GM Alexey Dreev:
"In the last but one round we lost the match against Max Ven scoring –2, despite Malakhov obtained a completely won position. And that was not all yet, because the last round was fatal for Nikel too. When we obtained a score of +1 in the match against Tomsk team, Zviagintsev admitted a mistake against Kobalia in his move 41 after having equalized the position. One game was played still, Naer – Pigusov, and it sustained a strain in all the players. Finally it ended with draw and it was the only result that permitted Ladia to become a champion… Otherwise it would have sufficed with the second place, right behind the winner of the match in question.
In my opinion Norilsk Nikel deserved victory more, especially because we beat the Tatarian players. However, finish of the tournament was fatal for the team. I was not in my best sporting form and Zviagintsev played not convincingly in the final matches – after he obtained four wins in a row! Perhaps, he needed a little rest. Sasha Rustemov was tired too. However, our overall performance in the competition was smooth and strong. One should note a successful debut of grandmaster Alexander Galkin who played for the team quite successfully."