FIDE Grand Prix 2: Tashkent, UZB: Intro & Round 1 Report

The 12 Participants of Tashkent 2012, the second leg of the current FIDE Grand Prix cycle

The second leg of the 2012-3 FIDE Grand Prix (GP) is taking place in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.  In total, there are 6 stages in the Grand Prix.  At the end, in addition to prizes for each tournament, the players who have accumulated the most overall Grand Prix Points will win part of a €420,000 (~$540,000 USD) prize fund, including €100,000 euros (~$130,000 USD) for 1st place in addition to the top two qualifying for the 2014 World Championship cycle.

The first leg, held in London from September 20 - October 3 ended in a 3-way tie for first between GMs Topalov, Gelfand and Mamedyarov, each with performance ratings over 2830.  The FIDE Grand Prix Series is extremely strong, with an overall average rating of 2746 (the lowest rated player is GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov (2696) is coincidentally the only player below 2700 and the 2004-5 FIDE World Champion.  The average rating in London was over 2734 (category XX), and the average rating in Tashkent is over 2743 (category XX).

Tashkent 2012 is being organized by FIDE, Agon, Uzbekistan Chess Federation and the Forum of Culture and Arts of Uzbekistan Foundation.  Each of the 12 players are guaranteed €7,000 (~$9,000 USD) and 10 GP Points, with 1st Place winning €25,000 (~$32,000 USD) and 170 GP Points.  The total prize fund for the Tashkent leg is €170,000 (~$220,000 USD). Tiebreaks will only be used for trophies (all prize money and GP Points are shared equally between tied players).

The other four legs are: Lisbon (April 17 - May 1, 2013), Madrid (May 22 - June 4, 2013), Berlin (July 3 - 17, 2013) and Paris (September 18 - October 2, 2013).  Lisbon, Madrid and Paris are each category XXI tournaments (a tournament with an average FIDE rating over 2750).

Each of the 18 players who are participating will play exactly 4 of the 6 tournaments, each of which is a 12-player, 11 round, single round-robin tournament.  The overall winner and runner-up of the GP qualify for the 2014 Candidates Tournament, which is a major part of the 2014 World Championship cycle.  The winner is determined by each players' top 3 results (out of 4) according to GP Points.

Here is a list of the 18 players who are playing in the 2012-3 FIDE Grand Prix cycle:

NAME	FED	Q	8/12	London	Tashkent	Lisbon	Madrid	Berlin	Paris	GPP
Radjabov	AZE	R	2788			YES	YES	YES	YES	0
Karjakin	RUS	R	2785		YES	YES		YES	YES	0
Nakamura	USA	R	2778	YES		YES	YES		YES	15
Caruana	ITA	PN	2773		YES	YES	YES		YES	0
Morozevich	RUS	AN	2770		YES	YES	YES	YES		0
Ivanchuk	UKR	WC	2769	YES			YES	YES	YES	55
Grischuk	RUS	WC	2763	YES			YES	YES	YES	90
Topalov	BUL	R	2752	YES		YES	YES	YES		140
Svidler	RUS	WC	2749	YES*	YES		YES		YES	0*
Wang Hao	CHN	AN	2726	YES	YES	YES			YES	70
Gelfand	ISR	M	2738	YES	YES			YES	YES	140
Gashimov	AZE	R	2737		YES	YES	YES	YES		0
Leko	HUN	AN	2737	YES	YES	YES		YES		80
Ponomariov	UKR	WC	2734		YES	YES	YES		YES	0
Mamedyarov	RUS	R	2729	YES	YES	YES		YES		140
Dominguez	CUB	AN	2725	YES	YES		YES		YES	35
Giri	NED	AN	2711	YES		YES		YES	YES	15
Kasimdzhanov	UZB	AN	2684	YES	YES		YES	YES		35

*Svidler had to drop out of the London tournament for familyreasons.  He was replaced by Michael Adams (2710), who is not part of the GP series.

Q = Qualification Method: R = Rating List (7/11-1/12 Average) (excluding World #1 Magnus Carlsen (2848), #2and defending 2008-10 FIDE Grand Prix Champion Levon Aronian (2815) and #3 and ex-World Champion Vladimir Kramnik (2795), all of whom declined to playin the GP); PN = FIDEPresident’s Nominee; AN = AGON’s Nominee; WC = Qualified from 2011 WorldCup; M = 2012 World Championship Match(excluding World Champion Viswanathan Anand (2775), who declinedto play).

8/12 = August 2012 FIDE Rating, which is used as theofficial rating for all 2012-3 GP Purposes.

GPP = Current GP Points (after only 1 event,London).  Players with 0 points did notparticipate in London (each player only plays in 4 events).

Tashkent Participants (November 21 - December 5, 2012): Caruana, Karjakin, Mamedyarov, Kamsky, Gelfand, Morozevich, Svidler, Ponomariov, Wang Hao, Leko, Dominguez, Kasimdzhanov

World #15 Morozevich defeated World #12 Kamsky in 36 moves in an English (A34)

Round 1 Results (11/22, 14:00 Local Time):

Morozevich - Kamsky 1-0

Caruana - Svidler 1/2

Gelfand - Leko 1/2

Mamedyarov - Kasimdzhanov 1/2

Ponomariov - Wang Hao 1/2

Dominguez - Karjakin 0-1

World #7 Karjakin defeated World #23 Dominguez with Black in 40 moves in a C95 Ruy Lopez Breyer 

Standings after Round 1 of 11:

1-2: Morozevich, Karjakin - 1.0/1

3-10: Caruana, Svidler, Gelfand, Leko, Mamedyarov, Kasimdzhanov, Ponomariov, Wang Hao - 0.5/1

11-12: Kamsky, Dominguez - 0.0/1

Live Rating Changes after Round 1 (November 2012 FIDE Ratings):

Morozevich (2748): +5.2 to 2753.2, passes Gelfand on the live ratings) (+1, #14 on the Live Ratings)

Karjakin (2775): +4.3 to 2779.3, passes Anand) (+1, #6)

Caruana (2781.8): -0.5 to 2781.3 (=, #5)

Svidler (2747): +0.5 to 2747.5 (=, #16)

Gelfand (2751): -0.3 to 2750.7, passed by Gelfand) (-1, #15)

Leko (2732): +0.3 to 2732.3, passes Ponomariov (+1, #21)

Mamedyarov (2764): -0.9 to 2763.1, passed by Ivanchuk (-1, #11)

Kasimdzhanov (2696): +0.9 to 2696.9 (=, #51)

Ponomariov (2732): -0.1 to 2731.9 (=, #22)

Wang Hao (2737): +0.1 to 2737.1, (=, #18)

Kamsky (2762): -5.2 to 2756.8, passed by Nakamura (-1, #13)

Dominguez (2733.5): -4.3 to 2729.2 (=, #23)

Round 2 Pairings (11/23, 14:00 Local Time):

Kamsky - Karjakin

Wang Hao - Dominguez

Kasimdzhanov - Ponomariov

Leko - Mamedyarov

Svidler - Gelfand

Morozevich - Caruana