Carlsen Wins Tie-Break Finale In Bilbao
There was a thrilling end to the 2011 Grand Slam Final Masters, with a blitz tie-break needed to decide the winner.
Magnus Carlsen and Vassily Ivanchuk drew their final round games against Hikaru Nakamura and Lev Aronian respectively to both finish on 15 points.
So blitz tie-breaks were needed and it was Magnus Carlsen who emerged the winner 1½-½ to deny Ivanchuk the victory that had looked all but inevitable a few rounds ago.
In the last regular time-control game to finish, Vishy Anand salvaged some dignity by beating Vallejo Pons to avoid last place.
The final standings:
| Carlsen, Magnus | NOR | 2823 | 15 |
| Ivanchuk, Vassily | UKR | 2765 | 15 |
| Nakamura, Hikaru | USA | 2753 | 12 |
| Aronian, Levon | ARM | 2807 | 12 |
| Anand, Viswanathan | IND | 2817 | 12 |
| Vallejo Pons, Francisco | ESP | 2716 | 10 |
The 2011 Grand Slam Masters Champion, Magnus Carlsen (picture from the official website)
The blitz playoff games:
