Chess Giants 2008 also now the Karen Asrian Memorial

Congratulations Levon Aronian, Winner of the Asrian Memorial, 2008.

1st place: Levon Aronian 8.5 points
2nd place: Peter Leko 8 points
3rd place: Alexander Morozevich 7.5 points
4th place: Boris Gelfand 7.5 points

Live games link HERE …
For the results on the tournament, follow the link to the official site or on the second link where you can play through their games too.

Chess Giants Yerevan 2008″ rapid chess tournament which will be held in Yerevan, Armenia from June 8-15, 2008. Eight giants of the chess world will pair off and play two games a day in what promises to be a week of fighting chess. You can follow the games every day at 18:00 PM local time (GMT+4) from Yerevan’s picturesque Opera House. Please click HERE for the Official site of Chess Giants.
On THIS LINK you can play through their games as the tournament goes…enjoy!

Standings after 10 rounds

1. Leko, Peter HUN 2741 6½
2. Aronian, Levon ARM 2763 6
3. Sargissian, Gabriel ARM 2643 5½
4-5. Bu Xiangzhi CHN 2708 5
4-5. Gelfand, Boris ISR 2723 5
6. Morozevich, Alexander RUS 2774 4½
7. Adams, Michael ENG 2729 4
8. Akopian, Vladimir ARM 2673 3½

Aronian and Morozevich

 

Morozevich and Adams

Alexander Morozevich – RUS 2774

Levon Aronian – ARM 2763

Peter Leko – HUN 2741

 

Michael Adams – ENG 2729

 

Boris Gelfand – ISR 2723

 

Gabriel Sargissian – ARM 2643

Vladimir Akopian – ARM 2673

Bu Xiangzhi – CHN 2708

 Round 1
1 Sargissian 1/2 Adams
2 Morozevich 1-0 Gelfand
3 Bu 1/2 Leko
4 Aronian 1/2 Akopian

Round 2
1 Adams 1/2 Sargissian
2 Gelfand 1/2 Morozevich
3 Leko 1-0 Bu
4 Akopian 1/2 Aronian

Note that due to the tragic news of GM Karen Asrian’s passing, the games scheduled for June 10 and June 11 have been postponed. The Chess Giants tournament will resume on June 12. Click HERE  to read about his death.

According to the decision of the Armenian Chess Federation, the Chess Giants Yerevan 2008 tournament has been renamed the Karen Asrian Memorial and will be held traditionally in honor of our cherished champion.

In addition, the rapid open scheduled to have been played in parallel to the main tournament from June 12-15, has been cancelled.

 It is with great sadness and difficulty we report to you that today, June 9, Armenian Grandmaster Karen Asrian passed away. He was 28 years old. Details will be forthcoming. Round 1 games started late after a moment of silence in GM Asrian’s memory.

Yerevan, Armenia, the Opera House is the round building on the left…and this is where this tournament takes place. Image: Britanica

 

Image: http://www.ecml.at/html/armenian/images/yerevan

In the valley of Biblical Mount Ararat lies the beautiful ancient city of Yerevan, the 12th capital of Armenia. Yerevan was built around the city-fortress of Erebuni established by the King Argishti the First the king of Urartu in the year 782 BC.The ruins of Erebuni still stand in the southeastern part of the city.

A large part of the Erebuni fortification had been reconstructed by 1968 when the city celebrated the 2750th anniversary of its foundation. The well-preserved walls permitted the complete reproduction of the layout of Erebuni.

Yerevan is situated in the north-eastern part of the Ararat Valley. Mounts Aragats, Azhdaak, and Ararat can be seen from the city. With its rugged terrain, Yerevan displays a 400m disparity between its lowest and highest points. The city is divided by Hrazdan River that flows in a picturesque canyon.

The climate in Yerevan is dry and sharply varied with temperatures in summer peaking over 35 C and falling below -15 C in winter.