Alexander Riazantsev leads Moscow Open 2008

2/7/2008 – You may not have heard the name before, and may not be able to pronounce it now, but the 22-year-old Russian grandmaster won his first four games to take the sole lead in the Open A group. In round five he drew and allowed four other players to catch up. Twenty players follow half a point behind. A small number of games are available from this event. We bring you standings and pictures.

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The Fourth International Open Chess Festival «Moscow Open 2008» is taking place in the Russian State Social University (RSSU) from the 2nd to the 10th of February 2008. The Festival consists of four tournaments: Open A, Tournament B, the Women's Open C and a Children Tournament D. Each of these tournaments is a nine-round Swiss. The total guaranteed prize fund is 5,000,000 rubels = US $205,760.

Report after five rounds

After four rounds of play GM Alexander Riazantsev had a perfect score, having won all his games. He was followed by 16 players with 3½ points each. In round five Riazantsev played one of them, Artyom Timofeev, and the game was drawn. Since a number of 3½-pointers won their games the table now has five players in the lead with 4½/5 points. Twenty players follow half a point behind.

Rank Seed  Ti. Name Rtg FED Pts Fide
1 19 GM Riazantsev Alexander 2628 RUS 4½ 14½
2-3 14 GM Efimenko Zahar 2638 UKR 4½ 14
2-3 21 GM Volkov Sergey 2623 RUS 4½ 14
4 35 GM Lastin Alexander 2604 RUS 4½ 13
5 43 GM Oleksienko Mikhailo 2590 UKR 4½ 13
6 143 IM Zherebukh Yaroslav 2420 UKR 4 13½
7-8 5 GM Timofeev Artyom 2664 RUS 4 13
7-8 64 GM Novikov Stanislav 2545 RUS 4 13
9 44 GM Savchenko Boris 2589 RUS 4 13
10 33 GM Kuzubov Yuriy 2606 UKR 4 13
11 11 GM Jobava Baadur 2643 GEO 4 13
12 41 GM Kazhgaleyev Murtas 2594 KAZ 4 12½
13 4 GM Zvjaginsev Vadim 2677 RUS 4 12
14-15 17 GM Najer Evgeniy 2634 RUS 4 12
14-15 42 GM Lysyj Igor 2593 RUS 4 12
16 52 GM Korobov Anton 2573 UKR 4 12
17 10 GM Motylev Alexander 2644 RUS 4 11½
18 39 GM Popov Ivan 2595 RUS 4 11½
19-20 16 GM Tregubov Pavel V 2636 RUS 4 11
19-20 20 GM Kobalia Mikhail 2623 RUS 4 11
21 190 IM Krylov Mikhail 2371 RUS 4 11
22 57 GM Shomoev Anton 2562 RUS 4 11
23 48 GM Belov Vladimir 2578 RUS 4 11
24 58 GM Yemelin Vasily 2562 RUS 4 10½
25 3 GM Inarkiev Ernesto 2681 RUS 4 10

In the women's section we see four players in the lead with 4½/5 points, twelve players follow half a point behind.

Rank Seed  Ti. Name Rtg FED Pts Fide
1 1 IM Ushenina Anna 2484 UKR 4½ 14½
2 14 IM Tairova Elena 2386 RUS 4½ 14½
3 7 IM Muzychuk Anna 2460 SLO 4½ 13½
4 20 WIM Vasilkova Svetlana 2359 RUS 4½ 13½
5 8 WGM Zhukova Natalia 2457 UKR 4 13½
6 26 WFM Bodnaruk Anastasia 2317 RUS 4 13
7 22 WGM Kovanova Baira 2348 RUS 4 13
8 21 IM Gvetadze Sopio 2352 GEO 4 12½
9 5 IM Krush Irina 2473 USA 4 12½
10 19 WGM Melia Salome 2362 GEO 4 12
11 18 WFM Malgina-Sterliagova Tatiana 2374 RUS 4 12
12-13 9 IM Harika Dronavalli 2455 IND 4 12
12-13 24 WFM Girya Olga 2342 RUS 4 12
14 4 GM Lahno Kateryna 2475 UKR 4 11½
15-16 10 IM Matveeva Svetlana 2433 RUS 4 11
15-16 16 IM Vasilevich Irina 2378 RUS 4 11

Picture Gallery

Russian chess journalist Evgeniy Atarov is in Moscow and producing extensive text and pictorial reports. Links to them are given at the bottom of the page. The pictures in this section are all by him.


Venue, where big banner welcomes guests and participants to festival


The main hall of the festival, with the games in the A Group under way


The intensity of the tournament leader GM Riazantsev Alexander, rated 2628


4½/5 points: 23-year-old Zahar Efimenko, who is said to be "ruthless and uncompromising"


11-year-old Ukrainian FM Ilya Nyznhyk, 2405, gets a draw from GM Chernyshov Konstantin, rated 2543


The women's section, with GM Kateryna Lahno giving us a smile


India's IM Harika Dronavalli, rated 2455


IM Krush Irina, USA, rated 2473

All pictures by Eugene Atarov

Links

A selection of games are being broadcast on Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download ChessBase Light, which gives you immediate access. You can also use it to read, replay and analyse the PGN games.