2006 Spanish Championship
The 2006 Spanish Championship is taking place in León, from November 22 to November 30, 2006. There are 2 groups headed by Kramnik and Topalov’s seconds: GM Illescas and GM Vallejo Pons. Will they face each other in the championship match? Here are the standings of both groups after the first round:
Group A Standings:
1. Del Rio Angelis, Salvador G g ESP 2492 1.0
2. Vallejo Pons, Francisco g ESP 2674 1.0
3. Narciso Dublan, Marc g ESP 2511 0.5
4. Rivas Pastor, Manuel g ESP 2511 0.5
5. Garcia Castro, Pablo f ESP 2390 0.0
6. Herraiz Hidalgo, Herminio m ESP 2493 0.0
Group B Standings:
1. Gomez Esteban, Juan Mario g ESP 2486 1.0
2. Illescas Cordoba, Miguel g ESP 2620 0.5
3. Lopez Martinez, Josep Manuel m ESP 2508 0.5
4. Perez Candelario, Manuel m ESP 2496 0.5
5. Fernandez Garcia, Jose Luis g ESP 2470 0.5
6. Arizmendi Martinez, Julen L g ESP 2540 0.0
Here is the official website.
They are two very different players,with their strong and weak points.
1)Illescas plays many openings but Vallejo knows his own repertoire in deep.
2)Illescas is the strongest in the endgame,but Vallejo is the best in tactical games.
3)Illescas uses many time with his magazine “Peon de rey”(traslation: Kings Pawn),very popular in Spain and Vallejo just play chess.
4)Illescas is 20 years older than Vallejo and he has 50 points less of rating
5)Illescas has more experience in Spanish Championships than Vallejo, and he is defending his crown.
Probably Vallejo has more chances,but be sure: Illescas will fight hard,he is a old lion,but he is a lion anyway.