FIDE World Chess Championship 2000
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Chess |
| Location | Iran Tehran, India New Delhi |
| Dates | 27 November 2000–26 December 2000 |
| Administrator | FIDE |
Tournament format | Single-elimination tournament |
| Host(s) | Chess Federation of Iran, All India Chess Federation |
| Participants | 100 |
| Purse | $3 million |
| Final positions | |
| Champion | India Viswanathan Anand |
| Runner-up | Spain Alexei Shirov |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 99 |
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
[edit | edit source]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.[1] 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.[2]
Participants
[edit | edit source]All players are Grandmasters unless indicated otherwise.
- File:Flag of India.svg Viswanathan Anand (IND), 2762
Alexander Morozevich (RUS), 2756- File:Flag of England.svg Michael Adams (ENG), 2755
- File:Flag of Spain.svg Alexei Shirov (ESP), 2746
- File:Flag of Hungary.svg Peter Leko (HUN), 2743
Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR), 2719- File:Flag of Bulgaria.svg Veselin Topalov (BUL), 2707
Evgeny Bareev (RUS), 2702- File:Flag of Poland.svg Michael Krasenkov (POL), 2702
- File:Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Rustam Kasimdzhanov (UZB), 2690
Peter Svidler (RUS), 2689
Boris Gelfand (ISR), 2681- File:Flag of England.svg Nigel Short (ENG), 2677
Ilya Smirin (ISR), 2677
Alexey Dreev (RUS), 2676
Zurab Azmaiparashvili (GEO), 2673
Sergei Rublevsky (RUS), 2670- File:Flag of Hungary.svg Zoltán Almási (HUN), 2668
- File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Xu Jun (CHN), 2668
- File:Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Mikhail Gurevich (BEL), 2667
Alexander Khalifman (RUS), 2667
Sergei Movsesian (CZE), 2666- File:Flag of Bulgaria.svg Kiril Georgiev (BUL), 2661
Vladimir Akopian (ARM), 2660- File:Flag of Slovenia.svg Alexander Beliavsky (SLO), 2659
Vladislav Tkachiev (FRA), 2657- File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg Peng Xiaomin (CHN), 2657
- File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Jeroen Piket (NED), 2649
Joël Lautier (FRA), 2648
Alexei Fedorov (BLR), 2646- File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Loek van Wely (NED), 2643
- File:Flag of the United States.svg Boris Gulko (USA), 2643
- File:Flag of Moldova.svg Viktor Bologan (MDA), 2641
Gilberto Milos (BRA), 2633
Ruslan Ponomariov (UKR), 2630
Alexander Onischuk (UKR), 2627
Konstantin Sakaev (RUS), 2627- File:Flag of Estonia.svg Jaan Ehlvest (EST), 2627
Andrei Kharlov (RUS), 2627
Rafael Vaganian (ARM), 2623- File:Flag of England.svg Jonathan Speelman (ENG), 2623
Pavel Tregubov (RUS), 2620
Étienne Bacrot (FRA), 2613
Lev Psakhis (ISR), 2611
Emil Sutovsky (ISR), 2609
Alexander Grischuk (RUS), 2606
Vladimir Malakhov (RUS), 2605
Vladimir Baklan (UKR), 2599
Smbat Lputian (ARM), 2598- File:Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Evgeny Vladimirov (KAZ), 2598
- File:Flag of the United States.svg Alex Yermolinsky (USA), 2596
Artashes Minasian (ARM), 2595- File:Flag of Germany.svg Christopher Lutz (GER), 2595
- File:Flag of Moldova.svg Viorel Iordăchescu (MDA), 2594
- File:Flag of Romania.svg Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (ROM), 2592
Alexej Alexandrov (BLR), 2591
Aleksandr Galkin (RUS), 2587
Alexandre Lesiège (CAN), 2584- File:Flag of Indonesia.svg Utut Adianto (INA), 2583
- File:Flag of Romania.svg Vladislav Nevednichy (ROM), 2582
- File:Flag of the United States.svg Joel Benjamin (USA), 2577
- File:Flag of the United States.svg Grigory Serper (USA), 2574
- File:Flag of India.svg Krishnan Sasikiran (IND), 2573
- File:Flag of Hungary.svg Alexander Chernin (HUN), 2572
- File:Flag of Mexico.svg Gilberto Hernandez (MEX), 2572
Rafael Leitão (BRA), 2567- File:Flag of the United States.svg Alexander Ivanov (USA), 2567
Karen Asrian (ARM), 2566
Alexei Bezgodov (RUS), 2557- File:Flag of Iceland.svg Hannes Stefánsson (ISL), 2557
- File:Flag of India.svg Abhijit Kunte (IND), 2556
Đào Thiên Hải (VIE), 2555
Evgenij Agrest (SWE), 2554
Sergey Volkov (RUS), 2554- File:Flag of Cuba.svg Jesús Nogueiras (CUB), 2552
- File:Flag of Denmark.svg Sune Berg Hansen (DEN), 2545
- File:Flag of Morocco.svg Hichem Hamdouchi (MAR), 2541
- File:Flag of Poland.svg Bartłomiej Macieja (POL), 2536
Alexander Rustemov (RUS), 2534- File:Flag of Estonia.svg Mikhail Rytshagov (EST), 2529
- File:Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg Emir Dizdarevic (BIH), 2527
Igor Nataf (FRA), 2526
Darcy Lima (BRA), 2525- File:Flag of Lithuania.svg Aloyzas Kveinys (LTU), 2522
Ivan Zaja (CRO), 2513, IM- File:Flag of Poland.svg Paweł Blehm (POL), 2510, IM
- File:Flag of India.svg Dibyendu Barua (IND), 2502
- File:Flag of Qatar.svg Mohammed Al-Modiahki (QAT), 2499
- File:Flag of the Philippines.svg Buenaventura Villamayor (PHI), 2495
- File:Flag of Iran.svg Ehsan Ghaem Maghami (IRI), 2488, no title
Michele Godena (ITA), 2485- File:Flag of Egypt.svg Fouad El Taher (EGY), 2485, IM
Aleksandar Wohl (AUS), 2461, IM- File:Flag of Chile.svg Rodrigo Vasquez (CHI), 2454, IM
- File:Flag of Syria (2025-).svg Imad Hakki (SYR), 2429, IM
- File:Flag of Egypt.svg Ibrahim Hasan Labib (EGY), 2426, IM
- File:Flag of Argentina.svg Fabian Fiorito (ARG), 2418, IM
- File:Flag of Iran.svg Amir Bagheri (IRI), 2409, IM
- File:Flag of Zambia.svg Amon Simutowe (ZAM), 2322, IM
Alexander Utnasunov (RUS), 2257, no title
Qualification
[edit | edit source]Players qualified for the championship according to the following criteria:
- four semi-finalists of the previous championship (Alexander Khalifman, Vladimir Akopian, Michael Adams, Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu);
- juniors rated 2600 or higher in the rating lists of January 2000 to July 2000;
- the World Junior Champions 1999 (Aleksandr Galkin) and 2000 (Lázaro Bruzón);
- the Women's World Champion 1999 (Xie Jun);
- three nominees of the FIDE President;
- one nominee of the organizers;
- 62 qualifiers from the zonal tournaments;
- one nominee from each of the Continental Presidents (for a total of four players);
- 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
[edit | edit source]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
[edit | edit source]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
[edit | edit source]Section 1
[edit | edit source]| First round | Second round | Third round | Fourth round | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | India Viswanathan Anand | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 33 | Moldova Viktor Bologan | ½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 33 | Moldova Viktor Bologan | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 70 | Iceland Hannes Stefánsson | ½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | India Viswanathan Anand | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 49 | ½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 17 | ½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 49 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 49 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 86 | Poland Paweł Blehm | ½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | India Viswanathan Anand | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 78 | Poland Bartłomiej Macieja | ½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Poland Michael Krasenkov | 4½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 78 | Poland Bartłomiej Macieja | 5½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 41 | England Jon Speelman | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 78 | Poland Bartłomiej Macieja | 2½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 78 | Poland Bartłomiej Macieja | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 25 | Slovenia Alexander Beliavsky | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 25 | Slovenia Alexander Beliavsky | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 57 | ½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 57 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 93 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
Section 2
[edit | edit source]| First round | Second round | Third round | Fourth round | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Hungary Peter Leko | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 74 | ½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 37 | 2½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 74 | 3½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Hungary Peter Leko | 3½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 21 | 4½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 21 | 2½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 53 | Germany Christopher Lutz | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 53 | Germany Christopher Lutz | 2½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 90 | Iran Ehsan Ghaem Maghami | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 21 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 66 | ½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 13 | England Nigel Short | 2½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 82 | 3½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 45 | ½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 82 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 82 | ½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 66 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 29 | ½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 66 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 66 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 61 | United States Joel Benjamin | ½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 61 | United States Joel Benjamin | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 97 | Argentina Fabian Fiorito | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
Section 3
[edit | edit source]| First round | Second round | Third round | Fourth round | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | England Michael Adams | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 72 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 35 | ½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 72 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | England Michael Adams | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 51 | United States Alex Yermolinsky | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 19 | China Xu Jun | ½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 51 | United States Alex Yermolinsky | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 51 | United States Alex Yermolinsky | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 88 | Qatar Mohammed Al-Modiahki | ½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | England Michael Adams | 2½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 43 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 43 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 80 | Estonia Mikhail Rytshagov | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | 2½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 27 | China Peng Xiaomin | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 27 | China Peng Xiaomin | 2½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 59 | Indonesia Utut Adianto | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 59 | Indonesia Utut Adianto | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 95 | Syria Imad Hakki | ½ | |||||||||||||||||
Section 4
[edit | edit source]| First round | Second round | Third round | Fourth round | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Bulgaria Veselin Topalov | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 39 | ½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 39 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 76 | Denmark Sune Berg Hansen | ½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Bulgaria Veselin Topalov | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 23 | Bulgaria Kiril Georgiev | ½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 23 | Bulgaria Kiril Georgiev | 3½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 55 | Romania Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu | 2½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Bulgaria Veselin Topalov | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 15 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 47 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 47 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 84 | Lithuania Aloyzas Kveinys | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 15 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 31 | Netherlands Loek van Wely | ½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 31 | Netherlands Loek van Wely | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 68 | ½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 31 | Netherlands Loek van Wely | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 63 | India Krishnan Sasikiran | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 63 | India Krishnan Sasikiran | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 99 | Zambia Amon Simutowe | ½ | |||||||||||||||||
Section 5
[edit | edit source]| First round | Second round | Third round | Fourth round | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 34 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 34 | 2½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 71 | India Abhijit Kunte | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 50 | Kazakhstan Evgeny Vladimirov | ½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 18 | Hungary Zoltán Almási | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 50 | Kazakhstan Evgeny Vladimirov | 2½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 50 | Kazakhstan Evgeny Vladimirov | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 87 | India Dibyendu Barua | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | ½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 26 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Uzbekistan Rustam Kasimdzhanov | 2½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 42 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 42 | 3½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 79 | 2½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Uzbekistan Rustam Kasimdzhanov | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 26 | 2½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 26 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 58 | ½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 58 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 94 | Chile Rodrigo Vasquez | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
Section 6
[edit | edit source]| First round | Second round | Third round | Fourth round | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 38 | Estonia Jaan Ehlvest | 2½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 38 | Estonia Jaan Ehlvest | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 75 | Cuba Jesús Nogueiras | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 38 | Estonia Jaan Ehlvest | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 22 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 22 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 54 | Moldova Viorel Iordăchescu | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 54 | Moldova Viorel Iordăchescu | 2½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 91 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 38 | Estonia Jaan Ehlvest | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 46 | 2½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 46 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 46 | 2½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 83 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 46 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 62 | United States Grigory Serper | ½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 30 | Belarus Alexei Fedorov | ½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 67 | United States Alexander Ivanov | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 67 | United States Alexander Ivanov | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 62 | United States Grigory Serper | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 62 | United States Grigory Serper | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 98 | Iran Amir Bagheri | ½ | |||||||||||||||||
Section 7
[edit | edit source]| First round | Second round | Third round | Fourth round | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Spain Alexei Shirov | 2½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 36 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 36 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 73 | ½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Spain Alexei Shirov | 2½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 20 | Belgium Mikhail Gurevich | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 20 | Belgium Mikhail Gurevich | 2½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 52 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 52 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 89 | Philippines Buenaventura Villamayor | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Spain Alexei Shirov | 2½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 12 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 81 | Bosnia and Herzegovina Emir Dizdarevic | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 44 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 81 | Bosnia and Herzegovina Emir Dizdarevic | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 28 | Netherlands Jeroen Piket | ½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 28 | Netherlands Jeroen Piket | 2½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 65 | Mexico Gilberto Hernandez | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 28 | Netherlands Jeroen Piket | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 60 | Romania Vladislav Nevednichy | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 60 | Romania Vladislav Nevednichy | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 96 | Egypt Ibrahim Hasan Labib | ½ | |||||||||||||||||
Section 8
[edit | edit source]| First round | Second round | Third round | Fourth round | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 40 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 40 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 77 | Morocco Hichem Hamdouchi | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 56 | Belarus Alexej Alexandrov | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 24 | ½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 56 | Belarus Alexej Alexandrov | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 56 | Belarus Alexej Alexandrov | 4½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 92 | Egypt Fouad El Taher | 3½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | 2½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 32 | United States Boris Gulko | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 16 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 48 | ½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 48 | 3½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 85 | 2½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | ½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 32 | United States Boris Gulko | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 32 | United States Boris Gulko | 2½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 69 | 1½ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 32 | United States Boris Gulko | 3½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 64 | Hungary Alexander Chernin | 2½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 64 | Hungary Alexander Chernin | 1½ | |||||||||||||||||
| 100 | ½ | ||||||||||||||||||
Results, rounds 5–7
[edit | edit source]| Quarterfinals | Semifinals (best of 4) | Final (best of 6) | ||||||||||||
| 1 | India V Anand | 3½ | ||||||||||||
| 21 | 2½ | |||||||||||||
| 1 | India V Anand | 2½ | ||||||||||||
| 3 | England M Adams | 1½ | ||||||||||||
| 3 | England M Adams | 1½ | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Bulgaria V Topalov | ½ | ||||||||||||
| 1 | India V Anand | 3½ | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Spain A Shirov | ½ | ||||||||||||
| 26 | 1½ | |||||||||||||
| 46 | 2½ | |||||||||||||
| 46 | 1½ | |||||||||||||
| 4 | Spain A Shirov | 2½ | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Spain A Shirov | 2½ | ||||||||||||
| 8 | 1½ | |||||||||||||
Championship final
[edit | edit source]| a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | ||
| 8 | 8 | ||||||||
| 7 | 7 | ||||||||
| 6 | 6 | ||||||||
| 5 | 5 | ||||||||
| 4 | 4 | ||||||||
| 3 | 3 | ||||||||
| 2 | 2 | ||||||||
| 1 | 1 | ||||||||
| a | b | c | d | e | f | g | h | ||
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.[3]
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.[4]
FIDE World Chess Championship Final 2000 Rating 1 2 3 4 Points File:Flag of Spain.svg Alexei Shirov (Spain) 2746 ½ 0 0 0 ½ File:Flag of India.svg Viswanathan Anand (India) 2774 ½ 1 1 1 3½
References
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External links
[edit | edit source]- World Chess Championships
- 2000 in chess
- International sports competitions hosted by Iran
- International sports competitions hosted by India
- 2000 in Indian sport
- 2000 in Iranian sport
- 2000s in Delhi
- 2000s in Tehran
- Chess in India
- Chess in Iran
- India–Iran relations
- Sports competitions in Delhi
- Sports competitions in Tehran
- November 2000 sports events in Asia
- December 2000 sports events in Asia