Karjakin came out top after a tough final against Jakovenko who blundered in their sudden-death blitz decider. Here is a summary of what took place in the 'Pivdenny' (the main sponsor, an important bank) rapid.
The players and their official world ranking:
Seeding | Name | Country | Official rating | World ranking |
01. | Grischuk Alexander | Russia | 2760 | 7 |
02. | Eljanov Pavel | Ukraine | 2751 | 9 |
03. | Shirov Alexei | Spain | 2742 | 10 |
04. | Ivanchuk Vassily | Ukraine | 2741 | 12 |
05. | Karjakin Sergei | Russia | 2739 | 14 |
06. | Gashimov Vugar | Azerbaijan | 2734 | 17 |
07. | Jakovenko Dmitry | Russia | 2725 | 21 |
08. | Movsesian Sergei | Slovakia | 2717 | 25 |
09. | Bacrot Etienne | France | 2710 | 29 |
10. | Motylev Alexander | Russia | 2704 | 33 |
11. | Naiditsch Arkadij | Germany | 2686 | 47 |
12. | Inarkiev Ernesto | Russia | 2669 | 61 |
13. | Moiseenko Alexander | Ukraine | 2669 | 62 |
14. | Drozdovskij Yuri | Russia | 2625 | 133 |
15. | Tregubov Pavel | Russia | 2622 | 139 |
16. | Gurevich Mikhail | Turkey | 2614 | 165 |
Rapid and Blitz games are not quite the same as classical chess, but the higher 'classically rated' players tended to still come out on top. This was the case in the top half of the draw in the first round, with Shirov having the toughest match only overcoming Bacrot in their Armaggedon Blitz decider.
First round: Top half
Grischuk Alexander | RUS | 2760 | 2 |
Motylev Alexander | RUS | 2704 | 0 |
Movsesian Sergei | SVK | 2717 | 1.5 |
Naiditsch Arkadij | GER | 2686 | 0.5 |
Shirov Alexei | ESP | 2742 | 3 |
Bacrot Etienne | FRA | 2710 | 2 |
Karjakin Sergei | RUS | 2739 | 3 |
Drozdovskij Yuri | RUS | 2625 | 1 |
Note however that the eventual winner Sergei Karjakin also had his work cut out against Drozdovskij.
First Round: Bottom half
Eljanov Pavel | UKR | 2751 | 1.5 |
Moiseenko Alexander | UKR | 2669 | 0.5 |
Jakovenko Dmitry | RUS | 2725 | 2 |
Inarkiev Ernesto | RUS | 2669 | 0 |
Ivanchuk Vassily | UKR | 2741 | 0.5 |
Gurevich Mikhail | TUR | 2614 | 1.5 |
Gashimov Vugar | AZE | 2734 | 3 |
Tregubov Pavel | RUS | 2622 | 2 |
Gashimov had his work cut out to beat Tregubov but the big surprise of the first round was Gurevich's victory over Ivanchuk. He was the only sub-2700 survivor after the first round.
Remember that Ivanchuk didn't lose a single game during the whole of the Melody Amber rapid and blindfold games earlier this year.
Second round:
Grischuk Alexander | RUS | 2760 | 1.5 |
Movsesian Sergei | SVK | 2717 | 0.5 |
Shirov Alexei | ESP | 2742 | 2 |
Karjakin Sergei | RUS | 2739 | 3 |
Grischuk won in the rapids, Karjakin on the other hand won (not for the last time!) in the Armaggedon blitz.
Eljanov Pavel | UKR | 2751 | 0.5 |
Jakovenko Dmitry | RUS | 2725 | 1.5 |
Gurevich Mikhail | TUR | 2614 | 1.5 |
Gashimov Vugar | AZE | 2734 | 0.5 |
Veteran Mihail Gurevich continued his surprising run.
Semi-finals:
Grischuk Alexander | RUS | 2760 | 1.5 |
Karjakin Sergei | RUS | 2739 | 2.5 |
Jakovenko Dmitry | RUS | 2725 | 1.5 |
Gurevich Mikhail | TUR | 2614 | 0.5 |
Dmitry Jakovenko won in the rapids whereas Sergei Karjakin again required 'extra-time'.
Final:
Karjakin Sergei | RUS | 2739 | 4 |
Jakovenko Dmitry | RUS | 2725 | 3 |
In the Final, four rapid games were played, all of which were drawn as were two blitz games which led to the Armaggedon Blitz game (where Black has draw odds) which Karjakin won after a blunder by Jakovenko in a drawish endgame.
You can find additional information (in Russian!) on the official tournament site.