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Cap D'Agde rapid tournament, "Second Anatoly Karpov Trophy" Location: Cap d'Agde, France Playchess transmission: Click HERE to watch the Cap d'Agde games on Playchess. |
It was business as usual for Karpov as he beat Nino Maisuradze in round eleven
The qualifying stage of the Cap d’Agde ended with a deserved victory by the event’s namesake, Anatoly Karpov. His rout never let up, and after eleven of the fourteen rounds, he stood on a monstrous 9.5/11. As a result, he understandably went into cruise control, ending on 11.0/14, saving his energy for the knockout phase to follow. It bears remembering that last year, he took the title after nearly three hours of battle with Vassily Ivanchuk, when a non-stop series of tiebreaks failed to separate the two.
Yannick Pelletier greets Anatoly Karpov, relishing the chance to play a legend
Mariya Muzychuk beat Marie Sebag, positioning herself to have a shot at the top four
Top female player in France, GM Marie Sebag
In second was Etienne Bacrot with 9.0/14, the only other player able to shine, which meant that the rest of the pack had a problem. With four spots in all, and two already spoken for, Vassily Ivanchuk, Yannick Pelletier, and Mariya Muzychuk, all tied with 8.0/14, had to determine which two of the three would proceed. On paper, the two grandmasters were the overwhelming favorites, but appearances can be deceiving as soon became clear.
Lovely video images of rounds 11 and 12 (courtesy Europe Echecs)
The tiebreaker was a double round-robin between the three players, played at three minutes plus two seconds increment, and the very first game threw the mathematical predictions out the window as Muzychuk, playing her Ukrainian compatriot and idol, Vassily Ivanchuk, overcame him in a crazy game in which he overstepped the time. Midway into the game, with a minute left, the transmission broke down, and the low resolution video was all that was left. The live commentators were trying to guess what was happening based solely on the player expressions. When Mariya was seen pointing to the clock, while Ivanchuk displayed a face of despair and dismay, there was no need to be a poker player to surmise what had happened. A couple of minutes later, the verdict was confirmed.
No words are required to say who won between Vassily Ivanchuk and Mariya Muzychuk
Game two confirmed nothing could be taken for granted as Muzychuk faced Swiss GM Yannick Pelletier and scored her second straight point. Despite having only played two of her four games, it was evident that a surprise was a likely scenario, and when the dust had settled, she and Ivanchuk had both qualified.
With a win over GM Yannick Pelletier, it was clear a surprise was rearing it head
There was only one problem: a tiebreaker of the tiebreaker now needed to be played to settle who was third and who was fourth. This was not a battle for cheap honors, but a crucial one to see who would face Karpov in the semi-finals, and who would face Bacrot. With Karpov steamrolling the field, both players preferred to be third and take their chances with the French super GM instead, but this time Ivanchuk imposed himself and took the mini-match 1.5/2.
Video of the tiebreaker
The semifinals, played at 25 minutes plus ten seconds, will pit Mariya Muzychuk against Anatoly Karpov, and Vassily Ivanchuk against Etienne Bacrot. Thus far the entertainment has certainly lived up to its billing.
Pictures and videos by Europe Echecs
LinksThe games are being broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download a free Playchess client there and get immediate access. You can also use ChessBase 12 or any of our Fritz compatible chess programs. |
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