Vladimir Kramnik wins Champions Rapid in Zurich

by ChessBase
8/24/2009 – It was a weekend of the world champions. After playing simuls against 200 opponents, marking the 200th jubilee of the world's oldest chess club, eight champions took part in an all-play-all rapid chess tournament in Zurich, Switzerland. It was won by the 14th World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, with the current World Champion in second place. Report with pictures and videos.

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On Saturday, 22 August 2009, 200 amateurs played against eight champions who have left indelible marks on chess in the past 50 years: Viswanathan Anand, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov, Viktor Korchnoi, Vladimir Kramnik, Boris Spassky, Ruslan Ponomariov and Veselin Topalov. Each of them played against 25 amateurs, 200 games altogether, one for every year of the club's history. Matthias Deutschmann, the German cabaret artist and the voice of the "Fritz" chess software, guided the public through the event. A pictorial report on this event will follow soon.

On Sunday, 23 August 2009, another group of eight champions – Viswanathan Anand, Werner Hug, Anatoly Karpov, Alexander Khalifman, Vladimir Kramnik, Judit Polgar, Ruslan Ponomariov and Veselin Topalov – played against one another in an attractive rapid chess format. The event began at 11.00 am and ended around 6 p.m. The winner was Vladimir Kramnik, followed by Viswanathan Anand, and in joint 3rd-4th Veselin Topalov and Ruslan Ponomariov.

No.
 Name Elo
FED
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Pts
SB
1
 Kramnik Vladimir 2759
RUS
*
½
1
½
1
½
½
1
5
16.25
2
 Anand Viswanathan 2788
IND
½
*
½
½
½
½
1
1
4½
14.25
3
 Topalov Veselin 2813
BUL
0
½
*
1
1
½
½
½
4
13.00
4
 Ponomariov Ruslan 2727
UKR
½
½
0
*
½
½
1
1
4
12.50
5
 Khalifman Alexander 2612
RUS
0
½
0
½
*
1
½
½
3
9.25
6
 Polgar Judit 2687
HUN
½
½
½
½
0
*
½
0
2½
10.00
7
 Hug Werner 2453
SUI
½
0
½
0
½
½
*
½
2½
8.50
8
 Karpov Anatoly 2644
RUS
0
0
½
0
½
1
½
*
2½
7.25

Here the results of the individual rounds

Round one
Anand Viswanathan
½-½
 Topalov Veselin
Karpov Anatoly
0-1
 Ponomariov Ruslan
Polgar Judit
½-½
 Kramnik Vladimir
Khalifman Alexander
½-½
 Hug Werner
Round two
Topalov Veselin
½-½
 Hug Werner
Kramnik Vladimir
1-0
 Khalifman Alexander
Ponomariov Ruslan
½-½
 Polgar Judit
Anand Viswanathan
1-0
 Karpov Anatoly
Round three
Karpov Anatoly
½-½
 Topalov Veselin
Polgar Judit
½-½
 Anand Viswanathan
Khalifman Alexander
½-½
 Ponomariov Ruslan
Hug Werner
½-½
 Kramnik Vladimir
Round four
Topalov Veselin
0-1
 Kramnik Vladimir
Ponomariov Ruslan
1-0
 Hug Werner
Anand Viswanathan
½-½
 Khalifman Alexander
Karpov Anatoly
1-0
 Polgar Judit
Round five
Polgar Judit
½-½
 Topalov Veselin
Khalifman Alexander
½-½
 Karpov Anatoly
Hug Werner
0-1
 Anand Viswanathan
Kramnik Vladimir
½-½
 Ponomariov Ruslan

Round six
Topalov Veselin
1-0
 Ponomariov Ruslan
Anand Viswanathan
½-½
 Kramnik Vladimir
Karpov Anatoly
½-½
 Hug Werner
Polgar Judit
0-1
 Khalifman Alexander
Round seven
Khalifman Alexander
0-1
 Topalov Veselin
Hug Werner
½-½
 Polgar Judit
Kramnik Vladimir
1-0
 Karpov Anatoly
Ponomariov Ruslan
½-½
 Anand Viswanathan


Anatoly Karpov vs Ruslan Ponomariov in round one: 0-1


Judit Polgar vs Vladimir Kramnik in round one: draw


Werner Hug vs Alexander Khalifman in round one: draw


Vishy Anand vs Anatoly Karpov in round two: 1-0


Veselin Topalov vs Werner Hug in round two: draw


Judit Polgar in action against Vishy Anand in round three: draw


Ruslan Ponomariov, former FIDE world champion


In the end the winner was Vladimir Kramnik


The winners with their cheques: 30,000 Swiss francs for Kramnik;
20,000 for Anand, and 5,000 each for Topalov and Ponomariov

All pictures by Georg Kradolfer

Video reports by Europe Echecs


Video reports by Vijay Kumar for Europe Echecs

For further information on the jubilee of the Schachgesellschaft Zürich, please visit www.sgzurich2009.ch.

Previous ChessBase articles

 Zurich: A chance to meet the World Champions
 02.04.2009 – They will all be there, for the 200th jubilee of the oldest chess club in the world: the Schachgesellschaft Zürich. The festivities, which include a Jubilee Open, will see Anand, Karpov, Korchnoi, Kramnik, Spassky, Ponomariov and Topalov playing a Champions Rapid. They are joined by Garry Kasparov for a Champions Simul against 200 opponents. One could be you, if you solve a Jubilee Quiz.

The World’s Oldest Chess Club: Part I (1809–1914)
 24.06.2009 – In August there will be a spectacular event celebrating the 200th jubilee of the oldest chess club in the world: the Schachgesellschaft Zürich, which was founded in 1809. Attendees include Kasparov, Anand, Karpov, Korchnoi, Kramnik, Spassky, Ponomariov and Topalov. To prepare you for the jubilee Richard Forster and Christian Rohrer retrace the historical development of the club.

The World’s Oldest Chess Club: Part II (1914–1945)
 14.07.2009 – In August there will be a spectacular event celebrating the 200th jubilee of the oldest chess club in the world: the Schachgesellschaft Zürich, which was founded in 1809. Attendees include Kasparov, Anand, Karpov, Korchnoi, Kramnik, Spassky, Ponomariov and Topalov. To prepare you for the jubilee Richard Forster and Christian Rohrer retrace the historical development of the club.

The World’s Oldest Chess Club: Part III (1945–1961)
07.08.2009 – Sunday, 9 August 2009, heralds the start of the events around the 200-year anniversary of the Schachgesellschaft Zürich, the oldest chess club in the world. Attendees on the final weekend (August 22-23) include Kasparov, Anand, Karpov, Korchnoi, Kramnik, Spassky, Ponomariov and Topalov. Richard Forster and Christian Rohrer retrace the historical development of the Schachgesellschaft.

Zurich Jubilee 2009 Open under way – Pein on Giri
12.08.2009 – There are 45 GMs, 48 IMs in the Master Tournament, staged to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the world's oldest chess club. After three rounds 12 GMs had a perfect score, after four the number had dropped to two. One game in particular delighted IM Malcolm Pein of the London Chess Center, who sent us his thoughts on the moves of a 15-year-old grandmaster.

Zurich Jubilee 2009: twelve GMs in the lead
13.08.2009 – There's a veritable log jam at the top of the crosstable after six rounds of play – twelve players with 5.0/6 points, followed by nineteen in hot pursuit, with 4.5 points. On top of the table with the best tiebreak score is (who else?) Alexander Morozevich. Best female player so far is (who else?) Hou Yifan. The event is full of interesting players and faces.

Zurich Jubilee 2009: Areshchenko and Avrukh victorious
16.08.2009 – It was bear hugs in the final round: GMs Alexander Areshchenko Boris Avrukh had the black pieces but squeezed the life out of top contenders GMs Yuriy Kuzubov (30 moves in a Meran) and Alexander Morozevich (55 moves in a QGA) to take equal first at this strong event. We bring you more picture portraits by Georg Kradolfer of interesting players and faces in our final report.

The World’s Oldest Chess Club: Part IV (1975 to the present)
20.08.2009 – This weekend sees the climax of two weeks of celebration for the 200th jubilee of the world's oldest chess club: the Schachgesellschaft Zürich. Kasparov, Anand, Karpov, Korchnoi, Kramnik, Spassky, Ponomariov, Judit Polgar, Topalov and Hug will be participating in simuls and a rapid chess event. Richard Forster and Christian Rohrer retrace the historical development of the club.
 

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