TWIC is 30. First issue 17th September 1994.
4th Final Masters 2011 (Opening Ceremony)
4th Final Masters start in Sao Paulo today
Mark Crowther - Monday 26th September 2011
Nakamura, Ivanchuk, Carlsen, Gilberto Kassab, Anand, Aronian and Vallejo. Photo © | http://www.bilbaofinalmasters.com
The 4th Final Masters start in Sao Paulo on Monday 26th September. Round 1 Mon 26th Sep 2011. 7pm UK time. Nakamura-Ivanchuk, Anand-Carlsen and Aronian-Vallejo. The full pairings and the opening press release can be read below.
THE CHESS GRAND SLAM MASTERS FINAL BILBAO-SAO PAULO Draw
| Sao Paulo | ||
|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | 26/09/11 | 19:00 BST |
| Nakamura | - | Ivanchuk |
| Anand | - | Carlsen |
| Aronian | - | Vallejo |
| Round 2 | 27/09/11 | 19:00 BST |
| Ivanchuk | - | Vallejo |
| Carlsen | - | Aronian |
| Nakamura | - | Anand |
| Round 3 | 28/09/11 | 19:00 BST |
| Anand | - | Ivanchuk |
| Aronian | - | Nakamura |
| Vallejo | - | Carlsen |
| Round 4 | 30/09/11 | 19:00 BST |
| Aronian | - | Ivanchuk |
| Vallejo | - | Anand |
| Carlsen | - | Nakamura |
| Round 5 | 01/10/11 | 19:00 BST |
| Ivanchuk | - | Carlsen |
| Nakamura | - | Vallejo |
| Anand | - | Aronian |
| Bilbao | ||
| Round 6 | 06/10/11 | 15:00 BST |
| Ivanchuk | - | Nakamura |
| Carlsen | - | Anand |
| Vallejo | - | Aronian |
| Round 7 | 07/10/11 | 15:00 BST |
| Vallejo | - | Ivanchuk |
| Aronian | - | Carlsen |
| Anand | - | Nakamura |
| Round 8 | 08/10/11 | 15:00 BST |
| Ivanchuk | - | Anand |
| Nakamura | - | Aronian |
| Carlsen | - | Vallejo |
| Round 9 | 10/10/11 | 15:00 BST |
| Carlsen | - | Ivanchuk |
| Vallejo | - | Nakamura |
| Aronian | - | Anand |
| Round 10 | 11/10/11 | 15:00 BST |
| Ivanchuk | - | Aronian |
| Anand | - | Vallejo |
| Nakamura | - | Carlsen |
THE CHESS GRAND SLAM MASTERS FINAL BILBAO-SAO PAULO 2011 BEGINS IN BRAZIL
Viswanathan Anand with Mayor of Sao Paulo Gilberto Kassab. Photo © Bilbao Final Masters Website
Biscayan fans will be able to view matches online The tournament serves as a platform for business meetings between Brazilian and Biscayan companies
The Chess Grand Slam Masters Final 2011 which will be played in a double round in Sao Paulo and Bilbao, began yesterday (early morning today Spanish time) in the Brazilian city with the formal opening and the drawing of matches among the six contenders vying for the title. The match will be streamed live on the Internet and chess fans will be able to follow them on the official website www.bilbaomasterfinal.com.
This 4th edition of the Masters Final, the most important global competition outside of the World Championship, is being held in Sao Paulo from September 26 to October 1 and ends in the Biscayan capital, in the second and deciding round, from October 6 to 11.
The matches will be played starting from today (night to early morning Spanish time) and in the first round boast a square-off between the two favourites to win: Norwegian Magnus Carlsen (black) versus Indian Viswanathan Anand (white), numbers 1 and 2 in the world rankings.
The rest of the first round pairings are Ukrainian Vassily Ivanchuk versus American Hikaru Nakamura and Armenia’s Levon Aronian (world number three) versus Spain’s Paco Vallejo, former under 18 world champion.
This Grand Slam Final will be played under two rules unique to this tournament: the Sofia rules (only the arbiter can call a draw, avoiding early pacts between players) and the Bilbao rules (a points system whereby the winner is given 3 points, 1 each for a draw and 0 for a loss).
The tournament was officially launched at the Ibirapuera Park in Sao Paulo, chaired by the Mayor of the city, Gilberto Kassab, who highlighted the importance of the chess event as a platform for attracting other sporting events to Sao Paulo. Present during the launch ceremony was the Biscayan delegation who organized the tournament, led by general coordinator, Andoni Madariaga. Madariaga seemed pleasantly surprised by the enormous interest awakened by the tournament in the Brazilian industrial capital, one of the largest metropolises in the world.. The Biscayan delegation has erected a huge tent in Sao Paulo where visitors can make first visual contact with Bilbao and Biscay, through audiovisual media designed for this purpose. Also, the facility has been conceived as a meeting point for Basque and Brazilian businesspeople in which the Biscay Provincial Council, represented by Director of Tourism Promotion, Gabino Martínez de Arenaza, will organize during the tournament various activities such as Txakoli tastings and food samplings.
Bilbao, September 26, 2011
