Aronian wasn’t supposed to be playing in the Bilbao Grand Slam final. After Topalov dropped out, he was put in as a substitute. Then he lost his first game to Grischuk. But after scoring 4 straight wins, Aronian has clinched the tournament with 1 round to spare.
Round 5 results:
| Aronian, Levon | – Shirov, Alexei | 1-0 | |||
| Grischuk, Alexander | – Karjakin, Sergey | ½-½ |
Standings after 5 rounds:
| Players | Games | Win | Draw | Loss | POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Levon Aronian | 5 | 4 | 1 | 12 | |
| Alexander Grischuk | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| Sergei Karjakin | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| Alexei Shirov | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
Scoring System
3 – Points per win
1 – Point per draw
0 – Point per loss
Official website: http://www.bilbaofinalmasters.com/2009/en_index.asp
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Impressive playing. Congratulations!
Congratulations to Aronian, now he is the strongest player of the world!
Don’t you agree? Don’t you know that “One thing is sure, the winner of the final Master Tournament in Bilbao will be without any doubts the best player of the year, with much more value than the world champion”? Silvio Danailov said it, not me.
…maybe his statement is valid only if the winner of the Final Tournament is Topalov:)
Speaking of Danailov, the discrimination against Kramnik continues. Why was he not invited to replace Topalov? Infact why was Topalov even invited to play in Bilbao after being throughly thrashed by Kramnik in Elista? Only in the weird world of FIDE does politics win over victories on the board. Little do they realize that many still consider Kramnik to be the true World Champion, forced to gift his title to Anand, then challenge for it back as the challenger. I would have liked to see Anand stand up to Kasparov in a tournament, ditto for Topalov. Of course they collapse like wet socks. But the FIDE world turns, producing coffeehouse chess, elevating Danialov, Mr Bathroom, to the top.
Chess Oskar for Levon!!!
Kramnik is NOT the World Champion!
“Kramnik is NOT the World Champion!”
Oh yes he is…….in anon’s 3:35 own world 🙂
“Why was he [Kramnik] not invited to replace Topalov?”
Because he wasn’t 2nd in Nanjing.
“Infact why was Topalov even invited to play in Bilbao…”
Because he won in Nanjing – one of the Grand Slam tournaments.
Your dumb question indicate that you know shit about chess. FIDE has nothing to do with Bilbao or any other tournaments that aren’t part of the world championship cycle.
Anonymous 3:35 – you are so right. Why isn’t Krmanik invited to another match with Anand? In fact, why doesn’t Anand give up his crown to Kramnik when everyone knows Kramnik is better? Why isn’t Kramnik invited to every tournament? Why isn’t he invited to my wedding? Such a discrimination, indeed. It’s thoroughly depressing when prizes are allocated based on merit, I entirely sympathize with you.
Aronian is an opportunist with superb nerves, great technique and a good opening repertoire, but I don’t like his chess. It’s too practical for my taste.
Anon 3:30,
/Because he won in Nanjing – one of the Grand Slam tournaments./
Did you ever wonder, what comes first? The chicken or the egg? So if they invited Kramnik to Nanjing, he would have thrashed everyone there, then gotten into this tournament. However, he was not allowed to play in Nanjing so can’t play here. Its all politics, controlled by FIDE and Danialov. Danialov fears Kramnik that is why. He knows Anand won’t stand up to Topalov who was crushed by Kramnik like a shell. We all know who the true World Champion is anyway so it is all mute until someone beats him in a real match.
Aronian is the best chess player in the world.
Some people should be treated…
‘FIDE has nothing to do with Bilbao’
Your dumb statement indicate that you know othing about chess.
“We all know who the true World Champion”
Yes we do, it’s Vishy Anand.
“Did you ever wonder, what comes first? The chicken or the egg? So if they invited Kramnik to Nanjing, he would have thrashed everyone there, then gotten into this tournament. However, he was not allowed to play in Nanjing so can’t play here.”
Kramnik was invited (not to Nanjing, but to other Grand Slam tournament) but declined.
Anon 9:12, since you are too smart for your own good, then please enlighten me: What is FIDE’s role in Bilbao tournament? Please enlighten me.
“We all know who the true World Champion is anyway so it is all mute until someone beats him in a real match”
you mean, like Anand in Bonn?
Let us see the facts: Kramnik lost Mexico and Bonn to Anand, who is by no doubt the number one. Full stop. What the future will say, we will see. Full stop.
I enjoyed Levons grand victories in Bilbao. Yeah.
Did anybody write here about other things?
Who cares? Question mark.
okay from germany