Sunday 30 June 2013

Not bad for a man out of form

Since the Candidates tournament, Vladimir Kramnik hasn't been having the best of times. He dropped out of the Norway Masters event, and then finished last in the Tal Memorial.
He then fronted up to the Geneva Masters, which is a new event using a 5 day Rapidplay format. It started with 8 players, split into 2 groups of 4, playing a round robin. Based on the slightly complicated scoring system (3 points for winning a 2 game match, 2 points for winning the match on tie-break, 1 point for losing on tie-break, and 0 for losing a 2 game match), the top 2 players qualified for the finals.
At the end of day 2 it looked as though Kramnik's run of outs was continuing, as he only seemed an outside chance of qualifying for day 4. However he lifted himself up, making the semi's where he then dispatched Nakamura to reach the final against Mamedyarov.
The tournament website is here. (One name I've spotted as a commentator is Cathy Chua, a former Australia representative, although more noted for her involvement in Bridge in recent years).

Postscript: Turns out the final has already been played, with Mamedyarov winning the first game and drawing the second 104 move marathon, to win the tournament 1.5-0.5

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