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Chess World Cup 2009

The Chess World Cup 2009 was a 128-player single-elimination tournament, played between 20 November and 14 December 2009, in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. The Cup winner qualified for the Candidates stage of the World Chess Championship 2011. Boris Gelfand defeated Ruslan Ponomariov in the final.

Format

Matches consisted of two games (except for the final, which consisted of four). Players had 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an addition of 30 seconds per move from move one. If the match was tied after the regular games, tie breaks were played on the next day. The format for the tie breaks was as follows:

Participants

The players qualified for the event are:

All players are grandmasters unless indicated otherwise. The pairings of the 1st round (players were seeded according to their ratings) were announced on 2 November 2009, immediately after the publishing of the November rating list. The list of players who declined participation: Anand, Carlsen, Topalov, Aronian, Kramnik, Leko, Adams, Nakamura, and Ni Hua. Among them, Anand, Topalov and Aronian are already qualified for the Candidates or the Championship match; Carlsen, Kramnik, Nakamura, Adams and Ni have committed to play in the London Chess Classic on 7-15 December 2009.

Qualification paths:

Calendar

Round Regular games Tiebreaks
Round 1 21-22 November 23 November
Round 2 24-25 November 26 November
Round 3 27-28 November 29 November
Round 4 30 November, 1 December 2 December
Quarterfinals 3-4 December 5 December
Semifinals 6-7 December 8 December
Final 10-13 December 14 December

Summary of results

Round one

In the first round of the tournament all of the top 30 seeded players progressed, with the sole exception of Slovakian Sergei Movsesian (16), who was eliminated by the Chinese 113th seed Yu Yangyi. Judit Polgár achieved a walkover, due to her opponent Duško Pavasovič withdrawing from the competition due to injury. The round was notable for the 16-game match between Pavel Tregubov and Varuzhan Akobian: after each winning with white over the first two days, their tiebreak held a marathon of four rapid games followed by ten blitz games. The two players fought until near 1 a.m. local time for the right to face Ruslan Ponomariov in the second round (which would start the next morning), Akobian finally achieving the decisive two-point advantage in the final bout before an Armageddon game would have been required.

Round two

The first day of Round Two included a number of upsets. The highest seed to have won their match was Alexander Grischuk (8), as Peter Svidler (3), Alexander Morozevich (4), Teimour Radjabov (5) and Vassily Ivanchuk (6) all lost and the remaining highest seeds (Gelfand, Gashimov and Ponomariov) drew. On the next day of matches, Morozevich, Radjabov and Ivanchuk were all eliminated, and exactly half of the matches went to tie-breaks. Ultimately, of the 32 players to reach Round Three, all but seven players had been originally seeded in the top 32.

Round three

This round is scheduled for 27-29 November 2009. Sixteen-year-old Wesley So, who had upset Ivanchuk in Round Two, achieved another major upset, defeating Gata Kamsky, the 2007 winner, 1½-½. In the second rapid tiebreak, Chinese players Wang Yue and Li Chao were not at their seats for the start of the round, and lost the game, and their matches against Bacrot and Gashimov.

Round four

This round is scheduled for 30 November - 2 December 2009. It marked the departure of most of the youthful players from the World Cup. Wesley So (16), Fabiano Caruana (17) and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (19) were eliminated by the more experienced Malakhov, Gashimov and Gelfand respectively, leaving Sergey Karjakin the only under-20 player left in contention.

Results, rounds 1-4

Section 1

First round Second round Third round Fourth round
                       
1 Boris Gelfand
128 Andrei Obodchuk ½
1 Boris Gelfand
64 Farrukh Amonatov ½
64 Farrukh Amonatov
65 Sergey Volkov ½
1 Boris Gelfand
32 Judit Polgár
32 Judit Polgár w/o
97 Duško Pavasovič
32 Judit Polgár
33 Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu
33 Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu
96 Constantin Lupulescu ½
1 Boris Gelfand
17 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
16 Sergei Movsesian ½
113 Yu Yangyi
113 Yu Yangyi
80 Mateusz Bartel ½
49 Boris Grachev 3
80 Mateusz Bartel 5
113 Yu Yangyi ½
17 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
17 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
112 Yu Shaoteng ½
17 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
48 Georg Meier
48 Georg Meier
81 Tigran L. Petrosian ½

Section 2

First round Second round Third round Fourth round
                       
8 Alexander Grischuk
121 Sriram Jha ½
8 Alexander Grischuk
57 Vladislav Tkachiev ½
57 Vladislav Tkachiev
72 Lê Quang Liêm
8 Alexander Grischuk 5
25 Baadur Jobava 3
25 Baadur Jobava
104 Ray Robson ½
25 Baadur Jobava
89 Eduardo Iturrizaga ½
40 Sergei Tiviakov
89 Eduardo Iturrizaga
8 Alexander Grischuk 3
9 Dmitry Jakovenko 5
9 Dmitry Jakovenko
120 Aimen Rizouk ½
9 Dmitry Jakovenko 2
73 Chanda Sandipan 0
56 Mikhail Kobalia ½
73 Chanda Sandipan
9 Dmitry Jakovenko 4
41 Alexander Areshchenko 2
24 Sergei Rublevsky
105 Iván Morovic ½
24 Sergei Rublevsky
41 Alexander Areshchenko
41 Alexander Areshchenko
88 Fidel Corrales Jimenez ½

Section 3

First round Second round Third round Fourth round
                       
4 Alexander Morozevich 2
125 Khaled Abdel Razik 0
4 Alexander Morozevich 0
61 Viktor Láznička 2
61 Viktor Láznička
68 Ioannis Papaioannou ½
61 Viktor Láznička
29 Viktor Bologan
29 Viktor Bologan
100 Ahmed Adly ½
29 Viktor Bologan 4
36 Ivan Cheparinov 2
36 Ivan Cheparinov
93 Yuriy Kryvoruchko
61 Viktor Láznička ½
13 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
13 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2
116 Alexandra Kosteniuk 0
13 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2
52 Vadim Milov 0
52 Vadim Milov
77 Parimarjan Negi
13 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
20 Wang Hao ½
20 Wang Hao 2
109 Joshua Friedel 0
20 Wang Hao 2
45 Surya Shekhar Ganguly 0
45 Surya Shekhar Ganguly 2
84 Anton Filippov 0

Section 4

First round Second round Third round Fourth round
                       
5 Teimour Radjabov 2
124 Mohamed Ezat 0
5 Teimour Radjabov ½
69 Konstantin Sakaev
60 Julio Granda ½
69 Konstantin Sakaev
69 Konstantin Sakaev ½
28 Nikita Vitiugov
28 Nikita Vitiugov
101 Abhijeet Gupta ½
28 Nikita Vitiugov
92 Gilberto Milos
37 Zahar Efimenko ½
92 Gilberto Milos
28 Nikita Vitiugov ½
12 Sergey Karjakin
12 Sergey Karjakin
117 Andrés Rodríguez ½
12 Sergey Karjakin
53 Artyom Timofeev
53 Artyom Timofeev
76 Rafael Leitão
12 Sergey Karjakin 4
21 David Navara 1
21 David Navara 4
108 Darwin Laylo 2
21 David Navara
85 Alexander Shabalov
44 Vladimir Baklan
85 Alexander Shabalov

Section 5

First round Second round Third round Fourth round
                       
2 Vugar Gashimov 2
127 Walaa Sarwat 0
2 Vugar Gashimov
66 Zhou Jianchao ½
63 Rauf Mamedov ½
66 Zhou Jianchao
2 Vugar Gashimov
95 Li Chao
31 Bu Xiangzhi ½
98 Yannick Pelletier
98 Yannick Pelletier
95 Li Chao
34 Gabriel Sargissian 3
95 Li Chao 5
2 Vugar Gashimov
50 Fabiano Caruana
15 Leinier Domínguez
114 David Smerdon
15 Leinier Domínguez 2
50 Fabiano Caruana 4
50 Fabiano Caruana
79 Lázaro Bruzón ½
50 Fabiano Caruana
18 Evgeny Alekseev
18 Evgeny Alekseev
111 Aleksei Pridorozhni ½
18 Evgeny Alekseev
47 Laurent Fressinet
47 Laurent Fressinet 2
82 Sanan Sjugirov 0

Section 6

First round Second round Third round Fourth round
                       
7 Ruslan Ponomariov
122 Essam El-Gindy ½
7 Ruslan Ponomariov 4
71 Varuzhan Akobian 2
58 Pavel Tregubov 7
71 Varuzhan Akobian 9
7 Ruslan Ponomariov
26 Alexander Motylev ½
26 Alexander Motylev
103 Robert Hess ½
26 Alexander Motylev
39 Evgeniy Najer ½
39 Evgeniy Najer
90 Ehsan Ghaem Maghami ½
7 Ruslan Ponomariov
23 Étienne Bacrot
10 Wang Yue 2
119 Nikolai Kabanov 0
10 Wang Yue 2
55 Boris Savchenko 0
55 Boris Savchenko
74 Yury Shulman
10 Wang Yue
23 Étienne Bacrot
23 Étienne Bacrot
106 Friso Nijboer
23 Étienne Bacrot 2
42 Krishnan Sasikiran 0
42 Krishnan Sasikiran
87 Erwin l'Ami

Section 7

First round Second round Third round Fourth round
                       
3 Peter Svidler 2
126 Jean Hébert 0
3 Peter Svidler
67 Tomi Nyback
62 Dmitry Andreikin
67 Tomi Nyback
3 Peter Svidler 5
30 Arkadij Naiditsch 3
30 Arkadij Naiditsch
99 Hou Yifan
30 Arkadij Naiditsch
35 Alexander Onischuk ½
35 Alexander Onischuk
94 Diego Flores ½
3 Peter Svidler
14 Alexei Shirov ½
14 Alexei Shirov
115 Abhijit Kunte ½
14 Alexei Shirov 4
78 Sergey Fedorchuk 1
51 Ivan Sokolov 0
78 Sergey Fedorchuk 2
14 Alexei Shirov
19 Evgeny Tomashevsky ½
19 Evgeny Tomashevsky
110 Alexander Ivanov ½
19 Evgeny Tomashevsky
83 Alexander Khalifman
46 Alexandr Fier
83 Alexander Khalifman

Section 8

First round Second round Third round Fourth round
                       
6 Vassily Ivanchuk 2
123 Alexei Bezgodov 0
6 Vassily Ivanchuk ½
59 Wesley So
59 Wesley So 4
70 Gadir Guseinov 1
59 Wesley So
27 Gata Kamsky ½
27 Gata Kamsky
102 Rogelio Antonio, Jr. ½
27 Gata Kamsky
91 Zhou Weiqi ½
38 Emil Sutovsky
91 Zhou Weiqi
59 Wesley So 1
22 Vladimir Malakhov 4
11 Pavel Eljanov
118 Mohamad Al Sayed ½
11 Pavel Eljanov
54 Ernesto Inarkiev
54 Ernesto Inarkiev
75 Jan Gustafsson
11 Pavel Eljanov 1
22 Vladimir Malakhov 4
22 Vladimir Malakhov 2
107 Bassem Amin 0
22 Vladimir Malakhov
43 Ilia Smirin
43 Ilia Smirin
86 Jaan Ehlvest ½

Results, rounds 5-7

Quarterfinals Semifinals Final (best of 4)
                 
1 Boris Gelfand
9 Dmitry Jakovenko
1 Boris Gelfand 2
12 Sergey Karjakin 0
13 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov ½
12 Sergey Karjakin
1 Boris Gelfand 7
7 Ruslan Ponomariov 5
2 Vugar Gashimov
7 Ruslan Ponomariov
7 Ruslan Ponomariov 4
22 Vladimir Malakhov 2
3 Peter Svidler ½
22 Vladimir Malakhov

Final, 10-14 December

Seed Name Rating 1 2 3 4 R1 R2 R3 R4 TB1 TB2 TB3 TB4 Total
1 Boris Gelfand (ISR) 2758 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 1 0 1 1 7
7 Ruslan Ponomariov (UKR) 2739 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 0 1 0 0 5
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