Dortmund Chess 2009 (pairings added)

With Carlsen, Kramnik, Jakovenko, Leko, Bacrot and Naiditsch

GM Magnus Carlsen

The 2009 edition of the chess tournament Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting, July 2-12, will have a super strong participation - GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Vladimir Kramnik, GM Dmitry Jakovenko, GM Peter Leko, GM Etienne Bacrot, and GM Arkadij Naiditsch. All players will be over 2700 ELO points, making it one of the super tournaments of the year.

Top seeded is GM Magnus Carlsen (N3 in the world, ELO 2770). This will be the 4th consecutive high level tournament for the Norwegian young star. He opted out of the Grand Prix series, but still enjoys invitations from the top events. Earlier this year he took part in the first Grand Slam events - Corus and Linares, and in May he lost the Mtel Masters 2009 title only in the final round.

The main opposition of Magnus Carlsen is GM Vladimir Kramnik. The 2008 World Chess Championship finalist has not played a rated event this year, which oddly worked in his favor and he climbed positions in the rating chart.

GM Dmitry Jakovenko got a deserved invitation to the Dortmund Chess 2009 event after his steady performance and rating rise at the recent competitions. Jakovenko is ranked seventh in the world with ELO 2753, and a good result in Dortmund can secure the "rating qualifier" spot in the World Chess Championship in 2010 and 2011. Scoring better than Kramnik could make Jakovenko the highest rated Russian player.

The fourth World top 10 participant of Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting is last year's winner GM Peter Leko. The Hungarian has been among the top players for many years already, and will surely be fighting for his 4th title at this tournament. Previously he also won in 1999 and 2002.

The two underdogs, ready to surprise at the tournament, are GM Etienne Bacrot and GM Arkadij Naiditsch. Bacrot has been enjoying a good run recently, starting from the European Club Cup last year, and will be looking to extend it. Naiditsch is the new proud member of the 2700 club, and will be aiming at another title at Dortmund, after the success in 2005.

Official site

Original press release in German

Pairings:

Round 1, 2nd July

Peter Leko - Vladimir Kramnik
Magnus Carlsen - Dmitry Jakovenko
Arkadij Naiditsch - Etienne Bacrot

Round 2, 3rd July

Vladimir Kramnik – Etienne Bacrot
Dmitry Jakovenko – Arkadij Naiditsch
Peter Leko – Magnus Carlsen

Round 3, 4th July

Magnus Carlsen – Vladimir Kramnik
Arkadij Naiditsch – Peter Leko
Etienne Bacrot – Dmitry Jakovenko

Round 4, 5th July

Arkadij Naiditsch – Vladimir Kramnik
Etienne Bacrot – Magnus Carlsen
Dmitry Jakovenko – Peter Leko

Round 5, 6th July

Vladimir Kramnik – Dmitry Jakovenko
Peter Leko – Etienne Bacrot
Magnus Carlsen – Arkadij Naiditsch

7th July - Rest day

Round 6, 8th July

Vladimir Kramnik – Peter Leko
Dmitry Jakovenko – Magnus Carlsen
Etienne Bacrot – Arkadij Naiditsch

Round 7, 9th July

Etienne Bacrot – Vladimir Kramnik
Arkadij Naiditsch – Dmitry Jakovenko
Magnus Carlsen – Peter Leko

Round 8, 10th July

Vladimir Kramnik – Magnus Carlsen
Peter Leko – Arkadij Naiditsch
Dmitry Jakovenko – Etienne Bacrot

Round 9, 11th July

Dmitry Jakovenko – Vladimir Kramnik
Etienne Bacrot – Peter Leko
Arkadij Naiditsch – Magnus Carlsen

Round 10, 12th July

Vladimir Kramnik – Arkadij Naiditsch
Magnus Carlsen – Etienne Bacrot
Peter Leko – Dmitry Jakovenko