3-way tie for 1st at Polugaevsky Memorial

Lev Polugaevsky Memorial Concluded in Samara

The 2nd Lev Polugaevsky Memorial was held from 5th to 13th July in the Russian city Samara as a 9-round Swiss competition. 102 players competed.

GM Alexei Fedorov from Belarus, one of the few foreigners in the field, started furiously with six consecutive wins but then he slowed down and took only half a point from the remaining three games.

The final round was relatively peaceful with a bunch of draws on the top tables. Only the top seeded GM Denis Khismatullin won his game.

Eventually, IM Aleksey Goganov, GM Igor Kovalenko and GM Nikolai Kabanov shared the first place with 7 points each. Goganov takes the winner’s trophy on best additional criteria.

The total prize fund is 11.000 EUR and the tournament is a qualifier for the 2012 Russian Cup.

The 1st Polugaevsky Memorial was held in 2011 with the participation of 122 players. GM Semen Dvoirys from Chelyabinsk was the sole winner with 7.5 points.

Tournament website (in Russian)

Final standings (top finishers):

1 IM Goganov Aleksey RUS 2509 – 7
2 GM Kovalenko Igor UKR 2556 – 7
3 GM Kabanov Nikolai RUS 2496 – 7
4 GM Fedorov Alexei BLR 2562 – 6.5
5 GM Khismatullin Denis RUS 2664 – 6.5
6 GM Timofeev Artyom RUS 2641 – 6.5
7 Predke Alexandr RUS 2464 – 6.5
8 GM Ovetchkin Roman RUS 2501 – 6.5
9 GM Yemelin Vasily RUS 2577 – 6
10 GM Smirnov Pavel RUS 2592 – 6
11 GM Frolyanov Dmitry RUS 2564 – 6
12 GM Gabrielian Artur RUS 2594 – 6
13 GM Geller Jakov RUS 2555 – 6
14 FM Nakhapetiane Pogos RUS 2497 – 6
15 IM Kopylov Alexander A RUS 2446 – 6
16 GM Kokarev Dmitry RUS 2616 – 6
17 GM Shaposhnikov Evgeny RUS 2545 – 6
18 Smirnov Alexey RUS 2414 – 6
19 GM Iljushin Alexei RUS 2517 – 6
20 GM Tukhaev Adam UKR 2546 – 6
21 GM Fedoseev Vladimir RUS 2506 – 6
22 GM Maletin Pavel RUS 2596 – 5.5
23 GM Vokarev Sergey RUS 2437 – 5.5
24 GM Iskusnyh Sergei RUS 2478 – 5.5
25 WGM Mirzoeva Elmira RUS 2251 – 5.5
26 FM Dimukhametov Artur RUS 2355 – 5.5
27 FM Iliushkin Evgeny RUS 2264 – 5.5
28 Palachev Petr RUS 2287 – 5.5
29 FM Bakin Alexander RUS 2176 – 5.5