Ivanchuk needs 12 moves to win Tal Memorial
27 August 2008 19:31 PM CET | Last modified: 19:34 | By Peter Doggers | Filed under: Reports | Tags:
There was only one question left to be answered in Moscow: would Alexei Shirov be willing to put up a fight against Vassily Ivanchuk in the last round? But no, he wasn’t really up to it and agreed to a draw on move 12. The other four games were drawn as well and so Ivanchuk celebrates yet another big success.
Photo © Evgeny Potemkin
There’s not much of a round report to be written here, because in just one game there was a real fight: Kamsky-Ponomariov. Right after the opening, the American sacrificed a pawn on the queenside for an attack on the kingside, which however was never realised. In the ending that followed, White was probably never really in danger of losing.
And so we have Ivanchuk as the winner again, after his success in Sofia earlier this year. During the Amber tournament, where he celebrated his 39th birthday, he claimed to have a “perfect age for chess”. It’s great to see that some stars from the nineties of the last century can still be stars in the new one as well.
Which was also, to a certain extent, proved by 40-year-old Boris Gelfand, who finished on a solid third place with plus one. With Ivanchuk, the Israeli was the only player to stay undefeated. Alexei Shirov, another star from that generation, is still struggling with his form, and finished with just one win and four losses.
Next on the “elite agenda” is, of course, the Grand Slam Final in Bilbao, with Anand, Ivanchuk, Carlsen, Topalov, Aronian and Radjabov. The first round of this event is already on Tuesday, September 2nd, and ChessVibes will be present during the whole tournament to bring on-the-spot video coverage.
Ivanchuk - Shirov ½-½
Kamsky - Ponomariov ½-½
Gelfand - Morozevich ½-½
Alekseev - Leko ½-½
Mamedyarov - Kramnik ½-½
Tal Memorial Final Standings
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | ||||||
| 1 | Ivanchuk,V | 2781 | +80 | * | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 6.0/9 | |
| 2 | Morozevich,A | 2788 | -9 | 0 | * | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 5.0/9 | 22.00 |
| 3 | Gelfand,B | 2720 | +66 | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 5.0/9 | 21.75 |
| 4 | Ponomariov,R | 2718 | +68 | ½ | 0 | ½ | * | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 5.0/9 | 21.25 |
| 5 | Kramnik,V | 2788 | -9 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 5.0/9 | 21.00 |
| 6 | Leko,P | 2741 | +4 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | * | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 4.5/9 | |
| 7 | Kamsky,G | 2723 | -14 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | * | ½ | 0 | 1 | 4.0/9 | 17.50 |
| 8 | Alekseev,Evgeny | 2708 | +2 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | * | 1 | ½ | 4.0/9 | 17.25 |
| 9 | Mamedyarov,S | 2742 | -75 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | * | 0 | 3.5/9 | |
| 10 | Shirov,A | 2741 | -115 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | * | 3.0/9 |
Videos by Europe-Echecs:
Links:
Yeah! Great Ivanchuk!
It’s amazing how many games he’s playing and keep his great form. In the field of 2700’s, he’s the guy that more games have played this year.
I have no idea why people say Ivanchuk’s english is bad…. it seems perfectly fine to me! Great job Ivanchuk!
Congratulations to Vassily Ivanchuk, he once again show his talent!
Page Special french on my blog filled with humour …
Heheheheh. What a funny guy, that Chuky!
I mean, really, all that body language, and gestures with his arms, looks kind a funny, and not all that straight :)) Is he pretending or what?
This is the first video of hi’s I’ve ever seen. I always thought he’s glum, dead-serious kind a guy.
Anyway, I’m a fan of his games, and I’m always glad to see him win!
Go Chuky!!!
Zmajevsky: He is a very modest person, so he is a little nervous during an interview. It’s nothing wrong with him if you ask me.
Congratulations to Chucky for this great win. He showed us again why he is a top player. Ponomariov’s last two games were very funny (playing on in a totally drawing position and at the end promoting a bishop.) I enjoyed this tournament, although i hoped for a better result for Lékó.
Gelfand should have been 4th
Anybody knows what’s the name of the song of Snoop Dogg (round 3)? Thanks a lot. A very interesting tournament, Ivanchuk is in great form, but I wanted Morozevich to win!! It’s a pity, 2 losses in a row!!