Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hello everyone,
Grandmaster Levon Aronian starts the Bilbao half of the Grand Slam Chess Masters with a win over Francisco Vallejo while the others draw. The games Vishy Anand vs Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura vs Vassily Ivanchuk ended in draws.
The 4th edition of the Grand Slam Masters Final runs from September 25th until October 11th and is played in two different venues. The first five rounds of this double round-robin event takes place in Sao Paulo, Brazil from 25th of September to 1st of October, and the second leg will be played in Bilbao, Spain from 6th to 11th of October. Magnus Carlsen, Vishy Anand, Levon Aronian, Vassily Ivanchuk, Hikaru Nakamura and Francisco Vallejo play a double round-robin. In both venues, the Ibirapuera Park in Sao Paulo and the Bilbao Alhóndiga, the players play in a big class cube. The rate of play is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves plus 60 minutes to finish the game, with 10 seconds increment per move from move number 41. Players are not allowed to agree to a draw without the arbiter’s permission. In case both players request it to him, the arbiter will make his decision after consulting with the technical assistant. The football scoring system is used: 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 for a loss.
In the third edition, last year, the infamous glass cube was dropped but this time it's back. Both in the Ibirapuera Park in Sao Paulo and the Bilbao Alhóndiga the players will again be executing their moves in a sound-proof 'aquarium'. This makes it possible to set up a commentary booth right next to the 'playing hall', where Spanish journalist Leontxo Garcia and guests are explaining the games during the rounds, and talking to the players after the games.
Here are the nice first round games.
Hello everyone,
Grandmaster Levon Aronian starts the Bilbao half of the Grand Slam Chess Masters with a win over Francisco Vallejo while the others draw. The games Vishy Anand vs Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura vs Vassily Ivanchuk ended in draws.
The 4th edition of the Grand Slam Masters Final runs from September 25th until October 11th and is played in two different venues. The first five rounds of this double round-robin event takes place in Sao Paulo, Brazil from 25th of September to 1st of October, and the second leg will be played in Bilbao, Spain from 6th to 11th of October. Magnus Carlsen, Vishy Anand, Levon Aronian, Vassily Ivanchuk, Hikaru Nakamura and Francisco Vallejo play a double round-robin. In both venues, the Ibirapuera Park in Sao Paulo and the Bilbao Alhóndiga, the players play in a big class cube. The rate of play is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves plus 60 minutes to finish the game, with 10 seconds increment per move from move number 41. Players are not allowed to agree to a draw without the arbiter’s permission. In case both players request it to him, the arbiter will make his decision after consulting with the technical assistant. The football scoring system is used: 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 for a loss.
In the third edition, last year, the infamous glass cube was dropped but this time it's back. Both in the Ibirapuera Park in Sao Paulo and the Bilbao Alhóndiga the players will again be executing their moves in a sound-proof 'aquarium'. This makes it possible to set up a commentary booth right next to the 'playing hall', where Spanish journalist Leontxo Garcia and guests are explaining the games during the rounds, and talking to the players after the games.
Here are the nice first round games.
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How is Anand going to hide his prep?
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