15:25 CET
Thank you for watching the live coverage of the Chess World Cup on Chessdom. Join us tomorrow with the detailed comments of one game from round 3. The game that we cover will be decided by your votes. Voting is open until 24:00 CET, tell us which game you want to see in round 3.
In a few moments we will publish the final results of round 2, the pairings of round 3, and later today we will have a photo report from the World Cup 2007.
Results round 2
2,5-1,5 Ivanchuk, Vassily (UKR) – Galkin, Alexander (RUS)
0,5-1,5 Kozul, Zdenko (CRO) – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar (AZE)
0-2 Radjabov, Teimour (AZE) – Macieja, Bartlomiej (POL)
0,5-1,5 Gustafsson, Jan (GER) – Aronian, Levon (ARM)
1,5-0,5 Shirov, Alexei (ESP) – Shulman, Yuri (USA)
0-2 Pavasovic, Dusko (SLO) – Svidler, Peter (RUS)
1,5-0,5 Adams, Michael (ENG) – Gurevich, Mikhail (TUR)
0,5-1,5 Sakaev, Konstantin (RUS) – Alekseev, Evgeny (RUS)
1,5-0,5 Grischuk, Alexander (RUS) – Najer, Evgeniy (RUS)
1-3 Naiditsch, Arkadij (GER) – Carlsen, Magnus (NOR)
1,5-0,5 Kamsky, Gata (USA) – Avrukh, Boris (ISR)
0,5-1,5 Ghaem Maghami, Ehsan (IRI) – Akopian, Vladimir (ARM)
1,5-0,5 Jakovenko, Dmitry (RUS) – Belov, Vladimir (RUS)
1,5-2,5 Wang, Hao (CHN) – Ponomariov, Ruslan (UKR)
2,5-1,5 Wang, Yue (CHN) – Tiviakov, Sergei (NED)
0,5-1,5 Roiz, Michael (ISR) – Bacrot, Etienne (FRA)
1,5-0,5 Karjakin, Sergey (UKR) – Zhang, Pengxiang (CHN)
2,5-3,5 Motylev, Alexander (RUS) – Bu, Xiangzhi (CHN)
0,5-1,5 Hossain Enamul (BAN) – Tomashevsky, Evgeny (RUS)
0-2 Socko, Bartosz (POL) – Almasi, Zoltan (HUN)
2,5-1,5 Malakhov, Vladimir (RUS) – Volkov, Sergey (RUS)
4-3 Georgiev, Kiril (BUL) – Kasimdzhanov, Rustam (UZB)
1,5-0,5 Dominguez Perez, Lenier (CUB) – Baramidze, David (GER)
1,5-0,5 Bareev, Evgeny (RUS) – Van Wely, Loek (NED)
0,5-1,5 Nevednichy, Vladislav (ROU) – Fressinet, Laurent (FRA)
4-3 Zhou, Jianchao (CHN) – Volokitin, Andrei (UKR)
3,5-2,5 Rublevsky, Sergei (RUS) – Navara, David (CZE)
0,5-1,5 Nikolic, Predrag (BIH) – Onischuk, Alexander (USA)
1,5-0,5 Inarkiev, Ernesto (RUS) – Vallejo Pons, Francisco (ESP)
4-2 Sasikiran, Krishnan (IND) – Zvjaginsev, Vadim (RUS)
3,5-2,5 Cheparinov, Ivan (BUL) – Tkachiev, Vladislav (FRA)
2,5-1,5 Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter (ROU) – Zhao, Jun (CHN)
15:19 CET
Zhou wins against Volotkin! The white survive the Armageddon and go on! Geat job by Georgiev and Zhou and nice fight by Kasimdzhanov and Volotkin.
15:18 CET
Georgiev wins! Armageddon game in hand for Georgiev, 1-0 and he goes to round 3!
15:17 CET
Similar situation in Georgiev – kasimdzhanov. Georgiev with white is a pawn up, but can he find the way to victory?
15:15 CET
English and King Indian! Zhou and Volotkin play bullet chess. Zhou (white) is a pawn up, but in case of a draw black wins.
15:10 CET
The two Armageddon games Georgiev – Kasimdzhanov and Volotkin – Zhou start in several minutes.
15:05 CET
Cheparinov holds the draw and advances to round 3! It will be curious if he wins the World Cup, we will have a match Cheparinov – Topalov! This is exactly the desire that Veselin Topalov expressed in an interview during the ETCC
15:00 CET
Rublevky wins! Navara could not hold the position, however, it looks more like his flag fell.
14:55 CET
Rublevsky is holding a pawn advantage against Navara, but the game is undecided and looks more like a draw. Cheparinov and Tkachiev are swinging back and forth in serious tie trouble.
14:52 CET
Volotkin – Zhou go to Armageddon game! Bu qualifies after a victory over Motylev with black!
14:50 CET
Sasikiran is winning his game and advances to round 3! Time trouble in Tkachiev – Cheparinov, moves are flying!
14:47 CET
Armageddon! Georgiev and Kasimdzhanov finish draw 6 games in a row and will have to decide it in the last game 5 vs 6 with black having the drawing odds.
14:45 CET
The excitement of the blitz games! Tkachiev turns the game around and has slight advantage against Cheparinov. Georgiev is building pressure on Kasimdzhanov and Sasikiran is holding the advantage.
14:40 CET
Kasimdzhanov equalizes the position! Will this be the consecutive draw in Georgiev – Kasimdzhanov? Sasikiran is almost a clear pawn up which makes him a participant of round 3.
14:37 CET
Cheparinov accepts the sharp line of Tkchiev and is playing for a second victory! Risky tactics, let’s see if they work. Zhou is better against Volotkin and is probably going to 3rd round without Armageddon.
14:35 CET
In the unusual lines of Ruy Lopez, Kiril Georgiev seems to be looking for a win against Kasimdzhanov. Can the Uzbek hold him or even turn the game around? Bu is also risking with Sicialian Dragon, looking for a win with black.
14:30 CET
The second blitz game of the Chess World Cup round 2 tiebreaks started!
14:25 CET
The second blitz game will start in a few moments. Will everything be decided there or we will witness another Armageddon? If a match is equal after the second blitz game one Armageddon game will take place. White receives 6 minutes on the clock, 5 minutes are given to black. However, black has drawing odds, i.e. in case of a draw black is the winner of the match.
14:20 CET
Very fast action on the boards! Georgiev holds a perfect draw against kasimdzhanov, the same result comes in the game Navara – Rublevsky. Sasikiran is winning against Zvjaginsev, that makes 3 decisive games in the first blitz tiebreak!
14:17 CET
We saw it coming. Zhou wins and takes the lead. At the same time Bu and Motylev make a draw.
14:15 CET
Zhou increases his advantage against Volotkin and the Ukranian is in a difficult situation.
14:12 CET
Cheparinov kept on building pressure and Tkachiev seems to be cracking…. Now the game is over, black is losing the queen, 1-0 for the young Bulgarian.
14:10 CET
No decisive advantage in any of the games. Time trouble and psychology will decide the outcome in these ones.
14:03 CET
Kasimdzhanov – Georgiev seems to be heading to a draw again. Can Kasim find a way through Georgiev’s defence? Now it would have been interesting to know the time on the clocks.
14:03 CET
Cheparinov did not risk with 18 Nxh7, which could have made the game very interesting. Zhou is having a slight advantage with black against Volotkin.
13:55 CET
Only six games and ironically an opening is repeating Cheparinov – Tkchiev and Bu – Motylev play Slav.
13:53 CET
Moves started flying! the rate of play is 5 mins + 10 seconds, but official site shows no clocks.
13:50 CET
Blitz games start in several minutes. Thank you for voting, until now votes for the game of Ivanchuk (against Sasikiran or Zvjaginsev) and the game Carlsen – Dominguez Perez are way ahead. You can still turn things around by voting until 24:00 CET.
13:45 CET
Wang Yue wins his game with white against Tiviakov and advances to round 3. Nisipeanu joins him after a comfoortable draw against Zhao. Here are the final scores from the rapid tiebreak.
1,5-2,5 Galkin, Alexander (RUS) ½-½ Ivanchuk, Vassily (UKR)
1-3 Naiditsch, Arkadij (GER) 0-1 Carlsen, Magnus (NOR)
1,5-2,5 Wang, Hao (CHN) ½-½ Ponomariov, Ruslan (UKR)
2,5-1,5 Wang, Yue (CHN) 1-0 Tiviakov, Sergei (NED)
2-2 Motylev, Alexander (RUS) ½-½ Bu, Xiangzhi (CHN)
2,5-1,5 Malakhov, Vladimir (RUS) ½-½ Volkov, Sergey (RUS)
2-2 Georgiev, Kiril (BUL) ½-½ Kasimdzhanov, Rustam (UZB)
2-2 Zhou, Jianchao (CHN) ½-½ Volokitin, Andrei (UKR)
2-2 Navara, David (CZE) 1-0 Rublevsky, Sergei (RUS)
2-2 Zvjaginsev, Vadim (RUS) ½-½ Sasikiran, Krishnan (IND)
2-2 Cheparinov, Ivan (BUL) ½-½ Tkachiev, Vladislav (FRA)
1,5-2,5 Zhao, Jun (CHN) ½-½ Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter (ROU)
13:43 CET
Magnus Carlsen is the only one who won both his rapid tiebreak games. Out of the 12 matches, six until now are going to blitz tiebreak. Wang Yue and Tiviakov may join them in case they finish draw.
13:40 CET
Magnus Carlsen completes a fantastic game against Naiditsch and advances to round 3! Will his game be the one that Chessdom comments live in round 3. It depends only on your votes. If you have a favorite player or a favorite match you want to see send us your vote now
13:35 CET
Ponomariov completes his comeback as he holds Wang Hao to a draw. Well done by Ponomariov!
13:30 CET
Ivanchuk and Galkin agree on a draw and the Ukranian advances to round 3. He will meet the winner of Sasikiran – Zvjaginsev, who will play blitz tiebreak after a 3 moves repetition. Navara destroyes Rublevski to forcethe blitz tiebreaks!
13:20 CET
Ivanchuk is standing well against Galkin and has at least a draw in hand. This means he will advance to the third round where he will meet the winner of Sasikiran – Zvjaginsev. The other pairings can be seen in the pairings tree
13:17 CET
Zhou and Volotkin engaged in an interesting battle Queen vs Rook and Bishop. Zhou seems to have a slight advantage. Time can play important role here, but the official site is not showing the clocks.
13:10 CET
Wang Yue is standingvery well against Tiviakov and has material advantage. Sasikiran turns the game around and has the advantage against Zvjaginsev. However, the Russian seems to have chances to hold the draw.
13:04 CET
Move repetition gives Malakhov half a point and the final victory against Volkov. Navara is standing better against Rublevsky and may have a clear extra pawn.
13:00 CET
Ponomariov is holding well against Wang Hao and the game is equal. Georgiev is looking for a way to materialize the slight advantage he has, but the game looks equal as well.
12:55 CET
Cheparinov and Tkachiev agreed on a quick draw and will be the first blitz tiebreak of the Chess World Cup round 2.
12:50 CET
Ivanchuk has prepared well the defences to meet Galkin and the Russian will have problems to find a way to victory. Zvjaginsev played one of his pet lines against Sasikiran and is close to achieving advantage. Malakhov is poundering through the Classical Dutch and has serious advantage against Volotkin.
12:45 CET
Naiditsch is building up pressure on Magnus, but bad white bishop may not come well into his plans. The young Norwegian prodigy has all the chances to secure passage to the third round. Kiril Georgiev has minimal advantage thanks to backward c6 pawn in Carlsbad structure, but Kasim has pair of bishops.
12:37 CET
Wang Hao is trying a wide open Sicilian Najdorf, trying to take away a full point in an unbalanced game.
12:35 CET
Second tiebreak game from the Chess World Cup started! Funny enough, no opening repeats, every game has a different beginning, and it is different than what we saw in game 1.
12:15 CET
Time trouble is affecting board positions. Zhao did not find the defence against Nisipeanu, and the Romanian walks away with a full point that he deserved earlier on. In the end it was a very interesting “is it a win, is it a draw?” position. The two players had a cat-mouse game, trying out each other’s nerves. Nisi played as if he had tablebases in front of him and took the game.
Georgiev could not find the way to victory, even though he was building up constant advantage in a perfectly played Slav game. Malakhov finished off Volotkin and is the only victory for black for the day. Here are the final results, next game starts in several minutes.
2-1 Ivanchuk, Vassily (UKR) 1-0 Galkin, Alexander (RUS)
2-1 Carlsen, Magnus (NOR) 1-0 Naiditsch, Arkadij (GER)
2-1 Ponomariov, Ruslan (UKR) 1-0 Wang, Hao (CHN)
1,5-1,5 Tiviakov, Sergei (NED) ½-½ Wang, Yue (CHN)
1,5-1,5 Bu, Xiangzhi (CHN) ½-½ Motylev, Alexander (RUS)
1-2 Volkov, Sergey (RUS) 0-1 Malakhov, Vladimir (RUS)
1,5-1,5 Kasimdzhanov, Rustam (UZB) ½-½ Georgiev, Kiril (BUL)
1,5-1,5 Volokitin, Andrei (UKR) ½-½ Zhou, Jianchao (CHN)
2-1 Rublevsky, Sergei (RUS) 1-0 Navara, David (CZE)
1,5-1,5 Sasikiran, Krishnan (IND) ½-½ Zvjaginsev, Vadim (RUS)
1,5-1,5 Tkachiev, Vladislav (FRA) ½-½ Cheparinov, Ivan (BUL)
1-1 Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter (ROU) 1-0 Zhao, Jun (CHN)
12:07 CET
Sasikiran agrees on a draw with Zvjaginsev. Bu – Motylev and Volotkin – Zhou follow them. Ponomariov wins the most interesting game of the day against Wang Hao and takes a full point advantage in th match.
12:05 CET
Nisipeanu missed a winning 33.Ref3!, but it is a move difficult to see with so little left on the clock. He will have difficulties scoring now as the opposite color bishops will lead to a draw. Magnus Carlsen won his game, however, the moves on the official site are incorrect and we do not know exactly how…
12:03 CET
A draw in Tkachiev – Cheparinov. The Bulgarian tried to press his opponent in the middlegame, nut the French did not crack and the game logically ended ½-½
12:00 CET
An exhibition by Georgiev in the Slav defence. He solved opening problems and slowly, but steadily started building up advantage. Things may complicate for Kasimdzhanov in the time trouble coming.
11:53 CET
Zhao Jun tried an attack on Nisipeanu’s king, but it was easy defence for Nisi and he is a clear pawn up now. Rublevsky – Navara 1-0 is the first score of the day. Ivanchuk follows them and closes his game.
11:50 CET
Ivanchuk is an exchange up. Can Galkin find a defence in this difficult situation? Navara has similar problems, as he is two pawns down, but heavy pieces are on the board. As long as the queens stay, he will be looikng for a draw.
11:45 CET
Rublevsky is resolving the game against Navara. Although the opposite color bishops are on the board, the heavy material is still present and Rublevsky is two pawns up. Naiditsch did not calculate all the possibilities and played 24… Rd8? which complicated the game for him. Carlsen is winning this one.
11:40 CET
Anand and Kramnik played a similar opening as the Ponomariov and Wang in the World Blitz Cup. Wang has deviated from the game after move 16, and it seems both have studied the variation.
11:35 CET
Cheparinov and Georgiev are getting nice positions with black. They both have at least a draw in hand, although there is a lot more play left and later time trouble can turn things in any direction. Volotkin – Zhou and Tiviakov – Wang are equal.
11:30 CET
All the excitement is in Ponomariov – Wang Hao. Pono managed to get one more pawn and has all his pieces well connected. However, he has no clear attack on black’s king.
11:25 CET
Rublevsky is doing well against Navara, but if the opposite color bishops stay on the board the game will go towards a draw. Ivanchuk is a clear pawn up and has a much better positon.
11:20 CET
Kasimdzhanov is having space advantage against Georgiev. After a blasting start both are taking their time now. Carlsen seems to be making a lot of calculations as well, playing considerably slower than his opponent.
11:15 CET
Cheparinov solved his opening probles and is ready to face an interesting game with Tkachiev. Ivanchuk is squeezing Galking, who is having serious problems on the queen side. Galkin’s king is rather open as well and the game seems easy for Ivanchuk.
11:10 CET
Great game by Ponomariov and Wang Hao! Pono has a rook, knight, and two pawns against a queen for Wang! A computer would give slightly better evaluation to Ponomariov, but nothing is decided in this game.
11:07 CET
Carlsen was temporary a pawn up, but Naiditsch quickly equalized in the classical Nimzo Indian.
11:05 CET
Nimzo Indian, Caro Kann, Slav, Petroff, Fiachento Grunfeld…. Again different openings in every game. It is going to be an exciting day!
11:00 CET
First rapid game started!
10:55 CET
12 matches are about to start in several minutes. 24 players will face each other – 6 of them are from Russia, 5 from China, 3 from Ukraine, two from Bulgaria, and one representative have Norway, Germany, Netherlands, Uzbekistan, Czech Republic, India, France, and Romania.
10:50 CET
10 minutes left to the start of the games. Ponomariov will try to seal his comeback against Wang Hao. Georgiev and Cheparinov will have to improve their performance if they want to go on. It will be a psychological battle. Will Pono continue his way to the next round or he will join Radjabov?
10:40 CET
Chess World Cup tiebreak matches start in 20 minutes (11:00 CET, 05:00 AM EST, 15:00 local time). The rules are simple. First, two rapid games with 25 mins + 10 sec increment will be played. If after them the score is equal, two blitz games will be played (5 min + 10 sec). In case the match is not resolved, one Armageddon game will take place. White receives 6 minutes on the clock, 5 minutes are given to black. However, black has drawing odds, i.e. in case of a draw black is the winner of the match.
10:35 CET
One of the most interesting branches of the pairings tree that is still undecided is the one of Vassily Ivanchuk. His participation in round 3 passes through a tiebreak match with Alexander Galkin, and the winner of this match will meet the winner of Jun Zhao – Liviu Dieter Nisipeanu.
10:25 CET
Probably the biggest surpise of round 2 was the uncompromising 2-0 of Mecejia over Radjabov. A big success for the Polish GM, who is expecting his opponent in round 3. He will play the winner of today’s match between Sasikiran and Zvjaginsev.
10:10 CET
Welcome to the live coverage of the Chess World Cup tiebreaks! Round 2 had 12 matches that finished 1-1 and they have to be decided today. Some of them were surprising, some were very balanced, and in several others players had lucky saves. From 24 players 12 will have to go home, while the others will continue their attempt to capture the World Cup.
World Cup resources
Chess World Cup – all the reports, photos, and analyzed games
Carlsen – Naiditsch – commentary
Kamsky – Adly – commentary
Chess World Cup tiebreaks
Galkin, Alexander (RUS) 2608 – Ivanchuk, Vassily (UKR) 2787
Carlsen, Magnus (NOR) 2714 – Naiditsch, Arkadij (GER) 2639
Ponomariov, Ruslan (UKR) 2705 – Wang, Hao (CHN) 2643
Tiviakov, Sergei (NED) 2643 – Wang, Yue (CHN) 2703
Bu, Xiangzhi (CHN) 2692 – Motylev, Alexander (RUS) 2645
Volkov, Sergey (RUS) 2648 – Malakhov, Vladimir (RUS) 2690
Kasimdzhanov, Rustam (UZB) 2690 – Georgiev, Kiril (BUL) 2649
Volokitin, Andrei (UKR) 2678 – Zhou, Jianchao (CHN) 2566
Navara, David (CZE) 2656 – Rublevsky, Sergei (RUS) 2676
Zvjaginsev, Vadim (RUS) 2674 – Sasikiran, Krishnan (IND) 2661
Tkachiev, Vladislav (FRA) 2661 – Cheparinov, Ivan (BUL) 2670
Zhao, Jun (CHN) 2552 – Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter (ROU) 2668
