Igor Kurnosov wins the Semi Finals of the World Rapid Chess
Igor Kurnosov is the winner of the semi finals of the World Rapid Chess Championship in Astana. Kurnosov took the lead in day 1 of the semi finals and with solid play finished with 6,5/9, half a point ahead of competition.
Second place was shared by four players, but 2nd and 3rd on tiebreak were Alexey Dreeev and Vladislav Tkachiev, who qualified for the World Rapid Chess 2012 finals. Together with Kurnosov, they join Magnus Carlsen, Sergey Karjakin, Teimour Radjabov, Alexander Morozevich, Vassily Ivanchuk, Alexander Grischuk, Veselin Topalov, Peter Svidler,
Boris Gelfand, Viktor Bologan, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Murtas Kazhgaleyev, and Anuar Ismagambetov for the finals in Astana.
Here are the final standings of the Semi Finals. Join us for the live games from the World Rapid Chess finals
| Name | Pts | TB1 | TB2 | |
| 1 | Kurnosov, Igor | 6,5 | 37 | 46,5 |
| 2 | Dreev, Alexey | 6 | 38 | 49 |
| 3 | Tkachiev, Vladislav | 6 | 37,5 | 47 |
| 4 | Andreikin, Dmitry | 6 | 36 | 46 |
| 5 | Moiseenko, Alexander | 6 | 35,5 | 46 |
| 6 | Le, Quang Liem | 5,5 | 33 | 42,5 |
| 7 | Kuderinov, Kirill | 5,5 | 33 | 42,5 |
| 8 | Gagunashvili, Merab | 5 | 38 | 45,5 |
| 9 | Chadaev, Nikolai | 5 | 37 | 47 |
| 10 | Filippov, Anton | 5 | 32,5 | 41,5 |
| 11 | Kotsur, Pavel | 5 | 30,5 | 39,5 |
| 12 | Aleksandrov, Aleksei | 4,5 | 33 | 40,5 |
| 13 | Iuldachev , Saidali | 4,5 | 32 | 39 |
| 14 | Neverov, Valeriy | 4,5 | 31 | 40 |
| 15 | Jumabayev, Rinat | 4,5 | 29 | 38 |
| 16 | Rychagov, Andrey | 4 | 34 | 43,5 |
| 17 | Saduakassova, Dinara | 4 | 27 | 34 |
| 18 | Papin, Vasily | 3,5 | 31 | 40 |
| 19 | Akkozov, Berik | 3,5 | 27,5 | 35 |
| 20 | Mankeyev, Rauan | 3,5 | 26 | 33 |
| 21 | Khusnutdinov, Rustam | 3 | 30 | 37 |
| 22 | Igambergenov, Alibek | 3 | 26,5 | 33 |
| 23 | Akhmetov, Ayan | 3 | 26 | 32 |
| 24 | Minko, Vladimir | 1 | 26 | 34 |
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