Grandmaster Zaven Andriassian, 2010 Final Cup of Russia gold winner said the victory in the tournament in question was crucial to him.

As he told PanARMENIAN.Net reporter, “before the Final Cup of Russia I participated in Chigorin Memorial, which was a qualifier to the tournament. Fortunately, my performance was a success.”

“Despite a hard fist day, preceded by long and tiresome train travel from St. Petersburg to Belgorod, which gave me no chance to prepare beforehand, I lucked out: my rival Pavel Pankratov had the same issue, allowing us to begin the game on equal terms. I managed to show myself in best light and score a win,” the young grandmaster said.

Before the end of 2010, Andriassian will participate in European Blitz and Rapid Chess Championships in Poland and Netherlands-hosted international tournament.