6th LCC Pro-Biz Cup 2014
Report from London by John Saunders
Eight super-GMs, including all six of the London Classic players, plus
Nigel Short and Gawain Jones, were partnered by top business leaders, including
the celebrated manager of the 2003 England team which won the Rugby World
Cup.
Justin Baptie and Nigel Short playing Anish
Giri and Radko Vujatovic in round one (draw in 38)
Fabiano Caruana and Lee Green
Semi-finals: Vishy Anand and Mihail Harasic
vs Anish Giri and Radjo Vujatovic (draw in 53 moves)
Eventually it came down to a light-hearted
(but extremely well-played) final between Vladimir Kramnik and Russell Picot
(of HSBC) on one side, and Rajko Vujatovic (of Bank of America Merrill Lynch)
Anish Giri on the other.
The format was knock-out, with just one game at 25 minutes plus 10 second
increments to decide. Kramnik and Picot won a piece for two pawns but it
came down to the notoriously drawn endgame of rook and knight versus rook,
which Giri and Vujatovic managed to defend.
The format for the tie-break was itself a novelty: the doubles teams divided
into singles blitz matches, with pro playing pro and amateur playing amateur,
but with the amateur players' score counting in the event of a further tie.
The two singles matches were also drawn! So a second tie-break ensued at
the same rate: Giri v Kramnik was again a draw, but this time Rajko Vujatovic
won his blitz decider against Russell Picot to take the trophy.
Replay all the games from the Pro-Biz Cup
Select games from the dropdown menu above the board. Please note that
the collection is complete apart from two blitz play-off games from the
first round, which were not recorded by the automatic boards, hence are
unavailable.
Kasparov simul in Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, venue for a simultaneous
display...
... pitting Garry Kasparov against London Juniors
and MPs and a Lord
Garry Kasparov accepts the resignation of Oscar,
Rachel Reeves MP looks on
Lord Harrison is a tough opponent for Kasparov
All photos above by Ray
Morris-Hill
Elsewhere in the congress, some London schoolchildren were able to enjoy
a taste of international chess, engaging in a transatlantic chess battle
with the children of Sawgrass Elementary School in Sunrise, Florida, USA,
via the medium of Skype. The children were able to chat with each other
via a video link.
I confess I have no idea who won! (Press office
fail) But it all seemed very enjoyable.
These photos were provided by John Saunders.
In the main hall the week-long festival events are in full swing. The FIDE
Open has attracted a strong field, with 16 GMs headed by Vladislav Tkachiev
of Russia (2629). There were few surprises but Simon Roe (2240) defeated
GM Mark Hebden. Results
and pairings of the FIDE Open.
The London Classic (i.e. the elite six-player all-player-all itself) starts
at 4.00 p.m. UK time on Wednesday 10 December. The first round pairings
are Kramnik-Anand, Nakamura-Giri and Adams-Caruana. Here is the full
schedule with all the pairings.
