Russian Championship Super Finals

The tournament is hosted by the Russian Chess Federation in cooperation with the Charity Foundation of Elena and Gennady Timchenko , with the support of the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod region. The Super Final will be a continuation of the program "chess in the museums", started by the match for the world title in 2012 at the Retyakov Gallery in Moscow on the initiative of businessmen Andrei Filatov and Gennady Timchenko. The venue for the prestigious tournament in Nizhny Novgorod will be the State Historical and Architectural Museum Manor Rukavishnikov. The Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum will also take part in the organization of the tournament. The tournament is a ound robin with ten players over nine rounds. Sofia-Rules. If first place is shared than the champion will be decided through a tiebreaker match. Time Control: 90 minutes/40 moves + 30 minutes + 30 seconds/move starting with the 1st move.

Nizhny Novgorod, also known as just Nizhny, is the fifth largest city in Russia with a population of 1,250,615. It was known as Gorky during the Soviet era after the writer Maxim Gorky, who was born there.

View Larger Map

The Molitovsky Bridge, which spans the Oka river

The beautiful Church of the Nativity of Our Lady

The Rukavishnikov Manor, the playing site

Opening Ceremony

Before the opening ceremony a small press conference took place. It was atteneded by former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, the sponsor of the tournament Gennady Timchenko, the chairman of the board of the Russian Chess Federation Ilya Levitov and Deputy Governor of the Nizhny region Dmitry Svatkovsky, who was an Olympic Champion in 2000 in pentathlon!

Vladimir Kramnik during the press conference

The opening ceremony also served to determine the pairing numbers of the players.

In the back participants of the men's Super-Final, in the front row ex-World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk in green

Tatiana Kosintseva. Her sister, Nedezhda, is unable to participate this year. Nedezhda is currently attending the University of Texas at Dallas and she and her husband, Leonid Kritz, are expecting a child

Vladimir Kramnik chose number one!
The players could choose a piece of artwork and in the back was their pairing number.

Some players, like Kosteniuk, took their time to examine which one they liked the best,
while other players rushed their decision

Karjakin holding his fate: more blacks than whites

Natalia Pogonina (on the right) is one of the higher rated players in the women's tournament

Pianist Nikolai Lugansky gave a wonderful performance

And to wrap things up, a chorus

Round 1

Round 01 – October 05 2013, 15:00h Kramnik, Vladimir 2796 1-0 Shomoev, Anton 2579 Svidler, Peter 2740 1-0 Nepomniachtchi,I 2702 Andreikin, Dmitri 2706 1-0 Karjakin, Sergey 2762 Goganov, Aleksey 2575 0-1 Vitiugov, Nikita 2729 Motylev, Alexander 2676 0-1 Inarkiev, Ernesto 2695

Round 01 – October 05 2013, 15:00h Charochkina,D 2343 ½-½ Kosintseva,T 2515 Bodnaruk, A 2459 0-1 Kashlinskaya,A 2435 Gunina,V 2506 1-0 Goryachkina,A 2436 Kovanova,B 2396 1-0 Kosteniuk,A 2495 Pogonina,N 2485 ½-½ Kovalevskaya,E 2410

Men's

The pace of the tournament has hopefully been set. With five decisive games and very strong fighting spirits in all of them, we are glad to see the Super-Final shape up as one of the most interesting events of the year.

A spectacular game: Kramnik sacrificed all his pieces and his opponent couldn't handle the pressure

Kramnik, Vladimir 1-0 Shomoev, Anton

A tactical back and forth game favored White when Nepomniachtchi made a mistake in time trouble

Svidler, Peter 1-0 Nepomniachtchi, Ian
Svidler came out with an interesting and aggressive reversed Sicilian type of position in which he launched a quick h4-h5 attack. The game was chaotic and wild, and it seems that despite obtaining an edge from the opening it was the young player with Black that outplayed his more experienced opponent. The fateful mistake came on move 32. Black had just sacrificed an exchange for activity and a strong pawn and he had to maintain it alive with 32...Ne3! instead of this Svidler was able to consolidate his exchange and eventually win the game.

Andreikin, Dmitry 1-0 Karjakin, Sergey(above)
Andreikin also pushed a quick h4-h5 against Karjakin's kingside fianchetto. White obtained a very comfortable advantage from the opening with a powerful bishop on d5 and a complete domination of Black's lame bishop on f6. When on top of that Black dropped his e5 pawn, it was basically lights out for Karjakin.

Andreikin played an aggressive game and overpowered Karjakin through the entire game

Goganov, Aleksey 0-1 Vitiugov, Nikita
Vitiugov obtained an advantage from the opening, and eventually won a pawn, but Goganov was resilient and he took the game into what was a difficult to win rook endgame. Goganov, who is not even 2600 yet, was close to holding a draw but he zugzwanged himself with the move 48.h7?? when the waiting move 48.Kd2 would have held the draw. A very instructive endgame that is worthy of being analyzed.

Goganov was close to a draw but he missed a subtle zugzwang at the end

Motylev, Alexander 0-1 Inarkiev, Ernesto
White obtained nothing from this Spanish opening and Black's solid position even gave him a little edge as it was more comfortable for him to maneuver his pieces to good positions. Inarkiev won a pawn but had some positional troubles and it seemed as if it would be difficult to convert it since all the pawns were on the same side, but a grave mistake by Motylev allowed the second player to penetrate decisively on his back rank and create a swift mating attack.

Women's

Charochkina held an interesting draw against the highest rated player in the tournament

Charochkina, Daria ½-½ Tatiana, Kosintseva
An interesting and fighting reversed Sicilian, but neither side was able to get an advantage over the other and the game ended in a drawn rook endgame after all possibilities had been exhausted.

Gunina always held an edge, but just when it seemed like it had dissipated Goryachkina handed her the game back

Gunina, Valentina 1-0 Goryachkina, Aleksandra
The newly crowned World Women's Junior Champion was about to make a draw with Gunina, but she for some reason traded bishops in a position where her king was still somewhat exposed. Keeping the bishops would've guaranteed the king's safety and a likely draw. This allowed Gunina to transpose into a winning pawn endgame that she botched up, but Goryachkina returned the favor by handing over the opposition.

Kovanova, Baira 1-0 Kosteniuk, Alexandra
Kovanova put her pieces in very aggressive places against Kosteniuk's Classical Sicilian. A blunder in move 23 by the ex-World Champion allowed her opponent to win a decisive amount of material, and as much as Kosteniuk struggled her fate was sealed.

Kovanova demolished the ex-World Champion: no one is safe in this tournament!

Bodnaruk, Anastasia 0-1 Kashlinskaya, Alina
Black doesn't win often in the Petroff, but that doesn't mean it never happens. Bondaruk put too much faith in her passed pawn on d6, but Kashlinskaya proved that in the resulting endgame her active bishop and her outside potential passed pawn on the queenside was worth much, much more.

Pogonina, Natalia ½-½ Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina
Kovalevskaya's isolated pawn allowed her a great deal of activity that put Pogonina against the ropes. However she missed a killing blow with 27...Qe6! which would have increased her pressure against White's kingside to an unbearable level. The simplification on d3 was too sudden and Pogonina was able to hold the draw from there.

Replay Men's Round 1 games

 

Replay Women's round 1 games

 

Schedule

Men Round 01 – October 05 2013, 15:00h Kramnik, Vladimir 2796 1-0 Shomoev, Anton 2579 Svidler, Peter 2740 1-0 Nepomniachtchi, Ian 2702 Andreikin, Dmitri 2706 1-0 Karjakin, Sergey 2762 Goganov, Aleksey 2575 0-1 Vitiugov, Nikita 2729 Motylev, Alexander 2676 0-1 Inarkiev, Ernesto 2695 Round 02 –October 06 2013, 15:00h Shomoev, Anton 2579   Inarkiev, Ernesto 2695 Andreikin, Dmitri 2706   Motylev, Alexander 2676 Karjakin, Sergey 2762   Goganov, Aleksey 2575 Nepomniachtchi, Ian 2702   Andreikin, Dmitri 2706 Kramnik, Vladimir 2796   Svidler, Peter 2740 Round 03 – October 07 2013, 15:00h Svidler, Peter 2740   Shomoev, Anton 2579 Andreikin, Dmitri 2706   Kramnik, Vladimir 2796 Goganov, Aleksey 2575   Nepomniachtchi, Ian 2702 Motylev, Alexander 2676   Karjakin, Sergey 2762 Inarkiev, Ernesto 2695   Vitiugov, Nikita 2729 Round 04 – October 08 2013, 15:00h Shomoev, Anton 2579   Vitiugov, Nikita 2729 Karjakin, Sergey 2762   Inarkiev, Ernesto 2695 Nepomniachtchi, Ian 2702   Motylev, Alexander 2676 Kramnik, Vladimir 2796   Goganov, Aleksey 2575 Svidler, Peter 2740   Andreikin, Dmitri 2706 Round 05 – October 09 2013, 15:00h Andreikin, Dmitri 2706   Shomoev, Anton 2579 Goganov, Aleksey 2575   Svidler, Peter 2740 Motylev, Alexander 2676   Kramnik, Vladimir 2796 Inarkiev, Ernesto 2695   Nepomniachtchi, Ian 2702 Vitiugov, Nikita 2727   Karjakin, Sergey 2762 Round 06 – October 11 2013, 15:00h Shomoev, Anton 2579   Karjakin, Sergey 2762 Nepomniachtchi, Ian 2702   Vitiugov, Nikita 2729 Kramnik, Vladimir 2796   Inarkiev, Ernesto 2695 Svidler, Peter 2740   Motylev, Alexander 2676 Andreikin, Dmitri 2706   Goganov, Aleksey 2575 Round 07 – October 12 2013, 15:00h Goganov, Aleksey 2575   Shomoev, Anton 2579 Motylev, Alexander 2676   Andreikin, Dmitri 2706 Inarkiev, Ernesto 2695   Svidler, Peter 2740 Vitiugov, Nikita 2729   Kramnik, Vladimir 2796 Karjakin, Sergey 2762   Nepomniachtchi, Ian 2702 Round 08 – October 13 2013, 15:00h Shomoev, Anton 2579   Nepomniachtchi, Ian 2702 Kramnik, Vladimir 2796   Karjakin, Sergey 2762 Svidler, Peter 2740   Vitiugov, Nikita 2729 Andreikin, Dmitri 2706   Inarkiev, Ernesto 2695 Goganov, Aleksey 2575   Motylev, Alexander 2676 Round 09 – October 14 2013, 13:00h Motylev, Alexander 2676   Shomoev, Anton 2579 Inarkiev, Ernesto 2695   Goganov, Aleksey 2575 Vitiugov, Nikita 2729   Andreikin, Dmitri 2706 Karjakin, Sergey 2762   Svidler, Peter 2740 Nepomniachtchi, Ian 2702   Kramnik, Vladimir 2796

Women Round 01 – October 05 2013, 15:00h Charochkina,D 2343 ½-½ Kosintseva,T 2515 Bodnaruk, A 2459 0-1 Kashlinskaya,A 2435 Gunina,V 2506 1-0 Goryachkina,A 2436 Kovanova,B 2396 1-0 Kosteniuk,A 2495 Pogonina,N 2485 ½-½ Kovalevskaya,E 2410 Round 02 –October 06 2013, 15:00h Kosintseva,T 2515   Kovalevskaya,E 2410 Gunina,V 2506   Pogonina,N 2485 Goryachkina, A 2436   Kovanova, B 2396 Kashlinskaya, A 2435   Gunina,V 2506 Charochkina,D 2343   Bodnaruk, A 2459 Round 03 – October 07 2013, 15:00h Bodnaruk, A 2459   Kosintseva,T 2515 Gunina,V 2506   Charochkina,D 2343 Kovanova, B 2396   Kashlinskaya, A 2435 Pogonina,N 2485   Goryachkina, A 2436 Kovalevskaya,E 2410   Kosteniuk,A 2495 Round 04 – October 08 2013, 15:00h Kosintseva,T 2515   Kosteniuk,A 2495 Goryachkina, A 2436   Kovalevskaya,E 2410 Kashlinskaya, A 2435   Pogonina,N 2485 Charochkina,D 2343   Kovanova, B 2396 Bodnaruk, A 2459   Gunina,V 2506 Round 05 – October 09 2013, 15:00h Gunina,V 2506   Kosintseva,T 2515 Kovanova, B 2396   Bodnaruk, A 2459 Pogonina,N 2485   Charochkina,D 2343 Kovalevskaya,E 2410   Kashlinskaya, A 2435 Kosteniuk,A 2727   Goryachkina, A 2436 Round 06 – October 11 2013, 15:00h Kosintseva,T 2515   Goryachkina, A 2436 Kashlinskaya, A 2435   Kosteniuk,A 2495 Charochkina,D 2343   Kovalevskaya,E 2410 Bodnaruk, A 2459   Pogonina,N 2485 Gunina,V 2506   Kovanova, B 2396 Round 07 – October 12 2013, 15:00h Kovanova, B 2396   Kosintseva,T 2515 Pogonina,N 2485   Gunina,V 2506 Kovalevskaya,E 2410   Bodnaruk, A 2459 Kosteniuk,A 2495   Charochkina,D 2343 Goryachkina, A 2436   Kashlinskaya, A 2435 Round 08 – October 13 2013, 15:00h Kosintseva,T 2515   Kashlinskaya, A 2435 Charochkina,D 2343   Goryachkina, A 2436 Bodnaruk, A 2459   Kosteniuk,A 2495 Gunina,V 2506   Kovalevskaya,E 2410 Kovanova, B 2396   Pogonina,N 2485 Round 09 – October 14 2013, 13:00h Pogonina,N 2485   Kosintseva,T 2515 Kovalevskaya,E 2410   Kovanova, B 2396 Kosteniuk,A 2495   Gunina,V 2506 Goryachkina, A 2436   Bodnaruk, A 2459 Kashlinskaya, A 2435   Charochkina,D 2343

Links Official tournament site All men games in PGN All women games in PGN The games will be 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.