The Ten Best Games of Volume 103
Zdenko Krnic
The members of the jury for the selection of the best game of Informant 103 had a very tough choice. There were many high-quality games to choose from and any one of them could have claimed the prize. The vote was so close that a winner was not established until we received the very last ballot.
During the normal course of voting two or three games usually establish themselves as clear favorites. Never before was the difference so tight that the winning game, Volokitin - Inkariev, only received forty out of eighty possible points. It is also a curiosity that Vladimir Kramnik featured in the games positioned from second to fifth places with two victories and two losses. Special mention should be paid to the opening of Bulgarian grandmaster Popchev, whose 14... Bc3!! and 18... Bh3 should be an inspiration to every chess player.
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EDITORIAL SELECTION |
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| 1. | VOLOKITIN, A. – INARKIEV, E. | 266 | 9 | – | – | 1 | 10 | 10 | – | 10 | 40 |
| 2. | KRAMNIK, V. – SHIROV, A. | 320 | 10 | 7 | – | 8 | 7 | 6 | – | – | 38 |
| 3. | MOROZEVICH, A. – KRAMNIK, V. | 310 | 7 | 8 | – | 10 | 8 | – | 3 | – | 36 |
| 4. | NAIDITSCH, A. – KRAMNIK, V. | 199 | – | – | 10 | – | – | 4 | 10 | 6 | 30 |
| 5. | KRAMNIK, V. – VAN WELY, L. | 283 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 9 | – | 9 | – | 28 |
| 6. | KAMSKY, G. – LEKO, P. | 47 | 6 | 9 | – | 3 | 4 | 5 | – | – | 27 |
| 7. | NESTOROVIC, N. – POPCHEV, M. | 62 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 1 | – | – | 27 |
| 8. | STELLWAGEN, D. – BAREEV, E. | 75 | – | – | 1 | 9 | – | 8 | – | 8 | 26 |
| 9. | IVANCHUK, V. – KAMSKY, G. | 339 | – | 1 | 7 | 6 | – | – | 5 | 7 | 26 |
| 10. | ALEKSEEV, EVGENY – DOMINGUEZ PEREZ, L. | 173 | 3 | 5 | 6 | – | – | – | 6 | – | 20 |
| 11. | RADJABOV, T. – IVANCHUK, V. | 373 | – | 10 | – | 7 | – | – | – | – | 17 |
| 12. | MAMEDOV, RAUF – KOKAREV, DM. | 181 | – | 4 | 9 | – | – | 3 | – | – | 16 |
| 13. | JAKOVENKO, D. – BOLOGAN, V. | 316 | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | 8 | 5 | 15 |
| 14. | KAIDANOV, G. – ONISCHUK, A. | 211 | – | – | – | – | – | 9 | 1 | 4 | 14 |
| 15. | KRAMNIK, V. – ALEKSEEV, EVGENY | 37 | 5 | – | – | – | 5 | – | 2 | – | 12 |
| 16. | DOMINGUEZ PEREZ, L. – WOJTASZEK, R. | 167 | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | 9 | 11 |
| 17. | MOROZEVICH, A. – MOVSESIAN, S. | 264 | – | – | – | – | 3 | 7 | – | – | 10 |
| 18. | ANAND, V. – IVANCHUK, V. | 156 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 7 | – | 7 |
| 19. | SHIROV, A. – IVANCHUK, V. | 180 | – | 6 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 7 |
| 20. | MOROZEVICH, A. – ANAND, V. | 170 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| 21. | NAIDITSCH, A. – VAN WELY, L. | 160 | 2 | – | 3 | – | 2 | – | – | – | 7 |
| 22. | LEKO, P. – IVANCHUK, V. | 118 | – | – | – | 4 | – | – | – | 2 | 6 |
| 23. | BOLOGAN, V. – MILADINOVIC, I. | 126 | – | – | 5 | – | – | – | – | – | 5 |
| 24. | GASHIMOV, V. – VOLOKITIN, A. | 179 | – | – | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | 4 |
| 25. | ATALIK, S. – HARIKRISHNA, P. | 254 | – | – | – | – | 1 | 2 | – | – | 3 |
| 26. | VOLOKITIN, A. – ALEKSEEV, EVGENY | 213 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| 27. | MARIN, MI. – SANDULEAC, V. | 16 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0 |
| 28. | MOVSESIAN, S. – ILINCIC, Z. | 233 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0 |
| 29. | NAIDITSCH, A. – GEORGIEV, KI. | 244 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0 |
| 30. | JIANU, V.-C. – ILINCIC, Z. | 392 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0 |