Morozevich wins Russian superfinals

Alexander Morozevich won the Russian Superfinals 2007. He finished with a win over Inarkiev and a 2800 + performance.
The only other contestant for the title, Grischuk drew with Svidler. Thus Morozevich finished a full point ahead of Grischuk.

In the women's section, there was a four way tie for the first place between Tatiana Kosintseva, Ovod, Tairova and Korbut.

Round 11 main results (Will be updated soon):

Men

Morozevich beat Inarkiev
Grischuk drew Svidler
Tomashevsky drew Jakovenko
Timofeev drew Dreev
Sakaev beat Amonatov
Vitiugov beat Rychagov

Women

Korbut lost to Ovod
Stepovaia beat Tairova
Pogonina lost to Tatiana Kosintseva
Shadrina drew Nadezhda Kosintseva
Kovalevskaya drew Matveeva
Giriya beat Gunina

Final Standings

Men

Morozevich 8
Grischuk 7
Tomashevsky 6.5

Women

Tatiana Kosintseva 7
Ovod 7
Tairova 7
Korbut 7

Grischuk challenges Morozevich for the title

Now, its Grischuk's turn to make the Russian Superfinals interesting. With just one more round to go, he is within reach of Morozevich. Grischuk beat Rychagov in an exciting rook vs rook plus bishop endgame. Tomashevsky, the only other guy with realistic chances for the title lost today to Inarkiev. Sakaev beat Dreev with the black pieces in the only other decisive game.

Morozevich seemed to lack interest after his loss yesterday. Amonatov in fact had chances to convert the game into win but he let Morozevich slip away to an opposite color bishop endgame where Amonatov had an extra pawn.

In the women's section, decisive games were again the order of the day. Kovalevskaya, Tatiana Kosintseva, Ovod, and Gunina won their games against Tairova, Shadrina, Giriya, and Pogonina respectively.

Results of Round 10:

Men

Inarkiev, Ernesto - Tomashevsky, Evgeny 1-0
Dreev, Alexey - Sakaev, Konstantin 0-1
Jakovenko, Dmitry - Vitiugov, Nikita
Svidler, Peter - Timofeev, Artyom ½-½
Amonatov, Farrukh - Morozevich, Alexander ½-½
Rychagov, Andrey - Grischuk, Alexander 0-1

Women

Tairova, Elena - Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina 0-1
Kosintseva, Tatiana - Shadrina, Tatiana 1-0
Ovod, Evgenija - Girya, Olga 1-0
Kosintseva, Nadezhda - Stepovaia, Tatiana ½-½
Matveeva, Svetlana - Korbut, Ekaterina ½-½
Gunina, Valentina - Pogonina, Natalija 1-0

Standings after Round 10

Men

1. Morozevich, Alexander 7
2. Grischuk, Alexander 6½
3. Tomashevsky, Evgeny 6
4. Inarkiev, Ernesto 5½
5. Dreev, Alexey 5
6. Jakovenko, Dmitry 5
7. Vitiugov, Nikita 4½
8. Sakaev, Konstantin 4½
9. Svidler, Peter 4½
10. Amonatov, Farrukh 4½
11. Rychagov, Andrey 4
12. Timofeev, Artyom 3

Women

1. Tairova, Elena 7
2. Korbut, Ekaterina 7
3. Kosintseva, Tatiana 6
4. Pogonina, Natalija 6
5. Ovod, Evgenija 6
6. Kosintseva, Nadezhda 5½
7. Matveeva, Svetlana 5
8. Shadrina, Tatiana 5
9. Stepovaia, Tatiana 4
10. Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina 3
11. Girya, Olga 3
12. Gunina, Valentina 2½

Dreev upsets Morozevich

Just when you thought Morozevich did the impossible by winning six games in a row, he made the other impossible possible. Now, Tomashevsky too has a chance of winning the title. Until yesterday, it seemed impossible that anyone will catch up.

The veteran Alexey Dreev, who seems to be on a second wind inspired form, beat Morozevich in 49 moves of a Sicilian. And that too with black. Well, color doesn't really matter when Moro is on the board. Tomashevsky beat Amonatov and he is just half a point adrift now.

Grischuk beat Timofeev to climb up to the third spot while Inarkiev beat Vitiugov.

In the women's section, Tatiana Kosintseva continued her slide by losing to Gunina. Her sister made up for the dismal day by beating Kovalevskaya with the black pieces.
Giriya beat Matveeva and Shadrina beat Stepovaia. The women's drawing quotient has been very low in this tournament.

Standings after Round 9:

Men

Morozevich - 6.5
Tomashevsky - 6
Grischuk - 5.5
Dreev - 5

Women

Tairova - 7
Korbut - 6.5
Pogonina - 6

Morozevich beats Grischuk

Morozevich won again, this time against the very strong Grischuk. Svidler was shocked by Tomashevsky. Jakovenko beat Amonatov and Timofeev beat Sakaev with the black pieces. Morozevich now boasts a performance rating of 2867, which is pretty unusual after seven rounds. Grishuk resigned in just 27 moves when he was about to lose a piece for nothing.

Tailender Timofeev finally earned a full point beating another trailer, Sakaev in 39 moves of the Semi-Slav.

The women section was full of decisive results. Elena Tairova beat Pogonina and jumped into the lead (jointly with Korbut.) Tatiana Kosintseva was held to a draw by Ovod.



Results of Russian Chess Championship - Round 7

Morozevich, Alexander - Grischuk, Alexander 1-0
Tomashevsky, Evgeny - Svidler, Peter 1-0
Vitiugov, Nikita - Dreev, Alexey ½-½
Jakovenko, Dmitry - Amonatov, Farrukh 1-0
Inarkiev, Ernesto - Rychagov, Andrey ½-½
Sakaev, Konstantin - Timofeev, Artyom 0-1

Results of Russian Chess Championship Women - Round 7

Korbut, Ekaterina - Shadrina, Tatiana 1-0
Pogonina, Natalija - Tairova, Elena 0-1
Ovod, Evgenija - Kosintseva, Tatiana ½-½
Girya, Olga - Kosintseva, Nadezhda 0-1
Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina - Stepovaia, Tatiana 1-0
Gunina, Valentina - Matveeva, Svetlana 0-1

Standings after Round 7

Men

1. Morozevich - 5.5
2. Tomashevsky - 4.5
3. Grishchuk - 4
4. Svidler, Rychagov, Dreev, Vitiugov, Jakovenko , Amonatov 3.5
10. Inarkiev
11. Sakaev
12. Timofeev

Women

1. Tairova, Korbut 5.5
3. Kosintseva Tatiana 5
4. Pogonina, Matveeva 4.5
6. Ovod, Kosintseva Nadezhda 3.5
8. Shadrina 3
9. Stepovaia 2.5
10. Giriya, Kovalevskaya 2
12. Gunina 0.5

Morozevich in Sole lead at the Russian Superfinals

Alexander Morozevich broke away to become the sole leader after the sixth round of the Russian Chess Superfinals. Today, he beat the tailender Artyom Timofeev with the black pieces. Timofeev gave up on the 36th move when he was about to lose a piece and his king under attack by Moro's marauding pieces.

Grishchuk, Svidler, and Dreev were other winners over Tomashevsky, Vitiugov, and Jakovenko respectively. Dreev is clearly in good form and after this round, is performing above his rating expectation.

Vitiugov dared to take the poisoned pawn on the King side of a Sicilian game and was duly punished. He did have his chances to survive, but eventually, Svidler asserted his class to prevail.

Grishchuk vs Tomashevsky was a Queen's Indian defence game in which Grishchuk's doubled rooks on the "a" file did the damage to give him a winning edge which he converted to win in 45 moves.

It is interesting to note the performance ratings of the men in this tournament. No one has been able to perform at absurd levels as we normally see in many tournaments. The leader Morozevich is performing at only 2817 !

In the women's section, Tatiana Kosintseva, Korbut and Tairova were winners today.

Russian Superfinals Round 6

Grischuk, Alexander - Tomashevsky, Evgeny 1-0 Queens Indian
Svidler, Peter - Vitiugov, Nikita 1-0 Sicilian Rauzer
Amonatov, Farrukh - Inarkiev, Ernesto ½-½ Scotch Game
Rychagov, Andrey - Sakaev, Konstantin ½-½ 39 Anti-Meran Gambit
Dreev, Alexey - Jakovenko, Dmitry 1-0 Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Timofeev, Artyom - Morozevich, Alexander 0-1 Sicilian Defence

Russian Superfinals Women Round 6

Kosintseva, Tatiana - Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina 1-0 Sicilian Rossolimo
Tairova, Elena - Gunina, Valentina 1-0 Ruy Lopez Marshall
Matveeva, Svetlana - Ovod, Evgenija ½-½ Nimzo Indian 4.Qc2
Shadrina, Tatiana - Girya, Olga ½-½ Sicilian Labourdonnais
Kosintseva, Nadezhda - Pogonina, Natalija ½-½ Sicilian Modern Dragon
Stepovaia, Tatiana - Korbut, Ekaterina 0-1 Sicilian Najdorf Variation

Leader Board

Men

1. Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2755 4½
2. Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2715 4
3. Svidler, Peter g RUS 2732 3½

Women

1. Kosintseva, Tatiana m RUS 2492 4½
2. Pogonina, Natalija wg RUS 2462 4½
3. Tairova, Elena m RUS 2391 4½

Russian Super Finals Round 5

The 5th round of the Russian super finals are over. Tomashevsky and Morozevich are the leaders with 3.5 points each. In the women's section, Pogonina is the sole leader with an impressive 4/5. She now boasts a rating performance of over 2630 for the tournament.

Morozevich again teased and taunted to get another win, this time against Sakaev. But he took 59 moves to wrap it up in a slav defence game.
Alexey Dreev was a winner over the relatively inexperienced Inarkiev.

In the women's category, Tairova, Korbut and Nadezhda Kosintseva won over Kovalevskya, Ovod and Gunina respectively.

Russian Chess Championship Round 5

Tomashevsky, Evgeny - Timofeev, Artyom 1-0
Amonatov, Farrukh - Rychagov, Andrey ½-½
Morozevich, Alexander - Sakaev, Konstantin 1-0
Vitiugov, Nikita - Grischuk, Alexander ½-½
Jakovenko, Dmitry - Svidler, Peter ½-½
Inarkiev, Ernesto - Dreev, Alexey 0-1

Russian Chess Championship Women Round 5

Pogonina, Natalija - Shadrina, Tatiana ½-½
Korbut, Ekaterina - Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina 1-0
Matveeva, Svetlana - Kosintseva, Tatiana ½-½
Ovod, Evgenija - Tairova, Elena 0-1
Girya, Olga - Stepovaia, Tatiana ½-½
Gunina, Valentina - Kosintseva, Nadezhda 0-1

Russian Superfinals Chess 2007 - Round 4

No big surprises in round 4. The top seeds seem to have settled down to their usual business. Especially, Morozevich who beat who beat Rychagov in 50 moves with the black pieces.

The leader board after round four has five players with 2.5 points each. And three of them already have lost a game ! Never seen such a tournament with swinging fortunes so early.
The leaders are : Evgeny Tomashevsky , Alexander Morozevich, Alexander Grischuk, Nikita Vitiugov, and Farrukh Amonatov.

Round 4 Results (Men):

Grischuk, Alexander - Jakovenko, Dmitry ½-½
Sakaev, Konstantin - Tomashevsky, Evgeny 0-1
Rychagov, Andrey - Morozevich, Alexander 0-1
Svidler, Peter - Inarkiev, Ernesto ½-½
Dreev, Alexey - Amonatov, Farrukh 0-1
Timofeev, Artyom - Vitiugov, Nikita 0-1

Standings after Round 4(Men):
Evgeny Tomashevsky , Alexander Morozevich, Alexander Grischuk, Nikita Vitiugov, and Farrukh Amonatov - 2.5
Sakaev, Rychagov, Inarkiev, Svidler, Jakovenko - 2
Dreev - 1
Timofeev - 0.5

Russian Super Finals December 21st 2007

Today is a rest day for the Russian Superfinals participants. The no-holds barred contests resume from tomorrow.

So far, we have seen enterprising chess from the youngsters and some tremendous comebacks from Svidler and Morozevich. Let the trend continue !

Day 3 of Russian Superfinals

There were no real surprises on day 3 unlike day 1 and 2 in the Russian Championship superfinals mens section.

Morozevich crushed Tomashevsky with the black pieces. The class of players like Svidler and Moro can be seen in the games after losing. They simply come back stronger. If you have ever observed other players who are not that sure of themselves in other tournaments, they lose a game, they will desparately try to draw the next. The the difference is the class !

OK and back to the results and Jakovenko beat Timofeev. The remaining games were drawn with Amonatov holding the strong Svidler.

The women's section was an all clobbering day with 6/6 results. No, draw is not considered a decent result :-). Thousands of threads on the Sofia rule, how to eliminate draws and many such.

A notable win was Matveeva's over N. Kosintseva.

The results:

Men

Tomashevsky, Evgeny - Morozevich, Alexander 0-1
Vitiugov, Nikita - Sakaev, Konstantin ½-½
Inarkiev, Ernesto - Grischuk, Alexander ½-½
Amonatov, Farrukh - Svidler, Peter ½-½
Jakovenko, Dmitry - Timofeev, Artyom 1-0
Dreev, Alexey - Rychagov, Andrey ½-½

Women

Pogonina, Natalija - Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina 1-0
Ovod, Evgenija - Shadrina, Tatiana 1-0
Matveeva, Svetlana - Kosintseva, Nadezhda 1-0
Tairova, Elena - Kosintseva, Tatiana 0-1
Gunina, Valentina - Stepovaia, Tatiana 0-1
Girya, Olga - Korbut, Ekaterina 0-1

Russian superfinals round two

Peter Svidler, probably angered by his strange defeat to a low ranked player yesterday, beat Alexey Dreev in only 36 moves in a show of dominance to come back into the reckoning.

The shock of the day was the defeat of Alexander Morozevich at the hands of Nikita Vitiugov. While no one in this tournament can really be called weak, Vitiugov is certainly not in Morozevich's class yet. But maybe this is his break out moment ?

In other games, Sakaev upset Jakovenko and Grischuk beat Amonatov.

The tournament is pretty amazing since these young guys don't seem to think much about the exploits of players like Svidler and Morozevich at the very top of world chess. More exciting games sure to come !

Russian Superfinals Round One

The Russian superfinals got off to an explosive start with Andrey Rychagov beating fancied Peter Svidler. Rated almost 200 points below Svidler, Rychagov converted an advantage of a rook and knight endgame with an extra central pawn to win in 51 moves.

Morozevich played his usual brand of chess to completely outplay Jakovenko but could not finish smoothly. They settled for a draw in 69 moves.

There were wins by Farrukh Amonatov against Artyom Timofeev and Evgeny Tomashevsky against Nikita Vitugov (with Black) while Grishchuk drew his game against the solid Alexey Dreev.

In the women's Russian superfinals, there were four first round winners, Svetlana Matveeva won against Tatiana Stepovaia, Natalija Pogonina beat Olga Girya, Elena Tairov defeated Tatiana Shadrina and Ekaterina Korbut beat Valentina Gunina. The two Kosintseva sisters drew their match in just 9 moves.

The official site in Russian - http://russiachess.org/content/blogcategory/93/385/

Russian Championship Superfinals starts

The incredibly strong Russian Superfinals starts today. The field includes Alekseev, Grischuk, Dreev, Morozevich, Svidler, Timofeev, Tomashevsky, Jakovenko and other strong contenders.

The tournament will be over 11 rounds and Alekseev is the defending champion.