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TOURNAMENT STANDINGS
World Blitz Championship Tournament
Leinier Dominguez Perez11.5/15(+8 -0 =7)[games]
Vasyl Ivanchuk11/15(+9 -2 =4)[games]
Peter Svidler10/15(+7 -2 =6)[games]
Alexander Grischuk10/15(+8 -3 =4)[games]
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov9.5/15(+9 -5 =1)[games]
Teimour Radjabov9.5/15(+7 -3 =5)[games]
Murtas Kazhgaleyev8/15(+6 -5 =4)[games]
Alexander Morozevich7.5/15(+6 -6 =3)[games]
Gata Kamsky7/15(+5 -6 =4)[games]
Boris Gelfand7/15(+5 -6 =4)[games]
Vladislav Tkachiev6.5/15(+3 -5 =7)[games]
Sergei Rublevsky6.5/15(+3 -5 =7)[games]
Rafael Vaganian5.5/15(+4 -8 =3)[games]
Bassem Amin4.5/15(+4 -10 =1)[games]
Krishnan Sasikiran3.5/15(+2 -10 =3)[games]
Judit Polgar2.5/15(+1 -11 =3)[games]
*

Chessgames.com Chess Event Description
World Blitz Championship (2008)

The 2008 World Blitz Championship was a 16-player round robin held in the Alatau Sanatorium of Almaty (Alma-Ata), Kazakhstan, 8 November. Participants: the first five players in the standings of the 2006 and 2007 World Blitz Championships, the champion of the 2006 Asian Games (Kazhgaleyev), one nominee of the organizer (Vaganian), and four Continental 2008 blitz champions, or their replacements. Time control: 5 minutes, with no increment. Prize fund: about $297,000, with about $68,000 to the winner. Organizer: Kazakhstan Chess Federation, under the aegis of FIDE. Chief arbiter: Andrzej Filipowicz. Appeals committee: Bolat Karishaluly Asanov, Boris Spassky and Viktor Korchnoi. The format and the electronic boards produced many incomplete game scores.

Leinier Dominguez Perez won with 11.5/15, ahead of Ivanchuk (2nd) and Svidler (3rd on tiebreak).

                1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
 1 Dominguez    * ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1  11½
 2 Ivanchuk     ½ * ½ 1 0 1 1 ½ 0 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 1  11
 3 Svidler      ½ ½ * ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 ½  10
 4 Grischuk     0 0 ½ * 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ ½ 1 0 1 1  10
 5 Mamedyarov   0 1 1 0 * ½ 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1   9½
 6 Radjabov     ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ * ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 0 1 1 1   9½
 7 Kazhgaleyev  0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ * 1 1 0 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1   8
 8 Morozevich   0 ½ ½ 0 1 0 0 * 0 1 0 ½ 1 1 1 1   7½
 9 Kamsky       ½ 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 * ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 1 1   7
10 Gelfand      0 0 0 0 0 ½ 1 0 ½ * ½ ½ 1 1 1 1   7
11 Tkachiev     0 0 1 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ * ½ ½ 0 1 ½   6½
12 Rublevsky    ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ * 0 ½ 1 1   6½
13 Vaganian     ½ 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 * 1 1 0   5½
14 Amin         0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 ½ 0 * 0 1   4½
15 Sasikiran    ½ 0 0 0 1 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 * ½   3½
16 Polgar       0 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 1 0 ½ *   2½
Regulations: https://fide.com/images/stories/NEW...
Chess.com: https://www.chess.com/news/view/dom...
ChessBase 1: https://en.chessbase.com/post/domin...
ChessBase 2: https://en.chessbase.com/post/world...
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2On...
TWIC: https://theweekinchess.com/html/twi...
Wikipedia article: World Blitz Chess Championship

Previous: World Blitz Championship (2007). Next: World Blitz Championship (2009)

 page 1 of 2; games 1-25 of 40  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. J Polgar vs Kazhgaleyev 0-1812008World Blitz ChampionshipC41 Philidor Defense
2. B Amin vs Vaganian  0-1302008World Blitz ChampionshipC00 French Defense
3. J Polgar vs Grischuk 0-1292008World Blitz ChampionshipB14 Caro-Kann, Panov-Botvinnik Attack
4. Tkachiev vs Radjabov  0-1522008World Blitz ChampionshipB22 Sicilian, Alapin
5. Kamsky vs Rublevsky  0-1242008World Blitz ChampionshipB40 Sicilian
6. Gelfand vs L Dominguez Perez 0-1202008World Blitz ChampionshipB50 Sicilian
7. Grischuk vs Ivanchuk 0-1202008World Blitz ChampionshipD37 Queen's Gambit Declined
8. Vaganian vs J Polgar 0-1672008World Blitz ChampionshipE62 King's Indian, Fianchetto
9. Sasikiran vs Svidler 0-1162008World Blitz ChampionshipD80 Grunfeld
10. B Amin vs Sasikiran  0-1602008World Blitz ChampionshipB50 Sicilian
11. Mamedyarov vs Sasikiran 0-1352008World Blitz ChampionshipA56 Benoni Defense
12. Morozevich vs Tkachiev  0-1582008World Blitz ChampionshipC78 Ruy Lopez
13. Tkachiev vs Mamedyarov 0-1182008World Blitz ChampionshipB08 Pirc, Classical
14. Kazhgaleyev vs Ivanchuk 0-1232008World Blitz ChampionshipE21 Nimzo-Indian, Three Knights
15. Rublevsky vs Vaganian 0-1302008World Blitz ChampionshipC01 French, Exchange
16. Radjabov vs Grischuk 0-1382008World Blitz ChampionshipD10 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav
17. Sasikiran vs Radjabov 0-1532008World Blitz ChampionshipA90 Dutch
18. B Amin vs L Dominguez Perez 0-1362008World Blitz ChampionshipA07 King's Indian Attack
19. J Polgar vs Ivanchuk 0-1182008World Blitz ChampionshipB93 Sicilian, Najdorf, 6.f4
20. Gelfand vs Mamedyarov  0-1612008World Blitz ChampionshipA42 Modern Defense, Averbakh System
21. Gelfand vs Svidler  0-1522008World Blitz ChampionshipA29 English, Four Knights, Kingside Fianchetto
22. Gelfand vs Grischuk  0-1602008World Blitz ChampionshipE97 King's Indian
23. Vaganian vs Gelfand 0-1232008World Blitz ChampionshipA07 King's Indian Attack
24. Mamedyarov vs Grischuk 0-1492008World Blitz ChampionshipD80 Grunfeld
25. Sasikiran vs Tkachiev 0-1622008World Blitz ChampionshipD25 Queen's Gambit Accepted
 page 1 of 2; games 1-25 of 40  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)  

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 1 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Nov-08-08
Premium Chessgames Member		  chessgames.com: Official site: http://worldblitz2008.kz/
Nov-08-08  dumbgai: Whoever bet on Dominguez sure won a lot of chessbucks from the bookie. Going undefeated in 15 blitz games against this field is very impressive. I thought blitz tournaments were typically double round-robin though.
Nov-08-08  Simonkaser: third !!!
Nov-08-08  dumbgai: I also suspect there are number of incorrect/incomplete game scores. There seem to be a number of decisive games in under 15 moves; some of which include nonsensical moves while others are still in opening theory.
Nov-08-08  slomarko: most of the scores are complete crap
Nov-08-08  percyblakeney: I looked through some of the game scores that seem relatively correct to see how Dominguez could win this event (since he was such a sensation), and even if he played extremely well and was a deserving winner he maybe got a bit lucky in some games.

L Dominguez vs Rublevsky, 2008 was clearly winning for Rublevsky but somehow it was drawn even if the end of the game isn't given correctly.

L Dominguez vs Grischuk, 2008 was on the way to a repetition draw but Grischuk tried to win, blundered and lost.

In Gelfand vs L Dominguez, 2008 Gelfand seems to have hung the queen in an even position.

Tkachiev vs L Dominguez, 2008 was a very drawish endgame where the last move isn't correct but somehow Dominguez won.

In the last round Dominguez needed a win to stay ahead of Ivanchuk but has a position that looks hard to draw in B Amin vs L Dominguez, 2008 after bishop exchange and Rdf2, but wins on time.

Nov-08-08  MarkusKann: What was the time control of the tournament??
Nov-08-08  percyblakeney: <What was the time control of the tournament??>

5 minutes/game.

Nov-08-08  percyblakeney: The most surprising thing with Dominguez' win must be that he could win ahead of all these blitz experts without having played much blitz. He was beaten by Alekseev in blitz in Biel, and eliminated by Radjabov in blitz in the 2004 knockout, and that's about it in international events. On ICC his high score is far below that of for example Grischuk, Radjabov, Kamsky and Mamedyarov.
Nov-08-08  KingG: Ivanchuk's consistency in blitz is quite impressive, especially at his age.
Nov-08-08  percyblakeney: <Ivanchuk's consistency in blitz is quite impressive, especially at his age>

Very, he finished +7 -0 =1 in his last eight and as in the Tal Memorial blitz he ended up with a performance well over 2850.

Nov-08-08  percyblakeney: It's not as if Ivanchuk has been lazy either, he has already played more than 200 games this year, most of them with classical time controls.
Nov-08-08  Eyal: At first glance, a lot of the scores here seem to be incomplete ("games" of 5-15 moves); the scores from the Tal Memorial were, on the whole, in much better shape. Does anyone know how the scores in such blitz events are taken?
Nov-08-08  KingG: In the recent Cape d'Agde tournament, they couldn't even keep accurate scores for the rapid games, so it doesn't surprise me that they have problems with blitz. I wish they would ask the players to check to scores after each game. It would only take a couple of minutes, and would make a big difference.
Nov-08-08  brankat: It's quite impressive that Dominguez went undefeated in 15 Blitz games!
Nov-08-08
Premium Chessgames Member		  alexmagnus: <...especially at his age> How long will you consider 39 an old age??? LOL. Actually at 40 one has his peak in chess. Or at least his second peak i.e. a peak coming after a major decline. Think of Karpov f.x., who suddenly peaked in 1994 with winning Linares 2.5 points ahead of the field. Or the same Ivanchuk. Or Anand, who is just old as Ivanchuk and is world champion. Or Korchnoi, who peaked even later - at <50>.
Nov-08-08  VinnyRoo2002: <kingg> Do you have any idea how much those boards which automatically record the moves cost? They would extremely beneficial for a tournament like this.
Nov-08-08  yoozum: <Ivanchuk's consistency in blitz is quite impressive, especially at his age.>

Agreed, it seems like he's always very near the top. I was betting my chess bucks on Ivanchuk, and though I'm upset that he didn't finish first, no one could have expected this outcome with Dominguez winning.

Nov-08-08  Billy Vaughan: <It's not as if Ivanchuk has been lazy either, he has already played more than 200 games this year, most of them with classical time controls.>

What's fascinating is he isn't really far from having played and average of 1 game a day against top-flight competition. Which is just unreal.

Nov-08-08  KingG: <alexmagnus> <How long will you consider 39 an old age???> I'm talking about blitz, not classical chess. I think it's generally accepted that the faster time controls tend to favour younger players.

<VinnyRoo2002> I'm pretty sure they are using the boards you are talking about, but they don't seem to be doing a very good job recording the moves.

Nov-08-08
Premium Chessgames Member		  alexmagnus: <Nov-23-07 KamikazeAttack: The sad thing is I have no doubt that many SGMs would be laffing in private when Chucky made number #2 on the ratings list? U think they really see him as second strongest? :)>

Aha?

<Jul-25-08: Whitehat1963: Nothing against him, but that Dominguez-Perez is rated above 2700 says a great deal about rating inflation since say 1965.>

Now he justified his rating. As all players above 2700. What the great number of 2700+ says is - the competition is very close on top. Even some number 21 in the world can win a world championship, be it in blitz. ;)

Nov-08-08  KingG: <Now he justified his rating.> How is a classical rating justified by a blitz tournament?
Nov-09-08  Billy Vaughan: Well they're both chess.
Nov-09-08  notyetagm: <percyblakeney: <Ivanchuk's consistency in blitz is quite impressive, especially at his age>

Very, he finished +7 -0 =1 in his last eight and as in the Tal Memorial blitz he ended up with a performance well over 2850.>

Wow, the Chuckster went 7.5/8(!) to finish the tournament, almost winning it.

Nov-09-08  shintaro go: Ivanchuk is a chess machine. Never gets tired, never takes a break. The guy loves chess!
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