Vitiugov Wins 2013 Gibraltar Masters
Nikita Vitiugov of Russia won the 2013 Gibraltar Chess Masters by defeating defending champion Nigel Short in a final tiebreak match after four players finished tied on 8/10.
The title was decided in an exciting 4-way rapid playoff. Nikita Vitiugov defeated Chanda Sandipan, while Nigel Short beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the other playoff "semi-final".
Vitiugov (pictured) then beat Short in the final playoff to win the first prize of £20,000.
Xue Zhao of China won the top women's prize of £12,000 with a score of 7½/10, thanks to a hard fought draw with Vassily Ivanchuk in the final round.
The top standings in the 2013 Gibraltar Chess Masters
# | Name | Fed | Elo | Pts | TB |
1 | Vitiugov Nikita | RUS | 2694 | 8.0 | 2830 |
2 | Vachier-Lagrave Maxime | FRA | 2711 | 8.0 | 2788 |
3 | Sandipan Chanda | IND | 2590 | 8.0 | 2765 |
4 | Short Nigel D | ENG | 2690 | 8.0 | 2730 |
5 | Georgiev Kiril | BUL | 2643 | 7.5 | 2745 |
6 | Adams Michael | ENG | 2725 | 7.5 | 2744 |
7 | Navara David | CZE | 2710 | 7.5 | 2742 |
8 | Kamsky Gata | USA | 2740 | 7.5 | 2730 |
9 | Ivanchuk Vassily | UKR | 2758 | 7.5 | 2726 |
10 | Yu Yangyi | CHN | 2688 | 7.5 | 2726 |
11 | Salgado Lopez Ivan | ESP | 2606 | 7.5 | 2698 |
12 | Fridman Daniel | GER | 2667 | 7.5 | 2653 |
13 | Zhao Xue | CHN | 2554 | 7.5 | 2621 |
14 | Le Quang Liem | VIE | 2705 | 7.0 | 2726 |
15 | Jones Gawain C B | ENG | 2632 | 7.0 | 2678 |
16 | Felgaer Ruben | ARG | 2557 | 7.0 | 2635 |
17 | Wojtaszek Radoslaw | POL | 2723 | 7.0 | 2622 |
18 | Shirov Alexei | LAT | 2708 | 7.0 | 2614 |
19 | Stefanova Antoaneta | BUL | 2516 | 7.0 | 2611 |
20 | Gunina Valentina | RUS | 2490 | 7.0 | 2593 |
21 | Muzychuk Anna | SLO | 2582 | 7.0 | 2589 |
22 | Sutovsky Emil | ISR | 2684 | 7.0 | 2542 |
23 | Gallagher Joseph G. | SUI | 2499 | 7.0 | 2538 |
24 | Bartel Mateusz | POL | 2629 | 7.0 | 2521 |
25 | Kuipers Stefan | NED | 2431 | 7.0 | 2384 |
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Zhao Xue and Nikita Vitiugov
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Zhao Xue and Nikita Vitiugov photo by the official website. Games via TWIC.