Chess World Cup 2000

The 24 players were split into four groups of six players each, with every player playing each other player in his group once. The top two finishers in each group were sent forward to the knockout stages, with ties being resolved by playoffs. From the quarterfinals onward, each knockout match consisted of two games, with ties being broken by a set of speed games.^[2]

All players are Grandmasters unless indicated otherwise.

Ratings are as per the July 2000 FIDE ratings list^[3].

Nine out of the top 10 seeds finished the group stages with a plus or equal score – the lone exception, Alexander Morozevich, crashed out of the tournament with a single point in 5 games. The reigning FIDE World Champion Alexander Khalifman also suffered a disappointing showing, with losses to Anand and Gelfand. The dark horse of the tournament was 19th-seeded Gilberto Milos, a chess grandmaster from Brazil and five-time South American chess champion. Milos' upset win over Morozevich would propel him to the top of Group A, and eventually, into the semifinals of the World Cup. The top seed in each of the other groups advanced to the quarterfinals.^[4]

Anand, the tournament's hitherto-untroubled No. 1 seed, breezed through the quarterfinal round against his longtime rival Vassily Ivanchuk. But Boris Gelfand gave Anand a challenge in the semi-final, and the match was not settled until a sudden-death blitz game. In the other half of the bracket, Bareev dropped the first game but managed to win his quarterfinal match against Azmaiparashvili before facing a relentless Gilberto Milos in the semifinals. Bareev eventually edged past the Brazilian, drawing both classical games before winning the first rapid playoff thanks to a distressing blunder (79. Nd5??) from Milos that cost him his queen and the match.^[5][6]

The first game of the World Cup final between Viswanathan Anand and Evgeny Bareev played out to a draw after 33 moves. In the second game, Anand – playing the white side of the French defence – sacrificed the exchange for two pawns to gain a slight advantage. But Bareev's fate was not sealed until 36... Re8?? - a shocking blunder that gave Anand a completely winning position.^[7]