Nikita Vitiugov wins Gibraltar after tiebreak

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Nikita Vitiugov won the traditional Gibraltar Chess Festival that took place on 21-31 January, 2013, after defeating Nigel Short in a dramatic tiebreak in the last round.

Seven players from the 2700 club were the headliners in this year’s event, but only three players got to the final round in the shared first place with 7.5/9 points. Nikita Vitiugov was paired against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. They played a very tactical line, where probably most of the moves where part of their preparation; the game ended in a 36 moves draw when the Russian started to give perpetual check to the Black king.

In the second board, the other leader Nigel Short, played against the Czech star David Navara. They played a quite interesting game that, however, was never far from equality. They signed the peace treaty at move 39. So, until this point, we already knew that there would be a tie-break, because nobody was able to make more than 8 points, and three players already had gotten this score.

The third player to get to 8 points was the Indian Chanda Sandipan, who took advantage of Le Quang Liem‘s suspicious handling of the opening. The Indian already had a big advantage by move 20 due to the weak position of the White king in the center. The Vietnamese surrendered at move 37 when his opponent threatened to give mate or take his queen.

The English GM Michael Adams tried to squeeze a victory in his game against Kiril Georgiev in order to get to the tie-break, but the Bulgarian defended correctly. The draw was achieved by move 68.

Replay the games with computer analysis

The tie-breaks

In the knockout matches for the title, Vitiugov was paired against Sandipan and Short against Vachier-Lagrave. Both Vitiugov and Short won their first games with black and could advance to the final encounter without much trouble.

The final match between Nigel Short and Nikita Vitiugov started around 18:45 local time. These games would decide who takes home the first prize of £20,000 and who keeps the shared 2nd-4th place, so the stakes were quite high. In the first game, the Russian GM managed to win impressively, showing great technique with almost no time on his clock. The second game was very tense, but Nikita managed to keep cool and draw to get the sole first place in this strong event.

This very tough open left a lot of strong players just a half point behind the opportunity to go for the very coveted first prize. No less than 9 players finished the 10 rounds with 7.5 points. Some of them probably finished the tournament disappointed, given their status in the world of chess. Among them we can mention Vassily Ivanchuk, who arrived as the first seed; Gata Kamsky, who is used to getting good results in open tournaments in the US; David Navara, who arrived in the last minute with high expectations; and Michael Adams, who seemed to be in good form after his performance in the London Chess Classic.

Others were probably happy with their result, despite the fact that they didn’t get to the very top. Ivan Salgado Lopez showed stable chess and had a lot of fans cheering for him from neighbor Spain. Ruben Felgaer from Argentina played solidly and managed to avoid losing a single game, while at the same time gaining 13 rating points. The Dutch IM Stefan Kuipers also achieved a good result, he got 7 points after beating the legend Jaan Ehlvest in the last round.

The Women’s Prize

The Chinese GM Zhao Xue won the top female prize of £12,000. She drew her game after nearly five hours of play against Vassily Ivanchuk and achieved a score of 7½/10. The 2nd-4th places were shared by the runner-up of the World Cup 2012 Antoaneta Stefanova, the Russian Valentina Gunina and the Ukrainian Anna Muzychuk, who all got 7/10 points.

Photos by Zeljka Malobabic

Final Standings

Rk.		Name	FED		Pts.
1	GM	Vitiugov Nikita	RUS		8
2	GM	Vachier-Lagrave Maxime	FRA		8
3	GM	Sandipan Chanda	IND		8
4	GM	Short Nigel D	ENG		8
5	GM	Georgiev Kiril	BUL		7.5
6	GM	Adams Michael	ENG		7.5
7	GM	Navara David	CZE		7.5
8	GM	Kamsky Gata	USA		7.5
9	GM	Ivanchuk Vassily	UKR		7.5
10	GM	Yu Yangyi	CHN		7.5
11	GM	Salgado Lopez Ivan	ESP		7.5
12	GM	Fridman Daniel	GER		7.5
13	GM	Zhao Xue	CHN		7.5
14	GM	Le Quang Liem	VIE		7
15	GM	Jones Gawain C B	ENG		7
16	GM	Felgaer Ruben	ARG		7
17	GM	Wojtaszek Radoslaw	POL		7
18	GM	Shirov Alexei	LAT		7
19	GM	Stefanova Antoaneta	BUL		7
20	IM	Gunina Valentina	RUS		7
21	GM	Muzychuk Anna	SLO		7
22	GM	Sutovsky Emil	ISR		7
23	GM	Gallagher Joseph G.	SUI		7
24	GM	Bartel Mateusz	POL		7
25	IM	Kuipers Stefan	NED		7
26	GM	Iturrizaga Eduardo	VEN		6.5
27	IM	Oparin Grigoriy	RUS		6.5
28	GM	Dzagnidze Nana	GEO		6.5
29	GM	Swiercz Dariusz	POL		6.5
30	IM	Ibarra Jerez Jose Carlos	ESP		6.5
31	IM	Larino Nieto David	ESP		6.5
32	IM	Docx Stefan	BEL		6.5
33	GM	Jakubiec Artur	POL		6.5
34	GM	Kulaots Kaido	EST		6.5
35	GM	Kanep Meelis	EST		6.5
36	GM	Gordon Stephen J	ENG		6.5
37	IM	Muzychuk Mariya	UKR		6.5
38	GM	Hoang Thanh Trang	HUN		6.5
39	GM	Cramling Pia	SWE		6.5
40	IM	Paehtz Elisabeth	GER		6.5
41	GM	Harika Dronavalli	IND		6.5
42	GM	Vazquez Igarza Renier	ESP		6.5
43	IM	Tania Sachdev	IND		6.5
44		Janev Pavel	BUL		6.5
45	GM	Maze Sebastien	FRA		6.5
46	FM	Gromovs Sergejs	ITA		6.5
47	IM	Omar Noaman	UAE		6.5
48	IM	Houska Jovanka	ENG		6.5
49	GM	Tkachiev Vladislav	FRA		6
50	GM	Ehlvest Jaan	USA		6
51	GM	Al-Sayed Mohammed	QAT		6
52	IM	Teran Alvarez Ismael	ESP		6
53	IM	Aloma Vidal Robert	ESP		6
54	IM	Melia Salome	GEO		6
55	GM	Cmilyte Viktorija	LTU		6
56	WGM	Ju Wenjun	CHN		6
57	IM	Kjartansson Gudmundur	ISL		6
58	FM	Fenollar Jorda Manuel	ESP		6
59	GM	Womacka Mathias	GER		6
60	GM	Akesson Ralf	SWE		6
61	GM	David Alberto	ITA		6
62	GM	Mastrovasilis Athanasios	GRE		6
63	IM	Nezad Husein Aziz	QAT		6
64	IM	Cernousek Lukas	CZE		6
65	FM	Kvisvik Brede	NOR		6
66	IM	Jones Richard S.	WLS		6
67	GM	Salem A.R. Saleh	UAE		6
68	IM	Poetsch Hagen	GER		6
69	GM	Bellon Lopez Juan Manuel	ESP		6
70	IM	Godard Maxence	FRA		6
71	FM	Ortega Ruiz Jose Miguel	ESP		6
72	IM	Milliet Sophie	FRA		6
73	GM	Arakhamia-Grant Ketevan	SCO		6
74	IM	Palencia Wilson	COL		6
75	FM	Sanchez Ibern Marc	ESP		6
76	WGM	Vojinovic Jovana	MNE		6
77	FM	Moreno Tejera Emilio	ESP		6
78	GM	Jussupow Artur	GER		5.5
79		Pinho Paulo	POR		5.5
80	FM	Georgiadis Nico	SUI		5.5
81	IM	Trent Lawrence	ENG		5.5
82	FM	Arvola Benjamin	NOR		5.5
83	IM	Zhou Yang-Fan	ENG		5.5
84	IM	Kantorik Marian	SVK		5.5
85	WGM	Dolzhikova Olga	NOR		5.5
86	IM	Karavade Eesha	IND		5.5
87	IM	Zatonskih Anna	USA		5.5
88	FM	Montero Melendez Rafael	ESP		5.5
89	IM	Roser Kevin	FRA		5.5
90		Tari Aryan	NOR		5.5
91		Gaehwiler Gabriel	SUI		5.5
92		Kvisla Johannes Luangtep	NOR		5.5
93	IM	Telljohann Sven	GER		5.5
94		Lind Jan-Olof	SWE		5.5
95	IM	Kurmann Oliver	SUI		5.5
96	FM	Storey Charles H	ENG		5.5
97	WGM	Rudolf Anna	HUN		5.5
98	IM	Adrian Claude	FRA		5.5
99	FM	Bergstrom Rolf	SWE		5.5
100	IM	Dukaczewski Piotr	POL		5.5
		Spence David J	ENG		5.5
102		Dasaolu Rotimi	NGR		5.5
103	GM	Tischbierek Raj	GER		5
104	FM	De Haan Eric	NED		5
105		Sanchez Botella Luis Javier	ESP		5
106	FM	Vyparina Matej	SVK		5
		Tscharotschkin Michael	GER		5
108		Zygouris Hristos	GRE		5
109		O`toole George E	ENG		5
110		Novoa Fernando	ARG		5
111	FM	Villuendas Valero Adrian	ESP		5
112		Amato Andrea	ITA		5
113		Valgmae Toomas	EST		5
114		Hommerson Paul	NED		5
115	FM	Nuri Kambez	SUI		5
116	IM	Lederman Leon	ISR		5
117	IM	Wemmers Xander	NED		5
118	FM	Kriebel Tadeas	CZE		5
119		Nafri Khalil	MAR		5
120		Veltkamp Gerben	NED		5
121		Seyfried Claus	GER		5
122	CM	Osuna Vega Enrique	ESP		5
123		Allor Chukwuka	NGR		5
124		Onabogun Kolade	NGR		5
125		Bird Andrew	AUS		5
	FM	Pena Riasco Alexander	COL		5
127	IM	Quillan Gary	ENG		5
128		Nazarenus Moritz	GER		5
129	FM	Scharrer Patrick	ITA		5
130		Linhart Wolfgang	GER		5
131		Ferrante Marco	ITA		5
132	IM	Piasetski Leon	CAN		5
133		Rujan Rodel-Marinel	ROU		5
134		Olhovik Andrei	BLR		5
135		Mckenna Jason P	ENG		5
136	FM	Lyell Mark	ENG		5
137		Chapman Terry P D	ENG		4.5
138		Semprun Martinez Fernando	ESP		4.5
139		Diaz Velandia Jose Manuel	VEN		4.5
140		Byron Alan M	ENG		4.5
141		Lindsoe Fredrik Aunan	NOR		4.5
142	FM	Tate Alan	SCO		4.5
143		Lipecki Alexander	SUI		4.5
144		Fairbairn Stephen	CAN		4.5
145		Becham Khalid	MAR		4.5
146		Uran Bermudez Oliver Kevin	VEN		4.5
147	FM	Garcia Jimenez Francisco Javi	ESP		4.5
148	FM	Smith Andrew Philip	IRL		4.5
149	IM	Sanchez Castillo Sarai	VEN		4.5
150		Lee Kai Jie Edward	SIN		4.5
151		Suez-Panama Gilles	FRA		4.5
152	FM	Loew Gerald	GER		4.5
153	WFM	Grigoryan Meri	ENG		4.5
154		Valhondo Morales Ruben	ESP		4.5
155		Jameson David	WLS		4.5
156	FM	Stockmann Michael	GER		4.5
		Ungureanu Sandu	ROU		4.5
158	CM	Walton Alan J	ENG		4.5
		Weber Francois	ESP		4.5
160		Marttala Thomas	SWE		4.5
161		Bryn Askild	NOR		4.5
162		Karlsson Jorgen	SWE		4.5
163		Burrows Martin P	ENG		4.5
		Hackner Oskar A	ENG		4.5
165		Samu Sorin-Mihai	ROU		4.5
166		Thornton John D	WLS		4.5
167		Gieritz Dietmar	GER		4.5
168		Hutton Jack	USA		4.5
169		Christiansmeier Sven	GER		4.5
170		Tuchtfeld Juergen	GER		4.5
171		Ramdewar Ishan	ENG		4.5
172		Herbold Manfred	GER		4.5
173	FM	Dittmar Peter	GER		4
174	FM	Forsaa Espen	NOR		4
175		Vinas Guerrero Carlos A.	ESP		4
176		Jaunooby Ali R	ENG		4
177		Meyer Kai-Christian	GER		4
178		Spanton Tim R	ENG		4
179		Pribyl Jaroslav	CZE		4
180		Obiamiwe Paul	NGR		4
181		Compton Alistair	NZL		4
182		Wiedersich Jens	GER		4
183		Havik Victor	NOR		4
184		Baeza Escudero Javier	ESP		4
185		Kozarcanin Sead	CRO		4
186	CM	Reuben Stewart	ENG		4
187	FM	Kandic Milan	SRB		4
188		Cawley Paul F	ENG		4
189		Hamer Martyn	ENG		4
190		Denisik Sergei	BLR		4
191		Campos Calvo-Sotelo Juan	ESP		4
192		Freuler Roman	SUI		4
193	FM	Baert Andy	BEL		3.5
194		Van Kemenade Rudy	WLS		3.5
195	CM	Mueller Hans-Dieter	GER		3.5
196		Skutta Bernd  Dr.	GER		3.5
197		Nwachukwu Chino	NGR		3.5
198		Canonne Antoine	FRA		3.5
199		Iasman Inna	FRA		3.5
200		Stewart Ashley	ENG		3.5
201		Kang Leo J	USA		3.5
202		Byrn Carsten	DEN		3.5
203		Agbabishvili Lali	CAN		3.5
204		Zanetti Bruno	SUI		3.5
		Boesch Heinz	GER		3.5
		Dimitrijevic Dragan	ITA		3.5
207		Georgieva Emilia	BUL		3.5
208		Reppen Ellisiv	NOR		3.5
209		Rios Gonzalez Jose Antonio	ESP		3.5
210	WFM	Reid Vaness	AUS		3.5
211		Othman Mustapha	NGR		3.5
212		Viana Eduardo Escudeiro	POR		3.5
213		Openshaw David K	ENG		3.5
214		Skrabakova Katarina	SVK		3.5
215		Cebada Benitez Fernando	ESP		3.5
216	CM	Urbina Perez Juan Antonio	ESP		3
217		Tranter Stephen	ENG		3
218		Guerrero Romero Antonio	ESP		3
219		Whatley Stephen A J	ENG		3
220		Lochte Szilvia	HUN		3
221		Sielicki Tomasz	POL		3
222		Neumanova Monika	CZE		3
223		Diaz Montenegro Ignacio	ESP		3
224		George Lolomari Erekosima	NGR		3
225		Sevillano Leal Julio	ESP		3
226		Iglesias Fernandez Luis	ESP		3
227		Henrichsen Jens	DEN		3
228		Dennis Nigel W	ENG		3
229		Piovar Jaroslav	SVK		3
230		Chidi Lovinia Sylvia	GER		2.5
231		Candano Gonzalez Alvaro	ESP		2.5
232		Villa Armenta Enrique	ESP		2.5
233		Berggren Klas	SWE		2.5
234		Kazmierczak Ewa	POL		2.5
235		Wilson Matthew R	ENG		2.5
236		Collins Andrew	ENG		2.5
237		Taus Martin	CZE		2
238		Savage Neil	RSA		2
239		Diaz Gallego Saul	ESP		2
240		Williamson Ian	ENG		2
241		Colompar Ladislau-Alexandru	ROU		2
242		Aerni Andreas	SUI		1.5
243		Rydell Marten	SWE		1.5
244		Scholl Alois	GER		1.5
245		Garcia Lechugo Francisco	ESP		1
246		Kuenitz Klaus	GER		1
247		Tveten Per	NOR		1