7th Kings Tournament starts Tomorrow

by ChessBase
10/7/2013 – The 7th Kings tournament will take place from October 7th to October 17th in the Bucharest University of Economic Studies in Romania. The double round robin will pit Nisipeanu, Wang Hao, Ponomariov, Radjabov and Caruana against each other. The opening ceremony was held yesterday and it had one of the most original and fun drawing of lots we have seen in some time.

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The opening ceremony of the 7th edition of Kings Tournament Romgaz took place on the 6th of October in the Bucharest University of Economic Studies (Piata Romana Nr.6). This international tournament is organized by the Sports Club “Elisabeta Polihroniade” and is a part of the Grand Slam circuit.

The Kings Tournament will be a double round robin competition with 5 world-class participants: Fabiano Caruana (Italy, GM, 2779), the former World Champion Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukraine, GM, 2756), Wang Hao (China, GM, 2736), Radjabov Teimour (Azerbaijan, GM, 2733) and Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu, (Romania, GM, 2665).

"We are pleased in organizing the Kings Tournament because such a competition underlines the complexity and beauty of chess. This year's edition with its famous participants represents a truly great show for every chess lover", said International Grandmaster Elisabeta Polihroniade, who represented Romania in the Women's Chess Olympiad over ten times.

This year’s edition will be played in the Magna Auditorium and Conference Hall "Virgil Madgearu" of the  Bucharest University of Economic Studies – a partner of the Kings Tournament. The rounds will start every day from the 7th until the 17th October at 3:30 p.m. (last round starts at 1:30 p.m) and entrance will be free for spectators.

The main sponsor of the event is the largest Romanian natural gas producer Romgaz. The partners are the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, RYSA (Romanian Youth Sports Association) and Marshall Turism.

The drawing of lots had one of the most interesting formats we have seen in recent times. Though slightly complicated, it was entertaining to say the least. In essence, the player's played two blitz games: one against a VIP chosen by the organization (among them the Romanian singer Victor Socaciu, who played Caruana) and one against one of the top finishers of a gigantic blitz tournament held before the opening ceremony! That meant that every blitz participant was fighting for a chance to play a super-GM. The winner of the blitz tournament chose who he played against, and the second place would choose from the remaining four, and henceforth.

The tipping point was that the player who won their games in the LEAST AMOUNT OF MOVES would choose his pairing number in the tournament! The rules don't say what would happen if the grandmasters didn't win their games, but alas that did not end up happening...

The qualifying blitz tournament was held at a library

And the tournament is under way!

The games were very hard fought: after all there were only five desirable spots

The opening ceremony about to start with the grandmaster blitz games

A sign of a top grandmaster is that they take every game seriously

Ponomariov got a tough round in his VIP game, here he is playing against WGM Elisabeta Polihroniade!

The grandmasters started with three minutes on their clock against six for their opponents

The local player Nisipeanu will have tough opposition in this event

Caruana is the highest rated player in the event

Wang Hao was the 'victor' of the competition, and he chose pairing number one. Most players thought this was undesirable, but it gives him a rest day in round one - remember that Wang Hao, Ponomariov and Caruana are just coming from the Grand Prix in Paris.

Information and photos by Dorian Rogozenco

Schedule

Round 1 – October 07, 15:30h
Radjabov, Teimour 2723
Ponomariov, Ruslan 2751
Nisipeanu, L.-D. 2674
Caruana, Fabiano 2779
Wang Hao 2733
bye
   
Round 2 – October 08, 15:30h
Wang Hao 2733
Radjabov, Teimour 2723
Ponomariov, Ruslan 2751
Nisipeanu, L.-D. 2674
Caruana, Fabiano 2779
bye
   
Round 3 – October 09, 15:30h
Nisipeanu, L.-D. 2674
Wang Hao 2733
Caruana, Fabiano 2779
Ponomariov, Ruslan 2751
Radjabov, Teimour 2723
bye
   
Round 4 – October 10, 15:30h
Radjabov, Teimour 2723
Nisipeanu, L.-D. 2674
Wang Hao 2733
Caruana, Fabiano 2779
Ponomariov, Ruslan 2751
bye
   
Round 5 – October 11, 15:30h
Ponomariov, Ruslan 2751
Wang Hao 2733
Caruana, Fabiano 2779
Radjabov, Teimour 2723
Nisipeanu, L.-D. 2674
bye
   
Round 6 – October 07, 15:30h
Ponomariov, Ruslan 2751
Radjabov, Teimour 2723
Caruana, Fabiano 2779
Nisipeanu, L.-D. 2674
Wang Hao 2733
bye
   
Round 7 – October 08, 15:30h
Radjabov, Teimour 2723
Wang Hao 2733
Nisipeanu, L.-D. 2674
Ponomariov, Ruslan 2751
Caruana, Fabiano 2779
bye
   
Round 8 – October 09, 15:30h
Wang Hao 2733
Nisipeanu, L.-D. 2674
Ponomariov, Ruslan 2751
Caruana, Fabiano 2779
Radjabov, Teimour 2723
bye
   
Round 9 – October 10, 15:30h
Nisipeanu, L.-D. 2674
Radjabov, Teimour 2723
Caruana, Fabiano 2779
Wang Hao 2733
Ponomariov, Ruslan 2751
bye
   
Round 10 – October 11, 13:30h
Wang Hao 2733
Ponomariov, Ruslan 2751
Radjabov, Teimour 2723
Caruana, Fabiano 2779
Nisipeanu, L.-D. 2674
bye
   

Links

The 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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