7 September 2015
Nepomniachtchi and Gunina are Winners of Moscow Blitz
The event was played in the Gorbushkin Dvor Mall on Sunday, September 6.
The traditional event featured a concert program and a number of blitz tournaments in different categories - for juniors, for seniors, men's B tournament (with a number of strong grandmasters participating), but the main attention was drawn to the Men's A and Women's Championships. The games of the Men's A tournament were streamed online with video and live commentary by grandmaster Sergey Shipov.
Alexander Morozevich was in the lead early in the main tournament, but apparently grew tired over the course of the 19-round event and lost his pace. Ian Nepomchiachtchi and Dmitry Andreikin were in the contention for the remainder of the championship. Andreikin's play was more stable, but Nepomniachtchi showed more fighting spirit and, despite three straight losses at some point during the event, eventually claimed the first place.
The only woman in the main event was Kateryna Lagno. She collected the respectable 8.5 points in 19 games, beating, among others, Dmitry Andreikin and Alexander Morozevich.
Final standings, Men A
Nepomniachtchi 14
Andreikin 13.5
Savchenko 13
Malakhov 11.5
Morozevich, Grachev, Riazantsev 11
Oparin, Zvjaginsev 10
Dubov, Inarkiev, Onischuk 9.5
Najer, Kobalia 9
Lagno, Demidov 8.5
Vavulin, Mozharov 7
Sychev 4.5
Novikov 3
No real competition could be noticed in the women's event, as Valentina Gunina crushed the field, scoring 16 points in 19 games. She lost only one game - to Olga Girya, and made two draws, winning the championship with two rounds to spare. Daria Pustovoitova finished clear second with 13 points - full 3 points behind the winner. Natalia Zhukova claimed the third place with 12.5 points.
