Moscow vs St.Petersburg Match
Last weekend saw the welcome return of the traditional chess match between the great chess cities of Moscow and St.Petersburg.
The match marked the centenary of the first match in 1911, but is only the 22nd edition of the event, and the first for 5 years thanks to sponsorship from the Russian energy company Gazprom.
The two teams of 10 players (plus reserves) faced each other over two rounds on the weekend of 17-18 September in St.Petersburg.
The Moscow team had an advantage in strength on paper, but over the board in the first round the scores were level at 5-5. However, Moscow pulled away in the second round to win the match 11½-8½.
The entertaining games on top board between Alexander Morozevich (Moscow) and Nikita Vityugov were a highlight. The time control was 40 moves in 90 minutes, then 30 minutes to finish with a 30 second increment from the start.
The decisive games are shown below. All games from round 1 and round 2 are available.
A group photo of both teams after the match
The full results:
| Day 1 |
|||||||
| St. Petersburg | Elo | 5 | 5 | Elo | Moscow | ||
| B | N. Vityugov | 2726 | 0 | 1 | 2737 | A. Morozevich | W |
| W | E. Alekseev | 2662 | ½ | ½ | 2718 | J. Nepomniaschy | B |
| B | K. Sakaev | 2609 | ½ | ½ | 2716 | D. Yakovenko | W |
| W | I. Khairullin | 2642 | ½ | ½ | 2711 | A. Dreev | B |
| B | E. Romanov | 2639 | 1 | 0 | 2710 | V. Malakhov | W |
| W | A. Khalifman | 2627 | ½ | ½ | 2692 | E. Inarkiev | B |
| B | M. Matlakov | 2630 | ½ | ½ | 2688 | A. Ryazantsev | W |
| W | B. Emelin | 2568 | ½ | ½ | 2682 | B. Grachev | B |
| B | A. Shimanov | 2565 | ½ | ½ | 2666 | V. Zvyagintsev | W |
| W | V. Popov | 2545 | ½ | ½ | 2637 | E. Najer | B |
| Day 2 |
|||||||
| St. Petersburg | Elo | 3½ | 6½ | Elo | Moscow | ||
| W | N. Vityugov | 2726 | 1 | 0 | 2737 | A. Morozevich | B |
| B | E. Alekseev | 2662 | ½ | ½ | 2718 | J. Nepomniaschy | W |
| W | K. Sakaev | 2609 | ½ | ½ | 2716 | D. Yakovenko | B |
| B | I. Khairullin | 2642 | ½ | ½ | 2711 | A. Dreev | W |
| W | E. Romanov | 2639 | ½ | ½ | 2710 | V.Malakhov | B |
| B | A. Khalifman | 2627 | 0 | 1 | 2692 | E. Inarkiev | W |
| W | M. Matlakov | 2630 | 0 | 1 | 2688 | A. Ryazantsev | B |
| B | B. Emelin | 2568 | 0 | 1 | 2682 | B. Grachev | W |
| W | A. Shimanov | 2565 | ½ | ½ | 2666 | V. Zvyagintsev | B |
| B | V. Popov | 2545 | 0 | 1 | 2637 | E. Najer | W |
| Final Score |
|||||||
| St. Petersburg | 8½ | 11½ | Moscow | ||||
Vityugov and Morozevich had two lively encounters on top board
Match photos by IM Sergey Bystrov
