The Final Chess Masters 2010, organized by the Grand Slam Chess Association, consists of two parts. The first one was a qualification tournament in Shanghai, on 3-8th September, with the participation of Hao Wang, Alexey Shirov, Levon Aronian, and Vladimir Kramnik.

Two players from Shanghai, Alexei Shirov and Vladimir Kramnik, advanced to the second stage in Bilbao, where they meet the world's top rated player Magnus Carlsen and the World Champion Viswanathan Anand.
The Bilbao stage is taking place on 9-15th October.

The 2010 Final Masters will be played according to the Sofia rules (draws can be offered only through arbiters) and the Bilbao system (3 points for a win, 1 for draw, and 0 for loss).

Vladimir Kramnik is off to a flying start as he signed two victories with white pieces in the first two rounds. Close behind is World Champion Viswanathan Anand, who on the contrary started with black in both games, and both times defended with the Berlin Ruy Lopez.





Round 1 – 9/10/2010
Vladimir Kramnik     1-0     Magnus Carlsen
Alexei Shirov     1/2-1/2     Viswanathan Anand

Round 2 – 10/10/2010
Magnus Carlsen     0-1     Viswanathan Anand
Vladimir Kramnik     1-0     Alexei Shirov

Standings:
1. Vladimir Kramnik - 6
2. Viswanathan Anand - 4
3. Alexei Shirov - 1
4. Magnus Carlsen - 0

Live games on the official website / With computer analysis