Boris Savchenko leads Politiken Cup with 6/6

by ChessBase
7/24/2008 – It doesn't really make sense to calculate the performance of a perfect score, but we will mention that after winning all of his first six games in the Danish Politiken Cup one comes up with 3151 for St Petersburg GM Boris Savchenko. This 22-year-old talent is not just viciously strong, he also has a keen sense of humour, as you can see in this pictorial report by Sergey Tiviakov.

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The traditional Politiken Cup 2008 is being held in Lo-skolen College near Helsingør, Denmark. It lasts from Saturday 19 July 2008 to Sunday 27 July 2008, with rounds generally starting at 13:00h CEST (final round at 10:00h). The tournament is a ten-round Swiss, open to all players. Rate of play: 100 min for 40 moves + 30 min for the rest of the game + 30 sec increment for every move played starting from the first move. Prizes (in DKK): 15,000, 12,000, 10,000, 8,000, 6,000, 5, 000, etc. with special rating prizes of DKK 3,000 and 2,000. The Krone is worth 0.13 € or US $0.21, so that the first prize of 15,000 DKK equals 2,000 Euro or US $3,153.

Top standings after six rounds

# Sd. Player Rating Pts
1  13 GM Boris Savchenko 2578 6
2  12 GM Yurij Kuzubov 2578
3  2 GM Vladimir Malakhov 2689 5
4  20 GM Jacob Aagaard 2531 5
5  5 GM Sergey Tiviakov 2645 5
6  10 GM Emanuel Berg 2592 5
7  17 GM Sune Berg Hansen 2542 5
8  3 GM Michael Roiz 2680 5
9  11 GM Vitali Golod 2578 5
10  16 GM Alexei Iljushin 2546 5
11  15 GM Alexander A. Evdokimov 2555 5
12  4 GM Peter Heine Nielsen 2652 5
13  8 GM Konstantin Landa 2615 5
14  29 IM Ashwin Jayaram 2436 5
15  9 GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili 2604 5
16  7 GM Bartosz Socko 2628 5
17  19 GM Jonny Hector 2537 5
18  53 Djurre den Heeten 2278 5
19  30 IM Bengt Lindberg 2432 5

Pictorial impressions of the 2008 Politiken Cup

By GM Sergey Tiviakov

The event is taking place in Helsingør, which lies at a narrow strait connecting the Baltic Sea in the south with the the North Sea in the north. It is a one-hour bus or train ride from Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark.

The medieval town of Helsingør (Elsinore), known for its fourteenth century castle, Kronborg, made famous by Shakespeare's play Hamlet.

The venue is the Lo-skolen College complex located on the outskirts of Helsingør. Lo-skolen is an educational institution, a centre for conferences and adult education, with close ties to the Danish labour movement. It has 18,500 square metres, two hundred bedrooms, all with individual phones, showers and toilets.

The college was orginally designed by Danish architects Jarl Heger and Ebbe and Karen Clemmensen in 1969 (and later reconstructed), with all the hallmarks of quality and taste.

The college is beautifully situated in a park by the sea, with an excellent view of the surrounding woods, golf courses and of course the sea.


Yurij Kuzubov, Ukraine, 2578, in second place with 5½/6 points


Facing the St Petersburg GM: Tania Sachdev of India against Boris Savchenko in round four

Tania,Sachdev (2432) - Savchenko,Boris (2578)
Politiken Cup 2008 Helsingør (4.12), 21.07.2008
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6 3.Nf3 e6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 g5 7.Bg3 Ne4 8.Qd3 d5 9.a3 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 h5 11.h4 Nxg3 12.fxg3 dxc4 13.Qxc4 gxh4 14.Rxh4 Qd6 15.g4 b6 16.gxh5 Bb7 17.Rh3 0-0-0 18.e3 Kb8 19.Qb5 Rdg8 20.Kf2 f5 21.a4 a6 22.Qb2 e5 23.Bc4 Rg4 24.Rg1 e4 25.Nh2 Rg5 26.Qe2 f4 27.g4 Rf8 28.Rf1 Bc8 29.exf4 Bxg4 30.Nxg4 Rxf4+ 31.Ke1 Rgxg4 32.h6? White, who has survived some dangerous moments, should have simply exchanged rooks on f4 to get a solid position.

32...Nxd4! 33.cxd4? Qb4+ 34.Qd2 Qxc4 and the game is already decided. 35.Rfh1 e3 36.Rxe3 Rxd4 37.Qc3 Qd5 38.Rf1 Rg2 39.Re8+ Kb7 40.Qf3 Rd1+ 0-1.


After six rounds Tania has four points and is on place 38


Lithunian IM Viktorija Cmilyte, 2508, has 4½/5 and is on place 25


To eat or not to eat: GM Sergey Tiviakov enjoying a Danish meal


That's all they gave me! Tournament leader Boris Savchenko goofing around at dinner

Boris Savchenko ia a 22-year-old grandmaster from Krasnodar, Russia (just like our reporter Sergey Tiviakov). Actually Boris was born in St. Petersburg, but when he was eight his family moved to Krasnodar, where he grew up. When he finished school in Krasnodar he went to study in Moscow at the RGSU, and in September he will try to enter post-studies as a Magister. This young man is not just scarily strong – after six rounds his performance was 3151 – but also a playful lad with a great sense of humour.


But not to worry, when you don't get enough in the restaurant...


... you can always find delicious raspberries in the Danish forests


Boris and his colleague GM Mikheil Mchedlishvili manage to survive on this diet of wild fruit


An unknown type of berry which the grandmasters prudently avoid


Another option: foraging for what the narrow strait of Helsingør might yield


What are these? Giant fish hooks? Anchors from ancient marooned ships?


Caught! The perilous life of a modern-day grandmaster


Nice joke, Boris. Now wouldn't it be great if you could get your head out again...

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