Nanjing Pearl Spring Masters 2010

Hot on the heels of the recent super-tournament in Bilbao comes another clash of the titans.  The venue this time is Nanjing for the third edition of the Pearl Spring Masters.

This recent addition to the chess calendar has already established itself as a firm favourite, and with a line-up like this it's no wonder!

• Vishy Anand, reigning world champion
• Magnus Carlsen, official world #1 ranked player
• Veselin Topalov, official world #2 ranked player
• Wang Yue, Chinese #1 ranked player
• Vugar Gashimov, Azerbaijan #3 ranked player
• Etienne Bacrot, French #2 ranked player

This will be the first time that Anand and Topalov have met over the board since their world championship match earlier this year.  Neither will want to give any ground against the other as they renew their rivalry!

The "Kid" Carlsen will be keen to put his dreadful recent form behind him and regain the #1 spot in time for the next official ranking list.  What better way to reassert his primacy than beating Anand and Topalov in the same tournament?

left to right, Anand, Carlsen, Topalov (all pictures from the official website)

The remaining three competitors Yue, Gashimov and Bacrot also have the potential to upset the big three in this 10-round double round-robin competition.

left to right Yue, Gashimov, Bacrot

The event runs from 20-30 October, with games starting at 14:30 local time (GMT+8) except the final round which is earlier at 10:00.  There is one rest day at the half-way point on the 25 October.

The official site has more information and promises live coverage.  The prize fund is an impressive 250,000 euros which is definitely worth travelling half way around the world for.