Chess World Cup 2009

The Chess World Cup 2009 was a 128-player single-elimination tournament, played between 20 November and 14 December 2009, in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. The Cup winner qualified for the Candidates stage of the World Chess Championship 2012. Boris Gelfand defeated Ruslan Ponomariov in the final.

The winner of the Chess World Cup 2007, Gata Kamsky, was defeated by Wesley So in the third round.

Format

Matches consisted of two games (except for the final, which consisted of four). Players had 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an addition of 30 seconds per move from move one. If the match was tied after the regular games, tie breaks were played on the next day. The format for the tie breaks was as follows:

  • Four rapid games (25 minutes plus 10 second increment) were played. According to chess journalist Mig Greengard, a "high FIDE official" admitted off the record that this unusual decision of playing four games instead of two was actually a mistake that was spotted too late to correct it.
  • If the score was still tied, up to five pairs of blitz games (5 minutes plus 3 second increment) were played. If one player led after a pair of blitz games, that player was declared the winner. This was a change from previous events, for instance at the Chess World Cup 2007 the match went to an armageddon game after a single pair of blitz games.
  • If the score was still tied after five pairs of blitz games, a single armageddon game (white must win, black only needs to draw) would be played. White had 5 minutes, black had 4 minutes, and both players had three-second increments beginning with move 61. Ultimately, no Armageddon games were played, as all matches were decided before that stage.

Participants

The players qualified for the event were:

  1.  Boris Gelfand (ISR), 2758 (R)
  2.  Vugar Gashimov (AZE), 2758 (R)
  3.  Peter Svidler (RUS), 2754 (R)
  4.  Alexander Morozevich (RUS), 2750 (R)
  5.  Teimour Radjabov (AZE), 2748 (R)
  6.  Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR), 2739 (R)
  7.  Ruslan Ponomariov (UKR), 2739 (R)
  8.  Alexander Grischuk (RUS), 2736 (R)
  9.  Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS), 2736 (R)
  10.  Wang Yue (CHN), 2734 (R)
  11.  Pavel Eljanov (UKR), 2729 (E09)
  12.  Sergey Karjakin (UKR), 2723 (SF)
  13.  Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE), 2719 (R)
  14.  Alexei Shirov (ESP), 2719 (SF)
  15.  Leinier Domínguez (CUB), 2719 (R)
  16.  Sergei Movsesian (SVK), 2718 (E08)
  17.  Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA), 2718 (E08)
  18.  Evgeny Alekseev (RUS), 2715 (R)
  19.  Evgeny Tomashevsky (RUS), 2708 (E09)
  20.  Wang Hao (CHN), 2708 (R)
  21.  David Navara (CZE), 2707 (E09)
  22.  Vladimir Malakhov (RUS), 2706 (R)
  23.  Étienne Bacrot (FRA), 2700 (R)
  24.  Sergei Rublevsky (RUS), 2697 (R)
  25.  Baadur Jobava (GEO), 2696 (E09)
  26.  Alexander Motylev (RUS), 2695 (E09)
  27.  Gata Kamsky (USA), 2695 (SF)
  28.  Nikita Vitiugov (RUS), 2694 (E09)
  29.  Viktor Bologan (MDA), 2692 (E08)
  30.  Arkadij Naiditsch (GER), 2689 (E09)
  31.  Bu Xiangzhi (CHN), 2682 (R)
  32.  Judit Polgár (HUN), 2680 (R)
  33.  Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (ROU), 2677 (E09)
  34.  Gabriel Sargissian (ARM), 2676 (E08)
  35.  Alexander Onischuk (USA), 2672 (Z2.1)
  36.  Ivan Cheparinov (BUL), 2671 (PN)
  37.  Zahar Efimenko (UKR), 2668 (E08)
  38.  Emil Sutovsky (ISR), 2666 (E08)
  39.  Evgeniy Najer (RUS), 2666 (E08)
  40.  Sergei Tiviakov (NED), 2664 (E08)
  41.  Alexander Areshchenko (UKR), 2664 (E09)
  42.  Krishnan Sasikiran (IND), 2664 (R)
  43.  Ilya Smirin (ISR), 2662 (E08)
  44.  Vladimir Baklan (UKR), 2655 (E08)
  45.  Surya Shekhar Ganguly (IND), 2654 (AS)
  46.  Alexandr Fier (BRA), 2653 (Z2.4)
  47.  Laurent Fressinet (FRA), 2653 (E08)
  48.  Georg Meier (GER), 2653 (E09)
  49.  Boris Grachev (RUS), 2652 (E08)
  50.  Fabiano Caruana (ITA), 2652 (PN)
  51.  Ivan Sokolov (BIH), 2652 (E09)
  52.  Vadim Milov (SUI), 2652 (R)
  53.  Artyom Timofeev (RUS), 2651 (E09)
  54.  Ernesto Inarkiev (RUS), 2645 (E09)
  55.  Boris Savchenko (RUS), 2644 (E09)
  56.  Mikhail Kobalia (RUS), 2643 (E09)
  57.  Vladislav Tkachiev (FRA), 2642 (PN)
  58.  Pavel Tregubov (RUS), 2642 (E08)
  59.  Wesley So (PHI), 2640 (Z3.3)
  60.  Julio Granda (PER), 2640 (AM09)
  61.  Viktor Láznička (CZE), 2637 (E08)
  62.  Dmitry Andreikin (RUS), 2636 (E08)
  63.  Rauf Mamedov (AZE), 2634 (E09)
  64.  Farrukh Amonatov (TJK), 2631 (Z3.4)
  65.  Sergey Volkov (RUS), 2629 (E08)
  66.  Zhou Jianchao (CHN), 2629 (Z3.5)
  67.  Tomi Nybäck (FIN), 2628 (E08)
  68.  Ioánnis Papaïoánnou (GRE), 2628 (E08)
  69.  Konstantin Sakaev (RUS), 2626 (E09)
  70.  Gadir Guseinov (AZE), 2625 (E09)
  71.  Varuzhan Akobian (USA), 2624 (Z2.1)
  72.  Lê Quang Liêm (VIE), 2624 (AS)
  73.  Chanda Sandipan (IND), 2623 (AS)
  74.  Yury Shulman (USA), 2623 (Z2.1)
  75.  Jan Gustafsson (GER), 2622 (E08)
  76.  Rafael Leitão (BRA), 2621 (Z2.4)
  77.  Parimarjan Negi (IND), 2620 (AS)
  78.  Sergey Fedorchuk (UKR), 2619 (E09)
  79.  Lázaro Bruzón (CUB), 2619 (Z2.3)
  80.  Mateusz Bartel (POL), 2618 (E09)
  81.  Tigran L. Petrosian (ARM), 2615 (E09)
  82.  Sanan Sjugirov (RUS), 2612 (E09)
  83.  Alexander Khalifman (RUS), 2612 (E08)
  84.  Anton Filippov (UZB), 2607 (Z3.4)
  85.  Alexander Shabalov (USA), 2606 (AM09)
  86.  Jaan Ehlvest (USA), 2606 (AM08)
  87.  Erwin l'Ami (NED), 2606 (E08)
  88.  Fidel Corrales Jimenez (CUB), 2605 (AM09)
  89.  Eduardo Iturrizaga (VEN), 2605 (Z2.3)
  90.  Ehsan Ghaem Maghami (IRI), 2603 (PN)
  91.  Zhou Weiqi (CHN), 2603 (AS)
  92.  Gilberto Milos (BRA), 2603 (AM09)
  93.  Yuriy Kryvoruchko (UKR), 2602 (E08)
  94.  Diego Flores (ARG), 2602 (AM09)
  95.  Li Chao (CHN), 2596 (Z3.5)
  96.  Constantin Lupulescu (ROU), 2591 (E09)
  97.  Duško Pavasovič (SLO), 2590 (E08)
  98.  Yannick Pelletier (SUI), 2589 (PN)
  99.  Hou Yifan (CHN), 2588 (AS)
  100.  Ahmed Adly (EGY), 2583 (J07)
  101.  Abhijeet Gupta (IND), 2578 (J08)
  102.  Rogelio Antonio Jr. (PHI), 2574 (AS)
  103.  Robert Hess (USA), 2572 (Z2.1)
  104.  Ray Robson (USA), 2567, IM (PN)
  105.  Iván Morovic (CHI), 2562 (Z2.5)
  106.  Friso Nijboer (NED), 2561 (E09)
  107.  Bassem Amin (EGY), 2553 (AF)
  108.  Darwin Laylo (PHI), 2552 (Z3.3)
  109.  Joshua Friedel (USA), 2551 (Z2.1)
  110.  Alexander Ivanov (USA), 2539 (AM09)
  111.  Aleksei Pridorozhni (RUS), 2533, IM (ON)
  112.  Yu Shaoteng (CHN), 2529 (AS)
  113.  Yu Yangyi (CHN), 2527 (AS)
  114.  David Smerdon (AUS), 2525 (Z3.6)
  115.  Abhijit Kunte (IND), 2522 (AS)
  116.  Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS), 2516 (WWC)
  117.  Andrés Rodríguez (URU), 2508 (Z2.5)
  118.  Mohamad Al Sayed (QAT), 2504 (Z3.1)
  119.  Nikolai Kabanov (RUS), 2501 (ON)
  120.  Aimen Rizouk (ALG), 2500 (AF)
  121.  Sriram Jha (IND), 2497, IM (Z3.2)
  122.  Essam El-Gindy (EGY), 2493 (AF)
  123.  Alexei Bezgodov (RUS), 2484 (ON)
  124.  Mohamed Ezat (EGY), 2472, IM (AF)
  125.  Khaled Abdel Razik (EGY), 2469, IM (AF)
  126.  Jean Hébert (CAN), 2420, IM (Z2.2)
  127.  Walaa Sarwat (EGY), 2405, IM (AF)
  128.  Andrei Obodchuk (RUS), 2404, IM (ON)

All players are grandmasters unless indicated otherwise. The pairings of the 1st round (players were seeded according to their ratings) were announced on 2 November 2009, immediately after the publishing of the November rating list. The list of players who declined participation: Anand, Carlsen, Topalov, Aronian, Kramnik, Leko, Adams, Nakamura, and Ni Hua. Among them, Anand, Topalov and Aronian had already qualified for the Candidates or the Championship match; Carlsen, Kramnik, Nakamura, Adams and Ni had committed to play in the London Chess Classic on 7–15 December 2009.

Qualification paths:

Calendar

Summary of results

Round one

In the first round of the tournament all of the top 30 seeded players progressed, with the sole exception of Slovakian Sergei Movsesian (16), who was eliminated by the Chinese 113th seed Yu Yangyi. Judit Polgár achieved a walkover, due to her opponent Duško Pavasovič withdrawing from the competition due to injury. The round was notable for the 16-game match between Pavel Tregubov and Varuzhan Akobian: after each winning with white over the first two days, their tiebreak held a marathon of four rapid games followed by ten blitz games. The two players fought until near 1 a.m. local time for the right to face Ruslan Ponomariov in the second round (which would start the next morning), Akobian finally achieving the decisive two-point advantage in the final bout before an Armageddon game would have been required.

Round two

The first day of Round Two included a number of upsets. The highest seed to have won their match was Alexander Grischuk (8), as Peter Svidler (3), Alexander Morozevich (4), Teimour Radjabov (5) and Vassily Ivanchuk (6) all lost and the remaining highest seeds (Gelfand, Gashimov and Ponomariov) drew. On the next day of matches, Morozevich, Radjabov and Ivanchuk were all eliminated, and exactly half of the matches went to tie-breaks. Of the 32 players to reach Round Three, all but seven players had been originally seeded in the top 32.

Round three

Sixteen-year-old Wesley So, who had upset Ivanchuk in Round Two, achieved another major upset, defeating Gata Kamsky, the 2007 winner, 1½-½. In the second rapid tiebreak, Chinese players Wang Yue and Li Chao were not at their seats for the start of the round, and lost the game, and their matches against Bacrot and Gashimov.

Round four

This round marked the departure of most of the youthful players from the World Cup. Wesley So (16), Fabiano Caruana (17) and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (19) were eliminated by the more experienced Malakhov, Gashimov and Gelfand respectively, leaving Sergey Karjakin the only under-20 player left in contention.

Results, rounds 1–4

Section 1

First roundSecond roundThird roundFourth round
            
1 Boris Gelfand (ISR)1½
128 Andrei Obodchuk (RUS)½
1 Boris Gelfand (ISR)1½
64 Farrukh Amonatov (TJK)½
64 Farrukh Amonatov (TJK)1½
65 Sergey Volkov (RUS)½
1 Boris Gelfand (ISR)3½
32 Judit Polgár (HUN)2½
32 Judit Polgár (HUN)w/o
97 Duško Pavasovič (SLO)
32 Judit Polgár (HUN)4½
33 Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (ROU)3½
33 Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (ROU)1½
96 Constantin Lupulescu (ROU)½
1 Boris Gelfand (ISR)4½
17 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)3½
16 Sergei Movsesian (SVK)½
113 Yu Yangyi (CHN)1½
113 Yu Yangyi (CHN)1½
80 Mateusz Bartel (POL)½
49 Boris Grachev (RUS)3
80 Mateusz Bartel (POL)5
113 Yu Yangyi (CHN)½
17 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)1½
17 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)1½
112 Yu Shaoteng (CHN)½
17 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (FRA)3½
48 Georg Meier (GER)2½
48 Georg Meier (GER)1½
81 Tigran L. Petrosian (ARM)½

Section 2

First roundSecond roundThird roundFourth round
            
8 Alexander Grischuk (RUS)1½
121 Sriram Jha (IND)½
8 Alexander Grischuk (RUS)1½
57 Vladislav Tkachiev (FRA)½
57 Vladislav Tkachiev (FRA)3½
72 Lê Quang Liêm (VIE)1½
8 Alexander Grischuk (RUS)5
25 Baadur Jobava (GEO)3
25 Baadur Jobava (GEO)1½
104 Ray Robson (USA)½
25 Baadur Jobava (GEO)1½
89 Eduardo Iturrizaga (VEN)½
40 Sergei Tiviakov (NED)2½
89 Eduardo Iturrizaga (VEN)3½
8 Alexander Grischuk (RUS)3
9 Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS)5
9 Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS)1½
120 Aimen Rizouk (ALG)½
9 Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS)2
73 Chanda Sandipan (IND)0
56 Mikhail Kobalia (RUS)½
73 Chanda Sandipan (IND)1½
9 Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS)4
41 Alexander Areshchenko (UKR)2
24 Sergei Rublevsky (RUS)1½
105 Iván Morovic (CHI)½
24 Sergei Rublevsky (RUS)2½
41 Alexander Areshchenko (UKR)3½
41 Alexander Areshchenko (UKR)1½
88 Fidel Corrales Jimenez (CUB)½

Section 3

First roundSecond roundThird roundFourth round
            
4 Alexander Morozevich (RUS)2
125 Khaled Abdel Razik (EGY)0
4 Alexander Morozevich (RUS)0
61 Viktor Láznička (CZE)2
61 Viktor Láznička (CZE)1½
68 Ioánnis Papaïoánnou (GRE)½
61 Viktor Láznička (CZE)3½
29 Viktor Bologan (MDA)1½
29 Viktor Bologan (MDA)1½
100 Ahmed Adly (EGY)½
29 Viktor Bologan (MDA)4
36 Ivan Cheparinov (BUL)2
36 Ivan Cheparinov (BUL)3½
93 Yuriy Kryvoruchko (UKR)2½
61 Viktor Láznička (CZE)½
13 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE)1½
13 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE)2
116 Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS)0
13 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE)2
52 Vadim Milov (SUI)0
52 Vadim Milov (SUI)3½
77 Parimarjan Negi (IND)1½
13 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE)1½
20 Wang Hao (CHN)½
20 Wang Hao (CHN)2
109 Joshua Friedel (USA)0
20 Wang Hao (CHN)2
45 Surya Shekhar Ganguly (IND)0
45 Surya Shekhar Ganguly (IND)2
84 Anton Filippov (UZB)0

Section 4

First roundSecond roundThird roundFourth round
            
5 Teimour Radjabov (AZE)2
124 Mohamed Ezat (EGY)0
5 Teimour Radjabov (AZE)½
69 Konstantin Sakaev (RUS)1½
60 Julio Granda (PER)½
69 Konstantin Sakaev (RUS)1½
69 Konstantin Sakaev (RUS)½
28 Nikita Vitiugov (RUS)1½
28 Nikita Vitiugov (RUS)1½
101 Abhijeet Gupta (IND)½
28 Nikita Vitiugov (RUS)4½
92 Gilberto Milos (BRA)3½
37 Zahar Efimenko (UKR)½
92 Gilberto Milos (BRA)1½
28 Nikita Vitiugov (RUS)½
12 Sergey Karjakin (UKR)1½
12 Sergey Karjakin (UKR)1½
117 Andrés Rodríguez (URU)½
12 Sergey Karjakin (UKR)3½
53 Artyom Timofeev (RUS)2½
53 Artyom Timofeev (RUS)3½
76 Rafael Leitão (BRA)2½
12 Sergey Karjakin (UKR)4
21 David Navara (CZE)1
21 David Navara (CZE)4
108 Darwin Laylo (PHI)2
21 David Navara (CZE)3½
85 Alexander Shabalov (USA)2½
44 Vladimir Baklan (UKR)3½
85 Alexander Shabalov (USA)4½

Section 5

First roundSecond roundThird roundFourth round
            
2 Vugar Gashimov (AZE)2
127 Walaa Sarwat (EGY)0
2 Vugar Gashimov (AZE)1½
66 Zhou Jianchao (CHN)½
63 Rauf Mamedov (AZE)½
66 Zhou Jianchao (CHN)1½
2 Vugar Gashimov (AZE)3½
95 Li Chao (CHN)1½
31 Bu Xiangzhi (CHN)½
98 Yannick Pelletier (SUI)1½
98 Yannick Pelletier (SUI)3½
95 Li Chao (CHN)4½
34 Gabriel Sargissian (ARM)3
95 Li Chao (CHN)5
2 Vugar Gashimov (AZE)3½
50 Fabiano Caruana (ITA)1½
15 Leinier Domínguez (CUB)3½
114 David Smerdon (AUS)2½
15 Leinier Domínguez (CUB)2
50 Fabiano Caruana (ITA)4
50 Fabiano Caruana (ITA)1½
79 Lázaro Bruzón (CUB)½
50 Fabiano Caruana (ITA)3½
18 Evgeny Alekseev (RUS)2½
18 Evgeny Alekseev (RUS)1½
111 Aleksei Pridorozhni (RUS)½
18 Evgeny Alekseev (RUS)3½
47 Laurent Fressinet (FRA)1½
47 Laurent Fressinet (FRA)2
82 Sanan Sjugirov (RUS)0

Section 6

First roundSecond roundThird roundFourth round
            
7 Ruslan Ponomariov (UKR)1½
122 Essam El-Gindy (EGY)½
7 Ruslan Ponomariov (UKR)4
71 Varuzhan Akobian (USA)2
58 Pavel Tregubov (RUS)7
71 Varuzhan Akobian (USA)9
7 Ruslan Ponomariov (UKR)1½
26 Alexander Motylev (RUS)½
26 Alexander Motylev (RUS)1½
103 Robert Hess (USA)½
26 Alexander Motylev (RUS)1½
39 Evgeniy Najer (RUS)½
39 Evgeniy Najer (RUS)1½
90 Ehsan Ghaem Maghami (IRI)½
7 Ruslan Ponomariov (UKR)3½
23 Étienne Bacrot (FRA)2½
10 Wang Yue (CHN)2
119 Nikolai Kabanov (RUS)0
10 Wang Yue (CHN)2
55 Boris Savchenko (RUS)0
55 Boris Savchenko (RUS)4½
74 Yury Shulman (USA)3½
10 Wang Yue (CHN)1½
23 Étienne Bacrot (FRA)3½
23 Étienne Bacrot (FRA)3½
106 Friso Nijboer (NED)1½
23 Étienne Bacrot (FRA)2
42 Krishnan Sasikiran (IND)0
42 Krishnan Sasikiran (IND)3½
87 Erwin l'Ami (NED)1½

Section 7

First roundSecond roundThird roundFourth round
            
3 Peter Svidler (RUS)2
126 Jean Hébert (CAN)0
3 Peter Svidler (RUS)3½
67 Tomi Nybäck (FIN)1½
62 Dmitry Andreikin (RUS)3½
67 Tomi Nybäck (FIN)4½
3 Peter Svidler (RUS)5
30 Arkadij Naiditsch (GER)3
30 Arkadij Naiditsch (GER)3½
99 Hou Yifan (CHN)2½
30 Arkadij Naiditsch (GER)1½
35 Alexander Onischuk (USA)½
35 Alexander Onischuk (USA)1½
94 Diego Flores (ARG)½
3 Peter Svidler (RUS)1½
14 Alexei Shirov (ESP)½
14 Alexei Shirov (ESP)1½
115 Abhijit Kunte (IND)½
14 Alexei Shirov (ESP)4
78 Sergey Fedorchuk (UKR)1
51 Ivan Sokolov (BIH)0
78 Sergey Fedorchuk (UKR)2
14 Alexei Shirov (ESP)1½
19 Evgeny Tomashevsky (RUS)½
19 Evgeny Tomashevsky (RUS)1½
110 Alexander Ivanov (USA)½
19 Evgeny Tomashevsky (RUS)3½
83 Alexander Khalifman (RUS)2½
46 Alexandr Fier (BRA)2½
83 Alexander Khalifman (RUS)3½

Section 8

First roundSecond roundThird roundFourth round
            
6 Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR)2
123 Alexei Bezgodov (RUS)0
6 Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR)½
59 Wesley So (PHI)1½
59 Wesley So (PHI)4
70 Gadir Guseinov (AZE)1
59 Wesley So (PHI)1½
27 Gata Kamsky (USA)½
27 Gata Kamsky (USA)1½
102 Rogelio Antonio Jr. (PHI)½
27 Gata Kamsky (USA)1½
91 Zhou Weiqi (CHN)½
38 Emil Sutovsky (ISR)1½
91 Zhou Weiqi (CHN)3½
59 Wesley So (PHI)1
22 Vladimir Malakhov (RUS)4
11 Pavel Eljanov (UKR)1½
118 Mohamad Al Sayed (QAT)½
11 Pavel Eljanov (UKR)3½
54 Ernesto Inarkiev (RUS)2½
54 Ernesto Inarkiev (RUS)3½
75 Jan Gustafsson (GER)1½
11 Pavel Eljanov (UKR)1
22 Vladimir Malakhov (RUS)4
22 Vladimir Malakhov (RUS)2
107 Bassem Amin (EGY)0
22 Vladimir Malakhov (RUS)3½
43 Ilya Smirin (ISR)1½
43 Ilya Smirin (ISR)1½
86 Jaan Ehlvest (USA)½

Results, rounds 5–7

QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal (best of 4)
         
1IsraelBoris Gelfand3½
9RussiaDmitry Jakovenko1½
1IsraelBoris Gelfand2
12UkraineSergey Karjakin0
13AzerbaijanShakhriyar Mamedyarov½
12UkraineSergey Karjakin1½
1IsraelBoris Gelfand7
7UkraineRuslan Ponomariov5
2AzerbaijanVugar Gashimov1½
7UkraineRuslan Ponomariov3½
7UkraineRuslan Ponomariov4
22RussiaVladimir Malakhov2
3RussiaPeter Svidler½
22RussiaVladimir Malakhov1½

Final, 10–14 December

References

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Uses material from the Wikipedia article Chess World Cup 2009, released under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.