Sigeman & Co: Nigel Short wins with a 2990 performance

This event took place at the Hipp Theater in central Malmo, Sweden, from June 3rd - 7th, 2009. The rating of the participants, with the exception of Grandelius, were between 2600 and 2700. Nigel Short and Ivan Sokolov were the two favorites, with Berg, Hillarp and Nybäck as outsiders. All six participants have an aggressive approach and are not known to play quick draws.

The organisers are thanking the city of Malmo, the Swedish Chess Federation, The Swedish Chess Academy, law firm Sigeman & Co, TT-Line, ViaEcole, Sydsvenska Dagbladet, Rafstedt ad agency, Galvano Service, Kakel & Tegel in Veberod, Formo and all others who have helped in making this tournament possible.

Final standings

Nigel Short's performance, calculated by the ChessBase program, is an incredible 2990. It's going to bring him a pack of Elo points on the next FIDE rating list. Remarkable is the second player, 15-year-old Swedish chess prodigy Nils Grandelius. People were expecting him to maybe get a few draws, but Nils took clear second place, playing at a 2715 level, 224 points better than his nominal 2491 rating.

The two outstanding players in this event: Nils Grandelius and Nigel Short

Nigel chatting with Ivan Sokolov and main sponsor Johan Sigeman at the end of the tournament

Giving an interview to an extraordinary team of Swedish chess journalists, about
whom we will tell you in a separate article

The drawing average in this tournament was a sensationally low 33%, with White winning 40% and Black 27% of the games. Maybe there is something to be said about this method of combatting draws in chess. Instead of forbidding draw offers, counting wins and draws differently, and the many other methods proposed by experts, you can also solve the problem by simply inviting the right players. Make a note of these six for future events.

Links Official tournament site All games in PGN The games were broadcast live on the official web site and on the chess server Playchess.com. If you are not a member you can download the free PGN reader ChessBase Light, which gives you immediate access. You can also use the program to read, replay and analyse the PGN games.