TWIC is 30. First issue 17th September 1994.
7th Mikhail Tal Memorial 2012 (Blitz)
7th Mikhail Tal Memorial Blitz 2012
Mark Crowther - Thursday 7th June 2012
The round 7 clash between Magnus Carlsen and Alexander Morozevich proved decisive in the battle for first place. Carlsen seemed to be doing well at one point but lost on time. Photo © | http://www.russiachess.org
The 7th Mikhail Tal Memorial started with a blitz tournament (3 minutes plus 2 seconds extra per move) to determine the draw numbers for the players. Alexander Morozevich took the €5000 first prize on tie-break from Magnus Carlsen (€3000) who he also defeated (on time) in their individual game. Both players scored 6.5/9 a point clear of Alexander Grischuk and Teimour Radjabov. The game broadcast broadly held up although a number of games are, at least as yet, incomplete. The top 5 earned 5 whites and 4 blacks in their games for the main tournament. This extra white might be a double edged sword as the first tie-break in the main event is number of games with black. The full draw for all rounds, final blitz table and games, a few titbits of information are in the body of the article. Round 1 of the main event on Friday 3pm Moscow time is: Morozevich-Caruana, Carlsen-Kramnik, Grischuk-McShane, Radjabov-Tomashevsky, Aronian-Nakamura.
Tal Memorial Blitz
Morozevich and Aronian in Round 8. http://video.russiachess.org.
Prizes in Euros: 1st €5 000, 2nd €3 000, 3rd €2 000, 4th €1 500, 5th €1 000, 6th €700, 7th €600, 8th €500, 9th €400, 10th €300.
The big negative surprises were the half way finishes of World number 2 Levon Aronian and of the blitz king Hikaru Nakamura on 5/9 and the 9th place of Vladimir Kramnik who just didn't seem to be able to get going.
The table below is correct including the right tie-breaks.
| 7th Tal Mem Blitz Moscow (RUS), 7-19 vi 2012 | cat. XXII (2776) | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | ||||||||||
| 1. | Morozevich, Alexander | g | RUS | 2769 | * | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6½ | 2943 | |||
| 2. | Carlsen, Magnus | g | NOR | 2835 | 0 | * | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6½ | 2935 | |||
| 3. | Grischuk, Alexander | g | RUS | 2761 | 0 | 0 | * | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 5½ | 2858 | |||
| 4. | Radjabov, Teimour | g | AZE | 2784 | ½ | 0 | ½ | * | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 5½ | 2855 | |||
| 5. | Aronian, Levon | g | ARM | 2825 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | * | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2814 | |||
| 6. | Nakamura, Hikaru | g | USA | 2775 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | * | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2819 | |||
| 7. | Tomashevsky, Evgeny | g | RUS | 2738 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | * | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3½ | 2700 | |||
| 8. | McShane, Luke J | g | ENG | 2706 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | * | 1 | ½ | 3 | 2659 | |||
| 9. | Kramnik, Vladimir | g | RUS | 2801 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | * | 1 | 2½ | 2607 | |||
| 10. | Caruana, Fabiano | g | ITA | 2770 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | * | 2 | 2557 | |||
| Round 1 (June 7, 2012) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlsen, Magnus | - McShane, Luke J | 1-0 | 26 | B06 | Modern Defence | |
| Radjabov, Teimour | - Morozevich, Alexander | ½-½ | 23 | D91 | Gruenfeld 5.Bg5 | |
| Aronian, Levon | - Tomashevsky, Evgeny | ½-½ | 42 | A07 | Barcza System | |
| Nakamura, Hikaru | - Caruana, Fabiano | 1-0 | 36 | A45 | Trompowsky | |
| Kramnik, Vladimir | - Grischuk, Alexander | ½-½ | 26 | A15 | English counter King's Fianchetto | |
| Round 2 (June 7, 2012) | ||||||
| Morozevich, Alexander | - Nakamura, Hikaru | ½-½ | 52 | A04 | Dutch System | |
| Carlsen, Magnus | - Aronian, Levon | 0-1 | 34 | C65 | Ruy Lopez Berlin | |
| Grischuk, Alexander | - Radjabov, Teimour | ½-½ | 26 | A07 | Barcza System | |
| Tomashevsky, Evgeny | - Kramnik, Vladimir | 1-0 | 5 | A29 | English Four Knights | |
| McShane, Luke J | - Caruana, Fabiano | ½-½ | 40 | B23 | Sicilian Closed | |
| Round 3 (June 7, 2012) | ||||||
| Radjabov, Teimour | - Tomashevsky, Evgeny | 1-0 | 29 | A46 | Queen's Pawn Opening | |
| Aronian, Levon | - McShane, Luke J | ½-½ | 53 | A40 | Unusual Replies to 1.d4 | |
| Nakamura, Hikaru | - Grischuk, Alexander | 0-1 | 29 | A01 | Larsen Opening | |
| Kramnik, Vladimir | - Carlsen, Magnus | 0-1 | 43 | A04 | Dutch System | |
| Caruana, Fabiano | - Morozevich, Alexander | 0-1 | 45 | B30 | Sicilian Rossolimo | |
| Round 4 (June 7, 2012) | ||||||
| Carlsen, Magnus | - Radjabov, Teimour | 1-0 | 28 | C03 | French Tarrasch | |
| Grischuk, Alexander | - Caruana, Fabiano | 1-0 | 43 | A00 | Irregular Openings | |
| Aronian, Levon | - Kramnik, Vladimir | 1-0 | 12 | C53 | Giuoco Piano | |
| Tomashevsky, Evgeny | - Nakamura, Hikaru | ½-½ | 43 | A85 | Dutch | |
| McShane, Luke J | - Morozevich, Alexander | 0-1 | 38 | A07 | Barcza System | |
| Round 5 (June 7, 2012) | ||||||
| Morozevich, Alexander | - Grischuk, Alexander | 1-0 | 57 | B01 | Centre Counter | |
| Radjabov, Teimour | - Aronian, Levon | 1-0 | 17 | D11 | Slav Defence | |
| Nakamura, Hikaru | - Carlsen, Magnus | ½-½ | 45 | A30 | English Symmetrical | |
| Kramnik, Vladimir | - McShane, Luke J | 0-1 | 28 | A04 | Dutch System | |
| Caruana, Fabiano | - Tomashevsky, Evgeny | 0-1 | 32 | C78 | Ruy Lopez Moeller Defence | |
| Round 6 (June 7, 2012) | ||||||
| Carlsen, Magnus | - Caruana, Fabiano | 1-0 | 59 | B40 | Sicilian Classical | |
| Aronian, Levon | - Nakamura, Hikaru | ½-½ | 71 | A88 | Dutch Leningrad | |
| Tomashevsky, Evgeny | - Morozevich, Alexander | ½-½ | 20 | A16 | English Opening | |
| McShane, Luke J | - Grischuk, Alexander | 0-1 | 22 | A01 | Larsen Opening | |
| Kramnik, Vladimir | - Radjabov, Teimour | 1-0 | 31 | A04 | Dutch System | |
| Round 7 (June 7, 2012) | ||||||
| Morozevich, Alexander | - Carlsen, Magnus | 1-0 | 33 | C45 | Scotch Game | |
| Radjabov, Teimour | - McShane, Luke J | 1-0 | 57 | A40 | Unusual Replies to 1.d4 | |
| Grischuk, Alexander | - Tomashevsky, Evgeny | 1-0 | 51 | A07 | Barcza System | |
| Nakamura, Hikaru | - Kramnik, Vladimir | 1-0 | 53 | A45 | Trompowsky | |
| Caruana, Fabiano | - Aronian, Levon | 1-0 | 13 | C67 | Ruy Lopez Berlin | |
| Round 8 (June 7, 2012) | ||||||
| Carlsen, Magnus | - Grischuk, Alexander | 1-0 | 54 | E92 | King's Indian Classical | |
| Radjabov, Teimour | - Nakamura, Hikaru | 1-0 | 29 | A85 | Dutch | |
| Aronian, Levon | - Morozevich, Alexander | 1-0 | 33 | D82 | Gruenfeld 4.Bf4 | |
| McShane, Luke J | - Tomashevsky, Evgeny | 1-0 | 22 | A01 | Larsen Opening | |
| Kramnik, Vladimir | - Caruana, Fabiano | 1-0 | 33 | A15 | English counter King's Fianchetto | |
| Round 9 (June 7, 2012) | ||||||
| Morozevich, Alexander | - Kramnik, Vladimir | 1-0 | 9 | A05 | Various | |
| Grischuk, Alexander | - Aronian, Levon | ½-½ | 28 | A07 | Barcza System | |
| Nakamura, Hikaru | - McShane, Luke J | 1-0 | 23 | D97 | Gruenfeld Russian | |
| Tomashevsky, Evgeny | - Carlsen, Magnus | 0-1 | 26 | A30 | English Symmetrical | |
| Caruana, Fabiano | - Radjabov, Teimour | ½-½ | 44 | B30 | Sicilian Rossolimo | |
Draw for the main Tal Memorial
Overview of the hall. http://video.russiachess.org.
The standings produced the draw for the Tal Memorial. So the top 5 get more games with white than black. Nominally an advantage but the tie-break regulations for the main event (http://goo.gl/lX0qE) say that the prize money is distributed according to place taking into account auxiliary scorings. The top tie-break there is number of games with black and some people even score better with black, or at least not substantially worse.
The standing is determined according to the number of points scored. A won game is 1 point, a drawn game is 0,5 point, and a lost game is 0 point. In case of a tie, the following auxiliary scorings are used:
Highest number of games played with Black
Highest number of wins
Direct encounter
Koya system
Sonneborn-Berger coefficient
Prize money for the main Tal Memorial
The significance of the blitz won't be that great but Kramnik's score of 2.5/9 including this final round loss to Morozevich (sadly not complete in the game file) won't have made him happy going into round 1. http://video.russiachess.org.
The leading players will have received a heavy appearance fees (not made known) but the prizes themselves are not insignificant.
Tal Memorial Prizes by place in Euros: 1st €30.000, 2nd €20.000, 3rd €15.000, 4th €10.000, 5th €8.000, 6th €6.000, 7th €4.000, 8th €3.000, 9th €2.500, 10th €1.500.
Tal Memorial Pairings
Play starts at 3pm Moscow time each day except the final round at 1pm. That's 12pm/10am BST or 1pm/11am CET.
| 7th Mikhail Tal Mem Moscow (RUS), 7-19 vi 2012 | cat. XXII (2776) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw numbers for the players | ||||
| 1. | Morozevich, Alexander | g | RUS | 2769 |
| 2. | Carlsen, Magnus | g | NOR | 2835 |
| 3. | Grischuk, Alexander | g | RUS | 2761 |
| 4. | Radjabov, Teimour | g | AZE | 2784 |
| 5. | Aronian, Levon | g | ARM | 2825 |
| 6. | Nakamura, Hikaru | g | USA | 2775 |
| 7. | Tomashevsky, Evgeny | g | RUS | 2738 |
| 8. | McShane, Luke J | g | ENG | 2706 |
| 9. | Kramnik, Vladimir | g | RUS | 2801 |
| 10. | Caruana, Fabiano | g | ITA | 2770 |
| Round 1 (June 8, 2012) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlsen, Magnus | - | Kramnik, Vladimir | ||||
| Aronian, Levon | - | Nakamura, Hikaru | ||||
| Radjabov, Teimour | - | Tomashevsky, Evgeny | ||||
| Grischuk, Alexander | - | McShane, Luke J | ||||
| Morozevich, Alexander | - | Caruana, Fabiano | ||||
| Round 2 (June 9, 2012) | ||||||
| Kramnik, Vladimir | - | Grischuk, Alexander | ||||
| Caruana, Fabiano | - | Nakamura, Hikaru | ||||
| Morozevich, Alexander | - | Carlsen, Magnus | ||||
| Tomashevsky, Evgeny | - | Aronian, Levon | ||||
| McShane, Luke J | - | Radjabov, Teimour | ||||
| Round 3 (June 10, 2012) | ||||||
| Carlsen, Magnus | - | Caruana, Fabiano | ||||
| Aronian, Levon | - | McShane, Luke J | ||||
| Radjabov, Teimour | - | Kramnik, Vladimir | ||||
| Grischuk, Alexander | - | Morozevich, Alexander | ||||
| Nakamura, Hikaru | - | Tomashevsky, Evgeny | ||||
| Round 4 (June 12, 2012) | ||||||
| Carlsen, Magnus | - | Grischuk, Alexander | ||||
| Kramnik, Vladimir | - | Aronian, Levon | ||||
| Caruana, Fabiano | - | Tomashevsky, Evgeny | ||||
| Morozevich, Alexander | - | Radjabov, Teimour | ||||
| McShane, Luke J | - | Nakamura, Hikaru | ||||
| Round 5 (June 13, 2012) | ||||||
| Aronian, Levon | - | Morozevich, Alexander | ||||
| Radjabov, Teimour | - | Carlsen, Magnus | ||||
| Grischuk, Alexander | - | Caruana, Fabiano | ||||
| Nakamura, Hikaru | - | Kramnik, Vladimir | ||||
| Tomashevsky, Evgeny | - | McShane, Luke J | ||||
| Round 6 (June 14, 2012) | ||||||
| Carlsen, Magnus | - | Aronian, Levon | ||||
| Kramnik, Vladimir | - | Tomashevsky, Evgeny | ||||
| Grischuk, Alexander | - | Radjabov, Teimour | ||||
| Caruana, Fabiano | - | McShane, Luke J | ||||
| Morozevich, Alexander | - | Nakamura, Hikaru | ||||
| Round 7 (June 16, 2012) | ||||||
| Aronian, Levon | - | Grischuk, Alexander | ||||
| Radjabov, Teimour | - | Caruana, Fabiano | ||||
| Nakamura, Hikaru | - | Carlsen, Magnus | ||||
| Tomashevsky, Evgeny | - | Morozevich, Alexander | ||||
| McShane, Luke J | - | Kramnik, Vladimir | ||||
| Round 8 (June 17, 2012) | ||||||
| Carlsen, Magnus | - | Tomashevsky, Evgeny | ||||
| Radjabov, Teimour | - | Aronian, Levon | ||||
| Grischuk, Alexander | - | Nakamura, Hikaru | ||||
| Caruana, Fabiano | - | Kramnik, Vladimir | ||||
| Morozevich, Alexander | - | McShane, Luke J | ||||
| Round 9 (June 18, 2012) | ||||||
| Aronian, Levon | - | Caruana, Fabiano | ||||
| Kramnik, Vladimir | - | Morozevich, Alexander | ||||
| Nakamura, Hikaru | - | Radjabov, Teimour | ||||
| Tomashevsky, Evgeny | - | Grischuk, Alexander | ||||
| McShane, Luke J | - | Carlsen, Magnus | ||||
View the games on this Page
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