It was the most apathetic Russian men's championship ever. The numbers speak for themselves, but the games for the most part as well. The final draw rate for the championship was in excess of 75%. The event ended with six of the ten players in a tie for first with the meagerest plus score possible: +1 and 5.0/9. As a result, the next day a rapid round-robin tiebreaker with the six 'winners'. The nature of the time control: 15 minutes plus ten seconds increment provided a more dynamic spectacle for the audience. In the end, Dmitry Andreikin emerged with 4.0/5 and was crowned the 2012 Russian champion.
Alexander Grischuk was one of the pre-tournament favorites
Dmitry Andreikin is the 2012 Russian Champion
In the Russian Women championship, the story was quite another, and it was a far more enthralling event for those following it. Natalia Pogonina protected her lead from the first half, and finished on a highly repectable 6.5/9 a full point ahead of second-place finisher Valentina Gunina, and Nadezhda Kosintseva in third, both with 5.5/9.
The Russian women's championship was a far more exciting event
Natalia Pogonina is the 2012 Russian women champion
Nadezhda Kosintseva came in third with 5.5/9
Photos by Vladimir Barsky and Eteri Kublashvili
Links
The games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 11 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs. |
|
