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Press release
Boris Gelfand, winner of the second semifinal, is facing Leinier Domínguez, winner of the first semifinal against China’s Ju Wenjun. The final looks very evenly balanced. Perhaps Leinier is currently a little stronger, but Gelfand certainly has the prowess to take down anyone in the world on a good day, so it is difficult to say that one of these two great players is a clear favourite. What is certain is that this Sunday, starting at 15.30, a great chess spectacle awaits us that will decide who wins this XXXIV edition of the Magistral.
The matches go over four games with a time limit of 20+10. If the match ends with a tie, two blitz games (5+2) will follow, and if these also lead to a tie, an Armageddon game will decide the match.
| R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | B1 | B2 | ||
| Boris Gelfand | 3½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 |
| Leinier Dominguez | 2½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 |
In this second semifinal, Gelfand was clearly superior, except perhaps in the first game, when Santos showed stronger preparation. However, in the short time between games, the Israeli was able to figure out how to improve his play in the same variation. In the fourth encounter, he was far superior and only the excess of optimism shown in the third, when he embarked on an unnecessary queen sacrifice, gave excitement to the scoreboard. A well-deserved victory for Boris Gelfand, and plenty of experience gained by Jaime Santos.
