São Paulo Opening Ceremony and simul

by Albert Silver
9/23/2012 – The opening ceremony to inaugurate the São Paulo stage of the Grand Slam Masters took place today, also to be held in Bilbao for the second half. It also settled the drawing of lots and the player pairings. On the day before, the players went to the CEU in Jaguaré where they played part of a simul, but also met fans who were excited to meet the great champions. Pictorial by Albert Silver.

ChessBase 15 - Mega package ChessBase 15 - Mega package

Find the right combination! ChessBase 15 program + new Mega Database 2019 with 7.6 million games and more than 70,000 master analyses. Plus ChessBase Magazine (DVD + magazine) and CB Premium membership for 1 year!

More...

São Paulo Opening Ceremony and simul

Report and pictures by Albert Silver

The opening ceremony to inaugurate the São Paulo stage of the grand slam masters took place today, to also be held in Bilbao for the second half. It also settled the drawing of lots and the player pairings, for which the São Paulo rounds have been published. On the day before, the players went to the CEU in Jaguaré where they played part of a simul (the opening move actually), but also met fans who were excited to meet the great champions. CEU, which means Unified Educational Center, is part of a city effort to provide its more than 50 thousand children, with extra curricular activities which include chess.

Simul at CEU Jaguaré


The world champion Vishy Anand and Sergey Karjakin joke before the event started


The time-honored group picture with dignitaries


Fabiano Caruana, Magnus Carlsen, and Levon Aronian bide their time


The children were excited to play the champions


When they lacked paper they asked to have their t-shirts signed


Magnus Carlsen signs for the children


Fabiano Caruana makes the first move


Levon Aronian shakes hands with his young opponent


The players posing with the children afterwards


On his way to the van, Carlsen was caught up by some children for a last picture

The opening ceremony


The opening ceremony went smoothly and was open to the public


Karjakin, Aronian, and Carlsen


The mayor Gilberto Kassab greets the players and audience


The players patiently wait through the proceedings


Chief Arbiter Herman Claudius van Riemsdijk coordinated the drawing of lots


Magnus Carlsen tried to show the number but found it sealed in an envelope


Avid fans could not wait and snuck in a request to Magnus for an autograph. He was
gracious about it and duly signed their shirts.

Photos by Albert Silver and official site

Schedule and results

Round 1: Monday, September 24, 15:00h
Viswanathan Anand 
    Francisco Vallejo
Levon Aronian 
    Sergey Karjakin
Fabiano Caruana 
    Magnus Carlsen
Games – Report
Round 2: Tuesday, September 25, 15:00h
Francisco Vallejo 
    Magnus Carlsen
Sergey Karjakin 
    Fabiano Caruana
Viswanathan Anand 
    Levon Aronian
Games– Report
Round 3: Wednesday, September 26, 15:00h
Levon Aronian 
    Francisco Vallejo
Fabiano Caruana 
    Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen 
    Sergey Karjakin
Games– Report
Round 4: Friday, September 28, 15:00h
Fabiano Caruana 
    Francisco Vallejo
Magnus Carlsen 
    Levon Aronian
Sergey Karjakin 
    Viswanathan Anand
Games– Report
Round 5: Saturday, September 29, 15:00h
Francisco Vallejo 
    Sergey Karjakin
Viswanathan Anand 
    Magnus Carlsen
Levon Aronian 
    Fabiano Caruana
Games – Report

São Paulo partners

 

Links

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 11 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs.

Copyright ChessBase

<< London Rd2: Leko beats Ivanchuk, Nakamura bounces right back
Ankara R07: Humpy wins and leads the Grand Prix >>
Topics: São Paulo/Bilbao Masters 2012
Born in the US, he grew up in Paris, France, where he completed his Baccalaureat, and after college moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He had a peak rating of 2240 FIDE, and was a key designer of Chess Assistant 6. In 2010 he joined the ChessBase family as an editor and writer at ChessBase News. He is also a passionate photographer with work appearing in numerous publications.
Discussion and Feedback Join the public discussion or submit your feedback to the editors

See also

World Cup: Radjabov wins World Cup in blitz!

10/4/2019 – Teimour Radjabov qualified to the next Candidates Tournament by knocking out Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the classical phase of the World Cup semi-finals, which meant he had an extra rest day heading into the final match against Ding Liren. In parallel, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave is facing Yu Yangyi in the match for third place. Live games and commentary from 10:0 UTC (12 Noon CEST / 6:00 AM EDT). | Photo: FIDE
More...
 100

See also

Sinquefield Cup Ultimate moves and Closing Ceremony

8/29/2019 – The 2019 Sinquefield Cup playoff ended up with Ding Liren beating world champion Magnus Carlsen to win the title and take home $82.500. After two draws in the rapid games, the Chinese star beat Carlsen in both blitz encounters. The commentators and the world champion deservedly praised Ding's performance. Express report. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour
More...
 112

Video

The Kasparov Gambit

The introductory position of the Kasparov Gambit can occur after 1 d4,1 Nf3 and 1 c4, which can appeal to a wide range of players. The usual move order is 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 Nf3 cxd4 4 Nxd4 e5!? 5 Nb5 d5 6 cxd5 Bc5 bringing us to a very sharp position. On this 60 mins, FIDE Senior Trainer Andrew Martin argues the case from the Black side, showing both classic Kasparov masterpieces and games from the present day and suggests that White's defensive task is not easy. This is a practical gambit which will help players at all levels to win more games. It is ideal for must-win situations with Black. It is a gambit that White cannot decline,as if he does, Black gets a good position instantly. White must take up the cudgels and fight!

Discuss

Rules for reader comments

 
 

Not registered yet? Register