The 12th of September marked the end of the first-ever international tournament held in honor of the great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy.
The tournament rating favorite, Anish Giri of Netherlands, has become its winner with a remarkable result of 8 out of 9 points.
Anish Giri, “I enjoyed my performance in Yasnaya Polyana. The result proved somewhat too high because on the second day I definitely did not play at the corresponding level. However, luck sided with me to the extent that nothing could stop. It goes without saying that I am a big fan of Leo Tolstoy’s creative works and I am very happy that this tournament has been organised. I have not been aware that Tolstoy was a chess fan, but my taking part in the sightseeing tour filled this gap. I hope this event will become traditional”.
Final standings:
1. Anish Giri (Netherlands) – 8 out of 9 points
2. Nodirbek Abdusattorov (Uzbekistan) – 5.5
3. Boris Gelfand (Israel) – 5
4-5. David Paravyan, Dmitry Andreikin (both from Russia) – 4.5
6-8. Anton Korobov (Ukraine), Maxim Matlakov, Evgeny Tomashevsky (all from Russia) – 4
9. Kirill Alekseenko (Russia) – 3.5
10. Nikita Vitiugov (Russia) – 2.
The winner received a cup manufactured at the Imperial Porcelain Factory specifically for this event.
An extensive additional program accompanied the Leo Tolstoy Cup: a 100-board simul with the GMs participating in the tournament, a mass blitz tournament for children, a lecture and a quiz by the curator of the CFR Chess Museum and candidate of historical sciences Dmitry Oleikniov. The Cultural Centre Yasnaya Polyana that hosted the tournament displayed the themed posters and unique chess sets Staunton and Regence.
The games were commented in Russian by GM Sergey Shipov (you could hear him comment in the tent set up in front of the Palace of Culture), and in English by GM Evgenij Miroshnichenko.
The tournament was hosted by the Leo Tolstoy Museum-Estate Yasnaya Polyana and the Chess Federation of Russia with the support of the Elena and Gennady Timchenko Foundation.
