Public vote elects Luke McShane for the Tal Memorial
The 7th Mikhail Tal Memorial will take place from 7th to 19th June, 2012, in Moscow, Russia.
Two weeks ago the RCF started the voting contest allowing the chess fans to select the 10th player. In the thrilling finale, English Grandmaster Luke McShane was placed on the top with 3860 votes. Alexei Shirov is second with 3732 votes, while Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan) is third with 3682 votes.
Women’s World Champion Hou Yifan was supported by 1646 voters, which was enough only for the 4th position.
Magnus Carlsen, Vladimir Kramnik, Levon Aronian, Radjabov Teimour, Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana have confirmed the participation.
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
McShane over Mamedyarov? Are they kidding?
McShane over Shirov & Mamedyarov? Are they kidding?
Luke McShane is a great chess player. If he was a full time professional he’d be one of the best in the world. said Lev Aronian from the London Chess Classic 2011. I’d rather listen to the opinion of the world’s number two chess player than that of an anonymous nobody.
Luke McShane is a great chess player. If he was a full time professional he’d be one of the best in the world. said Lev Aronian from the London Chess Classic 2011. I’d rather listen to the opinion of the world’s number two chess player than that of an anonymous nobody.
Was it mainly Russians who voted, or was there an organized surge from the City? Well actually there is one important factor: McShane won Wijk Tata B last year which gave him the right to play in the A group this year, but his job in the City didn’t make that possible—which gave the spot to David Navara instead. So this is juste.