Israeli Gelfand ties for second place at World Chess Championship - Haaretz

Subscribe to Print Edition

Sun., September 30, 2007 ,

Israel Time: 01:37 (EST+7)

web haaretz.com

Back to Homepage

Print Edition

Diplomacy

Defense

Arts & Leisure

Real Estate

Jewish World

National

Advertising

Magazine

Week's End

Business

Opinion

Rosner's Domain

Anglo File

Books

Travel

del.icio.us

Digg It! new

Last update - 01:35 01/10/2007

Israeli Gelfand ties for second place at World Chess Championship

By Eli Shvidler, Haaretz Correspondent

Israeli chess grand master Boris Gelfand finished tied for second at the World Chess Championship in Mexico City, which ended Saturday.

Gelfand and outgoing champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia - who could not defend his title at Mexico City because of the rules - both finished with eight out of a possible 14 points at the double round-robin tournament. A win earns one point, while a tie earns half a point.

The world's highest-ranked chess player, Indian grand master Vishwanatan Anand, won the championship with four wins and 10 ties - undefeated - for a total of nine points. According to the regulations, the outgoing champion, Kramnik, has the right to challenge the 38-year-old Anand for the title of world champion.

	Advertisement

Gelfand, who was born in Belarus and immigrated to Israel about a decade ago, helped bring Israel's national chess team two achievements second place and a silver medal at the 2003 European championships in Plovdiv and the 2005 Euros in Goteborg.

"No question, this was one of the most successful tournaments of my career - based on the results and also the quality of the game," Gelfand told Haaretz yesterday. "As far as theoretical preparation is concerned, I was probably the best prepared of anyone [at the Mexico City championship] - and for that I have to thank my two assistants Alexander Huzman and Pavel Eljanov.

"There is no doubt I missed a few opportunities in the only match I lost, there were times when I could have put myself in position for a draw. In three other matches [against Anand, Peter Leko and Alexander Morozevich], I could not take advantage of favorable positions. However, I am certainly satisfied overall - it has been a long time since I played at such a strong competition. At the beginning of the tournament, I felt
that I was in reasonable condition and after my first two victories, I became confident that I could come out with a good result."

Gelfand voiced support for the new world champion.

"Anand absolutely deserves the title. He displayed, as usual, a very practical style of play, getting draws that he needed and he did not get agitated when he did not win from a advantageous position," Gelfand said. "Anand was very theoretically prepared, and his nerves of steel also helped him stay calm when the world title was approaching. Because
of that, he was able to salvage a very difficult position against Grischuk in the next-to-last round."

On a personal level, four of Gelfand's matches stand out his three victories and the tie with outgoing-champion Kramnik when he displayed a tremendous ability to improvise and almost entered the Guiness Book of World Records when he made a castling move in the 33rd move.

At this point, though, after one of the greatest results of his career, Gelfand cries out for rest. "Sure I am tired chess is an exhausting game, requiring a lot of energy, physically and mentally. This year, I will compete in just one tournament, the memorial tournament for former world champion Michael Tal, which will be held in Moscow in November."

Bookmark to del.icio.us


	Lights out
	Electric company cancels emergency bond issue due to credit rating reduction fears.


	No free lunches
	Accountant General Zelekha demands VIPs pay taxes on their free medical benefits.

Today Online


	Israel worried PA will harden its stance ahead of Int'l summit
	Responses: 277


	Levy: Why must Israel destroy the homes of Palestinian families?
	Responses: 198


	Most rightists leave sites of new W. Bank outposts
	Responses: 81


	FM lauds cancellation of U.K. academics' planned boycott
	Responses: 68


	Rosner's guest: Ruth Wisse discusses the politics of Jews
	Responses: 114

Rosner's Domain

* WTR: Majority says Iran is an enemy

* The Israel Factor: On Senator Chris Dodd and Arab democratization

* Wisse: The Nobel Peace Prize belongs to the IDF

* Rosner's Mailbox: Why are the protesters against Ahmadinejad rightwing?

More Headlines
21:46 Most rightists leave sites of new illegal West Bank outpost


23:41 PM Olmert's meeting with Abbas delayed until Wednesday


18:39 Hamas renews call for cease-fire with Israel


17:30 Eilat beaches reopened one day after closure due to sewage leak


19:15 Spain hosts its first international conference on the Holocaust


17:40 Five IDF soldiers convicted of dealing firearms, narcotics


01:17 Israeli Arabs demonstrate in Umm al-Fahm to mark October 2000 riots


14:21 Indian Jews outraged after local company labels product 'NAZI'


15:21 Four people killed and three injured in Arava road accident


21:24 Yom Kippur road crash that killed girl to be probed as a murder


01:35 Israeli Gelfand ties for second place at World Chess Championship


12:37 Hamas forces arrest influential Fatah member in Gaza Strip