
Grand Slam Masters Final 2011
The Grand Slam Masters Final 2011 will run from 25 September - 11 October.
The tournament is a six-player double round-robin, split into two halves: the first from 25 Sept-1 Oct in São Paulo, Brazil and the second in Bilbao, Spain from 5-11 October.
The line-up for this major event is certainly impressive. Despite withdrawals from Vladimir Kramnik and Sergey Karjakin due to other commitments, the tournament still includes the top 3 ranked players on the latest official FIDE rating list.
Magnus Carlsen | NOR | 2823 |
Viswanathan Anand | IND | 2817 |
Levon Aronian | ARM | 2807 |
Vassily Ivanchuk | UKR | 2765 |
Hikaru Nakamura | USA | 2753 |
Francisco Vallejo Pons |
ESP | 2716 |
The first round starts on Monday 26 September in São Paulo. The games in the São Paulo leg of the tournament will start at 15:00 local time (18:00 UTC). Games in the second leg in Bilbao are expected to start at 17:00 local time in Bilbao (15:00 UTC), apart from the last round which starts an hour earlier.
The so-called "Sofia-Rules" are in operation, meaning that players can only reach a draw by mutual agreement if they have the permission of the arbiter. The 3-1-0 soccer-style scoring system will also be used. The time control is 40 moves in 90 minutes followed by 60 minutes to a finish, with a 10 second increment after move 40.
If there is a tie for first place, there will be a pair of blitz games, followed by a sudden death game if needed, to produce a winner. Ties for lower places will be decided by mathematical tie-breaks, starting with scores under the traditional 1-½-0 system.
The schedule:
25 Sept | Arrival | São Paulo |
26 Sept | Round 1 | São Paulo |
27 Sept | Round 2 | São Paulo |
28 Sept | Round 3 | São Paulo |
29 Sept | Rest Day | São Paulo |
30 Sept | Round 4 | São Paulo |
1 Oct | Round 5 | São Paulo |
5 Oct | Arrival | Bilbao |
6 Oct | Round 6 | Bilbao |
7 Oct | Round 7 | Bilbao |
8 Oct | Round 8 | Bilbao |
9 Oct | Rest Day | Bilbao |
10 Oct | Round 9 | Bilbao |
11 Oct | Round 10 | Bilbao |
At both venues (the Ibirapuera Park in São Paulo and the Bilbao Alhóndiga) the giant soundproofed glass cube "The Aquarium" will be used.
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The official website with more information is here. Look out for coverage at Chess.com!