SportAccord Mind Games will be held in Beijing, China between the 12th of December and 20th December 2012. The World Mind Games was held for the first time in 2008 and consisted of 5 disciplines: chess, bridge, draughts (checkers), go, and xiangqi (Chinese chess). SportAccord, the organizer of the Mind Games, is the umbrella organization for both Olympic and non-Olympic sports as well as for major organizers of conferences and sporting events.
Karjakin won thanks to his better tiebreaks: he defeated Aronian in the personal encounter 1.5-0.5
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, MVL, scored well, but not fantastically, every day and that added up to a third place finish
Everyone knows that when the cap is going backwards things are getting serious
Blitz chess wouldn't exist without controversy
Day three was a very close race. Ponomariov and Karjakin were the ones that scored the most points with 7.0/10 each. However close behind were Aronian, Giri and Grischuk with 6.5/10. Because of their previous results, however, Giri, Grischuk and Ponomariov needed more than that to opt for medals.
The leader after day two, Mamedyarov, was only able to score 4.0/10 and that also bumped him out of the top three positions. Karjakin, though, was able to catch up to Aronian and the two scored 19.5/20. The tiebreak system favored the Russian, though, as he has won the direct encounter 1.5-0.5 It was definitely a close tournament that could have gone to anyone even in the latter stages! The somewhat surprising third place was Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who didn't have a single fantastic day but a series of good results put him in the podium.
| Rank | Name | Rtg | FED | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Pts |
| 1 | Karjakin Sergey | 2837 | RUS | * * | 1 ½ | 1 ½ | 1 0 | 1 1 | 1 ½ | 0 1 | 1 ½ | 1 0 | 0 ½ | 1 1 | ½ 1 | 0 1 | 0 ½ | ½ 1 | ½ 1 | 19.5 |
| 2 | Aronian Levon | 2817 | ARM | 0 ½ | * * | ½ 1 | 0 ½ | 0 1 | 1 1 | ½ 0 | 1 1 | ½ 0 | 1 0 | 1 1 | 1 ½ | 1 1 | ½ 1 | 1 0 | 1 1 | 19.5 |
| 3 | Vachier-Lagrave Maxime | 2825 | FRA | 0 ½ | ½ 0 | * * | 1 ½ | 0 1 | 0 0 | 1 1 | 0 ½ | 1 ½ | 1 1 | 1 1 | 1 0 | ½ ½ | 1 1 | ½ 1 | ½ ½ | 18.0 |
| 4 | Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2721 | AZE | 0 1 | 1 ½ | 0 ½ | * * | ½ 0 | 0 1 | 1 0 | 1 0 | 1 0 | 0 1 | ½ 1 | 1 1 | ½ ½ | 1 1 | 1 0 | 1 1 | 18.0 |
| 5 | Nepomniachtchi Ian | 2830 | RUS | 0 0 | 1 0 | 1 0 | ½ 1 | * * | 1 1 | 0 ½ | 1 0 | 1 ½ | 1 ½ | ½ 1 | 1 0 | 0 0 | ½ ½ | 1 ½ | 1 1 | 17.0 |
| 6 | Le Quang Liem | 2841 | VIE | 0 ½ | 0 0 | 1 1 | 1 0 | 0 0 | * * | 0 1 | 1 1 | 1 1 | 1 0 | 1 0 | ½ ½ | ½ 1 | 1 ½ | ½ 1 | ½ ½ | 17.0 |
| 7 | Grischuk Alexander | 2798 | RUS | 1 0 | ½ 1 | 0 0 | 0 1 | 1 ½ | 1 0 | * * | 1 ½ | 0 ½ | 0 1 | 0 ½ | 1 1 | ½ 1 | 0 1 | 1 1 | ½ 0 | 16.5 |
| 8 | Ponomariov Ruslan | 2774 | UKR | 0 ½ | 0 0 | 1 ½ | 0 1 | 0 1 | 0 0 | 0 ½ | * * | ½ 1 | 0 0 | 1 0 | 0 1 | 1 1 | ½ ½ | ½ 1 | 1 1 | 14.5 |
| 9 | Giri Anish | 2747 | NED | 0 1 | ½ 1 | 0 ½ | 0 1 | 0 ½ | 0 0 | 1 ½ | ½ 0 | * * | 1 1 | 0 ½ | 0 0 | ½ ½ | ½ ½ | ½ 1 | 1 1 | 14.5 |
| 10 | Ivanchuk Vassily | 2750 | UKR | 1 ½ | 0 1 | 0 0 | 1 0 | 0 ½ | 0 1 | 1 0 | 1 1 | 0 0 | * * | ½ ½ | ½ ½ | 0 1 | 0 1 | 1 0 | 1 0 | 14.0 |
| 11 | Kamsky Gata | 2671 | USA | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | ½ 0 | ½ 0 | 0 1 | 1 ½ | 0 1 | 1 ½ | ½ ½ | * * | 1 0 | 1 1 | 1 ½ | 1 ½ | ½ 0 | 13.5 |
| 12 | Dominguez Perez Leinier | 2769 | CUB | ½ 0 | 0 ½ | 0 1 | 0 0 | 0 1 | ½ ½ | 0 0 | 1 0 | 1 1 | ½ ½ | 0 1 | * * | ½ 1 | ½ 1 | ½ ½ | 0 ½ | 13.5 |
| 13 | Radjabov Teimour | 2755 | AZE | 1 0 | 0 0 | ½ ½ | ½ ½ | 1 1 | ½ 0 | ½ 0 | 0 0 | ½ ½ | 1 0 | 0 0 | ½ 0 | * * | ½ 1 | 0 ½ | 1 ½ | 12.0 |
| 14 | Wang Yue | 2723 | CHN | 1 ½ | ½ 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | ½ ½ | 0 ½ | 1 0 | ½ ½ | ½ ½ | 1 0 | 0 ½ | ½ 0 | ½ 0 | * * | ½ 1 | ½ 0 | 11.0 |
| 15 | Leko Peter | 2722 | HUN | ½ 0 | 0 1 | ½ 0 | 0 1 | 0 ½ | ½ 0 | 0 0 | ½ 0 | ½ 0 | 0 1 | 0 ½ | ½ ½ | 1 ½ | ½ 0 | * * | ½ 1 | 11.0 |
| 16 | Wang Hao | 2698 | CHN | ½ 0 | 0 0 | ½ ½ | 0 0 | 0 0 | ½ ½ | ½ 1 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 1 | ½ 1 | 1 ½ | 0 ½ | ½ 1 | ½ 0 | * * | 10.5 |
Note: Blitz ratings used
Men Blitz games 21-30
The World Champion was not happy with today's results, but she still got the gold medal. She scored 5.5/10 today.
Kosteniuk unfortunatley could not continue her winning streak after being victorious in today's first two games
Ushenina had a fantastic day two but not such a great day three, She finished only one point behing Muzychuk who was third.
The somewhat surprising "winner" of day three with 7.5/10: Antoaneta Stefanova
Pia Cramling scored 10.0/30, will she rebound in the Basque? Muzychuk proved it was possible to come back from a bad set of games!
The women's section was also very close, despite the fact that at the end Hou Yifan won it with two points to spare, it simply does not tell the whole tale. The entire tournament could have finished differently if Gunina had seen an important resource in the final round:
Muzychuk, Gunina and Hou Yifan all scored an acceptable 5.5/10 in the last day, but it was their previous results that put them in the podium. Muzychuk was able to maintain her third place over Ushenina since the ex-World Champion only scored 50% in the last day.
| Rank | Name | Rtg | FED | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Pts |
| 1 | Hou Yifan | 2559 | CHN | * * | 1 1 | 0 0 | 1 0 | 1 ½ | 1 ½ | 1 ½ | 1 1 | ½ 1 | 0 1 | 0 1 | 1 1 | ½ 0 | 1 1 | 1 1 | 1 1 | 21.5 |
| 2 | Gunina Valentina | 2527 | RUS | 0 0 | * * | 0 0 | 1 1 | 1 1 | 1 ½ | 1 ½ | 0 1 | 1 1 | 1 0 | ½ 1 | 1 0 | 1 0 | 0 1 | 1 1 | 1 1 | 19.5 |
| 3 | Muzychuk Anna | 2639 | SLO | 1 1 | 1 1 | * * | 0 1 | 0 0 | ½ 1 | ½ 0 | 1 0 | 1 1 | 1 0 | 0 1 | 0 0 | 1 1 | 1 ½ | 0 1 | 1 1 | 18.5 |
| 4 | Ushenina Anna | 2489 | UKR | 0 1 | 0 0 | 1 0 | * * | ½ 0 | ½ 0 | ½ 1 | ½ 1 | 1 1 | ½ 0 | 0 1 | 1 0 | 1 1 | 1 1 | 1 1 | 0 1 | 17.5 |
| 5 | Stefanova Antoaneta | 2508 | BUL | 0 ½ | 0 0 | 1 1 | ½ 1 | * * | ½ 1 | 0 ½ | 0 1 | ½ 1 | 0 1 | 1 0 | 1 1 | 0 ½ | 0 ½ | 1 ½ | 1 1 | 17.0 |
| 6 | Lagno Kateryna | 2532 | UKR | 0 ½ | 0 ½ | ½ 0 | ½ 1 | ½ 0 | * * | 1 1 | 0 1 | ½ 1 | ½ 1 | 0 1 | 0 0 | 1 0 | 1 1 | 1 ½ | 1 0 | 16.0 |
| 7 | Kosteniuk Alexandra | 2612 | RUS | 0 ½ | 0 ½ | ½ 1 | ½ 0 | 1 ½ | 0 0 | * * | 1 1 | 0 0 | 1 ½ | ½ 1 | 1 1 | 0 1 | ½ 0 | ½ 1 | ½ 0 | 15.0 |
| 8 | Dzagnidze Nana | 2579 | GEO | 0 0 | 1 0 | 0 1 | ½ 0 | 1 0 | 1 0 | 0 0 | * * | 1 ½ | 0 1 | 1 1 | 1 0 | 0 0 | 1 1 | 0 1 | ½ 1 | 14.5 |
| 9 | Zhao Xue | 2471 | CHN | ½ 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | ½ 0 | ½ 0 | 1 1 | 0 ½ | * * | 1 1 | ½ 1 | 1 0 | 1 1 | 1 ½ | 1 0 | 1 ½ | 14.5 |
| 10 | Koneru Humpy | 2558 | IND | 1 0 | 0 1 | 0 1 | ½ 1 | 1 0 | ½ 0 | 0 ½ | 1 0 | 0 0 | * * | 1 0 | 0 0 | ½ 1 | ½ 1 | 1 0 | 1 1 | 14.5 |
| 11 | Sebag Marie | 2501 | FRA | 1 0 | ½ 0 | 1 0 | 1 0 | 0 1 | 1 0 | ½ 0 | 0 0 | ½ 0 | 0 1 | * * | 1 ½ | 1 1 | 0 0 | 1 0 | 1 1 | 14.0 |
| 12 | Kosintseva Tatiana | 2480 | RUS | 0 0 | 0 1 | 1 1 | 0 1 | 0 0 | 1 1 | 0 0 | 0 1 | 0 1 | 1 1 | 0 ½ | * * | 1 0 | 1 0 | 0 1 | 0 ½ | 14.0 |
| 13 | Ju Wenjun | 2454 | CHN | ½ 1 | 0 1 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 1 ½ | 0 1 | 1 0 | 1 1 | 0 0 | ½ 0 | 0 0 | 0 1 | * * | 1 1 | 0 ½ | ½ 1 | 13.5 |
| 14 | Cmilyte Viktorija | 2532 | LTU | 0 0 | 1 0 | 0 ½ | 0 0 | 1 ½ | 0 0 | ½ 1 | 0 0 | 0 ½ | ½ 0 | 1 1 | 0 1 | 0 0 | * * | ½ ½ | 0 1 | 10.5 |
| 15 | Cramling Pia | 2430 | SWE | 0 0 | 0 0 | 1 0 | 0 0 | 0 ½ | 0 ½ | ½ 0 | 1 0 | 0 1 | 0 1 | 0 1 | 1 0 | 1 ½ | ½ ½ | * * | 0 0 | 10.0 |
| 16 | Paehtz Elisabeth | 2574 | GER | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 1 0 | 0 0 | 0 1 | ½ 1 | ½ 0 | 0 ½ | 0 0 | 0 0 | 1 ½ | ½ 0 | 1 0 | 1 1 | * * | 9.5 |
Note: Blitz ratings used
Women Blitz games 21-30
Muzychuk went from having an atrocious rapid result to getting a medal in the blitz
Gunina was the leader after day one, and she was one win away from taking the gold!
The winners: Gunina, Hou Yifan and Muzychuk
Proudly Chinese, or China's Pride?
MVL from France obtained the third place, Aronian applauds before going to take his second place in the stand
Karjakin edged out the victory, but a gold medal is a gold medal!
Tomorrow starts the unique Basque system, in which players will face each other in two rapid games simultaneously against each other, one with White and one with Black.
Photos by Gu Xiaobing, taken from the official FIDE website
| Thursday, December 12th | 14:00-19:00 Rapid Event: 1-4 rounds (men), 1-4 rounds (women) |
| Friday, December 13th | 14:00-19:00 Rapid Event: 5-7 rounds (men), 5-7 rounds (women) |
| Saturday, December 14th | 14:00-19:00 Blitz Event: 1-10 rounds (men), 1-10 rounds (women) |
| Sunday, December 15th | 14:00-19:00 Blitz Event: 11-20 rounds (men), 11-20 rounds (women) |
| Monday, December 16th | 14:00-19:00 Blitz Event: 21-30 rounds (men), 21-30 rounds (women) |
| Tuesday, December 17th | 14:00-19:00 Basque System: 1-3 rounds (men), 1-3 rounds (women) |
| Wednesday, December 18th | 11:00-16:00 Basque System: 4-5 rounds (men), 4-5 rounds (women) & Closing Ceremony |
LinksThe games will be 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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