Aronian wins 2009 Amber tournament

GM Levon Aronian defended his title by winning the 2009 Amber Blindfold and Rapid tournament in Nice, France. Aronian finished with a combined score of 14 points to finish a half-point ahead of Anand and Kramnik.

The 18th Amber Blindfold and Rapid tournament, organized by the Association Max Euwe in Monaco, is taking place from March 14 (first round) to March 26 (last round) at the Palais de la Mediterranée, splendidly located on the famous Promenade des Anglais in Nice. The total prize fund is € 216,000. The rate of play is 25 minutes per game per player. With every move made in the blindfold games 20 seconds is added to the clock, with every move made in the rapid games 10 seconds is added. Every day four sessions are played: two blindfold and two rapid games. The first session starts at 14.30h. The fourth session finishes around 20.00h. (Note: the final round on March 26 starts at 12.30h. March 18 and 23 are rest days).

A complete wrap-up is available on ChessBase.com.

All rapid and blindfold games are available on ChessGames.com.