Sutovsky wins Inventi with 2821 performance

28 September 2009, 11.03 CET | By Peter Doggers  | Filed under: Reports | Tags:

Emil Sutovsky won the Inventi Chess tournament in Antwerp, Belgium on Sunday with a 2821 performance rating. The Israeli grandmaster defeated Antoaneta Stefanova in a sharp last-round game to finish at a 7/9 score, 1.5 points ahead of Sasikiran and Bacrot.

The 2nd Inventi Chess Tournament took place September 18-26 in Antwerp, Belgium. It was a 10-player round robin with GM Etienne Bacrot (2709), GM Emil Sutovsky (2676), GM Gabriel Sargissian (2668), GM Krishnan Sasikiran (2661), GM Bartosz Socko (2637), GM David Howell (2624), GM Jan Timman (2588), IM Anna Muzychuk (2533), Antoaneta Stefanova (2527) and IM Bart Michiels (2462).

In our previous report we already wrote about the great form Emil Sutovsky was in. He started with 5/6 and with two draws against Muzychuk and Bacrot and another win against Stefanova in the last round, Sutovsky stayed undefeated and reached a formidable 7/9 score and a performance above 2800.

Sutovsky, just like Kasparov, Radjabov and Akopian born in Baku, stepped into the limelight for the first time by winning the World Juniors in 1996. This yielded him an invitation to play in Hoogeveen in 1997 where he finished first, ahead of Polgar, Van Wely and Smyslov. His biggest succes so far was the title at the 2001 European Championship, where he defeated Ruslan Ponomariov in the rapid chess tiebreak. In recent years Sutovsky has been working with Gata Kamsky as a second.

According to De Schaakfabriek, Sutovsky had an original explanation for his strong performance in Antwerp. “From the start I liked the atmosphere here. And I’d like to compliment arbiter Jos Pots. I’ve played hundreds of tournaments and he’s really one of the very best arbiters I’ve come across. He doesn’t attract attention, is very friendly and correct. He’s courteous and takes care of the players’ wishes, that it’s quiet and that we can concentrate. My compliments – I hope to play more often in tournaments with Mr Pots.”

Escaping with a draw in the last round against Sargissian, Russian IM Anna Muzychuk scored her second GM norm. “Watch here, she’ll be women world champion one day,” predicted Sutovsky. David Howell played a very bad tournament, but could at least end with a nice, attacking victory against local hero IM Bart Michiels.

Inventi 2009 | Final Standings

Games rounds 7-9 for replay

Game viewer by ChessTempo

All photos by De Schaakfabriek

Links

• Official website
• Coverage by De Schaakfabriek
• Games in PGN

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