Aronian Defends Amber Again

Armenian GM Levon Aronian successfully defend his Amber title consecutively which he won last year. Two draws against Veselin Topalov secured the half-point overall victory. Equal second were Vishy Anand and Vladimir Kramnik, with Magnus Carlsen half a point behind.

 

The 18th Amber Blindfold and Rapid tournament, organized by the Association Max Euwe in Monaco, is taking place from March 14 (first round) to March 26 (last round) at the Palais de la Mediterranée, splendidly located on the famous Promenade des Anglais in Nice. The total prize fund is € 216,000. The rate of play is 25 minutes per game per player. With every move made in the blindfold games 20 seconds is added to the clock, with every move made in the rapid games 10 seconds is added. Every day four sessions are played: two blindfold and two rapid games.

Final standings (after eleven rounds)

Blindfold	Rapid	Combined
1.  Aronian    7        Carlsen    7        Kramnik    7    4.  Anand      6½     Morozevich 6½ 6.  Leko       5½     Topalov    5½ 8.  Ivanchuk   5        Radjabov   5    10. Karjakin   4½ 11. Wang Yue   3½ 12. Kamsky     3	1.  Anand      7        Aronian    7        Kamsky     7    4.  Kramnik    6½ 5.  Carlsen    6        Karjakin   6    7.  Topalov    5    8.  Ivanchuk   4½     Leko       4½     Morozevich 4½ 11. Radjabov   4        Wang Yue   4	1.  Aronian    14    2.  Anand      13½     Kramnik    13½ 4.  Carlsen    13    5.  Morozevich 11    6.  Karjakin   10½     Topalov    10½ 8.  Kamsky     10        Leko       10    10. Ivanchuk   9½ 11. Radjabov   9    12. Wang Yue   7½