ChessBase 17 - Mega package - Edition 2024
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The 19th (XIX) Ciudad de León chess tournament took place at the Junta de Castilla y León building in León, Spain from June 9th to 11th 2006. There were two groups, each playing four games, with the winners meeting in the finals. The rate of play was 20 minutes for the game plus an increment of 10 seconds for each move. In case of a drawn match there were blitz tie-break games (5 minutes for all moves).
The event was won by Indian chess superstar (and former FIDE world champion) Viswanathan ("Vishy") Anand, who defeated the current FIDE world champion Veselin Topalov in the final. Anand had a somewhat rough time beating Cuban GM Lázaro Bruzón in the semifinal, whereas it was smooth sailing for Topalov in his semifinal match against Francisco Vallejo of Spain.
The winner of the 2006 Ciudad de León tournament Vishy Anand
In the final Anand had to defend accurately in game one, a Queen's Gambit Declined. In game two Veselin Topalov played a Berlin Defense in the Ruy Lopez, which Anand meticulously took apart. In game three, a Ruy Lopez Centre Attack, Topalov got nothing out of the opening and the game was drawn with a slight advantage for Anand. In the final game Topalov very logically tried a Sicilian Najdorf, but Anand took control and was close to winning. The final score was 2.5:1.5 for the Anand, who used much less time in his games than Topalov.
| Name | Elo | G1 | G2 | G1 | G2 | B1 | B2 | B3 | B4 | Total | |
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| Lázaro Bruzón (Cuba) | 2652 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 3.5 | |
| Viswanathan Anand (India) | 2803 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 4.5 | |
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| Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) | 2804 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1.5 | |||||
| Francisco Vallejo (Spain) | 2666 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 2.5 | |||||
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| Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria) | 2804 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1.5 | |||||
| Viswanathan Anand (India) | 2803 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 2.5 | |||||
The playing hall, with giant projection screens for the audience
On the screens you can see the game and commentary
Topalov vs Anand before the start of game one
Anand, playing fast and with confidence
Topalov, who met his match against the Indian GM
Anand in the press conference after the tournament
Veselin Topalov talking about his games against Anand
Spainsh GM Miguel Illescas gives a simul for children
I wonder if I can beat a real grandmaster
This is going to be hard – very, very hard
