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The 4th Pivdenny Bank Chess Cup is taking place in Odessa, Ukraine, from May 30th to June 2nd, June 2008. It features the unusual presence of both Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi. The participants are Boris Gelfand (ISR, 2723), Ruslan Ponomariov (UKR, 2719), Anatoly Karpov (RUS, 2655), Pavel Tregubov (RUS, 2629), Viktor Korchnoi (SUI, 2598), Yuri Drozdovskij (UKR, 2581), Valery Beim (AUT, 2523), Mikhail Golubev (UKR, 2474). Elo average = 2612, category = 15.
In the first five rounds Karpov lost to Tregubov (with white) and Gelfand; Viktor Korchnoi suffered three losses, to Beim, Ponomariov and Drozdovskij, while winning against Golubev. In the lead is GM Yuri Drozdovskij and former FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov, with three wins and two draws each.
The drawing average in this tournament has been a very low 35%, with 35% of the decided games being won by White and 30% by Black.
Bank Pivdennyi Chairman Vadim Morokhovskiy in the opening press conference
Viktor Korchnoi, now 77, still going strong in top-category tournaments
Always animated, making a point...
Korchnoi's arch-rival and nemesis: 12th World Champion Anatoly Karpov
So very, very tired: Boris Gelfand, top seed from Israel
Gelfand wide awake and in good spirits
Also beginning to feel the strain of the press questions: Ruslan Ponomariov
Viktor Korchnoi vs Valery Beim in round one (Beim won)
Start of the game Anatoly Karpov vs Yuri Drozdovskij in round four...
... which ends after 87 moves in a draw, with Karpov holding a rook ending
a pawn down
Girls of the Pivdenny Bank receive guests and spectators
Photos provided by Andrey Kinyak
