FIDE World Chess Championship 2000

The FIDE World Chess Championship 2000 was held in New Delhi, India, and Tehran, Iran. The first six rounds were played in New Delhi between 27 November and 15 December 2000, and the final match in Tehran started on 20 December and ended on 24 December 2000. The top seeded Indian Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand won the championship.

Background

At the time of this championship, the World title was split. The newly crowned Classical World Champion, Vladimir Kramnik, did not participate, as well as the previous Classical Champion and world's highest-rated player, Garry Kasparov. Anatoly Karpov, the 1998 FIDE World Champion and No.11-rated player, also did not take part in the tournament as he was in the midst of filing a lawsuit against the organization. However, most other strongest players of the world took part, including the defending FIDE World Champion Alexander Khalifman and the 2000 World Cup winner Viswanathan Anand. The only other absentee from the top 25 was Ye Jiangchuan.

Participants

All players are Grandmasters unless indicated otherwise.

1. Viswanathan Anand (IND), 2762
2. Alexander Morozevich (RUS), 2756
3. Michael Adams (ENG), 2755
4. Alexei Shirov (ESP), 2746
5. Peter Leko (HUN), 2743
6. Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR), 2719
7. Veselin Topalov (BUL), 2707
8. Evgeny Bareev (RUS), 2702
9. Michael Krasenkov (POL), 2702
10. Rustam Kasimdzhanov (UZB), 2690
11. Peter Svidler (RUS), 2689
12. Boris Gelfand (ISR), 2681
13. Nigel Short (ENG), 2677
14. Ilya Smirin (ISR), 2677
15. Alexey Dreev (RUS), 2676
16. Zurab Azmaiparashvili (GEO), 2673
17. Sergei Rublevsky (RUS), 2670
18. Zoltán Almási (HUN), 2668
19. Xu Jun (CHN), 2668
20. Mikhail Gurevich (BEL), 2667
21. Alexander Khalifman (RUS), 2667
22. Sergei Movsesian (CZE), 2666
23. Kiril Georgiev (BUL), 2661
24. Vladimir Akopian (ARM), 2660
25. Alexander Beliavsky (SLO), 2659
26. Vladislav Tkachiev (FRA), 2657
27. Peng Xiaomin (CHN), 2657
28. Jeroen Piket (NED), 2649
29. Joël Lautier (FRA), 2648
30. Alexei Fedorov (BLR), 2646
31. Loek van Wely (NED), 2643
32. Boris Gulko (USA), 2643
33. Viktor Bologan (MDA), 2641
34. Gilberto Milos (BRA), 2633
35. Ruslan Ponomariov (UKR), 2630
36. Alexander Onischuk (UKR), 2627
37. Konstantin Sakaev (RUS), 2627
38. Jaan Ehlvest (EST), 2627
39. Andrei Kharlov (RUS), 2627
40. Rafael Vaganian (ARM), 2623
41. Jonathan Speelman (ENG), 2623
42. Pavel Tregubov (RUS), 2620
43. Étienne Bacrot (FRA), 2613
44. Lev Psakhis (ISR), 2611
45. Emil Sutovsky (ISR), 2609
46. Alexander Grischuk (RUS), 2606
47. Vladimir Malakhov (RUS), 2605
48. Vladimir Baklan (UKR), 2599
49. Smbat Lputian (ARM), 2598
50. Evgeny Vladimirov (KAZ), 2598
51. Alex Yermolinsky (USA), 2596
52. Artashes Minasian (ARM), 2595
53. Christopher Lutz (GER), 2595
54. Viorel Iordăchescu (MDA), 2594
55. Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (ROM), 2592
56. Alexej Alexandrov (BLR), 2591
57. Aleksandr Galkin (RUS), 2587
58. Alexandre Lesiège (CAN), 2584
59. Utut Adianto (INA), 2583
60. Vladislav Nevednichy (ROM), 2582
61. Joel Benjamin (USA), 2577
62. Grigory Serper (USA), 2574
63. Krishnan Sasikiran (IND), 2573
64. Alexander Chernin (HUN), 2572
65. Gilberto Hernandez (MEX), 2572
66. Rafael Leitão (BRA), 2567
67. Alexander Ivanov (USA), 2567
68. Karen Asrian (ARM), 2566
69. Alexei Bezgodov (RUS), 2557
70. Hannes Stefánsson (ISL), 2557
71. Abhijit Kunte (IND), 2556
72. Đào Thiên Hải (VIE), 2555
73. Evgenij Agrest (SWE), 2554
74. Sergey Volkov (RUS), 2554
75. Jesús Nogueiras (CUB), 2552
76. Sune Berg Hansen (DEN), 2545
77. Hichem Hamdouchi (MAR), 2541
78. Bartłomiej Macieja (POL), 2536
79. Alexander Rustemov (RUS), 2534
80. Mikhail Rytshagov (EST), 2529
81. Emir Dizdarevic (BIH), 2527
82. Igor Nataf (FRA), 2526
83. Darcy Lima (BRA), 2525
84. Aloyzas Kveinys (LTU), 2522
85. Ivan Zaja (CRO), 2513, IM
86. Paweł Blehm (POL), 2510, IM
87. Dibyendu Barua (IND), 2502
88. Mohammed Al-Modiahki (QAT), 2499
89. Buenaventura Villamayor (PHI), 2495
90. Ehsan Ghaem Maghami (IRI), 2488, no title
91. Michele Godena (ITA), 2485
92. Fouad El Taher (EGY), 2485, IM
93. Aleksandar Wohl (AUS), 2461, IM
94. Rodrigo Vasquez (CHI), 2454, IM
95. Imad Hakki (SYR), 2429, IM
96. Ibrahim Hasan Labib (EGY), 2426, IM
97. Fabian Fiorito (ARG), 2418, IM
98. Amir Bagheri (IRI), 2409, IM
99. Amon Simutowe (ZAM), 2322, IM
100. Alexander Utnasunov (RUS), 2257, no title

Qualification

Players qualified for the championship according to the following criteria:

1. four semi-finalists of the previous championship (Alexander Khalifman, Vladimir Akopian, Michael Adams, Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu);
2. juniors rated 2600 or higher in the rating lists of January 2000 to July 2000;
3. the World Junior Champions 1999 (Aleksandr Galkin) and 2000 (Lázaro Bruzón);
4. the Women's World Champion 1999 (Xie Jun);
5. three nominees of the FIDE President;
6. one nominee of the organizers;
7. 62 qualifiers from the zonal tournaments;
8. one nominee from each of the Continental Presidents (for a total of four players);
9. a sufficient number of best rated players, to bring the total number of participants to 100 (the average of January and July 2000 rating lists was used);

Playing conditions

The championship was a knockout tournament similar to other FIDE World Chess Championships between 1998 and 2004: the players were paired for short matches, with losers eliminated. 28 players (27 best rated and Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu, one of the quarterfinalists of the previous championship) were given byes to the second round. The field of 100 participants was reduced to one winner over seven rounds.

Rounds 1–5 consisted of a two-game match, followed by tie breaks at faster time controls if required. The time control for regular games was 100 minutes, with 50 minutes added after move 40, 10 minutes added after move 60, and 30 seconds added after each move starting with move 1. Tie breaks consisted of two rapid chess games (25 minutes each + 10 seconds per move); followed by two games with shorter time controls if required (15 minutes + 10 seconds per move); followed by a series of blitz games (4 minutes + 10 seconds per move for White, 5 minutes + 10 seconds per move for Black, first player to win is the winner of the match). The semifinals (round 6) were best of four games, and the final was best of six games, with the same conditions for the tie-breaks.

Schedule

There was one rest day during round 4 and two rest days during round 6. The tie-breaks of rounds 1–5 were played in the evening following the second game. The final took place one month after rounds 1–6.

• Round 1: 27 November 2000, 28 November 2000 (tiebreaks on 29 November 2000)
• Round 2: 30 November 2000, 1 December 2000 (tiebreaks on 2 December 2000)
• Round 3: 3 December 2000, 4 December 2000 (tiebreaks on 5 December 2000)
• Round 4: 6 December 2000, 7 December 2000 (tiebreaks on 8 December 2000)
• Round 5: 9 December 2000, 10 December 2000 (tiebreaks on 11 December 2000)
• Round 6: 12 December 2000 – 15 December 2000 (tiebreaks on 16 December 2000)
• Round 7: 20 December 2000 – 26 December 2000, with a rest day on 23 December 2000 (tiebreaks on 27 December 2000)

Results, rounds 1–4

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4

Section 5

Section 6

Section 7

Section 8

Results, rounds 5–7

Championship final

The final match of the FIDE World Championship featured Viswanathan Anand, the pre-tournament favorite and No. 1 seed, and Alexei Shirov, who had previously been denied a chance to challenge Garry Kasparov for the Classical World Championship despite winning a candidates' match two years earlier. After an uneventful 34-move draw in Game 1, the two players exchanged pieces quickly in Game 2, leading to a relatively even rook-and-pawn endgame after 30 moves. But Shirov gave Anand an opening with 47... Ke5?, allowing the latter to preserve two passed pawns and turn them into a winning advantage. Anand would strike again in the third game – with Shirov on the attack, Anand held a strong defensive position until 27... Qg5! followed by 28. Qf3?! from Shirov gave him a solid advantage.

In the decisive Game 4, Shirov played a sharp attacking game, knowing a victory was required to stay in contention for the championship. But he faltered with 19... Qf6?, missing a sound queen sacrifice that would have led to an equal endgame with winning opportunities (19... Qxe2 20. Bxe2 Bf2 21. Rh1 e5) and followed with 20... Qxc3?, leaving his h-file bishop hanging. Anand was able to translate the resulting advantage into a winning position.

FIDE World Chess Championship Final 2000 Rating 1 2 3 4 Points Alexei Shirov (Spain) 2746 ½ 0 0 0 ½ Viswanathan Anand (India) 2774 ½ 1 1 1 3½

External links