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TOURNAMENT STANDINGS
World Blitz Championship Tournament

Alexander Grischuk10.5/15(+9 -3 =3)[games]
Peter Svidler10.5/15(+10 -4 =1)[games]
Teimour Radjabov10/15(+8 -3 =4)[games]
Viswanathan Anand10/15(+8 -3 =4)[games]
Judit Polgar9.5/15(+7 -3 =5)[games]
Boris Gelfand9.5/15(+8 -4 =3)[games]
Etienne Bacrot8/15(+6 -5 =4)[games]
Magnus Carlsen7.5/15(+5 -5 =5)[games]
Sergey Erenburg7/15(+6 -7 =2)[games]
Emil Sutovsky7/15(+4 -5 =6)[games]
Merab Gagunashvili7/15(+4 -5 =6)[games]
Michael Roiz6.5/15(+5 -7 =3)[games]
Ilia Smirin6/15(+2 -5 =8)[games]
Dmitry Gurevich4/15(+3 -10 =2)[games]
Dan Zoler3.5/15(+2 -10 =3)[games]
Gaby Livshits3.5/15(+2 -10 =3)[games]
*

Chessgames.com Chess Event Description
World Blitz Championship (2006)

The 2006 World Blitz Championship was a 16-player round robin held in the Meir Nitzan cultural center of Rishon LeZion, Israel, 7 September. It was the first world blitz championship recognized by FIDE. The participants: Seven invited top players (Anand, Svidler, Gelfand, Radjabov, Polgar, Grischuk, Bacrot), six players from a qualification tournament the day before the final (Smirin, Roiz, Sutovsky, Erenburg, Zoler, Livshits), two players from a qualification tournament on ICC (Gurevich and Gagunashvili (replacing Jun Zhao)), and one wild card player (Carlsen). Time control: 4 minutes and 2 seconds per player for the whole game, with 2 seconds added per move from move 1. Prize fund: about $95,000, with about $15,000 to the winner. Organizers: Israeli Chess Federation and the chess club of Rishon LeZion.

Alexander Grischuk won the 5/4 Armageddon playoff game (Grischuk vs Svidler, 2006) and became the first official World Blitz Champion. Radjabov was 3rd on tiebreak.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 Grischuk * 0 1 1 0 1 ½ 1 0 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 10½ 2 Svidler 1 * 0 0 ½ 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 10½ 3 Radjabov 0 1 * 1 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 10 4 Anand 0 1 0 * 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 10 5 Polgar 1 ½ ½ 1 * 0 ½ 0 0 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 1 9½ 6 Gelfand 0 0 1 ½ 1 * 0 1 1 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 9½ 7 Bacrot ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 * 0 1 1 1 0 ½ 0 0 1 8 8 Carlsen 0 0 1 ½ 1 0 1 * 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 7½ 9 Erenburg 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 * 1 0 0 ½ ½ 1 1 7 10 Sutovsky 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 0 ½ 0 * ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 7 11 Gagunashvili ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 1 ½ * 0 ½ 1 1 ½ 7 12 Roiz 0 0 0 ½ 0 0 1 ½ 1 0 1 * ½ 1 0 1 6½ 13 Smirin ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ * 1 1 0 6 14 Gurevich 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 * 1 0 4 15 Zoler 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 1 ½ 0 0 0 1 0 0 * ½ 3½ 16 Livshits 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 1 ½ * 3½

The eight games each round were transmitted on large screens above the playing stage, and an additional screen showed the tournament standings. The highlight of the closing ceremony was the speech of Shimon Peres, who started off by saying that he came to the tournament to see wise men, because that's what the Israeli government needed.

Russian Wiki: https://ru.wikinews.org/wiki/%D0%90...
ChessBase: https://en.chessbase.com/post/grisc...
Wikipedia article: World Blitz Chess Championship
Video: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/y...
Ruchess: https://ruchess.ru/en/news/report/s...
USCF: http://www.uschess.org/content/view...
TWIC: https://theweekinchess.com/html/twi...
Carlos S Matamoros Franco in Jaque 604, pp. 34-35: https://www.olimpbase.org/leagueES/...
Scott Wilson in The Washington Post, 12 September 2006: https://www.pressreader.com/usa/the...

Previous (unofficial): World Blitz Cup (2000). Next: World Blitz Championship (2007)

 page 1 of 2; games 1-25 of 47  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. G Livshits vs Smirin  1-0452006World Blitz ChampionshipB45 Sicilian, Taimanov
2. M Roiz vs G Livshits  1-0462006World Blitz ChampionshipA40 Queen's Pawn Game
3. Svidler vs Gelfand 1-0362006World Blitz ChampionshipC02 French, Advance
4. D Zoler vs Bacrot  1-0482006World Blitz ChampionshipA40 Queen's Pawn Game
5. Grischuk vs M Roiz 1-0502006World Blitz ChampionshipD15 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav
6. Radjabov vs Anand 1-0162006World Blitz ChampionshipB97 Sicilian, Najdorf
7. Sutovsky vs D Zoler  1-0492006World Blitz ChampionshipB05 Alekhine's Defense, Modern
8. Bacrot vs Sutovsky  1-0422006World Blitz ChampionshipA45 Queen's Pawn Game
9. Radjabov vs D Gurevich  1-0252006World Blitz ChampionshipA50 Queen's Pawn Game
10. Anand vs D Zoler 1-0342006World Blitz ChampionshipC77 Ruy Lopez
11. Carlsen vs J Polgar 1-0452006World Blitz ChampionshipA45 Queen's Pawn Game
12. Gelfand vs M Roiz  1-0272006World Blitz ChampionshipE12 Queen's Indian
13. J Polgar vs Smirin  1-0612006World Blitz ChampionshipC99 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin, 12...cd
14. M Roiz vs D Gurevich  1-0552006World Blitz ChampionshipA39 English, Symmetrical, Main line with d4
15. D Gurevich vs D Zoler  1-0572006World Blitz ChampionshipE01 Catalan, Closed
16. Grischuk vs Anand 1-0292006World Blitz ChampionshipC78 Ruy Lopez
17. Sutovsky vs Smirin  1-0282006World Blitz ChampionshipB45 Sicilian, Taimanov
18. J Polgar vs M Roiz  1-0482006World Blitz ChampionshipC10 French
19. Radjabov vs S Erenburg  1-0472006World Blitz ChampionshipD45 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
20. Sutovsky vs Gelfand  1-0342006World Blitz ChampionshipB40 Sicilian
21. Radjabov vs D Zoler 1-0492006World Blitz ChampionshipE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
22. Svidler vs Grischuk  1-0532006World Blitz ChampionshipC78 Ruy Lopez
23. M Roiz vs M Gagunashvili  1-0382006World Blitz ChampionshipA41 Queen's Pawn Game (with ...d6)
24. Smirin vs D Gurevich  1-0502006World Blitz ChampionshipB60 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer
25. Anand vs G Livshits 1-0402006World Blitz ChampionshipB42 Sicilian, Kan
 page 1 of 2; games 1-25 of 47  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>
Sep-07-06  EmperorAtahualpa: So who's the new World Blitz champion? I guess it's Anand, right?
Sep-07-06  woodenbishop: The greatest blitz player in history is Bobby Fischer, though Mikhail Tal is not too far behind in second place.

Of course, Anand and Karpov are among the top blitz players as well.

Sep-07-06  chessmoron: I can't believe Alexander Grischuk won this event. Nonsense.
Sep-07-06  EmperorAtahualpa: <I can't believe Alexander Grischuk won this event. Nonsense.>

<chessmoron> What makes you think he won?

Sep-07-06  Tariqov: <Emperor> Chessgames wrote this near the link "Alexander Grischuk defeated Svidler in the playoff to win the title."
Sep-08-06  drnooo: Actually , at least by all accounts, leaving out Morphy, the greatest blitz player that ever lived was Capablanca. Alekhine witnessed Capa at the St. Petersberg tourney giving any and all grandmasters there one minute to five: and winning handily: nobody before or since has ever even come close to giving those kind of odds to his contemporaries, simply unbelievable. Anyone who ever played Capa, at least in the teens and twenties had virtually no chance against him, not Lasker, Alekhine, nobody. Fischer towards the start of the seventies reached a short supremacy, until then Leonid Stein, Petrosian, any number of players could hold their own against him in blitz, but for decades nobody could even come close to Capa in blitz.
Sep-08-06  BIDMONFA: World Blitz Championship (2006)

Champion - SVIDLER, Peter
http://www.bidmonfa.com/SVIDLER.htm
Sub-Champion - GRISCHUK, Alexander
http://www.bidmonfa.com/grischuk_al...
http://www.bidmonfa.com/informacio_...
_

Sep-08-06  percyblakeney: So the final result in the top half was:

1. Grischuk 10.5
2. Svidler 10.5
3. Radjabov 10
4. Anand 10
5. Polgar 9.5
6. Gelfand 9.5
7. Bacrot 8
8. Carlsen 7.5

Sep-08-06  jamesmaskell: LOL, Grishuk won! Talk about an upset... Good result for Radjabov. As for Carlsen, he should call this training for Amber next year...
Sep-08-06  percyblakeney: Apparently Radjabov gave Anand his shortest loss in 18 years in their game, and Radjabov has never won a shorter game in his career. If the official site and the relay site were right about the colours. It seems as if playchess thought Anand was white, in any case the game is posted here, it's a nice miniature: Teimour Radjabov
Sep-08-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  chessgames.com: Alexander Grischuk beat Svidler in the a final "armageddon" playoff game (Grischuck had white, and Svidler had draw odds) after they tied during the all-play-all phase.

That game is not above, but here: Grischuk vs Svidler, 2006

Sep-08-06  Xaurus: Carlsen was obviously out of form. He got mated in one of the games (vs. Gagunashvili I think), not that it doesn't happen but I've never seen him do that in blitz... In general Carlsen had an ok performance, placing himself below all the 2700-players but above the rest.

I think Carlsen himself is very disappointed.

Sep-08-06  s4life: <Xaurus: Carlsen was obviously out of form. >

Nah.. what he got is what is expected, rating-wise..

Sep-08-06  nikolajewitsch: I think that the results of this event should not be overrated since it took place on one day which gives the players constitution on that one day too much importance. Congrats to Grischuk nonetheless!
Sep-08-06  percyblakeney: <I think that the results of this event should not be overrated>

True, and some oversights become very important, as when Radjabov dropped a piece while in a better position against Grischuk, or when Svidler blundered away the title in the last game...

Sep-08-06  you vs yourself: According to his bio in the official site, Grischuk achieved the highest rating in ICC blitz: http://www.fideblitz.com/index.php?... I heard some people say Svidler is the online blitz beast, raffael. If so, then it's fitting that this blitz championship came down to these two.

<Emperor> Anand is the best rapid player. Sometimes people confuse this for blitz and assume he's the favorite. But at age 36, he's probably top 5 in blitz at best. His result in reyjavik where he lost 0-2 to Carlsen and the 4th place here show that.

Sep-08-06  ValmonUni: this may be a stupid question but...

how are moves kept track of in world class blitz chess when the players are moving too faster to write down the moves? Are they just memorized by the players or is someone next to them writing them down or something else?

Sep-08-06  refutor: sometimes they are remembered by the players, but a lot of times they have computerized boards that keep track of the moves
Sep-08-06  amdocs: I am from Israel and I had part in tournament for ammateurs and afterwards in competition for master where six players were choosen to final stage. I also saw almost all games in live and it was magnified 8 blitz games all big boards at the same time, hovewer 8 is to much.
Sep-08-06  amdocs: Gelfand was the leader of the tournament from the start and only at 3 round before end he lost to Grischuk and afterwards to Sutovsky.
Sep-08-06  EXIDE: What is the difference between 'blitz chess ' and 'rapid chess' ?
Sep-08-06  aw1988: Rapid is more or less 25 minutes, whilst blitz is 5...
Sep-09-06  ahmadov: According to chessbase.com, Svidler gets more money than Grischuk despite the fact that the latter won the tournament. http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail...
Sep-09-06  ahmadov: I wonder why <CG> has not included Radjabov's win over Anand in the database here. It is one of the most available games from the tournament thanks to <percyblakeney>.
Sep-09-06  percyblakeney: At the moment it seems as if less than half of the games have been saved, and the amazingly unimpressive official home page doesn't even have the results of any games.
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