London Chess Classic
Encyclopedia
The London Chess Classic is a festival of the game of chess
held at the Olympia Conference Centre
, West Kensington
, London
. The flagship event is a strong invitational tournament
between some of the world's top grandmasters. A number of subsidiary events cover a wide range of chess activities, including tournaments suitable for norm and title
seekers, junior events, amateur competitions, simultaneous exhibition
s, coaching, and lectures.
tournament held in 1984. It was held during the same time as the Chess World Cup 2009
.
The field of eight grandmasters comprised the top four English players, and four international players, with top billing going to the former world champion Vladimir Kramnik
and the then-current number one in the live world rankings, Magnus Carlsen
. The tournament was FIDE Category 18, and had a prize fund of 100,000 Euros including daily best game prizes and a 10,000 Euro brilliancy prize for the game voted the best of the tournament. The games were broadcast live at a number of sites including Playchess
and the Internet Chess Club
(with live expert commentary provided by Chess.FM).
A major feature of the tournament was the use of a different scoring system, sometimes referred to as "Bilbao Rules"; players earns three points for a win, one for a draw
and none for a loss. "Sofia Rules" also applied, whereby the players could not agree a draw
without the arbiter's permission, only to be given when there was deemed to be no purposeful play left in the position. With the added incentive of lucrative best game prizes, the intention was to maximise the potential for entertaining and decisive games. There were 17 draws and 11 decisive games.
The tournament was won by Magnus Carlsen, a victory that meant he would be world number one in the January 2010 FIDE world rankings list. Second place was taken by Vladimir Kramnik
, and third place by David Howell
, on tie-break from Michael Adams. The prizegiving took place at Simpson's-in-the-Strand
, where Carlsen received a trophy and a cheque for the first prize (25,000 Euros). A trophy and 10,000 Euros brilliancy prize was presented to Luke McShane
for his round five win against Hikaru Nakamura
. The organisers announced that there would be another tournament in London in 2010.
The tournament organiser and director was International Master Malcolm Pein, manager of the London Chess Centre and the executive editor of CHESS magazine
. The Festival Organiser was Adam Raoof, FIDE Organiser and Arbiter. The guest of honour was Victor Korchnoi. The ceremonial opening move was made by Evan Harris
, MP. Tournament partners included Chessbase
and the Internet Chess Club
. The main pre-tournament public relations event comprised a blindfold display
at the London Eye
between Nigel Short
and Luke McShane.
The tournament was simultaneous broadcast on London Chess Classic website, and the chess servers ICC
, FICS
and Playchess
, as well as on Twitter
.
Note: the 'Points' column shows how the tournament would have been scored under conventional rules and these are the figures used for rating calculation purposes.
of Australia and Jon Ludvig Hammer
of Norway respectively, both with scores of 8/9.
Korchnoi gave two simultaneous displays during the event. To raise money for charity, one ticket to play him was auctioned on eBay
for £410.
replaced Ni Hua
in the list of participants. Coupled with the advances in rating of some of the competitors, the effect was to elevate the tournament's status to Category 21 on FIDE's scale, making it the strongest ever held in the United Kingdom.
The ceremonial first move was performed by the Indian High Commissioner, HE Mr Nalin Surie, and the format remained faithful to the previous year, adopting the three points for a win, one for a draw scoring system and 'Sofia Rules' in respect to agreed draws.
Live expert commentary was provided to an audience of up to 400 at the venue itself and was also put out as a live web transmission. Lawrence Trent, Stephen Gordon
, Daniel King
and Chris Ward
formed the core of the commentary team, but there were numerous contributions from other distinguished players, including guests of honour, Viktor Korchnoi
and Garry Kasparov
.
The tournament was won by Magnus Carlsen
, cementing his return to the world number one spot in the rankings. Anand and Luke McShane
shared second place and interestingly, had the tournament been scored in the conventional way, then all three would have shared first place. The prizegiving was once again held at Simpsons-in-the-Strand, Carlsen being presented with the trophy and a cheque for 50,000 Euros by his part-time trainer and mentor, Kasparov.
The tournament organiser and director was IM Malcolm Pein, manager of the London Chess Centre and the executive editor of CHESS magazine
. The Festival Organiser was Adam Raoof, FIDE Organiser and Arbiter. The 2010 Festival won the English Chess Federation Congress of the Year Award.
The tournament was simultaneously broadcast on London Chess Classic website, and the chess servers ICC
, FICS and Playchess
, as well as on Twitter
and Facebook
.
Note: the 'Points' column shows how the tournament would have been scored under conventional rules and these are the figures used for rating calculation purposes.
and Simon Williams
(both England) shared victory in the Open with 7½/9.
Korchnoi gave two simultaneous displays during the event and evening lectures were provided by GMs Jacob Aagaard
and Boris Avrukh
.
. This means that it is likely that five of the world's top six players will be participating. With two extra rounds scheduled, play will span two weekends and each day, one player will be able to sit out and join the commentary team.
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
held at the Olympia Conference Centre
Olympia, London
Olympia is an exhibition centre and conference centre in West Kensington, on the boundary between The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham, London, W14 8UX, England. It opened in the 19th century and was originally known as the National Agricultural Hall.Opened in 1886,...
, West Kensington
West Kensington, London
- Commercial/education :Local business consists of small shops, offices and restaurants, with the Olympia Exhibition Centre nearby. Indeed, it is the mix of local shops that give the area its character....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The flagship event is a strong invitational tournament
Chess tournament
A chess tournament is a series of chess games played competitively to determine a winning individual or team. Since the first international chess tournament in London, 1851, chess tournaments have become the standard form of chess competition among serious players.Today, the most recognized chess...
between some of the world's top grandmasters. A number of subsidiary events cover a wide range of chess activities, including tournaments suitable for norm and title
Chess titles
A chess title is a lifetime title created by the world chess organization FIDE bestowed upon players based on their performance and rank. Examples of chess titles are Master and Grandmaster.- Over board chess :...
seekers, junior events, amateur competitions, simultaneous exhibition
Simultaneous exhibition
A simultaneous exhibition or simultaneous display is a board game exhibition in which one player plays multiple games at a time with a number of other players. Such an exhibition is often referred to simply as a "simul".In a regular simul, no chess clocks are used...
s, coaching, and lectures.
2009 Classic: 8-15 December
The inaugural 2009 edition was advertised as "the highest level chess tournament in London for 25 years", referring to the Phillips & Drew KingsPhillips & Drew Kings
The Phillips & Drew Kings was a series of chess tournaments held in London, UK, in 1980, 1982 and 1984. Sponsored by the stockbroker firm Phillips & Drew and the Greater London Council , these were among the strongest chess tournaments ever held in London. They were 14-player all-play-all...
tournament held in 1984. It was held during the same time as the Chess World Cup 2009
Chess World Cup 2009
The Chess World Cup 2009 was a 128-player single-elimination tournament, played between 20 November and 14 December 2009, in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. The Cup winner qualified for the Candidates stage of the World Chess Championship 2011. Boris Gelfand defeated Ruslan Ponomariov in the...
.
The field of eight grandmasters comprised the top four English players, and four international players, with top billing going to the former 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 the then-current number one in the live world rankings, Magnus Carlsen
Magnus Carlsen
Sven 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...
. The tournament was FIDE Category 18, and had a prize fund of 100,000 Euros including daily best game prizes and a 10,000 Euro brilliancy prize for the game voted the best of the tournament. The games were broadcast live at a number of sites including Playchess
Playchess
Playchess is a commercial Internet chess server edited by ChessBase devoted to the play and discussion of chess and chess variants. As of February 2011, Playchess has over 31,000 players online, including many internationally titled players who remain pseudo-anonymous and other masters whose...
and the Internet Chess Club
Internet Chess Club
The Internet Chess Club is a commercial Internet chess server devoted to the play and discussion of chess and chess variants. ICC currently has over 30,000 subscribing members...
(with live expert commentary provided by Chess.FM).
A major feature of the tournament was the use of a different scoring system, sometimes referred to as "Bilbao Rules"; players earns three points for a win, one for a draw
Draw (chess)
In chess, a draw is when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.For the most part,...
and none for a loss. "Sofia Rules" also applied, whereby the players could not agree a draw
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...
without the arbiter's permission, only to be given when there was deemed to be no purposeful play left in the position. With the added incentive of lucrative best game prizes, the intention was to maximise the potential for entertaining and decisive games. There were 17 draws and 11 decisive games.
The tournament was won by Magnus Carlsen, a victory that meant he would be world number one in the January 2010 FIDE world rankings list. Second place was taken by 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 third place by David Howell
David Howell (chess player)
David Wei Liang Howell is an English chess player. He is the youngest chess Grandmaster in the United Kingdom, a title he earned when he came second during the 35th Rilton Cup in Stockholm on 5 January 2007 when he was 16...
, on tie-break from Michael Adams. The prizegiving took place at Simpson's-in-the-Strand
Simpson's-in-the-Strand
Simpson's-in-the-Strand is one of London's oldest traditional English restaurants. Situated in the Strand, it is part of the Savoy Buildings, which also contain one of the world's most famous hotels, the Savoy....
, where Carlsen received a trophy and a cheque for the first prize (25,000 Euros). A trophy and 10,000 Euros brilliancy prize was presented to Luke McShane
Luke McShane
Luke James McShane is an English chess player. A former World Youth Champion and prodigious talent in chess, he has become one of England's leading players and a member of the Olympiad team. He has also been a trader in London's financial sector.- Early career :McShane won the World Under-10...
for his round five win against Hikaru Nakamura
Hikaru Nakamura
Hikaru Nakamura is an American chess Grandmaster . He has been ranked among the top six players in the world by FIDE....
. The organisers announced that there would be another tournament in London in 2010.
The tournament organiser and director was International Master Malcolm Pein, manager of the London Chess Centre and the executive editor of CHESS magazine
CHESS magazine
CHESS magazine , also called CHESS and previously called CHESS Monthly, is a chess magazine published monthly in the UK by Chess and Bridge Limited. CHESS was founded by Baruch Harold Wood in 1935 in Sutton Coldfield. Wood edited it until 1988, when it was taken over by Pergamon Press and changed...
. The Festival Organiser was Adam Raoof, FIDE Organiser and Arbiter. The guest of honour was Victor Korchnoi. The ceremonial opening move was made by Evan Harris
Evan Harris
Evan Leslie Harris is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament for Oxford West and Abingdon from 1997 to 2010, losing his seat in the 2010 general election by 176 votes to Conservative Nicola Blackwood....
, MP. Tournament partners included Chessbase
ChessBase
ChessBase GmbH is a German company that markets chess software, maintains a chess news site, and operates a server for online chess. Set up in 1998, it maintains and sells massive databases, containing most historic games, that permit analysis that had not been possible prior to computing...
and the Internet Chess Club
Internet Chess Club
The Internet Chess Club is a commercial Internet chess server devoted to the play and discussion of chess and chess variants. ICC currently has over 30,000 subscribing members...
. The main pre-tournament public relations event comprised a blindfold display
Blindfold chess
Blindfold chess is a form of chess play wherein the players do not see the positions of the pieces or touch them. This forces players to maintain a mental model of the positions of the pieces...
at the London Eye
London Eye
The London Eye is a tall giant Ferris wheel situated on the banks of the River Thames, in London, England.It is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, and the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, visited by over 3.5 million people annually...
between 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...
and Luke McShane.
The tournament was simultaneous broadcast on London Chess Classic website, and the chess servers ICC
Internet Chess Club
The Internet Chess Club is a commercial Internet chess server devoted to the play and discussion of chess and chess variants. ICC currently has over 30,000 subscribing members...
, FICS
Free Internet Chess Server
The Free Internet Chess Server is a volunteer-run Internet chess server. It was organised as a free alternative to the Internet Chess Club , after that site began charging for membership.-History:...
and Playchess
Playchess
Playchess is a commercial Internet chess server edited by ChessBase devoted to the play and discussion of chess and chess variants. As of February 2011, Playchess has over 31,000 players online, including many internationally titled players who remain pseudo-anonymous and other masters whose...
, as well as on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
.
Participants
- 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...
, number one in the live world rankings - Vladimir KramnikVladimir KramnikVladimir 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...
, former world champion (2000-2007) - Hikaru NakamuraHikaru NakamuraHikaru Nakamura is an American chess Grandmaster . He has been ranked among the top six players in the world by FIDE....
, US champion - 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...
, former world championship finalist and English number one - Michael Adams, former world knock-out championship finalist and English number two
- 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...
, leading Chinese grandmaster - Luke McShaneLuke McShaneLuke James McShane is an English chess player. A former World Youth Champion and prodigious talent in chess, he has become one of England's leading players and a member of the Olympiad team. He has also been a trader in London's financial sector.- Early career :McShane won the World Under-10...
, English number three - David HowellDavid Howell (chess player)David Wei Liang Howell is an English chess player. He is the youngest chess Grandmaster in the United Kingdom, a title he earned when he came second during the 35th Rilton Cup in Stockholm on 5 January 2007 when he was 16...
, British champion and English number four
Tournament table
| Player | Rating | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Points | Win | Draw | Loss | Score | Tiebreak | Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2801 | X | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 5 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 2839 | ||
| 2 | 2772 | 0 | X | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 4½ | 3 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 2787 | ||
| 3 | 2597 | ½ | ½ | X | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 9 | Win with black | 2760 | |
| 4 | 2698 | ½ | ½ | ½ | X | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 4 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 9 | Win with white | 2746 | |
| 5 | 2615 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | X | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2½ | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 2606 | ||
| 6 | 2665 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | X | ½ | ½ | 2½ | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | One game won | 2599 | |
| 7 | 2715 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | X | ½ | 3 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 6 | No games won | 2644 | |
| 8 | 2707 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | X | 2½ | 0 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 2593 |
Note: the 'Points' column shows how the tournament would have been scored under conventional rules and these are the figures used for rating calculation purposes.
Subsidiary events
Other tournaments organised during the festival included the nine-round Women's Invitational competition and nine-round "FIDE Rated Open" which were won by Arianne CaoiliArianne Caoili
Arianne Caoili is a Philippine born Australian chess player who achieved the FIDE Woman International Master title.-Chess:...
of Australia and Jon Ludvig Hammer
Jon Ludvig Hammer
Jon Ludvig Nilssen Hammer is a Norwegian chess player who holds the title of Grandmaster , the tenth Norwegian to do so...
of Norway respectively, both with scores of 8/9.
Korchnoi gave two simultaneous displays during the event. To raise money for charity, one ticket to play him was auctioned on eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
for £410.
2010 Classic: 8-15 December
The 2010 edition was publicised as "The UK's strongest chess tournament ever". The prize fund was substantially increased from the previous year and world champion 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....
replaced Ni Hua
Ni Hua
Ni 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...
in the list of participants. Coupled with the advances in rating of some of the competitors, the effect was to elevate the tournament's status to Category 21 on FIDE's scale, making it the strongest ever held in the United Kingdom.
The ceremonial first move was performed by the Indian High Commissioner, HE Mr Nalin Surie, and the format remained faithful to the previous year, adopting the three points for a win, one for a draw scoring system and 'Sofia Rules' in respect to agreed draws.
Live expert commentary was provided to an audience of up to 400 at the venue itself and was also put out as a live web transmission. Lawrence Trent, Stephen Gordon
Stephen J. Gordon
Stephen J. Gordon is a grandmaster of chess from Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. In September 2004, he took a break from his A-level studies at The Blue Coat School, Oldham to compete in the thirteenth Monarch Assurance Isle of Man International.In 2005, while still a FIDE Master, he finished...
, Daniel King
Daniel J. King
Daniel John King is an English chess grandmaster, writer, coach, journalist and broadcaster.-Chess career:...
and Chris Ward
Chris Ward (chess player)
Chris G Ward is a British chess Grandmaster , chess coach, and author. He won the British Championship in 1996, earning the GM title in the process. He is the author of two well-received books on a variation of the Sicilian Defence known as the Dragon Variation, in addition to a number of other...
formed the core of the commentary team, but there were numerous contributions from other distinguished players, including guests of honour, Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...
and 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....
.
The tournament was won by Magnus Carlsen
Magnus Carlsen
Sven 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...
, cementing his return to the world number one spot in the rankings. Anand and Luke McShane
Luke McShane
Luke James McShane is an English chess player. A former World Youth Champion and prodigious talent in chess, he has become one of England's leading players and a member of the Olympiad team. He has also been a trader in London's financial sector.- Early career :McShane won the World Under-10...
shared second place and interestingly, had the tournament been scored in the conventional way, then all three would have shared first place. The prizegiving was once again held at Simpsons-in-the-Strand, Carlsen being presented with the trophy and a cheque for 50,000 Euros by his part-time trainer and mentor, Kasparov.
The tournament organiser and director was IM Malcolm Pein, manager of the London Chess Centre and the executive editor of CHESS magazine
CHESS magazine
CHESS magazine , also called CHESS and previously called CHESS Monthly, is a chess magazine published monthly in the UK by Chess and Bridge Limited. CHESS was founded by Baruch Harold Wood in 1935 in Sutton Coldfield. Wood edited it until 1988, when it was taken over by Pergamon Press and changed...
. The Festival Organiser was Adam Raoof, FIDE Organiser and Arbiter. The 2010 Festival won the English Chess Federation Congress of the Year Award.
The tournament was simultaneously broadcast on London Chess Classic website, and the chess servers ICC
ICC
-Political:* International Control Commission, which oversaw the 1954 Geneva Accords ending the First Indochina War* International Communist Current, a communist organization* Interstate Commerce Commission, a now defunct US Government regulatory body...
, FICS and Playchess
Playchess
Playchess is a commercial Internet chess server edited by ChessBase devoted to the play and discussion of chess and chess variants. As of February 2011, Playchess has over 31,000 players online, including many internationally titled players who remain pseudo-anonymous and other masters whose...
, as well as on Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
and Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
.
Participants
- Viswanathan AnandViswanathan AnandV. 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....
, world champion and number one in the world rankings - 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...
, number two in the world rankings - Vladimir KramnikVladimir KramnikVladimir 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...
, former world champion (2000-2007) - Hikaru NakamuraHikaru NakamuraHikaru Nakamura is an American chess Grandmaster . He has been ranked among the top six players in the world by FIDE....
, US number one - Michael Adams, British champion and English number one
- 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...
, former world championship finalist and English number two - Luke McShaneLuke McShaneLuke James McShane is an English chess player. A former World Youth Champion and prodigious talent in chess, he has become one of England's leading players and a member of the Olympiad team. He has also been a trader in London's financial sector.- Early career :McShane won the World Under-10...
, English number three - David HowellDavid Howell (chess player)David Wei Liang Howell is an English chess player. He is the youngest chess Grandmaster in the United Kingdom, a title he earned when he came second during the 35th Rilton Cup in Stockholm on 5 January 2007 when he was 16...
, English number four
Tournament table
| Player | Rating | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Points | Win | Draw | Loss | Score | Tiebreak | Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2802 | X | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4½ | 4 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 2816 | ||
| 2 | 2804 | 1 | X | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 4½ | 2 | 5 | 0 | 11 | No tiebreak | 2815 | |
| 2 | 2645 | 1 | ½ | X | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 4½ | 2 | 5 | 0 | 11 | No tiebreak | 2838 | |
| 4 | 2741 | 0 | ½ | ½ | X | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 10 | Win over Kramnik | 2772 | |
| 5 | 2791 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | X | ½ | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 10 | Loss to Nakamura | 2765 | |
| 6 | 2723 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | X | 1 | ½ | 3½ | 1 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 2725 | ||
| 7 | 2611 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | X | ½ | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2583 | ||
| 8 | 2680 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | X | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 2422 |
Note: the 'Points' column shows how the tournament would have been scored under conventional rules and these are the figures used for rating calculation purposes.
Subsidiary events
Other tournaments organised during the festival included the nine-round Women's Invitational competition and nine-round "FIDE Rated Open". WIM Arlette Van Weersel of The Netherlands won the former with 8/9, while GMs Gawain JonesGawain Jones
Gawain Christopher B. Jones is an English chess Grandmaster.-Career:Jones was born in Keighley, West Yorkshire and began playing chess at the age of four, competing in his first tournaments at six...
and Simon Williams
Simon Williams (chess player)
Simon Kim Williams is a chess grandmaster and author from England.He became an International Master in 1998 and a Grandmaster in 2008....
(both England) shared victory in the Open with 7½/9.
Korchnoi gave two simultaneous displays during the event and evening lectures were provided by GMs Jacob Aagaard
Jacob Aagaard
Jacob Aagaard is a Danish-born Scottish Grandmaster of chess who won the 94th British Championship in 2007. He is Scotland's second highest ranked player as of January 2010, with an Elo rating of 2538. In 2004, he took second place in the Scottish Chess Championship. In 2005, he took first place...
and Boris Avrukh
Boris Avrukh
Boris Leonidovich Avrukh is an Israeli chess grandmaster. He was the World Under-12 champion in 1990.He has played for Israel six times in Chess Olympiads.* In 1998, at second reserve board at the 33rd Chess Olympiad in Elista ;...
.
2011 Classic: 3-12 December
The third edition of the chess festival will once again feature the strongest chess tournament ever held in the UK. Organiser Malcolm Pein has added a ninth player, the world number three Armenian Grandmaster Levon AronianLevon Aronian
Levon 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...
. This means that it is likely that five of the world's top six players will be participating. With two extra rounds scheduled, play will span two weekends and each day, one player will be able to sit out and join the commentary team.
Participants
- Viswanathan AnandViswanathan AnandV. 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....
, world champion and number two in the world rankings - 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...
, number one in the world rankings - 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...
, number three in the world rankings - Vladimir KramnikVladimir KramnikVladimir 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...
, former world champion (2000-2007) and world number four - Hikaru NakamuraHikaru NakamuraHikaru Nakamura is an American chess Grandmaster . He has been ranked among the top six players in the world by FIDE....
, US number one - Michael Adams, British champion and English number one
- 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...
, former world championship finalist and English number two - Luke McShaneLuke McShaneLuke James McShane is an English chess player. A former World Youth Champion and prodigious talent in chess, he has become one of England's leading players and a member of the Olympiad team. He has also been a trader in London's financial sector.- Early career :McShane won the World Under-10...
, English number three - David HowellDavid Howell (chess player)David Wei Liang Howell is an English chess player. He is the youngest chess Grandmaster in the United Kingdom, a title he earned when he came second during the 35th Rilton Cup in Stockholm on 5 January 2007 when he was 16...
, English number four