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Prize fund: 90.000€ (24.000 - 17.500 - 12.500 - 11.000 - 9.000 - 7.500 - 4.000 - 2.500) |
This year's Russian Championship Super Final also marks a special edition: the 64th. Oddly though, instead of some mega event with more, the tournament has been cut down from last year's eleven-round edition with twelve players to a mere seven rounds and eight players. Still, don't think that makes it a lesser event by any means, as it also brings together a fantastic field with Kramnik, Karjakin, Grischuk, Morozevich, Svidler, Nepomniachtchi, and Galkin for a 2715 average rating. Once more the Russian Federation hosts the championship at a level that few can rival, with high resolution video broadcasting and of course grandmaster commentary. Round one through four will be commented by GM Sergey Makarichev, while rounds five through seven will be commented on by world-famous coach Mark Dvoretsky.
Vladimir Potkin, Ilya Levitov, Jan Sidorchuk, Anna Zakharova, and Maxim Notkin
European Champion Vladimir Potkin and famed trainer and author Mark Dvoretsky
The contest for the title has heated up. Round four ended in fireworks with a triumphant winner emerging from each encounter. Kramnik, Morozevich, Svidler and Grischuk defeated Nepomniachtchi, Timofeev, Galkin and Karjakin respectively in four games conducted very differently.
Moro, who is clearly enjoying his good form, got Timofeev's goat right out of the opening. Artyom chose a risky variation in the queen pawn opening that invites White to demolish Black's pawn structure with a pawn gambit on move eleven. Black wasted some time with the redundant retreat 12….Nb6 instead of consolidating quickly (for instance with 12….g6 13. Qb3 Nb6 14. Qxe6 Qd7)
It is worth mentioning that Morozevich is on track for his third straight 2800+ performance
Moro gained a few tempi with his proactive knight, seized the advantage and breezed through the endgame.
The game Svidler-Galkin was a conventional Caro Kann Advanced Variation that didn't seem to be going anywhere - until Galkin got a little too comfortable and missed the sudden 37. Bxh5, leaving him with the sorry choice of exposing his king to the wolves or playing on with a pawn down.
Galkin faced with a very unpleasant blow from Svidler
The remaining two games were more complex. Karjakin-Grischuk followed a theoretical line in the Austrian Attack of the Pirc Defence, where Sasha boldly tried the lesser known 12….Qxd2+ in place of the more common 12….Bxf2+. The resulting endgame gave both players plenty of room to fight and it was black's superior technique that prevailed after 65 moves. It's nice to see that having black pieces doesn't necessarily curb ambition at this level…
Kramnik will deservedly get the award for most uncompromising player with no draws
Meanwhile Kramnik, playing White in yet another Symmetrical English, sacrificed an exchange on move 25 for compensation in the form of Black's vulnerable dark squares. Nepomniachtchi overlooked the plain defence 26….Qd6 and allowed his opponent to barge into his gaping kingside, giving him a lasting endgame initiative that was converted neatly.
Morozevich and Svidler are now leading the table with three points each. Three rounds remain to be played after tomorrow's rest day.
Photographs by Vladimir Barsky and Russian Federation (Russiachess.org)
LinksThe 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 a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 11 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs. |
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