Aronian Wins Grand Prix
The final round showdown between Lev Aronian and Peter Leko was a tense affair, but the Hungarian slipped up with 33...Nc3 allowing the pretty 34. Re5 embarrassing the black Queen.
Leko struggled on, but the game seemed lost after that.
Congratulations to Lev Aronian on a great tournament victory, and kudos to all the players for providing such a superb competition. Even in the last round, there was no let up in the action, with more great chess and four more wins.
Gelfand and Bacrot notched up wins against Karjakin and Alekseev respectively, while Akopian reminded us that it's possible to win with the black pieces by beating Eljanov.
So Aronian takes home a cheque for €30,000 and climbs higher up the Grand Prix standings. But with action like this, who cares what the Grand Prix winners qualify for? Each event is a strong tournament in it's own right irrespective of the complex overall rules. More events with this sort of fighting spirit please!
The results in round 13:
| Aronian, Levon | Leko, Peter | 1-0 | 54 | Nimzo Indian |
| Bacrot, Etienne | Alekseev, Evgeny | 1-0 | 63 | Petroff Defence |
| Gelfand, Boris | Karjakin, Sergey | 1-0 | 45 | Slav Defence |
| Svidler, Peter | Grischuk, Alexander | ½-½ | 21 | French Winawer |
| Ivanchuk, Vassily | Kamsky, Gata | ½-½ | 32 | Ruy Lopez Breyer |
| Kasimdzhanov, Rustam | Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar | ½-½ | 39 | Gruenfeld |
| Eljanov, Pavel | Akopian, Vladimir | 0-1 | 49 | Slav Defence |
The final standings:
| 1 | Aronian, Levon | ARM | 2754 | 8½ |
| 2 | Leko, Peter | HUN | 2751 | 7½ |
| 3 | Akopian, Vladimir | ARM | 2696 | 7½ |
| 4 | Grischuk, Alexander | RUS | 2748 | 7 |
| 5 | Bacrot, Etienne | FRA | 2728 | 7 |
| 6 | Alekseev, Evgeny | RUS | 2716 | 6½ |
| 7 | Gelfand, Boris | ISR | 2733 | 6½ |
| 8 | Kamsky, Gata | USA | 2720 | 6 |
| 9 | Karjakin, Sergey | UKR | 2721 | 6 |
| 10 | Svidler, Peter | RUS | 2726 | 6 |
| 11 | Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar | AZE | 2725 | 6 |
| 12 | Ivanchuk, Vassily | UKR | 2746 | 5½ |
| 13 | Kasimdzhanov, Rustam | UZB | 2695 | 5½ |
| 14 | Eljanov, Pavel | UKR | 2693 | 5½ |
