VASILY IVANCHUK (Ukraine), World Number Two and defending champion (Leon 2008 winner). MAGNUS CARLSEN (Norway), World Number Three at 17. ALEXANDER MOROZEVICH (Russia), World Number Four. And the new sensation: WANG YUE, the 21 years old Chinese grand master, World Number Eleven, the best all time Asian player after the World Champion Vishy Anand.
Those are the participants on the XXII Ciudad de Leon Masters Chess Tournament, one of the most prestigious and already consolidated as a classic in the international chess calendar.
One of the most attractive points of our tournament is the broadcasting network, which allows the spectators to “see” the players thinking process: electronic giant boards, headphones for the public, two specialised grand masters commenting (Miguel Illescas and Michael Rahal), both helped by strong chess programmes which calculate hundreds of thousands moves by second. All that structure transforms top chess in a vivid and rapid spectacle: only 20 minutes per player for the whole game, plus 10 seconds increment after each move. Each match is played to the best of four games, and eventual tie-breaks are even faster: five minute games, in order to get thrilling fights.
Official website: http://www.advancedchessleon.com/ingles/inicioI.htm
Go Chucky!
Ivanchuk and Morozevich described as World Number Two and World Number Four? My, how times have changed!