Golden oldie Boris Gelfand rolled back the years today as the chess world welcomed back a host of great players from the past in the chess24 Legends of Chess super-tournament.
Gelfand, who was ranked world number 3 in 1990, thrashed the 2020 world number 3 Ding Liren in what was a stunning start to the $150,000 battle of the generations event.
The 52-year-old, playing in his first major online tournament, was so dominant he signed off with a 13-move win as fans on social media proclaimed him the "OG" - or "Original Gangster".
Gelfand, nicknamed "Gandalf", is the most senior in a field of top players from the past and present taking part in the Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour event.
He won game 2 after a first game draw and then came very close to beating his 27-year-old opponent outright with a game to spare. That disappointment didn't stop him though. Game 4 saw Gelfand post his super-swift win to comprehensively end the match 3-1.
"Of course it's great to beat one of the best players in the world," Gelfand said afterward. "To win against him it's a really great feeling."
Vladimir Kramnik, the man who conquered Garry Kasparov to become the 14th World Chess Champion, also rattled his younger opponent, Russia's number 1 Ian Nepomniachtchi, but ultimately fell short.
Kramnik, aged 45, took the lead against the world number 4 in game 2 but Nepomniachtchi hit back in the next game. The match went to an Armageddon play-off which the younger player smoothly won.
India's greatest ever player Vishy Anand, 50, and eight-time Russian champ Peter Svidler drew three games in a row before Anand blundered in the final game to hand his opponent victory.
Meanwhile, reigning World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen battered his rival Anish Giri, the Netherlands number 1. Carlsen won the second and fourth games to post a 3-1 score.
In his interview afterward, Carlsen confirmed rumors that he has not played on land.
"Yeah, I'm on a boat," he said. "But I'm going back on Thursday so I'll be playing from home."
Asked about his on-going Twitter exchanges with Giri, Carlsen added: "If [Giri] feels offended by something that wasn't supposed to happen. It was always friendly banter to me.
"I do take pretty serious exception to the notion there's a PR campaign against him because Team Magnus sees him as a serious threat..."
The legends match-up between 2004 world title challenger Peter Leko and Vasyl "Chucky" Ivanchuk finished all square and went to an Armageddon play-off with the Hungarian winning.
The event, the fourth leg of the $1 million Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour, runs until August 5 and will carry a $150,000 prize fund.
The winner will scoop a top prize of $45,000 and the last of the coveted spots in the tour’s Grand Final in August.
Carlsen, Anand and Kramnik are the last three undisputed world champions together in one tournament.
Anand is the man Carlsen wrestled his world title from seven years ago, while Kramnik ushered in a new era in chess in 2000.
Commentary is provided by Jan Gustafsson, Rustam Kasimdzhanov, and Tania Sachdev and special guests - including more legends to be announced later. The event is also be broadcast in 10 languages by chess24.com.
The official tournament social media hashtag is #ChessLegends.
Tournament rules and schedule
The time control will be a rapid 15m + 10s from move 1 played in the chess24 Playzone. There will be two stages starting with a 10-player round-robin (July 21-29) with each round consisting of 4-game matches and Armageddon tiebreaks if needed.
The top four will advance to the knockout semi-finals (July 31-August 2) and two will go through to the final (August 3-5). July 30 is a free day. All sessions will begin at 16:00 CEST.
Highlights in English:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Rmx6IFrFYxYPrNhZVtxZbRWTiMAIICvc?usp=sharing
New files at around 23.00 CEST
Rough edit highlights:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SItw6DwCyoTsZ0WiVAjw4BkVHEaGQFDI?usp=sharing
New files ready around 02.00 CEST
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Leon Watson
leon@chessable.com
+447786 078770
