German Bundesliga – grudge match on Sunday

by ChessBase
5/6/2005 – The world's strongest team championships has come down to a tiebreak match. Two bitter rivals, Werder Bremen and SG Porz, are facing each other in a final showdown, which you can watch live this Sunday on the Bundesliga site and Playchess.com. Bremen scored a 6:2 upset victory in the regular matches, so Porz is understandably out for sweet revenge.

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Tiebreak match on Sunday

Final standings BL 2004/2005
01 SG Porz 81,0
28:2
02 SV Werder Bremen 74,5
28:2
03 OSC Baden-Baden 83,0
26:4
04 TV Tegernsee 75,5
25:5
05 Mülheim Nord 70,0
17:13
06 SF Katernberg 63,0
17:13
07 Hamburger SK 62,0
17:13
08 SC Kreuzberg 65,0
16:14
09 SC Eppingen 58,0
13:17
10 SV Wattenscheid 52,5
12:18
11 SF Neukölln 52,0
12:18
12 SG Solingen 56,5
11:19
13 SV Hofheim 48,0
10:20
14 Erfurter SK 50,5
6:24
15 Preetzer TSV 34,5
1:29
16 Stuttgarter SF 34,0
1:29

The most exciting title race in the 25-year history of the German Team Championship ("Schachbundesliga" or simply "Bundesliga") came to a head in the very last rounds and ends on Sunday, May 8th with a tiebreak match for the title. Before we come to the details here is the genesis of the drama that has been going on in the Bundesliga.

The final rounds took place on the weekend of April 9/10, with the situation was as follows: Porz, Baden-Baden and Werder Bremen all had 24:2 points and two rounds to play. On Saturday (April 9) all three teams won their matches against weaker teams (Bremen somewhat narrowly), and advanced to 26:2 points. Then came the "bloody Sunday". Bremen won their match against Solingen (again narrowly with 4.5:3.5) while the rivals Baden-Baden and Porz faced each other. The winner of this match would catch Bremen and force a tiebreak.

There was additional tension in the encounter: a year earlier there had been a tiebreak between the same two teams for the title, and Porz had edged Baden-Baden out. So the latter were spoiling for revenge. And things were looking good on the top three boards, with Anand, Svidler and Shirov leading against Adams, Lutz and van Wely (Shirov won his game, the other two were drawn). But further down Baden-Baden was in trouble, and through losses by Vallejo Pons and Krasenkow against Ivan Sokolov and Beliavsky the match was decided 4.5:3.5 in favour of Porz, which thus caught the leading Bremen.

The final table of the regular Bundesliga season 2004/2005 is given above. As you can see it ended in a tie for the two teams, both of whom had scored 28:2 match points. These are decisive for the overall victory, not the board points, where Porz had a clear edge (and in fact the third-placed Baden-Baden had the best overall score).


Chess Bundesliga poster of Werder Bremen inviting people to the showdown on Sunday. That's what's-her-face, the WGM from Moldova, kicking around chess pieces in the picture.

The tiebreak match will be held on Sunday, May 8th, when the teams of the SG Porz and the SV Werder Bremen will clash. The venue is the V.I.P. lounge of the football club Werder Bremen, which is the German soccer champion. The Bundesliga website will transmit the games of Baden-Baden, Porz and Bremen live (look for live coverage here). The match (classical seven hour-games) and the transmission will begin at 12:00 noon German time (GMT+1) and may last until 7 p.m.


The Chess Bundesliga advertised in the giant screen of a soccer stadium

Porz is the favourite as it can field Michael Adams, Loek van Wely, Ivan Sokolov, Mikhail Gurevich, Alexander Beliavsky, Curt Hansen, Rafael Vaganian, Alexander Graf and Christopher Lutz. Werder Bremen's best line-up includes Luke McShane, Zahar Efimenko, Yannick Pelletier, Zbynek Hracek, Vlastimil Babula, Tomi Nyback, Gennadi Fisch and Lars Schandorff. When both teams met for the regular match on March 12th Werder scored an upset 6-2 victory. So this one too is going to be a grudge match.

All German Bundesliga teams

OSC Baden-Baden (ø of first eight boards: 2684)
1 GM Anand, Viswanathan IND 2781
2 GM Svidler, Peter RUS 2735
3 GM Shirov, Alexei ESP 2726
4 GM Vallejo Pons, Francisco ESP 2678
5 GM Movsesian, Sergei SVK 2629
6 GM Krasenkow, Michal POL 2676
7 GM Dautov, Rustem GER 2623
8 GM Huebner, Robert Dr. GER 2624
9 GM Jobava, Baadur GEO 2614
10 GM Schlosser, Philipp GER 2570
11 Buhmann, Rainer GER 2521
12 GM Schmaltz, Roland GER 2528
13 GM Doettling, Fabian GER 2526
14 GM Keitlinghaus, Ludger GER 2493
15 Beck, Frederik GER 2140
16 Schaaf, Robert GER 2112
SV Werder Bremen (ø of first eight boards: 2571)
1 GM McShane, Luke James ENG 2629
2 GM Hracek, Zbynek CZE 2595
3 GM Pelletier, Yannick SUI 2589
4 GM Efimenko, Zahar UKR 2594
5 GM Babula, Vlastimil CZE 2571
6 GM Nyback, Tomi FIN 2554
7 IM Fish, Gennadij GER 2523
8 GM Schandorff, Lars DEN 2510
9 GM Knaak, Rainer GER 2486
10 IM Skripchenko, Almira FRA 2474
11 IM Meins, Gerlef GER 2440
12 Joachim, Sven GER 2448
13 IM Steingrimsson, Hedinn ISL 2397
14 Heissler, Jacob GER 2446
SC Eppingen (ø of first eight boards: 2453)
1 GM Gyimesi, Zoltan HUN 2613
2 GM Acs, Peter HUN 2521
3 GM Medvegy, Zoltan HUN 2467
4 IM Braun, Arik GER 2480
5 IM Mann, Christian GER 2455
6 IM Schulze, Ulrich GER 2333
7 FM Miltner, Arndt GER 2402
8 FM Balzar, Andreas Dr. GER 2352
9 FM Koch, Wolfgang Max Dr. GER 2330
10 Reinhardt, Berndt GER 2332
11 FM Schneider, Bernd GER 2293
12 Eisenbeiser, Amadeus GER 2323
13 Gruber, Thomas GER 2307
14 Dekan, Hans GER 2159
15 Rau, Hannes GER 2384
Erfurter SK (ø of first eight boards: 2432)
1 GM Haba, Petr CZE 2520
2 GM Votava, Jan CZE 2505
3 GM Kuczynski, Robert POL 2475
4 IM Machelett, Heiko GER 2401
5 IM Casper, Thomas GER 2412
6 FM Brueggemann, Joachim GER 2404
7 IM Mueller, Matthias GER 2362
8 FM Voekler, Bernd GER 2376
9 GM Enders, Peter GER 2456
10 IM Troyke, Christian GER 2334
11 FM Fiedler, Torsten GER 2328
12 Fuhrmann, Daniel GER 2286
13 Krueger, Rainer Dr. GER 2243
14 Umpfenbach, Caroline GER 2137
15 Siebarth, Raiko GER 2168
Hamburger SK (ø of first eight boards: 2543)
1 GM Gustafsson, Jan GER 2603
2 GM Kempinski, Robert POL 2608
3 GM Ftacnik, Lubomir SVK 2533
4 GM Hansen, Sune Berg DEN 2551
5 GM Wahls, Matthias GER 2551
6 GM Mueller, Karsten Dr. GER 2501
7 GM Bezold, Michael GER 2532
8 IM Reeh, Oliver GER 2464
9 IM Heinemann, Thies GER 2453
10 IM Michaelsen, Nils GER 2426
11 FM Van Delft, Merijn NED 2385
12 FM Langrock, Hannes GER 2407
13 Sebastian, Dirk GER 2371
14 FM Sievers, Stefan GER 2368
15 Stellwagen, Robin GER 2108
16 Moeller, Hendrik GER 2106
SV Hofheim (ø of first eight boards: 2439)
1 GM Savchenko, Stanislav UKR 2497
2 GM Hickl, Joerg GER 2530
3 IM Ginsburg, Gennadi GER 2481
4 IM Krivoshey, Sergei UKR 2499
5 IM Zude, Arno GER 2398
6 IM Rechel, Bernd GER 2408
7 WGM Houska, Jovanka ENG 2298
8 IM Pirrot, Dieter GER 2398
9 FM Zude, Erik Dr. GER 2385
10 FM Buchal, Stephan GER 2365
11 IM Brendel, Oliver GER 2340
12 FM Burkart, Patrick GER 2338
13 FM Haubt, Georg GER 2267
14 FM Zunker, Reinhard Dr. GER 2252
SF Katernberg (ø of first eight boards: 2569)
1 GM Volokitin, Andrei UKR 2652
2 GM Naiditsch, Arkadij GER 2611
3 GM Glek, Igor V GER 2580
4 GM Chuchelov, Vladimir BEL 2571
5 GM Smagin, Sergey RUS 2565
6 GM Kritz, Leonid GER 2543
7 GM Moreno Carnero, Javier ESP 2512
8 IM L'Ami, Erwin NED 2516
9 IM Senff, Martin GER 2430
10 IM Thesing, Matthias GER 2420
11 Scholz, Christian GER 2396
12 IM Souleidis, Georgios GRE 2401
13 IM Siebrecht, Sebastian GER 2366
14 FM Rosen, Bernd GER 2301
SC Kreuzberg (ø of first eight boards: 2574)
1 GM Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter ROM 2687
2 GM Almasi, Zoltan HUN 2650
3 GM Aronian, Levon ARM 2675
4 GM Socko, Bartosz POL 2570
5 GM Maiwald, Jens-Uwe GER 2514
6 GM Kalinitschew, Sergey GER 2533
7 IM Volke, Karsten GER 2483
8 GM Tischbierek, Raj GER 2477
9 GM Lau, Ralf GER 2481
10 IM Loeffler, Stefan GER 2432
11 IM Muse, Drazen GER 2415
12 IM Lagunow, Alexander GER 2437
13 IM Glienke, Manfred Dr. GER 2294
14 Sprotte, Norbert GER 2244
15 Figura, Atila Gajo GER 2193
Mülheim Nord (ø of first eight boards: 2504)
1 GM Landa, Konstantin RUS 2571
2 GM Fridman, Daniel LAT 2578
3 GM Levin, Felix GER 2498
4 IM Schebler, Gerhard GER 2496
5 GM Saltaev, Mihail UZB 2485
6 IM Zagorskis, Darius LTU 2486
7 Lytchak, Alexander Dr. GER 2436
8 IM Hausrath, Daniel GER 2478
9 FM Wegener, Olaf GER 2417
10 IM Kern, Guido GER 2355
11 FM Sielecki, Christof GER 2375
12 Kaid, Almar GER 2275
13 Friedrichs, Klaus GER 2319
14 FM Becker, Marcel GER 2298
15 Tereick, Benjamin GER 2155
16 Kuipers, Dustin 1909
SF Neukölln (ø of first eight boards: 2509)
1 GM Carlsen, Magnus NOR 2581
2 GM Nataf, Igor-Alexandre FRA 2565
3 GM Miroshnichenko, Evgenij UKR 2617
4 GM Brynell, Stellan SWE 2473
5 IM Polzin, Rainer GER 2517
6 IM Borriss, Martin Dr. GER 2439
7 IM Berndt, Stephan GER 2438
8 IM Thiede, Lars GER 2442
9 IM Poldauf, Dirk GER 2418
10 IM Schwarz, Michael AUT 2408
11 IM Ahlander, Bjoern Mikael SWE 2411
12 FM Rudolf, Henrik GER 2322
13 Wendt, Jan-Dietrich GER 2296
14 FM Kurz, Alexander GER 2333
SG Porz (ø of first eight boards: 2659)
1 GM Adams, Michael ENG 2740
2 GM Lutz, Christopher GER 2596
3 GM Van Wely, Loek NED 2681
4 GM Sokolov, Ivan NED 2663
5 GM Vaganian, Rafael A ARM 2640
6 GM Beliavsky, Alexander G SLO 2660
7 GM Graf, Alexander GER 2646
8 GM Gurevich, Mikhail BEL 2644
9 GM Hansen, Curt DEN 2633
10 GM Van den Doel, Erik NED 2560
11 GM Andersson, Ulf SWE 2580
12 GM Kengis, Edwin LAT 2543
13 GM Nijboer, Friso NED 2567
14 GM Van der Wiel, John T.H NED 2493
15 Balcerak, Philipp GER 2224
16 Pilgram, Alexander 1814
Preetzer TSV (ø of first eight boards: 2435)
1 GM Berkes, Ferenc HUN 2630
2 Rasmussen, Karsten DEN 2462
3 IM Pedersen, Steffen DEN 2441
4 IM Fries Nielsen, Jens Ove DEN 2379
5 IM Sorensen, Jan DEN 2407
6 IM Skytte, Rasmus DEN 2392
7 FM Wisnewski, Christoph GER 2392
8 IM Borbjergaard, Lars DEN 2374
9 Junge, Kai GER 2259
10 Willsch, Matthias GER 2250
11 Marxen, Peter Dr. GER 2212
12 Reinecker, Kai GER 2220
13 Richert, Thomas GER 2206
14 Kornrumpf, Joachim GER 2251
SG Solingen (ø of first eight boards: 2533)
1 GM Nikolic, Predrag BIH 2676
2 GM Sandipan, Chanda IND 2543
3 IM Stellwagen, Daniel NED 2512
4 GM Gabriel, Christian GER 2556
5 GM Naumann, Alexander GER 2538
6 IM Smeets, Jan NED 2515
7 IM Hoffmann, Michael GER 2468
8 IM Werle, Jan NED 2457
9 IM Ernst, Sipke NED 2521
10 IM Drabke, Lorenz GER 2433
11 IM Zysk, Robert GER 2462
12 GM Emms, John M. ENG 2504
13 IM Schneider, Bernd GER 2441
14 IM Schaefer, Markus GER 2369
15 FM Wegerle, Joerg GER 2343
Stuttgarter SF (ø of first eight boards: 2428)
1 GM Oral, Tomas CZE 2565
2 GM Sedlak, Nikola SCG 2521
3 GM Schmittdiel, Eckhard GER 2454
4 IM Berezovsky, Igor GER 2434
5 FM Papa, Severin SUI 2411
6 FM Reuss, Andreas GER 2356
7 Vujic, Branimir BIH 2360
8 FM Vuckovic, Aleksandar GER 2325
9 FM Lorscheid, Gerhard GER 2274
10 FM Heinatz, Thomas GER 2281
11 Fritsch, Rolf GER 2234
12 Haas, Wilhelm GER 2181
13 FM Schmid, Wolfgang GER 2236
14 Migl, Dieter GER 2198
TV Tegernsee (ø of first eight boards: 2563)
1 GM Khenkin, Igor GER 2587
2 GM Sokolov, Andrei FRA 2591
3 GM Ribli, Zoltan HUN 2603
4 GM Bischoff, Klaus GER 2559
5 GM Boensch, Uwe GER 2540
6 GM Kindermann, Stefan AUT 2536
7 GM Hertneck, Gerald GER 2552
8 GM Teske, Henrik GER 2538
9 GM Beim, Valery AUT 2512
10 GM Stangl, Markus GER 2478
11 IM Bromberger, Stefan GER 2440
12 IM Gross, David GER 2465
13 IM Pezerovic, Edin GER 2428
14 Nitsche, Dirk GER 2265
SV Wattenscheid (ø of first eight boards: 2559)
1 GM Nielsen, Peter-Heine DEN 2663
2 GM Macieja, Bartlomiej POL 2613
3 GM Sargissian, Gabriel ARM 2611
4 GM Rustemov, Alexander RUS 2602
5 GM Johannessen, Leif NOR 2519
6 GM Handke, Florian GER 2467
7 IM Appel, Ralf GER 2507
8 IM Holzke, Frank Dr. GER 2492
9 IM Hall, Jesper SWE 2487
10 IM Dinstuhl, Volkmar Dr. GER 2420
11 IM Ellers, Holger GER 2407
12 IM Lemmers, Oscar NED 2401
13 FM Straeter, Timo GER 2348
14 FM Thiel, Thomas GER 2316
15 Lang, Daniel 1859
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