Capablanca Chess Memorial 2013: Zoltan Almasi Wins Title

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hi everyone, 

For the first time since 2010, the Elite Group of the Capablanca Memorial did not see Ukrainian GM Vassily Ivanchuk among the participants.In his first trip to the Caribbean island, Hungarian Zoltan Almasi (2689) made a great impression. He obtained 6.5 points, thanks to four victories, five draws and only one defeat. This veteran 37 years-old player added 15 points to his Elo rating, which allowed him to join the 2700-club, according to a report by Chessdom. The only defeat suffered by Almasi was against the surprise of the event, GM Yuniesky Quesada. The player from Villa Clara seemed destined to finish in last place as he was by far the lowest rated player, however, he demonstrated a great level that allowed him to lead the event after eight rounds. He eventually finished in second place half a point behind the Hungarian.

GM Leinier Domínguez has already participated in three edition of this event and has not lost a single game. This year, he impressed with victories over Dmitry Andreikin (2727) and Pentala Harikrishna (2705). He added four points to his elo rating and finished third in the standings.

WGM Oleiny Linares (2321) showed an impressive level at the Premier Group. She took first place after winning five games and drawing in four occasions. This was enough for her to get an IM norm. Nicaraguan IM Carlos Davila (2304) finished in second place due to a worse tiebreak score.

IM Juan Carlos Obregón (2501) finished first in the Open Section after getting 8/9 points. GM Lazaro Bruzon, who arrived as the clear favorite, did not have a good tournament. He lost over seven elo points and fell below the coveted 2700 points.

Final Standings – Elite Group:
1 Zoltan Almasi HUN 6.5
2 Yuniesky Quesada Perez CUB 6
Leinier Dominguez Perez CUB 6
4 Dmitry Andreikin RUS 4.5
5 Ernesto Inarkiev RUS 4
6 P. Harikrishna IND 3

Final Standings – Premier Group:1 WGM Linares Napoles Oleiny 2321 CUB 7
2 IM Davila Carlos 2304 NCA 7
3 FM Borges Feria Yasel 2426 CUB 6½
4 WGM Arribas Robaina Maritza 2321 CUB 5
WGM Vigoa Apecheche Yanira 2319 CUB 5
6 WGM Ordaz Valdes Lisandra Teresa 2361 CUB 3½
7 FM Sanchez Alvarez Roberto Carlo 2409 CUB 3½
8 FM Perez Avendano Paul Omar 2264 MEX 3
9 IM Pazos Gambarrotti Plinio 2298 ECU 3
10 IM Madrigal Mariano 2167 NCA 1½

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