Morozevich wins the Russian Higher League
| Russia |
 The games from the men's tournament (254 ko)
The games from the women's tournament (122 ko)
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The Russian Higher League took place from the 15th to the 26th of June in Taganrog, which can be found on the sea of Azov near Rostov-on-Don. Apart from being one of the most westerly points in Russia, the city of Taganrog is famous for being the birthplace of Anton Chekhov.
Alexander Morozevich, a former World Top Ten player, finished ahead of a strong field.
The tournament was a great success for Alexander Morozevich who has otherwise had indifferent form in recent years. He should now regain his 2700-status, once this result is counted.
The youthful Artyom Timofeev was runner-up with a slightly better tie-break than Alexander Galkin.
Certain household names had disappointing tournaments, especially Nikita Vitiugov (1st seed) who finished 13th and, in particular, (second seed) Dmitry Jakovenko who only managed a lowly 28th.
| Rank | Title | Name | Rating | Points/11 | Tie-break 1 | Tie-break 2 | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GM | Morozevich Alexander | 2694 | 8.0 | 63.0 | 47.5 | 5 |
| 2 | GM | Timofeev Artyom | 2665 | 7.5 | 66.5 | 47.0 | 5 |
| 3 | GM | Galkin Alexander | 2598 | 7.5 | 66.0 | 47.0 | 4 |
| 4 | GM | Tomashevsky Evgeny | 2707 | 7.0 | 65.5 | 43.5 | 3 |
| 5 | GM | Sjugirov Sanan | 2629 | 7.0 | 65.0 | 48.0 | 5 |
| 6 | GM | Matlakov Maxim | 2632 | 7.0 | 63.5 | 43.5 | 3 |
| 7 | GM | Inarkiev Ernesto | 2679 | 7.0 | 63.5 | 41.0 | 5 |
| 8 | GM | Volkov Sergey | 2615 | 7.0 | 63.0 | 44.5 | 3 |
| 9 | GM | Zvjaginsev Vadim | 2659 | 7.0 | 62.0 | 44.5 | 3 |
| 10 | GM | Grachev Boris | 2669 | 7.0 | 61.0 | 41.0 | 3 |
| 11 | GM | Rublevsky Sergei | 2682 | 7.0 | 60.0 | 39.5 | 4 |
| 12 | GM | Fedoseev Vladimir | 2506 | 7.0 | 55.0 | 35.5 | 6 |
| 13 | GM | Vitiugov Nikita | 2733 | 6.5 | 62.5 | 41.5 | 2 |
| 14 | GM | Alekseev Evgeny | 2673 | 6.5 | 61.5 | 41.5 | 3 |
| 15 | GM | Kornev Alexei | 2511 | 6.5 | 59.0 | 36.0 | 4 |
| 16 | GM | Khairullin Ildar | 2649 | 6.5 | 57.5 | 35.0 | 3 |
| 17 | GM | Najer Evgeniy | 2643 | 6.0 | 66.0 | 42.5 | 3 |
| 18 | GM | Savchenko Boris | 2630 | 6.0 | 64.0 | 41.0 | 5 |
| 19 | GM | Lysyj Igor | 2629 | 6.0 | 63.5 | 38.0 | 2 |
| 20 | GM | Romanov Evgeny | 2624 | 6.0 | 61.0 | 36.0 | 3 |
| 21 | GM | Lintchevski Daniil | 2543 | 6.0 | 60.5 | 35.0 | 3 |
| 22 | GM | Potkin Vladimir | 2682 | 6.0 | 59.0 | 37.0 | 2 |
| 23 | GM | Kobalia Mikhail | 2679 | 6.0 | 58.0 | 34.0 | 4 |
| 24 | GM | Kryakvin Dmitry | 2551 | 6.0 | 57.0 | 36.5 | 4 |
| 25 | GM | Shomoev Anton | 2566 | 6.0 | 57.0 | 32.5 | 4 |
| 26 | GM | Kurnosov Igor | 2633 | 5.5 | 62.0 | 39.5 | 3 |
| 27 | IM | Reshetnikov Alexey | 2487 | 5.5 | 61.5 | 34.0 | 2 |
| 28 | GM | Jakovenko Dmitry | 2732 | 5.5 | 61.0 | 38.5 | 3 |
The women's higher league also took place at the same time. Elena Zaiatz dominated the nine round event and was the only undefeated player.
| Rank | Name | Title | Rating | points | Tie-break 1 | Tie-break 2 | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zaiatz Elena | IM | 2430 | 7.5 | 44.0 | 40.0 | 6 |
| 2 | Kovanova Baira | WGM | 2361 | 6.5 | 43.0 | 29.5 | 5 |
| 3 | Gunina Valentina | IM | 2487 | 6.0 | 46.5 | 36.0 | 6 |
| 4 | Charochkina Daria | WIM | 2320 | 6.0 | 46.0 | 33.5 | 5 |
| 5 | Shadrina Tatiana | WGM | 2397 | 6.0 | 44.0 | 27.0 | 5 |
| 6 | Girya Olga | WGM | 2394 | 6.0 | 38.5 | 25.5 | 5 |
| 7 | Ovod Evgenija | IM | 2404 | 5.5 | 44.0 | 28.5 | 5 |
| 8 | Kovalevskaya Ekaterina | IM | 2427 | 5.5 | 43.0 | 29.5 | 3 |
| 9 | Bodnaruk Anastasia | IM | 2419 | 5.5 | 41.0 | 29.5 | 5 |
The official site gives more information http://russiachess.org/
Published: 26/06/2011 18:59
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