Kramnik leads half-way at Tal Blitz
29 August 2008, 22.27 CET | Last modified: 12:13 | By Peter Doggers | Filed under: Reports | Tags:
After the first half of the huge Tal Blitz tournament in Moscow, Vladimir Kramnik leads with 11 points out of 17 games. Tal Memorial winner Ivanchuk, defeated Anand in the tiebreak final last year, who is defending his blitz title, is shared second with “wild card” Magnus Carlsen. Tomorrow the second half will be played.
Although officially it’s not the blitz world championship anymore (this will be organised in Kazachstan later this year), the Tal Blitz 2008 did attract a huge amount of world famous grandmasters again. The qualifying stage, played August 27-28, had the following final table:
Tal Blitz 2008 Qualifier
| Rank | Name | Score | Fed. | M/F | Rating | TPR | W-We | BH-HiLo | BH | BH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM Grischuk, Alexander | 12.5 | RUS | M | 2728 | 2786 | +1.44 | 169.0 | 190.0 | 190.0 |
| 2 | GM Movsesian, Sergei | 12.5 | SVK | M | 2723 | 2794 | +1.80 | 166.5 | 186.0 | 186.0 |
| 3 | GM Karjakin, Sergey | 12.0 | UKR | M | 2727 | 2755 | +0.64 | 164.0 | 183.0 | 183.0 |
| 4 | GM Grachev, Boris | 12.0 | RUS | M | 2640 | 2769 | +3.08 | 163.0 | 182.0 | 182.0 |
| 5 | GM Eljanov, Pavel | 12.0 | UKR | M | 2716 | 2753 | +0.88 | 151.5 | 171.0 | 171.0 |
| 6 | GM Mamedov, Rauf | 11.5 | AZE | M | 2627 | 2792 | +4.08 | 180.0 | 202.0 | 202.0 |
| 7 | GM Sutovsky, Emil | 11.5 | ISR | M | 2654 | 2708 | +1.32 | 156.0 | 174.0 | 174.0 |
| 8 | GM Smirin, Ilia | 11.5 | ISR | M | 2637 | 2730 | +2.28 | 149.0 | 168.0 | 168.0 |
| 9 | GM Kasimdzhanov, Rustam | 11.5 | UZB | M | 2679 | 2704 | +0.62 | 142.0 | 160.0 | 160.0 |
| 10 | GM Nepomniachtchi, Ian | 11.0 | RUS | M | 2602 | 2755 | +3.78 | 175.5 | 197.0 | 197.0 |
| 11 | GM Gashimov, Vugar | 11.0 | AZE | M | 2717 | 2709 | -0.14 | 162.0 | 182.0 | 182.0 |
| 12 | GM Sargissian, Gabriel | 11.0 | ARM | M | 2660 | 2724 | +1.60 | 154.5 | 173.0 | 173.0 |
| 13 | GM Rublevsky, Sergei | 11.0 | RUS | M | 2699 | 2686 | -0.28 | 154.0 | 174.0 | 174.0 |
| 14 | GM Petrosian, Tigran L. | 10.5 | ARM | M | 2624 | 2698 | +1.92 | 144.0 | 163.0 | 163.0 |
| 15 | GM Tregubov, Pavel V. | 10.5 | RUS | M | 2658 | 2680 | +0.64 | 126.0 | 142.0 | 142.0 |
| 16 | GM Wang, Hao | 10.0 | CHN | M | 2691 | 2651 | -1.04 | 159.5 | 180.0 | 180.0 |
| 17 | GM Dreev, Alexey | 10.0 | RUS | M | 2657 | 2648 | -0.30 | 154.0 | 170.0 | 170.0 |
| 18 | GM Efimenko, Zahar | 10.0 | UKR | M | 2670 | 2651 | -0.52 | 148.5 | 167.0 | 167.0 |
| 19 | GM Volokitin, Andrei | 9.5 | UKR | M | 2671 | 2653 | -0.48 | 165.0 | 183.0 | 183.0 |
| 20 | GM Popov, Valerij | 9.5 | RUS | M | 2524 | 2683 | +3.82 | 148.5 | 167.0 | 167.0 |
| 21 | GM Motylev, Alexander | 9.5 | RUS | M | 2674 | 2646 | -0.72 | 148.0 | 169.0 | 169.0 |
| 22 | GM Zhou, Jianchao | 9.5 | CHN | M | 2604 | 2689 | +2.06 | 147.5 | 166.0 | 166.0 |
| 23 | GM Volkov, Sergey | 9.5 | RUS | M | 2636 | 2639 | +0.06 | 146.0 | 165.0 | 165.0 |
| 24 | GM Naiditsch, Arkadij | 9.5 | GER | M | 2665 | 2609 | -1.34 | 143.0 | 162.0 | 162.0 |
| 25 | GM Malakhov, Vladimir | 9.5 | RUS | M | 2689 | 2640 | -1.22 | 142.0 | 161.0 | 161.0 |
| 26 | GM Amonatov, Farrukh | 9.5 | TJK | M | 2650 | 2630 | -0.50 | 142.0 | 160.0 | 160.0 |
| 27 | GM Huzman, Alexander | 9.5 | ISR | M | 2589 | 2652 | +1.54 | 139.0 | 155.0 | 155.0 |
| 28 | GM Ni, Hua | 9.5 | CHN | M | 2705 | 2622 | -2.02 | 134.5 | 151.0 | 151.0 |
| 29 | GM Dlugy, Maxim | 9.0 | USA | M | 2518 | 2678 | +3.84 | 168.0 | 189.0 | 189.0 |
| 30 | GM Andreikin, Dmitry | 9.0 | RUS | M | 2604 | 2672 | +1.68 | 155.5 | 175.0 | 175.0 |
| 31 | GM Savchenko, Boris | 9.0 | RUS | M | 2578 | 2650 | +1.78 | 151.0 | 169.0 | 169.0 |
| 32 | GM Khismatullin, Denis | 9.0 | RUS | M | 2613 | 2650 | +0.92 | 150.0 | 169.0 | 169.0 |
| 33 | GM Van Wely, Loek | 9.0 | NED | M | 2644 | 2610 | -0.82 | 150.0 | 167.0 | 167.0 |
| 34 | GM Landa, Konstantin | 9.0 | RUS | M | 2615 | 2626 | +0.28 | 145.0 | 162.0 | 162.0 |
| 35 | GM Timofeev, Artyom | 9.0 | RUS | M | 2650 | 2613 | -0.92 | 137.0 | 154.0 | 154.0 |
| 36 | GM Zvjaginsev, Vadim | 9.0 | RUS | M | 2663 | 2617 | -1.10 | 131.5 | 148.0 | 148.0 |
| 37 | GM Aleksandrov, Aleksej | 8.5 | BLR | M | 2574 | 2649 | +1.88 | 162.5 | 184.0 | 184.0 |
| 38 | GM Tomashevsky, Evgeny | 8.5 | RUS | M | 2646 | 2605 | -0.98 | 154.5 | 175.0 | 175.0 |
| 39 | GM Korotylev, Alexey | 8.5 | RUS | M | 2609 | 2624 | +0.38 | 146.0 | 164.0 | 164.0 |
| 40 | GM Krasenkow, Michal | 8.5 | POL | M | 2639 | 2587 | -1.26 | 142.5 | 159.0 | 159.0 |
| 41 | GM Kobalia, Mikhail | 8.5 | RUS | M | 2618 | 2622 | +0.14 | 132.0 | 149.0 | 149.0 |
| 42 | GM Sakaev, Konstantin | 8.0 | RUS | M | 2634 | 2605 | -0.66 | 148.0 | 166.0 | 166.0 |
| 43 | GM Riazantsev, Alexander | 8.0 | RUS | M | 2617 | 2600 | -0.36 | 136.5 | 155.0 | 155.0 |
| 44 | GM Rychagov, Andrey | 7.5 | RUS | M | 2549 | 2572 | +0.46 | 137.5 | 155.0 | 155.0 |
| 45 | GM Vaisser, Anatoly | 7.5 | FRA | M | 2542 | 2578 | +0.72 | 132.5 | 150.0 | 150.0 |
| 46 | GM Belov, Vladimir | 7.0 | RUS | M | 2561 | 2571 | +0.18 | 153.0 | 172.0 | 172.0 |
| 47 | GM Grigoriants, Sergey | 7.0 | RUS | M | 2577 | 2573 | -0.06 | 137.0 | 154.5 | 154.5 |
| 48 | IM Ivanov, Alexander Al. | 7.0 | RUS | M | 2473 | 2536 | +1.42 | 135.5 | 152.0 | 152.0 |
| 49 | GM Potkin, Vladimir | 7.0 | RUS | M | 2629 | 2535 | -2.38 | 132.0 | 149.0 | 149.0 |
| 50 | GM Najer, Evgeniy | 7.0 | RUS | M | 2670 | 2528 | -3.50 | 118.0 | 133.0 | 133.0 |
| 51 | GM Deviatkin, Andrei | 7.0 | RUS | M | 2567 | 2468 | -2.08 | 114.0 | 131.0 | 131.0 |
| 52 | GM Rustemov, Alexander | 6.5 | RUS | M | 2547 | 2545 | -0.06 | 152.0 | 170.0 | 170.0 |
| 53 | GM Khairullin, Ildar | 6.5 | RUS | M | 2575 | 2535 | -0.88 | 130.5 | 147.5 | 147.5 |
| 54 | GM Bacrot, Etienne | 6.5 | FRA | M | 2691 | 2490 | -4.92 | 117.0 | 133.0 | 133.0 |
| 55 | GM Bologan, Viktor | 6.5 | MDA | M | 2686 | 2453 | -5.60 | 116.5 | 132.0 | 132.0 |
| 56 | Korobkov, Piotr | 6.0 | UKR | M | 2516 | 2509 | -0.12 | 127.0 | 143.0 | 143.0 |
| 57 | GM Dobrov, Vladimir | 6.0 | RUS | M | 2519 | 2489 | -0.70 | 113.0 | 128.0 | 128.0 |
| 58 | GM Milov, Vadim | 5.5 | SUI | M | 2705 | 2518 | -3.54 | 125.0 | 141.0 | 141.0 |
| 59 | GM Iordachescu, Viorel | 5.5 | MDA | M | 2579 | 2455 | -3.08 | 115.0 | 129.0 | 129.0 |
| 60 | GM Novikov, Stanislav | 1.5 | RUS | M | 2535 | 2265 | -3.66 | 97.5 | 112.0 | 112.0 |
The first 14 qualified for the final stage, The first 4, plus the 10 participants of the Tal Memorial, qualified for the final stage, an 18-player round-robin played in two legs: 17 rounds today and 17 rounds tomorrow. Besides the 14 qualifiers, Anatoly Karpov, Magnus Carlsen, Peter Svidler and Vladimir Tkachiev got special invitations.
After the first 17 games it’s Vladimir Kramnik who took a slim lead of just half a point - he’s followed by Carlsen and Ivanchuk:
Tal Blitz 2008 Standings Leg 1
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | ||||||
| 1 | Kramnik,V | 2788 | +39 | * | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11.0/17 | |
| 2 | Carlsen,M | 2775 | +31 | 0 | * | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 10.5/17 | 88.25 |
| 3 | Ivanchuk,V | 2781 | +25 | ½ | ½ | * | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10.5/17 | 86.75 |
| 4 | Gelfand,B | 2720 | +68 | 0 | 0 | 0 | * | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10.0/17 | |
| 5 | Grischuk,A | 2728 | +39 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | * | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 9.5/17 | 81.00 |
| 6 | Svidler,P | 2738 | +28 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | * | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 9.5/17 | 80.25 |
| 7 | Mamedyarov,S | 2742 | +3 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | * | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9.0/17 | |
| 8 | Kamsky,G | 2723 | +3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | * | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8.5/17 | 73.00 |
| 9 | Morozevich,A | 2788 | -65 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 8.5/17 | 67.25 |
| 10 | Leko,P | 2741 | -36 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 8.0/17 | 69.00 |
| 11 | Karjakin,S | 2727 | -21 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | * | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 8.0/17 | 65.75 |
| 12 | Karpov,A | 2651 | +59 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | * | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8.0/17 | 64.75 |
| 13 | Movsesian,S | 2723 | -17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | * | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8.0/17 | 64.50 |
| 14 | Ponomariov,R | 2718 | -32 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 7.5/17 | 64.75 |
| 15 | Grachev,B | 2640 | +50 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | * | ½ | ½ | ½ | 7.5/17 | 63.25 |
| 16 | Alekseev,E | 2708 | -42 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | * | 1 | ½ | 7.0/17 | 57.00 |
| 17 | Eljanov,P | 2716 | -51 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | * | 1 | 7.0/17 | 56.00 |
| 18 | Tkachiev,V | 2664 | -86 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | * | 5.0/17 |
Below you can replay all games of the first leg, played today:
Links:
Looks to me like only the top 5 (not 14) qualified for the main event.
yes clearly it was top 5… as 14+4 specials would leave out Ivanchuk Kramnik etc.
So many GM per square meter. Amazing !
Why did Grischuk have to qualify?
Oops, where was my head - corrected now.
First four should qualify, but because Shirov declined, the 5th placed Eljanov got a chance to play.
“Tal Memorial winner Ivanchuk, who defeated Anand in the tiebreak final last year”
Minor correction: he didn’t defeat Anand in the tiebreak, he won the tournament by defeating Anand in the last round.
does anyone know what happened in the game ivanchuk - movsesian? its only 3 moves long…did movsesian forget to turn off his cellphone maybe?
hey chessvibes!
found your website about 5 months back.
great, great videos.
as someone in usa who will never get to see the chess greats in person, your videos are the next best thing. keep up the good work!!
Chessvibes is one of my favourite sites.