M.Chigorin Memorial 2012: Only in Russia

by ChessBase
11/3/2012 – The traditional Chigorin Memorial is underway in St. Petersburg, Russia, and includes a plethora of very strong players, including four rated 2700, the most famous of whom is Mr. Fire-on-the-Board Shirov. It also includes a typical Russian oddity: a high-rated non-GM: IM Anton Demchenko, rated 2610, and tied for first with an impressive 2800 performance.

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M.Chigorin Memorial 2012: Only in Russia

Although there might not be any Super GM round-robins underway, there is no lack of good chess to enjoy at Playchess, whether it be rapid games or classical. Among the events currently running is the traditional Chigorin Memorial held in St. Petersburg, Russia, which also serves as a stage of the Russian Cup. It is a swiss tourney over nine rounds, and as one would expect of the chess-saturated country, it has a generous prize fund of 40 thousand Euros, and includes a plethora of very strong players, including four rated 2700, the most famous of whom is Mr. Fire-on-the-Board Shirov.


Chess legend Lajos Portisch is also playing

Observing the starting lineup, one oddity sticks out, the kind of which Russia seems to have no end of: the high-rated non-GM. In this case, it is 25-year-old Anton Demchenko, who is not even a GM-elect according to the FIDE site, yet holds a non-negligible 2610 FIDE rating. At the Chigorin, despite being only 23rd in the starting list, he is doing more than just being the odd-man out. His first mark was in the rapid tournament they held prior to the main open, where he came second (on tie-break) behind the impressive victor, Denis Khismatullin, who owned the tournament from end to end with 8.0/9.


Jorge Cori watches Kirill Stupak vs Denis Khismatullin

Rapid final standings

Rk
Name
Pts
Fed
Rtg
TPR
TB
1
GM Khismatullin, Denis
8.0
RUS
2618
2859
52.0
2
IM Demchenko, Anton
7.0
RUS
2610
2731
52.5
3
GM Fedoseev, Vladimir
7.0
RUS
2556
2719
52.0
4
GM Halkias, Stelios
7.0
GRE
2581
2678
50.5
5
GM Lysyj, Igor
7.0
RUS
2646
2697
50.0
6
GM Grachev, Boris
7.0
RUS
2692
2771
49.5
7
GM Lenderman, Aleksandr
7.0
USA
2614
2726
47.5
8
GM Zvjaginsev, Vadim
7.0
RUS
2660
2715
47.5
9
GM Vocaturo, Daniele
7.0
ITA
2534
2683
44.5
10
GM Hovhannisyan, Robert
6.5
ARM
2610
2657
54.5
11
GM Epishin, Vladimir
6.5
RUS
2574
2657
49.5
12
GM Andriasian, Zaven
6.5
ARM
2604
2637
49.0
13
GM Socko, Bartosz
6.5
POL
2619
2645
48.0
14
GM Grigoriants, Sergey
6.5
RUS
2519
2611
48.0
15
IM Stukopin, Andrey
6.5
RUS
2456
2641
47.5
16
GM Vorobiov, Evgeny E.
6.5
RUS
2578
2620
46.0
17
GM Levin, Evgeny A.
6.5
RUS
2516
2573
45.0
18
IM Bajarani, Ulvi
6.5
AZE
2436
2509
40.5


Evgeny Alekseev


The top finishers in the rapid: Denis Khismatullin (1st), organizer Vladimir Bykov,
Anton Demchenko (2nd), and Vladimir Fedoseev (3rd).

The classical game open is also doing well for him, where he is tied with three others at 6.0/7 for first, and second on tiebreak as it stands. Considering his current performance of 2799, it seems unlikely he will be able to hold the title for highest rated non-grandmaster for long (meaning he will get the title), and he will certainly be one of the names to observe here.


Ekaterina Ustich playing against Julia Pankova


Ulvi Bjarani has something to say about his dad's game


Veteran GM Mark Tseitlin

Standings after round 7

Rk
Name
FED
Rtg
Pts
 TB 
1
GM
Shimanov Aleksandr
RUS
2599
6.0
34.5
2
IM
Demchenko Anton
RUS
2610
6.0
33.5
3
GM
Smirin Ilia
ISR
2638
6.0
33.5
4
GM
Areshchenko Alexander
UKR
2710
6.0
29.5
5
GM
Hovhannisyan Robert
ARM
2610
5.5
33.5
6
GM
Vitiugov Nikita
RUS
2691
5.5
33.5
7
GM
Negi Parimarjan
IND
2657
5.5
32.0
8
GM
Jumabayev Rinat
KAZ
2545
5.5
32.0
9
GM
Lenderman Aleksandr
USA
2614
5.5
31.0
10
GM
Swiercz Dariusz
POL
2609
5.5
30.5
11
GM
Bartel Mateusz
POL
2635
5.5
30.5
12
GM
Neverov Valeriy
UKR
2494
5.5
30.0
13
FM
Belyakov Bogdan
RUS
2388
5.5
30.0
14
GM
Socko Bartosz
POL
2619
5.5
30.0
15
GM
Kovalyov Anton
ARG
2593
5.5
29.5
16
GM
Eljanov Pavel
UKR
2681
5.5
29.0
17
GM
Akopian Vladimir
ARM
2703
5.5
28.5
18
GM
Popov Ivan
RUS
2614
5.5
28.5
19
GM
Shirov Alexei
LAT
2718
5.5
28.0
20
GM
Grachev Boris
RUS
2672
5.5
27.5
21
GM
Andriasian Zaven
ARM
2604
5.5
25.5

 

Links

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