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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 5 of 5; games 101-120 of 120  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
101. Svidler vs Ivanchuk  ½-½362008World Blitz ChampionshipA17 English
102. Sasikiran vs Dominguez Perez  ½-½72008World Blitz ChampionshipD27 Queen's Gambit Accepted, Classical
103. B Amin vs J Polgar 1-0422008World Blitz ChampionshipA07 King's Indian Attack
104. Ivanchuk vs B Amin 1-0202008World Blitz ChampionshipC83 Ruy Lopez, Open
105. Dominguez Perez vs Svidler  ½-½172008World Blitz ChampionshipC53 Giuoco Piano
106. Rublevsky vs Sasikiran  1-0272008World Blitz ChampionshipB54 Sicilian
107. Radjabov vs Kazhgaleyev  ½-½412008World Blitz ChampionshipA48 King's Indian
108. Morozevich vs Vaganian  1-0402008World Blitz ChampionshipC02 French, Advance
109. Tkachiev vs Grischuk  ½-½342008World Blitz ChampionshipB04 Alekhine's Defense, Modern
110. Mamedyarov vs J Polgar 1-0132008World Blitz ChampionshipE62 King's Indian, Fianchetto
111. Kamsky vs Gelfand  ½-½312008World Blitz ChampionshipA46 Queen's Pawn Game
112. Grischuk vs Kamsky 1-0492008World Blitz ChampionshipE15 Queen's Indian
113. Vaganian vs Tkachiev  ½-½272008World Blitz ChampionshipD56 Queen's Gambit Declined
114. Kazhgaleyev vs Morozevich 1-0112008World Blitz ChampionshipD85 Grunfeld
115. Sasikiran vs Radjabov 0-1532008World Blitz ChampionshipA90 Dutch
116. Svidler vs Rublevsky  1-0452008World Blitz ChampionshipB40 Sicilian
117. B Amin vs Dominguez Perez 0-1362008World Blitz ChampionshipA07 King's Indian Attack
118. J Polgar vs Ivanchuk 0-1182008World Blitz ChampionshipB93 Sicilian, Najdorf, 6.f4
119. Gelfand vs Mamedyarov  0-1612008World Blitz ChampionshipA42 Modern Defense, Averbakh System
120. Gelfand vs Kazhgaleyev 1-002008World Blitz ChampionshipA00 Uncommon Opening
 page 5 of 5; games 101-120 of 120  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)  

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing>
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!
Nov-09-08  notyetagm: <shintaro go: Ivanchuk is a chess machine. Never gets tired, never takes a break. The guy loves chess!>

Yes, he could not comprehend Kasparov's retirement from chess in 2005. No more competitive chess? Huh? An inconceivable thought to Ivanchuk.

Nov-09-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  alexmagnus: Let's see if Ivanchuk plays in the next 40 years like Korchnoi did it :). Who knows, maybe just as Korchnoi, he becomes a WC challenger at 50 ;)
Nov-09-08  shintaro go: <alexmagnus>I wouldn't put it past Ivanchuk. At his current form, he still finishes consistently in the top of tournaments and he has shown over the year that he can hang with <and occasionally whip> Carlsen, so any future WC title shots wouldn't be improbable for Ivanchuk.
Nov-10-08  ahmadov: Domingues did not lose one single game in such a difficult tournament! That is very impressive...
Nov-10-08  dumbgai: Unfortunately, Ivanchuk has had a tendency to underperform when it mattered the most (i.e. world championship events).
Nov-10-08  mikejaqua: Does anyone have any idea what went so horribly wrong for Judit? Looks like she had a Shirov-level meltdown.
Nov-10-08  amadeus: If I am not mistaken, Judit has only two wins (classical chess) in 2008...

As for Ivanchuk, well, he won last year. No trouble, there is always 2009. And I think the title is more important to Dominguez than it would be to him. Congrats, Leinier.

Nov-10-08  notyetagm: <mikejaqua: Does anyone have any idea what went so horribly wrong for Judit? Looks like she had a Shirov-level meltdown.>

Raising two kids probably takes precedence to chess now for Judit. And at this level, it shows.

Nov-10-08  Heidi44: I like Poochie!
Nov-10-08  Billy Vaughan: <Unfortunately, Ivanchuk has had a tendency to underperform when it mattered the most (i.e. world championship events).>

Well, he was 0.5 away from winning this event. I wouldn't call that "underperforming" even for Kasparov.

Nov-11-08  Eyal: <KingG: <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.>

Indeed:

<The players were playing too fast and not always placing the pieces accurately in the centre of a square. The technicians complained: why cant they move the pieces properly? How many times have we told them, but they won't listen...> (http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail...)

Nov-11-08  gazzawhite: <Eyal> Funny stuff.

Alternately, could they have a video camera next to the board torecord the game visually? I guess a problem would be that they would have to have a decent quality (framemate, etc.) which would be expensive, especially if you had one per board. Also, it wouldn't be live, as it would take time to watch the video to check the game score.

Nov-13-08  turbo231: does anyone know the time limits for this blitz?
Nov-13-08  amadeus: 5 minutes without increments.
Dec-23-08  positionalgenius: strong tounament but several major players wer missing. Tal blitz 2006 was the strongest ive seen.
Dec-23-08  positionalgenius: kamsky and morozevich vastly underperformed.
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