The Tal Memorial concluded in Moscow with former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik winning with 6 out of 9 and Vassily Ivanchuk and Magnus Carlsen close behind with 5.5 out of 9. None of the top three finishers had any losses. Current World Champion Viswanathan Anand lost in the final round to Levon Aronian to drop to 5 out of 9, leaving him tied with Aronian for fourth and fifth. Carlsen was widely expected to do much better after his incredible performance in Nanjing (see Carlsen Wins to Finish Nanjing with 8/10 and Magnus Carlsen Dominates Nanjing), but he was suffering from the flu for the first half of the tournament (which prompted Ivanchuk to wear a mask during their game) and did not recover until the halfway point. However, after finishing with two wins he not only tied Ivanchuk for second but also gained enough rating points to edge out the temporarily inactive Veselin Topalov for the number one spot on the Live Ratings List, making him the youngest number one ever. You can download all games in PGN from a number of sources, including ChessBase and the official site, or view the games online at Chessgames.com. The official tournament site is only available in Russian. Kramnik and Carlsen’s next tournament will be the London Chess Classic, December 8-15.
Round 9
- Pictorial Impressions from Moscow by WGM Yana Melnikova
- Kramnik Wins Tal Memorial with annotations by Ian Rogers
- Tal Memorial 09 R9: Kramnik Untouchable by Mig Greengard
- Kramnik wins Tal Memorial 2009, Carlsen number one, with annotations by Michael Humphreys
- Kramnik Deserved Winner in Day of Slapdash Chess by Mark Crowther
- Tal Memorial, Round 9 annotations by Dennis Monokroussos
- Anand – Aronian annotated by Hector Leyva
- Leko – Carlsen annotated by GM Bauer, GM Safarli, NM Karagianis, and Jason Juett
- Ivanchuk – Kramnik annotated by GM Bauer, GM Safarli, NM Karagianis, and Jason Juett
Round 8
- Carlsen Beats Ponomariov with notes by GM Dmitri Reinderman
- Carlsen beats Ponomariov, report by Michael von Keitz with annotations by Michael Humphreys
- Tal Memorial 09: Carlsen (& Tal) in Moscow by Mig Greengard
- Tal Memorial, Round 8 annotations by Dennis Monokrousso
- Carlsen Finally Wins by Mark Crowther
- Carlsen – Ponomariov by GM Bauer, GM Safarli, NM Karagianis, and Jason Juett
- Carlsen – Ponomariov annotated by Wilfredo Sariego
Round 7
- Ivanchuk Beats Gelfand, with annotations by Wouter Spoelman
- Ivanchuk beats Gelfand, Morozevich interview, report by Michael von Keitz
- Ivanchuk Wins in “Bit Rubbish” Round by Mark Crowther
- Tal Memorial, The Classics by Mig Greengard
- Svidler – Carlsen by GM Bauer, GM Safarli, NM Karagianis, and Jason Juett
- Ivanchuk – Gelfand annotated by Antonio Torrecillas
Round 6
- Kramnik 2.0 leads in Moscow by Peter Doggers, with notes by Dmitri Reinderman
- Kramnik Back in the Lead Alone by Mark Crowther (with notes)
- Kramnik, Ivanchuk, Gelfand win, report by Michael von Keitz
- Tal Memorial, Round 6 annotations by Dennis Monokroussos
- Morozevich – Ivanchuk annotated by Wilfredo Sariego
- Morozevich – Ivanchuk annotated by Malcolm Pein
- Morozevich – Ivanchuk annotated by
- Carlsen – Anand annotated by GM Bauer, GM Safarli, NM Karagianis, and Jason Juett
Round 5
- Anand beats Leko, Leads with Kramnik by Peter Doggers with notes by Merijn van Delft
- Anand beats Leko, joins Kramnik in the lead, report by Michael von Keitz
- Anand Joins Kramnik in Lead by Mark Crowther
- Anand Steps Up by Mig Greengard
- Ivanchuk’s Mouth Cap by Peter Doggers
- Tal Memorial, Round 5 by Dennis Monokroussos
- Aronian – Morozevich annotated by Guillermo Soppe
- Anand – Leko annotated by Malcolm Pein
Round 4
- Kramnik Beats Svidler, Grabs Lead in Moscow by Peter Doggers with notes by Robert Ris
- Kramnik beats Svidler, leads in Moscow from ChessBase
- Second Win for Kramnik by Mark Crowther
- Lost Gruenfeld Weekend by Mig Greengard
- Tal Memorial, Round 4 by Dennis Monokroussos
- Kramnik – Svidler annotated by Alfonzo Jerez
- Kramnik – Svidler annotated by Malcolm Pein
- Carlsen – Aronian annotated by GM Bauer, GM Safarli, NM Karagianis, and Jason Juett
Round 3
- Anand, Aronian and Kramnik Win in Third Round of Tal Memorial by Peter Doggers with notes by Robert Ris
- Anand, Aronian, Kramnik draw first blood from ChessBase
- Deadlock Broken by Mark Crowther
- Action at Last by Mig Greengard
- Tal Memorial, Round Three by Dennis Monokroussos
- Andand-Svidler annotated by Lubomir Kavalek in the Washington Post
- Anand – Svidler annotated by Jack Peters in the LA Times
- Anand – Svidler annotated by Jorge Luis Fernandez
- Anand – Svidler annotated by Malcolm Pein
- Anand – Svidler annotated by GM Bauer, GM Safarli, NM Karagianis, and Jason Juett
Round 2
- Five more draws in second round of Tal Memorial by Peter Doggers with notes by Sipke Ernst
- All games drawn — first win expected tomorrow from ChessBase
- Five More Draws in Round 2 by Mark Crowther
- Ponomariov – Aronian annotated by Guillermo Soppe
- Ponomariov – Aronian annotated by Malcolm Pein
Round 1
- Five draws in first round of Tal Memorial by Peter Doggers with notes by Merijn Van Delft
- All games drawn, with plenty of excitement from ChessBase
- All draws on day 1 by Mark Crowther
- Tal Memorial 2oo9 by Mig Greengard
- Bettle Royal by Mig Greengard
- Morozevich – Leko annotated by Hector Leyva
- Carlsen – Kramnik annotated by Malcolm Pein
