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Rublevsky Takes Russian Championship in Convincing Form

Topalov Joins 2800 Club in Latest FIDE Ratings

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Rublevsky Takes Russian Championship in Convincing Form

Sergei Rublevsky finished with 7.5 points, a full point ahead of Dmitry Jakovenko and Alexander Morozevich to become the 2005 Russian Champion. Rublesky finished the tournament calmly with a draw against Vadim Zvjaginsev, a result that was enough to ensure he could not be caught by the field in the final round.

Morozevich may have been the most likely challenger down the stretch, had it not been for an unfortunate incident early in the tournament.

In the third round, Jackovenko recorded a victory over Morozevich with the white pieces - an upset, but one which wouldn't normally have drawn any special attention. In this case, however, the loss had nothing to do with the position on the board - in fact, not a single move was played, as Morozevich overslept and missed the round! The loss may have cost Morozevich his chance for the title.

Farther down the standings, there were more surprises. Big names struggled, as neigher Peter Svidler or Vladimir Kramnik could mount a serious threat for the title. Svidler finshed tied for fourth with 6 points, while Kramnik never got any momentum and finished 7th, with an even 5.5 score. Some of the other well-known competitors included Evgeny Bareev (6.0, tied for 4th), Alexey Dreev (4.5, t9th), and Alexander Khalifman (4.5, t9th).

Here is Rublevsky's 8th round victory over Jakovenko, which provided him with the winning margin.

White: Rublevsky, S (2652)
Black: Jakovenko, D (2644)
Russian Championship, Round 8
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d3 Nf6 6. d4 Be7 7. Bd3 Bg4 8. h3 Bh5 9. Nc3 c6 10. g4 Bg6 11. g5 Nfd7 12. Bxg6 hxg6 13. Qe2 d5 14. Bd2 Nf8 15. O-O-O Qd6 16. Rde1 Nbd7 17. h4 Ne6 18. h5 O-O-O 19. hxg6 Nf4 20. Bxf4 Qxf4+ 21. Qe3 Qxe3+ 22. fxe3 Rxh1 23. Rxh1 fxg6 24. Ne2 Rf8 25. Nf4 Bd6 26. Rh4 Rf7 27. Kd2 Nf8 28. Ke2 Kd7 29. b3 Rf5 30. Rg4 Be7 31. Nh3 Bd6 32. Nh4 Rf7 33. c4 b6 34. Nf2 dxc4 35. bxc4 b5 36. c5 Bc7 37. Nd3 a5 38. Nf3 Re7 39. Rh4 Ne6 40. Rh8 Nf4+ 41. Kd2 Nxd3 42. Kxd3 Rf7 43. Nh4 Bg3 44. Nxg6 Rf5 45. Ra8 Ke6 46. Ra7 Rf7 47. d5+ cxd5 48. Nf4+ Bxf4 49. Rxf7 Bxe3 50. c6 1-0

Topalov Joins 2800 Club in Latest FIDE Ratings

FIDE World Champion Veselin Topalov became just the third player in history to pass the 2800 rating mark, and stands second behind only the inactive Garry Kasparov on the latest FIDE rating list.

Topalov's rating now stands at 2801, mostly on the strength of his commanding victory at the FIDE World Championship. If Garry Kasparov does not play a game in the next three months - and he is not expected to - he will be removed from the rating lists, leaving Topalov poised to take over the top spot.

Along with Topalov, Kasparov and Kramnik are the only players to ever surpass the 2800 mark.

Viswanathan Anand fell to third, despite picking up four rating points and reaching a career high of 2792.

Anand and Topalov are likely to battle for the top spot in the next rating list, as they hold a wide lead over the rest of the world. Fourth place now belongs to Peter Svidler, who gained 25 points to move to 2765. Levon Aronian, winner of the FIDE World Cup, made a big leap to the fifth spot, with a rating of 2752.

Rounding out the top ten are Vladimir Kramnik (2741), Peter Leko (2740), Vassily Ivanchuk (2729), Boris Gelfand (2723) and Ruslan Ponomariov (2723).

Several American players have places in the top 100. Gata Kamsky (2686) fell two places to 25th, although his performance in the FIDE World Cup suggests he may just now be coming back to his prior form. Alexander Onischuk (2650) moved up nine spots to 56th; Hikaru Nakamura (2644) lost 18 rating points after a disappointing first round knockout in the World Cup and now sits in 65th; Ildar Ibragimov (2635) climbed from 99th to 73rd; and Yasser Seirawan (2635) rose three spots to 74th without playing a game.

Finally, there was one very notable name among the players who dropped from the top 100 list. The legendary Viktor Korchnoi fell out of the leaderboard. Korchnoi, at age 74, is the world's oldest active grandmaster, and many believe he is the strongest player never to become world champion. He is currently rated 2608.