World Blitz Championship – final pictorial report

This event was held on November 16, 17 and 18 in the showroom of the Red Square mall GUM. Time controls were three minutes for the whole game + two seconds increment per move. The event was a 22-player double round-robin, i.e. it had a total of 42 rounds, which were played on three consecutive days. The participants include the players from the Tal Memorial, plus twelve invitees. The average rating was 2718 – quite remarkable for an evernt with so many players.

Not in form: Levon Aronian, who is feeling a bit sick

Alexander Morozevich watches Grischuk-Aronian, which is ten seconds away from the draw

Morozevich vs Kramnik, always a crowd pleaser

Peter Svidler, who ended up in fifth place

... who is Sergey Karjakin, with whom Anand drew in round 35

Why didn't I think of simply going after your king with my king?

Anatoly Karpov was in third place after the first day but finished sixteenth in the end

Crowds gather as Boris Gelfand struggles in vein to convert an extra piece against Magnus Carlsen

Of supreme interest: Anand vs Carlsen. The Norwegian won both their encounters.

Magnus pondering 30...Rxe3! in their round 38 game

Anand,V (2788) - Carlsen,M (2801) [D31]
World Blitz Moscow RUS (38), 18.11.2009
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 Nf6 6.e3 Bf5 7.h3 c6 8.Nf3 Nbd7 9.g4 Be4 10.Bg2 0-0 11.0-0 Re8 12.Nxe4 Nxe4 13.Nd2 Nxd2 14.Qxd2 Nf8 15.b4 Ng6 16.Bg3 Bd6 17.Bxd6 Qxd6 18.Rab1 a6 19.a4 Nh4 20.b5 axb5 21.axb5 Qg6 22.bxc6 bxc6 23.Rfc1 h5 24.Qc2 Qg5 25.Qxc6 Nxg2 26.Kxg2 hxg4 27.h4 Qf5 28.Qd6 Qf3+ 29.Kg1 Ra2 30.Rf1

30...Rxe3! 31.Qd8+ Kh7 32.Qg5 g3 33.Qxe3 gxf2+ 34.Qxf2 Rxf2 35.Rxf2 Qg4+ 36.Rg2 Qxd4+ 37.Kh1 Qe4 38.Rf1 f5 39.Kg1 d4 40.Rgf2 d3 41.h5 Qg4+ 42.Rg2 Qd4+ 43.Kh1 d2 44.Rgg1 f4 45.Kg2 Qe3 46.Rh1 Qg3#

This is known as an "Epaulette mate". It is most painful. 0-1.

The new champion must talk to Moscow TV

The winners at the closing ceremony: Sergey Karjakin (Bronze), Vishy Anand (Silver),
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov (Natural Gas and Oil), Magnus Carlsen (Gold)

Chief organiser Alexander Bakh, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, and arbiter Bolat Assanov (background)

Vladimir Kramnik: "Soon people will consider this year's Tal Memorial as one of the strongest tournaments in the history of chess, like AVRO-tournament and Zurich 1953". Right: Alexander Bakh.

Everybody: Gelfand, Aronian, Kramnik, Svidler, Moroz... Ponomariov, official, Bakh, Geurt Gijssen (arbiter), Ilyumzhinov, Andrzej Filipowicz (arbiter), Leko, Anand, Carlsen.

Moscow at night – with golden arches and a denizen from a galaxy far, far away

Final standings (after 42 rounds)

    Click to get a full table (with ratings, performance and tiebreaks)

Video of the closing ceremony

Links Official tournament site (Russian) All games in PGN + all results + all ChessBase reports 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 the free PGN reader ChessBase Light, which gives you immediate access. You can also use the program to read, replay and analyse PGN games. New and enhanced: CB Light 2009!