Thursday
Jun302011
Russian Championship Final: The Field is Set
Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 2:30AM And what a field it is! Only eight players are involved, but six of the players are among the world's absolute elite:
- Sergey Karjakin (#4 in the world)
- Vladimir Kramnik (#5 in the world and the world champion from 2000 to 2007)
- Alexander Grischuk (recent runner-up in the Candidates' matches)
- Peter Svidler (5 times the Russian Champion; co-runner up in the 2005 FIDE World Championship)
- Ian Nepomniachtchi (the defending Russian champ)
- Alexander Morozevich (once as high as #2 on the rating list, and a 2-time Russian champ)
- Artyom Timofeev (at 2665 and going up he's a great player, but not in a field like this)
- Alexander Galkin (he won the World Junior Championship in 1999, but as a player whose best rating was 2624 he might have a difficult time even getting draws in this field)
The tournament will take place in August, and looks like it'll be a great event.
(HT: Chess Today)
Reader Comments (3)
Did Kramnik actually confirm his participation, or does Chess Today merely give the names of qualified players? I ask because he hardly ever participated in the past (apparently only once in 2005, with a mediocre 50% score), and at least one Russian source seems convinced that he will again decline his rating spot.
As to Galkin: For what it's worth, his best rating should now be(come) 2625, i.e. his current 2598 plus the 27(!) points he gained at the qualifier. In this event, he drew against Timofeev and 2700ers Tomashevsky and Vitiugov (not counting his pro forma 15 move draw against Morozevich in the final round, securing qualification for both players). Of course I agree that six of his forthcoming opponents are even stronger.
has Kramnik accepted? The rumor was he was going to decline.
[DM: I don't know. I sure hope he accepts though.]
Confirmation!! Kramnik has accepted his spot!! http://www.chessintranslation.com/2011/06/morozevich-the-higher-league-wasn%E2%80%99t-in-my-plans/