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Chess World Cup 2007

The Chess World Cup 2007 served as a qualification tournament for the World Chess Championship 2009. It was held as a 128-player single-elimination tournament, between 24 November and 16 December 2007, in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

In an event attended by most leading players of the world, American Gata Kamsky emerged as the winner. He was unbeaten in the tournament, going into tie-break only once and defeating Spaniard Alexei Shirov, 2½-1½, in the four-game final. Two 17-year-old players, Sergey Karjakin and Magnus Carlsen, reached the semifinals.

By winning, Kamsky qualified for the Challenger Match, the final stage in determining the challenger for the World Chess Championship 2010; his participation in that match allowed him direct entry into the Candidates Matches for the World Chess Championship 2012.

The final four also received direct entry into the FIDE Grand Prix 2008-2009, a qualifying stage for the World Chess Championship 2012.

Background

The 2007 World Cup was part of the cycle for the World Chess Championship 2009. Gata Kamsky, as the winner of this tournament, played an eight game match against Veselin Topalov in 2008, for the right to be the challenger for the World Chess Championship 2010. Ultimately Topalov won the match and will face World Champion Viswanathan Anand, who successfully defended his title against former champion Vladimir Kramnik at the World Chess Championship 2008.

Prominent non-participants

Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov were ineligible to participate, due to special privileges they already had in the 2008-2009 World Championship cycle.

All other leading players, including world champion Viswanathan Anand, were eligible to participate. However Anand, who was already seeded into the 2008-2009 cycle, elected not to play.

Three other players who had recently competed in the World Chess Championship 2007 in Mexico - Péter Lékó, Aleksandr Morozevich and Boris Gelfand - elected not to play. Lékó and Morozevich refused to take part as a form of protest against the special privileges given for the inclusion of Kramnik and Topalov in the World Chess Championship Cycle.

The only other player from the Top 30 who did not participate was Judit Polgár.

Qualification

The final list of 128 qualifiers for the World Cup was as follows:

Three of the eight participants of the World Chess Championship 2007 (Levon Aronian, Peter Svidler, Alexander Grischuk). The other five qualifiers in this category were replaced by five players from the average rating list.
Women's World Champion 2006 (Xu Yuhua).
Junior World Champion 2006 (Zaven Andriasian).
Twenty-five players with the highest Elo rating (including five replacements). The average ratings from July 2006 and January 2007 were used.
89 players qualified from the continental and zonal championships:
- 45 players from Europe (16 from the 2006 European Individual Chess Championship and 29 from 2007)
- 19 players from the Americas (7 from the 4th American Continental Championship, 12 from the 2.1 through 2½ Zonals),
- 19 players from Asia and Oceania (10 from the 6th Asian Championship, 9 from the 3.1 through 3.6 Zonals),
- 6 players from Africa (2007 African Championship).
5 nominees of the FIDE President (Sergei Rublevsky, Evgeny Bareev, Sergei Zhigalko, Ziaur Rahman, and Boris Savchenko).
4 nominees of the local Organising Committee (Evgeny Alekseev, Nikolai Kabanov, Aleksei Pridorozhni, and Vladimir Genba).

The individual Zones (for Zonals) are described in the FIDE handbook.

Participants

All players are Grandmasters unless indicated otherwise.

¹ Izoria did not appear at the Cup due to visa problems. Gonzalez Zamora did not appear at the Cup due to illness.

Playing conditions

The tournament is in the style of the FIDE World Chess Championships 1998-2004: each round consists of a two game match (except for the final round, which will be a four game match), followed by tie breaks at faster time controls if required.

The time control for regular games is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves and 30 minutes for the rest of the game, with 30 seconds added after each move. Tie breaks consist of two rapid chess games (25 minutes each + 10 seconds per move); followed by two blitz games if required (5 minutes + 10 seconds per move); followed by a single Armageddon chess game if required (white has 6 minutes and must win, black has 5 minutes and only needs to draw).

The prize money ranged from US$6,000 for players eliminated in the first round to $80,000 for the losing finalist and $120,000 for the winner.

Results, rounds 1-4

Summary

Round 1

Most of the top seeds progressed. From the top 32, the only higher seeded players eliminated were Pavel Eljanov (19th seed), Konstantin Landa (25) and Pendyala Harikrishna (32).

Round 2

Players in the top 32 eliminated in regular games were Teimour Radjabov (seeded 3), Loek van Wely (24). Top 32 players eliminated in tie breaks were Rustam Kasimdzhanov (22), Andrei Volokitin (26) and Vadim Zvjaginsev (30). This left 24 of the top 32 seeds in the final 32.

High seeds needing tie breaks to progress included Vassily Ivanchuk (1), Magnus Carlsen (10), Ruslan Ponomariov (14) and Wang Yue (15).

Round 3

After the two regular games, 10 of the 16 matches had decisive results. Players going through on the regular games are: Alexei Shirov (seeded 5), Michael Adams (7), Evgeny Alekseev (8), Magnus Carlsen (10), Gata Kamsky (11), Vladimir Akopian (12), Dmitry Jakovenko (13), Ruslan Ponomariov (14), Wang Yue (15) and Ivan Cheparinov (31). Cheparinov eliminated the number 2 seed Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.

The other six matches were decided in the tie breaks. Winners were Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (33) (eliminating top seed Vassily Ivanchuk), Krishnan Sasikiran (35), Evgeny Bareev (41), Levon Aronian (4), Peter Svidler (6), Sergey Karjakin (17).

Round 4

In the regular time control games, Shirov, Ponomariov, Carlsen, Karjakin and Cheparinov won their respective matches against Akopian, Sasikiran, Adams, Nisipeanu and Wang Yue. The other three matches (Jakovenko-Aronian, Svidler-Kamsky and Bareev-Alekseev) proceed to tie breaks, with wins to Jakovenko, Kamsky and Alekseev.

Section 1

First round			Second round			Third round			Fourth round


1	Vassily Ivanchuk	2

128	Pedro Aderito	0
			1	Vassily Ivanchuk	2½

			65	Aleksandr Galkin	1½
64	Mateusz Bartel	1

65	Aleksandr Galkin	3
						1	Vassily Ivanchuk	2½

						33	Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu	3½
32	Pendyala Harikrishna	1½

97	Zhao Jun	2½
			97	Zhao Jun	1½

			33	Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu	2½
33	Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu	1½

96	Bassem Amin	½
									33	Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu	½

									17	Sergey Karjakin	1½
16	Étienne Bacrot	1½

113	Darwin Laylo	½
			16	Étienne Bacrot	1½

			49	Michael Roiz	½
49	Michael Roiz	4

80	Varuzhan Akobian	3
						16	Étienne Bacrot	1

						17	Sergey Karjakin	3
17	Sergey Karjakin	2

112	Everaldo Matsuura	0
			17	Sergey Karjakin	1½

			48	Zhang Pengxiang	½
48	Zhang Pengxiang	2½

81	Merab Gagunashvili	1½

Section 2

First round			Second round			Third round			Fourth round


8	Evgeny Alekseev	2½

121	Anuar Ismagambetov	1½
			8	Evgeny Alekseev	1½

			57	Konstantin Sakaev	½
57	Konstantin Sakaev	4

72	Nikita Vitiugov	3
						8	Evgeny Alekseev	1½

						40	Laurent Fressinet	½
25	Konstantin Landa	½

104	Vladislav Nevednichy	1½
			104	Vladislav Nevednichy	½

			40	Laurent Fressinet	1½
40	Laurent Fressinet	2

89	Diego Flores	0
									8	Evgeny Alekseev	3

									41	Evgeny Bareev	1
9	Alexander Grischuk	1½

120	Darcy Lima	½
			9	Alexander Grischuk	1½

			56	Evgeniy Najer	½
56	Evgeniy Najer	1½

73	Emanuel Berg	½
						9	Alexander Grischuk	1½

						41	Evgeny Bareev	2½
24	Loek van Wely	3½

105	Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son	2½
			24	Loek van Wely	½

			41	Evgeny Bareev	1½
41	Evgeny Bareev	2

88	Julio Becerra Rivero	0

Section 3

First round			Second round			Third round			Fourth round


4	Levon Aronian	2

125	Juan Pablo Hobaica	0
			4	Levon Aronian	1½

			68	Jan Gustafsson	½
61	Maxim Rodshtein	½

68	Jan Gustafsson	1½
						4	Levon Aronian	3

						29	Ernesto Inarkiev	1
29	Ernesto Inarkiev	1½

100	Fernando Peralta	½
			29	Ernesto Inarkiev	1½

			36	Francisco Vallejo Pons	½
36	Francisco Vallejo Pons	1½

93	Sergey Kudrin	½
									4	Levon Aronian	1½

									13	Dmitry Jakovenko	2½
13	Dmitry Jakovenko	2

116	Ziaur Rahman	0
			13	Dmitry Jakovenko	1½

			77	Vladimir Belov	½
52	Alexander Khalifman	1½

77	Vladimir Belov	2½
						13	Dmitry Jakovenko	1½

						20	Zoltán Almási	½
20	Zoltán Almási	1½

109	Wen Yang	½
			20	Zoltán Almási	2

			45	Bartosz Soćko	0
45	Bartosz Soćko	2

84	Vladimir Georgiev	0

Section 4

First round			Second round			Third round			Fourth round


5	Alexei Shirov	2

124	Robert Gwaze	0
			5	Alexei Shirov	1½

			60	Yuri Shulman	½
60	Yuri Shulman	3

69	Rafael Leitao	1
						5	Alexei Shirov	1½

						28	Alexander Onischuk	½
28	Alexander Onischuk	2½

101	Zaven Andriasian	1½
			28	Alexander Onischuk	1½

			37	Predrag Nikolić	½
37	Predrag Nikolić	2

92	Artem Iljin	0
									5	Alexei Shirov	1½

									12	Vladimir Akopian	½
12	Vladimir Akopian	2½

117	Anton Filippov	1½
			12	Vladimir Akopian	1½

			76	Ehsan Ghaem Maghami	½
53	Zviad Izoria

76	Ehsan Ghaem Maghami	w/o
						12	Vladimir Akopian	1½

						21	Vladimir Malakhov	½
21	Vladimir Malakhov	2

108	Xu Yuhua	0
			21	Vladimir Malakhov	2½

			44	Sergey Volkov	1½
44	Sergey Volkov	1½

85	Grzegorz Gajewski	½

Section 5

First round

Second round

Third round

Fourth round

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov

127

Khaled Abdel Razik

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov

1½

Zdenko Kozul

Zdenko Kozul

3½

Lazaro Bruzon Batista

2½

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov

Ivan Cheparinov

1½

Ivan Cheparinov

w/o

Juan Carlos González Zamora

3½

2½

1½

1½

1½

114

Aleksei Pridorozhni

Wang Yue

2½

Sergei Tiviakov

1½

Sergei Tiviakov

1½

Surya Shekhar Ganguly

Wang Yue

1½

Bu Xiangzhi

111

Nikolai Kabanov

3½

2½

1½

Section 6

First round			Second round			Third round			Fourth round


7	Michael Adams	1½

122	Igor Zugic	½
			7	Michael Adams	1½

			58	Mikhail Gurevich	½
58	Mikhail Gurevich	2½

71	Gregory S. Kaidanov	1½
						7	Michael Adams	1½

						90	Zhou Jianchao	½
26	Andrei Volokitin	1½

103	Lê Quang Liêm	½
			26	Andrei Volokitin	3

			90	Zhou Jianchao	4
39	Emil Sutovsky	½

90	Zhou Jianchao	1½
									7	Michael Adams	½

									10	Magnus Carlsen	1½
10	Magnus Carlsen	2

119	Zhao Zong-Yuan	0
			10	Magnus Carlsen	3

			55	Arkadij Naiditsch	1
55	Arkadij Naiditsch	1½

74	Julio E. Granda Zuniga	½
						10	Magnus Carlsen	1½

						23	Leinier Domínguez	½
23	Leinier Domínguez	2

106	Alexei Iljushin	0
			23	Leinier Domínguez	1½

			87	David Baramidze	½
42	Nigel D. Short	1½

87	David Baramidze	2½

Section 7

First round			Second round			Third round			Fourth round


3	Teimour Radjabov	2

126	Vladimir Genba	0
			3	Teimour Radjabov	0

			67	Bartłomiej Macieja	2
62	Viktor Laznicka	½

67	Bartłomiej Macieja	1½
						67	Bartłomiej Macieja	2

						35	Krishnan Sasikiran	4
30	Vadim Zvjaginsev	2½

99	Abhijit Kunte	1½
			30	Vadim Zvjaginsev	2

			35	Krishnan Sasikiran	4
35	Krishnan Sasikiran	3½

94	Sergei Zhigalko	2½
									35	Krishnan Sasikiran	½

									14	Ruslan Ponomariov	1½
14	Ruslan Ponomariov	2½

115	Essam El Gindy	1½
			14	Ruslan Ponomariov	2½

			51	Wang Hao	1½
51	Wang Hao	1½

78	Robert Markuš	½
						14	Ruslan Ponomariov	1½

						46	Evgeny Tomashevsky	½
19	Pavel Eljanov	½

110	Enamul Hossain	1½
			110	Enamul Hossain	½

			46	Evgeny Tomashevsky	1½
46	Evgeny Tomashevsky	3½

83	Rauf Mammadov	2½

Section 8

First round			Second round			Third round			Fourth round


6	Peter Svidler	2

123	Eduardo Iturrizaga	0
			6	Peter Svidler	2

			70	Dusko Pavasovic	0
59	Alexander Shabalov	½

70	Dusko Pavasovic	1½
						6	Peter Svidler	2½

						27	Sergei Rublevsky	1½
27	Sergei Rublevsky	1½

102	Imre Hera, Jr.	½
			27	Sergei Rublevsky	3½

			38	David Navara	2½
38	David Navara	1½

91	Alexander Ivanov	½
									6	Peter Svidler	1½

									11	Gata Kamsky	2½
11	Gata Kamsky	1½

118	Ahmed Adly	½
			11	Gata Kamsky	1½

			54	Boris Avrukh	½
54	Boris Avrukh	3

75	Gilberto Milos	1
						11	Gata Kamsky	1½

						43	Kiril Georgiev	½
22	Rustam Kasimdzhanov	4

107	G.N. Gopal	2
			22	Rustam Kasimdzhanov	3

			43	Kiril Georgiev	4
43	Kiril Georgiev	2

86	Susanto Megaranto	0