Team 'Alkaloid' Wins European Club Cup
The European Club Cup was loaded with 2700s, and in the end, the team most packed with 2700s claimed clear first. Team "Alkaloid" (Ding Liren, Dmitry Andreikin, Pavel Eljanov, Dmitry Jakovenko, Yu Yangyi, and Yury Kryvoruchko all over 2700) entered the last round with the lead. They split their match with "SHSM 'Legacy Square' Moscow" (Ernesto Inarkiev being their only 2700) which was good enough for clear first.
Photos courtesy Lennart Ootes.
In round five, Alkaloid lost on board one as Ding Liren was defeated by Peter Svidler, but both Andreikin and Kryvoruchko won nice games. Here's Andreikin's game. Can you find the blow and Andreikin's follow-ups?
Anish Giri represented "Siberia" and was proud to get his first win as a new dad.
Big day. First win for papa.
— Anish Giri (@anishgiri) November 10, 2016
Round six saw the big showdown between Alkaloid and Sibera. Alkaloid held the lead so Siberia was in more desparate need of a match win. Doubtless they hoped that one of their big guns, Vladimir Kramnik or Giri would come through, but in the end, all the games were drawn. Most of the fireworks were on board one where Kramnik tried, but could not quite break Ding Liren's resistance.
Kramnik (pictured in round seven) gave his best, but couldn't get enough going. | Photo Lennart Ootes.
That meant that with a final match draw (and 12 out of 12 draws in their final two matches), Alkaloid claimed an extremely solid victory with five match wins and two draws.
Although, Alkaloid did not deliver too much over the board excitement in the final rounds, that did mean that aggression was missing in the tournament. Let's finish with two pretty pieces: Here's a nice tactic from FM Faizrakhmanov against GM Victor Mikhalevski. Can you find the finish?
And here's a lovely game and finish from GM Gabor Papp.
2016 European Club Cup | Final Standings (Top 20)
| Rk. | SNo | Team | + | = | - | TB1 | TB2 | TB3 | TB4 | TB5 |
| 1 | 2 | Alkaloid | 5 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 227,5 | 29 | 173,5 | 145,75 |
| 2 | 4 | Mednyi Vsadnik | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 229,5 | 30 | 170 | 128,5 |
| 3 | 8 | SHSM Legacy Square Moscow | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 217 | 30,5 | 164 | 124,5 |
| 4 | 7 | Ashdod | 5 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 214 | 28,5 | 174,5 | 135,5 |
| 5 | 9 | Odlar Yurdu | 4 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 207 | 28,5 | 164 | 126 |
| 6 | 1 | Syberia | 4 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 207 | 25 | 186 | 142,25 |
| 7 | 10 | Zhiguli | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 221 | 27,5 | 181 | 121,5 |
| 8 | 5 | AVE Novy Bor | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 216,5 | 31,5 | 160 | 107 |
| 9 | 6 | VSK Sveti Nikolaj Srpski | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 187 | 25,5 | 188 | 129,5 |
| 10 | 15 | Schachgesellschaft Zurich | 4 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 178 | 28 | 154,5 | 107 |
| 11 | 11 | Ladya Kazan | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 166,5 | 27,5 | 151 | 98 |
| 12 | 3 | OR Padova | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 214 | 29 | 170,5 | 102,25 |
| 13 | 16 | AEM Luxten Timisoara | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 153 | 25,5 | 157 | 87,75 |
| 14 | 19 | SV Werder Bremen | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 150 | 23,5 | 171,5 | 97,25 |
| 15 | 21 | SK Dunajska Streda | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 139,5 | 22,5 | 162,5 | 95,25 |
| 16 | 45 | LugPokerChess | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 131,5 | 23 | 132,5 | 84,5 |
| 17 | 27 | Crvena Zvezda | 4 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 100 | 22,5 | 147,5 | 80 |
| 18 | 12 | Beer Sheva Chess Club | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 150 | 22 | 173 | 89,75 |
| 19 | 23 | LSG IntelliMagic | 4 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 145,5 | 24 | 152 | 76,5 |
| 20 | 20 | Schachgesellschaft Riehen | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 138 | 22,5 | 161,5 | 83 |
(Full final standings here.)
The European Club Cup for women will be covered in a separate news post.
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