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They say that to win a tournament you need a bit of luck as well as skill, and this was the case for Yuri Kryvoruchko, the unexpected winner of the 2013 Ukrainian Championship, but his resilience and fighting spirit were the real clinchers. Although the event may have lacked Ukraine's greatest player, Vassily Ivanchuk, it was a who's who of Ukrainian chess, making Kryvoruchko's win all the more remarkable.
Ruslan Ponomariov thinking happy thoughts before the game's start
The objects of desire... though a check to go with them doesn't hurt either.
Although top seed Ruslan Ponomariov had a sizzling start with 3.0/3, he was unable to maintain the momentum and scored only one more win in the following eight rounds. This allowed his closest rivals Anton Korobov and Yuri Kryvoruchko to keep apace, and in round nine that is precisely what happened as he was caught up by Korobov.
Unfortunately for Korobov, his moment to shine was shortlived as he drew in the next round while Yuri Kryvoruchko won a crucial game against Pavel Eljanov, that became the turning point in the tournament.
As a result of this win, Kryvoruchko drew up with the leaders, but with the superior tiebreak. It all came down to the last round, and while Korobov was unable to beat Eljanov, Ponomariov beat Baryshpolets in a strong game. Unfortunately for him, the effort came too late as Kryvoruchko also showed himself up to the task as he outplayed Neverov, keeping abreast withg Ponomariov, and winning the title on tiebreak.
Natalia Zhukova with Anton Korobov. "...And when he came back his bishop
was safely in my pocket."
Yuri Kryvoruchko, the 2013 Ukrainian Champion
Natural beauty: Ukrainian style
In the women’s event, after four rounds have been played, top-seed Mariya Muzychuk (2478) had been playing according to her rating with 3.0/4, but that was only the prelude to an unstoppable 4.5/5 run that left her with 7.5/9 and a full 1.5 points ahead of her nearest rival, Natalia Zhukova with 6.0/9.
Maria Tantsuria, the lowest rated player with 2195 Elo, maintained her good form, and finished with 50% and 2345 performance.
Kateryna Dolzhykova
Mariya Muzychuk, the 2013 Ukrainian Women Champion
A group shot of all the participants and organizers
LinksThe 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 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs. |
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