7/13/2012 – A quick draw in the final round left Ivan Sokolov and Alex Shabalov tied for first in the Open Section, with 7.0/9 points each. They were not caught by three GMs half a point behind, and so had to take part in an Armageddon play-off. Sokolov had the white pieces and five minutes, Shabalov the black pieces, three minutes and draw odds. Ivan Sokolov won and became the 2012 World Open Champion.
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40th Annual World Open in Philadelphia
The 40th Annual World Open was held from July 2-8 at the Sheraton Philadelphia
City Center Hotel, 17th & Race Streets, Philadelphia, PA.
GMs Ivan Sokolov (above) and Alex Shabalov (below) finished at the top of the
Open Section standings, both tallying 7/9 (after agreeing to a quick draw in
the final round to secure a share of first). Both players could have been caught
by GMs Wesley So and Yury Shulman or IM Marc Arnold, who all started the final
round half-point behind the leaders. But none of those players managed a victory,
leaving Sokolov and Shabolov alone at the top.
An Armageddon play-off between the two GMs was held after the end of the tournament.
Sokolov had the white pieces and 5 minutes, while Shabalov had the black pieces,
3 minutes and draw odds (both players also had a 5 second delay).
The game was won by Sokolov (right) who becomes the 2012 World Open Champion
On the norm front, Arnold had already secured his 3rd and final GM norm going
into the round after a victory over GM Robert Hess in round eight. Other GM
norms were scored by IM Eesha Karavade and FM John Bryant. IM norms were scored
by FM Michael Kleinman, FM Thomas Bartell, Yaacov Norowitz and Luke Harmon-Vellotti.
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
11 or any of our Fritz
compatible chess programs.
Opening videos: Sipke Ernst brings the Ulvestad Variation up to date + Part II of ‘Mikhalchishin's Miniatures’. Special: Jan Werle shows highlights from the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 in the video. ‘Lucky bag’ with 40 analyses by Ganguly, Illingworth et al.
In this video course, Grandmaster Ivan Sokolov explores the fascinating world of King’s Indian and Pirc structures with colours reversed, often arising from the French or Sicilian.
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