World Cup R4 Tiebreaks: Polgar and Ponomariov win on last blitz

The tournament is taking place in the Ugorian Chess Academy in the very heart of Khanty-Mansiysk, which has hosted three previous World Cups: 2005, 2007, and 2009. The 128 participants hail from 46 different countries, and are playing for a total prize fund of US $1.6 million. In addition the first three finisher get tickets to the Candidates tournament in the next World Championship cycle.

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Round four tiebreaks

Anyone just looking at the scoreboard would conclude that the results of the fourth round were eminently logical as the Elo favorites all went forward, however, the games and swings could easily have gone otherwise.

For the Cubans, it was an especially bad day, as they had their top two players in the last sixteen, but neither survived in the end. Though Bruzon was theoretically a significant underdog to Ponomariov, his games against the Ukrainian showed things were not so clear in the rapid games. They exchanged wins in nervy games that alternated between being in complete control to blunderful. Finally a win in the last blitz game sealed Ponomariov’s ticket to the quarter-finals.

It was a tense and exciting match between Ponomariov and Bruzon

Dominguez’s match against Polgar was a mirror image, and it was theorized that while Judit might have an edge in the rapid games, he would be the stronger blitz player, having demonstrated his skills when won the 2008 World Blitz Championship. Alas for him, and much to the delight of the female genius’s fans, after trading wins it was precisely in the second and last blitz that he succumbed to her attack with Black and an overwhelming combination.

Of all the players forced into a tiebreak, Ivanchuk seemed the least bothered as he played a notch above Xiangzhi in this phase, with Grischuk also seeming the stronger player than Potkin in the rapids. The Danish GM Heine-Nielsen also tried to make a fight of it, as he tie things up after two rapid games, but Gashimov, who is a redoubtable speed player, kept control in the next two, and is also through to the next round.

The pairings for the last eight are all heavy-hitting and all players have shown form and resilience until now. They are Svidler-Polgar, Ponomariov-Gashimov, Ivanchuk-Radjabov, and Navara-Grischuk.

Results of round four

• Source: official results page

Remaining schedule of the World Chess Cup 2011

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