Le Quang Liem repeats Aeroflot victory
Despite a spectacular loss against Ivan Cheparinov in the penultimate round, Le Quang Liem won the Aeroflot Open for the second time in a row. The Vietnamese grandmaster edged out Nikita Vitiugov and Evgeny Tomashevsky on tie-break after the three finished on 6.5/9.General info
The 10th Aeroflot Open chess festival took place February 7-18, 2011 in the capital of Russia. Venue was the Izmailovo hotel in eastern Moscow. In the A tournament (rating >2550) the top seeded players were GMs Kamsky, Movsesian, Jakovenko, Vachier-Lagrave and Vitiugov. More info here.Rounds 7-9
We left the tournament after six rounds, when last year's winner Le Quang Liem was in sole first place with 5 points. The Vietnamese GM continued strongly on Monday with a victory, against Russian GM Mikhail Kobalia, who was completely outplayed and resigned at move 28 in this position:
Black will continue with ...h5-h4 and ...Rf6+ which is just killing.In the same round, two seconds of Veselin Topalov met on the board and played a spectacular game:
Several moves win but Cheparinov went for 19.Rxe6+!? dxe6 20.Qd8+ Kf7 21.Ng5+! Kg6 22.Nxe6 Qxb3 23.Nxf8+ Kh5 24.Ne5 Bf3 25.Nxf3 Qxf3 26.Rd5+ Kh6 27.Qe7 1-0Thanks to his win, before the penultimate round Le Quang Liem was leading by a full point. Needless to say, until then he was still undefeated. But in round 8 things went wrong.
30.Bxf4? (30. h4 Rf8 31. Kh2 is how White should defend.) 30... exf4 31.Qd3? Qxg5+ 32.Kf1
32...f3! No doubt underestimated by the Vietnamese.33.Qxf3 Rf8 34.Qd3 Qf4 35.Qg3 Qc4+ 36.Kg1 Qxd5 and Black won.
In the last round Le Quang Liem played a solid draw with the black pieces against Rauf Mamedov of Azerbaijan, and so he was the first to reach 6.5 points. Nikita Vitiugov and Evgeny Tomashevsky won their last round encounters, against Cheparinov and Sjugirov respectively, to catch Le in the standings. (For the games see the game viewer below.)The first tie-break rule was the number of games played with Black, and so Tomashevsky fell off as the Russian had played the white pieces five times. The second tie-break rule was the average of the opponents' ratings minus the highest and the lowest rating, and this decided that Le Quang Liem was again the winner in Moscow. And so we'll see him back in Dortmund this summer, where he did so well last year, finishing clear second, behind Ruslan Ponomariov.
Gata Kamsky recovered well from his losses against Le Quang Liem and Ding Liren, and finished with three wins. The American scored 6/9, just like Russian GM Denis Khismatullin (who has worked as a second for several Russian top players), Chinese GM Yu Yangyi, Israeli GM Maxim Rodshtein, former FIDE World Champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov from Uzbekistan, the aforementioned Rauf Mamedov (Azerbaijan) and Bulgarian GM Ivan Cheparinov, who played very enterprising chess in Moscow.France's top player Maxime Vachier-Lagrave scored just slightly below par with 5.5 points, which isn't a bad result so soon after a tough (and well played) Tata A group. Other Tata participants had a very tough tournament. Jon Ludvig Hammer (2647) from Norway, who was struggling in Wijk aan Zee, also did badly in Moscow with a 2497 performance. He only won in the last two rounds. GM Daniele Vocaturo ended on 3.5/9 and things went even worse for Wesley So, who played five draws and one loss in the first six rounds and then left the tournament. Already in Wijk aan Zee the Philippine GM, who recently moved to Toronto (Canada) with his family, lamented about tiredness. In the last edition of the Full English Breakfast So hinted that he might be putting chess on hold next season, as he's considering going to university instead.Russian IM Daniil Dubov (2459) is a name to remember - he scored an undefated 2699 performance! FM Ivan Bukavshin (2458) didn't do so bad either with a 2654 performance.The B tournament was won by GM Tigran Kotanjian from Armenia, who edged out GMs Darwin Laylo (Philippines) and GM Nikolai Kabanov (Russia) on tiebreak. More Armenian successes were seen in the C group: David Shahinyan finished clear first with 8/9 and Tigran Simonian clear second with half a point less.Aeroflot 2011 | A tournament | Final standings
| Rank | Name | Score | Fed. | Rating | TPR | W-We | Rat-HiLo |
| 1 | GM Le, Quang Liem | 6.5 | VIE | 2664 | 2809 | +1.73 | 2649.4 |
| 2 | GM Vitiugov, Nikita | 6.5 | RUS | 2709 | 2803 | +1.11 | 2638.6 |
| 3 | GM Tomashevsky, Evgeny | 6.5 | RUS | 2695 | 2797 | +1.22 | 2630.6 |
| 4 | GM Khismatullin, Denis | 6.0 | RUS | 2649 | 2779 | +1.57 | 2660.3 |
| 5 | GM Yu, Yangyi | 6.0 | CHN | 2607 | 2762 | +1.87 | 2644.1 |
| 6 | GM Kamsky, Gata | 6.0 | USA | 2730 | 2756 | +0.28 | 2631.1 |
| 7 | GM Rodshtein, Maxim | 6.0 | ISR | 2625 | 2734 | +1.32 | 2614.7 |
| 8 | GM Kasimdzhanov, Rustam | 6.0 | UZB | 2681 | 2727 | +0.56 | 2607.0 |
| 9 | GM Mamedov, Rauf | 6.0 | AZE | 2660 | 2720 | +0.74 | 2597.4 |
| 10 | GM Cheparinov, Ivan | 6.0 | BUL | 2665 | 2716 | +0.62 | 2587.0 |
| 11 | GM Sandipan, Chanda | 5.5 | IND | 2641 | 2715 | +0.93 | 2639.4 |
| 12 | GM Bocharov, Dmitry | 5.5 | RUS | 2605 | 2686 | +1.01 | 2611.1 |
| 13 | GM Andreikin, Dmitry | 5.5 | RUS | 2689 | 2663 | -0.29 | 2594.0 |
| 14 | GM Grachev, Boris | 5.5 | RUS | 2660 | 2662 | +0.04 | 2592.4 |
| 15 | GM Zvjaginsev, Vadim | 5.5 | RUS | 2660 | 2669 | +0.14 | 2589.6 |
| 16 | GM Petrosian, Tigran L. | 5.5 | ARM | 2604 | 2750 | +1.82 | 2671.0 |
| 17 | GM Jakovenko, Dmitry | 5.5 | RUS | 2718 | 2718 | +0.01 | 2639.4 |
| 18 | GM Kobalia, Mikhail | 5.5 | RUS | 2666 | 2715 | +0.63 | 2638.0 |
| 19 | GM Sjugirov, Sanan | 5.5 | RUS | 2626 | 2700 | +0.96 | 2630.1 |
| 20 | GM Ding, Liren | 5.5 | CHN | 2628 | 2703 | +0.92 | 2624.7 |
| 21 | GM Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime | 5.5 | FRA | 2715 | 2698 | -0.18 | 2620.6 |
| 22 | GM Zhou, Jianchao | 5.5 | CHN | 2655 | 2693 | +0.51 | 2617.9 |
| 23 | GM Volokitin, Andrei | 5.5 | UKR | 2678 | 2664 | -0.14 | 2593.1 |
| 24 | GM Sutovsky, Emil | 5.5 | ISR | 2695 | 2669 | -0.31 | 2588.6 |
| 25 | GM Khalifman, Alexander | 5.5 | RUS | 2638 | 2626 | -0.13 | 2547.4 |
| 26 | GM Movsesian, Sergei | 5.0 | ARM | 2721 | 2668 | -0.69 | 2624.0 |
| 27 | GM Motylev, Alexander | 5.0 | RUS | 2687 | 2603 | -1.04 | 2566.3 |
| 28 | IM Dubov, Daniil | 5.0 | RUS | 2459 | 2699 | +2.79 | 2656.9 |
| 29 | IM Kovalenko, Igor | 5.0 | UKR | 2515 | 2664 | +1.78 | 2635.4 |
| 30 | GM Vuckovic, Bojan | 5.0 | SRB | 2623 | 2648 | +0.28 | 2608.9 |
| 31 | GM Bologan, Viktor | 5.0 | MDA | 2693 | 2609 | -1.01 | 2573.4 |
| 32 | GM Lysyj, Igor | 5.0 | RUS | 2635 | 2584 | -0.62 | 2528.4 |
| 33 | GM Salgado Lopez, Ivan | 4.5 | ESP | 2626 | 2661 | +0.44 | 2675.7 |
| 34 | GM Hess, Robert L | 4.5 | USA | 2572 | 2656 | +1.02 | 2665.7 |
| 35 | GM Grigoryan, Avetik | 4.5 | ARM | 2595 | 2660 | +0.80 | 2661.9 |
| 36 | FM Bukavshin, Ivan | 4.5 | RUS | 2458 | 2654 | +2.27 | 2653.3 |
| 37 | IM Fedoseev, Vladimir | 4.5 | RUS | 2505 | 2637 | +1.60 | 2641.1 |
| 38 | GM Vorobiov, Evgeny E. | 4.5 | RUS | 2556 | 2625 | +0.86 | 2632.7 |
| 39 | GM Felgaer, Ruben | 4.5 | ARG | 2585 | 2619 | +0.42 | 2623.1 |
| 40 | GM Oleksienko, Mikhailo | 4.5 | UKR | 2552 | 2608 | +0.70 | 2620.4 |
| 41 | GM Ni, Hua | 4.5 | CHN | 2645 | 2585 | -0.70 | 2582.1 |
| 42 | GM Timofeev, Artyom | 4.5 | RUS | 2681 | 2568 | -1.37 | 2575.4 |
| 43 | GM Khairullin, Ildar | 4.5 | RUS | 2640 | 2568 | -0.87 | 2563.1 |
| 44 | GM Maletin, Pavel | 4.5 | RUS | 2621 | 2543 | -0.93 | 2536.7 |
| 45 | GM Lenic, Luka | 4.5 | SLO | 2613 | 2647 | +0.42 | 2667.9 |
| 46 | GM Fier, Alexandr | 4.5 | BRA | 2571 | 2643 | +0.89 | 2663.1 |
| 47 | GM Shomoev, Anton | 4.5 | RUS | 2557 | 2660 | +1.27 | 2662.4 |
| 48 | GM Jumabayev, Rinat | 4.5 | KAZ | 2555 | 2641 | +1.05 | 2642.9 |
| 49 | GM Romanov, Evgeny | 4.5 | RUS | 2606 | 2614 | +0.09 | 2622.0 |
| 50 | FM Nechepurenko, Roman V. | 4.5 | RUS | 2546 | 2620 | +0.90 | 2619.9 |
| 51 | GM Riazantsev, Alexander | 4.5 | RUS | 2689 | 2611 | -0.97 | 2610.4 |
| 52 | GM Kurnosov, Igor | 4.5 | RUS | 2662 | 2591 | -0.87 | 2590.0 |
| 53 | GM Bluvshtein, Mark | 4.5 | CAN | 2590 | 2589 | -0.01 | 2588.7 |
| 54 | GM Ragger, Markus | 4.5 | AUT | 2615 | 2584 | -0.39 | 2581.7 |
| 55 | GM Predojevic, Borki | 4.5 | BIH | 2626 | 2553 | -0.89 | 2559.7 |
| 56 | GM Kotsur, Pavel | 4.0 | KAZ | 2559 | 2616 | +0.71 | 2660.7 |
| 57 | IM Papin, Vasily | 4.0 | RUS | 2568 | 2589 | +0.29 | 2644.1 |
| 58 | GM Alsina Leal, Daniel | 4.0 | ESP | 2531 | 2583 | +0.66 | 2625.1 |
| 59 | WGM Ju, Wenjun | 4.0 | CHN | 2514 | 2557 | +0.54 | 2606.0 |
| 60 | GM Deviatkin, Andrei | 4.0 | RUS | 2573 | 2518 | -0.66 | 2559.6 |
| 61 | GM Novikov, Stanislav | 4.0 | RUS | 2568 | 2564 | -0.03 | 2611.6 |
| 62 | GM Iturrizaga, Eduardo | 4.0 | VEN | 2611 | 2549 | -0.74 | 2583.0 |
| 63 | GM Zhao, Jun | 4.0 | CHN | 2599 | 2539 | -0.73 | 2577.9 |
| 64 | GM Hammer, Jon Ludvig | 4.0 | NOR | 2647 | 2497 | -1.81 | 2544.9 |
| 65 | GM Mekhitarian, Krikor Sevag | 3.5 | BRA | 2528 | 2534 | +0.08 | 2616.7 |
| 66 | GM Mamedov, Nidjat | 3.5 | AZE | 2580 | 2521 | -0.75 | 2602.1 |
| 67 | IM Sethuraman, S.P. | 3.5 | IND | 2545 | 2512 | -0.42 | 2597.3 |
| 68 | GM Kosteniuk, Alexandra | 3.5 | RUS | 2498 | 2493 | -0.08 | 2583.3 |
| 69 | GM Savchenko, Boris | 3.5 | RUS | 2637 | 2465 | -2.14 | 2547.7 |
| 70 | GM Mareco, Sandro | 3.5 | ARG | 2627 | 2464 | -2.00 | 2542.6 |
| 71 | GM Edouard, Romain | 3.5 | FRA | 2634 | 2452 | -2.23 | 2537.9 |
| 72 | GM Kotronias, Vasilios | 3.5 | GRE | 2599 | 2545 | -0.68 | 2628.1 |
| 73 | Xiu, Deshun | 3.5 | CHN | 2508 | 2508 | -0.03 | 2595.7 |
| 74 | GM Korobov, Anton | 3.5 | UKR | 2670 | 2486 | -2.28 | 2568.6 |
| 75 | GM Vocaturo, Daniele | 3.5 | ITA | 2570 | 2395 | -1.87 | 2517.3 |
| 76 | GM Zhou, Weiqi | 3.0 | CHN | 2573 | 2512 | -0.69 | 2648.7 |
| 77 | IM Danin, Alexandre | 3.0 | RUS | 2538 | 2503 | -0.38 | 2637.6 |
| 78 | GM El Debs, Felipe de Cresce | 3.0 | BRA | 2499 | 2492 | -0.06 | 2616.0 |
| 79 | GM Zhigalko, Andrey | 3.0 | BLR | 2566 | 2464 | -1.22 | 2596.3 |
| 80 | WGM Pogonina, Natalija | 3.0 | RUS | 2472 | 2381 | -0.90 | 2563.3 |
| 81 | IM Huschenbeth, Niclas | 2.5 | GER | 2450 | 2411 | -0.48 | 2586.4 |
| 82 | GM Roussel-Roozmon, Thomas | 2.5 | CAN | 2500 | 2420 | -0.95 | 2598.1 |
| 83 | IM Geller, Jakov | 2.5 | RUS | 2544 | 2417 | -1.51 | 2590.0 |
| 84 | WGM Paikidze, Nazi | 2.5 | GEO | 2455 | 2402 | -0.66 | 2575.0 |
| 85 | IM Khader, Sami | 2.5 | JOR | 2450 | 2268 | -1.75 | 2505.0 |
| 86 | GM So, Wesley | 2.5/6 | PHI | 2673 | 2507 | -1.39 | 2562.0 |
