Sensation in Biel: Kosteniuk beats Wang Hao ELO 2739 and finishes above Magnus Carlsen

Today I was invited to one of the world’s most prestigious exhibition blitz tournaments, in Biel, Switzerland. Most of the other players were super-Grandmasters 2700+ including world’s #1 Magnus Carlsen (2837). In the quarter finals, I was able to beat 1.5-0.5 Chinese super-GM Wang Hao (2739), rated almost 300 points above me, and was only eliminated in the semi-finals against GM Etienne Bacrot (2713), who created the other sensation of the day by beating Magnus Carlsen. The tournament was finally won by Hikaru Nakamura (2778) who beat Etienne Bacrot in the final, congratulations to him!




Here is the final table of the tournament:




Full rankings:

1. Winner: Hikaru Nakamura

2. Finalist: Etienne Bacrot

3-4. Semi-Finalists: Alexander Morozevich, Alexandra Kosteniuk

5-8. Quarter-Finalists: Wang Hao, Magnus Carlsen, Yannick Pelletier, Harikrishna







Above: Etienne Bacrot created the first sensation by beating Magnus Carlsen







Above: I (Alexandra Kosteniuk) created the second sensation by beating Wang Hao (2739)







Above: All the players in the quarter finals, Carlsen, Nakamura, Morozevich, Wang Hao, Bacrot, Harikrishna, Pelletier, and me, Alexandra Kosteniuk







Above: Lots of spectators were watching our game Wan Hao – Kosteniuk in which I managed to mate my opponent on g2







Above: Etienne Bacrot eliminated Magnus Carlsen in the quarter finals







Above: A view of the players of the Biel Blitz Exhibition 2012







Above: Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk beats super-GM Wan Hao (2739) 1.5-0.5







Above: Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk beats super-GM Wan Hao (2739) 1.5-0.5







Above: You don’t want to miss this 2-minute YouTube chess video on the “brutal” checkmate of the game Wang Hao – Kosteniuk







Above: Magnus Carlsen will lose this game to Etienne Bacrot and will be eliminated







Above: That’s me looking at the demonstration board







Above: That’s me playing GM Etienne Bacrot (2713), I lost the first game and drew the second of my match







Above: The winners of the Biel Show Blitz: 1. Nakamura, 2. Bacrot, 3-4. Kosteniuk (and Morozevich not in the photo)







Above: Players of the Biel Show Blitz: Carlsen, Wan Hao, Pelletier (places 5-8), Kosteniuk (places 3-4 with Morozevich not in photo), Bacrot (second place), grand winner Hikaru Nakamura, and Harikrishna (places 5-8)







Posted by yours truly Chess Queen™ Alexandra Kosteniuk
12th women’s world chess champion
www.chessqueen.com




Tags: Alexandra Kosteniuk, biel chess 2012, wang hao
Posted in Chess Tournament, Chess Video | 17 Comments »