Svidler beats Kramnik in Russian Championship

The Russian Championship Superfinal is taking place from December 19-30, 2005, in Moscow. It is a 12 player round robin, with time controls of 100 minutes for 40 moves, then 50 minutes for 20 moves, and 10 minutes for the rest of the game. There is an increment of 30 seconds added to each move. All rounds start at 15:00h local time = 13:00h CEST (Paris, Berlin), 12:00h London and 7 a.m. New York.

The total prize fund is US $130,000, with $40,000 going to the winner, $25,000 to second place, $12,500 for third, $10,000 for fourth, etc. and $3,000 for last place. There is a special $2000 prize for the best game of the event, donated by the SVR Group.

Two players who were originally nominated were not at the start: Alexander Grischuk decided to withdraw after differences with the organiser over the distribution of the prize fund (see Grischuk's interview during the FIDE World Cup). Evgeny Najer withdrew because of illness. They were replaced by Zvjaginsev and Tomashevsky.

Results

Two days ago Evgeny Bareev had played his final game in the tournament in the Siberian town of Khanty-Mansiysk. Apparently wrapping that up, returning to Moscow and starting in the Superfinal was too much for Evgeny. He collapsed in a French Tarrash against Sergei Rublevsky, who had gone through the same Siberian marathon, but was playing enterprising, aggressive chess.

Rublevsky,S (2652) - Bareev,E (2675) [C08]
ch-RUS Superfinal Moscow RUS (1), 19.12.2005
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.Ngf3 Nf6 5.exd5 exd5 6.Bb5+ Bd7 7.Bxd7+ Nbxd7 8.0-0 Be7 9.Re1 0-0 10.dxc5 Nxc5 11.Nf1 Re8 12.Be3 b5 13.c3 Qd7 14.Bd4 Rad8 15.Ne3 Nce4 16.Qb3 a6 17.Ne5 Qb7 18.Nd3 Qc6 19.a4 Nd2 20.Qc2 Nc4 21.axb5 axb5 22.Nf5 Bf8 23.b3 Nb6 24.Ne5 Qe6 25.f3 Ra8 26.Rad1 26...b4? 26...Nbd7 was necessary, to protect the square f6. 27.Ng4 Qxe1+ 28.Rxe1 Rxe1+ 29.Kf2 Rea1

30.Nfh6+ Kh8 (30...gxh6 31.Nxf6+ Kh8 32.Qxh7#) 31.Nxf7+ Kg8 32.Nfh6+ Kh8 33.Nxf6 gxf6 34.Qf5 Bg7 35.Nf7+ 1-0.

Peter Svidler, faced with a Petroff by Vladimir Kramnik, played a line seen recently in a game by Kasimdzhanov. Kramnik played a new continuation (11...Bf6) and shed a pawn on move 29. Svidler played impeccably to take this important point from his greatest rival in the event.

Alexander Morozevich played his trademark creative chess and had a clear advantage against Evgeny Tomashevsky and must have been winning at some stage (34...h4 was probably his last chance). But Tomashevsky defended well and shared the point.

Links

Official web site of the event