Tbilisi Grand Prix, Final Round: Tomashevsky Wins the Tournament and Everyone Drew Their Games
Evgeny Tomashevsky had already clinched clear first with a round to go, and since everyone drew today (in at least half of the cases, quickly and bloodlessly) he finished the Grand Prix tournament in Tbilisi with his 1.5 point lead intact. Congratulations to Tomashevsky, who has offered yet another tantalizing hint that he may yet be on his way into the upper elite. Here are the final standings:
- 1. Evgeny Tomashevsky 8 (of 11)
- 2. Dmitry Jakovenko 6.5
- 3. Teimour Radjabov 6
- 4-7. Leinier Dominguez, Anish Giri, Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 5.5
- 8-10. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Alexander Grischuk, Baadur Jobava 5
- 11. Peter Svidler 4.5
- 12. Dmitry Andreikin 4
Let us now take stock of the overall standings in the Grand Prix. With one event to go (in Khanty-Mansiysk) Tomashevsky leads with 252 points, of which 170 came from his clear first place in Tbilisi. Mamedyarov is in second with 235 points, and if the Grand Prix series were over today they'd both qualify for the Candidates. Unfortunately for Mamedyarov, he has already played in his three events (there are four Grand Prix tournaments overall, and the participants choose which three they will attend), so it's extremely unlikely that his lead will hold up.
In fact, it's impossible unless Fabiano Caruana doesn't play in Khanty-Mansiysk or gets forfeited. Caruana is only five points behind Mamedyarov, and even clear last nets a player 10 Grand Prix points. Behind Caruana's 230 points and still in the running - i.e., playing in Khanty-Mansiysk - are Hikaru Nakamura (207 points), Dmitry Jakovenko and Boris Gelfand (170 points each), and maybe Sergey Karjakin (157 points). That final Grand Prix event is scheduled for May 13-27, and then we'll know who three of the eight Candidates for 2016 (the first is Viswanathan Anand, by virtue of his having been a finalist in the last World Championship).