Eljanov wins Astrakhan

Pavel Eljanov draws comfortably and wins the final Grand Prix with a one point advance.
Teimour Radjabov maintains his place as the final Candidates qualifier by drawing with Wang Yue.
He along with Lev Aronian will join the world elite in helping determine Anand's next challenger.

Another two White wins in the final round:

Ernesto Inarkiev avoids being last alone by beating Peter Svidler, and Peter Leko catches Vugar Gashimov by overcoming the Azerbaizani.

Otherwise the leading places were unaltered by a series of draws.

Game No.NameRatingResultNameRating
1Ernesto Inarkiev26691-0Peter Svidler2735
2Ruslan Ponomariov27330.5-0.5Evgeny Alekseev2700
3Teimour Radjabov27400.5-0.5Wang Yue2752
4Peter Leko27351-0Vugar Gashimov2734
5Vassily Ivanchuk27410.5-0.5Sahkhriyar Mamedyarov2763
6Dmitry Jakovenko27250.5-0.5Vladimir Akopian2694
7Boris Gelfand27410.5-0.5Pavel Eljanov2751

Five players finished on 'plus one' one point behind Eljanov, who continues to climb up the world's rankings.

Here the Ukrainian won 11 rating points taking him to a virtual rating of 2762.

Mamedyarov on the other hand loses 1.5 rating points (so drops to 2761.5), so I estimate that Eljanov will rise from 9th to 6th place in the world.

The Candidate @ official site.

The other 'winner' is of course Radjabov who edged out a number of rivals (for second place behind Aronian) in the overall Grand Prix standings.

RankingNameCountryPresent RatingPoints
1stPavel EljanovUkraine27518
2nd-6thEvgeny AlekseevRussia27007
2nd-6thDmitry JakovenkoRussia27257
2nd-6thShakhriyar MamedyarovAzerbaijan27637
2nd-6thRuslan PonomariovUkraine27337
2nd-6thTeimour RadjabovAzerbaijan27407
7th-9thVugar GashimovAzerbaijan27346.5
7th-9thPeter LekoHungary27356.5
7th-9thWang YueChina27526.5
10th-11thBoris GelfandIsrael27416
10th-11thPeter SvidlerRussia27356
12th-14thVladimir AkopianArmenia26945.5
12th-14thErnesto InarkievRussia26695.5
12th-14thVassily IvanchukUkraine27415.5

For further information go to the official tournament site.

It's always nice to finish with a win @ official site.

Published on , Updated on