Keeping up with his good run in the tournament, GM Laurent Fressinet of France overcame GM Anatoly Karpov in the Finals to clinch the title in the 4th edition of the Karpov Trophy.
The win however, didn’t come too easy for the Frenchman as both the games of the ’25+10′ rapid round ended in draws. As a result, the match entered the ‘3+2’ blitz phase wherein he defeated the former World Champion on both occasions. Fressinet was, thus, crowned the champion of the tournament.
Dutch GM Anish Giri (2798) won an easy game against Indian ace GM Vishy Anand (2803), earning an almost winning position after only eleven moves of an English Opening. The novelty by the young Dutchman on move seven playing the white pieces turned out to be a heavy blow for the five-time former World Champion.
Wesley So (2760) playing the black pieces meanwhile could only hold Chinese GM Ding Liren (2781) to a draw.
Wesley and Giri now lead the Bilbao Chess Masters, 2015, with six points each. Vishy and Ding meanwhile occupy the bottom places with three points apiece.
The fourteenth and final round of the initial stage of the Karpov Trophy Rapid 2015 witnessed as many as 3 decisive results, with GM Sebag scoring a surprise victory over GM Fressinet. In the remaining decisive games, GM Karpov and GM Edouard overcame GM Anna Muzychuk and GM Mariya Muzychuk respectively. The only game to end peacefully was Abdumalik-Gharamian.
At the end of the qualifying stage, Fressinet and Karpov finished with 9.5 points each, followed by Edouard on 9 points and Gharamian on 7 points. The aforementioned four players have made it to the semi-finals, which will be played as a mini-match of two games.
Pairings for the Semi-Finals:
Fressinet vs Gharamian
Karpov vs Edouard
American GM Wesley So (2760) was held by Indian GM Vishy Anand (2803) to a draw with the black pieces allowing So to keep his lead after three rounds at the Bilbao Chess Masters 2015.
Chinese GM Ding Liren (2782) could not make any progress against Dutch GM Anish Giri (2798), and also settled for a draw. Wesley, who had earlier beaten Ding in the first round, leads the pack with 5 points. Anand and Giri follow the American with 3 points apiece while Ding occupies the bottom spot with only 2 points. The tournament follows an idiosyncratic point tallying format, known as the Bilbao Scoring System, awarding three points for a win, one for a draw and nought for a loss.
The twelfth round of the Karpov Trophy Rapid 2015 witnessed two black wins as GM Fressinet and GM Mariya Muzychuk overcame GM Karpov and WGM Abdumalik respectively. The remaining two battles, namely Anna Muzychuk – Gharamian and Edouard – Sebag, ended peacefully.
With just two more rounds remaining to be played in the qualifiers, Fressinet is leading the field solely with a tally of 8.5 points. Edouard and Karpov are right on Fressinet’s heels with 8 points each.
Results and Standings: Here
American GM Wesley So (2760) held Dutch GM Anish Giri (2798) to a draw with the black pieces and kept his lead after two rounds at the Bilbao Masters 2015.
Indian ace GM Vishy Anand (2803) could not make any progress against Chinese GM Ding Liren (2782), and also settled for a draw. Wesley, who had earlier beaten Ding in the first round, leads the pack with 4 points. Anand and Giri follow the American with 2 points apiece while Ding occupies the bottom spot with only 1 point. The tournament follows an idiosyncratic point tallying format, known as the Bilbao Scoring System, awarding three points for a win, one for a draw and nought for a loss.
The 4th Karpov Trophy Rapid is being played in Cap d’Agde, France with 8 players – four men and four women – forming the field of this event. The star attraction of the tournament is the participation of Anatoly Karpov himself. The tournament will initially be played on a double round-robin basis followed by the selection of the top four players to the Semi-Finals and then ultimately, the Final.
The 10th round of the tournament saw two decisive results as GMs Karpov and Edouard overcame GM Sebag and WGM Abdumalik respectively. This allowed Karpov and Edouard to catch up with GM Fressinet at the top of the table. The leading trio has notched up a total of 7 points each and are well ahead of their nearest competitor GM Gharamian, who has scored a total of 5 points.
Results and Standings: Here
Open Section
A 3-3 draw against ‘O. R. Padova’ proved sufficient for ‘Siberia’ to emerge victorious in the European Club Cup 2015. ‘Siberia’, which started as the 2nd-seeded team, won six matches and drew one en route to the coveted title. Former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik starred in Siberia’s triumph as he scored 4.5/5 with a massive rating performance of 3102.
Meanwhile, 5th-seeded ‘Mednyi Vsadnik’ held top-seeded ‘SOCAR’ to a crucial 3-3 draw. ‘SOCAR’ still managed to finish second while ‘Mednyi Vsadnik’ secured the third place.
Final Rankings: Here
Women’s Section
Top-seeded ‘Nona’ defeated ‘Bossa Nova’ with a 3-1 scoreline, thus notching up their seventh consecutive victory of the tournament. As a result, ‘Nona’ won the women’s section of the European Club Cup 2015 in a convincing manner. They were followed by ‘Gambit Asseko SEE’ and ‘Ugra’ on the second and third spots respectively.
Final Rankings: Here
Indian GM Abhijeet Gupta (2629) beat countrymate GM Neelotpal Das (2465) enabling him to win the Hoogeveen Chess tournament with 7.0/9. He was followed by three players tied at 6.5/9.
Indian GM Deep Sengupta (2580) finished second on tiebreak with 6.5/9. Besides Sengupta, Indian GMs, GM Neelotpal Das (2465) and GM Vishnu Prasanna (2503), finished at 6.0/9. Among other Indians, GM G.N. Gopal (2536) and GM Debashis Das (2501) finished at 5.5/9. GM Ankit Rajpara (2467) and IM Arghyadip Das (2467) mustered up 5.0/9.
Check the final standings here.
Open Section
With a narrow 3.5-2.5 victory over ‘Alkaloid’, 2nd-seeded ‘Siberia’ recorded their sixth straight win in as many rounds. Despite Wang Yue going down against Kryvoruchko, ‘Siberia’ were able to clinch the match courtesy of resounding victories by Kramnik and Li Chao over Ivanchuk and Andreikin respectively.
After 6 rounds, table-leaders ‘Siberia’ are being followed by 4 other teams on the second spot. They will be up against 4th-seeded ‘O. R. Padova’ in the 7th and final round of the tournament.
Complete Round 6 Results: Here
Women’s Section
In the women’s section, top-seeded ‘Nona’ maintained their lead in the tournament by overcoming 5th-seeded ‘SPB’ in a comfortable manner. They are being followed by ‘Gambit Asseko SEE’ on the second spot.
Complete Round 6 Results: Here