Fabiano Caruana won an opening double-round robin blitz competition on the eve of the Zurich Chess Challenge, just beating Vladimir Kramnik in the final standings.
The blitz contest came as something of a surprise since there were no hints on the official website that it was even taking place!
A further surprise was the poor showing of world champion Vishy Anand, who is normally known for his prowess at rapid and blitz chess. Despite beating Boris Gelfand in their head-to-head mini-match, he lost all his other games to finish last. The time control was 4 minutes plus 2 second increment.
The final results of the Zurich Blitz competition
| # |
Name |
Fed |
Elo |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Pts |
| 1 |
Caruana, Fabiano |
ITA |
2757 |
** |
½1 |
1½ |
11 |
5 |
| 2 |
Kramnik, Vladimir |
RUS |
2810 |
½0 |
** |
1½ |
11 |
4 |
| 3 |
Gelfand, Boris |
ISR |
2740 |
0½ |
0½ |
** |
0½ |
1½ |
| 4 |
Anand, Viswanathan |
IND |
2780 |
00 |
00 |
1½ |
** |
1½ |
.
At the opening ceremony (l to r): Gelfand, Anand, Kramnik, Caruana
.
Despite his poor health, Viktor Korchnoi (right) was a guest
.
Caruana (right) won a crucial game with black against Kramnik
.
.
The games were broadcast live, and there are videos available for replay at this link.
The first round of the tournament proper starts today (at 14:00 GMT). Links to the official website's live coverage and commentary can be found here.
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Photos via the official website. Results table and games via TWIC.