Ivanchuck wins 2008 Tal Blitz

The chess hero of Tal Tournament

It's two in a row for Big Chucky. Just a couple of days after winning the classical Tal Memorial, Ivanchuck proved to the chess world that he is also the master of blitz tournament by capturing these years edition of 2008 Tal Blitz in Moscow. After 17 rounds he was actually running third behind Kramnik and Carlsen, both of whom he handily defeated today. But after strings of heroic victory on the final day, it was Ivanchuck who emerge as the over all winner of these tough tournament that attracted a number of GM's from all over the planet. Other list of his victims on the final 17 rounds are Svidler, Mamedyarov, Grischuck, Kamsky, Graschev, Alekseev, Karpov, Morozevich, Movsesian, and Eljanov. Kramnik finished a strong second and the "wild card" entry Magnus Carlsen finished third. Another wild card entry former world champion Antoly Karpov ended in 14th place.

Here are the final standings:

1. Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2781 23.5

2. Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2788 22.5

3. Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2775 21.0

4. Svidler, Peter g RUS 2738 20.0
5. Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar g AZE 2742 20.0

6. Lékó, Peter g HUN 2741 18.0
7. Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2728 18.0
8. Karjakin, Sergey g UKR 2727 18.0

9. Kamsky, Gata g USA 2723 17.5
10. Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2720 17.5

11. Ponomariov, Ruslan g UKR 2718 17.0

12. Grachev, Boris g RUS 2640 14.5

13. Alekseev, Evgeny g RUS 2708 14.0
14. Karpov, Anatoly g RUS 2651 14.0
15. Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2788 14.0

16. Movsesian, Sergei g SVK 2723 12.5
17. Eljanov, Pavel g UKR 2716 12.5

18. Tkachiev, Vladislav g FRA 2664 11.5

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Tal Blitz 2008: Kramnik leads

Ex-wold champion Vladimir Kramnik pull off a nice victory against Magnus Carlsen with a stunning sacrificial move in the end game 47. Rxd3! to lead the 2008 Tal Blitz tournament in Moscow. Other notable match of the day is the face off between two Ukranian super GM, 2008 Tal Memorial king and defending champion, Vassily Ivanchuck and his prodigy Sergei Karjakin. The game actually run pretty smooth and it looks like the match will end in a draw as both players arrive in a pretty balance position after 35. g6 with equal chances but the veteran champion come up with an instantaneous, god knows where it came from, devastating knock out punch despite in severe time trouble and saw 35...d3! Karjakin's position then crumbled in an instant and was mated 5 moves later! Now who says chess doesn't have any sense of humor eh?

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Tal Blitz 2008 Standings Leg 1

				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
1	Kramnik,V	2788	+39	*	1	½	1	0	0	1	0	1	½	½	1	0	½	1	1	1	1	11.0/17
2	Carlsen,M	2775	+31	0	*	½	1	0	1	1	1	½	½	0	1	1	½	1	1	½	0	10.5/17	88.25
3	Ivanchuk,V	2781	+25	½	½	*	1	1	0	½	0	1	½	1	½	1	1	0	0	1	1	10.5/17	86.75
4	Gelfand,B	2720	+68	0	0	0	*	½	1	1	½	1	½	½	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	10.0/17
5	Grischuk,A	2728	+39	1	1	0	½	*	1	0	½	½	0	1	½	1	0	0	1	1	½	9.5/17	81.00
6	Svidler,P	2738	+28	1	0	1	0	0	*	½	1	½	1	1	½	1	0	1	½	0	½	9.5/17	80.25
7	Mamedyarov,S	2742	+3	0	0	½	0	1	½	*	0	½	0	1	1	½	1	0	1	1	1	9.0/17
8	Kamsky,G	2723	+3	1	0	1	½	½	0	1	*	0	1	1	0	1	½	0	0	0	1	8.5/17	73.00
9	Morozevich,A	2788	-65	0	½	0	0	½	½	½	1	*	½	½	1	1	0	0	½	1	1	8.5/17	67.25
10	Leko,P	2741	-36	½	½	½	½	1	0	1	0	½	*	½	½	0	1	½	½	0	½	8.0/17	69.00
11	Karjakin,S	2727	-21	½	1	0	½	0	0	0	0	½	½	*	1	½	1	1	0	1	½	8.0/17	65.75
12	Karpov,A	2651	+59	0	0	½	1	½	½	0	1	0	½	0	*	1	0	1	1	0	1	8.0/17	64.75
13	Movsesian,S	2723	-17	1	0	0	1	0	0	½	0	0	1	½	0	*	1	1	1	0	1	8.0/17	64.50
14	Ponomariov,R	2718	-32	½	½	0	0	1	1	0	½	1	0	0	1	0	*	½	½	1	0	7.5/17	64.75
15	Grachev,B	2640	+50	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	1	1	½	0	0	0	½	*	½	½	½	7.5/17	63.25
16	Alekseev,E	2708	-42	0	0	1	0	0	½	0	1	½	½	1	0	0	½	½	*	1	½	7.0/17	57.00
17	Eljanov,P	2716	-51	0	½	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	½	0	*	1	7.0/17	56.00
18	Tkachiev,V	2664	-86	0	1	0	0	½	½	0	0	0	½	½	0	0	1	½	½	0	*	5.0/17

Ivanchuck wins 2008 Tal Memorial

The new chess hero of Tal Memorial

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 c5 5.Bxc4 e6 6.0–0 a6 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Ne5 Ke7 10.Be2 Bd7 11.Bf3 Nc6 12.Nxc6+ ½–½ and that's all there is. Just 12 theoretical moves is all what "Big Chucky" needs to take home yet another major title in his long illustrious career. Almost all other players conceded the title to Ivanchuck by way of quick, unfought draws. Only the match up between Ruslan Ponomariov and Gata Kamsky go to the distance in a hard fought game that ended in another draw. Both players battle it all out to the very end as if the title is at stake between the two that they ended up with bare kings! Now that's what I call a fight :)

During the Amber tournament, where he celebrated his 39th birthday, Ivanchuck claimed to have a “perfect age for chess”. It’s great to see that some stars from the nineties (chess players I grew up with ;) of the last century can still be stars in the new one as well.



GM Kamsky (2723) - GM Ponomariov (2718) [C65]
27.08.2008 - Tal Memorial - Round 9

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.0–0 d6 6.Bxc6+ bxc6 7.h3 0–0 8.Nc3 Bb6 9.Re1 h6 10.Na4 c5 11.Nh2 Bd7 12.Nc3 Nh7 13.a4 Ba5 14.g4 Qe8 15.Re3 Bxc3 16.bxc3 Bxa4 17.Rg3 a5 18.c4 Bd7 19.f4 exf4 20.Bxf4 Qe7 21.Bd2 a4 22.Bc3 c6 23.Nf1 f6 24.h4 Be6 25.Ne3 Qd7 26.Qf3 a3 27.Ra2 Qb7 28.Kf2 Qb1 29.Ra1 a2 30.Qh1 Qxh1 31.Rxh1 Rfb8 32.Rgg1 Ra3 33.Ba1 Ra7 34.Bc3 Nf8 35.g5 fxg5 36.hxg5 hxg5 37.Rxg5 Rb1 38.Rhg1 Rxg1 39.Rxg1 g6 40.Ba1 Kf7 41.Nd1 d5 42.cxd5 cxd5 43.exd5 Bxd5 44.Nc3 Bc6 45.Bb2 Bd7 46.Ke3 Ra6 47.Kd2 Bf5 48.Ra1 Be6 49.Ne4 c4 50.Ng5+ Ke7 51.Nxe6 Nxe6 52.dxc4 g5 53.Be5 Nf4 54.Kc3 Ke6 55.Bc7 Kf5 56.Kb2 g4 57.Rxa2 Rxa2+ 58.Kxa2 g3 59.Bb6 g2 60.Bg1 Nh3 61.Bh2 Ng5 62.Bg1 Nf3 63.Bf2 Ke4 64.c5 Nd4 65.Ka3 Nxc2+ 66.Ka4 Nd4 67.Ka5 Ne6 68.c6 Kd3 69.Kb6 Ke2 70.Bg1 Kf1 71.Bh2 g1B+ 72.Bxg1 Kxg1 73.c7 Nxc7 74.Kxc7 1/2

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Mamedyarov, S (2742) - Kramnik, V (2788) [E15]
2008 Tal Memorial (9), 27.08.2008

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.b3 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Be7 7.Bg2 c6 8.Bc3 d5 9.Ne5 Nfd7 10.Nxd7 Nxd7 11.Nd2 0–0 12.0–0 Rc8 13.e4 c5 14.exd5 exd5 15.dxc5 dxc4 16.cxb6 Nxb6 17.Re1 cxb3 18.Qxb3 Nd7 19.Ne4 Nc5 20.Nxc5 Bxc5 21.Rad1 Qb6 22.Qxb6 ½–½

Ivanchuk, V (2781) - Shirov, A (2741) [D27]
2008 Tal Memorial (9), 27.08.2008

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 c5 5.Bxc4 e6 6.0–0 a6 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Ne5 Ke7 10.Be2 Bd7 11.Bf3 Nc6 12.Nxc6+ ½–½

Alekseev, Evgeny (2708) - Leko, Peter (2741) [C53]
2008 Tal Memorial (9), 27.08.2008

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.e5 d5 7.Bb5 Ne4 8.cxd4 Bb6 9.Nc3 0–0 10.Be3 Bg4 11.Qc2 Bf5 12.Qb3 Be6 13.0–0 f5 14.exf6 Qxf6 15.Bxc6 bxc6 16.Ne5 Nd6 17.Nxc6 Nc4 18.Rae1 Kh8 19.Nb4 Qf7 20.Na4 Qg6 21.Kh1 Ba5 22.a3 Bh3 23.Rg1 Bg4 24.Nc5 c6 25.f4 Rab8 ½–½

Gelfand, Boris (2720) - Morozevich, Alexander (2788) [A04]
2008 Tal Memorial (9), 27.08.2008

1.Nf3 g6 2.e4 d6 3.c4 Bg4 4.d4 Bxf3 5.Qxf3 Bg7 6.Qd1 c6 7.Nc3 Qb6 8.Be3 Qxb2 9.Na4 Qb4+ 10.Bd2 Qa3 11.Bc1 Qb4+ 12.Bd2 Qa3 13.Bc1 ½–½

Tal Memorial Final Standings

				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0
1	Ivanchuk,V	2781	+80	*	1	½	½	½	1	1	½	½	½	6.0/9
2	Morozevich,A	2788	-9	0	*	½	1	1	½	0	1	½	½	5.0/9	22.00
3	Gelfand,B	2720	+66	½	½	*	½	½	½	½	½	1	½	5.0/9	21.75
4	Ponomariov,R	2718	+68	½	0	½	*	½	1	½	½	½	1	5.0/9	21.25
5	Kramnik,V	2788	-9	½	0	½	½	*	½	½	1	½	1	5.0/9	21.00
6	Leko,P	2741	+4	0	½	½	0	½	*	1	½	½	1	4.5/9
7	Kamsky,G	2723	-14	0	1	½	½	½	0	*	½	0	1	4.0/9	17.50
8	Alekseev,Evgeny	2708	+2	½	0	½	½	0	½	½	*	1	½	4.0/9	17.25
9	Mamedyarov,S	2742	-75	½	½	0	½	½	½	1	0	*	0	3.5/9
10	Shirov,A	2741	-115	½	½	½	0	0	0	0	½	1	*	3.0/9

2008 Tal Memorial Round 8: Kamsky,Kramnik, Shirov wins

Mikahil Tal: 1936-1992

Vassily Ivanchuk held on for a draw against the determined fellow Ukrainian Ruslan Ponomariov to extend his lead to a full point heading into the final round. Because of severe time trouble, Ivanchuck had to sacrifices some of his pieces to obtain a draw in the end game and he did. Vladimir Kramnik meanwhile defeated his fellow Russian counter part, Evegeny Alekseev after the 41st moves of the English Opening. Black sacrifices a pawn in the 18th move to gain a counterplay on the king side But Kramnik reacted calmly by superbly mobilizing his pieces on either side of the board. Round 8 also saw Alexei Shirov pulled of his first victory of the tournament by defeating Shak Mamedyarov after the 33d moves of the Sicilian Taimanov. But arguably the most interesting match of the day is the match between he unofficial wold no.1 player in the world, Alexander Morozevich and Gata Kamsky. Kamsky, opt for the Cao Kann defense with the black pieces and although a pawn down he rejected a threefold repetetion in the 18th moves to go for the win and it payed well for him. Then in the crucial end game, Morozevich made a huge blunder by reacting 54.Qh5? to black's own offer 53...Qf4 instead of the obvious 54.Qxf4 where the game would have been a draw. The other draw of the day is a quick one, the match up between Boris Gelfand and Pete Leko. The draw was agreed after 24th moves of the Petroff.

GM Morozevich (2788) - GM Kamsky (2723) [B12]
26.08.2008 - Tal Memorial

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 c5 6.Be3 Nd7 7.0–0 Ne7 8.c4 dxc4 9.Na3 c3 10.Nb5 Nd5 11.Nxc3 Nxe3 12.fxe3 Be7 13.Qb3 0–0 14.Qxb7 Rb8 15.Qxa7 cxd4 16.exd4 Ra8 17.Qb7 Rb8 18.Qa7 Rxb2 19.Bb5 Nb6 20.a4 Bg4 21.Kh1 Bb4 22.Na2 Be7 23.Nc1 Nd5 24.Nd3 Rc2 25.Rac1 Rxc1 26.Nxc1 Ne3 27.Re1 Nf5 28.Bc6 Bb4 29.Rd1 Bxf3 30.Bxf3 Qh4 31.a5 Be1 32.Ne2 g5 33.Qb7 Bxa5 34.g3 Qh6 35.Qe4 Ne7 36.Ra1 Bd8 37.Qd3 Ng6 38.Nc3 Be7 39.Ne4 Rd8 40.Qe3 Qf8 41.Kg2 Rb8 42.Bh5 Qc8 43.Rc1 Rb2+ 44.Kh3 Qb7 45.Bxg6 fxg6 46.g4 h5 47.Rc3 Qa6 48.Rd3 Qa1 49.Nd2 Qd1 50.Qf3 Qe1 51.gxh5 Rxd2 52.Rxd2 Qxd2 53.hxg6 Qf4 54.Qh5?? Qh4+ 55.Qxh4 gxh4 56.Kg4 Kg7 57.h3 Bd8 58.Kf4 Bb6 59.Ke4 Bxd4 60.Kxd4 Kxg6 61.Ke4 Kg5 62.Ke3 Kf5 63.Kf3 Kxe5 64.Kg4 Ke4 65.Kxh4 Kf4 66.Kh5 e5 67.h4 e4 68.Kg6 e3 69.h5 e2 Black wins 0–1

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Kramnik, V (2788) - Alekseev, Evgeny (2708) [A37]
2008 Tal Memorial (8), 26.08.2008

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nc3 e5 4.g3 g6 5.Bg2 Bg7 6.0–0 d6 7.a3 Nge7 8.b4 h6 9.Rb1 Rb8 10.d3 0–0 11.Bd2 Be6 12.Ne1 f5 13.Qa4 f4 14.e3 g5 15.b5 Na5 16.Ne2 b6 17.exf4 gxf4 18.gxf4 Ng6 19.fxe5 dxe5 20.Qd1 Qd7 21.Be4 Bf5 22.Bxa5 bxa5 23.Ng3 Bxe4 24.dxe4 Qh3 25.Nf5 Rbd8 26.Qf3 Qxf3 27.Nxf3 Rd3 28.Ne1 Rc3 29.Kh1 Bf6 30.Rg1 Kh7 31.b6 axb6 32.Rxb6 Rf7 33.Ng2 Rxa3 34.Nge3 a4 35.Ng4 Bg5 36.Ngxh6 Bxh6 37.Rgxg6 Bf4 38.Kg2 Rb7 39.Rh6+ Bxh6 40.Rxb7+ Kg6 41.Rb6+ 1–0

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Shirov, A (2741) - Mamedyarov, S (2742) [B46]
2008 Tal Memorial (8), 26.08.2008

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 Nf6 7.f4 d6 8.Qf3 e5 9.Nxc6 bxc6 10.fxe5 dxe5 11.Bc4 Qa5 12.0–0 Bc5 13.Qf2 Bxe3 14.Qxe3 0–0 15.h3 Re8 16.Bb3 Be6 17.Na4 Rad8 18.Nc5 Qb6 19.Rf3 Bxb3 20.axb3 a5 21.Nd3 Qc7 22.Raf1 Rd4 23.Rxf6 gxf6 24.Nf2 h5 25.Qh6 Re6 26.Qxh5 Kf8 27.c3 Rd7 28.Ng4 Ke7 29.Kh2 Qb6 30.Qh8 Qxb3 31.Nxf6 Rd8 32.Qg7 Qxb2 33.Ng8+ Kd6 1–0

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Round 8 results:

Ponomariov, Ruslan - Ivanchuk, Vassily ½-½
Morozevich, Alexander - Kamsky, Gata 0-1
Kramnik, Vladimir - Alekseev, Evgeny 1-0
Leko, Peter - Gelfand, Boris ½-½
Shirov, Alexei - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar 1-0

Standings after 8 rounds:

1. Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2781 5½

2. Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2788 4½
3. Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2720 4½
4. Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2788 4½
5. Ponomariov, Ruslan g UKR 2718 4½

6. Leko, Peter g HUN 2741 4

7. Alekseev, Evgeny g RUS 2708 3½
8. Kamsky, Gata g USA 2723 3½

9. Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar g AZE 2742 3

10. Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2741 2½

Final Round Pairings:

Vassily Ivanchuk - Alexei Shirov
Boris Gelfand - Alexander Morozevich
S. Mamedyarov - Vladimir Kramnik
Gata Kamsky - Ruslan Ponomariov
Evgeny Alekseev - Peter Leko

2008 Tal Memorial round 7: Ivanchuck defeated Morozevich, grabs the lead

The new tournament leader

With just 20 seconds left on the clock to complete the last ten moves, Vassily Ivanchuck painfully held his composure to beat the surging Alexander Morozevich and grab the lead after seven rounds of the super tournament 2008 Tal Memorial in Moscov Russia. Over all, round seven is a fighting day that saw two more matches ended in decisive wins. Ponomariov beat the struggling Shirov after the 38th moves of the Sicilian Rosolimmo Variations while 2008 Dortmund titlist Peter Leko bounced back after two devastating loss and trounced Gata Kamsky with the black pieces after 48th moves in the highly complicated Indian Systems. Newly crowned 2008 Biel king, Evgeny Alekseev show superb fantastic form to humbled the ever dangerous Shak Mamedyarov after 38th moves of the French/Rubenstein Variation. The only draw of the day was the match up between ex-world champion Vladimir Kramnik and Boris Gelfand. The drawn was agreed after 47th moves of the Semi-Slav.

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Standings after 7 rounds:

1. Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2781 5

2. Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2788 4½

3. Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2720 4
4. Ponomariov, Ruslan g UKR 2718 4

5. Alekseev, Evgeny g RUS 2708 3½
6. Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2788 3½
7. Leko, Peter g HUN 2741 3½

8. Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar g AZE 2742 3

9. Kamsky, Gata g USA 2723 2½

10. Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2741 1½

Ivanchuk, V (2781) - Morozevich, A (2788) [D87]
2008 Tal Memorial (7), 25.08.2008

1.c4 Nf6 2.d4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 0–0 9.0–0 Nc6 10.Be3 Na5 11.Bb5 Bd7 12.Bd3 b6 13.Rb1 e5 14.dxc5 Ba4 15.Qd2 Qd7 16.cxb6 axb6 17.Nc1 Rfc8 18.Rxb6 Bf8 19.Ra6 Qb7 20.Rxa8 Qxa8 21.Nb3 Nxb3 22.axb3 Bxb3 23.Rb1 Qa3 24.h3 Be6 25.Rc1 Rd8 26.Qc2 Bb3 27.Qb1 Ba2 28.Qb5 Rc8 29.Qxe5 Bc5 30.Bxc5 Rxc5 31.Qb8+ Kg7 32.Qf4 Qb2 33.Qe3 f6 34.Bf1 Qxc1 35.Qxc5 Qe1 36.Qd4 g5 37.c4 Qc1 38.c5 Be6 39.f3 h5 40.Kf2 h4 41.Qe3 Qc2+ 42.Kg1 Bc4 43.Bxc4 Qxc4 44.Kh2 Kf7 45.Qa3 Ke6 46.Qa7 Qc1 47.Qb6+ Kf7 48.Qd6 Qf4+ 49.Qxf4 gxf4 50.Kg1 Ke6 51.Kf2 Kd7 52.Ke2 Kc6 53.Kd3 Kxc5 54.Kc3 Kd6 55.Kd4 Ke6 56.Kc4 Kd6 57.Kb5 Ke6 58.Kc6 Ke5 59.Kd7 f5 60.exf5 1–0

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Alekseev, Evgeny (2708) - Mamedyarov, S (2742) [C10]
2008 Tal Memorial (7), 25.08.2008

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Bd3 c5 7.0–0 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Nxe4 9.Bxe4 Nf6 10.Bf3 Be7 11.Bf4 0–0 12.c3 a6 13.Re1 Ra7 14.a4 Bd7 15.Qb3 Qc8 16.a5 Bc5 17.Rad1 Bxd4 18.Rxd4 Bc6 19.Qb6 Ra8 20.Bxc6 Qxc6 21.Qxc6 bxc6 22.c4 Rfd8 23.Red1 Rxd4 24.Rxd4 Kf8 25.g4 Ke8 26.g5 Ng8 27.Be5 f6 28.gxf6 gxf6 29.Bc7 Ne7 30.Rd6 Kf7 31.Bb6 e5 32.Bc5 Ng6 33.Rxc6 Nf4 34.Be3 Nd3 35.b3 f5 36.Rd6 e4 37.f4 Rg8+ 38.Kf1 Rg4 1–0

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Kamsky, G (2723) - Leko, P (2741) [A46]
2008 Tal Memorial (7), 25.08.2008

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bg5 c5 4.e3 Be7 5.c3 b6 6.a4 a6 7.Nbd2 Bb7 8.Bd3 cxd4 9.exd4 d6 10.0–0 Nbd7 11.Re1 0–0 12.Nc4 Qc7 13.Ne3 Rfe8 14.Rc1 e5 15.Bb1 b5 16.c4 bxa4 17.Nf5 Bf8 18.c5 dxc5 19.dxe5 Nxe5 20.Rxe5 Rxe5 21.Bxf6 Rxf5 22.Bxf5 Qf4 23.Nh4 Qh6 24.Qc2 Qxf6 25.Bxh7+ Kh8 26.Be4 Rb8 27.Bxb7 Rxb7 28.Qxa4 Qxb2 29.Rf1 Qb5 30.Qf4 Qd3 31.g3 Kg8 32.Qc1 c4 33.Rd1 Qb3 34.Kg2 c3 35.Rd8 Rc7 36.Nf5 Qb7+ 37.f3 Qb2+ 38.Qxb2 cxb2 39.Rb8 Rc2+ 40.Kh3 a5 41.Ne3 Rf2 42.Nc4 a4 43.Nxb2 a3 44.Nc4 a2 45.Ra8 f6 46.Kg4 Kf7 47.Kf5 Rxf3+ 48.Ke4 Ra3 0–1

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Ponomariov, R (2718) - Shirov, A (2741) [B30]
2008 Tal Memorial (7), 25.08.2008

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.0–0 Nge7 5.Re1 a6 6.Bxc6 Nxc6 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 e5 9.Nb3 d6 10.Nc3 f5 11.f4 g6 12.fxe5 dxe5 13.Qxd8+ Kxd8 14.Bg5+ Ke8 15.exf5 Bxf5 16.Nd5 Kf7 17.Rf1 h6 18.Bh4 Kg8 19.c3 Bd3 20.Rfe1 g5 21.Bg3 Rd8 22.Nf6+ Kf7 23.Ng4 e4 24.Nf2 Be7 25.Nxe4 Bc4 26.Nbc5 Bxc5+ 27.Nxc5 Kg6 28.b3 Bf7 29.Nxb7 Rd2 30.Nd6 Bd5 31.Ne4 Rc2 32.c4 Bxe4 33.Rxe4 Nb4 34.Re6+ Kf5 35.Rd6 Rxa2 36.Rf1+ Ke4 37.Re1+ Kf5 38.h3 1–0

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2008 Tal Memorial Round 6: Morozevich, Ivanchuck ,Gelfand victorious

Boris Gelfand defeated Shakhriyar Mamedyarov after 37th moves of a Semi-Slav (Anti-Meran). Peter Leko suffered his second defeats of the tournament by bowing to Vassily Ivanchuck's solid handling of the black pieces, the Ruy Lopez Chigorin and Rustam Ponomariov made an early blunder 11...b5? against Alexander Morozevich who also come up a new idea of his own 7.c6!? of the Nimzoindian that bothered Ponomariov all through out their game. Other matches ended in quiet draws. Alexei Shirov drew with Evgeney Alekseev after 31st moves of Ruy Lopez (Berlin) and Vladimir Kramnik also halve the points with Gata Kamsky after 38th moves of the Gruenfeld.

Below is our choice for the Game of the Day:





Kramnik, V (2788) - Kamsky, G (2723) [D93]
2008 Tal Memorial (6), 24.08.2008

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Bf4 0–0 6.e3 c5 7.dxc5 Qa5 8.Rc1 dxc4 9.Bxc4 Qxc5 10.Bb3 Nc6 11.0–0 Qa5 12.h3 Bf5 13.Qe2 Ne4 14.Nd5 e5 15.Bh2 Be6 16.Rfd1 Rfd8 17.Qc4 Nf6 18.e4 Rac8 19.Ng5 Nd4 20.Ne7+ Kf8 21.Nxe6+ Kxe7 22.Nxd8 Rxc4 23.Bxc4 Ne8 24.Nxf7 b5 25.Bd5 Ne2+ 26.Kh1 Nxc1 27.Rxc1 Qd2 28.Rc8 Qxf2 29.Bg1 Qf1 30.Ra8 Nc7 31.Rxa7 Kd7 32.b3 g5 33.a4 g4 34.hxg4 Qf6 35.g5 Qf4 36.axb5 Qh4+ 37.Bh2 Qe1+ 38.Bg1 ½–½


Mamedyarov, S (2742) - Gelfand, B (2720) [D43]
2008 Tal Memorial (6), 24.08.2008

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dxc4 7.e4 g5 8.Bg3 b5 9.Be2 Bb7 10.e5 Nd5 11.0–0 Nd7 12.Nd2 Qb6 13.a4 a6 14.Nde4 0–0–0 15.Bh5 Nf4 16.Bxf7 Nxe5 17.Bxe6+ Kb8 18.Ne2 Bg7 19.Nxf4 gxf4 20.Bxf4 Rxd4 21.a5 Qd8 22.Qe2 Re8 23.Rad1 Ka8 24.Be3 Rxd1 25.Rxd1 Nd3 26.Bf5 Qd5 27.Qg4 Bxb2 28.h4 Bd4 29.Bg6 Rg8 30.Bxd4 Qxd4 31.Qe6 Qd5 32.Qe7 c5 33.f3 Qd4+ 34.Kh1 Qg7 35.Qxg7 Rxg7 36.h5 b4 37.Kg1 Bxe4 0–1

Leko, P (2741) - Ivanchuk, V (2781) [C92]
Tal Memorial Moscow RUS (6), 24.08.2008

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0–0 9.h3 Bb7 10.d4 Re8 11.Nbd2 Bf8 12.d5 Nb8 13.Nf1 Nbd7 14.N3h2 Rc8 15.Ng4 Nxg4 16.Qxg4 Nc5 17.Bc2 c6 18.dxc6 Bxc6 19.Ne3 g6 20.Rd1 Bh6 21.b4 Ne6 22.Bb3 Kh8 23.Nd5 Bxc1 24.Raxc1 Rf8 25.Rc2 f5 26.exf5 gxf5 27.Qh5 Qd7 28.Qh6 Bxd5 29.Rxd5 Qe7 30.Rcd2 Rc6 31.g3 f4 32.Kh2 Rf6 33.Qh5 Qf8 34.R5d3 e4 35.Qd5 exd3 36.Qxc6 fxg3+ 37.fxg3 Ng5 38.Bd5 Qh6 39.h4 Nf3+ 40.Bxf3 Qxd2+ 41.Kh3 Qxa2 42.Qb6 -+ 0-1


Round 7 pairings:

Vassily Ivanchuk - Alexander Morozevich
Boris Gelfand - Vladimir Kramnik
Gata Kamsky - Peter Leko
Ruslan Ponomariov - Alexei Shirov
Evgeny Alekseev - S. Mamedyarov

Standing after 6 rounds:

1. Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2788 4½
2. Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2781 4
3. Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2720 3½
4. Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar g AZE 2742 3
5. Ponomariov, Ruslan g UKR 2718 3
6. Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2788 3
7. Alekseev, Evgeny g RUS 2708 2½
8. Leko, Peter g HUN 2741 2½
9. Kamsky, Gata g USA 2723 2½
10. Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2741 1½

- Official Site
- LIVE Games HERE

2008 Tal Memorial: Ponomariov, Mamdeyarov win

Rustam Ponomariov scores a big win against Peter Leko's own favorite game, the Marshall Attack while Shakhriyar Mamedyarov played a very solid game of Sicilian Scheveningen to beat Kamsky. Shirov displayed a solid defense against the tournament leader, Alexander Morozevich and held him for a draw after 44th moves of yet another Sicilian Scheven, former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik also drew his match against Vassily Ivanchuck from his favorite Petroff, and the longest match of the day saw Boris Gelfand and Evgeny Alkseev also drew their match after 52nd moves of the Catalan. Tomorrow is a rest day and the tournament will resumes on Saturday. You can see all the LIVE games HERE



GM Kamsky (2723) - GM Mamedyarov (2742) [B46]
22.08.2008 - 2008 Tal Memorial - Round 5

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 d6 7.0–0 Nf6 8.Be3 Be7 9.f4 0–0 10.Qe1 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 b5 12.a3 Bb7 13.Qg3 g6 14.Bf3 a5 15.b4 Rc8 16.Rad1 axb4 17.axb4 Rc4 18.Kh1 Nd7 19.Be2 Rxb4 20.Nxb5 Bxe4 21.Bg7 Bxc2 22.Bxf8 Qxf8 23.Rd4 d5 24.Rxb4 Bxb4 25.Rc1 Be4 26.Rc7 Qd8 27.Qe3 Qh4 28.Qg3 Qf6 29.Qe3 Qa1+ 30.Qc1 Qa2 31.Rc8+ Kg7 32.Qd1 Nf6 33.h3 Bd2 34.Qf1 Bxf4 35.Nc7 Qd2 36.Ne8+ Nxe8 37.Rxe8 Qe3 38.Bf3 Bxf3 39.gxf3 Qd2 40.Qg1 Qe2 Black wins 0–1

Morozevich, A (2788) - Shirov, A (2741) [B33]
2008 Tal Memorial (5), 22.08.2008

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Nd5 Be7 10.Bxf6 Bxf6 11.c4 b4 12.Nc2 a5 13.g3 0–0 14.h4 Be6 15.Bg2 g6 16.Nxf6+ Qxf6 17.b3 a4 18.0–0 axb3 19.axb3 Rxa1 20.Qxa1 Qd8 21.Rd1 Qa5 22.h5 Qxa1 23.Rxa1 gxh5 24.Ra6 Rc8 25.Kh2 Kf8 26.Bh3 Ke7 27.Rb6 Kd7 28.Nxb4 Nxb4 29.Rxb4 Kc6 30.Rb5 Ra8 31.Bxe6 fxe6 32.f4 Ra2+ 33.Kh3 exf4 34.gxf4 Re2 35.e5 d5 36.Rb8 d4 37.Rd8 Kc5 38.Rd6 Re4 39.Kg3 h4+ 40.Kxh4 Rxf4+ 41.Kg3 Re4 42.Rxe6 Re3+ 43.Kf4 Rxb3 44.Re7 ½–½

Ivanchuk, V (2781) - Kramnik, V (2788) [C42]
2008 Tal Memorial (5), 22.08.2008

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Nc3 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Be7 7.Bf4 Nc6 8.Qd2 Be6 9.0–0–0 Qd7 10.Kb1 0–0–0 11.Bb5 a6 12.Ba4 Bf6 13.Bg5 Bxg5 14.Qxg5 b5 15.Bb3 f6 16.Bxe6 Qxe6 17.Qf4 h5 18.h3 g5 19.Nd4 Qd5 20.Nxc6 Qxd1+ 21.Rxd1 gxf4 22.Nxd8 Kxd8 23.Kc1 Rg8 24.Rg1 f3 25.g3 Re8 26.Rd1 Re2 27.Rd2 Re1+ 28.Rd1 Re2 ½–½

Gelfand, Boris (2720) - Alekseev, Evgeny (2708) [E00]
2008 Tal Memorial (5), 22.08.2008

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Be7 5.Bg2 d5 6.Nf3 0–0 7.0–0 c6 8.Bf4 Nbd7 9.Qc2 b6 10.Rd1 Ba6 11.Ne5 Nxe5 12.dxe5 Nd7 13.cxd5 cxd5 14.e4 Rc8 15.Nc3 d4 16.Rxd4 Qc7 17.Rad1 Rfd8 18.h4 Nb8 19.Rxd8+ Rxd8 20.Rxd8+ Qxd8 21.Qa4 Qd7 22.Qxd7 Nxd7 23.Bf1 Bxf1 24.Kxf1 a6 25.Be3 Nxe5 26.Bxb6 Nc4 27.Na4 Nd2+ 28.Ke2 Nxe4 29.Kd3 f5 30.Nc3 Nc5+ 31.Kc4 Nd7 32.Bc7 Bc5 33.Nd1 Kf7 34.b4 Ba7 35.b5 axb5+ 36.Kxb5 e5 37.a4 Ke6 38.a5 g6 39.a6 h6 40.Ne3 Nc5 41.Bb6 Bxb6 42.Kxb6 Nxa6 43.Kxa6 f4 44.gxf4 exf4 45.Ng4 Kf5 46.f3 h5 47.Nf2 Ke5 48.Nd3+ Kd4 49.Nxf4 Ke3 50.Nxg6 Kxf3 51.Kb5 Kg4 52.Kc4 Kf5 ½–½

Tal Memorial Round 5 Standings

				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0
1	Morozevich,A	2788	+103	*	½			½		1	1		½	3.5/5
2	Mamedyarov,S	2742	+78	½	*	½	½	½				1		3.0/5	8.00
3	Ponomariov,R	2718	+92		½	*		1	½	½	½			3.0/5	7.50
4	Ivanchuk,V	2781	+25		½		*		½	½	½	1		3.0/5	7.00
5	Leko,P	2741	+14	½	½	0		*		½			1	2.5/5	5.50
6	Gelfand,B	2720	+14			½	½		*		½	½	½	2.5/5	5.50
7	Kramnik,V	2788	-34	0		½	½	½		*			1	2.5/5	5.25
8	Alekseev,Evgeny	2708	-32	0		½	½		½		*	½		2.0/5	5.25
9	Kamsky,G	2723	-55		0		0		½		½	*	1	2.0/5	3.25
10	Shirov,A	2741	-229	½				0	½	0		0	*	1.0/5

2008 Tal Memorial Round 2 : Kamsky beat Shirov:

Site of the tournament, the luxurious GUM Mall

Gata Kamsky provide the lone victory in Round two of the 2008 Tal Memorial in the Exhibition Hall of GUM mall, located directly on the Red Square in Moscow Russia. A questionable pawn sacrifice by Shirov 32.Qc2? proved to be costly for the Spaniard as he fell to his second straight loss of the tournament. Kamsky however, came back strong with the win as he lost his first match to Ivanchuck in the previous round. All the other matches were drawn.

You can see all the LIVE games HERE



Kramnik, V (2788) - Leko, P (2741) [E15]
Tal Memorial 2008, Moscow (Round 2), 19.08.2008

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.Qc2 Bb7 6.Bg2 c5 7.d5 exd5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.0–0 Be7 10.Rd1 Qc8 11.a3 Nf6 12.Nc3 d5 13.Bg5 Nbd7 14.e4 d4 15.e5 Nxe5 16.Nxe5 Bxg2 17.Qa4+ Nd7 18.Bxe7 Kxe7 19.Re1 Nxe5 20.Rxe5+ Kf8 21.Kxg2 dxc3 22.bxc3 g6 23.Rae1 Kg7 24.Re7 Qf5 25.Qc4 Rhd8 26.R1e5 Qf6 27.R5e6 Qf5 28.Re5 Qf6 ½–½


Gelfand, B (2720) - Ivanchuk, V (2781) [A30]
Tal Memorial 2008, Moscow (Round 2), 19.08.2008

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.g3 b6 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.0–0 e6 6.Nc3 Be7 7.Re1 d5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Nxd5 Qxd5 10.d4 cxd4 11.Qxd4 Qxd4 12.Nxd4 Bxg2 13.Kxg2 Na6 14.Be3 Bf6 15.Rac1 0–0 16.Rc4 Bxd4 17.Bxd4 Rfd8 18.Be3 b5 19.Rc3 Nb4 20.Bc5 Nd5 21.Rc2 h6 22.Rec1 f5 23.f3 a6 24.e4 fxe4 25.fxe4 Nf6 26.Be7 Rd7 27.Bxf6 gxf6 28.Kh3 Kf7 29.Kg4 Kg6 30.Rc6 e5 31.Rf1 Rf8 32.Rf5 Rd2 33.Rxa6 Rxh2 34.Rxe5 h5+ 35.Kf4 Rf2+ 36.Ke3 ½–½


Alekseev, Evgeny (2708) - Ponomariov, R (2718) [D38]
Tal Memorial 2008, Moscow (Round 2), 19.08.2008

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 Nbd7 7.Qc2 0–0 8.a3 Bxc3+ 9.Qxc3 c6 10.Nd2 Qe8 11.e3 Ne4 12.Nxe4 dxe4 13.Bf4 Qe6 14.Be2 Nb6 15.Bg3 Qg6 16.Qc5 Bg4 17.Bxg4 Qxg4 18.Qe7 Nd7 19.Qb4 Nb6 20.Qe7 Nd7 ½–½


Mamedyarov, S (2742) - Morozevich, A (2788) [D85]
Tal Memorial 2008, Moscow (Round 2), 19.08.2008

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bb5+ c6 8.Ba4 0–0 9.Ne2 e5 10.0–0 Re8 11.Qc2 Nd7 12.Bb3 b6 13.f4 exd4 14.f5 gxf5 15.cxd4 Nc5 16.e5 Nxb3 17.axb3 c5 18.Bb2 cxd4 19.Nxd4 Rxe5 20.Nc6 Rc5 21.Qxc5 bxc5 22.Nxd8 Bxb2 23.Rae1 Bd7 24.Nb7 Bd4+ 25.Kh1 Rb8 26.Nd6 Rxb3 27.Re7 Be6 28.Rxa7 c4 29.Ra4 Rc3 30.Nb5 Rd3 31.Nxd4 Rxd4 ½–½

Tal Memorial Round 2 Standings

				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0
1	Ivanchuk,V	2781	+131	*					½		1			1.5/2	1.50
2	Morozevich,A	2788	+127		*		½					1		1.5/2	1.00
3	Kramnik,V	2788	+143			*		½					1	1.5/2	0.50
4	Mamedyarov,S	2742	+22		½		*	½						1.0/2	1.25
5	Leko,P	2741	+24			½	½	*						1.0/2	1.25
6	Gelfand,B	2720	+29	½					*	½				1.0/2	1.25
7	Ponomariov,R	2718	-4						½	*		½		1.0/2	0.75
8	Kamsky,G	2723	+38	0							*		1	1.0/2	0.00
9	Alekseev,Evgeny	2708	-145		0					½		*		0.5/2
10	Shirov,A	2741	-785			0					0		*	0.0/2

2008 Tal Memorial Round 1

A fine win against Kamsky

Results round 1, August 18, 2008

Kramnik - Shirov 1-0
Morozevich - Alekseev 1-0
Ivanchuk - Kamsky 1-0
Leko - Mamedyarov ½-½
Ponomariov - Gelfand ½-½

Here's one of the highlight match of the day with comprehensive analysis provided by yours truly ;) . It's a very solid game by Vasily Ivanchuck of Ukraine against Gata Kamsky of USA. Enjoy!




1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 (the Gruenfeld Defense)

4.Bf4 (For less adventurous players who do not wish to take on the complexities of the Exchange Variation, the move 4.Bf4 is considered a safer continuation for White. White opts for the initiative on the queenside with a smaller pawn center.)

4...Bg7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Rc1 dxc4 7.e4 Bg4 8.Bxc4 Nfd7 (8...Nh5 is the more aggressive continuation for black and has more decent result against white but Kamsky, a brilliant defensive player, opt to concentrate on pressuring white's strong center)

9.Be2 (defending the d4 pawn)

9...Nc6 (Bxf3 and c6 have been tried before, all but failed)

10.Be3 Nb6 11.d5 Bxf3 12.gxf3 (12.Bxf3 Nc4! and black has a positional edge)

12...Ne5 13.Qb3 (defending the c4 square against blacks strong knights invasion. Note that white can also defend the c4 square with 13.b3!? but that leaves black's dark squared bishop menacing)

13...c6 14.f4 Ned7 15.0-0 (Black is totally incapable of assaulting white's exposed king at the moment.)

15...Qe8 16.a4 (this push simplifies white space advantage on the queenside)

16...cxd5 (a counter move by black to create more space for his pieces but it left white with this...)

17.Nb5 Rc8 18.Rxc8 Qxc8 19.e5 a6 20.Na7! Qc7?! 21.Rc1 (white now is the master of the queenside battlefield!)

21...Qd8 22.a5 Nc4 23.Bxc4 dxc4 24.Qxb7 g5 25.Nc6 Qe8 (white now has a decisive advantage here and black is all tied up)

26.Rxc4 gxf4 27.Bxf4 Kh8 28.Bg3 Rg8 29.Kf1 e6 30.Rd4 Nc5 31.Qb6 Nd7 32.Qc7 Nb8 33.Nd8! (the final dagger)

33...Qb5+ 34.Kg1 h6 35.Nxf7+ Kh7 36.Qc2+ (black will be mated in the next move so black resigns. 1-0)


Tal Memorial Round 1 Standings

					1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0
1.	Ivanchuk, Vassily	2781	UKR	+720	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1	.
2.	Kramnik, Vladimir	2788	RUS	+753	.	*	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	1
3.	Morozevich, Alexander	2788	RUS	+742	.	.	*	.	.	.	.	1	.	.
4.	Gelfand, Boris	2720	ISR	-1	.	.	.	*	.	.	½	.	.	.
5.	Leko, Peter	2741	HUN	+1	.	.	.	.	*	½	.	.	.	.
6.	Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar	2742	AZE	-2	.	.	.	.	½	*	.	.	.	.
7.	Ponomariov, Ruslan	2718	UKR	+2	.	.	.	½	.	.	*	.	.	.
8.	Alekseev, Evgeny	2708	RUS	-753	.	.	0	.	.	.	.	*	.	.
9.	Kamsky, Gata	2723	USA	-742	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	*	.
10.	Shirov, Alexei	2741	ESP	-720	.	0	.	.	.	.	.	.	.	*

2008 Tal Memorial

Moscow Red Square

The super-tournament Tal Memorial will be held in Moscow from August 17 to 31, 2008. Ex-world champion Vladimir Kramanik is set to defend his title he won convincingly last year. There will be a super blitz tournament with official qualfiers on the August 27 and 28. The world's "largest" blitz tournament will take place on 29-30 August. Total prize fund is 100.000 USD.

Magnus Carlsen and Anatoly Karpov have been invited along with all the players in the Tal Memorial.

- Official website
- Photographs courtesy of Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia





Vladimir Kramnik (2772)




Alexander Morozevich (2788)




Vassily Ivanchuck (2777)




Alexei Shirov (2741)




Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2740)




Peter Leko (2746)




Gata Kamsky (2723)




Boris Gelfand (2720)




Evgeny Alekseev (2708)




Ruslan Ponomariov (2718)

Playing Schedule

Round 1 - 18.08.2008
Kramnik, Vladimir - Shirov, Alexei
Leko, Peter - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
Morozevich, Alexander - Alekseev, Evgeny
Ponomariov, Ruslan - Gelfand, Boris
Ivanchuk, Vassily - Kamsky, Gata

Round 2 - 19.08.2008
Shirov, Alexei - Kamsky, Gata
Gelfand, Boris - Ivanchuk, Vassily
Alekseev, Evgeny - Ponomariov, Ruslan
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Morozevich, Alexander
Kramnik, Vladimir - Leko, Peter

Round 3 - 20.08.2008
Leko, Peter - Shirov, Alexei
Morozevich, Alexander - Kramnik, Vladimir
Ponomariov, Ruslan - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
Ivanchuk, Vassily - Alekseev, Evgeny
Kamsky, Gata - Gelfand, Boris

Round 4 - 21.08.2008
Shirov, Alexei - Gelfand, Boris
Alekseev, Evgeny - Kamsky, Gata
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Ivanchuk, Vassily
Kramnik, Vladimir - Ponomariov, Ruslan
Leko, Peter - Morozevich, Alexander

Round 5 - 22.08.2008
Morozevich, Alexander - Shirov, Alexei
Ponomariov, Ruslan - Leko, Peter
Ivanchuk, Vassily - Kramnik, Vladimir
Kamsky, Gata - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
Gelfand, Boris - Alekseev, Evgeny

Round 6 - 24.08.2008
Shirov, Alexei - Alekseev, Evgeny
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Gelfand, Boris
Kramnik, Vladimir - Kamsky, Gata
Leko, Peter - Ivanchuk, Vassily
Morozevich, Alexander - Ponomariov, Ruslan

Round 7 - 25.08.2008
Ponomariov, Ruslan - Shirov, Alexei
Ivanchuk, Vassily - Morozevich, Alexander
Kamsky, Gata - Leko, Peter
Gelfand, Boris - Kramnik, Vladimir
Alekseev, Evgeny - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar

Round 8 - 26.08.2008
Shirov, Alexei - Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar
Kramnik, Vladimir - Alekseev, Evgeny
Leko, Peter - Gelfand, Boris
Morozevich, Alexander - Kamsky, Gata
Ponomariov, Ruslan - Ivanchuk, Vassily

Round 9 - 27.08.2008
Ivanchuk, Vassily - Shirov, Alexei
Kamsky, Gata - Ponomariov, Ruslan
Gelfand, Boris - Morozevich, Alexander
Alekseev, Evgeny - Leko, Peter
Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar - Kramnik, Vladimir