Ian Nepomniachtchi Wins Moscow Grand Prix
He defeated Alexander Grischuk 1.5:0.5 in the final tie-break.
Wednesday, May 29 marked the end of stage one of the FIDE Grand Prix held at the Central Chess Club named after M. Botvinnik. As many as sixteen world’s leading GMs have been battling it out for the coveted points and the prize pool of $US130,000 for as long as two weeks. Making it into the final were two Russian GMs, Alexander Grischuk and Ian Nepomniachtchi. Both classical games ended in draws, and the winner was decided in a rapid tie-break.
Making the symbolic first move in Grischuk – Nepomniachtchi was a famous Russian hockey player Alexander Ovechkin. The game saw calm maneuvering struggle and was an uneventful draw agreed on move 37. Playing White in the next game, Ian Nepomniachtchi capitalized on opponent’s inaccuracies when transiting from the opening into the middlegame and managed to commit the black knight to the rim. Being de facto up a piece, White carried out a central break to snap and the confidently convert a pawn.
Ian Nepomniachtchi ended up taking the tie-break 1.5:0.5, the overall score being 2.5:1.5 in his favor.
RCF President Andrey Filatov: "I am pleased with the Russian chess players’ success, who put up a decent display in the final. I congratulate Ian on a confident victory. I am grateful to PhosAgro, one of the FIDE Grand Prix series’ main sponsors. Suffice it to mention that the main prize for the Russian chess players making it into the Candidates tournament is a long-term contract with PhosAgro. I wish that one of our players won the series to secure this coveted contract, advance further and eventually return the crown to Russia.
I also urge Russian fans to keep an active eye on the upcoming Candidates tournament in Kazan, in which four beautiful Russian players will be among those contesting the women's crown. “
Participants' final standings in the Moscow Grand Prix series is as follows:
I. Nepomniachtchi (Russia) – 8+1=9
А. Grischuk (Russia) – 5+2=7
R. Wojtaszek (Poland) - 3+2=5
H. Nakamura (USA) - 3+0=3
P. Svidler (Russia) - 1+1=2
Wei Yi (China) - 1+1=2
D. Dubov (Russia) - 1+1=2
W. So (USA) - 1+0=1
Let us recall that the stage winner gets 8 points, the finalist - 5, the semifinalist - 3, and those making it into the quarter-final are awarded 1 point. Besides, grandmasters get an extra point for scoring a match victory in the main time (i.e., in games featuring the classical time control).
The Grand Prix series is made up of four events involving a total of 22 GMs. Each participant is to take part in three out of four events. Two Grand Prix series winners are entitled to participate in the 2020 Candidates Tournament.
Stage two of the FIDE Grand Prix is taking place July 11-25, 2019 in the Latvian capital Riga.
Pictures by Vladimir Barsky
