World Cup Final Match Print
Thursday, 10 December 2009 00:04
The 2009 World Cup final match between former World Champion Ruslan Ponomariov and Boris Gelfand is starting on Thursday at 11:00 CET. The final consists of four games with classical time control, to be played on 10-13th December, and in case of the tied score, additional rapid games will be played on the 14th.

Ponomariov finally earned a rest day after three consecutive rounds with difficult tiebreak matches. He also confirmed that the score against Gelfand in classical games is equal: - "We had all draws in the classical games. I won a couple of times in rapid. In blitz I lost in two games, and I won in four. It is funny, in Tal Memorial I played my first and my last game against Gelfand. The last game at the World Blitz Championship I played against Boris as well. And here, again the last match against Gelfand."

Boris Gelfand had an extra day of rest after swiftly eliminating Sergey Karjakin with 2-0 in the semifinal. He said: - "This is the first time that I managed to qualify for the finals in the knock out tournament. I cannot say that I had an easy way to go. My opponents were stronger and stronger in every next round. I could win three matches only in the tie breaks."
Gelfand was pleased with the result in the semifinal, but added: - "It is too early to relax, I should get prepared for the decisive duel."

Official website


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Boris Gelfand


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Ruslan Ponomariov