
The FIDE World Chess Cup took place in Khanty-Mansiysk from November 20th to
December 15th 2009. It was a seven-round knockout event with six rounds of matches
comprising two games per round, with the winners progressing to the next round.
The final seventh round consisted of four games. The time control was 90 minutes
for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with
an addition of 30 seconds per move from move one. The World Chess Cup is an
integral part of the World Championship Cycle 2009-2011.
Final, tiebreak
The three weeks marathon of the 2009 World Cup finished with 41-year-old Boris
Gelfand of Israel beating Ruslan Ponomariov in the tiebreak on Monday. The organiser,
FIDE, feel vindicated that the top seed won the event. "Who would dare
to call the knock out format a lottery?" the official bulletin says. “Boris
is the only participant of the World Cup who could avoid the obvious failures,
the only one to play with quality and stability. Bravo, Boris!"

The start of the tiebreak round of the FIDE World Cup in Khanty Mansiysk

Gelfand vs Ponomariov – experience vs fighting spirit

Boris Gelfand, 41-year-old Israeli grandmaster

Ruslan Ponomariov: former FIDE knockout world champion

In the end the top see prevailed...

... while the former prodigy from Ukraine drops out in the final round
All photos from Khanty-Mansiysk are by Galina Popova for
FIDE
Results of the final
Players |
G1 |
G2 |
G3 |
G4 |
R1 |
R2 |
R3 |
R4 |
B1 |
B2 |
B3 |
B4 |
Tot |
Ponomariov, Ruslan (UKR) |
½ |
½ |
½ |
½ |
½ |
0 |
½ |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
5.0 |
Gelfand, Boris (ISR) |
½ |
½ |
½ |
½ |
½ |
1 |
½ |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
7.0 |
Boris Gelfand: "I made a good present to my mom on her birthday!"
Gelfand: I managed to win in the tiebreaks, though it was very hard. I think
I could have showed good result already in the second rapid game. But the stress
and tension did the work and I started blundering. Ruslan was also making mistakes
and we ended in a draw. I had a bit advantage in the fourth game. The only thing
I should have done is to shoot the ball into the empty goal. But I blundered
again. Ruslan started a counter game and I resigned. Then we started playing
blitz games. Here everything depended on the coolness and ability to keep the
nerves together.
Did you have a feeling that you will win the tie breaks?

I realized that a tough match is ahead. I expected that I needed to fight.
Today is my mom's birthday and I cannot leave her without a present. She has
done a lot for me. I am very grateful to her for all. I also thank my father,
may his memory live forever. I am also very thankful to my wife and daughter
who miss me a lot. I am also grateful to all who was helping and training with
me. We have been working with Alexander Huzman for already 20 years together.
Also, during this tournament my second Maxim Rodshtein was helping me. He did
not seem to sleep at all, he was preparing for my opponents. My friends were
calling and writing to me. Thank you all for your support. My victory is your
merit as well.
Can you call the World Cup 2009 the best tournament in your career?
I think the World Cup 2009 can be only compared with the second place in the
World Chess Championship 2007 in Mexico .
You are the oldest participant of the World Cup. Are you happy that could
manage to show your strength to the young players?

Undoubtedly age influences performance. The older a grandmaster is, the more
experienced his games are. Starting from 1997 I participated in almost every
knockout tournament. I have gained a great deal of experience since then, especially
in the tiebreaks. There were so many strong and young chess players who fell
apart after their first defeats. They lacked the moral strength; they could
not forget about one failure to continue the fight in the further games. I think
it comes with experience.
The situation when the top seeded player wins a tournament is rare.
I was not impressed by the fact that I was top seeded. There were about 20
chess players who had every reason to expect to win the Cup.
Do you have something to say to your opponent?
Ruslan does not need consolation. He did well during the whole tournament and
managed many tiebreaks. My opponent is very good at knock-out tournaments; it
is confirmed by his results during last two years. Ponomariov once again proved
that he is a great chess player.
Where do you take the energy to participate in such long tournaments?
I just like to play chess. Therefore I work much; I try to improve my results.
Do you feel compassion to your opponent when you win?
It is not a battle of gladiators. We play chess. Someone wins, someone loses.
This is sport.
For many years the chess community is interested to know what you have
in this special bottle which you bring to the games?
It is not a doping… (laughing). I was checked at the last World Championship,
so, everything is legal.
Is it important for you to have an audience when you play?
Yes, that would be more pleasant if the hall would be crowded. But it is obvious
that our main spectators are in Internet. Whenever a tournament takes place,
about 90-95% of spectators watch the games via the Internet.
People said in the 80s, that it doesn't matter if you walk around the
hall or look around, you used to make the strongest moves…
The position is always with you, in your head. No matter where you look: around
or at the chess board.
What do you do in your free time?
I like to read classics: Pushkin, Bulgakov, Maugham. I regularly watch soccer
and tennis. I like sport.
Would you share your impressions about Khanty Mansiysk?
I would like to thank the city for this wonderful tournament. I had no problems
here at all. Every year it is better and better in Khanty Mansiysk. The only
thing which complicated my staying here was the temperature drop: from -30 to
0. It is harder to stand this with age. There are many cultural and sport institutions
here: library, picture gallery, hockey palace, tennis center. The Art Center
for talented children of North – the playing venue – is just fantastic
building. I would come back here next year with pleasure. I just hope that the
weather would be milder. I hope we will have a chance to walk around the city.
You were playing chess for almost a month without any rest. How are you
going to recover?
More than a month. Two weeks before the start of the World Cup I took part
in Tal Memorial and World Blitz Chess Championship, two of the toughest tournaments.
Now I will relax, make up for lost sleep, walk with my daughter. So I will be
back to “normal” life.
Did you choose any souvenir from Ugra land?
The World Cup is the best souvenir!
Schedule of the World Cup 2009
Links
The 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 the free PGN reader ChessBase
Light, which gives you immediate access. You can also ue the program
to read, replay and analyse PGN games. New and enhanced: CB Light 2009! |
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