7.Be2 Bb7 8.O-O Be7 9.Rd1 O-O 10.e4 dxe4 11.Nxe4 Qc7 12.Nc3 c5 13.d5 exd5 14.cxd5 a6 15.Nh4 g6 16.Bh6 Rfe8 17.Qd2 Bd6 18.g3 b5 19.Bf3 b4 20.Ne2 Ne4 21.Qc2 Ndf6 22.Ng2 Qd7 23.Ne3 Rad8 24.Bg2? ...
, Russia, 2654 - Rustam KasimdzhanovRustam KasimdzhanovRustam Kasimdzhanov is an Uzbekistani chess Grandmaster, best known for winning the FIDE World Chess Championship 2004. He was born in Tashkent, in the former Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic...
, Uzbekistan, 2652 - Loek van WelyLoek van WelyLoek van Wely is a chess Grandmaster from the Netherlands. He won the Dutch Chess Championship six times straight from 2000 through 2005. He was rated among the world's top ten in 2001. In 2002, in Maastricht, Netherlands, van Wely took on the computer program Rebel in a four-game match. The...
, Netherlands, 2651 - Alexander MotylevAlexander MotylevAlexander Anatolyevich Motylev is an International Grandmaster of chess and a former champion of Russia.He learnt how to play at the age of four and a half years and at age six took part in group instruction sessions. This is not uncommon in Russia where chess is very much part of the school...
, Russia, 2649 - Giovanni VescoviGiovanni VescoviGiovanni Portilho Vescovi is an Brazilian chess player. He is currently the highest rated Brazilian and has won the national championship seven times...
, Brazil, 2648 - Predrag NikolićPredrag NikolicPredrag Nikolić is a Bosnian chess grandmaster.He first competed for the Yugoslav Championship in 1979, taking a share of second place. The following year and again in 1984, he went one step further and became the Yugoslav national champion...
, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2648 - Sergei MovsesianSergei MovsesianSergei Movsesian is an Armenian chess Grandmaster who used to play for Slovakia, but as of late 2010, Movsesian announced that he plays for his home country of Armenia...
, Slovakia, 2647 - Levon AronianLevon AronianLevon Grigor Aronian is an Armenian chess Grandmaster and the reigning World Blitz Chess Champion. On the September 2011 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2807, making him number three in the world and Armenia's number one...
, Armenia, 2645 - Jóhann HjartarsonJohann HjartarsonJóhann Hjartarson is a chess Grandmaster from Iceland. He earned the International Master title in 1984 and the Grandmaster title a year later. Among his best international tournament results are equal fourth at Reykjavik 1988 , equal third at Tilburg 1988 and sixth at Belgrade 1989...
, Iceland, 2640 - Valerij Filippov, Russia, 2639
- Rafael VaganianRafael VaganianRafael Artemovich Vaganian, also transliterated Vahanyan is an Armenian chess grandmaster known for his sharp tactical style of play...
, Armenia, 2639 - Kiril GeorgievKiril GeorgievKiril Dimitrov Georgiev is a Bulgarian chess master and three times the national champion. He should not be confused with fellow Bulgarian chess player Krum Georgiev....
, FYR Macedonia, 2637 - Vladislav TkachievVladislav Tkachiev-Biography:In 1982, he moved to Kazakhstan with his parents and learnt to play chess a year later. A winner of the Kazakhstani Youth Championship in 1985, he went on to represent Kazakhstan at the 1992 Chess Olympiad in Manila and was twice the national champion....
, France, 2635 - Smbat LputianSmbat LputianSmbat Gariginovich Lputian is an Armenian chess Grandmaster. He was first at tournament in Berlin 1982, shared first at Athens 1983 and at Irkutsk 1983, first at Sarajevo 1985 and at Irkutsk 1986, shared first at Hastings 1986-87 and first at Dortmund 1988...
, Armenia, 2634 - Zhang ZhongZhang ZhongZhang Zhong is a Chinese chess grandmaster who now plays for Singapore.In 1998, he became China's 9th Grandmaster.-Career:Among Zhang's more notable results are silver medals at the 1996 and 1998 World Junior Chess Championships, first in the 2001 Chinese Championship, 8.5/12 at the 2002 Chess...
, China, 2633 - Bartłomiej Macieja, Poland, 2633
- Alexander MoiseenkoAlexander MoiseenkoAlexander Moiseenko is a Ukrainian chess Grandmaster. He was a member of the gold-medal winning Ukrainian team at the chess Olympiad in 2004....
, Ukraine, 2631 - Zoltán AlmásiZoltan AlmasiZoltán Almási is a Grandmaster of chess from Hungary. He is a seven-time Hungarian Chess Champion, winning in 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2006 and 2008...
, Hungary, 2631 - Mikhail KobaliaMikhail KobaliaMikhail Kobalia is a Russian chess Grandmaster .In 1994 he won European Youth Chess Championship in Guarapuava. In 2001 was clear first in the Chigorin Memorial at St. Petersburg. In 2005 came first in the Masters Open Tournament in Biel...
, Russia, 2630 - Sergei VolkovSergey Volkov (chess)Sergey Viktorovich Volkov is a Russian chess Grandmaster.Volkov has been in the FIDE world's top 50 list and has enjoyed many tournament successes, including victory at the 2000 Russian Chess Championship in Samara...
, Russia, 2629 - Peter Heine NielsenPeter Heine NielsenPeter Heine Nielsen is a Danish chess Grandmaster.-Chess career:Nielsen became an International Grandmaster in 1994. He won the Danish Chess Championship five times: in 1996, 1999, 2001, 2003, and 2008. He played for Denmark in seven Chess Olympiads, three times on top board, with an overall...
, Denmark, 2628 - Viorel IordachescuViorel IordachescuViorel Iordachescu is a Moldovan chess grandmaster . He took part in the Chess World Cup 2011, but was eliminated in the first round by Sebastien Feller....
, Moldova, 2627 - Zdenko KozulZdenko KožulZdenko Kožul is a Croatian chess grandmaster and was the 2006 European champion.-Chess career:Kožul was born in the north-western Bosnian town of Bihać, . He was awarded the grandmaster title by FIDE in 1989. In 1989 and 1990, Kozul won consecutive Yugoslavian championships...
, Croatia, 2627 - Darmen SadvakasovDarmen SadvakasovDarmen Sadvakasov is a Kazakhstani chess grandmaster. Sadvakasov received the International Master title in 1995 and the GM title in 1998 as a result of his victory in the World Junior Championship. He tied for first at Bali 2000 and the 2003 Samba Cup, and won first place outright at Copenhagen...
, Kazakhstan, 2626 - Alexander LastinAlexander LastinAlexander Lastin is a Russian chess Grandmaster. In 2002 he won the Russian Chess Championship. His current rating 2659 is also his peak rating.-Notable Games:Russian Men's Championship 2009, Rnd. 4...
, Russia, 2622 - Bu XiangzhiBu XiangzhiBu Xiangzhi is a Chinese chess grandmaster. In 1999, he became China's 10th Grandmaster at the age of 13 years, 10 months, 13 days, at the time the youngest in history. In April 2008, Bu and Ni Hua became the second and third Chinese players to pass the 2700 Elo rating line, after Wang Yue...
, China, 2621 - Evgeny VladimirovEvgeny VladimirovEvgeny Vladimirov is a chess Grandmaster from Kazakhstan. Vladimirov took on the computer program Hydra in August 2004 and lost three games and drew one....
, Kazakhstan, 2621 - Evgeny Alekseev, Russia, 2616
- Baadur JobavaBaadur JobavaBaadur Jobava is a Georgian chess grandmaster. His first major achievement on the international scene was winning the Dubai Open 2003 with 7/9. He took the gold medal at the 2004 36th Chess Olympiad, scoring 8½/10. He has taken part in the Olympiads 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010...
, Georgia, 2616 - Rustem DautovRustem DautovRustem Hazitovich Dautov is a German chess Grandmaster of Tatar origin.In 1983 he won the USSR U18 youth championship and in 1986 the Belarusian Chess Championship. He completed his military service in the 1980s in the sports department of the Soviet army, which was stationed in East Germany...
, Germany, 2616 - Gabriel Sargissian, Armenia, 2614
- Leinier Domínguez, Cuba, 2612
- Michał Krasenkow, Poland, 2609
- Jun Xu, China, 2608
- Vasilios Kotronias, Cyprus, 2607
- Karen AsrianKaren AsrianKaren Asrian was an Armenian chess Grandmaster.As of the October 2006 FIDE rating list, his Elo rating was 2634, tied for the fourth highest rank in Armenia....
, Armenia, 2605 - Lazaro BruzonLázaro BruzónLázaro Bruzón Batista is a chess grandmaster from Cuba. On the January 2011 FIDE list his Elo rating is 2686. Bruzón was the 2000 World Junior Chess Champion. In 2004 he finished first at the XII Torneo "Guillermo Garcia" in Memoriam in Villa Clara...
, Cuba, 2602 - Aleksander DelchevAleksander DelchevAleksander Delchev is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster. He won the Bulgarian Chess Championship in 1994, 1996 and 2001. He participated in five Chess Olympiads with a performance of 60.4% ....
, Bulgaria, 2602
- Alexander GalkinAlexander GalkinAlexander Galkin is a Russian chess grandmaster. Galkin won the 1999 World Junior Chess Championship.In the September 2009 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2608.-External links:...
, Russia, 2602 - Pavel SmirnovPavel SmirnovPavel Smirnov is a Russian chess Grandmaster .In 2004 he reached the 4th round of the FIDE World Chess Championship, but lost to Teimour Radjabov. In the same year he came first in the Tigran Petrosian Memorial in Yerevan...
, Russia, 2601 - Evgenij Agrest, Sweden, 2601
- Giorgi Kacheishvili, Georgia, 2600
- Pendyala HarikrishnaPendyala HarikrishnaPentala Harikrishna is a chess player from Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India. Harikrishna became the youngest grandmaster from India in 2001. He is No. 3 in India after Viswanathan Anand & Krishnan Sasikiran, No. 9 in Asia & ranked 71st in the world as per FIDE rating as on November 2011.In November...
, India, 2599 - Gilberto MilosGilberto MilosGilberto Milos is a Brazilian chess player with a current Elo chess rating of 2593. He was awarded the title of International Master in 1984 and the title of Grandmaster in 1988. He was the Brazilian National Champion in 1984, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1994 and 1995...
, Brazil, 2599 - Ernesto InarkievErnesto InarkievErnesto Inarkiev is a Russian chess Grandmaster. He was named after Ernesto "Che" Guevara. In 2006 he came third in the 59th Russian Chess Championship Superfinal....
, Russia, 2595 - Sergei TiviakovSergei TiviakovSergei Tiviakov is a naturalised Dutch chess Grandmaster.Tiviakov won the Dutch Chess Championship in 2006 and 2007. In 2008, in Plovdiv, he won the European Individual Chess Championship with 8.5/11....
, Netherlands, 2593 - Andrei KharlovAndrei Kharlov__FORCETOC__Andrei Kharlov is a Russian chess player. In 1992, he received the title of Grandmaster after tying for first place in the 1990 Russian National Championships. Since then, Kharlov has won the 1996 Eurocup and the 1998 Russian Club Cup with the Kazan chess team...
, Russia, 2593 - Ruben FelgaerRubén FelgaerRubén Felgaer is an Argentine chess Grandmaster.Felgaer was twice Panamerican Junior Champion, in 2000 and 2001.He was Argentine Champion in 2001, and took 2nd in 2000, 3rd in 2003, 2nd in 2004, and 2nd in 2006 ....
, Argentina, 2592 - Utut AdiantoUtut AdiantoUtut Adianto Wahyuwidayat is an Indonesian chess Grandmaster. He is Indonesia's top-rated player of all-time with an Elo rating of 2548.-Biography:...
, Indonesia, 2591 - Ni HuaNi HuaNi Hua is one of China's top chess grandmasters and is the national team captain. In 2003, he became China's 15th Grandmaster at the age of 19. On April 2008, Ni Hua and Bu Xiangzhi both became the second and third Chinese players to pass the 2700 Elo rating line, after Wang Yue...
, China, 2587 - Ashot AnastasianAshot AnastasianAshot Anastasian is an Armenian chess Grandmaster. On the March 2011 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2556, making him ranked number 14 in Armenia....
, Armenia, 2587 - Robert KempińskiRobert KempinskiRobert Kempiński is a Polish chess grandmaster. At the age of 14 he won the Polish junior championship in his age category, and the year after that he won the Polish junior championship for U20. In the following years he represented Poland in international competitions...
, Poland, 2586 - Pavel KotsurPavel KotsurPavel Kotsur is a chess Grandmaster and FIDE Arbiter from Kazakhstan.He played for Kazakhstan in the Chess Olympiads of 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2008 and in the World Team Chess Championship of 1997...
, Kazakhstan, 2586 - Dao Thien Hai, Vietnam, 2583
- Ivan Morovic Fernandez, Chile, 2583
- Surya Ganguly, India, 2582
- Hikaru NakamuraHikaru NakamuraHikaru Nakamura is an American chess Grandmaster . He has been ranked among the top six players in the world by FIDE....
, USA, 2580 - Sergey KarjakinSergey KarjakinSergey Alexandrovich Karjakin is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was a chess prodigy and holds the record for both the youngest International Master, eleven years and eleven months, and grandmaster in history, at the age of twelve years and seven months...
, Ukraine, 2580 - Mohamad Al-ModiahkiMohamad Al-ModiahkiMohammed Ahmed Al-Modiahki is a chess Grandmaster. He was the first player in Qatar to earn the title of grandmaster, and is the country's best player...
, Qatar, 2579 - Sergey DolmatovSergey DolmatovSergey Viktorovich Dolmatov is a Russian Grandmaster of chess and former World Junior Chess Champion.Born in Kiselevsk in the former Soviet Union, Dolmatov's solid yet enterprising style of play was soon to launch him to the forefront of youth chess, culminating in him winning the World Junior...
, Russia, 2573 - Sarunas SulskisŠarūnas ŠulskisŠarūnas Šulskis is a Lithuanian chess Grandmaster .-Chess career:He won the Lithuanian Chess Championship on five occasions: in 1991, 1994, 1998 , 2007 and 2009...
, Lithuania, 2570 - Rafael LeitãoRafael LeitãoRafael Duailibe Leitão is a Brazilian chess grandmaster. He won the World Youth Chess Championship in the U12 category in 1991 and in the U18 category in 1996...
, Brazil, 2564 - Merab GagunashviliMerab GagunashviliMerab Gagunashvili is a Georgian chess grandmaster and Georgian Champion in 2004.In 2001, he won the silver medal in the World Junior Chess Championship. In 2009 he tied for 3rd-8th with Anton Filippov, Elshan Moradiabadi, Vadim Malakhatko, Alexander Shabalov and Niaz Murshed in the Ravana...
, Georgia, 2562 - Yury ShulmanYury ShulmanYuri Shulman is a Belarusian American chess grandmaster. He also goes by the alternate spelling of "Yury Shulman."-Chess career:Shulman started formal chess lessons with coach Tamara Golovey when he was six years old. He went on to study under International Master Albert Kapengut at age 12, and...
, USA, 2559 - Aleksander WojtkiewiczAleksander WojtkiewiczAleksander Wojtkiewicz was a Polish International Grandmaster of chess. He was born in Latvia. In his early teens he was already a strong player; a student of ex-world champion Mikhail Tal whom he assisted in the 1979 Interzonal tournament in Riga. He won the Latvian Chess Championship in 1981...
, USA, 2559 - Ehsan Ghaem MaghamiEhsan Ghaem MaghamiEhsan Ghaem-Maghami is a chess grandmaster from Iran. On the September 2011 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2583.In 2009, he won a 20 games combined match against Anatoly Karpov, played with a special rule: play to mate or dead draw...
, Iran, 2558 - Daniel CamporaDaniel CámporaDaniel Hugo Cámpora an Argentine chess Grandmaster.He was Argentine Junior Champion in 1975. He was twice Argentine Champion in 1986 and 1989, and twice Sub-Champion in 1978 and 1987....
, Argentina, 2557 - Sergey KudrinSergey KudrinSergey Kudrin is an American chess Grandmaster who was born in the Soviet Union. He achieved his Grandmaster title in 1984 going on to win chess tournaments at Copenhagen in 1983, and Beer-Sheva in 1984, and Torremolinos in 1985...
, USA, 2557 - Magnus CarlsenMagnus CarlsenSven Magnus Øen Carlsen is a Norwegian chess Grandmaster and chess prodigy who is currently the number-one ranked player in the world. In January 2010 he became the seventh player ranked number one in the world on the official FIDE rating list...
, Norway, 2552 - Konstantin LandaKonstantin LandaKonstantin Landa is a Russian chess Grandmaster.His best tournament results include: =1st with Zahar Efimenko at Fürth 2002, 1st at Trieste 2005, 1st at Reggio Emilia 2006, 1st at Vlissingen chess tournament 2011....
, Russia, 2550 - Peter AcsPeter AcsPéter Ács is a Hungarian chess grandmaster . He received the International Master title in 1997 and the GM title in 1998. In 2001 he won the World Junior Chess Championship. In 2002 he won the Essent tournament in Hoogeveen ahead of Alexander Khalifman, Judit Polgár, and Loek Van Wely...
, Hungary, 2548 - Gadir Guseinov, Azerbaijan, 2548
- Hichem HamdouchiHichem HamdouchiHichem Hamdouchi is currently the strongest Moroccan chess player and one of the leading African grandmasters....
, Morocco, 2544 - Alexander Ivanov, USA, 2544
- Alejandro Ramírez, Costa Rica, 2542
- Darcy LimaDarcy LimaDarcy Gustavo Machado Vieira Lima a Brazilian chess master.At the beginning of his career, he won at Fortaleza 1980 ....
, Brazil, 2542 - Dibyendu BaruaDibyendu BaruaDibyendu Barua is a chess Grandmaster from the city of Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal. He is the second Indian to become a Grandmaster, after Viswanathan Anand. In 1978, Barua, as a 12-year-old, became the youngest participant in the Indian National Championship of chess...
, India, 2539 - Valeriy Neverov, Ukraine, 2537
- Leonid Kritz, Germany, 2534
- Dimitrios MastrovasilisDimitrios MastrovasilisDimitrios Mastrovasilis is a Greek chess Grandmaster .In 2004 he tied for 1st-2nd with Kiril Georgiev at Topola. In 2007 he tied for 2nd-7th with Kiril Georgiev, Vadim Malakhatko, Mircea Parligras, Hristos Banikas and Dmitry Svetushkin in the Acropolis International Chess Tournament.He played for...
, Greece, 2533 - Mark ParaguaMark ParaguaMark Callano Paragua is a Filipino chess Grandmaster. He was born in the Philippines to Flordeliza Callano and Ricardo Paragua, who is also his coach...
, Philippines, 2529 - Rodrigo Vasquez, Chile, 2523
- Alexei BarsovAlexei BarsovAlexei Barsov is an Uzbekistani chess Grandmaster.- Chess career :Barsov, lawyer by education, has been a professional chess player since the early 1990s, and is one of the premier players in Uzbekistan. For some years he was the coach of the world chess champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov.He won the...
, Uzbekistan, 2507 - Essam El Gindy, Egypt, 2507
- Mateusz BartelMateusz BartelMateusz Bartel is a Polish chess player who holds the title of International Grandmaster . He won the under-18 European championship in 2003....
, Poland, 2501 - Ahmed AdlyAhmed AdlyAhmed Adly is a chess Grandmaster from Cairo, Egypt. In 2005, he won the African Chess Championship, and in 2007 he won the World Junior Chess Championship. He tied for 1st-5th with Gabriel Sargissian, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Igor-Alexandre Nataf and Pendyala Harikrishna in the Reykjavik Open 2006...
, Egypt, 2490 - Darryl JohansenDarryl JohansenDarryl Keith Johansen is an Australian chess Grandmaster. He became an International Master in 1983 and Australia's second Grandmaster, after Ian Rogers, in 1995....
, Australia, 2489 - Pascal CharbonneauPascal CharbonneauPascal Charbonneau is a Canadian Grandmaster of chess, a financial analyst, and an avid supporter of the NYC Club, Tenjune...
, Canada, 2484 - Morteza MahjoobMorteza mahjoobMorteza Mahjoob is an Iranian chess grandmaster, who previously held the world record for simultaneous exhibition, which he set on August 13, 2009. He walked 18 hours and won 397 of the games, 90 draws and 13 loses....
, Iran, 2478 - Das Neelotpal, India, 2457
- Carlos Garcia PalermoCarlos Garcia PalermoCarlos Garcia Palermo is an Argentine-Italian chess master.At the beginning of his career, he defeated Robert James Fischer in a simultaneous game in 1971. He took 3rd in Rubinstein Memorial at Polanica-Zdrój 1985...
, Argentina, 2444 - José González GarcíaJosé González GarcíaJosé González García is a FIDE chess grandmaster from Mexico. In the May 2010 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2514....
, Mexico, 2443 - Mohamed Tissir, Morocco, 2442
- Amon SimutoweAmon Simutowe----Amon Simutowe is a Zambian International Grandmaster of the Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation. He currently resides in Oxford, where he is studying for the MSc in Economics for Development.- Childhood and early career :Amon's mother died before his second birthday...
, Zambia, 2442 - Ronald Dableo, Philippines, 2426
- Kivanc Haznedaroglu, Turkey, 2395
- Hameed Mansour Ali Kadhi, Yemen, 2379
- Adlane Arab, Algeria, 2374
- Kenneth Solomon, South Africa, 2352
- Hussien Asabri, Libya, 2277
- Abobker Elarbi, Libya, 2257
- Tarik Abulhul, Libya, 2076
It should be noted that four of these players — Morozevich, Milov, Shulman and Hjartarson — did not appear for their first round matches and were defaulted.
The games
The tournament is in the knock-out format which has become standard for FIDE championships in recent years. Early rounds each consist of two-game mini-matches; round six (the semi-finals) consists of four-game matches, and the final consists of a six game match. These games are all played at the time control of 1 hour 30 minutes, plus an extra 15 minutes at move forty, and an increment of 30 seconds per move from move one.If the score at the end of the matches is tied, tie-break games will be played. First, two games will be played at a time control of 25 minutes for the whole game plus 10 seconds increment per move. If the score is still tied after these, then two games will be played at the time control of 5 minutes with a 10 second increment per move. If the score is still tied after these, then a single game will be played where White has 6 minutes and Black has 5, with no increment: White must win the game to progress to the next round; a win for Black or a draw will see Black progress.
All standard time control games begin at 2:30pm local time. Tie breaks begin at 8:30pm on the day of the last standard game, apart from tie-breaks for the semifinals which will be 2:30pm the day after the last standard game, and the final which will be at 12:30pm the day after the last standard game.
The Chief Arbiter for the tournament is to be Panagiotis Nikolopoulos.
Round 1
The games of round one were played on June 19 and June 20, with tie-breaks on the evening of June 20. The pairings were as follows:- Topalov beat Abulhul 2-0
- Delchev beat Galkin 1½-½
- Acs beat Nikolic 2½-1½
- Movsesian beat Landa 2½-1½
- Gurevich beat Johansen 1½-½
- Kozul beat Dao 2-0
- Rublevsky beat Adly 3-1
- Iordachescu beat Morovic Fernandez 1½-½
- Nisipeanu beat Dableo 1½-½
- Tiviakov beat Sargissian 4-3
- Mamedyarov beat Neverov 3-1
- Lputian beat Gagunashvili 2-0
- Sokolov beat Simutowe 2-0
- Kharlov beat Dautov 2½-1½
- Kritz beat Sasikiran 2-0
- Leitao beat Zhang 1½-½
- Grischuk beat Solomon 1½-½
- Kotronias beat Kacheishvili 2½-1½
- Van Wely beat Ivanov 3-1
- Filippov beat Campora 1½-½
- Neelotpal beat Milov by default
- Anastasian beat Bu 1½-½
- Beliavsky beat Barsov 2½-1½
- Kobalia beat Karjakin 1½-½
- Ivanchuk beat Arab 2-0
- Harikrishna beat Xu 2½-1½
- Kasimdzhanov beat Ramirez 2½-1½
- Ghaem Maghami beat Vaganian 2-0
- Ye beat Garcia Palermo 2½-1½
- Ni beat Vladimirov 4-3
- Vallejo Pons beat Vasquez 3½-2½
- Almási beat Al-Modiahki 2-0
- Elarbi beat Morozevich by default
- Smirnov beat Bruzon 2½-1½
- Guseinov beat Vescovi 2½-1½
- Aronian beat Carlsen 2½-1½
- Bacrot beat Charbonneau 2-0
- Sadvakasov beat Kotsur 2-0
- Radjabov beat Bartel 2-0
- Nielsen beat Ganguly 2-0
- Malakhov beat Haznedaroglu 1½-½
- Dominguez beat Inarkiev 2½-1½
- Graf beat Barua 2-0
- Tkachiev beat Shulman by default
- Dreev beat Tissir 2-0
- Felgaer beat Jobava 4-3
- Sakaev beat Mastrovasilis 1½-½
- Sulskis beat Macieja 1½-½
- Adams beat Asabri 2-0
- Asrian beat Agrest 2½-1½
- Hamdouchi beat Motylev 1½-½
- Kudrin beat Hjartarson by default
- Azmaiparashvili beat Mahjoob 3-1
- Lastin beat Kempinski 1½-½
- Aleksandrov beat El Gindy 1½-½
- Nakamura beat Volkov 3-1
- Short beat Kadhi 2-0
- Krasenkow beat Milos 1½-½
- Zvjaginsev beat Lima 2-0
- Wojtkiewicz beat Georgiev 1½-½
- Akopian beat Gonzalez 1½-½
- Adianto beat Alekseev 1½-½
- Bologan beat Paragua 3-1
- Moiseenko beat Dolmatov 1½-½
Four of the sixty-four scheduled round one matches games did not take place at all: Morozevich, Milov, Shulman and Hjartarson all failed to appear for their first game: their opponents (Elarbi, Neelotpal, Tkachiev and Kudrin respectively) progressed into round two by default. Top seed Topalov had problems with his flight into Libya, and the start of his first game was postponed to 5pm.
The seeding system in operation, whereby the top seed plays the bottom seed, the number two seed plays number 127, number 3 plays number 126 and so on, meant that serious round one upsets were unlikely, and indeed there were few surprises. Several of the top players, among them Ye (seeded 12), Azmaiparashvili (seeded 14) and Rublevsky (seeded 17) required the first pair of tie-break games to advance, and Vallejo-Pons (seeded 21) only went through after the two five-minute games, but in the end, all progressed as expected. The biggest first-round upset in terms of rating difference was Kritz (rated 2534 and seeded 105) knocking out Sasikiran (rated 2659 and seeded 24) by winning both the standard games. Apart from the defaults, he and Hamdouchi (who beat Motylev) were the only players to overcome a rating difference of more than 100 points to advance to round two.
Round 2
The games of round two were played on June 21 and June 22, with tie-breaks on the evening of June 22.- Topalov beat Delchev 2-0
- Movsesian beat Acs 4-2
- Kozul beat Gurevich 1½-½
- Rublevsky beat Iordachescu 3½-2½
- Nisipeanu beat Tiviakov 1½-½
- Mamedyarov beat Lputian 4-3
- Kharlov beat Sokolov 1½-½
- Leitao beat Kritz 1½-½
- Grischuk beat Kotronias 2-0
- Filippov beat Van Wely 4-2
- Anastasian beat Neelotpal 2½-1½
- Beliavsky beat Kobalia 2½-1½
- Ivanchuk beat Harikrishna 3-1
- Kasimdzhanov beat Ghaem Maghami 1½-½
- Ye beat Ni 4-3
- Almási beat Vallejo Pons 2½-1½
- Smirnov beat Elarbi 2-0
- Aronian beat Guseinov 2-0
- Bacrot beat Sadvakasov 1½-½
- Radjabov beat Nielsen 4-3
- Dominguez beat Malakhov 4-3
- Tkachiev beat Graf 1½-½
- Dreev beat Felgaer 2-0
- Sakaev beat Sulskis 2-0
- Adams beat Asrian 1½-½
- Hamdouchi beat Kudrin 4-3
- Lastin beat Azmaiparashvili 2½-1½
- Nakamura beat Aleksandrov 1½-½
- Krasenkow beat Short 1½-½
- Zvjaginsev beat Wojtkiewicz 2½-1½
- Akopian beat Adianto 1½-½
- Moiseenko beat Bologan 2½-1½
Round two saw one major upset, and a number of smaller ones. The big surprise was number six seed Nigel Short being knocked out by Michał Krasenkow. In game one, Short (who had white) had the advantage of rook for knight and pawn, and was trying to squeeze a win out of it when, after around five hours of play, the position to the right arose. Short played the horrific 121.Re6?? Nxe6 (see algebraic notation
Algebraic chess notation
Algebraic notation is a method for recording and describing the moves in a game of chess. It is now standard among all chess organizations and most books, magazines, and newspapers...
), and resigned a move later. He obtained a slight advantage in game two, but it wasn't enough to win, and the draw knocked him out of the competition.
Other upsets included Sokolov losing out to Kharlov, Malakhov being knocked out by Dominguez in the last tie-breaker and Azmaiparashvili losing to Lastin. Most of the top players had little difficulty, however: Topalov, Adams, Grischuk, Nisipeanu, Dreev and Akopian all progressed after the first two games. Ivanchuk required tie-breakers, but also proceeded to round three as expected.
Round 3
The games of round three were played on June 23 and June 24, with tie-breaks on the evening of June 24.- Topalov beat Movsesian 1½-½
- Kozul beat Rublevsky 2-0
- Nisipeanu beat Mamedyarov 2½-1½
- Kharlov beat Leitao 1½-½
- Grischuk beat Filippov 4-2
- Beliavsky beat Anastasian 1½-½
- Kasimdzhanov beat Ivanchuk 2½-1½
- Almási beat Ye 1½-½
- Smirnov beat Aronian 4-3
- Radjabov beat Bacrot 2½-1½
- Dominguez beat Tkachiev 2-0
- Dreev beat Sakaev 4-3
- Adams beat Hamdouchi 1½-½
- Nakamura beat Lastin 1½-½
- Krasenkow beat Zvjaginsev 1½-½
- Akopian beat Moiseenko 1½-½
The surprise of round three was Ivanchuk, seeded five, being knocked out by Kasimdzhanov. The two standard time control games had been fairly quiet affairs and were both drawn (the second, with Kasimdzhanov white, after just 16 moves) and the first rapid game was also drawn. In the second, Ivanchuk, despite having white, did little to press for a win, and the fairly level position shown arose. 21.Bxb7 Qxb7 appears to be equal, but Ivanchuk instead played 21.Rc1?, which simply lost a pawn to 21...Qxa3. Ivanchuk resigned six moves later, in a position which was certainly worse but from which many players would have continued to play. Ivanchuk has something of a reputation for being let down by his nerves, and this may have been another instance of that.
Elsewhere, there were minor surprises when Krasenkow followed up on his victory over Short to eliminate Zvjaginsev, 16-year old Nakamura (the youngest player remaining in the tournament) dispatched with Lastin, and Grischuk required the blitz tie-breakers to see off Filippov. Kozul's win over Rublevsky took his score for the event to 5½/6 with an Elo performance rating of over 3000. Top seeds Topalov and Adams advanced with little difficulty, winning their games with white and drawing with black.
Round 4
After a rest day on June 25, the games of round four were played on June 26 and June 27, with tie-breaks on the evening of June 27.- Topalov beat Kozul 2-0
- Kharlov beat Nisipeanu 4-3
- Grischuk beat Beliavsky 3½-2½
- Kasimdzhanov beat Almási 2-0
- Radjabov beat Smirnov 3½-2½
- Dominguez beat Dreev 2½-1½
- Adams beat Nakamura 1½-½
- Akopian beat Krasenkow 1½-½
Round 5
The games of round five were played on June 28 and June 29, with tie-breaks on the evening of June 29.- Topalov beat Kharlov 2-0
- Kasimdzhanov beat Grischuk 3-1
- Radjabov beat Dominguez 3½-3½ (Radjabov advances by virtue of having black in the final tie-breaker)
- Adams beat Akopian 1½-½
In game one of round five, every game ended in a win for white. Top seeds Topalov (who had won every game apart from one draw going into this round) and Adams won as expected, but the other two wins were slight upsets.
Radjabov lost to Dominguez after a complicated opening after which white emerged with three connected passed pawns for a bishop, and number four seed Grischuk lost to Kasimdzhanov in an Exchange Ruy Lopez
Ruy Lopez
The Ruy Lopez, also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-History:The opening is named after the 16th century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura, who made a systematic study of this and other openings in the 150-page book on chess Libro del...
. In the position shown to the right, which appears to be better for Black, Grischuk slipped up with 46...Bc2? allowing 47.Ne6+. This fork
Fork (chess)
In chess, a fork is a tactic that uses a single piece to attack multiple pieces at the same time. The attacker usually hopes to gain material by capturing one of the opponent's pieces. The defender often finds himself in a difficult position in which he cannot counter all threats. The attacking...
s the king and bishop on c5, so 47...Rxe6 is forced, but this deflects the rook from defence of d7, allowing 48.R3d7+ Kb6 49.Rb8+, a skewer
Skewer (chess)
In chess, a skewer is an attack upon two pieces in a line and is similar to a pin. In fact, a skewer is sometimes described as a "reverse pin"; the difference is that in a skewer, the more valuable piece is in front of the piece of lesser or equal value...
which picks up the rook on b2. Grischuk fought on the exchange down before resigning on move 73.
Round 6
After a rest day on June 30, the games of round six were played on July 1, 2, 3 and 4, with tie-breaks on July 5.- Kasimdzhanov beat Topalov 4-2
- Adams beat Radjabov 2½-1½
The first game of Kasimdzhanov-Topalov was a Queen's Gambit
Queen's Gambit
The Queen's Gambit is a chess opening that starts with the moves:The Queen's Gambit is one of the oldest known chess openings. It was mentioned in the Göttingen manuscript of 1490 and was later analysed by masters such as Gioachino Greco in the seventeenth century...
which was drawn after just fifteen moves in a position that has occurred in Grandmaster play several times before. Kasimdzhanov did not press for a win despite having the advantage of the white pieces; he followed a similar strategy in his match against Ivanchuk, possibly in the belief that if he could draw the standard time control games he would have better chances in rapid and blitz.
Radjabov-Adams was more eventful. Radjabov went for the Catalan Opening
Catalan Opening
The Catalan is a chess opening which can be considered to be White adopting a mixture of the Queen's Gambit and Réti Opening: White plays d4 and c4 and fianchettoes the white bishop on g2. A common opening sequence is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2, though the opening can arise from a large number...
, and Adams introduced a new idea in the position shown with 9...Nb6 10. Qe2 Na5 to hold onto his extra c-pawn (in the past, 9...Nxc3 10.bxc3 b5 had been played). Radjabov was unable to do much with any compensation he may have had, and eventually Adams was left a clean pawn up. He successfully converted this into a win to go 1-0 up.
In game two, Adams played the Rossolimo to Radjabov's Sicilian Defence
Sicilian Defence
The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the moves:The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4...
(1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5). Neither player obtained a significant advantage, and a draw was agreed
Draw by agreement
In chess, a draw by agreement is the outcome of a game due to the agreement of both players to a draw. A player may offer a draw to his opponent at any stage of a game; if the opponent accepts, the game is a draw. The relevant portion of the FIDE laws of chess is article 9.1...
after White's 17th move. Topalov-Kasimdzhanov looked for a while like it would be more interesting: Kasimdzhanov played the Kan Sicilian (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6), and Topalov opted for a Maróczy Bind
Maróczy Bind
The Maróczy Bind is a pawn formation in chess, named after the Hungarian grandmaster Géza Maróczy and primarily, but not exclusively, played against the Sicilian Defence. It is characterized by white pawns on c4 and e4, with White's d-pawn having been exchanged for Black's c-pawn...
-type structure with 5.c4. In response, Kasimdzhanov set up a hedgehog (with pawns on a6, b6, d6 and e6) and pushed his h-pawn to h3 to soften up Topalov's king side. In an unclear position, moves were repeated, and a draw was agreed after move 25.
Game three of Kasimdzhanov-Topalov was harder-fought. From a Sicilian Defence, Topalov gained control of the open c-file and invaded the White position, while Kasimdzhanov obtained some king-side pressure. Topalov's position appeared preferable, but he was unable to turn his advantage into anything solid, and, with both players becoming short of time, Kasimdzhanov won a pawn. Topalov appeared to have everything under control, however, and by using his king actively ensured that White could make no progress. A draw was agreed on move 63.
Radjabov-Adams game three was a Scotch Opening in which Radjabov appeared to build up a powerful attack. He may have missed a good chance to win with 26.Rf7. Instead, a draw was agreed on move 27.
This left Radjabov needing a win in game four to take the match to tie-breaks, a difficult feat when playing black against a 2700+ rated player: from the beginning of 2002 to this game, Adams had lost only one game with white in a normal time control game (against Alexei Shirov
Alexei Shirov
Alexei Dmitrievich Shirov is a Soviet-born Latvian chess grandmaster. He has consistently ranked among the world's top players since the early 1990s, and reached a ranking as high as number four in 1998...
at Reykjavik, 2003). Faced with such a tough task, Radjabov played an extremely unusual opening: the Gundaram Defence, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Qe7?! Adams played solidly, however, and never had a worse position. The game was drawn in 44 moves, putting Adams into the final.
Topalov-Kasimdzhanov was a Bogo Indian. Neither side seemed to have much of an advantage for most of the game, and when things simplified to a queen and knight endgame, it seemed a draw would result. Topalov played on, however, and managed to win a couple of pawns. Kasimdzhznov held the draw, however, with a perpetual check
Perpetual check
In the game of chess, perpetual check is a situation in which one player can force a draw by an unending series of checks. Such a situation typically arises when the player who is checking cannot deliver checkmate; while failing to continue the series of checks gives the opponent at least a chance...
.
This meant rapid tie-breaks were required to decide whether Topalov or Kasimdzhanov would progress. To the surprise of most, Kasimdzhanov won both games, and went through to the final.
The final
So the final was to be contested between Michael Adams of England, and Rustam Kasimdzhanov of Uzbekistan. Adams' presence in the final was no surprise to most: he had been a member of the chess elite for some years, and chess statistician Jeff Sonas, for example, reckoned him to have 10 to 1 chance of winning the event before it started. Kasimdzhanov on the other hand was not expected to get this far (Sonas giving him just a 150 to 1 chance of winning) and although he had achieved some good results in the past, he remained a largely unknown player. The two had met just three times previously: in a rapid game at Cannes in 2001, in the Bundesliga (German chess league) in 2002, and at Wijk aan ZeeCorus chess tournament
The Tata Steel Chess Tournament formerly called the Corus chess tournament takes place every year, usually in January, in a small town called Wijk aan Zee, part of the larger Beverwijk in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands...
in 2002. All three games had been drawn, though in Chessbase Magazine, Kasimdzhanov claimed he had a winning position at Wijk aan Zee.
The final was played on July 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12, with a rest day on July 9 and tie-breaks on July 13.
- Kasimdzhanov beats Adams 4½-3½ after the rapid tie-breaks, the match having been tied 3-3 after the six standard games.
Game one (Adams white)
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 Bc5 6. Nb3 Ba7 7. c4 Nc6 8. Nc3 Nge7 9. O-O d6 10. Kh1 e5 11. f4 exf4 12. Bxf4 Ng6 13. Bg3 Nge5 14. Be2 O-O 15. Qe1 Be6 16. Nd5 a5 17. a4 Bxd5 18. cxd5 Draw agreedGame one, in which Adams had white, saw the Kan variation of the Sicilian Defence
Sicilian Defence
The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the moves:The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4...
(1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6). Kasimdzhanov equalised quite early, and a quick draw was agreed.
Game two (Kasimdzhanov white)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. O-O Be7 8. c4 Nb4 9. Be2 O-O 10. Nc3 Be6 11. Ne5 f6 12. Nf3 Kh8 13. a3 Nxc3 14. bxc3 Nc6 15. Nd2 Na5 16. cxd5 Bxd5 17. c4 Bf7 18. Bb2 f5 19. Bc3 c5 20. d5 Bf6 21. Qc2 b6 22. Bd3 Bxc3 23. Qxc3 Nb7 24. Nf3 Nd6 25. Ne5 f4 26. Rfe1 Bg8 27. Nc6 Qg5 28. Qe5 Qxe5 29. Nxe5 Rfe8 30. a4 g6 31. g3 fxg3 32. hxg3 Kg7 33. f4 Re7 34. a5 b5 35. cxb5 Bxd5 36. Bf1 Nf5 37. Ra3 Nd4 38. Rd1 Rd8 39. Rc3 Be6 (see diagram) 40. Kf2 Rc8 41. Rb1 g5 42. b6 axb6 43. axb6 gxf4 44. gxf4 Bd5 45. Bd3 Rf8 46. Ke3 Nc6 47. Rxc5 Nxe5 48. fxe5 Bb7 49. Be4 Rff7 50. Bxb7 Rxb7 51. Ke4 Rfd7 52. Rc6 Kf8 53. e6 Rd2 54. Rf1+ Ke8 55. Rc8+ 1-0In game two, Adams played the Petroff Defence. His knight ended up somewhat out of the game on a5, and his e5 square was weak, allowing Kasimdzhanov to plant a knight there and obtain a significant positional advantage. Both players blundered on the last move of the time control (after which they each got an extra 15 minutes): in the position shown, Kasimdzhanov played 40.Kf2? which Adams should have answered with 40...Nxb5! which is at least equal; instead, he returned the favour with 40...Rc8?, and White was still significantly better.
Following 41.Rb1 g5 42.b6 axb6 43.axb6 gxf4 44.gxf4 Bd5 45.Bd3, a similar thing happened when Adams blundered with 45...Rf8? This pin
Pin (chess)
In chess, a pin is a situation brought on by an attacking piece in which a defending piece cannot move without exposing a more valuable defending piece on its other side to capture by the attacking piece...
s the f4 pawn to the king and so seems to leave the e5 knight undefended, and it was probably for this reason that Kasimdzhanov played 46.Ke3? However, he could have won immediately with 46.Rxc5! when 46...Rxe5 does not work because of 47.Rc7+ when Black must either break the pin with 47...Kf6 or 47...Rf7 48.Rxf7 Kxf7 thus allowing fxe5; or else be mated with 47...Kg8 48.Rg1+ Kh8 49.Rxh7# or 47...Kh8 48.Rxh7+ Kg8 49.Rg1+ Rg5 50.Rxg5#. 46...Ne6 is also no good after 47.Rxd5 Nxf4 48.Rd7 Rxd7 49.Nxd7 Nxd3+ 50.Ke3.
In the event, Adams did not take advantage of White's mistake, and continued with 46...Nc6? (46...Ne6 was a much better try). The game ended 47.Rxc5 Nxe5 48.fxe5 Bb7 49.Be4 Rff7 50.Bxb7 Rxb7 51.Ke4 Rfd7 52.Rc6 Kf8 53.e6 Rd2 54.Rf1+ Ke8 55.Rc8+ and Adams resigned.
Game three (Adams white)
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 b5 6. Bd3 Qb6 7. Nf3 Qc7 8. O-O Bb7 9. Re1 Bc5 10. Qd2 Be7 11. b3 Nf6 12. Bb2 d6 13. a4 b4 14. Na2 Nc6 15. Nd4 Nxd4 16. Bxd4 a5 17. Rac1 O-O 18. c3 bxc3 19. Nxc3 Qd8 20. Nb5 e5 21. Rc7 exd4 22. Rxb7 d5 23. Qf4 Bb4 24. Rd1 dxe4 25. Bxe4 Nxe4 26. Qxe4 Qf6 27. Nc7 Rad8 28. Nd5 Qd6 29. Qxd4 Qe6 30. g3 (see diagram) 30... Rd6 31. Rxb4 axb4 32. Ne7+ Qxe7 33. Qxd6 Qe2 34. Rd4 h5 35. Qxb4 Qf3 36. h4 Rc8 37. Qd2 Rc3 38. Rf4 Qc6 39. Kh2 Rxb3 40. Qd8+ Kh7 41. Qd1 Rb7 42. Qxh5+ Kg8 43. Rd4 Qf6 44. Rd2 Ra7 45. a5 g6 46. Qb5 Kh7 47. Qb6 1-0Game three was another Kan Sicilian, but Adams varied from game one early with 5.Nc3 instead of 5.Bd3. His 10.Qd2 in reply to 9...Bc5 was a new move (previously, 10.e5, which Adams had himself played in his win against Topalov at Tilburg in 1998, was normal): this may be planning 11.Qg5 which would prompt a weakening ...g6; if black defends with 10...f6, for example, then White can play 11.b4!? when 11...Bxb4 (11...Bd6 may be better) 12.Nxb5 leaves White with a strong position. Kasimdzhanov instead retreated with 10...Be7, losing a tempo
Tempo (chess)
In chess, tempo refers to a "turn" or single move. When a player achieves a desired result in one fewer move, he "gains a tempo" and conversely when he takes one more move than necessary he "loses a tempo"...
, and he never managed to equalise. Adams' pieces ended up being much more active than their black counterparts, and he eventually planted a strong knight on b5 and a rook on the seventh rank. Adams won a pawn, but turning that into a win did not seem straightforward until Kasimdzhanov played 30...Rd6?! in the position shown. This allowed Adams to make simplifying exchanges with 31.Rxb4 axb4 32.Ne7+ Qxe7 33.Qxd6. Now exchanging queens leaves a fairly trivially won rook endgame, so Kasimdzhanov instead played 33...Qe2, but this lost another pawn after 34.Rd4 h5 35.Qxb4, and White had a won position. Kasimdzhanov resigned on move 47, making the match level at 1.5-1.5.
Game four (Kasimdzhanov white)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O Bg4 6. h3 h5 7. d3 Qf6 8. Be3 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 Qxf3 10. gxf3 Bd6 11. Nd2 Ne7 12. Rfb1 f5 13. b4 a5 14. a3 O-O 15. Nc4 axb4 16. axb4 b5 17. Na5 Ra6 18. c4 Ng6 19. Kf1 Rfa8 20. Bd2 fxe4 21. fxe4 Be7 22. c5 Bf6 23. Rd1 Kf7 24. Ke2 Ke8 25. Ra3 Nf8 26. d4 Ne6 27. dxe5 Bxe5 28. Be3 Bb2 29. Rad3 Be5 30. Rg1 (see diagram) 30... Rxa5 31. bxa5 Rxa5 32. f4 Bxf4 33. Rg6 Kf7 34. Rxe6 Kxe6 35. Bxf4 Ra4 36. Kf3 Rc4 37. Be3 b4 38. Rd4 Rxd4 39. Bxd4 g5 40. Ke3 1-0After losing with the Petroff in game two, Adams instead played his usual 2...Nc6. Kasimdzhanov played the exchange variation of the Ruy Lopez
Ruy Lopez
The Ruy Lopez, also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-History:The opening is named after the 16th century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura, who made a systematic study of this and other openings in the 150-page book on chess Libro del...
, as he had against Grischuk in round five, and they followed theory until Adams' novelty 12...f5. White exchanged pieces and played against Black's weakened queenside, a typical plan in this variation. Adams came under considerable pressure, but it seemed he may be able to hold White off until, in the diagrammed position, he apparently tired of passive defence, and lashed out with 30...Rxa5? (30...Ke7 is probably better), which after 31.bax5 Rxa5 32.f4! Bxf4 33.Rg6 Kf7 34.Rxe6 Kxe6 35.Bxf4 left him with just two weak pawns for a bishop. Adams resigned on move 40.
Game five (Adams white)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. d4 Qc7 12. d5 Nc4 13. a4 Bd7 14. b3 Nb6 15. a5 Nc8 16. c4 b4 17. Nbd2 g6 18. Nf1 Nh5 19. Bh6 Re8 20. Qd2 Bf8 21. g4 Ng7 22. N3h2 Qd8 23. f4 exf4 24. Qxf4 Qe7 25. Nf3 f6 26. Ng3 Rd8 27. Rf1 Ne8 28. Bxf8 Qxf8 29. e5 dxe5 30. Nxe5 Ncd6 31. Rae1 Qg7 32. Nd3 Rac8 33. Qf2 f5 34. Ne5 Nf6 35. Nxd7 Rxd7 36. gxf5 g5 37. Re6 Kh8 38. Bd1 g4 39. hxg4 Rg8 40. Qf4 Nxg4 41. Bxg4 Qxg4 42. Qxg4 Rxg4 43. Kh2 h5 44. Kh3 Rd4 45. f6 Nf7 46. Rf5 1-0Game six (Kasimdzhanov white)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. d4 d6 9. c3 Bg4 10. Be3 exd4 11. cxd4 Na5 12. Bc2 c5 13. h3 cxd4 14. Bxd4 Bh5 15. g4 Bg6 16. Nc3 Rc8 17. Rc1 Nc6 18. Be3 Nb4 19. Bb1 d5 20. e5 Ne4 21. Ne2 Nc5 22. Bxc5 Rxc5 23. Rxc5 Bxc5 24. Nf4 Qb6 25. Rf1 Be4 26. a3 Nc6 27. Nxd5 Bxd5 28. Qxd5 Nd4 29. Kg2 Nxf3 30. Qxf3 g6 31. b4 Bd4 32. Qe4 Bb2 33. Rd1 Rd8 34. Rxd8+ Qxd8 35. Ba2 Qe7 36. e6 fxe6 37. Qa8+ Kf7 38. Qxa6 Qd7 39. g5 Ke7 40. Qa8 Bd4 41. Qg8 Qc6+ 42. Kg3 Bxf2+ 43. Kxf2 Qc2+ 44. Ke3 ½-½A pawn down, Adams was happy to take the draw with 42...Bxf2 43.Kxf2 Qc2+, when White has no way to escape the perpetual check
Perpetual check
In the game of chess, perpetual check is a situation in which one player can force a draw by an unending series of checks. Such a situation typically arises when the player who is checking cannot deliver checkmate; while failing to continue the series of checks gives the opponent at least a chance...
. In fact, though, Adams could have won with 42...Qe4! when there is no satisfactory way to escape the mate threat 43...Be5+ 44.f4 Qxf4+ 45.Kg2 Qg3+ 46.Kf1 Qf3+ 47.Kg1 Bd4+ 48.Kh2 Qf2+ 49.Kh1 Qg1# If White gives his king a flight square on f2 with 43...f3, then he gets mated by 43...Qe1+ 44.Kg4 Qg1+ 45.Kf4 e5+ 46.Ke4 Qe3+ 47.Kd5 Qxf3#; 43.Qxh7+ also leaves White doomed after 43...Kf8: for example, 44.Qh6+ Bg7 45.Qh4 Be5+ 46.f4 Qe1+ 47.Kg4 Qe2+ 48.Kg3 Bc3, and white has no defence to ...Be1; or 44.Qd7 Be5+ 45.f4 Bxf4+ (more simply, something like 45...Qxf4+ 46.Kg2 Qxg5+ 47.Kf2 Qg3+ 48.Ke2 Qg2+ 49.Kd1 Qxa2 also wins) 46.Kf2 Be3+ 47.Kf1 Qf3+ 48.Ke1 Qf2+ 49.Kd1 Qf1+ 50.Kc2 Qc1+ 51.Kb3 Qc4+ 52.Kb2 Bd4+ 53.Kb1 Qd3+ 54.Kc1 Be3+, and White loses his queen (with mate soon to follow).
Rapid game one (Adams white)
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 4. O-O Bd7 5. Re1 Nf6 6. c3 a6 7. Ba4 b5 8. Bc2 Rc8 9. a4 g6 10. axb5 axb5 11. d4 cxd4 12. cxd4 Bg4 13. Nc3 b4 14. Ne2 Bg7 15. d5 Bxf3 16. gxf3 Ne5 17. Ba4+ Nfd7 18. Nd4 O-O 19. f4 Nc4 20. Nc6 Rxc6 21. dxc6 Nc5 22. Qe2 Nb6 23. Bb5 Nb3 24. Ra6 Nd4 25. Qd3 Na8 26. Ra4 Nc7 27. Rxb4 Qb8 28. Rxd4 Bxd4 29. Qxd4 Qxb5 30. f5 Rc8 31. Bh6 Ne8 32. e5 Rxc6 33. exd6 Rxd6 34. Qe5 Qxe5 35. Rxe5 Rd7 36. Rc5 f6 37. fxg6 hxg6 38. Be3 Rb7 39. Bd4 Kf7 40. Kg2 Nd6 41. Bc3 e5 42. Ra5 Nc4 43. Ra1 Rb6 44. b4 Nd6 45. Rb1 Ke6 46. Bd2 f5 47. Be3 Rb7 48. Bc5 Ne4 49. Rd1 Rc7 50. Bb6 Rc6 51. Ba7 Ra6 52. Be3 f4 53. Bc1 Ra4 54. Re1 Kf5 55. Bb2 Rxb4 56. Bxe5 f3+ 57. Kxf3 Kxe5 58. Kg4 Kf6 59. f4 Nf2+ 60. Kg3 Nd3 0-1Rapid game two (Kasimdzhanov white)
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O Qd6 6. d3 Ne7 7. Be3 Ng6 8. Nbd2 c5 9. a4 b6 10. Nc4 Qe6 11. Ng5 Qf6 12. Qh5 h6 13. Nh3 Bxh3 14. Qxh3 Bd6 15. Qg4 Rd8 16. g3 h5 17. Qe2 Qe6 18. f4 exf4 19. gxf4 Qg4+ 20. Qxg4 hxg4 21. Rae1 Kd7 22. e5 Be7 23. f5 Nh4 24. e6+ fxe6 25. Ne5+ Kc8 26. fxe6 Rdf8 27. Rf7 Bd6 28. Bg5 Nf3+ 29. Nxf3 gxf3 30. h4 Rxf7 31. exf7 Kd7 32. Re8 Rxe8 33. fxe8Q+ Kxe8 34. Kf2 Kf7 35. Kxf3 g6 36. Kg4 Ke6 37. Bd2 Be7 38. Bf4 c6 39. c4 b5 40. b3 Bf6 41. Be3 Be7 42. Bf4 Bf8 43. Kg5 Kf7 44. Kg4 Kf6 45. Bg3 Bh6 46. Bd6 Be3 47. Bg3 Ke6 48. Bc7 ½-½Further reading
- Chessbase Magazine 102 (CD-ROM, Chessbase, 2004) - includes all the games of the championship, many with notes