The last day of the “Botvinnik Memorial”

The last day of the “Botvinnik Memorial”

By Anna Burtasova

On the last day of the three-day Botvinnik Memorial in Moscow there were no more battles among the grandmasters. This day was dedicated to remembering the 6th World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik. The program of the day was as tough as the previous two days – but this time part of the difficulty was the amount of walking the grandmasters had to do. Moscow was celebrating the city day, the center of the megapolis was blocked for cars as numerous Muscovites came out on the streets to enjoy this Sunday holiday.

The players wait for the start of the opening ceremony of the memorial plaque at the
RCF meeting room.

At 1 PM the tournament’s participants Anand, Carlsen, Kramnik, Aronian, Koneru, T. Kosintseva, Cmilyte and Danielian arrived at the central chess club after a short trip in the Moscow metro. The club is situated in the center of the city at Gogolevsky Boulevard, and it is a three-story building with a lot of room. The efforts of Botvinnik, who worked there every day in the late 80s, were among the reasons why this fantastic historical building is still held by the Russian Chess Federation and is a true home for chess players from all around the country.

On the way to the entrance of the RCF

On the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Soviet Chess School’s patriarch, the famous central chess club was decorated with a memorial plaque that says “5 times world champion, the founder of the national chess school, Mikhail Moiseevich Botvinnik, worked in this building from 1988 to 1995”.

Chief of the RCF Supervisory Board Arkady Dvorkovich gives his speech, with journalists
and spectators almost blocking car access to Gogolesvky Boulevard.

Kramnik and Anand opening the memorial plaque

Now the Central Chess Club named after M. Botvinnik has a profile of the five-time
World Champion on its outside wall.

Applause from Koneru and Aronian

The chief of the Supervisory Board of the RCF, Arkady Dvorkovich, and the chief of the RCF Board, Ilya Levitov, held a speech at the opening of the memorial desk. Vladimir Kramnik, the 14th World Champion, and reigning World Champion Viswanathan Anand opened the desk followed by the applause from the numerous journalists, spectators and players from the Botvinnik Memorial.

The simultaneous exhibition on 80 boards is underway

After this historical event, the players moved to the “Digital October” center to conduct a simultaneous exhibition on 80 boards against young Russian talents who had come to Moscow for this special event. Each grandmaster received ten opponents, but it was not an easy encounter. Only Anand managed to win all his games, while Carlsen, Aronian and Tatiana Kosintseva conceded one draw each. Kramnik gave up two draws while Cmilyte was defeated by a girl – Daria Senkova from North Caucasus region. Koneru also lost to Adian Patayev from the South Federal region, but the biggest struggle was reserved for Danielian.

Levon Aronian conceded one draw

Magnus Carlsen was the quickest of all the grandmasters, but could not avoid one draw

Viswanathan Anand was the only grandmaster to win all his games

The last opponent of Vladimir Kramnik blitzed the former world champion to a draw!

Draw?

The evening in the memory of Botvinnik was soon to begin and after almost two hours of play the organizers put clocks for the participants. The player received ten minutes against five for the young opponents, but the Armenian player still had nine unfinished games to deal with! In this tough situation, Elina was almost running from one board to another, making the moves very fast, and she almost managed to win the match, but her flag in the last game fell down and the children celebrated a 5.5-4.5 victory. The total score of the match was 70-10 in favor of the grandmasters.

The spectators gathered in the Central Chess Club for the evening of Botvinnik, which
also became the closing ceremony for the Memorial.

The daughter of Mikhail Botvinnik, Olga Fioshkina gives an autograph to a small chess fan

The walls of the hall are decorated with the photos of Botvinnik and his family. This
is the same room where the Superfinals were held.

At the end of the day guests came back to the Central Chess Club named after M. Botvinnik to conclude the three-day event with the evening in the memory of the great champion. The winners of the “Botvinnik Memorial” were awarded cups, while the rest of the grandmasters were given special souvenirs.  All the children who managed to score against their famous opponents in the simul received memorial diplomas. Who can say? Maybe this one draw or win over the best players of the world will serve as an inspiration throughout their chess careers. If not, it would still be one of the brightest memories in their lives!

The cups for the winners Anand and Cmilyte

The great event that was held in Moscow from 1st to 4th of September, “Botvinnik Memorial” ended with the grandmasters analyzing one of the great champion’s less famous games – his encounter with Smyslov in 1941. All the participants agreed that if they had not been told the game had taken place 60 years ago, it could be taken for a modern one!

The “Botvinnik Memorial” participants with the RCF officials, Arkady Dvorkovich and Ilya Levitov

The Russian Chess Federation wants to thank the players and the sponsor “Summa Capital” for the opportunity to hold a chess holiday as big as the “Botvinnik Memorial”.

Copyright ChessBase