Remembering Paul Keres
Alexei Shirov wins the final tournament
Chessdom.com
Remembering Paul Keres Chess Tournament was played on 7th-9th January in Tallinn, Estonia. Former World Champion Anatoly Karpov and legendary Hungarian Grandmaster Lajos Portish were also in Estonia, participating in the events dedicated to marking 95 years from Paul Keres’ birth. Estonia President Toomas Hendrik Ilves met with the famous chess players.
The four top finishers from the Preliminary tournament, which was played over seven rounds on 7th and 8th January, were supposed to join GM Alexei Shirov (ESP 2722), GM Jaan Ehlvest (USA 2586), GM Elshan Moradiabadi (IRI 2558) and IM Aleksandr Volodin (EST 2487) in the final round-robin tournament.
But GM Moradiabadi could not arrive on time because he played the Iranian Chess Championship in Tabriz, until 9th January. Therefore, the organizers have extended invitations to five best players from Preliminaries.
Top rated players among total of 93 in the Preliminary event were GM Burmakin Vladimir RUS 2603, GM Miezis Normunds LAT 2546, GM Lugovoi Aleksei RUS 2531, GM Shvyrjov Igor EST 2470, IM Smirnov Artem RUS 2428 and IM Berzinsh Roland LAT 2425. However, GM Burmakin failed to qualify.
The Final event was played on 8th and 9th January, also over seven rounds. GM Alexei Shirov conceded only two draws and convincingly won the tournament with 6 points.
Final Tournament:
1. GM Alexei Shirov (ESP 2722) – 6.0
2-3. GM Miezis Normunds (LAT 2546) and GM Jaan Ehlvest (USA 2586) – 5.0
4. GM Lugovoi Aleksei (RUS 2531) – 4.0
5. FM Ilja Vovk (EST 2267) – 3.5
6. IM Aleksandr Volodin (EST 2487) – 2.5
7. IM Smirnov Artem (RUS 2428) – 2.0
8. Denis Kovaljov (EST 2274) – 0.0
Thanks to e3e5.com
Shirov is King.
Shirov is #1!