World Cup caps Kamsky’s remarkable return to big time chess

Moscow, Dec 17 – Russian Gata Kamsky capped one of the most remarkable comebacks in world chess by winning the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk here Sunday.

It catapulted the 34-year-old Russian to the game’s elite level after he drew his fourth and final game to complete a 2.5-1.5 win over Latvian-Born Spaniard Alexei Shirov.

Kamsky, who is now an American citizen won $120,000 and also earned the right to challenge Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria for the World Chess Championships in 2009.

Kamsky twice took sabbatical from chess. He went into retirement after losing to Anatoly Karpov in the World Chess Championship 20-match clash in Elista, Kalmykia,in 1996.

In 1999,he graduated from Brooklyn College and then enrolled himself for a medical degree. But he gave up after a year and then graduated in law.

He returned to chess in 1999 to play in the Knockout World Championship event in Las Vegas where he lost to Alexander Khalifman in rapid games after winning one and losing another game in classical format.

Kamsky was then not seen in a public performance till June 2004 when he finished in a tie for first place in the New York Masters. A string of successes in 2006 and 2007 have now marked him out as a challenger for the very top in world chess hierarchy.

Here is the full article.

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Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
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