M-Tel kicks off with a bang
M-Tel opens in fine style
The super-tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria sponsored by the Bulgarian telephone company M-Tel, kicked off in fine style today with all 3 games ending decisively.
The top seed and former World Champion, Veselin Topalov (pictured) opened his account with a victory with the Black pieces against the Armenian, Lev Aronian.
His compatriot Ivan Cheparinov seemed to show no ill-effects from dashing from his recent showing in the Grand Prix event in Baku by beating his opponent, Bu Xiangzhi in their game. The same could not be said of Teimour Radjabov who lost with the White pieces against a rejuvenated Vassily Ivanchuk.
As in Baku, there are anti-draw rules in force at Sofia. Players may not offer a draw to their opponent. Draws can only be offered through the arbiter, and only if there is a threefold repetition, perpetual check or a theoretically drawn position.
The players are also playing their games in a large soundproofed glass box (pictured), which allows the spectators to chat and discuss the games in a way not normally possible at chess events where silence is golden!
The results in round 1:
Round 1: Thursday, May 8, 2008 | ||
| Levon Aronian | 0-1 | Veselin Topalov |
Ivan Cheparinov | 1-0 | Bu Xiangzhi |
Teimour Radjabov | 0-1 | Vassily Ivanchuk |
The standings after round 1:
| Rank | Name | IRtg | FED | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Pts |
| 1 | Cheparinov Ivan | 2695 | BUL | * * | 1 | 1,0 | ||||
| Ivanchuk Vassily | 2740 | UKR | * * | 1 | 1,0 | |||||
| Topalov Veselin | 2767 | BUL | * * | 1 | 1,0 | |||||
| 4 | Aronian Levon | 2763 | ARM | 0 | * * | 0,0 | ||||
| Radjabov Teimour | 2751 | AZE | 0 | * * | 0,0 | |||||
| Bu Xiangzhi | 2708 | CHN | 0 | * * | 0,0 |
