Alexander Grischuk proved to be a strong rapidplay player as he outgunned Levon Aronian in today's tie-breaks.
Yet again the underdog advances at the expence of the higher-rated player!
Levon Aronian must surely regret his missed opportunities. In the first game of the match, with more time available, he would undoubtedly have converted his advantage, and the match could then have had a different outcome.
| Nom | World rank | Pays | Elo | C1 | C2 | C3 | C4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | Final Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Levon Aronian | 3 | ARM | 2808 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 3½ |
| Alexander Grischuk | 12 | RUS | 2747 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 4½ |
Four draws in classical chess, earlier this week, was followed by a series of drawn rapidplay games, and the chess equivalent of penalties was used to find a qualifier.
Blitz isn't an ideal way to settle a match situation, but if players keep insisting on drawing, something has to give! After losing the first Blitz game, Vladimir Kramnik was able to win a couple of long endgames to turn the match in his favour. In the final Blitz game, Radjabov's advantage had disappeared and facing a perpetual check his flag fell.
In one of these there was a problem with the clock and the game had to be suspended for several minutes while this issue was sorted out. Did this unsettle Radjabov?
So Vladimir Kramnik qualifies to play Alexander Grischuk.
| Nom | World rank | Pays | Elo | C1 | C2 | C3 | C4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | R8 | B9 | B10 | B11 | B12 | Final Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teimour Radjabov | 13 | AZE | 2744 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Vladimir Kramnik | 4 | RUS | 2785 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
The other quarter-finals were resolved yesterday. Veselin Topalov surprisingly lost out to Gata Kamsky after losing as White in their second game and drawing the other three.
| Nom | World rank | Pays | Elo | C1 | C2 | C3 | C4 | Final Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gata Kamsky | 18 | USA | 2732 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 2½ |
| Veselin Topalov | 7 | BUL | 2775 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1½ |
The 'veteran' (42 years old) Boris Gelfand beat Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in a similar fashion (to Kamsky's victory over Topalov): one win with Black and three draws.
The Israeli GM will meet Gata Kamsky in the Semi-Finals.
| Nom | World rank | Pays | Elo | C1 | C2 | C3 | C4 | Final Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shakhriyar Mamedyarov | 9 | AZE | 2772 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1½ |
| Boris Gelfand | 16 | ISR | 2733 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 2½ |
The rates of play used in the matches:
C= classical chess
R= Rapidplay
B= Blitz
A= Armaggedon Blitz
One notable aspect of these matches so far was how successful the players were as Black. In the classical games there were no White wins, fourteen draws and two victories with Black.
There will be a couple of free days before the next stage, the 'Semi-Finals', which will start on Thursday. This will enable to players to recharge their batteries and tune-up their prepared lines ready for a new opponent.
Otherwise another useful source is the FIDE site:
Fédération Internationale des Échecs
To watch the games live : http://kazan2011.fide.com/live-games.html
The games will start at 3 pm local time
This means 1 pm in Paris & Madrid
12 noon in London
7am New York
4am Los Angeles
