In the first set of the rapid games Karjakin prepared a surprise with the white pieces but Svidler reacted well and achieved good position. At some point black was even slightly better.

Being under the severe time pressure black lost a pawn, but still managed to reach an ending with opposite-colored bishops. Black set the blockade and white tried to walk the king across the entire board in order to press the enemy pawns from behind.

Playing quickly in order to gain time from the increment Svidler missed an excellent opportunity to push 68...g5, which apparently was sufficient for a draw.

White prepared his own breakthrough 80.d5+ and proceeded to advance the passed e-pawn to finally clinch a victory.

In the return game Svidler employed the King's Indian Attack, but unlike the classical match, he pushed the pawn 9.e5 instead of trading on d5.

White started piling pieces towards the opponent's king, but then he shifted the focus to combat black's queenside counterplay and win a pawn in the process.

Black was able to take the pawn back while trading a bunch of pieces in the process, but white emerged with a dominant centralized knight.

After black allowed the trade of the queens, Svidler reached the back rank and started exerting strong pressure. Black position collapsed and the score was leveled once again.

In the next set of the rapid games with faster time control the players got a Benoni setup on the board, which according to the tournament commentators is not in their opening repertoires. Svidler, playing black, got the better of it and proceeded to win the game in convincing fashion.

In the return game Svidler once again avoided the Naidorf Sicilian and went for the Maroczy setup. But he mixed the plans, lost a pawn early on and Karjakin used the opportunity to strike back.

In the blitz time control we had it all: great opening preparation, wonderful tactical shots and, inevitably, blunders. Karjakin won both blitz games and emerged winner of the 2015 FIDE World Cup!

Full set of World Cup results and pgn files can be found on http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/content/27 

Photo gallery is available at http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/product/80 

The total net prize fund of the 2015 FIDE World Chess Cup was 1,6 million USD. In addition, the tournament awarded two places in the 2016 Candidates Tournament, part of the FIDE World Championship cycle.





Agreement of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Egypt Chess Federations


Full chess pages in local newspapers
























Before tie break the FIDE delegation had a meeting with Azad Rahimov, Minister of Youth and Sport of Azerbaijan, Dr. Elman Rustamov, President of Azerbaijan chess federation, Governor of Azerbaijan Central Bank and Mahir Mamedov, Director of the Organizing Committee

Karjakin won the next two games against the former World Cup winner and his compatriot Peter Svidler to tie the match with the classical time control and reach the rapid tie-breaks.

In the Queen's Pawn opening the queens were exchanged as early as on move 6, but black had to concede the right to castle and white maintained some positional pressure.

Black pieces appeared to be misplaced, but white probably missed the best continuations and allowed his opponent to stabilize the position.

However, several more inaccuracies by black, in particular 44...Re8, and white obtained excellent winning chances.

Karjakin jumped on the opportunity, won a pawn and converted into full point.

In the most exciting World Cup final ever all four games ended with decisive results. The tie-break with the quick time control is starting Monday 3pm local time.

Full set of World Cup results and pgn files can be found on http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/content/27 

Photo gallery is available at http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/product/79 

The total prize fund of the 2015 FIDE World Chess Cup is 1,6 million USD. In addition, the tournament also awards two places in the 2016 Candidates Tournament, part of the FIDE World Championship cycle.









FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov arrived in Baku to attend the 4th and final game of the FIDE World Cup.












When the game has started Kirsan Ilyumzhinov visited the commentary studio where he talked to Sergey Shipov and answered the questions of the journalists.

Sergey Karjakin strikes back, FIDE World Cup final continues

Sergey Karjakin defeated his compatriot Peter Svidler in a must-win situation to remain in the contention for the 2015 FIDE World Cup title.

In the third game, held today at the Fairmont Hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan, Karjakin won with the black pieces to reduce the overall score to 1-2.

It was a fairly complicated position of the Sicilian opening where Svidler made two consecutive mistakes and his position simply collapsed. White resigned on move 30.

In the most exciting World Cup final ever all three games so far ended with decisive results. The fourth and last game with the classical time control is starting Sunday 3pm local time.

Full set of World Cup results and pgn files can be found on http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/content/27 

Photo gallery is available at http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/product/78 

The total prize fund of the 2015 FIDE World Chess Cup is 1,6 million USD. In addition, the tournament also awards two places in the 2016 Candidates Tournament, part of the FIDE World Championship cycle.

Peter Svidler increases lead in FIDE World Cup final

Peter Svidler scored another victory against his compatriot Sergey Karjakin to take a 2-0 lead in the 2015 FIDE World Chess Cup final that is ongoing at the Fairmont Hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Playing the black pieces Svidler opted for the Breyer Ruy Lopez, a reliable setup used by many world champions and top grandmasters. He thanked the technology of skype and his friends, whom he didn't want to name, for the help in preparation and discovery of the critical move 17...c5.

Instead of the slow maneuvering and positional struggle, white had to calculate several forcing lines and evaluate various exchanges of the pieces.

Karjakin found the good moves and claimed a small advantage owing to the bishops pair.

At the same time, Svidler was looking for further simplifications in attempt to make a draw with black. Finally, with 30...Re8 he forced white's hand. Karjakin sacrificed the knight on f7 to keep the rook under the pin.

Black had sufficient defending resources, and just as everyone expected a draw, Karjakin made two consecutive blunders and lost a whole rook. He resigned immediately.

Third game is starting Saturday 3pm local time.

Full set of World Cup results and pgn files can be found on http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/content/27 

Photo gallery is available at http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/product/76 

The total prize fund of the 2015 FIDE World Chess Cup is 1,6 million USD. In addition, the tournament also awards two places in the 2016 Candidates Tournament, part of the FIDE World Championship cycle.

Sergey Karjakin qualifies for FIDE World Cup final after exciting tie-break

Sergey Karjakin and Pavel Eljanov returned today to the playing hall at the Fairmont Flame Towers in Baku to decide the FIDE World Cup finalist and Candidates Tournament qualifier. After the games with the classical time control the result was even.

In the first set of the rapid games Eljanov opened the score with a beautiful victory with the white pieces. Being in a must-win situation, Karjakin didn't panic, but slowly increased the positional pressure until the opponent's defences collapsed and the result was tied once again.

In the next set of the rapid games with faster time control Eljanov again played white pieces in the first game. The opening was similar to what they already had earlier today, and white obtained some positional edge. The Ukrainian kept pressing for a win, but suddenly a careless pawn advance proved to be fatal for him as black immediately turned the tables and won a whole host of pawns. Karjakin brought the victory home and took the lead in the match.

In the return game Eljanov was in must-win position while playing black pieces. His opening choice was smart, giving away the pair of bishops in exchange for immobilized white's pawn structure.

After some fine maneuvering black seized the advantage and soon white setup started breaking under the pressure. Eljanov won three pawns and white position was in shatters.

But Karjakin put up an inspired effort, hoping to find a counterplay with the queen and opposite-colored bishop.

At some point during the massive exchanges Eljanov probably missed an opportunity to create a second passed pawn in the ending with opposite-colored bishops. Karjakin blocked the black's only passer and held firm against the attempts of creating another.

Eljanov tried to triangulate with the king, but in doing so he allowed the opponent to claim a threefold repetition. After a brief game reconstruction the arbiters declared a draw.

Sergey Karjakin qualified for the World Cup final where he will play against his compatriot Peter Svidler. Karjakin also joined Svidler in the 2016 FIDE Candidates Tournament.

Full set of results and pgn files can be found on http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/content/27 

Photo gallery is available at http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/product/74 

Peter Svidler in FIDE World Cup Final, qualifies for Candidates Tournament

The return games of the 2015 FIDE World Cup Semifinals were completed in the Fairmont Flame Towers in Baku.



Peter Svidler played a very solid game with white, never being in danger of getting worse position, eventually reaching a draw against Anish Giri to win the match, reach the World Cup final and qualify for the 2016 FIDE Candidates Tournament.

Svidler said this is one of the best results of his career.

Giri is still in position to qualify for the Candidates Tournament by average rating.



In the English opening Sergey Karjakin employed a new move (12.Nh4) but after black's calm reply 13...Ng6 he swapped the knights and offered a draw. Pavel Eljanov said after the game that 14.Nf5 might have been a critical continuation.

The match Karjakin vs Eljanov is to be settled in quick-play on Tuesday afternoon.

The total prize fund of the 2015 FIDE World Chess Cup is 1,6 million USD. In addition, the tournament also awards two places in the 2016 Candidates Tournament, part of the FIDE World Championship cycle.

The players are getting 100% of their prizes, not 80% as most are quoting. This is because the Organizers paid the FIDE share on top of the Prize Fund.

Full set of results and pgn files can be found on http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/content/27 

Photo gallery is available at http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/product/73 



According to the Regulations (3.8 Tie-breaks), after a new drawing of colors, two tie-break games with the time control 25min + 10sec will be played.

If the scores are still level, then, after a new drawing of colors, a match of two games with the time control 10min + 10sec will be played. In case of a level score, another match of two games will be played, with a blitz time control of 5min + 3sec.

If still there is no winner, one sudden-death game will be played. The player who wins the drawing of lots may choose the color. The player with the white pieces shall receive 5 minutes, the opponent with the black pieces shall receive 4 minutes whereupon, after the 60th move, both players shall receive an increment of 3 seconds for each move from move 61. In case of a draw the player with the black pieces is declared the winner.









 

FIDE World Cup - Semifinals Started

The Semifinals of the 2015 FIDE World Chess Cup started today at the Fairmont Hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan, with four players that remained in the competition.



Peter Svidler was slightly surprised with Anish Giri's 1.e4, when he expected the closed opening like in their previous encounters. Black decided to defend with the rare line of Zaitsev Ruy Lopez.

After the initial build-up, where white was moving his pieces towards the enemy king, while black sought queenside counterplay, Giri suddenly conceded two pawns for no apparent reason. Black king was very solid and never came under attack.

Shortly after reaching the time control Giri resigned and Svidler registered a very important win with black pieces.



Sergey Karjakin remained loyal to his opening repertoire and defended with the Queen's Indian. He got an isolated pawn that was quickly advanced and exchanged. At this point though Pavel Eljanov missed an opportunity to claim an extra pawn (a7).

The play continued with a roughly equal position but white was pressing. Finally, few moves before the time control, Eljanov was poised to win a pawn.

Karjakin had a choice of which ending to play, and he opted to keep the rooks and knights on the board, when white had an extra a-pawn. Black managed to maintain sufficient counterplay to eventually hold a draw.

Full set of results and pgn files can be found on http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/content/27 

Photo gallery is available at http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/product/72 

The total prize fund of the 2015 FIDE World Chess Cup is 1,6 million USD. In addition, the tournament also awards two places in the 2016 Candidates Tournament, part of the FIDE World Championship cycle.

Peter Svidler and Sergey Karjakin qualify for FIDE World Cup Semifinal

The two pairs of players who tied their round five matches with the classical time control returned to the playing hall at the Fairmont Flame Towers in Baku to settle the scores in the rapid and blitz games.



In the first set of the rapid games Peter Svidler held serious advantage in both games against Wei Yi, but the Chinese staged two escapes and remained in the match.



Meanwhile, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Sergey Karjakin drew two games. In the next batch of rapid with faster time control Mamedyarov run into trouble early in the first game and started burning his clock. But just as he finally reached an ending with some prospects of holding, he simply run out of time and lost.

In the return game Mamedyarov tried to maneuver and prepare a break in the blocked position, however at some point he blundered a piece to a knight fork and immediately resigned.

At the same time Svidler, after failing to convert three better games, finally broke the resistance of his young opponent to qualify for the Semifinal.

Full set of results and pgn files can be found on http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/content/27 

Photo gallery is available at http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/product/70

Semifinal pairings: Svidler - Giri, Karjakin - Eljanov

Pavel Eljanov, Anish Giri qualify for FIDE World Cup Semifinal

The return games of the fifth round of the 2015 FIDE World Cup were completed in the Fairmont Flame Towers in Baku.

Hikaru Nakamura had to play for a win in order to equalize and stay in the match with Pavel Eljanov. White's weapon of choice was the English opening, which Eljanov already faced on three occasions earlier in the tournament. Speaking at the press conference after the game, Eljanov felt that Nakamura should have tried something more aggressive and appropriate to his style.

White obtained the pair of bishops but black's position was very solid. Eljanov said he was very confident after 23...h5, which effectively forced the trade of the queens. Then the black's task of holding the draw was much easier. Eljanov did just that and became the first player to qualify for the World Cup Semifinal.

Nakamura tweeted later: "When your opponent plays better than you in a short format like this, there's not much one can do but move on to the next event!"

Anish Giri chose a modest opening setup with white, looking to avoid opponent's fantastic preparation in the Gruenfeld Indian defence. Still, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave sacrificed a pawn in a typical Gruenfeld-fashion at the first possible moment.

Giri was happy how the game progressed, having exchanged the queens and keeping the extra pawn to pose some problems for black's defence.

Vachier-Lagrave tried to simplify the position, but the resulting rook ending was quite difficult for black, who on many occasions had to find the only moves just to stay in the game. White was still able to press hard for a win. Despite the black's resourcefulness in defence, Giri skillfully converted the advantage and joined Eljanov in the Semifinal.

Vachier-Lagrave tweeted: "First classical loss in a World Cup, courtesy of @anishgiri! Time to refresh now!"

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov prepared another opening surprise for his opponent, but Sergey Karjakin was able to find the best moves and weather the storm away. After white safely castled, Mamedyarov offered a draw on move 14.

Being faced with the Italian opening Peter Svidler decided to win the bishops pair at the cost of doubling the pawns. It appeared as black got the upper hand and was expected to push for a win. But Wei Yi forced timely exchanges of pieces and found a very important 28.h4. Seeing no way to make further progress, Svidler offered a draw.

The matches Mamedyarov vs Karjakin and Svidler vs Wei Yi are to be settled in quick-play on Friday afternoon.

The total prize fund of the 2015 FIDE World Chess Cup is 1,6 million USD. In addition, the tournament also awards two places in the 2016 Candidates Tournament, part of the FIDE World Championship cycle.

The players are getting 100% of their prizes, not 80% as most are quoting. This is because the Organizers paid the FIDE share on top of the Prize Fund.

Full set of results and pgn files can be found on http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/content/27 

Photo gallery is available at http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/product/69 

According to the Regulations (3.8 Tie-breaks), after a new drawing of colors, two tie-break games with the time control 25min + 10sec will be played.

If the scores are still level, then, after a new drawing of colors, a match of two games with the time control 10min + 10sec will be played.
In case of a level score, another match of two games will be played, with a blitz time control of 5min + 3sec.

If still there is no winner, one sudden-death game will be played. The player who wins the drawing of lots may choose the color. The player with the white pieces shall receive 5 minutes, the opponent with the black pieces shall receive 4 minutes whereupon, after the 60th move, both players shall receive an increment of 3 seconds for each move from move 61. In case of a draw the player with the black pieces is declared the winner.

FIDE World Cup - Round 5 Started

The fifth round of the 2015 FIDE World Chess Cup started today at the Fairmont Hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan, with 8 players that remained in the competition.



Pavel Eljanov played a model Catalan game to take the lead in the match against Hikaru Nakamura. He used a rare move in the opening, 12.Qc1, and his opponent missed the critical continuation 15...Bxf3.

White exerted strong pressure on the black queenside, finding a nice tactical shot to imbalance the material to his advantage. Eljanov considered that his position was technically winning as soon as the queens were traded on move 23.

Nakamura offered a draw on move 29, but Eljanov rejected it and went on to convert the advantage.



Local hero Shakhriyar Mamedyarov was close to opening the score against Sergey Karjakin, but the Russian defended tenaciously and eventually salvaged a draw.

Mamedyarov employed an enterprising exchange sacrifice that gave him a lasting initiative. At some point white started advancing the passed pawn and black was forced to give up a bishop to stop the menace.

Luckily for Karjakin, he found some counterplay against the white king and forced the exchange of the queens. In the ending with the reduced material black was able to hold the ground.



Peter Svidler and Wei Yi reached a position with the isolated d-pawn but the game ended abruptly with moves repetition soon after the opening.



Anish Giri surprised Maxime Vachier-Lagrave with the opening choice, namely the Petroff defence. Vachier-Lagrave said he got a small plus but nothing substantial and the game was drawn after the double rook exchange.

Full set of results and pgn files can be found on http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/content/27 

Photo gallery is available at http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/product/68 

The total prize fund of the 2015 FIDE World Chess Cup is 1,6 million USD. In addition, the tournament also awards two places in the 2016 Candidates Tournament, part of the FIDE World Championship cycle.

Round 4 tie-break: Giri, Karjakin, Eljanov, Wei Yi qualify for next round

The four pairs of players who tied their round four matches with the classical time control returned to the playing hall at the Fairmont Flame Towers in Baku to settle the scores in the rapid and blitz games.



In the first set of the rapid games Sergey Karjakin eliminated his compatriot and 2013 World Cup finalist Dmitry Andreikin thanks to the win with white pieces in the first game. In the second game Andreikin couldn't find the desired attack and black even emerged with a winning position.



Anish Giri also made good use of the white pieces and simply crushed Radoslaw Wojtaszek in the first game. In the return game Wojtaszek seized the initiative but he let it slip away, while Giri gradually improved his position and went on to win 2-0.



Pavel Eljanov held a draw with black and scored a fine positional win with white to advance to the next round. Dmitry Jakovenko still has a chance to qualify for the Candidates Tournament, but only if Hikaru Nakamura reaches the World Cup final.



The two Chinese players Ding Liren and Wei Yi drew both games and proceeded to the next batch of rapid with faster time control. After another draw, the second game produced a real thriller when both players pushed for a win in the complex ending with queens and bishops. Wei Yi managed to trade the queens, win a pawn and eventually the game to qualify for the 5th round.

Full set of results and pgn files can be found on http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/content/27 

Photo gallery is available at http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/product/66 

Round 5 pairings: Giri vs Vachier-Lagrave, Mamedyarov vs Karjakin, Nakamura vs Eljanov, Svidler vs Wei Yi


Anish Giri in the commentary room


Casual games in one of the halls


Mateusz Bartel observing the games of his compatriot


Sergey Karjakin interviewed by Sergei Shipov

Mamedyarov, Nakamura, Svidler, Vachier-Lagrave advance to 5th round of FIDE World Cup

The return games of the fourth round of the 2015 FIDE World Cup were completed in the Fairmont Flame Towers in Baku.



Maxime Vachier-Lagrave assumed the advantage against Wesley So after the American was forced to sacrifice a knight for two pawns. However, in the forced sequence of moves many pieces were exchanged and the position simplified with all remaining pawns being on the kingside.

It took a lot of patient maneuvering from black to finally destroy white's pawn mass and achieve a victory and qualification to the 5th round.



Peter Svidler played a good game with black to hold the ground and earn a much needed draw with black against the tournament's top seed Veselin Topalov. In the final position black is even objectively winning, but he made a practical decision and agreed to opponent's draw offer.

At the press conference Svidler shared that he lost several consecutive games with black pieces against the Bulgarian. He broke the negative record at the best possible moment as the result enabled him to advance to the World Cup quarterfinals.



Local star Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Hikaru Nakamura comfortably drew their games with black pieces, against Fabiano Caruana and Michael Adams, respectively, to also reach the stage of best-eight.

In the Chinese derby the young prodigy Wei Yi was able to strike back against Ding Liren and equalize the score in the match, which will now be decided in the tie-breaks.

The matches Radoslaw Wojtaszek vs Anish Giri, Sergey Karjakin vs Dmitry Andreikin and Dmitry Jakovenko vs Pavel Eljanov are also to be settled in quick-play on Tuesday afternoon.

The total prize fund of the 2015 FIDE World Chess Cup is 1,6 million USD. In addition, the tournament also awards two places in the 2016 Candidates Tournament, part of the FIDE World Championship cycle.

The players are getting 100% of their prizes, not 80% as most are quoting. This is because the Organizers paid the FIDE share on top of the Prize Fund.

Full set of results and pgn files can be found on http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/content/27 

Photo gallery is available at http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/product/65 

According to the Regulations (3.8 Tie-breaks), after a new drawing of colors, two tie-break games with the time control 25min + 10sec will be played.

If the scores are still level, then, after a new drawing of colors, a match of two games with the time control 10min + 10sec will be played. In case of a level score, another match of two games will be played, with a blitz time control of 5min + 3sec.

If still there is no winner, one sudden-death game will be played. The player who wins the drawing of lots may choose the color. The player with the white pieces shall receive 5 minutes, the opponent with the black pieces shall receive 4 minutes whereupon, after the 60th move, both players shall receive an increment of 3 seconds for each move from move 61. In case of a draw the player with the black pieces is declared the winner.

FIDE World Cup - Round 4 Started

The fourth round of the 2015 FIDE World Chess Cup was held today at the Fairmont Hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan, with 16 players that remained in the competition.



Shakhriyar Mamedyarov delighted the local fans by winning a brilliant game against Fabiano Caruana. The American was late with his queenside counterplay and white was able to deliver a decisive punch on the other flank of the board.

The dozens of spectators that used Sunday to visit the playing venue enthusiastically greeted Mamedyarov with applause and ovations.



Ding Liren defeated his younger compatriot Wei Yi with white pieces. It was an open and sharp Anti-Gruenfeld game where the players kept coming with beautiful tactical shots and resources. All three results were in play until black rushed to grab the b4-pawn and lost a crucial tempo after which white broke through.

The two players that were involved in the longest tie-break matches yesterday, Hikaru Nakamura and Michael Adams, fought hard in the complex middlegame arising from Catalan structure. Nakamura handled the double-rook ending better and took the full point home.



In the longest game of the day former World Cup winner Peter Svidler defeated former World Champion Veselin Topalov. In the extremely complicated middlegame with heavy pieces the defended passed pawn on c6 was a huge asset for white. On the other hand, black's own passer on e3 was safely blocked by white rooks. After a kingside breakthrough the Russian launched the winning attack.

The remaining four games were drawn.

Full set of results and pgn files can be found on http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/content/27 

Photo gallery is available at http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/product/64 

Interview with Radoslaw Wojtaszek

The total prize fund of the 2015 FIDE World Chess Cup is 1,6 million USD. In addition, the tournament also awards two places in the 2016 Candidates Tournament, part of the FIDE World Championship cycle.

Round 3 tie-break: Andreikin defeats Kramnik in Russian derby

The seven pairs of players who tied their round three matches with the classical time control returned to the playing hall at the Fairmont Flame Towers in Baku to settle the scores in the rapid and blitz games.



In the first set of the rapid games top seed Veselin Topalov assumed the advantage against the former World Junior Champion Lu Shanglei and then routinely drew the second game to advance to the next round.



Peter Svidler eliminated the local star Teimour Radjabov after the former went for a faulty combination, but the latter missed an intermediate move that refutes the tactics. The Russian player proceeded to convert the advantage.



The first game between Wesley So and Le Quang Liem was drawn, and in the second the Vietnamese player carelessly advanced with the king, running straight into the mating net. Wesley So won and moved into the next round.

In the Russian derby and replay of the 2013 World Cup final, Dmitry Andreikin saved a disastrous position with black and then proceeded to win a fine game with white to send Vladimir Kramnik home.



In the next batch of rapid with faster time control Maxime Vachier-Lagrave broke the lock and defeated Evgeny Tomashevsky 2-0.

Two matches continued to be decided in the blitz games.



Leinier Dominguez played a good game with black, won the exchange and obtained an advantage. But he played too slow, started dropping pawns and eventually lost. In the return game Dominguez was once again oblivious about time and Adams progressed into the next round.

Two fearless fighters, Hikaru Nakamura and Ian Nepomniachtchi, exchanged wins in rapid and in blitz, eventually reaching Armageddon to decide the fate of the match.



Nepomniachtchi had white and 5 minutes, while Nakamura had black, 4 minutes and draw odds. The increment was coming in only from the 61st move.

White got something going, but Nakamura launched a strong counterattack, broke through the ranks and won the game.

Full set of results and pgn files can be found on http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/content/27 

Photo gallery is available at http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/product/62 

Round 4 pairings: Topalov - Svidler, Ding Liren - Wei Yi, Giri - Wojtaszek, So - Vachier-Lagrave, Nakamura - Adams, Eljanov - Jakovenko, Caruana - Mamedyarov, Andreikin - Karjakin.

Eljanov with six straight wins, eliminates Grischuk

The return games of the third round of the 2015 FIDE World Cup were completed in the Fairmont Flame Towers in Baku.

Ukrainian legend Vassily Ivanchuk surprised everyone, including his opponent, by resigning in a position that was, although weaker, still playable for black. Thus Dmitry Jakovenko advances to the 4th round.

Chinese players Ding Liren and Wei Yi took advantage of the white pieces to defeat Gadir Guseinov and Alexander Areshchenko, respectively, and qualify for the next stage. Yu Yangyi, on the contrary, could not strike back against Sergey Karjakin as the Russian obtained advantage and accepted a draw in better position.

Radoslaw Wojtaszek earned some advantage with white pieces, forcing his opponent Julio Granda Zuniga to sacrifice an exchange. The play got sharper and the Peruvian representative made several mistakes which led him to defeat and elimination from the World Cup.

In an innocuous middlegame Peter Leko, unusually for him, defended meekly and allowed Anish Giri to make substantial progress. The Dutch jumped on the opportunity, seized the initiative and shortly concluded the game.

Speaking of the players who won the first game yesterday, Fabiano Caruana and local star Shakhriyar Mamedyarov held the ground with black, achieving draws, and qualifying for the next round where they will meet each other.

Pavel Eljanov won all six games since the beginning of the World Cup, without conceding a single draw. He won the return game against Alexander Grischuk, to knock the 7th-seed out of the competition.

Seven matches will be settled in the games with quick time control.

Some of the round 4 pairings are already known: Chinese derby Ding Liren - Wei Yi, Giri - Wojtaszek, Eljanov - Jakovenko, Caruana - Mamedyarov.

The total prize fund of the 2015 FIDE World Chess Cup is 1,6 million USD. In addition, the tournament also awards two places in the 2016 Candidates Tournament, part of the FIDE World Championship cycle.

The players are getting 100% of their prizes, not 80% as most are quoting. This is because the Organizers paid the FIDE share on top of the Prize Fund.

Full set of results and pgn files can be found on http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/content/27 

Photo gallery is available at http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/product/60 

According to the Regulations (3.8 Tie-breaks), after a new drawing of colors, two tie-break games with the time control 25min + 10sec will be played.

If the scores are still level, then, after a new drawing of colors, a match of two games with the time control 10min + 10sec will be played.

In case of a level score, another match of two games will be played, with a blitz time control of 5min + 3sec.

If still there is no winner, one sudden-death game will be played. The player who wins the drawing of lots may choose the color. The player with the white pieces shall receive 5 minutes, the opponent with the black pieces shall receive 4 minutes whereupon, after the 60th move, both players shall receive an increment of 3 seconds for each move from move 61. In case of a draw the player with the black pieces is declared the winner.

FIDE World Cup - Round 3 Started

The third round of the 2015 FIDE World Chess Cup was held today at the Fairmont Hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan, with 32 players that remained in the competition.

The elo differences between the players were not as big as in previous rounds, and consequently many games were drawn.



Sergey Karjakin opened the score against the former World Junior Champion Yu Yangyi. In an interesting Sicilian game with both kings left in the center, the Chinese player blundered a tactical shot and resigned soon after.



Shakhriyar Mamedyarov steamrolled SP Seturaman in a sharp line of Caro-Kann. The temporary exchange sacrifice allowed white to reach a winning endgame, which he easily converted into full point.



Fabiano Caruana defeated the Canadian GM Anton Kovalyov, who earlier knocked out American's trainer Rustam Kasimdzhanov. Following the slow-paced middlegame with lots of maneuvers, Caruana finally broke through after the first time control.



In one of the most exciting games of the day Pavel Eljanov stunned the 7th-seed Alexander Grischuk with black pieces. However, Grischuk had a tremendous chance but he failed to spot a victorious move shortly before the time control. In the resulting endgame white tried to set a fortress, but nevertheless the position should be winning for black with precise play.

The remaining 12 games were drawn.

Full set of results and pgn files can be found on http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/content/27 

Photo gallery is available at http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/product/51 

The total prize fund of the 2015 FIDE World Chess Cup is 1,6 million USD. In addition, the tournament also awards two places in the 2016 Candidates Tournament, part of the FIDE World Championship cycle.

Round 2 tie-break: Areshchenko eliminated Aronian

The 15 pairs of players who tied their round two matches with the classical time control returned to the playing hall at the Fairmont Flame Towers in Baku to settle the scores in the rapid and blitz games.

In the first set of the rapid games Alexander Areshchenko convincingly defeated the world-class player Levon Aronian by 2-0. With the same result Teimour Radjabov and Anish Giri eliminated Ilia Smirin and Alexander Motylev, respectively.

Motylev, who was extremely solid throughout the first five days, blundered a piece in each of the two games. Speaking at the press conference, Giri explained that the current playing form counts for nothing in the knockout system: "A player can win 7 or 8 games in a row and then suddenly lose and get knocked out. On the contrary, we had the examples of players who were struggling day after day, but then somehow ended up in the final."



Among other matches, former World Cup winner Peter Svidler defeated Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu, Hikaru Nakamura eliminated his compatriot Samuel Shankland, and former World Blitz Champion Le Quang Liem outplayed Nikita Vitiugov.

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov delighted the local fans by scoring 1,5-0,5 against the world's top rated female player Hou Yifan.



In the next batch of rapid with faster time control Alexander Grischuk finally broke the resistance of his young compatriot Vladimir Fedoseev. Yu Yangyi is through, as well as Russian champion Evgeny Tomashevsky.



Sergey Karjakin won both games against the ultra-solid Alexander Onischuk to advance to the next round.

Three matches continued to be decided in the blitz games.

In one of the most exciting encounters in the tournament so far, according to the commentator Emil Sutovsky, Wei Yi and Yuri Vovk were trading punches until the Chinese prodigy eventually won both blitz games to go through.



Ian Nepomniachtchi and Laurent Fressinet were involved in a tough battle where the first seven games were drawn, and only a terrible blunder by the Frenchman in the 8th game allowed Nepo to qualify for the next round.

An entirely different show was directed by Michael Adams and Viktor Laznicka. The first six games ended in decisive results, with three fantastic comebacks, and then blitz delivered two draws.

The match was decided in the Armageddon game. Adams had white and 5 minutes, while Laznicka had black, 4 minutes and draw odds. The increment was coming in only from the 61st move.



To the surprise of the spectators, the Czech player displayed a terrible time management and simply run his clock out during the middlegame. Adams is set to play Dominguez in the 3rd round.

Full set of results and pgn files can be found on http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/content/27 

Photo gallery is available at http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/product/61 


Indian GM SP Sethuraman visited the press center to give an interview


Nikita Vitiugov checking out, Le Quang Liem extending stay (photo by Paul Truong)

Round 2 Game 2: Granda, So, Eljanov convincing in round 2 of FIDE World Cup

The return games of the second round of the 2015 FIDE World Cup were completed in the Fairmont Flame Towers in Baku.

Grandmasters Julio Granda, Wesley So and Pavel Eljanov convincingly defeated their respective opposition with 2-0 to qualify for the third round of the competition.

Chinese Lu Shanglei and local star Gadir Guseinov, who started the round by winning against higher rated players, preserved the advantage to also advance to the next round.

In the all-Indian derby SP Seturaman beat the elo-favourite Pentala Harikrishna to extend his stay in Baku.



As for the comebacks in a must-win situation, Michael Adams equalized against Viktor Laznicka, Sergey Karjakin struck back in a game that was praised even by the World Champion Magnus Carlsen, and Yuri Vovk pulled a small miracle by leveling the score against Chinese prodigy Wei Yi.

Among the top rated players, Veselin Topalov, Fabiano Caruana and Vladimir Kramnik are through to the next round, while Hikaru Nakamura, Anish Giri and Alexander Grischuk will return to the playing hall tomorrow for rapid tie-breaks.

 

A total of 15 matches will be settled in the games with quick time control.

Some of the round 3 pairings are already known: Topalov - Lu Shanglei, Ding Liren - Guseinov, Granda - Wojtaszek, Caruana - Kovalyov, and Kramnik - Andreikin in a replay of the 2013 World Cup final.

The total prize fund of the 2015 FIDE World Chess Cup is 1,6 million USD. In addition, the tournament also awards two places in the 2016 Candidates Tournament, part of the FIDE World Championship cycle.

Full set of results and pgn files can be found on http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/content/27 

Photo gallery is available at http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/product/48 



According to the Regulations (3.8 Tie-breaks), after a new drawing of colors, two tie-break games with the time control 25min + 10sec will be played.

If the scores are still level,, then, after a new drawing of colors, a match of two games with the time control 10min + 10sec will be played.
In case of a level score, another match of two games will be played, with a blitz time control of 5min + 3sec.

If still there is no winner, one sudden-death game will be played. The player who wins the drawing of lots may choose the color. The player with the white pieces shall receive 5 minutes, the opponent with the black pieces shall receive 4 minutes whereupon, after the 60th move, both players shall receive an increment of 3 seconds for each move from move 61. In case of a draw the player with the black pieces is declared the winner.

Round 2: Game 1 started

Nearly half of the games ended in decisive results, with the biggest upsets being a victory of the local star Gadir Guseinov against David Navara, and the loss of Wang Hao against his compatriot and 2014 World Junior Champion Lu Shanglei.

The ultra-solid Alexander Onischuk defeated the Russian hope Sergey Karjakin, while Viktor Laznicka reminded of his great talent by beating Michael Adams.



The top two boards Zhigalko-Topalov and Nakamura-Shankland were quickly drawn, but other Grandmasters from the world elite were successful, with Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So and Vladimir Kramnik opening the scores. Kramnik played the longest game of the day, converting the notorious R+B vs R ending into a point.



In the Latin-American derby Julio Granda (Peru) defeated Cristobal Henriquez (Chile) who earlier caused sensation by eliminating former World Cup winner Boris Gelfand.



Full set of results and pgn files can be found on http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/content/27 

Photo gallery is available at http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/product/47 

The total prize fund of the 2015 FIDE World Chess Cup is 1,6 million USD. In addition, the tournament also awards two places in the 2016 Candidates Tournament, part of the FIDE World Championship cycle.

Round 1 tie-break: Boris Gelfand eliminated by Cristobal Henriquez

The 24 pairs of players who tied their matches with the classical time control returned to the playing hall at the Fairmont Flame Towers in Baku to settle the scores in the rapid and blitz games.

After the first set of the rapid games the Chilean champion Cristobal Henriquez sensationally eliminated the former World Championship challenger Boris Gelfand and, according to the World Cup commentator Emil Sutovsky, created the biggest upset in the history of the FIDE knockout events.

Other notable results included the convincing win of Sergei Zhigalko who is going against top-seeded Veselin Topalov in the next round, the advance of the local stars Teimour Radjabov and Gadir Guseinov, and the good play of the still reigning World Junior Champion Lu Shanglei.

Former Women's World Champion Hou Yifan defeated the 7-times Brazilian champion Rafael Leitao.

In the next batch of rapid with faster time control only two matches were decided - Balogh Csaba eliminated Eltaj Safarli, while Igor Lysyj scored 2-0 against Constantin Lupulescu.

The adrenaline run high in the veins of the players and the spectators alike.

As many as five matches moved on to the blitz games. And only then the world-class Grandmasters Alexander Grischuk and Dmitry Jakovenko broke the resistance of the much lower rated opponents - International Masters Yusup Atabayev and Ilia Iljiushenok, respectively.

After seven consecutive draws Anton Kovalyov eventually won against former World Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov, as did Alexander Motylov against his compatriot Boris Grachev.

Mateusz Bartel and Gabriel Sargissian were to solve the dispute in the Armageddon game. Bartel had white and 5 minutes, while Sargissian had black, 4 minutes and draw odds. The increment was coming in only from the 61st move.

It seemed as Bartel obtained certain advantage, but Sargissian was able to simplify the position down to the rook ending, which he successfully held to advance to the next round.

Full set of results and pgn files can be found on http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/content/27 

Photo gallery is available at http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/product/53 

The second games of the first round of the 2015 FIDE World Cup were completed in the Fairmont Flame Towers in Baku.

Majority of the top seeded players cruised to the second round by eliminating much lower rated opposition, but some of the world's best faced fierce resistance and their matches will be decided in tie-breaks.

Notably, Russian Grandmasters Alexander Grischuk (7th seed), Dmitry Jakovenko (10th) and Evgeny Tomashevsky (12th) tied their matches against Yusup Atabayev, Ilia Iljiushenok and Ziaur Rahman, respectively.

Former World Championship finalist Boris Gelfand was held by Chilean champion Cristobal Henriquez.

Leinier Dominguez made an incredible comeback by pulling an endgame victory to even the match with Federico Perez.

Other memorable comebacks were wins of Alexander Moiseenko against Lu Shanglei and of Perunovic Milos against higher-rated Wang Hao.

The second round is already set to see the players from same nations going against each other. Hikaru Nakamura will play Samuel Shankland, while Pentala Harikrishna is paired against fellow Indian SP Sethuraman.

Full set of results and pgn files can be found on http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/content/27

Photo gallery is available at http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/product/52

24 pairs of players will return to the tournament hall on Sunday 15:00 local to decide who will qualify for the next round.

According to the Regulations (3.8 Tie-breaks), after a new drawing of colors, two tie-break games with the time control 25min + 10sec will be played.

If the scores are still level,, then, after a new drawing of colors, a match of two games with the time control 10min + 10sec will be played.
In case of a level score, another match of two games will be played, with a blitz time control of 5min + 3sec.

If still there is no winner, one sudden-death game will be played. The player who wins the drawing of lots may choose the color. The player with the white pieces shall receive 5 minutes, the opponent with the black pieces shall receive 4 minutes whereupon, after the 60th move, both players shall receive an increment of 3 seconds for each move from move 61. In case of a draw the player with the black pieces is declared the winner.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The 2015 FIDE World Chess Cup kicked off today at the Fairmont Hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan, with 128 world's top players fighting for the 1,6 million USD prize fund.

In addition to the generous prize fund, the tournament also awards two places in the 2016 Candidates Tournament, part of the FIDE World Championship cycle.

At the beginning of the first game of the first round the honorary move was made by Dr. Elman Rustamov, Governor of Azerbaijan Central Bank and President of Azerbaijan Chess Federation, and Nona Gaprindashvili, legendary Women's World Champion.

As usual in this format, the top seeded players were scoring wins against the much lower rated opposition, but IM Arthur Ssegwanyi from Uganda surprised Anish Giri by earning a draw in the marathon game of 158 moves.

In addition, IM Yusup Atabayev and IM Ilia Iljiushenok held Alexander Grischuk and Dmitry Jakovenko, respectively. Another notable result is the draw of Women's World Champion Mariya Muzychuk with black against Michael Adams, famous Grandmaster from England.

Federico Perez Ponsa (Argentina) stunned Leiner Dominguez Perez (Cuba), while the still reigning World Junior Champion Lu Shanglei from China defeated the former European Champion Alexander Moiseenko.

Full set of results and pgn files can be found on http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/content/27

Photo gallery is available at http://www.bakuworldcup2015.com/product/47


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The 2015 FIDE World Chess Cup was opened today in the magnificent Mugham Center in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The players, official and guests were greeted by Dr. Elman Rustamov, Governor of Azerbaijan Central Bank and President of Azerbaijan Chess Federation, Mr. Intigam Babayev, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of Azerbaijan, and Mr.Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, President of FIDE.

The programme also included beautiful promotional videos, a chess-themed ballet dance, and a song by Azerbaijani Eurovision contestant.

In the drawing of lots conducted by tournament's Chief Arbiter Faik Gasanov, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov drew a white piece, which means that the top-seeded player Veselin Topalov will have white pieces in the first game of the first round. The rest of the pairings will be aligned according to the pairings tree.

Round 1 game 1 pairings with colors can be found here (PDF)

Prior to the opening ceremony a technical meeting with the players was held. FIDE CEO Geoffrey Borg opened the meeting and then the Chief Arbiter explained the tournament rules.

FIDE Vice President and Chairman of the Anti-Cheating Committee Israel Gelfer explained the anti-cheating rules.

The regular games and tie-breaks will take place daily from 15:00 local time at the luxurious Fairmont Hotel in Flame Towers, Baku.

Photos by Eteri Kublashvili

Official website