| Zurich Chess Challenge (2016) |
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This was the fifth Zurich Chess Challenge. It took the form of a preliminary Zurich Chess Challenge (Opening Blitz) (2016), that determined the three players to have White in three of the five rapid games (this page). There ensued the round robin Zurich Chess Challenge (Blitz) (2016). The results from the two latter were combined to determine the overall standings. When: 13-15 February. Where: Hotel Savoy Baur en Ville, Festsaal in Zurich, Switzerland. Format: Round robin, six players, five rounds. Nakamura, Shirov and Anand had won the right to have White in three of the five rounds. Time control: 40 minutes per game with additional 10 seconds for each move Scoring: 2 points for the win, 1 point for the draw, none for the loss. Tiebreaks: No tie break in this section as such, however the tiebreak for the combined results from this and the second (blitz) section were as follows: 1. Total points resulting from adding the final rapid and blitz scores
2. Sonneborn-Berger
3. Number of wins
4. Number of wins with black
5. Result of the direct encounters
6. Ranking in Blitz
Comments
On the first day, Anand shot to an early lead with two wins in the first two rounds. Despite draws in the next two rounds, Anand maintained his outright lead at the end of round four by half a point ahead of Kramnik and Nakamura. However Nakamura caught up with him in the fifth round and the action moved to the second part of the tournament, the Zurich Chess Challenge (Blitz) (2016). There Nakamura and Anand again drew but Nakamura won on S-B tiebreak. Official site: http://www.zurich-chess-challenge.c... Previous: Zurich Chess Challenge (2015). Next: Korchnoi Zurich Chess Challenge (2017)
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| Feb-15-16 | | bobthebob: <Jan Gustafsson said last year Anand was technically the winner,>
Is that actually true?
I thought there was some ambiguity at the time due to the organizers not clearly spelling things out. Does anyone know exactly what the issue was and if it was clear that Anand was the winner? Ok, nevermind, I found it.
From last year, assuming this reporting is true (I remember now, there was a lot of confusion among people, reporters, etc) <Before the start of the final round it was announced that, contrary to what the regulations stated, there would be a blitz playoff if the two leaders would finish on equal points. That was good news for Nakamura, whose Sonneborn-Berger score — originally the first tiebreak rule — was worse than Anand's.> |
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| Feb-15-16 | | Eyal: So like last year, Anand & Nakamura finish with the same number of points; unlike last year, Nakamura's SB is better; like last year, Skvortsov wants to have an armageddon instead; unlike last year, Anand doesn't want to; and like last year, it ends with Nakamura being declared the winner. The moment Skvortsov asks Nakamura if he's ready for an armageddon in the middle of his "victory interview" with Pelletier & Hug - http://livestream.com/ChessCast/zur... at 1:42:00. |
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| Feb-15-16 | | ndg2: If I were Anand I would not participate in Zurich. Too much spectacle, not enough substance. |
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Feb-15-16
 | | chancho: When asked about playing Vishy in Armaggeddon:
<Naka: <<<Against Vishy again?>>> *breaks into heavy laughter*> |
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| Feb-15-16 | | ndg2: <SirRuthless> as I said, Naka is the technical winner. It's clear he has the better SB. But why the offer for another Armageddon? Just for spectacle. |
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| Feb-15-16 | | rookpawn101: Naka and Vishy, rollin' high in Z¨¹rich. It's d¨¦j¨¤ vu. |
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| Feb-15-16 | | john barleycorn: Kramnik wasn't bad either. Giri was just playing for 2 results. |
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Feb-15-16
 | | tamar: <Eyal> Only quarrel would be that Anand wanted an Armageddon last year <like last year, Skvortsov wants to have an armageddon instead; unlike last year, Anand doesn't want to> According to Peter Doggers account, Anand balked at the playoff itself (ie did not show up at the board), and was persuaded to play an Armageddon game after some negotiation. https://www.chess.com/news/nakamura... |
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| Feb-15-16 | | Eyal: <tamar> Yeah, as far as Anand's behavior last year is concerned it would be more precise to say "agree[d]" than "want[ed]". |
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Feb-15-16
| | tamar: Here is the link again to Skvortsov interrupting Naka's "victory" news conference, around 1:38 http://livestream.com/ChessCast/zur... Nakamura's reaction to Skvortsov's proposal of an Armageddon-breaking out in laughter, saying "against Vishy again, of course I would, of course...ask Vishy, if he wants to play, I will." Vishy and Naka spoke briefly, or at least in the same group after the last game, and I would not be surprised if Anand had already indicated he would not be open to any other games. |
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| Feb-15-16 | | jith1207: If it goes like this, in next year event when MVL and Giri are going to be in Tie Break followed by Armageddon, the announcers nonchalantly would declare Nakamura as the winner! Poor MVL.
Naka could win this tournament while sleeping. |
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| Feb-15-16 | | Eyal: Btw, it's funny how close Nakamura & Anand were even in the Sonneborn-Berger. Both scored 4 wins & 6 draws overall, both beat Aronian twice and Giri and Shirov once. So why did the tiebreak favor Nakamura? Because he beat Shirov in (semi-)rapid and Giri in blitz, whereas for Anand it was the other way around; Giri and Shirov were tied in rapid, Giri ended up being better in blitz |
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| Feb-15-16 | | jith1207: Thanks <Eyal>. That one was good comment for a layman like me who does not understand what SuperBowl had to do with this. But I guess the problem was the official site did not update SB score for long and it was 10.5 each for Anand and Naka for too long before we got to know the winner and eventual SB. Probably the tournament organizers outsourced the SB Scoring and there was a dinner break for the concerned team. |
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| Feb-15-16 | | diagonal: <tamar: Zurich is aiming at a Melody Amber type ambience, which explains some laxness, but the rules should at least be set so the players know where the finish line is.> Good point and comparison, that was exactly the feeling I got as spectator today: organizers, invited players, journalists / guests are all relaxed (ZCC is an ideal platform for business and small talk); and of course, it's nice to see legends as eg. Ljubojevic, Timman, Sosonko, Judit Polgar sometimes following the games in the middle of the audience; at the opening day Korchnoi and Karpov visited the ZCC, in earlier years also Kasparov). Inevitably some non-chess vip are there too in such types of events, after round 3 in the blitz today, much to the irritation of some of the swiss audience and rather surprisingly, Mr. Joseph S. Blatter, the (should I say: former?) FIFA president, now banned for eight years but still in appeal, arrived and was welcomed enthusiastically by Oleg Skvortsov. Blatter then took a seat in the vip front row. A photo of him was immediately up-loaded on the official homepage. Quote: <Now that's a prominent guest indeed!> With one round to go, the live presenters Hug and Pelletier clearly announced, that an Armageddon game will follow if two players are on equal point scoring, frankly admitting that they have no idea at all, what would happen, in case of a three way-tie. Well, ZCC 2017 is already signed, then played in both Switzerland and Russia. Everybody seems to be happy: Laxness, Business and Personal Networking with some chess.. |
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| Feb-15-16 | | Bobwhoosta: Nakamura just jumped up in my respect scale with his immediate agreement to a playoff when he had already won the tournament according to the rules. I don't know if I would have done such a thing, and his lighthearted acceptance showed me a side of Naka that I had previously never seen. Now I'm seriously rooting for a Naka-Carlsen WC match. It would not only be interesting, but I might just be a fan of both players now! |
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| Feb-15-16 | | FairyPromotion: <chancho: Anand might win the candidates, (might) but there is one thorn on his side who will play in that event, and that thorn sure loves to take him on and even laughs about it.> I won't belittle Naka's dominance against Vishy, however at one point Aronian's dominance was even more one-sided, yet in WCC tournaments Anand is +2 =2 against him. Moral of the story: Always beware of the tiger! (: |
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| Feb-15-16 | | Karposian: <FairyPromotion: Moral of the story: Always beware of the tiger! (:> Never underestimate Vishy Anand, the Tiger from Madras. Did you guys know that William Blake wrote a whole poem in tribute to the 15th World Champion? It begins like this: "Tiger, tiger, burning bright. In the forests of the night,. What immortal hand or eye. Dare frame thy fearful pawn symmetry?" |
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| Feb-15-16 | | bobthebob: Bravo to Naka for his attitude (even commenting early in the interview that he shouldn't have won). <bobwhoosta: showed me a side of Naka that I had previously never seen> Yeah, turns out there is lot of this, especially in the last 2 or so years. I am glad I am not judged by my attitude and comments of when I was 18 ;) (and I wasn't anywhere near under the pressure of being on the world stage - just a typical teenager) |
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| Feb-15-16 | | jphamlore: Nakamura now is both the Establishment and a chess statesman. :-) |
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| Feb-16-16 | | kellmano: Carlsen yesterday tweeted: 'I almost forgot, congratulations to Giri on a nice win today'. Was he being sarcastic? |
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| Feb-16-16 | | Pulo y Gata: <kellmano> I think his tweet is to twit Giri, with whom he's been trading such pleasantries (all in good fun, I think) since a year or two ago. |
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| Feb-16-16 | | SometimesGood: <ndg2: If I were Anand I would not participate in Zurich. Too much spectacle, not enough substance.> That's why you're someone with a strange nick and he is ANAND! |
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| Feb-16-16 | | SometimesGood: <Bobwhoosta: Nakamura just jumped up in my respect scale with his immediate agreement to a playoff when he had already won the tournament according to the rules. I don't know if I would have done such a thing, and his lighthearted acceptance showed me a side of Naka that I had previously never seen.
Now I'm seriously rooting for a Naka-Carlsen WC match. It would not only be interesting, but I might just be a fan of both players now!> Yeah, he's a man! I agree with you. I just can think the reaction of that guy Tony somewhat Rich and I forgot the other name, the guy who claimed something in St Louis. Naka showed that he is a man and gained my respect. |
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| Feb-16-16 | | SometimesGood: Coming back to all this story. Wesley can be the one who can challenge Magnus. People in the USA - should understand it and cherish it and not to do what happened last year. Sometimes I think people are really dumb, but yet, so I am most of times:) |
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| Feb-16-16 | | Absentee: What happened last year? |
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