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Teimour Radjabov winner of Geneva Grand Prix |
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Monday, 03 July 2017 07:36 |
Teimour Radjabov emerged clear winner of the FIDE World Chess Grand Prix in Geneva after sharing the point with his nearest follower Ian Nepomniachtchi in the final round. Interview with the players
Several minutes earlier Alexander Grischuk split the point with Anish Giri, thus he could not catch the champion. Interview with the players
Among the decided games, Peter Svidler scored a nice victory against Hou Yifan, while Levon Aronian defeated Salem A.R.Saleh.
The closing ceremony was scheduled for 8pm, but as everyone arrived ready, Harikrishna and Jakovenko were still playing the notorious R+B vs R ending. Jakovenko demonstrated great skill in defending the difficult ending to finally secure a draw. With 30 minutes delay, the ceremony began.
FIDE Vice President Israel Gelfer awarded the trophy and medals. President of Geneva Chess Federation GM Gilles Miralles also delivered a speech. The winner Radjabov thanked everyone for following Geneva and promised that the fans will enjoy in the last Grand Prix tournament in Palma de Mallorka.
Radjabov earned 20.000 EUR and 170 Grand Prix points for the clear first place. Nepomniachtchi and Grischuk took 13.500 EUR and 105 GP points each.
In the overall Grand Prix standings Shakhriyar Mamedyarov is leading with 340 points, while Grischuk is second with 316,4. They have completed three events each and will cautiously await the results from the final 4th leg.
Radjabov jumped through to the third place with 241,4 points. Ding Liren on 240 and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave on 211,4 can also hope to earn one of the two qualifying spots for the Candidates Tournament.
Final Geneva standings
Official website
Round 8
Teimour Radjabov retained the lead in the Geneva Grand Prix despite a quick draw against Alexander Riazantsev in the 8th round.
Alexander Grischuk could not catch Radjabov as his game with Shakhryar Mamedyarov was drawn after a lot of excitement. Grischuk held the advantage for the most of the game, but Mamedyarov found a fantastic exchange sacrifice that granted him excellent counterplay.
Pentala Harikrishna dropped from the shared second place after a loss to Li Chao. Black sacrificed a pawn in the Ragozin defence and his compensation was sufficient, but white rejected a draw offer and found a way to bring his forces into play.
Black slipped with 22...Bd5 and white stabilized his advantage. Li Chao pointed that 22...Bc6 was more challenging. It took a long time to convert into victory, but the Chinese never allowed a shadow of doubt.
Levon Aronian went all guns blazing with black pieces against Ian Nepomniachtchi and succeeded in creating just enough of chaos on the chessboard.
White kept his cool and defended with precision, aside from the moment when he allowed 24...Nxg2 25.Kxg2 Qxh3+, but black likely rejected this line due to massive simplification.
In the resulting position white had two pawns for the exchange, but his pieces were perfectly coordinated to support the phalanx and soon black had to admit the defeat. Nepomniachtchi celebrated his birthday in style and is now sharing the second place with Grischuk.
Richard Rapport played a solid opening, which soon resembled the French defence, but it didn't take long before he started seeking complications.
Michael Adams accepted the challenge and efficiently exposed white's structural defects. Black collected one pawn and after the time control he won another. White gave up on move 53.
In the longest game of the day Anish Giri demonstrated a brilliant endgame technique to score against Hou Yifan.
Black actually entered the ending being pawn down with pair of bishops as a compensation. But after the wonderful 29...f5, the poor coordination of white pieces was exposed. After a handful of moves it was black who was pawn up.
The resulting position with all rooks on the board was very difficult but Giri provided a lecture that will be quoted in all endgame manuals.
Photo gallery / Interviews / Round 8 standings
Round 9 pairings:
GM Nepomniachtchi Ian 2742 - GM Radjabov Teimour 2724
GM Giri Anish 2775 - GM Grischuk Alexander 2761
GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2800 - GM Li Chao B 2735
GM Riazantsev Alexander 2654 - GM Adams Michael 2736
GM Harikrishna Pentala 2737 - GM Jakovenko Dmitry 2703
GM Inarkiev Ernesto 2707 - GM Gelfand Boris 2728
GM Svidler Peter 2749 - GM Hou Yifan 2666
GM Eljanov Pavel 2739 - GM Rapport Richard 2694
GM Aronian Levon 2809 - GM Salem A.R. Saleh 2638
Official website
Round 7
Teimour Radjabov emerged clear leader of Geneva Grand Prix after defeating Peter Svidler in the 7th round.
In a harmless looking opening where queens were traded as early as on move six, white gradually increased the pressure until he created serious weaknesses in the black's pawn structure.
White's advantage was already substantial when black cracked under the pressure and lost a piece.
Radjabov elaborated in the post-game interview: "I think my opening choice was quite clever. Although it might seem strange. The idea was to play some kind of slightly better position, or even just equal with some chances to press. I looked before at this opening with a friend, who said 'everyone will look at you like an idiot when you play this', so I though okay maybe I will keep it for the rapid games.
I was hoping to get a slight press, with the positions that Peter doesn't really like to play, and after I played 6.dxc3 his mood was already spoiled as he is a tactical player and prefers not to exchange queens so soon. At the same time white doesn't have too much, but okay it is a playable endgame and I have a simple plan on how to place the pieces.
I was very happy with the outcome of the opening, I had a time advantage and easy play.
I also learned from my game with Eljanov. I was looking at the tactical combinations connected with 24.Rxd6, but in the end I decided not to spend lots of time on complications when I had a simple way to continue. It's very easy for me to snake around, a6 is hanging, c5 is hanging, king is unsafe, it's very hard to play with black. Perhaps instead of 29...Rec8 he could have tried 29...Reb8, but still it is very difficult."
The full interview is available on YouTube
Pavel Eljanov chose an ambitious setup against Salem A.R.Saleh's Benoni defence. Black reacted poorly to the sneaky 17.Qe1 and white was able to blast through the center with 21.e5.
The poor coordination of black pieces forced him to concede an exchange. This was sufficient for white to claim the victory.
As if the rule, Alexander Riazantsev once again played the longest game of the day. But the Russian Grandmaster is on fire after the rest day as he won two games in a row, his first victories in the whole Grand Prix series. For this he is rewarded with a top board clash against the leader Radjabov in the next round.
From the early opening white assumed the bishops' pair, and then a timely exchange of the group of pieces in the middlegame allowed him to win a pawn. Li Chao, for his part, was hoping to hold the ending with all rooks on the board.
Seeing no other way to progress, Riazantsev returned the pawn in order to trade one pair of rooks and activate the king. His maneuvering paid back when he transposed to a notorious queens ending, again with an extra pawn. The Russian's technique was impeccable and he converted into win on 84th move.
The remaining six games were drawn.
The honorary first move was made by Mr Sergei Garmonin, Ambassador of Russia to Switzerland.
Photo gallery / Interviews / Round 7 standings
Round 8 pairings:
GM Radjabov Teimour 2724 - GM Riazantsev Alexander 2654
GM Grischuk Alexander 2761 - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2800
GM Li Chao B 2735 - GM Harikrishna Pentala 2737
GM Nepomniachtchi Ian 2742 - GM Aronian Levon 2809
GM Gelfand Boris 2728 - GM Eljanov Pavel 2739
GM Jakovenko Dmitry 2703 - GM Inarkiev Ernesto 2707
GM Hou Yifan 2666 - GM Giri Anish 2775
GM Rapport Richard 2694 - GM Adams Michael 2736
GM Salem A.R. Saleh 2638 - GM Svidler Peter 2749
With two rounds to go in Geneva Grand Prix, the preliminary calculation of the overall standings is clearly stating that the final leg in Palma de Majorka will be very exciting, with possibly as many as six players fighting for the two tickets to Candidates Tournament.
The current series leader Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Alexander Grischuk are aiming for the best possible result here in Geneva as this is their final event.
The second-placed Ding Liren, as well as Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Hikaru Nakamura and Teimour Radjabov will all compete in Palma.
Official website
Round 6
Indian Grandmaster Pentala Harikrishna defeated the top seed Levon Aronian in the sixth round of Geneva Grand Prix to join Alexander Grischuk and Teimour Radjabov, who drew each other, on the top of the crosstable with 4 points.
As Aronian weakened the king with careless 20.f4 and then 21.b5, Harikrishna pounced on the opportunity, and after the tactical transfer of the knight to g4-square he obtained a strong attack.
White lost a pawn but the trouble was that it was a really fast passer which advanced unopposed to the promotion square. Black sealed the victory right before the time control.
Li Chao was inspired by Mamedyarov's games to employ a sharp line against Pavel Eljanov's Queen's Indian defence. Black was ever under the pressure and it only worsened as he was delaying the castle.
A mistake on move 15 allowed white to trade off the light-squared bishops and use the e4-square as transit point for the knight. From then on, black king remained in the center and white's advantage grew until the opponent's position collapsed.
Ian Nepomniachtchi spent the day off in his room, resting, and arriving fresh to the sixth round he defeated the compatriot Ernesto Inarkiev.
In the Ruy Lopez black was perhaps one move late with the break d6-d5. White's neat reply 20.Nce5 posed certain problems for the opponent, who allowed too many pins and consequently lost the thread of the position. Nepo swiftly concluded the game.
The game between Salem A.R.Saleh and Hou Yifan was roughly equal until white buried his pieces far on the queenside. With several energetic moves (21...f5!) Yifan obtained initiative, but white fought his way back by transferring the queen back to defence.
However, white's stand did not last long as being in the huge time trouble Salem blundered and run into checkmate.
Alexander Riazantsev was once again involved in the longest match of the day. In the post-game interview he said he is not feeling fatigue in the sixth hour of play, but that his calculation is sometimes weaker due to the fact that he is also the national coach of Russian women's team. Having parallel careers of a player and a coach is very difficult, Riazantsev said. He added that all professional players have to be physically fit in order to stay focused on the board.
Speaking of the game with Richard Rapport, Riazantsev said that he obtained the advantage after the opening, but he was criticizing 23...Bxb4+ and 24...c5, which were poor compared to the alternatives.
Nevertheless, black managed to push the pawn all the way to h2, when Rapport erred again, and then Riazantsev advanced the phalanx on the queenside until white king was facing a checkmate.
The remaining games were drawn.
The honorary first move was made by Dr Haik Nikogosian, Special Representative of World Health Organization.
Photo gallery / Interviews / Round 6 standings
Round 7 pairings:
GM Harikrishna Pentala 2737 - GM Grischuk Alexander 2761
GM Radjabov Teimour 2724 - GM Svidler Peter 2749
GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2800 - GM Nepomniachtchi Ian 2742
GM Riazantsev Alexander 2654 - GM Li Chao B 2735
GM Giri Anish 2775 - GM Aronian Levon 2809
GM Adams Michael 2736 - GM Jakovenko Dmitry 2703
GM Hou Yifan 2666 - GM Gelfand Boris 2728
GM Eljanov Pavel 2739 - GM Salem A.R. Saleh 2638
GM Inarkiev Ernesto 2707 - GM Rapport Richard 2694
Official website
Round 5
In the fifth round of Geneva Grand Prix Alexander Grischuk scored a win against Pavel Eljanov and caught up with Teimour Radjabov on the top of the crosstable.
Grischuk made a good use of black pieces, "The point is that being tempo down is actually to my advantage", he joked as he explained the subtle difference between his position and the game Jakovenko-Gelfand which was the same setup with colors reversed. "The extra move usually confuses them and they don't know what to do", he continued in the same style.
On the more serious note, Grischuk criticized white knights dance on the queenside, which allowed him to build strong presence on the central files. A timely break 18...e4 and white collapsed with his next move. Black snatched a pawn and proceeded to win the game.
Richard Rapport ended the bad streak with a fighting victory against the top rated woman Hou Yifan. The queens were exchanged and the position looked innocent enough when white grabbed the a7-pawn and black replied with ingenious 20...Rg8.
Suddenly, white found herself in big trouble as black piled the pressure along the g-file. Two mistakes, 23.Red1 and 28.Kf1, and white's position was beyond salvation.
The clash between two fearless fighters, Ernesto Inarkiev and Salem A.R.Saleh, lived up to the expectations as we saw the Naidorf Sicilian with opposite castling and mutual attacks and counterattacks.
Salem surprised his opponent with 13...Qh4+, but Inarkiev did not flinch, castling long despite the porous pawn shield in front of the king.
White was first, however, to launch an assault by sacrificing two pawns in order to open up the h-file. As Inarkiev said in the post-game interview, this was his only advantage in the position, but he used it well.
Inarkiev believes that 31...Qf5 was a mistake after which black position deteriorated, and that the only move was 31...e3. Despite being in huge time trouble, white managed to reach the control and score a victory. "I am very proud of my game today", Inarkiev concluded.
The remaining six games were drawn.
The honorary first move was made by GM Gilles Miralles, President of Geneva Chess Federation.
Photo gallery / Interviews / Round 5 standings
Round 6 pairings (Wednesday 12th July):
GM Grischuk Alexander 2761 - GM Radjabov Teimour 2724
GM Aronian Levon 2809 - GM Harikrishna Pentala 2737
GM Svidler Peter 2749 - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2800
GM Jakovenko Dmitry 2703 - GM Giri Anish 2775
GM Nepomniachtchi Ian 2742 - GM Inarkiev Ernesto 2707
GM Li Chao B 2735 - GM Eljanov Pavel 2739
GM Gelfand Boris 2728 - GM Adams Michael 2736
GM Rapport Richard 2694 - GM Riazantsev Alexander 2654
GM Salem A.R. Saleh 2638 - GM Hou Yifan 2666
Official website
Round 4
Teimour Radjabov remains in the lead after four rounds of play in the Geneva Grand Prix and as many as six players follow him at short distance of half a point behind.
Ian Nepomniachtchi defeated the world's top female player Hou Yifan. In a popular line of Anti-Berlin Ruy Lopez white "bluffed" with 13.h5 leaving the b2-pawn en prise, but black passed on the offer. Nepomniachtchi disapproved 21...Bxf5, after which white got the structure that he aimed for.
Amassing the heavy pieces against the black king, white finally broke through around the first time control, and shortly after claimed a victory.
Peter Svidler modestly said that he didn't do much in today's game and that Michael Adams simply self-destruct. Apparently 16...Qc4 was a serious mistake after which black is losing the d5-pawn almost by force.
Svidler snatched another pawn on h7, but he was also critical of his own play as he allowed unnecessary complications. Nevertheless, white's position was overwhelming and he converted to full point.
The battle between Salem A.R.Saleh and Richard Rapport was truly spectacular, but nothing less was expected from the two inspired players.
Salem admitted that it is very difficult to prepare for Rapport, but he was pleased with the resulting position in the Sicilian defence. After 12.f4, and particularly 14.e5, the position became very sharp.
The material balance was changing move-by-move, and at some point black was two pieces down while seeking the counterplay. Salem agreed that this was the best practical chance.
White gave one piece back to assume a firm grip on the game, and he proceeded to seal the win at the first time control.
The remaining six games were drawn.
Photo gallery / Interviews
Round 5 pairings:
GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2800 - GM Radjabov Teimour 2724
GM Aronian Levon 2809 - GM Svidler Peter 2749
GM Eljanov Pavel 2739 - GM Grischuk Alexander 2761
GM Harikrishna Pentala 2737 - GM Nepomniachtchi Ian 2742
GM Adams Michael 2736 - GM Li Chao B 2735
GM Jakovenko Dmitry 2703 - GM Gelfand Boris 2728
GM Giri Anish 2775 - GM Riazantsev Alexander 2654
GM Inarkiev Ernesto 2707 - GM Salem A.R. Saleh 2638
GM Hou Yifan 2666 - GM Rapport Richard 2694
Official website
Round 3
All games of Pavel Eljanov in the Geneva Grand Prix have been decisive, despite his reputation of a very solid player. In the third round he defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi.
Black was fine until he moved the bishop to e5, allowing a temporary exchange sacrifice, which is something of Eljanov's specialty. White missed a more direct advantage with 35.Bxe5 and 36.Bc7, but Nepo immediately returned the favour by avoiding the queen's exchange. Eljanov concluded the game by transferring the rook to the e-file.
It took seven hours of play, but Dmitry Jakovenko finally broke Richard Rapport's fortress.
In the middlegame black's two knights were superior to white's bishops, however Rapport was stubborn in defence, and eventually traded down into an endgame where he could have hoped for a draw.
Black had to maneuver carefully to force white pieces into a position bad enough to timely transpose into a rook+knight vs rook ending. Most often this type of ending is drawn, but white's king was poorly placed on the back rank and Jakovenko was able to build a mating net.
The remaining games were drawn, but not without great excitement. The leader Teimour Radjabov was well prepared to meet the always dangerous Levon Aronian. In the final position black could have played on, but Radjabov is definitely satisfied with this outcome.
The series leader Shakhriyar Mamedyarov promised to be more solid in his final Grand Prix tournament, but today he simply got worse out of the opening and had to search for tactical solutions.
Pentala Harikrishna was in good control until he missed 28.Nc5, the elegant refutation of black's adventures. Mamedyarov admitted that he would have resigned outright. The game continued and black got enough counterplay to get his opponent to agree to a draw.
Ernesto Inarkiev and Hou Yifan fought for six hours until only the Kings remained on the board.
The first move was made by Honorary Vice President of FIDE Javier Ochoa De Echaguen.
Photo gallery / Interviews
Round 4 pairings:
GM Radjabov Teimour 2724 - GM Harikrishna Pentala 2737
GM Grischuk Alexander 2761 - GM Aronian Levon 2809
GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2800 - GM Eljanov Pavel 2739
GM Svidler Peter 2749 - GM Adams Michael 2736
GM Gelfand Boris 2728 - GM Giri Anish 2775
GM Li Chao B 2735 - GM Jakovenko Dmitry 2703
GM Nepomniachtchi Ian 2742 - GM Hou Yifan 2666
GM Riazantsev Alexander 2654 - GM Inarkiev Ernesto 2707
GM Salem A.R. Saleh 2638 - GM Rapport Richard 2694
Official website
Round 2
Teimour Radjabov scored his second consecutive victory to emerge sole leader after two rounds of the FIDE World Chess Grand Prix in Geneva.
In the post-game interview Radjabov was very unhappy about his clock handling, stating that at some point he made a move with only one second left. But after calming down he said this is a very good start for such a strong tournament.
Speaking about the game itself, Radjabov was skeptical about Eljanov's 15...Bb4, which allowed white to push d5. In the resulting position white was left with a dominant Nd5, and he skillfully outplayed his opponent.
The honorary first move was made by former Women's World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk
To complete the happy day for the Azeri chess fans, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, the current overall leader in Grand Prix, defeated Ernesto Inarkiev. The black queen was pursued around the board until black made a terrible mistake and allowed his strongest piece to be trapped on f5.
Anish Giri bounced back after the yesterday's loss by scoring against Salem A.R.Saleh. Black pressed the opponent's queenside and after a timely queen's exchange white position simply collapsed. The players analysed the game in great detail, party because, as Giri said, "in Swiss system we don't know our pairings in advance, so I don't have to rush to prepare for the next round".
As a great expert in classical openings, Levon Aronian continuously pressed Dmitry Jakovenko on both flanks until the first cracks appeared in white's position. Employing some imaginative tactics, Aronian convincingly brought the victory home.
Alexander Grischuk was better in navigating the locked structure of Ruy Lopez than his opponent Richard Rapport. After the time control white established a powerful passed pawn and then with a neat tactics snatched one of the black's. The rest of the game was only a matter of technique.
The other four games were drawn.
Photo gallery / Interviews
Round 3 pairings:
GM Aronian Levon 2809 - GM Radjabov Teimour 2724
GM Harikrishna Pentala 2737 - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2800
GM Adams Michael 2736 - GM Grischuk Alexander 2761
GM Giri Anish 2775 - GM Li Chao B 2735
GM Svidler Peter 2749 - GM Gelfand Boris 2728
GM Eljanov Pavel 2739 - GM Nepomniachtchi Ian 2742
GM Inarkiev Ernesto 2707 - GM Hou Yifan 2666
GM Rapport Richard 2694 - GM Jakovenko Dmitry 2703
GM Riazantsev Alexander 2654 - GM Salem A.R. Saleh 2638
Official website
Round 1
The 2017 FIDE World Chess Grand Prix series continued with the third tournament, which is taking place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 5-16th July.
The tournament is being held in Hotel Le Richemond, set on the banks of Lake Geneva, by the famous Jet d’Eau. The Grand Prix will use its finest contemporary spaces - Paul Klee Salon & Galerie Rachmaninof, a private walkway beneath a dramatic glass ceiling.
In the first round Teimour Radjabov rejected a draw offer and proceeded to defeat Anish Giri with black pieces. Radjabov's optimism was based on the fact that Giri spent lots of time from the opening, and therefore black was attempting to complicate the matters.
The strategy worked as white commited several errors and Azeri Grandmaster was able to launch a devastating attack through the open e-file.
In a replay of the first round of Sharjah Grand Prix, Michael Adams was able to impose another defeat to Salem A.R. Saleh. White was enjoying a slight advantage until black strayed with his rook and then erred badly with 28...d5. Adams duly converted the material into full point.
Pavel Eljanov played the Italian opening for the first time, but the only woman in the Grand Prix series, Hou Yifan from China, held the ground with black pieces.
In the later stage of the game, however, she made a very bad decision by playing 35...f3. White simply besieged the pawn and then collected it after the time control. The resulting ending was an easy win for white.
In the longest game of the day Pentala Harikrishna won against Alexander Riazantsev with black pieces. After the long maneuvering in the middlegame, black appeared to be slightly better, but white established some kind of fortress.
With one hasty pawn-break, white ruined the status-quo and black obtained a strong attack. The Indian Grandmaster converted the advantage in the minor-pieces endgame.
The remaining five games were drawn.
Photo gallery
Round 2 pairings:
GM Radjabov Teimour 2724 - GM Eljanov Pavel 2739
GM Harikrishna Pentala 2737 - GM Adams Michael 2736
GM Jakovenko Dmitry 2703 - GM Aronian Levon 2809
GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2800 - GM Inarkiev Ernesto 2707
GM Grischuk Alexander 2761 - GM Rapport Richard 2694
GM Li Chao B 2735 - GM Svidler Peter 2749
GM Nepomniachtchi Ian 2742 - GM Gelfand Boris 2728
GM Salem A.R. Saleh 2638 - GM Giri Anish 2775
GM Hou Yifan 2666 - GM Riazantsev Alexander 2654
Official website
The Grand Prix is being organized by Agon Limited, the commercial partner of the World Chess Federation, the game’s governing body. Agon has the exclusive commercial rights to organize the cycle of the World Championship.
Each Grand Prix has a prize fund of 130,000 euros. The Geneva Grand Prix is supported by EG Capital Advisors, Kaspersky Lab and S.T. Dupont.
Twenty-four of the world’s best players are competing in the Grand Prix, with 18 of them participating in each of the tournaments.
The first Grand Prix tournament was held in Sharjah, UAE, in February. The second stage was in Moscow, in May. Top two finishers in the series wil qualify for the 2018 Candidates Tournament.
After two stages Shakhriyar Mamedyarov is leading in overall Grand Prix Series with 280 points, Ding Liren is on the second place with 240 points. Alexander Grischuk and Maxime Vachire-Lagrave share the third place with 211,4 points.
Opening ceremony
The gala opening of the third stage of the FIDE World Chess Grand Prix was held tonight at the Four Seasons Hotel in Geneva, Switzerland.
On behalf of FIDE the tournament was officially opened by prof. dr. Adrian Siegel, FIDE Treasurer and member of the Presidential Board.
President of World Chess, Mr Ilya Merenzon, and CEO of EG Capital Advisors London, Mr Michael Kasumov, also welcomed the players and guests.
Next, the match-ups of the first round were presented. And concluding the official part of the ceremony, top seed Levon Aronian performed the drawing of lots in the presence of chief arbiter Werner Stubenvoll.
Aronian picked the white piece and thus the pairing were formalised as below.
Round 1 on 2017/07/06 at 14:00 (local):
GM Aronian Levon 2809 - GM Li Chao B 2735
GM Gelfand Boris 2728 - GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar 2800
GM Giri Anish 2775 - GM Radjabov Teimour 2724
GM Inarkiev Ernesto 2707 - GM Grischuk Alexander 2761
GM Svidler Peter 2749 - GM Jakovenko Dmitry 2703
GM Rapport Richard 2694 - GM Nepomniachtchi Ian 2742
GM Eljanov Pavel 2739 - GM Hou Yifan 2666
GM Riazantsev Alexander 2654 - GM Harikrishna Pentala 2737
GM Adams Michael 2736 - GM Salem A.R. Saleh
The evening continued with a live band and a cocktail party.
Preview
The third leg of the 2017 FIDE World Chess Grand Prix is set to take place from 5-16th July at the famous Hotel Le Richemond, in the heart of Geneva, Switzerland.
Top seed is Levon Aronian, who is in excellent form this year, having convincingly won the Grenke Classic and the Altibox Norway Chess to jump over 2800 elo again.
Also in the 2800+ club is Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, who has reached a career-high rating after winning the Gashimov Memorial and coming second in the Moscow Grand Prix
Twenty-four of the world's top players are competing in the Grand Prix, with 18 playing in each tournament. (Each player competes in three of the four competitions.) Each stage has a prize fund of 130,000 euros.
The top two finishers will qualify for the Candidates tournament next year to select a challenger to the World Champion, Magnus Carlsen.
The Geneva Grand Prix follows the events that were previously held in Sharjah, UAE, and Moscow, Russia.
After two stages of Grand Prix Shakhriyar Mamedyarov is leading in overall Grand Prix Series with 280 points, Ding Liren is on the second place with 240 points. Alexander Grischuk and Maxime Vachire-Lagrave share the third place with 211,4 points.
The series is organized by Agon Limited, the commercial partner of the World Chess Federation, the game’s governing body. All the games are broadcast on WorldChess.com, the official site of the World Championship cycle.
Geneva Grand Prix participants:
1 Levon Aronian Armenia 2809
2 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov Azerbaijan 2800
3 Anish Giri Netherlands 2775
4 Alexander Grischuk Russia 2761
5 Peter Svidler Russia 2749
6 Ian Nepomniachtchi Russia 2742
7 Pavel Eljanov Ukraine 2739
8 Harikrishna Pentala India 2737
9 Michael Adams England 2736
10 Li Chao China 2735
11 Boris Gelfand Israel 2728
12 Teimour Radjabov Azerbaijan 2724
13 Ernesto Inarkiev Russia 2707
14 Dmitry Jakovenko Russia 2703
15 Richard Rapport Hungary 2694
16 Hou Yifan China 2666
17 Alexander Riazantsev Russia 2654
18 Salem Saleh UAE 2638
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