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The First FIDE Grand Prix took place from September 21 to October 3rd in Simpson’s-in-the-Strand, London. The tournament had a prize fund of 240,000 Euros.
Round 11 on 2012/10/03 at 12:00 |
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Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2729 | ½-½ |
Leko Peter | 2737 |
Ivanchuk Vassily | 2769 | ½-½ |
Wang Hao | 2742 |
Adams Michael | 2722 | ½-½ |
Dominguez Perez Leinier | 2725 |
Giri Anish | 2730 | 0-1 |
Topalov Veselin | 2752 |
Grischuk Alexander | 2754 | ½-½ |
Nakamura Hikaru | 2783 |
Gelfand Boris | 2738 | 1-0 |
Kasimdzhanov Rustam | 2684 |
Three winners in the first Grand Prix in London: Boris Gelfand, Veselin Topalov and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov! Before the last round the Azeri player was leading with half a point ahead of Topalov, Grischuk and Gelfand, but a draw in the last round by Mamedyarov gave the others a chance to catch him at the top. Veselin Topalov managed to win with black against Anish Giri, and Boris Gelfand triumphed with the white pieces over Rustam Kasimdzhanov. Alexander Grischuk faltered at the end and could only draw against Nakamura.
Three winners? The regulations – specifically section 7.2 – state that "all prizes and Grand Prix ranking points are shared equally, in cases of any tied position/s. No tie break system will be utilised for the individual Grand Prix tournaments. ... The prize money, which will be paid by AGON for each tournament, is 240,000 Euros (170,000 Euros for the tournament and 70,000 Euros towards an accumulated prize fund for the overall Series positions)." The prize money for each individual tournament is as follows:
Place | Euros |
GP Points |
1st | 25,000 | 120 points + 40 bonus |
2nd | 22,00 | 110 points + 20 bonus |
3rd | 20,000 | 100 points + 10 bonus |
4th | 17,500 | 90 points |
5th | 15,000 | 80 points |
6th | 13,000 | 70 points |
7th | 12,000 | 60 points |
8th | 11,000 | 50 points |
9th | 10,000 | 40 points |
10th | 9,000 | 30 points |
11th | 8,000 | 20 points |
12th | 7,000 | 10 points |
Total | 170,000 |
In the final round all the eyes were on the leader of the tournament, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (above left). With a peaceful variation of the Nimzo Indian against Peter Leko it was obvious that the Azeri was playing for a draw, to secure at least a tie for first place. Step by step both players exchanged the pieces, and the knight’s endgame was equal from the very beginning. Draw in 41 moves.
Many quick exchanges were made in the game between Anish Giri and Veselin Topalov. After twenty minutes of play, there was rook + bishop + knight endgame on the board. Everyone expected a quick draw, but Topalov started to play for the win. The 41st move by Anish was a mistake, but his position was already difficult. The two black pawns e5/f5 looked unstoppable and Giri could not hold the position. 0-1 in 52 moves.
Michael Adams decided to play it safe today, using 3.Bb5+ against the Sicilian of Dominguez, and more exactly a form of the Maroczy Bind. Dominguez found a way to equalize, by opening the centre with 14…d5! The position was symmetrical without any real perspective for any side. Pieces were exchanged and the draw was agreed after 46 moves.
Hikaru Nakamura (above right) again showed his fighting spirit, playing the Sicilian Dragon against Alexander Grischuk. The Russian player accepted the challenge, entering in the main sharp line. There was never a real danger on Black’s king and the tension was about the c-file. After exchanging rooks, the position became equal and players repeated the moves. Draw in 31 moves.
Vassily Ivanchuk (above left) probably surprised his opponent by playing the Sozin Attack. Wang Hao got a worse position after the opening and was forced to give up his pair of bishops quickly. The a6 pawn also became weak and Black couldn’t avoid a space domination. The attack seemed very promising, but Wang Hao played few accurate moves, forcing the draw repetition on move 39.
Boris Gelfand (above left) went for the Moscow Variation of the Slav Defence against Rustam Kasimdzhanov. Boris made a courageous decision with 14.b4, giving up an exchange on purpose. In compensation White had a very strong pawn centre with b4/c4/c5. Rustam had to lose some tempi with his bishop from a4 to c2, and meanwhile White was pressing. 31…Rf-a8? was the decisive mistake, which gave away the b7 pawn. The position became too difficult to defend and Boris, by winning his last game, is finally sharing the first place!
All photos are, once again, by Ray Morris-Hill, who has provided us with some wonderfully professional impressions of the games in London. We are very thankful for this and for the speed at which each batch of pictures was delivered.
[Event "FIDE Grand Prix - London 2012"] [Site "London"] [Date "2012.10.03"] [Round "11"] [White "Gelfand, Boris"] [Black "Kasimdzhanov, Rustam"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D43"] [WhiteElo "2738"] [BlackElo "2684"] [Annotator "Ramirez,Alejandro"] [PlyCount "95"] [EventDate "2012.??.??"] [EventCountry "ENG"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 e6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6 7. e3 g6 8. Be2 Bg7 9. e4 dxe4 10. Nxe4 Qf4 11. Qc2 O-O 12. O-O {All this had been played once before. Maybe Kasimdzhanov was not familiar with the position, as his next move is very sketchy.} c5 {Black sacrifices a pawn with the hopes that he will soon regain it.} (12... f5 $6 13. Nc5 Bxd4 14. Nd3 $1 Qd6 $2 15. c5 Qd8 16. Nf4 $18 {was Moiseenko-Korobov from 2010.}) 13. dxc5 (13. Nxc5 Nc6 $1 14. d5 exd5 15. cxd5 Nb4 $11 {the d and b pawns are too weak to hold both of them.}) 13... Bd7 14. b4 {Gelfand sacrifices the exchange in order to establish a strong pawn majority on the queenside. I don't think that this plan is good, but Black has to be careful proving why.} Bxa1 $6 (14... Bc6 $1 {It is essential to not let the white knight in d6.} 15. Nd6 (15. Nc3 $2 Bxf3 16. Bxf3 Be5 $17) 15... Bxf3 16. Bxf3 Be5 17. Rfd1 Qxh2+ 18. Kf1 Bxa1 19. Bxb7 Nd7 $5 {leads to complications that should favor Black due to the exposed position of the White's king.} (19... Na6 $1 {Some computer move.})) 15. Rxa1 Bc6 16. Nd6 { With the knight in such a powerful position, White has more than enough compensation for the missing exchange. What follows is a positional nightmare for Black, who can't find a good way to utilize his rooks.} Nd7 17. Qc1 Qf6 18. Rb1 g5 19. Qe3 Rad8 20. Nd4 a6 21. Re1 Ne5 22. h3 Ba4 23. Qa3 Nc6 24. Nf3 Bc2 25. b5 axb5 26. cxb5 {The pawns finally start rolling. Black gets some activity on the a-file but it is nowhere near enough. Kasdimzhanov plays an intermediate move before protecting his knight, but not all intermediate moves are good moves.} Ra8 $6 (26... Nd4 27. Nxd4 Qxd4 28. Nxb7 Ra8 29. Qe3 Qb4 $16 { offered more of a fight, at least Black is kind of active.}) 27. Qc1 Nb4 28. Qd2 (28. a3 Bd3 $1 {surprisingly saves Black.}) 28... Qf4 29. Qxf4 gxf4 30. Nxb7 Rxa2 {In this endgame there is simply no way to stop the pawns from rolling down the board. Moreover, the knight on b4 is in kind of a bad position.} 31. c6 Rfa8 32. Nd6 Bd3 33. Bxd3 Nxd3 34. Rf1 Rc2 35. Nd4 Rc5 36. b6 Nb4 37. c7 Rf8 38. Rb1 Na6 39. N4b5 Rc6 40. b7 Nxc7 41. Nxc7 (41. Nc8 $1 {was a much cleaner win, since Ne7+ is a threat. However it has been clear throughout the game that fatigue has finally gotten to the players.}) 41... Rxd6 42. b8=Q Rxb8 43. Rxb8+ Kh7 44. Rb4 Rd1+ 45. Kh2 e5 46. Ne8 f5 47. Rb7+ Kg6 48. Rg7+ {Gelfand finishes off Kasimdzhanov with an unusual checkmate. The game is far from precise or accurate, and, as mentioned in my comments, the tiredness from the event is reflecting on the players. Luckily for them, it's over. Gelfand catches Mamedyarov in the very last game in a relatively dramatic GP finish.} 1-0
Video stream of the whole game
Commentary by Boris Gelfand on his game against Kasimdzhanov, provided by
Macauley Peterson
Round 1 on 2012/09/21
at 14:00 |
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Kasimdzhanov Rustam | 2684 | ½-½ |
Leko Peter | 2737 |
Nakamura Hikaru | 2783 | 0-1 |
Gelfand Boris | 2738 |
Topalov Veselin | 2752 | ½-½ |
Grischuk Alexander | 2754 |
Dominguez Perez Leinier | 2725 | ½-½ |
Giri Anish | 2730 |
Wang Hao | 2742 | ½-½ |
Adams Michael | 2722 |
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2729 | ½-½ |
Ivanchuk Vassily | 2769 |
Round 2 on 2012/09/22
at 14:00 |
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Leko Peter | 2737 | 1-0 |
Ivanchuk Vassily | 2769 |
Adams Michael | 2722 | ½-½ |
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2729 |
Giri Anish | 2730 | ½-½ |
Wang Hao | 2742 |
Grischuk Alexander | 2754 | ½-½ |
Dominguez Perez Leinier | 2725 |
Gelfand Boris | 2738 | ½-½ |
Topalov Veselin | 2752 |
Kasimdzhanov Rustam | 2684 | 0-1 |
Nakamura Hikaru | 2783 |
Round 3 on 2012/09/23
at 14:00 |
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Nakamura Hikaru | 2783 | ½-½ |
Leko Peter | 2737 |
Topalov Veselin | 2752 | ½-½ |
Kasimdzhanov Rustam | 2684 |
Dominguez Perez Leinier | 2725 | ½-½ |
Gelfand Boris | 2738 |
Wang Hao | 2742 | ½-½ |
Grischuk Alexander | 2754 |
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2729 | 1-0 |
Giri Anish | 2730 |
Ivanchuk Vassily | 2769 | ½-½ |
Adams Michael | 2722 |
Round 4 on 2012/09/24
at 14:00 |
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Leko Peter | 2737 | ½-½ |
Adams Michael | 2722 |
Giri Anish | 2730 | ½-½ |
Ivanchuk Vassily | 2769 |
Grischuk Alexander | 2754 | 1-0 |
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2729 |
Gelfand Boris | 2738 | 1-0 |
Wang Hao | 2742 |
Kasimdzhanov Rustam | 2684 | ½-½ |
Dominguez Perez Leinier | 2725 |
Nakamura Hikaru | 2783 | ½-½ |
Topalov Veselin | 2752 |
Round 5 on 2012/09/25
at 14:00 |
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Topalov Veselin | 2752 | ½-½ |
Leko Peter | 2737 |
Dominguez Perez Leinier | 2725 | ½-½ |
Nakamura Hikaru | 2783 |
Wang Hao | 2742 | ½-½ |
Kasimdzhanov Rustam | 2684 |
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2729 | ½-½ |
Gelfand Boris | 2738 |
Ivanchuk Vassily | 2769 | ½-½ |
Grischuk Alexander | 2754 |
Adams Michael | 2722 | ½-½ |
Giri Anish | 2730 |
Round 6 on 2012/09/27
at 14:00 |
||||
Leko Peter | 2737 | ½-½ |
Giri Anish | 2730 |
Grischuk Alexander | 2754 | ½-½ |
Adams Michael | 2722 |
Gelfand Boris | 2738 | ½-½ |
Ivanchuk Vassily | 2769 |
Kasimdzhanov Rustam | 2684 | 0-1 |
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2729 |
Nakamura Hikaru | 2783 | 0-1 |
Wang Hao | 2742 |
Topalov Veselin | 2752 | 1-0 |
Dominguez Perez Leinier | 2725 |
Round 7 on 2012/09/28
at 14:00 |
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Dominguez Perez Leinier | 2725 | ½-½ |
Leko Peter | 2737 |
Wang Hao | 2742 | ½-½ |
Topalov Veselin | 2752 |
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2729 | 1-0 |
Nakamura Hikaru | 2783 |
Ivanchuk Vassily | 2769 | ½-½ |
Kasimdzhanov Rustam | 2684 |
Adams Michael | 2722 | 0-1 |
Gelfand Boris | 2738 |
Giri Anish | 2730 | ½-½ |
Grischuk Alexander | 2754 |
Round 8 on 2012/09/29
at 14:00 |
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Leko Peter | 2737 | ½-½ |
Grischuk Alexander | 2754 |
Gelfand Boris | 2738 | ½-½ |
Giri Anish | 2730 |
Kasimdzhanov Rustam | 2684 | 1-0 |
Adams Michael | 2722 |
Nakamura Hikaru | 2783 | 0-1 |
Ivanchuk Vassily | 2769 |
Topalov Veselin | 2752 | ½-½ |
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2729 |
Dominguez Perez Leinier | 2725 | ½-½ |
Wang Hao | 2742 |
Round 9 on 2012/10/01
at 14:00 |
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Wang Hao | 2742 | ½-½ |
Leko Peter | 2737 |
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2729 | 1-0 |
Dominguez Perez Leinier | 2725 |
Ivanchuk Vassily | 2769 | 0-1 |
Topalov Veselin | 2752 |
Adams Michael | 2722 | 1-0 |
Nakamura Hikaru | 2783 |
Giri Anish | 2730 | ½-½ |
Kasimdzhanov Rustam | 2684 |
Grischuk Alexander | 2754 | 1-0 |
Gelfand Boris | 2738 |
Round 10 on 2012/10/02
at 14:00 |
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Leko Peter | 2737 | ½-½ |
Gelfand Boris | 2738 |
Kasimdzhanov Rustam | 2684 | ½-½ |
Grischuk Alexander | 2754 |
Nakamura Hikaru | 2783 | 1-0 |
Giri Anish | 2730 |
Topalov Veselin | 2752 | ½-½ |
Adams Michael | 2722 |
Dominguez Perez Leinier | 2725 | ½-½ |
Ivanchuk Vassily | 2769 |
Wang Hao | 2742 | ½-½ |
Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2729 |
Round 11 on 2012/10/03 at 12:00 |
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Mamedyarov Shakhriyar | 2729 | ½-½ |
Leko Peter | 2737 |
Ivanchuk Vassily | 2769 | ½-½ |
Wang Hao | 2742 |
Adams Michael | 2722 | ½-½ |
Dominguez Perez Leinier | 2725 |
Giri Anish | 2730 | 0-1 |
Topalov Veselin | 2752 |
Grischuk Alexander | 2754 | ½-½ |
Nakamura Hikaru | 2783 |
Gelfand Boris | 2738 | 1-0 |
Kasimdzhanov Rustam | 2684 |
LinksThe 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. |