Bilbao Masters – Carlsen takes first after blitz tiebreak

The first leg of the Grand Slam was staged in São Paulo, Ibirapuera Park, from September 25th to October 1st, the second leg takes place in Bilbao, Alhóndiga, from 5th to 11th October. Tournament system: double round robin with six players over ten rounds. Time control: 90 minutes/40 moves + 60 minutes + 10 seconds/move starting with the first move. Games begin at 16:00h local Spanish time (10 a.m. New York, 18:00h Moscow).

Round ten

The final round concluded what was ultimately a fantastic tournament, with great drama and chess throughout. WIth the top three players in the world, all sporting ratings of 2800 and more, it seemed as if it would be up to them to decide the top spots, and the rest could fight over the leftovers. Would it be Carlsen, the young number one, to add another feather to his peacock-looking cap? Anand, the World Champion for the last years, and only an inch behind the Norwegian? Perhaps Aronian, who had already won the Masters in the past, and having just broken through 2800, might reaffrim his rising star?

Instead, the player who led from the beginning to the end was none other than the brilliant Ukrainian, Vasily Ivanchuk, a notoriously hot-and-cold player, who can be as good as the greatest when he is inspired. To make things even more surprising, both the top seeds Anand and Carlsen managed to share last after the third round, when a mutual loss struck them simultaneously. The first sign the wind's direction was beginning to change was in the fifth round, when Carlsen faced the leader, and beat him in a shake-me-up game that not only brought Ivanchuk within shouting distance, but helped drum up some much needed confidence for Magnus.

The rise to rejoin Ivanchuk was not a straightforward affair either as a bit of luck (always useful) helped clinch an unexpected win in round eight, but the decisive moment was Carlsen's precipitous second win over Ivanchuk in round nine, giving him the shared lead, bringing us to the final round.

Hikaru Nakamura committed to not letting the previous day's stress affect him

Magnus Carlsen ready for the day

The Norwegian consults the arbiters on the tiebreak...

...and they show him the tournament regulations that cover it

Carlsen observes the game at a distance, since if Ivanchuk plays for the win, he will
be obliged to as well.

Unsurprisingly, the leaders preferred to not jeopardize their positions, and their games both ended in uneventful draws. The first to finish was Nakamura-Carlsen, and though Nakamura might have chosen a harder fight in other circumstances, after his shock time-loss the day before, no one can blame him for not pushing it here.

Ivanchuk was his brilliant best for much of the tournament

Aronian was unable to generate any significant momentum

Ivanchuk and Aronian also drew after a calm game, essentially ensuring a tiebreak match between Vaily and Magnus after the end of the round.

The players analyze the game with Leontxo García

A bemused Ivanchuk looks at the game

Young spectators are taken by the games

Others prefer to just play

The only game to not end on a peacful note was Anand's game against Vallejo. After his own shock loss, though no clock to blame it on, Anand was actually last, just behind the Spaniard, and the only way to change this, was by beating him in the last game. Though far from perfect, Anand made a valiant effort and prevailed in their game

It was an irregular event for the World Champion, no doubt more focused on his title
defense against Gelfand.

In spite of arriving last, Vallejo will have had the singular privilege of beating all three
of the top-placed players, including world number one, Magnus Carlsen.

Anand and Vallejo discuss the game

Tiebreak games

Time control: four minutes plus three seconds increment as of first move

The tiebreak to decide the top prize between Magnus Carlsen and Vasily Ivanchuk was set at a mini-match of two blitz games played at four minutes plus a three-second increment per move. In the event of a draw, a final armageddon game would decide it.

The first blitz went down to the last seconds

The first game was a complicated affair, and both players felt the tension, though neither was ever clearly won at any moment. It ended in a draw when they were down to the lst seconds, playing off their increments.

Eventually the result was clear...

...and the players shook hands.

Magnus displays his deep concerns prior to the start of the second and last blitz

Leontxo and his colleague note it

Even participants such as Aronian were reduced to mere spectators for the final showdown

In the second game, Carlsen managed to create threats to Ivanchuk's king, and after a bit of back and forth play, due to the very little time left at this stage (each had less than a minute), Magnus's attack gained momentum, and the Ukrainian finally resigned with the engines declaring it a mate in eight.

In the end, Carlsen built a mating attack to take the title

Carlsen gives a small interview after it is over

A fantastic comeback for Magnus Carlsen, confirming once again that he is never to be counted out, and his two decisive victories over tournament leader Ivanchuk, showcased his incredible fighting spirit once again.

The tournament volunteers and staff

The president of the Spanish Chess Federation and the Chief Arbiter

Ivanchuk receives a little green man as his trophy

A video report of the final round courtesy of liveteleshows & Vijay Kumar

Pictures by Pascal Simon 

Final standings with Bilbao scoring

Final standings with traditional scoring

Schedule and results

Links Official tournament site (Bilbao) All ChessBase reports – All games in PGN Tiebreak games in PGN 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 11 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.

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