World champion Vladimir Kramnik won the 16th Melody Amber Rapid and Blindfold tournament in Monaco last week with a spectacular score of 15 1/2 points in 22 games. The Russian grandmaster finished two points ahead of his nearest rival, Vishy Anand of India. The star-studded supporting cast of 10 other grandmasters could not match these feats. Kramnik sealed his overall victory by winning the blindfold event with an incredible 9-2 score. Anand was equally brilliant in the rapid play, finishing first with 8 1/2 -2 1/2 . Kramnik sprang the most important opening novelty of the tournament on 16-year-old Magnus Carlsen of Norway -- an astonishing knight sacrifice in the Botvinnik variation of the Semi-Slav defense.... -
Final Four
World champion Vladimir Kramnik won the 16th Melody Amber Rapid and Blindfold tournament in Monaco last week with a spectacular score of 15 1/2 points in 22 games. The Russian grandmaster finished two points ahead of his nearest rival, Vishy Anand of India. The star-studded supporting cast of 10 other grandmasters could not match these feats. Kramnik sealed his overall victory by winning the blindfold event with an incredible 9-2 score. Anand was equally brilliant in the rapid play, finishing first with 8 1/2 -2 1/2 . Kramnik sprang the most important opening novelty of the tournament on 16-year-old Magnus Carlsen of Norway -- an astonishing knight sacrifice in the Botvinnik variation of the Semi-Slav defense....-
Lubomir Kavalek