Final Chess Masters 2010
Bilbao – Shanghai 2010, participants and information
The Final Chess Masters 2010 schedule and format has been announced by Iñaki Azkuna, mayor of Bilbao. The competition will consist of two parts. The first one will be a qualification tournament in Shanghai with the participation of Hao Wang, Alexey Shirov, Levon Aronian, and Vladimir Kramnik.
Two players from Shanghai will qualify for the final in Bilbao, where they will meet the world number 1 Magnus Carlsen and the World Champion Viswanathan Anand.
Andoni Madariaga explained in a press conference, “This tournament can turn out to be the strongest in history, as there is the possibility to have 4 out of the top 5 players at the final.” Veselin Topalov is the missing player and has declined participation due to personal reasons.
The 2010 Final Masters will be played according to the Sofia rules (draws can be offered only through arbiters) and the Bilbao system (3 points for a win, 1 for draw, and 0 for loss).
Schedule of the event
Shanghai 03-08 September, 2010 Bilbao 09-15 October, 2010
Update 1:
The presentation of the Final Masters was attended by the World Champion Viswanathan Anand. He played a simul against famous people from the region, such as the President of the Bizkaia Basketball Federation Jon X. Davalillo, the Euskatel team member Koldo Fernández de Larrea, the TV presentor Adela González, and the Euskadi chess champions Alejandro Franco and Isabel Menoyo. A total of 24 boards were put for the simul and the record of Anand was 23,5/24. The only draw was against José Ramón Arrupe – a 80 years old chess player, who in the 1950s was 4 times champion of Spain. This is not the first time Arrupe draws against World Champions, he has done it twice against Anatoly Karpov and once against Ponomariov.
Update 2:
The venue of the event will be Alhóndiga Municipal de Bilbao. It is constructed in 1909 according to the project of Ricardo Bastida and is one of the emblematic buildings of the city. After passing through several stages the building was finally transformed into polivalent multicultural center which opened doors 18th of May, 2010.
Stay tuned for details on Chessdom
Topalov will win for sure. He’s best.
Yes, be sure to get your money on Topalov, lol. I’ll be cheering for Carlsen.
Thank goodness they will use Sofia rules! This prevents players from cheating fans by refusing to compete and quitting games that are not yet decided. Every tournament should use Sofia rules. Chess can never be a popular sport if players can make a mockery of the competition by quitting before the outcome is decided. Fans should protest this outrage whenever it occurs!