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The Basel Chess Festival has been growing year after year, and the number of participants has risen from 201 to 230 players. The level has also risen with an impressive starting lineup that included seventeen grandmasters, fourteen International Masters and four Women's Grandmasters.
The favorite is top seed Radoslaw Wojtaszek, rated 2711, who is fresh from a win at the Zurich Christmas Open. However with so many grandmasters, it is anything but certain, and a single moment of weakness can hand the victory to another.
He managed to win the Zurich Christmas Open at the last
minute, can top-seed Wojtaszek make it two for two?
After three rounds the leaders had been reduced to six players with a perfect 3.0/3, including Fier, Popov, van Kampen, Sengupta, Popilski, and Wojtaszek. Trailing them were no fewer than thirteen players with 2.5/3.
Brazilian GM Alexandre Fier has had a strong start
Indian GM Deep Sengupta
In round four, Wojtaszek and Fier played a hard attacking game, but neither was able to prevail and they drew. Nineteen-year-old Robin van Kampen and Ivan Popov were the only players able to keep an impeccable record.
Russian GM Boris Grachev is one of the top ratings in the event
Round five saw that end, as the two leaders drew against each other, giving Wojtaszek the chance to catch up with them at 4.5/5. They are trailed by eleven players at 4.0/5 and it may end in a photo finish.
Russian Ivan Popov hopes to for another good result
Nineteen-year-old Robin van Kampen has also had a great start
Pictures by U. Zinke
|
Rk
|
Ti.
|
Name
|
Rtg
|
Fed
|
Pts
|
TB
|
|
1
|
GM
|
Popov Ivan |
2644
|
RUS
|
4.5
|
32.0
|
|
2
|
GM
|
van Kampen Robin |
2601
|
NED
|
4.5
|
32.5
|
|
3
|
GM
|
Wojtaszek Radoslaw |
2711
|
POL
|
4.5
|
31.0
|
|
4
|
GM
|
Fier Alexandr |
2572
|
BRA
|
4.0
|
30.5
|
|
5
|
GM
|
Popilski Gils |
2490
|
ISR
|
4.0
|
30.0
|
|
6
|
GM
|
Kovalenko Igor |
2643
|
LAT
|
4.0
|
26.5
|
|
7
|
GM
|
Sengupta Deep |
2570
|
IND
|
4.0
|
33.0
|
|
8
|
IM
|
Heimann Andreas |
2511
|
GER
|
4.0
|
33.0
|
|
9
|
GM
|
Grachev Boris |
2669
|
RUS
|
4.0
|
30.0
|
|
10
|
GM
|
Mareco Sandro |
2581
|
ARG
|
4.0
|
30.0
|
|
11
|
GM
|
Bartel Mateusz |
2649
|
POL
|
4.0
|
30.0
|
|
12
|
GM
|
Sengupta Deep |
2570
|
IND
|
4.0
|
28.0
|
|
13
|
GM
|
El Debs Felipe de |
2520
|
BRA
|
4.0
|
28.0
|
|
14
|
GM
|
Rodshtein Maxim |
2683
|
ISR
|
4.0
|
28.0
|
|
15
|
GM
|
Sethuraman S P. |
2553
|
IND
|
4.0
|
27.0
|
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 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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