Round 1
The 128-player Fide Championship with a prize fund of $2, 600,000 , started on November 27 at the Palaces of Congresses in the Kremlin and went on for 2 weeks with the players playing a series of mini-matches in a six round knockout tournament to determine the two finalists who will contest the crown in an 8-game final, scheduled to run January 16-26, in Moscow. For the first time 4 players were qualified through a internet championship.
Defending champion Vishy Anand got off to the worst possible start to the defence of his title when he was sensationally defeated in the opening round by the relatively unheard of Internet qualifier IM Olivier Touzanne, from France, who is rated over 400 points lower than the top seed. Anand immediately stormed back in the match to win the second game.
The second day Anand, bounced back and won the second game against him to force the match into a tie-breaker. In the tie-breaker, he outplayed Touzane in the first game and comfortably drew the second to move into the second round. In the second round this evening, Sasikiran played with white in a Slav defense against Morozevich, who is a very strong player with black pieces. A risky player, Morozevich did attempt to force something but Sasikiran played very well and got a good draw in 32 moves.
Other top seeds also involved in the embarrassment and inconvenience of the dreaded play-offs include former Russian world champions Anatoly Karpov, Alexander Khalifman, and the Hungarian world number 6, Peter Leko. Not so lucky to make the play-offs, however, was former world championship challenger Nigel Short, who somehow managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory as he lost 1.5-0.5 to Daniel Campora. World championship challengers, GM Victor Kortchnoi also made his round one exits on losing to GM Lev Psakhis (Israel).
Men’s Results
- Touzane (FRA) – V. Anand (IND) – 1.5-2.5 (1-0, 0-1 tie-break: 0-1, 0.5)
- M. Adams (ENG) – G. Sarthou (FRA) – 2-0 (1-0, 1-0)
- N. Zeliakov (RUS) – A. Morozevich (RUS) – 0.5-1.5 (0.5, 0-1)
- V. Ivanchuk (UKR) – B. Shovunov (RUS) – 1.5-0.5 (0.5, 1-0)
- W. Kobese (RSA) – P. Leko (HUN) – 1-3 (0-1, 1-0 tie-break: 0-1, 0-1)
- E. Bareev (RUS) – M. Gluzman (AUS) – 2-0 (1-0, 1-0)
- A. Cabrera (CUB) – B. Gelfand (ISR) – 0.5-1.5 (0.5, 0-1)
- V. Topalov (BUL) – F. Pierrot (ARG) – 2-0 (1-0, 1-0)
- A. Rizouk (MAR) – A. Shirov (ESP) – 0-2 (0-1, 0-1)
- R. Kazimdzanov (UZB) – N. Vlassov (RUS) – 1.5-0.5 (0.5, 1-0)
- A. Simutowe (ZAM) – I. Smirin (ISR) – 0-2 (0-1, 0-1)
- A. Khalifman (RUS) – S. Ganguly (IND) – 3-1 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 1-0, 1-0)
- R. Felgaer (ARG) – L. Van Wely(NED) – 0.5-1.5 (0-1, 0.5)
- K. Georgiev (BUL) – F. El Taher (EGY) – 3-1 (0-1, 1-0 tie-break: 1-0, 1-0)
- A. Hoffman (ARG) – P. Svidler (RUS) – 0.5-1.5 (0-1, 0.5)
- A. Karpov (RUS) – P. Zhang (CHN) – 1-3 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 0-1, 0-1)
- K. Supatashvili (GEO) – A. Dreev (RUS) – 0.5-1.5 (0.5, 0-1)
- J. Polgar (HUN) – M. Al-Modiahki (QAT) – 2-0 (1-0, 1-0)
- W. Li (CHN) – R. Ponomariov (UKR) – 0.5-1.5 (0-1, 0.5)
- J. Ye (CHN) – A. Barsov (UZB) – 3-1 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 1-0, 1-0)
- D. Barua (IND) – J. Lautier (FRA) – 0-2 (0-1, 0-1)
- N. Short (ENG) – D. Campora (ARG) – 0.5-1.5 (0-1, 0.5)
- S. Iuldachev (UZB) – Z. Azmaiparashvili (GEO) – 0.5-1.5 (0-1, 0.5)
- A. Grischuk (RUS) – E. Ghaem (IRI) – 1.5-0.5 (0.5, 1-0)
- S. Yu Shaoteng (CHN) – Z. Zhang (CHN) – 1-3 (1-0, 0-1 tie-break: 0-1, 0-1)
- A. Beliavsky (SLO) – P. Harikrishna (IND) – 1.5-0.5 (0.5, 1-0)
- I. Nataf (FRA) – V. Bologan (MDA) – 1.5-0.5 (0.5, 1-0)
- P. Nikolic (BIH) – S. Safin (UZB) – 1.5-0.5 (0.5, 1-0)
- A. Zapata (COL) – E. Sutovsky (ISR) – 3-4 (0-1, 1-0 tie-break: 1-0, 0-1, 1-0, 0-1, 0-1)
- R. Vaganian (ARM) – S. Belkhodja (TUN) – 1.5-0.5 (1-0, 0.5)
- S. Atalik (BIH) – J. Xu Jun (CHN) – 0.5-1.5 (0-1, 0.5)
- V. Tkachiev (FRA) – H. Hamdouchi (MAR) – 3-1 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 1-0, 1-0)
- D. Nguyen Anh (VIE) – S.Rublevsky (RUS) – 3-1 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 1-0, 1-0)
- V. Zvjagintsev (RUS) – J. Gdanski (POL) – 1.5-0.5 (0.5, 1-0)
- D. Rogozenko (ROM) – M. Gurevich (BEL) – 0.5-1.5 (0-1, 0.5)
- F. Vallejo Pons (ESP) – S. Savchenko (UKR) – 2.5-1.5 (0-1, 1-0 tie-break: 0.5, 1-0)
- D. Gurevich (USA) – R. Dautov (GER) – 0.5-1.5 (0-1, 0.5)
- K. Sakaev (RUS) – A. Volokitin (UKR) – 3.5-2.5 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 1-0, 0-1, 1-0, 0.5)
- G. Timoshenko (UKR) – A. Delchev (BUL) – 0.5-1.5 (0-1, 0.5)
- A. Lastin (RUS) – O. Cvitan (CRO) – 1.5-0.5 (0.5, 1-0)
- C. Liang (CHN) – A. Motylev (RUS) – 0.5-1.5 (0-1, 0.5)
- S. Movsesian (CZE) – V.Malakhatko (UKR) – 2.5-1.5 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 1-0, 0.5)
- T. Radjabov (AZE) – J. Ehlvest (EST) – 2.5-3.5 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 0.5, 0.5, 0-1, 0.5)
- S. Shipov (RUS) – A. Lesiege (CAN) – 1.5-0.5 (0.5, 1-0)
- L. Psakhis (ISR) – V. Korchnoi (SUI) – 2.5-1.5 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 0.5, 1-0)
- S. Tiviakov (NED) – L. Christiansen (USA) – 3-1 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 1-0, 1-0)
- A. Yermolinsky (USA) – V. Milov (SUI) – 2.5-3.5 (1-0, 0-1 tie-break: 0.5, 0.5, 0-1, 0.5)
- G. Milos (BRA) – H. Dao Thien (VIE) – 1.5-0.5 (0.5, 1-0)
- A. Ivanov (USA) – E. Pigusov (RUS) – 0.5-1.5 (0-1, 0.5)
- A. Graf (GER) – S. Sulskis (LTU) – 1-3 (0-1, 1-0 tie-break: 0-1, 0-1)
- L. Bruzon (CUB) – L. Nisipianu (ROM) – 4-3 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 0.5, 0.5, 1-0, 0-1, 1-0)
- S. Lputian (ARM) – M. Krasenkow (POL) – 2-0 (1-0, 1-0)
- A. Shabalov (USA) – G. Kaidanov (USA) – 1.5-0.5 (1-0, 0.5)
- T. Luther (GER) – S. Volkov (RUS) – 3-1 (0-1, 1-0 tie-break: 1-0, 1-0)
- K. Khenkin (GER) – K. Asrian (ARM) – 3.5-2.5 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 0.5, 0.5, 1-0, 0.5)
- Z. Gyimesi (HUN) – S. Conquest (ENG) – 4-3 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 0-1, 1-0, 0.5, 0.5, 1-0)
- G. Vescovi (BRA) – B. Gulko (USA) – 1.5-0.5 (0.5, 1-0)
- P. Kotsur (KAZ) – L. Dominguez (CUB) – 1.5-2.5 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 0-1, 0.5)
- J. Benjamin (USA) – V. Baklan(UKR) – 2.5-3.5 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 1-0, 0-1, 0.5, 0-1)
- A. Fedorov (BLR) – A. Anastasian (ARM) – 0.5-1.5 (0-1, 0.5)
- B. Macieja (POL) – B. Avrukh (ISR) – 2-0 (1-0, 1-0)
- V. Eingorn (UKR) – K. Sasikiran (IND) – 1.5-2.5 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 0-1, 0.5)
- K. Aseev (RUS) – M. Kobalija (RUS) – 1-3 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 0-1, 0-1)
- A. Goldin (USA) – PH. Nielsen (DEN) – 0.5-1.5 (0-1, 0.5)
Round 2
Defending Champion Viswanathan Anand finally got going and demolished Peter Heine Nielsen (2593) of Denmark in the first game of the second round on Thursday evening at the World chess championships in Moscow. Anand won the fist game in just 33 moves as he ruthlessly outplayed an opponent, who is not exactly a pushover. His second game was just a confirmation.
Among the favorites to win their mach were Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria, who made short work of Giovanni Vescovi of Brazil. Last year’s finalist Alexei Shirov won over Zoltan Gyemesi of Hungary. Second seed Michael Adams of England beat Mihail Kobalija of Russia, Alexander Grishuck, semi-finalist in 2000 lost to the young Russian champion Alexander Motylev, Armenia’s Ashot Anastasian (2588) was another player to secure a surprise after beating in tie-break the fifth seed Peter Leko (2730) of Hungary and the lone woman in the men’s section, Judit Polgar surrisely collapsed to Vadim Milov of Switzerland after a disputed tie-breaks. The same nightmare happened to the former candidate A. Beliavsky of Slovenia. In the women section the casualties came from one of the top seeded Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria and former finalist Nona Ioseliani from Georgia.
Men’s Results
- Nielsen (DEN) – V. Anand (IND) – 0.5-1.5 (0-1, 0.5)
- M. Adams (ENG) – M. Kobalija (RUS) – 1.5-0.5 (1-0, 0.5)
- K. Krishnan (IND) – A. Morozevich (RUS) – 0.5-1.5 (0.5, 0-1)
- V. Ivanchuk, Vassily (UKR) – B. Macieja (POL) – 3-1 (1-0, 0-1 tie-break: 1-0, 1-0)
- A. Anastasian, Ashot (ARM) – P. Leko (HUN) – 2.5-1.5 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 1-0, 0.5)
- E. Bareev, Evgeny (RUS) – V. Baklan (UKR) – 1.5-0.5 (0.5, 1-0)
- L. Dominguez (CUB) – B. Gelfand (ISR) – 0.5-1.5 (0.5, 0-1)
- V. Topalov, Vesselin (BUL) – G. Vescovi (BRA) – 1.5-0.5 (1-0, 0.5)
- Z. Gyimesi, Zoltan (HUN) – A. Shirov (ESP) – 0.5-1.5 (0-1, 0.5)
- R. Kazimdzanov, Rustam (UZB) – I. Khenkin (GER) – 2.5-1.5 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 0.5, 1-0)
- T. Luther, Thomas (GER) – I. Smirin (ISR) – 0.5-1.5 (0.5, 0-1)
- A. Khalifman, Alexander (RUS) – A. Shabalov (USA) – 3-1 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 1-0, 1-0)
- S. Lputian, Smbat (ARM) – L. Van Wely (NED) – 0-2 (0-1, 0-1)
- K. Georgiev (BUL) – L. Bruzon (CUB) – 3-1 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 1-0, 1-0)
- S. Sulskis (LTU) – P. Svidler (RUS) – 1.5-2.5 (1-0, 0-1 tie-break: 0-1, 0.5)
- P. Zhang (CHN) – E. Pigusov (RUS) – 0-2 (0-1, 0-1)
- G. Milos (BRA) – A. Dreev (RUS) – 0.5-1.5 (0.5, 0-1)
- J. Polgar (HUN) – V. Milov (SUI) – 1.5-2.5 (1-0, 0-1 tie-break: 0.5, 0-1)
- S. Tiviakov (NED) – R. Ponomariov (UKR) – 1-4 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 0-1, 0-1)
- J. Ye (CHN) – L. Psakhis (ISR) – 2.5-1.5 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 0.5, 1-0)
- S. Shipov (RUS) – J. Lautier (FRA) – 1.5-2.5 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 0-1, 0.5)
- D. Campora (ARG) – J. Ehlvest (EST) – 0.5-1.5 (0.5, 0-1)
- S. Movsesian (CZE) – Z. Azmaiparashvili (GEO) – 1.5-2.5 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 0-1, 0.5)
- A. Grischuk (RUS) – A. Motylev (RUS) – 0.5-1.5 (0.5, 0-1)
- A. Lastin (RUS) – Z. Zhang (CHN) – 0.5-1.5 (0.5, 0-1)
- A. Beliavsky(SLO) – A. Delchev (BUL) – 1.5-2.5 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 0-1, 0.5)
- K. Sakaev (RUS) – I. Nataf (FRA) – 1.5-0.5 (1-0, 0.5)
- P. Nikolic (BIH) – R. Dautov (GER) – 2.5-1.5 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 0.5, 1-0)
- F. Vallejo Pons (ESP) – E. Sutovsky (ISR) – 0-2 (0-1, 0-1)
- R. Vaganian (ARM) – M. Gurevich (BEL) – 1.5-2.5 (0.5, 0.5 tie-break: 0.5, 0-1)
- V. Zvjagintsev (RUS) – J. Xu (CHN) – 1.5-0.5 (1-0, 0.5)
- V. Tkachiev (FRA) – D. Nguyen Anh (VIE) – 1.5-0.5 (1-0, 0.5)