Chess Classic Mainz 2006
On site report by John Henderson - Day 3
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The Chess960 fever continues on day three of the Mainz Chess Classic here
in Germany, as a whole galaxy of stars from the chess firmament showed up for
the FiNet Open.
Morozevich, Mamedyarov, Grischuk, Bacrot, Bareev and Vaganian were just a handful
of the 52 GMs (!), along with the 26 IMs (!) who were among the 250-player field
for the first day of the eleven round (and yes, each round has a different starting
position!) rapid event.
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among the field was the chess-mad Burgomaster of Mainz, Mayor Jens Beutel, who,
according to organizer Hans-Walter Schmitt, “gives unconditional support
to chess in the city he runs – and that’s why the tournament is held
here!” And Beutel’s is no mean player: He’s a former German
Bundesliga player for SV Mombach with a rating of around 2100.
 At
the end of the first day of the FiNet Open, Mamedyarov and Bacrot lead the field
with unbeaten scores of 5/6, closely followed by Aleksandrov, Naiditsch and Postny
on 4.5.
Of course, all this chess is just a curtain-raiser for the main event that
got underway this evening – two eight-game matches featuring Anand and Radjabov
at normal chess, and the Chess960 World Championship match between Svidler and
Aronian.
Anand
vs Radjabov rapids (0,5-1,5) after round 2.
Aronian
vs Svidler Chess960 (2,0-0,0) after round 2.
Photo Gallery - day 3
Day 3 main play hall
First day of the Chess960 FiNet Open
 
Bacrot and Mamedyarov leaders with 5/6
 
Galaxy of stars: Grischuk and Morozevich
Stelar event: Radjabov vs Anand (rapid normal chess)
 
Radjabov vs Anand after round 2 (1,5-0,5)
Chess960 World Championship match between Svidler and Aronian
 
Svidler vs Aronian after round 2 (0,5-1,5)
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