Morozevich early leader in Kazan

As if November had not had enough high quality chess up until now, one last final Super-Tournament is being hosted, this time in Kazan! The Russian Super Final is currently under way. The tournament is a product of the cooperation between the Russian Chess Federation and the Charity Foundation of Elena and Gennady Timochenko, with the support of the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan.

Kazan is the capital and largest city of Tatarstan, with a population of about 1.1 million people. It is the eighth most populous city in Russian and it lies at the confluence of the Volga (like the Gambit! known in the west as the "Benko Gambit") and Kazanka rivers in European Russia. The Kazan Kremlin (pictured above) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Kazan is famous for having a harmonious community of Muslim and Christian citizens.

The tournament is taking place in the State's Historical and Architectural Museum at the Kazan Kremlin. The Open section is unbelievably strong:

Concurrently the Russian Women's Super Final is also taking place.

Most of the top women players are playing in the Super Final, with the notable exceptions of Kateryna Lagno and the two Kosintseva sisters.

The time control of the event is 90 minutes for 40 moves, 30 minutes until the end of the game with an increment of 30 seconds per move starting from move one. Participants are not allowed to offer a draw until move 40.

Opening Ceremony

The City Hall, one of the many beautiful architectural pieces in Kazan

A crowded room awaits the opening ceremony.
How many grandmasters can you recognize?

First off, a film about the Chess in Museums project

No opening ceremony would be complete without FIDE President Ilyumzhinov

The opening ceremony was held at Kazan City Hall. During Superfinals school students will be drawing players while they are playing! By the end of the tournament winners will be selected among the best studies, and the author will get a legitimate reward. In short, this time not only Caissa, but also patron of the arts - the muse - will keenly follow the games.

The opening ceremony held speeches by Andrei Filatov, who read a welcome letter from the President of the Board of Trustees of the Russian Chess Federation, Dmitry Peskov; FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov; Maria Morozova and 12th world champion Anatoly Karpov.

After that it was time for the drawing of lots...

Kosteniuk drew a number 10

Nepomniachtchi's nine gives him more blacks than whites

Alexandra Kosteniuk, Olga Girya nd Anastasia Bodnaruk

During the ceremony, Assistant to the President of Russia Igor Levitin presented the medal Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" to Olympic champion Valentina Gunina while the Russian Chess President presented them to Evgeny Najer (above) and Alexander Riazantsev, coaches for the Russian team.

A rendition of La Primavera from Vivaldi

Standings after Round Three

The players are surrounded by paintings by Kazan artist Nikolai Ivanovich Fechin

Three rounds have so far been played in Kazan, and a few of the results have been surprising.

In the open section Morozevich has bounced back beautifully from a bad performance in Tashir. Zvjaginsev, the lowest rated player in the event, has a superb showing so far with 2.0/3. Nepomniachtchi also has +1 by defeating Sergey Karjakin, who has not won a game yet, with 1.f4!?!?.

Rounds One to Three

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In the women's section there is no leader right away. The difference between first and last is only of one point. Girya, Kosteniuk and Goryachkina all have 2.0/3, interestingly enough none of them have drawn a single game! Gunina, a pre-tournament favorite, is struggling with only 1.0/3.

Kosteniuk already using a traditional Tartar hat

Goryachkina took out Valentina Gunina with Black in a key game

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Starting tomorrow we will be bringing you a round-by-round recap of the action from Kazan.

Information and pictures provided by Etery Kublashvili

Links Official tournament site 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 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.